The Honeymoon

"The Honeymoon" Copyright 1998 by Mathis B. Rogers

This is a Gay Adult Story. It was written by me in 1998. If you are not of age in your country, then it is against the law for you to read this story. This is pure fiction, and none of the characters or places are real. Any resemblance of such is purely coincidental. Any comments or constructive criticism is welcome. Send them via email to Mathis B. Rogers mathis@mathisbrogers.com

The Honeymoon

By

Mathis B. Rogers

Copyright 6/25/98

"Thank you for calling, sir," I said. "If you have any more problems with it, be sure to call us back. I have updated your record, so anyone who answers will be able to help you with the reference number I gave you." He thanked me and hung up. I closed out his file and set myself back to available for calls.

"Are you off the phone?" my cube mate asked, taking off his headphones.

"Yes," I replied, pushing my mouth piece up out of the way.

"Good. Come here, I want you to see this."

Unhooking my headphones, I got up and crossed to his desk. The cubical was small enough that there wasn't much room for both our desks, but his desk had been placed facing the door and the end of mine was facing the end of his so no one who walked in could sneak up on us, nor could they see what we were doing on our computers.

We worked for ICC - International Computer Company - as telephone technical support technicians. When customers had problems with the computer software that they purchased from us, they would call an eight-hundred number and be transferred to the appropriate technician. If level one or two could not help them, then they would be passed on to me or several other technicians on tier three. Although I had been in level three tech support for almost four years, my cube mate, Jason, had just moved up from level two a few months previously.

"Have you been watching the news lately about Cliff Richmond?" he asked.

"Yeah. I think it's a crock," I said as he clicked on his web browser. "I haven't been paying attention to it on TV," I admitted, "but I've heard a lot about it on the radio. I wish they'd just leave him alone."

"So do I," he replied. "I just bought his second single yesterday. Luckily the folks here in Jefferson aren't homophobic and the stores are selling his new single like hotcakes.

"Here's a photo of his lover, Preston Townsen," he added as the screen came up.

"Wow," I whistled. I noticed Jason had brought up the homepage for Stallion Studios, the studio that Preston Townsen was a nude model for. The photo was of Preston sitting on a white stallion. The horse was rearing on his hind legs and Preston hung on to his mane with one hand and had the other in the air. Preston was wearing nothing but a white Stetson cowboy hat and a major hardon. I figured by the photo he had to be at least nine inches long, pretty thick and he was very hairy.

"How'd you like to have that up your ass?" Jason asked, softly.

I grinned. "If I wasn't married I'd go for it."

I glanced down at Jason. We hadn't discussed his sexuality, but he had asked me if I was gay a few days after he had moved into the cubical. I hadn't lied to him and it seemed to bring us closer as work friends since he knew.

"What about you?" I asked.

He grinned. "I don't think so. My ass has a sign on it that says, 'exit only'. Besides, I prefer pussy."

"What are you doing looking at this web site, then?" I asked.

He grinned. "Just curious. I also found this other site," he said, clicking on his bookmarks.

"You know," I said, "you really shouldn't be bringing up sites like this. You could get fired."

"I know," he admitted. "But I wanted to show you this. I found it at home. I will delete it when we're done."

"Don't forget to clear out your cache," I said as a photo of Cliff Richmond came on the screen.

"I won't. This is Cliff and his band," he said. "This web site is at Geocities. Someone out there likes his music enough that they dedicated a web site to him."

"That was nice of them," I said as my phone rang. I turned to go back to my desk, but did a double-take. "Save that photo and zoom in on the guy at the keyboard for me," I said and rushed over to my desk and plugged the headphones back in. It was my personal line.

"ICC, this is Kris," I said, answering it.

"Hey, how's my little brother?"

A warm feeling swept through my body at the sound of my brother's deep voice. I hadn't seen him since Christmas. He was in the Navy and was stationed in Houston, Texas so he didn't get home often.

"Benny," I said, taking myself off of available on my business line, "what a surprise. I'm doing fine. What are you doing calling in the middle of the day? Is everything okay?"

"Stop worrying," he said with a chuckle. "I just wanted to know if you would mind swinging by the airport after you get off work and pick me up. My flight's supposed to get there about 5:22."

"That's great!" I exclaimed. "But why didn't you call and let us know you're coming?"

"I talked to Mom and Dad Sunday. Didn't they tell you?"

"No. But Brad and I haven't spent much time with them this week. The weather's been pretty bad so Brad and I have just been staying in when we get home and sitting in front of the fireplace. We haven't even called anyone, either."

"Mm, must be nice," he replied.

"Very," I admitted.

"I'll be staying with Mom and Dad, but I wanted you to pick me up. Brad won't mind, will he?"

"No. He'll be glad to see you, too," I replied. "He likes you."

"Good. I like him, too. Look, Kris," he added, "I know that you two are connected at the heart and other places, but I'd like to spend some time alone with you this week. We haven't had a chance to be alone together since you two got together. Do you think it might be possible for us to get away on Saturday? Maybe Brad could go over to his folks house or something."

"I'd like that," I admitted. "I'll talk to him about it."

"Thanks. I'll be on Continental flight 247. I'd better hurry if I'm going to get there in time to board. I love you and I'll see you a little after five."

"I love you, too, Benny," I said and hung up.

By the time I got off the phone with Benny, Jason had a phone call, so I couldn't go back to his desk to look at the photo. I was excited about seeing Benny again, but as I waited for the phone to ring again, my mind wandered back to the photo of country artist, Cliff Richmond. I couldn't believe how the public in Timber Creek, Oklahoma was treating him just because he was gay. I smiled as I realized how lucky I was that the people of Jefferson never seemed to care that Brad and I were lovers. I had often worried about how we would be treated since my father was a captain and flew a rescue helicopter for the Coast Guard, but all of the employees of the base always treated Brad and me with the same respect they did any of the other officers' offspring and their spouses.

My computer notified me that I had new e-mail so I clicked on my e-mail program and smiled as I noticed it was from Jason. He had attached the photo to a message for me.

Loading the picture into my image viewer, I zoomed in on the keyboardist. Even though he wore a black cowboy hat, I could tell he had black hair and was very attractive. He was smiling broadly at Cliff's back. I couldn't believe it! I took myself off available again and used my personal line to call my mother at her work.

"Hi, Mom," I said when she answered. "I'm surprised you didn't take off so you could get ready for Benny."

"Benny insisted that we not go to any trouble for him. Are you going to be able to pick him up? He really wants you to."

"Yes. I'll have to let Brad know I'll be late, but he'll survive without me for a few minutes."

"I won't tell him you said that," she retorted. "I know better."

"Please don't tell him that I'm the one who really misses him when he's not around, it might go to his head."

"Okay, I won't," she promised.

"Anyway," I said, changing the subject, "the reason I called, have you heard from Aunt Shari lately?"

"As a matter of fact," she replied, "it has been a few weeks. Why?"

"Jason, my new cube mate, just found a web site for Cliff Richmond, the singer who's been having all the trouble lately because he's gay. Either Gary, or someone who looks just like him, is his keyboardist."

"Oh, yes, I knew that. He's had that job for about a year. He and his roommate from college, Bryan Perkins, are in the band. I saw an interview on CNTV a few weeks ago with both Gary and Bryan. I meant to tell you about it, but you and Brad had just taken off to Kilgore Island on your second anniversary and when you got back, I kept forgetting to mention it."

"Wow, I hope nothing bad happens to them."

"So do I," she replied.

"The last I heard, Gary owned a garage or something. Did he sell it?"

"No, he's still got the garage," she replied. "But he's got a manager for it. If his job with Richmond doesn't work out, then he'll at least have something good to fall back on."

"That's good," I replied.

"Listen, honey, I'd love to sit and chat, but I've got to get to work and I'm sure that you've got to get back to work, too. Thanks again for picking up Benny. Just bring him over from the airport. Have Bradley meet you at the house and you two can stay for dinner."

"Okay, Mom. Do I need to bring anything?"

"No. Just Benny. I actually have everything ready, I just need to stick it in the oven when I get home."

After hanging up with Mother, I sat and stared at the photo of Gary. I couldn't get over the fact that my straight hunk of a cousin was backing up a gay singer on keyboard.

"So what's going on?" Jason's deep voice interrupted my thoughts as he stepped around beside me. "Who is he?"

"Gary, the keyboardist," I said, absently. "Gary Jones. He's my cousin."

"You're shitting me?" he said, more of a statement than a question.

I glanced up at Jason. "No," I replied. "I haven't seen him in a long time, but I recognized him the moment I saw his smile."

Jason knelt beside me. "He's cute. You ever screw around with him?" he asked, softly.

I glanced down at Jason. "No. Not that I wouldn't have, but sex never came up when we were growing up. He grew up in Oklahoma City; I grew up here. We only saw each other around Thanksgiving and Christmas when his parents brought him to see Grandpa and Grandma. I've never even seen him nude. The last time I saw him was at his sister's wedding three years ago. We went to Oklahoma City for the wedding."

I grinned at Jason and added, "You sure are getting into this gay thing. Are you sure you're not wanting to start swinging the other way?"

He stood up. "No. I was just curious."

I watched him return to his desk. He was a very good-looking guy. His eyes met mine as he sat back down and put himself back on available. "What?" he asked, grinning at me.

"I just wonder, that's all," I replied, pressing the button to return my status to available.

"I told you, my ass has a sign on it that says, 'exit only'."

I grinned. "Brad's did, too, until our second anniversary," I replied as my phone rang.

Brad had taken me out to Kilgore Island for our anniversary. We had pitched a tent on the sand by the lagoon near the water fall. Everyone else who had visited the island that weekend had stayed out on the beach and left us alone next to the lagoon. We had made love in the tent. It had been my first time to ever fuck him. I was a designated bottom, as I called myself, and I didn't fuck. Even though we both had enjoyed that time tremendously and I had had the best orgasm I'd ever experienced, I had not fucked him again since then. We had talked about it once the day we returned from the island and, even though I had rimmed him several times since then, I had not fucked him again, nor had we mentioned it.

"ICC. This is Kris," I said, answering the phone and closing the picture viewer.

It was almost 4:30 by the time I finished the call I was on. I glanced over at Jason when I hung up. He was on a call of his own. I started to dial Brad's work number, but my computer informed me I had e-mail.

I clicked on the mail icon and grinned. "I'm going to pick you up at work and take you to The Wharf for dinner," the message read. "When we're done eating, I'm going to take you dancing at The Cactus Cocktail Cavern. I have already called Jack and told him we'd be there and for him to play our song. Then we're going home and I'm going to make love to you ALL night long. I love you, Kris. B."

I sighed. Our song. Alabama's "When We Make Love". Jack was our favorite DJ at The Cavern, as we called it. Brad always just signed B. when he sent me e-mail. I hadn't realized until then that Jack had also been the name of the guy Brad worked with at the bank who had brought us our meals while we were on the island.

How I wanted Brad's plans to come together that night. I loved him so much. I couldn't believe that we had been together for two years. Time had flown by so fast, but my brother was coming in from Houston and I couldn't leave him at the airport. I loved him, too. He was counting on me and it had been almost a year since I'd seen him. It had only been a few hours since I had seen Brad - a few hours too long.

I couldn't risk Brad not getting my reply to his e-mail, so I had to call him, but the phone rang just as I started to take myself off of available.

Because of the tier of support that Jason and I were on, the calls we got were serious and usually took quite a while. It was times like these when I was looking forward to moving up to tier four because the technicians there never got phone calls. If there was a customer we couldn't handle on tier three, we would send their PMR number and phone number to tier four and the technicians would research everything we had in the PMR, then call the customer with their solutions. If tier four couldn't fix the problem, it was turned over to the programmers. To my knowledge, there weren't many problems that had arisen that tier four couldn't handle.

It was a minute before five when I finally hung up from my customer. Jason had already shut his computer down and was pulling on his coat.

"Do you have a hot date tonight?" I asked, dialing Brad's work number.

"I wish. I gotta go pick up my sister's kid at the nursery by five-thirty and it's snowing again. I don't want to take any chances."

"Good luck. Be careful," I said as the bank's operator answered the phone. "See you Monday. Hi, Thelma," I said into the instrument. "Has Brad left yet?"

"Yes. You just missed him, Kris. Did you get his e-mail?"

"Yes and I can't wait for him. Oh, well, I'll call him on his cellular."

Bidding Thelma a happy weekend, I hung up and shut down my computer and used my cell-phone to dial his cell-phone.

"Yo!" he said on the first ring.

"Hey, sexy," I said, seductively, as I headed down the corridor to the parking garage.

"Mm, you keep talking like that we'll forget dinner and dancing and we'll go right home and make love all night long."

"I like that idea," I said. "But I'm not going to be able to keep our date. I'm sorry I couldn't reply to your message, but I had a guy with his computer down that I had to help right as I got your message. I've got to get to the airport and get Benny. Mom wants us to come over for dinner."

"Oh, shit," he said with a sigh. "Okay. Stay put, babe, I'll be there in a few minutes and we can go get your brother. You don't need to be driving in this snow anyway. It hasn't started sticking yet, but I know how nervous you get driving in bad weather."

I unlocked the door to my blue Lexus. "Okay, I'm on the second landing as usual," I told him.

"I just turned into the garage," he replied. "I'll be right there."

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you, too, babe. I'm glad your brother's coming but I wish he'd wait until tomorrow."

"If the weather's not too bad after dinner we might get Mom and Dad and him to go with us to the club."

"There's a thought," he agreed. I glanced up as his little red mustang convertible came around the corner. I was surprised that our cell phones hadn't lost their signal in the garage, some people complained theirs did. Brad had the top up this time. My heart melted at the sight of him. He wore his heavy black jacket and he'd already loosened his tie. He never took it all the way off until he got home, but he always loosened it and he looked so sexy that way. He smiled at me and a warm feeling swept over me as he pulled into the parking space beside my car.

He hung up and hopped out of the car. I got out of mine and he pulled me into his warm strong arms and kissed me right on the lips. Neither of us cared if anyone was around to witness the kiss. We hadn't seen each other since lunch. It seemed like an eternity.

Reluctantly, I pulled away from him and said, "He's supposed to get here at 5:22."

I had already started my car to warm it up. I got in and slid across the seat to the passenger side and Brad took his place behind the wheel.

"I guess my car will be okay here until we get back," he said, steering my Lexus out of the parking garage.

"Actually better here than at home," I replied. "Since we have a 24-hour staff, they keep security guards patrolling the garage after five. They are thinking about making it a key- entry garage, but they haven't decided to yet. If they do, I'll have to get them to give you a key since you're always coming over to pick me up."

"Yeah, I'd hate to have to get you at the front door. I'm not sure how well they'd take it with us kissing when I drop you off and pick you up, there."

I took his warm strong hand in mine after we got on the freeway and were heading toward the airport and smiled. "I don't care what anyone thinks," I said, "I'll kiss you anywhere anytime and no one can stop me."

He grinned at me and kissed my hand. "I love you, too, Kris." Brad placed my hand on his leg. It was the way we always went anywhere, no matter which one of us was driving, we'd be holding hands.

He looked out the windshield and a faint smile crossed his luscious lips. "What?" I asked, squeezing his hand.

He looked over at me and smiled. "I was just thinking about when we met," he said. I grinned. "I still can't believe you didn't slap the shit out of me when I told you I wanted to take you home and fuck you."

I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "I haven't regretted letting you, either," I said.

It had been a warm, mid-October evening when I had been at a party at my friend Dan's house. Brad had shown up about half an hour late. A group of guys flocked to him, as he liked to say, "Like flies on shit," when he walked in. He'd been wearing a black leather jacket, which he had left open to reveal his smooth, bronzed, muscular body. He also wore a tight pair of black shorts and a pair of black leather dress shoes with white socks. He was a hunk. I saw right through him, though. He was an asshole. He had smiled at me and I rolled my eyes and sighed as I looked away.

I hadn't been having a good time since I wasn't into parties and I really didn't know anyone there but Dan. I was waiting for the bartender to refresh my Sprite, when someone tried to grope Brad and he dodged their advance, bumping into me. Luckily, the bartender had just set my drink on the bar and I hadn't picked it up yet.

"I'm so sorry," Brad had said, grabbing me by the arm to keep his balance and to keep me from falling down. "Are you okay?" Was that true concern in those beautiful brown eyes?

He had led me outside and we sat on a bench in the back yard and talked while watching the sun set. He was so easy to talk to. I realized right away that my first impression of him was wrong. He really was a nice guy.

After it grew dark, Brad had led me back into the living room and asked me if I wanted to dance, as another song began. We dirty danced for a while, then he turned me around and shoved me up against the wall. "You can slap the shit out of me if you want and I promise I won't hit you," he whispered with his face next to mine, "but I want to take you home and fuck you."

Then he grinned and added, "But you'll have to drive, because I've had too much to drink." That grin was all it took. I was hooked. Since that night, anytime Brad wanted me to do anything, all he had to do was grin that grin and I melted. I had slid my arms underneath his jacket and pulled him against me, kissing him full on the lips.

I'd taken him to my apartment that evening. I had never let myself be picked up that quick, before. I wasn't into one night stands. If I wasn't in love with the man I was having sex with, I didn't care to even have sex. However, the next weekend Brad had moved in with me. It had been a little over two years since that evening. This had been the longest one-night stand I'd ever had.

I smiled at Brad as he steered my car into the short-term parking area at the Jefferson Airport. "It's funny," he said, softly, "I talked to Tony at work this afternoon after I called Jack at home and told him that we'd be at the club around seven - don't worry, babe, Tony is still in love with me, but I'm not interested in him and you know it."

"Yes, I do," I replied. It was such a good feeling to know that Brad would never cheat on me. Even though I had been attracted to Jason since he joined me in my cubical, I couldn't imagine cheating on Brad, either.

"Anyway," Brad continued, as he parked the car, "Tony said that he doesn't know anyone in the gay community here in town who are still together from the time you and I got together, except for us."

Brad got out of the car and I slid across the seat and got out on the driver side. "Actually, there's. . ." I paused as Brad closed and locked the door. "No, they broke up last year," I said.

"I'm sure that there has to be someone out there besides us," I added as he put his arm around me and we headed toward the entrance.

"Just because we don't know them doesn't mean there aren't any," Brad agreed. "Anyway, he said that it was really interesting that we are still together. I've noticed how he watches me sometimes. Especially when I'm ordering flowers or something for you, or when you've sent me something. Thelma just about went bonkers the other day when you sent me that teddy bear holding the heart-shaped balloon that had 'I love you' written on it. It was definitely the talk of the bank."

I smiled as he opened the door for me. "I'm glad."

"Teresa in accounting wanted to know what she could do to get her husband to do stuff like that. I told her to try sending him something like that to his work and see if he'd reciprocate."

"What'd she say?" I asked as we reached the gate Benny was due to arrive at.

"She said he'd kill her. He's a construction foreman."

"Oh, that's real macho. I'm sure that if she'd send him something, that he'd enjoy it."

"I've actually got the address of his office," Brad said, sitting down in a chair beside the window that faced out over the run way.

There were several people waiting for the plane to arrive. I could tell that some were waiting for friends and relatives and others were waiting for the plane so they could board and go to the next stop, which would be San Francisco, according to the sign above the gate. There was only one chair available and an elderly couple were seated in the two chairs next to the one Brad had chosen. Ignoring them, Brad reached up and pulled me down into his lap.

"I'm tempted to go ahead and order something for him and send it with her name on it," he continued.

I noticed a strange look between the couple as Brad put his left hand on my bottom and took my hand in his right hand, but neither said anything. "You'd better not," I said. "I don't want to get a call at work to come visit you in the hospital because some big guy beat you up for sending him roses at work. Even if you do sign his wife's name to them."

He chuckled. "But they need some romance in their life, babe," he said. "Like we've got."

"Then let her do it," I said.

He glanced at the lady and smiled at her. "How are you?" he asked.

"Fine," she replied with a weak smile. She fidgeted in her seat.

"How long have you two been married?" Brad asked, glancing at her husband.

"Fifty-nine years," she replied.

"And did you ever send your husband anything like roses or candies or something to his work, just to tell him you love him?" Brad asked.

I loved the way that Brad could talk to anyone. I wished at times that I could be that open with people.

"Well, no," she admitted. "But I baked him cookies to take to work with him," she defended herself.

The gentleman leaned forward a little and took a deep breath, resting his elbows on the arms of his seat, but didn't say anything.

"Did he ever send you flowers to your work?" Brad asked.

"No, but I didn't work," she replied. "I stayed home and raised the kids. People don't do that anymore. Of course," she admitted, "the cost of living now doesn't allow that."

She ran her green eyes over me and added, "And in my day, men married women and raised families."

"Yes, ma'am, they did," Brad replied with a smile. "And also in your day, parents were allowed to discipline their kids so they would grow up to be fine people, not snotty-nosed brats like run around all over the place tearing up things, these days. I'm thankful that God created me to be gay and gave me Kris here to share my life and love with and we don't have to worry about having any kids that other people try to tell us how to raise."

The lady started to say something, but closed her mouth and slumped back in her seat as a small child ran toward the window and his mother grabbed him by the arm and dragged him screaming back to the seat where she and his father were waiting for the plane.

"I rest my case," Brad said, softly.

She didn't say another word and I was relieved when a male voice came over the loud speaker announcing the arrival of Continental flight 247.

"Benny wants you to go visit your parents or something tomorrow," I said, pushing myself up off Brad's lap.

He took my hand and followed me toward the front of the off-ramp. "Well, okay," he said, sadly. "I know you want to spend some time with him. Any idea what you're going to do?"

"No," I admitted. "I really don't want you to go, but I do want to spend some time alone with him, too."

"I guess you could go over to your parent's house and visit with him there, then I could stay home and do laundry," Brad offered as the gate attendant moved the rope and opened the double doors.

"Yeah, right," I replied with a chuckle. "When was the last time you did laundry?"

Brad grinned and shrugged sheepishly. He was so cute when he did that. "I think I did it once back before I met you," he said. "But my life before I met you seems kind of vague and I've forgotten most of it."

I smiled. "I love you, too, babe," I said and squeezed his hand tenderly as the first passengers came out the door.

Somehow, Benny had managed to be one of the first off the plane. Even though it had not been quite a year since I'd seen my brother, I stopped and stared at him as he stepped through the double doors. I couldn't believe how much he looked like our father. Had he always resembled Dad that much, or had he changed that much in a year?

Benny had turned twenty-six that year. Brad, whose birthday was three days before mine, and I were twenty-four. I was thankful that Benny had been named Benjamin Junior instead of me. I looked more like Mom than Dad.

Benny had a look of hope on his face as he searched the crowd for me. Our eyes met and his handsome face lit up. I stayed where I was and he rushed up to greet me. He hugged me and said, "Thanks for coming, Kris. When they said it was snowing here, I didn't know if you were going to make it. I know you hate driving in it."

"Actually, I didn't drive," I admitted, letting go of him. I was thankful that his smile didn't fade when he saw Brad.

"Hey, buddy," Benny said, hugging Brad. "Thanks for bringing Kris."

"Well, I'll let you have him to yourself tomorrow," Brad said as we started toward Baggage Claim, "but you're stuck with both of us tonight. Katherine gave Kris explicit instructions for me to come to dinner with you tonight."

Benny grinned and looked at me. "Okay, I can deal with that, I guess. Whatever Mom wants, Mom's going to get."

"If that's the case, when are you moving back to Jefferson?" I teased. Mom and Dad were proud of Benny. So was I, actually. He was a Lieutenant in the Navy, but we missed him. We wished that Benny had joined the Coast Guard and stayed in Jefferson, but he had followed the footsteps of our grandfather on our dad's side of the family instead of in Dad's footsteps. Dad had met Mom at a Coast Guard dance because her father, Grandpa, was an Admiral in the Coast Guard.

Benny chuckled. "That's not going to happen, Kris," he admitted as we reached Baggage Claim. "But, I do have good news for everyone. I was going to wait until after dinner tonight to break it, but I am so excited that I just can't hold it in."

"You're pregnant?" Brad asked, holding a serious expression.

Benny rolled his eyes at him. "No. The only Brown that could be pregnant is Kris here," he replied.

"You're getting married?" I asked, timidly, ignoring both their comments. Benny had never mentioned anyone special when we talked on the phone. I loved my brother and wanted him to be as happy as Brad had made me, but I really wasn't ready for a sister-in-law. I was still getting used to a brother-in-law who knew that I was his brother-in-law. Brad hadn't come out to his family until that summer and even though Chad, Brad's identical twin brother, had pretty much accepted the fact that his brother was gay, there were times that I got the feeling that Chad and their father were still uncomfortable when Brad and I kissed or held each other while they were around.

"No," Benny said with a smile. "I put in for a transfer to Winchester. I'm off until the sixth of January. I report to Commander Daniel Rios at oh-eight hundred hours on the sixth."

"That's fantastic!" I exclaimed and hugged him.

Winchester was only 200 miles from Jefferson. If he lived there, not only could he come home at least once a month, but we would be able to go visit him, too.

"Yes, I thought you'd like that," Benny said. "But please let me tell Mom and Dad."

"Okay," I promised.

"Does this mean that we need to take some time off and drive to Texas and help you move?" Brad asked.

"No. I've been living in the barracks all this time," he said. "I've got most of my stuff with me here. What I couldn't bring, I mailed yesterday. It should get here either tomorrow or Monday. I knew that I could stay with Mom and Dad until Saturday the fourth, then someone would be glad to take me or I'll just buy a car here and go by myself."

"What happened to your car?" I asked.

"I sold it. I was having problems with the carburetor anyway, so I needed a new one," he admitted as the carrousel began to circulate, indicating that the luggage from the flight would be dispensed soon. "And, on top of that, I was basically walking everywhere I went and if I needed to go anywhere, I usually had a staff car available to me, so I didn't need it anyway. I'll need one when I get to Winchester so I can come home occasionally on the weekends.

"I also got a brochure from an apartment locator service," he continued as luggage began coming out of the opening of the carrousel. "I figured if I was going to be this close to home, that I should rent an apartment so you and Brad could come visit occasionally. Don't worry, I'll get a two-bedroom so you two will have your own room when you come."

"Thanks, Benny," I said, "but we would be able to make it through one night on a sleeper sofa in the living room. I'd hate for you to have to pay extra just for us to visit occasionally."

"Don't worry about it, Kris," he said. "You aren't the only ones I'm thinking about. There are Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Grandma," he added, referring to Mother's parents. "And Gramps and Grams still travel pretty frequently. They're living in Florida now, but I talked to Grams yesterday and she said they were thinking about moving back up here somewhere, because Dad and Aunt Heather are too far away for them to come visit very often. If they do come back to Jefferson, then they'll come visit me, too."

"I hope they move back," I admitted. "I haven't been able to get time off to go see them since they moved out there."

"Of course, you and I got together right after they moved," Brad spoke up, "and I know that I've kept you from going out to see them."

I wrapped my arm around him and smiled. "True, but I'm not blaming you."

Benny cleared his throat. "There's one of my bags," he said, stepping toward the carrousel.

I grinned and winked at Brad. "Does it bother him for us to hug in public?" Brad asked, soft enough that no one around us could hear him.

I shrugged. "Except for Jeff, I've never had a boyfriend when he was around, and we never did anything when he was around, so I really couldn't say," I whispered.

Brad grabbed one of Benny's suitcases and Benny the other and we headed out to the parking lot. The snow had gotten thicker and the flakes were large and wet. Being careful not to slip and fall on the sidewalk, we rushed out to my blue Lexus. I sighed. It was almost covered in snow. I used the remote on the key chain to unlock the trunk and the doors and climbed in the passenger door while the guys stored Benny's luggage in the spacious trunk.

I was thankful that I had decided to get the bigger car, even though it was more expensive. I'd only had it for a little over a year. Brad had actually talked me into buying it. He'd had his red Mustang convertible since before we had met and he had no plans of getting rid of it, but we did enjoy having the bigger car at times like these.

Brad skillfully managed to avoid any traffic fatalities, but he also, to my disappointment, kept both hands on the wheel. I didn't blame him because our safety was more important than us holding hands, but I did miss the feeling of his warm hand in mine on his leg. He didn't say anything, but he did let me rest my hand on his thigh.

The sun had been blocked by clouds since before I got off work, but it was starting to grow dark when Brad pulled into my parent's circular driveway and parked behind Grandpa's Lincoln Towne Car.

The front door opened when we got out of the car and Mom and Dad rushed out to greet us. Grandpa and Grandma stood in the doorway waiting for us to get into the house.

I helped Mother and Grandma set the dining room table while Dad, Brad, Benny and Grandpa sat at the breakfast counter talking about things Benny had been doing for the past year. Since Grandma had arthritis in her knees, and it was difficult for her to walk, I tried to get her to sit down and rest while Mother and I got dinner ready, but she was stubborn and insisted that she could at least get the ice for the glasses.

Brad and I were both surprised that Benny didn't mention his transfer, but I thought he was going to when Grandpa said, "So, Benny, you haven't mentioned any young ladies since you got to Houston. I figured that some Texas Filly would have snatched you up by now."

"There have been a few that I've been interested in," Benny admitted, looking at me, "but none that I would want to spend the rest of my life with.

"I'm like you and Dad, Grandpa," he added, grinning at them, "I want to find the woman I can settle down and live happily ever after with."

"That's a wise decision, son," Dad said, grinning at Mom.

"That's good," Grandpa said, giving me a cold look. "I'm glad to hear that you haven't given up on women."

Grandpa had found out that I was gay when I was in high school. One afternoon I'd brought a friend of mine home to study with me and we were lying on my bed, fooling around more than studying. Grandma and Grandpa had come over for dinner and Grandpa had volunteered to come to my room and get us. Jeff and I hadn't planned on going all the way or doing anything other than kiss, so I hadn't closed the door. When Grandpa came in he just said dinner was ready. He had never said anything about the kiss, but I got the feeling he didn't approve. He had kept his eyes on Jeff and me all through supper. I noticed he still looked at me the same way when Brad and I were together.

"Now, Papa, don't start that," Grandma chided. "Just think, if Kris hadn't caught Brad here, we would have never met him and he's such a nice boy. No telling how sad and lonely Kris would be if he hadn't met Brad."

Grandpa cleared his throat but didn't say anything.

"That reminds me," Dad spoke up, more to change the subject than anything else, "didn't we get a card from Shari and Stan the other day, hon?" he asked Mom.

"No," she replied. "We got a card from Stephanie. Stephanie is Shari and Stan's daughter, Brad," she explained. He hadn't met them before, but we had received photos from them and he knew who they were. "She is pregnant again."

"That'll make two won't it, Mom?" Benny asked.

"Three," Mom replied. "Turns out she's carrying twins this time."

"We don't have any twins on our side," Benny said. "Must be on Uncle Stan's side."

"No, her husband, Blake's. His grandad is a twin," Grandma spoke up as Mother motioned everyone to the table.

"I've invited Shari, Stan, Gary, Stephanie and Blake and Bridgette, their daughter, here for Thanksgiving," Grandma added. "Shari said they would be here but she didn't know if Gary would be able to or not. With this controversy over Cliff Richmond being gay, Gary doesn't know if they're going to have any work. If they don't, he can get away for the week. They'll all be staying with us. If the weather holds up, they should get here Sunday evening."

"Now, Mom," Mother protested as we sat down around the dining room table, "you can't handle that many people here for a week. Why didn't you tell me? I had already planned on you and Dad coming over here for Thanksgiving."

"I thought I told you," Grandma replied. "Oh, dear, I guess my memory is starting to go, too."

Mother had already invited Brad and me over for Thanksgiving dinner. We would be spending Christmas at his parent's house with Chad.

"You never mentioned it to me," Mother replied.

"I didn't hear anything about it, either," Dad spoke up.

"Maybe Kris and I should go to my parent's for Thanksgiving, since there are going to be so many here," Brad suggested.

"No, that's okay, Bradley," Mother said. "Luckily, Kris likes to help out in the kitchen. The only bad thing, Mom, is that you don't have room for that many people at your house. Remember, Shari and I used to share a room?"

"We have a sleeper sofa in the living room now," Grandpa retorted.

"Okay, Shari and Stan can sleep on the couch and Stephanie and Blake can sleep in our old room, with Bridgette on a pallet on the floor, but where are you going to put Gary if he comes? You can't expect him to sleep on the floor in the kitchen."

Grandpa and Grandma had an older house. It was small. They had raised two daughters in that house and had survived having relatives come in and just throw pallets on the floor in the living room for them to sleep on. No one had ever complained back then, but these were the nineties. People didn't do that anymore.

"We'll just have Shari, Stan and Gary stay here," Dad said. "Shari and Stan can sleep in Kris' old room and Gary can sleep on the couch in the den. That will leave the couch in the living room open if Mom and Dad come. They thought they might make it when I talked to Mom Wednesday."

I smiled. It was times like these that I was thankful that Mom and Dad had bought a three-bedroom home before Benny was born. It sat on a corner lot and there was plenty of room for family get- togethers. I had hated it when I was growing up because there was so much space outside and Benny and I had to take care of the yard. I had sworn that I would always live in an apartment when I grew up, so I wouldn't have to mess with the yard work.

Benny, on the other hand, had enjoyed working out in the yard, so he hadn't complained to Dad when I sneaked into the house to fix us tea or lemonade and not helped him when I returned with the refreshments.

However, I had never minded helping Mom keep the large house clean. The only thing I hadn't cared for doing was mopping the two bathroom floors and the kitchen, so Mother always let me sweep, then she'd mop.

"I hope they can make it," Mom said.

Dad said grace and we began serving ourselves, passing the dishes of food Mother had made. "Now, Mother," Mom added sternly as Dad passed Benny the mashed potatoes, "We are going to have Thanksgiving dinner here."

Grandma nodded sadly and Mother grinned at her. "But don't think you're going to get out of cooking," Mother said. "You simply must make your cornbread dressing, because I still can't figure out how to get it right."

Grandma's tired face lit up and the sparkle returned to her blue eyes. She had taken good care of her family while Mom and her sister were growing up and had raised them well. She knew that Mom and Aunt Shari wanted to let her rest now that she was older and had arthritis in her knees. Her daughters would do anything for her and she knew it, but it put the sparkle back in her eyes knowing that they still needed her, even if it was just to make her fabulous cornbread dressing for Thanksgiving dinner.

"I think she should make her pecan pie, too," Grandpa spoke up. "Katherine hasn't gotten the hang of it yet, either."

"No, but Kris has," Mom replied. "But if you want to make one that will be fine."

"If we're going to have that many people here, it won't hurt for us both to make a couple," Grandma said.

"Now, wait a minute," I protested, "I don't think I want to get into a cooking contest with Grandma. I'd lose hands down."

Brad put his hand on my thigh and gently squeezed. "Yeah, but it would be a close call," he said, tenderly.

Grandpa cleared his throat, as he always did when Brad and I were showing each other affection. "I think we should leave the dinner arrangements to the women folk after Shari and Stephanie get here," he said.

"Actually," Grandma said with a sly twinkle in her eye, "we women folk have been taking care of the cooking in this family for as long as I can remember. Maybe this year the men folk should do the cooking."

Benny and I grinned at each other. Grandma was the only one in the entire family who would stand up to Grandpa and she always seemed to right when everyone wanted to.

"Luckily you love to cook, Kris," Dad said. "Otherwise, I have a feeling we'd be having pizza for lunch."

"Well, Kris only lets me in the kitchen to keep him company while he cooks," Brad said, "but I will be glad to make the tea and set the table."

I noticed he didn't say "help set the table." He knew as well as I did that Grandpa wouldn't lift a finger to do that. However, I did know for a fact that Grandpa did help Grandma out in the kitchen more than he let on. He just didn't want anyone to know he did.

"I haven't set foot in the kitchen since high school, except to do dishes in the mess hall," Benny said, "but I'll help Brad set the table and help with the dishes afterwards."

"Kris will have to make the pies," Dad said, "but I can stuff the turkey and get it going. However, without Grandma's fabulous cornbread dressing, it won't be near as good."

"Okay, okay," Grandpa conceded, throwing his hands in the air. "You've made your point. The men can do the cooking. But I think I'd rather let the women folk do it because nobody can top Mama's cornbread dressing or pecan pies. And besides, it's tradition for the guys to watch football while the women gossip in the kitchen while they're doing the cooking."

Of course, that had been the way it had been done in our family for generations. I had been scolded by both my grandfathers all my life about wanting to be in the kitchen helping out instead of watching football with the others. Thankfully, Dad had always intervened and let me go to the kitchen, telling my grandfathers that maybe one day I would become a great chef. Although that wasn't going to happen, everyone did agree that I was a good cook and no one seemed too upset about my cooking abilities when I invited everyone over for a meal, but I had never invited either set of my grandparents over since Brad and I got together.

Seeing an opening, Grandma jumped in. "That's a good idea, Papa," she said. "You watch your precious games while we cook, then we'll watch our soap operas while the men do the dishes."

I was thankful that Brad really didn't care for sports either. He put his hand on my thigh again and said, "That will be fine. I'll wash and Kris can dry while Ben, Benny and Martin clear the table and clean up the kitchen."

Grandpa glared at Brad and started to retort, but Grandma put her hand on Grandpa's arm and smiled. "Thank you for the offer, Bradley," she said. "I am sure that you and Kristopher will need more help than they can supply, though. I think we'll just let them watch their games while we clean up the kitchen. If you and Kris want to do the dishes, we will appreciate your help."

"Good, that's settled," Benny spoke up. "Now, to change the subject, I have some good news."

"Oh?" Dad asked, looking at my older brother with not only a look of curiosity, but noticeable relief for the change of subject.

"Yes," he replied and explained about his transfer and that he would be staying with Mom and Dad for the next few months. "Of course," he added when he was through, "if you don't want me around that long, I can go ahead and get an apartment in Winchester after Thanksgiving and get settled in and stay there."

Mother jumped up and ran around the table to hug him. "I'm so glad that you are finally moving back closer to home," she said.

"Of course you will stay here, son," Dad said, leaning over and squeezing Benny's arm. "But you will probably want to find an apartment and get moved in before the weekend before the sixth, so you won't be rushed."

"Kris and I will be glad to help you look for an apartment, Benny," Brad said.

"Thanks, buddy," Benny replied, grinning over at Brad. Again, I was thankful that they liked each other.

Snow had blanketed Jefferson by the time Brad and I had finished the dishes that night. We had insisted that Grandma and Mother go sit in the den with the others and visit while we did the dishes.

"I wonder if it's a good idea for us to try to go home," I said as Brad and I stepped into the den. "Everything is covered out there now."

Dad switched on the scanner to listen to the Coast Guard's weather report. Since nothing was being reported but snow, he switched it over to the police band and we listened to the police reports for a while. All reports were bad. There had been several wrecks due to slick roads around the city. Travel was not advised.

Grandpa took a deep breath. I knew he didn't want to spend the night in his daughter's house, even though there would be plenty of room for him and Grandma and Brad and me to spend the weekend if we had to. I also knew that Grandma's medicine was at their house and she would need it to be able to get a good night's rest.

"Brad, maybe we should take Grandma and Grandpa home in my car," I suggested. "Their house is on our way home. I don't think it's a good idea for us all to try to drive in this mess."

"I think you should all just stay here," Mom said.

"That would be the best idea," I agreed, "but Grandma needs her medicine."

Grandpa looked from Brad to his wife. "That's true, too," he said.

To my surprise, he asked, "Would you mind dropping us off at our house on your way home, Brad? I'm still pretty good at the wheel in good weather, but not when it gets slick. Reflexes aren't what they used to be."

Brad glanced at me. I could tell he really didn't want to drive in it either, but he knew he had to. "Sure," he replied.

Mom hugged us all and told Grandma and me to be sure and call her when we got home.

Grandma had no trouble getting into the back seat. I was again thankful that I had gotten the bigger car. Brad and I did have to scrape the snow off my car before we were able to leave, but Benny and Dad came out to help us. We were all thankful that it hadn't snowed enough that we had to clear the driveway before Brad could back out and head toward home.

To keep Brad's attention on the road, I didn't even attempt to place my hand on his leg while he drove. The road was slick in spots, mostly at the intersections, but Brad was a good driver and managed to slow down enough that he didn't slide too much. Because it was almost 7:30 on a Friday evening, most people were already home or where they were going to spend the night, so we didn't see much traffic.

Brad and I helped Grandpa and Grandma into their house when we arrived. It was snowing even harder by then.

Grandma hugged me and said, "Call me when you get home."

"I will," I promised.

I hugged Grandpa at the door and he turned to Brad. "Thank you for bringing us home, Brad," he said. "Take good care of my little boy."

I grinned. I loved it when he called me that, but not when other people were around. Now that he was calling me that in front of my lover, it was a good feeling.

"I will, sir," Brad replied and shook Grandpa's hand.

Brad and I got into the car and he took a deep breath. "That's a relief to get them home," he said. "I would have rather spent the night at your parent's than drive in this mess. I'm going to need a drink when we get home."

"Okay, get us home and I'll give you a good massage, too."

He grinned at me as he started the car. "I might even pass on the drink for that."

I leaned over and kissed him on the lips, but didn't say anything. We rode in silence on the way to our apartment. I was thankful that we had left his Mustang at my office. It would have been covered in snow by now had we not. I wished that we had covered parking at the complex.

Brad skillfully managed to regain control of the car as we slid into the parking lot of our complex. He pulled into the parking spot where I always parked and breathed a sigh of relief as he turned off the ignition.

"Remind me to check your tread when we can get out again, babe," he said. "I don't think we'll be spending tomorrow with our brothers like Benny wanted us to."

I hadn't had any tire trouble since I got the car, but had only had it for a year. "Surely the tread wouldn't be bare in a year, would it?" I asked.

He shrugged and opened the door. The flakes were coming down faster now and they were bigger. "I'll check them anyway."

"Okay," I agreed. What I knew about cars would fit on the head of a pin with a lot of room left over, so I always let Brad service my car. The only thing I ever did to it was fill it up with gas.

Brad and I took our shoes off at the door and put them on a paper sack I had left in the kitchen so the carpet wouldn't get dirty from the snow and mud. "I'm sorry we didn't get to go to the club and dance to our song," I said as Brad hung our coats in the closet.

Brad shrugged and closed the door. "It's okay, babe, at least we were together. That's all that matters to me."

"Me, too," I replied and kissed him.

Snow blanketed the courtyard. I sighed and looked out the patio doors. I couldn't even tell that there was a swimming pool underneath the layer of snow. The sky was a brilliant blue and clear. I hoped that meant that it would warm up and the snow would melt.

Brad's warm arms wrapped around me and he nuzzled my neck. "Morning," he whispered. "What are you doing up so early?"

I turned around in his arms. He was nude. He had not gone back into the bedroom to get his robe or shorts when he noticed I had the drapes open. "I wanted to see what the weather was doing in case I could go see Benny," I replied. "Why didn't you put your robe on?"

He grinned the grin that had made me fall in love with him and made a pass at me. Bradley Peterson could make me do anything with that grin. The blood rushed to the center of my body. "I wanted to make love to you before you got up," he replied. "I figured this way you'd have to come back to bed."

"You know I'd go back to bed with you without you showing off to the neighbors," I tried to scold, but couldn't help smiling at his handsome face.

He smiled and pushed me closer to the window, keeping his arms around me and holding me between him and the view of anyone who might happen to be spying on us. He closed the drapes and kissed me on the lips. "I love you, Kristopher," he whispered. "I wanna make love to you."

"Okay," I replied. I loved the way he looked in the mornings. His tousled brown hair and his puppy-dog brown eyes drove me crazy. His day's growth of beard and mustache added a ruggedness to his good-looks. After his twin brother, Chad, had gotten a tan, I had tried to get Brad to grow a mustache, but he didn't care for wearing one. I was thankful that I could tell them apart just by the way Brad looked at me, but I did have the mole that was on the outside edge of Brad's pubic hair to tell them apart by. Chad didn't have a mole there. Not that I would go around pulling their pants down in public to tell which was which, but if I needed to, I could use that as a means of distinguishing the two.

Brad picked me up and carried me back into our bedroom. He laid me down on our king-sized bed and slipped off my robe. He guided himself over me and kissed me on the lips, pressing our rigid organs together as he let his hot tongue explore my anxious mouth.

"I love you," he whispered against my lips.

"I love you, too, Brad," I replied. He kissed his way slowly down my neck and slender chest, pausing only briefly to flick his tongue over my erect nipples. My five-inch cock was screaming for attention by the time that hot tongue licked the back of it. He slowly took me all the way into his warm moist mouth and I pressed my hips up, pressing my blonde bush against his nose.

Placing my hands on his head, I wiggled my bottom as he sucked my aching cock.

Brad grinned up at me as he let my rod fall out of his mouth. He took it in his hand and slowly stroked it, making his fingers wet with spittle and my pre-cum. Without uttering a word, he raised me up a little and pressed his now wet fingers into my waiting love hole.

"Mm," I moaned. "I love it when you do that, Brad."

He pressed another finger in and took my waiting cock back into his mouth. Probing my ass with his fingers and his mouth on my cock, he was driving me wild with ecstasy.

My balls were burning with desire and I knew I was getting close. He smiled at me and let go of my cock again.

"No, don't stop," I gasped.

He reached over to the night stand and removed a condom and ripped it open. "I wanna cum with you," he whispered.

I rubbed his cock for a few moments while he pulled out the condom, then I helped him slip it on.

Brad was a pre-mature ejaculator. It only took him a few minutes to come the first time, but a few minutes later he would be boned again and he could last up to an hour.

Brad spread my legs and took hold of his cock. He guided it into my waiting and ready love hole. We had been together long enough that we didn't have to use a condom, but Brad always blasted such a large load, that it had an enema effect on me if he didn't use one. I had let him fuck me without one a few times and, although we both enjoyed it more without it, we both regretted it later. There was always more of a mess to clean up.

Pulling my hips up a little, Brad pushed his cock all the way inside me up to his brown bush. After we found our rhythm, he reached down and took my cock in his hand. I wiggled underneath him and he plowed my ass with his big cock and pumped my swollen rod at the same time. I knew that if he kept it up, I wouldn't be able to hold out until he came.

"Oh, Kristopher," he gasped, "your little ass is so tight this morning. I love fucking your tight ass, babe."

I flinched my ass muscles together, grabbing his hard rod with all my might. "I'm cumming," I gasped.

He grinned and I melted. "Cum on, babe," he whispered. "I'm cumming, too. Blast with me. Shoot me in the face."

I was breathing heavily. I tried to keep my eyes open so I could see his handsome face as I came, but my eyes rolled back in their sockets, forcing the lids closed. I gasped as my balls continued to burn. His hard rod was pounding in and out of my hole and the bed was shaking. I could feel his rod expand. That's all I needed. My own cock swelled in his hot hand and I blasted up into his face. He smiled and opened his mouth as my cream splattered his face and he caught some of it on his tongue. I had been impressed how he had stopped screaming when he came, after our next door neighbor had told him that he could hear him through the wall every night when he came.

I could feel his own organ squirt deep into the condom inside me. I often wondered how he managed to keep from blasting a hole in it.

He collapsed on top of me and kissed me on the lips. I licked my cream off his face. "I love you," he whispered.

"I know," I replied with a smile. "I love you, too."

We kissed for a few more minutes, then he rolled off and yanked off the condom. He tied the end of it and tossed it in the trash can that we kept beside the bed, then he pulled me over against him and I nestled my face against his neck and we drifted off to sleep.

Sometime later I awoke to the ringing of the phone. I yawned and reached across Brad and picked up the instrument. The cordless had a Caller-id display on it, so I could tell it was my parent's number, but I didn't know who might be calling from their house. "Hello?" I asked, sleepily as Brad moaned, rubbed my back and stretched.

I glanced at the clock as Benny said, "You still in bed? It's ten hundred hours."

"Ten hundred?" I asked. I had been raised on military time, but I still couldn't get used to it. "No, it's only been fourteen hours since I talked to you last."

I had called Grandma and Grandpa after we got home the night before, then I called Mom and Dad and talked to Benny for a few minutes before Brad and I took a shower and went to bed.

"Silly, you know what I mean," Benny replied with a deep chuckle that sent a warm feeling through my body. I was so glad that he was home and wouldn't be so far away when he moved to Winchester.

"I did get up at about seven," I admitted as Brad opened his eyes, "but Brad carried me back to bed."

I grinned at Brad as Benny said, "No wonder you don't want to come over and spend any time with me."

"I do, too," I protested. "It's just that I can't get out because of the snow."

"I know," he replied, sadly. "I really did want to spend the day with you."

"Hopefully it will clear up some this afternoon," I replied.

"Even if it doesn't they'll plow the roads," Brad said, pushing me over onto my back as he rolled over on top of me. He kissed me on the neck and said, "Morning, Benny," loud enough that Benny could hear him.

"Good morning sleepy head," Benny replied.

Kissing me on the lips, Brad pushed himself up and rolled off the bed and headed for the bathroom. I watched him go, forgetting that my brother was on the phone. I loved the way Brad walked on the balls of his feet, making his ass cheeks flinch together. My mind went back to the month before when Brad had taken me out to Kilgore Island for our second anniversary. We had been in a pup- tent together. We were alone out beside the lagoon. I had rimmed that little puckered hole of his several times in the past two years, but I had only fucked it that one time we were by the lagoon. He had told me after we had returned home that weekend that he wouldn't tell me never to do it again, but he hadn't told me I could either. As I watched him walk nude toward the hall door on his way to the bathroom, my cock swelled to full erection thinking about that weekend. The sound of the water fall, the feel of Brad's ass muscles squeezing around my dick, the feel of his large organ growing inside my ass as we lay in the edge of the water. The following weekend we had returned to the island to discover that all of my sea shells were still there as we had left them, spelling out 'I love you, Kris'. We had gathered all 300 of them up and brought them home with us. I had put five of them around the apartment, but the rest of them we had had to store in my parent's attic.

Brad had disappeared into the hallway and I could hear his urine hitting the water in the toilet, but it was my brother's voice calling me from a distance that brought me back to reality. "Kris? Hey, are you still there? Kris?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said, trying to clear the image of that perfect, special weekend from my mind. "I got lost in thought about something," I admitted.

"Brad's not doing you while I'm on the phone with you, is he?" Benny asked, timidly.

"No, no," I replied, sitting up and adjusting my pillow. "He's in the shower," I informed him as I heard Brad turn on the water.

"So, if the road crew can get the roads clear, what do you want to do today?" Benny asked.

"You could come over and spend the day here," I said. "I can get Brad to go over to his parent's or brother's. I've got to do laundry, so you can sit and talk to me while I do that."

"I didn't really want to spend the day doing laundry," he admitted. "You've got to work all next week, don't you?" he asked.

"No, I have Thursday and Friday off for Thanksgiving. Brad's off also. We do have to work Monday through Wednesday, though."

"Grandma said that everyone will be here tomorrow evening, so I'd like to spend as much time as I can with you before they get here. We might not see much of each other until after they're gone, otherwise."

"That's true," I agreed as I heard my parent's doorbell ring in the background.

"Oh, good, that's Paul," Benny said. Lieutenant Paul Duncan had been Dad's co-pilot for almost a year. He and his wife, Beth, spent a lot of time over at my parent's house.

"Good, that means they've got the roads cleared," I said. "Paul wouldn't get out on bad roads unless he had to make a rescue."

"That's true," Benny agreed. He had only met Paul once, the past Christmas, but they had seemed to hit it off pretty good.

"I'll double-check the road conditions," he continued, "then I will take Grandpa his car and have him drop me off at your place. How does that sound?"

"Okay. That will work," I replied.

"Great. I'll call you before I leave."

After hanging up with Benny I got up and went into the bathroom. I was thankful that I had lost my erection while talking to him.

After relieving myself, I went into the kitchen, washed my hands and started coffee. I knew that Brad would be hungry since it was so late. Even on normal weekends we were usually up and around by nine. Because it had been snowing when we got home the night before, we hadn't gone out to the workout room. However, on the nights we went out dancing, we didn't workout when we got home anyway - at least not in the workout room.

I started cooking the sausage and then returned to the bedroom, made the bed and slipped my robe on. I was just returning to the kitchen when the phone rang. "Hello?" I asked, picking up the instrument underneath the cabinet on the wall in the kitchen. This phone didn't have a Caller-id box, so I didn't know who it was.

"Okay, Kris," Benny said. "Grandpa said he'd take me over there if I brought him the car. Luckily, he left the key with Dad last night. I'll go get him and we'll be there in about half an hour."

"Okay. I'm making breakfast but I'm sure you've already eaten."

"Yes, we had breakfast about eight," Benny replied. "Felt really odd being able to sleep in late. I'm usually up by five. Six on weekends. Wasn't really sure how to handle sleeping in until seven."

"Brad and I wake up about six every morning," I informed him as I heard Brad turn the water off in the shower. "I get breakfast made and we have time to enjoy it before we have to be at work at eight. We usually leave about seven-forty."

"That's good," he replied. "Okay, I'll get outta here and we'll see you in a little while."

"Be careful," I said.

I hung up and poured Brad a cup of coffee and carried it into the bathroom. He had dried off and was standing in front of the sink shaving when I stepped into the bathroom.

"Thanks, hon," he said.

Since his face was covered with shaving cream, I didn't attempt to kiss him and he didn't take a sip of coffee. "Benny said Paul showed up a little bit ago. The roads have been plowed. He's going to run Grandpa's car over to him and Grandpa will drop him off here in about half an hour.

"Breakfast is ready," I added.

"Great. I'm starving. So, what do you want to do with Benny today?" he asked and bent over to wash the remaining cream off his face.

"We can't really go anywhere," I said. "You need to take my car so you can go visit your parents or brother. So, I guess we'll stay here and he can watch me do laundry."

Brad smiled and leaned over and kissed me. "Honey, I think I'm the only person in this world who doesn't mind watching you do laundry."

Brad had wrapped the towel around his muscular waist. He picked up the cup I had set on the counter for him and carried it with him as we went back to the dining room. He set the cup on the table and, while I put breakfast on the table, he got out the dishes and set the table.

"I'm afraid you're right," I agreed as we worked.

"Of course, if I were going to spend the day with you," he said, "I'd gladly watch you do laundry, then I'd take you out to the boardwalk. I'm sure that the lake is probably frozen and it would be so pretty with the snow surrounding it. It would be fantastic to hold hands and watch the others ice skate."

"Brad, you know that lake's never frozen solid enough to ice skate on," I reminded him. I had been born and raised in Jefferson. Brad's family hadn't moved there until after he and Chad had graduated high school. Brad had gone to the same college I had, but I hadn't met him. I had actually graduated the same day as Brad, but he had graduated in the morning and I in the afternoon.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. But I do think it'd be fun to go out and hold hands while we walk along the boardwalk."

"I agree with you there," I replied. "Maybe Benny and I should do that. He hasn't been to the boardwalk since high school. He used to like to go roller skating with his friends there."

"Now, Kristopher," Brad said, placing his napkin in his lap as we sat down at the table, "I know you love your brother, but I don't want you doing anything kinky with him while he's here. Especially not holding hands out on the boardwalk."

I couldn't help grinning. "Don't worry, darling," I replied. "I'm not into that. The most we ever did together when we were growing up was he taught me how to masturbate. After that, since he had his room and I had mine, we never even did that together again."

"That's good," he replied and took a bite of sausage.

I smiled and asked, "What about you and Chad?"

"You know how bashful Chad is," he replied. "We never did anything together. I was really surprised when he actually stripped in front of you that time and showed you that I have the mole and he doesn't.

"Actually," Brad admitted, "I don't even know if he jerks off. We shared a room together, but I always did it in the shower and I never caught him doing it."

"Who taught you?" I asked.

He grinned at me. "You really don't want to know," he said.

"Yes I do," I replied. "I want to know everything there is to know about you."

"My first lover. He was a little older than me. He taught me how to jerk off, then he sucked me off, then he got me to fuck him. We were together for about a month before he discovered girls. We were both in Junior High then."

"But a girl can't fuck you up the ass," I protested.

He grinned. "I know. I found it really strange that he did like to be fucked, but after he got his first pussy, he didn't want me anymore."

"Why didn't you ever try girls?" I asked, timidly. "'Specially since you don't like it up the ass."

He shrugged. "I don't know. Just never got horny looking at a girl. But I can look at you and get a boner in a heartbeat."

"I guess we'd better change the subject," I said, getting up to get another glass of milk. "Grandpa might want to come in with Benny for a while."

Brad chuckled. "I sure do wish he'd go ahead and take the plunge," he said.

"What do you mean?" I asked, frowning at him as I sat back down.

"I know that he doesn't approve of you being gay," he explained, "but the last few times that I've been around him, he's always left saying, 'you'd better take good care of my little boy'. I must be growing on him or something. I just wish he'd realize that I will do everything in my power to make sure that you are happy and accept that I'm not going to hurt you or leave you, either."

I smiled. "I've never been happier, either," I replied. I reached over and took his left hand in mine. I smiled tenderly as I ran my finger over the gold ring with a row of diamonds on the top of it that he wore on his left hand. It hadn't been removed since I had slipped it on that finger the day of our second anniversary. Even though we hadn't had an official wedding ceremony, it was proof that he was mine.

I glanced up into those beautiful brown eyes and melted as he smiled at me. "I love you, Kristopher Martin Brown," he whispered.

"I love you, too, Bradley Allen Peterson," I replied. We leaned across the table and kissed gently on the lips.

"I hate to say this, babe," he said, leaning back as we broke the kiss, "but I wish they weren't coming."

I grinned and let go of his warm hand. "So do I," I admitted and got up and began clearing the table.

"Go get your shower, babe," Brad said, taking the plate from me. "I'll get this. You need to be ready when they get here."

"Thank you." I kissed him and went into the bathroom.

Snuggling into my warm heavy coat, I squinted against the sun's bright rays as they reflected off the winter wonderland. My dark sunglasses didn't block out enough of the brightness. The wind wasn't blowing; that I was thankful for. Benny stood next to me as we looked out over the lake. The tide was out and the water was calm. It was beautiful, but I wished that he had let Brad come with us. This was a sight to share with your husband or lover, not something you really wanted to share with your big brother.

"I'm glad Brad suggested this," Benny said softly, putting his arm around me. "I know you'd rather be with Brad right now, but I really am glad that you're spending this time alone with me."

I smiled up at his handsome face. Again, I couldn't believe how much he looked like Dad. Resting my head on his broad shoulder, I replied, "I'm glad that you're here, Benny. I am really thankful that you're going to be moving to Winchester, too."

"I'd like to see if you could take a few days off the first week of December and go with me to Winchester to check out apartments. You're the one with taste and I would like to get your opinion on the apartment before I commit to one."

I smiled. "I don't know if I could stand to be away from Brad for that long," I admitted. "We haven't spent a night away from each other in the two years we've been together."

"You're kidding?" he asked, brushing the snow off a park bench with his glove-clad hand so we could sit down.

"Nope," I replied. We sat down on the bench and watched a couple of guys go by on roller-blades.

"Even Mom and Dad spent some time apart after they got married," he reminded me.

"True, but that was only because Grandpa had that award ceremony in Washington when he got promoted to Admiral and Dad had to work the full weekend. He also had a few weeks after I was born when he had to go to San Diego to get his license for flying the chopper. Therefore, he and Mom have had a lot of nights they weren't able to spend together. Brad and I haven't had any."

"Maybe it's time you did," Benny said. "They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. A few days away from each other and you might actually realize that you could live without him."

I frowned at him. He had never been down on my sexuality before and he had always told me that he was glad I had someone so special as Brad. I sensed a setup. "Grandpa put you up to this, didn't he?"

Even though he, too, was wearing dark sunglasses, I could tell he looked away. I was furious! I jumped up. "He did, didn't he?" I demanded. He turned his head as a couple of girls our age, walked by talking and laughing. One of them smiled at him. He returned her smile, basically ignoring me. I knew then that Grandpa had put him up to separating Brad and me. He wasn't ignoring me just because he didn't want to make a scene in front of the girls.

Benny had never lived by himself before. He had joined the Navy right out of high school and had lived in the barracks for the past eight years. I had no doubt that he would be able to live by himself because he had been trained to take care of the barracks and the mess hall and he could learn to cook. At first I had been honored that he wanted me to help him find an apartment, but now I was furious that he'd help Grandpa try to split Brad and me up.

The girls walked on, then the second girl looked back at us. "Benjamin?" she asked, grabbing the other girl by the shoulder to stop her.

"Benjamin Brown? Is that you?"

He frowned and stood up. I realized he didn't recognize her. She looked familiar to me, but I didn't recall her name, either.

"Yes?" he replied.

She removed her sunglasses and grabbed and hugged him. He didn't stop her. He returned the hug, even though I could tell he still didn't recognize her. "It's been a coon's age," she said letting go of him and smiling up at him. "You don't remember me? I'm Tiffany Sutton. We graduated high school together."

"Oh, yes," Benny replied, smiling at her. "Now I remember you." I did too, at that point. She had been his date to the Senior Prom. She had changed a little, but not much, plus, with the white coat that had a hood on it that she was wearing, all we could really see was her face. She was also the sister of Jeff, the first guy I'd had sex with - the guy I'd been with when Grandpa caught us kissing. I wondered what happened to him and if he had ever found the man of his dreams the way I had. He and I had split up after being together for one semester, but had remained friends through high school. He had graduated the year before me and went to college in another town and hadn't kept in touch.

Benny kept his arm around Tiffany. "How have you been?" he asked.

"Great! I'm getting married in June. Oh, I want you to meet my future sister-in-law. Sylvia Franklin, this is Benjamin Brown, Junior. He was my date at the Senior Prom."

Again Sylvia looked at him approvingly. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," he replied. He let go of Tiffany and turned to me. I was still standing. "You might not remember my brother, Kristopher," Benny said.

We exchanged formalities and Tiffany smiled at me. "Yes, I do remember you. Jeff still talks about you occasionally."

"How is he?" I asked.

"He's doing great. After he graduated from UCLA, he got a job in Denver. He still hasn't found his soul mate, but he's still looking."

"I'm glad he's doing well," I replied.

"You can tell him that Kris has found his soul mate," Benny informed her.

"Congratulations," she said, smiling at me. "So, what are you doing these days, Benny?" she asked, returning her gaze to him.

"I'm a Lieutenant in the Navy," he informed her. "I've been stationed in Houston, Texas for quite a while and am now transferring to Winchester."

"Neat. Glad to hear that you'll be back in the neighborhood, so to speak," she said. "Do you think you could make it to the wedding?" she asked.

"I really don't know what I'll be up against," he replied, "but send me an invitation to my parent's house and I'll see if I can get away."

"Great. We'd love to have you.

"Well, it was great seeing both of you again," Tiffany said, smiling politely at me. I returned the smile and she hugged Benny again.

As they walked away, I heard Sylvia say, "What'd you let him go for? He's much better looking than Harold."

"I can't believe that I couldn't remember her name," Benny said, sitting back down on the bench. "I was actually considering marrying her myself, back before I joined the Navy."

"Good thing you didn't," I replied, sitting down beside him. "No telling what would have happened after you ran off to Houston."

"That's true," Benny agreed. "But you know as well as I do that I didn't have a choice on where I was going after I joined. This time I'm lucky that they have a position open for me in Winchester, or I wouldn't be going there now, either."

"I like ICC," I said. I was still mad at him and was tempted to walk off and leave him sitting on the bench alone. "I'm glad that Brad loves his job at Jefferson Bank and Trust, too.

"Brad mentioned wanting to take a vacation sometime next month," I said, more to let him know that Brad and I weren't going to be breaking up and that we had future plans together, than anything else. "We both have two weeks coming that we haven't taken yet, but we want to just take one week in December and then the other sometime in the spring after everything turns green. We're not sure what we want to do in the spring, but we are planning on going to a bed and breakfast somewhere next month and just enjoy the view of the snow-covered wilderness around the bed and breakfast.

"We're not sure which one to go to," I continued. "We've got it narrowed down to two. One's in Pennsylvania and the other is in Wyoming. Of course, Wyoming is closer, but we both really like the one in Pennsylvania. There are pine trees around it and it's kind of secluded. It'll be real romantic. There are fireplaces in each of the rooms and if we get a room on the second floor, we'll have a private balcony that looks out over the wilderness."

Benny sighed and stood up. He walked across the boardwalk and placed his hands on the guardrail that separated the boardwalk from the rocky terrain below. If someone tried to climb over the guardrail and go down to the water's edge, they could get trapped when the high tide came in. Kilgore Lake was four hundred miles wide and six hundred miles long. It could be a place to have fun, but when the weather was bad, the raging water could be deadly. Jefferson was only one small town on the edge of the lake. We had lived there all of our lives. Since Dad was in Search and Rescue for the Coast Guard, we knew how important that guardrail was.

Reluctantly, I got up and crossed the Boardwalk. Benny looked at me a second before he said, "I'm sorry, Kris. I told Grandpa that it wouldn't work, but he wanted me to try anyway.

"I hate to say this, Kris," he added, pulling me into his arms, "but I really am jealous of what you and Brad have. I wish that I could find someone to hold the way he holds you. Someone who'd look at me the way he looks at you."

I smiled and snuggled a little closer to him. My anger towards him evaporated and I hugged him tighter. "I love you, Benny," I said, softly. "I'm glad you didn't really want to separate us. I'll be glad to take a weekend and go to Winchester with you next month to help you find an apartment. Brad will be okay for two days. I'll have him go spend the weekend with his parents."

"No you won't," he replied. "You and he can come along and he can help us look for an apartment for me. We can rent a couple of rooms at a hotel so you won't have to spend the night away from each other. I'm not going to try to break you up again, Kris. I love you too much to have you mad at me like that again."

"Thank you," I replied.

"You know what?" I asked as we slowly started back to the car.

"No, what?" he asked.

"When you get your own apartment, it will be easier for you to find someone special when you're not on the base all the time."

"That's probably true," he agreed. "It's kind of hard to find a woman when all you hang around with are guys."

"Mm, maybe I should have joined the Navy," I said with a chuckle.

"No, then you wouldn't have met Brad," he replied, smiling down at me. "And no matter what Grandpa or anyone else says, Kris, you hang on to him. Nobody is ever going to love you as much as he does."

"Thanks, Benny," I said, softly. "I plan on keeping him."

Brad added another log to the fire in the hearth in the living room of my parent's house. "Damn," he said, softly, "I wish they'd hurry up and get here."

"So do I," I replied as he got up and sat down on the couch beside me.

It was Sunday evening. Mom was in the den getting things ready for the arrival of Aunt Shari, Uncle Stan and Gary. I had offered to help her, but she had insisted that Brad and I sit in the living room and watch for their arrival. Dad and Benny had gone over to Grandma and Grandpa's to help them get ready for Stephanie, Blake and Bridgette.

I looked at the clock on the mantle. "It's seven-thirty," I said. "Grandma said they should have been here by six. I hope they didn't have any trouble."

"So do I," Brad said.

"Maybe they stopped by Grandma and Grandpa's first," I suggested.

"Maybe. Hey, Kris?" he asked softly as he nuzzled my neck.

"Yes?"

"Do you know how much I love you?"

"Well, even though it's been a good fifteen minutes since you told me, I do know," I replied, grinning at him.

He smiled and kissed me on the lips. "I love you, too," I said when we broke the kiss.

"Wait here," he said. Getting up, Brad headed into the hallway. I heard him open the closet door and close it. I figured he was getting something out of his coat pocket. A moment later he returned with something in his hand, but he held it so that I couldn't see what it was.

Brad sat back down next to me and put his arm around me. He kissed me gently on the lips. "This might not be the best time to do this," he said, softly. "But I think that it's better to do this now than to try to do it later when everyone is here. It might be awkward then."

I looked worriedly at Brad. In the two years we'd been together I had never considered the possibility of him leaving me, nor of me leaving him. Had he gotten tired of Grandpa trying to split us up and gone to get the key to our apartment out of his coat pocket? Was he getting ready to tell me that he was leaving me now? As fear gripped at my chest, he pulled back a little and smiled at me. "Kristopher, you have made me the happiest man on this earth," he said, not noticing my fear. He looked down at his hand and opened it. There was a small black velvet box in his hand. I breathed a noticeable sigh of relief.

He looked up at me and smiled. "I love you, Kris," he said, still speaking softly. "I couldn't believe it when you gave me this ring," he said, indicating the ring on his left ring finger. "It has been proof to the world that I belong to you. Now, it's time that you have proof to the world that you belong to me."

He opened the small black box. Inside was a smaller version of the same ring that he wore. I gasped as I stared at it. I couldn't believe that he actually found one that matched his.

Brad took the ring out of its resting place and set the box on the coffee table. Then he picked up my hand in his and gently placed the ring on my finger. "With this ring, I thee wed," he said and leaned over and kissed me on the lips. "Maybe your Grandpa will leave us alone now that we have proof we belong to each other."

Tears blurred his handsome face and streamed down my cheeks as I cried. "I can't believe you did this," I sobbed. "I love you so much. Thank you so much."

"I love you, too, baby," he whispered. "You're mine now." He kissed me gently on the lips and I melted into his arms.

"I'll always be yours, Brad," I whispered.

He pulled back a few minutes later and grinned at me.

"Now when we go to either Wyoming or Pennsylvania, we'll be on our official honeymoon."

"I like that idea," I replied as he brushed the tears from my cheeks and Mother walked in from the hallway.

"Kristopher, are you crying?" Mother asked, worriedly.

"Yes," I replied with a smile. I got up and held my hand out for her to see. "Look what Brad did."

"Oh, that's wonderful!" she exclaimed. She hugged me then she hugged Brad, who had gotten up to join us.

"Now I'm an official member of the family," Brad said, putting our hands together so she could see both rings.

Mother had made breakfast for us on the day of our anniversary the month before, before we had gone out to Kilgore Island. That had been the day I had given him his ring, but I hadn't thought to do it as our wedding ceremony.

"I'm glad that you could find one that matched," Mom said.

"So am I," he replied. "I drug Chad all over town yesterday looking for this one." Brad put his hand on my hip and looked into my eyes. "Yesterday morning when you sat across from me and ran your finger over my ring, at breakfast," he explained, "I liked that feeling and I wanted to do it to you, too. But I hadn't given you a ring, so I couldn't. That's when I decided that since you were going to be out with Benny all day and I wasn't going to be with you, that would be the only chance I'd get to find one. Since this wasn't a wedding band, it was difficult to find a mate to it. I was afraid I was going to have to have one custom made, but Zale's had one just like mine. They did have to cut it down to fit you, though. Luckily, even though you don't wear your Senior Class ring very often, I knew that it still fits, so I was able to get the size from it."

I feigned anger as I said, "What? That sales lady told me that was a one-of-a-kind and there wasn't a mate to it or another one like it. I ought to sue them for false advertising."

Brad wrapped his arm around me and pulled me against him. "No, baby, I'm glad that I could get one just like it. I wanted our rings to match, just like we do."

I pressed my body against his and kissed him on the lips. "I am glad that she didn't know there was another one, too," I said, softly.

"Well, I am very happy for both of you," Mother said. She hugged us both again, then added, "And as far as Ben and I have been concerned, Brad, you have always been a member of this family. We've never seen Kris as happy as he is when you're around. No matter what Grandpa says, Grandma, Benny, Ben and I want you two to stay together."

"I'm not going anywhere," Brad said, leading me back over to the sofa.

"Neither am I," I replied as we sat back down.

"I'm wondering if maybe Stephanie, Blake and Bridgette should stay here instead of at Mom and Dad's," Mom said, changing the subject as she sat down in an easy chair and looked worriedly out the large picture window at the circular driveway.

"I think Grandma is really looking forward to having company," I replied, taking Brad's hand in mine. Our rings were together so we could see both of them. They really were a perfect match, just like we were.

"No, I mean let Shari, Stan and Gary stay over there and they stay here. I don't think Mom is up to having a two-year old in the house."

"No, Katherine," Brad said, "I think she's looking forward to having her there. I knew the way she looked when you told her that some of them need to stay over here, Friday night, that she really wants them all to stay over there. I think having a youngster in the house will do her good."

"Maybe you're right, Brad," Mom said.

"I agree with him," I said.

Brad put his arm around me and smiled as he said, "Just as long as she's not staying with us, I don't care where she stays."

"Maybe we should go to your parent's for Thanksgiving," I said. "There won't be any children there."

"Nah, I think I can handle it for one day," Brad said as we saw Grandpa's car pull into the driveway.

Mom jumped up and rushed to the front door. Brad and I got up and followed as we heard the garage door open. Although we hadn't seen Dad's car, we knew that he and Benny were back.

As Mother opened the front door to look out, we saw a black mini-van pull in the circular drive behind Grandpa's Towne car. Grandpa had parked behind my car.

We grabbed our coats from the closet and ran outside to help Grandma out of the car and to see who was in the mini-van. Uncle Stan was out of the van before Brad and I reached Grandpa's car. Mother rushed to great Aunt Shari as she got out of the front seat. Even though they were still close, they hadn't seen each other since Stephanie and Blake's wedding three years before.

Brad opened the car door for Grandma and she took my hand and stepped out of the car. Balancing herself against Brad, she held onto my hand and looked at it. "My memory might not be as good as it used to be, Kristopher," she said, "but I do know that this ring wasn't there Friday night."

"No, he just gave it to me," I replied.

"Good. I've always thought you belong together," she said and kissed Brad on the cheek.

Even though we lived only about ten minutes apart when the roads were good, Brad hadn't met my grandparents until that summer when we had gotten shipwrecked on Kilgore Island in his parent's new houseboat. Grandma had taken to Brad instantly and was happy for us.

As we guided Grandma toward the house, the others had finally gotten out of the mini-van and headed inside. I was happy to see that everyone was there. After I greeted everyone, I took a deep breath and stepped over next to Brad; he was standing in the doorway to the living room looking kind of like a lost puppy since he didn't know any of the newcomers.

Poor Bridgette had been asleep when they arrived. Now she was waking up in a new place and wasn't sure if she was excited because it was a new place, or scared because she didn't know anyone there, but she wasn't awake enough to really know what was going on.

Stephanie sat down on the couch and Blake handed Bridgette to her. Stephanie appeared to be around six months pregnant, so she had no business carrying their daughter at that stage. She pulled the little blond that looked so much like her into her lap and Bridgette lay her head on her mother's shoulder and stuck her thumb in her mouth as she dozed off.

I had never hidden my sexuality from my family, but I hadn't flaunted it either. I had never had a boyfriend when this part of the family had visited. I didn't know what they knew. "Everyone," I said. "I'd like for you to meet my roommate, Brad Peterson.

"Brad, this is my uncle, Stan Jones," I said, introducing him to the tall slender man with graying black hair, who stood next to the fireplace.

"Nice to meet you, sir," Brad said, shaking his hand. I noticed it was a strong, firm handshake.

"Nice meeting you," Uncle Stan said. "We haven't heard much about you. Just that you and Kris are roommates."

"Oh?" Brad asked, glancing at me. "Well, there's not much to tell. I work at Jefferson Bank and Trust here in town. I take care of the computers."

"I see," Uncle Stan said. "This is my son, Gary," he added, turning to the young man who stood beside him.

"Glad you were able to make it, Gary," Brad said, shaking his hand. "I hear that you are the keyboardist for Cliff Richmond. That must be fun."

Gary smiled. He was thirty now and in great shape. It was hard for me to believe that I hadn't seen him since the wedding. He had just bought the garage then. His straight-white teeth glistened in the light of the fire. "Yeah, it's been something else, that's for sure," he said.

"We've been watching the news," Dad spoke up. "I hope there's not another incident like the fires at those grocery stores. Have they heard anything else about who started them or who threw the bomb into your manager's office building?"

"No. If they do know anything, they're keeping it hush-hush," Gary replied. "Cliff's just about ready to give up. We're trying to get him to at least hold off making that decision until after New Years."

"My cube mate at ICC - International Computer Company, where I work - said that he just bought your last single. He's got your album, too. So do we, actually."

"Oh?" Gary asked, surprised. "I didn't think they were selling it anywhere."

"Jason said they were selling like hot-cakes when he was there to get his copy," I informed him.

"That's good news," Gary replied.

"Tell him that his fans here in Jefferson want to see him make it to the top," Brad said.

"I will. Thanks," Gary said, shaking his hand again. He smiled at me and gave me a knowing wink, but didn't say anything.

I went on to Aunt Shari. She had sat down in a chair that Dad had brought in from the dining room. She was a year younger than Mother and it was obvious they were sisters. They both had blond hair and blue eyes and the same nose. Dad, Benny and Brad always teased me that I had mother's nose, but I always denied it. Secretly, I was glad I did.

"This is Aunt Shari," I told Brad. He shook her hand and then I turned to the short stout man with brown hair and piercing blue eyes, who stood next to her. He didn't seem to fit in the room with all the tall slender handsome men, but he belonged there as much as Brad did.

"This is Blake Walker," I said. I hadn't seen him since the wedding.

"Nice meeting you," Brad said, shaking his hand.

"Likewise," Blake replied.

"And this is Stephanie Walker," I said, turning to the pregnant lady who held the sleeping little girl as she sat on the couch.

"And this sleeping beauty must be Bridgette." We had both seen the pictures that Aunt Shari had sent to Mother, but none of us had met her.

"Yeah, she does appear to be a doll," Brad said. He smiled at Stephanie and added, "I hear you're carrying twins this time. I'm a twin. You might get to meet my brother while you're here."

"Oh, you are?" Stephanie asked, surprised.

I realized then that Mom might have told Aunt Shari about Brad and me, but Aunt Shari hadn't informed the rest of the family, thus the reason for Uncle Stan's earlier comment. I also knew that Gary had only known because he was working close enough with Cliff Richmond that he was able to tell that Brad and I were lovers.

"Yes, I'd like that," Stephanie continued. "We won't go into anything right now, but I'd like to talk to you about how you and your brother were treated growing up, how you handled it - you are identical, right?"

"Yes."

"Good. I do want to talk to you about how you handled that, too. I don't know if ours are boys or girls, or if they will be identical, but I would like to know how you felt and if you ever felt like you weren't an individual because of your brother."

"I'd be glad to talk to you and answer any questions you might have," Brad replied. "But I have always been an individual. Sometimes I think that Chad might have resented me. I think he was mistaken for me more than I was for him. We'll have to do lunch sometime this week and have him join us. That way you can find out his side, too."

"I'd like that," Stephanie replied.

"Great, I'll check with Chad in the morning and see if we can get together Tuesday for lunch," Brad said.

"Did you have any trouble getting here?" I heard Grandpa ask Uncle Stan.

"I'm looking forward to it," Stephanie said.

"There was some ice in places, but not too bad," Uncle Stan replied. "The reason we were late is because there was a semi jackknifed just this side of Denver and we had to wait about an hour before they could get it out of the way. Luckily, no one was injured."

"That's good," Grandma said.

"Did you drive straight through, or stop somewhere?" Grandpa asked.

Brad motioned for me to sit down on a dining room chair beside the armchair that Grandma had taken, then he sat down on the floor next to me.

"We spent the night in Denver," Aunt Shari replied. "Stephanie didn't need to be on the road that long. We'll stop there on our way back, too."

Benny got up and went into the dining room and returned with another chair. "Here you go, buddy," he said. "No need for you to sit on the floor."

"Thanks, Benny," Brad replied. "You didn't have to do that."

"No problem," Benny said and sat back down in the chair next to Grandpa.

As everyone relaxed and began to talk in small groups, Grandma reached across my lap and took my left hand. She turned it over and looked at the ring. I could see a twinkle of happiness in her tired blue eyes. "You're very lucky, Kristopher," she said, softly. "You keep him. Don't let anything that anyone, including Papa, says or does, break you two up."

"Thanks, Grandma," I replied. I leaned over and hugged her. As I pulled back, I caught Gary watching me from across the room. He smiled and I got up and asked, "Would anyone like any coffee or tea?"

I got a few yes responses, so I headed into the kitchen. I was actually surprised that Mother hadn't offered earlier, but she had been so overjoyed at seeing her sister again that she must have forgotten.

I picked up the coffee decanter and turned around to get water and bumped into Brad. "Need some help, babe?" he asked, softly.

"I think I can manage. Thanks, though," I replied. He kissed me and I pulled back just as Gary walked into the room.

"I thought so," Gary said. I blushed as I started filling up the decanter. "How long have you two been together?" Gary asked, sitting down on a bar stool at the breakfast bar.

"A little over two years," Brad replied, opening the coffee canister that Mother kept on the counter beside the flour, sugar and tea canisters, for me.

"We celebrated our second anniversary the seventeenth of October," I informed him.

"Mom said that Aunt Katherine told her you had a roommate, but she didn't elaborate. She also said that you would switch off going to Brad's parents place and here for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I always thought that was odd if you were just roommates, but now I can see why. I often wondered about you, Kris."

"Actually, this is just a one-night-stand that has lasted two- years," I said with a grin.

Brad put his arm around me and took my left hand in his left hand and placed both our hands on the counter for Gary to see. "And it's never going to be morning, either," he said.

Gary smiled at our rings. "Congratulations," he said.

"Thanks," I replied. I pulled out of Brad's warm embrace and opened the refrigerator door. I was thankful that Mother had made sun tea earlier, so I didn't have to brew it on the stove. The sun had already set.

Gary watched quietly while Brad got a few glasses out of the cabinet and I filled them up with ice and he filled them with tea from the gallon jug. Gary smiled and said, "You two make a good team. Just like watching Cliff and Rex in the kitchen."

I frowned. "Rex? Who's he?"

"Yeah, I thought Cliff's lover was Preston Townsen," Brad said. "Or is that just a cover up for his real lover, since Preston can obviously take care of himself and Cliff if he has to?"

"Whoops. I forgot. I'm not supposed to say it, but I guess I can trust you. Preston Townsen is just his stage name. His real name is Rex Edwards. He's a computer programmer for a major software company there in Timber Creek. No clients ever see him there, all of his customer contact is on the phone, so no one except for fellow employees will ever suspect anything and, so far, no one has, or they are so intimidated by his size - he really is six-three and weighs two-ten of pure muscle - they don't dare."

"Wow, I wouldn't want to mess with him, either," I said.

"His secret is safe with us," Brad promised.

"Thanks. And yours is safe with me," he replied. "But then, I guess everyone knows except for Mom, Dad, Stephanie and Blake?"

"I'm not too sure about your mom," I admitted. "I don't know what Mother told her. Grandpa is the only one who's not happy with it."

"Well, I won't tell my family. You can do that or let them find out when you're ready."

"Thanks," Brad said as I took Mother's silver service out of the cabinet where she kept it.

"Are you sure she wants you to use the good stuff, babe?" Brad asked.

"She'd kill me if I used the good stuff," I replied. "That's the china over there in the dining room in the china cabinet."

I poured the coffee into the silver coffee pot then put the iced tea on a serving tray. Brad carried the coffee while I carried the iced tea glasses and Gary followed us back into the living room.

"I'm surprised you let them get the coffee, Katherine," Uncle Stan said as we walked into the room.

"Why shouldn't they?" Grandma asked. "They're stronger than we are and it's easier for them to carry those heavy trays.

"Thank you, dear," Grandma added, taking a cup of coffee off the silver tray that Brad offered.

"You're welcome, Grandma," he replied and kissed her on the cheek.

As I let Stephanie take a glass of iced tea off my tray, I noticed Blake and Uncle Stan exchange frowns. I knew they wondered why Brad, my roommate, would be calling my grandmother, Grandma instead of either Mrs. Collins or Beatrice. Blake even called her Mrs. Collins.

"Would you like for me to put her down in the den?" I asked Stephanie, indicating Bridgette.

"It would be more comfortable for me," she agreed.

In a flash Blake was on his feet. "I'll take her," he offered.

"Thanks," I said. "The den is just around the corner to the left.

Twinkling stars and a harvest moon reflected brightly off Kilgore Lake, making the night sky almost as bright as day. I shivered and Brad wrapped his warm, strong arms around me and held me closer.

"Thanks for agreeing to come out here, Kris," he whispered against my cheek.

"Thank you for suggesting it," I replied as the tide began to come in.

We had spent a fairly nice evening with my family and, after Blake had gathered up Bridgette, who had slept all evening, and Stephanie, the three of them went with Grandma and Grandpa back to my grandparent's house in Grandpa's car, leaving Uncle Stan's mini- van and Uncle Stan, Aunt Shari, and Gary at my parent's house. Brad and I said goodnight and headed home ourselves, promising to return the next evening for dinner. Mother and Dad had taken the entire week off since they were going to have company, but Brad and I still had to work.

On the way home, Brad had suggested we stop by the boardwalk for a short walk. I never passed up an opportunity to spend time alone with him, doing things that he enjoyed doing. I knew that it would be cold on the boardwalk, but I didn't care since I knew that he would be glad to hold me and keep me warm.

Glancing at my watch I took a deep breath of the fresh crisp air. "I wish that we didn't have to go to work in the morning," I said.

"Me, too," Brad replied. "But we want to go somewhere in December and I don't want to give up my spring vacation either.

"Just think," he continued, "next year we'll have three weeks for vacation. Then we can take a week off in the spring, a week for our anniversary and a week off for Christmas."

"Do you think we might get tired of spending so much time together if we do?" I asked.

He chuckled, a deep sexy chuckle that drove me crazy. "Not on your life, babe," he whispered. "I can't get enough of you and you know it."

"Double ditto for me, too," I replied, tenderly.

Turning me around to face him, Brad kissed me on the lips. No one was around. It was just a little past ten on a Sunday night and it was very cold. The temperature was in the tens and the wind chill had to be well below zero.

We kissed for a few minutes then he pulled me closer and held me, nuzzling my neck. "I love you, Kristopher," he whispered. "I'm glad that your family is here, but I really didn't care for spending so much time with them."

"I know," I replied. "I'm surprised Aunt Shari didn't tell them about you. I figured we'd be the gossip of the family."

Brad chuckled again and pulled away from me. Turning me around, he took my hand in his and we started walking down the boardwalk. No matter what time of day or season, we always enjoyed the boardwalk. I always preferred going out to Kilgore Island in the summer or warm weather, but the boardwalk was the next best thing.

"I found a place on the Internet this morning while you were getting ready for church," Brad said, changing the subject as we walked, "it's got a few pictures of The Walnut Inn. It's the one we've been looking at in Wyoming."

"Oh? Did you bookmark it?" I asked, hopefully.

"Yeah. It's got a shit-load of stuff to do, but I don't really want to do anything while we're there. I just want to hold you and watch it snow or watch the fire in the hearth."

I didn't mention that we could do that at home and save our money. "That's all I want, too," I admitted.

"However, I did find another place, this one is just north of Jackson, Wyoming in Redwood. It's called Misty Mountain Lodge. Tanya Fitzgerald and her husband, Rob, are the owners."

"Were there any pictures?" I asked.

"No, but there's an e-mail address. I think the web site was still under construction. I wrote to them to see what they had to offer. Mainly I asked for the view and the fireplace in a private suite. I hope that I get an answer by the time we get home, because I really do want to go ahead and get this planned out. December is sneaking up on us."

"Yes, it is," I agreed. "And I have to make arrangements to take off so that we won't be short-handed."

"I do, too. I'm just hoping we haven't waited too long to make up our minds where to go," he said, leading me back toward my car.

"So do I," I admitted.

Brad opened the passenger door for me and I got in. I wasn't really ready to go home, but we both had to be at work at eight o'clock the next morning. I wished that we hadn't promised to have dinner at my parent's house the next day.

"I want to check our e-mail," Brad said, kicking off his shoes as we walked into the apartment. "You go ahead and get ready for bed. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"I hope they replied," I said. I set up the coffee maker to start brewing at six-thirty the next morning. We always set the alarm for six, but we usually didn't get out of bed before six- thirty. If I had the coffee maker start at six-thirty, coffee would be ready by the time Brad finished his shower. I didn't drink coffee, but Brad enjoyed three cups each morning before going to work.

After setting up the coffee maker, I went into the bedroom and removed my clothes.

"All right!" Brad exclaimed from the living room. "Come here, babe!"

I grabbed my robe and rushed into the living room. I had set my computer up in the corner next to the outside wall when I had moved into our apartment. Brad had his own computer when we met, but it was more out-dated than mine, so, since we really didn't need two computers, he sold his. Since we both were trouble- shooters for computers at work - me for technical support for customers who called in, and he, technical support for the computers in the bank he worked for, we didn't spend a lot of time on mine. We even shared an e-mail account.

Brad was grinning at the screen when I rushed into the room. "Look at this," he said, pushing the chair away from the desk. He pulled me onto his lap and we both read the e-mail message.

"Thank you for your inquiry about Misty Mountain Lodge, Mr. Peterson," the message read. "We would love to have you as our guest. However, December is our busy season. The ski trails open at Thanksgiving and people plan their winter vacations this time of year. We only have five rooms and we are filling up for the month of December, fast. While you may make your reservations on-line, I would advise you to call with your plans as soon as possible to see if we have availability.

"You mentioned in your e-mail that you wanted a suite with a fireplace in the sitting area and a balcony view of either trees or mountains. We have just what you are looking for in Aunt Pearl's Chambers. We call it that because it is Rob's Aunt Pearl's favorite suite.

"I am attaching a photo of the sitting room and one of the bedroom. In your e-mail you did mention that you were able to receive and view photos.

"This suite rents for $189.00 per night with a two-night minimum. We do have a few other suites that are less expensive, but I think that you will agree that this is exactly what you are looking for. It is very romantic and I seriously believe that your wife will find it simply delightful."

"Did you tell them I was your wife?" I asked.

"No," Brad replied. "I just said I was looking for something romantic. She jumped to that conclusion herself."

"Hmm, that makes me wonder if they won't let you stay if you're not married," I said, thoughtfully.

Brad wrapped his arms around me a little tighter and said, "I've got the ring to prove I'm yours and you have the ring to prove you're mine."

I smiled and rubbed his arm. "I'm glad. I hope they don't freak out when we show up."

"So do I," he admitted.

"As for amenities," the message continued, "there are several fun things to do here. The ski trails are just down the road from us. There is hiking and biking available, even in the winter. A small river runs through our property and you can even take a long leisurely romantic walk down beside it."

"That sounds like fun," I said.

"Mmm hmm," Brad replied, still reading.

"If you are not an outdoorsy couple, during the winter I gather together anyone who wants to join in and we have a quilting bee. If you do not finish a quilt that you are working on while here, the next set of guests will work on it. We have the best time sitting around in front of the fire and chatting with visitors while we create warm quilts and sip hot mulled cider. All quilts that are made here will be sold in the gift shop, but the guests who make them have first dibs on purchasing them."

"I don't think I'd want to do that," I said. "If I make a quilt, I want to bring it home with me without paying for it."

"Yeah, but it might be fun to work on one for a while, anyway. We won't make any decisions until we get there," Brad replied.

"Everyone says that Rob makes simply the best Raspberry muffins for breakfast every morning," the message continued. "You will have to be the judge for yourself, I'm in love with him and I have to agree. Rob and I serve a home-style breakfast in the dining room as the sun comes over the horizon and splashes its warmth into the room. There's nothing better than a warm home-cooked breakfast while watching the sun rise.

"Lunch and dinner are also served in the dining room, family- style. While we do not require that anyone set foot out of their suite while they are here, all meals are served at set hours in the dining room, except in the spring and summer when picnic baskets are made available for guests who wish to eat down by the river.

"There are plenty of fun things to do while in Redwood, Mr. Peterson. Please feel free to call us at your earliest convenience to make your reservations. Rob and I look forward to having you and your spouse as our guests.

"Thank you,

"Tanya Fitzgerald, Misty Mountain Lodge, Redwood, Wyoming."

"Wow," I said.

"Want to try it?" Brad asked.

"Let's look at the photos first," I replied.

Brad reached around me and, using the mouse, clicked on the first of the two photos that Mrs. Fitzgerald had attached.

"I think that was a canned message," Brad said as we watched the picture load, "but she edited it quite a bit."

"I think so, too," I replied. "Ooo, I like that," I added as the screen filled with a shot of a sitting room. The furniture appeared to be Victorian and was ivory-colored.

Brad closed the photo and opened the next one. It was a nice ivory Victorian bedroom.

"What do you think, babe?" Brad asked, softly. I could tell by his tone he wasn't impressed.

"I like it, but am disappointed that she didn't send any shots of the view."

"I think it's a little too much ivory, myself," Brad admitted. Brad preferred reds and blacks to anything ivory or pearl or peach. His favorite color was red.

I turned a little in his lap so I could face him. "I don't care what it looks like, as long as I'm with you," I replied, softly.

He smiled and kissed me on the lips. "I love you, Kris," he said. "I want this to be a special week for us."

I frowned. "At a hundred and eighty-nine dollars a night, are we going to stay a full week?"

"Don't forget airfare and auto rental," he reminded me. "No, I think the two-night minimum is enough, but I want it to be a memorable two nights, for both of us."

I wrapped my arms around him and rested my head on his broad shoulder. "I'd just as soon crawl into bed with you and stay here," I said.

He chuckled as he rubbed my back. "I know, babe," he said. "But I want to take you somewhere special like this. I will even tolerate the ivory for you."

"We could have her send pictures of another room," I replied.

"Nah, let's just take this one. I trust her judgement on the view."

"Okay. It's up to you," I replied.

He patted my bottom. "Good, then it's settled. I'll make the reservation via e-mail because it's too late to call now, and you go get a shower."

I kissed him on the lips and said, "Thank you."

Standing at the front door of ICC, I watched expectantly for Mother's white, four-door Toyota Camry. Benny had borrowed Mom's car so he could pick me up and take me to lunch. Brad and Chad were having lunch with Stephanie and Blake, so they could discuss what they went through growing up. I had wanted to join them, but Benny saw this as the perfect opportunity for us to spend some time alone together. Something we hadn't done since the Saturday after he arrived.

"What are you planning to do for the holidays, Kris?" I heard someone behind me ask.

I turned around and smiled at the lady who had spoken. It was Mrs. Carter, my supervisor. "Some of my family is here from Oklahoma and my brother is here. He's supposed to pick me up, but he's running late, it looks like."

"Don't worry about it," Mrs. Carter said. "It's a dead day anyway. They say today is the day more people travel than any other."

"Yes, Ma'am, I've always heard that, too," I replied, opening the door for her.

"Well, you have a good time and don't worry if you're a little late getting back from lunch. I'm not coming back until Monday, so you have a great weekend. We're going to Seattle to see my daughter."

"Great," I said, smiling at her. "I hope you have a wonderful trip and a happy Thanksgiving."

"Thanks. And happy Thanksgiving to you," she said as a burgundy Chevy Blazer pulled up to the curb out front.

Mrs. Carter nodded to the driver and walked over to where she had parked her car. I glanced back at the new Blazer and did a double take when I realized that Benny was the driver and he was motioning me to come get in.

I rushed out and opened the passenger door. "I was beginning to think you didn't recognize me," Benny said.

"I didn't," I admitted. "Wow, when did you get this?" I asked. I knew he didn't have it the night before when we had dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's.

"This morning," he replied, pulling out into the street. "Uncle Stan and Dad went with me to get it. What do you think?"

"I love it," I replied.

"Mom thought it might be too big for me, but it gets great gas milage and if I'm going to be coming home on the weekends, I need good gas milage."

"That's a good idea," I agreed.

"Sorry I'm late," he said, "I had to go back to the car lot to drop off some papers that I had forgotten to take and the salesman was on the phone."

"That's okay," I replied. "That was Mrs. Carter that just left. She said that I didn't have to rush back to work this afternoon. We're pretty slow since everyone's traveling today."

"I imagine," Benny agreed.

"Where do you want to go for lunch?" I asked.

"It's been a long time since I've been here. Anything new in town that's good?"

I knew that Brad was having lunch at a nice restaurant downtown, but I also knew that Benny would be mad at me if we "accidently" ran into them.

"The Wharf is good," I replied. "It's on the boardwalk."

"Great, we'll try it out. Good seafood?"

"Yes. The best."

"I'm sorry, Kris," he said, softly as he headed toward the boardwalk. "I know that you really want to be with him, but I'm sure that everything that they're talking about you already know. Besides, they don't know about you two, do they?"

"I don't think so," I admitted. "Gary said that Aunt Shari hasn't told them and she'd be the one to do it, I think."

"Are you going to bring anything for lunch tomorrow, or fix it at the house?" he asked, changing the subject.

"I'm making a couple of pecan pies," I replied as he turned into the parking lot of The Wharf. "Grandma is going to make one. She's also bringing a fruit salad."

"Grams called last night after you and Brad left," Benny said, getting out of the car.

I met him in front of his new Blazer and we headed into The Wharf. It was the day before Thanksgiving so there were hardly any customers there. We didn't have to wait to be seated.

"What did Grams say?" I asked as the waitress left to get our drink orders.

"They're not going to be able to make it for Thanksgiving, but they will be here for Christmas."

"That's good," I replied. "Sorry they won't get to see everyone, though."

"It would have been nice for them to see them."

"Yes, it would have," I agreed. "But they are Dad's side of the family and don't really know them, so it's just as well, I guess."

"That's true," Benny agreed.

"The skating rink is going to be open Friday," he continued, changing the subject. "I talked to Blake and Gary; they think it'd be a good idea for us all to go skating Friday night. Stephanie said that Bridgette loves to skate. Would you like to join us?"

"That does sound like fun," I agreed. "I'll see if Brad wants to bring Chad and maybe their parents."

"That would be a good idea," Benny agreed, to my surprise. He hadn't met Chad nor their parents.

"I'll let you know tonight," I told him.

"Okay. You are coming over for dinner tonight, aren't you?"

"Yes," I replied as the waitress arrived with our drinks.

I ordered the stuffed flounder and Benny ordered a shrimp platter. After the waitress left, I said, "I wanted to have everyone over for dinner one day this week, but since I had to work, Mother wouldn't let me."

"Probably just as well," Benny said, stirring sugar into his tea. "You're apartment isn't big enough for all of us."

"You're right, thirteen would be a tight squeeze," I agreed. "Our dining room table only holds six."

"Maybe after everyone leaves you can have Mom, Dad and me over," he suggested. "I don't know if Grandpa would want to or not."

"I didn't even bother introducing them to Brad until they came out to the island to get us back in the summer."

"I heard about that time," Benny said, with a chuckle. "Both from you and Grandpa. Of course, your version of it is a lot better than Grandpa's version."

"I'm sure," I replied. "I'm surprised we didn't ever go out there while we were growing up," I added.

"I think it was because you and Mom burn too easily."

"Brad keeps me covered in lotion," I said. "Plus I've been laying out with him at the apartment complex and keep a pretty nice tan. I haven't burned since I've been with him."

"That's good," Benny said.

The waitress brought our food and we began to eat. "This is a nice restaurant," Benny said, looking out the window over the lake. "Do you and Brad come here often?"

I shook my head and swallowed the bite of flounder I had taken. "No, we don't eat out much. No one has ever said anything about us being out together, but we kind of keep to ourselves, just in case. In June we were at HQ waiting for Dad. Brad was sitting on the hood of Dad's car and I had my head on his shoulder. A Major Kramer showed up and just about threw a fit because he was sitting on the car, but I think it was more because we were holding each other. I explained that we were waiting on Dad."

"A Major?" Benny asked, frowning. "What was a Major doing at Coast Guard HQ? Major in the Coast Guard would be a Lieutenant Commander."

I shrugged. "I don't know. Dad even called her Major Kramer, so I didn't get the insignia wrong. She's at HQ in Winchester. I got the feeling that she's over Dad, even though he's a Captain."

"Hmm, maybe she's on consignment from the Army or something," he suggested, dipping a shrimp into the shrimp sauce. "That's the only Major I know of that would be over Captain, but she wouldn't be over Dad because Captain in the Coast Guard is equivalent to Colonel in the Army, which means he still out-ranks her."

"Maybe so, but she had the power to put an infra-red sonar tracking device on his helicopter. Luckily he hasn't needed it yet, but it's there when he does."

"That's good," he replied. "I'll ask Dad about her when I get home."

"Actually, she was wearing a blue uniform. Yes, it was Air Force, now that I think about it.

"When do you want to go apartment hunting in Winchester?" I asked, changing the subject.

Benny shrugged. "Whenever you want to take off."

"Brad made reservations Monday night for the fourteenth and fifteenth of December. That's a Friday and Saturday night, for Misty Mountain Lodge in Redwood, Wyoming. They confirmed our reservations yesterday and the airlines are supposed to deliver our tickets to our apartment Friday. Brad wants to take from Thursday to Wednesday off so we can be home one day, then come back on Sunday and not have to be back to work for three more days. He might be willing to take one or two of those three days to go apartment hunting with us."

Benny grinned and shook his head. "No, Kris, I'm sure he's got something planned for the two of you for the full week. I think we'll plan on going one weekend.

"To be honest with you," he continued, "I think I found the place in the brochure that I want. We just have to look at it and hope they have one available."

"Oh? Well, that's good," I said.

"We'll look at it after everyone is gone and we can relax a bit. All the family being here is taking its toll on Grandma and Grandpa, whether they will admit it or not. Mom's doing her best to keep everyone over at our place, but that's making Grandma want to be there, too. I think Mom's going to be ready for everyone to leave before Saturday."

"I guess it's a good thing that Brad took Stephanie, Blake and Bridgette to lunch, then, huh?"

"Yes, that was a real good idea. Dad made Grandpa and Grandma stay home and rest this morning while he took everyone to the mall. We had a good time and I think it helped Mom relax a little bit, not having to worry about Grandma.

"After we got back," he continued, "I told Dad I wanted him to take me to look for a car, so he and Uncle Stan took me around to a few places. Now's the best time to buy because they're trying to make room for the new cars. This is last years."

"That was nice. I do like the Blazer," I said.

After we finished eating, Benny dropped me off at work and I told him I'd see him at supper.

Jason was on a call when I returned to our cubical, but he smiled at me when I walked in.

"Did you enjoy lunch?" he asked as he disconnected from the caller when he was through.

"Yes. Benny and I went to The Wharf. He'd never eaten there."

"So, when are you going to let me meet this famous cousin of yours?" he asked.

"He's not famous, yet," I replied. "We're going roller skating Friday night. If you just happened to be at the roller rink when we get there at seven, there wouldn't be any reason that I can think of for me not to introduce you to him. Of course, you would meet Brad, too, if you do come."

"I guess that wouldn't be too bad," Jason replied. "After all, you have a photo of him on your desk and you have a photo of him as your wallpaper on your computer. And as often as you talk about him, I almost know him anyway, so I guess it wouldn't hurt to meet him, finally."

I chuckled as my computer informed me that I had e-mail. I clicked on the e-mail program and smiled. "This is from Brad," I said. "He's back from lunch, too."

"I think this is going to be a long afternoon," Jason said as I opened up Brad's e-mail.

"So do I," I replied.

"Hi, babe," the message began. "Chad and I had a great lunch with your cousins, but I sure did miss you. Hope you had a good lunch with Benny. I was kind of hoping that you'd show up and 'accidently' run into us, but I knew that would probably piss him off and you wouldn't want to do that.

"Chad and Kim are doing great," the message continued. I smiled. I was glad that they were getting along so well. Kim worked at ICC, too. She had been my cube mate for about two years before she switched to a different shift. One evening the past summer, Brad and I had taken Chad to The Cactus Cocktail Cavern and she had been there. I had introduced them and they had been dating ever since.

"They're going to Mom and Dad's for lunch tomorrow," the message continued. "Chad's nervous because he's never taken a girlfriend home for a meal before. I told him it wouldn't be near as bad as me taking my boyfriend out on the lake, when they didn't know you were my boyfriend. He agreed.

"Well, babe, I'd better close and get to work. I need to make a backup of the mainframe before I get off tonight in case something happens over the long weekend.

"Love you,

"B."

I grinned and clicked "Reply" and my phone rang. Minimizing the e-mail program, I answered the phone. "ICC, this is Kris Brown," I said.

"Hey, Kris, this is Troy in Sales. You ready for a big weekend, or are you working?"

"No, I'm off at five and am not coming back until Monday," I said. I had no idea who Troy was, but he sounded cute. "Sales is going to be closed, isn't it?"

"Just tomorrow. We're gearing up for Friday. The biggest shopping day of the year and I have to be here," he added, sarcastically.

"Sorry to hear that."

"Yeah. Anyway, I've got a customer on the phone behind me. He's got a PMR number, but we don't have access to those. He wants to know if he buys ICC-Image Mate Express if it will work with his Sony camcorder."

"That's a question that pre-sales could have answered," I said. "I'm on level three. How'd you get here? And how'd he get a PMR number?"

"Cindy at level one dropped me off. She said she didn't want to do a cold transfer but she had to go to the rest room. Anyway, here's the PMR number, you tell me what you think. She was pretty confused by what it said."

"Okay," I said, writing down the number he gave me.

I typed in the number he gave me and frowned as the screen came up. "This is really strange," I said.

"What does it say? Cindy wouldn't tell me, she had to go."

"What's the guy's name that is on the phone?" I asked, ignoring his question.

"Hank Melton," he replied.

"That's the name I have on here," I said. "It turns out that Mr. Melton must be trying to pull something. This PMR has been closed for some time and it has nothing to do with Image Mate Express. However, it does say at the bottom, 'if Mr. Melton calls again regarding this problem, refer to tier three.' That's probably why Cindy didn't stick around to talk about it, along with needing to go to the bathroom."

"Great," Troy said with an aggravated sigh. "What should I do with him?"

"Normally I'd send you to pre-sales, but since the only thing I have to do is write an e-mail to my roommate, I'll talk to him. I can look up the same stuff pre-sales can."

"Thanks, Kris," Troy said with a sigh of relief. I was looking forward to my long weekend with my family and Brad, but I got the feeling that Troy needed the time off worse than I did.

"You're welcome. Have a happy Thanksgiving if you can."

"Thanks, and you, too," he said.

"Mr. Melton?" Troy said after pressing a button.

"Yes?" a gruff voice replied.

"Thank you for waiting. I have Kris Brown here and he'll see what he can do for you."

"Thanks," Mr. Melton replied.

"Hi, Mr. Melton," I said when I noticed that Troy had disconnected. "I see here that you're having a problem getting ICC-OS0 to recognize your Toshiba CD ROM. We now have an ICC-OS1 that has corrected that problem. I can send it to you via e-mail over the Internet if you like. I have your e-mail address here."

"No, no, no. That's not my problem. I want to know if I buy your Image Mate Express if it will work with this Sony cam corder? I told Troy that."

"Then you're not having a problem at all with your CD ROM?"

"Hell, no."

"Okay, fine. Let me do one thing here," I said. I opened the program and typed at the bottom, "This problem is solved. If Mr. Melton calls again, open new PMR - Warranty expired. Will need to pay for new call. KB. Level 3." and my extension number.

"Okay, now you can throw that PMR number away, I just closed it for it good. Now, your question is a pre-sales question, but you've been on hold long enough, so I'll go ahead and answer it for you."

"Thank you," he said.

I did a search on his question and got one PMR back. I looked at it and said, "No one has called to report any problems with any camcorders. I did find one where one person needed help getting it to work on his notebook, but we were able to solve that problem at level one."

"Great. Glad to hear that," he said.

"Would you like for me to transfer you back to Sales so you can order it?" I offered.

"No, thanks. I think they're going on sale Friday so I'll wait until then."

"Okay, that will be fine," I replied, maximizing my e-mail program so I could get back to writing Brad.

"Thanks, again," he said.

"Thank you for calling ICC, Mr. Melton."

He hung up and I glanced over at Jason. He was leaning back in his chair staring up at the ceiling.

"If you at least do some research or surf the web, the time won't go by so slow," I said.

He looked over at me and grinned. "But you said I shouldn't surf the web, I might get fired."

"Silly, only if you go to the good places."

"Well, what's left?" he asked, grinning back at me as he sat up.

"Go to a file site and check out some programs," I replied. "They don't mind you downloading stuff as long as you run virus scan on it first, and it's built in so it will check it when you get it."

"Good idea," he replied as I started writing to Brad. "Either that or read through the old PMRs so you can be ready for calls when they come in."

"I'll probably forget everything by the time they call," he said. "You're lucky you're off Friday. I've got to work so all of you long-termers can have off."

"We appreciate you doing that, too," I replied. "Don't feel bad, I've had to work after holidays, too. At least we're closed tomorrow."

"That's true," he agreed as I got back to writing Brad and Jason started looking for files to download.

Basically, I just told Brad that Benny and I had gone to The Wharf and had a good lunch; Benny had bought a new car and, yes, I had considered 'bumping' into them at The Olive Garden and concluded with I had missed him and I loved him, too.

The early morning sun cascaded in through the window above the sink in Mother's kitchen, but it wasn't the sun that sent the warmth through the room, adding a cozy feeling, it was the warmth of the oven and the people who were sitting around the breakfast counter. I set the box with the two pies I had baked the night before on the counter and removed my coat. Brad took it and carried it into the hallway and hung both our coats in the closet.

"Good morning," I said, hugging Mother. "Surely you don't have the turkey in the oven already? It's only eight o'clock."

"As a matter of fact, I do," she replied. "Grandma made her fabulous cornbread dressing last night after you and Brad left. We let it set in the refrigerator overnight and it was ready to stuff into the turkey this morning. I put it in at six when I got up this morning. We want to have it ready by noon."

"That's a good idea," I agreed.

"Would you like some coffee?" Aunt Shari offered, getting up.

"Sure," Brad replied, returning to the kitchen.

"No, thank you," I replied. She should have known by now that I didn't drink coffee, so I didn't bother reminding her. I sat down on a stool and glanced at Uncle Stan and Gary. I decided to let Aunt Shari get Brad his coffee.

"I'm glad that Grandma made the dressing last night," I said. "That way she doesn't have to get up so early this morning."

"Oh, she's already up," Mother said, moving my pies from the breakfast counter to the top of the refrigerator. "She called about seven to see if we were and to see if I was sure that one pecan pie would be enough. I told her that you were bringing two, but I wouldn't be surprised if she brings two, also."

"Well, I'm sure they'll be eaten," Gary said. "We're not leaving until Saturday."

"I think I should have made pumpkin," I said. "I really don't want to be in a cooking contest with Grandma."

"No," Aunt Shari said, setting a cup of coffee on the counter beside me as Brad sat down next to me, "I made two pumpkin pies. We'll have more than enough dessert."

"Thanks," Brad said and took a sip of coffee.

I got up and got a glass out of the cabinet and opened the refrigerator to get the jug of milk.

"So, Kris, have you and Brad decided whether you're going to Wyoming or Pennsylvania?" Dad asked, to my horror.

I glanced nervously at Brad and he shrugged. I knew there was no avoiding the subject at that point. "Yes," I replied, replacing the jug. "We're going to Wyoming. Redwood. We'll be going on the fourteenth and fifteenth of December."

"Redwood's just north of Jackson Hole," Uncle Stan said. "They have great skiing there. You two going skiing, huh?"

"They mentioned hiking and biking was available, too, and we might do that, but I don't think we'll do any skiing," Brad replied. "We might make a quilt, though."

Gary grinned and Uncle Stan frowned.

"You simply must stay at the Emerald Springs Hotel there," Aunt Shari said before Uncle Stan could say anything. "Our neighbor went there last year and she said it was fabulous. She said she went skiing and the spa was out of this world. I think she spent more time in the spa than on the slopes, actually."

"We've already made our reservations," Brad admitted.

"I thought you were going to stay at The Walnut Inn," Mother said.

"We were, but we liked the Misty Mountain Lodge better."

"They e-mailed us a couple of pictures of one of the suites," I said.

"I might have to take my bedspread, though," Brad said. "The suite is called 'Aunt Pearl's Chambers' and it's all done in ivory. Mother gave me a red and purple satin bedspread for my first apartment; I'm still using it. I might need to take it for some color."

I noticed that Uncle Stan was frowning again, but this time he was looking at my hand. I glanced at Brad, he was holding his coffee cup with both hands and Uncle Stan could see his ring, too.

"Where's Benny?" I asked, changing the subject before Uncle Stan asked any embarrassing questions.

"He's being lazy," Dad replied. "He hasn't gotten up yet."

"He's going to be here for over a month," I said. "It might not be wise to let him sleep so late."

"Why not?" Benny asked, walking into the kitchen. I turned and smiled at him. He was already dressed. "I have almost eight years of sleeping late to catch up on."

"Then what are you doing up so early?" Brad asked.

"I didn't want to be accused of being a lazy bum," Benny replied hugging Mom. "Morning, Mom. Happy Thanksgiving. Coffee smells good. Did you make it?"

"Yes, I did," she replied. She got a cup out of the cabinet for him and he poured himself some coffee.

"Thanks. I love your coffee, Mom. I'm not really sure what that stuff is they call coffee in the mess hall. That's one thing I'm looking forward to in living on my own: I'll get to cook for myself."

He grinned at me and added, "Of course, Brad, I might have to steal Kris for a few weeks so he can teach me how to cook."

"In your dreams, buddy," Brad replied. "I don't think anyone could teach you how to cook."

"Now, children," I intervened, "no fighting. Martha told me that you were helpless in the kitchen, too, Brad. And we had this discussion Friday at supper. So, let's just drop it."

"Good idea," Dad agreed.

"Oh, that reminds me," Benny said, sitting down on the stool Mother offered him. "Discussions at meals, is what reminded me, actually. Dad, who's Major Kramer?"

"She's an Air Force Major. She's in charge of new technology testing certain military aircraft. She's on TDY at Coast Guard HQ in Winchester. She's supervising the testing of the Infra-red Sonar Detectors on Coast Guard choppers. These devices will help us in Search and Rescue to not only see capsized boats and find victims in the dark, but also sense wreckage under the water, possibly even people who have passed out and have sunk to the bottom, since their lungs are full of water."

"Wow, that sounds like a good idea," Gary said.

"Luckily, I haven't had to use it, but Paul and I have flown out over the water looking for things. We've found some wreckage we didn't know was down there, but we haven't been able to test finding humans, thank God."

"When you use that, do you have to have a boat, too?" Uncle Stan asked.

"Yes, that's what is going to make it bad. Currently, when we're out there, either Paul or I will man the helicopter and the other will toss the rope down and pull people up. If it is a real bad situation, which sometimes we know about in advance by the radio call we receive, we take extra people on board with us so they can go down there and help them out. But in this case, we're going to have a boat with divers following along behind us and if the people they find are still alive, then we will have to haul them aboard to get them to the hospital as fast as possible. The chopper's not going to be able to hold enough divers and medical personnel to do it all, so the boat has to be there."

"Luckily that doesn't happen often," I said.

"No, it doesn't, Kris," Dad replied. "But even once is too often."

"That's true," Mom said, pouring Uncle Stan another cup of coffee. "That's why I'm thankful that you have this job, Ben. I don't like for you to have to go out at night to make rescues, but I'm glad that you are able to save people when you do."

"Well, as long as we're going to start saying what we're thankful for, since it is Thanksgiving," Brad said. "I'm thankful for the friendship I have with Kris and his family. I've had a few friends in my life, but none so dear to me as you guys. I really love you all."

I fought the urge to lean over and kiss him since my aunt and uncle were watching, but I did slip off my stool and put my arm around him. He stood up and hugged me. "We love you, too, Brad," I said.

Mom came around the counter and hugged him. "Thank you. We're thankful that you are able to take good care of our little boy," she said, using Grandpa's nickname for me. "And we love you, too."

Dad got up and came over for his hug. "Yes, Kris might be able to do wonders in the kitchen and on the computer, but when it comes to other things that need to be done, he's worthless. Thank you for being there for him."

"Well, I haven't spent much time around you," Benny said, taking his turn to hug Brad, "but I know that Kris has never been happier. I'm thankful to have you for a brother-in-law," he said, to Brad's and my horror.

Gary grinned and slapped his dad on the back as Uncle Stan choked on his coffee. "You okay, Dad?" he asked.

Aunt Shari turned beet red and grabbed the dishrag and cleaned up the coffee Uncle Stan had spilt.

"Whoops," Benny said, softly. "Sorry."

I was thankful that Grandpa wasn't there.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Uncle Stan gasped. "Brother-in-law?" he asked as he regained control of his breath.

"You mean you didn't tell him, Shari?" Mother asked, surprised. "I told you that Kris had a boyfriend that moved in with him."

Aunt Shari turned to the sink to wash out the dishrag, turning her back on us. "Well, I did mention that Kris had a friend move in with him," she admitted, "but I didn't elaborate."

"Oh. Well, they celebrated their second anniversary on October the seventeenth," Mother said.

"And this upcoming trip to Wyoming is going to be our first honeymoon," Brad informed them, hugging me again.

"I was thinking something was going on here," Uncle Stan admitted. "The rings you are wearing. The fact that 'Aunt Pearl's Chambers' is a two-room suite, but there is only one bed and this particular Bed and Breakfast doesn't have roll-a-ways nor does it have a sofa bed in the sitting rooms. I remembered that because my brother and his wife were going to stay there one year and would have had that same suite, but they had the kids with them and that's when they found out that they couldn't have that room. They wound up staying in the family suite that they call 'Grandma's Corner'."

"Oh? When did they do that?" I asked. "They don't allow children now."

"Well, let's see," Uncle Stan said, thoughtfully. "The kids weren't in junior high yet, and Gary's thirty now, so that would have been about twenty-some-odd years ago."

"Could be new owners by now," Mom suggested.

"No. Mrs. Fitzgerald said it was her husband's Aunt Pearl's favorite room," I protested.

"Mm, that's right. The couple who owned it then were older. I think Dale, my brother, did mention there was a boy running around named Ron or Rob or something like that."

"Mrs. Fitzgerald called her husband, Rob, in the message we got," Brad said.

"The owners would be retired by now, I'm sure. This would be their son who owns it now, then," Uncle Stan said.

"More than likely," Brad agreed as the doorbell rang.

"That must be the others," Mom said, heading toward the hallway.

The remainder of the day went by with little difficulty. Brad and I managed to avoid contact with Uncle Stan, but I did catch him looking thoughtfully at us a few times at the dinner table.

Gary managed to keep the others away from us and stayed with us as much as possible. "Kris," he said as we sat down on the couch in the den after Brad and I had helped Mom clean up the kitchen. The others were watching the football games in the living room. "Would you and Brad like to come to a concert if Cliff decides not to drop out of the business?"

"Would we?" Brad jumped at the chance. "Of course we would. We'd love to."

"If we're going to do that, though," I asked, "should we postpone our December vacation?"

"What for? We still have our spring vacation."

"I know, but even if Gary gets us tickets, it's going to cost money to get wherever the concert is," I replied.

"I'm sure that it won't be before spring," Gary replied.

"I think we can make it and go to Wyoming," Brad said, rubbing my arm. "Unless you don't want to go to Wyoming."

We were sitting on the couch, Gary was in a recliner. "No, I want to go to Wyoming," I said. "I just thought it would be better to save that money for the trip to wherever the concert is."

"I'd rather do both," he replied. He looked at me with those puppy dog brown eyes and made a pass me. "Please?" he asked, softly.

"Okay," I conceded.

Gary grinned and said, "Good. I'm glad. Cliff and Rex will enjoy meeting you. So will Bryan."

"We're looking forward to meeting them, too," I said, leaning back a little. Brad wrapped his arm around me and pulled me to his chest. We hadn't been alone together since we arrived that morning and hadn't had a chance to hug each other since right before Uncle Stan discovered we were lovers. Now we were alone with Gary and he knew, so we could relax a little.

I kissed Brad gently on the lips, then rested my head on his shoulder.

"You know, it's funny," Gary said, watching us sit there together. "I've known Bryan for a little over ten years and I never even suspected that he is Bi. It surprised me when I found out that not only is he Bi, but he's also in love with Cliff."

"Oh?" Brad asked. "Does Cliff know?"

"Yeah. Actually, Cliff's one of those big-hearted guys. He's really in love with all of us. I have a feeling he'd sleep with Bryan, Michael - our agent - and me if he weren't already committed to Rex. I know he won't cheat on him, that's for sure, but I also think he has feelings for all of us. But then, we all love him, too."

"Somebody mentioned to me the other day how much you look like Cliff, babe," Brad said. "I don't see it though."

"Just because he has the blond hair and blue eyes. He is the same build, I've noticed," Gary said. "Cliff doesn't have a tan, though. I see Kris does."

Brad frowned. "He has a tan on the album we have," he said.

"No. It's just a doctor-job. In reality, that picture doesn't look much like him at all. Before we were almost gang-bashed in Portland, we stopped by a restaurant in Clear Lake and we were so afraid that the waitress was going to recognize him, but even though she talked to Cliff about him, she never noticed that it was him. She even said that she'd jump his bones in a heartbeat if he showed up. I was really impressed how Cliff handled that situation. I don't think he's ever been with a girl before and he damn sure didn't want her to be the first."

Brad and I chuckled. "I don't blame him," I said. "I haven't been with one either and I have no desire to. I have all I need right here next to me."

Brad grinned and replied. "I feel the same way."

"Well, I have to admit," Gary said, "I have no desire to be with a guy, but if I were ever going to, it would have to be Cliff."

"Don't let your dad hear you say that," Brad said, softly. "I caught him looking at us a few times through lunch and if he and Grandpa get to talking, Kris and I might get beat up."

Gary laughed. "Don't worry about that, Brad," he said. "Grandpa's bark is worse than his bite. He's never laid a hand on any of the grandkids except when he hugged us. He always let our parents do the disciplining."

"That's good," Brad agreed.

"You know, I find it interesting that you call Grandpa and Grandma that instead of Mr. and Mrs. Collins or Marty and Beatrice. Even Blake calls them Mr. and Mrs. Collins."

"Actually," I spoke up, "he calls Grandpa Sir in front of him, but he calls him Grandpa the rest of the time."

"Well, both sets of my grandparents live in Phoenix and we don't get to see them very often. That's where we lived before we moved here. Beatrice has taken to me so well that I feel she's just like a grandmother to me and she smiles when I call her that, so I guess she doesn't mind. Grandpa hasn't shown any bad reaction to it, either."

Gary leaned forward and outstretched his hand. Brad leaned forward and took it. "Welcome to the family, cuz," Gary said, shaking Brad's hand.

"Thanks, cuz. I appreciate that," Brad replied.

"Oh, there you are," Benny said, stepping into the den as Brad let go of Gary's hand and leaned back.

"It was getting kind of loud in there," I replied as laughter floated in through the door behind Benny. "We thought we could talk a little more privately in here."

"That's true," Benny agreed, sitting down in the over-stuffed chair that matched the sofa.

"Your pecan pie sure was good, Kris," Gary said, stretching. "I think you and Grandma might have tied on that one."

"Thank you," I replied. "I still can't believe she actually only made one."

"I'm just glad that three with Aunt Shari's two pumpkin pies were enough," Benny said.

"I think I'm ready for a nap after all that food," Brad admitted, putting his arm behind me.

"Me, too," Benny agreed. "I don't know how they would take it if we all went to sleep, though."

I glanced at my watch. "It's three-o'clock," I said, placing my hand on Brad's leg. "They've got another game to watch. I would like to run over to your parent's for a few minutes. We could see them then go home and take a nap, if you want to. That way Gary can lie down here on the couch and take a nap and Benny can go to his room."

Brad shrugged. "Sure. Sounds like a good idea to me."

We got up and went into the living room where the others were watching TV. Another football game was just starting.

"Thanks for a great lunch, Mom," I said, leaning down to kiss her on the cheek. "Brad and I are going to run over and visit his parents for a while, then we're going to go home and take a nap. We'll be over tomorrow for lunch and help get rid of the left overs."

"If they're not all gone by supper tonight, that is," Brad replied with a grin.

"They might be," Gary said. "You ought to come over for supper tonight."

"I think we'll have plenty," Mother replied, knowing that Brad and I did want to spend some time alone for Thanksgiving.

We said our goodbyes and, with Brad at the wheel of my Lexus, we headed toward his parent's house. "Are you sure that you don't want to just go home, babe?" he asked as I lay my head on the headrest and closed my eyes.

"No, I do want to see Martha and Frank. And Chad and Kim if they're still there."

I placed my hand on his leg and his warm strong hand closed over it. "I didn't realize how tiring being with so many people could be," I said, softly.

"Especially when you can't be yourself," Brad replied.

"Mm hum. I can't tell you how many times I wanted to hug you or kiss you."

"I know. I got so jealous when Blake sat down on the couch and Stephanie sat next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. I wanted to sit that way with you so bad. I was thankful when you suggested we go sit in the den after we got done with the dishes, but I was still limited to how I could hold you in case someone came in besides the ones who know.

"Do you realize this is the first time we've had to act like just friends since before my parents found out?" he asked.

"Yes. And I'm almost afraid to go to Wyoming because of it, too," I admitted. "I don't want to have to pretend to be just friends with you on our honeymoon."

He gently squeezed my hand. "I understand. We can cancel if you want. The airline tickets won't be here until tomorrow. We have time."

"That's what I like about going out to Kilgore Island," I said. "We can find a spot to be totally alone and don't have to worry about anyone bothering us."

"I know. I really would like to go out there instead, but it's too cold for that right now."

"What about your grandparents?" I asked. "Have you told them that you're gay?"

"No. As you know, I've talked to them a few times since Mom and Dad found out, but I haven't told them. I don't know if Mom and Dad have or not, though. I don't think so. Why? Did you want to go to Phoenix instead?"

"No. Let's just go ahead and go to Redwood. I like it and want to. I was just thinking that you haven't seen your grandparents since we got together and it might be nice to take a trip out there one of these days."

"We've already planned on spending Christmas with Mom and Dad," he said, turning the car into his parent's driveway and pulling to a stop next to Chad's silver Trans Am. "Do you want to maybe go to Phoenix instead?"

"Since it's costing so much to go to Wyoming," I replied, "maybe we'd better plan on another time."

"You're right about that," he agreed.

"Uncle Stan said that they might not get to come back for Christmas after all," I said, unbuckling my seat belt. "But since Grams and Gramps are going to be here, Aunt Heather is having everyone over to her house for Christmas. We can stop by and see them after lunch like we are your parents."

"I'm glad that Katherine isn't having to play hostess for Christmas," Brad said, opening the door for me.

I got out and he put his arm around me and led me up the steps to the front door. "So am I," I replied. "I know that she will help Aunt Heather as much as possible, though."

"What are your Aunt Heather and Uncle Roy doing today?" Brad asked, ringing the doorbell.

"They went to Uncle Roy's parents'. They live in Winchester. Chester and Candice went with them," I replied, referring to my cousins.

Brad had met my father's sister and her family a few months after we had met. They lived in town and so did their son and daughter, who were a few years older than Benny and me, but we didn't see each other very often.

The door to Brad's parents' house opened and a mirror image of Brad stood there. "Hey, bro. How's it going?"

"Great," Brad replied.

"Hi, Kris," Chad said as he stepped back so I could enter.

"Hi. Happy Thanksgiving, Chad."

"Happy Thanksgiving to you, too."

"Happy turkey day, turkey," Brad said, hugging his brother as he stepped into the foyer.

"Since you're my mirror image," Chad said as I removed my coat, "whatever you say reflects off of me and back to you, little brother."

I smiled. Chad was only three minutes older than Brad, but I always felt that Brad was the older of the two because he was more out-going.

"Oh, that's a good come back," Brad replied, removing his coat. "And just think, Kris, it only took him twenty-four years to come up with it."

"Are you two bickering already?" Martha asked, entering from the living room. "They just got here and are already at it."

"Hi, Mom. Happy Thanksgiving," Brad said, handing his coat to Chad and hugging his mother.

I hugged Martha, too and followed her into the living room.

I was happy to see Kim sitting on the couch. She jumped up and hugged me. "Glad to see you made it," she said. "I was afraid you wouldn't."

"We hadn't planned on it," I admitted, "but I thought it'd be a good idea for us to stop by."

I shook Frank's hand and wished him a happy Thanksgiving.

"We still have some pie left over if you'd like some," Martha offered as Brad and I found a place to sit on the floor in front of the fireplace.

Brad leaned back a little. "Ugh," he said, unbuttoning the top button of his jeans. "I couldn't eat another bite. I had to suffer through eating a piece of Kris' pecan pie, a piece of Beatrice's pecan pie and a piece of Shari's pumpkin pie, all with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of them. And that was after two helpings of turkey and Beatrice's fabulous cornbread dressing. Now I know why the Browns always call it fabulous. I might not need to eat anything again until lunch tomorrow, when we're supposed to go back and finish off the leftovers."

"Nobody forced you to eat that second helping of turkey and dressing and you didn't have to compare my pecan pie to Grandma's," I reminded him.

"I'll agree with you on the first part," he replied, rubbing my arm, "but I had to compare so that I could verify that you're the best cook."

"Well?" Kim asked. "Did he win or not?"

Brad took a deep breath and smiled at me. "I must say that no matter what, I love Kris with all my heart. But, unfortunately, I cannot tell a lie. Kris' Grandma's pie beat his by a little. I think I'd have to say that her crust was a little flakier than his was. Please don't kill me," he added with a pleading look.

I grinned. "I won't kill you. I agree. Grandma has seventy some odd years of making crust over me. I never did get the hang of it, so I used a store-bought one. Aunt Shari made hers, too."

"Crusts do take a skill," Martha agreed.

"Oh, Brad," I said, changing the subject, "did you invite everyone to the skating rink tomorrow night?"

"Yes," he replied, stretching. I could tell he was about to fall asleep.

"And we'll be there," Chad added.

"So will we," Martha said.

"I'm looking forward to meeting your famous cousin, Kris," Kim said.

"He's not famous yet," I protested as Brad yawned.

"Actually, they're getting more publicity and that is what is making him famous," Frank said. "I think that what Timber Creek is trying to do is backfiring on them. They're trying to get rid of Richmond and it's just making him more popular and the public is wanting to know more about him and has started buying his albums."

"That's good, then," Chad said.

"Yes, it is," I agreed.

"Well, I hate to be a party-pooper," Brad said, pushing himself up. "But I think Kris and I need to go home and get a nap. We're stuffed and I'm having a hard time staying awake."

"Maybe I'd better drive," I suggested getting to my feet as Brad rebuttoned the top button on his jeans.

"Nah, I'll be okay," he replied.

"We'll see you tomorrow evening about seven," I said, hugging Kim.

"Thanks. We're looking forward to it," she replied.

"Kris and I have our reservations for Redwood, Wyoming on the fourteenth of December," Brad said as we all headed toward the front door. "We're going to stay at the Misty Mountain Lodge. It'll be our first honeymoon. Chad, would you mind taking us to the airport?"

"Be glad to, bro," Chad replied.

"Thanks. I'll let you know the time when we get the tickets tomorrow."

It was almost four-thirty when we arrived home. I noticed that our next door neighbor's, the Perrys, car was gone so they weren't home. We hadn't talked to them very often, but we saw him occasionally when we were coming home or leaving. We had only met his wife once.

Brad slipped his coat off and hung it up in the closet, then slipped his shirt off over his head. I took a deep breath as his muscles flinched. He was so good-looking that no matter how tired I was I couldn't get enough of him. Luckily for me, he was tired too so he was more in the mood to sleep than to make love. Which, at this point, was fine with me. I just wanted to snuggle up in his arms and go to sleep, too.

I followed him into the bedroom and slipped out of my clothes while he removed the rest of his. "Hurry, honey," he said, crawling into our king-sized bed. "I need to hold you."

I got into bed next to him and lay down mostly on top of him. His warm muscular body felt so good against mine. I kissed him on the lips and whispered, "Happy Thanksgiving, darling. I love you."

"I love you, too, Kris," he replied.

He kissed me again and pulled me down next to him, resting my head on his broad shoulder. "Get some sleep, babe, we'll make love when we wake up."

"Okay," I replied. Snuggling a little closer to him, I drifted off to sleep in the arms of the man I loved.

Multi-colored lights swirled around the large room, making the room spin. I had to concentrate to keep from getting dizzy. Friday night was cold and there was a threat of snow, but it hadn't snowed for a few weeks, so the roads were clear. We hoped it wouldn't until after the Joneses got back to Oklahoma City safely.

Several families were celebrating the day after Thanksgiving at the roller rink. I was happy to see that Jason had made it. I had introduced him to the family and he and his sister, Karen, and her husband, Bob, along with their little girl, Mary, were skating with us. Mary and Bridgette were the same age and they hit it off very well.

I was also glad to see Paul and Beth Duncan. I hadn't seen Beth in quite a while. I introduced them to everyone, also.

The music changed from fast to slower, marking that it was time for the lovers to join hands and skate around the rink while the others sat out for a break. Chad and Kim headed out onto the floor as did Karen and Bob. Mom and Dad, Uncle Stan and Aunt Shari, Paul and Beth along with Martha and Frank, all skated out onto the rink. Jason took Mary's hand and guided her over to the seats and Blake picked Bridgette up and carried her over and sat down next to Stephanie, who wasn't skating because she was pregnant. Gary sat down next to Jason so they could chat while they waited for the lovers to finish dancing. I could tell Jason was excited about that.

"All lovers join hands and get out on the floor," the announcer said over the loud speaker.

Brad took my hand in his and pulled me out on the floor as the lights grew darker. The disco ball seemed to slow down a little as we sped around the rink. We seemed to be one with the music and the multi-colored lights as the wind blew our hair back from our faces. Uncle Stan and Aunt Shari were ahead of us. Blake and Stephanie were sitting in the darkness and couldn't see us. Grandma and Grandpa weren't there. They had decided to stay home because of the forecast and Mother thought it would be a good chance for Grandma to get some rest while we all skated. During lunch that day, I had noticed the strain that having company for the past week had put on Grandma. I was thankful that most of the meals had been made and served at Mom and Dad's house. Although I had enjoyed my family being there for the week, I had to admit that I would be glad when they went back to Oklahoma. I hated to admit it, but I also wished that Benny would go on to W(% * 'and get settled in there so that Brad and I could get back to our normal routine of staying home and working out in the evenings and only seeing his parents and mine on the weekends.

As we rounded a curve, Brad grabbed my right arm with his right hand and pulled me closer to him and put his left arm around me, holding me tightly against him. He leaned over a little and kissed me on the cheek. "I love you, Kris," he whispered loudly against the swish of the wind we were creating.

"I love you, too," I replied.

We made one more round before he guided me off of the rink and led me toward the concession stand. "I figured if we quit a little early and get something to drink, Stephanie and Blake won't realize we were skating," he said.

"Good idea," I agreed. "Besides, I'm dying of thirst."

"Me, too."

We managed to get some sodas and back to our seats before the lights came back up.

"That's a good idea," Blake said, noticing our sodas. "I'll be right back."

He went off to get some refreshments and Brad slumped back in his seat. "You want to stop by the boardwalk on the way home?" he asked, softly.

"If you want to," I replied, "but to be honest, I'd rather just go home and fall into bed."

"After tonight, that might not be a bad idea," he agreed as Mom and Dad headed our way.

"Oh, I'm exhausted," Mother said, trying to catch her breath. I offered her my soda and she took a sip. "Thanks, hon. Ben, if you have the energy, would you mind going to get us something to drink?"

Benny stood up. "I have a better idea," he said. "Dad, you and Mom sit down and I'll go get you something."

"Thanks. I think we're getting too old for this," Dad said.

"Nonsense," Brad said. "You're just now in your prime.

"Excuse me, I think I'd better go get something for my parents, they're looking kind of peaked, too," Brad said, standing up. "I'll be right back."

He and Benny headed off to the concession stand as Martha and Frank collapsed in two chairs next to Mom and Dad.

"Brad went to get you something to drink," I told them.

"That's good," Martha said. "I'm ready for it."

"How many rounds did you make?" Chad asked, skating to a stop in front of us. He had his arm around Kim.

"It felt like fifty, but I wasn't counting," Frank admitted.

"Neither were we," Dad said as Blake arrived with two sodas and handed one to Stephanie.

Families and other people who were together that weren't lovers joined together out on the floor. I sat and waited for Brad and Benny to return with sodas for our parents.

Jason let Karen sit and rest while Bob went to get them something to drink and he took Mary back out on the floor because she was ready to skate again. Bridgette didn't like sitting still while her new friend skated, so she dragged Blake out onto the floor.

"Did you have a good Thanksgiving, Paul?" I asked.

"Yes, we did. We went to my parents' for Thanksgiving dinner Wednesday night, then to Beth's parents' for Thanksgiving lunch yesterday. I think I've had enough turkey and dressing to last until Christmas."

"So have we," I admitted.

"This was a great idea," Beth said, getting to her feet. "I was wondering how we were going to work off all that food."

Paul chuckled as he stood up and put his arm around his wife. She didn't have an ounce of fat on her. Paul was solid muscle, himself. I knew that they both spent a lot of time in the weight room at the gym at Coast Guard HQ. Brad and I could work out there, also, but we always preferred to work out at the apartment complex. It was less of a hassle to use it than drive over to HQ and back every evening.

"I'm sure that we would think of something," Paul replied, winking at me.

I always got the feeling that Paul was Bi by the way he looked at me. I also thought that if he and Beth weren't together and Brad and I weren't together, that he and I might get together, which would be just fine with me. He was a very attractive guy. However, I wasn't going to cheat on Brad and Paul wasn't going to cheat on Beth, that I could tell for sure.

After returning with his parent's drinks, Brad pulled me to my feet as the Duncans headed back out onto the floor. "Let's get out of here, babe," he whispered so that Stephanie, who was still sitting close by, wouldn't hear him.

"Okay," I replied.

We said our goodbyes and, promising to be over for breakfast the next morning so that we could say goodbye to the Walkers and the Joneses before they left for Oklahoma, we headed out the door to my car.

"Looks like it might start snowing any minute," Brad observed as he opened the passenger door of my car for me.

"Yes, it does. I hope it doesn't snow until after they get home," I said.

"Good thing they're spending the night in Denver," Brad said, starting the car.

"Yes. That's a long trip. It would take us a little over eight hours to drive to Wyoming, too. I'm glad that we're flying."

"So am I."

"It might be fun to drive to Phoenix for one of our vacations, though," I admitted, placing my hand on his leg as he pulled out into the street.

Brad placed his hand over mine. "You really do want me to go see my grandparents, don't you?"

"Don't you want to go see them?" I asked.

"Sure. We could rent a room somewhere, I guess. That way we wouldn't have to let on."

"And we wouldn't have to choose which grandparents to stay with and worry about hurting the others' feelings," I stated.

"Well, that, too," he agreed.

"Since we'll have three weeks next year, maybe we can plan that trip around our anniversary."

"I like that idea. I've never been to Phoenix," I admitted as Brad pulled into a parking place next to the boardwalk.

"That also brings up another question," Brad said. "Our anniversary has always been the seventeenth of October, are we going to change it now that I said, 'With this ring, I thee wed,' the other day when I gave you your ring?"

I smiled at him and shook my head. "No, honey. I think that we should stick to the seventeenth."

"Good," he replied with a grin. "I didn't want to change it, either."

I squeezed his hand and rested my head on the headrest as he drove. "Neither did I."

"We don't have to do this if you don't want to, sweetheart," he said, turning off the ignition. "We can go home and make out, instead."

"Oh, Bradley," I chided. "Don't make me make such difficult decisions this late in the day."

Brad unbuckled his seat belt and leaned over and kissed me. "Or we could make out right here," he said, softly.

"I don't think we'd better do that," I replied, but returned the kiss instead of pushing him away.

"We'd better go for a walk before we get into trouble," I gasped, breaking the kiss.

"Okay," Brad replied. He got out and came around to open my door for me. He loved opening doors for me and I never stopped him from doing so.

Brad took my hand in his and we walked along the boardwalk. It was about nine-fifteen and was already dark. The lights along the boardwalk were the only thing that lit up the area. The moon and stars were hiding behind clouds.

Brad wrapped his arm around me and pulled me closer as we walked. The tide was in. The wind was cold. There were a few brave people besides us wandering around, but not many. I couldn't see any vessels out on the water, for which I was thankful. If the wind were to get up, it could be a bad storm and I didn't want Dad and Paul to be called out during the night.

"I think this was a bad idea," Brad said as a couple ran by on their way to their car.

"Let's go over there for just a few minutes," I said, pointing to the outlook post. "I want to confirm that there is no one out on the lake."

"Okay, but not too long," he replied, hugging me closer as we walked. I grinned as I noticed he slipped his left hand in my left coat pocket. We should have worn gloves, but we had left them in the car.

When we arrived at the outlook post, I maneuvered the telescope so that I could look out over the lake. It was pitch black as far as I could see. For that, I was thankful.

"Anything?" Brad asked.

"Nothing."

"That's good."

"Well, we hope so anyway," I replied. "Let's go."

Large, lazy snowflakes began to fall as we held each other and started walking back toward my car.

"So much for wishful thinking," Brad said with a sigh.

"I know. Maybe it won't snow much," I replied.

After we got home, I took a shower and crawled into bed while Brad took his shower.

He came out of the bathroom and slipped into bed. "I wish we hadn't promised to go over for breakfast in the morning," he said as I pulled him into my arms.

"I know. But if it's not snowing too bad, they're going to leave around ten and, except for Benny being here, we can get back to our regular routine."

"I like that idea," he replied, placing his warm hand on my bare hip.

"Mmm, so do I," I moaned as he leaned down to kiss me. Our lips touched. I parted my lips a little and his warm tongue slipped into my mouth. He tasted so good. I wrapped my arms around him and he continued to rub my hip as he pressed his hardening rod against mine and we continued to kiss passionately. I was already erect.

We kissed for a few moments, then I pushed him over onto his back. Continuing to kiss him, I took his hard rod in my hand and slowly stroked it.

Kissing my way down his warm hard, smooth chest, I paused to flick my tongue over his erect nipples. I took his dick into my mouth as far as it would go. He was pretty thick and since I had a small mouth, I couldn't take him all the way in when he was fully erect. I flicked my tongue over the ridge at the base of the head and he moaned, pressing his hips up against me.

After a few minutes of sucking him this way, I took him as far into my mouth as I could and he moaned again, running his warm hand through my hair. "I'm cumming, baby," he gasped. I felt his hard rod expand and I tried to stuff even more of his meat into my mouth. He blasted his hot load of jism down my throat.

After he came, I raised up and kissed him on the lips. "I love you, Brad," I whispered.

"I love you, Kris," he replied.

Brad rolled me over onto my back and took my hard cock in his hand. Slowly, he began to stroke it. He leaned down and took it in his hot mouth. With his free hand, he reached underneath me and began playing with my rosebud. I knew that I was going to get fucked before we went to sleep that night.

I wasn't disappointed. After a few moments, I was wiggling under his touch. He had two fingers inside me and was still sucking my rod.

Before I could warn him, I blasted my load into his mouth, then he smiled and moved down a little. He kissed my balls then started licking my love-hole, filling it with the jism that he hadn't swallowed.

After a few moments of sending me into orbit with a great rim- job, he raised up and started kissing his way up my slender, smooth body.

He spread my legs and pressed his lips against mine. "I'm gonna fuck you now," he whispered.

Without another word, he pressed his cock into my waiting asshole. He hadn't put on a condom, but I didn't stop him.

His hard rod prodded into me and he slid it all the way in. My sphincter was loose and ready for him. Brad pushed his cock all the way in to the hilt, then he pulled all the way out to the tip, before slowly pressing back into me.

He wasn't fucking me, though, he was making love to me. I wiggled my bottom and placed my hands on his firm buttocks. He smiled and kissed me. "I love it when you do that," he said.

"I love it when you make love to me this way," I replied.

He kissed me again and we found our rhythm. Brad continued with his long slow strokes, even though I was pressing up to greet each plunge. We were lost in our kissing and love making. Nothing could disturb us now.

After what only seemed like a few minutes, but was actually closer to an hour, he started to speed up. I could sense that he was getting close.

He pushed his cock deeper into me and kissed me hard on the lips. "Oh, baby," he gasped. "I'm gonna squirt."

"Fill me up, baby," I whispered.

But he didn't. He pushed himself up and pulled out. I was erect again also, so he pressed our rods together and started pumping them with his hand.

"Cum with me baby," he breathed.

With him pumping our rods together and me wiggling my bottom, I soon felt the familiar burning sensation deep within. It didn't take but a few moments before I gasped, "I'm cumming, honey."

"Good," he replied. He didn't slow down, but we both shot our loads, hitting me right in the face. We both left a trail of white cream across my smooth, slender chest and stomach.

Brad giggled and leaned down and kissed me on the lips, though I placed my hands on his sides, he didn't let his body touch mine.

"Looks like we made a mess," he said, softly.

He leaned back and gently kissed his way down my chest, licking up the mess as he went. I laughed and flinched when he stuck his tongue in my belly button. "That tickles," I gasped.

He smiled up at me and made his way back up my chest. He kissed me on the lips and let his body press against mine as he laid down on top of me. I wrapped my arms around his strong smooth body and held him tightly as we continued to kiss.

Saturday morning had dawned bright. The sky was a brilliant blue. The freshly fallen snow had blanketed the earth during the night. I had been thankful that the road crew had been out early and cleared the roads.

"I wonder where everyone is," I said. "Uncle Stan's van isn't here."

"Maybe he went to get the others," Brad suggested, opening the door of my parent's house for me. We stepped into the entrance hallway. We took our coats off and hung them in the closet.

"Anyone up yet?" I called, walking into the warm kitchen.

"Just us chickens," Gary replied with a smile.

"Morning," I said. He and Benny were sitting at the breakfast counter drinking coffee.

"Morning, little brother," Benny said.

"Where is everyone?" I asked, pouring Brad a cup of coffee.

"Dad and Uncle Ben went to get the others," Gary explained. "Mom and Aunt Katherine are in the guest room getting everything packed up."

"Mom said that she'd wait until everyone got here to start breakfast," Benny added.

"I think she's done enough cooking for this week," I said, washing my hands at the kitchen sink. "I'll just go ahead and do it for her."

"Mm, I wouldn't do that if I were you, Kris," Gary said.

"Why not?" I asked.

"I think her idea is to hold out until the others get here, then we'll all decide to let her rest and go out for breakfast."

"Oh? No. Surely not. Mom's not that sneaky."

"No, but Mother is," Aunt Shari said as she and Mom walked into the room. "It was Grandma's idea."

"But it's always so crowded in restaurants and there are so many of us that we might not get a table big enough to be together," I protested. "Why can't I just make breakfast instead?"

Mother hugged me. "Thank you for your concern, but Grandma has already talked Grandpa into buying us all breakfast at the International House of Pancakes and we have already called ahead for the largest table they have. They're expecting all fifteen of us at nine o'clock."

"Fifteen?" Brad asked, frowning. "There are only thirteen of us."

"Beth and Paul are joining us," Mom replied.

Brad grinned and put his arm around me. "So, sit down and relax, babe, they've already got this planned."

"Looks that way, doesn't it?" I replied.

We had a wonderful breakfast at the local IHOP. I was able to sit next to Brad and we enjoyed chatting with Gary, Paul and Beth, who sat next to us.

After breakfast we loaded up my car and the mini-van and returned to my parent's house to say goodbye to the Walkers and the Joneses.

As they were leaving, I hugged Gary and told him that I was looking forward to attending the next concert. "I've got your number," he said, "I'll let you know when it is and will save you both a seat on the front row with backstage passes."

"You'd better," I replied.

As the days turned toward December, Brad and I were able to get back on schedule a little. Occasionally, Benny would come over for supper after Brad and I got off work and then we'd all three head down to the workout room together sometime later.

The first weekend in December, Benny decided he was ready to go to Winchester to look at an apartment. He called to see if the one he wanted was available before we left. It wasn't, but it would be by the first of January, so Benny decided not to go look at it. I tried to talk him into going to at least look at the complex, but he didn't want to until he could see the apartment.

"Then make an appointment to see it Wednesday," Brad said. "We'll go with you since we'll be off."

"But it'll be your vacation," Benny protested. "I don't want to take you away from whatever you've got planned."

"Look, Benny," Brad said, hotly. "The only thing that we've got planned is to stay in bed and screw around all day. We can do that Thursday and Monday and Tuesday. You need to look at that apartment before you get yourself into it and find out that you don't like it. We will go with you Wednesday to look at that apartment. We need you to be happy so that you can take us to the airport Friday morning. Okay?"

"Okay, okay," Benny conceded. Brad handed him the cordless. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Brad replied. "Don't worry about the charges. Your bill will go through the roof calling us and your parents anyway, since you will be new in town and not know anyone there."

"I thought Chad was going to take us to the Airport," I said while Benny dialed the number.

"He can't get off," Brad replied. "But he'll pick us up Sunday afternoon."

Wednesday morning Brad and I got up at the same time we always did even though it was the first day of our vacation. After breakfast, Benny came by and picked us up in his new Blazer and we headed toward Winchester. It was a little over a three-hour drive to Winchester, but the roads were good and we didn't have any trouble. Most of the snow we had received the day the Walkers and Joneses had left had melted and we hadn't received any more since.

Reluctantly, I sat in the front seat with Benny and Brad sat in the back seat, but leaned forward and rested his right arm on the back of my seat and his left hand on my arm. Benny smiled, but didn't say anything.

"Gary called Monday," I said as Benny drove. "He said that Cliff was still keeping a low profile. Michael, their manager, wants him to stay low until after the first of the year, then they'll decide what to do. Cliff and Preston spent Thanksgiving with Cliff's parents."

"I'm glad they didn't have to hide out for the holiday," Benny said.

"Because of the publicity, they're basically having to just stay home," I said. "I know that Preston is still working, but no one seems to be bothering him."

"That's good," Benny said.

"Oh, honey," Brad said, rubbing my arm as he changed the subject, "I went over to Chad's at noon yesterday. There was a major wreck on the freeway, so I had to cut across the Tipton district. There's a house at the corner of Crestview and fifteenth, that's for sale. It is so cute. I just know you'd love it."

"Oh?" I asked. We had never discussed wanting to buy a house and I had thought that he was happy with my apartment. I was.

"Yeah. It's stone and has a white picket fence. It's like something out of a children's fairy tale."

Benny nodded. "You remember that house, Kris," Benny said. "My friend Marc lived there when we were in high school. I used to go over and visit him all the time. I think you went over once before you and Jeff got together."

"Oh, yeah, I remember it now," I agreed. "But I don't remember the picket fence."

"It didn't have one then," he admitted.

"I don't really remember the full layout, though," I said.

"It has two bedrooms and a two-car garage. It would be perfect for you two. You could use one room for your computer and the guest room. There's a huge back yard with a privacy fence and lots of trees. You could lay out nude if you wanted to. Marc and I did a few times when his parents were at work."

"Would you like to go look at it when we get back?" Brad asked, softly.

I glanced back at him and he gave me that look that I couldn't refuse.

"I don't know if we can afford it right now," I admitted.

He smiled and said, "I didn't say anything about buying it. I just wanted to look at it with you."

"But why look if you're not going to consider buying?" Benny asked.

"Good point," Brad agreed.

"Okay, if you want to," I conceded.

Winchester was a large city that sat on the edge of the south coast of Kilgore Lake. The apartment complex that Benny had selected sat on the edge of a ridge overlooking the lake. It was in a very nice part of town.

"This looks nice," Brad commented as Benny steered the Blazer in through the gates of the complex.

"It sure does. Are you sure you'll be able to afford a two- bedroom here?" I asked.

"It's not too bad, really," Benny replied, parking in the Visitor parking space closest to the office door.

Winchester was further south than Jefferson and Miss Wilson, the lady who showed us the grounds on the way to the plush apartment, informed us that it didn't snow there. There were even tropical plants around the courtyard and the lawn was a plush green. We didn't even need our coats; it was a balmy seventy-five degrees. Miss Wilson explained that it stayed between seventy-five and eighty throughout the winter, but did get up into the nineties in the summer.

Although no one was swimming in the Olympic-sized pool, there were several people lounging beside it, soaking in the warm early afternoon sun.

"Maybe we should move here, babe," Brad whispered as we stepped into the elevator that would take us up to the fourth floor apartment Benny wanted to look at.

"I know that ICC doesn't have an office here," I replied. "And I seriously doubt that Jefferson Bank and Trust does, either."

"That's true," he conceded.

"And if we quit to move here, we wouldn't get our three week vacations next year."

"I think I'd rather stay in Jefferson, after all," he said.

"Me, too," I agreed.

"We can look at that house, though. I think you'd really like it. There's a lot more privacy than the apartment has and I will even take care of the yard."

"Okay, we'll look," I said. "But no promises."

The ride to the top floor was so smooth that we didn't realize that we were moving. I almost asked if the elevator was stuck until I looked up and saw the numbers on the lights above the door changing. There wasn't even any indication that we stopped before the doors slid quietly open.

Miss Wilson stepped out and led us down the hallway to the end apartment. She pressed the doorbell and waited. "The couple who live here now are in the Navy, also," she informed us. "They wouldn't be moving, but she is pregnant and due at the end of the month. This is an adult complex. We do not allow children in any shape or form. They knew that when they signed the lease, but she still got pregnant."

The door finally opened. The man who stood there was the same height as Brad and Benny at an even six foot. He was dressed in his tan Naval uniform. It fit him better than Benny's fit Benny. Even though he didn't look a thing like Paul, the way he filled out his uniform reminded me of him. No wonder his wife got pregnant; he was a hunk. She probably couldn't get enough of him and ran out of condoms but couldn't refuse him.

He smiled at me and I melted into those slate blue eyes. "Hello, Miss Wilson," he said, looking at her.

"Hello," she replied. "Lieutenant Heath Carpenter, this is Lieutenant Benjamin Brown, Junior," she said, indicating my brother. "He wants to look at your apartment."

"Nice to meet you, sir," Benny said.

"Nice to meet you, sir," Lieutenant Carpenter replied. "Won't you come in?"

"Thank you," Miss Wilson said.

I frowned as I stepped into the apartment. The insignia that Lieutenant Carpenter was wearing was different than the one Benny wore. I couldn't understand why.

"Lieutenant Commander Carpenter," Benny said, answering my unspoken question, which told me that Carpenter out-ranked Benny, "I'd like for you to meet my brother, Kris, and his roommate, Brad Peterson."

"Nice to meet you," I said, shaking his hand. It was a strong warm grip. I had been afraid to shake his hand for fear of him crushing mine, but he didn't.

After shaking hands with Brad, Carpenter asked, "So, Brown, you're going to be moving to Winchester, huh?"

"Yes, sir," Benny replied. "I report to Commander Rios on the fourth."

"Oh, you'll like him. He's my boss, too. Just don't believe a word he says. He's a natural-born liar, but he's got a great sense of humor. Everyone who works under him loves him."

"That's good," Benny replied.

"Well, let's get this show on the road, I've got to get back to work," Carpenter said.

"Thank you," Miss Wilson said. "Of course this furniture comes with the apartment," she began, leading us around the apartment. "If you don't like it, there are a couple of other suites to choose from."

I looked around and smiled. It was nice. The carpet was a plush burgundy. The over-stuffed couch that sat facing the sliding glass doors that opened out onto the balcony was cream-colored with burgundy throw pillows. There were two rose-colored swivel rockers at each end of the couch. The way the Carpenters had this room set up, it was intended for entertaining, not to be lived in.

I could tell the balcony had green outdoor carpet on it and white patio furniture. The balcony looked out over the lake. It was a great view. I knew that the evening sun would shine on the patio, making it really hot in the summer.

The carpet in the master bedroom was a plush blue and had matching drapes and bedspread. Carpenter explained that the bedspread was theirs, but they had bought it for the apartment, since the drapes were already there, and would be willing to sell it to Benny for a reasonable price.

The guest room had a rich brown carpet with brown drapes. Mrs. Carpenter had supplied a cream-colored bedspread for the queen- sized bed in it. This, I knew, would be Brad's and my room when we came to visit. Even though I didn't care for the colors, it would make a good color for a guest room, so I didn't comment.

There were also two bathrooms. One in the hallway for guests that also had a door into the guest room. The master bath was inside the master bedroom.

The kitchen was next to the front door and was done in almond. A window above the sink looked out over the courtyard, giving anyone who was doing the dishes a fantastic view.

"What do you think, Kris?" Benny asked, looking hopefully at me. I knew he liked it and wanted it. I did, too.

Brad gave me a pleading look and I knew that he wanted me to say yes. "I only have one question," I said.

"What's that?" Benny asked.

"How much is it?"

"Four-twenty-five a month plus a two-hundred dollar deposit," Miss Wilson replied.

"That's all?" I asked. Brad and I were paying three-seventy- five for our one-bedroom apartment in Jefferson.

"That's all," she replied.

"One year lease?" I asked.

"Six month lease," she replied. "But the rent usually just goes up in June. We won't raise it again before summer."

"When can he move in?" I asked.

"January first," she replied.

"Go for it," I said.

"Thanks, Kris," Benny said, hugging me.

The flight was almost full. I sat next to the window and looked out as we left the ground behind. I was nervous about this trip. We hadn't called or e-mailed the Fitzgeralds to let them know we were a gay couple. We didn't know what would happen when we arrived at Misty Mountain Lodge for our official honeymoon.

Brad was sitting in the middle seat. Someone we didn't know had the aisle seat.

"Are you going skiing in Jackson?" the gentleman asked as the plane leveled off.

"No," Brad replied. "We're going to Redwood. We're not going to go skiing, though."

"Too bad, I hear the skiing is great this year. I'm meeting my girlfriend there. She and her parents drove up this past weekend, but I couldn't get away until today. They have a two-bedroom cabin there, but I'll be sleeping on the couch in the living room," he said, sadly.

"We've got reservations at the Misty Mountain Lodge," Brad informed him. "Neither of us are planning on sleeping on the couch, though."

"That's a Bed and Breakfast," he said. "You'll like it. I've known the Fitzgeralds for a long time. I can guarantee you won't be sleeping on the couch, they don't allow it except for a nap, maybe. But there is so much to do there that you won't have time for that. My brother and I got The Wilderness View suite when we stayed there a few years ago. It's a two-bedroom suite that looks out over some trees and the river. It's real nice. Is that the one you're getting?"

"No, we're getting Aunt Pearl's Chambers," Brad replied before I could stop him.

He frowned. "That's a one-bedroom suite," he said. "They don't have roll-a-ways. Did they not tell you? Or did you forget to request two beds?"

From where I sat, I couldn't see the look Brad gave him as Brad placed his hand over mine, but I was under the impression that he just grinned. The gentleman glanced down at our hands and then back up at Brad's face. He then pulled out a magazine and started reading it. Brad held my hand and leaned over to look out the window and we rode the rest of the way to Jackson in silence.

I glanced over at the gentleman on the end once and he looked at me then back at the magazine. I hoped that he wasn't going to make trouble for us. Since he had stated that he knew the Fitzgeralds, I had a feeling he would.

When the plane came to a stop, the gentleman stood up and pulled his carry-on bag out of the over-head bin and hurried off the plane. We were in the third row from the front, so we didn't have to wait for a lot of people before we were able to deplane.

"I don't think you should have told him which room we were going to get," I said as Brad and I started toward the gate. "I get the feeling he's going to call the lodge and let the Fitzgeralds know."

Brad was carrying our carry-on bag, but he put his free arm around me and pulled me against him as we walked. "I don't care, babe," he said softly. "This is our honeymoon and we're not going to let any homophobes spoil it. There was nothing at all mentioned on the web site or in their e-mail that stated that couples had to be married or opposite sex. If they give us any shit, then we'll sue them for discrimination and make their lives miserable."

I knew better than to try to argue with Brad when he got this way. I just nodded and said, "Okay."

It had been only an hour flight. Our rental car was ready for us when we arrived at the desk. We had already picked up our two suitcases, so when the attendant handed Brad the keys, we headed directly to the car.

It was a beautiful drive. I reached over and placed my hand on Brad's leg, just like we always rode when we went anywhere. He placed his warm hand over mine and smiled. "It's going to be okay, sweetheart, you'll see."

"As long as we're together, I don't care," I replied.

It was a little after one o'clock Wyoming time, which was an hour later than our time. We had eaten an early lunch at Mom and Dad's before Benny took us to the airport, so we weren't hungry and wouldn't need to eat until the evening meal at the Bed and Breakfast.

Tall evergreen trees that I didn't know the name of reached for the sky. It had snowed the night before, so there would be plenty of fresh snow for the skiers. Even though we didn't ski, I knew that the fresh snow would add to the lovely scenery around the Bed and Breakfast.

The town of Redwood had already decorated for Christmas. The light poles were decorated with green and red garland. Artificial snowmen and Santas stood in the doorways and windows of the shops. I had not yet gotten in the mood for Christmas, so we hadn't decorated our apartment, yet, but as Brad drove down the main street toward the outskirts of town, the warm feeling of the spirit of Christmas engulfed me.

I smiled and Brad asked, "What?"

"The spirit of Christmas," I replied, watching some people bundled in warm, multi-colored ski suits rush from store to store. I knew that they were shopping for Christmas souvenirs to take home with them.

"I get the feeling we should be singing Silver Bells watching everyone," I added.

"Okay, we can do that," Brad replied, squeezing my hand tenderly. "City sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style. In the air it's beginning to look like Christmas."

He stopped singing and frowned at me. "What's wrong?" he asked. "You're not singing."

I grinned. "I just love hearing your deep sexy voice," I replied. He was a good bass singer. "But I have to tell you, it's 'In the air there's a feeling of Christmas'."

"Well, I love hearing your soft sexy voice," he replied. I sang tenor. "And I want to hear it mixed with mine while we sing. So come on, let's sing."

He started again. This time I joined in. I never had any doubt that we would never make it big, like we hoped Cliff Richmond would, but we still enjoyed singing together occasionally. I had sung in the church choir since high school and Brad and I had done a few duets since we'd been together.

Brad steered the car into the parking lot of the Misty Mountain Lodge just as we finished "Silver Bells."

"Wow," I breathed.

"Really, huh?"

The Misty Mountain Lodge appeared to be a quaint little two- story log cabin, nestled in a clump of evergreens at the base of Misty Mountain. Fresh snow piled on the roof and the tips of the tree branches gave any on-looker the feeling they had stepped into a Christmas card.

Red and white ribbon swirled around the posts on the front porch, making them look like candy canes. The windows had been sprayed with canned snow and we could see a Christmas tree framed in one of the oval holes.

Brad pulled the rented Chrysler Le Baron into a space marked "Guest Parking" and took a deep breath. "This is it, babe," he said. "No matter what happens, remember, I love you."

"And I love you," I replied.

Brad got out and walked around the car. I noticed him looking worriedly at the lodge, but I don't think he noticed that I did.

He opened the door and I got out. "We might as well take our luggage in with us," he said. "It'll be harder for them to kick us out that way."

"Why do I get the feeling that all of a sudden you're getting worried?" I asked.

"Because I am," he replied with a sheepish grin.

"So am I," I admitted.

I carried our carry-on bag and Brad carried our two suitcases. There was no one in the lobby when we walked in, but we could hear laughter from the den in the back. A tiny bell tinkled when I opened the door for Brad.

I closed the door and looked around. A tall Christmas tree that almost touched the eight-foot ceiling stood in front of the window across from the desk. There were several presents wrapped in different red, green and gold paper underneath the tree. I had a feeling they were just empty boxes placed there for decoration.

A cozy fireplace stood along the outside wall next to the tree. Several stockings hung from the mantle. An old bentwood rocker stood on the other side of the fireplace. It would be nice to sit there and watch the flickering fire and the twinkling lights on the tree while crocheting or knitting.

"This is nice," Brad said, looking around approvingly.

"It sure is," I agreed.

"Excuse me," a ladies' voice came through the open doorway. "I think I heard the bell."

"I did, too," another lady said.

I stepped over closer to the fireplace to look at the Manger Scene on the mantle. It appeared to be hand-carved.

"Oh, hi," the first lady said. "I'm Tanya Fitzgerald. You must be Mr. Peterson?"

"Yes. Brad Peterson," he replied.

"And you must be Mrs..." she stopped in mid-sentence as I turned around. The smile on her face fell and turned into embarrassment. "I'm sorry." She regained her composure and the smile returned to her plump rosy cheeks. "Let me get Mr. Peterson checked in and I'll be with you in a moment," she said.

Brad and I knew then that the gentleman on the airplane had not called her.

"That's okay, Mrs. Fitzgerald," Brad said. "This is Kris Brown. He's with me."

I gathered that Mrs. Fitzgerald was about five-two and weighed almost two-hundred pounds. I could tell that she was very jolly and a happy-go-lucky type of woman at times.

However, her smile fell again and worry clouded her pretty, plump face. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Peterson," she said, glancing at me. "I wasn't expecting anyone else. You did not indicate that you needed more than one room when you made your reservation. We are full for the weekend and we do not have accommodations for him and he cannot share Aunt Pearl's Chambers with you and your wife."

Brad smiled and shook his head. He stepped over next to me and put his arm around me, pulling me against him. "No, Ma'am, you don't understand. Kris is my spouse," he added with an emphasis on is. "We're here to celebrate our honeymoon."

Mrs. Fitzgerald's large blue eyes grew larger. The color drained from her plump cheeks. I thought she was going to pass out. She did stop breathing for a moment.

Brad removed his wallet from his inside coat pocket and took out his credit card. "Do we need to sign the guest register?" he asked.

"Ma'am?" he asked.

Mrs. Fitzgerald gasped for air and tried to recompose herself as the front door opened and a tall, chubby, man stepped into the room. He was wearing jeans and a red-plaid shirt under a sheep- skin jacket. He reminded me of a mountain man from out of a Field and Stream magazine.

"Tanya, is everything okay?" he asked, worriedly.

"Yes," she gasped again. "Mr. Peterson," she said, stepping behind the counter, "this is my husband, Rob Fitzgerald. Rob, this is Brad Peterson and Kris Brown. They're getting Aunt Pearl's Chambers."

"Yes, we're looking forward to staying here," Brad said, smiling at him. I noticed that Brad tried not to be intimidated by Mr. Fitzgerald's size. He was about five inches taller than Brad's even six-feet.

Mr. Fitzgerald frowned at me and took a deep breath. "Did you explain to Mr. Peterson that we do not have roll-a-ways?" he asked.

"Yes, I did," she replied, reaching for Brad's credit card. "They don't need one. They're on their honeymoon."

Mr. Fitzgerald's eyebrows shot up. "Oh, really?" he asked, showing his surprise.

"Yes, sir," Brad replied, putting his arm around me as I stepped over closer to him. "We've been together for a little over two years, but we haven't had a chance to take an official honeymoon."

Mr. Fitzgerald opened his mouth to say something, but Brad quickly added, "Since your web site didn't say that same-sex couples weren't allowed, we knew that this would be a great place for our honeymoon. And we have our rings to prove that we belong together," he said as we showed them our rings.

Mr. Fitzgerald cleared his throat and glanced at his wife. "Very well. Welcome to Misty Mountain Lodge. On behalf of my wife and I, we hope you enjoy your stay," he said.

"Excuse me, I've got to go get some more firewood for the den. Tanya will show you to your room."

"Thank you," Brad replied.

After Mrs. Fitzgerald checked us in, she led us up the staircase to our room. I noticed she didn't mention the quilting bee in the den.

"Dinner will be served promptly at six in the dining room," she said, unlocking the door to our room. "Breakfast is at seven and lunch at noon. But since you're on your honeymoon, I will be glad to bring your meals up here for you."

I knew then that she was trying to keep us away from the other guests.

The sitting room was everything the photo she had emailed us showed it to be and more. Although there really wasn't much color in the room, it was nice and I could tell by Brad's expression that the room would be perfect.

"Thank you," Brad said, carrying our suitcases over to the bedroom. "But that won't be necessary. Your letter said you didn't do that, so we prepared ourselves to eat in the dining room on your schedule."

I noticed a disappointed look on her plump face, but she didn't protest. When Brad returned from the bedroom, she handed him the key and turned to go. "If you need anything, please feel free to let me know," she said.

"Thank you," Brad replied, closing the door behind her.

"That was quick-thinking," I said, wrapping my arms around him.

He grinned. "Thank you. I felt if I didn't mention the web site not stating the rules, he was going to say something."

"How much do you want to bet that there will be a 'no gays' policy on the web site by the time we get home?" I asked.

"I wouldn't take that bet," he replied. "I know there will be."

Brad hugged me and kissed me on the lips. "But for now, we're here and there is nothing they can do about it," he whispered. "I love you, Kristopher Brown."

"I love you, too, Brad," I replied. Then I grinned up at his handsome face.

"You know," I said, slyly, "if I'm going to be your wife, maybe I should change my name to Kristopher Peterson."

He grinned down at me and asked, "You'd do that for me, wouldn't you?"

"Of course," I replied. "I love you. I'll do anything for you, Brad."

"I love you, too."

He kissed me again and then added, "That's why I can't let you change your name for me. I'd love it if you did, but your grandfather would kill me, or you, or both of us, for sure if you did. You stay Kristopher Martin Brown, but we know that you belong to me."

"And you belong to me," I replied.

Brad and I kissed for a few minutes, then he pulled back and led me over to the French doors. The drapes had been left open and we held each other as we looked out over the back yard of the lodge. There was a tiny stream running through the property. Misty Mountain loomed over us in the distance.

"Wow," Brad breathed. "She was right about the view, wasn't she?"

"Mm, hum," I replied.

"Do you want to take a nap until dinner time, or do you want to go downstairs and ruin their quilting bee?"

Wrapping my arms around him again, I looked up into his beautiful brown eyes and grinned. "I wish you'd stop making me make tough decisions," I replied.

He bent down and kissed me again. "I'll make the decision, then," he replied, softly. He picked me up and carried me into the bedroom and lay me down on the double bed.

I moaned and rolled over. The clock by the bed read five- thirty. Trying to get up, I shook Brad and said, "Wake up, honey, we need to get ready for dinner."

I stretched and the pain shot through my back. "Ouch," I gasped.

Brad sat up quickly. "Are you okay, babe?" he asked, worriedly.

"This bed isn't very comfortable," I replied. "My back hurts, now."

"I know what you mean," he replied. "Luckily, my back doesn't hurt, though.

"Lie down, babe, I'll give you a massage," he instructed. I moved the pillow and laid down on my stomach. Brad's warm strong hands began to massage my aching back.

"Lying in the sand on Kilgore Island was more comfortable than this," I said.

"Yeah. We'll have to spend some time in the hot tub when we get home," Brad replied. "You'll have to sleep on your stomach tonight and tomorrow night."

After a few minutes of massaging my back, the pain went away. I went to the bathroom and took a shower, then Brad took one while I got dressed and waited for him to finish.

It was a few minutes before six when we walked down the stairs and found our way into the lavish dining room.

There was a tall Christmas tree in front of the French doors. There were four other couples already in the dining room when we walked in. Some were seated and others were standing beside the fireplace and the Christmas tree. Everyone was talking and seemed to be having a good time.

Brad put his arm around me and guided me over to the table. There were no name tags, so we figured we could sit anywhere we wanted to.

"Hello," Brad said as everyone turned to look at us. I was surprised that the couples were so young. I had expected the guests to be elderly. Although most of them were in their mid- thirties, one couple was in their late forties. It was obvious that we were the youngest couple there.

"Ah, we were wondering if you were going to ever come out of your room," one gentlemen, who had been standing beside the Christmas tree, said, stepping over next to us.

"We were kind of tired from our trip," Brad admitted.

"Jerry Carson," the gentleman said, extending his hand to Brad.

"Brad Peterson," he replied. "This is Kris Brown."

"Nice meeting you. This is my wife, Sally Ann," Jerry said, indicating a young blonde who had already taken her place at the table.

She smiled and we exchanged pleasantries. We then proceeded to introduce ourselves to the Ropers, Chandlers and the Phillips'. The Phillips' were the older couple.

"Are you going to be doing any skiing?" Mr. Chandler asked, sitting down beside his wife.

"No," Brad replied, holding out a chair for me.

I thanked him and sat down. No one said anything, but a few did exchange glances.

"We might be interested in tackling a quilt, though," Brad added, sitting down next to me.

Before anyone could comment, the kitchen door opened and Mrs. Fitzgerald entered the room, pushing a cart laden with large dishes of piping hot food.

She smiled warmly as she walked in, but I noticed that she didn't look at Brad nor me.

"Mm, that smells good," Mr. Phillips said, rubbing his hands together.

Dinner was good. Mrs. Fitzgerald served baked chicken, baked potatoes, fresh asparagus and homemade rolls that were fresh from the oven.

Mr. Fitzgerald sat at the head of the table and Mrs. Fitzgerald at the foot. We all made small-talk while we ate. No one bothered to ask what suite Brad and I were in, nor did anyone ask what suite anyone else was in. That, I was thankful for.

After we were done eating, Mrs. Fitzgerald got up and went into the kitchen. She returned a moment later with another cart which supported small plates of hot apple pies, a large carton of homemade vanilla ice cream and a pot of coffee with several cups and saucers.

"Anyone for desert and coffee?" she asked.

Everyone agreed, but I declined the coffee. "I would like some more iced tea, though," I said.

Mrs. Fitzgerald gave me an aggravated look, but said, "Certainly."

After dinner, Mr. Phillips pushed his pie plate back and said, "Oh, that was fantastic, Tanya. You really out-did yourself this time."

Everyone agreed that it was marvelous and Mrs. Roper added, "I think we should move into the den so Tanya can clear the table."

"Good idea," Mr. Carson agreed.

We got up and Brad took me by the arm. "Let's go for a walk," he said, softly.

"Okay," I replied.

We went upstairs and got our coats then headed out the back door into the back yard.

The sun was just starting to set when we made our way outside. "You're not regretting eating in the dining room, are you, babe?" Brad asked as we walked.

"No," I replied. "But for almost two hundred dollars a night, she could be a little nicer, I think. Did you see the way she looked at me when I asked for more tea instead of coffee?"

"Yeah, I did," he admitted. "I almost said something, but decided not to make a scene. I will probably make a scene before the weekend is over though," he said.

"Well, let's not let them ruin our honeymoon," I said, leaning my head on his shoulder as we walked.

He put his arm around me and we made our way down to the tiny stream.

The setting sun sent rays of gold and pink across the cold December sky. The tiny stream trickled by and the birds made their noises as Brad held me in the cold mountain air.

"As long as we're together," I whispered against his lips as we started to kiss, "nothing can ruin our honeymoon."

"Not even an uncomfortable bed?" he asked, grinning at me.

"I'll just sleep on top of you."

"Okay," he replied and kissed me on the lips.

We found a large rock close to the small stream that the snow had either melted from or someone had brushed off. Brad leaned up against it and turned me around with my back to him and wrapped his arms around me. Nuzzling my neck, he said, "You know, I really think we'll enjoy that house."

"I do, too," I agreed. "But only if you're with me, I wouldn't want to live there by myself."

"I'm never leaving you, babe," he replied. "You know that."

"I do," I replied, rubbing his hand.

After we had gone to see the apartment that Benny wanted to rent in Winchester, we had returned to Jefferson the same afternoon and Benny had swung by the house at Crestview and fifteenth. It was a beautiful house, as Benny and Brad had said, and I had finally remembered, but there had been a lot of work done to it since Benny and I had seen it last.

It had been almost seven o'clock when we went by the house so we had been unable to get in and there were blinds on the windows, so we couldn't see in, either. However, the next day Brad had called the real estate office and he and I went to look at it.

After some major discussion and a lot of pleading looks and irresistible passes from Brad, I had given in to his desire to buy the house.

I had forgotten about it until the real estate agent had lead us out onto patio, but Benny had told me that one of the times that he and Marc were lying out in the back yard nude, was when Marc had taught him how to masturbate. That had been the night that Benny had taught me how.

"I talked to Mr. Horton the other day," Brad reminded me as we continued to lean against the rock and watch the stream rush by. "I hope that he can get our loan approved before the first. It would be great if we could get moved in before next year. What a great Christmas present that would be to each other. Our own house."

Letting my forehead rest against Brad's cheek, I smiled and replied, "It could be a card-board box as long as we're together."

He chuckled and kissed me on the forehead. "I know, but I don't want my lover to have to live in a card-board box. And especially not for that price."

I grinned. "Well, darling, buying it will raise our payment up to five-fifty a month, but as long as we've been at our jobs, the only thing that will really hurt is the down payment, but that will be covered by the loan."

"That's true," he agreed.

Darkness blanketed the area by the time Brad and I had returned to the lodge. I was thankful that they hadn't locked the back door.

We heard laughter coming from the den. I leaned my head against Brad's shoulder and whispered, "I don't want to go in there. Let's just go to our room."

"That's fine with me," he replied, softly.

The sun hadn't come up yet, but it had already grown light outside when I awoke the next morning.

I stretched against Brad's warm body. I wasn't lying on top of him, but against him the way I always did, with my head on his shoulder. I raised up and looked at the clock; it was a little before seven. I sighed. There was no way that we could make it downstairs in time for breakfast unless we just got up, threw our robes or clothes on and went. And, since there would be other people there, I didn't want to do that. However, I was hungry and I knew Brad would be, too and the only way to get breakfast after seven would be to go into town and buy something.

"Honey, wake up," I said, shaking him. "We're going to miss breakfast."

I got up and was surprised that my back didn't hurt. I dashed into the bathroom, relieved myself, then splashed water on my face and combed my hair.

Brad walked sleepily into the bathroom supporting a major hardon. I took a deep breath and sighed as he urinated. How I would have loved to make love to him before going down to breakfast. Luckily, we had made love for an hour the night before. Even though we had been together for a little over two years, we still couldn't get enough of each other.

"Hurry, honey," I said and rushed into the bedroom.

I pulled on a pair of jeans and a turtleneck sweater, then slipped on my tennis shoes, not worrying about underwear or socks.

Grabbing a pair of jeans for Brad, I took them to the bathroom. He was washing his face and had just reached for the shaving cream when I stepped in.

"You'll have to shave later," I said. "We don't have time."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"She said seven sharp. We have two minutes."

"Okay," he replied, putting the shave cream back on the counter.

I handed him his jeans and he slipped them on. I watched him adjust himself in them, without underwear, and button them up.

"I love you," I whispered and kissed him as I handed him a shirt.

"I love you, too," he replied.

He held me for a moment then put on his shirt, slipped on his tennis shoes and we headed downstairs.

"How's your back this morning?" he asked, opening the dining room door for me.

"Fine, actually. I'm surprised it's not hurting," I replied.

Everyone was already in the dining room, but I was relieved to see that Mr. Carson had not shaved and everyone was wearing their robes and pajamas. Since Brad and I didn't wear pajamas, I was thankful that I had opted to wear jeans and shirts, instead of just our robes.

"Good morning," Mrs. Phillips said. I noticed she had her make up on already.

"Morning," we replied in unison.

"We were beginning to think you were going to skip breakfast," Mrs. Carson said. "I'd hate to think you'd miss these fabulous Raspberry muffins."

"I would have over-slept had it not been for Kris, here," Brad admitted. "I'm always the one who wants to sleep late, but he's always waking me up early," he added, grinning at me.

I smiled back and him and fought the urge to lean over and kiss him.

The kitchen door opened and Mrs. Fitzgerald entered the room, pushing the serving cart. "Oh, good. Everyone is here, dear," she called over her shoulder.

The cart was laden with scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausage, bacon and country ham, along with the "wonderful" Raspberry muffins that Mr. Fitzgerald had made.

Everything was delicious. Brad pulled a muffin apart and spread butter on it. "You'd better get this recipe," he said, softly. "I like these."

"I saw it on the web site," I replied. "I'll get it when we get home."

I was surprised that Mrs. Fitzgerald didn't complain when I asked for milk instead of coffee.

"We're going skiing after breakfast," Mr. Chandler informed us. "Are you sure you don't want to join us?"

Brad glanced at Mrs. Fitzgerald before answering. "No, thank you. I think there's a quilt being worked on in the den. Kris and I want to work on it this morning. We might go hiking after lunch."

"That sounds like a good idea," Mrs. Roper spoke up. "It will probably be warmer this afternoon. Be sure to take the east trail from here. It is simply gorgeous this time of year. Carl and I went hiking on it yesterday afternoon," she added, referring to her husband.

"Be sure to bundle up, though," Mr. Roper said, "we just about froze our asses off."

Brad grinned at me and said, "Thanks for the warning."

"I'll be taking the men skeet shooting after breakfast," Mr. Fitzgerald said, with emphasis on men.

"We're not into hunting," Brad retorted. "And, although we have never been skiing, we might decide to on another trip. But on this trip we aren't interested in learning how.

"However," he continued, "if it were summer, we might go water skiing somewhere."

After breakfast, Brad and I went back to our suite and he shaved while I took a shower. As the warm water cascaded over my body, I smiled. Brad and I had spent a lot of time on the boardwalk and, after his parents' house boat had been shipwrecked on Kilgore Island back in the summer, we had spent a lot of time on the island, but we had never gone water skiing. Because of my fair skin, I had not done any water skiing while growing up, either, and didn't know how.

When Brad finished his shower, we went back downstairs to the den. We were surprised that no one was there. The quilt that was stretched across the frame was already pretty large.

"I guess we won't get to work on it this morning," Brad said. I got the feeling that he was more disappointed than me.

"Do you want to go for the hike now, then work on it this afternoon?" I asked, remembering that there were some people working on it when we arrived the afternoon before.

"It is only eight-thirty," Brad observed as the large Grandfather clock in the corner, chimed the half-hour, "maybe they don't start on it until later."

"Why didn't anyone mention that when we said what we wanted to do, then?" I wanted to know.

Brad shrugged and walked over to the fireplace. The fire was almost out, so he added another log.

"Thanks, but you didn't have to do that, Mr. Peterson," Mrs. Fitzgerald said, entering the room. "Rob would have in a few minutes."

"That's okay," Brad replied. "I didn't want it to burn out. It's pretty cold outside."

"Yes, but we do have central heat and air. The fireplace is more of a novelty than anything else.

"I just heard on the radio that it's supposed to snow this afternoon," she continued. "You might want to take your hike this morning, instead. But if you prefer to work on the quilt, Mrs. Roper, Carson and Phillips, will be joining us shortly," she informed us.

Brad put his arm around me and replied, "I think we'll stay here and work on the quilt."

Mrs. Fitzgerald took a deep breath. "Very well," she said. "You and Mr. Brown can sit in these two chairs so you can see the fireplace," she suggested. I was surprised that she didn't try to separate us.

"Brad isn't very good at sewing," I said, "so I might have to redo everything he does, but you won't have to worry, I'll make sure we do a good job."

"Thank you," Mrs. Fitzgerald said as Brad and I sat down in the chairs that she had indicated.

Mrs. Fitzgerald handed me a wicker basket that had several squares of different-colored material in it. "This is the material you will use," she said. "Have either of you ever done this before?"

"No, ma'am," I replied.

"All you have to do is sew a square here," she indicate where another square had been finished. "Then put another one after it and continue to the next one. One of the ladies will be putting the stuffing in it and topping it off with another piece of cloth, later."

"Okay. I think I can handle that," Brad said as the others joined us in the den.

"Ladies, please go ahead and take your seats and get started," Mrs. Fitzgerald said. "I'm going to run get us some hot mulled cider."

"Oh, that sounds wonderful," Mrs. Phillips said. Mrs. Fitzgerald left the room.

"Our husbands might get jealous," Mrs. Roper said, sitting down across from me. "Here we are with these two cute guys quilting while they're out hunting skeet."

"They're not hunting skeet, dear," Mrs. Phillips said. "That's when they go up on a platform out in the back and Mr. Fitzgerald will pull that thingy that throws the clay skeet into the air, then they take turns shooting at it. Nothing gets killed that way, but it does seem like a waste of time to me."

"As long as they don't bring anything back that I have to clean, I don't mind," Mrs. Roper replied.

"I agree," Mrs. Carson said. "And as for them having to be jealous of these two, I'm sure they realize that they don't need to be. I overheard you tell Mrs. Fitzgerald yesterday when you arrived that you were here on your honeymoon," she said, to our surprise. We had not realized that anyone in the den could hear us. "I do hope that you are enjoying your honeymoon."

"So far, we have," Brad replied, glancing at me. "The bed in Aunt Pearl's Chambers isn't very comfortable, though. We took a nap yesterday afternoon and Kris woke up with a backache, but he slept good last night and had no problems this morning."

Mrs. Phillips shook her head and waved a hand at us. "Don't bother complaining about it," she said. "All of these beds are that way. I have told Tanya a million times to get rid of those mattresses, but they won't do it. Herman and I come out here at least once a year, so we started bringing an egg crate to put on the mattress' to keep from getting backaches. I think we've been in just about every room they have here, they're all the same."

"Jerry loves the firm mattresses," Mrs. Carson spoke up. "It doesn't bother him one bit. But I was in pain this morning, myself."

"I'm glad that you mentioned that," Mrs. Roper spoke up, not noticing Mrs. Fitzgerald walk into the room with a tray of hot mulled cider. "I thought it was just our room. Carl woke up with a terrible backache this morning. This is the first time we've ever stayed here, but I don't think we will again if all the mattresses are as bad as the one in The Wilderness View."

"They really should be replaced," Mrs. Carson said, "especially at these prices."

"Is something wrong?" Mrs. Fitzgerald asked, but Brad and I could tell she knew what the ladies were talking about.

"Just the mattresses, Tanya," Mrs. Phillips replied as Mrs. Roper blushed. "You should be ashamed of yourself for not changing them out like Herman and I have told you to. You've got this young couple here on their honeymoon and you gave them the hardest mattress you have."

Mrs. Fitzgerald blushed, but she squinted her eyes in anger as she looked at Brad and me. She didn't reply.

"I have to admit, though," Mrs. Phillips continued, "I am surprised that you let them stay here. I know that the last time a gay couple tried to stay here, you ran them off."

"Brad was kind of persuasive," I said. "He took his credit card out of his wallet."

Mrs. Roper laughed. "Money does talk, doesn't it?" she said.

Mrs. Fitzgerald set the tray down on a table beside us. "If you would like anything else," she said, coldly, "please feel free to call me. I have some bookkeeping to do. I'll be in the lobby."

"Comfortable beds would be nice," Mrs. Phillips retorted.

Mrs. Fitzgerald didn't pause as she headed out the door into the lobby. She closed the door behind her.

"They did start to run us off," Brad admitted softly as I got up to pour us a cup of cider, "but before Mr. Fitzgerald could say anything, I informed him that it didn't mention that we were not allowed here on their web site. Kris and I are sure that it will be there by the time we get home."

"More than likely," Mrs. Phillips agreed. "The Fitzgeralds really are nice people. They just have a few things they need to work on."

Sipping hot mulled cider and working on the quilt, Brad and I made small talk with the ladies for a few hours. Mrs. Fitzgerald didn't come back to check on us. I had gotten the impression that her feelings had been hurt by Mrs. Phillips' comments. I was sorry that had happened, but after what Mrs. Phillips had said about the mattresses and about them running the other gay couple off, I couldn't really feel sorry for her. That made me feel even worse.

The Grandfather clock in the corner chimed eleven-thirty and I stretched. I couldn't believe that we'd actually made some progress on the quilt and Brad was doing a terrific job of making tight stitches, so I didn't have to re-do them. It had been nice to sit and talk to the ladies, and since they knew about Brad and me, we were able to relax and be ourselves while we worked.

"Tanya will have lunch ready in about half an hour," Mrs. Phillips said, putting down her quilting needle. "It might be a good idea for us to go freshen up for lunch."

"I agree," I said, standing up.

Mrs. Fitzgerald served our lunch as she had every other meal. She was back to her jolly self and didn't seem to have any hard feelings toward Mrs. Phillips for what she had said about the mattresses.

It was a non-eventful meal. Afterwards, Brad and I headed back to our room.

"Do you want to take a walk or a nap, babe?" he asked, closing the door behind him.

"I'd like to take a nap," I replied, "but I'm afraid that I might get a backache if I do."

Brad leaned over and kissed me on the lips. "I tell you what," he whispered, "you lie on your stomach, I'll lie on your back with my dick up your ass, then you won't have to worry about it hurting."

I grinned and wrapped my arms around his neck. "But I'd rather lie on my back and have you lie on top of me, you know that."

Brad kissed me gently on the lips. "I love you, Kris," he whispered.

The maid had already made up the bed but Brad picked me up and gently placed me on the top of the white embroidered bedspread. He continued to kiss me as he laid down on top of me.

The afternoon sun had already disappeared behind Misty Mountain by the time I stepped out on the back porch of the lodge. Brad and I had slept good for a couple of hours. We decided to go for a walk before dinner. I had left him in the bathroom, telling him that I would meet him on the back porch when he was finished.

The crisp December air nipped at my nose, but I knew that Brad would warm me up as soon as he arrived. I stepped off the porch and looked around the lovely back yard of the lodge.

Snow blanketed the area except where Mr. Fitzgerald had shoveled the snow off the sidewalk that ran the length of the yard. The path exited at the back gate, where guests could continue on through the snow, down to the little stream if they wanted to. That is what Brad and I had planned on doing, as we had the evening before.

"Looks like it might snow some tonight." A deep rich voice startled me from behind.

I turned around. Mr. Carson was leaning against the rail of the porch. He took out a pack of cigarettes and lit one, using the lighter that he pulled out of the pocket of his tight jeans.

"Yes, it does," I replied. "It was supposed to this afternoon, but didn't."

"You going for a walk?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied.

He glanced at the back door of the lodge and stood up. "Where's your boyfriend?" he asked, softly.

"He's getting ready," I replied. "He'll be here in a few minutes."

Mr. Carson nodded and flicked ashes into the styrofoam cup he held in his left hand. "So, you two ever screw around with anyone but each other?"

I frowned. Why was he asking? I took a deep breath and replied, "No, we're married."

He shrugged. "Sally Ann and I are married, too," he said, "but she doesn't like to suck my dick, so she lets me find guys who like to. Her only stipulation is that she gets to watch."

Mr. Carson set the cup on the rail he had been sitting on and reached down and rubbed his crotch. "I bet you could do a fine job on my cock," he said, softly.

I smiled. He wasn't bad looking, but I wasn't going to cheat on Brad, I knew that for sure. "I guess we'll never know, will we?" I replied as the door opened and Brad came out.

I wrapped my arm around Brad and kissed him on the lips. "You ready now?"

"Yeah," he replied, glancing nervously at Mr. Carson.

"This is a non-smoking lodge, Mr. Carson," Brad said.

"Call me Jerry," he replied. "I know. They don't mind me smoking out here, though, as long as I keep the ashes and butts in a cup."

He glanced at me and took a deep puff. "So, what do you say, Kris?" he asked, exhaling smoke. "Wanna get together later? Lover boy here could join us."

I still had my arm around Brad. I felt him tense up as he frowned at me. "No thanks," I replied, quickly. "I have all I need right here. Good luck."

Jerry shrugged and picked up his cup and flicked ashes into it. "Enjoy your walk," he said.

I led Brad down the sidewalk to the back gate, keeping my arm around him. "What the fuck was that all about?" he demanded, softly.

I pushed Brad up against the trunk of a tree, out of view of the house. I kissed him on the lips and said, "I love you, Brad. I don't want you to get mad or in a fight." I took a deep breath and quickly explained what Jerry had wanted.

Brad looked at me in disbelief for a moment, then his luscious lips curled into a grin. The grin that drove me crazy. "And you told him that you wouldn't cheat on me?"

"More or less," I replied with a shrug. "But he said it'd be okay for you to watch, since Sally Ann would be watching."

It was the first time that anyone had made a play for me since Brad and I had become lovers. Brad pulled me against him and kissed me passionately on the lips. "You don't know how happy it makes me to know that you turned him down," he gasped.

"I love you, Bradley Allen Peterson," I whispered. "I'll never even look at another man."

He grinned again. "What about Paul?" he asked. "I've seen the way you look at him."

"Well, he doesn't count," I replied, blushing. "He's like a big brother to me."

"Yeah, right. I bet you'd sleep with him in a heartbeat if he weren't married."

He'd caught me, but I wasn't going to let it ruin our relationship. I shrugged. "But only if I weren't married, too. I'd never cheat on you, Brad. I love you so much."

He smiled at me for a moment, then pulled me closer to him and we kissed again. "I love you, too, Kristopher Martin Brown," he whispered. "I'd never cheat on you, either."

We stood there kissing under the tree until the wind began to get up and darkness blanketed the area.

"We'd better get back before they lock the back door," I whispered.

Brad put his arm around me and we made our way back to the lodge. We hadn't gotten in our walk, but we had spent the entire evening standing under the tree, holding each other and kissing.

Brad tossed a log on the fire in our suite and sat down on the floor beside me in front of the Victorian sofa. The chairs and couch were very uncomfortable. The floor was much better, plus we had a better view of the fire and we could look out the French doors in the sitting room.

It was snowing by the time I had gotten out of the shower. We were afraid that our flight might be canceled the next day, but we had one more night at the Misty Mountain Lodge. We didn't want to spend it worrying about the weather. We had other things to do.

Brad had removed the heavy blankets from the bed, but had left the crocheted bedspread in the bedroom. He had spread one of the blankets on the floor in front of the hearth. I laid down on the soft blanket and he pulled the other one up over us. We were both lying on the blanket nude, but we had the pillows from the bed to rest our heads on. However, I was resting my head on his strong shoulder instead of the pillow.

"It's been a while since we've made love on the floor in front of a fireplace," Brad said, softly. "Wanna spend the night in here?"

I smiled and kissed him as I ran my hand over his smooth hard chest and stomach. He was brick hard by the time I closed my hand around his organ. "Mm, hum," I replied, not breaking the kiss.

After a few minutes of stroking his organ and kissing him, he broke the kiss. "Oh, baby," he gasped, "I'm gonna cum if you keep stroking it, but I wanna cum in your mouth."

Without replying, I stopped stroking his cock and cupped his balls in my hand and gently massaged them. He moaned as I kissed his warm luscious lips then moved slowly downward, kissing his neck, then his chest. I stopped only a moment to flick my tongue into his belly button, then I licked the base of the head of his throbbing organ.

Running my tongue down to the base of his cock, I continued to gently rub his sack.

"Suck it, baby, like only you can," he crooned.

Taking as much of his rod in my mouth as I could, I ran my fingers along the ridge that went from the bottom of his sack down to his rosebud. He moaned as I continued to flick my tongue across the ridge at the base of the head, and he wiggled his hips a little, pressing my index finger into his love hole.

I felt him expand as he pressed upward with his hips and placed his hands on my head. "I'm here, baby," he gasped and blasted a stream of hot cream into my mouth. As best I could, I tried to keep from swallowing it, but there was almost more than I could hold. Without saying a word, I raised up a little and kissed my way down the ridge to where his little puckered hole was. He grinned as I continued, but didn't seem to notice that I hadn't swallowed his seed.

Sensing that I was going to eat his luscious ass, he spread his legs a little more and I scooted down on the blanket, pushing the top blanket out of the way.

I started licking his hot hole and pressing my cum-covered tongue in as far as I could.

"Oh, yeah, that's great," he gasped.

After I coated his hole with most of his seed, I pressed a couple of fingers in and noted that his cock had already grown erect again without me even touching it.

Raising up a little, I kissed it, then, kissing my way up to his luscious lips, I pushed his legs further apart.

Brad didn't stop me when I kissed him and then pressed my hard rod against his puckered hole. He gasped as I pressed it in, but it was too short for me to lie down on top of him and kiss him on the lips the way he did me. The best I could do was to suckle on his hard nipples while I pressed as deep into him as I could.

"Oh, yea, baby, fuck my ass," he moaned as I started pumping slowly in and out of his rosebud.

I didn't say anything, but continued to pump my cock in and out of him and suckle his nipples. First the left one, then the right, kissing his hard smooth chest as I went from one to the other.

After a while I was so horny for him that I knew I wasn't going to hold back much longer. I stopped sucking his nipples and pushed myself up. I had intended to pull out, but he wrapped his legs around my hips and bucked against me, pulling me even deeper into his tight, almost-virgin, hole.

I tried to pull out, but every time I did, he'd use his strong legs to pull me back in. "I'm gonna cum, babe," I gasped. "Let me out."

I couldn't believe it. The only other time I had fucked him had been doggy-style and I had enjoyed it immensely. Now he was on his back with his legs around my bottom and I was enjoying him even more. I could tell by his facial expressions that he was enjoying this fuck as much as I was.

"Go ahead and blast up my ass," he whispered. "You enjoy it when I blast in yours, now it's time for me to feel your hot wad splash into me."

I gave him a doubtful look, but I knew I wasn't going to be able to hold it for long. He grinned that special grin and made a pass at me as I pulled back and pressed in for the last time. I felt as though my balls had contracted up into my stomach and I shot my load deep into his hot ass. My body trembled and I shot another load. I knew that I had never had such an intense orgasm.

Brad pulled me deeper into his ass and I shot some more. "Shit, Kris," he gasped. "I can feel that. How much you going to shoot?"

I couldn't talk. I couldn't move. My body was writhing as my organ unloaded all the pent-up love juice that I didn't even know where it had been stored. Brad had made me come twice earlier that day, so I was just as surprised as he that I shot so much.

Finally spent, I collapsed on top of him and he pulled me up a little. My sack empty, my organ deflated as the blood returned to its normal track. Breathing heavily, I tried to catch my breath as he pulled my chin up and kissed me gently on the lips. "I love you, Kris," he whispered.

"I love you, Brad," I gasped.

He rolled me over onto my back and maneuvered himself on top of me as he continued kissing me. "You can do that anytime you want to, sweetheart," he said, softly.

"Are you sure?" I asked, worriedly.

He grinned. "Yeah. I'm sure, babe," he replied and spread my legs as he leaned down to kiss me again.

Without another word, he continued to kiss me on the lips and reached between us and guided his still hard rod right up into my asshole. I moaned as his hard cock broke through my tight sphincter, but he was so gentle, and I was so weak from my own orgasm, that I was relaxed enough that my ass didn't need anything but the precum he was leaking to lube it up.

Running my hands along his strong warm sides, I moaned and tried to get enough strength to squeeze his cock with my ass muscles, but I was just too weak.

"Don't move, babe," he whispered as he kissed my cheek and nuzzled my neck. "I love you. I'll do all the work this time."

My response was to kiss his warm lips again and run my hands up his sides, then wrap my arms around his strong body and run my hands through his brown hair.

I was surprised that I didn't fall asleep on him, but how could I? I loved him so much and he was making love to me the way I needed him to. Again, I couldn't believe that we had been together for over two years. I was exhausted, but I still couldn't get enough of him.

Pressing my hips up a little, I pushed him deeper in me. No words were needed now. We were showing each other how we felt. I had regained enough strength to tighten my ass muscles around his rod and squeeze gently as he pressed in deeper.

Next to us the fire crackled. Somewhere in the distance, probably downstairs in the den, a Grandfather clock chimed eleven o'clock. A hoot owl outside queried something that we couldn't hear or see, but in Aunt Pearl's Chambers on the blanket on the floor in front of the fireplace, we were oblivious to the sounds of the night. Brad's warm lips stayed on mine as his hard rod continued to plunge ever so deep into my longing love-hole and his hot tongue explored my anxious mouth. My energy had returned while we were making love and I was now able to move my hips up to meet his strokes.

"I love you, Kristopher," he whispered against my mouth.

"I love you, Brad," I replied.

Time seemed to stand still as Brad continued to pump his long hard rod deep inside me. This night would go down in history as the best love-making we had done in our time together. It would take a lot to top it, but I wasn't worried about that now.

The Grandfather clock chimed again, marking the half-hour. Brad pulled out as far as he could without exiting, then plunged back in as deep as he could. I felt his hard rod expand. I felt the sweat from our bodies lubricating us even more. I felt his warm soft bush against my bottom as he went all the way in again. We were lost in the moment. I felt his muscular body tremble. He leaned back a little, pressing his hard rod deeper inside me. Before I could stop him, his eyes rolled back in his head and his eyelids closed. Deep from inside his gut the cry I hadn't heard for several months, came barrelling out, "ARRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" and I felt his jism squirt deep inside my bowels.

I cringed. Not that I minded him screaming that way, but I didn't want everyone in the bed and breakfast pounding on our door to see what was wrong.

Brad collapsed on top of me and gasped for air. "Oh, shit, babe, that was the best."

I pulled him closer to me and kissed him, praying that no one would come investigate the incident, but dreading facing everyone at breakfast the following morning.

"I love you, Brad," I whispered softly, not mentioning the scream.

Brad nuzzled my neck and continued to lie on top of me for a few more minutes, holding his softening rod inside me. The semen and the sweat finally forced him out with a pop and he giggled, rolling over onto his back as he pulled me into his arms.

I rested my head on his broad shoulder and we drifted off to sleep as the fire continued to crackle in the fireplace.

-- The End