A Thousand Rainbows

A Thousand Rainbows by Mike Williams

• 26 -

Sean quietly closed the door behind him as he entered his loft apartment. He was pretty sure Greg had waited up for him, but didn't want to disturb his friend if he had fallen asleep. Greg was sitting on the couch quietly playing Sean's guitar in a duet with the piano music coming from the stereo. Sean had not heard the piece before, yet something about it seemed familiar.

Greg looked up at the handsome deputy and smiled.

"What's that you're playing?" Sean asked as he sat down next to the musician.

Greg tried to brush it off. "Oh, it's just a little something I wrote a few years ago. I always wanted to write a duet for piano and guitar."

"I like it," Sean said.

"And I got the piano score down and put it on a CD. But I never finished the guitar part. I just kept doing a little every so often," Sean continued. "And then about a year ago I realized that I wasn't writing a theme for the guitar, just inventing something different every time."

As the piece came to an end, Greg closed his eyes for the final few bars.

"That was beautiful," Sean said softly.

"Thank you," Greg whispered. He paused and took a deep breath. "I guess I keep it around as an escape. Gives me a chance to forget about everything ... the touring, the business, the bullshit ... and just get lost in the music." He looked at the clock and suddenly became concerned. "Oh shit, it's almost two o'clock. I hope I didn't keep the neighbors up."

Sean quickly came to his friend's rescue. "If they fell asleep, it's their own fault. I mean, hasn't anybody ever serenaded you to sleep?"

Greg laid the guitar on the couch between himself and his friend. "Oh, yeah. I remember the exact date ... August thirtieth."

Sean nodded and chuckled at the memory. "That night in our apartment ... just three days after I moved in. Talk about your love at first sight."

"And we played our guitars bareass naked until the sun came up." Greg took the deputy's hand in his own.

Sean's smile grew even wider, looking deep into Greg's bright blue eyes. "God, what I wouldn't give for that time again!" he said softly.

"Me too." Greg released Sean's hand. "How about we put these hands to work and see if you remember any of what I taught you?"

Sean looked a bit disappointed. "Uh, I was really hoping to get a little shut-eye."

"There's time for that ... later," Greg said as he retrieved his own guitar from its case.

Sean's expression perked up as he recognized the instrument. Greg had bought this particular guitar on a trip to Spain. Sean held a fondness for this one; it was the same 12- string guitar Greg had used in their practice sessions years earlier and often played in his stage performances.

Sean picked up his guitar and plucked a couple strings.

"I replaced all six strings," Greg said. "I fought with the old ones for two hours, and they just wouldn't stay in tune."

Sean struck a perfect C chord and smiled appreciatively. "Thanks."

Greg began the lesson, just like he had when they lived together. "Alright. Scales. Begin in C-major. 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 ... and ..." He closed his eyes and let the simple exercise take him over. Out of practice more than either of them realized, Sean struggled to keep up.

They had only been practicing for a few minutes when Greg opened his eyes. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I know it's late, and you should get to bed."

"I'm sorry too," Sean said. "You were right about me being out of practice. I guess my guitar has just been a decoration in the corner for the last few years. I've hardly played at all since we split up."

Greg was silent for a moment. "Can we not use that phrase ... `split up'? Divorcing couples get split up. Rock-and-roll bands that have run their course ... they split up. You and me ... well, we just went off in different directions to pursue our dreams. But we never stopped being friends."

"Agreed," Sean said as he returned his guitar to its stand in the corner. "Now, what do we do about sleeping arrangements? My bed's big enough for two if you don't mind sharing."

Greg stood and placed his guitar in its soft case. "Sounds good to me. Does it bother you that I sleep in the buff?"

"Only if it bothers you that I do too." Sean took his friend by the hand and led him to the sleeping area at the back of the loft.

-0-

Sean awoke to the mid-morning sun falling across his face. He slowly opened one eye and turned his head to the side where Greg had slept. But his friend was not in the bed. Not yet quite awake, he became concerned, but was soon aware of the aromas of bacon, toast and coffee.

"Greg?" he called softly.

"Right here, sweetheart." Greg appeared from behind the partition that separated the sleeping area from the rest of the loft. He was dressed only in his boxers and carried a tray with what appeared to be breakfast for two. "Scoot over," he said as he set the tray on the bed in front of the sleepy deputy.

Sean did as he was told, and Greg sat cross-legged on the bed on the opposite side of the breakfast tray. A carafe of hot coffee was already waiting on the nightstand. "I could get used to this," he said with a smile.

Greg smiled back as he filled two coffee cups. "Well, if my family buys some land in this area, you just might have to get used it." Then he produced a copy of the morning newspaper. He opened to the real estate classifieds, where he had already circled a few entries. "I'm going shopping after breakfast. Wanna come along?"

Sean accepted his coffee. "You're really serious about it. I'd love to come along. It's my sworn duty as a deputy of Cascade County to make sure you only stay in the good neighborhoods." He paused, then changed the subject. "I got the copy of your new CD. Took me a second to figure out what it was all about. `Pony Days'. It made me start remembering a lot of stuff. A lot about you ... and me. A lot of good stuff."

"All the time we were producing that album, I was thinking about you," Greg said. "And I got to thinking how much I missed you and the time we had together. And I want to have that again ..." He leaned forward and kissed Sean. "... If you'll have me back."

Sean paused for a moment to consider what his friend had said. "Greg," Sean said softly, "there's no way I would not have you back. But this is so sudden. You make it sound like it's a done deal."

Greg sighed and looked deep into Sean's eyes. "It is a done deal, sweetheart. Confession time. After breakfast I'm not going shopping. I'm going to sign the papers. Some of Dad's people and some people on my staff have already made all the arrangements. There's this guy ... Tucker Mansfield. You know him?"

"I've heard of him," Sean replied.

"He's got a pretty big spread, about a hundred acres of vineyards a few miles north of here," Greg continued. "It's been in his family since God was a pup. But the guy just doesn't have a head for business. So we're buying him out. We'll start producing our own wines right here in Bridgewater." He paused and looked down at the tray of food between them, then back up at the deputy. "And I'm going to make this my home."

Sean sat up straighter at Greg's last statement. His smile grew wider as he considered what it meant. "Oh my god."

Greg shook his head slightly. "And yesterday when your dad told me you were living right here in Bridgewater ... well, that was just the icing on the cake."

"You mean, you and me, together again?" Sean asked.

Greg reached across the tray and took his friend's hand. He nodded. "Yes, baby. But we'll take it slow. After you wrote and told me what happened between you and Officer Fuck-up ..."

"Phillips," Sean corrected. "Dan Phillips."

"Whatever," Greg conceded with a smile. "I think we owe it to ourselves to just ease into this."

Sean swallowed hard. He looked deep into his friend's eyes, then off into space. He seemed on the verge of bursting with joy. "I can't believe this is happening. Ever since we ... um ... went our separate ways, I've thought about you every day. I can't count the number of jack-off fantasies I've had over you." He turned back to Greg and swallowed hard again before continuing. "Yes."

"Yes, what?" Greg asked.

Sean's smile grew even wider. "Yes to everything, you silly fucker! Yes, I do want you back in my life. Yes ... I don't know what comes next. I can't think of anything I want more than us being together again." He paused for a moment, reflecting on what he had just said. "Am I making any sense?"

Greg smiled. "Yes, you are making sense ... because I've thought about you too ... every day and every night." He paused and looked at their two hands together. "I never told you this, Sean, but the day you left ... I locked myself in our bedroom ... and I cried for hours, until I couldn't cry anymore. At that moment I never thought that a moment like this would ever happen, that you and I would ever be together again." He looked into Sean's brown eyes. "I've had offers, lots of `em, but I turned and walked away. There's been no one else since you. And this time, baby, you're not getting away so easy."

"And I never told you this," Sean confessed. "When I left ... well, you remember how excited I was about being accepted to the Police Academy ... it didn't really hit me until the last mile ... exactly what it was I was doing and what I was leaving behind ... and I had to pull off the road, find a rest area ... and I just sat there and cried for an hour. Even after living together for more than two years, and introducing each other to our parents and friends, I didn't realize until that moment how much you meant to me. And I almost turned around ... almost."

"It's better you didn't turn around, that you moved forward with your life," Greg said.

"Why?" Sean asked. "Greg, if you felt the same way I did ..."

"Because we each had dreams we had to follow," Greg explained. "Now that we've tasted our dreams, we've grown beyond the men we were, and we're in a position to get back together again and focus on some common goals, whatever they might be."

"When you put it that way," Sean mused, "it's almost like the last five years were ... what ... like a trial separation?"

Greg laughed. "Yeah, and I think our trial separation didn't work out too well. So the only thing to do is ..."

Sean finished the thought. "... Get back together." He paused and looked deep into the singer's bright blue eyes. "I love you, Greg. And, except for Officer Fuck-up ..."

"Phillips." This time it was Greg who corrected Sean.

Sean smiled. "Whatever. Except for those few months, there's been no one else."

And they leaned in for a deep open-mouthed kiss, their tongues tentatively touching, then slightly more aggressive, until finally being overtaken by their long-dormant passion. They paused just long enough for Sean to retrieve a bottle of lubricant and two condoms from the nightstand, while Greg removed the breakfast tray from the field of their love arena.

Greg removed his boxers, revealing his growing cock, before crawling back under the covers where Sean took him into his arms. They resumed their passionate kisses, reveled in the taste of each other after so many years of separation. Sean caressed his friend's chest, his hand lovingly stroking the muscular flesh. It pleased Sean to know, by touch alone, that Greg had been taking such good care of himself. In their days at school he and Greg often hit the gym together, pushing each other, inspiring each other to greater heights.

They pulled away from each other for a moment, looking deep into each other's eyes. Greg's index finger traced a line along Sean's mouth. Sean couldn't help but smile at his friend's gentle touch, and he lightly kissed the tip of the finger. Then he parted his lips just wide enough to afford the finger entrance to the moist interior of his mouth. Greg accepted the invitation and ran his finger along the line of Sean's lower teeth. Sean's lips parted a bit more and then closed around Greg's finger, bathing it with his tongue, all the while staring into his friend's bright blue eyes and stroking the singer's tits.

Greg closed his eyes, lost in the pleasure of Sean's sucking. He felt the coarse texture of Sean's tongue bathing his finger with loving attention. He felt the firm ridge of Sean's teeth, gently tugging at his knuckles. Sean, too, closed his eyes and took Greg's finger deeper into his mouth, then slowly pulled his head back, allowing his lips to massage Greg's digit, right down to the tip. Greg opened his eyes and traced a line down Sean's chin, his throat, his Adam's apple, down to his broad chest.

Sean lifted Greg's face to his own, and the two shared another deep kiss as Greg's hand continued farther south, his fingers grazing along the deputy's tight abdomen. He paused for a moment at Sean's navel, remembering how sensitive it was in the lovemaking of days gone by.

Sean inhaled sharply at his lover's touch. "You know that makes me crazy when you touch me there."

Greg smiled broadly as his hand pushed farther down, running his fingers through Sean's trimmed pubic hair, finally reaching the much-sought-after prize: the deputy's eight-inch cock. Sean lay back on the pillows and sighed deeply as his friend's hand encircled the member and gave a few gentle pulls.

"I need you inside me, Sean," Greg whispered.

"C'mere, baby," Sean replied with a smile.

Greg did as he was told, throwing off the blankets and climbing on top of his friend, straddling the man's waist. He leaned down for another round of kisses. Sean reached around Greg and found the singer's anus. He tenderly massaged the area with a finger until the rosebud parted and allowed the finger entrance to its moist interior. Sean inserted a second finger, causing the sphincter muscles to relax even more. He knew that Greg was ready to receive his cock.

They broke apart just long enough for Sean to tear open the envelope and retrieve the condom. He looked deep into his friend's eyes as he rolled it down his hard cock. Without breaking their gaze, he reached both hands around the singer's waist and poured a small amount of lube onto his fingers. Then he inserted his slick fingers into Greg's waiting hole.

Greg closed his eyes and exhaled a sigh of pleasure at the intrusion. "Do it," he whispered.

Sean withdrew his fingers and took hold of his friend's waist, bringing him into line with his cock. Greg reached behind himself, taking hold of the deputy's cock, and slowly lowered himself onto the throbbing member. Sean's cock encountered little resistance and was soon buried to the hilt in Greg's ass. Greg lifted himself slowly, then plunged back down again, exhaling a sigh of pleasure with each stroke. Sean's hands never left his friend's body, playing with Greg's nipples and stroking the man's firm abdomen.

Keeping up their rocking motion, Sean wrapped his arms around Greg and pulled himself more upright, to a position in which he could more easily worship the man's chest with his lips and tongue. Greg lifted Sean's head and then leaned in for some passionate kisses while the two continued their fucking. Their tongues engaged in a joust, each one battling for just a taste of the other.

Their breathing became more labored as they neared their climax. Their mouths separated, and they gazed deeply into each other's eyes.

"Oh, fuck!" Sean moaned. "I love you, Greg."

With a mighty heave his cock erupted and filled the condom with his sperm. His cock's teasing of Greg's prostate pushed the singer over the edge; he shot his load in the narrow space that separated the two men.

Coming down from their orgasmic high, Sean rested his forehead on Greg's chest, and Greg's chin lay softly on the top of Sean's head. With their eyes closed their breathing slowly returned to normal. Sean's cock slipped from Greg's hole. The deputy looked up into his friend's eyes, and they leaned in for a post-coital kiss.

"Let's hit the showers," Sean suggested. "And then we'll go buy you a farm."

Greg smiled. "It's a vineyard." And they leaned in for another quick kiss before getting out of bed and heading for the shower.

-0-

to be continued in Chapter 27