One More Time Ch. 06

As much as I wanted us to just remain entwined together and enjoy some afterglow, Derek joked about what a mess we both were, quickly slid himself from the bed, and trotted to the adjoining bathroom. When he stepped back into the room, he was wiping down with one bath towel and tossed me another with nothing said but, "Mop yours up too before we have to sleep in the world's biggest wet spot!"

I grinned and cleaned up as he dropped his towel to the floor and crawled back in bed. As I lay on my back I pondered what it meant since that had been the first time ever that he had even come close to broaching the subject of what had just happened between us. Sure...it was a nothing more than a jestful couple of statements...but with Derek it was like major pillow talk! It was all that was said and as I finally drifted off I was wondering if this was a breakthrough of some sorts or just wishful thinking.

* * * * *

When the bright morning sun streaming through the window woke me up the next morning, and the fog lifted from my brain, I realized that a stiffness was poking against my stomach. Derek had rolled over sometime during the night and was pressed up against me with a raging piece of morning wood. Mine was just as hard too, and I gently slipped down in the bed and took his between my lips. I worked it quietly and quickly as I pulled on my own at the same time. I was never sure if he was fully awake or not, but Derek ended up on his back during my lust-filled motions and exploded in my mouth after just a couple of minutes of really working his rod with my tongue and lips. I managed to shoot my load up my stomach and eased out of the bed to grab one of the bath towels from the night before that were laying on the floor and dabbed myself off. I then yanked on my briefs and padded into the compact kitchen to make breakfast...the whole while, thinking how it could be like this all the time if you would just let it happen dude!

Derek wandered in from the bedroom just as the eggs finished cooking. He had a strange look on his face...as if he was desperately trying to remember a very vivid and recent dream and wondering why he didn't have a boner as usual when he woke up. I grinned to myself and slid a plate across the little round table to him. A big knowing smile and "Morning" was all I offered up to him, which I am certain did nothing to appease the befuddled thoughts he was having. Evidently deciding to push those unanswerable questions aside, he dropped the bomb on me as we were eating.

"I have a date tonight, Brad. Hope you can keep yourself entertained until around midnight."

'Aw, fuck no!' raced through my brain, and I did little to not let my face state it.

"Lacy and I are just going to a movie and probably a late snack at Friendly's. Her Dad is pretty strict and I have to have her home by midnight so it's not like I am just gonna disappear the whole night." It was an offer being made to quell what was my obvious, but unsaid, displeasure at once again being reduced to second on the list of importance in his life.

I mustered up my bravado and hid my hurt feelings by saying, "It's not like this wasn't a surprise visit. I can't expect you to just drop plans you already had made." My words were rapidly chosen bullshit and I was mad as hell, but also knew it would only create a problem if I let the ones I wanted to say loose from my heart. I pasted a half smile on my face to let him know I would cope and he grinned back at me with that inebriating look that never failed at owning me. I was tempted to make up some excuse to drive back to Zanesville and just call the rest of the weekend a draw, but I was too invested emotionally to do that. Plus, I had by now, made enough trips to Kent and done enough wandering around campus and the small downtown, that I knew where the hot spots were...including the one gay bar. I could occupy myself playing pool and enjoy getting hit on while Derek did his 'I'm really straight' act for the night. If this chick really was a virgin and not putting out, there was also the likelihood that my best friend would come home ready for more than playing Mario and sleeping. The rest of the day was spent with that thought clashing in my mind with the one that kept asking: 'Will he ever change?'

It came as no real surprise that Derek was his normal horny self when he got back to the apartment just after midnight. After a couple hours at the bar I was in the same boat. I had been tempted more than a few times to disappear with a cute college guy that wanted to play, but just couldn't bring myself to do it. My body was willing, but my heart said it would be cheating...so I blocked every pass that was made with one excuse or another and simply waited with hope for Derek to come back needing relief as much as I did.

I wasn't disappointed and neither was he from the look on his face after the enthusiastic blow job I gave him after listening to him drone on about Lacy in bed. It was one of the nights I had become accustomed to where I did all the real work and got a great hand job in return. No repeat of the night before when he was all about eating cock too. His jacking me always satisfied me physically and I had long ago decided that was fine...at least until one of us finally broke through that silly wall he had erected between us and talked about what this crazy relationship really meant. We were both afraid of that conversation happening and for polar opposite reasons most likely. Mine for fear of complete rejection and the end of something I wasn't willing to give up on yet. His was for fear of dealing with himself and peeling back the thin veneer of who he was that he had so carefully created over the years. My biggest fear was that neither of us would ever take that chancy first step. Like so many of my other trips from Kent back to Zanesville, my thoughts the next day dwelled on little else as I tried to find the answer to the question of 'How long do you wait?'

* * * * *

The rest of the school year went well but was also a cluster fuck at the same time. I kept so busy and Derek's work schedule was bad enough that I was only able to made a couple trips to Kent. The one during spring break was especially disappointing since he was still dating Lacy and spent most of his free time with her since her classes were out also. On the plus side of that though, was that we still had our special moments in bed after their dates and all indications was that her 'not until after a wedding' rule was still well in place. Derek was always in the mood to play when I came to visit, which told me he wasn't getting any on the side either. The only thing that made me wonder was that always before, when he ran up against a terminal virgin, he had dumped them and went back to playing the field. With Lacy, it didn't seem to be that way at all.

By necessity, she and I had met and quite honestly hit it off pretty good as friends. When I was in town, we even did the occasional three way date at a movie or to go out and eat. Sure it was a little strange sitting beside Derek in a dark theater, and seeing Lacy teasing him with her hand over his left thigh during the movie...all the while his right leg making jerking motions against mine and knowing that she had him so boned up and I would be the one to have to relieve him later. But hey...you roll with the punches and hope for the best! As much as it frustrated me, I had conceded that I would rather share him at this point than lose him. In my convoluted way of thinking, I also saw her as his cover and just assumed that since he seemed to be only getting any from me, that he was slowly making progress toward the ultimate step of dealing with himself. It kept the dream alive for me and I embraced what they had...so long as she kept telling him 'no'.

* * * * *

By the time the end of the school year hit and graduation was only a few days off, I was having many varied thoughts over what to do next. I was wanting to go on and finish up the four year degree, but at the same time wasn't all that excited about doing it right away.

Derek had made suggestions about moving up and doing it at Kent State, but something also was telling me to hold off. Pretty sure it was all the time he had been spending with Lacy and the fact that he had made it clear...without coming straight out and saying it...that if I did, we wouldn't be sharing his apartment because of how small it was. Two long time best buds could share a one bedroom on a weekend visit, but no way in hell could it look right for his image to be sharing one bedroom full time.

So like the rest of this crazy mess, I simply decided to avoid the issue and take a year off, stay in Zanesville, and be satisfied with the occasional trip to Kent. The only indication I got from Derek was that he was fine with that arrangement and life continued on for the two of us with little change other than Lacy being a factor when I visited every couple of months. Things would change. I just knew they would.

Little did I know just how much!

* * * * *

It was late the next spring when I finally received my official notice from Kent State that I had been accepted for the fall term and my credits from Z-tech would transfer me in as a junior. I had wanted to call and tell Derek, but decided that it would be more interesting...and revealing...if I did it in person. There was still that flame of hope alive that he would want to share the apartment and that we could get on with a real life together finally. I made plans with him to come visit over Memorial Day weekend and would let him know then. Worst case scenario I came up with, was that he would want to rent a new place; one with two bedrooms to make the roommate thing look legit. The only obstacle with that weekend, was that it was when he had planned Lacy's surprise birthday party and I would have to share that too.

When I got to his place late on Friday evening, we shot the breeze for an hour or so about my plans to move to Kent to finish up my degree. Derek was visibly happy, but my hopes for something more than just living in the same town were dashed when he offered to help me find a decent place to live. He did mention that his landlord had another place close by that was empty and pushed me to go look at it while I was up this trip. We ended up hitting the sack after only one game of Mario, since he had an early shift the next morning and Lacy's party would take up the rest of the late afternoon and evening.

When we crawled in bed, I felt a slight tenseness between us, but after a few minutes of sharing body heat and unavoidable skin against skin under the thin covers of the small bed, we both were hard and quietly taking care of business. He didn't make any initial moves or use the silly pube scratch or leg brush code, so I decided to be a little more direct and moved my hand from my cock to his and begin stroking him. The slight reluctance that seemed to be there quickly shifted to a low moan and total surrender as his hand wrapped around my throbber and started the familiar methodical pulling that never failed to bring me off.

The more I worked him, the more he was getting into it, and soon I felt his free hand at the back of my head pushing me down to his abs. I willing let him guide me lower and lower until I smelled the scent of his manhood and took him fully between my lips. For whatever reason, it seemed as if he wanted to just get off and sleep, so I didn't bother with a lot of long foreplay. Plus, he had me so worked up that I was already feeling the rumble in my nut sack that was warning me of being not far from an orgasm myself. It only too a few minutes to have him humping hard up into my face before his body went rigid and I felt the warmness splashing over my hungry tongue. After swallowing it all and kissing the tip of his wilting dick, I stretched back out flat on the bed.

Derek half rolled over and continued jerking me until I exploded in his hand. A silent, quick clean up followed and with a half-assed explanation about being so tired from Derek, I cuddled up with my pillow and searched for the sleep he was already drifting off to. It hadn't been one of our better times, but the smile on his face said he wasn't complaining. It certainly wasn't the first time it had been all about him, and didn't expect it to be the last either.

* * * * *

The surprise party was being held at Lacy's parent's house. I had met them once on a previous trip. Her Dad was every bit the overprotective SOB that Derek had made him out to be, but her Mom was a pure joy and reminded me of my own in many ways. Her younger brother and sister were the typical mid-teen adolescents; looking at everyone over 20 as old as dinosaurs and always willing to let them know it. The only time they saw any value to being older, was when they wanted taxi service.

The house was nestled in an older section of Kent, on a tree-lined street filled with similar houses of a 1950's vintage. Like most of the other residents on the block, they had lived there for decades and would probably never move. The neighbors ran the spectrum of old widows to recently retired couples and several others like their family: middle-aged and anxiously waiting to become empty nesters while the kids finished school. The two houses that were unique to the mix was one young family with a set of 5 year old twins that lived on one side of Lacy's family, and a male couple in their late 30s or early 40s that had lived across the street for ten years according to her. Even her redneckish Dad seemed to accept them, so I wasn't really shocked to see them among the small crowd that was hanging out in the decorated back yard when we got there.

Lacy had been sidetracked to the mall by her younger sister and a grocery list from her mom while we all gathered and waited for their return. A huge cake on the picnic table and her Dad proudly taking charge of the grill completed the scene Derek had helped plan.

Her family had totally accepted him, although I think her Dad still looked at him like the male whore he swore all single guys were...at least the ones that wanted to date his daughter! I will never forget Derek telling me how the initial meeting with her Dad went before their first date. He got sat down in the family room and was fully expecting the typical questions and veiled warnings about how much his little girl meant to him. But her Dad was a man of few words and even less tact when it came to putting the fear of God into a suitor. After the normal interrogation, he simply looked over at Derek and said: "And as far as you taking her out parking or back to your bachelor pad, just remember this; you can do anything you want with my baby...BUT...I get to do the same things to you when you bring her home!"

Derek had said the look on the man's face told him he probably wasn't kidding even if Lacy hadn't quashed the attempts he made. It was the fact that Derek had continued to see her with that hanging over his head and even though she remained adamant about no sex before the wedding night, that kept me wondering why he didn't just move on to another conquest like his history had always been before. It was something I had never imagined from my best friend.

Plus, I knew from what he had not been saying the past eight or nine months, that the only sex he was getting besides his left hand, was during my infrequent visits. There had been none of the torturous stories of his bedpost notching to go along with our own bed antics. The more I thought about how Derek seemed to want me in town, the more I was looking forward to the move, even though we would be in separate abodes.

When Lacy and her sister finally showed back up, Derek and I helped her bring in the groceries and then shuffled her towards the back yard. A loud chorus of 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' from the small group resounded off the wooden privacy fence, and Lacy was in total shock since her birthday was still three days away. Derek was glowing from pulling off the surprise and from the hug and kiss she gave him. Then she settled in to thanking each person and I even got a good squeeze and soft peck on the cheek. I had grown to really like her, but I think a part of it was because I saw her more as an aphrodisiac for Derek than competition for me.

As she moved on from me, I grabbed a Coke and settled into one of the group of lawn chairs under the tree off to the side since I was more of a guest here than everyone else who were like extended family. I watched Derek as he made all the expected rounds also, before joining up again with Lacy. Just as if we were back in high school again, and at a dance, I was the wallflower jealously staring at my best friend as he worked his date. My train of thought and stares were only broken by twin shadows suddenly beside me and the question, "Mind if we join you?" I looked up and saw that it was the gay couple from across the street.

John and Thom were far from what most people considered the stereotypical set of gays. Both were very masculine and would have attracted attention from females in any singles bar. They had been together since being roommates their freshman year of college, and lived a very quiet life. Just another couple on the tree-lined street that no one thought twice about.

We talked about my plans to move and start college again in the fall and they showed a little bit of surprise when I said that I wouldn't be moving in with Derek but rather getting my own place. John was the one that broke the ice when he bluntly, but with a low whisper, asked, "How long have you two been together?" The head flip he added towards Derek floored me and I had no clue what to do or say.

Thom was grinning at my flustered look and added to it with, "He might be dating Lacy, but that boy is anything but straight...and the way you look at him tells the rest of the story."

I had never talked with anyone about my own sexuality; much less my feelings for Derek or what we shared physically; and suddenly it was being dragged out front and center with no warning. I mumbled a few sentences that made even less sense to my own ears than I am sure it did to John and Thom.

They let it slip by with nothing more than telling me that if I ever wanted or needed to talk, to give them a call. As much as I wanted to spill my guts and bare my soul to them over the insanity that was me and Derek, I just wasn't prepared and that sure wasn't the proper moment. The quiet tension was thankfully broken when Lacy's Dad yelled that the burgers were ready.

After everyone's appetite had been well satisfied, Lacy was easily tempted to move to the next phase of the party...opening the stack of brightly wrapped gifts sitting at the end of the picnic table. Derek took over as the one selecting which one she would get next, and after the first half dozen, it seemed rather obvious that he was saving his for last. Lacy shrugged her shoulders and stayed busy peeling off gift paper from each one, and doing the expected 'Oh thank you so much,' after discovering what was inside. The guests at the gathering added the appropriate 'oh's' and 'aw's' as she would hold up each item and smile.

Finally, there was but one gift left sitting in front of Derek, and he pasted on a look that could only be called an apprehensive grin as he handed it over to her. The package was about 12" square and wrapped it bright blue and white paper with a large gold bow on top. Lacy had it open in seconds and was smiling large as she looked down inside the box and saw her favorite stuffed animal...Garfield...staring up at her. Her smile slowly switched to slight confusion pointed at Derek, as she pulled him out and held him up for the crowd to see.

"You might want to check him a little closer, baby," was all that Derek offered.