by J A Wynters
“Head down.”
CRACK.
“Mouth shut.”
The belt slapped against my skin.
“One fucking job.”
With that, Tony clamped his mouth and let his belt do the talking instead. The blows rained down on my back and bottom, legs and calves. I gritted my teeth as tears leaked from my eyes. With each blow, the skin softened and the pain grew until my entire body felt as if it was on fire.
“Do you understand?”
The strikes seized just as quickly as they had begun.
“Yes,” I whispered through gritted teeth and foam, through balled fists and choked breath.
“Good. This will be your only warning.” He coughed and Salvatore released me. I wished he hadn’t because he was the one thing that was holding me up. I clawed at the table but the smooth surface had no grip, so I slid and staggered backwards into the wall.
“Get dressed and get the fuck out of here.” Tony’s voice was breathy and his chest heaved. His pudgy hands fumbled with the belt trying to push it back in through the loops.
I pulled up my pants, the fabric stinging my welted skin. Salvatore led me to my room and laid me on my bed.
For the next few weeks, my body would hurt. The welts turned from an angry red to blue and black and eventually yellow and purple.
It was a harsh lesson, and I obeyed. Head down, mouth shut. I wished I had let that asshole, Archie, just beat me up instead.
The second thing that you need to know is not an event, but rather a fact. Turns out, I was super fucking intelligent. Who knew, right? Yes, Rita gave me foundations—and good ones. But once I got started, I realised that I had an appetite for knowledge.
I had always been street smart, I had to be with Alice. I wasn’t stupid. I knew what was going on, but it was only once I was educated, once I understood the complexity of numbers, that I comprehended the depth and ingenuity of how Tony’s business ran. The cleverest thing? Tony kept his name off of every single slip of paper in that joint. It’s like he didn’t even exist.
I spent the days at school and the evenings at the shop. The quicker I absorbed things at school, the more Tony taught me about the business. All sides—the good, the bad, and the right down dirty.
Which leads us to number three. I wasn’t just smart, I was athletic. And because I was getting fed regularly, I buffed up. My growth spurt happened almost overnight. The scrawny kid vanished, and in his stead was a healthy strong teenage boy. I suddenly had muscles and sloping shoulders, a broad chest and long powerful legs. I became strong. I was strong. Football came naturally to me. Like the ball was an extension of my body. Like my legs were designed to run, and my upper body was created to clash and force its way forward.
I wanted to play football. In fact, coach wanted to recruit me. He filled my head with dreams. He talked about universities and scouts, about draft picks and a future.
The Hand laughed at me when I mentioned it. I remember the spittle as it flew out of his mouth. It was heavily scented with salami fat and bread crumbs. His small eyes squinted almost shut, and his hands fell onto his rounded belly.
That fucker laughed.
Tony dangled the dream carrot in front of my face and tore it away with the same hand. The Hand giveth and he taketh away. That day, as his body giggled while he nearly fell over with hilarity, I understood the price of his gift and the debt that was owed. I was being groomed to be his, and his I shall remain. I was his prisoner. The walls sealed around me, the gate slammed shut. I was never getting out.
When I stopped showing up for practice, coach tried to speak to me, motivate me, shower me with praise. I told him it was never going to happen. He slapped me across the back and promised he would make it happen, assured me he had never failed to convince a single parent to give their kid the best start in life.
He strolled right into the principal’s office.
When he came out, he could barely look at me.
“Don’t worry about it.” I slapped him on the shoulder and left him in that corridor looking at his feet.
And number four?
That happened two years before I graduated. Rita came back. She sauntered into the office, all sweet and rosy. Her blonde hair was swaying behind her in a high ponytail. She looked like a prized horse. It swayed and sashayed as she moved.
I watched her. It was like seeing her for the very first time. I found it hard not to notice that her lips were a dark shade of red, deep maroon, all glossy and shining as the tip of her pink tongue sailed across them. I noticed how her sweater hugged her midriff so tightly that her breasts had nowhere to go but up. They bobbed ever so timidly with every step she took. Her high heels clacking on the concrete floor.
Rita didn’t even turn her head in my direction. The likes of her didn’t associate with us grunts. Bottom feeders.
The help.
She crossed the shop as if she was afraid to catch something. Quick enough to get out of the dirt, but slow enough to make sure every male on that floor looked. All got an eyeful of what we could never have. Turns out, Rita was Tony’s niece. Who knew an ugly sack of shit like him could be related to her?
Not long after she went into the office, he called for me.
I walked into the office and caught sight of her long legs peeking from her black mini skirt. My body tightened and I swallowed hard. I averted my eyes and found Tony’s burning with anger and warning. I straightened up.
“You need something, Tony?”
“Gabriel my boy, you remember Rita?”
I nodded and shifted my attention back to her. I could see her eyes widen and her nose flair as recognition set in. Barely.
“Gabriel?” She sucked in a breath trying to conceal her astonishment. “What happened to the scared scrawny kid?”
“Your uncle fed him.” I shrugged and she giggled. The sweet sound forcing its way to my pants.
“I can see that.” She said in a playful voice and raised an eyebrow.
“Rita!” Tony’s tone held no questions as to his disapproval of our exchange, but Rita ignored her uncle. And winked at me.
Although my body reacted, I kept a straight face.
Tony turned back to me, “Rita here pranged her car.” He crossed his arms and they rested over his belly. “She is going to borrow the Lexus until we can fix it up for her. Make sure you get her the keys. You will need to pick up the Mustang. Rita here will drive you to it.”
“Yes sir.”
The three of us remained silent for what seemed like a minute. “Was there anything else, Boss?”
“No, get out of here, both of you. I have work to do, and I’ll have even more work if the cops find her car first.”
Rita stood up and tottered over to her uncle pecking him on the cheek. He turned a shade of crimson, and I could see the dirty thoughts churning in his head. She was his niece. My stomach churned.
I turned away as she said in a sweet voice, “Thank you, uncle Tony. I knew you could help me.”
“Anything for you, sweetheart.” His voice was soft and rosy, completely unrecognisable. I wanted to vomit.
I held the door open for her, my knuckles white on the doorknob. Her soft fingers grazed my hand as she exited, my breath caught in my throat as I slammed the door behind us. Rita flashed me a dazzling smile as she waited for me at the top of the stairs.
“Follow me.” I took a wide step around her and led her downstairs and to the back. The storage room was dim and hot, and my heart thumped with every click of her high heels behind me.
“Through here.” I waited by a wall. To the naked eye, it looked like a regular wall. But in reality, it was a false wall hiding Tony’s real treasures.
In the hidden room was a garage where The Hand kept his cars. And where more than a few nefarious jobs had taken place. The place was spotless, bleached and immaculate.
“Stay close.”
There were rules, everyone knew the rules, even those who pretended they didn’t. The roo
m had to remain in complete darkness until the door was firmly back in place. The outside world could have no idea about the existence of this place. Not even the light was allowed to leak out.
I unlatched the hidden door and stepped inside; Rita did the same. She remained close, and I found it hard to swallow.
“I have to close the door, it will be dark for just a minute.” She nodded at me and shuffled closer still. I could feel the heat of her body inches from mine.
I slid the door into place. The world plunged into darkness, and then I could feel her hands on me. They clawed at my chest and wrapped themselves around my neck. I sucked in a breath.
I slid my hand along the cold wall, searching for the light switch. Rita pressed herself against my body, the feel of her breasts against me sent my mind reeling. My heart pounded in my sixteen-year-old chest.
In the darkness, her smell intensified. She smelt like a field of lilies, like she rolled around in the petals. I could almost picture her nude body being stroked by each flower as they kissed her skin. The bulge in my pants became tighter, and I could feel the sweat on my forehead as my fingers finally found the switch. I stood frozen in place.
I could feel her hot breath on my chin, and then my cheek as she pushed herself up on tiptoes. I was completely unprepared for the feel of her lips on mine. For the heat of her tongue as it swept past my lips. For the path her fingers forged along my back and into my hair.
The kiss only lasted seconds but it also lasted an eternity. Universes were created and worlds ended during that kiss. My body was hard and tight in all the wrong place, and my lungs forgot how to breathe.
“Mmm Gabriel,” her voice was husky and my body coiled. “You best put the light on.”
I nodded like a fool at the total darkness, and the heat of her body melted away.
The room exploded into harsh light. White walls and black cars and the pink, sweltering flesh of Rita as she stood inches from me.
I stumbled backwards and my back hit the wall. A smirk spread over her lips as she unashamedly scanned me, her eyes making the journey down then up again. She bit her lip and turned away, the clack of her heels echoing in the cement chamber.
“Which of these is it?”
“The Lexus. Far right.” I cleared my throat hearing the strain in my voice. “I’ll grab the keys.”
I fiddled with the flimsy latch on the key box and grabbed the ones for the Lexus, dropping them and picking them up again. Rita snickered. My world had just been slanted, tilted, and she knew it.
It’s not like girls hadn’t made passes at me before. It’s not like Elaine didn’t let me feel up her boobs behind the bleachers at the football field, and it’s not like I haven’t been kissed before—more than once. But this was somehow different. She was older and pretty and I knew her. She didn’t look at me like I was a piece of shit, like she was a rich girl coming to slum it down with the grubs.
She looked at me like I was just another boy. And that was enough—not different, not extraordinary, not poor. To her, I was just like everyone else. It was enough to make my legs shake and my heart thump. Well, that and her bloody perfume, and that midriff of hers—showing off soft flesh that jutted out, winking at me, teasing me, daring me to touch it. My sweaty fingers itched for it.
I unlocked the car and opened the door for Rita. “A gentleman.” She smiled at me.
If she knew the wicked thoughts that ran through my brain, I don’t think she would have called me anything more than a beast. I just smiled back and climbed in the driver seat. My hands clutched that wheel so tight my knuckles were all kinds of white.
“Where is your car?”
She gave me the address and I put the car into drive. It glided out of the parking bay and through the tunnel. Soon we were on the street.
The sun bathed the buildings in golden-orange light as if the city was burning as hot as my skin. Dark blues chased the sun, forcing it below the horizon. Soon it would be dark.
We drove in silence for a while. My hands started to relax; my body fell back into the driver’s seat, easing against the comfortable leather. But my skin remained prickled, acutely aware of her. I felt like a match in a lightning storm. A single touch was all it would take to ignite a wild, hungry fire.
“You’ve grown.” I could feel her eyes on me.
“It happens.” I shrugged, pretending that I didn’t like that she’d noticed.
“And filled out.”
“Your uncle pays me. I can eat now. Every day.” It was sarcastic, and I kicked myself for being such an asshole. There was a beautiful girl saying beautiful things, and there I was being a dick. Let’s call it self-preservation. I could still taste her on my lips, and my body hardened at the memory of her touch. “Sorry.”
“For what? Telling it like it is? Don’t be.”
And just like that, she put me at ease. She asked me about school and my grades. She seemed so proud of me when I told her how well I was doing that I almost told her about my dreams; almost mentioned university and getting away from everything. But it was going so well, ‘telling it like it really was’ would have just spoiled it.
“What about a girlfriend? I bet you have girls throwing themselves at you.”
I felt the heat as it scorched my cheeks and thanked the universe for the encompassing darkness.
“Not really.” I’m not sure why I lied.
“I find that hard to believe.” She cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. She looked almost comical in the dim glow of the street lights.
Batting away thoughts of sloppy kisses and soft breasts under the football stands, I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat. “Guess I haven’t met the right one yet.” I shrugged, thinking that would be that.
Instead, Rita stretched across the seats, and her hand settled just above my knee. I drew in a sharp breath. My eyes flickered to her face and back to the road. Ignoring my reaction, her hand remained where it was. In slow, delicate movements, her fingers traced a path up the length of my thigh and back again. A shiver of heat spread along my skin.
“Rita?”
She ignored me, letting her hands do the talking. She followed the same path up my thigh, but this time she didn’t retrace her movements. Instead, she continued on to the waistband of my jeans where, with practiced fingers, she undid the button.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “What the hell are you doing?” My heart pounded in my chest. It was all I could hear in the confines of the car.
She unzipped me and like a snake, her hand wrapped itself around my cock—which was already swollen and hard. I gasped. My left hand shot to her wrist, grabbing it but not pulling it away.
“Let go of my wrist and continue driving, Gabriel.”
“Rita…” my voice was scratched and breathy. All the air had been sucked out of the car with the squeeze of her hand.
“Drive the car, Gabriel. Keep your eyes on the road and get us there safely. You wouldn’t want me to have to tell uncle Tony what a naughty boy you are, do you?” She was pouting, but her eyes glinted with mischief.
“Rita… I…”
She squeezed her fingers just a fraction more. “Drive, Gabriel.”
I did. It took all of my concentration and effort to remain seated, to keep my hips from grinding, from pushing my dick against her hand. My forehead was peppered with sweat, and my heart felt like it might burst.
My heavy breaths sounded rough in the car. Rita flicked on the radio; a popular song came on and she bobbed her head to the music, all the while squeezing and releasing me. Turning me on and off like a powerful engine. Go, wait, stop. Breath, squeeze, release. Tease, flick, pinch. Inhale, exhale—inhale, exhale.
Torture.
Pleasure.
Pain.
I was wrecked.
“Rita,” I was breathing so heavily I could barely talk. “I can’t do this much longer. Please let me go.”
“Pull over.”
“What?”
“There
. Now!” I followed her gaze to the next street.
I turned onto a side street. Suburban, middle-class, bikes on green grass and perfectly manicured lawns; Subarus and Fords in driveways, curtains drawn and lights shining through gaps in white blinds; silence, except for my breathing. It was ragged and torn.
I was somewhere between agony and ecstasy, drowning in need and burning with a fire I had not felt before. Jerking off was nothing like this.
I parked the car in the dark gap between street lights; the gap where darkness rules and monsters come out to play.
“Turn off the engine.” Her voice was soft and velvety, inviting.
I did as I was told, her soft hand still on my cock.
“Push your seat back, Gabriel.”
I bent over as her hand squeezed my shaft. I pushed the chair back as far as it would go and she released the pressure slightly. My stomach coiled with the sensation.
“Good.” Our eyes locked, hers hooded and hungry. “Have you ever had anyone suck your cock, Gabriel?”
I nearly came at her words. I just shook my head, unable to speak.
Her sly smile grew and she bit her lower lip. I shut my eyes and sucked in breath.
“Help me.” Rita tugged at my pants, suggesting I lift myself off the seat. I pushed myself up and helped her pull down my jeans and underwear. I pushed them down to my knees, where they remained like cumbersome chains. I was trapped in my own clothes.
She rearranged herself on her seat and licked her bottom lip, pulling it drawing in with her teeth, then leaned over.
My cock twitched as I felt her warm breath on the tip. Then her tongue swept over my head, and my heart smashed across my chest. My head fell back against the headrest, and my ass stuck to that leather seat, as my hips fought the sensation of pumping and thrusting.
Rita flicked her tongue over the tip, swirling it up and down my cock, eliciting gasps and groans out of me. I remember thinking that her tongue on my cock was the best sensation in the world. But, that thought only lasted a few seconds before she pulled me into her mouth with her next breath. I moaned as the hot, wet vacuum sealed around me and sent me reeling. Her hands cradled my balls, sending electric shocks of pleasure up my spine; my stomach wound and knotted; my thighs shook and quivered—and then, she swallowed me whole. Every inch of me disappeared down Rita’s throat. The tension grew inside, and I could feel myself swell, grow, and pulse.
