Dating Rules And Pretty Fools – Ch. 17
By Laura S. Fox
Copyright © 2023 Laura S. Fox
All Rights Reserved
Gay Erotica
Intended for Mature Audiences Only
This story will contain graphic depictions of sexual intercourse, strong
language and it is not meant for readers who are less than 18 years of age.
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Chapter Seventeen – Blurred
Lines
Grime and sweat. Under
other circumstances, Hudson would've understood the appeal. As one of the young
models wrapped his arms around a large rusty vertical pipe and looked at him,
only his eyes visible over his shoulder, the rest of his face concealed, Hudson
adjusted the lens on his camera, focusing on the erotic aspect of the display.
The young man's penis was hidden from view, so that the enticing curve of his
behind along with the keen look in his eyes were the focus of the picture. Those
were all his artistic inputs, and so far, they had been acceptable to Watkins
who, no matter what Jackie believed, wasn't the big boss. The evil mastermind
behind it all was the mysterious man with a metallic voice that Jasper had
overheard that time. According to his research, Hudson thought the man must
have undergone a total laryngectomy surgical intervention and now talked only by
means of an electrolarynx. The only good thing he
could surmise was that he would be able to identify the man easily if they ever
met.
And he hoped that they
would meet only so that he could put him behind bars forever. That is unless he
felt too tempted to wrap his hands around the man's throat and make sure he'd
never talk or breathe again. Such dark thoughts veiled his mind as he continued
to snap picture after picture.
"What are you doing?" One
of the models had crawled on his hands and knees so that his head was now
disappearing into the mouth of the large hearth at the base of the blast
furnace.
The guy pulled his head
out and stared at him. "The boss said that we need to show some initiative.
That you're way too vanilla for the hardcore stuff."
Hudson balanced the
camera in his hand. "You don't say," he said dryly. "And what's that supposed
to mean? Do you think you're sexy if only your butt is sticking out of there?"
The young man glared at
him, annoyed at being called out for his lack of imagination. "The boss said
that he'd like to see some headless shots."
Hudson turned on his heel
and put his camera back in his case. "I think we're done here," he said
snappily.
That seemed to send the
would-be model into a different state than earlier. "Come on, man," he whined,
"I didn't mean anything by it. It's just that he said everything I just told
you, and I'm on trial, so I don't know if I'll make it to the final selection
and stuff."
For his sake, it would be
good if he didn't make it to the final selection. However, Hudson couldn't risk
another Jasper incident, not right now. The chances were that Watkins's long
arm would be able to reach these boys no matter how far they ran. The only way
to ensure all these guys' safety was by cutting that long arm off, figuratively
speaking.
"Looking to stand out?"
he asked the young man.
The other nodded eagerly.
"You and him," he said
and pointed to another guy. "Sixty-nine. Now."
If Watkins wanted
headless shots, he needed to be a man – an evil one – about it and tell it to
his face.
***
Jackie was picking
something from under his fingernails and seemed engrossed in this grooming
activity. He raised his eyes and stared at Hudson. "Did you say something,
man?"
"We're done here. Ready
to roll?"
"Yeah." Jackie looked at
the group of young men, who were now engaged in various stages of different sex
acts.
Apparently, Hudson
thought with wry humor, he did have something of a pornographic artist in him.
By stimulating the models at hand to ensure that the pictures he took were as
erotic as possible, it appeared that he had managed to stimulate other bits of
them in the process, too. He could bet an arm and a leg that Watkins wouldn't
be too pleased with his shots, but the asshole needed to show his hand even if
it meant that he'd have to guide Hudson through it like he had only half a
brain.
"Damn, I think I need to
get out of here before I do something I regret," Jackie said and grabbed his
crotch with a hiss.
"If you want to get
freaky, you can stay," Hudson suggested.
"Nah, I mean, I thought
about it, and no way."
The change in attitude
surprised Hudson. "Why?"
Jackie winced. "Look at
you, man. You have a boyfriend. I bet it's not because you like to fool around.
And I need to be a guy with standards now. For Otis."
"What about those itches
in your britches?" Hudson reminded him.
Jackie sighed. "I guess I
can settle for my own hand for a while. I bet that guy's a blast in bed. The
quiet ones always are. But they're so hard to catch. So, let's roll." He made
quick work of calling the guys in charge of chauffeuring the models around.
Hudson touched the bottom
of his case, pretending that a few of the things he had stashed in there
haphazardly didn't fit properly, but Jackie didn't throw one strange look in
his direction, his eyes gliding over his moves without registering anything.
Watkins had sent his
gorillas to do his dirty work. Jackie couldn't have been on the team to search
his apartment the night before. That was good to know. However, the way Jackie
continued to yap his mouth about Otis was getting on his nerves, and he needed
to control himself for the sake of the investigation. One way or another, there
was a high probability that Jackie would find out about him and Otis, and
managing the shitshow that would surely go down as soon as that happened was
not something he looked forward to.
"Is this Otis of yours
single?" he asked as they made their way back to the car, leaving the others
behind.
"Yeah, he's single. What
kind of question is that?" Jackie bristled as if he had just been poked with a
sharp instrument.
"A guy as awesome as he is,"
Hudson continued, "there's no way others haven't seen him, too."
"I saw him first," Jackie
said, petulant like a child.
"Just saying, man. I
mean, prepare for disappointment, and it won't hurt that much."
Jackie stared at him over
the roof of the car just before climbing inside. "You know what, Vegas? You can
really be an asshole when you want to be. No, Otis is single. I asked him out.
He keeps saying he can't date `cause
he has like online classes or some stuff like that and he's busy in the evenings."
"Maybe he can't date
because he has a guy he's seeing," Hudson said with a thin smile. Why was he
enjoying seeing Jackie squirm so much? It wasn't like him to be a sadist. That
part about getting a hold of himself was turning truer and truer. He'd have to
start on it and preferably, as soon as possible.
"He's not seeing anyone,"
Jackie mumbled morosely and got into the car, making sure to slam the door on
his side loud enough to make a point.
***
"Do you think I could
make this using a crockpot?" Otis asked, pointing at an item on their menu.
Since their manager allowed them to have some of the food made in the kitchen,
he knew that dish to be very good. Sure, he could take some of it home and
serve it to his neighbor, but he had made a promise to cook, and that he had to
do.
Missy shrugged. "I have
no idea. Do you have a crockpot?"
"Yes, a small one. It's energy efficient and came with non-stick coating," he
explained.
"I've heard that you can
make basically everything in one of those. Ask the cook for some tips, and there
you go." Missy smiled broadly and nudged Otis in the ribs playfully. "Don't
tell me you want to put some meat on those bones for the sake of your temporary
boyfriend."
A remark like that would
have hurt him in the past because it reminded him that he was skinny and
therefore, not very appealing for men who wanted to have sex with him. If they
wanted that in the first place. However, he had two reasons why his thoughts
didn't immediately take him there. One, Missy was his friend, and she would
never hurt him, not on purpose at least, and two, Hudson already wanted to have
sex with him and didn't appear bothered by his skinny self at all.
"No, that is not my
purpose. But I promised my boyfriend," he said and giggled, because it sounded
so funny to say words like that, "that I would cook for him."
"Wow, you're looking to
get married," Missy teased him, and her eyes laughed along with her mouth. "And
you're coming to me for advice when it's clear as day that you don't need no
help."
That made him very happy.
It meant that he was on the right path to make Hudson see that he was
indispensable. The temporary position would soon turn into a permanent one, no
question about it. Well, he did have questions, but that was how that
expression went, and he liked it.
***
"Jackie's here. Do you
want to take his order?" Missy asked. "Be careful when you tell him you got
yourself a boyfriend."
"Careful in what way?"
Otis asked, filled with curiosity. He was always as careful as he could
possibly be, especially around other people.
"You're going to break
his heart," Missy explained and caressed his cheek briefly.
"I don't want to do
that," Otis replied. The idea of breaking plates horrified him enough; breaking
people's hearts would be too much for him to bear.
"You know, at first, I
thought he only wanted to get into your pants," Missy said with a pensive look
on her face. "I mean, he's a bit of a city slicker, with that attitude,
flaunting his money and everything. But no one is this persistent when he's
told `no' over and over again. He really likes you."
Otis felt his chest
squeezing in on itself briefly. How was he supposed to get through such a
thing? Never before had he thought about needing to learn how to... what? Reject
someone? The concept was completely alien to him. He had only thought of
learning about how to handle rejection from various self-help books that hadn't
proven very helpful in the end. Could he recommend one of those to Jackie, seeing
that he was bound to make a mistake when handling this situation, based on his
lack of knowledge? But those weren't very good recommendations, now that he
thought about it properly.
"Hey, where did you go?"
Missy asked, staring at him and looking a bit concerned.
"Do you think that
recommending a good self-help book to Jackie on how to handle rejection would help?"
Missy laughed and shook
her head. "Let's not go that far. I don't think he's going to need therapy over
such a thing. And I bet that it wouldn't be the first time in his life he has
gotten told that. Still, since I've seen that he isn't such a bad guy, let's
figure out a way to get him to understand that you still like him, only not as
boyfriend material. What do you say?"
He wasn't very sure he did
like Jackie. He didn't dislike him, and in terms of like, he could only think
of Hudson as a man he liked very much. He liked Missy as a friend, but Jackie
had put it out there that he had an interest in him, and now that he thought
about it, that thing had acted as an obstacle in the way of their becoming
friends.
"I think I know, Missy. I
will tell him that I would like him as a friend."
"That's always a good
idea, but you know that, when people say things like `let's stay friends', they
usually don't mean it."
"That's a dishonest thing
to say then. But it wouldn't be in my case. I will tell him the truth."
"Oh, you really mean it,"
Missy said. "It shouldn't be that big of a surprise with you. You are honest to
a fault. Then, that is what you should tell him. The truth. And if he doesn't
like it, that's too bad, but that's life." She shrugged, although she still
seemed to be a bit concerned.
Otis felt compelled to
ask. "Do you pity Jackie? Because I have to tell him about my boyfriend?"
"A little, maybe. But
it's so easy for him, with those big eyes that look at you like a kicked puppy.
And I bet that act has worked for him countless times. He's going to try it
with you." Missy wagged a finger at him, to get his attention. She already grasped
the situation fully. "There is one thing you should leave out, however."
"What is that?"
"Don't tell him that your
neighbor is your temporary boyfriend."
"But I don't intend to
lie to him."
Missy waved impatiently.
"Just leave the word `temporary' out. It's only going to make him think that he
still has a chance with you, and that would be cruel on your part. Also, with
your techniques, that sexy bad boy will be yours forever."
Forever. What a nice
thought. Otis smiled as his chest expanded again to its normal size.
"Now go and get the menu
to him. I've noticed that he eats everything. Not a fussy boy, and also, he
really does come here for the food."
Otis nodded and took the
menu Missy offered to him. What a strange and upsetting feeling, to be the
person to refuse someone else. Life was, indeed, full of surprises, and not all
of them were pleasant. But that was how life was, his grandma had used to say.
Not all bad, not all good. But you could choose which moments mattered the
most.
***
As soon as he saw him,
Jackie's face lit up with a big smile. "Hey, Otis," he said and winked at him.
"You sure took your sweet time. I thought you were going to leave me here to
starve."
"I am terribly sorry. I
was talking to Missy," Otis said cautiously.
"It's all right," Jackie
said and opened his arms wide while leaning back into his chair. "It's all
forgiven, as long as you give me some sugar."
"What kind of dessert
would you like tonight?" Otis asked dutifully.
"You." Jackie wiggled his
eyebrows and grinned. Sure enough, he was an attractive young man, but Otis
didn't see himself as being anything more to him more than a friend. And that
he truly wanted. How many times hadn't grandma told him to go out and make some
friends? But he had been so busy taking care of her during her last years, and
also there were no people where they lived that wanted to be friends with him.
"Let's be friends," he
blurted out.
Jackie gave him a
disoriented look. "But we are already friends, Otis."
"We are?" When had that
happened? How did people become friends, to begin with? With Missy, he had been
surer when she had made it clear to him, but now, with Jackie, he felt as if
the lines were blurred. That was another expression he was intrigued by; it
served to show that a situation was confusing or not very well established.
While he preferred it when things were one way or another, sometimes lines
were, indeed, blurred. And that included the invisible lines people traced
between them.
"Yeah, totally," Jackie
replied, obviously unaware of the mental analysis he was trying to run while
having this conversation at the same time.
"Then that is great," he
said.
Jackie leaned over the
table, pushing aside the empty bread plate in front of him. He stared at Otis
from below, and he did look like a puppy. The thought immediately took him to
the muzzles and leashes hanging on Hudson's wall. It also made him blush.
"You're getting red in
the face," Jackie pointed out and grinned. "That means that you know what
follows. Ah, damn, I have such a good feeling about this."
"Nothing follows," Otis
replied, confused by Jackie's words. "What should follow?"
Jackie bit his bottom lip
and closed his eyes lazily. "Now follows the moment when I ask you, as officially
as possible, that we add a little something to that friend thing."
"What?" Otis asked, eager
to learn more about human interactions and their many mysteries.
"The word boy," Jackie
said. "Ah damn, that sounded lame, right? Let's be more than friends, Otis.
Let's be boyfriends."
He should have seen that
coming, Missy would surely say. Everything she had told him was true. Jackie
was interested in him that way, and it was more than just sexual interest. Now,
he understood why Missy told him that letting Jackie down would hurt the young
man. Because, if he thought about it, if Hudson decided that they shouldn't be
boyfriends anymore, he would hurt just as much, if not more. Definitely more.
Therefore, it was with a
heavy heart that he eventually said, "I can't. I'm very sorry, Jackie, but I
can't."
"What?" Jackie drawled
the word, his smile never showing any signs of fading. "Why? Don't tell me it's
because of those evening classes."
Otis knew exactly what
Jackie was talking about. His lie about having to study online when he actually
meant the dating advice he had hoped to get from Hudson. But, in a way, it
wouldn't be that much of a lie to admit that it was so.
He looked briefly in
Missy's direction. She was serving a nearby table, and the look she gave him
assured him that he needed to be brave and rip the band-aid, like grandma
always said. "I have a boyfriend," he said in a heartbeat.
"No, you don't," Jackie
said with a snort. "Don't tell me Missy put it into your head that you should
stay away from me because I'm some bad boy."
According to Missy,
Hudson looked more like a bad boy than Jackie. He wore tight t-shirts that
showed off his muscles and jeans, and he had gun tattoos and even that cute
thing on his... Otis had to stop himself from making a mental inventory of all
the body art inked into Hudson's skin. They were made of the same sweet stuff
as pleasant dreams, and now he was at work and not supposed to daydream about
tracing his fingers over those painted guns pointing at his neighbor's, no,
boyfriend's intimate parts.
"You're not a bad boy,"
he said with conviction.
"Don't tell me that's why
you keep saying no. Ah, you're such a firecracker underneath that starched shirt,
aren't you?" Jackie continued to smile, still oblivious to the fact that Otis
was speaking the truth.
"I do have a boyfriend,"
Otis insisted. "His name is Hudson, and he has many tattoos."
He must have said the
last few words louder than his normal voice, because a few patrons turned their
heads to look at them. That wouldn't do. This was a place where people came to
eat and enjoy a pleasant calm atmosphere along with their food.
"He is my neighbor," he
explained in a lower voice. "I cannot be your boyfriend, too."
Jackie appeared to
finally understand that Otis was telling him the truth. "I'll be damned.
Hudson, huh?"
"Like the river," Otis
pointed out. "Just as mine is like the elevator."
Jackie was working his
jaw and he really did look upset. Missy had been right, of course, and now Otis
had an unwanted place in the first row of seats for witnessing Jackie's hurt at
his words. And he still didn't know what to do to make it better.
"Ah, well," Jackie said
with a snort. "I guess I let you slip through my fingers. My bad."
"What can I bring you?
Have you made up your mind?"
Jackie shook his head. "I
guess I'm just not hungry anymore. See you around, Otis."
He stood up so abruptly
that Otis had to sidestep quickly to get out of the way. And this was how they
lost a patron, one who came there often and ordered the most expensive things
on the menu. Their manager would be upset if he knew that Otis had caused that
to happen. But it was more than that. Again, Otis felt that he came up short
when dealing with other people was involved.
Was he ever going to
learn how to be normal like everyone else?
***
Changing the locks had
been at the top of the list of priorities once he got home, but that was barely
a guarantee that would be the only time his space was invaded by Watkins's men.
He didn't see the asshole himself getting down and dirty like that, but his
gorillas weren't any better. No, definitely not a guarantee, but recent events
were surely a reminder that this case was dangerous.
The soft knock on the
door pulled him out of his dark musings. At least his laptop seemed to have
resisted any attack. Not that they could find anything. Hudson followed a very
strict protocol with regard to wiping his browsing history and not only that.
Except for people on the force, and even among them only a few knew how to
access the kind of information he was searching for with that seemingly
ordinary device.
With a last look around
the room, he walked toward the door. A look through the peephole assured him
that there was nothing for him to worry about. Quite the opposite. In front of
his door patiently stood the only reason why the fucked up situation he was in
right now was bearable.
"Hey, cutie," he said as
soon as he opened the door, "what's up?"
He leaned against the
door, not wanting Otis to step inside a place where people with bad intentions
had been less than twenty-four hours ago.
"Hi Hudson. I know a new
recipe for stew, and I will use the slow cooker tomorrow to make it. Do you
think you would like to eat stew tomorrow? It's a vegetable stew, but it is
very good. The cook at the restaurant where I work swears by it."
Otis's speech indicated
that the young man was his usual self, but his eyes told a different story. He
looked down, not that a thing like that made him look any less pretty.
"Hey, what's the matter?"
he asked gently. "Rough day?" He raised one hand and caressed Otis's cheek,
lingering along the jawline and touching his lips briefly with his thumb.
"I had to let someone
down," Otis explained.
"It happens," Hudson
said. "We can't please everyone all the time."
Otis pursed his lips for
a moment, but he didn't volunteer more information on the matter. "Can I come
in?"
"How about we go to your
place? It's a lot more comfortable. Just let me grab my laptop."
"Don't forget your gun,"
Otis said dutifully. "It's best to keep it close to you, because you're the one
qualified to use it."
He wouldn't part with his
gun in his sleep, given recent events. But, of course, in Otis's bed, he could
relax for a bit and put his gun away, too. However, as always, Otis's logic
made him smile.
"Can you also bring,"
Otis whispered and leaned forward, "one of those things?"
Hudson grinned. "Do you
want me to put you on a leash?"
Otis blushed but nodded
eagerly, without looking at him.
"Of course. Just give me
a moment."
In less than two minutes,
he was out of the place that now gave him the creeps. He wrapped one arm around
Otis's shoulders as they walked down the corridor together.
"Hudson, what do you think
of blurred lines?"
The innocent eyes were
full of questions, and Hudson felt that the question was a lot more pointed
than Otis had intended to make it.
"I'd say," he replied,
"that you can't really make a living as a human being without having to deal
with them from time to time. What do you think?" Otis's way of thinking, of
seeing the world, was a breath of sweet air for him. It reminded him that there
were still many good people left in the world.
"I think that it takes
courage to cross them," Otis replied. "Just because things are not one way or
another doesn't make them all good or all bad."
"That's deep, my friend,"
Hudson teased him and kissed him on the temple, as they waited for Otis to open
his door.
"Am I only your friend?"
The unconcealed blue eye stared at him, looking so startled that Hudson
couldn't help thinking that he must have said something wrong.
"No, not only, and you
know it. But the fact that you're my boyfriend now doesn't preclude the fact
that you're also my friend."
A friend who probably
saved his skin just the other night, just by being himself, innocent and
untainted by the outside world.
***
There had to be so many
things that boyfriends did together, but he wasn't very knowledgeable of many.
The internet was not particularly helpful when it came to explaining what two
people who didn't know each other that well did to fill up all the moments
spent together. He didn't have enough money to invite Hudson to travel
together, and although he had told Missy that he wanted to try wall-climbing,
he had let that idea die on the vine.
Also, they were limited
by the fact that they only had this small apartment at their disposal, and
their time together was very short. He had to work, and so did Hudson; Otis
couldn't understand how people had enough time on their hands to go on
vacations and whatnot, only to get to know each other better.
But, according to other
sources readily available online, they could spend some quality time together
as boyfriends even if they didn't go out. If going out included only things like
going to noisy places like clubs, Otis couldn't see how people could learn a
lot of things about each other. At most, they could learn how to match their
dance moves, and that didn't seem particularly important to building a
relationship.
Why was he getting
himself so worked up over such things? After all, he had Hudson here, and he
was an expert. Otis wondered briefly if it were a good idea to ask him what to
do about Jackie, but then he remembered that Hudson didn't like Jackie,
although he didn't know why.
But if Hudson knew
Jackie, why didn't Jackie know Hudson?
"A penny for your
thoughts," Hudson said and pushed his hair away from his hidden eye, as he usually
did when they were alone. "Did you change your mind about the leash? I'm good
either way, just so you know. Between the two of us, you're the kinky one, in
case you were wondering."
That was funny. Otis
snickered, because that implied that he was a lot more experienced than Hudson,
and that was ridiculous. Some of the heaviness on his chest, experienced ever
since Jackie had left the restaurant tonight, his shoulders hunched, hands in
his pockets, dragging his feet, lifted.
"It's good to see you
smile. You should do it all of the time."
"I smile when I wait tables
at the restaurant, but I don't think that I can do it all of the time," he
argued.
"Smile when you're with
me. That should cover it." Hudson leaned toward him and Otis understood right
away.
That was one thing
boyfriends could do when alone with each other. They could kiss a lot, and he
didn't dislike the idea at all. He angled his head and met Hudson halfway.
Soon, a hand was in his hair, and an arm was around his waist. They were in the
hallway, so Otis managed to sneak a peek at the way they looked.
They looked good, like in
the movies. Hudson was such a handsome man, he could play in blockbusters and
even romantic dramas. But that would mean sharing him with everyone who would
look at those motion pictures, because, without a doubt, a lot of women and men
as well would dream of being trapped by those strong tattooed arms and kissed
like that.
Possessiveness was not
like him. Asking for permission was like him. And yet, at this very moment, he
decided that he would do things differently. So, he chose to forgo asking for
any kind of permission and opted for being possessive of his boyfriend for a
change. He wrapped his arms tightly around Hudson and pulled him toward the
bed.
There, a lot of things
could happen, things that made two boyfriends very happy. They weren't talking,
that was true, but they could do that in the morning, over breakfast, or later,
when he would ask Hudson to taste his stew.
Suddenly, he no longer felt
so unsure. Even if he didn't know a lot about what boyfriends did together, he
would learn. And because he had Hudson by his side to guide him every step of
the way, he would be just fine.
Those were beautiful
thoughts for the future. Otis didn't use to have many of them, and that
realization made them all the more precious.
That was the last thing
he allowed his brain to dwell on. Hudson was doing wonderful things to his
mouth, using his tongue a lot, and he needed to start paying attention. After
all, one of his goals was to be so good a student that, maybe, one day, he
would be able to surpass his teacher.
And that, again, was
another beautiful thought to have tonight.
TBC
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