“How much?”
“Since you’re a regular, Jake. I’ll give him to you for 50 bucks. His ass is tight because he’s like practically a virgin.”
Jacob pulled out his wallet and handed the money over. “If I don’t like how he looks, I can have my money back, right?”
“Sure and Dave, what can I get for you? As I remember, you like snow, right?”
“Yeah.”
Rico smiled, “I’ve got just what you need.” He got up and walked to the back of the small apartment.
Just then a handsome young man pushed the door open. Jacob got up to help him wrestle a large box through the narrow space. Michael smiled at him and Jacob smiled back. He was happy to see that the young man Rico was grooming still had all his front teeth, well, at least for now. If Rico treated this one like he’d treated all the others, he’d fix that problem. The rent boys always gave a better blowjob if they were missing their front teeth.
As Michael set the box on the floor, he noticed how close Jacob was standing to him. He frowned at the man and stepped back. He didn’t want Rico to see him so close to this guy. Rico was the jealous type and Michael knew he’d end up being blamed for the other man’s interest. The man reached out and grabbed Michael’s arm, pulling him closer. The look in the other man’s eyes told him what he wanted and if there was any doubt, his hand firmly grabbing Michael’s cock sealed it.
“Oh,” Rico came out from the bedroom, “I see you’ve met Michael, here.” He tossed a plasticine bag at David, then held out his hand. “Two hundred.” Rico turned and focused on his boyfriend. “Babe, you look like you need some medicine. Come here.” He reached out his hand and Michael was happy to go with him. “I’ll only be a few minutes, Jacob.” He said as he led his lover down the hall.
It took Rico only about three minutes to cook the heroin he’d been using on Michael. “So, how did it go with your Dad?” He asked as he motioned for his lover to sit on the bed.
“He was drunk when I came in last night. He was punching Uncle Adam and I had to break it up. Adam was bleeding and I tried to help him, but he wouldn’t let me.”
“Wow, that’s awful, babe. Hold out your arm.”
Michael complied automatically. Not cooperating ended up with a beating and he was just beginning to heal up from his earlier injuries. He didn’t want to do anything that might make Rico unhappy. He kept his eyes on his lover as he sucked the now clear fluid up through a sterile cotton ball into an insulin syringe. Rico told him the tiny gauge needle would keep his veins from scarring for years. There were times all of this terrified him, but when he didn’t have it, everything seemed to become too much to deal with. He knew what Rico was giving him, but he didn’t care. All he wanted to do was escape the emotional and physical pain he was in. He almost smiled as he realized Uncle Adam would understand.
The tourniquet tightened and the needle pricked. Rico told him yesterday that he would teach him to give it to himself, then he wouldn’t have to wait if he wanted more. The fluid disappeared into his distended arm vein and Rico popped the Velcro tourniquet. It only took a moment for that floating sensation to start. Michael sighed and laid back on the bed.
“Baby?” Michael could hear Rico’s voice in his ear. It sounded faraway, like a whisper. “I want you to do me a favor.”
Michael smiled at his lover dreamily, “What, Rico? I’ll do whatever you want.”
“That’s my good boy.” He stroked Michael’s head, “That guy out there, the one that helped you with the box.”
“Yeah.”
“He wants to fuck you and I want you to let him do it.”
Michael frowned, “No, baby, he’s creepy.”
“Come on, miejo, I want you to do this for me. Don’t make me angry. You know when I’m angry I can’t help myself and I end up hurting you. You let him fuck you and I’ll be happy. You want to keep me happy, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Ok, just take your jeans off and lie down on the bed on your stomach, babe. Spread your legs like you do for me. He’ll come quick because you’re so tight and then it’ll be all over.”
Rico reached for the top button on Michael’s pants. Michael looked away as his mind wandered. He felt Rico unzip him and strip his pants off. He always went commando now, because that was how Rico liked him. With a little encouragement, Michael climbed up on the bed and rolled onto his stomach. He felt Rico spread his legs that were now too heavy for him to move. Two fingers with a generous dollop of lube entered him and stretched him. “I’m going to bring him in now, babe. I’ll tell him he can only fuck you, nothing else. Not for what he’s paying anyway.”
Michael couldn’t remember if he nodded or not. The next minute a warm body lay on top of him, then the man raised up and with one hand pressed his hard cock to the opening of Michael’s body. The man shoved in quickly. Even through the haze of the heroin, Michael felt the pain. The guy’s dick was bigger than Rico’s and it hurt. He cried out and tried to turn over, but his arms and legs didn’t seem to want to coordinate their movements. The man fucked him rough. His fast, deep strokes were on target for his prostate and it didn’t take long for the pain to fade and the pleasure to begin. The man pounded into him over and over. Rico had told him it wouldn’t take the guy long, but now he didn’t care how much time it took as long as it kept feeling like this. Suddenly, the guy groaned and hot semen filled his ass. He gave a passing thought to the idea that they should’ve used a condom. Rico would be mad about that, but there was nothing he could do now. As the man pulled out of him, his fleeting concern evaporated in the haze of the drugs. He fell asleep as Jacob’s cum trickled from his ass.
The man stood, using Michael’s jeans to clean off his dick. Jacob smirked, he didn’t care if Rico was angry about doing the kid bareback, but if he put up a stink, he’d add another twenty. He looked down at the young man on the bed. There was something familiar about him and he reached down to brush the hair out of his face.
“Hey, Michael. What’s your last name?”
It took the young man a few minutes to answer him. “Michael Woodard.”
Jacob’s caressing hand froze. “Is your old man a cop named Eagle?”
“Yeah.” Michael yawned and snuggled into the pillow a little more. He just wished the guy would go away. The sound of the bedroom door opening and closing told him he’d gotten his wish.
Chapter Fourteen
Adam’s phone vibrated in his pocket, as he pulled it out, he stared down at the name of his caller. A small smile graced his lips.
“Carlos?”
“Adam, hey.” Eagle’s cousin seemed to hesitate, then he cleared his throat and started to speak, “Uh, listen. I wanted to know if you might go out to dinner with me.”
“Tonight?”
“Yes, if possible.”
Adam raised his eyebrows. There was something a little strange in Carlos’ voice and he couldn’t quite make out what it might be. “Sure. When and where?”
Carlos laughed, “Uh, damn, I’m not good at this anymore. How about Italian? Renzo’s? Say, seven thirty?”
“Sounds good.” As he hung up the phone, Adam began to wonder if he’d just accepted a date with his husband’s cousin. He frowned. Carlos was straight, wasn’t he? Adam shook his head and sighed. He usually prided himself on knowing whether or not someone was gay, but as he thought back over the years. He remembered the various conversations that the two of them had in the past when Carlos had caused a blip on his Gaydar. If that was the case, when he saw the other man, he’d make sure he understood that this was only a friendly dinner, nothing more. He liked Carlos and he didn’t need to alienate any allies he had among the Woodard clan because they got the wrong idea.
Adam parked about a half block away. Black jeans, tee and a black leather coat all purchased with his newly acquired wealth fit him well. It was the only outfit he had that did. He stepped into the restaurant and told the hostess he was with Carlos Aiello. The hostess showed him
to a table, but told him that Mr. Aiello was running just a few minutes late.
The waitress appeared and Adam ordered a Coke. Water was his normal drink with dinner, but he was trying to take in as many calories everyday as he could. His weight was still dropping. He suspected the reason, but tried to keep those thoughts in the back of his mind tonight.
Adam looked up and watched as Carlos made his way to their table. He, too, had opted for black. From his long, loose and flowing raven hair to his coal colored eyes to the black, silk button up and jeans, the man was a wet dream. Adam smiled. Eagle used to be as buff as Carlos, but that was no longer the case. Carlos won. He grinned down at Adam, leaning in to give him a quick kiss on the lips before taking his seat.
“I’m glad you could make it, Adam. I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, too.”
The waitress came over to offer them the wine list. Carlos took it, but handed it back almost immediately. “Sorry, I forgot you don’t drink anymore.”
“You can have what you want, Carlos.”
“No, that’s okay, I’ll have water, please.”
The waitress left and Carlos turned his full attention on the man across from him. “Nice jacket, Adam. I don’t blame you wanting to dress down at crime scenes. So tell me everything that’s happened since you got back.”
Adam laughed. “You’re sure you want to hear it?”
“Of course, I do.”
“Alright, but then you tell me about you and Alicia.”
Carlos nodded and Adam began giving his friend the rundown of everything that had happened since his return. He talked about Eagle. He talked about his recovery. He stopped at the part about Claire because he didn’t want to share any of the details about her passing away. They laughed and ate and laughed some more. Being with Carlos was easy. The opposite of how things were with him and Eagle. At one point, Carlos reached out and laid his hand over Adam’s as he told him a story about one of his kids. Adam gave a thought to pulling his hand back, but something made him leave it there.
As Carlos talked, Adam realized he liked the sound of the other man’s voice. It was lower and more resonant than Eagle’s. Carlos’ laugh was deeper and less inhibited than his husband’s. Until tonight he’d never really thought about the differences in the two men.
Carlos leaned toward Adam. The fingers over Adam’s hand tightened and wrapped around making it official that Carlos was holding Adam’s hand and he realized that this was probably a date. Adam slowly eased his hand out of Carlos’ grip, trying to make it look nonchalant, but he wasn’t sure how successful he was.
“So, Alicia took off for a meeting in Austin. Only our youngest still lives at home and she was staying over with a friend. I thought it would be safe, so I told Ed to come over. She caught us mid-fuck.”
“What?” Adam looked confused, somewhere along the line he’d lost track of the conversation. “Now, who’s Ed?”
“Like I said, he’s the guy I’ve been seeing for the past two years.”
“Oh. Okay. So, you’re gay.”
“I’ve always been gay, Adam.” Carlos pursed his lips as if he was fighting hard to keep a laugh from exploding from his mouth. “Alicia knew I was gay. I married her because I got her pregnant. I agreed because I wanted Javi to have a stable home life.”
“But what about the other two kids?”
Carlos shrugged, “Wine and poor judgement? They are definitely my kids, though.”
“So, this is a date, huh?” Adam looked amused with his head cocked. He smiled. “You know I’m still married to Eagle, right?”
“I know, but I just wanted to let you know how I feel about you, how I’ve always felt. I just never got to tell you before and now, well, if you and Eagle split.” He left the thought hanging for a moment before picking it back up. “I wanted to see if, maybe, there could be something between us.”
Adam thought carefully, then decided to answer honestly. “Carlos, I like you a lot. I always have. Sometimes I think through the years you and I got along better than me and my husband.” Adam looked down and placed his hand on top of Carlos’. “If Eagle insists on a divorce, then give me some time to get my head back together. After that, call me and maybe we could go out. Okay?”
Carlos nodded and turned the hand beneath Adam’s hand until it was palm up, then he laced his fingers with the other man’s. “Am I a bad person if I’m rooting for you to get a divorce?”
Adam laughed, “Maybe just a little.” Then Adam leaned closer to Carlos and smiled. “But I like my men just a little bad.”
They talked for about an hour more, then they split the check. Adam insisted that since they weren’t really on a date, just two friends catching up. Carlos talked Adam into letting him walk him back to his car. Once there, Carlos pressed Adam to the side of the Jeep.
“I won’t ask for a kiss, Adam.”
Adam looked down at where their two bodies joined. Carlos’ hard cock warm against his thigh. He drew in a deep breath and when he looked back up, Carlos kissed him. A simple kiss that quickly threatened to turn into more. Adam put his hand on the other man’s chest and pressed him back.
“No.”
“No, what?” Carlos smiled in faux innocence.
“I won’t go to bed with you.”
Carlos laughed, “Damn, I am losing my touch.” He stepped back, giving Adam his space. He raised his hand and stroked Adam’s cheek. His right thumb caressed Adam’s lips before Carlos let his hand drop away. “Ah, well. A man can dream.” He turned and started to walk away. Doing a quick spin, he grinned. “See you in my dreams, Adam.” Then blew him a kiss and turned in the direction of his own car.
Adam climbed behind the steering wheel of the Jeep and put his keys in the ignition. He watched the other man disappear around the corner. It was moments like these that he wondered how life would have been if he and Carlos had gotten together, but he knew life wasn’t about ‘what ifs’, it was about ‘what is’. With a sigh, he turned the key, put the SUV in gear and headed home.
Chapter Fifteen
The next evening was filled with what had become normal for Adam. No dates, no sex, just sitting in a meeting hall with 20 other people this time. Adam felt the vibration of his phone in his pocket. He looked around and the young woman sitting beside him frowned.
“Sorry, it’ll stop.” He kept it on that alert setting when he was in a 12 step meeting. Proper etiquette, Hal had reminded him one night when he forgot to shut his phone off. Getting up and taking the call was also unacceptable. Normally, the moment he got out of a meeting, he turned the ringer back on and checked his messages, but lately he’d been forgetting. The call went to voicemail. Adam noted that the call was from Eagle. He hadn’t heard from his husband since the divorce papers had been served and this was probably the angry call he’d been expecting for the past several days. Waiting for a moment, he drummed up the courage before he hit the icon to listen to the voicemail.
“My place. 7 pm. We need to talk.”
Adam frowned. He glanced at the time on his phone, then shrugged. Eagle sounded pissed. That was to be expected since he got served with divorce papers. He didn’t bother to call his husband back. He knew he’d be there on time because Eagle was right. They needed to talk, really talk.
*****
Adam pulled up outside of Eagle’s home. His home for many years before they consummated their feelings for one another and ended up in this ill-fated marriage. He was a little early and he parked the car in the drive so he could see the sun setting over the valley. The beauty of the desert was something he always appreciated. The deep reds, golds and burnt sienna complimented the encroaching deep blue of night. Up here, away from the city lights, you could see the stars. So many evenings, he and Eagle sat out on the balcony and made a drinking game out of spotting shooting stars. One shot per sighting. Those ended up being some pretty memory impaired nights.
Then he turned his attention to the house. Adam had loved this
place. That was why he had quietly helped pay off the mortgage. Eagle was a lousy bookkeeper so it was easy to toss in $100,000 over several years and let him think he’d done it all on his own. That was a secret Adam would take to his grave. Now, he looked at the place with more than a little anxiety wrapped in fear. He still had nightmares about what Mai Ling did to him here and with his scars to remind him, those nightmares might fade, but he knew they would never go completely away.
Adam glanced down at his cellphone to check the time. He sighed and got out of the Jeep. Raising his fist, he was about to knock when the door suddenly opened. Eagle stood there weaving, eyes unfocused until he could get them to stay set on Adam. Two fingers of whiskey sloshed in the glass he held in his hand.
“So you’re here. Thought you’d chicken out.”
Adam set his jaw. A sober Eagle would’ve been hard enough to talk to, but a drunk one would be impossible.
“Listen, I could come back when you’re sober, Eagle.” Adam started to turn, but a strong hand reached out, grabbed his arm and literally threw him into the living room. Adam stumbled, but caught himself on the back of the couch. He heard the door slam behind him. He had to proceed cautiously, this Eagle was angry and drunk. Not a good combination at all. Adam turned to face Eagle, “What’s going on, Eagle? I thought you wanted to talk.”
“Yeah!” Eagle laughed sourly, “Talk. Sure.” He grabbed Adam’s arm again and dragged him around the couch then deposited him on the loveseat in front of the glass coffee table. “Oh, I just wanted to thank you, Kemo, for the divorce papers. Your goddamned lawyer had me served in front of all my coworkers.” Eagle stumbled. “Just to let you know, I’m definitely signing them.” He tried to take another swig, but sloshed the whiskey on his shirt instead. “But you and me, we’ve got something else to discuss. Something you consistently forgot to tell me.”
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