Me2: Chapter 7

(from M.Christian's Queer Imaginings)

As part of a huge - and much needed - marketing push, I'm going to be serializing a few of my all-time favorite books ... starting with the (ahem) rather infamous novel that I may or may not have actually written: Me2

"Absolutely brilliant!" says Lisabet Sarai, author of Incognito and Fire, about Lambda finalist M.Christian's controversial manlove horror/thriller. 

He looks just like you. He acts exactly like you. He takes away your job. He steals your friends. He seduces your male lover. None of them can tell the difference. Every day he becomes more and more like you, pushing you out of your own life, taking away what was yours … until there’s nothing left. Where did he come from? Robot? Alien? Clone? Doppelganger? Evil twin? Long lost brother? Then you discover there are still more "yous." Can you be sure you are the real you? And how do you fight to take your own life back? 

An absorbing new approach to the question of identity, Me2 is a groundbreaking gay chiller you’ll remember for a long time – no matter who you are, or who you think you may be. 

(Despite rumors that this book was written by an impostor - but, rest assured, this is the real 'M.Christian.' Accept no substitutes!)

Chapter VII
Me7

"They used to think it was a big circle, a loop, you know?  Around and around, all the way to the end, then back again – like that.  But that's until they got to know more about the way it all works.  Last I heard it was actually like a piece of paper that's rolled out then put back together but with different sides at the end.  Mobius strip, it's called.  So even though it's a real thing, in three dimensions, it's also only two, because if you follow it all the way around you come right back to where you started from, but not the way you'd normally think about it.

"Funny how they use paper to talk about it.  People in a thousand years won't probably understand what the hell we were talking about.  I can see them now, scratching their heads – if they even have heads anymore – and wondering what we meant by paper, and creasing and folding ... stuff like that.

"But that's the way they explain it now.  I also heard how they think it ends, how everything ends, really.  One is that it all just stops.  It all runs out of power ... the suns, black holes, all of it.  It just keeps going out and out, expanding but there's not enough out there for it to collect back together, right?  Out and out until everything's broken up into grayness.  Everything.  Just gray.

"I think that's fucking depressing, actually.  But there's others who think that there is enough matter and stuff that it won't just keep going and going, that sometime way off in the future it's going to stop and then get sucked back together.  They thought this wasn't going to be the way, but then they found this new kind of matter.  It's really weird.  You can't see it, but it has to be there, right?  But they found it – don't know how – and now a lot of professors and doctors think that because of it the world, universe and all, won't just keep going.  So it stops, right?  It stops and then because of this dark matter it'll start to pull back, shrink until everything's this big, then this big and then so damned small you can't see it – just like it was at the beginning again.

"Then something happens.  Maybe it gets so damned small and tight it can't get any smaller, so it has to explode again.  Another big bang right?  So it begins all over again.

"I like that, you know?  That it just keeps going, over and over again.  Out then in, bang to bang.  But time's like that strip, right?  So even so it goes around and around it also passes itself by, so things kind of repeat.  That's also kind of cool, you know?  That what was around before is still here, just passing us by – or layered on top of us.  Screw your eyes up and you could maybe see what happened before, just before our bang, the time before.  Maybe that's why we feel that deja vu thing – that it's just us passing the universe that was the last time, just bleeding through.

"I have this friend, a real stoner, you know?  But he's also kind of deep in his own way.  I told him about all this and he goes off and starts talking about how it also could explain a lot of other things.  Like history repeating itself, because it really does.  There's an echo, see, that plays in the background and sometimes it just gets so loud we can't help but follow right along.  Like a groove on a record that gets worn deeper and deeper each time it goes around.

"Shit.  There's something else people might not understand in a few years.  Records ... miss 'em sometimes, you know?

"But this friend of mine also says that's also what ghosts are.  That the world gets thin sometimes so what was before then comes through.  Or maybe it's the future that's coming through.  Or both.  He also said something else ... and this really freaked me out.  I mean really freaked.  Like I couldn't sleep that night.  You know?  Really disturbing.

"He said ... well, he said that it might be that we just think we can't remember each cycle.  He said that it might be that the people we think we are, are made up of each of these 'run-throughs,' that we didn't really have minds, that we were just robots going through the motions, because that's just the way the world works.  But, because we've gone through it so many times, we think we're getting close to being really conscious.  It's the repetition, the echoes, that causes it.

"But what got me is that he also said we might not really be there yet, that we have a few more cycles to go through.  We might just still be machines going through the motions but we wouldn't know it.  We'd never know it.  Creepy, huh?

"I thought about it a bit more.  I also thought that sometimes there might be a problem, like things might repeat too many times and so there's a ... I don't know, a tear, a rip, shit like that.  Paper again, right?  But it might happen, and when it does, something really weird might happen, like something from a long time back might get here, or we might fall back to a few bangs ago.  I don't know what it'd look like, but it could be really freaky – so freaky we might not know what it is.  We might never know what it is.

"In the future they might know all about this.  Big foreheads or no foreheads, something like that.  But then possibly the future is the past, so maybe we did know, but for some reason we aren't sharing it.

"Gives you a headache, doesn't it?"

* * * *

"Maybe you'll have a good time."

One, two, three, four – it didn't look like a Lexus neighborhood, but there they were, one after another, on the right as well as the left side of the street: points of smooth luxury in an area that seemed more comfortable with affordability – either that or lots of people were getting a giggly thrill out of crossing the line and parking in an area more suited to Toyotas or Hondas.

My Volkswagen was neither a completely left or a totally right machine, not a Lexus or even a Honda, and so was suitable for the area.  That didn't put me at ease, but at least it didn't ramp up my already jittery nerves.  The bees in my knees, the wasps in my ears, the spiders tap-dancing up and then down my back didn't need any more nervous encouragement.

"Maybe you'll have a good time."

I didn't want to be there.  A possible parking place – between the expensive fire-hydrant red and the faded status of a filthy Civic – but I passed it by, not wanting to risk a tow or a ticket and feeling down enough without a WASH ME contact humiliation.  Another was close by – sandwiched between the driveway of a heavily shaded ranch-type monstrosity and a pristine SUV – but I kept on driving, not wishing an angry homeowner's raving insanity at blocking his drive or the infection of being too close to a politically incorrect vehicle.

Face it: I didn't want to stop.

Ah, there it was: I didn't want to stop – catch the lean on the "I"?  The 'me' that was still rolling around in my head, the old 'me,' the failed 'me,' the crappy 'me,' the disappointing 'me,' the abandoned 'me,' was the 'me' that just wanted to keep circling the block until my tires went bald, then flat, and the engine went completely dry.  That 'me' loved parties, itched to throw myself into the chattering, laughing, glowing pool of a good get-together: "Did you hear?" "How didn't you know?" "Ohmigod!" "I can't believe that!" "Never in a million years!" "That's something else" "Who'd have thought it!" "So like him" "Saw that coming" "Can't believe he did that" "Like we couldn't tell" "That's fine – for him" "Talk about dating down" "Someone's still reading from last month's issue" "I know!" "Mee-ow!" "You'd think he'd take the hint" "I tried to be nice" "Did you see what he was wearing?" "Did you see what he was driving?" "Did you see who he was with?" "That’s not what I heard" "Girlfriend, you’ve got to pay attention to those kinds of things" "What a bitch!"

But that was before my neck got a stabbing lightning-bolt of pain from looking over my shoulder: was that him?  Was that him?  Was that him?  But that was before my back got a crushing cramp from duckng down: what does he want?  What does he want?  What does he want?  But that was before my eyes roasted in their bitter juices from not sleeping: why’s he better?  Why’s he better?  Why’s he better?

Twisted, bent, sore, the last thing I wanted to do was go to a party.  I was scared of what I’d become: "Will you look at him?" "Someone needs to crawl under a rock" "Can’t believe he came out here looking like that" "Choo!  Choo!  Here comes a train wreck!" "Girlfriend needs to go home" "Shoot me if I ever look that bad" "Troll seeks bridge, money no object" "God, I hope he’s hung – 'cause he ain't getting it any other way, and then with the lights off"

Calm down.  Take five.  Breathe in.  Breathe out.  Get a grip.  Relax.  Let go.  Loosen up.  Lighten up.  Unwind.  Settle down: that was the old me.  The new one was freshly shaved, showered, powdered, manicured, preened, producted, clipped, styled, shopped, and carefully assembled by Tommy Hilfiger.

The new me loved parties more than ever.  The new me was full of green-springy life, brilliant hope, frisky play, pearly wit, satin-smooth flirts, tough-ass slaps, and razor-sharp darts.  The new me was bright and beautiful, starchy and fresh-from-the-box, a me ready to knock packing peanuts off his shoes and strongly stride out into the spotlight of "how have you been?" "You look fabulous darling!" "Long time no see!" "Fabulous!" "You're giving me the vapors" "You look good enough to eat" "Bravo!" "Fathers lock up your sons" "Way to go, girlfriend" "Fabulous!"

Goodbye me.  Hello me.  Time to live again: Time to try again.

Still that voice in my ear, the one at the end of the invitation: "Maybe you'll have a good time."

It was the only party I'd heard about – even though I doubted anyone there knew me.  Open call and all that.  But I was still going.  If anything just because the old me wouldn't have.

Besides, I might have just that: "a good time."

* * * *

Digest people, at least.  Architectural (thank god), not Reader's: the door swung open on the first ring (no knock) and there was a tight hall expanded with silver-framed mirrors, burgundy walls adding to their Latin dimension.  The opener was swarthy, a charcoal-brazier tan, mesquite-dark hair, eyes like dots of mole sauce on fine white linen.  Once I heard a feline acquaintance – a hissing and spitting little twink with a fondness for drawing blood and wrapping himself in old boyfriends' cashmere – call people who liked Latins "bean queens" and even though I was known to smile while cutting my own share of vicious wounds, I did not grin at that.  A better term was added to my dictionary by a ripped, flexed, buff, oiled, and toned friend who told it while eating far too many corn chips with far too much salsa as he eyed – and was eyed back by – our South American waiter: "A Latin Lover."

That the man who opened the door fit this description was evident, that he was already claimed was the same.  A minute later a this-side-of-young and that-side-of-old intellectual appeared from a connecting room and put his arm around him.  "So glad you could make it," the leather-patched tweed coat said with a grin.  The light from carefully recessed lamps dazzled me with the reflections from his tortoise-shell glasses.

"Wouldn't have missed it," the new me said, full of life and flirt.

Did I know him?  Was he the one who called?

Leading, they brought me from the hall into the living room.  Mexico continued, filling the corners with lumpy, heavily glazed terra cotta pots, hanging heavy iron chandeliers from the ceiling, radiating everything from bulbs copying candles in black metal sconces.  On the tables – of which there were quite a few – were tablecloths that looked like shawls stolen from prostrating Catholic mothers, their knees sangria-red with the stigmata of crawling to see the Virgin of Guadalupe.

It was a good room, clipped out of a quality publication and made real.  It made me feel comfortable to be in it, style by association, and crave to hold my own corn chip and look at ease.

The place was busy, full, almost packed: my appreciation of the place was intermittent, glances between turning torsos, ambulating arms, nodding noggins.

"Hey, there." Urban look, black pants, black shirt, heavy steel in the ears, goatee below pale lips.  Hair a color not found in nature, or in anyone bottle of dye (try three, maybe four, mixed up).  Belt something Rambo would hang himself from.  On his feet, combat boats, like thick-shelled venomous beetles.

"Hey!  Good to see you," the new me said, all cool and collected.

Did I know him?  Was he the one that called?

A toast was raised to me, the drink Kool-Aid bright and full of as much fruit as ice, in a glass that looked cut from the bottom of a cheap wine bottle.  The toaster was a Hawaiian eye: shirt that needed to be adjusted for vertical hold as well as Red/Green tint, shorts that were way too short, sandals that showed off tanned-to-begin-with feet, but then recently burned.  His face, too, had gone from golden-brown to crispy, and his hair was toasted to the point of being broken enough to cut your hand.

The new me nodded back to him, all warm and cheery.  Did I know him?  Was he the one that called?

Next to him, tracking from the drink to what it was doing and then to whom it was doing to, was a queen.  Eyelashes, lipstick, rouge, hair, dress, shoes, nails – all applied with a skill and diligence that made real women hiss "bitch." He was a thin one, fine about being between the two, as opposed to some who might have giggled into their perfumed hankies at tricking the unwary.  A caterpillar as well as the butterfly, he could fly as well as inch along the nearest branch.  After the track, he smiled and blew me a pink bubblegum kiss.

Two fingers to my own lips I passed the same back, the new me all relaxed and comfy.

Did I know him?  Was he the one that called?

A drink was passed over, the same brightly colored and cold combo the Man from Maui was still sipping.  Sangria, that was it: the decor immediately traveling a few thousand miles to the right, landing in Madrid rather than in Acapulco.  Did that mean the professor's partner was a Spanish Fly, to be catty, or a Spanish Dancer, to be less so?  A sip made the fluttering in my mind still, quieting the stupid question.  I was there.  I was at a party: a chance to begin again, to grow into a brand new person.  Another sip, and with it a thought about it, the drink, and myself, the drinker: it was good, and this new me liked drinking it.

"Maybe you'll have a good time."

So far so good.  Yes, so far – only a few minutes, so good – nothing to complain about.  A third sip and I felt a few previously unknown knots of muscle begin to loosen.  They all seemed to be nice people: grins wherever I looked, the bodies of the same all casual, contented, at ease.

Contented, casual, at ease, and so far (oh, yes) I was as well.  There was absolutely nothing to complain about.  If anything, it was worth celebrating.  I'd almost forgotten what it felt like, being contented, casual, at ease.  I might not have known everything about this new self, but I did know that this new me liked it.

Sipping and mixing, I found myself accidentally rubbing elbows (literally) with an outdoorsman.  Tanned and rough, frizzled and calloused, denim and well-worn boots, he looked like Half a Dome, a class-six climb, an up-at-dawn, six-mile hike, a fifty-pound backpack, a kayak, or a scuba tank.  Out of our bump, he flashed me a strong, toothy grin, eager, it seemed, to tell of his latest perilous adventure hundreds of miles from the nearest Internet connection.

From this I drifted away, further into the party, but not before returning my own version of his smile; the new me assured and confident.

Did I know him?  Was he the one that called?

"Maybe you'll have a good time."

A rocker ("Righteous, dude!  "), next season's model ("Well, that's what they're saying this year"), a sneering sexfiend ("...  just before I fucked him in the ass"), a sticky meth freak ("If you got the bucks I know where we can score"), a jolly Santa ("Hohohohoho"), wit ("the only thing worse than not being talked about..."), and my mind swam, my thoughts did the crawl, my brain frantically performed the butterfly – and I needed to piss.

Retreating, one half of the hosts, the Intellectual, touched me arm, asking if I was okay, if there was anything he could help me with.  I must have mumbled something ... something about what had been happening because he told me about theories, science, loops, and time.

Not understanding a word he said, I finally managed to escape and stumble off to relieve the one pressure I could.

* * * *

The bathroom was a little boy's version of the main room: burgundy walls, ferns, decorative baskets, and mirrors framed with hammered silver.

After washing my hands in a mosaic sink, I glanced up from the bits of tile and glass to see my eyes (no bags), hair (needed a trim, but okay), teeth (needed a bit of cleaning but okay), and skin (pretty damned good) in reflex and even though the eyes, hair, teeth, and skin were familiar, the person they were part of was someone I didn't immediately recognize.

Bit of brains in the eyes, a tad of stylish in the hair, a touch of good humor in the smile, health and stamina in the glow of his skin.  He seemed like a nice enough guy.  Cute but not precious.  Sexy without being sleazy.  Clever without being trite.

The new me.  I liked him.  More important, I could see where other people might like him.

The mirror, though, also brought up a ghost: the spirit of the last few days.  Somewhere he was out there, walking around in my old shoes, doing my old job, living in my old space, making my old friends laugh, making my old lovers come.  What was he?  Who was he?  What did he want?

Reflections: maybe he was me, but a me that'd gotten bounced here, a self that was somehow tweaked or twonked, or shifted, or twisted, or warped from his native world to a place that already had me in it.  Maybe he was a slightly different me, one that was me but with a little something extra, a tiny 'whatever' that'd made him better suited for the slot I thought I'd, been ideally filling.

Whatever.  Let him have it.  The old me had been good, or so I'd thought.  Now, though, looking at my new and improved character in the mirror I didn't miss myself at all.  This was a good thing, a chance to become a new person, with new hopes and new potentials.  He was the past, he was a bad memory, decisions I shouldn't have made, regrets better left unsaid.  Now I was fresh and clean, spotless and full of potential.  Lots of good things could be in my future.

And so, after drying my hands and winking at the sexy devil in the bathroom mirror, I stepped out into the chattering party to see what kind of good things my new life had to offer.

* * * *

"Did you hear?" said the Latin Lover when we found ourselves away from the main gaggle.  When I said that I hadn't, all the time trying to catch his deep mahogany eyes, he replied: "How didn't you know?" When I said I had no idea how I couldn't have known, moving closer all the time, working my way to an accidental touch, he answered: "Ohmigod!" When I laughed at his indignation I thought seriously about simply putting my hand on his shoulder – but then didn't.  There was warmth, certainly, but he wasn't what I wanted.

"I can't believe that!" said the intellectual as he refilled my glass.  When I said that it was the god's honest truth, all the time trying to look deep into his bright blue eyes, he replied: "Never in a million years!" When I said I had no idea how I couldn't have known, inching nearer all the while, making my way to an inadvertent contact, he shot back: "That's something else." When I chuckled at his disbelief I honestly played with the idea of just putting my hand on his hip – but didn't.  There was a heat there, obviously, but he wasn't what I wanted.

"Who'd have thought it!" Urban said when we found ourselves on the couch together.  When I said that it was all totally true, as I made a move to lock my eyes with his deep brown ones, he replied: "So like him." When I said I had no clue who he was talking about, sliding down the fabric toward him, he zapped back: "Saw that coming." When I giggled a bit at his dismissal, I truthfully entertained the fantasy of simply placing my hand on his thigh – but didn't.  There was clearly interest from him, but he wasn't what I wanted.

"Can't believe he did that," said the Hawaiian eye as we both stepped out of the living room.  When I answered that I'd been completely truthful, as I edged nearer to him, he replied: "Like we couldn't tell." When I said I had no answer as to why he couldn't tell, stepping so our bodies were just about touching, he countered with: "That's fine – for him." When I chuckled at his catty comment, I pondered just kissing him – but didn't.  There was a very positive vibe coming off him, but he wasn't what I wanted.

"Talk about dating down" said the Queen as we stood by a picture window looking out onto a tropical back garden.  When I answered that I knew what he was talking about, as I eased up next to him, he replied: "Someone's still reading from last month's issue." When I agreed that I might be a little out of touch, moving ever-so-nearer, he affirmed with "I know!" When I laughed a bit at his playfulness, I thought seriously about just grabbing his ass – but didn't.  There was a hunger between us, but he wasn't what I wanted.

A rocker ("You're righteous, dude!"), next season's model ("You've really got potential"), a sneering sex-fiend ("I could fuck you in the ass"), a sticky meth freak ("If you can score, I'll suck you"), a jolly Santa ("Hehehehehe"), wit ("...  you know what they say about a big dick."), and my mind swam again, my thoughts did the crawl again, my brain frantically performed the butterfly again – and once again I needed to piss.

Having a choice was wonderful.  No, it wasn't wonderful, it was fantastic, glorious, spectacular, incredible and ... well, it made me something I thought I'd never feel again: happy.  Yep, having a choice was wonderful, but trying to decide ... it wasn't unpleasant, but it was confusing.  I barely knew who I was, what I was all about, let alone what I liked – and the kind of man I liked to do it with.

Puzzled, confused, distracted, I wandered deeper in the house, hoping my body's memory (because it certainly wasn't in my bubbling brain) would remember which door was the one to the bathroom, I pushed the door I thought was the right one.

Partial darkness, just enough for me to see more Spanish colors, shapes, textures, and elements – but not the ones I'd seen in the bathroom.  As the door closed behind me and it became pitch as in 'pitch black,' I fumbled for where I thought the switch was.  Instead, I hand grazed smooth fabric and then the whisper of bare skin.

No, not the bathroom.

"Sorry," I stumbled around, the words squeaky and childish in shock and embarrassment, trying to turn, to find the way out.

"Wait," came a voice, one husky and heavy, and with it a quick touch to my shoulder, my hip, my thigh, and even my ass.

I did – I waited.  I hesitated, slowing down from my exit, and he said: "Good." Then he said something else, something that made me stop completely: "Maybe you'll have a good time."

* * * *

His hands went back to my shoulders, this time with a firmer rubbing of my unconsciously tensed muscles, massaging to where my shoulders lead to my back and then down ... down to where my pulse was already making my pants far too tight.

His hands went to my chest, caresses to my pecs, down along the miniscule swell of my stomach, a mischievous tickle to my belly button.

His hands went back to my hips, this time with strong grips to my corded physique, a tug forward that brought me up onto the balls of my feet and then stepping forward – so off balance I had to put out a hand to stop myself.  A hand that made contact with the flat, ripped plane of his own trunk.

His hands went to my arms, contacts delicate as well as determined down from upper to lower, and then from lower down to my wrists.  Each movement of his own fingers, each sensual gesture of his own hand, sending tingles mixed with goose bumps with a touch of shiver up and down my body – and not just where he was touching.

His hands went back to my thighs, this time with much more determination.  Confident and eager, he kneaded rather than just touched, rubbed rather than tickled, squeezed rather than just poked, and with each knead, rub, and squeeze I got hotter and hotter and hotter still.

His hands went to my ass, both hands reaching around to grip, then clasp, then clench them both firmly.  In answer, I gripped, clasped, and then clenched: a dialog developed between what he was saying with his fingers and how I was responding with my cheeks.  The translation was simple.  He: I like this.  Me: So do I.

Then we were kissing, hot breaths becoming hotter breaths when shared – and we shared (oh lordy, we shared) for what seemed like ... well, a really long time.  Metaphors, similes, and awkward and forced observations are for when you're cold, thoughtful, and contemplative, and I was not.  No, I was – we were – hot, primitive, and urgent.  And it was good.

Then we were hugging, arms and legs wrapped around arms and legs in a knot of please don't let this stop.

Kissing and hugging, me very aware of his hard cock, he no doubt aware of mine, I couldn't help but think two things: who was he and please don't let this stop.

Then it was time, a kind of mutual turn-on schedule: breaking the kiss with a soft, wet pop of moist suction, he carefully, precisely, tortuously, began to slide down my body.

I was still standing, but now he was kneeling.

Yes, you know what happened next. 

No, you don't know what happened next.

In the darkness, the bell chime of my brass Tommy Hilfiger buckle being undone.  In the soft, warm, darkness, the raspberry of my steel zipper fly being undone.  In the black, the rustle of my pants being loosened.

In the gloom – no sound.  But a sensation, a feeling: his mouth swallowing my very hard cock.  Sounds simple, direct, doesn't it?  But it was anything but.  The Latin Lover, the Intellectual, The Urban, the Hawaiian Eye, the Queen, the Rocker, The Model, the Sex Fiend, the Meth Freak, the Santa, or the Wit knew what he was doing – knew exactly what he was doing: the right amount of tongue, the correct application of lips, the perfect usage of throat, the ideal performance of teeth – each and every one a seductive coaxing of sweat from my skin, moans from my throat, tremors from my muscles, and come from my cock.

No, not yet – I thought, trying to think of anything but baseball.  I mean, trying to think of baseball instead of the superb job the Latin Lover, the Intellectual, The Urban, the Hawaiian Eye, the Queen, the Rocker, The Model, the Sex Fiend, the Meth Freak, the Santa, or the Wit was doing with my dick.  The problem was I didn't know anything about baseball – or at least I hadn't found out yet if this new me even liked baseball – and the only thing I did know, with absolute certainty, was that the Latin Lover, the Intellectual, The Urban, the Hawaiian Eye, the Queen, the Rocker, The Model, the Sex Fiend, the Meth Freak, the Santa, or the Wit was a master of the blowjob.

So what to think about?  How to distract myself from the excellent performance the Latin Lover, the Intellectual, The Urban, the Hawaiian Eye, the Queen, the Rocker, The Model, the Sex Fiend, the Meth Freak, the Santa, or the Wit was giving my cock?  I had to think of something ... anything, or it would be over too soon, the play concluded too fast, the fun finished too early.

There was a problem.  I was fresh, unblemished, clean, and spotless: I was new, too new to have anything that wasn't still tainted by my old self, the one that had been stolen from me.

My cock began to sag.  I'd thought of something better – no, worse – than baseball: that being new could be good, but it also meant that I was empty, shallow, and hollow.  The Latin Lover, the Intellectual, The Urban, the Hawaiian Eye, the Queen, the Rocker, The Model, the Sex Fiend, the Meth Freak, the Santa, or the Wit was sucking a cock – but whose cock was he sucking?

No.  In the dark room I shook my head, cleaning away the storm thoughts.  No.  This was a good time, a great time.  I might not have a past but I had a huge future.  Tommy Hilfiger shirt, Tommy Hilfiger pants, Tommy Hilfiger socks, and Tommy Hilfiger underwear, and the rest for me to pick and choose.

And a great guy was giving me the best blowjob of my new – or even my old – life.  It was good.  It was damned good.

Fuck baseball.  I decided right then that whoever I was – I sure as hell didn't like, or care, about baseball.  Blowjobs, though ... that was another matter.

A great matter.  A fantastic matter.  A glorious matter.  A matter that in a matter of minutes pushed out every doubt, every hesitation, every falter out of my mind – and then in a shake from my feet to the top of my head, a quake from one hand to the other, a rattle all up my throat and out my mouth, a roll all along my spine, what I'd kept bottled up came squirting out and into his mouth.

My strings were cut, my bones jellied, my heart fluttered, my knees failed, my eyes rolled, my jaw twitched, and I fell backwards.  Luckily, the door was behind me, so when I did, something stopped me going from standing to sitting in a painful, and worst of all, embarrassing collapse.

After a time – how long I had no idea – my senses switched back on.  First was taste, and with the taste a smile that what I was tasting was my own come, a sweet gift of his kiss after sucking me off.  The next was sound, known because I could hear our ragged breathing.  After sound was touch, announcing itself in the weight and texture of him curled up in my arms.  After that was smell, the room redolent with salt from sweat, and best of all salt from come.

The last was sight.  As the room had been lightless, it was the longest to come back – it took as long as our time together for my eyes to adjust to the black.  Adjust they did, enough for me to look down and see what my other senses had told me: that in the gloom I was sitting down with my back against the door, a very dim glow leaking down where its paneling met the floor, my lover curled up in my still-shivering arms.

He wasn't the Latin Lover, the Intellectual, The Urban, the Hawaiian Eye, the Queen, the Rocker, The Model, the Sex Fiend, the Meth Freak, the Santa, or the Wit.  Nope, he was better than any of them.

He was exactly what I'd wanted: what I'd always wanted in a lover.

One last logical thought: funny, isn't it, how you never recognize your own voice.  Recorded, or on the phone.