It was a dark and stormy night

“I haven’t had spaghetti this good since I was home last time. Mom came over from Italy and she makes damn good spaghetti. Yours is seasoned a lot differently but it’s just as good.” 
I set the plate down in front of him and refilled their glasses with Chianti. As Mike worked on his second plate Tim leaned back with a puzzled expression on his face.

“Mark Justin, that name seems familiar. I keep thinking I’ve heard it before.” 
“You’re probably thinking of Marcus Justin, the mystery writer” I said.
“That’s where I’ve heard it. You probably get mistaken for him all the time.”
I laughed. “Actually no, I am the mystery writer.”
“Awesome dude. I like your stories. You’ve got a creepy mind.”

Mike had finally run out of room. He had about three bites left and he pushed the plate away. He leaned back in his chair, took another swallow of the Chianti and smiled.

“Man that was good. Makes me feel like I was home.”

I got up, poured coffee for all of us and we returned to the living area. We all settled into the large overstuffed leather chairs around the fireplace.
“Glad you feel like home because judging by the snowfall so far you may have to be here a few days. Don’t worry, I have plenty of food and fuel for the generator and I really could use a break from writing. The county knows I’m pretty self sufficient and the only permanent resident on this stretch of road. They normally plow the others first. The only problem is I only have one guest room. It has a king size bed but if you’d like I can fix a bed on the davenport?”

Tim laughed. “We were assigned the same room as freshmen and I doubt I could get to sleep any more with out his snoring.”

I knew that they would want to be together but figured it better not to tip my hand too soon. The conversation continued with those carefully worded questions and answers that go on when strangers are trying to become better acquainted. Mike yawned. 

“Why don’t you guys hit the hay? Getting that cold takes a lot out of you.”

I showed them the guest room and told them their clothes would be in the dryer in the morning. After that I picked up and went to bed. As I lay there I debated. Should I turn the lights off? The darkness was still out there waiting for me. It was growing stronger and I weaker. God I am afraid.

When I awoke I was surprised to find I had turned the lights off and slept soundly. I dressed and went to the bathroom. When I started past their room I could hear them snoring. I peeked in and they were wrapped in each others arms sound asleep. They looked so handsome and desirable.

I went to the kitchen and fixed coffee. Looking in the fridge I debated about what to fix for breakfast. After deciding and starting the grill, I went to their door and beat on it. When Tim answered I told him if they wanted breakfast they had better get up as I was about to cook and the next meal would be lunch. It was seven forty and time to get up any way. As I squeezed oranges I could hear them head for the bathroom. Soon the sounds of water in the pipes told me they were getting cleaned up. In a short while they walked into the kitchen. Motioning to the table set for three I asked them how they liked their yolks, soft or hard. They started on their juice. Tim drank his down and asked if he could have more. I pointed to the old fashioned juice press and told him to help himself. He squeezed another glass and I put the breakfast on the table. Bacon, eggs and French toast. While eating I told them it had snowed about sixteen inches overnight and was still snowing. I explained that even with chains we wouldn’t be able to get out. They seemed resigned to that. 

When we finished, I poured coffee and we retired to the living area. I started another fire in the fireplace and we sat back, relaxed and drank our coffee. Time to put my plan into action.

“Fellows, I wonder if I might ask a favor?” After getting the go ahead I continued. “Uhh, I don’t know quite how to ask this. Last night ,,,,I ,,,,well I ,,,,, well you seem like more then friends. I ,,,, I could have uhh ,,,,, misread things and if so I apologize.” I looked up. I could tell I had Tim hooked but Mike had a guarded look on his face. Looking back down I went on. “Well, there’s this book I want to write and I was hoping you guys might be able to help me with it.” I paused. “Oh hell, I’m making a mess out of this. Maybe if I start at the beginning you’ll understand.”

“I had this friend when I was in school. We grew up together. When we got old enough we double dated. We partied together and shared secrets with each. He never seemed to score with the chicks but it didn’t seem to worry him. We were best friends. One Saturday afternoon after we had graduated from high school but before we went to college we were hanging around his folk’s house listening to the radio when he got real serious. He told me he needed to talk to me. He stammered and kept starting over but finally got out he was gay. I was shocked. I couldn’t think of anything to say. He went on and after a bit I realized he wanted me to be his lover. I called him a queer and a faggot and told him I never wanted to see him again and ran out of his folk’s house and went home. I was mad and scared and upset. When I got home the folks had left a note saying they had gone out with some friends. I sat there brooding all evening and finally I realized what an honor he had paid me. He loved me. I felt terrible. By then it was late and I decided to go over the first thing the next morning and try to apologize. I never got a chance. The phone woke me up. Another friend called to tell me he had been killed in a car accident.” I looked up at them. They were both hooked. “Ever since then I have wanted to find a way to make people understand that gays are just people too. When I became a writer I got this idea for a story. It has to be well done. Unfortunately I don’t know enough about gays to make it good enough.”

Tim spoke. “How can we help?”

“I thought maybe you could share some of the experiences you’ve had. The good, the bad, the problems facings gays in the straight world, what you think would help resolve those problems. Those sorts of things”

They looked at each other. They had been together for quite a while and had learned to communicate without words. I couldn’t read much of it but in a very short time they had come to a decision. They would help.

We spent the rest on the morning and most of the afternoon talking. They told story after story about their lives as gays. Mike surprised me by his depth of understanding of some of the issues. I kept making notes on a legal pad. Soon it was almost full. We became caught up in the discussion. I know I fixed something for lunch but I have no idea what it was. We ate it and continued talking all the while. Finally in the late afternoon they ran down.

“Thank you” I said. “You’ve given me a lot of insight on the gay perspective.”
“Any thing else you’d like to know?” Tim asked.
“No, I don’t think so. Now if I can just come to terms with the sexuality of it I should be ready to write the book.”
“What do you mean?” Mike wanted to know.

I explained that in order to make the characters real I needed to understand their emotions and minds. That I had never had any gay experiences and just didn’t see how I could figure that part out. There was more of that no words communication and they asked to be excused for a few minutes. I could hear they were talking in the guest room and when they came out it was Tim who took the lead.

“If you’d like Mike and I will help you discover what it’s like.”
“I couldn’t. I’d be too embarrassed.”
“Why?” 

I couldn’t explain. They talked and I talked and finally I said I’d think about it. I told them I would let them know at dinner. They retired to the guest room and I to my bedroom. The trap had worked to perfection. The darkness was much closer and stronger. I could tell it was restless. I knew it wouldn’t wait much longer. Oh God. Why hast thou forsaken me? Why hast thou sent the darkness to torment me? Why? Please tell me why?

Looking at my watch I noted it was about time to start dinner. As I headed for the kitchen I passed their door. I could hear soft laughter from the other side and idly wondered what they were amused at. Going to the fireplace I put some more wood in it. I thought a nice fire would be right for what I had in mind for the evening. The wind had stopped and the snow was gently falling straight down in little fine flakes. I could see that there was about two feet on the patio. Stopping at the stereo I looked through the cds and picked out some light soft music and put it on. Turning the light on in the kitchen I started preparing dinner. Just when I was about ready to call them and tell them dinner was ready they came into the kitchen. I detected a faint odor which told me they had been enjoying each others company that afternoon. I served dinner and poured the wine. There was almost no conversation with dinner. We ate with a purpose. We seemed to know that when dinner was finished we would get to the important business of life and not before. When we had finished, I poured us each a brandy and we retired to the chairs around the fireplace. 

“Fellows, I have decided your right. The only way the book will ever be completed is to have the experiences we talked about. I can think of no one who would be better for me to have them with. You have opened your hearts and minds to me. It is time for me to accept that. I would like to think that we have become friends and friends should not be afraid to share.”

We discussed where to start. Tim asked me if I had ever had a gay blow job. I told them I had only had a couple of blow jobs from my wife and that they were disappointing. Tim said that Mike gave the best blow jobs he’d ever had. I asked what was so great about a gay blow job. They explained that gays knew what worked because they could experience it. I told them that sounded logical. The tall case clock in the corner struck eight.

We turned the lights off. By the flickering light of the fireplace I saw Mike slowly unbutton his shirt and let it slip down his arms. He gently tossed it on the floor beside him. He then started on his jeans in the same manner, slowly unbuttoning the top button, drawing the zipper down and letting them slide down his legs. When he did the same to his boxers I could see that he was fully erect. He withdrew one foot and with the other gently kicked them over with his shirt. He walked towards me. I could hear Tim’s clothes softly land behind me. When Mike was less then a foot from me he reached up and put his hands on my shoulders. He slowly moved them inward, pausing to gently rub my nipples. He continued to the buttons which one at a time opened under his fingers. When they were all undone he gently opened it and lifted it off my shoulders. I could feel his warm breath on my chest and neck. Tim took the shirt and slipped it down my arms and when it cleared my hands tossed it aside. Mike knelt in front of me. His attention was now directed to my trousers. In that same slow motion he undid them and let them slide down. Tim leaned his chest against my back. The warmth from it seemed to flow through me. Mike hooked his fingers in my briefs. He pulled the front forward and my cock sprang up from where it had been imprisoned. It stood at attention like a marine on a parade ground while he worked his hands around under the waistband and slipped them off my hips. Tim wrapped his arms lightly around my shoulders steadying me while Mike lifted first my left foot and then my right removing my slippers and working my trousers and shorts off.