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My Brother-in-Law Channing Duke

By: perihelion



It started with the telephone call from Corinne at ten on a Sunday morning, morning for me but late afternoon in Baghdad where she was stationed as an army nurse.

"Colin, is that you?"

"Yeah, Corinne, I'm glad you called. I've been thinking a lot about you the last few days. You know; the twin connection. I figured something must be going on with you this week."

She laughed. "You must've had a bunch of twinges lately. I've been busy as hell. And I just got married."

I almost dropped the phone in shock. Corinne married?! I was the only member of my family, one of only a select few in the world that knew Corinne was a lesbian. I knew something was wrong, bad wrong, and it probably had to do with her military status. 

"What happened?" I managed to squeak out.

"Life happened. Love. The bluebird of happiness."

That definitely settled it. The bluebird of happiness was part of our twin code, had been a phrase we used from early childhood, and we only said it when we actually meant 'the bluebird of happiness has just shit on me'. Corinne and I grew up children of a strict Southern Baptist minister and we were very limited in how openly we could express our true feelings. We learned to use a language of our own in which what was said was often the exact opposite of what was meant.

"Really? So when did the bluebird fly over, Corinne?"

"About three weeks ago."

"And who's your new hubby, sweetie?"

"He's Channing Birmingham Duke, a major in the army here and you'll really like him, Colin, really, really like him. He's a super guy and I've told him all about you."

I could read between the lines. She'd told him I'm gay and apparently he was okay with it. I wondered what else she'd told him.

"I'm glad for you, Corinne. Is he a doctor?"

She snorted. "Colin, are you crazy? What makes you think I'd marry a doctor? Come on now!"

"Well, you're a nurse, sis. I just figured..."

She giggled. "How many times have I told you doctors make lousy husbands? They think they're god, they don't have a life other than medicine, and the list just goes on and on. Working with them is enough for me, thank you. No, Channing's an engineer." 

"That's different... How old is he? What does he look like? Where's he from?"' I laughed. "I mean, with a name like Birmingham, dare I hope for England?"

"Jesus, slow down, Colin! Do you want his shoe size, too?"

I snickered. "If you know it, which I bet you don't."

She laughed. "You bastard. He wears a size fourteen boot and he's got nice looking feet for a guy."

"How charming. You play with his feet a lot?"

"Jerk. He fell off a ladder when these bastards over here bombed the building next to where he was working. He broke his foot and I was the nurse who took care of him in the hospital."

"Well, I'm glad you appreciate his feet. Does the rest of him work okay, the brain in particular?"

Corinne chuckled. "Everything works just fine. And I hate to disappoint you. He's not from merry old England; he's from Birmingham, Alabama."

"Lawdy, lawdy, Miz Corinne, ya'll done married a son of the Confederacy? I thought your plan was to move to the civilized world when you get out of the army. Alabama barely qualifies as a part of the third world."

Corinne and I were born in Los Angeles, California while our father was an associate pastor of a huge church there. Dad transferred to a small community in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia when we were fourteen and we weren't too happy about it. To be fair, it's a beautiful place but to a teenager it just didn't measure up to the glory of Hollywood, at least not at first. The main reason for the move was because I'd been caught naked, fucking Ruth, the senior pastor's daughter, in her bedroom at the parsonage. This was during my phase of trying hard to pass as a heterosexual. The real scandal was the marijuana and cocaine on Ruth's dresser. It was hers but she blamed me and with my dick swinging in the breeze while her father screamed at me, my honesty was not the focal point of the conversation.

Three weeks later Dad moved us to Georgia to get away from the wickedness of Los Angeles, also to escape a fast growing move by the congregation to 'clean house' of the existing pastoral staff, one that had seen more than a few scandals. The senior pastor thought Dad transferring to Georgia would save his own career but a few weeks later he transferred to North Dakota when Ruth was hospitalized for an accidental cocaine drug overdose. The news of it made Georgia seem even more appetizing as it drove home to me how relieved I was to be out of the political warfare. Mega church politics can be nastier than anything in Washington, D.C. and even the children of the ministers are under a spotlight that's too hot.

When Corinne and I graduated we both went to university in New York City. She studied nursing at Columbia University; I studied accounting and economics at Queens College. She became an army surgical nurse and I became a certified public accountant, hired by a prestigious Wall Street law firm that specialized in banking and financial law. We both wanted careers that had nothing to do with religion and would get us out of the South, away from our family. We'd succeeded in our desires and were no longer under our father's thumb but there was a big difference in the freedom she and I now enjoyed. Corinne was free to return home for visits, welcomed and wanted. I'd been disowned by everyone in the family except Corinne after my father caught me naked in bed with a man. I've been shunned ever since and my family will only refer to it in whispered voices as 'Colin's homosexual incident'.

"Just because I married Channing doesn't mean we're going to move to Alabama. That's never going to happen."

"Yeah, well, better you than me. He'd need a dick like a thoroughbred stallion to make me consider living in Alabama."

"Well, honey chile, y'all ain't gonna never need to worry about it cause y'all ain't gonna get near it."

"Worry about what, sugar? His dick or Alabama?"

"Oh god, Colin, talking to you is like I'm in the real world again, the world where people are fun, where life is fun. You wouldn't believe the shit I've gone through over the last couple of weeks. I'll give you all the details when I'm home in a few months. It's not telephone safe stuff. Anyway, I'm not sure I'd have made it through it all and stayed sane without Channing. He's a living doll and you're really going to love him."

So there it was. Corinne did have problems but we'd deal with all that later. At that moment I just wanted to tease her about her marriage and her new man.

"What kind of name is Channing Birmingham? I just can't visualize snuggling up in bed next to Birmingham."

"Oh, you'd snuggle up to this guy if his name was Hezekiah, trust me. I know your taste in men. Maybe Channing is a city, just like Birmingham. How the hell would I know where he got his damn name from? It's just a name, for god's sake, and it fits him like a glove."

"Now, now, that doesn't sound too romantic to me, sis. You know his boot size and don't know how he got his name? I can see I need to give you a few lessons in romantic love."

"No thanks, Colin. Your idea of romantic love doesn't appeal to me. Being on my knees in front of a guy sucking his dick is not my idea of a dream date."

I cleared my throat loudly. "Oh, I get it. He didn't get into your pants until the wedding night, huh? You didn't even let him get a little nooky in the bushes before you said I do."

"Like I said, lessons in your idea of romance are the last thing I need, darling. Anyway, it's too dangerous to have sex in the bushes in Iraq. Come to think of it, the only bushes I see over here are made of pubic hair."

I groaned. "Oh, shit. The more I hear, the more I'm visualizing Major Duke as the spitting image of Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame. This poor guy has never even had sex with you. Back up a little bit here. Remember I asked you earlier about how his brain functioned? Does his dick work, or did he break that, too, when he got blown off the ladder?"

She snorted. "His brain and his dick work just fine for your information."

"What can I say; it's a wartime love story. Did you tell him he'd better be happy with a woman who can't cook, can't keep house, and views sex as just another biological function like taking a shit? I hope his favorite meal is Ramen noodles in a Styrofoam cup in the microwave. That's the extent of your chef skills."

Corinne laughed. "We haven't gotten that far in the relationship. We still rely on the military for our meals."

"Sounds delicious. Well, hopefully he can cook like Colonel Sanders or he'll starve unless you two plan to live on takeout and microwave meals. Confess to me, sis, and be honest. Does he have white hair and a beard?"

"You'll cum in your pants when you first lay eyes on him. It makes me a little nauseous to think you're probably going to masturbate all the time visualizing my husband and me in bed."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," I clicked my tongue. "You insist on tempting me into sin, sis. You think he might be interested in a threesome?"

"Not likely. I think his idea of sexual experimentation is letting the female fuck on the top occasionally. So far he's strictly a missionary fuck kind of guy."

I hooted with laughter. "So you two pray before you fuck? I take it back; don't even consider a threesome with me included."

Corinne giggled. "He's not like Michael. I don't think he's ever going to do us both at the same time."

"So when do I get to meet your new squeeze? You guys coming home soon?"

"We've been promised leave two months from now. They're not going to let us out because they need our skills too much. We've both been extended again."

I gasped. "Surely you're not gonna to do that, Corinne! You've been there for thirteen months this time and it was a whole fucking year the time before that. You need to get the hell out of there."

She sighed. "Well, they claim it's ending, Colin. I'm working on it. Of course, every time I get depressed about it all I have to do is think of Dad and the church. That's enough to make me want to re-enlist for six more years. I'm just glad Channing can go home on leave with me. I'd hate for one of us to go home and the other stay here."

We chatted for about half an hour and it was my last conversation with her. The following week I got a call from my older brother telling me Corinne had been killed in an explosion in Baghdad. It was just a routine trip from point A to point B, nothing special. Something she did every day but on that fateful day an improvised explosive device completely destroyed the vehicle she was travelling in, killing her and two other occupants, along with six civilians who were at the intersection. I collapsed in tears, grief stricken at the loss of my twin. My brother Kurt had been sympathetic when he called, knowing I'd feel Corinne's loss more than anyone else in the family. I immediately made arrangements to fly to Atlanta.

I dreaded the trip and not just because I was burying the other half of my soul. I was venturing back to a place I hadn't returned to in four years. I have two older siblings, a brother, Kurt, five years older than I am, and a sister, Karen, three years older. Kurt and Karen are both married, both have three children, and both have sticks so far up their asses they've got splinters in their teeth.

Kurt's got a Ph.D. in music ministry and is the minister of music at a large Baptist church in Macon, Georgia where he and his wife Arlene are pillars of the community. Arlene teaches music at a local private school and until 'the homosexual incident' I'd maintained a civil relationship with Kurt. I hadn't spoken to him in years and honestly, I was surprised he even called me to tell me about Corinne.

My sister Karen is married to Dick Winters, a pious ass who went to pharmacy school with her. She works as a pharmacy manager for a Walgreen's Pharmacy in Atlanta and hubby Dick works for a mail order prescription service. I really got on their shit list when, strictly joking, I commented that Dick wasn't competent enough to work in a real pharmacy. Their rage was so over the top it was obvious I'd hit a raw nerve. I googled Dick on the internet and discovered a long record of disciplinary actions including a couple of serious warnings for prescription errors. The next time I saw him and he made a nasty crack to me, I asked if planned make meth in a trailer to support his family when he lost his license. That comment totally ended my relationship with them. The homosexual incident just drove more nails into the coffin.

Dad's a retired pastor now, after thirty five years with him as an active pastor and Mom as the church pianist and resident saint. Dad still fills in when he's needed but now his and Mom's greatest pleasure is playing the 'When You've Been a Christian for as Long as I Have' game. Unless you're Billy Graham, Mom and Dad can always manage to offer advice and guidance on how you can lead a more fulfilling and useful life as a Christian, while pointing out your obvious faults. I grew up watching this game played constantly and while it didn't do a damn thing to make me a better Christian, it did make me an expert at almost instantly recognizing people I need to stay the hell away from.

It's not the norm by any stretch of the imagination, both twins being homosexual. I knew Corinne was a lesbian before she knew I was gay. I knew when Corinne fell hard for Maria Baxter while we were in high school. Maria was a total bitch as far as I was concerned but Corinne was madly in love with her. I could see it in Corinne's eyes that she was crazy about that cunt and I felt I had no choice but to let my sister know that if her puppy love was obvious to me it was just a matter of time before someone else discovered it. We were at a church sponsored camp meeting in Columbus, Georgia and I took the bull by the horns and told her she was making a fool of herself over a girl who was never going to reciprocate her love. In fact, if Maria had suspected Corinne's true feelings for her, she'd have been the first to call for a public stoning of her. Corinne cried but she didn't lie to me. It broke her heart but she got her emotions under control. I admitted to her that I, too, preferred my same sex and confessed I'd even had a few sexual encounters with other boys. That day, Corinne and I made a pact to get the fuck away from the nuts as soon as we could manage it and scholarships paved the way.

University educations and living in New York gave us the freedom we wanted. We'd long since been honest with each other about our sex lives by the time we moved to New York and began our university courses. We didn't advertise it on a billboard but we had lovers, we didn't deny our sexuality.

Corinne was already in the army and overseas when my homosexual disaster occurred. I was completing my Master of Science in Accounting degree and the 'incident' occurred when I went home for Thanksgiving. I'd always been careful about my sexuality in Georgia, not just to avoid embarrassment to my family but also because it's only within the last few years that homosexuality was removed from the criminal statutes of the state. That fact does not stop the local law enforcement from harassing, arresting, or abusing homosexuals.

The Saturday before Thanksgiving, I'd received a telephone call from Mom telling me she and Dad would be in Macon visiting with Kurt and Arlene when I flew in on Monday evening, for me to just take a cab to the house and enjoy the peace and quiet until they arrived on Wednesday. So I did as Mom instructed and after arriving home I just collapsed exhausted in my bed. Tuesday morning I went for a run around eleven and ate lunch at a McDonald's a couple of miles from the house. I met this gorgeous stud named Jim and he offered to give me a ride home. One thing led to another and soon we were naked in my bed. I wasn't worried about anything, thinking I had the place to myself until the following day.

I was in the midst of getting the best ass fucking I'd ever had. Jim's cock was pounding my asshole and just as our orgasms exploded, Kurt's seven year old son Robby opened my bedroom door and entered the room, my father behind him. I envision Armageddon being something like that scene. Robby was stunned into total silence and my father began to scream like a lunatic, ordering me and Jim out of the house. Kurt threatened to call the police and have us arrested for indecent exposure in front of his son. Only Mom kept that from happening; she couldn't endure the scandal, she said. Arlene was crying and praying, swearing that I'd have to pay for the psychiatric treatment Robby was sure to need now. It took a couple of weeks before I could even get another erection and it's a wonder I can even have an orgasm anymore.

I'm not sure what was more awful for my family -- the fact that I was getting fucked in the ass by a man or the fact that Jim was black. I was packed and gone in record time. Jim would have raced away naked if I hadn't forced him to stay to take me to the bus station. I took a bus to New York because flights were impossible to get so close to Thanksgiving and I was afraid to wait on standby. My father had threatened to have me committed to the state mental institution in Milledgeville, Georgia. I wasn't really sure if he could do that but I wasn't about to wait around and find out.

I was a nervous wreck until the bus crossed the New York state line and promised myself I'd never go back. That weekend, Corinne called me on Sunday morning from Iraq; along about the time I'd begun to regain my sanity. I wasn't surprised when she told me Dad had instructed her to tell me I was never to visit my parent's home again, never call them or attempt any communication with them. She also relayed the same instructions from Kurt and Karen. Corinne laughed hysterically as she described the conversation with Dad as he told her about 'Colin's homosexual incident'. She said he kept repeating himself as he raged about how black Jim was, how he glowed like a piece of coal. He'd burned the mattress and sheets of my bed; then not content with that, he'd burned the bed, too. Corinne told me Mom had plans to completely remodel the room, to totally eradicate any evidence I'd ever been there or that it had been a bedroom.

And now I was entering the driveway of my parents' Sandy Springs house for the first time in over four years. I don't know why I expected it to look different but it was the same. There were several cars out front and a group of people were standing around on the front porch. I could see the looks turn cold as they realized it was me driving the rental car and I forced a ramrod of steel in my back to get out of the car and walk in among the lions. No matter what they thought about me, I had a right to be here, to attend my beloved sister's funeral. I was dressed in a black Armani suit and could have passed for a Republican. No one greeted me as I walked to the front door and I didn't bother to knock, just walked inside. My parents looked at me as if I'd come to set the house on fire but my brother Kurt stepped forward and held his hand out.

"I'm sorry, Colin, so sorry. I know how close the two of you were. Corinne adored you, wouldn't listen to any criticism of you. She'd just hang up."

I was torn between tears and anger. His statement acknowledged what I'd already known; my family berated Corinne for not shunning me, for not being part of a solid family unit against my abomination. It was only the fervor of their condemnation that helped me to convince Corinne not to come out to them herself. As I told her, it was pointless to invite trouble and jeopardize her army nurse career. At that time, the military had not relaxed the stance on homosexuality. . I wanted to hit Kurt and I wanted to cry at the same time but I refused to share my grief with them. 


My Brother-in-Law Channing Duke



"It's a shame your being a faggot broke your sister's heart just like it did the rest of your family," my father said bitterly.

I didn't respond. What was there to say? You're a fucking asshole? I walked to the mantel where a group of photographs had been arranged honoring Corinne. Prominent among the pictures was a recent one of her marriage. It had taken place in Baghdad and everyone was in dress uniforms.

"I pray for you every day, Colin, that you will be healed of this abomination," Mom said. "God can heal you, son, you just need to ask for forgiveness and understanding."

I looked at her, tears of piety streaming down her face. I never thought I'd hate her but I realized at that moment I never wanted to see her or any of them ever again after this funeral. They disgusted me, repulsed me, and their God was non-existent to me. I'd talked often with other gays who were racked with guilt and shame, who felt the need to continue to go to church and seek Christian spiritual guidance, affirmation, something I couldn't understand. I felt none of that and I knew why. I'd grown up a pastor's son. I was like Dorothy after she discovered the all powerful Wizard of Oz behind the curtain, a little man. I'd lived my life behind the curtain and church is all smoke and mirrors to me, designed to collect as much money as possible while keeping the masses in a mindless stupor.

"Your mother spoke to you, Colin! The least you can do is respond to her," my father barked.

I didn't care what they thought anymore, didn't care if they hated me. I turned to an unknown face in the group, a handsome man in uniform. He was the man in the picture on the mantel, Corinne's husband.

"Where's Corinne's body, the coffin; which funeral home?" I asked him.

"I'm sorry, Colin, the bodies were incinerated in the blast. That vase on the mantle is supposedly her ashes. I saw the aftermath and there may be some of Corinne in that jar but don't count on it," he said.

Mom burst into loud weeping and my father angrily waved his arm at Channing.

"I think you could have left that little detail out, don't you think? It's bad enough as it is."

"My baby, my baby," Mom cried over and over.

My brother Kurt held her and comforted her.

The man in uniform suddenly hugged me tight.

"She loved you so much, Colin. Don't pay any attention to these people here," he said softly in my ear. "Corinne was never ashamed of you; she never denied who you are. I loved her and I love you."

I buried my face in his neck and wept. I don't know how long I cried but he held me in his arms and comforted me the entire time. My own family didn't say another goddamn thing to me. Finally I regained self control and stepped back.

I'm sorry," I said. "I had no right to do that."

"You had every right," he replied. "Can we get together later and talk? There's so much we need to say to each other."

"Channing, you do understand Colin's a homosexual, don't you?" Arlene spat out. "You should be careful around him. You don't people to get the wrong idea about you."

"Why don't you people just give it a rest?" Channing exploded. "I'm here to mourn my wife! Can't you just be fucking civil to each other for a few goddamn hours?"

It was like a bomb had exploded. No one used that kind of language in front of my parents.

"Now see here, son," my father yelled. "Don't you use that kind of language in front of my wife, do you hear? God's word is clear on the sin of homosexuality."

Channing started to reply but I grabbed his arm, tears in my eyes.

"Please, just let it go, Channing. You can't change them, you can't do anything. Let's just get Corinne buried and get away from here."

He stopped, still obviously furious with my family, but he said nothing more, just looked at the floor.

"What time is the funeral and where?" I asked him.

My sister Karen answered. "The funeral's tomorrow afternoon at three at the church and we're burying her ashes in the family crypt. Channing has agreed."

Channing turned and walked out of the house. Through the window we watched him as he strode down the sidewalk, not looking back.

"Colin, seems like you're a lightning rod for trouble," Arlene whined. "You didn't have to come you know. None of us expected it. Try not to infect Corinne's husband with your poison."

I turned to Kurt.

"I'll be at the church at three."

I left the house without saying goodbye or kiss my ass to anyone and drove to the Days Inn. I didn't leave the room until the next day an hour before the funeral. By then I was so hungry I went to a Taco Bell drive through window and ordered a beef burrito and a Coke, eating my meal in the car while I sat in their parking lot. I timed it carefully so I'd arrive at the church with no more than ten minutes to spare.

It was a typical Southern Baptist funeral -- several songs and testimonials, a sermon, weeping and gnashing of teeth, an almost choreographed window into a family's incredible pain. I didn't sit with the family. When I came in, they'd already been seated and I chose to sit in the back. I'd been there several minutes before anyone noticed me. Karen swiveled her head around several times checking out the crowd and glared at me. She nodded her head for me to sit with the family and I gave her my middle finger. After that I was aware of heads turning to look at me but I ignored them. I didn't accompany the family to the cemetery, choosing instead to drive straight to the airport for my flight to Manhattan. When I got to New York, my first action upon entering my apartment was to request a new unlisted phone number. I didn't expect to hear from anyone but I wanted to make it harder to locate me in case someone tried.

Three years passed. Gradually my life returned to some semblance of normalcy. I moved to a firm that more than doubled my income and I also moved to a new cooperative apartment that was the most luxurious place I'd ever lived. I'd been in my new apartment only a week when I came home to discover a vaguely familiar face sitting in the lobby of my building. I knew I recognized him but wasn't sure from where. He was ruggedly handsome with brown hair and green eyes, very tall, lanky, wearing blue jeans, a green plaid shirt, and cowboy boots. He smiled when I entered the lobby.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?"

He laughed. "I see I made a big impression on you."

He held out his hand and I shook it warily.

"I'm Channing Duke, your brother."

It hit me like a ton of bricks, something not lost on him.

"It's been a long time, Colin, and you only met me once briefly under the worst of circumstances. Don't feel bad for not recognizing me."

"I'm sorry, Channing. Yeah, it was only one time but you've got to admit you don't look a whole lot like the guy with the army buzz cut and dress uniform."

He laughed again and I loved the deep booming sound.

"I guess I wouldn't know that since I shave this face every day. At Corinne's funeral I turned around and you were gone. I wanted to sit down and talk with you, get to know you a little better. Is now a good time?"

I couldn't help but stare at him. He was so incredibly sexy and I felt a flush of embarrassment as I realized he might see I was scoping him out.

"I'm sorry; I guess I seem like an idiot, Channing. It's just such a surprise to see you again. And yes, of course, now's a perfect time; come on up with me to my apartment."

We took the elevator to my floor and it was then I noticed he was carrying two suitcases. He caught my glance at them and shrugged.

"Don't worry. I'll find a hotel room. I've only been here a few days and I didn't like the last place I stayed. I figure I can find a better place without a problem."

Instantly I was wary again. I really didn't know this guy at all and here I was just letting him into my apartment.

"Still", I silently reasoned with myself, "he is Corinne's husband, not a complete stranger."

While we were still in the elevator I quizzed him, thinking it's not too late to take him out to dinner for this meeting instead of to my apartment.

"How did you find me? I've moved, changed jobs, and changed phone numbers since you last met me."

He grinned. "It wasn't too hard. I remembered Corinne saying you studied accounting at Queen's College. I was able to track you down through a guy named Ray White who teaches chemistry there now. He used to be in our squad and he remembered the Ferris twins Colin and Corinne. He says you two started university the year he was a senior. I'm just lucky you updated your alumni information."

I remembered Ray White. He was a prick and I hadn't liked him at all.

"It's been over three years. Why the sudden urge to contact me?"

"I had to go back to Iraq after the funeral to finish my military hitch. When it was up I took an assignment with a civilian contractor in Afghanistan after one of their engineers was medically evacuated. When the project ended I came back to the states with their company. I was in Chicago with them until three weeks ago when I took a new job in Manhattan."

I smiled. "So you just decided you'd like to get to know me better. I'd think after being around Corinne's family at the funeral you'd have seen all of us that you'd ever want to see."

"Well, I've got some photos and stuff of Corinne's that I thought you might want to have. I wanted to tell you about us, how it was for her in the last few weeks of her life. Plus, I really just wanted to see you again."

We entered my apartment.

"So have you had any further contact with the rest of my family, Channing? I know they made it perfectly clear to you that I'm persona non grata, the black sheep of the family. Their own family child of Satan," I laughed. "At least it gives them something to talk about when there's a lull in gossip conversation."

He raised his eyebrows in mock horror. "Yeah, you've pretty much become the symbol of evil to them. They never shut up about it while I was there for the funeral. But no, I've never been back and we exchange Christmas cards as a courtesy. That's the extent of my relationship with Corinne's family."

He'd put his suitcases on the hall floor.

"You want something to drink? Go sit in the living room and I'll bring it to you."

"I'll take a strong alcoholic drink if you've got one -- anything."

I gave him the evil eye.

"And what makes you think I'd have alcoholic beverages in my home, sir?"

Channing smiled. "Do you really need an answer to that?"

I brought two tumblers, a two liter of Coke, and a bottle of whiskey from the kitchen. He was sitting on the couch and I sat in a recliner facing him. He drank a tumbler of whiskey neat and poured another.

"Maybe I shouldn't have brought the Cokes."

He grinned. "Nah, I'll drink a Coke in a sec. I just needed the whiskey."

"An alcoholic? The military seems to breed a lot of 'em."

He snickered. "Colin, did anyone ever tell you that you've got a negative and suspicious nature?"

"Comes with the territory. You try growing up queer with the saints of God all around you. I'm still stunned a good Alabama boy, an army straight arrow, would want to bother with me anyway. Aren't you afraid I'll contaminate you?"

He gave a long disgusted sigh. "Can we just move beyond all that shit and just be friends? Let me be the one to worry about contamination. After all the shit I've lived through the last six years I can take care of myself. I have to tell ya, Corinne didn't tell me you were so difficult to get to know. The way she talked, you're a friendly easy going guy."

A cold chill hit my spine. "Don't go there, dude. I'm sure you've been through a lot of shit and I wish you the best. However, you have no idea what it's like to suddenly have no fucking support system at all, to have everyone who's supposed to love you all of a sudden despise you. War's hell but a queer's life can be hell on a battlefield every goddamn day and there's no escape but death. I loved Corinne but she never went through what I go through."

"Let's move beyond this, man. Corinne adored you. You're all she'd talk about sometime. I always felt like I was never really going to get inside her shell, the place you've been all your life. She told me I'd never find a more loyal friend than you. When I saw you at the funeral my heart nearly stopped. You're eyes are just like hers. Identical. It's incredible how much you two look alike even though you're a man and she was a woman."

"We WERE twins, remember? Even fraternal twins can be incredibly similar in appearance. You don't have to be same sex identical to look a lot alike. It's just that usually when male and female siblings look alike one of them looks like a transvestite. Corinne always said I got the looks and she got the brawn."

We both laughed at that one. It was a joke Corinne and I had between us all our lives. She always said I was the beautiful one, that she looked too much like me to be a beautiful woman. Privately, I'd always agreed but never had the heart to confess it to her. She was as tall as me, six five, slender and athletic, not butch but never the fragile petite China doll. 

"Corinne told me you were the beautiful one and she was the handsome one. Your sister didn't really realize what a stunning beauty she was, at least to me anyway. She was right, though, you are a beauty, Colin, if I say so myself. I'll bet you have to fight the women, sorry guys, off."

Channing was looking at me appraisingly. "You know she told me you're much braver than she was. She admired you so much, said she was hoping for the day when she'd be as good as you."

I swallowed hard, fighting tears. After over three years, I still felt Corinne's death like a knife twisting in me. Fraternal or not, we shared a womb together and were brought up together as 'the twins'. We shared everything emotionally and I was still bitter she'd never shared information about Channing with me. A man she's about to marry and she can't call me and discuss it? It was like a betrayal. That pain kept me from bursting into tears and Channing quickly changed the subject to avoid wounding me further.

"Do you still work on Wall Street?"

"Yeah, I changed jobs since I last saw you, got a much better offer. So where are you working now?"

"I got hired last week at Morrissey, Davidovic, and Kolb. They're an engineering firm that does consulting work for several governmental agencies including the city. Looks like it'll be a good job. It even pays better than I made as a civilian contractor in a war zone which is saying a lot. I figured I'd just stayed in a hotel until everything got settled with my job and I get familiar with Manhattan."

"You know your firm's not too far from this apartment."

He chucked, his eyes dancing with amusement.

"Sorry, of course you knew. You walked here from your job, didn't you?"

He nodded and grinned.

"I've been counting the minutes all day and I nearly ran to get here. I checked it out at lunch to make sure I had the right place and then raced to try to get here before you came home."

"You'd have been in for a big surprise if I'd decided to go out tonight or if I worked the night shift."

Channing rolled his eyes dramatically and I was reminded of a mischievous little boy.

"What can I say? I take chances."

I got us another two liter of Coke from the refrigerator.

"What made you leave the hotel where you were staying?"

"I just didn't like it. I'm really picky about hotels and it was too busy and too far from my new job. Plus I wanted to find you, spend some time with you, maybe crash with you a couple of days if it's okay."

I grinned. "Not afraid of spending the night with a gay guy, huh?"

He snickered. "Well, I was hoping you'd let me sleep on your couch for a couple of nights. I wasn't planning to crawl in bed with you."

I looked at him closely and really sized him up. I felt a twinge in my groin and I visualized what it would be like to fuck Corinne's husband. As my eyes travelled back up to his from his crotch I saw the blush on his face.

"Maybe I'd better get a hotel room after all."

THAT embarrassed me.

"Not necessary, dude. I've got a spare bedroom and the door locks. You don't have to worry; I'm not inclined to press my attentions where they're not wanted."

I stood up and motioned for him to follow me to the guest bedroom. I was thankful it was neat and clean, ready for occupancy. I hadn't been here long enough to turn my spare bedrooms into junk rooms yet. It had been almost impossible to maneuver around in the spare room in my previous apartment. Like many single guys, hell, like a lot of people, my spare room had always been my junk room where I stored everything I didn't know what else to do with. My new apartment had been a change from a two bedroom to a four bedroom and I'd made a vow that I wasn't going to let my spare rooms turn into an overgrown storage closets. My new cooperative also came with a huge storage unit in the basement.

I hadn't really needed four bedrooms but I got one of those miraculous deals only a fool would pass up. I had the money saved from my previous job along with profits from a stunning investment portfolio. When I mentioned I was looking for a new place, my office mate begged me to buy an apartment he'd purchased as an investment. He and his wife were involved in a bitter divorce in which they had done everything but hire hit men. He wanted to unload the apartment way below its value so he could screw her out of everything he possibly could. I'd paid him an insanely low price and then gave him two hundred thousand more under the table after his divorce was finalized. Okay, so it wasn't totally kosher and I feel so fucking guilty every time I look at the view of Central Park from my windows.

"This okay?" I asked.

"Colin, this is fantastic, man. You must be making a lot more money than your family thinks you make!"

"Yeah, well screw them. I never discussed my income with them and I haven't spoken to a one of them since the day of the funeral."

Channing took his two suitcases in the room and put them on the bed.

"I'm gonna go get a shower, Channing. There's a half bath right off the living room. The main bathroom's across the hall from your room and I've got a full bathroom in the master suite. So you can take a shower now, too, if you want but I'm not sure about towels in that bath. If you need them they're in the hall closet. That's the door next to your room. You gonna be okay while I clean up?"

"Sure, actually I'm just going to stretch out here on the bed for awhile and then I'll get my shower later. I'm exhausted."

I left him in his room and took a shower in which I had a fantastic masturbation session starring Channing as my chief fantasy. Afterward I dressed in underwear and a pair of blue silk long pajamas. I usually slept naked, actually usually was naked while I was in the apartment but in deference to Channing I decided to cover up completely. I went to check on him. The door to his room was open and he was lying on the bed sleeping which gave me the opportunity to just stare at him for awhile. He was lying on his back and he'd removed his suit jacket, shoes, and socks. His white shirt had been pulled from his waist.

Channing was really a handsome man and I fantasized what he'd look like naked. Around six feet three inches, he had a classically handsome face that was rugged and looked a little scruffy with his five o'clock shadow showing now. His beard was obvious but not too heavy. His eyes were closed as he gently slept and I noticed how long and thick his eyelashes were. His shirt was pulled up just enough that I could see his stomach, all smooth and tight with washboard abs. His suit pants were pulled tight and I could see a nice bulge in his crotch. It looked like he was sporting a woodie in his sleep and I smiled. Must be dreaming about sex. The only other skin I could see was that on his bare feet and they were beautiful feet. Some feet are ugly, most are not worth a second glance but Channing's were long and slender with matching long toes. The skin on his feet was smooth and I could see the tendons and veins running along the top of them. I'd sucked toes on guys that weren't this sexy.




My Brother-in-Law Channing Duke



He suddenly stretched and I realized I should either knock on the door to wake him or I should just let him sleep in peace. Otherwise he was going to wake and catch me staring at him, an embarrassment I didn't relish. I left him sleeping and went to the phone to call for Chinese takeout. He'd probably wake up hungry and I needed to make a trip to the grocery store. When the delivery guy rang the doorbell, Channing woke up. As I came down the hall with the box of different hot Chinese entrees, he came to his door.

"Damn, Colin, you let me sleep. I was gonna shower and take you out to eat. I can shower and be out in five minutes if that's okay with you."

I laughed. "So go shower now and I'll set it up so we can eat and watch TV."

I set it all up on the coffee table. The couch was extra long and so was the table. I took out my vegetable lo mein and spring roll and left the other food covered in the thick cardboard box to stay warm. He came out dressed in pale green boxers and a white tee shirt.

"Okay if I eat in my underwear? If it bothers you I'll go put on some clothes."

I wasn't sure if he was concerned about offending me or enticing me into attacking him. I took a quick look at his body. Fucking gorgeous. There was a light cover of soft brown curls on his legs and even less on his forearms but I felt sure he fell into the category of a smooth guy, older than your average twink. I placed a mental bet with myself to collect with a nice edging jack off if I won the bet. Shit. I'd collect with a nice jack off if I lost the bet.

"You're fine," I said. "Truth is, I usually walk around naked in the apartment so your underwear's great. I wore the pajamas for you."

He laughed. "Well, I would say go ahead and strip down naked but..."

I chuckled. "But it'd be too damn uncomfortable for you, I get it. Still, I'm surprised you'd waltz around in your underwear in front of me."

"I don't have pajamas and my only clean clothes are what I'm going to wear to work tomorrow. You think I could wash a load of clothes here tonight? Holy fuck, you got a shitload of food here! What's mine?"

He started looking through the box.

"It's all yours."

He gave me a quizzical look that was unmercifully cute.

"What? It looks like you've got enough food here for a platoon."

"I wasn't sure what you like so I got a few different things -- pepper steak, shrimp fried rice, kung pow chicken, vegetable egg foo young and some egg rolls, spring rolls, egg drop soup, hot and sour soup, I think that's all. Hopefully, you like something that's there."

He looked really puzzled.

"You know I don't know what any of that stuff is. I's jes a po' Alabama boy who got sent to Iraq and even over there I never ate any of THEIR weird food. Just mashed potatoes and lousy stew beef, whatever the military kitchen served. You're gonna have to tell me what I should eat. What's good?"

I must have looked like I was going into shock because he suddenly burst out laughing and slapped me on the back.

"Goddamn, you're as gullible as Corinne! I can see this is gonna be fun."

"You asshole!"

He dished up a plate of pepper steak and we watched a news special on the war in Afghanistan while we ate. Finally we finished and I put what was left in the container holding my meal back in the box.

"That's a lot of food left there. We'll be eating Chinese for the rest of the week," he laughed.

I smiled. So he was hoping to be here the rest of the week.

"I won't torture you, Channing. Old Chinese food's not worth eating. What we don't eat tomorrow goes down the disposal. I'm gonna take my leftover's for lunch tomorrow and you can do whatever you want."

He stood up. "I need to go take a whizz. I'll be right back."

After putting the leftovers in the fridge I sat down and flipped through the channels. It never ceases to amaze me how you can have two hundred channels and not a goddamn thing worth watching. I looked up to see Channing trying to hand me two twenty dollar bills.

"What's with the money? You can leave it on the dresser after we fuck."

He blushed bright red.

"No, man, I'm imposing on you. The least you can do is let me pay for the food."

He dropped the money on the coffee table. I grabbed it and pushed it back in his hand, a hand that was warm and rough from hard work. I didn't see calluses but the skin was hard and firm, not soft like mine.

"We're not going to argue over this, Channing! You can take me out to eat one night. Don't insult me with your money. You're Corinne's husband, family. Besides, I didn't have to let you stay here if I couldn't afford to feed you."

He took the money and sat down.

"Okay, so you gotta promise I get to take you out to eat. You name the place."

We talked for a couple of hours about our jobs. Somehow we both steered clear of Corinne. I wasn't in the mood to discuss her, to pry about what I really wanted to know. How had a girl I knew to be a confirmed lesbian ended up as his wife? What was going on with her last call to me? I looked at his body as talked, him sitting on my couch so sexy in his underwear, and he knew I was looking at him but didn't seem to mind anymore. He'd first shown up on a Monday evening and the first week slid into the weekend. That weekend we went to Central Park to play football, throw Frisbees, goof off; in general for to explore, let him see a place he'd never been before. We did the park on Saturday and Sunday and then we were into his second week living with me.

Channing was a fun person to be around and it was easy to see Corinne's attraction to him. She and I had similar taste in friends but I did have an edge one edge on her. I could easily spot the kind of woman she was going to be attracted to but she didn't find it as easy to spot men I'd like. She'd joke that I'd take any guy with a big dick but she knew it wasn't true. While I had my share of casual sex encounters, I was very specific about the guy that I was going to let move in with me. We had to click emotionally, had to enjoy the same things, in short, we had to be able to have fun together and enjoy each other's company. It wasn't what the guy looked like. As I always told her, I'm going to wake up next to him every day and I want to know up front if we're going to be able to each tolerate the little quirks we all have. Most important of all, I demanded partner loyalty and I gave it. No fucking around, no constant flirting and checking out every man in pants; I needed to know we were for each other only. I'd had one major boyfriend while I was a junior in college and he'd literally broken my heart apart. Corinne had helped me pick up the pieces from coming in and finding the guy I truly loved fucking another man in our bed. I'd been man shy since then, casual meaningless sex with lots of guys, no commitment, no strings, the only way I could handle it.

Channing and I slipped into a comfortable routine. Channing got home before me. His office was only two blocks away, mine six blocks away, and we walked to and from work. He was true to his word and he took me out to eat twice but I found he was an excellent cook and he'd stocked the apartment with groceries. He discovered I can't eat big meals at night before I go to bed because it makes me sick and suddenly he was up early, fixing fantastic breakfasts, sometimes with steaks, and we'd eat light at night. He decided he preferred the light suppers and said my eating style was good for his waistline.

By Tuesday of the second week I was actively studying Channing, trying to discover what made him tick. I wondered if he masturbated and how he sexually satisfied himself while he was living with me. All guys jack off one way or another. No guy our age goes for more than a couple of days without blowing his load. He'd told me he was twenty-nine and going to turn thirty in two months. I was twenty seven. I surreptitiously checked his shower after he used it, listened quietly at his door, came home early one day to see if I could catch him jacking off, and nothing came of it. He only appeared in his underwear for me a couple of times after the first time. He made a habit of staying dressed until he was ready to go to bed and then he'd take his bath before going straight to bed. He created a situation where I began to desire him, want him, and I thought about the old maxim that sometimes what you don't see is more alluring. Your imagination creates a fantasy that can actually be hell to match to real life.

That Tuesday evening I discovered Channing was not totally ignoring his sexual needs. As usual, he was already in the apartment when I got home. He was in the bathroom and his attaché case was lying open on the couch. Prominent on top was an adult magazine showing three hot photos - a woman with a strap-on dildo ass fucking a man on his knees face down on a bed; two women in a sixty nine pose licking each others' pussies while a man fucked one of them in the ass; and two men having sex with one woman, one getting his dick sucked, the other fucking her pussy. The magazine was hot and the clear plastic wrapping that was lying next to the briefcase made it obvious he'd just opened it. It appeared a couple of other unopened adult magazines were beneath the top magazine from the intact wrapping I could see, also what appeared to be a couple of unopened DVD's beneath the magazines. I wanted desperately to check them all out, learn more about Channing's sexual interests but I heard the toilet flush and I walked quickly to my room and changed into khaki pants and a polo shirt.

The briefcase was gone when I returned and Channing was in the kitchen preparing a chef salad. He was barefoot wearing jeans and an old faded Troy Aikman Dallas Cowboys football jersey. Since Friday he seemed to have adopted going barefoot in the apartment as I always do. I took it as a good sign that he was relaxing more around me. No matter how pleasant and nice Channing had acted, I still felt a degree of remoteness from him as if he wasn't really comfortable with me.

"So how was your day?" he asked.

"Busy, as usual. I've been put on a new case trying to track down the source of a ton of money that just suddenly appeared in this multi-million dollar account we manage. We think the account might have been set up to launder money."

"Sounds interesting. That's what -- forensic accounting? That what your firm does?"

"Some. It's part of the reason I was interested in this job, that and the fact they more than doubled my previous salary. They do a lot of consultant work and investigative auditing is a specialty of theirs."

He whistled. "Kinda cloak and dagger stuff, huh?"

I laughed. "Not much cloak and dagger stuff in accounting but I suppose forensic accounting is as close to heavy drama as you're gonna get in my line of work. I just check the figures and pass the information upstairs."

"Did you do that kind of work at the firm you worked at before?"

I nodded as he put salad bowls on the table.

"You wanna eat here at the table or in front of the TV?" Channing grinned.

He'd teased me a lot about how it looked like I'd never had a meal at my table when he arrived. I'd forgotten how I'd put boxes of kitchen utensils and dishes on all of the chairs along with some other junk I hadn't gotten around to sorting. He'd discovered it the first morning he'd fixed breakfast and went to set the table. The seat of every chair had something on it.

"TV's ok with me if you don't mind."

We sat down to eat and became engrossed in a PBS program on earthquakes. We finished eating and he grabbed the remote to scan the channels after the earthquake program ended.

"You got a preference, Colin?"

"Whatever you wanna see's fine with me?"

He snickered. "Really? You really, really, really mean that?" he teased. "Man, you have GOT to be the most demanding TV critic alive."

"What makes you say that?" I feigned surprise.

"Let's see now...you hate every reality program on the air, you barely tolerate any sitcom, you're openly contemptuous of almost every drama. Hmm, did I miss anything?"

I laughed. "Come on! You've only been here a little over a week and you're already trying to analyze me. Next thing you'll be trying to convert me. The truth is I just don't much like television or movies at all. It's just not my way of being entertained. I prefer to actually do things, interact with people, you know, play games, go places, just shoot the shit."

He looked sheepish. "I'm so sorry, Colin, looks like I'm really cramping your style here. I really need to work on finding my own place."

He was serious. I'd just given him the impression he was in the way and I was tolerating him. Unconsciously I reached over and grabbed his arm.

"Not at all, Channing, no. Please don't take it that way. I've really enjoyed your being here with me and I'd like you to stay as long as you like. Just stay here with me, move in if you like. I've enjoyed talking with you, having the company. It's not lonely with you here."

I stopped myself. I was going overboard here, going from seeming to just tolerate him because he was Corinne's husband to seeming needy in a way that could quickly morph into clinging. I did like his company but I didn't want to destroy the friendship developing between us.

"You sure I'm not in the way here, Colin? I mean, since I've been here you've not once mentioned any boyfriends or sex or gone out with any of your friends. It's like I've taken over your home life and I never wanted that. I actually intended to find a hotel that first night but you were so nice, so enjoyable to be around that I just stayed on but you know what they say -- fish and guests start to smell after three days."

I punched his shoulder playfully. "You don't smell, Channing. Why I can attest to the fact that you take a bath every day, sometimes twice."

He laughed. "Okay, then, let's talk about it, put it all out in the open. We can decide how long I'm welcome to stay, what the rules of living together should be so I don't feel like I'm taking over your place or imposing. After all, you bought this co-op for you, not me."

I'm not a shrinking violet and I've never been dominated by anyone. I learned as a teenager that while I kept my homosexuality secret that didn't mean I had to keep anything else back. In fact, Corinne and I both were considered anomalies in our family, two children who were not content to live under our parents' thumbs because 'the Bible told us so'.

"Okay, first off has to do with guests and others. I've gone through this before with a couple of other roommate disasters. This is not my first rodeo. I don't mind your bringing a girl home to fuck. I do mind if she decides to stay over on a regular basis, if she decides to leave clothes and tampons here. I don't like to get up in the morning to find strange people wandering through my place. I don't do breakfast and happy morning conversation with the girlfriends. I don't like to walk naked out of the bathroom and find a girlfriend looking at my junk. Likewise, I don't allow boyfriends to stay over all the time or leave their shit here."

He grinned. "I don't think that's a bad rule to agree on. I like you. We're simpatico. If I don't feel like talking or making nice you don't expect it or get offended. The same goes for you with me. If you're not in the mood for socializing I'm content to just be quiet or I'll go to my room, go to bed early, and I like that. Like I said, we're simpatico on that one. Not that I've seen you walking around naked."

"Yeah, well I haven't exactly seen you parading around naked either. It took you several days to feel comfortable walking around barefoot in front of me."

He blushed and I laughed.

"You don't have to say it. I know straight guys have a thing about letting gay guys see 'em naked, don't want us perving on your jewels. But it's not like you military guys don't parade around naked in front of everyone in the barracks. You just think no other army guys are checking you out."

His face got a deeper shade of red with a giggle of embarrassment.

"It's just that I like you, Colin, but not that way and I didn't want to create a difficult situation by walking around naked and maybe giving you the wrong idea. I'm not sure what to do; I've never lived with a gay guy before."

"That you know of," I corrected. "My last roommate served in the army in Iraq but he didn't come out of the closet until he got out."

He seemed genuinely shocked.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Channing."

He shook his head. "Nah, I know there are homosexuals in the military. I pretty sure I served alongside one this last tour but he never did anything to draw attention to his sex life. I'm just surprised you had a military lover as your last roommate."

I raised my hand defensively.

"Whoa, hold on there! We were roommates but we weren't lovers. I wasn't attracted to him sexually."

"No shit?!"

I broke up laughing and Channing looked at me like he didn't know what was so funny.

"Are you really so naïve, brother, that you think gay guys will take on any man as a lover if he looks half-way decent?"

He spluttered but laughed at himself. "I don't know. I guess it's the glory holes, the sex with strangers. I guess I figured, yeah, gays will do just about anybody."

"Just so you know, there's a huge difference between a lover, a committed relationship, and sucking dicks in a glory hole. Gays are pretty open about oral sex as a rule but they don't move in with guys or become lovers unless there's an emotional connection. Just like straights. And Roger was not my type. He just was a good roommate to share the rent with when I needed it. At least until he started snorting cocaine and bringing a different guy home every damn night. First I lost my television, then my wallet, and then I kicked Roger out."

Channing and I had a nice open conversation and agreed he could live with me in the apartment until he either found a girlfriend or we couldn't stand each other anymore. He insisted on contributing to our expenses when I refused to charge him rent. After all, I fully owned the apartment with no mortgage. We agreed to split the monthly building fees and grocery bill. I was dying to ask him about the porn he'd bought but decided to keep quiet. Maybe he'd bring it up later.

I was horny as hell so I decided to have a real masturbation session complete with a dildo, something I hadn't done since Channing moved in. Oh, I'd jacked off plenty of times. I just hadn't used a dildo to fuck myself. I'd been rather restrained and self-conscious for some reason about the whole dildo bit. I didn't think Channing would burst in on me unannounced while my dildo was sticking in my ass but still I felt like I would have if my parents were there or if I was in their home. I'd always been restrained with masturbation at home growing up. I had my own bedroom but it was connected to Kurt's room by a bathroom we shared. Kurt was a pious ass. I'd caught him jacking off a few times and he got very defensive about it, always trying to catch me at it. The door to my bedroom or the adjoining bathroom door would suddenly open as Kurt peered in to see if I was masturbating. He'd always tease but it became uncomfortable. We both didn't want to involve Dad, not with him going all Biblical on us about the heinous 'sin of Onan'.

I didn't sleep well Friday night. About one o'clock in the morning I pulled out my favorite dildo, my Jeff Stryker replica -- eight and a half inches of pure pleasure. I'd had a lot of great fucks from Jeff. I put lube in my ass and on the dildo. I inserted it and fucked myself hard, riding it and fantasizing it was Channing fucking me. I fell asleep with the dildo in my ass, cum all over my stomach and chest. I awoke in the middle of the night and felt so horny I fucked myself again and had another massive orgasm. I slept and then was up again at a quarter to six so I decided to fix breakfast and surprise Channing. As I walked to the bathroom, he came out of it wrapped in his towel and seemed surprised to see me.




My Brother-in-Law Channing Duke



He was beautiful, a hairless tanned chest with large brown nipples that were erect. His stomach was flat, his abdominal muscles forming ridges. The towel rode low on his hips and I could see the top of his pubic hair, dark brown hair curling over the edge of the terrycloth. His legs were still wet, the brown curls trapping water in them, glistening like diamonds. In an instant I glanced at his crotch and could clearly see he was circumcised. His thick bell penis head pressed wet against the towel and there was no mistaking it. It was also clear he either had an erection or he'd caught his penis in an upright position when he wrapped the towel. He caught me looking and grinned.

"You're up early this morning," he smiled.

"I thought I'd let you sleep in and I'd do breakfast this morning."

"You didn't have to do that, Colin. In the military I was up at five every morning and I can't seem to sleep past it anymore. Go back to bed and I'll call you."

"That's okay, I'm up. I'll shower and help."

"Sure thing, if that's what you want."

"I'll meet you in the kitchen in a few minutes."

I shaved, showered, and dressed in a pair of cut off jeans and a tee shirt, barefoot casual for Saturday. We'd made no plans for today and I figured unless Channing wanted me to go out with him I was going to take it easy. I rounded the kitchen door and my jaw literally dropped. Channing was standing barefoot at the stove, his back to me, wearing a pair of loose skimpy gym shorts with side splits and a half tee shirt that left his midriff bare. Except for the shoulders and short sleeves, the shirt was a see through cotton mesh. The side splits in the shorts were cut almost to the waist band and the way they hung on his body it was obvious he wore no underwear. I'd said something about his being shy about his body with me and goddamn, he'd totally swung the pendulum to the other side. He was so incredibly sexy my cock sprung to full attention in a millisecond.

"Whoa, dude, you going out trolling for females or something?" I teased.

He turned and smirked at me. "You said I could get comfortable. This is comfortable.

"Well, you're looking good if it's okay for me to say that," I said, "not that you don't always look good."

He laughed at my quick correction about his looks.

"French toast okay with you?"

"That's great with me," I smiled. "I love French toast."

We ate in front of the TV. He watched TV and I watched him. So fucking gorgeous. In his half shirt, up close I could see he had a very faint trace of hair on his stomach like peach fuzz. The side splits in the shorts opened to show the sides of his hips revealing what I had suspected - he was wearing no underwear. Channing flipped through the channels with the remote.

"Man, there is not a goddamn thing to watch on television on Saturday morning," he moaned.

"Man," I mocked, "there is not a goddamn thing to watch on television ninety-nine percent of the time."

He laughed. "What the hell do you even have a TV for?"

"CNN, PBS, and as a way to watch DVD's."

"DVD's? Have you got any DVD's?"

"They're in the cabinet underneath the big screen TV in my room. You wanna go check 'em out?"

He grinned. "Are you sure you want me to see your porn collection?"

"Are you sure you want to be exposed to it?"

"I think I'm old enough to stand the shock. You got any straight porn or is it all gay stuff?"

"I'll just have to let you find that out for yourself?"

"Are there some decent flix or is just all porn?"

"I'm not sure exactly what you mean by decent but yeah, I've got some good stuff that isn't porn. At least it's what I think is good. Might not live up to your standards."

"Such as?"

"Well, I've got a pretty extensive Clint Eastwood collection. There's the Rambo movies, most of the movies made from Tom Clancy and John Grisham books, the Midsomer Murders series...lots of stuff."

"You like Clint Eastwood? You don't seem like a Clint Eastwood film buff type."

I arched my eyebrows and gave him an eat shit look.

"I'm not sure what the type looks like but I love his stuff. I've seen just about everything he's ever done and bought everything I could get my hands on."

"No shit? I love Clint Eastwood, particularly his Westerns. My dad's his biggest fan and I musta watched the Sergio Leone trilogy fifty thousand times. And I still like 'em."

"Oh, yeah, tell me about it. The trilogy's fantastic but when I'm down in the dumps sometimes I just pop in High Plains Drifter. That movie always just blows me away."

We had an animated conversation for the next hour or so about the merits of Clint Eastwood films. Channing was really into his stuff and knew as much about Eastwood's work as anyone I'd ever met. It turned out we shared a common love of similar films and he also liked British television productions. I was seeing more and more why he and Corinne meshed together so well. She and I had loved the same movies and programs although I wasn't sure if she was into porn. Channing was as verbal and enthusiastic as I'd ever seen him as we talked about the movies.

"Can we go look at your DVD's?"

I followed him into my bedroom watching his sexy ass move in those gym shorts, admiring the sculpted back bare beneath the half shirt. Unless he'd gone in my room while I was not home, he'd never been there. He looked at the furnishings admiringly and I could see it wasn't exactly what he'd expected. My bedroom has dark mahogany furniture with dark brown furnishings. He whistled again that cute way he did when he was surprised. I laughed.

"Sorry to disappoint ya, I got tired of the pink lace curtains and bedspread."

He put his arm around my shoulder, pulled me into a headlock, and rubbed his knuckles on my head. I started giggling. I hadn't had a noogie done to me since I was a teenager. 

"You're just never gonna quit busting my balls about you being gay, are ya?" he snickered. "What the fuck made you think I expected to see pink doilies in your room?"

"Oh, I don't know...just the way you looked like you'd entered the twilight zone maybe."

He stunned me by kissing me on the top of my head quickly before letting go.

"That's me, totally zoned out. So show me this DVD collection."

I got my keychain and unlocked the cabinet. In the past I'd discovered movies stolen by guests and building maintenance guys; I'd had my entire collection stolen by one of Roger's boyfriends, so I'd learned to keep it under lock and key at all times.

"Don't tell me you're afraid someone will discover you've got gay porn?" he asked.

"I've had DVD's and videotapes stolen before more than once. I don't care how honest they're supposed to be, the pest control people, the building maintenance staff, whoever the fuck...sometimes it's just too tempting to take a video. Maybe they think because there are so many you won't notice. I just keep 'em locked up now."

"So if I want to see something I've gotta get you to open this for me..."

"You see where I leave my keys on the dresser. You can come in and get whatever you want at any time, Channing. Just be sure to lock it back up."

He squatted on with his hips on his heels and looked over the collection, occasionally pulling one out to look more closely. I sat on the floor next to him and suddenly was rewarded for choosing to do so. He twisted to pull a film out and I saw the head of his penis peeking out of his shorts. All I could see was the tip, dark shiny pink almost purple with the pee hole spread partially open. I glanced up at Channing. He was busy reading the back of the video box, oblivious to the show he was giving me. Then I saw a small teardrop slip out of his hole and I knew he was erect. I looked at the box he was reading. It was a straight fuck flick. His face was slightly flushed.

"You want to watch that one?" I asked.

"Nah, not right now but it looks fucking hot. No, if it's okay with you I'd like to watch Firefox. This girl I dated rented it for us to watch one night when I came over for dinner at her apartment but we got busy doing something else and I never got to see it all."

I leered at him. "And I'll just bet I know what you two got busy doing, too."

He grinned. "You're right. Her pussy was fucking irresistible and I spent a couple of hours eating it before we fucked until my dick was aching. You understand why I left her place without getting to see the movie."

We laughed and I felt a sexual camaraderie with Channing. He'd never told me anything sexually intimate about him before, never used such graphic language with me, and I knew we'd crossed another hurdle in our relationship. He inserted the DVD in the player in my room.

"You want to watch it in my room? The couch might be more comfortable."

"Is is okay if we watch it lying on your bed? That looks more comfortable to me right now. You're bed's at the perfect angle to watch your flat screen TV. Speaking of which...you don't watch much television so how is it that you got seventy inch flat screens in your living room and here in your bedroom?"

He looked adorable as cocked his head quizzically.

"Busted, man, totally busted,' I said. "I thought I told you I got this apartment fully furnished. The flat screens came with it. The previous owner was a big sports fan and he was always having parties here on game days. The one in the living room was for his parties; the one in the bedroom was for him and his wife. I put my own bedroom furniture in here and other pieces here and there but most of what you see came with the place."

"Hmmm...that throws me a bit. I was thinking you were responsible for all this fantastic decorating and I was impressed with your interior decorating skills."

I hit him on the head with a couch pillow and he fell on the bed laughing.

"Sorry to disappoint you. I'm not much of a hairdresser either. It'd be a mistake to let me cut your hair for you."

I hit him on the head with the pillow again and he put his hands up in a mock defensive as if I was really attacking him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he whined in a fake little boy voice. "Don't whip me! I was just kidding!"

I laughed and sat on the bed beside him, my back against the armchair pillow I used to watch the screen. He looked at the pillow longingly.

"I'd like to have a couch pillow like that one but in the meantime these will have to do, huh?"

He piled the rest of my pillows behind him except for one he used to prop his left knee up with. I looked at his handsome body and fought outright desire to beg him to fuck me. I knew if I made a sexual move toward him that our friendship would end at once. After all, not only was Channing straight as the proverbial arrow, he'd married my sister. I could only look at his ravishing body. Not touch. Everything about him was handsome from his face to his sexy feet. He used the remote control to skip the movie trailers and advertisements that preceded the main feature film.

We watched the movie and it was obvious Channing wanted to watch another. He walked over to the cabinet and squatted down looking through the selection. I stayed on the bed watching him as he looked. His butt cheeks pressed tight against his shorts and I could see the imprint of the center cleft between them. The split sides let one panel hang open and I could see the white of his ass. He rocked on his heels and suddenly a testicle fell out of his shorts, a large ball encased in a hairy ridged sack. Before I could get a really good look at it, he stood up again and turned to me.

"You okay with Blood Diamond?"

"I hear it's a good movie. I've never seen it. It was one of a group I bought that I haven't had the chance to see yet."

I never missed the chance to pick up a few movies when I was shopping and I always had several unwatched ones in my collection. It's not that I NEVER watch movies or programs, just that I'm really choosy about what I want to see.

"You sure that's what you want to watch?" I teased. "You seemed mighty interested in Davy Fucks the Twins. You've picked it up and looked it over three or four times now."

He grinned. "Yeah, well maybe another time."

I laughed. "Uh-huh. Another time when you're alone and can slap the salami, right?"

He blushed and it was so charming to me, so cute. Channing was shy about discussing his masturbation habits with me, probably because he'd grown up not having such discussions with gay guys -- if anyone, for that matter.

"We'll have to get you a flat screen for your room so you can jack off to your porn in private," I joked.

He blushed a darker shade if red and I realized I might have revealed I'd seen his porn purchases in his attaché case. He was looking in my eyes and saw it at once.

"So you saw my porn purchases, right?"

No point in lying.

"Yeah, I couldn't help it. You were in the bathroom and your attaché case was open on the couch when I came in. The magazine was right there on top. I couldn't miss it."

Channing grinned. "You didn't check them all out, though, huh?"

"No way! It's your stuff, Channing. I don't plunder in your things. I hate nosy people who do that shit. Mom and Dad were always pawing through my things growing up just looking for something to get on my ass about."

He lay back on the bed against the pillows.

"That's a change for me. The guys in the army were always raiding my porn. I wondered at the time if you'd seen it but you didn't say anything."

I grinned. "I figured you were in the bathroom cleaning up from jacking off. That's why the magazine was open. You left it there because you had cum on your hand or something. I was afraid if I said something you'd be offended."

He snickered. "No. Embarrassed maybe, not offended."

I laughed. "Well, at least you admit you were jacking off. I was beginning to wonder about you."

"Why's that? Surely you don't expect me to jack off in front of you?"

"You just seemed so straight laced I wasn't sure if you were one of those 'sin of Onan' types afraid to masturbate."

"Come on! They claim they don't masturbate but they do. They just call it other things like scratching an itch, rubbing a pillow, whatever... It's all the same thing but they'd rather pretend they're chaste. Fucking stupid if you ask me."

"Well, we'll watch Blood Diamond if you want but I'm okay if we watch the fuck movie. I promise I won't jump your bones."

He grinned mischievously. "What makes you so sure it won't be the other way around? Me jump your bones?"

"Don't tease me," I said jokingly but my heart skipped a beat.

He started the movie and we watched Leonardo DiCaprio prance through Africa. It was a good movie and we both enjoyed it but my attention was still preoccupied with Channing's sexy form. His comments about jacking off had intensified my desire to see him naked. As we watched the movie I periodically would glance at his body lying next to mine and I could see the outline of his penis and balls through his shorts. A few times I saw his penis move as if chubbing up but there was never a full erection. We finished the movie and decided to go for a quick jog. We ran for just under an hour and returned to the apartment sweaty and hot.

"I'm gonna go grab a shower," I said.

I left him standing in the kitchen drinking orange juice from the container and walked to my bathroom. I was standing naked about to step into the shower when I heard his voice behind me. I jumped, startled that he would walk in on me naked yet strangely pleased. Somehow it fit in with my fantasies but his voice burst the bubble.

"Sorry to bust in on you, Colin, but there's a policeman at the door, says he's gotta see you right now. There's been a break-in at your office."

I turned quickly to catch him looking at my ass and his eyes didn't change direction as he took in my penis. He glanced up to see me watching him checking me out and whistled softly.

"Nice body, Colin, really nice. I'll bet the guys fall over themselves to touch that."

I laughed, a bit embarrassed but also flattered that Channing complimented my body. Channing grabbed my terrycloth robe that hung from the back of the bathroom door and threw it to me. We walked out to speak with the policeman who was standing in my living room looking out the window onto the park. A second officer was in the hall on his cell phone.

"So what's going on?" I asked.

"There's been an incident at your office, Mr. Ferris. Avery Hackman was found dead on the floor of your office. Have you any idea why Mr. Hackman would be in your office and not his own, sir?"

I was stunned. Hackman was a senior partner and my direct supervisor. I'd only known him for a short while. I guess my shock must have been apparent because Channing steered me to the couch and sat me down.

"Sit, Colin. Let me get you something to drink. You look like you're going to faint. Would you officers like a Coke?"

They both said yes to Channing and I was thankful for the distraction of the Cokes to collect my wits. The second police officer pulled the first officer to the hallway and they spoke quietly. Channing squeezed my shoulder in support of my situation.

"Just stay calm, buddy," he said softly. "You haven't done anything wrong and you don't have to take any shit off these guys. Be careful with your answers because you don't know what they're after."

I looked up into his eyes and saw pure steel before he smiled at me.

"Who are you?"

The first officer looked suspiciously at Channing.

"He's my brother, Channing Duke," I said. "Let me see some ID, gentlemen, before we go any further."

Both officers showed their detective badges in their wallet size holders.

Detective Kotvas and Detective Forrest. Questions and answers quickly established my whereabouts during the Saturday morning hours. I explained about Avery being my supervisor, how he was probably in my office to review the files I'd worked on that week. He'd told me the previous afternoon he was going into the office to work over the weekend and he'd want to review my work. Avery was a nice guy, totally business but a nice supervisor to have. He didn't have to let me know he'd be in my office checking my work. He had keys to everything and as supervisor it was his responsibility to monitor the work of his employees but Avery didn't like his people to come in to find their desks and files had been pawed over without warning. If he didn't let you know in advance that he was going through your stuff then you could set a watch by the coming events, all of which culminated in dismissal.

"Any particular reason why Mr. Hackman would be reviewing your work Mr. Ferris?" Kotvas asked.

"I'm still on probation. Anyway, it's standard operating procedure for senior accountants to review the work of their subordinates."

"Do you know if Mr. Hackman was interested in any specific files in your office?"

"You'd have to ask that question to someone on his level, Officer."

"Does that mean you don't know the answer, Mr. Ferris, or that you know the answer and won't or can't tell us?" Detective Forrest asked.

Detective Forrest seemed to be the more aggressive of the two and instantly I didn't like him.

"What it means Detective," I replied, "is you'll have to ask the question to someone of Mr. Hackman's level or higher that might know the answer."

Forrest smiled like a wolf.

"This is a murder investigation, Mr. Ferris. The quicker we find out information, the better chances we'll have of arresting the murderer. Don't play games with us. If you know the answer, please help us."

I hesitated. Forrest was right but I also wasn't sure if Hackman had been looking for specific files. The firm had thousands of accounts. If I'd wanted to speculate, to gossip and let my imagination run wild, I'd have suggested perhaps the Boscarelli file. It was the file on an audit we were doing of a private defense contractor and already the audit showed sloppy record keeping. God only knew what else but I was only assigned a small piece of the overall audit. I wasn't about to lose my job for revealing confidential client information to these two detectives. They'd have to get that information from someone else.




My Brother-in-Law Channing Duke



"Look, the firm handles thousands of accounts and it could be any one of them. Or none of them. I'm still new and I only handle pieces of accounts, whatever is handed to me on any given day. I don't know all the specifics about ANY agency account. I don't even know if the file I work on is part of an official agency account or a short term thing. I'd really like to help you. Mr. Hackman was a great man to work for but I just don't know. Mr. Hackman was a senior partner and the senior partners have regular meetings. Maybe one of the people in those meetings can help you."

"Maybe."

The detectives turned to leave.

"What happened to Avery?" I asked. "How was he killed? Do you know when he was killed?"

Detective Forrest shrugged his shoulders.

"All I can tell you is it was definitely murder and it happened in your office. We're withholding the details while we investigate."

The detectives left and Channing sat down beside me.

"You okay?" he asked.

I nodded yes.

"This guy Avery, did you know him well?"

"Not really. He was my supervisor. He was good, nice to work with, professional. I changed jobs because of him really. I met him while I was working on a case that went to court and he was testifying for opposing counsel. He was impressed with my testimony and the way I handled myself. The case went for a couple of months and by the time it was over, he'd offered me a job. I was sorta surprised because his side lost the case. Lost it bad."

Channing grinned. "That simple, huh? You sure you didn't have sex with him on the side?"

I laughed. "You really do think all queers are sluts, don't you?"

He snickered. "Nah, man. I just figured that if it went on for a couple of months, the guy must have gotten the hots for you eventually."

"You think so? You really, really think so?" I replied sarcastically. "Wow. With that kind of thinking then you should get the hots for me soon, right? I mean, you and I've spent more time together than Avery and I ever did in that courtroom. Plus, you've seen me naked."

Channing blushed and stood up.

"You'd better go get your shower. I'm gonna go get mine now."

He stood up and walked toward his room. I waited a few minutes and then went to my own room. After showering I took a nap, tired and depressed from the news of Avery's death. The actual truth was that I was the one who'd lusted after Avery. He'd never known about my homosexuality or if he had, he'd never let on. He was also in his mid-fifties, a married man with two grown daughters and a teenage son. Avery looked like an even sexier version of Richard Gere. I'd had to be careful around him. His aftershave was intoxicating and he was always impeccably dressed in Armani suits. I'd never seen any bare skin on him below his collar other than his hands and they were beautiful -- long slender fingers on smooth hands, a gold wedding band on his left ring finger, a Harvard class ring on his right ring finger. I'd fantasized about what it would be like to be fucked by him in a lot of my jack off sessions. A knock on my door wakened me.

"Come in!"

Channing opened the door. He was in his underwear -- white tee shirt and boxers.

"You wanna go to a movie? Harry Potter's showing at the AMC a few blocks over."

I grinned and moaned playfully. "You really are a movie buff, aren't you? What, we've seen two movies already today?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, but they weren't Harry Potter. So, you wanna go?"

Channing looked almost like a little boy pleading to be taken to the movies.

"Of course I'm coming. It's Harry Potter. What time does the movie start?"

He climbed on my bed and sat cross legged.

"Ten thirty tonight. And I took a chance that you'd wanna go. I walked over and bought the tickets in advance. Now we don't have to wait in line to get a ticket or chance a sell out."

"Wow. We've got plenty of time."

I glanced at the digital alarm clock on my nightstand. Four-thirty. I sat up and the sheet fell to my waist. My pubes were showing. I'd forgotten I was naked in my sheets and Channing noticed it. I caught his quick glance at my pubic hair.

"Shit," I swore. "I had no idea my nap lasted so long. Sorry."

"You needed the rest, I guess. Anyway, it gave me a chance to go get the tickets. I came back and showered again because it's so fucking hot outside."

"Well, that still left you with at least two hours to kill. So what'd you do, jack off?" I teased.

He blushed and grinned. "I watched a porno in the living room."

I laughed. "So you did jack off! Man, I was just joking. I never expected you to confess!"

We both hooted with laughter.

"So what'd you watch? Davy Fucks the Twins?"

I looked over to the cabinet but it was closed. Channing saw my glance. 

"I watched a flick I bought, one you've never seen. I'll let you watch it if you like but it's strictly straight porn."

"You took a risk, didn't you? I might have walked in on you beating your meat."

He laughed. "You wouldn't have been the first. Besides, I think you could have held up under the shock."

The thought the gorgeous Channing masturbating in my living room while I slept was tantalizing and infuriating. Why couldn't I have walked in on him in the act?

"Maybe another time," I smiled.

"Maybe," he grinned.

"I need to pee."

I threw the sheet back and walked naked to my bathroom. I left the door open so he could watch me piss and then I walked back to the bed and sat across from him with my sheet covering my crotch only. He watched me the entire time.

"It's amazing, you know, almost incredible the way your body is so similar to Corinne's. Of course yours is male and she was female but still so many things are so alike. Your ass looks just like hers. Naturally, hers didn't have any hair on it and was more feminine but still yours is so much like hers. And your pubes are just like hers, only thicker and longer. Your feet and hands -- the nails are almost mirror images. The eyes, lips, face. I.."

"We WERE twins. But seriously, even our pediatrician was stunned at how much alike we were. He said if we'd both been the same sex we'd have been identical. Corinne used to say she thought it was intended that we both be boys because she thought I was the better looking. She thought she was a little too butch."

Channing laughed. "Corinne was sexy as hell but she was right. You're a better looking man than she was a woman. And I mean no disrespect to her. She was a very attractive woman but you're movie star handsome. That's what she always told me. Wait 'til you see Colin. He got the looks."

Channing was looking at my body closely. I stood up beside the bed and turned around a few times.

"It's incredible. I feel almost like she's here but it's you."

I flicked my dick with my hand.

"This tells you I'm not her."

He grinned. "Yeah, and the way you're not circumcised...it's like you're hiding your dick inside the skin just like her clit hid in her pussy. She had the biggest clit I've ever had in my mouth. It was like sucking a tiny dick."

"Gave you a taste for the real thing, huh?"

"You fucking wish."

I got back on the bed and covered up my crotch. I was getting a fierce erection and didn't feel comfortable showing it to Channing.

"Okay, Channing. Show and tell. You've seen me totally naked. How about showing me what you've got? I'd like to see the dick that fucked my twin."

He grinned mischievously. "Really? It's nothing special."

I groaned. "Pay up, chicken shit. Strip."

Channing stood up and pulled his tee shirt over his head and I got a good look at the thick curls in his pits. He teased me with a stripper dance, throwing his tee shirt at me. Then he slowly slid his boxers to his feet while dancing, chanting the stripper song. His body was fabulous, all muscle and beauty, so tanned and rugged. His ass was white from no sun and it was easy to see the faint dusting of hairs on his buttocks that thickened as they curled into the crevice between the cheeks. His penis was a thing of beauty, about six inches long, hanging from a thick dark blond curly bush, slender and ending with a thick mushroom head that came to a point with a slit so tight it was nearly invisible. He grabbed it with his hand and lifted it, pointing it at me.

"You like?" he smirked.

I nodded, barely able to catch my breath. I wanted it in my mouth and then in my ass. Before my eyes it began to rise to an erection. He pushed it down a couple of times and each time it sprung back up harder than before. He made a fucking motion with his ass as if he was fucking his hand.

"This is what fucked your sister's pussy."

I was breathing hard.

"Okay, you've had your show. I know you've wanted to see me naked for a long time. So now you have."

He pulled his boxers up and put his tee shirt back on.

"Let me get dressed before this gets out of hand," he said and walked out of the room.

My cock was throbbing to ejaculate and I felt like I had as a teenager when I'd race into a place of hiding anywhere to shoot my load. I reached into my nightstand drawer and took out my Jeff Stryker dildo and lube. I spread my legs and pushed the lubed dildo into my asshole pressing the balls part of it against the bed. I grabbed my cock in my hand and began to ride Jeff's cock with my eyes closed, moaning and whispering Channing's name. A pearl of pre-cum popped out and I brought it to my lips. In my vivid imagination it was Channing's hard cock I was rocking in and out of my asshole and I became more inflamed as I listened to the squishing of the lubricant as the dildo slid in and out of my hole. I kept moaning Channing's name, telling him to fuck me hard and it didn't take long, maybe ninety seconds, and I was ready to blow my load. I felt the familiar muscle contractions in my groin.

"Colin, you want to..."

My cock began to spurt white ropes of cum, the first splashing on my cheek, and then they landed over my torso, maybe eight or ten spurts as my asshole gripped Jeff Stryker's thick cock. My eyes flew open to look directly into Channing's gorgeous eyes. I'd forgotten to close my bedroom door in the heat of sexual passion. Or had I wanted to risk what was happening now? His eyes were burning into me as he took in the dildo, the cum all me, and my cock in my hand.

"Oh, man, I didn't mean to...I'm sorry," he apologized.

He backed away from my door, still looking into my eyes, and left.

After I'd showered and calmed down, I walked into the living room, dressed in jeans and a Polo shirt to go to the movies. Channing was sitting on the couch watching Jeopardy. He looked up at me and smiled sheepishly.

"I'm so sorry, Colin. You left your door open..."

"It doesn't matter," I grinned. "Anyway, what about you? I could have just as easily walked out here and caught you blowing your load watching your porno earlier today. So. We gonna eat here or grab hotdogs at the movie?"

"I thought I'd treat you to that Italian place that's close to the theater on 88th. You okay with that?"

I rolled my eyes. "Like a date, huh? Sounds good to me. That place is fabulous, by the way. Have you ever eaten there?"

"No, but I've passed it several times on the way to work."

"Well, I hope you've got some money with you or good credit cards. The cost is outrageous. The food's fantastic but every time I pay the bill I'm thinking to myself they must roll gold dust in the pasta. The food's good, though, I just can't get over the prices."

He laughed. "You're paying for atmosphere, the ambience, the good feeling it gives you to reward yourself for being a good little boy."

"Well, if you wanna go Dutch I'll understand."

"Are you trying to insult me?" he teased. "Shut up with the Dutch treat shit. I'm living in this incredible apartment rent free with a fantastic guy who's easy to be around. I should take you out more often."

"Easy to be around, huh? I'll remind you of that when I'm in a shit mood and you want to strangle me."

He stood up. "Let me go take a leak and we can go."

We took a cab to the restaurant. Normally, I'd walk but Channing insisted he didn't want us to sit and eat wet in sweat from the heat. He was right. Manhattan was like a goddamn sauna. The maitre d' seated us right away at a corner table. Surprisingly, the restaurant was not crowded, an unusual occurrence for a Saturday night, and we were pretty much alone in our corner. Probably the heat combined with the economy kept the crowd down. People just don't eat out in fancy restaurants as much anymore.

I ordered the braised lamb shank and Channing ordered the grilled sirloin with green peppercorn sauce. He ordered a bottle of Pinot Noir Estancia, an expensive red wine that was over fifty dollars a bottle. It was a good thing it was a Saturday. I'd have to stay up all night to allow the food to digest.

Over the Caesar salad I snickered. "I guess I'd better get ready to put out tonight as much as this meal is costing you."

He grinned mischievously. "We could say you've already put out for me once tonight already, right?"

I blushed crimson. He'd heard me moaning his name.

Channing burst out laughing. He wagged his finger at me and raised his left eyebrow as if he was lecturing me.

"Shit, dude, I'd hate to follow that monster you had in you. It'd be like a monkey dick following a horse cock."

I swallowed hard. What was he saying? That he might be thinking of fucking me?

"You've got a hell of a lot more than a monkey dick," I spluttered.

He smiled. "Thanks, I've pleased a few people in my time with it."

He didn't say women. He said people.

Our meals arrived and we were silent for awhile as we ate. More people had arrived and an elderly Italian couple had been seated at the table next to ours. Channing smirked at me as he glanced at them. Our conversation about sex was over. No need to upset the neighbors. The meal was excellent and it was a short walk to the theater which was crowded. There were long lines outside the box office and it was nice to have Channing give our tickets at the door so we could walk into the cool air conditioning. The smell of hot popcorn was overpowering.

"You want some popcorn?"

I gasped. "After all that food, Channing Duke? Are you nuts? My ass would grow an inch watching the movie."

He giggled. "I doubt it. Besides, what's a good movie without popcorn? We don't have to eat it all, just snack on it."

"I swear to God, Channing, do not get me anything. Do you hear me?"

He laughed and ended up getting a huge bucket of buttered popcorn with a tremendous sized Coke, the cup so big an adult's hand could barely hold it; along with boxes of Milk Duds, Sweet Tarts, Gummy Bears, and Skittles. We laughed all the way into the theater with my ribbing him about buying enough junk food for his army platoon. We got seats in the middle of a row of parents with kids ranging in age from maybe four or five to the teens, all excited and babbling about Harry Potter. 

The movie was fantastic and I found myself eating popcorn although I'd sworn I had no intention of doing so. The popcorn tasted great, enhanced by the fact that my hand often touched Channing's as I reached for it. He shared his Coke with me and I relished putting my lips to the straw where his had been seconds earlier. We sat pressed against each other, shoulders and legs touching, our arms occasionally intertwining. Thankfully, it was dark and everyone was so caught up with the final Harry Potter movie no one seemed to pay attention to us.

We finished the popcorn -- Channing ate the bulk of it -- and then we sat watching the film. His candy was in a bag hanging on the little convenient seat tray between us. He'd finished the Coke and put the cup on the floor. I already missed the shared intimacy of his straw and then I felt his hand grab mine in the dark. He laced his fingers through mine and turned to me and grinned. He leaned in close to me and put his mouth against my ear.

"You're my date, remember?" he chuckled softly and I felt his tongue lick my ear.

I nearly shot my load in my pants right there. For the rest of the movie I was in heaven and as the ending credits began I felt a flush rolling over my body. We were headed home after this.

"Come on," he whispered. "I've gotta piss like a racehorse."

I followed him to the bathroom. It was overflowing with males and we stood in line to pee. He went first and I stood and watched the yellow flow of urine stream from his penis to the urinal. He looked up to see me watching and smiled.

We were lucky enough to get a cab back to the apartment. I offered to walk but Channing wanted a cab if we could get one. One in the morning is not a good time to be walking the streets of Manhattan, even on the Upper West Side.

"I hate to have to kill somebody on the street if we get mugged," he joked. "Or worse yet, get killed."

The cab driver looked back at us.

"You're right, dude; this city's not safe at all after nine o'clock at night. Hell, it's not safe ever," he said in a thick Middle Eastern accent.

We agreed with him. Soon we were in the apartment with our shoes kicked off watching a black and white Barbara Stanwyck movie on late night TV. We were seated close beside each other although the couch was long enough for six people to sit on it comfortably.

"I heard what you were saying," he said suddenly.

"What do you mean?"

I was certain I knew but I was going to make him spell it out.

"You were fucking that dildo and you were calling out my name," he said softly, his voice like gravel.

I didn't say anything; just looked at him.

"You really want me?" he asked.

"Only if you want me. I don't want a mercy fuck, in fact I don't want anything that's repayment for staying here or if you feel sorry for me or if it's because of my being Corinne's twin or if you're just..."

"Shut up," he said and put his lips over mine.

Channing pulled me into his arms and my head was in his hand as he pushed my lips against his, his tongue darting in my mouth, sword playing with my own as his fingers twirled my hair. He finally released me from the kiss, his lips traveling down my neck until the last button of my Polo shirt had been opened and his tongue and lips had ravished me.

"You still want this?" he asked with a sexy grin.

I nodded.

His hand went to my throat and caressed it. His fingers felt loving and dangerous at the same time.

"You're my first guy. I've never touched another guy sexually before, you know. You're the first," he said softly.

I looked into his twinkling eyes as his hand groped my crotch.

"Say it," he demanded. "Say what you want me to do to you. Say what you want to do to me. Out loud if you want it to happen."

My head lay on the back of the couch as he chewed my ear lobe.

"Fuck me," I said. "I want your cock in my ass pussy. I want you eat my pussy, suck my cock, fuck me hard."

He bit my neck hard and I moaned as his hand grabbed my cock through my jeans. 

"And what are you going to do to me?" he asked softly.

"I'm gonna suck your cock, eat your ass out, lick you all over."

He straddled my lap so he was sitting on me and kissed me, biting my bottom lip gently.

"Goddamn, Colin, you are fucking sexy. You know that?" he whispered in my neck.

We each pulled the other's shirts off and Channing leaned over and sucked my nipples, giving each one little bites as he sucked so they were painfully erect. I slid my hands in his jeans and grabbed his buttocks, surprised to find he wore no underwear. I pulled the cheeks apart as he kissed me. His lips moved to my ear.

"That feels good, you touching my ass," he moaned softly.

I took him at his word and gently fingered his asshole. He threw his head back with a sharp intake of breath and I slipped my middle finger in his hole.