36Chap 8 - Epilogue
Justin's mother was a probate lawyer, who knew a contract lawyer, who knew another contract lawyer who specialized in Entertainment. Reading over Josh's contract, yes, he was indeed required to show up for all paid work. Paid work. Photo-shoots and runway shows. He wasn't getting paid for any of the other things he was doing. His pay for the shoots and shows was to be negotiated case-by-case by the agency, but he was free to negotiate his own pay for anything else, or to just outright refuse. For technical legal reasons, Josh was told that it would be better to ask for too much money rather than point-blank refuse his agency's "suggestions". So be it. Want to have Josh attend your party? That'll be fifteen thousand dollars - today's special rate. Might be more tomorrow. A little late perhaps, but Josh finally had someone on his side.
As a result of Josh's refusal to become a canned celebrity, his career wound down a lot and flattened out at what might be called C-list fame, but still A-list model, and that suited him just fine. He'd developed a new expression that became very popular, to the point of becoming an internet meme. He called it his "Caleb makes me mad" look. Example: "He laughed when I told him about my speeding ticket" - picture of Josh's withering scowl - "Caleb makes me mad". The meme was a little embarrassing, but at least now he had a lot more time to enjoy his boyfriend.
Caleb was up to Beginner Intermediate level tango by now, behind Josh by only two ranks. The dancing got a lot sexier as the two boys got better at it. So much so, in fact, that they seldom made it all the way home afterward without stopping for some backseat… stuff.
#operationcaleb stopped calling themselves that because apparently it had been successfully concluded. They kept a close eye on Dustin and his girlfriend, sort of quietly hoping they'd break up and then Dustin might try out for the other team. But that didn't happen. However, they'd acquired a reputation, and early in the school year they were surprised to be approached by a freshman girl - Cynthia - who had followed #operationcaleb and hoped they might find her a girlfriend. Cynthia was an extreme tomboy; she rode a crotch-rocket motorcycle, practiced Thai kickboxing, and collected M.C. Escher prints, of which she had three so far. She became the groups newest member and the Team had to re-think their whole search strategy. They decided against creating another hashtag. Jeanette was disappointed because here they'd finally enlisted another girl, but still only Josh and herself appreciated masculine beauty.
Caleb continued playing baseball, getting better at it all the time. His team made it to the regionals that year, and expected to play in the State playoffs next year. Due to Caleb's popularity and stature on the team, the best players from surrounding towns started transferring to the Golden Meadow school system. If any of the new guys teased Caleb about being gay - even in a friendly way - someone would show that person a picture of Josh shirtless. That shut them up.
And so passed Caleb's Jr. year of high school. Meanwhile, Chester and Dustin graduated and went their separate ways: Chester, with his father, re-opened their tailoring business in New Orleans, while Dustin went to an Ivy League law school out-of-state, mostly his mother's idea. Becky, Josh's younger sister, started college to become an orthodontist. She'd always had a weird thing about teeth.
That summer, the boys had a little adventure.
"Wait. So you want me to go?" Caleb asked, not quite able to believe it. Josh had never asked him anything like this before.
"Yeah. It's only three days in Paris - one runway show, a bunch of location shoots after that, but travel will take a day each way. It's super boring. And then I'm alone in the hotel… but if you were with me, it might actually be fun."
Caleb thought about it. There was one unpleasant aspect… "You'll be paying for everything?"
"Well, either me or the agency, depending, but it won't cost you anything, promise."
"So you're going to be my sugar-daddy, is that how it'll work?" Caleb was of two minds about being "supported" by Josh. He felt like it should be a blow to his ego. On the other hand - a week in Paris with Josh? Oh FUCK yes. "And I get to be with you the whole time, right? Backstage, on location, everywhere. Right?"
The phrase "get to be with you" struck Josh like a truck, but he tried to hide the fact that his insides were melting. "Uh… yeah. I can get you in backstage at the show, but it's going to be another one of those 'please try to stay out of the way' deals… The location shoots won't be crowded though. And… look, I know the money thing is awkward, but maybe we can just sort of pretend like it isn't? For a week?"
"Actually, it doesn't feel as awkward as I thought," Caleb said. They had never been competitive about anything, probably due to the degrees of separation of their two worlds. "We've never had to fight over who's on top, after all. I don't think… that I have anything to prove. So yes. YES! I'll take that deal!"
"You won't miss any important baseball stuff?"
"Nothing serious. But even if there were - Paris with you, or baseball. Not a tough choice, Josh..."
"But I thought you were so dedicated to the sport. You sure?"
"I'm sure. Unlike some people, I know how to make choices for life over career." Caleb said that with a faint smile, but serious eyes.
"Is that right... Okay, then teach me. How do you decide?"
"It's like this," Caleb replied, "Which one are you going to remember fondly in thirty years? I think that's 'nuff said."
Josh thought about that. "You may have a point. Damn. That's pretty smart, for you."
"Fuck off, girly-boy. Speaking of..."
That night, it was Josh's turn to be the bottom, and he had an inkling of an idea. He'd been thinking lately about what attracted him to Caleb. The muscles, the ripped torso, etc and so forth. The muscles represented power. Josh liked Caleb's power. But in bed, Caleb was so gentle... almost like he was afraid he'd break the other boy. Well, androgyn or not, Josh wasn't that fragile.
"Harder, Caleb. … No, I mean harder! Like you want to hurt me..."
"But I don't want to hurt you," Caleb protested.
"I'll let you know if anything starts to hurt, believe me. Now pound the fuck out of me! As hard as you can! Just do it, Caleb!"
So Caleb did, ramming himself in so hard and fast that Josh's butt was pushed down onto the bed, no longer the usual face-down/ass-up position. Josh had to struggle to keep his hips pushed up so that Caleb's cock would line up right, and still the other boy pounded him flat with each stroke. Josh had to brace himself against the headboard to keep from being forced forward on the bed.
Usually Josh would grunt softly while he was fucked. A half-grunt/ half-moan kind of thing. Not this time. "Unh! Unh! Unh!" he'd cry in time with Caleb's strokes, almost as if the other boy were slamming the cock directly into his diaphragm. He wasn't, but Josh preferred to imagine that he was.
In fact, they were both making a lot of noise. Josh's mother, downstairs watching TV, turned the volume up in an attempt to drown the boys out. It didn't really work. "Boys…" she smirked to herself. She knew what was going on, and could still remember what it was like. "My little boy - getting fucked hard up the ass. Eh, life is funny sometimes." She had to smile.
There's a phenomenon that sometimes happens during sex - usually to the penetrated partner, whether male or female, when the orgasm is so intense that one is actually unable to move for a while after the spasms die down. It has a name. Caleb fucked Josh silly.
The trip was indeed memorable. Josh had to work during the day, but in the evening and night, they had Paris to themselves. It doesn't get much more romantic than that. They had a lot of sex. They also made a lot of love - a different kind of sex. Remembering their first trip to Paris thirty years later, they would both still get hard.
In his senior year, Caleb was finally approached by scouts. But not Pro scouts - college scouts. His team made it to state, but lost the final game. Which was disappointing, but not as much as Caleb had supposed it would be. He was just starting to realize that what he liked about baseball - about sports in general - wasn't so much winning; it was about being part of a team. Sure, a winning team was great - and would make great memories - but really, it was the experience of being on a team that mattered most. He thought about that off and on all summer, while he waited for classes to start at Louisiana State University. And he eventually came to a realization:
"So now you want to be a coach instead of a Pro?" Josh asked. He had accompanied Caleb to the LSU campus in New Orleans just to look around (he claimed), and now they were leaving the Student Union after having tacos for lunch. Not very good tacos… but even bad tacos are still pretty good.
"Maybe. I mean, if I were to get scouted and drafted by a Pro team, that'd be great. I don't think I'd ever turn that down… but that probably wouldn't last long, even if I made it. So I'm thinking of coaching as sort of a fall-back, and I've been googling how to make it happen. I think I can do it. And then I'll never have to give up baseball, even when I'm old and wrinkly."
That, of course, touched a nerve in Josh. "Ugh, don't talk about 'old and wrinkly'. Thanks for that image."
Caleb knew all about Josh's fear of aging. "Listen, Josh… by the time we're that old, it won't matter anymore. I don't mean that as an insult or anything, but I'm already kind of starting to see how that could happen. It'll be okay."
"By the time we are that old, huh? You'd better tell me I'm pretty right now, mister."
"I can do that…" Caleb considered. In this quiet part of the campus, under all these trees, on a brick sidewalk, with a summer breeze… the ambience could only be called 'mellow'. And Caleb felt mellow, too. He had said 'we' without thinking, but was thinking about it now.
"I can totally do that," he said, "You take my breath away, Josh. Even after all this time… three years now. And I'm not just saying that - when you take off your shirt I literally still forget to breathe sometimes. And swear to god, when you smile at me, my heart actually skips a beat, just like it did when we first met at Alzina's restaurant. Every time. I've gotten used to it, but it still happens. You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, and that includes sunsets and sandy beaches and Paris at night."
Josh had to look away. "Damn, Caleb…"
"Yeah, that came out pretty good, didn't it… Kind of proud of that."
"Yes it did, so don't ruin it by trying to be clever," Josh said, wiping his eyes and trying to be casual about it.
"Have I ever seemed clever?" Caleb asked. He'd never thought of himself as particularly 'clever' or 'witty' or even 'smart'. He was a jock. Everyone knew that jocks were stupid. He just assumed that 'everyone' was right.
"You have your moments. I don't tell you about them because I don't want you to get a big head."
"Probably a good idea," Caleb replied half-seriously. "So hey, you come to N'awlins to work all the time, right? We can get together when you do. It might work out better than before, even."
That was a seque Josh had been waiting for: "Actually, Caleb, I've been thinking about a fallback too, so I'm going to start LSU at the same time you do. I've decided to become a vet."
Josh was going to college? WITH Caleb? This was HUGE news! As a result, his brain wasn't quite working right, "Aren't… don't you have to join the Army to do that?"
Josh could only burst out in laughter.
"Oh, shit… Okay, that was the stupidest thing I've ever said. In my life. God..."
Josh was still laughing too hard to respond. Caleb watched him, unable to help smiling. Seeing Josh laugh like that was a rare treat. A treasure, even. Totally worth making fool out of oneself for, although he hadn't planned it. In the future though, he would. Just to see it again.
Finally Josh started calm down. He wiped his eyes again, from a different set of tears.
Caleb was incredulous, "So anyway, a veterinarian? Where the fuck did that come from?"
"I've been thinking about for a long time now - ever since that time I asked you what I'd be good at, and you asked me what I'd like to be good at. I want to work with animals. I've never even had a pet. I see other people with pets and envy them so hard… So I'm going to have all the pets! Turns out, LSU is also one of the few places with an 'exotic animals' program, so I'll be going for that, too. Maybe I can get a job at a zoo… that'd just be too cool."
"Most people would say that being a professional model is cool…"
"That's because most people aren't one. I thought so too when I was little, but it wears off fast, trust me."
"A zoo vet. Wow. That does sound awfully... cool," Caleb had to admit.
"Yeah. I'll be a vet, you can be a coach. Although it might take awhile…" All this talk of the distant future, and getting old together, was affecting Josh in a new way. "Hey Caleb… if we're going to really do all this, and be together while we do, do you think we should-"
"STOP!" Caleb cried.
"Uh… huh?"
Without explaining himself, Caleb got to the point immediately, before it was too late: "Josh, would you marry me?"
Which actually was what Josh was about to say, albeit in a more casual, less classical manner. "That what I was about to ask you…"
"I know. Just answer the question."
"I don't get it. Why wasn't it okay for me to do the asking?"
"Because then I'd have to tell everyone that you were the one who proposed. It… it's just… I should be the one who proposes, is all," Caleb explained.
"Oh, I see now. Because I'm the girl, right?"
"No, you're… Well… I guess kind of… I didn't really have time to think it through, all right? Now please answer the question! You can call me stupid later."
"Yes, Caleb, I'll marry you. After we graduate. So now we're engaged. We're each other's fiancés. And you get to be the 'man'. Happy now?"
"I'm sorry - I know it sounds stupid but-" Caleb began.
"No, actually, now that I think about it, it does feel right. I just can't explain why."
"After we graduate?" Caleb was still catching up. "That'll be at least six years! To be a coach, I'll have to go to grad school, that's two more years on top of a BA, probably."
"Yeah, and to be a vet, I will too. Probably for longer than just two extra years. So what? It's not like we need to get married soon so we can start having kids or anything."
"Kids?"
Now there was something that had NEVER crossed Caleb's mind before. Among the many other things he'd always 'just assumed', was that as a gay man, he could never have children. But now he realized that there were lots of gay male couples with kids. He stared off into the space beyond his fiancés shoulder thinking about it. Josh watched him, slowly realizing what might be going through his head. Suddenly Caleb's eyes focused back on Josh.
"Hey Josh, you think we could-"
"Oh God, what have I done?"
(the end)