"Dad, I need you."

"Matthew is everything all right?" his father asked with concern in his voice.

"Yeah, Dad, we're all fine; it's just been an interesting day. Denise just informed me that she is leaving on a six month cruise and Jimmy Flannery moved in across the street," Matt said quickly in one breath.

"Six months? Wow, that's a long time. Wait! What did you say about Jimmy Flannery?"

"He, and his wife, Linda, along with their son, Matty, moved across the street. He's a Marine Gunner and is stationed at Lejeune."

"Wow, he named his kid Matthew? That's amazing, considering he married that bitch, Linda."

Matt laughed for the first time that day; that was why he loved his father so much; he zeroed in on exactly what was on the top his list. "Dad, could you come down and stay for a few weeks? I think it would help Jimmy with Denise's leaving, and I could really use my Daddy with me right now." Matt smiled to himself; he knew how much his father loved it when he called him daddy, it was a just a way for Matt to let his dad know how special he still was to him, even as an adult.

Matt was extremely close to his father, even when his mother was in his life it was his father to whom he was closest and it was he who gave him the most love and attention. Matt's mother was Chinese and she had met his father in Hawaii while she was working as a nurse and his father was convalescing from a wound he received in Nam. The combination of Italian and Chinese is what gave Matt his extraordinary good looks; he had his father's olive skin tone and hazel eyes but his mother's very black hair and almond-shaped eyes. Their marriage had been a rocky one. She suffered from a combination of depression and bi-polar disorder and had an obsession with the Catholic Church. Then when Matt was a sophomore in high school, she announced out of the blue that she wanted a divorce and was moving back to Hawaii where her family still lived.

His father didn't fight her and he had never spoken a bad word to him about his mother; it sometimes made Matt feel a little guilty, but he really didn't miss her at all. She had never been very affectionate or nurturing; unlike his father, she was always short-tempered and demanding. In fact, sometimes Matt was angry at her for the way she treated his father; a man who walked on water in Matt's eyes.

Matt's special relationship with his father only grew deeper over the next few years while Matt was in high school. His father was dating women off and on, but things didn't get serious until the end of his senior year when he married Peggy who proved to be an extremely warm and loving woman and treated Matt as if she had borne him herself, even though she had a son four years older than him with whom Matt developed a very close relationship. The greatest thing about Peggy was she never resented or interfered with the special relationship he had with his dad. The three became a very close and happy family, so happy that it never bothered Matt that his mother never answered his letters or tried to contact him.

So when Peggy died of a massive heart attack about six months back, he was devastated. While he and Denise were in New Jersey for the funeral, they invited Frank to move to North Carolina to be near them. He declined, but while thanking them, he explained that he needed to grieve alone for a bit, and then would give some serious thought to the proposition.

"Sure, buddy, you know I'll always be there for you, and especially for that beautiful grandson you gave me, and it would be a good time to go over some business left over from Peggy's estate. When do you need me?"

"Can you be here on Thursday around 1700? We can have dinner together."

"Well, you know what they say; "Marines go where others fear to tread,'' his father said and laughed.

"OORAH, Dad, I love you," Matt said.

"Love you, too, son, see you on Thursday, and remember to kiss my grandson for me in the morning."

Matt hung up the phone and got ready for bed; while he was brushing his teeth he thought about what his father had said about Peggy's estate and business with him. 'Why would he be involved?' he wondered, but pushed it out of his mind for the moment. Once he finished in the bathroom, he lay on his bed and started to think of the day's events and then his mind drifted back to that first time his dad caught him jerking off...

As the remaining shots hit his stomach he burst into tears. "Daddy, please don't be mad, I just couldn't stop," he said crying and hoping his father wouldn't be too angry or disappointed in him.

His father stepped into the room and shut the door. He crossed the room and sat on the bed next to Matt and put his arm around him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Matthew, calm down, son, you've done nothing wrong and certainly nothing to cry about."

"I'm sorry, Dad, it's just really embarrassing getting caught and I don't want you to be mad at me or hate me."

" Whoa, son, I think it's time we had a nice long talk. First of all there is nothing you could ever do to make me hate you; and I'll only be mad at you if you lie to me. But Matty, all guys jerk off, and the ones that say they don't are lying. Even I do it, maybe not as much as you, but I do."

" Really?" Matt asked his eyes wide. He couldn't believe he was sitting talking with his dad about jerking off with his pants around his ankles and cum all over his chest and stomach; oh and not to mention his cock was getting hard again.

"Sure, buddy, I've known you've been jerking off for a few years, even doing things with Jimmy."

His cock shriveled instantly, "Oh, shit, no, I mean, well, I mean…"

" It's okay, Matty, I know all about it; shit, man, I had a j/o buddy from the time I was twelve until I went into the corps, and then had one in Nam."

"Really, you? I mean you're a Marine and a body builder and a Trooper and married."

" Yeah, but that doesn't make any difference, all guys like to play with their dicks and do; and the sooner you know that and stop feeling guilty, the better off you'll be."

"I can't believe we're having this discussion Dad, but I feel much better already," Matt had relaxed and like all teenage boys, his cock was starting to get hard again. "I thought you would be pissed at me and think I was a fag."

" Matthew, I don't ever want to hear you use that word again. There are many ways to explore and express your sexuality and I don't want you to be putting hateful labels on it. But I'm curious; tell me what you think a 'fag' is?"

"Well, you know a guy who has sex with other guys and is all weak and kind of like a sissy."

" Well, I know you and Jimmy have been enjoying jerking each other off … and maybe more … for quite some time. Are you guys weak little sissies?" his father asked.

"NO! Wait, how did you know what we were doing?" Matt asked.

" Last year when we went to the shore, your mom was off at Mass and I had been for a run on the beach. When I came back I guess you guys didn't hear me come in. I was headed for the bathroom when I heard moaning, your door wasn't shut all the way, and I peeked in to see you and Jimmy in a very hot 69. Thank God it was me and not your mother, so I sneaked back outside and waited on the porch until I heard you guys in the kitchen. The jerking off part I knew long ago; I saw the tee shirts you guys used to clean up with after your sleep-overs."

"Holy shit! Thanks for being so cool, Dad, but … wait … you said "a very hot 69?" Matt asked wide-eyed.

" Come on, boy, you think you invented that shit? Your Uncle Donny and I sucked so much cum out of each other we were afraid one of us would get pregnant!" his dad said with a laugh.

"So now you know three other guys who enjoy sucking dick as much as you. Is your Uncle Donny or Jimmy, or am I, a weak sissy or a 'fag'?"

"Shit no, Dad," Matt replied.

" Exactly; sucking dick doesn't make you a sissy, any more than fucking pussy makes you a man. It's your actions that define you, keeping your word, being honest, working hard, and helping others in need. That's what makes you a man, not what you do with your dick."

Matt was blown away. In that short conversation, sitting with his dad, naked with a hard-on, he'd had a tremendous epiphany; he realized that all the guilt and worry had been wasted; he wasn't the only guy in the world who did these things. And what was even better was his dad knew and still loved him; this had to be the best day of his life.

"You okay, Matty?" his dad's voice broke his thought.

"Better than okay, Dad, I'm just trying to sort it out."

"Well, don't think too much about it, you've got plenty of time to get
your head around it. So how 'bout I leave you to take care of that,"
pointing to Matt's hard-on, "then the next lesson will be how to take care
of the ladies," his dad said with a sexy grin.

His dad left him alone. His cock was still hard so he finished himself off without the usual guilt while his father did the same thing in his bedroom.

The movement caused Matt to open his eyes to see his wife next to him. She looked down at his midsection and grabbed his rock hard cock, "somebody was having a good dream," she said.

"Yeah, and I hope it's going to get better."

"Sure thing, Captain," she said smiling as she straddled his waist and guided his hard cock into her and started to ride Matt like he was a mechanical bull. Matt looked at his wife while she rode his cock, head thrown back and eyes closed enjoying the sensations. She had small firm breasts and a very tight and toned body with a fabulous bubble butt. As Matt watched her riding him he realized, probably for the first time how much she looked like a teenage boy; yeah, like the gymnasts Matt used to watch in high school and college. He had always secretly thought to himself how hot those guys were, but he kept pushing those thoughts deeper and deeper. Maybe that's why Denise was so attractive to him.

She kept riding him, it seemed as if it wouldn't have made any difference to her whether it was Matt's cock she was impaled on or a rubber dildo; it also occurred to Matt that they were both guilty of using each other for release; it wasn't making love, it was more like having a fuck buddy.

It appeared that she had cum at least twice before Matt exploded in her. After she climbed off and lay down next to him, she kissed Matt and the cheek and said, "Thanks, I needed that," then turned over and went to sleep.

'Fuck-buddy, indeed,'Matt thought, and then he turned on his side and went to sleep.

* * *

Across the street Jim sat in his living room nursing about three fingers of Jack on ice. His wife had just left with a suitcase after yet another argument, this one caused by her insistence that she drive eight hours to New Jersey to rescue her asshole of a twin brother from jail. Jim didn't see the need; he had his parents and a brother who could help him. Why Linda felt she was obligated was beyond him, but knowing his brother-in-law, he was probably broke again and only Linda would put up the bond.

But fights with his wife were nothing new; they had been going on most of their married life. What had Jim most upset-enough to be sipping bourbon on a work night-was his old friend's reaction to him. Jim had been closer to Matt than his own brothers, then suddenly at the end of their senior year Matt stopped speaking to him. He tried for weeks, but Matt refused to see him, then went on vacation (not inviting him for the first time since they were eight) and then off to college without a word. Jim had been devastated by this, but he had Linda bugging him to get married, and then he joined the Corps. After that there was little time to mourn the loss of a friend, even one as beloved as Matt.

He downed the rest of his drink and headed off to bed having failed to come up with any reason why Matt should be so angry with him. He would just have to give him time. Maybe, Jim thought, as their boys became closer, Matt might just finally tell him and he could apologize and things could be back to the way they once were.

When he walked into his bedroom he found Matty sleeping in his spot on the bed; Jim wasn't surprised, the boy often became needy when his parents fought. He took care of business, stripped to his skivvies and climbed into bed, his son who stirred in his sleep and snuggled close to his dad. Jim wrapped his arms around him and kissed his head, and he fell asleep thinking of all the nights long ago that he and Matt had slept happily the same way.

I have posted a blog for the story at: http://petebruno.tumblr.com/

Check it out, this is where I will be posting pics of new characters and also a place for readers to comment or ask questions.