Rafe and Bernard had been lovers for over 20 years and business partners for almost as long. They owned a high end furniture and design shop that had amassed a following over the years. Now, both in their mid 50's, their life was settled and predictable.
Both men were similar in appearance except that Bernard had a full, close cropped beard and Rafe was clean shaven. They maintained their diet and made frequent visits to the gym so that they were in better shape now than in their younger days.
In terms of personality, they were very different. Bernard was the laid-back sort, never too excited or flustered. Rafe was a bundle of nervous energy and a perfectionist. This had worked out well for them, both at home and professionally.
Whereas Bernard never seemed to notice dust or clutter, Rafe was constantly vigilant and tweaking everything. He was the one who took care of presentation and accounts at the store, Bernard had an unerring eye for good design and knew how to deal with customers. They were a perfect match.
The year before they had sold the Mock-Tudor large home they had owned and moved to where they now lived. They had a condo on the 15th floor of a new building that had sweeping views of the town from a small balcony off of the main living room. It had an open kitchen area attached to the big main room and there was a short hallway from the front door that also led to the bedroom and bathroom. It was very modern with shiny terrazzo floors, the total opposite of where they had previously lived.
They enjoyed their new lifestyle, the first time that either of them had lived anywhere but in a house.
Their next door neighbor was a widow named Mrs. White who was around their own age. She had always been very friendly.
On the evening that our story begins, Rafe and Bernie had just finished supper and were on their way out of the building to grocery shop when, in the lobby, they ran into their neighbor who was accompanied by a young man.
"Oh, Rafe, Bernie, I'm so glad we ran into each other. I'd like to introduce you to my grandson Willie." Mrs. White told them.
The young man colored slightly and the two men looked him over. He looked like any generic 18 year old, hair slightly too long, clothes too loose and hygiene probably not too strict. He hung his head, looking at his feet.
"It's nice to meet you, Willie." Bernie said and put out his hand.
As Willie shook with him, Mrs. White said, "Willie, these are our next door neighbors. They have the condo next to us."
"You mean, together?" he asked.
"Yes, we're a couple." Rafe said, shaking the young man's hand in turn. Willie kept darting looks back and forth at the two of them from under a fringe of hair.
"Willie is to stay with me for a while." Mrs. White said. "There were a few family problems and I stepped in. I'm sure that there will be no problems here, Willie is practically a grown man."
"Well, thanks for letting us know." Bernie said and the two of them walked outside.
When they passed through the lobby doors, Bernie looked back, just as Willie was looking over his shoulder at them.
"I believe that was the first time young Willie has ever encountered a pair of real-live-in-captivity faggots before." Bernie said.
"Looks like a bit of a mouth breather to me." Rafe replied.
Neither man gave any more thought to the new neighbor. They almost never saw him and never heard any noise next door. Mrs. White was a volunteer 5 days a week at the hospital and as far as they could tell, Willie rarely left the apartment. He was more or less invisible.
Three weeks after the encounter in the lobby, Rafe was on one of his cleaning and tidying binges on a Saturday afternoon. Bernie knew to stay out of his way, so he was lying on the bed, watching him dust the TV and shelves across from the bed. He saw him hesitate, and then Rafe turned to face him.
"Have you been sneaking and beating off behind my back?" he asked.
Bernie snorted a laugh and said, "If I was going to do it behind your back, I'd shoot it all over your ass. Though, I really prefer to give you a facial. Why would you ask that?"
Rafe turned back around and pointed to the DVD collection on the shelf. "You know I keep the porno in alphabetical order. 'Blowjob Bonanza' should be before 'Butt Busters' and they're just the opposite."
"You probably moved them the last time you dusted. Or, maybe we have a ghost who likes gay porn. That would be pretty neat."
"You probably knocked them over and just didn't put them back right." Rafe said, going back to work.
That was the first thing.
The second was less than a week later. One of the great things about two men living together is that the toilet seat can always stay up. Both men had grown up with sisters and a mother who always griped if they left the seat up after taking a piss. In their household, it was always left up.
Which was why it was strange when the men came home from work and Rafe immediately headed for the john, only to come right back out.
"Did you put the seat down on the toilet this morning?" he asked.
"I don't think so. I took a quick piss just before we left but I don't remember doing that."
Rafe grasped Bernie by the bicep and led him into the bathroom. Not only was the seat down, so was the lid.
"You must have done it unconsciously." Rafe said.
"I never have before now. Are you trying to gaslight me? Maybe it was your ghost."
"I don't like this." Rafe said. "If you're doing things, just stop it."
A few days later, it was something else. Because there were just two of them, the dirty dishes always came in pairs. They rarely ate between meals and if they did it was usually a piece of fruit.
So, when Rafe was putting dirty dishes into the dishwasher, he immediately noticed an odd extra glass in the rack. "Did you use an extra glass today?" he called out to Bernie in the bedroom.
"Why? Is something broken?" he answered, coming out of the hallway.
"There's an extra dirty glass. How did it get in here?"
"Why don't you go lay down and I'll do the dishes. You're getting all in a tizzy over nothing."
"This is getting spooky." Rafe said. "I know what is dirty and what is clean and I keep track of things."
"Maybe your ghost got thirsty after watching porno and needed a drink. Did you check to see if he used the toilet?"
"Make fun, but something is weird around here." Rafe replied.
Next, it was in the bedroom, again. The men had a nightstand on each side of the bed with large deep drawers on the bottom. One of the drawers was designated "The Toy Chest" and contained a variety of sex toys, dildos, cock rings and lubes. Rafe, going to bed, noticed that the drawer was just slightly open and when he pulled it out, one of the largest of the dildo collection was out of place and lying askew.
"Are you cheating on me?" he turned and asked Bernie.
