Friends and Lovers

by Tinnean

  “Our bathroom?” Tom raised an eyebrow.

  “Don’t be a pain in the ass, Tommy. You know whichever bathroom we’re using is ours.”

  “This is true.”

  “Damn straight.” He ran his fingertips over Tom’s cheek, feeling the roughness of his incipient beard. He lowered the lid of the commode and draped it with the towel.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Sit.”

  Tom sat.

  Jack took a can of shaving cream from Tom’s kit, shook it, and squirted a handful into his palm. He smoothed it over Tom’s cheeks and neck, and reached for his razor. With precise, unhurried strokes, he began to shave him.

  The only sounds in the room were the rasp of the razor over Tom’s cheeks as it removed the stubble, and his slow, measured breaths.

  Tom’s eyes were slitted, and he was practically purring by the time Jack finished. His cock was hard against his belly and oozing precome.

  “Are you hungry, Tom?”

  “Oh, yeah!”

  Jack removed the remnants of the shaving cream with a moist washcloth and dropped it in the sink, then dragged him back into the bedroom and tumbled Tom face down to the king-size bed.

  “My own chew toy.” He nibbled on Tom’s toes, his ankles, the spot behind his knee.

  Tom gave a full body shudder. “Please, Jack. You know how that… Oh, god, do that again! Please!”

  “Again, what, Tom?” Jack’s tongue flicked out to taste the soft skin. He worked his way up until his mouth was on level with Tom’s ass. His broad palm on the small of Tom’s back kept him in place, and he sank his teeth into the taut muscle.

  Tom jerked and twisted, not really trying to get free.

  “Again, what, Tom?” He’d always been good at multitasking. He slid a lubricated finger into Tom’s ass, searching for his prostate, and Tom yelped.

  “Why did I ever agree to let you top me? I’m gonna kick your ass if you don’t stop screwing around and fuck me! I’m gonna…”

  “You’re not gonna do anything, babe, because you know you love what I do to you!” And I’m gonna make sure you know I’m not going anywhere.

  “Jack! If you don’t fuck me…” Tom was getting desperate, panting and humping the sheets.

  “Tommy, Tommy, Tommy.” Jack removed his finger and rolled on the condom. “You know I won’t do that.” He could hear his lover’s teeth grinding together in frustration, and he sucked in a patch of skin where shoulder and neck joined. When he was satisfied with the color he’d raised, he flipped Tom onto his back. Tom’s legs parted naturally, making a space for him, and he placed his palms on his lover’s ass cheeks and parted them, and lined up his cock with the puckered opening. A single, smooth thrust, and he was buried balls deep in Tom’s body.

  For long seconds they lay still, Tom panting but unable to move because of Jack’s greater weight, although Jack had no doubt that if Tom really didn’t want to be where he was, he’d have no trouble getting him off.

  Jack took slow, deep breaths, almost mindless in the pleasure of feeling Tom’s cock like a heated brand against his belly.

  “Jack.” There was a threat in Tom’s voice. He rocked upward, a contained motion that let Jack know he was at the end of his patience.

  “Okay, buddy. Let’s ride.” Jack kissed him and began to make love to him, his strokes slow and deliberate. The hot grip of Tom’s inner muscles as they clenched and unclenched, caressing his length, made him want to pound into him – it always did – but more than that, he wanted this to last longer than the five minutes Tommy had teased him about that morning.

  Blunt nails dug into his back, strong thighs wrapped around his waist, and Tom arched into his strokes, his breath coming in thready gasps. “More. More!”

  Somehow, Jack got his knees under him. He angled Tom’s ass up and began to plunge forward with faster thrusts.

  Tom’s grip on the sheets had his knuckles turning white. His face was flushed and sweating, his teeth were sunk in his lower lip, but his eyes were open and fastened on Jack’s. “I love you, Jack.”

  Jack felt his heart roll over, and for a second, he couldn’t move. He would never get used to hearing those words from this man. “Oh, babe. I love you so much!”

  Tom cupped his cheek in his hand, ran his thumb over the cheekbone. “Kiss me.”

  Jack leaned forward, the change in angle causing Tom to gasp and writhe beneath him. He wrapped one hand around Tom’s neck, wrapped his other around his cock, and kissed him, swallowing the sounds he made as he jerked him off.

  Jack held back until he felt Tom hovering on the edge, and then his movements sped up. He slammed in one final time, and they both groaned as they came.

  Tremors ran through Jack’s arms as he kept himself from collapsing onto the body beneath his. He looked down into his lover’s face, flushed, shiny with sweat, and supremely satisfied, and he grinned.

  It took a while for him to catch his breath. He eased out of Tom, removed the condom, and rose to dispose of it.

  “Come back here, you.”

  “Coming back, Tommy.” He had a washcloth with him, and he cleaned the semen off his lover’s chest.

  There was a small tray on the round table beside the bed, and Jack dropped the washcloth onto it. Had the management placed the tray there for this purpose? He grinned at the thought as he settled himself on the bed.

  “I wish… I wish we’d done this before, Tommy.”

  “We didn’t have the room before.”

  “You know that’s not what I meant.”

  “I know.” Tom brushed his lips back and forth over Jack’s in a soft, open-mouthed caress. “If wishes were horses, babe. But yeah. What would our lives have been like if we’d…” He shivered, and Jack reached down to pull up the sheet to cover them. “But we’ve got each other now, and that’s what’s important.”

  “Yeah.”

  Tom yawned and pulled Jack close against him. Within seconds he slipped into a light doze.

  Jack lay there, holding him tight. He considered Tom’s words, ‘We’ve got each other now, and that’s what’s important.’

  And he remembered how close he’d once come to losing his best friend.

  “Reba’s gonna have a baby, Tom,” Jack told his friend. He’d just turned twenty-one, and knowing that his wife was pregnant made him feel as if he were on top of the world.

  Tom’s face lit up. “That’s fantastic, buddy! You’re going to be a daddy! And I’ll be his uncle!”

  “Uh, no, buddy.”

  “Okay, semantics.” Tom waved it away. “Her uncle.”

  “Neither.”

  “Jack, there’s only the two sexes.”

  Damn, but Tom was making this difficult. “You see, it’s… Shit.” He rubbed a hand over his eyes. “It’s like this, Tom. I can’t have you for a friend.”

  “What?”

  “I can’t…”

  “Because I’m gay.” It wasn’t a question. Tom knew Jack’s father had almost gone through the roof when he’d learned that his son’s friend was not only Jewish, but was queer as well.

  Jack didn’t have to tell him that Reba agreed with her father-in-law. The few times they’d met, she’d made it more than plain. If he wasn’t straight and had never, ever given her cause to doubt him, he would almost have sworn from her attitude that she was jealous.

  “Tom, I took vows to be a good husband, and now with the baby coming...” He tried to explain, hoping he wasn’t coming across as a wuss. “Reba needs all my attention.”

  “I need you too, Jack. You’re my best friend, and I…”

  “Tom, I just… I can’t be your friend any more. Please accept that.”

  “Fine, buddy.” Tom’s eyes were very bright, but he blinked, not letting a single tear fall. “Have a good life.” He walked away.

  Jack waited for him to look back, at least once, but Tom didn’t.

  He tried to tell himself that it was for the best. He really wanted this
baby, and Reba had stated plainly that her doctor had warned that stress and conflict at home could cause her to miscarry.

  Besides, Savannah wasn’t that large a town. Tom couldn’t be his friend, but he’d be in the same city. Jack was sure to see him now and again.

  Only he didn’t.

  He didn’t question it. He was busy, and he was sure Tommy was too. After all, Jack thought proudly, he was in his last year of college, even though he was a couple of years younger than most of the seniors in his class.

  A few months afterwards, Jack ran into Tom’s momma in the Kash & Karry.

  “I hear you’re gonna be a daddy, Jack. How is Reba?”

  “Good, thanks, Miz Honey. I’m here to buy her some pickles and ice cream.”

  “I remember those cravings. When I was carrying Tom and Lizzy, I had the strongest yen for anchovies, bananas, and Bosco.”

  “Yum.” He swallowed and gave a weak smile.

  “Yes.” She chuckled, a warm, pleasant sound.

  “How… uh… how is Tom, Miz Honey?”

  “He’s doing pretty good, although for a time there he seemed so down. I thought it would be good for him to visit my daddy in Florida.” So that was why he hadn’t seen him. “I miss him, you know.” Her expression was sad. “He decided to stay, and so he transferred to Florida State University.”

  “But… He only had a few more months. I thought he was going to get his chem degree at Pulaski and Jasper here in Savannah.”

  “He changed his mind. Didn’t he tell y’all about it?”

  “No, he didn’t.”

  She gave him a look. “You’re his best friend, Jack.”

  “I guess Tom didn’t tell you we… well, we kind of …” For some reason he wanted to say ‘broke up,’ but they were two guys, and while Tom was gay, Jack was not. “We’re not friends any more.”

  “So that’s why…” Her mouth tightened and her eyes narrowed, and Jack felt about two inches tall. “I have to go now, Jack.”

  She went to the checkout and left Jack standing in the aisle with the olives, pickles, and condiments.

  It was eight years before he ran into Tom again; it was on Abercorn Street as he was leaving his lawyer’s office, and it was as if those years in between had never been.

  “Tom! Buddy!” Jack hugged him, right there in the middle of the sidewalk.

  Tom held onto him for a moment, then stepped back, flushed.

  “Hey!” Jack couldn’t seem to take his eyes off his face. “You’ve got a moustache!”

  “I needed something to make me look older than the kids I taught.”

  “Right. Yeah.” He’d heard through the grapevine that Tom taught chemistry at Florida State University, the same college he’d graduated from. “It’s been a long time. I’m … uh… I’m surprised to see you here.”

  “Why? I come back to Savannah every year to spend Mom’s birthday with her.”

  “Every year?” Jack suddenly felt as if he’d been kicked in the nuts. “And you never called me?”

  “You’d told me you didn’t want to be my friend.”

  “But… But you were. Even when you weren’t here, you were my best friend. You should have called me.”

  “I was only doing what you wanted, you know.”

  “I’m sorry. I was wrong. I was trying to do the best thing for all of us, and it was wrong, and I missed you, and…” Jack’s voice hitched in his throat, and for a second he thought he was going to bawl like a baby, right in the middle of that busy street.

  “Jack. Take a breath” Tom’s hand was on his shoulder.

  He did.

  “I tried calling you the first year, Jack.”

  “You did?”

  “I did. Reba answered. When I asked to talk to you, she said, ‘You want to talk to Jack, my husband?’ I didn’t want to make trouble for you, so I never called again. Jack, what’s wrong?”

  He could feel his face twist in a grimace of pain. “Reba and I’re getting divorced.” He waved a hand at the building behind him. “I was just seeing my lawyer.”

  “Oh, buddy! I’m so sorry. I’d heard things weren’t going well, but I didn’t realize they were this bad!”

  “How – ”

  Tom blushed and looked away. “Mom keeps me up with what goes on with my friends.”

  Jack was glad that Tom still considered him his friend.

  “I can understand why you’re so upset.”

  “No, you- It’s not- They’re all siding with her!”

  “Huh? Who?”

  “Daddy. Momma. Sarah and Chuck.” Although where that asshole brother-in-law of his got off thinking he had any say in the matter –

  “Your family?” It was gratifying to see his friend so shocked. “I can’t believe they’d do that to you! They’re supposed to be on your side. That’s what families do!”

  “Not mine.” Not if they considered you a godless heathen. Jack drew a deep breath, hoping it would steady him, but he was afraid it came out sounding almost like a sob.

  His friend had seemed to be calming down, but now he looked pissed again. “They all deserve to have their asses kicked!”

  That made him smile for the first time since he’d realized Reba was serious about divorcing him.

  Tommy was feisty for all he was so short, and Jack could imagine him adding, ‘And I’ve got the size nines to do it!’

  He fumbled in his pocket for a handkerchief and said gruffly, “Damn allergy.”

  Tom patted his shoulder. “You ought to take something for that.”

  “Yeah.”

  “C’mon.” Tom took his arm and led him toward his car.

  “Where are we going?”

  “To the Prince Albert. I think you could use a drink. Or ten,” he muttered.

  “That does sound like a good idea.” Jack had been devastated that his family was willing to cut him off – he’d really thought – but he was thankful Tommy was here for him. In spite of everything.

  His friend never did hold a grudge, he thought with relief.

  And after that fifth Jim Beam, he started to think that maybe divorcing Reba wasn’t too high a price to pay if it meant having Tom back in his life.

  But Tom wasn’t really back in his life. He had responsibilities back in Florida and after another day had had to go back.

  It was almost eight months later when he saw Tom once again, this time in front of the Kash & Karry. Jack was leaving as Tom was about to enter.

  “Tom!”

  “Jack! How’s it hangin’, buddy?”

  He shrugged. “You… uh… you know my divorce is final now?”

  “Yes.” Tom patted his shoulder, and for a weird moment, it almost felt like a caress. “I’m so sorry. Is your family still treating you like dirt?”

  “No.”

  “Well, that’s good!”

  Jack just shrugged again. They’d realized if they wanted to see his children, they’d have to tolerate him. It wasn’t the best solution, but he figured they’d eventually work their way back to accepting him again. After all, he was still their son. That hadn’t changed.

  “What do you say we go somewhere and have a glass of wine?”

  “I’d… I’d really like that, but Teddy’s Little League team has a game, and I’ve got to go. I promised to bring the oranges.” He held up the sack with the bag of fruit. “It’s something for the kids to snack on between innings.”

  “Yeah, sure. I understand.” Was Tom disappointed? “Tell Theodore I hope his team wins.”

  “Why don’t you come with me and tell him yourself?”

  His face lit up. “You wouldn’t mind?”

  Jack would have teased him not to be such an ass, but Tom had every reason to tread warily around him. He’d been the one to cut short their friendship.

  “I wouldn’t mind at all, buddy.” This time Tom hugged him. “But… you were going food shopping?”

  “It’s okay. I was just going to pick up some coffee. Mom was runni
ng a little low, but it can wait until tomorrow. Where’s the game? I’ll follow you there.”

  “Pulaski Park.”

  “Great. I’ll be right behind you, buddy.”

  Teddy’s team won.

  “Come on over, Tom. I want you to meet him.”

  “You do?”

  “Sure. He’s heard me talk about you plenty of times, and he’ll be tickled to finally meet my best friend. Teddy!”

  “Daddy! We won! Did you see me snag that fly ball?”

  “I sure did, son.” The ball had seemed to be aiming directly for his head, and Jack’s heart had been in his throat when his son had lowered his mitt, revealing a bloody nose. Teddy hadn’t cared that blood was dripping onto his uniform, he just waved the ball triumphantly. “You did great! Your whole team did great.” Why was he so nervous? “Teddy, this is my friend, Tom Hansom.”

  “How do you do, Mr. Hansom. It’s nice to meet you.” Teddy extended his hand.

  Jack was so proud of his boy’s manners.

  “It’s very nice to meet you too, Theodore.”

  “Teddy Boy! Just look at your face!” Reba appeared out of nowhere, fussing over him. “And the knees of your pants!”

  “Reba, where’s Cath? Is she all right?”

  “She’s fine, Jack. She’s with your sister. Girls have no business at a baseball game.”

  “I wish you hadn’t…” Jack felt tension band his forehand. Cath had really wanted to be at this game, and Sarah always found reasons to fault his daughter. He’d have a talk with both his ex-wife and his sister. Meanwhile, “Reba, you remember Tom Hansom, don’t you?”

  “Yes.” Her mouth got that pinched look that Jack really didn’t like. It reminded him a lot of her mother. “You’re back, are you?”

  “Just for a few days.”

  She sniffed and went back to picking and brushing at Teddy’s uniform. “Such a mess. Let’s go home.”

  “Reba, I was going to take Teddy out for an ice cream to celebrate.”

  She glanced at Tom, then put a protective arm around Teddy’s shoulders. “Not today, Jack. I want to get Teddy to Dr. Jacobs. He could have a concussion, or his nose could be broken, or…”