Protecting David 9

Late October in the Midwest is a time of cool crisp nights, with fireplaces starting to be used for the first time in months and of enormous, pale gold, harvest moons rising slowly through the trees into the evening sky. The trees, having saved their best for last, now let their leaves go, and they drift down in a steady rain of gold and rust to form a crunchy coating on the ground below. It’s a time for trips to small orchards for bushels of apples and of searching with little boys for the perfect pumpkin. In a tough year, the end of October can be a time of surprise snowstorms, and in kinder years, warm dry days lit by a sun sitting at a lowering angle, but it’s always a time of change, a time of settling in, of nesting. It’s also David’s birthday, October 29th.
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When I walked into our favorite restaurant George the owner greeted me like a long lost relative, his son’s in the Army now and when he found out that I had been in too, it changed our relationship. Now I was an authority, someone to be consulted, almost a member of the family. I extricated myself as best I could and worked my way toward David. The waiter was just setting martinis and menus at our booth. David thanked the guy and then saw me and smiled. I slid into the booth.

“Happy birthday sweetheart.” I lifted the martini as did David and we clinked glasses.

David gave me a twisted little smile. “I have mixed emotions.”

“David you were a hot guy yesterday, you’re a hot guy today and you’ll be a hot guy tomorrow.” I reached over and took his hand. “And besides, I love you, period, and I don’t care how old you are and besides, everybody thinks that I’m older than you. You don’t show your age. Geez, when you were twenty you musta looked like twelve.”

David laughed. “I did! God, how I hated it. But don’t keep me in suspense, what did Frank give you?”

“Oh come on David! You can’t tell me that Frank didn’t tell you.”

“Honest Mark, he didn’t. I made him promise not to. I know how you feel about that.”

“Sure?”

“I swear Mark! So fucking tell me!”

“Special Assistant to the President,” I shrugged my shoulders, “sounds good anyway. Big pay increase and I get to hold the hand of every general on the planet.”

“You don’t sound too thrilled with it. It sounds good.”

“Actually I am thrilled with it. I wasn’t sure at first but the more I thought about I realized that it gave me maximum freedom and it lets me do what I do best, schmooz the military. Anyway my office is right next to Franks. There’s even a connecting door.”

David looked down at his drink and then up at me. “Sounds like Frank wants someone close that he knows he can trust. I have a feeling there’ll be more to that job than you think.”

“Maybe, I hope anyway. Who’s with Alex, Joan?” I was poking around in the relish tray.

“Yeah they get along. But I have a woman coming over later in the week, a Mrs. Meurer, I think. Anyway her husband died about a year and a half ago and she’s looking for something to do but the neat thing is that she’s originally from the Alsace in France and she speaks German as well as French and of course English. I think that would be good for Alex. I mean not to totally loose his German and maybe pickup a bit of French. So far she’s checked out okay too.”

“David, how on earth do you check these people out?” I popped an olive in my mouth.

“We use a company in Los Angeles. They do a very thorough job and it’s vital thing for us.”

David pushed his hand across the table until his fingertips touched mine. “So anyway…… Halloween. You wanna give out candy at the house or walk Alex around?”

I smiled. “When you ask something like that you usually have your own idea of what I should do. Sweetheart why don’t you just tell me, it’ll save a lot of time.”

David laughed. “Yeah, well, you’re right. I want you to walk him around the neighborhood. Cause you’re big and nobody would try anything with you around.”

“Have you heard something? Why would you be afraid of that?” I could feel the hair rising on the back of my neck.

“No, no! Calm down! It’s just like a pet fear of mine. It happened in our town when I was a little kid and the parents all freaked and scared the shit out of us kids and now I always think of it.” David was flexing his fingers against mine. “So will ya do it?”

I put my hand over his and held it. “Of course babe, don’t worry. Nobody is gonna touch Alex.”

“Good! I mean I know that it’s nuts but it’s just one of those weird things that adults put into kids heads that ends up driving them crazy later in life.”

David leaned back a bit and smiled. “Okay so where’s my present?”

“Present?”

“Oh right! You been asking questions all week, you’ve been maneuvering all week and you’re really lousy at trying to conceal things, so fork it over. Whatcha get me?”

I was laughing out loud. “Well you little fucker I guess you’re right. Okay but if you hate it you gotta tell me. No wait it’s been…..well you’ll see.” I reached into my inner jacket pocket and pulled out the thin package and slid it over to him. His green eyes were dancing with the pleasure of the moment and the light of the flickering candle on the table.

David tore the package open like a little kid and lifted the watch out, the supple links of the band draping over his fingers like heavy silk. “Oh wow! It’s beautiful! Oh man, I love the black dial!”

“It’s automatic. You don’t ever have to wind it or change the battery. And see that little dial tells you how wound it is and the other one shows the date.”

“Geez, it feels so heavy!” David turned the watch over and then held it near the candle so that he could read the inscription. “Oh…..yeah.” He looked at me his eyes glistening.
“ Forever Mark………. forever. You know that.”

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We got home early to relieve Joan and maybe more because we wanted to be there to put Alex to bed. There’s something important about putting kids to bed, something big.

Alex came running to us when we came in through the garage, Joe as usual was right behind, his tail going a mile a minute. I scooped Alex up and kissed his neck and made him squirm.

He squealed. “Daddy that tickles!”

“I know you little devil, that’s why I do it.” I handed him off to David who kissed him on the chin and then tilted him over so that he was practically upside down and shrieking and then shrieking even louder when Joe came over and started licking his face.

Joan came in to the kitchen for a second with her coat on. “You guys are home early.”

David laughed. “We missed the little monster.”

Joan bent down and kissed Alex. “Night sweetheart.”

“Night Mrs.Gallagher.”

“Guys I’m gonna run. This actually let’s me get something done tonight.”

David saw Joan to the door while Alex and I walked to his bedroom.

David walked into Alex’s bedroom just as I was pulling the covers up to his chin.

“Daddy can I have the light on in the bathroom.”

Leaning down to kiss his forehead David asked. “The big light or the little light?”

“The little light, Joe doesn’t like the big light on.”

“Okay sweetheart, you got it.”

I hunkered down next to Alex’s bed and touched his hair with my fingers. “Night Alex.”

Alex sat up for a second and leaning over, hugged me. “Night Dad.”

I looked down the bed at Joe and he looked like he wanted a hug too so I petted his head and scratched behind his ears. He closed his eyes and pushed his snout towards me.

When I got to the door I turned and asked Alex. “Open or closed?”

“Open but just a little bit.”

“Night son.”

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David was in our bedroom hanging up his suit, I stood in front of him while I undressed.

“Alex is so cute. I love it when we put him to bed.” I laughed. “What is that smell that clean little boys have?”

David smiled at me. “Probably the smell of innocence.”

I stepped out of my pants and threw them on a chair and then took David’s face in my hands. I spoke softly. “He doesn’t smell as good as you do.” I kissed him slowly and deeply, probing with my tongue and sucking on his. I pulled him to my chest. “I wish I could tell you how good you smell. So clean, and well, kinda electric and something more.” I laughed and then kissed him again and again until he was up against the wall. I began kissing him under his left ear and he began to squirm and twist his head. He draped his arms around my neck and pulled me down turning his head so that our lips met yet again.

David laid his head on my chest while I rocked him gently. Finally I lifted his head.

“Let’s get you outta these clothes.”

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Directly across from our bed, against the wall, is a television set and sometimes when we put Alex to bed we’ll just go to bed ourselves and watch it for a while and that’s what we did tonight. As usual David was lying with his head on my lower chest and his right arm underneath me. Like tonight, it’s not unusual for David to be cupping my cock and balls in his left hand. My balls have always intrigued him and he likes playing with them, squeezing them gently and pulling on them with great care. I’m no longer sure that he even realizes that he’s doing it, it’s just kinda a natural thing for him to do. This is something that eventually makes me hard but not until it takes on sexual overtones, but at the moment he’s just playing. At this stage of the evening I’m usually, as I am tonight, stroking David’s hair and lightly massaging his neck and back with my left hand.

David suddenly looked down at his left wrist. “According to my really beautiful new watch, the time is now 9:36.”

He pulled his arm out from underneath me and then swung his leg over and straddled my lap, putting his hands on my shoulders David leaned forward and kissed me lightly. “I love my present.”

I smiled at him. “It may not be the only thing you’re gonna get tonight.” I pulled his face towards me again and as his lips met mine I shoved my tongue into his mouth.

Kissing David is one of the things that makes life worth living, he’s so intense about it and so incredibly good at it. There’s so much to him; I mean on the surface there are his good looks, in him there’s this incredibly bright mind that never overwhelms and a great reservoir of kindness that is so much a part of him that you don’t always notice it except sometimes days later and somehow when I kiss David I can feel this all inside of him, see it in those incandescent eyes.

But right now the little fucker has my cock trapped under his naked butt and is slowly massaging it as he moves forward and back a half inch at a time. His own cock is pointing straight up. He looks down at my dick sticking out from between his legs but pressed against my stomach.

“You sure make a lot of precum.” He says.

“That’s cause there’s this hot little fucker playing cowboy on my dick.” He smiles at me and those eyes flash. He reaches down with his right index finger and scoops up some precum. Then slowly puts the finger in his mouth and sucks on it.

He smiles wickedly at me. “Want a taste?”

“I already know what it…………….” But he’s already scooped up more and is shoving his finger in my mouth. The precum is pretty much without taste but any part of David in my mouth is good and I suck slowly on his finger while he stares at me like he’s just fed me pizza with anchovies and is waiting for my reaction.

My reaction is to reach forward and wrap my hand around his cock. “You remember that this was the first position that we ever had sex in?”

“Geez, I hadn’t thought about it but you’re right.” He’s slowly thrusting his cock into my fist. “God I needed that fuck!”

I laughed. “So fucking did I! You’re the first guy I ever had sex with. Geez, you’re the only guy that I’ve had sex with, now that I think about it.”

David put his hands on my shoulders and leaned down and kissed me again. “Well don’t dwell on that part of it. I’m all you need.”

I gave him a twisted smile. “Babe, you’re all that I can handle. Believe me!”

David laughed. “ I consider it my mission in life to keep you exhausted.”

I pulled David forward so that I could free my cock.

He said. “Are you ready for launch?”

“I got a feeling that if we don’t launch soon there may be a spontaneous ejection of fuel.” I took some of the precum that had accumulated on my stomach and spread it on his butt.

“That gonna be enough lube for ya?”

“Yeah babe, I think so.” David positioned my cock at his asshole and sat back. I felt the head of my dick penetrate him and then felt the muscles of his butt gripping my cock hard, just under the head.

David’s eyes were looking up as he concentrated on adjusting my cock in his butt. Then he dropped his head to his chest and said. “Oh fuck……..oh fuck that feels good.” He began settling on my cock and I had to quickly defocus before I came.

As my cock was hitting bottom David was staring at the ceiling and quietly said. “Yeah!” Then he leaned way forward with my cock still in him and kissed me, his hands on my shoulders and his cock pressed to my abdomen.

I wrapped my arms around David to hold him a bit longer to my chest and then as I released him I ran my hands slowly down his back. His knees were bend and laying on either side of me. I slid my hand up his thighs as he was raising and lowering himself and gently took his balls in my hands, just cupping them lightly.

He said. “Uhhh careful!” He placed his own hand gently over mine.

“You close already?”

“Yeah, for some reason, I got a hair trigger tonight. Were you always this big?” David smiled.

I sat up wrapping my arms around David’s lower back and bringing my legs around and under me. David wrapped his arms around my neck. I got to my knees with my cock still in David and him in my arms and his arms and legs wrapped around me.

“Mark you’re gonna break your fucking back, or mine.”

“Relax babe just putting you on your back.”

“Okay, but you’ve got no idea what your cock does when you do that movement.”

“Hit your prostate?”

“More like my liver.”

I lowered David gently onto his back and then took his legs from around me and pressed them to his chest. When I looked down at him, his black hair, askew as it usually is, against the white pillowcase and his green eyes staring up at me, it was like I just really saw him for the first time tonight, the vulnerability, the need, the love, the trust, the frightened little boy quality that he had when we first met.

I began making long slow deep movements into him, avoiding direct hits to his prostate to the extent that that’s possible. His eyelids closed partially and he started making small sounds. While I was making long slow strokes into him I put my hand at the side of David’s face and put my thumb at his mouth. His eyes were almost closed but when he felt my thumb at his lips he took it into his mouth and began to suck on it.

After a while I bent down and pulled my thumb out of his mouth and replaced it with my tongue. I was still slowly thrusting into him.

I was raising myself up again and David touched the side of my face with his finger tips.

“You taste good. All Army guys taste as good as you?”

I smiled down at him. “Don’t you, dwell on that, I’m all the military that you need.”

I pushed his legs forward a bit until my cock was slamming into his prostate with every thrust. His eyes opened wide and he started to make the David sound. His legs were slung over my arms, which were planted next to his head. I stretched my body out so that almost all of the energy that I was expending was going directly into his ass.

“Oh yeah, oh fuck Mark!

I began to refocus and looked down at my cock going into David’s ass. I could feel my orgasm building and reached forward and grabbed David’s cock. I pressed my thumb into his perineum just as I started the down stroke on his cock and he practically screamed the David sound and began wildly bucking his hips. I was shooting into his ass while trying to keep him on the bed and then he began shooting, the first shot landing in his hair and the next three on his chest.

Minutes later I was walking back into the bedroom from the bathroom with a towel.

“Sit up babe. Ya got cum in your hair. You know you shoot like half your body weight in cum. Did you always do that?”

David knelt on the bed so that I could wipe him off. “Yeah, it’s pretty much always been that way.” He wrapped his arms around my waist and leaned his head against my stomach while I cleaned his hair. “Ya know, I’m only two years older than you, I mean that’s not much.”

I laughed. “Yeah, right dad.” I knew that David was giving me a look even though I couldn’t see it.

“Oh, you wanna go to Mike’s party? He called me today. Every year he gives a party for all of his gay patients. Seems like he’s got a big gay clientele, well course the way he looks I can imagine.”

“I guess we could. When’s it gonna be?” David said.

“Couple of weeks, on a Saturday. I’ll tell him we’ll stop by.”

“David we need to shower. We’re both covered with cum and I’m not doin a great job of getting this outta your hair.” I took his hand and pulled him up and into my arms. “Besides I like the way you feel when you’re wet and soapy.”

“Okay sex fiend, come on you can wash my hair.” David walked ahead of me into the shower. I wish there was some way that I could describe how great his ass is, the perfect size, the perfect shape and the perfect color, always slightly lighter than the rest of him.

“I get to wash your butt too.” I told David as he was adjusting the shower.

He turned and smiled at me. “God what a perv! Okaaaaay you can wash my butt.”

Later lying in bed, David’s back to my chest, my cock pressed against his ass, my nose buried in his wonderful black hair and my arm wrapped around his chest, I can feel his heartbeat, his life. Now he’s totally mine and I can sleep.

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“ Ya give him the watch?” Frank is impeccably dressed in a two button charcoal gray suit with side vents. The black shoes have a dull luster, the shirt a brilliant white, the tie a broad stripe that’s mostly burgundy.

I smiled at him. “Yeah, I think he liked it. He said he did.”

“Marky anybody would like that fucking watch. He know what you paid for it?”

“No Frank and I don’t want him to know.” Frank had plopped down in the chair in front of my desk and put his feet up on it.

“Shit I need to loose weight, my feet are killing me.”

“It’s just that this was a really important day, like a milestone.” I put my feet up too. “I mean what do you get for David? He doesn’t really care about material things, anyway not in the sense that he collects anything or cares about…. just stuff.”

“Marky……don’t worry about it. David would be thrilled with anything you gave him. I can’t fucking decide which one of you guys is the luckiest, him cause he’s got you or you cause you got him.”

Frank took on his businessman tone. “You talk to General Shetlan?”

“Yeah Frank. He wants me to fly out and look at the stuff he’s been talking about. I don’t really think it’s necessary but it’s what he wants so I better go. Everything is deep penetration bombing. I have a feeling that we’re going to really need the exotic metals capability that David’s deal gives us.”

“When?”

“Couple of weeks. Said he’d send a plane.”

“No Marky, don’t let him do that. Not with all this shit happening in Washington. Pay for your own ticket and I don’t mean just reimbursing them. Fly commercial.” Frank raised his hand. “I know that it’s the way it’s been done but the times they are a changing. Be aware of it.”

“Got it Frank, no freebies.”

“Oh by the way Marky, Chris and Jason are coming for Thanksgiving. They’re goin to Jason’s parents for Christmas but here for Thanksgiving. Chris said to tell you he’s dying to meet Alex. How’s he doin? You guys handling it?”

“Oh yeah Frank! Shit! I can’t tell ya what it means having that kid in our lives. Well you know, you raised a family but man it’s really something. Ya know when you come home at night and this little guy is running like crazy just to say hello to you.”

“It’s how ya get the average guy to go to war Marky.” He took his feet off of the desk and stood up. “Nobody would be dumb enough to go unless they felt that they were defending what you just described.”

I smiled at Frank. “You’re a very cynical guy Frank.”

“Riiiight Marky…… riiiight.”

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Our house was beginning to look like pumpkin city. David and Alex worked as a team in carving them, well only David did the actual carving, Alex was more the designer, dictating the overall look, monster faces here, laughing faces there, scary there.

“David have you given any thought to what you’re gonna do with these after Halloween? You must have like twenty of em and those two out by the driveway are huge.”

David looked up at me, a small paring knife in his right hand and his forearms covered in pumpkin guts. “I’m on the creative end of this organization, that sounds like a problem for the maintenance department.” He smiled and pointed with his thumb at the middle of the kitchen floor where Joe was lying on his back with all four legs pointed at the ceiling; his head moved back and forth as he watched all of us, upside down. “I think Joe’s in charge of maintenance.”

Alex was nodding vigorously with a crayon in his hand. “That’s right, Joe is in charge.”

I put my hands on David’s shoulders and lightly massaged them. “Why do I get the feeling that the job is gonna be outsourced to me?”

David tilted his head all the way back so that he was looking at me upside down like Joe. “That’s what good managers do. And Joe looks like he’s got what it takes to go all the way to the top.”

I laughed and hunkered down behind David’s chair. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, kissed the side of his neck and then just held my face next to his. I murmured. “You feel good.” I kissed him again and then got up and walked around to Alex.

I knelt next to his chair. “How ya doin bud?” I kissed his hair and rested my hand lightly on his shoulder.

Alex turned his head to me. “I like Halloween daddy.” He pointed his crayon at the kitchen floor. “And Joe likes it too. But ya know what dad? Dogs can’t have chocolate. It’s bad for them.” He aimed his crayon directly at Joe. “So no candy for him.”

I asked Alex. “You ready for trick or treatin tomorrow?”

“I am dad! I’m gonna be a monster!” Alex curled his fingers into claws and held them up by his face. “Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!” He dropped his hands and then picked up his crayon again. “See dad, a monster, and I got a costume too.”

I glanced at David who was staring and smiling, entranced by Alex.

I stood up and gently touched the top of Alex’s head. “That’s great Alex. You’re gonna be a wonderful monster.” Then I looked at David. “David could you come into the office for a second?”

David got a really weird look on his face but started to get up. “Yeah Mark, just let me wash my hands.”

“No David, you’re fine, like that is good.”

David followed me into his office holding up his hands like a surgeon after scrubbing up.

“Mark, what’s up?”

I closed the office door and gently pushed David back against it. “I just really needed to do this.” I took David’s face in my hands and kissed him gently and then deeply. He was making a little sound and still holding his hands up. I broke the kiss and then ran my fingers through his hair. I kissed him again. “It’s just that sometimes I realize, almost like I didn’t already know, just how much I love you.” I kissed him again and again, like somehow I could never get enough of him. I spoke very softly, intimately, only to him.
“ When I saw you there, with Alex, being a dad.” I pulled his head to my chest. “Well, it’s not that I ever forget how much I love you but sometimes, like today, it hits me like a wave and just kinda overcomes me. Geez I hope I’m not weirdin you out.”

David stood with his head against my chest. “Oh god Mark!”

“We better get back to Alex. Okay?” He nodded yes and I lifted his face and kissed him again. I was holding his face in my hands and rubbed the beginnings of tears off of his cheeks with my thumbs.

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Our house is on a very short dead end road off of a fairly busy street. There are only about a dozen houses on our road and all of the houses are on pretty big lots and for the most part are owned by older people; David and I being the youngest people on our road.
There is, like in most things, both good and bad in this. The bad is that Alex doesn’t really have anyone nearby who he can be pals with. He has made some friends at day care but there’s nobody near.

The good is that while all of the other residents of the road are older, they all seem to love kids and have all pretty much enlisted as surrogate godparents to Alex. So I wasn’t too surprised when he made out like a bandit on Halloween. I know that realistically they must have had, well reservations, about two gay guys raising a kid. But I’ve never tried to guess at what they might be thinking, I believe in reacting to what people say and do because you can never really know what they’re thinking.

A half-mile walk is a lot when you’re only three, well almost four, and your legs aren’t very long. Alex did make it all the way around to where the Fredon’s live but with home in sight he decided he couldn’t make it another foot.

“Dad, carry me, okay?” The afternoon was sunny but with that late October coolness that tells you that you’re seeing the last of the good weather days.

I reach down and pick Alex up and he wraps one arm up and around my neck and the other over my shoulder. His head is on my shoulder too and his eyes are beginning to look sleepy.

“You gonna fall asleep bud?”

“No, I’m just a little tired. I don’t wanna take a nap dad.”

“Well those eyes look like they’re closing. I betcha that Joe is tired too. He’s probably looking for somebody to take a nap with.” I turn into our driveway and David must have seen us coming because the garage door is opening and we walk in through that door.

I set Alex down in the kitchen and he just kinda leans against David.

David says. “Well what do we have here? Maybe a tired little boy?”

“No dad, I wanna look at my stuff.” Alex is beginning to go through his haul of candy.

David is taking off Alex’s costume, which is just kind of tied on at the back. “Alex, I don’t want you eating all that candy. Just take a couple of pieces and then we’re gonna put the rest away for later.” Alex is doing his best to cram a miniature Baby Ruth into his mouth, while tearing open a bag of M&M’s.

David puts the rest of the candy back in the bag and puts it up over the refrigerator.

“Dad! I want some more!” Alex is pointing to the spot his candy disappeared to and David is looking at me.

I reach down and pick Alex up. “Alex you’re gonna have more candy later but right now we think that you should lay down for a while.” I start walking towards Alex’s bedroom.

“Dad I don’t wanna take a nap now!”

“I know you don’t sweetheart but this is one of those things that you don’t get to decide about.” I sit down on Alex’s bed and take off his clothes with a minimal amount of resistance. “You don’t have to put on your pajama’s, you can just sleep in your underwear. This is just a small nap.”

“Dad, I don’t need a nap. Naps are for babies.”

“We’ll leave your door open Alex and I’m not gonna close the blinds. I just want you to rest a little.” David and Joe came into the room and Joe jumped up on the bed and laid down at the foot of the bed. As we were leaving the room Alex called Joe and Joe resituated himself up next to Alex.

As we were walking down the hallway we heard Alex say. “Close your eyes, you have to take a nap too Joe.”
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Anna Meurer turned out to be a lady of about sixty with a solid build and perfectly white hair done in a style that was attractive, if a bit old fashioned, and that never changed. She can cook like Escoffier and has one of the most logical minds of anyone I’ve ever met, which follows through to her abhorrence of dirt and disorder.

Luckily for us, one of Anna’s six grandchildren is gay. Discovery of this by Anna led her to investigate the subject in almost unbelievable depth as she did with every thing that interested her.

The death of her husband left Anna with a house about a mile away from us and a fairly substantial collection of bonds. She didn’t need the work that we offered her but Anna was not someone who sat at home doing nothing, this was a dynamic woman who felt that the world needed her, somewhere.

She would come to our house a seven thirty in the morning and leave at four thirty, Monday thru Friday. Thankfully she was also delighted to watch Alex on the occasional evening when we went out.

Anna’s first meal for us a breakfast; a chive omelet with these incredible little sausages that she brought with her and toast made from a French baguette sliced long wise and toasted in the oven. The toast was served with homemade blackberry preserves.

I almost stayed home from work just for lunch but I missed it. Dinner, which she left for us, was this meat that looked like chicken that had been browned to the point of caramelization and then stewed for hours. The rabbit, that’s what it turned out to be, was served with carrots and potato’s that had been carved into little footballs and then cooked and caramelized like the rabbit. The natural sauce that all of this seemed to make was thickened with butter and was fantastic.

Any reservations that Alex may have had about a strange person in the house were overcome quickly by Anna’s caring nature, unbelievable cooking and wisdom. In no time at all Alex and Anna were chatting in a strange combination of German and English, with Anna tossing in the occasional word in French.

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Mike Baxter’s condo was on the 5th floor of a fairly new building downtown and while it was a huge condo and really attractive it didn’t look like it suited Mike’s personality. It looked like he had hired a designer to do it for him and they had done a great job of reflecting their taste but it just didn’t look like the Mike we knew.

The place was packed with people and the crowd was creating tides of conversation and laughter, sometimes rising and sometimes falling but always a background noise.

“Beautiful place Mike. You do the decorating?” David asked.

Mike looked at us and smiled. “I can’t even match my socks to my shoes. No, I just don’t have the time. Somebody came in and did it.” A faint look of frustration passed over his face. “I guess this is how it’s suppose to look.”

David smiled broadly at Mike. “How would you really like it to look?”

Mike look confused for a second and then looked at me, shrugged, and said. “You tell him Mark.”

I laughed out loud. “Well let’s see if I get this right. Concrete block walls painted gray, concrete floor painted a slightly darker gray, steel furniture also gray and a little khaki and, oh yeah some tan, not fucking beige but tan.”

Mike was practically doubled over with laughter but managed to say. “That’s exactly fucking it.”

David looked at the two of us like we were demented. Then he said to me. “Remember, you don’t ever get to pick out the furniture.”

Mike took us over to the bar that had been set up and got us drinks and then walked us around the room introducing us to his patients and the people that they had brought. Eventually I ended up standing at the back of the room with Mike as he chatted with people as they would stop by for a few minutes.

I was watching David work the room. I don’t think that I had ever seen him in this kind of setting before and it was something to see. He would move into a group, introducing himself and chatting briefly with his natural charm sweeping all before him and then after one group had been conquered he would move on to the next.

The people at the party were, Mike told me, almost all gay. Obviously some were couples who had been together a long time and had that, I’m half of an us look. Some were obviously half of a couple that were more independent of each other and there were many loners and friends and friends of friends.

I was standing at the back of the room with Mike and Ted and in a little while Ted took off to check on guests and Mike went into the kitchen to make sure the food was coming along. As I watched David at the other end of the room in a group of about eight people I saw the guy standing next to him but his arm casually around his back and then slowly but surely he moved it down until his hand was resting on David’s butt. David never stopped talking to the guy on the other side of the group but he was obviously trying to get the guys hand off of him. Finally he reached back and took the guys wrist in his hand and removed his hand from his butt. This seemed to work for a while but then the hand was back, this time not even bothering with pretense but going right for David’s ass. Again David tried moving, turning and obviously making a comment but to no avail. Finally, he again had to remove the hand. This time it took only seconds for the hand to return.

Mike returned from the kitchen and after glancing around came right over to me smiling oddly. “I assume you’re gonna kill him. Could ya do it bloodlessly and not make a mess. Tossing him off the balcony would be good. Then the mess is someone else’s problem.” Mike had a handful of bar nuts that he was eating.

“Does he deserve to live?”

“He’s not the worst human on the planet, just thinks everything is his.” He showed me the handful of nuts and asked. “Want some?” I shook my head no.

“Why don’t you ask him to come here and then maybe go check on the kitchen? No need for you to loose a patient. Actually he could end up being a better one.”

Mike looked at me for a long moment and grinned, then walked over to the guy and casually pulled him out of the group and pointing at me spoke to him. The guy came walking to me with a big smile on his face. Mike walked back to the kitchen.

I held out my hand. “Hi, I’m Mark Chauvet.” I could just detect David watching without being obvious.

“Hey, I’m Gordy Tanner.” He took my hand and shook it.

“Gordy you could really do me a favor if you would. See I’ve got this potential problem with my boyfriend and I could use your help with it.”

Gordy looked confused and tilted his head to one side. “What, I guess I don’t know.”

Gordy, it’s just that my boyfriend, he’s the one who’s ass you were grabbing.…… by the way you won’t do that anymore will ya?” I stared into his eyes briefly, “Well anyway, he hates violence.” Gordy opened his mouth but nothing came out. “And well, if I do anything violent he won’t talk to me for days, maybe weeks and I gotta tell ya, that just drives me crazy. See, I love the guy more than anything else in the world and when he won’t talk to me, it’s really hard on me.”

Gordy was just staring at me saying. “Ahhhhhh.”

“So Gordy if you could just kinda keep your hands to yourself I’d really appreciate it.”

I reached down and picked up Gordy’s hand and shook it but it actually felt like it wasn’t attached to anything. It was just kind of hanging there. “Gordy it was great meeting ya but I better go see how Mike and Ted are doing. You’re gonna be okay aren’t ya?

Gordy was nodding yes as I walked away to find Mike.

-----------------------------

“ You pissed at me?” I had just pulled the car around to the front of Mike’s building and David had hopped in.

David pointed straight ahead. “Drive.”

I pulled out into the traffic and eventually wound my way around to the freeway. Once we were driving straight and clear David reached over and picked up my right hand from the armrest. He kissed it and then put it down on the armrest and covered it with his own.

David’s head was back against the seat but he turned it and smiled. “I thought it was very…………..I dunno………..romantic. However, I could have handled the situation.”

“Oh babe, I know you could, I knew you were just being diplomatic. Romantic?”

David laughed and gripped my hand tighter. “You know, when you’re small everybody picks on you. I mean, I’ve been picked on all through grade school and high school, not much in college but some. So it’s kind of a good feeling knowing that someone is there.”

“But in the past…………….”

“I know but you’re learning to control it. Somebody your size doesn’t have to actually do anything, like tonight. Poor Gordy.”

“Poor Gordy? I wanted to………..well let’s not go there.”

David turned to me and laughed. “I think Gordy thought he was a goner.” A minute or two later David said quietly. “Poor man. Let’s hope he actually thinks about it.”

--------------------------

David and I were in our walkin closet hanging our clothes up and throwing some into the dirty clothes hamper.

“God I’m fucking tired.” David was leaning against me in his underwear. “And I don’t want you to go.”

“Babe you know that I have to.”

David turned in my arms and laid his head on my chest. “I know.” He yawned.

I wrapped my arms around him and kissed the side of his neck. “You’re cute when you’re tired.” I shoved my hands down the front of his underwear and cupped his balls.

“Ma! Mark is playing with my balls again!”

I laughed. “She can’t save you now. You’re mine.” I bent and picked David up.

“Oh fuck! Don’t drop me.”

“David, I’m not gonna drop you. But don’t wiggle and quit looking at the floor.” I walked into the bedroom and laid David on the bed.

I stripped off my underwear and so did David. I slid into bed and David slid in so that his back was against me.

“You horny?” I asked.

David took my right arm and pulled it around his chest. “How bout tomorrow morning, unless you’re just crazy horny?”

“Babe I can always wait for you. Besides, I’m pretty tired myself.”

“Mark? You like Anna don’t you?”

“Yeah babe, why do you ask?”

“I just wanna be sure we agree.” David was talking into my upper arm.

“David that’s the only woman that I ever met that knew what the laws of thermodynamics are. Not only did she know but she knew how to apply them.”

“Mark…….you’re not gonna tell me about them right now are you?”

I laughed. “No hun, we’ll save that for another time.” I reached over and clicked off the light.

“Good,” David giggled, “that gives me something to look forward to.”

“David, I’ll be thinking about you, like constantly.”

“You’re not going! You’re just gonna be like, in the next room. Anyway that’s how I’m gonna think about it.”

I kissed the back of his neck. “I’ll be back in no time.” I could feel David’s breathing evening out. I whispered. “No time at all.”