Rick and I woke up around eleven on Sunday morning. We showered together and did a little playing around. "Let's play Kenny and Wayne, without the hitting," Rick said. "I'll be Kenny." I laughed. "Okay, then I'll be Wayne," I said. "I like the new game," he said, when we were dried off and were dressing. "We'll need to play that some more." "Any time, Kenny," I said, and we chuckled. "It's about damn time y'all got up," Kyle said when we entered the den. "We're dying to know about the new guy." "What new guy?" Rick asked. "The new guy upstairs. Who do you think I meant?" he demanded in his teasing grumble. "Oh, him. He's not staying here," Rick said. "Why not?" Kyle asked. "Because he's a grown man and has a life," Rick said. "He's married, in fact, although he and his wife aren't together anymore." "Oh," Kyle said. "What happened? How'd you guys get involved?" I told them the story of Kenny being a Goodson employee and getting beaten up, but I left out the parts about the blowjob and his coming out to us. If he wanted to come out to a houseful of kids, that was his business, not mine. "Did he get the guy back?" Justin asked. "I don't think so," I said. "Is he a wimp?" Justin asked. "No, he's not a wimp. He's a computer technician in Tony's department, and he's a nice guy," I said. "Is he a nerd?" Kyle asked. "I knew you were going to ask that," Rick said. "And, no, he's not a nerd. Just because somebody works with computers doesn't make them a nerd, you know? And so what if he is a nerd?" "So nothing. I like nerds," Kyle said. "I like you, don't I?" I knew that was coming. "You got me last, but that was super cheap," Rick said. "I know," Kyle said. "So where is the guy? What's his name?" "His name is Kenny Balch, and I probably ought to go check on him," I said. "Can I go with you?" Kyle asked. "No, you stay here," I said. "He's going to have a black eye, so don't be shocked when you see him." I went up to Kenny's room, and I figured he was awake because I could hear the TV set through the door. It wasn't overly loud, but that part of the house was quiet. I tapped gently on the door. "Come in," he said. "Good morning. How are you doing?" I asked. "Morning. My eye hurts, but otherwise I'm okay," he said. "Kevin, I want to thank you for what you and Rick did last night. There aren't many bosses who would do that, and I really appreciate it." "Don't mention it," I said. "And thanks for talking to me, too. I feel a lot better now that you know who I really am," he said. "Are you out to anybody?" I asked. "Well, my wife. She caught me masturbating over some gay Internet porn. She said she had suspected it already, and she was pretty cool about it. She asked me to leave our apartment, and she was right about that. We're filing for divorce," he said. "Anybody else?" I asked. "Just you and Rick," he said. "You said there are some boys living here. Did you tell them?" "No. That's for you to do, if you decide to," I said. "They wanted to know if you'd be staying here, and I told them you're married but that you and your wife aren't together. As far as they know, you're as straight as the next guy." "Thanks. Oh, and I guess Wayne knows now, too," he said. "Yeah. Where are you living?" I asked. "I'm back at my parents' house, and it hasn't been easy. I think they suspect something, and I feel like I'm under surveillance all the time," he said. "I ought to be able to find a place soon, now that tourist season is almost over." "Well, look, this room is empty. If you want to stay here until you can get settled in an apartment, it's okay with us," I said. "I don't want to inconvenience you guys. You've already been nicer to me than I deserve," he said. I wasn't sure why he felt he didn't deserve for people to be nice to him, but I hoped it wasn't related to his sexuality. I had a million questions I was dying to ask him. Was Wayne married? How did the whole scene go down? Did Wayne lead him to believe he wanted a blowjob? Was it likely he'd have contact with Wayne at family occasions? Did he think Wayne would harass him? How did his parents feel about homosexuality? His brother? A million questions. "It won't be an inconvenience, and the kids will love having a new brother," I said. "And so will Rick and I." "I don't know," he said. "Well, think about it. Hang out with us today, and then decide. I guess you'll need to go home for clothes and stuff," I said. "Yeah, and I'm not looking forward to that with this shiner," he said. "They'll want to know how you got it, won't they?" I said. "Exactly. Shit, I really did it this time," he said. "Of course, if you want to, you can wear some of my clothes for a few days and just not go home. And take two or three sick days until the swelling and bruising go down," I said. "That's about the best idea I've heard," he said. "In fact, can I take you up on the clothes right now? I'd like to get a shower and put on something fresh." For the first time, I actually looked at what he was wearing. I had noticed the Goodson tee shirt the night before, but he had on khaki shorts that had a large stain to the right of the fly. He saw me looking at him, and he blushed a dark scarlet. "Don't ask," he said. He had a shy smile that was pretty cute. "I don't think I have to," I said. "No, I guess you don't," he said. "Go ahead and get in the shower, and I'll leave the clothes here on the bed. There are disposable razors and shave gel in the bathroom, and there are towels in the cabinet under the sink," I said. "Okay," he said, and I left to get him some clothes. "Rick, can I talk to you for a minute in our room?" I asked, as I passed through the den. "Where's the guy?" Kyle asked. "He's taking a shower. He'll be down in a few minutes," I said. "What's up?" Rick asked, after he had closed the door to our bedroom. "I told Kenny he's welcome to stay here a few days until his face gets to looking better," I said. "I hope you don't mind." "Of course I don't mind," he said. "Is his face really messed up?" "Yeah, it's pretty bad, and he definitely doesn't want his parents to see it. He's not out to anybody but his soon-to-be ex-wife and us. And to Wayne, of course. I told him to take sick days until his face is looking better, too," I said. "Well, that's certainly a legitimate use of sick leave," Rick said. "Kyle and Justin are dying to know details, and to meet him." "I'm not surprised. I figured they'd be curious as hell. He's not really all that much older than they are," I said. "Or younger than we are," Rick said. I got a pair of my khaki shorts, a Polo shirt, and some underwear, and took them up. He was still in the shower, and the bathroom door was closed. I gathered up his tee shirt, shorts, and briefs to put in the wash. He had had a hell of an orgasm, at least. I hoped it was before Wayne popped him. I got the wash started, poured myself another cup of coffee, and went back to the den. Rick and I had dressed for the day after our shower, but the boys were still in their underwear. "Do we need to get dressed?" Tim asked. "I don't see why," I said. "He's a guy, just like you, after all." "Kevin and Rick, I'm joining Weight Watchers, and the rest are going to join it with me," Murray said. "Cool," I said. "I think that's a good move. Whose idea was that?" "Brian's," Justin said. "We can't actually join, but we're going to take him to the meetings and stay and listen to the talks about nutrition," Brian said. "Why can't you join?" Rick asked. "Because we're not overweight," Brian said. "You, on the other hand, . . . " Rick's body-fat percentage hovered around seven percent, and if he lost weight, it could have severe health consequences. Brian seldom teased Rick and me, and I knew Rick loved his comment just then. "Come here, you," Rick said to Brian in his gruff grumble. "Sit here on my knee." Brian was grinning from ear to ear, and Rick had to grab him by the arm to get him on his lap. "I want to see if you need it," Rick said, and he started tickling Brian's ribs. Brian was squirming around on Rick's lap, and he was laughing so hard he was taking breaths in huge gasps. Brian was loving it. Trixie and Krewe would have been at Rick's throat had Rick been a stranger. As it was, they were both wagging their tails hard, nudging Brian with their snouts. Krewe barked a time or two, also. "No. No fat on you," Rick said, finally letting Brian slip down to the floor. Brian was out of breath from the experience. "Who's next? Kyle get up on here," Rick said, indicating his lap. "Grow up," Kyle said in mock contempt. "Oh, you think I should grow up?" Rick asked. Rick got out of his chair and went toward Kyle. "No!! Justin, help me," Kyle pleaded. "I ain't fixing to get involved in that. He'll be on my ass next, if I do," Jus said. Rick attacked Kyle. Kyle was as big as Rick, and he could have taken Rick out as easily as Rick could have taken him out. Rick was being affectionate, and Kyle knew it, so he went along. Rick tickled Kyle until Kyle was screaming with laughter, but, just as I knew would happen, Kyle turned on Rick and started tickling him. It was quite a sight to see two grown men on the floor going at each other. They kept it up for a minute or two, and then both of them flopped down on the floor exhausted. It was at that moment that Kenny made his appearance from upstairs. He was shy and tentative entering that group of total strangers. Kyle and Rick sat up when he came in, and Kyle simply scooted over to put his back against Tim's legs. Rick stood up and took his former seat. "Good morning," Rick said. "Hi," Kenny said. "Somebody get this man a cup of coffee," Rick said. Denny went into the kitchen to get it. Rick made the introductions of everyone in the room. Unless Kenny had a photographic memory, he'd never remember all the names on just one pass like that. "Damn, dude, you got a shiner for sure there," Justin said. "What'd you do? Run into a Mack truck?" "Close," Kenny said. "Here. Eat some of this coffeecake. I made it, and it's good," Kyle said. "It'll help you get your strength back." Kenny chuckled. "It does look good," he said. "It is good. Here, put you some butter on it, too. The butter's all soft now. That's the way I like it best," Kyle said. "Soft and creamy." "Ain't that impossible? Soft and creamy?" Justin asked. "On second thought, not for you, I reckon." "He got you last, Bubba," Rick said. "I know. Don't rub it in," Kyle said. "Rub what in? The soft or the creamy?" Jus asked. "Davis, I am this close to wanting to bust your ass for not helping me with this ox," Kyle said, meaning Rick. "Now you're making fun of me?" "If the fu shits, Kyle," Jus said. "Yeah? I'll shit in your fu," Kyle said. "That would damn sure be soft and creamy," Justin said. "Ewww," we all said, more or less on cue, and then we laughed. "It's getting a little gross, boys," I said. "I know. I surprised myself that time, but I was on a roll," Justin said. Kenny was eating, and I thought they were starting to get out of hand. The two of them would say absolutely anything, especially to each other, and I didn't know where that would go next. Kenny was clearly enjoying the banter, though. "Kenny, do you work with Tony?" Kyle asked. "He's our brother, you know?" "Tony Miller? Yeah, I work with him," Kenny said. "I didn't know he had a connection to you guys, though." "Yeah. Chuck Jackson is his boyfriend, and Chuck lived here after his mom was killed and their house burned down," Kyle said. "His boyfriend?" Kenny asked. "Oh, shit! Did I just fuck up?" Kyle asked. "No, you didn't, Kyle. Chuck and Tony are out to everybody," Rick said. "Not to him, evidently," Kyle said. "Kenny might not have heard, but Tony makes no secret about being gay at work," I said. "You didn't say anything you shouldn't have said." "That's a relief. Yeah, Kenny, Chuck is Tony's boyfriend. And Tim is my boyfriend," Kyle said. "And Brian is my boyfriend," Justin said. "And Brady is my boyfriend," Denny said. "Still?" Kyle asked. "Yeah. For now," Denny said. "And I don't have a boyfriend," Murray said. "But you stand back when I lose my weight." "I don't have a boyfriend, either," Kenny said. The boys all laughed because they thought he was joking about even wanting a boyfriend. Rick and I just looked at each other. "Kenny, it's okay to smoke in here, if you want to," I said, trying to change the subject. "I noticed the ashtrays, and I was wondering," Kenny said. "Yeah, this is not a healthy, smoke-free environment," Kyle said. "Is it, Justin?" "Fuck you, Kyle," Justin said. Justin and I usually went outside to smoke out of deference to the non-smokers, but Jus lit up when Kenny did that morning. He blew the smoke in Kyle's direction, just as I knew he would. "Gimme one," Kyle said. "No. Buy your own," Justin said. "Here, have one of mine," Kenny said. "No, thanks," Kyle said. "I want one of his." "It's the same brand," Kenny said. He was getting sucked in to something he had no idea about. "If I have to take those cigarettes away from you, Justin, it's going to hurt," Kyle said. "Hurt who? Me or you?" "Now, that I don't know yet," Kyle said. Justin laughed. "You don't really want to smoke a cigarette, do you?" Justin said. "No, I don't, but I want one to put behind my ear," Kyle said. We all laughed at that. "Oh, in that case, here," Justin said, and he gave Kyle a cigarette. Kyle tucked it behind his ear. "Thank you," Kyle said. "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" "Don't start with the hard stuff," Justin said. We were saved from a round of puns by the arrival of the townhouse boys. That's what we called them. The Townhouse Boys. They came in the back door, and they made quite an entrance. We hugged everybody like we always did when they came over or we went over to their house. I watched Tony's face when he laid eyes on Kenny. "Hey. What's up?" Tony said to Kenny. Tony extended his hand, and they shook. Tony had "What the hell are you doing here" written in 36-point type across is face. "Not much. What's up with you?" Kenny said. "What happened, man?" Tony asked about his eye. "It's a long story," Kenny said. "I'll bet," Tony said. "Anybody want to ski?" Kyle asked. "That's why we came over," Tyler said. "Okay, but first I want to take some pictures. And I want y'all to see this. Brian, can you get 'em to do the trick again?" Kyle said. "Yeah, I think so. Get your camera," Brian said. "Everybody sit down, please." Rick and I sat down next to each other on a sofa. "What's going on?" Rick asked. "It beats me. Brian must have taught the dogs a trick that Kyle wants to photograph. I don't know," I said. Kyle got out his super-fancy digital camera and got into place. In a second he told Brian he was ready. Then, to everybody's surprise, the dogs came out of the kitchen carrying a basket in their mouths. It was like they were serving tea or something. It was amazing. They kept it steady, and they placed it on the coffee table in front of Rick and me. The tray had two cups and saucers, spoons, and a little bunch of artificial flowers that were ordinarily on the window sill in the kitchen. We applauded when they came out. Kyle was all over the place, and I had never seen him move that fast with a camera in his hands. He was on his back on the floor, on his knees, on his feet, on his butt. I had no idea how many pictures he took, but it was an awesome display. The dogs knew they were on show, and they both had happy looks on their faces once they set the tray down. Okay, maybe I'm projecting more onto them than they were capable of, but they sure looked happy to me. When Brian came out of the kitchen, we gave him a standing ovation. He had a grin on his face that must have hurt, it was so wide. Kyle hadn't stopped snapping pictures, either. He got a bunch of Brian, but he also got the rest of us. I knew those were going to be good. "I'm going to skip the skiing," Jeff said. "You want to get right on those pictures, don't you?" Tyler said. The two of them were grinning at each other, and there was real love going back and forth. "Yeah," Jeff said. "I've got a Web site to maintain, Babe." "I know, plus you ski for shit, anyway," Tyler said. Jeff laughed. "You noticed that, did you?" Jeff said. Tyler kissed Jeff briefly on the lips, and they were a cute couple. It was obvious they were very happy together, and that made me happy. Kyle called the Spencer-Kenners, and they wanted to ski, too. Denny and Murray didn't want to ski, which was no surprise. Denny had a book he was reading, and he curled up in one of the lounge chairs on the patio. Brian, Tim, and Murray played with one of Brian's model airplanes, but Brian and Tim took their turns skiing, too. The dogs took turns riding on the boat. Trixie didn't go in after somebody a single time, and Krewe only did it once. Brian was in the boat when Krewe went in, and he said something to her when she did it. Rick and I were on the dock with Jimmy and Dave when that happened. Brian didn't touch her, but it was pretty obvious he chewed her out. The next time somebody went down, Krewe was poised to go after him. Brian said something to her, and she sat down. "Brian's amazing with those dogs," Jimmy said. "Yeah, he is," Rick said. "He made over $20,000.00 this summer training dogs." "Shit. You're kidding, right?" Jimmy said. "No, I'm not," Rick said. "Damn, that's a real gift," Jimmy said. "Yeah, it is. But you know what? He wants to be a human doctor and not a vet," Rick said. "He wants to be a doctor?" Dave said. "Yeah, and he will be one," I said. "Count on that. And Tim, too." "Any potential lawyers or CPA's in the crowd?" Jimmy asked. "Not among the Big Four," I said. "That's Kyle, Tim, Justin, and Brian. Kyle's going to run his family's business, and Justin is going to be his right-hand man. The other two are going to be the doctors." "They're some amazing boys," Jimmy said. "Jimmy, you don't even know the half of it," I said.
I felt so incredibly humiliated when I looked up and saw Kevin Foley and Rick Mashburn in that policeman's office Saturday night that I could have died. In fact, that night I thought death would have been a blessing to me. Cindy and I were doomed from the start. I knew I should never have asked her to marry me, but it was what everybody expected me to do. I mean, we had dated for three years, and all of "my" friends were really "our" friends by that point. My parents and her parents considered us a couple, and marriage was the next step. I mean, I knew I was gay, but there was enormous pressure on me to do something with her. I liked Cindy very much. She was pretty conservative when it came to sex, and that was fine with me. She jerked me off a few times before we were married when we were in the real heat of passion, but that was it. I tried to finger her, but she always had some excuse why I couldn't pleasure her. I really don't think she ever got off, the whole time we were together. Once we got married, all the reasons not to do stuff were gone. We had actual intercourse a few times, but she wasn't real keen on it, and I wasn't, either. A lot of people think gay men can't have sexual intercourse with a woman, but we can. At least I could. It wasn't very satisfying on an emotional level, but I could get hard and get it in her. She was pretty dry the first couple of times, and I suggested we use KY Jelly. That made it easier, but I didn't think there was any pleasure for her. It took me a long time to come, and I'm pretty sure she never did come. She was on the pill, so there wasn't much chance she would conceive. We had talked about wanting kids eventually, and I thank God we waited for that. Every time I made love to Cindy, I thought about Wayne Stafford. He was my younger brother's best friend, and I had been in love with him for years. Wayne was a cowboy. Not really, but that was his persona. He lived with just his dad, and they had a 40-acre spread north of Emerald Beach. They had a few head of cattle, some goats, chickens, and four horses. My brother and I loved to go up there, and my brother spent many nights with Wayne. My brother went off to college, and Wayne started calling me to see if I wanted to go out with him. "Why do you want to go out with him?" Cindy asked, more than once. "Because I like him. He's my brother's best friend, and he's lonely," I said. "Well, have fun," Cindy said, sarcastically. And Wayne and I did have fun. We'd go out to a bar or club on the beach, and we'd get drunk. More than once we spent the night in his pick-up because we were too drunk to drive home. He had an extended cab truck, so there was plenty of room for both of us. Wayne never picked up girls. I figured he was like me. Gay. After Cindy caught me in mid-jerk to some gay porn on the Web, she wanted me gone. "You're gay, aren't you?" she asked. "Yeah, I guess so," I said. That was it for her. For me, too, though. I didn't really want to be in that marriage, but having been married would be good cover for me. I could just tell people I was divorced if they asked me about a girlfriend or something. I had an alibi, at least for awhile. But there was always Wayne. I loved him so much. And I just knew he was gay and loved me, too. But I couldn't raise the question with him. Then one night he called me on my cell. "Hey, what are you doing?" he asked. "Nothing. What are you doing?" I asked. "I'm drinking beer and thinking about you," he said. "Where are you?" "I'm at the Big Chief Truck Stop on Highway 231. Do you know where that is?" "Yeah, I know where that is," I said. Cindy and I had split up by that time, and I was living with my parents again. I got in my car and headed out to see him. I took my wallet out of my shorts and left it home so some ruffian at that truck stop couldn't steal it. I didn't even think about buying drinks and that sort of thing. I was going to see Wayne, and I didn't think about needing money. When I got there, Wayne was about half loaded. He was happy to see me, and he bought me a beer. I don't know that I even touched it, though. We were talking about girls and sex, and about how horny we both were. It was typical conversation for young males who don't have dates on Saturday night. "Ken, I need to ask you something," he said. "Would you ever suck a cock?" At first I was taken aback by his question. But that was exactly what I wanted to do. "It depends," I said. "Will you suck mine? All this talk about sex has really horned me up, and I need it bad, man," he said. "Wayne, I've wanted to suck your cock for a long time," I said. I realized I was coming out to him, but I loved him. "I figured that," he said. "Let's go outside." We went outside, and I got on my knees in front of him. He whipped out his hard dick, and I went to town on it. I had never done that before, but I felt as though I knew instinctively what to do. He came in my mouth, and I came in my shorts seconds later. Immediately after that, Wayne hit me. "You fucking cocksucker," he said. "Get the fuck away from me." He hit me very hard. I didn't think he had broken any bones, but I really didn't know. I started crying because the boy I loved had called me that name and had said to get away from him. I was in pain, but that's not what made me cry. It was the rejection, the contempt in his voice when he said that. "Wayne, why did you do that? I love you. Don't you love me, too?" I asked. "Didn't you like it?" I'm sure I sounded desperate. "Shut the fuck up, Kenny. Yeah, I liked it. I liked it too goddamn much. I ain't a faggot like you, and I won't be one, either," he said. "You disgust me, and I disgust myself for letting you do that to me." He kicked me in my thigh. Wayne always wore jeans and cowboy boots, never shorts. "Hey, what's going on?" a guy yelled from his truck. He had a cell phone in his hand, and I figured he was calling the police. "Shit, that bastard saw the whole goddamn thing. At least you didn't kiss me. I'm out of here," he said. There were always lots of cops on Highway 231, and one of them got there in time to block Wayne's leaving. He made him get out of his truck, and the two walked over to me. "What's going on?" the cop asked. By then the man who had made the call was walking over to us. "I seen the whole thing, officer. This boy here gave that one a blowjob, and then that one walloped the shit out of this one," he said. The officer called for backup, and a second cruiser was there in seconds. "We're going to the station to sort this out," the cop said. "Am I under arrest?" Wayne asked. "'Cause if I am, I need to call my daddy." "You're not under arrest yet. We're going in for a little chat," the cop said. One took me in his car, and the other one took Wayne. We didn't see each other again after we left that parking lot. I was still crying, and, all of a sudden, it was like my mind shut down. It was like I was dead or something. I couldn't even think. In the office at the station, the policeman tried to get me to talk. I couldn't, though. I heard what he said, but I didn't process any of it. He was getting frustrated with me, I know, but there wasn't anything I could do about it. Then I heard him making a phone call, and about a half hour later Kevin and Rick showed up. * * * Sunday morning Kevin came to wake me up. My shorts and underwear were caked with my dried cum from the night before, and Kevin noticed. That embarrassed me to death, but Kevin was cool about it. He went downstairs to get me some of his clothes. I undressed and dropped my dirty clothes on the floor, thinking I'd take care of them later. When I finished showering and shaving, I went out into the room. The fresh clothes were there, and my dirty ones were gone. He must have taken them to wash them, and that brought back the embarrassment of a little while before. There were six boys in the den with Kevin and Rick. The older guys were dressed, but the boys were all in underwear. Four of them had on bikini briefs, and, even though they weren't hard, I could clearly see the outline of their equipment. All four of them were very good looking, especially the one who was in charge of the dogs. Despite everything that had happened to me, I started getting aroused when I saw those guys. They all introduced themselves, and one of them got me some coffee. I sat down right away, and I hoped and prayed none of them had noticed my condition. They talked about Tony Miller, my boss. It turned out Tony had a boyfriend that he lived with and that the boyfriend had once lived there. I was a "network consultant," and, to tell you the truth, I didn't have all that much contact with Tony. My manager was a guy named Lee, and he's the one who supervised my work. Plus, I was out in the hotels and stores most of the time, fixing problems. They said Tony was fully out at work, but I sure didn't know that. It turned out, every one of those guys was gay, and all but one of them had boyfriends. I was totally stunned. One of them said his last name was Goodson, and I noted the coincidence. He was probably the second best-looking one of them, and he seemed like he was in his early twenties. He had what to me was a beautiful growth of hair on his chest. It wasn't real thick or gross or anything, but it was very sexy. And his physique was very well developed. Not as well developed as a sandy-haired boy, but it was nice. "Guys, Ken's going to be staying with us for a few days until his face heals up," Kevin said. "Great," the Goodson guy said. "You're going to like it here, dude. This is a good place to be." "Thanks, I need a sanctuary right now," I said. "You mean like the church?" sandy-hair said. "Buddy, a church is a sanctuary, and back in the old days people in trouble used to go to churches to hide because the bad guys knew not to go in there after them," the pretty one said. "They called doing that seeking sanctuary." "Well, the stuff that goes on in this house don't go on in a church," sandy-hair said. Everybody laughed but me. Later, when I thought about it, I saw how funny that was. * * * We all went outside to water ski. Kevin loaned me a pair of swimming trunks to wear. I had skied all my life, and I was pretty good. They were good, too, though, so I didn't do any showing off. "If you guys want a beer or a soft drink, there are plenty of both in the clubhouse," Rick said. "Come on, Ken. Let's go get a beer," Tony said. I got up reluctantly and went with him. I figured it was just a matter of time before he would want to talk to me. "I was surprised to see you here this morning," Tony said. "Yeah, well, Kevin and Rick kind of bailed me out last night," I said. "Were you arrested?" he asked. "No, I wasn't arrested. A guy beat me up a little," I said. "Were you in a bar fight?" Tony asked. His tone of voice was very compassionate, like he considered me a friend or something. That sort of surprised me since I really didn't know him all that well. He hadn't worked for Goodson very long. "It was at a bar. A truck stop, really, but it was in the parking lot, just him and me," I said. "Did he rob you?" he asked. "No," I said. "I had left my wallet at home." "Well, at least that much is good," he said. "You're going to take a few days off, right? You don't want to have to tell this story to everybody you come in contact with." "Yeah, I am," I said. "One of these days I might be able to tell you exactly what happened, but not now, okay?" "You don't owe me an explanation, Ken. You and I are both here as guests of Kevin and Rick. I'm not your boss here, and if I hadn't come over, I probably never would have known about it. I'm familiar with your work through Lee, and I know you do a good job for us. That's the only boss-employee thing I know about you. Here, we're just friends, okay, buddy?" he said. "I'm glad you feel that way. The last thing I need right now is to lose my job," I said. "Lose your job? You're kidding, right?" he said. "Yeah," I said, but I really wasn't. "Let's each take a fistful of beers out to the others. I'm sure they're all thirsty," he said. "I'll catch up with you in a second," I said. "Okay. Look around if you want to. They've got some great facilities here," he said. "Okay," I replied. I breathed a deep sigh of relief when he walked out of that building. The night before had been the worst time of my life, but everybody at that house was treating me so kind that I was almost glad it had happened. Almost. I thought about Wayne, and I wondered what he was doing. Then I thought about touching his penis and putting it to my lips and into my mouth. I had seen it soft many times when we went skinny dipping in the lake near his house, but that had been the first time I had seen it hard. Those thoughts made my own penis swell. Get over him, I thought. He doesn't want you, and he never will. He thinks he's straight, and you're not going to do anything to convince him otherwise. Go out there with your new friends and have a good time. While I was standing there thinking, the Goodson boy came in. "Hey. I came to get some beers," he said. "Would you tell me your name again?" I asked. "It's Kyle. Kyle Goodson," he said. He had a small tattoo of a monkey an inch or so above his Speedo. I hadn't noticed it that morning when he was in his underwear. "I knew your last name was Goodson. Like the building," I said. "Yeah," he said, and he smiled. "They say if you put a beefsteak on your eye, it'll take the swelling out. You want to try it?" he asked. "I've heard that, too, but I bet it's an old wives tale," I said. "Could be, but this would be a good time to test it out. I'll get you one," he said. There was a freezer in the kitchen, and he started digging around in it. He pulled out a filet, ran some hot water in the sink, and put it in. The meat was wrapped in butcher paper. "This will just take a minute to thaw," he said. "If it doesn't work, we'll cook it, and you can eat it." I laughed a little. He was so at ease, so comfortable with who and what he was. And so attractive. "Those dogs were something else with that basket, weren't they?" he said. "Yeah, I'd never seen anything like that before," I said. "I know. Brian is constantly coming up with stuff for them to do. We used to have trouble with them going in after skiers who fell or just finished their run and sank down into the water. He broke them of that, though. Everybody says he ought to be a vet, but that's not what he wants to be. He wants to be a human doctor," he said. He was going out of his way to make conversation, and I appreciated that. "I think this steak's about ready to use," he said. "It's still a little frozen, but that might help, too. I don't know if you just put it on straight or you do something to it first." "Let me just put it on and see," I said. The steak was pliable, but it was still icy. It felt pretty good when I held it up to my face, but it was the coldness that felt good, not the meat. "Why don't you stay in here and keep that thing on it for a while," Kyle said. "There's TV, stereo, VCR, DVD, you name it. There's even a computer if you want to check email or something." "Thanks," I said. "You call me if you need anything, you hear? We're going to get you better fast, Bubba," he said. "I heard several people use the name Bubba for each other. Why is that?" I asked. "'Bubba' means 'brother,' that's why," he said. "If you're here, you're our brother, and that's all there is to it." "Thanks, Kyle," I said. "No problem, er . . . is it Kenny or Ken? Which one do you like?" "Either one, but Ken is what I prefer now," I said. "Okay, Ken. See you later," he said. He gathered up as many beers as he could hold and went back outside with the others. |