The story below is a work of fiction. It may contain erotic or sexually explicit behavior between males. If you find this work offensive or are too young, please exit now.

The author reserves copyright privileges as of August 2004. This work may not be posted on any other website nor reproduced, except for personal use, without the written permission of the author.

Welcome: I hope you enjoy this continuation of the Ron & Bryan / Ron & Matt series.

If you’d like to comment or just say ‘Hi” my e-mail address is JETjt@aol.com

EMPIRE

Chapter One

Ron and Matt’s home in Las Vegas, three months later.

Ron leaned back in the comfortable chair located in the ‘eagle’s nest’ loft at the top of the palatial home he shared with the love of his life, his handsome and caring partner Matt. The sun had just turned the night into inky blackness as he looked over the city awash in the ocean of streetlights and at the pinnacles of colorful buildings flooded with lighting as a magnet for visitors to the gaming capital of the world.

Knowing that his partner Matt was at a Board meeting at the Thornton Center and would probably not be returning until late, Ron’s mind turned to the events of the past summer. It had been a summer unlike he had ever known. An inner peace brought on by the love shared with his partner and family far exceeded any financial success that they also shared. The troubles of the past year had become history and the summer was one without trauma, but not without excitement.

Ron remembered with satisfaction that the episode with Senator Young had been wrapped up. Orville Haysaker who had tried to murder Ronnie had been sentenced to life in prison and the Senator had not only lost his political office, but also was forced to accept a plea bargain for 10 years in prison with no chance of parole until the sentence was served. The ex-senator’s son Benny, whose rejection was the beginning of the man’s downfall, was happy at the Thornton Center. The young son was showing real aptitude in his leadership ability, having been elected president of the Student Advisory Board at the home for gay boys, even though he was a couple years younger than some of the oldest residents.

Gary Franklin and Jessie Fox had moved to Atlanta, working successfully together running the Atlanta Regional office of Aztec-Turner Security, and also living together happily as partners in their private lives. That office was expanding rapidly with a burgeoning workload as of the countrywide emphasis on security due to 9/11. In fact, the Aztec-Turner operation, led by Tyler, was growing at a rate far beyond either Tyler’s or Ron’s wildest expectations. Ron was delighted that Tyler was at the reins. His brother had a passion for business and his knowledge of the security issues that were of concern to both the public and private segments of the country allowed the company to capitalize on new opportunities that seemed to appear on a daily basis.

The trauma caused by Christine and her brother evaporated with their deaths in the explosion. Ron was eternally thankful that it was over, and that his family could enjoy the summer without the constant uneasiness that had filled the atmosphere while they were alive.

Matt’s takeover of the operation of Turner Trusts after Mr. Peterson’s retirement, while filling Matt with some initial trepidation, had gone smoothly. Ron had stayed close to him during the first weeks until Matt’s natural intelligence had finally convinced Ron’s partner that he was not only sufficiently capable, but was able to add youthful exuberance to the job that Mr. Peterson had lacked. Wise investment strategies had swelled the Trust to over $1 billion and Matt had his hands full, but loved the challenges. The New York operation of the Friendship Trust was now fully funded with Alan and Bryan skillfully making sure that every dollar was spent where it would do the most good.

The Construction Leasing building was the New York home of it’s namesake, but also of Aztec-Turner, the Friendship Trust operation of Alan and Bryan, as well as Turner Brokerage, a new investment arm of the Turner operation. The companies had all grown, not only in size but also profits, turning that building into an important investment for Turner Enterprises.

The wedding of Parker and Mary had gone off without a hitch. They had returned from their honeymoon in Europe with a new spring in their step. It took a week for them to get back in the “groove” that kept the household on such an even keel. No sooner had they returned than preparations for the long awaited trip for Ron, Matt, Tyler and the boys to the Mediterranean began. Ron had to laugh, as Parker and Mary had suddenly become experts on world traveling.

The month spent in Europe was a welcome break from the fast paced activity that their daily lives had become. Ron, who had been to Europe several times, became the “leader” of the tours even though many of the places they visited he had never before seen. He remembered the number of hours spent in the luxurious Owner’s suite of the PT II, reading up on places they would visit as part of their itinerary. Ron was finding out again the truth of the statement, ‘the teacher learns the most.’ Ron also remembered with joy the many hours spent with his lover in that same suite, bare skin to bare skin, expressing their love for one another.

Ronnie and Jerry were in hog heaven. They were constant companions and “glued” to each other as if the world would stop if they were out of sight of one another for more than one minute. Ron laughed again as he thought of the cute young guys, who he and Matt as well as Tyler and Dan, called their sons. Then there was Douglas.

Ron sat up in his chair. ‘I wonder what Douglas is up to now?’ he asked himself. Ron thought about the newest member of the family. The youngster had had a difficult life, one made barely tolerable because of his handicaps. Even with the application of the best medical care available including three surgeries, he could barely walk. The summer had been one of weaving medical care around their trip to Europe, with Douglas confined to a wheelchair or being carried for the entire trip. ‘We’ve been so busy since we returned I wonder if he feels he’s been forgotten?’ He stood up from his chair and looked out over Las Vegas, the city that had produced the newest member of their household. It was a beautiful city, ablaze with lights. Yet a city, like most, that held its seamier secrets…

One floor down, the 15 year-old youth sat in his room in his wheelchair at his computer. He had just finished the entry in his daily journal that Matt had suggested he keep when he revealed that he liked writing. Matt had also introduced him to the stories on Nifty, where amateur gay writers could post their work. He had not yet begun writing one that he was satisfied with, but had great interest in the styles of presentation that different writers used to convey their stories. His couple of attempts to start one had been met with disappointment as he re-read the text of the beginning pages and found them lacking. He decided that if he didn’t like it no one else would either.

He was bored. The older boys, Ronnie and Jerry, had each other and as much as they were nice to him and tried to include him in some of their activities, he knew they also needed their time alone. He knew too that his deformities made it hard for others to invite him along on activities that required physical dexterity or stamina. Wondering if he should check out the Nifty site to see if there were any new postings of the stories he was following, his thoughts were interrupted when his phone rang. It was Ron.

“Hello?”

“Douglas. I’m up in the eagle’s nest and getting a bit bored. Would you like to meet me downstairs in the game room for a round of pool?”

“Sure, I guess,” Douglas answered. “You know I’m not very good.”

“You’ll never get better if you don’t play. Besides, it’s just a game. I’ll meet you there in five minutes.”

“Ok Ron,” Douglas agreed. “Whoever gets there first can rack ‘em up.”

“Right,” Ron concluded.

“Bye,” Douglas said hanging up the phone.

Douglas looked down at his lap and the protrusion that was evident in his shorts. He might be deformed and limited in his activities, but when it came to receiving physical equipment he had been standing in the front of the line.

‘I don’t know why I keep getting a constant woody,’ he thought. ‘Sure hope that thing goes down before I get to the game room and I embarrass myself in front of Ron.’

Moments later, Douglas wheeled into the game room to find Ron racking up the balls.

“Grab a cue stick,” Ron suggested. “You can break.”

Douglas parked his chair near the pool cue rack, stood, grabbed a stick and hobbled to the end of the table away from the racked triangle of balls in the center of the table at the opposite end. Centering the cue he aimed, drew the stick back, and slammed it into the white ball.

The man and young boy began playing and after three games, decided to take a rest.

“Did you let me win that last game?” Douglas asked as they stepped to the bar to get a coke.

“Let’s just say that I got a bit sloppy, and let it go at that,” Ron answered with a smile.

“Yeah, I figured,” Douglas responded knowing that Ron had suddenly lost the precision he had shown in the first two games. Douglas was sure that it was on purpose, and that, in kindness, it was meant to prevent him from being discouraged about his physical limitations.

“You should know that I enjoy hanging out with you,” Ron offered. “It’s not important who wins or loses, it’s being together doing something fun that’s important. Do you want to quit and go back to doing whatever it was that you were doing?”

“Nah,” Douglas answered. “Truthfully, I was kinda bored too. I finished writing in my journal and was thinking about writing a story, but the two times I tried before, I threw my stuff away because I wasn’t satisfied with it.”

The look of a new idea surfacing crossed Ron’s face.

“Do you have any writer friends?” Ron asked.

“Nope. I’ve written to a couple of authors whose stories I enjoy on Nifty. I got nice replies, but I’m sure those guys are too busy to mess with a kid.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure of that,” Ron said. “If you told them you were trying to write too, they might have some advice or words of encouragement.”

“I hate to tell ‘em I’m a writer, when I don’t even like what I’ve written,” Douglas said looking down at his feet.

“Hey! All of them were young once, and all of them started with their first story. It’s like pool, you don’t get better if you don’t work at it and keep trying. I think the secret is to find a subject that you like and know about. It’s hard to make stuff up and make it sound genuine if you haven’t been there.”

“I guess that means I don’t have much to write about,” Douglas responded.

“Writing is more than just places, or things. It’s about feelings and relationships. I’m sure you have those.”

“Yeah, I could write about being lonely, or rejected, I seem to have enough experience with that! ….Uh,….”he stammered, suddenly realizing what he had just said. “Uh, I didn’t mean here,” he quickly added. “I meant before. You and Matt have been wonderful and Ronnie and Jerry have been like brothers to me.”

Ron smiled.

“Were glad you’re here with us as part of our family,” Ron said reassuringly. “You can talk to either Matt or me about anything. We care about you and love you.”

“I know,” Douglas said sheepishly. “I’m sorry if I sounded ungrateful. It’s just that I wish I had a boyfriend, or at least a best buddy to hang with. I know that Ronnie and Jerry try to make me feel welcome, but it’s not the same. With my body, there’s not much of a chance anyway.”

“I do understand,” Ron said sympathetically. “It has to be a bummer to not have anyone to hang with on a Friday night except two ‘older’ guys. Will you excuse me a minute? I need to call Matt. You can rack up the table.”

“I’m just glad you care some for me Ron,” Douglas replied. “I’ll get the table ready for our next game. Take your time talking to Matt.”

Ron stepped out of the game room and into the kitchen, where he picked up a portable phone. Dialing Matt’s cell number, he waited until he heard Matt’s greeting.

“Hi Babe,” he responded to Matt’s greeting.

“Who is this?” Matt asked with a smirk.

“Wait’ll you get home! I’ll ‘who is this’ you!” Ron said laughing.

“I can’t wait!” Matt said blushing. “It won’t be long now. The meeting just let out.”

“That was fast,” Ron observed. “I wanted to talk to you before you came home.”

“What about?” Matt asked.

“Well, it seems that Douglas is lonely. We’ve been shooting pool, but it’s not the same as having someone his own age and interests to be with.”

“What do you have in mind?” Matt probed.

“Well, I was thinking about Eddie Burroughs. He’s about Douglas’s age and is quite a writer. I know that Douglas likes writing, and I thought maybe you could see if Eddie would like to come over and spend the night and tomorrow during the day.”

“It won’t hurt to ask,” Matt agreed. “I’ll go over to his house here at the Center and, if he’s interested, I’ll invite him over. Have you said anything to Douglas?”

“Not yet,” Ron responded. “I thought I’d wait until I talked to you.”

“Good idea,” Matt agreed. “I’ll call you as soon as I’ve talked to Eddie.”

“Thanks Babe. I’ll wait for your call.”

“K. Bye.” Matt pushed ‘end’ on his cell phone and turned toward the house at Thornton that Edgar Rice Burroughs III, called home.”

Ron returned the phone to its cradle and walked back into the game room. The balls were arranged in their triangular shape ready for the break.

“You’re the winner,” Ron declared. “It’s your break.”

Douglas slid off the bar stool he was sitting on and grabbing his cue headed for the table.

“How’s Matt?” he inquired as he lined-up his shot.

“He’s good. He’s finished with his meeting and may be bringing home some company.”

“Oh?” the youth asked as he thrust his cue stick for the break.

Ron waited until Douglas had made his shot before responding.

“Yeah. We have a young friend who lives at Thornton that we have taken a special interest in. It’s been quite a while since we’ve seen him, so I thought it might be nice to invite him over for the night and for tomorrow.”

“He’s young?”

“Yeah. Your age. You don’t have to feel obligated to entertain him, if you don’t hit it off,” Ron offered. “Matt and I, and especially Tyler, are very fond of him. He has a famous grandfather too.”

“Who would that be?” Douglas said after Ron missed his shot.

“Have you ever heard of Edgar Rice Burroughs?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Douglas answered with interest. “Isn’t he the guy who wrote ‘Tarzan’?”

“The same,” Ron answered as he heard the phone ringing in the other room. He rushed to the kitchen and grabbed the portable phone. After exchanging words with Matt, he returned to the game room.

“It’s on,” Ron declared. “They’ll be here in about a half hour or so. Matt is going to stop and pick up a couple of pizzas. He’s getting a ‘supreme’ for us and an anchovy, green pepper and pineapple for you guys.”

“Yuck! I hate anchovies! You guys are trying to kill us off,” Douglas said with disgust.

“Nothing makes for a closer friendship than shared adversity,” Ron said dryly.

“Are you guys trying to set me up?” Douglas asked suspiciously.

“Would we do that?” Ron asked with a feigned look of surprise on his face.

“Yep,” Douglas answered with a grinning blush.

                                    *                      *                      *

35 minutes later

The door to the kitchen from the 8 car garage opened as Matt pressed down on the lever with his free hand while balancing a box that looked and smelled suspiciously like one containing pizza in the other. Matt held the door open after he stepped through, and was followed by a young man carrying two similar boxes.

“Just set the pizza on the counter there Eddie,” Matt said pointing.

The youth slid his boxes across the counter surface and stepped away, then Matt placed his own box beside the others.

“Let’s go find Ron and Douglas,” Matt suggested. “They’re probably in the game room.”

“You have such a neat house,” Eddie said as they moved toward the game room. “It’s been awhile since I came here last. I’d almost forgotten how nice it is.”

“Yeah, Ron has good taste in architecture,” Matt agreed.

“He has good taste in partners too,” Eddie commented with a wink.

“Thanks son,” Matt said with a slight blush.

‘I hope he has as good luck as a matchmaker,’ Matt thought to himself. As they approached the door to the game room, Ron appeared, followed by Douglas.

“There you are!” Ron said smiling. “Hi Eddie! Welcome to our home.”

“Hi Mr. Ron,” Eddie replied hugging Ron.

“Eddie, I’d like you to meet Douglas, the newest member of our family,” Matt said making the introductions. “Douglas, this is Eddie Burroughs.”

“Hi,” Eddie said with a shy smile at his cute but handicapped young host.

“Pleased to meetcha,” Douglas replied to the equally cute guest. He then turned to Matt. “Did I hear Ron right when he said there was pizza commin’?”

“It’s in the kitchen,” Matt replied. “There’s two ‘supremes’ for us and a pepperoni for you guys.”

“Thank goodness!” Douglas exclaimed, giving Ron the ‘evil eye’.

Eddie and Matt looked at each other and Matt shrugged his shoulders indicating that he didn’t know what was going on either.

“Come on, Eddie, let’s eat.” Douglas said. “I don’t know why they got two pizzas and we only get one. Maybe we can have some of theirs, ‘cause I know they’ll never finish two pizzas.”

“Don’t be too sure of that,” a voice said through the opening French door leading to the rear patio.

“Hi Tyler!” Eddie smiled in greeting Ron’s brother, running to give him a hug.

“I guess you guys know each other,” Douglas said dryly.

Ron laughed at the veiled sarcasm, as Tyler returned Eddies hug.

“You remember my partner Dan, right?” Tyler asked as Dan entered behind his lover.

“Sure. Hi Mr. Dan. You’re the lucky guy!” he said turning with a wink at Tyler.

“Hi Eddie,” Dan responded as he gave Eddie a hug. “You are right about that!”

“Where’s the pizza?” Tyler asked. “It’s been two hours since dinner.”

“Follow me,” Eddie replied taking Tyler’s hand and pulling him toward the kitchen.

“I guess Tyler’s fan club has arrived,” Matt commented to Ron as they followed the others into the kitchen.

“Amen to that,” Ron agreed.

Within moments plates had been piled high with pizza and the four men and two boys were settled at the breakfast room table, with the boys chomping down on their pieces like they hadn’t eaten in a week.

“I’m kinda surprised to see you, Eddie,” Tyler commented. “I thought you had gone home.”

“I did go home in June,” Eddie responded after hurriedly swallowing a mouthful of pizza. “My dad and mom got a divorce and it was final at the end of May. When I got home I found that my mom already had a new boyfriend. I spent most of the summer trying to get along with him, but he was almost as big a jerk as my real dad. When my mom told me in August that they were gonna get married, I threw a fit. It didn’t do any good. Mom had made up her mind. I asked ‘em if I could come back to Thornton where I had a real family, and where I was wanted. Frank, my soon-to-be step-dad came at me with murder in his eyes. It was all my mom could do to keep him from hitting me. She saw right away that my coming back to Thornton was for the best. That’s why I’m here. I just got back last week.”

“Well then, welcome back. At least you made it in time for school to start,” Matt commented.

“Yeah, and all my friends and ‘family’ at Thornton were glad I was back too. I’m kinda sorry I missed all the fun over the summer. I can tell you I was bored to death at home. If I hadn’t been writing, I don’t know what I would have done.”

“We’re all glad you’re back,” Ron said smiling. “By the way, Douglas is trying to become a writer too.”

“Oh yeah?” Eddie said with perked up interest. “I’d like to see your work, Doug.”

“Well, I wasn’t too happy with it,” Douglas admitted, “So I threw it out.”

“Too bad,” Eddie responded. “I know how it is though, I threw out my first dozen attempts. I finally wrote something I liked, and then after I had written a couple more stories, I went back and re-read it. I about threw up! I still liked the story, so I spent a lot of time editing it all over. It’s better now, but I almost feel like re-writing it from scratch.”

“How much have you written?” Douglas asked.

“I’ve written three short pieces of just a few chapters and two longer ones, the last of which I’m still writing.”

“What do you do with ‘em?”

“Two of the short ones I’ve posted on Nifty. Nifty is an Internet site for gay writers. The first long one I’m posting a chapter every week. I’m only on the fourth chapter on the second long one.”

“Yeah, I’ve read on the site,” Douglas said.

“I know it too,” Matt added with a knowing look.

Eddie blushed.

Matt caught his young friend’s embarrassment and quickly added with a wink, “There are some fine writers there.”

“I’ll have to check it out,” Tyler said. “How do I find it and what are the names of your stories?”

“Uh, you probably won’t want to read ‘em,” Eddie stammered.

“Why? I’d like to see what you’ve written.”

“Uh… they are about … sex and stuff….” Eddie replied while looking at his shoes.

“My favorite subject!” Tyler said with encouragement. “What are the names of your stories?”

“Well…. There are two short stories on Young Friends. One is called, ‘Eddies Rejection, and the other is called ‘Bad Boy.’ The longer one is in High School, and it’s called, ‘Pencil Dick.’ The one I’m writing now is called, ‘Robbie’s Rump’.”

The older men all laughed at the titles, and Eddie turned a bright red.

“Don’t let them bother you,” Douglas said defensively, “At least you’ve written something and posted it too. I’m reading ‘Pencil Dick’ now and love it. You’re a gifted writer.”

“I’d be a lot better if I had an editor,” Eddie said with some dejection. “It’s so hard to find the errors when you know what it’s supposed to say. You just don’t see the mistakes.”

“I’ll be your editor,” Douglas offered.

“You will Doug?” Eddie said with obvious delight. “I’d love it!”

“Great! Then it’s a deal!” Douglas said raising his hands for a high-five.

Douglas grabbed the box containing his and Eddie’s pizza. “We gotta talk about this. Uh… uh…. Guys, can we go out on the patio where we can talk writing strategy and stuff, privately?”

“Sure,” Matt responded. “I’ll have Parker put Eddie’s things in the guest room next to your room.”

“Uh…. Uh…. Do you think he could stay with me in my room?” Douglas asked with a crimson face.

“Is that all right with you Eddie?” Matt asked.

Eddie nodded with a sly grin.

After seeing agreement in Ron’s facial expression, Matt responded. “Yes, it’s fine, and you’re excused.”

The boy’s jumped up out of their chairs, with Douglas grabbing a cane he used for getting around, then took his drink in his free hand. Eddie grabbed onto the pizza box and his coke, leading the way as the boys quickly exited the room.

“Did I detect a slight rise in those boys’ Levis?” Tyler asked mischievously.

“Heh, heh, heh,” was the only response he received from his brother.

                        *                      *                      *

Meanwhile, at a movie theater four miles away

The movie was over. Jerry and Ronnie released their hands that had been intertwined throughout the feature-length film.

“Man that was great!” Jerry said as he and his brother/boyfriend stood to exit the crowded auditorium.

“Yeah, I really liked it too.” Then Ronnie added, “That Tom Cruise is such a good actor. He’s cute too, …for an older man.”

“Yeah,” Jerry agreed, “It’s kinda funny thinking that he’s older than either Matt or Ron! Of course both Ron and Matt are better looking. I hope they stay that cute when they get to be older like Tom Cruise.”

The boys moved up the aisle with the crowd and turned into the broad hallway leading to the exits from the building. Once outside, the warm fall air reminded them that they were in the desert and that the summer heat still lingered. Walking side-by-side they wound their way toward the small Honda Civic that Ron and Matt had given them to share as their own personal mode of transportation. Crossing the broad drive that separated the theater building from the parking, they strode up the cross drives to where their car was parked far from the building. They chatted about the movie, reliving their favorite scenes and laughing again at the parts that struck them as funny. They were three cars away from their own when two large boys stepped out from between two cars, blocking their path.

“Hiya faggots,” the bigger of the two boys challenged.

“Ignore them,” Jerry whispered.

Ronnie turned to go around the two bigger boys but the boys moved with them, still blocking their path. He stopped, facing the two youths.

“I want you to answer me,” the large one demanded.

Ronnie looked around and saw two girls between the cars from where the boys had appeared. One was grinning at the confrontation while the other had a worried look on her face.

“What do you want?” Ronnie asked in a calm voice.

“How’d you like to suck my big dick?” the bigger one asked with a sneer.

“Don’t think I’d like it,” Ronnie replied. “It probably tastes like pussy!”

The look changed on the face of the girl who was grinning. She yelled, “Kick some butt, Steve.”

“Shut up you cunt,” the bigger one shouted back. “If you gave decent blow jobs, I wouldn’t be out here trying to get some relief from these two sissies.”

“I’d advise you to let us pass,” Ronnie stated with firmness.

“And if I don’t, you little queer?”

“I can only promise that you’ll regret it. We’ve both been taught to avoid a fight if possible, then if it’s unavoidable, not to lose.”

“Come on Steve,” the smaller guy asked. “We’re in enough trouble as it is.”

“Hey Dave, it’s no sweat. My dad’s a cop and you know that it will all be ‘handled’ if we get into trouble.”

“Maybe so,” Dave responded, “but he’s gonna be pissed if you get into another scrape, especially after you’ve been drinkin’.”

“Butt out! If you don’t want to back me up, it’s all right with me. Go back with the girls where you belong.”

“Hey, it’s not that! This is just senseless!” Dave replied.

“Fuck you! Get away! I can handle these two little fudge-packers alone!”

The smaller of the two youths stepped away and went back toward the girls, shaking his head.

“Now! Which of you two is gonna do the deed?” Steve asked in a voice that didn’t bother to veil the threat showing on his face.

“If you’re not going to let us pass, I guess it’s going to be me,” Ronnie said with resignation.

Steve grinned with satisfaction and he began rubbing his basket.

“Come over between these two cars you little cock sucker. You’re gonna love suckin’ my heavy meat and drinking my juice!”

“I didn’t mean that!” Ronnie said with a broad smile. “I meant that I was gonna be the one to kick your ass! Stand back Jerry, I may need some room!”

Jerry took five steps backward as Ronnie’s back bowed and he raised his arms with his palms facing his attacker as Tyler had taught him.

“I’m gonna kill ya, you little shit!” the 200 pound youth said with a sneer at his 160 pound opponent.

“Oxen move slow,” Ronnie answered. “Come and get me if you dare.”

“WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?” a loud voice from behind Ronnie asked. “Ronnie, is that guy bothering you?”

Ronnie glance behind him and saw three large guys he recognized from the Thornton Center standing beside Jerry.

“It’s okay,” Ronnie said. “I can handle this myself.”

“I know you can,” the largest one said. “You kicked my butt when you got your black belt. Okay then, we’ll just stick around for the fun, and make sure you aren’t ganged up on.”

The large guy facing Ronnie heard all of the conversation and began to sweat. The liquor in him was the only thing that was still speaking, as he got ready to attack his younger and lighter opponent. He took a breath and lunged at Ronnie with a wild swing. Ronnie grabbed the arm, turned away from his attacker, pulling the larger boy onto his back, then flipping him over to land with a thud on the pavement. The larger boy gasped at the unexpected impact, then struggled to his feet in a rage. He charged at Ronnie with his arms spread like he was going to tackle him. Ronnie deftly stepped aside, sticking his foot out, tripping the bellowing lummox, who sprawled on the pavement, his hands taking the impact, resulting in hunks of skin being torn off by the abrasion. His hands began to bleed, and the knees of his Levis had been ripped, exposing more blood.

“It’s time to stop!” Ronnie offered.

“Not until I beat you to a pulp, you fucking fag!” Steve raged. He struggled to his feet, holding his bleeding hands together before he again attacked. He raised his arms to pounce on the smaller youth, who surprisingly stepped quickly toward his assailant, planting a solid thrust of his right hand into the solar plexus of the bigger youth. A look of shock befell Steve’s face as his breath was forced out of his mouth and the shock of the blow refused the replacement of the life-giving gas. He stumbled forward as Ronnie quickly stepped aside. Staggering to the nearest car, he sprawled over the trunk lid, gasping for breath. Ronnie grasped him by his belt, pulling him upright.

“You want more?” Ronnie said menacingly.

The youth, still light-headed, shook his head ‘no’.

“Come on Jerry,” Ronnie called. “This guy’s decided to wait for his blowjob.”

Laughter roared from the gay boys who were watching. Jerry stepped forward to join his boyfriend. Ronnie gave him a peck on the cheek to the astonishment of Steve’s friends.

“G’night guys,” Ronnie called with a wave to the Thornton boys. “Good night all,” he said bowing to his attacker and his friends.

                                    *            *            *            *            *