Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2000 06:09:12 -0700 (PDT)
From: Orrin Rush <orrinrush@yahoo.com>
Subject: The Lifeguard - Gay- Beginnings
Disclaimer: The following is a work of fiction. If you are
offended by graphic descriptions of homosexual acts, go
somewhere else.
Copyright c 2000 by Orrin C. Rush. All rights reserved.
Neither this story nor any parts of it may be distributed
electronically or in any other manner without the express,
written consent of the author.
This is a work of fiction, any resemblance of the characters
to anyone living or dead is pure coincidence and not
intended. They are all products of the author's imagination.
--------------------------------------------------------------
It hadn't taken the run in with Tommy to make me realize how
fortunate I was. I already knew that, but this had brought
so much into sharper focus.
The question now was, should I discuss this with Eric?
--------------------------------------------------------------
THE LIFEGUARD
Chapter 26
Going over the whole sorry story in my mind had helped.
Several things were clearer. Yes, I had the capability of
hating Tommy, not something that I was particularly proud
of. I had pushed the whole experience out of my mind,
refusing to deal with it, and the confrontation had brought
everything to the surface.
In a lot of ways, it was very similar to what I had
experienced with Georgia. They were both people who knew how
to really get to me, but I had reached the point where
whatever Georgia did or said didn't affect me. I certainly
hadn't reached that point with regard to Tommy. That would
take some more time.
I tried to bury the whole thing again, but I guess I wasn't
totally successful. That evening, I felt that Eric was
watching me more closely than usual, probably oversensitive
on my part, but when you are as closely attuned to each other
as Eric and I were, little escaped the other's attention.
Nothing was said until we had climbed into bed. Eric
snuggled up behind me with his arm around me. "OK, give," he
said.
"I had a little brush with the past today," I told him.
"Whatever happened sure shook you up."
"I ran into Tommy."
"Oh."
"It wasn't pleasant, and Annie was there too."
"What happened?"
"We were having lunch and he just came over. It was a very
short conversation, then we left, but he managed to push a
lot of buttons."
"I can tell," Eric said.
"In just two or three sentences, he was able to bring back
all the old insecurities and self-doubt."
"Remember, we agreed to keep those 'insecurities' things out
in the open."
"I know," I agreed. "They were the usual, the ones that
bother me most, age and performance."
At this, Eric started chuckling. "We don't even need to go
into the age thing, and as to performance, that's totally
ridiculous."
"I still have doubts, sometimes."
"About what? I can't imagine why."
"You don't understand," I said. "Tommy was a total bottom
and I couldn't satisfy him. I even reached the point where
I couldn't even get it up, and I worry about that happening
again."
"That explains something I've wondered about - why it took
you so long to make love to me. You sure don't have any
problems in that area that I've noticed."
"Not any more," I agreed. "There's a tremendous difference,
thank God, between you and him. You've never pressured me,
and he was demanding to the point where it became impossible
for me."
"I can see how that could happen."
"What bothers me the most is that he can still get to me.
I thought it was a thing of the past, but I still reacted."
"Forget him. He doesn't know what he's missing. Let me tell
you something that I haven't told you. Before I met you, I
'got around' a bit myself. I don't know how many, 30, maybe
40 different guys, and NOBODY ever came close to making me
feel the way you do."
"I'll try to believe that, but it sure makes me feel good to
hear it."
"I only hope I'm making you as happy as you're making me."
"You are, you certainly are," I told him, rubbing my butt
against the hard thing that was pressing against it.
A few minutes and a little lube, and it was inside me.
Before lapsing into a euphoric state, the thought crossed my
mind, "It was never like this. Not with anybody,
particularly not Tommy."
Annie was still concerned, and was greatly relieved when I
told her that I'd talked with Eric.
- - - - -
The advertising campaign for the new Computers would be
starting soon. The Ad Agency who was handling it had sent me
tapes of the teasers for October.
There were two different teasers, both 15 second spots that
would be run on all networks. The first was a long shot of
an old CPU box. The camera came in for a closeup so there
was no mistaking what it was. A sonorous announcer intoned
"Same old box", then "Why?" That faded to the very
recognizable logo of the computer maker. That was it.
The other teaser was pretty much the same, but focused on an
old Monitor. There was the same message "Same old screen,"
and "Why?" fading to Joel's logo.
When Eric and I watched them for the first time, I got really
excited. In my opinion, this was great stuff. Eric shared
my enthusiasm, but cautioned that running these for too long
would defeat our purpose, causing frustration rather than
interest.
Joel evidently got a tape at about the same time because he
called to see what my reaction was. We agreed, it was a
brilliant approach.
While talking, I got an idea. "What're you doing this
weekend?" I asked.
"Working, of course," he chuckled.
"I've got a better idea," I told him. "Eric and I are having
a pool party on Sunday. Why don't you and your partner come
over and join us?"
"First, I don't have a partner, and I've just got too damned
much to do."
"Sorry, Joel, I won't take no for an answer. Be at the
airport at 4:00 Saturday, we'll pick you up. We'll get you
back Monday morning before eight. You can stay with us."
"Is that an order?" he chuckled.
"Damned right it is!"
"OK, you twisted my arm. See you Saturday."
"I see you're playing matchmaker, now," Eric teased me when I
told him Joel would be joining us. "Anyone in particular
that you want to marry off?"
"Nope, let him choose his own. He's a big boy."
Eric didn't want to go with me to Tucson, so Tina went along
for the ride. It was less than an hour each way. On the way
back, Joel and I talked business. His regular CRT monitor
business was booming, and he was almost bubbling with
enthusiasm over the upcoming introduction of the flat screens
with the new designed cases. For the moment, he wasn't even
producing flat monitors in the conventional design.
"I just have a gut feeling that these things are going to
take off like rockets," he bubbled. "The only problem is, if
they do, I'll be strapped to turn out enough to meet demand,
and my competition might get their foot in the door."
"If that happens," I told him, "we'll work something out.
And, NO, I'm not going to try to buy you out again. I think
I'd rather have you as a customer."
"What you've already done has helped me more than you can
imagine. I can finally breathe a little now that I don't
have to come up with the money for all those dies."
"We consider something like that a good investment," I told
him.
At home, Joel got settled, and he and I were on the deck
having a drink when Eric wandered out. He was in his home
"uniform", a pair of shorts and t-shirt. I introduced him to
Joel, then he wandered off again.
"I don't know what I expected," Joel gasped, "but I didn't
expect THAT! He's the most beautiful man I've ever laid eyes
on!"
"Afraid I have to agree with you," I chuckled.
"And he's got brains, too, from what I've read."
"Oh yes, and a helluva lot more. Wait 'til you get to know
him."
"Anybody that goodlooking intimidates me, at first, anyway."
"Better take a tranquilizer tomorrow, then. There'll be at
least a dozen more like him."
"Any of 'em single?" he asked.
"Almost all of them."
Eric sauntered back out, collected our glasses and made us
refills before plopping down next to me.
"Gotta hand it to you, Joel, you're one of the few that's ever
out-foxed Dave. I think it's great. You both got what you
wanted," Eric said.
"I'm pretty independent," Joel admitted.
"Nobody can be as independent as Eric is," I commented.
"Then why is it you always get your way?" Eric laughed.
We bantered back and forth until Joel asked about the party.
"It started a couple of months ago, just a few of our friends
coming over to use the pool and grew from there. We have one
or two a month now," I said.
"We have groundrules," Eric said, then went on to explain
them. "It's not an orgy, just a bunch of us getting together
to have a good time."
"Do you think I'll fit in?" Joel asked.
"Hell yes," Eric answered. "Our friends are real people, not
a bunch of stuck-up jerks with attitude. Our friends are
their friends. You'll see."
Annie and Kevin stopped by to pick up Tina. They were all
going someplace for the rest of the weekend.
"Hey Mr. R," Kevin teased, "hear you guys're having a pool
party tomorrow. How come you never invite me?"
"Dammit, Kevin," I laughed, "SOMEBODY around here has to be
straight!"
"Hell, I know 'em all anyway," Kevin shot back.
"How well?" Eric asked, with a straight face.
"You guys are so much fun to tease," Kevin laughed. "Gotta
go, have fun guys, see you late tomorrow night."
Joel was shaking his head. "You have the nicest
normal-abnormal family I've ever seen."
"We tell it like it is," I told him.
- - - - -
The guys started arriving with food. After the first few
"superhunks" arrived, Joel seemed to become more
comfortable. They all treated him like just another one of
the guys, including him in the fun and games.
Even though I was the oldest member of the group, I "got no
respect." The guys tormented me unmercifully, and I enjoyed
every minute of it.
There were only about a dozen of us, so there was no
splitting off into smaller groups. We played together, drank
together, and ate ourselves stupid as a group.
When they had all gone, Eric, Joel and I stretched out on the
deck.
Joel was contemplative, staring into space. Finally, he
spoke. "I didn't think that people like all you guys
existed. Particularly in the gay community.
"Usually, there's so much posing and posturing and attitude,"
he continued. "All you guys are so damned 'real'."
Eric spoke for both of us. "We're just not much into
phoniness and pretentiousness. If they can't be themselves,
we're not much interested. By the way, get any phone
numbers?"
"Nope," Joel answered, "totally forgot about it, but I hope
you guys'll invite me again."
"Anytime we have one," I assured him.
"Another thing that's really nice," Joel commented, "is the
fact that I don't have a clue who those guys are, what they
do, anything about them, really. That never came up."
- - - - -
Metalco people had virtually been running Lundborg Rush,
handling payroll, invoicing and all the rest of the
paperwork. As a result, they were neglecting their regular
jobs. We had to do something about this.
So far, all these duties were handled from the Metalco
offices, but they needed to be separated and since space
there was at a premium, we started looking for office space.
This was another reason why we needed to move on a new
headquarters building. Tina had a presentation ready, but
we'd all been so involved in other things that it had been
forgotten.
I figured that it might be best if she made a presentation to
just a few of us, Eric, Annie, Bill and I. At this point, I
hadn't seen anything she'd done since she started the
project, so it was as new to me as it would be to everyone
else.
Tina's patience was remarkable. She'd been waiting for more
than a month to show us what she'd accomplished. Her
enthusiasm hadn't waned, however.
She had several easels set up in the living room when we
gathered. Several groups had prepared presentations, and she
had narrowed it down to three.
Before showing us anything, she explained how she had
provided each group with a topographic map of the property
and had allowed each to choose the site for the buildings.
The first drawing she showed us was of boxy glass and steel
structures connected by tubular walkways. It reminded me of
De Gaulle Airport in Paris. "This is the best of this style
of Architecture," she told us. "You can imagine how awful
the rest were."
The next was of long, flowing structures, seemingly separate,
but overly ornate and "busy". She didn't comment on this one
at all.
Before showing the last, she explained that it had been
prepared by students at the Taliesin School. When she put
up the drawing, we all rose automatically to take a closer
look. You had to look hard to make out what was construction
and what was the natural landscape. It flowed and melted
into the surroundings.
The structures flowed from hill to hill, sandstone and
glass. None of the existing landscape had been altered, the
hills and big boulders remained.
"There are connecting passageways through the hills," she
explained. "They'd be excavated then returned to exactly the
way they were. Parking is underground too, so it doesn't
detract. It's plain, simple and would be very secure."
Next she put up an aerial view of the site, showing how the
buildings branched from hill to hill, with room for
expansion.
"This one's by far the most expensive to build," she
explained, "but in my opinion meets all our criteria the
best."
She went on to explain that even though it would be
expensive, it would still cost less per square foot than a
downtown high rise, and could be doubled from the original
size of two million square feet and still retain
architectural integrity.
I liked it. It was a different concept, and at first glance
very esthetically pleasing. I held my comments until the
others could speak.
"It sure doesn't LOOK like an office building," Annie
commented. "I like it."
"It'd be like working outdoors," Bill said, "nature instead
of other office buildings to look at. Peaceful."
"It's definitely different," Eric said.
"So are we," I snickered.
"Let's all think about it," I continued. "We're looking at a
big investment here, and need to decide if something
unconventional like this is what we really want."
"Well, what do you think, Dad?" Tina wanted to know.
"I like it. It's growing on me already. You did a great job
on this," I told her, giving her a big hug.
We moved the easel with the drawing into the den where we
could look at it at our leisure.
Eric hadn't said much, and I didn't press him. He did look
at it a lot, though, getting up to look at it closely several
times. Finally, he turned to me. "Let's take a ride," he
said. "I'd like to see this drawing in the context of the
site."
We picked up the drawing and drove out to the property. With
the drawing propped up against a rock and the hills where the
buildings would sit in the background, it was much easier to
imagine how it would actually look.
We sat on the ground and looked. First at the drawings, then
at the hills, then back. The more I looked at it, the more I
liked the idea.
Eric stood and looked all around us. "If you build it
there," he said, pointing at the hills the students had
chosen, "It'll be virtually isolated. You'd barely be able
to see it from the outside, but the views from the building
itself would be great. I think it would be fucking fabulous!"
I stood to look at it from his perspective. After looking
around, and back at the drawing, I agreed.
"What about landscaping?" I asked, thinking out loud.
"Natural, with a little help," he grinned.
"Let's do it," I said, quietly.
"It'll be spectacular," he answered. "Some'll like it, some
won't."
"I don't care."
When we got home, I found Tina and drug her into the den with
us.
I told her what Eric and I had done. She had done the same
thing earlier. "We're going to build it," I told her. "If
you want to do it, I'll make you head of the whole project.
Interested?"
She leaped onto my lap, throwing her arms around me. "You'd
trust me with the whole thing? Even after what I did?"
"Of course! You could coordinate the whole thing. There'll
be a lot of other people involved, and you could keep the
whole thing on track. It'll take a year or so, but I think
it'd be good experience for you."
"Of course I'll do it, Dad. Thank you, Thank you for the
chance."
"You're remarkable," Eric told me as we were getting into
bed. "You get what you want, but you make so many other
people happy in the process. That's one of the many reasons
I love you."
- - - - -
Lundborg Rush was forging ahead. In our first full month of
operation, we'd even shown a small operating profit. Instead
of running behind schedule on production for Micron, we had
excess capacity. Eric, after gaining permission from Micron,
took responsibility for adding new customers. He had a
market survey done, as well as an analysis of what other
independent producers were doing. It soon became obvious
that there was more available business than we could possibly
handle. In our second month of operation, we were already
considering expansion.
When we learned that delivery of the copiers was at least six
months, we went ahead and ordered 20 more of them. There was
room for up to 80 more in our current building.
Eric's duties for Micron weren't keeping him as busy as he
wanted to be, so when they requested that he come to New York
to discuss the next year's strategy, he jumped at the
chance. He also wanted to put the finishing touches on the
penthouse, so planned to be gone at least two weeks.
Naturally, I wasn't delighted about the prospect of being
alone, but on considering it, looked forward to a little time
to myself.
- - - - -
When I'd first met Eric and fallen in love with him, I'd
given a little thought to all the changes that would be
taking place. Not even in my wildest dreams had I expected
the excitement that had occurred so far. He was like a magic
catalyst. A lot may be coincidence, but more had happened in
the short time we'd been together than in the last ten years
of my life.
My attitude had changed drastically. I was now looking at
the future with enthusiasm, taking calculated risks that I
wouldn't have considered earlier.
Metalco was on the move. In little more than a year, we had
grown by almost forty percent, and our profitability was
skyrocketing. We'd built momentum and would almost be forced
to grow some more, something that would've scared the hell
out of me a couple of years ago, but now I looked forward to
it.
For years, the business had just evolved, products were
improved, re-designed, and a few new ones added. Now, we
were taking a more proactive stance, innovating and doing
more than looking at new ways of doing the same old things.
It was exciting, exhilirating and giving my life purpose.
Entry into the high-tech area through Lundborg Rush was
exciting too, even if we were only on the fringe.
Possibilities in that area were endless, and no doubt would
develop over time.
The biggest change, for me anyway, was the contentment I
felt. Eric was directly responsible for that. Totally
sharing my life with someone was a new experience and one I
had never realized that I craved. We had no secrets and
discussed everything - business, goals, ambitions, and our
lives together and separate. These things brought us even
closer, if that was possible, and we had grown to rely on
each other to a degree that I never dreamed possible. We
were a team.
Our love for each other was expressed in so many ways. The
little everyday things, as well as the tender lovemaking that
we enjoyed almost daily. He aroused me unbelievably. All I
had to do was think about him and I got an instant erection.
Physically, he was perfect, the epitome of manhood, but there
was so much more.
I was content, yes, but not complacent. Any relationship
that's worthwhile requires effort to maintain. We both
worked at it.
- - - - -
Computers using our new designs had been rolling off
production lines around the country for several weeks, and
the day they were officially introduced, we had kind of an
unveiling ceremony ourselves. Examples of the various
designs, CPU, Monitor, Keyboard and Mouse were installed
throughout the Metalco offices.
The press was invited to come in and take pictures, and a
short press conference was hosted by our Sales department.
The units went on sale the same day, and we all anxiously
waited for sales results, which were being carefully
monitored. We hoped to sell an average of 50,000 units a
week for the 10 weeks remaining before Christmas.
I talked to Eric several times a day. Micron didn't have any
major acquisitions planned. Their main focus was on
introduction of the next generation of their software which
was tentatively scheduled for March. 2001 would be a year of
consolidation rather than expansion for them.
This meant that there wouldn't be much for Eric to do, but
they wanted to keep him on as a consultant, utilizing his
talents as a trouble- shooter as needed.
Although they were greatly pleased with the job we were doing
with software production, they were concerned about our
ability to handle the increased volume that their next
generation software was expected to generate. That concern
vanished when Eric told them that we already had 20 more
copiers on order. After thinking about it for a few days,
they then offered Lundborg Rush a contract to produce their
Educational and Games software as well.
When I enthusiastically agreed, an arrangement similar to the
last one was agreed to.
Seeing how their dependence on us was growing, Eric felt that
the time was right to propose a stock swap instead of payment
for all of the equipment. This would give them an incentive
to stay with us for the long term and virtually insure that
we would have their business. This met with immediate
approval and more contracts were prepared.
The rest of his time was spent working on the penthouse and
squiring Sarah around. I knew how much he enjoyed her
company, and since I'm kind of a homebody, it was a good
opportunity for him to enjoy the social whirl.
I was able to spend a lot of time with Tina, and found an
office for her near mine and Annie's. The school whose
design we wanted to use for our new office building was
limited to the design concept only. An architectural firm
had to be found to do the rest of the work. Tina wanted to
find a local firm so she could work closely with them.
That was a more difficult task than it appeared. First, she
had difficulty getting prospective firms to take her
seriously. The idea that a beautiful 20 year old girl could
be in charge of a hundred plus million dollar project was
hard to comprehend, and I was often called on to confirm
that she was indeed in charge.
Once that hurdle was overcome, the ego thing came into play.
Architects weren't interested in using someone else's design
concept.
After receiving this kind of rejection from the major firms,
she turned to some of the smaller ones, and received a lot
more positive reception. She narrowed it down to two groups
and was looking at their completed work, and waiting for
their presentations.
On another front, the new computers were NOT selling as
expected. The first week after introduction, fewer than
10,000 units had sold.
The builder of the CPU units had sent out an army of people to
interview point of sale store personnel to find out why.
Their findings caused us all to re-think our approach.
Customer response to the new designs was very positive, but
they weren't buying because of the cost of the matching flat
screen monitors which was much higher than the cost of the
computer itself.
Retailers were also showing resistance to carrying them
because they had to stock so many different CPU cases and
monitors, causing inventory problems.
Joel was producing a few reasonably priced CRT monitors in
the new designs, but had concentrated on the flat screens.
The CRT monitors were selling, the flat screens weren't, and
it would take a few weeks to get an adequate supply of the
cheaper monitors into the stores.
Since Metalco made the cases for him, we had to do some fancy
footwork to get him the supply he needed.
It was generally decided that once cheaper monitors were
available, and sales volume picked up, retailer resistance
would disappear.
- - - - -
Eric had been in New York almost three weeks when he
suggested that I join him to finalize all the new agreements
with Micron and see what he'd accomplished with the
penthouse. It took me only a few hours to be on the plane.
It was like we had been separated for months instead of
weeks. On the limo ride from the airport, we couldn't keep
our hands off of each other. It felt so damn good just to be
able to hold him.
He hadn't given me any hints about what he'd done to the
penthouse, but the changes were evident when we got on the
elevator.
"You have to insert this keycard or the elevator won't go to
the top floor," he explained. "We can turn it off if we're
expecting guests, but the rest of the time you have to have
one. It's for our security and cuts the insurance cost on
Sarah's Art."
When we arrived at the top floor, there were more surprises.
What used to be a nondescript lobby was now richly paneled
and furnished with credenzas holding sculpture and fresh
flowers.
The living room wasn't changed, but there was the addition of
flowers.
"Since nobody's around to water them, plants just wouldn't
make it," he told me, "So, we'll have flowers when we're
here instead. Wait'll you see the rest. It's all finished."
We both spent so much time being serious that Eric's
enthusiasm was catching. He had every reason to be proud of
his accomplishments. There were three more bedrooms that
were completed. Each was different. He and his decorator
had worked around Sarah's art which was everywhere. Large
paintings and small ones were the focal points of each room
as such masterpieces should be.
What had earlier been two rooms, a library and a study, were
now combined into one large room which was our "Den". The
room's centerpiece was a priceless Rembrandt that I'd seen in
many Art Books. Comfortable looking furniture was grouped
around an antique fireplace, and windows along another side
gave a different view of the skyline.
"Sit," he ordered. "I'm going to get us a drink. We'll
check out the kitchen later."
The sofa was as comfortable as it looked, and I relaxed and
waited.
I toasted his accomplishments. "Here's to OUR happy second
home," I told him, pulling him into my arms.
After hearing all of the details on the redecoration, he
changed the subject. "Do you know we've never made love in
the Den at home? The other one, I mean."
"Never thought about it," I answered. "Too many people
around, too public, I guess."
"Nobody else's here," he said, leering and rubbing my
crotch. My response was immediate. After being celibate for
three weeks, it wasn't surprising. I didn't have to grope to
tell he was also fully aroused.
Time to allow them freedom. I reached for his belt and
zipper. He raised up so I could lower his pants, letting
that wonderful dick that I loved bounce upright. He had mine
out in record time too.
After a long, deep kiss, I tried to lower my head to his
crotch.
"You're first," he said pushing me away, leaning over and
taking my dick into his mouth.
Oh God, he felt so good. I needed to feel him, and took his
hard dick in my hand while he moved up and down on me. We
both savored the sensations for a few minutes, then he turned
on that undescribable "velvet blender". I immediately lost
control and started cumming, jerking and thrashing in
ecstacy. I could feel my cock throbbing and spewing in his
mouth, and it felt like it just kept going and going. He
didn't let up, and neither did I.
Eventually the spasms stopped and he fell on top of me. "I
think I can skip dinner," he giggled. "That was one helluva
load!"
"Let's see what you've got for me," I said, squeezing his
dick which was still in my hand. I got into position so I
could take him all the way and started licking. I wasn't in
a hurry to get him off. I wanted to enjoy the sensations of
having him in my mouth and throat.
I took more and more of him until I was stroking him full
length. He felt so good, and the sensations I was enjoying
soon got the better of my plans to prolong things. My
tongue and throat muscles got into the act and I felt him
tensing. I didn't back off and increased my efforts. He
blew and blew, and bucked and thrashed. Even though I
slipped off the sofa, I held onto his cock and drank every
drop.
"No dinner for me, either," I said as I licked up the last
dribbles.
"That's just the first course," he said. "I'm cooking
dinner, then there's dessert!"
Snuggling up to him, I looked around and chuckled. "Was that
a setup?" I asked. "Where's the camera?"
"How'd you guess? It's right up there," he said, laughing,
and pointed to a spot just above the drapes. "This should be
a good one. I swear, I thought you'd never stop cumming."
"You didn't do so bad, either. I damned near drowned! Kinda
delicious, though."
We sipped on our drinks and snuggled.
"Hungry?" he asked.
"Are you serious about cooking?"
"You haven't seen the kitchen yet. C'mon," he said dragging
me to my feet.
"Chef Maurice helped, and Brucie went wild," he told me as we
went in.
What had been a sterile, bare room was a riot of color.
Cooking tools were everywhere. It looked like a psychedelic
cook's playground.
"You should have been here for the cat fights," he explained.
"Maurice wanted a functional, usable kitchen. Brucie wanted
form and color, fuck function! Sarah refereed, and I stayed
the hell away. I think it'll work pretty well, once you get
used to all the color."
"It'll wake you up fast in the morning," I commented.
"Actually, I really like it."
"Come over here and see the dishes and stuff that we bought,"
Eric prodded.
He opened a door into a small room that was lined with
shelves from the floor to the ceiling. The shelves were
filled with dishes, glassware and silver.
"Just the basic necessities, according to Maurice," he
explained. "If the price was any indication, it must all be
the very best."
"You're becoming so domestic!" I laughed.
"I'm learning," he said, laughing too. "It's all your
fault. You introduced me to the good life, so I'm damned
well going to do it right!"
I took him in my arms. "You're a natural," I told him.
"Everything you try, you do very well. A renaissance man."
"I have a good teacher," he said, holding me. "You're also
one hell of an inspiration."
Back in the kitchen, I noticed that all the appliances were
made by Metalco and commented on that.
"Chef Maurice says these brands are the only ones worth
owning. He didn't even know you made them until I told him."
"The man knows his stuff," I said.
"He's gay, too. Got the cutest little French boyfriend."
After we ate a steak that Eric cooked, we went back into our
den. No fancy names for the place, Eric insisted. Not the
"library" or the "study". Just the "den", even though it was
such a spectacular room.
Eric showed me some of the hidden features. At the touch of
a button, paneling slid back, revealing a TV and music
system. Other panels hid just about every type of office
equipment that one would ever need. The computer, one of our
new designs, of course, was on the desk, it's woodgrain
finish making it fit in.
"You really put a lot of thought into this," I marveled.
"I worked it all out quite a while ago," he said. "Brucie's
guys have been working on it all along."
We talked for a while, catching up. Nothing serious because
I think we were both a little anxious to continue what we'd
started earlier.
It was a night for exploration and getting reacquainted with
the familiar. Our earlier "quickie" had only whetted our
appetites.
Clothes came off slowly. As skin was exposed, it got tactile
attention from our fingers and tongues. The buildup was
gradual but intense. By the time we were naked and heading
for bed, we were both at a peak of arousal. Without a word
being said, we backed off, giving attention to less sensitive
areas to slow down and prolong.
A great deal of stimulation was given to the "known" hot
spots, and a few new ones were discovered. I actually think
that they move around. Sometimes a particular spot would
elicit moans, other times, nothing, making each encounter an
adventure.
We were so well attuned to each other that words weren't
necessary when it came to how we felt. Sometimes, one or the
other or both of us weren't into long foreplay, other times
we were. That night, it was slow and easy.
The same applied to the decision on who was going to get
fucked, if that was on the menu. Again, something that was
sensed rather than discussed. Whoever reached for the lube
first was going to be on top. Overall, I'd guess that we
were running about 50/50, both enjoying either position, and
neither opting for predominance.
After warming to the point of gasping, then resting, and
cooling down several times, Eric reached for the lube. Since
it had been a while, he took extra time in preparing me.
Only when I nodded did he proceed.
When he was all the way in, I realized how much I'd missed
that feeling over the past couple of weeks. Just lying there
with him in me, not moving, gave me a sense of connection to
him that I'd never felt with anyone else. And, the best was
yet to come.
Then he started moving. Slowly, in and out, sending ecstatic
impulses to my brain. I moved to meet him, urging him to go
faster and harder, but he continued the long, slow strokes.
He had lubed up my dick and it was sliding between our
bellies as we moved together. I felt the tingling begin,
tried to suppress it, but couldn't. Eric sensed this and
pounded me as hard and fast as he could, locking his lips on
mine, causing us to sail out into space together. A free
fall with each of us struggling to milk every sensation
possible from it.
As I became aware of him swelling and spasming inside me,
that set me off a second time, probably more intense than the
first.
"Daily double," he chuckled as he rolled off. "Your second
one set me off again too."
"Sorry," I laughed, "didn't notice. I was someplace else!"
After a rest and recuperation period and a quick cleanup, we
assumed our usual position - on our sides with him behind me
spoon fashion. It was then that I realized that the bedroom
had been rearranged. Instead of looking at a wall, the city
was spread out before us.
I gazed at the lights for a few minutes, pulling him tighter
to me. "Thank you," I murmered.
"Thought you'd like the view," he answered, hugging me to him.
- - - - -
Over breakfast, which I helped cook, we got down to business.
With the addition of Micron's Games and Educational software
production, Lundborg Rush would also pick up 20 more copiers
that they would no longer need. Those, along with the 20 we
had on order, would bring the total to 100 of them.
"We have room for 40 more, don't we?" Eric asked.
"Comfortably, where we are now."
"If our credit's any good," he teased, "I suggest we order
forty more. We haven't taken on any new customers yet, and I
really haven't done much in the way of selling, but I'm
convinced the business is out there."
"I think that's a good idea," I told him. "It's pretty hard
to sell production you don't have."
"I've worked on the numbers. Even if we only make a dollar a
unit, they'll pay for themselves in a year if we can keep 'em
busy. We're grossing about $2.50 a unit on the Micron stuff,
and we should be able to do a lot better on smaller
contracts. I'll have the time now to really sell."
Taking up that direction, I asked "How do you feel about
being just a consultant now?"
"Hell, I was bored shitless. Didn't have enough to do. Now
I can work on other things and be a little more productive.
I can spend more time on Lundborg Rush, and I'm sure you can
find a thing or two for me to work on."
"Do you think Micron'll have many assignments for you?"
"I doubt it. They're totally focused on the rollout, and
want to beef up their position in Education and Games.
They're not looking for anything new unless something comes
along that'll enhance their position in one of those areas."
"I'd like to have you looking over my shoulder whenever you
have time," I told him. "We didn't do our homework very well
on the new computers."
"What happened, exactly?"
"The public seems to like the new designs, but balked when
the only matching monitor they could buy was one of those
high-priced flat-screen jobs. It'll take a while to get the
cheaper ones in the stores. We may miss out on the Christmas
season, or at least, not do as well as we should've."
"Who dropped the ball?"
"I think we all did. We were all so anxious to get them into
the stores that we didn't assess the market properly.
Business accounts are about the only ones buying them. They
can afford the flat screens, but the everyday guy just isn't
ready to plunk down that amount of money just to get
something 'new'. Prices on the flat screens will drop when
volume picks up, but they're just too pricey at the moment."
"How's Joel handling it?" he asked.
"A little red-faced, but as soon as the numbers started
coming in, he switched over as fast as he could. He's
shipping the much cheaper CRT's as fast as he can. It's just
going to be a matter of time until we get everything sorted
out. I don't think it'll hurt any of us in the long run, but
we could have avoided this whole mess if somebody, me
included, hadn't been in such a rush. It's a setback, that's
all."
"I don't know whether I'd have noticed, either," he said,
"but I'm more than willing to get involved in what you're
doing from here on out. I knew you'd get me involved, and
hell, I WANT to be!"
"It'll never be boring," I promised.
We were scheduled to meet with the Micron guys that afternoon
to sign all the new contracts.
Our new computers were everyplace you looked at Micron. At
least somebody was buying them!
Greg and Jerry were like old friends. Formality went out the
window when we got to Jerry's office, with both of them
giving me a hug in addition to a handshake.
"Good to see you under happier circumstances," Greg said.
"I thought our little escapade in New England was fun!" Jerry
countered.
They wanted to know how Annie was doing and what we were
doing about our lawsuit.
I explained that Annie had recovered, was back to being her
old self, and that we were still researching our case against
the County in New Hampshire.
"It may seem 'cut and dried', but we have to move carefully
or the whole thing could blow up on us," I told them. "From
what we hear, the whole State is backing the County, and is
afraid that they'll all be dragged into the suit. They're
going to fight like hell, so we have to tread very lightly.
All we really want is our money back."
"I read that some little podunk county in the South tried
something similar," Greg said. "The Governor stepped in, and
the whole thing was stopped before it could get out of hand."
"Too bad the Governor in New Hampshire is such a wimp," Eric
added.
"The National Association of Manufacturers is throwing their
weight behind us," I added. "That makes good publicity, but
really doesn't help us. We need a clearcut win the first
time the case is tried so they'll lose on appeal too. It's a
foregone conclusion that it'll be appealed all the way to the
Supreme Court and is going to take years, but we're ready to
fight."
"Let us know if there's anything we can do to help," Jerry
offered.
"We're planning on filing right after the first of the year,"
I told them. "If we need help, we'll holler."
The subject got changed to the business at hand. Micron was
excited about participating in our new venture, if only in a
very minor way. They considered the trade of their equipment
for Lundborg Rush stock an investment in the future.
"The only problem," Eric told them laughing, "is that you're
going to find out how much money we're making on our
contract with you, and then, you're going to want to
re-negotiate."
"That won't happen," Greg told us seriously. "It's the best
deal we've made in a long time. No more headaches, and we
have somebody else to yell at if deadlines aren't met. If
what you've done so far is any indication, we won't be doing
any yelling, either."
"If you're worried about capacity," Eric said, "Forget it.
We've decided to order another 40 copiers. They'll be the
newer ones that run almost twice as fast as the other ones,
so, in effect, we'll have triple the capacity that you had in
New Hampshire, plus the 20 we'll be getting from Games and
Ed."
"That's a pretty heavy commitment!" Greg commented. "You
won't have any trouble selling the extra capacity. All the
other Software guys that I talk to are always complaining
about production problems I'll give you guys some names."
All the agreements were signed and we were given a copy of the
Corporate Resolution approving the equipment swap for stock.
"We're going to miss having Eric around," Greg told me.
"He'll still have his office here, and we'll be calling on
him from time to time. We want to keep him tied down, though,
so he doesn't go to work for our competition."
"I know he's happy with the arrangement," I told him. "I
plan to keep him good and busy, too. We have a lot of work
to do on Lundborg Rush, and I can always use some good
advice."
"You guys are quite a team," Greg added.
"I know," I answered, smiling.
- - - - -
That evening we went to the restaurant where Chef Maurice ran
the kitchen. It was in the hotel chain's flagship property,
which happened to be one of Annie's recent purchases.
After we'd been seated, Maurice roared out of the kitchen to
say hello.
"Aha! My two favorite people," he shouted. Eric rose and
got a peck on each cheek. I settled for a handshake. "I
surprise you tonight, no?"
It wasn't a question, but we fully agreed.
Instead of being served by a waiter, plates were brought
directly from the kitchen by one of the chefs. Dessert was
an elaborate concoction of ice cream, fresh fruit and
liqueurs prepared at our table.
The waiters seemed miffed at this special treatment, and when
the head waiter tried to horn in, the chef serving us
informed him that Chef Maurice had demanded that we be
personally served. "These men are his personal friends," he
was told, "and they OWN this hotel!"
After dessert, Maurice came out again to take a bow. It was
more than deserved, and he got our sincere thanks. He also
wanted to know what I thought of our kitchen. "Those colors
are horrible!" he exclaimed, then laughing, "I don't think
they'll affect the food, though. That's what really
matters."
I noticed that his accent disappeared when he didn't have an
audience. As good a chef as he was, however, entitled him to
act however he wanted.
Full but not particularly tired, we walked home. After
changing into robes that Eric had gotten, we went into the
den and lit a fire in the fireplace.
"I'd like to check out progress in New Jersey tomorrow," I
told Eric.
"We're having dinner with Sarah tomorrow night," Eric
reminded me.
"We'll be back early," I assured him.
"Is Annie still going to turn the old plant into a shopping
center?"
"She plans to. She's been trying to learn all she can about
Mall management, and I think she'll do a good job. She's
also going to take care of leasing our building downtown
after we move. She's going to be a busy girl."
"You're going ahead with the new office, then?"
"We've got to do something," I told him. "Tina's already
found Architects, and they've gotten started."
"I thought the School in Arizona would do that."
"No, all they could do was the design concept. Somebody else
has to do the rest."
"What do all the Metalco people think about the move?"
"They don't know about it yet. As soon as we get some cost
estimates and make a final decision, we'll announce it. Just
like everything else, some will be happy, some won't."
"Am I going to have an office there?"
"Right next to mine," I told him. "There'll also be room for
Lundborg Rush, and any other things we might get into."
"I kinda figured that, and took the liberty of telling the
Micron guys about the possibility. They think it's a great
idea, and want to call it their 'West Coast Headquarters'.
Won't be much, but it sounds good. Is that OK with you?"
I started laughing. "The web tightens. You'll have a job
for life, and we'll have their software tied down forever. I
think it's great, and we'll be in the driver's seat."
"It's turning out pretty well," he agreed.
The tent in Eric's robe signaled that our conversation was
about over. "Better turn on the camera," I advised, stroking
the tent pole.
"Nah, I think we better go to bed," he said, his eyes
twinkling.
I got the hint. I also realized that it wouldn't be slow and
easy, but directly to the point.
Foreplay was short, and when I was about to reach for the
lube, Eric beat me to it. I was disappointed until he handed
the bottle to me.
I loosened him and played with his prostate with my finger.
While I was slowly entering him, he locked his long legs
around my hips and literally forced me all the way in.
Rocking slowly, he eagerly met my thrusts. His internal
muscles were gripping and releasing me, providing
unbelievable stimulation to the entire length of my dick.
When I leaned down to kiss him and sped up my pumping, it was
only a matter of seconds before I felt the change. His
contractions on me became erratic and more demanding. I let
the feelings take over and unconsciously stroked harder and
faster, no longer in control. The warm wetness I felt
spreading between us made me drive all the way in, hold and
jerk as I emptied my load. Stars flashed before my closed
eyes.
Spent and totally satisfied, we lay in each other's arms for
what seemed like hours.
- - - - -
We spent a little time with Bob, the Plant Manager.
Everything was running smoothly, and he was anxious to move
into the new factory. When it was ready, smaller departments
would be moved, then the operation shut down while the heavy
machinery was moved. He projected that, at most, only a few
weeks of production would be lost.
We drove out to the new facility. It was much larger than I
had imagined, with the walls standing, and the cavernous
interior filling with posts to hold up the roof.
Construction was running ahead of schedule, and they hoped to
have the building enclosed before winter weather hit. Work
then could continue inside without interruption.
"This place is huge!" Eric observed.
"Remember, we're on several floors now," Bob said. "When you
spread it out all on one level, it takes up a lot of space."
We dressed for Sarah's dinner. Neither of us knew exactly
what to expect - a large, formal dinner, or something else,
so we both wore dark suits. Eric put on one I hadn't seen
before, he'd been shopping again. This prompted me to bring
up the subject of going to Europe to replenish our
wardrobes. I needed it more than Eric, but I wanted to
introduce him to the great tailors in London and Rome.
The relationship that had developed between Sarah and Eric was
obvious from the moment we arrived. It was just the three of
us, Sarah explained. She had some serious things to discuss
with us, she said.
Over cocktails, Sarah got started.
"Eric," she said. "There's something about those paintings
I've loaned to you that I think you should know about." She
stopped to wink at me before continuing.
"I've just signed a new will, and I'm leaving all the ones
you have and all the ones here to the Metropolitan."
I glanced at Eric, who didn't flinch.
"There's a condition, however," she continued, and paused for
a long moment. "The ones you have now, and any others that I
may loan to you are to be yours for your lifetime. Only then
will the Museum get them. And," she went on, "When I pass on,
you will have the opportunity to take any of the ones here
that you want under the same conditions. Quite frankly, I
hope you take them all."
"I don't know what to say," Eric murmured. He rose and
walked to where Sarah was sitting and took her hands in his.
"What you've done is uncomprensible. It'll take a while to
sink in. All I can say is 'Thank You' from the bottom of my
heart."
"That's good enough for me," she chuckled. "It makes me feel
good to know that they're going to someone who will
appreciate them and really enjoy having them." She stood and
Eric gave her a big hug.
When they were both seated again, Sarah continued. "I know
how these Museums work. As soon as they learn that they're
going to get the collection, they'll want it right away, and
do anything they can to get it. I've taken care of that.
The will is ironclad. If they try anything with you, my
executors are empowered to transfer ownership to you, and
they'll be out in the cold. You'd then be able to dispose of
them however you want."
"It looks like you've thought of everything," Eric said.
"I want them to be a pleasure for you, not a burden."
"They'll be enjoyed, I assure you," Eric said. "I'll take
good care of them and see that they're always insured."
"I know you will," she said. "Now, Dave, I have something
for you. Not anything tangible, but information. I'm afraid
it isn't good news."
This definitely got my attention.
"I have it on pretty good authority that my brothers are up to
something," she continued. "I think I'd better tell you what
happened when you bought the company.
"I called them here and confronted them with the information
you'd given me. They were stunned. I think the damned fools
actually expected to get away with what they were doing, and
to continue even after you took over the company.
"I gave them a choice. Clean up the books or face
prosecution. They know I don't bluff, so agreed to clean up
the books in a hurry. I added a few conditions. I didn't
promise NEVER to prosecute. I told them that all the
evidence I had would be given to my attorneys, and if they
ever tried anything vengeful, with you or with me, that
evidence would be turned over to the proper authorities.
"As the three of us know, I didn't really have that hard
evidence. I took your word on it. Now, I'm wondering if I
shouldn't get it and turn it over like I promised."
"We may have a problem there," I admitted. "What we have
wasn't gotten through legal means, and I don't think any of
it would stand up in court."
"I understand that," Sarah answered. "I don't need to know
how you came by the information, just what they did and how
they did it. Nobody ever needs to know where I got it."
"We can do that," I said. "All the money went offshore, so
it'll be hard to substantiate."
"I have friends in high places all over the world," Sarah
said with a twinkle in her eye. "I think you'd be surprised
at what I can find out. I'm sure they didn't pay any taxes
on what they stole, so maybe the IRS would be interested. If
they got involved, it would at least keep Edward and John out
of the country.
"I just want them to know that somebody knows what they did,
and let that hang over their heads. That should keep them
from doing anything else."
"It'll take a little time to round up," I said. "We
destroyed all the copies but I'm sure the original stuff is
hidden away somewhere. By the way, I had copies in my pocket
the day we first visited you."
"I assumed that," she said. "You're not fools, so you
wouldn't have come here empty handed."
"I'll get what you want," I told her, "and either Eric or I
will deliver it personally."
"It'll save us a lot of future headaches," she answered.
That settled, we had dinner. The conversation went back to a
more pleasant subject, the art collection.
"I have a feeling you knew what Sarah was going to do," Eric
said when we got home.
"She told me about her plans a couple of months ago," I
admitted. "She had to give you the news herself, though."
"I have to admit that selfishly, I wondered what would happen
in the long run. I certainly never expected this!"
"You've made a wonderful friend," I told him, "just by being
your regular, charming self."
"She's such a sweetheart. Are you going to give her all the
information she wants?"
"It'd be in our best interest," I told him. "I'll have Bill
dig it out and write a narrative on our interpretation of the
facts we have, and we'll be coming back here before Christmas
and can deliver it to her."
"I wonder if they'll try anything," Eric mused.
"All we can do is wait and see."
To be continued.
Author's Note: The State of New Hampshire was chosen at
random as the setting for this part of the story and is not
meant, in any way, to denigrate the citizens of that fine
State. It could have been anywhere!
I appreciate hearing your comments on the story, my writing,
and anything you would like to offer - good or not so good.
Send me a message at orrinrush@yahoo.com if you would like to
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