A Marine Called Jason
(Revised)
by: Peter

(© 2007-2015 by the Author)
 

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

The Epilogue Chapters

Epilogue Chapter 24 

(Duval Street) 

Jason slept longer than I expected he would and when I tried to wake him he rolled over to go back to sleep. I didn’t mind; I was just curious over the way he was acting.  I went ahead and showered and woke him up a couple of hours later and asked him if he still wanted to go to Duval Street, or maybe just get a bite to eat and call it a night. He got right up and showered.

We ate at the Hog’s Breath Saloon and wandered on down to Mallory Dock.  As we were passing by a tattoo parlor, Jason slowed and took a couple of steps back.

“You’re not,” I said. In all our time together we had never even talked about tattoos

“Why not?” he said.  “All red-blooded Marines have tattoos, don’t they?”

The guy saw us standing and talking in front of his display of tattoos he had available.

“Come on in, let me show you what I’ve got,” he said.

He had a wide display of military tattoos and I had to admit, they were impressive works of art.

“Both Marines?” he asked.

“Yes,” we both replied at the same time.

“You’ve both got the shoulders and the arms to show off a tattoo,” he said. “Well, anywhere else you might want one, for that matter,” he added, looking us up and down. He purposely and boldly fixed on our crotches.

“Don’t even think it,” Jason said, laughing.

“Believe it or not, I’ve done some mighty impressive tattoos there,” the man said.

“They would have to be mighty impressive well hung,” I said.

“They were. Come over here, I’ll show you.” He led us into a little alcove of his booth.  “Can’t put these on public display,” he said as he handed us an album of photos depicting very large tattooed cocks.

“Damn, these are beautiful,” Jason said.  “The artwork, I mean,” he added quickly.

“Of course,” the man said, laughing.

“Doesn’t it hurt to get a tattoo?” I asked.

“It’s hard to say; everyone has a different threshold of pain. A boy might be afraid of being hit out on the football field but that doesn’t stop him from playing football. Natural childbirth can be very painful but that’s doesn’t stop women from having babies. Actually, the needle barely penetrates the surface of the skin. I can show you if you want,” he said picking up a needle.

Jason readily offered his arm for a demonstration.

“Yes, very good arm to work with,” he said as he cradled his bicep in his hand. Jason flinched when he pricked his skin but several more pricks brought barely any reaction at all.

“Hell, that’s not much worse than getting a shot,” he said.

“You?” he asked me.

I offered my arm; I didn’t have any choice, did I? Jason was right, it barely hurt.

“Does your cock have to be hard to get a tattoo?” Jason asked, “because I think it’d be very difficult to maintain a hardon while being poked with a needle.”

“No, and very few men do stay hard. There are a handful of exceptions; men who are into S&M. The main thing is to have enough to hold onto; it’s difficult to work on a small cock.”

“I do believe he’s trying to get in our pants,” I joked.

“Well, I would have to see what I’ve got to work with,” the man said, without a trace of embarrassment.

“Trust me, you would have plenty to work with,” I assured him.

“Well, now you’ve got me curious,” he said.

Jason was looking at the display of tattoos.

“I think I’ll pass and settle for this one,” he said, pointing to a Eagle, Globe and Anchor. “On my arm,” he added.

“Very good. You, too?” he asked me.

“Yes. But he’s going to need one on his other arm,” I said. “He was Navy, too….SEALs, and a sniper.”

“So was he,” Jason said.

“They don’t have to go on your arm or shoulder,” he said. “They could go on chest or lower abdomen, calf or thigh, even on your butt. Like I said, you both have the muscles anywhere on your bodies to display a tattoo very nicely.”

“On my shoulders,” Jason said.

He went first.  I sat and watched and tried to build up my immunity to the pain to come. 

When both of Jason’s shoulders were finished it was my turn. While I was getting my tattoo, Jason was studying the display again.

“I want one more,” he said. “So does he.”

“Speak for yourself till I see which one you’ve got in mind,” I said.

When I was finished Jason showed me the other tattoo he wanted us to have:  United States Marine Corps in very ornate, bold lettering.

“I want it right across here,” he said, sliding his hand across his lower abdomen.

“Very good,” the man said. He laughed.  “I have a lot of guys get that one done there; they say it warns the ladies that they’re about to get fucked by a Marine.”

“Actually, I want it as a constant reminder how lucky they are while they’re giving me a blow job,” Jason joked.

“We’ll need to go back where there’s a little more privacy,” he said as he led us through a short, narrow corridor, to a small room with two chairs and a padded reclining table.  “I’ll need to have a look at the area; I will probably need to shave you.”

We both dropped our pants and shoved our shorts down.  The man laughed.

“It’s interesting, the difference between military guys and civilian men when I ask them to do this….the civilians are usually timid and embarrassed while you military guys just shove everything down and let it all  hang out.”

“You soon get over your timid modesty in the military, “I said.

“Oh, my,” he said as he inspected us. “Those are absolutely perfect cocks to work with.”

“Whoa,” Jason said.   “We’re talking a few inches above there.”

“I know, just wishful thinking.” He rubbed his hand across Jason’s lower stomach, then mine. “Yes, I will need to shave you.  How low do you want the tattoos?”

“Just above the hairline so they don’t get hidden by the underbrush,” I replied. “And how about we abbreviate United States with just U.S.”

“Don’t be a pussy,” Jason growled but he agreed.

This time I went first, stretching back on the padded table, half reclined. The man shaved me, dried me off, then ran his hand across the area to check its smoothness.

“Is it going to be a problem if that feels good?” I asked, only half joking, for I could feel a tingling at the touch of his hand.

“If you get a hardon—and it happens—you’ll have to hold it down out of the way,” he said as he sat on a stool between my legs. He smoothed his hand over the area again. “Yes, this is a perfect pallet, nice and solid.  It’s very difficult to work on flab.”

I managed not to get hard although I fluffed up. It was weird; I wondered if I had a masochist streak in me. The man lamented again that he was not working on my cock. The pain was minimal and I was more than happy with the finished work. It was fun watching Jason get his tattoo because he had to keep fighting his cock as it kept rising and lowering.

When he was finished with us the man applied light, almost transparent bandages over each tattoo.

“Tattoos are essentially open flesh wounds, so leave these on for at least two hours. When you remove the bandages wash the tattoos with lukewarm water and some mild liquid antibacterial soap. Don’t use a washcloth or anything abrasive. Pat them dry with a clean towel. It’s a good idea to apply A&D ointment. Do not use Neosporin. Keep them clean and after a day or two you can use lotion instead of the ointment. I recommend Eucerin.”

“What about showering?” I asked.

“You can shower with a new tattoo but don’t submerge them in a tub for two or three weeks.”

“And swimming?” Jason asked.  “I mean, we are in Key West.”

“I recommend two or three weeks, whether it’s a pool, fresh water or salt water.  Some guys don’t wait that long but sooner than that, at your own risk.  You may notice some peeling and possibly a little scabbing. That’s normal, just let it run its course.  You can apply soft, moist compresses but don’t apply ointment or lotion to soften the scabs. You’ll probably start to itch when they’re healing.  Don’t scratch!”

“Wow, I’m glad I didn’t get my cock tattooed,” Jason said.

“I’m here till nine if you change your mind,” the man said. “One more thing; I don’t know if you use sun block but you need to apply at least 30SPF on your tattoos; the sun can fade them.

As we were paying the bill Jason asked about a rooftop garden, clothing optional place. He gave directions and said we could see the flowers and foliage on the roof. 

“But it’s more bare ass naked than clothing optional,” he said.

“That’s even better,” Jason said.

“By the way, you might want to refrain from sexual activity until you’re healed,” he said. “Or at the very least, stick to blowjobs.”

We wandered around Mallory Dock till the sun had set then headed back up Duval to find the clothing optional bar. We saw Captain Tony’s, the original Sloppy Joe’s, and stopped off for a drink. It was small and unlike Sloppy Joe’s on Duval, there was no entertainment.  It was a place to drink and little else. But we could say we’d been there.

“I overheard somebody talking about this place with all the flowers on the rooftop,” Jason said as we resumed the trek in search of the bar.

It was on top of the third floor. There were signs about being at least eighteen to enter, and NO picture taking. There was a DJ and nice lighting, a few people were dancing but most were just standing around enjoying the sights. Most were clothed, or partially so, but there was enough bare skin to make it interesting. One hot, totally naked babe was having her body painted. There was a handful of naked tourists who were by all that’s holy intended NOT be naked. Most of the nudies, though, were of the age and shape not to be concealed by clothing.  Jason and I were not sure we would get naked but we had both taken off our shirts on the way up the stairs.  I felt a bit awkward with the bandages covering our tattoos but Jason said they were badges of honor. 

We ordered drinks and milled around.

“I wonder how you’re supposed to keep from getting a hardon,” Jason said. 

“Think of it as cultural experience,” I said.

“Shit, look down at the end. Now that’s my kind of culture,” he said.

I looked in that direction, at the end overlooking Duval Street. There was a young guy, bare down to the waist and then some, wearing what looked like a flight suit with the top folded down and the sleeves tied round his hips to hold it up.  Even without seeing his face, he was striking with his broad shoulders and upper back that narrowed down to a lean waist and a couple of inches of fine looking ass; enough that his crack was showing.  I saw then that it was his high and tight ass that was holding up the flight suit. He was talking to a young couple, gesturing with the hand that held his drink, the muscles in his arm bulging and flexing.

Jason maneuvered us a little closer; I was glad to see he was acting more like himself.  After a few minutes the guy gestured with his empty glass turned upside down as he was turning around. 

“Holy Fuck!” I said.

He was so muscular and well defined, he looked like a sculpture. The cuts in his abs were so deep you could lay a finger between the bricks of muscle. It was indeed a flight suit he was wearing; accented by a pair of sun glasses that make those guys look so studly. In front, the suit sagged off his hips so low there was a wide strip of his pubes showing.  He had to be a fighter pilot from the Naval Air Station.

“We need to meet this guy,” Jason said.

“Well, he’s coming this way, do you want me to trip him?” I said.

“Fuck, look at those abs,” Jason said and he downed his drink just as the pilot came into our personal space.

I was looking, at the way they flexed and twisted when he walked.

He must’ve noticed us looking and he smiled a bright white smile and said, “You’re empty too, come with me.”

We followed him the short distance to the bar, our eyes glued to the upper third of his butt.  Mine were fixed on the crack, causing my mouth to water.

At the bar he ordered his drink and motioned for us to order.

“Make ‘em doubles,” he told the bartender.  Then to us, “The drinks are good, but small.”

“You’re a pilot,” I said.

“Yeah, I’m stationed here, just got back in from a training mission. I always come here to unwind.”

“I can see how that would work,” I said.

We took our drinks and moved back to the front of the place where he’d been standing, where it wasn’t so crowded.

“Brady Jones, Captain, U.S. Navy,” he said, putting out his hand.

“Brad Courter.”

“Jason Seaborne.”

“I’m surprised you’re in partial uniform.  Don’t they watch for that?” I asked.

“Not really.  Shore patrol is instructed to lay low, not cause any trouble. Not good for the relationship. We’re guests here, we have to accommodate their culture.”

“Well, I have to say you’re being mighty accommodating,” Jason said, eyeing the man’s bare upper body.

“You guys are pretty accommodating yourselves,” he said. “Fresh tattoos, I see.” He peered closer at the bandages. “And you’re Marines. And snipers. Impressive.”

“He’s Navy, too,” I said, pulling Jason’s other shoulder around to show his other tattoo. 

“SEALs! Fuckin’ impressive.  I take back everything I was thinking about the Marines,” he said, laughing.

“Listen, we didn’t mean to pull you away from that couple you were talking to,” I said.

“You didn’t. I got away under my own volition.  I didn’t particularly like where it was going, or how slow it was going there. They were looking for another couple, wanted me to pick up a girl and come with them. I say if you want a couple, hit on a couple.”

We talked military while the vibes got stronger.

“I gotta ask,” Jason began.  “Where the fuck do you get abs like that.”

“It’s mostly genes. I just try to maintain what God gave me.”

“I think God dug out his original mold when he made you,” I joked. “Like you are what all mankind was supposed to look like.”

“Thanks, but I have to own up to the unfortunate fact that some of it….maybe a lot….is to compensate for being short changed where it counts.”

“I can’t believe you get any complaints, regardless,” Jason said.

“I don’t, but when the clothes come off, seeing the body, they expect something phenomenal.”

Despite his cockiness, I felt he was uncomfortable talking about it and I changed the subject back to things military where we had common ground. It was easier for Jason and I to explain what we did; we couldn’t grasp much of what he explained about his job. And frankly, I wasn’t listening that closely. I just wanted to keep the conversation going to keep him there.

Out of the blue, he said, “Do we need to get a room?....’Cause I feel like I’m being raped with your eyes.”

His remark set us back.  I recovered quickly.  “Sorry, I guess we were staring. Didn’t realize the vibes were that strong.”

“Don’t apologize; I’d just like to know if we’re on the same flight pattern.”

“Well, we do have a room, an easy walk from here,” I said.

“Another drink before we go?” he asked.

“I’m good,” Jason said quickly.

“So am I,” I said. We were both anxious.

“You guys are going to disappoint a lot of people, leaving here without taking your clothes off,” he said.

We left the rooftop and went out on the busy street.  Jason and I left our shirts off but Brady hiked his flight suit up to his waist.

Back at the B&B we asked Brady if he wanted to get naked and go for a swim but he declined. I was glad because I’d forgotten about staying out of the water with our fresh tattoos.  I wasn’t going to wait two weeks but at least for a little while longer. I thought the captain must really be self-conscious about his manhood. I stopped by the tiki bar and ordered drinks to be sent up to our room. 

In our room, Jason didn’t waste any time getting out of his clothes and I followed suit.  Brady lingered back a little but he had less to take off; just his boots, cap and the flight suit.  He was still removing his boots when Jason and I were both naked.

“Well, damn!” he exclaimed when he saw us.

I dropped to one knee and began unlacing his other boot. “Stop being self-conscious, it doesn’t fit the profile of a fighter pilot.  Whatever you’ve got or don’t have, your body more than makes up for it. Quite honestly, I can’t wait to get my hands on your ass.” I pulled his boot off.

He laughed and said, “You know how to make a guy feel at home.” He stood up and while I was down there I pulled his flight suit down. His cock sprung up like a steel rod, quivering violently. I was surprised, but not in a bad way. I was expecting something more boyish, like three or four inches. He was sporting a good six inches of perfectly sculptured man meat, neatly cut, bulbous head and with a sexy upward curve.

“What the fuck are you worried about; that is beautiful,” I said.

“You’ve got more hanging than I’ve got standing,” he said.

“You’ve got plenty enough to reach all the right places,” I said.

“Hey, put his boots back on,” Jason said.

Tossing his flight suit aside, I slipped his boots back on and tied them.

“Shit!” Jason swore.  “Fuckin’ hot! You know, I’ve got a straight streak in me but seeing guys like you makes it fade.”

I stood up just as Jason went down in front of him and began kissing his abs.  I went around behind him and knelt down to kiss his butt.

“Damn, such perfection!” I murmured as I dragged my tongue along the crack. His butt was solid; I was barely able to make a dent with my fingers unless he was totally relaxed.

“Ohhh, Goddd!” he groaned.  “Fuck, guys, I wasn’t expecting all of this.”

I reached through his legs and felt Jason’s mouth on his cock, all the way down. He was a perfect size for that. I guided his chin through several sucking motions. Brady had his boot in Jason’s crotch, pressing it against his balls. A moment later Jason stood up and I heard Brady’s groan muffled by his mouth. I wanted to join in the kiss but I was too engrossed in his awesome ass. I pulled the buns apart and dragged my tongue deeper in the crack, flicking his hole. I finally stood up and worked my way into the kiss.

“Fuck!” Brady gasped.  “You guys are so fuckin’ hot!”

“Likewise,” Jason said.

“Listen, I don’t need a lot of foreplay unless you want it,” Brady said.

“What’re you saying, flyboy?”

“I’m saying I’m up for fucking.”

“Yeah, I can feel that,” I said as I fingered his ass. I wasn’t going to be able to take the tattoo artist’s advice and refrain from sex. Neither of us could, not with this hot stud in front of us.

“You take him first,” Jason said to me.  “I wanta worship his abs some more.”

We laid him across the bed and he brought his legs up in a welcoming gesture then grabbed hold of his boots to hold his legs  out  wide. Jason went for his abs again and I leaned down to rim him. I’d never seen such an awesome ass in my life. When we had him whimpering and begging I took up the position.

“My cock’s reporting for duty, Captain,” I said as I pressed it against his hole.       

He hunkered against the head of my cock and I pressed forward. There was almost no give; his tight sphincter was determined to keep me out.

“Try to relax your ass so I can get in,” I said.

“My ass is relaxed.  You have to push through, hard.  Don’t worry, I can take it.”

I shoved.  He winced and let out a little gasp but told me to keep going. It was a tight fit; felt like his sphincter was going to squeeze my cock off.  I slid in all the way, smashing my balls against his butt. He was so fuckin’ hot that I could feel his heartbeat in his asshole. His butt was nice and smooth so it didn’t bother my tattoo when he clenched the hard muscles.

“I’ve heard of muscles in your shit but this is ridiculous. Are you sure you’re not a virgin?” I said.

He laughed and pulled his legs toward his shoulders. “A lot of guys think that.  No, plow me,” he said.

I eased back and started plowing him.  Jason dove for his balls and sucked them both in his mouth.  Brady’s cock was like an iron bar, quivering and pushing out precum like a leaky faucet. I leaned down over Jason to lick it up off his stomach.

“Godd, you know how to fuck!” Brady groaned. Then, “When you’re ready, you can shoot it in my ass.”

Jason was all over him; sucking his balls, sucking his cock, kissing his abs and sucking his nipples.  He really liked this guy’s body. When I moved up to kiss him Brady wrapped his arms and legs around me and locked his boots around my hips and began fucking himself hard on my cock.

“Oh, Fuck….ohhh, fuck me…..ohh, Godd, your cock goes in so deep!”

After a few minutes he suddenly let go and let his arms fall limp over his head and his legs fall to his sides.

“Fuck, I thought I was in great shape but you are a fucking machine.”

“Just lay back and let me do the work,” I said as I bought one leg up and straddled his other one and kept on fucking him. His leg, held tight against my chest, offered great leverage.

Jason continued kissing all over his upper body.  “When you get ready to cum, I want your load,” he told him.

“I’ve been ready, but it won’t cum,” he whined. “Godd, I wanta cum so bad.”

I shifted in high gear in a different mode. I began twisting my hips around, corkscrewing my cock into him like a jack hammer gone out of control.  He clamped his mouth around his forearm to stifle his outcries.  I fucked him like the machine he said I was, without letup, till he suddenly flung his arms out, clawing the sheets. His mouth gaped open but he seemed unable to cry out. Jason moved down with his mouth open barely an inch from his cock, just in time to get the first salvo of cum splattered all over his face.  I kept fucking him. I wanted to force very drop out of him. Jason’s face was quickly streaked with cum then he captured the belching cock to take the rest of it in his mouth.  He put his hand over Brady’s mouth just in time to muffle his guttural scream.

I fucked till he went limp; his magnificent, hard muscles relaxed and he barely moved except for his breathing.  I slowly pulled out and moved up to his shoulder to offer him my cock to suck. 

“I think you fucked him into oblivion. Give him a rest,” Jason said.

We lay for a time with Jason’s and my legs and arms wrapped round him. He came around after several minutes.

“I have never been fucked like that in my entire life,” he said.  “And I’ve never cum so hard.”

“That was a pretty impressive load,” Jason said. “Does this mean you’re done?”

“No, I want you to fuck me next,” he said.

“How about you fuck me first, while Brad fucks you again. He never got off.”

“Oh, I’m sorry!”

“It’s no problem,” I assured him.

“Any combination you want; I’ve got all night,” Brady said. 

I suddenly remembered the guys in 4-D. 

“Listen, there were a couple of college guys we met in the pool who wanted to get together with us.  Should I go see if they want to join us?”

“I’m up for it,” the captain said.

Jason started to slip on his clothes to go get them.

“Uhhh….it’s clothing optional,” I reminded him.

“I know but I’m liable to get hard before I get back, and it’s not hardon optional,” he said.  He slipped on his shorts. Pulling them up he tugged at the corner of the bandage on his lower abdomen to have a look at his tattoo.  “It looks okay, I’m taking this off,” he said. Then he checked the tattoos on his shoulders and pulled those bandages off then left to get the college boys.

I checked mine and decided to remove the bandages.

“They look okay, don’t they?” I asked Brady.

“They look fine. I hope he brings those guys back; my ass is good for the night,” the captain said when Jason had gone.

“I would think all you’d have to do is make that known, with all those horny guys on the base.”

“Believe it or not there is a drawback to being a pilot.  You have to be an officer. And the rank seems to be a barrier for the enlisted men. And, fuck, the enlisted guys are the studs.”

“That must be frustrating, your ass aching for enlisted cock and not being able to do anything about it.”

“Well, there are a couple of young bucks who are daring enough to take the chance. I sneak them into my BOQ when I can.”

Jason returned with the two college guys in tow.

“Holy Fuck!” one of the exclaimed when they walked in and saw the ripped captain.

“Did somebody say fuck?” the captain said as he turned over onto his stomach.

The college boys and the captain spent the night.  I lost count but by morning everyone was well fucked.

The next morning there was another round of sex then the college boys went back to their room.  The three of us went down for breakfast on the veranda with a dozen or so other guests.  The veranda was not clothing optional so everyone was dressed in at least shorts and the women in tops. We parted company after breakfast and Jason and I headed back to Duval Street to visit the shops.

We bought several T-shirts and a couple pairs of Tommy Bahama shorts and shirts to match. Jason also bought some Tommy Bahama cologne.  He wasn’t big on that kind of stuff but when I smelled it and said I liked it, he bought it. In another novelty shop he found a pair of jeans with a most interesting fly.  On the inside flap was sewn the words “Lucky You.”

We also came across a shop where everything was under five dollars. It was a little more than coming across it; there was college age muscle hunk outside wearing only a pair of shorts, holding a sign that read “Everything Under $5.00.”  We went in. The place was crowded with merchandise and packed with people. I didn’t expect to find anything of value but Jason found a table stacked with military style athletic shorts. I could see the wheels turning in his head. Back home we had dropped in to pay a casual, friendly visit at the recruiting office shared by the Army, Navy and Marines.  We’d spent nearly two hours bullshitting with the three recruiters.

“Did we decide if we’re going to start training high schoolers for basic training?” Jason asked as he dug through the shorts.

“No, but it looks like we are,” I said.

We bought all they had in stock; twenty-two pairs.

“Remind me to call the recruiter when we get home,” he said.

We spent the rest of the morning wandering through a bunch more shops up and down Duval Street then went to a restaurant where we had alligator for lunch.  We asked the waiter what alligator tastes like; he said chicken.  It didn’t taste like chicken, it tasted like alligator. From there we went to Sloppy Joe’s where Hemingway hung out almost every day. From the tour of his home we’d learned that he went to his studio every morning and wrote several pages then spent the rest of the day at Sloppy Joe’s or deep sea fishing. We sat at the bar where I imagined Papa Hemingway himself would be strolling in at any moment. It was easy for me to understand how the atmosphere of Key West was fertile ground for the many writers who came there. Tennessee Williams had a home there where he supposedly wrote Streetcar Named Desire. There was a place where Faulkner stayed to write but it wasn’t open to the public. And Robert Frost spent winters in Key West. I had always dreamed of writing but never found what it takes to put pen to paper.  I wondered if I might if I lived here.

We each bought a Hemingway T-shirt then headed back up Duval to find a place called Blue Heaven. We learned of the place from the bartender at Sloppy Joe’s. It didn’t advertise except by word of mouth. On the way we stopped at a street vendor selling good quality silver jewelry and we each bought a heavy serpentine necklace. The man put them on us and commented how sharp they looked around our muscular necks.  Coming up on the tattoo parlor, Jason slowed his pace.

“Are you going to be able to leave Key West without getting your cock tattooed?” I asked jokingly.

“Would you think less of me if I got a tattoo on my cock?”

“No, of course not.”

“I was thinking about the snake tattoo,” he said.

“Better find out how long you’d have to wear a bandage and give up sex,” I said.

“On second thought…..”

We walked on to Blue Heaven.  I wondered if it would be worth the long wait. It didn’t appear to be a place for gourmet dining and I was further doubtful when we were showed to a table. The place looked like somebody’s back yard. The furniture looked like a hodgepodge of tables, chairs and benches that’d been salvaged from the dump. Several chickens obviously called the place home and the cats appeared to own the place.  We were seated at a picnic table. I thought it odd that the cats never bothered the chickens. 

“Are you sure about this place?” I asked under my breath.

“There’s still a line outside, the food must be good,” Jason said.

He ordered jerk chicken and I had the BLT; bacon, lobster and tomato. The meal was more than good; it was outstanding, made more so, topped off with key lime pie. It was also very expensive. We had a brandy and listened to the guitarist in a little shack-like booth in the corner of the yard. We both said we would come back if we ever came to Key West again.

The next day was wide open; we had no idea what we would do. We had breakfast at the B&B and then we were on Duval Street again just as the shops were opening.  It seemed like every day there were shops we hadn’t seen the day before.  Graffiti’s was one of those shops. The window displays were downright erotic with skimpy, sexy swim suits on bulging mannequins. We went in and browsed through the sexy shirts and shorts. The stairway was lined with shorts and swimwear and upstairs was a ton more. 

“Most of these suits are designed for a younger, leaner body,” I said.

“And I don’t know where we would wear some of this stiff without being arrested,” Jason remarked as we were going through the racks.

“The beaches on the north end of the island,” someone behind us said. It was one of the clerks from downstairs. We didn’t know he’d come up. “And I must respectfully disagree; you both could pull off wearing any of these suits.  Younger and leaner doesn’t always mean sexier,” he said with a smile.  He took a suit from the rack and held it up to Jason.  “Why don’t you try this on?”  

Somehow I didn’t think he had come up just to make sure we didn’t walk out with anything. 

Jason went into the change room with that suit along with two others he’d picked out. The change room was like no other I’d ever seen.  There was no door.  It was simply a closed off area, a wall that he went behind and at the end of the enclosure was a large mirror so one could stand and watch him changing. He came out in the one the clerk had given him; a very brief boxer, white with deep blue wide stripes down each side and deep blue piping down the center of the pouch.  By brief, it was about a four-inch strip of material wrapped around his hips--no leg--barely containing his manhood and not quite covering his butt in the back. 

“You can absolutely pull that off at the beach,” the clerk said.

While I went in the change booth to try on a deep red bikini, Jason tried on a couple more suits out on the floor.  He said there wasn’t much need to go in the booth with the big mirror.  The clerk readily agreed.  I could see in the mirror the clerk eyeing him quite openly.

“WOW!” Jason exclaimed when I came out wearing the red suit.

“I second that,” the clerk said.  “Honestly, I’ve never seen two men your age in such incredible shape.  You absolutely need to spend an afternoon at the beach in these suits.”        

Along with four swim suits, we bought several pairs of super sexy underwear.  Jason was still wondering where we would wear the suits back home but I already had a place in mind.

“Listen, I told Logan I would send him some undergear,” I said. Jason picked out several pairs that he thought were sexy and I added several more pairs; nine total. Then we picked out two swim suits. One was a bright yellow bikini with deep blue piping around the legs and a narrow strip down the front to highlight the pouch. The other was a hunter green boxer brief with a special built in pouch designed to lift and accent his manhood.

“Where’s he going to wear these?” Jason asked.

“There’s an old bridge back in the woods; he goes swimming there.”

“Probably naked,” he said.

“I think he’ll like these.”

We left Graffiti’s and wandered on, packages in hand.  On a side street we came across a leather shop.  Not much from the outside but it proved to be very interesting inside; and another expensive stop.  There was every imaginable kind of leather goods. Jason took an interest in the jockstraps.  A clerk saw his interest and approached us.

“If you see something you like, these are custom fitted,” he said. He might have been a tad swishy but I thought he was putting his best macho foot forward for our sakes. 

I was looking through the jocks too and we both brought out ones we liked. Ironically, they were identical.

“I see you are attuned to one another’s tastes in leather,” the clerk said.  There was a booth in the back with a curtain for privacy. He motioned Jason inside and started to pull the curtain but I stood in the opening and he left it open.

“We’re attuned,” I said to the clerk.  He took that as an invitation himself and we both stood and watched Jason take off his shoes, jeans and briefs and pull the jockstrap on.  The clerk stepped in and went to his knees to mark the adjustments, which were minimal, I thought, just the strap around the waist.

“I see you’ve been to see our friend, Jim; this is a nice tattoo,” he remarked.

“I don’t think we’re going to be leaving Key West till he gets one on his cock,” I said.

“Well, it’s good to have your own trademark, and Jim would certainly have plenty to work with,” he said as he marked the strap then asked Jason to pull his cock and balls through the hole in the front panel.  It was a struggle and it was painful pulling his heavy balls through the hole along with his cock. 

“How does that feel?”

“Like somebody’s squeezing my balls,” Jason replied.

“Then we’ll cut the hole a little larger.  Not too much, though, it’s designed to push and lift.” He marked the hole with white chalk and told Jason he could take it off.  Then he did the same for me.

While the adjustments were being made we browsed the magazines, and beyond that was a small room with a wide array of jockstraps, including military jocks.  Jason glanced at me with a grin and I could see the wheels turning again.

“How many pairs of shorts did we buy?” he asked.

“Twenty two I think.”

“Can we afford that many jockstraps?” he asked.

I laughed and waved the clerk from behind the counter.  “Do you happen to have twenty two Marine jockstraps in stock?”

“I’ll check,” he said as he first counted the ones on display. He came back moments later and said he only had twelve but he could order more and ship them. We talked it over and decided to make up the difference with U.S. Army jocks. There would no doubt be some of the high school boys going into the Army.

At the glass counter we looked at the display of cock rings, ball straps.

“Can I interest you in some accessories?”

“I don’t know, I never used any of this stuff,” Jason said.

“Well, let’s give it a try, shall we?”  He selected several ball straps, plain and studded, and cock rings, both rubber and stainless steel.  “The straps will have to be trimmed to fit and the snaps placed according to your size.”

He took us back to the booth where we had to drop our jeans and shorts again for him to fit the leather ball straps.

“Tell me how tight you want it,” he said as he drew the strap up under my balls.  I told him and he pulled it a little tighter then marked it, and then he fitted Jason. “I’ll place three snaps so you can adjust it to your comfort level….or for someone else’s.”

Jason reached down and hefted his balls while the man was holding the strap snugly around them.

“You know, this feels good.  I can almost feel a testosterone rush,” he said.

“Yes, a lot of men say that,” the clerk said.

“And that is leading up to…..?” 

“You’re reading my mind,” Jason said.

I turned to the clerk.  “We’ll need twenty two more of the straps.”

“Forgive me for asking but my curiosity’s got the best of me. You’ve purchased twenty two jockstraps and now the same number of straps. Do you run an escort service, or belong to a club, or do you have your own stable of men?”

We both laughed and Jason explained that we would be training high school boys for basic training and we were outfitting them.

“Ah, high school boys….they will no doubt vary in size; I’ll put four snaps on those. If you have someplace else you want to go I can have these ready when you return, any time before six.”

Back on Duval we were stopped by a good looking college type selling scuba diving tours and deep sea fishing. We decided to give it a try; not the scuba diving but the deep sea fishing. It was early morning and the guy said he could arrange a ride for us out to the docks but we needed to pick up bottle water and a light lunch to take a long.  We did and returned to his booth where we caught a ride to the docks. We purposely booked a small boat for the morning; this one was a two-seater and the captain guaranteed a good catch. It was one of the most exhilarating experiences we’d ever had. We didn’t see land all morning. The first mate was kept busy baiting the hooks and we barely had time to grab a bite of lunch between reeling in the fish. The barracuda were plentiful and ugly as shit.  We threw most of them back.  Caught some giant sun fish and bonita fish.

The catch of the day was on my line. I thought I was reeling in a whale. I secretly hoped it was a marlin but I wasn’t that disappointed in landing what turned out to be a forty five pound king fish.  It was a hell of a morning of non-stop fishing and our hands were blistered.  We ended up with nineteen fish in the locker; that didn’t count the ugly bastards we’d tossed back.  Back at the dock the first mate asked if we wanted to have any of them mounted.  We hadn’t thought of that but we decided we didn’t need dead fish hanging on the wall so we left the catch to the boat. The first mate was good enough to inform us that we could have the big mackerel delivered to a restaurant where they would clean it and cook a meal from it and the restaurant would buy what was left.  We decided to leave it along with the others; let the first mate sell it. 

We’d had a light lunch on the fishing boat so we took the trolley around to the beach. Jason changed into the super-brief boxer suit and I put on the red bikini.

“Holy shit, that thing looks even smaller than when you first tried it on.  Did you get the wrong size?”

“No, it’s the same one,” he said. “I hope we don’t get arrested for indecency,” he said, looking down at the bulge in his suit, and in mine.

“Well, it’s not the suit that’d be illegal, it’d be the way you fill it out,” I said.

We grabbed our towels and walked out on the beach. The sun felt great and the hot sand felt good underfoot. We found a spot where it wasn’t very crowded where Jason dropped his towel.

“I’m going in swimming then let the sun bake me,” he said.

I wasn’t sure he should go in the water with fresh tattoos but I didn’t say anything.  He was his own man. I tried not to ogle his butt as I watched him walk down to the shoreline but good Godd, he had a sexy ass! He passed by a pair of girls and they thought so too. One of them whistled and the other said, “Nice butt!” Jason smiled and gave them a little salute.

I spread the towels out and stretched out to soak up the sun, reminding myself not to get burned. I also reminded myself not to stay out very long for fear the sun would start fading the tattoos. Propped up on my elbows, I looked down my own suit.  My Godd, What was I thinking? I didn’t know if I would have the balls to walk through the beach goers to get down to the water. What the hell, I thought, I didn’t know any of these people….if they got a thrill out of it, well I’d be glad to oblige. I stood up and headed toward the shoreline. I was very conscious of the bulge of my manhood shifting with each step. I didn’t know it would do that; I hadn’t walked in the suit back in the store. I walked between the girls and two guys on the other side.  One of the guys whistled and one of the same girls said, “Another nice butt! Nice separation, too.”  I remembered then how the suit didn’t cover all of my butt.  I made it to the water and dove in and swam towards Jason. I was still a powerful swimmer, better than Jason, and I soon caught up with him.

“We’re going to be lucky if we get out of here without being raped,” I said. “That same girl remarked about my ass and some guy whistled at me.”

“You and me, two guys, two girls….let’s invite them back to our room,” he said.

“I didn’t get a good look at the guys.”

“What the hell, push him down under the blanket,” he said.

When I started to swim farther out Jason said he was heading back. I swam several yards then floated on my back to watch Jason. Something was different; his stroke wasn’t as I remembered. I flipped under and swam in his direction.  I was still a dozen yards out when he stood and waded out of the water. His stride wasn’t the same either. He acted weak and tired, like he was dragging his legs. I came out of the water as he dropped onto his towel.

“I hate to think my age is catching up with me,” he said.

“You’re fucked out, that’s all,” I said.

A few minutes later the girls gathered up their stuff and walked toward us. They stopped, standing over us.

“Marines,” one said, eyeing our tattoos.

“Born and bred,” Jason said.

“Nice tattoos,” the other girl said.

The other girl said, smiling, “I just wonder if you know your suit is transparent when it’s wet.”

“What!” He looked down at himself. I hadn’t noticed either but the wet suit was like gauze; the dark hue of his manhood showed through, especially his pubes, and the outline of his cock was very visible.  “That guy didn’t tell me it turned transparent in the water.”

“Your goodies are nicely displayed, too,” she said to me.

I looked down and sure enough the head of my cock was clearly outlined under the very thin, wet material. I felt my face flushing warm.

“Hey, nobody minds,” the girl said. “Not us and not those two guys back there.  Too bad we have to leave, but good luck with the guys. They’re pretty hot.”

They left Jason shaking his head, and me laughing. We both turned over on our stomachs. We basked in the hot sun till I was afraid I would burn and I pushed up and turned over. I quickly remember the suit and sat up.

“Hey, don’t get burned,” I said to Jason.

As he was turning over I saw the two guys were gathering up their stuff. I just knew they were going to stop.

“Nice tats,” the blonde said.  “Don’t they hurt?”

“Not so you’d notice,” Jason said.

“Thanks for your service. It’s comforting to know we’re being protected by men like you.”

“And it’s good to see that the Marines still build men who are up to the job,” the blonde said.

“Well, we’re not on the job anymore,” I said.    

“I’ll bet you were good at it when you were.”

“We’d like to think so.”

“Look, we’ve got a room in the hotel. We’d like to honor your service if you would join us for a drink.”

We looked at each other and again; our decision was made without us saying a word.

“We don’t wanta get burned,” Jason said.

“Okay, one drink,” I agreed.

“Great! Bring all your stuff, you can change at our place.”

“I’m Andy, by the way,” the blonde said, putting out his hand. “This is Dan.”         

I took better notice of the two guys as we walked up the beach and crossed the road to the hotel.  Andy, the blonde, looked typically collegiate, big-man-on-campus, with an unruly shock of hair, nicely tanned, muscular build, tighter and leaner than his friend. He might have been a swimmer except he was more muscular and better defined than most swimmers. Dan had a darker tan that seemed to go with his cropped, coal back hair. He was heavier, more the football type with muscles that bulged and rippled at the slightest move. I was expecting a good time.

“Are you guys in college?”

“Seniors, University of Florida,” Dan said.

“You’re a long way from home,” I said.   

 “We come to Key West every chance we get.  It’s like visiting another country,” Andy said.

“This is our first time here,” I said.

“How do you like it?”

“Good enough that we might get the number of a real estate agent before we leave,” Jason said jokingly.

We all wrapped our towels around us before we entered the lobby, then rode the elevator up to the sixteenth floor and followed them down the hall to their room, which was a suite.

“You guys can shower and change; there is a bathroom through there,” Dan said.  “Your drinks will be waiting. Jack Daniels okay?”

“Perfect,” I said.

We went back to shower. We showered together.

“This is going to work out,” Jason said quietly.

“Which one have you got your eye on?” I asked.

“Doesn’t fuckin’ matter to me, let’s let them chose,” he said.

When we were drying off I noticed our clothes were gone. “Didn’t we bring our clothes back with us?”

“Yes. Shit, we’re not getting rolled, are we?”

They didn’t look the type but I was a little pissed.

“Hey, where are our clothes?” I called out.

“In here!”

We wrapped the towels around us and went back to the room.

“We didn’t want you to put them on yet,” Dan said as he handed us our drinks and motioned to the couch for us to sit down. “Okay, you’re Marines, you know you’re hot and you know why we invited you up here.”

“To honor our service, you said,” Jason said.

“Yes, and we wanted to get a closer look at those US Marine Corps tattoos across you lower stomach,” Dan said.  He set his drink down and dropped to his knees in front of me.  Andy knelt down in front of Jason.   They undid our towels and laid them aside.

“Fuck! The Marines certainly do build men,” Dan said as he gazed down at my manhood.  It was fluffed up nicely from the warm shower.

Andy, over between Jason’s legs, leaned down to nuzzle his face in his crotch, licking deep along the side of his balls.

“We were afraid those girls were going to pick you up,” Dan said.

“They had to be somewhere,” Jason said.

“Would you have gone with them if they’d asked?”

“Probably.”

“Wonderful!”

“Why wonderful?” I asked.

“Means you’re straight.  Straight guys are the best.  Especially straight Marines.”

Both of our cocks were rising, taking their time, but swelling out to eye-popping proportions; at least these guys’ eyes were popping.

“There is a god,” Dan said as he stroked my cock. “How big does this thing get?”

“You’ll see in a minute,” I said.

“You can surprise me,” he said, wetting his lips. “I’m going to swallow it till you get hard then I’ll find out when I pull off.” With that he took my rubbery cock in his mouth and began working it into his throat.

I saw his eyes begin to water but he was determined and he soon had his face buried in my pubes, his chin pressing against my balls and my cock buried in the curvature of his throat. Dan tilted his head to the side to watch him. My cock swelled up and was soon pulsating in his throat. It was wonderful the way his throat muscles kept “swallowing” my cock. When he felt I was hard he slowly pulled up from my cock, revealing inch after inch of slick, thick cock meat.

“Fuck!” he breathed as he stroked me.  “I don’t’ believe I had all that down my throat!”

“You did good,” I told him.

“How about you, can you deep throat?” Jason asked Andy.

“Yes, but you’re already hard, let me work up to it.”

“Take your time,” Jason moaned as Andy began sucking him.

I watched the youth’s mouth distended around Jason’s thick cock; saw him fight down his gag reflex to take the head in his throat, then labor to work his way down the shaft.

“You don’t need to rush it, taking your time feels good,” Jason said.

We laid back and sipped our drinks.  They’d poured us healthy drinks and the buzz was creeping up on me.

“Did you guys learn this in college?” I asked.

Andy nodded yes, Dan no. Neither of them stopped sucking long enough to reply.  Not for a long time. Finally Dan rose up from my cock to take a deep breath and wipe his mouth with his forearm.

“Sophomore in high school,” he said. “Learned from my coach. He seduced me and convinced me to try it. I’d never even thought about sucking cock before, but when he pulled his cock out of his PE shorts and waved it in my face I was convinced I oughta try it. I kept choking, though, and he showed me how to deep throat.  Laid me on a bench with my head hanging over the end of the bench and straddled my head and shoved his cock right in my throat.  I didn’t even flinch. I was hooked.”

Andy still didn’t give up Jason’s cock to talk and Dan went back down on me.  They were good and they were eager; like they were hungry for cock.  Every now and then we would have to ease them off so we would last longer. At one point Andy asked Jason if he wanted to fuck him.

“Sure, if you do all the work,” Jason said.

“You mean ride you?  Gladly.”

It took Andy real determination to work his ass down onto Jason’s bulbous cockhead. He gasped and winced terribly but he rode it out till the pain was tolerable, then he slowly sat down all the way.

“Godd, that’s a big hunk of meat,” he moaned. When his ass was attuned to the intrusion he began riding up and down.

“Do you wanta fuck me?” Dan asked.

“If you wanta give it up,” I replied.  By the way he settled down on my cock and rode right down I surmised that he’d been fucking a lot longer than Andy, too.

“I’m curious,” I said.  “There were a lot of hot guys on the beach; why us?”

“Well, first, there’s nothing hotter than a military guy and your tattoos caught our eye.  But you’re talking about the age difference,” Dan said.  “Most younger hot guys know they’re hot and they let you know they know it.  It’s narcissistic.  I want to tell them, So, you’re hot; get over yourself.”

“Personally, I think it’s a lack of self confidence,” Andy put in.  “They’re afraid they’re not as hot as they think they are and they overcompensate and make fools of themselves.  If you’ve got it, people will notice, you don’t need to flash a neon sign. You guys, on the other hand—all military guys for that matter—exude confidence. You’ve got it, you know you’re hot, but it’s no big deal, it’s just who you are. That’s sexy.”

“There’s something else but I don’t know if you’d want me to say it,” Dan said.

“Go ahead, say it,” I said.

“Military guys are….well….they’re military.   They’ve been trained for combat.  Trained to kill.  I think that’s where the steely-eyed confidence comes from.  It’s sexy as hell to be doing a guy, knowing he could drop you with his little finger, wondering if he’s actually killed other men.”

“Is that what you were thinking when you were sucking me?” Jason asked.

“Yes.  I hope I haven’t said the wrong thing.”

“No. I don’t get it but it’s okay you said it,” he said. 

“Does that mean you’re afraid of us?” I asked.

“No. But you were both intimidating till we met you.” Dan said.   

We both saw Andy’s screwy smile as he was riding up and down on Jason’s cock.

“What?” Jason asked.  “There’s something else.”

“I wanta kiss you so damn bad. Your lips are so sexy. Can I? It wouldn’t be like you’d be kissing me back,” he added quickly. “But I’ve had my mouth on your cock.”

Jason laughed, his stomach muscles dancing.

“Oh, that’s sexy too, the way your abs ripple when you laugh.”

“Have you ever kissed a guy before?” Jason asked.

“Yes, but never a real man.”

“My cock’s clean, let’s give it a try,” Jason said as he wrapped one big hand around the back of Andy’s head and drew him closer.

“Oh, Godd!” Andy moaned as Jason pulled his mouth against his own.

Jason kissed him back, full on; I could see he was giving him the full tongue treatment. Their kiss muffled Andy’s whimpering as he kissed him back.  Their passion was building furiously. Andy was riding Jason’s cock like a bronc buster, whimpering, slamming his butt down hard against his pubes. When he broke away to take in air his whimpering became louder.

“Ohh, Godd….fuck me….fuck me, Jason….Awwwhh….fuck, I’m gonna cum!”

Jason pulled his mouth back down on his own and fucked him like a stallion with a mare in heat.  I saw Andy’s eyes roll back in his head. 

“Ohh....Godd….nothing this good….has ever happened….to me before!” he whimpered.

Suddenly he was cumming.  As Andy’s body quaked, cum spurted out in a series of long ropes that hit Jason’s neck and shoulders and streaked all across his chest and stomach. Finally he collapsed on top of Jason and he held him like a whimpering baby.

“Damn,” Dan swore softly.  “That was a deluge! I never saw him cum like that before.”

When he was able, Andy pushed himself up. His cum clung to their upper bodies like strings of glue.

“I am so sorry,” he said. 

“For what? That’s sorta the reason for having sex,” Jason said.

“You didn’t get off, and I made such a mess all over you. I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing; it’ll wash off,” Jason said, laughing.

“No, let me….I’ll clean it up….can I lick it up?”

“Sure.”

“Wait, let’s do this right,” Dan said. “Get Jason off too; make him cum all over himself. I’ll get Brad off, let him cum on Jason and then we clean it all up together.”

Andy climbed off of Jason and Dan maneuvered me in a position on my knees beside him then they both began sucking us. I smiled down at Jason and when our eyes met the vibes tremored between us and I leaned down. He put his hand around the back of my head and pulled me into a hard, moaning kiss.

“Godd, this is so hot; two straight Marines kissing!” Dan exclaimed.

Our kiss had the same effect as Andy kissing Jason, sending electrical tremors down to my groin. My cock bolted even harder in Dan’s mouth and Jason’s groan rumbled in my throat. Suddenly Andy jerked away from Jason’s cock as it erupted with powerful jets of cum high in the air….one….two….three shot up before the first one landed on his chest.

“Holy shit!” Andy exclaimed as he jacked him off and more spurts shot out.

Watching Jason shoot set me off and I blasted in Dan’s mouth before he jerked away and aimed my cock to Jason’s chest.

“Shit, I never seen anybody cum like that!”

“Geezuss, where’s it all coming from?”

I was teetering like a sapling in the wind as my climax wound down and I finally lay over against Jason. He was such a beautiful mess; it looked like a quart of cum had been sprayed all over his upper body.

“We’ve got work to do,” Dan said as he began lapping it up.  Andy joined him, slurping up the streaks of cum.

“Mmmnnn, tastes like ranch dressing,” he murmured.

Jason broke out laughing. When they were finished licking him clean they wrapped themselves around us and took our cocks in their mouths once again. It was a good feeling; the boys were so appreciative.

“There’s only one thing missing,” Jason said.

“What’s that?” Andy asked.

“Dan didn’t get off. So why don’t you suck him instead of me. We’d like to watch.”

They got on the floor in a sixty-nine. We watched. It was enough to give me another hardon but when they asked us to stay the night Jason declined. I was surprised.

Duval Street beckoned us again with its bright lights and bustle of tourists but we crossed over and headed back to the B&B. Oddly, it was a decision without a word being spoken and I marveled at how well we had come to know each other.

“One more stop,” I said as we were passing a clothing shop.  “I’m going to send Logan some jeans. He looks great in his bibs but he’s got a butt that cries out for a pair of jeans.”

“What about his siblings?” Jason asked.  “You might cause some              family unrest, sending all this stuff to Logan and nothing to his brothers and sisters.”

“Well, we can’t have that, can we?” I said. With that, the two of us set about picking out complete wardrobes for all of them. We didn’t know sizes but we guessed, thinking that their mother would be quite capable of making alterations.  It was funny to see Jason picking out dresses.

We found a UPS outlet and shipped the stuff to Logan and told him he could share his stuff with Lonnie if he wanted to, or not. Then we headed back to our room.

“How about that bubble bath?” Jason said as we entered the room.

“If you promise not to tell anyone,” I said.

“What about the tattoos?” Jason asked.

“Let’s take a chance,” I said.

There were six large candles situated on the rim of the tub and around it.  Two of them stood well over three feet tall. Jason lit the candles while I ran the water.

“Don’t tell anyone about the candles, either,” I said.

I smelled the bottles of bubble bath and oil and handed them to Jason approval.

“Any flavor will do; I’m only interested in how they make you smell,” he said.

When the bubbles rose over the rim of the tub Jason stepped in and put out his hand to me.  I stepped in with him and we sat down at opposite ends of the tub. It was so relaxing and I could almost feel the contentment wash over us.

“We’ve had a lot of good years,” he said.

“And many more to come.”

“I still wish we could have do-overs instead of waiting to see what the future brings.”

“I don’t think that’s in God’s plan,” I said.

“Do you ever question God’s plan?” he asked.

“No. Never saw any reason to. He’s taken us this far.”

“Do you think so?  Do you think He took us down the paths we took, or did we bluster along, maybe not going in the direction He intended?”

“Either way, here’s where we ended up, and this isn’t so bad, is it?”

“It’s been great,” he said.       

“Maybe next year we go on a cruise,” I said.

To be continued...