Brody Comes Home

Brody Comes Home

Brody Comes Home

by Tim Mead

Chapter 20

_From:  BBCE5
To:  VetPete

RE:  You won't believe this

Petey, I tried to call you last weekend but you weren't in.  I needed your wisdom, bro, but since you were obviously out on the town or too busy fucking somebody to answer your phone, I had to muddle through on my own.

Long story short, you were right all along about Dave Cromer.  I mean I've known for some time now that he's really a nice guy.  But a little while back he came out to me.  I nearly shat my pants.  Dave Cromer, gay?  No way!  But he claimed he was.  Who'd a thunk?

Then, Friday night he showed up at my door.  He'd never been there before, so I was surprised to see him.  I could tell he'd been knockin back the beers.   I invited him in, of course.  This is the part you aren't gonna believe.  He told me he'd come for me to fuck him!!!  No shit, that's what he said.  I'm a little vague about what happened, but you know me.  I'm not about to refuse an offer from a stud like that._  
_Afterward, I asked him to explain what was going on.  Yeah, yeah, I know.  You're sittin there grinning and thinking of course, fuck first, ask questions after.  But would you have done it any different?  Anyway, here's the part you won't believe.  He told me he loved me.  Can you believe that?  And he said he'd loved me back in high school.  I thought he was such a shit, and he was, he said, just trying to make me stretch myself, to do the best I could.

Now I think about it, you told me it was something like that.

Well, anyway, Sunday afternoon I went to his house and we talked and had dinner and then he fucked me.  Actually, I think he made love to me.  With all due respect, bro, nobody has ever fucked me like that.  It was so tender, so sweet.  I think I could love the dude.

So, now you know.  I feel like a kid with a crush.  Any thoughts?

Love,

Brode_

_From:  VetPete

To:  BBCE5

Dawg!  You and hunky Dave have fucked????   And you're confused?

Seriously, bro, I can imagine it must have been a shock.  But somehow I'm not surprised.  The way he acted to you in high school was a kind of tough love.  I can see that now, can't you?  And all that gruff demeanor since you've gotten back is typical Dave: `Don't let anybody know you care.  That makes you vulnerable.'

Where do you guys go from here?  I can see you wanting to take it slow, but I think you two would be great together.  Yeah, yeah, I've got visions of the two of you doin' it, and it's making me hard and leaky.  But you know that's not what I meant.  Cromer's a `man's man,' and so are you.  If he's loved you since we were in tenth grade and still loves you, that's some kind of devotion. Totally amazing.  He's obviously never smelled your farts.  LOL

So did you dudes decide where you go from here?  Seems to me you owe it to yourselves to give it a try.  You could do a lot worse.  And he couldn't do better.  

We *got* to talk soon, bro.  

Besides, I have a few things to tell you about Chuckles and me.  I'll try to arrange to get to Higgins some weekend soon.

I guess I don't have your favorite cock anymore, but I hope I'll always be

Your favorite Peter_

Pete called a few days later.  He said he couldn't see any way he and Chuck could get away for a weekend soon.  He and Brody talked at length about Brody's newfound relationship with Dave.  Then he told Brody that he thought maybe he and Chuck were into something serious.  

"I dunno, Brode, I just feel something different when I look at him.  And it's different when we're having sex, you know?  It's more like making love."

"Yeah, Petey, I hear ya.  And, hey, it's about time you found somebody who recognizes what a special guy you are.  Aren't you gonna bring him home to meet your parents?"

"Oh, they were in Columbus last weekend and we had dinner together.  Mom called me Monday to say they loved him."

Brody insisted on a complete description of Charles, along with the essential bio, where he was from, how they'd met, and that sort of thing.  They concluded their conversation by saying that they were eager to get the four of them together and, with professions of love, hung up.

If Brody and Dave were going to try being a couple, they'd have to find more time for each other.  Brody didn't think of that as a hardship, and Dave welcomed the idea.  They managed to spend most of their weekends together except for Saturday mornings when Brody was working and Sunday mornings when Dave was at church.

Dave didn't object when Brody said he wanted them to spend half of their nights together in his apartment.  The only problem was that Tom needed to be let out at night and again early the next morning.  They quickly accommodated themselves to the dog's needs.  And Tom took to Brody so enthusiastically that Dave pretended to be jealous.

The Higgins rumor-mill seemed slow to catch on to what had happened.  Perhaps that was because for the first week or so Brody and Dave weren't seen too often in public together.  They went to a bar two or three times a week.  The second weekend they went to a movie on Saturday night.  They'd heard "Crash" had been nominated for an Oscar and they wanted to see it.  

Since no one knew Dave was gay and not all that many of the local citizens knew Brody was gay, it seemed natural that the two friends might be seen together occasionally.

They tried to spend as many nights together as their schedules would allow.  Dave made a point of saying he didn't want in any way to keep Brody from doing his university assignments.  

"Same old Dave," Brody said one evening at dinner.  "Still pushing me to be my best."

"Get used to it!  That's part of the package.  To get this cock, you gotta excel in everything you do."

"And why is it that I find you attractive?"

"You just can't help yourself, you slut."

"Okay, what I've got to do will take a couple of hours.  If I'm a good boy and do it, can we go out for a while?"

"Yeah?  You wanna go look at all the queers at Nelly's?"

"David Cromer, bite your tongue!"

Dave chuckled. "Okay, would you like to go mingle with our own kind at Nelly's?"

"Yeah.  Why not?"

It was a few minutes after ten when they got into their jackets and gloves and drove through a typical blowing snowfall to get to the bar.  

"It looks like old home folks week," Dave said as they entered.

"What?"

"Over there's your friend Roger," Dave said nodding toward the rear of the room, "and there's Himself."  He looked to his left toward a booth where Adrian and another guy were sitting.  

There were no empty booths, but Roger waved them over.  They got their beer and went to join Roger and his friend.

Dave and Roger had met because Dave bought most of his non-work-related clothes at Dillard's.  Roger introduced his friend as a fellow drama major at CSU. They chatted for a while.  Then Roger said, "Well, guys, I've got a presentation to make tomorrow, and I need to get home and work on it some more.  It's been good to see you two.  Especially" and here he winked at Brody, "seeing you together."  He and Clay, his rather swishy friend, left.

"Can't you just tell that Clay is a theater major?" Dave said.

"You're stereotyping."

"Well, he was here with a gay guy, wasn't he?"

"Yeah, and so are you."

Dave chuckled.  "Touche!  I guess that doesn't mean anything.  He just seemed a little fey to me."

"Fey? For such a macho type, you sure use strange words."

"I done bin ta collitch, ya know," Dave said, a glint in his eye.

"So what does `fey' mean?"

"Elfin, fairy-like."

Brody chuckled.  "Good word.  I'll have to remember that one."

"Don't look now," Dave said, "but Himself is coming this way."

Brody continued to look at Dave.  Then he heard Adrian mutter, "Looks like a meeting of the alumni association" as he walked past, obviously on his way to say hello to someone in another booth.

Both Dave and Brody laughed at the remark.  Adrian didn't look back.  But he spent a good fifteen minutes chatting with various people in the bar.

"Man, he really knows how to work a room, doesn't he?" Brody said.

"Yeah.  But have you noticed the guy he's here with?  He's sitting in their booth looking all forlorn."

Brody turned to look at the man in question.  He appeared to be about 30.  He was a blond with blue eyes and early male-pattern baldness.  He wasn't at all bad looking, and he seemed to be as expensively dressed as Adrian.  Designer jeans, a cashmere sweater over an oxford shirt with a button-down collar, and expensive looking ankle high boots.  The sleeves of the sweater were pushed up, and the shirt cuffs were turned back over them.  Whether all of that was for comfort or to show off the Rolex Brody and Dave could only guess.

"Who's that guy?" Brody asked.

"Oh, that's Pinky Nielsen."

"Who's he?"

"He graduated from Higgins High about the time Adrian graduated from that fancy school he went to.  His dad is Clayton Nielsen."

"The owner of CEF?"  CEF was short for Colby Extruded Forms, which had been a major employer in the area until recently.

"Yep.  Clayton sold out to a Japanese company a few years back.  After a year or so the new owners closed down the local plant and transferred a few key people to their Georgia plant, leaving a bunch of locals out of work and hopping mad."

"So Pinky has money?"

"Oh, yea.  I'm sure all the Nielsen's have to do now is manage their investments and live well off the returns."

"Where did he get that name?"

"Pinky?  I have no idea.  But it's a fascinating question.  Maybe your brother would know."

Brody grinned.  "You can damn well bet I'm gonna ask him."

"That crack about the alumni association didn't bother you?"

"Nope.  It just proves Junior can be petty, which you knew all along."

"Well, give him this:  he hasn't cancelled his contract with Cox Floral, has he?"

"Not yet, anyway."

They worked on their beer and enjoyed watching the assortment of people in the bar for a few minutes.

Adrian had finally rejoined his friend at their booth.

"You know, Brody, I'm surprised to see Junior with Pinky."

"Why?"

"Well, look at his pattern.  He's always showing up in public with a great-looking young stud, isn't he?"

"You're so modest," Brody chuckled.

"Well, except for me, if you insist."

"I don't insist anything of the sort.  You are a great-looking stud.  Sorry I interrupted.  What was your point?"

"Well, maybe Junior has finally figured out that he needs to be with his own kind.  Pinky's no stud, but he and Lynch have something in common.  Neither one of them lacks for money.  So maybe they can have a chance to be friends without the inequality that botched things up between Adrian and us – and three or four other guys."

Brody looked at Dave and chuckled.  "I'd say you're really smart, but it would make you even harder to live with."

"Watch it, kid, or I'll give you a noogie when we get home!"

"Yeah, like you could."

Dave chuckled and drank the last of his beer.

"You want another?" Brody asked.

"I'd rather go home and fuck."

"You're on!"

Four guys in the next booth overheard the last exchange and hooted.

"Go guys!"

"Get a room!"

"Get it ON!"

The two went home, let Tom out to do his business, set the ADT system, stripped off their clothes, did their own bathroom business and were soon in bed, enjoying being young, good looking, healthy and – in love?

One Saturday at the shop Sheila said, "The buzz around town is that you and Dave Cromer have become pretty friendly."

"Oh, geez, I suppose it was bound to happen.  But the gossips are a little slow this time."

"What do you mean?" Sheila asked, leaning toward him, all ears.

"Dave and I have been spending all our spare time together for a while now."

"For real?"

"Yep?"

"What happened?  I want to know all the details.  Dish!"

"Well, you knew when Adrian and I broke up."

"Yeah, everyone knows you dumped him.  Most of the people I've heard talking about that think you did the right thing."

"It's so nice that my love life is a topic of popular conversation."

She grinned and put her hand on his cheek.  "Get used to it, stud.  That's life in Higgins, Ohio."

A customer came in, interrupting their conversation.  Later, during another quiet moment, Sheila said, "Okay.  Now tell me all about you and Dave Cromer."

"I will not!"

"Can't blame a girl for trying," she said, grinning at him.  "Can I ask a question?"

"Yeah, but I may not answer it."

"I thought you and Cromer didn't get along back in high school."

"You remember that?"

"Not really, but I've heard others talk about it."

"And?"

"So now you're `with' him?"

Brody could almost hear the marks around "with."

"Depends on what you mean.  We're not living together."  

"But you're, what, dating?"

"I suppose you could call it that.  We've gone to the movies or to a bar, that kind of thing."

"So Dave really is gay?"

Brody frowned.  "Is that what you've been itching to ask me?"

"Well, yeah, I suppose.  Despite what Justin said, I would never have thought he was gay.  He doesn't seem like the type."

"And I do?"

"No, no, Brody.  I've just had longer to get used to the idea of you being that way.  And, admit it, David is even more macho than you."

"Oh, ya think, do ya?" he said, squaring his shoulder and sticking out his chest.

Sheila giggled.  "I'm sorry I said anything.  Now you'll be swaggering around here, being the tough Marine all morning."

Brody laughed.

"So, Justin was right about Dave all along.  I don't know what you're going to have to do for him, but I'll bet he'll want to collect as soon as he hears about you two."

"Oh, shit, I'd forgotten all about that.  Look, Sheil, promise you won't say anything to Justin about Dave and me."

"Okay, but that's not going to buy you a lot of time, you know.  He's gonna find out."

Brody sighed, thinking of the penalty for losing the bet with Justin.  "I know, but let's hope it's later rather than sooner."  Brody hadn't told Dave about the bet and wasn't looking forward to telling him.  Even less was he looking forward to delivering on the bet.

Just then the phone rang.  Brody was closer, so he answered.

"Petal Pushers, this is Brody.  How can I help you?"

"Brody in pedal pushers.  Now there's a picture."

"Dave, whassup dude?"

"You still plan to come over this afternoon?"

"Yeah, is that a problem?"

"Nope.  I just want you to do something for me."

"Name it."

"When you get through there, go change into your grungiest clothes.  Then go by someplace and pick up subs or something.  I'm in the middle of a project and don't want to stop and fix anything."

"Will do.  Should I assume I'm gonna be put to work when I get there?"

Dave chuckled.  "Yeah, as soon as we've eaten."

Justin and Gary stopped by about 11:30.  Justin said they wanted to say hello but they were on their way to the mall.  

"We're gonna get a burger and then walk around and check out all the cute guys."  He grinned at Gary.  "Then we may take in a flick."

The two boys seemed in high spirits, teasing each other, laughing, always in motion.

When they left, Sheila sighed and asked, "Were we ever that young?"

Brody chuckled.  "Hardly seems possible does it?"  Then, more seriously, "Thanks for not saying anything about Dave and me."

Brody used the remote Dave had given him so he could drive right into the two-car garage.  As soon as he got out of his car he heard some kind of large electric motor running inside the house.  He yelled hello when he got to the kitchen, but obviously Dave couldn't hear him.  He put the bag from Arby's on the kitchen counter, hugged Tom, who'd come in from the family room to greet him and, following the noise, went to the living room.  Dave, a mask over his nose and mouth, covered with sawdust, was running an electric sander over the floor.  He grinned and shut off the motor.

Brody lifted the mask so they could kiss.  Afterward, he said, "Man, you're a mess!"

"You're gonna look as bad after a while.  Now, what did you bring for lunch?  I'm famished."

After they'd consumed two Arby's sandwiches, an apple, and a mug of coffee apiece, they returned to the living room.

"When did you get the idea to refinish this floor?  You didn't say anything to me about that?"

"I didn't really have any reason to be at the office this morning, so I decided I might as well get started on this project.  I've wanted to do it ever since I bought the house.  I want to make this room fairly formal.  Don't know why.  We'll not use it very often."

`"We," he said "we,"' Brody thought.  

"Won't it look pretty cold with the furniture sitting on bare floors?"

"What would you think of a nice oriental to anchor the seating arrangement?"

"Sounds nice."

"Good.  You can help me shop for it."

Dave finished the sanding job, which didn't take much longer.  Next they had to vacuum the floor and then work to get up the rest of the sawdust with damp cloths.  By that time Brody was indeed as dirty as Dave.  The floors were oak, but Dave had chosen a cherry-colored stain.  Dave insisted on doing that job by sitting or kneeling on the floor and applying the stain by hand.

"You can buy long-handled applicators, but they don't do as good a job."

"How do we get the fuckin' stain off our hands?" Brody asked as they both rubbed the stain into the wood.

"Oh," Dave said, chuckling, "it'll wear off in a week or so."

Dave flipped him the bird.

It was a large room, and Brody's knees were sore by the time they finished.  

"I think we got as much stain on us as we did on the floor," he said.

They put away the leftover stain, threw the rags with the stain into a trash can in the garage, and began the clean-up process.  Dave had gotten something at the paint store that removed the stain from their skin.  

"Brody, I'm afraid those clothes are ruined.  We can wash them, but I don't think the stain will come out."

"Okay, let's throw them in the washer.  Maybe we'll have more painting to do one of these days, and they can be our painting uniforms."

They stripped in the laundry room, threw their dirty clothes in the washer and started it.  Then they went to the master suite where they took a long, hot, touchy-feely shower.  After they'd dried off and were back in the bedroom, Dave smacked Brody's rump and said, "Damn, I hate for you to cover that up."

He stood behind Brody, put his arms around him, and pressed his member into Brody's crack.  

"Mmmm.  That's nice."

"I'll show you nice."  Without releasing Brody, Dave walked him to the bed and pushed him down onto it.  Then he knelt on the floor, spread Brody's cheeks apart, and burrowed his nose into the crevice.  "Oh, God, you smell grrrreat!"

Brody giggled.  "That's fantastic when you talk while your face is there!"

"Sorry, but you don't get a soliloquy.  I've got better things to do."

He proceeded to demonstrate what he meant, much to Brody's satisfaction.  Soon they had pulled the covers off the bed and were sixty-nining, Dave on his back, Brody on all fours above him.  They'd done this by now often enough to know it wasn't necessary to announce when they were coming.  Each eagerly swallowed the other's cum, so no warning was necessary.  On this day Dave came first.  He paused briefly, never letting Brody's cock out of his mouth, and after the last spurt was pumped out of his own cock, he resumed his sucking.  Brody came soon afterward.

Lying side by side, kissing, enjoying the taste of their own cum in the other's mouth, they gradually came down from their post-orgasmic highs.

"We don't need another shower, do we?"

"Nah!"

"What are we gonna do now?"

"How about we go get some dinner?  Then I've got a dvd for us to watch, if you want to."

"Do you think we should put some clothes on?"

"Well, yeah.  Otherwise we'd really freeze our asses off."

"Then I have a problem.  I didn't bring anything with me except what I was wearing."

"If we went someplace like Applebee's we could wear jeans."

"Yeah."

"Okay, I'll bet you can wear my clothes."  He chuckled.  "It makes me horny to think of you wearing my clothes."

"You're always horny, man.  Geez, you just came ten minutes ago."

"Well, that's what you do to me."

Brody found that he and Dave did wear the same size jeans and briefs.  Dave gave him a tee shirt and a pair of socks.  Then he invited Brody to pick a shirt from his closet.  The one he chose was a little loose, but not too much so.

"Oh, but I just wore a ratty old hoodie when I came this afternoon."

"No problem.  I'll wear my parka and you can wear the leather coat."

"No way!  You look so sexy in that leather jacket, I want you to wear it.  I'll wear the other one."

At Applebee's they ordered a bottle of the best merlot from the four options given, and bruschetta to munch on.  They were in no hurry, so they told their server, an attractive young woman Brody thought he'd seen on campus, that they'd order their entrees later.

She was back soon with the wine and appetizer.

After they'd sampled the bruschetta, Brody grinned and looked at his lover.  "Did Adrian ever make bruschetta for you?"

Dave smiled.  "Yeah.  It was light years better than this, wasn't it?"

"Oh, yeah."

"You know, despite his faults, I think he was good for both of us.  I'm not sure we'd have ordered the wine this evening if we'd never been Junior's `boys'."

"Well, in the short time he and I were together, he opened my eyes to a lot of things.  I guess we have to give him that."

Dave raised his glass.  "I never thought I'd be saying this, but `To Adrian'."

"To Adrian."

"Having said that," Dave continued, "I've just got to tell you again how, well, shit, how happy I am that you're with me now.  I know you don't want me to pressure you, and you wouldn't believe how often I have caught myself before saying `I love you' because I know that's a kind of pressure."  He took a sip of merlot.  "Does that make any sense?"

Brody looked into Dave's green eyes and felt a shiver run down his spine.  "Yeah, I get what you're saying.  And I appreciate it.  I would never have believed the Dave Cromer I thought I knew was so tuned in to other people's feelings.  I have to say, the Dave I'm getting to know is a special guy."

Dave looked down at the table, clearly moved.

Back at the house they were greeted by a hungry Tom.  After Dave let him out and then fed him, they checked to see how the floor was doing.  

"Looks great, Dave.  I suppose we'll have to put varnish or something on it to protect it."

"We?  Did you just volunteer to help?"

"Of course."

"Next weekend?"

"You got it!  Now, what about that dvd?"

"Ever heard of `Delovely'?"

"Nope.'

"Have you heard of Cole Porter?"

"Yeah, he was a song writer, wasn't he?"

"Yep. This flick's about his life."

"What's so interesting about his life?"

"He was one of us."

"Oh."

After they'd breakfasted together the next morning, Brody went home to study while Dave went to church.  Brody had dinner as usual with Sam, Bob, and the kids. Later that afternoon he arrived at Dave's with clothes to wear the next day.

The first thing he had to do when he got there was hug Tom and then rub his belly.

"Hey, sexy," Dave said after they'd hugged and kissed.  "Go put your stuff in the bedroom.  You want wine or beer?"

Brody laughed.  "Got any chardonnay cold?"

"Always."

"Well, I hate to admit it, but I'd like some of that."

"Why do you hate to admit it?"

"Well, Adrian and all that.  You know."

"Forget Adrian.  So being with him was a learning experience.  Let's just get on with our lives."  

When Brody got back from hanging up his clothes, Dave handed him a glass of wine.

"Let's go sit."

A fire was burning merrily behind the new glass doors of the family room fireplace.  They sat at either end of the sofa, turned so they could face each other.

Dave held up his glass and took a sip.  Brody did the same.

"Brody, I've promised no pressure, and I don't want you to think that's what's happening here."

"Okay."

"Would you consider moving in?"  Dave held up his hand.  "Wait!  Before you say anything, let me explain."

Brody nodded.

"I know you wouldn't just come and live with me.  That might be too much like what you went through with Junior.  But what if you paid rent and paid for your share of the groceries?  It's a pain in the ass for you to have to keep dragging clothes back and forth.  You could have the spare bedroom as your own space and put your computer and your clothes in there."  

Brody smiled.  "Dave, from the whiteness of your knuckles, I'd say you're gonna break that glass.  Relax and let me think about this, okay?"

Dave took a deep breath and then a sip of his wine.  He set the glass down, clasped his hands behind his head, and looked steadily at Brody, saying nothing.

"You'd let me pay you what I'm paying Mrs. Brill?"

"Whatever you think is fair is okay by me.  And Brody, I wouldn't want you to think of yourself as a renter.  This would be your home, too.  I'll tell you what.  I'll put your rent money toward the mortgage, so you'll really be contributing in a significant way."

"You know if I moved in, that would complete your coming out process so far as the folks in Higgins are concerned?"

"I know.  That's no problem.  I might lose a little business when word gets around, but that's gonna happen whether you live here or not.  It's just a matter of whether you'd be comfortable moving in with me."

"Dave, I'm sorry, but I've got to get this straight.  You aren't asking me for a lifetime commitment or anything are you?"

"No, Brody, I'm not doing that.  Lots of gay men who are into some kind of a relationship live together.  Why not us?  You've got to admit it would be convenient."

As Dave waited silently Brody stared at the fireplace for several minutes.  He was surprised the decision came as easily as it did.

He stretched out on the sofa and lay with his head in Dave's lap.  Looking up at his lover, he said, "I think I'd like to move in with you.  You wouldn't really make me sleep in the guest room would you?"

Dave smiled and hunched his hips so Brody could feel his hard cock pressing against the back of Brody's head.  "What do you think, babe?"

TBC

**Please consider making a donation to the Nifty Archive.

As usual, my thanks to Drew and Mickey for their generous help with this story.

If you'd like to write me about this story, please do at t.mead76@yahoo.com.  Be sure to put the name of the story in the subject line so I'll know it isn't spam.  Thanks.  --Tim

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