Date: Sat, 10 Feb 2007 10:21:04 -0800 (PST)
From: Mickey S <njmcmick@yahoo.com>
Subject: Wrong Turn, Chapter 16

If you are under age, or live in an area where reading stories that include
sex between males is illegal, or if you're not into this type of story,
please leave. This is a fictional story that takes place in a world where
everything is safe. In the real world where many things are not, the
characters would take precautions. Please respect yourself and others
enough to always play safe.

If you have read any of my previous stories you will know that I tend to be
a romantic with a bent toward happy endings. This story starts out as a
potential romance but is one that takes a wrong turn, or so it seems. And
as for the ending, you'll just have to read on. The author retains all
rights.  No reproductions or links to other sites are allowed without the
author's consent. Comments are appreciated at NJMcMick@yahoo.com.

Chapter 16

By mid-January I'd become comfortable in my new life. It was amazing how
quickly I adapted from living in a large suburban house to a hotel room in
the city. I joined a gym near the hotel and worked out three evenings a
week. I spent most of the remaining evenings with Carlos. Usually we
followed our old routine starting with a drink at Rick's before having
dinner out somewhere, but now and then we took in a basketball game and
once an off-Broadway show. After nearly nine months of having sex, we'd
begun dating.

Things were looking up for Carlos at work. An opening for a trainee in the
section next to mine was posted and he applied for it. This time I wrote
him a glowing recommendation and coached him for the interviews, which he
then breezed through. There didn't seem to be any way he wouldn't get the
position this time.

My parents were slowly coming around; at least they appeared to be. We
hadn't talked much about Carlos the rest of my short Christmas visit and
I'd only called them once a week after that, but things seemed pretty
normal between us. If things continued to go well I hoped to take Carlos up
to meet them in the spring.

While our relationship seemed to be heading for something more normal,
Carlos found ways to remind me that he still had kinky thoughts and was
still in control. He once again shaved all of my hair below the neck and
said he'd be touching up at least my pubes and balls every week. And of
course I had to wear the nipple rings all the time. He occasionally
mentioned the possibility of more piercing but nothing definite. And we did
a little more shopping at the leather store, buying some clothing and some
toys.

The first Friday of the New Year we went back to the private club. This
time there was no contest or special theme. We both worse black leather
pants. Carlos wore his harness and cap. My above-waist attire was limited
to the leather collar, my nipple rings and a chain connecting them. Carlos
led me around on my leash but other than that didn't put on any kind of
show about being my master. We drank and talked with each other the same as
if we were at Rick's. And there was no sex, for us anyway. There was a wall
of short partitions with glory holes at one end of the room and lots of
guys used them, but for a change Carlos seemed content to just watch. When
we got back to the hotel he tied me face down and spread-eagled on the bed
and fucked me pretty hard, much harder than he had in a long while. I
really got into it to the point where he had to stuff the corner of a
pillow in my mouth to muffle my moans and groans. Afterwards he untied me
and spooned me.

"That was a great fuck but I may not be able to sit down tomorrow. Where
did that come from?"

"I don't know. I think being in that club around all those S&M guys got me
worked up. And don't think that just because I didn't have you work that
glory hole wall that we're done with stuff like that."

"You mean now that we're into more of a relationship you still want us to
do it with other guys?"

"Well, I'm sure not going out to find tricks when we're not together and I
don't want you doing that either. But I really get off watching you service
other men. Not only is it so hot watching your body be used and your holes
filled, just knowing that you're doing it because I want you to is such a
turn-on."

"So we'll probably be doing stuff together with other guys then. I'll have
to admit I kind of like you making me do stuff like that but it really
bothers me to watch you with another guy. I know that's not fair, but
that's how I feel."

"I can understand you being jealous because of where you're coming
from. But what you have to remember is that you're the one I want. Doing a
scene like that is totally hot for me because you're the focal point. Sure,
if this was a year ago and I was single I could have gotten into an orgy
type thing and loved it, but it would have just been physical. When you're
in the middle of it, it's so much more than that. And as you said, you get
off on it because I'm directing it. So while we may both clearly experience
physical pleasure at the hands or dicks or holes of others, the real
excitement is doing it together."

"I think I see what you mean and if I think of it that way I can probably
deal with it. But it sounds to me like you have something specific in mind,
like maybe you're planning something for us."

"No, not really. I've always got my eyes open but as long as I'm living
with Jose and you're here it won't be easy. I'd love to do a scene
something like the one Jose got you in the sling for, but with a few minor
changes."

"You've got to be kidding! He drugged me and then they gang raped me. You'd
better have some major changes in mind."

"A few. First of all, I wouldn't have to drug you. You'd do it just because
I told you to. And then I'd pick much hotter guys. The super and his
friends are real trolls." Carlos kissed me on the ear and then leaned
around so I could see he was grinning. "Finally, my hands are a lot smaller
than Jose's, so I'd probably be able to finish the job that he couldn't."

"Like I said before, Carlos, you've got big dreams. But with all I've taken
up my ass for you and as much as I would love to have any part of you that
fits in me, I do have some limits."

Carlos wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tight. "Then maybe we'll
just have to see about expanding those limits, baby," he whispered.

I hadn't spoken to Anne again after that phone call just before
Christmas. I knew Matt was in touch with her lawyer, trying to negotiate
grounds for the divorce as well as a division of property. He called me at
work now and then to give me an update and in one of those calls he
suggested Carlos and I come out to the house for dinner with him and
Sara. My hesitation must have given away my thoughts.

"Take it easy, Ryan. I'm talking about a friendly dinner and a short legal
conference. It would be totally inappropriate for anything else now that
I'm acting as your attorney in your divorce case."

So Carlos and I drove down to Monmouth County Saturday evening. It was
expensive keeping a car in the city but it came in handy now and
then. Maybe it was because of the previous sexual encounters with Matt and
Sara, or maybe it was just because we'd also shared pleasant meals with
them on those occasions, but the dinner was one of the nicest social
evenings I'd had since before the night at the gallery. Matt and Sara were
so much more fun and interesting than I'd ever known in all the time Anne
and I had socialized with them. After dinner Matt suggested Carlos and I
join him in his office for a few minutes while Sara cleaned up. Both Carlos
and I insisted on at least helping clear the table before joining Matt.

"I've talked to Alan Anderson, whom you may know better as Spike, a couple
of times over the last few weeks. I thought you might want to see these."

He pulled a file folder from his desk drawer, removed a couple of sheets of
paper and slid them across the desk to us. I looked down at the fax of a
legal form which had my name signed at the bottom. An identical form had
Carlos' name on it. I wasn't all that familiar with his handwriting but my
name didn't look remotely like my signature.

"These are copies of the complete releases Spike had on file for you
two. He was very upset when I assured him the signatures were forged and
horrified when I told him what his showing of your pictures had done. He
said he had mailed both forms to Carlos' home address back in the fall with
a cover letter describing the gallery show he wanted to use them in. When
they came back signed he had no reason to suspect they weren't genuine. It
didn't occur to him to compare the signatures with those on the limited
releases he already had."

"This one doesn't look at all like my writing. I'm no expert but while
these signatures look different they both have the same slant to them, like
they were written by someone who if left-handed."

Carlos hadn't initially given the forms more than a cursory look but he
picked them up and stared back and forth at them.

"Fuck! I don't believe it. Jose!"

"Jose?" Matt asked.

"You know, Carlos' best friend and roommate, and the bane of my existence."
I told him about some of the things we'd done with Jose and his attitude
toward me, then turned to Carlos who was still staring at the
signatures. "You really think Jose is behind these?"

"Yeah, Ry, I'm sure of it. Jose is left-handed and your fake signature is
his handwriting exactly. He did a pretty good job at forging mine, but then
he knows my handwriting. I can't believe he opened my mail and forged
these. What an asshole! What was he thinking?"

"He was thinking of how much he hates me and how he could screw up my
life. And he sure made a mess of things. This cover letter Spike sent
mentions the name and address of the gallery, so I can guess how Anne got
on their mailing list."

"He's really gonna get it from me when I get home. No way I'm letting him
get away with this shit. This is the final straw."

"No, Carlos." Matt interrupted. "I know you both have good reason to be mad
at him, but right now you don't want to get him to get mad at you. He knows
everything about your relationship and if he really wants to mess up Ryan's
life the last thing we want is for him to get involved in this divorce."

"So I'm supposed to just go home and keep being friends with him? We've had
so many fights in the last few months we've barely been speaking lately as
it is."

"Then maybe you should move out, but don't let on that it's because of
this. If things are as bad between you as you say he probably won't be
surprised. At least he won't blame it on Ryan."

"He can always find a way to blame something on Ryan but he's probably been
expecting me to move out anyway."

"By promising not to sue him for showing your pictures without
authorization I got Spike to send me this." Matt took a CD from the folder
and popped it into the drive on his computer, then opened the file. All of
the sexual pictures of Carlos and me, the one with his dick head on my
tongue and a couple of me sucking him after the contest, appeared on the
screen. "He says these are his only copies, so if Anne's attorney subpoenas
him they won't get anything incriminating. I couldn't promise to give this
back to him after the divorce is final but it was more or less understood
that we will."

"So all Anne will get are copies of the photos that were in the gallery
show?"

"Those and a few others that are erotic but not sexual. They may imply that
you were having sex but won't be proof that you two actually were."

We rejoined Sara in the living room for coffee and conversation that didn't
involve Anne or the divorce. Carlos was a little distracted the rest of the
evening, lost in thought. In the car on the way home we talked some more
about Jose.

"What I don't understand is why he hates me so much. Sure, I screwed up
your promotion but even you weren't that angry with me." An idea had
occurred to me once or twice before and I brought it up. "Do you think that
maybe his feelings for you are more than friendship, Carlos? Maybe he's
jealous of me."

"I'm sure he's not in love with me, if that's what you're thinking, Ry. But
I think this might have something to do with the nature of our
friendship. Jose tends to be a very dominant, controlling guy, a bully
sometimes. If he were to be in a relationship it would definitely be a
master-slave kind of thing. But even in our friendship, he's always been
the leader, the one who make the decisions. He likes to influence and
control me but he's also very protective of me."

"So he hates me this much because I hurt you?"

"No, I think it's because for the first time he's lost control of me. I was
always his sidekick, always went along with anything he wanted to do. When
you fucked up my job he was pissed, but when I decided to get revenge on
you he was thrilled, because he figured if I was going to be controlling
you then he would be controlling both of us. I think he was shocked when I
took charge of you and wouldn't let him have his way."

"Thank God you didn't. I was pretty blown away by the pace you were taking
and the things you were making me do, but you always seemed to know just
how far you could push me, just how far you could go. He probably would
have destroyed my life in a few weeks if he'd had the chance."

"He still might if we're not careful. At this point as long as you can get
a decent divorce settlement, he might have actually done us a favor."

"A favor? This has been a nightmare."

"I know this has been traumatic for both you and Anne, but the way we were
going it was only a matter of time before something came out. You and Anne
both got hurt but at least it was quick, not long and drawn out. Jose saved
you the trouble of having to decide how to come out."

"I'm sure he'll forgive me if I don't send him a thank-you note. I may
someday think of what he did as a favor, but the wounds are still open at
this point."

"As bad as things have been between me and him lately I think that once I
move out he'll move on and forget about all of this. I've just got to ease
away from him without him blaming you. "

"Then I guess it wouldn't be a good idea if you took a room in my
hotel. That would be so perfect for us right now if we were in the same
building."

"I know, but even without worrying about Jose or Anne thinking it was
suspicious, it wouldn't work for me. I think the hotel is a little out of
my price range. The best thing would be for me to find a cheap room in my
current neighborhood. It doesn't have to be much because I can spend most
nights with you, but it'll give me an address separate from you for
appearances."

I was about to suggest that once the divorce went through we could look for
a place together but realized that might be pushing it too fast. It was
going good with Carlos just letting everything go at its own pace, so it
was better not to jump ahead.

Carlos was able to find a room he could afford a few blocks from the
apartment. It wasn't much but it appeared to be clean. He shared a bath
with four other rooms on the floor. I had told him I would help him with
the rent if he wanted a nicer place but he said it was only going to be a
part-time home anyway. We each took an afternoon off from work to get him
moved, making sure Jose was not going to be home first. It was my first
time back in the apartment since the day Jose had drugged me, but instead
of thinking of that I remembered all of the good times, the first few times
I'd come back there with Carlos and started to explore my sexuality. Carlos
didn't have much to pack, just his clothes and a few personal
possessions. He filled two suitcases and four boxes, then went through the
place to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything.

"What about the computer?" I pointed to the desk in the bedroom.

"Jose and I bought that together a few years back. We can't split it so
I'll have to leave it."

"What about all those pictures you guys took of me last summer? Aren't they
on the computer?"

"They were. I burned a CD and then deleted them from the hard drive. I put
all of my other personal files and documents on a CD as well so there's
nothing of mine there now anyway."

We made three trips carrying everything to his new room. When we had
everything done he unpacked the suitcases and took a few things out of the
boxes but left them stacked along one wall of the room, then repacked a
suitcase with things to take to my hotel. I looked around the room and
though it looked depressing. Carlos must have seen my thoughts on my face.

"It's only temporary, babe. Once you get this divorce out of the way we can
work on something else."

He didn't elaborate but it was encouraging that he was thinking along the
same lines as me. It made me want to get moving on the divorce even faster,
as if I needed any more incentive. Unfortunately when I talked to Matt the
next week he didn't have any news for me.

"Anne's hanging tough, Ryan. Her attorney has absolutely ruled out a
no-fault divorce. I've offered grounds of desertion since that would make
you at fault but not as liable for damages but they're determined to charge
you with adultery. I've implied if they did that we might have to take a
look at Anne's background as well but got nowhere. I have a feeling there
may be a private investigator keeping any eye on you. There's no other way
they could come up with any evidence."

"Shit! Carlos and I have been discreet but we've been spending a lot of
time together. And he stays over at the hotel several nights a week."

"I'm not too concerned about that. It's circumstantial evidence and one
might infer you were having an affair, but without an eyewitness you can
claim you're just friends and no one can prove otherwise."

"I'm going to try to talk to her anyway. She's always been fairly
rational. Maybe I can get somewhere with her."

"Just be careful what you say. Don't give her any more ammunition."

I thought about it for a few minutes and then picked up the telephone and
called Anne at home. I took a deep breath as she picked up and said hello.

"Hi Anne, it's Ryan. Can we talk about what's going on between us for a
minute?"

"Anything you have to say to me you can tell my lawyer. Or have Matt tell
him."

"I know Matt's been talking to your lawyer. He tells me you're not willing
to compromise on the divorce."

"Why would I? You publicly humiliated me and you're going to pay for it."

"I realize how much that hurt you and I've already said I was sorry, not
that I expect that to make any difference. But think about it, Anne. Right
now only Matt, Sara and Chaz know about those pictures. There are the only
people you might feel humiliated around. But if you insist on making this
public and trying to make more of it than it is, everyone will know. You'll
be greatly increasing the humiliation by claiming I was having an affair
with a man, a black man at that." Might as well play to her racism.

"You've got some nerve trying to put the blame on me for this. You're the
one who's at fault all the way down the line."

"Yes, I admit that. All I'm saying is that if you charge me with desertion
I still come out looking like the bad guy but you won't be so humiliated."

"And neither will you. When I charge you with adultery with that little
nigger the world to know what a degenerate you really are. And I'll ruin
you financially, too. That will be worth whatever additional embarrassment
I'll experience."

"All you're doing is dragging this painful period out. You know you can
claim anything you like but you're not going to be able to prove anything."

"Don't be so sure about that!" She slammed the phone down, leaving me a
little unnerved by the confident way she said that last sentence.

I called Matt back and reported my failure to get anywhere with her. At
least I hadn't done any damage with the call.

A couple of weeks later Carlos was beaming when he came into my office with
the mail. He excitedly informed me that he had been offered the job he'd
posted for in the next section. I breathed a sigh of relief as I stood to
grab his hand. I wanted to hug and kiss him but managed to limit myself to
a hearty handshake of congratulations. We decided on a celebratory dinner
that night at our favorite restaurant in the Village.

First though, before stopping at our rooms to change, we went to Rick's for
our ritual after-work drink. We'd been there about ten minutes and were
halfway through our drinks when Jose walked in. We both groaned. Carlos
didn't even try to be friendly.

"Aren't you supposed to be at work? You know I don't want to see you."

"Is that any way to greet your oldest friend?" Jose sneered. "I figured you
two lovebirds would be here and I've got some news I wanted to deliver in
person."

"News? What could you possibly have to say to me?" I tried not to sound as
antagonistic as I felt but there was no way I was going to pretend I wanted
to talk to him.

"Now I can understand you not bein' happy to see me, bitch, but you're
gonna be even more unhappy when you've heard what I have to say." He beamed
at me. "About a week ago this private dick dropped by the apartment,
lookin' for info on the two of you. Said he wanted to know what kind of
relationship you guys had. I was happy to fill him in."

"Oh God no, Jose. He was working for Ryan's wife. Please tell me you didn't
say anything."

"Anything? I told him everything. All about the sex you two have with each
other, with me, with the guys at the club, with just about anyone who wants
it. He asked me if I had any proof and I was happy to show him the
pictures."

"But you don't have the pictures we took. I took them with me and trashed
the originals on the computer."

Jose grinned. "But I had backed them up on a CD right after downloading
them to the computer in the first place. You never know when the hard drive
might crash or something else might happen and then you don't have them
when you need them. Turns out I needed them today."

"Today? I thought this was last week."

"I talked to the dick last week. Today I took the CD to the lawyer's office
and met your lovely wife. What a cold bitch she is. No wonder you're such a
pussy boy, married to a controlling cunt like that. Anyway, she acted
totally scandalized by the pics but I think deep down she was getting' off
on 'em."

I groaned. "No, she was getting off on thinking about how she was going to
take every penny I've got. She is going to destroy me now."

"Just what I was hoping for. Anyhow, she was pretty horrified by what a
cock slut you are, but what really blew her away was that kid in the
woods. You didn't tell me you knew his parents and that this uncle was your
boss."

"That's because it was none of your business." I didn't add that I didn't
know that at the time. I sure didn't owe him any explanations. Besides, the
impact of what he'd done was slowly sinking in and I was having trouble
dealing with it.

"Why don't you just get the fuck out of here?" Carlos looked like he was
mad enough to physically throw Jose out in spite of their difference in
size. "You've been acting like a real asshole for months now but after this
I can't believe I was ever your friend."

"After seeing you fall for such a wimp I can't believe I ever wanted you
for a friend. We were a good team for a while, Carlos. Too bad you went all
soft."

"You've had your fun now and done your damage. Just stay out of my life
from now on, asshole."

Jose shrugged. "Well, I think the cunt wanted to spring this on you as a
surprise but I just had to tell you the news myself. I wanted to see the
looks on your faces. It was definitely worth it. Have a nice evening,
gentleman." He turned and walked out.

"Damn, I'm really fucked now." I downed the rest of my drink and signaled
to Rick for another round.

"I could kill that bastard. What he's done up until now was bad enough but
this is just evil."

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about him any more. He's destroyed
me so it's over."

"He hasn't destroyed you, Ryan. He's just cost you a lot of money."

"Easy for you to say. It's not your money. It's everything I've worked for
and now it's all going to be gone."

Carlos was silent a long time and when he spoke he didn't look at me.

"I know, Ryan. Even though Jose caused all of this, it's really my
fault. If I hadn't done all those things to you, none of this would have
happened. If I'd left you alone you'd still be with Anne, still have your
house and your life and all your stuff. I've cost you everything and I have
nothing to give you in return."

"Carlos, baby, please don't feel guilty. I wasn't blaming you. I'm just in
shock. Look, you're right, I've lost a lot since I met you. But all of that
'stuff' - the marriage, the house, the social life in the suburbs - I
thought that was what I wanted but it wasn't really making me happy. I
never knew what real happiness was until I met you. So even though I've
taken a big financial hit, as long as I've got you it's worth it."

"That's a pretty big trade-off. All that shit for a little Puerto Rican
master."

"I object to the master part, but as far as I'm concerned, my little Puerto
Rican is priceless." The shock of Jose's news was wearing off and I was
surprised that I was feeling pretty okay. Maybe it was because the
uncertainty and hiding were finally over. Everything was out in the open
now, for better or worse, and now we could move on. "And things aren't
going to be so bad, Carlos. Even if I have to give Anne the house and all
our other assets and more than half my salary, I still have enough left to
live on. I won't be able to buy another place for some time but we can
rent. Besides, my Puerto Rican master just got a big promotion. Maybe he'll
support me for a while."

"He'd be very happy to." Carlos finally looked up at me and smiled.

"So enough of this crying in our beer. Let's go out and celebrate that
promotion."

"Are you sure you're in the mood for that?"

I looked into his dark eyes and then put a hand on either side of his face,
pulled him toward me and lightly kissed him on the lips.

"Yeah, I am. It's time for us to get on with our lives."


To be continued.