On Tuesday they went to a Prime Timers mixer at a place neither of them had ever been. Once they had managed to get up to the bar and get a couple of drinks, they checked the place out. The bar was called The Barracks and had a décor that was two-parts military, two-parts Western and five-parts leather. They both thought it was kind of fun.

They found William and Red on the patio. "Hey, Sam," William said, giving him a hug, "how's it going? You still like the place?"

Sam hugged him back. "Yeah, we do. It's turned out to be a great place to live."

William whispered in his ear, "Did I detect a we?"

Sam pulled back and grinned. "You guys remember Toby, I think?"

Toby, who was getting a hug from Red, smiled and said, "Well, at least Red does." He turned and hugged William.

"How long?" William asked as he let go of Toby.

"Seems like forever," Sam said with a grin.

"Don't mind him," Toby said. "His mind is still in bed."

"I understand there was some excitement at Desert Pride a week or two ago," Red said.

"Yeah," William added. "Wasn't it Martin Shields who committed suicide? He was the man at the pool when you looked at the place, remember?"

"Yes, it was Martin, my next-door neighbor."

"Sam was the one who found him," Toby added.

"It was pretty horrible," Sam said, "I can still see that paramedic pulling him out of the bathtub."

"It was kind of traumatic," Toby said, "finding him like that. You took it a pretty hard, didn't you, Sam?"

Sam nodded. "But the worst part, guys, is that I can't get it out of my head that there was something wrong."

"When a guy commits suicide, there's always something wrong," Red offered with a shrug.

"No, I don't mean that. I mean... I don't know. I can't put my finger on it, but there's something wrong with the whole scene."

Red gave him a brief hug. "Well, it'll come to you. Probably when you're least expecting it."

They talked some more, and Red went to the bar and bought fresh drinks for all of them. Toby went to help carry them.

"You got plans this weekend?" William asked.

"Memorial Day party at the condo on Monday," Sam answered. "That's about it, I guess. How about you guys? Want us to get you into Desert Pride for the party?"

"What party?" Toby asked, handing Sam his drink.

"Monday," Sam replied. "Now you'll get to see if we really do have orgies around the pool."

"Sorry, we can't," William said. "I'm working, and Red's starting a new project. Besides, we'll see enough naked men at the CCBC on Sunday."

"CCBC? What's that?"

William explained that it was the Cathedral City Boy's Club, the largest gay, clothing-optional resort in the area, maybe the world. To promote business, they hold contests throughout the year. Memorial Day's was for the title of Mr. Nude America.

"It's a lot of fun," Red said. "You ought to go. It's also a great opportunity to be naked with just a whole lot of other guys."

Sam turned to Toby. "You want to go?"

Toby nodded. "Yeah, it sounds like fun." He turned to Red. "Kind of like Some Guys, huh?"

"Bigger, Toby. Much bigger. Maybe a couple-hundred guys or more."

Sam put his arm around Toby's waist. "Sound like our kind of place?"

Toby gave him a quick kiss. "May be, Sam. At least we should go and find out."

Shortly thereafter, the photographer for the newsletter came up and said, "Okay, my lovelies, stand a little closer so we can get all of you in the picture." There was a flash, and the photographer said, "Look for it on the cover, gents," and wandered off, looking for other photogenic faces.

They finished their drinks and decided they didn't need another one, so they hugged William and Red and took their leave.

The next day Sam went out to the house. Tom, out walking Tige, saw him and came up the driveway to say hello. Tige came along to sniff Sam's crotch.

"Good news, Sam," Tom said. "Dan found some information about that plaque. Some stuff about your house, too, I think. Why don't you come for dinner this week so Dan can show you what he found?"

"I'd love to, Tom. Only there's two of me now." He grinned. "Toby and I have set up housekeeping together."

"Well congratulations, Sam. It's about time." Tom shook his hand and then pulled Sam into a hug. "And of course he's welcome, too."

"Thanks, Tom. It'll have to be Friday evening, though. Toby works, and he doesn't like to be out late on a work night." Sam stopped and thought, scratching Tige's ears. "I tell you what. We'll come for drinks, but then let us take you out for dinner. You guys have been good friends to me and I'd really like to do that."

"Well, thank you, Sam. We think of you as a good friend, too, and we'd be pleased to go to dinner with you. And your young man."

On Friday, when Sam and Toby arrived at Tom and Dan's, they were greeted with hugs and gin and tonics. "It's only May," Tom said, "but it's already too hot for martinis."

"Bring your drinks into the study," Dan said, "and I'll tell you what I found out about your house."

When they were settled in the den, Dan handed Sam the plaque. He had cleaned and polished it, buffing out most of the scratches made when the stucco had been troweled over it. He'd also applied black enamel to the lettering, making it stand out.

"My God, Dan, this is beautiful," Sam said, getting up and going over to him, giving him a kiss. "I didn't expect..."

"It's a beautiful piece," Dan said with some pride. "I couldn't leave it as it was. It'll look nice back on your wall."

"Did you figure out what it means?"

"Actually, I did," Dan said. "I did some searching around on the Internet and found that the language is Sanskrit."

"You're kidding," Sam said. "Sanskrit?"

"Yup. A dead language, but nonetheless Sanskrit."

Dan was stretching this out a bit, liking being the center of attention, Tom thought fondly. Well, I guess he deserves it once in a while.

"So what does it mean?"

"As best I can tell, Devá Shaante can be translated as Place of Serenity or, depending on context I think, as House of the Gods or Home of the Gods. I found it both ways." He looked from Sam to Toby. "No matter. Either will fit the house now."

"I wonder who could have possibly come up with a name like that for that house," Sam said. "In Sanskrit, yet!"

"That's the interesting part," Dan said. "I got to looking at some local history, and found that the house was actually built in 1956 by a woman named Jenks. She was an architect up at U.C.L.A. and wanted a retreat down here. She designed the place herself."

"But Sanskrit. What do you suppose..."

Dan smiled. "Well, by one account she was also a bit of a scholar, mostly of Eastern philosophy. I suppose that's where she got it. Anyway, she sold the house to a movie producer in '71 when her mother, who hated the heat down here, became ill."

"Wow," Toby said, "a famous movie producer lived in Sam's house." At a sharp look from Sam he amended that to, "lived in our house." He gave Sam a shy glance. "Well, it's hard to remember. I... Well, it is hard. Give me a while, huh?"

Sam smiled. "You've got all the time in the world, Toby."

Dan cleared his throat. "Sorry to pull you off the Famous Homes Tour, young man, but the Hollywood producer never lived in it-never even saw it, as far as I could find out. It passed through a series of un-famous hands until Jack and Larry bought it. And that's about all I can tell you."

"Hey, that's a lot," Sam said. "More than I'd ever have been able to find out."

"Do we have time for a little dividend?" Tom asked, indicating Sam's empty glass.

Sam looked at his watch. "A short one," he said. "We're due at the restaurant at seven-thirty."

While Tom was making drinks, Toby got up and wandered around the room, admiring things. He stopped at a shelf full of framed pictures and picked one up. "Who's this? He looks familiar."

Dan went over to see what he was talking about. He laughed when he saw the picture. "Well, I suppose he should, seeing as he's sitting in that chair over there."

Toby looked at Sam and then back at the picture. "Well, I'll be. It is Sam. As a child." He showed Sam the picture. "How long have you known these guys?"

Sam laughed. "Not since then. That was taken a long time ago, at Harry's house. He had a lot of pool parties back then."

"Probably to show you off and impress his friends," Dan said. "Certainly impressed Jack and Larry." He turned to Toby. "They always referred to him as The Hunk."

Toby laughed and looked at Sam, who shrugged. "Can't prove it by me."

When Tom served their drinks, the talk turned to the house and what was going on there. Sam told them about Toby's ideas and that, by the time they were finished, the house was going to be quite a bit larger.

When they were leaving and on their way to the restaurant, Toby held the door for Sam. "After you, Hunk," he said, swatting him on the butt.

They went to Spenser's because Sam wanted Toby to have a good memory of the place. He liked both the food and the setting and wanted Toby to like it, too. When they were shown to their table, it turned out that they had the same waiter, Henry, who had served them when they were first there. Henry remembered them.

"Good evening, Mr. Davis," he said with a slight bow.

"Good evening, uh, Henry isn't it?"

Henry was flattered that Sam remembered his name. "Yes, sir, it is."

"You remember Mr. Litchfield," he said, nodding towards Toby. "And, as you can see, I've brought reinforcements with me." He introduced Tom and Dan.

Henry laughed. "I doubt you'll need the reinforcements, sir, but welcome to Spenser's-all of you."

The dinner went well, and while Toby still couldn't bring himself to order a twenty-five-dollar shrimp cocktail, he enjoyed the meal greatly.

Later, at home and in bed, Toby said, "Are we really going to live in a house named Home of the Gods? Isn't that just slightly presumptuous?"

Sam snuggled himself closer against Toby's back and put an arm around his chest. "Maybe we should just go for Place of Serenity, then." His hand slid down until it found Toby's crotch. "But there will be a god living there."

"Two," Toby said as he drifted off to sleep.

Sunday, over a chive, Swiss-cheese and bacon omelet Sam said, "We really going to go to that Nude America contest?"

Toby smiled. "We should. It'll be good practice for the pool party tomorrow, don't you think? Besides, we don't have to stay if either one of us is uncomfortable."

"Yeah, but you'll be comparing me to all those studly naked guys."

"No, Sam, all those other studly naked guys. I don't think you'll have much of a problem holding your own."

Sam laughed. "And here I was, hoping somebody else would hold it for me. You ever been there?"

"Yeah. A couple of times. But I didn't know they had contests."

"Then how'd... Oh, the same way you got to Some Guys, I guess."

Toby became serious. "You don't have a problem with that, do you, Sam?"

Sam laughed. "No, Toby. I don't have a problem with anything you've ever done in the past." He stood and leaned across the table to give him a kiss. "Everything you've ever done in your life has brought you to this moment-with me." He sat back down. "I read that somewhere a long time ago, and I've always believed it." He finished his coffee. "So let's go."

Red hadn't been kidding. There were at least two hundred men, a scant few wearing shorts or bathing suits, everyone else clad only in hats or caps and flip-flops. Everywhere they looked there were naked men, sunning on the grass, floating in the pool and walking around the tree-shaded grounds. This last group included Sam and Toby, because Sam wanted, as he put it, to get the lay of the land.

At one point in their tour they came across a small crowd of guys who were looking in the open window of one of the rooms. Pressing closer they saw five or six guys inside, all of them naked, shooting a porn-movie.

"You ever seen a porn-movie being shot?" Sam asked.

"No, can't say that I have." He glanced at Sam. "So how come even the cameraman is naked?"

Sam shrugged. "Because it's a naked resort?"

Toby's question was answered soon enough when the scene was evidently over. One of the "stars" crawled across the bed and went down on the cameraman, to the evident satisfaction of both.

"That answer your cameraman question?" Sam asked, giving him a hug.

The action in the room started again, and the cameraman went back to work, erection and all.

While they were watching the action in the room, a man in front of them took a step backward and began to fondle both of them. Sam and Toby looked at each other, but each stood his ground, enjoying the attention. When they were both hard, the man turned, knelt and sucked one briefly while still playing with the other, then switched positions. When he went down on Sam, Toby could tell Sam was liking it by the way he sucked in his breath. When the man switched and went down on Toby, Toby knew why Sam had liked it so much.

The man made no attempt to bring either of them off, and after a moment or two on each of their cocks, stood and gave each of them a brief kiss. "Nice, guys. Very nice," he whispered, giving each of them a final grope. Then he turned his attention to the man standing next to him.

As they walked away, their erections slowly subsiding, Sam put his hand on Toby's neck. "You like that?"

Toby put his arm around Sam's waist. "Uh-huh. You?"

"Yeah. He knew what he was doing." They walked along in silence for a few moments. "You like to do it to him?"

Toby smiled. "Don't know, I didn't get my hands on it." He thought for a second. "But probably-especially if he was doing it to you at the same time."

Sam chuckled. "You mean like a package deal?"

Toby stopped and turned so he could look Sam in the eyes. "Duane didn't mention that he'd talked to you, too. But yeah, a package deal, like they do."

"You like their rules?"

"I don't know." Toby paused, giving it some thought. "I guess, Sam, that every couple has to make their own rules, do what suits them and, frankly, say to hell with everyone else."

Sam nodded. "For now, their rules will do, I guess. At least the package-deal part. Okay?"

Toby hugged him. "Yeah." He smiled. "Shall we go back and see if we can find that guy again?"

Sam shook his head. "There's lots of guys, Toby. Let's go see one crowned Mr. Nude America."

They ran into William and Red on the lawn, sitting in shade. William invited them to share the shade, "unless you seriously want sunstroke."

Red was stretched out on the lawn, and Sam could hardly take his eyes off Red's pubic hair. Where the hair on his head was a light red, his pubic hair was a deep shade, almost brick red and long, standing out from his skin like an explosion. Sam thought it quite beautiful. It wasn't the bright, coppery red that Martin had had a thing for, but it was still quite striking.

Red was thirsty, so he and Sam walked down to the concession stand and bought Cokes for them all. On the way there and back, Sam noticed that Red's pubic hair drew attention from nearly everyone along the way.

After the contest-the man Toby was rooting for won-they walked around some more, enjoying the sight of all the naked men, commenting on especially good-looking ones and those who had been generously endowed. They came across several redheaded men, but none with pubic hair to match Red's.

On the way home they picked up a pizza and some beer. By unspoken agreement they both shed their clothes as soon as they got inside the condo; it just seemed appropriate after spending most of the day naked. They ate out on the patio and, afterward, threw caution to the wind, and drank the rest of the beer while sitting in the warm water of the spa.

"Are you... uh, are we going to have one of these things at the house?" Toby asked, toasting Sam with his beer.

"I think it'd be awfully nice," Sam replied. "But not like this, not a portable one."

Toby smiled. "No, it should be part of the yard, something that looks like it belongs."

"Well, you think about it. Bill said that we have another month or so before the yard even gets designed now that we're pushing out those walls."

Toby moved next to him and then climbed into his lap and kissed him. "You ready for bed?" He felt Sam already beginning to grow. "Or shall we just stay here?"

They decided on bed.