Independent Study Pt. 04

"Nobody had ever done it before," he affirmed, "It sure made an impression on me!"

"Me too," I said, rubbing my throat.

We laughed some more.

"Okay, you got so horny you couldn't take time to wrap your dick when some guy offered you his throat to fuck...your ex-student is so smitten by you that he begged you to take his virginity...and he's such a sweet kid you let him share the bed you rented to make sure the job was finished...it's not like you took him home. What am I supposed to do? Throw a hissy fit like some spurned wife?" he asked, "That's never been our thing."

"I know, but still..." I said.

"There's nothing you've told me so far that isn't everything I've loved about you from the start. Is there anything more to this story?" he asked.

"No," I told him truthfully.

"Then I see no reason to be mad...and I'm certainly not jealous," he continued, "Who's your number one guy?"

"You know it's you, Bart, but I...back up...did you just say love?" I asked in shock.

His eyes got big, "I...I guess I did."

"Christ almighty, Bart!" I exclaimed.

His face fell.

"You're the only man I've known I can't do without from the moment I walked into that kitchen and saw you. What the hell have we been doing?" I asked in disbelief.

He looked relieved and a big smile crept across his face.

"I just always assumed that to hang onto you...I had to let you enjoy your freedom. If that was your price...then it was worth it to me," he replied.

I went silent as he studied my reaction.

"Same here," I confessed.

"All I know is, I waited thirty five years for you to come along so...whatever terms you dictate...eight weeks for us to find out you're still safe is nothing compared to that...and I'm confident that's what we're going to find out," he said.

I felt foolish and weak for lacking the courage to share the depth of my feelings with him until the depth of his for me slipped out quite by accident. Better late than never, I decided.

The evening had taken a turn neither of us expected. We went back to his house after dinner to continue discussing our revelation.

Bart said he thought maybe it was time to turn over the day-to-day affairs of his business to someone younger so we could focus on the time we had in front of us. He suggested we sell our houses and buy one in the city that we could both call home to usher in our new life together.

He decided to take the next day off and we cuddled in his bed, sleeping late into the following morning.

As I ran my fingers through the dense, silver fur that covered his gorgeous belly I recalled Mike's comment about how safe and secure he'd felt under me as I fucked him.

He was right. I couldn't find words to express my feelings either as I snuggled up to the block of a man at my side.

Bart's intuition turned out to be correct. Two rounds of testing over eight weeks revealed that I had escaped infection. We celebrated with a night of bare sex that lasted into the wee hours.

I hoped Mike had been true to his word and was searching for a man he could have that kind of bond with for the rest of his life. His determination to achieve that goal seemed too strong for it to turn out otherwise, but you never know.

Sure enough, after Bart and I followed through on our plan to buy a house together we ran into him at Jimbo's Hideaway. He was with a big, handsome, thirty-something bear of a fellow.

He'd met him in a class at school and dropped by our table to introduce him. A veteran of two tours in Afghanistan, he had gotten a late start on his education via his GI benefits. They made a hell of a cute couple, too!

I was glad he harnessed the desire he'd freed with me and hadn't simply hit the ground running for his next encounter. Perhaps it was letting him stay the night and wake up with me that cemented his resolve to hold out for the fulfillment that awaited him in a committed relationship.

It was an honor that Mike chose me to be the man to awaken him to the intensity of those feelings. I can't help wondering if maybe the experience had awakened something in me too.

I guess life really is for learning.