Golden Glories

by Gerald Lopez

  “That’s for damn sure,” Don said from the kitchen.

  I chuckled. “Then you certainly know what Pete must find attractive about you two. And he’d be Don’s type. I’d ask what made you go against type being with him, but I have eyes.”

  “And Pete’s as angelic on the inside as he is on the outside,” Braeden said.

  Pete returned smiling, with Don holding onto his arm. He handed me a bottled water.

  “Damn!” Don said. “I left my drink in the kitchen.”

  “I’ll get it,” Pete said, as he helped Don sit in the chair beside the sofa.

  “So how do we know, Layton?” Don said.

  “Know what, Don?” I said after drinking some of my water.

  “Whether you can hold your own or not,” Don said. “I know what I’m packing.” He quickly lowered his shorts and underwear then pushed his thick cock toward me.

  “Don!” Braeden said in shock.

  Pete rushed in with Don’s drink. “Don, baby, what have we told you about doing this sort of thing with company around?”

  “I don’t care!” Don said. “I don’t care. Where’s my cane? Get me my cane! Now!”

  Braeden reached for Don’s cane, which was behind him next to the door. He gave it to Pete. Don grabbed the cane and banged it hard on the floor.

  “If I want to strut my stuff in my own home, I’m gonna do it!” Don said.

  He swung his cane toward Pete, but I managed to rush forward and grab it.

  “You want some of this cane too, boy?” Don said to me.

  “No, Sir,” I said. “It’s just stopping me from admiring how well endowed you are.”

  My comment managed to calm Don for a minute, who grinned proudly. It is pretty nice, isn’t it?” He rubbed it once or twice with his hand then sat back in a chair. “At least it’s one part of me that still funcaaa, functtt, functions damn it! My mind’s not all there but my dick sure is.” He laughed loudly.

  “Hey, you gotta be grateful the big guy still works,” I said, and chuckled trying to humor the man.

  “It does work,” Don said. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I had a stroke ya know, and some other big problems that affect my mind, but not Big Jimmy Dong. Nope he’s still up to the task, right boys?”

  “Oh yeah,” Pete said. “I’ve got no complaints. The first time we did it left me sore.”

  “Pete!” Braeden said, clearly embarrassed.

  “It’s cool,” I said. “Remember I’m with Charity, so just think of me as family.”

  “Let me see it, Layton,” Don said to me with a smile. “Come on now, you saw mine.”

  “Actually, his was still fully on display and practically winking my way.

  “Don, that’s enough,” Braeden said, as if to a child.

  “I wanna see it!” Don said. “I wanna see it.”

  “Don, that’s not nice,” Pete said. “You can see mine later if you want.”

  “I’ve seen yours before,” Don said. “I wanna see Layton’s pecker!” He banged his can on the floor as if he were about to throw a fit.

  “He didn’t take his pain medication in time,” Pete said. “I thought he’d taken it earlier, but he hadn’t. This is how he is when he’s in pain before the meds kick in.”

  “Don’t you go talking about me like I’m not even here you little son of a bitch!” Don said.

  “Don,” Braeden said.

  “Don’t you talk to me!” Don said. “I know you can’t wait until I’m gone, and you two can be by yourselves without an old man who can’t take care of himself anymore.” Tears started to fill his eyes.

  Braeden looked like he might cry too so I did something drastic whether anyone liked it or not. I stood and began to unzip my shorts.

  “I don’t know how well mine will compare to yours Don but here goes.” I dropped my shorts and underwear.

  “Oh, that’s a nice one,” Don said, looking at me with his eyes wide and slightly glazed over. “Now that there’s a man’s cock. Pete’s is pretty and Braeden’s is refined. Yours is just a normal, grown man’s dick, Layton.” He ran his hand along my cock for a moment then stopped.

  “Layton, you shouldn’t feel the need to—” Braeden said, but I stopped him mid sentence.

  “I’m a nudist at heart anyway, and you did mention a Jacuzzi, so at some point you’d all see me naked,” I said. “No biggie.” After giving Braeden and Pete a smile and a quick wink, I put my underwear and shorts back on.

  “No biggie my ass,” Don said. “And you weren’t even hard.”

  “I’m a shower and a grower,” I said, then smiled at Don. “You’d better behave, Don. You don’t want to get everyone hot and bothered over that nice body of yours, do you?”

  Don just laughed as he pulled up his underwear and shorts. He looked up at me and laughed again like a kid.

  “Let’s get your face cleaned up,” Pete said to Don.

  “I want to see Momma,” Don said.

  “Not today,” Pete said.

  “I wanna see Momma!” Don said and banged his cane on the floor.

  “We’ll wait for you two outside,” Braeden said. “And remember, Don, Momma went out of town.”

  “I forgot,” Don said. He let Pete help him up, then went with him out of the room.

  After helping Braeden get two large bowls of Ambrosia from the fridge I followed him out to the front porch.

  “I’m sorry if I overstepped,” I said. “It was tough seeing Don upset.”

  “Some days are easier than others,” Braeden said. “Don is like a kid again. Hell, he never got to be much of a child when he was one. He took care of his mother and siblings when his dad died.”

  “It’s good that you and Pete are there for him.”

  “We do our best. Like I said earlier, thank God for Pete—he’s young and strong. The others help a lot too. Sometimes we even take Don out on the town. Everyone knows everyone here, so it’s not too much of a problem on normal days. He doesn’t demand to see everyone’s private parts. Hell, you are like family to us already because of Charity. Not that we want everyone feeling like they have to let Don examine their goods.”

  I chuckled. “That could be a problem.”

  “Don just wants to be in his home with Pete and me and his friends who are like family. And Pete and I are determined he get to stay here, and not in some facility where he wouldn’t know anyone. At least Don’s older sister in Miami took in his ninety-six-year-old mom. She—Don’s mom—had Don at fifteen and is still alive and doing well.”

  “I admire what you guys are doing, and how you all pitch in together to help. That’s what my guys and I are trying to build—a home in every sense of the word.”

  “It’s a good goal, not that there won’t be tough days. But the good ones will make up for all the bad.”

  “Sorry we took so long,” Pete said as he walked out of the house.

  “Sorry we took so long,” Don said.

  “Don spilled some of his drink on his shirt, so I helped him put a clean shirt on,” Pete said.

  “I spilled some… some spilled on my shirt,” Don said, and looked down at his shirt.

  “Now you look even more handsome,” I said.

  Don chuckled. I looked down and noticed that Pete’s flip-flops lit up. There were lights on both sides of them.

  “Nice flip-flops,” I said.

  “Thanks,” Pete said. “It gets dark early now, so I like being prepared for the night.”

  “I don’t like the night,” Don said. “Bad things happen at night.”

  Chapter 15

  Night Terrors

  “WHAT SORT OF bad things?” I said, as we walked back to the pavilion.

  “Ghost appearances, a strange breeze coming from nowhere that sends chills up your spine,” Pete said.

  “Eyes,” Don said. “Don’t forget the eyes. Evil silver eyes looking at you from the dark. Eyes without faces or bodies.”

  “We must sound crazy to you, Layton,” Braeden said.<
br />
  “I’m not crazy!” Don said.

  “I know you’re not,” I said. “I’ve seen the silvery eyes since I’ve been here, but they were attached to a body.”

  Braeden gasped, then spoke. “You’ve seen the nuns?”

  “Briefly,” I said.

  “Things are happening quickly then,” Braeden said.

  “Not really,” Pete said. “This is the day, remember?”

  When we got back to the pavilion, Bella took the bowls of Ambrosia from us and put them in the pavilion’s kitchen fridge. I introduced Forrest and Alex to Pete and Don.

  “I saw Layton’s pecker and it’s nice,” Don said. “You’re two lucky boys.”

  “Thanks?” Forrest said, then shot me a curious look.

  “Layton likes to play show and tell a lot,” Alex said, and chuckled.

  “You probably have a pretty one, cause you’re pretty like our Pete,” Don said.

  “How did you know?” Alex said, and smiled.

  Somehow I managed to make an excuse so that Forrest, Alex, and I could walk along the water and talk. The water felt good on my bare feet, and I liked being in between the two men I loved most in the world. Forrest put his arm around my shoulders and broke the silence.

  “Why exactly were you showing your goods to those guys?”

  “Because Don asked,” I said, then chuckled. “Actually, Don fussed, banged his cane and there were tears. He had a stroke and is on medication that affects him. It felt like a quick fix to calm the poor guy. The man wanted to see what I had, so I showed it to him and he was able to relax. Apparently, it takes a while for his medicine to kick in.”

  “Makes sense to me,” Alex said. “I would’ve done the same.”

  I gave Alex a kiss. “My defender yet again,” I said.

  “I’m not blaming you or even mad,” Forrest said. “It just sounds like you were placating a man-child, and I question whether that was the best thing to do.”

  “I love you too,” I said, and kissed Forrest. “And I wasn’t sure I did the right thing. But it was clear Don wasn’t in his right mind, and not just throwing a fit. It just seemed like a quick fix, and we’re all guys in a gay compound. Hell, we’re all bound to get naked at some point. Men being men and all.”

  “Hmm,” Forrest said. “And if I asked you not to get naked?”

  “Are you asking me?” I said.

  “No, I know better,” Forrest said, and smiled. “We heard about the Jacuzzi while you were gone, so you’re probably right about us all ‘getting naked at some point’.”

  Alex chuckled then spoke. “Don and his family make me think of how we’ll probably be when we’re older.”

  “A little,” I said. “What was your secret mission, Alex with the pretty penis?”

  “Ha, ha,” Alex said.

  “He’s not wrong about the pretty penis, neither was Don,” Forrest said, and smiled.

  “Back to business,” Alex said. “I called our friend Shannon Henry to see if she knew anything about the history of this place.”

  “And did she?” I said.

  “Yes,” Alex said. “She mentioned that there have been quite a few ghost sightings here involving pirates, priests, and nuns. The pirates split into two groups once they got here. Some stayed to hunt for the treasure, while the others continued onward taking a small group of nuns and priests with them.”

  “Interesting,” I said. “Which group is the power player here in the key—the priests, pirates, or nuns?”

  “The nuns,” Alex said. “They were raped and tortured by the pirates. Most of the priests were killed quickly with only a handful left to torture. The spirits of the dead have been known to inhabit anything they can, when it gets close to an anniversary day. One year they inhabited a pack of dogs that tortured the town.”

  “Jorri remembered that incident,” Forrest said. “He said the dogs, who ended up growing to the size of supernaturally large wolves, did some real damage to the town.”

  “They didn’t have to shoot them, did they?” I said.

  “No,” Forrest said. “Someone had the brilliant idea to inject a couple dozen raw steaks with a sedative that put the dogs to sleep. Dogs being dogs, they went straight for the steaks.”

  “If the ghosts inhabited dogs, then nothing could be off-limits,” I said. “That’s a scary thought.”

  “It is,” Alex said. “But Shannon said that the ghosts could only inhabit people or things that were caught unaware. Meaning if we see them coming, we can fight against possession by telling them to go away in Jesus’ name. Most of the ghosts were Christian when they were alive, and would respect the name of Jesus.”

  “Even the pirates,” I said.

  “Who knows when it comes to pirates?” Forrest said.

  “Shannon wishes us the best of luck,” Alex said. “It’s important we get our hands on that staff, as we already know, but the chalice also has some supernatural properties. She doesn’t know what, though. Those details required a higher clearance than she has.”

  “Where was Shannon, by the way?” I said.

  “Still in Mrs. Carson’s place doing research,” Alex said. “Rory’s keeping an eye on her while Mrs. Carson and Elise are gone. Mrs. Carson told Shannon she could stay while she was gone, and I told her to feel free to explore the property all she wants. Was that OK?”

  “Of course,” I said. “It’s our house and grounds, babe, If it’s OK with you then it’s fine by me.”

  “We’ve barely even spent time at the court,” Alex said.

  “That will change when this case is over,” I said, then put my arm around Alex and gave him a squeeze. “Forrest, how’s our boy Chip doing?”

  “Good,” Forrest said. “Miss Lucy and Buck were gonna cook hot dogs and hamburgers for Chip, his school chums, and their parents on the yacht. And Chip was really excited because there’s an ice cream sundae bar onboard that they can go wild with for dessert.”

  “Wow, I’m jealous,” I said. “It’s getting close to lunchtime, especially since we were up so early. I’m kind of wishing I was on the boat with ice cream.”

  “Aren’t we enough for you, Detective?” Forrest said, then softly kissed the side of my neck, sending chills down my body.

  “Tease,” I said.

  The beach in front of the compound was empty, so the three of us were able to walk a while, holding hands. When we got back to the pavilion, the nun boys were there.

  “Hi,” Sister Joe said. “We’re here, but our teacher couldn’t make it.”

  “He’s busy talking history with the retirees that came for the treasure hunt,” Sister Mack said.

  “Retirees?” Forrest said.

  “Oh yeah,” Sister Randy said. “Two busloads of the old folks came to town for the treasure hunt—walkers, canes, wheelchairs, and all.”

  “This is gonna be a huge cluster,” Forrest said, clearly agitated. “Hopefully we won’t have any fatalities.”

  “There was a near fatality,” Sister Vaughn said.

  “Oh yeah,” Sister Mack said. “When the titties came out.”

  “Say what?” I said.

  “Some of the waitresses from local restaurants were downtown, handing out flyers with senior specials on them,” Sister Joe said.

  “And some of the ladies had the girls prominently displayed, if you know what I mean,” Sister Mack said. “Anyhow one old man screamed, ‘show me the titties!’ The waitress flashed him, and the guy thought he had a heart attack.”

  “And did he?” Alex said.

  “Nope, it was just gas,” Sister Joe said.

  “Oh brother,” Forrest said, before plopping down on the rattan sofa.

  “So, do you guys need any help with setting up or cooking?” Sister Mack said to Nikki and Jorri. “I work the grill at a restaurant near our school.”

  “Perfect,” Bella said. “We’re almost ready to get some shrimp on the grill. You can handle that for us.”

  “We brought an ice che
st full of beer and wine coolers,” Sister Joe said.

  “Where’s Ginger?” Alex said.

  “She was gonna have lunch on the yacht with her crew,” Sister Joe said. “So, it’s just us boys.”

  “Everybody get naked!” Don said, waving his cane in the air.

  “I like the way you think,” Sister Joe said.

  “How’s about some drinks first?” Pete said.

  “The cooler’s right by the back wall,” Sister Vaughn said. “We’ve got some sodas in there too.”

  “Good,” I said. “I need to stay levelheaded, so I’ll just grab a soda.” After opening the soda can I turned to Forrest. “What can I get you, big guy?”

  “I’ll indulge and have a beer,” Forrest said, “but just one in case I’m called to patrol the downtown a bit.”

  “What’s the likelihood of that happening?” Alex said.

  “With all those senior citizens there, who knows?” Forrest said.

  I got Forrest’s beer from the cooler. “Alex, babe, what do you want?”

  “You,” Alex said.

  The nun boys hooted and hollered at that comment.

  “Shit,” Sister Mack said. “You know those three have a hot sex life!”

  “I’ll have a soda,” Alex said, with a mischievous grin on his face.

  After handing Alex his soda I took Forrest his beer.

  “Cool, ping-pong,” Sister Joe said, looking at the ping-pong table. “Anyone wanna play while we’re waiting for the grub.”

  “Please do not use the word grub,” Bean said. I’ve eaten grubs before when visiting Australia on tour. We most definitely do not serve grubs here.”

  “Sorry, Bean,” Sister Joe said. “I’m just a rude bitch sometimes.”

  “Speaking of food,” Nikki said. “I can use some help in the kitchen.”

  “Let’s get to work, people,” Bella said.

  Bella went back to the kitchen, followed by Nikki, Bean, and Randall, who waved to us.

  “Y’all be good,” Randall said. “And if you can’t be good, be safe.”

  “I’d better go give them a hand,” Pete said, then followed them into the kitchen.

  “Who’s up for ping-pong?” Sister Joe said. “We can have a game of students vs working men.”