Veil (38 page)

It finally dawned on Brock that he felt so at
home and felt so normal in Hunter’s skin because everything was so
identical. The only thing different was his body. And that was just
it: the way his father was speaking to him through Hunter showed
him that his father never treated him any differently
because
of his body. His father always treated him like a
man, same as any other man.

For the first time, Brock realized fully how,
in the back of his mind, he constantly wondered if people did treat
him differently, especially his parents. He wondered that almost to
the point of obsessing over it. For the first time, he realized how
deeply the unanswered question still affected him, even to that
day. He figured he stopped asking himself that insidious question
at some point while growing up. However, the question itself,
rather than the answer, simply planted roots deeper and deeper in
his mind.

The fear of knowing the answer pushed Brock
to the point where he allowed himself to become a subconscious
hostage of the question. Of course he would still ask himself that
question—why wouldn’t he?—the question became part of him. In that
moment, as Hunter and Brock’s father installed a new water heater,
a question Brock Elsbeth grappled with, so often and for so long
that he forgot he was asking it, finally got answered. Hunter
didn’t treat Brock any differently; his parents didn’t treat him
any differently. If anyone else did, well—fuck them, they didn’t
matter anyway.

Brock opened his eyes again and looked at
Hunter. He badly wanted to ask his friend “how?” How Hunter not
only knew what Brock would
want
to experience but also what
he
needed
to experience. For a moment Brock became angry
with his body for not being able to ask his friend that simple
question. The anger quickly turned into a laugh. For the hell of
it, Hunter laughed with him.

Within an hour, the two men disconnected the
water heater, installed the new one, carried the old one to the
garage and lifted it into the bed of his dad’s truck. As they
washed their hands in the garage sink, Olivia poked her head
inside.

“Hunt baby, are you going to be staying for
dinner?”

Hunter glanced at the clock on the wall.

“You know I’d like to, but I’ve gotta get
cleaned up. I’ve gotta date.”

“Oh really?” Elijah grinned at Hunter. “Do we
know him?”

“Eli! It’s none of our business, he’s a grown
ass man!” he was scolded by his wife.

Hunter laughed. “Actually her name is
Katharine and nope, she’s someone from college who happens to live
in the area. Sort of.”

“See, now don’t you feel stupid,” Olivia
teased her husband and closed the garage door.

Elijah grabbed two towels from a rack over
the sink and handed one to his son
.

“You’re a confusing man, you know that? Right
when someone thinks they know you,” he smiled, chuckled a couple of
times, and shook his head.

After he finished drying his hands and rehung
the towel on the rack, Hunter grinned and gave a typical Hunter
response.

Tapping his head, he grinned, “Yeah well, try
being up here.”

Elijah Elsbeth belted out a laugh, put an arm
around Hunter
,
and gave his own typical
response.

“Takes all kinds …
Takes all
kinds
.”

Hunter made his way back to Brock’s bedroom,
grabbed his bag
,
and headed to the
bathroom. He turned on the shower and began to undress.

Now, I know I have the body and dick of a
god, but don’t go getting off on seeing me naked, you perv,
he
thought to Brock as he climbed into the shower.

Brock opened his eyes and snarled at Hunter
in the lab. In return, Hunter licked his two index fingers, rubbed
his nipples through his shirt, and gyrated his hips seductively.
Brock sneered and closed his eyes. He didn’t know which was worse:
being forced to experience Hunter shower inside the Veil or
watching Hunter’s jackassery in the lab.

Hunter did possess a good physique and it
wasn’t really a secret or anything. Growing up, he was always
rather attractive and athletic enough. He stayed in shape as
everyone else got older and became bigger around the waist. Hunter
explained to Brock a long time ago how in the gay world, if someone
didn’t have a nice body, it didn’t matter how good-looking of a
face they possessed. The only thing that mattered as much as having
a jacked body was having a big bank account. Since he could, Hunter
figured, why not have both? And the dick to boot.

Brock always admired Hunter’s physique but
thought it appropriate that Hunter was, for the most part, gay,
because he had that whole “too good looking to be straight” thing
going on. And too built. Although, “gay” wasn’t really the right
word for Hunter. Brock figured Hunter to be bi-curious, but in the
opposite way of how most people thought of it. Hunter was a man who
was bi-curious about women
,
rather than a
man who was bi-curious about other men. Hunter was
homoflexible.

Experiencing Hunter in that capacity—naked
and in the shower—actually didn’t creep Brock out
too
much.
Sure, he usually feigned being grossed out because Hunter had the
tendency to turn everything into a gay joke, but Hunter possessed a
unique perspective on sexuality and the body. So, he had no qualms
with recognizing the fact that Hunter had an impressive physique
and, from what all Brock had seen in porn, wielded a formidable
dick.

The realization that Hunter was slowly
becoming aroused in the shower was a totally different story. Like,
completely aroused, Brock suddenly noticed … and felt. Like,
aroused and erect and shit.

Ok, what the hell?

Brock opened his eyes and as much as he
could, frowned and scowled at Hunter. Hunter referred to his pocket
watch and notebook again.

“Close your eyes and hear me out,” he
instructed his friend.

As much as he wanted to ask his friend “how”
earlier, Brock just as badly wanted to call his friend “homo”
then.

Before he shut his eyes, Brock could already
hear Hunter thinking to him from back in the shower. Brock shut his
eyes and listened.

This is something as a man I think you
should experience, too. I want you to go back to pretending that
I’m you. It’s you in the shower and it’s your dick. For reasons
that will become clear later, this is what some of us guys refer to
as ‘emptying the gun
.
’ It can be an
essential part of getting ready to go out for the night. And, no
matter what any guy ever says, even married ones, even dads, all
men jack off. All the time. Jacking off as a man is a lot different
than jacking off as a boy. So don’t be a pussy and go with
it
.

Not really having much of a choice, Brock
went with it. Hunter cleared his mind and the two focused on the
feeling and sensation of getting off in the shower. Hunter was
right: jacking off as a man, possessing a man’s dick, was different
from jacking off when they were kids. And yes, it felt good,
although not
nearly
as good as fucking did earlier. But,
sure, it felt good.

Whatever
.

Brock tried as much as possible to pretend
like he was himself rather than Hunter, but it still wasn’t the
same. He could’ve definitely gone without that part of the Veil. He
imagined it was akin to jacking off your brother. Or jacking off
your identical twin, which he supposed could be considered
masturbating in some sick way. Whatever that part of the Veil was
for or intended to accomplish, it was less than interesting and he
definitely could’ve gone without it.

Brock opened his eyes in the lab and rolled
them at Hunter.

Hunter shrugged and said, “Hey, can’t win ‘em
all. You’ll understand later
,
though.”

Brock rolled his eyes again and shut
them.

Hunter got all dressed up and said his
goodbyes to the parents after he reminded them they never saw him;
he was never there that day. No matter who asked, he was never
there. Period. They agreed, so long as it didn’t involve him going
out and killing someone later. He assured them it was nothing like
that, and they would find out one day soon what it was about.
However, as one of their sons, he was begging them to deny he was
ever there that day if it came up for any reason within the next,
say, week or so. No matter who asked. They agreed. They were
confused, but they agreed.

Hunter hugged dad and they shook hands. He
gave mom one more hug and another twirl in the air, to which she
gave the same demand that he put her down that instant. She kissed
him on the cheek, thanked him for helping his father
,
and told him to behave himself.

He gave mom a look that said,
You know
me
, and left.

On the way to their next destination, Hunter
opened the glove box and took out a couple of protein bars and a
banana. Brock realized Hunter hadn’t eaten all day and he could
feel Hunter’s hunger. He hadn’t considered what it might feel like
to experience eating as someone else, so his curiosity was
immediately piqued. Unfortunately, the food choice wasn’t ideal and
the experience was rather bland. It definitely felt different, but
Brock figured the experience was certainly lacking due to the food
choice. He made another mental note to talk to Hunter about that as
well. The taste buds could probably be a pretty damn powerful
source of experience inside Veil. Maybe next time.

After about twenty minutes, they arrived at
their destination and Hunter parked the car. He scanned the parking
lot until his eyes found the same car that was parked at the bottom
of the cliffs earlier. The same car he fucked in earlier that
day.

“Round two,” he said out loud after he
spotted the car. He headed to the entrance of the building.

The next hour was spent with the same woman
from earlier, Katharine. The two dined on tapas over drinks. As
Brock suspected earlier, the experience of tasting food through
someone else was fascinating. The protein bars definitely weren’t
up to par, but the tapas sure as hell were. The tastes weren’t
better, or more intense, or even different in and of themselves.
What was different was how Hunter’s mind paid more attention to
certain tastes than did Brock’s. While the entire palate of flavors
was available within every bite, Hunter’s mind somehow preferred
certain tastes to others. His preference was reflected in how the
flavor of each bite was perceived. It was fascinating.

However, because of the company, it was hard
for Brock to focus on the experience of eating for too long. Brock
found it hard to take his attention away from her. Hunter and
Katharine caught up, discussed their lives, and playfully flirted
throughout the meal. When they were finished, they made their way
to the back of the restaurant, which opened up into a small dance
club.

For the first time in his life, Brock danced.
And not only danced but danced with a woman. He felt himself move
with her body and felt her skin rubbing against Hunter’s. He felt
how they could move in unison at some points, with their bodies
pressed up against each other, and then at others be completely
separate physically but still sharing the same rhythm, still in
unison. Man, Brock liked dancing. A lot. It seemed like Hunter was
good at it. Damn gays, he figured, always so good at
everything.

Imagine
that
.

In the lab, Brock smiled with his eyes closed
and he jerked his head back and forth, back and forth, in small
movements, to the sound of the music Hunter danced to so many hours
ago. Hunter smiled as he watched his friend wind down the
night.

After over an hour at the club, Katherine
took off her shoes and stood on the tops of Hunter’s feet. Hunter
used his feet to dance for the both of them and he held her against
him while he moved in slow, rhythmic circles.

She finally looked up at him; both were worn
out but not tired.

“Wanna go?” she asked.

“Sure,” he winked and as she put on her
shoes, he paid their tab. The two walked out of the restaurant,
arm-in-arm, and got into her car. She drove and he placed his hand
on her thigh to gently rub it. They remained quiet for the entire
drive until they arrived, a short time later, at the hotel where
she was staying. Hunter quickly jumped out of the car after she
parked. He ran around to her door and opened it for her.
Hand-in-hand, they walked into the hotel.

Hunter smiled and thought to Brock once
again
.