"Life is the great indulgence - death, the great abstinence. Therefore, make the most of
Life – here and now." – Anton LaVey
Chapter one|
Jay closed one of his favorite books, a book read so many times over the corner of a majority of the yellowed pages went forward with evidence of many a bookmarking. The weight of the paper book felt good against his thigh, his eyes closed to enjoy the warmth covering his face. Being a full-time writer Jay never had much time to relax, that is why he decided to call up his publisher and demand a vacation. Due to the success of his last book, "A noble sacrifice," his publishing company was all but too happy to pay for him to take a much needed vacation.
Not having time to really travel anywhere outside of the United States, Jay just pick a map of America and closed his eyes, flipped a coin, and saw where it landed. San Francisco. As a child he had always wanted to see the Golden Gate Bridge and hopped on a plane that evening to California.
The flight was terrible, the plane was delayed, he got the aisle seat so the stewardess bumped his elbow with the cart every five minutes, his seat buddy wouldn't shut up about his real estate business, his bags had gotten lost at the LAX landing, and his hotel room was accidentally given away, causing him to have a much less scenic view. To compensate for this bumpy start Jay decided to hit the beach early. Never one to be a believer of fake tans and being stuck inside writing all day had left Jay somewhat lighter than most on the beach, however he did work out frequently, giving him a boost of confidence in that aspect.
"So you like rainbows huh?" Startled by the sudden voice, Jay opened his eyes, blinded at first by the California sun. "Um, I uh..." Jay could only speak in vowels; fear crept into his stomach when he saw three muscular men. Jay looked down at his chest to his left pec, seeing the tattoo of a rainbow flag he had gotten when he graduated from high school. Before he could say anything in his defense the three men did something strange, they laughed.
The one who had spoken laughed until tears formed in his eyes and he fell to the ground, Jay gave a nervous chuckle. Once they had all stopped laughing one of the other two men, an Irishman with dark red hair and emerald eyes, spoke up with a thick accent, "Aye, were only a-kiddin' ya." He placed a thumb into his own trunks and pulled the waistband down a small bit, revealing a rainbow tattoo. The man who had spoke first, a brunette with chestnut hair and deep chocolate eyes, smiled at Jay, "but you should have seen your face!" At this the laughter started again, this time including Jay.
After hours of getting to know one another and chatting about everything from work to seasons of Will & Grace, Jay felt more comfortable around the three men. Jay learned that the Irishman, Ewan (whose drag/stage name was Ginger), was n airplane mechanic in the Air Force. The brunette, Mark (or as everyone called him, Marky Mark) was a physicist for NASA. Finally, the third member of the crew, a younger boy with almost-white hair and glacier eyes, Mynx (his parent's were hippies) was a college student in Alaska who had come to San Francisco for an anime convention. Jay had also learned that they had all met online through a gay social networking site, and had all agreed to meet in San Francisco.
Jay stood up in stretched, making sure to playfully touch his toes and wink at Mynx. Mynx, who had not said a word all evening, blushed a deep red and looked away. The others clapped and giggled, Ewan gave him a slap on the ass. It was Mark who had the idea, that they should all hit a bar or two. Jay, never really much of a drinker, reluctantly agreed. Jay also raised the question of Mynx's legality and ability to drink, to this Mynx finally spoke up, "I'm a graduate student," his voice was soft but sweet, almost adorable, "and this is my fourth year, I'm twenty-two." Everyone was dead silent. Apparently this was the first time Mynx had spoke. Mynx felt all the eyes on him and he quickly looked at the ground, shutting his mouth tightly.
Ewan was the one to break the awkward silence, "well let's fucking part-ay then!" Everyone smiled and Mark made a crack at Ewan being Irish and always wanting to drink, to which Mark received a kiss. The kiss lasted a few seconds, and evoked a small moan from Mark's lips. During the embrace Mynx leaned in to whisper to Jay, "they are dating," a simple yet sufficient explanation. This did not bother Jay a bit because he was not interested in either Ewan or Mark; it was Mynx that had caught his eye. The young boy, Jay was only about five years older, ran a hand through his soft hair and looked over at Jay and made accidental eye contact, causing another blush and a quick eye diversion.
