The following fictional narrative involves sexually-explicit erotic events between males. If you are offended by such material, are too young, or live in an area where that sort of thing isn't allowed, don't read it.
In the world of this story, the characters don't always use condoms. In the real world, you should care enough about yourself and others to always practice safe sex.
The author retains all rights. No reproductions or links to other sites are allowed without the author's consent.
A big thank-you to Ed S. for technical advice. Thanks, as always, to my friends and "Nifty Six" colleagues, Evan, Patrick, Ash, and Mickey. Special thanks to Tom W. for his unique contributions throughout this story.
Be sure to see my note at the end of the chapter. --T.M.
Timmead88@yahoo.com Chapter 22: Tense Times
MAX:
I was a little confused about who was who at the party. Tim, Ced, Chaz, and Trey all knew Francis and Rodney, and I had picked up that those two were roommates at Oberlin. I had a great talk with Francis. He came over and introduced himself and told me he planned to go to Methodist seminary when he graduated from Oberlin. We had a good chat about the life of a seminarian, about our two denominations, about his ambitions to have an inner-city ministry. He's an astute guy, spiritually and otherwise. I really enjoyed talking with him. I must say, however, I couldn't understand why Tim was so besotted with Ced. He was just plain rude to me throughout the evening.
When Tim got the phone call from the hospital about Steve Metz, he snatched up his keys, said something to Cedric, and left on the run. There was a good deal of confusion after that.
Ced apologized and said he thought he'd better follow Tim to the hospital. Rodney and Francis said they were glad to have seen everyone and headed for Cleveland, I think. Mark said he would take Lori home and asked for someone to call him when we knew how Steve was. Ced was going to drive his car. Trey and Chaz said they would take one of theirs and be there right behind him.
Since I live nearby, I had walked to the party. I asked Ced if I could ride to the hospital with him. He gave me the strangest look. He seemed almost afraid of me, but he said I could ride with him. Then he grabbed his keys from somewhere in the kitchen, waited impatiently for everyone to be gone so he could lock up, and we jumped in his SUV.
Cedric didn't say anything for most of the short drive to the hospital. He seemed preoccupied. I noticed he was gripping the steering wheel tightly. I wondered if he and Steve were close. Just as we were pulling into the emergency room parking lot, he looked at me out of the corner of his eye and said through clenched teeth, "You know FATHER Max, Steve is Jewish. I don't imagine he needs a priest!"
And I knew in a flash what the problem was. Call me a little slow. His weird insistence on Tim's dancing with him, Rodney, and Francis, the looks he had been giving me, all of it. He was jealous. Oh, damn! How was I going to handle that? Tact is one of the things I'm supposed to have in my job, but this was going to be challenging.
Trey and Chaz pulled in right behind us, so we all went through the automatic sliding doors together. Even though it was fairly early, it was Saturday night, and the waiting room had several groups of people. Someone spotted Tim at the far side of the large room by a bank of phones. A woman in a white coat, obviously a doctor, was just handing a phone to Tim. He talked for a few minutes, hung up the phone, said something to the doctor, and turned around. Then he spotted us and came over to where we were.
Cedric went to Tim immediately and put his arm around Tim's shoulders, asking if he was ok. Tim nodded.
Trey was the one who asked about Steve. Tim asked us to go over into a corner where we could all sit. Trey, Chaz, and I squeezed onto a sofa, while Tim and Cedric sat facing us.
"They aren't sure yet. There was a delay while they contacted Steve's parents. It seems they wouldn't treat him without permission from the next of kin, but Steve didn't want his parents to be called. I had to call the University's Office of Student Affairs emergency number, explain who I was and what the problem was before I could get his home phone number. Finally I got his dad, who insisted on talking with Dr. Xiang, the ER trauma specialist on duty here. And would you believe, the bastard said they wouldn't be coming to see Steve. He said apparently Steve's injuries weren't life-threatening, so he couldn't leave his practice (he's a proctologist) to come here. He asked me to call him with a report tomorrow."
Again it was Trey who asked, "But when will we know how Steve is? And what happened to him?"
"Now that Dr. Metz has given his permission for Steve to be treated, they can examine him more thoroughly. Dr. Xiang said he appeared to have been beaten and kicked. He's got some bruised or cracked ribs, and probably a concussion."
"Who would do that to him?" I asked. "Where did it happen?"
"I've told you all I know. I just got here a few minutes before you guys, so I haven't seen either Steve or the police. Dr. Xiang did promise to come out and tell me more about his condition once they finish examining him."
About that time two uniformed police persons came across the waiting room toward us. I say "persons" because one was a fifty-ish man wearing the uniform of the university police force, the other a young woman in the uniform of the city police. The man asked, "Are you boys here about Steve Metz?" We all nodded. He looked around, apparently puzzled. Then he asked, "Do any of you know a Doctor Mead, a professor at the university?"
"I'm Tim Mead."
"Oh, sorry professor, you look as young as the rest of these guys."
He said, "No problem. It happens a lot. Now, can you tell us what happened to Steve?"
The campus cop looked at the young woman, who said, "Metz was found in the parking lot of his apartment building about 45 minutes ago by another resident of the building. The resident called 911. The victim was unconscious when the EMS unit got there, but he woke up on the way here. We have not yet been allowed to question him. That's what we are waiting for. Do any of you know why anyone might want to harm Mr. Metz?"
Simultaneously, Tim, Trey, and Chaz said "Yes!"
The cop, who introduced herself as Corporal Kubicki, looked at Tim and said, "Can you explain?"
Tim explained to her that Steve had found the note calling him a fag on the windshield of his car and that later someone had thrown a brick through his window with a note warning him to stay away from the kids at the pool and calling him a pedophile. Kubicki asked if Metz had filed a complaint. Tim said that, despite his urgings, Steve had blown the incidents off. Then Kubicki asked if Steve WAS a pedophile. I thought Tim was going to burst a blood vessel for a moment. Then he carefully explained that he had saved Bridget's life and that the kids had become more or less fans of his since. Tim went on to explain that he had known Steve in two classes and was willing to swear that he was not the kind of person to molest children.
Kubicki and the campus cop, who never introduced himself, thanked us, told us they would interview Steve as soon as the doctor gave her OK, and went toward the hospital snack bar.
We waited. No one had much to say. Finally, Tim said, "This is all my fault. I was afraid something like this might happen. I should have insisted that he go to the police."
Cedric put has arm around Tim's shoulders and said, "That's OK, baby. You couldn't make him do it if he didn't want to."
Chaz chimed in, "Yeah, Tim. Ced's right. Tiger and I both knew about the brick and the two notes. I wasn't your fault." Then he got a pained expression on his face. "But, you know, if we had talked about it with one another, we might have been able to gang up on Steve and make him go to the cops."
About that time Tim looked at me and did a sort of double take. "Max," he said, "I'm sorry. I've been so worried about Steve I didn't really notice you were here. It was good of you to come."
"Well," I said, "obviously I don't know Steve. But he's a friend of yours, and I wanted to come along just for . . .moral support?"
Tim smiled at that but didn't say anything.
After about an hour Cedric spotted Dr. Xiang walking across the room toward us and nudged Tim. Tim asked the rest of us to wait there, got up, and went to meet the doctor. After they talked for a few minutes, he came back to where the rest of us were waiting.
"So, Tim," Trey asked, "what did the doctor say? How is Steve?"
"Could be a lot worse, I suppose. Their preliminary diagnosis was correct. He has two cracked ribs, which are going to be very sore for a couple of weeks. He has other bruises where he was hit and kicked, but they aren't serious -- again, just painful. He does have a slight concussion. And there's blood in his urine, so they are monitoring him for kidney damage."
"He's going to be all right, though?" Chaz asked, looking very serious.
"It looks that way, big guy," Tim said.
"Can we see him?" Trey asked.
"He's been asking for me. When they finish working on him, they're going to admit him. As soon as they get him to a room, he wants to see me. No other visitors will be allowed tonight. So, fellows, why don't you all go home? I'll stay here with Steve. If he wants, I'll stay the night."
Cedric said, "No way am I going home if you are staying here."
"But you can't do anything, and you won't even be able to see Steve tonight, babe," Tim replied.
"Doesn't matter, Timmy, I'm staying with you."
Tim laughed and said, "OK, stubborn." But he put his hand on Cedric's face very tenderly. I could see at that moment how much Tim loved Ced. Surely Ced could see it, too.
"Well, there's certainly no reason why the rest of you should stick around. If you'd like, Ced or I will call you in the morning as soon as there's anything to report. Max, it was above the call for you to come, old friend. Thanks for being here." He came over and gave me a hug as Ced looked on. He seemed not so much angry as pained.
"That's what friends are for, Tim," I said. Then I offered my hand to Cedric. He gripped it for a moment, then dropped it, and turned away.
Trey and Chaz said goodnight to Cedric and Tim and reminded them to call in the morning with news of Steve. We walked out together. Trey, who had driven, offered me a ride home, which at that hour I was glad to accept.
In Rodney's room at his parents' home in University Heights, Francis and Rodney are on the bed. Francis is lying on his back. Rodney is on his hands and knees. His long, thin cock is in Francis's mouth. He seems to be gently fucking his lover's face. He has Francis's rigid pole in his mouth and is very slowly moving his head up and down on it. The room is full of the smacking and slurping sounds the two make as they 69. Occasionally and with increasing frequency, each of the men makes a low growling sound as he gets more and more into the sensations he's experiencing in mouth and cock.
From outside comes the sound of automobile traffic swishing over rain-wet streets. It had begun to rain as they drove back from Cedric and Tim's party, and now a thunderstorm was in progress. Loud claps of thunder punctuate their sucking session. When all else is quiet, there is the faint sound of the central air unit in the basement forcing cool air through the vents along the baseboards of the room.
Feeling the first inklings that he's going to come, Francis reaches up between Rodney's legs and cups his hand along his lover's ass-cleft. Pushing the left cheek away with his forefinger and thumb, the right cheek away with the ring and pinkie fingers, he begins to stroke Rodney's anal pucker with the finger nail of his middle finger.
Rodney lurches, interrupts his sucking to gasp, and resumes his sucking. Moments later, each man goes rigid and then thrusts his pelvis toward the other's mouth. Both bodies jerk and tremble for a moment. Each pulls his head back far enough that he can swallow the cream deposited in his mouth.
Rodney climbs off, turns around, and collapses onto Francis. Francis encircles his lover with his muscular arms and holds him tight. Neither says anything, but both sigh contentedly. Ten minutes later, they kiss. Each can taste his cum in the other's mouth.
"For a honky, you give good head," Francis says.
"Who you callin' a honky, boy?" his mate replies.
Francis chuckles. "Speakin' of honkies . . . "
"Yeah?"
"Cedric's little honky can sure shake his cute little white ass, can't he?"
Rodney runs the tip of his nose around one of Francis's aureoles, then licks it.
"Yeah, he sure can. But you do know, don't you, that your old fuckbuddy is intensely jealous of Father Max?"
"Who could miss that? I've never seen Ced act like that. For as long as I've known him, he's been sweetness and light. Tonight he was downright cold to Father Max."
"I saw you talking with Max. What do you make of him?"
"I really like him. He seems sincere, genuine. The kind of guy a minister is supposed to be. In fact, I'd like to get to know him better."
"Watch it there, stud, or I'll be getting jealous, too."
Francis puts a hand on each side of Rodney's head and pulls him into a long, searching kiss.
"No need. Any more than Ced needs to be jealous. You've seen Tim at the Phoenix and afterward in the Flats, you've seen him this evening. Do YOU think he is getting it off with the priest?"
"Nope. No way. Tim shows how he feels about your buddy every time he looks at him."
Francis reaches over and pinches one of Rodney's nipples.
"Ouch, dammit, what was that for?"
"Just remember, skinny, that Ced is an old buddy, but that's all. You're my man now, and you'd better not forget it. You got that?"
Rodney smiles sleepily, licks Francis's nipple again, and says, "You call me skinny again and you may wind up in a pile in the corner. You know I can do that, don't you?"
"You wish!" Francis says, grinning.
"Are you going to say anything to Cedric about all that?" Rodney asks.
"I don't know! You'd think one of those guys, Trey or Chaz or Mark could see what's happening and set my man Ced straight. Maybe in about a week, I'll call Ced and see if I can get a sense of what's going on by then."
"Well, babe, if you want to call sooner, you can always call and ask how that Steve guy is doing."
"You're so smart! For a white dude, that is. Why didn't I think of that?" Francis smiles and pulls Rodney in for another kiss. When it's over, both men are hard again.
"OK, babe, get the lube and get busy. I need you in me. NOW!"
Rodney makes a dive for the bedside table drawer.
TIM:
Ced and I sat for a long while. He asked if I really thought it was the guys who had vandalized Steve's car who had attacked him.
"Well, nothing was taken, so the motive couldn't have been robbery. I can't really believe there are two individuals or groups out there who have it in for Steve."
"Do you think there's any chance the police will catch them?"
"I don't know. I sure as hell hope so! It may depend on what Steve's able to tell them. The doctor said the police could come back in the morning to interview him. She wants Steve to rest tonight."
Some time not long after midnight, Dr. Xiang came over to where we sere sitting. We both stood up.
"Professor Mead, we are going to keep Steve here for a day or two, at least until we find out whether his kidney damage has been severe. Tonight we'll want to keep an eye on him because of his concussion. You may go sit with him now. He's on the mildest dosage of pain killer he can tolerate, because we don't want him to go deeply to sleep yet."
Then she turned to Ced. "I'm sorry, but we can only allow one person to see Steve tonight, and he's asked for Professor Mead in lieu of his parents."
"That's OK. I'll just wait here. Tim, tell Steve I'm SO sorry this happened and I'll see him as soon as they let me, OK?"
"Sure, Ced. But why don't you go home? There's nothing you can do here."
"Ya sure?"
"Absolutely."
"Well, then, I'll go see if I can sleep. But I'll be back first thing in the morning, and I'll bet Trey and Chaz will be too."
"Drive carefully, babe. That's quite a storm going on out there."
We hugged as Dr. Xiang looked on smiling. I thought to myself, `Well, Tim, there's one more step in your coming out process.'
I wasn't prepared for how bad Steve looked. He had bruises on his face and arms. Of course he had an IV drip and I noticed a Foley bag on the side of the bed, which meant that he had a catheter. It had some rusty-colored urine in it.
He smiled weakly when I came in.
"Hey, doc, thanks for coming. They told me you had been here all evening. Oh, and thanks, especially for taking care of my old man. They aren't coming are they?"
I decided to deal with the question first and then the other stuff. "No, Steve, they aren't. When Dr. Xiang assured your dad that your injuries weren't life-threatening, he gave her the necessary health insurance information and told her that they would call you in a day or so. Then he told her just to deal with me about anything else."
"Like I said, man, thanks."
"Ced, Trey, and Chaz all asked me to tell you they hoped you were up and around soon. They were here, you know, along with my friend Max, who was at the party."
He tried a smile again. "Sorry if I fucked up your party."
"Stop that! The party was fine. It just ended a little sooner than it might have otherwise."
He seemed to be having trouble keeping his eyes open. They'd close and then pop open again as he struggled to stay awake. I knew they were planning to wake him up every hour or so, but I also knew they wanted him to get some sleep.
He opened his eyes just long enough to say, "Thanks -- " before he went to sleep.
They came in several times during the night to wake him up, look at his eyes. The first time he went right back to sleep. The second time he stayed awake for a while. He was surprised that I was still there and insisted that I go home. I refused. So we chatted. I was dying to ask him about the attack, but I didn't want to upset him, so I avoided that topic. I was also curious to know what was going on with his parents.
When they came in at 5:30 to check him, they ran me out of the room. I told the nurse to tell Steve that someone would be back soon. Then I went home. Ced was asleep, so I stripped and crawled in with him, spooning up behind him. I was asleep in no time.
About 8:00, I woke up. Ced was sucking on one of my nips. "Mmmmm," I groaned. Then I remembered Steve. "Shit, Ced, I've got to clean up and get back to the hospital."
"No you don't, babe. You feel like taking your run this morning?"
"Yeah."
"Then go do that. Afterward you can clean up. Meanwhile, I'll grab something to eat and go see Steve. Trey and Chaz are going to be over there later on."
"How do you know that?"
"They left a message on the voice mail when they got home. I listened to it when I got home."
"OK, here's what I'll do. I'll have my run, get something to eat, clean up, and go to the office and work for a while. If you guys can manage to be with Steve this morning, I'll get back over there this afternoon. OK?"
He kissed the top of my head, probably remembering that we both would have dragon mouth at that hour, said, "Sounds like a plan, babe," and jumped out of bed.
While he was showering, I pulled on my running gear, stuck my head in the steamy bathroom to say I'd see him later, and left. It was a beautiful morning, cool after the front had passed through. Everything looked clean, rainwashed. It occurred to me that in all the excitement Max and I hadn't said anything about running together this morning. I didn't even know what time he planned to run. I went past his house, and just as I did, he came out, obviously ready. He fell in beside me and asked about Steve, I gave him an update, and after that we didn't talk until we got back.
After we had finished, stretched, and were walking up the street we both live on, I asked Max if he'd like to come over for breakfast after his shower. He said that he had to be at work and was a little behind schedule, so he'd take a rain check. He turned rather abruptly, gave me a wave, and was gone. `Unusual behavior for Max,' I thought.
I shaved, showered, dressed, and went to the kitchen. Ced had made coffee and set the table. He had even set out some cinnamon rolls that I didn't know we had. He left me a note saying that he would be with me all week. His dad had told him he didn't need to work any more at the office. I was reminded once more how lucky I was to have Ced in my life. If I had believed in God, I would have thanked Her.
Later that morning I was at the office. I found during this hiatus between the end of second summer term and the fall term, it was usually quiet. And somehow, there were fewer temptations to goof off than there were at home. I had not only pretty much gotten my dissertation on dos Passos converted into something that a publisher might be interested in, but I was also pretty far along on two articles that I might be able to send off to one scholarly journal or other. All of that was expected if I was to be promoted and, eventually, get tenure. Or, alternatively, if I wanted to change jobs to follow Ced to law school somewhere.
About 10:30 Chaz came in and sat down. I never know whether he's going to hug me. Sometimes he does, but he didn't that morning.
"I've been at the hospital with Steve."
"You have? How's he doing? Is anyone there with him now?"
"He's sore all over and it hurts to pee. I went over early because Tiger isn't much of a morning person, you know. When he arrived, I thought I'd come over here and bring you the report."
"I'm glad you did, Chaz. Have they said yet how long he'll be in the hospital?"
"Well, there's a problem. They think the blood in his piss is only a matter of bruised kidneys. His concussion is a mild one. The big thing is those cracked ribs. They won't discharge him to go back to his apartment alone. He refuses to go home. Trey and I were thinking maybe we'd take him to our place."
"He could come stay with Ced and me."
"You've got stairs. Our place is all on one floor."
"Have you thought what the sleeping arrangements would be?"
"Yeah, just what they are now. My room is empty at night these days anyway. I could go in there during the day to get my clothes and shit."
"But, Chaz, what will Steve think when he knows you and Trey are sleeping together?"
"Oh, we both came out to him last week. He seems cool with it."
"You did? That's great. I want to hear more about that. For now, though, Chaz, I think it's great of you and Trey, but it's no more than I might have expected. You know Ced and I will help any way we can. It's good, you know, that Steve won't be in his apartment. Maybe the police can get the guys who did this to him before he has to go back to his place. Have they been there yet this morning?"
"Yup, they got there right after I did. I don't know what he told them, though, because they kicked me out. Then they took my statement, but a'course I couldn't tell em anything. Oh, and the cops are comin' lookin' for you. They want to know what you know about all of this. Did you say something last night at the hospital about all this being your fault?"
"Yeah, and it is. I should have made him go to the police when he first told me about the note that was left on his car."
"Tim, I don't think you could have MADE Steve do anything he didn't want to do. But the police want to know how much you do know about all this."
"I'll be glad to tell them, Chaz. I want these guys caught as soon as possible."
"Well, Steve isn't very optimistic that they'll get caught."
"I hope he's wrong."
"Tim, I gotta pee. But I want to come back, OK? " He looked uncomfortable. "There's something else we gotta talk about."
"Go on, Chaz. I'll be here."
I had hardly gotten back to work when he returned. He flopped back down in one of the chairs facing my desk. I looked at him expectantly.
He seemed nervous. He crossed his long legs, then uncrossed them, then crossed them the other way. He looked over my shoulder out the window behind me. He cleared his throat.
Then he looked directly at me with those pale blue eyes, which looked very steely at that moment.
"OK, here goes. Tim, I'll always be sorry for the shitty things I did to you when I thought you had been a bastard to Ced."
I started to say something, but he held up his hand.
"But you were great about all that. I've come to respect you a lot, you know. In fact, I can't imagine I'd ever say this, but I've come to love you. For sure not the way Ced does, probably not even the way Tiger does, `cause you and him have something special. But I love you like a big brother, little guy. Did you know that?"
I wondered what all this was leading up to. "Yeah, Chaz, I had sort of picked up on that, and I'm glad. We've finally gotten to be easy together, the two of us. And you know, the older brothers get, the less the difference in their ages makes."
He smiled, and the eyes went back from steel back to light blue. But he continued to look right into my eyes.
"OK, that's good, `cause I gotta tell you man, right now your head is so far up your ass there's no way you can see the light."
Now there was a punch in the gut! I had no idea where that came from. I must have looked stunned because Chaz chuckled.
"Man, Tim, you don't have a clue, do you?"
"About what? Come on, Chaz, don't play games with me."
"How would you describe Ced's behavior the evening we went to Nighttown?"
"He seemed a little prickly, I guess. I wondered what was bugging him."
"Did you notice anything strange at the party last night?"
"Well, I wondered why he insisted on dancing after I tried to convey to him it wasn't such a good idea."
"What about this, doc? How often is Ced deliberately rude to people, bitchy, unpleasant?"
"Never. That's just not Ced."
"What if I told you that Lori, Mark, Trey, and I all noticed that Ced was being deliberately rude to Max last night?"
"Oh, I think I would have noticed if he had been."
"Tim, you were busy being the host at your party, making sure that everybody got enough to eat and drink, you know, moving around talking with everybody, and all that. Then you took off when the call came about Steve, and you were concerned about him at the hospital, right?"
"Yeah."
"I've known ole Ced for three years now, and I know him pretty well. So do Mark and Tiger. None of us have ever seen our buddy as cold to anyone as Ced was last night to Max. And the reason is plain as day."
"Not to me it isn't, assuming what you say is true."
Looking very sympathetic now, as if he were about to tell me bad news, he said, "Tim, Ced's jealous of Max. Real jealous. Jealous enough to be meaner than he's ever been. That's what that dancing business was about last night. He wanted to show off to, what's the word, `flaunt,' his connection with you to Father Max! And you were so busy shaking your ass you didn't see what everyone else there saw, that he was giving Max these dirty looks all the time."
"My god, Chaz, doesn't he know how much I love him?"
"Right now he's not sure. You gotta set him straight." He paused a minute. "You aren't fooling around with Max are you, `cause if you are, then you and me, we got serious issues."
"Whoa, Chaz! Relax. Max and I are old friends. I'm very happy that he is back in my life. But I am devoted to Ced. Nothing's changed about that."
He stood. "Then, lil guy, you damn well better tell him so. Quick!"
He came around the desk, gave me a hug that left me breathless, and stalked out of my office.
I collapsed back into my chair. He had left me winded, and not just by his hug.
A half an hour later, I was still sitting there, lost in thought, wondering if what Chaz said could possibly be true, when Trey came in, shut the door, pulled a chair around to my side of the desk. He put it next to mine, sat, and then leaned over and hugged me. He kissed my ear.
"Tim, I can tell the bull just left the china shop. And it looks as if he did some damage."
"Not as much as I've done, apparently. Tell me, little brother, is Chaz right?"
"Yep. Poor Ced is eaten up with jealousy, I'm afraid."
"But Max and I haven't done anything. In fact, we came out to each other, and still neither of us did anything."
"Father Max is GAY?" Does Ced know that?" Trey almost shouted.
I put my finger to his lips. "Shhh! These offices aren't soundproof, you know."
"Well, I'm sorry, Tim, but if Ced knew Max is gay, he'd be even more worried than he seems to be now. You haven't told him, I suppose?"
"No, and I didn't mean to tell you. I was trying to keep Max's confidence."
"Well, you DO know that you can trust me, don't you?"
I ruffled that beautiful tawny mane of his and said, "Yeah, babe. I know that."
"You and Max have been running every morning, right?"
"Right."
"You, the lone heathen in the brotherhood, have gone to church twice since Max got here, and you dragged Ced there one of those times?"
"Yeah."
"Isn't it also true that you have talked a lot to Ced about Max, often very enthusiastically? You sure have to me."
"I suppose I have."
"And, you don't see how Ced could get the wrong idea?"
I paused to think about what Trey had just said. "Damn. How could I have been so stupid? Hey, Ced and Mark are supposed to be the lawyers in the group. That was a pretty good job of drawing out the witness you just did."
He chuckled. "Well, I'd say it takes the same kind of skill to lead a class discussion, as I have reason to know from watching you."
"You're going to be a great teacher, Trey. I'm sure of that. But, getting back to Ced, I guess I need to get with him and apologize."
He chuckled again. Putting on his best southern drawl, he replied, "Ah'd say yawl'd bettuh do some crawlin'."
We talked a bit more, and then he rose to leave. "Are you going to visit Steve soon?"
I looked at my watch. "Yeah, right after lunch."
"Want to grab some lunch with me?"
"Thanks, Trey, but there's something else I have to do."
He hugged me and left.
I was reaching for the phone to call home to see if Ced was there when the phone rang. It was Max.
"Aren't you in church?" I asked him.
"The late service just finished. I'm a free man until 6:00 this evening. Now, Tim, how's Steve? I suppose you've seen him?"
"About as well as could be expected, I guess. I think the guys have all been with him at one time or another this morning, and I'm going over there after I have lunch."
"Lunch is what I was calling about. Tim, we need to talk. Could you possibly have lunch with me?"
"Now?"
"Yes, please!"
"Yeah, I guess so. What's up?"
"I'd rather talk about it when I see you. How about if I go past Fein's and get us a couple of subs and bring them to your office?"
"Sure, Max. Sounds great. I'll be here."
We said our goodbyes and hung up. I called home, but I got the voice mail, so I assumed Ced was at the hospital with Steve.
I made another phone call, spoke for a minute or two with the person at the other end, and hung up. I started clearing away the piles of books and papers on my desk so that Max and I could use it for eating. Then I had a better idea.
When Max arrived, he hugged me. "Tim, thanks for doing this on such short notice."
"Hey, I had to eat somewhere, and I didn't really have any plans. How much do I owe you for the lunch?"
He waved his hand dismissively. "You can do it next time."
"Let's take this into the faculty lounge. We'll have more room in there." We walked down the hall. I knew the lounge would be deserted at noon on Sunday, as indeed it was. We sat facing each other at a small table by one of the room's tall windows. He opened the bag and brought out our sandwiches, pickles, chips, and sodas.
After we had both taken the edge off our hunger, I said, "So Max, what's up?"
"You've got a problem, old friend, and I am partly the cause."
"Oh, shit! Don't tell me you know about Ced, too!"
"I could hardly miss it. He made it pretty clear last night that he doesn't like me. Or, maybe, to be charitable, that he fears me." Then he told me Ced's comment about Steve not needing a priest as they drove to the hospital.
"Damn! How come I'm the only one who couldn't see it?"
"Well, in the first place, Timmy, because you haven't done anything wrong. Not really, anyway. And I guess it's partly my fault. Ced's been away from you in Cleveland most of the summer. Suddenly he comes back and here's this old friend of yours that you talk about a lot and are spending lots of time with. What was he to think?"
"You're right, of course. I've really been oblivious, haven't I, totally insensitive to Ced's feelings? I did make it clear to you, didn't I, that I am deeply committed to Ced?"
"Oh, yeah. You did that! I have to confess that disappointed me, Tim. Who knows where we might have gone if things were different?"
"Well, since it's confession time, let me tell you that I thought about that, too, Max."
We both chomped on our subs and, I think, pondered what might have been.
"Well, you are still one of my oldest and best friends, Max, and nothing will change that. I hope you find a Ced in your life one of these days."
He smiled, reached across the table to put his hand on mine, and said, "Thanks, Timmy."
Just then Gwen Fairchild came in. She seemed startled to see us. Then she came over towards us. We stood. Obviously just out of church, Gwen was wearing a tan pants suit with a brown scarf and brown alligator pumps. As always, she looked wonderful.
I started to introduce Max to her when she said, "Hello, Father Max. I didn't expect to see you again so soon." Max laughed and said, "Its nice to see you again, Dr. Fairchild." She cocked an eyebrow at me and said, "You didn't waste any time getting to know St. Peter's new priest."
I said something stupid about not knowing she went to St. Peter's and then explained that Max and I were old Kenyon friends. When I said "friends" she gave me that look again, as if to say she knew what kind of friends we were. Then she said something about having misplaced her briefcase and wondering if she had left it in the lounge. When she didn't find it, she said how nice it was to have seen us, and left. I think she was in the building for some other reason and just wanted to see who was in the faculty lounge on a Sunday noon.
Max and I finished our lunch, cleaned up crumbs and paper, and left the building together. I reminded him that I was going to see Steve and asked if he'd like to come along and meet Steve. He put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Tim, don't you think you and I should keep our distance for a while? At least until you've had a chance to put Ced's doubts to rest?"
I laughed. "Damn, father. You ARE good at this. Of course, you're right." If we hadn't been in the middle of the parking lot, I would have hugged him. We shook hands and started toward our respective cars. Then he turned back and said, "Maybe you had better not tell Steve this, but I'm praying for him. And for you and Ced, too."
When I got to his room, Steve had a tray of uneaten food in front of him. "Not hungry?" I asked.
"Hey, prof. I could eat a horse. Just not this shit. They put `soft diet' on my food order when they admitted me last night. I guess that's pretty standard. Now the nurse says the doc has me down for solid food, but not until suppertime. I can't eat this stuff. Pureed spinach? Yuk. Tapioca? No way!"
"Steve, I'll be back in ten minutes, OK?"
"Sure, I'm obviously not going anywhere."
I stopped by the nurses' station and confirmed it was all right for Steve to have solid food. Then I went to the hospital cafeteria and got him two cheeseburgers, some fries, and a coke. When I came back carrying them, his eyes lighted up and he beamed at me. "Doc, you're a lifesaver! Thanks, man." I decided from the way he was tearing into that food that he couldn't be in such terrible shape.
"Steve, how are you feeling about now?"
"Well, it doesn't hurt to pee any more. And everything is at a dull ache level if I don't move. If I do move, though, my ribs hurt like hell! Hey, I think they are going to discharge me Tuesday."
"You won't be able to go back to your apartment by yourself. You are welcome to come and stay at my place until you are better."
He looked as if he were about to cry. "Dr. Mead, it's so great that you would be willing to do that for me. Thanks. I really mean it. But Trey and Chaz have already offered me a bed at their place. In fact, Chaz is giving up his bed while I'm there."
I chuckled. "Steve, from what I hear, the big guy isn't using his bed these days anyway."
He looked puzzled. Then the light dawned. "Oh, you know about those two?"
I looked around to see that no one was in the hallway. I was about to tell him that Ced and I were gay, too. Then it occurred to me that I was in enough trouble with Cedric already and I had no right to out him to anyone without his permission.
"Yeah, Steve, they have told Ced and me, Ced's former roomie, Mark Mason, and maybe a couple of other people. I'm sure you realize how important it is not to tell anyone else."
"Sure."
"And how about you? How do you feel about staying with a gay couple?"
"It's cool. They're great guys. They've both been really decent with me, especially Trey. I'm glad to have them as friends."
"Speaking of all that, you do know that those guys call me `Tim' when we aren't in the classroom, don't you?"
"Well, I didn't until Chaz slipped one day."
"Someday soon I hope we can tell you the whole story, but for now let's just say that we are all good friends. Since you seem to be joining the group, I'd like it if you'd call me `Tim,' too."
"It will seem strange, but I'll try. Thanks for asking me."
We chatted about this and that for a while. Then I decided he seemed strong enough to take the question I had been dying to ask.
"Steve, tell me if I'm out of line here. But why did you have my name in your wallet? And why aren't your parents here?"
He stared out the window for a while and then looked me straight in the eye. I noticed what beautiful brown eyes he had.
"Dr., er, Tim, like I've told you, my folks have never had much use for me. It always seemed I was an embarrassment to them. Nothing I ever did was quite good enough. I think I've been pretty childish, now that I think about it, because since about eleventh grade, I've just been loafing around, not applying myself, sort of, you know, as a way of getting back at them. Now we pretty much ignore each other. Dad pays my expenses at the university because it would be shameful for a son of his not to have a university degree. So, when you told him on the phone that I wasn't going to die, I guess he just decided he wouldn't need to cancel any appointments to come up here and check on me."
"Have you called them?"
"No, but I understand he called here today to see how I was doing."
"That's too bad Steve. Must be hell on you."
"Well, I've had plenty of time to get used to it. I haven't told them yet that I got that `A' in your course. That'll probably shock the shit out of them."
"OK. I see now why maybe you didn't want to put them in your wallet as your emergency contacts, but why me?"
"Easy. Because you're the only adult I know anywhere who doesn't treat me like a delinquent child."
Wow! I realized if that was true he had brought some of it on himself, but it was still a sad commentary.
Before I could say anything else, Trey and Chaz came in. After everyone had greeted everyone, I excused myself, promising Steve that I would be back the next morning.
Ced wasn't there when I got back to our place. I dusted and ran the vacuum in the living room, cleaning up the last of the mess from last night's party. Then I put a load of laundry in the washing machine. By that time, being up most of the previous night began to catch up with me and I flopped down on the sofa and went to sleep.
When I woke up, Ced was sitting there in one of the easy chairs just staring at me.
"Hi, love. Where've you been?"
"Oh, I had a nice long workout this afternoon, and then I swam some laps."
"Working the kinks out?"
"You might say that."
"Ced, do you have a blazer or jacket with you?"
"I've got my cream silk jacket. Why?"
"Because I have reservations for us at Stefan's this evening. I even got the special table in the alcove that Stan and I had when we were there."
"But we were just at Stefan's."
"So? Does that mean you don't like the food?"
"No, Tim, I just wondered what's the occasion?"
"Cedric, I want to give you a beautiful evening, and there are some things I've got to tell you."
He looked panicked. "That sounds ominous, babe."
"No way is it ominous. Now, I've got to go shower. I assumed you did that before you left the rec center?"
"Yeah, I'll just need to change clothes."
I went over, sat on his lap, put my arms around him and gave him all the kiss I was capable of giving. "Relax, sexy. Do you remember coming to my apartment one Sunday morning last spring and saying something like this was all going to be about me?"
He smiled. "I'll never forget that day."
"Me, neither, hot stuff. And tonight is going to be all about YOU!" I tweaked his left nipple. "So go get spiffy. We're going OUT."
We got spiffy. Ced wore a rust-colored silk tee with his jacket, and he looked -- spectacular. I wore the light-colored jacket I had worn at his house earlier in the summer.
I asked Ced to drive to the restaurant because I think my old Camry looks pretty shabby for a place like that. At least his 4Runner is new, black, and shiny.
I didn't know the guy who parked our car. It wasn't Drew, who was there when Stan and I were there. This guy was about my height, built like a fire plug. Lots of muscles. Looked like he might be a wrestler.
"Hi, Ced. How ya doin'," he asked enthusiastically when we pulled up.
"Hey, Hank, good to see you. Ready for classes to start up again?"
"Not really, man. But at least it's our last year, right?"
He jumped in the SUV and sped off. Ced confirmed that he was indeed on the university wrestling team.
Maurice met us at his station, of course, and he was suave as ever. He called me Dr. Mead. He even remembered Ced from our previous visit, calling him Mr. Jones.
As I had requested, the alcove table was reserved for us. The restaurant was much less busy than it had been on the Saturday nights when I'd been there.
Everything was quiet. The silver gleamed on the white table cloths in the subdued lighting.
Maurice told us that Kent would, as requested, be our server. He was no sooner gone than Kent himself showed up, carrying the bottle of Moet et Chandon Brut Imperial I had requested.
"Hi, Dr. Mead. Hey, Ced, how are you? How's Mark?"
Cedric said, "Hey, Kent. Good to see you. I'm OK, I guess. So's Mark, though he spends so much time with his new girlfriend I don't see him much."
"Oh, Lori. He introduced me to her. Nice chick."
All the while, Kent was first popping the cork and then pouring us glasses of champagne.
He put menus in front of us and left.
I lifted my glass to Ced, who responded, and said, "Cedric, my life, here's to us."
Seeming startled, he just stared at me.
"It's customary, I believe, for you to lift your glass and repeat the toast," I said, still holding my glass up.
"Oh! Yeah!" He picked up his glass, clinked it against mine, and said, "To us, babe."
We both sipped the champagne.
"Where were you just then?" I HAD to press him.
"Tim, even after what you said this afternoon, even after that hot kiss, I've been expecting that you brought me here so you could dump me in style."
Even though I knew what my thoughtlessness had done to him, his statement hit me like a blow to the solar plexus.
"My dear, sweet, incredibly sexy man, it's just the opposite. I wanted to apologize to you in style for being so inconsiderate and to reassure you that you are my lover, the center of my life, and that you always will be."
I wanted to crawl under the table when tears came to his eyes. "Oh, Tim, you bastard, you've had me so worried!"
He reached his left hand across the table. I extended my right hand and took his.
About that time Kent reappeared and asked if we wanted to order. That was the first time his normally impeccable timing had been off.
Assuming we could count on Kent's discretion, I didn't let go of Ced's hand. "Kent, we haven't even looked at the menus yet. Are there any specials you want to tell us about? As I recall, you do an impressive job of remembering them and how they're fixed."
Kent grinned with pleasure at that and recited flawlessly the longish list of specials.
Ced beamed up at Kent (who was, after all, pretty good to look at, over six feet, with his brown eyes and blond hair).
"I don't need to look at the menu. I'll have the biftek au poivre."
"Same here," I said. "Kent, I'd like the veal Oscar."
"Very good, gentlemen. I'll have your salads and some bread in just a moment. Would you like to order some wine with your entrees?"
"Yes. I discovered a nice wine when I was living in California. Do you by chance have Ravenswood's San Giacomo merlot?"
He grinned. "We sure do. We can't buy that locally, you know. But Stefan has it brought in directly from California. I'll be right back."
Ced took another sip of his champagne. "Timmy, this is liquid money. It is also ambrosial. You didn't need to do all this."
"Oh, I think I did. And only the best for my Cedric."
True to his word, Kent returned quickly with the house salad, field greens in the lemony house vinaigrette, and the usual wonderful crusty rolls. He refilled our glasses with the champagne.
When he left, I extended both my hands across the table to Cedric. He took my hands in his.
"Baby, can you ever forgive me for being so inconsiderate? Apparently Mark, Lori, Chaz, Trey, Max, and, I suspect, Francis and Rodney, saw what I was too blind to see. You have been jealous of Max."
"Well, Timmy . . . "
I put my finger on his lips.
"Shhh! You don't even have to say it. You come back to OUR house from Shaker and here I am talking about this guy my age, an old college friend, and I'm running with him every morning, spending time with him, even going to church, for pity's sake! Now that I look back on it, it's perfectly understandable that you might get the wrong impression."
"I . . ."
"Ced, I've been stupid. Max is an old friend. I love him as I'd love an old friend. Maybe the way you love Francis, though there has NEVER been anything sexual between Max and me. But you, Cedric, are and always will be THE ONE in my life. I apologize. God, I'm SO sorry I hurt you, made you worry."
He squeezed my hands. Then I felt something between my legs. He had kicked off his loafer and was rubbing my package with his foot!
"Timmy, you are such a hot little stud. Max is another hot little stud. I could picture the two of you together. It didn't take much for me to imagine you two having hot sex. I should have trusted you, baby, but you don't know how worried I was. You don't know how much I needed for you to tell me all this. You did NOT, however, have to go to all this trouble and expense to apologize."
I reached for my glass. "So, shaddup and enjoy the evening. I promise you, it's far from over."
He picked up his glass and held it out to me. I touched mine to his, and we drank.
I'll spare you the culinary details. The meal was wonderful. Kent was attentive, perfect in being there when we needed him and being absent when we didn't. Ced had only one glass of champagne and one glass of the fabulous merlot. He was driving, after all. I had more of the merlot than I should have. I wished we could have taken the rest of it home with us, but that isn't done.
We talked throughout the meal. Mind you, we were both aficionados of excellent food, so we took time to savor every bite. But I wanted to make him understand that, though I was excited to have such a good friend back in my life, I had no interest in Max sexually, that he, Ced, was my only ever loverman.
We both passed up dessert, though we did have coffee. I was still a little short on sleep, having sat up most of the night before with Steve.
When we got home, there was a florist's box on the doorstep. I picked it up and handed it to him. He opened it to find a dozen yellow roses inside and a card that said, "All my love, Tim."
Inside, Ced threw his keys on the kitchen counter, turned to me, put his hands under my ass, and pulled me up, as he so often did, into a long kiss. Then he kissed under my ear, making me shiver, and said, "Thanks for a special evening, Timmy. Sorry I was such a shit to Max."
"The evening's not by any means over, studly. But I think you need to make your apology to Max in person."
"OK, I'll do that. Right now, let's get these very special roses into some water. We didn't have a vase in the house, so we took a tall water glass and cut the stems so they were the right length.
Ced put them on the coffee table in the living room. Then he kissed me again. "You said this evening's all about me. Jus' whut ju have in mine?"
"Come along, and I'll show you."
I took him by the hand and led him to the bedroom. Once there, I pushed him down on the bed and sat beside him.
"Do you remember that Sunday morning when you came to me? I was physically wrecked and emotionally devastated. My self-esteem was gone. I didn't think I had much reason to go on living. And you showed up. What did you do? You made love to me, and as you did, you gave me back all those things I thought I had lost. You gave me back my life. And you gave me YOU. Ced, I can't ever thank you enough, but this evening, I'm going to try to make a start."
I stood up and took off my jacket. I went to the closet and hung it up. Then, slowly, I removed my belt from my slacks. I put it on the hanger in the closet where I keep my belts. I kicked off my loafers.
Cedric smiled and said, "Timmy, if you put shoe trees in them shoes, I'm gonna whup you."
I got the message. I unfastened my slacks and let them drop. I pulled off my socks and dropped them. I pulled off my tee shirt and dropped it in the pile beside the bed. I stood there, wearing my green silk boxers. They were tented out from Junior's hardness. There was a precum spot about the size of a fifty-cent piece, of course.
Looking him straight in the eye and wiggling my butt as I do when I'm dancing, I shoved the boxers down and then stepped out of them. Junior was sticking practically straight up.
Ced just sat there with this silly grin on his face. I went up to him and motioned for him to put his arms over his head. When he did, I pulled off his tee shirt and dropped it in the pile of clothes beside the bed. He knew to stand up. I unfastened his belt and undid the button of his slacks. Then I unzipped them. They fell to the floor, and I stooped to pick them up. Ced lightly tickled the cleft of my butt and said, "Tim Mead, don't you dare hang up those pants! Leave `em boy, and get on with it."
It bothered me to leave a perfectly good pair of dress pants in a heap on the floor, but I left them. Ced had kicked off his loafers and was standing there in his socks and his white briefs, which were hugely tented out, with their own big spot of precum.
I pulled his briefs down, kneeling as I did so. Sneaky was pointed right at my face when I hit my knees. I stuck my middle finger in my mouth and got it as wet as I could. Then I reached between my man's legs and slowly began to wiggle that finger into his anal opening. Meanwhile, I first licked the precum off the tip of his beautiful chocolate rod, then kissed the tip of it. As I worked my finger into his chute, I opened my lips, and, keeping my teeth carefully covered, turned my head sideways and ran them up and down his shaft, tickling it with the tip of my tongue as I did.
"Oh, yeah, babe. I love that harmonica thing. You've never done that before." I did that for a while, and then I began to take Sneaky into my mouth, as Ced moaned his appreciation. Soon my nose was in his bush and I had found his love button. So I began to suck him off, slowly moving my head in and out, giving him a prostate massage all the while. When Ced's moans told me he was getting close to coming, I stopped.
"What? You ain't quittin'?" he complained.
I smiled, stood, and said "No way, baby!'
I turned him around and pushed him to his knees beside the bed. Then I pushed him over so his torso was on the bed. I knelt behind him. Actually, we were both kneeling on the pile of clothes we had dropped there. Using both hands, I spread those beautiful melons of his and began to tongue his cleft, moving slowly but inexorably toward his pucker. He had always loved that, and he pushed his ass toward my mouth eagerly. Knowing what my lover wanted, I began to tickle his pucker with the tip of my tongue.
"My god, Timmy, tongue fuck me! Open me up with that talented tongue of yours, lil stud!"
This was Ced's night, and I would do just about anything to oblige, so I penetrated his opening. He giggled and said, "Yeah, that's it. Do it, sweetheart, do it!"
Soon I had him wiggling, laughing, groaning as I jabbed my tongue in and out of his hole. Again, however, I stopped before things got too far along.
"Lit-tel man," he said, "are you TRYIN' to drive me crazy?"
"Patience, child, and you will be satisfied. You just have to trust me."
I went into the hall linen closet and got a couple of beach towels, which I spread over the bed. Then I reached into the bedside table and got the lube, which I handed to Cedric. I lay down on my back, pulled my knees up to my ears, smiled up at him, and said, "In case you don't get it, I'm yours, big guy."
Chuckling in an evil-sounding way, he tossed the lube aside and dived for my hole. He gave me back the rimming and tongue-fucking I had given him, plus interest. Soon he had me squealing.
"Ced, stud, this is our night. Will you just DO me, please! I need you inside me SO bad."
"You ain't gonna have visions of Father Max doin' this, is you massa Tim?"
His mouth was still between my ass cheeks as he said that, and I could feel his hot breath on my anus as he spoke. I gasped and then giggled.
"Father who? Now, come on, you idiot, and fuck me! Claim me. Remind me I'm yours."
And he did. Endlessly, it seemed. Whenever he got close to coming, he would stop pumping my chute, lean forward, and kiss me, or lick my nips, or suck on the spot where my neck joins the shoulder, which is one of my most sensitive places. Then, when his intensity had subsided somewhat, he'd push himself back upright and begin to plunge into and pull out of me with his wonderful dick. He must have repeated that procedure for a half an hour. I think I was nearly insane by the time he finally came. I had never been so excited, never been so disappointed when he finally pulled out of me, never felt so empty. It didn't matter that I hadn't come. I think I may, in fact, have willed myself not to just because I so much wanted for this to be all about him.
He fell to one side after he had come, grabbing me, and rolling over on his back with me on top, my rigid, leaky cock against his belly. He kissed me as if it were going to be the last time we'd ever kiss. Then I put my head down on his chest, and we stayed that way for a long time. Eventually Junior lost his bone. I was about to fall asleep on top of Cedric when he said, "Hey little lover, let's go get a shower. We both do need one."
So we showered together, tenderly sudsing each other's bodies. After we had rinsed off, he gave me a long, beautiful blow job. Then he washed my balls and dick again. We dried off, again slowly, lovingly, brushed our teeth, and went back to the bedroom.
Ced pulled the towels off the bed and dropped them onto the pile of clothes. I hoped he wasn't going to get cum, lube, and ass juices from the towels on his slacks, but that seemed not to matter to him. He pulled off the bedspread, turned back the sheets, and we hopped into bed.
After what seemed like a half hour of kissing and snuggling, he asked, "You gonna run with Max in the morning?"
"Yeah, so far as I know."
"Well, don't let me sleep in. Wake me when you get up for your run. And tell Max he's to have breakfast with us when you get back." With that, he pulled me up against him in a spoons position, and we both went to sleep.
The next morning I woke him when I was on my way out the door. When Max and I got back, Ced was in the kitchen. He wasn't in his usual breakfast costume of nothing but an apron. He had on a pair of cotton knit gym shorts and an apron.
He handed each of us a big glass of o.j. to start with. He had fixed big stacks of pancakes, Blue Mountain coffee, maple syrup, and link sausages.
"Ced, this is wonderful," Max exclaimed. "To what do I owe the honor?"
"Max, I was a real jerk to you Saturday night. You didn't do anything wrong. I am really sorry for being so shitty, and this is my apology."
"Not needed, Cedric."
Ced walked over and hugged Max who, like me, was still a little sweaty from his run. "And the apology will continue. I want you to have breakfast with Tim and me whenever you guys run together. I suggest you keep some clothes over here, though, so you can both shower before we eat. It's OK today, but you are both a little stinky."
The delighted Max gave Ced another hug. Then he winked at me and said, "Tim, you better do everything you can to hang on to this guy. Otherwise, I may go after him myself."
We all laughed and then tucked into Ced's delicious breakfast.
After Max left, Ced and I quickly cleaned up the kitchen, shaved, showered, dressed, and were on our way to the hospital to see Steve. We took the Camry this time.
In the car, I said, "I have a question for you, Ced."
"Yeah, babe?"
"Steve knows that Trey and Chaz are a couple. He's going to be staying at their house until he's better."
"So, what's the question?"
"Don't you think it's going to be impossible to keep him from knowing about us?"
He considered that for a moment. "You know, Tim, you guys all know Steve better than I do. Remember, my impression is based on the way he was in our class last spring, a kind of a smart-mouthed loner. I guess Chaz and Trey trust him because they came out to him. Tell me, do YOU trust him?"
"Yeah, I do. I think he would keep our secret as long as we asked him to."
"Tim, more and more people know our `secret.' It's only a matter of time until the whole campus knows."
"Well, you and I do need to talk more about all that. But we really have to decide about Steve right now. We are arriving at his room together. I don't know whether he knows you and I live together, but he's going to find that out anyway, isn't he? So, it's your call, lover. Do we go in there and pretend to be something we aren't? Or do we `fess up that his prof and his former classmate are queers that just got through having a night of unbridled sex?"
He chuckled. "OK, you've made your point. But let's not tell him about the fucking last night until AFTER we ask how he is."
It was my turn to laugh.
STEVE:
I didn't see Dr. Xiang after Saturday night. She was an ER physician, apparently. My case was taken over by a Dr. Martin, who was a resident at the hospital, I think. Anyway, he's the doctor who saw me Sunday morning, stopped in again late Sunday, and came by on Monday morning to tell me that I was being discharged. He had had them take out the damned catheter Sunday night, much to my relief. Monday, he told me I would be discharged Tuesday. My kidneys had been bruised but were OK. He said I couldn't go home alone, so he was happy that I was going to be at Trey and Chaz's. He said my ribs would continue to hurt for a long time, and he would write a prescription for some painkillers to use if I needed them. He told me I'd probably need help taking a shower because it would really be painful to bend or stoop for a while.
I was embarrassed to death when a cute little blond, blue-eyed nurse came in to give me a bath. I couldn't take a shower, so it was either get bathed or smell. Tough choice. But then, I really didn't have a choice. This chick was petite, feminine, and all business. She let me know that I WAS going to get a bath at her hands, and that was all there was to it. Of course, when she washed my cock and balls, the inevitable happened. I mean, after all, a good looking woman handling my stuff! I wanted to sink into the bed. She hit the tip of it with her fingernail, and that hurt so much it immediately went soft. I was so surprised I think I said, "Hey," or something like that, but I was secretly glad she had put me out of my misery.
About 9:30, Doc Mead and Ced Jones showed up. I hadn't seen Ced all summer. He came up to the bed and shook hands with me, smiling as if we were old friends, and asked how I was feeling. The little prof (I am not used to calling him "Tim" yet) stood on the other side of the bed, took my left hand in his for just a minute, squeezed it, and let it go.
I told them that, except for these damned sore ribs, I was feeling much better. And I told them that I was going to be discharged the next day, Tuesday. Tim already knew I was going home with Trey and Chaz for a while.
We chatted for a few minutes. Then the prof looked at Jones, and I'd swear some sort of signal passed between them.
Tim spoke. "Steve, I understand you know that Trey and Chaz are a couple."
"Yeah, they told me a week or so ago."
Ced looked at me and said, "Are you OK with that, man?"
"Would I be going home with them if I weren't?" That sounded sharper than I meant it to, so I smiled at him, hoping I hadn't hurt his feelings or made him mad. I get into more trouble with my mouth. Then I said, "You know, I've never known any gay guys. At least not that I knew were gay. Those two are both really decent, you know, and I like them. So, yeah, I'm cool with it."
Doc Mead continued, "And I'm sure they've told you that they aren't `out' on campus generally and have asked you to keep their secret."
"Yeah."
"You understand that they are both high-profile guys, being on the varsity in their respective sports, that it's important for you to honor your promise to them?"
I was beginning to wonder where this was going.
"Yeah."
I knew where it was going when Tim walked over and put his arm around Cedric's waist.
"In that case, we need for you to keep our secret too."
Something I had wondered about since the day Jones and Withers came to class looking like a couple of male whores clicked into place. I KNEW there was something going on between those three. I could tell they had some sort of secret.
"You're ALL gay!"
"Uh huh, and Tim and I are a couple, too. Can you deal with that?"
I laughed. "Well, it's weird, man. I didn't really have any friends on campus. Now I've got four, and you're all gay! Go figure. But, yeah, I can deal with that, no problem."
Then I winked at Tim and said, "Provided no one tries to put any moves on me."
They both laughed. "Relax, Steve," Cedric reassured me. "My roomie and I lived together for three years. Mark has always known I'm gay, and he'd be the first to tell you I never made any sort of approach to him -- in that way."
Tim and Ced had just moved apart when Trey and Chaz came in. Trey looked sleepy, even if it was 10:00. I knew from experience he wasn't a morning person.
The four of them seemed glad to see each other. After Withers and Greeley had shaken hands with me, they had a group hug. That was so strange for me. There wasn't anything faggy about any of them. Oh, the little prof looks sort of boyish, especially next to those three jocks. But there's nothing effeminate about him. I sure had the wrong idea about gays. Then I chuckled.
"What's so funny, Metz?" Chaz asked.
"Hey, guys, don't take this the wrong way. I was just thinking my old man would have a stroke for sure if he saw this scene. Four guys hugging each other in my hospital room. He'd disinherit me as he fell to the floor, I think."
"In that case, Steve," Trey said, "maybe you'd better not tell your dad about this group. We're all wrestling with the pros and cons of coming out. Now, of course, since you have allowed yourself to become associated with us, we'll have to include you in the discussions. But until we all agree on what we're going to do, you really do have to keep all this to yourself. OK?"
I actually felt kind of proud that they had included me and trusted me with information that was so important to them.
"Count on me, guys. I can keep my mouth shut."
Chaz sniggered. Then we all realized what I had said, and the room broke out with laughter. Mine didn't last long because I discovered that it hurt like hell to laugh.
After that we talked about different things, fall classes, whether the Indians could get into the playoffs, the prospects of the university's basketball team. Chaz thought they had a good chance to get to the final four this season. I noticed as he talked enthusiastically that Trey was looking at him like a proud papa. Was that love? I've got so much to learn from these guys.
At the next lull in the conversation, Trey asked if the police had been in to interview me any more since Saturday night.
"Yeah," I said, "some sergeant, Ibrahim, I think his name was, came in yesterday morning. He had a lot more questions about what happened, what I could remember, that kind of thing. And he seemed to be really interested in WHY they attacked me."
"Well, man," Chaz said, "I sure hope the cops find out who did this to you."
"Oh," I said, "I KNOW who did it."
(Look for the first chapter of my spin-off story, "Out of the Night," in a week or so. I hope David will post it in the Adult Friends section. Then chapters of "Tim" and "Night" will follow alternately for a while. --T.M.)