As if Judd had been reading his mind, he laughed and said, “I know how that is, buddy. I’m seeing someone named Luanne. I’m bisexual and we’re keeping it casual, if you know what I mean. I’m not ready to settle down with anyone. Although, sometimes I have a feeling Luanne would like more.”

Keith remembered the woman in the hospital in Chicago. “Does Luanne own a dress shop in Glendora Hill?”
“That’s her,” Judd said.

“She’s the one who told me about this apartment,” Keith said. “I met her in Chicago.”

“That was you?” Judd asked. “She mentioned something about that, but I wasn’t paying attention.” He laughed again. “I don’t pay too much attention to anything Luanne says.” He leaned forward and winked. “She talks a lot.”

Keith nodded. He was beginning to feel sorry for Luanne. At first, she’d reminded him of a female impersonator when he’d met her in the hospital, with too much make up, big teased blond hair, and long red fake fingernails. “That was me. Luanne seemed like a nice person to me.”

Judd raised both hands and said, “Don’t get me wrong. She’s great. I just had Thanksgiving with her. But she’s been sneaking around with the two women who own the General Store in town, Harby and Alice, and she doesn’t know I know about it. I don’t really mind either. I don’t let her know I know about it. And I make it clear to her all the time that our relationship is only casual and that we can both date other people if we want to.”

“I see,” Keith said. But he really didn’t get it, and he was too tired to care. “It was nice meeting you, Judd. I think I’m going to get the keys and go up and check out my apartment now.” In order to prove his point, he yawned.

Judd turned and walked to the end of the porch. He picked up Keith’s suitcases and said, “I’ll carry your bags up for you. It’s on my way.”

While Judd watched him bend over to get the keys from beneath the poinsettia, it made him feel self-conscious. He felt even more awkward when Judd made him go upstairs first. He had a feeling Judd was staring at his ass the entire time and there was nothing he could do to prevent it. And when Keith opened the door to his new apartment and turned on the light switch to his right, his entire body went dead still as Judd set the suitcases down and reached for the back of his pants right below the small of his back.

“What are you doing, Judd?” Keith asked, remaining still, as Judd continued to grope him.

Judd’s voice went down an octave. “If you want me to stop I will.”

“You’re not very shy,” Keith said.

“You don’t seem to mind that,” Judd said.

Keith couldn’t deny the growing erection that was making his jeans tighter each time Judd squeezed him. But this move by Judd was so sudden Keith wasn’t sure it was the right thing to do. In the same respect, it wasn’t the first time a strange aggressive man had done something like this to him, and he’d learned to accept that part of gay culture years ago. And, he hadn’t been with a man since he’d busted up with his ex-boyfriend. “I don’t usually do things like this with strangers.”

“We’re not going to be strangers for long,” Judd said, reaching for Keith with his other hand. “I’m hoping we’re going to be good friends and neighbors.”

“Maybe we should get to know each other better first, Judd. We don’t even know if we like each other yet.”

“Oh, I like you,” Judd said.

“I’m talking about emotionally liking each other,” Keith said.

Judd didn’t seem to get that. He took another step forward and he pressed the front of his body to the back of Keith’s. Then he put his arms around Keith, hovered over him, and said, “That’s exactly what I’m trying to do right now: get to know you better emotionally.” He inhaled and said, “You smell so good, emotionally.”

Keith smiled at sarcastic sense of humor. He could feel Judd’s big round bulge pressing into his buttocks and it made his heart beat faster. Keith stood almost five feet nine inches tall in bare feet, but this big cowboy seemed to overpower him. Even the sound of his voice made Keith’s knees weak. “What about your girlfriend, Luanne? What would happen if she saw you doing this?”

“I already told you I’m not committed to anyone,” Judd said, lowering his head so he could nibble on Keith’s earlobe.

“I’m still not sure this is a good idea,” Keith said, and then he broke free from Judd’s hold and moved to the other side of what looked to be the living room. He’d rented the place furnished and hadn’t even asked to see photos. He took a quick glance and noticed all the antiques, including an Empire sofa with gold damask fabric. But it didn’t remind him of grandma’s house, with lace doilies, grandma’s dining room set, and Gone with the Wind lamps. These were important antiques, the kind he often saw in auction catalogues. And the warm hardwood floors against the stark white walls made it appear more modern. The ceilings were high and the windows had Roman Shades that were so perfect and evenly set at the same height he wondered if the landlord had drawn small pencil marks on the woodwork to get them that way.

Judd followed Keith to the other side of the room and grabbed him by the waist. He pulled Keith closer and said, “I’m not sure it’s a good idea either. You might be the possessive stalker type, man. For all I know you’ll want to marry me in the morning.”

That comment was so capricious and honest, it made Keith laugh. He lifted his palms to Judd’s shoulders and said, “For all you know I am the possessive type. You might be making a big mistake right now.”

“I’m willing to take that chance,” Judd said. He pulled Keith closer and his hands went down Keith’s back and rested on his bottom. “To be honest, I’m not usually this aggressive.”

Keith laughed again and stroked the back of his neck. “You’re lying. You’re probably worse than this.”

“Okay, maybe a little. I’m not shy about getting what I want. Is there a law against that?”

Men like Judd had always been attracted to Keith, for reasons he’d never been able to understand. Keith often wished men like him were more attracted to him, but things never seemed to work out that way. Keith had always been the academic type who spent his spare time reading journals and classic novels when he wasn’t riding horses. He had naturally fair hair and a deep olive skin tone that created an unusual contrast and made him stand out more in a crowd. Although he didn’t think his features, his body, or his appearance was anything that special, men like Judd seemed to flock to him as if they were on a mission and their lives depended on getting into his pants and getting him into bed. They were so aggressive at times they would actually pass him on the road while he was driving and honk their horns at him. But the gentler men that were more like Keith never seemed to notice him, and if they did they usually sent him jealous glances.

Keith lowered his hands so he could squeeze Judd’s biceps. He couldn’t actually see them or feel the flesh because Judd was wearing a black leather jacket. But when he felt those rock solid muscles bursting through the leather, he squeezed harder, bit Judd’s chin, and said, “I might be sorry for this, but what the hell. It’s Thanksgiving and I didn’t get any Turkey or pumpkin pie today.”

Judd took the back of Keith’s neck and said, “Then you’re in luck, because you’re going to get something even better than that right now.”

“And what would that be?” Keith couldn’t stop squeezing his biceps.
“Some good old J U double D, Judd.”

 

Chapter Two

            They kissed all the way from the living room to the bedroom, a bedroom with which Keith wasn’t at all familiar but Judd seemed to know quite well. Keith took backward steps and Judd guided him through the unfamiliar hallway of his new living space. Judd held his waist and kissed him so hard Keith had to grab Judd’s shoulders to keep from losing his balance. Judd guided him through the bedroom door, around an antique empire writing desk, sideways along a fainting couch, and right up to the foot of an old rosewood bed laced with Victorian carvings of grapes and Gibson girls. In keeping with the rest of the apartment, the warm hardwood floors and white walls kept the room looking brighter and more modern.

When the backs of Keith’s legs were up against the footboard of the bed, Keith stopped kissing for a moment and said, “You seem to know your way around this apartment well. I have a feeling you’ve been in this bedroom before.” He wanted to know if there was anything going on between Judd and his new landlord, Sebastian.

Judd kissed him again and pushed him backward. As Keith rested on top of the white matelassé coverlet and lifted his legs, Judd climbed on top of him and talked and kissed at the same time. “When Sebastian first moved to town we were close for a while. I don’t like to kiss and tell, but I will say this. Sebastian and his son, Kick, moved here from Houston right after Sebastian’s husband was killed in an accident and he had no money. He inherited this building from a distant uncle, and decided to put down roots in Glendora Hill. When I rented the fourth floor, this place was a huge mess. I was new in town, too, and I needed a cheap place to live and Sebastian needed tenants. Sebastian was alone, we both needed a little company at the time, and we had a short thing going on for a while. You’re going to love him. He’s the sweetest guy on earth, and so hot.”

Keith had a slight competitive streak. If anything, Keith was starting to get sick of hearing about Sebastian. But with Judd on top of him, and with Judd’s hands exploring his entire body, Keith found it difficult to concentrate or speak. He took a quick breath and said, “I thought Sebastian was married to the sheriff.”

“He is married to the sheriff now,” Judd said, reaching down to unbuckle his own belt. “But he wasn’t married to anyone when he first moved here. We were both free and single back then. And when he started up with the sheriff, it all ended between us and we’ve been good friends ever since. I’d do anything for that guy.”

As Judd opened his jeans and pulled out his erection, Keith removed his right hand from Judd’s shoulder and lowered it to Judd’s crotch. For a second or two, he groped around so he could hold Judd in his palm. And when Keith finally found him, fully erect and warm to the touch, and he discovered he couldn’t even wrap his fingers around it he started to stroke in a gentle way that made Judd kiss him even harder. As he stroked, from tip to stem, and he realized Judd’s length was as intimidating as his girth, he didn’t have to wonder why his new landlord, perfect Sebastian, had been with Judd when he’d first moved to Glendora Hill.

And even better, there was nothing rushed about Judd. They continued to make out while Sebastian held Judd in his palm and stroked with an uneven rhythm. They rolled around a few times, found different positions, and in the end Judd always wound up on top and his dick always wound up in Keith’s hand. Although Keith still hadn’t taken a good look at Judd’s dick, it felt so good he didn’t want to release it for more than a second.

The most unusual thing for Keith about this new encounter was the way their roles seemed to shift back and forth. During the entire time they kissed and felt each other up, Judd remained the physical aggressor and Keith remained the verbal aggressor. Though Judd acted upon pure instinct with each move he made, Keith found that if he calculated each move he made and he gave Judd orders, Judd would follow them without any hesitation at all. Keith had been with some of the most aggressive men in Chicago. He’d submitted to them willingly and their individual roles had always been defined without speaking. But with Judd is wasn’t the exactly same, and Keith soon realized he’d never actually met a man who could remain on top at all times and still submit to anything Keith wanted.

At one point Keith said, “I don’t want to ruin the bed cover. Take off those dirty old cowboy boots and the rest of your clothes.” Then he smacked Judd’s shoulder and pushed him backward in a playful but firm way.

Judd jumped off the bed, kicked off his dirty boots, and yanked off all his clothes so fast Keith barely had time to see his erection. But what Keith did see made him inhale and hold his palm to his chest. He could have hung one of his landlord’s glittery pine cone holiday wreaths on it and still had room to spare for a silver bell or two.

When Judd returned to the bed, Keith reached for his thighs and pulled him forward until Judd’s knees were even with Keith’s shoulders. Keith reached up with both hands and grabbed him again. He licked his lips and looked into Judd’s dark eyes at the same time. When Keith opened his mouth and nodded, Judd leaned forward until the tip of his dick slipped into Keith’s mouth. A moment after that, Judd leaned all the way over, braced his hands against the bed, and adjusted his position so that his crotch would be even with Keith’s mouth.

Keith tried to take him all the way into his mouth, but he soon discovered it was futile to even try. Keith’s lips wouldn’t stretch that far; he could only take so much without choking to death. At one point he wanted the entire dick in his mouth so desperately he almost spread his lips apart with his fingers to see if that would help. But then he reconsidered that move, realizing it might be too vulgar for a first encounter, especially with someone he would see all the time. So he wound up finding a comfortable position that seemed to please Judd, and one that wouldn’t make him gag too much. He took the bottom half of Judd’s dick with his right hand, and started sucking the top half so that his fist would provide a barrier between Judd’s pubic hair and his lips. If he hadn’t done that, and Judd had started fucking his face, Keith would have started gagging and it would have been impossible to suck him off at all.

But Keith had never been one to back off from a challenge, especially when it came to a man. He wound up jacking and sucking Judd at the same time. At certain points, he would remove Judd from his mouth and reach for his balls. They were a little larger than most men’s and it took a while at first for Judd to shove them both into his mouth at the same time. But each move he made, no matter how difficult at first, turned out to be worth his efforts. Judd had a strong masculine scent Keith continued to inhale, and his sack tasted just as strong. The smell was an odd combination of damp towels and cinnamon coffee, but the taste was impossible to compare to anything else without laughing aloud.