It took me a while to put my feelings into words, but once I did, they seemed to come tumbling out. I told Chad all about what had happened. At first I thought it might be TMI-- especially when I went into detail around my jacking off-- but he never seemed to flinch. He seemed to genuinely care about what I had to say, and what I thought we should do. He seemed to go out of his way to make me feel like I could tell him the truth, as if the subject matter was nothing to be scared of.
By the time I finished talking, the cum on our bodies had mostly dried up. So had our sheets, for that matter. We were both still naked, with our arms and legs still wrapped around each other, and our faces still within inches of each other. I felt a pang of guilt for having kept Chad awake, since I knew he'd need to be up early that morning. But he insisted it was fine.
He definitely didn't react the way I'd expected. "That's a lot to digest," he said. "I mean... some of it I wouldn't worry about. Like the part about rubbing one out. When I said we should be cool with that, I meant it."
"Are you sure?"
"Sure I'm sure. I mean, we all do it. It doesn't hurt anybody, and it feels good."
"I-I guess...."
"I think the bigger issue is you getting hit on at work."
"Well... I could always quit my job if you want--"
"Is that seriously the first thing you think about? How I'd feel about it?"
"Why wouldn't it be?"
"Shouldn't you be asking that of yourself?"
I licked my lips. "Y-you mean you're not mad?"
"Not at you."
"What does that mean?"
"Listen," he said, "if you want me to kick someone's ass, I'll do it in a heartbeat. I'll never let anybody fuck with my man."
"Well thank you--"
"But don't get nervous on my account. What matters is how
you
feel about it. Not me."
"I-I mean I guess if you put it that way--"
"Besides," he said, "I mean, I kind of get where those other guys are coming from. Considering I like to hit on you too."
"Oh come on."
"What? It's true." He put his hand on my crotch. "I craved this cock from the second I laid eyes on it. Come on: that first night at the frat house, when they made us strip down--"
"I remember--"
"And then you surprised me when everyone else was asleep--"
"I didn't do that on purpose. You surprised me too."
"Even so," he said, "your dick unlocked parts of me that I didn't even know were there." He let off a deep sigh, apparently savoring the memories, then pressed his body against mine. "Anyway, the point is... now that you're mine, what do I have to feel jealous about?"
I shrugged. I had to admit he had a point. "I guess," I said, "as long as we keep it that way."
"Well yeah. But Ryan and Marcos do a lot crazier shit than we do. So if they can make things work, we can too."
I nodded. It was true Ryan and Marcos seemed fine, even with their open relationship. I thought back our sex party, when Chad and I had just banged each other, while Ryan and Marcos had also done stuff with Hunter and Drew. I gave those guys props for their candidness: they seemed to give no bones about what they wanted in bed. Not to say we needed to imitate them, but still....
"By the way," Chad said, "they want to meet up when we're in town."
"What do you mean?"
"Ryan and Marcos. If we're gonna go see my dad, we should connect with them too."
"Oh. Right." I'd almost forgotten about that. "Are you sure that's okay?"
"Of course. Why wouldn't it be?"
"I mean... it sounds like your dad's still dealing with a lot. So if we just dedicated our time to him--"
"I wish we could," Chad replied. "Pam says he still gets tired really easy. She says we should plan on spending an hour with him, maybe two or three if he's having a good day. Any more than that is too much."
"Shit. I'm sorry."
"It is what it is. The nature of brain injuries I guess."
"Do you think he'll be okay with me being there? I mean... if he gets overwhelmed, I don't want things to be weird--"
"Listen. When I said I was done hiding this shit, I meant it. Anyone who still has a problem with my gay ass can kiss it."
"Well...." I put my hands on his butt cheeks. "Maybe I can play with your gay ass regardless. Except I want to do a lot more than kiss it."
Chad snorted. "Fine by me," he said. He pulled me in closer and gave me a peck on the forehead. "We'll just take this shit as it comes."
"Okay," I replied. Then I put my head on his chest, and the two of us laid there with our bodies tangled together.
We must've fallen asleep not long after. The next thing I remember was early the next morning: I vaguely recall Chad getting out of bed, though I was still pretty out of it. I didn't fully wake up till hours later, long after Chad had headed off to work.
I felt a pang of loneliness lying there by myself, though I told myself not to worry about it. I spent the next few minutes staring up at the ceiling. I told myself how lucky I was to have Chad as my boyfriend, though I knew I couldn't take him for granted.
I eventually got on my iPad and started browsing gay websites. Vitruvian Men had a bunch of posts about what Chad and I had discussed. They doled out advice on sex and relationships in all their different forms. They kept preaching sex-positivity, which was a term I'd heard but had never known much about. Basically they saw sex as a natural and life-affirming experience, something to celebrate and appreciate, in which everyone should feel free to do what they like. It was an awesome idea, though I knew it could be more easily said than done.