Golf Balls and Boy Balls - 10. Chapter 10 FLORDIA

FLORIDA

The alarm went off and we got ready for our run. Our new running track has spoiled us. We have trouble running anywhere else. The track is so easy on our feet and joints. It is habit forming. Our track measures just over a mile for each circuit. We ran ten and went in to shower and get Adam ready for his first day of college.

We sucked each other and kiss tenderly. When Adam drove off, I watched the security team fall in behind him. I wanted to go with them. That first morning was like a lifetime. Minutes seemed like hours. I tried swimming to take my mind off of Adam. It didn’t work. I went to the club and tried to hit some balls. I didn’t hit more than a dozen balls before I was bored stiff. No, I wasn’t hard; I was just not able focus on anything but my missing Adam. I went to the clubhouse and talked to Hank. “Damn it Hank, I’m lost with Adam at school.”

“We tried to warn you, that you two needed some time alone. Paul and I had our work and so we didn’t see each other for long periods of time. I do confess that knowing he is not just somewhere on the course, but at school does cause me a little worry. But not that we are apart; I’m just afraid that his being gay will cause some problems with bullies and bigots.”

“I know Rice is supposed to be one of the most liberal and understanding schools and has been touting zero tolerance to discrimination and bullies.

I got a text message from Adam at lunch and he wasn’t faring any better than I was. He had classes to take his mind off missing me, but that wasn’t helping. He found a location where he could talk and he called. We were both miserable, but we knew we would get through this. I just had to find something to do with myself. He arranged his schedule so that he was finished by 2:00 all four days. He might not always be able to get the classes he wanted to fit that schedule, but for now it was go to know he would be home and we had time to spend doing some of the things we had grown accustomed to.

I took painting lessons in an effort to find something to do with my time. It was fun and I managed to paint a lot of flowers and leaves. That wasn’t going to hold my attention though. I went to the local tech school and took lessons to weld. This was fun to learn. I mean being able to cut steel with a torch and stick two pieces of metal together with electricity, it is awesome. Although fun and I enjoyed the experience, I knew it wasn’t going to hold my attention or be a practical and sustainable activity for me.

My next endeavor was automobile mechanics. I got the idea that I wanted to do a retro upgrade like the cuda but with a Pontiac Firebird. I got a local high school auto shop class to take it as a project. I enjoyed this for about three weeks. I assured the school that I would continue to support the project and then pay them for the labor. I enjoyed this a lot, up until the finding and deciding which performance upgrades to do was complete. The actual work of building the new car (the shell was the only thing that wasn’t going to be new and state of the art on the car).

During Christmas break, we took a trip to Kentucky to spend some time at our horse farms. Adam noticed that I always inspected a beautiful piece of furniture more than he expected. “Jim, you love beautiful cabinets and furniture, have you thought about trying woodworking as a hobby?”

“No, I don’t think I would be very good at something like that. That stuff takes a lot of creativity and that isn’t my strong suit. I don’t seem to be very creative at all.”

“Actually, I think you are very creative. Besides, a lot of woodworking is just following the plans.”

“It’s a lot more complicated than just following some plans. You have to choose the right wood, and a lot of other things to make a quality piece.”

“See, I told you, I think woodworking would be a great hobby for you.”

A couple of weeks after Adam’s Christmas vacation, I found a man that was willing to take me on as a student. He is a retired executive that loves woodworking. When I asked him if he minded me only working while my partner was in school, he was happy to accommodate me.

I loved working with James. He is a great teacher and we worked well together. I knew after a couple of months that woodworking was my hobby of choice. James helped my architect design a beautiful shop. We decided to build it along the same design as the new gardener’s house, on the other side of the garage from the house. That location made it easy to be able to get a truck to it easily. The finishing area is completely separate from the rest of the shop. I decided to build matching desks for Adam and I as the first project to come out of the shop before we even broke ground to build the shop. James and I built six different desks during my apprenticeship.

Adam and I had a horse in the Kentucky Derby. All the hoopla and pageantry were a little unsettling. Our horse was going off as the favorite. Our trainer was optimistic, but said our horse didn’t like the slop much and we had a very sloppy track. He came in second. He must have gotten stepped on some where during the race and he had a nasty cut on one of his legs. We held him out of the Preakness. He won the Belmont Stakes and our farm won its first Triple Crown race. We were all excited and Adam and I got a lot more publicity than we wanted.

Adam and I still talked everyday at lunch, but we were finally able to make it through the day without going nuts because we weren’t together. Of course, Adam did fantastic in school. My shop should be finished about the time school was out. Adam said he would work with me during the summer when we weren’t playing golf or tennis. He also said he was concerned about me working in the shop alone. He said he knew I was safe, but accidents happen and he would feel better if I had Tobin or someone check on me when I was alone.

Just before school ended, James called me and asked if I still needed a good woodworker to help me in the new shop? I wasn’t sure what he was getting at, but he explained that his son and his wife were moving to California and his grandson didn’t want to move. He would be graduating from high school on Friday and needed a job. He said he couldn’t afford to pay him anything at his shop, but he is an excellent woodworker and would be providing him a place to live. He said that his name was Tanner and that he would be going to university at night if he could find a decent day job. Because of his love of woodworking, James thought of me and thought he would ask.

I said that I would meet him and see if we would work well together and then see about hiring him. I told him, I would be spending a lot of time this summer playing golf and tennis with Adam, but that when we weren’t working in the shop, He could help Tobin with the grounds, if he didn’t mind that type work. James was ecstatic and said that Tanner was happy when he heard that. I asked him to bring him over and they said they would be right over.

I told Adam they were coming over. “That sounds so good to me. I was worried about you working alone when I started back to school. I know you said you would take some classes too, but we both know that was just for me and you don’t really want to go back to school.”

“You know me too well, my sweet Adam.” We went out to the pool where all the crew was playing and having a good time. Max brought James and Tanner out to where we were. I got out and went to meet them. “I should have told you that we were hanging at the pool with some friends and to bring your bathing suits. We probably have a few that will fit you in the pool house.”

“Not me, but Tanner might after you guys talk if he wants. I’m sure someone would bring him home.”

Tanner was very cute. A little skinny; but cute as hell. He had dark brown hair, might have looked black if we were not in the sun, with the bluest eyes I have ever seen. He had dimples that rivaled Adam’s and when he smiled his cuteness increased a ton. “If you are sure you don’t mind I would enjoy that. I’m Tanner by the way.” He shook hands.

Adam walked up. “I’m Jim and this is Adam. If you are going to work here, you might as well know that Adam and I are partners. I don’t know if your granddad knows that I’m gay or not. I don’t remember us ever talking about it, but he knows that Adam and I live together. I just assumed he knows.”

Tanner ducked his head. “I haven’t told you grandpa, but I’m gay too.”

James raised Tanner’s head. “I know son, I was just waiting for you to tell me.”

“Did you know mom and dad didn’t want me to move with them?”

“No, but I know they have some strange ideas since they joined that fundamental church. I was so disappointed when I found out that they did that. They call themselves Christians but hate everyone and everything that is not like them. That is hatred not Christian.”

“Are all these guys gay?”

I took him over and introduced him to guys. “This is Corbin and his partner Dillon over there just getting out of the pool. This is Hank and Paul.” Frankie walked up. “This guy that is drooling is Frankie.”

“I’m sorry, I just couldn’t help myself. I had to come over here and meet you.”

“Hi, I’m Tanner Jones, I’m happy to meet you. Which of these guys is your boyfriend?”

“I’m Paul’s brother, but I don’t have a boyfriend. Would you be interested in the job?” Frankie was in full flirt mode.

“I would like to get to know you better. I don’t have a boyfriend either, but I came looking for a job today.” Tanner’s smile lit up the whole pool area.

“Cool, I’m sure Jim and Paul have plenty of suits, join us when you are finished.”

“Thanks, that is what Jim said. I was planning on it if I can catch a ride home afterward. My granddad won’t be staying.”

“I’ll be happy to take you home.”

It was easy to see that Frankie was developing an erection. He turned quickly to hide that fact before he embarrassed himself. Tanner saw it though I’m sure. His dimples just light up his face.

“Let’s go look at the shop. In fact Tobin might be in there, he is making some flower boxes I think. He loves my shop almost as much as I do. Your granddad helped design it and I think it is a fantastic space.”

“I haven’t seen it since it was first finished. You will be impressed with how big it is Tanner. It will make a lot of professional cabinet makers drool over the space and equipment in it.”

Once we were inside. Tanner dropped his jaw. “Holy crap, this is awesome. Look at all that wood grandpa. Those planers must be worth a fortune. Look at all those material handlers.” He was going from machine to machine. He was like a kid in a candy store. “I would work for nothing to get to work in here.”

“You need to work where you can get paid. I wish you didn’t, but your grandpa didn’t plan on college tuition and books in his retirement planning.” He looked embarrassed.

I looked and saw that the in-use light was on in the finishing area. “Looks like Tobin is in the finishing area.” I pointed to the warning light. “Let’s see if he is at a breaking spot.” I knocked on the door.

He opened the door. “Come in I’m just finished.”

“Tobin, you remember James don’t you?”

“Yes, good to see you again James.”

“This handsome young man is his grandson, Tanner. He is going to come to help me in the shop and when we are not working in the shop, he will be another of your helpers.”

Tobin laughed. “Sorry Tanner, I’m not laughing at you. Our boss Jim is not your typical boss. He and Adam are filthy rich, but you couldn’t tell it from the way they act. They don’t have employees, just friends that happen to get paid. I have never met anyone like them in my life. My grandson is Corbin; he is one of those hanging around the pool. He and his boyfriend Dillon also are my helpers. I keep telling Jim and Adam they are paying those boys way too much and letting them get by without really earning it. Don’t worry; I’ve learned it is useless to argue. Adam once told me if we didn’t have enough in the budget that it could be adjusted. Those boys seem to love all of us that work for them, and we can’t help but love them too. “

“So you think you can work for us and Tobin?”

“I think it will be a pleasure.”

“How about you Tobin? You think you can get along with Tanner?”

“Of course, do you want me to put him on the payroll as of today? I will give you the forms to fill out. Just a second and I will get a package from the office.” He started to leave to get the package.

“Tobin make sure you get him all the information on the benefits and everything. Wait just a second, we haven’t discussed salary yet. How much do you need Tanner?”

“Grandpa said you would probably pay minimum wage. I don’t really know how much that is.”

“We can probably do a little better than that. I think we should pay Tanner the same as we do Corbin and Dillon. How much are we paying them?”

“You pay them four thousand a month with all their benefits paid.”

“Wow, you called them Tobin’s assistants and you are paying them four thousand a month plus benefits. Maybe I should go back to work for you two.” James laughed. “What kind of benefits?”

“You know the usual, health insurance, dental, vacation pay, and books and tuition if he maintains a C average. I think that pretty much covers it, but Tobin will bring all the information with the forms. Tanner, we also give Corbin and Dillon a place to live. We have a second apartment above the garage if that is okay with you. I know James you were counting on him living with you, but he is getting the age he needs to learn to cook and take care of himself.”

“Damn Jim, where were you when I was eighteen? James laughed. “Do you want to live here Tanner?”

“I hope it doesn’t hurt your feelings grandpa, but yes, I do. I love you grandpa, but I want to be on my own if I can.”

“I understand and I don’t blame you. Just remember to come by and see your old gramps every once in awhile.”

Tobin came back with a package. He is a very organized man. “We need to get these forms to Mary in the next day or so. There is a code for the alarm, a key, and the opener for the gate. Keep that in your car and just push the blue button to open that big gate. If you are trying to get in without the opener, you have to use the key to open that small door in the gate and you have thirty seconds to enter your code which will open the gate and you can drive through. By the way, these guys probably forgot to tell you that they have a security team that has the whole place under surveillance. Don’t make love behind the bushes unless you want to put on a show.” Tobin laughed really big. “Corbin and Dillon found out the hard way.” He raised his hands. “Of course, you are liable to see the indoor pool covered in naked boys. They do usually and I stress usually try to wear suits out here. My lady friend got an eye full more than once though. She wasn’t complaining, well not about them anyway. She likes to tease this old man. Come to think of it. So do the boys. I confess I love it though.”

We took Tanner and James up and showed them the apartment. They seemed to be impressed, then when they saw the bathroom both their eyes got as big as saucers. “Woe, I have never seen a shower that big except in a gym or something, but I don’t see a shower head.”

“The whole top can be a shower. That is called the rainfall setting. It can be adjusted from gentle to a rain storm that is a lot harder than I can stand anyway. There are all sorts of settings you can program. Once you get used to it, you will find settings you like best and program them so that you can just use a program to get the temperature and direction and strength just like you like it.”

“Dang Tanner, I want to move in with you. This apartment could easily rent for three or four grand a month. I had no idea you would do this for Tanner, when I called this afternoon.”

“I was just looking for a job. I think I fell into a dream. This is unbelievable.” He looked at me. “I hate to seem so eager, but can I move my stuff in today?”

I laughed. “Of course, just a second.” I dialed security. “Hey guys, this is Jim, we have a new guy moving into the second apartment. Do you guys have an extra phone available. His name is Tanner Jones.” I had to wait for him to check. “Okay, that will be fine. He will be moving his stuff starting this evening. Thanks guys.”

“They don’t have a phone ready at the moment; they had a new security guy that took the one they keep in reserve. They will have it ready by this evening. You will need to dial 996* to connect to the security guys. You need to tell them if you bring in a guest and especially let them know if you have overnight guests. They are not very friendly to unknown people on the grounds.” I laughed.

“You’re giving him a phone too?”

“It is part of the job requirement. Security requires it. You should see the scramble for phones when one rings when we are around the pool.”

“I noticed that both of you picked up your phone when we left the pool area, but didn’t think anything about it.”

“It is habit. If we hadn’t, someone would have brought it to us and give us the guilt trip of us putting them out. Our security team is a pretty nice bunch, but they insist that we keep our phones on us or close.” About then both Adam and my phone gave a single tone. I looked at the message. “Your new phone number is (713) 555-6273. They have sent it to everyone on the network, so it will automatically update our phonebook. See, I put you in friends and in household and so I can find you from either. I showed him the entry with his name already in the phone.”

“That is so cool.”

My phone rang. It was security. “Hello. Yes, he will need the student package and make sure you give him a good printer for the apartment. He doesn’t need to have to go to the office for printouts. Yes, exactly like Corbin and Dillon. I don’t know let me ask him.” I looked at Tanner. “Do you prefer a Mac or PC?”

“I have a laptop; you don’t need to give me another one.”

“They don’t like to connect anything except what they have configured to the network. They will transfer what you want off your computer, but they insist it not connect to the network. I know it’s a pain, but they won’t budge.” I laughed. “Mac or PC?”

“I have always wanted a Mac, but could never justify the cost. I feel guilty saying Mac.:

“Make it a Mac, Dale. I don’t know, let me ask him. He wants to know if you want a white or black Mac air, that’s all they have for Mac’s at the moment.”

“Black I think would be great.”

“Black Dale. No he doesn’t have his phone yet, but it should be here this evening.” I handed Tanner my phone. “He wants to give you your id and temporary password.”

“Thank you sir. Okay, thank you Dale.”

He handed me back the phone.

Adam’s phone rang. “It’s Maggs. I’m pretty sure she is making sure you are coming to dinner.” He answered the phone. “Hi Maggs. Yes, he is with us. Just a second.” Adam handed Tanner the phone.

“Hello.” He blushed. “I guess, I’m Tanner if that is who you mean. Yes, ma’am I will if Adam and Jim want me to.” He laughed. “She says you want me to and she doesn’t want any lip. Oh she said that dinner would be at six-thirty and all the other boys said they would be eating dinner. They are both nodding their heads.” He laughed again. “I can’t wait to meet YOU.” He giggled. “I can see who runs this household already. Thanks Maggs.” He handed Adam back the phone.

“She hung up. I guess she didn’t want to talk to me.” We all laughed.

“Grandpa, I guess I need to go get my stuff. Oh, where should I park my truck?”

“There should be an open slot in the garage. The middle doors will open when you use the red button on your gate opener. Tobin makes the boys use the back slots, but we don’t care where you park. There are like sixteen slots in there. The three trucks on the end are available. The keys are on the board by the people door. I heard him tell the boys if they took the blue truck to tell him, he considers that one his.”

When we got back out to the pool, Frankie was the first one over. “So are you ready to swim?” Adam and I both couldn’t help but laugh. We noticed that everyone else was trying to stifle their laughs too.

“No, I’m going to go home and get my stuff. I am going to move into the garage apartment.”

“I thought that is where you guys lived.” He looked at Dillon and Corbin.

“There are two apartments.” Dillon said with a grin.

“Can I help you?” We all had to laugh again.

Paul couldn’t hold any longer. He was laughing so hard. “Damn bro, give the guy a chance. You are going to scare the guy off before you get to know him.”

“I’m sorry Tanner, Paul’s right. You are so handsome, I couldn’t help myself.”

“It’s okay Frankie. I think you’re handsome too. I do want to get to know you, but let’s get to know each other before we hop in bed.” He squeezed Frankie’s shoulder. “You better change clothes if you want to help me get my stuff.” Talk about a change of expression, Frankie changed from embarrassed to happy and grinning from ear to ear.

“I need to wash the chlorine off and will be dressed in two minutes.” He ran to the pool house. True to his word it didn’t take him long before he was back. They left and we heard Frankie say. “I have already made a fool out of myself. Now you will have to ask me out when you’re ready.” He turned to us and made like he was going to give us the finger, but he didn’t.

Paul said. “You should have seen Frankie the whole time you guys were gone. He was pacing and wondering if he had a chance with Tanner. I have never seen him so infatuated with anyone before.”

“Oh he was way past infatuated. I think that boy fell in love with Tanner the moment he laid eyes on him. Tanner seemed to have eyes for him too, but I think he is trying to be very careful. My guess is he has been hurt by falling too quickly for someone, but that is purely a guess.”

“You know Adam and I fell in love when we first met, but I think that happens rarely.”

“I fell in love with Hank as soon as I figured out I was gay, but it took me almost three years to get him to even consider me. I know that was a difference in our ages, but he sure was hard headed.” He laughed at Hank as he kissed him.

“We were a lot more traditional I guess. We had known each other for most of our lives, but neither knew the other was gay. I really liked Corbin, but I was afraid to approach him. We weren’t in the same circle of friends, so it wasn’t easy to get close to him.” He swatted Corbin on the butt. “It’s a good thing Corbin was bold enough to start the ball rolling. He asked me if I played tennis and then proceeded to challenge me to a match. On our second match, I let him win the first one by the way.” He laughed. “Not really, he did beat me two out of three sets though. On our next date, he told me he was gay and that he liked me and wanted to get to know me better. He then said if I wasn’t gay to tell him now, so that he wouldn’t keep trying for more than just a friend. Then I had to tell him I had a crush on him and had for a few months. Needless to say we hit it off pretty well.”

It was almost no time at all that Tanner and Frankie came back. “Let’s go see if we can help them unload.” We all went and grabbed a box and took it up to the apartment.

“Look someone left a phone and the notebook on the counter. Man, that is one thin laptop.”

“The phone should ring any second.” As if on queue, his phone rang.

He picked up the phone. “Hello.” Tanner said tentatively. “Yes sir, I will.” A pause. “Do I need to right now? I have some people visiting at the moment. Okay, just a second.” He opened the laptop. Once it booted he said. “Okay it is up. Yes, it is at the logon screen.” He entered his temporary password and it ask him for his permanent password. “Okay, it’s done. Yes sir, it was quick. Thanks.” He hung up and then logged off and shutdown the laptop. “He wanted me to logon while he was here to make sure I got in.”

His phone rang again. “It’s Maggs.”

“Might as well put it on speaker. She is going to holler at Adam and I to get dressed and invite our company to do the same.”

He put it on speaker. “We have you on speaker Maggs, we know you want us dressed and ready to eat.”

“I’m glad I almost have you two trained. Get your butts moving. The rest of you boys too.” She hung up.

“We’ll see you guys in a minute. We have to go up to our bedroom for clothes, so Frankie show Tanner to the dinning room please. Better yet take him to the kitchen so he will know where it is.” Adam and I took off. The other boys were leaving too. I assume to rinse the chlorine off and dress.

We all got down to the dinning room at about the same time. Maggs had made another fantastic dinner. “How do you two eat Maggs cooking and still say so thin?”

We laughed. “We had to start running morning and night. We do split our run up usually, but she normally just cooks good food, it is not full of fat or anything. She looks out for us. Tanner, if you like to run we have a track around the inside of the fence. Feel free to use it any time you wish.”

“Wait until you feel it. It is the best surface I have ever run on. Dillon and I usually run with Adam and Jim almost every morning. They get up and run at six o’clock though, so they run early. The circuit is a tiny bit over a mile. They usually run eight to ten laps of a morning. I’m not sure what they run at night. Tobin usually has us busy during their evening run.”

“Before I go up and start unpacking, can I talk to you about how I will know to go to the shop or to report to Tobin.” I could tell he wanted to talk, not just ask about work. We went into the game room to talk. “Nice, very nice room. What I really wanted to talk to you about is Frankie. I really like him and it’s evident that he seems to like me too. I just got out of a relationship a little over a month ago. It was a very painful breakup. I caught my boyfriend with my best friend. So, I sort of lost both. I don’t want to turn Frankie off, but I’m not ready to risk another broken heart just yet. Do you think he will understand if I tell him?”

“I’m sure he will. I have noticed that he backed off a little already. I think he sensed that he needed to go a little slower. I have never known him to be that aggressive, like he was earlier, but I think he will understand.”

We went back through and Frankie asked. “I would offer to help you unpack, but I rode with Paul and Hank and they are ready to go. Give me a call if you want to do something tomorrow.”

“Okay, I will. Can I say something with all of you here. I have a very bad breakup about a month ago. My best friend and my boyfriend were cheating on me. It really hurt a lot. I like you Frankie, but I’m not ready to risk getting hurt just yet. I hope that you don’t get totally turned off at me.”

Frankie smiled. “I don’t know how to explain this, but I have never been in a relationship. I have had sex buddies but never had a boyfriend. I only admitted I was gay recently. I want to apologize for being so aggressive earlier. I want to get to know you too. I might need to be put in my place every now and then, but help me get to know you. Even when it was just your looks that got my attention, I felt more than just lust. Now I know you have a great personality too. Can I have a hug before we go?”

Tanner came to him and hugged him. Then he gave Frankie a quick kiss on the lips. When they separated they both had visible erections. Unlike this bunch normally, no one teased them.

Since Adam was out of school too, he helped in the shop along with Tanner. The three of us were becoming fast friends. Not only was Tanner good help in the shop, but his sense of humor was starting to show through now that he was getting comfortable with us. We did see a lot more of Frankie than usual too.

Tanner and Frankie were becoming friends. No matter how hard he was trying Adam and I both thought he was falling in love with Frankie. Frankie asked us for advice. He said he couldn’t get Tanner out of his mind. No doubt he is head over heels in love with Tanner.

We decided to pay our first visit to the house in Key West that our fathers used for their rendezvous. We were both excited and a little apprehensive. Just before we left, Tanner joined us at the pool. “Guys can I talk to you for a bit?”

“Of course, any time Tanner. Jim and I both love you like a brother. Anything at all, we are here for you.”

“You guys know that I am afraid Frankie will break my heart. I tried really hard to not fall for him, but it didn’t work. He is so sweet to me. I know he loves me, but will he still love me if we become boyfriends?”

“You know that there are no guarantees in love. My gut says you guys are going to be great together. I think you both are so in love you are miserable apart. Until you actually try, you won’t know what love might bring you. Sometimes love has to be like poker. Your gut tells you to go all-in and let the cards fall as they will. In poker you play your opponent more than the cards. In poker you never want your emotions to dictate your actions. In love, it is pure emotions. Only you and Frankie can decide if you want more out of your relationship.”

“I knew that is what you were going to say. I love him guys, I need to see if we can really be boyfriends. To be honest, my fantasies have all been about Frankie. Is it okay if I invite him over for the weekend?”

We laughed. “You can invite him over anytime you want. Just make sure security knows. Although we won’t be here the security team still watches the property.”

Tanner’s phone rang. “It’s Frankie, no time like the present. Hiya Frankie, I was just thinking about you.” He grinned. “Yes, I was thinking of you naked and in my bed. Can you spend the weekend with me and we will see what happens.” He stifled a laugh. “Yes, they know, but they are leaving for Florida in a few minutes. Yes, you need clothes.” He grinned again. “I can hardly wait either. Bye for now.” He hung up.

“Sorry to run out on you bud, but we do have to get moving.” We started to leave. Then Adam remembered we were going to talk to Tanner about school. “Oh, Tanner, we forgot we wanted to talk to you about school. We know you are planning to take night classes, but we would rather you take a full load. We will have Tobin to help Jim in the shop if he needs to run any of the planners or saws, other than that he will be fine. We have made up our minds and we won’t hear of you taking night classes.”

“You guys sure? I don’t think it is right.”

“Just do what we wish then. We should be back on Tuesday.”

John had asked us to call him before we got on the plane to Florida. We boarded and Adam called him on the plane’s phone and put it on speaker. “Hello boys, I assume you are on speaker. Oops I did it again, I’m sorry to keep calling you boys.”

“That’s okay; I like it John, and Adam doesn’t mind, so it’s a good thing, keep calling us boys. It sounds better from you than guys. For some reason that sounds too weird from you.” We all laughed.

“Joe and I have been trying to figure everything out about your place in Florida. The more we get into it, the stranger it gets. It seems Butch owned the house and Mark owns the boat, but exactly why they did that, we don’t know. They both own a company B&M East LLC, that owns considerably more there. We called them and they are looking forward to your arrival. They said that all will be explained to you when you get there. It looks like they had to replenish a trust that funded the company about ten years ago, but no transactions since then is why we didn’t know anything about it. It was not a holding that either corporation held, it looks like they held this company completely separately. Have either of you been into your father’s safe deposit boxes yet?”

“I haven’t, I just forgot about it actually. I asked the attorneys to hold the keys for me.”

“Me too.”

“My guess they have the stock for that corporation in them. You should both check them when you get back. The address of the company is being sent to your phones. Wish I could tell you more, but I can’t. Let us know what you find out. Since this seems so strange Mark is adding a couple more security folks to your flight and has already sent a couple ahead to check this place out. I’m sorry we waited until the last minute for this, but at first we thought it was just a house there. I assume it isn’t anything illegal because it is a Florida company, If you guys want to wait until we can find out more we can do that too.”

Adam and I shook our heads. “No, John we want to go. We have waited so long they probably are wondering where the hell we are.”

“Could be, well, have fun and please let John and I know something today. We are both very interested. It was not like either of your fathers.”

“We will. I think the pilot is about to the runway.”

“Please buckle up we are second in line the steward said.” We hung up and were soon airborne. When we landed our security team had a limo for us but so did the B & M East. Alan our lead security on this trip explained that we appreciated their consideration, but we have already taken care of transportation. He did tell the limo driver that we would follow him to the office.

To say we were not prepared for what we would see when we got there was an understatement. The office was beautiful. A man Jamison Dobbs met us in the lobby. He was probably around forty, handsome and had a great smile. “Hello, Mr. Carter and Mr. West. I am Jamison Dobbs, please call me Jamie.”

“I‘m Adam, pleased to meet you.”

“I‘m Jim, pleased to meet you. These gentlemen are Alan, Tom, Blake, and David. They are our security detail today.” Jamie shook hands with all of us.

“I am very pleased to meet you. Your fathers’ asked me to watch over this company, at least until you decided differently. I know you have a lot of questions and your fathers have chosen to attempt to answer as many as they can themselves. If you will follow me, we will see if we can’t work on that.

He led us to a very nice conference room and offered us refreshments. Adam and I both just asked for water. Our security team wouldn’t take anything. I guess they were too much on alert to have the distraction, don’t know for sure, just my assumption. “If you two will sit here, you will be able to see the screen better and be more comfortable. He showed us to a lounge type area with couches and comfortable chairs. We sat on a couch that faced the big screen mounted on the wall. “I know you are anxious to get some answers, so let’s go ahead and start.” He pushed a button on the control box and the drapes closed and softened the lights. I noticed that a couple of the security detail had their hands inside their jackets; I presume they had their hands on their guns.

The screen lit up and our fathers appeared on the screen. They looked younger than we remember them. “Hello boys. Yes we know we are finished having children and the three of you are it, assuming none of you have passed before us.” I became sad and tears trickled down my cheek. Adam hugged me.

Adam’s father spoke next. “If you are watching this, we are both dead and you have been brought here together to hear this. We instructed Mr. Dobbs that you all be contacted after two years of both our passing, unless one or both families initiated the initial meeting first. We know the first question you have and yes, we are lovers and have been since we were teens. Hopefully, times are better now and if any of you are gay, you won’t feel the need to hide the fact. Of course, if we had not had to marry, we wouldn’t have had you boys, so we are very glad for that. We are so proud of you boys.”

My father took over again. “When we first came down here, this was the place we could be ourselves. We kept this as our very secret get away. Neither of our companies knew anything about this place, except the parts we chose to make known to our companies. I have a boat and Butch has a house that is the public persona of what we have here. Jamie will tell you all about our business here. We just wanted to make sure that you boys have something that our wives couldn’t touch under any circumstances.” The screen faded.

“Now this one.” Jamie pushed another button.

Butch appeared on the screen. “Hi boys, as you know, Harmon, or as most call him Mark, passed before me, tragically and there are only the two of you left. I didn’t realize how hard it would be to come back here after Mark died. This was our place to be close.” We saw tears rolling down his cheeks. He wiped them with his hand. “I’m sorry; this is very hard for me. Anyway, since you are watching this, I have gone on to be with Mark. We were very secretive about this place and unless you decided to come check the place out sooner, we asked Jamie to wait until we both had been dead for over two years. Either way, this is yours now. It was organized in a way that we didn’t have to worry about anything. It was a totally self sufficient entity and could sustain itself. The one and only time we made an investment outside our initial investment was when we bought the cruise line. Jim, to you, I want to tell you how sorry I am for your loss, needless to say it was my loss as well. Mark was so proud of you. When you came out to him, it was all he could do to keep from telling you about himself. Adam it was the same for me when you told me. I hope that one day you boys will be friends, but at least try to learn to work together. Since you are both gay, you are not likely to have a blood relative to leave this company to. Please chose wisely who you decide to leave it to. That reminds me of another thing I wanted to tell you. Mark and I were on the verge of merging our companies when that tragic accident happened. I didn’t want to proceed without Mark, but you boys might want to consider merging the two companies. I hope you both have long and happy lives.” The screen faded and Jamie brought up the lights and opened the drapes.

“I’m sure you still have some questions, but first let me tell you a little about B & M Eest LLC. We are a holding company for eighteen other companies wholly owned by B & M and stock holders in about three hundred other companies, none of which we own more than three percent. This stock portfolio is set up to provide a solid financial base for our extra cash. To be honest we have to work extremely hard to maintain a decent amount of debt. We have such a positive cash flow that we have to constantly keep buying and selling businesses to keep any sort of balance. Our major holdings are in office buildings, apartments, and what we call our entertainment sector. In that we own two cruise lines and our marine holdings. In the marine holdings we own twelve major marinas around the world. The one on this island being the smallest. You own the three biggest yachts in the harbor. Two are often rented by a select cliental, and the other one is your personal yacht. That yacht has a permanent crew of fourteen and twenty-eight when you will be aboard. Wait that might not be correct, I think that was the old boats numbers. Anyway, the captain can explain all of that for you. Neither of your fathers ever got to see her, she was started just before Mark was killed and Butch died about a week before she was finished. We have the yacht in harbor; it was scheduled to leave on a scheduled cruise to the Bahamas tomorrow. Your father’s knew that it needed to be sailed regularly to remain at its best. If you and your team would like to join the cruise you will be in the lap of luxury the whole time. Your fathers were not pretentious men, but they did allow themselves this one indulgence.”

“We will have to let you know later if that is okay with you. We want to see the house and then we will discuss the cruise with our head of security.”

“Very well, they are scheduled to leave at eleven, I’m not sure if there is a time they can’t sail past without rescheduling until the next day. Since the captain didn’t say anything, I assume they can wait as long as you wish. Here are a couple of copies of the corporation’s audit report. Would you like me to also send copies to Mr. Turley and Mr. Jolly. They have been trying very hard to obtain information about us, but until we got your permission, we didn’t think we should be that corporative.”

“Yes please do and also to Jack Adams, our attorney. Here is one of his cards with his information on it.”

“When your fathers weren’t in residence here, we only had the house cleaned once a week and no cook or staff. When they came to town, they wanted young men from one of our naturist resorts for their staff. They never indulged in anything with the boys, but the boys were always hoping. The boys that we chose for this visit are very good at their jobs and very cute as well. They will be nearly naked unless you request something different.”

“We are a committed couple and we have nothing against beautiful bodies, but I think Jim and I would be more comfortable with the boys wearing something. Jim and I aren’t the jealous types, but at least for now, we want to keep them covered.” He looked at me sheepishly.

“Yup, I don’t want some hot stud ogling my sweet Adam and if they are naked, I’m sure we would be too.”

“Very well, I will let them know your wishes. Is there any questions or something else you need to discuss this morning?”

“Oh, will you also send a copy of the videos you showed us to Joe and John? I think they need to see those too.”

“I will be glad to. Oh inside the cover of your audit reports is all my contact information. Feel free to call me at anytime you have a question or concern.”

Once we were in the limo, we called John to give him an update. He got Joe in there so that he wouldn’t get second hand information. We told them all we knew and told them they should be getting the courier package sometime today. We also told them we were probably going to take the cruise to the Bahamas, unless the security team said we shouldn’t. We also told him that Alan had two of his men on the way to the yacht to get a first hand impression of what to expect if we go.

They had us look at the audit report and find the net worth statement. We gasped when we read it. “It says thirty-four billion, seven hundred thirty-six million, three hundred forty-two thousand, four hundred seventy-seven dollars.” This didn’t make a lot of sense to me. How could our fathers possibly hide this much from their wives?

“Wow, I didn’t expect that. That is almost as much as this company is worth. Let us know what you think of the yacht. I’m sure the boat will have a satellite phone, but if not make sure Alan brings one or two.”

“He said they brought two, just in case there was no cell coverage in the Keys, but so far this island is well covered anyway.”

“There won’t be on the ocean though. Have a good trip boys.”

“Thanks guys.” We ended the call.

We were not prepared when we saw the house, it was a fortress. We learned that it was the highest location on the island and Alan said that it was probably initially built as a fortress. It even looked like a castle with it parapets and towers. We entered the code and the huge gates opened to allow us entry. When we pulled up to the house if you can call it that, we were greeted by several near naked beautiful boys. All looked to be fifteen to eighteen, but beautiful is the only way to describe them. We all introduced ourselves. The one that must have been in charge said. “You guys are even more handsome than your fathers. Oh, I guess I better get to the point. Your fathers’ attorney, I guess he is your attorney now is here to take care of some paperwork, at least that is what he said. He is in the study right through here.” He led us to the study.