AN UNCOMMON BOND
PART TWO: PARADISE FOUND
Chapter 4: OVERWHELMING DELIGHT
On the two-hour drive from the Gulf Coast in Florida to Dothan, Alabama where Tom and Ben lived, the two young men began their conversation by expressing their elation in having learned of each other's sexual preference. That soon morphed into a cathartic confessional. They shared similar stories of confusion at the onset of puberty, guilt and shame over their private thoughts, frustration of trying valiantly but unsuccessfully to expunge their interest in other boys, eventual recognition of their fundamental nature, resignation to but not acceptance of the crucial need to keep their interests and needs a secret, and about the agony and frustration of being unable to find ... or even to seek ... a companion. Both of them welcomed the freedom to talk openly. They agreed that sharing their experiences, emotions, and frustrations was liberating.
"But that's all behind us now," Tom said. "We're now free to satisfy our needs ... provided, of course, that we do so discretely. It's still a cruel jungle of hatred and persecution out there."
"Indeed it is," Ben mused. "Especially here in the Deep South. Persecution of blacks may be muted from the blatant attitudes and practices of the past but bigotry toward homosexuals remains out in the open. And it's very powerful. It's tolerated and even encouraged by religious leaders, especially the evangelical clergy."
Ben paused and mused, "Sad but true." Then, reflecting on a possible misinterpretation of his comment, he added, "I'm not sad that we have to be careful. What's important is that we can be together ... as friends ... and for occasional sex. That part is the realization of a dream. What I meant was that it's sad that society thinks homosexuality is a sickness or sinful. It's nineteen ninety two, for heaven's sake. Don't you think people would have learned by now to be more understanding and tolerant?"
"I know what you meant, Ben. And I agree with you." A long, silence ensued before Tom continued, "What do you suppose people will say if we decide to live together?"
"Geez," Ben exclaimed. "I hadn't even thought that we might ... I mean ... live together."
"Hey! It's a possibility. I didn't mean to blind-side you or put you on the spot. But we agreed that we would be completely open and honest with each other. No secrets. No hiding our feelings or opinions. I was just expressing an idea ... an idea that, to me, is very appealing. I like you, Ben. I think we could get along very well together."
"I like you, too, Tom. It's just that ... well ... you should know if you haven't recognized it already that I'm the kind of guy who likes to think things through very thoroughly. Especially before making an important decision. I recognize that's desirable in some situations but it can be a problem in others. Don't get me wrong. I'm not opposed to living together. In fact, I would welcome it. It's just that ... forgive me ... here's my piece of honesty. I need some time to consider all the consequences."
"I understand, Ben. And I agree that perhaps we should wait a while to be sure we're doing the right thing. But in the meantime, I hope you're willing to get together from time to time to enjoy a little sex."
"No!" Ben said firmly. Tom was taken aback by his friend's response. That is, until Ben grinned broadly and clarified his comment. "Not 'a little' sex. I want 'a lot' of sex."
Both young men laughed heartily.
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It was early evening when the two virgins entered Ben's apartment. Their anticipation of sexual pleasure, which had been a constant undercurrent in their minds during the drive home, became overwhelming. The long-sought experience was at hand and powerfully dominated their thoughts. Any uncertainty about venturing into unfamiliar territory was completely overpowered. Any vague fear of not fully knowing what to do and how to do it was reduced to utter insignificance. Each was driven by a solitary imperative: to fulfill a long-standing dream of having man-to-man sex ... to make empty fantasies a reality..
The thoughts, emotions, and eager anticipation the young men experienced caused a physical expression - both were rapidly developing an erection as they walked down the hall to the bedroom. Inside the bedroom, they seized each other in a tight embrace that lasted only a few moments before they began grinding their crotches together, which, of course, amped up the lust that was dictating their every thought and action. As one, they locked their mouths together and were soon using their tongues in a thrust and parry duel, accompanied by moans of euphoric delight. Without breaking their embrace, they fell onto the bed where they continued hugging, kissing, and grinding their now fully erect and exceptionally hard cocks together.
Tom broke the silence that had persisted since entering the apartment. "Let's do this right, Ben. Let's get naked."
Both Tom and Ben stripped off their clothing in record time and then just stood there for several moments admiring the other's body ... including, of course, the rigid rods that sprouted from thick bushes of pubic hair. Each of them would have liked to visually feast on what stood before him for several more minutes but the strong desire for physical skin-to-skin contact brought them once more into a tight embrace. But now, flesh against flesh, the erotic sensations were of epic proportions. Their cocks were in contact and the sensation riveted their complete focus on the overwhelming eroticism. Tom wanted even more. He dropped his hands to the checks of Ben's ass and pulled his friend's pelvis into a firmer contact between their throbbing cocks. Both virgins' minds were lost in a tsunami of carnal ecstasy.
Eventually - both had lost track of time due to the enormity of erotic sensations - they collapsed onto the bed where both deliriously happy young men explored each other's body with mouth, tongue, and hands.
Ben, subconsciously controlled by his tendency to 'think before acting' avoided touching Tom's dick although he very much wanted to do so. Tom had no such inhibitions. His hand found its target, seized it, and squeezed. Ben inhaled sharply at the first contact and then moaned loudly. He soon followed Tom's lead and began to fondle his partner's extremely hard cock.
Tom, the more venturesome and spontaneous of the two, soon repositioned himself and took Ben's cock into his mouth. Ben screamed. Tom correctly interpreted the scream not as an indication of fright or pain but as a sign of intense pleasure. He continued orally stroking Ben's quivering rod. The stimulation put Ben into orbit. He instinctively bucked his hips. But not for long. His cock erupted in several blasts of hot cum accompanied by his screams of intense, almost debilitating pleasure that radiated throughout his body. He then went limp, unable to move, overwhelmed by the sensations in his cock where Tom continued to suckle the remaining cream from the still-rigid shaft.
In time, Ben's cock softened. His mind cleared. Tom lay beside him. "I'm sorry, Tom. I should have warned you that I was about to shoot."
"Not to worry, Ben. I gladly accepted your tasty offering."
They hugged and began to kiss. Ben quickly withdrew with a slight frown.
"What's wrong, Ben?"
"Sorry. Just got a funny taste in my mouth."
"That was your cum, silly. I saved some to share with you."
"Cum? What's that?"
It's another name for semen."
"Tastes kinda weird," Ben said.
"You've never tasted your own cum?" Tom asked incredulously.
"No. I just clean it up and discard it."
"I clean up my cum, too. But then I swallow it. I hafta tell you 'tho, since you've never done it, it's an acquired taste." Tom paused momentarily before asking, "Are you going to return the favor?"
Ben was briefly puzzled but his friend's meaning soon became clear. He re- positioned himself so as to take Tom's cock into his mouth. He was surprised when he saw it. "You've gone soft, Tom."
"The little fella must feel ignored. Just give him some attention."
Ben eagerly took the flaccid penis into his mouth and was pleased to feel it regain its rigidity. Ben replicated Tom's action and prepared to accept his first mouthful of another man's cum. No long after, as Ben simultaneously relished the feel of orally stroking Tom's cock, the intensity of his enjoyment suddenly spiked. A totally new sensation engulfed him. It was a surge of erotic stimulation almost like an impending orgasm. But that couldn't be. Only moments ago he had given up a massive load of cum in response to the stimulation of Tom's warm, moist mouth. Moreover, ejaculation was highly improbable because his cock was completely limp. As Ben puzzled over the strange new feeling he heard Tom call out, "I gotta shoot, Ben."
Ignoring the warning, Ben prepared to accept his friend's cum. He was not prepared, however, for the multiple volleys of creamy fluid that exploded against the back of his throat.
The two former virgins cuddled tightly together, both in a euphoric state of bliss. Both agreed that they had never been happier. Their arms and legs were still entwined when they awoke in the morning. They broke the embrace only to take care of an urgent need to empty their bladders ... together, of course. Then they showered together, lovingly washing each other with exceptional attention and care to pubic appendages. Not surprisingly, their aroused and rigid cocks demanded attention. They exchanged cum again as hot water cascaded over their bodies.
After drying each other off, they returned to cuddle in bed. After several minutes of bliss, Ben yielded to something that had him curious. "Tom, I have to ask you a question."
"Go ahead."
"Last night and again this morning in the shower I had a strange feeling come over me."
Tom interrupted, "Of course! Cumming when having sex is quite different than when you jerk yourself off."
"I know that," Ben replied impatiently. "But last night and again this morning, I got a ... I don't know how to describe it ... I got a surge of a wonderful feeling just before you ejaculated. It wasn't at all like the feeling when I have an orgasm. But it was kinda similar and almost as pleasant. So here's my question. Did you have the same feeling before my orgasm?'
Tom paused, trying to understand what he had heard. "No. I enjoyed having your cock in my mouth. I enjoyed getting a mouthful of cum. But I didn't experience any ... what did you call it? ... a surge of feeling."
Ben experienced the same mysterious feeling each time they had oral sex in the following days - always just before Tom's orgasm. But, try as he may, was never able to form a logical explanation.
Chapter 5: FROM LUST TO LOVE
For three weeks, the budding lovers maintained telephone contact through the week but it was not always possible because Tom often had appointments during the evening hours when his clients were available to discuss plans or progress on their home's construction. Although they did not see each other on a daily basis, each frequently had the other in his thoughts, recalling the first glorious weekend together and impatiently anticipating the next weekend with its sexual marathon. On weekends, either at Ben's apartment or Tom's, they enjoyed each other's company in between long periods in bed and, of course, the pleasures of the flesh.
Another month passed during which Ben would stay at Tom's home through the week or Tom would stay at Ben's place. This, of course, significantly increased the opportunities for sexual union, opportunities that were enjoyed to the fullest.
It was during that month that their bedroom activities gradually took on a qualitatively different tone. Whereas their early sexual coupling was ruled primarily by the physical gratification of lustful urges, their attitudes evolved into wanting above all to satisfy their partner. It might be compared to the contrast of a famished person gulping down food and another person expending special effort to prepare a gourmet meal for a visitor - ravenous consumption versus the joy of pleasing another. It could easily be argued that their concern for making each other happy was a hallmark of their emerging love.
Immediately after one particularly intense period of sexual exploration and gratification, Tom said, "Remember you said once that you had a strange feeling just before I came?"
"Yes, Ben replied.
"Do you still get that feeling?"
"Yes."
"Well, guess what. I just got a strange feeling just before filled my mouth with your cum. Don't ask me to describe it. All I can say is that it was pleasant. What does it mean, Ben?"
"We've had this conversation before, Tom. Remember when you first saw my apartment and wondered - no, you worried - that there had to be a reason why it was so similar to your place. Then, I said it was pure coincidence. You didn't accept that. You felt there had to be some meaning to the similarities. Now you're asking for a meaning to what you felt during sex. Can't you just accept it as a natural experience?"
"No. I'd really like to know the reason I felt that way ... why both of us feel that way just before the other comes."
"A suggestion, Tom. Just enjoy it and don't fret about what causes it."
Neither Tom nor Ben discussed the mysterious wave of sensation that exactly corresponded to his partner's impending orgasm. But both of them wondered why it happened. They would not have a solution to the puzzle for quite some time.
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It was seven in the evening on a Tuesday. Tom arrived at Ben's apartment hungry. They kissed. Ben, expecting to take Tom to bed right away was moments away from an erection. Their kisses became more passionate and their embrace tighter. Tom felt the tell-tale bulge in his friend's crotch. He was also hungry for sex but said instead, "I pledged to be honest with you. I'm starved. I haven't eaten all day. I hope it won't take long to fix dinner."
"And I promised to be honest with you. I'm horny as hell but we can eat first," Ben said but, with a grin, added, "Desert will be served later in the bedroom."
Having rushed through dinner, the two lovers made their way to the bedroom for 'desert'. Following an extended period of serious love-making, they settled down with arms and legs intertwined. After a short period of cuddling, Tom said, "Remember your telling me about a strange feeling. I think I had the same feeling."
"Just before I climaxed?" Ben asked.
"Matter of fact, yes. It was like you described. Like nothing else I've ever felt but extremely pleasant. What do you think it means?"
"We've had this conversation before, Tom. It may be just a coincidence. It doesn't have to have a meaning."
"Maybe not a meaning but it does have to have an explanation," Tom argued.
"Sure. Cause and effect. Right? We've both experienced something new and unusual. Most probably, something caused that. We don't know what it is. But this is for sure. We can enjoy the feeling and not obsess over what caused it."
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It was just after dawn one Sunday morning. Tom and Ben were cuddling very contentedly together after having given each other a particularly satisfying orgasm. Ben whispered almost imperceptibly into Tom's ear, "I've never been so happy. I love you."
"I feel the same way, Ben," Tom replied. "The happy part. And the love part."
They tightened their embrace momentarily and sank back into blissful reverie. Several minutes passed before Tom asked a question he had been considering for some time. "Ben. Do you remember our drive home from the beach? I mentioned living together and you said you'd have to think about it? Have you?"
"I have. It will present some difficulties but I do want to live with you. FOREVER!"
"Difficulties?"
"A few. Some are easily solved ... like merging our furniture and belongings. Some are not so easily solved ... we both have leases with several months left. Okay, we might be able to get out of a lease contract ... or we can simply pay the rent until the lease expires. Other problems are not so easily solved. Do we tell our families that we're gay? They know we're good friends and we spend a lot of time together. But being just friends is one thing. Being homosexual partners is quite another. What will be their reaction? Will they be disappointed or even heartbroken? If they are upset or angry, how long will it take to re-establish something like a normal relationship? If we don't tell them we're gay but that we just want to save money by living together as room mates, will they suspect we're gay anyway? Even if they don't, it won't eliminate their expectation that we will get married and raise their grandkids. Yes, I want to live with you ... to love you ... for as long as possible. But we have to recognize that our families may be shocked, disappointed, or even angry over what we are. And, of course, there's how other people will treat us. We're not freaks or sinners but other people will treat us that way."
"Sounds like you're trying to talk yourself out of it, Ben."
"Not at all! I've said I want to live with you as your lover and I meant it. I'm just pointing out some of the consequences that we'll have to cope with. And let me add, just for emphasis, we may face difficulties but we CAN and we WILL cope with whatever comes up. As far as I'm concerned, being your lover will definitely be worth the effort."
"I've thought about all of the questions and concerns you mentioned. And I assure you that we can and will cope with any difficulties we face."
Ben grinned and said, "So we'll live together and love each other forever."
"Then it's settled," Tom gushed. "You've made me very happy."
Chapter 6: MERGING OF MINDS
The two lovers soon made a down payment on a house, located on two wooded acres about two miles out of town which afforded a degree of privacy. It had three bedrooms, a requirement they had agreed upon ... not because they would sleep in separate bedrooms but for 'appearances.' The third bedroom would be a guest room even though they didn't anticipate any out-of-town guests. Should family or friends visit, it would be important that Ben and Tom each have his own private bedroom. The house required a lot of modernizing but Tom's experience in home construction was most helpful. Ben, with Tom's tutoring, helped with much of the labor.
Tom was connecting a new faucet on a kitchen sink. He was lying on his back with his head and arms inserted into the cabinet below the sink when he realized he did not have his pipe wrench. "Damn!" he though to himself. "I'll have to go get it." Just as he extracted himself from his awkward position under the sink, he saw Ben walk into the kitchen.
"Here's the wrench you wanted." Ben said.
Tom was stunned. "How did you know I needed a wrench?"
Ben didn't quite know how to reply. Finally, he said. "I don't know," and then paused, trying to recall what made him drop what he was doing and take the wrench to Tom. "I really don't know," he mumbled. "It was just a thought that popped into my head. I don't know why. I can't explain it. But ... somehow ... some way ... I knew you needed it and I should take it to you."
Tom sat up. "There must be a logical explanation." He paused before continuing, "Did you see the wrench and figure that I might need it? So you brought it to me just in case?"
"No. I was busy prepping the dining room for painting. I was putting masking tape around the window frame. I wasn't thinking of anything in particular ... and certainly not about what you were doing in the kitchen. But then ... suddenly ... a totally unrelated thought entered my head: you needed a wrench. So I stopped what I was doing, got the wrench, and brought it to you."
"You're sure you weren't thinking of me and that I would be using a wrench? Did you then recall seeing the wrench in my tool box? So you brought it to me?"
"No, Tom. Like I said. I was taping the window frame. And not thinking of what you were doing. Until ... suddenly ... I knew ... somehow ... you needed a wrench."
Tom just shook his head and mumbled, "Weird!"
That evening, over dinner, with the day's work completed. Tom and Ben revisited the strange occurrence earlier in the day. Struggling to find a logical explanation, they proposed and rejected a few theories. Recognition of what would become a recurring and perplexing mystery gave the two lovers reason to marvel. Eventually, they resigned themselves to being unable to explain what happened and turned their attention to more important things. Like going to bed early. But not to sleep. Rather, to express with words and actions the depth of their love for each other.
Over the next several weeks, similar inexplicable events occurred.
On a hot and humid evening Tom was at the dining room table pouring over architectural drawings and trying to figure out how best to modify the floor plan of the house to accommodate a few changes the customer wanted. Having solved the challenge of meeting the customer's requests and at minimal cost, he sat back and decided that he deserved a reward for his labor. A cold beer would hit the spot. He carefully rolled up the drawings and inserted them into a cardboard tube.
Ben walked in and said, "Here's the cold beer you wanted." Tom looked up and his expression was frozen into an incomprehensible stare. "What's wrong, Tom? I thought you wanted a beer."
Tom, uncharacteristically barked, "How the hell did you know that?"
Ben was momentarily speechless. "I don't know. I just knew. So I brought it to you."
The baffling instances were more common when the two young men made love. For example, each invariably knew precisely when his partner was on the brink of ejaculation. The mysterious but very pleasant feeling they experienced signaled that their partner was moments away from an orgasm. They would then prolong the love-making by interrupting active oral stimulation in a procedure they would later learn was called 'edging.' They had discussed the phenomenon but couldn't identify a logical reason for the cue that signaled impending orgasm. Each did, however, use the knowledge to maximize his partner's pleasure.
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As time went by, the bond between the two lovers strengthened. And the melding of their minds was more and more frequently manifest. Both Ben and Tom were recurrently amazed at the periodic and mysterious connections in their thoughts. But try as they may, they could not explain their experience. Tom suggested, for example, that knowing each other's thoughts might be a result of the depth of their love for each other. If so, they reasoned, straight couples who intensely loved each other would experience the same phenomenon. Neither young man, however, had ever heard of traditional couples experiencing anything that remotely resembled their own experiences. And they felt they could not ask loving couples in a traditional man/woman relationship about any similar incidents in their lives together. To do so, they feared, would raise suspicions about their own relationship which was at the time considered sick and/or sinful.
Eventually, Tom and Ben agreed that the unique mental bond between them defied logical explanation. They accepted and enjoyed what they came to call their 'special gift'. It became one more way in which their bond was an integral part of their life together.
But the mental union they had come to enjoy turned out to be a mixed blessing. Neither Ben nor Tom could reliably keep a secret - for example, a birthday or Christmas present he planned to give to his lover. The impossibility of keeping a secret was the reason that Ben said, as they were cuddling after a particularly satisfying period of sex, "You realize, Tom, that our ability to sense each other's thoughts has a down-side."
"And that would be?" Tom responded.
"Neither of us can be unfaithful. If we're even tempted to cheat on each other, it won't be a secret for very long."
"It'll never happen!" Tom said forcefully. "I'm surprised you even considered the possibility."
"Sorry, Tom. I was joking. If I have my way, we'll be partners forever."
To be continued