Second Chance, Chapter 44
Warning:
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This story contains descriptions of love and sexual fulfillment between people of the same gender. If possessing or reading this kind of material is illegal where you live, please leave this site at once.
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Chapter 44
Early on Monday, Eric and Josh accompanied their dads to the airport for the flight to San Juan where the men would embark on their cruise. Traffic was already becoming heavy, but Ben navigated through it smoothly.
He pulled up next to the departure entrance and he and Scott jumped out to retrieve their bags from the rear hatch. The boys got out to assist, but the men had it all under control.
The boys hugged and kissed both of the men and then got silly and did the same to each other.
"Don't burn the house down while we're gone!" Ben called cheerily.
"And no wild parties," Scott added.
"Define `wild'," Josh bantered as they disappeared into the terminal.
"Well, we're free of parental restraint. What do you want to do first?" Josh giggled.
"Get our butts in gear and get to our new jobs on time!" Eric said.
"Spoil-sport!" Josh laughed.
He may have been teasing, but he got behind the wheel and drove assertively enough to get them to the country club with 10 minutes to spare. Most commuters were headed in the opposite direction, so it wasn't as bad as it might have been.
Several hours later, Ben and Scott were settling into their accommodations on the cruise ship. Their last-minute deal turned out to be a good one. They had a more spacious room on a higher deck than they ordinarily would have had for the price they'd paid. The freedom of working from home at his own pace had allowed Scott the opportunity to secure the great deal.
"Mmm... No court cases. No investment deals. No grand-parenting. No worries!" Ben said as he plopped down on the king sized bed.
"It's kind of like a honeymoon," Scott agreed.
"It IS a honeymoon."
"But we're not officially married."
"So. We can have the honeymoon first and get married when we get home."
"Really!"
"Yeah, let's do it. We can drive down to Iowa and the boys can be our attendants."
"Will that mess up their plans if they're stepbrothers?"
"Nah. They're not blood kin. It's not incest!"
The men stripped to their briefs, cuddled together and took a short nap so that they could enjoy their first evening onboard without feeling tired.
Dinner on the ship that night was quite casual as it often is the evening of departure. People were free to sit anywhere they liked instead of at assigned tables and come in whenever there was room. Ben and Scott had requested the 8:00 o'clock sitting for their formal dining. With the time change, it would be closer to their usual routine at home. But tonight they felt hungry earlier and went about 7:00 Caribbean time.
It seemed as though a lot of people had made a similar choice because the dining room was rather crowded. They looked around for two empty seats together.
Scott spotted a couple of guys that caused his gaydar to go off and asked Ben what he thought about joining them. Ben was agreeable and so they asked the two men if it would be okay.
"We just got here and we'd love to share our table with you! I'm Rob Crouser and this is my significant other, Chuck Mason."
"It's great to meet you. I'm Scott Larson and this is Ben Brady. We probably have a lot in common with you since we're a couple too."
"I'm not sure I would have spotted you guys as gay," Rob said. "What tipped you off about us?"
"I think it was the looks of adoration you're giving each other. Perhaps a straight guy would have missed it, but you're both glowing in each other's company." Scott answered.
"Maybe that's because we're on our honeymoon," Chuck grinned as the two raised their hands to show off their shiny rings.
"Awesome!" Ben declared. "We were discussing marriage a short time ago. Where did you have your ceremony?"
"We went to Iowa. We both have ties there because Robby grew up in a small community there and that's where we met. I was there designing several homes and a really great lake cottage. I'm not saying that to brag, but it was for an older couple for whom money was no object. Imagine what you can do when the sky's the limit!"
The men went on to discuss a variety of things about their lives. It turned out that Rob and Chuck had recently moved to Minneapolis from San Francisco. Ben and Scott warned them that they might freeze their butts off in Minnesota. Rob said that having grown up in Iowa, he thought he could survive.
After dinner, the foursome visited the casino for a short time and then went to the main stage for the early comedy show.
The men hit it off so well that they decided to do other things as a group.
"We don't want to horn in on your honeymoon, but we certainly enjoy your company," Ben said as they were saying goodnight.
"Well, it's not like we haven't lived together for a while, so we don't have to be alone all the time." Chuck grinned.
"We understand," Scott assured them. "How about meeting for breakfast on the lido deck around 8:00 or 9:00? Then maybe we could explore St. Thomas together."
"I opt for 8:00," Chuck said. "We'll be at the fitness center by 6:00 if Rob has his way. And then we'll hit the steam room and shower. Rob will be too hungry to wait until 9:00 to be fed."
"That's cool!" Ben agreed. "Scott and I might be up exercising by then too. We may see you before breakfast."
Back in their stateroom, Ben and Scott stripped down to their underwear and went out on the balcony. Discovering that it was well screened from other balconies, they decided to sit naked under the stars.
Neither man was tired because they'd rested earlier and they felt relaxed. Scott went back into their room and came out a minute later with something concealed in his hand. He got down on his knees in front of his lover and began the little speech he'd rehearsed.
"Ben Brady, my soul mate and lover, I want to formally ask you to be my husband. Please accept this little token as a sign of my intention to marry you."
He opened his hand to reveal two half hearts on chains. He stood to put the one with his initials on it around Ben's neck. As he did so, Ben leaned forward and kissed his semi-hard penis.
"Stop that or I'm never going to get this clasp fastened," Scott giggled.
Scott handed the other necklace to Ben who stood to put the chain around Scott's neck. Embracing fully naked caused the blood to flow directly to their groins pumping their cocks up to "action ready" position.
"I hope you don't think this is too adolescent," Scott said.
"Not at all. I think it's sweet. How did you happen to think of it?"
"Well that's my point. It was Eric who suggested it. He and I went to a jewelry store in the mall looking for something for Josh's birthday. Eric spotted these almost immediately and bought them for Josh and him. He kind of pushed me to do the same."
"So, do you think our sons are engaged too?
"I'd bet on it, but I don't think they're quite as intimate as we are. I haven't pried, but I think they're saving the ultimate act until they're 18."
"Well, we did."
"Yeah, but only because we didn't know each other before that!" Scott snickered.
"You wanna remind me of how great it is to be filled with that monster?" Ben grinned as he ran his hands from Scott's balls to the tip of his throbbing phallus.
"Thought you'd never ask..."
The two men made love twice -- once with Scott on top and once with Ben. Both men swore that they saw more stars than could possibly have been in the sky that night. Both slept very well.
When Ben and Scott arrived at the workout area, they saw Rob and Chuck already sweating. The men gave then a wave, but didn't break their routine. Scott and Ben warmed up on a couple of elliptical machines that were free and then used some of the other machines. They weren't really impressed with the quality and moved on to free weights. After about 45 minutes, Chuck come over to say that they were going to the steam room.
Ben and Scott figured they'd had enough for one morning and decided to join them.
The steam room was small, but adequate and quite efficient. The far wall was almost entirely taken up by a window. Since there was no deck running past it, it was made of unfrosted glass and gave a great view of the water and islands.
There was one man leaving the room as they entered. He came out with his towel draped over his right shoulder showing off his entire body. The view was far from unpleasant.
"Well, I guess being casual is the order of the day," Chuck said as he took off his towel and laid it on the bench where he was going to sit.
"Babe," Rob commented, "Maybe these guys don't want to see your junk."
"Uh it's fine with us," Ben smiled. "We enjoy being nude and don't mind the view. We're monogamous, but we've never been prudish."
After that the others sat on their towels also. Of course they checked each other out.
"Both uncut!" Rob exclaimed. "I haven't seen many uncircumcised dicks and never two at the same time. I think you're both lucky."
"We tend to think so, but there seems to be some evidence that circumcising cuts down on STD's including HIV -- at least in some third-world countries, so you might be the lucky ones."
"If you're into hygiene, and you guys seem to be, I'm sure you're safe enough and of course you're safe if you don't stray from your partner."
Conversation turned to what they planned to see in Charlotte Amole and the four cocks that had been semi-hard relaxed to their soft state.
Rob and Chuck made no bones about sharing one of the showers, so Scott and Ben followed suit and did as they would have at home. Minutes later, all were dressed and headed for breakfast.
The four men took a guided tour of the city in a small van. It was pleasant to be the only occupants and to be able to ask questions whenever they wanted. Their guide was very attentive and received generous tips.
They also did a bit of shopping near the dock. They could bring back a certain amount of alcohol duty-free and the prices were very attractive. Scott and Ben bought a couple of bottles of Bailey's and some Tia Maria.
The clerk promised them that their sealed packages would be delivered to the ship in a short time.
Their last stop was at a place where they could walk through Plexiglas tubes under the water. It was kind of like an aquarium in reverse with the sea life on the outside and the air-breathing human beings on the inside. It was about as close to marine creatures as one could get without scuba diving.
Dining that evening was less casual with everyone eating at their assigned tables. When Scott and Ben were escorted to their seats, they found that they were sharing the table with two rather attractive ladies.
"I'm Ben Brady," Ben said as he offered his hand.
"Cynthia Prouty. Pleased to meet you," the blonde smiled.
"I'm Elaina Fargo," the brunette said.
"Scott Larson here."
"Well, you gentlemen certainly look dapper. Are you traveling alone without your wives?" Cynthia asked checking out their availability.
"Actually, we're traveling together as I assume you are. I'm widowed and Scott is divorced, so there are no wives at home."
"I guess the cruise line is trying to play cupid by seating us together," Elaina giggled.
Scott nudged Ben with his knee under the table. He was beginning to fear where this conversation was headed. Ben put his hand on Scott's knee to assure him that it wasn't going to go too far.
Their conversation steered toward careers and interests. Both men felt that their dinner companions were mentally calculating their net worth. These were husband-hunters for sure.
As they were waiting for coffee and dessert, Elaina pursued the subject of the men's relationship status.
"I suppose handsome men like you have girlfriends pining at home, but I'm sure they would understand if you were to escort a couple of ladies to the stage show tonight."
"There are no girlfriends. If there were, we wouldn't be hanging around other ladies." Ben said. "The fact is that we're engaged."
"I don't get it. How can you be engaged if you don't have girlfriends?" Cynthia asked.
"We are engaged to each other!" Scott spoke up. "I formally proposed last night, but we haven't set a date yet."
Cynthia first turned pale and then became a shade somewhere between rose and purple.
"Well, I never! Come Elaina, we're going to get our dining arrangements changed."
After the ladies left in a huff, the two men giggled. Their waiter came with the desserts and coffee just after the two women left.
"Will the ladies return for dessert?" he asked.
"No Marco, I don't think we'll be seeing them again at this table -- ever!"
"Is it because of my service? I'm really swamped tonight."
"No, it's because they don't like our company. They're looking for husbands and we don't fit the bill."
"Barracudas, No?"
"Barracudas, YES!" Scott chucked.
Chuck and Rob headed their way about that time and they were asked to join them.
"Did you have dessert yet? Or are you watching your calories?"
"We left early because the older couple next to us is uncomfortable having a gay couple sitting near them."
"Boy have we got a deal for you!" Scott laughed. "This Crème Brulee is excellent and we happen to have extra. Please sit down and enjoy. Then we'll talk to the maître d' about changing your table."
Arrangements were made before the men left the dining room. They were happy and the maître d' was too. It solved two problems for him because he could seat Cynthia and Elaina with the old couple who disapproved of their dining companions.
The four men went off to see the musical revue together.
Author's notes: Thanks to all who wrote since last posting: Karserus, John McD, Baruch, Chris B, Paul R, Rutabaga, Tom A, Jim We, Cody D, Jim C, Carroll, Bertrand, Brandon and Ethan, Ashley G, Warren B, and Baruch.
There's a new story out under "college" called "Peter's Story" (recent posting Oct. 3) which is getting off to a good start. I like the author's earlier story, "Connections" (final posting April 27th). It's not necessary to have read the first one, but I think you'll enjoy it very much.
David