Bonds of Love

moment that shook Vic’s worldapart.
And then he discovered the super powers.
* * * *
Vic stepped out of the restroom and blinked back theshadows that clung to the side of the building. The faded blue ofthe sky had deepened into an inky shade but the Richmond skylineoutshone any stars. A hundred yards away, the James River rushed byBrown’s Island with an almost imperceptible gurgle of water overstone. Here, with the restrooms between himself and the stage, Viccould breathe in the night, let it fill his lungs, clear his head.Tentatively he reached out with his mind, testing the world aroundhim, looking for something different, something new…
He heard the swish of grass behind him a secondbefore hot, sweaty hands covered his eyes.
When Matt snickered in his ear, Vic could smell thealcohol on his lover’s breath. “Guess who?”
Covering Matt’s hands with his own, Vic teased, “Mydrunk boyfriend.”
“I’m not drunk,” Matt protested. He leaned againstVic’s back as if trying to bend him over. Something hard anduncompromising poked at Vic’s denim-clad ass; maybe theywould get lucky tonight. When one of Matt’s legs came uparound his waist, Vic caught the knee and hoped the cover ofdarkness was enough to keep anyone from seeing this. Matt wasofficially all over him. “Gimme a piggy-back ride,” Mattdemanded.
“Let go of my eyes.” Matt’s hands slipped down,covering Vic’s mouth, then under his chin to clasp around his neck.“Matt,” he gasped as his lover’s grip tightened around his throat.“I can’t breathe.”
Matt’s hands disappeared. “Sorry,” he murmured, lipspressed against the nape of Vic’s neck. With a lusty sigh, hedraped himself across Vic’s back, arms encircling Vic’s waist tohold him tight. Those lips puckered into a quick kiss, then movedto a tender spot behind Vic’s left ear to kiss again, and then onhis jaw, another kiss.
Vic turned his head and Matt’s next kiss landed onhis mouth. As his lover’s tongue flicked out to taste his lips, Vicfelt a hand fumble with the buckle of his belt. “Matt,” he warned,catching that hand before it could go any farther. “It’s gettinglate.”
Strong fingers closed around his. In what faint lightthere was, Vic saw Matt’s half-hooded eyes and the slow smile thatspread across his lips. “I want you,” he whispered, his words asflammable as his breath. They ignited Vic’s blood like kerosene,fanning to life the flames of desire and lust that banked withinhim whenever his lover was near. Kissing Vic’s chin, Matt nipped athis goatee and sang softly, off-key, “I want to feel you from theinside.”
With detached amusement, Vic asked, “Is that yourbest pick-up line?”
But his arm came around Matt’s waist to hug himclose, and his lover could be singing gospel hymns, for all Viccared—the sound of Matt’s voice was enough to turn him on. Theexhaustion he’d felt in the restroom dropped away, and even theheadache that had cropped up after his last cup of beer began todisperse.
Rubbing against him, Matt cajoled, “I needyou, baby.”
Vic laughed. “Are you always this horny when you getdrunk?”
“I’m not drunk,” Matt said again, but hestumbled when Vic took a step back. Hands clutched at Vic’s waist,fisting in his shirt. “No fair. It’s dark and I can’t see shit.Where are you going?”
“Home.” Vic took another step in the darkness andMatt fell after him. “You ready to go?”
“Don’t move so fast.”
The pout was evident in Matt’s voice; Vic didn’t haveto see it to hear it. He felt it in his brain, through the mentalconnection he shared with his lover. Lately their conversations hadbecome a mixture of speech and thought, and Matt’s presence wasalways foremost in Vic’s mind.
But tonight, with all the beer the two of them haddrunk, Matt was nothing but a numb buzz inside Vic’s head, brighterthan the thoughts of strangers that Vic managed to ignore but notthe normal consciousness of the man he loved. As much as he likedthis aroused man who fawned over him when inebriated, he didn’tcare for the fact that alcohol dulled the soul living in constantcontact with his own.
Another step and Matt tripped over his own feet. Withreflexes that still managed to surprise him, Vic caught him underthe arms before he could hit the ground. “Come on, Matty,” Vicmurmured, lifting him as if the grown man weighed nothing more thana young child. Bending down, Vic shouldered his lover onto hisback, hands laced together to form a seat beneath Matt’sbuttocks.
Matt wrapped his arms around Vic’s chest and huggedhim tight. With his head on Vic’s shoulder, Matt sighed. His breathtickled Vic’s neck and ear. “Love you,” he whispered.
“I can tell,” Vic muttered. Matt’s erection now pokedinto the small of his back like a knot of wood. When he stood, aburst of energy whirled through him with a heat like the sun,coalescing from the center of his being to invigorate his armsuntil Matt’s weight seemed nonexistent. The super strength was justone more thing he’d learned to live with when Matt came into hislife. Releasing his hands, he rubbed down Matt’s thighs and caughthis lover’s knees in the crooks of his elbows. Then Vic headed forthe parking lot and left Brown’s Island, with its day-long party,the bands and the booze and the crowds, behind.
* * * *
The super strength came from Matt. From lovinghim.
So did the telepathy, and any other extraordinarypower Vic exhibited on a day to day basis.
The whole thing still managed to catch Vic unaware,especially when a new power manifested beyond his control. Wheneverthey made love, something in Matt’s semen gave Vic exaggeratedsuperhuman abilities. Like a sexual Russian roulette, Vic was neverquite sure what the morning after would bring. The power dujour seemed to depend on their position during sex. Missionarystyle with Vic on top, and his mind opened to the world intelepathic ways. When Matt was on top, Vic grew stronger than anyliving man, able to bench press over a thousand pounds as if theweights were feathers. He lifted a city bus once, just the back ofit, to test out the strength. The memory still terrified him.
The telepathy was there from the first time they madelove—Vic woke to find his mind invaded with a million otherthoughts, none of them his.