Author Note's: Hey guys! Here's MC7: "The Power of Goodbye," another light-hearted chapter! There's tons of musical selection in this installment. So put on your dancing shoes and get ready to party! Alright, enjoy!
MC7 Musical Selection: Cher/ "Believe" (Almighty Definitive Mix); Miss Jane/ "It's a Fine Day" (ATB Mix); Madonna/ "The Power of Goodbye" (Euro Mix)/ "Sky Fits Heaven" (Calderone Future Mix); Enigma/ "Rave"/ "Carly's Song;" Sting/ "Desert Rose" (Melodic Club Mix); The Corrs/ "Dream" (Tee's Radio Mix); New Order/ "True Faith;" Sarah Brightman/ "Eden;" Bosson/ "One in a Million".
Disclaimer and Legal Stuff:
The following story deals with male-to-male relationship and gay erotica. If this offends you or is illegal in your location and/or you are under the age of consent in your jurisdiction to read such materials, then you should exit this page now. This statement releases the author of the story and the site wherein this story is posted from any legal action or liability.
All rights reserved by author. This series is not to be reproduced, distributed, altered, or posted elsewhere without the expressed consent and written permission from the author. Copyright 2001.
Michael and Chance 7:
"The Power of Goodbye"
by
Michael T. Freeman
3/17/01
Chapter 16: Mardi Gras Halloween Ball (The Power of Goodbye)
After experiencing the closeness of being with Chance sleeping next to him at night I find it's disheartening to wake up in the morning without him in my bed. Sometimes, I wished that I could wake up to his beautiful face, to his warm embrace and sweet kisses everyday. But I guess it's not possible at this time. Maybe someday.
I squinted as the morning sunlight peeked through my bedroom windows, urging me to get up. But I protested and lazily turned away to glance at my alarm clock. It's already 9:30am. I sighed and pulled the covers over my head. I closed my eyes for a few more minutes as memories of last Friday filled my head, vivid images of Chance's soft, warm body lying next to mine (I could almost feel him now) and our love-making. I quickly developed a hard-on as I wallowed in the visions of our love-making for few more minutes before deciding to get up. I slowly dragged myself out of bed and pulled up the blinds. It looked like another wonderful sunny Saturday with clear blue sky and the warm sun beaming down. "Perfect weather for a morning jog," I thought to myself as I quickly went into the bathroom and emptied my full bladder. After taking care of my morning toiletry stuff, I went into the kitchen to wipe myself up a quick morning breakfast of toasts, sausages, eggs, and an avocado shake. After breakfast I changed into my jogging clothes and shoes, and stretched for about half an hour before heading out for my morning run.
I decided to head towards Campus for my morning run through the Redwood corridor that hugged the southern edge of the university. My university is surrounded by acres of carefully maintained landscape including a Redwood corridor, an extensive arboretum, and a small man- made lake that are linked to delineate the southern boundary of the campus. These natural corridors and landscape areas provided a welcoming and relaxing setting to de-stress and unwind from the intense academic life. I love jogging through this part of the university. It always helps me to relax and to put things into perspective, reminding me what's life is about, and what's really important.
After a thirty minute brisk run, I reached the Redwood corridor with its impressive redwood trees towering over me. I could smell the distinctive musk of the Redwoods' barks and hear the nearby sound of lapping stream. As I came around the bend, I heard the faint sounds of a guitar playing and someone's singing. The sound seemed to be about 75 yards or so ahead. Curious to find the source of the music and singing, I stopped and listened attentively, trying to gauge the direction of the sound. It's definitely a male voice, singing to a beautiful, solemn tune. I quietly followed the sweet melody to its source. As I rounded the corner quietly, I came upon a slight clearing where a couple of picnic tables were set up. Sitting on top of the furthest picnic table was a guy, singing and playing his guitar. I stopped and smiled as I pleasantly surprised to find that the beautiful tune and singing were coming from Dade himself. He hasn't seen me. So I decided not to interrupt him and simply stand back and secretively admired his musical talent from a far. Dade played his guitar passionately as he belted out the lyrics of an incredibly sweet ballad.
"Your love is like an endless blue sea/ That spans through time and space to me," Dade sang.
As I stood and listened to the beautiful lyrics, I gradually realized that Dade was singing about his mom and her love for him. The song was so heartfelt and poetic that a few drops of tears welled up in my eyes as Dade sang the final verse, "Someday we'll be reunited again/ Until then, your love shall sustain me to the end." I quickly wiped away my tears and gently clapped. A surprised Dade turned to me and smiled shyly.
"Michael...uhm...how long have you been there?" Dade asked curiously with a hint of embarrassment.
"Long enough to witness your musical talent!" I exclaimed with a slight smile as I walked up to him and shook his hand. "I'm sorry if I startled you."
"No, not really...more like pleasantly surprised and embarrassed," Dade replied as he lightly chuckled.
"Well, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. You have a great voice!"
"Thanks." Dade smiled appreciatively.
"That's a beautiful song you sang. Did you write that yourself?" I asked as I got onto the picnic table and sat next to him.
"Yeah, it was a poem that I wrote a long time ago in memory of my mom," Dade replied as he briefly stared into the distance before looking back at me and smiled sweetly.
Dade looked so beautiful as the soft morning light graced his handsome face, highlighting his strong, masculine features as the autumn breeze lightly tossed his careless dark hair. As I looked into his warm brown eyes, I could see sweet sadness in his soul. And my heart went out to him for his loss and everything he has gone through. I can't imagine, or even want to imagine what it must be like to lose one's parents at such an early age. We sat and chit-chatted for a while about our interests and studies, and then we shared and discussed candidly our life views and philosophies on things. I was a bit surprised to find that our life philosophies were quite similar. Dade was a delight to talk to. There seemed to be genuine heart and soul within his words earthy and humble, sweet and tender, and deep and soulful. The more I talked to Dade, the more I really liked the guy. There's a wonderful masculine sweetness and genuineness about him, so pure and honest without superficial pretense. The more I got to know Dade, the more amazing and soulful he seems. And when he spoke casually of his friendship with Chance and what a wonderful person Chance is, I suddenly wondered why he and Chance have never gotten together as a couple I mean. He seems so heavenly beautiful and perfect. Anyway, I quickly pushed that thought out of my mind as I glanced at my watch and realized that I better start heading home.
"It was great seeing you again, Dade," I exclaimed as I got off the table and held out my hand to shake his hand.
"Yeah, you too!" Dade smiled radiantly. "Nice talking to you again."
"Yeah, likewise! I nodded and smiled. "I would love to have another philosophical discussion with you sometime."
"You bet! Anytime." Dade smiled.
"Great! Oh, will you be going to the Mardi Gras Halloween Ball tonight?" I asked.
The Mardi Gras Halloween Ball is an annual extravaganza held by my university. It's more or less an elaborate masquerade party which attracts thousands of students each year. It's totally awesome; one of the biggest and best events organized by the Associates Student Body. It's a must-be-at event which most students look forward to each year. I completely love it, and I attend it yearly with my friends.
"Yeah, definitely. I wouldn't miss it for the world!"
"Yeah, me either. I'll see you later then," I replied as I waved good-bye and started jogging away.
As I jogged briskly towards home, I thought of Dade and our conversation, and then I thought of Chance and his strip tease for me. To be honest, I was shocked that he found out about the male dancer at my surprised birthday party. As it turned out, the male dancer, Winston, is one of his good classmate friend. They have dance classes together. And during one of their casual conversations, Winston mentioned that he danced for me at my birthday party without even knowing that Chance's was my boyfriend. Winston also mentioned that I was a perfect gentleman, much to the relief of Chance (not to mention mine). :o)
I soon arrived home and hopped immediately into the shower. As I stepped out of the shower, the phone rang. I quickly wrapped a towel around my waist and ran for the phone.
"Hello," I answered.
"Hi Michael!"
"Hey, Stace! What's up?"
"Not much, just wanted to call and remind you that we're picking you up tonight for the Ball at around seven-ish."
"Okay, I'll be ready," I replied excitedly.
"Great, we'll see you then!"
"Alright, I'll see you later." I hung up the phone and proceeded to dry myself. I quickly put on a pairs of shorts and T-shirt and finger-combed my hair. Hearing my stomach growling, I figured I better fix myself lunch. After lunch I spend a couple of hours cleaning up the apartment, checking my finance and paying the bills. Since I have a few hours before the Ball tonight, I decided to get some homework done and then worked a bit on my Series for the Archive since I haven't touch it for a while. :o)
It is now about 6 o'clock. After a quick bite, I started to get ready for the Ball. Stacy and I went to the City a few weeks ago to find the perfect costumes for the Ball. After spending about half a day and 4 stores later, we finally found something we liked. Stacy settled on a beautiful angel costume and persuaded me relentlessly to get one too. I finally gave in and got the costume. It actually looks pretty good. Let me see if I can describe it accurately. It looks like a gladiator outfit with a pairs of white feather wings, attached to metallic gold cross-straps so that when I wear it, the straps form an X across my chest. It actually looked pretty good on me. There's a small white, feather mask that goes with it too. After putting on my costume sans the wings (too cumbersome to have it on now; I'll just strap them on when I get to the Ball), I called Chance to let him know that we'll stop by to pick him up a bit after seven, right after Stace picks up. About 5 minutes to seven, I heard knocking on my door and opened to see Stace in her angelic outfit and Brian, her boyfriend. I smiled when I saw that he was wearing a devil's costume with a red face mask. "How fitting!" I thought to myself.
"Hi Brian," I exclaimed as I shook his hand and then turned to Stacy who was smiling beamingly.
"Hey beautiful!" I exclaimed as I gave her a hug. "Wow, you look great!" Stace was all glittered up with clear and gold body glitter.
"Thanks, you too!" Stace retorted as she stepped back to take a good look at my costume and smiled wickedly. " You looked fantastic, but something is missing!"
"What?" I asked in puzzlement.
"We need to glitter you up!" she replied excitedly.
"Oh, no...you're not going to turn me into a fairy," I protested as I backed away.
"Honey, you're already one!" Stace quipped with a devilish grin. "Come on. It will be fun. Everyone is wearing some at the Ball."
"Oh, yeah...well, I don't see Brian wearing any!"
"Now leave me out of this, Michael!" Brian protested.
"That's because he's not man enough like you!" Stacy whispered jokingly into my ears, trying to persuade me with flattery.
"I heard that, Stacy?" Brian retorted with a slight bit of irritation in his voice. I guess he didn't think it was so humorous.
"I was just kidding, Brian."
"Well, don't!" he replied firmly.
"Ok, I'm sorry," Stacy apologized.
"I'll go wait in the car," Brian announced stoically and turned for the door.
"Come on, Brian. I'm sorry," Stacy repeated her apology, but Brian was already out the door.
Stacy turned to me with a dejected look on her face. I quickly came to her and consoled her.
"He'll be fine, Stace. Don't worry about it."
Stacy nodded as I gave her a consoling embrace and smiled.
"You can glitter me up if you like!" I exclaimed, trying to cheer her up. She promptly smiled.
"You sure?" she asked.
"Yeah!" I nodded.
Stacy gladly wiped out her body glitter bottle and applied some to my face and lips. Then, she streaked a bit on my hair and body mostly on my chest and arm areas. Yup, it's official; she has turned me into a fairy (lol). Just joking. Actually, it looked pretty good. Not bad at all! :o) I quickly grabbed my face mask and pairs of wings, and we're set to go. Brian and Stacy, more or less, made up in the car. But they weren't too talkative during the short ride to Chance's apartment complex. We soon arrive at Chance's place, and I hopped out of the sport mini-van to get him. After a few knocks, Chance opened the door and greeted me with his sexy smile.
"Hi angel!" Chance kissed and hugged me. "What a great costume and so fitting too. I've always knew you were an angel!"
I lightly laughed. "Thanks, love!" I smiled appreciatively and leaned in for another kiss. "You look super!"
Chance had on a very interesting costume. It reminded me of Hawk-Eye's, the cartoon superhero, costume. He looked great in it. And the mask for the costume is really cool. It's strikingly ornate and intriguing. The mask is a feather-based design that seemed to utilize a peacock's color scheme with highlights of metallic gold.
"Wow, where did you get this great costume?" I asked curiously.
"Actually, one of my fashion design major friend designed it for me as part of her design assignment. And she has asked me to model it for the Ball's Fashion Show tonight," Chance answered matter-of-factly.
"And the mask?" I asked, pointing to the ornate mask in his hand.
"Oh...this I made it myself in one of my art classes," Chance said proudly as he smiled. "It will also be showcased tonight at the Ball during the Procession of Masks."
"Wow, that's awesome!"
"Yeah!" Chance smiled coyly.
"We better go. Stacy and Brian are waiting for us!" I exclaimed when I heard Brian honked. "Oh, where is Dade? Does he need a ride?"
"No, he's already left to pick up his date," Chance replied as we exited his apartment.
We quickly got into the mini-van, and I introduced Chance to Brian. They exchanged greetings and pleasantries as we headed towards the University's Rec Center where the Ball is held annually. The spacious 3-story Rec Center is perfect for the event, and all three floors are utilized for the Ball. We soon arrived at the Rec Center where a large crowd has already gathered in front of the main entrance.
"Okay, Essence, Kindred, and Trance are meeting us at main entrance," Stacy informed all of us as I strapped on my pairs of wings.
As we made our way through the crowd to the main entrance, we caught sight of Kindred, Trance, Essence and another person waiting near the entrance and waved to them. They saw us and quickly waved back. We immediately greeted each other with hugs, kisses and hand shakes. Essence introduced us to her great-looking, mystery date, Tenchi. He looked to be of Japanese descent and was wearing a black samurai outfit. Essence dressed up as a geisha. She looked exotically beautiful, wearing a colorful, elaborately embroidered kimono. Her face, painted in the traditional Japanese, pale white with red cherry lips, nicely showed off her Asian features. Trance dressed up as Hermes, the messenger god. He looked so damn sexy and manly, wearing a medieval style outfit which perfectly showed off his buff, well-defined body, along with a pairs of brown leather, knee high boots, and a metallic helmet that has a pairs of small wings attached to it. And I was glad to see that he had some body glitter on too. But my mouth nearly dropped to the floor when I saw what Kindred was wearing, or rather lack of. She dressed up as Aphrodite, the goddess of love, wearing a very translucent, free-flowing, white beaded chiffon gown with layers of pale pink. Her long, glittered, blond hair, wore in a wavy style, draped strategically over her delicate, sensuous breasts. The translucent outfit left very little to the imagination, revealing much skin, especially when she is not wearing a bra. It's definitely not an dress for the timid. But Kindred is certainly not shy, and she definitely has the body to pull it off. She looks absolutely stunning and provocative, and every passing guys and girls can't seem to stop gawking at her. Amazingly, Trance doesn't seem to be bothered by the gawking. He's so incredibly self-assured that way!
After a few minutes of slow traffic at the entrance as we were given a large number sticker to stick on our costume, we finally made our way into the building. We were immediately bombarded by a sea of people in masquerades, dancing wildly to the blaring sound of Cher's "Believe" (Almighty Definitive Mix). We all grinned in delight as we quickly formed a dancing train and sashayed our way to the middle of the dance floor as the music phased into Miss Jane's "It a Fine Day" (ATB Remix). We formed a group dancing circle as we danced and intermingled among ourselves. The song was followed by Madonna's "Power of Goodbye" (Euro Mix). I totally love this dance mix, and the lyrics are awesome, so phenomenally powerful and true! Madonna can truly write lyrics that reflect the crazy game of love---words that speak to the soul and soothe the heart! I temporarily closed my eyes and danced as I allowed myself to immerse in the song.
When I opened my eyes, Chance was dancing right in front of me with a goofy smile on his face, obviously enjoying my crazy dancing with my eyes closed.
"What?" I asked with a smile. "Why are you smiling at me like that?"
"Nothing!" Chance replied with a crooked grin. "It's just you look so adorable, dancing with your eyes closed."
"Oh, yeah!" I grinned flirtatiously as Chance approached me and wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me for a few seconds.
As we broke the kiss and opened our eyes, I saw that my friends were sharing at us with goofy smirks on their faces. I quickly snapped back to reality, realizing where we were. I instinctively glanced around to see if anyone was gawking at us. But everyone seemed to be lost in their own little world, jamming to the music and not paying any attention to us. So I relaxed and let go of any worries about us kissing and dancing together in public, amidst the sea of students.
The Ball has attracted quite a large crowd as usual this year. The place was packed. As I scanned the room, I could see the huge raised, T-shaped stage at the other end of the room which will provide the runway for the Parade of Costumes, and the Ball's Fashion Show and Procession of Masks.
Madonna's song soon faded out as we heard the DJ on the stage announced that it was time for the Parade of Costumes. This is when the Ball's attendees have the opportunity to strut their stuff on the runway to showoff their costumes. Prizes are given out for various categories such as "Best Costume," "Most Original Masquerade," "Most Creative Costume," "Sexiest Costume," etc. Hence, the number sticks that were given to us at the entrance. Each attendee has the opportunity to cast his/her vote, and the winners are announced towards the end of the Ball. The crowd cheered as the DJ encouraged attendees to carefully come on stage in a single line. The room light dimmed a bit as spotlights focused on the stage entrances. We soon heard the hypnotic sound of Enigma's "Rave," announcing the commencement of the Parade of Costumes as students slowly make their way onto stage. It's always a hoot to see the myriad of costumes that people wear to the Ball. They range from the boring to the bizarre, from the ordinary to the outrageous, and everything in between.
"Come on guys, let's go!" Kindred urged us on as she grabbed and pulled me and Trance along.
We quickly followed the goddess of love as we danced our way to the stage. Not everyone care to participate in the Parade of Costume, but there's always enough participants for a decent show. Enigma's "Rave" soon phased into Sting's "Desert Rose" (Melodic Club Remix) when we finally reached the stage and made our way on runway. We danced and strutted our stuff on the catwalk. Kindred led the pack with Trance, followed by Chance and I, then by Essence and Tenchi, and finally with Stacy and Brian behind them. Kindred got a quite a number of whispers and flirtatious looks from the crowd as we sashayed our way towards the end of the runway. But she handled it with fitness while teasing the leering guys, yet at the same time, making it plainly clear to them that her heart belongs to the man right next to her as she danced seductively next to Trance.
"Chance...Chance!" I heard someone calling from the crowd as we continued to dance our way down the runway. I turned to see a guy dressed as Neo from "The Matrix" in a hugging black top and an army-like black pants with knee-high black leather boots, waving his arms wildly in the air. He looked sort of familiar as I adjusted my mask to get a better look. It took me a few seconds to recognize who it was because of the black shades that he had on. I smiled beamingly as I realized that it was Dade! Chance finally turned and saw that Dade was trying to get his attention. We waved back. Dade gestured for us to meet him at the end of the runway. We quickly nodded that we understood. We finally made it to the end of the catwalk and got off stage as the music switched to The Corrs' "Dream" (Tee's Radio Mix). Dade quickly approached with his date and greeted us.
"Hey guys, good to see, ya!" Dade said enthusiastically as he shook my hand and hugged me and Chance. I was pleasantly surprised by his friendly greeting.
Chance seemed to know Dade's date and the two hugged as I turned to greet Dade.
"Yeah, you too, Dade!" I quickly replied as Chance nodded and smile. "Or should I say, Neo?" I lightly chuckled as Dade and the rest of the gang joined in. Dade looked absolutely great in his monochromatic, black "Matrix" outfit, very masculine and Neo-like. His well-defined arms, pecs, and abs muscles nicely hugged his tight shirt. I stared at Dade for a couple of seconds before realizing that I needed to introduce him to my friends.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" I finally snapped back to reality. "Dade...uhm, these are my friends...Kindred, Trance, Essence, Tenchi, Stacy and Brian. They exchanged hand shakes and friendly greetings.
Dade then introduced us to his extremely sexy date, Mai-Le, who was dressed as Trinity of "The Matrix." She looked so hot in her shiny black leather outfit, even rivaled that of Kindred's. She looked to be Hawaiian with beautiful, exotic, model-like features. At the risk of sounding straight, she's absolutely gorgeous, stunningly alluring with jet black hair and a very sexy smile.
"Nice to meet all of you!" she said, smiling radiantly as we reciprocated her greeting.
We chit-chatted for a few minutes, exchanging pleasantries when New Order's "True Faith" came on which prompted us to dance and enjoyed the rest of the Parade of Costumes. About an hour later, the Parade of Costumes was over, and the DJ announced that the Fashion Show and the Procession of Masks will start in about 15 minutes. So we decided to take this opportunity to grab a drink. We went to the side bar and ordered our respective non-alcoholic drinks since it's an alcohol-free event. We sat and talked for a bit more, getting to know each other. It turned out that Mai-Le is a Fashion Design major who designed Chance's costume. We immediately complimented her on her wonderful design.
"Ok guys, the fashion show will start in a few minutes. I better head back stage for the line up." Chance exclaimed as he came over to me and gave me a quick kiss.
"Ok, we'll be rooting for you, Chance!"
A few minutes later, the DJ announced the commencement of the Procession of Masks and the Fashion Show. We quickly moved closer to the stage as the light dimmed down and the spotlights focused on the stage again. We soon heard the sound of Gregorian chant, cuing the start of the Procession of Masks. I quickly recognized the song; it's "Eden" by Sarah Brightman. It's always a treat to see the wide range of creative masks and costumes that the art and design students come up with each year. Many masks later, Chance finally appeared. We cheered him on wildly as he strutted his stuff, posing here and there. He looked so comical, doing his exaggerated poses. We couldn't helped but grinned and laughed in between cheers. The Procession of Masks was immediately followed by the Fashion Show which commenced with the Siren's cries of the prelude of the "Carly's Song" (by Enigma) as the first couple of student models took the runway. The design students did a great job with designing this year fashion collections. The collections ranged from a faux fur collection to a futuristic clothing collection and everything in between. The designs and styles are too wide range for me to describe them. However, there was one outfit within the futuristic category that stood out, that I thought was quite interesting and practical. It was a dress that was designed by this very cute Asian designer student who modeled the outfit herself. She strutted down the runway, wearing a dress that was made out of unopened, various colored condom packages sown together (no kidding guys, I'm not making this up!), as she threw a hand full of condoms out to the audience. The dress received an uproar of applauds and cheers from the audience. I have seen her design work featured each year at the fashion show, and she's definitely one of my favorite designers. I like the playfulness and creativity of her clothing line. Last year, she shocked the audience by strutted onto the runway, wearing half-cutted tennis balls as a bra with a tennis-like mini-shirt.
Anyway, about 45 minutes later the fashion show was over, and Chance reunited with us. We then decided to go upstairs to the top floor, also known as the Skydeck because it's roofless, to check out the dancing scene. It's awesome up on the Skydeck Floor because you are exposed to the heavens and are dancing underneath the stars which created a very romantic atmosphere. As we reached the Skydeck, we heard Madonna's "Sky Fits Heaven" (Calderone Future Mix) blasting from the speakers.
I quickly pulled Chance onto the dance floor as the rest of my friends followed.
"Come on, angel," I exclaimed excitedly, "we got to dance to this song!"
Chance gladly complied, and as we jammed to the music, I started to belch out the lyrics without a care in the world: "Traveling down this road/ Watching the signs as I go/ I think I'll follow the sun/ Isn't everyone just/ Traveling down their own road/ Watching the signs as they go/ I think I'll follow my heart/ It's a very good place to start..." God, I love this song. Hearing it always lifts my spirits and reminds me of the road of life, of the life journey I'm on!
Chance grinned goofily at me as I sang along. "I didn't know you were so talented," Chance shouted into my ears as we danced.
"Well, you haven't seen anything yet!" I smiled and winked at him.
When the song ended Dade came up to Chance and I and informed us that he was leaving with Mai-Le and told Chance that he'll be spending the night at her place. We quickly exchanged goodbyes and hand shakes.
After the Madonna's song, Bosson's "One in a Million" came on. Chance came closer to me, and I wrapped my arms around his waist and slow danced to this wonderful song.
It felt so good to be close to him, to be held in his arms, dancing under the stars as I stared into the eyes of my love, and the distant stars above. I have been to the Ball every year, but to attend it this year with Chance has made it even more special and memorable. He's truly one in a million!
To be continued.
Author's Note: Well, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. I figured I'd present this light-hearted installment before hitting you guys with an emotional one (MC8). The plot will start to brew, beginning with MC8, and will soon thicken thereafter! So I hope that you'll stay tuned. Until next time, play smart, play safe and live to play another day! :o)
As always, I welcome your comments, suggestions and constructive criticisms. Let me know what you think of my story. They can be sent to mf900@yahoo.com All flames can be forwarded to: trashcan.com (he.hee.). Take care!