Jewels Too

When we got back into David's room, he picked up his mobile phone and retrieved his messages. "Oh great!" he said "Ronnie left me a message. He and Julian want to get together next weekend. Sunday is best for them. Any ideas?"

"Maybe we could take them out on the boat...like we just did."

"I love it!" David exclaimed "I'd like my parents to meet them too. I'll call him right now."

I excused myself to take a take a long hot shower "Say hello to both of them for me."

"Hi Ronnie, it's David. "I got your message. How are you?"

"David! Thanks for calling back. I'm doing really well. I'm sorry that I wasn't at The Park this morning. I was at the eye doctor and guess what?"

"What?"

"I'm no longer wearing -18.5 glasses!" "Did you get Lasik?"

"No." Ronnie said laughing "I'm now wearing -20 glasses. My vison has caught up to yours. Julian loves my new glasses. They're rectangular black plastic. I also got some sunglasses for me and for Julian."

"I didn't think Julian wore glasses."

"Well...technically, he doesn't. He has glasses over contacts that he wears when we're alone."

"Glasses over contacts?" David asked "What do you mean? Is it glasses or is it contacts?"

"Julian has always loved to play with my glasses and a few months after we started dating, we were in a drugstore and he tried on the strongest pair of reading glasses. I think they were +4. He asked me for my glasses, placed them over the reading glasses, and realized that this made things less blurry, but still quite blurry. He thought that if he got contact lenses in a plus power as strong as my minus power, that he would be able to see clearly through my glasses. Well, I took my prescription for contact lenses and, easily enough, turned the minuses to pluses and ordered a pair of contacts for him."

"So," said David "I guess it worked, huh? Is that what he does now?"

"Yes, it did work but he had a tough time adjusting to the mininification and distortion. Sure, you and I are used to it, but there's a big difference between gradually becoming this nearsighted and instant myopia."

"Instant myopia. That's funny" David laughed "So, what did he do about it?"

"We played around with combinations in weaker prescriptions getting gradually stronger. He's currently up to -12."

David laughed.

"What's so funny?" Ronnie asked

"The last time I was -12 must have been when I was about 12."

Ronnie laughed too and said "I think I had -12s at 12 too."

"Ronnie, your glasses sound great. I can't wait to see them. About the four of us getting together...next Sunday is perfect for us. Do you want to join us on my parents' boat"

"That sounds like fun." Ronnie said "Julian loves boats. He wanted to build a miniature lake at The Park complete with paddle boats but his attorney felt that the liability would be too high. Should we make it a picnic? Julian and I love to cook. We'll pack a basket."

"Sounds great! We'll make dessert. If you don't mind, I'd like to invite my parents to join us. I'm glad that we're finally doing this. Dana will be so happy. By the way, he says hello. He's in the shower and is probably just about done so I've got to talk quickly. Do you want to have lunch with me on Monday? I need some help with a gift I'm getting Dana."

"Lunch, Monday? Sure! Is 12 noon good for you? Let's meet at the food court at the mall. It will be fun to see people's expressions as they watch the two guys in thick glasses."

David laughed and said "See you AND your thick glasses then. We'll set a time for our picnic then too."

Sunday was a fairly lazy day for David and me. We spent most if it sitting around reading the newspaper. The next day I spent time with Joan while David went into town to run erands do some shopping.

After a week at David's home there was no doubt in anyone's mind that we were an item. I adored his parents, and got the feeling it was mutual. There was a lot of whispering beteen them on Saturday, and at dinner Bill appeared to have something on his mind, and finally, he launched into a speech.

"As you all know, I have had some health problems recently, and we've decided to retire to our old stomping grounds. I've given it a lot of thought, and having seen how, David, you have grown into a man, I'd like you to consider taking over the business for me. "

There was a stunned silence. Clearly this had come as a surprise to David.

"I know you can do it David, especially now you have a good man to support you. You know, of course, that you will have this house...it's yours to do as you wish, live here or sell it and buy something else, but there's room for two......"

David exchanged a strange look with his stepfather, then smiled and got up from the table. He returned quickly with a small box, and looked at Bill, who nodded, and Bill and Joan left us alone. I was totally lost.

Then David knelt on the floor beside me, and opened the box. It was a ring.

"I know if I was to do this properly, I'd ask your Father first, but I know you aren't close to your family, so I'm taking a chance that you won't mind.....Dana, will you marry me?" If you've ever stood on a very high platform and looked down, that feeling is what went through me. Although I was sitting down I felt like I was going to faint, but I held it together. The rest of the world had flown away somewhere, all there was left in the universe was my man, looking up at me, his green eyes behind his thick glasses matching the emarald on the ring. I didn't have to think about it, I just had to make my mouth work. My throat was bone dry, but I managed a whisper, the best I could muster, and told him

"Yes!"

His face lit up, he put the ring on my finger, and kissed my hand. Chivalry, I decided, was NOT dead. I just threw my arms around his neck, and he stood up, scooping me up in his strong arms as he did so. We kissed, over and over, and smiled, and.......it was magic, pure magic. We were going to be together forever.

Bill and Joan returned with champagne, and apologies for knowing about it before I did. But I didn't mind. David had had a surprise too. At the age of 21 he was the owner of a very successful business, had his own home and a fianc�e who thought the sun shone from him. Well he deserved it. They talked business for over an hour, and I wasn't really listening, but I held his hand tight, and never flinched in my mock attention to these details.

"There's just one thing I do suggest" said Bill "Before I introduce you as my successor, get a haircut!"

"Not a chance" said David.

Later that night, I was running my fingers through David's hair. As always, I made sure to include his glasses. I asked him if he had given any thought to what his father had suggested.

"You were there while we were discussing it, of course I am going to take over his business"

"Not that, you silly boy." I said "His suggestion about getting a haircut....You're so gorgeous, that any hairstyle, even a short one. will look good on you. I can do it for you. My mom is a hairdresser. She taught how to cut hair. I used to cut Helmut and RonE's hair all the time."

"RonE's hair too?" David asked in disbelief "He has that hundred dollar haircut look. You really cut it? You're good!"

"Yes, David, I did. And I promise to do a good job on you, if you let me and unlike most hairstylists, I will let you keep your glasses on. Or, if you prefer, we could, um, play blind sex-slave salon. I will strip you naked, take your glasses away from you, have my way with you, give you a haircut, take a shower with you as I trim your pubic hair, towel you off, dress you, and return your glasses."

David's smile, alone, revealed his choice.

"We'll do it tomorrow morning while my parents are at church. I'd love to surprise my dad when he gets home"

David was very pleased with his haircut, not to mention, the haircut experience which was like no other. Joan and Bill returned from church at the exact moment that I finished buttoning David's shirt, and was about to place his glasses back on his face.

"Dad!" David called down "Do you have a minute?"

"Sure. What is it?" Bill asked

"Can you come up and show me how to make a tie knot?"

This, of course was lie to lure Bill up to see his haircut.

"I'll be right there!"

As Bill saw David's haircut, he smiled wider than I had ever seen. "Joan!" Bill shouted down "I think Dana is cheating on David with a handsome man in a smart haircut!" Joan came into the room and said "David, you look so handsome. How did you ever find a barber on a Sunday morning?"

"Actually, the barber found me." David said as he put his arm around my shoulder "Dana cut my hair. He's pretty good, huh?"

"Thanks Dana." Joan said "Your constantly surprising us. You make Bill and me so happy. I can't even begin to think about how happy you make David."

The four of us hugged.

Bill then said "We still have two bottles of champagne in the fridge, let's all go downstairs, have a light brunch and make some desserts for our picnic. Your friends will be here in a few hours."

Ronnie and Julian arrived right on time. We greeted each other with hugs.

"I love the glasses, Ronnie!" I said "David, don't they look great?

"They sure do but I already told him that I liked them" David replied

"When?" I asked

"Monday...at the mall. I asked Ronnie to help me pick out your ring. It's really similar to Julian's. See?"

"Ronnie knew about it too?" I asked with a big smile "Everyone knew but me. Damn you're all good at keeping a secret. Thanks Ronnie, it's beautiful. It matches David's eyes."

David and I introduced them to Joan and Bill who smiled all day long. I think that were happy that David was not the only boy in thick glasses that found someone who loved him as he was. Being with Joan, Bill, Ronnie and Julian was a great way to spend my first day as an engaged man.

A few days later I was kissing David goodbye in a sharp business suit, as Bill took him for various legal formalities, and I went shopping with Joan. This was the pattern for a few weeks as she helped me prepare for a late summer wedding, and David got used to being a working man. What I had been putting off for so long had to be dealt with though, and when I had the place to myself one afternoon, I phoned home. My brother answered the phone, and simply called to my Mom. Gee, I've missed you too Kyle. Mom sounded breezy enough.

"We expected you home by now, what's going on?"

"Well, a lot has happened, very quickly really. I'm getting married!"

There was total silence on the other end, and then a scream. I think she was excited.

"When?" she asked, then quickly "Are you dating women again? She's not pregnant, is she?"

"No! I still like men. It is a bit sudden, but there's no point waiting, I love him him Mom, he's my soulmate, I know this."

"You're not just jumping into this California gay marriage trend. Are you? I have been following this on CNN and on Oprah. But you're so young, what about jobs?"

"He has a great job, and we have somewhere to live, there's no problem. So we don't have any reason to wait. You will come, won't you?"

"Honey, you know we can't afford to come to California, or we would have visited you before - oh Dana, of course we WANT to come, but I don't see how we can?"

"Mom, we're paying."

Now all I could hear was crying. I knew why. My family had never had two cents to call their own, I'd got into college on a scholarship, and taken out a loan for the rest. And yes, I had blamed them. As far as I was concerned they were a bunch of losers, that may sound harsh, but that's how I saw it. They had dead-end jobs, no drive. They weren't bad people, but I wasn't exactly proud of them. That's why I'd gone to college, to be different - like my being gay wasn't different enough. But, they were my folks, so I wanted them at my wedding.

My Dad came on the phone.

"My number one son is getting married? He's a lucky guy. What does he do?" "He's running the family business"

"Well so do I!"

Not quite the same thing Dad. My Dad called himself an entrepreneur. Actually he bought and sold things, some of it not exactly legal, just like his father before him. He lost more than he made on most of his deals. He dressed like a gangster, talked as if he came from the Bronx, and paid cash for everything. He was going to stand out at a middle-class west coast wedding, but...he was my Dad. And Mom, Mom was a hairdresser........she came back on the line. She had calmed down.

"So what's he like, tall dark and handsome?"

"He's tall blond and handsome"

"Oh cute! Does he look like Brad Pitt?"

"Um, a bit, I guess. Actually Mom, he looks a bit different and I have to tell you now so that you can get over it before you get here, OK?"

"Not piercings and tattoos?"

"No!" I laughed, unsure if she was going to be relieved or not at what I was going to say, "he has really bad eyes Mom, he wears really thick glasses, like Dad would call coke bottles. It's Dad I'm worried about, I don't want him to try and be funny. It's not fair on David."

Silence. Then.

"Oh honey, don't WORRY! He can just wear contacts!"

"Um, no actually he can't. Look.....You're just going to have to get over it, OK? I'm relying on you here Mom, you're going to have to get Dad and Kyle to keep their thoughts to themselves. Threaten them if you have to. I'll send you a photo so they can laugh or do whatever they want to do. Just remind them I love him."

Silence again.

"OK Dana, I understand. Trust me."

I didn't, but what else could I do. I'd warned them. I sent a photo of the two of us together the next morning, along with air tickets.

Three days later my Mom called me.

"Well honey, he is different, but you know what, I think he's cute."

I was stunned.

"Really? You're not just saying that to spare my feelings?"

"No, I mean it. And I showed him to the girls and boys at work. They all said the same thing, except for Fred, who went off on a tangent for five minutes. Sometimes he can be such a drama queen. But what I say is, hey if he has to wear them, he has to. He's still cute."

It meant a lot to me, for some reason. Why it mattered to me what other peple thought, I have no idea. It was me who was marrying him. Not that I could wait for that.

I must admit that while my family is not as worldly and open as David's, but they sure have come a long way since they heard I was gay. I think that being a hairdresser, working along side many gay men, has opened her mind. Dad seems to finally have come to terms with it thanks to Will and Grace. He thinks that all gay people are successful like Will or funny like Jack. And Kyle...well...Kyle is still young but he has never been wierded out by my being gay but when he a kid, he was cruel to the kids that wore glasses. I worry a little that he might do or say something stupid to David. Perhaps I'm worrying for nothing. Kyle's seventeen now. Maybe he's grown up.

When David came home at night all I could think of was getting him into bed. Joan and Bill were away at that point, due to come back for the wedding, so we did as we pleased. I never tired of his body. Sometimes I watched him working out, and sometimes, when I asked him, he worked out naked. Naked, that is, except for his glasses.

I did send wedding invitations to Helmut and RonE, and a few other guys from college. To my surprise AND delight, they all said they were coming. Even RonE! All the way from India. David and I were excited that Ronnie and Julian were also coming.

We did a block booking at a nearby hotel for everyone, including my folks, and eventually the big day came. Keeping things traditional I stayed at the same hotel the night before so that David wouldn't see me on the day before the ceremony. I'm really glad I did for I got to spend some time with my parents and Kyle.

Despite the "gay marriage trend" that was taking place in California, we were lucky to find a church that was conveniently located. No worries about Saturday traffic, and as my whirlwind summer came to its end the bells of Our Lady of the Sea rang out and we two became one. At the risk of sounding conceited, we looked great in our matching black tuxedos. David surprised me by buying new glasses for the wedding - thick black plastic frames in a wide rectangular shape. They were very similar to Ronnie's but in a shinier plastic. He had tried on Ronnie's glasses on the day that he bought my ring and liked the way they looked. His glasses looked great from the front but from the side...oh my God...talk about thick...the edges were nearly an inch thick and they touched his cheek. Later, when I got to take them off his face, I read the lens width on the frame...it was 62mm

It was back to OUR home where we entertained our guests on the clifftop. It was hard to tear myself away from David, but I was expected to mingle. My parents didn't show up which hurt a little for we had made so much progress lately. I was happy that Kyle came - although he did make a remark - to me - about David's glasses being bombproof. I told him David could take him, "His eyes might be weak but his body is strong. He has a Soloflex body." Kyle shut up.

Everything went so well, the wind didn't blow too much, the food was good, no-one got too drunk, it was convivial and warm, and David and I made our rounds greeting our guests.

I was even pleased to see RonE. He congratulated me enthusiastically, and there was a real warmth in his hug.

"Well, you didn't listen to me, but you look very happy."

"I have to be honest RonE, I never understood what your problem was."

He looked at me, with that look, wiser than his years and shook his head.

"You're so innocent Dana, but surely you realize by now, he has a fetish."

Him? I thought it was me?

"I'm sorry RonE, I don't......."

"Well, maybe I'm wrong then. Ignore me."

"No, say what you're thinking."

"He wears those glasses by choice Dana, he could have had surgery, he could at least minimize the look and feel by wearing high index lenses, but he revels in his weirdness."

"That's unkind RonE"

"Ask him. You're his partner now, you should have no secrets. Ask him. If I'm wrong, I apologize. Back in India I know of men who wear powerful contact lenses of the opposite strength to allow themselves to wear glasses that strong. They have a special fetish, they get off on their own look."

"David needs those glasses to see RonE, it's not cosmetic"

"No, so he has a head start, but.......don't listen to me, ask him"

And he kissed me, handed me a small gift, and went back to talk to the other college guys. It was a tiny Ganesh figure.

While I spent time with my college friends, David spent time with Ronnie and Julian who looked sharp in their matching linen suits. Linen was the perfect weight for the weather. Perfect also were their prescription sunglasses. Ronnie's were Ray Ban aviator frames holding -20 yellow lenses. Julian wore his glasses over contacts combination. His -12 deep red lenses were held in a gold oval frame. Our photographer took a beautiful portrait of them. Their glasses looked like Topazes and Rubies.

David also talked and laughed with Kyle. They seemed to be enjoying each other's company as David taught Kyle how to use chopsticks and eat sushi. They must have also talked about working out because at one point, they were feeling each other's flexed muscles. David later told me that Kyle asked him alot of questions about fitness and about applying to colleges. Not a word about glasses though. That was a sigh of relief.

Eventually it was time to make our dramatic departure. Before we did, Kyle asked David if he could talk to him. I thought, Oh my God, he's been so good...I hope he doesn't say something stupid to David about his glasses.

Kyle put his arm around David, looked him in the eye and said "Thank you for making Dana so happy. I'm sorry that our folks didn't come to the reception. They've missed out on getting to know you."

Kyle hugged David tightly and kissed him on the cheek. His nose touched David's glasses - moving them slightly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to mess up your glasses" David adjusted his glasses, smiled, kissed Kyle on the cheek and said "Don't worry about it - your brother does it all the time. Dana makes me so happy too. Thanks for coming out for the wedding. It really means alot to us."

Kyle then hugged and kissed me goodbye and told me "Sorry about what I said earlier. I really like David. You're both very lucky"

As Kyle hugged me, I realized that my little brother had grown up. It was the first time I had seen him cry since he was a baby.

We changed into traveling clothes, and got into the car to head for the airport. I had no idea where we were going, it was a surprise - all I knew was that I needed my passport. Two hours later I was on a flight to Greece, and falling asleep on the shoulder of my new partner. Greece...how ironic?

The morning I awoke in our hotel room in Mykonos, I looked at David and felt like I was the luckiest man alive. Outside was a breathtaking view too, but that could wait. I sat and watched him sleep until perhaps my watching him stirred him. Eventually he awoke, a few moments elapsed as he remembered where he was, and then, realizing I was there, he pulled me toward him so he could see me. I loved it when he did that. He pushed my hair out of my face, and kissed me.

"Hello Mr Wilson-Andersen" "Good morning Mr. Andersen-Wilson" I said with a smile

He pulled the thin cover back, and flipped it over me. I reached down and found his early morning greeting ready for me, so turned over on my stomach. He straddled me and pushed himself hard into me. He took long slow strokes, pulling hard on his pelvic muscles to give me the most pleasure possible, yet make it last as long as he could. Then he laid on top of me while he was still inside me, because he never wanted to withdraw. But nothing lasts forever, and of course eventually we pulled apart and just took in the breeze from the window and the sound of each other breathing. Now seemed like a good time to ask him a few questions. I had demonstrated my undying love for him, promised it too, and I had a right to know my love's innermoost desires.

I reached for his glasses and put them on him. He smiled.

"David, this is going to sound funny, but you'd better not hold back. I'm crazy about your glasses, but then....I don't have to wear them. I'm just enjoying them from the convenience of here. I want to know why you enjoy wearing them so much, when most people wouldn't."

"Ah, well, yes, that is hard to answer. I didn't always."

"I thought not"

"Well, I didn't mind them, I was never one of those kids who hated wearing glasses. I never had to suffer too many taunts really, compared to some. But I think, when I was very young, if you'd asked me if I like wearing them, I'd have said no."

"So when did you change your mind?"

"Well it was a boy actually, when I was 16. I used to like girls, you know, you turn 13, puberty strikes and suddenly the opposite sex doesn't seem so revolting. And I'd discovered that this thing between my legs had a mind of its own......well, it was easily aroused by girls anyway, but whenever I would try to kiss a girl, they would try to pull off my glasses.

None of the girls would let me kiss them and believe me I tried...for over three years. Like I started saying - I was 16 and I was kissing this boy on the couch and he liked my glasses. He never actually said it, but I knew by the way he gently touched them as he touched my face or ran his fingers through my hair. After he left I went into the bathroom to jerk off. I was so turned on by the fact that he liked me as I am and that he never tried to take my glasses off like the girls always did. I've never forgotten that. I've forgotten his face, his name, but I remember the association."

I laughed, remembering our first date and the movie theater.

"Oh I understand"

"You do?"

"Oh yes, well, in a way, but it is a bit different, I mean, I get turned on, HOPELESSLY turned on by your glasses, but are you saying you get turned on by them yourself"

"Not QUITE, I think what turns me on is other people's reaction, obviously in my teens it was quite an obsession, oh you know what we're like, we're the weaker sex. And then when I met you and you went overboard......well, you did!"

I did.

"But you don't make that public do you, I mean, you don't tell your parents"

"Uh, NO!"

"So how do you explain to them, and to your doctor, that you don't want high index lenses"

"Yes, that WAS a problem. I did get some once actually, and when I got them I wore them for like two days, then told my parents I hated them - they felt too light, not right, and eventually I got what I wanted. Eventually they stopped asking. They also suggested I get surgery but I just kept turning it down. People ask why a lot you know but they give up eventually. And as I've got older I've got more creative. I don't care what people think. They can't read my mind so they can only guess anyway. I don't care what anyone thinks except you. If you ever change your mind, and decide the way I look is too weird for you Dana, I will do something about it."

Wow. I couldn't believe he said that. I understood how important it was to him, and yet, he'd do that, for me?

"It's never going to happen David, I think I'm addicted to your glasses, I think they're connected by some invisible cord directly to me - and you know where!"

And he gave me THAT look. That look through his sparkling lenses that made me...... moist. And he rolled me over and pulled my legs apart. I just welcomed him in. Lucky me, I just married a man with thick glasses and a huge dick too. He knew how to use both to please me, he knew exactly how to move his head around mine so that his glasses caressed my face. He knew how to move on top of me to thrill me beyond words. He knew when to hold back, and when to thrust harder. And he knew how to hold me afterwards, entwined so I could look into his eyes. He knew how to love me. We lay there silently a long time. Then he remembered

"Addicted huh?" he asked.

"Yes addicted, and it couldn't get any worse........er, better"

"I think it could" he said smiling "When we get home it's time for my next check-up, and I KNOW I'll need stronger lenses"

I beamed in delight and sat up.

"Please no more" he pleaded, laughing.

"You brought this on yourself" I said, as I went down on him.