Vitamin q, p.21
Vitamin Q, page 21
"No, no, no," squealed Nico. "Keep bargaining. Get me a better deal. Win us our right to be lovers."
"This is a big first step in that direction. By breaking some rules, we'll all be setting a precedent for further experimentation. You'll establish yourself, at the very least, as part of our lives. Afterwards, she'll give you—she'll give us—so much more." Grady, who was out of arguments, hunched his shoulders in exasperation. "Just go along for the ride for cryin' out loud."
Nico was about to resume his grumbling, but the entry bell tinkled and Bobby stumbled in. Nico glared at him. "How did you know where we were?"
"I didn't." Bobby wore a tight green shirt that perfectly displayed his taut body. "I saw your bike parked outside."
Nico kept glowering but he also couldn't help suddenly noticing a strong resemblance between Bobby and Kim—the same skin tones and the same build. But it was more than that. There was even something similar in their engaging smiles. "This is confidential. Stuff for just the two of us." Nico tried to banish him, as if he were a pesky child.
"Nico, let him stay." Grady played peacemaker. "We've each had our say."
Nico grudgingly consented to another round of cappuccinos. "We were just having a discussion," Nico commented vaguely, softening his tone.
"About whether Kim, Nico, and I should have a threeway." Nico was a little surprised that Grady would leak Kim's plot. "It's her idea, by the way, and I'm trying to convince him there's something to gain and nothing to lose."
"What a great idea!" exclaimed Bobby, egging him on. "It's no problem for Nico. Has he ever told you about a certain expertise he has with women?"
Nico gritted his teeth at what was coming. "Bobby, not now, please." Then, turning toward Grady, "Ignore him. He doesn't know what he's talking about. I just made up a story to amuse him."
Bobby wasn't about to be denied. "Yes, your idea of having Digital Beaches was made up, but you did diddle an actual flesh and blood woman." He gave Nico a maddening smirk. "Leandro encouraged it. Nico won't give out any of the precious details, but I can assure you that, heterosexually speaking, he's made it to the digital stage."
Nico was livid that Bobby-the-Blabbermouth had turned his intimate disclosure against him. "I'll never tell you anything again," he fumed. I've somehow got to explain this to Grady. "I've regressed since then. No can do!"
Grady smiled serenely. "There you are. That's all you need to do. Just a little bit of kissing, hugging, cuddling, and..."
"Diddling." Bobby wouldn't shut up.
"Yeah, Nico. What have you got to lose?"
"No," he lashed out. "It's a trap. You and Kim will sing each other's praises for how forward-thinking you are while, humiliated, I'll be banished from the picture."
Grady was exasperated. "Oh you of so little faith. C'mon and take a chance. Jump on for the ride. See where it takes you. See where it takes us."
"Bobby, get out of here. I need to talk with Grady alone."
"I've got to meet up with the girls anyway. I was just passing by. Hang in there, Nico. You can do it!"
Nico knew that Bobby got off on playing the mischievous elf, but damn it, he was pissed at him. Was his friend trying, once again, if indirectly, to show him the perils of involvement with an ambiguous man? Yeah. That's it. An encore of his "platonic crap" harangue.
Grady folded his arms in front of his chest. "How about next Sunday night? No big deal, all right?"
"No."
"Pretend it's just another adventure at the beach."
That powerful phrase—"adventure at the beach"—made Nico pause for a moment and wonder. Might this craziness bring us closer together? "No. And don't pressure me. No texts, no calls. Just leave me alone."
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
During the last few days of August, Nico tried to push Kim and Grady’s offer out of his mind by immersing himself in his own busy life. No longer accepting any assignments from independent sports sources, he focused on school. For one thing, he had to convince the bureaucrats that he should be accepted as an accredited candidate for his masters so he wouldn’t have to take any prerequisites. He had marshaled his evidence, presented his case, and come away with a hard-earned victory. Now I can get this damn degree as quickly as possible.
One Tuesday morning he slipped off for a rendezvous with Noddy. Because of her occasional chats with Grady, she knew roughly what Nico was going through, but she also came from an era where such things just weren’t talked about. He wanted to bring up the threeway, but just couldn’t. In the end he decided to take a risk and at least expose his feelings. “All I can do is be patient,” he ventured. “All is not lost because they’ve both admitted that their present relationship has to change.”
She smiled enigmatically, but hope shone through her chiseled face. “Oh, I’m pretty sure that you two boys are going to end up just fine, one way or another.” He couldn’t help but grin in her presence. She remained the staunch ally who kept him from falling into depression.
Grady insisted on calling, but Nico always diverted to sports. One day he took Nico by surprise. “You Washington Huskies think you have a chance this year, but the Oregon Ducks will have a lot to say about that. By the way, come October, Washington plays the Ducks in Eugene. I’m going—no matter what. Why not spend that weekend together? You’ll get to see all my old haunts.”
Nico had initially registered a surge of impatience with what started out as more sports talk from Grady. Wait a minute. Did he just invite me on a trip? “I can hardly wait.” This is why Grady is different. He does take the idea of going forward seriously. But will he, at some point, reach his limit? Neither of them brought up Sunday night. Grady was pretty much sticking to his word about not hassling him. Even so, Nico was not even close to making a decision.
Nico kept up his habit of dropping in on Brianna at her pad. Her dire tales of the workplace made school seem even more appealing. “The whole paper was only twelve pages last Tuesday. Hardly any ads. Barebones. The end is near!”
One day, while they were having tea together, Carmen popped in just before he was about to bring up the subject of the threeway. “I’m leaving for a yoga retreat, two weeks’ worth, up at Port Townsend.” She struck him as world-weary, ready for a catharsis. “There’s a lot of body work. A lot of hiking. A lot of detox, especially fasting. And right in the middle of the whole thing—three days of silence—no talking or eye contact permitted.”
“That won’t be easy for you.” Her bratty son hadn’t disappeared. “Is it only for women?” he inquired more seriously.
“No. It’s for anyone. A Buddhist group runs it.” She was so keyed up her lips trembled. “It’s all about apprehending life more directly.”
“Maybe you’ll finally meet the man of your dreams.” I don’t have the nerve to bring up her recent interest in women.
“And I’m sorry that you, my son, had such a disappointment with your man. Bobby told me you’re no longer seeing Shane. I liked him.” She smiled as she usually did when showing off her superior wisdom. “And what a career ahead of him!” She still knows how to get my goat.
“I gave it my best shot, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Well, I’ll leave you two gals alone.” His mother allowed him to flee without further provocation.
Walking back home, he felt more relief than regret in regard to Shane. Later in the day, however, he got a text from him asking if he wanted to get together that weekend. Nico answered with the question, “What are your intentions, kind sir?”
“Let’s see what happens. Why not drop by for a couple of hours Saturday night?”
What the hell! Nico called and accepted. Knowing that he had scheduled, in all likelihood, a sexual rendezvous with Shane the day before the possible threeway gave him some self-confidence. He wasn’t a total loser. If love was elusive, at least there was sex.
Saturday came and he had not made the fateful call. Instead, he drove over to Shane’s, planning to deal with Grady later. A subdued Shane greeted him politely and disclosed that Reggie was already out of the picture. “I’m not nearly as into drugs as he is. Besides, it takes too much time to drive up there.”
At first Nico felt more affection than resentment toward him and went along with their quickly jumping into bed. Shane looked—and smelled—intoxicating. Their sweet kisses, however, turned into energetic, but impersonal, passion. Nico felt nostalgic for their more playful times. Just keep at it. We both need this release. Despite the bright sparks of their initial desire, things rapidly cooled. Although Nico made his best attempt to engage him, Shane became distracted, not completely there. After all, with Reggie gone, I’m just Plan B. Nico tried to sustain his own desire by invoking some of his previous fantasies about Shane’s body, but his sadness about their breakup overwhelmed his libido and he, too, lost his drive.
They agreed to an intermission and had a drink on one of those huge couches, but it soon became clear they had little to talk about. At this point Nico figured that neither of them wanted to return to the bedroom. Fortunately, Shane had made it clear that this was a visit, not a sleepover. Stumbling out of the condo toward his car, Nico felt a mixture of sadness and resentment. There’s just not enough love. I’m over him. That’s the last time we’ll have sex together. It’s time for both of us to move on.
On the drive home he suddenly remembered that he hadn’t yet called Grady! It’s okay. I’ll wait until the Cave. He had been rattled by his night with Shane, so he was surprised to now find himself somewhat willing to go ahead. After all Grady, the only man left in his life, insisted that he go along with it. Still, since he knew he would have to be sexual with Kim, he felt like the rural gay kid whose redneck father was taking him to a prostitute for his “first time.”
The call went smoothly. Grady was still up but didn’t let on if he was annoyed that Nico left him on the fence until the last possible moment. “I’ll be there tomorrow at nine.”
“That’s great.” They hung up. He had gotten himself roped into this absurdity. There was nothing more to be said.
Snuggling in with Miranda, Nico ruminated on his dilemma. My best strategy? I resolve to show only a low-key desire toward Grady. He’s a romantic and I don’t want him to think me a greedy, desperate opportunist. When appropriate, I’ll yield to Kim’s thirst for pleasure. He was playing this game from a long-term perspective. No matter what, he wanted to stay on Grady’s good side, for he did have some hope for their future.
He kept busy, getting increasingly nervous as Sunday afternoon dragged on. On the walk over that evening, the loss of control started to freak him out. Fear invaded the pit of his gut when he pushed the buzzer. He rushed up the stairs right into the smiling gaze of Kim who, outfitted in the softest, most soothing baby blue sweatsuit, ushered him in. At that moment he liked and respected her.
“C’mon in. It’s a lovely summer evening so Grady’s making us vodka tonics.” Lovely it was—the sun had burst through the overcast late that afternoon, banishing the atypical August showers. She was comforting to him in flannel, the antithesis of the dreaded laced boots, black bra, and garter belt.
“Make mine strong!” he yelled over at Grady, who was at the kitchen counter. Yes, he needed alcohol to enhance the Vicodin, a cherished leftover from the explosion. Vicodin—when you’re not yet high enough for what a particular occasion demands. He had made that joke every day that Grady had visited him during his recuperation, even as he altruistically forked over a few of the precious pills. “I brought some good weed,” he added, knowing that Grady would never refuse.
Like Shane, Kim smelled so good. Something evocative, sophisticated. “It’s not every day a lady gets to entertain two such striking gentlemen,” she purred facetiously. Her flirting struck him as simple and straightforward.
Watching her brown body ease back into the kitchen, he could understand Grady’s deep attraction to this woman who was half-Maori and half-Japanese. He tried to imagine the three of them back on her native island playing out the renowned fluidity of the Polynesian culture. She looked up at Nico with her deep-set brown eyes. Her jet black hair was as straight as Bobby’s, but even her baggy sweatshirt couldn’t hide her substantial breasts. Had Grady equivocated when he had claimed she was a “medium?”
Grady was also in sweats: gray with a yellow duck on the chest, under a green OREGON. He set down their cocktails and Nico took a long sip before digging out some buds and handing them to Grady, who prepared the bong. “Thought you might enjoy this.” Grady pressed a blue pill into Nico’s hand. Here we go again. Well, why not? I need all the help I can get.
Nico jumped up to take a nervous pee before things got going. On his way down the hall he peeked into that infamous bedroom where he had previously seen Grady and Kim going at it. Tonight her king-sized bed displayed pink sheets and a blue comforter. Three pillows—three!— lay across the top. He leaned into the stuffy room. Seventy-five degrees. A good temperature for naked frolicking, but I hope they open a window. I’m not into bodies dripping with sweat. I guess that’s my Caucasian side.
Once in the bathroom, he gulped the pill down with tap water. He returned to find Kim and Grady seated at either end of the couch, a spot in the middle conspicuously left open for him. As soon as he plopped there, he felt trapped. “So, Nico, you’ve probably already noticed how warm it is in here.” Grady pulled his sweatshirt over his head. Nico followed suit, taking off his own lavender shirt, worn as a forlorn symbol of his exclusively gay status. Kim’s elbows hit him in the ribs when she wiggled out of her sweatshirt, exposing her breasts. They are substantial.
Determined to keep pushing things forward, Grady planted a tender kiss on Nico’s lips. Encouraged, Nico leaned over and tried to kiss Kim in exactly the same manner. Her sculpted face did remind him of Bobby. The kissing kept on for a while. Tongues were introduced, first by Grady, then by Kim. Nico felt safe on the couch because their activities there were limited.
But suddenly his hosts jumped up. Kim retrieved several sleeping bags and threw them on the floor. Grady fetched his blue tent and quickly assembled it. What next? Grady motioned for Nico to follow him into the tent. Kim leaned through the flap with several candles, which she immediately lit. Our camping trip. Is he trying to make me feel more comfortable? Wow! In this muted lighting everyone looks so beautiful.
Kneeling, he was an easy target for Grady’s tackle. Flung down onto the sleeping bags, Nico yielded to Grady’s unbuckling his jeans and yanking them down. Trying to go along with that rambunctious energy, Nico undid the knot on Grady’s sweatpants and tugged them down to his ankles. Just when Nico made a grab for Grady’s baggy boxers, he felt Kim pull down his own slightly more fashionable Aussie Bums. Thankfully I’m hard. So is Grady. Both of them stripped Kim. There they were, all naked together, under this familiar canopy.
Grady gently caressed Kim’s face with the back of his hand. He kissed her long and hard, hanging onto her juicy lower lip. Nico tried to imitate the kiss, but could only muster intensity by closing his eyes and thinking of a wild make-out session with Bobby. Grady, kneeling off to the side, stroked himself while he watched them kiss.
After he and Kim broke apart, Nico, mimicking Grady, started jerking off. Grady gave him a “No, no, not that way” look, indicating they should play with each other’s. Nico complied, happy, finally, to be beyond the “just one tug” stage. God, this is so hot! I wish we could prolong this blissful, phallic stage. But we must not be “insensitive” by keeping her out of the action.
Nico knew that his best chance to be active heterosexually was early on in the proceedings. Because he didn’t think he was up for cunnilingus or intercourse, he planned to approach Kim during foreplay. He gently pushed Grady aside to nibble on her ear and dropped his tongue briefly down to her nipples. Then, boldly inserting the middle finger of his right hand into that jet black bush, he hit upon, he was reasonably sure, her clit. She thrust her hips forward. Once his second finger joined the first, Nico soldiered onward, helped by occasional, inspiring glimpses at the priapic Grady, who was smiling at them and still jerking off, even as his other hand sneakily fondled her breasts.
Nico joined Grady in playing with those breasts. He kissed them, but he didn’t want to lick or suck. He kept up his digital stimulation and she kept pleasurably moaning. All too soon, however, the innocent groping in the tent had to end. “We need to stretch out,” Grady suggested. “Let’s go to the bedroom.”
But a much-needed reprieve delayed our panicked hero’s fateful march to the showdown. Grady ran down the hall and wheeled back a desk chair. “We want to show you a trick.” Nico stood by awkwardly, watching Grady anchor the chair so that Kim could take a seat. With the back of the chair facing down the hall, Grady started simultaneously pushing her forward and bending over to eat her out. At the end of the hall, they reversed positions and Kim pushed Grady forward while licking his dick.
“Your turn, Nico,” she called out as they approached him. He dutifully got into the chair once she had turned it around. While pushing him toward the bathroom, she did her thing with her mouth. She’s not taking it all in. I hate gender stereotyping, but she’s all head and no shaft.
“Okay, now it’s your turn.” Aargh. Put up with it. There’s the prize, Grady, waiting at the end of the hall. He inserted two fingers once again to get his bearings and then guided his tongue to the same spot, pushing his face into the silky thatch. He tried to convince himself that he was not repulsed. But this activity will never be ranked very high on my list of “Top Ten Sexual Acts.” Does she actually like it? “Oh, Nico,” she squealed.
Finally they reached Grady, who beamed at him. He has to be thinking I’m one helluva good sport. “It’s your turn,” Nico asserted. Grady flipped the chair around and plopped down. Nico bent down and ostentatiously took in all of Grady, breathing as deeply as he ever had—there’d be no gagging here. Pushing the chair as slowly as he dared, he continued his oral explorations, slowly up and down, losing himself in his pleasure, a pleasure that, once experienced, could never be taken away.
