Love Is Where You Find It
 by: Hankster

© 2008 by the author

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

We were up early to greet the movers.  We had been packing for weeks and had brought everything to the new house ourselves.  All the movers had to do was to move the big pieces of furniture.  By noon of moving day, all the furniture they had brought was set up properly in the new house.  Previously, we had unpacked and gotten rid of all the boxes that we had moved over to the new house.  The contents of the boxes were all stowed where they should be, including all our clothes.

Brad took my hand and walked us into the master bedroom.

“Behold OUR bedroom,” he said.  Then he leaned into me and kissed me, taking my breath away. 

“Welcome to our new life,” he said.

Chapter 9

Late the following May, Brad received his bachelor’s degree in accounting.  The on-line school transferred all his credentials to UCSF and he actually went through all the ceremonies of the graduating class right along with them.  Our dads and I must have taken a thousand pictures of the event.

Several CPA firms advertised in a few of the local gay publications.  We and our dads spent some time discussing the pros and cons of trying to get employment with a gay owned firm as opposed to one whose politics might be questionable.  Brad thought that he could do well in a standard firm, but if there was a hint of homophobia it could hinder his career.  We all agreed, but felt that in the end, it would probably not make a difference.  Brad decided to try the firms which advertised in the gay press first, and see what would happen.

He sent his résumé to five firms.  At Larry’s suggestion, he enclosed one of his graduation pictures.  Four of them called and set up interviews.  The fifth said that they had no openings at present, but would be happy to keep his résumé on file.

Brad went to all four interviews.  Two firms called back and said that they were sorry but the job had gone to another applicant.  The other two offered him employment as a junior accountant.  There was a slight difference in the salary offered, but not enough to influence Brad’s decision.

“Here’s the thing,” he said.  “Firm one is well established.  The partners are about our dads’ ages.  I can learn a lot from them.  Firm two is owned by two young men, not much older than I am.  They’re life partners also.  They have been in practice for less than four years, but they are expanding like crazy.  They said that even hiring me might not be enough.  If they are still overwhelmed when I start work, they would hire yet another man.  I would be coming in on the ground floor of a growing practice, and I feel more comfortable with them because we are contemporaries.”

“It sounds like you have made up your mind to go to firm two,” I said.

“Yes, I think so, but I want to hear your opinion.”

“You’re young,” I said.  “You have room for a few decision making mistakes.  Go for the growth company.”  I started to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Brad asked.

That’s what Larry would say, “Go for the growth company.”

“Well,” Brad said, “Larry never steered us wrong yet.”

In the morning Brad called firm two, Pickler and Underwood, and accepted their job offer.  They agreed that he would start in two weeks on a Monday morning and admired his integrity for wanting to give two weeks notice at his present job.  James Pickler asked if he was free for dinner that night. He and his partner, Jim, (call me Jamie to avoid confusion) would like to take him and his partner out to dinner.  Brad accepted for us and we agreed to meet at our favorite gay owned restaurant at 7 PM.

“They’re clients of ours,” Jamie said. “I’m pretty sure they will give you the same discount in the future as we have.  I’ll introduce you to the owner tonight.  I’m looking forward to meeting Aaron,” he said as he hung up.

Brad took a moment to hug me before calling firm one and telling them that he had decided on a different firm.  They expressed their disappointment and graciously wished him good luck.  Then he called our dads who wanted to take us to dinner to celebrate, but when he told them that we were invited to dinner by the bosses, they took a rain check.

“Where are you going?” Larry asked.

“To Alfredo’s on Market Street.” Brad answered.

There was only one thing left to do.  Brad went to his computer and typed up a letter of resignation.  What I didn’t know at that time is that he recommended me as his replacement.  At 9 AM the next morning, he left me in charge of the store and drove to the regional office to deliver the letter personally.  There were more expressions of disappointment, but in the end they wished him good luck.

We got to Alfredo’s a few minutes early but Brad spotted Jamie and Jim at the bar.  He went over and extended his hand, but they both stood up and embraced him warmly.  Brad was right.  They were about twenty-eight years old, and exceptionally handsome.  I knew why they were expanding so rapidly.

Brad introduced me to his new bosses, and Jim said, “If I had a boyfriend, this young and this good looking, I’d keep him locked up.”  I blushed a deep red.

The waiter showed us to our table and Jamie insisted that we order a cocktail.  Neither of us drank much and I got out of it by saying that I was on medications.  That was no lie.  The doctor still had me on blood thinners, but he promised to stop them soon.  Brad ordered a gin and tonic and as he was sipping it, he kept adding ice from his water glass to cut it down.

The waiter was just clearing away our appetizers, and cleaning the table with a little brush in preparation to serving our entrees, when I heard a familiar voice yell, “Jamie, Jim, imagine meeting you here.”

I looked up to see Dad and Pop.  They were ignoring Brad and me, but Larry was shaking our hosts’ hands and saying how nice it was to run into each other like this.  He took a moment to introduce Jamie and Jim to Chuck.  They shook his hand warmly.

“It’s about time we met,” Jamie said to Chuck. 

“Yes,” Jim echoed.  He turned to us and said, “Let me introduce you guys.  This is Larry Reilly.  He’s our banker, and this is his partner Chuck Harrington.

To tell the truth, Brad and I didn’t know what to say.  We also didn’t know what to do.  Should we pretend to be strangers and shake hands or tell the truth?

The decision was taken out of our hands.  Chuck bent down and kissed Brad on his lips and Larry did the same to me, and then they switched.

“No introductions are necessary,” Larry said.  “You are having dinner with our two sons.”

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Jim said.

Brad was a little upset.  “Did you guys know about this before, and did it influence you in hiring me?”

“Believe me,” Jamie said.  ‘This is as much a surprise to us as it is to you.  You were hired because we think you are the right man for the job.  Your track record of hard work, dedication to your employers and your managerial skills are what we looked at.  The fact that Larry and Chuck consider you to be their sons is a very pleasant surprise, and just proves that we made a wise choice.”

Jim asked Chuck and Larry to join us, but they declined.  “We four, or at least we three, know each other well.  Please get to know my sons.  I think you will be pleased at what you learn about them.”  They went to the waiter who seated them at a separate table.

Jamie and Jim kept the conversation away from business, maybe because of me.  We learned that they had met in college and in their sophomore year they took a room together off campus.  Unlike my terrible story, both had come out to their parents in high school and each set of parents had fallen in love with their son’s partner.  They were fortunate enough to enjoy a great relationship with their parents and siblings.

I told of my excommunication and of not having seen my parents or my two sisters since they threw me out.  They all expressed sympathy and I said, “There is no sympathy needed here, I have my two dads, who are better parents than my real parents ever were.  Most of all I have Brad, who makes my life a Garden of Eden.”  Brad laid his hand on mine.

“How about you Brad?” Jamie asked.

“There’s not much to tell,” he said.  He must have been right.  I was suddenly thunderstruck.  Brad had never talked about his life before I met him, and stupidly I had never asked.  My life was so full of drama, that I had neglected the one I loved most dearly in the world.

“Please Brad,” I said, “I want to hear.

“My father was an alcoholic.  He deserted us when I was four years old. My mom was vague about it, but I gather he got into a drunken brawl one night and almost killed someone.  He ran off to escape the police and we never saw him again.”  I grabbed Brad’s hand, but he continued.

“My mother could not care for me so about a year later, she put me into the foster care system until she could get on her feet.  Every day I looked for her to come and get me, but she never did, and in a short time, I could not remember either one of my parents.  To this day, I don’t know what became of either of them.

“The first few years were the toughest.  I had a series of foster parents who were no better than my father.  I was constantly abused and one of them beat me repeatedly when I was about eight.”  I squeezed Brad’s hand. 

“Finally I ran away, and when the authorities found me, they put me in another home.  Most of the places they sent me to weren’t bad, but I never seemed to be in any one of them long enough to bond with any of the parents.  Yet with Chuck and Larry I bonded swiftly.

“When I was eighteen, I left the system and got a job at Wendy’s.  I started working on my bachelor’s degree on line and you guys know the rest.”

We were all silent until finally Jim said.  “That’s the past Brad, and Jamie and I promise you a brighter future.”  He raised his glass and we drank to that.  It was water for me.

At the end of the meal we sat and chatted for awhile.  Then our dads came over and asked if we would join them in an after dinner drink.

“Yes, please,” Jamie said, and we made room for two extra chairs.

Jim said, “This evening has been a totally unexpected pleasure.  Chuck, Larry never stops telling us what a great guy you are and we actually got to meet you tonight.  I was beginning to think you were a figment of Larry’s imagination.  Then the perfect candidate walks into our office for an interview, and he turns out to be our banker’s son.  A little nepotism never hurt any business.”

“I’d like to propose a toast,” Larry said raising his glass.  “Here’s to the continued success of Pickler and Underwood, and here’s a wish for continued good health, and good fellowship for all of us.”  We all clicked our glasses (mine was still water) and drank to the sentiments of the toast.

We chatted a little while and then Chuck and Larry got up to leave.  “Goodnight,” Larry said, “to my favorite sons and my favorite clients.”  We all stood up and of course Chuck and Larry kissed Brad and me on the lips, but in contrast to the formal handshakes at the beginning of the evening, they embraced Jamie and Jim and kissed them on the lips also.  Their kisses were returned.

Finally Brad said, “This is great fellas, but tomorrow is a working day and Aaron and I get up at 4:30 AM so we’ll have to call it a night.  We can’t thank you enough for this great dinner.”

Pickler and Underwood both groaned when Brad said 4:30 AM.  “Well, you’ll be able to sleep a lot later than that in a couple of weeks, unless you are a light sleeper, and Aaron wakes you two hours before dawn,” Jim said.

Everyone laughed at that, and we all stood up to leave.  We were all a little awkward not knowing exactly how to part, until Jamie said, “Look guys, let’s have no formalities here.  We’re friends.”  With that he embraced Brad and kissed him on the cheek.  I guess he felt that lip kissing could come later.  He kissed me also, and then Jim repeated the process.

We didn’t get home until 11 PM and we knew that we wouldn’t get much sleep that night, so we reluctantly gave up sex, but we fell asleep wrapped up in each other’s arms with our cocks grinding together.

About 10 AM the next day, one of the executives from our regional office came in and took Brad into the small office in the rear.  After about five minutes, Brad called me in.  He introduced me to Mr. Stigler, who shook my hand warmly.  Then Brad said, “Aaron, Mr. Stigler is your new boss.  On my recommendation he’s promoting you to store manager.  You’ll be getting a substantial raise and I can’t think of anyone more deserving, even if you are my partner.”  He said that right in front of Mr. Stigler.  I had to admire Brad for his openness about being gay.  I was still very reserved about saying anything to indicate that I was gay.

Mr. Stigler shook my hand warmly and said, “Brad will show you the ropes and break you in.  Your promotion is effective the day Brad leaves.”  He opened up his briefcase and took out a sheet of paper.

 
“Why don’t you guys post this on the bulletin board?”  He handed the paper to me and I saw that it was a memo to the staff informing them of my promotion.  I was suddenly so proud of myself and of Brad also.  I could almost picture this event a few years down the pike, when I handed over the reins to some deserving young person.  Brad had started me on my on-line college career.  I was majoring in education with a minor in math.  My goal was to teach math at the high school level.  I was nearly finished with my first two classes.  Brad made sure that we never let our private lives interfere with my studies, and he kept my nose to the grindstone.  I knew well enough how his education was beginning to pay off for him, and I couldn’t have had a better role model. 

As Mr. Stigler left, I thanked him profusely.  As soon as he was out the door, the staff that was present surrounded me and to a man they all wished me the best of luck.  There wasn’t too much for Brad to show me.  I had been assisting him for weeks.  I knew how to prepare all the daily, weekly and monthly reports.  The only thing I hadn’t done was accompany him to the regional office to see who got what report.  From then on, I followed him like his shadow, which wasn’t a stretch for me at all.

The next two weeks went really fast, and I was glad for Brad’s sake.  He was so anxious to begin work at Pickler and Underwood, CPA’s, PA, that he could hardly sleep.  The abused little foster care boy had come a long away and his future was really looking bright.  By the time he left I was comfortable with my new job, but sad to realize that Brad and I would be separated all day every working day.  Well, such is life and we would get used to it.

For his part, Brad was really starting at the bottom rung of the ladder.  On the very first morning, Jim took him to a client and started him on the first job every budding CPA begins with, the dreaded bank reconciliations.  With that done, things got more interesting.  Jim showed Brad how to verify accounts receivable by checking the receipts subsequent to the audit date.  Similarly with accounts payable, Brad checked the cash payments subsequent to the audit date, and actually found a duplicate payment.  He brought it to Jim’s attention, who then informed the owner of the business, who thanked both men.  “The guy I double paid would never have informed me or credited me with the extra payment,” he said.  “Rest assured.”

Each day, Brad came home more excited at all he was learning.  He was particularly grateful for the patience shown by Jim and Jamie.  One evening, he came home particularly excited.  He, I, Chuck and Larry were invited to a barbeque at Jim and Jamie the following Sunday afternoon.  They had also invited a few of their gay clients.

As if that wasn’t enough, Jim had told Brad that they had a brand new client.  He was small and just starting out but he had great potential.  He was opening a small boutique, and Brad was going to handle the account solo.

I was so excited for him, that I made him turn in early.  It was one of those nights where I wanted to do all of the love making and let him just lie back and enjoy himself.  I don’t think my tongue missed a square inch of his body, front and back.  Certain orifices received particular attention. 

I teased him unmercifully until I zeroed in on his balls and cock.  I almost brought him to orgasm several times but always stopped before the point of no return.  Finally, I stopped to lubricate his cock and my ass.  I squatted over him and gently lowered myself on to his cock, which was jerking in its desire for attention.  When I had him all the way in my ass, we began a dance of love until he exploded inside of me.  I sat still on him until his limp dick fell out.  Then I scooted down and ate my cum which was dripping from his luscious ass.

He desperately wanted to return the favor but I told him that he was to just go to sleep.  Tonight was my treat.  We lay together as close as we could get and I felt his hand fondling my cock.  I wanted to tell him to stop, but it felt too good and I eventually came in his hand.  We fell asleep, too tired to change the sheets.

The barbeque at Jim and Jamie was spectacular.  They actually barbequed filet mignon steaks.  I must admit a weakness for filet mignon.  They served this with corn on the cob which they barbequed in tin foil.  There was plenty of soda and beer.  I was off the blood thinners and I enjoyed a couple of beers.  As you can see my Mormon days were far behind me. 

Besides us and our dads there were two other couples, all clients of the firm.  One of the couples was the owner of Alfredo’s.  Brad already knew all four of them, and he introduced them to me, Larry and Chuck. 

I was making small talk with one of the couples when I suddenly felt a hand squeezing my ass.  I panicked for a moment and then decided to ignore it.  As soon as I could, I excused myself and left.  Immediately I told Brad what happened, and he started to laugh.  “They’re harmless,” he said. “They do that to me all the time.  They are totally devoted to each other, but flirt all the time.”  That did make me feel much better.  By the end of the barbeque we were making arrangements to socialize with the other two couples, and with Jamie and Jim, of course.

On the morning after the barbeque, I was in my office working on a report, when one of my staff knocked on the door.

“There’s a guy out there says he’s a friend of yours and would like to see you for a moment.”

Did he give a name?” I asked.

“I’m afraid not.”

I walked out to the store and there standing to the side of the serving counter was Carl Gilmore.  I had to grab something to keep from falling.  It was not the scrubby Carl I had last seen, but a healthy looking young man.  He looked like the Carl I knew from the hospital bed.

“Can we talk privately for a minute?” he asked, and I led him into my office and closed the door.

To be continued...

Posted: 12/12/08