Bloodlines - 34. Chapter 34

November 24, 1998

“I don't want to go,” Wade said as we stood on the cliff looking out at the Pacific Ocean. Behind us was JP's beautiful beach house, the one we'd borrowed for the past few days, and where we'd shared a truly idyllic time. To the left was a trail that led down to a beach that was as close to private as you could get in California, a beach where we'd made love at sunset last night. And beyond the house was the GMC, loaded with Wade's suitcase, waiting for me to take him to the airport.

“Then don't. Stay here. Meet my parents. Fuck my brains out,” I said, smiling at him. We had our arms wrapped around each other as we stood side by side, a more romantic moment would be hard to visualize. Just being this close to him, feeling his warm presence, was enough to make my whole body quiver.

“I can't do that,” he said reluctantly.

“You don't sound as convinced as you normally would be,” I told him.

“What's that supposed to mean?” he asked. He was bitchy because he didn't want to leave.

“Usually when you talk about all this family obligation bullshit you get all forceful and defiant, and you just don't seem that, I don't know, firm about it this time,” I told him candidly.

He didn't say anything right away; he just stood there with me, gazing at the powerful Pacific. “Yeah, I'm not, but I want to see my brother,” he said. “We should get going.” I leaned in and gave him a kiss, a deep kiss, then broke it off and led him to the GMC. We passed through the remote control gates and I drove down Highway 1 to catch Highway 17, a straight shot to San Jose's Airport.

We didn't say much until we were almost to the airport. “These last few days have been the best days of my life,” he said. That was so nice.

“So far,” I said.

“So far,” he agreed with a smile. “I never thought sex could be so fun, that I could enjoy it so much.”

I felt myself blushing. He'd become a fucking animal. He'd finally found his inner slut, and let himself go completely. It was fucking awesome. “I didn't think so either. I've had awesome sex, but never with someone that I loved.”

“I love you too,” he said.

“I want to ask you something,” I said, “but I don't want you to get all pissed off at me. Try to put up with me, OK?”

“OK,” he said agreeably.

“You think there will ever come a time when we can be a couple, you and I, without worrying about what people think?” I saw him cringe at the thought of that, his ingrained sense of duty repulsed by the idea. But he was thinking about it, and that in and of itself was something.

“If you would have asked me a couple of weeks ago, I would have been pissed and told you there was no fucking way. I'm still far away from there right now, but for the first time in my life I wouldn't rule it out.”

“So there's hope?” I teased.

“There's hope. Listen to you, talking about this like you're totally out of the fucking closet. Dude, your parents don't even know you're gay. Tough for you to give me shit about it, dontcha think?”

I laughed. “Touché.” I pulled up to the terminal and gave him a big hug, probably one that was too long for just friends, but he let me do it anyway. When he pulled away, there were tears in his eyes, and that really hit me. “I love you,” I mouthed to him as he got out of the SUV. “I love you,” he mouthed back.

I was sad and depressed by the time I got back to Escorial and found the place was in chaos, what with preparations for everyone coming up for Thanksgiving. I wandered into JP's study and found him trying to avoid the pandemonium like I was. He looked up and saw my morose expression.

“You didn't have a good time?” he asked, concerned.

“No, I had the best fucking time of my life,” I said. “Why didn't you tell me how much it hurts when you love someone and they go away?”

He nodded and got up and hugged me, letting me cry on his shoulder yet again. “You'll see him again in a few days,” he said.

“I know, I'm being an idiot. But we had connected at pretty much every level, and now that he's gone, it's like I lost something that I won't be able to get back.” I sounded ridiculous.

“I understand. I could tell you that you're wrong, that it will be the same when he gets back, but I can't give you guarantees. You think that if he spends a few days at home, he'll end up loving you less?” JP was always so logical and calm about this stuff. It really helped me out.

“He lets this family shit really fuck him up. I'm worried he'll come back and decide he has to be straight, not just act that way. He lets that tradition and obligation bullshit rule his life,” I said bitterly.

“I did too,” he said. “But I finally got shocked out of it and took a stand.”

“What made you come out?” I asked.

“When André died, I wanted him to be buried in our family plot in Claremont. My father was giving me shit about it since André wasn't a family member. I was really distraught about the whole thing, and he finally pushed me to the breaking point and I told him André was my lover.” He didn't seem sad or bitter now, he just seemed happy and resolved.

“But he took it badly?”

“Yeah, he did. And for about six months we didn't really have much of a relationship. But in the end, we worked through it. We had to learn to respect each other again,” he said thoughtfully. “It's funny how things worked out, since I sure as hell won't be buried there. If I would have gotten my way, André would be buried alone in my family plot in Claremont.”

“So the moral of the story is that sometimes things turn out for the best?” I teased.

“It would seem so,” he said. Then he got more serious. “I need to talk to you about this weekend.”

“Did I do something wrong?” I asked. Or did my parents, more to the point.

“No, not at all,” he said reassuringly. “I make it a rule not to talk about other people and their problems. That way I never have to worry about breaking a confidence. But you're going to have to deal with some weird situations this weekend, so I feel as if I need to put that self-imposed rule aside and prepare you for them.”

“I appreciate that, JP. Weird situations?” I asked.

“Max and Marcel will both be here, and they're not together anymore. It's going to be really hard on them, and that may spill over in public,” he said somberly. “I thought they were one of those couples that just belonged together, but it doesn't seem to be working out that way.”

“What's wrong? What happened?” I didn't know these guys, but I had heard all about them.

“They lived in Chicago, and their careers took them in completely different directions. Max didn't get tenure, which was a real blow to him. This past semester has really been tough on him, scrambling to find a new place to be while he winds down his last semester at Northwestern. He's lined up a position at UCLA, but he'll have to start the whole process over again. That's a five-year project. So on the one hand he's irritated that he has to do that, but on the other hand he's a surfer, almost as good as Brad, so he's happy about being back in California.”

“Will he stay with Brad?” I asked.

“Max is part of our family now. He's like Cody, he's always got a place to stay wherever we are,” JP said. He must really care about this guy.

“So what about Marcel. He's like my cousin, isn't he?”

JP nodded. “He's Jeff's son. He got a tenure-track position, but it's up in Montreal, and that doomed their relationship. Marcel came over here with a young man named Lou. Lou is handsome, as handsome as Jack.”

“No one is as handsome as Jack,” I teased.

“Lou is,” JP assured me. “He and Marcel were together for a while, but Lou was a wild man. He did the circuit parties, the drugs, and he and Marcel weren't even friends for a while. But now he's a news anchor up there, and he's established and settled in.”

“So Marcel moved up to Montreal for his new job and got together with Lou again?” Poor Max.

“So it seems. And all three of these men are part of our extended family, and thus all three of them will be here for Thanksgiving. Max gets in shortly, while Lou and Marcel arrive this evening,” he said.

“That will be really hard on Max,” I observed. “He'll have to see the man he used to love with another guy all weekend.” I thought about how I'd feel if I went somewhere and Wade was with a new boyfriend. I'd be a mess. Then it dawned on me that he was probably with someone else right now, or he would be. Isn't that why he insisted that we be allowed to fuck around? I pushed those emotions down, determined not to let them freak me out.

“I'm not sure it's a man he used to love. Max loves deeply, and doesn't fall out of love easily,” JP said. “In any event, you won't have to worry about it, other than if anything happens in public. Stef and Max are close, and he's planning to keep him under his wing.”

“Under his wing?” I asked, chuckling.

“Exactly,” JP said, smiling. “I hope you don't think that I betrayed their trust. I normally don't like to talk about other people's lives like this, but you're coming into this a bit raw, and I think you should know what's going on.”

“So you're telling me that you trust me?” I asked.

“I am,” he said. I beamed. Wow. Earning his trust wasn't easy, and it was a prize to be cherished. “I hope this won't be visible to your parents,” he added.

“Fuck,” I said. “I almost forgot about that. They get here tomorrow. This is going to be a nightmare.”

“Just relax and go with the flow,” he said reassuringly. “There's one other thing. Cody will be here too.”

I felt myself smiling, and JP smiled with me. “That's awesome!”

“I thought you'd feel that way, but I wasn't sure,” JP said carefully.

“We're cool now, we're friends,” I said. “With benefits.”

“He and Max are good friends, so that may help Max handle things,” JP said.

“You mean if Stef doesn't?” I chuckled. “When does Max get in?”

JP looked at his watch. “I think Rafael is leaving to pick him up shortly.”

“I may ride along,” I said. He gave me an odd look and just nodded. I headed out to find Rafael and told him I wanted to go with him. He told me he was leaving in half an hour, which just gave me enough time to go touch base with Cole. He had immersed himself in his work, in finishing up his quarter, so he wasn't all that keen on me hanging around and interrupting him anyway.

I got to the car and hopped in front with Rafael. Mummy would have shit a brick. “You should sit in back where it is more comfortable,” he objected.

“I'd rather hang out with you, at least for the trip down,” I said, smiling. “If that's OK?”

“Of course,” he said. He maneuvered the big Mercedes limo with considerable skill, and got us to 101 pretty damn fast.

“So Brad said you used to pick him up at parties when he was drunk,” I said, making idle conversation.

“I did. Both him and Ace. Brad would come sit up here next to the window and talk to me when I picked him up.” He clearly had a lot of affection for Brad.

“You seem to be on good terms with Stef too,” I observed.

He looked nervous, then smiled and shook his head. “There are not many men that are not on good terms with him.” That made me laugh. “He is very brave.”

“Brave?” I never thought of Stef as brave.

“He is who he is, and he does not care who knows it. He moves around and ignores the danger, even after he was shot,” he said.

“Stef was shot?” I asked. Why didn't I know that?

“In 1973, I think it was. He was gunned down with his boyfriend, Greg, by a man who hated gays. We almost lost him,” he said with sincere concern. What a neat guy. Here he'd been on the fringes, hired help as it were, with all these guys, yet he'd really developed strong feelings for them. And those feelings were clearly returned. I thought about our maid and how we never really did that, how Mummy always kept a cool distance between herself and the help.

We drove up to the airport and Rafael dropped me off. “I'll try to find him. Don't leave without me,” I teased. I passed through security and went to hang out at his gate, waiting for the flight from Chicago. It was late; they always were this time of year. Finally the plane pulled up and the Jetway moved up, then the passengers started coming off. I'd seen pictures of Max; I just hoped I could recognize him. The first person off was a guy in his 60s. Definitely not Max. Then a businesswoman who already had her cell phone out. She had nice legs, and wore stiletto heels. Hot. Then another older guy, and then a blond wet dream walked out.

He was over six feet tall and really fit. He obviously spent serious time at the gym. He had a cute face that was wider than it probably was when he was younger, but I was willing to bet that just made him cuter. Topping it off was thick blond hair, hair that looked bleached out at the tips, remnants from the summer sun, and this guy was the shit.

“Max?” I asked. He looked at me with these pale blue eyes that sparkled.

“Yeah?”

“Hi, I'm Matt. Matt Carrswold. I came down here to meet you,” I told him. He shook my hand and started laughing.

“Did Stef send you? You supposed to cheer me up?”

I raised an eyebrow. “You're laughing, so it worked. No, Stef didn't send me. I came down here on my own.” It pissed me off that he would write me off as an errand boy.

“I'm sorry Matt. It's nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you. I just didn't think you'd waste your time riding down to the airport only to pick me up,” he said. Wow. Could he throw some charm?

We got to the limo and Rafael took his bag and put it in the trunk. I hopped into the limo behind him and put up the privacy screen. “Who says it's a waste of time?” I asked, winking.

“Oh no you don't. I've been down that path before with guys like you,” Max said.

“Guys like me?” I asked, and pulled out a joint.

“You brought a J? Awesome!” I laughed and lit it. “Guys like you who just want to get into my pants and break my heart.”

“Dude, I don't want to break your heart. I have a boyfriend. I just want to fuck you.”

He gave me a dirty look. “What about your boyfriend? You want me to help you cheat on him.”

“We're cool. It's an open thing. He knows I'm with other guys, and I know he's with other people. I still love him. I love him a lot.” I thought about Wade and our last night in Santa Cruz, then I pictured him in bed with someone else and it was agony. I felt myself getting all teary eyed.

“I'm sorry Matt. I've been a little defensive lately. My life hasn't turned out like I thought it would.”

“So I heard,” I said.

“So you figured I was vulnerable so you'd come down here and nail me?” he asked.

“No, my boyfriend just left and I was feeling really sad and lonely. Then JP told me about you and Marcel, and I figured that this may be a tough time for you too.” He cringed when I mentioned Marcel's name. “I thought maybe we could cheer each other up.”

“I'm almost twice your age,” he said. I got up and knelt in front of him.

“You talk about me like I'm a child,” I said, pretending to be offended. I pulled off my shirt, showing off my body. I worked hard to keep it this muscular, so why not show it off? “Do I look like a boy to you?”

He swallowed hard. “No.” I moved closer and took his hand, gently putting in on my pecs. I felt his thumb graze across my nipple and sighed. I unbuttoned my jeans and pulled them down and off, so now I was naked and hard, right in front of him. His hand moved down of its own volition and grabbed my dick gently. He seemed nervous, reluctant.

“Don't reject me Max. We need each other right now,” I said, then moved in and kissed him. He responded mechanically at first, and then he let himself go and really got into it. I broke the kiss and pulled away, then started taking off his clothes. He had a beautiful body, and he was so keyed up now, now that he'd let himself go, that every touch seemed to elicit a moan. I got his pants off and there was his dick, a nice dick, not too dissimilar to Wade's. It was a good six inches long, poking out from his neatly trimmed blond bush. I moved my mouth down his chest, across his abdomen, kissing him as I went, until I got to his dick. I engulfed him like Wade had taught me, and then the most awesome thing happened. He came. Just from my mouth wrapped around his dick, just from the undulations of my gums and cheeks, he shot his load, a big load. I took his cock deep into my mouth, swallowing his load, letting my throat muscles milk him dry.

I pulled off of him then went down one more time to suck any last drops out, then looked up at him smiling. “I'm sorry,” he said. “I sometimes cum fast when it's been a while.”

“Fuck that. Dude, that was so awesome. To have you blow like that, just because I put your dick in my mouth, damn, that was the coolest thing,” I said. I moved up and straddled him so his limp dick was between my ass cheeks, then leaned in to give him a big kiss.

“You're adorable,” he said, making me laugh. No one ever called me adorable. He reached down and gently started stroking me. Then he stopped and pushed me onto the seat next to him and lowered his mouth onto me, giving me one amazing blow job.

“Thanks,” I said, grinning.

“I think this is the best ride from the airport I've ever gotten,” he joked.

“Just wait until tonight,” I said.

“What makes you think I'm sleeping with you tonight?” he teased.

“You got a better offer?”

He ran his hand across my face affectionately. “I'm not sure such a thing exists.”

When the limo got off the freeway we got dressed. I'd just buttoned up my pants when my cell phone rang. Cody. “'Sup?” I asked.

“Me,” he said. “What are you doing?”

“Sitting in the limo with Max. He just gave me one amazing blow job.” Cody laughed and Max frowned. “It's Cody,” I told him. He got this really happy look on his face. Interesting.

“Max is there? Shit, maybe I'll fly up tonight,” he said.

“Fuck off, dude. He's mine tonight,” I said, leering at Max. He blushed.

“Quit fucking talking about me,” Max said.

“So what gets him going?” I asked Cody. Max tried to grab the phone.

“Dude, get your top on. That boy is a total bottom,” Cody said. I laughed and stuck my tongue out at Max, who was getting frustrated as hell.

“I can do that,” I said.

“I'll see you tomorrow,” Cody said.

“What did he say?” Max demanded.

“He said all I have to do to make you happy is stick my dick in your ass,” I said with a slutty look. He blushed, really blushed. “Aw. You are so fucking cute when you blush.”

“Fuck you,” he said. “Don't think you're sticking that big thing in my ass.”

I moved up next to him and wrapped my arms around him, then whispered softly into his ear. “You know I'm going to, and you know you want me to.” I felt him tense up, and then push me away.

“We'll see.” We got to Escorial and Isidore was waiting to greet Max.

“Welcome,” she said. “We've been organizing our rooms. It's a bit cramped, with so many people.”

“Don't worry about it. He can stay with me,” I said.

Isidore looked at him, asking him nonverbally if that was OK. Max gave me a scowl, and then put his game face on. “That will work.”

He followed me down to my room, and I could tell he was irritated. I led him into my room and shut the door behind us, locking it with a loud click. “See, it's comfortable,” I teased.

“I just like to have my own space,” he said grudgingly.

“Well, if you want, I can find somewhere else to sleep,” I said, trying not to be offended. “When Cody comes up tomorrow, I'll go stay with him, and you can have your space.” It was interesting to see how that irritated him. I turned to leave but he grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

“I'm sorry. I'm just stressed out because I know I'm going to have to deal with Marcel. I just wanted a cave to run back to,” he said. I moved up and gave him a kiss.

“You still have your cave, only now you can't come back and just sulk around and be miserable. You have to be with me,” I told him. He gave me a smile, thanking me for forcing him to deal with this shit.

There was a knock at the door and I reluctantly went to open it. Stef and JP were there. “I am sorry to interrupt,” Stef said playfully, “but I wanted to come check on Max.” They went over and hugged Max. “Welcome. I hope this weekend will end up being enjoyable.”

“I wasn't sure, but I'm feeling better about it now,” he said, looking at me.

Stef grinned. “Well, if you need someone to comfort you, just come find me.”

I got in front of Stef with Max behind me protectively. “Back off bitch. He's mine,” I told Stef playfully. Stef started cracking up.

“It appears you are in good hands,” he said, and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I followed them and locked the door behind them.

“What are you doing?” Max asked.

“I'm going to fuck you,” I told him as I sauntered over to him confidently.

“Oh you are, are you?”

“Yeah,” I said, and grabbed him forcefully, pulling his head to mine. I kissed him aggressively, forcing my tongue into his mouth, forcing him to respond. He pushed me away, panting, and started to pull his clothes off frantically. I took mine off just as fast, and then pushed him onto the bed, then onto his back. I got on top of him and kissed him again, just like before, grinding against him, feeling his cock rubbing against mine, his body responding to my attention.

But that wasn't what I wanted. I knelt up and pushed him over onto his stomach. God, his back was as magnificent as his front. I nibbled and kissed his back as I moved my mouth down lower and lower, until I reached my goal, his gorgeous ass. I pushed his legs apart, exposing his taint, liberally covered with dark blond hair. I nuzzled it, and then kissed it, making a growling noise to transmit the vibrations straight to his prostate. He moaned and pushed back into my mouth. His scent was strong and ripe, the scent of a man who'd been traveling all day and had been sweating. It could be really repulsive on some guys, but not on Max. I dove in and licked him, his crack, his cheeks, his hole, tasting every part of him. He just surrendered to me, moaning to show his appreciation. I'd driven him to the edge, to the point where the pleasure was almost too much, so he grabbed the lube on my nightstand and handed it to me, begging me with that gesture to fuck him.

I took the lube and spread a bunch on his ass, then probed him with my fingers. His response was electric, and I knew then why Cody said he was a total bottom. He handed me a condom and I slipped it on, and then lay on top of him, guiding my dick inside him while I nibbled on his neck. I felt the head of my dick push past his ring, making him moan and push back into me. “God, you feel so good, Max,” I said in his ear as I kissed him. “Do I feel good?”

“Fuck yeah,” he said. I started moving gently, trying to make him feel loved and appreciated. We got into a perfect rhythm: he worked with me, bucking back and taking each thrust with a thrust of his own.

“You are amazing,” I told him. “Fuck!” Suddenly the rhythm became more intense, the thrusts stronger, and before I knew it I was at the edge. “Max, baby, fuck I want this to last forever, but I can't. I gotta cum, I'm gonna cum!” I almost shouted in his ear.

He grunted loudly. “Me too!” And then I blew, blasting my load while I felt his ass, his whole body quiver underneath me as he came with me. After I shot my last spurt, I just collapsed on his back, panting. I kissed the side of his face and saw his cute little grin, and then he squeezed his ass muscles and popped my dick out playfully. I wiped off the bed then lay down on the wet spot and pulled him to me, lovingly stroking his blond hair and enjoying the afterglow.

“I like this room,” he said, cracking me up. I looked at the clock and saw that it was getting close to dinnertime.

“We should take a shower,” I said. “We have dinner soon.”

“Marcel and Lou will probably be there,” he said glumly.

“So? I'll be there too.” He smiled up at me and thanked me with his eyes for being his life preserver. “Do you guys like hate each other now?”

“No. I don't hate him. The problem is that I'm still not over him. I should be. We fought so much over the summer I should be so glad we're through. But we were together for a long time, since 1991, and it's hard for me to switch off my feelings that fast.” He sighed. “I thought up until the last minute he'd stay with me, that he'd turn down that job in Montreal. I knew when he went up to visit he'd gotten together with Lou. I could just tell. But I figured we were stronger than that.”

“So he picked Lou and a career over you?” I asked. “He's a fool.”

“Wait until you see Lou,” he said. “He's cute as hell. Get him to fuck you.”

“Maybe I will, just to piss of Marcel,” I teased.

“Don't think this is some big battle. I still love him, and I want him to be happy. If Lou does that, makes him happy, then I'm behind them completely, just like Lou was there when Marcel and I got together.”

I led him to the shower and washed his body, enjoying every part, and then he washed mine. Only that got me really horny, so he finished the shower off with a great hand job. What kind of idiot was Marcel, to let this guy get away? We got dressed and I watched Max. He was really organized, laying all of his things out, using them, cleaning them, and then putting them back right where he'd laid them out in the first place. He reminded me of Wade, and that caused a cringe of sadness, but I fought it back. I was going to have a good weekend.