his blood beat upward from the pit of his loins in scalding waves. He looked at Blake as though he could consume and preserve him as he was at that very moment. Oh, Bob, he cried silently, I love you so much.
Again Blake's lips brushed his as though they were something infinitely rare and precious, something so fragile a breath would destroy them.
"Bob … oh … Bob," Gaylord whispered.
"You're sweet … Gay … very sweet."
Wordlessly, Gaylord leaned forward again into Blake's embrace. His arms stole up and lay about the thick neck, and his face was pillowed against a heaving chest.
"You are too," he whispered. "You are too, Bob." And once more he felt the unbelievable strength of the man, and a slow gentle melancholy was slowly possessing him.
A warm, naked hand had now begun an agonizing journey from button to button up the front of his wrinkled shirt, then down it went to the zipper in his trousers. Inside his trousers, he felt firm fingers dig into his flesh and round his groin. He gave no thoughts of the past. His many evenings of loneliness were forgotten. He remembered only love, bare arms embracing, the first kiss. He saw Blake in his football suit, looking like a bronze god and running like a wild deer down the entire field. He saw Blake naked and remembered how it had been. He remembered the grin. Even with his eyes closed he could see the tight muscles of the arms about him, and the hand massaging his bare flesh was very plain.
"Bob," he breathed, lingering on the name. He felt as if his entire being was boiling, was steaming like a boiler seeking a quick release. His heart pounded and back of his exploding mind a thousand dreams became alive.
With a violent fury he threw his arms around the other. He was not afraid of what was happening. This he knew was what he wanted. This was natural, as if it had happened many times, and he was eager and desirous for the act lurking there in pools of shadows. What a difference between this and that time with Thelma White. That had been an ordeal, but this …
He swayed unsteadily as the silence rose up around him, when
