The following fictional story deals with sex among males. If you are offended by such material, are too young, or reside in a location where it is not allowed, please depart. Though not observed in this story, care enough about yourself and humankind to practice safe sex.
The author retains all rights. EvanBradley33@Yahoo.com
Chapter 25 Loving Plots and Machinations
The Winston Construction Company Trailer
Bobby and Angie had arrived for work together, leaving Randy and Esteban sleeping in each other's arms, victims of jet lag. The visitors were weary, for none of the "getting ready to go to work" noises had awakened the two. Bobby and Angie had tried to be as quiet as possible. The two visitors would need their strength: Angie knew that after work, they would have to have a "sit-down" to decide what to do about their parents. As resolved as Randy was to come out to his parents, she knew he was dreading it. Esteban doubly so. Whenever the subject came up, he moved somewhere else. She wondered if he imagined there would be physical violence. She hoped Randy had tried to assuage his fears. 'Oh!' she realized. 'Bobby's been through this with me. We need to make this as easy as possible for the guys.' She was resolved to enlist Bobby in the enterprise at her earliest opportunity that day.
Just then Hal and Jimmy walked through the door. She'd given Jimmy an extra warm greeting, which he'd eaten up, his tongue hanging out a little, panting, looking at her with those winsome eyes. Then he'd trotted off to his buddy, little Hal. Hal and Angie tiptoed over to peep in the door of Hal's office. Jimmy trotted up to the infant seat, looked at his little fella, sniffed a couple of times to verify that it was Hal Robert, whimpered ever so softly, watched him breathing, then turned in a circle and lay down, putting his head down on his paws and closing his eyes. Angie and Hal smiled at each other as they backed quietly away from the door.
"Can't you just see those two when Hal Robert starts walking?" Hal asked, a wide smile adorning his face.
Angie returned to her desk while Hal went to a counter for a cup of coffee from an urn that was there all day for the crew. Angie finally had the opportunity for which she'd been waiting. "I'm really proud of you, Hal, for going to sit with Drew at the potluck dinner. Care to share what you two talked about?" Angie asked.
"I asked how our sugar maple was doing."
"Oh, I like that 'our.' Good touch. And he said?"
"He didn't. So I told him that I'd done a lot of thinking since my blunder the last time we were together. The result of all that thinking was that I wanted him in my life because I loved him. That he'd brought something solid and stable to my life, more than I'd ever had. "
"And Drew said?"
"Nothing - at first. Then he commented that it would take deeds, not words, to make any point I thought needed making about our future. I said that's why I was happy that I remembered about how crazy he was over sugar maples and how I could show him how important he was to me. He laughed, commenting that no one had ever told him so nicely that he was a tree nut."
Angie smiled. "You laughed too."
"Yeah. It was vintage Drew. I asked, 'So you understood?' Then he really sobered me up. Told me he thought we might have a chance when he saw me watering the sugar maple, but then I told him that Richie and Brett were the best moments of my life."
Angie felt her heart plummet into her stomach. "Ouch!"
"He didn't do it to be mean," Hal added. "Just honest. I told him not to count me out. To give me a chance."
"And he said?"
"It would take more than a sugar maple."
"Oi vai!"
"It was a reproach but not as bad as I'd hurt Drew in our earlier meeting - in a lot of meetings. If he could stand up and walk on, I have to do so as well. Otherwise, I'm not worthy of him. Then he said he'd never put himself in a position again where he could be dumped on his ass by a horny user like me."
"Oh dear! I hope that didn't hurt you?"
"It did - at first. But I realized that that was the worst that Drew could throw at me. It didn't destroy me. In a way it was natural: I dropped him for Brett, then Brett drops me, so then I rebound to Drew. It does make me look like a user. So I decided I'd just change his mind about that. You see, I knew what he was thinking. Well, maybe I should say feeling."
"What?"
"He was surrounded by a lot of couples who were happily matched, which made him uncomfortable. He's thought several times since about how uncomfortable it is to be a loner amidst a lot of couples. I'll bet he seriously considered ducking the entire potluck."
"So why didn't he?"
"You."
"What?"
"Angie, Drew would jump off a cliff before he'd not live up to your expectations."
"Wrong!"
"Not wrong. I saw how you had only to look at him to send him over to talk to Esteban at the dinner at your home. It was like he's your bird dog."
Angie thought Hal's comparison was ill-chosen and perhaps a little resentful, but she wasn't going to cloud the opportunity she had with less important issues. "I saw that Esteban was worrying about Randy's feelings for him now that they're on his home soil. Drew merely helped Esteban understand that he had no more to fear than Randy had meeting his new family in Spain."
"Just think - you two did all that without passing a word between you."
"I wish it were that easy to get you and Drew back together."
"Thank you. You know how much I want it. But he doesn't trust me yet. He thinks I'll dump him on his ass the first time a guy looking like Brett comes along."
"Would you?"
"No."
"What do you know that Drew doesn't then?"
"What that dumbass mistake in his back yard taught me. I think back when Drew and I were a couple and even when Brett and I were, I was heavily into carnality - their physical presence. But Brett's spurning me for Gwen bowled me over, especially when I realized that I gave up a really great guy for that bastard Brett. Made me go back and relive my times with Drew. Drew IS the best thing that has happened to me in my life. I am way late in realizing that. He was so solid I NEVER worried about his betraying me, and I was so hooked on carnal sex with the guy of the moment that I never even considered my betraying one of them. I just took Drew's loyalty and love for granted. You know, of course, that I'm not proud that I betrayed him. I can assure you that I'll never do it again. I want him back - forever!"
"Seems the challenge then is persuading Drew that you DO want him forever. Do you have a plan for that?"
Hal's head drooped. "No. I've been thinking hard. I know he's too tough for me to just tell him. As he said, I have to show him. I just haven't come up with the right way to do it yet."
Angie was already mulling over how the crew could help their two important guys leap a BIG hurdle. "Why don't you guys get Drew to rejoin you at Murphy's Gym? But the invitation will have to come from the other guys, not you, Hal."
"Hm-m-m-m-m. I think we just might be able to pull that off. I'll talk to Max and Ted about it."
"Tell Rich too."
Hal raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Okay."
Il Favore Bistro
After the potluck dinner, Rich didn't waste anytime in setting up a luncheon meeting with Drew. He knew not to suggest Brenden's Patio Restaurant, much as Drew liked it. That wily little brainiac would be on the defensive immediately. So he suggested Il Favore, an Italian bistro restaurant that had an amazingly large menu of really great salads. That alone would attract Drew. When Rich had Drew on the phone, he knew Drew was casting about for excuses to turn Rich down - until he reminded Drew about the salads at Il Favore. So they had met that noon for lunch.
After they had placed their orders, they shared observations on the potluck dinner at the Coopers' home, on Randy and Esteban, and news gleaned from chats with members of the crew. Then Rich launched his gambit. "I saw you and Hal sitting together. It felt so good watching you two. Had to feel great for you as well."
Drew was drilling Rich with a glare. "You set this lunch up just so you could interrogate me about Hal?"
Rich frowned. "That isn't nice, Drew. You and I have always had a special relationship."
As he expected, Drew tossed his head a little, looking contrite. "Okay, I apologize for being suspicious of your motives," he said. "I guess that means all the guys have talked about it - about Hal and me sitting together, that is," he muttered grimly.
"Of course. We were elated. The sight of you two visiting, even laughing together, put a glow on the day for us. We've wanted to see you two back together ever since Brett slithered into our midst. Some of our best times together as buddies occurred when Hal and you were together. We still talk about how we helped you two get together" here Rich grinned mischievously, "even if we all had to dogpile you on Murphy's indoor track to slow you down long enough to pay attention to what could happen with you and Hal. So seeing you two together there on the floor of Bobby's and Angie's living room made us hopeful. We felt as though you two had given us a gift."
Rich could only JUST hold in a giggle as Drew studied him intently, looking for evidence of a scam in the making. "Hey, here's a way you can extend that glow for us. Why don't you rejoin us at Murphy's Gym? You know the guys want you back. They've all told you that in so many words." Now Drew was really raking Rich with those suspicious blue eyes that had turned steely. "There would be no pressure on anyone. Just buddies working out together."
"Hal might not like it."
"Drew . . . you're stalling. Cut it out. You know Hal would love it." All of a sudden, Rich started laughing.
"What?" Drew asked. "Why are you laughing?"
"I just flashed at the look on Hal's face when you show up at Murphy's Gym. You know, you come a half hour after we all get there. We'll all be changed by then and out on the floor starting our workout. Then you come walking toward us and Hal realizes you're rejoining us." Even Drew couldn't help chuckling a little.
"Yeah, I can see that look too. Come to think of it, one doesn't get one up on Hal that often. It would be like payback for my finding a tree planted in my backyard."
"You said it. So? Will you show up tomorrow night?"
Drew stared at Rich. "Probably. I'll need to think some more about it." Rich knew Drew would be there. "I just don't want to give Hal the wrong idea."
"What idea?"
"That anything is going to happen between us."
"Of course something is going to happen between you. You are going to be buddies again. WE'RE going to be buddies working out together again. Whatever happened in the past, you can be a buddy to Hal now, can't you?"
"Yes," Drew said with some resignation.
"Do you think you could let him know sometime soon that you've forgiven him for what happened that horrible night in his bedroom?"
The muscles in Drew's jaw flexed as his mouth set into a thin line. Rich had to choke back a laugh. Drew was so predictable.
"So this is what this lunch is about," Drew said with a little attitude.
"This lunch is about a friend who can let himself and all his friends - not to mention the guy he loves - quit hurting if he can just forgive. I know: I had to fight the same fight with myself over Wes's treatment of me. When Wes and Carl were at each other's throats and Randy Travers asked for my help and I promised to give it, I knew it had to start with my forgiving Wes for walking away from me." Rich had dangled bait in front of Drew. He awaited his reaction.
"Randy Travers, the coach of the Renegades?" Drew yelped, his eyes registering his surprise.
"Yes. He'd warned the guys that he'd bounce them off the team if they couldn't get their act together and get over their differences. He didn't have the greatest faith that they'd be able to do that, so he asked me to help them out."
"How'd you do that?" Drew asked.
'Got'im!' Rich congratulated himself on Drew's taking the bait. Withholding no details, he gave Drew a rendition of what transpired among the three men at the fishing cabin on the Vanamee River. Rich had to press his foot hard on top of the toes of his other foot to keep from grinning as Drew took it all in. He watched as a sheen of perspiration appeared on Drew's forhead as he related their coming together in a threesome. He knew Drew's cock was hard.
"Damn!" Drew uttered softly. Then the feisty Drew returned. "How do you know it wasn't just all about lust and sex?"
"It wasn't about sex. Our making love together was a consummation and celebration of what happened when we shared our feelings - at first anger, then guilt, then love. We all really love each other, Drew. None if it would have happened if I hadn't swallowed my pride and taken the big step of forgiving Wes. That allowed Carl to forgive me for using him to get back at Wes. Look what we have now."
"And it's not hard to balance three randy guys needs in a threesome?" Drew asked, allowing his doubt to show.
"Drew, friend, it really works for us. It might not work for everyone, but it works for us. Our background in and love for baseball probably made it possible. And we work hard. Come to think of it, Wes had to work the hardest. I've just realized that he took us for granted as much as Hal took you two for granted. Those two guys are a lot alike. Could have been brothers!"
"Alike?" Drew asked, more challenging Rich to convince him than to understand what Rich had revealed.
"My taking up with Carl floored Wes. He's so sexy, beautiful, and talented that no one had ever dumped him before. Couldn't imagine that I'd take up with someone else. Of course, when Carl and I became an item, Wes was defenseless. You and I took being dumped better than Wes and Hal did." Drew was motionless, clearly mulling what Wes had said. "But you know what else? When they DID get their feet back under them, they started moving forward better than you and I did."
Drew cocked his head to the side, really studying Rich. "You mean I'm the one who's not moving ahead well. You went out to the cabin and reunited with Wes and created what appears to be a successful threesome. I'm not following in your footsteps?"
Rich studied Drew, realizing that he was thinking hard about everything he'd just heard and shaping it to fit, first, his and Hal's circumstances, and second, the crew's. He decided to drive his point home. "By forgiving and then trusting, even though every fiber of my being told me I was crazy, I got what I thought I'd never have again in this life." Now Drew was all the more attentive. "I wanted to be in baseball again. That wasn't going to happen. So now," Rich said, his excitement growing, his eyes beginning to shine, "I have two guys from baseball in my life. It's what makes our threesome work. It's great! And when I attend their games, it's as though I'm out there with them. In fact, I've learned to let go enough that it's like I'm in their skin with them, feeling the bat strike the ball, running the bases."
"Wow," Drew said softly. "Do they know?"
"Yeah, we've talked about it. It makes our lives together that much better." Rich grinned, "And the sex is hotter."
Drew laughed, punching Rich on the arm playfully. "No talk about sex if I'm not getting any, you dawg."
"Oh, we can't keep from making love. They come home from the ballpark and Carl has a pulled muscle or something. So I tell him strip while I do the same - just getting ready to give a backrub, you know." Drew snorted in derision. "Man, before I know it, Wes is stripped, down on the floor with me. I think your overactive little libido can play out the rest."
"No it can't. I don't even know what sex is anymore. Go on!"
Rich laughed. Then he suddenly stopped smiling. "I want that kind of love for Hal and you, Drew. We all do. We know how happy you guys could be. Happier than you were before."
Drew had sobered as well. "When I look back, I don't see that much happiness. I see - no feel - a lot of tension."
"That's because Hal was fighting the Richie ghost. You know that Drew. You figured that out even back then. I don't think either one of us credited Hal with how much of an unconscious struggle he was experiencing with the ghosts of his past. I'm fairly certain he's told you that Richie's ghost is gone. It won't be back. Right?" Drew shook his head in the negative.
"Then give him a chance, Drew. It will be cleansing and healing for him because you are the one person he wants - no needs - to tell. The final freedom comes only when you accept it from him. Then Drew," here Rich paused for affect, making certain that Drew was riveted to him, "you are only a step away from offering him a life-giving gift - forgiveness."
Rich was startled to see tears spring to Drew's eyes. Drew looked down, starting to finish off his salad. 'Why the tears,' Rich wondered. Then an idea hit him. "You've been fighting too, haven't you Drew?" No answer, not even eye contact. "Okay, I'll tell YOU what you've been doing that you think no one realizes. You've been fighting that part of you that longs to be in Hal's arms. That longs to feel his kisses full of his need to give his love to you, to protect you. You've especially been fighting your need to hold Hal, soothe him, comfort him for all the ugliness, not just recently, but in all his entire life. That's you, Drew. That's who you are. The healer with love. It must be suffocating to repress all that. "
Drew's fork clattered onto his plate, his head hanging low. 'Damn,' Rich suddenly understood. He'd just the same as gutted Drew - opened him up, revealing his deepest, daily struggle that he'd thought he'd been successful in hiding from everyone. Rich moved his hand across the table. "Drew, give me your hand." Drew just sat there, hunched over as though totally defeated. "Give me your hand, Drew. It's a command, not a request. We have a special relationship, Drew. Do as I request."
Rich didn't think his reliance on their relationship would be successful, but Drew sat upright, slowly moving his hand to the table. Rich placed his hand over Drew's, surprised at how cold it was. "I did it, Drew, afraid as I was that I'd be spurned again. But I was strong enough to forgive Wes. And Carl was strong enough to forgive me. It takes genuine strength to put yourself out there where you can be hurt again. It took me a while to work up to that point of supreme courage. Maybe you're not quite there yet. So let your friends help you. You're as strong as I. That's one of the reasons we've been so close. I promise you, Drew, you won't be hurt again. The minute you offer Hal those words of forgiveness, you'll know the feelings I had when I made Wes and Carl kiss each other, then keep doing it until they were seriously focused on each other so that we could create something new for us. . . . You okay?"
Drew wouldn't look at Rich. "You're afraid you'll cry if you look at me or say anything." Drew gave his head a defeated, slow shake. Rich knew how horrified Drew would be if that occurred in the bistro. Drew hated public spectacles. When he saw a couple fighting or someone losing it in a bar, he nearly writhed in discomfort. "You need to process all this discussion?" Again, Drew signaled an affirmative response. "Okay, buddy. I love you, Drew. I'm one of several to whom you can reveal your deepest fears and lose nothing by it except to receive an outpouring of that love you frequently offer. You get up and leave. I'll take care of things here. When you are ready, call me. But I'll be looking for you to show up at Murphy's Gym tomorrow night - a surprise, just as we discussed." Drew just shook his head, wiped his mouth with his napkin, and stood, a little unsteadily, walking away.
(To be continued.)
Much gratitude to British friend Drew Hunt ("House on the Hill") for his contribution of ideas for Hal and Drew in this chapter. That Lancashire Lad (oh, don't you think that Yorkshire man just turned the air blue with profanity over that geographical appellation!) is the neatest guy. (Now he's swearing again because I'm referring to him with an Americanism.) Thanks, Buddy!