Date: Sun, 15 Oct 2006 18:44:00 -0700
From: qwb <qwb@san.rr.com>
Subject: Stonegate Stables chap 21

I got caught up a little so here's Chapter 21 a few days
earlier than I had planned.


Stonegate Stables

Chapter 21


We left the next morning for the final GP, the grand finale
of the year.  It was in Florida, which made a pleasant
change from the December chill of East Texas.  I brought
Tommy along, figuring that he had been with me at the
beginning so he might as well get to see the end, however it
turned out.  Matt had never been out of Houston till he came
home with Vincent and Jesse, so he was thrilled with the
circus atmosphere of the show grounds.  He and Vincent went
off to explore as I checked my gear, studied the course
layout, and bit my nails, nervous as a whore in church now
that I was actually here.

I was too tightly wound to sit still, so I hopped on Calvin
and worked him for a couple hours on the flat, practicing
quick turns and lead swaps.  He was really getting the hang
of it, yielding to just the slightest pressure of my legs
and hands, and I knew we had a chance on Sunday.

We ate in the hotel that night with Amanda.  She was in fine
form, decked out with big diamonds and deep cleavage. Matt
was entranced by her, especially when she called the waiter
a 'half-dicked peckerwood' under her breath cause he was
slow with her drink.  She thought Matt was adorable and
spent the evening entertaining him with stories of her
sharecropper childhood, advantageous marriage, and eventual
metamorphosis into wealthy social butterfly and horse
aficionado. She invited him to sit in her owner's box for
the Gran Prix but Matt politely declined, wanting to be in
the stables where the action was.

Amanda had gotten us a suite, two bedrooms on either side of
a living area.  We claimed one bedroom, Matt settled into
the other, and it was lights out since we were all tired
from the travel and time change.  Friday I rode both horses
for a couple hours each, while Vincent and Matt went to the
beach.  It was too cold to swim but Matt had a ball
gathering shells, feeding the noisy gulls, and eating at
every food vendor on the pier.  That night we did the
cocktail party thing.  Matt got hit on by every woman under
forty and most of the waiters, and I saw him return a few
smiles.  Adam did a double take when he saw Matt in a suit,
raising his eyebrows at me and smiling.  I nodded in bemused
acknowledgement, fighting back a weird urge to lock Matt in
his room until he turned 30.

Saturday night we stayed in.  I wanted to get a decent
night's sleep, and I was tired of smiling my way through
hours of boozy parties, and getting pinched on the ass by
lonely, drunken women.  Vincent stretched me out on the bed
and gave me a wonderful massage, starting at my feet and
working his way up my body, his hands warm and strong.  He
was just leaving my ass for my back when our door pushed
open a little and Matt poked his head in.  We were naked and
Matt looked at us for a minute before coming in to stand by
the bed.  He was wearing boxers, tented out in front from
his erection.

Vincent and I both just looked up at him and finally he
blurted out, "Can I sleep in here tonight?  I'm really tired
of jerkin' off by myself."

I stared at him for another few seconds, but I couldn't
stand it and burst into laughter.  I grabbed his hand and
pulled him onto the bed, rolling half onto him, his hard
penis pressing into my hip.  I tried to be serious, but his
frustrated expression was too funny.  I finally got myself
under control and looked down at him.  "Are you sure that's
what you want, Matt?"

He didn't reply, just lifted his head and kissed me.  It was
a wonderful kiss -- a little hesitant but full of heat -and
it went straight to my dick, stiffening it quickly. Vincent
had been watching, and when my cock got hard he joined us,
nuzzling into the kiss and stealing Matt's mouth from me.  I
finally gave in to something I'd wanted to do since I'd
first seen his body; I moved slowly down Matt's smooth
chest, tickling those hard pink nipples with my tongue, and
then sliding his shorts slowly down his flat belly,
following the waistband with my mouth. He was baby smooth
clear down to his groin. There a wispy patch of curls
surrounded his cock, which was hard and twitching with
arousal.

His penis was an even darker pink than his nipples, with a
fat head and a shaft that thickened slightly toward the
base.  I ran a finger down the underside, smiling as his
cock leaped up from his belly again and again.  When I
reached his smooth balls, I cupped them in one palm, feeling
their weight, then pushed them snugly against his body as he
spread his legs and arched his hips up into my hand.  I
lowered my face to him, my lips tugging gently at those
curls, still damp from his shower; then nuzzled into his
belly.  I lapped up the drop of precum that was sliding down
the head of his cock, tasting him for the first time. After
probing his slit gently, I began to suck him.

The next hour was wonderful.  Matt was a little reserved at
first, but relaxed quickly as we kissed and rubbed and
licked him to what was maybe the first orgasm he'd ever had
where it was all about him.  I've never seen so much cum
blast out of one dick.  Maybe it was the combined efforts of
our two mouths and four hands; maybe it was because he was
young, but he just kept shooting and shooting, plastering
his chest with shotgun spatters of thin, milky ejaculate
that ran down his ribs in little rivulets.  He lay there
breathing hard for a few moments, eyes closed; then he began
to smile, started to chuckle, and finally laughed aloud.

"God, that was great!" he practically shouted, sitting up to
hug and kiss us both at once.  That broke the ice, and after
that he was playful and incredibly sexy, sucking Vincent to
an eye-crossing orgasm, one finger doing magic things in his
ass.  When Matt had first slid his hand down below Vincent's
balls, I'd felt Vincent tense up for a moment, then relax to
let him in.  I knelt over Vincent's face, getting a tongue
bath until he had to quit to climax; then, after Vincent
caught his breath, it was my turn.

Vincent put me on my back and slid into me easily while
pressing my legs back to lean down and kiss me.  Matt backed
off a little, watching us soberly.  This was probably a
little too close to home for him, and we made no effort to
include him; but it wasn't long before he crawled to me,
playing with my nipples and kissing me while Vincent fucked
me slowly.  I knew Vincent was good for another orgasm and
sure enough, when I got close he pulled out and joined me as
we came on my belly, smiling at each other as we grunted
through it.

Afterward, Matt touched first Vincent's cock, then mine,
licking the cum from his fingers each time.  I watched him,
wondering what this meant to him, to be with men who cared
for him and to fuck for fun and cause it felt good, not
because you needed to make rent.  When he lifted his eyes to
mine, they were clear and untroubled, and I pulled him down
to me, hugging him close.  "Love you, Matty."

That surprised him; he went still in my arms, then relaxed
and sighed deeply.  "I didn't think I'd ever get away from
him.  Then Vincent found me and I thought maybe I had a
chance.  Thank you so much." I held him for another minute,
then yawned in his face. I had a big day tomorrow.

The suite had a large square shower that was a perfect fit
with three of us in it.  I couldn't believe the change in
Matt.  While Vincent washed him, Matt soaped me. He played
with my ass enough to get another rise out of me, but I
really needed to get some sleep, so we settled down in bed
with Vincent in the middle.  Like the night before my first
GP, I was awake at 4am, huddled at one end of the couch in
the center room when Vincent came in.

"You're gonna do great," he whispered to me as he lifted one
side of my blanket and snuggled in behind me.  "Win or lose,
you've done a wonderful job of it."  I nodded and let him
hold me close, soothed as always by the feel of his body
next to mine.

I'd done pretty well for coming into the GP circuit on such
short notice like I had, and win or lose, I would always
have that.


The next morning I dressed carefully in white breeches and
shirt, stock, formal black jacket, and my Sergio Grasso
boots; if I didn't ride well, I would at least look damn
good.  Vincent wolf-whistled and Matt ran his eyes over me,
lingering at the nice package that the snug breeches made of
my cock and balls.

Amanda had catered brunch in a big tent at the end of our
barn so we munched on shrimp cocktail, ham and roast beef
sliced to order, platters of veggies and cheeses, more
salads than I could name, and an entire table of sweets.
Matt ate his way through it twice before slowing down to
concentrate on the things he liked best.  I schmoozed our
various sponsors, thanking them for supporting me after
Simon's unfortunate accident, blah, blah, blah.  A couple of
them eyed Vincent and Matt, wondering, I suppose, exactly
what our relationship was.  I was wondering that a bit
myself after last night.

I managed to eat a decent amount and oddly enough, I wasn't
especially nervous.  I think my emotions had been so
overworked lately that one more GP just wasn't enough to get
me excited, even if it was the most important one of the
year.  Tommy had both horses looking like a million bucks
and presented me with a new set of spurs from him and
Alejandro, engraved with `run fast, jump high' across the
inside.  They were beautiful - bright, shiny stainless steel
with raised oak leaves on the sides.  I kissed him
affectionately and strapped them on, thinking that if it all
ended right then, I'd be a happy man.

Amanda surprised me with ownership transfer papers for
Calvin, reasoning that since no one but me could ride him to
his full potential, I might as well have him.  She'd paid
$30k for him almost two years ago and had just been offered
$250k, but she liked his quirky personality and didn't
really want to part with him.  She suggested he might be a
good breeding stallion if I didn't want to show him.  Just
when I'd decided that Stonegate wasn't a breeding facility,
I found myself with a worthwhile stallion and TJ's mare
Ginger.  Hmmm.  I wondered what a baby from that cross would
look like.

Matt and Vincent came back in time to see me hop on Donna,
both of them kissing me for luck.  As I rode away sorting
out the double reins, something caught my eye.  Vincent had
written 'I love you' on a little piece of paper and pinned
it to the saddle pad, just in front of the pommel where I
could see it but no one else could.  I turned quickly in the
saddle to see him watching me with a smile.  He thumped his
fist over his heart twice and off I went.

Donna was 3rd to go in a big field of twenty-seven horses
with Cal going 21st and Adam bringing up the rear.  I rode
past his barn where he was just getting tacked up.  He came
over and squeezed my leg as I leaned down to hug him.  We
each said 'good luck' at the same time and grinned at each
other.  If I couldn't win, I hoped Adam would.

The course was big, with fifteen jumping efforts, all of
them formidable.  Donna was perfect, leaping over each fence
like she was programmed, cruising through the finish cones a
few seconds under the allotted time.  So far, so good; now
for Calvin.

Tommy had been warming him up for me, so when I got back to
the barn, we just threw my saddle on him.  He was on the
muscle already, snorting and shifting restlessly, geared up
from the crowd noise and the tension and excitement of his
handlers.  Tommy tossed me onto his back and I almost went
off the other side when Calvin stepped toward us
unexpectedly.  Tommy looked up at me and shook his head.
"You better go wear his ass out before you get in the ring
or he'll dump you on your head."

That sounded like excellent advice so I went off
to the warm-up ring and cantered him in big
figure 8s, doing three flying lead changes
across the center.  It's not every jumper who
can do one-tempi changes so we attracted some
attention and I heard cameras clicking.  Just
then a collective 'awwwww' rose from the crowd,
and I knew that some poor horse had either
plowed through a jump or refused it entirely. I
quickly replaced that thought with a mental
image of Amanda and me accepting the
championship trophy. What the hell -- if you're
gonna dream, dream big.

(go here
http://www.dressage.to/video_pages/olympicferro2
_html
for a video of a horse doing one-tempi lead
changes)

All too soon we were entering the arena to a big
round of applause, and I circled Calvin as I
scanned the jumps to get my bearings.  We took
the first three without even breathing hard, but
4, 5, and 6 were a tricky combination that
required our full attention.  He ticked the
second rail of the third jump but it stayed up.

Then we were good until 11, which was a high
vertical wall made of heavy cardboard bricks.
The horse can't see through it and it wasn't an
obstacle that had been used during the year.
Cal took a long look as we approached and
decided he didn't care for it.  I felt him back
off and had to ride the bejesus out of him,
using my voice, the whip, and Tommy's new spurs
to get him over it in one piece.  Even then, he
took off at the last possible second and just
about pushed a brick off the top.  It hung
there, waiting for a breeze to finish the job,
but it stayed up.

Jump 14 was a big oxer, (my favorite!), with a
hard right turn to the final jump.  Cal slipped
a little when he left the ground and twisted in
the air when I asked for a right lead.  He came
down hard and jounced me out of the saddle,
jerking my right foot free of the stirrup.  When
I hit the saddle again, I was off center and my
left nut got crushed between the front of the
saddle and my pelvic bone.  I was sure my
agonized shriek was loud enough to be heard in
New Jersey but the crowd was so noisy that no
one heard me except Calvin, and it spooked him.

He stumbled slightly but charged on to the final
vertical at full speed.  I barely had time to
rate his stride to get us there correctly when
he launched into a huge jump that cleared the
top rail by a foot, and then we were galloping
through the finish cones.  The photo that got
printed in every horse paper in the country the
next week showed Calvin with his ears pinned
flat to his head, a big white streamer of cotton
trailing comically from one ear, and me
stretched out along his neck with my mouth wide
open, an expression of absolute torture on my
face.  My hard hat was askew, my right stirrup
was flapping in the breeze, and you could see
the whites of both our eyes.  If you didn't know
better, you'd think I'd been on a horse three
times in my entire life and I was riding a
runaway.

Tommy had to come into the ring to catch Cal,
cause I couldn't get him under control with only
one stirrup and a testicle that hurt so badly I
figured I'd limp the rest of my natural life.
He led us back to the barn where he and Vincent
caught me as I fell out of the saddle with both
hands cupping my nuts.  They got me into a stall
and I stood there spraddle-legged for several
minutes before gingerly lowering my breeches to
see if I still had two balls. Vincent, Matt, and
Tommy all bent over to look closely as I lifted
my dick out of the way, and reported that
everything looked okay.  Since it wasn't badly
swollen or discolored, I sat down carefully with
an icepack and a pain killer handed out by the
sympathetic medic who had seen my ride and came
by to see how I was doing.

When Adam's turn came, I wobbled over to
ringside to watch him go clear.  That made four
of us in the jump-off, me on two horses; but the
thought of getting those two horses over seven
more jumps each sent shudders through me and
made my gut churn with dread.  If I forfeited,
that meant we'd place 4th and 5th, off the
podium.  Amanda took the pressure off by
announcing that watching my wild ride had been
worth every fucking nickel and as far as she was
concerned, I could sit it out.  Matt and Vincent
just looked at me with identical expressions of
pained sympathy and were no help at all.  It was
Tommy who squatted down in front of me, gripped
my knees hard, and looked me in the eye.

"Sean.  You can do this.  You got robbed once
before, don't let it end without you."

He hunkered there staring at me and I thought
about how much more satisfying it always was
later to have done the hard thing.  I nodded at
him and dropped my breeches to my ankles, then
we gently duct taped my balls up out of the way
of the saddle.  It looked and felt pretty odd
but if it let me make it through 57 seconds on
each horse, I didn't care.

I was to ride 1st and 5th, so I had Tommy warm
up Donna and I got on her just a few minutes
before they called us. Because of the duct tape
I couldn't sit quite like I normally did in the
saddle, and I could tell Donna was wondering
what the hell the problem was. We made it around
clear, although we were right at the time
allowed.  The next two horses both had a rail
down, so Donna was in first so far.

Adam rode beautifully, turning his big stallion
tightly this way and that as he cut corners.  He
went clear a couple seconds quicker than Donna
to take over first, and then it was Cal's turn.
He was still wound up from our first go and I
really had to get after him before he started
listening to me.  We roared around the course
clean, following the path Adam had taken -
saving a stride here and there - and as we
crossed the line, I knew it was really close.

I had just left the arena when the board updated
and the crowd went crazy.  I turned to look and
saw #46, Adam's number, at the top of the list.
He'd been two one hundredths faster than me to
win the round, and with it, the championship.  I
felt a moment of sharp disappointment and found
Amanda's eyes in the crowd around the gate.
'Sorry' my expression said, but she was grinning
and elbowing her way toward me, followed by the
guys.

"What a great fucking year! I've never finished
this high, and with both goddamn horses! You're
the best! I love you!"

People turned to look at her, laughing at her
exuberance; I grinned back, shaking my head at
her language.  She was the owner; my job was to
please her and evidently she was thrilled, so I
let it go.  Second and third was pretty damn
good.  Back at the big tent, I got drunk on the
case of Krug's Clos du Mesnil Amanda had brought
along for the occasion.  Matt blew a mouthful
out his nose when I told him it went for around
$350 a bottle. He was coughing and laughing as
we pounded him on the back.  Even Vincent, who
handles some decent wines at Corleone's, paled a
little when he heard that.  I reassured them
that Amanda (or rather, her husband) could
afford it, and that she'd get a pretty good
paycheck for second and third place.

Amanda pounded the champagne down like water,
toasting everyone and everything that came to
mind.  After the 4th or 5th toast, I started
getting woozy from the painkillers and alcohol
and had to sit down.  By that point, I'd lost
what little modesty I normally have, so,
accompanied by a few whistles and ooos and
ahhhs, we made a production of cutting off my
duct taped underwear. The medic wielded the
scissors since he was the only one still sober.
Once my dick and balls were exposed, there were
a few whoas and sympathetic grimaces, but being
drunk had its advantages and I blithely ignored
them.  The medic said something about there
maybe being some pink in my semen the next time
I ejaculated, and if it happened a second time I
should go see the doctor right away.

I put on a loose pair of jeans and re-joined the
party just as Adam came by to make sure I was
still a man.  He kissed one finger and barely
touched it to my crotch.  I grabbed him in a
huge congratulations hug, kissing him thoroughly
before handing him over to Vincent.  Matt was
sufficiently lubricated with Krug to do his own
hugging and kissing, surprising us all, and I
saw Adam take a second look at Matt as he was
leaving.

Amanda's driver dropped us back at the hotel
after far too many toasts and a dinner that I
have no recollection of.  I don't know where
Amanda put it, but she kept up with us drink for
drink and barely showed the effects.  Vincent
and I were thoroughly hammered and had to hang
onto the furniture while getting undressed.
Matt was fairly sober he didn't like the taste
of alcohol much -- so he fed us both a few
aspirin and made us each drink a big glass of
water before maneuvering us into the bed where
we all passed out.

Morning was awful. It was way too sunny and the
waiter at breakfast insisted on talking loudly
as he chattered about muffin choices and the
fifty ways they could fix eggs, all of which
made me think seriously about barfing.  It was a
relief to crawl onto Amanda's jet and curl up on
the big couch with a bottle of aspirin and
Vincent to hold me.  My abused testicle felt
like it would be normal again someday and I was
able to sleep for most of the flight.  We got
home in the early afternoon and just lay around
the house while Maria kept us supplied with
juice, cheese and crackers, and fresh veggies
and fruit - wholesome foods that made me feel
like living again.  We went to bed early and
felt fairly decent the next morning, so we all
went off to work.

It was a school day for Matt, so I dropped him
at Wade's on my way to the barn.  That was
working out well.  The tutor had given him a
series of tests to determine where he needed to
focus, so the time spent was very productive and
he studied every night at the kitchen island
while we made dinner.

I was really enjoying the family aspect of
having Matt in the house.  Vincent and I had
both lived alone for so long that we were very
self-sufficient.  Although Matt had looked after
himself on the street for years, he was much
younger, and now that he had the opportunity, he
looked to Vincent and me for the affection and
parenting he'd missed out on. It was very
satisfying, fulfilling some need I hadn't
realized I had.

Vincent was very solicitous of my busted nut,
soaping me gently when we showered and leaving
me alone for a few days until I finally had to
ask him to fuck me.  The medic was right; the
first time I ejaculated, with Vincent's dick
buried in my ass, there was a pinkish tinge in
the cum that splashed over my chest.  We both
eyed it warily but it didn't happen again, and
after a couple weeks I was good as new.

Matt slept in his own room most nights, joining
us now and then, always at his own discretion.
Vincent and I, aware of his past and his age,
never approached him sexually.  The age of
consent in Texas is 18 and we were very mindful
of the word 'consent', always leaving the first
move to Matt. We touched him a lot and hugged
and kissed him regularly, but there was a
difference between affection and seduction, and
we all knew it.  Matt frequently went from
affection to seduction in the space of two
minutes, catching us off guard occasionally, but
we were always willing to shift gears.

Actually, I figured we were a little old for
him, and began to wonder when he'd be interested
in other guys, but then it occurred to me that
most of his customers probably had been men my
age or older, so that's what Matt was used to.

Now that GP season was over, Adam was around the
barn every day and ran into Matt regularly,
always stopping to talk with him. They seemed to
be developing a firm friendship. Adam took Matt
to lunch now and then, and came back to our
place for dinner a couple nights a week. I
assumed Adam was still seeing Dylan, but I
hadn't heard from Dylan since Thanksgiving and
wasn't sure what was up with them.

The only lingering effect of Matt's past was a
tendency to drift away mentally, gazing out the
window for minutes at a stretch with a somber
expression.  Actually, since I hadn't known him
before, this may simply have been a personality
trait he'd had all along, but it didn't feel
like that to me.  Any time I interrupted him at
it, it would take him an extra moment to be
fully aware of me.  On days when he did this, he
was always more needy emotionally, coming to
Vincent or me to be held often, and joining us
at night to just cuddle up and sleep.

One day when I saw him lost in thought in the
den, I went to him, running my hand through his
hair.  "Can you tell me, Matt?"

He took my hand and pulled me down into the big
chair with him, turning to lay his face against
my chest.  I dropped my cheek to the top of his
head, held the back of his neck with one hand
and rubbed big slow circles on his back with the
other, while he got his thoughts together.

"I feel like I can't forget it," he said slowly.
"Like part of me will be gone if I don't keep it
in my head."  He sighed deeply and I struggled
for the right words to help him.

"Is there anything good that you can remember,
and let the bad stuff go?"

He was quiet for a bit.  "Yeah, some of them
were nice to me.  They gave me extra money, more
than I had to give Ray, and sometimes they
bought me something to eat.  One guy gave me a
jacket when it got cold."

Hearing him express gratitude for the basic
needs that most kids never give a second thought
to gave me chills and I hugged him close, more
to comfort myself than him.  I waited until I
knew my voice would be steady before I replied.

"Then just keep those good parts, Matty, and let
the rest go.  You never have to worry about any
of that again, so just let it fade away."

He nodded against my chest and then lifted his
head for a kiss.  We sat there until Vincent
came home from a catered dinner, Matt asleep in
my arms, and Vincent smiled at us when he walked
into the den around ten.

"Is he okay?" he asked softly, bending down to
kiss me hello.  I took a hand off Matt and held
Vincent's face to mine for a moment, happy to
have him home.  He knelt down next to the chair
and hugged us both, waking up Matt, who gave him
a sleepy smile.


Christmas was only a few weeks away and Saturday
we got the bug to decorate, so Matt and Vincent
went for a tree while I dragged the boxes out of
storage.  I didn't have much since I had never
really bothered, so I ran out and bought a bunch
of stuff - lights, tinsel, ornaments.  Good
thing cause they came back with two trees, a
small one for the den where we spent our
evenings, and a huge one for the entryway.  We
had a great time decking the halls, swigging
down spiked eggnog and singing along with every
holiday CD we owned.

It was a wonderful day.  Matt was happy and
relaxed, his eyes bright with excitement as we
stood the big tree up in the front hall.  It was
every inch of ten feet and we had to rig
scaffolding out of two ladders and a couple
boards to reach all of it.  By the time we were
finished, it was evening; I turned out the
lights in that part of the house and handed Matt
the plug.  As the tree lit up the big hall with
hundreds of tiny white lights, my chest
tightened and I turned to take Vincent in my
arms.  He must have felt it too, cause he buried
his face in my neck and held on tight for a long
moment.

Matt had stopped staring at the tree and was
watching us with a sort of lost look on his
face, so I went to him and wrapped him up in a
hug.  Looking at the changes in Matt during his
short while with us, I felt reassured that
Vincent had been right to bring him into our
home.   I thought of all the other kids Ray had
ruined over the years. I couldn't save them all,
but I was damn sure gonna see that this one got
every possible chance at a decent life.

The weeks leading up to Christmas went by in a
pleasant blur of shopping, parties, too many
cookies, employee reviews, Cody's birthday
party, and God knows what else.  I made sure
Matt had money for shopping, padding his
Stonegate pay a little with a 'bonus', and he
and Adam went off one afternoon with secretive
smiles on their faces.  Danny came by the barn
to drop off a bottle of wine and told me he and
Becky had called it off.  He didn't seem at all
uncomfortable with me and even gave me a big hug
when he left.  He looked kind of relieved and
happier than he had been in a while, and I
smiled as he rattled away down the lane,
remembering that morning in my office.

Christmas Eve we went to my folks in the late
afternoon; this time Matt was much easier around
them and our visit stretched into the early
evening.  They'd gotten him a digital camera
with all the bells and whistles, and he spent
the rest of the day consulting the manual and
snapping photos, muttering to himself and
hitting the 'garbage' key when he wasn't pleased
with the results.

Then we stopped by Corleone's where the
D'Ambruzzo clan had an annual ongoing party in
the big meeting room.  They still had a
restaurant to run but assorted cousins, uncles,
aunts, and in-laws came and went throughout the
night.  There were several tables groaning with
food and Matt worked his way along them with a
single-mindedness that made me smile.

The son of a third cousin looked more than a
little interested in Matt, and I came across
them later sitting thigh to thigh out on the
dark steps leading up to Vincent's old apartment
(now Tony's), talking away.  Eduardo was in his
early twenties and had the dark good looks that
all the D'Ambruzzo men seemed to get; he was
about an inch shorter than me and stockier.
They looked good together, I mused, as I went
back inside to have a Christmas drink with
Vincent and Tony.

I mentioned Matt and Eduardo to Vincent who
thought about it for a moment, then shrugged.
"Eddie's okay.  A little, uh, undecided maybe,
but he's not a bad kid."

"Undecided, as in he can't make up his mind
whether to be a cop or a fireman?"

"No, smartass, undecided as to whether he likes
boys or girls.  Right now he seems equally fond
of both."

"Oh, my God . . ." I groaned, hanging my head.

He chuckled and slung an arm around my neck to
pull me close.  "Quit worrying about him, Sean.
How much trouble can he get into sitting on the
steps?"

I raised my eyebrows at him and he blinked,
suddenly remembering more than one night when we
were first seeing each other that we hadn't made
it up more than five steps before our clothes
started coming off.

"Right.  I'll check on them in a minute," he
said, handing me a glass of Corleone's famous
Holiday Punch, the ingredients of which Vincent
wouldn't tell even me.  It was great stuff and I
glugged it down with abandon, knowing Vincent
was staying sober enough to drive us home.  He
came back from checking on Matt and Eddie with a
slightly embarrassed expression, and rolled his
eyes when I looked at him.

"They were kissing," he said, beginning to
smile.  "Maybe Eddie isn't as undecided as I
thought."  We gave them another ten minutes,
then collected Matt from Eddie's arms and went
home to bed.


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