Kiss and Tell

Chapter 11

Jeff

I chuckled. “We do like ’em young, don’t we?” I glanced at the others. “Has any one of you invited a guy here that’s over the age of, say, twenty-five?”

Judging by the smiles and sheepish grins, I’d nailed it. Brandon only just made the cut—he’d be twenty-six in a few months.

“Where’s that cheesecake?” Travis lurched to his feet. “Talking about sex always makes me peckish.” He headed into the cabin.

“After that dinner?” Doug called out after him. “Where do you put it all? You got a tapeworm or something?” He snickered. “I don’t think I could manage another bite.”

“Oh Lord, you didn’t say it was chocolate cheesecake.” Travis groaned.

Doug was up and off his chair in a heartbeat. “Save some for me.”

Randy laughed. “I knew they’d cave before the night was through.” He glanced at the sky. “The stars are coming out.” Then he grabbed the grill over the fire pit with an insulated glove, and threw a few more logs onto the glowing embers.

“It’s so peaceful here,” I murmured. I rested my head against the seat pad and gazed up at the evening sky. “Nothing like San Jose. Too much light pollution there, for one thing. Too much hustle and bustle, traffic, people…”

“It must have something going for it, or else you’d move,” Randy commented.

“My companies, for one thing.”

“Business is good?”

I smiled. “No, business is great.”

“And I’m guessing there’s a good supply of guys to warm your bed sheets.”

I let out a chuckle. “You know it.”

I have it good, don’t I?

“This guy you’ve invited… he’s trans?”

I nodded. “He was nervous about meeting all of you, but I put him straight.”

Randy smiled. “This is a safe space. We wouldn’t give a fuck if he had three nipples, gold hair, and farted rainbows.”

“Ooh, I like the rainbows idea. I told him none of you batted an eyelid when I spun my tales of hooking up with trans guys.”

“And is he another one who wants to participate in an orgy?”

“I have no idea, but I doubt it. Although we’ve never discussed it.” I glanced at Randy. “If he says no, I wouldn’t mind, not one bit. I’d cuddle up with him in my room and just enjoy being with him.”

Randy arched his eyebrows. “That doesn’t sound like you.”

I chuckled. “Maybe I’m getting mellow. But Brandon’s been through a lot, and I’m not talking about transitioning. Some of the guys he’s met since then…” I frowned. “We make noises about being a community, but I’ve met guys who’d be happy to ditch the T in LGBTQ+.”

“What’s Brandon like?”

I grabbed my phone and scrolled. “There he is.” I handed it to Randy, who gazed at the photo in silence.

Finally, he smiled. “He’s got this whole Arabic vibe going for him. Maybe it’s the beard, the mustache, those full lips…” He glanced at me. “He’s gorgeous.”

I took the phone from him. “Yeah, I think so too.” I stared at Randy. “And what about you? Who’ve you invited? Or do I have to wait to hear your story?”

Randy peered at the cabin, from where I could hear Doug and Travis caught up in some kind of heated discussion. Then he stood. “Want to stroll down to the jetty?”

“Sure.” I followed him down the winding stone steps, lit by solar-powered lamps, all the way to the wooden jetty that pointed toward the middle of the lake. We walked to the end of it, gazing into the darkening waters.

“Confession time,” Randy said in a low voice.

I gave a mock gasp. “Oh my God. You’ve gotten married. You’ve settled down.”

To my surprise, he didn’t laugh.

“Over the last couple of years, when we’ve met here and told our tales… All the ones I told? I guess you could call them fake news.”

I gaped at him. “You made them up?”

“No, they were real enough. But they weren’t recent. In fact, everything I told you guys about took place before 2022.”

“So what happened that particular year?”

He smiled. “I met Logan. He’s a student, and he’s twenty-two.”

“You dated a twenty-year-old guy?” Then it hit me. “You’ve been together for two years?”

Randy chuckled. “Watch it, you’re beginning to sound like Doug. And yeah, it’s been two years. Took me by surprise too, I can tell you.” He glanced up toward the cabin above us. “And I won’t be joining in any shenanigans this weekend.”

“Is he likely to want that?”

“I’m not sure how I’d feel about that if he did. I guess we’ll find out. All I know is, I don’t want to share him.” He drew in a long breath. “So my tale tonight will be another from my past. I’ll make it a juicy, cum-soaked tale—I have enough of those to draw upon—and I’ll also make sure it’s not about Logan.” He smiled at me. “I think it’s time I introduced him to my best friends.”

“What are you two doing down there?” Doug hollered. “Contemplating skinny-dipping? You’re too old for that.”

Randy laughed. “Speak for yourself. We’re coming back now.”

I touched his arm. “And now I can’t wait to meet him. Because he must be something very special.”

“He is. He’s the man I love.” Randy swallowed. “I didn’t want to fall in love with him. I keep thinking of the age gap, and how old I’d be when he hits thirty, forty, fifty…”

“I guess you can’t fight love, can you?” I sighed. “That makes me kinda sad, though. I would’ve loved to hear how you two met.”

“Maybe one day you will.” Randy headed for the steps. “We’d better join them before Doug sends out a search party.”

I stopped him. “One last question. You said Logan’s the man you love.” I cocked my head. “Does he know that? Because something tells me he doesn’t.”

Randy’s breathing hitched. “How did you work that out?”

“A hunch, based on knowing you for more than half my life. Don’t you think it’s time you told him how you feel? Or is it the age thing?”

“Maybe? He’s so young.”

I smiled. “Falling in love isn’t an age thing. It’s a heart thing.”

“Says the man who’s never been in love.”

“Who knows what tomorrow brings?” I shrugged. “There’s a first time for everything, right?”

We climbed to the top of the cliff, where the lighted windows gave the cabin a welcoming appearance. As we stepped onto the porch, I caught Randy’s arm once more.

“I think I’m next.”

He smiled. “You do know Doug and Travis have set the bar pretty high? You need to pull out all the stops to beat them.”

I chuckled. “Trust me, they ain’t heard nothin’ yet.”

We sat around the fire pit, the flames casting our shadows on the cabin walls. Randy had brought out a bottle of cognac, and we each nursed a glass, warming it with our hands.

Randy’s phone buzzed, and he gave us an apologetic glance before answering it in a low voice.

Travis stared into the flames. “Cameron could win a medal, you know,” he murmured.

“Really?” Doug beamed. “That’d be a feather in your cap if you trained him for the Olympics.” His lips twitched. “That’s if you can keep your focus.”

“If I think what we’ve got going would interfere with his training, I’d find him another trainer.” Travis shrugged. “So far it’s working well. And we’re not dating, or anything like that. Don’t be thinking I’m going to hear wedding bells, okay? We like to keep things strictly casual.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being non-exclusive,” Doug remarked. “I don’t want to settle for one guy.” His eyes gleamed. “I’m having way too much fun for that.” He glanced at me. “And what about you, Mr. Executive?”

“Casual works for me too. That might change, of course, if I met the right guy.”

Randy finished his call. “My guest is definitely going to be late. He thinks he might get here by two or three o’clock. I told him he doesn’t have to come, but he wants to meet all of you.” He peered at me. “Well? I thought you said you had a tale to tell?”

“I surely do.” I glanced at my friends. “And by the time I’m done? Some of you may think twice about ordering from a food truck.”

Doug cackled. “That is one hell of a hook. Let’s hear it.”

I took a sip of cognac before I began. “My tale begins six months ago, in Silicon Valley, when my secretary decided she needed a change…”