Belovéd - 54. Chapter 54

My Belovèd is mine, and I am his.
Song of Songs 2:16

 

Father Mason sat at Catherine MacKenzie's dining room table and looked around, clearing his throat.

"There's something on my mind I need to discuss with all of you. . ."

The priest had everyone's attention, that was for sure. Seven pairs of eyes stared at him. He seemed on edge, and out of nervousness cleared his throat again.

"You all know that as a priest I have a pastoral responsibility to all the families at St. Andrew's. And I take that responsibility very seriously. But I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that your family holds a special place in my heart. You've all been so generous to me in sharing your lives with me, and I've come to admire every one of you so much. Your relationship with other and your relationship to God and the Church is an example to me and to every communicant at St. Andrew's, I know that for a fact."

Mason paused and looked down at the table.

"Sorry I'm being so long-winded," he said. "I'm working my way up to telling you something I've discovered about myself, and it will probably surprise you."

He paused again and looked around the table. "I've recently become aware that instead of being straight as I've always thought I was, I'm probably gay."

There were some surprised looks around the table, and a few in-drawn breaths, but no one rushed to say anything.

"I've only known this for a few months, so I haven't been holding out on you," Mason said. "The reason I thought it was important to be open about this is that I can't expect you to be honest with God and each other if I'm not authentic in my life with you, both as your priest and as your friend."

He paused again.

"I hope that what I now know about myself doesn't lessen or destroy the relationship with you that means so much to me. But I believe that no relationship that isn't honest about who and what the parties are can't endure anyway. So whatever the outcome of what I've told you is, I had to do this." He looked at William, Berto, Dan and Mark. "I hope you're not bummed out about it. In any relationship, there can be no intimacy without honesty."

Silence settled in around the table like heavy black velvet until William finally spoke up.

"Father," he said, "let me be blunt. Your bravery in talking to us gives me hope for myself and for this family and for the Church. And even for this world. You have guts and you're honest, and those are qualities everyone really admires, or at least should admire. We all love you, and I don't think anything is going to change that! Nothing will ever change that!"

The family members all nodded in agreement. William got up from his place and walked around to where Mason was sitting. The priest hesitantly stood up as William approached and shook his hand, then hugged him, and then kissed his cheek.

"Father," William said. "Father Dude," he added with a grin. "Thank you for telling us. I meant what I said. We all do love you."

The tension broken, one at a time the boys rose from where they were sitting and offered their hand, a hug, and following William's example, kissed the priest's cheek before they cleared the table, took their dishes to the kitchen, and headed upstairs to study.

Only Berto spoke aloud before going upstairs. "Thanks, Father, for everything you've done for us," he said. "Most of all, sharing who you are." He paused. "We can't make it without you."

Mason's eyes watered, but he kept control.

After the boys had all left the room, Mason sat down again and looked at Catherine, Mary and Ian.

"Are we OK?" he asked.

"Better than OK, Father," Mary said softly. "You're an admired friend, and as William said, nothing's ever going to change that."

"It's a privilege to have you as part of this family," Catherine added. "Thank you so much for caring about us so much."

He looked over at Ian, who was sitting quietly looking at him.

"I think Berto had it about right, Father," Ian said. "You have the guts to be an honest man with those you care about. That's not always an easy job for human beings, by the way." He paused and chuckled. "I know that to be true. Just ask me--I'm a lawyer."

They talked for a few minutes, and then the women went into the kitchen to help Yolanda load the dishwasher. Ian took the priest back into the den for a nightcap. Mason filled him in a little on how he had gradually realized his true orientation.

William had stayed in the kitchen for a few minutes, helping Yolanda scrape the dishes and put them into the dishwasher. By the time he went upstairs to his and Berto's bedroom, he found Berto sitting at his desk in his boxers and T-shirt, staring down at a textbook without reading it.

"'Sup?" William asked, looking at Berto.

"I was just thinking about Father Jim. What he did is so tight. He's a standup guy."

"Yeah," William said. "He is." William went over to his own desk and sat down, swiveling his chair around to look at his roommate. "I have something to tell ya that sort of involves Father Mason, Berto."

"What?"

"My dad found out about the girls I've been fucking. Somehow Anita McCaskill's dad discovered Anita and I had been having sex, and he called Ian. He and my mom and I had a big confrontation about it last Friday night. Dad told me it had to stop, and I agreed. He made me promise to go to confession. I didn't want to go to Father Mason because he's so close to the family, but Father Blackburn is on vacation. I knew Dad would be pissed off if I waited until Father Blackburn got back, so I made an appointment with Father Mason and went to him for confession last Saturday afternoon. At first I really felt humiliated to be telling him all the shit I'd done, but after we were finished, I felt pretty good about the whole deal. He just told me what God expects of me and then gave me absolution."

Berto's eyes were big as saucers.

"Holy shit! You don't think Ian knows what I've been doing on my dates, do you?" he asked.

"I doubt it, or he and Mom would have been in your shit already." William grinned. "And you'd be on your way to confession, too, dude!"

"You gonna stop having sex with the girls, then?"

"Have to for right now," William said. "I promised my Dad I would. I gave my word. And I more or less promised God I'd do better."

"What does 'better' mean?"

"Fuck if I know. I'm just gonna stop dating for awhile, because if it's business as usual, the girls all know what I want, and they'll put my hand right on their pussy. And I just can't go there right now."

"Stopping cold turkey is gonna be kinda tough for ya," Berto said. "I'm likin' sex an awful lot, and so do the girls." He grinned. "Of course I never got all the ass you did." He paused and looked at his brother. "So, what now?"

William smiled. "You know 'what now.'" He raised his right hand and pointed to the palm of it with his other index finger. "Meet my new best friend."

Berto laughed. "You're not really gonna quit dating altogether, are ya?"

"Only for a little while 'til I get my head straight."

"Good. I didn't wanna find you with me in my bed some night with your hand on my cock."

William gave him the finger and laughed. "You're a dick! But ya never know."

Berto snorted derisively, and smiling, they turned to their homework.

* * *

Two weeks after Dr. Owens had given Cam a clean bill of health and discharged him from her care, Cam was sitting in Alex's study on a late Thursday afternoon. Kevin and Carl were not home from UCLA yet, Maria was in the kitchen fixing supper for the boys to have that night, and Casey hadn't awakened from his afternoon nap yet.

Cam was pouring over his cinematography text when the landline rang. Cam heard Maria answer it in the kitchen, and a moment later her disembodied voice came over the phone's intercom.

"Cam? Phone call. It's William Carson."

"Thanks, Maria."

He marked his place in the textbook, and walking over to Alex's desk, picked up the phone.

"Dude!" he said. "'Sup?"

"Not enough," William said. "Listen, football season is finished, and we won our conference championship. All the excitement's over, so I thought I'd come down this weekend if it's all right with you guys. I need a break!"

"It's all right with us, fer sure. But did you know that Carl is flying to San Rafael tomorrow afternoon. He's going to a martial arts competition that Andy's competing in on Saturday. He won't be back home until Sunday night. So Kevin and I will be alone down here with Casey this weekend."

"Yeah, I heard. But that's fine with me. I need some quality time with you and Kevin. Of course, Casey's the one I really want to see anyway."

Cam smiled. "Well, stop playin' with yourself and get your ass down here, boy. It'll be great to see ya. Anything special you want to do while you're here?"

"Not really. I can just use some downtime with you guys. It feels like I've been on a treadmill ever since school started this fall."

"I can imagine," Cam said. "Mark will be pissed off you're not bringing him down to see Kevin."

"Nothing's perfect."

"I'm surprised you don't have a date this weekend."

"No date. And there's a story about that I'll tell ya when I see ya."

"'K," Cam said. "You know what flight you'll be on?"

"Not yet. I'll text ya when I know."

"Sounds good, William. We'll be lookin' forward to seeing ya. Give my mommy and your mommy and daddy and Rosa and Yolanda a kiss for me! And kiss all the brothers and tell them it's from me."

"Kiss the guys? Don't make me do that," William whined.

"All right. Kiss the boys and tell them it's from Kevin."

William laughed. "I can do that. I'll see you tomorrow night."

"Good deal." Cam hung up the phone and walked into the kitchen to talk with Maria. She was stirring a big pot of stew on the stove, and the smell made his mouth water.

"Yum!" he said. "Something smells really good. What's cookin'?"

"Beef stew, and there are some baking powder biscuits in the oven."

"Outstanding!" Cam said. "Carl will be thrilled. He loves your beef stew."

Maria smiled. "I knew somebody did. There are never any leftovers when I make it."

"Fer sure. Listen, I just wanted to let you know that William's coming down tomorrow night for the weekend."

"The bedroom next to yours and Kevin's is already made up."

"Thanks, Maria. You're a sweetheart." He walked over and gave her a hug.

"Love you guys," Maria said. "Speaking of guys, is Casey awake yet?"

"I haven't heard a peep out of him on the baby monitor. I think I'll go get him up, though, or he might not want to go to sleep tonight at his regular time."

"Bring him down to me if you want to study some more," Maria suggested. "He can help me cook."

Cam grinned. "You got it. Thanks."

* * *

Carl had driven to Los Angeles International on Friday afternoon for his flight to San Rafael, leaving the Highlander in long-term parking. He was all pumped up about going up north to see Andy Helder in his martial arts competition. Mr. and Mrs. Helder had invited Carl to stay at their house. That was a first, and Carl wasn't sure whether that meant the Helders knew the whole truth about his and Andy's relationship or not. Probably not. But if they did know, Andy assured him it wasn't because he had told them.

Carl had accepted the Helders' invitation, but vowed to move him and Andy over to Catherine's house for Saturday night if he and Andy didn't get to sleep together Friday night.

To smooth things over with his own family, Carl had made a point of calling Mary Carson at the house after he'd accepted the Helder's invitation, promising to spend some time with his family on Sunday before flying back to L.A. Mary wasn't thrilled that Carl wasn't staying at home, but took the news with good grace.

William's flight to L.A. wasn't getting in until 7 p.m. on Friday, so Cam and Kevin, with Casey in his carrier, left about 6:00 and drove Kev's Mustang to the airport. They parked in short-term parking, and made their way to Arrivals just as passengers came pouring down the escalator from the second floor. William raised an arm in greeting when he saw the two guys standing below him in the luggage claim area, Cam holding Casey in his carrier. Beneath the smile William was wearing on his face, Cam thought he detected a more somber William than usual, though. Something was bothering him.

Reaching the ground floor, William snaked his way through the crowd and approached his brothers with a grin on his face. Cam and Kevin noticed immediately that William appeared to have grown a couple of inches since they'd seen him last, and looked buff as hell. He was certainly handsome and easy on the eyes.

"You don't know how glad I am to see you two idiots!" William said, hugging first one and then the other, kissing each of them them on the cheek. Then he bent down and kissed Casey on his head as well. "You, too, Case!" The little guy squealed happily at him. There was nothing wrong with Casey's memory. Once he had spent some time with someone, he didn't forget.

Kevin threw an arm around William's neck when he straightened up and kissed him back on the cheek as he grabbed his carry-on bag away from him. Kevin checked out the new arrival. "Damn, boy, football got you all buffed up!"

"Had to happen," William said. "If you don't stay in condition, you don't survive."

"You're as tall as I am," Cam said. "I don't like that," he kidded him.

"Watch yourself, dude," William warned him.

"This carry-on bag all you have?" Kevin asked William.

"Yep. Let's book!"

The three of them headed for the exit and made their way to short-term parking. The Mustang was there waiting for them, looking all shiny from the good care Kevin gave it. Cam fastened Casey's carrier to back of the shotgun seat, and climbed in back to monitor the baby on the trip home. Kevin put William's bag in the trunk, and he and their guest got in the front. The car purred when Kevin started it up.

"You're takin' good care of your car, I see," William commented to Kevin.

"Gotta do it," Kevin said. "You remember that I sold it to pay off Heather when she agreed to carry Casey to term. And then Alex secretly bought it back for me. So the least I can do is take care of it."

"Yeah," William agreed.

Traffic was lighter than usual, and they were soon pulling into the driveway in Malibu. Once inside, William left his bag at the bottom of the stairway and greeted Alice and Samantha with hugs and pets. Then the three guys took Casey into the den to catch up on things. William sat in one of Alex's leather swivel chairs, leaving the big leather couch for Cam and Kevin.

Cam released Casey from his carrier, and he crawled to the coffee table and pulled himself to his feet. Cam sat on the couch, close to Kevin, holding his hand.

"He's walking," William noted as Casey began to stalk the dogs, who had just lain down and took their mauling from the little guy in stride.

"Yeah," Kevin said. "He's steadier on his feet every day. The next thing we know, he'll be running on the beach with us every morning."

"I want one just like him," William said.

"We'll rent him to you," Cam laughed. "But only by the hour. Kev and I have to have our 'Casey fix' every so often!"

"I'd love to take him back home," William grinned. "He's cute as hell. Mom and Catherine and Rosa and Yolanda would go nuts with him in the house. So would the guys."

After a moment of silence, William looked at Cam.

"I wanted to tell ya I'm sorry I wasn't available to you more when you went through being kidnapped off the beach, Cam. And what you went through in therapy. Me and the guys were thinkin' about you a lot, though. No lie." William's face colored a little. "And praying for ya, dude."

"Thanks, bud. I know that. I really appreciate it. You did help me, and Kevin, too, when you came down here that one time, though. The night you and I slept in bed together when I was having a hard time letting anyone touch me physically."

"Well, I'm glad I did something right at some point. Do you know when the trial will be?" William asked.

"No. But I did talk to one of the Sheriff's detectives not long ago. He said the DA's office wanted them to have their notes on the investigation ready to go when the case was called. It may already be on the docket for all I know."

"If I can manage it, I'd really like to be here for you when the case is called," William said.

"That would be great. I'll let ya know," Cam responded. He leaned forward in his seat. "Change of topic. You said on the phone the other day that you had something to tell us about your dating life."

"Yeah, I do. You prolly know that I've been dating a lot of girls..."

"Berto mentioned last time he was down here that you've been having a lot of sex," Kevin said, grinning.

"That's true. I was. But the dad of one of the girls I was banging found out his daughter--a nice girl, by the way--had been putting out, and called Ian, and all hell broke loose. He and Mom confronted me one night when I was dragging my ass in the house after having had sex in a park, and we had it out right then and there. I had to tell the 'rents the truth, and my mom was crying and carrying on about all the girls and what we were doing. After she went to bed, my dad told me it had to stop, and that I had to go to confession to a priest."

"Oh man," Cam said. He studied his friend before speaking. "Don't be mad, but I was a little worried about you when I heard how many girls you were screwin', William. I could understand one or two, or maybe even three, but I thought there might be a problem with more than that."

William scrunched up his face. "Well, you probably weren't wrong about that, not totally anyway. I have to tell ya, though, that I really had some feelings for every girl I had sex with, at least when we were doin' it. Seriously! I know you guys prolly think I'm heartless when it came to the women I've been with, but that's not true."

"It doesn't matter what we think, does it?" Kevin asked.

"Maybe it shouldn't, but it does," William said. He sat there looking at them with a frown on his face. "I do care what you think."

"Well, what do you think?" Kevin asked.

William sat motionless for a long minute before answering.

"I think I was doing the wrong thing," he said. "I'll always be grateful to my dad for calling me out. He didn't let me make any excuses for what I'd been doing, but all during the time he was putting my back to the wall, he was letting me know how much he loved me and how much he understood why I went wrong. He handled everything just the way he should have. Including making me go to confession."

"He's da man!" Cam said with conviction. "Totally! You know I love and respect your dad."

"Who heard your confession?" Kevin asked.

"Father Jim," William said. "I called St. Andrew's to see if Father Blackburn could hear it, but he was on vacation and wouldn't be back for two weeks. I would have waited 'till he got back, but Ian was on my case about going and getting back on the right track. So I scheduled it with Father Jim. And as humiliating as it was to tell our running buddy everything I had been doing wrong, especially when it came to sexual things, I have to say he did a great job. He confirmed what my conscience should have been telling me all along, but went on to emphasize in his counseling that I was forgiven. He's a good priest, fer sure. Actually, a great priest."

"I agree with you," Kevin said. "Had he already told the San Rafael part of our family at that point that he thinks he's gay?"

"Um, let's see. No, I don't think so. I went to confession on a Saturday, and he came over for supper on the following Monday and told us after we had finished eating. Gutsy move, telling us all, doncha think?" William asked.

"Yep, I do," Kevin said. "He'd already come out to Cam and Carl and me the last time he was down here to see his mother. He asked us to keep it quiet, though, until he had a chance to talk with you all in San Rafael. So that's what we did. How can you not love him for his guts and his honesty? He's an excellent man and a wonderful priest. He's someone you can always count on."

"You got that shit right!" William said. "Father said something to the whole family that night that really hit me. I don't think I'll ever forget it. 'You can't have intimacy without honesty.' I'm still a little stunned when I think about how true that is."

Kevin and Cam looked at each other. Drawing on their own experience as partners, friends and lovers, it reflected what they had learned in their own relationship.

Cam thought he should say something to William about watching his language in front of Casey, even though he saw that the little guy had fallen asleep on the floor after crawling around the den for a while.

"William, Casey's asleep right now, but just so you'll know, Kevin and I kinda try to watch our language around Casey when he's awake, 'cause he picks up on everything we say. He's just starting to talk, and he's too smart for his own good."

"You're right!" William said. "Thanks for reminding me about that."

"That's OK," Cam said. "Hey, why don't you give us a rundown on how the guys at home are doing?"

William did that, starting with Berto, and moving on to Dan and Mark. The bottom line for all of them was that their grades had put them all on the Dean's list, and they were all involved with sports in school, were all dating some girls, and were sticking with running and exercising in the home gym. He said Berto had continued in William's mode in the gym as a real taskmaster. "I always enjoyed makin' you guys suffer, and now Berto's doing the same with the guys at home," William concluded.

"I'm proud of all of you all," Kevin said seriously. "And speaking of Mark, I'm surprised he didn't make you bring him down here with you."

William laughed. "The only way I got away with it is that I didn't tell him in time for him to get a plane ticket and pack. He was pretty mad when he found out where I was going. As I said, he's dating a couple girls at school, but I think he's still got a thing for you, Kev."

"I miss the little shit," Kevin said.

Cam gave him a look. "Didn't you hear what I just told William about crude language around Casey?"

"Yeah. Sorry. He's asleep anyway," Kevin said.

"Well, it's time for another topic," William said. "I had a special reason for coming down here when I found out you two guys were going to be here alone. Alone except for Casey, I mean."

"And that is...?" Cam asked.

William blushed and swallowed hard.

"You know I really love you two guys and admire you so much! And you both know how to keep your mouths shut. So I'm wondering if..." William stopped talking and cleared his throat. "I'm wondering if I can sleep with you two guys tonight?"

"I don't see why not," Kevin said, "if you really want to."

William's face stayed bright red. "No, I didn't say what I really meant. I mean, will you two guys have sex with me?"

Cam's eyes opened wide and Kevin's jaw dropped.

A long silence ensued as Cam and Kevin looked at each other in complete surprise.

Cam glanced down to make sure Casey was still sound asleep and wouldn't hear them. "You gotta be motherfuckin' kidding me!" he said quietly, still stunned. "You don't like dick, William. What the fuck is goin' on?"

William's red face persisted.

"I do love pussy," he said. "But awhile back I read some stuff about being open to new things, new adventures. I've never had sex with a guy before. I don't think it will ever be my thing, but I'd totally like to try it. I love the women, you know that, but I'm not blind. You two guys are so fucking good lookin'! So...I'd like to make love to you, and have you make love to me. And from my perspective, it would be 'love,' not just sex. And it wouldn't be like you'd be betraying each other if we all did it together." He looked down at the floor. Silence. Then he said, "Please..." so quietly he could barely be heard. "I wanna do this before I go back to San Rafael and get back into dating girls."

Cam studied their hunky friend sitting across the room, his Hollister T-shirt fitting like a second skin, showing his well-developed pecs and great upper body topping his muscular thighs and calves in those 501's. The fly of his Levi's prominently accentuated the full package between his legs. The boy was fucking hot! He was one beautiful specimen of young manhood, Cam felt a twinge in his own package, and started to get hard.

"Aren't you afraid you'll have to go back to confession if we fool around?" Kevin said, getting over his surprise.

"Maybe. If I had to fake being in love so I could have sex with another person, male or female, maybe I would," William said. "But I really love you two guys, and if you'll do this for me, I promise I'll never ask you to do this with me again." He paused, embarrassed by his own honesty. "Since I stopped fucking the girls in my harem, I haven't really gotten back into beating off, and I'm horny as hell."

Silence.

"Cam?" Kevin finally asked.

"I've never been with a guy other than you, Kev," Cam said. "I don't know exactly what to say. It prolly isn't a good idea, though."

The partners eyed each other silently.

"Let's have some cookies and think about this some more before we rack out," Kevin said, finally breaking the silence.

"Look, guys, if you can't, you can't," William said as he stood up. "I'll understand. But I had to ask."

"Let's think about it," Kevin said. He walked over to where Casey was asleep, picking him up off the floor and cradling him against his chest. The little boy continued to sleep as the three guys walked into the kitchen.

Cam got out a package of peanut butter cookies and took a gallon of milk out of the refrigerator. He put the goodies on the table and went over to the cupboard for three glasses and a plate. Sitting down, he poured milk for each of them and put some cookies on the plate as Kevin continued to hold the sleeping baby.

Cam looked across the table at Kevin, loving him and the little boy he held. Then he looked at William, and knew he loved him, too. For sure not as much as he loved Kevin and their baby, but he really did love their handsome bro.

Cam looked back over at Kevin. "Well?".

Kevin closed his eyes for a long minute as he chewed on a cookie. "I can't say I'm not tempted," he said, popping the last of a cookie into his mouth and reaching over to rub William's shoulders briefly before withdrawing his hand and taking another cookie off the plate. "You're hot as hell, William, and don't think I don't know it." He paused and looked his bro from San Rafael in the eye. "But we can't do this, dude. It's not who Cam and I are, and it's not really who you are, either. If we did this to satisfy your curiosity about male on male sex, it would probably damage our friendship and our relationship as brothers who love each other. I don't want that to happen, William."

Cam sighed, partly in disappointment and partly in relief. He looked over at his partner holding their little boy. "I know you're right, Kev," he said. "William, I don't think we even begin to understand fully all the ways having sex with you would change our relationship with you, and maybe even Kev's and my relationship with each other. I don't want that to happen, either."

"All right. I hear what you're saying," William said. "I hope you're not pissed at me for asking. But if ya don't ask in this life, you don't get, y'know."

"That's true. Listen, if you wanna sleep with us without having sex, we can do that," Kevin said in conclusion. "We'll can even watch each other jack off. But we won't have real sex with you. That's the bottom line."

"Jackin' may not be real sex, but I guess I'll take what I can get," William said with a wry grin.

They finished up their cookies and milk, put their glasses and the plate in the dishwasher, and headed upstairs. William carried his travel bag, and led the way into Cam and Kevin's room. Kevin went over to the crib and put Casey down gently. He felt his diaper, and the little boy was still dry. He caressed the baby's curls, bent down and kissed him, and put a blanket over him as the little guy slept on.

William put down his bag and sat down on the edge of the bed to take off his sneakers.

"Don't do that," Cam said with a grin. "This is such an occasion, we can at least strip each other down."

"Oh," William said, grinning back. "I'm getting the semi-deluxe treatment, huh?"

Cam chuckled. "You can't even begin to imagine."

"O.K. Can I at least clean my teeth?" William asked.

"Yeah, after we undress you," Kevin said, joining them beside the bed. "We want to get a good look at that manly ass of yours and your big dick before we get busy."

Truth be told, each of them, especially William, was looking forward to even the limited sexual menu which lay ahead of them.

Cam reached down to William, still sitting on the end of the bed, and grasping his T-shirt at the waist, pulled it over his head and let it drop to the floor. The boy's chest was magnificent--great pecs, with a few scattered black hairs dotting an otherwise smooth surface and prominent pink nips surrounded by large, dark aureoles. A thin black treasure trail ran from his navel--which was an "innie"--down into his Levi's. His muscular arms were in perfect proportion to his upper body, sporting biceps and triceps which had obviously contributed to his success on the football field. He had six-pack abs, looking to be on the brink of an eight-pack.

Kevin lifted the William's legs one at a time, stripping off his Nikes and half-socks as Cam unbuttoned the top button and then the rest of the buttons of his fly, and then pulled off his Levi's.

"Stand up," Kevin told William, and then slipped his hands under the elastic of the boy's blue plaid boxers and slid his underwear over his ass and his bulge until they fell to the floor.

And there stood William in all his glory, a perfect specimen of young manhood. He had a big, cut cock, half tumescent at the moment, sticking out from the midst of an abundant black bush, untrimmed, with two hairless, large, economy-sized balls hanging between his meaty, muscular, almost smooth legs.

Cam and Kevin stood there drinking in the William's beautiful masculinity as Kevin, without conscious command from his brain, reached out and cupped William's genitals in one hand, the big dick sticking out beyond his palm. That caused immediate erections for all three of them, Cam's and Kevin's woodies bulging inside their pants. When Kevin realized where his hand was, he snatched it back as if it were on fire.

"Sorry, man," Kevin mumbled.

"No problem," William said. "Now it's my turn."

He pushed Cam and Kevin into sitting positions on the bed, and removed their sneakers and socks, followed by their T's. Cam's developed and hairless chest contrasted with Kevin's beefier, slightly hairier model. Two works of art, William noted with satisfaction. He pulled them to their feet, and yanked their board shorts and boxers off in the one motion, causing their hard dicks to snap up and slap their abs before their clothes even reached the floor.

"Man!" William exclaimed as his eyes eventually completed his examination of his companions. "You guys have come a long way since we used to swim naked in your mom's pool. "'Course, I've never seen you hard before."

"Ditto," Cam said, still fixated on William's package. "No wonder the girls wanna spread their legs for you!"

Using each of his hands, William reached over to cup Cam's and Kevin's genitals at the same time, duplicating what Kevin had done to him. They all hardened a bit more, but nobody moved a muscle for a long minute.

"Oh shit," Kevin said, shaking his head and looking at his partner when William finally let go of them. "It kills me to say this, but I'm not so sure sleeping in the same bed with you is a good idea for us, William," he said.

"You told me I could sleep with you, and that's just what we're gonna do once the preliminaries are out of the way," William responded. "There won't be any backing out on that," he added assertively.

Kevin laughed. "You bossy piece of shit! You haven't changed a bit!" He looked their bro up and down. "No, I take that back. You're worse!" He slapped William's bare ass. "Get in the bathroom and brush your teeth so we can go to bed."

William went to his bag and retrieved his toothbrush, and Cam and Kevin followed him into the bathroom to use their electric brushes. They all shared the sink as they put toothpaste on the brushes, first cleaning their teeth and then rinsing. William hung up his toothbrush on a little rack once they were finished as Kevin and Cam returned their electric brushes to their chargers.

Their erections having abated slightly at that point, the guys shared the toilet as they bent their dicks down and emptied their bladders, yellow steams crossing as they continued to check out each other's equipment. Cam flushed the toilet when they were all done.

Kevin and William went right to the bed as Cam made a detour to Casey's crib. "Baby boy," he whispered as he bent down and kissed the little guy's face and his curls.

By that time, Kevin was on one side of the queen sized bed and William on the other side. Neither of them had put on boxers or shorts, and were naked as Jay birds as they started to get harder again. Cam walked to the bed, and half picking William up and half shoving him, moved him over into the middle.

"Hey!" William protested. "I was already comfortable."

"Tough shit!" Cam said. "It's our bed, and if you wanna sleep here, suck it up. Kevin and I have to get up for Casey sometimes in the middle of the night, and we have to be able to get to the crib."

"Likely story!" William said, smiling. Inasmuch as he had already put being straight in abeyance for the duration of the evening, he decided he wouldn't mind sleeping between these two hot studs. In fact, he was pretty pleased about it.

The three of them lay there naked and uncovered. Their cocks grew long and hard, rising up until they fell over on to their abs, their dicks pulsing with every heartbeat.

A bead of pre-cum appeared at the end of William's dick. Cam reached over and scooped up the precum off his bro, bringing it to his own mouth.

"Sweet!" Cam said. Literally and figuratively.

Kevin's initial frown at what Cam had done turned to a smile. Fuck it! he thought to himself. We may as well enjoy ourselves a little as long as it doesn't go too far. How often do we get in bed with a hottie like William? Cam is obviously enjoying this as much as I am.

"You guys are horny!" Kevin said with a laugh. "But we aren't gonna do what you say you came down here to L.A. to do with us, William," he said. "No full-out sex. We can fool around a little. But if I look at your dick any longer, I'm gonna gonna shoot all over us without even touching myself." He chuckled again. "Then we'll have to change the bed."

"Well, all right. Got any towels?" William asked. "I think they might come in handy."

Kevin groaned. But he got up and went to the linen closet in the bathroom, and came back with three hand towels. As he walked, his erection waved from side to side in front of him as if he were leading a band.

"You guys are fucking hung!" William noted appreciatively. He took two towels, handing one to Cam as Kevin clambered back in bed. Putting his towel on his abs under his dick, William grasped his cock in the middle, able to close his fist around it, but not by too much.

Cam and Kevin followed their guest's example with the towels as they all looked at each other hungrily. They hadn't done anything yet, but they were starting to sweat.

"Let's make this last," Cam suggested. "Kev, get the lube."

Keeping his right hand on his dick, Kevin reached over with his left into the bedside table, and Viola! Astroglide. He greased himself up carefully to avoid getting over stimulated, and passed the lube on. William and then Cam followed suit.

They each began to pleasure themselves slowly and the pre-cum began to flow for real. Then William broke the pattern. Letting go of his own cock, he reached over to Cam and to Kevin on each side and pushed their hands away. Grasping their dicks, he began to jack them slowly and simultaneously. The lube mixed with the pre-cum, and each stroke made a soft, crackling sound as William massaged the two cocks.

Not to be outdone, Kevin fisted William's appendage and worked it while Cam cradled the boy's balls gently, letting one finger drop down and caress William's hole and then penetrate him a little bit.

"Yeah!" William said.

They continued working each other as the sweat dripped off their bodies and down on to the sheets.

Five minutes later, William suggested they ease up. "I'm getting too close."

"Me, too," Cam whispered.

Kevin panted his agreement, and they all eased off for a few minutes before getting back into it.

Ten minutes later, William thrust his pelvis up off the bed. "Here is comes," he grunted out, and re-doubled his efforts with his two companions until he and Kevin began to shoot, with Cam following up a split second later.

Kevin and Cam let go with six shots each, the first hitting them under their chins and then inundating their abs and groins before finally coming to a stop. William's equipment had a mind of its own, though, and just kept shooting. He shot a full nine times, his first plastering the headboard with spunk, with subsequent emissions tapering off down his body until finally there was a pool of semen on the towel at the level of his navel and running down into his groin. The towel was pretty much soaked. William hadn't been exaggerating when he'd said he was horny.

After it was over, the three of them lay there bathed in sweat and cum as if stunned, only slowly and reluctantly turning loose of one another. Each of them took a finger and tasted one another's cum before passing out, lying there in a near-coma for a good fifteen minutes. Finally Cam stirred, and his companions awakened.

"Holy motherfucking shit," William said. "I've never shot like that in my life!!"

"Yeah," Kevin said. He turned his head and looked at William. "I've never seen so much splooge at one time. Ever. Not even in porn."

"If we sold our juice, we'd be rich!" Cam kidded.

"I wish," William said. He looked thoughtfully at each of his companions in turn. "I'll probably never do anything like this again in my life," he said, "but I won't forget tonight as long as I live. I'm straight, but I don't care what the world says about gay sex. You two guys are fucking lucky to have each other and enjoy each other in all the ways you do. I mean that. Thanks for including me tonight!"

Cam rolled over and kissed William on the cheek. "Love ya, man. Always. Thanks for saying that, and thanks for being here with us. We won't forget it either."

"Fer sure," Kevin said, as he, too, kissed William on the cheek.

Cam got out of bed, collecting the cum-soaked towels and taking them with him, and went into the bathroom. After depositing the towels into the hamper, he wet down three wash cloths with warm water and took them and a dry towel back to bed. The boys cleaned each other up and wiped William's splooge off the headboard before wrapping the wash cloths in the towel and tossing it to the floor.

Pulling the top sheet and blanket up to their necks, they cuddled together and were asleep in about 20 seconds.

* * *

The three guys looked at each other a little warily the next morning at breakfast, and weren't talking much.

Finally Kevin spoke up. "Are we all right?" he asked William point-blank.

William looked him in the eye. "Definitely! I don't regret anything." He looked down into the bowl of cereal he was eating. "There is nobody else in the world I would trust enough to do what we did together last night except for you two guys. You know everything about me there is to know, and I think I can say I know everything about you. It's a privilege to have somebody in this world you can be totally open with. I hope you have the same trust in me."

William silently clasped Kevin's right hand in his as Cam put his hand on top of theirs.

William grinned. "Sappy, huh? But that's how I feel about you two. You're my favorite gay boys, fer sure. Now, let go of me, you assholes! You can hold my dick, but not my hand!"

They all laughed. The conversational dam was broken, and after that it was a lot of talk without constraint or embarrassment.

Although William moved to an adjoining bedroom the following night and there was no more triune sex that weekend or even discussion about it, it was clear to each of them that what they had experienced together on the first night of William's visit had somehow deepened their affection and respect for each other. It had moved their relationship into a deeper love.

They stayed active during the rest of William's time in L.A. with rigorous workouts in the gym, running on the beach, movies, TV and Wii, and even did a little clothes shopping.

The three guys took Casey and went to Mass on Sunday morning at St. Dunstan's. Father and Lisa Ryan and their children were very happy to see William, and some of the parishioners who recognized him from earlier visits came up to him at the coffee hour and welcomed him back.

The three Ryan kids had a good time with Casey and he with them. Casey was a big hit when Rebecca Ryan walked him around the big room to see the parishioners as the adults stood around talking and drinking coffee. Then the little kids came in from the Church school Mass, and it was chaos.

"Where are Carl and Andy?" Lisa Ryan asked the guys loudly as the noise level rose.

"They're in San Rafael," Kevin told her. "Andy had a martial arts tournament up there this weekend, and Carl wanted to be there for that. He'll be home tonight."

When coffee hour was over, after collecting Casey and putting him in his carrier, Cam stopped to talk with Father Ryan for a moment before leaving.

"Father, I didn't hear Father Mason's mother's name in the Prayers of the People today. Is she on your list? Her name is Marie."

"I thought she was," Ryan said, looking surprised. "I'll check with the altar guild about that and make sure she is," he said. "Thanks for mentioning it. Have you talked with Father Mason lately?"

"Yes," Cam said. "Kevin and Carl and I are staying in touch with him. We call him every couple of days."

"I'm glad," the priest said. "You guys and your family mean a lot of him, in case you don't know that. Say 'hello' for me during your next call. And I'll call him sometime this coming week myself."

"Good deal," Cam said.

The three boys and Casey headed back to Malibu. They changed clothes and ate a light lunch before heading next door to the Millers' pool for a swim. Juanita took Casey inside the Millers' house out of the sun so all three boys could enjoy themselves in the water. They horsed around, tried to drown each other, and batted a ball back and forth until eventually climbing out of the pool and sitting in the sun.

Cam's cell phone rang, and he answered it after checking the name and number of the caller.

"Dude!" he said. "'Sup?"

"Not much," Art Smith said. "I was just wondering if you got through the Cinematography assignment or not."

"Not completely." Cam looked at Kevin, then back at his phone. "Why don't you come over, and we'll check it out some more together. Bring a swim suit. Kevin and I and one of our bro's from San Rafael are swimming next door at the Millers'. Come to our house and then ring me, and I'll come over and getcha."

"You sure it's all right?" Art asked. "I know Kevin doesn't like me too much."

"Getcher ass over here and have a swim, Art," Cam instructed patiently.

"Well, OK, if you're sure."

"See ya in a few," Cam said and disconnected.

Cam looked over at Kevin again.

"Art's comin' over, and you'd best get that look off your face, bud," Cam told his partner. "He's my friend, and I'd be flunking Cinematography if it weren't for him. I don't wanna have to kick your ass, now, if you're not friendly."

Kevin laughed. "As if you could, dude. But I'll be nice."

"Who's Art?" William asked behind his shades as he basked in the sun.

"Art Smith. He's a friend of mine from school," Cam said. "We're in Cinematography together. He used to be friends with the three guys who fucked me up down the beach, but he stopped hanging with 'em before they did what they did to me. Kev doesn't like him because of past associations, but I think he's a pretty good guy. He really saved my ass when I got behind in my class work during therapy, I'll tell ya that."

"Oh," William said. "Well, I'll conduct my extra-special William Carson character analysis of Art, and let you know if you can hang with him anymore."

Cam chuckled. "That'll set the bar pretty low. But thanks for offering."

Cam's phone rang about fifteen minutes later, and it was Art. He answered it, got up and went home to bring Art over to the pool.

"Hey man, how you doin?" Cam asked, giving him a slip and slide handshake in Alex's driveway.

"Good," Art said.

"Where is your swim suit?"

"Under my jeans," Art said.

"Are you hungry?" Cam asked as they walked into the house through the kitchen. "I can make you a sandwich."

"No, I'm good. Thanks."

"'K. Leave your cinematography text here at the house, and we'll get to it later."

Art put it on the kitchen table, and they went out on to the front deck and over to the Millers' gate and into the pool area.

"Hey, Kevin," Art said, going over to where Kev was sitting.

"Hi, Art," Kevin said, bumping fists with the boy with a neutral look on his face.

"Art, this is our bro William Carson from San Rafael," Cam said, gesturing at William. "Art Smith," Cam told William.

William reached up and bumped fists with the newcomer. "Hey, man," William said. "Good to meetcha."

Cam pointed out a deck chaise for Art to use. Art pulled off his T-shirt and dropped his pants to reveal a pair of baggy, multi-colored trunks riding low on his hips. The kid was tall, on the slim side with a swimmer's build, showing good muscles and six pack abs. He had a handsome face with black hair and a day's growth of beard. A little patch of black hair between his pecs eventually led down to a treasure trail to his navel and into his trunks.

Nice bod, Cam thought to himself as he looked Art over. "Take a swim and cool off first, and then sit in the sun with us," he suggested to Art.

"Sounds good," Art said. He went to the deep end of the pool and dived in, slipping into the water with hardly any splash. He did five laps and then vaulted out of the pool scarcely breathing hard.

"You a swimmer?" Kevin asked Art.

"I was on the swim team in high school," Art said. "Mostly 200 and 400 meter breaststroke." He took a large pool towel from the pile that Juanita had brought out earlier, and dried himself off.

"Lookin' good," Kevin said of the boy's performance. He seemed to warm up a little more to Art when he realized he was a jock.

Art laid his towel over the chaise and sat down, stretched out. He looked over at William and smiled.

"This sun must feel pretty good down here compared to San Fran," Art said.

"You got that shit right," William said. "I don't come down her to see these two losers, I come down here to see the SUN," he added.

"Sure you did, asshole!" Cam shot back. He reached down by his chaise and picked up some sun block, tossing it in William's direction. William plucked it out of the air with no problem and started to coat his shoulders and legs.

"Thanks, dude," William told him. He threw the sunblock to Art.

"William, what year school are you in?" Art asked as he coated his face, arms, torso and legs..

"I'm a junior. In high school," William said.

"You're big for a junior," Art commented.

"Well, Kevin and I like the gym a lot, and like working out," William said. "Cam and Carl and the rest of the bro's, uh, not so much."

"Take that back," Kevin said. "What about Berto? He loves working out, and makes the other guys in San Rafael sweat. Don't diss the bro!"

"Yeah, you're right," William admitted. "He's done a good job making the guys at home sweat bigtime."

"You play sports?" Art asked William.

"I played a little football at school this year," William said.

"Don't be so freakin' modest, dude!" Cam told him. "William was first-string quarterback, and led San Rafael to a regional championship. We don't say too much about it, though, 'cause we don't want him gettin' a big head."

Kevin and William laughed.

"That's tight, man," Art said, looking at William with new respect.

"Yeah, we had a good season," William said. "But I'm glad it's over for the year. I was feelin' pretty beat up by the time we were done. For a lot of reasons, but football was the main one."

"That's why I like non-contact sports," Cam kidded. "Unless Kevin's playin', of course."

"Now, now," Kevin said. "Don't be tellin' our secrets."

Cam got up out of his chair and went over to Kevin, bending down to kiss his partner on top of his head.

"Love ya, babe!" Cam said, dodging away when Kevin tried to grab him. Cam took a running start and dived into the pool. "Yeah!" he yelled when he surfaced. "Feels good! Getcher ass in here, Kev."

Kevin smiled, stood up, and ran to the pool's edge and dived in. He came up under Cam and upended him. Cam came up sputtering, then swam over and threw his arms around Kevin where he was treading water. They kissed, and moved toward the shallow end. When they could stand in water up to their waists, they stood there embracing. William and Art could see the love. They kissed again and held each other.

William was watching Art watch them, and saw no reaction at all from their visitor.

"They're in love," William said.

"Yep," Art said. "They are. Better lovers than haters, doncha think?"

"I sure do," William said. "I know that because I lived with them in San Rafael. They taught me how to be a more tolerant and loving person in so many ways. And I'm really thankful for that. Sometimes jocks be real dicks."

"I wish the former friends of mine who fucked Cam up so bad had been more tolerant. Then they wouldn't have done what they did. I'm ashamed I know them. I can't believe I ever hung with them."

"Cam told me you knew them," William said. "They must pretty much hate themselves to be such pricks, huh? Not cool!"

"Fer sure," Art said. "Their trial is coming up, and I hope they're really gonna pay for what they did. It was so sick, and not in a good way! Their own lives are fucking ruined now, probably."

William was getting ready to ask Art if he was tolerant because he was gay himself when "the moment" that Kevin and Cam were having in the pool came to a screeching halt. Kevin took a hand and did something to Cam under the water. They let go of each other, and Kevin went running up the steps at the shallow end of the pool with Cam in hot pursuit. When Kevin went by, he made sure he shared the water dripping off his body with William and Art, who jumped up out of their chaises before Cam could do the same when he ran by.

After a Mexican standoff with Cam on one side of the pool and Kevin on the other, they eventually came back and sat down again in their chaises again.

"What a dick you are!" Cam told Kevin with a grin.

"I know it," Kevin admitted. "I just can't help myself."

The guys continued to bake their bodies in the sun for a few more minutes before William decided it was time to get some rays on his back. He got up and manipulated his chaise until it was flat, and lay down. "Cam, put some sun block on my back, willya?"

Cam got up and went over to his bro, picked up the sun block, and sitting on the edge of the chaise, squirted some goo on William's back.

"Yow, it's cold," William said.

"Well, what do you want me to do about it?" Cam demanded.

"You could warm it in your hand," William said. "That would be the considerate thing to do."

"You can forget that shit. I'm not that considerate," Cam said, squirting another big gob of sun block on William. The boy didn't say anything this time, knowing it was fruitless to protest. Cam rubbed it into William's skin, working down from his shoulders to his butt, moving his fingers slightly under the elastic of his trunks at his waist. Then Cam finished up by coating the back of William's arms, capped the sun block, and went back to his own chaise. The skin of William's back shone from the grease and his muscles rippled as William got comfortable.

"Thanks, dude," William said to Cam. "Man, this sun feels great!"

"You're welcome," Cam said. "Hey, what time does your flight leave tonight?"

"Eight-thirty," William said.

"Carl should be getting back about that time," Kevin said. "But he's got the Highlander parked at the airport, so we don't have to meet him."

"I'll be curious to hear about his trip," Cam said. "I think he and Andy were staying over at the Helders' house at least one night during Carl's visit, and I don't know how much the Helders know about their relationship."

"Yeah," Kevin said. "I hope things were smooth."

The guys talked for another fifteen minutes before deciding to go back to Alex's. Cam gathered up the wet towels and took them inside to Juanita before picking up Casey, who was sleeping. Cam gave Juanita thanks and a hug for watching the little boy.

Kevin folded up the chaises and leaned them against the pool house, and they all went back to Alex's. Cam and Kevin showered together in their bathroom, William in his bathroom, and Art in the shower in the garage, and they met back in the den.

Cam and Art got together in the kitchen to go over their Cinematography notes while William and Kevin played cards in the dining room. Much to his satisfaction, Kevin took a few bucks off his bro.

Maria had left some seafood enchiladas in the refrigerator, and Cam invited Art to stay for an early supper. Kevin did the honors, spacing out the enchiladas on a cookie tin and heating them in the oven. They were delicious. The boys had them with glasses of orange juice, not leaving a crumb, and then Cam dished up the ice cream for desert. After supper, they sat around the kitchen table burping. Kevin fed Casey, who seemed especially hungry.

Art took his leave about six o'clock, thanking his hosts. He'd had a good time, and was pleased that Kevin had seemed cordial to him throughout his visit.

After William packed up not long after Art left, Cam and Kevin, Casey in tow, took William to the airport. William confirmed his ticket at the front counter, and then spent some time with the guys before going through security.

The three of them stood close together.

"I wish I didn't have to go yet," William said.

"Same here, bud," Kevin said. "We need to come up to San Rafael one of these weekends to spend some time with you and the rest of the guys. And we will."

"Count on it," Cam said.

"Thank you for everything," William said quietly. "Especially for letting me spend some quality time with you Friday night," he grinned. "I love you guys, and it was just what the doctor ordered. I'll never forget it."

Cam smiled. "We won't either."

William bent down and kissed Casey in his carrier before pulling Kevin and Cam into his arms and kissing each of them on the cheek. They reciprocated, and William picked up his bag and walked toward the security line for his gate. Then he turned around and walked back.

"Hey, Cam," he said. "I like your buddy Art. He's a keeper." He walked away again.

"Ya gotta love that boy," Cam commented to Kevin about William as they turned to walk away. Kevin nodded and threw an arm over Cam's shoulders, pulling him close and wordlessly kissing his cheek. It was love.