Rhythm
by
John Terry Moore
CHAPTER 13
Angelo woke with a feeling of purpose. He snuggled up to Lance for a few minutes enjoying what he loved most about his new partner. The affection that seemed missing in his life was now, he realised, part of his everyday existence, thanks to the gentle giant next to him. Angelo reluctantly rolled out of bed and made his way to the toilet. Returning, he made coffee for them and placed a mug on the bedside table for a sleepy Lance. “Darlin’,” said Angelo. “I’ve got some loose ends to tie up today, so I won’t see you until tonight, OK?” Lance’s eyes twinkled. Angelo had suddenly begun to take responsibility for his life decisions. He needed encouragement at this point, not censure, as he dealt with his ‘loose ends.’ And Lance thought he knew what task Angelo had set himself today; if he interfered or offered assistance it wouldn’t help. It was a journey Angelo had started by himself and he had to finish it.
The key turned in the door at 5.00pm and he walked in, his body language bearing the signs of battle, but also, Lance noticed, a steely resolve that he hadn’t noticed in Angelo before. He brightened visibly when he saw Lance; everything he had fought for during the day was here, and he was happy again. “Well,” said Angelo. “You know what I’ve been up to today, don’t you?” Lance nodded. “I remember what you said a while ago, Lance; you said, ‘when in doubt tell the truth’ and I did. You would have been proud of me! I had to tell Annie why I couldn’t be her boyfriend anymore, and she wasn’t impressed. Told me to grow up and get a life and that all guys had something on the side and that was fine by her. That I’d obviously been indiscreet, because even though she’s not a student here she’d heard rumours! But she didn’t care, just keep it all under wraps and she would eventually change me!
“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” murmured Lance.
“Exactly,” replied Angelo. “She tried everything to hang on; and I simply had to tell her that I wasn’t prepared to share you with anyone,” he said stabbing his finger at Lance’s chest, “and therefore I couldn’t expect you to share me in the same way. Then I reminded her that it would not only be dishonest and dishonourable for me to continue to be her boyfriend, it could eventually ruin her life and the lives of any children.” Angelo’s eyes, like a puppy dog, focussed on Lance’s face. “She looked at me with a look of disgust,” he said. “Now tell me the real reason,” she said. And I said to her; “Annie, I don’t apologise for this because I’m proud of it. I’m in love.”
“Then I can’t compete with that,” she said. “Don’t bother ringing, it’s over.”
“So how would you react if a bloke took you out for a quiet dinner?” said Lance. “As long as the bloke is you, that’s fine by me. Just don’t try feeling me up under the table, I might enjoy it too much.”
*****
Darcy and Jacob always seemed drawn to each other. Even though they appeared opposites, they always found something of interest in each other and they enjoyed one another’s company. The mad, rough surf boat oarsman, who rowed 6 in the Eight and the gentle Jewish boy with glasses, who was a tireless and gutsy rower as the 5 man. They were both working their way through an Accountancy degree, but in different streams. And now, after some ‘social engineering’ as Darcy put it, they had become room-mates. Jacob had to admit to some fascination when Darcy first approached him with his proposition. Darcy of all people, a romantic! A straight guy who really cared about those close to him, allowing Angelo and Lance to make the most of their fledgling partnership. He had little trouble talking Jacob into the logistics, because there was a side of Jacob which was exceedingly sentimental anyway. And so here he was; Darcy looking very much the part as Lord and Master of Suite 517, even though he wasn’t the original incumbent! He stretched out on the bed, clad only in boxers, his favourite night attire, and set up his Micro-Expanda; a new piece of hardware which when applied to a laptop, created a large virtual ‘screen’ for running movies or whatever. He invited Jacob over to watch the new Josh Harper comedy he was running, but space was limited and the only place Jacob could get comfortable was on Darcy’s shoulder. “You OK there mate?” he said as he drew Jacob closer and pecked him on the cheek. Affectionate Darcy. A rough, tough, straight guy who cuddled everyone. Jacob was comfortable; in fact he couldn’t remember when he felt as comfortable with anyone. So he leaned up and kissed Darcy on the lips. “Never felt more OK than with you, Darce”, he said. “Thanks for sharing all your stuff.”
“No problem,” said Darcy, looking fondly at him. They watched the movie, but they were both defeated by the late hour. When Darcy awoke, the film was over and the blue light of the Expanda screen was washing the room. Jacob was sound asleep on his shoulder. He kissed him goodnight, pulled the doona over them and they slept together like babies. Morning dawned, and they stirred; neither commented about the shared bed; there was no need. They padded off to the bathroom together, shaved, showered and went to breakfast in the dining room. They returned to their room and as each were about to go their separate ways, Darcy grabbed Jacob and kissed him full-on the lips. “Pity we’re not in the same stream,” he said, “I’ll miss ya today!”
“Yeah, see you tonight, Darce,” replied Jacob, as he returned the kiss. And day by day, busy as they were with lectures, training in the Eight, and all the other activities that go to make up an undergraduate’s life, the friendship they shared seemed to grow deeper. Jacob smiled to himself. He had always been an independent person, very self-motivated; mainly, he thought, because his parents were quite elderly and as an only child, he had to instigate things for himself. His parents were not Orthodox so Jacob organised his own social life, including his girlfriends. But for the first time in his life he felt needy. There was a spot on Darcy’s shoulder that he just wanted to lay his head on. Simple. He wanted Darcy to look after him! Crazy! But every opportunity, they would have a cuddle. And Darcy seemed gob smacked by the whole deal, because all he wanted to do was to protect Jacob! What from or who he didn’t know, but suddenly his life’s priorities were changing. He began to stay home with Jacob or they went out together, rather than raging and being the life and soul of the party. Jacob thought he knew what was happening, and Darcy silently and somewhat fearfully had similar thoughts. Jacob had already worked out Darcy’s persona. The image of a raging, wild party animal was actually not the real Darcy. In these few weeks as room-mates, the real Darcy had emerged. A deep thinking, loving and intelligent man with a social conscience. Once you were his friend, he would fight for you against all odds. His family were important to him; his frequent absences at weekends were because he commuted home to the North Coast of New South Wales; about five hours travelling in either direction by air and road. There was obviously no shortage of family funds, but the umbilical cord hadn’t been cut properly, Jacob decided! But Darcy hadn’t been home for quite a while, because he was still trying to fathom where Jacob fitted into his life.
It was now their turn to be called ‘The Odd Couple’ Darcy knew; and it didn’t worry him in the slightest. Because Jacob fascinated him. He had a brilliant mind, he was smart with people and he was ‘the world’s greatest salesman,’ Darcy decided. He was also the most loving human being Darcy had ever encountered in his life. Very unselfish; always doing things for him, and a great comfort when things turned shitty. He could talk to Jacob about anything, and he knew Jacob shared the same level of honesty with him. They regularly shared the same bed together, and this morning, after showering, they went down to breakfast. Unusually, Darcy wasn’t hungry; he picked at his food, nearly scalded his mouth with coffee, then fled to lectures without even a peck on the cheek for Jacob! Jacob had felt the tension building over the last few days and wasn’t surprised. He hoped he’d done all his research properly; that what he had read would simply help the natural process along the way. He knew that Darcy would need more support than him; but the prospect of what lay ahead still excited him. He just hoped his dear friend would relax enough to enjoy what mother nature had in store for them. Jacob’s tiny phone beeped quietly just after 11.00am and he grinned as he read the message; “we gotta talk lunch in rm? u brg drinks? Dx.”
This was it, he could tell. Instead of orange juice, perhaps he should bring along a shot of tequila! Darcy was already there, pacing around when he walked in and shut the door. He turned the key in the lock, put the orange juice down on the desk, walked calmly over to Darcy and thrust his tongue as far down Darcy’s throat as he could. Darcy’s eyes bulged, but then he sighed, his eyelids fluttered shut and he responded with passion and surrendered to the inevitable with enthusiasm! There was no mistaking the signs of physical arousal this time. It had happened with increasing frequency over the last few weeks, and they had studiously ignored it. This time it was for real and Darcy moaned as Jacob found his zipper and the treasure behind it. It didn’t feel challenging to Jacob; it just felt familiar, because it was part of Darcy. He remembered what felt pleasurable to him in the past, so he ran his tongue around the head, massaging Darcy’s perfectly formed balls, and then he deep throated all of him in one fluid movement. Darcy yelled with pleasure and they began tearing at each other’s clothes. Shoes, jeans, shirts, underwear all ended up on the floor as they acknowledged the powerful force driving them together. Too soon, it was over and they lay in each other’s arms, panting for breath, kissing with a tenderness that didn’t need words to explain their feelings. “You got lectures this arvo?” asked Darcy.
“Only one, I’ll ask Richard to take notes for me.”
“I’ve got a free study afternoon,” said Darcy with an evil grin on his face.
“I’ll give you plenty to study Darce,” smiled Jacob. “By the time I’ve finished with you, you’ll have a Masters in Sexual Gratification!” Darcy roared with laughter; he had lengthened again, and ‘nothing looked sillier than a grown man with a huge erection, rolling around a bed,’ thought Jacob as he stroked Darcy to his full might.
“You said when you finished with me,” pouted Darcy, looking vulnerable. Jacob looked steadily at Darcy and said quietly, “Darce, I will never finish with you unless you tell me to go away. Never. You already know that, but I just want to reassure you. And I know you will always be there for me too. What we have is very precious and it’s up to us what we do with it. We could just fool around and have a good time, and, as you pointed out to Lance and Angelo, just be another university statistic; a failed relationship because we didn’t care enough to nurture it.” Darcy watched, his mouth agape. Underneath that mild exterior Jacob was one strong and determined little bugger!! “Or,” said Jacob, smiling and gently stroking him again, “we can treat it as a life partnership, which is what we obviously have at this point of time. That we give it a bloody good push along and importantly, have a plan for the future! Don’t worry about your family, Darce,” he said. “I’ll fix your dad, just give me time, I know that’s your biggest concern at the moment. All you have to do is to be the resident stud all this afternoon, all tonight and every night for the next fifty years or so. Let me do the worrying, alright?”
Darcy grinned and relaxed, but this time he decided it was Jacob’s turn to be pleasured, and without hesitation he reached for his nipples, hoping for a reaction. He wasn’t disappointed. Jacob moaned and writhed on the bed and Darcy took charge, somehow understanding completely, trying to make sure Jacob enjoyed himself as much as he was. Jacob pointed to the cabinet beside the bed where lube and condoms lay waiting. Again, Darcy just knew what to do as he gently loosened Jacob up, using his tongue and then his fingers. Jacob felt waves of pleasure sweep over him, as Darcy continued to stimulate both ends of his body. Finally, he was ready and Darcy slid a pillow under him, and without any fuss or difficulty entered Jacob slowly. Jacob had read that it could hurt initially; there was a slight burning feeling, but every time he felt uncomfortable, Darcy pulled out and applied more lube. Then Darcy hit Jacob’s prostate, and he went berserk. To Jacob, it felt like he should reject the monster inside him, but he couldn’t, because the pleasurable feelings outweighed any temporary discomfort. The whole of his body tingled and the feelings of pleasure became acute. It was the same for Darcy who kept asking if he was OK, but kept ploughing on, anyway! Then Darcy screamed a mighty orgasm, but to Jacob’s amazement, it didn’t stop there. Darcy took him in his mouth, and within seconds, Jacob emptied into him!
“I thought you were supposed to be straight,” said Jacob.
“I did some research on the ’net like I’ll bet you did,” was the reply. They laughed at each other and cleaned up, falling on to Darcy’s bed exhausted, quite content with the course their life had taken.