Part 67

The rest of our two weeks in Crescent City went by so fast, it was like our watches were on fast-forward. The four of us guys became so damn close it was like we'd all come from the same family. The really weird thing was that there was no jealousy between us. We shared everything equally, including our dicks and asses. Danny and I had become pretty close and had lots of hot, sweaty sex together. But I never once compared Danny to Jade or Paul, and I figured they didn't compare me to anybody either.

"So, I take it that you boys are having a good ol' time," Richard laughed as he turned the Jag's ignition key.

"Rad like you wouldn't believe."

"Awesome."

"I've never seen four kids get along so well together. Not one fight, not one argument, not one bitch. Maybe you could teach us oldies a thing or two."

The bright red coupe, with Paul sitting sideways in the cramped confines of the rear compartment, nosed to a halt at the drive-in liquor store. "My treat, guys. Lemme do the choosing."

While Richard browsed the endless displays of bottles and cans, and selected the drinks, I stepped out of the car and asked Paul to take the front passenger seat.

"You sure, man? It's kinda squashy there in the back."

"Yeah, it's cool, bud. No prob. But I don't think Richard's gonna be too pleased about sitting in there."

"Absolutely not!" our hibiscus-infested host declared as he loaded the drinks into the trunk and slammed it shut. "Nobody drives this machine except me or Jade! And that's final!"

I was so incredibly tempted to flatten the accelerator and experience what those throbbing, twelve pots were capable of but Richard would have totally freaked. As it was, he'd already chewed his nails up to his elbows. "Are you OK in the back there, Richard?"

"Don't take your eyes off the fucking road, Daniel. Jeez! How the hell did I manage to let you talk me into driving my Jag?"

"I guess I'm kind of pursuasive," I laughed. "Wow, Richard, this is one helluva car, man! It's like silk on wheels. Woohoo!"

A winding, dirt track led from the main road to the front gates of Jade's house where Paul hopped out of the car and pressed the intercom button. "Hi, Jade, it's Paul, Daniel and Richard." I drove the coupe a few yards beyond the open gates, then waited for Paul. Within a few moments, the gleaming Jag had rolled to a halt on the red gravel drive out front of the house.

"I need a drink," Richard sighed as he desperately and comically tried to extricate himself from the rear compartment. "Not one scratch. I can't believe it."

Danny, naked as a jaybird, answered the door and invited us in. Even after having seen this mansion several times, it still rocked big time to be surrounded by such awesome luxury, as though we were entering a palace where every piece of furniture was an expensive antique, and every painting was a priceless masterpiece.

"May I take your clothes, senor?" Danny laughed.

"You're not getting mine," Richard muttered defiantly as he continued through the house to the kitchen. Meantime, Paul and I stripped and handed our baggies and ts to Danny who hung them in a closet. At the sight of each other's smooth, tanned bods, we all got instant boners before we followed Danny's wide, muscular back and cute, firm buns to the rear of the house.

"Hi ya, guys," Jade grinned as we entered the kitchen. "Dinner's on the way. There's a plate of appetizers on the table. I made them myself. They're Indian, as in Asian. Samosas. Try one."

"Mmmm," I said after I'd swallowed a delicious mouthful. "What's in 'em?"

"Spiced vegetable mash wrapped in pastry. Glad you like 'em. I've got more on the way."

"I hope you don't mind my asking," Richard interrupted, "but you guys seem to have permanent boners. The damn things are always horizontal. What is it about you whippersnappers?"

"Will we tell him?" I asked Paul.

"I guess so, if you think we should," Paul replied nervously, without having a clue as to what I was gonna say next.

"Well, Richard, its your floral shirts, man. Those damn things get us so damn horny we can't help growing our dicks to full size. Right, guys? It's the shirts. Admit it."

Paul and Danny totally cracked, as did Jade who had to leave the stove for a moment while he clutched at his stomach and spun a full 360.

"Don't gimme that bullshit, you cheeky little varmint. And don't ask me to get nude, either. I'm staying dressed, and that's that. Period. Besides, the old bod ain't what it used to be," he laughed. "But seriously, do you kids... I mean, like is it the sight of each other?"

"Don't be embarrassed, Richard. It's no biggie. Sure, we make each other hot. Why not? Come to think of it, do we make you hot?"

"Me?" Richard's brain must have been working overtime searching for a non-incriminating response as he cracked a few cans of light beer and offered one to each of us. "Well, I suppose I've seen worse sights."

"You didn't answer the question."

Richard took his beer to a chair, sat down and crossed his legs in an attempt to hide the tell-tale bulge in his floral shorts. "OK, I have to admit that the sight of you young fellas parading your goodies around like some cheer squad at a ball game is pretty hard to ignore. But lemme ask you this: if I were Andy would you be telling me this?"

"No fucking way! In fact, I don't even cuss in front of Andy."

"Why not?"

"'Cause he's gonna marry mom and he'd probably tell her everything."

"Nancy doesn't know that your buds make you horny?"

"Well, we've talked about it some, but not a lot."

"Richard," Jade interrupted as he brought another plate of steaming samosas to the table, "parents have had maybe fifteen years of a kid's life to anticipate what he's gonna be like. Actually, they probably had it all figured out before conception. My son's gonna be a little league champion. Or my daughter's gonna be a famous ballet dancer. Whatever. The point is, the kid may be nothing like what his parents expected. So what's the kid supposed to do? Shatter his parents' perception? Walk in one day and announce that he's gay? Or that she's a lesbian? It ain't that easy, man. The 'rents would go ape shit."

"Jade's right," Danny agreed while licking his fingers after demolishing another samosa. "I have three brothers who are all straight. If my family knew about me, they would maybe throw me out of the house."

What Danny had just said hit me like a bomb. Throw him out of the house? Would my mom throw me out of the house? Even if she didn't wanna, would Andy talk her into it? Was he homophobic?

Richard was obviously uncomfortable at having instigated this conversation. "Hey, guys, this is your last night together. I didn't mean to spoil the party. Let's change the subject."

"No, Richard," Paul said, "you were right to bring it up. It's something we've all gotta think about."

"OK, you young whippersnappers, then tell me this: why is it that you can speak freely in front of me but not your folks?"

"'Cause you don't judge us, man," I volunteered. "You're like one of the guys. You're cool."

It was a totally wicked night -- the food was awesome, the company was excellent and, when Richard discreetly made himself scarce, the sex was a total blast. It was getting close to midnight when I tapped Jade on the shoulder and asked him to follow me outside to the beach where we sat on the sand and talked.

"Shit, man, I seem to have dudes coming in and out of my life like I'm in some kind of revolving door. What the fuck?"

"Chill, Daniel. That's the way it is, man. It's like you've got today but, by tomorrow, it's a memory. People die, people go, people lose interest. There's nothing that says you own anybody."

"Are you normally this helpful, Jade?"

"Hey, bro, cut the sarcasm. You gotta open your eyes and understand, man. You gotta see the real picture. You met Kyle, right? And Kyle made a big diff to your life. But now Kyle's half a world away. How are you dealing with that?"

I gazed at the countless, twinkling stars and remembered those killer nights in Cape Town. "I miss him tons."

"Yeah, you miss him tons 'cause you had him close one time, and you two guys hit the jackpot. Imagine if you hadn't. Imagine if you'd never met the dude. So what's your choice?"

"OK, I get your drift, man. I'm glad I met Kyle."

"And me?" Jade laughed. "Are you glad you met me?"

"Shit, yeah! You rock, man."

"Cool. So you're gonna miss me like I'm gonna miss you when you go back to Florida. Don't you see? That's a gift, Daniel. The gift of sorrow that makes you a better person. It gives your character depth and understanding."

"Yeah? Well I can do without all that fucking bullshit."

"No way, man. You can't. You need that kind of stuff to fill your soul -- to make you stronger and wiser. You see me on the mountain, right? You see me stretching my physical limits to be as good as I can at Shaolin. Yeah, it takes sweat and guts and determination. It's like that with your heart and soul, Daniel. It takes pain to make them stronger."

"I don't wanna be fucking strong! Dammit, Jade, I just wanna be happy. Is that too much to ask?"

"Happiness comes from making other people happy, dude. One day, you're gonna be able to let some dude lean on you 'cause you went through life's shit and survived. Are you getting my message here, man?"

I knew what Jade was trying to pound into my skull, but it didn't make a whole lotta sense right then. I was feeling down 'cause of Danny having to leave for southern Cali. "So are you saying I shouldn't feel like shit 'cause Danny is leaving?"

"No, no, no, Daniel, that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that you have every right to feel sad 'cause of the loss. But, at the same time, you should also feel glad that you had the chance to be with him and enjoy his friendship. You're richer for it. He's given you something that nobody will ever be able to take away from you. It's yours forever in your heart."

"What is it with you, Jade? I don't want it in my heart. I wanna ride horses with you guys and laugh and have sex and snorkel and and all that other way cool stuff."

"OK, let's go back a ways. You came here expecting you and Paul would have a cool time staying at Richard's house. Then, out of the blue, you met me and Danny. It was unexpected. Are you telling me that you'd rather have spent two weeks here without me and Danny?"

I hung my head. "No," I admitted.

"Daniel," Jade said soothingly as he roughed up my blonde hair, "you've got a lotta life ahead of you, my li'l bud, and some of it's gonna be a serious pain in the butt. On the other hand, some of it's gonna be totally cool. You gotta learn to balance the two."

I gazed at the stars again and thought about Kyle. "You know something, Jade? You're kinda like a big bro to me."

"Yeah, well that's one of the totally cool things I was talking about," he laughed as he stood and towered over me like a god. "Now, let's go back to the house. You, me, Paul and Danny ain't gonna get much sleep tonight."

Copyright © 1999 All rights reserved. mrbstories