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LOVE IS ALL THAT MATTERS
~ Chapter 2 ~
From the Narrative of Joshua Damien Spencer:
I was making out with the guy I'd fantasized about since we were in high school. I wondered if I had died and gone to heaven. I had never, in my wildest dreams, imagined that Harry could be gay after the way he'd reacted the one time I'd ever tried anything around him. The surprise I felt at the revelation was rapidly overwhelmed by euphoria. Harry wanted to be forgiven, but the only thing I could think of at the moment was planting a kiss on those luscious lips. And so I did.
There was none of the resistance I'd expected. The instant our lips met, I felt the jolt that went through his body in my embrace. Whatever insecurities he had, they seemed to melt away as he returned my kiss passionately. He sank back against the couch, as if he wanted me to take him right there and then. Our hands were busy exploring each other's bodies, under our shirts. One part of my mind was screaming whether this was really happening. And the other part told me to just keep on going, before it came to an end.
And it did come to an end. I'd completely forgotten my nervousness about Reid once Harry had revealed his secret. But now hearing his voice, Harry leapt away from me as if I was a carrier of the plague. His eyes almost popped out of his head as he caught his first glimpse of Reid behind me.
I didn't have to look to know the reason for Harry's stare. Reid isn't very fond of clothing. If there wasn't a law prohibiting public nudity, Reid would probably spend the day naked. Not that he had anything to be ashamed of. Whenever he had time off work, he'd spend it on his three favorite pastimes - surfing, exercising and fucking. The results of the first two activities showed in his muscular body, particularly the killer abs that he had. His blond hair was perpetually flopping into his pale blue eyes. And the dimpled smile that could make hearts melt explained Reid's success in his third pursuit.
Harry's glance took all of it in and he blushed as he caught sight of Reid's cock - six inches long and cut, surrounded by a blond bush that was darker than the hair on his head. Then he turned his stare towards me. My heart sank as I caught the accusing look.
Reid said, "Hey I know you! You're the one Josh has a shrine of in his room." I cursed him for revealing this bit of information, as if it wasn't embarrassing enough already.
I decided to take matters into my own hands. I cleared my throat and said, "Harry, this is Reid Scott. Reid, Harrison Ridgeway." Then I turned to look at Reid. "Um . could you put on some clothes?"
Reid glanced down at himself nonchalantly, as if he hadn't even noticed his nudity until then, and said, "Oh, right." I watched him disappear into his room, and then only turned back to look at Harry.
"Look, I can explain -" I began, but Harry cut in, "A shrine?"
I reddened. "It's nothing, really, just a few photos and mementos. You probably don't want to see it," I said in an attempt to discourage him.
"But I do," he said, looking at me innocently. I couldn't resist that look. What the hell, I thought. At least he isn't asking me what some naked surfer-boy is doing wandering around my house as if he owned it.
I nodded towards my bedroom door. "It's through there." I got up and he followed behind. He was so close, I thought. It took every ounce of my willpower not to turn around and ravish him. I thought desperately, couldn't we just return to what we were doing before this?
The "shrine", as Reid had called it, was basically just a board on which I'd stuck some of my favorite photos of Harry. The top of the cabinet below it had the few things of his that I'd borrowed and kept. Okay, some might define "borrowing" here as "stealing".
"I wondered where this went," said Harry, picking up the wooden bead necklace he'd bought on our senior class trip to Hawaii. I had the grace to blush guiltily. His hands wandered over the array of things, pausing at a photo of us on the beach. We were both shirtless, and his arm was around my shoulder. I loved that photo, because of the charmingly innocent look he had in it, totally unaware that my cock was half-hard just from the contact of his bare skin.
He turned to look at me. For a heart-stopping moment, I thought he was going to kiss me again, but then he dashed my hopes by asking, "So who's Reid?"
I took a deep breath. I knew I had to tell him the truth, though it was hard. What if he didn't believe me?
"Harry, I want you to know, that I've always loved you. It wasn't just some teenaged crush; it hasn't gone away although it's been years. I always hoped that, you know, you'd come to find me and we'd . . . like what happened just now. But I didn't think you ever would. I held out hope, Harry, I really did. My parents' deaths reminded me I didn't have all the time in the world. Then Reid came along. I thought it would just be a one-night thing - I was a virgin and he'd done it many times."
I averted my eyes. How was I to tell him the next part?
He prodded me. "But it lasted more than just the one night, didn't it?"
Ashamed, I nodded. "I liked it so much that I wanted more. And surprisingly enough, Reid agreed to stay with me. I told him, we weren't in a serious relationship - that it wasn't permanent or exclusive, because I was still hung up over you. And we agreed on it." It all came out in a rush of words. I was aware I sounded like I was babbling.
I looked at Harry. "So you see, Reid won't mind, now that you're here, we can have . . . a relationship." I was almost pleading by now. Was my stupid desire for sex going to be my undoing? I was sure Reid wasn't going to be upset over this, but was Harry going to be able to accept this?
Harry said softly, "It was just sex?"
I nodded vigorously, "Yes. We're not in love or anything. Harry, please . . ." I begged, wanting him to believe me.
Harry shook his head. "I believe you. You haven't done anything wrong. And I'm not the one to judge here. I did some terrible things, much worse than you could have ever done. Even this, I was the cause of it."
I opened my mouth to protest, but Harry stopped me. "Josh, I know you want me to stop blaming myself, but I realize I was the one who made the mistakes. Will you accept my apology?"
"I already did," I told him.
"And will you accept me?" he asked again.
I blinked back my tears and practically shouted, "Yes!"
Harry smiled in relief. I put my arms around him and hugged him. His words were muffled by my chest, but I could hear them. "I love you too, Josh."
I released him and smiled back. "Do you want coffee?" I asked. Harry looked surprised. "I can make an excellent latte!" I declared proudly.
Harry raised his eyebrows. "Okay, this I have to see . . . or do I mean taste? The only time you tried to make a drink, I had to secretly pour it down the toilet."
"Hey!" I said in mock annoyance. "I'll have you know, my lattes are the reason most people visit the Surf 'n' Sand Caf‚!"
"I thought you worked at your parents' hardware store."
"Actually I sold that last year and started a caf‚ on the beachfront."
Harry shook his head in disbelief. "And the surprises just keep on coming. You, running a caf‚?"
I laughed. "You'd better believe it. Now you just wait a few moments, and I'll bring you one Joshua Spencer Latte Special!"
From the Narrative of Harrison Ridgeway IV:
I turned back to examining the shrine once Josh left to make the coffee. I couldn't believe the depth of his love for me, and felt completely undeserving. I promised myself that I would make it up to him in any way possible.
I was so engrossed in my thoughts I didn't hear Reid come into the bedroom. I jumped when I felt his hand on my shoulder. I turned around, noticing he was only wearing a pair of black boxers. I wondered vaguely that it couldn't possible have taken him that long to put on just his underwear.
"I heard what Josh told you," he said softly. "And I came to tell you you're not wanted here."
I blinked. "What do you mean?" With sudden force he pinned me against the wall.
"Listen here, you bastard. I don't know who you think you are, but you don't just come in here and try to steal Josh away."
I tried to wriggle out of his hold but found myself in a solid grip. "Look, I'm sorry but Josh told me you agreed to a non-exclusive relationship."
Reid glared at me. "When there was no chance of you returning. As far as we were concerned you were straight. Enough to reject your best friend when you found out he had a thing for you. You can't just turn up and the relationship Josh and I have. You don't even care for him, do you? You're just going to break his heart again."
I had to protest. "But I love Josh!"
"Where was your love for him when you refused to speak to him ever again, huh? You listen to me - you're going to walk out of here and never return."
I was outraged. "You can't just order me to leave. Josh doesn't love you. He told me so. He loves me!"
That was the wrong thing to say. Reid's handsome face was contorted with anger. Reid moved his hands from my shoulders and grabbed me by the neck, lifting me a few inches above the ground. I struggled to breathe.
"You won't screw things up for me and Josh. If you really love him, you would let him go instead of getting into a relationship with a gay basher. How long will it be before you turn on him?"
I wanted to object that I could never turn on Josh. But then I realized, I had done so before. Reid was right. Josh deserved better. I was a terrible person and Josh didn't need to have to put up with me. I should break it off gently and let him go back to Reid.
"Alright," I managed to croak. "I won't cause any more trouble for the two of you."
Reid released me. "Good," he said, watching me like a hawk as I rubbed my throat. I felt like crying. A few moments ago, I'd been dreaming of a happy future with Josh. Now it was never going to come true.
To be continued . . .
A quick note from the author: I've heard from a number of you guys since the start of the story and I'd like to thank you all very much for writing in. Now with the introduction of two new characters who are pretty much going to be in the spotlight for the remainder of this story, let me know what you think of them. You can email me your thoughts at justinr_88@yahoo.com. Cheers!