Running Into An Old Friend

(At Christmas Time)

 by: Hankster

© 2022 by the author

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

hankster@tickiestories.us

Prologue

My name is Daniel Fowler.  Everybody calls me Danny.  Occasionally, someone will call me Danny Boy.  I hate it, but I’m polite enough not to correct them.  I’m thirty-two years old.  I practice law in New York City.  Originally, I was born and raised in Peoria, IL, but I moved to New York after college, when I was accepted to Fordham Law School.  New York is my home now.  I doubt I’ll ever live anywhere else.

Just before graduation, I was recruited by a large and prestigious law firm.  I quickly became the firm’s star corporate attorney.  If a client’s industry required an abundance of contracts, they were assigned to me, and the client quickly became ‘my client.’

I have a great relationship with all my clients, and I usually get invited to their office Christmas parties.  If these festivities are on different days, I can attend two or three parties each year.  I’m uncomfortable at these bashes because I usually don’t know anyone there, except the few people I interact with.  Also, I don’t drink.  I hate the taste of alcohol, even wine.  

One of my clients is a successful recording studio, Moonlight Records.  They have an office in Los Angeles, and one in New York.  I am counselor to both locations.  This past Christmas, the CEO of Moonlight invited me to the office Christmas Party in their New York recording studios.  Of course, I accepted.  It was a business obligation.  I usually just stand around at these affairs trying to look inconspicuous.  Fat chance.  I am tall, fair, and handsome.  I stand six feet, three inches tall.  I’ve always been an athlete, and I have the body to prove it.  I lettered in baseball, football and basketball in high school and college.  As you can imagine, it’s hard for me to blend into the wallpaper.

As I told you, I don’t like the taste of liquor.  In fact, I hate it, so I was pouring myself a glass of punch, when I heard someone calling my name.  I turned around and faced a good-looking, hunky guy.  My gay genes were immediately attracted to him, but I didn’t know who he was.  However, he seemed to know me, so I was forced to ask, “Do I know you?”

“Jesus,” the handsome guy said. “I’m insulted.  I’m Michael Cerrano, your old college roommate.”

I was shocked.  I hadn’t seen Michael in over ten years, and he looked nothing like I remembered.  In college, he was pudgy, and still suffered from acne.  This god standing in front of me could not possibly be him.

Notwithstanding my initial discomfort, we fell into each other’s arms.  That was a difficult feat since Mike (as I always called him) is five feet, nine inches tall and barely reaches my shoulder.

“Holy shit,” I muttered ingenuously.  “I wouldn’t have recognized you in a million years.  You’ve changed so much.”

“For the better, I hope,” he smiled a wonderful smile at me.

“Absolutely,” I flattered him, and I meant it.

“What are you doing here?” he asked me.

“I might ask the same of you.” 

I tried to give him the same infectious smile with which he had just favored me.  “I’m Moonlight’s corporate attorney, and the boss invited me.”

“I’m a sound engineer.  I’ve been working in L.A. for years, but I’m a native New Yorker, and I requested a transfer because I was homesick.  I was lucky enough to get it, and here I am, now and forever, I hope.  I’m head of the department by the way.”

I was truly overwhelmed and very delighted to have run into Mike.  We were not great friends in college, but we were friends nonetheless.

“Look,” I said, “let’s stay a polite amount of time, and then go somewhere and catch up.”

“I’d love to do that,” he kept smiling at me.  “I live walking distance from here.  Come home with me, and then we can have dinner together this evening.”

“Shouldn’t you clear that with your wife.”

“I’m single.”

I gladly, and quickly, accepted.

-1-

I was out and proud in college, and very popular.  I had no trouble getting laid two or three nights a week, but never with Mike.  He just wasn’t my type, and I was certainly not the least attracted to him.  Besides that, we never discussed sex.  I had no idea which team he swung the bat for.  We were friendly enough, and even went to a movie together on occasion, but that’s as far as our “friendship” went.

I enjoyed his company.  He was a funny guy, and he was never a downer.  He saw the bright side of everything.  As you now know, I’m gay, and I pay attention to a guy’s endowments.  I saw Mike naked on many occasions.  I got quite a surprise the first time his cock came into my view.  Notwithstanding the fact that I am six inches taller than he is, I swear his cut cock was at least a half inch bigger than my uncut monster, and heftier around.  I never saw him hard, but his flaccid cock was at least six inches.

I lusted after that cock, but not the man.  The reason I never discussed sex with him was that I was certain that he was straight.  He knew I was gay, and he never made the smallest attempt to come on to me, confirming my belief in his heterosexuality.  In addition, I had never seen him date a guy.  Upon reflection, I don’t remember him ever dating a woman either.  Maybe he’s asexual.

The bottom line is that although we were friendly roommates, our relationship was sketchy.  We made no attempt to stay in touch after undergraduate school.  He knew that I was going on to law school, but I had no idea that he became a sound engineer.

*****

We entered Mike’s apartment, and to be corny, I did a double take.  His apartment was more adorned with Christmas decorations than Macy’s.  He saw the surprised look on my face, and I guess he felt that he had to explain. 

“My family always made a big to do about Christmas.  Our house was always the first one on the street to be decorated, and very lavishly, I might add.  As you can imagine, our decorations were always the last to come down, usually late in January.  I guess I just have some primal need to continue the tradition.”

I did not feel that I needed to respond to that, so I didn’t.  Mike took my coat and hung it up.

“Take off your tie and get comfortable,” he suggested.  “I can give you a pair of slippers if you’d like to take your shoes off also.”

He had very plush carpeting so I took him up on both counts, but I skipped the slippers.  They would have been way too small on me.

Conversation suddenly halted so I asked, “Where would you like to have dinner tonight?”

“Oh, I planned on making dinner right here at home.  I’m a really good cook.  Come into the kitchen.  You can watch me.  You can also help me, if I need help.”

For the first time I thought that Mike might be coming onto me.  I never figured out his sexual orientation, so I could very well be correct.

Slyly, I asked, “If we were going out tonight, what’s your favorite restaurant?”

“You’re gay so I can ask you,” he said shyly.  “Do you know The Male Room in The Village?”

Of course, I did.  Every gay man in New York City knew the place.  It was fun to hang out at the bar, but the food was excellent as well.  Now I was sure that he was trying to come out to me.  I got cautiously excited.  I might get laid tonight.

I took the bull by the horns.  “Are you letting me know that you’re gay?” I asked.  “How could I have lived with you for four years and not known?”

“I didn’t know myself until I moved to New York,” he explained.  “Do you want to hear about it?”

“I damn sure do.”

“Well then, here goes.  As you can imagine, my job brings me into contact with recording artists every day.  Many of them are gay.  One day I was recording for a very famous singer-songwriter.  It just so happens that his kid brother came with him.  At the end of the session, the two brothers asked me to have a drink with them before we all went our separate ways.  I was flattered, and I accepted immediately.  Just as we were leaving the building the artist got a phone call.  It was his agent, who said he had to see him at once.  He had just received a multi-million-dollar request to do a tour in Europe.  The artist excused himself, but he insisted that his brother and I go have a good time without him.  We both smiled and off we went.

“The kid brother, Artie, hailed a cab, and gave the driver an address.  I had no idea where we were going.  When I asked him where he was taking me, he just said that it was a fun place and I’d really enjoy it.  It was The Male Room.  I had no idea it was a gay bar until we got inside.  I may be naïve, but not that naïve.  Artie is very good looking, and both of us were hit on very quickly.  Artie shooed them off by hinting that we were a couple, and monogamous to boot.

“As soon as I realized that we were in a gay bar, I told him that I wasn’t comfortable there, and I’d like to leave.

“He began to apologize profusely.  He told me that he had excellent gaydar, and he would have bet a bundle that I was gay.   He admitted that we never would have gone there if his brother was with us.  He also said that the food there was wonderful, and I should relax, enjoy dinner, and then we could go our separate ways.

“I agreed to have dinner with him.  During dinner he told me that he had the hots for me.  He begged me to spend the night with him just to experiment.  He promised to make me a very happy camper.  To this day, I don’t know why, but I said yes.  As it turned out, I had the best sex I ever had in my life.  The truth is that I had enjoyed very little sex in the past.  That night I had an epiphany.  I realized that I was gay, but, even more importantly, I accepted it without any angst.”

“Wow, that’s a really great coming out, and coming of age, story,” I interrupted him.

“Yes, but that’s not the point.  All this happened last year on Christmas Eve.  I chalked it up to being a Christmas miracle, which was granted to me by my Guardian Angel.”

I smiled at Mike.  I didn’t know what else to say or do.

He continued, “This Christmas Eve, Danny, it’s I who must confess that I have the hots for you.  Even if you don’t want to, would you spend the night with me, for old times’ sake.”

“The hell with old times,” I said.  “I do want to spend the night with you, for now and maybe far into the future.  I’m hot for you also.”

“It’s another Christmas miracle,” Mike said. 

He never did finish cooking dinner.  He grabbed my arm, and pulled me into his bedroom.

-2-

We both undressed rapidly, and Mike took me into his bathroom.  He got the shower started, and when we both approved the temperature of the flowing water, we stepped in.

It was a shower to remember.  We did it all.  We sucked, fucked, rimmed, and gave each other golden showers.  We were in the shower for over two hours.  Then we got into Mike’s bed, and we gave each other trips around the world that seemed interminable.  We sucked, fucked, and rimmed some more until neither of us had any strength left.  Mike came twice and I came three times.  It was a glorious night, far beyond any of my expectations.

Mike began to cry, and I had to ask him what was wrong.

“I can’t believe it took me so long to accept the fact that I was gay.  Can you imagine how much pleasure I denied myself.?”

“Hush, Mike,” I said in a soothing voice.  “Forget the past.  Look to the future, our future.”

Somehow, we fell asleep wrapped up in each other’s arms.  It was three o’clock in the morning.

*****

We didn’t sleep too long.  We agreed to go to Christmas morning services at the gay church.  We both attended it, but not regularly.  As a result, we had never run into each other there.  We both wanted to give our sincere thanks to the forces which had reunited us.

“A miracle like this could only happen at Christmas time,” Mike said philosophically.

In the morning, Mike gave me a razor and a toothbrush, but I had to dress in yesterday’s clothing, from underwear out.  I am so much bigger than Mike, I could never wear anything he might offer me.  After the service we went to the social hall, and both Mike and I kept running into friends.  Mike certainly beat me in the friend’s department.  Many of his recording clients were present, and came over to wish him a Merry Christmas.  Mike’s infectious good humor attracted everybody.  He had many friends other than his clients, and they all came over to say hello when they spotted him.

“I’m very impressed with the number of people you know,” I dared confess to him. 

I must have embarrassed him.  He could only mutter, “Thanks.”

I know that the reason he has so many friends is because he looks at life through rose-colored glasses.  Mike tries to see the good in people, not the bad.  I think people appreciate that, and are attracted to him.

“You’re a good guy, Mike,” I said.  “That’s why your Guardian Angels are so good to you, and keep blessing you with Christmas miracles. Lucky for me, I’m able to ride this year’s miracle on your coattail.”

*****

I had three months left on my lease.  I gave notice, and paid the landlord for the time I had left.  I moved in with Mike as soon as I could.  Mike’s lease had nine months to go.  He didn’t renew it.  Instead, we both signed a lease on a larger, more luxurious apartment, on the upper east side.  Together, we could well afford it.

We are both such busy men, that it took us forever to get fully settled into our joint home.  Time passed, and finally, we settled into a new normal for both of us.  I think it’s called domestic bliss.  Mike and I compared notes often, and we agreed that we were both enjoying conjugal living.

We even began to discuss marriage.  We loved each other so much; marriage was a natural progression.  At first, it was just an abstract thought, but little by little, we got serious about it, and we set a date far enough into the future to give us plenty of time to make plans.  Since Christmas was so important to Mike, the date was set for December 24^th later that year.  Mike felt that a miracle occurred at Christmas time when he realized that he was gay.  Then he ran into me at Christmas a year later, and we reunited after ten years.  He concluded that a Christmas miracle would miraculously bless our union.  I certainly didn’t argue.

I asked my brother, Robert, to be my best man, and Mike asked his best friend, Carl, to be his.  Carl is his first cousin.  We both asked my brother’s wife, Marilyn, to be our maid of honor, and her little five-year-old son, Douglas, to be the ring bearer.   We weren’t sure if family members would even accept an invitation to a same sex wedding, but everyone did, with pleasure.

The wedding was small, just immediate family and a few close friends.  We arranged for it to be held at the gay church we both attended.  We planned to hold the reception in the church’s social hall.

There is no doubt that getting married at Christmas time was indeed a blessing and a miracle.  Mike and I have been together for a very long time now, and we love each other more every day.  Making love gets better every day also.

Mike still overdoes the Christmas decorations in our apartment.  I used to object to the effort it took to display the lavish adornments.  One day, I realized that our union was truly a blessed Christmas miracle.  Now I participate fully in making the apartment a Christmas show place.  Along with Mike, I want to honor our Guardian Angels.

Posted: 12/09/2022