The seemingly endless flat grassland that comprised the coastal plain was mind-numbing. Was I really thinking about coming back here to the town of my youth? I tried to remember the things I liked about growing up here, small town, less traffic, less than an hour to the ocean, no harsh winters. That last one trumped all the others. I’d just spent five years in a small town near Sandusky, Ohio. The winters were more brutal than anything I had ever imagined. I shivered just thinking about it.
A sign just ahead announced the turnoff to Anonymity. I remember the buzz that made in fifth grade when my fifteen classmates and I discovered the name of our little town. There were sixteen of us in that class, and fourteen of us made it to graduation. One graduated the next December, and poor Paula Lockhart didn’t make it out of seventh grade; drunkard Sam Butler had hit her with his car. She was a smart, kind, beautiful girl with a bright future. Thinking of her always brought tears to my eyes.
Turning the car onto FM 802, I cleared my head of thoughts of the past. I knew they would continue to invade my head as I drove by so many familiar things, but this trip was about my future, not about my past or “the what could have beens” or “should have beens”. As I neared the town, I could see the small cluster of buildings grow larger. I had checked out a satellite view of the town. In the past ten years, only one new building and one new roof visibly demonstrated that people still lived there.
I turned onto Main Street, and there in all its splendor of rot and decay stood the town of Anonymity. The “Little Store” with gas pumps in the front still served the residents that refused to give up. In my imagination, I saw myself as the vanguard of a rebirth, but in reality, this little town had nothing to offer aside from its solitude.
I passed Houston Street; my friend Caleb lived near the end of the pavement where the asphalt became caliche, and the county had abandoned the road’s connection to 802 years before our births. He always talked about going to work on his uncle's shrimping boat. I tried not to remember the last time I saw him and said good-bye. I wondered whether he still lived near here, or had he moved to work for his uncle?
Ahead, I saw a Cadillac Escalade stop in front of a house that I knew, the house that I grew up in. I thought my sister and I had sold it to some flippers about five years ago, but for some reason, they never concluded the deal, and the county appraisal district contacted me through the tax office. I didn’t understand the legality of everything, but I was told I could claim deed to the place by paying back taxes of $1,257. I paid over the phone with a credit card, and now I was getting the key to the old house.
Parking the car in the driveway, I met the woman from the Escalade on the porch. She had a document for me to sign and then handed me the key. I could tell it was my father’s old key. I held it in my hand and walked around the old house. It was a typical 1890s farmhouse. I don’t think it had any updates since the bathroom was installed in the 1950s. The metal roof still looked good from out here. I should probably have an expert examine the house. I could tell by looking down the north side of the house that it needed to be releveled.
Even if the house needed extensive remodeling, I had only invested a small amount of cash, and my needs were small. Once a month, I needed to have access to the Internet to send my work and to access my next month’s work. It’s what I had done since my company had allowed employees to go remote, and although I enjoyed the summers in Ohio, the winters here were much milder.
I prepared myself for the inside. I stood in the shade of the porch and pushed the key into the slot. From behind me, I heard a horn; I turned to see a well-tanned man get out of an old beat-up pickup truck and race up the sidewalk toward me.
Caleb Johnson hugged me. I couldn’t believe he was here. I guessed that he must still live here.
“Justin, wow! I can’t believe it’s you. You look really good. Life must be treating you well.”
“Yeah. Caleb. As I drove up and passed the street you used to live on, I wondered where you might be.”
“Same place. Never left it,” Caleb gave me a big smile. Did he not remember our last time together?
“How’d you know I was here?” I began to imagine spies in every window.
“The lady from the tax office stopped up at the ‘Little Store’ and was talking about how you were back in your mom and dad’s old place. I just happened to be there. I got off early today, and I’m sure glad I did.”
I smiled at him. I was sure he had grown and an inch or two taller, and I was positive he had filled out with nice broad shoulders and a chest worth complimenting. His t-shirt was slightly clingy, and I could tell he had not developed a beer paunch like so many men our age had. “How’s life treating you, Caleb.”
“Well,” Caleb hesitated. “Um. Why don’t I save that story for when we’ve had a few beers. Anyway, I’m here to offer my services. I’ve got no plans for this afternoon, so if you need help moving in, I’m here.”
I looked down at the key still in the slot; I hadn’t even turned it. My plans for quietly reminiscing in my old room and taking inventory didn’t seem as important as reconnecting with a friend. “I’d love the company,” I replied. I turned the key and pushed the door in.
A breeze blew into the room and started an avalanche of dust. Everything looked as it had that last day after my dad’s funeral except for the layers of dust. I knew my sister had not taken much; she said she didn’t want or need anything. We removed Dad’s papers, and we had let the rest go with the house. It looked like the rest was still here.
“Fuck, man. This is kind of creepy.” Caleb was the first person I’d ever heard say that work. It still surprised me how easily it fell from his lips.
I’d only said it once. When I told that loser piece of shit Rob the slut to get the f out of my apartment. I’d called a prayer line after that to help me stop hating him so much that I wanted him to die a horrible death. Does everyone have a man like that in their lives? Or is it only gay men? Or is it only me? That's the past, I reminded myself. Look forward.
“Come on, Justin, go on in. You’re creeping me out just standing and staring at it.”
“Sorry, Caleb. I just wasn’t expecting this.” I turned and looked at him. He seemed a little angelic in the glow from the sunlight on the dust particles. I wasn’t expecting that either. I stepped into the house.
I couldn’t believe the dust. It was as if Amelia Bedelia had been dusting it every day for the past five years. I would need to buy some of those rags that electrostatically grabbed onto the dust.
“Do you think there’s still a vacuum here, or should I go to my house and get one?”
“There used to be one in the closet.” I grabbed Caleb’s arm. “But be careful. Who knows what’s in there now.”
Caleb took a step toward me and then shook his head. “You asshole.”
I started laughing. It was the first time I had laughed like that in a long time.
“Think that’s funny, huh?” He pushed me against the wall; his strong arms pinned my shoulders to it.
“You’re getting me dirty.” I looked into his face. He was angry, but his eyes looked at me that way I longed to be looked at. I looked at his mouth and then back at his eyes. He leaned closer.
“I need to find the vacuum cleaner.” He pushed himself away. He sounded angry.
“Hey, buddy, are you ok?”
“Yeah, I’m sorry. I’m just edgy. I’m just so excited to see you again, and then with this place looking abandoned--well, I guess it was. I don’t know. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have pushed you.”
“Hey, it’s ok. I was just playing around. It should be in this closet.” I opened the closet door, and there was the old Hoover. The electricity is supposed to be turned on.
Caleb plugged in the vacuum, and it turned on when he pressed the button with his foot. I went into the kitchen and washed off the counters. I noticed that the refrigerator door was ajar, and turned it on. Nothing. I checked, and it was plugged in. New refrigerator on the list. I would have had to replace it anyway. The new ones are much more energy efficient. Looking at the kitchen, I decided that all the appliances would need to be updated. There was a double oven in the corner, and I knew that the bottom unit hadn’t worked during my entire childhood.
I heard the vacuum turn off, and Caleb came into the room. “Well, it’s a start.”
“Thanks. Tell me what you think here. I’m going to have to replace the appliances. The refrigerator is broken, and the oven has never worked right. Do you think I should gut it and do the whole thing over?”
“So, you’re planning to stay?” A smile spread across his lips.
“Yeah, I am.”
“As a welcome home party, I want to get us burgers from the ‘Little Store’. We can eat them there or we can eat them at my place. Or do you want to drive to the beach and eat them there.”
“Let’s eat them at your place.” I was thinking that if I got uncomfortable, it’d be easier for me to leave. “I want to go to the beach, but I want to spend the day. Now, tell me what you think about the kitchen.”
“Redo it. You can still have a farmhouse style if you want, but it’ll be clean and modern. You should redo the floors while you’re at it. This 1920s linoleum is a little out of fashion.”
“I bet you want hardwood floors throughout.”
“Luxury vinyl will do for me. We should get the design elements clear before we start to demo. I know someone who can deliver a demolition dumpster.”
“A what?” I asked.
“It’s a big trash dumpster to put all the stuff you’re throwing away. They haul it off once it’s full. My boss remodeled a bathroom, and it’s what they used.”
“OK. Order up.”
“Will do. I’m going to get the tape measure, so we can measure this room. Then we can draw up some plans for you.”
Caleb helped me measure the room; he included things like the distance between the wall and the drain for the sink. He also made sure all the windows were marked. He seemed quite skilled, and he attributed it to watching DIY and HGTV. I think he had an innate ability with these things. It was fun to watch him get so engaged.
We are our dinner on two lounge chairs under an oak tree in his yard. The tree had grown since the last time I was here. He lived in the same single-wide trailer that he had grown up in. His parents had passed on a few years after we had graduated from Anson Jones High School. I was surprised at how neat the yard looked. I remembered barely able to get through the high grass to the porch steps. At the time, he told me that they didn’t own a mower, but I remember that his house was a real mess, too. His parents were not the cleanest people in the county.
Caleb’s room was always immaculate. Now, the entire trailer was eat-from-the-floor clean. I noted that Caleb was a minimalist. The living room had a sofa and a lamp. A two-person table filled the dining room. Nothing was on the counter in the kitchen. The bedroom had a bed and an old oak dresser and nothing else.
While we ate our cheeseburgers and drank our beers, I found out that Caleb’s regular job was working on a farm on the other side of the county line. He took care of the sorghum crop and did other small jobs as needed. He asked what I did. I told him that I write copy for instruction manuals. I keep them updated. Someone in a copy puts together a draft for something similar, and I transform it into a work of art. Then I send it back for review; they destroy the art part and send it to me with all the life bled out of it. I clean it up and send it back. Any other revisions are handled by a second writer. He said it sounded interesting, but I’m not sure he wasn’t trying to be nice.
Caleb caught me staring at him several times. At one point, I excused myself to use the bathroom. I wasn’t used to that much beer. When I came out, Caleb was standing in the hall.
“Was I taking too long?” I joked.
“No. I thought you might want to help me make the bed in the other room. Your house is still too dusty for you to sleep in. I figured you could stay overnight.”
“Like I did when we were kids? I had such a good time.”
Caleb’s expression went blank.
“Are you OK?”
“No.” His tone was flat and serious. He turned for the front bedroom, his old room.
I followed him inside. The room was pristine. The bed was made. “We don’t need to make the bed; it’s already made.”
“The sheets aren’t fresh,” replied Caleb.
“Who’s slept in them?”
“No one.” He reached to pull down the cover.
I stepped closer to him and grabbed his hand. “What is it, Caleb?” I thought about the last time I was here.
He stepped away and covered his face. He sat down on the bed. He looked like the little boy I had once seen after his father had yelled at him.
“I tried to hate you, you know.” His voice was barely audible.
I sat down next to him. I was beside a pressure cooker. Some of the steam had just been released, a small amount. Would the rest come out in slow amounts, or was I to experience an explosion. At this proximity, I was bound to be injured were it to explode.
“Tell me. Say the things you’ve wanted to say.”
“You’ll hate me.”
“That’s not possible. You just said you tried to hate me. It sounds as though you didn’t succeed.” I put my hand on his arm and he lifted his head. His eyes were moist.
“You stayed over my house once before.”
“I remember.”
“I woke up in the middle of the night, and you were snuggled up to me, and it made mine hard. I touched myself. It felt so good, and it felt so good to have you next to me. When I woke up the next morning, I was snuggled up to you, and my dick was hard. When you woke up, you didn’t look at me. You never stayed over again.”
“My mother wouldn’t let me. When she dropped me off that night, she was horrified at how dirty the house was. She said she let me stay because she didn’t know what to do. I told her that your room was clean, but she said no. I wish you had told me.”
“It was because I was hard. Because you made me hard.
“No, Caleb. It wasn’t.” I moved my hand up and down his arm.
“You think I’m being silly. Upset over something so small and so long ago.”
“It wasn’t so small.”
“What?”
“Your boner, it wasn’t that small. I was jealous because it was bigger than mine.”
“You were jealous of me?”
“Why is that so difficult to imagine. You were smarter. You were better looking. You had a bigger dick. My not coming over to spend the night was not because of your boner. I looked up to you, admired you.”
I put my head against his. “I wish I’d dared to tell you these things then. But I still don’t understand why you tried to hate me.”
“Do you remember what you said to me when you left? Do you Justin?”
“Yes,” I whispered. “I told you that I loved you.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you.”
“Caleb, please.”
“Louder,” Caleb insisted.
I sat back. “I told you that I love you.”
“That’s right, and then you left. And you didn’t come back for me. You were gone.”
“But you told me not to say it ever again.”
“Because you were leaving.”
I could hear more anger in Caleb’s voice and tears.
“I loved you, Justin. Oh. Fuck. I still do. I couldn’t hate you.”
“Why didn’t you write back? All those letters I sent you, and not one word from you. I begged you to visit me.”
“What letters?” He seemed confused. “I never got any letters.”
“I wrote to you every week that first year then every month.” Tears began to fill my eyes. I wasn’t going to do this. I wasn’t going to go there. “I wanted so much to hear from you.”
“I never got any of them. I wasn’t allowed to get the mail. They never gave me any letters from you.”
The room fell silent as the weight of what he had just revealed sank in. I thought about Caleb’s father. I remembered that he once said to us, “Y'all spend too much time together. People are gonna talk.” I thought he was complaining that Caleb wasn’t spending enough time on his chores. Could he have sensed something and put a stop to it?
I wrapped Caleb in my arms. It doesn’t matter what anyone tried to do. It’s in the past. We can’t change what we did or didn’t do. What I do know is that I loved you for almost as long as I can remember. I don’t remember a time that I didn’t know you.”
“Oh, Justin. I love you, but is it possible for us to build something together with what’s happened.
“It is.” I slid to the center of the bed. “Come here. Lie on top of me. I want to feel the weight of you pushing me down.”
Caleb moved over me. I felt his legs on mine. Our groins, abdomens, and chest aligned. I reached up and wiped away a tear still on his cheek, and I kissed him. Gently at first and gradually with more passion. His tongue ventured forth and caressed my lips. When it entered my mouth, I met it with mine. The tips of our tongues fought a duel.
The intensity of the kiss led to a hardness forming in our jeans. I could feel his growing erection. Mine, although still trapped within my briefs and jeans could sense the rhythmic motion of his.
Caleb pulled his face from mine. It was as though he wanted to speak and could not find the words.
“This is now,” I whispered, “and this can be our future if you want it.”
“I do want it.” He leaned forward and kissed me again.
His kisses seemed to hypersensitize my entire being. Anyplace on my body that Caleb touched me gave me jolts of pleasure. My cock strained within its confines; it became harder. I wanted to pull my pants open and jerk it. The rigidity of Caleb’s rod and the pressure of his weight was confusing my brain. I couldn’t decide whether to grab his head and pull it tightly to mine or to grab his ass and crush our groins together. I couldn’t spread my legs; Caleb had me pinned. His ass seemed to pivot on his hips. I couldn’t breath; I gasped for air and then the entire musculature of my body tightened, and I came. I shuddered three times, and each time I felt a release, and all was still.
Caleb slid to my right side, his lips continued to press against my jaw. I remained in awe of what had just happened. My body seemed relaxed and my breathing slowed. I turned my head to Caleb and our lips grazed. He smiled.
“Justin, I want you to come to my bed tonight and every night.”
“But isn’t this the bed where we first slept together?”
“Yes.”
“Then this is the bed I want to share with you,” I told him.
He smiled again, and I remembered how his smile had always made me feel better; no matter how sad or ill I felt, his smile lifted my spirits.
I reached down and felt the front of his jeans. His cock was still firm. I rubbed my hand over it, and Caleb let out a little moan. I moved down and unbuttoned and unzipped his worn jeans. He helped me slide them down. His briefs came down with them, and we left them crumpled on the corner of the bed. I had always remembered his dick was a monster, but it was about seven inches long and not too thick but certainly not a pencil. Once uncovered, it started to get harder. The foreskin did not cover the entire head, and even in the dim light of the room, I could see the exposed slit. Clear pre-cum filled the tiny slit. I put my tongue against it and moved my tongue back and forth. I heard a little clipped moan, and I put as much of his cock in my mouth as I could. Circumference-wise, it fit perfectly. About an inch was left when the head hit the back of my mouth. I pushed and swallowed, and the head of his dick popped into my throat. Caleb jerked and moaned.
I held my breath and ran my tongue up and down his shaft. I pulled back and took a deep breath, and then I pulled him in. I liked the feeling of his head popping into and out of my throat. I was enjoying myself when Caleb threw his arms onto the bed. I saw him clench his fist, and he took a deep breath. He tried to say something, but only a squeal came from his lips. A huge load of cum came from his dick. I pushed him all the way in to know what it would feel like to have him cum into my throat without having to swallow, but I got the sense of drowning. I swallowed the rest in the normal way and felt satisfied that part of him was remaining in me. I wiped my mouth and moved up to kiss him.
“You know, you now have penis breath.”
“But it’s your penis, so I don’t mind.”
“Justin, let’s clean up and go to bed naked.”
“That’s a great idea. I’m kinda wet. I feel as though I’ve pissed myself.”
“Don’t come so much next time.”
“I don’t think that will be a problem. I have the idea that you’re going to keep me pretty emptied in that department.
Caleb gave me that smile.
-----
The next week was busy. Caleb was working almost full-time with his job at the farm. I was traveling to the big city to plan out the kitchen. Caleb got in contact with someone who could upgrade the septic system, and he came out to do an initial inspection. A demolition dumpster arrived without fanfare. I was told to call when it needed to be switched out.
In the evenings, we made sure to relax. I enjoyed the time in the old bed. We explored each other and woke up rested the next day. Both of us were anal virgins, and we talked about it. While we both wanted to know the other in that way, we wanted to learn more about preparing (in other words, getting clean).
One day, early on, Caleb came home early and found me dismantling the kitchen. I had three weeks before the installers came. We’d found hardwood floors under the linoleum, so I wanted to get the cabinets out, get the hardwood guy in (he only had a small window of time for me), put protection down. Everything had to go like clockwork. Caleb started helping me, and things were moving along quite well when the alarms went off on the phone.
“Great,” remarked Caleb.
“You need to work on your sarcasm tone,” I said as I read the tornado watch announcement. “This is nothing. You know we were expecting some rain.”
“Yeah, but it felt weird today, and it’s going to be more than rain if we need to watch for twisters. I’ll get you, my pretty,” he laughed.
“I’ll let you have me, but not until that last cabinet gets tossed.”
“So, tell me, Justin, what do I get after I take this out to the dumpster? Will I enjoy it?”
“Immensely. You get to help me pull up the last of this linoleum.” Caleb did his best frown, but I continued, “Then, I’m taking you to my old room.”
“Do we have hazmat suits?”
“You might be surprised by what you find. You know, I don’t sit around all day eating bonbons while you’re at work.”
“I know you don’t.”
“I know you know I don’t.”
Caleb jerked the last piece free and hauled the pieces out to the dumpster. I started pulling up the flooring that was under those last cabinets. I heard Caleb yelling something outside. I brought the last piece with me.
I was amazed by the sky. From the southwest to the northeast, it looked as those someone had drawn a line across the sky. On the backside of the line, the sky was pitch black; on our side, it still looked like a normal day.
Caleb pointed up. “That’s one helluva storm.”
We saw lightning crackle within the blackness.
“Come inside and help me with some blankets.”
Caleb’s face had a confused look.
“Inside now,” I yelled. He followed me in, and I took him upstairs to my old room.
“Hey,” Caleb said to me, “do you think now’s a good time?” Then he saw the room. “Wow, you cleaned this place up.” The room was spotless.
“I want to take these blankets and pillows to the storm shelter.” I gathered up a pile of blankets that I had just washed the week before. I pulled the two new pillows from the bed.
“What storm shelter?” Caleb asked as he struggled with the five blankets I had handed him.
“My mom insisted that we have a storm shelter. She grew up with basements, so we have one. I cleaned it out before I started in the bedroom. I’m not sure why, but I did. The only things down there now are two chairs.”
“We should grab the ice chest. It’s got some drinks and a couple of sandwiches.”
“Good idea.” By the time we got back outside, the wind had picked up and the darkness was almost over us. In the distance, I could see the rain. It was probably just a normal springtime thunderstorm, but it seemed different somehow.
Darkness filled the little concrete bunker. Caleb slid the cooler to the side and dumped the blankets on top. “I’ll be right back,” he declared, and he headed up the steps and back toward the house.
I dropped the blankets I had on those that Caleb has put on the cooler. I followed him out into the wind. “I think we should stay here,” I hollered, but I don’t think he heard me. Then I remembered the LED lantern I’d purchased for the storm shelter. I ran to the car and found them.
I saw the new towels I’d purchased in the bag next to the lantern. The towels back at the trailer were awful. They were the same ones Caleb had used as a kid. I had decided to turn them into cleaning rags. I ran back to the shelter in time to see Caleb struggling with the mattress to the bed. I put the towels and lantern inside and went to help him.
“What are you doing? Well, I see what you are doing. Here, let me help.”
“I can get it to the door; help me get it down the stairs.” We got the mattress inside, and Caleb grabbed me by the shoulders. “I just remembered that I’ve got some groceries in the car. I’m going to go get them.” He was out in a flash.
I went to the top of the steps and watched him run to the truck. He pulled several white plastic sacks from the truck and began running back when the sky let loose. I’d never seen rain like that. It was coming down so hard and fast that I’d swear there weren’t droplets, and it was colder than any rain I remembered. Caleb was sopping wet as he came in and I latched the door shut.
“I’m dripping everywhere.”
“OK. Have a seat on the steps. Let me get the lantern on.” An eerie glow filled the small space. I moved the mattress against the far wall and put it flat. After spreading a blanket on it, I moved the other blankets to a pile at the foot and threw the pillows next to them. I heard the wind as it began to howl outside. I could see Caleb shivering on the steps. I tossed all but one towel on the makeshift bed and took the plastic bags from him.
“Off with the shirt.” The t-shirt clung to him. On any other day, I would have liked to stare at him, but he shivered even more intensely. He finally got the t-shirt off, I rubbed the towel to dry and warm him up. He slipped off his pants; even his underwear was wet.
“Off with those and your shoes and socks.”
Our phones started shrieking. I looked at mine. “Severe thunderstorm warning until 5 a.m.”
“No shit, Sherlock,” muttered Caleb between chattering teeth.
"Talking to inanimate objects is a sign of a mental disorder."
"And," said Caleb dryly, "pissing off a man with a mental disorder is a sure way to get a phone shoved up your ass."
"I will admit that a phone is not exactly what I wanted you to use." I dried his legs and feet and took a little longer than I should have to dry off his manhood.
The alarm sounded again. “Maybe we should turn one of the phones off and save the juice.”
I switched mine off after reading the warning. “Tornado on the radar in the northwest part of the county. It’s not moving in our direction.”
Caleb blew out a deep breath.
I toweled his ass cheeks and then told him to sit down on the mattress. I wrung out his clothes and put them over the chairs. “I’m not sure how long they’ll take to dry,” I told him.
“It’s ok. Thanks for doing this for me.”
I sat down next to him on the mattress. “This mattress was a great idea.” I leaned over and kissed him. “I thought I’d get a chance to fix this up before we’d have to use it.”
“At least you got it cleaned out. Why don’t you strip down, and we’ll wait out the storm under some blankets.”
“I can always count on you for great ideas.” I stripped down and snuggled into the spot next to him. He kissed me on the ear and neck. I pressed closer to him. I reached down and held him in my hand; I moved his foreskin back and forth with my thumb. The howl of the wind did not let up and the roar of the rain against the metal door was deafening. Caleb pulled the lantern closer to us and pulled several blankets over us and adjusted them to reduce the noise. Once finished, he turned off the lantern.
In the blackness, I felt the warmth of his skin. He pulled me to him, and his lips caressed my neck. I was conflicted. I wanted to pleasure him (and I did enjoy it as well), but I wanted to remain in my safe spot. My safe, warm, cuddly spot won out.
I’m not sure if the hail falling against the metal door woke me. The alarm from the phone indicated a tornado warning. Caleb read the alert which said a tornado was in our area and headed toward the intersection of FM 802 and Main Street in Anonymity. Caleb showed it to me. I looked up at his face. An amber glow from his phone gave him a ghostly appearance. I tried to tell him that I loved him, but the cacophony from the hailstones made it impossible for us to hear. I hugged him. He hugged back. We each held onto the most important thing in the world to us. The roar of a freight train filled our ears. The banging of things on the metal door was beyond terrifying. Then the sound moved away, and it was quiet.
“Should I go look?” Caleb got up; he clicked on the lantern and turned it to low. I followed him to the door. He struggled to push it open. It wouldn’t budge. We both pushed. The door didn’t move.
“Do you think it’s jammed? Did something hit it?”
“Something may have landed on it,” Caleb replied.
“Let’s call 911 and let them know where we are. It’s not an emergency, but we are trapped. They can triage us to the bottom of the list.”
“My phone doesn’t have a signal.” Caleb held it up for me to see.
I looked for mine and turned it on. The words ‘No Signal’ were displayed across the screen. I showed my phone to him.
“There’ll be a signal tomorrow when things go back online.” He hugged me. “Your heart is beating fast. Are you OK?”
“I need you. My heart is beating fast because your naked body is pressed against mine.” I moved to the mattress and lay down on my back. I pulled my legs so the knees were next to my armpits. I looked up at Caleb. I spit into my hand and ran the wetness over my hole. “I want you, Caleb.” I saw his cock harden; I saw it move to a straight forward position.
“Use your spit to wet your cock,” I told him, and he complied. “Push it inside me. Take me. I’m yours; I always have been.”
Caleb got to his knees. He placed the head of his dick against my virgin hole and looked at me. “I love you, Justin.” Then he pushed very gently. I could sense his erection trying to open me. I took a deep breath, and he slipped ever so slightly into me. I spit again into my hand, and I rubbed it around my sphincter and onto his dick. He pushed again, and I pushed back, and he moved into me. I felt myself stretch; it was uncomfortable, but I didn’t care. The man I loved was joining me physically, and I wanted all of him. I added more saliva then pulled my ass cheeks farther apart.
“You’re so warm. I can’t believe how incredible this feels.” He bent his head forward, and I lifted my head. We kissed deeply, and he began to move in and out of me. Bursts of euphoria began to erupt from within me. When I clamped down on Caleb’s dick as he thrust forward into me, he moaned.
He began to push farther inside me than I thought possible. I couldn’t breathe; I wanted all of him in me, and suddenly the pressure inside me increased. I thought I would burst as he filled me with his seed. Caleb grunted and his cock seemed to swell and force my cock to maximum rigidity. Caleb pulled out, and I felt the juice escape from my hole. He clasped my cock with his mouth. The suction was incredible and with moments, I filled his mouth with cum. Without losing a drop, he took all of it, and when he moved up to kiss me, barely any was left. We continued to kiss until exhaustion overtook us.
We woke up to the faint sounds of someone hollering. I nudged Caleb awake and went to the metal door. I pushed again but could not get it to move. “We’re in here. Help.”
“They can’t come in; we’re naked.”
“Really, Caleb? You’d rather they find us dead rather than see us naked?”
“Our first fight," he laughed. "Here.” He tossed my underwear to me. “Put them on.” He grabbed his briefs from the chair. “They're still damp.”
“And I plan to keep them that way for a long time to come.” I banged on the door with my fist. It hurt, but the noise seemed loud. I noticed that Caleb had slipped in his pants and was handing mine to me. He started banging on the door while I put mine on. The voices grew nearer; we shouted again.
I heard a muffled noise on the other side of the door followed by banging against the door. Both of us hit the door again, and a tapping sound responded. Caleb grabbed me and kissed me. There was a scraping, and the door opened.
I let Caleb lead the way.
“You fellas alright?” It was the man from the ‘Little Store’; he and four other people stood there. “Looks like that light pole trapped you in there.”
“We’re OK,” Caleb told him. “What about everybody else.”
The county sheriff walked up. “It’s not looking good. You and these four are the only ones we’ve found alive.
I looked out at where my house once stood. A few piers remained. The house was completely gone. There were no houses across the street. I looked down at the ground and realized the grass had been pulled from the ground. I scanned around me. The tornado had blown the dumpster, now empty and on its side, to the edge of the yard. No buildings remained standing in the entire town. A few cinder blocks marked the location of the store on the corner. There were no trees; even the sorghum growing in the fields was gone. Broken telephone poles were scattered about. The one that had blocked our exit was at my feet. Tears filled my eyes. The town of Anonymity had been wiped from the face of the Earth.
I returned one more time to the town of my childhood. No one rebuilt. Ten others who lived there did not survive the disaster. Caleb and I felt fortunate. Neither of our vehicles was ever found, and all that remained of his trailer was the supporting frame. It had been anchored to the ground and was the only thing left on his piece of land. But we had each other.
We moved to Port Aransas. He got a job on a shrimp boat, and I continued to work from home. Our love grew as did our number of friends. When storms blew, we would huddle together on the mattress on the floor of our safe room.
And, yes, it was the same mattress.
