James

Hey folks! As I have said, we are winding down this story, so I have decided to open the last few parts with some dedications.

To Chris and Greg, thanks for visual inspiration of James. To Jeff, thanks for inspiring some of the visual inspiration for Dave. To Scott, thanks for giving me the inspiration for James' "most impressive attribute." And finally, to Marcus: thanks for giving me the inspiration for the steamy stuff.

To Skuyler: I can't believe the parallels here. I am completely amazed. I hope that you enjoy these final parts, and I would love to hear from you personally at some point. I am honored and inspired that you enjoy this story. Ki, thanks for letting me know.

Finally, as always, a dedication to my most consistent and devoted fan, Alex: hope things are well.

Part XVIII

I lay back on the floor, relishing the feeling of a warm mouth on my rigid dick. James whispered in my ear that he hoped I was enjoying his little gift. My hot naked boyfriend was orchestrating a huge orgy, with a dozen hunky men surrounding me, servicing me. Mouths and hands everywhere. I let out a loud moan as waves of pleasure coursed through me. Then I became aware of a sound that confused me. What the hell was a phone doing in the middle of an orgy?

I awoke suddenly, the phone ringing shrilly beside my pillow. I shook my head and tried to ignore my throbbing cock as I reached for the nightstand to answer that damn phone. "Hello," I half-spoke, half-yawned.

"What are you still doing in bed?" a surprised voice barked at me from the other end.

I yawned again. "What do you mean? It's the middle of the night."

The voice laughed. "Try again, sleeping beauty. It's eleven-thirty."

I looked at my clock as my bleary eyes focused. Sure enough, it was eleven-thirty in the morning. I squinted. Then I thought a moment. "Who the hell is this?" I asked into the phone.

"God, Dave, am I going to have to hook you up to an IV of coffee to get you to wake up? Let me talk to James."

I looked over to the side of the bed. It was empty. I had a vague recollection of James getting up and stretching, but then I fell asleep again. "Oh," I moaned as I flopped back down onto the bed. "He's not here. He's out. I guess."

"You guess? Jeez Dave, way to keep track of stuff."

I could hear the smile in the voice, and I frowned. "Who the hell is this?" I asked again.

The voice laughed hysterically for a few minutes. "So much for that PhD, huh? Do I need to draw you a picture? It's me, Barry. Barry, one of your best friends. Barry, your attorney. Barry, the guy who is helping to plan your wedding, which is taking place in five days. Ring any bells?"

I groaned again. That's the last time I go out drinking with Matt ever again, I thought to myself.

Barry laughed. "How come you're such a barrel of fun, sunshine? Long night?"

"You don't know the half of it," I said as I rubbed my eyes. "James had to work on some stuff, so I got out of his hair by going to a bar with Matt and some other buddies from grad school. I guess we really tied one on."

"Oh God, Dave. Do you have a hangover?"

"Nah," I said as the cobwebs started to clear. "I just got in late and slept really late."

"You have any idea when James will be back?"

I squinted over at the closet to see if I could figure out which clothes he wore. That might give a clue. His normal gear for exercising was still there, so that wasn't it. Then I noticed that the messenger bag he used as a briefcase was gone. Then I remembered. "He's got meetings this morning. He'll be back about one-thirty."

"Okay," Barry said. "That's fine. Mind if I come over there about that time? I need to go over all these papers with you."

"Sure, fine, whatever," I said as I slowly stood up. "I'll see you then."

"Okay, Dave. Bye."

"Bye, dude." I clicked off the phone and dropped it on the bed. Yeesh, I thought to myself. I hope I wasn't an ass last night when I got home. Usually I could remember everything when I got drunk, and I didn't remember making a lot of noise and all. James was asleep when I came in, so I had just gotten into bed and snuggled up to him and passed out. Then I looked down. I was fully clothed from the night before except for my shoes, which were ... where were my shoes? I looked around our bedroom. No sign of them. Shit, I thought. I took off my now heavily wrinkled clothes and dumped them in the hamper. They smelled smoky and with all the wrinkles, there was no choice but to go ahead and wash them.

I climbed into the shower and purposefully turned the water to the cold side. That was usually good enough to jolt me out of any remaining fog that was left. It didn't bother me or hurt, it just was enough to wake me up. I started soaping up and reflected on the events of the last month and a half. I was finally employed. A smaller university across town had an opening for a part-time professor of history, non-tenure-track, but with good pay and benefits for as long as I was employed. As it was getting a bit late in the summer and I had a wedding to prepare for, I took the job. I was going to teach four sections of American history, two pre-Civil War and two post-Civil War, and one section of European history to 1648. I was used to this kind of stuff from my times as a TA. No problem at all. As part of turning over a new leaf for myself, I made sure that the hiring group knew of my sexuality. It was a total non-issue with them, as it should be. Very cool.

To supplement the income from that, I took a job at a local gym. I answered the phone, did some clerking work, managed the front desk, and basic stuff like that. If someone needed a spotter, I was supposed to do that, too. I got free membership for myself and discount membership for James, as he was my "roommate." The owner of the gym was "family" and I knew him from the bars, so he was really cool about that. He and the manager were happy to get me, as I was good motivation for people with my size and definition.

James was pleased as punch that I got my jobs. He had been notified of his hiring at a local high school when we got back from his home, and he had been a huge cheerleader for me as I waded through the swamp of university hiring practices. James was going to be teaching the college-prep junior English class and all of the senior English classes. I told him not to get any ideas with the football jocks he got in his classroom, to which he responded by feeling me up and telling me that there was room in his mouth and ass for only one dick.

We had launched right into our wedding plans right after getting home from Kentucky. Todd and Barry had "volunteered" to do the planning for us. Basically translated, that meant that Barry and Todd told us that they were going to plan it. All the details got our approval, but for the most part all of the organizational drudgery was taken out of our hands. Todd and Barry loved to entertain, and doing something like this was perfect for them. The ceremony was going to take place in their backyard, with a reception in Todd's bar.

I got out of the shower in time to hear the door close. I stood there, drying myself off when I hear a whistle and the sound of hands clapping. I looked up to see my boyfriend-soon-to-be-husband standing there was a very appreciative look on his face. "Lookin' good there, stud," he said as he licked his lips.

James was positively delicious-looking in his school togs. He was wearing his normal khakis and a button-down shirt, complete with tie. His hair was neatly styled and he was even wearing his glasses that day. He looked sophisticated and professional, like the consummate teacher. As I compared that image with the one of the horny animal with nipple rings who normally inhabited my bed, I couldn't help but start getting hard. I shook my head to clear those thoughts and I continued drying off. James stepped forward and took the towel from me with his left hand, grabbing my dick in his right. "Don't stop on my account," he whispered sexily as he leaned in to kiss me.

An hour and a very good sixty-nine on the bathroom floor later, I was dressed and eating my lunch while waiting for Barry to arrive. James walked out of the kitchen with a sandwich, dressed again as well. He had left off the tie; otherwise, he looked the same as when he had walked in. It never ceased to amaze me how the guy could get all hot and wild during a quickie and end up looking like he had just stepped out of the pages of GQ.

James sat down and took a bite of his turkey and Swiss. "It was nice of Barry to do all of that legal work for us for free."

I grinned and munched on my chips. "He says it was part of his wedding present to us."

James laughed. "What's the rest of it? Using his house and all?"

"I imagine that's part of it. You know he doesn't let just anyone use his china and silver."

James told me about his morning while we finished our lunch. It wasn't really anything to speak of, just the typical in-service crap when a school gets ready to begin a new year. While he took a break to get another bite, I put my hand on his. He turned his head at me, a questioning look on his face. "Is it really okay with you that we aren't taking a full honeymoon?"

James grinned. "Jeez Dave, you need to stop doing that to me. I saw that look on your face, I figured you were about to tell me someone died. No, it's fine that we aren't. Waiting until Christmas break and going to Hawaii is fine with me."

"Are you sure?" I asked. James and I wanted to go ahead and get married, but if we waited until we could take a honeymoon then we would have had to wait until Spring Break or maybe even summer. Neither of us really wanted to wait that long, so we decided to go ahead and get married before school started for both of us, then we would take a trip to Hawaii at the beginning of Christmas break. A longer trip would wait until summer, when we would go out to Yosemite National Park and camp out for a week, then spend another week in San Francisco before coming back home.

James nodded and then leaned in for a kiss. I obliged him willingly. "Dave, as long as we are together, I would settle for a trip to Wal Mart as our honeymoon."

I shook my head. "I think we need to send you back to the doctor. You aren't even in the classroom yet and you're already acting insane."

Just then, a loud rap sounded on the door and it opened. Barry barged into the room, a big grin on his face. "Hey guys! Am I disturbing anything?"

I rolled my eyes. "You very well might have been. If I didn't know any better, I would think you barge in like that in the hope of actually disturbing something. What's the matter, you need some new material for Todd?" I ended my sentence with a wink and a grin.

Barry glared at me. "Blow it out your ass, honcho." He leaned down and gave James a hug. "How are you doing, sweetie?"

"Fine, thanks," James remarked. "Can I get you something to eat? We were just finishing lunch."

"No food, thanks, but I'd like some water," Barry said as he sat down at the table.

I picked up my empty plate and glass and walked into the kitchen. "Not a problem," I said as I deposited my stuff in the sink and filled a glass with ice and water from the fridge. I set it down in front of Barry, who smiled at me appreciatively. He filled us in on the latest gossip while James finished eating. Once he was through and had deposited his plate in the kitchen as well, Barry opened his briefcase and fished out a sheaf of papers.

"Okay," he began, sliding neatly into "attorney" mode. "You know the drill with all of this. Part of the problem with gay partnerships is there are no built-in legal protections as you would find with heterosexual marriages. So, what we have here is basic power-of-attorney forms which state that if one of you is injured or incapacitated, the other partner has the ability to make medical and legal decisions. Also, we have arrangements made that personal property is now shared except for anything that one or both of you want to retain in single ownership. I understand that you are going tomorrow to set up a joint bank account?"

"That's right," James said.

"How do you intend to work out the account situation?" Barry asked.

"Well," I began, "we want to have one joint account for household expenses and things like that. We'll deposit three-quarters of our paychecks into it, and save one quarter for our individual accounts, which is `mad money' for stuff we want for ourselves."

"Okay," Barry said as he made notes. "Just so you know, those are covered in the power-of-attorney agreement I drew up." James and I nodded. Barry went on, "The lease on this apartment is now in both of your names, correct?"

"Yes," James answered.

"Okay, just making sure all bases are covered." He shuffled through the papers. "I think that's everything we need to go over. When did you two want to sign them?"

I looked at James. "Anytime is good with me." James nodded in answer.

"How about coming by my office tomorrow right before lunch? I can get it witnessed and notarized quickly and have them filed shortly after."

"James, do you have to work tomorrow?" I asked.

James shook his head. "No, we don't have another in-service until Thursday," he said.

"Okay, so we meet tomorrow. The papers will go into effect as of noon on Saturday, so when you guys say `I do' you'll be all nice and legal," Barry said as he put the papers back into his briefcase. Then he settled back and took a drink of his water. "So, have the butterflies set in yet?"

James grinned. "Not a one, here. Dave?"

I shook my head. "I just want to get it done."

"Got the rings yet?" Barry asked as he twisted his own.

"We're going this afternoon," I answered as I stretched and rubbed my temples.

"Still feeling the effects of last night, huh?" James asked.

I groaned. "I wish I knew what I had last night. I halfway think that it was Matt's half-assed attempt at a bachelor party."

Barry laughed. "I remember the one you threw for me." James leaned forward, an interested look on his face. "You see, Todd and I didn't have any people in our wedding party, but Dave wanted to do something, so he took each of us out before we had our ceremony. Todd was one night, I was the next night, which was the night before," he said, meaning the night before the ceremony. "Poor Dave was the worst off of all, because he went out and got shitfaced two nights in a row. But we had fun. Remember the dancer?" Barry asked as he elbowed me in the rib.

"How could I forget?" I responded. "This one well-endowed twinky guy specialized in mixing drinks in his mouth and then kissing the guy he was dancing for to get it in there. I didn't want this guy anywhere near me, `cause who knew what nasty bugs might be in that mouth?"

"You are such a hypochondriac," Barry said. I flipped him the bird. "Sorry, already have Todd for that. Anyway," he said without missing a beat, "I had good information that this particular dancer had a thing for big guys like Dave, so when Dave was in the restroom, I paid him to come over and do his shot thing to Dave. So Dave come back and the twinky guy mixes this super-strong drink in his mouth and before Dave can stop him, he's sitting on Dave's lap and the drink is making its way down Dave's throat."

James started laughing. "I can totally see that," he said.

"You haven't heard the half of it," Barry said as he giggled. "So Dave is totally revolted by this ..."

"Wouldn't you be?" I interrupted as I looked at James. "I mean, who knows what nasty mouths this guy had stuck his tongue in, or worse?"

"... and when the guy sticks his tongue in Dave's mouth, Dave retches and spits the drink all over the guy," Barry finished.

"Oh shit!" James exclaimed before he fell back in his seat laughing.

"And the best part," Barry went on, "was the guy was turned on by it! Apparently he's kinky like that, into being spit on and pissed on and stuff, so he gets up on Dave's lap and starts rubbing on him, all turned on and shit."

Barry and James were shrieking in hysterical laughter while I fumed and blushed. "Yeah, well, I got you back for it, didn't I?"

James stopped laughing long enough to croak out, "How?"

I smiled smugly. "I sent Barry a strip-o-gram one night at the club. I set it up for a night when I would be there and Todd could see the whole thing. I got this rough-looking dude to come in and just get all over him. It was great."

Barry rolled his eyes. "Yeah, great. Todd still razzes me on that one." He stood up. "I wish you two would let me give you some kind of party or something."

"I'm not going to give you that kind of opening," I said with a grin. "Besides, my family is coming in tomorrow night and James' is coming in Thursday night so we have to spend some time with them."

"Ah, the in-laws meet for the first time. That should be interesting," Barry remarked. He put his hand on James' shoulder. "Any progress with your mom?" he asked quietly.

"No," James answered softly. "Not that I know of. I talked to Paul the other night, and apparently they've all been working on her like crazy. So far, she refuses to budge."

"Sorry," he said as he gave James a short hug. "Well, I have to get back to the office. I'll see you two tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure thing," I said as he walked to the door.

When I came back, James was sitting back on the couch with his arm over his eyes. He looked so tired all of a sudden. His mother being the lone holdout on our marriage was really getting to him. Just as I started over to him, the phone rang. He started to get up, but I told him to stay. "I'll get it," I said as I picked up the cordless. "Hello?"

"Hello, dear!"

I smiled. "Hi Mom."

"How are you doing?" My mother sounded disgustingly cheerful. The closer we got to "the big day," she was getting more and more annoying.

"Just fine," I said as I walked into the bedroom to let James rest in more quiet surroundings. "Barry was just here to talk to us about all the legal stuff."

"Good, good," she said. "How is the dear?"

"He's fine, as strange as usual." I walked over to the desk and sat down on something hard. I stood up and looked. Ah! I finally found where I had put my missing shoes.

"What's James doing?"

I looked out into the living room. James had stretched out on his back. "He's lying down on the couch. He's kind of tired. He had to be up early this morning for in-service. And," I said quietly, "this thing with his mother is still bugging him a lot."

"I'm sure it is," my mother remarked. "No progress at all?"

"Nope," I said as I played around with my pencil holder. "I'm guessing everyone from his immediate family will show up except her."

"How about anyone else? Aunts, uncles?"

"No idea," I said. "Have you heard on exactly who from our family is coming?"

"Well, you and James said you wanted to keep it small," she said, "so your aunts, uncles, and cousins are just sending cards. You said you didn't want any large gifts and such. I think it's going to be just your father and me, Tanner and his family, Joe, and your grandparents."

I grinned. "Grandma Collins is coming?"

"Oh yes," Mom said. I could hear the smile in her voice. "She's here now as a matter of fact. She came today. Rode up on a Harley-Davidson."

My eyes bugged out. "A Harley? Grandma?"

"Yep," Mom said. "Larry about had a heart attack. They've been arguing about it all afternoon."

I laughed as I pictured my grandmother wearing leather and riding a Hog. My mother broke my thoughts again. "So do you think James' mother will come around?"

I sobered up. "I don't know. I doubt it. Today's Tuesday, his family will be here Friday. They've been trying for six weeks."

"What's his father's name?"

"Brian. Why?"

"What's his mother's name?"

"Linda. Why?"

"No reason."

"Mom?" I raised my voice. "What are you planning?"

"Nothing, Dave. Nothing." Her tone suggested to me the exact opposite, that she had something big planned.

"Mom, don't interfere in this. Please."

"Dave, don't worry. Everything will be fine." My mother still sounded cheerful. "Now, you go tend to your boyfriend. I'll talk to you later, sweetie."

"Okay, Mom. Love ya."

"I love you, too."

I hung up the phone, fuming. How dare that woman be that unfeeling toward her own son! I picked up the phone again and dialed information. "Yes, Kentucky. Central Kentucky. The name is Brian Kennedy." I wrote down the number and dialed it swiftly. "Hello? Is this the Kennedy residence? To whom am I speaking, please?" I listened intently. "Yes Paul, you can help me. I would like to speak to your mother Linda." I listened again. "It's very important. That's all you need to know."

I steeled myself as I prepared for this confrontation. I took a deep breath. "Hello, this is Linda Kennedy," a woman answered.

"Hello Mrs. Kennedy. You don't know me, but I believe it's important that we talk. My name is Charlotte Collins."

"I'm sorry, but I don't believe I know your name."

"No, there's no reason you should. But you've met my son, David."

There was a short silence. "What is this about, Mrs. Collins?"

"I understand that you don't intend to come to our sons' wedding."

"I do wish you wouldn't call it a wedding, Mrs. Collins."

"Why not, Mrs. Kennedy? A wedding is an event where two people declare their love and commitment to each other. I would say that this event qualifies."

"Mrs. Collins," the voice became colder and more formal, "your son and my son know my feelings on this matter. I don't believe that anything can be gained by further discussion."

"Oh, I disagree," I said, my anger growing. "I disagree wholeheartedly. I think you don't care about the damage you are doing to your son by not recognizing how important this is to him."

"How dare you ..."

I cut her off. "How dare you, Mrs. Kennedy!" I took a deep breath. "You are his mother, but you refuse to see him for who he really is. All you see is your own misconceptions. You are caught up in some stereotype and dogma that you will not let go of for something as important as your own son.

"Do you want to know what I see when I look at your son? I see a young man who is kind, loving, and very intelligent. I know that he has made my son very happy. He is a teacher, Mrs. Kennedy, and the best of the kind. He truly cares about the people in his charge. I think a lot of that came from the loving home he grew up in, and the example his parents set for him." I paused a moment to let it sink in. "What I don't understand, Mrs. Kennedy, is how someone who raised such a fine man is making this kind of statement." I could hear breathing on the other end, so I knew she was still there. "Mrs. Kennedy, do you love your son?"

A pause. "Yes, I do," she said softly.

"Do you want him to be happy?"

"Yes," she repeated.

"I will leave you with that thought, then. I encourage you to consider what I have said. Good day, Mrs. Kennedy." I hung up the phone. I decided never to tell Dave what I did, because he would more than likely get mad. But it was necessary; mothers understand each other's motivations better than anyone else. I walked back into the living room where my husband was still arguing with his mother about her motorcycle.

Friday finally rolled around. It rained all day, but it was supposed to move out that evening and then it would be nice and cool for Saturday. I had wanted to get us hitched on the anniversary of the day we met, but Dave and I just had way too much to do. He was knee-deep in meetings getting his job set up, and I was trying to get organized to begin my teaching job. Oh well, I thought. It'll just give us two days to celebrate instead of one.

I looked out the window of the apartment, and then I checked my watch. It was about six-thirty. My family would be rolling in at anytime. Dave's family had stationed themselves around our living room with plates of food. We had filled them in on what they needed to do the next day as far as the ceremony went, then Dave's brothers had dove in. I couldn't eat, with the bombers flying around in my stomach. It still really hurt me that my mother wasn't coming. But I was also anxious to see how our two families would be around each other.

I checked my watch again. Dave came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. He kissed my cheek. "Hey sexy," he murmured. "What's up?"

I shook my head. "Nada. Just waiting."

We both looked out the window for a minute. Then Dave spoke again. "You know, it's going to be okay."

"I know."

Again, a few minutes of silence as we stared out the window. "You know what hurts a lot about it?" I whispered.

"What?"

I swallowed. "You know my mother caters. She always said she wanted to bake the wedding cake for all of her children's weddings."

Dave smiled. "That's nice."

I smiled, too. "Yeah, it is." My smile faded. "But she won't be making a cake for ours." Tears came to my eyes.

Dave hugged me tighter. "Now, come on. I said it would be okay, and it will." He turned me around. "Do you trust me?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I trust you."

He let me go and walked back into the room. I turned back to the window. Then, in the distance, I saw it coming. I knew that vehicle. It was my father. I turned away from the window and took a deep breath to steady my nerves. Dave spotted it right away. "Are they here?" he asked as he stood up. I nodded. He took my arm and pulled me into the kitchen. "Now listen up," he said as he held my shoulders and looked me in the eyes. "You're going to be fine. You can do this. You can stay together, because I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. Okay?"

I nodded and took another breath. Dave kept one hand on my shoulder as I steadied myself. Then there was a knock at the door. I walked over to answer it, with Dave's hand still present, this time in the small of my back. I opened it, and there was my family. My dad walked through the door, an ear-to-ear grin on his face. "How are you, James?" he boomed. He grabbed me in a huge hug.

"Just fine, Dad, just fine." It made me feel better to see my father being so friendly. It reminded me of days past.

Dad turned to Dave and grabbed him in an equally big hug. "Good to see ya, Dave! How are things?"

Dave grinned. "Just fine, sir. Just fine." Paul then came in, and he grabbed me in a big hug as well. Lauren was next, and she delicately hugged Dave, then me.

Paul sniffed the air. "I smell food." Without another word, he was gone.

Gary squeezed in between where Dad was standing and where Lauren still was and he headed for the food as well. "Hi guys!" he said as he streaked by, Dave and I looked at each other and laughed. Lauren walked in and her place was immediately taken by Elizabeth. "Hey big bro," she said as she hugged me.

"How's it going, Lizard?" I teased. She shot me a look and walked by. Then came Deanna, who hugged Dave and me. I moved to the door and tried to shut it, but Dad still stood there. I started to question why he was still standing there when I saw a figure move into the doorway. I slowly turned my head. What I saw made me want to cry. It was my mother.

She walked in and stood in front of me. "Hello, James."

I tried to smile. "Hello, Mom."

Mom turned to Dave. She gave him a warm smile. "Good to see you, David. Congratulations on your job."

Dave smiled. "Thank you, ma'am."

My mother and I stared at each other for a few moments before I could find the strength to speak again. "I'm glad you decided to come."

She smiled. "Well, I decided that your happiness was the most important. And besides," she said as she stepped back outside and pulled up a cart with several coolers stacked on it, "I had to make the cake for my oldest son's wedding, you know."

With that, I lost it. I grabbed her and burst into tears.

End of Part XVIII

This part is transitional with some important details to make the story go. I hope you all have liked it. School has started up for me in a few weeks, so I can't make guarantees when the next part will be out, but I plan to make it a good one. Take it easy, folks!