Re-birth - 4. Chapter 4

When I heard those words, I panicked. I had just talked about this with my friends. My throat went dry, and my eyes filled with tears. My hand went to my mouth as I said, “Dear God, no. Not again.” I suddenly felt dizzy. Dad must have read my mind because he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight. He held me until I calmed down, then sat with me at the table.

“From the reaction, I’m guessing you were thinking about that day with your mom?” I nodded, so he said, “I’m sorry, Greg, I didn’t realize what I said until you almost fainted. I’m healthy as a horse, son. I just had my physical, and the doctor says I’ll outlive him.”

“That’s not saying much, Dad. Doc’s gotta be 70.” I said, trying to let him know I was over my shock.

He laughed and said, “I told him the same thing. He challenged me to a tennis match next month!” I laughed, and he went on, “I’m glad you’re getting along with Scott so well, but I’d like to meet his parents.”

I pulled out my phone as I said, “They can probably come over now if you want.”

“No, I need to get going. My plans have changed. They’re sending someone else to Dallas. I’m going to Los Angeles, so I should only be gone for a week. Unfortunately, the only flight we could get leaves tomorrow morning at 5. Instead of leaving here at 2 AM, we’re all staying at the Airport Hyatt tonight. I’ll park in the long-term lot and take the shuttle in the morning.”

I asked, “Why Los Angeles again, Dad? Weren’t you just there?”

“Last month, it was Anaheim. This time, it’s Santa Barbera, but I suppose everything in Southern California is Los Angeles to someone from around here. I might be spending a lot of the summer out there, but we can talk when I get home, OK?”

I helped Dad load the bags into his car, and we hugged goodbye. I told him I’d call tomorrow morning since he would be on the plane when I woke up to run. He said to wait until the afternoon, as he and his team were going over details at a brunch with the customer. Once the garage door closed, I headed upstairs to settle in for the evening. I sent texts to Jake, Josh, Brian, and Chris saying we had to hang out again this week and thanked them for warmly welcoming Scott.
I started reading an older Roeder book, ‘The Soccer Field is Empty’, and I must have lost track of time. When I got a text from Scott, I looked at the time. It was 11 p.m.

<‘GN ILY’> (goodnight, I love you)

<‘always’> I replied.

I put my phone on the charger and curled up in bed. My alarm woke me, and Scott was there waiting when I stepped outside to stretch. We stretched and took off, enjoying the predawn quiet as we headed toward the farm lane. As we passed the collapsing house, we stopped at the barn for a breather, as was my habit. Scott looked around, lost in thought.

I was about to start running again when he said, “After lunch, I want to come back out here. We can bring food and a few books, and enjoy it until dark. It’s relaxing.”

I put my arms around him and said, “I have to mow, but after that, we can do whatever you want.”

“I should probably mow ours, too,” Scott said. Then, he smirked as he challenged, “Think you can keep up?”

He then jumped up and laughed as he took off up the ATV trails. I really had a tough time catching him, but I finally did as we passed his house. We went into my basement and spent 60 minutes doing upper body work. When we were done, it felt perfectly natural for us to head in and shower together. It wasn’t sexual, but it was very sensual. We stepped out, dried each other, then headed upstairs. He sat at the bar as I made us both a breakfast of omelets, bacon, sausage, milk, and juice.

Scott insisted I let him clean up after breakfast, although I did have to show him where things belonged. When that was done, Scott headed to his house while I pulled the mower out of the garage. It took me two hours to mow, trim, and clean up the yard, and I was just putting the mower away when Scott called to say that James and Donna wanted us to join them for a ‘Twilight’ marathon in the basement.

I took another quick shower, put on some shorts and a T-shirt, and headed over. As I was crossing the street, I noticed James in the driveway, speaking to a man I didn’t know. As I was approaching, the man was bowing to James and saying, “Yes, Your Excellency.”

James replied, “I will expect your call.” Noticing that I had seen this exchange, he turned to me and said, “You’ll understand once Scott tells you what he needs to tell you.”

I looked at him and said, “Whatever it is, it’s not going to make me stop loving him. You’re not going to break us up.”

As James looked at me, I saw the pain in his eyes as he said, “That’s not what I’m trying to do, Greg, not at all. Please believe me.”

I gave a curt nod and replied, “Yes, Your Excellency.” I immediately regretted it as he turned and went into the house ahead of me.

We ended up spending the next six hours watching Edward, Jacob, and Bella. Between the first and second movies, Scott and Donna ran upstairs to meet the pizza delivery guy. While we were alone, I turned to James and said, “James, I need to apologize for earlier—”

“No, Greg, it’s fine. You’re struggling with a lot of emotions right now. I understand that.”

I sighed, then said, “You doubt I can love him already, considering we just met.”

I looked up when James gave a slight laugh and said, “Our people tend to fall in love very quickly, Greg. Donna and I were wed six weeks after we met. My oldest son married his mate after just four weeks. We don’t believe it takes much time for your soul to recognize its mate.”

I was about to ask how he knew Donna was the one when Scott came running down the stairs with drinks, followed by Donna carrying two pizzas, plates, and a roll of paper towels. Scott sat beside me as we watched the third movie in the series. Once the pizza was gone, he leaned into me, and, at some point before the end of the movie, I had put my arm around him. When the movie ended, I realized that neither James nor Donna had given us any negative comments or glances. In fact, Donna had smiled when she saw us snuggled on the couch.

As I stood to go, James said, “Don’t make plans for the week, Scott. Remember, we have to be in New York this week.”

Scott nodded, saying, “I forgot about that, Dad. Do I really have to go?”

“Matt and Liz are really anxious to see you. I won’t force you to go, but you might not get to see them again until winter break,” James replied.

After a moment, Scott turned to me and said, “Sorry, but I haven’t seen my brother since Christmas. I really should go.”

I smiled and said, “We have a long future ahead of us. I’m sure this won’t be the only time we have to spend a few days separated.”

Scott grinned as he grabbed my hand and led me upstairs to the door. We promised to keep in touch, and then I leaned in to kiss him. We got quite involved in a tongue-swapping session until he suddenly pulled back. I wondered what was wrong until I saw James and Donna coming from the basement door. As I walked home, I wondered how he had known they were coming.

Scott ran with me on Monday, but as we finished our run, he headed home to join his father for their trip to New York. My workout was much less enjoyable than those from last week. After lifting weights, I showered, ate, and headed off to work. On my lunch break, I ran into the twins and Chris in the food court.

“What’s Scott doing while you work?” Jake asked me.

I swallowed, then replied, “He’s out of town with his dad. What brings you three to the mall?”

Josh punched his brother’s arm as he answered, “Doofus here went and got a job at the bookstore. Now, I gotta either find one that matches his hours, play taxi, or go without the truck while he’s at work.”

I laughed when Chris said, “Sucks to be you, huh?”

Jake turned to him and said, “We can’t all have daddy paying our bills while we relax all day.”

Chris looked frustrated and grumbled, “Dad says he has some work for me to do. I gotta meet with him and some client later this week.”

Chris’ dad owned a law firm and was probably the richest man in the county. I was jealous, though I’d never admit it. I’d happily trade places with him and spend my days doing research, reading files, or even just fetching coffee for the lawyers.

Josh gave Chris a shoulder bump and said, “I’ll trade you any day, dude. You can carry shingles and drywall while I spend hours in an air-conditioned office.”

I turned to him, saying, “Like you’ve done anything but manage a crew for the last two summers. Speaking of which, why aren’t you with your dad?”

Josh and Jacob’s father owned a construction company where both boys have worked for as long as I can remember. I knew that while Josh loved the work and hoped to take over someday, Jacob had dreams of a military career.

“Dad wanted him to bring me to my interview. Now we have to figure out how to make things work for transportation and such,” Jake explained.

I turned to Chris and asked, “That explains these two clowns. Did you just tag along? Or are you here for a reason?”

Chris blushed as he said, “Josh is taking me to the tailor’s so I can get two new suits. My car’s in the shop.”

I nodded, then turned to Jake and asked, “Well, let’s compare hours. Maybe you can ride with me a few days so you don’t have to put up with Tweedledumb.”

After a short glance at Jake’s schedule, the solution was obvious. “You’re working the same hours as I am, at least for the next two weeks. Just have Josh drop you off at my place by eight, and you can ride with me.”

Jacob grinned as he said, “Or I could make him get up and drop me off at five so I can work out with you.”

Josh shook his head as he groaned, “Oh hell no. If you want to work out with him, you can sleep on his floor.” Giving me a quick look, he added, “If that’s ok.”

I shrugged and asked, “Since when do any of you guys have to ask if you can stay over?” I turned to Jake and asked, “I guess you need a ride after work?”

As Jake and I stood to head to our jobs, Chris and Josh gathered our trash and headed toward the exit. I texted Dad just to make sure it was okay that Jake was at the house while he was out of town. Dad offered Jake the use of his empty bed, which he refused, saying the floor in my room was fine. Part of me wasn’t sure about this now that I knew he had been crushing on me.

After work, Jake and I picked up subs, dropped by his house so he could grab more clothes, then headed to my place. We spent the evening talking about who was dating whom and which boys we thought were cute. It also opened the door for me to address Jake’s crush on me.

I took a deep breath and said, “I’m really honored that you wanted to date me—”

“But you’re in love with Scott, and you’re hoping I’ll behave while I’m here,” Jake interrupted.

I smirked at him as I replied, “If I didn’t think you’d behave, you wouldn’t be here, Jake. I love you like the brother I never had, and I will until the day I die. I’m more concerned that you’re hurt.”

I could hear the regret in his voice as he said, “I’m not hurt, well, maybe a little, but still, I should have spoken up. Josh and I talked this over the other night, and I think my hormones were, or are, the cause of the crush.”

I raised an eyebrow as I inquired, “Are? So there’s still feelings?”

Shrugging, Jake said, “Dude, you’re hot. If you jumped down on the floor with me, I certainly wouldn’t say no.” He paused, considering, then said, “That’s not true; as hard as it would be, I’d say no. Like you said, I love you like I love Josh, and I wouldn’t want to be the one that comes between you and Scott.”

“I’m not that hot,” I objected.

Jake giggled as he said, “Josh says I moan your name when I’m jerkin’ off, dude.”

“Seriously?” I exclaimed.

Finally, Jake was blushing as he nodded. I wanted to change the subject a bit, so I asked, “From what the guys said, you’re not a virgin?” I quickly added, “You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to.”

“Guess that depends on how you define virgin. I haven’t gone all the way, but I’ve sucked a few guys and had my dick sucked,” Jake admitted. He smirked at me as he asked, “What about you?”

“Until this week, I’d never touched another dick or had mine touched,” I muttered.

Jake leaned forward as he excitedly asked, “But that changed this week?”

I blushed as I said, “I’d rather not go into details, but yeah, it did.”

Jake rubbed the bulging front of his boxer briefs as he smirked and said, “Dude, I’m gonna hit the bathroom a minute.”

When he started to get up, I thought for a second, then said, “Hold up a sec, bro.”

He looked at me, unsure, until I grabbed my phone from the desk and texted Scott.

<Busy?>

<Never too busy for you>

I smiled as I typed, <Is it cheating if I JO with Jake?>

The delay had me concerned, but his reply made me smile.

<Look but no touch? NP but you’re MINE>

<Thx Love u2>

<Wish I cud watch>

<Next time!>

I put my phone back on the desk and then gave Jake my best seductive look as I said, “I’m gonna jerk off. You can stay and watch, join me, or you can go to the bathroom.”

His mouth was hanging open in shock as I started to rub myself through my boxer briefs, but he didn’t move. I raised an eyebrow, and he lowered himself to the floor and started rubbing his own bulge, his eyes never leaving my crotch. At the same moment, we both slid our boxer briefs down and exposed our cocks to the other.

Jake licked his lips as I leaned onto my side on my bed, never moving my eyes from his slowly moving hand. He seemed to understand this was not to be anything more than us watching each other, and I think he was trying to turn me on as his free hand roamed over his tight abs. I’ll admit, he was succeeding, proven by the pre-cum dripping from my dick.

Usually, I just jerk, going for the final goal, but this time, I was enjoying things, just taking my time. Jake was right there with me, and it was almost twenty minutes before we both increased our pace, let out a moan, and splattered our stomachs and chests. Both of us were dozing, enjoying that post-orgasmic haze, when his phone pinged with a text.

I watched as he broke into a laugh while reading the text. He handed me his phone as he got up and headed to grab us a towel.

It was from Scott, <This weekend, all 3 of us>.

When he came back in the room, Jake tossed the towel on my stomach as he flopped onto the floor. Once I had wiped up, I knelt on the floor and put my arms around him. He tensed but soon relaxed when he understood my intent. Before I stood, I gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek as I said, “I love you, bro. Don’t ever forget that.”

Tuesday’s workout started with a surprise. While Jake and I were stretching, Josh showed up to join us. Jake and Josh are twins, but they’re not identical twins, a fact accented by their build. Josh is three inches shorter than I am, and he’s built a bit thicker through the chest. Jake stands about two inches taller than my six foot one inch and has a build similar to mine. Josh wrestles at 170 lbs. while Jake, because of his added height, wrestles in the 195 lbs. weight class. Unlike me, he never had to work to keep from going over his weight class. Today’s workout was harder simply because the twins pushed me harder than I pushed myself. When we finished lifting, Josh headed off to work while Jake and I headed to my shower. We both knew that last night was as far as either of us wanted to go, but it’s nice to have a friend to wash your back.

Wednesday, after work, Josh, Chris, and Brian met us at the mall, We ate in the food court and then hit the theater to see the X-Men movie. We agreed that we all would get together and see the Transformers movie when it came out next week. Josh wanted to bring a date and was worried that Scott and I would feel odd. Jake suggested he just tease us about not being able to find a date.

Thursday, as Jake and I were pulling into my driveway, I saw Chris and his parents walking into Scott’s house. When I commented on this to Jake, he suggested that, since Mr. Barnes was an attorney, maybe James was discussing business over dinner. While that made sense to me, it still didn’t seem right. Who brings their wife and son to a business meeting?

I was changing out of my work clothes when I heard Jake on his phone. He came into my room and tossed the phone to me as he stripped off his dress pants and traded them for shorts.

Knowing it had to be one of our buddies, I put the phone to my ear and said, “Yeah?”

“Kim just dumped Brian, I’m bringing his sad ass over, and you’re hosting a pizza party. We’ll bring the pizza. Doofus said you have enough drinks. Do I need enough pizza for Scott?”

I instinctively shrugged as I said, “I don’t know. I just saw Chris and his folks going into their house. I’ll text ya in a sec.”

I tossed Jake’s phone to him, grabbed mine, and sent Scott, <Come over for pizza with the guys?>

Five minutes later, my shoulders slumped when I got, <Can’t busy sorry>

<NP See you in the morning?>

<Yup ILY>

I let out a long sigh. Jake came over, putting his arm around me, and asked, “You okay, bro?”

“I’m just being selfish. I haven’t seen him all week, and he says he’s busy.” I looked at Jake and asked, “Chris is straight, right?”

Jacob’s barking laugh answered my question long before he caught his breath enough to reply, “He won’t even jerk off with me and Josh when he stays over, bro. And Scott loves you. That much is obvious.”

“I know,” I whined, “but after what you and I did the other night, he wouldn’t try to even things out, would he?”

Jake turned me around and pulled me into a hug, rubbing my back as he said, “I don’t know him well enough to answer that, bro, but I didn’t get the feeling he’s like that. Like I said, he loves you.”

I sighed into his shoulder, then, realizing what he’d said, I pulled back and stared at him as I said, “You and Josh jerk together? Really?”

He glared at me as he said, “Yeah, bro, we do, and it’s all we do. I’m tired of people thinking we do stuff together. He’s my brother, that’s sick.”

I pulled him back into the hug and crushed him as I said, “I wasn’t going there, dude. It just surprised me that you even do that.”

I felt him shrug as he mumbled, “We share a bed, bro. We were ten or so when we figured out how to do it. Long before we associated it with sex, so to us, it’s no different than playing a video game or something.” He was quiet for a long time, then said, “We do cuddle, though, when we sleep. I mean, we always have, and we’ve just never thought it was a problem. I’m so used to it that I can’t sleep well when I’m alone.”

I leaned back to look into his eyes as I firmly stated, “It’s not a problem with me, bro, and I’ll never tell anyone that little fact. It’s no one’s business.” I thought for a minute, then added, “If my bed was bigger, I’d be happy to cuddle with you tonight if it helps you sleep.”

Jake blushed as he replied, “Probably not a good idea, bro. I might do something in my sleep that would make stuff awkward between us. Josh is used to waking up with my bone pushed against his ass.”

I was still laughing when Josh and Brian came in carrying three pizzas and two 2-liters of Coke. After we ate, the night quickly went from us trying to get Brian to name girls he wanted to ask out to Josh challenging me to wrestle. Soon, the four of us were wrestling in the basement, dressed only in our boxer briefs. No one commented on anyone boning up. It’s common in wrestling and something we’re used to ignoring. After we all showered, Brian and I headed to my room while the twins cuddled up on the living room floor. I saw Brian grin when Jake wrapped his arms around his brother, but he never said a word.

When we got to my room, Brian turned to me and said, “I know you never would, but I gotta say it. Don’t tell anyone they cuddle. No one would understand.”

I smiled at my friend as I said, “I was about to say the same thing, dude. Jake and I have talked a lot this week. He’s told me everything.” When Brian blushed, I realized that Jake hadn’t told me everything, and I needed to clarify. I quickly added, “He never mentioned anything that might have happened with you, though, but if he had, you know I’d never tell.”

I thought it was time the four of us came clean. I grabbed Brian’s hand and led him to the living room, where we found the twins still cuddled up, whispering to each other. When they saw us, they sat up.

“What’s up, guys?” Josh asked as he glanced at his twin.

I decided that direct was the best solution, so I simply stated, “It’s time the four of us share all our secrets. Do we simply talk? Or do I find a bottle, and we play truth or dare without the dares?”

Brian cracked up laughing when Jake deadpanned, “If we didn’t empty the bottle, truth or dare isn’t as much fun. I’m fine telling all my secrets to you guys.” He looked over to Josh and asked, “What about you, bro?”

Josh looked at his brother for just a second, then looked directly into my eyes, then turned to Brian as he said, “I’m fine with it. What about you?”

I could see Brian hesitating, and I assumed it was something the twins knew that I didn’t. I needed a way to give them a second. I knew Dad wouldn’t get mad, so I headed for the kitchen, where I grabbed four bottles of beer and opened them. As I suspected, when I came back, the three of them were finishing up a whispered conversation. I handed one to each, then stripped off my boxer briefs. The looks of shock I got were exactly what I wanted.

I shrugged and explained, “I figured if we’re playing truth or truth, we might as well get the ‘I dare you to get naked’ out of the way.”

All three cackled as they set their beers on the table and stripped off. Once we were all settled in a circle on the floor, we stared at each other’s faces. No one was willing to admit that we wanted to check each other out. Finally, Josh said, “Okay, we all know we want to look. Let’s just stand back up and get that out of the way. Not like we haven’t seen each other in the locker rooms, but I never wanted to get caught.”

“Greg’s the only one I haven’t seen hard—” Brian started, then looked at me like a deer caught in the headlights. “Um, ok, so I guess I’m first?”

I laughed, then said, “Get a good look first, then explain that.”

With four naked studs in the room, Jake and I were rock hard, but Josh and Brian weren’t far behind us. Josh and Brian moved closer to me, and both knelt, taking a good look at my cock that now had a spot of pre on the tip. They ignored that and finally moved back to their places, leaning back on their elbows on the floor.

In the next hour, I learned that Brian had let Jake suck him last year and that Josh and Brian had tried to exchange blow jobs shortly after. Brian said he didn’t like doing it, but both said they enjoyed the hell out of receiving them. Brian knew that the twins cuddled and that he had jerked off with them both several times over the last year. Brian had no interest in guys, but I was shocked to learn that Josh considered himself ‘bi, leaning straight’. Josh told us, well, told me and Brian since Jake already knew, the two boys he had blown, as well as the two girls he had gotten blown by.

Brian admitted that the only blow jobs he had received had come from the twins. As he said this, he looked at me, grabbed his cock, and waggled his eyebrows. When I licked my lips and slowly crawled toward him, he froze, but his cock twitched. He moved his hand away when I got closer, and was totally shocked when I wrapped my arms around his shoulder and put him in a half-nelson, a pinning move in wrestling. The twins were laughing their asses off when my front door opened.