Sentinel Mountain

Chapter Sixty
Penis Shields and All-Night Party

At six fifteen, the doorbell rang and standing outside was a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old boy with a neat package. The one in his hands was pretty neat as well. "You must really love these jeans," he said. "The bill is twenty dollars."

"Here's a fifty," Josh said. "Twenty for the job and thirty tip for seeing that they were done and delivered. Got a date tonight?"

"Yeah."

"Hot chick?"

"More like a hot dude… as hot as you and the one standing behind you." He laughed, then blushed.

"Play safe," Josh said, "and have fun on the hot guy behind me," and gave him another fifty—Josh really was feeling good! "And give this envelope to the concierge if you will." The young man grinned, saluted and left.

Luc and Cândido went into their bedroom to start getting dressed—more like undressed in Cândido's case—and Alex and Josh did the same.

When Alex opened the package, he found the jeans had been starched and ironed with sharp creases. "These are like a board!" he exclaimed as he unfolded them.

"Best you not go commando tonight," Josh said as Alex held them out in front of him.

There was a knock on the bedroom door and when Alex answered it, Luc was standing outside, holding a snow white tee-shirt. "I think this could have gotten by without ironing because I think it will be stretched smooth over that hot body of yours, Alex, but Cândido insisted I at least touch it up. I can't wait to see your hot ass in those jeans. What are you wearing, Josh?"

"It's a surprise."

When Alex was dressed, Josh rolled up the sleeves of the tee-shirt, but both decided a real or fake pack of cigarettes in one sleeve would be too much. "God, you have a beautiful ass, Alex Bledsoe! I don't know how I am going to resist climbing your bones tonight. You are beautiful all over, inside and out, Barefoot Boy, and I love you so much I can hardly stand it." Alex threw himself in Josh's arms, covered his mouth with his own and started a major tongue duel and, literally, climbed Josh's bones when he locked his legs around Josh's waist. Even the starched and ironed jeans could not hide the erection he pressed against Josh. "Babe, I think we better cool it. I don't know about you, but it wouldn't take anything before I shot in my pants. I can change, but you dare not fill those jeans with sweet cum—not yet anyway. Give me the bedroom to get dressed. I want what I'm wearing to be a surprise."

Alex gave him another hot, passionate kiss, climbed down and said, "Hurry it up. I'm dying to see the surprise."

Josh took the gaucho outfit he had inherited from Senhor D'Cruz from the garment bag with reverence and started to get dressed, when Alex called to him, "Josh, phone."

"Josh here."

"Josh, James Davis. Wanted to let you know someone complained about an odor coming from Kelly's apartment. When the police broke in, they found his body. Apparently he had been dead for some time. He still had a needle in his arm so the coroner ruled it was a drug overdose and ordered the body cremated. His ashes will be put in the columbarium Monday. I'll call you with the time later if you want to come."

"James, I'll have to give that some thought. Thanks for calling." When he hung up the phone he was surprised that he felt nothing, not even 'good riddance'. He told Alex what had happened and they agreed they would go on Monday for the interment of Kelly's ashes. Josh needed to do that, he decided. Alex thought he should, but Josh wasn't sure until it occurred to him that it would definitely place an end to an episode in his life that needed closing.

Josh finished getting dressed, opened the box and took the hat from it and placed it on his head at a jaunty angle. When he looked in the full-length mirror, he was pleased with the image and was sure Senhor D'Cruz would approve. He took a deep breath, opened the bedroom door and walked into the living room. A huge smile spread across Alex's face and Luc and Cândido stared, mouths open. "That did not belong to just anybody. The man for whom that was made descended from Portuguese nobility," Luc said. "He was also a man of means. How in the world did you come by that outfit? It looks as if it was made for you."

"Senhor D'Cruz left it to me. He called once when I was coming for a lesson and said, "Dress cowboy." I don't know what he expected, but I had festive American cowboy gear I got when I started trick riding. As I grew and got older, I kept making sure I had an outfit to wear and wore that. After that, he would sometimes call and say, "Ride 'em, Cowboy," and we rode dressed as cowboys. Senhor wore this outfit and left it to me in his will. It is more than a little special."

"I'll say," Cândido said, "That outfit was special from the very beginning."

While Josh was still being admired, the doorbell rang and Gary and Judy came in—tie-dyed shirts and bell-bottom pants for Gary, and a long skirt for Judy with a daisy crown and love beads galore. Cândido had been half-hidden behind the sofa, Alex and Luc. When he stepped out the Carsons and Josh joined the opened-mouth crowd. He wore an elaborate headdress, arm bands, and a huge necklace/collar—all made mostly of bright feathers. He had a band about his waist and a cord in his crack, like a thong, and in the front a small, very small, piece of colorful handwoven cloth hanging from a band covered his cock and balls—from the front. His ass was bare. He had feathers in his pierced ears and something through a piercing in his lower lip. His face was decorated with black and red paint while his body was liberally decorated with tattoos. "I'll have to be decent for the restaurant," he chuckled and wrapped a very short skirt made from some kind of grass about his waist. He was in for some serious groping at the club, if not the restaurant.

Luc served drinks, a Bororo drink. After a sip, Gary asked "Cândido, are you sure this is legal?"

Cândido grinned and said, "Probably wouldn't be, but since only us savages know about it, it's not on the list. Unlike a lot of stuff, nothing in it will harm you, but it does refresh you."

"Tastes great, too," Judy said.

The doorbell rang again and when Alex opened the door, Mario and a young woman were standing outside. "Come in, Mario, Reina," Alex said. While he introduced the couple, Cândido brought them drinks. Both were dressed in embroidered shirts and white hip huggers that hung very low. They were a handsome couple. The fact that Cândido was dressed as he was didn't faze them at all.

"Beautiful shirts," Judy said.

"Thanks," Mario replied. "My Grandpop, Bull, got them for us."

"Mr. Taylor, we surely enjoyed the car and the movie," Reina said. "You are spoiling Mario, but I'm enjoying it."

"Pleased you enjoyed the car and movie, but it's Josh, not Mr. Taylor."

Josh had decided it would be a lot more fun if they could all be together and had ordered a limo for the evening. They all climbed in at seven thirty and a few minutes before eight, the limo pulled up to a restaurant Josh had not known existed. Inside it was pretty dark. There were lean-to-like roofs projecting from the walls which formed a circle around what appeared to be a rainforest village center. The center was roofless. "If you like, you can order or Luc and I will order for us. I assure you, you'll eat nothing you wouldn't eat even if you knew what it was," Cândido laughed.

A young man dressed much as Cândido—without the short skirt, but with a penis shield instead—came bringing drinks and Cândido ordered. Soon a dish of some fruit appeared which complemented the drinks. Shortly afterward, the food started arriving, most served by young women with decorated bodies and bare breasts, and wearing Brazilian Indian dress. The meal was wonderful! Alex was afraid Mario and Reina, being teenagers, would have trouble with the food, but both enjoyed it.

When the group arrived at the club, Luc said, "You know this is an eighteen-and-over club, which means it serves no alcohol and drugs simply are not allowed. They may bend the age a bit from time to time if one member of a couple is just under eighteen, but they are completely unbending on the no alcohol and no drugs rule. Enjoy!"

It was only nine thirty when they arrived, so the club was not packed. Luc had said it got crowded, but never packed the way most gay clubs are. The music was great, a good mix of slow and fast, Brazilian and the different decades. Since Reina was Spanish, she did very well with the Brazilian music and Mario was perfectly willing to try anything with her. They all switched partners from time to time, but generally, everyone danced with their own partner.

Josh whispered to Alex as they danced to I Only Have Eyes For You, "Alex, my heart, it is so good to hold you in my arms, to feel your body against mine. I have never been happier."

"Nor I, beloved."

Holding Alex very close, Josh said, "Alexander David Bledsoe, I love you so much. Will you marry me?"

Alex covered Josh's mouth with his own in a passionate kiss, broke the kiss, gazed in his eyes and said, "Yes, a million times yes!"

Josh and Alex were just almost dancing, gazing into each other's eyes. They were in a world, a universe of their own. Luc, who was dancing with Cândido near them said, "My dark Bororo beauty, those two remind me what love is about."

"What life is about, meu amado."

The four lovers had each taken a turn dancing with Judy and finally, Cândido grinned as he walked up to Gary and asked, "Wanta dance?"

Gary blushed, looked around and said, "What the hell. Sure." The two men laughed continuously as Cândido tried to lead Gary through the steps of a spirited Brazilian dance. About half those on the dance floor were trying to follow Brazilian partners and having as much trouble as Gary.

It was almost two when the eight left the club and went to an all-night coffee shop on the way home. Needless to say, they caused quite a sensation when they walked in, but the jaded waitress took it all in her stride. As they sat having a late night/early morning breakfast, Alex said, "I have an announcement. Josh made it official. He asked me to marry him."

"Well? Well?" Judy asked.

"I said yes."

When they finished breakfast, Josh said, "Gary, Judy, why don't you two spend the night in the apartment unless you really need to go home. There's toothbrushes in the bathroom and I think everything else you might need."

"Sounds like a winner," Gary said.

"Mario, Reina, I don't know about curfews and parents, but if you clear it with your parents, Reina can sleep in the guest room of our apartment and Mario, you can sack out on the sofa in Luc and Cândido's apartment, I suspect," Alex said.

"Sure," Luc said. "It's actually is a decent place to sleep, I have been told."

"Reina, I'll speak to your mother if it would be helpful."

"We can try," Reina said, "but she probably will say no. I told her I was going out with friends and would be home very late, but for her that meant one."

"I hope we didn't get you in trouble for keeping you late."

"Not at all. Mom is extremely liberal compared to other Spanish mothers I know."

Mario said his parents wouldn't care since they knew he was out with friends of Bull and had told them he didn't know when he would get back.

Judy talked with Reina's mother, telling her she knew having a stranger call in the middle of the night about her daughter was strange, but she thought it safer for Reina to stay over with her and her husband and that Mario was in another apartment. "She's a delightful young woman and I hope I can meet her parents soon. Maybe tomorrow afternoon when we bring her home." Reina's mother gave her permission, reluctantly.

Sunday morning, Josh and Alex awoke very early and made love for two hours, first hot, reckless, 'take no prisoners' love, then slow, gentle, softly passionate love. They each had been inside the other and finally, after his second climax of the morning and with his still-hard cock inside Josh, Alex kissed the back of his neck and the two drifted off to sleep. Two hours later, they awoke, and made love again before showering, shaving and getting dressed.

When they stepped out of the bedroom, they heard their hosts in the kitchen and joined them. Luc handed Josh a cup of coffee and Cândido handed Alex a cup of tea. "That will revitalize you," he laughed as he handed the tea to Alex.

A very sleepy Mario joined the four and without asking, Cândido handed him a cup of tea. After a few sips, he began to come alive. "You look like you need revitalizing as well, Mario, but I'm sure not for the same reason as this horny bunch."

"I hope you are including yourself in "horny bunch,' husband," Luc laughed, leaned over and kissed Cândido.

"Speaking of husbands, that's something I wanted to ask you about," Josh said. "I really meant it when I asked Alex to marry me. I want to be married to Alex. I know you went to Canada. Maybe one day it will happen here, but I want us married now."

"Josh, there's two questions involved, or there were for us. You know we are both Christian and when it became clear the church in which we grew up— the Roman Catholic church—would not, in our lifetime, I'm sure, accept us living together as a sexually active couple, much less allow us to be married, we left it. We both felt a great sense of loss and missed the presence of the church in our lives. Some time later, friends introduced us to the Anglican church in Brazil. We found a warm welcome there. While the teachings are different—much more freedom, acceptance of everyone, generally you are expected to make your own decisions about what you believe, what is important to you, who and how you love—we felt very much at home. The liturgy is very similar to what we had known and we were very comfortable with being expected to use our minds and make our own decisions. Some dioceses of the Anglican church in Canada perform same-sex marriages and that was very important to us. We wanted, we needed, the church's blessing. Since you are alienated from the church in which you grew up and since that church takes the same stance on blessing gay couples as the Roman Catholic, I can't answer that for you. I don't know whether you need or want the blessing of the church on your union.

"The second question involves the secular sanction. Legally, we are married in Canada and several other countries, but that doesn't mean our marriage is recognized here. So I don't know what to tell you. Some couples here in San Francisco were married when the mayor ordered that licenses be granted to same sex couples and there is a move afoot in several states to legalize gay marriage as it is called. Massachusetts is presently the only state where it is recognized, but marriages there are not recognized by other states. Legally, many gay couples we have known go to a very good lawyer and get documents drawn up which attempt to legally establish the same rights as straight couples have insofar as that is possible. Advance health directives are an example but, of course, there is no way tax laws or marriage laws can be set aside by a couple.

"Hank and Phillip have found they are comfortable with just the church's blessing now, but I guess that is not an option for you. Some have commitment ceremonies which are neither legal so far as the state is concerned nor involve the church. You might want to go that route. At least your friends would know you are a committed couple. Think about it."

"Damn," Mario said, "why shouldn't two people in love who want to be married be able to get married? And what is this about the Roman Catholic church?"

"The Roman Catholic church has finally said being homosexual is not a sin…"

"How generous!" Mario said. "Aren't you born gay or straight?"

"Yeah, at least I was. I have always been gay and knew it before I knew what it meant. BUT homosexual activity is a very grave sin. In other words, Luc and I could live together…"

"Mario, he is getting ready to tell you a lie, he's going to say, 'if we didn't make love.' That's like saying jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge is safe so long as you don't hit the water. A chastity belt wouldn't stand a chance holding back that savage."

"Look who's talking… Anyway, no sin in being gay, just a sin to live and love as gay."

"Doesn't make sense," Mario said. "Hell, half my high school class is living with someone or fucking like they were married. Most of them don't want to be married—too much commitment—and the ones who get married seldom last more than a couple, three years. Sure seems screwed-up to me. Yet you two and Alex and Josh are grown men who love each other and I know the Alex and Josh story and I'd place a lot more money on their being a happy couple 'till death do us part' than half the married couples your age I know. It's bullshit."

"On that we all agree," Alex said, "but Josh was excommunicated from what was our church, LDS, Mormon, because someone saw him kissing me. I was disfellowshipped because of the same kiss."

There was a knock on the door and Gary, Judy and Reina came in. Reina walked over and gave Mario a soft kiss, which he returned. Cândido handed them tea. "Mario, we had better get to mass somewhere or we will be in deep poo poo," Reina said.

"There's a Roman Catholic church a few blocks down the street. If you hurry, you can make the eleven o'clock mass, which is the last one. Come back for brunch," Luc said.

"Not sure I'm interested right now, but I guess I better keep peace in the families." The two dashed out.

"They are a delightful couple," Judy said. "I was very surprised her mother allowed her to stay over. We'll take them home so I can meet the mother and make sure she knows all is well."

"You would not believe Donna, a girl Mario was dating not long ago," Josh said. "I had dinner with Mr. VanWinkle and Bull after they had scoped out New Beginnings and to say we had too much vino is an understatement. Mario had a date with Donna, the daughter of one of his mother's high school friends and, quote, a good Italian girl, end quote. Mr. VanWinkle let him pick up Donna and then drive us here in his Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe. She complained because it was crowded. She complained about the theater until she saw the price of the tickets, which I bought for them, then she complained because he spent that much money. She complained about the seats in the theater, which were the best in the house, and she complained about the movie, which she had been bugging Mario to take her to see. She was an airheaded bitch and that was doing her more than justice."

Alex and Luc said they would prepare brunch so the rest of them just lazed around with the Sunday paper.

After brunch, Mario and Reina both thanked everyone profusely for giving them a wonderful weekend and Gary and Judy took them to Oakland. Josh, Alex, Luc and Cândido decided to go back to bed and maybe even catch a nap.

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