Lovers Blind - 15. Epilogue - Realities

Disclaimer: This story includes sexual and romantic situations between consenting individuals. Any allusion to illicit or illegal activity, sexual or otherwise, is used only for enhancement of the story line and not promotion thereof. Remember AIDS, HIV and other STDs are a very real threat, please always practice safe sex.

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Epilogue: Realities.

I watched as Zeek adjusted the patch over his left eye before turning back to his suitcase.

That had been the second scariest moment of my life, knowing that we were going to slam into the car a split second before the impact; knowing there was nothing I could to stop it.

The first scariest thing was after I woke up from the impact with the air bag and looking over to see Zeek’s face covered in blood. His air bag didn’t deploy but something had come through the busted windshield and hit his head.

The driver that swerved into our lane had been drunk off his ass, how he managed to even turn the car on was a mystery. Nearly a year later and I’m still a little pissed. The drunk came through the accident with nothing but a few cuts and bruises while Zeek spent two weeks in the hospital.

Whatever had hit Zeek in the head that night fractured his skull, and we think it made contact with his eye in the process. His right eye was fine, the blurriness resolved itself in a few days, but his left wasn’t so lucky. The cornea was damaged by the impact, he could still see out of it but it was extremely light sensitive, to the extent that it caused him headaches if he didn’t keep it covered.

“You’re thinking about it again.” Zeek’s voice snapped me out of my reflection. I hadn’t noticed he had finished packing his suitcase and had turned to watch me.

“Yea I was, I’m sorry.” I smiled as he walked over to me.

“Why?” He asked as he wrapped his arms around my neck.

I sighed and wrapped my arms around his waist. I wasn’t as forgiving as Zeek. I couldn’t let it go; let what happened to him rest. Sometimes I just couldn’t help but think about it.

“I can’t help it I guess. Sometimes it’s just there. I remember how sad and hurt you were and it all comes back, happening all over again in my head.” I answered quietly.

“Between you, Lou and Lawrence I will never have to hold a grudge.” Zeek laughed, shaking his head.

I had to laugh with him on that one. Lou’s fury alone had been damn near tangible. A few days before Zeek was to be released from the hospital they had come to visit. Lou signed so hurriedly and violently that it was hard for even me and Lawrence to keep up with what he was saying.

I did recognize things like ‘bastard’, ‘painful death’, and ‘if I ever find him he won’t be able to drink again,’.

This went on for a few minutes until Zeek grabbed him by his wrists, effectively stopping his tangled finger rant.

“I only have one good eye now Lou, you’re going to have to slow down until I get used it.” Zeek had said lightly, making all of us laugh.

“I guess you’re just a better person than we are.” I shrugged before silencing any reply he might have made by kissing him.

Zeek responded eagerly and unabashedly pushed his hands up under my shirt.

Soon the two of us were topless and laying back on Zeek’s bed, our packing temporarily forgotten.

Zeek had just managed to roll on top of me and was working my jean shorts off when our parents started calling for us from downstairs. The four of them had gone out to lunch and ten to one had picked up more stuff for Zeek and I to try and take with us.

“Damn…they couldn’t have waited forty five minutes could they?” Zeek grumbled as he fell back onto the bed.

Before he could move I was up and lying down against him, kissing his neck.

“Forty five minutes, I’m flattered.” I mumbled against his neck before nibbling a bit on his ear.

Zeek pushed up and rolled me on to my back straddling my legs before he spoke again.

“Don’t be,” Zeek said with a suddenly cocky smile, “You weren’t going to top.”

Any of the numerous retorts I had were put on hold by another shout from downstairs.

“Come on, let’s get down there before one of them come up here.” Zeek moved off me and picked up our discarded shirts, tossing me mine before pulling on his own and adjusting his eye patch again, it tended to slide when he took his shirt of and on.

Both my folks and Zeek’s were waiting for us in the living room when we got downstairs. Just like I thought, there were three bulging shopping bags waiting next to them.

The four of them must have thought we were moving into our own apartment instead of a dorm room. Yea ours was a bit bigger than most but still…they were going overboard.

“We just want you boys to be comfortable.” Mrs. Manning said as she sorted through bedding, sorting it into two piles, when Zeek voiced my thoughts.

The bedding ranged from thick winter blankets to thin summer covers with matching sheets and pillow cases for each of us.

“Mom, as comfortable as the feather pillows and down comforters are…this is getting a bit excessive.” Zeek tried to be exasperated but he was smiling through it.

Mrs. Manning just smiled as she recruited her husband to help her sort the bedding while my parents pulled a large shopping bag from behind the couch where they were sitting and set it down in front of them.

“Well Zeek if you think the extra bedding is too much you might not want these.” Dad said with a smiled as he pulled two laptop bags out of the shopping bag.

For a second Zeek looked like he was going to faint before he stepped forward to take one of the cases my dad held.

“It was originally my idea but we all went in on them,” Dad said sheepishly, “I went through them last night and added some programs to them that you boys might find useful at school.”

“And they have cam’s and mic’s built in so you’d better keep in touch, as soon as Arthur teaches us how to talk through them.” Mr. Manning said as he came up behind Zeek and wrapped his arms around his son.

The rest of the afternoon was another flurry of packing, sorting, and cleaning. Zeek and I would be leaving in a few days so we had to get busy. It wouldn’t have taken so long if our parents didn’t keep dragging us into some bonding time. I guess I could understand it, we’d be gone for about a month before Thanksgiving break.

Even though he would never admit to it I know Zeek was feeling the nerves as well. To be honest I don’t think Zeek ever envisioned himself leaving home and going to college; not being blind. But now…hell, now we were less than a week from starting classes.

Neither of us was sure what we were going to do once we got there. Zeek wanted to look into working with blind, deaf, and mute kids but he wasn’t sure. I was looking into physical therapy, physical education, and therapeutic massage. I tried not to worry too much about it. I knew that once we got there we would work it out somehow, Zeek and I always did.

Later that night though I didn’t have any worries or thoughts of college and being away from my family; Zeek effectively wiped all thought from my mind with his hands, lips, cock and the rest of his body.

Looking up at Zeek, body flushed with excitement, sweat pouring down his torso, his lean hands gripping me in a punishingly tight grip. I bit my lip as a hard thrust from Zeek tore a pleasure-addled moan out of me.

I reached up and pulled Zeek down to me, crushing my lips against his as I ran a hand through his short cropped blond hair, subconsciously careful of the band of his eye patch.

Pulling away out of need to breath I buried my face in the crook of his neck, breathing in the scent of sweat, lingering soap, and the warm spicy scent that was purely Zeek.

“God…harder please…too fucking close.” I moaned into his skin.

Zeek obliged willingly. I let him move back up onto his knees and my breath hitched as Zeek’s hand gripped my leaking cock and his thrusts became nearly painfully fast…but god it felt good; the slight burn mixed with the blinding pleasure for something that was too damn incredible to even explain.

Wrenching my eyes open I looked up and locked eyes with Zeek…god he was so beautiful and so amazing.

Even with the eye patch in place I knew Zeek’s covered eye was locked with mine. The dark fabric contrasted with his slightly pale skin and short cropped blond hair. Don’t get me wrong I was still pissed that he had to have the thing to get through the day without a headache but still…seeing him naked, flushed with excitement and aroused with nothing but the eye patch…it was damn hot.

This was the part of sex both Zeek and I looked forward to the most. Foreplay was good, exploration was great, and the eventual slide of being taken by Zeek’s cock…or the other way around, was amazing but this…the few second before orgasm where Zeek’s eyes would lock with mine before reality hit all consuming pleasure ridden force.

I came first, I always did when Zeek topped me, white hot pleasure shot through me and I came hard, covering my chest and my stomach; it was made better by the tight clench of my muscles that made Zeek’s cock seem to double in size in me.

Then I felt Zeek, filling me up. We only went without a condom when we actually had time to plan a bit, usually after a bath or shower…or during.

Without missing a beat I pulled Zeek down to me and rolled us onto our sides. Wrapping my arms around him we road out the aftershocks together, our hands moving smoothly over each other's skin.

“Have I…ever told you…how beautiful you are...during sex?” Zeek panted out quietly.

“Once or twice yea…but I’m nowhere near as good looking as you are.” In the back of my mind I knew we sounded like a bad romance novel but I didn’t really care, it was the truth.

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I closed the door and turned off the light as I walked over to the sink. Years of living in darkness had given me a perfect mental map of the bathroom so I didn’t need the light to navigate. Reaching into the drawer under the counter I pulled out the small night light and managed to plug it into the wall behind me.

Once the weak light was flooding the wall behind me I pulled off my eye patch and looked in the mirror. I could handle normal light for short periods at a time but still preferred the dim light when my patch was off. Tonight I didn’t want to worry about the light…I just wanted to look at myself in the mirror, look normal for a few moments.

I cried my eyes out when the doc's first told me that the light sensitivity was likely to be permanent. After waiting so long to get my sight back I barely got to enjoy it for two months before the accident. I had a few corrective surgeries over the last few months but it only lessened the sensitivity, it didn’t take it away.

The only sure fire way to correct it was another transplant, but I was low on the list. My condition was manageable plus I had one good eye and there was a very slim chance the sensitivity would correct itself so my quality of life wasn’t going to be affected much.

Despite what Jake thought, I didn’t get over the accident as quickly as he thought I had. To be honest I still wasn’t fully over it, every time my patch slipped enough to let in the light or when I caught people looking at me, usually small kids, I felt a little thrill of anger and depression.

I didn’t dwell on it though, didn’t let it control me. ‘Fake it till you make it’ Miranda once said and that was exactly what I did. I pretended I was OK with everything and eventually I made it there…well mostly.

Running my hand over the side of my head I could feel the little patterns made by the scars from where my skull was fractured. That was one reason I kept my hair shorter than I did before, when it grew out the hair didn’t lay right, it had a permanently wonky look to it. Besides, this short it was easier to take care of.

Looking over my reflection I had to smile a bit, a year of weight training had given me a little more bulk but I was still thin and light. I liked that look, Jake always called me his muscle twink, maybe it was me but as my body changed my attitude seemed to as well, I was a bit cockier now than I was before, had a bit more of an edge.

Then again that could have been the eye patch, Dad told me once that it seemed to fit me, gave me a bit of an intrigue. Dad always tried to look on the bright side now-a-days. I think my sight getting screwed up hit him pretty hard, I know it did actually, he tried to keep it from me but I knew that since I was released from the hospital he had been on an antidepressant.

Foot steps in the hall caught my attention, I knew it was Jake; my parents never used this bathroom. Instinctively I closed my eyes as the door opened, figuring Jake had turned on the light in the hall, but I could tell through my eye lids that there was no more light than before and when the door was closed I opened my eyes.

“You’re thinking about it again.” Jake’s voice reached me before he did, echoing my words.

Jake stepped up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, I smiled a bit when I felt the soft skin of his cock brush against my butt; the man had no shame.

“Yea I was, I’m sorry.” I echoed what he had said earlier.

“I always knew you know, that you weren’t as over it as you seemed.” Jake whispered, his lips brushing my neck.

“Why didn’t you ever say anything?” I asked, my eyes catching Jake’s in the mirror.

“I never said anything because I knew you weren’t in denial. You were doing what you needed to do to cope. So I pretended not to know, and I’ll keep it up if you need me to.” Jake answered, running one of his hands up and down my stomach.

“I don’t think that’ll work, not now that I know you know. But that’s OK. It’s time I actually did get over it,” I said as I picked up my eye patch and pulled it on before flipping the lights over the sink on, “This is my new reality. One eyed Manning.” I tried to smile but my reflection showed me that it looked a little more like a grimace.

Jake though did smile, sadly, and kissed my neck.

“Even with only having one good eye you are still beautiful Zeek, to me, to our parents and friends. Anyone who is smart enough to look past this little circle of fabric is going to fall in love with you.” Jake said as he lifted a hand and touched the patch with his fingertips.

Closing my eyes I let my head lean back against his shoulder, breathing a sigh.

“I don’t know where I became so damn worried about what people thought when they saw me, what they saw when the looked.”

“It’s the curse of being sighted I suppose, you can see them looking at you and you wonder what they are thinking.” Jake answered laughingly.

He was probably right; I never worried about it when I couldn’t see.

“Realities change all the time Zeek; this is just one more speed bump. Together me and you are going to get through it.” Jake’s words were whispered against my skin as his hand traveled up and down my chest and stomach.

Jake was right, I had been agonizing over what people thought of me for far too long. I had a screw up, big deal. Time to get the hell over it. Not to mention it was hard to worry about anything when Jake was touching me like that.

“Time to get back to bed Zeek, we’ve got an early day tomorrow.” Jake whispered as he pulled away and lead me from the bathroom and back to bed.

He was right; we were heading up to campus tomorrow. We didn’t start classes for a few more days but we wanted to get there early and get settled in, get the lay of the land.

It was a scary prospect, being away from home for the first time. It wasn’t going to be too bad though. Miranda and Randy were going to the same school. Lou and Lawrence were going to be living close by and Rick even promised to drop in before he headed for basic training. Turns out Rick had fallen in love with the idea of joining the Marines. He said the guy who ran the boot camp he had gone to was a former Gunnery Sergeant.

Laying back down with Jake in bed and curling up against his chest I smiled slightly. Despite the fact that I was leaving my parents I wasn’t leaving home, not really. So long as I had Jake I was home.

Jake was right, realities did change all the time. College wasn’t a big change, still going to school, still sleeping with Jake every night, (we lucked out on getting to be roommates).

“Stop thinking and sleep Zeek.” Jake whispered sleepily in the dark.

I snuggled closer to his chest, enjoying the warm smell of his skin and the lingering scent from his body wash from our shower after our earlier…activities.

Realities changed all the time, these changes were gonna take some getting used to but…Jake was right, so long as we were together I didn’t have to worry about a thing.

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I want to thank Rush for her hard work concerning this story, without her help I wouldn’t have been able to finish my work.

I’d also like to thank all of you for reading, this story has meant a lot to me. Part of me is sad to see it come to an end but I think it ended in a good place. It is my hope that Lovers Blind won’t be forgotten, I hope that it still gets some attention in the future.

I’d love to get your feed back on this final chapter so as always feel free to review, drop me an email at allenarcane88@yahoo.com, toss me a PM or visit the discussion forum. I read and respond to everything

Discussion forum link

http://www.gayauthors.org/forums/topic/25068-lovers-blind/