My Blonde Brad

My Blonde Brad - Chapter 7

Disclaimer:
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This is a fictional story with fictional characters. Any resemblance to people living or dead is purely a coincidence.

This story involves love and physical intimacy between two consenting adult men. If you do not want to read this or are prohibited by law, house rules etc, please leave.

The is a story about relations and not about sex. So there will be very limited sexual acts and even when it occurs, there will be no graphic details.

The story does not intend to preach any religion or culture. The reader is at the liberty to stop reading if he or she does not wishe to continue.

My Blonde Brad - Chapter 07
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"You should take the rest of the year off." Brad told me over dinner.

"What?"

"Vacation...time off"

"Yea, I have been thinking about it too. I'll have to ask though. You know its Christmas and it gets really busy around this time and my manager is not too cooperative. May be if I can find someone to sub for me, he might let me go...What?" I noticed him staring at me.

"Nothing" He hid his smile very well.

"Ok. So, yea, it would be great. For the first time since I came here, I will have someone to spend the holidays with. We could decorate a Christmas tree, cook a big meal, go to the theaters, or just bring home videos, play games; we've got a lot of board games or just about anything. What would you like to do?"

I finally stopped and looked at him and he was still staring at me, this time with a big smile on his face.

"What?" I asked a little confused.

"You look so cute when you ramble on like that."

"Where did you learn the word `cute' from?" it was my turn to tease him.

"Good try. But seriously would you ask for the time off?"

"I'll try..."

"Great."

We finished dinner, left the dirty dishes on the table and retired to the couch. We were lazy. We had spent the entire day doing nothing, except be intimate, take a long shower together, cookies for lunch, watch a movie and dinner and now this, lazing on the couch. This was one of the most relaxing Saturdays I had had in a long time. And it was the most comfortable I had ever been around Brad ever since I first met him.

"You are not calling your manager?" he questioned

"Did you want me to call right now?"

"Yea, do you really want to get to work on Monday and ask for the vacation?"

"Yea, doesn't make sense, does it?" I picked up the phone lazily and dialed my manager's number.

"Hi Greg, this is..."

"Anand, good you called. Can you work tomorrow? Janice has fallen sick and we have too much to do. So why don't you come down by 8 tomorrow."

Greg was waiting for an answer. I tried to think of something quick. I looked at the waiting Brad.

"Greg, I am not well. That's the reason I called..." I said in a voice that had suddenly turned a little nasal and a little tired.

"What happened to you now?" He was more concerned about the stock than my health.

"I think it is flu." I lied glibly.

"Damn it. You chose the best time to fall sick Mr.Roman. Don't come anywhere near the store until you are totally recovered. I don't want you infecting any more of my staff."

"I am sorry." I said trying to control my laughter. I couldn't believe he bought my age-old story so easily. Brad had comprehended my trick and was smiling profusely.

"Take care." Greg disconnected before I could say anything more. Yea, as if I cared.

"You are one smooth liar mister. You are not as square as I thought."

"What's your point?" I stood up with a fake sense of pride and walked away toward the kitchen.

"My point is we have the next seven whole days all for ourselves. Just the two of us" He reached and hugged me from behind.

"I am looking forward to it." I said gently swaying with him.

"Me too" His joy surprised me, considering the fact that we had already spent the last seven days together.

"Let's make a list of all the things we want to do" I grabbed a notepad and pen and settled down.

"No, no lists." He protested.

I pretended I did not hear him.

"We have three days for Christmas. Do you want to put up a tree? I have never bought a Christmas tree before. So I need your help if you want a tree. Also we cannot go to the store where I work because, as you know, they think I am sick. And if I go there, they'll know that I am not. So how do you want to do this?"

He was looking at me with a faint smile.

"What?"

"Why don't we make the list tomorrow?"

"Then what do you want to do now?"

"Come here." He said patting the couch, lying down and making room for me.

"No..." I acted up.

"Please..." he extended his arm.

I shrugged, put the notepad and the pen away and raised myself out of the chair and lay down next to him. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer.

"You know..." I started to say something.

"Shhh...Just be with me."

I agreed, although I did not exactly know what he meant by `Just be with me'.

I expected him to say something. He didn't. I waited a couple of minutes. He still didn't say anything. My phone rang and from the ring tone I knew it was my brother.

Brad came out of his trance. "It's my brother." I told him.

"OK. You go take the call and I'll see you in a couple of hours. I'll run to my apartment and get my clothes. I need to workout too."

"Great. See you then." I answered the phone while he wrapped himself in wool and headed home.

Two hours had passed when he returned and I was still on the phone. This is something I like as well as hate about myself. The good thing is I don't need any special topics to talk with my brother. We can just chat away for hours. I seem to be able to do that only with a few people. Like Ed (my ex), Lei, Jason, my brother, mom, grandma, grandpa and a few friends back home. I could never speak more than a few sentences with my dad. I was too scared, while my brother played a lot of pranks and even got away with it. Anyways, I finally said bye to my brother and joined Brad.

"How is he doing?"

"Wonderful. He and Lei are having a blast it seems. And he is seeing a girl named Tara. He said hi to you."

"You are lucky to have him for your brother."

"I know. I really am" Fond memories of how my brother took my news and how he comforted me came back to my mind.

"I wish I had a brother."

"Oh you do. Jason and Lei think of you as their brother. So you have a bother and a sister." I reached up to him and gave him a warm hug.

"What about you?"

"They think of me as their brother too. They are practically my family..."

"Not that, chutney for brains...how do you feel towards me?"

"You are mean." I tried to push him away.

"I am sorry. Now tell me. How do you feel towards me?" he grabbed me before I could move away.

"Let me show you." I took his hand in mine and led him into the bedroom.

The next morning I woke up to an empty bed. I rubbed my eyes and was about to get out of the bed when Brad walked in.

"Oh, you are up?"

I waved as if to say good morning.

"Morning"

"Oh my God. What's this?" I yelled in total surprise as I walked into the living room.

"Christmas tree. Silly" He said, walking in behind me.

"Wow. It's beautiful." I said admiring the perfectly decorated tree, with lights and everything. "When did you do all this?" I turned to Brad

"Last night. Of course. I bought it on the way back when I went home for clothes."

"This is so beautiful. This is such a big surprise." I gave him a tight hug

"I am glad you are happy. So you probably won't mind a little accident in the kitchen." He said arching his eyebrow and with an innocent smile on his lips.

"Accident?" My eyes almost popped out.

"Relax. It was my first time...and...things didn't go the way I thought they would." He explained following me into the kitchen.

"What is this?" I asked trying to stir the stuff in the pan. It was hard as a rock.

"I don't know." He said peeking into it over my shoulders.  "I started with some onions, tomatoes, peas, flour and your curries. Then you add water and stir..."

I burst out laughing.

"Hey, I said it was my first time...and I tried and that's what counts." He said folding his arms against his chest.

"It sure does. I really appreciate this. But let's just stick with sandwiches or microwave stuff, if you plan to cook in the future. Alright?"

"Whatever."

"So did you sleep at all last night?"

"Yea, for a little bit."

"Ok, you go lie down and I'll fix up something for us to eat."

He left without a word. I brushed, washed my face and prepared sandwiches and coffee for both of us and carried them to the bedroom only to find Brad fast asleep. He was completely covered with the blanket from head to toe. I found it funny. I sat and watched him sleep as I finished my breakfast. I had read a lot of stories where someone does special things for his lover, but this was the first it had happened to me. It felt good. At the same time I started to think where all this was heading. One way to find an answer was to ask Brad, but I had done that before and just got an "I don't know." I decided to try one more time.

And like always, I started cleaning the apartment to take my mind off things. I rearranged the Christmas tree to my satisfaction. I cleaned. I cooked. I showered. It was well past three when I was done. I took the lunch in a tray to Brad and gently woke him up.

"Hey."

"Hey" he replied still half asleep

"Get up. I bought you some lunch."

"Lunch...?"

"Yea"

"What about break-fast?"

"You have been sleeping for four hours sweet heart."

"Really." He yawned widely.

"Here. I am sure you are hungry."

"Thanks." I handed his plate to him.

"Thank YOU for the lovely tree and...umm...the breakfast" I said trying to hide the laughter.

"Why are you so mean to me?"

"Who? Me?"

"Of course, you"

"It is you who used to trouble me all the time. And you call me mean over a simple joke! I cannot believe it." I tried to exaggerate for fun.

"Why do you think I was like that to you?" he asked suddenly deviating from the actual argument.

"May be it's our stars" I answered with a shrug

"Do you really believe in that stuff?" I sat up straight.

"What's your sun sign?"

"I don't know."

"When's your birth day again?"

"You forgot my birthday already?"

"Of course I remember. It is 1st of August. Do you remember mine?"

"You never told me"

"What you mean, I never told you. You came to my birthday party and gifted me that Taj Mahal" I said pointing to his gift on the night stand.

"Yea, I remember September, but I forgot the day. When is it?"

"I am not telling you. What's the use. You're not going to remember it anyways."

"C'mon"

"September 16th"

"Great. The stars..."

"Let's check a website." I rushed to the living room and settled in front of the laptop and pulled up a zodiac website. He followed me and stood leaning behind me resting his elbows on my shoulders.

"I am a Virgo and you are...a Leo"

"And?"

"And Virgos, it says, are modest, shy, meticulous, reliable, practical, diligent, intelligent and analytical. On the dark side they are fussy, a worrier, overcritical, harsh, perfectionist and conservative."

"Very true, at least the dark sides."

"I turned around and gave him a nasty look.

"Well, you ARE fussy and harsh"

"Shut up. Leos are generous, warmhearted, creative, enthusiastic, broad-minded, expansive, faithful and loving. On the dark side they are pompous, patronizing, bossy, interfering, dogmatic and intolerant."

"Warmhearted and loving..."

"...and bossy, interfering and intolerant. And certainly patronizing. Remember the old days when you were just plain condescending?"

"Whatever" he walked away to the couch. I turned around and he was serious.

"Hey...I was just joking." He did not look at me.

I went and sat down next to him. I put my arm around his shoulder only to be pushed away.

"I am sorry" I smiled and blinked innocently. He did not answer. I couldn't believe he would fret so much over a silly joke. I felt bad that I might have really hurt his feelings.

"Won't you talk to me?" I tried putting my arm around his shoulder and he pushed me away again. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes.

"Please..." I begged. He didn't budge. I slightly moved away accepting defeat. Tears started to trickle down my cheeks.

"Gotcha" he burst out laughing.

I started crying. I mean tears and everything. He was still laughing when he tried to hug me. Now, I tried pushed him away.

"Hey...I was just teasing you." he wrapped his arms around me. I was too weak to resist. I think he didn't expect me to this sensitive and emotional.

"C'mon buddy. Cheer up." He lifted my chin and looked into my teary eyes, which had turned red by now.

"You asshole." I chided wiping my tears away. "I am not speaking to you."

"Then we'll just kiss and make out." He was giggling at my misery.

"Not until you apologize." I dictated, loosening up.

"Happily. I am sorry."

I smiled a little. He pulled be back into his arms and kissed my hair. I loved his hugs, his kisses, his slow approaches and his innocent child like smiles. I loved everything he did. Well, except his naughty pranks. Sometimes I loved even them.

"See, the stars never lie." I said

"Yea, they also say I am loving and faithful."

"Whatever."

"Let me make it up to you."

"What? You are going to make me breakfast again."

"Noooo. I am going to take you to New York for Christmas."

"New York?"

"Yea. It will be fun. We can drive up and spend Christmas and the New Year there. It'll be lovely."

"Are you serious?"

"Of course."

"No. I don't think I can afford a vacation in New York."

"We'll not have to spend too much. My parents have a house upstate and we can stay there. And we will just have to spend for gas and groceries. What do you say?"

"We are visiting your parents?"

"No silly. That's just a vacation home and they are not even in the country for that matter."

"It does sound exciting. But..."

"No but. Say yes."

"OK, but only if we share the expenses equally"

"Done"

Wow, this was a sudden turn of events. Last Sunday I was looking at 2 long weeks of work and loneliness and just one week later I was sitting down with Brad to plan out our New York vacation. We decided start immediately and it would take only 3 to 4 hours. So we could get there before nine and have enough time to rest and start the next day afresh. I tried to grab a notebook to make a list and he quickly pulled me away from it.

"Geez. You could very well have been a nun in a convent"

"Well, what's wrong with them?"

"Nothing. Let's pack. No lists."

I don't know how and why it was happening, but we have been arguing all day, for the heck of it. Now such silly fights mean that I am really close to the person. I fight all the time with my brother, Lei and Jason. It is fun believe me. So we went like that for the rest of the evening. Fighting, throwing sock balls at each other and packed. We were all ready in an hour.

"I hate to leave the Christmas tree." I said standing in front of it with my heavy bag in my hands, while Brad printed off the directions.

"It'll still be here, when we come back. Come on let's go."

That was easy. If I had gotten my way, I would have planned for two days for a week's vacation. Now I had no idea how we were going to get there, what we were going to do. Nothing. I was completely at Brad's mercy. I had to satisfy myself with a mental checklist. Warm clothes, toilet kits, extra shoes, boots, torch lights. Ah, Lei and Jason used to make so much fun of me, saying it was flash light and not torch light. Hey I am from India, and we speak British English, though we don't sound anything like the English. Anyways, we stopped by the grocery store (not the one where I work, of course) to pickup stuff to eat and drink on the way. And then by a little burger joint for dinner.

"You know, my mom would be so mad if she knew what my diet has been in the last couple of days." I said holding my veggie burger.

"Why?" Brad asked biting a huge piece off his burger.

"She is too particular about what we eat and how much or how little we eat. There are so many things that my brother and I hated. The worst of them is that stinking milkshakes made with raw eggs. We were force fed every single morning. Luckily we didn't have to on Fridays and festival days." I shuddered at the memory.

"I thought you didn't eat meat."

"It is a choice now. Unfortunately not when I was a kid. Yuck. I will never force my kids to drink that stuff."

"Your kids?"

"Yea, 2 boys. Rahul and Mehul."

"Wow, you've decided on the names too?"

I grinned.

"No baby girl?"

"No. I think it is very difficult for two guys to raise a girl. Unless there is like a God-mother. If Lei and I lived in the same neighborhood, she'll definitely be the godmother."

"Wow, you have your entire life planned out, don't you?" He was amazed

"Not really. This is just a dream."

"A dream that is going to come true."

"Let's hope so"

"What about you? Do you want kids?"

"Kids? I don't even know if I want to refill my pop."

"You are not that aimless mister. You never like to talk about yourself, do you?"

"Nothing like that." He escaped to refill his pop.

"Have you ever opened up to anyone?" I asked as soon as he returned with more pop.

"We should start. We don't want to waste too much time here."

"We have a long way to go. There is plenty of time while we are driving."

"You can drive?"

"Yes, I can, I have a license, and don't change the topic."

"Anand, please let's not talk about it." He was not joking.

"Sure. I would really like to know, but if you are not ready to talk now. We can do this later. OK?"

"Thanks." He gave me a smile and we got into the car.

We were speeding down the expressway towards New York. Mustangs are lovely. Smooth and fast. It had heated seats and a 50 disc changer and all the other bells and whistles. Unfortunately Brad's taste in music didn't match mine. I liked Indian classical music and he liked techno and trance. That didn't even sound like music to me. We are polar opposites in almost everything I've noticed so far. Interests, likes, dislikes and even our thought process.

"So you work out eh?" I started trying to fill in the silence that had suddenly befallen us.

"Yup"

"So what do you do?"

"I like to jog, pushups, stomach crunches and lift weights. We have a separate routine for the team. Never saw me on the field?"

"Naah. I don't care much about football. We never win anyways."

"Don't you mock our team" He tried to punch me without taking his eyes off the road and he missed. "We'll win."

"Yea and I will propose to you that day." I teased him a little more.

"Promise?" he gave a sweet smile.

"So, tell me about your girlfriends." I deviated.

"Don't you change the topic...So you are going to propose the day we win the game?"

"We'll think about it when you guys win."

He fell silent. I waited for him, unsure what was going through his mind.

"The earliest I remember is when I was seven years old." He started slowly, his eyes fixed on the road. I looked at him. It took a moment for me to figure that he was "opening up".

"My parents were never home. They both have their individual businesses and too little time for me. We met for dinner on Sundays. That was our only family time. Even then either one was away most of the time, because of a business trip or a very important meeting. I hardly saw them. I lived all alone in that house; almost right from the day I was born."

I stayed silent listening.

"I was sent off to an all boys' convent. My parents visited me once in a while with expensive gifts. What little time I got with my parents was always formal. We would meet and they would give me the gifts before we went off to a nearby restaurant for lunch or dinner. Then I was dropped off back at the convent. That was it."

"I hated living there. But I had no choice. I studied hard expecting them to take pride in me. Didn't work. Then I started getting myself into trouble, hoping they would notice me. Didn't work. But the convent kicked me out. I was back home. Atleast in the convent I had some friends. At home, I was lonely as hell."

"I was enrolled into a private school and was left in the care of maids and servants. One of them was Kay, my driver. He used to drive me to school."

"We used to talk a lot. I told him about school, my friends, my likes, my dislikes, my fears, my needs. Everything. He was like a friend to me, though he was 20 years older than me. He lived in the servant quarters of our house."

He fell silent again for a few moments, before continuing.

"One night, he came into my room. He wanted to know if he could sleep in with me. I said `Yes'. That was the first time anybody had ever slept next to me. The first night he didn't do anything. He just slept next to me. As time progressed he started by putting his arm around me, pulling me close to him, hugging me, going naked under the sheets, touching me..." he started trembling.

"That bastard" I blurted

"He made me do dirty things. He threatened to kill me if I ever opened my mouth about this to my parents. He was in total command."

I couldn't even begin to imagine how one could have gone through such a terrible childhood. As you might know already, I grew up amidst a huge family with parents, grand parents, servants around me all the time. There was nothing called privacy. Everything was everyone's business.

"He was fired when my dad caught him screwing a maid. I hate him. I hated what he did to me. I hated all gay people. And I ended up hating you too."

I knew no response was needed here. Neither of us spoke. We drove in complete silence. We had already entered the state of New York and the destination was only two more hours away.

"I turned 10 and I joined our school football team. I made quick friends and I was happy when I was with them. I spent most of my time with them, never wanting to come back home. Unfortunately I ended up with the wrong crowd. So for the last 11 years I have been a total asshole. Until I saw you..." he turned to look at me.

"The first time I saw you was last winter, you know, when you stood up when the professor walked in." he gave me a smile. I blushed a bit. It was embarrassing although I still don't understand why the American kids don't stand up when their teacher walks in! That would be sacrilege in India, at least in ancient India, where a teacher is considered above God, next only to mother and father.

"I thought you were a number one nerd. At the same time something caught my attention. I can't put my finger on it. You have some kind of a charm." I blushed again. "I couldn't come talk to you as I would definitely have been ridiculed by my buddies. Then I saw you with Ed and I realized you are gay."

"All the old hatred surfaced and I got carried away with it. I made fun of you, harassed you. That closed all the doors of me ever getting close to you. But I couldn't get you out of my head. With the mask of tormenting you I followed you and Ed all the time. Of course you know the rest of the story."

"I hope you can forgive me" He didn't look at me.

"Brad, I think we have gone through this before. One can only forgive his enemies. When there are no hard feelings, where is the need to forgive?"

"I appreciate that."

We both fell silent again. The rest of the journey was covered in silence except for the noise from the rubber tires grinding against the concrete road and the other passing cars. I was brought back to the world of reality when the car came to a sudden halt. I checked the clock on the dashboard and it was close to eight.

We were in front of this quaint little wooden house. There were trees all around. It was pretty isolated from other the other houses and it didn't look like there was anybody else up here except the two of us. It reminded me of our farm house where all cousins and aunts and uncles met at the annual pilgrimage. Brad was, by now, back to his normal self. He got out of the car and started to collect our luggage from the trunk. He carried major portion of the luggage and I followed him tugging my bag.

The house was beautiful. It had a huge living room with the kitchen and dining built into it. Then there were two bedrooms with attached bathrooms. It was elegantly decorated. This was like my dream home. Small, simple and charming, in the middle of the woods, with a little rivulet running in the back yard, the silhouette of mountains visible from the bedroom windows, flowers all around, and of course all my loved ones, my parents, his parents, my grand parents, my brother and his family, my family, his siblings and their families...now don't ask me how I can fit all these people in small home.

While I was day dreaming, Brad had turned the heater on, started the fire and put away the bags in our room. He hugged me from behind. I shuddered out of my dream.

"Like it?" he asked

"Love it. Thank you."

"Thank YOU for listening to me."

"Thank YOU for opening up to me." I turned around to face him.

"We could go on all night. Wanna take a hot shower."

"Together?"

"Of course"

"Of course" I grinned.

"We'll have to wait some more time for the water to heat up. So why don't we put the groceries and stuff away. Eat something and then take the shower."

"Sure." The house was getting warmed up slowly and the fireplace was like a gift from heaven. We put the groceries away in the refrigerator and settled down in front of the fireplace with our pot-pies - Brad's staple diet.

Brad brought some pillows and a blanket from the bedroom and pulled the couch closer to the fire. I am sure it had been a draining evening for him, but he was cheerful as usual. We sat close to each other and ate in silence. I was starting to realize, what "Just be with me" meant. I melted into his arms and almost dozed off.

"Shower?" he asked gently.

"Forget the shower." I mumbled half asleep. I didn't want to move out of this comfort. Brad turned some soft music on and I don't know when I fell asleep, right there, on the couch, in his arms.

The sun's rays shone lightly through the window. I pulled the blanket over my eyes and tried to fall asleep again. I realized I was alone on the couch. I was worried Brad might be cooking again, but was too lazy to get up and go looking for him.

"Good morning" I felt Brad's hands on my butt. He was trying to shake me awake.

"Ummm." I tried to ignore him, but he was adamant. "Five more minutes" I begged.

"Get up, you lazy ass."

"Why are you doing this to me?" I slowly opened my eyes. My sleep was gone. The fresh air of the country was freshening. How I miss our little farm house back home.

"You want something to eat...drink?" he asked.

"No. I am going to take a shower first." I dragged myself to the bathroom.

I was getting ready to get into the bathtub and I heard Brad knocking.

"What's up?" I yelled.

"Open up" he yelled back.

I opened the door slowly and he was standing there in his boxers with a sheepish grin on his face. It is quite a view. His handsome face, gorgeous hair, the smooth muscular body and the beautiful smile that fit like a jewel on the crown.

"Shower? Together?" he asked gawking at my naked torso.

How could I resist such an offer? I took a deep breath and opened the door wide. This was going to be a long shower.

He walked in pushing me against the wall and initiated a kiss with his trademark style. I was so aroused. We rubbed our noses like penguins. He planted a kiss on my lips and stopped. I opened my eyes to find him staring at me.

"What?" I inquired without having to utter the word.

He gave me a smile, grabbed my arm and led me into the bathtub. The warm water gushed out of the shower head and wrapped us from all sides. I ran my arms around him and pulled him closer to me as we kissed first gently and then passionately. I wanted more of him. I explored his wet mouth with my tongue and he did the same. I was cornered at the edge with Brad pressing me against me. Blood was flowing to all the right spots, for both of us, and I could feel his manhood pressed against my own.

"Anand...I want to..." he hung his head to shy too complete the sentence.

I was so glad that he has asled what I wanted too.

I shut the shower off and wrapped in a towel. We couldn't wait long enough to dry ourselves. We led each other towards the bed, never stopping to kiss. I sat down on the edge of the bed with our lips still locked. He pushed me and fell over me. He moved his attention to the side of my neck and I moved from earth to heaven.

Brad was passionate, gentle and rough all at the same time. He was doing everything to me, what I did to him the other night. I moved slowly to my nipples and to my stomach. I couldn't wait for him to move further but he suddenly stopped. I opened my eyes, half disappointed and half concerned.

"Do you mind, if I don't..." he swallowed.

"It's OK. You don't have to do anything that you are not comfortable with." I said swallowing my disappointment.

He gave me a nervous smile and started to pull my underwear down. I had assumed it was over, but it looked like he wanted to go on further. I raised myself and helped him take my remaining clothes off. He got out of the bed, took his underwear off and quickly got into the bed. It was broad day light and I think he was a little embarrassed about being naked with me. He lay over me and started to kiss again. He was of course still excited, but I realized he was nervous and confused too.

"Just go with your instincts. OK?" I tried to make him comfortable.

He nodded and leaned to take something out of the night stand. I was amazed that he had planned ahead for this. He took a deep breath and got himself into the position. I couldn't take my eyes off his. I tried to relax myself to make this easier for him. He pressed in slowly never taking his eyes of my face. I gasped and he panicked. I smiled at his naivety and nodded to indicate we were just fine. I grabbed his waist and pulled him inside.

Brad liked to get in and stay there, wanting to get in deeper. It was not the animated fucking action. It was like happening in slow motion. Every time he pulled out a little bit and moved in with an increased eagerness, it sent me into shudders of ecstasy. I wanted to make it special for him, but he was doing such a great job that it was difficult for me to have any control over myself. After only a few moments I let go of trying to make anything happen for him. It was all naturally happening. I just closed my eyes and hugged my Brad. He continued getting deeper and deeper inside me with gentle kisses as interludes.

This might be too philosophical now, but I think sex binds two people like nothing else ever can. The basic instinct of every soul is to unite with the others. Sex is one of the expressions of that instinct. It is just the ego that gets in the way. Brad and I being the classical examples.

I was slightly arched back. I was getting close. He was hitting all the right spots.

"Oh Brad..." I clawed into him, as we both reached orgasm at the same time. The sheer intensity of pleasure had sapped all energy out of us as he fell into my arms. We lay there until we both calmed down and regained our breath.

"Thank you." he said taking my hand in his and kissing my finger tips.

"What?" I asked, almost laughing aloud, unable to believe that he would thank me for it.

"For everything." He clarified. "Thank you for being with me. I am having the best holiday of my life."

"Me too." I pulled him close in for a kiss.

"Looks like we need another shower." He said when I released him after several minutes.

"Do we?" I asked lazily.

"Yes, we do. If we have to go to the city, we better start now. It is already almost noon."

"Must we go to the city? I don't want to get out of the bed." I tried to seduce him to stay.

"We could have done that back home. We came all the way here to go to the city. And its Christmas Eve, it will be beautiful." He encouraged me.

I half heartedly got out of bed and followed him to the showers. We came out of the bathroom in under thirty minutes all clean and squeaky. We prepared soup and sandwiches, one with meat and one vegetarian (ugh, what pain). Well, actually Brad just stood with his hands folded against his chest and watched me while I prepared lunch. We ate leisurely by the fireplace talking about nothing in particular. Now that we had expressed our love in an ultimate way possible, I felt closer to him than ever before. Like he was a part of me and I was a part of him.

"Where are you going after lunch?" I inquired.

"Leave it to me. Don't worry about it."

"Oh. C'mon, please..."

"Anand, just relax and enjoy you vacation. OK?"

I hated it. I always like to be in control. Plan things out. Even when I played a CD, I went to the extent of playing in the actual sequence, so that I know what song came next. It was just natural. And he was forcing me to do things the other way. It was so unnatural. It was like walking blindfolded in a maze. But I had no choice now. So I gave up. I felt whatever Brad did; he would do keeping my interests in mind.

After lunch, we dressed warm and drove towards the "village". It took about an hour to get there. He drove directly to the Madame Tussaud's wax museum. It was almost empty with it being Christmas eve and everything. It was awesome. I got to squeeze Will Smith's biceps. Wow. They are so life like. Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Mahatma Gandhi, Diana, Dalai Lama, The N Sync gang, Martina Navratilova, Jennifer Lopez, Ooh la la. I behaved like a kid let loose in a candy story. So much eye candy. Hehe.

By the time we got out it was already dinner time. Brad took me to the "Tavern on the green". Do you have any idea how expensive it is? It really is an experience like no other. All the lights and flowers...the entire setting was surreal. If I had kept my mouth open any longer, and if there were flies around, I am sure, at least one would have gotten in by now.

"You know I cannot afford all this..."

"Oh Andy, just leave it to me."

"But we have a deal."

"This one is my treat...for our friendship. The rest we can share equally OK?"

I had no choice and no money. "How in the world, did you get a reservation here?" I asked surprised. You know celebrities come here for dinners.

"I called ahead." He said casually.

"Oh my God, you've planned this all out, haven't you? This must have cost you a fortune." I said looking around and taking the ambience in.

"My parents make so much money. And they have only one son to spend it all." He grinned.

"Brad...you didn't have to do all this." I was overwhelmed and at the same time felt he might be doing all this out of guilt, like to make it up for his past actions.

"I am doing this, because I want to. Not because I need to. Now quit worrying and enjoy the dinner. To us!" he toasted.

It was a lovely dinner. And it was a lovely company. I had to control myself from getting misty in the eyes. This was so romantic. After dinner, I felt like asking where we were going next, but just let go. I didn't care, as long as I was with Brad. I thought one couldn't top the "Tavern on the green" thing...but he had planned one more thing to end the evening. Rockefeller Square of course.

"I don't know how to skate." I stiffened up as we neared the ring.

"I do. Just hold me." he helped me with my skates and took me by hands into the ring. It was fun. I felt like a drunkard who had lost control of his limbs. My legs were going in all the wrong directions. I just hung onto Brad. This was more romantic that dinner. Up close and personal. It was like there was no one around us. I got lost in him. I think we skated for like an hour before starting back home.

"Let's go in." I said as we were passing by the huge church on 5th Avenue.

"Church? You want to go to a church." He was surprised.

"Yea...why not?"

"OK." He took a 180 degree turn and stopped in front of the church. We got in and took the seats in the last row. It was a huge church, beautiful. The midnight mass had not yet started so we prayed for a few minutes and stepped out quietly.

"I didn't know you believed in Jesus." Brad was still surprised.

"I do believe in Him." I replied and whipped out more Indian thought. "Indian culture treats all religions as true and considers all pure beings who have worked towards the upliftment of the human kind as incarnations of God. Some call them Son of God, some call them Prophet, and Hindus call them incarnations. They all are the same. It is only petty people who cannot look beyond the books that fight in the name of religion."

"What?" I caught him staring at me.

"You talk like you are 80 years old." He laughed.

I pouted, hugged myself and looked away.

"Oh c'mon. I was only kidding." He pulled me to face him and planted a kiss on my cheeks.

"Brad! You just kissed me in public." I was open mouthed again.

"Yea, so...there is no one around."

"Still...you kissed me in public." I didn't expect him to open up so much so soon, although I was glad about everything that was happening.

"Ok, let's go home." He dumped me into the car and started driving home.

His phone rang and he didn't seem to care.

"Your phone is ringing."

"Yea, I know. It's my parents. Calling to wish me Christmas." He switched from happy to sad within a matter of seconds.

"And you are not going answer it?"

"If they really meant it, they would be here celebrating it with me." he sounded like he really did not want to talk about it but was being polite in answering my questions.

"Why don't you answer it? If they really didn't care, they wouldn't even call." I explained.

"Let's leave it OK?"

"Brad, you think they are not being good parents, but why don't you forgive them and try to be good son." I pursued.

He picked up when the phone rang again. It was a polite formal little conversation and they wished each other merry Christmas and it was over.

"Happy?" he was actually angry at me for making him do it.

"I am not because you are not. But think about it Brad, your parents must be so happy that you answered their call." I wondered how a child can hate his parents, and then of course, I've never gone through a terrible childhood.

"I am sorry. It all seems so fake to me." He apologized.

"It never is Brad. Your parents are doing what they think is the best way to love you. Saving a lot of money so that you'll never have to go without. But does it matter. You owe it to them, don't you?"

"You really talk like a grand mother." He chuckled.

"How mean..." I pretended to be angry again.

We fought all the way back home and collapsed into bed in each other's arms. No sex was needed. We were content in each other's embrace. It had been a wonderful day. And it was going to be a long wonderful night.

The next day morning I woke up with the butt of a huge teddy bear on my face. The tag tied around his neck read, "To the boy who's been sweet all year around - Your Santa. Ho ho ho..." I looked around for Santa but he was not here, but I did hear him in the kitchen.

"Hey, cooking again?" I crept up from behind him

"Trying..." he grinned.

"Merry Christmas" I went up to him and gave him a kiss.

"Thanks. Merry Christmas to you too." He gave me a squeeze.

"And thanks for the gift. I didn't get you anything." I really felt sorry and helpless. I made a mental note to get him something once we got back home.

"You spending time with me itself is a big gift." I gave me a sincere smile.

"Aren't you sweet...So what are you cooking?" I peeked in.

"You'll find out, now go brush..." he chased me away.

"I came back after 10 minutes to find two plates with toast, hot dogs, hot soup and orange juice neatly arranged on the coffee table by the fire place.

"Wow, this looks yummy." It at least looked much better the flat cookie like thing that he had cooked a few days ago.

So with such a wonderful start to the day, we spent the entire day chatting and making each other laugh, making out, making love again and again. Brad has incredible energy. Athletes. The next six days of the vacation too was some of the fantastic times I've ever had. We visited the Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, Empire State Building, Observatory, New York Skyride, New York Aquarium, The Hall of Science and tens of other places.

I had been to New York a couple of times before this, but never really saw the city that much. I hated it too. Too much crowd, too polluted, too dirty, too fast paced for me. Like I mentioned I love quiet places... a small home with nature all around, with beautiful hills and silent brooks surrounding the house would be an ideal place to live for me. Brad on the other hand, loved NYC. He loved the pace. He fed on the energy from the people. But after this trip I should say I started liking the city a little bit. It is not that bad.

All six days were special. Not just Christmas and New Year. But it was already time to return. We gathered all our stuff, packed and cleaned the house before starting to drive back home. It had really been one of the best vacations of my life. I had spent the last three weeks in the company of Brad and he had grown from just a friend to being a...being a...umm, a boy friend, if I may say so. I felt it was still too early to think of him as a boy friend, but I felt we were almost there. All this was too much thinking and the warm air from the car heater and the cold outside and the peace that had spread within me put me to sleep.

When I woke up, I found that we had already reached the University town, the car was parked on the side of a street, and Brad was talking with some girl. I couldn't help noticing that she had her arms wrapped around him and Brad has his hands on her shoulders. When they were done, she raised herself on her toes and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. That was all I was going to take. My heart broke into a million pieces and I got out of the car and started running towards our apartment, which was only a couple of blocks away.

Tears were pouring and I was totally shattered by what I saw. My faith in him was lost. I felt I couldn't trust him anymore. I cannot be with someone who is gay only until he finds a pretty girl. I've already had my share of heart aches and I was not ready to set myself up for one more. I was fumbling with my keys when Lei opened the door for me.

"Oh my. What happened?" she was concerned and confused.

Before she could close the door, Brad came running behind me.

"Andy, what happened?"

"Was he with you?" Lei asked

"Yea, we just got back from New York and I found Mary and I was talking with her...Oh dear, he is so silly. Andy, let me explain." He followed me into my bed room.

"You asshole. Why are you screwing my life over? I was doing just fine before you came along." I pushed him away. I could be a real bitch sometimes.

"She is just a friend, silly. Why are you so upset about such a little thing..." he tried to get closer to me.

"What is going on...will some one explain..." Lei stormed into room followed by a confused Jason.

"I don't know. I cannot continue like this. Brad I need to know whether you are gay or not."

"So what I am is more important than the fact that I love you, isn't it?" he got up from the bed and took a step back.

"I donno...I can't...What did you say?" I blinked at him.

"I said, I don't know, if I am gay or not. All I know is I...love...you." he spoke slowly as if he just realized what he had said.

All three of us were staring at Brad open mouthed. Brad had surprised himself too.

"Yea, I love you Andy. I really do. I just didn't realize it until now." He reasserted.

I didn't speak. I couldn't. It was the shock of the news.

"Do you?" he was on the verge of breakdown.

"Of course I do. I love you Brad." I got out of the bed and flung my arms around him in a tight embrace. "I love you Brad."

"Aww..."Lei got all emotional and got in between us into a group hug until Jason dragged her out of the room leaving us alone.

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Andy

First of all I apologize for the such a LONG gap. I graduated with a masters degree like a less than a month ago. I thought I whould have more free time on my hands after school was over. But it has been the other way. You know how you have so many things on your list waiting for this one big thing to end, so that you can distribute your time to them. I think that is what happened. Graduation parties, just taking a few days off, yoga programs, violin practises (though I should spend more time on this), friends and work (ugh). It's all settling down now, so there should not be such huge delays in the future - hopefully. Thank you for your continued support. I really appreciate it.

Please send comments, suggestions, questions to gay_love_fiction (at) yahoo (dot) com. Please mention the name of the story on the subject line. Joining the yahoo group is an easier way to get the story as soon as it is ready. I always post it there before I send it to Nifty.

My other story (completed) on Nifty is First Love.