DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. If you are offended by 
sexually explicit material or are under the age of 18, stop reading 
now. This material cannot be reproduced for commercial purposes 
without the consent of the author.

JC: Ed Biggers
Part 1: Epiphany
Chapter 17
By
Lazlo Zalezac
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2004

Walking into his backyard, Ed inspected the privacy fence satisfied 
with the job he had done. The posts were straight, there were no 
gaps in the pickets, and it was strong. The tops of the pickets were 
flat rather than pointed. There was no chance of impaling a kid that 
tried to climb over it. He had finished installing it the day before.

The noise of Kelly and Beth coming through the gate caught his 
attention. Turning he saw that they were struggling to carry in four 
folding lounge chairs. Coming to their aid, he took two of the 
chairs, one from each woman. Following Kelly, she walked to a 
spot near the back door of his house and looked around. Setting her 
chair down, she said, "This looks like a good spot. We should be 
able to get lots of the morning sun here."

As she set her chair down next to Kelly's, Beth replied, "Perfect. 
Not too far to the kitchen from here either."

Setting the other two chairs down, Ed wondered what the big deal 
was. If all they wanted to do was sit outside, they didn't need a 
privacy fence for that. Besides, the view from John's backyard was 
much better. The only view from his yard was the neighbor's house 
behind him and with the new fence the view was now limited to 
the neighbor's roof. He set the other two lawn chairs down and 
started unfolding them.

Turning around, Ed was shocked to see that both women were 
stripping. His cock immediately reacted to the sight by swelling. 
Stuttering, as he looked around to see if anyone could see them, he 
asked, "What are you doing?"

Beth answered, "We're getting some sun."

"Why did you think we wanted a privacy fence?" asked Kelly. 

Watching them strip was a treat to the eye. Looking over at him, 
Kelly said, "If you're planning on staying out here, you have to get 
out of those clothes."

Uneasy, Ed started undressing. It felt very strange to be undressing 
in the middle of the day in his back yard. Watching the women as 
he undressed, he noticed that Beth and Kelly had nice tans that 
covered their whole body except for the outline of a bikini. He 
wondered where they had gotten tans, but then realized that both of 
them lived in apartment complexes with swimming pools. As his 
clothes came off, it was clear that he had never spent a minute 
sunbathing. His hands and face were tanned, but the rest of him 
was a bleached white. His erection was a slightly darker color, the 
head almost a deep purple color.

Kelly reached into her purse and pulled out a bottle of suntan 
lotion. Winking at Beth, she said, "I wonder where we can find a 
man to put this sun tan lotion on us?"

Licking her lips, Beth answered, "I don't know. There's this naked 
man here who looks like he wants to cover us with some kind of 
lotion."

Moving to kneel before him, Kelly slowly reached up and rubbed 
his cock. The action caused him to moan. Beth knelt beside Kelly 
and started to lick his balls. The sensation blew his mind. Kelly 
slowly took his erect cock in her mouth. Working her tongue 
around the sensitive head, she quickly drove him close to orgasm. 
Looking down at them, Kelly was looking up at him with his cock 
in her mouth and Beth was peeking around Kelly with a ball in her 
mouth. As his scrotal sack tightened, the pressure of her mouth 
around his ball reached a point close to being painful. The ball 
slipped out of her mouth as one of her fingers ran up to tickle his 
asshole. Kelly increased the sucking action on his cock. 

As his legs trembled, Ed looked up into the bright blue Arizona 
sky feeling like the Gods and Goddesses were smiling upon him. 
Beth massaged his asshole with her finger while she licked his 
balls. Kelly was crating major sensations as she licked his cock and 
sucked on it with increased pressure. He groaned and said, "I'm 
coming."

Within seconds, sperm burst forth from his cock. Kelly backed off 
from his cock to capture as much of his come as possible. From 
next to her, Beth said, "You have to share it."

When Ed finally finished his orgasm, Kelly turned to Beth and 
kissed her. Staring down at them, he could see Kelly transfer some 
of his come to Beth. The sight was incredibly sexy. When the kiss 
had been completed, Kelly stood and kissed him. As he opened his 
mouth, her tongue entered it pushing some of his come into it. He 
froze, not knowing what to do and then swallowed it rather than 
spit it out. Even as he swallowed, he thought that it wasn't that bad 
of an experience.

In his ear, Beth whispered, "Oh God, she just fed you some of your 
come. That is the sexiest thing I've ever seen. Can I do it the next 
time I give you a blowjob?"

Breaking off the kiss, Kelly said, "You'll have to share it with me 
too."

Unable to resist the persuasive nature of the women, Ed answered, 
"If it gives you pleasure, I can deny you nothing."

Ed went to work putting sun block on the women. He took his 
time, making sure that every part of their bodies was covered with 
the thick cream. He made sure that their private parts were well 
covered. In fact, he required them to demonstrate that he had paid 
enough attention by having an orgasm. 

When it was his turn to get covered, the women made sure that he 
was well covered everywhere. Much to his frustration, they left 
him with an erection, saying that they didn't want to have him 
think they were easy. After covering him, they went to their chairs 
and laid back getting some sun. Only when his erection started to 
wilt did he sit down in his chair.

After thirty minutes of lying in the sun, Kelly looked over at Ed 
and said "You better put some more sun block on your cock. I'd 
hate to see that get burned."

Beth laughed as she said, "It would be a pity if you couldn't use it 
for a week. I've gotten used to getting it regularly."

Ed groaned at the thought of a sunburned cock. He couldn't 
imagine anything more painful. He reached over and put on more 
sun block. They had been teasing him ever since they had applied 
the sun block earlier. He hoped that he would find an opportunity 
to get back at them. He chuckled to himself at the idea of dying his 
cock bright red and imagined the look of disappointment on their 
faces when he showed it to them.

Ed looked at the two women and he knew he was the luckiest guy 
in the world. They were very different in build and looks, but both 
of them were gorgeous. He thought about it for a second and 
decided he was one of two luckiest guys in the world. John could 
have all of this too.  He asked, "So how are we going to ask John 
to join our little family?"

Kelly answered, "You're going to ask him."

"No I'm not."

Surprised at the flat refusal, Beth glared at him. "Why not? He's 
your best friend."

"Yes he is. Moreover, I want to keep him as a friend. If I ask him 
and he says no, then that could really hurt our friendship."

Kelly and Beth looked at each other with a smile. They understood 
they had stumbled into an area of male sexuality where they did 
not belong. Kelly asked, "So how would you go about it?"

He smiled as he asked, "So how did you go about it with me?"

In response, Kelly laughed and said, "If I remember correctly, I 
told you what I wanted and asked if you were interested in staying 
with me in light of my desires."

Beth asked, "When did you tell him that?"

"She told me that the day I met you at the hospital," replied Ed as 
he remembered that day. It had been a very pivotal day in his life. 
He added, "that was right after she told me that she was going to 
have you for a wife."

Beth shot a look at Kelly. This was the first that she had heard of 
Kelly's early interest in her. She asked,  "Why did you say that?"

Kelly blushed at the memory. She answered, "When John 
suggested that you were a natural submissive, I looked at you for 
the first time as a woman rather than a doctor. I liked what I saw 
and knew at that moment that I wanted you."

Beth looked down at the ground as though she was afraid to look at 
Kelly. She said, "Ever since my recovery from my breakdown, I've 
not been a submissive. Are you disappointed?"

She answered, "No. That wasn't exactly what attracted me to you."

Ed had watched the exchange. Every time the subject of John 
arose, the two women always talked around it until it wasn't the 
subject anymore. Individually, both of them would admit that they 
really wanted John to join into the family. He asked, "So how are 
you going to broach the subject to John?"

Kelly sighed at being brought back to the original subject. She 
answered, "I don't know."

A voice coming from behind startled them. "You might try telling 
him directly."

Beth had jumped out of her chair at the sound of the voice. She 
spun around shouting, "John, don't sneak up on us like that!"

John smiled as he asked, "Feeling a little guilty, are we?"

Ed watched with glee as the women squirmed. He stood up and 
walked around to where John was standing. He winked at John and 
laughed at the looks on the women's faces. He said, "I'm going to 
go get some tea. I might take a walk around town, since there’s no 
telling how long you’ll be here. I'll be back after a while."

After picking up his clothes, he went into the house. He dressed in 
the kitchen where he could watch the actions in the backyard. It 
was impossible to hear what was being said, but he could tell by 
the dynamics that there was a bit of tension. Once dressed, he fixed 
himself a glass of iced tea and drank it while watching as Kelly 
and Beth talked with John. What ever John was saying, it had very 
different effects on the two women. At one point, Beth looked very 
uncomfortable while Kelly looked slightly angry.

When John left, the discussion between the two women grew much 
more animated. It wasn't clear what was being said, but it was clear 
that there was something that they disagreed on. Grabbing his near 
empty iced tea glass, Ed headed out the front door to follow John. 
He was just in time to see John go around to the back of his house. 
Ed followed him.

Ed came around the corner of the carrying his own glass of iced 
tea. He had only a single sip left in it. He swirled the glass taking 
pleasure in the sound of the ice cubes rattling in it. Ed calmly said, 
"Hello, John. I guess you shook up the women a bit."

"Did they tell you that?" asked John. He was curious about the 
reaction of the women to his position concerning the group 
marriage. He imagined that they were probably arguing now about 
the difference of opinion between Beth and Kelly about Ed. 

"Nah, I watched from the house. I got dressed, waited a bit, and 
then came over here." Ed was hoping that John would let him 
know what they had discussed. He looked around for Rover and 
spotted the cat curled up in the shade taking a nap. 

"Did you hear what we discussed?"

"No, but I could guess," replied Ed as looked off at the horizon. 
Without waiting for an invitation he sat down in the chair next to 
John. This was going to be a long discussion and it concerned a 
topic that he wanted to avoid. He didn't want to come out and say 
that he was okay with the idea of becoming lovers. The fact was, 
he wasn't sure how he felt about the idea of having sex with a man. 
Part of him was attracted to the idea and part of him was repulsed. 
He turned to John and said, "You told them that you wanted to 
hear it from me. Am I right?"

"Yes, you are," answered John. He added, "I know that you don't 
want to say it outright until you get some sign from me about how 
I feel about it. Am I right?"

"Yes, you are." Relief filled his voice as he didn't have to put into 
words what he wanted to hear from John. He glanced over at 
Rover wondering what the cat thought, but it just slept in the 
shade.

John looked at his right foot. He decided to approach the subject in 
rather indirect fashion. In a flat tone of voice, he said, "I've been 
raped twice in my life. The first time by a female and the second 
by a male."

"Oh Shit!" Ed stared at John unable to imagine what it must have 
been like to be raped. 

"The thing about both times, they weren't about the sex. There was 
a violence and utter lack of regard about how I felt about it." John 
paused, "Now, you know how much I enjoy sex with women."

"Yes, I do." Ed had seen John with Beth. There was no doubt that 
John enjoyed women. 

"Well, getting raped by a female didn't interfere with my ability to 
get pleasure out of sex with a woman."

"I can see that. They are totally different things." The topic of rape 
had always bothered Ed, in some fashion that was deeper than 
normal outrage, and he didn't know why. Perhaps one day, he 
would have to sit down and explore his feelings on that subject. 
For now, he wanted to understand what John had to say about it.

John turned the subject to the matter at hand. He stated, "Likewise, 
I don't think getting raped by a male will affect my ability to get 
pleasure out of sex with a man."

Ed considered what John had said. He refilled his glass from the 
pitcher of iced tea as a way of masking his hesitation. He had to 
ask, "So do you get pleasure out of sex with a man?"

"I don't know. I've never done it," replied John. He looked over at 
Ed wondering what the cowboy was thinking.

Ed suddenly laughed at the situation. Slapping his thigh with a 
loud clap, he said, "So here we are, two scared virgins. Neither of 
us wants to admit it. Damn, aren't we a pair?"

"Yes we are."

"Well, if I was to loose my cherry I can't think of a better man." 
The words had come out almost as soon as he had thought them. It 
was too late to take back what he had said. He grasped the arms of 
the chair in an iron grip. His hands would have shaken if he hadn't 
had them held so tight against the arms of the chair. He watched 
John out of the corner of his eyes, waiting for some sort of 
reaction.

"I agree. You'd be my pick."

Ed relaxed a little. At least he hadn't been called a faggot. The real 
problem was what if either one of them really hated it. What about 
the marriage that Kelly wanted if that happened? He took a deep 
breath and in a rush, said, "I don't think either of us would want to 
be a virgin if we were to…"

As Ed stopped in embarrassment, John completed it. "Yes, we had 
better do it with each other before I agree to what Kelly wants."

"Right, if either of us hated it that would really screw things up 
with her concept of the group marriage."

"Yep."

His voice conveyed fear rather than desire as he asked "When?"

John looked at Ed for a minute. He could see that the man was not 
exactly at ease with the idea. For that matter, he wasn't exactly at 
ease with the idea himself. He answered, “Look, neither one of us 
is really ready to do that now. I mean, we are both willing, but 
neither of us wants to do it.”

“That’s true,” replied Ed. At least John understood what Ed felt. 
Perhaps the two men were closer in their feelings about this than 
he had thought. 

“Why don’t we wait until we want to do it? I know that Kelly is in 
a hurry to get things resolved, but it’s better to wait until we know 
what we want than to rush in and ruin things.”

On hearing that suggestion, Ed relaxed. Putting off the decision as 
to when they should try it was a major reprieve. Kelly and Beth 
would have to understand. He said, “I think you’re right. It really 
would be much better to wait for a while. Do you think that we’ll 
ever want to do it?”

“I don’t know. I do know that the idea isn’t as repulsive as it was 
before.” Shrugging his shoulders, John tried to make little out of it.

“I know what you mean. I’m of two minds on the topic. A year ago 
I would have killed someone that even suggested the idea to me.” 
Ed shook his head at how much his thoughts had changed. He was 
now considering doing things that were totally foreign to how he 
had been. John's words came back to him, if it harm none then do 
it.

John changed the subject by saying. "I'm going to Utah next week. 
I need someone to watch my back and you're the only one I trust. 
Why don't you come with me?”

Ed was surprised at John’s request. He wondered what was 
involved in this trip that he felt he needed someone to watch his 
back. He remembered the trip to California only too well. He had 
seen too much death and destruction there. Still, if John needed his 
help, then he couldn’t refuse. He nodded his agreement, "Sounds 
good to me. What's your business in Utah?"

"I'm going after a serial killer. He's a beast that preys on young 
women."

At the mention of serial killer, Ed glanced over at John wondering 
how he went after one. It sounded like an activity that could get a 
person killed. Ed said, "Sounds as if it could be dangerous. What 
do you need me to do?"

“I’ll be working with the FBI, but I don’t think I have much 
credibility with them. I’m afraid that when it comes time to move 
in on the guy, I’ll be there all alone or with a single agent backing 
me up.”

“Why would you think that?” asked Ed. He didn't have any 
experience with law enforcement except for numerous trips to the 
drunk tank courtesy of the sheriff.

"Well, I have no track record in law enforcement. They are likely 
to think that I’m some sort of hero-wanna-be,” answered John. It 
was understandable why a law enforcement official would look 
down in disdain at an amateur detective. There were many people 
that had the idea that they could do better than a professional. He 
remembered the number of times that he had been trapped by some 
amateur scientist who wanted to explain some crackpot idea to 
him.  

“Do you think that heroics will be required?” asked Ed as he 
envisioned tracking some nameless faceless killer through a dark 
construction site at night.

John answered, "It will be if things don't go well. This guy 
amputates the limbs off the victim. Once they heal, he cuts off their 
head. I’d hate to end up as one of his victims if I’m there all 
alone."

Ed had never heard of this killer. This guy sounded like a very sick 
man. Why would anyone amputate the limbs off a person? Letting 
the wounds heal before he cut off their head was definitely weird.  
Shaking his head in disgust, he said, "That is really sick."

"I agree. That's why he's got to be stopped."

Nodding, Ed said, "Speaking of stopping things, I better get across 
the street. The women are probably going crazy by now."

John smiled at the thought of what Ed was likely to find over there. 
He said, "you bet."

Ed started walking back to his house, but stopped when he hit the 
street. It wasn't even noon yet and he had two discussions already 
that were emotionally intense. He was ready for a break. Finishing 
his glass of tea, he dumped the ice cubes out and set the glass in 
the back of his truck. He headed down the street to the bar hoping 
that Shirley was open for the noontime crowd.

When he arrived, Shirley was just unlocking the door. With a look 
of surprise on her face, she asked, "What are you doing here so 
early?"

Laughing Ed answered, "I'm doing the manly thing and running 
away so that I won't have to share my feelings."

The comment was so outrageous that Shirley burst out laughing. 
With a gesture of her head, she invited him into the bar. Breaking 
into a wide smile, she said, "Sounds like the manly thing to me. 
You want to tell me about it?"

Winking at her, Ed replied, "Am I going to have to run away from 
here too?"

Walking behind the counter, Shirley laughed. In a very efficient 
fashion, she filled a glass with ice and coke. Setting it on the 
counter, she leaned over on it and said, "So what would you like to 
talk about?"

The last thing Ed wanted to talk about were the subjects of his last 
two discussions. As he struggled to find an appropriate topic, he 
remembered the news about Manuel. He answered, "I was at the 
truck stop having dinner the other night and heard that Manuel and 
Joe were stopping by there for lunch now."

Standing up straight, with more than a little pride in her voice 
Shirley replied, "Yes. They are actually making money now. They 
come in here every week and we go over the books."

Pleased to learn that Manuel was listening to Shirley, Ed said, "I 
knew you could help them out."

"Me?" asked Shirley. Shaking her head, she replied, "You were the 
one who told him how to do the pricing. Until you talked to him, 
he was lucky if he made a hundred dollars a month. I have no idea 
how they lived on that."

"So they are making a profit now?"

Laughing, Shirley said, "Are they ever. Those two men work 
harder than anyone I've ever met. They work all day long, 
spending twelve to fourteen hours hauling stuff."

The real question, as far as Ed was concerned was if they were 
actually reaping the rewards of their work. He asked, "Are they 
paying themselves a decent wage?"

Shirley sat down in the stool behind the counter and answered, 
"Yes they are. It took a little doing on my part, but they are paying 
themselves a pretty decent salary while saving money to improve 
their trucks."

"Improve their trucks?"

Smiling, Shirley said, "Yes, they are getting signs for their two 
trucks and are planing on buying a bigger truck."

"Wow, you've worked wonders. Did they join the chamber of 
commerce?" Ed was very impressed. He wondered if Manuel and 
his son were going to become the richest men in town. Of course, 
in this town that wouldn't be hard. The most anyone made was 
probably around thirty thousand a year and that was the mayor 
who was also principal of the school. It took him a minute to 
remember that Jim Johnson was very wealthy and worked as a 
lawyer in Phoenix where he commanded fees that were more than 
anyone else made in town.

"Yes, they did. They even found that they could get some contracts 
from some of the other businesses in town." Shirley poured herself 
a coke.

Happy that things were working out for Manuel and Joe, Ed asked, 
"So how is business in town?"

Raising an eyebrow at the sudden interest in business, Shirley said, 
"It must have been some discussion to chase you down here to talk 
business rather than your feelings."

She had hit the nail on the head. He shook his head and replied, 
"Can't hide the truth from you. Yeah, it was some discussion. So 
bad that I'm dreading the next one."

Shirley said, "I've been working in this bar for eight years. I've 
seen men throwing up drunk, happy, sad, and miserable. They talk 
about their problems. No matter how bad it is, I've never seen a 
man talk about his feelings. What is it with you guys?"

It was a good question and one that Ed didn't know exactly how to 
answer. He sat there quietly considering the question. Glancing 
over at Shirley he could tell that she was getting impatient for an 
answer. John would have waited patiently for him to come up with 
a well thought out response. Finally, he said, "I guess it is because 
we don't know how we feel about things."

"How could you not know?" asked Shirley incredulous that 
someone wouldn't know how they felt about something.

Ed said, "I only know four feelings that I can name. They are like, 
love, dislike, and hate. If I'm feeling something other than one of 
those four, I have no idea what it is."

Shirley shook her head in surprise at the answer. She asked, "How 
do you guys talk to each other?"

That question made Ed laugh as he had come to recognize a major 
difference between how close female friends talked and close male 
friends talked. He answered, "John and I are pretty good friends. 
We talk a lot and about a lot of different kinds of things. Most of 
the time, we don't say much. We sit there silently thinking our 
thoughts. Every once in a while one of us will say something. The 
other will reply. After that, we're quiet again."

Shirley had seen a lot of talk like that her in the bar. She never 
understood it as a sign of closeness between the men. She said, "I 
bet that drives Kelly and Beth out of their minds."

Laughing, Ed replied, "They usually drive the conversation. We 
aren't given a chance to talk to each other when they are around."

A couple of customers came into the bar and Shirley turned to take 
care of them. He watched as she worked, smiling at the customers 
as she set their beers in front of them. When they ordered Nachos, 
she went through the process of preparing their order. She took her 
time, piling on extra peppers because she knew how these 
particular customers liked them. He looked at the packages of 
chips, nuts, and jerky arranged along the back wall. 

When Shirley returned to the counter, Ed asked, "All you have is 
salty things here for people to eat. You ever consider adding 
sandwiches?"

"Sandwiches?" The suggestion was very unexpected and she 
wasn't sure that she was following what he meant. She didn't have 
any of the required space or equipment to run a deli.

"Yes, sandwiches. You have guys coming in here for a beer at 
lunchtime, but they aren't getting much to eat. I bet half of them 
leave after that first drink and run by the convenience store up the 
road for their sandwiches." 

Shrugging, Shirley said, "I don't have the resources to do that."

Ed looked around and said, "Sure you do. You have a restaurant 
right next door. They can make the sandwiches and deliver them to 
you."

Shirley looked at Ed in wonder. Finally, she asked, "Why would 
Sid do that?"

"More business for him."

"That's a very good idea. I wish I had thought of that," replied a 
very thoughtful Shirley. Ed could see the thoughts going through 
her head. Sitting quietly, he waited for her to think it through. As 
the time extended to several minutes, he felt like he was talking to 
a man and started grinning at the irony of the previous 
conversation.

Having come to a decision, Shirley looked up to see Ed smiling at 
her. She asked, "What?"

"I was just thinking about our conversation a few minutes ago. A 
little talk and long periods of silence."

The irony wasn't lost on Shirley and she started laughing. When 
she calmed down, she asked, "Could you watch the bar for me?"

Nodding his head, Ed replied, "Sure, I'd be happy. Gives me an 
excellent excuse for hiding out from an emotional discussion with 
Kelly."

Laughing, Shirley went out the front door. Ed moved behind the 
counter and tried to look important. It wasn't until he was behind 
the counter that he realized that a year ago she would never have 
trusted him behind the counter. This was an unexpected honor that 
was a sign of much greater trust than he had ever experienced. 

Kelly and Beth walked in the bar. Expressions of surprise crossed 
their faces to see Ed behind the counter. Noticing their reactions, 
he asked, "Don't I make a cute barmaid?"

The two of them broke out laughing, in part, because of the joke 
and, in part, because they had been worried when he had 
disappeared.  They settled in two chairs at the bar and ordered red 
wines. Trying to act professional, Ed managed to only spill a little 
of the wine as he poured them for the pair. Laughing at his own 
clumsiness as he wiped up the bar, he said, "Ladies, here are your 
drinks."

Together, Beth and Kelly replied, "Thank you."

Looking around, Kelly asked, "Where's Shirley?"

Smiling, Ed answered, "I'm standing right in front of you. Now 
how about some of that girl talk?"

Shaking her head, Beth replied, "That's not going to work. It'll take 
more than one wine for us confuse you with Shirley."

Chuckling, Ed said, "I had to try."

"So where is Shirley?"

Ed answered, "I think she's next door making arrangements for 
them to deliver sandwiches during the lunch hour."

Beth said, "Wow, that's a brilliant idea."

Taking a sip of his coke, Ed said, "That's what I thought. She's a 
smart business woman."

Shirley returned from next door. Entering, she smiled as she saw 
Kelly and Beth talking to Ed. She stepped behind the bar and said, 
"Ed, I see that they found you. You know, you can run, but you 
can't hide."

Laughing, Ed said, "I tried."

Turning to Beth and Kelly, Shirley said, "He came in here saying 
he was doing the manly thing and running away so that he 
wouldn't have to share his feelings with you two."

Kelly turned to Beth and said, "I told you so."

Ed came out from behind the bar and kissed both women on the 
cheek. Winking at Shirley, he said, "Well, I'll make good my 
escape one more time and leave you three to your girl talk."

Ed left the bar with three pairs of eyes staring at his back.
