Nick and the Altos

Nick and the Altos, Part 8

Nick and the Altos, Part 8

Hope you all are continuing to enjoy the story. I hope you didn't seriously think anything was going to happen like Nick and Mikey jumping into bed together after the little incident in my spa. Nick may be cute, but I just don't do stuff like that.

Many thanks to those of you have emailed me. I guess one of the things that is sort of a tradition on here is for authors to mention some of their favorite stories... I have been an avid reader of quite a few: Brian and Me, Lance in Shining Armour, Studio in the Country, Lucky Me, Not Meant to Be, Twist of Fate, Mile High Romance and the list goes on. My email address is mikeylikesit80@hotmail.com if you feel inclined to write and let me know what you think or just want to chat.

Now on to the standard disclaimers. I doubt that anything I write will make any difference since if you found this little gathering place on the World Wide Web you're probably going to go ahead and read what's here no matter what anyone says. But here it goes anyway...

If you have a problem reading about guys who like other guys as something more than just friends, you need to go find some other place to poke around. If you are under the legal age to read erotic fiction where you live, you probably wouldn't get in trouble for reading this story, but you really don't belong here. And most importantly, many of the names mentioned in this story have been changed to protect the guilty (or is that supposed to be the innocent?). Under no circumstances will I disclose whether or not I actually know any of The Backstreet Boys or any other celebrity who may make an appearance. Nor do I believe in outing people, so I will not disclose any information about the true sexual orientation of anyone mentioned in this story.

Previously in the story of Nick and the Altos

"Come on Nick, just get it over with..."

"All right," he said as he stood up very slowly and walked over to the side where I was sitting. He stepped up on to the seat and sat down on the ledge and there he was in all his glory about five feet away from me.

I looked up at his face and smiled at him.

"So now I know why they call you little Nicky!" I said, laughing so hard I almost fell off the ledge.

"Hey, I'm not that small. Jeez, what an asshole..."

I continued laughing at him.

"I'm just kidding, Nick. It looks pretty nice to me. So are you ready for bed?" I asked.

"So you've seen mine, now show me yours," Nick said with a grin.

"Sorry, Nicky, but I don't play that game. And I'm not one of those gay guys who tries to score with straight and bi guys, no matter how cute they are."

"So you think I'm cute, do you?"

"Yeah, I do," I replied.

"So what if I wasn't one of those straight or bi guys?" Nick asked.

'Oh, shit' I thought to myself, this conversation is heading somewhere way too dangerous for me right now.

"I guess I would say that I'm still not ready to show you mine. But I'm not saying I wouldn't give it serious consideration for some time in the future."

"I guess I can live with that," Nick said as he stood up and walked over to where he had left his towels, wrapping one around his waist.

I continued sitting on the ledge looking at where he had been sitting. He had done it to me again. More hints but still nothing concrete. I didn't want to put him on the spot and, to be honest, right now with everything that was going on with Angela and my grandfather, it just wasn't a good time to make my life even more complicated.

"So, Mikey, are you going to sit there all night? I thought you wanted to go to bed."

I got up and grabbed my towels and we walked into the house. We stopped in the kitchen where I got another bottle of water to take upstairs.

"Just so you know, I always set the security system when I head up for bed. The front door is locked, as are the doors into the backyard. The courtyard doors can stay unlocked in case you want something from in here. Just don't open an exterior door until I've disarmed the security system."

"Ok, Mikey, but I doubt I will need to come over here. So what time do you usually get up in the morning?"

"Gracie will prolly wake me around 7 to go for her walk. Hopefully it won't be that early tomorrow, though, since I don't have to be anywhere early."

"Want some company for the walk?"

"Sure, we usually go down to the beach so she can play in the surf."

"I'll definitely go then."

"Cool," I replied, "See you in the morning then."

I started to head down the hallway to the stairs when Nick stopped me and gave me a hug. It lasted a little longer than I expected and, while I may be wrong about this, I swear I felt him start to get a little excited down there.

"Thanks, for everything, Mikey," he said as he let go and turned to go out to the guest room.

I stood there for a few seconds, mentally scratching my head, and watched him walk across the courtyard and go into his room. Once he had closed the door, I turned and went upstairs. After a quick shower to rinse off the chlorine, I pulled my boxers back on and then pulled on a tee shirt. I opened several windows on the ocean side of my bedroom and one of the French doors out onto the veranda to give myself a nice breeze. Then I crawled under the covers and lay there thinking about the cute guy who was sleeping across the courtyard. It took me a while to fall asleep. Surprise, surprise...

After he closed the door to the courtyard, Nick stopped and leaned up against it. He wanted so badly to go back out and find Mikey and tell him the truth. It felt so special when they were doing things together. And when he and Mikey had walked down the stairs the night before holding hands, it had felt so right and he hadn't wanted to let go.

The problem was he was so afraid that it wouldn't be fair to Mikey to start something. There was the situation with Angela that made things difficult and then how could he expect Mikey to deal with his constant touring. Mikey deserved a boyfriend who would always be there for him, not some guy who was running all over the country and around the world.

So Nick did what he thought was the right thing, he got undressed, took a shower and then climbed into bed and tried to go to sleep. Sleep didn't come too quickly because he couldn't stop thinking about Mikey, wishing that he was laying in bed next to him.

Gracie actually took pity on me Sunday morning. She didn't get up until close to 8:00. Once she did, though, there was no laying in bed. When I couldn't ignore her any more, I rolled out of bed and went into the small half bath that is part of the bedroom. After peeing and brushing my teeth, I went into the closet and looked through the drawers until I found a clean, long-sleeved tee shirt and put it on over the one I had slept in. I pulled out a pair of CK lounging shorts and grabbed some socks and a pair of shoes and started down the stairs.

Gracie passed me before the landing and nearly knocked me over in her rush. I turned off the security system and then let her out into the yard. Then I started the most important task of the day -- making a pot of coffee.

Once the coffee maker was doing its thing, I decided I should go wake Nick and see if he still wanted to go walking with us. I walked across the courtyard and knocked on the door. When there was no answer, I opened the door and called his name. Still no answer. So I went inside and went over and stood at the entrance to the bedroom. I could see him sleeping, cuddled up to one of the pillows. He looked so peaceful that I just stood there for a minute, almost transfixed.

Then I noticed this smile appear on his face and saw his eyes start to open.

"So are you just going to stand there all morning," he said.

"When did you wake up?" I asked.

"Well, I think I started to wake up when you knocked. I was definitely coming around when you called out my name. So I decided to lay here and see what you would do next."

"You couldn't wait very long with out giving yourself away," I said.

"No, I guess that's pretty obvious. You just make me smile when I'm around you..."

"Aww, that's nice to hear," I said, "So can I bring you a cup of coffee or do you want to join me in the kitchen?"

"I'll come with you to the kitchen," he replied as he threw back the covers and sat up.

"Nick, you don't have anything on!" I said sort of shocked.

"I know, I just crawled into bed after taking a shower last night. It's not like I have an over abundance of clothes, you know."

I have to admit, I caught myself admiring his body and didn't exactly respond in a timely manner.

"Oh, Mikey, something catch your eye?" he said laughing.

"Huh, uh, not really," I replied, turning totally red in the face.

"I figure after last night, there isn't a whole lot left to your imagination," he said.

"Um, that's true," I said as I turned and started back towards the kitchen. "See you in a couple of minutes, with some clothes on."

"Ok, cutey."

God, he was driving me crazy. I was starting to think that he was just having a good time teasing me. But it wasn't really feeling like that, it was feeling more like torture. I was starting to really seriously want to hold him and kiss him and... Damn, him!!! I wasn't ready to move that quickly with anyone, even someone I liked as much as I did Nick. Arggg!!!

I poured myself some coffee and doctored it up with sugar and creamer. Then I went out on the back patio to see what was keeping Gracie entertained. Fortunately she wasn't digging away, just grazing on the grass. When she saw me she stopped and trotted over to where I was standing. I walked over and sat on the low wall at the edge of the patio and she joined me, pestering me to scratch her behind the ears. I obliged. Dogs are so easy to keep happy, why couldn't people be as easy.

A couple of minutes later, Nick appeared with a cup of coffee. This time he was dressed. He sat down in one of the chairs and Gracie abandoned me to go after her new victim. She sat down in front of him. He didn't move. She scooted closer. He didn't move. She scooted up between his legs and rested her chin in his lap. He didn't move. Then she started nudging him sort of close to his crotch.

"Jeez, did you train your dog to check out guy's packages for you?" he asked with an amazingly straight face.

"Yep, then she either gives them a thumbs up or a thumbs down," I replied. "So Gracie, what's the verdict?"

She got up and went over to the door to the dining room and lay down.

"Looks like she cast her vote... Not enough there to be interesting according to her."

"I'll have you know there's nothing wrong with what's down there. It works just fine," he said sounding a little offended.

"Nicky, you are so easy to tease. I have absolutely no complaints about what you have there." At that point I couldn't contain myself any longer and I started giggling so hard I almost spilled my coffee.

"You had best not be laughing about my equipment," he said.

"Nope, just how gullible you are. So are you ready for a walk to the beach?"

"Yeah."

"Ok, time for a refill and then we can make like a prom dress..."

"And head out?" he continued.

"Yep."

We both got up and went inside and filled our coffee mugs. Then we went down the hall to where Gracie was patiently waiting. After putting the leash on her, I armed the security system and then we left through the front door.

We took my normal route down to the beach and sat on the sand while Gracie played in the surf. She seemed extra energetic today, but I assume that was because she hadn't been to the beach in a couple of days. Nick and I just sat and watched her as she played. Every once in a while she would go chasing after a seagull that was flying by. We probably stayed on the beach for 30 minutes or so when I noticed that she was starting to wander off, a sure sign it was time to head home.

I called after her and she stopped, looked back over her shoulder, and then trotted off a little further.

"Aren't you going to go after her?" Nick asked.

"Nope, I learned that lesson months ago. If I follow her then she thinks it's a game of keep away and she just keeps going. What we do now is start walking away from her. Let's go."

We got up and started walking slowly back down the beach. Sure enough, within 30 seconds she came flying past us and stopped about a hundred feet in front of us. Then she turned and came racing back and ran right between the two of us.

"Jeez, I thought she was going to run into me," Nick said.

"Yet another one of her games... Kamikaze."

"Well, you can't say she doesn't have a strong personality!"

"That's for sure, there's rarely a dull moment with her."

"Com'ere, Gracie," I called out.

She just stood and looked at me for a few seconds and then ran up to me and sat, just like she was trained to do.

"I'm impressed."

"I'm shocked," I said.

After I clipped the leash to her collar, we started the climb back up the hill. Nick was breathing pretty hard when we got home.

"So, you going to need a nap now?" I asked.

"Ha, ha... jerk."

"So what do you want for breakfast?"

"I could go for some waffles, as long as they aren't the frozen kind."

"Jeez, picky this morning, aren't you?"

"Well, you asked and I answered. So what, your culinary expertise is lacking? I thought all you gay boys were good cooks."

"I'm not saying I can't cook, it just I don't know what's here to cook with. I usually do my shopping on Sunday afternoon. Now I know I can do some bagels, cereal and stuff like that."

"Ok, I guess we can go see what Mrs. Hubbard left in the cupboard..."

We went into the kitchen and I took some bagels out of the freezer and we toasted them. I had some bananas that were too ripe for my taste but Nick was able to stomach them. Another cup of coffee and we were all set.

"So, Nick, how are you fixed for clothes at this point?"

"Well, it's getting a little tight, but I should have a bunch of stuff waiting when we get to Beaver Creek."

"What the Hell, let's go shopping. Think you can keep up with me?"

"Oh, I'm sure that won't be a problem," he replied.

We headed off to our respective bedrooms and showered and got dressed, meeting in the kitchen a half hour later. I locked up and then we took off in the BMW, since it has a much bigger trunk. We cruised up to South Coast Plaza and were ready and waiting when Saks opened it's doors.

I actually didn't do that much buying for myself, but Nick bought a couple of changes of clothes, underwear and a bathing suit. He didn't draw too much attention, mainly because it was pretty early so the store wasn't too crowded yet. I would have liked to wander around the mall and see what else there was that we couldn't do without, but we decided it was better to leave quietly.

Not being in a rush to get home, I headed down the 405 to Laguna Canyon and took it over to Laguna Beach. Traffic wasn't too bad, by Laguna Beach standards anyway. I wandered around until I found a place to park and then we got out and walked around town for about an hour. Nick definitely drew some stares and he did several autographing stops while we were there. As the pedestrian traffic started to increase, we meandered back to the car and headed North on PCH.

We made it home pretty quickly. It was getting close to 1:00, so I told Nick we needed to get ready to leave for the airport in a half hour. I went upstairs to back a few things and Nick went to his room to get organized. At 1:30 I put my stuff in the BMW, folded the back seat down for Gracie and then took her out to the backyard so she could pee before we left.

When we got back inside, Nick had put his clothes in the car and we locked all the doors and set the security system. Then it was off to the airport.

We got to the Newport Jet Center right on schedule and I put the leash on Gracie. We grabbed our bags and headed inside the terminal. My plane was just being towed up when we walked out on to the ramp. The door opened and the stairs dropped down. Cindy, my pilot, stepped down out of the plane.

"Hi, Mikey, who's your date?" she said.

"Cindy, this is my FRIEND, Nick," I replied.

"Hi, Cindy," Nick said.

"Hi there, Nick. Nice to meet you."

"Hi, Gracie," she said as she leaned over and scratched the dog's ears.

"So we assumed you wanted to fly into JeffCo. Right?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's easiest," I replied.

"Did you arrange for a car?"

"Not yet," I replied.

"I'll go take care of that while I check to see how Tommy is coming along with the flight plan and the food."

"Great, Cindy. We'll go ahead and stow our things and get Gracie on board," I said.

"See you in a few minutes, then."

I opened the baggage compartment and stuffed our bags inside. Then I climbed the steps and Nick lifted Gracie up to me. As soon as she was inside she went tearing around the cabin. Nick climbed the steps and we went inside.

"Wow, this is nice and spacious for a business jet," he commented.

"Thanks, it's nice having the wide body."

"You mean this is yours?"

"Yeah, who did you think it belonged to?"

"Your parents."

"Nope, too small for them."

"So what is it?"

"It's a Bombardier Challenger."

"Hmmm, never heard of it."

"You must have heard of Sea-Doo, though?"

"Like, duh, who hasn't?"

"Bombardier owns them."

"No way!"

"Yep, come check it out."

I showed him where the galley and the head were located. The cabin is configured with two seats on each side at the front and a couch behind them on one side that could probably seat three in a pinch. There is a flat panel display on the side opposite the couch which can either display movies or be used as a computer monitor. I had stuffed a couple of DVDs in my pack in case we wanted to watch movies.

We sat down on the couch and Gracie curled up by my feet. A few minutes later Cindy and Tommy climbed on board. While Tommy was closing the door, Cindy came back to tell us that everything was set to fly into the Jefferson County Airport and that a car would meet us. She offered us drinks but we said we would get something ourselves once we were airborne.

When Tommy came back to put the food in the refrigerator, I introduced him to Nick. Tommy was definitely checking him out. When everything was secured, he started up towards the cockpit.

"We'll give you guys some privacy during the trip," Tommy said.

"No big deal, Tommy, feel free to come back if you need anything from the galley," I replied.

"Ok, Mikey... Thanks."

"He thinks you're cute, Nicky," I said.

"He's right, I am!" Nick replied.

"Didn't you see how he was checking you out?"

"No, you mean he's gay?" Nick asked.

"Duh, where'd you get the clue, Sherlock?"

"So have you two joined the Mile High Club together?"

"Yeah, right," I replied.

"Well, he is pretty cute..." Nick said.

I'm sure I got this puzzled sort of look on my face, because Nick smiled at me a few seconds later. Then Cindy and Tommy started the engines and pretty soon afterwards we were taxiing down to the end of the runway. Since there were no commercial departures scheduled at the time, we were rolling down the runway without much delay. A far cry from what it is like at 7:00 A.M. when the John Wayne Airport's curfew is over.

We took off out over Newport Beach and the ocean and began a sweeping turn as we approached Catalina. We flew pretty much over my house and climbed to 37,000 feet for the two hour flight to Colorado. I got up and went to the galley and got a couple of cans of Pepsi and gave one to Nick.

"So what do you want to watch? Your choices are The Prince of Egypt and Usual Suspects."

"Let's watch Usual Suspects," Nick replied.

I turned on the system, mounted the DVD and sat back down on the couch after closing the shades over all of the windows. We started watching the movie. After about a half hour, I noticed my eyelids getting heavy. The next thing I remember, Nick was shaking my shoulder to wake me up. I was laying on the couch with my head resting on his lap. Gracie was curled up on the floor next to his feet.

"I'm sorry, Nick," I said as I sat up quickly.

"What's there to be sorry about?"

"Using you as a pillow."

"Why would that bother me, we're really close friends."

"Yeah, but still..."

"Mikey, I'm serious, it didn't bother me at all. In fact, it sorta made me feel good."

Here we go again, or maybe it's more appropriate to say here goes my brain again. What's going on between us?

"Tommy came back a few minutes ago and said we would be landing in about ten minutes, so I figured it was time to wake you up."

"Tommy saw us like that?"

"Yeah, he said we make a cute couple."

"Great, I hope you told him we aren't a couple."

"I just said thanks."

"Great, Nick, now he thinks he's right."

"Better that than having him make a pass at me."

"I guess," I said as I got up and ejected the DVD from the player and shut down the theater system.

I offered Nick something to drink and then sat back down and we relaxed as we approached the airport. After we touched down I got back up and threw our trash into the bin and packed things back up. We taxied up to the terminal and Tommy opened the door. Nick and I descended the stairs as a Town Car pulled up. Tommy lifted Gracie down to me.

The driver recognized Nick immediately as he opened the back door to the car.

"Mr. Carter, I would like to welcome you and your guest to Denver."

"Thanks, but I'm the one who is the guest," Nick replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr..." he said to me.

"Michael Alto," I said.

"Where are we off to this afternoon?" he asked.

"Lookout Mountain," I replied, "I'll guide you after we exit the freeway."

"Ok, do you have any luggage?"

"Yes, I'll open the luggage compartment so we can get our bags."

Tommy and Cindy had exited the plane and Tommy had already removed Nick's and my bags from the plane. He handed them to the driver, who placed them in the trunk of the car.

"So what are your plans for heading home?" I asked Cindy.

"We're probably going to go up to Boulder for an early dinner and then fly back home this evening," she replied.

"Well, I guess I'll see you in a few days. I'm not sure when I'm heading home yet, so I'll call the office when I decide."

"Sounds good, Mikey," Cindy said.

Nick, Gracie and I got in the car and the driver pulled away from the airport. It took about 45 minutes to get to the Lookout Mountain exit off I-70, thanks to the traffic. I was really glad we weren't going the other way because it was much worse as people were heading home from the weekend. After we exited the freeway, I gave the driver directions to my house.

"Where are we going?" Nick asked as we turned into the driveway.

"It's a surprise," I told him.

The driveway isn't all that long, maybe 300 yards, but it curves around and climbs the hill. You can't see the house until you come up behind it. Actually, all you see even at that point is the garage and a walkway. The driver pulled up to the walk and stopped, opened the door for us and then got our bags out of the trunk.

After the driver left I led the way down the walk to the front door. I unlocked the door and we went inside.

"So Mikey, is this another one of your parent's houses?"

"Nope, it's my house. I bought it when I was in college."

"So exactly how many houses do you own?" Nick asked.

"Just this one and the one in Newport Beach, at least at this point," I replied.

I showed Nick around, opening some windows at the same time to let fresh air inside. It isn't a huge place. Two bedrooms, a study and a great room with a nice deck that looks out through the pine trees at the city. I opened one of the sliding glass doors and let Gracie go out and check out the state of her yard.

We carried our bags into the two bedrooms and then grabbed a couple of drinks and went out on to the deck and sat down. Nick checked out the view of Denver and the plains while I paid more attention to how the yard was doing after the Winter. There were some bulbs that were in bloom but it was way too early for the wildflowers to be growing yet.

After about 20 minutes Gracie came hauling ass up the stairs and lay down between the two of us.

"She sure has gotten comfortable around you, Nick."

"Yeah, she's really a great dog."

"So what do you feel like for dinner? We'll have to go to the grocery to pick up stuff for dinner and breakfast."

"How about we grill some steaks or chicken?"

"That works for me. I have a few things to take care of inside and then we can head into town."

I went inside and checked out the cupboards and the pantry to see what I had sitting around. Then I put a six-pack of Pepsi in the refrigerator. I went out to the garage and brought some wood in and stacked it by the fireplace for later that night, expecting the temperature to drop into the low 30's over night.

"You ready?" I called out to Nick.

He and Gracie came inside and we went out to the garage and got into my Grand Cherokee. It started right up after sitting for almost a month. I backed out of the garage and closed the door.

"You didn't lock the house," Nick said.

"I don't worry about it here. We're only going to be gone for an hour or so."

I drove down to Lakewood, where the closest King Soopers was located. We picked up steaks, stuff for a salad and some fresh veggies. I was amazed as usual by how much better the fresh fruits and veggies were in Colorado, compared to Southern California, not to mention how much cheaper. Nick decided that we should go all out for breakfast, so he picked up some eggs, bacon, hash brown potatoes and bread while I went and got some coffee beans and creamer.

After going through the checkout line with no interruptions, we started back to the car. I guess we were getting a little careless because before we knew it, we were surrounded by a group of screaming girls. Actually, Nick was the one who was surrounded as they quickly shoved me out of the way. I was really shocked at how intent they were on getting close to him. He gave me this helpless look and tried talking to them to get them to calm down.

I decided the best thing for me to do was to go get the car and drive it over to where they were huddled around him. I was back in the car within a couple of minutes, and while they were calmer than before, it didn't look like Nick was going to be able to escape any time soon. I drove as close as possible without risking hitting someone and opened the passenger door. Gracie jumped from the back to the rear seat and I lowered the window a few inches and then she started barking very aggressively.

This startled the girls enough that Nick was able to duck out of the circle and jump into the car and shut the door.

"Drive!" he yelled.

I turned the wheel and nailed the gas and we took off before they knew what had happened.

"I can't believe how crazy they were!" I said.

"Jeez, that was mild. They didn't grab at my clothes or anything. It really gets bad when there are hundreds, not just the 20 or 25 we ran into here."

"This was more than enough for me."

"Thanks for the quick rescue," he said.

"Don't thank me, all I did was get the car. Gracie is the one who did all the work. She usually doesn't bark like that."

Nick turned around on the seat and reached into the back seat and scratched Gracie around her ears.

"Thanks, girl, you saved me big time!"

Originally I had planned to do more shopping, but I decided we had had enough excitement for the afternoon. So I drove directly back to the house, other than to stop and fill the gas tank so we wouldn't have to worry about it in the morning.

Once we got home we put the food away and then I started a fire in the fireplace. After it was going, I went out on the deck and fired up the grill. I also stopped to check the temperature of the hot tub. It was perfect at 104 degrees.

"So Nick, are you going to use that bathing suit you got this morning if we go in the hot tub later?"

"Why?"

"Oh, I don't think I could take the nude Nicky thing two nights in a row," I said laughing.

"You mean you don't like the way I look without anything on?"

"I didn't say that, I said I didn't think I could take it two nights in a row."

"Oh, so what you're really saying is that you were so attracted to what you saw that you don't think you could control yourself again..."

At that point I started blushing in a major way.

"Well it looks like I hit that nail on the head," Nick said. "Don't worry, Mikey, I trust you, but if it will make you more comfortable, I'll wear the suit."

"Thank you, Mr. Teen Idol Fantasy boy."

"Oh, God, don't remind me..."

"Ok, fantasy boy, are you cooking the steaks or are you working the kitchen?"

"I'll do the grilling," he replied, "How do you like yours cooked?"

"Medium to medium-well for me."

Nick took the steaks out of the packaging, sprinkled salt and pepper on them and went out on the deck to start cooking. I set to work in the kitchen steaming the veggies and tossing the salad. After setting the table, I walked out on the deck to join Nick who was being ably assisted by Gracie.

"This is the first dog I have ever played with who doesn't like to fetch."

"Same here. About three throws of a ball is about all you get before she loses interest."

"I think these will be done in about five minutes."

"The veggies will be a little bit longer, but that will give the steaks some time to cool. So, I know you are still under age, but if you would like, I'll open a bottle of wine."

"I could go for a glass of wine, old man."

"What do you mean old?" I said, "I'll show you old this week, punk."

"Oh, how's that?"

"You know how to ride a bicycle?"

"Duh, is the Pope a Catholic?"

"Ok, wise ass, you are sinking deeper and deeper into that hole you are digging yourself," I said, laughing to myself.

"I'm going to check on the veggies. See you when you finish playing chef..."

I went back inside and picked a nice Merlot from my wine rack, pouring a couple of glasses. A few minutes later Nick and Gracie were back inside with the steaks. While he was setting them on the plates, I decided it had cooled off enough to close up the house, so I went around shutting the open windows.

When I got back to the kitchen, the veggies were perfectly done, so we helped ourselves and took our plates to the table. The wine was delicious, the steaks were cooked just right and we had a very pleasant dinner. Afterwards we washed the dishes since we weren't staying long enough to think about using the dishwasher. Then I fed Gracie and we went back out on the deck while she went for a post dinner excursion.

Nick and I stood side by side on the deck, leaning up against the railing, looking out over the city. The night was very clear and the view of the city was spectacular. I could stay outside for hours enjoying the smell of the pine trees and the sound of the breeze blowing through the branches. The peace was interrupted when Gracie came back up on the deck after about ten minutes.

"So are you interested in jumping in the hot tub?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, it sure helped my aching body last night."

"Ok, my turn to wear a bathing suit and your turn for skinny dipping."

"I don't think you could handle seeing what a real man looks like under his clothes."

"Oh, yeah," he said, "Try me!"

Well, that's it for Part 8 of Nick and the Altos. Stay tuned for Part 9. It should be ready towards the end of the week, work permitting. Any comments, suggestions or whatever, email me at mikeylikesit80@hotmail.com.

Thanks for reading... Mikey