We got settled into our stateroom, and decided that it would not be necessary to put everything into the drawers as the trip was only two days. I was secretly anticipating the breif stop in Alexandria on the next morning , eager to see the great library there. As we would only be in the city for about two hours, it would be a quick side trip, but one I was definitely looking forward to.
I inquired of the boys if they would like to go ondeck for our departure and they both eagerly nodded their heads. We left the stateroom, and headed out onto the deck to join the others there, waving at whoever, as the boat prepared to leave port. I noticed the Union Jack flying above the flag of Morraco on the stern, and for some reason, I felt suddenly more comfortable. As the boat loosed it's moorings, it began to pull away from the docks, heading out into the main channel, before heading east into the evening . From this vantage, the Alboran looked vast and deserted except for the few lights coming from distant boats.. The dock continued to become smaller, until it was only a blur and then faded from site all together. We walked briefly around the deck until we had come back to our stateroom.
As I fumbled with the key to open the door, I heard a voice calling my name. As I turned, I saw the beaming face of the young private from the Garrison.
"Davis? What on earth are you doing here?"
"I am part of your escort to Cairo sir."
He must have noticed the look on my face as he quickly added, "There are four of us, my room is next to yours, and the other three are in the room two doors away. We were assigned to accompany you to Cairo, but we weren't allowed to let you know until after the boat left Nador. It's to insure your safety after the incident at the Garrison.. I do hope that you`re not too upset."
"No, to the contrary, I'm happy to see you , another friendly face is always welcome."
We talked as we turned our keys in the locks of the doors. I moved to allow the boys to enter the stateroom and reached my hand out to Davis, "I hope to see you at dinner this evening."
The boy took my hand and shook it heartily as his face lit with his smile, "That would be wonderful, I'll look for you then."
We entered our separate rooms and closed the doors behind us. Mahomet and Musal were already laying on the beds when I entered the room. I walked over to the bed and flopped down onto it next to Mahomet.
"Does Robert wish to be with the young soldier?"
"Why would you think that Mahomet? I love being with you and Musal."
"But he is not like Mahomet, he is white, like Robert. He is from your village?"
"No, I don't know, Mahomet, yes, he is from England, but I don't know if he is from London or not, but as far as his being white, what has that to do with anything?"
"Mahomet is aware that westerners only use the boys from my country for their pleasure, and then when they leave, there is always someone else to take their place. If Robert wishes to be with the young Davis, Mahomet will understand."
"Mahomet, think about what you are saying. If I had planned on leaving you behind, would I have signed the papers, and brought you, and Musal with me to Cairo? And if I did want to be with Davis, that doesn't mean that I would not continue to want to be with you. I love you, and I love Musal as well, but in a different way. Can't you understand that? I have never cared for anyone the way that I care for the two of you. And I would never be with anyone else if it is going to cause you hurt."
Musal got off of his bed and came over to us. Climbing up onto the bed he put his arms around his brother and drew his head toward Mahomet, "Mahomet, Robert loves us, he loves you, he is now our father, if he wants to be with others it is well, because he will always be with us, because he loves us, so you need not feel hurt."
I raised up on the bed and put my arms around the child and kissed him on the cheek. Then I bent further and kissed Mahomet. The two boys looked at me and smiled. I then wrestled little Musal down onto the bed and began to tickle him as Mahomet joined in. The three of us rolled with laughter as we in turn tickled each other.
At dinner that evening, we were seated at a fairly large table. We had ordered our meal and were awaiting it's delivery when the young Private Davis entered the dining room, along with the three other soldiers. They crossed the room and seated themselves at our table. When the waiter came back, the soldiers ordered their dinners. Private Davis sat directly across from me, while the other three sat to his left and right.
Our meals arrived and we ate quietly. After dinner, we sat and talked about nothing in particular. The other three soldiers stood and excused themselves and turned to ask Davis if he was leaving.
"No, I think I will remain and talk a while if you don't mind."
"Suit yourself." said one of the other soldiers as they turned and left.
"So, Robert, what are your plans for Cairo?"
"I am meeting my friend Jack there, we started the journey together."
I suddenly thought to myself. "Poor Jack, he doesn't know about the boys, and they didn't really know anything about him. And what's more, he doesn't know anything about my newfound sexual revelations either. How will he react? Will he be upset? Will he want to continue our travels together?" I was suddenly wondering what I had gotten into, and how Jack was going to react to all this.
"Robert, Robert, are you ok?"
"What, oh, er.sorry, I was just lost in thought. Did you say something?"
"I asked if your friend Jack had any idea about the boys?"
"No, he doesn't, I was just thinking about how and what I would tell him. And I am going to have to explain to the boys about him as well. So, are the four of you returning to Nador straight away?"
"Yes, we are, as soon as you are safely in your hotel. The Major gave us strict orders."
The crowd in the dining room was beginning to thin and we decided it might be best to go for a walk on deck before returning to our rooms. When we got out on the deck, it had begun to get dark and I marveled at all the stars that we could see. Mahomet called our attention to a distant star that appeared to be red as compared to the others.
"That's the planet Mars. It tends to appear red." said Davis, "Do you boys see the great bright star there?" as he pointed to the brightest star that we could see. "That would be Cirus, the North Star. Soldiers, and sailors use the stars to find their way at night."
The boys seemed to be totally engrossed in what Davis was saying. He pointed to a constallation and told them, "That formation of stars is called Orion. His belt is made up of three stars called the three sisters. And that group of stars there is called Gemini, it represents Castor and Pollax, twin brothers who were raised by wolves and later founded the city of Rome."
As Davis was showing the boys the different constellations, I noticed that he was inching closer to me. By the fifth constellation, he was standing very close and had placed his hand on my shoulder. By the seventh, he had his arm around my shoulder and we were standing hip to hip. I could feel the heat from his body, he was standing so close.
I noticed Musal was beginning to yawn, and suggested that we go to our stateroom. As we arrived at the door, Mahomet turned and kissed me on the cheek. He then leaned to my ear and whispered, "I will put Musal to bed, you stay with the Private for a while if you wish. It will be good for you to be with someone from your home for a while."
He hugged me and entered the room, shutting the door as he and Musal entered.
I turned to Davis, "Well, it would appear that I have some free time on my hands, would you like to talk for a while?"
Private Davis smiled as he opened the door to his room. As we entered, he lit the lamp. His stateroom was much smaller than mine, but it was comfortably appointed. There was a single bed, a dresser, and a small table with only two chairs. I opted to sit on one of the two chairs, as Private Davis sat in the other.
"You know, I can't continue to call you Private all the time. And I don't know your first name."
"It's Andrew, but my friends call me Drew."
I laughed and stuck out my hand. Taking his hand in mine I shook it saying, "Pleased to meet you Drew."
He then laughed at that. As our hands touched, I could feel him tremble slightly.
"Drew, how do you like being in the militia? Do you get much free time to do things, like, er.go out for an evening and find a young woman to spend time with?"
The boy blushed bright red.
"I.I don't go out with girls much, and on my nights off at the Garrison, I usually stay in my quarters and read."
"Why don't you go out, at least with your mates at the Garrison then?"
"They are all older than me, and besides, I."
He stopped mid sentence and blushed even more.
"I don't like girls." he whispered, dropping his head.
I lifted his head by his chin and looked at him. His eyes were the deepest blue I had ever seen, and they were beginning to water slightly.
"Drew, it's fine, I understand what you are feeling. I have never been with a girl either, and until recently, I had never had any sexual activity before in my life."
"You, but you're a nobleman, you surely have had sex with some of your family servants, or some little tart from your town!" "No, never, but then I came to Morraco, and I had sex for the first time in my life, and I loved it, and it was with a boy."
"So, you don't like girls either?"
"I don't really know, like I said, I've never been with one to find out. But I do know what I would like, that is, if you feel up to it?"
His face lit up as he smiled. I stood and moved in front of him. I began to unbutton his tunic as he stood. He began to unbutton my shirt as I finished his buttons, and reached for his sword belt. I allowed it to fall to the floor and reached for the buttons on his trousers. As I unfastened the last button, I slid my hands into the top of his trouser and began to push them down slowly, his pubic hair was golden but very sparse. I brought my hands slowly up his hips and then up his firm waist and onto his chest. There was no hair there at all as I gently massaged his nipples. I pushed my hands further up and slid his tunic back and down his arms. As he raised his arms, I noticed that he didn't have much hair in his pits. I was beginning to wonder if Drew was even as old as Mahomet.
"How old are you Drew?"
"I'm 16 last May."
"Have you ever been with anyone else before?"
"Well, only once, it was with my uncle back home, it was on my birthday, he said it was his gift to me."
"And, did you enjoy what he did?"
"Not at first, but then it began to get more pleasant. I actually enjoyed it after a bit."
I finished stepping out of my trousers and he finished removing his. I took his hand and looked into his eyes again. "Are you sure you want to do this then?"
"It's all I've thought about since I met you at the Garrison two days ago. I want you inside me. I want you to make love to me!"
"Well, don't expect too much, because I am new to this as well."
I led him to the bed. Turning, I pushed as he sat on the side of it. As I pushed him back onto the bed, I kissed him, tenderly at first, then more aggressively. As I made my way down over his chest, and down his abdomen, he placed his hands on my head, moving his fingers through my hair. I lifted his legs high into the air as I began to lick at the cheeks of his bum. When my tongue made contact with his tight arse hole, I heard him hiss as he drew in his breath.
I lathed his hole with my tongue, putting as much spittal into him as I could manage, and then wet my finger with my saliva to get it good and slick. When my finger penetrated his hole, he began to thrash about so violently that I was afraid he would roll off the bed. His thrashing became more rapid as I slid the second finger in. Before long, I had three fingers in and he was begging me to put my penis into him and `bugger the hell out of him'."
I aligned my penis with his hole and began to push in slowly, when he grabbed my hips with his legs and pulled me into him in one move.
"Bugger me, do it hard and fast, make me feel it!" he exclaimed as I began to really move in and out of him.
I could feel the sweat rolling off me, as it dripped from my body onto his. I was going into him as fast and as hard as I could, and I knew that if I didn't slow my pace a bit, I could not last much longer. His moaning got louder and louder as he neared his climax. As he shot his load onto his stomach, I could feel his arse muscles clinching around my penis. The tightening of the ring brought me over the edge as I filled him full of my own semen.
As I finished my ejaculation, I collapsed on top of him. We held each other as we slowly came back to ourselves. I rolled to the side and lay next to him, panting, until my breathing returned to normal. I rose from the bed and went to the closet and wet a flannel, cleaning myself with it and then rinsing it again, I returned to the bed to clean him. As we lay there, I couldn't believe that I had just had sex with this beautiful young soldier.
"Drew, you know that what we just did, I.er.I can't be with you once we arrive in Cairo, what will you do after I'm gone?"
"I don't know what I'll do, but I will find someone. I have noticed that Corporal O'Brian looks at me and smiles a lot, perhaps he and I might..."
"Where are you from, in England?"
"Blackpool, why?"
"I just thought that, I mean, when you get out of the army, we could.it was a stupid idea."
"Can I ask you a personal question?"
"We have just shared the most intimate act there is, you can ask me anything."
"Have you had sex with Mahomet?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I have."
"And Musal?"
"No, he's entirely too young, he's only 12, it just wouldn't be appropriate."
"Well, that's good. But I was thinking.If Mahomet agreed to it, could we possibly have sex, together?"
"You mean you and Mahomet? That would be entirely up to him, but if he is in agreement, I don't see why not."
"No, no, I meant you and he and myself, together."
"I would have to think about that, I don't know if he is ready for that, or me either for that matter. But for now, I have to get back and check on the boys, I really have to go."
Drew got up from the bed and watched as I put my clothes on. He then walked me to the door. We kissed at the door and said good night to one another as I went to my room.
Musal was sound asleep in his bed so I walked over to the larger bed. I undressed and slid into the bed, pulling up the duvet. Mahomet immediately moved over and snuggled close to me, putting his arm around me. I felt him kiss my neck, and I turned to face him.
"Did you have a good time with the young soldier?"
"Yes, it was alright, but I would rather have been here, with you."
"He wants for us, you and me, to have sex with him at the same time. How do you feel about that?"
"Mahomet has had sex with several men together in the past, it is not unusual, but I don't like to do it. If you want it, I will do it."
"No Mahomet, you are free to choose for yourself. If you want to do it, it is fine with me, if you do not, I will respect that too. It is your choice!"
"I will think about it."
We embraced one another and drifted off to sleep.
We awoke as the the ship was blowing it's large whistle, signaling that we were approaching Alexandria. I remembered that I wanted to see the great Library, so I woke the boys and we quickly dressed. As we got out onto the deck, the dock crew were already busily tieing the guy lines to the docks. As the gangway was put into place, Drew appeared and asked if I had plans to go ashore.
"I planned to go to the Alexandria Library, I have heard stories about it from my father."
"I will secure you transportation, in that way, you will have more time than if you walk."
He smiled as we made our way to the gangway. As we got to the end of the gangway we met the steward.
"If you folks are going ashore, keep in mind that we sail in a little over two hours. We will be in Cairo this evening."
I looked at my pocket watch and noted the time. It was 9:30, so we would have to return by 11:30 to continue our trip. We walked down the gangway and Drew found a small enclosed carriage to transport us to the Library. We arrived at the Library within a few short minutes. The building was spectacular, huge pillars of stone, and great carved stone releifs on the front. The doors looked to be about 20 feet high, and about 10 feet across each, made of massive slabs of wood and fastened together with great bronze plates. Inside the building were great shelves made of heavy wood, with books and scrolls, the antiquities of centuries of writing. There were numerous tables made of heavy wood, all with marble tops. Each table had an oil lamp suspended over one end to facilitate reading. There were guards everywhere.
I was suddenly lost in time. It amazed me that this building could stand the ravages of time so eloquently. I could almost see the tuniced librarians roaming, carrying the great scrolls from table to shelf, making sure that everything was in it's proper place. The Statue of Alexander standing at one end of the great library, casting a watchful eye over the entire place. I marveled at the thought that he, himself, had been in the library many times, increasing his own knowledge of the world.
I was suddenly brought back to reality as Drew tapped me on the shoulder.
"Better check the time, we shant want to be late getting back on board."
I retrieved my watch and saw that it was already near 11:00.
"I suppose we should be heading back soon."
We left the library and found a carriage. As we rode along on our way back to the dock, Drew sat across from me, next to Musal, and Mahomet sat next to me. He leaned over and whispered into my ear.
"I have thought about the young private engaging with us, and I think it is a good thing."
I turned to look at him. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I have given it much thought, and I know that it will please you, and that pleases me."
I smiled and hugged the boy to me as we reached the dock.
Back on board the ship, we went straight to the dining salon. There was a buffet of fresh fruits and cakes laid out at one end of the room and we all got ourselves a plate and found our table to eat.
"Drew, Mahomet and I have been talking. I must find someone I can trust to keep an eye on Musal for a bit, but we have decided to engage with you today, before we reach Cairo."
His face lit up as I said this.
"Are you sure?"
I laughed, "Yes, we are sure, Mahomet made the decision, in the carriage on our way back."
"The others will keep an eye on the boy for you, he'll be safe with them. We have nearly six hours before we arrive at Cairo."
"Yes, but I still have to prepare the boys to meet my friend Jack."
"Shall we go then?"
We finished eating the fruit and cakes that we had taken from the buffet and got up from the table and left the salon.
When we arrived at our staterooms, Drew knocked on the door of the other three soldiers and spoke to them quietly. Turning to me he said, "they will keep an eye on Musal for a couple of hours."
One of the three soldiers knelt down and took Musal by the shoulders.
"How would you like to visit with us for a while little fellow? We will play some cards and perhaps take a walk to give you a look see at the engine room and the wheel house where they steer the boat?
Musal smiled as he looked at me for approval. I returned his smile with a nod as he gleefully took the soldiers hand and asked if he could see the engine room first. The soldiers and the boy started to walk away as the first soldier looked back, smiling, and said, "You've got about two hours lads, make the best of it!" He then winked and turned to lead the way for his small group.
We turned and entered my stateroom and began to undress. I looked at Mahomet.
"Well love, as you are the only one who has experienced this kind of situation, perhaps we should put you in charge, to tell us what to do."
"Yes Mahomet," Drew said, "You are in control."
Mahomet led us to the bed and had us both lay back on it as he got up onto the bed. He began skillfully kissing and nipping at us, each in turn, as he took full control of the situation. As Mahomet worked his magic on us I turned to Drew and leaned forward to kiss him. My beautiful Mahomet took turns taking each of us into his mouth and brought us to full arousal. With a hand on each of us, he raised up and leaned in to join us in our kissing. I reached over and began to massage his bum with my hand and Drew found Mahomet's penis and took it in hand. As we shared the taste of one another, I found myself becoming more and more excited. Mahomet broke the kiss and asked Drew to kneel between his legs, and place his penis into him, and then told me to kneel at his head. I watched as Drew entered the boy and thought to myself , how beautiful it was to see, the sharp contrast of their skin coloring, the slow, deliberate penetration, the expression on Drew's face as he entered another human being, perhaps for the first time in his young life. It was all so exciting to me. I wondered if Jack would be opposed to being in the same situation.
Once Drew was fully into Mahomet, the boy raised up on his elbows and leaned his face into my groine, taking my penis into his warm mouth, lavishing his attentions on me. The combination of watching Drew rut into the boy, and having the boy rutting his mouth on my throbbing member sent my head reeling.
I suddenly wanted to be where Mahomet was, and openly said so. We quickly changed positions and I had Drew in my arse and Mahomet in my mouth. I was in a state of ecstasy as I felt the two of them moving in and out of me. All too quickly, Drew decided that he too wanted to be in the middle, so we changed positions again.
In a short time, Mahomet announced that he wanted to try to take both of us at once. Drew and I both looked puzzled as Mahomet began to give us specific instruction on how to position ourselves on the bed. He had us lay so that I had one leg over Drew's leg and he had one over mine. This position pushed both of our penises together and a great shock wave went through me. He then positioned his body above us, facing toward me, as he began to lower himself onto us. As we both entered the tight tunnel of Mahomet's arse, the sensations became greater than anything I had ever felt before. Once he was firmly seated on both our penises, he began to rhythmically raise and drop his body. I could see his young penis beginning to flare as it appeared to grow. I felt Drew's ballocks tighten as mine did the same, and I knew that we were all three about to explode. Drew, began to shoot his semen first, which triggered me, and as soon as I began to blow, Mahomet shot his semen all over my abdoman, chest and even onto my face. The sensations of our triple climax were phenomenal, as we all three shook violently, as if in the throes of some kind of spasming fit.
Mahomet collapsed forward and we fell into an embrace as he licked at the semen which had landed on my face and chest, then moving to kiss me, allowing me to taste his sweet seed. We all lay like that for what seemed an eternity when Mahomet raised himself from our spent members and pulled us together on the bed, as we all three kissed and held each other. He then got up from the bed and went to the lav, retrieving a flannel and bathing both Drew and myself, before taking care of his own needs. As we all sat on the side of the bed embracing, Mahomet was the first to speak.
"It is good, what we have just done. It is the first time that Mahomet has actually gotten pleasure from the multiple sex."
"But you said that you had done it many times before."
"Yes, but Mahomet was not permitted to enjoy, only to participate, this time, I was allowed to enjoy it as well!"
We hugged in a long embrace, Drew and I on either side, and Mahomet in the middle.
"And it is the first time I have ever been inside another man. I can't wait for another chance!" Drew said.
Realizing that our time, before the others returned, was growing short, we all got dressed. As Drew was buckeling his sword belt, there came a knock on the door. I opened it to see Musal smiling and the soldier standing behind him.
"Did you have a good time with the soldiers?"
"I got to see the big motors that drive the boat, and the captain of the boat let me turn the big wheel, and I watched the men put great scoops of wood into the big room full of fire, and."
I laughed out loud at his excitement, and then thanked the soldier for being so kind to him.
"The lad's a laugh, he looked at everything with wide eyes, and couldn't stop talking about everything. And did you three have a good time?" he grinned.
"Yes, it was wonderful, thank you for allowing Private Davis to spend some time with us."
"He's a good lad, and he deserves his happiness too. I just hope that you didn't take all the spunk out of him, because I know a Corporal back at the Garrison who is straining at the bit to have a go with him!"
He smiled at Drew, who immediately turned bright red, as we all had a bit of a laugh.
"You.you knew?"
"Of course I knew Private, I've been in Her Majesties' service a long time, great hell, I've even bedded a young private or two in my day, and I can tell you, I knew the first time I ever saw you, and the Corporal too, and I have known for over a fortnight that he wanted you, and why not, you're both about the same age, and you're both damned fine looking, so when we get back to the Garrison, I suggest that you two get real aquainted, and don't worry about the Major, what he don't know, don't hurt."
Drew was all smiles as he turned to hug Mahomet and myself before he left the stateroom.
Once they had left, I turned to Mahomet and Musal.
"You boys need to sit down as we have something serious to discuss."
They sat on the edge of the bed and I pulled a chair in front of them. I wondered where to begin.
"When we get to Cairo, I will be meeting someone. He's my mate from school back in England, and he doesn't know anything about you two."
"Does that mean that you want nothing to do with Mahomet and me when we get there?"
"Oh no, sweet little Musal, you will both be with me, from now on, but I will need a little time to explain to Jack about the two of you. I'm afraid that all this may be quite a shock to him, and he may even want to leave and go back to England before we are through with our trip."
"But.does he not love you as we do? Will he not see that Musal and I are part of your family now?"
"Yes, I am sure that he does love me, perhaps not the way that the two of you do, and definitely not the way that you and I do, we have been mates.er.friends, since we were little, perhaps Musal's age, but I fear that it will be hard for him to understand, and more than that, I fear that he may be jealous, because this trip was planned for just him and me, two friends seeing the world, or at least a big part of it, together."
"And if he does not want to continue on, with us, will you send us away?"
"Mahomet, I could never send you away, nor Musal either. And if Jack wishes to return to England, and I hope he won't, but if he does, so be it. I will be hurt, but the two of you are important to me, and I hope that Jack can understand that. You belong with me now, and I with you, and I will try to explain all that to Jack so that he understands."
The two of them began to whisper to themselves, nodding their heads vigorously at times.
"Robert, we love you, and we know that you love us, and Jack is your friend. We have decided that we love Jack as well, because he is your friend and he loves you too. You will see, your Jack will love us as well!" The boy spoke as though he possessed the wisdom of the ancient oracle's. I had to stand between the two and hug my boys.
"Well, I guess we should be getting things ready, we shall be docking at Cairo soon and the porters will be coming to gather our bags."
We got our things in order and packed everything neatly. Musal wanted to go on decks to watch as the boat docked, so we left our stateroom. As we passed a porter, I asked him to see to our baggage for us. We walked to the railing to watch as the men worked to bring the big boat to the side of the dock. I saw Jack in the crowd of people gathered to greet the boat, and called out to him as I waved. We began quickly moving to where they would place the gangway, and were joined by the four soldiers. Jack had spotted me, and began waving furiously as he made his way along the dock toward the gangway.
When we eventually got to the bottom of the gangway, Jack was there and threw his arms around me. We hugged each other tightly, more so than I thought was normal for two friends, as he whispered in my ear, "I've missed you so much!"
As we moved away from the crowd, I looked at my friend in a different way than I ever had.
"I have missed you too Jack, and I have a surprise for you. I want you to meet Mahomet and Musal."
"I already know about them, your father sent me a cable at the hospital, and we have a huge suite at the hotel, it's like the palace at Buckingham. But we need to get your bags and get you to the hotel and settled in. I have a carriage waiting."
As the last of the passengers disembarked, the porters were making their way down the gangway with baggage. I recognized the porter that I had spoken to as he approached me. He followed us to the carriage and loaded the bags into the boot as we got into the carriage. As the driver snapped the horses, the carriage lurched forward. We passed hundreds of people as the carriage made it's way to the hotel. The footman at the hotel opened the carriage door to help us all down, and had a bellman gather our bags. We entered the lobby and Jack led us straight up the great staircase to our suite. Once inside, the bellman put our bags down and Jack handed him a coin, dismissing him, and locking the door behind him.
"Now, this must be Mahomet, and this little one must be Musal. It feels like I have been waiting forever to meet the two of you. So tell me, has Robert been taking good care of you two?"
"Jack, I'm truly surprised, I was afraid that you would want to leave for England when you found out about the boys."
"Don't be a goose, your father explained everything in his cable. It just means that we have to have larger accommodations is all. And your father has also cabled the bank with more funds to cover the added expenses for transportation and food."
"Well, there is something that my father didn't tell you, because he has no knowledge of it. And I think you should sit down to hear this. It may come as quite a shock!"
His expression changed as his face took on a bit of a scowel.
"What could be so terrible that you think I would go running back to London with my tail between my legs?"
"Please Jack, sit down and listen to what I have to say, then after I have finished, we will talk rationally, and you can make a decission then."
Jack sat on the large chair, looking rather dumbfounded, but ready to listen to what I had to say. I began to feel as though I might throw up, so I found a pitcher of water and poured a glass and drank from it.
"First of all, we've been mates as long as I can remember, so I feel as though I can tell you anything. I love you as though you were my own brother, if not more."
"Well, that goes without being said, and I love you too Robert."
"What I am going to tell you may change your mind, but I hope that you can still love me as much as I do you. You see, while I was in Morocco something happened. Something so profound it has changed my whole life."
"I know mate, you saved the boys from an otherwise horrendous fate."
"Well, that too, but something else, you see, I fell in love in Morocco. I didn't mean for it to happen, it just did."
"I hope that you didn't go and get involved with a Moroccan girl, you know you can be put in prison for that."
"No, it was nothing like that. I fell in love with.er.with Mahomet. It started as just a sexual encounter, spurred on by a friend I made at the hotel, but it has evolved into love."
Jack looked over at Mahomet and then back to me, and then at Musal, and then questioningly at me.
"No! I have not done anything with Musal, I would never even consider such a thing. He is still a baby! But that was his lot, before I hatched my plan to steal him and Mahomet away from that life."
Jack looked shocked at first, and his expression suddenly changed as a great smile began to play across his face.
"Fucking hell, Robert," he said as he suddenly stood up, "This is wonderful news!"
"Wha.what? Have you not listened to what I've been trying to tell you? Ive fallen in love with another man, and whats more, I am in love with you as well, and have been for years!"
I had begun to cry.
"Don't you see Robert, my dear sweet Robert, I've been in love with you as well, ever since we were young boys in school. I was afraid to tell you for fear that you would hate me. I had hoped that we could use this trip as a means of discovery! And now, you have revealed to me almost exactly what I had planned to reveal to you. This is all so wonderful!"
"Bu.bu.but, I er.I never imagined, I."
Jack and I threw our arms round each other and hugged tightly.
"But I love Mahomet too, this is all too complicated for me. I love my oldest and dearest friend, and I also love my beautiful Mahomet, how.what.this can never work out. It's just impossible!"
"Robert, I love you, and I am sure that I will come to love Mahomet as well, and hope that he will come to love me too. But what ever happens, we will work it out. And who knows, I may find someone else for the three of us to share our love with. However, I must say, that you had me worried. I was expecting you to tell me that you didn't want me as a friend any more. Now that I couldn't have stood!"
I leaned in to him and kissed him softly on the lips, then drew back. "Jack, I could never stop being your friend, any more than I could make the moon rise in the west or the sun not shine. And now that we know each other's heart as well, it will take more than the Queens' Own Regiment to tear us apart."
I motioned for Mahomet to join us and we both put our arms round him and hugged him to us. Then little Musal, my sweet little Musal came over and he hugged us all as best as he could. We all knelt down and Jack and I lifted him in our arms, putting him between us as Mahomet, Jack and I stood round him, hugging him and each other tightly.