This is a story of love between two young men. If you are under age, or live in an area where reading stories that include sex between males is illegal, or if you're not into this type of story, please leave. The story begins in 1969. While the characters and their story are completely fictional, it is set at places that are real and is told against a backdrop of some real events. This was a time when all sex was safe. It isn't now, so please respect yourself and others enough to always play safe.
I would like to thank all of those who have written to me with comments, suggestions and encouragement, especially my fellow writers in the Nifty Six. The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at NJMcMick@yahoo.com.
Danny
For every up there seems to be a down lately. This one came when Billy brought in the mail Monday afternoon. There was an envelope from the hospital addressed to me. I opened it and read through it twice.
"So what do they want, Danny?"
"A little over five thousand dollars. Apparently, I'm no longer covered by my father's insurance so I'm stuck with the bill."
"Fuck! Five thousand? You were only in the hospital a week."
"Yeah, but I had surgery and was in ICU for a day. That costs a lot. Shit! What are we gonna do, Billy? We've barely got two thousand and we need that for a car."
"We'll have to go over to see them and try to work something out. They can't get money we don't have."
"But we'll never be able to afford a car now. And school starts in five weeks. Without a car we can't get there."
"Let's not panic, baby. First, even though we don't think of our money that way, we can claim that half of the money in the bank is mine and half is yours. They can't touch my half. Which leaves us something. And even if we can't afford a new car, maybe we can get a used one. And if we can't afford that we might be able to work out a deal with Lucy to give her some money and use her car until we can. We'll work something out."
"I know, but it just isn't right. You've been working so hard all summer and now half the money will be gone."
"Danny, all I care about is that you are all right now. We make really good money at The Restaurant and we'll be able to pay off the hospital sooner or later. I don't care about the money. I care about you."
We walked over to the hospital in the morning. It didn't work out too bad. They wrote off part of the bill once they knew I didn't have insurance. We had to make a big down payment and then we set up monthly payments until the rest is paid off. Halfway through the negotiations I thought of my old savings account. I could have paid off the whole bill and had money left over if I could only have that money. But I don't have it so there's no point thinking about it. On the way home we stopped at Dr. Hanson's office and made arrangements to pay off his bill as well. I guess my income is spoken for for quite a while.
Mark
Things were really tense with my parents after their visit to The Restaurant. They were obviously unhappy with my working there but didn't seem to want to talk about it, especially at home in front of my brother and sister. I was sure they'd have all kinds of questions about me that I wasn't ready to answer but they pretty much avoided the subject. But they're not dumb and they can put two and two together. I work at a gay restaurant, I have gay friends, I spend every weekend with a gay guy and I don't have a girlfriend. They did put up a bit of a fight about my staying over at Joe's on the weekends but finally gave in and allowed me to continue to 'sleep on the couch' at his place. It's like, if no one says it out loud is isn't real. This is the way they deal with everything they can't handle. Have a drink and ignore it.
I wish my little brother Jamie were as easy. At fourteen he's at that incredibly inquisitive stage. He and I have always been close in spite of our six-year age difference. Once he learned Mom and Dad had been to The Restaurant he kept asking questions. They managed to shut him up, at least in their presence, but he kept asking me when he could go there. I finally got him to stop by telling him it was a nice restaurant for grownups and promised to take him there when he got older.
Late one Sunday afternoon in the middle of August I was serving brunch to two of my regulars when I heard a slight commotion at the door. I turned and there was Jamie, apparently arguing with Wayne. I excused myself from my customers and rushed over to him.
"Jamie, what are you doing here?"
"I found the address on Mom's desk in the kitchen. They were going out today so I figured I'd come see where you work."
"You know you're not supposed to come into the city alone."
"What's the big deal? I've taken the train in with Mom and Dad lots of times. I know how to do it."
"Yeah, but you're still a kid."
"Apparently you two know each other, Mark?"
"Yeah, Wayne, this is my kid brother, Jamie, who's going to be in big trouble when he gets home. Jamie, this is Wayne. He's my boss."
"Any more family members we can expect to show up, Mark?"
"Just my sister, Kathy, but I don't think she'll be in."
"Yeah, Kath doesn't care about anything but her boyfriend."
"Is it okay if I put Jamie at one of my small tables, Wayne? I'll buy him brunch. I don't want him wandering around the Village on his own."
"Sure, no problem."
I sat Jamie at an out-of-the-way table and made him promise to stay put and keep quiet. He looked ridiculously out of place. He's a late bloomer like I was and could easily pass for twelve. I left him with a menu and went over to the bar to get him a Coke.
"I thought you were into men, Markie. What's with the little kid?"
"Cut it out, Billy. He's my little brother, Jamie. I don't know how I'm going to explain this place to him. I love him a lot but I don't think he's ready for this conversation and I know I'm not."
"Just be cool, Mark. Answer his questions but don't volunteer anything."
"Easier said than done, Billy. You don't know Jamie."
I took the Coke over to Jamie and got his order. For a kid he wanted a big meal, steak and eggs.
"So how come there's only guys in this place, Mark? Where are all of the girls?"
"I don't know. Lots of places around here have mostly guys in them, like bars."
"Those two guys in the corner are holding hands. I think they're queer."
"The word is gay, Jamie. If you're going to hang out in the Village you'd better learn it 'cause you're gonna see lots of gay guys here and the word queer doesn't go over well."
"I didn't mean anything by it. That's the word everybody uses at school."
"Well, you're not in school now so please be careful what you say. I've got to get back to work. I'll bring your food in a few minutes."
By the time I brought his order to him the afternoon was winding down. Half of my tables were empty and the few customers I had left were finishing up or just having a last drink.
"Thanks, Mark. Your friend Joe was just talking to me. How come you never brought him out to the house to visit again after the Fourth of July?"
"It's hard when we work weekends. Besides, I don't think Mom and Dad like him much."
"Well, I think he's neat. Is he your boyfriend?"
I nearly fell over.
"What makes you ask that, Jamie?"
"Well, it looks like everyone else here is gay. And you spend every weekend at his place. And that would explain why Mom and Dad don't like him and won't talk about this place. Are you gay, Mark?"
"If I answer that do you promise not to tell Mom and Dad?"
"You know I never tell them anything. We guys have to stick together."
"Yeah, I'm gay, Jamie, and Joe is kinda my boyfriend. We've been going together all summer but it'll be over when I go back to Boston in the fall. Does that bother you?"
"I don't think so. It's kinda weird, but okay, I guess. I just don't want to know the details about what you guys do. So you don't like girls at all?"
"Only as friends. And I wasn't going to tell you the details anyway so you don't have to worry about that. Can you keep this our secret? I don't think Kathy would handle this too well and Mom and Dad seem happy to overlook it."
"Yeah, if Kath thinks everything I do is gross she'd probably freak over this. It'll just be our secret, Mark. But you've gotta keep my secret, too. Please don't tell Mom and Dad I came into the city today."
"We'll keep each others secrets as always, bro."
"I wish you didn't have to break up with Joe at the end of the summer. I like him."
"I like him too, Jamie."
Danny
The last month of the summer was so much better than the first. My head was completely better (or appeared to be, at any rate. I'm not taking anything for granted again after this.) And I was able to work the last several weeks so I didn't feel as useless, and even with the medical bills Billy and I managed to save some money. Near the end of August we went shopping with Brad for a used car. Straight guys do come in handy at times. We looked at several cars and Brad and I both drove a few before we settled on a two year old Datsun. It didn't look like much but it was cheap and Brad thought it was in pretty good shape. The dealer said it would take a few days to take care of the registration, plates and insurance but it would be ready for the weekend.
"Okay, Billy, it's time to get your driver's permit. I have to teach you to drive."
"We only have a week or so before school starts, Danny. Why don't we wait a while?"
"What difference does it make when school starts? If we get the basics out of the way you can get lots of practice driving to school and back."
"No way I'm driving that far on big highways so soon. I have to start gradually."
"I don't believe this. I think you're scared, black boy."
"I'm not scared, Danny. Maybe a little nervous, that's all. It looks so easy when you or Lucy or Brad drives but when I think about doing it myself it seems so complicated."
"It really isn't hard, Billy. If I can do it you can. I'll take you to the cemetery where I learned to drive."
"Cemetery?"
"Yeah, there are lots of little roads, no traffic and nothing you can hit. And besides, everyone there is already dead."
"Very funny. But I really don't see why we both have to drive."
"Wow! Who would have believed it? Big bad black boy is afraid of something. You're starting to make me feel like the butch one in this relationship."
"Just wait until we get to bed, white boy. I'll show you who's the tough guy."
"Uh-uh, Billy. Until you start doing some of the driving in the car I'm gonna do all of the driving in bed. Not that either of us minds that now and then but I don't think you're gonna want to go too long without my cute little butt, are you?"
"That's blackmail, Danny. When did you get so mean?"
"I'm not mean. I just know what I want and how to get it, especially when it comes to you. You'd better get used to the idea that I can make you do anything I want if I put my mind to it."
"You're just figuring that out, Danny? You've been able to make me do anything since the day we met."
My bedroom threats made Billy give in and he got his driver's permit the day before we picked up the car. I may have pushed it a bit by making love to him every day, sometimes twice. We both loved it but it was a constant reminder of what he wasn't getting. I offered to let him make love to me after each of his driving lessons. He thought I was being generous; I thought I was being selfish. As much as I wanted him to get over his fear of driving and get his license, I really didn't want to go too long without the incredible feeling of his big dick up my butt. I went without long enough after my surgery and I wanted it on a regular basis, but he didn't have to know that.
We picked the car up late Saturday morning and after I drove it around a while to get used to it I took Billy out to the cemetery for his first lesson. We had already gone over all of the controls and indicators on the dashboard and I'd run though all of the basics with him. I'll have to admit he looked funny sitting in the driver's seat tightly gripping the steering wheel. He started the car, stepped on the brake and put the car in drive.
"Okay. Take your foot off the brake and step on the gas."
I should have specified lightly, because he stomped on the accelerator and the car took off, its tires screeching. We were both thrown back against our seats.
"Brake! Step on the brake, Billy!"
He quickly stepped on the brake, which threw us both forward toward the dashboard. The car hadn't traveled very far but we had run off the narrow road onto the lawn.
"Take a deep breath and relax, baby. I think maybe you're a bit too tense about this. Why don't you just ease up on the brake, let the car roll by itself and steer it back onto the road. Then very gently use the brake. This car hasn't got those new shoulder belts and I really don't think it would be good if I hit my head."
Billy did as I suggested and this time brought the car to a gradual stop.
"That was better, Danny. I think maybe I need a little practice to get the hang of these pedals."
"That's what we're here for, Billy. Just try starting and stopping a few times. It'll be second nature in no time. And remember, you don't have to step on the pedals. That's just an expression. Pressing lightly works better."
We spent an hour riding around the cemetery and Billy didn't do too badly. He was able to keep the car on the road on the straight stretches and only ran off onto the grass now and then on curves. I was glad they didn't have the graves too close to the road but on one curve I held my breath as we passed a tree with about an inch to spare. But by the end of the lesson he was in pretty good control of the car.
"Do you want to drive back into town, Billy?"
"On real roads with other cars? Are you nuts?"
"You're starting to sound like a real sissy. But okay, we'll switch places and I'll drive back. Next time I'm gonna get you out into traffic a bit, though."
"Maybe. But for now just get us home. I think maybe I've earned myself a little reward this afternoon."
"I think you have too, but we really don't have time. Lucy and Aunt Connie are going to want to check out the car and then we have to get ready for work."
"Damn! How about I do you on the train?"
"Sure, I can pretend I'm sitting on your lap and it's a bumpy ride. I don't think that would be a good idea. You can't be that horny, Billy. Just keep it in your pants a while and I promise when we get home from work tonight you can have your way with me."
"You're damn right I'll have my way. You always love my way, white boy."
"I sure do, black boy."
Billy
We went back out to the cemetery on Monday and I drove for what seemed like hours. Danny didn't push me too hard and didn't insist when I balked at going out on real roads. We kept at it every day and by Wednesday I was driving on local roads and we were able to abandon the cemetery. On Thursday I drove part of the way to the poker game but let Danny take over when we got near Plainfield. I wasn't ready for city driving yet, even if it was only a small city. Each day I got better, more comfortable, more adventurous. Danny showed an amazing amount of patience and let me progress at my own pace.
And in bed I got my reward every night though somehow I think it was a reward for Danny, too. Not that I don't love it when Danny makes love to me. That's such a special feeling, having him inside me. It's more than just sex. Letting him into my body is just one more way of letting him into my life. I've never allowed anyone to get that close to me and I know I'll never let anyone else. Danny is the one, period. It feels so good opening up to him, letting him possess me, trusting him to love me. I don't know how or why it happened but it did and I'll be grateful the rest of my life. And making love to him is heaven on earth. Yeah, he's cute, he's adorable, he's sexy. But he's so much more beautiful inside. It sometimes amazes me that someone so good could love me so much. My life before Danny was one of constant conflict and struggle, of not fitting in anywhere. And I fit with Danny. I wish I could be inside him always. In some ways I know I am, and even when we're apart that thought brings a smile to my face. I've finally found the place I belong. And that place is Danny.
Lucy
August just flew by and before we knew it we were all getting ready to go back to school. We decided to have a little going away party the Monday before Labor Day weekend before it all came to an end. We all chipped in to put together a kind of potluck dinner. Because he was the only one old enough, Brad brought the wine. Aunt Connie helped me with a family recipe for arroz com pollo. Mark brought a huge salad and Billy and Danny made veggies and cornbread. We ate at the picnic table in the backyard but moved up to the apartment when it started to get dark.
Brad and I grabbed the love seat, Mark took a chair from the table and Billy sat on the floor, leaning against the bed. Danny opened a new bottle of wine and refilled all of our glasses, then stood in the middle of the room and cleared his throat.
"You know I'm not much for speeches but this might be the last time we're all together for a while so I just want to tell you all how much your friendship and support has meant to me this summer. I couldn't have made it through everything without all of you. You guys are really special friends and I love you all. Thank you for loving me."
Everybody started talking at once. Brad got up and gave Danny a hug, then just stood there with his arm around Danny's waist.
"I think I speak for everyone when I say that you're pretty special, too, Danny. You've been a good friend to all of us and we love you. Nothing makes us happier than seeing how well you've come back from a pretty bad time."
We all got up and took turns hugging Danny. By the time we were done he was wiping a couple of tears from his eyes. Billy was the last to hug him and kissed him on the cheek.
"I don't want to make another speech but there is something I'd like to say. This is a very special day for Danny and me." Danny gave Billy a puzzled look. "Yeah, white boy, I know you think that you're the romantic who pays attention to details like this, but now and then I notice things too. One year ago today I walked into Demarest Hall and saw this beautiful guy for the first time. One year ago today, I fell in love. This date will be in my heart forever."
"Wow! You're right, Billy. I should have noticed the date. It's kind of hard to believe how that one day has changed our lives. A year. It kind of flew by but so much has happened. We've had a few setbacks but overall I think things just keep getting better."
"Congratulations, guys. And that means that tomorrow is the first anniversary of the day I met you both. So maybe I'll have to take some pictures of you to commemorate that."
"Sure, Luce. We haven't modeled for you in quite a while."
"Depending on the kind of modeling I think I may want to chaperone this session, Billy."
"We'll let you join in, Brad, if you like."
"Hey, if you three are going to do it I don't want to be left out. Count me in."
"Sorry, cuz, I don't think it's gonna happen. In case you guys forgot, I'm straight. And while I love the three of you, spending time naked with you is pushing it a bit."
"I'm not keen on the idea of sharing my man, but the four of you would make for some really hot pictures."
"I'll pose for some really hot solo shots if you want, Lucy. But I think we'd better change the subject. I think you and the guys are getting into this too much."
"Okay, party pooper. We'll pick on Mark. How did it go with Joe this weekend?"
"Not so good, Lucy. It was harder saying goodbye than either of us thought it would be. We went into the summer knowing it would only be a short affair, but I think we both got more involved than we expected. He's such a sweet guy."
"Do you really have to end it, cuz? I know you're gonna be apart for a long time, but if you really like each other maybe you can make it work."
"We talked about it. Maybe if things were different. But we're both young, I'm still just coming out and anxious to meet people in Boston. And he lives in the Village, which for a gay guy is like a kid living in a candy store. We could try to keep the relationship going but it would only be a matter of time before one or the other met someone else, someone close at hand who was too tempting to resist. So we decided to just end it as planned so we could move on but still be friends."
"It's kind of sad, but at least you're still friends. That will help if you come back to work at The Restaurant next summer."
"Yeah, Danny, I definitely want to come back next year. I think Jamie is as upset over my breakup with Joe as me."
"You mean Jamie knows, Mark?"
"Yeah, Brad. He found out a couple of weeks ago. I can't believe how cool he is about me being gay."
"You and he were always close, Markie. You don't know how jealous I used to be, wishing I had a brother like that."
"Yeah, it's nice being a big brother even though Kathy can be such a girl sometimes. No offense, Lucy."
"None taken, Mark. I guess it's easier for brothers to be close. But as an only child I can't really relate. I had a great childhood with Uncle Evan and Aunt Connie but it must be nice having a brother or sister, sort of a built in friend and playmate."
"Same here. My parents had to get married because of me. They were both really young and I think they always resented that my coming along put a premature end to their adolescence. So they made sure not to have any more kids to interfere with their life."
"I always wondered why your parents stopped after you, Brad. I figured maybe they thought they couldn't improve on perfection."
"Thanks, Mark, but it would have been nice if they tried. Maybe that's why I want to have lots of kids. I always wanted to be part of a big family."
"That's good to hear, Brad. I think I'd enjoy a big family, too." Billy and Danny were comfortably snuggling on the floor, seemingly oblivious to our conversation so I decided to pick on them. "How about you guys? You gonna have lots of kids?"
"We keep fucking like rabbits, Luce, but so far neither of us has gotten pregnant. But Danny and I aren't gonna give up. I guess we'll just keep doing it until it works or until we get tired of it. Either way, I think we'll be going at it a while."
"I can just picture it; Billy pacing the floor with a howling baby, Danny changing diapers."
"No way, Brad. Ali McGraw may think love means never having to say you're sorry, but as far as I'm concerned, being gay, love means never having to change diapers."
"Too bad, Danny. I know I've told you before, but I think you and Billy would make great parents."
"Yeah, Lucy, tell you what. You and Brad have lots of babies and Billy and I will be their godfathers. That's close enough for us."
"We'll take you up on that, Danny, but that doesn't mean you're not going to get a few diapers to change."
"Don't count on it, Brad. But enough baby talk. Is everyone ready for school?"
The talk turned to the coming school year. Mark and Brad and I were leaving over the weekend. I was going to be in the dorm again but my move was a little easier than theirs since I would be coming home a lot of weekends. Billy and Danny were going to be commuting, of course, which meant they didn't have the hassle of moving but would have more of a daily grind.
As they talked about their plans I thought about how much I was going to miss these four men who had come to mean so much to me. Brad and I had slowly built our relationship over distance last semester so we were used to being apart. But we had spent so much time together this summer, getting so much closer, so it was going to be harder this fall. And Mark had become a good friend this summer, a sweet man who was easy to talk to, someone we could always count on. And Billy and Danny. They were going to be closest and I knew I'd see a lot of them, but I thought I might miss them the most. They'd be spending so much less time at school; who knew when I'd see them. It was definitely going to be a different kind of year.