Second Wind

Chapter Fourteen

Joey

I worked both Saturday and Sunday again. Now that we were into December, Christmas tree and wreath sales were picking up. A couple more busy weekends and that would pretty much be it until spring. Since the landscaping business was nearly finished for the season, Sal and John were helping out in the nursery. And since the other guys all had wives and kids, they each worked one day of the weekend while I worked both. On Saturday, Sal, Vinnie and I were on. On Sunday it was Anthony, John and me. We'd all ganged up on Pop a few years earlier and convinced him to take weekends off.

Saturday night Angie and I took Connor to the diner as usual. Once Ben and I had opened up to each other about our feelings I was somehow a lot more secure in my friendship with Angie. I had been frank with her about just wanting to be friends and was doing nothing to lead her on, so I stopped stressing about what she might be thinking. I still had the feeling that she wanted more than friendship, but that wasn't my responsibility.

After we ate she again brought up her invitation to spend Christmas with her family. When she had first mentioned it, my initial reaction had been to say no because otherwise she'd read more into our relationship. Once I'd thought about it a while I knew that was a valid point, but there was another reason as well. If I were going to spend the holiday with anyone outside my family, it would be Ben, but I wasn't sure that would be a good idea either.

"I appreciate the invitation, Angie, but I'm going to have to say no. You see, Christmas was a very special day for Jenny and me. As far back as I can remember, we always spent at least part of the day together. When I was little, I'd get up early and open some of my presents and then go across the street to watch Jenny open hers. Then she'd come home with me so I could open the rest of mine with her there. Last year was the first Christmas of my life without her and it was horrible beyond words. I wanted it to be happy for Connor, but I was pretty much a basket case. Fortunately, at six months a baby isn't very aware of his surroundings."

"I remember talking to you at church Christmas Eve and you seemed really out of it."

"I must have been. I don’t even remember seeing you. I know I went to midnight Mass but I don’t have any recollection of it. I've come a long way this year but I have a feeling Christmas might still be a pretty bad day for me. I don't think I should inflict myself on anyone other than my family. They have to put up with me."

"I understand, Joey. You need to handle things the way you're most comfortable. I'll see you at church on Christmas Eve anyway, and maybe this year you'll remember me."

"Yeah, I'm sure I will, Angie."

Angie looked down at the table for a minute, looking like she wanted to say something but wasn't sure. Finally, she spoke but didn't lift her head.

"We're just going to be friends, aren't we, Joey? Nothing more than that?"

"Yeah, Angie, that's what we said last summer and that's the way I still feel. Are you okay with that?"

She looked up at me and sighed.

"I guess so. I meant it when I said I wanted to be your friend when we started spending time together. Somewhere along the line I began to realize what a great guy you are and maybe I began to hope more might develop between us. Maybe I was just swept up in the campaign our mothers were waging. But I know that you can't force feelings. I like you a lot and I know you like me. Being friends with you is just fine with me."

"I'm glad you feel that way because I really do value your friendship. At times I've thought that maybe you wanted more and I didn't want to disappoint you by not returning that feeling. I also didn't want to hurt you by leading you on."

"You didn't, Joey. You've been a perfect friend all along." She smiled. "Now that we've got that straightened out we can enjoy being pals."

"Sounds good to me. You can never have too many friends." I was so relieved that we had finally talked it out. I hadn't ever been able to figure out how to bring up the subject but fortunately she had.

I went to early Mass Sunday morning so I could be at the nursery at ten. Business was pretty brisk from late morning into the afternoon, but after three o'clock things slowed down. John was helping a customer tie a tree onto the roof of his SUV and Anthony and I went into the building to warm up.

"So are you going to tell me about the problem you're having with Vinnie and John?"

"Problem? What do you mean?"

"C'mon, Joe, it's obvious something's going on. You and Vinnie have been avoiding each other all week and you haven't said two words to John all day."

I hesitated. I wasn't sure just what to say to Anthony. I was still pissed at the guys but I wasn't about to rat on them about attacking Ben. They were still my brothers, after all.

"The guys are sticking their noses into something that doesn't concern them. They don't like Ben because he's gay and they don’t want him to be friends with me so they went to see him to try to scare him off."

"They went to his house?"

"No, they ran into him at Angelo's one night after I left."

"They ran into him and had a few words and you're not speaking to them just because of that?"

"They threatened my friend, Anthony. It really upsets me that my brothers could hate someone they don’t even know. I never knew they were so narrow-minded and bigoted. I mean, yeah, I've heard them say words like fag and queer but I thought they were just words. They use all kinds of strong language I don't. Mom and Pop didn't exactly stress tolerance when I was growing up but they didn't teach hate either."

"I don’t know if hate is the right word, but I think they've always had problems with gay guys. The subject just hits a nerve with some men."

"What about you, Anthony? You grew up with them but you don't seem as bothered by the subject."

"For the most part I don’t really care one way or the other. It's never been an issue I had to deal with. I don’t think I've ever had a friend who was gay, but I figure as long as a guy doesn't hit on me, what he does on his own time is his own business."

"So you're okay with Ben?"

"Yeah, he's a lot different from us in a lot of ways but he seems like a good guy. And he seems to be good for you, too. You've come back to life since you've been hanging out with him. We're all glad to see you acting more like your old self again."

"I kinda thought that's the way you felt. After all, I heard Tony telling Ben he was in the gay-straight club at Montclair State."

"Maybe it's just the times, but unlike Mom and Pop, Gina and I have tried to stress tolerance and acceptance with our kids. I figure it's a complicated world out there and you're not doing your kids any favors if you don’t try to help them understand it and fit into it. We're pretty proud of the man Tony is growing up to be."

"You should be, Anthony, and you should be pretty proud of yourself. You've got a lot to do with the kind of man Tony is turning into. It's nice to know I've got you on my side."

"I'm always on your side, Joey. But remember, Vinnie and John are my brothers, too. I may like Ben, but you guys are my family. We shouldn't be taking sides against one another."

Yeah, easy to say but wait until John and Vinnie find out I'm gay.

Ben

I was so relieved that Joey and I finally seemed to have our relationship on track, but still I wanted more. It's always complicated when two lives are trying to merge. There is only so much time and there are so many demands on it. I had my job, Becky and a few friends. Joey had his job and his huge family. But Connor was the biggest complication, one I had no experience with. I knew that he would always come first in Joey's life and that's how it should be, but I wasn't used to sharing a man. He didn't exactly get in the way, but we had to take him into consideration when making plans to get together and we had so little time together as it was.

Joey called from work late Sunday afternoon to confirm our plans for the evening.

"I'm going to pick up Connor at home and then stop by Rocco's for a couple of pizzas. What do you like on yours?"

"Oh, I'm easy. Pretty much anything but anchovies is okay with me."

"I think we've already established you're easy, Ben, but what's wrong with anchovies? I used anchovy paste in the salad dressing the other night and you liked it."

"Only because I didn't know that was in there. You won't see me eating that again."

"Hmm, I think I could probably get you to eat just about anything, but for tonight I'll let you have your way. And then maybe later you'll let me have my way."

"Another minute of this and we'll be doing it on the phone and I don’t think that would go over well at the nursery."

"You're right, Ben. Hold that thought. I'll be there soon."

I was tempted to hold something else as soon as I got off the phone. When I was first getting to know Joey I'd thought of him as an innocent kid. Even after we decided to try a relationship, I still thought that. While we cuddled and made out quite a bit, it didn't go any further for a long time. Joey hadn't ever had a gay relationship and didn't seem to have much of a sex drive. He was content to just share affection. But now, he was getting to be more like a horndog turned loose. He was constantly teasing and getting me all worked up. Maybe teasing wasn't the right word, since I knew he'd follow through if he got the chance. The problem was, we rarely got the chance. Aside from our night of wild passion on Thanksgiving, there had only been that unexpected release in the shower last Monday night. I decided we were going to have to work on making more 'quality time.'

Joey pulled into the driveway a little after five. I was out the front door before he'd even shut off the engine. I hugged him as he got out of the car and then grabbed the pizzas while he got Connor and his bag of supplies out of the backseat.

We had pizza and beer in the family room while watching, believe it or not, a football game on TV. I probably paid more attention to Connor than the game, but it was what Joey wanted to watch. He'd picked up a pepperoni pie and a veggie pie and both were good. Connor liked the toppings but didn't seem very fond of the crust. That worked out fine because the crust was Lula's favorite part. Afterwards we were all full and Joey and I snuggled while we watched the end of the game and Connor played with Lula on the floor.

"You've got to come Christmas shopping with me and help me pick out some toys for Connor, Joey. I don’t know what kinds of things he likes or what you want him to have. It would be nice for him to have something to play with when he comes over here. He's gonna get tired of Lula after a while."

"I could just bring some toys with me when I bring Connor."

"It's easier if I just buy some things and keep them here. Then you don’t have so much stuff to lug back and forth."

"Well, as long as you don’t mind."

"I was thinking about something else that would make things easier, too. How about if I buy a crib and set it up in one of the guest rooms?" Joey turned gave me a bit of a sad look.

"You know I would love to spend the night here with you sometimes, Ben, but your not having a crib for Connor isn't the obstacle. It's my parents. How would I explain the need to stay here when I live only two miles away? They'd suspect something."

"I know, and I do want you to be able to sleep here now and then, but that isn't why I suggested the crib. I was thinking that it would just make it easier to bring Connor here more often. When you leave him with your mother, you wait until you put him to bed so that means you can't come over until later. When you leave him with one of your nieces, you can come earlier but then you have to leave early, too. And in both cases I know you worry about imposing on your family too much."

"They all love him but I don't want to ask too much of them. Besides, I want to be with him as much as I can."

"So it works best if you bring him along. I love having him here. It's just that we have to keep an eye on him every minute. This house wasn't decorated with a small child in mind and he could get into lots of trouble. Even after he falls asleep, which he seems about ready to do right now, we still can't leave him alone. That makes it hard for us to have any private time. Half the time we have to be watching him and the other half he's watching us."

"Ahhh, here I've been thinking that you're turning all parental on me but now we get to your real motivation. You're horny."

"Damn right I'm horny and you know you are, too. Yeah, I want some alone time with you, but I meant everything else I said about Connor."

"I believe you, Ben. I want that, too, but you don't have to buy a crib. I think just about everyone in my family has a crib in the attic that they're not using so I can probably borrow one. And a playpen, too, for that matter. In the meantime, we're stuck, though. I was thinking that I could put Connor in the middle of one of your spare beds and he'd probably be all right. I mean, he sleeps soundly and doesn't move around much. But I'm afraid I'm a little obsessive about him. I couldn't relax with you if I was worried that he was rolling off the bed in the other room."

"That's okay, babe. I want you so bad but I can wait until you can give me your undivided attention."

Joey

Although I teased Ben about his ulterior motives about getting a crib for Connor, I was thrilled with the idea. I wanted some 'alone time' with Ben in his bedroom as much as he did. But I was even more pleased about what his thought meant. I had heard single parents complain about the problems of dating when you have kids. It wasn't just finding time alone. If you got into a serious relationship the other person had to love your kid nearly as much as you did. That was tough enough with heterosexuals who are supposedly conditioned to care for children. To find a gay guy who would give so much thought to my son was pretty amazing, especially knowing how awkward Ben felt about kids when I met him. Either Connor or I had won him over. Maybe it was a team effort.

Connor and Lula crashed at about the same time and at first I was going to put Connor on a chair opposite us to sleep, but he and the dog looked so comfortable lying cuddled against each other on the floor I decided to leave him there. Ben and I had been sitting on the couch during the game but later he pulled his feet up and lay down, putting his head in my lap. I stared down at him while I ran the fingers of my right hand through his hair. He held my left hand in both of his. For a few minutes we just lost ourselves in each other's eyes. I know I lost track of time as I absorbed the love shining from his eyes. After a while he closed his eyes and I felt his grasp on my hand loosen. His breathing was becoming rhythmic and I thought he was dozing off. All of a sudden, he sat upright and swung around toward me.

"Damn! I forgot to tell you. Becky's got a boyfriend!"

"You're kidding! When did this happen? I talked to her last Monday when she got back from Rochester and she didn't say anything. Of course, we were both pretty concerned with what was going on with you at the time."

"Apparently she met him the day before Thanksgiving. She went out for drinks with some of her friends from work and she met him in the bar. They hit it off and she ended up going home with him."

"Just like that? Has she been taking lessons from you?"

"Hey, that's not nice. Remember, you're talking to your boyfriend. Anyway, she must have seen something special in him because she doesn't usually do that. They saw each other a couple of times over that weekend and then talked a lot on the phone while she was at her sister's. When she got back last week they picked up where they left off. She said she didn't want to say anything to us until she was sure it was more than just a fun weekend."

"So when do we get to meet him?"

"I'm trying to talk her into bringing him over soon. After all, she had to approve of my boyfriend so I get to vote on hers."

Ben started to lie down again, but I quickly turned so I was leaning back against the arm of the couch and pulled him into me. He lay back in our favorite position, with his back against my chest and my arms holding him tight. I was happy for Becky. I liked her a lot and was pleased that she had found a guy she liked. I had never understood how someone like her could be single for long.

All of a sudden a little light bulb went off in my head.

"I've got an idea, Ben, one that can work in so many ways. How about you invite Becky and this guy over for dinner next Saturday? Don't worry, I'll cook."

"That sounds nice, but what do you mean by so many ways?"

"Well, I can tell Mom that you're having a dinner party and I'm cooking. She doesn't have to know it's only four people. I can make it sound like a big deal and use that as an excuse to stay over here that night."

"Anything that allows you to spend the night in my bed sounds like a great idea to me, but won't your mother think it's odd that you're doing the cooking when it's my dinner party?"

"No, she knows I love to cook and I never get a chance with her in the kitchen at home. I'll tell her that's it's going to be a late party so it would be best if I spent the night. And that's the excuse I'll give Donna Marie for borrowing the crib, too."

"You've decided to ask Donna Marie?"

"Yeah, the crib Connor's using at home belongs to Anthony and Gina. I know that John and Vinnie both have cribs but somehow I don’t think either of them would be thrilled to lend me one to use here."

"Ya think? I'd rather buy a new one than have to go through either of them. I'll call Becky tomorrow and make sure they can make it Saturday."

"Great, I can bring the crib and stuff over Wednesday. Since I'm working weekends I have a couple of days off during the week."

"I didn't use much of my vacation time this year and I was going to carry it over to next year. I can take the day off and help you."

"Help me? Why do I have a feeling that what you really want is to take advantage of having a safe place for Connor the second the crib is set up?"

"Well, we should make sure he's comfortable in it before you guys spend the night on Saturday."

Ben

As much as Joey and I both loved to cuddle, it was apparent in the way the conversation kept coming back to sex that we were both very horny. I'd been sitting between his legs, leaning back into him and he had his arms wrapped around me. He was occasionally running his hands over my chest and stomach. He had unbuttoned my shirt and was caressing my smooth chest and abs. Then he surprised me by letting his hand travel further down until he was cupping my package. He grabbed me firmly and gave it a slight squeeze. When he started fumbling with my belt I helped him out by unfastening my pants. He reached into my boxers and grabbed my dick and pulled on it. I pulled the elastic waistband of the shorts down and hooked it under my balls. He looked over my shoulder as he slowly stroked me.

"It feels so strange having someone else's dick in my hand," he whispered in my ear. "I'm used to my own but this is such a different sensation."

"Mine is a lot smaller than yours. It must feel odd to you."

"It's not that much smaller. I think it's beautiful. The skin is so silky and smooth. I love the feel but I'm afraid I'll hurt you."

"Don’t worry about that. It can take quite a beating, so to speak."

"Well, in that case…"

He wrapped his right hand firmly around my dick and began stroking it a little faster, slowly picking up the speed a bit. With his left hand he reached down and fondled my balls. I don’t know if it was instinct or if he had somehow picked up on how much I like to have my balls played with in our previous encounters but he was making just the right moves. As his fist on my cock settled into a great rhythm and his hand pulled down on my nuts I knew I wasn't going to be able to hold out long. He began nibbling on my right ear and when he stuck his tongue into it I lost it. My first shot hit me on the chin and the ones after that landed on my chest and stomach. As my orgasm subsided he slowed down the pumping and gave one last long squeeze, milking the last few drop out of me.

I took his right hand, which had cum on its fingers, and brought it up to my mouth and began licking it off. I could tell that Joey was watching me from behind. When I had cleaned off his hand I shrugged.

"What can I say? I like the taste, even if it is my own."

He reached for a small puddle on my belly and scooped up some more, then surprised me by bringing it past my head toward his own mouth. I turned my head and watched as he gingerly stuck out his tongue and tasted it. He gave it a few seconds thought and then stuck his fingers in his mouth, sucking them clean.

"Not bad. Do all guys taste the same?"

"Well, I haven't tasted all guys, but in my experience, everyone has their own distinct flavor. Haven't you ever tasted your own?"

"No." He looked embarrassed. I wasn't sure if it was because he hadn't or if it was just the idea that made him uncomfortable.

"Well, we'll have to fix that."

I lay there with my head leaning against his for a minute but felt the cum starting to run down my chest and sides. I got up carefully and went into the kitchen for a towel to clean myself up. When I came back into the family room Joey was still laying on the couch with his head back and his eyes closed. I could see the tent in his pants.

I looked down at Connor sleeping on the floor with Lula, his head turned away from us. Since Joey had already started things, I decided to take a chance. I knelt down on the floor next to the couch.

"Keep an eye on Connor and let me know if he seems to be waking up."

Joey opened his eyes and looked down at me as I put my hand on his crotch and leered at him. His mouth sagged open as I massaged the growing bulge in his pants. I rubbed him for a few minutes and then unbuttoned his jeans and slowly pulled down his zipper. I grabbed the sides of the waistband of both the jeans and his boxers and carefully pulled them down. He lifted his hips off the couch to make it easier but I still had a tough time getting them over his bubble butt. I held his cock up so it was sticking straight up and examined it. It wasn't all that much longer than mine but man, was it thick. It felt smooth but it looked tough. Maybe it was just the girth that made it look that way. There was a drop of precum at his slit and I leaned over him and licked it off with the tip of my tongue. Then I flicked my tongue around the edges of his head, eliciting little moans each time. Finally, I took the head in my mouth and swirled my tongue around it. He let out with that same low growl I had heard when I first touched his dick on Thanksgiving. I began to move up and down on the shaft, sucking and tonguing it, trying to swallow a little more of it each time.

He put his hands on my head, not to guide me or force me onto him, but lightly, almost caressingly. I put a hand around the base of his dick and stroked as I bobbed up and down. I picked up the paced and increased the suction and I could tell by Joey's breathing that he was getting close.

"I'm gonna cum," he gasped as he tried to pull my head of his cock.

I dove back onto him and sucked harder, giving his balls a light squeeze at the same time. He exploded in my mouth. I swallowed as fast as I could but he just kept cumming. I held the last few shots in my mouth as he lay there panting. I pulled off him and looked up at his face. His eyes were a bit glazed over and he looked wiped out. I moved up and kissed him, pushing the last bit of his cum into his mouth along with my tongue. The kiss was long and tender. When we separated I smiled at him.

"So, how was it?"

"Man, that was incredible, Ben, just the best. You are amazing."

"Well, thanks, but I wasn't fishing for compliments. I kinda figured you enjoyed the sex. I meant, how did you like your cum?"

"Oh, that." He thought for a moment. "It was okay, I guess. I think I like yours more."

"That's perfect, because I like yours better than mine."

Joey stood up and got his clothes back together while I went into the kitchen for a couple bottles of beer. When I got back we sat on the couch and made plans for Wednesday and for the dinner on Saturday. Throughout our lovemaking and the conversation afterward, neither Connor nor Lula moved a muscle. Maybe things weren't so complicated after all.