"I have endeavored in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an
Idea, which will not put my readers out of humour, with themselves, with
each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses
pleasantly, and no one wish to lay it. Their faithful Friend and Servant,
C. D., December, 1843"

What if the great Charles Dickens had lived in the 21st rather than the
19th Century? And what if he had been Gay? How different a story might he
have written?

I don't pretend to have his talent! But this idea has been 'haunting' me
for a couple of years now. So sit back and listen to...

RIMPIG'S CHRISTMAS CAROL
by RimPig 2005

This story is Lovingly Dedicated to my friend, sometime collaborator and
sounding board - D.L. Mercer - my favorite Romance Writer!

Chapter One - Mack's Ghost

Nick sat on a barstool in the dingy little dive, staring at the twinkling,
multi-colored lights surrounding the mirror behind the bar. There was a
tired rope of plastic evergreen strung there as well from which hung what
appeared to be ornaments which were probably at least 20 years old. A
small, tired Christmas tree was at the other end of the bar from where Nick
was, it too looking as if it had seen better days.

'Fuck Christmas!' Nick thought to himself as he picked up the glass in
front of him and took another swallow of the dark amber liquid inside.

The bourbon slid down his throat in a fiery cascade until it hit his empty
stomach. Nick knew he ought to have had something to eat before he started
drinking but, since all he was interested in was getting drunk and blotting
out the thought that this was Christmas Eve, he didn't see any reason
to. On an empty stomach, the booze would work faster.

Nick had never been in this dump before. He'd seen it often enough since it
was on the corner right near where his apartment over a dry cleaner
was. Just a neighborhood dive in a rundown neighborhood where rent was dirt
cheap and everybody kept to themselves. It was not the type of bar that
Nick was used to hanging out in. Those bars were across town and had hefty
cover charges and minimums for anybody who the bouncers would let in. And
just anybody didn't get in! No. You had to be one of the 'beautiful
people'. Rich, either by work or inheritance or physically beautiful and
desirable by those who could well afford to buy whatever beauty they didn't
possess. Tonight, however, Nick was in this dingy little bar with two or
three other patrons, all of which looked like they lived their lives in
this dump, for the express reason to get drunk so that he could try and
forget that tomorrow was Christmas day.

Nick hated Christmas. It was bad for Nick's business. At twenty-four, with
his tall, dark, 'bad- boy' beauty and his gym-toned body of rippling
muscle, Nick was one of the highest paid 'escorts' in the city. It was not
just his looks that got him $350 per hour with a two hour minimum. The
uncut, eleven inch slab of thick manmeat between his legs guaranteed
that. That was the 'asset' that his customers were most interested in and,
like the 'Eveready Bunny', his 'best friend' had never let him down. Or,
more accurately, failed to go up.

But with this being a Saturday night, rather than making the one or two
thousand dollars he was used to, Nick was sitting in a bar getting
drunk. Not one appointment for this weekend! Not one phone call! Everyone
was home throwing Christmas parties or being with their families. One
didn't invite their 'sex-providers' to Christmas parties anymore than they
invited their gardeners or plumbers. Even his old stand-by's, the traveling
salesmen on large expense accounts, were conspicuously absent from the
five-star hotels downtown. All of them home with the wife and kiddies,
probably.

This stupid holiday had really taken a bite out of his financial ass! But
Nick had another reason for hating Christmas. One that no one knew
about. Nick, short for Nicholas, had been given this name by his mother
because he was born on December 25th - Christmas Day. To Nick, the worst
fucking day of the year to be born on! If you were born on Christmas, you
were really screwed! You never got a birthday party or presents like other
kids. Not that there had been many presents when he was growing up. Being
raised by a single mother who had the stupidity to fall in love with a
married man who knocked her up and then dumped her when she turned up
pregnant. After which she married a drunken, slovenly, abusive asshole who
couldn't keep a job so there was never money for much of anything. In all
his life, Nick had never had a birthday cake. Never blown out the candles
while making a wish. Nick didn't even know what the fuck he would have
wished for, except maybe for a different life!

Above all, Nick hated this Christmas in particular. His life had been going
along just fine up until a couple of months before. Then Nick had been
slammed by two events which had come 'out of the blue'.

The first had actually started a little before two months ago. Nick, who
generally tended to stay to himself when he wasn't with a 'client' or
trolling the expensive clubs for new ones, found himself one day in a
little caf^Ã? having lunch. The place was new, had just opened and the food
was really good. Nick had seen the place as it was being renovated from the
dry-cleaners it had been. Finally, a few days after the grand opening, Nick
decided to stop in and try it.

The food had been excellent and everything was fine until someone other
than the waitress who had taken his order, approached his table. Nick
looked up into the most beautiful pair of blue eyes he'd ever seen! And the
face they were set in was the face of an angel with blond curly hair
surrounding it like a halo! The guy was small, no more than five foot six
or seven but, then again, Nick - at six feet - preferred guys who were
smaller than he was. This guy looked younger than Nick, but not by much and
his body - at least what Nick could see of it behind the long, white apron,
seemed to be beautifully toned. Not extremely muscular like Nick's, but
beautiful just the same. It was obvious this guy kept himself in good shape
but didn't have the freedom to spend half his life in the gym, the way Nick
did.

"Hi! How is everything? Anything I can get you?" he asked, his blue eyes
sparkling and a smile that seemed to melt everything inside of Nick.

Normally not one who was intimidated by anyone or anything, Nick suddenly
found himself speechless! He tried desperately to get himself under control
but when he did manage to somehow open his mouth to answer, his mouth
adamantly refused to work and he found himself sounding like a stuttering
fool!

"Uhh...uhh...f-f-f-fine." Nick managed to get out.

'Fuck!' Nick thought to himself. 'This guy is gonna think I'm some kind of
retard!'

"Good! I'm glad to hear it. My name's Tim. I'm the owner." he said,
sticking out his hand.

Nick managed to take it, all the while lost in Tim's beautiful blue
eyes. When their hands met, however, it was like an electric current when
through Nick's body! It was a reaction he'd never had before!

"I...I...I'm Nick." he managed to say, all the while continuing to hold
onto Tim's hand.

While not small, Nick noticed that Tim's hand was smaller than his own -
but it seemed to fit perfectly within his. For some reason, Nick found that
he just couldn't let go of Tim's hand and Tim did not seem to be making any
effort to free himself from Nick's grasp.

"Well, Nick, I really hope that you come back again." Tim said softly and a
blush rose in his cheeks as he said it.

Even in his current confused state, Nick could tell that this was more than
an invitation to revisit the caf^Ã?. More than an invitation to be extended
to anyone who came in to eat. It was obvious, to them both, that this was
an invitation to get to know each other better.

And Nick took him up on the offer, eating there every day for the next two
weeks. And every day, Tim would come over to Nick's table and a welcome
him. But Nick wanted more. He started to notice when the caf^Ã? was least
busy and coming in then. This allowed Tim to spend more time talking to
him, even sitting down at Nick's table when Nick asked him to. Without even
realizing it, Nick was doing something that he had not done for a very long
time. He was 'courting' someone. This was not about money. It was not about
just sex. Nick really wanted to get to know Tim. Nick really wanted...what?

That's what began to bother Nick. What the fuck did he want? Every fiber of
his being told him that what he wanted was to wake up every morning with
Tim in his arms. To spend his nights and days basking in the glow of Tim's
beautiful blue eyes. To build a life together and grow old together just
like in those fucking romance novels his mother was always reading when he
was growing up! But just like those books - that was a fantasy! There could
be no 'cottage with a white picket fence' for Nick! No decent guy like Tim
would want him if he knew what it was that Nick did for a living! No, Nick
figured he was doomed before he even started.

This, however, did not keep Nick from starting! After two weeks of little
talks while Nick ate, he finally got up the nerve to ask Tim out. Just a
movie - but a very expensive one! Nick turned down two 'dates' just to be
free to spend the evening with Tim. At this point, Nick didn't even
remember what movie they saw. God knows, he hadn't paid any attention to
it. All he could do was feel the warmth of Tim sitting beside him and the
scent of him - something 'woodsy' and very male. They'd walked down by the
river, talking and laughing until Tim said he really needed to go home to
bed because he had to open the caf^Ã? early in the morning.

Nick walked him home to his apartment building where they stood on the
deserted street and Nick took Tim into his arms and gently kissed him. The
taste of Tim drove him crazy! But that's all it was that night, just one
kiss. But for Nick, that had been enough. Enough for him to know that he
would do anything he had to do to get Tim into bed! That, however, proved
to be more than problematic.

The next day, when Nick went to the caf^Ã?, Tim was distant, distracted. It
was like the date and the kiss had never happened. Nick couldn't understand
what was going on. He left, totally confused and somewhat hurt by
Tim. Again, Nick did something he rarely did. He cancelled yet another
'date' and waited for Tim when he closed the caf^Ã? for the night.

When Tim saw Nick waiting for him, he somewhat bristled.

"What are you doing here?" Tim asked, a slight edge to his voice.

"Waiting for you." Nick said quietly.

"Why?" Tim asked, annoyance showing now in his voice.

"I want to know what I did wrong." Nick said.

Tim looked startled by this.

"What makes you think you did anything wrong?" Tim asked.

"Because you're treating me like a stranger! And one you don't want
anything to do with." Nick answered.

At this, Tim's attitude seemed to change. His shoulders slumped and he
looked down at the ground, unable to look Nick in the eyes.

"It's not you." he said softly. "It's me."

"What do you mean?" asked Nick.

"I didn't want this to happen. I didn't want to become involved with
somebody." Tim said.

'And you think I did?!' Nick's mind screamed out but what he said was, "Why
not?"

Tim looked up and Nick could see the glistening of tears in Tim's
eyes. This profoundly shocked him.

"I met this guy two years ago. I fell head-over-heels in love with
him. They say that love is blind and I sure was! I didn't see what he was
really like. Everything was fine as long as I did everything he wanted me
to do. When I didn't do what he wanted, he beat me. Oh, he'd apologize
profusely the next day, buy me presents and shit and swear it would never
happen again, but it did. It kept happening until I finally ran
away. That's when I came here and I opened the caf^Ã? with money that my
family lent me. I swore that I'd never become involved with another guy
again. Then you came along! And until you kissed me last night, I didn't
even realize how much I'd begun to care about you! But I can't! Don't you
see that?! I can't let my family down, not after borrowing all this money
to start my own business. I don't have time for getting involved with
someone! No matter how much I want to!" he said.

By this time, tears were coursing down Tim's cheeks. All Nick could process
though was the fact that Tim cared about him and wanted to become involved
with him! Nick knew it was the wrong thing to do, knew he should run like
hell and get as far away from Tim as he could but he just couldn't bring
himself to do that. Instead, he stepped forward and took Tim in his arms,
allowing the beautiful young man to rest his head against his chest.

"Tim, I'd never hurt you! I've never physically harmed anyone in my whole
life! Though, to be honest, I'd like to beat that guy to a bloody pulp for
hurting you! I don't want your business to fail or anything like that! Tim,
I care about you, too! If that's too much for you to handle, then I'll back
off. I'll leave you alone and never bother you again." Nick said.

Tim, at this point, looked up at Nick as he pushed his way out of Nick's
arms.

"Don't you see? It's not what I want. It's what has to be! How can I become
involved with you? I'm spending all my time getting the caf^Ã? to be
successful. There just isn't time for me to get involved with anybody! I
really think it's best if we just nip this in the bud before we both end up
getting hurt." Tim said.

'Too late for that.' Nick thought to himself. To Tim, he said, "Well, if
that's the way it has to be, so be it. It was nice meeting you, Tim. See
you around sometime."

And with this, Nick turned on his heel and strode away, ignoring the sound
of Tim calling out to him. Nick has spent the next two days locked in his
apartment, trying to convince himself that any relationship with Tim was
doomed to failure. When he finally emerged, he dove back into his business
with a vengeance! But try as he might, he'd never been able to forget those
beautiful blues eyes or that angel face. Never been able to bury the
strong, burning desire inside him to hold Tim in his arms and make love to
him.

The second blow had come about two weeks after Nick broke off the budding
relationship with Tim. The closest thing that Nick had to a friend had been
another 'escort' that Nick had known since they both started out as street
hustlers in their late teens. The guy's name was Mack and the two of them
had partied and made lots of money together in the old days and still ran
into each other on a frequent basis. They had mutual clients and
occasionally participated in 'parties' thrown by some of them. They had
also, several years before, appeared in a porn movie together. Nick and
Mack had, since they were teens, an easy, no-strings-attached, sexual
relationship with each other.

But for about six months previously, Nick had noticed that Mack was not
looking physically well. But whenever Nick asked him how he was feeling or
if anything was wrong, Mack would tell him everything was fine or get
defensively belligerent to the point that Nick stopped asking. Then, two
months ago, out of the blue, the police came knocking on Nick's door!
Having never been involved with the police before, Nick was scared
shitless, though he was able to hide it.

The police officers informed him that Mack had died of a drug overdose and
they needed Nick to come to the coroner's office and identify the body.

"How did you get my name?" Nick asked the police officers.

"Your name and address were on a card in his wallet." one of the officers
informed him.

Nick did as he was asked and accompanied the police officers to the
coroner's office where he identified the emaciated body of his
friend. Evidently, in the month or so since Nick had seen Mack, his friend
had gone completely over the edge in drug use. The coroner told Nick that
the overdose had been from a 'speedball', a lethal combination of
methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin.

Ever since that night, Nick had accepted fewer and fewer 'dates' with
'clients' until most of them stopped calling at all, culminating in this
disastrous and lonely holiday weekend. Nick had only wanted to forget Tim
and Mack and everything his life had become so here Nick sat, in this
lonely, drunken state. Finally he figured he had enough to drink and
stumbled the half block to his apartment and fell into bed, fully clothed,
where he quickly passed out.

How long he'd been passed out, Nick didn't know. But he opened his eyes
when he felt something weighting down the mattress on his bed. He looked
over and there was...well, he wasn't sure what it was! It looked like a
person but it was glowing with a weird greenish light and was almost
see-through!

"What the fuck!" Nick exclaimed.

"Hey, Dude! How's it hanging!" came a voice but not in his ears - more like
in his head.

Taking a closer look at the figure on his bed, Nick saw a certain
familiarity about it.

"Mack? Is that you?" he said cautiously.

"Yeah, Dude! It's me!" the figure stated with the same voice in his head
that certainly reminded him of Mack.

"But...you're...you're dead! I had to identify your body!" Nick said.

"Yeah, I know, Dude. Sorry about that." the ghostly figure of Mack said.

"Uhh...what are you doing here?" Nick asked.

"Well, you see, I need some help. I'm kinda in trouble." Mack said.

"What kind of trouble?" Nick asked. "How can you be in trouble if you're
already dead?"

"Yeah, you wouldn't figure that, would you?" Mack asked. "You kinda figure
that you die and your troubles are over. Lemme tell ya! Sometimes they're
just beginning!"

"What do you mean?" Nick asked.

"Well, it's like this. I'm kinda shut away all by my self. I ain't allowed
to see or talk to nobody because I died long before I was supposed to and
through my own fault. The only way they'll let me be around
other...well...I guess you could call us 'spirits' is to get somebody down
here to change their ways." Mack explained.

"What do you mean...change their ways?" Nick asked suspiciously.

"Well...take you, for instance. You fuckin' hate Christmas and everything
that it stands for. They don't like that much up there!" Mack said,
pointing towards the ceiling of Nick's room. "Plus, you have this really
bad track-record where love's concerned."

"You're one to talk! You were selling your cock just the same as I am!"
Nick snorted.

"It ain't about selling your cock, Dude. They really don't give a damn
about that up there. Does the name 'Tim' ring any bells for you?" Mack
asked.

Nick looked at Mack with shock and anger.

"Yeah. So what?!" Nick growled.

"Well, it seems you kind of fucked up there - big time!" Mack said.

"The fuck I did! The dude dumped me! Said he couldn't get involved with
somebody! Too fucking busy running his fucking caf^Ã?!" Nick was practically
screaming.

"Sounds like you've got a guilty conscience, Dude. Maybe you didn't do
everything you could? Maybe you didn't try hard enough. Maybe you were
just as glad he did dump you - that way you didn't have to admit to him
that you loved him. And, you didn't have to try and explain what it is you
do for money." Mack said.

Nick looked at Mack in shock. It was almost like the ghostly Mack was
reading his mind! Those had been exactly Nick's thoughts and feelings after
he pulled himself together following those two days he spent locked in his
room.

"So you're gonna try and save me?!" Nick said sarcastically, giving Mack an
insolent grin.

"Oh, no! Not me, Dude! I ain't got high enough rank for that! No, I'm just
here as kind of an announcer. I'm here to tell you that you're gonna be
visited by three other of the Big Spirits. They're gonna visit you and
help you change your ways. And I'd really suggest you do because you don't
want to end up where I am!" the ghostly Mack said, very sincerely.

"Yeah, right! I ain't going to shoot dope in my veins! No matter what!"
Nick insisted.

"Lemme see if I can explain this the way they explained it to me." Mack
said. "We got this thing called 'free will'. We make decisions. All of
those decisions change what's going to happen in the future. So if you make
certain decisions, the futures a good one. If not, the future is real shit!
Trust me! I know!" Mack said.

"Okay. Let me get this straight. These three Spirits are going to help me
learn how to make good decisions? How are they going to do that?" Nick
snorted.

"No, Dude! It ain't something that happens in your head. This is about
changing your heart. That's something you always had a lot of, even if you
wouldn't admit it and tried to cover it up. I can see it now. I just wish
I'd been able to then." Mack said sadly.

Nick didn't know what to say to that!

"Look, Dude. I gotta go. I won't be seeing you again. I just want to say
one thing before I leave. I always loved you, Dude. You were good to
me. You were the only one in my whole life who was. I just wanted to say
'thanks' for that." Mack said.

And before Nick could reply, Mack's spirit faded from sight.

Nick sat there for a few moments, shaking his head. He didn't know what the
fuck had just happened. Finally, he figured it had to have been an
hallucination caused by too much booze. He lay down and quickly was out
again.



Chapter Two - The First of Three Spirits

"Nick! Wake up! Times a wasting!" the voice said.

Nick slowly opened his eyes. Then blinked twice, trying to clear away what
had to be an hallucination! Standing beside his bed was a little man
dressed in a three piece suit of Kelly green with a yellow plaid vest and a
yellow neck scarf holding a brown derby in his hand. The little man was
rotund, just about as wide as he was tall and practically bald. But his
face was practically lit up with a grin that gave his eyes a twinkle.

"Who the fuck are you?!" Nick exclaimed, wondering how his bedroom had
suddenly become fucking Grand Central Station!

"I believe your friend Mack told you of my arrival? I am the Ghost of
Christmas Past. I'm here to take you on the first part of your journey."
the little man said.

"You've got to be shitting me!" Nick groaned, swearing to himself he would
NEVER get drunk on rotgut whiskey on an empty stomach again.

"No, my boy! Not at all. Now, come on. We don't have much time. Just take
my hand...ohh! Do you have a coat to wear? It's going to be cold where
we're going." the little man said.

"Yeah." Nick answered rising up off the bed.

"Well, go and get it. I wouldn't want you catching cold!" he laughed.

Nick grabbed his black leather motorcycle jacket from the floor where he'd
evidently thrown it last night when he came home and pulled it on. The
little man put on his derby and wrapped his neck scarf around his neck. He
then grabbed Nick's hand and, before Nick had a chance to say anything,
they were standing in deep snow outside a large, expensive home. Nick
gasped.

"I see you recognize this place." the little man said.

"Yeah! Bobby Greenleaf's house." Nick said.

Bobby and Nick had gone to the same high school, though they didn't travel
in the same circles. Bobby was a rich kid and Nick was 'from the wrong
side of the tracks'. But what nobody knew was that Nick and Bobby were
friends. Actually, more than friends. Nick and Bobby were lovers. They had
secretly lost their virginity to each other and had been making love to
each other all through high school.

Nick and Bobby had met in Phys Ed their freshman year. Nick, who had
realized a couple of years before that he was attracted to guys, not girls,
had seen Bobby as they all stripped for showers after class. It was all
Nick could do to keep his already large cock from boning at the
sight. Bobby was just Nick's type. Blond, blue-eyed and diminutive. A nice
slender body about four or five inches shorter than Nick. What Nick didn't
realize that first day was that Bobby had caught Nick checking him out
because Bobby was checking out Nick. And Bobby certainly liked what he saw!
Bobby had just begun to realize that he really like other boys and Nick was
just the kind of boy that Bobby liked. However, Nick had a reputation as a
'bad-boy' that somewhat scared Bobby.

It was during the first home football game that Bobby actually had a chance
to meet Nick. Bobby was on his way to the bathroom when he saw Nick under
one of the bleachers, all alone, sneaking a cigarette. Bobby changed his
direction and snuck under the bleachers to where Nick was. Nick saw Bobby
coming and was a little nervous! Sure, he wanted to get into the kid's
pants but what was the little rich kid looking for?

"Hi." Bobby said upon reaching Nick.

"Hey. What do you want?" Nick said suspiciously.

"Could you spare a cigarette?" Bobby asked.

Bobby didn't smoke but it was the first thing he could think of to
say. Eying Bobby suspiciously, Nick fished out the pack of Marlboro and
handed one to Bobby. Nick then took his disposable lighter and lit it for
him. Bobby drew in a puff of smoke and immediately started coughing his
head off! Nick smiled knowingly at the distressed boy.

"Okay. What do you really want?" Nick said.

Bobby looked up at Nick sheepishly, looking somewhat 'green around the
gills' from the harsh tobacco.

"I just wanted to meet you." he said, and turned to go.

Nick's large hand came down on Bobby's shoulder, holding him where he was.

"So, where you going?" Nick asked. "You wanted to meet me? Okay. So now
that we've met, now what?"

Bobby turned and looked at Nick. He really didn't know 'what'. His mind
hadn't thought that far.

"Or did you just want to see what somebody poor looked like?" Nick said
sarcastically.

"No! It's nothing like that!" Bobby swore. "I...I...I wanted to get to know
you. I thought maybe we could be friends."

"Friends? You and me?" Nick asked derisively. "Why would you want to be
friends with me?"

Bobby summoned up all his courage and looked Nick right in the eyes.

"Because I think that you're really a nice guy. You walk about school with
this 'bad-ass' attitude but I think it's just covering up that you're
really nice so that nobody will take advantage of you!" Bobby blurted out.

Nick stood there looking at Bobby, the shock he felt showing on his
face. How did this kid figure him out so easily? Every fucking word the kid
had said was true!

"Are your parents home tonight?" Nick asked Bobby.

"No. They're gone all weekend." Bobby grinned.

"Okay. Let's go to your house. Now." Nick said.

"But the games not over." Bobby smiled.

"The games are just beginning." Nick said.

It had taken maybe an hour for Bobby to end up in Nick's arms, his mouth
crushed by Nick's in a passionate kiss and maybe another half an hour more
for the two of them to end up naked in Bobby's bed. While Nick had some
rudimentary ideas of things he would like to do with Bobby, Bobby actually
had some gay porn from which the two boys learned a great deal! Within
weeks they were both very accomplished at oral sex - especially mutual oral
sex.

No one knew about their friendship, however. From the very first night,
they had mutually decided that it was nobody's business and it was better
all the way around if nobody knew that they were gay. After all, being an
openly gay male in high school was potentially very hazardous to your
health! Their love was easy to hide from Bobby's parents. He was an only
child and they were rather absentee parents basically giving Bobby almost
anything he wanted except their presence and their concern. The love that
Bobby so desperately needed he found in Nick's arms. Just as Nick found
the love he needed in Bobby.

Unfortunately, like most males - especially teenage males - while Bobby and
Nick were very accomplished at sending each other into the stratosphere
sexually, they had little time or inclination for serious, intimate sharing
with each other. So it came as a complete shock to Nick when, about a month
before they graduated, Bobby announced that he was heading for California
to attend Stanford University.

"You're what?!" Nick shouted.

"I'm going to Stanford. I've been accepted and my parents are sending me."
Bobby said.

"What about us?!" Nick growled.

"What about us? You can come along." Bobby said.

"And do fucking what?!" Nick demanded.

"Well, you could get a job or something..." Bobby's voice trailed off as he
realized that there really was nothing for Nick in California.

Bobby had done his planning basically without Nick in mind at all. For the
first time, Nick began to realize how really spoiled and self-centered this
boy he loved really was. Nick stormed out of Bobby's house that day and
never spoke to him again.

"Do you remember this Christmas?" the little man asked Nick.

Nick looked at Bobby's house. Yes, he remembered this Christmas. It was the
Christmas of their sophomore year. Bobby and Nick were both turning sixteen
and Bobby had promised Nick a very special Christmas. It had indeed turned
out to be one!

Bobby had invited Nick to his family's Christmas party and to spend the
night after. Nick expected that they would have sex as usual. When they
stripped each other naked and then slipped into bed, Bobby was more
passionate and emotional then Nick had ever known him to be - except for
maybe their first night in this bed. Nick started to suck Bobby's cock but
Bobby soon pushed him away, saying he didn't want to get off. Nick looked
at him funny but decided that perhaps Bobby wanted them to get off
together.

Bobby then went down on Nick, wrapping his warm, wet mouth around Nick's
huge, thick cock. But before Nick even came close to cumming, Bobby
stopped and moved back up the bed, lying once more in Nick's arms and
kissing him passionately. Nick was completely confused about what was going
on, especially when Bobby reached under a pillow and pulled out what looked
like a tube of toothpaste! Bobby handed it to him.

"What's this?" Nick asked.

"Lube." Bobby smiled.

"What for?" Nick asked, confused.

"I want you to fuck me." Bobby said softly.

"You're kidding! You can't be serious!" Nick exclaimed.

"Why not?" Bobby asked.

"Because I'll fucking hurt you! If you haven't noticed I'm pretty big!
Remember when I tried to put my finger up you and you screamed? Well, my
cock is a lot bigger than my finger!" Nick insisted.

"I know that!" Bobby giggled. "But I've been practicing."

"Practicing?! Who with?!" Nick flared at Bobby.

"Not 'who', but 'what'." Bobby smiled.

Bobby reached back under the pillow and drew out a large, rubber dildo.

"I figure this is about as big as you are." Bobby smiled.

Nick stared at the dildo in shock!

"You can take THAT!?" Nick asked.

"Yep! It took a while but I learned how." Bobby smiled. "I wanted to give
you a special Christmas present. I wanted to give you all of me."

Nick didn't know what to say at that point. He'd dreamed of fucking Bobby
but never thought it would happen - especially after the disastrous
'finger' incident. Since then, the only thing that Nick had done with
Bobby's ass was occasionally lick and nibble at the cheeks when he was
licking all over Bobby's body.

"If you lube me up and we use this first, it won't hurt me at all when you
fuck me." Bobby said, laying back and pulling his legs back with his hands
behind his knees.

Nick looked down between Bobby's legs and saw his cleft and his impossibly
tiny, rose-colored hole. Nick lay down on his stomach, getting his face
close to Bobby's butt. In one of the films that Bobby had gotten for them
to watch in order to learn how to make love to each other, there had been a
scene in which one of the guys licked the other one's ass. This scene had
seared itself into Nick's memory! It was something that Nick wanted to do
to Bobby but had never had the nerve. He'd caught the musky scent of
Bobby's ass on many occasions as they 69'd and it drove him crazy! Now,
with his nose this close, he could smell the musk and sweat of Bobby's butt
and he couldn't resist finally fulfilling his fantasy. He pushed his face
forward and slowly ran his tongue through Bobby's cleft.

"Oh fuck! Yeah! Nick! Yes! Do that! I've wanted you to for so long!" Bobby
moaned.

With permission, Nick went at eating Bobby's ass like a hungry animal! He
finally locked his lips around Bobby's hole and began pushing his tongue
against it. Slowly, Bobby's muscles relaxed and Nick's tongue slowly slid
inside his lover's body for the first time. The feeling was incredible,
knowing that their body's were now joined in a new and very intimate
way. The taste was dark and musky and it drove Nick insane! He began
fucking his tongue in and out of Bobby's hole, knowing that soon his cock
would be doing it for real.

Finally, Nick couldn't wait any longer. He rose up and began lubing up
Bobby's hole with the tube of lube. He found his fingers sliding easily
inside of Bobby with Bobby moaning in ecstasy, unlike the first time that
Nick had tried to slip one of his fingers inside of Bobby and had him all
but screaming in pain. Soon Nick had surprised himself by working three
fingers up inside of Bobby with little or no effort. 'Bobby wasn't lying!
He's really been practicing with that thing!' Nick thought to himself.

"I think we should switch to the dildo." Bobby said quietly.

Nick grabbed it and added lube to it and then put the head of the rubber
toy at the entrance to Bobby's body.

"Just push it in slowly." Bobby said, laying back and concentrating on
relaxing his muscles.

Nick pushed the dildo against Bobby's hole. At first, nothing happened, and
then it began slowly sliding inside. Bobby grunted and then the dildo slid
totally inside him. Nick watched amazed as it disappeared up inside his
young lover. He was turned on to the point that his hardon was hurting,
knowing that soon his cock would be going where the dildo now was.

"Work it in and out slowly. Get me loosened up." Bobby said.

Nick did as instructed and soon the dildo was sliding easily in and out of
Bobby.

"It's time." Bobby said softly.

Nick gently pulled the dildo from his butt and then lubed up his cock. Then
he stopped.

"I don't have a condom!" he said, the misery and disappointment showing in
his voice.

Bobby looked at him and grinned.

"Why would you need one. I can't get pregnant." Bobby smiled.

"But...what about...you know..." Nick said, remembering all the 'Sex Ed'
classes and the warnings about sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS.

"Have you ever had sex with anybody but me?" Bobby asked.

"No! You know that!" Nick said.

"And I haven't. We can't be infected with anything." Bobby said.

"Oh, yeah! Right!" Nick grinned and placed his cock at the opening to
Bobby's ass and put Bobby's legs over his shoulders.

"Just take it slow and easy." Bobby said.

Nick followed Bobby's directions as he felt his cock sinking into the hot,
wetness of Bobby's body. 'Fuck! Nothing's ever felt this GOOD before! Not
in my whole life!' Nick thought to himself. Bobby groaned and Nick stopped
all movement, afraid that he'd hurt him. But Bobby's groan was one of
pleasure, not pain, and he grabbed hold of Nick's hips and pulled him
further inside him until Nick's groin bumped into his opening and Nick's
cock was completely inside him.

"Fuck! That feels so good!" Bobby moaned.

"Oh, fuck yeah!" Nick muttered under his breath - what there was left of
it!

"Fuck me!" Bobby begged Nick.

He didn't need to beg. That was all Nick was waiting for was some
indication of what he was to do. Nick began backing his cock from the tight
hole and then slowly shoving forward again. Nick groaned in ecstacy at the
first thrust and felt like he was going to lose his load before he ever got
started! He'd never felt anything around his cock that felt like the inside
of Bobby's ass! Hot, wet, tight and clinging to his cock like the fingers
of a glove.

Nick continued to slowly fuck Bobby until he started crying out demands for
Nick to go faster, to fuck him harder! Nick was only too happy to
comply. He speeded up, slamming his cock in and out of Bobby's wet hole,
loving the soft friction from the tight ring of Bobby's opening around his
cock. He could also feel his cock head and shaft rubbing up against
something in Bobby's ass. Nick didn't know what it was, but it was getting
bigger and the harder he rubbed up against it with his cock, the more Bobby
moaned and the harder Bobby's cock seemed to get. Bobby hadn't even touched
his cock and the cock-honey was pooling beneath it like a lake!

Suddenly, Bobby started crying out that he was going to cum! Nick couldn't
believe it! Neither of them had touched his cock! But Nick felt Bobby's ass
begin to squeeze his cock tightly and all of a sudden, Bobby's cock started
spewing cum all over Bobby's face, neck , chest and abs! That was all it
took to send Nick over the edge as well and he shot volley after volley of
his young, teenage spoonge into Bobby's hot, tight ass.

When he couldn't cum anymore, Nick collapsed on top of Bobby. The two
sweaty boys held each other, kissing gently.

"God! I love you so much!" Nick swore to Bobby.

"And I love you!" Bobby swore to Nick.

"But it was all a lie!" Nick growled to the little man. "He didn't love me!
He just dumped me and went off to California! Not even a thought of me!"

"It has been my experience that people do actually, for the most part, say
what they mean. At least at the time that they say it. But times change and
so do meanings. It is not that humans are not honest so much as they are
not consistent." the little man said.

"So you're saying he loved me?" Nick snorted derisively.

"Take my hand. I'll show you." the little man said.

And in the twinkling of an eye, Nick and the little man were standing
beside the bed where the young Nick and young Bobby lay in the aftermath of
their first love-making. Nick stared at his younger self in amazement! He
also stared at the young Bobby with a deep longing in his heart.

"Don't they look like they love each other?" the little man said.

Nick jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Don't worry. They can't see or hear us." the little man said.

Nick looked again at his younger self and his first love.

"Yeah. I guess they do. But then why did he leave me?" Nick asked.

"That I can't answer. But, perhaps, as much as these two loved each other,
maybe that love wasn't meant to be the only love that they would
have. Maybe they were too young to sustain the love. Could that be
possible?" the little man asked.

"Yeah. I guess it could." Nick answered reluctantly.

"The true question is not how long the love lasts but how good the love is
while it's lasting. We are never guaranteed a tomorrow. All we have is
today. If love brings happiness for just one day, isn't it worth it?" the
little man asked.

Nick looked at him thoughtfully. 'The little guy just could have a point
there!' Nick thought to himself.

"You sure they can't see or hear us?" Nick asked.

"Quite sure." the little man assured him.

With that, Nick leaned over and gently kissed the forehead of the sleeping
Bobby who was laying there wrapped in the younger Nick's arms.

"Time to go." the little man said, putting his hand on Nick's arm.

Again, in a flash, they were once again standing in Nick's bedroom.

"So, did you learn anything?" the little man asked him.

"Yeah. I guess so. I think I learned that even if it doesn't last, love is
worth the effort. Or something like that." Nick said.

"Or something like that." the little man smiled.

Nick lay back down on the bed and, within moments was lost to the world
again.



Chapter Three - The Second of the Three Spirits

"Human! Wake up!" the booming voice seemed to fill Nick's bedroom.

Nick raised one eyelid and then raised the other to try and make sense of
what he was seeing standing in front of him. The last 'spirit' had been a
short little guy. This guy, if that's what he was, was enormous! Towering
over Nick, at least six and a half feet tall with broad shoulders and a
huge, barrel chest. But it wasn't the height that was so startling as it
was the attire!

The man stood there with a long, red velvet coat trimmed at the neck, cuffs
and edges of the long opening in what appeared to be real ermine. He wore
knee high black boots that shone with the gleam of patent leather. He wore
a red velvet shirt and pants and sitting on his head of salt-and- pepper
curly hair was a wreath of what appeared to be holly with small, white
candles glowing alight! All in all, it was quite a package!

"Come with me!" the voice boomed again.

'A real control freak, this one!' Nick thought to himself as he followed
the huge man from his bedroom to what had been the living room of his one
bedroom apartment.

However, the room now looked at least five times the size that Nick knew it
to be and the walls were covered in what looked like drapes of gold lame!
There were five - no, make that six - huge Christmas trees in the room
dripping with ornaments and lights and in the center of the room was a
raised platform covered with red carpeting and a large, throne-like chair
of red velvet and gold sitting in the middle of it! It looked like the kind
of chairs that department store Santas sat in with children climbing into
their laps, only much more ornate.

The huge 'spirit' stood beside the platform and looked at Nick.

"Are you ready to go, human? We have much to do and little time to do it."
the 'spirit' spoke, not quite so loudly this time but still the voice was
booming.

Nick, having learned from the last venture, had grabbed his leather jacket
as he had followed the 'spirit', so he was ready to go.

"Yes, I'm ready." said Nick. "But who are you?"

"I am the Ghost of Christmas Present." the booming voice informed Nick.

"Oh, okay." Nick said. "I just wondered."

Nick couldn't believe all of this! It was the weirdest thing that had ever
happened to him in his life! He was still half convinced that this was all
hallucinations caused by all of the booze he'd had that night. Nick swore
to himself that he would NEVER take another drink of alcohol as long as he
lived! Shit! He might even start going to AA meetings if things were this
bad!

"Take hold of my coat!" the booming voice commanded and Nick complied.

In no more than the flap of a hummingbird's wing, the 'spirit' and Nick
stood in the midst of an empty restaurant which was evidently preparing for
some kind of holiday party.

"No one can see or hear us, human. Do you recognize where you are?" the
'spirit' asked.

"Yes. I know where I am." Nick said miserably.

It was someplace Nick didn't want to be. Someplace he'd sworn to himself
he'd never go again. Tim's Caf^Ã?. At that moment, Tim came from the
kitchen carrying a tray of glasses and Nick's gut clenched at the sight of
him. Nick's mind rebelled at the thought of being in this place. What was
he supposed to learn here! That love sucked?! That anyone you loved shit on
you like Bobby and Tim had done to him?!

"I don't want to be here." Nick said tersely through gritted teeth.

"Calm yourself, human. There is much here for you to learn. All is not as
it seems to you. Pay close attention." the 'spirit' said.

Nick watched as Tim and his staff covered the tables with white linen table
clothes and then set the tables with sparkling china, silverware and
glasses. They set place cards on each table with the names of those who
would dine there. By pushing some of the tables together, they created a
long table for about fifteen or twenty people at one end of the restaurant.
'Must be a big party' Nick thought to himself.

Despite his discomfort at being in the caf^Ã? again and being so close to
Tim, Nick felt at least some satisfaction that evidently business was going
well for Tim. Nick really did hope that the caf^Ã? was a success for him -
not just because of the money that he'd borrowed from his family to start
it but because, deep down inside, under his hurt, Nick did really care
about Tim and wanted him to be happy. Nick just wished that Tim had been
able to find happiness that included him.

Finally, the room was done with white candles gleaming on every table and
the smells coming from the kitchen were absolutely heavenly! Nick thought
ruefully to himself that besides missing Tim, he had to admit he also, very
selfishly, missed Tim's food. People began arriving, knocking on the door
of the restaurant which was evidently locked because Tim went and unlocked
the door and ushered in each arriving guest. Evidently, this was a party by
invitation only. 'Well, just think! This is the only way I would have made
it! No invitation for me.' Nick thought to himself.

Finally a large group of people, some older, some children, some around Tim
and Nick's age arrived together. Nick surmised correctly that this was the
party for the large table. But Nick noticed something else. Tim hugged and
kissed almost everyone in the large party before showing them to their
seats. He thought he heard one of the children call him 'Uncle Tim'. It
dawned on Nick that this must be part of Tim's family - the family that had
lent him the money to start the caf^Ã?. Nick hoped that they could see all
of the hard work that Tim had put into it! He hoped they realized how hard
Tim worked to make a success of the place. He knew they wouldn't see what
Tim had to sacrifice. 'Or maybe it wasn't such a sacrifice.' Nick thought
to himself.

Throughout the meal, Tim and his staff ran themselves ragged getting food
and drink for everyone. There were several toasts offered by his family to
his success. But as Nick watched the evening progress, he noticed a small
table for two, out of the way, that no one sat at. He'd seen Tim pass it
several times and stop, giving the table a look of...what?..disappointment?
Nick made his way over to the table to look at the place card that sat on
it. Nick was profoundly shocked when he saw the name "Nick" hand-lettered
on the place card!

Why did Tim expect him to be there? How did Tim expect him to be there!
There had been no invitation! Tim didn't even know where Nick lived to send
it! It made no sense to Nick at all!

Later Nick watched as Tim went over to the table where his family sat. Near
the end of the table, an older couple sat who Tim went to talk to. Nick
figured this must be Tim's parents and wandered over to listen to what they
were saying to each other. While it made Nick uncomfortable to eavesdrop,
since they could neither see nor hear him and he'd evidently been brought
here for this reason, Nick did it anyway.

"You seem to have made a real success of this place, son." Tim's father
said.

"Yes, Timmy! The place is beautiful and the food is so wonderful!" his
mother cooed, but Nick had to smile at the wince he saw cross Tim's face
when she called him 'Timmy'.

"Yes, things are going well." Tim said.

"The only thing we worry about is your working too hard!" Tim's mother
said. "You spend too many hours here. You need a life outside this place,
you know."

"I can't afford that right now, Mom!" Tim insisted.

"Look, son, if it's the money, you know that we don't need it right now."
his Dad said.

"Dad! I only wish that were true! You and mom don't have that much and your
retirement doesn't cover everything! If there had been any other way, I
never would have let you lend me the money to begin with! You've both
worked too long and too hard in your lives. You're the ones who need to
take it easy now. And I'm going to make sure you have the money to do that
if it's the last thing I ever do!" Tim insisted.

"But, Tim, what about your own life? Your own happiness? Your mother and I
don't want to see you alone. You need to find someone to love and who loves
you." his Dad said.

"Yeah? And just look what happened the last time I did that! No. The last
thing I need is to be distracted by a relationship." Tim insisted.

"Relationships are not always a 'distraction', Tim." his Dad said. "Why, I
could never have made it through these years without your mother's love and
support. That's what a relationship is all about, Tim."

"Look, Dad. I understand what you're trying to say. I just don't happen to
agree. Maybe when things are on an even keel and I can pay you back the
money I owe you, maybe then I'll have the time to have a relationship. But,
like I said, with my track record, I'm not so sure it's a good idea at
all." Tim said and then moved away to help one of his servers at another
table.

"The Boy's parents regret having given hm the money because now he feels
totally beholden to them. They would prefer to see him happy and in love
than successful but the Boy doesn't understand that. He sees only the
obligation. He so full of fear that he will disappoint his parents or,
worse, lose all of the money they have invested in him." the 'spirit'
explained.

"He's a fool!" Nick fumed. "Anyone can make money! There's nothing hard
about it. But loving someone, finding someone to love - that's hard!"

"You care very deeply about him, don't you, human?" the 'spirit'
said. "That is good."

Nick looked up at the 'spirit' in shock. Did he really care all that much
for Tim? Yes, he guessed he must because only someone you truly care about
can hurt you as deeply as Tim hurt him.

Finally the party came to an end and the guests started to leave. Nick kept
looking over at the 'spirit' expecting him to say something or for them to
leave as well. Nick was thoroughly confused by that point. What was it he
was supposed to have learned here? So there was a party. So Tim appeared
to be successful. So Tim had somehow expected Nick to be there (though this
still made no sense to Nick). What was there to learn from any of it!

Nick was frustrated and fuming by the time that Tim ushered out the last of
his staff, locked the door, turned off the lights and sat down at the
little table that held the place card with Nick's name on it. Tim picked up
the place card and seemed to read Nick's name over and over again until
finally, Tim lay his arm on the table and his head on his arm and began
sobbing. Nick watched as Tim's shoulders shook with the heavy sobs which
emanated from him. Through the sobs, Nick could hear Tim saying something
over and over again. Finally, he recognized what it was that Tim was
saying. It was his name, "Nick", over and over and over again.

Nick didn't know what to do, what to feel at that point. Tim evidently was
as hurt at what had happened between them as Nick had been. 'But it was HIS
fault!' Nick thought to himself. 'He was the one who sent me away!'. But
just as quickly, his dead friend Mack's words came back to him -

"Sounds like you've got a guilty conscience, Dude. Maybe you didn't do
everything you could? Maybe you didn't try hard enough. Maybe you were
just as glad he did dump you - that way you didn't have to admit to him
that you loved him. And, you didn't have to try and explain what it is you
do for money." Mack had said.

Nick hung his head at the thought. There was way more truth in what Mack
had said than Nick was willing to admit to anyone.

Finally, Tim pulled himself together, put on his coat and moved toward the
door of the caf^Ã?. The 'spirit' followed him and Nick followed the
'spirit', wondering where they were going. Before the could reach the door,
however, Tim had already closed and locked it. This didn't seem to bother
the 'spirit' at all. He simply took hold of Nick's coat and, pulling Nick
along with him, walked through the closed door! Nick found himself on the
outside without any idea of how they had made it through the door!

He had not time to think about it, however, because the 'spirit' continued
to follow Tim. It was after a couple of blocks that Nick noticed which way
they were going but was sure that he was wrong! Tim couldn't be headed
where Nick at first thought he was. Tim didn't know the way!

But soon Nick realized he was wrong. Tim evidently somehow DID know the way
for soon they caught up to him as he stood in front of the dry cleaners and
was looking up at the darkened windows of Nick's apartment.

'How does he know where I live?' Nick asked himself. 'I never told him!'

"If you want something badly enough, you find a way." the 'spirit' said to
Nick, obviously able to read Nick's mind.

Tim stood there, shivering in his light coat, continuing to stare at Nick's
apartment's windows. Then he finally walked over to the street door,
behind which was a flight of stairs that led to the apartments on the
second and third floors. Tim reached out his hand to press the bell for
Nick's apartment but his hand stopped a few inches away from the button. He
stood there as if arguing with himself and then finally put his hand
down. Tim turned and began walking back the way they had come - towards the
caf^Ã?.

Nick wondered if they would follow him again but, instead, the 'spirit'
took hold of Nick's arm again and he suddenly found himself in his bedroom
once more, all alone. He looked around and didn't see the 'spirit' anywhere
and, when he opened the bedroom door and looked out, he found his living
room was back to 'normal'. No gold drapes, no throne. Just the shabby,
thrift-store furniture that Nick had bought for next to nothing. Nick was
not one to waste money on 'creature comforts'. He had a large amount of
savings from his 'work', savings that he intended to use to get him out of
the life of an 'escort' when he became too old to attract customers - a
time Nick knew was rapidly coming.

Nick walked back into the bedroom, lay down on the bed, still fully dressed
and waited for the last of the 'spirits' that Mack had told him would
arrive.



Chapter Four - The Last of the Spirits

Nick had no idea how long he waited because he evidently fell asleep. He
was awoken by a sound like a howling wind but the sound was in his
bedroom. He awoke to find a creature of indeterminate sex or age. In fact,
Nick had no idea if this 'spirit' was human or not because all he could see
was a long black cloak and hood and a silver mask. Even the hands and arms
were covered with long black gloves.

The black figure beckoned to Nick, who rose from the bed.

"I take it that you are the Ghost of Christmas Future." Nick said and the
figure gave him a slight nod of its head.

"You're the last of the 'spirits' that I'm to be visited by?" Nick asked.

Again the figure in black nodded its head in Nick's direction.

"Look, do we really need to go through this? I get it! Okay? I get it. You
can't give up. You've got to keep on trying to find love because that's all
there really is." Nick insisted.

The figure just stood there, giving no reaction, just staring - or
appearing to stare - at Nick. Nick and the figure stood there for what Nick
felt were hours but was probably about a minute, staring at each
other. Finally, the figure reached out it's black gloved hand. Nick, with a
resigned sigh, took it.

Immediately, as with the other times, they were instantly transported to
their destination. It was a hospital room and when Nick approached the bed,
at first, he didn't recognize who was in it. The face was thin and gaunt,
most of the hair gone, as if the person had been ill a long time. Then, in
shock, Nick realized who it was lying in the bed. He was looking at
himself! He was about to ask the 'spirit' about what was going on when two
nurses came in the room. The approached the bed and took readings from the
machines surrounding the 'Patient Nick's' body and wrote them in a medical
chart.

"Such a shame." one of the nurses said to the other.

"What do you mean?" the second nurse replied.

"Well, he's so young to be dying like this. And all alone as well. There
hasn't been one visitor the whole time he's been here." the first said.

"Considering what he's dying of, I rather imagine that's not all that
strange." the second said.

"They say he used to be a very good looking young man." the first stated.

"I heard that he sold his body for money. Well, look what it's gotten him!"
the second said with scorn.

"Still, it's a shame." the first replied, gently patting the 'Patient
Nick's' arm.

The two left the room after that. Nick stood there, his head hanging in
shame. What had happened to him? He'd always been so careful about not
becoming infected with anything. 'But forewarned is forearmed!' Nick
thought to himself. If this was a future Christmas, he didn't have to end
up like this. As his friend Mack had told him, decisions made the future
and decisions could change the future.

It was at this point that the gloved hand of the 'spirit' touched his arm
and they were once again transported to another destination. This time,
Nick had no idea where he was. It was a storefront, but an empty one. Then
he saw a sign on the door saying the storefront was for rent. As Nick and
the 'spirit' stood there, two men came to the door and one unlocked
it. They entered and the one of the men began to look about the place.

"Well, it seems like a good location, Frank. What do you think?" he said.

"Yes, it is that, Tom. I wonder why it's available?" the one called Frank
asked.

"Don't you know? Didn't the realtor tell you?" Tom said.

"No. He didn't. Did he tell you?" Frank asked.

"Yes. But I asked him. Seems that the guy who had the place before had this
really popular caf^Ã? but he got ill and ended up going bankrupt. The
realtor said he literally almost worked himself to death! Well, it seems
that the people he owed were family and, when he went under, he evidently
couldn't face them so...well...he killed himself." Tom said.

"No! You're kidding!" Frank asked in amazement.

"That's what the realtor told me! Took a gun, put it in his mouth and blew
his brains out! Young guy, too! Such a shame." Tom said.

"Well, I hate to say it but his loss is our gain! I think this place is
perfect. Let's call the realtor tomorrow and let him know we'll take it."
Frank said.

"Already did that, partner! That's how I got the keys. Gave him a check
yesterday." Tom said.

Frank laughed.

"Always one step ahead of me!" Frank said as the two business partners left
and re-locked the door.

Nick stood there aghast. Now he recognized the place! It was Tim's caf^Ã?!
Tim! He'd killed himself! But first he'd worked himself half to death until
he fell ill and couldn't keep the caf^Ã? running! Nick stood there shaking
his head in horror. Nick hardly noticed when the 'spirit' took his arm and
Nick found himself standing next to his own bed once again.

This time, Nick lay down across the bed and began crying - something he
hadn't done since he was a little kid. Crying for Tim. Crying for
himself. Crying until he cried himself to sleep once again.



Chapter Five - The End of It

Light from the bedroom window blazed into Nick's eyes as he sleepily lifted
his head from the pillow. He was still dressed in the clothes he had worn
last night and his mouth felt like a foreign army had been marching through
it. Additionally, his bladder and his head were reminding him that he'd had
WAY too much to drink last night.

He got up, stumbled to the bathroom, pissed and then downed two ibuprofen,
praying that his head would stop throbbing. He then went into the small
kitchen and opened the freezer to retrieve the can of Blue Mountain coffee,
his one luxury. He fixed a pot of the potent brew and waited only long
enough for the first couple of cups to cascade into the glass carafe before
pulling it out, stopping the brewing process long enough to pour some in a
mug before replacing the carafe and beginning the process again.

He drank deeply of the rich, heavy java as he tried to focus on what
happened last night and to try and formulate a plan of what he could do to
change the horrible future he'd seen. One thing was clear to him, he'd let
Tim get away much to easily! And, if the experiences of last night could be
believed, Tim hadn't wanted to get a way as much as it had appeared.

There was one thing that really bothered Nick, however. When he had been at
the cafe with the Ghost of Christmas Present, he'd seen a place card with
his name on it. But there had been no invitation from Tim to attend the
dinner. Or had there been? Until last night, when Nick had watched Tim walk
to his apartment and almost ring the bell, he had no idea that Tim knew
where he lived. He was still wondering how Tim had found that information!
Nick was very secretive about his location as anyone in his business had to
be. He never allowed any of his 'clients' to know where he lived.

Nick decided that this was one question he had to answer, otherwise he
would have to believe that the previous night had been nothing more than
alcoholic hallucinations. Coffee cup in hand, he bounded down the stairs to
the mailboxes for his apartment building. There was almost never anything
for Nick, mostly mail addressed to 'Occupant'. Nick's only 'real' mail were
the phone and electric bills and his bank statements that came each
month. There were no other bills. He had no credit cards and spent very
little of what he made. Nick was smart enough to know that the life-span of
popularity of someone in his profession was extremely short. Nick had
wanted, from the very beginning to get as much from it as he could and then
get the hell out.

Arriving at his mailbox, Nick looked through the slot. He could see a lone
envelop inside. When he took his key and opened the box, he noticed that
all it had on the outside was his name, "Nick", with no return address and
no postage - meaning it had been dropped off by hand. Nick tore open the
cream white envelop and there was a hand printed invitation to dinner last
evening at the cafe. Since he got so little mail, Nick was not in the
habit of checking his mailbox. Usually he did so only once a week or
so. There was no telling how long the envelop had been there as Nick
couldn't remember when he'd last checked his box, though he was sure it had
been the previous week.

With this 'proof' in hand, he bounded back up the stairs, convinced now, in
his own mind, that last night had been real and not an hallucination. Nick
didn't have the time nor the inclination to question how or why last night
had happened, he was only grateful that somehow he'd been given the chance
to change how things were happening in his life. A smile lit his face as he
stepped into the shower, taking time to brush his teeth and shave. No
matter what happened, he was going to find Tim and he was going to make
things right between them! And, by 'right', Nick knew within himself this
meant that he was going to push past all of Tim's objections until Tim
agreed to at least take a chance on a relationship, for Nick knew now that
this is what they both wanted and, more importantly, needed.

Nick also had a few surprises for Tim. One, of course, couldn't be
avoided. He was going to have to tell Tim the truth about who and what he
was. That was necessary, not only because they needed to have complete
honesty between them if any relationship was going to work but because
Nick's second surprise would be hard to explain otherwise.

However, there was one 'fly in the ointment'. The scene that Nick found the
most shocking - his own dying self lying in a hospital bed. He knew too
clearly what it was he had been dying of, but when had he been infected?
Was it in the future - or in the past? He had to find out, otherwise he
couldn't offer himself to Tim as fully as he wished. Nick was sure that he
had not done anything to put himself at risk knowingly. He'd always
practiced safer sex with his clients, no matter how much money they offered
for anything dangerous. Could it be that he had unknowingly fucked up
somehow? It didn't seem likely, but he had to be sure!

Nick knew that there was a free clinic two blocks over that did HIV
testing. He doubted that they would be open on Christmas, but it was
possible. Stranger things had happened! WAY stranger! Nick hurried and
dressed and practically ran there.

As if the miracles had not cease