“Y’are stiff too, mmmmmm, but unless you can dig with it Dad wouldn’t care like I do.” 

We scrambled into the bath together, got dressed and had our five minutes at the kitchen table slurping coffee before Dad said, “Let’s go.”  It’s the best commute in the world.  Once the back door closed you were at work.  The far back yard was where we parked the trucks.

Others who worked for my dad trekked up the drive and we all gathered in the back.  Dad called out the work for the day and we set about making sure the right tools and materials were on the trucks.  As always, the last one up the drive was Egil, zooming in on his bike.  He had been working with my dad since our junior year in high school.   Now he worked for him full time.

“Hey hey, look who’s here!” he yelled as the bike squeaked to a halt.

 He jumped off and gave me a one armed hug. 

“How are you?” 

“Great, Egil, great.  I’d like you to meet Dan Elliot. He’s going to be working with us for the summer.” 

“Hey, great to meet you, man.” 

“Dan, this is Egil.  We’ve been friends for almost ten years now.” 

“Glad to meet you Egil, I’ve heard a few tales about you and Pete. You’ll have to fill in the really good details later.”

 Egil’s face lit up with his wicked grin; “Yeah, I know a few gory details that might interest you.”

 I piped in, “I got a few for you too, Egil.”  

Dad called out, “OK, social hour’s over, let’s go. I don’t pay you to gossip.” 

The three of us shook our heads in realization that Dad was in work mode and we were just hired hands.

Everyone got into the trucks and the convoy rolled out the drive.  Mom waved from the kitchen window and the dogs barked.    Egil was driving the dump truck with me in the middle, the shift knob between my legs and Dan at the window.  I always liked to drive but I had no idea where the current job was so I deferred to Egil. 

“So what’s going on with you?” Egil asked innocently as he shifted the truck into third. 

“I’ve fallen in love.”

 “Really!  Cool!  Tell me more.”

 I swallowed hard took a quick glance at Dan and said, “Dan, I’ve fallen in love with Dan.” 

I quickly put my hands on the dash as Egil slammed on the brakes.  The horn of Dad’s car blasted as he skidded to a halt behind us. 

“NO!   Really!”

“Yes, really.” 

Suddenly Dad was at the window, “What’s wrong?” 

“Oh, a cat ran across the road, sorry,” Egil said as he lifted his shoulders.

“Damn, you scared the shit outta me,” Dad said, “Come on let’s go.”  He turned back to his car. 

 “Dad knows, you didn’t have to hide it.”  

“Really, how did they take it?” 

“Better than expected.”  

“How are you taking it, Egil?”  

“Well it doesn’t surprise me…well, shit, I guess it did or else I wouldn’t have crammed on the brakes like that, but…it has crossed my mind through the years.” 

“Egil, I wondered if you were a bit dense; I’ve dropped enough hints to you about this.  I was just too chickenshit to come right out and tell you then, but I…we…just can’t hide it any more.  Don’t want to either.” 

Egil turned his head towards me, slowly shook his head and then a sly smile crossed his face, “We’ll go on a walk about to talk about this…huh?” 

“Cool,” I replied and then pushed the cassette tape into the dash.  I loved this truck because it was the only one with a tape player.  Out of the speakers came an early Louis Armstrong tune, “West End Blues.” Egil had made the tape from his incredible collection of 78’s.  He had eclectic but impeccable taste in music.  For the rest of the ride we told him the tale of how we met.

As summer and work turned into routine, life in general became a wonderful flow.  Everyone eased into dealing with our relationship.  It became ‘normal.’   Things that might be a big deal to someone somewhere were taken for granted.  I felt like I always thought I should feel.  I was comfortable with myself, Dad, Mom, my family and, of course, Dan, and they all seemed comfortable with each other. 

In a household of eight people with a bath and a half it seemed perfectly natural for Dan and me to share our time in there as we had begun to early in our relationship.  No one else minded, but we did stop to consider it. 

“Pete, I can’t believe this.”

“What?”

“For the longest time I had difficulty peeing in the same room as someone else and now…”

 “What?” I prodded back, even though the answer was obvious. 

“I’m takin’ a dump in front of somebody.” 

“Hey, I’m not just some body.” 

“You know what I mean.” 

“I know,” I replied with a laugh. 

“And the thing is…the thing is that this is perfectly natural to me.”

“I think it’s called love, darlin’.  It ain’t the prettiest thing in the world, but I agree.  I feel more at home about this than anything.”  

All aspects of our physical intimate lives were shared with the other.  It strengthened the bond of care, concern and love we had for each other.  It was as if we could not become close enough.

The other side of our summer was to explore New York City. At least every other weekend through June, July and half of August was spent walking to the train station in town, arriving under Madison Square Garden a little over an hour later and popping up in some part of the City soon after a short subway ride.  We started with all of the touristy things - Empire State building, Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty, etc., and then began to investigate the neighborhoods and the nooks and crannies of city life. Whether wandering the upper West Side or exploring the East Village, cruising in Central Park or stomping through the desolation of Soho it was incredible fodder for our imagination.  Each locale became a tale of the two of us.  We picked out places where we lived and worked the people we knew and the adventures and dangers we experienced.  The most exciting of all were our fantasies of sex, because those we acted upon whenever we dared.

There was the blowjob I gave to Dan on the subway platform at Astor Place early one Saturday morning.  The time on the 86^th floor of the Empire State Building that Dan reached around me and down my pants to stroke me off as we stared out from the southwest corner towards the The Statue of Liberty and New Jersey while families of tourists wandered by none the wiser.  One of the best was when after leaving the Cloisters and wandering through Fort Tyron Park, we fucked each other on a rock ledge overlooking the Hudson River. We were bold enough to get completely naked doing it too.  We were blinded by the danger of it all.   No section of the City was safe from our endeavors.  Whenever we emerged from a subway stop we got turned on and sometimes it became a relentless obsession.   I felt so safe in the long strong arms of my love that invincibility seemed normal.

When asked on Monday morning, as we operated our shovels and rakes, how our trip into New York was we sometimes giggled like schoolgirls before handing out the respectable side of the tale.  Egil, knowing me better than anyone but Dan, could see between the lines and continually prodded for more details. We always put him off until one day Dan told Egil in wonderfully graphic detail of me fucking him under one of the bridges in Central Park during a rainstorm. Egil looked ashen with his face contorted by a stupid grin by the end of the story.  I was hard as hell; so was Dan.  

Our last trip into New York on the second weekend in August was tame.  We wandered the streets and window shopped.  We stopped and ate lunch at our favorite spot, Veselka, a well-worn Ukrainian diner in the East Village.  A big bowl of cold borscht and tuna salad sandwich on slabs of pumpernickel was lunch.  Later we sat in the sun leaning up against Peter Styvestant’s tomb at St. Mark’s in the Bowery church.  There we talked seriously for the first time that this was where we needed to move to when I was done with school. 

“I love this city,” Dan quietly said. “There is something here that drives me…us wild with energy.” 

“We can do anything we want here. Be anybody we want here.  Live anyway we want here.” 

“I just want to be here with you, Pete.” 

“Thanks, same here. I just want to be me, here, with you.  That really is it.” 

“Ok, so then the grand scheme is to move to New York by the end of next year.  Deal?” 

“Deal!”

Within the week the Rabbit was packed.  Only Dan and I were excited about leaving for New Orleans.  Mom was so sad that day.  She had to say good-bye to two sons at once. 

Dad shook both of our hands and said, “Drive safe,” then with a long pause, “I love you two.”  

That was the first time I had ever heard my dad say ‘I love you’ to anyone but Mom.  We hugged them both and said bye to all of my brothers and sisters…and the dogs.  They all had come to accept Dan as one of the family.  We got in the car and closed the doors. 

I said, “Let’s get out of here quick before I really lose it.”

 Dan started the car and we put down the windows for one quick good-bye then roared down the driveway to the shouts of the dogs saying goodbye.

“God, that was tough.”  

“You’re tellin’ me,” I replied. 

“I really love your family, screwy as they are, I really love them.” 

“Thanks, I love you for understanding.  They aren’t easy to deal with, except Dad, he is so straightforward he’s a breeze.  I wish I were more like him.” 

“You’re more like him than you realize, but you do have some of your Mom in you too.” 

“I’ll take that as a compliment, I think.” 

“Hey, I love you, all of you!” 

“Especially this?”  I said as I yanked my shorts down around my ankles and pulled up my shirt.

 “All of you darlin’, all of you,” he said laughing. 

I had driven this route from New Jersey, through Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, a tiny corner of Georgia, across Alabama and Mississippi into Louisiana and back so many times it totaled over 35,000 miles.  This trip was not routine though because it would be one of the last trips back and forth from school and I had Dan with me too. And we weren’t going to let it be routine either.

I had mulled over my architectural thesis for the last year. I still hadn’t decided what it was to be exactly. I had sent my précis to my thesis over the summer and hadn’t heard anything back, good or bad.  Dan had begun to understand what this whole deal was about. He was my sounding board on all subjects concerning me and I needed him for this one.  Somewhere in the middle of our six-hour stint through Virginia, it was just before midnight and still beastly hot and sticky.  The A/C was on, but getting a little stir crazy thinking about my thesis I opened the sunroof, flipped around in my seat and stuck my bare feet out of the roof. 

“What are you doing?” Dan calmly asked. 

“I’m nervous.”

“OK.” 

“And besides, now I can look you straight in the face when I ask you some questions.”  

“Oh shit, OK, what’s up?  Are you losing it or what?”  

“Thesis is bothering me.” 

“ I thought you and your précis to your thesis solved all that,” he smirked. 

“And I will be losing it if you keep that up.”

Dan became serious. He thought for a second and then said, “From what you tell me and the way I see it, it’s a gimmick.  You need to come up with a gimmick.  It’s just a hook that becomes the basis for an architectural project and the theory is the guiding tool.” 

“Oh great, I knew you were too smart and would be dangerous.  Just don’t say that around my director. He takes this thing too seriously, although he probably would have to agree with you.  I just don’t want to flunk before I start…but darlin’, you are so right.”

 I thought a bit before continuing. 

“And since you’re so smart, now I need a lure to hide that hook so how ‘bout some help on that one…wait we haven’t even decided what the hook is.”

We went back and forth and round and round about this subject.  I was after 3:30 in the morning when he drove up the ramp for a fuel stop.  I had my feet out the sunroof again when he pulled up to the pumps.  I snapped open the door and quickly rolled out onto my feet on the pavement.  I grabbed onto the pump just in time as I got a head rush from the blood draining from my brain.  Dan tore around the front of the car and got a hand under my armpit.

 “You alright?” 

“Head rush…OK now.”  

“Don’t die on me.  Pete you can’t die on me, never ever, OK?”

 “OK!  Roger Dodger!  Yessir!”

 “Don’t make fun of me, I mean it, I don’t know what I’d do without you!” 

“OK, I’m sorry…Why did you get so serious all of a sudden?”

He paused and then said softly, “I don’t know, I just did.”

“Hey, I’d be lost without you too, in a very big way,” I said with a serious smile.

It was quiet in the car for the next few of hours while I drove.  The sudden seriousness of Dan’s comments had disrupted the flow of our conversation.  He needed to sleep anyway so we could do this trip in one shot.  It gave me something to think about too.  I had never even considered life without Dan.  It had been too short a time anyway, but to me it wasn’t a possibility.  Now I was a little distraught over it and began to worry.

 “Shit, get over it, Pete,” I said out loud to myself. 

I forced myself to think of school but I wasn’t very successful.

It was an hour past sun up when I pulled into the gas station. 

“Hey, wake up, Dan,” I softly shook him.

“Wha…Hey,” he smiled and then yawned. 

He stretched his arms out the sunroof, lifting his shirt and exposing that beautiful trail of hairs that lead from his navel down to his groin.  I got instantly hard.

“Ooops, I think you need to fill the car.” 

“And why is that?” he said as he put down his arms. 

I lifted my shirt, exposing my cock head sticking out of my waistband. 

“Oooh Kaaaay…you amaze me, Pete.”  He climbed out of the car and began to fill it up.  I could see him getting hard as I watched him in the rear view mirror. 

“You amaze me to,” I called out through the roof.

 I couldn’t see his face but I heard him laugh then he adjusted himself so that he was more obvious. He clicked the nozzle back into the pump and closed the lid. He pulled his shirt out of his pants.  I pulled the car around to the station and got out to meet Dan at the door. 

“Get the key. I’ll meet you at the Men’s room.”

 We had to pee anyway but we needed to relieve ourselves in other ways too.  I got one of my shivers. 

“Oh shit,” I said to myself and then blew a sigh out of my lips.  I then put on a brave smile and marched around to the side of the station.

            I was opening the door when this teenager, who looked about seventeen, came running up to us, “Oh please can I get in there with you too.” 

            “Sure,” said Dan, looking at me with big eyes and raised eyebrows. 

            He was a couple of inches shorter than I, about five foot ten and skinny, maybe weighing a hundred and twenty five pounds.  He had bright red hair that hung over his ears and brilliant green eyes; he smiled and said, “Oh, Thank You!”  We all piled into the bath.  The kid took the urinal and the two of us surrounded the toilet.  Dan and I were still mostly hard but and decided to go for it.  We had a clear view of him and once he had gotten over his initial urgency to piss he glanced around to look at us.  It was his time to raise his eyebrows, then he smiled and began to get hard.  Dan and I kept looking but kept peeing too.   The kid began to stroke his cock as he watched us.  We looked at each other and then followed suit.  He turned so that we were all facing each other and then he reached out and began to caress Dan’s balls.  I was shocked by what was going on but stoked by it too.  Dan let go of his own so the kid could stroke it.  Dan took hold of the kid’s cock and his knees began to buckle as his shorts dropped down.  I went around back of them and moved to the other side of the kid.  I began to caress his ass.  His other hand gripped onto my dick. He seemed as if he were in heaven stroking both of us.  He stopped suddenly and glanced back and forth at us.  He bent down and took Dan into his mouth and started to suck. He then reached for my hand and placed it on his cock.  I began to stroke him and caress his ass.   His skin was so soft, with fuzz for hair that covered a muscled, dimpled butt.  I had an incredible urge to fuck him.  I could tell that Dan was about to cum.  I could feel the kid tensing too.  Dan pulled back and pointed his cock up but ended up shooting across the kid’s face.  The kid stood up and shot all over Dan’s legs and I came onto the kid’s back. It ran down the crack of his ass.  Smiling and panting, we slowly regained our breath.

            We cleaned up as fast as we could.  As I was wiping my cum off of the kid’s butt he exclaimed how great this whole thing was.  He asked where we were going. We replied New Orleans.

            “I live in Waveland, Mississippi.  Not too far.  Can I call you, please?” 

            He stared at us with eyes that could melt the polar icecap. We looked at one another seriously.  

            Dan said, “Sure.”

             I grabbed a pen from my pocket and wrote our number on the palm of his hand.  He finished pulling up his pants, hugged us both at the same time, then quickly turned and tore out through the door.  We stared at each other, looking like two scared rabbits, and then burst out laughing.  I opened the door for my love and we marched out into the sunshine.  We saw a station wagon swing out of the fill-up onto the local street.  A face was plastered to a back window, smiling.

            “I don’t think he’ll use that hand to beat off for a week,” I said. 

            “Oh, he probably has that number written down on a police report by now.” 

            “Dan, you fuckin’ killjoy….. Shit.” 

            I sighed, a huge sigh, “Oh well, too late now.  Let’s hope for the best.”

            Dan thought a minute as we climbed into the car, then said,  “Wow, our first three way and I was completely opposed to them.”  

            “Oh, so when were you going to let me in on that piece of info?   Actually, I had never considered it either because I saw no need.  Have we gone too far?” 

            Dan started the car and took off. 

            We were on the highway within a minute. “Well, that’s why I hadn’t brought it up because I never saw a reason to.   I certainly think you deserve to be in the loop on things like that and I haven’t had enough time to think about if we’ve gone too far.” 

            I twisted in my seat so I could face his silhouette.

            “Dan, I have to admit, I found it really exciting.  For the first time since I laid eyes on you I felt the desire to fuck somebody besides you.  I’m not a fan of that thought at all, but, oh man…”  

            I watched his eyebrows rise and then he said, “I would really want to watch you fuck him!” 

            “Oh, SHIT...Really!” 

            “But it would have to be somebody like that kid…I don’t know how to explain…”

             “I read you, he wasn’t threatening…he was a kid.” 

            “Yeah, maybe, but…I don’t know, there’s somethin’ about him.  Hmm.” 

            “Well let me promise you, I’m not going to look for it ever…and if the kid ever calls, we’ll talk.” 

            “I promise you too, that was an event out of the blue and let’s leave it at that…but, Damn, it’s still got me hot and bothered.” 

            “Me too.” I gave him a sly grin.  I leaned over the shift, unbuttoned his fly and proceeded to give him a blowjob.   About half way through, he tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Sit up, quick.”

            I sat up and turned to see, out my window, the red haired kid blowing us a kiss from behind a propped up magazine. 

            “Look, Strawberry sends his love,” I said calmly. 

            Dan burst out laughing and said, “More icing darling!  It’s become a favorite of mine!” 

            I too burst out laughing and I winked at him as we passed by. By noon we drove over the “Twin Spans” and were on Upperline before one.

“Honey, we’re Home!” I sang as I banged the front door open.   

Steve came ambling from the back bedroom, “Hey, it is so good to see you two.” 

He gave me a one arm hug, then slung his other arm over Dan’s shoulder to complete the welcome home fanfare. 

“I’ve missed you guys.  It’s been lonely here without y’all.” 

“ I see the maid’s left you too!”

 The place was a disaster, very unlike Steve.

 “Yeah, I know, the bachelor syndrome has done it’s devious best.” 

“No problem, there’s three of us now.”  I swung a soft elbow to Dan’s ribs.

“I’m sorry, are you talking to me?” 

Dan feigned lack of interest, “Sure, but can it wait till later, I’m whacked.” 

“Sure, Dan, sure.  I’ve let it wait the last two months.”

I glared at Steve, but then smiled.  He really had been alone all summer in this steam bath called New Orleans and I could understand why he had gotten depressed.  And it sure was hot and sticky that day too.  It’s so easy to forget when you get to leave.  Only the romance of the place sticks in your memories.

“Oh, by the way, someone called for you two about half an hour ago.  He seemed a little confused; something about Gadsden.  Is that somebody’s name?  Sound familiar?” 

“Sounds like someone’s a little fucked up to me,” said Dan. 

“Gadsden, Alabama…Strawberry.” 

“Wha….” Dan answered his own question before he asked it. 

“What the hell you all are talkin’bout?”  Steve asked in a bad Cajun accent. 

“Steve you need to get drunk before I’ll even consider explaining,” I said. 

 “Woohoo, it sounds like a good one…but I’ll let it go…for now.” 

We emptied the car and filled up the bedroom, scattering an assortment of luggage and belongings all around the bed.   The bed was for us to fill.

 I told Steve to wake us when he had dinner ready, “Hint, hint, clue, clue, wink, wink.”

He got the picture.  Dan and I collapsed on the bed and instantly fell asleep.

It was just getting dark when Steve came in the room.  I was half-awake. 

“Dinner will be ready in a half an hour.  And the phone is for you.  Gadsden, I think.” 

I never heard the phone ring but that is what must have brought me around. 

“ Hello…” I tried to sound awake, “this is Pete.” 

“Hi, it’s Jason.  Today…the men’s room.” 

“Strawberry, how are you?” 

Dan’s eyes snapped open.

“What…Jason’s my name.” 

“I know that, now, but we had to call you something today…besides Kid.”  

“Oh…my hair, that’s cool.” 

“I hope you don’t mind.  What’s up?  I hope you didn’t get in trouble today.” 

“No, no, I told them I took a dump.”

 “With us in there,” I said trying to inject some humor. 

“I guess they missed that…but I just want to say that you made my day…my life, really.  And I wanted to thank you.” 

“For what?” I was a bit confused. 

“You guys aren’t the faggy types but you do those sorts of things…I always felt that guys like you are out there…now I know for sure.” 

“Well that’s really cool, Jason.” 

“Which one am I talking to, blond or tall?”

“Blond, Pete. Tall, Dan.  I’m the blond one.  Here, talk to the tall one.   Dan, meet Jason, oh that’s right you two have met.” 

I laughed and handed him the phone. 

“Hi, Jason, this is Dan.  I wanted to thank you for today; that was one great blowjob. Sorry about cummin’ all over your face though.”

“You’re welcome and don’t worry, I loved it when I saw you shoot right at me!” 

“I thought it was too cool.  Serious question now, Jason, OK?”

“K, shoot.” 

“We both got a little nervous after this morning and want to know how old you are?” 

“Eighteen.” 

“Sure…for real?” 

“Yeppers.  What’s the matter, don’t I look eighteen?”

Dan paused for at least five seconds, “No, sorry, don’t mean to hurt your feelings, but we gave you the benefit of the doubt at seventeen.”

“Shit!” 

“Hey, we don’t mind at all, but there are laws though with some pretty serious shit attached to them over things like this.” 

“Oh, I get ya...Hey!  Not to change the subject, but…If everything is cool I’d like to get together with you two again…and not in some stinky-ass bathroom.” 

Dan put his hand over the mouthpiece and told me what Jason said.  I sat up, flipped off the covers and spun around to face Dan. 

“You are amazing, Peter Langer!” 

My other head was providing my answer. 

“And what does the one on your shoulders think?” 

“Well, there I’m confused because I want to do it to get it out of my system, but I’m afraid it’s like a drug and I’ll want more.”  

“Nail on the head, darlin’, nail on the head.” 

 I could tell his mind was racing by the depth of gaze in his eyes. 

He took his hand away from the telephone and said, “Jason, what did you have in mind?” 

“Whadaya mean?” 

“When, where, what, the whole deal.” 

“Well I leave to go to USM in Hattiesburg next week and then once I get set up there I’ll come down to see you all…and what, well I want to do it ALL with you two.  Actually, I want to drive down there right now…but I think my ‘rents might get a tad suspicious.   I’ve beat off twice since getting home thinking about y’all.” 

“So in a few weeks, that’ll be cool; we just got back from being gone all summer and need the time to get back into it.” 

“I don’t know if I can wait but I guess I havta.  Oops, Ma and Pop comin’ up the road, gotta go…See you soon, huh, Dan?” 

“Yeah, sure.”

“Hey lemme talk to Pete for a sec.”

“Sure… for you to say bye.” 

Dan hands me the phone. 

“Well I guess I’ll see you and that cute ass of yours soon, OK?” 

“And I’ll get ready so that you and that tall boyfriend of yours can fuck my cute ass!  How about that!”  (I came all over myself.) 

“Amazing, Pete, Amazing!  What did he say?!?” 

“Bye, Jason…yeah, bye.” 

I hung up the phone. 

“He wants us to fuck him!” 

“Oh my God!” 

Dan then pushed me on to my back, scooped up my cum with his tongue as he raised my legs over those great broad shoulders of his and then fucked me.  

Steve got an eyeful a few minutes later when he opened the door to tell us dinner was served.

 We laughed as we heard him mutter down the hall, “I gotta learn to knock now, I gotta learn to knock.”