"That was fun," Cody said as we climbed out of the Jeep.
"Help me get the top up and the sides on," I said.
"Not going to just leave it off for a while?" Luke asked.
"Not going to sit on a wet seat or deal with clean-up. Just not the right time of the year," I explained. "I'm just glad the weather was good enough in mid-October to do this."
The three of us took the time to put all the panels on and get it sealed back up.
"Have you thought about Halloween?" Luke asked.
"It's on a Tuesday," I said.
"Yeah, but we could decorate," Cody said.
"I'm game, but I don't have much stuff, and you'd have to figure out where you want to store it." I replied.
"You mean we can?" Cody said.
"Of course it is," I started to respond.
"Our house too," Luke said.
I put my coat in the closet and then moved towards the kitchen. I asked, "What do you want to do?"
"Lights, a bit of décor, not really sure," Cody said.
"Go online, get ideas, check stores for things you want. We can get it this weekend and put stuff up if the weather is nice."
"Is the gang doing something for Halloween?" Luke asked.
"I haven't heard anything, but we could get something started," I replied. I grabbed myself a diet Coke and silently offered the guys drinks.
"That would be cool," Cody added. "Sprite, please."
"We could go watch the High Heel Drag Race," I said.
"Coke, please. The what?" Luke asked.
"High Heel Drag Race, it's the Tuesday before Halloween. It's the week before this year," I explained.
"But what is it?"
"Anyone in high heels runs up 17th Street. It's been going on for decades. It's a see and be seen kind of event," I said.
I noticed Luke grab his phone and assumed he was searching for the event. He showed his screen to Cody, and then Cody said, "I'm game."
Luke nodded his head.
"Ready for dinner?"
Cody looked deep in thought.
In the meantime, Luke said, "Yeah, I am getting hungry."
"I can pull out leftovers, I can order pizza, or I have the ingredients for meatballs, and we could do pasta and meatballs or meatball subs."
"Leftovers work," Cody said. "The fridge is getting full."
As we filled our plates, I asked, "TV trays or the table?"
"Trays," Luke said.
While they got the food heated, I set up the trays in the den. Once we sat down, Cody still had his phone out, which was unusual while we ate.
"Whatcha looking for?" Luke asked.
He turned his phone to show a picture of a house decorated for Halloween.
I let out a chuckle. It was clear that decorating for Halloween was important to Cody. I'd have to figure out how to make this happen.
-----
I was sipping coffee Saturday morning when Cody, mug in hand, came into the den and snuggled up with me.
"Morning," he said.
"Morning. How'd you sleep?"
"Meh, I've had better nights."
"Did you figure out what you want to do for decorating the house?"
"Yeah, but it's going to be expensive and a lot of work."
"We can do it in stages. Figure out what we do this year and then keep adding to it each subsequent year."
He showed me a few pics on his phone.
"So, lots of lights, skeletons, and other things," I said. "All doable; we just need to figure out how much."
"I don't have a lot," he said.
"I know, but we have family money, and we can set aside a bit for this. We'll expand it each year if we like."
He leaned forward and gave me a peck on the cheek.
"Have you thought about using the landscape lighting?"
"Huh?"
"Let me have your phone a second."
He gave me his phone, and I did a few searches and explained, "We could use lighting gels to change the color of the lights that bathe the front of the house." I handed his phone back and, with the page up, explained, "You get sheets of these gels, and the entire house will glow orange."
"Cool, then the purple lights for the trees."
"Essentially, this year is a light show, unless we find something that's a great deal."
"Thanks!"
"Have you checked Craigslist, Freecycle, etcetera?"
"Good idea!"
"What's a good idea?" Luke asked as he joined us.
"I gave Cody some ideas for doing the lighting and suggested sites where he might find Halloween décor inexpensively. Oh, and we can check some of the thrift shops around here."
"That's smart too," Cody agreed.
Cody explained his overall vision to Luke and me. The three of us discussed what we could do for this year and what we would do over the coming years.
"It'll evolve into a masterpiece," Luke said.
I heard a stomach growl.
"We have options," I explained. "Let me up so I can make something."
"Or?" Luke asked.
"One of you could make something. Or we can get cleaned up and go get something out."
"Waffles!" Luke moaned.
"Chicken and waffles," Cody added.
"That leaves the diner or IHOP. Or one of you is cooking. I'm not up for making fried chicken this morning."
"Either works," Luke said.
"Up and at'em," I said as I tried to start standing. With Cody and Luke both snuggled up, it was a difficult task.
We got cleaned up and headed over to the diner. Once we'd ordered, Cody pulled out his phone.
"What's got you so intrigued?" I asked.
"I'm looking for the gel sheets," he explained. A few minutes later, he added, "What do you think of these?"
I took his phone, read the listing, and said, "They sound reasonable. And at that price, if we don't like them, no harm, no foul."
"Cool." He touched his phone, so I assumed he ordered them.
-----
I woke, turned a bit, and looking over Luke, could see that the clock showed three seventeen. I rolled over, trying to find the next comfy spot, and I realized Cody wasn't in bed. After several minutes, I realized he wasn't coming back. I got out of bed and headed towards the den.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
He was watching TV and hadn't noticed me entering the room. His head whipped to face me, and he said, "You startled me. Eh, I couldn't sleep, was tossing and turning, and didn't want to disturb you."
"Anything wrong?"
"No. I just couldn't sleep."
"Okay, come back to bed when you're ready."
I got back to sleep fairly quickly. I woke at my normal time and was surprised to find Cody had not returned to bed. After taking care of the necessities, I walked to the den to find him awake and watching a movie. I asked, "Did you get any sleep?"
"Not really."
"I'm assuming you're caught up on homework."
"Yeah."
"Why don't you go curl up with Luke and try to get some sleep?"
He nodded, stood, kissed me, and then moved to pass me, heading for the bedroom.
Three hours later, Luke walked into the den. "Cody's still asleep." His tone sounded puzzled.
"He didn't sleep well last night. In fact, he was up most of the night. I sent him back to bed around six."
"Oh. Not good. Glad he's getting some sleep."
"How'd you sleep?"
"Good. Really good. What's on the agenda today?"
"Chores, homework, cuddling, maybe a good workout."
"I like those last two."
"Come over here and let the cuddling begin."
He sat down next to me and snuggled up beside me. I wrapped my arms around him, peaceful.
It was about an hour later when I heard Cody in the kitchen. He appeared a few minutes later, amug of coffee in hand. "Now that's a Kodak moment."
"Join us," Luke offered.
I patted a spot next to me. Cody sat down and snuggled up.
"Rested?" I asked.
"Eh. I just didn't sleep well last night. I've had a couple rough nights of late."
"Everything okay?" Luke asked.
"Yeah. Just not sleeping."
I gave Luke a squeeze, and he dropped it.
"Breakfast?" I asked.
"Yeah, I'm getting hungry," Luke admitted.
"Let's go get something," Cody said.
"Shower time!" I announced.
"I'm really hungry," Luke said.
"Three showers, no waiting," I explained.
We each headed off to get cleaned up. Less than twenty minutes later, we were in the Jeep, leaving the neighborhood.
"Where to?" I asked.
"How about that crepe place on Lee Highway?" Luke suggested.
"Works."
We had a leisurely day. We'd gotten a couple loads of laundry done and run a few errands, but all in all we focused on relaxing and, most importantly, letting Cody recharge.
As happened on those nights where the path to sleep didn't go through sex, Luke stayed in the den watching TV when Cody and I decided it was time for sleep. I snuggled up to Cody knowing Luke would be spooned behind me later. The guys seemed to prefer me being in the middle, and to be honest, I really enjoyed it.
I woke to the realization that I was the only one in bed. The clock read one. I got up, took care of my needs, and headed to the den. I found Cody up watching TV with Luke asleep, his head on a pillow up against Cody.
"What's up?" I asked quietly.
"Couldn't sleep."
I gave him a single raised eyebrow.
"How about waking him up and you two coming to bed?"
He nodded jostled Luke a bit. Luke woke with a start and looked at Cody.
"Let's go to bed," I said.
The two of them followed me. I had Cody get into the middle, spooned behind Luke, with me spooned behind him.
I woke the next morning with Cody in my arms. I lifted my head a bit to find Luke snuggled up next to him. I carefully disengaged and climbed out of bed. I took care of things and headed for the kitchen.
I was sipping my first cup of coffee when Cody walked into the den.
"You abandoned me," he said with a faux-whiney voice.
"I wanted you to get more sleep."
"Thanks."
Mug in hand, he snuggled up to me on the sectional.
"What's got you so wound up?" I asked.
"I don't know. It will be a topic of conversation in counseling tomorrow."
I gave him a little hug and nodded.
"You feel more rested this morning?"
"Yeah, thanks for getting us to come to bed."
"Well, I felt abandoned when I woke up."
That garnered a chuckle. We sat there quietly for a few minutes.
"You don't watch TV in the morning," he stated.
"Before us, I used to listen to music," I explained.
"But with Luke sleeping in..."
"I don't start the music until he's up. I could keep it quiet here; close the bedroom door."
"But why no TV? My folks watched it every morning."
"Living relentlessly positive, I decided that not starting my day with all the crap that has gone wrong in the world was a good thing."
"So, how do you get your news?"
"I tend to read the news at lunch time. I check Reuters, BBC, AP News, C-SPAN, and a few others. Again, I avoid the curated or worse, popular news that you get off social media."
"I know you're not on Facebook."
"Nope, no family, no tie to friends back home, no one really to friend. I have a Twitter account but haven't used it in a long time. I have a LinkedIn account, but again, I don't use it much. Most of my social is through in-person interaction or text messages."
"I'm on Instagram, but I don't follow many," he admitted. "I have a Facebook page, but I haven't been on it since..."
"Understood."
"The kids at school all use WhatsApp to communicate."
"Cool."
"The site I use the most is Tumblr."
"Lots of porn, huh?"
"Well, I used to use it for that. But there are other things on it."
"Just teasing you."
"While we were talking about things, how'd you get your music library? I was talking to Casey, and he was talking about how big Justin's library is."
"You know my mom was a musician, and she developed in me a love of music. I built a big library of CDs and inherited my mom's huge library of CDs. Not long after the iPod came out, I started ripping all my CDs for a digital music library. I've got somewhere north of ten thousand songs now, including all my purchases."
"I knew it was huge..."
"Dude, it's been up your ass; you know exactly how big it is!" Luke said it with a laugh.
"I wasn't talking about his dick!"
"Yeah, yeah, sure, sure!"
"Good morning," I said to interrupt the teasing.
"Morning," Luke responded. "So, what's so huge other than Coulter's dick?"
"My music library evidently."
"I don't know if it's bigger than your dick," Luke said with a chuckle.
"This conversation is in the gutter," I said.
"We could talk about breakfast," Luke said.
"What are you making?" Cody asked.
"Reservations!" Luke responded.
"I'll make breakfast," I said. "How about waffles and bacon?"
"Yum!" Luke said.
"You get two yums," Cody said. "How can I help?"
"Let's get things moving. How'bout you get the bacon started? I'll get the batter started," I offered.
"I'll get the waffle iron prepped," Luke said.
With that, we got our day going.
-----
"Barb, that change is more complex than you make it sound," I stated.
"My customer is very intent on having that change soon," she replied.
I gave Lucinda a look before continuing, "Is this the same customer that seems to want each of these customizations?"
"What?"
"I'm concerned that a single customer is driving our development program through its customization requests. You have brought several urgent requests for a customer that will tie up resources for a niche customization that side-tracks our primary development path."
"I did no such thing."
Greta was madly typing on her laptop. She leaned forward and said, "This is the fifth high-priority customization for one company in the last eighteen months."
I just smiled and kept my mouth closed.
Lucinda raised her hand, stopping everyone. "I need information here. First, Barb, I need to understand this customer better: what are their goals, why are they pushing for so much customization in a cloud-based product, and are they willing to pay for it? Managers, provide a SWAG of how much time this latest request will take and how much it will delay our core development."
The look on Barb's face told me she wasn't happy.
Lucinda continued, "If there is nothing else, I'd like to adjourn this meeting."
Folks started getting up from the table.
"Managers, if you would stay for a moment," Lucinda said.
I looked at my watch. I started mentally adjusting my commute schedule. Fortunately, I had nothing urgent at home.
After the door closed, Lucinda spoke, "Thank you both for this. I've said time and time again that our goal is to grow and enhance the core product while offering basic customizations to our customers."
"These really aren't basic," Greta said.
"I'll have the estimate for you tomorrow," Ravi said.
"Ditto," I stated. "I am concerned that Barb keeps bringing these requests as in-scope customizations from the same company."
Lucinda gave me a funny look.
"Aren't customizations supposed to be an upsell?" Greta asked.
"Yes," Lucinda replied. "Unless they are small, these should be considered out-of-scope customizations. Now, I need to see what she's committed us to."
"Hopefully not too much," Ravi said.
"I won't keep you any later. Thanks," Lucinda said.
I got back to my desk and packed my things. I missed my normal train but easily made the next. I sent a text to my guys, letting them know I was running late.
When I walked into the house, I could smell progress on dinner. I put my messenger bag down at the door and carried my little insulated bag into the kitchen. I found the guys working on dinner.
"Thanks!"
"For what?" Luke asked.
"Getting dinner moving. I greatly appreciate it."
"Welcome," Cody said. "It's a basic dinner, but we figured you were running a bit late, so we could help."
"Can I do anything to help?"
"Set the table. Get drinks," Luke suggested.
"On it!"
The guys got food plated, and we got seated.
"What held you up?" Luke asked.
"One of my colleagues keeps bringing these large customization projects to the scheduling meetings. We keep having to push back on scope and how fast they can get done," I explained.
"Does she understand how big the projects really are?" Luke asked.
"Good question. She's in sales but supposedly understands development levels. Maybe that understanding is skewed. It's a good point to bring up to Lucinda."
Luke gave me a huge smile.
I continued, "Lucinda asked the management team to stay after to discuss. We have to create a SWAG of how big this request really is."
"SWAG?" Cody asked.
"Some wild-assed guess," I explained.
Both guys chuckled.
"You'll learn a lot of acronyms in IT," I said.
"Yeah, like the ones I learned from dad and the DoD," Luke said. "FUBAR, SNAFU, etcetera."
"What are those?" Cody asked.
"Fucked up beyond all recognition and situation normal all fucked up," Luke explained.
That got a laugh out of Cody.
"I'm surprised you didn't know them," Luke said.
"I've heard FUBAR, but the translation was not acceptable language," Cody explained.
"Changing the topic, how did your counseling go?" I asked. Cody knew I only wanted the general level and not the personal details.
"Good as always. We talked about a few different things, and she gave me some advice on how to deal with them. As she put it, I need to develop some coping mechanisms when certain types of events arise. We talked about my sleeping issues. She thinks there is something that has me worked up. We talked a lot and couldn't figure it out."
"Coulter's big..." Luke started and paused. "Music library."
Cody and I both laughed at that.
Our dinner conversation continued. I looked at the guys and realized, for the first time in more than a decade, that I felt like I was part of a family.
-----
I followed the crowd of the METRO train, up the escalators, and out into the evening. I'd been standing at the corner for just a few minutes when Luke's car pulled up. I slipped into the backseat, and Luke took off.
"What time is the reservation?" Cody asked as we drove into the city.
"Six-thirty," I said. "My concern is finding parking tonight."
"That's why I'm driving this instead of the Jeep," Luke explained.
Luke followed the GPS instructions to the neighborhood and actually found a convenient parking space pretty quickly. It was a short walk to the restaurant. As we entered, I saw Chris and Stephen sitting over to the side.
"We have reservations under Bochanan. It's a table for eight," I said. "There are five of us here."
"We'll get you seated," the hostess said.
I waved the guys over, gave them a hug, and then the five of us followed the hostess to the table.
"How are things going?" Stephen asked.
I nudged Cody a bit under the table.
"School's good. We're getting the house decorated for Halloween," he explained.
Luke gave me a funny look and then said, "School's busy but not insane. Otherwise, pretty much the same old stuff."
"Works fine," I said. "Helping Cody get the lighting up for Halloween."
"What are you doing?" Chris asked.
"Not too much this year," Cody explained. "We put gels on the landscape uplights, and now the house is bathed in orange. Then we've been wrapping the crepe myrtles out front in purple lights. I found a couple skeletons at a thrift store and am going to hang them from branches."
"Sounds nice," Chris said.
"It's a start. I always wanted to decorate for Halloween, but my folks wouldn't. I never got to dress up or go trick-or-treating."
Stephen let out a slight gasp. "What?"
"It's pagan, not Christian, so forbidden."
I sat there, thinking. I'd never asked him why Halloween was so important; now I know.
"Evening folks," Ben said as he walked up to the table.
"Ben, Austin, good to see you," I said.
"This is our friend Edmond. He's visiting this week," Austin explained.
A series of welcomes rang out to Edmond as they sat down.
"I'm really looking forward to seeing this," Edmond said.
"Yeah, this should be a lot of fun," Cody agreed.
With eight at the table and the background noise of the place, it wasn't easy to talk to everyone. I focused on Stephen to my left and Austin to my right.
"I was surprised you're doing Halloween décor," Stephen said.
"Why surprised?" Austin asked.
"Too remote; lack of customers," Stephen replied.
"After what Cody said earlier, I now understand why it was so important to him. He's leading the efforts."
"What did Cody say?" Austin asked.
"He mentioned that he never got to trick-or-treat," I explained. "They never decorated."
"Sad," Stephen commented.
I looked down the table a bit and saw that Cody was having a rather animated conversation with Edmond. Luke was chatting quietly with Chris and Ben. It made me happy.
It was a bit after eight when we finished dinner. We all walked over to Seventeenth Street and started working our way through the crowd.
"This place is packed," Cody said.
"Look up there," Luke said and pointed.
"Race parties are big for those who have a balcony with a view, I'd imagine."
"Bad Romance," Cody squealed.
I followed his gaze and saw a person in a white latex body suit, white stiletto boots, and the trademark headpiece from the video.
"Look at the cheerleaders," Luke said.
Again, I followed his gaze and saw a group of guys and gals in cheer outfits.
"They aren't racing competitively," I said into Luke's ear.
"Huh?"
"Look at the shoes. They're here to be seen."
"Got it."
The crowd noise was making casual conversation difficult.
"It's the YMCA guys," Cody said loudly.
"Village People," I explained.
"Yeah, them!"
We walked around and saw the sights for about twenty minutes when we saw a group of well-coordinated drag queens. Their outfits were complimentary in the primary colors.
"That looks like the ladies from karaoke," Cody said.
"Agreed," I said.
"Let's stake out a spot for the race," Ben said.
We found a spot where we could see and waited for it to start. At nine, we hear the starter signal, and the true competitors flew past us toward the finish line. Behind them came the statelier folks sauntering down the street. It was over quickly.
"That was a lot of fun," Cody said as we got into the car and Luke pointed us west.
"We can do more downtown if you want. It is just a bit of a drive and takes planning."
Cody gave me a big grin.
-----
I woke on Wednesday morning to find Cody missing once again. This made at least five nights where he hadn't made it through the night.
I started coffee and went to find him. He was, as expected, watching TV.
"We need to figure out what's got you wound up and resolve it so you can sleep."
"I don't have a clue. I just wake up and can't get back to sleep."
"A bit of a topic change; I wanted to ask you about Halloween. You never got to dress up? No decorations?"
"Nope. Forbidden. It was a dad thing. His family was strict about what was and was not allowed when it came to holidays. He applied it the same way, and mom didn't fight him on it. I know my grandma wanted to take me once. Dad threw a fit. She's mom's mom."
"What about school?"
"I wasn't allowed to go in costume. Mom didn't do anything about parties at school. I learned early on not to mention them around dad."
"What about in high school?"
"No costume, nothing."
"Austin, Stephen, and I talked about how you're leading our efforts this year."
"I talked to Edmond about it. He's huge into decorating for all the major holidays, from what he said."
"Well, you get to do it as much as you want now," I said, stopping.
"What?"
"Are you feeling guilty?"
"Huh?"
"You've been forbidden from doing anything Halloween all your life. Now you're decorating your house and getting ready for the night."
"Oh, shit. You could be right. I never thought about it. I was always scared of what my dad would do if I got caught. I'm going to see if Andi can talk this afternoon."
"Smart boy. I need to get ready for work. Am I taking you to campus?"
"Yeah."
"Let's get ready."
With that, our day started.
-----
"I feel like I've caught up on my sleep," Cody said as he sat down next to me.
"I'm glad," I said with a smile.
"What's up for today?"
"I thought we'd run over to Spirit and see what they have. Hit a few of the thrift shops over that way and see what we can find to spice up the outdoor décor."
"I'm fine with taking it slow."
"I know, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to look."
"Thanks!"
"I wonder what Luke needs to get done today?"
"I doubt much. We get our stuff out of the way during the week so we have maximum Coulter time on the weekend."
"Does it bother you that he has the job?"
"It did. But it's only ten hours a week. I looked around campus, but mid-semester, no one is hiring."
"You don't need to work."
"Would be nice for spending money."
"Take it out of the drawer."
"I know, I know."
We sat there and talked quietly about several different things.
"More coffee?" Cody asked.
"Sure. What do you want for breakfast?"
"Biscuits and bacon?"
"Sure."
We walked to the kitchen and started getting breakfast ready.
"I smell bacon," Luke said as he joined up.
"Biscuits and bacon this morning," I explained.
"Works for me!"
"Lots to do this weekend?" I asked.
"Coffee, please," Luke said.
"Ready in a minute," Cody replied.
"No, nothing much. I should read a bit, but I'm caught up on all my classwork," Luke said.
"We're going to the Spirit store and then hit some thrift shops," I explained.
"Cool. Looking for something specific?"
"Not really," I replied. "I thought we'd see what we could find to add to the décor."
"Works."
Cody handed Luke a mug of coffee.
-----
"I'm not a fan of the inflatables," Cody said.
"They are cute," Luke said.
"That's the problem for me; they come off cute and not scary," Cody explained.
"You want the place to look haunted and creepy," I said.
"Yes!"
"How about setting up a graveyard?" Luke asked.
"What do you have in mind?" Cody asked.
"Fencing, tombstones, maybe a few skeleton parts," Luke said. He grabbed a detached hand and leg combo. "You could make it look like a skeleton was coming out of its grave."
"Oh, that's good."
"It could be to the right of the driveway, so everyone walks past it as they come to the door," I said.
"I really like the idea. Hopefully, we'll find what we need," Cody replied.
"Let's get some skeleton parts," Luke said. "I don't like the Styrofoam tombstones."
We walked through the store, making careful selections. With our purchases loaded up, we moved on and hit a few thrift shops.
"How about Home Depot?" I asked.
"Sure," Luke said.
We got there and found the décor area.
"Look at this." Cody said.
"Those are great," Luke replied.
I thought the sheet metal tombstones looked cool.
"Only bad thing is there are only two versions," Cody said.
"Easy enough to fix over time. A little paint and some stencils," I replied.
We put stuff in the cart, checked out, and headed home. As we started adding cobwebs, tombstones, and the like to the yard, it really came together.
Cody came over and hugged me as we stood back and looked at the effect. He said, "Thank you."
"I could tell this meant a lot to you," I replied.
"I didn't realize how much it did."
"Do I get a hug?" Luke asked.
"Join us," I said.
-----
"Love the lights," one of the guys at our door said. It was getting late, and I figured they were one of our last visitors for the night.
After he closed the door, Luke said, "We didn't get a lot of trick-or-treaters."
"Never do," I confirmed. "The community is to spread out so the folks with kids take them elsewhere for bigger hauls."
"There were some cute kids. Plus, those Mason guys," Cody said.
"Yeah, they were fun," Luke agreed.
"Just fun?" I said, nudging Luke in the side.
"Well, sexy, hot, and hunky," he admitted. "Eye candy. Nice eye candy."
Cody and I gave a hearty laugh.
"What to do for the rest of our Halloween?" Cody said.
"Monster sex!" Luke said rather loudly.
"Sex maniac!" I said with a laugh, pointing at Luke.
"Damn right!" he admitted.
He took off, running down the hall. Cody and I took a more leisurely pace to get to the bedroom. We found Luke naked and on all fours.
"I need fucked!" Luke said.
"Face or ass?" I asked, looking at Cody.
"I want that ass!" Cody said.
He started stripping, and I did the same. Naked, Cody moved behind Luke and started eating his ass. I moved around, positioned my face under Luke's, and kissed him. I started sliding under him until I was able to get his cock into my mouth. He, in turn, took my cock in his.
It didn't take long for Cody to have Luke prepped, and I had a great view of Luke's ass getting pounded. I had to back off several times on my efforts so that Luke didn't cum from my attention. Finally, I hear Cody's breathing shift, and then he let out a loud grunt.
Spent, he slipped out of Luke's ass. Luke pulled his mouth off my dick and said, "Your turn."
I rolled out from under Luke and took Cody's place. Cody moved in front of Luke for cock clean-up. After all the sucking Luke had done, it only took a few minutes for me to blow.
-----
"I'm concerned we're overcommitting at the moment," Lucinda said. "I'd like each team to review the scheduled user stories and sprint map and ensure they are comfortable supporting everything."
Greta, Ravi, and I all nodded in agreement and understanding.
"I've made it clear to sales that under no circumstances should a customization be accepted without development review, sizing, and pricing," Lucinda explained. She paused for a few minutes, but none of us spoke. She continued, "I'm going to advertise for a sales manager."
"Not an internal promotion?" Ravi asked.
"No. After reviewing things, I do not think our team has the depth of experience to move into the slot. I need someone who can do what the three of you do. Run things with minimal oversight. I thought I had sales under control, but this has left me concerned."
"We'll make things work," Greta said.
"I don't want to slip core feature upgrades for these stupid customizations," Lucinda said.
You could tell she was more than a little upset.
"Would Wednesday be okay for the review?" I asked.
"Yes, that would be great," she replied. "Anything else we need to discuss?"
Everyone shook their heads, and we adjourned.
I got back to my desk and saw I had a message.
"Coulter, there's water in the basement. It's not bad, but there's a leak or something," Cody's message said.
I grabbed my cell phone and found a missed call and a text message. I dialed the house number.
"Hey," I said.
"Hey, it's not bad, but there's water in the utility room. I went in to do laundry, and the floor was wet," Cody explained.
"From the washer?"
"No, that's the weird thing; it's on the other side of the room."
"Did you feel the walls?"
"Let me go back down there. How's your day going?"
"It's been busy. What are you doing at home?"
"My last class was cancelled. Sick professor. I sent Luke a message and walked home. Okay, yes, the wall feels damp, and there's this spot on the ceiling."
"Okay, we have a water leak. Wonderful."
"What do I do?"
"Turn off the water."
"Huh?"
"Go into the mechanicals room."
"Okay. Give me a moment. Okay."
"If you look over in that one corner where the pressure tank is..."
"The what?"
"You know the tank where we add the salt?"
"The water softener?"
"Well, that's the salt tank; the softener is the device next to it. Then there's the de-acidifier, then there's that short squat blue tank thing. That's the pressure tank."
"Got it."
"Follow the pipe going from the tank out of it and up the wall a bit."
"Ummm..."
"On one side, the pipe goes to the de-acidifier; on the other, it goes to the exterior wall."
"Got it. There's a lever thing about halfway up."
"I don't know if you push it up, down, left, or right."
"It goes up," he said.
"Okay, push it all the way up, and that turns the water off."
"Ummm. No laundry?"
"No laundry, no dishes, no baths, no flushing toilets."
"Got it."
"I'll call my plumber and see what they can do. Are you going to be home the rest of the day?"
"Sure."
"I'll call you back in a bit."
I disconnected, called my plumber, and begged for an emergency appointment. I called Cody back and said, "They'll be there around five this evening."
"Is there anything I should do?"
"From where the wet wall is in the utility room, figure out what is above it."
"Guest bath."
"Go check it."
"Will do."
"Thanks!"
I looked at my schedule and thought. I could cancel two meetings, get one of the earlier trains, and be there before the plumber. Or, I could trust Cody to show the plumber where things were and be home not too long after they got started. I chose to trust Cody.
The plumber's truck was sitting in the driveway when I pulled up. I followed my routine: coat in the closet, bag in the den, and into the kitchen to deal with my lunch stuff. I was putting stuff into the dishwasher when Cody walked in.
"So, the wax seal where the toilet sits on the floor failed, and it was leaking down through the floor into the ceiling. I guess it was hitting one of the pipes and traveling down it. They are fixing it now."
"Cool. How bad is the damage downstairs?"
"The plumber looked at it. She thinks that putting some fans on it should dry things out. I grabbed the two I'd seen in the mechanical room and set them up."
"Thanks for taking care of this. When does Luke get home?"
"He should be home soon. He had some stuff he wanted to get done at the library."
"I'm figuring we should plan on either ordering delivery or getting something out."
"How about pizza? Luke could pick it up."
"Works for me!"
-----
"Are there classes on Friday?" I asked as we got dinner ready.
"Um, yeah," was Cody's response. He seemed surprised that I'd asked.
"I was just checking. Saturday is Veteran's Day, and I can either take Friday off or save it as a floating holiday."
"Oh. No. Not a holiday. Save it? When would you take it?"
"I have to use it this year, so I can use it around Thanksgiving or Christmas, or I can use it during exam week to be around more with you two!"
That got me a huge smile and then a hug.
"I like that idea. Extra Coulter time during exam week!"
"I don't have to take it as a day, just eight hours to use before New Years."
"Wouldn't that make it messy?"
"Not necessarily; I could come home on the 325, which would use three or four hours depending on when I went in. Or I could come home on the 327, which would use two or three hours."
Cody came over and gave me a little hug. "I like the idea of more time during exams."
"Then that's what I'll do."
"Maybe we could do something fun this weekend?"
"We can do something fun any weekend you like," I said.
"Well yeah, but I was meaning something different."
"Like what?"
"I don't know. I'm open to ideas!"
"Day trip? Museum? Aquarium? Porn shoot?"
He moved much closer, enveloped me in his arms, and softly said, "Make our own porn! I like that!"
"But you wanted something new, and we've done that."
"Yeah. Think how fun it could be to do it again!"
He returned to working on dinner.
"Have you been to Monticello?"
"No."
"Mount Vernon?"
"No."
"Annapolis?"
"No."
"Hmmm, what else?"
"Okay, what's good about Annapolis?"
"Other than all the Naval Cadets? This time of the year, it could be mixed. Probably better to do it in the summer. It's coastal and historic. Let's see. If we go to Monticello, we could explore Charlottesville."
"That sounds fine."
"Should we talk it over with Luke? Maybe he has something he'd like to do."
"Smart, very smart!"
"Another idea is Luray Caverns. I've never been, but it's supposed to be amazing. We could do Shenandoah National Park and go down Skyline Drive to Luray. That would be very scenic."
"There are three I really like; can we narrow it down and Luke pick from there? Are you good with all of them?
"I'm fine with it all and letting Luke decide is fine with me.
"Let me decide what?" Luke asked as he stood in the entryway of the kitchen.
"Cody wants to do something fun and different this week. That crossed-off porn movie since we've done that before. He's narrowed the list to three, and you get to choose."
Luke started chuckling and said, "Outdoor porn movie."
"I like that idea," Cody replied.
"Saturday's supposed to reach a high of fifty. Sunday will hit forty-eight."
"Too cold for sex outside," Luke admitted. "What are the three options?"
"Option one: drive down Skyline Drive, which is part of Shenandoah National Park, and go to Luray Caverns. Option two: go to Monticello and then explore Charlottesville. Option three: go to some historic town in Maryland and have sex with as many Naval Cadets as we can find willing. Oh, wait, I meant tour Annapolis."
Luke and I burst into laughter at Cody's description.
"While sex with a lot of guys in uniform sounds fun, how about Skyline Drive and Luray?"
"Works for me," I replied.
-----
Saturday morning, we were up early, dressed, and had breakfast. We were at the entrance to Shenandoah National Park in Front Royal by eight.
"We're only thirty miles from Luray," Luke commented.
"Yep, but the speed limit is thirty-five, so it's an hour away," I explained. "Also, there are places to stop and hike or explore along the way."
A few miles in, we stopped at the Visitor Center and got the lay of the land.
"What do you think about hiking one of the trails?" Luke asked.
"One of the easy or medium trails, I would think," Cody said.
"Sure. We need to watch the timing of the trails," I said.
"Huh?" Luke grunted.
"Some of them take a long time, as in five or six hours," I pointed out.
"Oh, yeah, an hour or two, not an all-day thing," Luke agreed.
"We should plan a trip out here in the spring," Cody suggested. "Hike a number of the trails."
"I'd like that. We could get a hotel over in Harrisonburg."
"What about camping?" Luke said.
"My idea of roughing it is Motel Six," I said. "I'm not a fan of sleeping all night on the ground."
That got both my guys laughing.
We ended up taking one of the shorter loops, the Fox Hollow Trail, to get a good idea of what they were like. Exiting the park, we found a place for an early lunch in Luray before hitting the caverns. After spending much of the afternoon on the tour, we got back to the Jeep.
"Option one: we head back up Skyline Drive and grab dinner in Front Royal, then we head home. Option two: we go over the mountains to Culpepper. There are a number of cute places downtown. Then we head home up Route Twenty-Nine.
Luke looked thoughtful, then said, "This is about new experiences. Let's do Culpepper."
Cody gave a nod.
I pointed us east as we continued a fun day together.
-----
Sunday morning, we were curled up on the sectional enjoying our coffee when Cody asked, "What are your plans for today?"
"That depends on you and Luke. How much homework do you two have?"
"I don't have any," he admitted.
I raised an eyebrow.
"My husband told me to stop worrying about a part-time job or money and focus on school. So, I do. I do my schoolwork during the week," he explained.
"I never said you couldn't have a part-time job."
"No. But I do have two husbands."
"Oh."
"Exactly. Is there a lot of housework that needs to get done?"
"A little laundry, stripping the bed, and fresh towels. How are we on dusting and vacuuming?"
"We should do the bedrooms. Luke and I got everything else during the week."
"Sweet!"
"That I am," Luke said as he entered the room.
"Much homework?" I asked.
"Nope. I'm caught up. I'm like Cody; I nail it all while you're at work."
"How about we get the house tidied up, do a bit of laundry this morning, and then head into the city?"
"What's in the city?" Cody asked.
"We could hang in the DuPont Circle area. See, be seen, and enjoy the gayborhood a bit. We don't get that out here."
"True," Luke said. "It was fun the last time we did that."
"Huh?" Cody grunted.
"Luke and I hit the city for a gay-boy day back when we first started dating."
"Oh. Well, it does sound like fun," Cody said.
By this point, Luke had snuggled up against Cody. Luke looked over at me and said, "I'm not in a big rush to do anything. I just got up."
"Lounging time and then breakfast can be first on our agenda."
The three of us stayed snuggled on the sectional until I heard a stomach growl. At that, I said, "Let me up so I can start making breakfast."
"Snuggle or starve-what a choice," Cody said with a laugh.
"It was your stomach that growled," Luke replied.
Holding Luke in position, Cody shifted just enough to let me up. First on my agenda were biscuits, with just two ingredients they didn't take but a minute to mix, form, and get into the oven. Next, I checked the fridge and found leftover veggies that went along with fajitas. I whipped up some eggs, got them into the pan, and added the veggies and some diced ham. I had the omelet ready as the timer dinged for the biscuits.
"Breakfast!" I announced.
The guys were in the kitchen quickly. We plated our food and headed to the table.
"So, going into DC, what are the thoughts?" Cody asked.
"We're going to let our gay boy out," Luke said.
"It's not as much the gayborhood as it was when I first moved here, but it is a lot gayer than Fairfax," I said with a chuckle.
"That wouldn't be hard," Cody said.
After breakfast, we cleaned up a bit, got showers, and drove over to the METRO station. A short while later, we were exiting the DuPont Circle station. We spent the afternoon exploring different shops, grabbing a bite to eat, and otherwise spending time together.
------
The front door slammed shut. I could hear every footstep as someone came closer to the kitchen.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Fucking professor," Cody yelled.
"Babe, I'm right here."
"Sorry, I'm just so fucking pissed off!"
I put the utensils down, wiped my hands, and walked over to Cody. I gave him an enveloping hug and said, "Want to talk about it?"
"It's the jerk who's teaching my computer programming for engineers' course. It's a two-hundred-level course and really just an intro to C. This idiot keeps assigning things that are too complex, too advanced, and just seems to want to fail us all."
"Okay. Can I help? It's not like I don't know C inside and out."
"Fuck yeah!" he said. "I didn't even think."
"We can sit down and review the assignment after dinner. I can help you map out how to tackle it. I'll be your tutor!"
"I'm going to owe you big time for this," Cody said.
"Well, I can think of a few different ways to say thank you." He started to say something, and I put my hand up. "But the only thing you need to do is say thank you."
"How about this?" he started. He took me in his arms and kissed me deeply. "Thank you." He kissed me again. "I love you." He kissed me one more time. "You're awesome!"
I put my arms behind his neck and pulled him into a deep kiss. "Love you too!" I said as I broke the kiss.
Luke walked into the kitchen and asked, "What am I missing?"
"I hired a tutor," Cody explained.
"Um, what?"
"I'm going to help Cody with his C programming," I explained.
"Oh, cool. What can I do to help with dinner?" Luke asked.
"Grab that loaf of French bread, slice it, butter it, and toast it," I said.
"What are we having?" Cody asked.
"French dip sandwiches with chips, celery, carrots, and French onion dip."
"Two dips are better than one," Luke said with a laugh.
"Set table? Get drinks?" Cody asked.
"Sure!"
We got things done and had a nice dinner.
As we finished cleaning up, I looked at Cody and said, "Let's go through that project."
Cody opened his laptop and, a few minutes later, turned the screen to share, saying, "Here's what it says."
I read through it and responded, "Straightforward, and like you said, a good bit too complex for a beginning class. Let's talk about how you would tackle it."
We sat and discussed how to set up his code, data types, variables, and the like.
"It all makes sense once you explain it. I would never have even figured out where to start without you."
"I'm always here to help. I do have a question for you."
"Shoot," he said.
"How bad is this professor?"
"Really, really bad."
"What type of professor is he?"
"Other than bad?"
"I mean like assistant, associate, etcetera."
"Let me look him up." Cody shifted to the GMU site and found the faculty listings. "It says he's an adjunct."
"Then provide feedback to the Dean."
"Why?"
"He's a part-time professor, and you have valid concerns. If enough of your classmates complain, at a minimum, I would hope the Dean would speak about appropriate expectations."
"Save future students the pain."
"Exactly! I had an accounting professor when I was at Mason who was an adjunct. Class was on a two-hundred-point scale; don't ask me why. Anyway, the top score in the class was something like a thirty-two. I got a nine."
"Out of two hundred?"
"Yup. I could have gone down the scantron sheets and selected B for every answer and done better."
"You failed a class?"
"Nope. I got a C. The curve was something warped, like zero to four failed, five to eight was a D, nine to eighteen was a C, eighteen to twenty-two was a B, and everything above twenty-three was an A. Only a few students got As. So many kids were taking this as introduction to accounting and complained that the professor, an adjunct, wasn't seen again, and all the students that wanted to were offered the opportunity to take the class again for free. I chose to just accept the C so I could graduate on time."
"Wow. Just frippin' wow."
"Talk to your classmates and see what they think."
-----
"Karaoke this week?" I asked while working on dinner.
"Sure," Luke replied.
Cody nodded his head.
"Either of you want to perform?"
They both shook their heads.
I looked at Cody and asked, "Would you do a duet with me?"
"Umm, sure, I guess."
"You've got a good voice, dude," Luke said.
"So, what do we do?" Cody asked.
"Country okay?" I asked.
"Sure."
"I've got a few in mind. We could do Somethin' Bad or Lonely Tonight."
"I don't know those," Cody said.
Luke pulled out his phone and did some searching. "How about Does He Love You?"
"That would work," I admitted.
Cody was also searching using his phone and said, "I've got one; it's new, Craving You."
"Let's listen to them and choose," I said.
"We've got three of them on the NAS," Luke said.
"Queue them up, and let's listen," I said.
Luke played the three songs, and we listened. While the last song was playing, I pulled up Craving You on YouTube, and once the third song ended, I cast it to the system.
After it was done, I looked at Cody and asked, "What do you think?"
"I liked Craving You and Does He Love You the best."
"Which would you be more comfortable with?"
Luke raised his hand a bit and said, "For what it's worth, you two should do Craving You. You do Thomas Rhett's part," he said to me. "And you do Maren Morris'."
"Why's that?" I asked.
"How confident are you of getting up on stage and performing?" he asked, looking at Cody.
"Eh," Cody said.
"That's why," Luke responded.
"Fair enough. What about you?"
"I'd be good with Does He Love You or Craving You."
"We can practice both," I replied.
"Cool."
As Cody helped me clean up after dinner, I asked, "How's your project going?"
"I'm going to need your help," he admitted.
"Sure. Tonight?"
"If you have time."
"Let's see, I need to sit alone and watch TV and do laundry." I started and paused. "Or I could help Cody with his homework."
He gave a laugh. We finished our work in the kitchen, then sat down with his laptop.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"I'm stumped. I don't have a clue how to get this to work."
I reviewed his code, tried to compile it, got an error, and then focused on that area. Finally, I looked at Cody and said, "Look in this part of your code."
He reviewed the code for several minutes, then said, "I just don't see anything wrong."
"What was your error?"
"Oh, shit." With that, he looked at his code again. "I didn't define it."
"Exactly."
"I should have caught that."
"Beginner's mistake, and this is actually an intermediate project."
"I'd hate to see complex code."
"I can show you at some point. Did you and your classmates talk about the professor?"
"Yep. A group of us want to go speak to the Dean. One of my classmates is going to the office tomorrow to get an appointment."
"Good for you!"
-----
"Hey handsome," I said as Luke walked into the kitchen.
"Hey!" He moved closer and gave me a kiss. "Good day at work?"
"That it was. How were your classes?"
"Same old stuff. I have to ask, how much of this stuff do you really use in life?"
"You'd be surprised. But don't just think of it as the specific stuff you're learning. It's the ability to learn, the ability to reason, the ability to solve problems with limited information, and more. In grade school, you learn the basics. You know – reading, writing, and arithmetic. By high school, you should be switching over to comprehending and reasoning. In college, that switch is most profound; it isn't as much about the knowledge as it is about deductive reasoning, critical thinking, forming opinions from limited facts, researching, and more."
"You really think about these things?"
"Not really," I replied. Luke gave me an odd look. "I'm paraphrasing something my high school guidance counselor told me. I may have misspoken or mistranslated what she said, as it was a long time ago. But you get the point. In the end, she was instrumental in helping me figure out my career path."
"What do you mean?"
"When I was in high school, I wanted to be a teacher."
"Why'd you change?"
"She told me it would be a complete waste of my talent and that I wouldn't enjoy it."
"Huh?"
"In essence, I wanted to teach those who wanted to learn. In too many environments, there are many students who don't want to be there and are going through the motions. She figured out I'd be disappointed."
"So that led you to IT?"
"It led me to start a journey to discover a new path. It wasn't until I was part way into my freshman year that I figured out my true future."
"How'd you do that?"
"I took a lot of what were then the basic classes."
"Mason Core," he explained.
"Huh?"
"The degree requirements are broken down into program core, Mason core, electives, and some other stuff. But I get you."
"I was an undeclared student, so I was taking a few intro to this or that courses, plus CS 100. I was hooked. Four years later, I graduated with my BS in Computer Science."
"Cool."
"Two years after that, I made my mom so happy when I crossed the stage with my Masters in Information Systems."
"What would your dad have thought?"
"He knew I wasn't going to be a farmer, and he supported that. He wanted to leave the farm as a legacy, but he understood. I think he would have been very proud of me."
Luke walked over and gave me a hug. I kissed him on the top of his forehead.
"What can I do to help with dinner?"
"Chicken is ready to fry. Rice is in the cooker. The beans are ready to go. I figured we'd fill plates instead of family style. You could do water and whatever other beverage is desired."
"Sure," he said. He got started with the task and asked, "What are we having?"
"General Tso's fried chicken and sides."
"Cool."
While he got the drinks set, I fried the chicken.
"Call Cody, would you?"
"CODY!" Luke yelled.
"I could have done that," I said with a laugh.
After a few minutes, I looked at Luke. He walked out of the kitchen and soon returned, with Cody right behind.
"I had my headset on," Cody explained.
"Understood, go ahead and fill your plate."
We got to the table, and Cody asked, "What's the sauce?"
"General Tso's," Luke answered.
"It's good! How'd you think of it?"
I finished my bite and responded, "I wanted something more than just fried chicken and saw this bottle of sauce in the pantry that we never used. Add some Asian-inspired sides, and voila! How was school for you today?"
"We have our appointment with the dean on Tuesday based on everyone's schedule."
"Have you all talked about what to say?"
"Yes. We're going to, as Karrie put it, raise our concerns. We want to speak to what we see as incorrect and not just have a bitchfest."
"Very smart," I replied.
"What's going on with you two?" Cody asked.
"Same shit, different day," Luke explained.
"Somewhat busy day at work, but just more of the usual. Demanding clients, projects that keep trying to get off schedule, and personnel matters."
"Do you like managing people?" Luke asked.
"For the most part, yes."
That got a raised eyebrow from Luke.
"How do I explain this? I have good people. They know their jobs, do their work, and don't have huge amounts of life drama that spill in."
"Life drama?" Cody asked.
"I was talking with Ben. He runs a couple of government contracts for managing customer service centers. He's had employees with issues you'd see on some reality TV shows. Folks that didn't come to work because they were arrested or had to go to the hospital after being in a fight. My folks may have family health issues or personal issues, but they don't morph into drama. We provide support. We provide flexibility. We provide time. All in all, the issues are sanely managed."
"I don't know if I want to manage people," Cody said.
"There are typically two paths for job development. One leads to management; the other leads to specialization and becoming a SME."
"SME?"
"Subject matter expert," I explained.
"I think I'd like managing folks," Luke interjected.
"It can be rewarding. Helping folks learn, develop, and grow."
We continued the conversation through the rest of dinner.
"Ready?" I asked Cody as we finished cleaning up.
"Sure."
I pulled up the music app on my phone as we walked into the den. I had the music ready pretty quickly.
"Thought more about it?" I asked.
"I think I'm a bit more comfortable with Craving You than Does He Love You."
"For that one, I'm assuming I'm doing Thomas Rhett's part?"
"Damn right."
I got the music playing.
"Oh, oh. Every time we have to say goodbye, I'm counting down until we say hello..."
When we got to the refrain, Cody came in on "You're like that cigarette..."
I sang the second verse, and this time Cody joined me in the first part of the chorus:, "I never had something that I can't walk away from..."
We sang in harmony through the rest of the song.
"Thoughts?" he asked.
"Damn good," Luke said from the doorway. "What about the other song?"
"I'm making the assumption you want the Linda Davis part instead of Reba's?" I said to Cody
"Yup, that way you can wear that white hat thingy Reba wore!"
"I don't think I'm doing that. I will admit those were some nineties diva clothes."
That got a big laugh out of Luke and Cody.
"How do you want to do it?" he asked.
"Let's just practice it. Just remember, I get to blow you up at the end of the song!"
We went through the song, and I could clearly see that Cody wasn't comfortable.
"Okay, back to Craving You."
I queued up the music, and we started again. We were only part way through when Luke held up his hand. I stopped the music.
"What's wrong?" Cody asked.
Luke stood and moved over to me, pushing me a bit closer to Cody. He then said, "Look at each other; show that craving; show the love you have for each other."
I requeued the music, and we got into it a bit more. As the music finished, Luke applauded and said, "That's an award-winning performance!"
"We could just stare at you while we sang," Cody said.
"Aw, thanks. But the audience wouldn't get that. You nailed it, dude!"
Cody and I pulled Luke between us for a group hug.
"I've got a craving," Cody said.
"Bedroom?" Luke asked.
"Playroom!" Cody replied.
I followed the guys downstairs, through the gym, and into the playroom. Cody was the fastest stripper and climbed into the sling. He hooked his heels into the stirrups, smiled, and said, "Get to fucking!" He took hold of his cock and started stroking.
Luke moved into position between Cody's spread ass cheeks and started working his hole open. I moved around the sling and presented my stiff cock for Cody to suck. He turned his head to the right and started bobbing up and down.
Luke went over and grabbed the box. I had to suppress a chuckle. The box allowed Luke to use the sling without needing to lower it. The eight-inch height difference was mostly a six-inch difference in inseam length. He climbed on, dripped some spit on his dick, and started sliding into Cody's hole.
Cody continued to nurse on my cock as I watched Luke fuck him. Finally, I wanted a turn. I pulled my dick out of Cody's mouth and moved to the other end of the sling.
"My turn," I said.
Luke pulled out and kicked the box under the sling a bit. I slid into Cody's lubed and ready ass. While I got to fucking, Luke came around and started sucking on Cody's cock.
"Oh, fuck," Cody moaned. "It's not going to take long if you keep that up."
I started fucking more aggressively, and it appeared that Luke was increasing his efforts.
"Guys! Guys! I'm gonna..." was all Cody got out before his body started convulsing.
As Cody's twitching seemed to settle down, Luke pulled off and moved over to me. He kissed me, sharing some of Cody's cum.
"That was great, guys," Cody said as he regained composure.
"My turn," Luke announced.
I helped Cody out of the sling, and Luke hopped in. Before I could, Cody got in between Luke's legs and started prepping his ass. I stood behind him, periodically stroking my cock to keep my engine ready.
"I think he's ready," Cody said as he stood.
I moved into position, ready to start round two.
-----
"What's on tap for tonight?" Phil asked as I sat down.
Luke and Cody sat on the other side of the table between Ben and Austin.
"Something a little different," I said. "I'm doing a duet with Cody."
Both Darryl and Phil's eyes shifted toward Cody.
"Looking forward to it," Darryl said. "What are you doing?"
"Craving You by Thomas Rhett with Maren Morris."
"Cool," Phil replied. "How'd you pick that?"
"I asked him to do a duet with me. The three of us went through our heads with good duets. He doesn't want to be too much in the limelight. This has a great vibe in a good backup vocal duet sort of way."
"Not comfortable doing more?" Phil asked.
"Lacks confidence," I explained. "I would think the more he performs, the more comfortable he will become."
"Just with performing or more?" Phil asked. "Was he confident before the attack?" Phil asked.
"I haven't noticed a big change. But I wonder how much it impacts him with others," I replied.
"Luke might have better insight," Darryl advised.
"He is part of a group going to speak to the dean about a professor," I explained. "But that is a group thing. I will talk to Luke and Casey."
Cody gave me a funny look. I suspected he knew he was being discussed. I gave him a smile, and he stuck his tongue out at me and laughed.
"Sign up time," George announced.
Before I could, Cody stood up and walked over. I watched as he spoke with George. I got a look from George. They had more conversation, and then Cody returned with a big smile.
The night got started, and we listened to a lot of folks perform.
"We're taking a short break. Folks, here's your chance to get drinks. A warning: it's the last chance to order food from the kitchen. Most importantly, don't forget to treat the wait staff kindly and tip lavishly! They work very hard!"
That got a round of applause. I looked around for our waiter, but he was busy with other tables.
"Anyone want anything?" I asked.
"Coffee, decaf," Darryl said.
"Make it two," Phil said.
"Another Pinot, please," Ben said.
"Ginger ale," Austin said. I'm driving."
"Two cokes," Luke said.
I went over to the bar and placed an order. The bartender set up a tray for me, and I paid. I'd just passed out all the drinks when the lights flashed. A few minutes later, George appeared on the stage.
"We're getting started, folks. Quiet please. Starting the second half is one of our regulars, Coulter. He's paired up with Cody, who has performed in duets before. They are doing Craving You."
Cody and I got on the stage, and as planned, I took the front left while he stood back some on my right.
I got the song started by doing Thomas Rhett's solo part. As I sang, "When it comes to you, no, I ain't got no patience; there's something 'bout you, boy, I just can't fight."
Cody stepped up and looked me straight in the eyes. He joined me on the chorus, singing, "You're like that cigarette, that shot of 100-proof; no matter how much I get, I'm always craving..." As the chorus continued, Cody inched closer to me. We were singing somewhat facing each other but still angled towards the audience.
As I sang the second solo part, Cody came even closer. I had the mic in my left hand, and he moved in tight to my body. I moved the mic out a bit, and he kept his lowered. We got into the chorus, and I wrapped my right arm around him.
That got a lot of cheers, hoots, and applause.
We finished up the song, singing, "Craving you, I'm craving you, baby, I'm craving you, I'm craving you, babe."
The applause was loud, but it went to a different level when Cody turned and kissed me.
George walked over and took the microphones. As we walked off the stage, he said, "It's pretty clear they crave each other! Next up, we have Dennis, and he's doing Express Yourself."
-----
I looked at the clock-five fifty-eight-and my body knew its rhythm. I climbed out of bed and headed for the bathroom. Being mid-November, the house was on the cool side, so I grabbed my robe. As I was moving back through the bedroom, I saw Cody getting up. He smiled at me and headed towards the bathroom.
Cody joined me in the kitchen a few minutes later and said, "Thanks for getting coffee going."
"No problem, water in the kettle, two scoops of coffee in the press, easy."
"What's on your agenda for today?"
"Probably should get a few loads of laundry done. You two have the house clean and tidy, thanks! I guess we need to pick up some groceries; otherwise, I'm good. What about you? Homework?"
"I'm caught up, but I think Luke's trying to finish up a paper."
"Well, he just won't get to play until his homework's done!"
That got Cody chuckling.
"We probably shouldn't do something special without him."
"Grocery shopping, hitting Costco, other errands-that's mighty special," I replied.
"Is the list up to date?"
"I've put everything on it that I need to replace."
"We should check; I don't think Luke and I are as type-A about it as you."
"Fair enough."
While we drank our coffee, Cody checked the fridge and pantry, calling out items we needed, and I added them to the list.
"What do you want for breakfast?" Cody asked
"How do blueberry pancakes, bacon, and eggs sound?"
"Yummy."
"I'll get the buttermilk batter going, and we can wait for Luke to wake up."
Cody sat and watched as I put the batter together. We'd each finished our second cup of coffee when Luke walked in.
"Caffeine," he said in his zombie tone.
I got the kettle going and his press set up. With his first cup of coffee in front of him, Cody and I set out to make breakfast. About fifteen minutes later, we had plates on the table.
"How much do you need to do on your paper?" I asked.
"Couple hours, and I should be done," he replied.
"We are doing grocery shopping and a run to Costco. Need anything?"
"I'm low on shampoo."
"Tea tree?" Cody asked.
"Yep. Stops the itchy scalp for me."
"Cool," Cody commented.
"Oh, we need some of the white car-detailing towels. The stacks in the vanities are getting low, and some are pretty ratty."
"One bag or two?" I asked.
"There's fifty in a bag, I think. One should work," he replied. "Ink cartridges?"
"I'll check how much I have," I replied. "What do you want to do this afternoon?"
"Fuck!"
I gave him a look.
"What? You asked what I wanted to do! I've got two sexy guys that I can fuck around with!"
"Fair enough."
"Man cannot live on sex and food alone, but I'd like to come as close to that as I can!" Luke explained.
"He's upgrading from sex maniac to sex fiend!" Cody said.
That brought a lot of laughter to the table.
"Sex, food, cuddling-what more could a guy want?" I agreed.
Cody and I got breakfast ready. We ate and cleaned up, and with that, Luke headed for his room to work on his paper.
"I got the list," Cody asked.
"Yup. The shopping crates are in the back. Let's roll."
Cody drove us to Costco; we found a parking space, and we grabbed our stuff.
"Five minutes till they open," Cody said.
"Yup. I don't need to be part of the opening stampede."
We stood aside as things got moving, then started into the store.
"Did we need cartridges?" Cody asked.
"Yep."
He turned the cart down an aisle, and I grabbed what we needed.
"Don't need kitchen gadgets," I said.
Cody skipped the next few aisles. Cody turned into the automotive aisle and grabbed a bag of towels.
"Morning, Coulter."
I turned and saw Lucinda.
"Morning, how are you?" I asked.
"I'm good."
"This is Cody," I said.
"Good morning. You must be Coulter's boss."
"I don't like the term boss, but yes. You're one of the young men going to Mason."
"Yes. I'm majoring in cyber security."
"Wonderful. Well, I'll let you get to your shopping. Nice meeting you, Cody. See you on Monday, Coulter."
"Have a great weekend," I said.
We moved off.
"She's a lot younger than I expected," Cody said.
"She is a wonderful boss."
"She created the software, didn't she?"
"She had the concept and overall design. There were a lot of people involved in the initial development."
"Cool!"
We continued shopping, getting everything on our list and a few add-ons.
When we got back to the Jeep, Cody asked, "You said your boss is good. What makes her good?"
"She doesn't like the term boss. She prefers saying she's the leader."
"What's the difference?"
"It's all about style. She listens-I mean, really listens-to everyone. Then she builds a consensus for a decision. It's subtle, but she makes sure everyone, or mostly everyone, is on board as we move forward. There are a lot of other things. She is still heavily involved, but at the right level. She doesn't require you to do something in a specific way. She sets goals and objectives, and then lets you get to them."
"Wow, that sounds great."
"It's a great company. I think we have a great culture. Folks are really engaged."
"I hope I find a place like that."
"You can, and I'm sure you will. It might not be on your first try, but you will."
We got home and put everything away.
"I'll get the towels into the washer," Cody said.
"That's great."
Cody took the new towels to the laundry as I finished wiping up the kitchen.
I was putting the rag in the bin when Luke walked in and said, "Done, done, done."
"Good for you."
"Yup. Means that it's time to fuck!"
"You didn't get enough last night?"
"Dude, there is no such thing as too much sex with you two."
"Fair enough. Bedroom? Playroom? Gym?"
Cody walked into the room, naked. Luke turned, saw him, and started stripping off his clothes.
"Oh, hell," I said. I pulled my polo over my head and dropped it on the floor. I started to undo my pants, but Cody swatted my hand away and moved to finish stripping me.
With the three of us naked, I pulled the guys close, and we started kissing. Our hard dicks grinding into each other.
It was going to be one for the record books.
-----
Cody was still asleep when I left the bedroom. Well, I should say both my guys were asleep, but at six a.m. on a Sunday, it's a given that Luke's still out cold. I closed the door as quietly as I could and moved on to make coffee. About an hour later, I was sitting in the den listening to music when Cody walked in, mug in hand.
"Morning," I said.
"Morning."
"You slept in," I commented.
"I was worn out."
"Let's see, we did a Costco run, had sex, ate lunch, had sex, worked out, had sex, had dinner, had sex; that's a lot of energy expended."
"As I said, Luke has been upgraded from sex maniac to sex fiend."
"What's the next upgrade?"
Cody laughed and said, "I'll have to think about that."
"You could use a pre-modifier," I suggested. Cody raised an eyebrow. I continued. "Like super, mega, or double. He could be the super sex maniac or mega sex fiend."
That got Cody laughing more.
"I feel like I'm the butt of a joke," Luke said as he walked in.
"We were talking about what's next in your sex fiend evolution. You know, like Big Gulp, Super Big Gulp, Double Big Gulp, and Super Double Big Gulp, you could go from sex maniac to sex fiend to super sex maniac and eventually super double mega sex fiend."
"Or I could go to an old man with a limp dick!"
Cody was rolling on the floor in laughter at that point.
"The day you can't get it up is the day we bury you in the ground," I said.
"Touché."
-----
I put my coat into the closet, set my messenger bag down in the den, and then took my insulated lunch bag to the kitchen. I heard familiar footsteps and asked, "How'd things go with the Dean?" without looking at who entered the kitchen.
"How'd you know it was me?"
"Your footsteps sound different than Luke's."
"Hmmm... Anyway, it went well, really well. He was very receptive to what we said. He didn't say what would happen, but he did say it would be investigated."
"Of course, he can't say what would happen."
"Huh?"
"It's a private personnel issue. Unless the professor doesn't show up next year, you won't have any idea what was done. Even the professor not showing up next year doesn't confirm discipline since he may have been planning to leave anyway."
"Why can't we know?"
"Let me reposition this. You are my employee, and I determine that you are delivering substandard code. In the staff meeting, I reprimand you for all your mistakes and let you know you're on a performance improvement plan."
"Oh. I get it."
"That's why I called it a private personnel issue. Companies can get into a lot of trouble when they air personnel issues in public."
"So much to learn."
"Unless you take employment law, it's not something you'll learn in school. You'll learn it as you develop."
"I'll say it again; there's so much to learn."
"Remember, you don't have to soar with the eagles on your first day."
"What?"
"Think of a career as a journey. You start on the ground. As you progress, you gain altitude. Looking at someone like Lucinda, she needs to be soaring with the eagles, way up high. You know the big picture."
"Got it. I don't have to know everything from day one."
"Exactly. If you apply for a job where you can do one hundred percent, then there is no growth in the position for you. You want a position where you learn and grow organically with the organization. Let's get dinner started, and we can continue the discussion if you like."
As we prepared dinner, we finished the discussion of career development and moved on to other topics. Luke joined us, set the table, and helped us get dinner ready.
After dinner, I said, "I'll clean up so you two have more time to pack."
"I don't want to go," Luke said.
"I wish you weren't going, but it's for the best."
"What about you?" Luke said it in a tone that verged on a whine.
"I'll be fine. The two of you will be gone for three days. That's it."
"But it's Thanksgiving!" Cody sounded intense.
"Yup. And I'll be fine. I'll go over to Darryl's for lunch. I'll work on Friday, do chores on Saturday, and be ready for hours of sex Sunday evening."
"You could go with..." Luke said.
I shook my head. "Too awkward. Your parents are going to expect you, and since they know you two are a couple..."
"They'll expect me too," Cody finished.
"Then I'll have to tell them."
"No. Be patient."
"Huh?"
"Wait to tell them."
"But us!" Luke exclaimed.
"You couldn't have a happier me than when you say, us! I want us to spend as much time together as we can. You're dependent on your folks. As much as I want you here for the holidays, I think you need to take this slowly. Your folks handled you being gay and you being involved with Cody well, really well. I expect they will do the same with the concept of us. I'm just recommending going a bit slower and understanding that for Thanksgiving and again at Christmas, we'll be separated. Once you graduate and get settled, that's when I recommend you tell them. In the end, it's up to you."
He nodded his head. I think he understood my logic, even if he didn't like it.
"Do you need help packing?" I asked.
"I'm actually packed," Luke said.
Cody nodded his head and said, "So am I."
"Then cuddling and together time!" I said.
They both followed me to the bedroom, giving me a funny look when I climbed onto the bed fully dressed.
-----
"I don't want to go," Cody said as we sipped coffee the next morning.
"I honestly don't want you to go, but it is best that you go. You two need to visit his family. We'll survive. You're going to be gone a few days. Think of it as a business trip."
"What?"
"When you start in the working world, there may be business trips. As such, you'd be gone for days, if not weeks. I'm not saying this is the same; it's family this time."
"But there will be times of separation."
"Exactly."
"And we have to learn to cope."
"You got it!"
"We could come back late Saturday," Cody suggested.
"You could. What reason do you have for returning early?"
"Oh."
"We'll survive. You'll be gone longer over Christmas break. We'll survive."
Cody sat there staring at me for a few minutes.
I continued, "Luke's come back early before, so that might make it easier. It'll be two weeks before you're back. Easy!"
"For you, maybe."
"For all of us, focus on the positive aspects. You'll be with Luke. You'll get to see friends. We can chat, talk, and video daily."
"I get it."
"I should be heading out," I said. "I don't want to miss my train."
He stood and wrapped his arms around me. Our kiss was deep and made me feel very loved.
"I love you," I said.
"Love you."
I left the kitchen and found Luke.
"I've got to go. I don't want to miss my train," I explained.
He gave me a half-hearted look.
"I love you, and I'll see you Sunday when you get back," I said.
I took him in my arms and held him. I used my hand to raise his head out of my chest and gave him a kiss.
"I love you," he said as we broke the embrace.
"Bye!"
I took off so that they wouldn't see my emotions. I got things under control in my head as I drove over to the train. By the time I got to work, I felt I had things in a good place. During the day, work kept my mind busy, and I stayed in that good place.
Walking into the empty house was tough. I knew that there wouldn't be anyone popping up soon, and I felt lonely.
"Fuck it," I said to myself.
I went into the bedroom and changed. Downstairs, I got started on my workout. I pushed myself quite a bit, and the hot shower felt good afterwards.
When I sat down to eat, I realized I had several notifications on my phone. Checking, I found I'd missed a video chat from Luke.
`Free now?' I sent.
`1sec'
A few moments later, my phone started ringing.
"Hey!"
"Miss you," Luke said.
Cody came into the frame behind Luke, his chin resting on Luke's shoulder.
"Miss you both!"
"Where have you been?" Cody asked.
"I went to work, came home, worked out, showered, and now dinner."
"Oh."
"I didn't think to take my phone downstairs with me," I admitted.
"Makes sense."
We talked for a short bit about their drive and my day at work.
"We have to run. Mom's got dinner ready. We're doing Thanksgiving at my dad's folks tomorrow."
"Have fun!" I said as the call ended.
-----
I heard my phone ring as I was finishing the kitchen clean-up Thanksgiving morning.
"Morning," I said. As with the previous call, it was Luke with Cody directly behind him.
"Morning," they echoed back. "What are you up to?"
"Making appetizers for Thanksgiving lunch," I replied.
"What did you make?" Cody asked.
"Bubbles and squeak, oat balls, and little phyllo cups with mashed potatoes and blue cheese."
"You've been busy," Luke said.
"What's bubbles and squeak?" Cody asked.
"Potato, cabbage, and onion patties," I explained. "Traditionally, it's made from leftovers, and then you add whatever else you have. For this, I added a bit of roast chicken."
"Cool, not what I think about when you say Thanksgiving," Cody replied.
"Chris and Stephen decided this would be non-traditional."
"We're having a very traditional Thanksgiving," Luke said. "Gran will have a turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and more. She's a good cook."
"Wonderful! I thought your grandparents were in." I stopped trying to remember.
"They were in Pennsylvania, but they retired and moved to Knotts Island."
"Where's that?"
"It's in North Carolina."
"Long drive?" I asked.
"A little under an hour," he explained. "What time do you head over?"
"I'm going to get my shower, load up, and head out."
"Are we going to make you late?" Luke asked.
"Not yet, at least."
"We just wanted to say happy Thanksgiving," Cody explained.
"A very happy turkey day to you both!"
"Love you," Luke said.
"Love you," Cody added.
"Love you both!"
With that, we disconnected.
-----
"Thanks for having me over," I said to Justin as he let me in.
"Always welcome," he said. "Let me take your coat."
"Thanks."
"How was your Thanksgiving lunch?"
"It was great. The theme was non-traditional, so the food was all over the place."
After he hung my coat, I followed him into the den.
"What did you have?"
"I took bubbles and squeak, oat balls, and phyllo cups with mashed and blue cheese. There was chili, roast beef, and a fish stew for the main course. Let's see carrots in a blood orange marmalade glaze, roasted Brussels sprouts, a nice Asian slaw, scalloped potatoes, and smoked Gouda mac and cheese rounded out the lunch. Then black forest cake and mulberry ice cream for dessert."
"Wow, that's quite the feast," he admitted.
"Welcome," Angus said as he joined us.
"Where are the boys?" I asked.
"At Kyle's folks till tomorrow," Justin explained.
"If I'd known you were alone, I'd have gotten you to go with me to Chris and Stephen's."
"We had a great time alone. We don't get much alone time," Justin explained.
"I can understand that. That means I'm interrupting your alone time."
"Chan eil duilgheadas ann," Angus said.
"A 'gabhail fois?" I replied.
"Stop it, you two!" Justin said.
"We were just saying that you two are taking a break while I visit," I explained.
"Yup, we really need a short break!" Justin admitted. "Talked to your guys?"
"Twice. Once last night and again this morning."
"What are they up to?" Angus asked.
"Luke's mom did dinner last night, and today they drove to North Carolina for the main Thanksgiving meal at his grandparents."
"Will you talk to them tonight?" Justin asked.
"Probably."
"Why did they go?" Angus asked.
"Luke's not out to his family, and I convinced him that now isn't the time."
"Ummm. He and Cody went to his folks," Angus said.
"Not the gay thing. The triple thing," I explained.
"Oh. When do you think the right time to tell them that will be?" Angus asked.
"Once he has graduated, has a job, and is independent, but as I told him, in the end, it is his decision."
"Does he agree with you?" Justin asked.
"I would say intellectually yes, but emotionally no."
They both nodded their heads.
"Kyle's folks are down in Norfolk, correct?" I asked.
"Yes," Justin said.
"If they were down there longer, the four of them could have hung out."
"I hadn't thought about that. They could also drive down together," Angus said.
"It would leave one couple or the other without a car, and down there, that could be painful. At least that is what Luke has implied."
They gave a chuckle at that.
"What are your plans?" I asked Justin and Angus.
"What do you mean?" Justin asked.
"Once the boys graduate, going forward?"
"We're going to get married," Angus explained. "But we're not in a rush."
"We'll continue to make this place more ours and less mine," Justin said.
I gave him an odd look.
"I mean, Angus didn't ship much over from England, so it's mostly my stuff in the house."
I nodded in understanding.
"The boys are going to get married during the summer between their undergraduate and graduate studies. Assuming they both go to Mason, that will add two more years of them living with us."
"It's going to be hard not having them around," Angus said.
Justin gave him a funny look.
"What?" Angus asked.
"I knew it would be hard for me. I was surprised you said that." Justin explained.
"I've grown attached too," Angus admitted.
We enjoyed a little more drink and conversation before I headed home.
-----
"Lunch today?" Lucinda asked as she stopped at my cubicle.
"Sure. I assume it's just me and you in the office."
"It seems. Like last year, a few folks are working from home, and most are off."
"I wasn't sure if you were coming in today," I admitted. "I figured being alone here was about the same as being home alone."
"Your tenants have gone home for the weekend?"
"Yes. They'll be back Sunday for the last few weeks of the semester."
"How much longer do you expect they'll live with you?"
"Well, Luke graduates in May, but he said he would probably stick around a while. Cody's got another year."
Lucinda nodded. She looked at her watch and then said, "Almost time for the SCRUM; I'll let you be."
Lucinda and I had a nice lunch together, and at the end of the day, I caught a very empty train home. Over dinner, I contemplated my Saturday. I decided being busy would be better than being bored.
Saturday morning, I got up, cleaned up, and got ready for my day. After breakfast, I sent Luke and Cody a text, `Free to chat'
Moments later, my phone lit up.
"One more day," Cody started chanting.
"Good morning to you," I responded.
"We miss you," Luke said.
"I talked to you last night," I said with a laugh.
"That was then; this is now!" Cody replied.
"What are you two doing today?"
"We're going to Cape Charles," Luke started. "Well, actually, to the Bay Creek Golf Course just south of Cape Charles."
"You two don't play golf. So..."
"Mark is competing in a golf tournament, and we're going to support him!" Luke explained.
"Where is this?" I asked.
"It's across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge," Cody explained. "On the Eastern Shore."
"What are you doing today?" Luke asked.
"I decided to stay busy. I'm going to drive out to Winchester and explore. The old down is supposed to be nice. I also want to hit the Patsy Cline Museum."
"Sounds fun," Cody said.
I heard a voice in the background, then Luke said, "We have to go. Love you!"
"Love you both!"
Spending the day in Winchester did help me keep my mind from focusing on the absence. Instead, I focused on their return on Sunday.
-----
My phone buzzed. The text from Cody read, `Turning off interstate'
`See you soon', I replied.
Based on Cody's text, they would arrive in twenty minutes. I cleaned up the kitchen, putting everything I'd prepped for dinner into the fridge.
About twenty minutes later, I heard Cody's voice boom from the front door: "We're home."
A moment later, Luke's voice called out, "Coulter!"
I could hear footsteps coming down the hallway.
"Well, now I see why you didn't greet us at the door," Cody said.
"That jock strap needs to disappear," Luke said.
"All your clothes need to disappear," I responded. I pulled my knees back towards my chest and added, "Neither of you want to fuck me while I'm wearing it?"
"Oh, fuck yeah!" Cody said.
Both my guys stripped down quickly and joined me on the bed. Luke climbed up and presented his dick. Cody got between my legs and started eating my ass.
As his tongue started on my hole, I realized something had changed. I pushed Luke back a bit and asked, "You shaved your goatee off?"
Cody pulled up and said, "Yeah, just gonna be a moustache for a while. My skin was getting itchy." With that, he went back to rimming me.
I pulled Luke back towards me so I could suck his dick. He started pivoting, which allowed him to drop his dick down my throat while sucking me.
Cody decided my hole was open and wet as his dick started sliding into me. I let a moan of pleasure escape around Luke's cock.
Cody set up a good fuck rhythm with strong, steady strokes that rubbed my prostate.
After a bit, the stimulus started getting me close. I think Luke realized this from my moans as he pulled off my cock and removed his cock from my mouth. With him out of the way, I got the opportunity to look up at Cody as he fucked me.
Luke moved around behind Cody and started playing with his tits. Luke's attention got Cody fucking harder.
"Fuck!" Cody cried as his body started spasming. I could feel his cock shooting into my ass.
As he finished shooting, he leaned forward and started kissing me. His body was still convulsing a bit, and my cock trapped between us was enough to push me over the edge.
"That's fucking hot," Luke said.
Cody and I took a few minutes to kiss and recover. As he pulled his face back, he broke into a wicked grin. I winked at him. He rolled off me, and we both moved quickly, tackling and pinning Luke to the bed. Cody dove for Luke's crotch while I started playing with his tits and kissing him.
Our double-team efforts were soon rewarded as Luke moaned around my tongue and his body convulsed.
"Welcome home," I said.
-----
"Morning," I said as Cody joined me for coffee.
"Morning."
"Two more weeks before exams. Anything big left in your classes?"
"Not really. More information to cram into my brain. That's about it."
"Big brain!"
"Sometimes, I think it's going to explode."
"Naw, I'm sure we can stuff more and more things into it."
That got Cody laughing.
"Sure Happy It's Tuesday," I said to Luke as he came into the kitchen.
"Eh. I guess."
"Acronym, dude."
"Oh. Yeah. It's a Tuesday."
"What's wrong?"
"In a funk, I guess."
"School? Home? Health?"
"Hiding, missing..."
"Gotcha, Thanksgiving has you in the funk."
"I mean, I had a good trip. It was good to see mom and dad. Be with my family."
"But you weren't with me, and that impacted you."
"Yeah."
"You understand why I think you should wait."
"Yeah. It doesn't make it easier."
"No. It won't. I've said it before: your parents took you, being gay amazingly well. I don't think there will be anything with this."
"But waiting makes sense. I'm still a bit dependent on them. I don't want to break the bond."
I pulled Luke into my arms.
"I love you so much. I want us to be together forever. I want everything to be perfect. However, life is often imperfect."
"Life is pretty fucking perfect," he said.
"Oh?"
"I've got you and Cody. What more could a person really want?"
I leaned down and gave him a kiss. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me tight.
I broke the kiss and said, "If we keep this up, I'm going to miss work, and you'll miss school."
"And you say that like it's a bad thing."
"Well, again, life is imperfect, and you need to go to school, and I need to go to work."
"Yeah. I know."
"We can continue this evening."
"I'd like that."
I finished packing my cooler and grabbed my bags.
"Need a lift?" I asked Cody.
"I'm riding with Luke," he said.
"Have a great day!" I hugged him and then gave him a kiss.
"You too."
-----
That evening, after I finished cleaning up the dinner mess, I walked into the den, turned on some music, and sat. Luke was in his room finishing up some reading, and Cody'd returned to campus for some group thing. I just let my mind disengage a bit, enjoying the peacefulness and solitude for a while.
Later, Luke joined me and asked, "Whatcha thinking about?"
"You, Cody, how much my life has changed, how much happier I am."
He sat down next to me, snuggled in, and said, "All those horrible things."
"Yep." I put my arm around him, pulled him close, and kissed the side of his face. "When's Cody due home?"
"He said he'd be home around nine."
"Done with your stuff?"
"Yep. I didn't have much."
After a few minutes, he asked, "Which playlist is this?"
"Serenity two."
"Who's singing?"
"Enya; it's from her Watermark album and is called Cursum Perficio."
"Any idea what that means?"
"My journey is over," I explained.
"I agree with Cody, you should go on Jeopardy."
"Eh, I'm good in music and a few other categories, but not in enough esoteric areas to compete. Back in college, I played two-person Trivial Pursuit. It was fun since we'd make up teams that could really compete."
"That does sound like fun. Can it stay like this?"
"You mean until Cody gets home? Longer?"
"Forever? Well, with Cody snuggled up too."
"I'd like that."
The music changed.
"Who's this?"
"Sade, the album is Promise, and the song is Sweetest Taboo."
"Can you identify every song in your library?"
"No. There are a lot of lesser-known songs from CDs I ripped that I wouldn't be able to identify. But if it's on a playlist, I know it well."
"I should create a few playlists," Luke suggested.
"That you should."
I guess my voice showed a bit more enthusiasm than he expected. He gave me a funny look.
I explained, "Playlists, to me, are insight. The music a person likes and what they put together helps explain them a bit."
He nodded.
"Think about this playlist, what's in it, and why I'm playing it now."
"That makes sense," he admitted.
"I can give you a list of all the music on the server to figure out what you want to add," I said.
"That's a lot of paper."
"No. In Excel format with filters on. My audio player exports it to a CSV, and I format it into Excel. You can filter by genre, artist, song name, etcetera."
"Cool."
We stayed snuggled, listening to music, until Cody got home.
As we were getting ready for bed, Cody asked, "Can we decorate for Christmas?"
"Sure."
Cody's face drooped a bit, and he said, "I know we won't be here, but I'd like to get into the festive mood."
I used my hand to pull Cody's chin gently up and said, "You'll be here until the twenty-third. Plus, this is your home."
Cody's eyes sparkled a bit as a big smile spread across his face. "You can't imagine how much I love you."
"If it's only half as much as I love you, it's an amazing amount!"
Cody pulled me into a big hug.
"What can we do?"
"Really depends. I have lights. I have decorations for the tree. I don't have an artificial tree, and we would need to fresh-cut one to have it last the longest."
"Are there places around here?" he asked.
"Look it up on the net. I'm sure there's something not too far."
-----
"Happy anniversary," Cody said in a quiet voice.
"Happy anniversary to you," I replied. I leaned forward and kissed him.
"Let's get our day started and let Luke sleep in," Cody said.
I smiled. He rolled out of bed, and then I followed. Once in the bathroom, we each took care of the needful. He waited for me to wash my hands, then wrapped his arms around me and kissed me.
In a quiet voice, he said, "It's been a crazy year. I'm so glad I met you. I'm so glad you said yes."
"Me too," I agreed. I leaned in and kissed him again. Finally, I said, "Let's get coffee."
We walked to the kitchen and started making coffee.
"It has been a crazy year. It seems like an odd set of circumstances brought us together. And yes, I'm very, very happy I said yes."
Cody smiled, then moved in close and kissed me.
"Hey, hey, none of that," Luke said as he entered the kitchen. "No getting busy with my husband."
"Which one of us are you talking to?" I asked.
"Ummm, both of you. Happy anniversary," he replied.
Cody and I walked over, pulled Luke into the middle, and each kissed a cheek.
"Dang, if I knew getting up early would get me some action..." Luke said.
"Well, it's not going to get you much action," I replied. "I have to get ready for work."
"And I have to get ready for school," Cody said.
"Spoilsports," Luke replied.
"Dinner out tonight?" I asked.
"Ummm..." Luke started.
"Yes, we can come home and have sex," I said with a laugh.
"Okay, dinner out is cool."
"I need to get ready for work. Am I taking you to campus?" I asked Cody.
"I'll take him over," Luke offered.
"Thanks."
I took my coffee with me to the bedroom. I made the bed, picked out my outfit for the day, and headed into the shower.
As I finished up shaving, the shower dinged. I'd just stepped in when both Luke and Cody appeared. It was a sensual shower as Luke washed my front and Cody washed my back. The three of us pivoted, enjoying the touch and tenderness as we cleaned each other.
"Busy day at work?" Luke asked as we got dressed.
"Shouldn't be any busier than normal. Standard meetings, standard stuff," I replied. "What about you two?"
"Should be the usual," Cody said.
"Yeah. Too close to the end of the semester to throw anything huge at us," Luke said. "At least I hope!"
Dressed, I went to the den and got my stuff. I found the guys with their backpacks at the door.
"Have a great day," I said.
They both kissed me, and I headed off to work.
It was a typical day at work, and I got home to find my guys studying.
"Where do you want to go for dinner?" Luke asked.
"Indian? Thai? Steak? I'm flexible."
"Something nice," Cody said.
"Not too nice," Luke said. "I don't want to be at a restaurant all night!"
"How about that nice place down in Clifton? Nice, but usually efficient."
"Works," Luke agreed.
"Give me a moment to change," I said.
They followed me into the bedroom, and we all changed clothes.
"Ready to go?" I asked.
"Yes," Cody said.
Luke nodded and said, "You look sharp."
"Thanks; you both look great," I said.
I drove us over to the restaurant. Once we got seated, I decided to go big.
"What can I get you to drink?" the waitress asked.
"I'd like a bottle of Moet and Chandon to start," I said.
"Celebrating?" she asked.
"That we are," Cody said.
"I need to see your IDs," she said to Cody and Luke.
They presented their licenses. She left, and about five minutes later she came back with a bottle and three flutes. She popped the bottle, poured the first glasses, and with that, she walked away.
"To the guys I love, happy anniversary. Cheers!" Luke said.
We all took a small drink.
"I heard this one once," Cody started. "May the worst day of our future together be no worse than the best day of our past. Cheers!"
Again, we all took a small drink.
"May we kiss who we please and please who we kiss! Cheers!" I said.
We took a final drink.
The waitress returned and took our order. Dinner was wonderful, and we were home relatively early.
"Cuddle time!" Cody exclaimed.
"Nekkid cuddle time," Luke said. He started shedding his outfit.
"He's hard to argue with," Cody said.
We both joined Luke in stripping. Before we were done, Luke was naked and hopped onto the center of the bed.
Naked, Cody climbed on the bed and crawled up to Luke, kissing him. I followed Cody onto the bed and came up beside them. Luke's arm pulled me to them, and the three of us kissed.
With Luke in the center, Cody and I cuddled up to him, our legs, and, arms, in fact, our bodies intertwining. Sex is always good, but this closeness is always amazing.
We lay there for a good while. Touching, stroking, licking, and periodically kissing. As Luke called it, nekkid cuddle time.
After a good while, I noticed that Luke's dick was at full mast, lying on his abs. I disengaged a bit, allowing myself to slide down and start licking the precum that was leaking out. Moments later, Cody's tongue was sliding up and down the shaft. I took the head between my lips and sucked.
"Guys, I want to get in on this," Luke said.
I pulled my mouth off his cock and said, "This little family of ours is all your fault, so you have to suffer the penalty!" With that, I put my hand around his cock and took it back into my mouth.
"Huh?" Luke grunted.
Cody had moved his attention to Luke's balls. He lifted slightly and said, "I wouldn't have met Coulter if it wasn't for you. It is all your fault the three of us are together." He went back to licking.
"Fault? I thought..." was as far as he got as I took his shaft to the base. "Oh, fuck!"
"Pay the penalty, dude!" Cody said.
"If this is a penalty, bring it on," Luke said.
While I continued to suck, Cody pushed Luke's legs a bit and worked down below his balls. Eventually, he hiked Luke's legs over his shoulders. Cody started working on Luke's ass while I continued to work on his cock.
It was a bit later when Cody tapped me on the shoulder. I pulled off, which allowed him to slide into position, pushing his cock into Luke's hole.
"That's it; get in me deep," Luke moaned.
Luke pulled his knees to his chest, giving Cody full access.
I moved around, getting behind Cody. I got close, but not too close, so that I didn't impact Cody's motion. I reached around, playing with Cody's tits. Unlike mine that were wired to my cock, Cody's, while sensitive, did not crank him up as quickly.
"Kiss me," he said.
I leaned forward as he turned his head and leaned back slightly. We kissed while Cody fucked Luke's ass. Luke's groans showed that Cody was hitting the right spots.
Cody reached back, pulling me closer, grabbing my cock, and rubbing it on his hole. I grabbed the lube, slicked up, and started working the head of my cock into his hole.
"Tease," Cody said.
I put my hand on Cody's back and pushed him into Luke.
"Oh, fuck!" Luke groaned as Cody's cock buried itself.
I slid into Cody's hole and started fucking – hard!
"That's it," Cody urged.
"Damn right," Luke agreed.
I leaned into Cody's back and started a series of quick, hard thrusts into his hole. Both he and Luke grunted under the assault. Then I pulled all the way out and then thrust in hard.
"I'm not gonna last," Cody warned.
"Fill me up," Luke urged.
I pulled back some to let Cody start moving more. He started fucking and fucking himself at once.
"Damn!" Cody said. "He's clamping down on my dick! Milk it, fucker."
He leaned in a bit and kissed Luke as his hips continued to move back and forth.
"Damn!" Cody exclaimed a few moments later. His body started convulsing, his ass spasming around my cock. From the way his body shook, it was an epic orgasm.
Spent, Cody collapsed down on Luke. I held still for a few moments to let Cody recover.
"Fuck him," Cody said.
I disengaged, and he moved out of the way. I slid into Luke's cum-filled hole. Cody moved around and took Luke's cock deep in his throat. It didn't take long for both of us to be at the point of no return.
-----
The next morning, I woke a few minutes before six. I'm sure to an outside observer, the scene on our bed looked like the aftermath of a night of drunken debauchery. Well, they'd be close, except none of us were drunk.
I worked to extricate myself from the tangled mess, feeling fortunate that Luke was in the middle this morning. I closed the bathroom door and turned on the light. A bit of dried cum here and there, but overall, not too bad. I took a washcloth and wiped myself a bit. Finally, I ran a brush through my hair, and now at least I looked semi-presentable.
I exited the bathroom, closed the bedroom door as I exited, and went to the kitchen to make coffee. I was on my second cup when I heard footsteps behind me.
"You like to stare at the yard in the morning," Cody said. He came over and gave me a coffee-flavored kiss.
"It helps me get my thoughts in order. Prepares my mind for the day. All that stuff."
"The start of year two."
"Yep. Second of many to come."
"We still on to get a tree?"
"Yup, but I guess we need to get a trailer first."
"Huh?"
"I don't think I want to put a tree on top of the Jeep. Probably not the best thing for the soft-top."
"Oh, I didn't think about that."
"I found a place out in Manassas where we can get an affordable utility trailer and hitch. I'm hoping that doesn't take more than an hour. Then we could head to whatever tree farm you found."
"I don't want you to spend money just so we can have a tree."
"I'm not spending money just so we can have a tree. I explained when we bought the Jeep that we'd need a trailer for hauling mulch and other things that not having a truck bed requires. This is just putting the issue front and center."
"Okay. It's just," he started.
I put my hand up to stop him.
"It's just that you're concerned about me spending money and not contributing and feeling like a leach, and I'm not supposed to..."
Cody started chuckling.
"Yep, I nailed it," I said.
"Okay, okay, I get it."
"Where's the tree farm?" I asked.
"Well, I did research. There's a farm out west of Purcellville that has a huge selection of Colorado blue spruces."
"Why a blue spruce?"
"From what I read, they last the longest, have the best holding capacity for ornaments, and are really pretty."
"Cool. Will we need a better tree stand?"
"Huh?"
"The stand I have is designed for a small tree. Maybe six feet and not a huge trunk."
"Oh."
"See what you can find," I said.
"Huh?"
"Let's go downstairs and get the one I have. See how big a tree it will hold. If it isn't up to the standards, we can find one somewhere."
"How big a tree are you thinking about?" he asked.
"Where did you want to put it?" I asked.
"I hadn't really thought about that."
I stood up and took Cody's hand. I said, "Come with me."
We walked through the main living spaces and ended up in the den.
"I think there in front of the windows would be best," Cody said.
"You've got nine feet, including the topper."
"How big is your topper?" Cody asked.
"He's topped you enough; you should know," Luke said with a snicker. "Good morning."
"Morning," we both said back.
"What are you two talking about?" Luke asked.
"We are thinking of putting the tree here. We've got nine feet of clearance, and I wanted to know how tall the tree topper Coulter is," Cody explained.
"It's a crocheted angel, and it's about twelve inches, but it sits down on the tree about three or four inches. So, a bit over eight feet for the tree," I explained.
"Breakfast, tree, decorate?" Luke asked.
"Breakfast, trailer, tree, decorate, with lunch and probably dinner mixed in," I said.
"Time to get the trailer?" Luke asked.
"I don't want to put a big tree on top of the Jeep," I admitted.
"Makes sense," he agreed. "I'm not sure I want to drive with the trailer attached."
"Practice. We can do what we did to get you comfortable with a stick."
"Suck it. Sit on it. Enjoy it." Luke said with a laugh.
"Practice driving in the parking lot at the mall."
"Oh. That stick!"
Cody burst into laughter.
"What do you want for breakfast?" I asked.
"Headed west?" Cody said.
"Yup."
"Isn't there an IHOP as you're going into Manassas?" Cody asked.
"Yup."
"How about that?" Cody said.
"Works for me. What about you?" I asked, looking at Luke.
"Works."
We got dressed, and I drove us over to IHOP. After breakfast, we went to the trailer place and got a hitch and trailer. Then I drove us out to the Christmas tree farm.
"It's huge," Luke said as we drove up the driveway.
"Glad you noticed," I said with a laugh.
"The farm, not your dick! Well, your dick's plenty big. But..." Luke started.
"Dig that hole deeper," Cody said with a laugh.
"Let's get a tree," Luke said.
"Sure!"
We got instructions, a map, and a saw from the staff. Before we walked off, I asked, "Do you sell tree stands?"
"We do," she said. "We have two models for sale in the barn. If you're in the market, check them out before you pick a tree so you know what will fit."
"Makes sense. Thanks!"
We went into the barn and looked.
"That's expensive," Cody said.
"It's solid, cast iron, and designed for a large tree. It will last a lifetime. Look at it as an investment; it's not something that we should skimp on."
"Okay. Okay."
We followed the map out to one of the one-acre squares of Colorado blue spruces.
"How tall?" Luke asked.
"Well, the final height should be a little over eight feet. We will need to cut a slice off the trunk when we get home to make sure it will take water," I said.
"May eight and a half?" Cody said.
"I would think a bit taller. You won't be able to cut it at ground level; you'll be a few inches up," I explained.
"How wide?" Luke asked.
"We've got plenty of room," I said. "But I don't have enough ornaments for a huge tree. Over the years, as we add ornaments, we could get a bigger tree."
We'd been walking through the trees when Cody yelped, "That one!"
Luke and I joined Cody.
"It's perfect," he said.
I pulled out the tape measure to ensure it was tall enough.
"Works for me," I said.
"I like it," Luke said.
"I will," Cody said. He took the saw, laid on the ground, and started sawing. It didn't take long until we were carrying it over to the bailing machine.
We stopped for lunch on the way home.
"Why don't you two cut a fresh end on the tree while I set up the stand?" I said.
"Sure," Luke said.
I got things set up and joined the guys outside.
"Cut the twine?" Luke asked.
"No. It will be easier to carry it in still bailed."
We got the tree in place, added water, and stood back.
"Perfect," Cody said.
"White? Multi-color? Twinkling?" I asked.
"Multi-color," Luke said with a lot of enthusiasm. "Ours are always white only."
"Twinkling!" Cody added.
"Works for me. I have a lot of multi-color."
We spent the next hour putting lights and ornaments on the tree.
"How do we turn them off and on?" Cody asked.
"Light switch over there," I said.
"Cool, easier than crawling under the tree," Luke said.
"Definitely," I agreed. "What do you want for dinner?"
"Options, dude," Luke said.
"Hmmm... something easy. We have leftover steak and French bread; we could do steak sandwiches with fries or onion rings."
"Works," Cody said. "I'll get the fryer set up."
-----
"Now this is how you relax," Cody said. He sat on the sectional and cuddled up to me. The only lights in the den were coming from the Christmas tree.
"It is very nice," I agreed.
"It sets a great mood. One advantage of being up early, Christmas lights in the morning!"
"Yup."
"I wish I could cuddle with you all Christmas day."
"Next year," I said.
"You think?"
"After he graduates, there is no reason Luke can't have the discussion with his folks. They love him. They love you. They've accepted things so well. This is different, but something they can comprehend."
"You're right, they are accepting. Anyway, we have a date right here on Christmas day next year."
"Deal!"
We cuddled and sipped coffee for a while.
"Refill?" Cody asked.
"Please. Would you grab my phone while you're up?"
"Sure."
Cody left. When he returned, he sat my mug on the end table next to me and handed me my phone. I pulled up the sound system, set it for only the den, ensured the volume was low, and picked a playlist.
"Perfect," Cody said as he snuggled against me. He started singing softly with the music, "Just like the ones I used to know..."
I took a sip of my coffee, set the mug down, and wrapped my arms around him. We stayed snuggled up, listening to Christmas songs. My mind disconnected a bit, just enjoying the time.
"Mind if I join in?" Luke asked.
Cody shifted a bit, letting Luke snuggle up to him.
"This is nice," Luke said.
"I know you wouldn't want to be up early, but it was really pretty before sunrise," Cody said.
"I'm sure. Maybe we can do this again tonight after sunset," Luke suggested.
"I'm willing," I replied.
It was a great way to start a Sunday.
-----
"Like previous semesters, I want to make sure I do everything in my power to support you both during exam time."
"Food, relaxation, and lots of sex," Cody said with a laugh.
"In other words, food, and lots and lots of sex!" Luke explained.
"You've done what was needed before. Don't stress," Cody added.
"Next Monday and Tuesday are reading days?"
"Yep. I've got two exams on Wednesday. One on Thursday, and then Monday and Tuesday," Luke explained.
"Two on Wednesday, one Thursday, and two on Monday," Cody said.
"You finish first for once!" I said.
"Yep."
"Neither of you have anything Friday. I have my floating hours from Veterans Day."
They both shook their heads.
"I could take Friday off. We could have a weekend on Friday and Saturday and let you study on Sunday."
"That sounds great," Luke said.
"With you finishing on Tuesday, when are you planning to head home?" I asked.
"Not till Saturday," Luke said.
"Wow. No flak from your folks?"
"Not a bit. Remember, this isn't a dorm, it's our home. Well, they understand it's Cody's home," Luke said.
"They're not my folks," Cody added.
"True, true. I'm just glad you're not leaving as soon as I thought."
"We're coming back on the seventh," Luke added.
"Woo hoo!"
"Two weeks at home is plenty," Luke explained. "I think my folks understand where we're coming from."
I put my arm around Luke's shoulder and said, "You've got good parents."
"And I've got good in-laws," Cody said.
"We have good in-laws," I agreed. "They just don't know about me yet."
That got a laugh from Cody.
-----
"What needs to get done this weekend?" Cody asked.
"The house is clean. Laundry is under control. No yard work in December. Let's see. Workout if you like. We could do something out and about. We could watch some movies."
"In other words, maximize the us time," he said.
"Yep. We could go climb into bed and wake up the sex fiend in a way he'd like."
"We should give him a bit more time."
I raised an eyebrow.
"I got up and went to the bathroom at two. He was still awake watching some movie," Cody explained.
"He is a night owl."
"Not as much as he used to be."
"Well, think about what you might want to do, and we can discuss it once he wakes."
Cody got up, grabbed our mugs, and headed for the kitchen. He was back in a few moments with fresh coffee.
"Thanks."
"Welcome."
He snuggled up to me, and we watched the twinkling lights. We sat like that for a while, the sky becoming lighter behind the tree.
"Have you thought about decorating outside?" Cody asked.
"Nope. But if you'd like too, we can."
He turned and gave me a peck on the cheek, saying, "Thanks."
"It's..." I started.
"My house too," Cody completed. "Actually, it's my home."
It was my turn to kiss him.
"Getting busy with my husband?" Luke asked as he walked into the room.
"Damn right," Cody said.
I had to chuckle.
In a very indignant tone, Luke said, "What's so funny? My husband is getting busy with someone!"
Just short of laughing, I said, "Which one?"
The indignant tone continued, "Both of them!"
"You have two options," Cody started. "Join us or go pout somewhere else!"
With that, Luke came over and started pushing between Cody and me on the sectional. We made a bit of room.
"Now, let's all get busy," he said.
I chuckled for a moment before kissing him.
It was a great start to our Saturday.
-----
"What time do we need to leave?" Luke asked.
"We're supposed to be there at six," I explained. "I'd like to leave a few minutes after five so we can get there and find parking."
"I never asked where they live," Luke said.
"They bought a place in Eckington and are fixing it up."
"Where is Eckington?" Cody asked.
"It's a neighborhood in northeast. As I recall, they are near Brentwood, Galluadet, and Union Market."
"I know the words," Luke said.
"Brentwood is a neighborhood. The most I know about it is that it's where the post office that processed anthrax-laced mail is. Evidently, it's the hub for a lot of mail going to government agencies. Union Market is this large set of buildings that have things like a food hall and such. Kinda like the Reading Market in Philly. They've been revitalizing it, from what Ben said. Galluadet is a university that caters primarily to deaf and hard-of-hearing students."
"Cool," Luke said. "Dress code?"
"Slacks, a nice shirt, or a polo and sweater," I suggested.
"Who's going to be there?" Cody asked.
"Well, Ben said they'd invited neighbors. I confirmed that it is two gay couples, but I don't know them."
"Ummm," Cody started.
"Neither Ben nor Austin care. If their neighbors can't handle it, their problem, not mine."
"Okay," Luke said.
"What are we taking?" Cody asked.
"Just wine and a host gift," I said.
"Host gift?" Cody asked.
"I got them a plant as a housewarming present."
"Oh, cool," Cody said.
"Which is which?" Luke asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I want to hold a reasonable conversation. I remember one works in an art gallery, and the other does something in finance."
"Austin, art," Cody explained. "Ben, business."
"That's a great way to remember it," I said.
"Austin works at the Hillwood Estate and Museum," I explained. "The estate was the home of Marjorie Merriweather Post. She was the heiress of the Post cereal fortune. You should talk to Austin about her; the story is amazing."
"Cool!" Luke said.
"Ben's a financial advisor with Edward Jones," I explained. "When you start thinking about retirement planning, he's your guy!"
"Umm... retirement planning," Luke said. "That's decades off."
"Nope. It's months away. You get a job; you start saving for retirement with your company's 401K!"
"Okay," Luke said.
"That gives you a topic with each of them," I said.
"Thanks!"
We spent the rest of the early afternoon doing a few chores and watching a movie. Luke disappeared a bit before four. I thought I heard the shower running.
"What's got him so wound up?" I asked.
"He, well, actually, we both are trying to," Cody said and paused.
"You're trying not to be the college kid in the room. You're trying to hold your own in conversations. In the end, you're trying to come off as worthy of being my partners," I finished for him.
"Yeah."
"I appreciate it. Please don't let it stress you. I love you two for who you are, not for who you could be or pretend to be. Also, feel free to talk to me about these feelings."
"Huh?"
"Remember, I have experience. I was the junior; well, it's better to call it the younger partner."
"Again, why you are so careful."
"Damn right."
"Luke also sees this as practice," Cody said.
"What?"
"He's graduating next spring. He'll have to be an adult: interviews, work, and more."
"Got it. We should get ready."
With that, we both walked back to the bedroom. I almost chuckled when I saw Luke's outfit laid out on the bed. He'd chosen a pair of black chukka boots, dark blue jeans, and a black and grey paisley shirt. Yes, he was putting his best foot forward.
"I guess I need to iron a shirt," Cody said.
"Wear whatever you think is best," I said.
"What are you wearing?"
I walked over to the closet. I pulled out a pair of black Dockers, a French blue dress shirt that was already ironed, and then grabbed a light grey cardigan sweater from the dresser.
"What do you think of this?" I asked.
"Now do me," Cody said with a chuckle.
I thought for a moment and then grabbed a black v-neck sweater of mine from the dresser. I went over to the closet and got a pair of his grey jeans and a red dress shirt. I paired that with a pair of black Derby shoes.
"I'm gonna look sharp," Cody said.
"You could pop a bow-tie or a regular tie if you want to jazz it up a bit, but that might be a bit much," I said.
"I think I'll stick with what you laid out," Cody said with a bit of a laugh.
The three of us got cleaned up, dressed, and headed into the city. I looked at the time after I finished parking.
"What's the house number?" Cody asked.
"Hold up a minute. We're a good bit early," I explained.
I grabbed my phone and sent Ben and Austin a text, `We're in the neighborhood – too early?'
I got a reply a few moments later: `No worries.'
We walked up the block and to the front door of a brick row house. Austin was standing with the door open and said, "Gentlemen, you all look wonderful."
"Thanks," Luke said.
I gave Austin a hug as I entered.
"How is the place coming along?" I asked.
"Slow, but we knew it was a fixer-upper. The floors are done throughout. We've replaced all the windows on the front and are waiting for the ones on the back to come in. We painted this room and the master bedroom. Everything else is lined up but not started."
"I love the floors," Cody said.
"Are you doing most of the work yourself?" Luke asked.
"It's a mixture: electrical, plumbing, etc. For those, we turn to licensed tradespeople. Painting and woodwork are us."
"Wow, I'm impressed," Luke said.
"Let's get you all drinks," Austin said.
He led us back to the kitchen.
"Welcome," Ben said as we entered.
"The place is great," I said. "I know it's a work in progress, but what you've done is super, and the rest has great potential."
"Thanks!"
Drinks in hand, Austin showed us around a bit. We were looking at the powder room when the doorbell rang.
"Excuse me a moment," Austin said.
After he left, Cody said, "I really like this place."
"Want to move into the city?" Luke asked.
"No. I prefer our place, but I can appreciate what they have," he replied.
That put a smile on my face. We walked back to the living room and found Austin with two gentlemen. The two guys were probably in the same age range as Austin and Ben.
"Guys, this is Landon and Brandon," Austin said.
"Please, no jokes," Landon said.
"None coming," Luke said. "I'm Luke. This is Cody and Coulter."
As the five of us did the handshake thing, the doorbell rang, and Austin traipsed off.
"Why jokes?" Cody asked.
"A lot of folks kid us about our rhyming names," Brandon explained.
"Oh, I guess I'm used to that," Cody said.
"Huh?" Landon grunted.
"There were these guys in school: Larry, Barry, and Gary. Larry and Barry were twins, and Gary was their younger brother."
"That's the joke part," Brandon said. "Did our parents do this on purpose?"
The light bulb most likely went off in Cody's head, and he said, "I get it. Slow tonight."
Austin returned with two more guys, and he started making introductions. "This is Kevin and Bradley," he explained.
Again, the cross-introductions and handshakes.
"Drinks?" Austin asked of the two couples.
With drink orders placed, Austin left the room.
"How long have you two known Ben and Austin?" Brandon asked, looking at Cody and Luke.
Cody looked at me and said, "We met them at your birthday. So, roughly ten months."
I nodded in agreement. I added, "I've known them for six or seven years, I guess. My ex and I met them through friends."
"How long have you two been together?" Bradley asked, looking at Luke and Cody.
"We celebrated our one-year anniversary at the beginning of December," Cody said. "But it's not the two of us. It's the three of us."
My mind flashed to the Mastercard ads; the looks on the four guys faces were priceless. Austin came back into the room with a tray of drinks.
"I need to help Ben get the rest of dinner plated," Austin said.
"Can I be of assistance?" I asked.
"Sure, that would be great."
I got an odd look from Cody and Luke. I did feel like I was leaving them to the wolves. As Austin and I got into the kitchen, I said, "You hadn't told the guys we're a triple."
"Didn't think it was important," Austin said.
"None of their business," Ben added.
"Well, they know now, and the looks on their faces were priceless!"
"We haven't known any of them long, but they do seem like nice guys. I guess this will shake out who can be long-term friends," Ben said.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"If they have problems with the three of you, they have problems with us," Austin stated.
"Thanks," I said.
"Well, everything is ready; let's put the food out," Ben said.
I helped them carry the food out to the table.
"We're ready to eat," Austin said to the group.
I looked at Cody and Luke. They both smiled at me, so I assumed the discussions went well. They had name cards at each seat, so we took our places. I had Brandon on one side and Bradley on the other. We passed the food and started eating.
"How'd you meet your partners?" Brandon asked.
"After my divorce," I started.
"Divorce?" Bradley asked.
"I married my ex in Maryland. I caught him cheating on me. We separated, and then, when gay marriage was legal, we divorced," I explained.
Both guys looked stunned.
"As I was saying, after the divorce, I found and fell in love with this great mid-century modern place out in Fairfax near GMU. I started dating this great guy; we knew from the start that he was moving to California for graduate school. He introduced me to Luke. Luke had been dating Cody off and on for years. He introduced me to Cody, and just over a year ago, we decided that we all loved each other."
"I'm sure there's a lot more to it than Luke introducing you to Cody," Brandon said. "But I understand that it's probably private."
"Very astute," I replied.
I turned to look at Bradley and found he had a bit of a pained look on his face. "Have you run into issues with people accepting your relationship?" he asked.
"With my friends, not at all. They have gotten to know Luke and Cody and accepted them warmly. With strangers, a bit. We were out to dinner one night, and the table next to us made a sugar daddy comment."
"I'm a bit surprised you don't get that more," Bradley admitted.
"Luke graduates in May. Cody has another year," I explained. "I'm sure to some it looks like it. Things will change as they start being able to contribute."
Bradley nodded.
I decided it was time to change the topic and said, "So what led you to living in this neighborhood?"
"Downtown living without the normal downtown price," Brandon said.
"It seems that gays like to be part of the gentrification process," Bradley added.
We continued our discussion through dinner.
-----
I was finishing up my coffee Monday morning when Cody joined me.
"It's funny not having any classes today," he said.
"It's good they added the reading days to give you a bit more time to prepare for final exams."
"I'm ready. Ready for them to be over."
I chuckled at that.
"I hope you had fun last night," I said.
"Ben and Austin are great. Landon seemed nice. Kevin gave me a vibe," he said and paused.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Remember those guys in Philly? At the next table?"
"The sugar-daddy commentors?"
"Yeah."
"Interesting, I mentioned that experience to Bradley and Brandon."
"To each his own," Cody said.
"I'll have to check with Ben and Austin to see what comments were made after we left."
"If any," Cody added.
"I guess I should hit the road."
"Noooo... stay with us."
"Wish I could, but I need to be in the office today. And I need to work, not play today."
"Understood. Have a great day and a safe drive."
"Give Luke a kiss for me," I said. I stood up, kissed Cody, grabbed my bags, and headed out.
At the office, I'd finished the SCRUM when Greta stopped by.
"Got a few minutes?"
"Sure, what's up?"
"Would you run the SCRUM for me while I'm off?"
"Of course."
"Good. You're the only one I trust," she said.
"What?"
"That may have come off wrong. You're the only one with the right knowledge that's also as type A about things as I am."
"Ah, I won't screw up your system."
"Exactly."
"Are you going to take up the work-from-home offer?" she asked.
"Not full time. I'm going to be an empty-nester over the holidays, and I think coming into town will give me some social interaction."
"Empty-nester?"
"The guys that live with me are going home for the holiday break."
"Gotcha."
-----
"Have you talked to Ben and Austin?" Luke asked.
"What?"
"Cody and I talked about it. We wanted to see how we did. What did the other two couples think?"
"In other words, what grades did you receive? It's not like that, guys."
"I know it's not with Ben and Austin," Luke said.
"I hear a but in that statement."
"That one couple seemed to be very judgey."
"I figure it will be easiest to find out Thursday night."
"Oh, that makes sense."
"So, what's the game plan for the next three days?" I asked.
"I have back-to-back exams tomorrow," Luke explained.
"Ten-thirty to what four?"
"Four-fifteen with only a fifteen-minute break."
"I can pack you a good lunch. Throw in a few snack bars and such."
"Thanks!"
"What about you?" I asked Cody.
"Seven-thirty till one-fifteen with a fifteen-minute break."
"A hearty breakfast and a good lunch then too," I said.
"Works for me."
"Are you two going to be up for Thursday night?" I asked.
"Sure. A good chance to blow off some steam," Luke said. "Do you need any help?"
"Food's just about ready. Set the table, drinks, etcetera," I said.
Luke and Cody got things ready. I put the food in the serving dishes, and we went to eat.
"How are your studies going?" I asked.
"I'm done. I've read everything I need. I reviewed what I could and updated my cheat sheet," Cody said.
"What?"
"We're allowed one sheet of paper with notes. The idea is that in the real world, you have the Internet, books, tools, colleagues, and more to help answer questions. For this exam, we get our cheat sheet. That just means the questions are going to be that much harder."
"Gotcha," I replied. "You?"
"Ready, set, test me! But I do need some de-stressing time after dinner."
I had to chuckle at that.
"Yeah! Lots of destressing," Cody added.
"I'm game! As soon as we clean up from dinner."
"Woohoo!" Luke cheered.
-----
"Where's Kyle?" I asked as Justin, Angus, and Casey joined us.
"Prepping for his exam tomorrow," Casey replied.
"None for you?" I asked.
"Ours are all next week," Casey explained. "What about you two?"
"Three down, two on Monday for me," Cody said.
"Three down, one on Monday, and one on Tuesday," Luke explained.
"When do you head south?" Justin asked.
"Saturday," Luke said.
"We should hang while you're down there," Casey said.
"That would be great," Cody replied. "We can show you around the Beach."
"I'd like that."
"Are you performing tonight?" I asked Casey.
"I was thinking about it. How about a duet?" he asked Cody.
"Ummm... I guess."
"What are you doing?" Justin asked me.
"Attention." I explained.
"Charlie Puth?"
"Yup."
"I need to convince Angus to start singing," Justin said.
Angus shook his head.
"How about we do a duet?" I asked Angus. "We could do What Ifs."
"Not sure I know that one," he replied. "Let me check it out."
"Kane Brown and Lauren Alaina."
He plugged in his headset and started listening. I looked over and saw Cody and Casey in discussion, looking at Casey's phone.
"Sign up time," Georgia announced.
Cody got up and headed to the table.
"I'm in," Angus said. "I'll do her part."
I hopped up and got in line. As Cody headed back, he stopped and said, "We're doing Tears."
"That will be great. Angus and I are doing What Ifs."
"Cool!"
The conversation at the table was lively until the performances got started. Georgia always picked performers not based on when they signed up but instead on what they chose. She ran the show like a DJ, ensuring the music kept the vibes right. It was about midway through the first half when she called Cody and Casey to the stage.
"The last time you two did a duet, you rocked the place. I'm really looking forward to you two collaborating on Clean Bandit's Tears."
She left the stage, and the music started. It was clear like the previous time: Casey was taking the lead and Cody was the backup vocalist. This time, however, you could clearly see Cody's confidence had grown. The guys received loud applause as they finished.
Georgia got back on stage and announced, "We've got another duet. This time one of our regulars, Coulter is teaming up with Angus covering Kane Brown and Lauren Alaina's What Ifs."
As the music started, I looked at Angus and smiled. I really got into the song and was surprised at how well Angus did considering he'd heard it once. We got a good round of applause.
"Break time," Georgia announced.
I turned to talk to Ben and/or Austin. But I found Cody and Luke already in conversation. My mood turned happy. My guys were comfortable enough with my friends to ask the questions they wanted answered. Instead, I turned to Justin and Angus.
"I look forward to many more duets," Justin said. "I knew he had a great voice."
"I'm more than willing," I said.
Angus just smiled.
I looked at the table's drinks and realized we should get our refills.
"Everyone wants the same?" I asked.
I received a lot of nods, so I walked over to the bar and placed an order.
"It's almost like Luke wanted to be graded," Ben said.
"They are both trying so hard to prove themselves to my friends."
"I told him we all like them a lot and are very happy; they make you so happy."
"Thanks!"
"Landon and Brandon seemed surprised but impressed. Bradley seemed a bit more reserved, but his comments didn't make me think he objected. Kevin seemed to think you were grooming the guys. I laughed in his face."
"You did?"
"Dude, I've seen and heard how far you are bending over to avoid grooming, shaping, or otherwise overly influencing those two. You're so not James!"
"Thanks!"
"Here are your drinks," the bartender said.
Ben helped me carry them back to the table.
-----
"How much studying do you need to do?"
"I should probably review my notes Sunday night for a bit," Cody replied.
"Any thoughts on what you'd like to do today?"
"What would you like to do today?"
"Spend time with the two of you. How we do it, I honestly don't care."
"Chores? Shopping?"
"House is clean. Laundry caught up. It might be good to strip the bed. We could do some grocery shopping, but that shouldn't take too long."
"Snuggle, watch a movie, listen to music-that would be my list."
"Works for me!"
Cody repositioned himself and snuggled up next to me, coffee mug in hand. We sat there watching the lights on the tree twinkle for some time.
"I keep telling you not to be busy with my husband," Luke said with a smirk.
"We are definitely not busy," Cody replied.
"Okay, good."
Luke sat down and then snuggled up to Cody. Cody moved a hand and started playing with Luke's hair.
"This is the life," Luke said.
"Amen to that," I agreed.
"You're off all day, right?" Luke asked.
"Yep, this is my floating holiday."
"We get three days to just relax and have sex?"
"We have three days minus the hours you two need to use for studying to do whatever we want."
"Eat and spend time. That's all I need," Luke said.
"We need a bit of groceries to get us through the week, but I agree."
"It's going to be a great weekend," Cody said.
I couldn't agree more; I thought.
-----
Even though I convinced Luke and Cody that everything was fine and that they should go to Luke's folks for Christmas, I was truly bummed. Less than forty-eight hours till they left.
"Folks, it's our last night before the holiday, so tonight's theme is Christmas," George announced. "I've got the full line of options, from traditional to funny and everything in between."
With that announcement, folks started queueing up to select their songs.
"Waiting till the end?" George asked when I walked up.
"Just didn't want to deal with the crowd."
"I made sure there were several country Christmas songs. Got one in mind?"
"Definitely. It's by Gary Allan."
"I know it; I'll find it and add it to the list," he offered.
"Thanks!"
I went back to the table and got back into the conversation.
"How many Santa Baby renditions do you think we'll have to suffer through?" Darryl asked.
"Knowing George, not too many. He doesn't let a song get picked more than once, typically."
Cody was almost bouncing when he got back to the table.
"What's got you wound up?" I asked.
"We got Baby, It's Cold Outside," he explained.
Before I could say anything, Casey sat down next to him.
"Which are you?"
"I'm doing the female part," he explained.
"What about you?" Cody asked.
"You know me... country boy. I picked a song by Gary Allan."
"Oh."
The lights flashed, signaling the start of the evening, and everyone started to quiet down. I was a bit surprised when Santa Baby started off the show, but I figured George just wanted to get it out of the way.
"That wasn't as bad as I expected," Darryl said into my ear after it ended.
"Always depends on who gets a song," I replied.
A few more songs went by, and then Casey and Cody performed.
"Nicely done, guys," Phil said from across the table.
"It didn't come off as sexy as I'd hoped," Cody said quietly to me.
"Christmas songs are hard to get `sexy'," I agreed.
George really kept the show flowing as always.
"One more song before our break," George said. "Next up is Coulter, and as is typical, he picked a song with a country flavor. Tonight, he's covering Save Santa the Trip by Gary Allan."
I was up on the stage as he finished his intro and the music started.
"Well, they say he knows who's been naughty or nice, and if I have my way, baby, after tonight, we'll be one couple he can scratch off his list; let's be naughty and save Santa the trip..."
The song showed off Gary Allan's ability to do sultry very well. and I did my best to cover it.
"Nasty, naughty, and save Santa the trip," I sang. That got a lot of hoots from the crowd.
I got a big round of applause and then walked back to my seat.
"Tonight won't be the first time we get on the naughty list," Cody said to me. "Or the last."
"We'll start back up in fifteen minutes, folks!" George announced.
Luke appeared next to me, tapped me on the shoulder, and motioned for me to pull away from the table. I scooted the chair back a bit and he sat on my lap.
"Let's go home," he said into my ear. "I wanna show you how naughty I can be!"
"That's an offer I can't refuse," I said back to him.
"Guy's we're gonna head out," I said to the table. "These two are leaving for the Beach Saturday."
"And we're gonna get scratched off Santa's list tonight!" Luke said loudly.
"I was going to say, be good," Justin said. "But I don't think that's appropriate."
"Or maybe it is!" Kyle teased.
Everyone said goodnight as we got our coats on.
-----
I left work and caught the early train on Friday. I got home and found the guys starting to pack for their trip. I gave each a kiss and then went to change into something a bit more comfortable. Settled, I thought about the evening. It was three days until Christmas, but due to their departure date, we were having our dinner and present exchange.
I wanted to spend a fortune on my guys but held back. A few very specific gifts would be better received.
"What's for dinner?" Luke asked?
"Chinese delivery," I explained. "I don't want to be dealing with making, cleaning up, and everything else tonight."
That got me a big smile.
I handed Luke the menu and asked, "Think about what you would like. I'll go grab Cody."
"What I want's not on the menu."
"That's dessert," I said with a laugh as I walked out. Finding Cody, I said, "We're having Chinese takeout tonight. What would you like?"
"Oh, the honey pecan shrimp. I'll be done in a couple more minutes."
I walked back to the kitchen and found Luke setting up his order.
"What does Cody want?"
"Honey pecan shrimp," I said.
"We should call that Cody One. He orders that most times."
I chuckled a bit.
"What about you?" Luke asked.
"Fried wontons, crab Rangoon, the Hong Kong style wonton soup, and the Sha Cha pork."
"Yum," Luke said.
He finished the order and submitted it.
"Forty-five minutes," he said.
"I'm here!" Cody announced.
"Foods ordered," Luke said.
"Presents in the den?" I asked.
"Yup!" Cody said.
"Open now?" I asked.
"Sure!" Luke's voice showed a lot of enthusiasm.
We sat in front of the tree, and I grabbed a box for both. Luke ripped through the paper and opened the box. Pulling back the tissue paper, he looked for a moment and said, "Cool."
"You're going to be the best dressed when you start your job," Cody said.
"I didn't get you any ties," I explained. "I figured we could all share those."
Luke stood up suddenly and went running towards the bedrooms. He came back a few moments later with his suit on a hanger. He laid each of the shirts around the suit.
"These are great together. I'm going to be snazzy! Thanks!"
Cody then took his turn, carefully removing the wrapping paper, lifting the box lid off, and gently pulling back the tissue paper.
"These are cool," Cody said.
"I don't recognize the logo," Luke said.
"Psycho Bunny," I explained.
"Don't call Cody names!" Luke said with a laugh.
"Ummm, the brand is Psycho Bunny."
"Oh!" Luke was full on laughing now.
"I figured polo shirts would be better than dress shirts for you."
"I'm going to look sharp on campus."
Luke picked up an envelope, handed it to me, and said, "Here."
I opened the envelope and found a beautiful Christmas card. I read, "May the fresh-cut essence of Christmas stick on your hands for a day and stick in your heart forever."
There was a piece of paper folded inside the card.
As I unfolded it, Luke said, "I couldn't think of anything else to get you. I hope you like it."
"Beatport, super. I download a lot of music from them."
"Cool!"
"One more for each of you from me," I said.
Again, Luke tore into the wrapping while Cody sedately removed it.
Luke was looking at his as Cody finally got to the box.
"They are supposed to produce great sound, be waterproof, rugged, and portable," I explained. "Plus, if you two want to listen to the same music, you can pair them together."
"Sweet," Cody said.
"This is from me," Cody said, handing me a small box.
I opened the box to find a set of wooden coasters in a small holder. Each of the coasters had a very mid-century modern design on it.
"Thanks, these are very nice!"
"I thought of you when I saw them," Cody said.
"I can see why."
"Thank you both. Very thoughtful gifts."
"Are you two exchanging gifts now?" I asked.
"We figured we needed to wait." Luke's voice sounded a bit down.
"Makes sense. The nice thing is that I know what you got each other. Hehehehehe." I rubbed my hands together, giving my most evil look.
The doorbell rang before we could go any further. Cody bounced up and headed for the door.
"Tip is on top of the key bowl," I said.
"Got it."
Luke and I headed to the kitchen. We helped Cody unpack the food, filled our plates, and had dinner.
-----
"Not going to happen," I said to myself.
"What's that?" Luke said. He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me.
"Nothing important. Just muttering to myself."
"Yup, trying not to should on yourself, huh?"
"You know me well. But this time, it's not shoulding. It's getting down in the dumps with you two leaving."
"It's only two weeks," Luke said.
"Isn't that my line?" I asked.
He laughed at me a bit.
"You could drive down and visit," he said.
"Probably not the best idea. Anyway, I'll survive. That's why I said it's not going to happen. I'm going to the group Christmas party. I'm going to work. I'll get a few little projects out of the way, and then you two will come back."
"What about New Years?" Luke asked.
"It's a Monday."
"Could you come down?"
"I hadn't thought about that. What will your parents think?"
"We're doing New Year's Eve with the guys. They aren't going to smother us like Cody's folks would have."
"I could drive down Saturday morning and head back Monday afternoon."
"Yes!"
Cody walked into the room and said, "What's got you so excited?"
"He's going to come visit," Luke explained.
"Huh?"
"I'll drive down on the thirtieth and drive back late on the first. We can ring in the New Year."
"That's fantastic!" Cody said.
"You know the old saying about the stroke of midnight?" I asked.
"Sex is best when you're stroking." Luke said with a bit of a laugh.
"No. Whatever you're doing when the New Year starts is what you'll do the most throughout the year."
"So," Cody said and paused. "We're fucking at midnight, which means a year of great sex!"
"Works for me," Luke said.
"Now, I'm sure I can get through this," Cody said.
"We should start packing the car," Luke said.
I helped the guys get their bags into the back of the car. I gave them both lots of hugs and kisses, and they were off. Only seven days left. Time to find a hotel room at the Beach.
-----
"Merry Christmas," Cody said.
"Merry Christmas to you," I replied.
Luke moved in behind Cody.
"How was the present exchange?" I asked.
"My brothers really like their presents. Mom and dad seemed happy too," Luke said.
"That's great!" I replied. "What's for lunch?"
"Mom's doing ham, mac and cheese, cauliflower, and rolls."
"Sounds good."
"Still going to Ben and Austin's place for lunch?" Cody asked.
"Yep. I have both dishes ready. I just have to get dressed and go."
"Cool. Five more days," he said.
"I know, I'm excited."
"Anything you want to do while you're here?" Luke asked.
"It's like summer," I replied. "Spend as much time with the two of you."
"We're going to have to get used to being separated? Aren't we?" Cody said.
"Yes. Business trips will lead to periods of separation."
"Can we travel with each other?" Luke asked.
"Sure. But realize that whoever is traveling is being paid. The other two are on vacation," I said.
"Hadn't thought of that," Luke said.
"Unless we could work remotely," Cody said.
"True that," I replied. I wanted to change the topic. "Christmas lunch and then?"
"We're going to Holiday Lights at the Beach and driving up the boardwalk tonight," Luke said. "It's always great!"
"We did the lights at the Botanical Garden in Norfolk last night," Cody explained.
"Sounds pretty. I should figure out where they do light displays around here," I said.
"What time are you leaving?" Cody asked.
I looked at the clock and said, "I should get a shower, get dressed, and go. I'm helping with setup today. Love you both!"
"Love you," they said together.
We disconnected.
I cleaned up, packed up, and headed to Ben and Austin's.
"What are you doing for New Year's Eve?" Austin asked as I helped him finish setting the table.
"If things go to plan, ummm... can I be blunt?"
"Sure?"
"Fucking the night away."
"I thought your guys were out of town."
"They are. They are down in Virginia Beach with Luke's parents."
"Ummm..."
"I'm driving down Saturday morning and spending as much time as I can through Monday afternoon with them. I'm getting a room at the Beach."
"Does all the hiding bother you?"
"Yes, it does. I counseled Luke to be patient. His parents have taken things so well; I can't imagine them having any issues with us, but he needs to be fully independent before telling them just in case."
"What's your game plan, then?"
"I get down there on Saturday. They are going to hang with the gang Saturday night. They do things with Luke's parents, then hang with the gang on New Year's Eve. His folks aren't the type to stay up, so going out with friends is fine."
Ben joined us in the dining room and asked, "How are you holding up?"
"Doing great. Four days of work this week, and then three days with my guys."
"Going down for the holiday?"
"Yep."
He nodded.
"What are you two doing for the Eve?"
"Probably be in bed asleep by midnight," Austin admitted. "Boring married folks."
"James and I were like that," I explained. "I'm doubting we'll be like that for years to come."
"May I ask a personal question?" Ben said.
"Sure, though I may choose not to answer."
"Is it always the three of you in bed?"
"Yes and no."
"Huh?" Austin grunted.
"Yes, we always sleep together. Well, unless someone is sick. No, it isn't always a threesome for sex. There are times when two of us pair off, usually when someone isn't at home."
"How do you handle jealousy?" Austin asked.
"So far, it hasn't reared its ugly head too much. There have been times when Cody or Luke are at school late doing research or a group project. I know they've had sex during the afternoon when I'm at work. The important part is that the three of us routinely enjoy each other both in the cuddle, closeness, togetherness categories, and sexually."
"Since you've gone this far, one more?" Ben asked.
"Sure."
"You're forty; they're in their early twenties."
"Sometimes I can keep up load for load. Other times, it's a bit more disproportionate."
"Wow," Austin said.
"I mean, they stimulate me," I explained. That garnered me a couple weird looks. "What I mean is that when the three of us are together, the passion gets me going."
"Sounds like you won't need Viagra for a long time," Ben said with a laugh.
"There are times I think I need reverse Viagra."
"Well, enough of the awkward conversation," Austin said. "And thanks for coming early and helping us set up."
"Always happy to help out! The ham smells wonderful."
"It's my family tradition," Austin said. "Coca Cola ham."
"You soak it in Coke?"
"No. You make a glaze with Coke, mustard, and brown sugar. You use about a quarter cup of soda for each pound of ham."
"I'm looking forward to trying it."
"What family tradition did you bring us?" Ben asked.
"I brought clapshot as a side dish and cranachan for dessert."
"And they are?" Ben asked.
"Clapshot is turnips, potatoes, onions, and seasonings. I followed my mom's recipe. The cranachan is layers of raspberries and crowdie cheese."
"Never heard of crowdie cheese," Austin admitted.
"It's easy to make cheese. Essentially, milk and buttermilk, curdle, strain, and done."
"Wow," Ben said.
"It's part of my family traditions, and you did say today was about traditions."
The doorbell rang as other guests started to arrive.
-----
"Hey," Cody said.
"Hi. What's up?" I asked.
"Bored. Thought I'd call and see how you were doing."
"I'm good. I made my reservation," I said.
"Where are you staying?"
"You know me, I'm a Marriott guy, so I booked the Residence Inn Oceanfront."
"Cool. Nice room?"
"Yup, I got a one-bedroom suite with an ocean view and balcony."
"Dude!"
"Don't dude me, Cody. I want to be comfortable. I earn points. I use points. We'll have space for us and a big bed."
"Okay, okay. I'm still not comfortable."
"I know. So, why are you bored? No friends around? Where's Luke?"
"It's too much family time," he said.
"Different dynamic," I said.
"Huh?"
"You are an only child. Over the last few years, you have been stressed being around your parents as they tried to force you into their ways. Luke's one of five children in what I think you would agree is a happy family."
"Yeah."
"With you in the house, there are eight people?"
"Nine. Peter's girlfriend flew in with him."
"Crowded house," I said.
"Noisy, busy."
"Chaos isn't something you're used to. Try to look at it differently."
"How?"
"Take it from the positive. The chaos is there, but I bet if you look closely, there's a lot of love in that house."
Copyright 2023 BndgDawg (BndgDawg@gmail.com). Do not reproduce or distribute this story without the author's permission.
This is Chapter Twelve of the third story I have written. I look forward to positive comments, constructive criticisms and otherwise pleasantly worded feedback. Flames and attacks will be ignored and addresses blocked. (BndgDawg@gmail.com).
My other stories on this site are Double Trails (Beginnings/Rural - December 8, 2016) and Homeless (High School - July 30, 2017).