They met regularly after that. Sadly, the man was a busy guy so Gold didn't see him as often as he would've liked, only once or twice a month. Yet, every time they met, the man would do something new to him, something Gold would jerk off to during the following weeks. "There's something different with you. Did something sting you?" Gold's mother asked him one morning. No, he hasn't yet, but soon, he thought to himself. But his mother was right, he was different: recently, he had become more outgoing, confident, people were starting to talk to him more, he felt lighter, braver. Even now, having breakfast in the kitchen, he was wearing nothing but briefs. Three months ago he never would've dared to be like that in front of his mother. Yet, now it felt like the most natural thing in the world. Too many compliments, Gold thought. Every time they met, the man would always say something nice about his body. I love your golden hair, your legs are irresistible, your waist is perfect, it was all going to his head. "Are you dating someone and haven't told me?" His mother had a curious twinkle in her eyes. "Dating someone?" "Yes." Gold had never asked himself that question. Were the man and him dating? He wasn't sure. He'd call it casual sex but then, what about the movies? The cuddling? Was that a date? "I don't know." "You don't know if you are dating someone?" Her mother leaned back against her chair, even his mother's dog, a big yellow and white beast looked at him as if waiting for an answer. "I'm not sure," what he and the man did at his apartment weren't dates but it wasn't just sex either, right? "I guess I'm seeing where things go before putting a label on it." "Oh," her mother stood up, quiet, as if she knew something he didn't. "Okay then, go get dressed, it's almost time to leave for school, kid." Gold rolled his eyes. Kid, he hated it when she called him that. Everyone called him that, everyone except the man. As Gold went upstairs, he started thinking: what's the name of the thing the man and I have? They had met downtown. Gold wasn't a fan of museus but that day his mother took him with her while she met with a client of hers. Bad idea, he thought after an hour had passed with her mother still busy. So, he went to a museum. It was around the corner, free and it was better than nothing. He wandered aimlessly among the canvases until one caught his eye. It was a strange painting: a man and a woman, each on a boat on a river. The man's boat was behind hers, full of soldiers. You could tell he was a practical man, a leader, probably smart and cunning. Yet, he wasn't looking at his boat or his men. Oh no, he was looking at the woman. Her boat, by contrast, was luxurious, covered in flowers and golden curtains. Her garments were opulent, her pose cocky, relaxed, a gluttony of power. Gold didn't know the meaning of the painting, what was happening, but he knew something was going on, something important. "You look young to be a fan of art," a cold voice nearly made him jump. He thought the adult was there to confront him but the man sat down next to him instead. "Antony and Cleopatra," the man pointed at the picture. "Both powerful, both smart, and both destroyed by their love." "Are they?" Gold asked. "In love, I mean. They don't seem to be." "Maybe it was more lust than anything else," the man admitted. "But this painting is supposed to be the moment they met." "The moment they met," Gold repeated. "Tell me more." The man and Gold talked for almost twenty minutes, Gold immediately liked him. Not only did he treat him like an equal instead of like a kid, but he was actually funny and interesting. He didn't seem old, in fact. He was in good shape and even liked the same movies. Gold was convinced that, if the man were his age, they would be friends. "But then I wouldn't be attracted to him." Dressed, Gold took his backpack and ran to the car. His mom was already inside. "Ready?" "Ready." His mother always drove him to school, she said it was because she liked to spend time with him. However, she was almost always on the phone, she worked in a car dealership so she was always with a client. Or, if she wasn't, she was nagging him about getting on a sports team. Gold didn't even like sports. Today there were no calls although their usual road had a big "under repairs" sign. Her mother cursed and took another route. Gold wasn't paying attention, he was looking at his phone when something weird on the street caught his eye. Well, weird would've been the wrong word since it was a perfectly normal scene: a man walking his dog in the morning. Yet, Gold recognized him immediately. "Oh, shit," that wasn't just any man, it was the man. "Oh, shit?" His mother turned, "what happened?" "Nothing," he dodged, "I just thought I recognized that guy." "Which one?" His mother adjusted the rearview mirror. "The one walking the dog? He's Mr. Perry, isn't he? Or was it Pierre?" "You know him?" Gold's heart almost jumped out of his chest. "You know him too? Where from?" "I..." Gold's mind ran, trying to figure out a convincing lie. "From school," he said. "He is a substitute teacher. Where do you know him from?" "He was one of my clients, I sold him his car a few years ago." "Years ago? But he said he's new to the city... are you sure it's him?" "I'm sure! He tried a dozen cars before choosing one. Funny that he's teaching now, I thought he was doing rather well as an architect. But why did you say shit? Are you in trouble or something?" Gold shook his head, lying again. "No, it's just that... I forgot he had assigned a paper for today," Gold felt his mother giving him a murdering look. "But don't worry, I'll do it during lunch." "Just don't make a habit out of it. You can talk to him and ask him for more time. Not all teachers are bad." "Most are. Or seem to be." "Well, remember, kid: looks can be deceiving."
"Fuck! Yes!" Gold's legs were open wide, giving the man's tongue complete and total access. "That was awesome," he let himself fall to the bed. "No, really, I blacked out a little." "Told you, you could handle it," the man chuckled. "Proves you are truly a teenager. No kid's stuff here. Soon you'll be ready for the real thing," he pointed at his groin. Gold's mouth opened on its own. He couldn't wait to feel the man's cock inside him. Yet, as delicious, tempting, and enjoyable as that thought was, Gold forced himself to take it out of his head. He was at his Ocean View apartment once more. The conversation with his mother had arised a few suspicions about him. He lied, he said he was new to the city, and while that little lie could be meaningless, Gold wondered, why did he lie? Is he hiding something? Gold turned to the multiple boxes on the floor. Months had gone by and they were still there. In fact, they were all dusty. Were they clean the first time I was here or were they dusty even then? He stretched in bed and peeked through the window towards the corner of the building where he had chained his bike. It was still there. Usually he took the bus but, today... Well, he was ready just in case something came up. "Hey, want to go to the movies sometime?" Gold asked the man while lying naked over the sheets. The man looked up from his phone. "The movies? Eh... well, uh... sure, it would be nice but you know how demanding my job is." "I think I never asked you but, what do you do?" "Why so curious all of a sudden?" The man smiled. Gold squinted his eyes. That's not an answer. "Well, I'm bad at math so I thought if you are an engineer or something, then you could help me." "Oh," the man looked away. "No, I... I work at a lab, boring stuff, no math." And now I know you are lying. "No math," he repeated. "But even if I could help you study," the man put down his phone and walked towards him. "I don't think I could focus, not with you looking like that, your hair, your legs, all naked over my sheets... you are my golden boy." Gold closed his eyes as soon as the man touched him, almost purring. Amazing, mind-blowing sex, didn't treat him like a kid, thought the world of him, what else could he want from anyone? The man was perfect. "Ready for round two?" The man whispered into his ear. "Always," Gold moaned. The man dived into his neck while Gold, with his free hand, took his phone out, touched the wifi icon and... sure enough: no signal was close. It's been months and you still don't have wifi? You are not new to the city, you don't work at a lab. You are hiding something and I'm going to find out what.
The wait didn't last long - thirty minutes, no more. After leaving Ocean View, Gold unchained his bike but didn't ride home. Instead he hid it and himself and waited. At first, his veins were pumping with adrenaline but after ten minutes he found himself impatient, wishing to be wrong. The man was amazing, why ruin perfection? But just as the doubts were getting to him, the man stepped out. Gold saw him walk down the stairs, get into his car and, as it started to drive through the street, Gold took out his bike and went after the man. Following a car was harder than expected: too close and the man would spot him, too far and he would lose it. The traffic, the pedestrians, it all seemed to get in his way. It was no help that Gold hated sports, cycling included. The chase took fiteen minutes, when he stopped, Gold was panting. They were at a residential neighborhood among well-cared gardens, neatly paved streets and ornamental trees. Gold had never been to this part of the city before. Gold waited around the corner as the man's car slowed down, turned and parked in the driveway of a house. What is he doing here? Gold shook his head, confused. The man got out of the car an into the house. Gold waited, taking one deep breath, then another until he finally convinced his legs to move, pushing the pedals towards the house. He couldn't see a thing from the street so -leaving his bike in the neighbors yard, acting natural in case someone was looking- he snaked and got closer to the house. It was getting dark but the downstairs light was on. Gold checked no one was looking before peeking through the window: a rug, a couch, a couple of frames and a TV. Nothing special, just the living room of a suburban house. Is this house... his? Gold closed his eyes. The wifi, new to town, architect, it was all making his head ache. Then, Gold heard something - laughter. A child. Gold looked around, he couldn't see anyone but there was no mistake, that had been the sound of someone laughing but not just anyone: a child. Gold moved away. A child... is it... his? Is he married? Is this his wife's house? Maybe they divorced and now he lives in the apartment. Gold had a knot on his throat, suddenly feeling like he was invading something private. A divorced man visiting his child. He could already see the whole story unfold: a gay man living in a world that doesn't accept him for who he is so he marries a girl, a friend, even has a child with her only to find the world becoming more tolerant, liberal, and finally he can be who he is. So, they divorce, he moves to an apartment downtown but still gets to see his child. Gold felt like punching himself. Of course the man had kept this part of his life a secret, why would he share it? Gold was nothing but a boy he banged a couple times a month. Just as he was about to leave, the sudden sound of footsteps made him hide again. Then, a voice. A child's voice. Slowly, carefully, Gold moved his body upward, stretching his neck to take another peek at the window and sure enough: a child was in there, about twelve or thirteen years old. He turned on the TV but wasn't looking at it, instead he was looking at something behind him. "Hey, dad, what took you so long to arrive today?" Dad, Gold repeated in his mind. So that child is his. The man, a father, Gold had been fucking that child's father. "I was sketching some ideas, getting inspiration," the man walked into the living room, taking a seat next to his son. "Lost track of time a little." So he is an architect, he did lie to me, Gold's smile had long vanished. Looking at that suburban scene was making him nauseous. So he has a child but where's his wife? Maybe she isn't here, maybe he's divorced... yeah, he's divorced. They aren't together anymore, that's why he is with me. A gay man who married a woman but then... It was a little detail, a tiny sparkle on the man's left hand, hugging his finger with a metallic glow: a ring. Gold shook his head but there it was, plain as day, on his left hand, on his ring finger, a signal to the world that could mean but one thing: married. He wasn't wearing it before, Gold slowly crawled away from the window. He wasn't wearing it at the apartment, not even at the museum. He... he's not divorced, he has a house, a child, a life, and he's married. When he was far enough, he stood up, took his bike and pedaled away as fast as he could. The asphalt lines, the concrete wall, the whole city turned into a blur. There was no nice man, no divorcee, just a man with a ring on his finger. Gold pedaled harder. That's when he realized, oddly, that he had found the answer to the question he had a few days ago: they weren't dating but it wasn't just sex either, what was the name for the thing he and the man had? Well, not only there was a name for what they had, but it was a controversial one: "we are having an affair." Gold almost puked.
Snacks, plastic bags, water, check, check, and check. Gold took a step back, admiring his work. Yeah, it was a bit stalkery but well executed nonetheless. He got out of the house and cracked his knuckles, getting ready. "Looks can be deceiving," his mother always told him. "Looks can be deceiving," even the man had liked that phrase. It was a harsh truth but, while some choose to close their eyes, Gold found himself not only opening them, but actually trying to look for more. "And what better way to look than with a dog?" Gold took a hold of the leash, his mother's dog barked and they started running. True, the man's house was far from his -about twenty five minutes on foot- but what better way to keep an eye on a house than regularly walking your dog in front of it? That way he wouldn't raise any eyebrows. Gold visited the place almost everyday, spending entire evenings there, witnessing bits and pieces of the man's life: he saw him with his family one time -the man was, indeed, married-, then saw them having a barbecue in the backyard another. It was a sickening, addictive, toxic behaviour. Gold -now more popular at school than ever- would get home, change clothes, take the leash, his dog, and walk the thirty minutes to the man's house, only to do laps around the block all afternoon. Sometimes he would change the route, other times he couldn't go due to a school project or because his mother forced him to spend some family time. Almost a month went away like that until his phone chimed once more. It was a message from the man, asking to meet at his apartment on Ocean View. Gold would've immediately accepted before but now he wasn't so sure. Should he go? Shouldn't he? Why? Well, why wouldn't he? If the man hadn't told him he was married it must've been because he didn't want him to know. "It's not like he's going to leave his family for me," Gold told himself and, for some reason, that thought bothered him. "If he didn't mention he had a family it is because he has no intention of leaving it but then..." he looked at the message. "Why does he keep coming back to me?" Gold didn't reply, he wasn't sure he wanted to keep the affair going. Affairs are bad, right? That's what everyone said. Movies, friends, even his mother. The next day, the message was still there, sitting on his phone. He didn't reply. The same for another day, and another. Yet, as every day passed, the message was getting harder to ignore. During class, with his mates, in the shower, he found himself thinking about the man more and more frequently with each day that passed. Even when he jerked off, especially when he jerked off. "Everything okay?" His mother asked on the fifth day. "You look stressed, a lot. You have tests coming?" "A test?" Gold started nodding. "Oh, yeah, yeah, trigonometry, I... don't know a thing but I'm getting together with some friends to study later. Don't worry." "Okay..." his mother raised an eyebrow. "Just don't overwork yourself, kid." Gold clenched his fists and jaw, why did everyone keep calling him kid?! He had told her a million times not to do so! He was in fucking high school for heaven's sake! No one, not a single person... His phone chimed, a text. "Everything okay, golden boy?" Golden boy, it was him, almost as if the man knew he was struggling. Golden boy, that's what he called him, not child and especially not kid. And it wasn't just about the word either, the man never treated him like a kid, when he was with him, Gold felt older than his classmates, bigger, he felt... more. It was respect he wanted, and only the man gave it to him. That's when it hit him. Shit, not only Gold didn't care if the man was using him to have an affair, Gold realized... I miss him. "Let's meet," Gold texted back as he rushed outside, walking not towards Ocean View and the man's apartment. He walked towards the man's house. He missed him but he needed answers. "Are you sure?" The man texted back. "Totally," he wrote, but waited until he was at the man's house to send: "See you at Ocean View in half an hour?" "As always," the man replied with an emoji. Gold raised his eyes from the screen, put away his phone and waited. He started taking deep breaths. He was standing in front of the man's house, waiting for the door to open. This is a risky idea, he thought. Showing up at his house was almost certainly going to cause a scene. Still, why not? What better way to surprise him than to show up at his fortress? The air blew cold, winter was near. Gold waited, and waited until... the door opened. Gold zipped his jacket, put a smile on his face and walked past the house. As the man closed the door of his house, Gold waved at him and, in the loudest, friendliest, calmest voice said: "Good afternoon!" He didn't know what would happen. He was invading the man's personal life. Maybe the man would freak out and curse, maybe he would get mad and never talk to him again, maybe he would puke. Yet, none of that happened. The man looked at him and replied "good afternoon," in a completely uninterested voice before getting in his car and driving away. Gold kept walking, confused. The man didn't even seem worried, he had just told him he knew about his lies, about his family, and his reaction was nothing? Did he... "What the fuck what that?" A text arrived, followed by the most feared words in the English language. "We need to talk." Gold smile, that's the reaction he wanted. "See you at Ocean View." "Not Ocean View," the text said. "Then where?"
Gold was leaning against a concrete wall, waiting on the edge of a parking lot, the perfect meeting spot. Even though the man had a car and he took the bus, he was there first. He had spent the entire way there thinking about what would happen. Was this the end of their... thing? He didn't know but he was about to find out. Out of the corner of the eye, he saw his car arrive. The man waved and Gold got inside. That was the first time he was in his car. As soon as he took a seat, he looked at the man but instead of the irrational, furious person he expected to see, instead there was someone calm, expressionless. Gold faced the front, then smirked. "Nice to see you find this funny," the man uttered. "Oh, sorry, I wasn't thinking about our situation," Gold replied, sincerely. "I was thinking about us. We met at a museum and now we are here. What started in a beautiful room ends in a parking lot." The man didn't reply. Gold looked down at his shoes, starting to regret the stunt he pulled earlier. The thought of not being with the man again, of not feeling his arms around him, of not seeing him again... "Sorry," Gold let out. "I shouldn't have showed up at your house like that. It was stupid." "It was," it was hard to know if the man was angry or not. "How long have you known?" "That you're married? A couple of weeks." The man let out a big sight, covering his eyes with his fingers. "Shit." "Let's keep going," Gold leaned forward. "I mean, I know you are married and have a kid but... I don't want this to end. I don't. And yeah, I know it probably isn't right, and that we shouldn't do it but... I want this. And if that means being more careful, more cautious, and quiet. Okay! I can be all those things, I can. I'm not a kid anymore, I can handle this," Gold took in a big gasp of air, his voice trembling. He didn't even know he felt that way until the words came out of him. "I want you, okay? I do. And I know we are not a couple, and that this is just sex, and fun, that's fine! This is what I want, okay? I don't want to give you any trouble. So... if you want me too, if you think we still have a chance... let's keep going. You set the rules, I'll follow them." Gold tried to read the expression in the man's face but couldn't decipher it so he waited in silence, fearing the worst. "You know," the man finally said, Gold turned to him, expectant. "Ideally, in my mind, you never would've found out about my family but, I always knew there was a chance. I didn't know how you'd react." "I didn't either but today, when I got your text... I just realized I don't want to lose this," Gold leaned forward, extending his lips, a small movement but, at the same time, a leap of faith. The young boy planted a soft, sweet kiss on the man's lips, letting his actions tell what his words couldn't. "I want this." The man, hesitant at first, let Gold kiss him. He felt the teenager's lips touch his own, nectar from the sweetest fruit, and, just when he thought he was going to push the boy away, his arms embraced him, kissing him harder, faster, their lips, and mouths dripping with lust, with desire. "I want this too," the man's lips still connected to the boy's. "Yeah?" Gold wrapped him in his arms, bringing their bodies as close as they could be inside the car. "You do?" "I do," the man gasped, biting his lip. And just as things were getting good, the man broke the kiss. "But if we are going to do this, we need some rules. First," the man raised his index. "Don't ever show up unannounced at my house, not ever, actually. You have your own life, I have mine. What we do when we are together is separate, okay?" "Yes. Sorry, again for doing that, won't happen again." "Good," the man continued. "Two: we can always stop. This thing between us can and will end if one of us wants it to, okay? No matter the reason, no matter the moment, we can stop." "Alright, we can always stop," he repeated. If that's what we have to tell ourselves... "Now, as for the rest I'll have to give them some thought but..." "I want something," Gold cut him. The boldness of his words was a surprise, even to him. "But don't look at me like that, I'm not blackmailing you or anything, it's more of a... wild idea." The man threw him an untrusting stare. Gold rolled his eyes and whispered his idea into his ear. "I don't know," the man looked away. "It's risky, very. It could be weeks, months even before I can..." Gold took hold of the man's hand, squeezing it slightly. "Okay, I promise we'll do it," the man conceded. "But don't get any ideas, as I said, it could be months before we are able. Agreed?" Gold was already nodding. "Agree," and, without a care in the world, he kissed him once more. A man and a golden boy. It was a forbidden, frowned upon, clandestine desire, but that made it all the more powerful, all the more exquisite. To believe it had all started with one single phrase, a stolen glance in front of Antony and Cleopatra. And now, kissing in his car, he was in heaven. Their love, their lust, their affair was a potion, an addictive, poisonous drug that only worked the first few hundred times.
"Hey, want to come over?" It was a text from his biggest secret, his hidden truth, his lover. "I'm at a family reunion," Gold texted back with a smile. "As if you actually enjoyed those. Come on, who's my golden boy?" Golden boy, shit, that always got him. Gold was already feeling his erection growing in his pants. "I am," he texted back. "But I can't, Ocean View is too far, maybe tomorrow?" Gold put his phone back in his pocket, thinking that was the end of it. Yet, another text popped up. "Then let's not go to Ocean View," the man replied. "What if I pay up that promise I made you?" "What?" Almost six months had gone by since the man had made that promise, and after all this time, he hadn't expected the man to keep it. Now, however.... "Are you for real? You'll let me go to your house? What about your family?" "They are not here," and that's all the man said. "So?" Gold looked up from the screen, barely able to hide the joy on his face. He was at a family reunion with distant aunts and uncles who had come not to see him but his mother, not really paying him attention. They wouldn't miss him for an hour or two. "On my way." "Be careful," the man texted. "Make sure nobody sees you leave, keep your eyes down. If they ask, say you went out for a run." Gold put on a hoodie and sneaked out of the garage door. "For a run, why?" "Because... well, you'll be flushed when you return." Gold couldn't help but blush when reading the text. The man's house wasn't that far away yet he found the street a million miles long. He had to use all of his will not to start running. He was excited, no only the erection in his pants hadn't gone away, it was harder than ever. "Cross the side yard, I'll leave the back door open," the man was impatient too. From a beautiful room, to a parking lot, Gold recited, finally in front of the house. To his house, his home, his fortress. Until he reached the backdoor into the forbidden land he had always dreamed of. How far into the rabbit hole could he go? "Welcome," the man was smiling, two glasses in his hand. "A drink?" Gold was shining, his eyes engulfing every inch of the house, every painting on the wall and magnet on the fridge. It was a beautiful home; it had a fireplace, dozens of cozy, fluffy pillows on the couch, and several picture frames on a shelf. The kitchen was exquisite, white and wood, a big island in the middle. It even had a bar next to dozens of bottles. Gold was impressed, it was a perfect suburban home. Finally, his eyes found the man. "Thirsty?" He asked. Gold shaked his head softly. "Not thirsty... famished," he jumped into his arms, immediately devouring every inch of his neck. The man tried to balance the boy hanging from his shoulders while not spilling the glasses. For Gold, that was what made it all the more entertaining. "Famished, eh?" The man managed to put the glasses on the island. "Good," with his strong hands he took Gold and pushed him into the wall, hard. "I'm hungry too, and you are my dinner, little lamb." Gold's erect was at full mast, his back against the wall as the man pushed him into submission, taking off his hoodie, then his shirt. A rabid animal feasting on him. Gold had no idea how much time they had but he didn't care, he wasn't going to waste a single second. As soon as his shorts felt to the ground, Gold raised his legs to the man's waist and, with a wet, delicate gesture, he sucked the man's earlobe before whispering into his ear: "Fuck me, fuck me now." The man looked him in the eyes, "are you sure?" Gold pressed his groin hard into the man's leg, making sure he noticed his boyhood beating against the fabric. The man got the clue. He threw the boy to the couch, yanking his underwear off of him, ripping it to shreds. "Yes!" Gold gasped, raising his legs. "Do it, please, do it!" The man threw himself over the boy, kissing his chest, nipples, and collarbone, tasting it all while his manhood danced around the boy's hole. It was just a touch, a gentle rub in his hole, but Gold was going crazy. He was ready, he wanted it, he needed it. Gold was about to beg when he finally felt the tip inside him. Just an inch, then more and more. Gold screamed, a painfully exquisite moan, it was fucking painful, but fucking delicious too, nothing like having a big, warm dick inside him. The man picked up the pace, going faster and faster until they fell from the couch to the rug below. Yet, they didn't stop. Oh no, in fact, they moved faster, harder. With his legs over the man's shoulders, Gold looked out the window, almost expecting to see himself, peeking through the window like the first time. How many times had he walked outside the man's house, looked through that window, and saw his family in that living room? And now, he's fucking me here, in this very same spot. Poetic, Gold made a grin. Shakespeare would be proud. That's when Gold noticed the picture frame on the shelf: a photo of the man, his husband and his son. Husband? Thought he had a wife, yet that didn't stop Gold's smile from growing bigger, more wicked, when he noticed the frame was being rocked with every thrust the man made into him. Gold raised his chest as kissed the man, bitting his lip, and it tasted oh, so fucking sweet. God, isn't he perfect? A man was inside him, a real man with hair on his chest, muscles on his arms, and the single biggest cock he had ever seen. Gold was in heaven, nirvana, paradise, all at once. Then, just like an orchestra, the music started to accelerate, the sounds rising, louder and louder until every single instrument was playing at the top of their lungs, a great, beautiful crescendo. That's when he felt the warm river filling him as the man came inside him and, just at the same time, Gold squirted, the white sweet liquid covering his chest, chin and face like rain. In that moment, covered and filled in cum in someone else's living room, Gold stared into the man's eyes when something peculiar caught his attention. How had he never noticed it before? "I love them," he whispered. The man gave him a puzzled look. Gold leaned forward. "Your eyes, I love them. They are beautiful." The man chuckled, bodly, stupidly, staring at the golden boy with his piercing ocean blue eyes.