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 began 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.
August 1971
Lucy
The boys and I decided to have a backyard cookout for Brad when he got home from basic training. Not really a celebration or party, that wouldn't happen until his discharge. Just a last gathering of our little 'family' for a while.
The reality of Brad being in the Army hit all of us when he showed up with a crew cut, all of his long beautiful sandy hair gone. It was still great to see him even if he did look like someone else. But that huge grin on his face was all Brad. There were hugs and kisses all around, starting with me and Mark, then a tentative handshake with Peter, then more hugs for Billy, Danny and Aunt Connie. Then he was back in my arms where I intended to keep him all afternoon.
"You know guys, it's only been eight weeks and I've only been at Fort Dix, down in South Jersey. What are you gonna do when I go far away?"
"I don't want to think about that, Brad. You're home for a few days and I intend to spend every minute with you."
"Sounds great to me but are you up for a family dinner on Saturday night, Lucy?"
"Your parents aren't so bad anymore, I think I can handle it."
"It's not just my parents but Mark's and a few other relatives as well. I think you met them all at my graduation party except you won't have the boys and Mark to help you out this time."
"I think you're all the help I'll need, Brad."
Toward the end of the gathering Mark was talking to Billy and Danny. Brad pulled Peter aside.
"Mark says things are going really well between you guys."
"Yeah, Brad, things are great. We've managed to see quite a bit of each other over the summer."
"Mark seems happy, so I'm keeping an open mind about you, Peter. He's a wonderful guy. Treat him right."
"You don't have to worry about that. I'll admit that I fucked up in Ft. Lauderdale, but I'm crazy about Mark. I can't be someone I'm not but I do want him to be happy."
"Good. I'm gonna be away a while, but if I ever hear you've hurt him, you'll have to answer to me when I get back."
"It's not really any of your business, Brad, but I would never hurt Mark. He's really special to me."
"Mark is my business, Peter, I love him."
"I realize that and I know how much you mean to him, Brad. Take my word for it he means a lot to me, too. It doesn't take a threat for me to treat him right."
"Sorry, Peter. I didn't mean that to sound like a threat. I just wanted you to know how much I care about Mark."
"Since we're in agreement that Mark's a great guy let's just leave it at that. Okay, Brad? We're all on the same side here."
The dinner with Brad's family went all right, though Mark's parents were still a little standoffish. I'll never understand how Mark and Brad turned out so great growing up with these two cold insensitive couples. Mark has his insecurities but he's such a warm loving young man. And Brad is just so strong, so mature, so full of love. I guess you just never know how kids will turn out.
The night before Brad had to go back he came over and said goodbye to everyone but he and I went out to eat alone. I loved being with him but it was still a sad time because we didn't know how long it would be until we saw each other again. We tried to avoid talking about the Army and neither of us wanted to even mention Vietnam. We referred to it as 'over there' when the subject did come up.
"If you do get sent over there, Brad, keep your head down. I want you home all in one piece."
"I told you before, I'm not gonna be in combat. Even if I am over there, I'll be building roads and bridges, just like I will be when I come home."
"And stay away from those Thai girls if you go to Bangkok for R&R. I've heard all about them."
"There's only one girl in the world for me, Lucy, and that's all there ever will be."
Danny
Summer really was a vacation for Billy and me. Yeah, weekends we had the same work schedule as always and we worked one night during the week as well, but not going to school every day made a huge difference. We went down to the Shore a lot and spent quite a bit of time with Frankie and Joanne, too. And of course hung out with Lucy whenever she wasn't working. Not that we could take her mind off Brad being away but we at least kept her busy.
Early in the summer Joanne introduced us to her friend, Eddie, a tall thin guy who lived in her apartment complex. He was in his early twenties and worked for a travel agency. After that he usually came over to visit with Frankie and Joanne. Sometimes Mark joined us, though he was often working when Billy and I were off so we didn't see him much outside The Restaurant. It was fun having a little circle of gay friends at home. We know lots of gay people but it's like they're off in separate compartments not connected to where we live. There are the guys at the League at school, the guys at the poker game and the people we work with in the city. It's great spending time with all of them but they're not around most of the time.
I mentioned that one night when we were all together.
"You and Billy are luckier than most of us, though. You've at least got quite a few gay friends. I only know Frankie and Joanne. I've met a couple of guys in bars in the city, but didn't get much more than some hot sex out of that. Besides, I don't want to have to live my whole gay life in another state."
"Yeah, I just stumbled onto you because we're neighbors, Eddie, but the only other gay women Frankie and I know are in New York. There have got to be lots of gay people around here but there's just no place to meet them. I've heard there are a couple of gay bars in New Jersey but Frankie's not twenty-one yet so we can't go to them."
"At school there's the League. That's how Danny and I have made some friends. And I know some other colleges have gay groups. But there's nothing like that that's not school-related, except in the city, and even there the organizations seem to be mostly political."
"Maybe we could start something around here, a place for people to meet. Like a club, or something."
"I don't know, Danny. How would we do that?" Eddie seemed interested but I wasn't even sure what I was talking about.
"I have no idea. I'm not even sure how Reggie and Ron started the League at school. It took balls but it probably wasn't so hard. They got the college to give them a room to meet in and then got publicity in the student paper. And the campus is a small community. It would be a lot harder to do something like that around here."
"We could try to find a place to meet, then spread the word somehow, Danny. I'm sure there are lots of gay people around who would love to have a place to meet others and make friends."
"It sounds like a lot of work, Joanne, and Danny and I don't have much time to ourselves as it is."
"It would be fun, Billy, not work."
The more we talked about the idea the more excited everyone got. All except Billy. He was quieter than usual, though I think I was the only one who noticed.
Later, when we were cuddling in bed I asked him about it.
"You didn't seem to get into the idea of a local gay group, Billy. Don't you think it's a good idea?"
"Maybe it is, Danny, but I'm not sure it's something we should be doing. I'm not that much into organized group things. Besides, we really don't have much spare time."
"But it wouldn't take that much time. And it would be a great way to make new friends."
"We've got lots of friends, Danny. We've got a good life. Why the sudden interest in making new friends?"
"I know our life is good, but things don't stay the same. In a couple of years we'll be out of school so we won't be a part of the League anymore. And Brad will be out of the Army but he and Lucy will be married and starting a family. And who knows where Mark will be by then. We can't serve drinks and snacks at the poker game forever. And when we get teaching jobs we'll give up The Restaurant. So everything will be different. We've got to think about making a life around here that will last."
"Hey, slow down, baby. Things are good right now, really good. Don't rush it. You'll have us retired and in a nursing home before you know it. There's no need to panic."
"I know. I guess I just don't handle change well. When we had to leave home I almost fell apart but taking care of each other got us through that. Since then, things have been pretty constant, school, work, living here. I've felt safe and secure. I like feeling like that."
"So why the concern now?"
"Maybe it was seeing Brad last week. Seeing him with all of his hair cut off made his being in the Army so much more real than it seemed when he left in June. Until I saw him I could just pretend it was like he'd gone back to school. But it's so different. I'm scared for him, Billy. What if he goes to Vietnam, what if something happens to him? I can't even let myself consider that. But thinking about that got me worrying about us, too. Everything's changing again. I realized that the things that have made me feel so secure aren't going to remain the same forever. I want it all to stay the same. I want us all to be together just like we have been."
I hadn't realized how much this had been getting to me. I was afraid I was going to start crying and I'd told myself after my surgery last year that I wouldn't do that anymore. Billy squeezed me tight and kissed me on the cheek.
"It would be nice if everything could stay just like it is now, Danny. But change isn't always a bad thing. When we left home for school a couple of years ago that was a huge change, a real traumatic one for both of us. Yet it turned out to be the greatest thing because we met each other. And yeah, things will be a lot different when we finish school, but Lucy, Brad and Mark will always be our special friends. And we'll keep in touch with the others too. But the one thing you can count on never changing is my love for you. I will love you with all my heart forever. And I'm counting on you loving me right back. Our love is our security."
"I will always love you, Billy, you know that."
"And if you really want to get involved with starting this group with those guys, then we'll do it. I'm not sure if it will amount to anything but maybe we'll have some fun trying."
Mark
Somehow Peter and I got through the summer with our relationship stronger than it began. We had counted on the weeks our families were on vacation for some extended time together but that didn't turn out quite as we planned. We hadn't figured on our jobs getting in the way. Peter's summer job was during the day all week and mine was mostly at night on weekends so even though we were staying in the same place we didn't see a lot of each other. But we did get to sleep together every night for a couple of weeks.
Saturday nights at the baths turned out to be a great thing for Peter and me though. I was a little nervous about it at first but we've been having so much fun. It's not exactly romantic but it is so sexy. Usually we go right to our room and fuck our brains out, then wrap our towels around us and head down to the showers to clean up and soak in the whirlpool a while. Then we wander around the four floors of the building, checking out the hot guys and watching guys have sex here and there. Even though it's pretty dark in the orgy room you can see well enough once your eyes get used to it.
I found I got so turned on by watching other guys have sex that I was afraid I was becoming a voyeur. Most of the guys at the baths are older than Peter and me but some of them are really hot. And there are plenty of hot guys around our age too. Seeing them stroking, sucking and fucking each other, in pairs or threesomes or foursomes or even more really got to me. Peter and I would make out while watching; sometimes he'd slip a hand under my towel and play with my hard dick. When we were so boned up we couldn't take it any more we'd go back to the room where he'd fuck me again. Then we'd fall asleep squeezed together on the tiny bed and have sex again when we woke up. A quick shower together downstairs and we'd get dressed and head back across the Village to The Restaurant. Usually Peter would stay for brunch (at one of my tables, of course) then catch a train home. It was like a little sex vacation in the middle of every weekend.
Not that it was always exactly what I wanted or expected. There were usually plenty of guys who were a little too friendly and Peter and I both got groped a lot as we walked around the place. I probably minded that more than Peter and even I didn't care too much as long as the guy kept moving. If a hand stayed on me more than a second I got pretty good at gently removing it and getting away. Now and then if we saw an especially hot couple or group going at it Peter would suggest joining in but he didn't push it when I said no.
One Saturday night in early August I graduated from voyeur to exhibitionist. We stopped for our usual drink at Julius' after I got off work but as we started walking across town Peter pulled a joint out of his pocket. He lit up and we passed it back and forth as we walked. By the time we got to the baths we were both feeling just fine. As we were about to go into our room two really hot studs, one blonde, one dark, maybe Italian, passed us heading upstairs toward the orgy room.
"C'mon, Peter. I'm really horny but I want to see if those two are gonna get it on up there. We can fuck when we get back to the room."
We quickly stripped, wrapped the towels around our waists and went upstairs. Once my eyes adjusted to the dim light I saw the dark guy sitting on his towel on the corner of one of the bunks. The other had thrown his towel on the bed and was standing there naked, straddling the Italian's legs with his dick right in the guy's face. He slipped his dick in the waiting mouth, put his hand behind the guy's head and pulled him on to his dick. Peter stood behind me and wrapped his arms around me as we watched the dark guy sucking the blonde. Peter kept grinding his dick into my ass and now and then reached down and squeezed me through the towel. The Italian finally pushed the other guy away and turned him around. He buried his face in his ass and began rimming him. The blonde bent over and spread his legs a bit to give better access.
The dark guy stood up and positioned himself behind the blonde. It was at that point I first saw his cock. Damn! Peter keeps telling me how big I am and based on what I've seen at the baths I guess I am quite a bit bigger than average but this guy easily had me beat. He was huge, not just long but really thick. He spit in his hand and stroked his thick rod a few times, then placed it against the blonde's hole and pushed. Very slowly that huge cock disappeared into the stretching hole.
I was so hard and turned on at that point there was a big wet spot of precum on my towel. Peter pulled my towel off and squatted behind me and started rimming me, lapping at my hole and working his tongue up my butt. I continued to watch the other couple as the amazingly hung stud began pumping into the other one. Peter stood and pushed his dick between my cheeks. I felt him pressing against my hole.
"Oh God, I really want you but we have to wait until we get to the room, Peter. We haven't got any lube here."
"Sure we have, baby. The oldest lube in the world, same as those guys. It's called spit 'n persuasion. Just relax."
Peter nibbled on the back of my neck as he pushed into me. I pushed back and tried to focus on the hot couple fucking up a storm in front of us. Peter felt bigger than usual and my hole burned a bit as he entered me but before I knew it he was buried deep inside me. He began thrusting into me, slowly at first, picking up speed until we were fucking at the same pace as the other couple. Up until then I hadn't really noticed the other guys in the room but I looked around and saw that Peter and I were just as much the center of attention as the stud couple. At first I was self-conscious but then I thought, 'Fuck it', which is just what Peter was doing, and put the others out of my mind. For the next ten minutes it was just Peter and me and the other couple fucking ourselves into oblivion. I felt Peter swell inside me as he began to shoot his load. I grabbed my dick and pumped it hard and shot my cum onto the towel lying on the floor in front of me.
Peter was still in me and was hanging onto my shoulders, pressed against my back. I looked over at the other guys. They had apparently cum about the same time as us because they were no longer fucking. As they separated I could hear the 'plop' as the gigantic dick slid out of the blonde's ass. I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to have something that big inside me. The blonde turned and kissed the Italian, then grabbed his towel and headed across the room. The dark guy picked up his towel, wrapped it around his waist and walked toward us, stopping for a second on his way downstairs.
"Thanks guys. You put on a hot show."
After he left I turned to Peter.
"They were getting off on us? I thought it was the other way around."
"It works both ways, baby."
Billy
A few days with Brad just wasn't enough. Seeing him with his Army crew cut gave me the same kind of mixed emotions that I had seeing Danny's shaved head last summer. Happy to be with him but sad because of what the loss of hair symbolized. But the backyard cookout we had was just like old times. Nobody was sad, everybody was just having a good time enjoying each other's company. At one point Brad came over to me with a beer in each hand and gave me one.
"I'm leaving you in charge, you know, Billy."
"What do you mean, in charge?"
"Well, it's not exactly like anybody's really in charge in our little group. We're all pretty independent and stubborn. And I was always away at school anyhow. But, I don't know, maybe because I'm the oldest, I've always felt a little responsible for all of you guys. Like I want to watch over you all and make sure things go okay for you. Maybe it's silly, but that's the way I feel."
"It's not silly, Brad. You know we all look up to you, like you're the adult in our group. Danny absolutely adores you and don't get me started on Mark. We all love you and can't wait until you're back home for good."
"Me too, but that's a long way off. Not being with you all is going to be torture but being out of touch and knowing that I can't be there for any of you if you need me is even worse. Keep an eye on everyone for me, will you, Billy?"
""You bet, Brad. Don't worry about our little family. We'll be fine. You just take care of yourself."
After Brad left again the last couple of weeks of summer were taken up with getting ready for school. The weekend before Labor Day was Mark's last at The Restaurant. We wanted to take him out dancing to mark the occasion but instead he finally talked us into going to the baths with him and Peter. He'd been nagging us to go all summer and kept telling us tales of their Saturday nights there.
"Why should Billy and I go to the baths? We can have all the sex we want at home and we're sure not looking for anyone else."
"You go out to bars and you aren't cruising or trying to pick guys up. It's the same kind of thing."
"Not quite, Mark. Bars aren't just for tricking. Aside from having a drink with friends you can dance, play pool or just hang out."
"It's the same with the baths, Billy, except there's even more to do. There's the whirlpool and sauna, and a TV lounge. Peter and I don't have sex with other guys there but we have lots of fun."
"I don't know. You may be right that there are lots of other things to do but the baths are really mostly about sex, much more so than bars."
"Look at it this way, Danny. You and Billy are out more than anyone you know. You work in a gay restaurant in the city. You're like the experts on gay life. Now you're starting this new organization this fall. What if someone asks you what the baths are like? You want to say you've never been? You owe it to yourselves to check it out."
So the last Saturday in August found us walking across town with Peter and Mark toward the Club Baths. They had talked about it all summer but I think Danny and I both had images of a huge building filled with naked guys taking part in one huge orgy. Instead once we got inside it looked more like a cheap hotel, except that all of the guests were dressed in towels.
We went to our rooms and changed into our white towels, then met up in the TV lounge. Peter and Mark took us on a tour of the place. Danny's eyes nearly popped out at the goings-on in the orgy room. I'll admit I was pretty fascinated by a few things there myself. We ended up downstairs by the showers, sauna and whirlpool. The four of us hung our towels on hooks on the wall and eased into the hot bubbling water. The heat and the massaging motion of the water felt so good, especially after having spent the evening on our feet waiting tables. Danny snuggled along side me and rested his head on my shoulder. I put an arm around him just to let anyone who was watching know that he was mine.
"You guys really are a hot couple." Peter hadn't taken his eyes off of us from the second we took off our towels until we were immersed in the water.
"Thanks, but shouldn't you be telling your boyfriend how hot he is?"
"Oh, believe me, Billy, I tell Mark how sexy he is all the time. His body drives me wild, especially that dick-of-death of his. But even though you were wearing those tiny swimsuits all the time in Ft. Lauderdale this is the first time I've seen you two naked and you really are something else. Too bad you're not into playing around."
"Too bad for others maybe, but Billy and I are just fine with each other."
We all talked a while and after a few minutes the four of us were the only ones in the tub. Danny seemed about to nod off. I reached under water with my free hand and grabbed his dick. He jumped to a half standing position and gasped, then slowly sat down again.
"Billy, you scared me. You can't do that. We're out in the open."
"No one's around except Mark and Peter." The two of them were giggling across the pool. "Relax."
"Yeah, Danny. And with all of the bubbles in the water no one can see anything anyway. Mark and I wouldn't have known Billy did anything if you hadn't jumped like that."
"Sorry, guys. I didn't mean to act like a prude. It's just that I was half asleep and forgot where I was."
Danny cuddled under my arm again and I left my free hand on his thigh, lightly rubbing him with my fingertips. A few minutes later Mark and Peter got up and announced they were heading back to the orgy room for some sightseeing. Danny wanted to stay in the whirlpool so we told them we'd see them later.
After they left we were pretty much alone. The water was running in the showers behind us so there must have been someone in there but there was no one in the room with us. I turned Danny's head toward mine and sucked his upper lip into my mouth, then deeply kissed him. At the same time I ran my hand up his thigh and took a firm hold of his cock, which was rapidly hardening. He put one arm around my back and grabbed my erection with the other. We continued kissing and began stroking each other under water. If anyone had been around all they could have seen was that we were making out pretty hot and heavy but we were both moaning way too much for just kissing. We continued pumping each other's hardons, trying to coax the cum out of each other. After a few minute I felt Danny's whole body tense up and his dick throbbed in my hand. My balls drew up tight and I shot into the pool as Danny milked me dry. As we pulled apart Danny opened his eyes and smiled.
"Man, that was nice. We've got to get one of these whirlpools for home."
"It was nice, Danny, but this pool is half the size of our apartment. Maybe when we get a bigger place."
"Yeah, that would be nice. But right now my hand is pretty sticky. I think we could use a shower."