Between Lust and Love Box Set

Back at the Altar-2

“Snap out of it,” Brenda ordered. She had been visiting me at the condo as often as she could since the wedding debacle. I was supposed to be on my honeymoon right now. Sitting beside me on the bed, she pushed the hair back from my forehead and said, “He’s gone, and good riddance. I don’t know what Melissa and I ever saw in him, except I thought you could get at least a good f**k out of it. I never envisioned this.”

“Don’t say ‘f**k’!” I whined. “That reminds me too much of him. The s*x was so good, I don’t know which I miss more—the relationship or getting laid.”

“Maybe that’s part of the problem. Not that his leaving you at the aisle is your fault, but shouldn’t a relationship be about everything, not just the s*x? What about companionship? Taking care of each other when you’re sick? Nights spent cuddling? Those things are just as important. You need to find someone you’ll love, not just for s*x, but for just being alive and with you.”

She was right. I knew she was right. I was just too raw to hear her right then.

* * * *

So I went back to work and buried myself in tax forms and filings and annoying clients. The months flew by and one night Brenda finally got me out of my condo for something other than work.

“It’ll be fun,” she said. Melissa was out of town, working on an ad campaign for a big client, so Brenda was bored. “We’ll go bar-hopping and do karaoke.”

“Fine,” I said, sighing loudly. “Anything to make you happy so I can come back home and crash.”

“God, you really need to get laid. You’re like s**t on a stick—such a party pooper! Come on, you can do this!”

So off we went. We ended up at Mary’s, and, I confess, I had a good time. There were some really cute guys there and I felt the need to impress by singing AC/DC’s “Back in Black.” I had killer pipes I rarely used. I had been in a rock band at university. The crowd loved it and I realized I was enjoying myself. Brenda was cheering me on, clapping and hollering with the best of them. When the song was done, I had lots of offers for dances, but I declined. It would have ruined my adrenaline high.

“Okay, okay. You were right. I could do this,” I said to Brenda. Well, yelled in her ear, actually, because it was loud in the bar.

“I told you so,” she yelled back.

“Yeah, yeah,” I responded grudgingly.

“Hey, look over there. Isn’t that Jeremy? Jeremy Sultan?” She pointed to a far corner of the bar.

Looking in that direction, I said, “Yeah, it’s Jeremy.” With suspicion, I asked, “You didn’t plan this, did you?”

“No! No, really, I had no idea he’d be here. Hey, who’s the guy he’s with?”

Craning my neck, I saw a tall, handsome man standing really close to Jeremy, and Jeremy didn’t seem to want the attention.

“Looks like he’s trying to get rid of the guy, but the man won’t take the hint,” Brenda said.

“Yeah, looks like…Hang on a sec. I have an idea.”

Pushing through the crowd, I found my way to Jeremy’s side. Barging my way between Jeremy and his much too ardent admirer, I plastered myself against Jeremy’s surprisingly firm chest. Oh, that felt nice. Wait, I was here for a reason, right? Right.

“Honey, I thought you were going to wait from me on the other side of the bar. I’ve been looking all over for you.” With that, I placed a hot kiss on his firm yet soft lips.

A little hesitant at first and probably in shock, Jeremy quickly caught on and relaxed, taking control of my mouth, reaching up to tilt my head a little for a better angle of attack. God, he could kiss. Why didn’t I know this? How could I not know this? A little whimper escaped from me as he wrestled my tongue into submission. My hands reached into his hair to sink into the thick pelt.

“Hey, man, what is this?” demanded the would-be suitor, sounding aggrieved.

Jerked back to the present, Jeremy and I stopped making out, reluctantly, looked at each other, and smiled.

“What this is, my friend, is my boyfriend wanting some sugar. Got a problem with that?” I asked, turning around and leaning back against Jeremy’s firm, slender frame. He placed his arms around me, pulling me even closer to his chest, nuzzling my neck.

“Whatever, man.” With that, the guy left to find greener pastures.

Once he was gone, I pushed away from Jeremy and turned to face him.

“Thanks for that,” he said. “I kept saying no, but he wouldn’t take the hint.”

“Anytime. If I had known how good of a kisser you were, I would have done it sooner,” I flirted with a grin.

“I bet you would,” he flirted back. “And I would have let you.”

A voice nearby said, “Whew! You guys were steaming up the bar with that kiss. You sure you’re not meeting in secret and having hot s*x somewhere? And why wasn’t I informed?” Brenda had come up to us sometime between the kiss and the other guy’s disappearance. She was fanning herself with her hands.

“Yes, I’m sure we’re not having hot s*x somewhere, yet. It’s something I would have remembered, definitely.” There was that smile again, the smile that changed Jeremy’s face into something special.

Blushing slightly, I looked down at my shoes for a moment.

Changing the subject, Jeremy said, “Man, you can sing! I didn’t know that. Do you do this often? Hang out at Mary’s?”

Turning an even deeper crimson, I said, “No, I don’t. Brenda dragged me out here because apparently I’ve become like s**t on a stick, whatever that means. I had a really bad breakup at the beginning of the year and I really haven’t wanted to deal with anything but work and sleep. I used to sing in a rock band in university. We would perform at campus events and do local gigs. It was a way to let off steam. I sang in choirs in high school, too.”

“You are awesome! I love your voice. I can’t carry a tune, no matter how much you pay me. It always impresses me to hear someone who can really belt it out.”

“Well, thank you,” I said, smiling.

Brenda decided it was time for her to go home. “Guys, I gotta go. Melissa is gonna call me soon and I want to be there to wish my honey good night. Why don’t you hangout, okay? Cole, ask Jeremy to take you home.” She winked at him. “It was nice seeing you, Jeremy. Bye, Cole. See you at work.” With a kiss to my cheek, she was gone.

After Brenda left, Jeremy and I hung out for a while, ordered a few drinks, and watched the other patrons. We made comments about some of the pseudo-dancing going on. It looked more like an orgy. It was crowded at the bar so we were pushed up against each other, not that either of us was complaining. One of my favorite songs came over the speakers and I dragged him to the dance floor.

Jeremy was a great dancer and we made a nice team. I turned my back and bent over, grinding my ass into his crotch. He grabbed my hips and shoved his groin into my rear, simulating anal s*x. Turning back around, I plastered myself against his chest and placed my arms around his neck, moving in sync with him and rubbing up against his front. We smiled at each other wickedly. His hands went down to grab my ass and we humped against each other, grinding to the beat.

When the song ended, we decided to leave and get some air. Slightly drunk, we wandered down Glenwood Avenue, leaning against each other and giggling, all the while trying to find Jeremy’s car.

All of a sudden, I felt a hard shove and fell forward, hitting the pavement hard and probably scratching up my face. I heard feet running away and someone yelled, “Cocksucking faggots!”

Jeremy had stumbled, too, when I was shoved. He dropped to his knees beside me and placed one of his hands on my shoulder.

“Cole! Hey man, are you all right?”

I sat up, shaking my head a little to ease the ringing in my ears, and took the hand he offered to help me up. “I’m okay, I think. My face might have some bruising, though. There was a little gravel on the part of the sidewalk where I fell.”

There went our buzz. We were plenty sober now.

“People can be such homophobic assholes,” Jeremy stated.

“I agree,” I replied, wincing a little. “Let’s find your car, okay? I don’t feel so hot.”

Keeping an eye on our surroundings, we made our way to Stokeswood and finally found Jeremy’s car.

He opened the passenger side door and ushered me into the seat. Then he walked around to the other side, got in, and started the car.

“Come home with me, okay? Let me clean you up a bit. I want to make real sure you’re not left alone right now.”

Not feeling like being alone right now either, I said, “Sure, okay.”

* * * *

Jeremy lived near Memorial Drive and Glenwood in a two-story house. The security light was on in front. He parked his car in the driveway, we exited, and he unlocked the front door, hand at my back to gently push me inside.

There was a small foyer where we left our shoes. I followed him into the living room and he turned on the light. It wasn’t too bright, thankfully.

“Come with me into the kitchen,” he said. “Let’s clean you up.”

I followed him past the loveseat and futon into the kitchen area. He stopped by the sink and asked me to sit at the table.

“You have some dirt on your face and some scratches on your left cheek.”

After wetting a washcloth, Jeremy gently held me by the chin and tenderly wiped away the dirt, cleaning out the grit that had buried itself in some of the scratches. By the time he was done, my face ached.

“Sit there a minute. I’ll be right back.”

Happy to oblige, I leaned back against the chair and closed my eyes, willing the throbbing to go away.

“Here you go, hon.”

He had brought me some salve for the scratches. Leaving me to apply it, he searched the cabinets for a bottle of Tylenol, poured a glass of water, and handed them both to me. Kneeling beside my chair, Jeremy took my hand.

“I know your face must be throbbing. I hope I didn’t hurt you too badly when I was cleaning you up. The scratches will probably fade in a few days. You’ll still be handsome as sin, though, don’t worry.” He gave me a sly grin.

“You wait until I’m in pain to hit on me? Classy, dude,” I said, trying to smile and wincing with the effort.

“Hey, I have to take my chances when I get ‘em. You didn’t take me up on the offer of coming over to my house for the book club thing a few years ago, so I had to bide my time and find another way. Your having a boyfriend didn’t help, either, though I’m sorry you had a bad breakup. Well, not that sorry. Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t plan on getting gay-bashed, but I’ll take what I can get.” He winked at me.

“You’re incorrigible. Wait, you still remember that night? It was almost four years ago!”

“What can I say? I have it bad.”

Placing my hand against his upturned cheek, I told him, “Thanks for taking such good care of me.” I leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips. Sighing, I leaned back and said, “Where the hell did those guys come from anyway? Were we that loaded that we didn’t hear them coming?”