Date: Mon, 14 Oct 2002 18:58:43 -0700 From: JS Collection Subject: dining alone 4 THIS STORY IS TOTALLY FICTITIOUS. IT CONTAINS DESCRIPTIVE SEX BETWEEN MEN. IF THIS IS OFFENSIVE TO YOU GO ELSE WHERE. IF IT IS ILLEGAL FOR YOU TO BE READING IT, YOU SHOULDN'T BE HERE TO BEGIN WITH, SO JUST GO AWAY. OTHERWISE ENJOY IT. JWS DINING ALONE (PART 4) FRANK'S TALE by J.W.SMITH The day was interminable. I kept my nose in the paperwork and it did eventually end. I lay down and napped on the sofa in my office. At eight I got up and washed my face changed my shirt and tie and went up to the restaurant on the top floor. I shmoozed and acted like I was enjoying the party until ten. I made my adieus and sped to the comforts of home and Joe's arms. The lights were off except for the foyer. That was unusual; Joe was always at the word processors until midnight or one. Fear clutched me. Could he be ill? I tiptoed up the stairs into our bedroom. Joe was in bed lightly snoring. I sighed with relief. As I get older the more I worry about him dieing before me. Maybe I'm selfish, but it scares the holy shit out of me to think about life without him. I shucked my clothes and snuggled into bed next to him. Joe woke up a little and wrapped himself around me. He kissed me on the cheek, and whispered that he loved me. I told him I loved him. He turned around and snuggled his beautiful little backside up against me. I wrapped him in my arms and fell asleep. When I awoke the next morning, Joe was already up. I could smell coffee. I grabbed my robe and put it on as I stumbled down the stairs to the kitchen. There was Joe smiling cheerfully as he handed me a cup. I sat down at the table. "What's got into you? So damn cheerful this time of morning." "Oh, I just had a good nights sleep." He slid a plate of toast in front of me. I grabbed him around his legs and pulled him up next to me. I rubbed my nose in his chest hair. He wrapped his arms around my neck and kissed me on my forehead. "Mmmm. Maybe I should go to more parties." I said. "Maybe you should." He grinned at me. I could see imp popping up. "What do you mean by that?" "Nothing." He was studiously ignoring me. He picked up my paper and started reading the front page. "What did you do last night?" I asked. He dropped the paper onto the table and rested his chin on his fists. He looked at me with this dreamy expression. I knew I was in for one of his flights into fantasy. "I went to Grover's for dinner. A tall handsome man joined me at my table. After dinner he invited me home with him, where he mad passionate love to me. That's all." He grinned again, the imp. There was something in his expression that made me want to believe him. No. Not Joe, not when he fabricating one of his fables. "I almost believe you." I said. "Maybe you should. Maybe this isn't one of my stories." I studied him. He stared back at me grinning his imp grin. I shrugged and reached over and took my paper. He got up and started puttering around the kitchen. Joe's never a grouch, but he's never cheerful in the morning either. He was humming. "Joe, please. I'm trying to read." I muttered, rattling the paper for emphasis. "Sorry." He kissed me on top of my head and left. This was Friday morning. I had to go into the office for a few hours. Most of our employees had the day off, our holiday gift to them. I showered and dressed. When I was ready to go I stuck my head into Joe's office. "I'm ready to leave." He jumped up and followed me to the door. We hugged and he planted this big juicy kiss on my mouth. It's normally just a peck on the cheek. "You are up to something, Joe, I can feel it." He stood there with his hands behind his back wiggling like a puppy, the little elfin imp. "Have a good day, Frank. I love you." Around eleven I called him. I can't get through my day with out hearing his voice. Sometimes he's irritated at being interrupted if he's writing, but most often he sounds delighted that I called. This time he sounded delighted. Actually, down right joyful. He was babbling something about planning my birthday gift. My birthday is in June. Six months away. He was definitely up to something. Saturday morning started out as usual. I got up around eight. Made coffee, got the paper and sat at the kitchen table to read it. Joe came in after while, got a cup of coffee and left. I heard the shower running and the a little bit later the clicking of his keyboard. And then, about ten, the doorbell chimed. Joe normally gets it, so I continued reading. It was probably those Seventh day Adventists ladies, again. I think they are enamored of Joe. He's always sweet to them. I didn't hear the clatter Joe makes flying down the stairs. The doorbell chimed again. "Joe, there's someone at the door." I yelled. "You get it. I can't stop right now." He yelled back. I shuffled to the door. When I opened it, I was expecting to see two dowdy little old ladies offering me some pamphlets. Instead, there stood a tall shining bearded man. Well, he wasn't shining, but his fitted t-shirt was the whitest I've ever seen, and the sun behind him made a halo of his sun-bleached hair. He beamed a big bright smile at me. He addressed me by my given name and introduced himself as Don Thompson. I just ogled. I must have been a sight. I had gotten out of bed and put on a robe. I hadn't showered, shaved or even combed my hair. I finally found my wits and responded. " Frank Dillon." I offered my hand. "What can I do for you?" He shook it. He had a strong firm handshake. I liked that. "I have an appointment with you and Joe to go over the plans." He was still beaming. "Plans?" "Yes sir." He answered, not being the least bit helpful. I turned and yelled up the stairs for Joe to get down here. I asked him to come in and have a seat in the den. At that point, I should have gone and changed into some clothes. Instead, I sat down with him, waiting for Joe. He sat on the edge of the sofa, completely at ease. He glanced around the room taking in the furnishings. Several times he looked at my bare chest and naked legs. And then his eyes settled on something on the shelf under the coffee table. His eyes lit up just like Joe's do when he's found something to tease me with. 'Oh hell,' I thought, 'he's got an imp in him, too.' He grinned at me as he reached down and picked up two X rated Video boxes with graphic photos all over them. I know I turned red. I silently cursed Joe for leaving them out. It never crossed my mind that he might have left them there on purpose. "I'd really enjoy viewing these with you guys sometime." I heard him say through the blood roaring in my ears. I knew for sure, then, that he was another imp come to make my life more interesting. As if my Joe wasn't enough! I strangled. "Who are you?" I know he had told me his name and why he was here, but---. Joe strode in at that moment. Taking my question literally he introduced us all over again, and seeing Don holding the videos suggested he come over and watch them with us some time. I know I sputtered as I realized I had been set up. Joe ignored me. "Come. Let's go out to the yard and discuss the plans." He said. I knew there was no point in asking what plans, so I just followed along.Don unrolled a drawing and laid it on the table in the middle of the yard. It was of a pavilion. I took note of the Jacuzzi in the right end of it surrounded by a glass block wall. The left end was built-in seating around a raised fire pit. In the middle was a small kitchen with a barbeque grill. I was having a difficult time paying attention. Don was standing next to me. He had put his left hand on my shoulder and was reaching across the drawing pointing with his right hand. He kept glancing at my naked chest. I was beginning to point, too. Joe ran around pointing out just where each aspect of it would be. I stuffed my hands into the robe pockets, trying to be nonchalant, and having great difficulty being so. I glanced at Don as he explained something. I could tell he was enjoying my discomfort. I looked at Joe. That evil little imp was grinning. 'So that was his game.' I thought to myself. 'Let's turn the table on him.' I adjusted my robe so that if it tented, at least nothing would escape. I picked up the drawing and strode over to where the pavilion would be. "OK, I really like the idea, but I think that we should have glass block around this end too," pointing to where the fire pit would be. " The prevailing winds come from that direction." I pointed to the west. " That would make a good wind break and still have an open feeling." I had both arms raised, my robe fell open as I gestured. Both of them grinned. Don didn't miss a beat. He blatantly ogled me as he walked over to me. He licked his lower lip looking me right in the eye as he retrieved the drawing. I wrapped my robe around me and tied it. He took it back to the table and with swift sure pencil strokes, he had the west end enclosed with glass blocks. Joe looked at it. "I love it. When can you start?" He said. "Slow down. We don't even know how much it will cost. Don, work up an estimate and we'll discuss this over dinner." "Sure." "OK, be back here at six. We'll have dinner ready." I said. Later, after I had finally showered and dressed, we sat down to a light lunch. I was going to get to the bottom of this. "Nice guy, Don Thompson, where did you meet him?" I asked. "He's our neighbor. He lives over on Clover Street." "Yes. So where did you meet him?" "Oh, at Grover's the other night. He was by himself and asked if he could join me. He knew me, and he's read all of my books." Joe was looking too innocent, so I dug some more. "Tell me the rest." "Well, I discovered that he is a contractor and that gave me the idea of getting the pavilion built." "That's it?" I pushed. Joe looked at me. I could see that imp dancing around in his eyes. "No, not by a long shot." He looked at the ceiling as if he were trying to remember something. He cocked an eyebrow at me and continued. "As we ate dinner we seduced each other with our eyes. And then we went to his house for after dinner drinks. We made mad passionate love for hours. And then I came home and acted innocent, as if nothing had happened." He looked at me. He was all innocence for a moment, and then he grinned. "And you have the hots for him, too. Don't you?" I rolled my eyes and grinned back and shook my head. "After having met him, I would almost believe you, if I didn't know your vivid imagination. He is hot isn't he?" "Shall we rape him after dinner?" Joe asked. "Ha! I think it might be the other way around. I get the feeling he's into older men. He sure was eyeballing you." "Me? He couldn't keep his eyes off you long enough to even notice I was there. Especially when you exposed yourself." "I didn't think you noticed." "Hah!" "Well, it was an accident." "Sure it was." "So shall we take advantage of him?" I asked. "No, let's let him take advantage of us." "Sounds fun to me either way." He stopped and looked at me. "Frank? Remember, a couple of weeks ago, I told you about a strange dream I had? You were standing in the back yard naked, waving your arms. And there was someone else there that was very important in our lives, but I couldn't see his face. I just knew he was important. Remember?" "Yeah, I remember." I could tell this was one of those times that I want to scream and run out of the room. They didn't happen often, but when they did--- I could only go with the flow. There was no fighting it. "I saw it all happen in real time this morning. I know his face now." My hair stood on end. I knew immediately what he was going to say. "Don is coming into our lives in a big way. We can't tell him. He has got do this on his own. For dinner that evening we took it easy. I made one of my infamous salads. I put every thing in it except the kitchen itself. It's a man size meal by its self. Actually its chopped veggies of any and every sort dressed with a mayo-vinaigrette, but for some reason everybody loves it. Joe shaped patties of chopped sirloin seasoned with black pepper, finely chopped onion, and Worchesrshire Sauce and wrapped them in bacon for grilling. So with a baked potato and a couple of Dos XX, which is a fine Mexican beer, each, we had a fine meal. After we finished Joe chased us out of the kitchen while he cleaned up and made a pot of coffee. Over dinner we had become a bit chummy, but left to our selves, Don and I sat and looked at each other. We weren't uncomfortable with each other. We just didn't know how to break the barrier of being alone with Joe in the next room. Finally I suggested the videos. Don laughed and agreed if I was comfortable with it. Gay porn has always bored the hell out of me until the advent of the "Bear." These tapes were Bears. Mature hairy real men doing things to each other that I love to do and have done to me. They really turn on my juices. They seemed to affect Don the same way. He was squirming around trying to get comfortable with a long pole in his pants. When the White Imp came in, all grins of course, all hell broke lose. Not since the mid seventies have I experienced an orgy like the one that took place on our den floor that evening. Later, it moved into the bedroom and continued on into the night. At some point I seemed to remember Joe had served Irish coffee in the den. I couldn't for the life in me remember tasting it. I think the most wonderful thing about Don's appearance in our life was that Joe and I found each other again. What I mean is that --- I don't know---back in the eighties when our friends were dropping like those clay disks that skeet shooter blast out of the air, we kind of lost touch as lovers. The scare that AIDS brought with it seemed to have killed the joy we once found in each other's body. It was like we felt guilty being alive and healthy while those around us wasted away. We were lucky that we were monogamous for the most part. Although we played around, we never got into heavy sex with anyone. Yes, we were damn lucky. And now we were being favored again. Sunday around noon we finally managed to get showered and dressed. We had a light lunch and Don headed home. Joe and I looked at each other and agreed. Sleep was what we needed and lots of it. Don had worn us out. We went to bed and slept late into the night. Around one I needed bladder relief and when I crawled back into bed Joe snuggled into my arms. I couldn't resist nibbling on his neck. That's like the key turned in the ignition. When we settled back down to mere snuggling, we talked. It had been years since we had lain in bed holding each other and just talking. We both agreed that we would never let what we have get lost again. We also agreed that we had Don to thank for helping us find it again. "Tell me again how you met Don, and no embellishment this time." "I told you the truth both times, Frank, I've never lied to you," Joe said. I lay there for a bit digesting the facts. I could feel Joe's tenseness as he waited to see how I was going to react. Hell, I couldn't blame him for playing around. I had paid scant attention to his needs for over a decade. I wouldn't have blamed him if he had taken a lover. I would have deserved it. And the fact that he had told me about the dream two weeks ago only meant that I had no choice except to accept it all. Actually, I found it amusing that he managed to tell me the truth with out me realizing it. The Imp. I had been manipulated. I was so happy that I had been.I hugged Joe tight to me and told him how much I loved him. Then the thought hit me. "What are we going to do about Don?" I asked. Joe turned in my arms and looked at me. "We won't see him again if that's what you want." I know that pained him to say that. I could see that he had already form an attachment to him. So had I. "Why the hell would we want to do that? My God, look at the joy that he's brought back into our life in just two days. Besides he has a pavilion to build for my birthday." "I was hoping you would say that. I've become rather fond on him." He admitted. I hugged Joe tight to me and kissed him. "He has rather grown on us doesn't he?" We took Don into our hearts and our home. We became a threesome. Joe's dream again was a true 'knowing'. I wonder what Lo would have said about it all. I guess I'll never know, but I will conjecture that she would have smiled benignly and nodded with one eyebrow raised. And I think she'd have told me again. "Frank, just go with the flow. Don't fight it. And everything will turn out like it's supposed to."