Those Who Wander

The Pits and its proprietor hold all kinds of secrets.

Not all those who wander are lost.”
J.R.R. Tolkien

Huggy rolled over and admired his lover’s backside from across the room, sleek and muscular like a fine chestnut thoroughbred. “Come back to bed, Marlon,” Huggy invited, patting the rumpled sheets.

The sultry sounds of Ella Fitzgerald were drifting from the record player and Marlon was at the stove brewing tea – a special herbal blend made with hibiscus flowers he always brought with him when he came down from San Francisco. “Patience, love,” he responded. “Anticipation heightens the senses.”

When the tea leaves had been sufficiently steeped, Marlon carried two cups back to the bed. Huggy sat up higher on the pillows and took the cup Marlon offered. He was a coffee man himself, but was happy to take whatever Marlon offered. His visits seemed too few and far between.

Huggy took a sip and leaned back. “This is nice,” he sighed.

“It’s healthy, too,” Marlon told him, balancing his drink as he settled in beside Huggy. “Soothes the nerves and opens the mind.”

Huggy sat his cup on the nightstand and ran a hand down Marlon’s cheek. “I’m not just talkin’ about the tea.”

Marlon took hold of Huggy’s hand, turned it over and placed a kiss in the center of his palm. Huggy shivered. Lord, the things this man could do to him.

Marlon was from up the coast but business brought him to Bay City from time to time. He’d found his way to The Pits awhile back when he couldn’t stand one more night in a colorless hotel room. He’d told Huggy that the funky bar’s neon signs and lively thumping music had called to him. Its laid back atmosphere had a way of making strangers feel welcome no matter how far they’d wandered.

The vibe was open and non-judgmental – just like its charismatic proprietor. Marlon had ordered a whiskey neat – why dilute the experience? he’d said – and Huggy Bear had been attracted to him at once. The feeling was mutual. Two free spirits drawn together in the swirling chaos of life, both having given up trying to make sense of it all. They lived for the moment, taking their pleasure when – and how – they chose.

It didn’t take long for their special relationship to develop. Their intimate secrets shared.

Marlon rolled Huggy over, their long legs tangling like the sheets. He pressed more kisses down the back of his neck. When the kisses turned to delicate yet demanding nips, Huggy moaned. The tea grew cold in their cups as they explored each other again and again. A soft tongue here, an urgent pressure there.

“Mmmmmmm,” Huggy sighed again much later as his breath came back down to normal. “How can this be wrong when it feels so right?”

“Since when did you care about wrong and right?” Marlon teased. “Or maybe you’ve been getting too cozy with your cop buddies? Seems like they’ve become your favorite customers.”

Huggy didn’t bother to deny it. “Starsky and Hutch are alright. They ain’t like other cops.”

“And why’s that?” Marlon asked, leisurely stretching his legs.

“Because they get that there’s no such thing as black and white. And I’m not just talkin’ race relations. They can see all the shades of grey. In people, in situations. I respect that.”

Marlon swung out of the bed and went to the record player. He flipped over the LP and Ella began to croon “in the still of the night.”

“Should I be jealous?” Marlon turned and asked, but Huggy knew the question was merely rhetorical. They had no hold on each other. Not the way the two cops did. That was their unspoken deal.

“Hell, no man. Besides, they only have eyes for each other,” he qualified.

“I should have guessed as much, what with the way they were taking turns at the pool table tonight. No wonder they enjoy crowding each other’s space so much.” Marlon had been amused at their antics as he’d sipped his drink at the bar.

“They may only have eyes for each other, but they haven’t realized it yet,” Huggy murmured, admiring how the lights that came in from the street below played against the shadows of the room, lending his lover an almost primal look.

“Too bad for them,” Marlon said as he came back to the bed. “Huggy, my man, that’s another thing that amazes me about you. I think you just might know more about other people than they know about themselves.”

Huggy smirked. “What can I say? I’m gifted.”

“In more ways than one.” Marlon smiled back at him wickedly, his lips sensuous and full. His hand reached down to caress Huggy’s cock, prominent even at rest.

Huggy and Marlon’s interludes were hot and sweaty until they’d used themselves up, since they never knew if or when they’d see each other again. Such was the life they’d chosen.

In the heat of their love-making Huggy figured he couldn’t be blamed if he fantasized. In fact, it was probably expected. He closed his eyes and thought of Starsky, reckless and dark, and of Hutch, perfect as porcelain, yet underneath as strong as steel. He imagined how if those two ever lay together, they would combust like stars.

Later, after Marlon had gone, Huggy found himself watching Starsky and Hutch all the more intently and considering that the ‘all seeing, all knowing Huggy Bear’ might just be missing something gigantic. He’d begun to wonder if his craving for independence only masked a fear of losing himself. He had a hundred faces, lived a dozen lives. But somehow someone had been able to find the real him.

Maybe the next time his lover came, he wouldn’t let him go so easily.

FIN