James

Part fourteen, here a little sooner than I had originally thought. Inspiration strikes at odd times. I wanted to add a little more romance to the story. If you're going through James-Dave sex withdrawal, don't worry. Plenty of that coming soon. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this.

Part XIV

I sat on the couch of my apartment, watching as Laura moved more boxes in. James and I had made the agreement that I would stay in my old place with Matt until after graduation, but most of my stuff was already over there. Laura had a huge pile of boxes on the opposite wall next to where my keyboard used to be. As she plopped down the last one with a loud "oof," I asked her a question. "Tell me again how your parents agreed to this so easily."

Laura pushed a strand of brown hair back under her cap---I mean Matt's cap---that she had "borrowed" about a year ago. "My folks barely batted an eyelash. We told them about our engagement first, then me moving in. They're pretty progressive, so they don't care."

I shook my head in wonder. "Some of us should be so lucky. I wonder what my parents will say when I tell them I've moved in with James without the benefit of wedlock."

Laura laughed. "Benefit of wedlock? Listen to you." She sat down on the couch next to me and wiped her face with a rag. "Do you really think they'll care? Let's list here: gay son, goes hundreds of miles away to grad school, getting hitched to his boyfriend. I don't think that after all the rest that they'll care about you two shacking up."

"Maybe so," I said as I flicked a piece of lint off her elbow.

"So when's the big trip back home for you and lover boy?"

I sighed. "Next week. Graduation tomorrow, get all settled for a few days, James has some job interviews, I have some interviews, and then we head out next Friday."

Laura pulled off her cap and shook out her hair. As a one hundred percent gay man, I had no attraction to her, but I could see that she was a beautiful young woman. Matt was very lucky, I thought as I smiled. "How's he taking it?" she asked.

I closed my eyes and leaned back. "As well as can be expected. He avoids the issue every time I try to bring it up, and he is really going gung ho about graduation and me moving in and stuff, trying to deflect his own mind."

"Well, I imagine this is tough for him. He hasn't seen them in years."

I sat back into the cushions. "Yeah, added onto the other emotional baggage he's carrying where they're concerned. Then add on the fact that he's bringing his boyfriend soon-to-be-husband with him."

Laura looked down at her shoes. "You don't think he should be taking you, do you?"

I nodded forcefully. "Definitely not. I think it's going to be tough enough on him as it is without having to force his gayness down his family's throat with me there."

Laura looked at me. "Dave, don't you think you should let him decide what's tough enough for him?"

I sighed. "I know what you're saying Laura, but I don't think he's thought this through."

"Dave, he's probably been thinking this through for years now. Did it occur to you that he might have waited to go home until he found someone he could love and trust and could lean on to support him through this tough time?"

I made a face. "Honestly no, it hadn't occurred to me. I just thought he was going to pop in and say, `Hey Mom and Dad! It's me, James, with my homosexual life partner.' "

Laura rolled her eyes. "Sometimes I wonder about you, Dave. For someone so smart, you can be awfully dense."

We sat in silence for a few moments before I spoke again. "You really think that's why he wants me to come so bad?"

Laura smiled. "Yes, I think that's why. I'd be willing to bet on it."

"Put it here."

"No, I think it would look better there."

James and I stood in his---our apartment, trying to figure out the best place to put my framed degree. The apartment had two bedrooms, and James already had one set up as a study/office. Now it was crammed with two desks and computers, my collection of books, and James' weight bench. Setting up housekeeping was a bitch, I thought. I looked at the piece of paper declaring for all the world that I, David Collins, was the holder of a PhD in history. I wanted to put it on the wall above my desk with my other framed stuff. James thought it would look better on the top shelf of the bookcase with some of my trophies. That led to "discussion" on where it would look best, and the two of us choosing places all over the room.

"Here."

"No, there."

James sighed and twirled the hammer in his hand. "Look, Dave, we put it on display, or we don't. It doesn't matter to me."

I looked down at the floor. Sniping again, I thought. Damn, I could be a picky ass when I wanted to be. I grabbed James' hand in mine. "Look, we can put it wherever you want. It's your place, after all."

James looked at me. "No, Dave, it's our place now. I want that to sink into your thick skull." He lightly tapped my forehead with the hammer and grinned. "You aren't some glorified houseguest, you are living with me." With that, he picked up the nail and hammered it into the spot I had selected above my desk. "There. Perfect," he said as he straightened the frame.

That was kind of the metaphor for our life as a living-together couple. I was really learning the meaning of the word `compromise.' We had managed to avoid major arguments for the few days we had been settling in, mostly because we didn't have a lot to fight about. I was beginning to see that staying together every night, no matter how many months it had gone on, still didn't prepare you for actually living with someone.

James had a few idiosyncrasies that I hadn't guessed. He had this way of arranging his cabinets in the kitchen that I had totally missed. I had just seen his dish arrangements before; now I saw he had his pots and pans, his utensils, and all the food arranged just so and if the arrangement was messed up, his whole day was ruined. Personally, I didn't care where all the stuff went so I decided I would live with this one. Also, James could not stand for a light to be left on in a room where nobody was, so he would go around turning lights off. Plus he was always going around straightening everything up. James, for a laid-back person, could be quite the neat freak.

Then again, I guess he had to get used to some stuff with me, too. I had to have my keyboard in a place where I could see out the window. I loved to sit and play while watching the outside world. It was one of my favorite ways to relax. That, of course, required the total rearrangement of the furniture. Before, when I had been merely a stayover, I had brought my toiletries in a bag or had simply used James' stuff. Now that I was living there, all my stuff was there and that had caused an interesting discussion when I found out James had used some of my shampoo. I had a favorite, not-so-inexpensive brand that I really liked, and on a grad student's salary it wasn't easy to come by so I had to economize. I had picked up the bottle and saw the level was a good bit lower than before. We argued in the bathroom for a good five minutes before it occurred to both of us that we were arguing over shampoo, and we had ended up both sitting on the floor laughing our heads off at the idea. That incident had pretty much been a watershed, and we hadn't argued about anything since.

I stared at my now-hanging degree, and followed James back into the living room. He sat on the couch and I joined him. I grabbed his left hand. "What do you think so far?" I asked.

James laughed. "Not so easy as I had thought. We slept together nearly every night from when we first got together, so I figured it would be easy to shack up."

"Not so easy huh?"

"Not at all, shampoo boy."

We both laughed. I leaned over and nuzzled his cheek with my head. "I wouldn't change anything, you know. It's a good thing for us to learn to live together if we're going to be together forever."

James turned and kissed my forehead. "Yup. So far, I haven't found anything about you that I absolutely hate. Well, except maybe that you have no concept of condiment arrangement or that you're really sensitive about your toiletries."

I raised my head to look at James. He had this teasing smirk on his face, and we both chuckled. "Well, if that's as bad as it gets, we're okay," I remarked.

Over the course of the next few days, I had several interviews. One was for a consulting job, one was at a historical society, and I had three at private schools. There were no college-level teaching positions open anywhere in the area. After three days of interviews without anything really firing my imagination, I was ready for a break so I decided to sleep in the next day. I didn't even noticed James get up to go to his interview, his third.

I emerged from the shower at eleven thirty to see James walk back in from his interview. I took a minute to enjoy the sight of my man dressed up, and my mouth literally watered. He was wearing a dark brown suit that brought out his eyes. The suit did nothing to hide his well-built frame at all. When he turned around, I was a little surprised to see he had worn his glasses to the interview. When I pointed it out to him, he grinned. "Doesn't hurt to look a little intellectual."

"So did it work?" I ask as I continued to dry my hair. His brown pants were loose toward the cuff, but they were taut over his very nice ass. When he turned around to face me, I noticed they were equally well-fitting across the front. If his interviewer was a woman or a gay man, I thought, he was a shoo-in. He was a devastating sight. My dick began to grow a little.

James untied his tie. "Nope. They don't have any room for English or writing instructors at that school."

"Was the interviewer a man?"

"Yup."

"Gay?"

James laughed. "Who knows? He was some old dude, had to be in his sixties. He wore these really thick coke-bottle glasses and he never even looked up from the papers he was reading."

I laid my hand on his shoulder. "Well, you have some interviews lined up for later this month, right?"

He nodded and hung up his coat. "Yeah, it's not a big deal. This place wasn't my first choice anyway."

"There you go. You'll be fine." James continued to undress and when he slipped off his trousers I noticed that while he had worn his glasses, he still hadn't worn any underwear. Some things never change, I thought. He probably wouldn't wear underwear in church.

As I rummaged in the drawer for some underwear of my own, I noticed James pull on an old pair of shorts. "What are you doing with those on?" I asked.

"Well," he said with a mischievous smile, "I'm planning on washing my truck before we go to Kentucky."

"And?" I asked.

"I was hoping you would help."

I rolled my eyes and he gave me puppy dog eyes. I sighed and gave in. "Okay, let me get something on. Where were you planning to do this?"

James gestured toward the door. "Out in the parking lot. The bucket, sponge, and soap and all are in the kitchen, and I'll take them out with me. You just come out when you're ready."

I pulled on a pair of worn cutoffs and walked outside in my bare feet. He already had his old Jeep Wagoneer pulled up next to the hose outlet and was spraying water into a bucket of foamy water. He looked at me and grinned salaciously. "Mmm, mmm. Mouth-watering."

I smiled back. "Ditto, sir." I stood by as he filled the bucket. The worn shorts he wore left nothing to the imagination. They were worn thin in many places, with some strategic rips. His hefty meat swung noticeably with each movement of his fine body, and I noticed a rip then went right below his waist and continued over his tanned left ass cheek. "Are you sure you can wear those shorts in public without getting cited for indecent exposure?" James just grinned bigger and licked his lips. My shorts became a little bit tighter.

When the foam reached the top, he reached in and pulled out a sponge. "Here. You wash, I'll rinse."

I glared at him playfully. "Sure, give me the tough job."

James began spraying the roof. "Well, you're a big strong man with a hairy chest and all. This is right up your alley."

I flicked some foam on him and he jerked the hose toward me, getting water on me. "Watch it, boy," I growled playfully.

For about ten minutes, we worked pretty quietly, me scrubbing with the sponge, him rinsing off the soapy water. I was finding it hard to concentrate on the car because the spray from the hose had given James' torso a wet sheen. There's nothing sexier than a man who's just a little wet, I thought. My shorts grew tight again. If I got any more horny, my dick was going to come right out the bottom of my cutoffs. I began scrubbing a little harder to distract my mind.

I was working on the hood when I saw him standing on the other side with a devilish glint in his eyes. "Uh-oh," I said. "What are you thinking?"

"Nothing," he answered. But he didn't quit staring at me. I knew he was up to no good. I took a step back after finishing and he started spraying. Just as he got the last bit of soap off the hood, I saw him look at me and grin. I instantly knew what he was planning. "Don't you even think about..." I was cut off by a spray of water directly in my face. I sputtered and began cursing.

"Uh-uh," James chided. "Watch that language! This is a family show. Guess I'll have to clean that dirty mouth out." He sprayed me again. Then he looked down at my bulging cutoffs. "Hmm. Looks like someone has a dirty mind as well. Guess I'll have to clean that with a cold shower." He started spraying my whole body then.

"That's it!" I roared and I sprinted around the Jeep, but I was stopped cold by the spray. Blinded by the water, I chucked the soapy sponge at him which only made him laugh harder.

I went back around to the other side and grabbed the bucket of soapy water. "This'll get ya!" I yelled as I threw the water over the hood directly at him. Yes! Direct hit. As he shook his head, I ran back around and grabbed his hand with the hose in it. Just as I grabbed his wrist, he sprayed again, but this time it got both of us. I reached in with both hands and managed to wrestle the hose from him and opened up on him full-force. "Ha ha! How do you like this?" I sprayed him all over, ending at his feet. I began spritzing them. "Dance, boy!"

We were both laughing by then and then he tried to grab the hose from me. This time I tossed it to the ground, so he tried to get to my ribs to tickle me. I grabbed his wrists to hold him at bay, and we started wrestling there right in the middle of the parking lot. Our slick bodies made it difficult to get a good hold, but soon he had his head pushing into my chest and I had my hand down the back of his shorts. That was when we started getting hysterical. I couldn't hold on, I was laughing so much. He still had some soap clinging stubbornly to his hair and eyelashes, and he looked so cute.

He looked up at me and grinned that naughty-boy grin. That grin, combined with his wet shiny skin on his taut muscular frame and the way his shorts clung to his lower body made all the blood in my body rush to my crotch right then. I reached out a grabbed him, pulling him to me. I began sucking on his neck and he squealed. "Dave! We're in the middle of the parking lot!"

"So we are," I mumbled. I dragged him behind the Jeep out of sight and began mauling him with my hands. I had his shorts halfway down before he was able to pull away.

"Dave, come on! Anybody could see us!" He looked around as he dragged his ragged shorts back to his waist.

I just stared at him, lust pounding in my blood. "So? Come on, Mister Exhibitionist. Live a little." I grabbed his waist again, but he pulled away.

"Uh-uh. We finish the car first." I could feel my lower lip protruding in a pout. Damn, I thought. I looked down at Big-Little Dave pushing out my fly. Down boy, I thought.

We finished the car in record time. I was almost jumping up and down, thinking that we could finally go inside and finish what we started. Then James produced two towels. "Time to dry." Damn!

We started drying, but I couldn't concentrate. I kept thinking about how James' muscular, smooth chest glistened in the sun with all those water droplets. I thought about how his wet shorts clung to his round, tight ass. I thought about how his blond hair looked like a glowing halo on an angel of total sex... whoa! I shook my head. Damn, I thought as I squeezed my aching meat. I need to finish this damn truck up!

James and I were both working on the same side when I noticed the way he was drying. The muscles in his arms bunched and flexed rhythmically as he rubbed. He was moving the towel sensuously across the surface, like he was massaging a body. Oh lord, I thought as my cock ached again. I started drying more furiously. Each time I looked over at James he was slowly massaging the water off his Jeep, and I grew more and more horny. Just as I swiped the last drops off the back, he finished his side too. He dropped his towel on the pavement and sent a smoldering look my way. I growled deep in my throat. Without a word we coiled up the hose and put together our materials. He didn't say a word as he pressed the keys in my hand. I knew what that look promised: utter satisfaction if I would hurry up and move the damn truck back to its space. James picked up the bucket, the sponge, and the towels and began walking back toward the building. I growled again as I watched his sexy ass move. Then I jumped in the Wagoneer and burned rubber moving the truck back.

I got out and raced up the stairs two at a time. When I got to the door, there in front of the door was a bit of soaked cloth; James' shorts. I groaned, deep and long before going inside.

I dropped his shorts on the kitchen floor and undid the button on mine, allowing them to drop next to his. I walked back to the bedroom in my soaked boxer-briefs, which were practically transparent. When I walked in, my heart leapt into my throat and my cock jumped. Lounging across the bed, like a cat, was my man, six feet one inch of total hunkiness.

James stretched and opened his eyes. His eyes caught mine and he smiled. I felt a wave of warmth ooze over my body like warm honey. He got up from the bed and walked over to me. He put his hands on my arms and pulled me close and breathed in my scent. "Mmm," he murmured. "I don't think I'll ever get tired of your smell."

I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him into a huge hug. We stood like that, enjoying the warmth of our bodies pressed together. I took a whiff. As always, James had a hint of Calvin Klein's Obsession, sweat, and some scent that was uniquely him. If I were blind, deaf, dumb, and without a sense of touch, I knew I could always recognize him by his scent.

James put his hand on the back of my head and held it there for a second. "I love you," he whispered before he pulled me into a hot kiss. Our tongues dueled as my hands roamed his tight back. My dick ached painfully inside my wet underwear. James ran his hand down my back to my waist, where he stopped. "Hmm, I think we can get rid of these." I just moaned my response as he knelt in front of me.

James sat, staring at the bulge in the front of my boxer-briefs. Then he leaned forward and blew hot air onto my bulging fly. The heat of his breath against the cold cloth was a sensation that caused me to groan loudly. He did it again, mouthing my bulge. "Please," I groaned. James leaned forward and began sucking my throbbing meat through the wet fabric. I jumped and felt the precum begin to ooze out.

James ran his hands up the backs of my thighs and began massaging my hamstrings, making my legs relax. The sensations washing over me were heavenly, but I wanted his mouth on my bare meat. Sensing my impatience, James hooked his fingers in the waist of my boxer-briefs and slowly pulled them down. The head of my pecker caught in the waistband as he pulled, and he used his lips and tongue to work it free. I was in sweet agony.

Once rid of my wet confinement, my dick began jumping with my pulse. James wrapped one hand around it, and then began sucking like a young kid would an extra-thick milkshake. My legs buckled and if it hadn't been for James' other arm wrapped around them, I would have dropped to the floor. His hand worked its way up my leg to my ass, and he began playing around with my cheeks.

James began flicking his tongue over my sensitive head. I groaned and relaxed my legs more, allowing his hand access to the juncture of my thighs. His fingers roved around, rubbing the hard ridge under my nuts. He released my dick from his mouth and began licking my nutsack as his finger reached my pucker. I instinctively tensed, but a whisper from my love made me relax again. "Shh, Dave. Don't worry, I won't do anything. Just relax and enjoy," James murmured against my testicles. I gave in to the sensation.

James licked his finger and began teasing my puckered hole a little more. He pushed on it a little, then he mouthed his way back up to my cock, taking it deep into his throat at the same time his finger penetrated my ass. I clenched my teeth a little at the intrusion, but some voice inside my head told me to trust James. I kept breathing, reminding myself that this was the man I loved, the man I wanted to spend my life with. I willed my ring to relax and let his finger inside. James hummed his pleasure around my hard pole. Then he began bobbing his head at a fast pace up and down my shaft, making my temperature rise about a million degrees. I was beginning to get close when he pulled away. I whined my displeasure.

James stood up and kissed me long and hard. Then he kissed my ear and whispered, "Lie down on the bed, face down." I pulled back and looked at him. Was he really asking me what I thought he was? "Trust me," he said. He took my hand and put it to his heart. He placed his other hand on mine. "Trust this, Dave. I won't do anything to hurt you."

I closed my eyes, trying to force out the thoughts of my last painful encounter of this type. I nodded my head and laid down on the bed. Trust this, his words echoed.

I felt a warm wetness around my ankles. James was licking his way up my legs. He covered each and every inch of my muscular calves with his tongue before going after the backs of my knees. This was a sensitive spot for me, so I jumped and wriggled with each tongue stroke. My dick softened a little with the excess stimulation, but it jumped to full hardness again when he got to the inside of my thighs. Then he reached and parted my ass cheeks. Then I felt his tongue touch my hole and I swear I jumped three feet of the bed.

It never felt that good before, I thought. One touch was all it took to make me jump. Usually I didn't respond to rimming. Maybe he's doing something different. Or maybe it's because he's different, I thought. Then all thought was banished by another swipe of his warm, wet tongue. With every stroke, James sent me further into a nirvana I had never experienced with another man. When his tongue speared into my asshole, I thought the planets had realigned. My world lurched in one direction and another with each thrust. I was in such heaven that I didn't notice him stick a finger inside. When he stuck a second in, I noticed. I momentarily tensed, but a slick tonguing from James made me relax again. Then I noticed and appreciated how long James' fingers were, because one of them at that exact moment touched my prostate. I howled in ecstasy as his fingers began stroking.

Before long, he had three fingers thrust inside my hole, moving, trying to stretch the muscles. I was panting and moaning. Having my ass penetrated had never been like this. Slowly, James pulled his fingers out and I felt so empty. I finally saw why some men enjoyed this. With the right man, everything felt good. James reached up to the nightstand and pulled out a condom and the bottle of lube. "Turn over," he said. I turned over, and my heart was flooded with emotion. There above me was my man, my soul mate. I was about to give myself to him totally, something I had never been able to do. I saw it all clearly in my head, why I had never been able to do this before. It took total trust on my side to relax enough. This man was the love of my life, and with him I was willing and ready.

I reached down and put the condom on James' huge dick as he rubbed lube into my hole. I wondered a bit about the size of his huge meat, but I reminded myself that James promised not to hurt me. I forced down my fear and looked into his eyes. There I saw a deep love. I smiled and grabbed the bottle of lube. I poured a generous amount onto his horse dick. "Go slow," I whispered. He nodded before bending to kiss me.

He sat back and pulled my legs into the air. "Remember to breathe," he said. His eyes never left mine. He grabbed his cock with one hand and then rubbed my hole with the other before bringing the head of his uncut prick to it. He smiled at me, and I nodded. He began pushing slightly. I flinched at the pressure, but I concentrated on James' eyes. Total love and trust. I breathed steadily as he slowly pushed forward. I took a deep breath and bore down, and his meat slid in a few inches. I inhaled sharply at the burning pain.

"Shh," James said. He caressed my damp forehead. "Shh. Just breathe. Trust me."

I nodded and breathed again. Soon the pain dissipated until there was just a dull feeling of fullness. Then James began to push again. Each time I flinched and tensed he stopped and repeated what he did before, whispering soothing words and touching me. Then he began pushing again. This time, the pain never came. I was stretched to total fullness. He pushed in steadily, and then his dick rubbed across my prostate. I couldn't help it, I yelled out in agonized pleasure. That was exactly what it was like, agonized pleasure. My ass was being stretched beyond capacity, and it felt more intense than anything I had ever done in my life.

His dick continuously rubbed my hard love gland inside, and I didn't even noticed when he bottomed out. I was riding a wave of pleasure. He breathed out. "God, you are so tight."

I looked down. He was bottomed out inside me. I couldn't believe I had his entire penis inside my ass. I looked back up at him in astonishment. He just grinned and moved around a little, causing waves to rush from my prostate to my overstimulated brain. That did it. I reached down and grabbed his ass just like he had done to me so many times before. "Fuck me," I growled.

That was all it took for James. He pulled out slightly, and then pushed in again. It took a few minutes, but soon I was relaxed enough for him to start a steady rhythm. It wasn't fast, it wasn't very hard. It was tender, slow, sweet. I felt more in love with him at that moment than ever before. He was putting his own pleasure aside to make this feel good for me.

We didn't go for very long before the dull fullness became a little more painful. From there it became very painful. "Ow, James," I moaned. "I don't know if I can take any more right now."

"Let me try something," he said. He slowly pulled out of me and reached for the bottle of lubricant. He poured more on his dick, then some on my aching hole. "Okay?" he asked. I nodded, and he pushed back in again. The lube eased the pain, and we were able to go on. My brain couldn't handle the signals, so it shut down to enjoy the ride. My body was reduced to my prostate, the nerve endings in my ass, and my hard cock.

James began thrusting a little faster, and the pain receptors fired again, bringing my brain to full alertness. "Okay," I said as I shifted. "Enough for now."

James smiled at me. "Okay." He leaned down and kissed me again. "Thank you."

I grimaced a little. "For what?"

"For letting me do this. I know it took a lot."

I breathed out and just smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too." James then pulled out of my quivering hole. He lowered my legs to the bed and then pulled off his condom. "How do you feel?"

I laughed. "I don't know, dude. The pain's gone for now, but it still feels kind of weird."

"It will for a while. It'll be okay though." James looked down at my dick which had almost gone soft. "Still feel like some fun?" he asked. Then he grinned at me. My dick sprung back to life.

"Oh yes," I said.

James laid back down on his back. "Your turn," he said as he lifted his legs into the air. I reached for a condom and was ready and lubed in fifteen seconds flat. I took a minute to prepare his ass, then I was ready to go in. James and I had done this enough that he didn't take a lot of preparation. Once I was in, he wrapped his legs around my waist. I leaned down so that my weight was resting on him and we deep kissed as I thrust in and out. We made slow love that afternoon, taking our time to enjoy each other and the feelings our bodies gave us. When our orgasms came, they were every bit as powerful as usual, but neither of us yelled or thrashed. We just held each other as we spasmed out our release.

I woke up to a throbbing pain in my butt. I reached down and touched my tender flesh. Yup, that's going to be really sore really soon, I thought. I looked over at James, who was curled up against my side. I smiled. Such tenderness, I thought. He's too good for me sometimes. I shifted a little, hoping he would wake up soon.

As if on cue, James opened his eyes. He grinned sleepily. "Hey," he said.

"Hey."

James rolled over on his stomach. "How are you feeling?"

I grimaced as I tried to clinch my ass. "About to be sore."

James sat up and stretched. "Okay, let's go," he said. He got up and walked around to my side of the bed.

"Where are we going?" I asked, confused.

James jerked his head toward the bathroom. "The bathroom, silly. We need to get you into a warm tub. It'll help with the soreness. You should know that, Mister Big-time Football Player."

I made a face at him, but allowed him to pull me to my feet. As soon as I was standing, every muscle from the waist down screamed out in protest. "Ow!" I yelled.

James grabbed me around the waist. "Easy, don't fall." We started making steps toward the bathroom. Each step made me more pissed off at myself.

"I can't believe this," I grumbled. "I thought I was in better shape than this."

"You are in good shape," James said as we walked into the bathroom. "It doesn't matter how well-conditioned you are. Your muscles aren't used to being moved and stretched like they were, even your legs. They are all coordinated, so they're all bound to hurt some." I mumbled a little, but stood there as James began running warm water into the tub. "Okay, just have a seat in here. I'll go get you some Tylenol."

I lowered myself into the warm water and breathed out a heavy "ahhh" as the warm water began to do its work on my now-sore muscles. It reminded me of soaking in a whirlpool after a strenuous game. I relaxed and let my mind wander.

I opened my eyes to find James staring at me. He smiled. "Enjoy your nap?" he asked.

"Nap?" I asked.

"Yeah, nap. I came back in here and you were sound asleep."

I sat upright. "How long ago was that?"

James chuckled. "Just about five minutes. No big deal. Things easing up down there?"

I nodded and settled back into the tub. "Mmm, yeah. Feels good. Have you ever thought about getting a whirlpool tub in here?"

James laughed. "Every day I've lived here. I can't though. All the changes to the apartments have to be cleared with the manager and the owner. Too much red tape for me. Here," he said. "Hold out your hand." He dropped two white pills into my hand and handed me a glass of water.

I swallowed the pills. "Did you have to do this after your first time?"

James put the glass down. "Me? Hell no," he said. I looked at him in amazement. "Some people are naturals at this. I guess I am just one of them. I was also kind of lucky, too. The guy who was my first time was only about five inches long and not very thick. At the time I thought I was fucking with John Holmes it felt so good." He grinned.

"Then how did you know?" I asked.

"Well, first of all it's common sense. When you use or abuse muscles that aren't used to the activity, warm water and some Tylenol always helps. I told a guy once who had this same problem to try this. He told me later that it did the trick."

I chuckled. "Funny you use the word `trick.' Is that what he was?"

James shook his head. "Nah. Just a friend who worked at the club when I did. He bottomed for the first time and was really sore the next day."

We sat there in silence for a few minutes. "James?"

"Yeah?"

I looked up. "Thanks."

James smiled. "You don't need to say it. Your eyes said it all."

I smiled. "What do you mean?"

James shook his head. "We've been together long enough that I can practically read your mind by looking in your eyes. I never saw any fear in your eyes. All I saw was love, trust, and then I saw gratitude. So you don't need to say anything." He leaned down and kissed me. I grabbed his waist and pulled him into the tub with me, splashing water all over the floor. Neither of us cared a bit as our mouths touched.

I put my bag in the back and slammed down the hatch of the Wagoneer and looked up at the sky. Damn. Six in the morning. Way too early to start a trip, I thought. Then again, it would take us a good part of the day to get to Kentucky.

I walked around to the side where Matt and Laura stood with Todd and Barry. I half expected Barry to be a total bitch for having to be up this early, but under the circumstances I guess he decided to keep his rosy early-morning disposition to himself.

I stood next to James and wrapped my arm around his waist. He was trembling slightly. I looked at him and caught his eyes and gave him what I hoped was a reassuring smile. He smiled back weakly. "Well, I guess it's time to go," I said.

"Good luck, and have a good trip," Laura said as she hugged both of us.

"We will, thanks," I said as I let her go.

"See you in about a week," Matt said as he held out his hand to shake, then he shook his head. "What the hell," he said as he pulled both of us into hugs.

The we turned to Todd and Barry. "Everything'll be fine," Todd said as he hugged James.

"I know," James said.

Then up walked Barry. He didn't say a word as he hugged James, but when he hugged me, he whispered, "Make sure nothing happens to him!" into my ear.

I nodded and smiled. "You don't have to worry about that."

With the farewells said, I got behind the wheel and James got in on the passenger side. We decided I would drive the morning shift, and James would take over in the afternoon so that he would be driving when we got to roads that were familiar to him.

I arranged everything on my side and turned on the cell phone. "You all set?" I asked as I looked at my love.

"Yup," he said.

"They do know we're coming, right?" I asked.

James nodded gravely. "I talked to Elizabeth the other day, and Deanna on the phone last night. Mom and Dad know both of us are coming, and they're supposedly cool about it." James looked at me like he was not at all convinced.

I grabbed his hand. "Then I'm sure it'll all be okay." I wasn't sure at all, but I was damn well not going to let him see it. I started the Jeep up, waved to our friends, and then pulled out of the parking lot.

End of Part XIV

Ahh, I can already hear the strains of "My Old Kentucky Home." Comments welcome, as always.