Author's note: This chapter breaks away from the usual gangbanging. To fans of that, I'm sorry but I want to keep it fresh for other readers and for myself, as a writer. Please enjoy.
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It had been a long day. Almost two years into the pandemic and life had reached some sort of weird normalcy. Ripley moved in near the start of it, after he and his wife separated and initiated divorce proceedings. Since then, the two of them began a relationship.
It was odd at first. Push come to shove, Albert would have described himself as straight, but subsequent introspection led him to the realization that he was demisexual, and the other person's sex or gender wasn't an issue after all. Ripley's divorce was partly because he was bisexual. The periodic gay orgies had evidentially awoken the beast within. In short, the drunken pact Albert, Ripley and five of their friends had made to take turns fucking and getting fucked led to some interesting developments.
The first few months of living together was a little awkward. Albert's quiet, orderly home gradually became a little more lived-in. Ripley wasn't a bad roommate. He was clean and pulled his weight, but his belongings added a bit of flavor to the condo. Houseplants, colorful rugs or maybe an unusual piece of furniture or two seemed to appear in the communal spaces surreptitiously. At first it was a little jarring, but now Albert had a hard time remembering what the place looked like without them. Similarly it was hard remembering a life without the sounds of another living being. Even the squeak of the kitchen floor or soft humming coming from another room made things more homey.
The growth of their feelings and the change into a relationship was also slow. It wasn't until one random day around Thanksgiving 2020 that things came to a head. The two of them were sitting on the couch, watching a movie, when Albert shifted and found himself leaning on Ripley. It had happened often enough in the past, like the arm which found itself on his shoulders, to go unremarked. Albert turned to Ripley, and Ripley looked at Albert. Then they kissed. Albert felt a little flustered afterward and tried to concentrate on the rest of the movie. They talked later. Ripley teased him a little, but confessed his attraction through his own pink cheeks and a sheepish smile. The eye-fucking while they tag-teamed Lincoln made a lot more sense now.
They took it slow. Coming out to friends and family was an ongoing process. Ripley's parents were surprisingly receptive despite being rather devout Mormons. Ripley's ex-wife was supportive too. While there wasn't a conflict of interest at work, they disclosed it to HR. An email was sent out that afternoon to remind everyone that the company was an inclusive environment. While they weren't named, it took only a week or two for news to get around. Not much came of it after all, except Albert heard a lot less about how so-and-so has a niece or a daughter or what-have-you that he should meet.
Privately, the furthest Albert and Ripley usually went were blow jobs, although Ripley bottomed on occasion. Both of them were... substantially endowed, so anal was understandably a rare treat. They decided to hold off on Albert bottoming until after his own gangbang last month, and Ripley was jealous afterwards - jealous enough to fuck him again almost as soon as the last of the guys left. It was hot and more intimate than having the others in the mix, but it was unsatisfying. Albert admitted he wanted it to be more romantic and less of an animalistic fuck. But, work being work, it was hard to make it happen.
He was drained. Albert usually worked from home while Ripley was out four days a week doing onsite installations. More to the point, Ripley's schedule was also chaotic with some overnights and on-call days where he would be expected to leave at a moment's notice. Today was a meeting for the sales teams, so Albert had to go in and wound up staying in the office all day finishing some reports needed for an upcoming project, while Ripley had the day off.
Albert pushed the door open and stepped in, taking off his coat and shoes. He hung the coat in the entryway closet before walking up the stairs. Only then did he notice the room was lit with a few candles. Something was cooking as well, by the smell of it. He was about to call out when Ripley appeared, wearing some nice slacks, a dress shirt and vest, with a tie. His short black hair was styled smartly.
"Good evening, sir," he said with a bow. "I've prepared a bath, if you'll follow me."
Albert stifled a laugh and let himself be led the few steps down the hall. Ripley ushered him into the bathroom, which was warm and steamy from the drawn bubble bath.
"If you'll allow me to help," Ripley said, starting to unbutton Albert's work shirt. Ripley's thick hands moved deftly down Albert's chest before moving onto the button at each wrist. He glided around behind Albert and smoothly removed the shirt, depositing it onto the vanity counter as he stepped back in front. He lifted Albert's tee shirt over his head, but avoided the kiss Albert had ready. Instead, Ripley loosened Albert's belt and pants' fly, making intense eye contact. He tugged Albert's chinos to his knees before lightly pushing Albert into sitting on the ledge of the tub. He maintained eye contact as he took off the pants and socks. He rubbed his hands up Albert's thighs and seized the waistband of Albert's boxers. Albert stood and in a swift motion, the underwear were off. Ripley stood.
"Please enter the bath and I'll be back shortly." Ripley gathered the clothes and left the bathroom, closing the door. Albert caught his reflection in the mirror.
Albert was not an athlete growing up. He was first short and fat, then tall and fat. The summer before junior year high school he suddenly slimmed down and any exercise seemed to cause muscle to grow overnight. If he hadn't been dating Midori since the start of high school he might have thought she was one of the dozens of girls chasing after his ugly duckling transformation. He still had a hard time accepting compliments about his physical appearance and did his best to remain unnoticed.
Medium blue-green eyes under thick, brown eyebrows stared back. His mouth a pink Cupid's bow and full, pouty lower lip cradled by a strong square chin. Thick brown hair crowned his somewhat long face. He kept his body in good order. He didn't workout obsessively and ate as he pleased, but he exercised daily, if only a jog in the morning. A dusting of hair fanned across his chest, arms and legs. Ripley had had his effect between Albert's legs.
Albert liked his cock and didn't fully realize its true size until these little escapades started. He and Ripley were comparable in length and girth, the only difference being Ripley's foreskin and the lack of one of his own. Albert was mainly curious about the structure. It was fascinating to play with when he and Ripley got feisty, and sometimes he wished he had a say in the matter, but that ship had sailed. Ultimately, his cock served him well as it was and he liked it, he thought, lowering himself into the hot bath.
The water released a muted rose smell as he sank.
The warm water was relaxing, but Albert was anticipating whatever Ripley had planned next, slowly squeezing his cock under the milky bubbles. This sort of scenario was out of character for him, so Albert was intrigued to see what was planned. Not that Ripley couldn't be spontaneous or romantic in his own way. Breakfast was always ready when he came in from a run. Albert would sometimes find little love notes in his pockets or taped on his desk. He could expect a cute message or meme to reach him at least twice a day. However, when Ripley failed to reappear in a few minutes, Albert grabbed the sponge and rested his head on it. One of the best things about owning the condo was that he could renovate it to his liking. The tub was deeper than the original, but the same length, so all that popped above the surface was his knees. He closed his eyes.
Sometime later the door creaked open. Albert opened his eyes to see Ripley rolling up his shirt sleeves. His tattoos were dancing shadows in the dim light. He motioned for the sponge behind Albert's head. "With your permission." Albert passed the sponge and Ripley submerged it before lathering it with soap.
