Military Emancipation

by David O. Sullivan

  Marc rushed forward, taking Adam into his arms, making him feel better. “Welcome home. I expected you’d return in this condition. Autumn will finish cooking. I’ll give you a shower, and after a light dinner, you get a massage.”

  Adam noted their portable massage table was set up. “You two are great. What’s for dinner?”

  Autumn waved a wooden spoon from the kitchen. “Eggplant parmigiana, whole wheat pasta with organic tomato sauce, green salad, and small steaks for you men.”

  Adam waved at her. Marc guided him to their bathroom where he undressed Adam and led him to the shower. Marc striped and joined him. He donned a weird glove.

  “What’s that?”

  Marc soaped it. “It’s an exfoliation and buffing glove. It’s gently rough, and it cleans and stimulates the skin.” He washed Adam’s chest with it. “It’s made from jute and provides good stimulation and exfoliation without irritating the skin.”

  “Damn, that sounded like a commercial, but it’s awesome. Where’d you hear about this?”

  “A couple of the nurses talked about it.”

  Adam queried, “You’re not getting kinky, are you? Not going to use it on my dick?”

  Marc smirked. “I will if you want me to.”

  “No thanks.”

  Marc scrubbed Adam’s body, front and back. The new sensation stimulated his skin, and his cock stiffened. Marc used the glove on Adam’s nuts, then used the hand-held showerhead to rinse him. With a grin, Marc knelt and took Adam’s prick into his mouth. Watching Adam, Marc took more and more of Adam’s cock until it hit the back of his throat. Adam was jealous that Marc could swallow a whole cock. Then Marc worked his throat muscles so they massaged Adam’s dick. That went on for thirty or more seconds before Marc withdrew to suck air.

  “Marc, that’s awesome. Been a while since you’ve done that. I want to be able to do that for you.”

  “I know I promised cock sucking lessons, but we never seem to get around to it. It doesn’t come naturally. Someone taught me.” He smirked and took it again deep in his throat and worked the throat muscles.

  The hot water beat on them, and Adam ran his hands over Marc’s head, admiring the sailor he loved. A while later, Adam groaned in joy and came down Marc’s throat. They kissed, and Marc jacked off against Adam. They hugged, kissed, and rinsed in silence. Marc tended to Adam by drying him, using the lavender powder Adam liked, and dressing them.

  Adam grabbed Marc just before they left their room and pulled him close. “I love you. I love you so much for so many reasons. I don’t expect you to say it back. Actions speak louder than words. Doing all this tells me where your heart is.” They kissed.

  They had a leisurely dinner with candles. It had to be Marc’s idea since he loved them. Adam and Autumn shared a bottle of wine, and Marc had chocolate milk as usual.

  Adam asked, “Autumn, what’s up with Jeannette? I thought you’d be with her this weekend.”

  “She’s off visiting relatives.” A smile brewed on her face.

  Adam added, “You two have really hit it off, huh?”

  She closed her eyes, sighed, and opened them. “Thanks to you two. I’ve never been afraid or shy to ask a girl out, but I was with Jeannette. She’s special in a lot of ways. I’m falling for her. She bought me cowgirl boots. I never thought I’d like that stuff, but when I wear them, they make my body sizzle inside. I feel sexy. Thanks, guys, for setting me up with her.”

  Adam said, “It was Marc. I just didn’t stop him from playing matchmaker.”

  They pitched in to clean after dinner.

  Autumn crowed, “I’ll be in my room, texting Jeannette, so you guys can have privacy for the massage. I’m not interested in seeing Adam’s hairy ass.”

  “How do you know I have a hairy ass?”

  She stuck her tongue out. “All guys do. Guys got cooties.” She howled at her joke.

  Adam countered, “Girls got cooties.”

  She took herself to her room. Adam slowly undressed. The day’s events made him sore. He got on the massage table face down, and Marc reduced his attire to just his briefs.

  Adam asked, “Is this a therapeutic massage or sexual massage?”

  Marc warmed the massage lotion in the microwave and worked Adam’s back. “Sex is therapeutic.” He kissed Adam’s neck. “I missed you when I woke alone this morning. I miss being with you, but I know you left early to help Lawrence.”

  Marc’s strong hands relaxed Adam’s tight muscles.

  Adam said, “I thought of you all day at Lawrence’s. He and his wife were really grateful for the help. At one point, his wife was inside, and the guys chatted. Lawrence asked me about you and Autumn.” He moaned. “Oh, yeah, there, between my shoulder blades and my low back, too.”

  Marc asked, “Did they say anything else?”

  “I was so intent on getting a plant in properly, I almost outed us. Robby asked how it was sharing a bed with a guy. I said just like being married: we say goodnight, turn away from each other, never have sex, and get through life.”

  Marc stopped massaging. “Nothing wrong with that, even if it is just a cover story.”

  Adam continued. “Robby asked, ‘so when you guys do have sex, who’s the top and who’s the bottom?’ I was focused on the plant and almost said the truth but caught myself. I said we were both waiting to get married before having sex. Then I turned it to a possible four-way with two women.”

  “Did they buy it?”

  Adam groaned as Marc moved down to Adam’s sore legs. “I don’t know. I think Robby was disappointed. He said, for one semester in college, he had to share a bed with a guy who let him stay in his studio apartment. Robby said he let the guy have sex with him because he felt he owed him.” Adam shrugged. “No one said anything. A lot of people think we’re gay and assume Autumn is because she moved in with us.”

  Marc said, “The legal challenges and court decisions are moving forward. It’s only a matter of time before a judge declares Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell to be unconstitutional.” Marc massaged Adam’s feet. “Sometimes I think it has to end, and that it’s the only logical thing to do. Other times, I’m afraid it never will go away. The blacks had their Emancipation Proclamation in 1862. When are we going to get ours?”

  Adam tried to focus on Marc’s words. That was the closest Marc came to admitting he was gay, but Adam said nothing.

  “Hell, President Obama made a campaign promise in 2008 to end it, and Congress has still failed to act. It’s not fair.”

  “Hey, let’s forget that for now and focus on this great massage,” Adam said.

  Marc patted Adam’s ass, indicating for him to roll over. He did, sporting a boner.

  Marc smiled and fondled Adam’s nuts. “Your hair is growing out. I’ll have to trim you this week.”

  “Are you going to pretend I’m in the hospital and you’re a nurse?”

  “Yeah. I think you’ll be a naïve, innocent eighteen-year-old. It’ll be your first time in the hospital, and you’ll be lonely and afraid, not able to sleep. I’ll just have to seduce you to help you into slumber land.”

  Adam loved their role-playing. Marc massaged the front of Adam’s arms and legs and then swallowed Adam’s cock, using his throat muscles again.

  Adam moaned. “What if Autumn comes out?”

  Marc paused from servicing Adam’s dick. “She won’t come out. They’ll kick her out of the Navy.”

  “Asshole. I mean out from her room.”

  “She won’t. She knows we’re doing it. She’s really nice, for a girl.” Marc returned to taking Adam’s dick to its depth.

  Adam stiffened his body, tried to relax it, and tightened again. “You have to teach me to get past my gagging. I want to do that to you.”

  Marc didn’t answer. He only paused to wet his finger. Adam knew what he was going to do. Marc slipped a finger in Adam’s ass, and it made Adam come. He shrieked and laughed.

  “You’re awesome. Do you want me to suck you?”
<
br />   Marc said, “No. You’ll try to take too much and gag. I’ll fuck you, facing you.” He corrected himself. “I’ll make love to you.”

  Adam held Marc’s hand. “You’re trying to be so caring and accommodating. I know you prefer from behind.”

  “I’m trying to re-write old programs. My head is screwed up.”

  “Only with certain things.”

  Adam rested on his back and lifted his legs. Marc lubed his cock and Adam’s ass with massage oil and made a drawn-out entry, inserting his cock half an inch at a time. Their gazes met.

  Even though Adam came, a swirling of sensations overwhelmed him. The excitement of the face-to-face position, combined with the exhaustion of physical labor, relaxation of massage, and a meal all combined to fill Adam with emotion. He was afraid he’d sob.

  Marc jammed his eyes shut and shook his head. Moments later, he groaned and growled as he came. It would be many seconds before he opened his eyes. Adam waited, knowing Marc’s eyes would look like he’d been to a fantasyland and back.

  Marc’s eyes opened, and he rested on Adam’s chest. “Why are you smirking?”

  “Because you have that sweet, little-boy look like you’ve been to a far-away place.”

  They held each other for a while. Marc got a washcloth to clean them, and they went to bed and cuddled.

  “Christmas is coming up. Is there anything special you’d like?” Adam asked.

  “How about the end of DADT?”

  “I’ll text Santa Claus about it.”

  Marc didn’t answer.

  “What’s going on in your head? I can hear it.”

  “Nothing.”

  “Marc, don’t lie to me. I’ll tell Autumn, and she’ll spank you.”

  “I’d rather you spank me.”

  “You’d like that,” Adam said. They kissed. “Seriously, what’s going on?”

  Marc sighed. “I think my holiday mood is kicking in. I felt it the week of Thanksgiving but shrugged it off. Lately, it’s back.”

  “Last year, you just acted like a bitch and didn’t tell me what it was. I was afraid you were going to leave me, that I’d done something terribly wrong. What are we going to do about it?”

  Marc squeezed Adam. “I’m sorry about that. I’ve never had a we to work with me on it.”

  “You know you’re not alone. A couple of million people go through this every year.”

  “I want Don’t Ask to be gone,” Marc said.

  “We all do. It’s not fair.”

  Marc intertwined their fingers. “What do you want for Christmas?”

  “I want my lover to be happy. Maybe in sexy briefs, tied up in pretty wrappings, so I can leisurely remove them.” They chuckled. Adam broached the new subject. “I’ve fantasized about us buying a house together.”

  “What? An RV? We have two years left in our current assignments, then we can be shipped anywhere in the world.”

  The sharp tone in Marc’s voice made Adam regret he said it.

  “I’m sorry. That sounded bitchy.”

  Marc was making progress. He grew up with I’m sorry lacking in the family vocabulary. They kissed and held hands. The closest word Adam could find to describe how he felt was ecstasy. They drifted to sleep.

  * * * *

  Marc sat pensively in the lounge at work, flipping through a magazine during his shift. Being past midnight, it was officially Christmas Day. He longed to be home and next to Adam. Fortunately, only one patient was on the floor, and Marc was the only nurse on duty.

  Dr. Tanni Franks blew into the room. She walked up behind Marc and squeezed his shoulders, as she was prone to doing to other staff members. She usually dressed to kill, but tonight’s attire was notched higher. She came in to finish the shift when another doctor went home sick. Dr. Franks’ dress showed her knees, and her red spike heels made her taller than her usual six-foot stature. The shoulder massage felt good. They engaged in small talk.

  “We hardly get to work around each other.” She said, “I know so little about you, and I’m a people person. Got anyone waiting for you when you get home?”

  Marc tensed a bit. “Just two sleeping roommates. You?”

  “My husband is home in Michigan,” she said. Marc jumped when she kissed his neck. “You can come home with me.”

  Marc knew he should have reacted faster. His silence likely led her on. One hand palmed his chest. The next moment, she kissed his lips. He pulled off.

  “You’ve been drinking, and I don’t fool around with married people.”

  “Marc, it’s Christmas, and I’m lonely. A few drinks are okay this time of year. I don’t want to go home to an empty place.” She held his head and kissed him hard, and one hand went to his cock and squeezed.

  “Doctor, this is wrong on many levels.” He was trapped in a corner and didn’t want to use force to get away.

  “Don’t be such a tight ass. I need something that you have. When I first met you, I set my sights on you. Do you have any idea how hot you are, how many women want you? You’re intelligent, superb in your job, easy going, and have a sweet smile. All that makes me so hot for you.” She squeezed his cock under his scrubs again.

  Marc shoved her aside. “No! This is wrong, and you could get in trouble for having alcohol in you while on duty. You’re married—”

  “Yeah, I know, you don’t fool around with married people. People? Why not married women?” She tilted her head. Their gazes met. “Take me to bed, and I won’t tell.”

  He knew what she meant but wouldn’t concede. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. We shouldn’t be having this conversation, especially on duty and you being intoxicated.”

  She glared. “Having a few drinks will get me a reprimand, but being gay will get you kicked out.”

  He smirked. “I’m not gay. You’re mad because my ethics are stronger than yours, and your ego can’t take the rejection.”

  She fired back. “You had the hottest woman on base kissing and groping you, but you didn’t get a boner. You’re gay. I know one when I see one.”

  “You’re out of line, Lieutenant. I should report you.”

  “I’m a lieutenant and a doctor. The admiral will believe my version. I’ll deny any drinking and just say you made it up to hurt me, Ensign.”

  There were so many things Marc wanted to say, but he chose to divert himself from the scene. He walked out and texted Adam from an empty patient room about what had occurred. His relief arrived on time at six A.M. Dr. Franks was nowhere to be found. Marc drove home in a foul mood.

  Chapter 5

  Marc woke to Adam gently blowing on his face.

  Adam hovered over Marc, grinning wide. “Merry Christmas.” They kissed, and Adam brought a glass of chocolate milk and a straw to Marc’s mouth. “It’s noon. You said to wake you.”

  He sipped. “Yummmmm. What a way to wake up.” They kissed some more. “I didn’t see Autumn’s car when I drove in this morning.”

  Adam nibbled Marc’s ear and chin. “She got a late call from Jeannette, inviting her to drive to Las Vegas. She wasn’t going to because we’d agreed to do Christmas Day here, but you know how it is when you’re young and in lust.”

  Marc nodded but didn’t smile.

  “What’s going on in your head?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Come on, don’t give me nothing where there is something.”

  “Christmas was never special for me. Dad would always get drunk, mom would become depressed, and us kids would be hit or punished. That happened every year as long as I can remember.” Marc sighed. “Sorry to put a damper on things.”

  “I agreed to live with you for better or worse.”

  Marc shook his head. “Huh?”

  “That’s what I told myself. I never got around to verbalizing it.” Adam gave Marc more chocolate milk. “Do you want to go for a walk, run, or ride to burn up stress?”

  “How about a run?” Marc popped out of bed, and the guys dressed in running gear.


  Adam grabbed his smart phone. “Ah, you texted last night. I must have been asleep and didn’t see it before.” He read it. “Damn. I can’t believe that doctor came on to you and grabbed your cock. That’s sexual assault. What a bitch. It makes me want to inject her with something.”

  The guys ran on city streets and sidewalks in the pleasant, mild winter weather. At first, it was in silence. Later, Marc vented over his family, asinine and unloving father, and disappointments. He felt better but worried about dumping on Adam.

  “It’s good to let it out.”

  A San Diego motorcycle officer passed them, made a U-turn, drove next to them, and stopped. No one else was around. The male officer got off his cycle, removed his helmet, and stood tall. He said, “Let’s see some ID from you two queer bastards.”

  Marc smirked.

  Adam countered, “Fuck you. Just shoot us, faggot.” They ran on.

  The officer whined, “Hey, come on, don’t leave me.” The guys trotted back. The officer smiled. “Merry Christmas, guys.”

  Marc extended his hand. “Merry Christmas, Angelo.”

  Adam did the same. “Merry Christmas, buddy. Why are you working on Christmas? You have enough seniority to get it off.”

  “I traded shifts to let one of the young coppers have the day off because he has little kids. Tim did the same thing. He’s working a patrol car in the east side of town. He and I will have our private celebration tonight.”

  Adam teased. “Be safe. Neither of you guys can afford to get pregnant.” They all laughed. “How are things in the department?”

  “Still homophobic with occasional rays of fairness. How are things in the Navy?”

  Adam said, “The ice age is melting. I’m sure Don’t Ask will be eliminated in the next few years.”

  Marc groaned. “No, it won’t. Promises and more promises.”

  Angelo looked at Adam. “Marc in a bad mood?” Adam nodded. Angelo dropped a hand on Marc’s shoulder. “It’ll get better. I promise.”

  Marc smiled. “Coming from you, I’m truly encouraged.”

  Angelo chatted with them a while as he liked to do. He ended their meeting with, “If I could give you two a hug and kiss I would, but who knows who’s watching, waiting to report me.”