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| �Oh, my God,� Jeff whispered to himself, in a pleasant stupor over the familiar countenance that was flowing back to him from his recollection. �Wendell, I... can�t believe you�re here.� Jeff�s face lit up with excitement. Wendell smiled warmly at his old flame, ecstatic that Jeff�s response seemed that of optimism. �Yep. I�m here.� He extended his hand to Jeff, even though all he wanted to do was hug him, but he wasn�t sure if Jeff would want to jump right back into intimacy since they�ve been so long apart. But Jeff craved the intimacy just as strongly. He took Wendell�s hand to shake but then he pulled him in for an embrace. The hug lasted so long. Neither man wanted to let go. The passion that burned in the past between them was now reborn even more magical. �Oh, it�s so good to see you, Jeff,� Wendell said, patting Jeff�s back as they held their embrace. After he spoke that into Jeffrey�s ear, he began kissing along his neck, so anxious to indulge in the lust they once shared. Jeff arched his neck back in pleasure and then repositioned to begin a sultry kiss with his lover. �Happy Birthday, by the way.� �Thanks, mate. Indeed a very good gift.� After their initial reacquainted romance was fulfilled, Jeff invited Wendell inside. He had a cozy, little abode; quite different from Wendell�s old place, but good enough. Jeff was one to keep a household tidy. Wendell immediately felt comfortable there, not that it mattered what the place was like anyway. Jeff was all he required. Jeff stopped the VCR, putting his movie on a permanent hold. They spent the next hour on his sofa, catching up with each other�s lives. Both had a bit of bad news to share; Jeff about Harry�s condition and Wendell about the reason he quit his job. But they were there for each other, to cushion one another�s pressures. A knock sounded at the front door. Kim stopped by again so that Wendell could retrieve his bags. He thanked her again for her civility. She told Jeff that she was gonna go say bye to Harry and Joyce. Jeff asked Wendell if he wanted to go see the family. There was plenty of time later for unpacking. ~~~~~ �So, you�re Wendell? I can see why Jeff is crazy about you. You�re certainly a handsome young fella,� Joyce commented, making him blush beyond belief. He smiled, rouge in the cheeks. �Hello. Nice to finally meet you, Joyce.� He gave her a quick hug. She was extremely glad to see him, and he was so worried about �meeting the family,� but he had nothing to worry about. Then he went over to Harry. Harry would�ve been running up the walls if he could. The news of Wendell coming back made him overly joyed, knowing that he�d treat Jeff right and never break his heart. �It�s nice to see you again, Harry,� he said, patting Harry on the shoulder. Inside, he was slightly breaking, seeing Jeff�s father in this condition. He recalled how vivacious he was when he met him in L.A. and this was just a complete shock. But he didn�t feel sorry for him; he knew Harry wouldn�t want him to either. There was still much for Harry to experience. Life may have handed him a few lemons, but as everyone knows the saying,..... and he did. Determination - one of the strongest of virtues. Wendell sat down with Harry, Joyce, and Jeff to share again his past and all that went with it. Joyce gasped when he got to the part about the boy, feeling sorry. It was more than obvious that the event decimated his self-confidence. The road to recovery would be a lengthy one, but at least he now had Jeff to aid in the process. The evening shortly replaced a peaceful afternoon, and Jeff and Wendell retreated to the privacy of their own place. The first thing on the agenda was to get Wendell settled in; unpacking his suitcases and organizing Jeff�s cabinets to accommodate for two. It was a one bedroom place as well, not that it mattered, because they would share the same room. Afterwards, they wanted to go out and do something; a dual celebration - birthday and reunion. A fancy dinner kicked the special evening off, with the full works: appetizers, mean course, dessert, and of course a fine bottle of wine. It was quite the costly meal, but they deemed the occasion worthy. Once dinner was over, Jeff thought of a special place that they could go to be alone under the stars; a small wharf on the Sydney harbor. The wharf was the type of place rarely occupied after sunset, which was a definite stipulation of a pair of love birds seeking privacy in the relaxation that Mother Nature provides. Plus, the sound of the tide rolling in added extra tranquility for maximum effectiveness. The moon shone a soft serenade of light down onto the pier, enveloping the two lovers in a magical aura. Romantic - one might call it. ~~~~~ Returning home, it was rather late, and they came laughing through the door. Jeff was telling the tales of when he and Greg used to be together. And he had gotten to the part where Harry kept ringing the buzzer and made him run Harry�s chair right into a food display at the grocery store and alerted Greg as to their attention. The event was only humourous in retrospect; Jeff was certainly frustrated at the time. Anecdotes are an important part of any evening; swapping stories, experiences, and recollection. But soon, the growing desire of lust was beginning to come to the throne. As soon as the door shut, the mood shifted. Conversation was silenced as Wendell sealed his lips with Jeff�s as he walked Jeff backwards into the room and then collapsed onto the sofa. Wendell had not made love since he and Jeff were together in L.A. That was a very long time ago. And even worse, the two times they did were the only times in his entire life. So, he was certainly ready to have at it once again. As for Jeff, he hadn�t had anyone since Greg. And he was used to making love often, so he was ready as well. ~~~~~ That first morning, Wendell lied there with Jeff in bed. Circumstances felt so different yet in a favorable way. The emptiness that he was accustomed to when sleeping by himself had been vanquished. Is this what love is, he asked himself. It just had to be. Even back in L.A. he knew it was and certainly now. Whoever was streaming Time and deciding Fates, they were shining down on the both of them. Whether or not he deserved it more than any other soul was irrelevant. This was his chance to shine back and take hold of the opportunity presented. Wendell didn�t bother trying to restrain the smile that was overcoming his face. He knew it would be perceived as ridiculous if anyone were perchance spying on him, but he didn�t care even if there was. With Jeff by his side, optimism would manifest his spirit for eternity. He looked down at his own chest; Jeff had one arm slung over Wendell�s torso and his head resting just under Wendell�s shoulder, nose buried into his side. With his free arm, Wendell gently ran his fingers through Jeffrey�s hair. Jeff moaned softly yet still remained asleep. Over the next hour, he contemplated many things; the biggest of which was what to do as a career now. It wasn�t just the LAPD that he couldn�t live with. It was himself. There was no way he could ever draw a gun again. So much for �Bud.� But as far as he was concerned, �Bud� had been gone for a while now, ever since his first fated meeting with Jeff. He knew no other trade so his options were drastically limited, but he was determined to find something. He had always taken care of himself since a young child and wasn�t about to start being a parasite now, especially with Jeff. He did have that large sum of money from selling his house, but it wasn�t the kind of money where they could like pigs in the fat house forever. Jeff woke up and yawned. He too was glad to have someone next to him waking up in the morning. He caressed Wendell�s stomach. He looked up and noticed that he was awake as well. �G�morning, mate.� �Morning, Jeff,� Wendell replied warmly and lovingly. Immediately, Jeff propped himself up on one elbow and bent inwards to Wendell�s chest and began sucking on his nipple. Jeff enjoyed the freedom of being able to do whatever he wanted in the sexual sense at any time, when he had a serious boyfriend that is. Sex is pretty much all he thinks about all day long; Wendell too, just not as to high of a degree. Where Wendell just thinks, Jeffrey acts. Wendell wasn�t about to tell him to stop though, for a sure and certain fact. ~~~~~ �What do you reckon I could do for a living around here?� Wendell asked Jeff in between bites of scrambled eggs at breakfast. Jeff took a drink of orange juice to wash the food in his mouth down before talking. �Well,... what else interests you?� �Don�t know, to be honest. Never had to give that any thought. I�m only good at grunt work and I don�t want to stay in that field anymore.� �We are looking for more help where I work, that is if you�d be interested in plumbing. Not exactly the loveliest of jobs, but it pays well,� Jeff replied, trying to think of any and all ideas. �I don�t know anything about plumbing though.� Jeff took another bite of toast and responded back with a mouth half-full of food. �Ain�t much to know, mate. And anything there is, I could help ya.� �Sounds like a good idea, I reckon. Plus, I�d be able to work with you. Can�t think of anything better than that, mate,� Wendell said, beginning to like the idea. �Gotta work with your hands a lot though. But no worries there, Wendell. You got that down solid,� Jeff remarked, grinning devilishly. Wendell chuckled to himself. �You�re a sex maniac, y�know that, mate?� Jeff popped a piece of bacon into his mouth, smiling wide, �Yeah, so?� �Just thought I�d tell ya. There�s nothing wrong with it, though. Quite nice, actually.� ~~~~~ On his way to work that afternoon, Jeff took Wendell with him so he could talk to his boss about employment possibilities. Jeff was the most respected and experienced worker around the place, so a reference from hi was placed higher on consideration. Jeff explained to his boss that Wendell wasn�t exactly experienced in the field, but that he personally would train him. Within a few minutes, his boss had decided to give Wendell a chance. And just like that, Wendell was back in the work force. Things were shaping up quite nicely for him. His first �assignments� were to follow Jeff around on some calls to learn the basics; getting familiar with the tools and terms. This training period lasted about a month, but it was needed to get Wendell up on his feet. But the entire time, he�d be Jeff�s apprentice, so he was in great hands. Around the end of his first month, Wendell had picked up on most everything he would need to know. He was an extremely fast learner and was soon able to go on calls by himself. ~~~~~ Wendell came trudging through the door, wiping his brow with the back of his arm. Jeff was on the sofa reading a book. Placing the bookmark in, he placed the book on the coffeetable and got up to greet his fatigued boyfriend. �What�s the matter, Wendell? You look exhausted,� Jeff said, approaching him. He noticed the front of his clothes was soaked. �Oh,... long day on the job. Took a call on a leaking sink at the elementary school, a clogged toilet clear on the other side of town and traffic was horrible, ... a broken water line on the seventh floor of Westgate Apartments, no a/c, dreadful hot, and last but not least, another leaking sink in some old house, with valves and piping so rusted I had to break it off and well water went everywhere.� �Poor guy. Let me relax ya,� Jeff replied and put his arms around Wendell�s sides, massaging him. �Watch out. You�re gonna get wet and dirty. And I should probably go shower. I�m stinking like a dog over here.� Jeff let go and gave him a quick kiss then went back to the sofa. Wendell unbuttoned his work shirt then bent over to take his boots off and placed them on the mat beside the door. Then he took his socks off and kept them in his hands as he removed his shirt and pants. Jeff looked up from reading and saw Wendell standing in his boxers, his body soaked with sweat. He smiled to himself. Wendell began walking towards the bathroom. �I�ll just take a quick shower,� Wendell said just to say it. Jeff put his book down again and hopped up quickly. �I feel like a shower myself all of a sudden.� Wendell smiled and waited for Jeff to catch up with him before heading into the bathroom. ~~~~~ Time passed like a weeping willow, gracefully flowing and reaching out to embrace the random. It was Jeff�s birthday again, exactly one year since Wendell came back into his life. Things were going extremely well for them, almost a fairytale love. Not once had they fought or gotten into an argument. Even soul mates disagree time to time. It was almost like they were one level above that, in perfect harmony with one another. Wendell realized this and felt incredibly lucky to have someone like Jeffrey in his life. So, he wanted to take it even one step further up. After Jeff�s birthday celebration at Joyce and Harry�s, the two returned home. Jeff went into the kitchen to put dirty plates into the dishwasher. Wendell remained in the living room. �Could you come here for a moment, Jeff?� Wendell called out to him. Jeff went to the doorway that separated the two rooms. �What�s up? Something wrong, mate?� �Nah, nothing wrong. But could you come a little closer?� Wendell responded to Jeff. Jeff walked over to him, concerned and not sure what was going on. Wendell took Jeff�s hands into his own. �Lemme say all I wanna say, okay?� �No prob, Wendell. Tell me what�s on your mind.� Wendell took a slight inhale and then began. �Ever since our time in L.A. I knew that there was something special about you, something special between us. I knew we belonged together. But when you left, it felt like everything I ever believed in was broken. And it left me grey. But when I got in contact with Joyce and decided to start a new life here, I could feel that �something� flowing back through my veins. I was so afraid though, when I knocked on your door, not sure if you still felt the same way about me. Then I found out that you did. It made me excited and joyed. I knew it was love and that I had everything I�d ever need. And now it�s been a year and all�s still great, but I want us to be official, to be more than just, y�know. I know I want to spend every day with you.� Wendell reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold ring. He took Jeffrey�s left hand and placed the ring on the tip of his finger. �Will you marry me, Jeffrey?� Jeff smiled warmly, his heart pounding and his eyes welling up with tears of happiness. �Yes, Wendell.... I will.� Wendell slid the ring on all the way then leaned in for a kiss and an embrace. And then he whispered into Jeff�s ear. �I love you, Jeff.� Jeff repeated the words back, his voice stifled with tears. �I love you.� ~~~~~ They too had their wedding in front of the Sydney Opera House on what turned out to be just a gorgeous day. Harry was crying up a storm over it. He was so incredibly happy for his son and so incredibly relieved. Ever since his stroke, he worried that Jeff might give up on Love, but now he knew he wouldn�t have to worry about that. Jeff had found the way by himself. Their boss was gracious enough to give Wendell vacation alongside Jeff. Technically, Wendell hadn�t worked long enough to earn one, but since it was their honeymoon, he didn�t want to seem the miser. As far as where to spend it, they decided upon going back to where it all started, Los Angeles. |