Phalen - Finding Happiness
Chapter 29
by Roy Reinikainen
Jeff's eyes fluttered open to a bedroom glowing a warm yellow in the early morning light. In fact, it was warm; Phalen was nestled at his side, and he was content. The previous night's lovemaking had set him free, and he wasn't sure whether to shout . . . or weep . . . for joy. 'There are no more ghosts,' he thought to himself, shifting beneath the weight of Phalen's arm laying across his chest. 'I am free for the first time since I was seven years old.'
Phalen changed position, allowing Jeff to prop himself up on one elbow to study his brother and Larry, Phalen's father, where they lay in one another's arms, only a few feet away. Larry lay on his back with Greg nestled close, lying on his stomach.
'They are one of the reasons I was able to do it,' Jeff thought. 'They had faith in me.' He grinned. 'They held my . . . hand, and, along with Phalen, gave me strength.' He glanced at Phalen with a tender smile. 'Without these guys, I would still be cowering in the darkness filled with nightmares and evil laughing. I'd still be afraid of being touched.' He hesitated, realizing how far he'd come since meeting Phalen and his father. 'I wouldn't know what it is like to love . . . and to be loved.' He swallowed around a lump in his throat, closing his eyes in an attempt to banish the fear and anguish of his past.
He leaned close and gave the tip of Phalen's nose the barest hint of a kiss. As always, Phalen, even in his sleep, made a face, which caused Jeff to grin. "I love you," he whispered to the sleeping man.
He slowly swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood, stretching and luxuriating in his newfound sense of freedom. 'Damn, I feel good,' he thought, before making a slight face as he crossed the bedroom, heading for the pool, and his morning swim. 'I'm sure I'll become accustomed to walking funny. Though,' he continued, as he opened the doors to the back yard deck, 'given enough practice, this feeling of being stretched might start to feel normal.' He laughed aloud.
"I intend to practice often."
The long lap pool stretched before him, wisps of vapor rising from the warm water into the cool morning air. Around him, birdsong seemed to echo his happiness. Before diving into the water, he smiled and inhaled deeply of the fragrance of orange blossoms, which hung on the still morning air.
An hour later, he had finished his morning workout and had showered, while the others slept. He began rummaging about in the kitchen, confident that the smell of coffee brewing would awaken his brother. Greg was never one to sleep through a promised cup of coffee, nor the promise of a good meal. While the coffee brewed, Jeff leaned on the kitchen island countertop and flipped through the morning newspaper.
"Hyvaa huomenta," Greg murmured, wiping his eyes and yawning, as he walked into the room, naked.
"Good morning to you, too," Jeff responded. "I figured the smell of coffee would get you out of bed."
Greg grinned, as he gave his brother a kiss on the cheek; then turned to pour himself a cup of coffee. After the first sip he smiled and held the coffee out, as if in toast. "I'm glad that you're responsible for this, and not Phalen." Greg grimaced and shook his head. "That man could ruin boiling water." He leaned on the counter at Jeff's side. "How many times has he set off the smoke alarms?"
Jeff chuckled and nudged his brother with his shoulder. "I stopped counting. I figure that as long as there is no open flame, we can handle things, though the alarm monitoring people have asked me to ban him from the kitchen."
Both brothers laughed, each recalling Phalen's disastrous attempts at making an edible meal; then lapsed into a companionable silence, each seeming to read something in the newspaper spread out before them.
"Jeff?"
"Hmm?"
"Are you okay with what happened last night? I want a truthful answer. All of us did what we thought was best for each of us, but now, I'm wondering . . ."
"Ooooh yes." He grinned, aware he was blushing. "I was thinking earlier, that you guys have given me a gift more valuable than anything I can imagine. You've given me freedom from my past." He put an arm around Greg's shoulders and pulled him close. "Thank you, Greg."
He looked up as Larry joined them, following Greg's lead, and appearing in the kitchen in the nude.
"And, thank you Larry." Jeff leaned close as Larry stood next to Greg, taking a sip from his coffee cup. He sighed with pleasure, seemingly pleased to be sandwiched between the two brothers. "Did my brother mention the fact that you're an awesome kisser?" Jeff teased, pleased to see Larry blush.
"Yes I have," Greg interrupted. "Though until last night, Larry was the only guy I'd ever kissed."
"Did I hear someone mention kissing?" Phalen asked, walking from the bedroom and running one hand through his spiky hair, while he scratched his crotch with the other and yawned. When his question was met with an amused silence, he paused and looked up.
"Wha . . .?" He looked from one smiling man to the next; then toward his groin. "Why's everyone looking at me? I'm not even hard."
Larry hid a yawn behind a hand as he turned the key in the latch to the front door of his house. Greg stood at his side, grinning. "We didn't get much sleep last night, did we?" he asked, as they entered the house. He left Larry to sprawl on the living room sofa as he went to the kitchen to brew a pot of coffee.
Greg came back into the living room, followed closely by the coffee's fragrance. He snuggled close to Larry, who smiled and snaked an arm over Greg's shoulders. "I need to ask you something," he murmured, snuggling closer and wishing he and Larry were naked. Suddenly, clothing seemed to be so . . . encumbering.
"About last night," Larry mumbled, refusing to open his eyes, but tightening his arm, pulling Greg closer.
"Um hum."
"Ask away. But if it's a request to produce another load . . ."
Greg interrupted, laughing and nudging Larry, who grinned a response. "No, I'll ask that later."
"So?" Larry raised an eyebrow, still refusing to open his eyes.
"Do you feel as if I forced you into doing what we did last night?"
At this, Larry's eyes opened in surprise. "Forced!? Hardly! I loved it!" He glanced at Greg and realized the man wanted a less enthusiastic, more thought out answer. He leaned close and kissed Greg on the cheek. "No lover, you didn't force me." He grinned. "You may not have noticed, but I'm not a guy who's easily forced into anything. I have been known to make an unfortunate decision, as with my unlamented marriage, but I was not forced into even that. It turned out to be a bad decision, but it was my decision, just as last night was."
"You seemed to be hesitating."
Larry sighed. "Yeah. I thought that perhaps Jeff and Phalen might see our presence as an intrusion on their privacy." He huffed a laugh. "I should know by now that Phalen has almost no sense of privacy, at least where sex is concerned." Larry took Greg's hand.
"When I realized what you and Phalen were asking, I understood that the evening was not about privacy. Jeff needed us there, to help him. I realized that Phalen, having already spoken with you, must have come to the conclusion that Jeff needed more than him to overcome that last hurdle. If Phalen, by himself, had been enough for Jeff to reach his goal, it would have already happened. Jeff needed more support than Phalen could give." Larry grinned. "I must admit that I was also a little reticent, because of the feelings that I once had for Jeff."
"And, what are you feeling now . . . about my brother?"
Larry grinned. "I still love him . . . like a son. I love you like a lover. It's you that I want to be at my side every night. It's you that I want to spend my life with." He tightened his fingers. "Last night was fun, but I'm glad we're home, alone. I enjoy visiting Phalen and Jeff, but I want to spend most of my time with my lover.
"Does that answer your question?" he asked.
Margit set her coffee cup down and studied her husband's distracted appearance. The morning sun lit the terrace where they were having breakfast. Bright blossoms hung from the vine covering the overhead terrace, their spicy scent mixing with the heady scent of orange blossoms carried in on a breeze barely strong enough to move the tablecloth against the diners' legs. In the distance, the sun glinted off of Tempe Lake onto a monorail train crossing the bridge.
"Lost in thought, dear?" she asked, resting a long-fingered hand on top of his. "You didn't sleep well last night. What's bothering you?"
One corner of David's mouth twisted into a slight grin. "I finally fell asleep on the sofa in the sitting room. I would guess it must have been around four in the morning." The smile faded. "I was thinking."
Margit raised her eyebrows over the rim of a coffee cup, in a gentle request for an explanation.
"About our sons," David responded, looking out over the lake. "About their partners . . . and my checkered past." The words sent a chill through Margit, which she did her best to camouflage by buttering a muffin. "I find that I'm not so cured of being attracted to men as I thought," David continued. He toyed with his fork making crosshatch patterns through the remnants of his meal.
"I'm afraid of how I feel, Margit. I'm afraid of what my feelings could mean for the two of us." He reached across the table and grinned -- the smile which had melted her heart on their first date, those many years ago. "Last night, while I was pacing back and forth, I realized that no matter how strongly I feel about wanting to be with a man, my desires pale by comparison to how much I want to be with you." He squeezed her hand, and spoke in a voice rough with emotion.
"There is nothing more important to me than your love and your good opinion of me." He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it, pretending not to notice the tears forming in her eyes, and ignoring the watery blur he himself was experiencing.
"I want to go home, love," he said into the silence.
Margit moistened her lips and spoke, not sure she could trust her voice. "It's the middle of winter, David," she reminded him. "It'll be dark a good portion of each day. It'll also be very cold, and most likely, windy."
He tightened his fingers. "But that's where you'll be. That's where our life together is. That's where I want to be."
"When will we leave?" Margit asked, a thrill coursing through her body at her husband's words.
"As soon as possible," David answered. "I'll go downstairs and begin the arrangements; then I'll call Jeff and Greg and let them know that we'll be leaving."
Phalen turned the page of the book he was reading. He was sitting cross-legged on the sunroom sofa with a fire crackling in the nearby fireplace. He heard the bedroom door open, followed a moment later by Jeff's soft chuckle as he rested his erection on Phalen's shoulder.
Phalen turned his head and licked across the widely flaring head, then tilted his head back, looking up at Jeff and smiling.
"Someone's horny," he teased, as Jeff began sliding his erection back and forth over the fabric of Phalen's t-shirt. "And," Phalen continued. "He's drooling so much he's going to leave spots on my nice clean shirt."
"What are we going to do about it?" Jeff asked, now rubbing the length of his penis against the bare skin of Phalen's neck.
"You could go back into the bedroom and masturbate," Phalen offered. "That way, the next time you come in here, you wouldn't be drooling so much."
"Or," Jeff supplied, rocking his hips so his cock would slide up and down Phalen's neck, leaving a clear streak of pre-cum from the hair on the back of Phalen's head, to the neck of his shirt. "Or," he repeated. "you could get naked."
"Hmmm?" Phalen murmured, playing hard to get.
"I'm thinking how much I would like for us to wrestle on the bed, so you can get all sweaty. Then I can give you a tongue bath."
"And, after you've licked me clean?" Phalen asked, adjusting his erection.
"Then, you could fuck me," Jeff answered, once again resting his erection on Phalen's shoulder. "Having you inside me last night was wonderful, but when we're alone, it's much better."
"So," Phalen teased, once again turning and licking across the head of Jeff's cock. "So, you get to give me a tongue bath, and you get to be fucked." Phalen tilted his head back and smiled. "What do I gain from this proposition, other than pumping your butt hole full of, what . . . the fourth load of the day?" Phalen reached up to stroke the length of Jeff's penis, pausing a moment at the head to rub a finger across the piss slit, gathering up as much pre-cum as possible, then licking his finger clean.
"You get to lick my pits," Jeff suggested, milking out another pearl of clear liquid for Phalen to clean. "Then, you can squat on my tongue and I can get your asshole all sloppy-wet before I give you the fourth load of the day."
Jeff leaned forward and began nibbling on Phalen's ear. "When you fucked me, lover," he murmured. "You had no idea that you were creating a monster, did you?"
Phalen shivered beneath the touch of Jeff's tongue. "Nope," he chuckled. "But it's way cool. You're one of the best monsters I've ever seen." This time, instead of running his finger over the head of Jeff's cock, he teased the large piss slit with the tip of his tongue. "Hmmm," he murmured. "Totally awesome." He smiled as he tilted his head back. "Almost as good as licking my own jiz from your sloppy butt hole."
"Scoot down," Jeff urged, "and open wide."
Phalen, aware of what Jeff wanted, skinned out of his t-shirt, then shifted position so he was leaning back on the arm of the sofa. He opened his mouth and extended his tongue as Jeff moved closer, spread his legs slightly, and rested his scrotum against Phalen's tongue.
"You like my big balls?" Jeff asked, bending his knees slightly to allow Phalen more access to his low hangers. Phalen moaned and nodded as he sucked one of the large testicles into his mouth, leaving the other to rest on his chin, awaiting its turn.
"Which is better?" Jeff continued, pulling his captive testicle free and replacing it with the drooling head of his cock, on Phalen's tongue. "Which do you like better, my balls, my cock, or my asshole?" He slid his cock over Phalen's tongue then down his throat.
"Hmm?" he asked, removing his cock and leaving Phalen, glazed-eyed and open mouthed, gasping for a breath of air.
"Love 'em all," Phalen, managed, extending his tongue and turning his head in hopes of another taste of Jeff. "But, I love the taste of your sperm best," he concluded. "I love it when you shoot directly into my mouth, but best when you suck it out of my hole then share it with me." He reached up. "Kiss me, big man," he begged. "Lemme taste your tongue."
Phalen stood and anxiously stripped out of his shorts. "C'mon," he urged, "let's fuck right here on the sunroom floor. I love doing it in front of the fire." He sank to his knees and wiped Jeff's oozing cock head across his own cheek and mouth. He loved the spongy-firmness of the head, knowing that in a few minutes that same cock head would be sliding inside him. The same gaping piss slit which he now teased with the tip of his tongue, would be spraying a thick load of Jeff's sperm to coat his insides.
He pulled Jeff to the floor and urged him to lie on his back. "I'm gonna fuck you, big man," he murmured, positioning himself between Jeff's lean legs and pushing them back, exposing the pink skin and slight swell of Jeff's hole. "You love having my dick inside you, don't you?" he asked, as he rubbed the head of his cock over the pulsing opening.
Jeff squirmed beneath him. "You love having me shoot my seed inside?"
Jeff rolled his head from side to side and groaned an answer. Phalen leaned forward and plunged his tongue into the waiting hole, as Jeff held his knees back, giving Phalen full access, causing him to squirm beneath the onslaught of Phalen's tongue. "C'mon, Big Man," Phalen murmured in a husky voice, looking at Jeff with spit-wet cheeks and chin. "You 'bout ready for my dick?" he asked, teasing Jeff by licking over his perineum.
Jeff nodded once. "Yes, please," he begged. "Do it slow, lover. I want it to last."
Phalen chuckled as he positioned his erection at Jeff's hole and slowly penetrated him. "Easier said than done," he shivered. "Damn!" He tilted his head back, eyes closed, and took a deep breath through his open mouth. "This is so freaking awesome." He slid his full length into Jeff; then slowly pulled back until he almost withdrew. "Geez, it feels like a slippery hot glove's got a hold of my dick."
Phalen could Jeff's sphincter stretch to accommodate his thick cock. It was a tight fit, as the muscular opening expanded and contracted with each thrust.
Phalen's strokes were stronger now . . . faster. With each thrust, his balls would slap against Jeff's upturned butt.
"C'mon, Phalen," Jeff urged in a low voice. "Fill me up. Shoot your load deep inside me." Jeff rolled his head from side to side, reaching out to touch Phalen. "Damn," he groaned. "I never dreamt it could be like this."
"C'mon, lover," Jeff urged, tightening his sphincter's grip on Phalen's cock. "Do it!" Phalen gasped. Jeff could feel the cock penetrating him swelling; then Phalen's entire body trembled and seemed to twitch with each jet of cum he shot into Jeff's willing hole.
Phalen withdrew and began to lap at Jeff's sloppy hole. Jeff arched his back in reaction to what Phalen was doing to him, wrapping his legs around Phalen's shoulders, pulling him closer as Phalen sucked out his own jiz from Jeff's sloppy hole.
He lowered Jeff's legs, then crawled forward, straddling Jeff's body. He reached behind himself, positioning Jeff's erection at his hole; then, slowly sank down its full length, until Jeff's balls were snug against the skin of Phalen's buttocks. Phalen slid up and down a couple times then leaned forward and drooled out the load he had sucked from Jeff's hole, in a thick strand which slowly extended toward Jeff's tongue.
Jeff watched the thick white strand of sperm dangle from Phalen's tongue, anxiously waiting for it to coat his tongue. He loved the taste of Phalen's jiz. He liked how Phalen's cock would throb in his mouth. Then, after it had swollen, a moment before release, his mouth would be flooded with some of the thickest, tastiest sperm he could imagine.
The moment the strand of sperm broke free of Phalen's tongue and landed in his mouth, Jeff arched his back, thrusting his buttocks upward, and pulsed his load into Phalen's hole.
"But, Dad," Jeff said, the next morning. "Why do you have to leave so soon? I thought that maybe you would decide to stay permanently." He lowered both his eyes and voice. "Actually, I hoped both you and Mother would stay."
David steeled himself. 'I can't let him shake my resolve,' he told himself. He laid his hand on top of his son's, and squeezed. "Jeff. I can't do that. Don't you see?" Jeff gave his father an uncomprehending shake of his head.
"I want to stay, almost more than anything," he said, removing his hand from his son's. "But, if I do stay, I am positive I will do something to lose your mother's love."
"What?" Jeff asked. "What sort of thing?"
David shook his head in disbelief. "Can't you see it Jeff? Can't you see how being around you, Phalen, Greg, and Larry has made me want to be with a man again?" He stood, grasping the back of the dining chair. "I've been through this many times, and each time I found that I was not strong enough to pull away. Each time, I would give in to my desires and would have had a wonderful time, if I hadn't been hurting your mother by doing what I was doing.
"Your mother has gone through more, putting up with me, than any person should have to endure. Yet, endure she did." David paced across the room; then turned back, rubbing the back of his neck in frustration.
"Through it all -- through all the men, I never fell out of love with your mother. Now, I'm presented with another opportunity to do all of the things which got me into trouble in the first place. And, I won't give in to my desires." His voice rose. "Not this time. I can't." He flopped onto the cushion of the dining chair. "I won't."
"I'm going to miss you," Jeff murmured, his voice catching in his throat. "I feel as if I've only begun to have a father, and now you'll be gone."
"I'll miss you, too." David reached across the table and took his son's hand.
"Both of us have come a long way in a very short period of time, haven't we?" Jeff gave his father a rueful smile.
"It has been a long road," Jeff murmured.
"And what have you learned, while on the journey?" David asked.
Jeff thought a moment, bowing his head. "I've learned that I am stronger than I ever thought possible. I've learned to let the people who care about me, help me through the difficult times; but basically, I've learned that no one should live in the past, as I did, for so many years. You just keep going." He swallowed. "You just . . . go on."
He looked up with a resolve his father had never seen. "There's nothing more to life than learning from our past, and growing. There's no trick to make things easier." He bowed his head. "You just go on."
"And what have you found at the end of the road?" David asked.
Jeff looked up, his blue eyes shining. "I haven't reached the end of the road yet, but what I have found is . . . happiness."
~ the end ~
Thank you all for being loyal readers. I have appreciated, more than you can know, the many hundreds of email messages I've received since I began this story. You all have become important parts of my life, just as Phalen, Jeff, and the rest of the characters in the story have.
There are a few individuals who have become especially important to me, because of their constant support, their ideas, and their help in making each chapter presentable.
I am forever indebted to Carey for being a mentor since my first attempts at writing. Gwynne, has always been nearby, keeping me on track and rolling her eyes in exasperation whenever I have strayed too far off course. Jere, has acted as an invaluable sounding board, as have Steven, and my partner, Gary. Each of these people is as much responsible for the Phalen series as I am. My name appears at the top of each chapter, yet they stand behind my name and make me look good. Thanks to you all.
An Excerpt from Phalen - Story Three
Reputation and Honor
"See ya, Marty," Paul Stevens, the team's left fielder, called. "Here's one more for you!" Marty reflexively reached out and plucked the damp towel out of the air.
"Great catch," someone called. "You could play baseball!" The comment was met with rounds of good-natured laughter, which floated on the air, much like the warm mist hanging in the humid air adjacent to the open showers.
"I am a baseball player!" Marty shouted. "Not your personal maid," he finished, in a lower voice. "Not anyone's personal servant." The remaining sounds echoing in the large room faded as Marty passed up and down each row of lockers, picking up towels, and whatever debris the athletes on the baseball team had left behind. The team had returned earlier in the morning from a road trip, adding two more victories to their already impressive list. The victories, and an unexpected afternoon without a practice, left the entire team in a party mood. The newspapers had ranked the team the top in the country, and everyone was heading out to celebrate. 'Everyone on the team,' he amended himself.
In the distance, a single door closed, cutting off the last muffled conversation.
Marty, the team's trainer, shook his head in resignation, stooping to pick up another towel. "Slobs," he muttered, inhaling deeply of the humid air redolent of old jockstraps and naked athletes. The scents caused him to smile. 'Am I the only person around here who enjoys the smells of a locker room?' he thought. 'Well, not only the smells, but the sights too.' He stepped into the shower room and turned off the water from a still-spraying shower, shaking his head at the laziness of some of the players. "I'm not your friggin' servant," he muttered.
Stepping out of the shower, he stooped to gather up a few more towels and tossed them one by one into the soiled laundry hamper as if he were shooting a ball long distance in a basketball game.
"Three-for-three," he shouted, playfully raising his arms and dancing in a small circle, celebrating the game winning throws before an ecstatic crowd. "Marty Kelly's game-winning shots will go down in school history!"
The imaginary cheers faded, as did his smile. 'I should be on the team, not cleaning up after them,' he told himself, snagging a sweaty jockstrap from where it was draped over the top of one of the locker doors. He brought it to his nose and inhaled deeply.
"Pervert," he teased himself, aloud, draping the stained jockstrap over his head after briefly sucking on the garment's pouch.
"Who are you calling a pervert?" The disembodied voice came from a row of nearby lockers, in a room Marty would have sworn was abandoned. He stopped, captivated by the playful tone in the person's voice.
"I was speaking about myself," he responded to the air, turning down the row of lockers, in search of the tenor's owner, the limp jock still hanging from his neck.
"Sorry, if you thought I was calling you names," he said to the naked man smiling up at him, from a position on the wooden bench running down the aisle between the row of open lockers. The guy was sitting cross-wise on the wooden bench, with his legs crossed, and his back against the wall. His all-over tan glowed almost as brightly as his smile and sparkling blue eyes.
"I don't mind being called a pervert," the naked man responded, his smile becoming almost blinding. "In fact, I sorta like it." The eyes took on a mischievous look, hinting at a fun-loving person. "I would suggest that if you're going to wear a jock, instead of wearing it around your neck, you should strip naked, then stuff yourself into it. Though I do think, if you're wearing it for the . . . ahem . . . fragrance . . . draping it around your neck would be best."
Marty fingered the stained fabric and blushed.
"Hi," the naked man said, in greeting. "My name's Phalen." He raised a well-muscled arm, causing the muscles of his chest to flex. At the same time, he revealed the black hair of an armpit and pubes, and a limp penis curving over a tight scrotum.
Marty felt a tightening in his groin. "Hi." He shook Phalen's han then sat down, straddling the wooden bench and faced a person he was confident would become a close friend. "I'm Marty."
~ to be continued, in Phalen - Reputation and Honor ~
Thank you for taking the time to read my work I welcome your email and enjoy hearing your thoughts. If you would like me to send you a pic of the character(s), please ask.
My stories on Nifty include: Phalen (located in the Gay College Section) Phalen - Finding Happiness (Gay College Section) Phalen - Reputation and Honor (Coming Soon) Chris (Gay College Section) Leith (Gay College Section) - incomplete Owen (Gay College Section Wesley (Adult Relationships Section) Jess (Gay Incest Section) Travis (Gay Incest Section)
I hope you enjoy them all.