I dropped Kirk and Adam off at the truck stop the next morning. Waking up with two sets of arms wrapped around me was so much better than one set. I knew it wasn’t going to be a regular thing, but I was glad that Kirk and Adam trusted me enough to share such an intimate act. I gave each of them a kiss as they got into their truck and I drove off to work.
I was happy that Kirk had found someone to make him happy, and the jealousy that I felt wasn’t directed at Adam personally. I was jealous that they had a strong relationship and I didn’t have anyone. I knew I wanted to find something like that for myself.
Over the next two years, I was busy working full-time and taking classes, I really didn’t have time for much of a social life. I did date a little, mostly guys that I met online and on dating apps. While it was fun, nothing serious ever developed. I just didn’t feel the same connection that I felt with Aaron or Kirk, or for that matter, Eli.
I knew nothing would come of me and Eli; he was straight and in prison. Kirk now had Adam and since Aaron was gone. I guess I needed to concentrate on my classes and hope my love life would fall into place after that.
Mom was having me, Danny and Zoey over dinner at least once a week and I usually found a reason to share an extra weekly meal with mom and dad when Danny wasn’t there. Dad was really trying to accept everything and even asked me about a few of my dates. I knew he wasn’t exactly comfortable with those talks, but I appreciated that he was making an effort. I never shared too much information.
As I scrolled through the dating app that I was using, I saw a guy that caught my attention. According to the apps settings, we were a match and looking for the same thing. I checked out his profile a few times but was still not sure if I should send him a message.
He was a couple of years older than I am, but I thought he was very attractive. His dark wavy hair and smoldering dark eyes certainly caused my heart to skip a beat. He had a shirtless picture of himself at some beach; his body was just as impressive as his face. From the brief bio he had on his profile, he appeared to have an office job and enough money to take trips to beach resorts.
Before I could decide if I wanted to start talking to this guy, he sent me a message.
“Hi, I like your profile and would like to talk a little. If you are interested, please let me know and we can get to know each other better.”
My heart pounded as I read and reread the message. I looked at his pictures again and decided I had nothing to lose.
“Hey, I’m Ethan. I would like to get better acquainted with you too. I work construction and am taking classes to become a draftsman. I’m 23 and live in my own place. If you are still interested, let me know.”
For the next two weeks, we messaged each other every day. His name was Paul and we really hit it off. I decided I was ready to meet Paul in person. In my last message, I suggested we go out for drinks on Saturday night.
I was thrilled when Paul replied that he wanted to meet me too and we set up a time and place. When Saturday arrived, I showered and dressed to get ready for my date. This one felt different than all the others. Deep down, I knew all the others were just going to be hook ups, and they were. The talks that Paul and I have had over the last couple of weeks were deeper. We hadn’t even talked about having sex, I wasn’t even planning on things going that far tonight.
I arrived at the bar that we had agreed to meet at. I saw Paul walking toward the door as I got out of my car. I was very relieved that Paul’s profile pic was recent and he looked just as good in person as he did online. He turned to see me walk in right behind him and gave me a warm smile.
I said, “Paul?”
His smile widened, “Ethan, it’s nice to meet you.”
I nodded, “The same here.”
He said, “Shall we find a table?”
I said, “Sure, that sounds good.”
We found a table in the back corner, the bar was busy, but not overly crowded. There wasn’t anyone at the next table so we could at least have a conversation. A server sat a napkin in front of us as soon as we sat down.
I looked at the name tag he was wearing. Seth said, “Good evening gentlemen, what are we drinking tonight?”
I smiled, “What do you have on draft, Seth?”
He said, “We have a nice Indian Pale Ale, a Belgian Wheat, and of course all the popular domestic beers.”
I said, “I’ll do the Belgian Wheat, please.”
Paul added, “And I’ll have the Pale Ale, please.”
Seth grinned, “Both excellent choices, I’ll be right back with your beers.”
Paul smiled, “This is a nice place, I have never been here before.”
I said, “I have only been here a couple of times with my brother and his girlfriend. The service is great and it’s never too crowded or loud.”
He said, “Yeah, some of these places play the music so loud you can’t hear the other person you are with.”
Seth returned with our drinks and said, “Let me know if you need anything else. Enjoy.”
Paul said, “So you have a brother, any other siblings?”
I took a drink of my beer and shook my head, “No, it’s just the two of us. We are pretty close, especially over the last couple of years.”
He gave me a quizzical look, “You weren’t close before?”
I sighed, “I guess I should be honest with you. A couple of years ago, I was in prison.”
His eyes went wide as I told him the whole story and how Danny and his college friend’s dad helped me get out. I also told him about being kicked out of the house when my dad found out that I was gay and how we reconciled after I returned home.
Paul said, “Wow, you have had a few interesting years. My life is completely boring after hearing all of that.”
I chuckled, “I don’t know how interesting it is, but it was certainly a little different than most guys. So, tell me your boring story. What about your family, do have any brothers or sisters?”
He told me about his family; he had an older brother and a younger sister. His parents divorced when he was in junior high school. His mom and dad still got along, they just no longer lived together. Both had also remarried, and he had two stepsisters, but they didn’t live around here.
We ordered our second beer and told each other about our jobs. Paul worked at an accounting firm; he has had the same job since he graduated from college and was in the process of studying to be a CPA. I told him that I was in my final semester to become a draftsman. I also told him that I was still building houses and was hoping that once I finished with school, I would start working for Phil Sorenson full-time.
Before we knew it, we had been talking for over three hours. There was never any awkward pauses, it was like we had known each other years. We decided it was time to call it a night. We paid our check and walked out to our cars.
Paul said, “I had a very nice time tonight. Can I see you again?”
I smiled, “I would like that.” We exchanged phone numbers and I said, “I’ll text or call you and maybe we can see each other next Saturday.”
Paul leaned in and gave me a quick kiss, “That will be perfect. I’ll talk to you later.”
We called or texted every day, and by Wednesday I invited Paul to come to my place for dinner on Saturday night. I gave him my address and said that I would order a meal from my favorite restaurant. I admitted I wasn’t much of a cook, Paul laughed, “Me neither, whatever you order will be fine. I’ll pick up something for desert and a bottle of wine.”
Just like the week before, we had another great conversation and were totally at ease with each other. I suggested we move to the living room after we finished eating, and we sat next to each other on the couch.
As we sat there talking, there was a pause in our conversation. Paul sighed, “I would really like to kiss you right now.”
I smiled, “I don’t think I would stop you.”
Our lips met and we kissed for what seemed like an hour. I pulled back slightly and stared into those gorgeous dark eyes. I said, “I liked that very much.”
Paul smirked, “So did I, maybe we should try it again, just to be sure we both liked it.”
This time. Paul pushed me back and he was laying on top of me as our kiss became more passionate. Our hands began to explore each other’s bodies, and I felt my shirt being pulled up over my head. We broke our kiss long enough to toss our shirts to the floor. We kissed again as our bare chests rubbed against each other.
Paul started to unbutton my jeans, I panted, “Why don’t we take this to the bedroom?”
He gave me no argument, and he followed me down the hall and within seconds, we were both naked and on my bed sucking each other’s cocks. Paul’s dick was the perfect size and the precum that was flooding my mouth tasted like honey.
My finger soon found Paul’s pucker, his legs spread at my touch and he gasped, “Oh yes, Ethan, play with my hole.”
Paul rolled onto his stomach and thrust his ass in the air. I dove in tongue first, his ass tasted just as good as his cock did. He was writhing around as I rimmed him, his fists grasping the sheets with every lick. After a few minutes, he begged, “Please fuck the hell out of me!”
I quickly grabbed the lube from my nightstand to get all the appropriate parts slick. I kissed the back of his neck as I easily slid in. His hole was so tight and warm, I increased my speed and pushed in further with each stroke.
Paul and I were both moaning, and I knew I was quickly approaching climax. Paul grunted, “I’m so close.” I once again increased my speed and pushed in until my nuts were flattened against the sweet ass under me. I exploded and collapsed on top of Paul.
He let out a deep breath and went completely limp under me. We both lay there, not moving for a few seconds as we tried to catch our breath.
Paul panted, “Holy shit, that was amazing.”
I chuckled as I rolled to his side, “Yeah, it was pretty good, wasn’t it?”
We kissed for a while and Paul said, “Sorry, I kind of made a mess all over your sheets. You fucked the cum right out of me.”
I chuckled. “That’s okay. We can clean up and I’ll change the sheets. You are welcome to stay the night if you want to.”
He sighed, “I wish I could, but we are taking my mom to brunch in the morning for her birthday. I really should go home; I have to pick her up early.”
I was a little disappointed, but I guess I understood. We went to the bathroom and cleaned up and went back to my bedroom to get dressed. I pulled on a pair of shorts as Paul stepped into his underwear. As he reached down and picked up his jeans, I saw something fall out of his pocket. I thought it was some change until it rolled across the floor and stopped by my foot.
Paul had not noticed, I reached down and retrieved the gold wedding band. I handed it to Paul and said, “I think this is yours.”
The color drained from his face as he took the ring and slipped it back in his pocket.
I asked, “Are you married?”
Paul stuttered, “Well…I… please let me explain.”
I shook my head, “There is no need. Just finish getting dressed and leave. I would prefer that you never call me again.”
He said, “But Ethan, my wife will never know…”
I held up my hand, “I will not help you cheat on your wife, please just leave.”
Damn it, I was really starting to fall for that guy. After he left, I changed my sheets and crawled into bed. I tossed and turned for a couple of hours before I finally fell asleep. God, I hate this whole dating thing. I’m not sure if I will be ready to trust anyone for a long time.
The next day, I went to mom and dad’s for dinner. I had told them the week before about my first date with Paul. As we were eating, Mom asked me how the second date went.
I sighed, “Not well.”
She asked, “Why, what happened?”
I said, “I found out he was married.”
Dad asked, “To another man?”
I shook my head, “No, he has a wife.”
Dad gave me a confused look, “Then why did he go on a date with another man?”
I chuckled, “I think he is a little confused dad. He might be bisexual.”
He asked, “What the hell is that?”
I said, “He likes both men and women.”
Dad shook his head, “I’m sorry Ethan, I don’t understand any of this stuff, either you suck dick or you don’t.”
I laughed, “It’s not that simple for some guys dad.” I tried to explain a little bit, but dad was still perplexed. Mom finally suggested we change the subject and talk about something else. To be honest, I was glad to do that, this wasn’t a conversation that I was comfortable having with my parents.
That night, Paull tried to call me, I just ignored his call and blocked his number. I had been thinking about it all day, was it really cheating? Paul wasn’t looking to leave his wife for me, would a friends with benefits type of relationship be the worst thing in the world? Yes, I wanted something more, and I knew I wouldn’t be happy with scheduling our time together around his wife’s schedule. Both me and Paul’s wife deserved better.
I deleted my profiles from the dating apps and decided to concentrate on my last semester of school. Danny was graduating from college at the same time as I was finishing my classes, as was Zoey. Mom and dad took us all out for a nice dinner to celebrate.
As we ate dinner, Danny and Zoey announced that they would be moving in together. I was so happy for them of course, but mom and dad were a little quiet. But after a few minutes must have decided that them living together wasn’t the worst thing in the world. But as I lay in bed that night, that feeling of jealousy returned. Again, I was not really jealous of Danny or Zoey, but of what they had. I had to push those feelings away. I had just finished my training and was starting my new job as a draftsman the following week.
Phil was thrilled when I started to work for him. His business had been growing over the last couple of years, and he had a backlog of jobs to get done. He knew I was starting soon so he hadn’t looked into hiring any help.
It took a little over a month until we worked through the backlog, and with my help, we were able to stay caught up on all the new jobs coming in. I was loving my new career, and Phil was happy with my work and often asked how to improve some of the floorplans since I was familiar with the construction side.
I was soon approaching the two-year anniversary of my release from prison. I had bitten the bullet and set up a new profile on a dating app. I had chatted with a couple of guys but had yet to meet any of them in person. I guess I was a little gun shy after my experience with Paul.
I was starting a new set of plans for Bob one day when my phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number, I normally ignore those calls because it’s usually a telemarketer. Something told me to answer this call. Phil didn’t mind me taking personal calls in the office as long as there weren’t too many.
I answered, “Hello, this is Ethan.”
The voice said, “Hi Ethan, this is Hank Davis from Springfield.”
It took my mind a moment to process this, Hank was the head guard at the prison. Why would he be calling me?
I said, “Hank? What’s up?”
He said, “I would like to talk to you. Could we meet for coffee this week?”
I asked, “Talk to me about what?”
He sighed, “I think it would be best if we talked in person. Please.”
I said, “Um…Sure. There is a coffee shop on Broadway, I can meet you there on Saturday. Does that work?”
Hank said, “That will be fine. Shall we say 10 o’clock?”
I replied, “Sure, that works.”
He said, “Thanks Ethan, I am looking forward to seeing you.”
I ended the call and spent the rest of the day trying to figure out what Hank wanted to talk to me about. That night, I sent an email to Eli to see if he had any idea, but by Friday, I had not heard from him. He usually never answered right away but always replied within a couple of days.
I checked my email again on Saturday morning, but still nothing. I got in my truck and drove to the coffee shop. Hank was already seated at a table when I arrived, I gave him a wave and went to get my coffee. Once I had my cup, I joined him at the table.
He gave me a smile, “Thanks for meeting me Ethan. What has it been? Two years?”
I nodded, “Yeah, about that I guess. How have you been?”
He said, “Good, how about you? Are things going okay?”
I took a sip of my coffee, “Yeah, I guess so.”
I briefly told him about my new job and that I was mostly happy with how my life was going. I didn’t tell him about my love life, I’m not sure if he knew I was gay or not. It had never come up in any conversation that we had, so I was sure he wouldn’t be interested in that part of my life anyway.
We sat in awkward silence for a few moments, I finally asked, “So what do you really want, Hank?”
He took a deep breath as he reached down to retrieve the large envelope that he set on the chair next to him. He said, “Ethan, Eli was killed on Monday.”
My heart stopped, I swallowed hard, “What happened?”
Hank said, “It was an accident in the auto shop. He and a new inmate had a car up on the hoist and were replacing the brakes. The new inmate noticed the hydraulic hose on the hoist was starting to swell. Eli yelled get out as the guy stood there staring at the hose. Eli ran under the car and pushed the kid away as the car came down on top of him.”
I pushed the lump in my throat down and asked, “Wasn’t there a brake on the hoist to prevent such accidents?”
Hank nodded, “Yes, but the change in pressure from the burst hose caused the brake to fail. We had the hoist manufacturer in to look at everything, and they said it was a one in a million chance that the brake would fail like that. Eli nor the other inmate did anything wrong; it was a freak accident.”
I chuckled, “Of course Eli would save the other guy.”
Hank nodded, “Yeah, that was the first thought that ran through my mind too. Eli was a good guy.”
I wiped away the tears and said, “Thank you for coming to tell me in person, Hank. I appreciate that and all that you did for me while I was at Springfield.”
He said, “You’re welcome. When you walked into my office on that first day, I knew you didn’t belong there. I put you with Eli because I knew he would look out for you and help you.”
I sighed, “I’m not sure I would have made it without him.”
Hank said, “And Eli thought a lot of you too. That’s the real reason I wanted to see you.” He handed me the envelope. “I found this when I was cleaning Eli’s personal things from his cell.”
I asked, “What is it?”
He said, “There is a letter addressed to you and also a journal that Eli had been keeping. I didn’t open the letter, and I only flipped through the pages of the journal. I thought Eli would want you to have it. You were closer to Eli than any of the other cellmates he had.”
I stared at the envelope thinking about Eli. Why would he have written me a letter? I never saw him writing in a journal, when did he do that?
Hank tipped his cup up one last time and swallowed the last of his coffee and said, “I’m sorry Ethan, but I knew you would want to know, and I wanted to get that letter to you. I’m glad that you are doing well.”
We both stood as I shook his hand. He looked into my eyes as he released my hand and gave me a hug. My tear ducts were now fully open, somehow, Hank knew that I needed a hug. We said our goodbyes and I drove home, thinking about Eli the entire time.
I sat down on my couch, the envelope on my lap, all the things that Hank had told me running through my head. I thought and cried for over an hour and took a deep breath. The envelope was like the ones I’d seen in many offices. There were lines across the front saying who sent it and to who it was sent to. The little red thread was wrapped around the button that was holding the flap shut.
I unwrapped the thread and dumped the contents out. It was just a spiral bound notebook like I used to use in high school and a regular sealed envelope. I set the notebook aside and stared at the envelope for another ten minutes, I finally opened it and pulled out the handwritten letter. It was dated just a week before Eli died.
Dear Ethan,
If you are reading this, something bad has happened to me. I knew from the minute that I met you that you were a good guy. Even though you should have never been in prison, I have been thankful for every day that I got to know you.
I trust you more than anyone else I have ever met, that is why I wanted to write you to ask you a favor. Remember that I told you about my little brother Cyrus? Well, I have been hearing that he is headed down the wrong path since I have been away. The last letter I got from Aunt Claire was very concerning.
I have written to him several times asking him to come visit me, but I have not heard back from him. Claire said that he was hanging around with the wrong kind of guys. My biggest fear is that I will see him walk into this place.
You don’t owe me anything, but I want to ask you to go check up on him for me. I don’t want him to end up like me, or worse. I will understand if you can’t or don’t want to do this. From your emails, I am happy that you have your life back on track. I knew that you would be successful in anything that you chose to do.
I know I have no right to ask you this, but please promise me that you will check up on him. As far as I know, he is still living in Edgewater with my Aunt Claire.
Your Friend,
Eli
To be Continued…
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