An Eye for an Eye (The Santorno Stories 2): The Santorno Stories

by Sandrine Gasq-Dion

  “Look — what do you want me to say, Damon? I fucked up, okay?” Mark shifted his feet.

  “No. It’s not okay, Mark. I need to think about whether we can salvage what’s left of our friendship, because any romantic relationship is absolutely out of the question.”

  “What? You can’t mean that, Damon! Look, I’m sorry I was jealous. I’m sorry about a lot of things.”

  “So am I, Mark, but it’s over. Done. Now let’s see if our friendship can survive this.” Damon rolled over on his side and shut his eyes.

  “I understand. I’ll leave you alone.”

  Damon heard Mark leave and shut his eyes tightly, trying to stop the tears running down his cheeks.

  “Dude, I’m sorry.” Steve had stopped in the bathroom doorway. “Damn, he really doesn’t get it, does he?”

  “You heard that?” Damon looked panicked.

  “Yeah. I wasn’t trying to, but you guys were kinda loud.” Steve gave him a lopsided smile.

  “Just great.” Damon sat up and put his head in his hands.

  “Hey, don’t worry about it, Damon. I won’t say shit. You know me.” Steve smiled reassuringly at him.

  “Thanks, Steve.”

  Jordan came in and took both their charts. “You guys are out of here. Get dressed. All your tests came back okay.”

  “Oh, thank God,” Damon sighed.

  “Your parents are in the waiting room, Steve. Take it easy, okay?” Jordan smiled at him. “Nothing too strenuous.”

  “Will do, Doctor Y.” Steve left and Jordan sat down on Damon’s bed.

  “I saw Mark leave,” he prompted gently.

  “Yeah, I broke it off with him for good. He didn’t trust me, Dad. He actually saw me in the bathroom and left me there.” Damon closed his eyes. “I can’t even wrap my head around that.”

  “I’m sorry, Damon. I really hoped that you two could work things out.”

  “I told him I just hope we can still be friends.”

  “Well, time will tell. Now come on, let’s go home.” Jordan grabbed his son’s hand.

  *~~*

  Stefan hugged Damon hard as soon as he came through the door. “Oh, thank God you’re okay!”

  “Dad, need air,” Damon laughed.

  “Oh, yeah. Sorry.” Stefan let him go.

  “Baby bro, I’m so glad you’re okay!” Isabelle hugged him.

  “Hey! You here for the weekend, Izzy?”

  “Just for a little bit. I have to go back to the dorm and get some stuff, and then I’ll be back.” She smiled at him.

  “I think I’m going to rest for a while.” Damon checked his cell phone after he got to his room. He had a message from the previous night, from Mark.

  “Well I hope you had fun fucking Heather in the bathroom! I knew you weren’t ready, Damon.” Damon erased the message and stretched out on the bed. The mistrust hurt. It hurt him to know Mark had never trusted him, even though they had been friends forever. Not to mention that they had been intimate. Well, as intimate as he had ever been with someone. A knock sounded on his door.

  “Come in.”

  Stefan poked his head in. “Hey, your father told me what happened with Mark at the hospital. I’m so sorry, baby.”

  “Oh, Dad.” Damon finally let go and cried.

  Stefan took him in his arms. “I know; I’m here.” Stefan settled back on Damon’s bed and cradled his son.

  “Can you stay with me, Dad?” Damon snuggled into his father.

  “As long as you need me to.” Stefan hugged him close. After a few minutes, he heard Damon’s even breathing and knew he was asleep. “I love you, Damon,” Stefan whispered.

  He kissed Damon’s forehead, closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter 4

  They were back at school on Monday. The whole story of what happened at Homecoming was all over school. Heather and Jessica were absent. Everyone knew the two girls wouldn’t be showing their faces for a while — if ever again.

  The football coach was adamant with Steve and Damon. “No practice for you two this week.”

  “Aw, come on, Coach! We’re fine. Why do we have to be punished?” Steve growled.

  “Dammit.” Damon slammed his backpack to the ground.

  “Youngblood, stow it. Listen, we got a new guy Friday, a transfer student. He’s good. I mean really good. I want you guys taking care of him, got it?”

  “Now we have to babysit, too?” Steve balked.

  “Hey, Coach, you wanted to see me?”

  Irritated, Damon followed the voice. When he saw where it came from, his heart stopped. The new guy was gorgeous. He was Damon’s height, had blond hair, blues eyes and an amazing build. Holy shit.

  “Tyler, I was just telling some of your teammates about you. Damon Youngblood and Steve Soloman, meet Tyler Dion, the newest member of the football team.”

  “Hey, guys.” Tyler shook Steve’s hand. His eyes met Damon’s as they shook hands as well. Tyler’s lingered as Damon pulled away.

  “Uh…hey.” Damon turned to the coach. “So what is it you want us to do?”

  “Hey look, if I’m putting you guys out I can find my own way around,” Tyler provided.

  The coach was looking at Tyler’s class schedule. “Nope, you have most of your classes with Damon here. So he’ll be your tour guide.”

  “Okay, then. Well, let’s go. We have geometry first.” Damon picked up his backpack.

  They walked down the hall in silence. Tyler was the first to speak.

  “Hey, I’m sorry you drew babysitting duty. I know that’s shitty.”

  Damon laughed. “I’ll get over it. I’m more pissed that I can’t practice all week; we have a game Friday.”

  “Well, if you want, I can practice with you. You know, behind Coach’s back?”

  “Really?” Damon asked in surprise.

  “Yeah, why not? Why should you suffer cuz some chick wanted your dick?”

  Damon’s mouth dropped open. “You heard about that?”

  “Dude, who the fuck hasn’t heard? And I just got here.” Tyler busted out laughing.

  Damon couldn’t help joining in the laughter. “All right, it’s a deal on practice — long as we don’t talk about,” he shuddered, “that.”

  They spent the rest of the school day in almost every class together. Tyler was funny and they had a lot in common, especially when it came to taste in movies. They discussed them over lunch. Damon loved horror movies and Tyler was naming his favorites.

  “Best one is ‘The Descent’,” Damon said firmly.

  “What about ‘Saw’?” Tyler countered.

  “Shit, which one?” Damon rolled his eyes. “Besides, that’s more about gore than genuine horror and suspense.”

  “Well, isn’t this cozy?” Mark approached the pair and stopped, arms crossed.

  “Hey, Mark. How are you?” It still hurt Damon to see him.

  “I’m fine. I can see you’re better. Much better, apparently.” He eyed Tyler.

  “Mark, this is Tyler. It’s his first day at Fort Worth High. Tyler, this is my friend Mark.”

  They shook hands before Mark turned to Damon and snapped, “That didn’t take long did it?” He walked away.

  Damon glanced apologetically at Tyler. “I’ll be right back.”

  He ran after Mark and stopped him. “What the fuck was that? You trying to out me in front of everyone?”

  “Well, it’s obvious you like the guy,” Mark stated.

  “Even if I do, it’s none of your business! I wanted to stay friends with you, but you’re making it extremely difficult!”

  “I still care about you, Damon. I miss kissing you,” Mark whispered.

  “It’s over. You didn’t trust me, and you’re being completely unreasonable — not to mention delusional. It’s just making things harder. Don’t make me cut you off completely, Mark.”

  Mark bounced his glance to Tyler. “You already have.” He stormed off.

  “Fuck!” Damon
looked at the ground. He returned to the table and sat down. “Sorry about that.”

  “Bad break up?” Tyler eyed him sympathetically.

  “What?” Damon’s eyes went wide.

  “Hey, don’t worry about it. I could tell the guy likes you, and it was kinda obvious by the way he was talking that you guys had a thing.”

  “Shit! Look, Tyler, I don’t know what it was with Mark, but it isn’t anymore — and I’m not really talking about it with anyone but family.”

  “Dude, I won’t say a word.” Tyler smiled. “So give me your address and I’ll come over after school.”

  “Huh?” Damon’s face was completely blank.

  “Super-secret football practice?”

  “Oh yeah, sorry,” Damon laughed. “Oh shit. Um, warning: Siblings approaching. I offer an advance apology for whatever they say.”

  Heath and Charlie were headed his way, accompanied by Steve.

  “Hey, lil bro!” Heath smacked his back. “Who’s this?”

  “Heath, this is Tyler, new student and football player.”

  Heath looked him over. “Yeah? Any good?”

  “Well, I’m coming over today after school, so you can tell me.” Tyler smiled.

  “Oh really?” Charlie’s eyebrows rose. “Hi, I’m Charlie, Damon’s sister. I think you’ve met my boyfriend, Steve?”

  “Yep, glad to meet you guys, too.” Tyler smiled at Damon.

  “Yeah, so we gotta go.” Damon got up and grabbed Tyler’s arm.

  “Why’d you do that?” Tyler was looking at Damon.

  “Trust me, I’m saving you from some embarrassing conversations,” Damon laughed.

  After school, Damon was tossing his backpack into the backseat of his car when he saw Tyler headed his way. Damn. Even his walk was sexy. Damon closed his eyes. Keep it together

  “Dude, nice Mustang!” Tyler whistled as he ran his hand over the hood. “Bet she’s fast!”

  “Yeah, she is.” Damon smiled. “Here, I wrote my address down.” Their fingers brushed and Damon pulled away quickly.

  “Eh, I’ll just follow you. My car’s not far.” Tyler jerked his thumb toward the parking lot.

  “Oh, okay. I’ll wait for you here.” Damon watched him walk away. God, he had a nice ass.

  Tyler turned at the last second, caught Damon looking at him and smiled. Damon dropped his eyes to the ground. Oh, shit. Busted.

  A few minutes later, he heard an engine rev. Tyler drove a black Mustang that was a twin to Damon’s.

  “You’re joking!” Damon laughed.

  “I never joke about cars. Come on let’s go.” Tyler revved the engine again.

  Damon hopped in his car and waited for Tyler to back up. He swung out and they left. They made it back to Damon’s quickly, mock racing.

  “It’s no fun if you both have the same car,” Damon laughed, getting out and shutting the car door.

  Tyler guffawed. “The look on your face!”

  “Oh, shut up.” Damon playfully smacked him as they headed inside.

  They found Stefan in the kitchen, prepping for dinner. “Hey, Dad!”

  Stefan smiled. “Hey, Damon, how was school?”

  “Crappy. Everyone knows what happened, and Coach won’t let me practice all week. By the way, this is Tyler Dion; he’s new at school.”

  “Hey, Tyler, nice to meet you.” Stefan shook his hand. “What happened wasn’t your fault, Damon, and I’m sure everyone knows that. Where are your brother and sister?”

  “Charlie’s on her way. Oh, Steve’s coming with Heath when their football practice is over. We're going to practice out back.” Damon picked up a cookie. “I see Grandma Alma stopped by.”

  “She did. Tyler, help yourself. Damon, let me call your father and ask him if you can be running around before you start, okay?”

  “Come on, Dad.” Damon sighed in frustration.

  “Just go out back. I’ll let you know what your dad says.”

  “Jesus.” Damon picked up his backpack.

  “Damon.” Stefan fixed him with a familiar look.

  “Yeah, I know.” Damon and Tyler went out on the deck and Damon dropped down into a chair.

  “Two dads, huh?” Tyler laughed.

  “Oh, yeah. I guess I’m so used to it I don’t even think about it,” Damon chuckled.

  “That’s kinda cool.” Tyler nodded.

  “Yeah, they’re so in love sometimes it’s gross,” Damon laughed.

  “I heard that, Damon.” Stefan poked his head out the door. “You have medical clearance from your dad. Play on, son.”

  “Thanks, Dad. You know I meant gross in a good way, right?” He batted his eyes innocently.

  “Uh huh. I’ll make some snacks for later.” Stefan left.

  “What do your dads do?” Tyler asked.

  “Stefan, that’s the dad you just met, works at Santorno Shipping. Actually, he kinda owns it, and he runs his own charitable foundation. My other dad, Jordan, is a neurosurgeon.”

  Tyler whistled. “So, money, huh?”

  “Yeah, whole family’s kinda loaded.” Damon stretched in his chair.

  “Yeah, don’t feel bad; mine is, too,” Tyler snorted.

  When Heath and Steve arrived, they finally got down to playing in the back yard. Tyler was good. He was very good. Damon was impressed by his speed.

  “So, I guess I’ll be taking whatever you throw at me, huh?” Tyler yelled at him from the other side of the pond.

  “Yeah, let’s just hope you can catch.” Damon threw the ball at him, hard.

  Tyler caught it perfectly. “Fuck, Youngblood!” Tyler looked at his hand; it was beet red.

  Damon laughed. “Better get used to it!” he yelled as Heath tackled him.

  “Fuck!” Tyler shook out his hand; it still stung.

  He watched Damon and Heath wrestling in the grass. Damon was gorgeous. Tyler was attracted to him from the get-go. He had thick black hair, and those eyes — God, you could get lost in them.

  Then there was his body. He’d watched Damon strip off his shirt to practice and, even from a distance, saw six-pack abs and solid biceps.

  He felt himself harden and took a deep breath. He wasn’t going to screw this up.

  He left his spot by the pond to join the others in the back yard, laughing in surprise when Damon tackled him. He was on top of Tyler, shirtless. When their eyes met, Damon got up awkwardly.

  “Hey, sorry about that.”

  Tyler looked at him. “Don’t worry about it.” He took the outstretched hand and Damon hauled him up. He couldn’t help but stare at the teen’s body.

  “Hey, who’s up for a swim?” Heath called.

  “I know I am!” Steve ran full throttle into the pond in his shorts.

  “You need a suit, Tyler? I got an extra one in the house.”

  “I can go in like this.” He stripped his shirt off and Damon almost passed out. God, he was muscular and ripped.

  Tyler ran into the water in his shorts. He went under and resurfaced across the pond. “You coming in or what, guys?”

  “Come on, lil bro!” Heath took off and hit the water with Damon right behind him. They laughed, dunked each other, raced across the pond, and did underwater handstands. Heath and Steve were the first out when Stefan said he had food ready.

  “You two coming?” Heath watched Damon with Tyler.

  “Yeah, in a few.” Damon went under again.

  Heath and Steve left, and Damon floated on his back, loving the feel of the water. He felt something cold hit his stomach and found a big glob of mud.

  “Oh hell, no! You went there?” Damon looked at a laughing Tyler. “Oh, it’s on!”

  The mud fight began and Damon got Tyler in the face. They laughingly shoved mud in each other’s hair. Damon lost his footing and almost fell; Tyler’s arm caught him around his waist.

  They were breathing hard, their lips inches away, chests pressed together, looking into each other’s eyes.

  The sound of
mud sliding off Tyler’s head and splashing the water broke the spell.

  “Hey, you okay?” Tyler made sure Damon was steady.

  “Yeah, thanks.” Damon was hot, even though the water was cool.

  After Steve and Tyler left, Damon took a shower and went to bed. He closed his eyes and thought about Tyler. His hands rubbed up and down his chest as he remembered Tyler’s lips near his, their bodies so close in the water. His cock hardened and he stroked it.

  Closing his eyes, he imagined Tyler’s hand stroking him, his lips kissing him. Damon moaned quietly. He inserted a finger and his head lolled back in pleasure. He stroked himself as he fingered faster. He thought of Tyler’s tongue running down his chest and sucking his cock. He came quietly in his hand. He rolled over, grabbed a shirt and cleaned himself off.

  “Fuck.” He rolled back over and closed his eyes.

  *~~*

  Thursday night’s game had Damon excited. Even though they couldn’t practice with the team, Damon had practiced all week with Tyler. He now knew the playbook as well as everyone else.

  The other team had been relentless all night, hitting Damon just as he threw the ball. They were trying to take him out of the game, barely avoiding penalties.

  “A little protection, guys, would be nice!” Damon hissed in the huddle. They lined up and Damon passed the ball to Tyler, who caught it on the thirty-five yard line. Damon was knocked down immediately. He hit the ground hard and his breath left in a whoosh. He couldn’t get up.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you, asshole?” Tyler yelled as he shoved the offending player. Then the whole team got involved, with both teams in full fight mode. The refs gathered, and coaches for both teams helped to break up the melee.

  Stefan and Jordan were on the field the minute Damon didn’t immediately get up.

  “Damon? Can you hear me?” Jordan could see Damon’s forehead had blood on it; he wiped it off to assess the damage and found a small cut.

  “Dad?” Damon’s head felt huge, and his ribs were killing him.

  “Don’t move your head until I make sure your neck and spine are okay. Did you hit your head at all?” Jordan pulled up his son’s jersey. They were red now, but Damon was definitely going to have badly bruised ribs.