Coming Around Again

I shook my head. I almost considered pushing him into the slowly creeping traffick on the boulevard. I felt the tremors build in my body until I couldn't contain it anymore.

I laughed. It was the best I could do. My absurd friend looked at me, a broad smile forming on his face. Soon the two of us were panting and laughing like maniacs right there on the street. More than a couple of onlookers gave us strange glances.

"Good lord," I said. "That was just the first bar."

"Relax," Graham told me. "If you think about it we got free drinks. There's plenty more places to get thrown out of."

****

In truth we only visited one other place after being chased onto the street by angry husbands. This club had been a lot larger and we stayed for several hours. Graham tried to flirt with anything that had legs. He arm wrestled what looked like a beach bum and won a round of drinks from the ordeal. I watched him hit on the pretty bartender at one end of the place and fail conclusively with his strange pick up lines and compliments. I actually had to tug the guy away and inform him about his losses. Both in the battle of love and the ridiculous tab he had been amassing.

In the end we'd wound up in an Uber back to the hotel, and had found our way out onto the beach. The tiki bar I'd spotted was still ablaze near the water, with a much smaller crowd seated around it's circular structure.

Graham and I found a pair of stools, tore through a small mountain of seafood, and were several drinks into the end of the night. Behind us was an eternal black sea that I could only hear as it's unending waves crashed along the shoreline. Several torches lit the surrounding area, along with glowing string lights hanging from the thatch roof over our heads.

It was a very small crowd, maybe a couple dozen people seated around the long bar. Most of them looked like middle-aged couples and families, all of whom quietly chattered and occasionally burst into laughter. The mood was so much calmer and far more relaxing than the previous spots we'd come from.

"Who was the tiny guy in second platoon that was always a nasty shit bag?" Graham asked with his usual smile.

I motioned to the barkeep for another drink.

I pondered the question only for a moment before the name came back to me.

"Blackman," I said. "Jesus, how did you forget his name?"

Graham laughed. "Oh god, that's right. Blackman, the most pale little creature in the whole unit."

"He was the one that locked himself in his own sleeping bag," I went on. "Remember? Like the zipper was caught or something?"

Graham rocked back in his seat, laughing even harder.

"Staff Sergeant Ortega dragged him in front of everyone that morning," Graham said convulsing, "and gave everyone a period of instruction on how to handle POW scenarios."

I shook my head and joined in the laughter, the memory resurfacing with every bit of its hilarity intact.

"Damn," I sighed. "He was on J-Man's squad. Wish he were here to relive that one."

Graham nodded. "J-Man went through some rough shit right after we got out. You know his wife cheated on him, right?"

"Yeah," I replied. "Right after he deployed. That's pretty messed up."

"Glad I never got hitched," Graham said sipping his drink. "What about you, did you ever tie the knot?"

I shook my head. "Nah. I got close with a girl, but she turned out to be a psychopath. Moving in together will tell you a lot about a person. After that I uh... dated some, uh, other people. No marriage, though."

I felt Graham's eyes on me. His face was trying to hold back another smile. I'd nearly made a fatal mistake. I wasn't sure, but he had keyed in on the last part of what I'd said. There was no way he could tell what I meant. Even as buzzed as we both were, I wasn't about to tell him about the men I'd been with.

"Weird how everybody just fades away, man," I heard him say.

I looked at Graham. He was turned in his chair looking off toward the ocean. His arm was draped across the bar. I stole an opportunity to admire how solid his forearms were, and the way his t-shirt hugged his swollen bicep. It was just so weird to see Graham like that. I remembered him being so small.

"Remember how many guys left our unit?" Graham went on. "Every time someone would leave or move on to someplace else, they'd always go through that little speech about how they would always be around, or that they would keep in touch."

I nodded, studying how suddenly serious Graham had become.

"They all do that," I said. "They never do. We both know it doesn't work that way. I think it's just easier than saying goodbye for the last time."

Graham looked at me. His eyes traveled up and down so quickly I couldn't follow them. But I could feel myself flush warm under his gaze. I wasn't even sure why.

"I'm glad you never said goodbye, man," Graham told me. "If there was anyone I wanted to see again and hang out with, it was you."

I was taken back by the sincerity in his words. Graham must have noticed my expression because he quickly covered his tracks.

"I mean, it took you long enough to finally meet up with me, you big ass," Graham added. "I thought for sure you'd gotten married or turned gay on me."

I snickered, but hid my blushing face in my glass. After sipping my drink, I fired back at him.

"Says the guy that still left both bars tonight without a girl," I reminded him. "As a matter of fact, I might have a smoking hot friend to join us in the room tonight if you hadn't laid all that weird talk on her."

"Oh, Caitlyn?" Graham scrunched his face up. "Whatever. I saved you from that girl. At best she was trying to drink free tonight."

Graham's eyes fell into his drink. He toyed with the little umbrella, stirring it around in the alcohol. A strange breeze drifted from the ocean through the little tiki bar. I couldn't explain it, but Graham sounded odd in that moment.

"Besides we have the whole weekend, you know?" He went on, not looking up from his beverage. "Can't let you ditch me for the first floozie that comes along. We got a lot of catching up to do."

I cocked an eyebrow at him, though Graham never looked up at me to witness it. I was expecting the heavy handed and obnoxious retorts I usually got from him. My head was swimming too much to make much sense of it.

"What happened to focusing on tail?" I asked him grinning.

Graham glance at me patted the air with his hand.

"Hey, don't question my methods," he told me. "It's only been one night. I'll put something on that neglected worm of yours in due time. Let the master work."

I laughed, but looked away from him. It was a strangely worded promise.

"Should we go swimming?" Graham asked, half turning toward the black ocean.

I shook my head immediately. "Uh, we will drown."

"You're right," Graham said. "I think I'm pretty blitzed. I'm good right now but I'm gonna lean like the tin man when I stand up."

I stood from my stool, sliding my drink away and tossing a few bills on the bar. Even doing so was a challenge in my slowly ebbing vision.

"Well, let's finish it off at the room," I offered. "Still the rest of the weekend. If I pass out drunk, I'd rather it be on a luxurious bed."

"Good plan."

Graham stood and steadied himself for a moment. He blinked a few times and grinned at me. Both of us shared a brief laugh before trudging out onto the sand in the dark toward the towering hotel.

****

We were drunk. It was actually a miracle we were no more lit than we were, given all the alcoholic drinks we'd had up to that point.

Graham and I meandered across the sand for a short distance before we began to flounder this way and that. The dark seemed to kind of blur right past me. I kept looking for Graham beside me, as though the waves of the ocean would suck him right off the beach if I didn't keep a watchful eye on him.

Eventually, Graham came right up to me and draped one of his big arms across my shoulders. He grinned at me.

"Lead the way, Corporal MacKenzie," he said.

I shook my head, but started off again across the beach. The hotel looked like it was right there, but each step we took seemed to slide through the sand, our feet being suck deeper into the earth. It wasn't long before we were leaning on one another. My arm found its way around Graham's waist.

I'd done this plenty of times before back when we were enlisted together, and inevitably found ourselves stumbling out of random bars. But my arm was around a solid chunk of man now, instead of a lean twenty something year old. Likewise, I now felt the bulk of Graham's huge arm against my neck. I was once bigger than this guy. Now I could feel how he'd grown.

"Sorry for cock blocking you, Mack," Graham suddenly said.

I chuckled. "Don't worry about it man."

"I'll make it up to you, I swear," Graham told me.

I didn't say anything back. I had no words for it. Ignoring Graham's promise, I guided us up the old wooden steps at the crest of the beach leading back into our hotel. Passing an empty swimming pool, we headed for the doors at the rear of the building. The lobby within was mostly dead, though I still heard the soft music playing from somewhere overhead. The lady at the counter across the lobby regarded us with a tiny smile. We must have been quite a sight. Two drunks hauling each other in from the beach.

When I pushed the button at the elevator, a set of doors opened immediately. To my surprise, the other elevator was busy. The two of us piled into the little room. I let go of Graham and leaned at the back of the elevator. Graham stood with his hands on his hips panting. The doors closed behind him.

"Damn it," Graham said. "Why has everything felt like exercise so far?"

I started to make a joke about getting older when the elevator lurched into motion. Graham stumbled forward, but quickly caught himself on the wall behind me with a single outstretched arm. We'd almost collided. Graham was just inches from me. I could feel the heat from his breath.

Graham rolled his eyes and produced a tiny smile.

"Well, should we go ahead and kiss now?" He asked sarcastically.

I started to smile or laugh but none of it came through. Graham just stood there propped up on the wall. He didn't move away. His thick forearm was still planted on the wall beside me. His face was still inches from mine.

More notably, his smile faded with each passing second. I watched his eyes. They fell across my face. In that instant I froze solid. Graham was staring at me, his big chest heaving more slowly with each breath. I realized that he was staring at my lips. I waited.

Graham leaned in and pressed his lips to mine.

My body went stiff from the shock. I saw it happening, but I thought there was no way that it could. It did. My friend kept his lips against mine for several seconds before releasing. His nose was next to mine. His eyes opened, and I saw the glaze in them disappear. Fear and uncertainty shone brightly through his crystal blue gaze now.

He was just about to step away when my hands found his waist and pulled him back in. Our faces met again. This time, his lips pressed much firmer. White sparks popped and cracked in my brain. The rush of shock and fear and excitement felt like a jolt of adrenaline. I tilted my head and opened my mouth. To my pleasant surprise, Graham took the invitation and dove against me.

His broad chest met mine. His tongue whirled and I lapped right back at his. In an instant my hands groped at his lower back. I felt Graham's hand clasp around my neck. Our bodies pulled into one another. We couldn't get close enough. For a second our mouths parted and we gasped together before plunging back into the kiss again.

My hands started to outrun my brain and got greedy. I lifted Graham's shirt enough to side my fingers under it. I wanted to moan when I touched his hard flesh. I squeezed and pulled at his muscled body, feeling him flex and arch his back in my embrace. My distant sober brain scolded me. What was I doing? Was this really happening? This was Graham!

Releasing his arm from the wall of the elevator, Graham's hand dove for my shorts. I felt my ass being clutched tightly through the fabric. My lower body was tugged into Graham's. Our hips met. Slid both of my hands down. I couldn't help it. His hips had started to pump. Diving low, I grabbed my friend by both of his ass cheeks, immediately wishing that he was naked so I could feel the thickness.

Our mouths parted when we felt the change in momentum. Our eyes met. Both of us were frozen in that moment, sharing in the brief confusion. The elevator was stopping.

The doors split open. As Graham whirled to lean against the adjacent wall, I straightened my shirt and my shorts. Immediately I met eyes with a young woman waiting outside the elevator. Already she paused, seeing the tail end of the commotion inside. I glanced nervously from Graham to the girl. She looked to be headed out to the beach for a swim. It seemed ridiculous, but the young woman was dressed in flip flops and a bikini wrapped with a shawl.

Timidly she approached the doors and stepped inside. Her eyes darted from me to Graham before she looked at the floor. I saw her press the button for the lobby before leaning against the far corner. Graham would not look at her. Any other day, he would have been asking if she needed company.

"Um, are you guys going back down?" The woman asked us.

I blinked, looking up at the number displayed in the top of the elevator. This was our floor, and the two of us were just standing there trying to act casual.

"Ah, no," Graham told her with an awkward nod of his head. "No we are not."

He gave me a funny look before ducking out of the elevator. I followed, trying to ignore the expression on the young woman's face.

Graham was walking much straighter now, and much more quickly. I couldn't catch him unless I wanted to sprint down the empty corridor to do so. We reached the door to our room. Graham didn't look back at me. I didn't say anything. Not in the hallway. I heard the beep from the door and followed Graham inside.

The door shut behind me. I watched Graham take a couple of steps into the room scratching his head. He glanced around before turning toward me. Still, it took several seconds before he would look up at me. I waited, holding my breath. It was Graham that spoke first.

"So, um," he started, "I guess... all, of that, just happened."

I nodded. "Pretty sure she saw us, too."

Graham's eyes met mine. Our smiles formed together. Even in the dimly lit room, I could see him blushing as we both snickered.

I cautiously took a step toward Graham.

"So... what now?" I finally asked.

Graham eyed me. I awaited one of his usual witty responses. He seemed to be thinking for several seconds, licking his lips.

I miscalculated that.

Graham reached down and snatched my shirt, tugging it up my body. He flung the shirt away and stooped low. I looked on in shock as he opened his mouth and slid his tongue up my stomach to my nipple. His lips sealed on my flesh. I felt a white hot sting.

I yelped. My hand shot up. I clutched the back of Graham's head. He sucked my nipple through his teeth and flicked his tongue over the sensitive flesh. My back arched. My chest swelled into his face. Graham simply widened his mouth and sucked more of my pectoral onto his lips.

I stumbled back against the door. It didn't deter him. Graham now pinned my body to the door and continued to paint my chest with his tongue. I looked on in awe. This was actually happening. Graham lapped at my nipple greedily while his arms looped around the small of my back. He was squatting low, almost taking a knee. A particularly rough bite sent my free hand to find a chunk of Graham's shoulder to squeeze.

Then I was airborne. Graham lifted me with such ease that I thought I was floating. Bear hugged as I was in his vice like arms, I could only enjoy the ride. I heard him grunting and gasping. His footfalls were thunderous. A tingle shot all the way to my toes. Being carried like this was oddly satisfying.

Graham released me to fall into the cloudlike covers on the bed behind me. I bounced and propped myself onto my elbows, my feet now touching the floor at the foot of the bed. I didn't have to say or do anything. Graham was already peeling his tight t-shirt over his head. My lips parted in a wordless gasp when I saw the slab of flesh revealed above me. There weren't any washboard abs or tight defined muscles. But looming over me, Graham was thick and solid. I knew for certain he never had those swollen pecs ten years ago. His arms looked like they were made of rock.

I sat forward. Graham stepped in close and cradled my head. Though I kept my cool on the outside, I was shaking like a leaf on a tree deep within. My palms slid up Graham's solid body. His flesh was warm and clammy. He let me explore his body before my hands fell to his belt and began unfastening his pants.

I looked up at him. Our eyes met. I knew we both wore the same expression. Shock and awe was spelled out plainly on Graham's face. He breathed heavily through an open mouth. His eyes were wide as if he couldn't take in enough of what he were sea seeing. It had to be just as strange for him to watch me tug his pants down his thighs as it was for me to do it.

Graham stepped out of his pants. I was staring right at the bulge in his briefs. Until that moment, I'd never wondered what his cock might look like, or how big it might be. My fingertips had just found the waistband when he pushed me backward. I fell against the covers with a laugh. I looked down to watch Graham push his hands up my legs and into my shorts. My hips rose out of reflex. Fingers tightened across my thighs. Graham slid his hands back out. He worked to unzip me, then started to jerk my shorts away.

Now we were both wearing only our underwear. Graham's eyes searched my body like never before. Likewise, I blatantly stared him down. There were no secrets anymore. I eyed the hunks of flesh sitting on top of his shoulder and let my eyes fall from there. The guy was so much bigger now. Even the freckles across his chest had seemed to expand over the skin.

One knee at a time, Graham climbed onto the bed and crawled up to meet me. His body sprawled over mine. I let out a long breath when he settled against me. A single thigh nudged up between my own. My crotch was firmly seated on his thigh now. I straightened one leg and curled another, opening myself against Graham's body and tightening against it.

Graham lowered himself. Our lips met. Our tongues found each other's again. He didn't bother holding himself up. Graham collapsed onto me. Our bodies rolled together. Using my hand, I tugged his head aside and dove in for the solid trunk of his neck.

Just biting at the firm skin made my eyes roll. I wasn't bashful. I wanted to leave a mark. I sucked hard and squeezed Graham close. I heard him groan and felt him mash his hips down into me with force. I chewed at his neck and forced more of these reactions from him. His smooth solid jaw slid down to my neck and turned the favor.

I didn't realize just how hard I was until Graham's hand found my dick and clutched it through the cotton of my briefs. My shaft strained painfully in his grasp. My own fingers slid around and dove for Graham's waist until I found the waistband of his underwear again. I wrestled my fingertips into the fabric until I felt the heat of a thick tip in my hand.

Graham groaned loudly in my ear. His hips pulled back just a bit. I accepted the invitation and plunged my hand further down until I could wrap my fingers around the throbbing shaft.

Now I groaned right along with him. Graham's cock felt so smooth, so firm, and longer than I would have ever thought.