started to hum a tune while he put the things in their place. Richard picked a suit, shirt, tie and things to go with it. He then disappeared into the bathroom. A short time later he reappeared all dressed up and looking like he was ready to go out on a hot date. He walked over to Joseph and the two men reached out for each other and kissed and hugged. Rich said, “MMMMM it’s so nice to come home to a ‘home cooked dinner’ and find my lover all dressed up in a sexy uniform waiting for me. What more could I ask for?”

“Hey don’t get too used to this. You are the cook, not me! I’ll do the dishes and help clean up, but as far as cooking and waiting on tables—that’s not my M.O.S., baby,” Joseph said as they parted. He sat down at the table waiting to be served.

“No problem. This is going to be fifty-fifty. We work together and love together. Each one doing and changing rolls. Some guys want to be a ‘top’ all the time. With you I don’t mind being both ‘top’ and/or a ‘bottom.’ It adds spice to the bed if you know what I mean. I realized that this morning when you took over as you did. You showed me that it was not who was on top, but rather who was with me that mattered,” Richard said as he lit the candles, got out the wine and poured two glasses full. Then taking his place at the table, he raised his glass and toasted his dinner partner. “Here’s to us, fifty-fifty, but each giving the other his one-hundred percent.”

“To us,” Joseph repeated as they clicked their glasses and then sipped the wine. The salad was dished out and they ate the first course. They ate and talked and laughed at each other’s jokes. Wine flowed and they held hands across the table, looking into each other’s eyes and trying to see into the soul of the other. The meal was finished, the table cleared and coffee and cake was served.

As the candles were burning down, Richard got up and selected a CD, placed it in the stereo and then came over to Joseph, extending his hand and saying, “Hey lover, may I have the honor of this dance?” Getting to his feet and flowing into Richard’s arms the soldier quipped, “I don’t know what kind of honor, just remember I warned you that I dance like a big bull. No grace, no finesse, and I feel silly.” But he moved into Rich’s arms and both of them seamed to melt together. No one was leading; the two of them folded their arms around the other and just rocked to the slow romantic music. Each had his chin on the shoulder of his partner, their lips near the other’s ear, their chests and their lower bodies pressed together, swaying back and forth as the candles burned lower and lower, till they were dancing in semi-darkness. The only light in the room was coming from the multi-colored lights around the base of the walls. Parting slightly and looking into each other’s eyes, their lips met. Then the lips opened and tongues touched and played a game of hide and seek, each in turn sucking on the tongue of