I Will Sing for You - 8. Reinforcing Commonalities

On the way home we stop at a carwash and wash the desert dirt from the Jeep. Then I call ahead to an authentic little Mexican restaurant where I’ve eaten numerous times and order two of the best tamale dinners that I’ve ever had, with refried beans and Spanish rice. After we pick up the meals we head the short distance to my apartment and pull into my parking space at a little after 5:00 pm.

As soon as I enter the apartment, I start the oven to warm our dinners, then head to the bathroom to relieve my bladder. When I return to the kitchen, Chris takes his turn in the bathroom. I have our dinners in the oven when he returns and two open bottles of Barrio Citrazona sitting on the bar. “Hey, you must have read my mind,” he smiles as he slides onto the barstool beside me and takes a swallow of his beer. “After a day in the desert, a beer never tasted so good.”

“My thoughts exactly,” I smile, looking at him. “So you really had a good time today and I didn’t bore you too much?”

Returning my smile, he says, “Yeah, despite our rattlesnake encounter I really had a good time in the desert with you today, Callan. And no, you didn’t bore me at all. Like I said earlier, you’ve influenced me to take Physical Geology to fulfill my science elective because you opened a whole new world to me today. I really do want to learn more about why the earth, and Arizona in particular, looks like it does today.”

“Well, on the grand scale it’s because of plate tectonics, and the things we saw in the field today are manifestations of it. Plate tectonics causes the broad regional stretching that we see locally as detachment faulting, normal faulting and block rotation. In fact most of the western US exhibits geologic features that suggest wholesale tension and stretching. In other words, the western US is literally being pulled apart.”

And with that the oven chimes, signaling that our suppers are ready.

*      *      *

“Wow. I’ve never had tamales that tasted so good,” Chris says as we carry our plates and utensils to the sink.

“I told you,” I smile as I run hot water into the sink. “How about I wash, rinse and clean the counters, and you dry and put away?”

“Sounds good to me,” he smiles as he removes the dish towel from the oven door handle. “We make a good team, Callan.”

“And we’ll make an even better team as musicians afterwards,” I smile as I hand him a washed plate.

After we finish in the kitchen we head into the living room where Chris removes his guitar from its case on the sofa as I remove mine from its stand, shoulder the strap, capo the third fret and then tune it. Once I’m tuned, I hand him the tuner and he tunes his guitar, also capoed on the third fret. Once we’re in tune, I strike an open E_bsus2 chord, then fingerpick the chord and follow it with an open E_b11sus2 chord, my variation of the intro to Don’t Dream It’s Over. Then I launch into the main song chords, playing an open E_bsus2 chord in place of his E_bsus2 chord barred at the sixth fret, and an open B_b5 in place of his B_b barred at the sixth fret. Other than that I play the same variations of Csus2, A_b, Gsus4, G and Cm that he does. After the first verse, Chris enters and we play and sing the song to the end.

“Wow. That’s a nice variation of the intro!” he exclaims. “And we sounded really good together, both vocally and instrumentally.”

“Yeah, we did,” I smile. “I just varied the first chord to an open E_bsus2 and the chord following it to an open E_b11sus2. The only other difference is I play an open B_b5 when you play B_b.”

“Let’s play it again from the beginning. Okay?” How can I deny him when I see the gleam of excitement in his eyes as he says it. So we perform the song again.

“Wow, Chris!” I enthuse after we end the song. “I can’t believe how good we sound together and how well we harmonize too! We have to do this a lot more often!”

“I agree,” he smiles. “You played an instrumental piece during your first performance at the Saguaro Grill and during your audition that I really liked. You had to retune your guitar to play it.”

“Yeah, Bron-Yr-Aur,” I reply. “It was written by Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page in 1970 at the 18^th century cottage Bron-Yr-Aur in Wales where the group got away to write a number of their songs for their fourth album, including Stairway to Heaven. It was released on their 1975 Physical Graffiti album though. Would you like me to teach you to play it?”

“Definitely,” he smiles.

“Okay. First, you tune your sixth and fourth strings down to C and your second string up to C to give you an open Cmaj6, C-A-C-G-C-E,” I say as I begin tuning my guitar. “Since you’re tuning the sixth string down four semitones from E to C and the fourth string down two semitones from D to C, you might get some string buzzing when you pluck them. It’s not a problem with the second string since you’re tuning up a semitone from B to C.”

Once I’m tuned, I unclip the tuner from the headstock of my guitar, hand it to him and strum an open Cmaj6. Then I fret the fifth string at the third fret and strum again, getting a rich-sounding C-chord. “I have the sheet music and tablature, which I’ll give you so you can work on it when you’re at home,” I offer as he tunes his guitar.

“Thanks,” he replies, then finishes tuning and strums the same rich-sounding C-chord.

First, I demonstrate the finger-picking pattern, and then we work on it together until he gets it. The nice thing about Chris is that he has the ability to learn quickly, which, unfortunately, I don’t have. Then I demonstrate the hammer-on and slide up to C on the fifth string in the intro. After he gets it, we work on the finger placement patterns on the neck for the arpeggios comprising the body of the song. For each section of the song, we start slow, then slowly work up to tempo as he becomes more competent. Within an hour or so he can pretty well accompany me as we play through the song in its entirety.

“Wow,” he says after we end the song with a neck flexure vibrato. “We sounded really good together. Thanks a lot for teaching it to me, Callan.”

“It isn’t difficult because you’re an easy person to teach, Chris. It took me a lot longer to learn Bron-Yr-Aur.”

I immediately segue into the song Burning House, written in 2015 by the country singer Cam for her second album Untamed. However, I like Benjamin Ross’ version better.

I had a dream about a burning house

You were stuck inside, I couldn’t get you out.

Laid beside you and I pulled you close

And the two of us went up in smoke.

 

Love isn’t all that it seems, I did you wrong

I’ll stay here with you until this dream is gone.

 

I’ve been sleep walkin’, been wonderin’ all night

Tryin’ to take what’s lost and broke and make it right.

I’ve been sleep walkin’ too close to the fire

But it’s the only place that I can hold you tight.

In this burning house.

See you at a party and you look the same

I could take you back but people don’t ever change.

Wish that we could go back in time

I’d be the one you thought you’d find.

 

Love isn’t all that it seems, you did me wrong

I’ll stay here with you until this dream is gone.

 

I’ve been sleep walkin’, been wonderin’ all night

Tryin’ to take what’s lost and broke and make it right.

I’ve been sleep walkin’ too close to the fire

But it’s the only place that I can hold you tight

In this burning house.

 

Flames are gettin’ bigger now in this burnin’ house

I can hold on to you somehow in this burnin’ house

Oh, and I don’t wanna wake up in this burnin’ house

 

I’ve been sleep walkin’, been wonderin’ all night

Tryin’ to take what’s lost and broke and make it right.

I’ve been sleep walkin’, too close to the fire

But it’s the only place that I can hold you tight.

In this burning house.

 

He smiles. “I like it, Callan.”

“I thought about you, Chris, and then I thought about us and how nice it would be to live together, sleep together and make love whenever we want. And then I thought about the things that could prevent it, and this song kind of came to mind. I want us to be together, except I don’t ever want it to end, like in this song. I sang it to let you know that.”

“It’s what I want too, Callan.” He shrugs. “Nevertheless, it’s a beautiful song, nice melody. And you played it so nicely. Your guitar sounds more and more beautiful to me every time I hear it.

“I’ll tell you what, Chris; if we’re together when I have my doctorate and I have a good job, I’ll buy you one as a gift. Meanwhile, feel free to play mine whenever you’re here.

“No way, Callan. Not for what it cost you. I’d love to play it, though, when I’m here and you’re not paying it.

“Anyway, you need to play this song next time at Saguaro Grill. People will love it.”

“I will, Chris.”

He unshoulders his guitar and places it back in its case. Then he steps up to me, removes mine and gently cradles it on its stand. “Thanks for everything today, Callan,” he says as he enfolds me in his arms, then presses his lips to mine in a kiss that clearly conveys that we’re probably on our way to bed. Feeling my cock begin to swell against the seam of my Levis, I pull away just far enough to gaze into his eyes and smile. “Are you trying to seduce me, Chris?”

“I am,” he replies, meeting my gaze as he presses his palm against my cock and lightly squeezes. “And it feels like it’s working.”

“It is indeed,” I smile. “How about we go to bed?”

I see a fierce look of anticipation and desire in his eyes when he says, “I’d like that, Callan. I want to feel you inside me again.”

He waits for me as I turn off the lights, then grips my hand and leads the way to the bedroom.

There, we embrace and kiss again, then stand beside the bed and quietly undress, our eyes focused on the other’s growing nakedness. As more and more of Chris’ beautiful body is revealed, I can feel myself growing even harder, knowing that I will again explore the same veritable well of sensuous pleasures that I had enjoyed so much last night. And when all our wrestling and passion has ended, I will have emptied myself inside him for the second time, and the most fundamental part of me will be a part of him again.

*      *      *

“Oh my God…” I hear beneath me as I feel the head of my cock bore deep into Chris’ tight, smothering warmth, his butt arched up to take every rigid inch of it. “You’re so big.”

“But you still like it. Right?”

“Oh God, yes! More than anything in the world, Callan.”

“Good,” I whisper as I come down onto his back, buried up to my balls into his naked body. Then I press my mouth to his in a passion-charged kiss as I begin to slowly piston the head of my cock deep into the luxurious warmth of his receptive body.

I haven’t felt my body so in tune with another body as it is at this moment, feeling Chris’ butt arch up like oscillations of a pendulum to meet my thrusts, taking me deep into what feels like the sanctuary of his soul.

“Ummm… yeah…” he purrs beneath me, his naked body writhing serpent-like beneath mine. “Fuck me, Callan… Oh God… Fuck me like you’ve never fucked anyone before. Make me yours again tonight.”

“Oh my God,” I whisper as I enfold him in my arms and thrust harder into his supple, unremitting body. “I want so much to do that, Chris… To fill you with the most essential part of me and become one with you tonight. And then I want to do it again, and again, until I have nothing left to give you because I want you so much. And with that, we become lost in the passion of expressing our insatiable desire for one another.

I’ve taken precautions; I doubled a bath towel and spread it over the center of the mattress to capture Chris’ discharge when he cums tonight, thus precluding the need to wash sheets again.

“Oh God… Give it me, Callan! Give it to me hard. Go deep!” he implores from beneath me as I bore deep into his body again and again and again, feeling myself seeming to grow harder and harder as I relentlessly plumb the heavenly warmth of his receptive body beneath me.

“Oh yes! Do it, Callan! Make me cum when you cum.”

“Oh my God! I want you so badly, Chris!” I gasp as I drive my cock relentlessly hard and deep into his butt, feeling it lift up against my pelvis to take each and every thrust. I’ve never known anyone like this vibrant, concupiscent young man beneath me. It’s like Chris was created solely for this moment in time; to bring me to what I know will be the most explosive orgasm of my life.

“Oh my God, yes!” he cries out as I drive my cock deep into his bowels, then hold it there and grind it hard inside him. Then I do it again, and again, and again, knowing that it will take us both to where we so desperately need to be. “Oh my God, yes!” Each time I do it I can feel his insides cinch tight around me, telling me that I’m giving him feelings that he’s never known in his life until now. I intensify the ardor of my thrusts, driving my cock as deep into his bowels as I can get it, feeling the orgasm of a lifetime building up inside me, a nascent euphoria beginning to spread from my impossibly rigid cock out into my body.

“Oh fuck! I’m getting close! I’m gonna cum, Callan! Oh God! Fuck me, Callan!” And with that I grip him at the waist and finally let go inside of him, filling Chris’ bowels with more cum than I’ve ever ejaculated in my life as he milks me with his quivering rectum and sphincter.

“Oh my God…” I hear beneath me as Chris’ sphincter finally relaxes around my cock that has yet to soften even a little, his entire body suddenly going slack beneath me. “That was the best ever, Callan. I’ve never cum as hard and as much as I did just now.”

“Oh God… I’ve never worked so hard in my life, Chris,” I pant against his shoulder. “Again, it was everything that I wanted it to be… Hoped it would be… The perfect second time… The orgasm of a lifetime… The experience of a lifetime. I can’t even begin to imagine a lover who can make me feel the things that you do. You’re not only the most incredible guy that I’ve ever laid eyes on, but you’re absolutely incredible in bed. And now a part of me is again a part of you… forever… in perpetuity, our hearts and our souls bound in the tightest knot possible.”

“Ummm…” he purrs. “I just know that I want to be fucked like this all the time, Callan, and I want it to be only you who does it. Nobody else.”

“I want that too, Chris. I want this incredible butt to be the only butt that my dick will ever know, from this moment on.”

And then, unlike last night, I ease my cock out of Chris’ body and coax him over onto his back, out of the mess that he’s made on the towel with his ejaculation. Then I discard the towel, re-enter and mount him again and gaze down upon his handsome visage. He silently returns my gaze and softly smiles as his legs settle onto the backs of my thighs. Then I press my lips to his in a kiss meant to convey everything that I feel for him as I slowly piston my stubbornly rigid cock through the slippery film of all the cum that I’ve pumped into him mere minutes ago, wondering, How can I still be so hard after the intensity of the most profound orgasm that I’ve ever had?

I break the kiss a moment later and gaze down into his eyes again. They’ve just opened and gaze back up at mine, seeming to glisten with contentment and hopefully his love for me. “You’re so incredibly stunning and beautiful,” I whisper, maintaining the gentle cadence of my thrusts. “Both inside and out. I feel truly honored that I’m the very first person that you’ve ever allowed to become a part of you in the most intimate and sacred way possible. I’m truly blessed, Chris. Thank you so much for what you’ve given me. I’ll treasure tonight forever.”

“I—” He unexpectedly falters with emotion, so he tries again. “I think… I think I’ve fallen in love with you, Callan.”

I smile. “To hear those words from someone as beautiful and special as you overwhelms me, Chris. Makes my heart soar to unimaginable heights. I feel something too, you know… For you. It’s deep in my heart, so it has to be love.”

He smiles, eyes glistening with tears as he pulls me down into his arms, hugs my naked body tightly to his and curls his legs around me. “Fuck me again, Callan. Really make love to me,” he murmurs as he rocks his butt up into my thrusts.

“It is love. I’m sure of it now,” I whisper as I drive my cock deep into his bowels for the third time, feeling it glide effortlessly through all the cum that I’ve given him tonight, knowing that my life and my future lay comfortably tucked in my arms beneath me.