This story is set in the fictional city of Trenton, New Jersey. Yes, there is a real city by that name, but other than being a state capital on the Delaware River, it bears little resemblance to the city in this story. While a few of the places mentioned may exist in reality, all of the characters and events are fictitious.
If you are under age, or live in an area where reading stories that include sex between males is illegal, or if you're not into this type of story, please leave. The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at NJMcMick@yahoo.com.
Chapter Seven
I felt like I was on a roller coaster all day. Whenever I thought about the sex with Marcus, I got hard at once. I don't know how many erections I got while standing at the sink at work. But then when I thought about the way we parted, I was down again. I knew that what Marcus had said made sense. We didn't know anything about each other and with him away at school there no way for us to get to know one another. Two strangers can't have a relationship, but I wanted it so bad.
The first part of my fantasy had come true. There was love at first sight. Well okay, it was more like lust at first sight. I'd felt it the second he walked onto the train back in July and then again in the park. But it was more than that. There were lots of guys I thought were hot, lots of guys who practically made me drool. Hell, Manny was hot and turned me on something fierce when we worked out and when we jerked each other off. I knew Manny and liked him a lot but I didn't feel the same attraction to him as with Marcus.
And then there was the sex. Oh man, that's where the fireworks and blazing rockets came in, even more than I imagined. Who knows, maybe I'd feel that same excitement with everyone I had sex with, maybe it wasn't just Marcus, but I couldn't imagine that happening every time no matter who I was with. He really was special.
But the being together and living happily ever after part, that's what I couldn't see happening. Having a magical moment from a fantasy come true was possible. But having a fantasy life come true, that was something else. It reminded me again of what I'd learned over the summer. You can make plans, but you can't control everything to make them come true. The same with fantasies. You can dream something, but you can't make it happen.
I wasn't going to give up on Marcus, though. He said we'd get together on his breaks from school and try to get to know one another. He made it sound unlikely that anything would work out that way, and that it was more likely that one of us would find someone else in the meantime. Still, I had hope. I hadn't found anyone else who made me feel this way in nearly seventeen years. I couldn't imagine stumbling onto someone in the next couple of months.
When I got home from work, Lucille was waiting for me.
"You were a bad boy last night, Jerry. You know the rules, no overnight visitors."
"How did you know? I mean, we were quiet and careful. No one saw us."
"I know everything that goes on in my house, honey."
"I didn't mean to do it, Lucille. My friend missed the last train out last night and had nowhere else to stay. It won't happen again."
"It had better not. You're a good boy and a good tenant, but I can't make exceptions to my rules. It wouldn't be fair to everyone else."
I went up to my room and changed for our workout, then went up to Manny's room. I was a little distracted, by my thoughts of Marcus and also by my little run-in with Lucille. Manny must have noticed my preoccupation because about halfway though the workout I saw him looking at me funny.
"There's something going on in that pretty head of yours, Jerry. I hear you had a guest last night."
"How did you know about that? I just had a little run-in with Lucille about it. I didn't think anyone noticed. My friend missed his train and had to stay over. I was really careful to keep him hidden."
"Somebody always notices everything around here, babe. I hear he was a really hot black stud."
"Damn, do they have hidden security cameras around here?"
He laughed. "No, just a bunch of nosy snoops who love to tell on others. Be careful with Lucille, though. She's sweet, but she sticks to her rules. The first time she warns you, the second time she threatens you with eviction, and the third time you're out. No exceptions. So who was this guy? I don't remember you talking about any friend like him."
I shrugged and tried to act casual. "He was just a guy I met earlier in the summer and then ran into at the festival. He needed a place to spend the night and I thought I could get away with it."
We went back to our workout but he still kept looking at me funny. He suddenly stopped right in the middle of a rep and looked at me.
"Omigod! You got laid!"
I must have turned beet red.
"I don't believe it! My little virgin turns out to be a tramp, picking up a guy in the park!"
"I'm not a tramp. I told you I wanted to do it when the right guy came along."
"Yeah, but I thought you meant true love, not just a hot trick."
I knew he was teasing me, but his comment still cut me. The truth was, in spite of all my fantasy and wishing, Marcus may have been just that. He might not even remember me by the time Thanksgiving rolled around. Or he might, but I'd only be a fond memory, a hot one-night stand that he had no interest in following up on. Maybe he'd come see me, maybe he wouldn't. I could hope, but in the meantime, it was what it was, a single hot encounter.
"Hey little buddy, don't look so sad. I didn't mean to put you down. I'm sure it wasn't like one of my sordid tricks. Tell me all about it. What did you do with him? I'm dying for all of the juicy details."
"I guess we did pretty much everything." I wasn't comfortable talking about what Marcus and I had done in bed; that seemed so personal. On the other hand, I hadn't been able to stop thinking about it since Marcus left and I really wanted to talk to someone about how I felt. I guess if Marcus hadn't had to leave I would have liked to talk to him about all that we did, how it felt for me, how it felt for him. Maybe it was pretty routine stuff we did, but it was all new to me and I really needed to talk about it.
"Oral and anal?"
"Yep, both. Like I said, we did it all."
"So which end of things did you do, giving or receiving?"
I had to think about those terms for a few seconds. "If you mean, did I do the deed or just have it done to me, again the answer is both."
"You got fucked? Congratulations! And you did some buttfucking yourself. Man, you must have ripped him up with that huge tool of yours. So which did you like better, being a top or a bottom?"
I thought again. "That's really hard to say. There's so different and both are so great. Being on top is the greatest sensation my dick has ever felt. And on the bottom, there's all those sensations of stretching and filling my hole, plus the jolt every time he hit my prostate. But it was so much more than the physical feelings. On top, I had this feeling of power, of being in charge, like I was in complete control and I could do anything I wanted. Even more than that, I was in control of what he was feeling. By watching him and seeing what was good for him, I could drive him crazy with pleasure. That was such an awesome feeling, to be able to do that for another guy And then on the bottom, it was more like just giving up control, letting him take on all of the responsibility, do all the work. And he was taking care of me, protecting me as if he were holding me in a big hug. But even though he was in control, I found there were some things I could do to make it better for him. Again, I watched his face and saw what felt good for him, and I found I could work my ass muscles a bit and give him some extra sensations. So I liked it both ways, totally. I don't think I could ever make a choice between them."
"So you're what's known as versatile, then. I am too, pretty much. I like it both ways, although sometimes I'm more in the mood for one or the other."
"Yeah, I guess that since a lot of the pleasure is in my head it would depend on my mood sometimes."
Manny got serious for a minute. "So what was this guy like, Jer? Was it the way you hoped for? Was it special?"
"Well, you know I was being pretty idealistic, but in some ways it was close to what I imagined. There was something really special about him, both times I met him. I can't really say it was love at first sight, but it was an amazingly strong attraction. And he was so hot, sexy, sweet and gentle all rolled up together. So yeah, it was special."
"I'm glad, 'cause if it wasn't I'd be a little pissed and a lot jealous."
"Pissed and jealous?"
Yeah, pissed because you're an idealist, a sweet guy with a dream and I really want things to go the way you want. So if some guy had taken advantage of you, or even if you'd just momentarily caved in to your horny desires and had a typical one-night stand, I'd be mad at him or you for ruining the dream. And jealous, because while we only may be friends, I think you're one of the hottest guys I've known and if you were going to let just anyone pop your cherry, I'd want it to be me."
I blushed again. "Well, we've fooled around quite a bit and you were my first for that."
"Yeah, and even though it's been just 'fooling around' as you put it, it's been pretty hot."
"That's because you're so hot, Manny."
"You're the little hottie, babe. And your body just keeps getting better. If you keep working at it you're gonna be a knockout. You know, I'm not going to be able to take my weight bench and dumbbells with me when I move since we're flying down to Houston. Why don't you take them and keep working on that body?"
"You mean it? That would be great. Thank you." I started to get a little choked up and felt stupid to be getting emotional over a set of weights. "Working out isn't going to be the same without you, though. Nothing is. You've been a good friend to me and I'm going to miss you."
"I'm gonna miss you, too, little buddy. Who knows, maybe you'll find another workout partner. But no fucking, just fooling around. You don't want to make me jealous."
"Nothing you can do about it," I teased. "You'll be thousands of miles away."
"Well, you fuck around with another stranger and I'm gonna get my turn when you come to visit me."
"I doubt if that will be anytime soon. I can't see how I'll ever be able to afford a trip like that."
"Hey, never say never. We'll figure out a way."
"Say, I was thinking, maybe I could take over the cleaning from you and Lucille could give me a break on the rent. Then I could save some money. What do you think?"
"Good idea, but you're months too late. Lucille's had a waiting list of guys ever since I started doing this. Half the guys here are on the list."
"Oh well, it was a thought."
The week went by and every day I came home from work hoping for a letter from Marcus. He had the address of the rooming house but I didn't have his address. I'd never received any mail there and we didn't have individual mailboxes, but Lucille put all of the mail in a big basket on the table in the front hall and the tenants just helped themselves. Saturday Manny and I had our workout, but I just didn't feel right fooling around with him. I felt bad turning him down because he was going to be leaving in less than a week, but I was thinking of Marcus, and I wanted to wait for him. Manny didn't object, too much, that is, and we went for our walk after the workout.
When we got back to the house the mail was in the basket. I pawed though and there was a small envelope addressed to me. Well, it was addressed to Miah, with no last name. There was no return address but the postmark was from Connecticut. Someone, probably Lucille, had drawn a large question mark on the envelope. As we walked up the stairs I stuck it in my pocket, resisting Manny's urging to open the 'love letter' immediately. When we got to the second floor Manny kissed me on the cheek.
"I'm happy for ya, kid. Now go read your love letter." He continued on up to the third floor and I went to my room. I flopped down on the bed, pulled out the letter and carefully opened it.
Miah,
I couldn't stop thinking about you all the way up here on the train. And you've been on my mind for the last couple of days since then, too. You are totally amazing, you know that? I'm not just talking about your adorable face, or your hot little body, or even the incredible sex we had. It's everything about you. More than anything I wish we weren't stuck so far apart, so we could get to know one another and see if something could grow between us. Stop that smirking, I wasn't thinking of that big monster between your legs. Okay, you got me, I was, how could I not? Anyway, as much as I would love for something to develop, I want to repeat what I said on the way to the station Monday morning. Let's get together when I come home from school and see what happens. In the meantime, don't put your life on hold waiting for me. Get out there and live. Do what's right for Miah. And when I come home, we'll see. It's okay to keep your fingers crossed. I know I will, but we've both got to live our lives until then. I'm not putting my return address on this because I'm don't want you spending your time writing to me, getting hung up on me. After we spend some more time together, we can move on to that step, if we both want to at that point.
Hugs (and more),
Marcus
PS. Wednesday, November 23, 8PM. You've got a date. Be ready.
I reread the letter three times, looking for something between the lines. It was pretty much the common sense talk that he'd given me on the way to the train. Actually, he was even more reassuring about how much he liked what little he knew of me. He couldn't stop thinking about me! And he was hoping that something more would develop between us. I would have liked a little love instead of hugs at the end, but I had a date. That was something.
When I got to Norman's house, Marcus was still on my mind. I went through the sheet music and instead of picking out classical pieces like I usually did, I came across a book of love songs from the fifties, the kind old pop stars like Rod Stewart were recording. Norman commented on my selection as we sat down to eat.
"It sounds like you're in a romantic mood tonight, Jerry."
'Yeah, I guess I am." I went on to explain all about Marcus, from that first kiss after seeing him on the train (I deleted all references to my stolen wallet), to meeting him again at the festival. I ended with the letter I'd just received.
"It does sound pretty romantic. The magical kiss between strangers, then running into each other again after all that time. The kind of thing you've been dreaming about. Are you sure you were ready for it, though?" He knew I'd been a virgin.
"I must have been because I loved every second of it. It all happened so much faster than I expected, but it was a bit like a fantasy. I just wish he wasn't so far away so we could continue."
"It sounds like your Marcus has a pretty good head on his shoulders and is being sensible about this. I know you want it all right now but the way things are you don't really have much choice."
"I know, but I want to be in love so bad. I want what you and Harry had."
"It didn't happen for us overnight, either, you know. Neither of us was out when we were introduced by mutual friends so we didn't expect a relationship. We had become pretty good friends by the time Harry began to suspect I was gay. I would never have suspected him if he hadn't come out to me at that point. And then we were both so flustered by the emotions surrounding finally admitting we were gay that it was a while before we realized we'd fallen in love. We'd known each other six months before we went on our first date and then it was another month before we went to bed."
"So basically you're telling me to quit whining, that I'm already way ahead of where you were and I should be happy, not impatient."
"Basically. Plus, you're only eighteen. I was twenty-five when Harry and I finally made love. Can you imagine waiting until then for your first time?"
"Oh god no. I didn't mind waiting before because I didn't know what I was missing and I wanted it to be special, but now that I know I couldn't wait years to do it again. One time and I want it every day now."
"Well, I'll admit that sex is fun and with the right person it's great, but it's not going to kill you to wait until Thanksgiving."
"Since Marcus won't be back until then I guess I'll have to, unless I find someone else in the meantime."
"You think lightning is going to strike again so soon, that's you'll find another guy to fall in love with next week?"
"It doesn't have to be love. That was just for the first time. Now that I'm broken in, I could do it just for fun, I suppose."
"Whoa, from virgin to slut practically overnight. What's going on here?"
"I'm just teasing, Norman. I don't think I could ever do it with anyone I didn't care strongly about. Besides, Marcus is all I want. Unfortunately, I can't have him for a while. I just hope I'm all he wants."
"Well, if I were forty years younger, you'd certainly be all I wanted, but I don't suppose that makes you feel any better."
"It does, Norman. You always say things that make me feel better. I just meant that I was hoping he wasn't looking for someone else since he can't have me right now."
"There's nothing you can do about that, Jerry. At this stage in your relationship, if you can even call it that, you shouldn't be thinking that way. You have a long way to go before you can even talk about an exclusive relationship, or going steady, which is what they called it when I was your age. In the meantime, you're both free to do whatever you want and see whomever you want. No commitment, no guilt."
I was starting to get a little uncomfortable talking so much about sex. Well, it wasn't so much sex itself, it was more my feelings. I'd learned to keep a lot to myself over the last few years and even though Norman was easy to talk to, I could still feel myself holding back. I felt that way with Manny, too, although since he was closer to my age we talked more but usually kept it lighter. In spite of not being able to completely open up to either of them, it was nice knowing I had friends I could talk to. Except Manny was leaving in a week. I told Norman about his offer to let me have the weights.
"So he's really leaving, then?"
"Yeah, next Saturday. I was hoping he might change his mind but he's really set on it."
"I'll bet you're going to miss him a lot."
"Yeah, I will. We work out every day. I've only known him less than two months but I've never had a friend like him before."
"It looks like I picked a bad time to go visit my sister. Are you sure you're going to be all right on your own for a while?"
Norman had told me a while back that he was leaving on Tuesday to go see his sister and her family in Indiana.
"Sure, why wouldn't I be?"
"Well, you're going through emotional ups and downs over Marcus, excited that something might be developing but impatient that it's on hold for a couple of months. And your best friend is moving away. I know you only come by once a week but I feel bad that I won't be here if you need to talk to someone."
"Don't worry about me. I've spent most of the last few years on my own. I'm used to it. Besides, I've got Betty and Luann at work. They don't know I'm gay so I can't talk to them about things like that, but they love to mother me so I'm not totally alone."
"Even so, I'm going to give you my cell phone number so you can call if you want to talk."
"That's nice of you, but I can't call long distance on a pay phone just to talk. That would cost a fortune."
He got up and went into the den, coming back with a small shopping bag.
"That's why I got you this." He handed me the bag. I opened it and took out a cell phone and battery charger.
"I can't afford this, Norman. I told you before that I can't handle any monthly bills." Both Manny and Norman had been trying to talk me into getting a cell phone since it wasn't possible to have a regular phone at the house. I'd actually checked it out but found out that they ran a credit check on you for their monthly plans. I didn't even exist as far as the credit bureaus were concerned, so that was out. Besides, the phones were expensive and I didn't like the idea of being stuck with a bill every month when I had no one to call anyway.
"It's a prepaid plan. I paid for the phone itself and two hundred minutes. You can buy more minutes when you need them but you're not under any obligation."
"But you shouldn't have done that. This is one of the better phones. It probably cost a fortune."
"It was on sale. Consider it an early birthday present." I couldn't believe he remembered my birthday was coming up. I'd mentioned back when we first met that it was in early October but hadn't said anything since then. The less said about my age the better.
"Well, thank you, then. These minutes will probably last me a long time because I really don't know anyone to call."
"Nonsense. I want you to call me while I'm away whenever you feel like talking. I've programmed my numbers into the phone already. And you can keep in touch with Manny now, too. Just don't get carried away."
"I've never been one to talk on the phone a lot, but it will be great to be able to call Manny. I was really afraid I'd never hear from him again once he left. He says he's not big on writing letters."
"I'm glad it will be of use to you. And I mean it about calling me while I'm away. I want to hear from you now and then so I know you're all right."
"I'm always all right. I've got everything under control, you know that."
"Yeah, right. I seem to remember one night not long ago when you were more than a little hungry."
"That was different. I hadn't been in town long then. I'm doing good now. But I will call you now and then because I'm sure I'll miss you. How long are you going to be away?"
"Three weeks and a couple of days. It's my annual trek back home."
"You don't have to take Dixie with you, you know. I could come by a few times a day to take care of her."
"Yeah, I can just see you stumbling all the way over here at six in the morning to walk her. Besides, she loves this trip as much as I do. She likes the farm even more than our park here. But maybe if I go away for a weekend sometime I'll take you up on your offer."
On the way home I kept thinking about my new phone. Nearly everyone I knew had one and even though I didn't have much use for a phone I had wanted one. Now I had it. Now I was somebody. I'd give the number to everyone at work on Monday. Not that there was ever a reason to talk to them outside of work, but I really didn't know anyone else. Maybe Lucille, though I saw her a couple of times a day anyhow. And when Marcus came home on Thanksgiving I'd give him my number, too. He might be trying to keep some distance between us and move things along slowly, but at some point we'd want to stay in touch.
As the week passed I began to dread Manny's leaving more. I hadn't been happy about it from the minute he'd told me, but I didn't think I'd mind so much. I'd always been pretty much a loner and never got very attached to people. We'd only been friends a couple of months, so it wasn't even like I was that used to him. But he'd been there every day since I moved into the house. We'd worked out together, talked, laughed, teased and even jerked each other off. Nearly everything I knew about being gay I learned from him. There'd never been anyone in my life quite like him and now he was leaving. I finally had a best friend and now I was losing him.
His last day of work was Thursday but his flight wasn't until Saturday, so he planned a last night out with his friends at Buddies for Friday night. We worked out after I got home from work and then we moved the weights and bench down to my room. He also gave me an A&F poster of a nearly naked guy I thought was really hot.
"How about coming to Buddies with us tonight, Jer?"
"I'd just be in the way. This is your night to say goodbye to your friends. They don't even know me."
"You're my friend, too. We've gotta party together one time before I go."
"But I'm not twenty-one."
"That's okay. They'll snap a colored band around your wrist and then the bartenders will know not to serve you. Please? I want you there."
I gave in. I'd heard him talk about the club for weeks and knew that I'd never get up the nerve to go on my own, so this might be my only chance for a long time. Besides, I did want to spend one last night with my friend.
I'd been up since six and we weren't going to the club until eleven, so I lay down for a couple of hours. I awoke to knocking on my door. I got up and opened it to Manny, dressed to go out. He had on tight jeans that hung low on his hips and a skin-tight sleeveless t-shirt that stopped a couple of inches above the jeans. If the weights hadn't been in my room I would have thought that he'd gone though another workout; his muscles all looked pumped.
"C'mon, ho, time to party!"
"Give me a minute to get dressed. I don't think they'll let me in in just my boxers."
"You'd be very popular, but they might not stay on you very long." I turned away from the door to look for my jeans. Manny stepped up behind me, took hold of the waistband of my shorts on each side and pulled, dropping them to around my ankles. "Like that."
I gave him a dirty look over my shoulder and bent to retrieve my shorts. I jumped as Manny ran his finger up the slightly spread crack of my ass.
"Watch it, bro! That's private property."
"I've been having so much fun playin' with that big tool of yours I haven't ever properly appreciated what a fine boy butt you've got, Jerry. Not that it would have done me any good to comment on it."
"That's right, Manuel. Remember our rules. Stroking only. No oral or anal."
I had no trouble getting into the club. The guy at the door gave me a little lecture about not having any ID on me, but he put the band on my wrist and let me in anyway. Manny said that young guys like me were the reason lots of older guys went to the club, so they weren't about to turn me away. As long as I was tagged so I wouldn't be served booze, they didn't mind. Except I did drink most of the night. My first drink was a Coke, served in a large plastic cup. After that, Manny went to the bar and bought me rum and Coke, which he then poured into my cup. Aside from an occasional beer or glass of wine or brandy at Norman's house I wasn't used to drinking so I went slow, but I was still feeling buzzed in no time.
Manny had told me so much about his friends Tom and Jack that I felt like I knew them. Tom was around six feet tall, dark-haired and stocky. Jack was the same height, but blond and slim. They were both a couple of years older than Manny and a little bit effeminate. They drank a lot more than I did and spent what time they weren't drinking on the dance floor. Sometime after midnight my drinks had loosened me up enough so that I let them drag me out onto the floor to teach me how to dance. By the time the bar closed at two none of us was feeling any pain.
We hung out on the sidewalk out front for a while as Manny said goodbye to his friends. There were lots of hugs and kisses. The guys hugged me nearly as much as Manny. Once we were out in the fresh air the drinks hit me even harder. I knew I was staggering a little when we started to walk away from the club. Manny kept his arm around my waist all the way back to the house. I rested my head on his shoulder now and then. It wasn't until the next day that I realized that probably wasn't a smart way to walk through downtown Trenton in the middle of the night, but there were very few people out and no one gave us any hassles. When we got to the hall outside my room we stopped and spoke quietly to each other.
"I'm really going to miss you a lot, little buddy. I know I've teased you a lot about your naiveté and idealism, but I think you're pretty special. And I know it's not something that you ever wanted to do with me, but would you kiss me goodbye?"
I suddenly felt bad for all of the restrictions I'd put on the fooling around we'd done. I knew that it was because when we started, the only time I'd ever been kissed was by Marcus at the train station and I had mixed feelings about that. But Manny hadn't complained when I pulled away that first time he tried to kiss me. He'd never pushed me, always letting me control how far we went.
"Yeah, I think I'd really like that." I stepped up to him and kissed him lightly on the lips. His lips weren't as full as Marcus' but they were soft. He pressed them against mine and parted them slightly. I felt his tongue on my lips and opened my mouth to take it in. As our tongues gently played together Manny pulled me into a tight embrace. He ran one hand up and down my back, stopping to give my butt a firm squeeze. I finally pulled myself away, gasping for breath.
I looked into his dark eyes and made up my mind what I wanted to do, but I felt a little shy.
"So, Manny, since we're both tenants here, it would seem to me that if you were to spend the night in my room, technically you wouldn't be an overnight guest and we wouldn't be breaking any rules."
Manny's eyes widened. "Are you sure, Jerry? I can't promise that I won't lose control if we go in there. We might end up going a little further than you want to."
"Not possible, babe, 'cause I want to go all the way."