Never Meant To Be

Written By: LJ

(This story was written in response to an LS Challenge. It is about the summer Rowan and Dennis’ friendship began.)

Very special thanks to Mel, my technical advisor and friend, and to Cora for providing the ‘wine and chocolate’ scene.


Rowan set down the book he had been reading to watch Darby and Riley skinny-dipping off the end of the dock. It was only June, summer barely started and the temperature was already reaching record highs. Thank God they were able to escape the oppressive heat for the weekend at least. He loved it here at the cottage. He looked out across the lake and gazed appreciatively at the beautiful panorama provided by the Rocky Mountains. He thought back in time to another equally hot sultry summer and another mountain retreat. Across the landscape of his mind, memories allowed the story to unfold.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Rowan set down his luggage in the hallway next to his assigned room. He had arrived in Toronto two hours ago after having slept through the entire flight from Vancouver. The registration process had gone smoothly and he was eager to unpack before exploring and familiarizing himself with his new surroundings.

He unlocked and pushed open the door. Stepping over the threshold, he was pleasantly surprised at the spaciousness of the room where he would be spending the next several weeks. This was the first time he would be sharing a dorm and he had mistakenly assumed the living quarters would be cramped and cluttered. He noticed one side was already occupied as evident by the personal touches added to the bed and dresser. The other was stark in comparison.

‘I’ll soon change that!’ he thought with a grin, grabbing up his large duffel bag and placing it with his laptop on the unused bed. ‘From the looks of things, my roommate is at least neat.’ He had been worried about who he would be stuck with during his temporary stay.

He was just putting away the last of his clothing when the door opened and in walked a tall, dark-haired man about his own age. Rowan found himself looking into warm brown eyes and on the receiving end of a welcoming smile.

“Hi, there; my name is Dennis Taylor.”

“Hello; I’m Rowan Kincaide. Please to meet you.” Rowan accepted the proffered hand and shook it. He instinctively knew the two of them were going to get along.

“Good to see you making yourself right at home,” Dennis commented. He too felt instantly at ease with this man he’d be sharing his space with for the eight-week summer session. “So what courses are you taking and why?”

“Just a computer science security course; a year ago I earned my Degree in Engineering, but wanted to have this as a non-credit.”

“Nice! Where are you from, who do you work for and what do you do?”

Rowan smiled at Dennis’ inquisitiveness. “I live in the Okanagan Valley in B.C. I’m an aviation engineer and trouble-shoot for a small airline company. My employer was gracious enough to let me have the time off to come here. Care to share a bit of information about yourself?”

“It’s only fair, after all you did. I work part-time in the university bookstore. I’m a TA in our Humanities and Social Sciences departments. I’ve recently started preparations for my Ph.D.” Dennis grinned at Rowan’s wide-eyed expression of astonishment.

“Really? You look kinda young to have accomplished all that. I though you were my age.”

“I turned twenty-two this past April,” Dennis informed him. “And don’t bother accusing me of being an over-achiever; others have already beaten you to the punch.”

“Being as you’re a month younger that I am, that’s exactly what you are!” Rowan teased and laughed at the other man’s look of chagrin.

The new roommates continued summing each other up as Rowan added the finishing touches to his side of the room in order to personalize it for his own comfort. Both of them liked what they saw.

“Have you live here throughout your university life?” Rowan asked.

“Yes, and I’ve gone through a number of roommates over the last five years. How was your dorm life?”

“This is my first time in one. When I was attending UBC, I shared an apartment with three other guys. We called ourselves the Richmond Gang.”

“Sounds interesting,” Dennis’ voice held a hint for more information.

“I just might tell you about it,” Rowan lightly responded. He was enjoying the camaraderie.

“I look forward to it. In the meantime, if you haven’t made other plans, I’ll give you the grand tour of the campus,” Dennis offered.

“Thanks! I’d like that!”

************

The next two weeks flew by with Rowan and Dennis spending a great deal of time together. Both had rather opened schedules due to neither of them overextending themselves as far as studying was concerned. Dennis told Rowan about a woodland retreat he had the use of and his roommate readily agreed to accompany him. It was located in a northern region of the Quebec Laurentian Mountain range; somewhere Rowan had never been before. They set out before dawn on Saturday morning for the lakeside cabin. They travelled for some time with each man caught up in his own thoughts. Both knew after a fortnight of numerous conversations that no topic was off limits, yet both were contented to just relax in an atmosphere of companionable silence.

“That was quite a coincident!” Rowan mused out loud. “I mean I hadn’t expected to find you at the GBLT meeting the other night. Glad I changed my mind and decided to attend. You being a member of the board was an added surprise.”

“Would you have still accepted my invitation for this weekend had you not discovered I was gay?” Dennis asked with an amused grin spreading across his face.

“I probably would have. Of course, we now have different activity options available,” Rowan insinuated and gave his companion a leering smirk.

“As long as you keep in mind, I top exclusively.” Dennis teased. There was a barely noticeable, half-serious tone in his voice.

“Then our brief getaway may involve a number of cold showers, because so do I,” Rowan continued the light banter, which resulted in a fair amount of laughter.

“There is a small village not far from the cabin where we can pick-up the last of our supplies,” Dennis mentioned, after allowing time to get their laughter under control.

“Great! I could use a break to stretch my legs.”

“You’ll have plenty of chance to do that when you see how far we have to walk from where we leave the car to the lake the old log cabin’s on,” Dennis chuckled. “At least it’s all downhill.”

“Sounds good to me, my friend!”

It was noon when the men arrived at their destination. Dennis retrieved the key from its’ hiding place, flung opened the door and gallantly gestured for Rowan to enter first.

“You sure as hell weren’t kidding about the distance from the car to here!” Rowan drew in a deep breath as he dropped the heavy box of groceries onto the sturdy wooden table. He took his time to glance around the small two-roomed structure; in one corner stood a wood stove and an antique icebox in another. His eyes widened as he took in the old sink with a hand-pump at the side. “Well, I now see the need for the large blocks of ice and sawdust. Primitive or what?”

“You mean, rustic! Knew you’d like it!” Dennis kidded as he strolled around opening windows to air the place out. “And before you ask, the washroom facilities are located in a small separate building behind this one.” He laughed at the stunned expression on his friend’s face and further joked. “All the conveniences of home!”

“Oh well, it’s clean and the sofa in front the fireplace looks comfy.” Rowan was grasping at straws to find something positive to say. “And I guess it is rather cosy, especially with there being only one bedroom.”

“It is! The bunk beds in that far corner and the cots in the loft are rather comfortable. That is they were to us as kids,” Dennis informed him. “My parents used to bring my brother and sister and I up here every summer. In fact they still do. Plus I try to come back on my own at least once a year. There are five other rental cottages up the lake a bit, but I prefer this one. It’s really worth the trade-off.”

“Trade-off?”

“Yeah. I don’t mind giving up electrical appliances and indoor plumbing in exchange for more privacy and having the lake practically on the doorstep,” Dennis explained. He pulled Rowan over to stand in the opened doorway and gaze out at the beautiful expanse of water with the sun sparkling off it. “Besides, this place holds a lot of special memories for me. You know you’re the first person I’ve ever brought up here.” This last was expressed quietly as Dennis seconded guessed himself and wondered if he had made a mistake.

Rowan placed an arm around Dennis’ shoulder and hugged him. “Thank you. I’m honoured!” was his sincere rejoinder.

Dennis cleared his throat of the emotion blocking it and turned to point out other things Rowan might have overlooked. “And we are not completely isolated as access to a wireless network is available. My uncle who owns the property had it installed at the main house so family members would continue to make use of this little shanty.”

“Well, I have to say I too like the seclusion and being right on the lake is nice.” Rowan was not longer having difficulty finding advantages to being here. He was sure he was going to take pleasure from his stay.

“How about we get things straightened away and have lunch before deciding what to do with the rest of our day?” Dennis suggested.

“Works for me!” Rowan merrily agreed.

As they enjoyed a long lazy afternoon fishing, they talked about their families, childhoods, future dreams and aspirations. The two men were learning a great deal about each other and getting quite close.

“Looks like you had me digging in dirt for nothing,” Rowan light-heartedly griped as he baited his hook once again and threw it over the side of the boat. “The fish are nibbling but not biting.”

“Hmm, guess they’re not too hungry,” Dennis retorted with a wide grin. “But we’re still having a good time.” He took advantage of hiding behind his sunglasses to stare appreciatively at the partially clothed man sitting in front of him. “And we’re improving our tans.”

“Yeah!” Rowan softly sighed out his agreement. He was concentrating more on his companion’s well-developed body than on what the fish were or were not doing.

That evening, with supper behind them, Rowan decided to read while Dennis attempted to contact ‘civilization’ as he referred to it.

“Shit! I can’t log-on to the Internet. I know I should be able to because I’ve done it so often in the past,” Dennis complained. He had been sitting in front of his laptop for fifteen minutes and struggling to get on-line.

“Let’s see if I can get it to work for you,” Rowan offered, getting up and looking over Dennis’ shoulder.

“I’d appreciate it!” Dennis replied as he gave up his seat and changed places with his friend.

Rowan hit a few keys and maneuvered the mouse while staring at the monitor. After opening a couple of windows, he quickly made several alterations and they were on-line “I think the problem has been solved!” Rowan announced and got to his feet.

In awe, Dennis sat down and tried to click on his e-mail account. Nothing happened. Rowan’s hand came to rest on top of Dennis’ as he moved the cursor to another icon.

“Voila! It will work automatically once you have signed off and restarted,” Rowan assured the other man. He removed his hand and noticed a flush on Dennis’ face. “Are you all right?”

“Y-yes…” Dennis stammered. He was surprised by the jolt of warmth felt at Rowan’s touch. He could feel his face heating up as Rowan smiled down at him. “It felt kind of like a shock.”

“Sorry about that,” Rowan softly chuckled at his companion.

Much later, the men were enjoying light conversation and laugher mingled with the headiness from the wine they were indulging in.

“I hope I didn’t startle you too much earlier,” Rowan commented.

Dennis could feel the colour rising in his face again. “Not really. I just wasn’t expecting it,” he replied. “Like I said, it kind of felt a bit like a shock.” And indeed it had felt like electricity flowing from Rowan’s hand, up Dennis’ arm, through to his heart, his stomach and down to his lower regions. He couldn’t remember anything similar ever happening to him in the past.

Rowan smiled as he looked into Dennis’ gorgeous brown eyes. “It felt like a shock to me too,” he said quietly. “It was more powerful than anything I’ve felt before.” He didn’t say more; didn’t want Dennis to turn away. The wine was loosening his tongue, but it didn’t matter. It gave him a sense of freedom and allowed him to express some of what he was feeling. He though he was falling in love and hoped it was mutual.

As if reading his friend’s mind, Dennis interrupted Rowan’s train of thought by asking, “More wine?”

“Thanks!” Rowan replied.

Dennis chose another bottle of Merlot from the wine rack and wordlessly popped the cork before pouring them each another generous glassful and reseating himself on the couch beside Rowan. Unknown to the other man, Dennis had a treat clutched in his hand.

“Do you know what goes great with Merlot?” Dennis asked with a wide grin.

“Probably a number of things, but I have no idea as to what ‘thing’ you’re referring to.”

“Close your eyes and keep them closed,” Dennis requested.

“Okay,” Rowan smiled and complied with his friend’s wishes. He let out a deep sigh and leaned his head against the back of the sofa. A warm breeze drifted passed the curtains of an opened window. Miniature wildlife trilled outside. The smell of pine intermingled with the aroma of wine. The entire ambiance was making him light-headed and wistful.

“Take another sip of wine. Taste it! It’s so smooth, so soft…” Dennis hypnotically cooed as he watched Rowan follow his instructions. He took advantage of the moment to memorize Rowan’s features, the curve of his cheeks, the slight stubble on his jaw, the way his thick, jet-black hair perfectly matched his eyebrows. He pictured the stunning deep blue orbs behind the closed eyelids. He examined Rowan’s relaxed state and had an overwhelming urge to touch his face. He barely managed to refocus and continue. “It tastes so good, but I know something to make it much better.”

Rowan was having a hard time taking all this in as thoughts swam through his head and his heart pounded in his chest. Dennis was so close, making nerve-tingling sounds about the wine, the taste, the smell, the feel of it, and saying words like smooth and sweet.

“Keep your eyes closed” Dennis directed once again in a soothing whisper. “Put the glass up to your nose and sniff.”

Rowan deeply inhaled the smell of wine mingling with pine, only this time there was the addition of Dennis’ scent due to them sitting so close. His senses were heightened with his eyes closed and he willingly gave up control to Dennis as he enjoyed the heat radiating from the other man’s body, the aromatic atmosphere charged by the sounds of crickets chirping and Dennis’ slow, steady voice

“After your next sip, open your mouth slightly,” Dennis entreated in a hushed tone.

Rowan could feel Dennis’ breath against his face. He sipped the wine and let it flow into his mouth, slowly swallowing while maintaining the taste. Then he obediently parted his lips. He wasn’t aware of holding his breath as he felt the glass being gently removed from his fingers and something being slowly pushed between his lips. He immediately recognized the taste of rich, semi-sweetened chocolate. The creamy bitterness blended with the after-taste of the wine and as the chocolate melted, it followed the same flowing path past his teeth, over his tongue, throughout his mouth and down his throat.

“That’s not at all what I was expecting, but it certainly enhanced the flavour of the wine,” he murmured dreamily. He anticipated a reply; a caress, a brief kiss, but when none was forthcoming, he opened his eyes to find Dennis still sitting beside him.

“I do believe I’m falling in love with you,” Dennis solemnly declared.

“You’re more than a good friend,” Rowan softly whispered. “And I want you to know I feel the same way.” He leaned in, gently pressed his lips against the other man’s and felt a hand cup the nape of his neck as the kiss deepened. His tongue sought and gained entrance into Dennis’ opening mouth.

They reluctantly drew apart and deep blue eyes gazed searchingly into dark brown ones. Seeing the clear invitation, Rowan got to his feet and held out his hand.

Dennis placed his hand in Rowan’s and once on his feet, wrapped his arms around the taller man’s waist and kissed him.

The two men moved towards the bedroom, steadily removing clothing along the way. Once at their destination, they dropped down onto the bed without relinquishing their holds on each other. Tongues continued to duel, hands freely explored, and bodies struggled to get closer. Emotions soared, hearts beat faster, and breathing became shallow as lovers reveled in the heat caused by their thrusting pelvises. Moments later, shouts rang out as the friction resulted in crashing climaxes.

Several minutes passed and because both of them still lacked any inclination to get up, Dennis grabbed a pillow and after removing the pillowcase, used the soft cotton cover to clean them up.

“You’re rather good at improvising,” Rowan softly commented as he began at a leisurely pace to blaze a trail down the other man’s body with his mouth. This time he was going to take it slow and easy. After all, they had three relaxing days to look forward to.

************

The ceiling fan gently circulated the warm air causing it to wave over the sweat-covered bodies of two naked, well-sated lovers intertwined on Dennis’ bed. They had been in this position many times over the last several weeks, having repeatedly indulged in manual and oral lovemaking.

“That was awesome, Row!” Dennis murmured, even as his heartstrings twisted when he once again caught sight of the clean clothing lain out for the morning, the filled duffel bag by the door and the still-to-be-packed shaving kit on the dresser.

“If there was the slightest chance of this becoming a long-term relationship, I’d put in for a transfer in a heartbeat, babe.” Rowan assured him.

“I know,” was the sadly whispered reply. “I just wish we weren’t so much alike; that we both didn’t need what we’re unable to give each other.”

“I want, I need someone who needs me and will allow me to care for him. It’s hard to put into words, but I know you understand as you require the same in order to feel whole.”

“Yes, and heaven knows you won’t let me nurture you. Remember the bout of laryngitis you had for two days because of that horrendous cold? The only thing you caught at the cabin, by the way. You wouldn’t even permit me to answer your damn phone. You insisted on listening to the messages and responding by e-mail; the whole time coughing and sneezing mucus over your laptop.”

“You should talk,” Rowan chuckled. “I seem to recall you cutting your hand not too long ago. You absolutely refused to allow me to clean it.”

“It was only a scratch!” Dennis strongly declared. His emphatic response weakened by the smirk on his handsome face.

“So you insisted at the time. However, the blood in the sink proved otherwise,” Rowan reminded the other man. “And you made a shit job of putting the friggin’ bandaide on.”

“That’s because I’m right handed which, unfortunately, happened to be the one I scratched.” Dennis laughed at his friend’s rolling eyes.

“But this is not the only area where we are unable to meet each other’s needs, Dennis.” Rowan’s voice turned serious and he kissed the head of the man in his arms. “We both have unfulfilled sexual desires to consider. I truly believe there is someone out there, unknowingly waiting for us.”

“I’ll always regard you as one of my dearest friends, Rowan. I’m more than grateful for having met you and for this wonderful summer we’ve had.” The sincerity in Dennis’ voice was clearly evident, as were his feelings for this man he had come to love.

“I feel the same, Dennis! I truly, truly do. I love you, man!” Rowan used his hands and month to testify to the depth of his affection where his friend was concerned.

*************

Dennis opened the door and stepped over the threshold. He walked across to his bed and threw himself down on it. His side of the room still bore his touch, but glancing around made it impossible to ignore the emptiness of the other side. He stared at the ceiling and a tear fell unheeded down the side of his face. He was already missing his roommate whom he had dropped off at the airport an hour ago. Dennis wryly smiled at the memory of Rowan’s farewell words. “Keep in touch, my friend! Remember, I know where you live!” Taking a deep breath, he reluctantly accepted the need to move on.

Rowan sat staring out the small window of the plane as peaceful fluffy clouds drifted by. Leaving Dennis was the hardest thing he had ever had to do. It hurt so much having to leave the one you loved. Even the knowledge that this wonderful man, through no fault of his own, would be unable to assist him in becoming the person he aspired to be, didn’t lessen the pain. Only time would do that.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Rowan’s daydream ended abruptly when the cold, wet body of his partner landed on his lap.

“I’m cold!” Darby complained through chattering teeth.

“In this heat? Are you fortunate!” Rowan teased.

“Roooo-wan,” Darby whined, cuddling closer in an attempt to absorb the older man’s body heat.

Rowan chuckled and wrapped a beach towel around his shivering Brat. He noticed Jayson had vacated the near-by hammock in favour of cooling off in the lake with his own Brat.

Smiling down into sparkling green eyes, Rowan slid his hand under the towel. His tender caresses bringing warmth to his lover’s chilled genitals. The gentle manipulation caused an erection to grown until Darby was whimpering for his release. Using pre-cum in lieu of lube, Rowan increased the speed and a couple of minutes later felt a shudder racing through the smaller man’s body, a drawn-out gasp sweeping across his neck, and warm creamy liquid spilling over his hand.

Rowan dropped his head to kiss the damp red curls belonging to the man in his arms. A man he loved with every fiber of his being. This man: his companion, his partner, his lover and husband. Rowan’s happiness with his lot in life was enhanced by the knowledge that Dennis was just as contented and his desires equally fulfilled with two partners of his own.

Rowan used the towel to wipe off the evidence of Darby’s climax. Then tightening his hold, he stood up, carried his sleeping partner over to the hammock and lovingly placed him in it. Protectively slathering sunscreen over Darby’s sensitive skin, Rowan thought once again of how good life was, even if some things were never meant to be.

The End.