The afternoon ended with the two men wrapped in each other's arms, naked, contented, asleep. That evening, Stephen awoke to the warm feeling of Joey sucking on his dick. The afternoon matinee became an evening performance, repeated until neither one could get it up anymore. Only then did they take a shower. They were home.
Chapter 16
The Monday after Stephen and Joey met was a quiet day. Stephen had the day off as the office was closed. They were able to go to the mall and Stephen bought Joey clothing and other necessities. Stephen watched Joey carefully to see what luxuries caught his attention. Stephen would note these for another trip back by himself later. As they went about their business, Stephen admired the respect Joey always showed him. He was very conscientious about the price of things and was always seeking Stephen's approval in his choices.
When they took a break for a bite to eat, Joey was courteous to a pair of ladies in the restaurant. When they saw that Joey was with Stephen, they congratulated Stephen on raising such a fine young man. Stephen swelled with pride, forgetting for a moment that he actually had nothing to do with the "raising of the fine young man." Afterwards, it occurred to him that the ladies had thought Joey to actually be Stephen's son. Did they have the physical characteristics to pass for father and son? He only wished it were true.
This day gave them time to talk about reality of living together. Both of them raised questions about their arrangements. Joey was interested in helping with the finances and upkeep of the house. He wanted to contribute, and suggested that he could find a part-time job. Stephen would have nothing to do with that.
"Your number one job in this family is your education. Without that you will be nothing. I won't stand for that. I didn't ask you to join me here to give you no future. It will be hard enough as it is."
Stephen relented to Joey's request of getting a summer job, but during the school year, Stephen wanted Joey to have no distractions. He reasoned that if Joey worked hard in school now, the rewards would be collected when he graduated.
"I promised to take care of you forever. Your not going to dump me in four or five years for some young thing, are you? I'm not just some play toy for you, am I? I thought that you loved me, Joey. I thought that we would always be together. That's what you said up at the motel. You wouldn't abandon me, would you?" Stephen's voice trembled with mock fear.
Stephen was the master of talking Joey into a corner. He knew in time that Joey would wisen up to his tricks, but that's what `Dad' is supposed to do. Teach your son everything you know. There was no possible logic that Joey could use to defeat this argument. Joey just threw his hands up, and Stephen laughed with delight.
Through their debating, one issue was not brought up. They did not discuss the sexual side of the relationship. That part needed no questions asked. The night before had resolved all concerns about that. They were suited to each other quite well, and both had discovered where their true feelings lay. The both found great satisfaction in the company of another man.
Tuesday rolled around and the reality of life shocked them with the buzzing of the alarm clock to wake Stephen to go to work. Even though it was summer and Joey had no school, he still got out of bed, went to the kitchen and made coffee for his love. He offered to fetch breakfast, but Stephen declined.
Stephen shaved, showered, and dressed, thinking nothing unusual until he tried to walk out the door. He passed Joey in the living room on his way out and could not leave without a kiss and a hug. The longer they hugged, the harder it became for Stephen to leave. It wasn't that he was afraid to leave Joey, after all Joey was 19 years old; he could take care of himself. The bond of love was so strong that it would not allow him to go. As Stephen hugged his man, he tried to understand what was happening to him. The only thing that Stephen could compare this to was the day when he had to walk away from the graves of his wife and son, but that bond was caused by grief, not joy. Joey sensed that something was wrong.
"I'll be here waiting for you when you get off work." Joey tried the think of the most soothing words to easy the pain he sensed in his best friend. "Call me and let me know if you need something and what time you'll be home." With one more kiss on the cheek, he pushed Stephen out the door. "Have a good day. Love you." He walked off to the kitchen, hiding around the corner of the wall until he knew that Stephen had left. Only then did he come back into the living room to see that the front door was closed.
In the office, Stephen would never talk about his personal life. Almost all of the people had worked there for years, and had known Stephen through the time of his marriage, the arrival of Scott, and terrible pain that he had suffered. Every one of them cared for Stephen's well being, but he had made it clear shortly after the accident that he wanted his private life kept out of the office, that he did not wanted to be the subject of the daily gossip.
Everyone had respected that request. Subsequently, every day became the same as the one before as far as Stephen's routine was concerned. But this day was different, and Stephen had no control over it. He walked into the office, passing the reception desk where Terry greeted him.
"Good morning. Hope your weekend went well."
"It was great! It was wonderful to get away. How was yours?" Stephen could not contain the enthusiasm. Terry could not be help notice. This was not the always subdued Stephen.
"Okay. I had to work the desk yesterday, so I didn't get the long weekend."
She was dying to know what was behind the grin that no one had seen in two years. Something had happened and it would not take long for the entire office to get wind that something was up. "Where'd you go?"
"Oh, I just went up the coast and went to the beach."
"The beach? I know you live near the beach. What was so special up there? "
"Jo...oh, I guess a change of scenery can make a difference." He had almost said Joey. Choose your words carefully. But all that was in his head was Joey. The name, the face, the smile, the body, especially the body. That body had put the grin on his face that he now could not wipe off. He couldn't wait to get home. "Any messages for for me yesterday?"
"Nope. But don't forget the office meeting this afternoon at two."
"Thanks. I'll probably be in my office with the door closed most of the morning, but I can be interrupted if needed."
Stephen continued down the hall to his office. He stopped in the kitchen to fill his coffee mug. As he did, he was humming some vague song. This did not go unnoticed by the others filling their cups. Eyebrows were raised amongst his co-workers. Stephen did not notice the commotion going on around him or the subtle change that had happened to him.
His office was across from the work room where the kitchen was. He entered his office and shut the door. The doors didn't line up directly, but after his close call with Terry, he was going to be careful about his privacy. He sat down to his desk, moving piles here and there. He looked over to the telephone, and couldn't resist. Ring. Ring.
"Uh, hello?"
"Hey, Joey, I just called to say I love you. Are you able to find everything?"
"Yeah, I really wasn't looking for anything yet. Thought I straighten out my stuff and clean up a little. I'm going to the store later and buy some things for dinner. Where can I cash my paycheck."
"I told you not to spend your money, son. On my desk, in the cabinets, is a green bag. I usually keep about a hundred in there for emergencies. Take what you need. I'll be home about six. I do have some things to get caught up on. What are you going to do?"
"Not much. Just lay around probably."
"Ok, bye. Did I tell you I love you?"
"Not enough."
Just then, Stephen's best friend Jeff opened the door and walked in. They had worked together for years at the firm, and Jeff was as close as anyone was to Stephen. He had even been Stephen's best man at his marriage to Susan. Jeff sat down across from Stephen.
"All right. You have been in the office fifteen minutes, and everyone is talking about the changes in you. What happened this weekend?"
"What?"
"Come on, don't bullshit me. Something happened this weekend. You are a changed person. Everyone says they can't remember you this happy since Scott was born."
Stephen was in a dilemma. He was so far in the closet that when the door opened, he still couldn't see light. In his mind, he was still a married man with a family. He didn't suspect that this hidden side of him would need to be disguised. And since he didn't get involved in the office politics, he really didn't have a gauge of what the repercussions would be for someone who did come out. These thoughts took only a second. This was all he had to response. Silence would speak volumes.
"Hey, I finally give myself permission to have a good weekend and everyone is going to come down on me about it? Cut me some slack, buddy."
Jeff looked suspiciously at his friend. "Stephen, there is a glow in your face that I haven't seen in a long time. I know that something happened. Won't you tell me anything about it?"
Stephen felt the words ring true. How long could he delay the inevitable. "No, my friend. Now is not the time or place to talk."
"When? Where?"
"Lunch. Somewhere away from the office. It's personal, and I'm still not going to be the subject of office gossip."
"Okay. Stephen, I am so happy for you. You deserve something nice in your life. Hell, everyone does, but especially you. And if it's a someone that happened this weekend, I would love to meet her."
Uh, yeah. Her.
"Are you free for lunch today? We can go somewhere away from here."
"You got it. I've got a 10:30 with a client, I'll be done by 11:30 easy. So let's say 11:45, I'll come get you, okay, Stevie?" Jeff was the only one who could get away with that name.
Chapter 17
Joey's life had been a fantasy world that weekend. He had met someone who he had searched for all his life. He had broken free from the prison of his life and his family. Now he was stepping out into unexplored territory. He spent the first morning of the rest of his life just cleaning. But he was cleaning for someone he loved and that made it more meaningful. Washing clothes, sweeping, straightening up was no longer a chore, but a pleasure. He was going to do anything he could to make Stephen's life as full of pleasure as his was. Towards noon, he left the apartment and walked the mile to the grocery. He was going to treat Stephen to the best meal that he could prepare.
He walked through the market, picking the basics for a meal for that evening. Meat department for steaks, produce for salad makings, the refrigerator case for milk and sodas. He took everything to the checkout to pay. The clerk was a young lady, about Joey's age, her hair pulled back in a ponytail. She had dark hair and eyes, and a smooth olive complexion. As Joey walked up to the counter, she gave him the once over, stealing a quick glimpse at the fly of his jeans, checking out his package.
"Hi, haven't seen you before. Is this your first time here?"
"Yeah, I just moved in town yesterday."
"Welcome, and I hope to see you often. My name is Katie."
"Thanks, Katie." Joey acted like this was nothing more than a casual conversation. He didn't know that Katie was taking an interest him. He thought she was just being friendly.
"Go to school around here or work?"
"I'm starting at City College in September."
"I go there. Majoring in business."
"That's what I'm thinking about, but I'm not sure exactly what yet. I might go for accounting or law or finance. I've still haven't made up my mind."
"You'll like it there. They have really good teachers." Katie was pleased that things were setting up so well. "When you're settled in, maybe we can go there and I'll show you around."
"Thank you very much. I'd like that. See you around."
Katie rang up the purchases and gave Joey his change, making sure that the she placed the change in his hand so that he didn't drop it. As a matter of fact, she pretended that one of the coins had stuck to her hand, so that she could touch Joey's hand just a little bit longer. This was a cute guy, and although Katie was not one who chose her friends based just on good looks, she was interested to see if there could be prospects with this guy. She looked at his face as she did this, to see if there would be any reaction from Joey. She got nothing from him. She thought to herself, "Maybe he's just shy."
Just a few days ago, Joey didn't have a friend in the world. Now, everyone he met was falling in love with him on the spot. And poor, sweet, naive Joey still didn't have a clue. Joey picked up the groceries and walked away from the register under her watchful eyes. As he left, Katie checked out the back side of Joey's jeans, letting a soft hum out. "Nice," she thought to herself.
Joey returned from his errands, put the groceries away and finished with the chores he had planned for the day. It was only two o'clock and Stephen wouldn't be home for several more hours. He had noticed that the complex had a pool, not tremendously large for apartments this size, but with enough lounging space that people would not be laying on top of each other. Besides, that what Stephen was for.
He went down and laid out for a while, lightly dozing, as he hadn't brought anything to read. It was a typically warm summer day, the sky was clear, and Joey just let the heat soak all the worries from his body. He reflected for the first time about everything that had happened to him. It had been so sudden that it seemed to just happen, without the need to think. Each step had fallen into place and that made this opportunity to review welcome.
He was happy to be away from the troubles with his step father, and was thrilled with the attention he was receiving from Stephen. The previous day's shopping with Stephen gave him a the security and love that he searched for. But more importantly, the banter between the two men fed the hunger for friendship that had been the great missing puzzle piece that had been his life.
After napping for who knows how long, he awoke to shadows beginning to cross his feet. He sat up, and, as he wiped the sweat off his body, took survey of the pool area to see who was there and to size up the type of people that lived in the complex. He was surprised to find out that there was only one person besides himself in the pool area, and that this guy had set up in the lounge chair right next to his. This guy appeared to be slightly older than Joey, maybe 25 by Joey's estimation. His chair was side-by-side with the way Joey's chair was set. He was wearing wraparound sunglasses that concealed where his eyes were looking. His head was definitely turned in the direction of Joey.
"Hey."
"Hey, yourself." The man's voice was a sexy baritone. "You have really been sacked out there for a while. If you hadn't been snoring, I might have called the paramedics by now."
"Sorry about the snoring. I was just relaxing and I guess I got carried away."
"No biggie. I'm Kevin." He removed the sunglasses and extended his hand to shake.
"Joey Edwards." Their hands gripped, and Kevin's larger hand firmly closed around Joey's. Joey's hands were smallish and he hated the shake of men who thought greeting other people was a death match contest. Kevin's shake, while firm, was not crushing and Joey appreciated it.
"I'm usually the only one around here on weekday afternoons. Most of the people in the complex are hard working people who live in 9 to 5 jobs. How'd you manage to get out here?"
"I just moved in over the weekend and I'm going to school at City in September. I don't have a job, and probably won't until next summer."
"I'm a college student too. My old man calls me a career student. Thinks I'll just stay in school until I inherit my millions from some old dead aunt." They both laughed. Joey appreciated dry humor. Most guys his age didn't and that had set Joey apart from his high school friends. They never got the same jokes. "So who are you being kept by?"
Joey blanched. Kevin could not have known anything about Stephen and Joey. Answer quick.
"I live over in the corner. I just moved in with my... my dad."
"Yeah, I'm a kid from a broken home too. `Cept my dad is paying me to stay away in my own place. Say, you'd better get in before you burn too much more." Kevin reached over to Joey, pressing his fingers on the top of Joey's shoulder. The spots where his fingers had been were white for a second before turning back to the color of the rest of Joey's body. He repeated his test on Joey's stomach and thighs. The white shined. "Wow, what time did you get out here."
"Two. Maybe a little after."
"Well, it's quarter to five now. You'd better go in. Let me know if you need anything for the burn. I've got some stuff to rub on you that'll take the sting out right away." Kevin liked the look of this new neighbor. He thought that he like to rub lotion all over this kid's body. And if he played his cards right, they could hook up for the rest of the summer since they both would be looking for entertainment.
Joey stood up, picked up his towel, and nodded, "Thanks for the offer. I'm sure dad has something in the house." As he left, Kevin checked out the back side of Joey's suit, letting a soft hum out. "Nice," he thought to himself.
You may have a better idea where this is going than I do. I'll take any suggestions you have, comments and criticisms welcome.