Date: Sun, 5 Apr 2020 21:19:36 -0700 From: Joe Ballard Subject: In the Blink of an Eye, chapter 9 Chapter 9 It has been two weeks. Two weeks of meeting Sven to workout in the mornings and meeting Drago in the sauna afterward. Two Fridays of worship group practice and then meeting Guy and having the youth pastor suck me off. Landry and I went to a party one Saturday night and Aiden took me to one the next Saturday. Landry and I kissed again...and I kissed Aiden, too. Both were quick and kind of awkward but I can't wait for the next time I'm alone with either one of them. I've played with worship group for three Sundays now and my parents seemed happier with me than they have in years. Apparently the whole church/cult is working out well for them and having a son playing well in the church band was helpful, too. Today Sven did my measurements again. I've gained four pounds and am finally back up to 120. I've gained pure muscle, too, and it is starting to show. I'd gotten so skinny before that my abs really pop now and my arms show definite improvement. I like playing shirtless in front of the mirror in my room and watching my muscles move. On Thursday, after I sucked off Drago and he jerked me to completion in the shower, I played guitar until Aiden picked me up for band practice. We stopped at a park along the way and made out for about fifteen minutes. Jamie and James were already suspicious of us, so we had to get going before we got too far along. We laughed and flirted, though, and when we play our interactions are definitely sexually charged. After we got to Jamie's house, we dove into our new playlist. We have a show scheduled at some over-21 club in Commerce City on Saturday night. We are excited to play but the venue is pretty much a shithole. We need as much experience as we can get, though, so shithole or not, we are going to play. It is my first gig where booze will be served. Aiden and I are playing quite a bit of grab-ass today. I am still charged from my earlier activities with Drago, and Aiden is really turning me on. We played Reign, the song we sing together, and we leaned against one another's sweaty backs as we belted out the song. At the end of the song, someone started slow-clapping. It was Lenny. "Wow, sounds good guys," he said sarcastically. He looked high, but not happy high or even lazy high. He looked pissed off. "Hey Lenny," Aiden said in a bored voice. I stood there drinking water and watched Lenny cautiously. "Hey Aiden," Lenny mocked Aiden. He seemed ready for a fight. "So what's up, Lenny?" Jamie asked nervously. Everyone noticed how on edge Lenny was. "What's up, Lenny," Lenny mocked Jamie now. "Just checking out your new guitarist," he said after walking closer and standing next to me. He looked me up and down and sneered. "Nice Gibson, you poser," he said. "Who do you think you are? Slash?" he said snickering. No one else laughed. "Naw, man. I just like how it sounds," I replied. Why is it that people think I'm trying to be Slash because I rock a Gibson? Lots of guys play Gibsons. "Yeah, because you are a fag for Slash," Lenny said. I wanted to smack that fucking smirk off his face, but I knew that he was trying to get a reaction out of me. I couldn't help but instigate him a little, though. "Well, you know, Tom Morello plays a Fender very similar to the one you play. Maybe you're fagging out a little on him?" I said, turning to put my guitar on its stand by the drum kit. "Fuck you. I'm not a fag," he said. I glanced at Aiden who had a hurt expression on his face. I want to say something about how fucking Aiden's tight hole probably made him at least a little bit of a fag, but I don't want to hurt Aiden's feelings any more than they are already. Aiden told me that he regretted letting Lenny fuck him, now I can see why. "I guess that we've established that playing a certain kind of guitar doesn't make us fags then, haven't we," I commented. Lenny snorted and turned to Aiden. "Hey, I wanna talk. Let's go for a drive," he said, his tone suddenly much nicer. Huh. My guess is that he wants either a blow job or to fuck. I really hope Aiden doesn't go with him, but I can see that Aiden is torn. I believe that Aiden has stronger feelings for Lenny than he's let on and when Lenny didn't reciprocate, it really messed Aiden up. "No man, we're still practicing. We've got a gig at the Star in Commerce City this weekend," he said. I winced when he said it. I don't want Lenny showing up at our gig. I guess it isn't exactly a secret, but it feels like Aiden is inviting Lenny. Maybe I am stupid getting in between these two. They obviously have something to work through. "Wow, really rockin' the elite clubs these days, huh, Aiden?" Lenny sneered at Aiden. "C'mon, Lenny, we need to get back on it," James suddenly piped up from behind his drum kit. "Yeah, man, you should head out. We can get a beer sometime," Jamie added. Lenny laughed. "Oh yeah. I really want to get a beer with you faggots," he said. He grabbed one of James' drumsticks and crashed it against a cymbal. "Look Lenny, we really need to practice. Why don't you text me later and we'll talk then," Aiden said with a sigh. The way he said it made it sound like they would hook up later. I felt a twinge of jealousy shoot though my body. Why would Aiden hook up with this guy after all he'd put him through? And what about us? We were making out like an hour ago. "Yeah, we'll hook up later," Lenny said, walking up to Aiden and grabbing the back of his neck. He leaned in and planted a kiss on Aiden's mouth. Aiden didn't respond, he stood motionless until Lenny let go. "I guess you don't want to fuck around in front of your new boyfriend," he said before he walked out of the garage. He laughed again and headed out to his car. He drove up over the grass in the front yard and then took off down the street. "God, I hate that guy," Jamie said under his breath. Aiden turned and went inside the house. I went to follow him, but James grabbed my arm and shook his head `no'. "What the fuck is that guy's deal?" I asked. "He's pissed off about the band and Aiden and probably about life in general," Jamie said. "Yeah, that and he's high as a fucking kite," James added. They both nodded their heads. "He was all over the place. First he says he's not a fag, then he's trying to kiss Aiden..." I trailed off thoroughly confused by what just went down. "That's Lenny. One minute he's cool and everyone's having a good time and the next, boom! He's angry and violent. I thought Aiden was done with that, but now I'm not so sure," James said sadly. He turned to me suddenly. "Shit man, I'm sorry," he said. "For what dude? Aiden and I aren't together," I said, although I definitely felt jealous while Lenny was here. "It's just, I mean, well, it seems like you and Aiden are, uh, I don't know, hooking up and everything..." James said looking at Jamie pleading with his eyes for help. "Oh, yeah, we're not hooking up," I said. And we aren't. Yet, I guess. I hope we do. But I've also got something going with Drago and there's Landry. "Sup guys," Aiden said as he came back into the garage. His eyes were red like he'd been crying. He is without a doubt not over Lenny. "Sup," I said and we fist bumped. "How about we wrap things up and we can get out of here?" I offered. He looked up at me gratefully. "Sounds like a plan," he said and we all started putting away our gear. No one talked much. Aiden and I took off at 5, earlier than usual. He pulled into the park we'd stopped at earlier. I unbuckled my seat belt and leaned back in my seat so that I could look at him. Suddenly, he was all over me. His mouth pressed against mine with an urgency I hadn't felt from him before. He kissed me hard and shoved his tongue in my mouth. I started kissing him back with equal fervor. He ran his hands up and down my chest and then started rubbing against my cock through my jeans. I was hard in an instant. It felt so good as he stroked my cock through the rough material. He unzipped my jeans and pulled my cock out though the hole in my boxer briefs. He stroked my cock up and down, using the precum leaking from the top as lube. He was like a man possessed. He pulled away from our kiss and started to go down on me. He took my cock in his mouth all at once. He pushed his mouth down so hard and fast that he made himself gag. My eyes flew open. This isn't right. Nothing about this feels right. He is doing this because of Lenny. And as good as it felt to have his mouth on my cock, I gently pulled his head back. "Dude, you don't have to do this," I said softly. Part of my brain screamed at me to shut the fuck up and let him suck me off. But I know that he is hurting and I can't take advantage. Stupid goody-two-shoes part of my brain. "It's okay, Alvin, I want to," he said, struggling against my hold and trying to get my cock back in his mouth. Fuck! It's like he wants me to use him, or something. I pulled him back again just as he reached out with his tongue and started licking the tip of my cock. My dick wasn't going to take much more of this start and stop. "I want to, too, but not here, not now. We can wait until it's right," I said. I don't know when that will be, but my brain is starting to get fuzzy from all of this stimulation. I'm not thinking too well right now. Aiden had a hurt expression as he threw himself back into the driver's seat. "Fine, whatever. I just wanted to make you happy," he said sullenly. I reached over and rubbed his arm. "You do make me happy. You don't have to go down on me to make me happier," I said. My cock was like, `what'? It disagreed with my sentiment mightily, but I put Little Alvin away, promising him I would take care of his needs later. I tucked him up into my waistband and tried to ignore how much my balls hurt. "Why is he such an asshole?" Aiden said after a few minutes. "He's hurting, I guess. Plus, the drugs are fucking with his mind," I said. "He's so lame." "Was this the first time you've seen him since he, uh, left the band?" I was going to say, `since you kicked him out,' but I didn't want to remind Aiden. "Yeah. I knew it would suck, but he was so, so, erratic," Aiden said. "That's the drugs, I think," I replied. He nodded his head. "Were you in love with him?" I asked, not really sure I wanted to know the answer. "I don't know. He used to be so much fun. And he was really good at guitar. Then he started smoking meth. And doing other drugs. He made new friends and stopped hanging around. I thought he would come back and it would go back to how it used to be if, you know, if we fucked," Aiden said, deep in thought. I could feel his pain. He'd obviously cared more for Lenny than he'd let on and it sounded like Lenny used him. I am realizing that Lenny is a real piece of work. "That didn't work, though?" I asked. "No. Well, at first he was around more. He seemed to be interested in the band again. That scout from LA contacted him. It seemed like we were back on track and that things were getting better. But then he couldn't play or wouldn't play unless he was high. And he couldn't get it up, ya know?" Aiden gave me a knowing look. I nodded. This story keeps getting more fucked up. "That sucks," I said. Why the fuck would someone want to do drugs that kept them from getting an erection? Addiction is so fucking awful. "He'd make me suck him and I'd try forever to get him hard. He blamed me. Said I wasn't any good at it and that he couldn't get it up because my ass didn't turn him on. Said he wasn't a fag and that I needed to worry more about singing than getting my pussy fucked," Aiden said. He had tears in his eyes. Man, Lenny really fucked over Aiden. I leaned over and pulled him into a hug. "You know that's not true," I whispered into his hair. I rubbed his back and he cried in my arms for a few minutes. I swear, the next time I see Lenny I am going to cave his face in with my fist. "I'm sorry about earlier," he said, pulling away a few minutes later. I nodded and smiled. "No worries. We'll get to that, but for now, let's take our time," I said. He smiled back and leaned in and we kissed. Gentle kisses, not the crazy stuff from before. It feels good, though. I am glad I backed off and made us slow down. My cock, on the other hand, is not so pleased, but it can wait. Besides, there is always tomorrow at the gym with Drago. Fuck. Why does he always enter my thinking when I'm out with Aiden or Landry? And why do I feel guilty when that happens? Drago and I are just having fun. I think. I can't imagine that it's anything more than that. Aiden and Landry are both awesome guys that want more than a quickie at the gym. I shouldn't give Drago any more of my time than necessary to workout and get off. Why does my stomach hurt when I think that? God, I feel so bad for Aiden falling for Lenny when that's clearly never going to work and yet I'm having these thoughts about Drago--which is clearly not going to work either. Why can't anything ever be easy where Drago is involved? Aiden dropped me off just before dinner. He didn't stay this time. He usually stays for dinner but tonight he wants to be alone. I understand. My parents were more disappointed than I was. I think they may like Aiden more than me. Or they like impressing his grandparents more than they like me. Something like that, anyway. ### So two weird things happened Friday night. The first was that Pastor Guy called me right before worship group practice. Shayla's mom had a heart attack and they are leaving for Albuquerque immediately. He needs for me to lead worship group. I agreed and he told me that he owes me big time. I was like, yeah you do and he whispered that he would make my toes curl next time we're alone. So, all in all it was a pretty good thing. I mean, not for Shayla's mom but for me. God, I'm a selfish pig sometimes. When I got to practice, I discovered that Guy had told a girl from youth group that she could sing with the band on Sunday. This was news to me. I looked over the playlist Guy texted me and found that the girl, Angelique, was going to solo on one of the songs and would sing backup to me on the others. It turns out that the song, What a Beautiful Name It Is, is the song that every Christian girl in the world wants to sing. It's a nice enough song, but it is slow and soft. It can be a tear-jerker when done properly, but that's so not my thing. I like the songs that get people on their feet, clapping and singing loudly. Not the ones that make people all weepy-eyed and feeling something. The song that Beautiful Name led into was Good, Good Father--yet another song with the potential to bring everyone to tears. Fuck. We're going to have a church full of people boo-hooing. I sat and thought about how I was going to get through the playlist without gouging my eyes out with a drumstick. Pastor Guy would say I prayed on it. Ha. I decided that not every song was a barn burner and that sometimes people need the slow songs to bring them closer to God. It seemed awfully mature of me. Maybe some of this church stuff is rubbing off on me. The playlist was short this week because Pastor John's sermon was long. We would do the two slow songs on the front end and close with a song called Yes I Will. For whatever reason, I actually like Yes I Will, so I knew that we'd close on a high note. After explaining the situation with Guy to the rest of the group we prayed and then I set Angelique up next to me on stage. She was nervous. Like, so nervous she was shaking. I did my best to put her at ease, but she wasn't calming down and this was just practice. What will happen when there are 400 people staring at her on Sunday? I grabbed her by the hand and whispered in her ear to follow my lead and I started to sing the song by myself. By the second verse she chimed in. She can really sing! We finished the two songs singing together and then did the third one as a duet, switching off each verse. We had a great practice and I was looking forward to leading worship group on Sunday. I am going to have to lead the congregation in prayer, too, so I need to have something prepared for that, but otherwise we are set. At 9:30, my dad pulled up. I was talking with Angelique. We chatted about school--she goes to St. Ignatius--and people we knew in common. She's going to be a senior in the fall but I'm only three months older than her. I can see my dad smiling as he drove up to us. I don't know that he's ever seen me talking to a girl unless it was Tinsley or Emma. I'm sure he was already thinking about grandkids or something, hence the smile. "Hey son, does your friend need a ride home?" my dad rolled down the passenger side window and called out to us. It took me a minute to register what he'd said. He's never asked me that question once in my entire life. I guess he really was excited to see me with a girl. Too bad that I have no interest in girls. I looked at Angelique. "Uh, hey, do you need a ride?" I asked nervously, my shyness coming out at a really weird time. She smiled timidly, apparently having a moment of shyness of her own. "Yes, thank you so much," she said in a voice just above a whisper. I leaned in the passenger side window. "Thanks, Dad, yes, she does need a lift," I said. "Alrighty then, why don't you kids hop in back?" he said. Crap. He wants me to sit in back with her. This is going to be so awkward. Like he was driving us home from a date or something. I don't want to give off the wrong impression to her. But, then again, maybe it will keep my dad off my trail for a while if he thinks there is a girl in my life. It feels crappy to use Angelique like that. I put my guitars in the trunk and opened the door for Angelique. I went around to the other side and got in next to her. My dad asked her where we were heading and then took off toward the north end of town. After a few minutes of silence, I turned and looked at Angelique. She is pretty. I mean I'm not made out of stone--I can tell if a girl is attractive or not. She's tiny, actually smaller than me. Dark brown skin with green eyes, slim but with decent sized tits. Not that I looked. Alright, I totally looked. I'm not obsessed with tits or anything, but I can appreciate their existence. She smiled at me when she caught me checking her out. I looked away quickly and blushed. I looked back a bit later and this time caught her checking me out. This time she blushed and giggled and looked away. "Do you have a job this summer?" she asked, finally breaking the silence. "No, I've been working out a lot. I was in a car accident in May so I'm still healing, or whatever," I said, fighting off the nerves that threatened to paralyze my vocal cords. Why am I so nervous around her? "Do you have a job?" I asked. "Yes, I'm interning for my mom in the Boulder County Attorney's office," she said. "Is she an attorney?" "Yes, she deals with open space issues and annexations and stuff," Angelique answered. My dad took a corner a little bit too fast--on purpose, I wondered--and she leaned into me. We both blushed this time and pulled away apologizing to one another. We both started giggling again. It was like two thirteen year olds out on a date with the one's dad driving. So embarrassing. "Cool. My dad's engineering firm does work with the County," I said. I hope that is still true. It has been several years since I've paid any attention to what my dad does for a living. "I've done a lot of work with the County, Angelique. Is your mother LuAnne Williams?" my dad chimed in from the front seat. My guess was that LuAnne Williams is the only black attorney in the county attorney's office. "Yes, she is," Angelique answered softly. Great. Yet another work connection for my dad to exploit. I hurriedly changed the subject. "Do you play any instruments?" I asked abruptly. It probably came across weird or rude but I didn't want to inflict my dad on poor Angelique. "Yes, I play piano," she said with a smile. I think she was grateful to get off the subject of her mom and work. "But my brother Bellamy is the one with all of the talent. He majors in music at CU. He plays at all of the sporting events, although that doesn't really showcase his talent," she added. A brother, huh? I wondered if he was hot. If he looks anything like Angelique, he must be gorgeous. Maybe she'll introduce us. We turned onto her street and she told my dad it was the green house on the right. I got out and opened her door and walked her to the front door. We are all nervous again and kind of giggly. Fuck I'm acting like a dork. "I'm looking forward to singing with you on Sunday," I said, my voice shifting down a notch. I hoped my flirting was convincing because I needed to win over her and my dad. I barely know how to flirt with a guy and I'm actually attracted to them. I used to think a fake girlfriend would surely out me but I'm beginning to think that having a fake girlfriend will take a lot of pressure off of me. I need to be careful, but I think I can do it without fucking her over or outing myself. "Me, too," she said, looking up into my eyes. I grinned and leaned in to give her a hug. She hugged me back tightly. Pressing against a girl's body didn't turn me on the same way a guy's body does, but it felt good, too. Before pulling away, she kissed me on the cheek. "Thanks for the ride home," she said. "You're welcome. Hey, maybe we can get together sometime. You know, outside of church?" I asked suddenly. I was somewhat surprised at the words coming out of my own mouth. She smiled really big. "That would be awesome," she said. "Here, let me give you my number," she got out her phone and we exchanged phone numbers. We hugged one more time and she went inside. When I got back to the car, I got in the passenger side and my dad was grinning so big at me I thought his face would crack. "Got her number, nice work, son," he said. I resisted rolling my eyes at him. "Uh, yeah, we're going to get together sometime," I said. "Hopefully soon," my dad replied. "Maybe she could come over for dinner sometime?" he asked. "Yeah, maybe," I said noncommittally. Geez, having a girlfriend is already a pain in the ass. Ha. We drove in silence for a few blocks. I wanted to look at my messages on my phone, but I resisted since my parents found that to be so rude. "Oh, son, has your mother mentioned the couple's retreat, yet?" my dad asked out of the blue. I actually jumped when he started talking. "No, what couple's retreat?" I asked hoping it didn't have anything to do with me. "The church is hosting a two-night couple's retreat and your mother and I are attending. It's next weekend. You will need to hold down the fort here at home while we're up in Ft. Collins at the Hilton," he said. This was the second weird thing to happen today. First, Guy puts me in charge of worship group and I meet Angelique, and now my parents are going out of town and I'm going to be home alone. Nice. This could be the opportunity for me and Drago to have some time outside of the gym. I can't wait to tell him. "Okay, I can do that," I said trying to sound calm even though my insides were flipping all around. My dad discussed the details the rest of the ride home but I had a hard time focusing on what he said. I thought about what Drago and I could do with an empty house. Fuck, my cock started getting hard. I had to think about baseball and Pastor John kissing Darlene to keep from getting fully erect. Ewww, Pastor John and Darlene. How he climbed that mountain of a woman for sex I'll never know. Maybe they don't do it anymore. Who knows? Maybe they go at it like rabbits. Ewww. I just really grossed myself out. When we got home, I laid in bed and fisted my cock thinking about Drago. Mmmm...in my fantasy he went down on me like Aiden had in the car yesterday. So far Drago hadn't shown any inclination to suck my dick in real life, but in my fantasies he sucked me until I filled his mouth with my load. Then I would suck him off and we would kiss until all of our cum washed away. I'm so fucking psyched about next weekend. But before that happens, I've got a show tomorrow night to think about. Hell yeah! ### The show went off without a hitch. The opening act was a rap/rock group, similar to Suicidal Tendencies. They were okay. Not as good as us and it was pretty evident that the crowd was there for us, not them. We played a longer set this time--ten songs, five originals and five covers. The crowd went crazy for an encore, so we played two more songs. After we finished, a DJ came out and played songs until the club shut down at 2 AM. We were hyped after we played and were getting a ton of attention from the audience. Most of it was from girls, but a lot of guys shook our hands, too. It seemed we had some groupies already, much to my surprise. This was only our second gig together. I guess they've been a band longer than that, so it makes some sense. I wish we had some male groupies, but I'm not really sure that male groupies is a thing. Plus, Aiden and I aren't out and I'm still not sure if he's gay or bi. Especially since I just caught him with some chick between his legs servicing his cock. I walked in on them in the dressing room. She didn't even look embarrassed, she just kept bobbing up and down. I gave Aiden a fist bump and turned right back around and went back into the club. I found James and Jamie making out with two chicks a bit later. Apparently I was the only one without a girl attached to me in some form or another. I looked around for other people I know, although I knew that Landry wouldn't be here because he had some football orientation up at UNC and Drago wasn't here because of a similar thing up at CU. Both of them told me that they wouldn't be around as much as summer wore on because they had football practice and workouts with their respective teams. I knew that I was spending a lot of time with the band and that maybe I wouldn't be seeing either one of them very much for the rest of the summer. That sucks but can't be avoided. A couple of girls approached me and asked to buy me a drink. Since I was all alone, I decided to go for it. I'm not old enough to buy, but if they wanted to buy me a drink, why not? They came back with shots of tequila. Not my favorite, but the whole lime and lick thing seemed like fun. We all did the shots and then yell-talked over the music. They dragged me out on the dance floor and sandwiched me in between them, grinding their nether regions into mine. I'll admit it. I started getting hard. I mean, when someone is grinding their ass into my cock over and over again, Little Alvin gets excited. He doesn't seem to care if it's male or female. I wasn't really into either of these chicks, though. It was my guess that I was getting hard from checking out some of the hot guys around me. Tall with broad shoulders is apparently my type--i.e. Drago, Landry--and there were plenty of hot guys dancing near us. I was checking out this guy's ass, you know, trying to look like I wasn't checking out his ass, when I discovered that it was Lenny. Ha. What a disappointment. I seriously didn't want to see him tonight and to have checked out his ass--yuck. What is wrong with me? I guess he does have a really nice ass. I am glad that he didn't catch me. He did turn and see me a few minutes later. I was still doing the bump and grind with those chicks. They had gotten pretty turned on and had enough booze in their systems that they started making out. Several guys had been hooping and hollering over their little lesbian act. I went along with it, although I really just wanted to find Aiden and get out of here. I told the girls that I needed the bathroom and took off down the hall toward the dressing room where I saw Aiden last. I really hoped that I wasn't going to find him balls deep in that chick from earlier. Or any chick, for that matter. Before I could reach the end of the hall, a hand grabbed me from behind. I spun around to see who had a hold on my shoulder and then felt the fist meet my jaw. I shook my head and saw that it was Lenny who just sucker punched me. I started to zone out in my anger. I didn't come back into focus until I heard Aiden yelling my name. "What, what?" I mumbled, still cloudy and not sure what had just happened. "Fuck man, you had me scared. Security just dragged Lenny out of here for punching you, but I think he got the worst of it. You really laid into him," Aiden exclaimed, wide eyed and looking surprised. "I punched him?" I asked, gaining more clarity as I drank a bottle of water someone handed me. "Fuck yeah, you punched him. About time somebody did," James said. I realized that a group of people surrounded me and I felt claustrophobic. "Can we go somewhere quiet?" I leaned over and asked in Aiden's ear. He nodded and grabbed my arm and pulled me to the dressing room. James and Jamie followed us. "What happened back there, dude?" Jamie blurted out once the door shut. I took a second to think it over. "Well, someone grabbed me as I was walking down the hall. Before I knew it, they'd sucker punched me. It was Lenny," I said, putting the story together for them. "It was crazy! Security was on you guys in like an instant, but you had already started punching him back and got in at least three punches before they got to you. They said something about how he was getting 86'ed because he threw the first punch," James filled in the rest of the story. Thankfully, since I couldn't remember any of it. I hadn't had an episode in a long time and I'd never had one brought on like that before. Weird. I felt my jaw and it was sore and kind of swollen. That is going to be fun to explain. Maybe I can chalk it up to a mosh pit or something. Not that my parents would understand that, but it was better than telling them that I got punched in the face by Lenny. "C'mon man, I'll drive you home," Aiden said. He looked really sad. "Naw, man. I'll help load stuff up and then we can all get out of here," I said. "I'm not ready to get out of here yet, though," Jamie said. James nodded in agreement. "See? Come on, let's go, okay?" Aiden pleaded with me. "Are you guys sure? I don't want to ditch out," I said. I was starting to feel dizzy again but I didn't want to let on. "Yes, there are plenty of guys to help us load the van when the club shuts down tonight," James said. I agreed reluctantly and Aiden practically dragged me out to his car. We got in and he tore out of there like a bat out of hell. "I'm so sorry, this is all my fault" he said once we'd merged onto the highway. I looked at his profile in the flickering lights. He was so fucking fine but he looked so sad and kind of angry. I hated that Lenny put him through this crap. "No way, man. It was Lenny and his inferiority complex. Don't worry about it," I said, rubbing his thigh to comfort him. "This had better be the last time Lenny pulls this bullshit. I'm so sick of him acting like this. He's a jealous prick," Aiden said. "Yeah, you're right about that. I don't think he'll try anything again. I got a couple of good punches in apparently so he should know better than to try something stupid next time," I said. Aiden smiled a little. "He was so pissed when they carried him out of there. He kept saying that you should get kicked out, too," he laughed as he told me. "What a bitch," I laughed with Aiden. "Totally a bitch," he agreed. I am glad to see his mood improving. "I really am sorry, though," he said as we pulled up to my house. "Hey, seriously, don't sweat it. I'll hire a bodyguard and that should take care of it," I kidded with him. He rolled his eyes. "So, I'll pick you up for practice on Monday, okay?" he said as I got out of the car. "Yeah, thanks for always driving me around, man," I said, reaching out for a fist bump. "No problem. Take care of that mark on your chin. And maybe call your doctor about that blackout or whatever it was," he said. "Yes, mother," I replied. I know that he has my best interests at heart but I'm not going to be calling anyone and telling them about this. I just want to forget all about it. "Fuck you," he said and we both smiled. "Thanks again, man, talk at you lates," I said and walked to the house. "Lates," I heard him say before he rolled up the window and headed home. ### My chin looked smudged with dirt the next morning. Not exactly a sexy look. It didn't hurt unless I touched it. My mom actually told me to go wash my face. I had to tell her and my dad that I had a bruise. My mom took my face in her hands and tried to wash it off at that point. That hurt but I pretended that it was all good. I told them that it was an accident and that someone had run into me at the show. They didn't look like they believed me, but we had to get to church early so that I would be ready to lead worship group. "I could use some concealer on it," my mom offered. "Makeup?" I asked in horror. There is no fucking way. "Oh, just a little bit to cover up that dirty mark," my mom said. I rolled my eyes. She had tried to wash it off herself--it was obviously not dirt. "No thanks. No one will be able to see it at church. I'll stay in the shadows," I said with a smirk. She gave me a stern look and turned away. "I really wish you would let me do something about that mark," she said walking away. I looked in the mirror. What I really want to do something about is my hair. It sticks out all over the place where it is growing in. The scars created a cowlick. Plus, it is growing in a lighter color of brown. I know I will have to get a haircut at some point. Even Drago mentioned it to me. Ugh. I like my long hair. We got to church and I went to work to make sure that everything is perfect for our performance. Angelique showed up early, too, and she helped me set everything up. She's very smart and a fast learner. Lucky for me, one of us is. I'd tell her the things we'd have to remember and she kept track of them. I'd quiz her later on what we were supposed to do and she was on it immediately. My memory seems to be suffering today after last night's incident. Or the punch plus an episode or whatever. Fucking Lenny. But once Angelique and the rest of the band joined me on stage, I was in my element. We played our songs with emotion and I could hear people sniffling and knew we got them crying. As much as I thought that was cheesy, it was also nice to know that we could elicit such a strong response from our audience. I recited the prayer like a fucking boss, too. I am really feeling it this morning and the audience ate it up. After we finished the last song, the audience erupted and it felt really good. I couldn't believe that we received such an ovation. When that happened when I played with The Four Horsemen, we played an encore. I decided to break tradition and play one here, too. Why not? It's not like we're going to get in trouble or something. It seems like the church people want some more church, so why not give it to them? I leaned over and asked Angelique what song she wanted to play. She looked stunned but answered immediately, Break Every Chain. I sang a couple of notes and she nodded, "Yes! That's the one!" I'd heard the song at some point. Maybe Guy played it? I don't know. I told the rest of the band to chill--this was going to be me and Angelique. "There is power in the name of Jesus," Angelique sang after I opened the song for her. Her voice is so incredible and everyone cheered and sang with her even though the lyrics weren't on the screen. The sound and lights people were confused until someone finally figured out to put me and Angelique in spotlights and leave it at that. "There's an army rising up," we sang and everyone was swaying back and forth. People held their hands up to heaven. It amazes me that everyone knows the lyrics or followed along regardless. I played well, but didn't really go all out because I don't want to take anything away from Angelique's performance. As shy as she had been on Friday night, she isn't shy at all on stage. As we finished the song, Pastor John came up on stage. Leave it to him to hone in on our stardom. Anyway, he took her microphone and asked us all to come take a bow. "Ladies and gentlemen, our worship group," he said and we all bowed. The crowd cheered so loud it was almost deafening. Who knew a bunch of Christians could be so loud? I held Angelique's hand and had her take a bow by herself. I hoped someone videoed her performance so that she could see how amazing she was. When we finally left the stage, she wrapped her arms around me in the tightest hug I think I've ever had. It was surprising considering how tiny she is. "Thank you so much, Alvin," she said. I grinned at her. "You're welcome, of course, but it was all you. I am humbled to be in your presence," I said giving her a slight bow. She slapped me on the arm. "Whatever!" she yelled. "Seriously, though, that was so great and I'm so glad you thought of it. Thank you," she said and she leaned in and kissed me on the lips. Unconsciously, I kissed her back. Suddenly I realized I was kissing her and I pulled back gently. It was a nice kiss, but I think I knew now why having a fake girlfriend was a problem. I might have to kiss her and whatnot. And the whatnot could get pretty hot and heavy. Angelique giggled and then out of nowhere like five teenaged girls inundated us, squealing and congratulating her. They pulled her away and I was left standing there by myself for a minute watching Angelique have her moment. "Uh, hey, you were really incredible up there," a voice broke me from my reverie. I looked over to see this unbelievably gorgeous man standing by me. His voice is deep and sensual. I want him bad instantly. He was familiar--fuck, it has to be Bellamy, Angelique's brother. He is my height, but he's even skinnier than I am. His skin is dark and smooth and his hair is cut so short that he's nearly bald. I want to kiss him the way Angelique kissed me moments ago. No, I want to kiss him in a much lewder way. I want to kiss him all over. And to feel him kiss me. Fuck, I need to get my mind focused or I'm going to be poking him with my boner any second now. "Hi, uh, Bellamy, is it?" I asked. "Yeah, Angelique's brother," he answered. He held out his hand. I shook it, holding on just a little bit too long. I stared into his eyes. He has the same hazel eyes that Angelique does only they are shaped different--more almond shaped. He almost looks black and Asian. He is so exotic and sexy. I want to lay on top of him and thrust...ahhh! I am supposed to stop thinking about stuff like that. "Thanks, for what you said, but it was all Angelique," I complimented his sister. We looked over at her and her friends. She caught us looking and she smiled at us sweetly. I looked back to Bellamy and he looked at me. I wonder if he wants to go make out. Ahhh...these thoughts are killing me. I had to take drastic measures so I searched out the crowd and found Darlene. She is my go to these days when it comes to taming a boner. Okay, I am starting to go down. I can have a normal conversation with Bellamy. "She's an excellent singer. I've always wished I had half her talent," he said wistfully. I knew what he meant. I can sing some, but she could go professional. "She said you play piano?" I asked moving closer to him as the crowd was very loud. "Yes. I guess I got the piano playing talent and she got the singing talent. You play guitar quite well," he told me. Our faces were very close now so that we can hear one another talk. He smells so good. I kept smiling at him and trying to discreetly check him out. I don't know how successful I was at the discrete part, but he has a great body and a very nicely sized bulge. Very nice. Fuck. I'm going to cum in my pants and he'll never speak to me again. "Thanks, man. I play in a band. The Four Horsemen," I said. "I know, I saw you play last night," he said with a smile. "No way. That's so cool. What did you think?" I asked. I can't believe he saw me play. He was at our show and I somehow missed seeing him. "You and Aiden work really well together. And your guitar playing fucking rocks," he said into my ear. His tongue flicked my ear gently afterward. There is no hope, now. I am definitely going to cum in my pants. I could feel his breath on my neck. Fuck, it is so hot and I just want to grab him and kiss him and make him mine. I turned in to face him. "Thanks. I'd really like to hear you play sometime," I said leaning so close that our noses almost touched. Then I heard my mother's voice screeching in the background. I pulled away. "Sorry," I said quietly. "It's my mom." I turned around and saw her coming up with Darlene and a couple other women in tow. "Alvin! Oh honey, you were so good up there," she gushed. Ah, yes, my phony mother showing off for her church friends. I plastered a smile on my face. "Thanks mom," I said as she leaned in to hug me. I had to fight to keep from making a face while she hugged me. It was so unexpected and out of the norm. I patted her awkwardly on the back. She pulled away abruptly and started telling her friends how she knew I was talented when I could play guitar when I was only three years old. She went on and on about how she took me to lessons with professional guitarists and they told her how talented I was. Funny, the way I remember it was that they gave Aldon the guitar for Christmas when he was five and I was three. He fooled around with it for about two minutes and then ditched it for some toy tank he'd gotten. I picked up the guitar and started playing with it and didn't put it down for hours. It was grandma and grandpa that paid for my lessons and the only reason I got to go was because the guy lived three houses down from us and I could walk. Sure, he was a professional--if you call a professional accountant a professional. He just happened to be good at guitar, too. It was later, when I was in middle school that I got a really good teacher and that was the school music teacher. I stayed late every day after school to take lessons. Then when high school started, I joined the drama department and started acting more. It wasn't until the accident that I played every day like I did when I took lessons. Weird how we could have such different memories of the same time. "Hey man, I've gotta go, but I'll see you around, okay?" Bellamy said into my ear. No lick this time, but still sexy as fuck. "Yeah, I'll get in touch through Angelique. I've got another show coming up in a couple of weeks and I'd love for you to be there," I said. He smiled. "Oh, I'll definitely be there," he told me. We shook hands again and he was gone. Angelique waved goodbye and I watched the two walk away. Damn, that family has some good genes. My dad approached as I watched them walk off. He thought I was checking out Angelique. "She's a beautiful girl. You two look good together on stage," he said. Still hoping I'm hetero, huh, Dad? Well, I'm actually checking out her brother's fine ass. It was round and full. Damn he has a nice ass. I could bury my face in there...ahhh! I am doing it again. Think about baseball, mowing the lawn, painting the garage--yeah that was a good one. The fumes from painting the floor in the garage would make anyone's dick go flat. "Uh, thanks, Dad," I said as he put his hand on my shoulder. What was up with all of this uncomfortable touching my parents started inflicting upon me? Maybe it was better when they ignored me. We stood making unpleasant small talk until my mom finally got done being the social butterfly of the church. The entire drive home they just couldn't stop gushing about Angelique. "She's such a lovely girl and comes from a wonderful family," my mother said. "Her mother is quite intelligent and from what I understand her father is quite important at the Center for Atmospheric Research," my dad added. "And her mother said she's planning to go to CU, too." "You two will make the most attractive grandchildren." Alright, I may have made that last one up, but I could feel it coming. They were really laying it on thick. I guess aside from girls as friends, I've never had a girlfriend. I guess parents expect that their kids will be straight. Or that they can encourage their kids to be straight. I stared out the car window and thought about Bellamy. And Drago. And Aiden. And Landry. Too bad for my parents, but I can't stop thinking about guys. And their sexy bodies. And sucking their long, hard, cocks. ### Donate to Nifty and get a warm fuzzy feeling for doing good in the world!