Rating: R

It was more of a chuckle than a belly laugh, but naturally, I want to know what's funny. So I ask. He holds up a woman's magazine.

"It's this letter page, Jim. God, it makes you wonder if these people are for real! Listen to this, this woman just had her long hair cut short and was worried about her husband's reaction. He always loved her long hair, you see? Anyway, he reacted alright! Apparently he got so turned on by the bare skin at the back of her neck that they've been boffing like bunnies ever since and she wants to know if this is normal!"

My eyes were drawn to the back of Blair's collar and that small area of exposed bare skin. He'd had his hair cut shorter for the academy. Not too short, but every now and then I caught a glimpse of naked flesh. I could sympathize with that woman's husband. It was so hard, in at least two ways, not to reach out and stroke. I'd had fantasies about that area of skin -- not to mention a few others -- since Blair had had his hair cut. Trouble was, Blair and I had been dancing around each other for so long, neither of us prepared to make that final leap in the dark. I think we both knew what we wanted, but -- speaking for myself -- I admit to being too cowardly to take the chance of it ruining what we have. We'd gone through too much to lose our friendship now.

All the same.... "I don't know, Chief. A patch of skin that you never see, it can be very exotic, even erotic to find it exposed."

He looked at me and smiled a wicked little smile. "I so know what you mean, man."

Then he dropped into lecture mode. "Do you know, Bill Theiss, the costume designer on the original Star Trek had this concept, the 'Theiss Titillation Theory', part of which..."

He continued to talk on our way to the elevator. I focused on his familiar, comforting scent to block out the ugly, chemical smells of the hospital, and let the sound of his voice wash over me.

"... but is normally covered. Baring that area makes it exciting and stimulating because we are not accustomed to seeing it bare. And that's why the costumes were so interesting. You saw bits of flesh that you would never normally see. In parts of the world where women cover themselves completely, even the sight of a bare ankle...I mean, maybe that woman in the article discovered a kink her husband had, but..." he looks at me with wide eyes... "Really, it's all about changing your viewpoint, uncovering something that's usually, well, covered."

The door 'pinged' and opened, and we stepped into an empty elevator. I thought about what he'd just said. Was he giving me a hint? Had he decided to test the waters? I gently massaged the nape of his neck with one hand. "Like this area, you mean?" It wasn't really a question, more of an excuse for me to indulge.

I could feel the tiny bumps of hair stubble under the velvet soft skin. It was erotic all right, and sensual, and I could easily have lost myself in that sensation.

His head fell forward giving me more access, that familiar aroma of his becoming deeper, richer -- and he softly sighed. "Yeah, like that. You have great hands, Jim. I wish..."

Whatever he wished was lost as the doors opened and other people stepped in. The moment was gone. My hand fell away.

We didn't get a chance to talk then or later. A call came in as we climbed into the truck and the rest of the day was what passes as normal in Cascade, car chases, bad guys, guns, and the kind of mishaps actors need stunt men for. By the time we got home, we were both wiped out.

I grabbed the first shower and settled down to catch the late news, while Sandburg went for his.

I must have been out of it a bit because I didn't even hear him come up behind me. The first I realized was when I felt his hand stroking the back of my neck as he stood behind the couch.

"What are you doing, Sandburg?" Maybe it was because I was tired, but the words came out deeper than I meant them to.

"Testing your theory," and then he leaned in and licked my neck.

God! I nearly leaped up off the couch.

"You like that, huh, Jim? You want this?" The little bastard asked right near my ear.

You bet I did! But sense prevailed and I tried to say no. Unfortunately my brain wasn't connected to my mouth, especially when he blew softly across where he'd licked. I could feel the little hairs stand on end, feel goose bumps raise and I closed my eyes.

"I'll go one step further; I want this, I want you, I need you and if you don't stop me, I intend to have you." His voice was husky and compelling and my dick twitched. He nibbled at my ear and my dick swelled even more.

"This is not a good idea, Chief." I managed to choke out.

He pulled away, and I felt bereaved at the loss of contact. He stepped around to face me but sat on the arm of the couch, close but not too close. His face was serious, somber. "Jim, I'm tired of this... this dancing around. Aren't you?"

"It would change what we have." I was trying to convince both of us and he knew it. He slid down and moved closer, his legs tucked under him.

"Nah, the only things it could change is where I sleep, who I fuck and who fucks me... us."

"But it wouldn't be fucking, Sandburg. You do know that right?" I had to make sure he knew what we were getting into here. Once we started... this, there would be no going back.

He smiled, broadly, warmly. "Yes, Ellison, I know that. Come on, man, you've been longing to explore my bare patches for as long I have yours."

He was right; there was no escaping that fact. I surrendered, and pulled him onto my lap.

"Well, this is different for a start," he said, wiggling just a little to get comfortable and causing a part of me to get decidedly un-comfortable. He shifted until he'd straddled my legs between his own, taking the pressure off a little, trapping me with his body.

"Well, yeah, Einstein."

"No, I meant, usually this involves me having a lap full of bodacious babe, not me in a bodacious babe's lap!"

"We could change positions, if it's a problem," I offered. "'Course, I am several pounds heavier than you."

"No, at this angle, I'm above you. I kinda like this view." He planted a gentle, soft kiss on my forehead. "There are a few views I think I will like from now on."

I stroked back his hair from his face, watching as the firelight caught the edges of the shortened curls. "Like what?"

"Oh, the view from your bed, the sight of you naked, you climaxing, you sated, you beside me last thing at night. Get the idea?"

"Oh, yeah!"