Joss catches up with the man whom he had jerked off in the First Anointing. He ends up taking Mel's circumcised cock in his mouth. The men spend the night getting to know each other. They are called to the ritual of the Second Anointing.
*********************
As the evening deepened into night, Joss sought out the man whose naked cock he had stroked at the First Anointing. His name was Melton, or Mel, as he preferred.
Before he had apprenticed with Green, Mel sold insurance. It was a soul-robbing employment and like Joss, he had longed for something better. In an attempt to do something creative, Mel tried woodworking. His feats had been limited to making toys out of pine construction lumber.
Joss sensed Mel wanted to talk. Perhaps it was Joss's need himself to talk with this man who had rather taken charge of his penis and released his semen. Joss was finding the whole experience in Mr Green's camp both invigorating and yet strange. He could talk with Sam but he knew Sam. This man Melton was a stranger - or almost a stranger - in some ways it made it easier to talk.
Mel had met Green while he was foraging for scraps at a worksite, a housing project where bits of wood were tossed in a dumpster or burned on site. Afraid he might have been caught trespassing or perhaps stealing when Green appeared silently behind him, it 'scared the shit' out of him as he put it.
Mel had slipped and fallen into the dumpster, cutting his head rather deeply. Seeing the dazed and frightened man lying in the dumpster, Green had offered a hand and pulled him up. Then he had put his hand to Mel's head and stanched the blood. Mel said he felt a surge of energy through his body and his cock got suddenly very erect, embarrassingly so, followed by a spontaneous and copious ejaculation.
Joss was amazed. He told Mel that Green had similarly healed a cut when Joss had run a finger along an axe blade. And that he, too, had had a generous flow that soiled his clothes. But somehow it was not embarrassing. Their exchanged stories were also similar in how they had been invited to become apprentices. The kinship was struck and they became comfortable with one another immediately.
Mel could not recall how long he had been in his apprenticeship. The days and nights did not seem to have any definition. He was learning every day and did not seem in a hurry to return to his other life, but understood that he would have to eventually, if he were to continue growing as a man and as a craftsman. Decisions would have to be made.
Soon the conversation turned to the First Anointing. Joss wanted to know how he had done masturbating his new friend.
"Well, you made me cum pretty hard. That ought to tell you something,'" Mel said with a smile. "And just talking about it is getting me hard again. Yeah, you are a real pro."
"Actually not." Joss confessed. "I've never actually been with a guy before." Becoming bolder, he added, "I've looked at a lot of gay porn lately and have wondered what it would be like to really hold a guy's cock. So, you were my first."
They both laughed at that comment.
"You know," said Joss, "I never thought I'd be attracted to looking at gay porn. I was always a nipple and ass guy. I admit I liked seeing guys ejaculate, and felt robbed when the guy had a small load. But lately, I can't seem to stop myself. I've spent hours looking at cocks, just stroking myself."
"I know what you mean. I am a gooner, myself." Mel offered.
"Gooner?" Joss asked.
"A gooner is a person who masturbates for a long time but does not cum. Always edging, looking for the next image or video to get more excited. When I do cum, it is pretty wonderful. Not always a lot or all that strong, but the relief from blue balls is pretty great."
"Well, call me a Gooner First Class because that's my experience. Never knew it had a name other than pervert." Joss's look revealed the shame he felt.
Seriously, of a sudden, Mel grabbed his arm and said, "No man. Not a pervert. It was you trying to find something good and creative. The only shame is that you never knew that you were actually closer to being a craftsman than you realized. That's one thing I learned in this apprenticeship."
"Say some more about that," Joss urged. And Mel told him all about how he hid magazines in his shop to masturbate with. How he would sometimes jack-off in the car when he was on long drives. And how much he wanted to talk to someone about it. He was convinced he was a sexual addict. Until that day when he met Green.
"You and I have been on the same paths. Hell, I am sure most of the apprentices and journeymen have very similar stories. That is why we are all so relaxed with one another. Here in the first, "We get to have a gay old time." They both broke up laughing.
"Thanks for that. I'm still getting used to thinking of it that way."
They sat quietly for a while, comfortable with the silence and in each other's presence.
Joss broke the stillness. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"So, you're circumcised. What's that like?
Mel laughed. "Like normal. You're the one that looks odd."