“Should we change directions?”
“What for? I won’t turn tail and run from them. I’m no coward.”
“True, and it’s not as if they can see us in the car. Still, it’s wise to stay clear. You don’t want any of those assholes accusing you of threatening them.”
“Me threatening them? Isn’t that hoot? Do me a favor, duck down and help me follow them.”
“Why?”
“Just do it. I want to see where they’re going. I’d like to know what I’m up against, what part of the city I should avoid.”
Although Damon couldn’t follow his logic, he didn’t argue. He hunched down to peer out the passenger window without being noticed. “They’re turning at the crosswalk and getting into that parked car.”
Brendan pulled over to watch as the men clambered into a jeep and drove off. He peeled off to catch up, but the rain drumming against the windshield blinded their vision, and they lost track of them by Central Park.
Chapter 4
Only a Pup
Danny flopped down on the bed with a throbbing hand and tired body. The rollercoaster day was now gliding to a stop. It ended with the sudden halt of an amusement park ride.
“Nicky off the bed, please.” Antonio held his arms out for the puppy. “I’ll put him in his crate. You ice your wrist. TJ should be coming up shortly with an ice pack.”
Danny smacked a kiss on his little dog before handing him over. Although he would miss him, the feeling of contentment that filled him earlier hadn’t completely subsided. Rolling over to his preferred place in the center of the bed, Danny called out to Antonio. “Make sure his stuffed rabbit is in with him.”
“I already put it in there,” TJ said, as he came in. He placed the ice over Danny’s arm and hovered near him. “So where did you and Mitch go this afternoon?”
“Ow, cold,” Danny complained, ignoring TJ’s question.
“It’s supposed to be.” TJ stripped to his boxers and settled into bed next to his mysterious lover.
Danny dropped the ice pack on the bed and sank down to rest his head against TJ’s stomach.
TJ played with Danny’s hair and tried again. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“To my shrink appointment.”
“Wasn’t that at one o’clock?”
“Yeah.”
TJ placed the ice pack back on Danny’s arm. “So, what did you do after? And why so cagey about it?”
“I’m not cagey.” He listened to TJ’s tummy gurgle as he played with the trail of fine hair rising to his naval.
“Then what’s with the silly grin? You look like the cat that ate the canary.”
“Oh, is that what you’re calling it now?” Danny inched his fingers under the waistband of TJ’s boxers.
TJ caught the ice pack that was slipping from Danny’s wrist and held it in place, keeping Danny’s hand from searching any further.
“Hardly!” TJ boasted. “It’s more like a falcon, and you’re my little chicky prey.”
“Ha!”
“Seriously, what did you and Mitch do?”
“Want me to show you?” Danny slid down so that his mouth was near the opening of TJ’s boxer slit.
TJ sat up, tossing the ice pack to the other side of the bed. “You gave Mitch a blow job? While you were out?”
“Yep.”
“Some therapy session.”
“Yep.”
“DANNY!”
“What?” Danny lifted his head. “You’re kinda ruining the mood here.”
“Where did you do it? In the doctor’s office? Did you have to pay extra for that?”
“NO! In the jeep.”
“In the jeep? Mitch would never do that.”
Indignant, Danny sat up facing TJ. “He did!”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It took some pushing, but he finally caved.”
“That shit eating grin is back.”
Danny covered his mouth. Two little dimples peeped out from behind his hand, increasing TJ’s resolve to uncover the truth behind their whereabouts. “I didn’t mean to pry. I was just curious about where you went. Now I’m really curious.”
“Yes, you did mean to pry.” Danny gave an exaggerated sigh. “If you must know, after the session with Terry, Mitch took me for a drive. We talked about stuff from counseling, and why he was avoiding me.”
“So he was avoiding you?”
“Yeah, but it’s all good now. Mitch was just afraid.”
“Wow! He said that?”
“Pretty much. I told him not to worry. I’m not gonna break. And, I’m not, so you can stop worrying, too. This abuse shit hits me hard at times, but I still like and want sex.”
“That’s good to hear. You know, it’s not easy for the rest of us either, thinking about that. I don’t always know what I’m supposed to do.”
“Just be yourself. Do what you always do.” Danny fell back and turned to rest on his side. He played with TJ’s pubic hairs in a seemingly absentminded way. Far from it. Actually, he was super focused on the texture of every hair between his fingers. “I’ll never forget that first night you held me. It was like I was falling into this…I don’t know, this tunnel–an abyss. I felt like I was breaking apart. You held me together. If it wasn’t for you, I don’t know what woulda happened to me.”
Both boys lay motionless, except for the hearts beating against their chest and the tears leaking from their eyes.
TJ coughed to break up the lump that was forming. “So, is that it? Is that all you did with Mitch? You talked and then, umm…”
“Pretty much.”
Deciding to put the questions left unanswered to rest, TJ tickled Danny’s sides until he was crying with tears of joy. The boy’s body twisted in such a way that it provoked the interest of TJ’s less discerning but equally inquisitive organ. When he stopped to let Danny catch his breath, his other head was doing the thinking. “Hmm…Let’s get back to business. I believe you were trying to say something to lil’ Jay before.”
Danny’s smile returned even wider. He plopped himself over his lover with his head toward lil’ Jay while backing up his caboose to be in big Jay’s face. TJ couldn’t help but slap it, before spreading apart the devilish cheeks to tantalize the boy’s naughty place with his tongue.
*****
Brendan was pacing like a caged animal, remembering what it was like to be behind bars, and determined never to be there again. He scratched at the scar leading from the back of his skull to the edge of his jawline. It was forever itching.
He threw Damon’s shirt off his bedroom chair. The young man’s stuff was already crowding his room, encroaching upon his space making it hard to concentrate. Damon’s constant needy intrusion is a nuisance, but one I can manage. Think. Ricky was mine once. Fuck it! He’ll always be mine. Brendan lit up a cigarette and took a seat on his bed. Smoking was a habit he started in high school and stopped when training began hardcore. It only took one inmate to pass him a smoke for the old pleasure to resurface as an addiction. He inhaled deeply. I just need a plan. I need to be patient. Nothing worth having comes without a price. He slid off the bed and reached under for his security box. He spun the combination and opened the top. With a long slow breath he blew out a ring of smoke as he dumped out old pictures of Ricky–pictures of him naked in bed. Ricky was always too self-conscious to pose. It didn’t matter to Brendan; there was something more erotic about stealing the shots while he slept. Goddammit the boy was gorgeous. I just about had him completely under my thumb. His willful streak was about to break. Then he was stolen from me. The violation felt like a rape–like someone penetrated his soul and ripped out the best part. I went too easy on him in the beginning. I treated him like a prince. I’m not going to make that mistake with Damon. That boy is too damn desperate to put up much of a fight, anyways.
Brendan took out a leather collar from under a hidden compartment. It was one he had wanted Ricky to wear. He had been waiting for the right momen
t, when he was sure his sensitive artistic lover was ready to put it on willingly. That was a mistake. One he won’t make again. Damon will wear this collar now. He needs to know who holds all the power. So what if I owe him money, if he’s paying the rent. Make no mistake. I’m the one in charge.
Brendan sent Damon on several errands to keep him occupied and out of his hair. It was also a test of his servitude. He looked at the clock. That wretched distraction won’t be back for at least another hour. Brendon selected his favorites from his stash of photos. Each one was of Ricky in a different position. He laid them out on his bed and disrobed. Bending over to take off his socks, he found a shot of Ricky and him together that had fallen to the floor. He picked it up and lit the edge of each corner with his cigarette. Letting it burn in his hand, he began to yank on his cock. He blew out the picture as it began to curdle. Then he tossed it to the center of the bed. Brendan flicked his ashes to the floor and took another long drag as he lay beside the photos. With a cigarette in one hand and his dick in the other, it took two and a half minutes of aggressive pumping to end with an unsettling grunt and a premature ejaculation.
*****
The buzz from the previous day fizzled the moment Danny realized bringing his puppy on their family trip was not in the plans. “But, he’s only a puppy,” he tried to reason.
“Danny, we’ve been over this. If we were only going to one place, I’d consider it, but as it is, we’ll be traveling around a lot, visiting different people and places. It will be too stressful to bring a puppy along.”
“It won’t be stressful for me! I’ll take care of him.”
“Don’t you think it will be asking too much of our host to be making accommodations for a dog as well as five men?”
“Mama C won’t mind.”
“In addition, we would need to find hotels that allow animals.”
“Lots of places allow pets for an extra fee. I’ll pay for it.”
“Danny, the puppy isn’t completely house-trained. Not to mention, keeping him crated for extended periods of time during travel is not fair to him.”
“Fine, you can go without me. I’ll stay home with Nicky.”
Mitch rubbed his strained temples with his forefingers. He tried to remind himself that Danny was young, and his stubborn reaction to leaving the puppy behind was due mostly to anxiety. “I appreciate your concern for your pup, but it’s time to stop this pointless argument and start planning alternative arrangements. There are plenty of reputable kennels in the area to choose from.”
“I’m NOT putting my dog in a kennel!”
“What you will do is lower your voice and fix your attitude. Unless you wish to incur a penalty that will involve my hand and your bare bottom.”
Danny opened his mouth to snap back a disgruntled comment. Mitch placed a finger to his lips, trapping the impulsive words. “Ignore my warning, and I promise you a smarting backside to accompany your smart mouth.”
Danny felt his whole body twitch involuntarily. He balled his fists to his sides in an effort to contain his anger.
Mitch continued, “We are ending this discussion. It’s time for you to just listen.”
Danny glared, but bit his lip and remained quiet.
Mitch removed his finger. “As much as I would like to grant permission for Nicky to come along, I have made the decision based on what I feel is best for everyone, including your pup. So, if you don’t want your puppy to be kenneled, then I suggest you find someone who would be willing to keep him for the duration of our vacation. We have plenty of friends amongst us, I am sure we can find a suitable dog sitter.”
“But...”
“Keep it zipped. If you have a hard time finding someone on short notice, then I can help out.”
Danny stood rigid to suppress his anger.
“By the way, your lips are chapped. Put some Vaseline on them.”
Danny licked his lips at the mention of them.
“Stop chewing on them!”
Fighting to keep his temper from boiling, Danny bit the inside of his mouth. In the brief time since their heart-to-heart on the day of his counseling session, he couldn’t believe how quickly things seemed to have fallen back to their old patterns. Intellectually he was ready to move past his old hurts and fight his insecurities; but, emotionally, Danny just wasn’t there.
“Considering you have a limited amount of time to find someone, I recommend you stop stewing on the fact that your dog will not be coming, and start making phone calls.”
Despite the logic behind Mitch’s decision, Danny still felt a tear prickling his eye at how unfair it felt. He’d only had his pup for three weeks, and he didn’t like the idea of leaving him. What if Nicky felt abandoned? What if he forgot about Danny in the time they were away?
Danny nodded crisply before turning on his heels and storming out of the room. Mitch was left shaking his head as he restrained himself from calling Danny back to address his disrespect.
“Whoa! What’s the hurry?” Antonio asked, as he caught the boy around his waist.
“Let go!” Danny snapped bitterly. “I have to make phone calls.”
“Before you go stomping off, tell me what’s got you all wound up.”
Danny tried unsuccessfully to wrestle himself free. He gave in when it became obvious Antonio wasn’t. “Why’s he gotta be like that all the time?”
“Who?”
“Mitch! Why’s he got to lord over everything? What makes him think he knows ev...”
“Hold on there, and calm down.” Antonio studied Danny quietly, and then followed his eyes to Mitch who was casually leaning against the doorframe waiting to see how Antonio was going to react. Mitch’s cool demeanor only irritated Danny more.
Mitch raised a cynical eyebrow as he listened to Danny try to work Antonio around to support his position.
“Nicky is part of our family, isn’t he?”
“What kind of question is that?”
Danny ignored his remark and continued. “We’re taking a family vacation, right?”
“Correct.”
“So, why would we leave him behind?”
It didn’t take Antonio long to ascertain the reason behind Danny’s latest outburst. “Ah, I see. I am sure, we would all love to bring Nicky along, but it won’t be feasible on this trip.”
Unable to win with reason, Danny resorted to begging. “Please, Antonio, I promise to pay for it.”
“I believe you have already been given the answer to that, and the answer was no. That’s why you came stamping out of the kitchen in a...”
“Why do you always have to side with him?”
“Hey! Listen here, little mister, you’re not to come to me if you don’t like the decision Mitch has made. We don’t split allegiances in this house. The answer you were given was no, and that’s final!”
Feeling ganged up on, Danny yelled, “Then I’m not going!”
Antonio grabbed him around his biceps, pulling him up with a purposeful shake. “Stop being spiteful! Nicky will survive a week without us.”
“Twelve days!”
“He’ll survive, and so will you. Now, stop this nonsense about not going. That is not an option we are even going to entertain. This is a family trip, and you are going!”
“Nicky is family!”
“Nicky is staying behind,” Antonio restated calmly.
“Then, so am I!”
Antonio dropped his grip on Danny’s arms, and cupped the boy’s face between his hands. “Do we need to continue this conversation in the office?”
Defeated, Danny slowly shook his head no.
Brushing his thumbs against Danny’s eyes to wipe away the tears that were welling at the base, Antonio said firmly, “There will be no more crying about this. Do you understand me?”
“I’m NOT crying!”
“And, NO arguing!”
Danny bit his lip in frustration and breathed out angrily through his nose, causing it to wrinkle in a way that made Antonio
laugh.
“It’s not funny,” Danny whined.
“I’m sorry. It’s very sweet how much you care about your dog. I also know you’re nervous about the trip. But everything is going to be okay. Trust Mitch and me to make the best decisions for you and your little pup.”
Danny sighed in resignation as Antonio pulled him into a hug.
“Now,” Antonio said, as he patted Danny’s bottom affectionately, “go apologize to Mitch for your rotten behavior.”
Danny stood stubbornly until Antonio patted him more sternly. Dragging his feet over to Mitch with a scowl still attached to his face, he mumbled, “Sorry.”
Mitch tugged him in closer by his waistband. Having his large hand tucked into his pants was a subtle reminder of how quickly Mitch could yank them down to deliver a sound reprimand. “You know, Danny, you’re not the only one with feelings in this relationship.”
Danny’s irate frown turned to a guilty pout. “I’m sorry,” he said more deferentially.
“Work harder on losing your attitude, and don’t give me any more lip on this.”
“Yes, sir.”
Still fuming on his way up the stairs, Danny was ready to take his frustrations out on the door. TJ prudently stepped in, preventing him from slamming it shut.
“Danny, cool it before a big angry Daddy comes marching up the stairs after you.”
“It’s not fair! How come every time they get mad at me, they get to spank me? But if I get mad at them, they still get to spank ME!”
TJ laughed. “That’s just how it works around here, kiddo. So you better get used to it.”
“Don’t I have the right to get mad?”
“You get mad all the time,” TJ pointed out.
“Yeah, but I get punished for it.”
“You don’t get punished all the time. If we’re being honest, I’d say you get away with far more than you should.”
“Thanks for the support!”
“I am supporting you. I’ll always have your back. And you know it! That doesn’t mean I’m always going to tell you what you want to hear.”
Danny sank down against the bed. “I just wanted to take Nicky on our trip with us.”
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