The Good Life

by Gordon Merrick

  “How delightful. You can hang your clothes in the bedroom. In here.” He put his hand on Perry’s behind, and they crossed the landing to a big, handsomely furnished bedroom. “The bathroom’s there if you need anything. We’re alone. You can take everything off. I’ll wait in the other room.”

  Perry took a deep breath. His heart was pounding. His cock was in an uproar. It was exciting to lay his body on the line. He would soon find out its worth. May be everything. May be the permanent escape from the past that he had dreamed about for so long. He was getting so close to the good life if only he could find the money to pay his way in. It was there waiting for him. He was sure of it.

  He extricated himself from his pants with difficulty and stripped. He ran his hands over his chest and abdomen and out along his cock for a reassuring feel of everything he had that he could count on. It mustn’t fail him now.

  He was suddenly struck by terror. How could he hope to win out over the competition? New York was full of better-looking guys than he. How many more chances would he get? Everything depended on Billy, and Billy probably thought of him as just another easy pickup.

  What had given him the idea that he was going to be lifted out of the crowd for special treatment? Hubie? Matt’s story about Cole Porter? Nothing solid to go on there. Billy would have what he wanted from him and return him to his life sentence at the Y.

  He was terrified that taking his clothes off was going too far; he was playing all his cards in one desperate gamble. He had to win.

  The anxiety was eased by the lift it gave him to show himself off. He watched his cock swinging out in front of him as he returned to the studio room. A winner? It had to be.

  He stopped near the door. “Can I come in?” he asked. Perry looked down once more at his nakedness, took a deep breath, and crossed the threshold.

  Billy looked up, and his face brightened with pleasure. He approached, looking him over with attentive eyes. “My word, Perry. Your body is spectacular. How adorable of you to let me see you like that.” He reached for his cock and moved his hand on it. “Ravishing. I’m very partial to a well-built boy. You struck me as remarkable yesterday. Let’s go back to the other room.”

  He toyed with Perry’s cock as they crossed the landing again. He sat in a chair in the bedroom, placing Perry in front of him, and ran his lips and tongue along his cock while he took his shoes off. He drew back and looked at it. “Yes. You have a gift for giving pleasure and the good fortune to be beautifully equipped to do so. You delight me. I won’t be a moment.” He withdrew to the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

  Perry backed up to a table and perched on the edge of it, his feet planted on the floor in front of him, his cock slanting up on conspicuous display. His hopes were beginning to soar. A rich man, obviously with the experience for his opinion to mean something, had called his body spectacular and beautifully equipped.

  He looked down at his “ravishing” cock and saw it give a little upward surge of potent urgency. He could almost come on the spot just thinking about the things Billy had said to him. He had been right to show him the works at the start. All he had to do was keep Billy hoping for more and make him want to have him around until he left so that he could establish a solid foothold among New York’s upper crust.

  In a moment Billy returned wearing a dressing gown securely closed down the front. Perry slid to his feet from the table and went to meet him.

  Billy handed him a slim flexible whip less than three feet long. “You can use that,” he said. “You mustn’t worry about hurting me. I enjoy it.”

  Perry looked from the whip to Billy and gave his head a perplexed little shake.

  “It’s quite all right,” Billy assured him. “Being beaten by a superb young man like you will be an exquisite pleasure.” He closed his hand around Perry’s cock. “Yes. Remarkable. It stays superbly hard.”

  Perry swallowed and found his tongue. “You want me to hit you?” he asked in a stunned voice.

  “Certainly. Haven’t you beaten anybody before?”

  “No.”

  “Many people like to be beaten, just as others enjoy administering punishment. I think you might like it. Give me a good thrashing. I’ll warn you if you go too far. If it gives you an orgasm, be sure to direct it at me. I adore feeling boys coming on me.” He went to the bed and with a few agile movements was stretched out naked on his stomach.

  Perry felt as if he were losing his mind. He approached the bed slowly, holding the whip. There seemed to be a film over his eyes. He looked down at the smooth white body, not fat but soft-looking and well-rounded. Something in him cringed from what was expected of him. He wanted to throw down the whip and rush from the room. He stiffened his will and gripped the whip and, with eyes narrowed, brought it down on the buttocks. Flesh quivered.

  “Yes. Harder,” Billy ordered. “Everywhere. Not my head. Like that. Oh, yes, you’re superb. I knew it.” He lifted his head and craned around to look at him. “You’re beating me. I want whatever you do to me. Beat me, my beautiful boy.”

  Perry found an urge in him to hurt his victim. To his amazement his flagging erection was suddenly rigid, straining upward with an almost uncontainable need for release. He wanted to punish everybody who had denied him all the things he ever wanted. He wanted to take revenge on this man for never having known what it was like to do without the good things in life.

  Lust boiled up in Perry, raw and untamable. His body was shattered by orgasm. He shouted his triumph and saw his semen hurtling from him onto the soft white body below him. He saw the other’s convulsions and heard his whimpers, and then Billy slid from the bed, dragging his dressing gown with him to hide himself in another room.

  Spent and appalled, Perry slumped into a chair with his head bowed over the arm, waiting for the monstrous fantasy to fade from his mind’s vision. Would he have to perform this disgusting act to become part of the world he dreamed about? Could he?

  If he were requested to do this regularly, he wasn’t sure the good life was worth it. Perhaps it was just some sort of perverse test, and if he’d passed it, so much the better. But if Billy wanted him to beat him again, he’d do everything possible — short of ruining his chances, of course — to avoid a repeat performance.

  When Perry straightened up in his chair, Billy came bustling back, looking refreshed and cheerfully unruffled in a different dressing gown. “Come, let’s freshen our drinks,” he suggested. “What a heavenly boy you are. Don’t wear anything. You’re lovely like that.”

  They returned to the studio room while Perry tried to work himself back into the normal world as he knew it. He wondered if many guys would be willing to do what he had just done. He had become reasonably familiar with the “queer world,” and he had never heard of anything like it. It must have established him in Billy’s mind as more than a stray pickup. A plus, perhaps, if he could get over his revulsion.

  He took the full glass Billy offered him and sat with his legs parted and a hand spread on his thigh, fingers pointing at his quiescent cock. He didn’t much like people to see it like that, but Billy might already be hoping to see it stand up again. His eyes kept dropping to it.

  “I feel an unusual rapport with you, Perry,” he said, “an unusual understanding. I’m rather tied up these days. Are you free on Sunday?”

  “That’s a big day at the fair. I’ll probably work overtime. My regular day off is Wednesday.”

  “That’s even more convenient for me. Can you come here after your work on Tuesday? We could have dinner somewhere, and if it gets late, perhaps you’d like to spend the night here. We could have a lazy Wednesday together.”

  “That sounds good.”

  “Wonderful! It’s a date. I’ll have to start thinking about getting ready for dinner soon.”

  Perry took a long swallow of his drink. He needed it. Everything was going too well for him to play it cool easily. He didn’t want to seem too eager.

  “We have time for another,”
Billy added and rose. “Finish that and come here a minute.”

  Perry drained his glass and stood. Billy stepped closer. He was a good two inches shorter than Perry. He ran his hands slowly over Perry’s chest and down his sides to his cock. It started to lengthen and fill out. Perry didn’t think he could get a hard-on yet and didn’t want to — that was for Billy to think about until Tuesday — but he was glad it was beginning to be worth looking at.

  “It’s lovely to hold you there. It feels so alive and powerful. Come. I want you to see something. I think I know how I’d like to paint you.”

  Billy pulled out an antique chaise longue that had been pushed out of the way with some other furniture. “Lie down here.”

  Perry did so with his feet up. Billy stood over him and began to handle him in a proprietary way. “Just this leg up. The other one here with the foot on the floor. Hold this arm up over your head—like that. You can let this one lie here relaxed. Yes, just let your hand dangle.”

  Billy stepped back to survey the effect. His hands on him had kept Perry’s cock in a state of development. It was hard enough to stretch out along one thigh.

  “You’re the most seductive boy I’ve ever seen,” Billy said with satisfaction. “Power in repose. We must find time for me to do it.”

  He returned to the chaise longue and dropped to one knee on the floor. He ran his hands up Perry’s thighs and lifted his cock to his lips and ran his tongue around it. “It’s lovely. I’m glad it’s not any bigger. It would detract from the rest of you. Now, let’s have another drink, and then I must get ready.”

  They rose. Perry’s cock swung out at a downward angle, sufficiently aroused to give a vivid impression of what it could turn into.

  Billy was as weird as they come, but Perry was confident that he could give him what he wanted. Nothing but the whip bothered him so far. He was going to try to find ways to avoid being dropped until he was ready to be.

  They had another drink together before Perry put his clothes on.

  Billy went downstairs with him and let him out, lost in thought as he closed the door behind him. He returned to his bedroom feeling curiously stirred by the meeting.

  Perry excited and intrigued him. He was undoubtedly a hustler like most penniless young men, but he wasn’t commonplace. He had quality aside from his astonishing body. He could use the whip as if he meant it without its turning him into a bully. He was charmingly compliant, but something in him remained cool and reserved. Young men just entering manhood fascinated Billy with their potential for both good and bad.

  Billy was almost sorry he was returning to Europe so soon. With time he might turn Perry into a finished product that would take the town by storm. He had a fresh, innocent quality that would make it a pleasure to introduce him to all the things he didn’t know and was so obviously ready to find out about.

  He particularly liked his first impression yesterday that Perry wasn’t a homosexual. Most of his young men were embarrassments in polite society. His first impression was what counted; he could be seen with Perry without people jumping to conclusions. It was a shame that he hadn’t met him a couple of months ago.

  Perry went back to the Y on Tuesday evening to put on his new suit before crossing the park to 66th Street to keep his dinner engagement.

  Billy let him in and greeted him warmly. “How delightful to see you. You’re looking extraordinarily handsome. I’ve missed you, Perry. We can stay down here for drinks.” He took him along a hall to an elegant living room that looked over a garden. “What will you have this evening?”

  Perry chose whiskey and noticed again that Billy already had a glass. He was looking very dapper in a pale summer suit and a white shirt with a starched collar. He gave Perry a glass, and they sat together on a sofa facing the garden.

  “I’ve had a distressing weekend, but first, where do you want to dine? I booked a table at ‘21,’ but I can change it.”

  Perry almost choked with excitement. He was finally going to see the New York he had read about. “That would be fine. Actually, I’ve heard it’s good, but I’ve never been there. I haven’t been here long.”

  “The food would barely get by in Paris, but I like it. I imagine it’s a place you should see. At least they don’t serve frozen food. Some restaurants are beginning to. I imagine everything will be frozen soon, and we’ll forget what fresh food tastes like.”

  “What went wrong with the weekend?”

  “Laszlo has suddenly announced that he doesn’t want to go back to Europe with me. He’s afraid that if there’s trouble, he might get caught there. He probably has a point, but it’s rather turned things upside down. Don’t misunderstand me: I haven’t reached the point where I need a servant every minute, but when I travel it’s agreeable to have someone with me to help cope with the details.”

  Perry’s heart accelerated. Was he going to be offered a job? May be that explained why he hadn’t been taken upstairs. May be Billy had finished with him sexually and was beginning to think of him as a servant, although the greeting had been more warmly personal than the way he’d expect to be treated as a servant. He wasn’t sure what he thought of the possibility.

  “Well, sure,” Perry said. “I was a travel agent before I came here. There’s a lot of stuff to take care of.”

  “Exactly. I’ve given it a lot of thought. How much are you paid at the fair?”

  “Thirty dollars a week. Not bad.”

  “Does the job represent anything for your future?”

  “Nothing except to meet people like you, and I guess that’s more pleasure than anything to do with my future.”

  “Not necessarily. Let me tell you something, Perry. I find you marvelously satisfying to be with, not forgetting what happened the other day. I’ve missed you enormously the last few days. You’re such a gentleman. I can take you anywhere. Would you consider quitting your job? It will end in the fall, won’t it? Will you come to Europe with me? Not to replace Laszlo, naturally. As a companion. I can give you an allowance of fifty dollars a week so that you have some independence. If you like it, you could stay. If not, you can come back whenever you choose. I don’t think you will have lost anything by doing it, do you?”

  “My goodness, Billy. I’m speechless.”

  “In any case, I’m planning to be gone for less than two months this time. I have to be here for some business in the fall before I go back to France to settle down again. I’ll have my daughter for the summer. It’ll be fun for you to have somebody closer to your age with us. She’s barely seventeen and lovely-looking.”

  “You have a daughter?”

  “Yes indeed. Bettina. Her mother and I were divorced some years ago, but we’re on reasonably good terms. She lives in the Lombardy Hotel not far from here. Bet has been going to school in Switzerland. She’ll join me in Saint-Tropez, where the yacht will meet us. We’ll have a lovely month cruising the Mediterranean.” Billy’s eyes twinkled. “Have you recovered your speech?”

  “Hardly. I think I’m dreaming. When are you going to tell me what’s wrong with the idea?”

  “You’ll have to find that out as you go along.”

  “Oh, Billy.” He leaned forward and kissed his benefactor on the mouth. Their tongues met briefly, and then he felt Billy drawing back. He let him go. Billy adjusted his tie.

  “You’re utterly enchanting,” he said, smiling delightedly at Perry. The boy still didn’t know his own power. His eyes had a bewitching, dancing candor, but his reserve remained a protective shield. “We’ll be sailing in the middle of June. I understand the Mauretania is heavily booked, but I daresay my lawyers can find you a first-class cabin if not a suite. I take it you’ve said yes?”

  “Oh, Billy. ‘Yes’ doesn’t mean anything. I’ve screamed with joy. I think I’m going to burst into tears. Oh, God. If you only knew. All my life— No. The hell with it. Thanks.”

  “That’s the nicest thanks I’ve ever had. Can you quit right away?”

  “Tomorrow
.”

  “Then you can move in here. We have less than four weeks to get ready. Do you need any advice about what to bring with you?”

  “I don’t have much. I guess I’ll just bring everything.”

  “Do you have a dinner jacket?”

  “What’s that?”

  “True, we Americans call it a tuxedo. Everybody wears white ones on the Côte, but you should have a black one for Paris and London. You’ll need some dress shirts to go with them. That’s a nice suit, but it’s rather heavy for hot weather. Do you have some lightweight ones? You’d better get a couple. A blazer is always useful on the boat and another informal jacket to change. Several pairs of slacks. A couple of pairs of summer shoes. Some sport shirts and scarves.

  “If you like their things, why don’t you go to Brooks Brothers? I have an account there. Let’s see. The dinner jackets, the suits, and so forth — it should come to less than $400. I’ll ask my secretary to tell them you’re authorized to charge up to that amount. They like you to set a limit so you won’t fuss about paying the bill. If there’s more we haven’t thought of, you can let me know.

  “We can get very smart casual things — fisherman’s jerseys, canvas pants, espadrilles — from Madame Vachon in Saint-Tropez,” he continued. “Everybody goes to her, and there’s no point in carrying things we can get there. Having you with me makes it such fun. I haven’t enjoyed myself so much for years. Let me freshen our drinks, and then I have a little present for you.”

  Perry sat back in a daze. Dollar signs danced before his eyes. He was going to have all those new clothes Billy had mentioned. He must be dreaming. It couldn’t be real. He took the glass Billy handed him and drank from it thirstily. Getting drunk was probably the only reasonable thing to do.

  Billy picked up a box from a table and brought it to him. “The contract,” he said playfully. “You can’t back out now.”

  The box was stamped with the name Tiffany, another jewelry place Perry had heard of. Inside was a black velvet jeweler’s box. It contained a slim, oblong gold case with PL in block letters engraved in one corner. He pushed the catch, and it sprang open. Gold gleamed at him. There was a little rack holding a row of cigarettes.