by T V Hartwell
They behaved this way off and on for some time until eventually their hormones and mutual attraction for one another took over and the crotch grabbing progressed from a game of “gotcha” to jerking off together and then to full body frottage and open mouth kissing. By eleventh grade, they would regularly take turns blowing each other, which they both became quite skilled at doing. All the while they maintained their reputation as popular high school jocks who both dated and were sexually active with girls. However, their insatiable appetite and secret desire for each other became like a drug that neither was willing to give up. Being available to indulge and satisfy the urges of the other was a priority for each of them, taking the concept of “bros before hoes” to a whole new level.
Their physical relationship even survived when Jake and Kirby attended different colleges. The separation from one another made their reunions on winter and spring breaks all the more explosive and something to look forward to. Neither considered himself homosexual, but their same-sex curiosity and proclivities only progressed and intensified during their college years. For Jake, Kirby was his Mandingo, gym rat, football player, jock, frat boy fantasy all rolled into one. Although he found some other guys that he knew at Stanford attractive and occasionally fantasized about them, he never acted on it, and he had no real desire to be sexual with any of them. In Jake’s mind, he was straight and would never allow another guy to penetrate him or vice versa. He was just a little curious, and whatever homoerotic dreams or fantasies he had, he had the pleasure of living them out with his best friend who happened to be as good-looking and hot as any guy he knew or saw on his college campus. Jake’s sexual relationship with Kirby became a natural part of their friendship, unique and closed only to them. Outside of his relationship with Kirby, Jake was a ladies man and had dated several girls at Stanford until he and Amanda became an item their junior year.
Kirby, on the other hand, was more open to sexual experimentation during his college years. Kirby was popular with the ladies at USC as he was in high school, and he usually had the pick of the litter. However, his relationship with Jake whet his appetite for guys, and USC and LA’s large gay scene provided fertile ground for him to explore and satisfy his curiosity about things Jake wasn’t willing to try, namely anal intercourse. During his freshman year, he began a down low pursuit of other guys, which came relatively easy for him because more often than not, he was the one being pursued by guys who were either out or who like him were closeted, but searching for same sex playmates. Kirby mostly preferred guys like himself who identified as straight and who were known to date girls, but had a craving for occasional male-on-male sex. He eventually found suitable matches who became regular fuck buddies during his four years at USC, including a popular frat boy and two athletes, one who was on the football team and the other on the water polo team. Like Kirby, they each had girlfriends or dated girls regularly, so the nature of their relationship was never called into question. In fact, these three regulars didn’t even know each other that well and were completely unaware of their mutual connection to Kirby as a secret sex partner.
By the time Kirby reached his senior year at USC, he hooked up with other guys almost exclusively. So much so that he started dating Laren Price just to keep his street cred as straight. Laren, a beautiful, caramel-complexioned black girl from Washington, D.C., was tall and slender with naturally long hair and a cheery personality. Like Kirby, she had an interest in pursuing a career in entertainment, which gave them something in common to talk and dream about together. Her confidence and sex appeal were a pull for Kirby, and as their relationship progressed, he came to like her more and more and started to see her as potential wife material. In his mind, he could still carry on his life as a straight man and do the marriage and family thing while having a guy or two on the side that he could “kick it” with. After all, he was attracted to both girls and guys and getting married is what would be expected of him, especially being an only child. And like Jake, Kirby did not identify with being gay at all during college—neither could ever imagine an open relationship with a guy.
Chapter 8 Best Friends Forever
“Hey, girl,” Lucy said as she hugged Amanda after dropping off her car with the valet in front of The Ivy. Amanda had arrived only about five minutes before. They were meeting for lunch to catch up after having not seen each other for more than a month, although they had been communicating regularly by e-mail and phone to collaborate on Amanda’s wedding plans and on a joint business venture to launch a new fashion bag and accessories line called Novel.
Amanda noticed and admired Lucy’s dressy shorts and chiffon blouse outfit from Alana Dupree, which she was wearing with high heel pumps. “Look at you modeling you mother’s clothes today. You look so cute. I think I have that same outfit, and I’m so glad I didn’t wear it,” Amanda said, half joking and half serious.
“Me too! I’m sure it looks better on me anyway,” Lucy said, gesturing at Amanda with a haughty pose and throwback of the head.
“Whatever, bitch,” Amanda said, rolling her eyes and playfully slapping Lucy’s behind as they were escorted to their waiting table outside on the patio.
The California sun was shining bright and the noontime crowd at the renowned LA hotspot was the typical assortment of beautiful people—an actor here and there, a reality TV star, trust fund kids and rich socialites, entertainment industry peeps, wealthy European and Russian visitors, and a smattering of pretenders trying to act the part—all tightly seated close together on the small patio, smartly dressed, and engrossed in loud, lively conversation. All the while, the paparazzi lurked directly across the street on Robertson Boulevard eagerly waiting to get a shot of the next celebrity to pull up to the valet.
“Aaaaah,” Lucy exhaled, soaking up the beautiful weather and taking in the chichi surroundings and people. “It’s so nice being back in LA. Summertime in New York can be so dreadful and my hair doesn’t like the mugginess. And it smells horrible there during the summer. Like much worse than it normally does. You practically need an oxygen mask to keep from passing out from the pukey smell everywhere.”
“Well, it’s nice to have you home, and for a whole month. I’m so happy we get to spend a little time together.”
“Of course! You’re my sis, and you’re getting married. There was no way I wasn’t going to take the time to be here with you.”
Amanda and Lucy had known each other since they were young girls. Lucy was the daughter of British rocker and songwriter Rod Simon. Rod was one of the bestselling music artists of all time, having sold more than 150 million records worldwide. He was in his prime in the 70s and 80s with one hit record after another. Although it had been a while since he had come out with a new album, he still toured regularly and had recently inked a $125 million deal to do seventy concerts a year for three years at Caesars Palace. Lucy was the byproduct of Rod and his second marriage to 1970s supermodel and actress Alana Dupree. Alana was one of the top models of the 1970s along with the likes of Cheryl Tiegs, Christie Brinkley, and Beverly Johnson until Rod swept her off her feet and almost immediately made her a mother-to-be. In addition to Lucy, they had a son, Theo, two years younger than Lucy.
Rod and Alana were married for nineteen years between 1979 and 1998 before divorcing. Rod was a notorious womanizer but he liked the wholesomeness of having a family to return home to after being away for weeks on end touring and cavorting with his female fans and groupies. Alana eventually tired of his philandering ways and as her two children matured and became teenagers she felt less of a need to put on airs about her and Rod’s marriage to protect them and to hold the family together. They could see and read in the tabloids for themselves about their father’s playboy lifestyle. While Rod ended up remarrying for the third time to a much younger woman, Alana launched her own fashion line and moved to New York.
Camilla and Rick Climent bought the house next door to Rod and Alana in Holmby Hills in 1994. Amanda and Lucy were both ten at the time. Cami
lla and Alana arranged for regular play dates between the girls, which led to them becoming fast friends. Camilla and Alana knew each other before they became neighbors, having met at a party thrown by a mutual friend from their shared hometown of New York City. Like Camilla, Alana grew up in a well-to-do New York family. Alana’s father was the late Oscar Dupree, the well-known, Tony Award winning composer and impresario of musical theatre. A child prodigy, his parents, who were great patrons of the arts in New York, sent him to Julliard when he was only fourteen.
In addition to working for her mother’s fashion label and partnering with Amanda to launch their own high end accessories line, Lucy had been a darling of the social scene with her bubbly and cheerful personality. Her blond hair, frosty blue eyes, perfectly smooth tan skin, and model-like figure and style made her a favorite for photos in the social diary pages of New York, London, and Los Angeles, cities in which her parents had homes and deep connections. Her father’s international celebrity and fame coupled with her mother’s blue blood pedigree and deep roots in the New York art and fashion worlds made it easy for Lucy to comfortably navigate the nouveau riche circles of Hollywood celebrities and the more sophisticated, rarefied confines of the Upper East Side. This was especially true in Los Angles with its two predominant social hierarchies; one mostly composed of A-list Hollywood celebrities and entertainment industry moguls and the other a combination of more traditional business executives, self-made billionaires, and old money elites of which Amanda Climent’s family was a part.
“How is Cass?”
“He is gorgeous,” Lucy said, beaming.
“You must be so excited to see him. Will you get to spend much time together?”
“He’s here until the end of the month and then he is heading to Vancouver for three months to shoot a film.”
“Oh, so now I know the real reason you’re back in LA for a whole month.”
“Amandaaa. Not even. How could you say that?” Lucy protested.
Amanda gave Lucy the look. The one that reads I’ve known you forever, so, bitch, don’t lie to me look.
Lucy vacillated while giggling at Amanda’s demeanor. “Okay, that might be a small part of the reason, but I still would have been here for you regardless. It just so happened that Cass was going to be in LA this month, so it all worked out perfectly for me to see both you and him here at the same time. So there.”
Lucy had a thing for young heartthrobs and had been recently dating Cassius Bettencourt, an up-and-coming Australian actor whose stock was rising fast in Hollywood. He and Lucy had met at Elton John’s post-Oscar party in March. They reconnected in New York in early June after he returned from shooting a film in Germany and they had been hot and heavy ever since spending a good deal of the summer together. Cass arrived in LA on Sunday after going back to Australia for a couple of weeks. He mostly lived between LA and Sydney when not on location shooting a film.
“Do you plan on bringing him to the wedding?” Amanda asked.
“I don’t know. Do you think I should bring him? I mean, we just started dating this summer and I don’t want to make a scene.”
“Oh, don’t be silly. Of course you should bring him. Who else would you bring?”
“I was actually thinking about coming with Charlie.”
“Charlie! Won’t he be bringing his boyfriend, what’s his name?”
“You know Charlie. He has a new boyfriend practically every month. He isn’t serious with anyone right now. Plus, Charlie will make sure we have fun.”
Both unabashed “fag hags,” Charlie McCormack was the gay savant extraordinaire Lucy and Amanda loved the most. Stylish, a bit flamboyant, but handsome, Charlie could keep up with Amanda and Lucy and their circle of friends when it came to spending money. Like them, he too was blessed with a hefty trust fund. He planned for a career in either interior design or high fashion, but had yet to make up his mind. His love of fashion is something he shared in common with Amanda and Lucy, and he acted as somewhat of a self-appointed personal stylist to his rich female friends, young and old alike. Amanda and Lucy met Charlie at the birthday party of another gay friend of theirs two years before. Immediately drawn to the two young, wealthy socialites, Charlie was quite taken with their style and refined, glamorous look, and had remained glued to them ever since.
“I love Charlie, but wouldn’t you prefer to bring a real date?”
“I don’t know. It might be too soon to bring Cass around. I think we both prefer to be a little more low key right now about our relationship. The paparazzo already began stalking us when we were in New York. It is so fucking annoying.”
“You are probably right. The tabloids would be all over it if you two appeared together at a big wedding. I can see one of those ridiculous headlines now, ‘Cassius Bettencourt and Lucy Simon Had Secret Wedding!’”
“Exactly. See, you get my point. Anyway, enough about me and Cass. Let’s talk about the wedding. So, you already told me that you guys finalized the wedding menu this past Saturday. Did you and Jake finalize plans for your honeymoon too?”
“Yes, we decided to accept my parents’ offer to use my family’s yacht to sail to Sardinia and Corsica for five days and then when we return to Nice, we’ll drive to Antibes and spend our final two nights at Hotel du Cap.”
“Oh my God, that’s so fabulous. I love Hotel du Cap. That’s my favorite hotel in the entire world.”
“I know. I’m so excited about going there. I wish we could stay longer, but Jake will need to get back to work. He’s working on some big business deal and he doesn’t want to be away for too long, being that he’s still new and working his way up at his firm.”
“You are going to have the best time. I am so happy for you. Now, have you been to Sardinia or Corsica?”
“Yes, I went to Sardinia with Adam nearly two years ago during our trip to Italy. Remember? The beaches on Sardinia are so beautiful and romantic. I wanted to go back with Jake since he’s never been before.”
“That’s funny, you and Adam were in Sardinia. I don’t remember you telling me that. That must be where he takes all of his girlfriends, because I ran into him at the film festival in Cannes in May and he was heading there with Kelly Porter afterwards. We were all at the Vanity Fair party together.”
“I didn’t know he was seeing her. Funny, he told me he didn’t like dating actresses. Did I tell you I ran into him recently?”
“Who, Adam?”
“Yes! I’m meeting him for drinks later this week.”
“Wait. You are having a drink with him?” Lucy said a bit surprised.
“Well, we dated for nearly a year, and we broke up on friendly terms. Why not?”
“What does he want?” Lucy said incredulously.
“Oh, I think he just wants to catch up. I haven’t seen him since Jake and I got back together.”
“Are you going to tell Jake?”
“Of course not. Well, at least not right away,” Amanda said with a grin.
Chapter 9 Morning Seduction
“Good morning, sunshine,” Jake said to Amanda, having just stepped out of the shower and back into her bedroom. “Are you waking up already? It’s 10 to 7.”
“It’s Thursday. You know I do Pilates on Thursday mornings.”
“Oh,” Jake mumbled. “I knew you were doing it. I guess I just forgot when.”
“Yep, every Tuesday and Thursday at 8 a.m. in WeHo. My trainer, Jackie, is awesome.”
“No wonder you are looking so damn good,” Jake said as he surveyed Amanda’s naked body as she lay flat on her back in bed. Jake sat next to her at the foot of the bed and began to rub her ankles.
“So what’s your schedule like today?” he asked.
“Oh, little errands here and there. I am going shopping with my mother later today. She is still working on her ensemble for the wedding. She already has her dress ordered but is still looking for the right shoes and maybe some new earrings too.”
“Like your mom really needs more
shoes and jewelry,” Jake said sarcastically. “Her closet is the size of a small house.”
“Well, you know my mother. She would never wear something she has already worn once before to a big event like a wedding. Every outfit needs to be completely different, especially if she’s going to be photographed. By the way, she was curious to know who your mom will be wearing.”
“I have no idea. You want me to ask her?”
“It probably doesn’t matter. They have completely different styles anyway. I can’t imagine they would come wearing the same dress. Although it would be funny to see the horrified look on my mother’s face if that were to happen.”
Jake chuckled at the thought, without really caring what their mothers might wear. “I’ll see her tonight. I’m having dinner with her and my dad, so if you really want me to ask I will. Of course, you’re welcome to call and ask her yourself if you want.”
“I would never dream of it. Your mother seems annoyed by me enough already.”
Jake knew there was truth to Amanda’s words, but tried to play it off. “Whaaat? She is not,” he said unconvincingly.
“Whatever,” Amanda said, rolling her eyes and not wanting to push the subject, knowing of Jake’s protectiveness of his mother.
Jake leaned down and slowly began to kiss Amanda’s left leg. He softly kissed her knee and then her lower thigh, her inner thigh, while deeply moaning along the way to indicate his enjoyment of her body. Her scent, the elegant contours of her feminine shape, and the softness of her skin were like an aphrodisiac to him. He slowly inched closer and closer to her freshly waxed kitty, taking in the sweetness of her aroma, which was like a combination of natural body oil and honey. Amanda, feeling aroused and tickled at the same time, started to giggle and pulled her left leg back and stopped Jake from reaching his destination by placing her foot against his forehead. While Jake knew this was simply a playful gesture, he didn’t have time for foreplay and needed to get downtown for an important conference call with a client. He gently grabbed hold of and kissed Amanda’s foot and then he took her big toe into his mouth, sucking it sensually as he looked up at her with his baby blue eyes.