Kade leans back, all of his weight resting on the hand covering my mouth. The first trickle of panic slithers in, but I shove it away with the trust I have in Kade. At his touch, I cry out so loud the sound escapes around the edges of the suffocating palm.
Echoing around the room, I writhe and jerk and quiver as Kade runs his tongue from my hip, up my side, over my ribs, and lands in my armpit. Mouth opening, Kade devours me, and I’m shocked at his reaction. A continual moaning vibrates my armpit as he feasts, with his cock pressed tight against my thigh, pumping pre-cum to dampen my skin.
“Christ,” Kade groans. “I’ve waited six years to do that. You smell so goddamned intoxicating. I’ma lick your scent off every single inch of your skin.” He slides down my body, hand still pinned against my mouth. “Hush, now. Don’t scream,” and then he presses his face between my thighs.
I scream but no sound comes out as Kade eats me. Swallows my dick, sucks my balls, bites my taint, and tongues my ass. My thighs are rubbed raw from his stubble, but the pain feels exquisite. I come down Kade’s throat in a torrent. Driving me to the brink of insanity, three fingers are crammed in my ass, thrusting like a piston. Sound escapes my lips, causing fingertips to bite with bruising force against my cheek, ensuring my climax is a quiet one.
“I feel so alive,” Kade repeats my earlier words as he slides up next to me. His dick leaves a trail of cum from my calf to my hip. “I’m so goddamned happy to be alive.”
Voice thready and weak, I say Kade’s part. “Me too. We’re alive because we were supposed to be here in this moment.”
Miss Me?
After waking a few times in the night to find Kade curled around my back, I was disappointed when my alarm went off and he wasn’t beside me. Stretching, I laugh to the ceiling. “Holy fuck!” I crawl out of bed and quickly do my morning ritual, prepared to face the consequences of my actions. My face blazes bright red when I remember what brought Kade to my room in the first place.
Backpack slipping off my shoulder, I hunch to set it into place as I open my bedroom door. Not paying attention, I walk straight into Royce. Backing up, I mutter. “Whoa… whoa… whoa… no need for a trip to the hospital.” I can’t help but bust out laughing at his glacial glare.
“You’re not funny,” Royce bites out through gritted teeth. Guilt momentarily hits me when I take in the strained wrinkling around his eyes and the bruise-like bags from a sleepless night, but I’m in too good of a mood to feel bad. “Are you okay?”
“I… I’m sorry.” I apologize to be proactive. “Not for Kade staying over, or for what I was doing beforehand. But for upsetting and disappointing you.”
“Are you okay?” Royce doesn’t relent.
“I am–” I really think about it. A brilliant smile stretches my lips and I can’t stop it. “Perfect.”
Royce rolls his eyes at me while shaking his head no, like I’m a doofus. “Your Sandman is sitting down to breakfast, and he assured me you’re okay. So no need for hospitalization jokes.”
“Kade is still here?” My voice pitches high with excitement. I move to pass Royce, but his fingertips grip my bicep to halt me.
Gruff, Royce turns into Dad. “We’ve got some shit we have to get straight first.”
I slump against the hallway wall in defeat. “Punish me. I deserve it.”
“You’re a goddamned fool,” Royce snarls. “Don’t pull that shit. Worse, I can see you really mean it. I’m not gonna punish you for anything. You weren’t in the wrong.”
“What?” I squawk. “Who are you, and what did you do with Royce Kennedy? Of course I did wrong.”
“No punishments.” Royce grips my shoulder, fingers pulsing in a soothing rhythm. “Boundaries. Here’s my compromise. One, no dating Kade until you’re eighteen because he’s an adult. Two, you can see him all you want during daylight hours or when you’re with the family. Three, once you’re eighteen, you can stay with him one weekend night a month, but you and Kade have to spend time here at home. No more sleepovers in this house. No sex of any kind in this house. If you plan on playing with yourself, take your headphones off so you can hear what we’re hearing.”
“Oh, my fucking Lord.” I raise my hands to cover my face. “I’m so humiliated.”
Royce’s lips quirk up at the corners and his eyes dance, but he doesn’t comment further on my embarrassing moment. “Once you graduate, you’re your own man, but if you aren’t in this house four days a week to at least visit, I’m locking you in your room.”
I huff a laugh, finally getting with the program. “You’re worried you’ll miss me, aren’t you? Is that what’s been going on?”
A blush stains Royce’s cheeks, and he quickly looks away so I can’t see him. Muttering softly, “Kade was hard to tie down. He moved to State College, and when he came home he’d already bought a house. I had to go to him. I’m not letting him steal you away too, because then I’d never see either one of you again.”
“Thank you for the optimism on the longevity of Kade’s and my friendship.” My chuckle is cut short as warmth blooms in my chest and explodes. I finally feel like I’m home. “I’m not going anywhere when I have so many reasons to be in this house.”
“Willa and the kids,” Royce murmurs, sounding a bit sad yet happy.
My smile is huge. “Now who’s the doofus? I have a feeling Kade avoided this house because I was in it, making him feel like a pervert. You’ll probably have to kick him out if you get sick of him now.”
“Probably.” Royce looks away bashfully. “I’m glad my son has finally come home, but it’s a conflict of interests.”
“Well, I can’t speak for Kade, but I’m not going anywhere because of you.” I reach for Royce, finally– FINALLY –feeling like I belong somewhere. I tug him into a manly, back-slapping hug. I lean in and whisper near his ear. “Thank you.” I squeeze him tighter, my words breaking with emotion. “Thank you. I love you, Dad.”
I walk away, leaving an emotional Royce in the hallway. I brush a few tears of my own from my cheeks as I descend the stairs. Voices filter in from the dining room, making me realize the tears are happy ones.
“Mr. Marx,” Hayden’s voice targets my heart. “Is my homework good?”
“Kade,” Kade’s amused tone makes my lips split wider.
“Mr. Marx?” Hayden asks again, tiny voice sounding confused.
I turn the corner, entering the dining room, just as Kade repeats. “I’m Kade, kid. Your Uncle Warren is my buddy. Your Uncle Wynn is my boyfriend. Your Uncle Royce is my foster dad. No more Mr. Marx. Kade. But I’ll gladly check your homework.”
“Mine too!” Hayley can’t be left out of anything. “Tell me mine was better than Hayden’s. Pretty please.”
“Can I call you Uncle Kade?” Hayden trumps anything anyone else could have said, judging by the way Kade looks like his heart just exploded.
“Sure kid,” Kade says gruffly, hiding his emotions behind a cough. “Uncle Kade. I like the sounds of that.”
I stifle a laugh at the sight that unfolds before me. Kade is trying to eat a waffle, but Hayden is hanging over the back of his chair, homework in hand. Hayley’s trying to worm her way into Kade’s lap while shoving his plate out of the way. Kade’s hand follows his plate, fork still trying to spear a piece of waffle, and Hayley’s homework is where his plate used to be.
“I’m a nobody now.” Bren frowns at me, genuinely hurt. He eats his bacon with the enthusiasm of turkey bacon. “They didn’t even notice me walk into the room.”
I sit next to Bren, knowing my niece and nephew forgot I existed too. “They probably still think he can give them an A.” I reach forward with my fork, stabbing an English muffin. My hand automatically bypasses the waffle and nasty, not-maple syrup. “After a few days, someone new will grab their attention.”
“Whoever checked your homework last night did a perfect job.” Kade gives me a wink. “Skedaddle, and eat your breakfast.”
“I stayed up all night watching Buzzfeed,” Bren start
s in, and I groan in mortification. “Eight hours later, I’m still not seeing what the BFD is. Wynn,” I get elbowed so I’ll take my hands from my face. “You’re a freak… and I don’t think you looked in the mirror before heading down here, ‘cuz you have fingertip bruises on your cheeks.”
“Christ!” I bolt up from the chair, laughter following me. I run into my sister, and have to quickly grasp a container of orange juice before it smashes on the floor.
“Ya better pull the collar down on your shirt to show off your hickey,” Willa deadpans, taking the orange juice back from me. “That way if social services is called, they’ll figure it was a rough fuck, not domestic violence.”
“Uh!” Bren’s sharp intake of breath is startling. Followed by his insanity. “Halle-fucking-lujah! FUCK is back in my vocabulary. F. U. C. K. FUCK! Fuckity fuck fuck… fuck… fuuuuuuuck…”
“You sure you don’t wanna run away to my house?” Kade arches his eyebrow in my direction.
Grinning back, I mutter with conviction, “There’s no place I’d rather be than right here right now,” with everyone razzing a giggling Willa in the background.
Own IT!
During the last play of practice, everything goes to shit– yet again. “Ross, did you see what I did there with the play?” I stride up to Tyler as he wipes his sweat-covered face with the back of his hand. “It doesn’t matter who you are outside of this court when you’re standing on it. If you’re naturally passive or aggressive, you have to be assertive to lead. You are the one who has to set the pace and tone. You can’t let them lead you.”
“I’m trying to act like you, but they’re not listening to me.” Frustration warps Tyler’s voice, and I know how he’s feeling. “I know how it needs to play out. I see it working perfectly in my mind, but they just won’t fucking do it!”
After a month’s worth of practices, I’ve noticed a trend. Don’t listen to the fag, even if he’s your Point Guard!
I never thought I’d get bullied– not Wynn Gillette. Every incident has slowly changed me. Countless insults have been launched at me from my teammates and classmates because they can’t take me in a fight. A month-long nightmare of sitting with Kade in Royce’s office because of ignorant parents thinking a gay elementary school teacher will molest their child or turn him gay. Last week when I was walking down the sidewalk, some asshole I’ve never seen before slowed up his truck and unrolled his window to shout at me.
“We let you ass-bandits marry. Next thing ya know, they’ll let molesters marry kids, or daddies marry daughters! Ya wanna marry a sheep? Legal!”
I don’t regret coming out, and neither does Kaden, but it hasn’t been a pleasant journey. I’m still selfless and compassionate as Kade and Royce like to call me, but I’m more Gillette than ever. Warren wouldn’t back down for anything, and neither do I now. The second this shit flares up, I jump on it and shut it down.
Even Colton, Furrow Creek’s resident homophobe Point Guard, is being ignored. “Next asshole who doesn’t listen to us–” arm raised, middle finger pointing, I turn in a complete circle in Center Court “–is getting cut.”
“You can’t do that!” Daryl from Hillock Corners bellows in my direction. He lobs the basketball at my head in a fit of rage. I palm it, turn, aim, and then shoot.
Swish.
“I can’t do what?” I cup my ear, sick of their bigot bullshit. “I can. If you won’t listen to me, you don’t get to play with me.”
“Gillette’s on his period,” some asshole calls out, but I can’t be sure who. “I thought after he got fucked he’d be less of a pussy.”
I don’t even turn around to look at who’s bashing me. “Leave!” I point at the door. “Leave. Don’t come back. I don’t care if you play with your team, but not on my court. Leave.” I turn in a circle again, glaring at everyone. “It doesn’t matter if I crave dick or pussy, I’m still a better ballplayer than you’ll ever be. You want a scout to notice ya? Follow my lead.”
I stalk off the court, catching a glimpse of our three coaches. They’re silent, confused at how much I’ve changed. Even Coach Nichols is stumped. With upraised palms, I charge through the locker room doors.
The team is spilling in behind me by the time I strip down and step into the shower. My nerves are coiled, and I need something– anything –to take the edge off. I’m this close to punching something.
I lean forward, allowing the cold water to cascade over my neck and down my back. “What’s up with Gillette?” Duane asks anyone who will answer, voice being drowned out by the slamming of lockers.
“Tonight’s Kaden Marx’s school board hearing,” Tyler answers for me.
“Shit,” flows from several sources, but Bren’s, “What? Why didn’t I know?” is a punch to the nuts.
“I found out from my mom and told Wynn.” I wrench the knob to the shower, furious over the pity in Tyler’s voice. “I thought he knew.”
“Is Mentor KM gonna get fired?” Franny’s asking, but he freezes when he sees me stalking toward my locker.
“Yes,” I mutter gruffly while attacking my padlock. “They were humoring him until the marking period ended, so we couldn’t call foul on discrimination. Kade is a great teacher, but it won’t matter.” I yank on my lock, but it doesn’t pop open. Frustrated, my palm meets the front of my locker with a sharp rattle. “FUCK!”
“Here.” Jack nudges me to the side, no one giving a shit that I’m buck-ass naked. “I’ll get it for you, bud. I’ll get your clothes out for ya, too. You need to towel off.”
“When’s the meeting?” Bren hands me a towel while averting his eyes. “Does Dad know?”
“The meeting starts at six in the auditorium. It’s open to the public.” I bunch the towel in my hands and slump to the bench, not even caring that my bare ass meets plastic. “Dad knows. I know damned well Kade told him. They’re trying to protect me from the guilt.”
“It’s not your fault.” Jack hands me my boxers first.
“Chicken. Egg.” I yank on my boxers, and then reach for my socks. “I get the hypocrisy of it. I can bitch about all the times they let this go between other teachers and students, but we did break the rules, and they have the right to enforce ‘em.”
“But it’s not right,” Francis cries. “If Kade was screwing a girl a few weeks shy of eighteen, they wouldn’t care.”
Arguing, explaining, and talking it to death with my friends will change nothing. Standing up, I quickly dress, and then start for the door. It takes me a few seconds to realize my friends are following me– supporting me, and Kade by default. My dirty, stinky friends.
“You guys need to shower,” I remind them. “You won’t be missing much.” I walk out the side door to the cafeteria, and then cut through to the hallway. “I don’t think Kade wants this large of an audience when he gets fired.”
With a shrug, I cross the front lobby, with my friends still following me. “Suit yourself,” I mutter as I walk into the noisy auditorium. I’ve never been to a school board meeting, but I doubt they draw a full house. Tonight, it’s packed tight as I fight my way to the front by the stage.
“Fags molest kids,” a chubby momma is bitching at her husband. “I don’t want our Kara being touched by that monster.”
I stop in my tracks, halfway up the aisle. Bren grunts when he collides with my back. “Do you hear yourself, lady? Do you ever listen to what you’re saying?” I get into her face. “If all fags are molesters, then what the fuck do they want with your daughter?”
The lady gasps and recoils like I slapped her. “You!” she points at me. “You’re that kid infecting all the basketball players with your perversions.”
“Jesus Christ, woman,” Bren groans, and then he’s using all of his might to propel me away from her. “Ignore that cunt.”
“Didn’t ya hear?” I can still hear the woman running off at the mouth. “All these gay basketball players are cropping up. It’s spreading like a disease.”
“It was that god
damned teacher,” a man’s voice raises in pitch, overpowering the voices around him. “He targeted them on Facebook.”
An old lady’s, “Facebook is no different than the funny uncle driving around in a van passing out candy to kids,” just about has me losing my shit. My team literally grabs me and carries me up to the front to stop me from committing murder.
“I don’t think it’s possible to pack more ignorance into an enclosed space.” Jack plunks me on my feet with Bren and Duane assisting.
“Irony: we’re in an educational institution,” Francis points out to our disgust.
My body meets a wall of solid flesh. “What are you doing here?” Kade accuses in a voice tight with silent rage. I glance over his shoulder, spying Warren, Penny, Willa, and Royce. “There was a reason I didn’t invite you.”
“I very much doubt you invited all of these assholes.” I gesture to an auditorium filled with Kentwood Area School District’s finest.
“I didn’t want you to have to hear this shit,” Kade snarls in my ear. He grips my biceps and forces me backward. “Go!”
“I don’t live in a vacuum,” I remind him. “I’m saying what I came here to say.” I reach back, and Tyler plunks a packet of evidence in my palm. “Then I’ll go.”
The squelch of the microphone has us all grimacing. “Testing… testing one, two, three…” I glance up to the stage where the school board is sitting. Superintendent Ross taps the mic one more time, and then she seems satisfied. “I’d like to call the meeting to order.”
I fall into the seat between Kade and Bren, just now noticing the podium standing in the aisle of the first row between two sections of seating. “You shouldn’t be here,” Kade whispers out the side of his mouth, but the sting of rejection is lessened by his hand twining with mine.
I ignore all the preliminaries. Instead, I focus on the posture of the board members to gauge their decision. It reminds me of what I had to do to survive Daddy. A table full of men are out for blood, with Tyler’s mom sitting front and center looking frustrated and furious.
“We’re here this evening because Kaden Marx is accused of an inappropriate relationship with a Kentwood Area School District student.”
Rusty Knob Page 28
