The Perfect Son - 2. Chapter 2

It was Elisi that brought it up to Brad and me.

“I hope this is going to be permanent.” She said to me, then looked at Brad who looked away.

“Elisi, we don’t know,” I said. “Brad had a problem with Samantha and Nancy. That’s when it all came out. And we didn’t do anything that intimate, personal, yes, but nothing else.”

Elisi nodded understanding. “I still say that I hope it's permanent. You need someone in your life.” She said to me firmly. “And you, too.” She said to Brad.

“They are,” Tyler said as he drank his milk. He saw it, why couldn’t they?

I froze at that. “What?”

Tyler nodded. “I see you a lot in the future. You’re together.”

Brad was also a little unwary sipping his tea. “Together. As in friends?”

Tyler shrugged. “I guess, you’re married.”

That’s when Brad almost choked on whatever his tea. “What!?” Then he looked at me, then to my grandmother. “He can’t see things like that, can he?”

Grandmother shook her head. “He never has, but knowing how important Eric is to him…” she held her hands out to stop everyone. “…it is possible. Now, listen. He doesn’t know why we can’t see what he sees plain as day.” She said in a hissing whisper, though of course, Tyler could hear her. “Don’t react like he’s done something wrong.”

“Of course not,” I said urging Brad to sit and relax. “Easy, Brad. Whether he sees it or not. Let a relationship between us evolve on its own, please. Everyone, just remain calm.” Then I looked at Brad. “Brad.”

Brad was swallowing the ice tea like he was thirsty. He gasped and nodded. “I’m calm.” But his voice was saying he wasn’t. He shook his head. “This is a bizarre family.”

Elisi chuckled. “And you’ve only been here a day! Wait until you’ve been in it for forty years.” She sobered. “I just want Eric happy. He needs someone in his life. He knows that. I was just saying I hoped it’d be you, Brad.”

And of course, Tyler heard us all. “Did I do something wrong?” Tyler asked not certain he understood.

“No, Baby,” Elisi said quickly assuring Tyler. “You said what you saw.”

I nodded in agreement. “Its fine, Tyler. It’s just some people don’t understand that you see things before they happen. I just was surprised.”

“You were!?” Brad commented as if to say like I’m not?

“Brad, we’re not like other families. We said that.”

Brad held his head. “I know.” He said with a sigh. “I’m going to have a shitload…” then he stopped with a smile to Elisi. “Sorry. …Of problems when I get home. My family isn’t that understanding.”

Elisi nodded sympathetically. “So I gather. Maybe with time?” She suggested.

“The Duchess will be okay it. My brother, maybe. Not his wife, oh no…not Amanda. And my mother!” He lamented. “She will definitely not understand. And Diana…” he put his head in his hands. “She’ll hate me the rest of her life.”

Elisi did not know these people. “Diana is?”

“My fiancé.” Brad nodded.

“Oh.” Elisi nodded. “Perhaps with time, they’ll come to understand.”

“I doubt it,” Brad said glumly.

I smiled. “You never know. If they see you’re still you.” I said hopefully.

He just grunted at that, but again it was clear he didn’t hold out much hope.

“And you’re how old?” Elisi asked pointedly. “You’re not a teenager.” She shook her head. “I will never understand what the big crime is when a male human loves another male human.”

Brad looked a little confused that she didn’t see the problem. “It’s in the Bible.”

“And so was the abomination about eating shrimp,” Elisi said. “That’s the Old Testament. In the New Testament, you know, when Paul wrote to those cities about men sleeping with men and all that. Like Rome and Corinth. He was writing to those specific cities. It’s the same where he wrote about women not wearing make-up or jewelry. That was to a specific city about one area and not as a general rule. But they hold fast to one and ignore the other.”

Brad looked at me questioning. “Isn’t she Jewish? Or at least Hebrew?”

I chuckled. “She is.” I nodded. “But she can read. Besides, it was written by a human. No matter what anyone says, it will have flaws. Bias. The only time I know that God Himself said anything about sex was not to commit adultery. We should have another commandment if he didn’t think it was okay for humans to love the same gender as they are.”

“My point is…” Elisi continued. “You’re an adult. You are with another adult. The two of you agree, so what business is it for anyone else?” She pounded the table.

Brad’s eyebrows rose at that.

“She’s a militant member of PFLAG.” I stage whispered. “You know, the parents and friends of gay people?”

Brad nodded. “I see.” He shook his head again. “Maybe I should get you to tell my mother.” He grinned to Elisi.

“Anytime!” Elisi said still bothered by the whole situation.

“Elisi, he just came out to me. It was difficult for him to admit it to himself! Then to us.” I urged her to understand. “For a while, he was not even comfortable saying certain things, even to me and I’m a gay guy! He needs to learn more about gay life first.”

She nodded. “I know.” She thought only a second. “Steve.”

I nodded agreeing. “Steve.”

Brad looked from Elisi to me. “Who’s Steve?”

Elisi and I didn’t answer at first. Elisi looked behind her on the desk. “Where is it? Yes, here it is. He’s performing in Charlotte this weekend.”

“Doesn’t he go by Nightshade now?” I asked looking at the flyer. I noticed Brad not quite glaring at me for I hadn’t answered his question. “Nightshade is a guy I knew in high school. He’s one of us.” I grinned at him. “His name is Steve Bau. He’s a drag queen.”

Brad’s eyes widened. “A drag queen!? You mean with the dress and wig and all that…” he caught himself from saying shit.

I nodded. “He is. With the dress and wig and all that shit.” I grinned at Brad. “And he’s a wonderful performer. He’s great. What’s more important, the clientele he draws is a good mix. Most are gay, but they are all there. The drag queens, the butch guys, the fairies and just bi-curious.” I looked at Elisi. “You know that will be an overnight trip.”

“And? You don’t have a truck?” She said very like a Hebrew mama.

“We’ll go, we’ll go.” Then I looked at Brad. “If you want to.”

He thought a moment, then shrugged. “What the hell.”

Elisi chuckled. “In for a penny, in for a pound.”

Brad nodded. “Exactly.”

I grinned at him again. “I don’t suppose you have any fancy duds in that bag of yours?”

He shook his head. “Not fancy, no, I don’t.”

“We’ll fix that. Tomorrow, we go shopping.”

 

The next day, okay. Brad and I had a good evening. He was willing to go farther than we had before, but I wanted to make sure he felt safe. If he did want to suck my dick, he’d be swallowing me even if I hadn’t cum. There was the pre-cum and just…it was too risky. And he said he never sucked a guy’s dick, so I wanted to be sure he was okay with the whole thing first. I didn’t want him to worry about anything else. I will also admit it, I enjoyed having someone there with me. I was sort of surprised. For someone who never really was aware of gays in his community, he was okay with it. With me. When I get him out in the world we’d find out just how well he was really with the whole gay world. But it was still nice to wake up and feel a person next to you. To hear him breathe and feel the weight there. The fact he was a beautiful man didn’t hurt. But that was just lust. Nothing wrong with a good case of lust, it just wasn’t enough for me to build a relationship on. If we were going to have a relationship. Tyler already saw us married. He’d never seen something like that before. Whether it was true or not (and he had never been wrong before) it had to develop naturally. I wouldn’t rush him. In fact, I was the one putting the brakes on what was happening. No need to rush him into something have him have a flash of regret. As repressed as he had been and the overshadowing religious issues, it was going to happen. I wanted him to be comfortable with his new life.

Tyler. I was worried about my nephew. Being in this community, most knew some weird stuff happened. My nephew’s talent was something I had to come to grips with. He had it. So far he’s fine. Next month he was going to be six. The older he gets the stronger he would become. People would not understand his ability to see things that were happening. They couldn’t. To see things happening before they happen!? They would mistreat him if they knew. Try to get him to see the stock market before they buy or some shit like that. And Elisi was also born in October, in fact, we all three had birthdays next month. Mine was on the 22^nd, Tyler’s on the 8^th and Elisi’s on the 25^th. And Elisi was going to be seventy. Seventy! And she looked great now. She always had energy to spare, but the reality was she may need more help with Tyler. Protecting him was easy now. He didn’t have any restraint though. Blurting out he saw Brad and me married was an example. That wasn’t the best way to tell what you’ve seen. He needed to learn that.

“Those are some deep thoughts.” The muffled voice said next to me. Brad’s face still in the pillow and one eye showing. His hair was sleep tossed.

I sighed nodding. “They are,” I admitted. “I’m worried about Tyler.”

Brad rolled a little more, showing his whole face. “About what? He predicted my coming without seeing me in the flesh. You say he’s never wrong.”

I nodded. “He hasn’t been.” I rolled to face him. “But he’s never voiced anything like he did last night.”

Brad nodded. “About seeing us married.”

“Exactly.”

“It surprised the hell out of me.” Brad chuckled. “But the more I thought about it. I can sort of see it. I do care a lot about you. We get along well. And I’m sure as hell way more attracted to you than Diana.”

I chuckled. “Well, then why don’t we go the courthouse and just do it?” I held my hand up. “Just kidding. We need to know each other first. Though I do know two couples that went on one date and have been together ever since. But they are rare.” I was going to honest with him. “I just don’t want you to have to deal with more than you have now. So, this morning, we will go to a doctor I know, have him run the battery of tests. Then go shopping for our weekend. The test results will take a day or two and then we can talk about those other things.”

“I trust you, Eric,” Brad said.

I sighed. “Then for my sake. I need to know you know I’m safe.”

Brad smiled. “You’ll know that I know. I get that.”

“And Tyler and Elisi are always going to be in my life. We’ll be a package deal.”

Brad rolled on his back. “And you haven’t met them.”

I grinned and the way he said that. “Them? Your family?”

He nodded. “You’ll probably have to take a valium just before meeting them.”

“Do you want me to meet them?” I asked.

He glanced at me. “Not really. It’s not that I’m ashamed of them. Well, no, I am ashamed of them. Not of you, it’s not going to be pleasant.”

“I got that.”

He rolled over on me. “But until we introduce them. Can we do a little of…that simple stuff?” He grinned, his hand running down my side as he kissed me. “Good morning.”

I kissed him back. “Good morning.” I ran my hand down his back. We both had put on something last night. I had on pajama bottoms and he had on a pair of loose boxer shorts. I pulled the waistband down. His morning erection hit my leg as I did with a weighty thump. Well….you know what happened next.

 

The doctor at the office I went to agreed to run the tests, though he assured Brad I was clean, he promised the results as soon as he had them. Then we drove to Asheville again. Asheville was getting more progressive, and being a trendy growing place, I knew just where to go. Shocked! That was the store’s name. Shocked. If clubbing was what you were going to do, this was where you came to get the perfect outfit. I knew the guy that owned it, Brian, and he was what I suspected Brad thought all gay men acted. Acted, sounded, even moved. It was all gay. He was a man in his late thirties that wanted to hang on to his twenties. And he did with the clothes he wore and the hairstyle he sported. This day, he was blond. The color of his hair often changed. And he was thin. Almost too thin and not attractive to me in the least, but he was okay with how he did business and he did it very well. He smiled at me when he saw me come in, then smiled, even more, when he saw Brad.

“Eric, good to see you!” He greeted sweetly, but his eyes were on Brad. Let’s just say, Brian was a fairie, and that’s the gay fairie, not a magical fairy. He was about to fly right over. “And who have we here?” He had a hand out to touch Brad.

I took Brad’s hand quickly. “Not for you.” I grinned.

Brian’s lower lip came out. “Oh, pooh.” He said disappointedly. Brian’s blue eyes came to me, his eyebrows, those were penciled in, waggled. “New boyfriend?”

I nodded. “That’s right. But he has no clothes for seeing Steve. You remember? Nightshade.”

Brian’s eyes widened. “Of course! My god, she is fabulous!!” He did touch Brad lightly on the arm. “I have just the thing.”

Brad, this entire time watched as Brian approached. He was keeping his mouth shut, but he was clearly warily watching Brian carefully. We finally decided on a pair of black jeans and this country-western shirt that was black and white. Black coming up from the pants and a white design that covered his shoulders and had this almost flame look like the black sort of tried to take over the white. The white was sequenced, but being white, it would only really be seen in the club lights.

“This will be great on the dance floor,” I said, then froze looking quickly to Brad. “You do dance, right?”

Brad blew a breath suddenly at the insult. “I do indeed.” He said, mockingly incensed.

I grinned. “I ain’t talking about the waltz or foxtrot.”

“Neither am I.” Brad smiled back. “That was the one thing I did with Diana I liked.”

I nodded. “And who leads?” I grinned at his blank stare. “It’s okay. You lead, I don’t want you freaking out and stepping on my toes.”

“Thanks?” He said weakly. “Gee, are there rules when men dance with men?”

I nodded. “Just one. Have a good time.” I gave him the packages we bought.

Brad smiled. “I’ll try.”

 

Once back in Fontana, we picked up Tyler again, then headed home. This time Brad insisted he help with getting things ready for dinner and with the cleanup. I found I was falling even more for the guy. Seeing Elisi smile at me when she caught me looking at him, I rolled my eyes.

“You two are a good match.” She said softly to me. “That’s probably why he was led here.”

“But I’m the first guy he’s ever even kissed. I don’t want him to have problems.”

She nodded. “It’s kind of you that you’re taking those precautions. But if it’s right it's right.” She said. “Just enjoy it.” And walked on.

 

Then Friday came. I took Tyler to school with the understanding she was picking him up and told Tyler that. I never go anywhere without planning ahead. I made reservations at a hotel I knew was near the club. The Toolbox. Hey, Hooters has boobs, we had The Toolbox. Men with tools! The thing was men and women came there. Straight and gay. It was a few hours from Fontana to Charlotte, so we left with plenty of time.

I suppose I should be used to it by now. We were in the Bible Belt. Being out on your home turf was one thing. Being out in a different city was another. I had made a reservation for a king sized bed and when we were checking, I caught the young man look at the reservation, then at us. You can see it run through his mind. At least I could. So could Brad, who I hadn’t noticed was also aware.

“We don’t do threesomes!” Brad groused. “But yes, one bed, two guys.”

The young man behind the desk looked surprised at Brad’s remark but hurried on. The kid must be in college, maybe. I took the keys. “Sorry, some of us can be a bit sensitive.” I grinned. Then as we were walking to the elevator to go to our room. I smiled at him as we got on the elevator. “Feel better?”

“No,” Brad said a bit angry.

“Most people in the South are very conservative. He’s probably Southern Baptist. We’ll get that sort of reaction.” I explained. I urged him out when we got to our floor. “I have something to show you.”

That got a raised eyebrow as we went to our room.

Once in the room, I had him sit on the bed and took a few papers from my suitcase and handed them to him. “As you can see, I’m negative for all diseases and HIV negative.”

He grinned, looking up. “So, what…we can do some other things now?”

I shrugged and nodded. “Well, yes. If you want to. But know this, knowing what and how are two different things.” Pushing him back gently. “Like this.” I zipped his pants down and pulled them lower. He was an average guy. He wasn’t one of those guys with the monster penises. But he was no small fry either. Relaxed he was about six to eight inches, like me. And he was ready almost instantly. I began to orally work on him slowly taking him in and soon he was moaning almost immediately. I could feel his hand on my head as I worked. He wanted me to do this. It just took a few minutes and he suddenly grunted softly and I felt his warm cum in me, which I swallowed immediately. Then I heard the sigh or satisfaction. I traveled up his chest, kissing my way up his stomach to nipples and then to his neck. “Some guys don’t want to kiss right…” but he stopped me, bringing me down for a deep kiss. I chuckled. “I guess you’re not one of those guys.”

He smiled. “It’s my cum, why would I mind?” Then he rolled us over. “Now, I’ve never done this before, so…bear with me.” He unzipped me. “I was going to ask what it tastes like, but I’ll soon find out.” He seemed excited to do this. He was looking forward to it. He bent down kissing me. “You were amazing, by the way.”

I couldn’t help myself. I was starting to really love him. “Thanks.” I ran fingers through his hair. “I’m sure you’ll do fine. Don’t worry if things are awkward at first.”

He began hesitantly. First just a lick, then took the head in and worked on from there. The warmth of his mouth caused me to become more erect and he did gag at first, then went back to what he was doing. Soon he had a rhythm down and was really getting into it. He even seemed to forget what the goal was and before I could help it, I came. Now, I’ve done it before. Giving and receiving, but I came so suddenly. The sensation just seemed to grow and boom I was cumming in his mouth. It almost choked him, but he recovered and swallowed.

“Kind of salty.” Brad grinned with a chuckle.

“For someone that’s never done this before, that was damned good,” I said pulling his face to mine. Kissing him deeply. “But be warned. I’ll want that again.”

He was smiling wider now. “I hoped I’d do well. Will I get another?”

I rolled over till I was on top of him. “Try and stop me.” Then I looked at those beautiful brown eyes. “I don’t know if you’re ready for this, but…” I began seriously. “I’m falling in love with you.”

He smiled a little shyly. “Is that a bad thing?”

“It could be if you’re resistant,” I said. “You’ve known Diana how long?”

“Over ten years.”

“And you were going to marry her. I just want you to see clearly, this is lust right now. I desire you.”

He looked confused. “Isn’t that what’s supposed to happen?”

I nod. “Just so you know, it’s happening.”

He grinned leaning down, kissing me. “Good. Because I love you, too.”

“And that makes you…what? Are you okay with that?” I asked.

“I’ve never felt so right about anything before.”

“There is something else we could do. When you’re ready. You’ve never penetrated a guy. Would you like to?”

He grimaced. “You mean, stick a dick up the ass?” He narrowed an eye. “I trust you, but you said it would hurt.”

I laughed. “Not me to you. I mean do you want to do it with me?”

He looked surprised again. “You want me to?” Then he looked embarrassed. “Forget I asked. Of course, you do.” Then he looked at me again seriously. “But you would like me to do it now?”

“If you want to,” I said again. “One, I never use the f word unless I intend to just fuck. I don’t do that.” Then I chuckled. “I will with the man I love anytime, anyplace. But I think what we would do should be special. I’ve only let two men do this. You will be the third. But I want to make love, not fuck.”

He smiled and his eyes softened. “I want that.” The corners of his eyes began to fill. “To have someone love me.” He said so fiercely. “Do you love me?”

“That’s why I asked. Do you believe I do?”

He wanted to say yes. “I don’t know.”

I nodded. “There’s an advantage to having my gift. Do you love me?”

Brad nodded. “I do.”

I grinned. “That is the truth.” I kissed him. “I love you and I trust you. If you want to try. I’ll go get ready. I’ll give myself to you.”

He swallowed feeling the gravity of the situation. “I…I just thought….you guys….we just did it.”

I chuckled. “Just did it?” I kissed him. “We can just do it. But if I don’t get ready, the answer to your question a few days ago, it can stink. Some guys don’t care, but I don’t want your first time to stink. This way, it won’t.”

He was still unsure. “You use….something. Lubrication.”

I nodded. “It’ll be okay. You’ll see it can be nice. I like it. In fact, some guys are all bottoms or all tops. I prefer both.” I laughed and pointed to his feet. “You could finish undressing.” We’d only slid pants down. The shoes were still on and the pants were around his ankles trapped by the shoes.

He smiled. “Well, I didn’t expect….you were there.”

I began kissing him harder, my hand going over his stomach and reached between his legs, which he opened even wider allowing my caress of his cock. “Be right back.” He let out a small moan of regret as I went to my suitcase and got the other item. Went in the bathroom and prepared. I would have to show him how to do this before I did him. I came back in the room to see he’d pulled the cover off the bed and only the sheets were there and he lounged naked across them.

“Is there anything I should know?” Brad asked.

“Sure.” I nodded getting beside him. “There are several positions, the one I like, I face you. But you may have to help keep my legs up. Usually, the arms going under my knees will help. And it’s been a few years, take it slow. I’ll tell you when and how hard.” Then I handed him the lube. “Just put some on your fingers, then slowly work it around my hole.”

He nodded. “I saw one gay porn flick. It was a joke when I was on the football team. They didn’t do this.”

I grinned. “Don’t tell me, they were kissing and then they were banging.”

He nodded.

“Did you notice the man on top had a condom on?” I asked.

“He did.”

“And when did he put that on?” I kissed him gently. “It’s a fantasy. There are preparations even they had to do. But it would take away from the story and the guys watching would lose their hardons.” I pressed my forehead to his. “It’ll be fine.”

He looked genuinely concerned. “I just don’t want to mess up.”

“I’ll help you out,” I assured. “If you do mess up, it’s me. It’ll be okay. We’ll try again. You’ll have this down in less than a day. I promise.” I stopped him. “That’s thin lube, it will come out quicker than you think.”

Brad grinned. “Okay.” He sighed and opened the bottle. There was more concentration on what he was doing that just enjoying it. It was becoming a task, not a pleasure. Once he had me ready, I got in position. “Just coat your cock with lube.” To my relief, his cock responded quickly and was rock hard again. “Now, slowly. I’ll tell you how hard and how fast.” He was already beginning to sweat. “Brad. You’re doing fine.” He nodded and slowly entered me. I expected the pain, and it did hurt a bit. “Easy.” I cautioned, then nodded. “A little more.”

“Damn!” Brad gasped. “You are tight!”

I laughed. “And you’re not all the way in yet. A little more.” I could see what he was feeling was good, so I kissed him. “Come on, a little more.” I felt his balls on my ass and I knew he was in. “Okay. Give me a minute. My body will adjust.” As he kissed back. “Go,” I said. Then he began the slow up and down. I was feeling the completion and he was now sweating like he was running a race and his breath was coming in pants. “Harder and faster,” I instructed and he did just that. Soon the slapping sound of our bodies together. He had just cum a few minutes ago, but he was moaning now. Then I heard this guttural groan as he was nearing climax. And I was enjoying the feeling of him sliding in and out and I was nearing my own climax. Suddenly we both nearly screamed as I shot my cum on his stomach and mine and I felt the eruption inside me as he came in me with a final near shouting ooh! Then he collapsed on me trying to catch his breath. Well, that did it. I loved this man! I wrapped my arms around him as his cock softened and he almost groaned with regret when it fell out. I couldn’t stop touching him. My hands running up his sides, kissing his head. I brought his face to look at me. “I love you, Brad.”

Suddenly tears were coming down his face. “I love you! I love you.” He said. “Don’t ever doubt that.”

I shook my head. “I know you do.” I rubbed his face. “It’s okay.”

He shook his head. “No. You don’t get it. I love you. You’ve proven you love me. I never…” his voice broke. “I never felt something like this would feel so right! God!! What a fool I’ve been. All these years wasted trying to be something they wanted when this is what I need. You are what I need.” Then he was covering me with kisses. “I love you, Eric. I love you.”

I couldn’t stop the smile on my face. “We’ll make it work,” I assured and he nodded. “I’m often wrong. It could be I’m wrong about loving a man, but I don’t think so. Please stop chastising yourself for believing what you were told. You found it wasn’t right for you and took some pretty daring steps to change that. I hope the changes will be permanent and we will have a life together. No one can tell you how to live your life. Not your parents, priests or me, for that matter. You decide. You are not a fool.”

He nodded again. “Okay.” He smiled weakly. “I can’t go back to the way things were.” He said with determination. “We go forward from this moment on. There are a few things you need to know about first. I will show you when we get back to Fontana.” His smile widened. “Thank you, Eric. For believing in me.”

“I’ve given you my heart. You’re a good man, Brad Thomas.” I said. I looked at the clock. “We’d better get showered and changed. We can head to the Toolbox. The show begins at eleven.”

He got up and extended his hand to me. “Let’s go.”

 

I had chosen the hotel because it was a block or two from the Toolbox. Showering and dressing we left the hotel.

“You look wonderful,” Brad said leaning closer to whisper in my ear. I was wearing black. I had a goth streak in me. Or a Johnny Cash wannabe. Well, I like black. I wore a black leather vest with no shirt. Black pants that looked like leather, but was this cotton that breathed. Leather makes me sweat, remember? Dancing like a maniac in leather would be stinky when taking them off. And black boots. I did wear some jewelry. I had my tiny feather earring and, yes I had two holes in my right ear. Some say it’s the gay side, others say left is the gay side. Back in the last century, a man could say his dominate and gay if pierced on the left and submissive on the right. I didn’t care. I was neither. In the second hole, I wore my silver Star of David. And a leather strip from hung a silver arrowhead. Brad only wore his Saint Christopher medallion. He was very handsome naked and looked devastatingly gorgeous dressed. But I was biased. We rounded the corner and you could hear a bass thump as the lights of the club circled the sky. The neon lights were replaced by a computer billboard. The image of men dancing scantily dressed. Dance your head off! flashed. Then an image of a woman flashed with dark hair. Of course, it had to be big hair. Nightshade Tonight also flashed.

“That’s him?” Brad shook his head. “I mean her. Is he her?”

I chuckled. “He’s still got the goods below. He likes having it too much to give that up. He’s a she in drag, but…” then I thought. “You’ll see.”

Of course, there was a line to get in. Brad looked a little disappointed, but I led him to the bouncer. “I believe we’re expected. The name’s Eric Davis and Brad Thomas.”

The bouncer didn’t even look. That mean scowl was for show. He grinned. “Oh, yes.” He nodded and took the rope down. “Go right in. You’re to go to the front of the stage.”

I smiled back. “Got it.”

“You called ahead?” Brad asked.

“I emailed Steve.” I corrected as we stepped into a blaring wave of rock and roll. The thump outside was a strong pulse that you felt in your chest. Hearing it made you want to move to the beat. I liked most musical forms. Techno and night club music I loved! The club had a vast open floor to dance on, with tables on the edges. And there must have been hundreds of people here. Gay, straight, male, female and unknown. Leather gays, Bears, drag queens. Yep, Brad was seeing them all and he was trying not to gawk when he saw some. I reached back and took his hand and led him toward the front. I didn’t want him lost in this chaos.

“I got you, Baby,” I called back with a laugh. It was a lot to take in. “Just hold on to me.” I felt his grip tighten. As we wove through the crowd, the stage got closer and soon I could see the tall, tall figure. Steve was six feet and one inch. Now with the three-inch heels and that big of black hair mane that cascaded down around his shoulders add a few more inches. But in drag, he was very beautiful. He had a fantastic figure many women would kill for. Hourglass shape with all the curves and full breasts. The dress Steve wore was sequined silver, but if you looked closer, there were blue Star of Davids all over in a pattern that covered him from neck to the floor. He was talking with some guests and laughing at something.

“Nightshade.” I called a couple of times. When he didn’t respond, I shouted. “Steve Bau!!”

That caused him to look up. When he/she saw me, the eyes widened and he/she almost screamed and came as fast as one could on those heels. As I said, he/she was tall, so when he/she hugged me I nearly had a face full of his breasts. Then he looked at me. “Eric! It is so good to see you!!” He hugged me again. “I couldn’t believe it when you emailed me. I guess Eddie had no problem letting you in.”

I laughed with my old friend. “No problem at all.” I turned to Brad. “Steve, this is Brad Thomas. My boyfriend.”

His/her eyes traveled over him. A smile of satisfaction gleamed in his/her eyes. “Very nice. He is just scrumptious!” He/she held her hand out to Brad, palm down, of course. “It’s nice to meet you, Brad. Eric is a great guy.”

Brad was still not sure where to look at Steve, but he smiled taking her hand and shook it. “It’s interesting to meet you. I’ve had a limited exposure to….” He waved at the club surroundings. “…all this.”

Steve smiled patiently. “And it’s a lot to take in. I understand.” I had told Steve a little about Brad and what he was going through. “Believe me, conservatives are everywhere. Be it church, Mass or Temple. Whatever religion, there are those that just don’t understand. Most of them don’t want to understand.” Then he/she pressed Brad’s hand. “It takes a while, but soon you’ll see us as just people.” Then he/she pointed a blue manicured finger toward the stage. “There’s a table reserved for you two right there. Now, I’ve got to get ready. Dance, sit, eat or whatever. I’ll talk to you later.” He/she gave me the air kiss and waved.

I turned to Brad. “He’s a great performer.”

Brad frowned as he stared at my retreating friend. “Were those boobs real!?”

You couldn’t help but love his amazement at all this. “Illusion is what drag queens are all about. You should see him out of drag.” Then I heard the music begin to a song I knew. “Billy Idol! Let’s go, Twinkle toes!” I grabbed his hand and we hit the dance floor. He did know how to dance. Three dances later, the lights flashed on and off, meaning we should take a seat. Steve was great to put us at the table in the front, we had a great view. The lights again dimmed and a piece of sultry music began. The curtains opened to a figure draped in black. Then he began in a deep voice.

“’Bout twenty years ago down in New Orleans.” He sang. “A group of fellas began a new form of music….” And he carried it well. “They called it jazz.” The black was flung off. Steve knew I loved Victor/Victoria. I also knew he did it because we were here. As the jazzy parts began and he had to go from low octaves to high ones, it was flawless! Especially when it came to the “la jazz hot!” He rose to a pitch no man would attempt without having had his family jewels hurting. Then with a flourish, Steve hit his final note and the place was a mayhem of applause and whistles as Steve bowed to all.

Brad had been transfixed watching her. “That…was impossible!” He said applauding and smiling in amazement.

I nodded. “But he did it! And no voice over. It was all him.”

Then Steve came forward and took a microphone. “Thanks, you bunch of sweet queens, fags and fag hags.” He grinned with a wink to me. “It’s so wonderful to be in such a warm, loving place like North Carolina. And in Charlotte. And don’t you just love Julie Andrews in that movie, and I don’t have to ask if you’ve seen it. You’re gay! Of course, you have! You no doubt have the movie on tape, DVD and the Soundtrack on CD! And memorized it!” His statement was applauded, meaning they heard and he was right. “When I was growing up in Cheoah, North Carolina….” He chuckled as he knew what they were thinking. “That’s right. Cheoah. It’s an Indian word. I thought I was alone. Here I was, Jewish and gay. Then I met someone who was also Jewish and gay. We would watch that movie and while he was dreaming about being with James Garner, I wanted to be Julie Andrews. So, I had to do that number for him, because he’s here with his new boyfriend…” then he lowered his voice. “And this new boyfriend is a hunk, let me tell you.” He motioned towards us. “Eric Davis and his boyfriend, Brad Thomas!” And the lights came on us. “Mazel tov! Eric and Brad. May you be happy in life together.” Then he waved his hand and the music began for a new song.

Steve did an hour and a half show and it was nonstop! Costume changes and songs that covered rock, soul and even a little country. I watched Brad as Steve performed. Brad was loving it. As Steve ended up doing two curtain calls, it was over. Then a man came over to us. It was Eddie again.

“Steve asked me to tell you to come backstage.” He said and escorted us back to a dressing room. He knocked. “Are you descent, Baby?”

“I’m never descent. But you can come in.” Steve said in his usual deep voice.

“Baby?” Brad asked.

“Yea.” Eddie nodded. “He’s my husband.”

Now Brad was again speechless. But when we entered the dressing room Steve was taking his wig off and putting it carefully on its pedestal. He looked at us as we came in. “I hope it was okay, Brad.” He smiled as he walked over to Eddie. “Unzip me, Honey.”

Brad shook his head. “It was unbelievable.”

Steve chuckled as he slipped the dress down. He had on a bodysuit, which showed you nothing, but he sighed as he slipped it down. He was a thin man. And of course, he had to be. “Which part was the most unbelievable?” He scratched his hairy stomach. “Man! The suit does wonders, but I’m glad to get out of the damned thing.” Now he sounded deeper. He was just a guy. Eddie smiled, kissing Steve quickly and began putting the gown away.

Brad was blinking, looking at Steve. “Now, even more. You’re just a man.”

Steve chuckled. “My father would agree. And my mother….well. Let’s just say, she likes having a daughter around some times.” He looked at Brad. “You think anything that fabulous could be real?” He waved Brad off. “Please.” Then he looked serious for a second. “Eric is a dear friend of mine. And he would never reveal something this important to just anyone. But we’ve known each other for over a decade. He told me that this was all new to you and you needed to see we’re just people. Is that true?”

Brad nodded. “So you’re still a man.”

Steve still had on the makeup, but he took one of those cloths I’d seen Elisi use and wiped away some. “One hundred percent.” He smiled. “There are some drag queens that will go a bit farther. They have the breast implants, do the hormones and all that shit. I love being a man. There are some who want even more. I don’t. But we’re all just people.”

Brad scratched the back of his head. “I know it sounds silly, but…I knew very little about this…side of life. Other than on the movies or TV I never knew about it. I feel embarrassed.”

Steve smiled. “No need to be. You didn’t know. Now, you do.” Then he looked at Brad with a deadly glare. “If you break his heart. I’ll kill you.”

Brad looked startled a second. “I’m not planning to.”

Steve grinned. “Good.” Then he came over and hugged Brad. “Welcome to the family.”

 

It was the early morning when we got back to the hotel. We had danced, been entertained and danced some more. We were too pooped to do anything else.

When we got back to Fontana Lake Village, of course, Elisi wanted to know how Brad liked the show and he said he had. Then Brad was quiet.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

He looked at me. Then motioned for me to follow him. In my room, our room, he sat at the computer. He pulled up my web browser and did some tapping. Then motioned for me to sit. Before me was a webpage for Thomas Shipping. The image of a large ship that was laden down with crates. There were fifty of those ships. Then Brad hit another key and the image of a man in his late fifties and the image of a younger Brad.

“That’s my father,” Brad said. Then he hit a few more keys and an image of several people. “That’s my brother, Bobby. His wife. My mother and that’s the Duchess.” They were all sitting very stately for this picture. “We are Thomas Shipping. We have been for over a hundred years.” He knelt beside me. “I am afraid of losing you. You may think I’m silly, but you know I’m telling the truth. I am terrified because I know what sort of reception they’ll give you. I’m scared of how you’ll react to them.”

I looked at the photo of the family. Robert looked very distinguished standing behind an elderly woman that had bright, piercing eyes. They were all well-dressed it was all so formal. The woman, Cynthia, Brad’s mother looked stately standing beside her husband. I saw where Brad’s hair came from. Her hair was dark brown like Brad’s. Robert’s was black. Bobby looked more like his mother, but he also had brown hair. He was about five years older than Brad. Beside him was a blonde, very attractive. I smiled at Brad. “You can’t lose me. Not because of them, but they are your family. What you do is up to you.”

Brad nodded.

I looked at his brother. “So, is Bobby not with the company?”

Brad shook his head. “No. He made it clear when he was off at college. He was going to be a lawyer. He hopes to be in a government office one day. He even said he wanted one day to be President.” He chuckled at a thought he had about Bobby. He shook his head. “No. My problems are going to be her.” He pointed to his mother. “Her.” He pointed to Bobby’s wife. Then he hit a few buttons. “And her.” A picture of Brad and pretty redhead. The caption read The Parents of Bradley R. Thomas, Robert R. Thomas and Cynthia Thomas announce their son’s engagement to Diana Fischer. Bradley Thomas is a graduate of Yale University. I reached out and touched him on the stomach. “Not that I mind, but what was that for?”

I shrugged. “I just wanted to touch a Yale man. Impressive.”

Brad chuckled. “The touch? Or Yale?”

I shrugged again. “That’s a toss-up.” I sat back. “What’s R for?”

That’s when he turned a little pink around his ears. “You’ll laugh. It’s Rufus.”

I nodded. “Bradley Rufus Thomas. Okay. So, is your position at the company being held by these women?”

“Well….no.” He said reluctantly. “See? We will have no problem with the Duchess. She won’t care. In fact, she has a pretty saucy past herself. But that’s not what bothers me. Mom got the voting shares from Dad. As long as Bobby is on our side, we should be fine. But if Amanda convincing Bobby to side with Mom, then I’m cooked.”

I nodded. “Okay. So, we’ll have to convince Bobby you’re the same guy you were when you left.” Then I shook my head. “So, why worry about Diana?”

“She and Amanda are friends,” Brad said. “If Diana gets Amanda to convince Bobby to vote me out…”

I held my head. “You’re right. This is going to be messy.”

Brad looked at me, but the gleam was in his eyes. “Still love me?”

“It’ll take a bit more than that to make me fall out of love with you.” I grinned standing.

“They could say you’re just after the money,” Brad said.

“Why? Mom left me and Lynn trust funds.” I said backing him up. “Of course Lynn’s was halved with Tyler,” I said. “We won’t be in the poor house if you lose your money.” I continued backing him up until he bumped into the bed with the back of his legs.

Brad was grinning. “Is there a reason I’ve been backed into the bed?”

I nodded. “You know there is.” I smiled as I gently pushed him down. “I’m going to make a Yale man scream.” I pulled on his shirt pulling it over his head.

He chuckled. “And how’re you gonna do that?”

I unfastened his pants. “I’ll show you.”

He did scream a little. I guess Elisi knew not to worry, she didn’t check.

After that was done. He smiled at me as we both relaxed. “Are we ready to move forward?”

I was enjoying my hands over him. He felt so smooth and warm. I loved letting my fingers run through the hairs on his chest. “Move forward?”

He rolled his eyes. “Okay, I’ll say it. Are you going to top me?” Then he thought. “Do you want to top me?”

I sat up and looked at him seriously. “Do you want me to?”

He grinned and shrugged. “Why should I have all the fun? Then again, I’ve seen how much you seem to enjoy it…”

I grinned. “It’s just that some guys just….don’t.” I put my hand on his chest over his heart. “As for whether I want to….have you seen your ass?”

He smiled as his ears pinked again. “Well, it’s usually behind me.”

I gave him a crooked look. “Oh, come on, you’ve had to check it out in the mirror. It’s hot!”

He grinned even broader. “You think so?”

“Would I lie?”

He was laughing harder. “I don’t know. Would you? I can’t tell.”

“I can, but I don’t do it very well. People can usually tell.”

He kissed me gently. “So if I tell you, you’ve got a beautiful ass. Am I telling the truth?”

I smiled. “Thanks. You do think so.” I reached around him, running my hand over his mounds flesh. Then I lay down with him. “But if you’re serious and I know you are. But it’s an unknown truth.” We were enjoying being together. “But it will take some time.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Why?”

I sighed. “Because you’ve never done it before. Do you dream?”

He looked even more confused.

“I mean erotic dreams. Do you see yourself with….” I stopped. “No, you were too repressed to acknowledge those on a conscious level. Do you fantasize about me like that?”

He didn’t look comfortable. “Let’s say, I was given the privilege of looking, so I do. I think about all the things I imagine us doing. Often I think of you lying on me.”

“It will be a statement of trust by you, to let me do that to you,” I said. “But there is something you will have to do first. I do it for you. And I will take it slow. It will hurt at first. But all you have to do is say stop. And I will.”

We often didn’t kiss, but the foreheads and temples would come together. I’ve seen cats do it. Why and where it came from. I have no idea, but Brad did it. He was like a cat on the dance floor and in bed. Perhaps that was it. “I do trust you. You now know that. I’d like to try it.”

I nodded. “Do you mind if I choose the place? We may need more privacy. There’s a place I know, we’ll go there tomorrow. We’ll make it a romantic night.”

Brad nodded. “That sounds excellent. You will show me how to do…that thing before, right? To make it not stink.”

I smiled with a nod. “It’s quick and painless.”