After Church

Breakfast at Redeemer Lutheran Church

Sunday, August 5, 11:00 am

The Lund's had spent the morning keeping their Sunday church obligation, like nearly everyone in town. They were members of Redeemer Lutheran as were most of their friends and family. In those days, church attendance was as much a social expectation as anything else. It was expected that all your family and friends were a part of the same church as well.

Peggy's family always saved her and Gunnar a seat for them, sharing the fourth pew from the front on the right side. After the service, Gunnar and Peggy were also expected, to join Mr. and Mrs. Barton for the church's Sunday Breakfast. You see, every week the church ladies prepared a big spread for after the service. The tables were filled with their classic, and way too bland, hot dishes. There were potatoes, fixed all kinds of ways, egg hot dishes of various kinds, and of course, Scandinavian white sausage. And to wash it all down, there was, what Mike and most of the men called, dishwater coffee served from huge urns over by the kitchen door. Oh, and there were hundreds of small children who ran around screaming all the while. (At least it seemed like hundreds.) Needless to say, this was not the highlight of Gunnar’s week.

The only redeeming thing about the breakfasts was the baked goods. There were three serving tables chock full of homemade baked goods. The whole breakfast was so bland and tasteless. But the cinnamon rolls, sour cream coffee cakes, and fruited tarts were a welcome indulgence. Every old lay in town wanted to be sure Officer Lund tried their specialty.

Peggy was not a baker so every Sunday, Gunnar scarfed down as many sweets as he could until one of the church lady food guards caught him. He knew he’d get the usual scolding you’d expect a granny to give a small boy for eating too many sweets. Keep in the mind, just because he was a twenty-nine-year-old adult married man, and an officer of the law, he was not exempt from the same rules as the children, nor the scolding.

“I’m always glad to see you enjoying yourself here at my table,” teased Bonnie Geback, who, with her husband Jeff, owned the town bakery.

Gunnar grinned back nervously trying to swallow the bite of cinnamon bun in his mouth.

“Now, don’t go and choke on me! Land sakes alive,” cried Bonnie, patting Gunnar on the back. “I’m not going to report you to old Mrs. Lundquist, am I?” She giggled and leaned in to add, “I wouldn’t wish that old coot on even the worst people in town!” Then let out a bark-like laugh.

“Are you bothering this young man, Bonnie?” asked her husband, Jeff. He leaned in to shake Gunnar’s hand. "How's it going, there officer?"

Gunnar had to put down his roll and wipe his hands first to shake Jeff’s mitt. “Oh, she’s just giving me the business about gobbling down her cinnamon rolls. ” In a lower voice, he added, “I never get any this good at home, mind you." Realizing what he said he quickly added, "But Ohhhhhh! Don’t say anything to Peggy or worse, her Mom!”

Jeff chuckled, knowing both women. “Oh we won’t,” he patted Gunnar on the back, “In fact, we encourage lousy home-baking. All the more business for us!” They all laughed at that, as Peggy approached.

“What’s so funny?” she asked.

Bonnie jumped in, “Oh I was sharing how I got sugar all over the place the other day when I was making my cinnamon rolls and then...” Bonnie grabbed onto Peggy’s arm and turned her away from the men and the table.

Jeff smiled and shook his head saying, “Bonnie can manage any conversation in any direction she needs. It’s one of her gifts.”

“Well it’s much appreciated,” replied Gunnar smiling back at Jeff.

Jeff reached down for a piece of sour cream coffee cake, “I didn’t make this but I do have to say Mrs. Penthurst’s is the best in town.” Turning so his back was to the room, Jeff turned his head and asked Gunnar, “So what are you up to on this fine Sunday?”

“Not sure yet. Peggy usually spends the day with her Mom so thankfully, I’m on my own. It’s too much for me to have to listen to them carry on all day. I don’t know how my father-in-law puts up with it.”

Jeff chuckled and said, “He probably turns off his hearing aid.”

Gunnar laughed, “I didn’t think of that. You’re probably right.” Taking a sip of coffee and another bite of his bun, he said with half a mouth full, “I like to hike along the river sometimes, maybe take a dip, if it’s warm. I keep it low key. It’s the only day I’ve got to myself. Otherwise, it’s work or checking off something else on Peggy’s list.”

“Yeah, I know how that is. Bonnie’s list is years long. I don’t think I’ll ever get it done, but that’s the way it is, eh?” Jeff replied. He sipped more coffee. Making a face of disgust, he whispered, “You know this is really the worst crap.” He swallowed as Gunnar nodded in agreement. Getting back to the subject of what to do on a Sunday, he picked up the conversation with, “I enjoy a hike along the river too from time to time. You ever run into people along the way doing the same?”

Gunnar raised his eyebrows and thought a moment, then answered, “No. Can’t say that I do. It’s just me.”

“Well if you’d ever like some company some Sunday afternoon, you let me know. I like having someone to chat with, other than Bonnie.” This last bit he sneered.

Gunnar laughed, knowing that long time marriages have their ups and downs.

“Whoo-hoo, Gunner love!” Peggy was hollering across the room, waving her gloved hand at Gunnar.

Gunnar’s head popped up from his conversation with Jeff. He hurried over to her. “Hiya sweety.”

Peggy grabbed her husband’s arm with one hand and laid the other on his chest, rubbing it up and down his shirt-front. “Mommy and I are going over to Aunt Delia’s for tea. I’ll see you later at dinner, all right?”

‘You betcha,” Gunnar answered with a big smile.

“Ok, then.” Peggy stood on her tiptoes and kissed Gunnar's cheek. Then slid back to the ground. Noticing something, she hurriedly licked her finger and reached up to wipe off her lipstick stain on his cheek. She giggled as she did so and then waved goodbye, bending her fingers in a cutesy gesture.

Gunnar turned away and, seeing Jeff had watched all that, he rolled his eyes. Jeff smirked back. Gunnar waved his goodbye to Jeff and headed to the side door to leave. He couldn’t wait to get away from all these church people.

***************

Millside Creek, mid-afternoon, somewhere around 3:00 pm

Gunnar had lived in Millside Falls for three years now but he was still learning all the farms and other properties, the paths dividing them, and the shortcuts from here to there. There were several cricks along the boundaries of people's land. They were the easiest way to divide things up back in the day. He enjoyed hiking along their banks, seeing where they go, and enjoying the dappled sun through the trees.

Today, he was hiking along a rather large crick, maybe too big to be called that, though the locals did anyway. He had taken off his shirt and was enjoying the sunshine on his skin. He was wearing only his swimming trunks. Unlike many, his trunks had longer legs which he liked because he could wear them around like shorts. The shorter swimsuits seemed too small and revealing to wear around except while you were actually swimming.

As he climbed over some small rocks and through a copse of saplings growing along the river bank, he saw up ahead, a patch of sunshine from an opening in the trees. When he got a couple of hundred yards further along, he could see that the crick, now at its source, was flowing from a lake. Where the crick began, there was a sizable wetland with tall grasses, reaching up toward the sun.

He decided to circumvent the marsh by heading further to one side and deeper into the darker woods. Immediately he noticed the calls of many birds and animals, probably squirrels and chipmunks, scurrying along under the tree leaves.

He heard a loud crack, sounding like someone was walking nearby. He looked off to his left. A man was walking over there among the trees. Gunnar continued on, hearing more familiar sounds as he hiked. In another grove of trees, was another man who stood looking upward. Bird watching it seemed. Gunnar glanced up as well to see if there was anything he might be missing but saw nothing unusual.

Gunnar could now see the sun glistening off deep blue water up ahead, so he headed in that direction. Every so often he would hear something and look, and there would be another hiker walking along through the woods. ‘This must be a popular spot,’ Gunnar thought, ‘I’ve never run into anyone else the whole time I’ve been hiking. I wonder what draws the hikers to this place?’

Gunnar was now up to the bank of what he thought was a lake. It turns out, it really wasn’t, just a large wetland with a sizable amount of open water in the middle. He figured this was hardly the kind of place to take a swim and that was what he had hoped for. As the afternoon went along, it got warmer and a nice dip would feel great.

He turned east away from the stream and the wetland to do some more exploring. He wasn't sure where he was going anymore but he wasn't concerned about getting lost. ‘I mean look at all the men around,’ he thought, ‘they'd help a guy out, eh?’

Off to his right, he saw a tall man with grayish hair, leaning against a tree with his head down. ‘That looks like Jeff Geback. What a coincidence,’ Gunnar thought to himself.

He started to walk in that direction but as he got closer there was some dense underbrush that he needed to circumvent so he took a path that curved even further to the right.

The tree that he saw Jeff standing against was up ahead. Now, because of the detour, he was coming toward him from a totally different angle. This time he’d be coming from behind him. He didn’t want to scare him so he took his time and tried to be cautiously quiet.

As he approached he could see Jeff's elbow sticking out of the side of the tree. He recognized the blue pattern of his shirt from this morning at church. Getting closer still, there seemed to be a pant leg also sticking out, this time from the bottom of the tree. It was khaki-colored. 'He must have at least changed his pants,' thought Gunnar.

There were another bit of scrub bushes to walk around, this time to the left. So Gunnar shifted direction one more time. As the path took him back toward the tree, he had a sideways view. When he took in the sight in front of him he stopped in his tracks and immediately squatted down, close to the ground.

There, in front of him, was indeed Jeff Geback leaning up against a tree. At first, he thought he had light-colored pants on. Then he suddenly realized, down in front of him was another man. This man’s head was right up against Jeff’s groin area. Gunnar gasped as he realized Jeff wasn’t wearing light-colored pants. No, in fact, he had no pants on at all. Well, not really, because his pants were down around his ankles. And the man squatting in front of him had his head in Jeff’s crotch.

Gunnar watched as the man’s head moved back and forth, back and forth. ‘Uff-da! My-ah!’ he exclaimed in his head. ‘Jeff's got his... oh my god... in that man’s mouth!’

Jeff slowly began to unbutton his shirt. When it was opened, he pushed the sides back revealing his chest to the sunlight. He tweaked his nipples, again and again, something Gunnar had never seen or done before. Then Jeff slid his hands up and down his chest, obviously giving himself some added pleasure.

The other man pulled back and stroked Jeff vigorously, looking up into Jeff's face. Jeff, in turn, arched his back making his cock emerge prominently from the man’s hand as it was stroked. Gunnar heard Jeff say something that he couldn’t quite understand. Then the man put his mouth back on Jeff’s cock and began sucking Jeff with more intensity.

Gunnar continued to watch this intimate, private act between the two men. Part of him thought he should leave them to it and get out of there. But, though he didn’t want to admit it, he couldn’t take his eyes off them. He continued to stare taking it all in, not wanting to leave.

He also realized that he himself was fully aroused. He opened the fly of his trunks to release himself from the confines of his shorts. He fondled himself, enjoying the vivid display the two men provided. He pulled on his dick and, in no time at all, he knew he was close to release.

Louder noises were now coming from the trees ahead. When Gunnar looked up he knew. Jeff was releasing his seed into the other man’s mouth. He watched as Jeff stretched both arms wide and tensed his biceps, arching his back as he came. Gunnar could see those biceps jump as the release grew in strength. Then Jeff reached down to the man’s head and held him by his ears. Gunnar watched, mesmerized, as Jeff’s hips thrust back and forth clenching those massive thigh and butt muscles as he did so. It was really something to watch as his climax exploded with his own ecstasy.

All of a sudden Gunnar realized his hand was soaking wet. He hadn’t realized how close he was to release while he watched the scene in front of him. Seed continued to squirt out of him as he continued stroking. He wasn’t sure what to do with all he’d spent into his hand. But rather than worry about that now, he looked up to see what was happening now. The crouching man stood pulling up his khakis as he did so. It seemed they were making small talk now that it was over. Jeff didn't make a move. He stood chatting animatedly with the guy that just gave him a blowjob. Hands on his hips, pants still around his ankles, spent cock hanging, though it sure hadn't deflated any yet. That thick, semi-erect cock arched forward, away from Jeff's body. It looked like it could go again with a bit more stimulation.

Gunnar’s first thought was, ‘Man, what stamina!’ Then he realized something even more astounding, ‘If he’s that big from this distance and he’s already done the deed, that guy is huge!’ Looking over his shoulder and all around him, Gunnar had to see if anyone else was playing voyeur like he was.  Not seeing any other men close by, Gunner packed himself away and stood. He strolled back toward the marshy area hoping to wash off his hands.

'I wonder,' Gunnar thought as he headed back the way he came, 'is this the kind of hike Jeff takes on Sundays?' He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. 'Maybe I need to see if he's up for some company some time.' With that thought, Gunnar's prick rose once more, constricting his crotch to the point of discomfort. He walked into the dense growth of trees he passed earlier and relieved his tension.