buttocks. He
squeezed and said. “I told you it was complicated. When I’m with you, I am real. But
when I’m not with you I don’t exist anymore. I’m the real thing, but only in your eyes.
You make me real.” Then he pressed his middle finger to Dexter’s anus and said, “It’s
like when two people fall in love and come together as one. They look at each other and
each believes he is with the most wonderful, beautiful person in the world. To everyone
else in the world he could be grotesque and ugly. But what they see is all that matters.
The lovers are both magnificent. And that’s the magical part.”
Dexter still didn’t fully understand, and he didn’t have time to ask any more
questions. “I wish I could stay in bed with you all day, but I have to get dressed. Will you
be here later?” Lang’s finger was now inside his body. Dexter spread his legs and backed
into Lang’s hand.
Lang kissed the top of his head. “I’ll be here for a while, Dexter.”
Dexter licked Lang’s beard and started to ride his finger. “You’ve turned me into
a sex maniac. I’ve never been like this with anyone. I feel like I can’t get enough of you.”
Lang inserted two more fingers and said, “I feel the same way about you, Dexter.
I just hope I haven’t made a huge mistake.”
Dexter didn’t hear his last sentence. His head was back, his mouth was open, and
his body was moving up and down.
Chapter Six
After Labor Day, Brighton went back to school and Dexter had his days to
himself again. He drove her to school each morning, kissed her goodbye, and went back
to Keel Cottage so he could spend the rest of the morning in bed with Captain Lang. He
told Marion he was working on a screenplay in the study next to his bedroom and he
didn’t want to be disturbed. But he was really working on what Captain Lang had
between his legs. And Captain Lang wasn’t shy about taking what he wanted from Dexter.
In the afternoons, Dexter went to the beach. He didn’t go out to the dunes
anymore and he didn’t strip for other men. Now that he had Captain Lang in his life, he
didn’t feel the need to show off his body. The only one he wanted to strip for was Captain
Lang. So he went to the beach at Herring Cove each day and sat in the sun alone. He
watched the ocean and enjoyed the last few weeks of warm weather. He knew from past
experience as a tourist in town that some of the best beach days in Provincetown were
after Labor Day. It was less crowded and there weren’t as many bugs.
Then one breezy afternoon in mid-September, Dexter tripped over a stack of
books that had been piled in the sand. He was on his way to an empty section of the
beach to set up his towel and he wasn’t watching where he was going. His right foot hit
the books; he lost his balance and fell down next to a man wearing bright red swim trunks.
The man had been lying flat on his back. He bolted forward and asked, “Are you okay?”
His voice was high-pitched and nasal. The stack of books was now strewn all over the
sand. Dexter lifted his head and smiled. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I wasn’t looking where I
was going.” He got up on his knees and brushed sand off his naked chest. Dexter was
wearing black swim trunks, long ones that went down to his knees. He reached to his
right and gathered the books into a pile again.
The guy smiled and said, “I’ve seen you around town. My name is Elliot
Bransford.” He extended his arm to shake Dexter’s hand.
Dexter reached out and said, “I’m Dexter Moore. I just moved to Provincetown
this summer.” Elliot had a friendly round face, light brown hair, and small green eyes.
His nose twisted to the right and his chin had a deep cleft. There was a thick patch of
brown hair in the middle of his breastbone, and his short,
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