Bandini Affair

The Bandini Affair 14

Draginacht@aol.com (AKA Jeff)

Disclaimer: The following is a work of fiction and any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. The story contains graphic descriptions of sex between men. Anyone who is forbidden by law to read such material must stop now. This story is being posted to the Nifty Archive solely for the enjoyment of its readers.

From Chapter 13

Walking up the driveway, Leo thought back to the first time he was here. Matt had driven from the hospital and it was dark so he wasn't able to see just how really charming Matt's little house was. He found the button for the doorbell, pressed it, and heard the quite ordinary "ding-dong." It seemed to fit Matt's personality. Leo heard footsteps, watched the doorknob turn, and realized his heart was racing.

'Calm down, Leo,' he told himself. The door opened.

Chapter 14

Typically, Leo was looking down when the door opened and the first thing he saw were Matt's bare feet. They were large, masculine, powerful, beautiful, and very sexy. Matt was dressed in blue genes, something Leo had never seen him wear and Leo couldn't prevent his eyes from pausing too long at the large, prominent faded spot down the inside left thigh. The loose-fitting heather T-shirt Matt wore actually draped from his shoulders in such a way as to accentuate the true beauty of his male physique. Matt wasn't real muscular, rather he was hard and cut. Finally Matt's wide smile beamed down at him. Leo smiled back, perhaps a little too eagerly; then he gasped.

"Welcome, Leo, I see you didn't have trouble finding the place." The sound of Matt's voice shook Leo back to consciousness.

" Your hair! What happened?" Leo blurted out in surprise after finding his voice. All of Matt's curls were gone and in their place was nothing but short hair, perhaps no more than one half inch on the top of his head.

"Oh, that." Matt said as he placed his right hand on top of his head and felt his buzz cut. "I got it cut this morning. After I left the police force a few months ago I decided to let it grow. But after a while it started to bug me so I cut it off. Whadda ya think?" Matt turned his head side to side as if modeling his new 'doo' for Leo.

"Well... it's different," Leo replied as he watched Matt's head turn. Then, in an unguarded moment, it just popped out. "It's kinda sexy."

"Thanks, I'll take that as a compliment. Here, come on in." Matt stepped back out of the way as an invitation for Leo to step through the door. "I was just about to put dinner in the oven."

Leo had a strange feeling as the stepped across the threshold, not uneasy, more excited. Matt was so close and so tall.

"Here, I brought this." He handed Matt a long, brown paper sack containing the bottle of wine he'd picked up on the way over. Matt accepted it and removed the bottle from the brown paper bag.

"Ah, Piesporter! That's some good stuff. If it's okay with you we can have some now. I know it's not chilled but I like it room temperature, brings out the flavor."

"Sure! I'm not a wine connoisseur but someone told me this was good." Leo's sister had suggested it, thought it'd go well with chicken. He followed Matt into the kitchen and enjoyed watching the way he moved when he walked. There was something very sexy about it.

Matt opened a cabinet door and pulled out a couple of wine glasses. They were part of an inexpensive house-warming gift set from Pier One, given by a couple of his Uncle David's friends. While Matt found a corkscrew and proceeded to open the bottle, Leo noticed that the small, rectangular table was covered with a pale blue-green tablecloth and nicely set with simple cream-colored plates. The utensils weren't especially expensive but nice. And there was that special touch, a pair of candleholders with unlit white candles in them. These things were gifts from Uncle David's friends, all of whom must have coordinated their shopping at Pier One.

Leo couldn't remember when he'd ever felt so truly honored. Matt was obviously going out of his way to make him feel welcome and it brought another smile to his face. Just then, Leo heard the cork pop and looked up to see Matt filling the glasses.

"Here ya go," Matt said and offered the glass in his right hand to Leo. "Let's go into the front room and sit down. It'll be several minutes before I have to nuke the veggies." Matt extended his right hand as a silent invitation for Leo to proceed ahead of him. It was now Matt's turn to watch Leo's bubble butt and dream of the possibilities.

Instead of sitting, Leo took the opportunity to have another look around. The last time he was here he was too tired to think, let alone appreciate what he saw. Plus, he was struggling with a mild concussion.

"Ah, I remember these pictures from last time." Leo began as he walked toward the wall with all the photos on it. "I think I recognize this guy; it's Kyle, your cop friend."

"Yeah, that was taken our senior year in high school. We've been good friends for a long time." Matt stared at the picture for several seconds as if recalling good memories. The two friends had their arms around each other's shoulders and sported big smiles. 'We even had clothes on when that picture was taken,' Matt thought with a smirk.

"You played football?" Leo sounded genuinely interested as he looked at the photo that caught Matt in midair in a layout position, the football securely in his fingertips. "That must have been some catch!" Leo said admiringly as he turned and smiled approvingly at his host. After all, he was a sports writer and could appreciate such accomplishments.

"Ha-ha," Matt chuckled. "It made the local newspaper, for what that's worth." He was trying to downplay the event because for some inexplicable reason he found it embarrassing to talk about.

"Wow! Looks like a lot of family here." Leo was looking at several photos of Matt's 'extended' family.

"Yeah, those two are my parents, and here we are all together." Matt pointed to each member. "These are my brothers, Mark and JD, or John David, and that's my sister Susan."

"Wait..." Leo stared at the family photo and then at another next to it with just Matt and Mark by themselves. "Your brother is Mark Close?" There was the sound of excitement in Leo's voice, like he'd just made a connection or a discovery. "The quarterback Mark Close?"

"The same," Matt smiled sheepishly like he'd been caught doing something.

"I... I... Why didn't I pick up on that?" Leo sounded disappointed, like he'd missed something that should have been obvious. "And you said he's older that you? You look to be about the same age."

"Yeah, well, he is older, by about one minute and fifty-seven seconds."

"And he never lets you forget it, I'll bet." Leo grinned up at Matt. He'd grown very comfortable in Matt's presence and found talking with him got easier by the minute.

"Only when we're funnin' each other." Matt matched Leo's grin.

"You're twins, fraternal twins then." Matt nodded with a smile. "Ya know I interview him last year. It was after his game with the Titans." Leo had a momentary flashback. He remembered seeing Mark with a towel wrapped around his waist. And he also remembered how that damp towel accentuated the outline of a proud sausage that bulged down the front. Leo felt a stirring in his briefs.

"Yes, the whole family loves it when he plays here; it's like a real homecoming." Matt dropped the subject and, thankfully, Leo didn't pursue it.

Quickly pointing at another photo, "This is my Uncle David and his partner Tony; I remember going to their wedding. And..."

"Wait! Did I miss something or did you just say something about a wedding?"

"Yeah, I think I was about twelve when they got... well, not really married. They had a commitment ceremony, a civil ceremony for domestic partners. But we always say they're married." Matt's chest seemed to swell with pride as he talked about his uncles.

"That must be legal here... 'Domestic partners' that is."

"Yes, I can explain that but right now I need to put the veggies on. Please... make yourself at home." Matt couldn't have stopped smiling if he'd wanted to - which he didn't. He turned and walked toward the kitchen, Leo's eyes following every step.

With Matt gone, Leo continued to sip on the wine as he looked at a few more photos. Then he wandered over to the bookcases to get a hint as to what Matt liked to read. He was surprised to find the shelves packed with all kinds of books on horticulture and landscape architecture. Several looked like they could be college textbooks, big and thick.

"We should be ready to eat in about ten or twelve minutes, when we hear the timer go ding." Matt walked back into the front room carrying the wine bottle. "Let me top that off," he said as held the bottle toward Leo's glass.

"That's a really appetizing smell coming from the kitchen," Leo said as watched the clear, almost colorless liquid flow into his glass. He took a sip as Matt set the bottle on the table at the end of the couch.

"You read all of these?" Leo asked as he turned and looked at the books.

"Not all, some are more like reference books but, yeah, I've either read or searched through them."

"From what I see here, you've probably completed a graduate course in plants."

"Oh, I don't know," Matt chuckled, "that might be a stretch."

Leo smiled at the man he was coming to admire - for many reasons. He very much appreciated Matt's quiet, self-deprecating humor, and his modesty. At that moment they heard a 'ding' in the kitchen.

"Okay, dinner is served," Matt smiled. He waited for Leo to walk in front of him so he could follow the bubble butt to the kitchen.

Leo sat where Matt pointed, and waited self-consciously as Matt placed everything on the table. Matt topped off the wine glasses then sat across the table from Leo and smiled again.

"Okay, dig in." They began eating.

"This is terrific, Matt. Tastes as good as it smells." Leo took another bite.

"Thanks, glad you like it." Then Matt looked directly at Leo but said nothing. There was a strange look on his face and Leo wondered what was going on.

"So... who are you?"

That strange look on Matt's face turned into a grin and Leo knew Matt was playing with him. Both men broke into laughter at the almost perfect replay of the previous week at the Outback.

"Okay, okay, I give. Ya got me this time." Leo laughed. "I guess I should have seen that coming," he smiled. Then to complete the routine, Leo, in an exaggerated motion, wiped the palm of his hand on his shirt, held it out across the table and said, "Hi. My name is Leo Carlsen and I'm glad to meet you." That prompted another round of laughter.

"You probably already know most everything about me. I mean - you know all my family and what we do and where we live. I'm going to guess that you've met Ben..."

"Your older brother in Europe? Yeah... last year." The conversation paused while they each took a bite of food and sip of wine.

"There is one thing I've always been curious about," Matt continued after swallowing his food.

"If it's a family secret, I won't be able to tell you," Leo replied playfully. "Or if I tell you, I might have to kill you."

"Oh?" Matt sounded equally playful. "I have my ways... I'll get you on the floor and tickle you until you tell."

"OH NO, not that!" Leo almost squealed. It was clear that he was relaxed and having fun. "But it does have interesting possibilities," Matt just smiled back. "So, what is it you want to know?" Leo was aware that his playful personality was a little out of character but it seemed just fine.

Matt took a sip of wine, sat the glass down and looked at Leo.

"How did your father get to be called 'Pop?"

"Oh, yeah, that's a deep dark family secret." Leo grinned at Matt as if he were tempting him. "But seeing as how you are a trusted agent, and everything, I'll tell you." Leo took a sip of wine. The move was intended to add a little suspense by delaying his reply.

"That was Benito's doing. When he was fifteen or sixteen he came home one day and, out of the blue, started calling our father 'Pop.' Before that we all called him 'Daddy.' Well, as you know, Pop's kind of cool about things. I think he viewed it as a demonstration of Ben's independence and decided to wait and see how long it would last. As you can see, it's still going." Leo chuckled.

The conversation paused for a moment while they ate. Then Leo thought of something he could ask Matt.

"Say, I notice you always wear that cap with 'USC' on the front. Are you a South Carolina fan?"

Matt smiled. "No, that's Southern Cal. That's where Mark played his college football."

"Oh yes, I remember, they won a national championship."

"Yeah." That was the extent of Matt's reply but he smiled directly into Leo's eyes. "Uh... I guess we're done." Matt said as he looked at both of their empty plates.

"I think it's a shame that it takes longer to make than it does to eat." Leo joked.

"Yeah, you're right," Matt chuckled. "Let me put these things in the dishwasher and then we can go into the front room."

"Can I help?" Leo asked as they scooted their chairs away from the table and stood up.

"There's not that much to do." Matt insisted. Leo helped clear the table, setting the dishes and utensils in the sink. Leo noticed a baking dish and a pan that had been used to prepare something. Matt opened the dishwasher and pulled out the lower rack.

"Oh-oh," Matt exclaimed.

"What?"

"It's almost full."

"Can't we wash them by hand?"

"We?" Matt asked." Hey, I can't let my guest do dishes; my mother would disown me." Matt chuckled at the thought.

"Sure we can," Leo said confidently. "I washed a lot of dishes when I was growing up and I'll bet I still remember how. Where's the soap?" Leo seemed to take charge. They argued back and forth for about a minute until Matt gave in with a chuckle.

They were able to fit the knives, forks and the plates into the dishwasher and that cut down on what needed to be washed by hand. Leo stood at the sink, his hands in the hot, sudsy water washing the baking dish; Matt stood to Leo's left, drying towel in his left hand waiting to dry the baking dish when Leo was finished.

Somewhat absentmindedly, Matt slipped his arm around Leo's back and rested his hand on Leo's right shoulder. He hadn't planned to do that; it just seemed like a natural thing to do. Both men's eyes had been flirting with each other all evening, each wondering what the other was thinking. Leo, knowing Matt was gay, had accepted his invitation with an open mind. He was actually hoping something would happen - he just wasn't sure what.

Matt, of course, didn't know if Leo was gay, but he was curious about the mixed signals his gaydar was sending. There was no doubting the physical attraction between them even though it had never been expressed. Correction! Leo knew. He frequently thought about Matt's confession that he heard while faking unconsciousness on the floor of the office.

Leo was looking down, watching what he was washing when he felt Matt's hand on his shoulder. He stopped and caught his breath. With his hands still in the hot, sudsy water, Leo turned his face to his left, tilted his head back and found Matt staring directly into his eyes.

Matt looked down into Leo's welcoming eyes. What he saw surprised him a little, but not completely. He was sure he saw desire. What Matt did NOT see was fear, or rejection. He wanted to be careful but he also wanted to know how far this might go.

Matt found himself leaning down, moving his lips closer and closer to Leo's. When he was within about two inches, Leo closed his eyes and tilted his head back just a little farther, a clear invitation for Matt to continue. He did. Their lips touched softly for about ten seconds - an eternity.

Matt backed away about six inches and waited for a reaction. Leo opened his eyes and they stared at each other. They weren't smiling, this was serious and it was reflected in their expressions. The word desire comes to mind. One more time Matt moved his lips toward Leo's. Once more Leo closed his eyes and awaited Matt's kiss.

This time, Leo kissed back. Then he pulled his hands, dripping with suds, from the hot water, turned to face Matt and wrapped his arms around Matt's neck. Hot, sudsy water ran down Leo's arms and down Matt's back. Neither man seemed to notice - or care.

Matt felt Leo's lips relax and part slightly. He wasn't able to restrain his tongue as it slipped between his lips. Only the tip carefully penetrated Leo's parted lips. While this was going on, Matt wrapped his left arm around Leo's back, slipped his right hand under Leo's butt, scooped Leo into his arms and set him on the countertop. With his hands now free, Matt shoved his right hand down his pants and repositioned his growing erection to a more comfortable, vertical direction, thus relieving the intense discomfort of being trapped down his pant leg.

Leo, in the process of being lifted into the air, parted his knees and wrapped them around Matt's waist. He felt himself being pulled forward as Matt pressed their bodies together. He was aware of Matt's erection pressing against his belly and assumed Matt could feel his own erection. He didn't care. No, he did care - he wanted Matt to know what effect this was having on him.

Leo didn't resist when he felt Matt's tongue slide between his lips and stop no deeper than his front teeth. Leo's tongue moved to touch the tip of Matt's. They tasted each other. If everything to this point was breathtaking, the contact of their tongues was almost electrifying. After a few moments Matt withdrew his tongue. Leo had already grown fond of the touch and followed it into Matt's oral cavity. Soon Leo's tongue was probing deep into Matt's mouth. Matt's tongue, his teeth, the ridges on the roof of his mouth - Leo explored them all.

Leo heard someone moaning and then realized he was listening to himself. That's when Matt pulled back and broke the kiss. Leo gasped for air. He didn't resist when he felt his head being guided to Matt's shoulder. He could feel being lifted from the countertop. Matt was carrying him. Where? Was this to be his moment? Was he finally going to learn what being gay and having man-sex is all about?

Leo opened his eyes momentarily and saw that Matt was definitely walking out of the kitchen. He closed his eyes in anticipation of not opening them again until he was lying on his back on Matt's bed.

Something wasn't right. Leo felt his body sinking but they hadn't been walking long enough to reach the bedroom. He opened his eyes just in time to see Matt sitting down on the couch. Matt was careful to position his butt on the front half of the cushion leaving room for Leo's knees so their erections could remain pressed firmly against each other.

Leo placed his hands in the middle of Matt's chest and pushed back. Their eyes met. The desire was still there. Leo, inhibitions completely gone, placed his lips on Matt's and they continued to kiss passionately for almost five minutes. 'Making out with a man is definitely more exciting than with a woman,' Leo thought.

Finally, Matt placed his hands on Leo's shoulders and gently but slowly pushed him away. Leo's neck began to stretch as he attempted to maintain connected to Matt's lips. The separation caused a loud smacking sound to reverberate around the room.

Matt saw the surprised look on Leo's attractive face, something he had expected.

"Leo, we have to talk." There was a quiet, serious sound to Matt's voice and Leo understood.

"Okay, I'm sorry." Leo felt soo guilty.

"Sorry? What for?" Matt asked.

"For... for coming on to you like I did."

"Leo, no. Please. Don't feel sorry about that. We both wanted it." Matt spoke softly, as he reached up, ran his hand through Leo's hair and leaned up to give Leo a reassuring peck on his lips. "I just need to clear up a few things, that's all."

Leo looked down into Matt's face and could see that he wasn't upset or angry. Matt wore a soft, friendly smile and Leo began to relax. Then it dawned on him that he was actually looking 'down' at Matt. Sitting astraddle Matt's hips actually placed him in a more dominant position and he liked it.

"Okay."

"I thought you were married."

"Yeah... Right... Was... Past tense." Leo sounded very direct, business like.

"I'm sorry," Matt replied, the emotion in his voice was sincere. He'd seen a number of his friends, straight and gay, go through the trauma of failed relationships. He promised himself he wanted to avoid that if possible. His uncles were his role models.

"Well, no need to be. It was... I don't know," Leo began thinking of all the things involve in his marriage breakup.

"Look, forget it. I don't want to pry."

"No... no, it's okay. I really need to talk about it but not here, not now. I don't need to trouble you with the gory details." Leo felt Matt's hand behind his head pulling him down. Just before his head settled onto Matt's shoulder, Leo turned his head to his left and nestled the bridge of his nose against Matt's neck. His nostrils filled with Matt's pheromones and his head began to spin. He took another deep breath and relaxed. He could feel the strength of Matt's arms and he felt truly comfortable and secure, perhaps for the first time in his adult life. Leo exhaled rapidly and felt all the built-up tension evaporate.

"Go ahead... You need someone to listen? I'll listen." Matt also felt his little friend relax and hoped it would be the beginning of something good.

They sat unmoving for several minutes, listening to each other's heartbeat and feeling each other breathe. The feeling of being held by someone who seemed to care, someone he thought he could trust, relaxed Leo's defenses. He pressed his lips to the side of Matt's neck, parted them slightly, stuck out his tongue and added 'taste' to Matt's smell. Then he took another deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"Sure you wanna hear all this?"

"Of course," came Matt's reply. There was no hesitation and his voice had a ring of compassion to it.

Leo began with a brief explanation of how he and Marsha met. It was background that helped make the rest of the story understandable. Marsha had been the aggressor from the beginning and Leo was the passive accomplice. Fast-forward to last March and his trip to Amsterdam. Leo skipped the purpose and details of his assignment and focused on his return home a day early.

"When I opened the garage door and saw a strange pickup truck in my parking spot I sort of felt something wasn't right. And before I got to the bedroom I knew something was definitely wrong. I wanted to avoid a confrontation so I pulled out my camera, took a few pictures and ran from the house.

"Those pictures proved crucial to the settlement. But they weren't able to..." Leo paused here to consider the rest of his statement.

Matt could feel the tension that had returned to Leo's body, it was considerable. He gently caressed Leo's back, trying to comfort him. They'd been sitting in the same position for several minutes and Matt knew that he would need to change before too long; he was just waiting for the right moment in Leo's story.

"For the first time in my life I felt betrayed. Oh, we didn't have what I'd call an ideal marriage. Looking back... I did a lot of that after the annulment... I'd have to say it was more my fault than Marsha's. She always wanted more sex than I did. Now I know that's kind of a switch from most guys but that's the way it was. I just wasn't very good in the bedroom. And as time passed, my performance dropped even lower. It wasn't that I didn't love Marsha, because I did. I just couldn't seem to get interested in sex. We even went to a counselor and things improved a bit, but it didn't last. So in the final analysis, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised by what happened. And I'm really thankful there were no children to deal with; that would have been horrible."

Leo fell silent. Matt could tell he was still awake and assumed he was thinking. And as Leo talked his way through that last segment, Matt felt him begin to relax a little.

"For some reason I felt dirty. I began to wonder how many other men had been in my bed, and how often. So, about a week later I went to see my doctor. I wanted to know if I'd been exposed to any of those horrible sexually transmitted diseases you read about. Fortunately I was clean. That would have been a terrible blow."

Leo fell silent again and Matt made his move.

"Leo, ya think we could change positions? I'm beginning to get a cramp."

"Oh, yeah, whatta ya wanna do?"

"Just move with me for a minute." Matt began to lean to his left and rotate his body. When he was finished he was lying on his back, using the arm of the couch as a headrest and Leo lay on top of him. Because the couch was too short for Matt's length, his knees were bent and spread. Leo lay stretched out on top, his legs between Matt's knees, and his head resting on Matt's chest. Both men were now very comfortable and enjoying the intimacy of this new position. Matt loved the feel of Leo's weight.

Leo took the opportunity to steal another kiss, one that Matt gave willingly.

"You're a great kisser, by-the-way." Matt wanted to be sure to encourage Leo with a compliment.

"Thanks, you're not so bad yourself."

"Are you gay?" Matt asked calmly after their kiss was over. He knew it was an abrupt question but it immediately got to the heart of the matter.

"Yes... No... Maybe... Oh, I don't know." Leo sighed at the end of his statement and lowered his head to Matt's chest. His right hand kept caressing Matt's firm chest through the T-shirt; an action that seemed so natural that Leo wasn't totally aware of what he was doing. Matt's left nipple, however, was fully aware.

"That's funny." Leo began again. "Until that trip to Amsterdam I never even thought about being gay or what gay men do. But that trip changed everything. My job was to interview a gay prostitute and research the gay lifestyle of the city. Now I can't get the things I saw and heard out of my mind. I may be gay and I want to find out."

Leo fell silent again. This time Matt gently held Leo's head between his hands and guided their lips together. He noticed that Leo was just as eager to kiss him as he had been that first time in the kitchen. Leo broke the kiss.

"I owe you an apology." Leo looked directly into Matt's beautiful blue eyes.

"Accepted." Matt smiled.

"No Silly," Leo punched Matt ineffectively in his chest. "You can't accept an apology until you know what it is."

"Okay," Matt chuckled causing Leo's body to bounce slightly. "Give me your apology and then I'll accept it."

"You're incorrigible." Leo grinned playfully down at Matt's face. The only light illuminating the room was at the far end of the couch and the sun had gone down leaving the room in partial darkness.

"I confess that I came here knowing full well that your are gay." Leo began. "Megan let it slip that first day I was back at the nursery and Pop talked about you that day I spent at home with him."

"Pop say anything I should know?" Matt was a little curious. It's like getting an inside tip about a good investment.

"He thinks the world of you, so stop worrying. Anyway, when I came here tonight I had this crazy idea that... no, I was hoping that we might... uh... well, you know."

The two men stared at each other. Matt's experience told him that if he were patient, Leo would probably tell him everything. So he waited.

"In fact, when you carried me from the kitchen I just knew we'd wind up in you bed where you'd have your way with me." Leo paused. "So I was kind of surprised when you sat down here."

"I need to sit up again," Matt said. It was as much of a stall tactic as it was a move to get more comfortable. Once Matt was sitting straight again, Leo surprised Matt by climbing back to his previous position astraddle Matt's hips. Matt definitely wasn't about to object.

"Leo, by 'have-my-way-with-you' are you referring to sex?"

Leo bowed his head and looked down at Matt's chest. He suddenly seemed ashamed at being so bold. Matt cupped Leo's chin in his right hand and raised it so Leo had no choice but to look directly into his eyes.

"It was sex you were thinking of, wasn't it?" Leo tried to look away. "Anal sex?"

"I'm sorry, Matt. I've said way too much and I've overstayed my welcome." Matt could see tears forming in Leo's eyes. "I'd better go." He tried to extricate himself from Matt's lap but found his host's arms too strong to budge.

"Leo." Matt spoke softly. Leo was still trying to push away. "Leo. Please don't run away just when we're about to make a breakthrough." Leo stopped resisting and looked directly into Matt's eyes again. His eyebrows were furrowed as an expression of confusion.

"Now it's my turn. I have a confession to make." Matt felt Leo relax and knew he had his guest's attention. "You see, I've had a crush on you since I was about fourteen years old."

"NO!" Leo gasped with surprise.

"Yes." Matt grinned and chuckled. "So when you accepted my invitation, I too had some, shall we say less than honorable intentions? You really had me confused. My gaydar kept telling me you were interested but I was unwilling to accept it. I was operating under the belief that you were married and straight. Now you tell me you're not sure if you're gay but you might be."

Matt waited to see if Leo had anything he wanted to say. In fact, Leo was too stunned to speak.

"How many men have you had sex with?" That question was not as unusual as it might seem. It was one of Matt's standard questions of any man before he was intimate with him. Of course, there were other questions.

"None," Leo replied as he looked down at Matt's chest again like he was a little embarrassed.

Matt let Leo's reply lay out there for a few seconds. 'Just as I thought.'

"Look." Matt began. "If you want to investigate your gayness question further, I'm more than happy to offer my services. Why..." Matt stopped in mid-question. 'If I ask this question the wrong way it will undoubtedly get the wrong answer. Okay, here goes.'

"Ya know, it makes me feel really good, a real compliment, that you selected me to... introduce you to my side, my team, as I call it. I'm just a little curious as to why you chose me."

"That was easy," Leo began without hesitation. "I trust you." That was it. That was Leo's very simple answer.

"Gosh... I hardly know what to say." Matt WAS a little speechless. But it didn't last long. "So, where were we? Oh yeah, anal sex. As I started to say, I don't see that anywhere on the immediate horizon, it's probably a long way off. I consider that the absolute top level in a relationship. Believe me, anal sex is the most intense, the most intimate act two men can share. And we barely know each other." Matt grinned up at Leo. "Fortunately, there are many other levels of gay sex that are fun and very satisfying... if you're still interested. And I'd like for us to get to know each other much better." Matt stopped and waited, it was time for Leo to speak and he didn't have to wait long.

"Levels? Like how soon can we get to level one?"

"Ha-ha-ha! We sailed past levels one and two before we ever got out of the kitchen. We've probably gone past level three sitting here on this couch." Matt could feel Leo's stiffness begin to press against his abdomen. Their previous erections had faded long ago during their intense conversation. Now both seemed restored.

"Matt..." Leo knew what he wanted to say; he was struggling with how to construct the proper sentence. His imagination was beginning to rush headlong before him and he knew he needed to rein it in.

"Are you suggesting... that we... that we... that you're willing to go to the next level?" There. His question put the ball back in Matt's court and he hoped Matt would hit it back to him.

"We're both adults, consenting I assume. And if that's what you want... yes."

"Here?" Leo asked as he glanced down at the couch.

"I think the bedroom might be more comfortable; this couch is a little cramped." Matt paused. "It's up to you."

Leo responded by pushing himself back and sliding off Matt's lap. He took hold of Matt's hand, helped pull him up from the couch and wrapped his arms around him. Matt leaned down and the two kissed. Then Matt took hold of Leo's hand and began leading the way to his bedroom.

(To be continued.)