Daddy Type - Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen {08-2019 to 09-2019}

One reason to hate August is that it was ninety-eight degrees with high humidity as I walked to the train station. I'd worn a polo shirt and my lightweight pants, but I was dripping sweat on the walk. I, like many of my fellow travelers, stayed in the station until the train pulled up. I boarded the train, turned, and climbed to the upper level. Before I sat down, I gave Luke a kiss and asked, "How was your day?"

"Not too bad. I got an e-mail from Mom. She's flying up next Wednesday morning for work. She's supposed to fly back late Friday. She's free Thursday night and wants to have dinner."

The train rocked a bit as it left King Street Station.

"Sounds good."

"We're supposed to compete next Thursday."

"Where's she staying?"

"Arlington. Some place in Ballston."

"Lots of options," I started. "We can save the song for another month. We can make sure it's an early dinner, drop her off at her hotel, and then go to the club in time for the competition. We can invite your mom to come along, and she gets to see you perform."

"What?" His voice was a bit louder than even he expected.

"I bet she doesn't know you have a great voice. Call her and have her to meet us at a restaurant early enough for a nice dinner. If she wants, she can join us for karaoke afterwards."

"Umm..."

"What's wrong?"

"I..."

"Afraid she'll like it? Embarrassed by the song?"

"I don't know. It's taken a lot for me to get comfortable singing and..."

"And this adds a new awkwardness, which makes sense. In the end, what happens is totally up to you."

"I guess I should let her see another side of me."

"That's a good perspective. She's accepted you as gay. She's accepted you in a three-person relationship. Now she can accept you as a good singer."

He chuckled at that and then said, "I get it. I'll respond to her e-mail when I get home. I'll confirm everything with Cody and hit send."

"I'm sure he'll be fine with it."

"I know, but I'll ask anyway."

"Any thoughts on his birthday?"

"It's on a Monday. Dinner? Sex?" Luke asked.

"He's a social guy. A dinner with his friends is something he'd like."

"On a Monday?"

"Not that we would host. Have folks meet us at a restaurant."

"Oh, yeah. That would work."

"Who should we invite?"

"Caleb and Zack, Casey and Kyle..." Luke started.

"Doesn't have to be a huge group."

"I wish Mindy was still local. She's a lot of fun."

"Graduate school is where it takes you, I guess."

"Getting into Johns Hopkins was impressive."

"Yep."

"Anyone else?"

"We can ask Cody," I said.

"Works. Where?"

"Lots of options; again, we can ask Cody."

"Also works. The last thing is presents."

"I was thinking work clothing or shoes."

"Practical, and he could use an expansion of his wardrobe."

"Shopping spree or buy and give?"

"You know his tastes. Why don't we buy and give? He'll hold back too much on a shopping spree."

"Fair enough."

We talked a bit more about wardrobe needs until the train pulled into the station. When we got home, Cody was already there.

"There was a message on the answering machine," he said. "You have a doctor's appointment tomorrow."

"Oh, that slipped my mind. It's my annual dermatology check." I looked at Luke and said, "Is it okay if I drop you off at the train station?"

"Sure, that's fine," Luke said.

"I can take him if that would be easier," Cody offered.

"It's not far off the path. I'll drive in to the office," I explained. "You can take the train to Alexandria tomorrow afternoon, and I can drive us home."

"Works. We can pick up Indian on the way home," Luke said.

"Sure," I agreed.

"What's up with the check?" Cody asked.

"I call it the annual pale white guy ritual. I'm a Gael, which is one of the sub-groupings of Celts. You know, I don't tan. I go from white to red."

"You've said that," Luke said.

"As such, I get an annual skin cancer check, prevention, and precaution."

"Makes sense," Cody said.

"Three or four years ago, they found a couple pre-cancerous spots and froze them off. That's been the extent of it."

"Cool," Luke said. "What's for dinner?"

"What are you making?" Cody asked.

"Reservations."

We laughed at that.

"How about refrigerator clean out tonight? We can do a good shop this weekend and restock."

"Works for me," Cody said.

With that, we got our evening going.

-----

The next afternoon, I pulled into the Alexandria train station's parking lot and noticed that Luke was coming through the door.

"Perfect timing," he said as he climbed in.

"Yep. How was your day?"

I got us moving, pointing us down Duke Street.

"Not bad," he said. "Busy, but that seems to be the norm these days."

I thought I saw him looking at me out of the corner of my eye.

"What's that?" Luke asked.

"A bandage," I said with a laugh.

"Ummm..."

"They found a spot that looked funny. They biopsied it off, burned the area, and are sending the sample for tests."

"Oh," he said. His tone concerned me.

"I doubt it's anything serious, but better safe than sorry."

"What could it be?"

"Honestly, it could have been a blemish, dark spot, or mole, but she thought it could also be a basal cell carcinoma. Out of extreme caution, she removed it and burned the area to make sure it was all gone."

"Cancer?"

"Possibly. It's one of the bad things about being a pale-skinned guy."

"Ummm..."

"Look, it's a very common and easily handled form of skin cancer. It's not like I have melanoma."

"What's that?"

"That's serious skin cancer. Think something more like what your dad went through. This is more like having a boo-boo if it's caught early. That's why I have the annual check. If it is basal cell, then I'll move to semi-annual checks for a few years."

"So, nothing serious?"

"Nope. Trust me, I won't hide anything from you."

"Thanks."

We pulled into the shopping center parking lot and walked into our favorite Indian restaurant.

"What do you want?" Luke asked.

"How about the aam palak chaat, veggie samosas, garlic-naan, and butter chicken?"

"Cody wants palak paneer, or as he calls it, that plock stuff, and chicken vindaloo. I think I want the Tandoori chicken. I'd like to get a butter naan as well."

"Dessert?"

"How about that pistachio cake?"

"Works for me."

After paying for our order, we walked next door into the Indian grocery store and picked up a few ingredients. By the time we got back to the restaurant, they had our food ready.

Luke drove us home. Cody came out and helped us bring all our stuff in. He had things ready so we could quickly plate our food, sit, and eat.

"What's that?" Cody asked as we ate.

"I had a spot biopsied off out of precaution. I should know in a few days if it was benign or cancerous."

"And before you go there, this is the boo-boo level cancer, not the vicious level," Luke added.

"Cool."

Cody had a funny expression on his face.

I just moved my head slightly. A conversation we could have in the future.

"Anyone have anything pressing to do tonight?" Cody asked.

"Nope. No homework," I said.

"You know my favorite thing," Luke said with a laugh.

"Upstairs or downstairs?" Cody asked.

"We haven't played in the playroom in a while," Luke said.

"I'm game."

We finished up eating and then headed downstairs.

"Who's up for what?" Luke asked.

"I haven't been fucked in a while," I admitted. I started stripping down. Once naked, I grabbed my harness from the hook and put it on. I climbed into the sling and hooked my feet into the stirrups. "Get me open and filled up, boys!"

Like me, both Cody and Luke were naked. They also grabbed their harnesses and slipped them on.

Cody got between my legs, and I felt Cody's tongue start swiping at my hole.

I felt a nudge, turned my head, and found Luke's hard dick, ready for action.

While I sucked on Luke's cock, I felt Cody work his tongue in and out of my hole. His hands spread my ass cheeks, allowing him deeper access.

I repositioned my head a bit and was able to get Luke's cock fully. His pubes were rubbing my lips.

"Oh, fuck yeah," Luke said.

I guess that was the cue for Cody. His tongue left my hole, and his cock started pushing in.

"That's it. Fuck me!"

Cody started thrusting slowly. Once he was sure I was fully open, Cody reached down and grabbed the bottom of my harness. He started using it to pull me, in the sling, towards him as he fucked into me. This made his strokes go in deeper and harder.

I let Luke's dick slip out of my mouth for a moment and urged Cody. "That's it. Fuck me."

As his cock slid in and out, I started clenching my ass.

"He's fuckin milking me," Cody exclaimed.

"I need a piece of that ass. Swap with me," Luke said.

They both pulled out of me. Luke grabbed the box, got on it, and slid in. I expected Cody to have me suck him, but instead, he got behind Luke and played with his tits.

Between having been sucked, Cody playing with his tits, and my ass clenching, it only took a short time till Luke flooded my ass. Once he recovered enough, he pulled out and moved out of Cody's way.

I heard the box move. Cody then slid in deep. Luke moved around and started sucking my dick while Cody fucked me hard.

"FUCK!" was all I got out as my cock flooded Luke's mouth.

My ass clenching triggered Cody, who added a second load to my hole.

As we cleaned up and got ready for bed, Cody and I were in the bathroom alone. He asked, "What was up with the boo-boo comment?"

"I think Luke's a bit concerned about cancer, given what his dad went through. I explained to him that this was more like a boo-boo than the vicious stuff."

"Gotcha."

"I promised him no secrets; nothing will be hidden about this."

"Good man."

With that, we walked into the bedroom to join Luke.

-----

"It's good to see you," Sarah said as she joined us at the front of the small restaurant. She gave each of us a big hug.

"Glad you're here," Cody said.

"They should seat us in a moment," Luke explained.

The host waved to us, and we were seated quickly.

"What's good here?"

"I like the carne asada," Cody explained.

"It's a Salvadoran restaurant, so a lot of the foods are similar but different from a Mexican place," I said.

"My favorite is the Lechoncito al Horno," Luke said. He pointed to it on the menu.

"Oh. That does sound good."

"If you want something lighter, I recommend the salad with grilled shrimp. It comes with the restaurant's house dressing."

After placing our orders, Sarah asked, "So what's been up with the two of you? I mean, I hear from Luke pretty regularly."

"Work, more work, lots of work," Cody said.

"Two months into the job?"

"The team had been short-staffed so things fell behind."

"I would think finding people around here wouldn't be too hard."

"With the government and government contractors around here, certified IA people are in high demand."

Sarah gave him a look.

"Information assurance," he explained. "That's really how I got the job. College degree but no certifications. Plus, health care pays well, but not compared to most of the contractors."

"Government and some private sector work areas can have distinct advantages."

"Several of my coworkers, who have been there for years, really like the place. The churn is more for the new folks, as my boss explained. They get lured away for bigger bucks. They get certified and leave. The amazing thing is she helps and expects folks to get certified."

"A good boss and a great work environment are worth more than a bigger paycheck," Sarah said.

"Sounds like what Coulter says."

"What about you?" she asked me.

"Keeping busy with work. My team is doing really well. The company continues to grow as we gain more customers. I'm traveling to Tulsa soon for a new client. What brought you to Arlington?"

"We're doing an audit, and my client has a large office here."

"Finding anything?" Luke asked.

"Yes, actually. That's why I'm here. We found some discrepancies in their books. Their headquarters in Virginia Beach asked that we come up and dig in more closely."

"Criminal or sloppy?" I asked.

"I think the HQ folks think it might be criminal. Me, I think it's sloppy. Their books in general are a mess."

"What might happen next?"

"We will recommend procedural changes, oversight changes, and more internal reviews. If it is really bad, we might recommend they clean house."

"Fire everyone?" Cody asked.

"No. But the CFO, head of their accounting team, and others like that might get targeted. We are never reckless about our recommendations. We don't want to be sued or get our clients sued for inappropriate firings."

"John left for Tech yet?" Luke asked.

"He's driving up next weekend."

"Three down, two to go," Cody said.

"I'm not sure I'm ready to be an empty nester," Sarah said.

"At least three more years to go," I said.

"True. Plus, both Matthew and Mark seem focused on ODU."

The waiter walked up with our food, interrupting our conversation.

After dinner, we walked to the club. As we got to the table, I started introductions, saying, "Sarah, this is Angus and his husband, Justin; Austin and his husband, Ben; Chris and his husband, Stephen. And you've heard Cody talk about Casey, and that's his husband, Kyle."

"Very nice to meet you all. Please forgive me in advance if I get your names wrong; I've never been good at remembering names," she said.

"She's not kidding, guys," Luke chimed in.

That got a chuckle around the table.

"Full group tonight," Georgia said, walking up to the table.

"Hey Georgia, how goes?" Cody replied.

"Going well. Lots of competitors tonight?" she asked.

"Should be," Casey replied.

"Good, good. Y'all bring a ringer with you?" Georgia asked, looking at Sarah.

"That's my mom," Luke explained. "Mom, this is Georgia; she hosts the show."

"Nice to meet you, Georgia, and I'm Sarah."

"Welcome!"

"I didn't know my son sang."

"He's good," Georgia said. "He doesn't do it often, but when he does, it's good."

Sarah's face broke into a big smile.

"I have to get things ready later, y'all."

The table moved into get-to-know-you conversations and smaller catch-up chats.

"Time to sign up!" Georgia's voice boomed from the speakers.

Luke, Casey, and Angus all stood and walked over to the table.

Sarah leaned toward me and, in a quiet voice, said, "He won't tell me what he's doing."

"I'll give you this much," I said. "He and I are doing a country song together."

"I didn't know he liked country."

"Stick around me long enough, and you have to at least find some enjoyment from most types of music."

That got a laugh out of Sarah.

About midway through the evening, Georgia announced, "We have a duo up next doing a song with a very interesting name. Here's Coulter and Luke doing Donkey."

We got up on the stage, and Georgia got the music started.

I smiled at Luke, and he got things started. "Put my Chevy in the ditch, a couple grand to get it fixed, bank account runnin' dry, boss ain't got no overtime, Friday rolls around gotta get this party to town got nothin' to drive but just outside I hear my ride..."

The music added the bray of a donkey, and the audience laughed.

I sang the little comments spaced throughout the song, then joined him as the chorus started. "Gonna ride that donkey, donkey."

Luke covered the second verse, and again I joined him on the chorus. He got to the refrain, "All the ladies like to ride. Oh, the ladies like to ride. Oh, the ladies like to ride...

I joined him again: "Oh, the ladies like my D-O-N-K-E-Y!"

The hoots and laughter roared through the place.

After we sat down, Sarah leaned toward Luke and spoke. Luke's grin got bigger and bigger.

"That was very funny," Sarah said to me. "I really didn't know that Luke had such a great voice. It's so deep!"

"I caught him singing in the house one day when he thought he was home alone. That got the ball rolling."

We stopped talking as the next group started singing.

"Folks, we'll give the judges a few minutes to tabulate the results. In the meantime, one of the regulars made a special request. While I don't typically allow one person to do two songs, I'm making a rare exception. As I understand it, Sophie Ellis Bextor did a cover of True Faith. Released about three years ago, there is a poignant video that was set to her music by DJ Sparkes. Here is Cody with a dedication to his mother-in-law."

I was caught by surprise, and the look on Sarah's face was priceless. Cody walked to the stage, and the music started. Two video screens that flanked the stage came to life for the first-time during karaoke, as I recalled. As Cody did a credible cover of True Faith, the coming-out video played to either side of him. As the song finished, Cody put his hand up.

"For those of you who don't know, I was rejected by my parents when they found out I was gay. My mother-in-law, who is sitting at that table, accepted her son, comforted and supported me through the rejection, and has fully accepted both her sons-in-law. My father-in-law is just as accepting, but he's not here tonight."

Cody threw a kiss at Sarah and started clapping. The crowd started with a huge round of applause. I could tell Sarah was a bit overwhelmed. Cody walked off the stage, handing the mic to Georgia.

"We appreciate every supporter, ally, and friend we can get," Georgia said. "And considering the young man you raised, all I can say is bravo!"

Again, a round of applause.

"And now to the results for this evening."

After announcing the winners, the lights came up a bit, and our table started the preparations for departure. We'd just stood, when Ginger, Devine, and Pheobe walked up.

"Congrats on the win," I said. "It was well deserved.

"Thank you," Devine replied.

"Sarah, this is Ginger Rouge, Devine Monroe, and Pheobe Fleet. With another of their group, Grace Undafire, they got Luke on stage for the first-time doing Power by Little Mix."

"And we won!" Pheobe said.

"I honestly didn't know he sang. This is the first time I've ever heard him."

"You should have seen when he and Coulter did that ItaloBrother's song just before graduation," Ginger said. "He's got mad skills."

"You must be something else," Pheobe said.

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked.

"You raise this one. Beyond being so handsome, he's such a nice, polite young man," Pheobe explained.

"His dad and I tried our best; I think we have five great sons."

"Five," Ginger shrieked.

"One older and three younger," Sarah explained.

"We talked with Cody one night. What you've done for him is just amazing," Ginger said.

"I love him. He's been good to Luke and good for Luke. Just like this one!" she said, pointing to me.

"You're amazingly accepting," Devine said.

"We love our sons. Gay, straight, or anything else, as long as they are good people, what more could we ask for?"

"We should be going," I said. "We've got to drop Sarah off at her hotel and get home."

"And tomorrow's a school day!" Devine said.

"Yep."

We rounded up our gang and said goodnight. As we walked out of the club, Sarah said, "That was a lot of fun. It was great to meet some of your friends. I may be biased, but I thought you two should have won."

"I agreed with the judges this time," Luke said.

Sarah moved over and put her arm around Cody. I noticed that they dropped a bit behind Luke and me. I figured she was thanking him privately. By this point, we'd gotten to my Jeep. We continued a discussion of songs until we got to the hotel.

"Thanks for a very enjoyable evening," Sarah said.

"Any time!" I replied.

"You could come up and visit," Cody suggested.

"Once Matthew graduates, it will be much easier."

"Understood, mom."

"Night!" she said, climbing out of the Jeep.

"That was a success," I said after she shut the door.

"Yeah!" Luke agreed.

-----

Friday night, we were working on dinner. I figured with both guys in the room, it was my opportunity to discuss the lab results. I said, "I have to go back to the dermatologist."

"What's wrong?" Cody asked.

"The spot they biopsied was malignant," I explained.

"You have cancer?" Luke sounded devastated. I looked at his face and realized he was.

"Remember, the boo-boo type, not the vicious type. I had a small spot removed. They want me to come in and check to ensure they got it all."

While Cody looked a bit concerned, Luke looked like he was about to throw up.

"Come here," I said. He moved closer, and I put my arm around him. "I told you; this is one of those minor annoyances that pale-skinned folks get. I'll be honest, this probably won't be my only one, but I didn't lay out in the sun when I was a kid, and I didn't burn more than once or twice."

"But cancer..."

"Yep. Cancer. Non-life threatening. Not a stage two or higher situation. No chemo. No radiation. Possibly no more burning unless they think they missed anything. I'm healthy, and I plan to stay that way. In fact, other than the burn mark, there won't be anything else. It's not even as big as a quarter."

I pulled Luke into my arms and hugged him. Cody came over and wrapped his arms around us.

"I love you," Luke said.

"Love you too. This isn't going to change anything. Trust me!"

I heard a stomach growl. I said, "How about we get back to making dinner, and I can answer any questions you have?"

After we got back to dinner prep, Luke looked at me and asked, "What's the likelihood of it coming back?"

"This occurrence, none. That doesn't mean I might not have another spot."

"What can you do to prevent more?"

"Not too much sun exposure. Wear sunscreen. All those things that help prevent sunburns."

Through dinner, Luke continued to ask questions, and I carefully answered each of them. By the end of the evening, he seemed to relax and unwind.

-----

While Cody and I were working on dinner Thursday night, he stopped and asked, "Where are you going again?"

"Tulsa."

"Oh. Hmmm... lots of cowboys, I guess."

"Urban ones mostly, I'd think. Remember when we went to San Fran? The days I worked?"

"Yeah. Up early, back late. Dinner with your co-workers."

"That's what's going to happen in Tulsa."

"Oh," he said and paused. "I'm gonna be home alone."

"Yeah, it's not too bad. I'm gone for five days. He's gone for four days. Our overlap is only two days; one night actually."

"I'm still surprised he has to travel on a weekend."

"They do that a lot. It means that folks don't miss too much production time for the training."

"So, he's not going to have any fun either."

"No. I did a similar class when I worked there. Train to New York on Friday. A group dinner followed by a social gathering. Saturday, breakfast, class, lunch, class, dinner, then homework. Sunday is a repeat of Saturday. Monday morning, breakfast, final points, and train back to DC."

"That doesn't sound fun."

"It's not. It's school, work, and schmoozing all mixed into one. But it means someone likes Luke and thinks he has a future. They don't do this training for just anybody."

"But you left."

"True, but I was being groomed for more. I just needed to leave."

"Oh, yeah, him."

"Exactly. I explained to Luke why you wouldn't look at jobs there, too much baggage."

"He's not baggage!"

"Bad expression; you didn't want to risk your relationship with him for a job."

"Oh, yeah, true. What's he being groomed for?"

"My guess is he's on the corporate management path. He'll get a group lead or team lead slot, then manager, etc. It's a bit different than where I was headed."

"Huh?"

"I was on the technical expert or system architect path. They didn't expect me to manage people; they expected me to manage products and projects."

"What about where you are now?"

"We only have one product, and it's Lucinda's baby. It's more blurred since we're so much smaller. I guess you'd call me a manager with SME responsibilities."

"Are you good with that?"

"Yes. For now, I'm good where I am. Great job, great company, really engaged, and simply happy!"

"That's what it's all about, isn't it?"

"Yep, you need to be happy with what you do. Money can't buy happiness is such a true statement."

"I think I'm happy where I am," he admitted.

"Unless you're hiding things, I'd say you are. You come home happy. You talk positively about your job."

"Yeah, I'm happy! Except when you both leave me alone. It's going to be my first time by myself here."

"You'll live through it."

The look on his face said he wasn't too sure about that.

"You'll drop me off early on Sunday morning at the airport. You'll be alone on Sunday. You'll be at the office on Monday. Luke will be home by bedtime on Monday night."

"Yeah." His voice betrayed his feelings.

"Have a sleep over then."

"What?"

"Invite Kyle and Casey to spend the evening."

"That might work. I'll have to ask them."

"You could offer them use of the gym."

"Umm..."

"I wasn't meaning for sex, but you could do that as well."

"I'd need ear plugs!"

"Or turn on some music and close our bedroom door!"

"Plus, the ear plugs," he laughed.

"Let's get dinner on the table," I said.

"Luke, dinner!" Cody called out.

After dinner, I walked into the bedroom and found Luke staring at the closet.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I'm stumped on what to pack."

"I've been there. Traveling for work can be hard. Getting all the right outfits without taking half your wardrobe."

I helped him figure out his outfits, where he could reuse parts to keep his luggage lighter. We had things pretty well lined up about a half-hour later.

"I just have to make sure I don't spill anything on my pants."

"You have one emergency pair. Remember, most hotels have laundry service, but might not on the weekend."

"You're a good mentor," he said. He turned slightly and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks. Do you have all your cords?"

"Huh?"

"Phone charger, laptop charger, anything else like that you might need."

"Oh. Yeah. They are all in my backpack."

"Toiletries and such?"

"I still need to pack them," he replied.

-----

Friday morning, I was standing in the kitchen drinking my coffee when Luke came in.

"Looking sharp," I said.

"Thanks, someone helped me pick things out."

"It's a good look for a travel day, plus it hides wrinkles well."

"I'm getting nervous."

"No reason to. You're going to make a great impression."

"It's the get-to-know-you session."

"Little to no alcohol," I started. Luke nodded his head. "Think before you speak." Luke looked at me a bit oddly. "Don't interrupt; keep your answers concise and to the point. In fact, think of the entire session as a job interview."

"That makes sense."

"Don't double dip."

"What?"

"There'll be food at the session. Don't double dip your chips in anything is a basic suggestion of minding your manners carefully. Don't pick your nose. Don't pick your teeth. Anything that might put an executive off if they see you do it."

"Oh, that makes sense."

"They are looking to see who stands out, who can be put in front of those higher up, all those factors. I may be biased toward you, but having worked there, I think I understand them a bit. You'll stand out and shine with little issue. Hell, you're probably one of the youngest and newest people I've ever heard of going to this training."

Luke smiled broadly.

I gave him a big hug and said, "You've got this."

At this point, Cody walked into the kitchen dressed for work.

"I got you something," he said, handing a small bag to Luke.

Luke reached in and pulled out a small white case.

"Holy shit, AirPods."

"I thought you could use them on the train ride up and back to enjoy some tunes," Cody explained.

"Dude, this is..." Luke stopped. "Awesome! Thanks! I'm going to put them to good use!"

Luke gave Cody a huge hug.

"We should be going. We've got a train to catch," I said.

"I need to hit the road too," Cody said.

He grabbed his breakfast and lunch, and we all walked out.

"I locked the door," Cody said.

I nodded. He knew I liked to make sure the house was all locked up. I pulled my phone and set the alarm system.

Luke and I drove over to the train station and got to the platform with a few minutes to spare. Once we were seated on the train, he pulled out the AirPods case and looked at it.

"You were going to tell him it was too much, weren't you?"

"Yeah. He's so happy that he's contributing."

"Exactly. This is why I say you'll do great this weekend. You figured it out and responded perfectly!

"Thanks!

As we approached my station, I got my things together and started to stand up.

"You better give me a kiss," Luke said quietly.

I looked at him, smiled, and responded quietly, "Always do!" I leaned in and kissed him. "Have a great trip, and I'll see you when I get back from Tulsa. Love you!"

-----

It was funny riding the train home without Luke. I purposefully used the quiet car to change things up and let me really dig into my book. I pulled into the driveway and parked next to the car. Cody'd been taking Luke's car to work most days, and Luke and I took the Jeep to the station. Less gas and easier for Cody to handle.

"I'm home!" I called out as I closed the front door.

I heard Cody running to greet me.

"Hi!" he said.

"Hey, handsome. How was your day?"

"It was good. I started working on dinner."

"What are we having?"

"It's Fajita Friday."

"Sounds good."

Cody followed me to the den, where I dumped my stuff from work.

"Workout before dinner?"

"Sure!" he replied.

We got changed, did our routines, and got a shower. Back in the kitchen, I found that Cody'd gotten the beef, peppers, and onions sliced and marinated, so all we needed to do was cook and eat.

After dinner, I headed to the den and turned on the television. Cody followed me and cuddled up close. It dawned on me that he was a bit needy since Luke was gone and I was going. It made me feel loved.

"What do you want to watch?" I asked

"Don't care. Something easy."

"Movie?"

"How about another season of Coupling? We never finished it."

"Sure."

-----

Mornings like this are special. Waking up entwined with one or both of my guys. Feeling the warmth, the comfort, and the intimacy of having someone try to merge themselves with you in their sleep. I lay there and thought about the day ahead. It was just Cody and me, with Luke in New York. I needed to pack for my trip. Other than that, I didn't really have anything I needed to get done.

Cody's hands started moving, then his eyes opened.

"Morning," he said with a sleepy tone.

"Good morning to you."

"This, this is nice," he said.

"I was thinking the same thing."

"Can we stay like this all day?"

"As much of it as we can, sure! We need to eat, and I need to pack. Otherwise, I'm good with staying wrapped up with you all day."

He gave me a big smile.

"Give me a moment; I need to hit the bathroom," I said.

"Okay."

I was washing my hands when he walked in. I went back into the bedroom and climbed under the covers. He came out sporting a boner that was rubbing his abs.

"I was going to ask if you were hungry, but I can see that horny won out!"

"Yeah!"

He climbed onto the bed, and I flipped him over onto all fours. I spread his ass cheeks and started working my tongue in. He let out a long groan. I noticed his hands gripping the sheets as my tongue pressed deeper into his hole. Cody continued to groan, his body flexing and arching as I ate out his hole. Each swipe let me push more and more spit into his hole.

"Fuckin' hot ass, boy!"

"Fuck, you're good at this!"

I hawked up more spit, working it into his hole with my tongue. I kept up the relentless tongue-fucking, eating, munching, and opening and lubing it for the hard fuck to come.

"Eat... eat... me."

I put a finger on either side of Cody's hole, pulling it open a bit as I got in deeper, tasting that boy ass.

He let out a deep, low moan for a long time as my tongue opened him right up.

I pulled back a second, spit into my hand, reinserted my tongue into his ass, and lubed up my dick. I inched my body forward, finally allowing my tongue to pull off his hole.

The head of my dick slipped into his ass, and he groaned.

He shuddered a few times as the head worked around the top of his ass. Finally, I felt his ass give way, allowing me to slip deeper into his hole.

"That's it, Coulter; work it in deep! Fuck, yeah!"

He groaned as my cock worked itself deeper and deeper into his jock ass. I felt my pubes against his cheeks, leaned over, and nibbled at his neck."

I started working in and out in slow, gentle strokes. I kept searching for his lovenut. Shivers ran up and down his body as my cock rubbed his prostate. I grabbed his hips and worked the head of my cock against that little nut, hard!

There was one thing I really wanted. I pulled my cock out of his hole. "Flip over..." He rolled onto his back. I grabbed his legs, pushed them towards his chest, and reinserted my dick into his hot fucking hole.

He stared up at me with those deep green eyes and groaned. I leaned down, took his left tit between my teeth, and nibbled. When I took the right nip into my mouth, he groaned loudly.

I increased the speed and force of my fuckstrokes. I let my tongue work its way up his chest, up his neck, and over his chin. I got to his lips and started kissing him deeply.

"Aw, fuck," I moaned into his mouth. "Fuck! FUCK! FUCK!"

I unloaded into his hole, blasting cum deep. I worked my spasming dick in his hole till I found his prostate, and I worked that little love nut hard.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He moaned as cum pumped from his dick, soaking our abs.

I collapsed on him and got my breath. Finally, I said, "Let's get cleaned up and have some breakfast."

Cody got the shower started while I grabbed our towels. Our hands roamed over each other as we cleaned up.

Dry and ready for the morning, I headed into the kitchen.

"What would you like for breakfast?"

"Something different. How about French toast paired with ham and cheese omelets?"

"I'm game for that. You doing the toast?"

"Sure."

We got moving on breakfast, and I had to admit it was a good change. After we cleaned up, Cody looked at me and said, "Snuggle time?"

"How about you help me pack? Then I won't have to interrupt snuggle time except to eat."

"What can I do?"

"Grab my suitcase from the mechanical room and meet me in the bedroom."

I went back and made the bed. Cody walked in as I was starting to grab my underwear.

"Where do you want this?"

"Open on the bed." He opened it and saw the piece of paper in it. He pulled it out, looked at it, and asked, "What's this?"

"My packing list. I designed it to make sure I don't forget anything. Start at the top," I said.

"Suits or alternatives," he read.

"Tulsa at this time of the year. Summer weight pants and blazers, I think."

I grabbed the appropriate slacks and pulled two blazers.

"Lots of blue and tan," Cody said.

"Makes things easier. I can pair what I need across multiple outfits, which saves on what I need to pack. If something gets dirty, use the hotel laundry, and I'm back in business the next day."

"Smart. Next are shirts and ties."

Again, I pulled out a number of shirts and some coordinating ties. He kept reading off the list, and I pulled what I needed and quickly got packed.

"That was easy."

"I've traveled enough for work, and this does make it easy. All my clothing, medications, toiletries, accessories, and all the IT stuff to make the trip work."

"Snuggle time?"

"Sure."

Cody took my hand and led me to the sofa. He positioned me in the corner, then snuggled up close.

"Happy?" I asked.

"Damn right."

-----

"Why so early?" Cody asked as he drove up Route 28.

"It's one of the shortest flights, and I don't end up getting to the hotel at ten p.m. There just wasn't anything good from Dulles to Tulsa. It's either through Charlotte, Atlanta, or Dallas, and the layovers can be long."

"Oh."

"I'll be the first one there, so I'll get the rental and wait for the rest of the team to arrive. Some are flying out of DCA and others out of BWI."

"That's cool."

"Still good to pick me up Thursday evening?

"Yes. I will head west after work and should be at the airport before you unless traffic is bad."

"Thanks!"

I think I surprised Cody when I leaned over and kissed Cody goodbye when we got to the airport.

"Love you!" I said as I climbed out and grabbed my bags out of the back.

"Love you! Come home SOON!"

Cody looked like he was about to cry.

I got through TSA, out to the departing terminal, and on the flight easily. After a short layover in Atlanta, I ended up in Tulsa just before lunch. I grabbed a bite to eat and then got the rental. My team arrived mid-afternoon, and we got to the hotel. After joining the team for dinner, I went back to my room and called Cody.

"Hey handsome."

"Coulter!"

"How's the sleepover going?"

"We had a nice dinner, cleaned up, and then decided to work out," Cody said. "Kyle really likes the setup and equipment. He commented about it a lot. When I finished my workout, I said goodnight and came up to our room to shower."

"That was mighty nice of you!"

"I've got the sound system on with one of your workout playlists going. The doors are closed, and I haven't heard anything so far."

"See! No ear plugs needed."

"So far! Now I just have to deal with my horniness," he snickered.

"Oh?"

"I haven't had sex in what, fourteen hours?"

"Poor, poor Cody."

I noticed that his camera came on. "See," he almost whined as he showed me his dick hard against his abs.

"Horny boy!"

"Damn right. Now strip down and turn on that camera, Daddy!"

I turned on my phone's camera and propped it up on the pillows so Cody could watch me strip down.

"That's it, Coulter, strip!"

Naked, I ran into the bathroom and grabbed the little tube of lube I kept in my ditty bag.

"Where'd you go?" Cody asked.

"Lube!"

"Oh! Smart man!"

With that, he rolled over some and grabbed the lube out of the nightstand. It was a video call for the record books.

-----

"How about a fifteen-minute break?" the lead for the customer's team suggested.

"That would be great," I admitted.

After hitting the bathrooms and grabbing a drink, the team did a quick huddle.

"What are we doing after work?" Cahya asked."

"Dinner, review notes, prep for tomorrow," Sonja replied.

"I think we have things well in hand," I said. "We can do something fun if you like."

"How'd you get stuck with this trip?" Gio asked.

"Ravi's wife is due any day, and I wasn't going to be the jerk that made him take the trip."

"I was surprised after you did Sioux Falls," Cahya said.

"It's easier on me," I replied.

"That's a nice attitude," Gio replied.

"So tonight?" Cahya asked.

"Find something," I replied.

She grabbed her phone and appeared to be searching. At this point, the customer's team walked back into the room.

"Ready to get started?" the lead asked.

"That we are," Gio replied.

"Before we move on, I'd like to go back and discuss in a bit more detail the integration of the general ledger with the accounts payable and accounts receivable modules."

"Certainly," Gio replied. "What would you like to know?"

And with that, our afternoon discussion moved forward slowly.

I got the car started and headed back to our hotel. Cahya spoke up first, saying, "That was brutal. Do the customers usually go into this much depth?"

"No. I get the impression they spent a lot of time researching things and want to make sure our product fits. The good thing is that this isn't really customization; it's configuration."

"I hadn't thought of it that way," Sonja said. "It really is all about how the data flows."

"To be honest, I wish more customers were this prepared," Gio said.

"What did you find for fun this evening?"

"Some nice restaurants. There's really nothing going on around here on a Monday."

"Quiet dinner near the hotel tonight and then look for fun for tomorrow?" Gio asked.

"Works for me," I said.

We got back to the hotel, and I had a chance to clean up. The four of us had a nice dinner and went back to the hotel.

Back at the room, I pulled out my tablet and called Cody.

"Hey!" he said.

"You sound happy."

"Luke's unpacking," he said with a huge grin on his face.

"You're not alone, and you're really happy!"

"Yup. Now you need to come home."

"Soon, handsome, soon."

"How are things going?"

"Good. The customer spent a lot of time preparing, so that's making things easier in some respects and harder in others."

"What do you mean?"

"The positive is that they know what they want, and configuring the system for them will be easier. The hard part is that they are asking a lot of questions, and it's making things go a lot more slowly."

"But in the end, you'll have fewer issues."

"That we will. The team understands; it doesn't make the pain points in the meeting any easier."

"Understood. What's next on your agenda?"

"Relax and go to bed. You?"

"Hmm... sex and cuddling."

"I'll have to wait till I get home," I said.

"Or..." Cody started. I could tell he was walking through the house, and soon he was in our bedroom. "Get naked." He said to Luke.

"What?" Luke's voice seemed puzzled and concerned.

Cody's phone got propped up, and I could see him stripping.

"What's going on?" Luke asked.

"We're going to give Coulter a show!"

"Video sex?" Luke asked.

"Damn right!"

"Fuck yeah!"

I could see clothes flying, then two naked bodies in front of the phone. I propped up my phone and enjoyed the show!

-----

The Saturday morning after I returned from Tulsa, I was curled up on the couch when Cody walked in, sipping his coffee. He snuggled up to me and asked, "Can I get a tattoo?"

"Umm... what?"

"Can I get a tattoo?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Well..."

"Cody, I'm not your parent. I'm your partner. Do I think you should get a tattoo? What tattoo would look hot on me? Those are the questions you should be asking me. Can you get one? That is up to you."

"Sorry. Let me try again. I was thinking about getting a tattoo, but I wasn't sure what to get."

"May I ask what brought this on?"

"I keep looking at yours. It looks fuckin' hot."

"Thanks. Any thoughts on a design?"

"No."

"You may want to search for tattoos and see what you like. A tattoo is a very personal thing and something you must live with once it is done."

"How did you decide on yours?"

"I had a shirt that had a dragon of similar design and in roughly the same location when I was a teenager. I always thought it'd be cool to have it."

"When did you get it?"

"After my divorce and as I shaped up. With James, it wasn't an option."

"That's not right."

"I agree."

"Other than searching, any other thoughts?"

"My preference is towards art, design, and cohesiveness. I am not a fan of throwing dozens of different designs on a body. Those are my opinions and are for me. Everyone finds their own path."

"You are so cautious," Cody said. "Luke and I talk about it from time to time."

"I was in a relationship that smothered me. I admit I let it happen, but that doesn't mean it should have happened. You know that Kelsea Ballerini song, I Miss Me More? That was me; I missed me so much, and when I got out of the relationship, the real me blossomed."

"We appreciate your advice, opinion, and thoughts!"

"I'll give you all of those I can. I just won't tell you that you must do anything. Think about how I phrased everything: my opinion, my preference, and my thoughts. I hope I never slip to you must, or you should, or you have to. If I do, please let me know."

"We will. As to the tattoo, help."

"Here are some things to think about. Where do you want it? Which can be narrowed down to: do you want it to show when you're dressed? Do you want it to show only if you're wearing certain things? How big do you want? What type do you want? I'll be honest, it can be overwhelming."

"I think I'd like to be able to hide it if I need to."

"So, something clothing covers."

"Like yours."

"Then short sleeves cover; tank tops don't."

"Or maybe only cover with long sleeves."

"Fair."

"So, arm?"

"Yeah, I think so. You wear long pants most of the year, at work, et cetera. I would like it to show more often than that."

"Next is the style."

"Huh?"

"Once you figure out where your tattoo is, what style you want is the obvious thing."

"Like?"

"Color, monochromatic, negative space, UV, etc."

"I love the way yours looks. I mean all the colors."

"Fair."

"So, on the arm with colors. That leaves the image."

"Thoughts?"

"Oh no, not going there. This is a highly personal decision."

"Categories?"

"Geometrics, sleeves, Japanese or other Asian culture influences, abstract, Indian influence, and more."

"My head hurts."

"Take your time," I replied, and then pulled him in for a hug.

That evening, I was cleaning up the kitchen when Luke brought in the last of the dirty dishes. He looked at me with a funny look and asked, "What's up with Cody and a tattoo?"

"What do you mean?"

"He mentioned he was thinking about it, and he'd talked to you."

"He asked me if he could get a tattoo."

"Ooops..."

"Huh?"

"I'm not asking you, if I can, if I may, or anything like that. I learned my lesson," he said with a grin. "Heck, I phrase it more like, is the Jeep available?"

"I'm not that bad, am I?"

"Yes and no."

I waited for him to continue.

"You're so cautious about telling us what we can or can't do. Cody and I talk about it. Usually, your response is fine. I think you do go overboard sometimes."

Again, I stayed quiet.

"When we ask if we can use the Jeep, we're asking if it's available, not if you permit it."

"Sorry. I'll try to be more thoughtful in how I respond."

Luke burst into laughter. When he got control of himself, he said, "You, more thoughtful? Going from professor level to Einstein level?"

Cody appeared in the doorway and asked, "What's so funny? What am I missing?"

"Coulter's going to be more thoughtful in his responses."

That got Cody laughing.

"And Luke said I'd have to go from professor level to Einstein level."

"We're used to it, dude. It's what makes you, you," Cody said. "At least it's not a bad thing."

"Thanks!"

-----

`Gonna be a bit late' I sent to Cody and Luke.

`Meet at restaurant?' Luke responded quickly.

`Sure. Something wrong on METRO so stuck for a bit.'

`I'll get table' Luke sent back.

`Be there soon' Cody finally sent.

`Yes, Coulter at stop light' I received. I had to laugh; he knew me well.

I was about fifteen minutes late getting to the restaurant. I walked in and looked around for Luke and Cody. Cody saw me and waved. There were two others at the table, which surprised me. As I walked up, I realized who one of them was.

"Guess who," I whispered into Rob's ear.

"Police officer? A crazed maniac? A hot daddy?" he replied.

Rob jumped out of his chair and gave me a hug.

"Damn, it's good to see you," I whispered into his ear.

"Good to see you," he said quietly. He adjusted his volume and continued. "I want you to meet Isaiah."

"Howdy, Isaiah. I'm Coulter."

"Nice to meet you, Coulter. I've heard a lot about you!"

"I hope only good things," I said.

"The best," Rob interjected. "I've been getting to know Cody, catching up with Luke, and letting Isaiah meet them both."

"Ready to order?" the waiter asked.

"Start with someone else, and I'll be ready in a moment," I explained.

We ordered dinner, then Rob turned to me. "The first update is we're engaged!"

"Congrats! Where'd you meet?"

"We met about a month after I started at Berkeley. He's a researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory."

"Sounds smart!" Cody said.

"Very," Rob replied.

"I work at the Molecular Foundry," Isaiah explained. "I'm working on nanofabrication."

"Impressive," I said.

"What about you three?" he asked.

"I'm a project lead at a software development company," Luke explained.

"I'm a security engineer for a local hospital group," Cody said.

"I'm manager of front-end development for a small but growing SAAS."

"Umm," Rob said.

"Software as a Service. We have an ERP. Sorry, I'm told I speak in acronyms too much. We make a cloud-based enterprise resource planning software. We market to small and mid-sized companies."

"I get complaints about acronyms too," Isaiah said, pointing at Rob.

We had a lot of fun catching up over dinner.

"Are you two joining us for karaoke?"

"They're joining us tonight and then arriving at the house tomorrow for three nights in the guest room," Luke said. "Surprise."

"It's a wonderful surprise."

After dinner, the five of us joined the gang at the club. We'd been getting everyone acquainted when Georgia walked by.

"Ringers tonight?" she asked.

"You don't want me singing," Rob said. "Can't carry a tune in a bucket."

"If you think he's bad," Isaiah said. "I'm worse!"

We all laughed.

"Who's competing?" Isaiah asked.

Cody and I raised our hands, as did Stephen, Casey, and Angus.

"Who's doing what?" Rob asked.

"Angus and I are doing You Are the Reason by Calum Scott and Leona Lewis," Casey explained.

"I like that one," Rob said. "He's from Britain's Got Talent."

"Aye," Angus replied. "He's got a right good voice."

"I'm doing If I Told You That with Ginger," Stephen said.

"Love that one," Isaiah said. "Such a shame both of them died so early."

"Agreed."

"Sign up time," Georgia announced.

Cody and Casey got up and walked over to sign up. Rob gave me a look.

"Cody and I are doing What Ifs by Kane Brown and Lauren Alaina," I explained.

"Not familiar with that one," Rob said.

Before I could explain anything, the waiter came over and took our drink orders. As he was finishing up, Ginger walked up to the table and asked, "Who are these gorgeous men?"

"This is Rob," I answered. "And this fiancé, Isaiah."

"Darn, off the market before I got to meet either of them," she said.

"And from California," Isaiah explained.

"Who and how do you know who?" Ginger asked.

"I went to school with Luke," Rob started. "I dated Coulter for about six months before leaving for the west coast."

"You two?" Ginger shrieked.

"And he introduced me to this one," I said, pointing to Luke.

"I need details," she said.

Ginger sat between Isaiah and Cody. I'm sure Cody gave her all the details as her laugh rang out from time to time.

The lights eventually flashed, and Georgia took the stage.

"It's duet night. What surprises me most is how many unexpected pairings there are tonight. I'm really looking forward to hearing the songs and, more importantly, the blending of the voices. Good luck to all our contestants. First up, we have Ginger and Stephen covering a song by two great artists that we tragically lost."

Ginger reached into her bag and pulled out a black and green feather boa. She put it around her neck and walked toward the stage. Looking at her with Stephen, who was dressed in all black, I realized they were channeling Whitney and George's video. They did an amazing cover to start the night.

After a number of good pairings, Georgia called Angus and Casey to the stage. I had wondered who was covering which part. As the song started, I was pleasantly surprised when Angus took Calum's part. What amazed me most as the two sang, was how much their eyes conveyed the longing and love the song expressed.

"Amazing job," I said to Angus as he sat.

"Thanks!"

"Your faces and eyes were so expressive."

"Justin's feedback."

"What?"

"When we practiced, he watched. He commented that the emotion was flat. His suggestion was, I think of him and Casey of Kyle."

"It worked."

Two other regulars did their numbers, then Georgia took the stage and said, "We've been treated to this duo before. I'm sure they won't disappoint. Here are Coulter and Cody doing What Ifs.

I took the stage and stood in front of the mic. Georgia handed Cody a mic, but he stayed off stage. The music started, and I performed the first verse and refrain. As the second verse started, Cody started walking towards the stage, performing the echoes that Lauren did. As he got to the stage, the second refrain started, and our voices started blending. I did the short refrain ending with the impactful `Damn' and then started the final refrain.

Unlike in the video, where Kane and Lauren never get close, Cody inched closer to me as the refrain started. As we sang the line, `what if I pulled you close, what if I leaned in', I put my arms around Cody and pulled him close. We leaned in toward each other and finished the song in an embrace.

We got a great round of applause. As I took my seat, Rob leaned over and said, "You have an amazing voice. That was some performance!"

"Thanks!"

We watched a few others perform, and then Georgia announced a short break to let the judges tabulate the scores.

"Any drinks?" Cody asked.

"I'm good," I said.

Others shook their heads. Instead of getting more, Cody stayed seated.

Georgia took the stage one more time and said, "Folks, I have the results. In third place, we have Victor and Thomas." A round of applause as they went and got their drink tickets. "In second place, Casey and Angus." Again, a round of applause. "And the winners this month, Ginger and Stephen for their amazing cover." The clapping was loud!

"I thought you and Cody deserved recognition tonight," Isaiah said.

"Thanks; we took a risk, and I guess it didn't pay off."

"What do you mean?" Rob asked.

"Some of the competitors weren't really doing a blended duet, instead, one sang, then the other. We thought doing the blending of our voices in harmony would help overcome the fact that it was a solo for the first verse."

"Gotcha."

The group of us said good night and we walked Isaiah and Rob to their car.

"We'll be over sometime late tomorrow afternoon."

"Sounds good!"

-----

"What time are you leaving?" Cody asked as we sat down for breakfast.

"I'm not; I'm working from home. I'd like to get a few things done before our guests arrive."

"I've got dinner mapped out," Cody said. "Don't worry about tonight!"

"Thanks. I'll make sure that everything else is mapped out and maybe run to the store to stock up."

"We're in good shape," Cody said. "Luke and I made sure things were ready."

Luke walked in and said, "I'm heading out. I'm sorry I sprung a surprise on you."

"No apologies needed. I'm super happy to see Rob. Isaiah seems like a great guy for him. I just want things to be, well, perfect while they visit."

"Understood," Luke responded. "I'll be home on the early train."

"I'll be home early, too," Cody said. "We'll help with the last of the details."

The guys headed out, and I got to work. I had things wrapped up just after lunchtime and logged off. I got some quick cleaning done and started on dinner.

I'd been getting Cody's dinner plans implemented when I heard the motion alarm ring. I'd thought it an odd thing to use, but the motion sensor at the end of the driveway did give us a notice that someone was in the cul de sac.

A few minutes later, I heard Luke call out, "Home."

"In the kitchen." He joined me, and I said, "You got the early train."

"Wanted to help out. I got a text from Cody saying that he was leaving work."

"Super."

"What can I do to help?"

"Cody really did have dinner planned out. I've got it implemented. If you could figure out a cheese board or something to munch on once they arrive until dinner, that would be great."

"Cheese board it is."

We'd gotten things set when I heard the sensor beep again. Moments later, I heard the front door close. Cody joined us in the kitchen.

"How are things going?" he asked.

"Fine. Dinner's moving along well. Luke got a nice cheese board prepped. We're ready. That sensor is nice, by the way."

"I told you! I just didn't like being here alone and not knowing if someone was close."

"Well, it is handy to know that guests are arriving."

Cody just smiled at me.

We'd been talking for a few minutes when I heard the sensor beep again. I headed towards the front door.

"You can't just walk in," I heard Isaiah say.

"I don't think Coulter's going to care," Rob replied.

"Coulter doesn't care," I said as I got to the foyer. "You still have a key, don't you?"

"Yeah!"

Isaiah looked at me a bit oddly.

"He's family. We've been apart too long."

I gave Rob a big hug, then held out my hand to Isaiah. He took my hand and pulled me into a hug.

"If he's family, I guess I'm going to be your in-law?" he said into my ear.

"That you are!" We broke the hug. "Do you have a lot we need to bring in?"

"Just a few bags," Rob said.

Luke and Cody joined us in the foyer and helped bring the bags in. We carried everything into the larger guest room.

"I really like the furniture," Rob said. "It fits the theme."

"This is my room," Cody said. "Why don't you give them a tour while I finish dinner?"

"What did he mean? This is his room." Rob asked after Cody left.

"When they first moved in with me, we kept the appearance that they each had their own room. When their parents dropped them off, just in case. They also studied in their rooms. Now. They are guest rooms, and we all keep our out-of-season clothes in here."

"Cool," Rob said.

"I added a desk to the other bedroom," I explained.

We walked through the bathroom so Isaiah could see. We then went across the hall, and I let them see the updates to our bedroom.

"The biggest change is to the closet. Redesigned it to help handle three guys clothing."

"And we got the new dresser," Luke said.

We then led them to the den.

"Holy cow!" Rob exclaimed. "You got an Eames rosewood chair!"

"The leather was shot, but the wood was in great shape," I explained.

"It's magnificent, and it fits the room so perfectly."

When we got to the gym, Isaiah let out a whistle. He said, "Rob told me it was a great workout space, but this blows me away."

"I always wondered what happened to Marlene," Rob said.

"You remembered her name."

"I'm just a stupid blonde bitch," Rob said.

I had to laugh. Luke and Isaiah were staring at us like we were crazy.

"I bought a lot of the equipment from this divorcee in McLean. She sold me like six or seven thousand dollars' worth of stuff for seven fifty. She did this caricature voice at one point, saying, what did she know about prices as she was just a stupid blonde bitch?" I explained.

"Remember my reply?"

"Something about I doubt either the first or the last, and as for blonde, no roots..."

"Did you ever?" Rob started. He nodded toward the playroom.

"Damn right I did. Come on."

"Holy," Isaiah started and stopped.

"You did it well," Rob said. "I'm kinda jealous."

"Well, if you want, come down here tonight and play," Luke said. "But you have to clean up after yourself! Oh, and we didn't show you the showers."

I could see from Rob's face that he wanted Isaiah alone in the space.

We walked outside after the indoor tour, and Rob was suitably impressed with my Bertoia-inspired yard furniture.

"You've done well," he said as we went back inside.

"Thanks. You gave me a lot of great ideas."

"You've done well in other respects too," Isaiah said.

"Damn right! Twice blessed," I said.

"Dinner." We heard Cody call.

-----

Saturday morning, I was sitting in the den drinking my first mug of coffee when Rob walked in, sipping his.

He sat next to me and said, "Tell me about Cody."

"What do you want to know?"

"How did he get involved with Luke and you?"

I went on to explain to Rob how our relationship formed.

"You've been together for two years?"

"Three years in December."

"What drew you to him?"

"They are so much alike and so completely different," I said.

"What do you mean?"

"They are both so loving and so loveable. With Luke, it was a battle breaking through his shell."

"Shell?"

"He was so scared of committing. What would happen when his folks found out? That kind of stuff."

"That's why he ghosted you."

"Yep."

"What about Cody?"

"He's so much like you. Comfortable, easy, fits like a glove."

"Not afraid to come out?"

"He was petrified. In the end, his father put him in the hospital. Both his parents have criminal records for what they did."

"And you put this all together?"

"Nope, they did. The day we moved Cody into the house. I became the filling in a sandwich."

"Congrats."

"Did you go downstairs last night?"

"Yes! We need to clean up the playroom this morning."

"Don't worry about it."

"There's something..." Rob said.

"You have Isaiah. I have Luke and Cody. We're both deliriously happy, right?"

"Yes."

"Live with no regrets."

"Smart man."

"Tell me about Isaiah."

"I used this guy I met in Fairfax as the standard. I wanted someone who treated me as well as he did. That's Isaiah. I met him at a party where we talked the night away. Funny thing, we went home alone that night. We had several true dates first. He wanted to make sure first."

"Wow. It sounds like you found a great one."

"I think I did. He is so loving. So caring."

"What about your folks?"

"I graduate in May, and then I'll tell them. I think mom knows."

"At least you're independent."

"Yep."

At this point, Cody walked in, sipping coffee from his mug.

Rob chuckled and very quietly said, "I see what you mean."

Cody raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything; he just sat next to me and snuggled in. After another sip of coffee, he said, "Good morning. Did you have fun last night?"

"That we did," Rob replied.

"Good."

"I was telling Coulter we need to clean things up."

"Don't worry about it. What's the game plan for today?"

"No plans," Rob said. "Well, spend time with the three of you. Isaiah got to tour around while I was in my seminar."

"I should start prepping breakfast," Cody said.

"Unless things have changed, Luke won't be up for a while, and neither will Isaiah."

"We've corrupted Luke," I said.

"What?"

"He's not a perky morning person, but he does get up reasonably early," Cody explained.

"Wow. How'd you do that?"

"Persistence and incentives. Plus, work makes him get up Monday through Friday. He just shifted his body," I said.

"Incentives?" Rob asked.

"Morning sex," Cody said with a laugh.

"Oh!"

"More than that," I added. "Morning snuggles."

"And morning sex," Cody added with a snicker.

That got a laugh out of Rob.

"What's the breakfast game plan?" Rob asked?

"We're having waffles, praline bacon, and Gouda eggs," Cody explained.

"That sounds good. Do you like to cook?" Rob asked.

"Coulter taught me how to cook. Luke's the baker. Coulter started teaching him, and then he took off on his own."

"This one has become a great cook," I said.

"I can follow a recipe," Cody said with a snicker.

"I hear a story there."

"He's always been saying that," Cody said. "He's gone well past that state."

"Gotcha."

"You have your phone?" I asked Cody.

He nodded his head.

"Show Rob your birthday cake."

"Oh!"

He pulled his phone out, scrolled through, and then showed the cake to Rob.

"That's cute."

"Luke made it for me. It was the first birthday cake at my first birthday party."

Rob got a very surprised look on his face.

"You can explain while we start on breakfast," I said.

Cody and Rob spent the time getting to know each other while we got breakfast ready. Luke joined us mid-way through the prep. Isaiah showed up just as food was ready.

We enjoyed our time together on Saturday. Sunday morning, they needed to head to the airport.

"It can't be as long till next time," I said.

"It won't be. You three are coming to our wedding," Isaiah said.

"I want you to be my best man," Rob said. "And Luke, to be one of my groomsmen."

"I'd be honored," I said.

"Me too," Luke said. "My first time in a wedding party."

"Finally catching up," Cody said.

"Huh?"

"Cody was a groomsman for Casey in this wedding to Kyle."

"And for Angus when he married Justin," Cody said.

"It was a double wedding," I explained.

"So, Saturday, June twenty-seventh, you three, at our wedding," Rob explained.

"We'll be there. Venue in Berkeley?" I asked.

"Yep."

"E-mail me the details. We'll get our room and flights booked," Luke said.

Rob hugged Cody. Then he gave Luke a big hug and a kiss on his cheek. He moved in front of me and pulled me into a hug. With his lips next to my ear, he said in a very soft whisper, "I love you."

I replied just as quietly. "I love you. No regrets."

Isaiah came up and pulled me into a hug. Like Rob, he whispered into my ear, "I know he loves you deeply. It's very important that you two stay connected. You're family!"

"Thanks," I said. "For the guy without traditional family, it's been growing thanks to that young man."

With that, they climbed in their rental car and drove off.

-----

Monday evening, Luke and I got home from work to find Cody already working on dinner. After giving him a kiss, Cody said, "There's this new guy at work."

"Okay," I replied.

"Well, he's so tall."

"Coming from you, that says something," Luke replied.

"He's like three or four inches taller than me," Cody explained. "Plus..."

"Big dick?" Luke teased.

"Dude! No. How would I know? He is gay. Well, I figure he is based on the pics in his cubicles."

"Oh?" I asked.

"What looks like a wedding picture, him and another guy?"

"Cool."

"I'm guessing he's your age, Coulter. He's also a Mason grad."

"Have you talked to him?" I asked.

"No. He was in orientation all morning and then in my boss' office all afternoon."

"Is he going to be part of your team?" Luke asked.

"Supposed to be. He's replacing the guy who left last month. I'm sure they'll introduce him tomorrow."

Luke gave Cody an odd look.

"Hoping for a new friend at work? One that's gay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I mean, I've got nice co-workers but no one to do lunch with or really talk to."

"Why not?" I asked.

"Most of the guys are older, have been friends for a while, or don't really want to chat beyond work stuff. Like I said, nice co-workers, but not anyone to develop beyond that."

"Gotcha."

-----

"So, his name is Chris," Cody explained during dinner the next evening. "His husband is Josh, and they've been together for over fifteen years. They met when Chris was a freshman and Josh was a senior at Tech. Josh got a job in Reston, and Chris, who's from NoVa, transferred to Mason to get more play time in basketball."

"Sounds like you got the low down."

"Well, after the introduction by the boss, I went over and said hi."

"How much did you tell him?" Luke asked.

"Umm, in the end, everything."

"WHAT?" Luke was loud.

"Okay, hear me out," Cody said. "We talked a bit after staff meeting. I didn't tell him much, just about you. You know, the approved explanation. Later, he asked me to go to lunch with him. For both of us, having a new, gay friend at work is a perk."

"And?" Luke was looking for closure.

"He started talking about how he met Josh. Then about friends of theirs," Cody paused.

"And?" It was my turn.

"Well, let me see if I get this correct. Josh's family disowned him when he came out during college. Then Josh caught his boyfriend cheating, so he moved in with these two guys at college. The two guys were, are a couple and had been together since sometime in their junior year of high school. They live with one guy's father and the other guy's brother on a farm west of Tech."

"Okay," Luke said.

"It's two gay couples living in the same house, father-brother and son-brother."

"What?" Luke seemed confused.

"Josh's roommates met because one's dad was already involved with the other's brother."

"Different," I admitted.

"As we kept talking, it was clear he was pretty open to things. He talked about all the friends they had made through these four guys. How loving and supportive they are, but how some folks were put off by the unusual relationship. Chris said something like live and let live. Anyway, I want him to be a friend, and eventually this is going to come out if he is, so..."

"So, you told him," I finished.

"Yeah, and he took it well. Anyway, he and Josh live over in Greenway Hills in Fairfax."

"Neighbors," I said. "For this area at least. Well, I look forward to meeting them at some point. Maybe invite them for dinner sometime soon if you like."

"That sounds good," Cody said.

-----

The next night, I was doing the dinner dishes when Luke walked into the kitchen. The look on his face was not good. I asked, "What's that look for?"

"Umm... well... I was... umm..."

I put the dishcloth down, dried my hands, and just looked at Luke. His body looked tense, and his face was wrecked. I debated what to say.

"Luke? Is something wrong?"

"Well... umm... You know I've been saving money."

I let out a little sigh, not as bad as I thought. "Yup."

"I wanted to buy you a car, but now I realize that's not the right thing."

"Sounds like you're getting it!"

"Cody needs a car, and well..."

"You don't want him to take on a lot of debt. Is that it?"

"Yeah."

"Why do you think Cody needs a car? And why would Cody be taking on debt?"

"He's driving mine and..."

"And we ride to the train station in the Jeep."

"My car's ancient," Luke said. "It's been to the shop four times in the last five months."

"So, this isn't as much about getting a third car for us as replacing your old car with something new or newer."

"Yeah."

"I'm good with that."

"It's just..."

"Luke, what's really wrong?"

He shifted and shuffled a bit. "Cody's working; I'm working, but I don't feel like we're really contributing."

"I disagree, but we can discuss."

"Huh?"

"I'll tell you what, let's go into the den, and we can go over this easily. Why don't you get Cody to join us?"

Luke and Cody joined me in the den a few moments later.

"Okay, so this is about contributing."

"Yeah!" Cody said.

"We already split groceries and Costco. Luke and I split gas for the Jeep, and you're keeping the car filled. Luke's been putting some money into paying off the HELOC." They both nodded their heads.

"Here's what's left," I continued. "Electric, gas, FIOS, and mortgage."

"What about insurance, and um, property taxes?" Cody asked. It was clear they'd really thought about this.

"Fair. The house insurance is wrapped into the mortgage, as are the taxes. That leaves the Jeep and the car's insurance. I would bet they're about the same."

"Huh? My old clunker versus your Jeep?" Luke said.

"An under twenty-five-year-old primary driver versus a forty something primary driver is going to make a big difference."

"What was the other thing?" Cody asked.

"Oh, water and sewage," Luke added.

"Well and septic," I reminded the guys. "That would fall under the maintenance of stuff here. I'm willing to split things as they come up. It really does leave electric, gas, FIOS, and the mortgage. How do you want to do this?"

They both had a deer-in-the-headlights look.

"Okay, there are two ways we can do it. Pool money, and one of us pays the bills, or each takes a bill."

"What about the mortgage?" Cody asked.

"Well, that might be best as pooled money. I do want to remind you that I make a good bit more than either of you, and I was handling the household expenses before we became a family. I'm not going to fight contributions, but I wanted to remind you. Plus, you have your college loans."

"You're willing?" Luke asked.

"I think I've been open about this from the start. I've tried to treat you both as equals all along, but knew money would be a factor. My concern was that you two were college students with very limited income, and I didn't want to change my lifestyle. Now you're both employed professionals, we can split things fairly. We are family, so to me, that doesn't mean a third each is mandatory. I still don't want to change my lifestyle, but I think we can find a way to make this work."

They both still had the deer-in-the-headlights look.

"Okay, here are the bills from last month. I'd say this is about average, so divide by three and..."

"Umm, that's not going to leave me much," Cody admitted.

I looked at Luke.

"I'll survive."

"Like I said, we don't have to divide by three now; you can grow into it."

"Huh?"

"Let's say you contribute a percent of that now. Each time you get a raise, you increase your percentage. Grow into it."

"Cool!" Cody replied.

"One thing more," I said. "Luke mentioned a new car."

"But that's my cost," Luke said.

"Why? We're sharing the expenses."

"Um, we're supposed to buy you a car," Cody said.

"Eh, not something I want. It was a joke. Luke, you said you have money saved up. What about you Cody?"

"I've got a little. Mostly, I've been paying on my loans."

"Hmm... forgot about those. That's more expense to split."

"What?" Cody's voice was sharp.

"Why wouldn't they be part of what we split?" I asked.

"They're our loans," Cody said.

We took time to discuss what expenses were family and what were personal. I wasn't going to force anything, but I also wasn't going to cave completely. In the end, we found a way for the guys to contribute to the family expenses while getting their personal stuff paid off quickly. I was happy it wasn't a big battle, but a reasonable discussion.

-----

"We never did get to buying a new car," I mentioned to Luke as we sat in the kitchen for breakfast.

"Well, we did get the family finances worked out."

I gave a huge smile with that.

"What?" he asked.

"Family! Finances!" I said.

"I get it. It takes me and Cody a bit longer to get to that."

"Get to what?" Cody asked as he came in dressed for work.

"I was saying I was glad we worked out the family finances, and Coulter was happy when I called it family."

"Before we derail the conversation, back to buying a new car," I said.

"Oh, that..." Cody said.

"It's a 2002 model, so it's seventeen years old. It's also been in the shop how many times lately?"

"I think we can afford a dependable second vehicle," I said.

"I don't have the..." Cody started.

"Hol' up!" Luke said. "That's the mindset we work on. The family finances, as Coulter puts it. Can the family afford it?"

Cody gave a look that told me he was both struggling with the concept and a bit ashamed of not getting it.

"It's a good Marxist attitude, `from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs," I said.

"Our family is Marxist?" Luke said.

"I think all families are. Parents contribute a lot; kids consume a lot without contributing as much. As parents age, kids contribute more. Then, at some point, the kids support the parents more."

"It's funny; never thought of it that way," Cody admitted.

"And now back to the car conversation."

"I hate to derail this, but we need to head for the train station," Luke said.

I stuck my tongue out at Luke but nodded my head in agreement.

"Love you," I said as I gave Cody a quick kiss.

"Love you!"

"Have a great day," Luke said as he kissed Cody. "Love you."

"Love you too!" Cody replied.

We each grabbed our stuff and headed out to the Jeep.

"What's with the car discussion?" I asked.

"He wants to contribute more and be less dependent."

"Makes sense, but he's not getting it both ways. What kinda car do you want?"

"Anything that isn't a Suzuki Aerio!"

"Well, we're going to get a lot of money on the trade-in," I laughed.

"I'll be surprised if they offer a thousand."

"Back to what you want."

"Wouldn't it be what we want?"

"True!"

"What do we want in a new vehicle? Big enough to seat you and Cody comfortably. Relatively fuel efficient, so the commutes aren't too bad for Cody."

"We've got the Wrangler for hauling things and such," I said.

"One of the little SUVs? Or maybe a sedan? New or used?"

"New or one with a warranty from a dealer," I replied.

I pulled into the parking space, and we started walking to the platform.

"Yeah, not good to have a monthly payment and repair bills."

"Exactly."

"Cody's going to be the primary driver; maybe he should pick," Luke suggested.

"He's not going to go for that. Let's all draw up a list of possible cars, and then we can discuss."

"Fair."

The train pulled up, and we found our seats.

That evening, while we were working out in the gym, I stopped between sets and asked, "How about having the guys over for dinner soon?"

"How about Thursday night?" Luke said.

Cody gave Luke an evil look.

"I'm teasing," Luke said with a smile. "Why don't they come over on Saturday night?"

"Good with that," I agreed. I thought about how my body felt at that moment and added, "I'm done for the night." With that, I racked my weights.

"Huh?" Cody grunted.

"My shoulder's sore, and I'm stopping. I don't want to do legs. The old man is stopping."

"I hope I'm in half the shape you are at your age,' Cody said.

"Easy to do. Eat right, stay in shape, and don't overdo."

"I'll get my shower and check on dinner."

"Hmmm... Coulter in shower. Coulter naked. Time to stop and wash his back!" Luke said with a droll tone.

"You get the back; I get his front!" Cody said with a laugh.

They both stopped their workout and followed me into the bathroom. We shucked our clothes, threw them into the hamper, and got fresh towels. Luke got the water started while Cody and I took care of the needful.

"That feels good," I said as one of the jets massaged my shoulder.

"Everything okay?" Cody asked with a hint of concern.

"Should be; it's just a bit tender tonight for some reason."

True to his words, Luke was running a washcloth up my back. Cody started soaping the front. I just stood there and enjoyed it.

"Your turn," I said to Cody.

Luke and I did the same process with Cody. Then Luke moved to the middle, and Cody and I washed him. This was one of those tender, sensual times. We didn't have to have sex, we just enjoyed the touching and rubbing.

As we prepped dinner, I asked Cody, "What do you want in a car?"

"I don't know. I've thought about it but don't really have any strong thoughts. Comfortable, fuel efficient... not sure what else. Oh, safe!"

"Do you have a dream car?"

"Yeah, but we aren't buying that."

"What is it?

"When I was in high school, there was this guy down the street who had the coolest car. It was a Lotus from England. I did some research and found a different model that I liked even more. There was a poster of it on my bedroom wall, the Lotus Exige."

"Other than expensive, what's wrong with it?"

"Two-seater."

"Ah! You like sporty. What about the Subaru like Kyle or Casey have?"

"Luke's in the backseat every time."

"I think that would be the case with most cars due to our inseam measurements."

"I'm thinking a four-door sedan."

I pulled up the browser on my phone.

"Dodge Charger, Nissan Altima, maybe the Cadillac ATS or a BMW 3 Series?"

"Dude!"

"Justin has a Caddy, it's nice. With the Caddy or the Bmmer, we'd go with a certified used car."

"Maybe we should think about price point," Cody said.

"Price point of what?" Luke asked as he joined us in the kitchen.

"A car," I explained. "Down payment, monthly payment, financing rate."

"Umm," Cody started. "A loan?"

"We can see who gets the best rate," I said.

Both guys looked at me funny.

"You might be able to get a good first-time buyer rate," I explained. "I would think I have a better credit rating, which would give me a better rate generally."

They nodded at that.

-----

Luke and I were in the kitchen when Cody got home from work. I wondered how the little car was holding up.

As he walked into the kitchen, Luke asked, "What time are Josh and Chris arriving?"

"Seven," Cody said.

"Glad we were able to find an agreeable day and time," I said.

"Something smells good," Cody said, trying to see what was going on. "What are you making?"

"Double-dipped, buttermilk fried chicken, sweet potato fries, and corn on the cob," I explained. "Luke has a pan of Scottish shortbread in the oven; that's probably what you smell. He also made ganache and is working on mint ice cream."

"Yum, yum, and more yum. What can I do to help?"

"Get the fryer out and ready. It probably needs fresh oil. Then you can help with the chicken."

"Does the table need to be set?" Cody asked.

"Done," Luke replied.

"What time did you two get home?"

"About four fifteen," Luke said. "We caught the 327 home since we were both at hours earlier in the day."

"Thanks guys! I really appreciate this!"

"Hey, he's your co-worker, but we're all meeting them," I said.

We got busy and had things ready when Josh and Chris arrived.

"Chris!" I could hear Cody answering the door. "Nice to meet you, Josh!"

The first thing that struck me was the height difference. It seemed to match Cody and I versus Luke.

"Nice to meet you," Josh started. "I'm assuming you're Coulter and you're Luke based on height."

"Correct," Luke said.

"Okay, there's an eight-and-a-half-inch difference in height," Chris said.

"Eight inches for both of them," Luke said with a laugh. "I'm still the shortest by far. We need Casey to join us!"

"Yeah, but if you add him, you add Kyle, and he's six-foot-three," I said.

That raised an eyebrow from both Josh and Chris.

"Friends of ours, and Casey's only five-seven," Cody explained.

"Let's be honest," Luke interjected. "He's your brother from another mother."

"More interesting stories to hear," Chris said.

"Dinner's almost ready," I said. "Can I offer you something to drink?"

"What all do you have?" Josh asked.

"Vodka, bourbon, and gin plus several different mixers or soda plus white, red, or sparkling wine," Luke said. "Iced tea, soda diet and not."

"Hmmm... a rum and coke would be great," Josh said.

"I'll have a diet, virgin Cuba Libre," Chris said.

"Rum and coke and a diet coke coming up," I said.

"Huh?" Cody grunted.

"Think about it," I replied. The puzzled look on his face told me he wasn't getting it. "A Cuba Libre is a rum and coke, but virgin just means coke. Then add diet to it."

"Got it; I don't drink that much," he explained, more to Chris and Josh.

As we fixed the drinks, Chris said, "I hear you're all Mason alum."

"Yeah, I graduated a year before Cody," Luke said.

"Class of ninety-nine," I said.

"Class of oh-five," Chris said.

"Class of oh-two, but I went to Tech," Josh explained.

"Cody said you two met at Tech," Luke said.

"Yep, we met over winter break," Josh said. "I was doing some stuff in Newman Library."

"The restrooms on the third and fourth floor can be cruisey," Chris said. "I was kind of checking it out, but I didn't go in."

"I wasn't going to tell them that," Josh said with a bit of a laugh. "Anyway, I see this really hot, really tall guy wandering around but always staring at the restroom door. Finally, I got up and went over to the same stacks and said, hi."

"We sat and talked for a while and then went for coffee," Chris said.

"That was our first date," Josh said.

By this point, Luke and I had dinner on the table.

"We dated up until Josh graduated," Chris continued. "I had already been planning to transfer to GMU so I could get more play time. When he moved up here, we picked back up."

The three of us all burst into laughter.

"Well, I did get more of that as well," Chris admitted. "I meant more basketball play time."

"We've been together for seventeen years now," Josh said. He paused for a moment. "Man, Ryan's got competition."

"Who?" I asked.

"My buddy Ryan. He lives in southwestern Virginia. We lived together my last three semesters," Josh explained. "He's the king of buttermilk, fried chicken."

"He's the son or the brother?" Luke asked.

"Son," Josh said.

We went on to discuss a bit about Ryan, his partner Will, Ryan's dad Erik, and Will's brother Tracer, who all lived on a farm near Richlands.

We weren't eating very quickly. Our conversation kept our mouths busy.

"Sounds like a great group of guys," I said.

"They really are," Chris agreed.

"It was actually Josh's conversation about them, about extended family, and about being relaxed about things that led me to admit to us being a triple," Cody explained.

"Josh tried to explain how you three formed," Chris said.

"I was dating Coulter and got scared," Luke said. "I talked to Cody one night about Coulter and got him to go in my place."

"What?" Chris said.

"I hadn't explained it in that detail," Cody admitted.

"You said honesty," Luke said with a laugh.

"As I recall, you said Luke asked you to sub in," I said.

"Wait, wait, wait," Chris said. "You went to a guy's house to sub in for Luke?"

"Well... I was a horny college student. Luke had talked about this hot daddy he was seeing. I figured dinner, sex, and done," Cody said.

"One thing you two haven't mentioned is that you two had been off and on fuck buddies since early high school. So, Cody shows up as I'm making dinner and rings the doorbell. Which caused confusion for me as Luke had a key."

Chris and Josh both had interested looks on their faces.

"We had dinner. We had sex. And I was hooked," Cody said.

"Luke ghosted me for what, a month?" I explained.

"Yeah. Then I got the nerve up to go apologize."

"And we ended up deciding to date again," I said.

"Then I was upset," Cody said.

"Then we decided to continue dating," I said. "Not to mention these two were still FWBs."

"Love triangle?" Chris asked.

"I just thought of it as me dating two great guys," I said.

"I was jealous as all hell," Cody admitted. "But Luke did date him first."

"I was just confused as all hell. I knew I loved Cody. I thought I loved Coulter. I just couldn't commit."

"Admit it, you were scared as all hell," Cody said. "He couldn't face coming out to his folks."

"What about you?" Chris asked.

"Scared isn't the word for it. Crap in your pants petrified would be closer. When my dad did find out I was gay, he put me in the hospital."

"What?" Josh was loud.

"Next story," I said.

"Ready for dessert?" Luke asked.

"Never met a sweet I didn't like," Josh said.

"Yup, look at the paunch!" Chris teased.

"Hey! I haven't had a paunch in a long time," Josh responded.

That garnered him some looks from our group.

"I was way out of shape until the summer between my junior and senior years. I worked on the farm for the summer and got energized. I've kept up with my routine since then," Josh explained.

"The transformation; I went through that myself a few years ago," I replied.

We started bussing the table.

"You dropped the story?" Chris said. He and Josh were standing at the kitchen door as Luke and I got dessert ready. "So, you were dating both of them, and they were dating each other and..."

"Hmmm, it was sometime in October when you reappeared, and it was early December," I said.

"My roommate got on my computer. He found my porn links in my browser history and started giving me shit. He was all over the floor about it."

"Daddy porn," Luke said.

"Not all of it, but some of it," Cody said.

"I called Coulter and told him there was a problem. We came over."

"And I offered the guest bedroom to Cody."

"And then the other one to me."

"He left Luke and I alone for a bit," Cody said.

"I figured the two of them needed to admit they were in love with each other and then be done with me."

"We talked about our love for each other. And just as importantly, that each of us loved Coulter."

"I'm standing in the kitchen; they sandwich me between them, and that was the start of many nights sleeping between these two wonderful men!"

"How sweet," Chris said.

"What's for dessert?" Josh asked.

"Scottish shortbread, mint ice cream, and chocolate ganache," Luke said.

"You made all this?" Josh asked.

"I did dinner. Luke did dessert," I explained.

We finished plating things and sat back down.

"Next time we're here, if you'll invite us again," Josh started. "I'd like to see the yard. Chris conveyed a lot of what you're doing."

"It's been a long project, and we've got a way to go," I explained.

"I mentioned my summer on the farm," Josh said. "I led the restoration project after the creek on the back of the property flooded."

"That would be rough," I said.

"Well, with full-time staff, we got a lot done that summer. You can't even see the damage now."

"Definitely don't have a full-time staff," I laughed.

"There's a small part of me that misses having a space like that," Josh said.

"Well, if it's lots of yard work you're looking for, we can invite you over next spring to join in the fun!"

"I said a small part!" Josh said with a laugh.

"Great cooks," Chris said as he took another bite of desert.

"I always thought of myself as a good basic cook, but now I feel like I've grown a bit."

"And he taught us well," Luke said.

"I love the shortbread," Chris said.

"I'll share the recipe; it was my mom's."

"Thanks!"

After dinner, the five of us adjourned to the den to further get to know each other. It was clear that both Josh and Chris were great guys and would add to our friend base.

"That was a fun evening," Luke said.

"Really nice guys," I agreed.

Cody smiled broadly.

I moved into the bathroom to start my nightly routine. It was a good end to a great week.

Copyright 2024 BndgDawg (BndgDawg@gmail.com). Do not reproduce or distribute this story without the author's permission.

This is the eighteenth chapter of the third story I have written. I look forward to positive comments, constructive criticisms and otherwise pleasantly worded feedback. Flames and attacks will be ignored and addresses blocked. (BndgDawg@gmail.com).

My other stories on this site are Double Trails (Beginnings/Rural - December 8, 2016) and Homeless (High School - July 30, 2017).