Brandon slept until nearly 11:00 a.m. on Monday morning, when Jeremy had brunch delivered to the room, and then he slept again until 2:30. Finally, the driver took them to the airport.

“What about my car?” asked Brandon.

“Don’t worry about that, Mr. Miller,” said the driver. “Mr. Leveque is taking care of everything.”

On the plane, Jeremy watched Brandon as he slept. He wanted so badly to touch him, to hold him, to make love to him. There was no one else on the plane but the two of them, the pilot, and the co-pilot, so why not? But he knew that Brandon was in no condition--either physically or mentally. Still, his loins ached.

“Is there anything I can get you?”

“Huh? Uh....” Jeremy had been so preoccupied that he had not even seen or heard the co-pilot approach. “Oh...uh...no, I'm fine, thanks. No, wait,” he corrected himself, standing to face the co-pilot as the hunk in the blue uniform headed back toward the cabin. “I could use something to drink.”

As Jeremy approached the co-pilot, the young man could not help but notice the bulge in his jeans, conspicuously worn thin at the crotch. “Certainly, sir. What would you like?” Jeremy selected a bottle of the finest imported cognac. “Excellent choice, sir.”

“Care to join me?” asked Jeremy.

“It would be my pleasure, sir, but, unfortunately, I can't right now,” he smiled as he nodded toward the cabin. Jeremy chuckled knowingly.

“Your young friend there is awfully damn cute,” he continued.

“Yes, he is,” Jeremy acknowledged.

“I can certainly see why you would care for him so much,” said the co-pilot, eying Jeremy's inflated crotch.

Jeremy rubbed his meat self-consciously, to which the co-pilot simply smiled.

“It's too bad he's not feeling well. This would be an excellent opportunity for the two of you to get your membership in the mile-high club—unless you're already members, that is.”

“No, we're not,” laughed Jeremy somewhat sheepishly. “At least I'm not, and I doubt that Brandon is either.”

“Well, I'd be happy to help you get your wings,” said the co-pilot, smiling lasciviously at Jeremy.

When Jeremy did not refuse, the young man approached him and rubbed his bulging crotch through his sexy jeans. Jeremy moaned with relief and anticipation. The co-pilot massaged Jeremy's muscular chest, arms, and back. He took the bottle of cognac from him, laid it aside, and kissed him feverishly. “Uh, Brandon might—”

“Just pretend for the moment that you're with him and let yourself go.” The hunk sat Jeremy down in one of the comfortable leather seats and removed his shirt. He let out an audible gasp at the sight of Jeremy's solid, toned torso. He kissed him again and then worked his tongue down Jeremy's neck to his nipples, where he licked and sucked greedily. He bit through the sexy jeans on Jeremy's growing manhood and chewed on the denim-covered meat. Then, he unzipped the Wranglers and gasped again at the sight of Jeremy's huge hose. “My god!” he exclaimed. “Your boyfriend is one fuckin' lucky dude! Holy shit!” And with that preamble, he devoured the Wyoming sausage. No preliminaries. No slow licks and nibbles. Just pure dong-swallowing lust. He had Jeremy's juices boiling in no time.

“Not yet, cowboy. As much as I'd like to swallow that hot nectar, that'll only get you one wing. If you want both, you're gonna have to go all the way,” and with that, the stud dropped his blue slacks with the gold stripes down the sides and offered up his bare ass. Jeremy quickly licked around the man's hole and spit onto his dick. Then, he nudged the tool in as deep as it would go.

“Oh, my god, man. I can't believe you got that whole goddam thing in, but I sure as hell am glad you did. That feels soooooooo fuckin' great. Oh, fuck! Fuck me, dude. Fuck me good.”

Jeremy needed no coaxing. He pumped his rod back and forth in the co-pilot's fuselage. “Unh. Unh. Unh. Unh. Unh. Damn, you're tight,” Jeremy exclaimed. “Fuckin' tight ass. Oh. Ah. Ah. Ahhhhhhhh.” Jeremy shot his pent-up load deep into the man's guts. The co-pilot simultaneously spilled his seed on the leather chair. Then, he licked up his own cum and swallowed it.

“Fuck, man. I think you not only joined the club; I think you just got your fuckin' captain's wings! Like I said before, your boyfriend is one fuckin' lucky dude! If you wanna shoot for astronaut before we land, you just push the call button, and I'll be here on the double.”

As grateful as Jeremy was for the relief, he so wished that it had been with Brandon instead of the handsome young co-pilot. As he continued to watch Brandon sleep, he slowly leaned over and gently kissed him on those sweet, innocent lips.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have woken you.”

“Mmmmmm. No, that was wonderful. What a way to wake up. Do it again.”

Jeremy kissed him again, and Brandon grappled onto his head to prevent him from giving up. When Jeremy finally managed to break the grip, he said, “Whoa, stud. You’ve been through a lot lately. I don’t want you to strain yourself.”

Brandon rubbed the snake growing in his pants. “The only strain I'm feeling right now is this one right here.”

“Jeez, Brandon, I've wanted to make love to you so bad, you can't imagine, but I didn't want to hurt you.”

“I should be all healed in a few days, and then we can fuck the goddam shit out of each other. Until then, I think I could handle a little blow job.”

“You sure?”

Brandon whipped out his fully engorged cock. “Does this look like I have any doubts?”

Jeremy took the prize in his hands and licked and sucked gently.

“Oh, God, Jeremy. Lick my balls.” As Brandon stretched out so that Jeremy could lower his pants, he rubbed some of his bruises and winced at the pain.

“Brandon!”

“It's OK, Jeremy. Really. Just keep licking. Damn, it feels so fuckin' good. And you look so fuckin' good with your face in my crotch. Have I ever told you how fuckin' gorgeous you are?”

“Not in so many words,” laughed Jeremy, “but I kinda got the hint that maybe you felt that way.”

Then, turning serious, Brandon said, “I love you, Jeremy. I've loved you from the moment I laid eyes on you. You're beautiful, but not just on the outside. Your true beauty comes from the inside.”

Jeremy rose up and again kissed Brandon on the lips. Then, he gazed lovingly into Brandon's eyes and returned to making love to him with his mouth over his manhood. When Brandon released his love seed into Jeremy's mouth, he again winced in pain with each spasm of delight, but he never questioned whether it was worth the sacrifice.

By the time Brandon finished, Jeremy was hard once again, and Brandon could not help taking notice. As Jeremy stood up, Brandon grabbed his ass and pulled his crotch into his face. He rubbed his face all over the crotch, sniffing and biting at the tube underneath the denim. He unzipped the jeans and pulled out the stiff rod. He licked the shaft and then the balls. He ran his hand between his legs and stuck a finger up his ass. Jeremy squirmed with delight. Brandon bathed Jeremy's dick in his saliva and sank the tool deep into his throat. “Mmmmm.” He stroked the shaft inside his mouth and then with his hand as he sucked tightly on the corona. “Oh, jeez! Oh, shit! Oh, God! Fuck!”

As Jeremy's tender cock quaked in Brandon's mouth and his knees went weak, Jeremy threw his hands up to the overhead compartment to brace himself. A moment later, Jeremy and Brandon sat stunned, their dicks still hanging out, as the co-pilot stood beside them, smiling broadly.

“Shouldn't you be flying the plane?” asked Jeremy, somewhat annoyed.

“You did call, sir.”

“Huh?”

The co-pilot pointed to the red light flashing from the overhead compartment where Jeremy had accidentally pressed the call button. Brandon laughed so hard that he ached, and Jeremy and the co-pilot could not help but crack up as well.

When the plane landed at the airport in Texas, the Millers, of course, met them and were shocked to see the marks and bruises on their son’s face. He did not tell them about the bruises on the rest of his body, but they no doubt imagined. Seth Miller pulled Jeremy aside. “What happened to my boy, Jeremy?”

“We really don’t know all the details, Mr. Miller, and right now it’s probably better that we don’t. If Brandon wants us to know, he’ll tell us in his own due time. The important thing now is that he’s home, and he’s gonna be OK. I promise.”

At that moment, a familiar car pulled up alongside the plane on the tarmac, and Brandon and Jeremy were equally shocked to see who stepped out to greet them.

“Amy! That was so sweet of you to come,” said Brandon.

“I just had to make sure you were OK and to bring you something.”

“What’s that?”

Handing him the keys to Ford’s BMW, which she had driven up from New Orleans, she said, “We want you to take care of Ford’s car until he’s well again.”

“Is he out of the coma?” Brandon asked excitedly.

“No. No. Not yet...but he will be,” she assured him, no doubt trying to reassure herself as well.

“Then, he’ll need these,” he said, handing the keys back to her.

“Yes, when he’s ready. But we can’t just let the car sit. It’s not good for it. Somebody needs to look after it, and we, the family, talked it over and decided that it should be you. Take it, Brandon. You’ll be doing it for Ford.” When she put it that way, how could he refuse?

As they started to leave, Amy headed toward the plane. “Aren’t you coming back to the house with us?” asked Brandon.

“No. I’m going to have Mike and Tony fly me back to New Orleans. I think you need some rest right now, but I’ll see you again soon. Promise.”

She turned back and kissed him gently on the cheek. She wanted to hug him, but she could tell that he was probably sore all over, and she didn’t want to hurt him. As she was walking back to the plane, Jeremy called out, “Hold up, Amy. I’m coming with you.”

“Oh?”

“I’ve got to see Ford.”

“Jeremy. I don’t know if that’s—”

“I’m going to see him, Amy, and that’s final!”

“All right, then. Let’s not keep the pilots waiting.”

Jeremy assured Brandon that he would be back, and then he got on the plane with Amy.

On the way back to New Orleans, Amy informed Jeremy that she had decided to marry Paul Broussard. Though the news did sting somewhat, it did not shock him. He wished her every happiness, and he genuinely meant it.

“Jeremy, I need to ask you something.”

“What’s that?”

“Is Ford gay?”

“Why do you ask...and why would you ask me?”

“Well, I guess I never paid any attention before, but now that I look back, I think the signs were there all along. So, is he?”

“What makes you think I would know?”

“Because you and Ford are more than just new acquaintances, aren’t you? I’m not judging, Jeremy—either him or you—but it does seem to me that he showed more concern about you after I stopped the wedding than would normally be the case, and even though I know how kind you are, you have shown more concern about him since he was shot than I would expect from a casual acquaintance. You became more than friends, didn’t you?”

After taking a deep breath, Jeremy explained, “First, Ford is bisexual. He loves men and women both, and they love him too. He’s a hard man not to love. Second, he taught me some things about myself that I had never realized before. I swear to you, Amy, up until we arrived in New Orleans, I had never been with a man in my entire life. In fact, the first night Ford and I were together, we didn’t even know who the other one was. He had no idea I was the guy about to marry his sister, and I had no idea he was my future brother-in-law. Had we known, we certainly wouldn’t have done it, and we didn’t do anything again until after you called off the wedding. But, to answer your question, yes, Ford and I did have sex, and, frankly, I think I was starting to fall in love with him.”

“Well, just so there will be no misunderstanding,” stated Amy, “when Ford recovers, and I know he will, I hope that the two of you get back together. I know more than anyone how terrific you both are. I want only the best for both of you, and if that would make you happy, you will have my blessing.”

Amy’s statement stunned Jeremy a bit, but he thanked her and gave her a friendly, platonic kiss.

Amy instructed the driver who met them at the New Orleans International Airport to take them directly to Baptist Hospital, where Mr. and Mrs. Leveque were sitting with Ford. Mrs. Leveque balked at the idea of letting Jeremy see Ford, but Amy insisted, “It can’t do any harm, Mother, and it might do some good. Besides, he’s earned the right.” Mrs. Leveque assumed that Amy was talking about Jeremy’s successful efforts to bring Brandon back from Los Angeles, and Amy did not explain that this was only part of her reasoning.

While the Leveques went home to get some much-needed rest, Jeremy spent the rest of the night at Ford’s side. Holding his hand, he told Ford…uh, Brad…about how he had run into him at the leather bar and experienced things that he had never known before. He reminded him of how they had fought off the two muggers they had encountered on their way to Brad’s apartment, and he laughed as he recounted how shocked they both were at discovering who they really were. He did not mention that the wedding to his sister had been called off—he did not want to upset him—but he did describe in graphic detail the night they had made love. He told him about how he had flown back from his “honeymoon” the minute he had heard about the shooting. He omitted the part about how Tommy Lee Moseby had suffocated him, sending him into a coma, but he did assure him that the man who had shot him in the convenience store had gotten his just reward. He also did not tell him about Brandon’s hazing at A&M and his subsequent flight to Los Angeles, but he did tell him that the entire ordeal of the past few days had brought Brandon and him closer. He recited the chronology of all of these events, but mostly, he told him how much he loved him and how important it was for him to recover so that they could be together again. There was so much he wanted to say to Brad, but with the late summer sun slowly rising over the Crescent City, he ran out of energy long before he ran out of sentiments. Physically and emotionally exhausted, he rested his head against Brad’s hand and let the tears flow.

“Why are you crying?”

At first, Jeremy thought one of the doctors or nurses had caught him in an awkward moment, but then he looked up to discover that there was no one in the room but him and Brad.