Conrad Jones was sixty-six years old when his partner of forty-two years died of a massive heart attack. Joshua Steiner was shoveling snow off their driveway in Astoria, Queens, New York. It was still snowing, and it was cold and blustery outside, but he chose to ignore his partner's advice to wait until the snow stopped.
"It'll be too heavy then," Josh explained. "I'd rather do two or three light loads than one heavy one."
Josh had just celebrated his seventy-first birthday the day before, and was determined to prove to himself that he was still fit, and full of piss and vinegar. He had never been sick a day in his life. Suddenly, in spite of the frigid weather, he got hot and clammy all over. The world began to spin, and he was beset with terrible nausea. The last thing he remembered was that he began to vomit up his recently eaten breakfast.
Connie was in a daze for weeks. Somehow he got through the funeral. Settling Josh's estate, and completing all the paperwork, dragged on for almost a year. During that time, he could barely function, so he sold his CPA practice to a young associate, and retired.
The first anniversary of Josh's death dawned similarly to the year before. It was January 5th, and it was snowing just as heavily as on that day. Connie made a bowl of oatmeal for himself, and ate it at the kitchen table. He was wearing his warmest, heaviest bathrobe, and as he spooned down his cereal, it occurred to him that he looked and felt like an old man. Suddenly he sat bolt upright in his chair. He could hear Josh yelling at him. "Damn you, Connie. It's time for you to start living again. I never meant for you to die with me."
Connie wasn't sure if he actually heard Josh's voice or if he imagined it, but the message was clear. He made a decision then and there. It was something he had been mulling over in his mind for weeks now, especially since the winter air began to chill his bones.
Josh and Connie's best friends, `Ace' Gallo and Jimmy Romano had moved to a beautiful two bedroom condo in Deerfield Beach, FL just two years earlier. The apartment was on the third floor, and faced the ocean. Their view was tranquil, and very beautiful.
Alfred Gallo was nicknamed, Ace, by his friends, because his garage was so full of tools, that they were convinced he had more gadgets than Ace Hardware. When he moved to Florida, he sold almost all of his precious tools, and made enough money to pay for the move, and then some.
Ace and Jimmy tried desperately to get Connie to spend some time with them after Josh's funeral, but he kept turning them down because he was so busy. This snowy morning, after hearing Josh yell at him, he decided to take them up on their offer. He called them quickly, lest he lose his nerve. He got their answering machine, and left a message. They didn't return his call until late afternoon.
"Where have you been?" Connie asked, not because he was nosy. He really wanted to know what two retired seniors did all day, on a week day, no less. He was really curious because his own life had come to a screeching halt.
"We spent most of the day at the beach," Ace answered. "We had breakfast at a coffee shop first, and then we had a hot dog at the beach. We are still debating if we should go out for dinner or stay home tonight. But enough of that! How are you doing, and when are you finally coming down for a stay? I hear it's snowing in New York right now."
"It sure is," Connie answered. "It started during the night and isn't expected to let up until tomorrow. Is your invitation still open?"
Ace gave out a little screech. "It sure is. You can stay until spring if you like, or stay forever. That will be up to you."
Since he had no idea how long he would stay, Connie booked his trip that day, with an open-ended return ticket. Two weeks later, Jimmy was at the airport to meet his friend. As Connie walked toward baggage claim at Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport, he was amazed. It seemed bigger and busier here than LaGuardia. For some idiotic reason he expected the airport to be a Quonset hut, surrounded by acres of open fields. He never expected it to be the typical airport of a large metropolitan city.
Connie picked up his two large suitcases, and struggled his way to get out of the terminal. Finally outside, he was hit with such welcomed warmth, as he had not felt since last summer. He took a deep breath and sighed.
His friends said that he should look for a red Hyundai Sonata; they would pick him up at curbside. There were so many people and so many pick-up cars, that Connie began to get frazzled. He thought that he was a fool to have come here, and to have left the comforts of home.
Finally he heard a honking horn, and looked out to see the red Hyundai. It was practically in the middle of the road, unable to get anywhere near the curb. Connie schlepped the suitcases toward the car, and the trunk popped open. He put his luggage in the trunk with Jimmy's help. Jimmy got into the driver's seat, and Connie occupied the front passenger seat.
"Where's Ace?" he asked.
"He decided to stay home and make us one of his fabulous, gourmet Italian meals instead of going out this evening. We figured you'd be tired and want to relax," Jimmy answered.
"You are so right. Thank you both for reading my mind. We'll have lots of time to run around, but tonight I just want to relax and get some sleep. I've been so apprehensive about this trip, I haven't been able to sleep for days."
Jimmy grew a bit upset. "Why would a visit to your two best and oldest friends bring on such anxiety?"
"It wasn't you guys. It was the hassle of travel. I don't do travel very well any more." The car grew silent, and the two old friends hardly talked the rest of the way home.
Connie was grateful for two things that evening. First off, Ace and Jimmy had not invited a fourth for dinner in a vain attempt to fix him up. Secondly, they were content to stay home his first evening in Florida, and they didn't make a fuss when he retired early.
But his friends had different ideas for the rest of Connie's visit, however long or short that would be. They were determined to bombard Connie with the joys of retirement in Sunny South Florida.
The next morning when Connie came into the kitchen for breakfast, Ace and Jimmy were wearing swim suits. Connie was surprised to see them packing a picnic basket. Ace said, "Go change into a swim suit. We're going to the beach after breakfast."
"Wow! We're going swimming in mid-January. It'll take me some time to get used to that idea."
"You'll be getting used to a million lovely ideas," Jimmy said.
Forty-three years ago, on Thursday, July 3, 1970, twenty-four year old Conrad Jones was on his way to Fire Island on a ferry-boat. He and his buddy Jimmy Romano had split the cost of a hotel room for the holiday weekend. They agreed that if they didn't hook-up with someone, they would enjoy sex together. They were good friends, who had never had sex together, but as Jimmy so aptly put it, "I'm not spending all this money and not getting laid, so if it must be you and me, then so be it." Fortunately Connie agreed.
The hotel boasted a pool and a private beach, which were both clothing optional. The young men were well hung and uncut. They were always stared at in the bath houses in New York, and they had no trouble scoring there. They couldn't wait to get settled in their room, and then out to the nude facilities.
Standing not ten feet away, staring expectantly over the ship's rail, was a more mature gentleman of twenty-nine. Josh Steiner was also looking forward to a weekend of debauchery. He had major commitment problems, and therefore he was alone, but the hotel had matched him with another single. He and someone named Al Gallo, who was twenty-six, would be sharing the room. Josh was a physical fitness aficionado, and accordingly, was built like the proverbial brick pizzeria. He hoped that Al would not be a pimply-faced nerd. His and Al's room was adjacent to Connie and Jim's. In fact, they had an adjoining door.
As soon as the four men were unpacked, they all put on bathing suits. The hotel prohibited nudity in the hotel proper. They grabbed towels and headed for the beach. Leaving their rooms, they literally ran into each other. They introduced each other properly, and when they found out that they were all headed in the same direction, they went together.
By the time they reached the beach, they were laughing and joking like old friends. They couldn't wait to shed their suits, so that they could check each other out. Connie and Jimmy knew they were well hung, but as it developed, both Josh and Al were hung like donkeys.
Ingenuously, Connie gawked at both men and yelled, "WOW!"
"Knock it off," Josh told him. "You're pretty substantial yourself. Besides, I'm the one who should be self-conscious. I'm the only one of us who is circumcised. That's the burden life hands out to little Jewish baby boys."
Maybe it was because they were both of Italian descent, but Al and Jimmy were drawn to each other. They put their towels down side by side, and ran to the water. Josh and Connie just sat on their towels, and settled down to enjoy the eye candy. After about fifteen minutes, Josh asked Connie if he would like to go into the cool and very inviting ocean. Connie nodded and Josh jumped up. He extended his hand to Connie to help him up. When their hands clasped, it felt so good, that they both smiled at each other.
Al and Jimmy were grab-assing in the water. As soon as he got into the water, Connie started towards them, but Josh grabbed his hand and pulled him in another direction. "Let them be," Josh said. "I think they are getting something going here."
When Josh pulled on Connie's arm, their bodies brushed together. Connie never held back from speaking his mind. "Maybe we have something going too. I'm hard as nails."
"That's interesting," Josh said, and he reached under the water to attest to Connie's hardness. As soon as his palm enveloped Connie's cock, he felt it jerk, and Connie whimpered, "Shit. I just came."
That evening at dinner, the four men sat at the same table, and really got to know all about each other. They couldn't know it at the time, but a life time friendship was growing. After dinner they went to the hotel ballroom and danced most of the night away. Of course, Josh danced with Connie, and Al danced with Jimmy. The two couples slow-danced, and could not have pushed their stiff cocks any closer against each other.
"Will you sleep with me tonight?" Josh asked Connie.
"I thought you'd never ask."
Just then Jimmy came over and asked Connie if he would mind camping out in Josh's room, because he and Al wanted to sleep together. Josh and Connie doubled over from laughing so hard.
"I have to warn you," Ace said, "we're going to a gay, nude beach in Ft. Lauderdale. It's not like the wild old days on Fire Island, but it's wild enough for us old farts."
"You'll forgive me if the best I can do is eye the candy," Connie said.
"Of course. That's all that we do also." They packed the picnic basket, towels and beach chairs in the car and headed south toward Ft. Lauderdale on I-95. They had to park in a parking garage a couple of streets from the beach. Among the three of them, they managed to cart everything onto the sand. They set up the beach chairs, and stripped.
"Remember the first time on Fire Island?" Jimmy asked Ace. "I couldn't stop staring at your humongous dick."
"It was all yours the moment you started grabbing for it in the water, Babe."
Connie just smiled at them. Suddenly he missed Josh so much, he wanted to cry, but he controlled himself.
Jimmy and Ace sat for awhile viewing the array of varying body and cock sizes. After a time, Ace asked if anyone wanted to go in the water for a swim. Jimmy jumped up but Connie declined. "Go have fun," he said, while I simply soak up this glorious weather."
His hosts weren't gone a minute when Connie heard a voice ask, "Was that Jimmy and Ace that just went into the water?" He looked up to see a handsome, tall, slightly chubby man, who did not look like he was more than fifty or so years young. He set up a beach chair right next to Connie.
"Yes," Connie answered simply.
The man leaned down and held out his hand. "Jerry Atkins," he said. "I'm a friend of theirs. We live in the same building. In fact, I'm right above them on the fourth floor. They like to kid me about being a top."
"Are you?" Connie asked.
"Am I what?"
"A top?"
"Let's say, I'm versatile. The guys told me that they were expecting an old friend from New York. Would that be you?"
"Yes. Where are my manners? I'm Connie Jones."
"Welcome, Connie Jones."
The two men smiled at each other and Jerry began to strip. Connie did a double take. It was déjà vu, and he was transported back to Fire Island when he first saw Josh's magnificent naked body. Jerry was as big as Josh and he was circumcised.
"I don't mean to pry," Jerry said, "but tomorrow is Sunday. Ace, Jimmy and I always go to church together, and then we have lunch out. It's sort of a Sunday ritual. I don't know what your religion is, but will you be going with us?"
"I'm Lutheran, and my late partner was Jewish. We didn't attend any church really. Jimmy and Ace are Catholics. I'm not sure I want to go to a Catholic mass."
Jerry smiled. "The church is non-denominational Protestant. It's a gay church. If you're gay, or if you can't stand discrimination against gays, or anybody for that matter, I promise you, you will be comfortable there."
"I guess I'll be joining you then."
Suddenly Connie had a disturbing thought. "Did you know that we would be here today, or is this truly a chance meeting?" he asked Jerry.
"I assure you," Jerry smiled. "I had no idea you would be here today. It's a total surprise and a very pleasant one. If I did know, I would have tagged along in one car, and saved the parking fees." He smiled at Connie and melted Connie's reserves.
They sat without talking for a little while, just enjoying the tranquility of the beach, and then Jerry said, "I think I'll join the guys in the water. Would you like to come with me?"
"Yes, I'd like that a lot."
They all went out to dinner that evening to a gay bar and restaurant in the gay section of Ft. Lauderdale. It was a wonderfully festive evening, but all Connie could think about was what happened on the beach. Once they were in the water, Jerry kept fondling him, until he could resist no longer and he fondled Jerry right back. Dammit. Jerry felt just like Josh; huge and cut. At first Connie wanted to cry. Then he wanted to stop fondling this perfect stranger, but he couldn't discipline himself enough to do so. Instead he began to stroke Jerry seriously. Jerry pushed against him, and whimpered in his ear as he came.
Immediately Connie sobered up. He ran out of the water and back onto the beach. The four men spent another three hours on the beach, and neither Jerry nor Connie mentioned the incident. Connie kept kicking himself for running away. He was sure that Jerry would have done as much for him if he hadn't chickened out. He sorely needed to have an orgasm. He was convinced that his balls were blue, but he didn't dare look.
At the dinner table Jerry kept reaching for Connie's hand, but Connie kept taking his hand away. Jerry kept smiling at Connie, but after awhile, he began to wonder what was going on with Connie. As for Connie, he couldn't imagine what Jerry saw in him. He was at least fifteen years older and pretty long in the tooth.
In a not so subtle effort to point out their age differences, Connie asked, "How old are you, Jerry?"
"Sixty-two."
"No way. You don't look a day over fifty."
"Well thanks, old man," Jerry said and broke out laughing. For some reason that confession made Connie feel better, but he was still convinced that he wasn't ready for a relationship, at least, not yet.
The piano player began to play a slow number, and Ace and Jimmy got up to dance. Jerry stood up also, and offered his hand to Connie. On the dance floor the two men wrapped their arms around each other's waists, and began to gyrate to the music. Instantly Connie was transported back to Fire Island and his first dance with Josh. He could feel Jerry grinding his erection into his flaccid cock.
Suddenly Connie gripped Jerry harder to keep from falling. This encouraged Jerry to rub harder against him. Connie grabbed tighter onto Jerry because he nearly fainted when he distinctly heard Josh's voice once again.
"Remember how good it was? I want you to have it all again. I love you, Babe, but you must move on. Give Jerry a chance. He's a good guy, and just right for you. He's going to try to kiss you. Let him."
When Connie felt that he could finally stand on his own legs, he looked into Jerry's eyes. Jerry was smiling and he pulled Connie in for a kiss. The kiss lasted at least a minute, and got more and more passionate. Now two erect cocks were rubbing together.
"We'd better stop," Connie said, "or I'll cum right here on the dance floor."
"Will you sleep with me tonight?" Jerry asked.
Connie got faint again. Those were Josh's words exactly as he had spoken them on Fire Island so many years ago. The words came out of Jerry's mouth, but the voice that spoke them, belonged to Joshua Steiner.
Connie was incapable of speech, so he just held Jerry closer if that was possible. Once again, Jerry leaned his face into Connie's and smiled at him, before he began to smother him with kisses.
When the four friends left the restaurant, they drove straight home. Connie stopped at Ace and Jimmy's apartment, and gathered up some toiletries and clothes for the next day. They agreed to meet for a light breakfast at a nearby coffee shop before going to church, and Connie went upstairs with Jerry. He was nervous and shaking like a leaf. Jerry was aware of Connie's state of agitation. He kept assuring him that their finding each other was fated, and that all would be well.
They hadn't waited for the elevator, but decided to climb the stairs. On the way up, mixed with Jerry's soothing voice, Connie distinctly heard Josh's voice yet again. "This is what I want for you, darling. Don't fight it. Give yourself totally over to Jerry. He will love you as much as I did, and you will love him in return."
Connie fell against the banister, and held tight to it to keep from falling. "What's wrong, Connie?" Jerry asked as he grabbed hold of the stricken man.
"Nothing is wrong. I need to lie down for a minute or two. I'm just overwhelmed by all that's happening."
"Of course, of course! I understand," Jerry said sympathetically. I'm amazed myself at how fast all this is playing out. If I didn't know better I would say that we are being propelled by cosmic forces."
"If so," Connie conjectured, "it's a good thing that we are going to church tomorrow."
When they reached Jerry's apartment, Jerry helped Connie undress and he laid his new love gently on his bed. "We don't have to do anything tonight, Darling. Just get a good night's sleep. I'll be content just to lie next to you."
It occurred to Connie that he knew nothing about Jerry, but all he did was talk about Josh to Jerry. That could not have made Jerry very comfortable, he thought. "Have you ever been in a relationship?" Jerry, he asked. "Long or short?"
"Oh yes; very long. I had a lover for thirty-five years. We lived together from the time I was twenty-three years old. Bobby owned a convenience store in Merrick, Long Island. One night, he was robbed. He foolishly resisted the freaks that robbed him, and was rewarded with a bullet to his head for his efforts."
Jerry started to cry, and Connie put his arms around him to console him. He went on. "He left me more money than I knew he had, so I took early retirement and moved down here. When Ace and Jimmy moved in a couple of years ago, there was instant chemistry among us, and we became good friends. Without their friendship, I don't think I would have made it. At one point I even contemplated suicide." He started to cry again.
Connie hugged him harder. The two men held each other tightly, all the while rocking back and forth. Eventually they fell asleep that way, without ever having made love. It was enough that they were kindred souls, and they had found each other.
Things were different in the morning. About four o'clock in the morning, Jerry woke up. He had to pee badly, so he risked waking Connie by unraveling himself. While he was peeing, he heard Connie say, "I need to take a leak also."
"I'm almost done."
When they had both peed, they brushed their teeth, and went back to bed. They were naked, just like at the beach, but somehow they both seemed more repressed.
"I need to tell you something," Jerry said. "For the past few days, I have imagined that I heard Bobby's voice. He kept telling me that I was going to meet somebody, and I would fall in love. He begged me not to repress my feelings, and to actively pursue that person. He even told me that the someone would be a visitor from New York. When Jimmy told me about your impending visit, I actually grew afraid. This situation could be considered paranormal by some people."
"Good God! The only reason I'm here at all is because I kept hearing Josh's voice urging me to come for a visit. When you showed up, I heard him practically begging me to pursue a relationship with you. I'm scared Jerry. What do you make of it?"
"I'm not sure what to make of the situation, but I sure would like to make love with you." That having been said, Jerry started kissing his way down Connie's body. He couldn't know of course, but Connie was very ticklish. He began to giggle, and Jerry suckled even harder. They were going to have a great time.
When Jerry began to suckle Connie's nipples, Connie gave out one great big sigh, and before he even realized what had happened, Jerry was sucking his cock. His strokes were firm, but gentle. Connie was unable to control himself, and he came quickly, gushing down Jerry's gullet.
Afterward, they lay side by side and recuperated. "I haven't tasted cum in a long time," Jerry confessed. "God, it tasted so good."
"It's been a long time for me too," Connie said. He didn't wait for preliminaries, but bent over and took all of Jerry's massive cock into his mouth.
"Wait, I have something to tell you first," Jerry said. "I've had my prostate removed. I orgasm but I don't ejaculate."
"Then I'll have to be content just to suck a fat cock, and in the future don't be so selfish. Share my cum with me." Connie then resumed where he left off.
Their next encounter occurred in the shower. Jerry brought his jack-off lube into the shower and laid it on a shelf. Although both men were in their sixties, they still got hard as a rock. Love making had been so long ago for both of them, that they had no trouble fucking in the shower and bringing each other to a glorious screaming conclusion. When Connie could not feel any semen filling him up, he was very disappointed, but of course, he would never tell Jerry that.
Connie stayed in Florida until after Easter. Jerry went back to New York with him to help him pack up his house, and hopefully to sell it quickly. The morning they left, Jimmy drove them to the airport, but they would drive back in Connie's car.
The house sold in June with a late August closing date. Connie managed to push the closing date back to after Labor Day, and he and Jerry spent the summer in New York. It wasn't any cooler than in Deerfield Beach.
The delay in closing gave Connie plenty of time to decide what he could bring down to Florida with him. Since he was moving in with Jerry, he had sold the house furnished, except for a few precious, must have, memories.
The first night they were alone in his house, Connie was very candid with Jerry. "I wouldn't feel right making love in Josh's bed. Please forgive me if we use the guest room."
They had made love often enough in Jerry's bed, but it was a bed he bought in Florida, and Bobby had never slept in it. He was about to tell Connie that he understood, when suddenly he heard Connie gasp. As clear as if Josh was in the room with them, Connie heard Josh's voice. "Don't be a complete dunderhead," the voice said. "Our bed was made for loving, and I want to see it used that way."
When he heard Connie's gasp, Jerry grew concerned. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing is wrong. Everything is wonderful. Let's sleep in the master bedroom, in our bed." Connie embraced Jerry, and leaned up to him for a long and passionate kiss.
"Please fuck me tonight," Connie directed. "And don't make it gentle."
On their last night in the house, they packed the car, and went to bed early to get an early start on the road. They did not make love. The alarm went off at 4:30 AM. They showered together, packed their overnight bags and left the house for the last time. Before getting in the car, Connie turned around and silently said goodbye to Josh, and all the happy memories he had in this house.
As tears flowed down his cheeks, he heard Josh's voice again. "Don't cry, my love. I'll always be with you, and someday we'll be together again."
Connie got behind the wheel and Jerry got comfortable in the passenger seat. They headed the car to Manhattan and on to New Jersey for the trip south.
Connie never heard Josh's voice again. In time, much as he hated to admit it, he came to doubt that he had ever heard Josh at all. Fortunately, Jerry was there to remind him that he had heard Bobby's voice; they both could not have imagined it. They made a pact never to talk of it, but Connie believed again.