Kiss and Tell

Chapter 6

On the way to Lake Tahoe

August 23, 2024

Travis

We were halfway to the lake before I realized how quiet it was in Doug’s truck. I’d been lost in my own thoughts, a mix of planning my diving tuition for the next few weeks, and recalling the previous night with Cameron.

I had to wonder what the other two were thinking about. I hoped what was in their heads was as enjoyable as the images filling mine.

Jeff’s phone pinged, and he glanced at the screen. “Randy’s done the grocery shop. There are beers in the kitchen fridge and the one by the hot tub, and he’s bought four humongous steaks for dinner.” He chuckled. “Trav, he says he’s bought bags of salad for you.”

I snorted. “Leave the salad—take the steak.” Doug fired me a puzzled glance, and I rolled my eyes. “Don’t tell me you don’t recognize the reference. It’s from The Godfather . Leave the gun, take the cannoli .”

“Never seen it.”

I sighed. “Lord, I am truly amongst the Philistines.” Then a thought occurred to me. If my plan came off, we’d have another mouth to feed.

And maybe if I get these two on-side, Randy might cave too.

It was worth a shot.

“Hey, guys? I’ve been thinking.”

Doug grinned. “Did it hurt?”

“Fuck you. I’m being serious here. How would you feel if I invited a friend to join us for Saturday and Sunday?”

The sudden silence made my stomach churn.

“I guess that’s a no, then.”

“Not so fast,” Jeff interjected. “I think it’s a great idea. In fact, I was going to ask the same thing.”

Doug jerked in his seat and the truck swerved a bit. “You were? So was I.”

It took about two seconds for all three of us to start laughing.

“Your friend…” Jeff grinned. “Would this be someone who’d be sharing your bed—I mean, room? Not that I have anything against that. Far from it, in fact.”

I did the math. “You too?”

“Nope, me three,” Doug blurted.

“What are the odds?” I grinned. “This could turn out to be a real fun weekend.” Then I remembered. Randy. “Except there’s a fly in the ointment. It’s Randy’s place. He gets the final say.”

“Yeah, that’s only fair,” Jeff murmured.

“Totally,” Doug added. “And we’d have to abide by his decision.”

There was a pause of maybe five seconds before we said in unison, “We need a strategy, guys.” Then we collapsed once more into bursts of laughter.

“Just play up the obvious angle, and he’ll cave,” Jeff said with a gleam in his eye.

“What angle is that?” Doug demanded to know.

“Sex, of course. I take it these friends we want to invite are the usual kind of guys we mix with? Younger than us, hot AF, chock full of raging hormones? Who wouldn’t want to hang out for a weekend with guys like that?”

“Okay, maybe I’m not getting the whole picture here.” Doug glanced at me. “Are we talking…. group sex?”

Jeff cackled. “Yup, that’s our Dougie. Always the last one to cotton on.”

“Why don’t we wait until we know how the land lies before we make any plans?” I suggested.

“Fine. I’m only asking because… well… my guest? He wouldn’t bat an eyelash at the idea of getting down ‘n’ dirty with all of us. Except there would be consequences to that, which I’m not going to divulge until tonight.”

I chuckled. “This is all very mysterious, and I can’t wait to hear more. Oh, and by the way? My guy wouldn’t bat an eyelash either.”

Not that any of this would matter if Randy said no.

And now that I knew the whole story?

I so wanted him to say yes.

That first view of the cabin from the street, with its wooden apex roof, a wall of glass above the garage doors, and below the windows, flower boxes, always gave me the same feeling.

I’m home.

We’d spent many happy times in Randy’s beautiful lakeside cabin, managing two visits a year, sometimes more. Behind that wall of glass was the bedroom I always took. I didn’t mind that there was no view of the lake: I could have my fill of that during daylight hours. All I did up in my room was sleep.

Maybe not this visit.

We grabbed our bags and made our way to the front door, where Randy stood waiting for us, grinning.

“You all know where to go, so dump your bags, then come on out to the porch.” He took one look at Doug and his eyes widened. “Your beard’s gotten so big, man. You look as if you’re chewing a ginger cat.”

“Fuck you,” Doug replied good-naturedly. “I like it like this.”

We filed past Randy, each of us taking a moment to hug him, then headed for our rooms.

Doug’s was the only one on the first floor, but that meant he could open French doors and walk out onto the porch. It also meant he was the closest to the hot tub. Jeff’s room afforded a view of the side of the house, where trees broke up what could be seen of the neighbor’s property.

Randy had the master bedroom that shared the same stone-covered chimney breast as the living area below it. The vaulted roof was covered in planks of pine, and oak floorboards gleamed under the thick rug. French doors opened out onto a balcony, and there was the lake in all its splendor. Below was the jetty, its planks pale and weathered, pointing toward the center of the lake.

The first floor was breathtaking.

Two couches sat in front of the fireplace, and to the left was the dining area and kitchen, where doors folded back to provide an uninterrupted view of the lake. Gleaming white tiles covered the far wall, and a long table surrounded by eight comfortable chairs stood on a gray rug. Across the lake could be seen dark blue-purple shores, and sunlight sparkled on the rippling surface of the water.

I went upstairs to my room, grabbed a pair of shorts and a tee from my bag, and changed into them. By the time I strolled out onto the porch, Doug and Jeff were already there, a bottle of beer in their hands. Randy was at the grill, checking its heat. Next to the fire pit stood a neat pile of logs ready for burning when the sun went down.

It was shaping up to be the perfect evening.

“I hope you’re hungry,” Randy called out without turning around. “I might have overdone it with the food. So whatever we haven’t eaten by Sunday goes home with all of us.”

I glanced at Doug and Jeff, who both gave me vehement nods.

Apparently, I was to be spokesman.

I glared at them. Thanks, guys , I mouthed. They replied with beaming smiles.

Bastards.

“Randy, can you stop what you’re doing for a minute and come over here? We need to ask you something.”

He closed the lid of the grill and turned. “Something wrong?”

“No, nothing’s wrong,” I assured him. “It’s just that… well… the guys and I… well… we’d like to ask you a favor.”

He walked over to us and sat on one of the steamer chairs, facing us. “Okay. Go for it.”

I glanced at Doug and Jeff, who merely gave me encouraging nods.

Yeah. No help there.

“The thing is… we got to talking on the way here, and… well, it turns out we all have something in common.”

Without missing a beat, Randy piped up, “You’re all dorks?”

Fuck it.

“We each have a guest we’d like to invite to join us for the weekend. They’d have to make their own way here, but if you agree, we’d have to call them tonight so they can make their travels plans. Of course, we’d understand if you said no. This is your space, so you—”

“That’s fine. Go make your calls.” He stood and went into the kitchen.

I gaped at the others, who appeared as surprised as I was by Randy’s instantaneous capitulation. I followed him into the house.

“That’s it? You don’t want to know who we want to invite?”

He stood facing the countertop. “Nope. I trust you. Now go make your calls so I can get dinner started.”

I stared at his back, nonplussed.

And suddenly, the light dawned.

I grinned. “You sneaky fucker. You’ve got someone you want to invite too, don’t you?”

Randy’s shoulders started shaking, and I knew he was laughing his ass off. It wasn’t long before Doug and Jeff joined in.

Then I saw the funny side, and I laughed until my sides ached.

I wiped my eyes. “Fine. I’m gonna go make a phone call.” I strode upstairs to my room, closed the door behind me, pulled my phone from my shorts pocket, and speed-dialed Cameron.

“Hey. You got there in one piece?”

“Uh-huh. This friend of yours who might loan you the use of his car this weekend…”

Cameron’s squeal pierced my eardrum. “Really? That’s great. I’ll call him the minute the call finishes. I can be there by noon-ish.”

“What time are you figuring on leaving LA?”

He chuckled. “Five a.m.? I can do that. Do I need to bring swim stuff? Can we swim in the lake? I’ll need sunscreen, right? I’d better start packing now.”

I laughed. “Can I point out that you’ll be here for one night?”

“Well, is there anything special I need to bring?”

I grinned. “Lube, baby. Bring plenty of lube. Maybe condoms too, because I don’t know who’ll need ’em. And that little enema kit you keep in my bathroom cabinet. Oh, and maybe some of your toys.”

There was a pause. “And will I be playing with you, or…”

I chuckled. “Or.”

I swear, his next squeal went ultrasonic.

“Holy fuck. This is going to be mega. Okay, I’m gonna call Elliott now. See you tomorrow.”

“Cam!”

“Yeah?”

“You’re missing something vital.”

“Like what?”

I raised my eyes to the ceiling. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe… the address?”

“Oops. Message me with it when we stop talking. Hey, Travis?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you. This is so cool.” He hung up.

I shook my head as I sent him a message with the address. I knew how he felt, though. I’d never done anything like this in my life, and the prospect excited the fuck out of me.

I headed downstairs and found the others on the deck, all smiles. “Do I take it our numbers will double tomorrow?”

Randy chuckled. “Uh-huh. Although my guest isn’t sure about when he can get here. We’re playing it by ear.”

“Mine will be here around ten, he reckons,” Doug told us.

“And mine plans on arriving by twelve,” Jeff added.

“Mine too.”

“Well, now we’ve gotten all the really important stuff out of the way, can I feed you?” Randy demanded.

I laughed when Doug’s stomach growled. “I think that’s a yes.”

And once we’d eaten, there was something else we had to tackle before Story Time could get going.

I leaned against the padded back of the steamer chair. “I don’t think I can move. Way too full.” Of good things like succulent, thick steak, corn, baked potatoes filled with sour cream and chives, yet more potatoes in the potato salad, ranch dressing…

I hadn’t eaten that much since…

Well, since the last gathering at the cabin.

“You know there’s cheesecake in the fridge, right?”

I groaned. “No. I couldn’t even manage a mouthful.”

“Will we need to go shopping again, seeing we’re going to have four guests?” Jeff asked.

Randy shook his head. “I’ve gone over all the provisions and we can do it. Just about. If not, there’s always pizza.”

“About our guests…” I cleared my throat. “On the way here, when we were talking, it became obvious that… well, certain things might take place this weekend.”

“He means we might all end up fucking one or more of them,” Doug blurted.

Randy blinked. “And you guys are up for that?”

I rolled my eyes. “Not each other, no. But if the opportunity presents itself, then we need to be ready. And that means ground rules.” I glanced at them. “For one thing, we share our status. Most recent test results. Whether we’re happy to use condoms. If we’re on PrEP. That kinda thing.”

“And also if any of us would not be happy to participate in such goings-on,” Jeff said in a quiet voice. “Don’t feel you have to, just because others are. If you absolutely positively could not stomach the sight of watching any of us fucking, that is fine. If you want to keep to your own room, that’s fine too. Consent, people. It matters.”

“So you ask first,” Randy suggested. “And that means you ask before everything . Before you touch a guy, before you initiate something… And if you change your mind, it’s okay to say no and step away.”

I nodded. “If you don’t want to join in but you’d like to watch, ask if that’s okay too.”

“No alcohol,” Doug said. “Everyone keeps a clear head. And when this weekend is over, what happens at the cabin stays at the cabin.”

I gazed at him. “Can we go back to something you said on the way here? You told us your guy would be happy if events took a sexy turn. But you also mentioned something about there being consequences if he did get involved.” I folded my arms. “Care to explain that?”

Doug bit his lip. “To do that, I’d need to tell you about how we met—and what happened next.”

I grinned. “Then I guess you get to tell the first story of the night.”

“Wait—no catch-up?” Randy exclaimed. “Whatever happened to sharing first, telling after?”

I arched my eyebrows. “Do you really want to wait to hear this?”

Randy snorted. “Hell no. I’m burning with curiosity.”

Doug removed his phone from his pocket. “Then I have to show you something before we get started.” He tapped the screen, scrolled for a few seconds, then handed it to me.

I stared at the image. “Oh. My. Fucking. God.”

“What? What are you looking at?” Jeff leaned closer. “Show us, for Christ’s sake.”

I turned the phone around. “My friends, we are in the presence of a porn star.”