Percy really wasn't paying attention to the movie. Not only had he seen Victor/Victoria like six times, he was too conscious of Karl Montgomery sitting beside him, his massive arm pressed against him, his hand occasionally reaching across Percy's lap to grab some popcorn. It was incredibly exciting, but also comforting. It felt like home.
They only met three weeks ago, when his bff Kelvin Gemstone told him that Cousin Karl had just come out -- at age 43 -- and wanted Percy to play matchmaker. He found three "perfect" matches -- a bodybuilder to match Karl's Strong Man awards, a musician to match the Kentucky bluegrass that he played at the Pour House every Friday night, and a carpenter to match his job in landscaping, But Karl didn't want any of them -- he wanted Percy!
Kelvin sat on his other side, next to his partner Keefe. That was amazing, too -- back when they first met, when Percy was hired to design the new executive board room at the Gemstone Salvation Center, the poor guy couldn't even acknowledge that he was gay. He pretended that his boyfriend was "just a good buddy"; God forbid that they ever appear together in public. Now, three years later, he was happy to be seen on a double date!
When the movie ended, they strolled through Charleston's French Quarter, past the Lowcountry Art Gallery, The Bakehouse, Sweetgrass Baskets, little gay-owned boutiques and quirky restaurants, toward their cars in the Queen Street Lot. Heads turned to look at Kelvin, and one guy asked for a selfie-- he was famous, after all, one of the few out gay evangelical ministers in the country. But maybe they were looking at Karl -- 6'7", 375 pounds, with a long black beard framing a baby face and a smile that could light up the whole state, a macho woodsman holding hands with a skinny, femme interior designer.
"Hey, y'all want to stop at Magnolia's for some pecan pie?" Percy called ahead.
Kelvin turned back. "There's dessert back at the house, if you're up for it. Our housekeeper Martiza made an Albanian walnut-honey cake. What did she call it, Keefe?"
"Shendetlie, I think."
"You know I have a sweet tooth," Percy said. "I'm up for it if Karl is."
"Sounds cool," Karl said. "But...um...Cousin Keefe, can I talk to you?" He rushed ahead and took Keefe's arm. Kelvin hung back.
"How are things going with Karl?" he asked. "What date is this? Your sixth or seventh?"
"If you count ice cream the first night, church twice, the bluegrass concert, game night at your place, and dinner with his Mama, seven. But I also helped him with Fun Day at the Gemstone Amusement Park, and we've hung out at my apartment -- well, we've been together almost every day."
"But you haven't been intimate yet?"
"Does that surprise you, Kelvin? Didn't you and Keefe wait like two years?"
"But I didn't even know that I was gay yet. You've been out since age 10."
Percy took Kelvin's arm. "That's part of his charm. He's a perfect Southern gentleman. He brings me flowers, and holds the door open for me, and treats me..."
"Like a lady?"
"Well, he doesn't have any role models for gay relationships, except for you guys, and that's exactly how you treat Keefe."
Kelvin laughed. "Really? I never noticed."
"Don't get me wrong -- I would love to see Karl naked. But for some reason I'm not in a hurry. Just sitting on the couch with his arm around me -- I've never felt so warm and safe, and...well, loved."
"I know exactly what you mean. I feel the same way about Keefe. The sex is great, but it's seeing him smile that makes my day." He paused. "I thought it would be weird for you and Karl. You're so different."
More after the break.
"That's what I love about him. There were so many things that I thought I had to give up to be gay. I moved to New York, listened to Lady Gaga instead of Sturgill Simpson, ate Thai-French fusion instead of fried chicken. But Karl is so unapologetically country. He's totally and completely himself. He's perfect." He stopped himself before he sounded too much like a junior high boy with a crush. "What are they talking about?" he asked, gesturing at Keefe and Karl.
"Who knows?" Kelvin said. "They're always conspiring and scheming. They have a special bond, I guess because they were both raised poor, and suddenly got pushed into the Gemstone world."
When they reached the cars, the guys' Lexus parked incongruously next to Karl's battered pick-up truck, Keefe said "Hold back, Brother. We're still ironing out the details."
"Details of what?" Percy asked.
"It's a secret, right, Cousin Karl?" He nudged Karl, who giggled.
So they hung back and discussed the movie and one of Percy's super-entitled clients, until Keefe gestured for them to come forward. ""Instead of driving all the way out to the compound and back, I invited Percy and Karl to spend the night."
"And I'll make breakfast in the morning," Karl added.
"Great. I love houseguests!" Kelvin exclaimed.
"Maritza always keeps the bedrooms in the East Guest Suite stocked with new toiletries and such," Keefe told them.
"The East Guest Suite?" Percy repeated with a frown. The one with the outdated French Provincial decor, painful for a professional designer to even look at? Percy always stayed in the Atrium Room when he spent the night. Why would Keefe want...oh, right. It had two bedrooms.
They had their walnut-and-honey cake and coffee in the game room. Percy could hardly eat, with Karl cuddling against him, nuzzling his neck, kissing him on the shoulder. Not that he minded -- he loved being the focus of so much attention. But he was worried that he might become aroused, and Karl would notice and feel guilty for not getting intimate yet. He might not understand that Percy was perfectly happy waiting.
When they were finished, Keefe insisted on bringing the dishes to the kitchen. He was gone for a long time -- funny, he was rarely more than three feet away from Kelvin. Usually they were touching in some way. But maybe he was in the bathroom, or changing clothes.
"Y'all want to watch some tv, or is it about bedtime?" Kelvin asked.
"I'm not tired yet," Karl said. "Let's see what's new on Netflix."
Then Keefe returned, sat on the love seat next to Kelvin, and kissed him.
"Where you been, Bro?" he asked.
"It's a secret. I'll tell you about it later, but I think it's about time for us to head upstairs."
"Yeah, I'm really tired," Karl said. Wait -- didn't he say he wasn't tired five seconds ago?
They followed Kelvin and Keefe up the stairs, said goodnight, and walked down the hall to the East Guest Suite. Yuck -- all white with gold trim, little fleurs-de-lys, Baroque curlicues. The French Revolution is over, Percy thought. Louis XVI lost.
"That door leads to the master," he told Karl, "And over there is what I call the teen room. It's got a New Kids on the Block poster on the wall. I'll take that one, so you can have the big bed."
Percy leaned up to receive one of the shy, chaste kisses that they had been sharing for three weeks. But instead, Karl wrapped his arms around him, squeezed him tightly, and kissed him hard. It was deeper, more forceful, that he had evern kissed Percy before. Their chests pressed together, their crotches -- he became aroused, and tried to pull away so Karl wouldn't notice. But he felt that Karl was aroused, too.
He broke away. "That was intense! What made you so passionate, all of a sudden?"
Now the shy Karl returned. He looked up at the Morbier Clock on the mantle. "Sure, you can take the teen room....um...or you could...you know, we could both take the master."
"Really? Are you sure you're ready?"
He took both of Percy's hands. "Percy, I never met anybody like you before. It's like you're all the guys I dreamed about when I was a kid, all the handsome princes out of fairy tales, but you're real. I can't believe how lucky I am that somebody as smart and classy and handsome as you wants a big lug like me. I wan to touch you all over, and kiss you all over..if it's ok, I mean."
"Of course it's ok."
Karl kissed him again. "I figured if we did it at my house, it would all be about me, and if we did it at your apartment, it would all be about you, but at my cousins' house, it would be about us together."
He opened the door to the master. A splash of warm blue light. A bouquet of roses from Kelvin's garden. Sparkling non-alcoholic grape juice on ice. A bowl of strawberries. And, on the sideboard, a whip, a blindfold, a pair of handcuffs, three dildos, a butt vibrator, some other toys that Percy didn't recognize, a bowl of condoms, and two large bottles of lube.
Percy had to restrain himself from laughing. "You really came prepared."
"Well, Cousin Keefe did," Karl said. "I didn't know what you like to do, so I asked him to bring up some of everything from their...um, love room. The strawberries and grape juice were my idea."
"So this what you were conspiring about."
"Huh?"
"This is Keefe's secret."
"Um...yeah," Karl said doubtfully. "Is it ok?"
"It's perfect. But I don't think we'll be needing any of that equipment. All I want tonight is you. And tomorrow morning, breakfast with my two best friends and my boyfriend."
"Boyfriend!" Karl exclaimed. "I never been a boyfriend before."
The story continues in A Perfect Southern Gentleman: A Karl and Percy Romance. Chapter 2: The KOKK House
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