Moving On

"Nah. Come on."

"Okay," I shrugged.

I almost died laughing watching Alex stuff his 6'5" 300-pound frame into the go kart. We both whizzed around the track screaming and laughing. I had more fun than I had in years.

After our go kart ride, we got ice cream and sat down at a picnic table.

"I had a really good time today, Alex. Thanks for taking my mind off things."

"It's no problem, Mason. No problem at all."

Alex's eyes kind of glazed over and I realized he was watching me lick my ice cream. His eyes darted up to mine and his cheeks reddened and he looked away. I smiled to myself and looked away from him as well.

When he dropped me off, he walked me to the door again. I shook his hand again and said goodbye. The door opened and Mom popped out.

"Alex, you're leaving already? Why don't you stay for dinner?"

"Well, thank you, Mrs. Weston. I'd love to."

Mom held open the door and let Alex in and I gave her a dirty look.

While Mom made dinner, Alex and I sat on the couch and quietly chatted.

Dinner was delicious. If I didn't know better, I'd say mom was showing off for Alex. She made her oven fried chicken that was always moist and delicious. She also had sautéed green beans and mashed potatoes to go with it.

"This is great, Mrs. Weston," Alex said as he stuffed his mouth with another bite of chicken. "Even better than my mom's."

"Oh, well, wait until you taste dessert. Apple cobbler."

"Oh, man, that's my favorite."

I gave Alex a wry look and he chuckled and winked at me.

After Alex finished his plate, mom gave him another heaping plateful. He clearly enjoyed the dinner and that made me feel good.

After we finished eating, I cleared the dishes while Mom made coffee and served us the apple cobbler with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

"Oh, this is fucking fantastic," Alex said. His eyes suddenly widened and his cheeks reddened. "Sorry for the language, Mrs. Weston."

"It's quite alright," she chuckled. "I've heard that and much worse."

Mom gave me a pointed look and I shrugged.

After we finished dessert, Mom put together a container of leftovers for Alex, plus a big helping of the cobbler.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weston," he said as he gave her a hug.

"Anytime, Alex."

I walked Alex out to his SUV. For some reason, I was really nervous.

"Thanks for a great day, Mason."

"You're welcome. Thanks for being there for me. I don't really have anyone I can..."

I let out a quiet sigh and shrugged. He leaned down and hugged me. I was caught off guard for a second, then hugged him back. I felt him rubbing his beard on my cheek and I closed my eyes and leaned into the big guy.

"Thanks," I said as I broke the hug.

"Go out with me."

I frowned at him. "You mean on a date?"

"Yeah, I mean on a date."

"I don't think that'd be a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Off the top of my head? I've only been separated from my husband for a month. Two, you're one of his best friends. Three, you're bi."

"So? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Because bi guys just want to fuck around with you until they've found the perfect woman to start a family with. Then they ditch the gay and go 'straight'."

"Been there, done that," he laughed.

"I'm not joking, Alex. More importantly, you're one of Dale's best friends. What do you think he'd say if he knew you asked me out?"

"Fuck Dale if he doesn't realize when he's got a good thing. And I'm not gonna sit here and pretend I don't have feelings for you when I got the chance to do something about it."

I shook my head. "No, Alex. It's not a good idea. I'm sorry, but I can't. I don't think we should hang out anymore."

I rushed into the house and closed the door behind me. I couldn't go out with Alex. It wouldn't be right. No matter how attracted to him I was.

***

"Mason! Alex just pulled into the driveway," Mom called from the bottom of the stairs.

Shit. After not hearing from him all week, I thought for sure he wouldn't be back. I looked at the clock. It was 12:30 on Saturday afternoon. I shut my laptop and went downstairs.

I took a deep breath. 'Tell him no,' I thought to myself. The doorbell rang and I held my chin up and walked to the door and opened it.

Alex was grinning really big.

Cradled in his arm on his hip was his son.

The toddler was adorable. He had a shock of black hair and chubby cheeks. He had his daddy's gray eyes, opened wide as he took in the unfamiliar surroundings. He was dressed in the cutest little denim overalls and a white t-shirt.

"Hi, Mase," Alex said. "This is Aiden. Aiden, this is my friend Mason."

"You are something else," I mumbled as I shook my head. "Using your baby to manipulate me."

"Is it working?" he said with a grin.

"Come on in," I sighed.

"Oh, can you hold Aiden for minute? I need to get his bag from the truck."

I held my hands up and shook them. "Oh. No. Uh-uh. I don't-- I'm not good with--"

"Just hold him, ya big baby."

Alex held out Aiden and pushed him to my chest. I put my arms around him, holding him under his butt with one arm and my other hand on his back. Aiden gripped my shirt in his fists and laid his head down on my shoulder. I melted.

"Oh, my! Who is this?" Mom asked as she walked into the living room.

She tickled her hand on his back. "What's your name, honey?" she asked him in a sing-song baby voice.

"Aiden," he said and blinked his eyes.

"Aren't you precious?" she said as she squeezed his cheek.

Alex walked in and shut the door behind him.

"Okay, buddy. Let's get you changed."

Alex took Aiden from me and looked at Mom. "Mrs. Weston, do you have some place I could change Aiden's diaper?"

"Just do it on the couch. He doesn't have anything we haven't seen before."

Alex laid a blanket on the couch and put down Aiden and began unbuckling his overalls.

"Okay then," I said. "I'm gonna give you some privacy."

"You are such a baby," Alex laughed. "Man up. Come on. Sit down."

I reluctantly sat down on the other end of the sofa and turned my head away and focused on anything but the naked baby at the other end of the sofa. Mom and Alex chatted while he changed Aiden's diaper.

"Okay, you can look now, Mase," Alex chuckled.

I looked over and Aiden had a fresh diaper on and Alex was putting his overalls back on. Mom picked up the dirty diaper and I cringed as she took it to throw it into the garbage.

Mom returned a few seconds later.

"I hope you washed your hands," I said to her.

Alex laughed and picked Aiden up and set him on my lap.

"Hold him for a second. While I go wash my hands," he said pointedly.

Mom was looking at me with a wide smile on her face.

"I always thought you'd be a good dad," she said.

"Yeah. Right," I said sarcastically.

"I'm serious, Mason."

"Well, I don't think that's going to happen."

"You never know," she said with a raised eyebrow and nodded her head towards Aiden.

I opened my mouth to respond, but Alex returned and sat down on the couch next to me.

"How old is Aiden, Alex?" Mom asked.

"I two," Aiden said and held up two fingers.

Okay, I'll admit it. It was way cute and we all chuckled.

"I didn't even know you had a son," she said.

I gave my mom a dirty look. I knew she was going to start prying. She ignored me.

"Yeah. I... Well, I got my girlfriend pregnant and we got married. We only lasted a year before we divorced. But it wasn't all bad. I got Aiden out of it. Right, buddy?"

"Right, Daddy," Aiden said.

"So, you date girls then?" Mom asked. "I thought you were... um..."

"Mom," I muttered and shook my head.

Alex smiled. "I have been known to date both women and men."

"Oh. That's fascinating. So, do you have a preference for one over the other?"

"It depends on my mood. Over the years, I kind of switched back and forth. But I'd say I'm more into guys right now."

He cut his eyes at me and I blushed and looked away.

"Okay, then," I said. "Let's change the subject."

"So you have joint custody of Aiden then?" Mom asked.

"Yeah. I normally get him every other week. But Susie's had him for the last three weeks. She was visiting her parents out of state. I get him for the next two, then we're back on our normal schedule."

We chatted for a while and then Alex asked me if I wanted to get lunch with him and Aiden. I started to say no, but Mom intervened.

"Of course he does," Mom said.

"Great," Alex said with a big grin.

He stood up and took Aiden from me. I got up and went and put on my shoes.

"Go bye bye?" Aiden asked Alex.

"Yup. We're going bye bye. You want Mason to come have hot dogs with us?"

"Yay!"

As we walked to the front door, Mom said to Alex, "If you ever need a babysitter, I would be happy to watch him."

"Thanks, Mrs. Weston. I'll keep that in mind."

"Bye, sweetie," Mom said to Aiden.

"Bye bye."

I followed Alex out to his SUV and watched as he buckled Aiden into his car seat. We got into the truck and headed out to lunch.

"Aiden likes Country Dogs," he said. "I hope that's okay with you?"

"Sure. That's fine."

When we walked into the hotdog and burger restaurant, Alex handed Aiden to me while he got a child seat. Alex and I both ordered chili dogs and fries, while Aiden had a plain hot dog with ketchup.

Alex gave Aiden a few of his fries. Aiden certainly made a mess. He had ketchup all over the place. I watched Alex take care of Aiden throughout the meal. By the time I was finished, Alex had barely touched his food.

"All gone!" Aiden said and he held up his hands.

"That's my good boy," Alex said with a grin. "Who's my big boy?"

"Aiden," Aiden said with a toothy smile.

Alex leaned in and loudly kissed one of Aiden's chubby cheeks, causing him to giggle. Alex smoothed down Aiden's wild hair as he looked at him with complete love and adoration. It was beautiful to watch.

Alex looked up at me and smiled. I blinked and felt a tear drip down my cheek. I cleared my throat and quickly wiped it away.

After lunch, Alex took me back home. He got out of the truck with me.

"Thanks for lunch," I said.

"Anytime. Can I call you?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

Alex looked at me with a smug grin. He moved in and gave me a hug.

"I'll see you later then?" he whispered in my ear.

"Yeah. Bye, Alex."

I let go of him and looked into the back seat. "Bye bye, Aiden."

"Bye bye, Mason."

***

Starting that night, Alex started calling me regularly just to chat on the phone.

The next Saturday, he and Aiden came over again and the three of us went out to lunch, then we went to a kid's movie. It was actually pretty good. I was surprised that it kept Aiden's attention for an hour and a half. And he loved the popcorn almost as much as his daddy.

Mom made dinner for us again. I had the feeling that Alex didn't get many real home cooked meals. He certainly raved about Mom's cooking. Aiden seemed to be happy with it too, having cleaned his plate twice.

When the two of them left, I walked them out to the SUV.

"Thanks for spending the day with me and Aiden."

"Anytime."

Aiden was laying with his head on Alex's shoulder and was almost asleep. I reached up and gently rubbed Aiden's back.

"He's a great kid," I said.

I looked up at Alex and he was looking down at me. He suddenly leaned down and kissed me on the lips. When I didn't pull away, he pressed harder into me. I returned his kiss. It was quite erotic, opened mouth, but no tongue. I pulled back before things went too far.

"I'll call you later," he said.

"Bye, Alex."

***

After talking to Alex every night on the phone, I went out with Alex and Aiden again the next Saturday. We then spent the afternoon at the zoo. Aiden loved the monkeys and primates more than anything else. I had been to the zoo a couple of times, but it was really amazing to see it again through Aiden's perspective.

Aiden had to be at Susie's by 6:00, so after we left the zoo, we drove over to her place. Alex got Aiden out of the car seat and asked me to get his bags. I was nervous walking up to the door behind Alex. I hadn't seen Susie in a couple years.

Alex rang the doorbell and she opened the door and let us in. She glanced at me and frowned. She took Aiden from Alex and smothered him with kisses. She set him down on the floor and he waddled over to some of his toys that were on the floor. She snatched the bags from my hand and gave Alex a sharp look.

"What are you doing with him?" she asked Alex, while cutting her eyes at me.

"Mason's a friend of mine."

"I thought Dale was a friend of yours."

"He is," he grumbled as he shot her a look that said 'stay out of his business'.

"And you know how I feel about you dating in front of Aiden," she said under her breath.

"I'm gonna wait outside," I said.

"No. We're done here," Alex said firmly.

He squatted down. "Aiden. C'mere."

Aiden turned and jumped on his dad.

"Who loves you?" Alex asked.

"My Daddy."

"I gotta go bye bye, but I'll see you soon."

Aiden's big eyes pooled with tears and he started to wail as they streamed down his face.

Alex hugged Aiden tight and kissed his cheek. "Bye bye, sweetie. I love you."

Susie picked Aiden up and held him as he sobbed into her shoulder. She gave Alex a sympathetic smile. I nearly burst into tears watching it.

I followed Alex back out to the truck. He sat in the driver's seat with his eyes closed tight, but the tears still escaped.

He was so vulnerable, so sad. My heart broke for him.

I reached out and took his hand in mine and held it and gently rubbed it. I knew then that I liked Alex as far more than a friend and there wouldn't be going back after this.

He let out a deep breath and wiped his face. He looked over at me and I smiled warmly at him.

"Thanks," he said quietly.

He reached up and wiped the tears from my cheeks, then wiped his own away.

"Okay," he sniffled. "I haven't had a real meal all week. Let's go get a steak."

"That sounds good, Alex."

Alex started the car and pulled out of the driveway. He reached out and took my hand in his. We quietly held hands all the way to the restaurant.

At the restaurant, we kept our conversation light. We were both laughing and joking throughout dinner. I was very glad that I was able to take his mind off missing his son.

After dinner, he drove me home and walked me to the front door.

"It's still early. You wanna come in for a while?" I asked.

Alex followed me inside. I took off my shoes and he took off his boots and we went and joined mom in the living room.

"How was the zoo?" she asked.

"Great," Alex replied. "Aiden had a ball."

"Good. He's such a sweet boy. I hope I have a grandson just like him someday," she said wistfully as she flashed me a look.

"Oh my god," I muttered. "Subtle."

Alex laughed loudly and I gave him a dirty look and elbowed him in the side.

"Stop encouraging her," I said. I couldn't help but smile a little.

We watched TV with Mom for a while, but when her show was over, she let out an exaggerated yawn and said she was tired and heading to bed. She told us both goodnight and winked at me as she walked out of the room.

I blushed slightly and I looked over at Alex, who was trying his best to hold in a laugh. It didn't work. He bust out laughing. He was doubled over from laughing so hard.

"Ass," I muttered and I shoved his arm and started laughing with him.

"Oh, shit," he sighed. "Your mom is something else, Mase."

"Yeah. She's a riot," I said wryly.

I laid my head on the back of the couch and looked up at Alex. He put his left arm on the back of the couch and laid his head on it. His other hand moved up to my hair. He ran his hand down my hair. I closed my eyes and let out a soft sigh as he twirled his fingers through the wavy locks at the nape of my neck. I felt his body shift closer to mine and his lips brushed against mine. They were warm and soft.

Alex kissed me slowly and sensually. I brought my hand up to his face and lightly stroked his beard whiskers. I liked the feeling. Dale was always clean shaven, even on the weekends. Alex's tongue gently slid across my bottom lip. I opened my mouth and touched his tongue with the tip of mine. That was all the encouragement he needed. His tongue pushed into my mouth and he kissed me hard.

He leaned into me and his weight pushed me back down onto the couch as he moved on top of me. I moved my arms around his back and gripped his shoulders.

His arms circled me tightly. He licked and kissed along my jaw to my neck. His beard tickled my neck as he kissed and sucked, causing me to moan softly. He moved back to my mouth and kissed me breathless.

When he pulled back, I opened my eyes and looked up at him. He looked down at me and stroked my hair and my face.

"You're so handsome, Mason," he whispered.

"Thank you, Alex," I whispered back as I looked up into his face. "God, you're such a stud."

He furrowed his brow. "I haven't been a stud for a long time."

"I think you are."

I ran my hands down his back to the soft sides of his belly. I could feel his throbbing cock pushing into my thigh. He felt so much bigger than Dale and the thought made me shudder.

"It's getting late. I should get going," he said.

"Okay," I said with a touch of disappointment in my voice.

He leaned down and whispered in my ear, "If I don't go now, I won't be able to control myself. And I'm not after just sex with you."

He pushed back and stood up, turning his back to me to discretely adjust his dick in his jeans.

I got up from the couch and walked him to the door. He bent down and pulled on his boots. He leaned in and gave me one more kiss. His hand massaged the back of my neck.

"Bye, Mason. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Okay. Bye, Alex."

I shut and locked the door after him and leaned my back against it and sighed. I felt like a love-struck teenager. I smiled to myself and pushed off the door and turned off the lights and went up to bed.

***

Over the next week, I talked to Alex every night at least once, sometimes twice a night. He also came over for dinner on Tuesday and Thursday. Wednesday, we went out to dinner. Before he left for the night, we kissed and made out until he would ultimately pull away to go home.

We didn't get together on Friday because he had poker night at Lew's.

He came over as usual on Saturday afternoon and we went to lunch. He really wanted to play golf, but I didn't want to. So, we did the mini golf again. We skipped the go karts this time, but we had a really fun time. After that, we went to a movie.

"Wow, it was nice to see an adult movie for a change," he said as we left the lobby. "Well, not an 'adult' movie, but... You know what I mean."

As we walked out of the theater towards Alex's Expedition, I heard someone call my name. Alex and I stopped and turned around. Damien was running through the parking lot to catch up to us, with Joseph walking up behind him.

"What do you want?" I asked.

Damien's eyes filled with tears. "Please talk to me. I miss you so much, Mase."

He grabbed my arm. "Please, Mase."

I shrugged his hand off me. "Knock it off. I don't have anything to say to you, Damien."

Damien was full on crying now. "You're my only friend, Mase. You have to forgive me. Please," he begged.

"I'm sorry, Damien. I'm tired of your crap. I just can't do it again. Not after what you did."

"Come on, Damien. Let's go," Joseph said, pulling at Damien's hand.

"You think you're better than me?" Damien spat as he wiped his tears away. "That's it, isn't it? Dale would have left you years ago if it wasn't for me. Even back in college, I let you have my leftovers. You'd be a 36 year old virgin if it wasn't for me. And you have the nerve to look at me like I'm some kind of whore while you're fucking your husband's best friend."