Chapter 8

"So, Josh." "Yeah. That s my name." James chuckled. "Smart-ass." Joshua leered at James. "It s a damn fine-looking ass, too, even if I say so myself." James gulped a little. "Any chance of me getting an unobstructed view of your fine-looking ass later when dinner is over?" Joshua smirked. "Maybe." James groaned. "You re a cruel man." Joshua snorted. "No, I m not. A little anticipation doesn t hurt. Right?" "Tell that to the straining erection and aching balls inside my pants at the moment." Joshua grinned. "Any chance of me getting an unobstructed view of your straining erection and aching balls later when dinner is over?" James was stunned for a moment to hear his revised statement thrown back his way before chortling softly. "Maybe." "Yeah?" "You show me yours, and I ll show you mine." "I thought you wanted to look at my ass. Have you changed your mind?" "Nope. I don t mind inspecting your front and back. For research purposes, of course." Joshua laughed. "Is it for the sake of the betterment of mankind?" James shrugged. "Just one man in particular." "Who s that?" "Me." "I see. Tell me more." "I prefer to act on it. It will be so much more…satisfying, if you catch my drift." "I do." James beamed at Joshua. "My king-sized bed at home is firm. I think it will be more comfortable for your back if I lay you down on that nice, flat surface before I begin to admire and worship every inch of you, especially your sweet ass." Joshua raised his wine glass at James. "That sounds like a wonderful idea." James lifted his own wine glass. "Indeed." The two of them sipped on their wine before replacing their glasses back onto the table. There was now a different kind of tension between them as they stared at each other. It was temporarily broken by the server stopping by with their food. They had both ordered steaks, fries, and grilled vegetables, but their sauce choices were different. James had chosen to try the mushroom sauce while Joshua had selected the barbecue sauce. Neither of them exchanged a single word for the next few minutes as they took small bites of their food. It was Joshua who spoke up first. "What s your family like?" "I have my parents and two younger brothers, both of whom are married with kids." Joshua nodded. "I m an only child." "Are your parents okay with you being gay?" Joshua shrugged. "It s not as if they have any alternatives." "Did they take a while to come around?" Joshua replaced the knife and fork onto his plate before answering the question. "I m not sure if they have ever fully accepted my sexuality, but they re getting better." "That s good. Right?" "I guess," Joshua said while picking up his utensils and cutting into the steak once again. "What about your parents?" "Traditional." "How so?" "It comes with the era they were born in, and probably the environment they had grown up in." Joshua gazed at James with empathy written all over his face. "Oh, I think I know what you re referring to." "Yeah. I can t speak for all Asians, and I don t even think all Chinese people are the same, but my parents are definitely the products of their generations. Having sons are better, especially the firstborn child. After all, boys will grow up into men, and they will be expected to continue the family name. Daughters are 'given away to the men they marry, and they will essentially become parts of their husbands families." Joshua grimaced a little. "That s rather archaic." James shrugged. "My parents aren t that bad anymore, but I can still see some of the old ways of thinking in the things they do and say." "Did they have a hard time accepting your sexuality?" James snorted. "That s understating it. My mom took slightly more than a month to get over the fact I ll never get married to a woman and have children of my own." "And your dad?" "More than ten months of the silent treatment." Joshua whistled softly. "Damn. I m sorry to hear that, man. My parents aren t thrilled about me being gay, but our relationship has never gotten that bad." "Have you guys ever talked about it?" Joshua nodded. "They were terrified for me." "Why?" "All those hate crimes and stuff. Plus, they were worried I would end up alone and lonely for the rest of my life." James immediately caught on. "Ah, I see. That s not horrible at all." Joshua shook his head. "Nope. My parents are also products of their generations, though. They can t remember ever openly discussing the subject of homosexuality. It used to be such a hush-hush and shameful topic. It still is today to a certain extent, but things are getting better for sure." James agreed. "True." "Yeah." There was a momentary silence between them before James couldn t stop himself from chuckling loudly. Joshua stared at him in astonishment.