28 October 2004

TGIF!  Another busy week almost gone.  I hope everyone's set for Halloween, and the time change.  I'm sure there'll be enough horror movies on this weekend to satisfy the most insatiable fan.  I don't have too much to say this week, so enjoy the story and feel free to write if you have any comments.

Take care,

Michael Garrison
mng1114@yahoo.com

Without further ado.......

This story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. This story also deals with love and consensual sexual activities between men. If you are not of legal age, reside in an area where viewing such material is illegal, or are offended by such themes, do not read further and leave this site now.

The author retains all rights to this story. Reproductions or links to other sites are not allowed without the permission of the author.

Two Lives – Two Loves


Chapter 28


My heart was starting to beat again. I stared at the door for a few seconds longer, listening for that sound, that sigh that felt so satisfied yet unnerving. Whatever it was, it was gone but my stomach was still in knots.

“Whooooa,” I heard Hunter whisper as he slowly came down the stairs. “Now THAT was worth the price of admission! Does that happen all the time?”

“Oh, yeah,” Jon said, waving it off like Mr. Toughguy. “We don’t hardly give it a thought anymore.” I couldn’t help notice his hand shaking.

“Liar,” Ron mumbled.

“Just don’t spread it around, ‘kay?” I asked Hunter. “We’d rather do without Channel Four and a film crew, you know?”

“C’mon,” Jon said. “Who’s up for a drink? I know I could use one.”

“No kidding,” Ron said. I had to laugh. His hair was still bristled up a little from fright, kind of like he’d stuck his finger in a light socket. I pointed it out to Hunter. He smiled and reached up to smooth it down as Ron turned to follow Jon.

“C’mon, Ron,” he said. “My turn to do your back.”

“Call me Chip,” he turned back, cracking an uneasy smile.

“Chip?”

“It’s a pet name a mutual friend gave him,” I said. “You’ll meet her tomorrow morning.”

“Okay…whatever,” he shrugged and smiled, taking Ron by the back of the neck and guiding him back to the den.




I listened to the ice clink comfortingly in the tumbler as I downed the last of my drink. I was starting to feel better as the light buzz began to wear away some of my raw edges. Jon refilled me and lay back against my chest as we mindlessly watched some movie on TV. It didn’t matter. We were together. Jon kept rubbing at his temple, had been since we’d come back downstairs.

“You okay?” I whispered as I draped an arm over one shoulder and kissed his other.

“Yeah, just a little headache, I guess. Probably drank too much.”

“Again?”

“Yeah,” he sighed. “Again.”

I kissed the side of his face. “Don’t worry about it. I’m not raggin’ on you, babe. Just drink some water before you go to bed. You’ll be all right.”

I took another sip. The scotch slid down nicely as I listened to Ron’s slow, contented sighing as Hunter worked on his shoulders and back.

It was oddly hypnotic to watch Ron’s head sway back and forth, eyes closed, mouth open like you’d see in one of those zombie movies. He was really enjoying this. I guess he was usually not on the receiving end of a massage and was relishing every second. Hunter obviously didn’t mind doing it, either. I looked up and smiled at him; he winked back as his hands ‘accidentally’ slipped down over Ron’s chest, brushing his nipples. Ron twitched and grunted softly, letting his head fall back in Hunter’s lap. I wrapped my arms around Jon’s chest, putting my mouth close to his ear.

“Let’s leave ‘em alone,” I whispered.

Jon took the glass away from his mouth and glanced over at Ron and smiled, nodding as he looked up at me. He quietly set his glass on the coffee table and pushed himself up, nodding in the direction of the stairs.

I took great pains to make as little noise as possible as I got up. Hunter knew what we were doing and smiled at us. We waved at each other, mouthing ‘good night’ as Jon and I crept out of the room. He winked again and gave us a thumbs-up.




“I’ve gotta admit it. You were right. Hunter doesn’t waste any time, does he?” Jon asked.

“Yeah, he moves right along; that’s for sure,” I said as we slipped out of our shorts and onto the cool sheets. They felt wonderful against my bare skin.

I started to nestle into the bedding when saw that impish smile of Jon’s begin creeping over his face. I knew him too well.

“All right; what’s goin’ through that little pea brain of yours?” I asked.

He chuckled. “I can’t help it. What’re they doing now?” he asked, almost unable to contain his excitement.

“Now, aren’t you the same Jon Shepard who gave me shit for peeking into other people’s brains? Huh?”

I probably shouldn’t have been surprised by this question. After wanting to video tape us doing it, I had to wonder whether Jon had something of a kinky streak in him, but I thought that was just a one time thing. Of course, I suppose that could have its fun moments, in moderation.

“Yeah, well,” he shrugged, remembering his own words.

I sighed and lay back in the sheets.

“So what’re they doing now?” he asked again.

“Oh, God,” I said, annoyed at his persistence, particularly after making me promise not to do it. “I swear, you are such a little perv!” I said. I leaned up on my elbow to look at him, keeping my voice low as if Hunter or Ron might be at the door, wondering what we were doing.

He flashed that killer smile at me again and flicked his eyebrows a couple of times. I apologize. I couldn’t resist. “Oh, all right,” I sighed, taking a deep breath and clearing my mind. Jon snuggled towards me and waited.

“Hmmmmmm,” I began as I stared off into space. “It looks like they’re into some serious kissing at the moment. There. Happy?”

“Cool,” he grinned again, like a Cheshire cat.

I hate to say it, but I lied to Jon just to shut him up. Well, not lied, exactly, I just didn’t give him the full story. I appreciated the fact that Hunter and Ron deserved their privacy and I wasn’t going to be put in the position of being a commentator, doing the color work at a baseball game. I will say that Hunter had definitely tagged second and was heading for third, but that’s as much as I’ll say.

“Good. Let’s forget about them for a while.”

We pushed the covers down and pulled ourselves close together, wrapping our legs underneath the sheets. Our heads lay in the pillows and we did absolutely nothing except take great pleasure from this quiet moment in an unusually eventful day to just look at each other, to lightly caress each other, to just simply be with one another. My eyes took in every inch of his face, the hank of blond hair falling over his ice blue eyes, the almost perfectly straight nose over lips that were not too full, covering those nearly perfect, gleaming teeth.

“I love you,” I whispered.

“I love you, too,” he whispered back as he eased his mouth towards mine.

Our tongues dueled slowly, our hands caressed more firmly, playing over each other. I could feel his erect nipples against my chest, mine against his. I felt his growing steel against mine as he turned his legs around the inside of my knees, rubbing slowly, luxuriously. We both moaned as we kissed. That was still the best part, sharing our air, feeling the warm breath from our noses against each other’s cheeks.

Jon’s rubbing became more insistent. There was urgency to him. He was burning off the last of his tensions from the day and I responded with him, finding our rhythm, pressing us hard against each others abs. My free hand dropped down his back, riding the wave of tight undulating muscle as a finger found the break between his smooth rocks. He gasped slightly as I penetrated him, massaged him, and I felt his knees lock more firmly around mine. The sweat of our closeness provided our own faintly musky lubricant, allowing us to move easily.

“That’s it, baby,” I whispered. He gasped again as I pulled at his neck with my teeth.

He became more insistent, pressing harder against me with each surge of his muscles, my fingers probing him deeper, massaging him more firmly. Slight gasps became hushed, quickening grunts as we pressed so hard against each other I thought we’d meld. His mouth closed and he buried his face in my neck as he rolled me on my back. His nasal breathing returned. He sounded like a steam locomotive venting pressure, and I felt his arms and legs lock around me, holding me closely, so crushingly tight that I couldn’t begin to move. He feverishly whispered that he was cumming, and I felt his body shudder. He cried out in short, almost barking grunts as I felt his warm discharge between us.

We rested. Neither of us moved.

Jon relaxed his grip and lay on me. I closed my eyes and massaged his back and sides, damp with sweat as I listened to his heavy breathing, as I felt and enjoyed the feel of his heaving chest against mine, drawing in the cool air. I felt his face turn into my neck and heard his quiet ‘Thank you’ from inside the pillow.

“You’re welcome,” I whispered back.

Jon rolled back to his side and gave me a long kiss as he stroked my wet abs with the back of his hand. Then a realization came over him.

“Didn’t you cum?” he asked, his expression, his voice, one of concern.

“No; I’m probably just tired or something,” I said, shaking my head, trying to toss it off as no big deal.

“Well, we can’t have that, can we,” he said, the smile returning. “Hmmm, let’s see.”

I watched, smiling as he stroked his chin in feigned concentration.

“Ah! I know!” he said.

“Oh, I’m afraid to ask.”

“No, wait; listen,” he began, “I’ve got some neckties. How’s about I tie you up and suck you dry?” he said, stroking my chest and grinning like a kid who just found the key to the candy store. “Could be pretty hot, huh? Huh?!”

I didn’t quite know what to say. I just stared at him for a second or two. ‘I mean, geez, son, don’t hold back or nothin’; what’s really on your mind?’ I thought.

“You know, the strange thing is that you look so normal,” I finally said, shaking my head. “I’ll pass.”

Jon looked at first surprised, then dejected by my reaction. It looked like we’d found a difference of tastes and I don’t think he was taking it well. However…

“Hey,” I said, getting his attention back. “I meant I’ll pass on being tied up; you can suck me dry all you want,” I said, grinning as I lay back and spread my legs for him.

The smile returned and I closed my eyes. I felt him move further down on the bed and wrap his arms around my waist. I shivered, sighing as his warm lips slid slowly over me. All the way down. No gagging, no coughing; he was getting better at this.

I clenched a handful of the sheets as I heard the sounds of shushing, and of a single door closing, just up the hall.




I felt great.

I must not have slept very long; it was still dark outside. The clock said it was almost five-thirty. I thought I only nodded off about three or four hours ago, let’s just say I wasn’t paying attention to the time, but I felt great even though my ass should’ve been seriously dragging.

Jon was still out like a light so I pulled on some shorts and sneakers and crept to the bathroom, closing the door quietly behind me for the obligatory morning ritual.

With nature satisfied, I stepped over to the mirror, getting in close, and gave myself a good stare in the face, running my hand over my stubble. I stood back from the mirror and reached for my toothbrush, and my nose caught that familiar, but faint, scent of limes.

That’s when I saw him. Looking back up in the mirror, I froze. I’m not speaking metaphorically, either. I felt like ice. I’m talking goosebumps, shivers, cold hand running up my spine, the whole nine yards. Directly behind me, not five feet away, was the man from the study; a piece of him, anyway. He was only visible from the waist up but what there was of him looked as solid as I was. I think even my short hairs were standing on end.

In my mind’s ear, I heard the name ‘Corbin’ and I will never forget the look on his face as long as I live.

Jon was right. I don’t think Alicia had this guy pegged at all. He stood there, a hair shorter than me, dressed in his crisply new but vintage clothing, black hair neatly combed back, but those eyes. His eyes were drawn and sunken; they were not quite natural. They were the worst. They didn’t just spoil an otherwise handsome image; they were a startling counterpoint to it. There was a darkness to them that just wanted to suck in all the light around them.

And he leered at me, grinning an uneven grin, and slowly eyeing me up and down like I was some cheap piece of merchandise. Even with my shorts on, I can’t recall a time when I’d ever felt so naked, so vulnerable, in my entire life.

‘I am not going to let this get to me,’ I kept thinking over and over to myself. My stomach was a tangle of knots and my heart was pounding its way up into my throat. My mouth was as dry as a desert. I don’t know why I did it, how I knew to do it, but I closed my eyes as tightly as I could and mentally told it to leave me alone, to ‘be gone’ in an odd syntax that wasn’t mine but which came to mind almost naturally. The strong, forced sound of my own nasal breathing was all that I heard as I concentrated and I felt tears running from my eyes, from keeping them so tightly closed, I thought.

My heart slowed down, the knots in my stomach started to untangle. I slowly opened my eyes and realized that my right hand was partially extended towards the mirror, as in the manner of a wizard casting a spell. ‘Wizard’, I thought, laughing at myself. I felt like I had to wiz, all right. Big time. At least Corbin was gone. That scent, that feeling of him was gone.

‘Oh, man,’ I thought. I turned and propped myself against the marble counter. I dropped my shaking head into my hands, rubbing and wiping away the sweat, clearing the last of the sleep from my eyes. ‘I’m definitely going to pound on Alicia this morning.’

“You’ve got nothing to worry about from this house,” I muttered in a mocking, high-pitched Alicia voice. “Yeah, right.” I lifted my head from my hands.

There stood Grandfather, looking around, taking in the room before fixing his eyes on me.

“Why do people spend so much energy to make such a cold place?” he asked.

I was more than a little surprised to see him there. The best response I could muster was a crisp, clear, “Huh?”

“This place,” he said, motioning to the room. “I have been in caves where more warmth was, more light. Water runs freely here,” he said, pointing to the sink, “but becomes barren.”

I had to shake my head to make sure I wasn’t imagining this. Here was my main guide, a friend, a relative from ages past, a spirit whom I suspected had so many lives under his belt that it boggled the imagination and here he stood getting all Martha Stewart on me. Of course, as his words sunk in, it occurred to me that they could be taken several different ways. I was still a little groggy, however, and only focused on the most apparent.

“Grandfather,” I began, trying to not let my smart mouth get the better of me. “You didn’t come here to give me an architectural critique, did you?”

“No, grandson,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “I came to tell you that your path is in danger. You have felt this but not realized it.”

“Meaning what?” I asked, perhaps a bit curtly.

“A door was opened that you did not close in time,” he said. “I tell you this because you do not truly believe or understand what you have seen or what has been asked of you.”

“Like what? I mean, what do I do?”

“I can not tell you what to do, grandson,” he said. “I come only to warn you, to point you in a direction. You can be a slow learner and asked for prodding if needed. You are an eagle feeling its wings but there is also some of the little mule in you who carries much but goes nowhere with it.”

I thought I saw him smile faintly, but I wasn’t sure. “Grandfather, I’m sorry. I’m not following you at all.”

“You need to work with this woman friend of yours today and pay attention. She was fooled as you were because she did not realize what she was dealing with. This sad spirit of the middle grounds is not what he appears to be. He calls the skin walker and the coyote friend.”

“What?” I asked, incredulous, confused. Grandfather saw my confusion and was patient with me.

“Forever and always, everything that you do or do not do affects you and everyone around you. This spirit, your own fear, clouds your understanding this to its purpose. You must awaken your eagles to meet this coyote or there is no path.”

I stared at Grandfather. He paused, seeing whether his words were sinking in. The realization of what he was saying was like having a bucket of cold water dumped on you when you were asleep: It woke you up, but you sure didn’t like it when it hit you.

He continued. “It is time for you to…”




“Wake up,” I heard. “C’mon, Brad, get up,” I heard Jon call, like he was far away but getting closer. I felt him jostling my shoulder and I woke with a start, sitting bolt upright.

I don’t know what the expression was on my face but it couldn’t have been good.

“Whoa, dude; it’s just me,” Jon said, backing away from the bed a foot or so. “You okay?”

I took a quick look around and ran a hand through my hair. A dream. It was just another dream. But who was I kidding? I knew damned good and well, or at least I should by now, that there’s no such thing as ‘just another dream’ with me. Even now, something didn’t feel quite right but I didn’t want to upset Jon.

“Yeah, I’m all right,” I mumbled, grimacing at the taste of my morning mouth. “What time is it?”

“’bout quarter to nine,” Jon said. “We waited breakfast for you.”

“Thanks, babe,” I mumbled, dragging myself out of bed. “Gimme a minute and I’ll be down, ‘kay?”

“’kay,” he said. “Get a move on, though; Alicia’s coming at ten, remember.”

“I’m up, I’m up,” I said, nodding as I shuffled to the bathroom and took care of nature. I made sure I left the door open and all the lights blazing this time. I grabbed a quick shower, brushed my teeth and shaved, looking over my shoulder in the mirror the whole time and wondering exactly what Grandfather meant.

My gut was telling me that I wouldn’t have long to wait.



To Be Continued