Chapter 67 

Michael's paperwork had begun piling up, and he found himself working late into the night in an effort to catch up. Jeff and Paul had been in bed for some time when they began to wonder when Michael was going to join them.

Jeff said, "Paul, why don't you go on in and ask Dad when he plans to join us. I'd rather have you do it because I think he worries a little bit about coming in and interfering with us."

Paul decided to work up a good hard-on and then put on his briefs. He entered Michael's bedroom with a very large bulge showing prominently and one ball peeking out around the hem of his briefs. Knocking on Michael's office door, and then entering, he slowly ran his hand over his bulge and said, "Hey, Michael. When are you going to take a break? Jeff and I have been waiting for you to join us."

"Well, I can see you've been waiting!" said Michael as he stared at Paul's crotch. "Maybe you should just go ahead without me tonight, Paul. I'm really tired."

Paul said, "Michael, we know you jerk off every night, and I'm sure tonight will be no exception. If you're going to jerk off, why not just do it in our bed with us this time. Then you can just fall asleep when you're done. Besides, Jeff and I really love to watch you jerk off and cum. It makes us both so fucking hot."

Michael laughed and said, "On the same token, Paul, I really love watching you and my son fucking each other. That always sends me over the edge! Okay, Paul, I'll be down in just a few minutes."

After Paul left the room, Michael brushed his teeth and stripped down to nothing. The anticipation of sleeping with his son and Paul again brought his penis to full erection. As he walked down the hall toward their room, Tony came rushing out of his door and right into Michael's arms. Michael could feel wetness on his chest where Tony's body touched his. Looking closely, he could see that Tony's chest had globs of cum stuck to it.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Michael! I sent all our towels to the laundry today and forgot to put out clean ones in our bathroom. Clayton and I have made such a mess on each other that I was just going to run and get one from the kitchen. I'm so sorry I got some of it on you!"

"That's okay, Tony, said Michael with a smile. "It's easily cleaned up."

"Here, let me," said Tony impulsively, as he leaned his head down and eagerly licked Michael's chest and stomach. "Oh, wow. I hope you don't mind me doing this. It's Clayton's sperm, and it's so good."

"No, I don't mind," said Michael as he enjoyed the feel of Tony's tongue on his skin. Tony took the opportunity also to nibble a little on Michael's hardening nipples.

"I see you're pretty hard, Michael," said Tony as he straightened up. "Are you headed for Jeff and Paul's room?"

"That's right, Tony. They think I've been too lonely and want me to spend the night with them."

"Wow!" said Tony. "Would you spend the night with Clayton and me sometime, too?"

"We'll see."

When Michael walked into his son's room, he found Paul giving Jeff a full body tongue bath, something Jeff loved just about more than anything. "Don't let me interrupt you guys."

Jeff and Paul beckoned Michael to climb onto the bed with them. Jeff said, "See, Dad, you can jerk off here just as well as you can alone in your own bed. Or we can do anything else you'd like to do."

Michael said, "You know what I'd really like tonight? I'd just like to jerk off myself while I watch the two of you fuck each other. That is about all I'm up for tonight. I'm pretty tired. But Paul, watching that beautiful penis of yours sliding into my son's hole is a sight I love to see."

Jeff and Paul thought that was a good arrangement. Jeff always liked the idea of his dad watching him while he was fucking or getting fucked. There was something so hot about that. Jeff raised his legs up high and Paul buried his face in Jeff's ass crack to give it a good lubrication with saliva. Michael positioned himself next to them so that his head was just inches away from his son's asshole. As Paul mounted Jeff and slowly pushed his hard rod into the hole, Michael watched intently and could feel his own penis begin to harden and throb in his hand. He could see the lips of his son's asshole flopping in and out as Paul's hard penis slid in and out through it. The sight of his son's asshole being fucked was so erotic to Michael that he had to stop several times stroking his own penis to stave off his orgasm which was so close to bursting upon him.

Both Jeff and Paul were also in an erotic frenzy, knowing that Michael was there watching them so closely. Paul also started screwing Jeff's ass very slowly and would sometimes stop in order to keep from cumming. Suddenly Jeff's penis began bobbing wildly up and down and his own sperm began spurting out onto his stomach. This was too much for both Michael and Paul. Michael let out his characteristic yell and let his thick white cum shoot out all over his chest and stomach. At the same time Paul's orgasm took hold of him and he sent his own load of cum into his lover's rectum.

Soon, Paul collapsed onto Jeff's body gasping for air. Looking over at Michael's sperm, lying in puddles on his stomach, Paul leaned over and licked up as much of it as he could. Michael lay with his eyes closed, totally spent and exhausted.

When Paul finally rolled off of Jeff, Michael said, "I have strength for one more thing. I simply can't resist this."

Holding his son's legs up in the air, Michael plunged his face into Jeff's ass crack and sucked as much of Paul's sperm out of his son's hole as he could. Then he rolled onto his back and said, "You guys are wonderful. I hope you don't mind. I just can't seem to keep my eyes open, as much as I love to look at your young bodies."

Jeff leaned over and finished cleaning up the cum on his dad's stomach that Paul had missed. As he then pulled the sheet up over Michael, he said, "Just go to sleep now, Dad." Kissing his dad on the lips several times, he said, "You're not going to be lonely tonight. We love you, Dad. We'll both be right here on either side of you."

The next morning, Jake got up early and tried to dress without waking Jumper. As he was about to leave, Jumper opened his eyes and said, "Are you leavin', Jake."

Jake sat down on the side of the bed and, leaning over, kissed Jumper. As he gently brushed Jumper's blond hair out of his eyes, he said. "Well, sleepy head, why don't ya go back to sleep. Ya don't have to git up now. I hired a new ranch hand last week and, although he was supposed to be experienced, he needs a lot of fuckin' supervision. I'm goin out there to see what he's doin' and make sure he's doin' it right. I'll be back in a little while."

Jake went outside and saw Cletus, the new man, loading up heavy fence posts into the back of the truck, a job Jake had assigned to him the day before. Jake hollered over to him and said, "Hey, Cletus! I thought I told ya how to stack them fuckin' logs on that there truck! Look at ya! Yer jist throwin' 'em in there any old fuckin' way. I told ya to line them logs up, pointing them front to back neatly. Yer jist throwin' 'em in thare any which a way. As soon as ya start that fuckin' truck movin', they're all jist gonna roll out and fall out the back end!"

Cletus looked at Jake and said, "I'm doin' this job, and I'm doin' it my way."

Jake walked up to Cletus and said, "Shit! If yer doin' a job on this ranch, yer gonna do it MY way! And I'm tellin' ya to stack them fuckin' logs proper!"

Cletus stepped closer to Jake and shouted, "Listen, old man, yer gittin' on my nerves. It's always somethin' with you, ain't it? I'm doin' this job my way, and fuck you if ya don't like it!"

Jake said, "Say that again, Cletus!"

"Okay! If ya don't like it, then fuck you!"

Jake reached over and grabbed the front of Cletus's shirt and was about to say something when Cletus tore Jake's hand away and swung at him with a right hook, sending him sprawling on the ground.

Jumper had dressed and had come out onto the front step just in time to see Jake knocked down. He literally ran toward the two combatants, screaming, "Jake, Jake!"

As Jumper fell to his knees next to Jake, who was not moving, Cletus reached over and grabbed Jumper by one arm and said, "You little shit head! Git outta here, or I'll knock the fuckin' shit outta you, too!"

Jumper grabbed one of his crutches and began hitting Cletus over the head with it. As Cletus grabbed wildly for the flailing crutch, Jumper took aim and ran the end of it right into Cletus's balls as hard as he could. Cletus doubled over in pain, but was still able to kick Jumper several times in his side and stomach.

Luckily, Michael and Jeff heard the ruckus while they were in the kitchen eating breakfast and came running out. Jake was still lying on the ground, having apparently been knocked out cold, and Jumper was crying and calling Jake's name, "Jake! Jake!"

As Cletus recovered slightly, he reached over and, pulling Jake up slightly by the front of his shirt, hit him again on the side of the head. Michael was right behind him and, whirling Cletus around, landed a hard punch on Cletus's jaw, causing him to fall to his knees.

"All right, Cletus!" shouted Michael, as he pulled the man to his feet by the front of his shirt. "You've got ten minutes to move your ass on outta here. If you're not off this ranch by then, I'll shoot your fucking balls off!" Turning to Jeff, he hollered, "Jeff, go bring me my rifle."

Cletus, holding his jaw, and with hate in his eyes, said "I was plannin' to clear out of this fuckin' hell-hole anyway. I know what goes on here. Yer all a bunch of fuckin' perverts! You may think I don't know it, but this silly old son-of-a-bitch lyin' there is the bigest fuckin' pervert of 'em all."

As Jeff handed the rifle to Michael, Michael shouted, "Now you've got five minutes!"

Jeff knelt down next to Jake as Cletus swaggered off to get his stuff and leave. Jake began to regain consciousness and put his hand up to his jaw.

"Are you all right, Jake?" asked Michael. "What happened?"

"Aw, shit. I'm losin' my touch. I jist let my fuckin' guard down, that's all. I shouldn't a done that. I jist can't believe I let that asshole git the best of me. I must be slippin'." Then looking over at Jumper, Jake said, "Aw, shit. Sorry ya had to see this, little buddy. I told ya to stay in bed."

Michael said, "Jake, you're lucky Jumper was here. If it hadn't been for Jumper's quick thinking, Cletus would have hurt you worse while you were down. You didn't see it, but Jumper took really good aim and jammed his crutch into the guy's balls. That pretty well disabled him for a few minutes until we could get out here and help."

Still lying on the ground, Jake put his arm around Jumper's neck and pulled his head down against his own chest. He said, "Aw, Jumper. We take care of each other, don't we?"

Michael said, "Jumper, I saw that guy kicking you. Are you okay?"

Jumper nodded, "I'm okay."

"Jeff, help me here," said Michael. "Let's get Jake to his feet and help him walk back to his room."

Jumper hobbled ahead and held the door open. Jake was brought in and helped onto the bed.

"Thanks, you guys," said Jake. "I'll be okay now. Jumper'll take care of me."

After Michael and Jeff left, Jumper got up on the bed and sat cross-legged next to Jake. "You said, we could take care of each other. Oh, Jake . . . ."

Jumper lay down next to Jake and nestled his head in the crook of Jake's neck. Jake could feel Jumper's chest lurching slightly as Jumper's tears began to run down onto his neck.

"Aw, come on, little buddy. I'm okay, thanks to you. I'm gittin' old, Jumper. I jist ain't in the shape I used to be. I knew better than to drop my fuckin' guard like that."

They lay there for a long time pressed against each other. Then Jake said, "Yup. Me and you are gonna always take care of each other. Jumper? It really feels good to care about someone, doesn't it?"

"Yup."

"If ya hadn't cared what happened to me, I might've been dead now. I love ya, Jumper. Nobody coulda given me a better gift than what ya did fer me today."

Several days later, on September 10th, it was time for Jeff and Michael to return to school in Austin for the fall term. On their way, they agreed to drop Michael off at the airport in San Antonio for his flight to New York. Just before they left, Michael received a call from Corky. They had decided to go down to the ranch for the weekend. It was felt that Mark needed to get away and be among more people. Jodie's funeral would be the next day, and they would come down the day after that.

Michael told Corky that he was heading for New York, but he would leave instructions for Tony to get a room ready for them. Then he said, "Corky, tomorrow is Enrique's last day at his review class. Since I expect to still be away then, would you be so kind as to pick him up and bring him home when you come."

"Of course we will, Michael," said Corky. "We're sorry that we weren't able to have him here at our place like we had promised, but . . . ."

"Oh, please, Corky," said Michael. "Don't be sorry. There really was no way under the dreadful circumstances of this past week that I would expect you to have him there. How is Mark doing, Corky?"

Michael could tell that Corky was getting choked up. Corky said, "Michael, I feel so badly for him. Mark had always wanted a good son. But Jodie turned out so badly. He continued to love Jodie, even with all the trouble he had with him. But Jodie was no good. The whole thing was an accident, but Mark continues to blame himself. Michael, all he was trying to do was get the gun away from Jodie. He didn't mean to hurt him. I'm sorry, Michael," Corky sobbed, "I just can't help it. I've cried so much for my poor Mark. He's such a good man, Michael. Why do these things always have to happen to good people?"

"Oh, Corky. I wish you were down here now, and I wish I didn't have to go to New York right now. Try to be strong for Mark's sake. You have my love, Corky. And please tell him that I love him and that all of us down here are thinking of him. I hope to be back here shortly after you get here, and then we'll all be together. I'm glad you're coming. It'll be good for Mark."

Michael arrived at the airport three hours early to be sure he had plenty of time to get through security. It turned out to be an ordeal, of sorts. Because of the metal cleats on his boots, he had to remove them. He also had to remove his belt, which had not only a large metal buckle, but metal studs on its full length. He also wore a string tie with a metal fastener, which had to be removed. After all of that, he was told to step aside where his whole body was patted down by a good looking young black man. As this procedure continued, it was obvious that the man was lingering more than he needed to with his hands moving very high on Michael's upper inner thighs.

Michael knew what was happening and, looking down at the man, said, "Would you like to move your hands just a little higher, son. You might find something dangerous there. You wouldn't want to miss discovering something, would you?"

The man stopped moving his hands and looked up into Michael's face with a cute smile. Just then he quickly moved his hand up and very briefly grabbed hold of Michael's entire package. Releasing it, the young man said, "I'm sure what you have there is dangerous, sir. I can only ask you to be very careful how you use it. When you shoot it off, I hope you will take great care to aim it carefully at its target. Have a pleasant flight, sir!"

After Michael got settled in his seat, he smiled to himself, thinking about the handsome man who had so carefully discovered his "weapon." Michael wished that the young man had found it necessary to take him into the restroom and do a strip search. Perhaps that may have led to even more interesting moments. Michael's mind was soon occupied, however, with the serious purpose of his trip. He had no idea what he would encounter when he ventured out into the city to look for Karl.

As they approached LaGuardia in Queens, Michael looked out of his window, across the East River to lower Manhattan, which looked so strange without the familiar twin towers. He knew that the one year anniversary and commemoration of the 9/11 attacks would be occupying much of the city's and the country's attention the next day. He had shed enough tears over the horror of it all throughout the year, and felt that he wanted to stay away from Ground Zero. He had read that many New Yorkers, themselves, had still not felt they could go there and look at the site. He was afraid that his emotions would run away with him more than he could stand. But at the same time, he knew that he had done nothing to help or to honor those who died. Perhaps going there, and standing there for a few moments, and just paying his respects, would in this very small and insignificant way, be the least he could do for those who perished there.

Michael checked into the Park Central Hotel on Seventh Avenue. After getting settled and washed up, he took a taxi to Karl's building. As he went up the steps, he saw a small sign on the door that said the building had been condemned by the New York Building Commission. Now Michael knew why his calls were never answered. He sat on the steps, completely at a loss as to what to do next.

As he sat there, a man and a woman walked past him and turned to enter the building next door. Michael shouted to them to wait a minute. Would they know anything about this building that had been condemned? Did they know any of the tenants, or where any of them went.

The woman said, "That building has been a wreck for years. It was way past due to be demolished. I never knew any of the residents, but my understanding is that most were on the dole and probably ended up in one of the city's shelters."

Michael thought that surely Karl would never be living in a shelter. He shouted over, "Ma'am, where would I find the shelters?"

"Oh my," she said. "There are hundreds of them in the city. I know there's one up on twenty-Eighth Street, in an old hotel just east of Seventh Avenue, but I don't know where the others are."

"Well, thank you ma'am," shouted Michael. He thought it wouldn't be possible that Karl would be living in a shelter. He decided to go up to Karl's father's office and inquire there. When he got there, the receptionist said, "All we know about him is that he moved down to somewhere in Texas."

"No, no," said Michael. "He's moved back here to New York during the past year. Someone here must have an idea where he might be living."

The receptionist called various persons in the office complex, and no one knew anything about Karl. It was late in the afternoon, and Michael decided to go to the shelter that the woman on the street had told him about. The place had once been an elegant hotel, and the beautiful paneling and plaster work, as well as the fluted columns and colorful murals in the lobby, gave testament to that fact. But it was now faded and in bad repair. As Michael entered, he saw an array of poorly dressed people, obviously down-and-out types. The hotel desk had been boarded up, but there was a make-shift cage at one end of the lobby, where a young woman sat doing a crossword puzzle.

Going up to the cage, Michael inquired, "Do you have a list of residents in this place?"

"Yeah," was curt reply. "Who ya lookin' for?"

"A Mister Mark Oldenburg."

The woman lazily thumbed through several pages that had been stapled together. Then she said, "Yeah. He ain't here no more. His name's crossed off. He left a few days ago."

"Do you have any idea where he went?"

"We don't have that information."

As Michael turned to leave, a middle-aged unkempt man with a messy beard and wearing a pair of bib overalls stopped him and said, "I heard yer lookin' fer Karl."

"Yes," said Michael. "Do you know him."

"Yeah, kinda. He came here about a week or so ago and we shared a room. But he left because he don't like the rats. This fuckin' place is full of 'em. That young fella shouldn't be in a place like this. I don't know what his problem is. He's got one of them hoity-toity English accents and he got educated at some college or other. What do ya want him fer?"

"He's a friend of mine. He's in a little trouble and doesn't have any money."

"I found that out fer sure! At least I never found none in his suitcase."

"Please," said Michael. "Can you tell me where he is now. I need to find him."

"Yeah, I think I know where he's at. I'll take ya there. But I'm gonna need some expense money, ya know, to cover my expenses."

"What expenses are you talking about," asked Michael.

"Well, I likes to git paid fer my services. My services is worth somethin'. I jist don't give services like this fer free. It ain't good business."

"What do you want?"

"Well, I thinks somethin' like fifty bucks would be a fair price. I don't take no checks, though, and I gits paid in advance, ya understand."

"I understand," said Michael. "Now if I give you this fifty dollars, you're not gonna cut and run, are you? Can I trust you to take me to my friend."

"Of course! I got my pride! I'm an honorable gentleman!"

Michael knew there was a good chance he would lose the fifty dollars, but he had to take the chance.

When they got outside, the man said, "Now we can walk, but it's a lot of blocks away. It might be quicker to take a taxi."

"Fine," said Michael as he stepped to the curb and hailed one down. The man gave the driver directions, and they were let off at a building that looked like a large sports arena. The man said, "Okay, this is it. You can go on in there and look fer him. I'm goin' on back. When ya find yer friend tell him Benjamin sez hello. Oh, by the way. It's gitten' dark out. And walkin' down the street in this neighborhood ain't too safe, if ya know what I mean."

Michael took the hint and, pulling out his wallet, said, "Here's enough to get you back to your place. Thanks for your help."

Michael walked into the building and found a huge warehouse-like space filled with hundreds of folding cots arranged in neat rows. Looking into a room just inside the door, he saw a man with his feet up on the desk watching a TV set.

"Excuse me," Michael said. "I'm looking for a Karl Oldenburg. Do you know if he's been staying here?"

The man looked up and said, "I don't know who's stayin' here. They just come and go when they want to. We don't keep track of 'em. You're welcome to go on in there and look for him yourself. But be careful. And watch your wallet. The place is crawlin' with pickpockets."

Michael wandered up and down the rows of cots, looking into the faces of the men lying there. Karl was not there. Since night was coming on, more and more of them were returning from the streets. Michael decided to wait and see if Karl would return. But after several hours, there still was no sign of Karl. Tired and discouraged, Michael took a taxi back to his hotel.

The next morning, Michael knew that the commemoration ceremonies were about to get underway at Ground Zero, and found that taxis were hard to come by. When he finally was able to hail one, he arrived at the shelter at about 10:00 a.m. Making another round through the rows of cots, he was still unable to find Karl. But he was determined to stay there all day until nighttime.

Michael knew that Ground Zero was only about three blocks away. Walking in that direction, he found that there was no easy access to the site. Streets were still blocked and policemen were everywhere. One policeman told him that, if he walked over to Fourth Avenue, he would be able to get a fairly good view of the area. When Michael arrived there, he found that he could stand at a spot that would give him a complete panoramic view of the whole site. He was overwhelmed at the enormity of it all. Several other tourists were standing there, and one young man was holding a handkerchief up to his face and sobbing openly. As Michael watched the ceremony being conducted in the great open pit where the towers and other buildings once stood, he could feel his eyes begin to burn and fill with tears. He knew this would happen. But it was okay. He knew that the President would be there later in the day, but he wouldn't wait for that. He was still at such a distance that he couldn't see the people down there easily. He said to himself his own private little prayer, and then turned away and walked slowly back to the shelter, his mind filled with the terrible images conjured up by just being at this place.

It was now noon, and only about a quarter of the cots in the shelter were still occupied. Michael began walking through the rows of cots, looking at each face. And suddenly, there he was . . . an unshaven, thin, and sad looking figure, who didn't look at all like Karl once did. But it had to be Karl. The man was awake, staring at the ceiling as Michael walked up to him and took his hand.

"Karl," said Michael softly. "It's Michael."

Karl looked at Michael, at first not believing what he was seeing. He sat up and, as Michael knelt on the floor, they threw their arms around each other, both with tears in their eyes.

"Michael, how did you find me?" said Karl, not wanting to let go of Michael.

"It doesn't matter, Karl. The important thing is that I found you."

Karl said, "You shouldn't have come looking for me. I wish you'd just forget about me. It's just no use, Michael."

"What are you talking about, Karl?"

"I'm just no good, that's all."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Karl. You shouldn't be in this place. I'm taking you with me back to my hotel. You need to get cleaned up and have something to eat. And then I want to hear what all this is about. Where's your suitcase?"

Karl waved his hand in a hopeless gesture and said, "Oh, that got stolen the first night I was in here. They didn't get much, though."

As Michael stood up and helped Karl to his feet, he said, "You seem so weak, Karl. How long has it been since you've eaten?"

"Oh, a couple a days ago, I guess. I don't have any money."

Michael put his arm around Karl's waist and helped him out to the curb, where he hailed a taxi. When they arrived in Michael's room, Karl collapsed on the bed. He looked at Michael and said, "You shouldn't have looked for me, Michael. I'm no good for you anymore."

Michael didn't answer, but proceeded to remove Karl's soiled clothes. "You need a bath, Karl, and a shave. I have some clean clothes with me that you can put on. Then I'll order some food to be brought up." Leaning over Karl, Michael kissed him lightly on the lips and said, "And then, my dear man, we'll talk about this."

Michael helped Karl into the bathroom and, since there was a tub, Michael drew a bath for him, rather than let him stand up and take a shower. After the bath, Michael helped Karl shave off his considerable beard. Now dressed in a pair of Michael's briefs and trousers, as well as a clean shirt, Michael called and ordered several roast beef sandwiches and coffee.

Karl sat on the side of the bed and looked at Michael as he was on the phone with catering. When Michael hung up, Karl, with tears running down his cheeks, said. "It's the same Michael, isn't it? The same wonderful, loving Michael. Why can't you ever hate? Why can't you hate me?"

When the food arrived, they sat and ate in silence. Then Michael leaned back in his chair and said quietly, "Why should I hate you, Karl. I've never felt anything but pure love for you."

Karl sat quietly for a long time and then said, "I can't change, Michael. That's why. Of all the therapy I've had, not a bit of it ever did any good. You might as well know the truth. You need to know it. Not long before I was thrown out of that rat hole I lived in, I went to bed with someone. I couldn't help myself. That's it, Michael. I couldn't help myself!"

Michael said nothing and, without changing the loving expression his face, just continued to look at Karl.

Karl said, "One day, the damned sink in my bathroom wouldn't drain at all and I called the landlady to send up a plumber. He was young and he was hot and I wanted him. I couldn't help myself. I wanted to fuck him so badly I couldn't stand it. I came on to him, and he fell right into my arms. We kissed wildly, and we tore each other's clothes off. I couldn't get enough of him. There was nothing I wanted more than to push myself inside of his body. And I did. And he fucked me, too. I wanted to eat him alive. Then he left.

"It took only minutes after he left. I realized what I had done. I had never felt so dissolute and depraved in my life. I had once again defiled the pure love that you and I had once held so dear. I knew then that it was over, Michael, and I prayed you would never ever have to see me or be hurt by me again. I had no feeling for that boy, Michael, other than an overwhelming lecherous desire for sex. I can't even remember now what he looked like or what his name was. But every night of my life when I go to bed, I see your face in front of me, and I talk with you as though you're there with me. My love for you will always be there. It will never be in doubt. But I've got a sickness, and I won't put you through having to deal with that again."

"Is that all?" said Michael as he came over and sat next to Karl on the edge of the bed.

With a short sardonic laugh, Karl said, "What do you mean, is that all? Can't you understand that I'll never change? You'll be so much better off, if you just forget about me, Michael.

Michael took Karl's hands in his and said, "Karl, we never took formal marriage vows, but I seem to remember that we did vow to each other all of those things that married people attest to, but rarely keep. I may not have said it in a formal way, but I vowed to myself I would never desert you or let you down when you needed me. I know that I broke that vow to myself that time I ran away, when I should have stayed and helped you and worked out our problems together. That will never happen again. My love for you is here to stay, as the song goes. And don't ever again think that I will, under any circumstances, abandon you or let you down again."

Michael saw tears running down Karl's cheeks as he pulled Karl's head over against his chest. Kissing Karl on the top of his head, he said, "I'm taking you home with me, Karl. We're going home. Our love has been made stronger by this, and we'll work on our problems together. We know a lot more about each other now. And we'll make it together. Trust me. You've had enough of this self-imposed loneliness. It's time to resume your normal life at the ranch, and with me. We need each other, Karl. We always have. Besides, the ranch is going to Hell without you!"

Karl raised his head and smiled. He looked into Michael's eyes and said, "You know what? I don't know why I told you to go home and forget me. I think if you had, I'd have killed myself. I'm sorry I'm crying, Michael. I just can't tell you what's in my heart. Suddenly seeing you today and having you in my arms again has affected me beyond all description. I do want to go home. We will work it all out. How does the saying go? 'Love conquers all!'?"

Michael and Karl laughed and fell back on the bed wrapped tightly in each other's arms. They kissed each other's faces over and over. Karl finally lay his head down on the bed and said, "I'm sorry, Michael. I so tired. I'm excited, but so tired. One doesn't dare sleep in those places like where I was."

Michael gently ran his hand over Karl's face and looked deeply into his eyes. "Oh, Karl, I love you so much. Just sleep. Sleep as long as you want to."

As Karl closed his eyes, Michael looked down at him and thought about Jake and the great regret Jake had felt because he had not gone after Jumper when Jumper ran off. Michael kissed Karl's eyes and said softly, "Oh, Karl. I should have come after you long ago. Why do human beings act so foolishly sometimes?"

Michael lay next to Karl and was, himself, soon asleep. It was early evening before they both awakened, still fully dressed. Michael went into pee, and when he came out, he said, "Karl, would you like to go out to eat supper, or should we eat in?"

Karl said, "Why don't we eat in. I just don't want to be around other people. I just want to be alone with you."

When the waiter delivered the food, he said to Michael and Karl, "You know, the President's down there on Ellis Island giving a speech right now. I just thought I'd let you know in case you wanted to turn it on and listen to it. I'm sure it's on all the news channels."

Michael got up and turned on the set. They watched the speech as they ate. Near the end of the speech, they heard the President admonish his listeners to "love your families and hug your children . . ."

Karl got up and went to Michael and took him in his arms. As they hugged, Karl said, "Well, Michael. This may sound corny, and we're not each other's children, but we are family. And I love you, Michael."

Michael got up from the table and walked around to Karl's side. He pulled Karl to his feet and said, "Karl, let's get ready for bed like we used to. Remember? We rarely undressed ourselves. We undressed each other."

As they stood in the middle of the floor, Michael began unbuttoning Karl's shirt. As he did so, he leaned in and kissed Karl's chest and ran his tongue over the soft swirls of hair. He breathed in the that wonderful familiar aroma of Karl's skin . . . that skin with it's beautiful dark Mediterranean color. Finally removing Karl's shirt, he knelt before him and, as he kissed the trail of hair that disappeared below the belt, he slowly undid the belt buckle, then the top button, and then the zipper. Bringing Karl's pants down below his knees, he told Karl to sit on the bed while he removed his boots. Michael pulled Karl's pants and socks completely off as he ran his tongue over and sucked on the soft hair on Karl's legs.

Karl, now completely naked, stood up and, putting his hands under Michael's shoulders, pulled him up on his feet. Karl slowly undressed Michael in the same deliberate manner, running his own tongue over Michael's body in the same way as Michael had. The two of them stood in the middle of the floor pressed against each other and, as they kissed, they held on tightly to each other's ass cheeks. Falling into bed, they seemed to go wild, kissing each other madly and running their hands over each other's body furiously. Almost as though it had been rehearsed, as it had been done many, many times in the past, they swung their bodies around into a sixty-nine. Taking each other's gorged penises into their mouths, they sucked each other lovingly and gently, while continuing to rub their hands over each other's legs.

Michael and Karl were now one again. They wanted the moment to last and last. They gently teased each other's penises with their tongues and fondled each other's balls. Neither wanted to cum yet. They poured their love for each other out through their tongues and their hands. They could both feel their orgasms creeping up on them, but fought to keep them from cumming too soon. Why do orgasms hit you like a ton of bricks and then disappear as quickly as they came. Why couldn't that wonderful passionate feeling in their gut . . . that erotic physical symbol of their love last?

Why, when two people loved each other so much, couldn't they feel a continuous and eternal orgasm for all time? Why did it all have to fade so quickly?

It was no use. The inevitable was upon them. They could each feel the heavenly wind blow through their bodies with every nerve tingling, and then the rush of sperm surging up the full length of their hard throbbing penises and into the mouths and throats and stomachs of each other. Once more, they thought, the bond had been sealed between them. The cream of their love had once more become part of their bodies. And it would always and forever be that way. Never again would this bond be broken. Soon they lay next to each other with tears of pure joy and absolute love in their eyes. The time had come. Yes, it was time to go home again.

Enrique had one more day of his review class to endure. He had surprised himself by actually learning a good deal, and he had to admit that the class had helped him. But every night he had to watch the twins having their unbridled sex in the next bed. Enrique steadfastly refused to get involved with it, although the father had each night leaned over the small space to his bed and sucked him off. He thought back to when he was with Jake. This older man sucked him off only through pure lust, nothing else. When Jake had done it, it was with love and gentleness. How much better that was! This man would occasionally tell his sons what nice tight assholes they had, but never once, while he was in the room, did he ever kiss them or hug them or tell them that he loved them. And the twins acted the same with their father. All three were nothing more than sex machines. They might as well have been fucking one another through glory holes in a restroom. It was like three anonymous penises probing three anonymous assholes in the dark.

Enrique thought that, no matter what kind of relationship fathers and sons had for one another, they should love each other. He thought about Michael and Jeff, as well as Caleb and Noah. None of them would have thought about using each other strictly for sexual gratification and nothing else. The love between Michael and Jeff, and Caleb and Noah was genuine on all levels. Although the sex was hot to watch . . . like watching a porno video . . . these twins and their father, to a greater degree, disgusted him. The room hung with that powerful odor of sex every night, but never did the aura of true romantic or fatherly love hang in the air. He longed to be back home on the ranch and be in Noah's arms again. He dreaded his last night in this dorm when he would once again be subjected to this sexual spectacle.

As the twins rolled around with each other in one of their beds, the father walked in. Enrique was still dressed, and when he saw this man, he impulsively stood up and said, "I've got some studying to do. And since I obviously can't do it here, I'm going down to the lounge on the first floor and do it."

The father looked at him and said, "But don't you want to . . . ."

Enrique picked up his books and said abruptly, "No!" Slamming the door behind him, he went down to the lounge and got a soft drink from the machine and settled in on a comfortable chair, glad to be away from that room. After about an hour of working on his math problems, he found he couldn't keep his eyes open and started to drift off. In that familiar half-awake-half-dreaming state, he thought about Noah and how much he hurt being away from him. He got up and went over to the pay-phone in the lobby. Taking out his ATT Phone Card that Michael had given him, he dialed Caleb's apartment. Noah answered.

"Oh, Noah, hi! It's Ricky. How's everything going with you and your dad and Steve?"

"Ricky! I'm so glad to hear your voice. I miss you so much. As far as Steve is concerned, after that first night he got in bed with Dad and me, he's been sleeping every night on the sofa in the living room. He came on kind of strong that first night, and I think he feels kind of bad about that. Aside from that, though, we're all getting along fine. But in his way, I think Steve feels kind of left out around here. Steve is such a nice guy, I feel kind of badly that I'm sort of coming between him and my dad. But it's only one more night, and you and I will be back in bed together where we belong. Tell me how you've been doing, Ricky."

"Well aside from working hard on this class I've been taking, I've just been missing you like the dickens. This seems like the longest week I have ever spent. My roommates and their father are a bunch of crude fuck-heads. I never joined them, but I'm going to admit to you that the father did suck me off every night by leaning over from the other bed. He never got in bed with me. I hope you're not mad at me."

"Oh, Ricky. Don't you remember? We agreed that whatever happened would happen. You're my guy, Ricky! I could never be mad at you. Besides, I slept with my dad every night."

"I'm glad you did, Noah," said Enrique. "I know how much you and your dad love each other, and I'm glad you spent the week there. I knew it from the beginning, Noah, that your love for your dad was always going to be there. And I fully accepted that. It's like Paul knows about Jeff's love for his dad. He accepts it with no problem, and I accept it, too, with no problem. I know your dad loves you very much, and I've known that from the beginning. But I have to admit that I'm kind of glad Steve chose to sleep on his own after that first night."

"I'm glad, too, Ricky," said Noah. "I like Steve a lot and I'm so glad he's living with my dad, and they really love each other. I think it was best that he kind of moved aside while I'm here. But by tomorrow night, he and Dad will be back together again."

"I can hardly wait until I see you again tomorrow night, Noah." And then with tears in his voice he said, "I just hate it here and miss you so much."

Noah also started to cry and said, "I think we're both falling apart here. Maybe we'd better say goodnight now, and just dream about being with each other tomorrow night."

After saying goodbye, Enrique returned to his chair feeling so good that he had heard Noah's voice again. He slouched down in the chair and closed his eyes. It was not until the morning sun began beaming in through the front windows of the lobby that Enrique woke up. He gathered up his books and started off for his room. He had only this one day left in class, and then in the late afternoon, Corky and Mark would pick him up and they would all go back to the ranch.
 

To be continued...