Sex in the Sky

“For John, without whose suggestion this story would never have been written. Another story in a series about the pleasures of youth and the fun had during those glory years….”

*Story Ten – Everybody’s Hero*

That night, Toby was everybody’s hero.

He was golden. Nobody could touch him. The ball kept sailing towards him with remarkable alacrity, thrown by the powerful arm of our quarterback. And each time he somehow managed to evade the defensive lines of the opposing team with an ease that bordered on miraculous. I swear I’d never seen anything like it. It was as if God himself had arranged the players on the field, all to contrive a clear path for Toby to charge down the field like a victorious general. He made touch down after blessed touch down. We had so many points on the board; we were unbeatable before the first half of the game was over.

Toby was literally carried off the field on our shoulders.

It was like I hadn’t even been there. Ordinarily I was one of the stars on the field, but I may as well have just sat on the bench the whole game for all the use I’d been out there. I didn’t mind though. I recognized it was Toby’s time. And I was prouder of him that night than if he’d been my own brother.

He could have had anyone he wanted. It turned out though that the only person he wanted was me.

“Great game man,” I said to him later in the locker room after we’d showered.

Usually I have plenty of opportunities to talk with Toby, but he remained a bit of a loner. Off the field you might take Toby for one of the grungy stoner types, with his tattoos and blue, spiked hair. He had a way about him that just didn’t fit our home town. But on the field he was a competent player who earned the respect of the fans and his fellow players alike. Toby was widely admired. However, because of his reputation as something of a fag, or at least a bisexual, most of the guys gave him a lot of space. Not that anyone would have said anything. Toby would have kicked the shit out of anybody who had the balls to cast any aspersions his way anyway. It’s just that no one wanted to be considered guilty by association. Except me, of course. I didn’t care one way or the other. Damn all if I couldn’t hang around with whomever I wanted to. I liked Toby; he was a good friend. And I dared anyone to question my sexuality.

I’d deflowered half the girls in my grade.

Except that I was one of the few people who knew for a fact Toby liked boys as well as girls. But it didn’t make him a bad guy. And it didn’t make me a bad guy if I’d sucked his cock one drunken night a month ago when we’d been banging chicks together in a hotel room.

Shit happens, as they say.

“It wasn’t bad, man,” he said, with a sense of satisfaction and pride thick in his voice, “Not bad at all.”

He was standing at his locker next to me getting dressed. After he took off his towel he was as naked as a jay bird, and I don’t mind saying that it was one of the few times in my life having a naked man next to me was an intensely erotic experience. Toby glowed with an internal light, and I bathed in the rays he cast off.

“Going out with Katie tonight?” he asked me with a touch of macho bravado, “Taking her out for a victory lap?”

As he said it he mimed a hip thrusting, fucking motion in the crudest possible manner. Ordinarily I would have laughed, and said something equally crude, but instead I just groaned.

“You haven’t heard then?” I replied, with a pained tone, “She dumped my ass this morning.”

The memory was still somewhat painful. Katie was one of the first women I’d ever actually dated, rather than merely had casual sex with. We’d gone out for slightly less than a month, but I had known for most of that time that we were doomed to failure. I had too much of a roving eye, and Katie was too jealous to allow that to go on. Some women view men as a kind of repair project, and therein lies the principal attraction. She thought she could change me. But she was wrong. I wasn’t the kind of guy who liked to go begging for his supper, if you know what I mean. And I wasn’t about to act like some pussy whipped asshole just to get some when she was in the mood. Not me, no sir.

The only thing that really smarted about the way it went down was that Katie had dumped me before I’d dumped her. And she’d been mean about it too. Fortunately, my reputation was too solidly cemented with most of the girls at school for that to be much of a worry. I’d take a small hit with some of the younger girls, but I’d get through it.

I was just surprised Toby hadn’t heard about it before now. Or maybe he had?

“No worries, man,” he said, stepping into his tighty whities and pulling them up over his ass.

I couldn’t help but watch, out of the corner of my eye, as he did so. And I thought, not for the first time, what an amazingly sculpted ass it was. He had a firm, hard body like my own, built from hours spent in the gym. His figure reminded me of one of those statutes you saw in museums of ancient Greek heroes carved from snowy white marble. Except that unlike that cold white stone, Toby’s tanned body radiated an intoxicating outward warmth. I could feel his heat in the close proximity of our positions.

“I’m sure you’ll find something to occupy your time at Jameson’s,” he continued, by now pulling up a pair of tight, ripped blue jeans.

“Not sure if I feel up for it,” I said abruptly, surprising myself.

“Well,” he said, “I’m not going. You can come over to my place and hang if you want.”

It wasn’t unusual for Toby to skip a party like Frank’s. It was a little too crowded for him, and maybe a step or two upscale. Toby seemed to find enjoyment in the company of a much rougher, less popular crowd of people. And it wasn’t unusual for him to find his women by trolling through the bars that he was too young to legitimately be found in.

“Oh, man,” I said to him, “You know you’re going to deprive your fans of their hero tonight.”

“They’ll get over it,” he said matter of factly, and then clapping a hand on my shoulder, “I’ve got a buddy in need. That comes first.”

“Thanks, man,” I said, not wanting to let the mood get too serious, “I’m really touched. I think I might cry.”

Toby broke into a huge smile and started laughing then. The mood was back to the kind of masculine camaraderie that you’d expect to find in a locker room.

“C’mon dude,” he said finally, as we finished getting dressed, “There’s a couple six packs at home with our names on them.”

We snuck out of the school by a side door to avoid the rest of the guys who were heading off to Frank Jameson’s place for the usual Friday night party, and I followed Toby in my truck back to his house. Despite his preferred choice of apparel, Toby’s parents were not poor. His father was a doctor. And they lived in a very nice home on the edge of town not far from my own. I imagined they did lay awake at nights wondering how their son had turned out the way he had.

As we went inside the house, Toby was all swagger.

“My parents aren’t home,” he said, throwing off his jacket and heading for the fridge.

He grabbed a beer and tossed it over to me. Taking another for himself.

“Bottoms up,” he intoned, as we both took a swig and settled in to the business at hand.

We were just a couple of dudes hanging out together in the typical uniform of our age group: jeans and t-shirts. There was a lot to occupy two football heroes who had decided to forgo the weekly party. There were video games that needed playing, movies that needed watching, weed that needed smoking, and the angst filled music of youth that needed listening to. But after that, sometime during the early hours of the morning, I came back to myself, from that brief descent into youthful indolence, to find that I was sitting together with Toby on his couch in his living room, with our respective choices of reading material arrayed on the coffee table before us. The remains of our evening’s excess lay scattered around us, including beer bottles, a few half eaten bags of chips and an empty pizza container. Toby had picked up a comic book after putting down Sports Illustrated and I was looking through a copy of that month’s Playboy.

The centerfold had the most amazing tits. I was genuinely trying to read the articles, but the weight of the day had limited my attention span and my eyes kept floating back to the pussy shots on the pages. I don’t care if they were airbrushed, they were a thing of beauty, and, as my father often said, true beauty is a joy eternal. And it had given me a boner that I was absent mindedly rubbing through my jeans.

“She’s hot,” said Toby’s deep voice from beside me, “Don’t you think?”

“Yeah,” I mumbled in response, feeling suddenly uncomfortable sitting next him. A guy with whom I’d shared something very unexpected, and very confusing, a few weeks before.

I put the magazine down and got up to hide my obvious masculine excitement, abruptly shy. I walked over to the wall of the living room, which was adorned with a variety of pictures showing Toby and his parents in scenes of familial togetherness. They were quite something. In most Toby was a young boy in poses such as standing holding a fish he’d caught with his father or playing at the beach. He was a tender, blond haired child. There was just a hint of the man that he would later become. The last picture I glanced at, which was obviously a school photo from junior high, showed a rather thoughtful young man of about twelve. The changes of adolescence had not yet taken hold, but there was the same handsome face and strong jaw that I knew was boring holes into my back even then from across the room. He had an incredible gentleness about him and I felt a wave of fraternal affection for Toby wash over me right then, although different than the affection I felt for my own brother Peter. For Toby I also felt desire.

I felt, more than heard, him come up behind me. He had crossed the room as quiet as a panther on the prowl.

I needed to break the tension, so I asked him, “Cute kid. What the hell happened to you?”

“Dunno,” he murmured next to my ear, “Bad influences I guess.”

Toby was not quite as tall as I was, but I felt his breath near my ear as he said it. I don’t know what I expected, but I knew that if I turned around just then he would be right there in my face, waiting for me.

Unexpectedly however, disturbing my thoughts, he playfully grabbed me in a classic wrestling move, knocked my legs out from underneath me, and tried to pin me face down on the soft carpet, with himself over me in the top position. Just a couple of guys horsing around.

“Dude,” I asked him, laughingly, my face near the floor, “Do you really want to mess with someone who was an all state wrestling finalist two years in a row?”

Toby just laughed his response, but he tried to hold me there all the same. He should have known that when it came to the wrestling mat, or in this case the floor, I was definitely the boss. He struggled vainly, but I had superior skills and strength. After a few minutes of rough housing, we came to rest there, with me on the top and him underneath looking serenely up at me. He was totally pinned at my mercy.

And he had the eyes of an angel. A face that was beatific. His lashes were long enough for a supermodel. His lips were so tender I wanted to kiss them.

In my own mind it was settled then. Having decided to take the chance, I relaxed and let myself sink in towards his waiting body for a kiss. I didn’t know exactly what I was doing, but I knew it was something I’d been waiting for since we had been together in the locker room earlier that night. I wanted to lose myself in Toby. Before I knew it, there was nothing but the unification of our mouths and the mingling of our tongues.

We broke away for a second and he murmured, half groaning, “God, I want this.”

I smiled at him then. I wanted it too. I really did.

“Just you wait,” I said in response.

Getting up on my knees for a moment, I pulled my t-shirt up and over my head, revealing my broad, muscled chest and torso to Toby. When I had flung the shirt across the room, I knelt there over him, and he raised himself up on his elbows to fully take in the view. With a lascivious, but satisfied grin as crooked as ever they come, he ran the fingers of one hand across my chest, tracing the outline of my muscles. It was the lightest touch imaginable, but it burned me like a fire.

I needed him completely at that moment, beyond any doubt.

I leaned down to kiss him again, and his lips answered mine back. He was hungry and I could feel it call to my own unsatisfied hunger. Before I could go further, he grabbed my wrist firmly and broke our kiss.

“Stop, Marc,” he said softly, yet firmly.

I rested my forehead on his momentarily, but my lips had parted from his. I was reluctant to part from him, but I gently pulled away.

He got up into a sitting position and peeled off his own t-shirt. It was a gesture that matched my earlier one. But this time I got to drink in the firm outlines of his body, taut and rippling with muscle and youthful vigor. My eyes lingered momentarily on the dragon that wrapped around his left, upper arm.

I needed to close my eyes for a second, to concentrate on calming down and controlling my impulses. Timing as they say is everything, and tonight I wanted to take my time. When I opened my eyes again, Toby was looking back at me quizzically.

“There are so many things that I want to do to you, Toby,” I told him trying to explain, “And with you.”

He answered me with that crooked smile again and his expression softened. My throat was dry, but I wet my lips in anticipation. Nervous in a way I’d never been before, not even when I’d lost my virginity to a woman. I leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. With sure, swift fingers he undid my jeans as I kissed him and he freed my cock from my boxers. I felt the chill of the air on my throbbing meat. But Toby wasted no time, so eager was he. I could feel the softness of the skin of his hand as he enticed my dick with his fingers; his firm, skilled hand began to slowly stroke me to an impending orgasm.

He now lay again beneath me and I pulled his knee up against my leg, sliding my hand up the back of his upper thigh as far I could. He immediately rocked his hips to meet my fingertips as they grazed along the crease where his leg became his ass, and groaned into my lips, as I found a particularly sensitive spot.

He increased the pace and pressure of his hand on my cock, forcing me to return his groan with a groan of my own. It became impossible for me to keep myself from matching the rhythm of his strokes with my own thrusts. I felt a tingling spread from my balls outward, down the insides of my thighs and up into my abs.

We lay like that for a very long time, Toby bringing me near orgasm time and again as he kept the wave breaking before it reached the shore.

“I want you to take me,” he said finally as he nuzzled my ear.

I got up off him for a minute, standing up. And he stood up too. I drank in his muscled body, broad shoulders and narrow waist. His jeans still hung against his hips, sagging and baggy. I could see the outline of his cock tent the denim. But I didn’t wait. I let mine fall to the floor, followed by my boxers. He moved, achingly away from me and led me upstairs to his parent’s broad king size bed, with my cock pointing at him like a compass. I followed the muscles of his upper back with my eyes, and they bunched as he moved, directing my gaze down to his still covered ass, which was firm, tight and round. We didn’t wait to hit the bed. I came up behind Toby and he leaned back against me as my lips descended to his flesh. They opened and closed against the crook of his neck.

His head tilted, letting me continue sucking and nibbling at his shoulder, my hand moved around to his chest, pulling his body tight against mine. My cock pressed up against his jean covered ass. But I wanted to get closer. Still nuzzling him, I reached around and undid his jeans, pushing them down as I did so. The thin white cotton fabric was all that separated us and Toby pulled that down for me, eager in his haste to let me have my way.

My cock was now wedged in the crack between his firm, round ass cheeks. I could feel the muscles bunch as he anticipated my moves and I knew my cock had found a home. I was nestled there. He reached back and held my hips, while grinding his ass against me. We groaned together, finally being able to feel skin against skin, having waited a long time. I found his nipple with a hand and teased it, squeezing and pinching until it was as hard, like his dick. I licked behind his ear, nibbled on his ear lobe.

“Lie down,” I whispered.

He stepped out of his jeans and the underwear that lay in a pile around his ankles. He smiled at me and turned around, facing me, before his ass made contact with the bed. His cock stuck up above him and I climbed onto the bed over him, still dominate, my legs fitting nicely between his. I leaned over him on one arm as I ran a free hand over his chest in a lazily motion. He leaned into me and just as quick our tongues where merging together in each other’s mouths as our cocks rubbed against each other below. My slick precum was erupting out of the end of my prick and mixing with his. Behind my back I could feel his hand, his fingers running up and down my shoulder blades, massaging the muscle and pulling me gently in to him.

“Fuck,” he said to me, “You feel so good, Marc.”

I slid lower on the bed, finally having the chance to spend time with his chest. My tongue traveled slowly from his neck. His scent was deeply masculine and intoxicating. I licked across the muscle to his nipple, feeling it harden against my tongue. I bit down on him as I would a woman, going from nipple to nipple, back and forth, letting neither soften. He arched against me in pleasure, writhing under my weight.

But I needed to kiss him again.

I caught a look of lust and excitement in his eyes. And I pressed my lips tightly against his. Toby opened his mouth as my tongue slid in, his tongue stabbing against mine. We played back and forth, letting the other take over for a time, but for only seconds, neither of us willing to let the other have complete control. Then I soon found Toby’s tongue wandering over my chest while I slid up his body, taking his fingers into my mouth. Switching from one to another, I sucked and licked until they were all wet. I groaned as his teeth sunk down onto my nipple. In reply, my body arched, pushing hard against him.

Before I realized what he was doing, Toby was on top of me. He pinned me beneath him, his gaze still locked onto mine.

“My turn,” he murmured aggressively.

I was very excited. I arched beneath him, panting in anticipation. He bent his knees so that he knelt above me and worked all the way down my body with his tongue. I’d never had any woman do that to me before. He didn’t linger for long in any one particular spot, and avoided my engorged dick altogether, instead spending time licking and sucking the skin of my inner thighs. I wanted him to suck me, but I didn’t want to rush him either.

He took hold of my hips and rolled me over onto my stomach, then crawled up my body to position himself over me. He took time exploring all the bumps and groves of my back, starting with my shoulders and the nape of my neck. Testing the waters, he settled his hips against mine, letting his dick rest snuggly into my crack.

I was nervous and excited at the same time and I wasn’t sure what I would do if Toby decided to take that part of me just then. I don’t think I could have made him stop. I’m not sure if I would have wanted him to.

Holding very still, he whispered into my ear, perhaps misreading my sudden tension, “Take it easy, Marc, I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do.”

Marc sank down, embarrassed, wincing slightly at the dull ache which reminded him of the kicking Rayne”s gentle mouth had not been able to ease. He touched his fingertips to the smoothness of his lips and cheek again, a little bewildered.

“I”m not bleeding…”

“Vampires have their uses,” Rayne told him mildly. “Whatever it is in my spit that heals up a bite after feeding is just as good for other kinds of puncture wound.”

Marc looked up at him, still perplexed.

“I kissed you better,” Rayne elaborated bluntly, with a little grin that exposed tiny, perfect fangs. “You wanna look after that pretty face a bit more, sweetheart.”

For a moment, Marc looked away, his expression awkward and unhappy, as if at some darker memory. Then he lifted his dark gaze to Rayne”s impassive features once more.

“You “knew” I was in trouble, didn”t you?” he demanded, more firmly. “You came to find me?”

Rayne”s fingers ruffled his hair affectionately.

“Whatever!” the Vampire said, with infuriating ambiguity.

This time, when he removed Marc”s clothing he did it slowly and with such exquisite tenderness that the young man almost wept again out of sheer joy and yearning. There was a sense of inevitability to this act of lovemaking that set it apart from the frenzied bouts of passion which had already preceded it on this rumpled bed. Both were aware of the passing of time… the inexorable ticking of the clock which carried them ever closer to journey”s end. In Oakland they would both step down from the train, strangers once more, and head off about their respective business in the city as if nothing had ever passed between them. Maybe they would never see each other again. But for now, nothing could part them, nothing could halt the steady magnetism which pulled them together, joining lips onto soft flesh and urgently caressing hands to hungry bodies seeking solace.

Rayne kissed him with intense, deliberate passion, on every inch of his naked body, undressing him as if he were the most fragile and precious thing in the world and staking claim to him with his fingers and his tongue until Marc was gasping helplessly with a desire that almost saw him pass out. His own hands fluttered longingly over Rayne”s dark, silken head and slender back, drawing the other man against him, clinging to him and urging himself upward into the Vampire”s seductive embrace. Soft lips caressed his neck and throat, his earlobes and the hollow of his breastbone. Sharp, white teeth teased his nipples and nipped at the flesh of his wrists and the crook of his elbows, before that gentle mouth buried itself against his palms, kissing his hands and sucking his fingers.

His own hands explored Rayne”s beautiful face wonderingly as he was kissed and seduced from head to toe. Those tender lips whispered tormentingly across the flatness of his belly and down into the dip of his groin, kissing but not sucking until he wanted to cry out, imploring the Vampire to swallow his painfully erect cock. Instead, Rayne turned him very gently onto his belly and kissed his lean thighs and the backs of his knees and his calves and ankles and the smooth inner arches of his feet, lifting each leg in turn to nuzzle his lover”s sole and draw Marc”s toes into his mouth whilst the mortal writhed against the bedclothes and moaned with longing. Down one leg he roamed and back up the other, kissing the softness of his lover”s buttocks then the sensitive hollow at the base of his spine, worming his tongue seductively beneath the tail of Marc”s backbone, toying teasingly with the pucker of his asshole whilst his hand cupped and caressed the other man”s balls, squeezing and fondling him. Under him the mortal cried out with greater urgency, but Rayne was not done with him yet.

Slowly, and lingeringly he kissed a wandering path up the other man”s naked back and rubbed his lover”s slim shoulders with both strong hands as his mouth explored the nape of Marc”s neck through the spill of his dark hair. The Vampire was intensely aroused by this steady circumnavigation of his bedmate”s naked body and he rubbed his erect sex firmly between Marc”s thighs as his mouth worked on the mortal”s neck and shoulders and his hands travelled down again to stroke the young man”s belly and his cock.

“Do you want me?” he whispered huskily into Marc”s ear now, the first words he had spoken since this seduction began.

“”Yes”…!” There was barely a moment of hesitation. His partner”s voice was virtually inaudible but the assent in every tense line of his body cried out to Rayne, demanding satisfaction. “Please…! Oh “please”!”

There were no more words. Rayne lubed him with deliberate care and attentiveness, then entered him slowly feeling the lovely youth push back against him. Marc writhed in his embrace as the Vampire”s hands snaked down between his thighs, touching him and rubbing him fiercely until his cries of encouragement lost their coherence, muffled in the pillows. Sinking down on him, Rayne kissed him, then bit gently on his shoulder, and more firmly on his slender neck as he fucked the young man harder. The blood spilled between his teeth and he groaned with pleasure now, pressing himself deeper into the beautiful mortal”s yielding body as he fed.

Marc exhaled a sharp little breath, then a moan of astonished affirmation and Rayne”s fingers were suddenly slick with his lover”s cum. Under him, his lover murmured his name over and over, the words catching in his throat. Rayne pulsed a little faster and lifted his head, sighing with intense satisfaction at his own release. He shuddered with pleasure, letting himself sink down again onto Marc”s sweat-soaked body, sucking the stickiness of his partner”s semen from his fingers with peculiar delicacy, then after a few moments, he began to kiss the boy once more.

Each time they made love, Marc found himself wondering how it could possibly be better than the time before. Each time, Rayne took him to a more satisfying peak. One time he did so with his god-sent lips wrapped around the shaft of his lover”s cock and his fingers buried deep in Marc”s ass. Another, he spread himself and let the mortal take him, willingly, in return, until his bedmate was burning inside with a cold fire that exploded upward from his crotch, blazing through his gut and searing his brain like a lightning strike. That in itself was a gift; he already knew of the singer”s general unwillingness to play the submissive, but at this stage of their lovemaking, with Rayne having just reached a second climax within him and Marc still hard and needy, it seemed a natural progression. The Vampire offered no resistance when his mortal lover wriggled down between his thighs and pushed his knees back to his chest urgently, nudging his cock rapidly up into Rayne”s asshole.

The singer was perfectly tight and wonderful to ride. He wrapped his legs around Marc whilst they made out and pulled him close so that they could kiss, sloppily, as the young man bucked and thrust between his thighs, his lean body rising and falling like a seal in water, undulating smoothly in the Vampire”s eager embrace. He sank down, crying weakly in Rayne”s arms when the moment of climax came and the other man held him in wordless empathy, swaying him back and forth until he felt he could breathe without sobbing.

The drowsy gold of a late summer”s afternoon lay thick over the small, shadowy compartment, melting into the heavy atmosphere of mingled exhaustion and resignation that pervaded in every fold and corner. The two beings at the heart of this rich, sun-gilt silence observed one another with the detachment and finality of people who are not quite friends and not quite strangers, consumed by the knowledge that soon even this small intimacy will be denied them. Leaning back against the pillows, the Vampire drew his legs up close to his lean, naked body and wrapped pale, slender arms about them. His chin rested on his knees and his brittle, chartreuse gaze was distant beyond the fine, sable fronds of his long, silken mane.

Beside him, his mortal lover sprawled among the sweat-damp, rumpled sheets, head resting in his loosely folded arms, prone and disarrayed, still gasping in the lingering warmth of their recent passion, all too reluctant to let it go. He lay watching Rayne for a long, reverent while, fixing the image of his lover in his head so that he would remember it for all time. The thought occurred that he had never seen the Vampire inactive before; Rayne was always doing something - reading or playing with his laptop, or just stretching out on the bed with a cigarette balanced between his long, dextrous fingers, blowing streamers of blue-grey smoke towards the ceiling. Gently he stroked the backs of his own fingers over the cool, sleek, hairless flesh of his lover”s lean, naked thigh.

The roll and clatter of the train beneath him and all around him, so familiar by now that it barely disturbed his awareness, served to lull him into a half-dream so that, when he spoke, the Vampire”s words seemed to reach out to him from another lifetime. At first Marc did not even hear the question, drunk on pleasure and comfort and the smoky, tenor cadences of his lover”s musical voice.

“It”s getting late,” the singer murmured again, without looking down. His hand brushed softly through Marc”s hair and rested briefly, like butterfly wings, against his moist, flushed cheek before taking flight once more. “You should start getting ready. We”ll be arriving soon.”

Beside him, Marc”s spirits sank a little and he closed his eyes, shutting out the ugly reality for a while longer but, try as he might, he could not keep the spell whole. Beyond the fragile walls of their cocoon the mundane world was waiting for him, talons outstretched. In less than half an hour his life would return to the ordered normalcy he had known for so long. It was ridiculous, he had been looking forward to this visit for ages and adored San Francisco, but a part of him felt sad to acknowledge that the journey was over; that in so short a time he and the Vampire would go their separate ways. Maybe he would never see the other man again. It surprised him just how much that idea brought a lump back to his throat.

“D”you think they”d notice if we just stayed here?”

A mellow chuckle was his only response. Unwillingly he opened his eyes and glanced up to find the other man observing him with a fond smile.

“Have you had fun, sweetheart?” Rayne Wylde asked, with apparent sincerity.

“Oh lord… “yes”!” Marc nodded almost at once. “I wish…”

A finger descended, and touched his lips, demanding silence. After a moment the Vampire whispered; “Is anyone meeting you?”

Emerald eyes widened perceptibly. In all the heady passion of the last few days, Marc had forgotten almost why he set out in the first place. Now he nodded, struck dumb by the cold blast of reality.

“Uh-huh…” he forced out at last. “I”m staying with friends. I… I guess someone will come down for me.”

“You”d better get yourself dressed and cleaned up then,” the Vampire suggested wryly. “Time”s running out.”

“What about you?” Marc asked him as he reached down for his jeans, automatically, wriggling into them. It felt outlandish to be clad again after so long in the embrace of tangled sheets and sweat-slick flesh. “What will “you” do next?”

A faint smile twisted the Vampire”s generous mouth and he hugged his knees a little tighter. “Who knows?”

“Are you planning to stay in San Francisco for a while?”

“I might,” Rayne said elusively.

Marc swallowed, conscious that he was shivering, in spite of the heat. “Will… will I see you? You know… Around?”

The black-haired man turned a gaze like melting ice upon him and he half imagined drowning in that unblinking stare, swallowed up by the intense sadness and passion in Rayne Wylde”s beautiful eyes.

“Marc… I don”t think that”s a good idea. Do you?” he said frankly, shattering myriad half-formed hopes and dreams.

The young man looked away. Deep in his chest the lump hardened and turned to ice. He closed his eyes, determined not to shame himself by crying but it seemed criminally unfair to him all the same. He had hoped, after Rayne swept to his rescue like that, to find that the Vampire”s feelings had mellowed. Okay… he could understand that someone like Rayne couldn”t possibly adopt every boy who fell head over heels in love with him, but during the last few hours they had seemed so incredibly, insatiably close….

“Marc?” the other man prompted, more gently, and he realised that the Vampire had expected an answer.

Sitting up slowly, he pushed the hair from his eyes and shook his head, not trusting words. Soft, cold fingers touched his cheek and neck briefly; a gesture of consolation more than desire. It occurred to him that the Vampire was never warm, not even now, after all they had shared. A little shiver coursed through him.

“I”m a nomad, sweetheart,” Rayne said quietly. “I come and go without warning. I”m bad tempered and unpredictable, and chronically unfaithful. You can do much better. You “will” do much better, I promise you!”

When the young man reached for his discarded shirt and vest, pulling them on carelessly, without a word, Rayne said; “So you have friends in Oakland?”

It was small talk; the Vampire made no attempt to disguise it. His partner shrugged, still buttoning the shirt in injured silence. In his imagination, he saw the half-stunned faces of his companions when they recognised the beautiful, black-haired man stepping down from the car on his arm.

“Perhaps we should say goodbye now, then.”

The dream dispersed as quickly as it had arisen. For the first time since Rayne had turned to look down at him, Marc found words. His lips trembled but he forced himself to speak.

“I hate goodbyes… Do we “have” to…?”

The Vampire smiled ruefully.

“Not if you don”t want to,” he conceded, but he leaned forward all the same and touched his lips softly to Marc”s. It was the briefest of kisses, but it melted the ice around his heart and as the young man turned away, pulling on his boots, he felt the tears rise to his eyes and stumbled quickly for the door not wanting to weep like a child in front of the impassively handsome Vampire.

Behind him, Rayne said; “Thank you, sweetheart.”

Hesitating in the doorway, Marc did not dare to look back but, in a voice barely audible to mortal ears, he echoed; “Thank you?”

“Your company made this journey one I won”t forget in a long time.”

He swallowed the tears long enough to lift his head, his dark eyes glittering through the tangle of his mane. From the bed the Vampire smiled back at him warmly and Marc knew that he would see that smile in his dreams for years to come. As an old man he would look back on the memory of that fond and lovely face and his heart would swell with longing. He came back to the bedside, cupping Rayne”s head in his hands and drawing the singer”s mouth onto his own one final time, then murmuring; “Oh lord… nor will I.”

Then he turned and walked away, and this time he kept walking.

In the bathroom he splashed his face and hands repeatedly with cold water before steeling himself to return to the lounge car for his belongings. He made himself wait until the very last moment, until he could be sure that the train had stopped and most of the passengers alighted, not actively seeking another confrontation with Tony and Chet. A ghostly pale face peered back from the mirror at his own, features he barely recognised. He felt as though he had been aged and transformed by the experiences of the last few days; that they had left him drained and empty of substance. It was not a comforting feeling.

The air was cooler and cleaner than he had known for days when he finally stepped down from the train and walked along the platform to the barrier, moving like a spirit among the other travellers and their trolley-loads of baggage. He did not look around him; not wanting to break the peculiar dream-like sense of being an extra in the movie of his own life. He felt almost as if he might run into himself by accident if he dared to look anywhere but directly ahead. If Rayne was watching him, he thought, it would not do to look as if he was actively seeking someone out.

As he neared the barrier and recognised familiar faces; bright, welcoming expressions turned to greet him, the dream shimmered and melted and he experienced a surge of emotion that was almost relief. Warm, real, human arms embraced him and he was caught up in the pleasure of greeting his old friends. Bit by bit he came back to life, remembering who he was and why he was here, but as they drew him away, across the concourse and out towards the waiting car, he caught a glimpse of a lean, black-clad figure gliding unhurriedly out into the day, the warm, west-coast sunlight shimmering off his raven”s wing of sable hair, holdall slung casually over one slim shoulder and laptop case over the other.

A cab moved between them and the Vampire raised a commanding hand to hail the driver. As they paused to climb into the waiting vehicles he lifted his head, breathing in the copper tang of the coastal air. Across the sunlight-shimmering car roofs peridot-pale eyes met darker, emerald ones for a timeless moment, and the world stood still. Then Rayne Wylde flashed a fanged, feral smile and ducked into the cab and the sea winds swept them apart on their respective ways.

:FIN:

The combination of Paul”s mouth, tongue and hand driving him over the edge, and the vibration of the humming, was finally too much for Wil to handle and he came, his hips lifting from the ground as he gasped Paul”s name under his breath and tried not to scream. Paul swallowed Wil”s cock again and ran his fingers down his perineum and before Wil knew it he was convulsing again. Paul sucked fervently until Wil was finished and then moved up to capture Wil”s lips with his own, pressing his own throbbing erection against Wil”s thigh, causing him to harden again almost immediately.

“I want you,” Paul whispered in between kisses, rubbing his cock up and down the length of Wil”s. In response Wil smiled and wrapped his legs around him, grinding himself harder against Paul. He half growled as he told Wil to roll over, which he did without objection. Paul grabbed a condom out of his bag and fumbled for a few seconds before he finally got it open and rolled it on. He leant down and kissed the small of Wil”s back. “Ready?” he asked. Wil nodded.

“Please.” The desperation in Wil”s voice as he said this only served to turn Paul on even more and he slowly guided himself part of the way into Wil, who pressed back against him, silently asking for more. Paul suddenly thrust himself deep and Wil cried out in pain and pleasure, then quickly stifled the sound by biting his lip. They froze for a moment, listening for any stirring from the next tent, but hearing nothing, Paul reached around and wrapped his hand around Wil”s shaft as he thrust deeper inside him. Wil was sucking in gulps of air desperately and they were both covered in a sheen of sweat as Wil moved to meet each thrust. Soon they”d worked up a frantic pace and Paul knew he couldn”t hold back much longer. He stroked Wil”s shaft with increasing speed and then rubbed his thumb over the tip. Suddenly Wil was coming in Paul”s hand, biting his own arm hard and screaming. Moments later Paul threw his head back with a strangled cry, his whole body convulsing as he emptied himself inside Wil. Paul collapsed over Wil, their bodies slick with perspiration, and they lay like that until they both caught their breath a little. Eventually Paul reluctantly withdrew from Wil and disposed of the condom, then Wil rolled over onto his back and pulled Paul close, kissing him gently, both men not having enough energy to do anything else.

“You”re amazing,” Wil mumbled, stroking Paul”s back lightly. Paul smiled and closed his eyes.

“Thankyou.” Moments later they were both fast asleep.

*PART 6*

“Mmm…” Paul mumbled as he became aware of gentle kisses being planted on his chest and stomach, gradually making their way up his neck and finally to his lips. He moaned softly as his lower lip was sucked into the vaguely unfamiliar mouth and Paul slid his hand up the nape of their neck and into the soft silky hair. He wound his fingers into their hair and pulled them deeper as his other hand trailed down the velvety smooth back, bringing the comfortably toned body closer until it was pressed firmly against his. Finally he pulled back and opened his eyes. Wil. Gorgeous young Wil. He smiled sleepily and squinted at the light illuminating the roof of the tent.

“Hey there,” Wil murmured, mirroring Paul”s smile.

“Hey.” Paul grinned at the hand that was ever roaming his body. “How you feeling?”

“Like doing it again right now.” Wil”s eyes were dark with desire and they simultaneously claimed each other”s lips once more.

“Come on Paul, time to get up!” called Richard in a motherly tone from just outside. Wil and Paul froze and stared at the opening to the tent. A moment later the flap was flung open and they both held their breath as a head ducked inside. It was Rove. They sighed in relief and Wil lay his head on Paul”s chest before looking up to Rove. He was grinning like he”d just won a million dollars. Rove dropped a pair of jeans and a t-shirt over their naked bodies and waggled his finger mockingly.

“Hurry up Wil,” Rove said in a hushed voice “Get dressed and get out of there now while Gatesy”s stalling Richard.” Wil nodded and stood up as Rove left the tent. He swiftly pulled on his boxers and the clothes Rove had delivered and then stepped towards the exit.

“Hey!” Paul protested, sitting up on his sleeping bag. Wil turned and looked down at him questioningly. “Don”t I even get a kiss?” he pouted. A smile of dawning fell on Wil”s face and he dropped to his knees before Paul and pulled him in for a deep probing kiss, automatically running his hand down Paul”s chest. Eventually Paul gently pushed him away. Wil stared at him, obviously not really wanting to leave. “Well go on, get out of here!” Paul insisted, giving him a slight shove, and Wil grinned and scampered off.

*****

“Hey Rich, hey guys,” Paul said after sitting down next to Richard near the campfire. He looked up to find Gatesy and Rove grinning at him knowingly. He sent them a mock warning look and then smirked, looking down at his shoes.

“Well look who”s here!” Gatesy said in an outrageously exaggerated voice. Obviously Wil had just turned up. “Hi Wil! Have a good “sleep” last night?” Paul looked up and Wil wasn”t even looking at his friend; he couldn”t take his eyes off Paul. Rich was looking on with a confused look on his face and Paul grinned evilly, making lurid gestures to Wil with his hands but keeping it out of Richard”s line of sight. Wil began blushing a fairly violent shade of red and quickly sat down, avoiding looking at Paul until he had regained his composure. Rove and Gatesy were obviously trying very hard not to laugh, but not having much success.

“Uh, guys…what”s going on?” Rich asked, looking completely bewildered.

“Nothing to worry about Rich,” Gatesy insisted “We just walked in on Wil last night…oh, how can I put it delicately? Wan-”

“I don”t think Richard would really like to hear that information Gatesy!” Wil interrupted, glaring at Gatesy. Rich suddenly caught on and a huge grin spread across his face. Paul smirked. He knew the information they were feeding Richard wasn”t true, but they were putting on such a good act he could almost believe it himself!

“Hey Wil, it”s a totally normal thi-”

“Fuck off Richard!” Wil snarled. He seriously sounded upset. Well maybe it wasn”t true, but it was obviously embarrassing him enough for it to be getting to him this much.

“Wil is-a wan-ker, Wil is-a wan-ker, Wil is-a-” Rove taunted in a singsong voice.

“Shut the fuck up!” Wil”s voice was slightly higher now, and he didn”t look at all happy. Paul frowned.

“Okay, I think that”s enough guys,” he spoke up finally “I think we”ve given him enough shit to last for the rest of the day.” The group looked at him and then at Wil. “Okay?” he asked. There were mumbles of “yeah” and “okay” all around and Paul nodded, satisfied that he”d done his good deed for the day. “So…what”s to eat?”

*PART 7*

Paul trudged through the bush, his arms laden with plates and cutlery they had used for their baked beans and damper breakfast – not exactly a choice meal of Paul”s but since they hadn”t been fishing or set any traps to catch food there wasn”t much better. Stupidly he”d let Rich talk him into doing all the washing for that day, but he”d seen Gatesy heading into the trees and wanted to see what he was up to so he thought he may as well have something to do at the same time.

He was heading vaguely in the direction of the river when he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye. He met the waterline and then looked upstream. The river seemed to widen into a kind of water hole – an ideal place for swimming – and on the other side of the river a miniature waterfall streamed down the rocky cliff face towering above them. Finally he saw the movement again and he froze. He crouched and carefully put the dishes down beside him, not taking his eyes off the figure, which was now stripping their clothes off. It was Gatesy, and looking in quite good form too from what he could see, and that wasn”t all that much. He had to see more. He rose back up to his feet and began ever so slowly creeping towards where Gatesy was. Paul”s eyes ran over his smooth agile back and he unconsciously licked his lips. Gatesy, now completely naked, walked slowly into the water until it was up to his waist and then dived under. He stayed down for a few moments and then rose to the surface again, shaking some of the water from his hair. Paul hadn”t realised it but he was now only about 20 metres from where Gatesy was. He also didn”t realise, as he looked at the pile of clothes on a nearby rock, that Gatesy was looking at him with a huge grin on his face.

“So you gonna come join me or just stand there?” Paul jumped and swung towards where the voice had come from.

“Oh…uh…sorry…what?” Paul was blushing and he was sure Gatesy could tell going by the smug smile on his face. It was embarrassing enough being caught in the act, let alone for the other person to be totally revelling in your discomfort!

“Coming in?” Gatesy repeated, raising his eyebrows and unsuccessfully gesturing towards the water. Paul looked at him. Yes he wanted to, but Gatesy was with Rove wasn”t he? What if he got in there and then couldn”t control his urges? Gatesy cocked his head to the side and that was all it took for Paul to make his decision. He rapidly got undressed down to his underpants, then glanced at Gatesy. He was watching Paul intently, a slight smile on his face. Finally Paul couldn”t stand the pressure any longer and he stripped off his underwear and was in the water as quickly as possible. He didn”t want to risk any “unwanted tension” in his body, and also he was feeling a bit weird about skinny dipping, alone, with a guy who was already in a relationship, and was also extremely attractive. He would have to be seriously careful about his actions right now or all hell could break loose. He looked up to find Gatesy grinning at him. “Welcome to “The Hole”. Suggestive name, but it doesn”t mean anything of course.” Gatesy winked and Paul ducked under to wet his hair, but also to cool himself down a bit. It helped and he came up shivering slightly.

“This is such a beautiful place,” he commented, taking a more detailed look at their surroundings “I”ll have to remember to do a few sketches of it before we leave.”

“Right.” Gatesy replied. By now it was obvious to Paul that Gatesy wasn”t an arty type person at all. “Come with me and I”ll show you something.” The way Gatesy was looking at him told Paul he probably shouldn”t, but despite this he followed Gatesy. He swam towards the waterfall and went straight through it. Paul paused for a moment, still contemplating whether he was doing the right thing, before ducking through the rush of water as well. He looked around for Gatesy and it took him a moment to spot him sitting on a rock just inside the opening of the cave. Paul could see everything, and now that he was close up he saw that Gatesy”s body was even more toned than he had first thought, and he had a package to die for. “See something you like?”

*PART 8*

“What!?” Paul exclaimed in shock.

“See something you like?” Gatesy repeated, gesturing towards the inside of the cave “I thought maybe you”d like to sketch this too.” He shrugged. Paul felt a rush of relief. He”d thought Gatesy had been meaning something totally different. He looked around, his insides still squirming. Gatesy was right. It was beautiful. The water glistened off the various shaped rocks jutting from the inside of the cave, and a shaft of light through the roof gave it a mystical effect. Maybe he was wrong about Gatesy not being at all interested in art. Finally Paul nodded in response to the question. He felt like a total dick for being sucked in by his overactive imagination, if you could call it that. He heard a small splash, and turned back to find Gatesy in the water before him, standing awfully close. He could feel what was going to happen. “Shit!” he thought, heating up and at the same time trying to force himself to move away. He”d just about gotten up the nerve to move when Gatesy leant in and brushed his lips across Paul”s, his hand twining around and tugging the hairs as the nape of his neck. Out of all the things Paul loved having done to him by a lover, Gatesy had just found one of the most erotic.

“Gatesy,” Paul protested weakly, definitely not objective enough to make him stop, rather, to cause him to keep going. Gatesy”s hand trailed down the full length of his spine, pressing gently at the very tip. Paul moaned – yet again Gatesy had found another one of Paul”s weak spots. He seemed to be having no trouble at all in guessing what Paul would like. He was driving Paul wild and he”d hardly even done anything. Paul could feel the guilt rising in his body once more as Gatesy moved in to kiss him again. Finally he pushed him away. “No, Gatesy, we can”t do this.” Gatesy stared at him, his brow knitting slightly.

“Why not?” he questioned, seeming clueless as to what the problem could be.

“Well…uh… It just feels wrong to be doing this when you”re with Rove. Call me crazy, but that”s just how I am.” Paul looked away and crossed his arms defensively over his chest.

“What the…? Ohhh! No, Rove and I aren”t together, we just sleep together sometimes!” Paul looked back at him uncertainly. “Really, that”s all it is. It”s the same with Wil – this is what we always do when we go camping together, not that Rich knows that of course!” Finally Paul let out a smile. The cloud of guilt finally lifted from around Paul”s shoulders. “Okay?” Paul nodded.

“Sure.”

*****

Gatesy had done all the right things and touched him in all the right places. It was as if he knew his body off by heart before he”d even layed a finger on him. Paul would have happily agreed to spend his whole life with this man, just to get the astounding amount of pleasure that he hadn”t often felt with other lovers. It had been a fairly energetic rumpy-pumpy session and the cool spring water had added to the exhilarating effect. When they finally emerged from the water and lay down on a large rock to dry off, Paul felt utterly refreshed and more relaxed than he had in months. Gatesy stretched out beside him and looked over at Paul.

“That was fucking amazing.”

“You”re telling me mate.” Paul smiled and closed his eyes, bringing his arms up behind his head. He was just drifting into a daydream-like state when his breath caught in his throat at the feel of Gatesy”s hand brushing gently over his groin area. He opened his eyes and made a soft noise of pleasure when Gatesy tweaked his nipple between his fingers. It was only when the hand moved away that he focussed and realised that Gatesy was now fully dressed and holding Paul”s clothes in one arm. An impish grin spread across Gatesy”s face.

“Hey Paul, want your clothes?” Paul frowned. “Uh-oh”, he thought. He knew what was coming next. He made a lunge for the clothes but Gatesy was too quick. “You”ll have to catch me first!” he exclaimed, and ran off.

“Shit!” Paul growled. He jumped to his feet and bolted after him. “Gatesy, I”m gonna fuckin” kill you!”

*PART 9*

Paul jogged into the campsite wearing only his shoes and jocks that Gatesy had graciously dropped during the pursuit and came to a stop, bending over to catch his breath.

“Gatesy!” he roared. Rove poked his head out from his tent and burst out laughing. Paul sneered at him. “What the fuck”re you looking at!?” Rove stifled a giggle and beckoned to him.

“In here.” Paul grudgingly climbed into the tent and looked around, then he spotted his clothes dumped in the corner “So I”m guessing he did it to you too then, eh?” Rove grinned, sitting down on his sleeping bag.

“Hmph,” Paul grunted, flopping down beside Rove and carefully examining his clothes for any damage “Where”re the three stooges now?”

“Well Gatesy disappeared, for obvious reasons, taking the car with him mind you. I hope you punish him really good for this Paul!”

“Oh, you bet I will! You fucking bet!” Paul pulled on his jeans and t-shirt and then tied his shoelaces, which, in his haste to try and catch Gatesy, he hadn”t done yet.

“And Rich and Wil are up the river fishing.”

“Why are you here by yourself then?”

“Oh, I was with Rich and Wil, I just came back to get some more bait – the stuff they”re using is crap. Wanna join us?”

“Yeah, sure.” Paul said with a shrug. Gatesy probably wouldn”t turn up for a few hours yet anyway so he could use a bit of time to waste.

*****

Paul swung the rod back and cast out a line into the water. So far he”d caught two fish, Rove had caught three, Wil had hooked two puny little midgets which had to be thrown back, and Rich hadn”t had any luck at all. Rove was right about them using the wrong bait, as he was using Rove”s and they were the only ones to catch anything that could truthfully be called “fish”. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Camping wasn”t really his thing; back home he constantly had to have something to do, but out here you could actually relax and do nothing – it would take a bit of getting used to. Paul frowned as he heard a rustle from the bushes behind him and he turned to see what it was.

“Boo!” yelled Gatesy. Paul jumped. He spun to face him and stabbed the fishing rod into the ground in one movement, then shoved Gatesy stumbling backwards into a bush. By now he”d gotten the attention of the rest of the party and they looked on in amusement. “Shit Paul, calm down!” Gatesy climbed to his feet and stared at Paul”s malicious scowl in shock. He took a few steps towards Paul, his hands up in surrender. “I”m sorry, okay?”

“Get fucked.” Paul muttered, pushing Gatesy again, but this time sending him flying into the river, the impact causing droplets of water to explode and rain down on them. Gatesy came up looking like a mangy wet dog. His clothes were clinging uncomfortably to his body and he was covered in greeny-brown slime. He looked really upset. Paul sneered proudly. Everyone was laughing, and Gatesy obviously wasn”t impressed. He paddled out of the water and slowly squelched his way back towards the camp.

“That was a pisser Paul!” Rove chuckled, slapping him on the back “You got him real good. He”ll know not to mess with you again!” Rich and Wil laughed and shook their heads, not knowing what exactly was going on, but not questioning it– they”d seen how physical Paul had gotten with Gatesy and they definitely didn”t want to get in the way if he happened to get the urge to attack them.

*PART 10*

“Well, I think that”s enough for lunch, “and” tea if we can”t find anything else.” Richard said, reeling in his line and packing up the tackle box “Did you go set the traps Rove?”

“Yeah, I did it this morning. I”ll go check them a bit after dark.”

“I”m starving. Hurry up.” Wil urged and began leading the way back to camp.

It was only when Richard had wrapped the fish in foil and put them on the fire to cook that Paul remembered something vital. He was meant to do the dishes and instead he”d left them down by the river. Cursing under his breath he told them he”d be back soon and jogged towards where he presumed he”d left them. He came to the water and then slowly began making his way downstream, not wanting to risk standing on the dishes and breaking the only plates they”d brought along. Luckily they were still in the same place and he hastily washed them and then walked back up towards “the Hole”. He slowed as he saw Gatesy crouched a little further up in a pair of shorts, washing his slime-covered clothes. Paul frowned. He really had been a little harsh on him. He considered going up and apologising but then changed his mind. Gatesy had deserved it. He turned to walk back to the camp but then Gatesy spotted him and he knew he had to go over and resolve their little grudge. He went over and sat on a rock slightly behind Gatesy, leaving a distance of about a metre between them. Neither of them said anything for a minute or so, but Gatesy kept glancing back at him warily.