by Laurie Lochs
"Good," Mark said, nodding slowly.
"So," I began, "if that's the case, the first thing I tell the homeowner is to take the loan right back to the bank and get better terms. While the balloon loan seems great in the short term, it will crush them if they suddenly lose their job or experience something that leads to an extenuating circumstance that causes them to miss a payment. The bank will foreclose on them. Fast as hell. "
Mark beamed "Good boy.”
Then he froze.
But I didn't notice any of this. I was so caught up in the lesson. "But if they insisted on going through with it," I said, "for the first seven years there monthly payment would be $450. As soon as the seventh year hit, their payment would jump to $995."
Mark said nothing. For a moment, I wondered what I'd done wrong. Had I missed some critical bit of information that had skewed my answers? I glanced at Mark for answers. But he was staring down at the paper like he'd committed a grave sin.
Then it hit me.
Oh, fuck. Did he just call me a "good boy" in front of the class?
That was it. I'd completely ruined whatever spark I'd tried to foster between us. Even if he wasn't mad at me for last night, he would be pissed for embarrassing him in front of the entire class – even if it was technically his fault. He blamed me. Even if he hadn't hated me before, he did now.
Chapter 16
Mark
* * *
Two weeks had passed since my embarrassing exchange with Kyle in the classroom. Who knew the boy could put me into such a position of vulnerability in front of everyone? Thank God no one else in the class had caught that I'd called him a "good boy." I'd been trying to make Kyle feel better – because he'd been nervous as hell – about his asking me to sleep over the night before, but in the end I'd only succeeded in weirding him out.
But not totally. Because we'd still gone out to lunch that day and had an otherwise incredible conversation. And we'd gone out to lunch every day since. I always paid, resuming my role as the resident provider in the Daddy/boy relationship that wasn't really a relationship at all. Or was it? Did it even matter?
What mattered was that we'd fallen into a sort of routine. So today, which happened to be a Thursday, which also happened to be last day I’d be teaching the class, I led Kyle into the BMW because of course he forgot his lunch again and brought him straight to Chick-fil-A.
"I cannot believe you're taking me to Chick-fil-A," Kyle said, staring at me in disbelief.
"There's a first time for everything, little one," I said, grinning. “It’s to celebrate all these wonderful weeks of teaching.”
“Oh, geez,” Kyle moaned. “I can’t believe you’re bending your principles for me.”
I laughed. “Me neither, kiddo.” Truth was I couldn't believe I was doing it either. It went against everything in me. But I wanted to surprise Kyle, keep him on his toes. If breaking my moral code was one way to do it, I had no choice but to try. “Now let’s eat.”
We stepped into the Chick-fil-A and I ordered for Kyle, which he loved me doing. We got chicken sandwiches, waffle fries, and two orange milkshakes that tasted like clouds. We slid into a booth and dug in.
"So, Kyle," I said through mouth full of waffle fries, "the studying. Tell me how it’s going.”
"Just so-so," Kyle said, stifling a laugh. He dunked one of the fries into the milkshake and brought it to my lips. I happily bit down on it, savoring the curious combination of the two contradictory flavors that blew up my taste buds in a display of fireworks like the Fourth of July.
“You’ve got your first big exam coming up," I said with a shrug. “I’m not going to be there any more, Kyle. You need to pull your weight. I won’t be there to give you an A if you slack off.”
"I know, I know," Kyle said, sighing loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear. One of the workers at the cashier glanced over at us and shook her head. Clearly, she wasn't used to seeing a Daddy and boy out to lunch.
"It's just that I've been so busy talking to Blakely.”
"Blakely?"
"Yeah," Kyle said, the outing enthusiastically. "Blakely and Emerson just got back from Glacier National Park."
"Oh, my God," Mark said, "did they?"
"Yeah," Kyle said, "they went to Glacier and saw the buffaloes and icebergs. Blakely told me he almost slipped into a crevasse and died. At the last minute, Emerson grabbed his hand and rescued him from certain death. Because of that, he's pledged himself to Emerson for the rest of his life."
"Your friend Blakely sounds like quite the drama queen," I said it, not bothering to conceal my snicker.
"Just a bit," Kyle said through his milkshake straw. His eyes glistened with mischief. "But I would sure love to see an iceberg."
"Kyle," I began, "there are no icebergs in Glacier National Park. There are glaciers. If you want an iceberg, you need to go to Antarctica. Or the North Pole."
"Oh, my God," Kyle said, "so I get to see Santa and iceburgs?"
"Santa, iceburgs… Elves."
"Elves, too?" Kyle said, shaking his head. "Geez, it just gets better and better."
"Damn right it does. But why don't we start with Glacier?"
"Or," Kyle said, finishing his chicken sandwich. "Why don't we start with the beach?"
I burst into laughter. This was by far the best idea yet. Save the buffaloes, glaciers, and Christmas characters for another day. I wanted to go to the beach with my boy.
If he was, in fact, my boy. Though we'd been spending close to every waking minute with each other, we hadn't exactly had "the conversation." I just assumed Kyle wanted the same things as I, especially because he'd invited me to spend the night after Ma came home from the hospital. Now that Ma seemed to be doing slightly better, I felt more comfortable hanging out with Kyle after class. He'd come over to my house four times. Though we hadn't had sex again, we'd cuddled and I’d given him all the comfort he needed since Ma’s scare.
"But before we head to the beach," I began, "why don't we do something a little more local?"
“Local?” Kyle arched his eyebrows. “What can we do in Minneapolis?"
"Well," I began, "tomorrow is Friday. There’s no class on Friday this week. I was thinking we could celebrate my last week at MCTC by walking across the Stone Arc bridge. I don't know if you've ever been down there but Minneapolis is beautiful from the bridge. You can see both sides of the Mississippi River."
Kyle's mouth dropped open. "I think the Longfellows, my first host family, once took me there to watch the fireworks."
"Perfect," I said, "then it's a date. I'll let you sleep in. But I'll pick you up at 11 sharp. I'll pack a picnic and we can go to Loring Park and have a delicious lunch."
"I'm game," Kyle said, his eyes sparkling.
And so, at precisely 11 A.M. the following day, I picked Kyle up in my black BMW and took him to the Stone Arc bridge. Leaving the cooler in the trunk, we walked all along the bridge and took in the views. I showed him the old brewery, the theater, and the old flour mill that had since been converted into a museum. But Kyle's jaw only dropped when he saw how many people were taking pictures on the bridge.
“Holy shit…”
“Watch your mouth, boy.”
Kyle blushed. “Sorry, Daddy. Do you think maybe we could take a picture too?”
My jaw dropped. Since when did he start calling me Daddy? I wanted to ask him… But immediately thought better of it. If this was a gift he wanted to give, who was I to ruin it? Hell, I’d fucking wanted to be his Daddy since I saw him at Nino’s. It was about damn time.
“Yes, little one,” I murmured, inhaling his scent. He smelled like fresh flowers and boy flesh. “Daddy will give you anything you like.”
Kyle sighed with affection and walked to the spot where two mainland tourists had stood next to each other with their Canon. I saw a young white woman with a baby and a man with dreadlocks playing guitar with his girlfriend, and chose to ask the latter to take our picture on my iPhone. He had inc
redible eyes and a very trusting face. He glanced at his girlfriend, who was carrying a beautiful Louis Vuitton handbag, and nodded. I wrapped my arm around Kyle’s supple waist and grinned.
Click.
“Thank you,” I said, receiving my phone from the gentleman. I positioned Kyle on my lap and sat on the edge of the bridge.
“Can I see it, Daddy?” Kyle whispered, his eyes reflecting the ice-fire rays of the sun.
“Yes, my sweet boy.” I slid the phone onto his lap. His face lit up when he saw the pictures.
“It’s perfect,” Kyle said, sinking into me. I stroked his hair. What would he look like with a bottle?
After, I led Kyle to a cute bubble tea shop that the University of Minnesota Twin Cities college students liked — I found it on Yelp — and bought him a green bubble tea. “Oh, my God,” Kyle gasped when the perky student handed us the teas. I winked at her and gave her $10.
“What is it, little one?”
“Daddy,” Kyle said, sticking the straw through the lid. “It has bubbles.”
“Oh, baby,” I whispered, holding him tight. In fact I held him so tight that a tiny spurt of bubble tea shot through the straw and flew through the air, landing on a poplar trying to get some sun two feet away.
“Oopsie,” Kyle said, staring up at me, “Daddy made an oopsie.”
“A big oopsie for baby,” I whispered, kissing my boy. His body trembled like a butterfly. I ran my fingers across his collarbone and cheek. “Does baby like being kissed by Daddy?”
“So much,” Kyle whispered, clenching his legs together. All four inches of his teeny-tiny cock were no doubt throbbing in his little underpants. I wanted to slip my finger through the band and pull it out — I didn’t care who saw. Let the worker who served us the tea watch me run my tongue — my big Daddy tongue — over Kyle’s little nub. Let them see. Let the world know I was his Daddy, and Kyle was my boy.
After we finished the tea, I led Kyle back to the Stone Arch Bridge — but not before buying him bubbles. Like, actual bubbles from the Dollar Store. At the sight of the plastic tube, Kyle, who wasn’t accustomed to receiving gifts, burst into tears. “Daddy,” he moaned, dipping the wand into the magical liquid. “Daddy bought me buwwbles.”
“No, baby,” I whispered, stroking his cheek. “Bubbles. Repeat after me. Buh—”
“Buh.”
“Bulls.”
“Bulls,” Kyle echoed, his voice barely a whisper. “Bubbles.”
“Now say: Daddy bought me bubbles.”
Kyle giggled. “Daddy bought me… Buwwbles.”
I couldn’t help but grin. “Kyle is being silly, isn’t he?”
“So silly, Daddy,” Kyle said, blowing buwwbles across the bridge. I watched in awe as the breeze carried the translucent spheres through the air and gently tossed them into the fast-flowing river below.
“Kyle’s a silly boy,” I whispered, peppering his pale neck with kisses. “Daddy wants to do very naughty things to his very naughty boy.”
Kyle burst into laughter and rubbed his ass against my body. Suddenly, he froze. Clearly, he was just discovering he’d awakened the beast.
“Uh oh,” I whispered, licking his air. A blond woman pushing a stroller stared at and quickly looked away. “You made Daddy a little too excited.”
“Is Daddy…” Kyle began, turning to look at me. “Is Daddy h-hard?”
“Yes, baby,” I whispered, pinching his thighs. The boy spasmed on my lap. “This is what happens to Daddies when they get hard.”
“O-Oh,” Kyle whispered, staring at me. Don’t look away boy, not now. “W-Will it hurt Kyle?”
“No, baby,” I moaned, slipping my hand into Kyle’s lap. His cock throbbed to life. “It will make Kyle feel very nice inside.”
“Does Daddy promise?”
“Yes, Daddy promises,” I said, my breath filled with air, “Daddy’s promises with all his heart.”
Kyle said nothing. For a while, we simply sat on the bridge, blowing bubbles. My heart throbbed with suspense. At last, Kyle turned to me and said, “Daddy… I think it’s time.”
“Time for what, little one?”
“Time to…” Kyle paused. His little brain clearly couldn’t process the information.
“Kyle,” I began, trying a new approach. My heart fluttered. I knew exactly what he wanted. “Are you saying what Daddy thinks you’re saying?”
“Yeah,” Kyle said, nodding softly. His long lashes wrote a love poem over his bashful eyes.
“Does baby want to sleep in Daddy’s room tonight?”
“Yeah,” Kyle whispered, his eyes filling with pride. “Pwease, Daddy. K-Kyle needs to sleep with Da-ddy tonight.”
Relief shot through my heart like a beautiful bomb. “Okay, baby,” I said, pulling him off my lap. I was totally hard and didn’t care who saw. We were in a translucent bubble not even the most hostile gaze could penetrate. “Let’s go to Daddy’s room. But first, we will return to Ma’s house and let her know you will be safe.”
“W-Why can’t we call?”
I mulled it over. But I shook my head. “Because,” I began, “It’s very important we do this in person. Ma deserves to know.”
Reluctantly, Kyle agreed. So I led him back to the BMW and drove away from the bridge. At last, we pulled up in front of Ma’s house. I stopped the car and waited for him to go inside.
But before I stepped foot into the house, I mulled everything over. In a way, I was concretizing the events of the afternoon in my mind. Because it felt like the first official date we’d had. Any animosity I may have once held towards the boy had floated away like a bubble. If anything, the boy was almost bringing me back to life.
Had I been wrong to blame him for all these wasted years? Had I made the worst mistake of my life?
“But Mark,” I whispered to myself, walking up the steps. “You’ve rectified everything now. Kyle is with you. He’s your boy.”
I couldn’t imagine a day without Kyle. When I got ready for the classes in the morning, it was Kyle’s face I saw while tying my shoes. I wanted to be with him every hour of the day, to take his hand and guide him through life. Maybe when he was done with the course I could even give him the best present ever and show him how to close his first deal.
Because I would be the ultimate gift, wouldn’t it? To show the boy exactly what he needed to do to provide for himself and Ma.
In other words, I wanted to give him the world.
I was grinning like a child. It was going to be a good night.
Except no sooner had I crossed the threshold of the house did a scream stop me cold.
Chapter 17
Kyle
* * *
I walked into the hallway and almost collapsed. Then I really did collapse into Mark’s arms. Mark left me in the hall way and runs upstairs to check on Ma. I tried to push myself up to see her — I had to make sure she was okay — but I couldn’t force myself to stand. My strength had been sapped from me, and every time I tried to stand up, gravity yanked me back down. Mark rushed back into the hallway as I was trying to turn myself on my side to stand up again.
“Don’t move,” he whispered, kneeling next to me and placing a hand on my leg. “Ma has to go to the hospital.”
“W-What?” I cried, my voice chalked of terror. “W-Why?”
“I’ve already called the ambulance. It’s on its way.”
“Is Ma going to be alright?”
“I hope so, Kyle,” Mark whispered, kissing my forehead. Relief washed over me but this was outweighed by the gravity of the situation. How could Mark know? He was guessing. We were all guessing. The only person who’d know was the paramedic who’d carry her into the ambulance.
Which was ten minutes away. As Mark explained a minute later.
“Goddamnit,” I whispered, my voice husky. “Goddamnit. T-This is why I can’t leave her. D-Do you see what I mean? I shouldn’t have gone with you to the Stone Arc bridge. I ruined everything and now Ma is in danger because
of me.”
“Stop, boy,” Mark said, pulling me to my feet. He grabbed my hand and led me to Ma’s room. At the foot of her bed, he pulled me into his arms and didn’t let go. “I needed this afternoon. You needed it more.”
“Ma’s going to die,” I whispered, surveying the living room that I’d spent so little time in the past month. “It’s my fault. I wasn’t there.”
“Not a chance in hell.” Mark turned my shoulders to face him. His gaze was deadly, unrelenting, but not cold. You did nothing wrong, boy. And this doesn’t change anything.
I was about to speak when, suddenly, sirens blared outside the home and a team of paramedics burst through the door. Mark rose from the bed and met them in front. They hurried to the top floor and positioned Ma on the gurney. A minute later, we were ushered into the back of the ambulance where we held Ma’s hands and whispered silent prayers.
The ambulance turned on the sirens and charged through the streets. Out of the back, I surveyed the cars pulled over to the side of the road who made way for us. I thought of the nights we were disrupting with our siren. But my heart wasn’t with them; it was with Ma.
“It’s okay, little one,” Mark whispered, wrapping me in his arms. “Ma’s going to be okay.”
“I-It’s so scary, Daddy.”
“It is,” Mark said with a nod. “It’s a scary world, Kyle. I’ll protect you just like the paramedics are protecting Ma.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, staring into his dark eyes. “Thank you, Daddy. I need this.”
“Yes, boy,” Mark repeated, caressing my hair. "Everything’s going to be okay. Can you repeat after me?”
“Yes,” I whispered, nodding silently. “E-Everything’s going to be okay.”
And for the first time, I believed it. I believed the words he told me. In the back of the ambulance, with the paramedics keeping Ma alive, in the dim flickering lights of the speeding vehicle, I knew Mark would keep me safe forever. Even if something happened to Ma, Mark would wrap me in his big arms and protect me forever — just like I always wanted.
