Horizons (18 page)

Christmas was a week away. I couldn’t bear the thought of Jody being gone for ten days. He’d asked me to come with him, meet his family in Chicago. At first I’d balked at the idea, but now, I realized it might be a good thing. I would be far away from the constant pressure in a part of the country I’d never seen before. It was already snowing out there. That alone was inducement enough. Having a white Christmas had always seemed like a fairy tale to me, something in the picture books that I’d never experienced.

I decided to take him up on the offer. I’d go to Folsom in the next couple days, bring the presents, and make my excuses to the family. It would be the first time I’d ever been away at Christmas, but Jody was my priority. I had to be with him.

T
HE
drive to Folsom had been uneventful, which was a good thing, because I was apprehensive enough. I didn’t want to subject Jody to any backlash or unpleasantness from the Stevens clan. He didn’t deserve it or need it, so I insisted on doing this by myself.

I pulled up to the driveway and parked in my old spot. I made my way into the house with an armful of gifts, went into the living room, and dumped them on the floor underneath the Christmas tree.

The house smelled really good, the fresh pine scent always a precursor to the holiday season. Mom had probably made cookies last night because that smell was also prevalent.

“Clark! When did you get in?”

My mom came into the living room, staring at me like I had two heads.

“I just got here.” She continued to stare so I went over and gave her a big hug.

“Why are you here? You’re not due home for another few days.”

“Just thought I’d bring your gifts and tell you and Dad that I’m going away for Christmas. I won’t be home this year.”

She was shocked. The expression on her face surely said it all.

“Where are you going?”

“To Chicago.”

“With him?”

“Yes.”

She stepped back, acting as if I’d slapped her. “No,” she said, the horror in her eyes saddening me.

“Come on, Mom. Don’t get all wigged out.”

“You can’t go with him, Clark. What will people say?”

“What people?”

“Your father, for one thing. And your brothers!”

“Do they know he’s gay?”

“Of course not! You think I’m crazy? If I told them he was gay, your father would have driven to Berkeley and dragged your ass out of that apartment.”

“And done what, Mom? Throw me over his knee and spank me? I’m not a child anymore. He can’t make me do anything I don’t want to do.”

“You owe him, Clark.”

“Owe him?”

“Yes. After everything he’s gone through,
we’ve
gone through to ensure that you have this career, you owe it to us to succeed.”

“Mom, I can’t believe I’m hearing this.”

“Believe it! You will not jeopardize an NFL career by associating with a known homosexual.”

“What if I told you I was a homo as well?”

“Don’t be disrespectful by even mentioning that in this house. You and I both know that you’re not!”

“Right,” I said, replying like a robot, the word automatically coming out of my mouth. I was too shocked by her attitude to say anything else. If she was reacting this way, I could only imagine how much worse it would be with my dad.

“I’m leaving, Mom. Say Merry Christmas to everyone. I’ll call you and Dad when I get back from Chicago.”

“Clark, please!” Her eyes held a desperate look, but I couldn’t feel sorry for her. I was too shocked and too hurt. I’d hoped to find an ally, someone who would help me through this, and all I ended up with was one more person I’d have to convince.

S
NOW
everywhere! It was a glorious sight and one I’d been looking forward to for days. Leaving Berkeley had been easy once I’d gotten over the hurdle in Folsom. My dad never called to try and stop me, so I assumed that Mom had chosen not to share the fact that Jody was gay. Her reasons were pretty obvious, and I was grateful for the opportunity to go on this trip without any interference on his part.

Jody’s mother and father embraced me as heartily as if I were a child of their own. I was comfortable instantly.

“We’re so happy you could come,” his father stated, taking my coat and hanging it in the closet near the front door. He was much older than my dad, but I’d expected that, remembering our earlier conversations, when Jody first told me that this was his dad’s second marriage. He was slim and erect for a man in his late seventies. He still had some hair on his head, although it was as white as the snow on the lawn. He was strong enough to lift my duffel and carry it to the basement, which was set up like a separate apartment, complete with a kitchen.

“Dad, this turned out really nice,” Jody said, looking around and admiring the renovation.

“Your father has been working on this nonstop,” Margaret Williams gushed, eagerly showing off her husband’s handiwork.

“He did this all by himself?” I was shocked that someone his age could take on such a task, much less finish it. It looked like a professional job.

“My dad is a wonder with the saw. He has hands of gold,” Jody said, smiling at his father.

“So do you, Son, except you’ve chosen to use your talents in the medical field.” He embraced Jody and just stood there, holding him close. “I’m so glad you’re home,” he said, beaming from ear to ear. “We both are. Isn’t that right, Marge?”

“Oh, yes,” she replied. Turning to Clark, she added enthusiastically, “We’re so glad you’ve come with him, Clark. Jody has never brought anyone home for Christmas.”

“Really?” It surprised and flattered me.

“We’ll leave you two to get settled. Come upstairs whenever you’re ready. Dinner is at seven,” Marge said sweetly. “I hope you like pot roast, Clark?”

“You’ll find that I eat almost anything, Mrs. Williams.”

“Please, call me Marge.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“And you can call me Steve,” the septuagenarian said easily, treating me like someone special in Jody’s life and not some guy he’d picked up in California. I became more impressed by the minute.

“Thank you. I’m very grateful to you for having me.”

“We’re grateful that you’re making our boy smile again. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen that,” Steve said. “Not since Rick.”

“Dad,” Jody said gently, shaking his head.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Shouldn’t I have mentioned that name?”

“It’s okay, Dad. Clark knows.”

“Then you know how long it’s been since I’ve seen that beautiful smile. I thought it disappeared forever,” Marge said, looking at Jody with a loving mother’s gaze.

“Okay, you two need to go and let us unpack. We’ll be up soon,” Jody said, taking both his parents by their hands and moving them toward the stairs. “Out you go,” he joked, pushing them gently.

“They’re wonderful,” I said, taking Jody in my arms and holding him against me. “Now I know why you’re so sweet.”

“Shut up and kiss me. It’s been hours.”

I did as he asked, pressing my mouth on his. It started out slow and easy, but rapidly turned to heat, the chemistry between us ever-powerful.

“Do we have time for a quickie?”

“Yes,” Jody responded. He played me like a piano, knowing which part of my body would respond to his touch. He was a master at bringing forth the sounds that were music to his ears. He grazed my engorged cock with a feather-light touch. “Have you been saving this for me?” he whispered, every nerve ending in my body heightened by his presence.

“Jesus—”

“Kit,” he moaned, running his tongue around my lips. He slid my zipper down, and slipped his hand inside my pants, rubbing my cock outside my briefs, feeling the wet spot that seeped through the cloth.

“You’re primed for action,” Jody observed.

“Please,” I begged and pushed him to his knees. He took me in his mouth, and I wondered how I’d ever lived without this. He milked me, making short change of my boner. I grunted and sighed, leaning against the wall as he did all kinds of wonderful things. I knew I wasn’t going to last very long. I’d been on the verge of an orgasm for hours, wanting to jump his bones on the plane and being denied. We had that one kiss, right after takeoff while the cabin was darkened; he’d fondled me and pulled his hand back as soon as the lights came back on. I’d been semihard since then.

“Jo-Jo.” He pulled me closer when he heard me call his pet name, squeezed my thighs, moaned, and pushed my cock farther down his throat. The orgasm came in waves, lapping at me like his soft tongue, a sweet calm that enveloped me from head to toe, as I shot my load down his throat. He never paused for a second and swallowed every last drop.

“God….” It was the only word I was able to come up with, and it seemed so inadequate.

I pulled him off the floor and kissed him, tasting myself on his tongue. I toed off my shoes and pushed my pants off. They were halfway down my thighs, and I wanted them off me so that I could move. I picked him up easily and carried him to the bed. We lay side by side, kissing nonstop. I couldn’t seem to get enough of him, and he sensed this somehow, never pulling away, taking his time with me.

I struggled with his shirt, his belt, and his pants, pulling them off one by one. I practically tore my shirt off, needing to feel bare skin. Finally when there were no more barriers, I pushed him on his back, and I started trailing wet kisses down his torso, ending at his groin. I practically whimpered when I took him in my mouth, reveling in his taste, loving the feel of him filling me, his moans encouraging my feeble attempts to bring him to heights he routinely brought me. I loved how he lifted his hips for me, how his hands gripped my head, how he kept calling my name, saying “Kit” softly, like a prayer. He’d become my entire universe, this gentle man who demanded so little, and I was overcome by my feelings.

He tried to pull away. He still worried that I’d be put off by his taste, but I held on tight, swallowing all of him as he came in a flood of sweetness, his body tensing a second before the rush and then slowly softening in my mouth. He lay spent as I lapped at him, cleaning up the residue around his cock and his balls, licking at him gently.

“My Kit,” he rumbled softly. His voice had a calming effect, and I moved up his body and buried my face against his neck, inhaling his scent, which was combination of lemon and some earthy plant. We lay there for what seemed like hours but was probably only minutes, listening to each other breathe. We were sated, for the moment at least. I knew this was an appetizer that would be continued after dinner.

“Thank you,” he said quietly.

“Don’t ever thank me for that. I love doing it.”

“How did I ever live without you?” Jody mused.

I answered him with another deep kiss, hoping it would show him what he meant to me. The thought of living without him was now unbearable. There was no way in hell I’d give this up.

T
HE
next day involved touring downtown Chicago. Jody took us to Marshall Field’s for a few hours of shopping, Steve and Marge going their separate ways, and meeting again after an hour and a half, arms overflowing with beautifully wrapped packages. We left together and walked over to the Christkindlemarket at Daley Plaza where we stuffed our faces with the traditional German meal of bratwurst, sauerkraut, and draft beer.

It was a perfect winter day. The air was brisk, but there was no wind, a good thing, Jody’s parents informed me, or it would have been intolerable. The sun shone on the streets and people were scurrying around doing last-minute shopping. I was wearing a Chicago Bears jacket; a big, old, downy thing that kept me warm and incognito. My Cal jacket was hanging in our closet back home. I wore a hat and sunglasses, and I was a million miles away from Berkeley. I was reasonably sure that there was no one around who would recognize me, and the freedom of being openly affectionate was intoxicating. I felt almost drunk, loving his arm in mine, or his hand on my face, or the quick peck on the cheek. His mom and dad thought nothing of it, and I felt at ease for the first time in weeks.

We spent the rest of the day walking up and down the Magnificent Mile, popping in and out of stores, pigging out on Garrett popcorn. I felt like a kid, the first time I tried the mix of cheesy popcorn interspersed with caramel. It was decadent, and I kept shoving handfuls in my mouth.

“You’re a sugar junkie,” Jody teased.

“Hey, there’s protein in this.”

“How do you figure?”

“The cheese?”

“Is negligible. You’re going to be on a sugar high for hours, bouncing off the ceiling.”

“The better to keep me up all night,” I whispered.

He grinned and shook his head, moving off in the opposite direction, but I pulled him back, grabbed his hand and yanked him to me. We were standing in front of the Rock ’n Roll McDonald’s on LaSalle Street with people all around, and I didn’t give a shit! I kissed him as if we were the only ones there.

J
ODY
laughed with excitement as he tore through the packages on the living room floor. There was colorful wrapping paper all around him. No matter how quickly Clark scooped up the debris and stuffed it into the big, black garbage bag, the piles of colored paper kept growing.