Day 27: Closet
This is a sequel to Couple's Therapy, which can be found here.
Marcus looked down at this request before crumbling it up and placing it in his pocket. He let out a sigh, took a long drag from his cigarette, and stomped it with his foot before going out on a walk to clear his head and to get a better idea of the new town he was in.
After a few months of operating in his hometown, Marcus decided it would be better to move on and not stay in one area for too long. Part of the reason was born out of regret. His powers werenât fully under control as he initially believed they were, which caused some friction for about half to the couples he provided his unique counseling skills to. The other half seemed quite satisfied, but a 50% failure rate wasnât exactly a passing grade for himself.
Of course, Marcus made sure to let most of his old clients, the satisfied ones at least, that he was going to be moving. For now, he was just rented out a little office space he discreetly also slept in, though the landlord didn't need to know that. However, he hadn't started advertising to the locals just yetâhe wasn't quite ready to start. Even so, when awoke that morning and checked the mail, he received an unmarked envelope.
And as Marcus scanned the contents, he scowled.
âMy fatherâs still in the closet. Iâve already graduated college and moved out with my partner, but my father still seems to be in denial about his sexuality. Heâs been divorced from my mother for a while now, and I just want him to be happy, but it seems like heâs just holding himself back for some reason. Is there anything you can do?â
On the bottom of the letter was a single phone number. Likely a burner phone, considering the sender didn't put their name or address anywhere. The sender probably didn't want Marcus to find them or for anyone to know they had even contacted Marcus in the first place. However, they must've kept up with Marcus' work and movements if they knew he was staying here. He had to admit, he was rather impressed, but that didn't overshadow just how annoyed he was. The sender must've known he was currently on break and wasn't even sure if he was going to continue his work. Marcus crumbled up the note and took off.
He shouldâve just thrown it in the trash and forgotten aboutâthat would've solved everythingâbut some of those words weighed heavy in his mind. Still in the closet... he thought. Those words alone made him reconsider. It wasn't like any of his previous jobs, but the usual method might be able to fix it. Still, he hesitated. And with that came a whole host of problems. Now that sheet just felt heavy in his back pocket as he walked through the streets of this unfamiliar place, intent of memorizing routes.
A new problem arose: he was lost. Streets looked familiar and yet utterly unrecognizable. Marcus knew he wasn't great at following maps or remembering the routes, but he figured with enough age he'd eventually get good at it. Unfortunately, it seemed like he was wrong. Nevertheless, he kept his gaze firmly forward and his visage neutral. Nobody would know he was lost if he simply acted like he knew where he was going, and eventually he would, right?
Not too long after, just when he was about to give up hope and look for a map on his phone, a familiar voice rang out. âMarcus! Is that really you?â He couldnât help but turn around despite how risky it couldâve been. He had his fair share of enemies at this point, but just the thoughts of finally interacting with a voice that wasnât his ownâwasnât his inner monologueâwas so enticing he could not help himself.
And to his relief, it was a friendly face. Not only that, but one that was rounder, fuller, and more colorful than last he saw her. âJuliaâŚ?â he breathed out, almost speechless as his former client came bounding over.
Beaming brightly as she approached, Julia didnât slow down. Marcus nearly held his arms up in a defensive posture before she extended her arms out and tackled him into a hug that nearly bowled him over. It was only due to him expecting an impact that the pair remained standing, but never in his life would he have imagine she was going to embrace him like this.
Marcus blinked hard, staring up at the sky to make sure not a single tear fell. Once he was certain he wouldnât embarrass himself, he said, âItâs nice to see a familiar face here,â with the dry tone he often used.
Julia tittered as she pulled back. She had gained weight, looking much healthier than the twig-like and stressed out woman Marcus had initially met; her round cheeks regained some of the lively, rose color they had lost;, and her eyes were gleaming with energy like fireflies on a cool summer night. âHow are you? I havenât seen you in so long ever since I moved. I tried to tell you but I found your office all but deserted when I stopped by!"
Marcus winced at that. He had been intending to let Julia know as well, but with her case being part of the reason he had gotten so big at his previous locale, it felt a bit awkward to tell her about it without accidentally implying that it was her fault he was leaving town. So he decided to forgo visiting her or leaving a note. "Sorry, I couldn't find your address. I lost it by accident."
"That's all right!" she said, still beaming. "Oh my gosh, are you busy right now? We should definitely sit down somewhere and catch up! I know all the nice eats around these parts.â Chest puffed out with pride, she dug into her purse and pulled out a folded up magazine. A local paper? She flipped to a certain page and all but shoved it in Marcusâ face. âLook, look! See?!â
Marcus took the magazine and skimmed through the page. Julia Hawkingâs Juice Japes. The mouth-watering pictures of food and Julia posing with a few cooks and chefs spelled it all out. âI didnât realize you were a food critic.â
âI wasnât, when we first met,â she said. âAre you busy? Iâd like to tell you all about it.â
âNo, I canât say that I am. Please, lead the way. I was actually trying to scope out this new location.â They walked side-by-side, and the whole way Marcus was reflectingâboth on how much Julia had changed and if this was what it was like growing up with a sibling, although Julia had a few years over him.
âItâs really nice to see you again. To be honest, I was actually hoping I could show you how much Iâve changed,â she said, taking a sip of her sugary smoothie she had ordered. Marcus, meanwhile, ordered a juicy steak for his meal. He had skipped breakfast today, as he tended to do.
âWith Trevorâs attitude change," continued Julia, "Iâve had time to keep growing my career and nowâŚâ she blushed before saying, âYeah, Iâve started running my own business. Anyway, we ended up moving here since itâs closer to my husbandâs mother so he could continue taking care of her.â
Hmm? Marcus hadnât expected that reveal. When was his mother in the picture?
âTo be honest, she really wasnâtâfor a while, a least,â said Julia. âBut after the treatment we did with you⌠he changed. Not just him being more open to all this other stuff, but heâs become much kinder. Much more interested in peopleâs well-being. To be honest, it was such a 180 that I was nearly floored. I know I asked for you to make me treat me nicer, but he really has become a stand-out guy.â
Marcus nodded to himself. âWell, at least it worked out for you," he said, resting his elbow on the table, forlorn.
Julia's brow furrowed. "Oh, I did hear some things before I leftâabout your business. Um⌠there were some issues?"
'Issues' was putting it lightly. What had ended up happening was several of the husbands of his clientele becoming far more sexually active and more interesting in the same gender. The end result is many of the husbands cheating on their wives with each other. To make things worse, not all of the wives were completely outraged. About enjoyed the little 'shows' their husbands put on or saw it as a form of sexual liberation. From t hat came disagreementâand then friendships began to shatter. The whole town ended up becoming a battlefield or sorts.
Marcus becoming the enemy of the heterosexual couples of that town would've suited him just fine. He was used to being outcasted and scapegoated, it was almost nostalgic. It didn't feel great, but it was something her was used to. Having others stick up, defend him, and ruin their standing with the rest of the town was what made him uncomfortable. So he packed his bags, apologized, and left.
Julia sighed when Marcus finished telling his story. "It is a shame," she said.
"I know. I didn't mean to mess up their marriages like that," said Marcus, bowing his head as he thought back to the women yelling at each other. "I didn't think I influenced them that much."
"No, I meant all those ladies running you out of town as if we're not all on the same boat." Julia reached out and squeezed Marcus' hand. "You really helped me out, y'know. Not just me, but also all those other women in town, even if they didn't particularly care for the end result." She spoke with such confidence that Marcus was almost convinced. However, he wrested his hand from her grip and drew back.
"I made them unfaithful."
âI don't know if you did all of that. I think my husband became kinder and more considerate of others because you possessed him. And you didnât reprogram himânot completely anyway, I think. You showed him that heâs capable of becoming that kind of person." She flashed an awkward smile, which reminded Marcus of the timid young woman who first stepped into his office with her head bowed and her hands trembling. But there was no meekness in that smile anymore. No, she seemed like she was having fun at how awkward she was being, like she was inviting him to joke and smile with her.
âIâm no doctor, lawyer, or psychologist so I canât exactly discuss with you how ethical your method is, but I do know one thing: you saved me, and Trevor, too. I think heâs much happier this way, not because heâs been reprogrammed to think so, but because heâs just much more comfortable living in his own skin again. Life tears you down," she continued, "but I think you helped him take the first step in rebuilding himself back up. After that, the rest was for the two of us to do."
Comfortable in his own skin, huh� Marcus let those words echo in his head throughout the rest of the meal. The two conversed, with Marcus nodding along and congratulating Julia as she told him about her latest promotion and then taking notes when she began telling him about all the best places in town to try out.
Before Julia left for her Zumba class, she asked, âAre you going to go to the Pride parade this weekend? Trevor and I were planning on goingâand knowing youâre gonna be here, I think itâd be neat for the two of you to formally meet.â
âI think I will, but I wonât exactly be there as myself.â Julia nodded, an understanding smile on her face, and wished him good luck. With the tab paid and his belly full, Marcus resumed his walk throughout the town with a much more energetic gait.
Tomorrow would be his first Pride parade as well.
Douglas Moore had been intending on spending the weekend quietly at home. He picked out a good book to read, he was planning on running the bath later that evening, and there was an unopened bottle of wine in the living room that had been teasing him all week to finally uncork it.
Yes, it's going to be a lovely weekend indeed, Douglas thought as he awoke to the sounds of the birds nesting by his windowsill gently awoke him with the lovebird symphony. He slowly sat up, blinking himself to full awoke ness, and then was forced back onto his bed immediately by an invisible force. He flopped on the mattress, shivering and moaning as a numbing sensation spread throughout his body. At first, he was concerned he was having some kind of heart attack before, all of a sudden, it subsided. Douglas was left breathless on his bed.
Slowly, he sat back up, rubbing his hands over his chest to check his on his racing heart. Yes, he felt fine, right? Hmm⌠for whatever reason, he was rubbing himself a bit more than he thought he needed, but better to be safe than sorry.
"NrghâŚ!" Douglas' whole body shivered as he suddenly tweaked his nipple through his wifebeater. He hadn't expected such a sensitive reaction from just touching himself, but now that he was, he couldn't just ignore the rising tent in his boxers. "Shit, I'm like a hormonal teen," he muttered. He didn't expect to curse out of the blue like that, but he should cut himself some slack. What's the matter with a curse every once in a while so long as it was kept out of children's ears and away from the house of God?
Douglas was so caught up in these new thoughts that he didn't consider that, up until now, he never had any sort of inner narration like 50% of the population. Suddenly he was on the other camp, yet he didn't find it off-putting in the slightest.
He threw the blankets off his body with a flourish he never hand before and glanced down at himself as if witnessing his form for the very first time. He breathed in and out, seeing the chest rise and fall rhythmically. His wiggled his toes and waved his bare, hairy feet like they were some new-found novelty. Oh my, he thought, I don't know why I'm feeling so frisky but I kinda like it. So much of his life was spent being a prude, so why not enjoy the physique he had worked hard onto maintain? With that, he grabbed the rim of his boxers with both hands and threw it to the other side of the room. His cock, already hard and swinging in the air, looked like it needed attention.
"NrghâŚ! MmmfâŚ! Love doing this shit!" Douglas cried out, jacking his meat with little shame. He couldn't remember the last time he was so enthusiastically choking his cock like this, but it felt so good! He couldn't get enough of it. He turned over so he lied on his belly and started humping the mattress. "Nrgh! Yeah, y-yeah! This is greatâŚ" he kept muttered, one hand tweaking his nipple while the bed covers enveloped his dick. "HaahâŚ! Oh yeah. I-I'm⌠fuck, I'm fucking cummingâŚ!" He cried out, his whole body curling up into a C as his twitching cock could take no more and started spewing out semen all over the sheets.
Douglas collapsed onto his own mess. "HehehâŚ! Think I went a little overboard," he said with an embarrassed yet still shameless titter. He rubbed the cum over his stomach like sunscreen. "There we go, all clean," he said. It was just fluids, after all. Only some immature prude would really make a big deal about cumming on the sheets. Today was laundry day, anyway.
Satisfied, Douglas swung his large legs to the side and had enough restraint to not leapt out of his bed. With a swagger normally reserved for big-shot athletes, he marched over to his closet, threw the door open, and recoiled in horror. "Oh no⌠oh no, no no noâoh this is dreadful," he muttered to himself as he went through each garment. "It's borderline terminal. Nothing even the tiniest bit bold of colorful." Douglas internally withered as his hands went through and rummaged through years of dull, mono-colored shirts and sweatersâonly occasion finding a red or yellow that had grown faded from the years. When was the last time he had gone clothes shopping?
"It's been too long," he said, and he absolutely agreed. "I've got to get ready since I'll be preparing for today's Pride. Need something fashionable to wear. Don't need to look like a grandpa for the party over there."
Today's Pride? Douglas was surprised a this own words, but also more surprised at just how nonchalantly he was speaking to himself as well. But⌠this was his own decision. Yes, he wanted to go to pride of his own accord. Even though he couldn't recall knowing any details of the event or what he was supposed to do when he got there, he put on the least atrocious combinations of colors he could put on, scarfed down a plain breakfast, and rushed to the clothing store.
"Mmm⌠nice." Douglas had never been much of a fashion connoisseur, but there was something almost hypnotic about watching himself try on these different, much more colorful styles and pose in the mirror. On occasion, he would even wink to his own reflection. Once, he even leaned forward, both arms pressed up against the glass and shook his hips while panting with his tongue out. "Ohhh," moaned Douglas, quickly pressing his hand over his mouth. Even without anybody else int he fitting rooms, he couldn't help but be overwhelmed by all these emotions. Even better he really wanted to just tear of all these clothes and just start ravaging himself and bust his load all over the mirror.
Have I always been this good-looking? Douglas thought. No, it's because I'm finally giving a shit about my appearance like this.
"I think I've got a nice look down," he said, chuckling to himself and even giving a tiny flex in these fashionable clothes. "Bet all the handsome hunks will be thrilled to see a nice little DILF like this." And Douglas agreed. He'd give them all a nice little show as they marched down the streets.
As the young clerk rang up his purchases, Douglas noticed just how long his gaze lingered. He grinned and said, "Going to the pride after parties once your shift's over?"
The young man flinched but then shyly smiled. He nodded with a small, meek smile. "Knowing you'll be there, I think I can make the effort," he said, tittering. He took out a few bills from the register and handed Douglas his change. Douglas reached out, cupping the young man's hand and tenderly stroke it before taking his cash. The young man was fully blushing and left a stuttering mess.
"See you around," Douglas said with a killer, confident grin. He couldn't believe he had done that, but⌠he wanted to do it again. He wanted to make that clerk's whole body blush while ramming inside of him. As he walked back to his car, Douglas' cock was tenting up in his pants, but he walked around with little shame. "Why bother with shame?" he said outloud, walking around with a swagger only a hot older man could possess. "Keeping this hot body all to myself would be a disservice to the world. We got only one life, we gotta live it."
Douglas had heard that kinda nonsense all his life, but saying it himself just now⌠he was believing it. Hell, he was even living it.
The parade would start around noon, so Douglas wasted no time⌠is what he told himself. The truth was, as he took out the boring shirts and jeans he had on, he stopped and took a clear look at his reflection. He was oozing confidence he had no idea he could ever possess. So much of his his life was spent gazing at his own feet and awkwardly shuffling forward. Any flamboyance or even simple joy in life was swiftly beaten down by his father and older brothers. Being a real man was being a stoic, miserable wretch that until until he diedâthat was what they believed, and they firmly made sure Douglas believed the same thing. And for most of his life, he did.
But nowâfresh shirt, suit, and colorful pants onâDouglas felt like he was truly alive. "Yup," he said to his own reflection, "this is what a real man looks like." It wasn't so much that he was looking a handsome man in the mirror, but rather that it was a a man who was finally able to make choice without worrying about what an outsiders might think. "Confident, nicely groomed, and ready to turn heads."
The energy of the parade was electric. People chanting, shouting, cheering, and marching forward with so much determination in their gazes and voices. Not a single one of them looked ashamed to be there, and Douglas was right there with them. He pumped his fist in the air, walking forward and catching people's eyes. So many people chatted him up, speaking and asking him so many questions as a 'queer unc.' He had no clue what that meant, but he still smiled and spoke with confidence.
It was during the aftermath that he started getting a more attention. "Heeey handsome." A younger man, shirtless and carrying a microphone, waved Douglas down. Trailing just a few steps behind was a cameraman. "Mind asking some questions for my channel? It's always nice interviewing some older gay men to get a fresh perspective."
The implications weren't lost on Douglas. He nodded and walked over. He asked some basic questions, and Douglas answered with mostly the truth. "I think I knew my whole life, but I wasn't quite ready to accept it until I was much older," he said, and he supposed that wasn't untrue. Ever since he was a child Douglas always felt like he was a tiny bit different than the other boys his age. He stared at the men in his life, gaze lingering a bit longer. "It took a while to let go of the shame. This is actually my first pride, but I think I'd like to attend more." He looked around, seeing all the different kinds of folks milling around and having fun. So many of them seemed relieved and at home. It felt like their own little slice of heaven here on earth.
"So, this is something I ask everyone I interview," the host said, "what does pride mean to you?"
Douglas took a deep breath. He had never given it much thought before. Honestly, in the past he figured that the whole thing was silly and the gays didn't need to make a whole parade over being who they were. "I think it's a way to express ourselves, and individuals," he began. "We were get labeled growing up, but I think part of maturing and growing into our own skin is taking these labels and using them not just to define ourselves but to show the world 'this is who I am. This is what I'm about.'"
Who I really am⌠Yeah, this is what I want the world to see me as. This is who I want to be. Queer and free.
"Pride is to celebrate that. It's like a big artshow, and the craft is ourselves. Our identities, our lives, our experiencesâwe're here to show all of ourselves to each other, and to make sure we're not all drowning in loneliness," he added, chuckling. "I think that's what pride is to me, and why it's so important."
"Interesting," the interviewer said, nodding. "Well, thanks for your time, and be sure to follow us atâŚ"
I didn't realize I was so eloquent with words, thought Douglas. Perhaps it was time to get back into the arts, as well. With the passion he was speaking with it'd be a waste to not channel that one in a creative pursuit. Gays generally made for good artists, right? He was certain he heard about that somewhere before.
As the festivities wound down, Douglas found that same clerk from the show store. "So," he said as he approached, nearly making the younger man jump out of his skin, "you made it. So glad to see you. By yourself, though?"
"Ah, wellâŚ" said the young man, sheepishly scratching the back of his next. "I mean, not too many of my friends really know. And this isn't really their scene, soâŚ"
Douglas nodded, empathizing with Steven. If anyone he knew saw him here⌠well, before he was certain he would've been panicking and pleading for them to not reveal this to anyone. but for whatever reason he no longer had that fear. If anyone saw me here, he thought, I'd tell them to fuck off and mind their own business. I'm a grown-ass man and can make my own choices and my own decisions.
Suddenly Douglas let out a groan as that weighty feeling vanished. That slight disassociation disappeared, and he truly felt like he was back in his own skin. Though strange, it didn't matter right now. "C'mon, then. Want me to show you around? There's still plenty to see, and a nice nightlife to check out afterwards." Douglas gently took the younger man's hand as he tried to strutter out a response. "Name's Douglas, but just Doug's fine. You?"
"St-StevenâŚ" was all the young man was able to get out before Douglas pulled him along.
Neither of them saw the figure walking away, whistling to himself in satisfaction of a job well-done. Both just enjoyed what they night offered them.
















