Chris and Chris . . .
And Patrick

By AvgJoePA@aol.com

This is a story of an encounter I had last spring and summer. It's more sex than romance (like my "My Buddy Andrew" which you'll also find in this Archive. I wasn't looking for anything, much, but it happened. I've changed this from journal format into story format, and tweaked wording until I don't think I should tweak anymore. It's so hard not to because I want the perfect story; hard as that is to achieve. I'm still working on my writing skills. Amateur. Sigh. Wish it was easy to write down what's in my head. I guess I'll be content, for now, that I just have a story. Comments welcomed, of course, as is any rave review you wish to send to boost my ego.


I don't know his name, yet. He has short dark hair, a slim build, and an incredible face. Even from a distance, his eyes were penetrating. He dresses in jeans and work boots. Sometimes he wears a baseball cap. It makes him look five years younger, which I'm guessing is about 32. He drives a pickup truck and is blue collar. He and his girlfriend live in the apartment below mine. I stare at him every chance I get. I stare at him when he's under his truck, dressed only in shorts, white socks, and boots, changing his oil. He is so sexy, moreso than most anyone I know. I stare at him through the window when he arrives home just moments after I do. I stare at him just as he's leaving, a few steps ahead of me.

He caught me staring today. Oops. I was about to pull out of my parking spot when I saw him come out the door. So I sat and watched him get into his truck. We made solid eye contact, and I blushed in embarrassment. I nodded my head slightly to him, trying to look casual. Well, it was worth it at any rate.

Later in the day there was a knock at the door. I open the door. He steps inside, closes the door, and backs into the wall. He's rubbing his crotch.

"You want this?," he asks, somewhat confused. "I've seen you watching me. The only thing I can think of is you want this."

I touched the bulge. He took my hand as I moved it away, placing it back on his crotch. He stiffened. I nodded, looking closely at his gorgeous eyes.

"You know I have a girlfriend."

I nodded again.

"Why are you watching me?"

"You're very handsome."

We looked at each other. He stared hard into my eyes, but I didn't flinch. His eyes normally would have drilled a hole through my head, but I had to keep looking at him, now that he was so close. I enjoyed staring into his eyes. They were hazel, like mine, and loaded with expression. His face was boyish, but not "pretty-boy". Masculine and so easy to look at.

"At least you're honest. I gotta respect a man who looks me in the eye and doesn't look away. Can I come in?"

"Yeah. Want a beer?"

"Soft drink if you got it"

He went into the living room while I went to the refrigerator to grab two cans of Coke. He sat on the sofa. I sat in a rocking chair across the room. We talked small talk for a few minutes about work. He's an engineer and I'm a software developer. I'm from New Hampshire originally. He's native to Pennsylvania. I grew up on a dairy farm and he grew up in a middle-class family that owned a construction business. He made me horny. I don't know exactly what I did to him.

"Are you queer?" he asked suddenly.

"No, I'm gay."

"There's a difference?"

"Queer is derogatory. Queer means strange. There is very little about me that is overly strange."

"You like guys. Isn't that queer?"

"I like guys. No, there isn't anything queer about a guy liking a guy. What am I supposed to do, hate you because you're a guy?"

"But it goes beyond liking me. It's about wanting to have sex."

"Yeah, but there's still nothing queer about wanting sex. Don't guys like sex?"

"Okay, okay, I get your point. So you're homosexual."

"Gay."

"Gay."

"Yup."

"I've never had sex with another guy. I've never even thought about it. But then I see you watching me. How long have you watched me without me realizing it?"

"I don't know; how long have you seen me watching you?"

"A couple weeks."

"I guess I've been watching you since the day I knocked on your door and told your girlfriend that you'd left the lights on in your truck."

"That was you?"

"Yeah. I came home after you. It was a rainy day."

"I would have had a dead battery by morning. Thanks, I owe you one."

"No sweat".

He continued to look at me, carefully. "How old are you?"

"41, 42 in March."

"You don't look it. I thought about 35 or 36. You're in good shape. You work out?"

"Yeah. I've got a Soloflex and a Nordic Track. I work out two hours every day.

"Can I see `em? I used a Soloflex at a buddy's house once."

"Sure. In the bedroom."

He gave the Soloflex a try. "How much do you weigh?"

"182. I'm eight pounds below my high school weight."

"About the same as me. I'm 33, in case you were wondering. I'm 187 last I weighed in."

"Not a bad guess on the age. I figured 32."

"Your body and face hide your age well. You look great for 41."

"Thanks. Nice to know my workouts aren't for nothing."

I walked us back to the living room. My stereo was on, playing a local radio station. He looked at my movie collection, and at a small pile of books that I had collected. He looked over my CD collection, and at the artwork on the walls.

"You like the sea?"

"Yeah. I grew up in NH, but I worked in Boston and Connecticut after college, and lived on the coast. The sea is magic."

"Your taste in music and artwork is a lot like mine. I have seven of the same movies you do, too. No wonder you watch me. We're a lot the same."

"Can you stay awhile longer?"

"Sorry, my girlfriend will be home in a little while. I need to get some stuff on the grill for dinner. She's got a business trip coming up on Monday. Maybe we can get together then. I'd like to have you down if you'd like."

"Yeah, I'd like that just fine. My name is Chris."

"No shit. Mine too."

"You know, you scare me. We don't look all that much different, we have a lot of the same tastes, and you don't seem to really care that I've been watching you."

"Yeah, scary huh? By the way, I've been watching you, too. Did you know that?"

"Nope. You're better at it than I am, I guess. How long?"

"Only a few days, just out of curiosity. Something about you though, but I can't explain it."

I walked him to the door. "We've got time to explore. See you on Monday."

 

Monday couldn't come fast enough. Chris wasn't home yet. I decided to take a shower. Then I changed into khakis and a polo shirt. Mr. Preppy. By the time I was done, I smelled the grill on the patio below. I went out onto my balcony.

"That you Chris?" said my neighbor.

"Yeah. You okay for company?"

"Come on down. Dinner will be ready in a bit."

I brought a six pack of softdrink. His door was opening just as I arrived.

"Chicken okay by you?"

"Yeah, perfect. Can I help with anything?"

"Nah. All set. Come on out while I turn it over."

We talked outside, continued our conversation inside at the dining room table, and then on the sofa. I sat down on the end; he chose the middle. The stereo played the same station I listened to. He was wearing only jeans. His body looked nice. He had the beginnings of a tan. His stomach was firm and smooth. I hadn't seen him shirtless in a while.

He slid his hand onto my leg and asked if he could touch me. I took his hand and smiled.

"You don't have to, you know."

"I know. I'm curious. I can stop if you want me to."

"Don't stop.."

I lay down on the floor. Chris straddled my hips, holding my hand, touching my body under my shirt. He took it off and then lay on top of me. We looked each other in the eyes for long minutes.

He kissed me. I put my arms around him and held him. This was obviously new to him, but he liked kissing. It was a few minutes before he parted my lips with his tongue.

"I look at you close up, and take my time, and I find that you are quite handsome," he said to me. "I didn't think I'd take so easily to you, in this way. I told myself I'd stay distant because I am not gay."

"I want a friend. I want to show you what it's about beyond what you already know. If you just want to hold me and kiss, that's fine. If you want more, I'm willing to show you."

"So far it feels nice. Natural."

He kissed me some more, pushing his hardness into my crotch. I unclasped his jeans and slid his zipper down. No underwear, but a very stiff cock, about eight inches, and just thick enough.

He mimicked my moves, unzipping my slacks and wrapping his fist around my 7-1/2". He pulled the foreskin back and forth, looking at my cock, feeling its heat, smelling my sex. He pulled my shoes and slacks off. I lay naked in Chris' arms.

I rolled him onto his back. We kissed some more and I worked my lips from his, down his Adam's apple, to his neck, to his left ear, probing and licking. He smiled. I gently sucked his lobe, then licked to the area behind his ear. He shivered.

"You like that? Is this what you thought it could be like?"

"No. This is better than I thought."

Once again he mimicked me, and then became creative on his own. I wanted to show him more, so we explored. I continued my journey down Chris' body with my tongue. I licked his nipples, his chest, down to his navel. I licked his firm stomach, to his hip, tasting his skin. I removed his jeans then raised his legs as I put my tongue up against his asshole, licking and rimming eagerly. The shiver was tremendous this time.

It took little time to get him moaning, his cock harder than he knew it could be. I wrapped my fist around his cock, jerking it four or five times. He exploded in a load of creamy white, shooting again and again across his stomach and chest. I lay on top of him, smearing his cream onto my hot skin. I immediately shot an equal amount of cream while I rubbed my cock against his cum-lubed body.

I then spread his legs, wrapped them around my waist, and sat back, watching him recover from an intense orgasm.

 

"I can't believe what you made me do. My first time with a woman wasn't that good; not half that good. And I want more, if you're willing to teach me."

We kissed as I pulled him up off the floor.

"I'm willing. Lay back. I want you to feel what a man can do to your cock."

I licked Chris' cock head, down the shaft, around his balls, taking each into my mouth, then up his shaft again, opening my mouth and taking his cock full in my mouth. He tasted so damn good. I could have sucked him all day. I managed to suck his cock for almost twenty minutes, savoring it, listening to his breathing get harder.

"Man, I'm gonna sh. . ."

I slid off Chris' cock and jacked it hard twice. He shot before he finished saying it. The creamy spunk seemed like it would never end. I picked up his juice with my fingers and rubbed it into my hairless chest. After a few minutes, I lay a limp cock down on his belly, ample even now as he lost his erection.

He smiled, his breathing returning to normal. We went to his bed. I lay on top of him and we kissed for several minutes until we both dozed off.

I woke an hour later. Chris' arm was holding me close, my cheek against his. I kissed his cheek lightly and then his lips, very gently, slid quietly from his grasp, and got dressed. I stood for long moments looking at his naked body, with the taste of his cock lingering in my mouth. I smiled, leaned down to kiss him softly again full on his lips. He woke long enough to smile and to say good night as I folded the covers over him.

 

On Wednesday, Chris' truck was in the parking lot when I got home. I had pizza with me, as promised. We had decided to have dinner and watch the All-star game at my place this time. We sat together on the floor with pizza between us.

"Do you watch them play? Or do you look at their asses?"

"Yes. "

He stood up, bent over, and put his hand on his own ass. "So whose is better, the pitcher's or mine?"

"I don't know, lemme see," I said as I pulled his jeans down and then buried my face in his ass. I licked and sucked at his hole for ten minutes. I pulled his jeans back up, sat down on the floor again, and said "Yours."

"I thought so," he said with a smug smile, even though I'd left him with a hard-on.

"Okay, so whose basket is better, the batter's or mine?"

"I dunno, lemme see," he said as he undid my jeans and pulled them to below my balls. He licked my balls and shaft, and then took my hardening cock in his mouth. He sucked on my dick, doing what came naturally. I moaned as I stood above him, letting him eat my cock. I suddenly realized that this was his first taste of a man.

After about ten minutes, I started to buck and he knew I was going to cum. He jacked my dick a couple of times and I shot all over Chris' face. When I was spent, I knelt down and licked my load off his forehead, cheeks, nose, and lips. He pulled my jeans back up, sat back down again, and said "Yours."

We finished the pizza, sat back against the sofa, held each other, and ignored the rest of the game.

"I take it that you like kissing very much," I said, smiling at him.

"I like kissing very much. Actually, I like kissing you very much."

"So you like all this. I like you a lot, but I didn't mean all this to happen, in case . . ."

"Don't worry, man. I like you a lot, too. You've shown me something new that I happen to like. I hope you'll show me more."

"Actually, I want to show you something new right now." I undressed him, slowly, kissing him all the while. He was hard when I took off his jeans.

I licked lightly at the tip of his dick and down his shaft. From a drawer, I pulled out some lubricant. Now naked, I lay on the floor and got Chris to kneel between my legs. I rubbed the lube into his cock then put some of it on my puckered hole. It took only a moment to slip a condom over his dick.

"Go for it, man. I want to feel you inside me."

"I've never done this. I don't want to hurt you."

"Trust me, man, this is going to feel so good, for both of us. Do what comes naturally. We'll both love it."

So he put the tip of his cock against my asshole, slid into me slowly, and then started the beautiful fucking rhythm that I knew he could do. There was no pain, only intense pleasure as Chris' eight inches pushed to the hilt, slid most of the way out, and entered me again. He fucked me with pleasure and with passion. We kissed as he took his time, stopping when he was too close, slowly and expertly probing my ass. When he was past the point of no return, he pushed into my ass to the hilt and exploded, his body shaking in an incredibly intense orgasm, kissing me and moaning and holding me through it all, making sure I felt as good as he did. My cream smearing both of our stomachs showed that I did.

"Wow," he said, lying down on top of me, letting his dick slip out of my ass. "I want to feel what you felt. I want you inside me so I know what it was like. Will you fuck me, too?"

"No."

"What?! Geez, why . . .?"

"Relax, dude, relax. I'm teasing. What do you think, I'm insane or something?"

I kissed him and held him, wanting to be inside him as badly as he wanted me there.

"Yeah. I'll fuck you too."

He rubbed lube into my cock. I probed him with a finger first, very slowly and carefully, since Chris' hole was virgin territory. I couldn't wait to be inside him. I put his legs over my shoulders, pushed just the head of my cock into his ass, and entered him slowly as he nodded his head, telling me it was okay.

He was wet, hot and tight. God, I was getting his cherry! The gay guy from upstairs, doing this man his first time ever! It's been a long time since I fucked a guy who had never had dick in his ass. He smiled broadly. I left the full length of my cock in his ass and waited, letting him get used to it. I watched his beautiful face.

 

"No one ever made sure that I was feeling as good as they were. Please, I want you deep inside me."

I re-entered him, over and over again, slowly and carefully. I kissed his lips and his eyes. He held me as I fucked him. As I made slow, sweet love to him. He was loving me loving him.

After awhile, I pulled out, lay behind him, and re-entered him. I held him tight against me while I probed his ass deeply. I slid my hand around his dick and stroked its hardness. He turned his head and I licked his ear, and kissed his sweet lips.

I brought him to his knees and slid in and out of his ass, holding his hips firmly as I withdrew and then plunged deep. He pushed against my cock, and my balls slapped against his ass.

I put him on his back, pumped into him, and kissed him passionately. He held me tight as I held him tight. Then I started breathing heavily.

"I'm cumming man. Oh I cumming."

"I'm cumming too. And I'm not even touching my dick."

When my cock softened, I let it slip out of his hole. I moved down and gave his hole a tongue-bath, licking the still pulsing ring. Then we went to my room and lay together in each other's arms.

"You're amazing," he said to me as he moved his fingers across my lips.

"Why?"

"Why not?" We held each other and kissed until we fell asleep.

 

I knew that I was second fiddle to his girlfriend, but I didn't care. I didn't love him (well, you know . . .) and he didn't love me. But our friendship was strong and he included me in his life when he could. Chris' attitude was easy-going and carefree. Neither one of us were into dominating the other's time. I still watched him leave in the morning or come home in the early evening. I watched him, and occasionally sat beside him to talk, when he changed his oil. I missed him a little when we weren't together and fully appreciated when we were.

He came home for lunch most every day, and some days I timed it so I'd arrive when he did, just to watch him come or go. We didn't do lunchtime sex because we didn't rush sex when we were together. But I sure as hell loved to watch him and he knew it. He was as caring about my pleasure as I was his.

Once or twice a week we'd spend a couple hours together, jacking off, sucking, fucking, and kissing. The man loved kissing a man. Or did he just love kissing me? Who cares?

He'd tell me a couple days ahead when he knew his girlfriend would be out of town. We slept in each other's arms on those nights, either at his place or mine.

The man, like most young men, was perpetually horny and hard, so I let him fuck me as much as he wanted. I should have invested in Trojans stock. He was equal in getting a fuck as he was in giving one. I could make him shudder and cum without him touching his own dick. And he loved it slow and easy.

One night he said he wanted to ask me a serious question . . .

 

Part II

One evening we were sitting on his patio, eating some ribs. It was secluded, so I dropped my cock out of the leg of my shorts. He did the same and we jacked each other off. I tugged at his hard meat in rhythm to him tugging at mine, spitting in my hand and rubbing it into his hardness. He twisted his hand around my dick, played with my head, stroked my shaft, and brought me off in to torrent of white cum. He came seconds after me.

After we'd cum and cleaned up (I'd taught him how to enjoy eating his own), he asked me, rather seriously, if he could ask me a question.

"I have a good friend who I've known for years. He and his wife broke up a couple months ago. He told me he's gay, has been for as long as he can remember. We talked on the phone last night for almost two hours. He doesn't honestly know why he came out to me, but he did and he feels better about it. He thought I was homophobic, but decided that our friendship could stand the risk. And I told him I wasn't homophobic."

"Were you before me?"

"Not really phobic, just cautious. I've been hit on a couple times and not by anyone I wanted to be hit on by. You already know how I felt about you when we finally met."

"You're welcome," I said a grin.

"Seriously, I don't know how to ask you this, so I'll just ask. Would you be interested in a three-some with Patrick and me?"

"I don't know. I've never done a three-some. I . . . I think so."

"Let me tell you about him." And so he did.

Their friendship extended across 24 years. They had grown up together, went to the same schools, double-dated, skied, and hung out. Patrick had chosen Chris as his best man. There was very little that they had not done together. Sex was undiscovered territory, other than jacking off together as teenagers.

"It'll be about three weeks before we can get together, and you can change your mind any time, of course. I've told him about you and he thinks it's cool that you helped me try something new. This was my idea, by the way, not his. He's not sure either, but he thinks it sounds like we'd like it."

 

What a long three weeks. Friday night came and Patrick arrived. Chris had called me at work in the late afternoon to see if I was okay about meeting up for dinner. My cock was hard when I got home. We'd arranged to meet at 6:00, so I showered and changed out of my Friday dress-down-day jeans into khaki's and a button-down shirt.

The doorbell rang at 6:00. Chris and Patrick . . . holy shit! A three-some with this man? Oh DON'T pinch me because I'm terrified to wake up. Chris kissed me as he usually did when we were alone. Patrick shook my hand, probably able to read every thought in my head.

He was 6' tall, blond, blue eyed, killer smile, trim, and handsome. Handsome was an understatement. Opposites attract? Chris and Patrick could have been brothers. He gave me a light kiss on my lips. Masculine. Like Chris -- neither one a pretty boy; but both handsome and manly.

We had a light dinner and then went into the living room to get comfortable. Patrick, like Chris, was natural and easy-going. He was smooth without being slick. And he had a brain, too. He was an architect. We started off with a three-way kiss, each poking his tongue into two mouths, sucking and licking. We weren't in a rush. We were hot, but weren't in a rush. Strong arms held tight bodies while strong hands rubbed at firm crotches and asses.

We sat on the floor, Chris sitting behind me with his legs extended outward, beside mine. Patrick sat with his ass close to my crotch, overlapping our legs. Chris took Patrick's shirt off, then mine, then his own. We continued kissing, while Chris ran his hands into my slacks. I could feel the bulge in his jeans from the back and Patrick's from the front.

This was already better than I had expected. None of us were uncomfortable with each other. Chris was the "middle man" to make sure we were all okay. His friend obviously loved him very much.

"Lay back against Chris. I want to see what's in your pants. It feels too good to keep it hidden any longer."

Chris kissed me on the neck and licked my ear as I let Patrick remove my slacks. When he freed my cock, he held it in his hand for a few minutes, stroking it, and then leaned forward to suck it.

This man knew how to suck some dick. It took only a few moments before I was squirming. Chris giggled as he held me, wondering what I was feeling but knowing it had to be so good. I took Patrick's head in my hands and gently encouraged him up and down my shaft.

To be held by a man I liked very much while being sucked skillfully by his best buddy. I shivered as these two men did magic with my body and my soul.

"I'm gonna cum . . .," I said as I felt my sexual need spill over. Both my arms reached up and behind me to Chris and I sucked in my breath. I moaned and squirmed as Patrick took my cock in his hand and jerked me a few times. He and Chris watched as I shot again and again onto my stomach and chest. I don't think there was any cum left in my balls when he was done with me.

I used my fingers to pick up my cum and put all of its many drops into my mouth. Then I turned and Chris kissed me, tasting the leftover remnants on my breath. Patrick lay against me and kissed me deeply, smiling, enjoying the companionship of two friends. I was dizzy with what they had done to me.

Chris and I took Patrick and lay him on his back on the sofa. We got on our knees beside him and started to suck his 8" dick together, sharing the head and the shaft down to his low-hanging balls. He held both our heads in his strong hands as we sucked and licked, eager to please him. I lubed my finger with spit and diddled with Patrick's asshole. He raised himself off the sofa enough to give me easier access to his hot, hungry hole.

I reached for lube, rubbed it into Patrick's cock, and then gave Chris the rubber. He rolled it onto Patrick's hardness, lubed his own asshole, and then sat on Patrick's cock, impaling himself on eight splendid inches of his friend's manhood. After a few minutes, Patrick held onto Chris tightly, laid him on his back on the sofa, and drilled deeply into his asshole. He knew that Chris would enjoy a deep but slow fuck, so that's what he did. I sat on Chris' face as he got fucked. His eager tongue licked my asshole like he'd been doing this all his life. Patrick bent forward to suck my cock again, the three of us joined by flesh and desire.

I reached down and jacked Chris' cock. He moaned and writhed in my fist as he shot a creamy load onto his belly. I creamed onto his chest. He ate his own load while I bent down and licked mine off his smooth chest. When we were done, Patrick pulled out and spilled his load onto Chris' moist belly, then leaned forward to eat his own hot juice. I was amazed that I'd found more cream deep in my loins.

The night was warm so we went outside on the balcony, watching the stars and enjoying the peace and quiet. We sat close to each other, me in the middle, so we could play with each other's cocks and kiss each other.

Patrick had yet to taste Chris' cock, so he knelt before him and gave him a blowjob. Actually, it wasn't just a blowjob; it was a cock sucking session filled with passion and love for his long-time friend. It lasted for twenty minutes, and Chris was twitching like a teenager before he blew. When Chris was about to cum, I grabbed his dick in my fist and helped him unload. Patrick licked Chris' balls to bring on incredible heat. Then I rubbed Chris' load into his stomach as Patrick and I kissed him.

We sat outside, drained of our loads, not being able to cum again; for now. The music was nice and the full moon shone through the stand of trees at the edge of our property. Past midnight we settled into my bed, holding each other, with Patrick in the middle this time. We slept soundly as we wrapped our warm arms around manly chests.

Patrick woke first, kissed Chris, and then kissed me. He wanted his friend to fuck him. "You always wake up horny like this?"

"Yeah, doesn't everyone?"

I got the lube. When I got back, Patrick was on his knees and Chris was behind him, eating out his asshole. He entered his friend's ass with one motion and fucked him the same way he'd fucked me our first time together. I got in a 69 underneath Patrick and we sucked each other until the three of us were beyond turning back. I jacked Patrick's cum onto my face. He jacked me onto my stomach. Chris came inside the rubber up his buddy's ass, then pulled out, fully spent.

We showered together for about fifteen minutes, kissing like we'd never done it before. Every time we kissed, the heat brought our souls together, letting us melt together in friendship and sex.

We dressed, went out for a late breakfast, strolled along the river downtown, at a late lunch, walked around the city, and came home for dinner. Patrick wanted to sit back and watch his buddy fuck me. I lay on my back on the sofa, watched Chris get ready for me, and then felt his hardness enter my ass in one push. The fucking was hot because we were being watched for across the room. It's like we were trying to secretly have sex, but were being spied on. I came first and then Chris added his juice to mine. He rubbed the liquid heat into my chest and then laid on top of me to kiss me. We could hear Patrick moaning and turned in time to see him spill his load onto his own chest. He ate it with relish, having learned from us last night about enjoying cum.

On Saturday night I fell asleep with Patrick's cock in my mouth as he and Chris held each other, continuing the marathon session of kissing we had started the night before.

On Sunday morning, Chris wanted to see me fuck his friend. It was barely past 7:00 a.m. I'd never fucked a guy this early in the morning. However, I had no trouble getting fully hard and enjoying the heat of my cock deep inside Patrick's eager asshole. Chris licked at our balls as I fucked his buddy, then gave Patrick's dick undivided attention until he was about to shoot. I pulled out and came at the same second as Patrick, spraying my cum all the way up his chest as his mingled with mine. Chris shot onto my back as I lay on top of Patrick, then licked every drop of his juice from my skin.

Again we joined in the shower, cleaning each other from top to bottom. A late lunch was in order since we'd basically fucked the morning away. I have no idea where the time went, but I could tell you where I was and with who every time I'd lost my load this weekend.

By 4:00, Patrick was set to drive home. Chris returned to his place. I heard him and his girlfriend talking down on their patio an hour later. I was sitting on my balcony, enjoying the moonlight and stars, the warmth of being sexually relieved (and then some), and thinking about our next time together.

When I heard the slider downstairs, I figured that Chris was gone inside. I sat, singing quietly to myself.

"Hey, Chris!" said the neighbor downstairs.

"Yeah?" I said as I leaned over the wall on my balcony.

"I love you, friend. Thanks for a great weekend. Patrick will be back next month, okay?"

"Okay bud. I love you too. Give my best to him when you talk to him."

I slept alone Sunday night, the first time in two nights. I wasn't lonely at all. I had two buddies to think about as I slipped into a deep trouble-free sleep.