Only Skin Deep

Here's the next part of the story. I hope you like it. Please send feedback. Thanks.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fantasy fiction with Male to Male sex and Love relationships. If you are under eighteen years of age, then you should not be here. You have been warned.

Only Skin Deep Part 9 by dymondbolt

As the sun rose over the mountains, Vince's tattoos started to buzz louder. It felt like each one was attached to one of those electric etching tools. Carl woke up due to his own skin vibrating anywhere it touched Vinces tattoos.

As Vince tried to smile through the heightened energy flowing through his skin; all Carl could think to say was " So that's what you meant by a buzzing sound."

Vince and Carl got through in the bathroom in record time. Shower, shave, etc. Then down for a quick bowl of cereal, and they started the fourth day tattoos.

Finally, the buzz was immediately muted with the first line of ink. The tattooing started at the base of Vince's spine. A rounded corner rectangle with rope like outline, moves to the right along the hip bone then down and around in a cross-hatch spiral on the dimple of Vinces left but cheek. Then a rope like line rolled off the spiral and moved up to the left side of the hip and further forward. Three inches from the navel, it looped up and made a wide six inch diameter circle around the navel then slipped down after another three inches to the right side of the hip to make a cross hatch spiral on Vinces right but cheek dimple. After the basic lines were drawn, the rope like line slid up to the hip bones and finished as two stylized figures are tattooed into the rectangle on the bottom of his spine. The buzzing stopped completly. Vince took a deep breath and visibly relaxed as he exhaled.

Carl covered his rig and capped the ink cup as he said " The buzzing is gone, huh?"

Vince nodded yes. He said " It's surprising what constant steady drone will do, even at such a low level. What's for Lunch today?"

Greg walks in from the front entrance and says " My special Turkey sandwiches, and potato salad."

Kern is at the cash register giving back change on the payment for the tattoo he finished five minutes ago. It was a wild short sleeved style full torso piece. The guy didn't have a shirt on, but it looked like he did. His tattoo resembled a retro Hawaiian shirt. The back ground was blue and black geometric lines, but there were frames with postcard scenes from the Hawaiian Islands. Kern had even tattooed the image of buttons through button holes and a pocket over his left breast. Kern had his camera out and the guy posed against the blank white wall near the entrance. Kern took six shots and then one more of the guy with his girlfriend. She had been there for every session. And she had a tattoo from Carl. On her left shoulder was an image of one of those ceramic hula girls on a spring playing a ukulele . The hula girl looked like the girl it was tattooed on. Cool!

Kern hears Greg and says " Vince, you are in for a treat. Anyone who's ever had one of Greg's turkey sandwiches raves about it."

Greg gets the ingredients together and asks if I'm allergic to Avocado. I tell him nope, I love Avocados.

He slices up a big tomato, halves two Avocados, slices open croissants , spreads Mayonnaise on both halves , then opens the bag with the thick cut turkey in it. It looks like two pounds of turkey. He starts with one layer turkey, then tomato, then turkey, then Avocado slices, then turkey, then Provolone slices ( two or three ), then turkey, and put the other piece of the croissant on top of it all. He puts them on paper plates and starts to microwave his for thirty seconds to melt the cheese just a bit. I help clean up the utensils as Carl spoons out potato salad onto each plate. I come back to the table, sit down, and realize that Greg used two pounds of turkey for four sandwiches. No wonder everybody is impressed.

Then I bite into it and see why Kern praises them and Greg for making them. Simple good ingredients. The deli potato salad isn't half bad either. It seems we all wolf down lunch, but still have the time to belch loudly. Greg takes each one as the compliment it is. Carl seems antsy for some reason.

The tattoos for the rest of the day are around the navel and left and right chest around the nipples, and the back. Carl smiles and gives Vince a kiss before they get up and back into the tattoo parlor.

Carl has Vince lay back and he starts on the I-ching symbols around the navel inside the rope line Carl tattooed earlier that day. They are black outlined red bars forming the warding of evil pattern. As Carl fills in the outline with red, three of the Trigrams give Carl, not Vince a good shock as he starts them.

With the navel tattoo complete for now , Carl moves on to Vinces left chest. An area covering two thirds of the pectoral muscle. First Carl tattoos in a rope like line around the nipple. Then he outlines the pectoral with a thicker rope like line. Then Carl tattoos in strange unfamiliar symbols. Moving right to left, from above the nipple upward, and then below the nipple, left to right and downward.

The right chest goes much the same way, but with different symbols. The symbols near the nipple axis, above and below, for both pectorals, have gaps that open to each other along the axis. Carl now takes Red Ink and tattoos a set of four connecting symbols on the left and right chest

Carl stops and smiles a little and just looks at Vince. Vince has his eyes closed. He's waiting for the next lines to fill in the field of the chest tattoos. Carl playfully wets his left thumb and index finger in his mouth and gently but firmly starts to tweak Vinces left nipple.

That was not what Vince was expecting. His eyes fly open and a surprised grin spreads over his face. His left hand reaches over and starts to rub and roll Carls now thickening erection.

This just get Carl to bite his lip for a second and smile through that as his head slowly moves over to Vinces left nipple. Carl is looking into Vinces eyes as his mouth engulfs Vinces now prepared nipple. Carl uses just lips first. Brushing them back and along the sides of the now thick erect nipple. Vince slides his hand under the waist band of Carls sweatpants, and starts to roll the very hard head of Carls dick. Carl's pre-cum helps Vince fiddle with the very tip. Carls tongue tries to mimic what Vince is doing to Carls dick. They are doing a fine job , but the tattoos must be finished before sunset.

Of all people It's Kern who says " You two will have time enough for that after the sunsets"

Greg chimes in with " Yeah, I recall someone saying something about melting."

A muffled sound came from the office and the drawn out words " Or worse! " Leo must be worried.

Carl and Vince were a little startled by Leo's outburst. Carl explained to the room" The design said I was supposed to wait five to ten minutes before continuing and completing todays tattoos."

He looks a little like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He smiles and glances at Vince. He said " I just though that idle hands could be doing something else while we waited."

Vince laughs and says " You know I'm not going to say anything against Idle lips."

Vince and Carl kiss and Carl asks " Ready to start again? "

Vince nods yes and the symbols are tattooed over in such a way that you couldn't tell there were ever any black symbols. The red ones are very clear, but the black ones now look like fancy patterns around the red. Carl finishes the right chest.

The last work for today would be in a different red. Vince is ready and he takes a pin and stabs his own thumb. One , two three drops go into the red ink and Carl mixes it.

The red ink goes over the previous red symbols, making an outline of each symbol.

Then Vince turns around so Carl can outline the red hands on Vinces back.

And with the last red outline over the red hands , Carl runs out of Ink. The cup is put into a brass ashtray and lit on fire. Luckily there wasn't much left.

As the fire engulfed the ink with the blood, All members felt a sharp quick burn sensation on their thumbs. The pain went away immediately, but it was still a shock.

The tattooing was done for the day. Vince and Carl had four hour to spare. They go into Carls office and pull out Leo

They start to say the words but Greg and Kern come in to join in. Kern tells Carl " We don't have any appointments, and I locked the door with a gone to lunch sign stuck to it.

Carl smiles and says " Excellent."

They put their left hand on The Book and their right hand over their hearts. They say " In the Name of the Light , we bid thee Open. Vox LEO Magi. "

The Book replied as it opened " In the Name of the Light, I reveal myself. How may I help my guardians? " The four men were silent and waited. they looked at each other and smiled , but wouldn't say anything.

For some reason this made LEO nervous. He spoke into the silence " I hope I'm not to be chastised for my rude outburst." The glow dimmed for only a second then returned to it's usual intensity.

The four chuckled, and Vince told The Book "We were just playin with ya."

Kern says " We want to make sure our coven keeps you involved in more ways than just the holder of spells."

Carl tells LEO " We want you to feel like you can speak up any time you see something that needs to be done or said."

Greg finishes it with " And we also want you to know that your input and opinion is an important part of our growing family."

Together the four said " Cause we love you." They all smiled at the way they said it , but they all meant it. They briefly touched the book in some way.

The light glowing from The Book suddenly increased and lit up the entire room. The light faded just a little and LEO was able to be seen without squinting. His voice held deep emotion when he told them " I see and hear many, many people hearing those word from this coven's lips. So many will be healed by those words and the pure love behind them."

Greg helped break the self conscious mood with " Aw Shucks! "

Carl said " Thank you LEO. I was wondering what the little shocks meant over those three I-Ching trigrams?"

Leo Said " Nothing special or bad. IT came from the trigram for Fire, Sacred Lake, and Thunder. The tattoo needle partakes of those trigrams in this world and the shock was one of a deeper connection with the element."

Carl said " Good. "

Vince had another question. He said " LEO, this friday, three people will be coming in for a commitment tattoo. Ricco, Michael, and Sharon. I got a really good feeling from Ricco and Michael. It seams that Sharon and Michael fell in love, but Sharon knew Michael was bisexual. And she was truly in love with him. She knew that half of his heart was not being loved by the right person. Somehow she had the courage to release all her doubts. She told Michael they had to find a man who could love them as a couple and quickly become one of a three. They went cruising supermarkets and when the found Ricco they went for it. Michael approached Ricco and dated him for three dates before Michael told Ricco about Sharon. He laid all the cards on the table and Ricco decided to have sex with Michael, with the intention of having sex with Michael and Sharon. The neat thing is that Ricco is Gay. He had no sexual attraction to women at all. But after meeting Sharon and sharing the Love Michael and Sharon had; Ricco said He didn't feel right making love to Michael If Sharon wasn't there. I bet Sharon feels the same way."

He paused and glanced at his family and said " I want to invite them into our coven. I think they would be a great addition to our family. And I wanted to know how everyone else felt."

Kern just held up his hand and said " I vote YES."

Greg says " Me too. Those two are together and in tune with the world around them."

Carl said " Well that's four votes for the love triangle."

Leo said " What I can sense from you four and the energy that was still on your suits when you came home; I see five votes for the triangle of love. You have to cherish those people who have the courage to do what ever is needed to help the ones they love. I see that through your eyes."

Vince says " Well that was easy. If there 's no more questions."

Kern stopped him and said" I want to talk with LEO for awhile."

Carl said " well we'll leave you two and go get dinner."

Vince looks at Carl and says " A surprise for the chefs?"

Carl says " Exactly!"

Carl grabs his keys and Greg sits next to Kern who nods yes to the silent question. Can I stay?

Vince and Carl head out front first and Carl pulls his lover aside and asks" Vince, where did you park your car?"

Vince jumps and says " My car!" He looks at the little market across the street and his car isn't there. " It must have been towed. I didn't even think of it the past four days."

Carl smiles and says " No the owner of the market is a friend and he still owes me for part of a tattoo. So when he saw you come over to my shop, he called Greg and we stole your keys and drove it around back to the garage. We had one more free space. We covered it so you wouldn't see it when we drove the bat mobile. Sneaky huh?"

Vince nodded yes and added " In the best way. Thank you my love."

They get caught in a kiss till they hear Greg say " Were you getting Dinner or a midnight snack?"

They brake it up and walk down the sidewalk as Carl called out " Dinner!"

Greg and Kern yelled " Thanks Boss, Thanks brother!"

Carl asks " Pizza sound good?"

Vince says " Sounds very good!"

They get to the local Mom and Pop Pizza shop and Carl orders " Three large Pizzas with sausage, pepperoni, bell pepper, black olive, and extra cheese."

Vince asks " Can one of those have mushrooms too? "

Carl says " Sure." The kid taking the order adds mushroom to one of the three. Carl tells Vince " Just keep that one away from Kern. He hates mushroom." Carl pays for the Pizzas and they walk around the block for twenty minutes until the Pizzas are ready.

They get half way around the block and a little old lady calls out " Carl? Is that you? "

Carl smiles and says " Hey Mindy. Yeah it's me. I've been working out a lot more lately."

Carl gives her a hug as she says " I haven't seen you for at least a month. So exercise can make you taller now?"

Carl got " Well " Out before Mindy asks " And who's this hunk next to you? Oh! He's the one isn't he?"

Carl looks like he almost blushed but he smiled and said " Yep. Mindy this is my true love Vince. Vince this is a good friend of mine Mindy." She moved forward and hugged Vince and got hugged back.

Mindy waved them to a seat and said " Sit down for a few minutes. Your Pizzas will stay warm." They sit and she asks " So when are you two gonna get hitched?"

Carl smiles and says " Well we are going to talk about that."

Vince says " Yes we are, and soon. And I know exactly where we can have the ceremony." Vince smiles and Carl gets a warm happy look as he nods his head yes.

Mindy chimes in with " At your uncles place I bet."

Vince is shocked, and asks " How did you .."

Mindy said " My sister developed severe schizophrenia, two years ago and a young grad student helped me through the worst parts of dealing with her. If you hadn't helped when you did , I would have just abandoned her in that place. I still see her twice a week , and she's had a lot more good days than bad."

Vince says " Mrs. Eagleson. Are you dying your hair? you look a lot younger than I remember you."

Mindy smiled and said " Oh hush. A girl's gotta do what ever she can."

Carl is now clueing in. He asks Mindy " This is the nice boy you couldn't remember his name, who helped with your sister? " She nods yes. He continues " The one you thought would be so good for me?"

Mindy smiles and says " Yes, and I see you found each other anyway. He's not like that Owen."

Carl tells Vince " Two years ago I was getting out of a nasty relationship with a so-called man who blamed everyone but himself for all his problems."

Mindy said " And the creep wouldn't stop coming by and bothering Carl. His biker friends found out and followed Owen to the Tattoo parlor and surrounded him. Just got around him. No violence, just sheer intimidation. I heard they all told him in unison to go away and stay away."

Carl smiled and said " The guys parted to make a pathway to the street, he took the hint, and never bothered me again. The guys near the street say he must have lost bladder control."

Mindy laughed and said " I heard that too! couldn't have happened to a nicer Creep."

Carl looks at his watch and says " Sorry I haven't been around so much. I'll get back to the old schedule." He and Vince get up and Carl gives Mindy a kiss and a hug. Vince does the same.

Mindy says " Ok, I'll hold you to it. Once a week, or I'll come down there and tattoo some of my own words on your behind."

Carls grabs his but and says " Yes Ma-am. Love you!"

Mindy says " Love you too. Don't forget to send an invite. I'm so glad you found each other."

Vince calls back " We won't forget!"

Vince has a strange look on his face and Carl asks "what ya thinkin?"

Vince tells him " Two years ago, her sister was the last straw. The people in the mental institution were not being treated or counseled. They were being handled. The were not given treatment that would bring them back into the world, and for many of them, there was no treatment to pull them back to our world. Mrs Eagleson's sister was beyond any treatment that would let her live out a normal life in her own home. I was thinking that nothing I could do would let Mrs Eagleson take her sister home. I questioned whether I should be a psychologist. So, my face was saying there's nothing I can do. Then I hear sobbing. Mrs eagleson had seen what my face said and she thought her sister was going to die. And then I saw why I was there. I was there to help the family, not just the patients. I could help them understand the situation their loved one's mental condition had gotten them into. I could help the sane members of the family remain sane and to be able to reach out to the patient . I could help the family from falling apart . Mrs Eagleson was the first. If she hadn't started crying, I might have given up ."

Carl says " WoW. She sure is a little catalyst. She had given me some advice that just happened to apply to a certain snake like asshole I had once called my boyfriend. Once I started to answer some of the questions she gave with her advice, I knew Owen was my ex - boyfriend."

They get back to the Pizza parlor and the Guy up front had just put the pizzas in their boxes. They thanked him and were on their way.

Carl and Vince get back to the Skin Gallery, and find Kern taking money from some big football player type that just got a tattoo of two interlocking circles with arrows pointing to the right. A symbol indicating a man is gay. He was telling Kern " Now I'll see if I can get Doug to come in and get a little tattoo. Thanks again."

Kern says " You're welcome, Dan ." Then he sees the boxes and yells " PIZZA!"

Greg looks up from drawing something for a client due back within the hour. He says " Cool, I'm almost finished." another minute and greg puts up the ' back in thirty minutes, out to dinner' sign and closes the doors.

Vince has his hand on top of one box and Greg hears the one word that will keep Kern from wanting to see that Pizza. " Mushrooms "

Kern shudders and says" They taste like dirt. Thanks for warning me." Kern moves on to the other boxes and pulls out three slices for a starter. Carl is ripping up lettuce and putting it in a large bowl. He pulls out three large tomatoes, three carrots, and four pieces of celery. Rinses them off lines up the carrots and celery, chops off the tops and bottoms, and just zips through cutting them up for salad. The tomatoes get sliced up and into the salad and three dressing bottles are pulled out of the fridge. Carl hands out the bowls, and splits up the salad with a little left for tomorrow. They dig in.

Vince can not believe his eyes. Kern is the thin one of the group, but he ate so much Pizza his belly is as round as a basketball. Kern giggles and Vince asks " Aren't you in pain? "

Kern says " The first two times I did this I was. A lot of this is air from me wolfing down the slices."

Greg chimes in " And the salad"

Kern agrees and says "And the salad." Buuuuurrp " Excuse me " You could see the belly start to shrink.

Greg laughed and said " Thar she blows. It won't be long and the Kern Basketball will be half its current size."

Kern belches some more Pizza salad air and then drinks some water. Kerns belly is half it's size and the occasional quiet burp proves what Kern said" It's mostly air."

Vince grabs two pieces of his pizza and folds them face to face and quickly devours it. After swallowing He tells Kern " That is amazing. Your belly is flat again." Vinces eyes glaze over for a second as his imagination kicks in with an interesting thought.

Kern frowns and sees Vince lost in thought, but before he can say anything, Vince returns with a big smile and a question. Vince asks " Hey Kern. Have you ever tried to deliberately swallow Helium?" Vince looks a little manic. It could work.

Kerns eyes get real big and he admits " No I haven't. And I don't know why I never thought of that. Wow." Kerns got a goofy grin on his face now.

Greg asks Carl " Boss, remember three months ago."

Carl starts and then smiles and says " Yeah your right. " He turns to Vince and says " Three months ago we come into the kitchen to find Kern having some left over pizza and his stomach is the size of a beach-ball !"

Greg laughs and gets up and runs into the office. He says on his way " We even got photos." He returns with a thick new photo album. He opens it to the last few pages, and there is Kern in shorts and no shirt, and he looks like he swallowed one of those medicine balls.

Vince says " Wow. If it isn't the size of a beach-ball it is damn close." The next photos show Kern deflating. Vince couldn't help himself. He reaches over and rubs Kerns stomach back and forth real fast. He says " Your stomach is made out of rubber!" Then Vince realizes he could have caused a mess being so rough. He gently rubs the rubber belly, then looks up at Kerns smiling face. He musses up Kerns hair and Kern lets him. Vince moves over and hugs Kern who returns it. But as the hug went on Vince gets serious and tips his head down and holds on to the hug for a bit longer.

Kern realizes something emotional came up and he asks Vince " Everything OK brother?" Vinces head nods yes but he doesn't look up yet. He says " Those words hit the nail right on the head. I never really had a brother near my age. Bobby was ten years old when I was born. We never really did things together. I got hit with the fact that I now have the best brothers a man could have."

Kern had only parted a little and when Vince finished gave him a bear hug. Greg moved over and started a big hug , but then he called out in a whiney voice " Dad, Vince is gonna spoil us. Make em stop Dad!. Dad?! He is . he's gonna spoil us! Dad." Greg is trying to find a tickle spot on Vince, and not quite finding it. Of course , it would have been easier if Kern hadn't been in the way.

Kern looks into Vinces eyes and whispers " who's your buddy?"

Vince pipes up and says " You're my buddy. But so is Greg."

Carl can't take any more half measures. He wades in and starts to tickle Vince along his ribs and succeeds in getting him on the floor giggling. Carl is down there with him and Kern is in back of and to the side of Greg. Carl stops just to smile and look at Vinces face and eyes and lips.

Greg realizes Kern and he could head elsewhere. But before he heads that way he needed to tell Vince " Vince , We think we got a great new brother too."

Kern says " Yeah. And Gregs tickle spot is" He shows Vince where Greg is ticklish and gets Greg giggling like a little kid. He tickle herds Greg to the front of the shop. Kern says " We'll open the shop for a few more hours. If any of the customers ask, we'll tell them you two are rearranging the furniture."

Vince has been looking at Carl too. But now he says "Carl I need to make a few phone calls. My mother, Abe and Selah, Sara my sister, and Clare my niece. I need to run the idea of the tailors and wife becoming part of our family, by my mom and Abe. And the idea of adding Sara and Clare. And one very important item we have to find time for in our busy schedule." Vince sits up and scoots back enough to get a full look at Carl

Vince smiles 'I love you' at Carl and says " I know we hardly know each other, recent events have come at us fast. But the feelings I have for you are steady , and sure and deep. Carl Handy, I love you. Will you marry me?" Vince is quivering just a little, but his smile hold fast and true.

Carl looks Vince in the eyes, smiles and looks down a bit shy. He looks back up and into Vince's eyes and says" You're right, we still have a lot to learn about each other . And the words steady, sure and deep match the feelings I have for you. Vincent Brian Anderson, I love you. Yes I will marry you."

Vince lets out a yell " Yeah!!" and grabs Carl and starts kissing him on the lips and face.

Kern calls out " Everything OK in there? "

Vince says " We're gonna get married!"

Greg walks back in and asks " I thought you two did that already with LEO?"

Carl says " Vince means in front of everybody we know." Vinces head is nodding yes very fast.

Kern shouts out " Congratulations. Now go up stairs or come out and help. We just got three customers who need work done tonight."

Greg says " Oh yeah. That too. Sorry." Vince is still smiling.

Carl looks at Vince and asks " Do you mind? "

Vince shakes his head and says " I like watching you do your art."

They come out to the shop and find three young ladies huddled around a picture of themselves when they were thirteen, fourteen and fifteen. Patricia, Rhonda, and Tanya wanted their faces merged with flowers like in that Alice in Wonderland movie. All three single roses merging at the base with lots of leaves. Kern had already gotten the girls faces onto transfer paper and was filling in the rose petals around the faces. and then the stems and leaves.

It was like time slowed and Kern sped up. He had the first one done in two minutes, then reproduced the other two in five. Greg was smiling and Kern noticed and said " What?'

The oldest asked " Is he always this fast?" Greg puffed up cause he was so proud of Kern.

Greg said " No, but he's always this good. I've learned a lot from him." Kern blushed, and it got brighter when each lady got a good look at what he drew for them.

Patricia the youngest, said " They are just perfect. Each one has the faces just the same but each one is just a little bit different with the rose petals and the shading. That is exactly like us."

Kern said " Well thank you. Now we have three tattoo artists to get these on you all at the same time, if that's what you'd like us to do. Or we can do it one at a time. Which would you three prefer?"

Kern was a good judge of tattoo customer, and was correct in thinking they wanted them done all at the same time. Kern ran the line art through the thermofax to transfer the art to carbon paper and then each tattoo artist would transfer it to the customer. Each lady had their own very similar but still individual piece of art.

Greg led the way to his station and started to line up the transfer on Patricia, while Carl had Tanya at his station lining up her transfer on the upper left arm like Patricia. Kern pulled the last transfer out of the thermofax and led Rhonda over to his station before he got hers positioned like her sisters.

The ladies were having all the work done tonight. Not that extensive a piece for the upper arm. The faces of their younger selves were cute and the rose idea fit their faces perfectly.

Vince took the time to go to the office and reach his mother Jess. He explained about the tailors and their wife and she agreed they would make an excellent addition to the group.

Jess said " Vince, don't forget that you are in charge of this coven. Getting consensus amongst the group is wise but you are the one we all will be looking to for leadership. I'm prejudiced. I think you will be an excellent leader. But this friday when we bring in those three and Sara and Clare , if they all agree to join, you should know the purpose for our gathering of power. You should be able to describe our purpose and the ground rules we should follow when dealing with magic. Maybe ask LEO if there have been any appropriate oaths we all can swear to, to help frame it in our minds. And that's my two cents worth."

Vince said " No. Those are good ideas and they help get me in the right frame of mind to be ready for friday. Thanks Mom. I love you."

Jess says " I love you too dear. See you Friday."

Vince says " See you ." and hangs up , and then calls Sara.

She agrees with Jess and says " You're in charge. I can't remember exactly when, but I knew Uncle Brian and Olaf were helping people. And in ways other people were unable to. After the reading of the will and I left with the others, I could feel something flowing from the room. The same feeling I would get when Uncle Brian was helping people and I couldn't get him on the phone. I always thought of those times like he was a knight of the round table. I will be at Carl's Tattoo parlor friday night. But I think we should hold the ceremony at your new house. I can call Marta for you and let her know, and I'll help with a little food so Marta isn't always going full tilt."

Vince says " Thanks Sara. That sounds like the right way to do it from now on. It's funny you should mention ceremony. I forgot to say anything to mom , and please let me tell her, but I asked Carl to marry me. We haven't set a date but we want it to be soon."

Sara said " Oh Vince. Congratulations. You are going to let me do the catering, right?"

Vince said " Of course! We only go with the best. "

Sara said " Thank you , you charmer. You are going to have the ceremony in the garden at Un, at your new house, right?"

Vince told her "I was thinking that would be the best place for it. Your wedding was just perfect, so I was hoping the location would help make it a repeat"

Sara giggled and said " My god, that was eighteen years ago."

Vince says " I still think I have the prettiest sister in the world."

Sara said " Charmer. You know what's really great? Mark still says the same kind of things to me now that he would tell me when we first got together. For being a moody chef, he never misses an opportunity to tell me how beautiful he thinks I am."

Vince says " Wise man."

Sara says " Lucky girl."

Vince says " And he would say Lucky guy. So don't you forget it."

Sara says " Yes sir. I'll let Mark know about friday night and what's going on, and I'll see you friday. Don't forget to tell Mom about the wedding before friday. OK? "

Vince says " Yes ma-am. See you friday. Love you."

Sara says " Love you " before she hangs up.

Vince calls Clare and while it rings thinks about how she can't decide if she wants to go into marketing or Psychology. She was undeclared in college but it was her first semester there. She had time to decide.

Clare answered with " Uncle Vince! You just caught me between classes. How are you and Carl?"

Vince says " Hi Clare. We're doing very well, very happy. I was calling to see if your schedule is open this friday night?"

Clare says" Well I know I'm free after six PM. What's up?"

Vince gets a feeling she'll know what he means when he tells her " Well Carl and I are following in Uncle Brian's and Olaf's footsteps. Does that mean anything to you?"

Clare didn't say anything, but before Vince could say anything more she told him " Two weeks ago, I would have said you're trying to get me to go for the psych major. For the last week and a half I have had dreams, where Uncle Brian and Olaf were fighting evil looking creatures and they got their help from a book. A book that could talk . And the book had a name. They called him Leo. Is that what you mean by footsteps.?"

Vince said " I am totally amazed at how my family can get me in goosebumps so easily. Yes Clare those kind of footsteps. I'm calling to see if you would like to be a part of the fight."

Clare smiled and said "Where should I meet you guys?"

Vince gave her directions and she said " Thanks Uncle Vince. For thinking of me." She paused and then asked " Uncle Vincent? What made you think of me for this?"

Vince laughed and said " Clare. Who else in your high school freshman class had sophomores and seniors coming to them for advice on personal problems?"

Clare said " Thank you Uncle Vince. I'll see you friday night. Love you."

Vince said " Love you" and they hung up.

Vince took a deep breath and then called his mother for a second time. he gets through on the third ring and after he says " Hi Mom, me again."

Jess says " Hello dear, anything wrong? "

Vince says " No nothing wrong, except me forgetting to tell you something. For some reason I forgot to tell you that tonight I asked Carl to marry me and he said yes!" His face is shining happy every where.

Jess says " Oh Vincent, I wish I could see your face right now. I'm so proud of you. Marriage is

hard enough, but a gay marriage takes so much more Love and courage. I could see how much love you two had for each other. How happy you two are being together. Oh! when do I get to meet his parents?"

Vince said " I have to talk over the time table for this with Carl, but it will be his step parents. His biological parents died when he was a small child and he was lucky enough to get foster parents who loved him and eventually adopted him. In fact one of the organizations that I'm now technically in charge of was the one that helped his foster parents in fighting to be able to adopt Carl. It makes me love uncle Brian and Olaf even more. Oh!

Jess says " What dear? "

Vince says " He's a lapsed catholic, and I don't think they deal with Gay marriages at all. But do you think we can ask Father Terry, without getting him in trouble with the archdioceses?"

Jess says " Well technically we are lapsed catholics too. I think Father Terry can perform the ceremony as long as it's not in the physical church."

Vince says " Good, cause Sara and I are thinking the ceremony and reception would be at my new house, in the garden and reception at the house. I still have to run that by Carl, but I think he'll love the idea for the location and the person performing the ceremony. I have a few things to talk over with Carl and then I'll get back to you mom. Thanks for the encouragement, I love you mom."

Jess says " I love you Vince, I'll see you soon."

Vince says " See you soon Mom." He hung up and decided to see some of the tattooing process.

When he left the office the three tattoo artists were three quarters finished. The line art was just wrapping up and the shading and bits of color were next in line. Carl was a tad faster and still exacting and precise on the composition and ink placement. That expertise insured that the ink would be at the right depth for visibility and deep enough to keep from spreading and fading.

The line art was another example of Kerns excellent drawing, and shading. When all three artist were through, the three ladies were very pleased. Greg got out the digital camera and took individual pictures of each lady and tattoo and then a group of the same. The Ladies left all smiles and Kern had the money in the cash register and Greg kissing the back of his neck.

Carl was finishing up cleaning his rig and surrounding area. Vince helped out and grinned to Carl to get his attention.

Carls raised his eyebrows as if to say 'What my love'

Vince gave a silent conspiratory grin and looked over at Kern trying to suck Gregs tonsils out of his head.

Carl was done cleaning and jerked his head to motion Vince over closer. Vince chuckles and says " You guys really do have that come hither head move down GOOD!"

Vince stands up and straddles Carls lap and waist as he sits down. Carl says " I'd say it's all in the head jerk but It really is the kind of smile on your face as you do it."

Vince hangs his huge arms onto Carls enormous shoulders and gazes lovingly into Carls face. He says " I was going to say, it's that smile of yours that can get me to do what ever you want, that gets me moving every time. Don't you ever change that smile."

Vince gets his face closer to Carl's and starts to examine his smile. He tips his head to one side then another just grinning himself and looking at Carls smile as it suddenly gets bigger.

Carl softly asks " Well?"

Vince says " Yep, I'm right. You have the most beautiful smile in the world." Vince is an inch away from kissing Carl when they are interrupted by stifled , snorted laughter.

They look over and find Greg and Kern leaning on the countertop just watching them. They don't say anything else and Vince pulls Carls head back towards his own as he tells them " No comments from the peanut gallery."

Vince looks at Carl and asks " Ok now where were we?" Carl smiles and lights up the room (at least that is how Vince saw it). "Oh Yeah. your smile." Vince has his lips attack that smile and that mouth and that very happy man. He doesn't hear the bell on the door. Or the muffled comments until a good fifteen minutes have gone by.

Then Selah says " No Kern, I reserve the word Impressive for those events that I probably will never be able to accomplish. What they are doing is Inspirational. At this point I am inspired to hunt down Abe and get him in a lip lock for an hour." Greg and Kern chuckle along with her.

Of course with her identity revealed to the two lip locked lovers, they come up for air and to say hello to the lovely lady.

Vince gets untangled and says " Selah, you came to visit us." Carl gets up and smiles and follows Vince over to Selah.

Vince gives Selah a hug as Carl says" I swear every time I hear Vince say Selah I hear the name Earth Goddess."

Selah suddenly blushes right down to her cleavage. She holds out her arms for a hug from Carl. She tells them " I knew you were an excellent Tattoo artist, but a gentleman who knows how to treat a southern lady. Well my goodness. Icing on the cake." They all chuckle at the comments.

As she reaches over the counter for a hug from both Kern and Greg, she asks" Why is it , that for the past hour or so, I have been gettin this image of a big wedding cake with two grooms on top and a beautiful forest in the background?"

She is now looking at Vince and Carl. Carl is in back of Vince and holding him as he props his head on Vince's shoulder. They both get real goofy grins as she finishes her question.

Carl's smile gets bigger as he says " Well we haven't picked a date yet," Vince cuts in and his smile gets even bigger than before as he says " But I popped the question and he said YES!" Vince is like a happy little puppy in a massively muscled human body. His exuberance is infectious and Carl kisses him on the side of the neck and then hugs his head next to Vince's head. He closes his eyes as Vince closes his own and Vince leans his head into Carls. The word Bliss comes to mind.

Kern turns his head and gives Greg a little kiss and then turns back to say " Inspirational!"

Greg says " Amen! " There is a click and a flash.

Carl and Vince open their eyes to an eternal image. Selah has her head tipped slightly to the side and she is shining happy all around her. Many wouldn't be able to see it, but they would feel it. She is suddenly the true image of Gaia , the Mother Earth Goddess; smiling upon her children. And she has their camera in her hand. She just took their picture, like any mother.

Selah says " I couldn't think of a better picture to put in the dictionary under happiness, than the one I just took. Congratulations." She hands the camera to Kern and she frowns for a second.

Then she smiles and asks " I'll have to talk to Abe about this, but would you two consider a double wedding ?"

Carl asks " What's the date you have yours planned for?"

Selah says " Six weeks from this coming saturday." Her smile is asking if they like the idea.

Vince says " OOH Good time. And we can have it at the house."

Carl cuts in with " In the garden."

Selah says " That's why I came by today. I have your sister Sara catering the reception, but we didn't have a place for the wedding nailed down yet. She suggested your house for both wedding and reception."

Vince frowns and smiles at the same time as he asks " When did you talk to her?"

Selah said " Early this morning, Why"

Vince said " I just got off the phone with her, a half an hour ago. I told her and my mom about getting married to Carl. She knew you would be talking to me and didn't say a word. Cool. Somehow she let Carl and I hear the idea at the same time. I prefer it this way." He pauses as he looks at Selah still shining happy.

Vince looks at Carl and they both smile like they had the same idea at the same time.

Carl says " Yeah. the way she tips her head.

Vince says " And the way she holds her hip and just shines.."

They both turn to Selah as they both say " Happy." Selah was frowning just a little, cause they were talking about her as if she wasn't there.

Then Carl said " Selah, you are going to be such a good mother."

This lit up her face again and she walked over and kissed Carl with his head still on Vince's shoulder. She kissed Vince and said " You two are meant for each other."

They both grabbed her in a hug as Vince says " And you helped bring us together,"

Carl says " Thank you Selah." as he kisses her forehead.

Selah blushes just a little and says " You're welcome."

Vince says " No matter what we decide, you and Abe are going to have your wedding and reception at my house."

Selah said " Thank you Vince. I'll let you know what Abe thinks about the idea. I'm meeting him in half an hour for dinner with his parents. He hasn't talked about them much."

Vince is shocked. He says " You mean he hasn't told you. He let you worry about this?"

Selah looks a little worried as she says " No. What are they like?"

Vince says "You're not going to have one problem with them. They are died in the wool; or should I say tie-died in the wool hippies."

Selah is shocked. She says " What?"

Vince says " Yes. They are hippies and they are professors at the local college. He teaches Philosophy and eastern religions, and she teaches five different languages. They are going to love you."

Selah looks so relieved as she says " Thank you Vince , I was so worried, and I couldn't figure out why. I was picking it up from Abe. A lot of times a child from a hippie family is embarrassed by them. And usually for no good reason. This is going to go well."

Vince remembers and says " Oh. We have three potential new mages for our coven. We met the two men and their wife sounds like a strong loving lady."

Selah looks like Vince brought up something embarrassing, but she asks " Their wife?"

Vince says "The two tailors that got us in and out of the Suit warehouse in under an hour on the day of Uncle Brians funeral, share a wife. They have been together for two years. She fell in love with Michael knowing that he was bisexual. And she was wise enough"

Carl cuts in with " And brave enough to realize Michael's heart would always have that part of it denied happiness. She really loves him and now them."

Vince says " They went looking in supermarkets for a gay or bisexual man that they could love, and found Ricco. Ricco is the first reason we're thinking of asking them. He can tell what's going on in your life and fit the suit for the need."

Carl says " He was able to see the funeral was for Vinces uncle, and that Brian convinced Vince to go to a summer camp when Vince was a little kid. They are coming here this friday evening to each get a tattoo as a form of devotion to each other. I'd like the current members of the coven to meet here friday night. Could you tell Abe and fill him in on the potential new members?

Selah says " I will do that after the in-law dinner." She smiles at the thought of three happy lovers.

Selah said " Just the idea that all three are happy after two years is impressive. If you are asking for my input, then I say snap them up quick. They sound young but respectful. And it sounds like they could teach us a few things. Ok more family. I'll tell Abe about the three" Then she got quiet again. For a moment she seems Lost In Time. Then the word 'Time ' slipping through her mind brings her back to the present and the first meeting of the in-laws.

She looks at the clock on the wall and says " I have to get going, or I'll be late. Congratulations and thank you so much for letting us have the wedding at your house."

Vince said " Give us a call in the morning and let us know how it turns out tonight."

Selah said " I will, but not too early. Take care." as she left.

All four say " Bye."

Kern says " Cool. She's right, more family. Those two tailors seem so in tune, now I can't wait to meet their lady."

Greg hugs Kern and then turns to the phone and pulls open the yellow pages to a marker that is paper-clipped to the section that has ' The Suit Warehouse '. He dials the number and after two rings he just happens to get Ricco.

Ricco says " Hello, the Suit Outlet. we will be closed in one hour. How may I help you?"

Greg says " Am I speaking with Ricco?"

Ricco says " Yes, And who am I speaking with?"

Greg says " I'm Greg. I was in with my boss and his lover last saturday. And I heard that you and Michael and your lady were interested in getting a tattoo for an anniversary gift for each other. I thought I'd make an appointment for you three, and in case you want to have a long dinner we could schedule the shop to stay open a bit later."

Ricco says " Yeah , I remember, you were with Vince and Carl. I'm glad you called. We are definitely getting matching tattoos. Sharon is drawing up the celtic knot with an image of us three and our names included in the knot design."

Greg says " Excellent! Prepared art work makes it go much faster. Do you know the time you planned to be finished with the dinner?"

Ricco says " Our Boss, is closing the shop around three p.m., on friday and he said he will be getting a tattoo on himself for his wife. He said , his wife Eva will make the appointment for friday too. I think we will get to the Restaurant around four-forty-five. An hour and a half Dinner and ten minute walk gets us to about six-forty p.m."

Greg says " I'll put you three down for six-forty-five p.m., and Kern will give you a call friday morning as a reminder. and we'll be seeing you on friday."

Ricco says " Thank you so much. We three will be seeing you three on friday."

Greg says " You're welcome, see you friday." They hang up and Greg takes the weekly scheduler and marks all three artists for Friday at six-forty five.

It was slow for a tuesday, and Carl comes out of his office and says " Lets call it a night at six- thirty. I know I want a good soak tonight."

Vince is following Carl with his hands on Carls shoulders, Vince softly asks " Piggy back ride?"

Carl says " OK ya big galoot . But ya gotta kiss my neck and rub my shoulders for a ride up stairs." He grins over his shoulder as he says this.

Vince kisses his neck ten or twelve times and then hops onto Carls back and Carl grabs his legs. Vince grabs Carl around the chest and neck and Carl bounces his massive lover up and down a few times. This gets Carl a few more kisses.

Carl chuckles and says " That's all I have to do to get more kisses? Hell I can do that all day!" He bounces Vince up and down for half a minute and notices a very large erection trying to break through Vinces pants. Vince has gotten quiet except for a little purring sound on the bounce up.

Carl stops and turns his head to Vince as Vince tells him " We both have to try that without the pants, cause even with the pants, that felt real good. You get two back rubs for that."

Carl bounces him up and down two more times and then heads for the stairs. He turns back and says " Good night My brothers. Love you."

Vince joins in as Kern and Greg says " Love you."

Carl turns and runs up the stairs with Vince on his back. Carl was chanting " I'm a lucky son, I'm a lucky son." all the way into the bedroom. They tore each others clothes off and Vince gestured for Carl to hop on his back. The first few bounces Carl tightened up his grip on Vince. He really wasn't expecting this to feel that good. Then he let out a groan and a laugh the tasmanian devil could have made.

Carl kissed Vinces neck and chanted on each bounce up " I'm a lucky son, I'm a lucky son."

Vince said " That third leg of your is sure feeling good to me right now."

Carl stops him and he hops off as he says " Let's get in the big tub and soak." He has a hold of Vinces soon very hard two foot erection, while Vince is rolling the precum around the head on Carls twenty-four incher. Carl pulls Vince to the bathroom and Vince grabs the bubble bath from the shelf as they pass. they got the same idea at the same time and as they let go of each other, their dicks only bob down half way and the spring tension in their muscles bounce them back up and almost slap their bellies. The tub is filling up fast and the bubbles make a nice thermal blanket.

They deliberately avoid touching each others dick with anything but the others dick. As they step into the tub facing each other , they carefully keep dick head to dick head contact as they slowly slip into the hot water. They groan as the get in completly and then they pull each others legs around each other. They now are baseball sized ball sack to ball sack, with their cocks sliding by each other and poking just under their very thick pectoral muscles. In fact Vinces dick just happens to be lodged onto Carls erect nipple. Vince has just enough control over his dick to be able to flare his dick head. Carls nipple feels like it's being pulled on. Carl has a shit eating grin on his face as he reaches over and guides his piss slit onto Vinces nipple. Vince has not stopped his rhythm of ~~ flare~relax~flare~relax~flare~relax~~~ . About as fast as he could say the words. Carl gets in opposite rhythm with Vince. after a moment of this , both mens eyes slowly close as the concentrate on the rhythm and the sensation the rhythm is causing. There erupts a low bass Purr from them both and smiles or chuckles that could only be described as childlike, Loving, intense. They were revelling in the pleasure they were giving each other and innocently joyful in their ability to do so while receiving such incredible gifts of pleasure from the other.

The hot water seemed to take the edge off and after soaking and sucking for a while they both had a glorious release, They helped wash and dry each other and after only a little cuddling they both fell asleep happily spooning with Vince in Carls arms.

The End Part 9

I hope you liked this, but however you feeel about it, please send feedback. Thanks for reading the story.