This
story
concerns adult and teenage gay
males who may be involved in sexual situations. If it is illegal for
you to
read such stories, or if you do not like to read such stories, please
leave
now.
This
story is
copyright 2006 by the author who retains all rights.
This
is a work
of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents
either are the product of the author's imagination or are used
fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is
entirely coincidental.
This is my
third submission to Nifty. My
previous submissions can be found in the High School section under
Kiel’s Story. Any comments or questions are
welcome at: carl_holiday@att.net.
A warm
thank you goes out to all who
write. I appreciate knowing someone is actually reading this stuff,
whether you
like it or not. I try to answer all emails, even flames. (I’m a writer,
I live
for rejection.) Although sometimes it takes a little time to get back
to
you, I do
try to answer. If I'm remiss in replying to yours, I apologize.
The Pastel Cowboy
by Carl Holiday
Chapter
18 – Surprise!
Zach stared at the
tip of
Jeremy’s cock as it spewed cum onto his face. He couldn’t figure out
why he
liked pulling off at the last moment to watch this incredible feat of
physiological engineering, but since Jeremy’s release from Bud’s form
of house
arrest, he’d been doing that very thing.
Jeremy, on the
other hand,
tried to swallow Zach’s cock at the moment of impact. He was never
successful
and took it all in his mouth. He’d hold the cock in his mouth until it
decided
to wither or remain hard for another assault.
Neither of them
could figure
out why Zach wasn’t able to go again right away, while Jeremy always
seemed
primed for stimulation from the second he arrived at the apartment
until they
held each other for that last kiss. Zach never closed the door until
that
remarkable bulge in Jeremy’s khakis got onto the elevator and went out
of his
life.
The cast was gone,
yet his
arm ached nearly every night as he lay naked next to Carlotta. Although
they
never probed each other’s bodily orifices with tools of pleasure, as
she was
not about to become the third link in a bizarre ménage a
trios, she
often acquiesced to tactile assistance from various places on Zach’s
body. He
knew she was Paul’s full time lover, but he didn’t know if it was
Carlotta
fucking Paul or the other way around; and, he didn’t know if Paul knew
about
Carlotta and other facets of Bruce’s shattered personality.
“I’m not all that
happy with
the two of you living together,” Doctor Cunningham said the week after
Zach
learned of Bruce’s problem, “but I’ll not interfere.”
It had been Zach’s
appointment, but he brought Bruce along with him. When they walked into
the
room, Carlotta immediately went to the couch and sprawled over it. Zach
hesitated for a moment, then took the overstuffed side chair.
“He’s a wuss,”
Carlotta said.
“He doesn’t even fight for a piece of furniture.”
“You take karate,”
Zach said.
“How am I supposed to fight you?”
“Bruce takes
karate, dummy,”
Carlotta said, “and he’s so unsure of himself he’ll never use it to
defend a
couch.”
“What? Then who’s
slapping
me?”
“I don’t know.
Maybe it’s one
of the others, but it isn’t Bruce or me.”
“Just like a
married couple
after three months of living together,” Doctor Cunningham said. “I will
not
counsel you two together. Bruce? Bruce!”
“Yes?”
“Out.”
Silently Bruce
exited,
leaving Zach alone with their psychiatrist. He stared at the floor,
avoiding
her eyes. He didn’t know whether he was supposed to be embarrassed or
relieved.
Then she said she wouldn’t interfere with their living arrangements.
She did
caution him to be very careful of Patty, who hadn’t shown herself in
months,
but who was quite capable of doing harm.
Zach suspected at
that moment
it was Patty who bit him in the night. The biting had stopped, though.
Maybe one
of the others had told her about the threat of arrest raised at the
clinic.
“So, we’re okay,
then?” Zach
asked.
“Yes, I think so,
how is
Jeremy?”
“He’s coming over
until I get
my cast off and I can go to him,” Zach said.
“Let him grow up
and come to
you,” Doctor Cunningham said.
So, at least twice
a week,
Jeremy showed up at the apartment to get naked with Zach. Sex for them
was not
mad and passionate, but slow and careful as each studied the other’s
response
to various stimuli, learning in a mutual exchange of orgasmic bliss.
Zach said
they’d need it later in middle-age when they couldn’t fuck anymore
because
Jeremy couldn’t get enough of a hard-on to put it in.
They hadn’t fucked
yet,
though. Zach wasn’t certain whether Jeremy was holding off until Zach
asked or
for some other reason. He wanted Jeremy’s dick up his ass and taking
his
boyfriend’s cum in the face seemed to be some form of psychological
punishment
for denying access to the warmth of his body and it was him who was
denying
access. All he had to do was hand Jeremy a condom. Jeremy would have
his cock
lubed, covered, lubed again, and ready at Zach’s gate in an instant,
but Jeremy
didn’t ask for a condom and he didn’t offer one.
It wasn’t going to
happen
today, that was certain. This was Jeremy’s third orgasm and the cum
supply was
diminishing. Without anal stimulation, his own limit seemed to be two.
Yet,
this was not enough for him to give in to the younger teen’s unspoken
need for
dominance, or for Zach’s need to be dominated.
“I met a girl
today,” Jeremy
said as he came up from Zach’s cock. They kissed, Zach tasting himself
in his
lover’s mouth. “I think it was a girl. You can’t be certain up here.”
“What do you mean
you can’t
be certain?”
“Well, you know,
all those
guys dressing like girls and the girls are just as bad,” Jeremy said as
he
snuggled down beside Zach. His time of departure was close. Autumn was
upon
them and it was getting too dark for Jeremy to be out on a bicycle. At
least he
wasn’t riding the whole distance. He left his bicycle at the bus stop
at the
intersection of Foundry Ridge Boulevard
and Oak Park. It wasn’t a hard slog, but it was all up
hill until
the last quarter mile as the boulevard wove around the estates at the
top of
the ridge.
“Did you get her
name?” Zach
asked as he silently pondered whether to allow Jeremy to fuck him next
time.
Carlotta said he should wait as long as possible. Bruce said he’d
waited too
long already. Willy, a young boy not quite thirteen, who’d show up at
the
oddest times, wanted Zach to let him watch, but Zach said no because he
couldn’t be certain Willy would stay. The last thing he wanted was
Carlotta
making snide remarks; or, worse, having Bruce stick a lubed finger up
Jeremy’s
ass. Carlotta said he’d do it and Zach wasn’t too certain he wouldn’t.
“Melanie, I think,”
Jeremy
said. He began to play with Zach’s right nipple. “And, I think she’s a
lesbian.”
“Why do you say
that?”
“She was with a
guy, only
that guy wasn’t a guy. It was plain as day, but she introduced him as
Robert. Do
guys dress up as girls and hang out with girls dressing up as guys?”
“No, I think
there’s a rule
against that somewhere,” Zach said.
“She said she like
to meet
you. She said she’s seen you around and wondered if I would introduce
you to
her. That Robert person didn’t seem to mind at all. He was weird. Would
you
fuck her, if she wanted?”
“Why would I want
to fuck
her?” Zach asked. He knew where this was going, but was helpless to
stop it
now. Jeremy hadn’t mentioned him fucking Sara, so it was time to get it
cleared
between them.
“I don’t know,
would you?”
“I’m sorry,” Zach
signed and
rolled away from Jeremy. It was true, then. Just like Carlotta said. He
liked
the feel of a vagina around his dick, but did that make him something
he didn’t
want to be? He loved Jeremy. He knew that.
He wasn’t paying
any
attention to Jeremy until he felt the cock press against his gate. He
relaxed
and winced slightly at the insertion. He rolled onto his stomach and
spread his
legs. Jeremy was in position, fully inserted, and ready. He waited.
The hard cock in
his ass
slowly throbbed as Jeremy’s heart quieted from the initial exertion.
He waited.
Jeremy moved
slightly,
adjusted his body over Zach’s.
He waited.
He felt Jeremy’s
body being
lowered onto his.
Pain shot though
his
consciousness as teeth bit into his flesh. He was up and over Jeremy in
a
flash. He could feel blood trickling down his back. He stared down into
the
startled boy’s eyes. His blood was smeared on lips he’d kissed only
moments
ago.
What was he going
to do?
He jumped from the
bed and
ran to the bathroom. Bruce was sitting on the toilet, the odor of his
presence
hung in the air. He looked at the blood trickling down Zach’s chest and
began
to hurriedly wipe himself. He flushed and was up beside Zach looking
for the
alcohol he knew they had.
“What’re you
doing?” Jeremy
asked at the door.
“Get the fuck out
of here,”
Carlotta yelled.
Jeremy stared for a
moment
then slunk back to the bedroom. Zach looked at Bruce, who had squatted
down to
look in the lower cabinet.
“He wouldn’t come
in here
because you and that boy were in the bedroom,” Carlotta said. “Well, we
had to
shit and I wasn’t about to let him do it in our pants. Ah, here it is.”
Zach took the
bottle began
pouring alcohol over the wound.
“What the fuck are
you
doing?” Carlotta said. She took the bottle from Zach. “You’ve made a
complete
mess. Let me look at the bite. Fuck! What the hell was he thinking?”
“He’s sixteen,
thinking
doesn’t start until seventeen,” Zach said.
“And, you’re good
evidence
for that theory? We’re going to have to go to the clinic and you know
what that
means.”
“Can’t you put
something on
that?”
“It’s a human bite
and a deep
one at that.”
“They’ll call the
police. You
heard her, didn’t you?”
“No, I wasn’t
there.”
Zach looked at her
and understood.
“Tell Jeremy to put
his
clothes on,” Zach said. “He’ll go with me. He needs to know about
biting
people. Oh, and call Paul, he can pick us up and take Jeremy home if
the police
don’t take him.”
“Come on, you can’t
go naked,”
Carlotta said. “You really do love him, don’t you?
“Yes, I do.”
Gulls wheeled in
the sky
above them riding air currents thrown up by tall buildings facing the
waterfront. Zach fully expected a dollop of bird shit to splatter over
his Caesar
salad. When the salmon finally arrived the gulls were out over a
container ship
sailing into Elliott Bay with a load of cheap clothes for discount
stores
across America.
Bud had been
pensive
throughout the meal, but when their coffees arrived Zach could see the
older
man had only been waiting for a less distracting moment.
Paul was quiet,
too. His
presence surprised Zach, but he knew the two men had some sort of
business
relationship and Bud knew Paul was sort of a mentor for Zach, so his
being at
the lunch wasn’t totally unexpected. Obviously, he was deferring any
comments
to Bud.
Jeremy picked at
his food. His
plate still hadn’t been removed, as it was practically full, only
generally
messed up with his constant moving objects around with his fork.
Zach knew of the
three of
them, he was the least likely to have a part in the forthcoming
conversation,
as it was Jeremy who bit him.
“I do enjoy a warm
autumn day
in Seattle,” Bud said as he put down his coffee. He’d
ordered an
African blend, which was too tart for Zach. “We have a problem and I
don’t know
how we’re going to solve it. Jeremy here seems to have inherited much
of his
father’s irresponsibility. By the way, how is the bite?”
“They’re taking out
the
stitches tomorrow,” Zach said. He looked over at Jeremy, but his
boyfriend was
staring at a piece of salmon on his fork. “Lucky, I guess, since there
isn’t
any infection.”
“And, Jeremy goes
before the
judge tomorrow,” Bud said. He patted his grandson’s forearm then
playfully
tousled his hair. “Lucky, I guess, as his case remained in juvenile
court, but
that’s the limit of my involvement. I don’t know what the final
decision will
be because I have not spoken to the judge, even though she called and
asked my
opinion. What did you tell them?”
“That I love Jeremy
and have
accepted his apology for biting me. I told her that someone else had
done the
same thing and I thought Jeremy was only doing it because of that. Sort
of a, I
don’t know, if you like it I can do it, too. I don’t know what he was
thinking.”
“But, you’re not
mad at him,”
Paul said. Zach looked at him as if he’d interrupted.
“I was mad at him
and then
the clinic made such a big deal about it. They called the police and
suddenly
we’re all giving statements. I had to call Doctor Cunningham because
the stupid
doctor sent the police to the apartment to arrest Bruce. They couldn’t
believe
Jeremy had done it. They were so certain he was simply taking the
blame. If
that wasn’t bad enough, they took me to the hospital for surgery. I
guess
Jeremy got a little too close to some nerve. But, don’t you see, I love
him and
don’t want anything bad to happen.”
“Jeremy? Anything
to add?”
Bud asked.
“Yeah, what’s this
all
about?” Jeremy asked. He looked at Zach then turned toward his
grandfather.
“Zach and I have already been through this. I made a mistake, a big
mistake,
and I’ll be lucky if I don’t have to spend more time in juvy. I’ve been
kicked
out of that elite private school, but, at least, I got into North Park
High. My
life is about as bad as it can get. But, what is this about?
Grandfather?”
“We’re here to make
a
decision,” Bud said. “Paul and I have discussed the situation along
with Doctor
Cunningham and I think we came to a viable decision about how we’re
going to
manage your, both yours’ and Zach’s, lives for the next few months.
It’s more
than obvious both of you love each other. I don’t understand it, but I
knew
whatever was decided had to take that into account. I’m not so stupid
not to
know young love is one of the great powers of the universe and will
bend and
break any force pressed against it.”
“Then I can
continue to see
Zach,” Jeremy said.
“I didn’t say that,
did I?”
“No, sir,” Jeremy
said. He
looked as if he’d been hit with a broom handle. The smile was gone as
he knew
this wasn’t going to be to his liking, even if that were possible.
“You’re too
impetuous, like
your father and I suspect, your mother, who I’ve also spoken to. She
still has
some responsibility over you whether she wants it or not.”
“Mother is in on
this, too?”
Jeremy looked totally defeated. Zach suspected Jeremy was close to
tears, but
Bud was being as gentle as he could.
“Not as much as I
would like,
but I’ll take whatever advice I can get,” Bud said. The waiter came by
and
refilled Bud’s cup and moving around the table Paul’s, who was also
drinking
the African. He looked at Zach.
“Sumatra,” Zach said.
“Sure, be right
back. Are you
finished, sir?”
Jeremy looked up at
the
waiter and shook his head. “No, I think they’ll skin me before throwing
me to
the dogs.”
“It’s not that bad
boy,” Bud
said.
“Oh my god, it’s
Carlotta and
Wahoo,” Zach said as he watched two classic drag queens done up as
Carmen
Miranda, including the fruit, walking through the tables. They were
following
the maitre d’ who didn’t seem all that perturbed they were invading his
restaurant. When he sat them at a long table along the railing, the
best table
on the terrace, Zach knew the “club” was having a business lunch.
Paul’s mouth was in
bass
mode, gaping open as if waiting for a lure to come slithering by. His
eyes
followed the pair before settling on Zach.
“That’s Bruce,”
Paul said.
“Obviously, you
don’t know,”
Zach said.
Wahoo caught their
stare and
waved. Zach waved back and, surprisingly, Bud did too. For a moment,
Carlotta
acted as if she’d been caught in a snare. Then she, too, gave a little
wave.
“You know
Carlotta?” Bud
asked.
“No,” Paul said.
“Isn’t that
Bruce?”
“No, that’s
Carlotta,” Zach
said. “She’s one of personalities struggling within Bruce’s head. It’s
all too
complicated to talk about here. Paul?”
“Yes?”
“If you’re nice and
try to
understand, I’m sure Carlotta, or maybe, Willy, will talk to you,” Zach
said.
“You might want to ask Doctor Cunningham, too. But, don’t try to talk
to Bruce,
it makes him upset and he goes away.”
“But I see him
nearly every
day,” Paul said.
“You see the body,
but you’re
probably not paying attention to the personality.”
“How many?”
“I know of five,
but I think
there’s at least one more, but he or she won’t talk to me. Doctor
Cunningham
won’t help on that matter. She says to go with the flow and help out
when I
can. He’s okay and not a danger to anyone.”
“Well, Jeremy, you
look like
you also know those two,” Bud said. He seemed more at ease with the
interruption. It had broken the tension.
“Yes, sir, Carlotta
was there
when I bit Zach,” Jeremy said. He wasn’t looking at anyone. “Wahoo was
the
nurse who treated Zach. Both of them talked to me before the police
took me
away. Carlotta calls me sometimes. She’s nice.”
“Okay, this has
gone on long
enough, and we’ve seen the floor show,” Bud said, “so I think I’ll take
the
rabbit out of the hat and let the boys chew on it. From this day
forward, until
I decide it’s over, you can consider yourself on restriction. Zach can
come to
visit and you can visit him, but in each instance, your visits will be
supervised, which, quite simply means no sex. If you two want to engage
in
phone sex, well that’s fine with me. Paul?”
“Zach, I trust you
to follow
through on this,” Paul said.
“Carlotta, also,
said she’d
be willing to help,” Bud said. Paul looked at him. “I met her at Doctor
Cunningham’s office, or, rather I met Bruce who I know, but it was
Carlotta who
had come for the appointment. She said she can keep you on an even
keel. Is
that right?”
“Yes, sir,” Zach
said. Yeah,
he said to himself, Carlotta can certainly keep me on an even keel. She
was
definitely more responsible than Bruce.
“Any questions?”
Bud asked.
“No, sir,” Jeremy
whispered.
“Sounds fair,” Zach
said.
“Good, by the way,
when is
David’s party?” Bud asked.
“Next Saturday,”
Paul said.
The party was all
set. The
out of town guests were sequestered in their hotels. David was taking
his
medicine as prescribed. The caterer was doing all of those day before
tasks
needed to turn a so-so birthday party into something spectacular, or
that’s
what Zach thought as he lay on his back staring at the ceiling in the
dark
bedroom.
He was going to be
eighteen
on Sunday, but everyone was going to be celebrating David’s birthday
Saturday
night. Who was going to be in the mood to do anything for him on
Sunday? He
wasn’t completely excluding the idea something was afoot, but had
enough doubts
built up to come to the conclusion it would be, at best, a belated
celebration.
Bruce’s body was
next to him,
but further away than usual. The menagerie of Bruce’s mind wasn’t all
that
difficult to deal with as long as he didn’t make a big issue about
Patty coming
on to him in the middle of the night. Once he’d gotten to know Patty,
it wasn’t
so bad because basically Patty was only interested in one thing, making
her
lover hurt. She was a sadist. Zach was just enough of a masochist to
tolerate a
little bit of pain. When the agony went beyond his limit, and he did
have a
limit, he simply told her to stop and, for the time being, she did.
Willy was coming
around more,
too. He’d snuggled up to Zach one night and before they dropped off to
slumberland, Willy slowly stroked Zach’s cock. He didn’t come, but Zach
felt
Willy’s cock jerking against his thigh and the hot splatter of cum
hitting his
leg. He kissed Willy on the forehead and turned on his side to go to
sleep. The
young boy spooned in behind and draped an arm down over his chest.
Patty didn’t
show up that night.
And, then, tonight,
Donny
came out of the dark shadows and asked Zach to check his asshole after
taking a
shit. He said Mommy got mad when he didn’t clean himself properly and
he wanted
to make sure he’d done a good job. Zach could see the boy had used more
than
enough toilet paper, but he still had to bend over and stare at an
asshole he’d
licked more than once.
“Did I do okay?”
Donny asked.
The voice was very young and very worried. This was a boy who’d been on
the
receiving end of more than one spanking and was willing to do anything
to
prevent another occurrence.
“Yes, it’s clean
enough to
kiss,” Zach said.
“Eww! Don’t do
that!” Donny
whispered. “Mommy will get mad if you touch my boo-boo. I’m not
supposed to let
strangers touch my boo-boo or Mister Winky. You’re not going to touch
me, are
you?”
“No, I won’t touch
you,” Zach
said. “I’m going to bed, now. Will you be okay?”
“Uh, huh,” Donny
whispered.
“Mommy says I’m a big boy now and can turn out my own light. Do you
know my
Mommy?”
“No, I haven’t had
the
pleasure.”
“She’ll spank me if
you touch
me. You promise not to touch me?”
“Sure, I won’t
touch you,”
Zach said. He was heading for the bedroom and Donny was following, a
few feet
behind. “Will you tell me your name?”
“Donald Abernathy
Stuart, but
Mommy calls me Donny. I was Brucie’s twin brother, but I died before we
were
born. I was strangled by his cord. That’s what Mommy said. Do you
believe her?”
“I guess she’d
know,” Zach
said. He sat on his side of the bed and waited for Donny to turn out
the light.
He didn’t know how it worked for twins, whether they were in one
amnionic sack
or two. He figured if they were identical they must have been in one,
but he
didn’t know. It was enough to know that’s what Bruce’s mother told him.
“Don’t you wear
anything when
you sleep?” Donny asked from the other side of the bed.
“No, but I can if
you want.”
“I want to wear my
Spidermans’s so Mister Winky doesn’t get cold, but I have to wear
these.” He
held up a pair of blue and green plaid boxers.
“Okay, I’ll put
mine back
on.”
After he was
properly
attired, Zach slipped under the covers and turned out his lamp. He
heard Donny
saying a prayer where everyone, including him, David, and Paul, were
asked to
receive God’s blessing and protection. The other light went out shortly
after
Zach heard the amen.
Zach lay there in
the dark
wondering how it would be to grow up knowing you had a twin and
knowing,
because your mother told you on numerous occasions, that he died
because you
were in the same womb and he wouldn’t have died if you weren’t twins.
It was a
scary thought thinking how much she must hate Bruce for living while
his
brother never had a chance. No wonder he was screwed up in the head.
Sleep was taking
over,
though, and thoughts were fading into dreams. Zach felt a hand on his
arm, but
he didn’t move. Fingers worked their way down toward his hand and
quietly
enveloped it.
“Thank you for
being nice to
Donny,” a voice said. It wasn’t any of the personalities he’d heard.
“He gets
scared sometimes and needs to know it’s okay to talk to strangers.”
“Sure, anytime.”
The last thought to
cross
Zach’s mind was asking who had just spoken to him. He had no idea, but
it was
most likely whoever was holding his hand.
The North Park
College
Sawyers football game with the UPS Loggers
didn’t come down to the wire. It wasn’t even close. It was a record
setting
game, though. The Sawyers total offensive yardage was a meager three
yards. The
quarterback was sacked seventeen times, had every pass intercepted, and
fumbled
six times. It was the worse performance by a Sawyer quarterback in the
history
of the school, but he was all they had.
Zach was in the
stands with Jeremy,
Willy, and Bud. He almost wanted to go down and ask the coach if he
could
tryout for the team, but he was a known queer at school and a jock is a
jock,
even if he was a high IQ jock, which to Zach sounded impossible. He’d
bumped
into a few of the members of the team at the field house or, rather,
they’d
bumped into him and had a few choice, thought provoking, non-PC
comments. He
had every right to report them to the campus PC police, but figured why
should
he have to prove a stupid jock was a stupid jock.
After the game,
after a quick
kiss and grope with Jeremy in the men’s room, Zach and Willy headed
downtown to
help with the preparations for David’s birthday party. Willy, or
whoever, was
to help Paul with the decorations. Zach had the important job, keep
David out
of the condo for four hours. It was to be a surprise party, after all.
“Enjoy the game?”
Zach asked
as he merged onto I-5.
“We were bad,”
Willy said. “The
Loggers lost last night, too.”
“What Loggers?”
Zach asked,
instantly confused.
“Oh, my, I mean,
our high
school, you know, North Park High. Oh, that’s right, you’re not from
around
here. I keep forgetting. You’re not mad are you?”
“Why should I be
mad?”
“They, I mean he
gets mad
when I forget things about us. I’m sorry I upset you.”
“You haven’t upset
me,
Willy,” Zach said. The express lanes were open, which surprised him as
it was
nearly one in the afternoon, but he changed lanes and slipped in just
as the
highway workers were activating the gate. “Whew! That was close. Now we
don’t
have to do the U-dub crawl.”
“What’s that?”
Willy asked.
“All the traffic
from the University of Washington football game getting on the freeway
at the
Ship Canal will stop up
the freeway for miles. I’m surprised you don’t know about that, you are
from
around here.”
“I’m sorry,” Willy
whimpered.
Zach looked over
and saw a
tear dribble down the boy’s cheek. Fuck! He thought. Talk about
forgetting, I
can’t even remember something so simple as Willy always makes mistakes.
Even
when it isn’t a mistake, he gets blamed for it.
“No, I’m sorry, I
forgot you
don’t drive, yet,” Zach said. “Hey, how about an ice cream cone before
we go up
to the condo?”
“I can’t have one,”
Willy
whimpered.
“Why? I know you’re
not
lactose intolerant or diabetic, so why not?”
“I can’t have one,”
Willy
whined. He was close to blubbering. Tears were freely running down his
cheeks.
Zach turned on his
four-ways
and pulled onto the shoulder. He couldn’t be here long because the
highway
truck was only a few miles back, but he had to keep Willy from losing
it. That,
according to Doctor Cunningham, was essential to Bruce’s well-being.
“Hey, come on,
Willy, I
forgot, okay,” Zach said as he rubbed the boy’s neck. He took out his
handkerchief and wiped the tears from Willy’s face. “Come on, buddy,
it’s okay,
please, you know I haven’t known you all that long.”
Willy looked at him
with the
strangest expression. What did I say? Zach asked himself. Whatever is
was it
stopped the crying. The boy’s expression was something between fear and
joy.
“You called me
buddy,” Willy
whispered. “Lance said I was his buddy. He’s our friend.”
“I’m your friend,
right?”
“Yeah, you, too.”
Zach saw the state
truck pull
up behind him. He waved and pulled back out into traffic. Who was
Lance? Zach
asked himself. Was he real? He’d have to ask Carlotta or Bruce, if he
ever came
back. It seemed to be Carlotta, Carlotta pretending to be Bruce, or
Willy now.
Donny showed up for the first time last night; and, the mysterious
stranger
spoke to him. Bruce hadn’t been around for over a week, but one of them
was
going to karate and it wasn’t Carlotta. She didn’t do karate. She was
adamant
about that.
Zach took the Stewart Street exit and turned left on Boren to go up the
hill.
Normally, he would’ve spun around and headed up Denny to the apartment,
but
with having to take David out for whatever, he headed straight for the
condo.
He looked over at Bruce and wondered how it was all going to turn out.
None of
this started until they moved in together, but things seemed to be
settling
down, somewhat, if he didn’t count Patty’s infrequent nighttime
sadistic
visits.
Zach zipped into
the
condominium’s parking garage with the remote David gave him when he
moved in
and headed for the lowest floor where he still had a spot. He glanced
over at
Bruce and saw a change had occurred. Willy was gone and someone else,
soon to
identify him or herself, would help out at the party. Maybe Bruce had
come back
from wherever it was he’d gone.
“Hi, I’m Lance,”
the voice
said, the voice from last night. “You know, we all appreciate what
you’re
doing. We haven’t had many friends, our parents are very religious and
don’t
trust people who don’t belong to their church.”
“Yeah, same here,”
Zach said.
“Where’s Bruce?”
“Ah, Bruce, well
let’s say
he’s tired and needs a rest. Paul knows me, but I’ll try to stay away
from
David as much as possible. I think Paul understands and I hope you
will, too.”
Zach didn’t want to
say
anything that might be construed he was jumping to the wrong
conclusion, but he
didn’t know what else could be said, “Then you’re the dominant one.”
“Me and Carlotta,
yes. You
could say we’re one and the same, except Carlotta wears a dress and I
don’t. You
know, I like the way you kiss.”
Zach hung his head
and
sighed. This was getting to be too much, too confusing. He wondered if
he could
get out of this somehow, but didn’t see any opening.
“Uh, Lance, uh, is
it
possible you guys, and, uh, girls.”
“There aren’t any
girls.
We’re all guys. Carlotta talks about getting the operation, but she
doesn’t
mean it. She likes fucking you too much.”
“Oh, god, I didn’t
need to
know that,” Zach said. “Look, you know I go to Doctor Cunningham, too,
and you
know I have to take pills to keep me from flipping out and you guys are
overwhelming me. I can’t take much more of this, this insanity.”
“Who would you
like?” Lance
asked. “I think we might be able to arrange it among ourselves to
minimize our
interactions with you.”
“I thought I liked
Bruce, but
now I’m not certain it was Bruce.”
“It was Bruce, but
you can’t
have him,” Lance said. The voice was deeper with more authority. “He’s
tired
and needs to rest.”
“So my choices are
basically
you or Carlotta,” Zach said. He got out of the pickup and walked around
to the
other side. Lance got out in one fluid motion as if he’d been to a few
karate
lessons. “You don’t joke around much, do you?”
“No, I have a very
poor sense
of humor,” Lance said. He was close to Zach now, less than an inch of
air
separated them. “Also, I’m not too certain I’m gay. I don’t mind having
sex
with you, fucking you, because I’ve done it a couple times and it feels
real
good, but if you want sex then you’re going to have to be with
Carlotta, Willy,
or, god help us, Patty. I know for a fact both Carlotta and Willy want
you to
fuck them, but I won’t have it. I’m totally, completely, absolutely
against
that happening.”
“I have a
boyfriend,” Zach
said. He might not be having sex with Jeremy, but he was trying to be
true with
him this time around. He certainly wasn’t interested in messing with
the
menagerie, but it was interesting Willy wanted to be fucked. That
wasn’t going
to happen, though. Willy wasn’t a teenager, even though he was in the
body of a
twenty year old.
“Yeah, but you like
our dick
up your ass,” Carlotta said.
Zach stared at her.
“Lance and I are
kind of like
polar opposites,” Carlotta said. “We’re interchangeable. We come and go
in each
other’s presence. You’ll never know which one of us you’re talking to.”
“Like I said, I’m
getting
tired of this,” Zach said. “I don’t know if I can go on being around
you guys
and keeping my own sanity.”
“Okay, okay, we’ll
back off,”
Carlotta said. “But, you know, if Lance wasn’t around, you’d have
fucked us a
long time ago.”
Zach sighed. That
was the
last thing he needed to know.
“Where’re you
taking me?”
David asked as Zach pulled out of the garage and headed east on
University.
“I need a new dark
suit and
was hoping you’d help me pick one out,” Zach said as he turned north on
Broadway.
“Downtown is the
other way,”
David said. “Besides, you should go to my tailor. He can give you
better
quality than off-the-rack.”
“You know I can’t
afford a
tailor,” Zach said as he remembered being measured by Boots Clearfield.
He
wondered if David’s tailor would be so thorough.
“I’ll call him and
set you up
with an appointment next week,” David said. “So, now that that’s
settled, do we
go back to the condo now, or drive around for awhile. I know about the
party.”
“You do?” Zach
asked. He
glanced over at his uncle, but David was looking out the window.
“Paul can’t keep a
secret
this big, someone always slips. How about we go to the zoo? I have been
there
in years.”
“Uncle David? Are
you okay?”
Zach asked.
“No, as a matter of
fact, I’m
not okay,” David said. He turned to Zach and their eyes met for a brief
moment
when Zach glanced over. “It happens to creative people now and then.
You lose
it. I haven’t written a new, original story in two years. I haven’t
written
anything in over a year. The bucket is empty and I haven’t got the
foggiest
idea how to fill it, again. Come on, humor me, take me to the zoo. I’ll
treat
you to a beer, afterwards.”
“I can’t drink
beer,” Zach
said.
“Sure you can, I
know a place
that’s a little lax in checking IDs. It’s a daddy bar down the hill
from us.
Hell, everybody will want to buy you a beer. Kind of makes your ass
tingle,
doesn’t it?”
That was true,
Zach’s ass was
tingling, but he wasn’t about to admit it.
“You know, I’m not
eighteen
until tomorrow,” Zach said.
“That doesn’t seem
to have
mattered up to now,” David said.
“No, you’re right
about that;
and, I’m very sorry if I’ve upset you with my promiscuous behaviors in
the past
few months.”
Silence enveloped
the truck
as Zach drove toward the zoo. They barely spoke for the rest of the
afternoon.
They walked past all the exhibits in silence, Zach following a half
step behind
David. It had been said. I had to be said and it was out there burning
a hole
in their relationship. Zach had been a sleazy slut, a whore, and now he
was
paying for it. He’d lost his uncle’s respect and it was going to take
him a
long time to regain it.
By the time they
finally
walked back to the parking lot it was nearly five o’clock, the
appointed hour for the big surprise.
“I guess we’d
better get back
to the condo,” Zach said as he turned the ignition key.
“Yes, it is almost
time,”
David said. “I hope I look shocked.”
“You’ll do okay,”
Zach said.
He cut down to Aurora, out over the bridge David attempted to jump
from a
month ago, and down to Denny and up Boren. They were in Zach’s parking
spot a
little late, but David didn’t seem too concerned. To Zach, he seemed a
little
too thoughtful. Maybe it was just the depression.
They rode up the
elevator in
silence and stood at the door a moment.
David looked at
Zach and
then, quite unexpectedly, took the boy in his arms and hugged him
tightly
against his body.
“No matter what
happens, I
want you to know I love you very much,” David said. “No, don’t say
anything,
you’re much more than my own son could ever have been. Things will be
okay for
you. I just want you to know that. Well, let’s get it done.”
He let go of Zach
and opened
the door.
It wasn’t
deafening, but it
was loud as everyone on the other side of the door shouted, “Surprise!”