Unexpected Reunion Ch. 01

"Zack, what are you up to next weekend?"

I had to think about it. "I have the kids next weekend."

"Oh." Josh sounded disappointed.

"Why?" Now I was curious.

He shrugged. "I was going to see if you wanted to bike part of the canal next Saturday."

At thirteen and eleven, my kids were old enough to bike. "If we're only talking ten miles or so, I bet I could convince the kids." I grinned. "If you think you can stand going slow."

Josh laughed. "Actually, that'd be cool." We made plans to iron out the details during the week in email, and I headed home.

I checked with Julie about taking the kids on a day ride, and she thought it was a great idea. They had Tommy and Heather's bikes ready for the road when I arrived to pick them up Friday night. Julie smiled at me as we loaded the bikes. "So, what inspired this?"

I shrugged. "I met a classmate at the reunion a few weeks back. He invited me to take a canal ride, and I thought the kids might like that for a change from video brain-freeze." Julie raised her eyebrows and I frowned. "Friend, Julie. You know I'd tell you if I'd met someone."

"It sounds like a good activity for the kids, Zack. I like the idea of keeping them from the couch whenever possible." She smiled and kissed me on the cheek. "I wish this guy was something other than a friend."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Why? I think the fact I'm not involved simplifies things with the kids. Not to mention, it means there's no chance of embarrassing situations."

Julie frowned. "True, but it also leads the kids to believe that being gay means being alone. I don't want them thinking that, especially Tommy."

That raised my antenna. "Why?"

She shrugged. "I want him to feel comfortable with whatever he grows up to be, Zack. His father is gay; we've made no secret of it, and we've tried to teach him that there is nothing wrong with it. That still doesn't change the fact that his primary male figure has no relationship, and hasn't for nearly his whole life. I'm worried he'll try to 'not be gay' because he won't want to grow up to be alone."

I wanted to argue her logic, but Tommy was a very sensitive boy. I could see what she was seeing and the thought worried me. I hoped she was wrong; I didn't want my son to grow up denying himself like I had. "I hope you're just being an over protective mother."

She sighed, but put on a smile as the kids came down the front steps. "I know, Zack; so do I."

We rolled out of bed bright and early Saturday morning and met Josh at the canal. He was waiting for us as we pulled up. Heather grinned. "That guy Josh?"

I nodded. "Yep." We got out and Heather's eyes never left Josh as he approached

"He looks kind of buff for an old man. Not muscle buff, but that skinny, racer look." I couldn't believe my daughter was checking out my friend. I admit that his biker's shorts hugged him in ways that only really fit athletes could manage, but he was old enough to have been her father. It was creepy.

"Stop that, Heather, it's rude." She frowned at me, and diverted her attention to her daypack. I smiled at Josh as he got to us.

"Want a hand?"

"Sure." I got a grip on my two hellions and smiled. "Josh, this is Heather and Tommy. Guys, this is Josh."

"Hi, Josh." Heather smiled. Josh extended his hand and she accepted it.

"Hello, Heather."

"Hi." Tommy seemed a little more shy than usual.

"Hey, Tommy." Josh extended his hand but Tommy didn't take it. Josh looked at me, and I shrugged.

I roughed up Tommy's hair. "Come on sport; let's get these bikes out."

Tommy helped me unload the bikes while Heather and Josh walked them over to where Josh's bike was. After establishing a few rules we got on our way. It was a fun day. We rode 'til about two in the afternoon, and we were ravenous by the time the cars were loaded.

Heather looked perplexed after Josh said goodbye and headed for his car. "Dad, why aren't we having dinner with Josh?

I didn't have an answer. "You guys want to?" This was supposed to be our father-kids weekend, I'd already done something because "I" wanted to, and I didn't want to push it.

Tommy nodded and Heather piped up for them both. "Yeah."

"Ok." I jogged after Josh and caught him before he got to his car. "Hey, Josh; want to grab a burger?"

He looked surprised as I came up beside him, and then grinned. "I didn't want to intrude, but sure, I'd love to."

We agreed on a place, and Josh met us at Fuddruckers. The kids had the best time. Once they'd warmed up to Josh there was no holding them back. Josh entertained them with tales of cancer recovery by mixing his stories with the right combination of humorous and disgusting details to keep them morbidly curious. We finished up just as the evening crowd began to come in.

Tommy was totally infatuated with Josh. Once his initial shyness had been overcome he was insatiable. I was just getting back from dumping the trays when the vigorous curiosity of youth came through. "Josh, are you Dad's boyfriend?"

I completely missed my seat and hit the floor in shock. If anyone could cause me to make a fool of myself, it was my kids. Heather was giggling uncontrollably as I scrambled back up into my seat. Tommy looked confused and Josh appeared to be trying to figure out what had hit him from left field.

I'll give it to Josh: he could keep his cool in the face of adversity. "No, Tommy, we're just friends."

Heather frowned. "You don't have to make nice because we're kids. Mom and Dad explained it a while back."

I was speechless. All I could do was make false starts and stutter as my kids grilled him. Josh grinned. "Well, to be honest, Heather, he's never asked me out. You can't be a boyfriend if you aren't dating, can you?"

I just dropped my face into my hands and prayed that God would strike me down on the spot. My children: the matchmakers. I couldn't remember a time I'd been more embarrassed.

She actually thought about that for a moment before asking, "Ok, so would you want to be?"

Before he could answer her, I sat back up and announced it was time to go. "Come on kids; leave Josh alone." Heather gave me the look of death, but I was immune. "Yes, Ms. Busy-Body, that means we're going home." The complaints were strong and varied as we left. I mouthed, "I'm sorry," over the kids' heads at Josh, and ushered the objecting demons from the restaurant. "Yes, I know. Life isn't fair and not all questions can be answered; tell it to your shrink because you've used up your money's worth with me."

Tommy sat petulantly in the back seat and Heather looked disgusted. "Come on Dad; the guy digs you."

My patience was all but gone. "That, young lady, is none of your business."

Tommy mumbled stubbornly from the back seat. "You never like anyone we like."

I frowned into the rear view mirror. "I've never introduced you to anyone to like or dislike."

Crossing his arms, Tommy looked out the window. "So?"

The logic of an eleven-year-old was impossible to fathom. It was only slightly less annoying than the determination of a thirteen-year-old. "Dad, you know you like him."

God this was getting circular. "Again, whether I like him or not is none of your business."

"You are so unfair." Like her brother, she crossed her arms and looked out the window.

Great, now I had two irritable, stubborn kids on my hands. It had started out as such a good day. We got home, and Tommy went straight to his room and shut the door. That wasn't a good sign. Heather went to hers, but left the door open. I stopped by the rooms on my way to mine. "Get your showers." Heather grunted, and I got no response from Tommy's room. I'd check on them later; I had my own shower to get.

I was lying on the couch, flipping through channels absently when Heather came into the living room and plopped down on the arm of the couch. "You know we only want you happy, right Dad?"

For anyone who hasn't had a thirteen-year-old daughter, be warned, they alternate between nine and thirty-nine at the most unusual moments. I smiled at her. "I know sweetie."

She sat down on the couch and after a moment she leaned in and snuggled. "Tommy thinks you don't date because of us."

That was news. It was hard to believe that my lack of a relationship would have that effect on my children. I kissed Heather on the head and hugged her. "I tried the dating thing sweetie; when you're older I'll tell you about it..." She tried to object, but I cut her off. "There are some things I'd rather not explain at the moment, Heather; it isn't that I think you aren't mature enough to understand. Ok?"

She shrugged, but snuggled in a bit more. "Ok." We lay there for a little while I flipped channels. There was absolutely nothing on. How the hell can you have over one hundred channels of programming and find nothing on to watch on a Saturday night? We settled on a rerun, and I held her while she watched her favorite witches freeze, levitate, explode and teleport their way through another demon filled episode. As the show ended, Heather stretched. "I like Josh, Dad."

I sighed. "Yeah, so do I."

She grinned as she sat up. "So why don't you ask him out?"

I grinned back. "You know how you complain that you know when a boy is interested but he never asks you out?" Can you believe girls were dating at eleven and twelve these days? Sheesh.

"Yeah?"

"Well, honey, most of us never get any better about it as we get older."

"Chicken."

"You remember the eggs I made you this morning?" I grinned fiendishly.

"Yeah?"

"I laid them." Chuckling, I sat up. "Get to bed and leave my love life alone. You're as bad as your mother."

She frowned. "Fine. Cluck all you want, but I still think you should ask him out." I walked her back to her room, and she gave me a peck on the cheek before turning in. "Night Dad."

"Sleep well, honey." I waited 'til she closed her door, and then I knocked on Tommy's door. "May I come in?"

I got a soft "ok" from behind the door and I stepped into the room. Tommy was in his PJs and was already in bed. He looked like he'd been crying. "Hey, sport, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." He wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, I lifted his chin. "Hey, bud, this is your dad, remember?"

"Why don't you have a boyfriend?"

I shrugged. "Haven't met a guy I wanted to be with, Tommy. When I meet a guy who is as good for me as Jim is for your mom, I'll be sure to keep him. Ok?"

He gave me a sniffle filled nod. "Ok."

"You kids aren't stopping me from having relationships. You know that, right?" I tried to be as sincere as I could. I know a part of me was lying. My kids were the most important people in my life and I wasn't going to have a relationship that would take me away from them.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, sport, I'm sure."

He hugged me, and then I tucked him in. I wanted so badly for my kids to grow up happy that it was painful to think my life style hurt them. It wasn't my being gay as much as I didn't have anyone in my life. If I could have, I'd have run out and rented a husband just to make them content.

* * * * * * * * * *

I emailed Josh before I went to bed; I apologized for my kids' behavior and wanted to make it up to him. I got an email from him in the morning; which made it clear he'd had a good time and loved the kids. I emailed back and told him I would be taking them back to their mother's at three pm and wanted to know if I could make up for yesterday with dinner. I got an email from him after noon stating that he would love to and provided me with his cell in case I'd misplaced the number. Yeah, right, like I'd lose his number.

I called him after I dropped off the kids, and we met for a drink and dinner at Outback. I don't know whether it was the fact that I'd seen him in skin tight biker's clothes the previous day, or the effect of Heather's recriminations, but when I saw him waiting in a loose button down and comfortable jeans, I couldn't help but imagine what was under them. That wasn't good. Still, he did seem genuinely pleased to see me when I walked up.

"How'd the rest of the evening go?"

I chuckled nervously; I was still embarrassed by what had happened. "They have us married and moved in together at this point."

He smiled. "Premature I think; we should at least get to kiss and such before tying the knot." I blinked at him and he laughed. "I was kidding Zack."

There was some small part of me that was disappointed, but for the most part I was relieved. "Don't panic me like that; I'm already feeling behind the eight-ball here."

The table call thing, what ever it's called, went off and he grinned. "Time to eat."

"After you, Mr. Winters." He laughed and I followed him in. Dinner was excellent. We sat afterwards just sipping our coffees and discussing nothing of any importance. I really enjoyed Josh and was amazed how much we had in common.

Grinning devilishly as I took a sip of my coffee, he asked, "So, want to go out some time?"

He knew what my reaction would be. I spit. God damn it; he was as bad as my kids. "What?" I was trying to wrap my brain around his question as the check arrived.

Josh grabbed the check, paid, and we got outside before he answered me. "I was asking if you'd like to go out on a date."

"Yeah, I figured that part out." Why the hell was this so difficult? "Sure, though technically I asked you out tonight anyway."

Josh grinned again. "You're right." We'd gotten to his car, he was parked closer, and I got the next shock of the weekend. He bent down and kissed me. Oh fuck; he really kissed me. I was hard in moments.

I pulled back; stunned. "Wow." It was all I could think of.

"I'll call you."

I watched like an idiot as he got in his car and drove off. I went home and jacked off to thoughts of Josh before I fell asleep and dreamed of him too. I was completely useless at work on Monday; all I could think about was the kiss. I kept comparing it to the other times I'd kissed guys; those times had always been precursors to sex or during sex. Josh's kiss had just been like a promise; it was the not knowing what was being promised that was driving me nuts. Was he promising me a hot time in the sack, or was it something else? I was able to push it aside and teach martial arts that evening, but it started up again the next morning and I was a wreck by the time he called me Tuesday at lunch.

"Hey Zack; it's Josh."

"Hey." God, I sounded like a nervous fifteen-year-old. I'd probably have sounded exactly the same if he'd been calling me when we were in high school twenty years before.

"You want to get together tonight? Rent a movie or something?"

It was all the possible "or somethings" that made my cock twitch and my heart tighten. "Uh, sure." I couldn't believe what I asked next, "You're place or mine?"

Josh paused for what seemed like an eternity before he asked, "Who has the better entertainment setup? I'm in an apartment with a pretty good sound system but my TV is only a 32 inch."

I, admittedly, had a better setup. "Mine's better; with kids you have to have the latest and greatest or they drive you nuts."

He laughed. "Ok, you provide the popcorn and I'll bring a pizza and DVDs?"

"Sure. Seven?"

"Great; I can shower and change before coming over." He confirmed my address and left me with butterflies for the afternoon. I had no idea what I was scared of; I was stronger than he was, probably a better combatant, and I outweighed him by at least twenty pounds. I had nothing to be scared of. Yeah, right. Physically I was as safe as a bank vault but emotionally I felt as vulnerable as a puppy. I couldn't decide what was scarier: the thought that it wouldn't work out, or the thought that it would.

Josh arrived about five 'til seven; no, I hadn't been looking at the clock, or at least I hadn't checked it more than a few times. I hoped I didn't smell like a cologne bottle when I opened the door. I realized, much to my dismay, I was acting like a teen aged boy on his first date; God help me I was such a loser.

Josh, on the other hand, was cool, calm and collected. He handed me the pizza box and followed me in. "Where's the system that made me trek all the way out to the suburbs?"

Laughing, I walked through the living room to the dividing counter between kitchen and living room that functioned as a serving space when necessary. "Right in here. Behold, and have techno-envy."

Josh chuckled, and then actually looked at the system. He whistled. "Damn, you weren't kidding. I'm jealous of your kids!"

I smirked as I got down the plates and pulled open the pizza box. "Yeah, I only get the best for my family." When I looked down I froze; there was a single yellow rose sitting at the edge of the box. Obviously it'd been placed there right before he came to the door. I don't think anyone, even Julie, had ever given me flowers. When I looked back up, he was grinning at me. What was I getting myself into? I felt a wave of panic wash over me.

Josh must have seen it on my face because he came close but didn't invade my space. "That wasn't pushing, was it?"

"No..." I picked up the rose and hunted down a vase. I didn't have any. Why the hell would I have one? Guys don't get flowers. I found a tall glass, filled it, and set the rose in the water. I looked back at his worried face and mustered a smile. "Thanks." Was I supposed to kiss him? What was gay romance etiquette? Ms. Manners didn't put out a drag queen version.

He grinned sheepishly. "I guess that flopped."

God I felt bad. "Just not something I'm used to." I shrugged. "I've never really dated a guy before. I've just been with a few guys and those relationships, if you could call them that, started the usual way: meet at the club, fuck, and try to figure out of your compatible later."

"Did they work?"

Shrugging, I came back over to the pizza. "Obviously not." I looked up into those blue-green eyes and realized he'd been through the same thing. Hell, he'd probably been trying to find the right guy for twice as long as I had. I'd had Julie for years before facing the truth and having to start all over again. "Thanks." Reaching up, I pulled him down into a 'thank you' kiss.

Several clingy, firmly gripped, open mouthed moments later I pulled back and gasped. It was all going too fast. My head was spinning; it probably had something to do with the fact that all the blood in my body had descended to flood my dick. I was so fucking desperate. Shakily, I held onto the counter.

Josh looked flushed, and was breathing hard. "Sorry, got carried away."

I grinned. "You're not the only one." I mustered my courage and stood back up straight. "I really want to make this work, Josh, but I'm not ready to hit the sack yet... no matter what my dick says otherwise."

His eyes darted down to my pants before he grinned as well. "So, want to set some ground rules?"

I nodded. "I want us to take our time. When we're ready for sex, I want it to be for real, not because I'm desperate for it out of loneliness." I think my eyes must have been pleading because I felt like a beggar. "Does that make any sense?"

"Yeah; that makes perfect sense to me." He grabbed a couple slices of pizza, tossed them on his plate and walked back to the living room. "Ok, maestro, how the hell do you activate this thing?" He eyed the entertainment system dubiously.

We watched X-Men. Yeah, I know that sounds stupid but I grew up on the comic and the actors they had for Wolverine and Cyclops were hot. I'd ended up lying with Josh on the couch, watching with my head back against his chest. He chuckled as the credits rolled past. "I'd love to see Logan plow Scott's ass."

I grinned. "Yeah, so would half the gay men on the planet. Personally, I'd like to see the role reversal and see Scott top Logan." I clicked off the DVD player and checked my watch. It was heading for ten pm. "You've got a drive to get back into town; I suppose I need to let you up."