by Neil Plakcy
“Domestic beer and house wine,” she said, sneering.
“First round’s on me, then,” I said. “Please? Maybe you can get Kaitlyn and Pharah to come too?”
“You can always buy them off with free booze,” Mila said.
I went back to the cube farm. “Listen up,” I said. “Office field trip this evening to Gilligan’s. Mila, Pharah, and Kaitlyn are in.” I looked over at Lilah. “How about you and Kevin?”
She looked surprised, like she hadn’t realized her secret was out of the bag.
“Sure,” Kevin said from over my shoulder.
“Dom? Dylan? Noah?”
They all nodded, and an air of expectation hung over the cube farm for the rest of the afternoon. At five I stood up. “I’ve got to head home and get my brother. See you guys at Gilligan’s?”
“I should go home and shower and change,” Dom said. “You too, Noah.”
“I don’t need to,” Noah said.
“Yeah, you do,” Dom and I said at the same time.
We laughed, and Noah frowned. “I’ve got work to do. You guys go.”
I resisted the urge to press him. He did smell, after all, and I didn’t want to be the one to have to sit next to him. I caught the bus home and found Leroy sitting in the living room, dressed and ready to go.
“You’re sure about this place,” Leroy said.
“The girls from my office say it’s a good scene,” I said. “I invited them to meet us there.”
“It’s not like a party, is it?”
“It’s a happy hour, dude. You’ve been to those before.”
“With guys from work, and just to drink,” he said.
“Well, these are the guys from my work. And the girls too.”
There was a nice breeze off the ocean, sweeping down Lincoln Road as we walked to Gilligan’s. Kevin and Lilah were waiting outside when we got there. “Mila said you’re buying the first round,” Kevin said.
Fuck. I had meant to buy for the girls. I didn’t have that much fat in my budget, and blowing my entertainment dollar at Gilligan’s meant cutting back on visits to Java Joe’s. At least I’d be getting something extra from Boris for Victor’s referrals.
“Nah, it’s on me,” Leroy said. “’Cause my little bro was nice enough to invite me along.”
He leaned over to me. “They take the card here too, right?”
“They sure do.”
We got a big table in the back and ordered a pitcher of beer, which Lilah was happy to drink with us. As the rest of the team came in, the girls ordered margaritas, and we got more glasses for the pitcher, then a second pitcher. Leroy was shy at first, but with Mila, Kaitlyn, and Pharah clustered around him, he got over it and started talking and telling stories about the power plant.
My brother looked happy for the first time since Angie walked out. He ordered a jumbo platter of nachos for the table, and we settled in for the evening.
I had never been out with the office staff before, and it was surprisingly fun. Kaitlyn told stories about crazy clients, and Mila chimed in with her. Even Dom and Dylan had some funny things to say. Kevin and Lilah mostly kept to themselves, and I sat back and watched my brother interact with everybody.
I was so accustomed to seeing Leroy one way—as my brother, with my parents and our other siblings around. I couldn’t remember ever going out with him alone—or any of the other sibs either. He made jokes; he flirted with the girls. He looked handsome in his white shirt, clean shaven and with his hair just long enough to be cool.
By the end of the evening, he was still cheerful, even after handing over his card to the waiter to pay the bill. “That was fun,” he said to me as we walked back to the apartment. “Those guys are really nice.”
“I landed well,” I said. “It’s a good place to work.”
I looked over at him. “You going to be ready to go back to work on Monday?”
He nodded. “Can you drive me back home tomorrow? I need to box up whatever crap Angie left behind and reorganize the room.”
“Sure. You going to put back my stuff?”
“All except those posters of yours. They’re too gay.”
I punched him in the arm. “That poster of Queen is a classic.”
“Freddie Mercury has his shirt off,” Leroy said. “Now that I know about you, I won’t be able to look at it without thinking about you jerking off to it.”
“I never jerked off to that poster,” I said. “But I did find that Hustler you hid under your mattress. There was this one spread where the woman had her hand around the guy’s dick. She had red fingernails and...”
“TMI! TMI!” Leroy said, and then we both burst out laughing.
We both slept late Saturday morning, and after breakfast I drove him back to Homestead. We were on the turnpike south when my phone rang, and I saw it was Victor. I picked it up and held it to my ear. “Hey,” I said.
“Tonight. Six o’clock. My place.”
I already had plans with Julian, and I was pissed about Victor’s attitude, but I didn’t want to get into an argument with him while I had Leroy in the car with me. “Fine,” I said, and he ended the call.
“Who was that?” my brother asked.
“Gavin,” I lied. “He wants me to pick up fried chicken for dinner.”
Leroy nodded. “I could do with some of that myself.”
“It’s ten o’clock in the morning,” I said.
“I’m a growing boy.”
“You’re a man, dude,” I said.
“And you’re the man,” he said. We fist-bumped. “I appreciate what you did for me, Larry.”
“Um,” I said as I exited the turnpike. “About what you learned about me.”
“You mean the gay thing?”
“Yeah, that. You think you could keep that to yourself for a while? I’m not sure how Mom and Dad would react.”
“No problem, little bro. Your secret’s safe with me.”
I pulled up in front of the house. The only cars in the driveway were Mom’s and Dad’s and Leroy’s. I figured the twins were at work, and that Linc hadn’t come home.
“Come inside with me?” Leroy asked.
“Sure.”
He grabbed his duffle bag full of dirty clothes from the backseat, and we walked up to the front door. “Leroy!” Mom said, opening the door.
“And Larry,” I said.
“Of course,” she said. She put her arms around Leroy, and he leaned down for a kiss. Then she turned toward me, and I leaned down too and kissed her cheek.
“It’s so strange having the house empty,” she said as we followed her inside.
I wanted to ask if she’d heard from Linc and Angie, but couldn’t do it while Leroy was there. “You must have laundry,” she said to Leroy. “Leave it by the machine, and I’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks, Mom,” he said. So much for my brother growing up.
As soon as he was gone, I said, in a low voice, “You hear from Linc?”
She shook her head. “I’m so worried about him. This isn’t like him.”
“Did you try to call him?”
“He’s not answering.”
We passed my dad on our way to the kitchen. He was sitting in the living room in his recliner, watching golf on TV. “I don’t see how he can watch that stuff,” I said to Mom. “Isn’t it boring?”
“He says it’s restful. The poor thing has been so upset about Leroy and Angie.”
Dad didn’t look upset. He looked pretty happy, leaning back there with a beer in his hand, the house quiet for once.
Mom insisted on fixing us sandwiches, accompanied by frozen French fries heated up in the microwave. You don’t get gourmet cuisine at our house, but she does make everything with love.
“I’ve got to get home,” I said after we finished eating. “I have work to do.”
“On a Saturday?” my mother asked.
“A project I’m working on for a friend,” I said. I looked over at Leroy. “You’ve got
my number if you need anything, bro.”
“Thanks, bro. I appreciate it.”
We both stood up, and he gave me a big bear hug. I ruffled his dark hair, and we both smiled. Then I drove back to South Beach, and the other half of my real life.
19 – Trying Thai
I was worried about my date with Victor that night and hoped I’d be able to get away from him early enough to meet with Julian. I didn’t want to have to explain that I was tied up—and that it wasn’t a metaphor.
On one hand, I was turned on. A week before, if you’d asked if I was into handcuffs and other kinky stuff, I’d have said no way. But after trying it—well, I wasn’t about to sign up for some BDSM website, but my dick was interested in what Victor might have to offer.
I was also freaked. There was something a bit creepy about Victor, but at the same time I couldn’t deny my attraction to him.
Julian had given me some notes during our lunch the day before, and I pulled them out. I worked on the feedback loop for the reviewer and then started on the way sales were tracked and reported. I couldn’t get into the zone, though; I kept stopping to worry about what Victor and I would do that evening. Were we going to dinner? Or were we going to fuck? I grabbed the last energy bar from the kitchen cabinet before I took a shower, shaved, and borrowed some cologne from Gavin. It didn’t matter what I wore, because it was going to come off as soon as I got to Victor’s, but I tried to dress nicely, on the off chance we were meeting there and then going to a restaurant.
I tried to take my time walking over to his condo, but I couldn’t help myself. I felt like a teenager on his first date—which wasn’t all that far from the truth. I took a deep breath before I opened the door to his building. If it gets too weird, you can walk away, I thought.
The luxurious lobby of his building was so much like the one where I lived it was as if one interior decorator had the contract for every condo tower on the Beach. The same squared-off sofas and tables, the same kind of fancy art on the walls.
The concierge verified me with Victor and directed me to the elevator. I stood in front of Victor’s apartment for a minute, trying to calm my nerves, but when I knocked, the sound was wimpy.
Victor opened the door, all smiles. Behind him I saw a pile of takeout bags on his square dining room table made of some kind of gleaming wood. Four very sober-looking wood chairs surrounded it. “Sorry,” he said, leaning forward to kiss me lightly on the cheek. “I was so busy today I had to order some takeout from Thai Me Up. I hope you like it.”
“Never had it,” I said. “But I’ll try anything once.”
Oops. I hadn’t meant anything more than food—but the devilish glint in Victor’s eye said he’d read more into it.
“Can you unpack?” he said, walking toward the kitchen. “I’ll get the plates and silverware.”
The bags were full of dishes I didn’t recognize. Lots of noodles and vegetables and broth and rice, and a whole grilled fish. Victor came out of the kitchen balancing plates, silverware, and napkins. “Put everything in the center, and we’ll share,” he said. “That’s the way Thais eat.”
“Okay,” I said, looking dubiously at some of the slimier dishes.
He sat down and motioned me to the chair across from him. “Thai cuisine is all about balance, detail, and variety. Every dish should appeal to three or four taste senses.” He opened a plastic container of soup and ladled it out into two porcelain bowls. “We’ll start with the fish-ball noodle soup.”
“I didn’t know fish had balls,” I said, making a lame joke.
“I’ll bet there’s a lot you don’t know, Larry,” he said. “But you’ll learn.”
He used his spoon to pick out one of the round white balls and popped it in his mouth. “Delicious. Go ahead, try it.”
It was sure interesting. Light and flaky, with lots of spices over a fishy taste. After a couple of bites, I decided I liked it. When Victor had finished all the fish in his bowl, he picked it up and slurped up the rest of the broth and the greens.
I followed his lead. I could get into this, I thought.
“Now for the appetizers,” he said. “Those are gyoza, steamed pork dumplings. That’s the Thai spring roll, with carrots, celery, and cabbage. Start by piling some rice on your plate like so.”
He made a flat-topped mound in the center of his plate, and I did too. “Most Thais use the same spoon to eat with as they do to dish food out, but I don’t like that. Too messy. So use the big spoon to move some of this on top of your rice.”
He watched me. “Now, holding the fork in your left hand, use it to push the mix of food and rice onto your spoon.” I watched his hand as he lifted the food to his mouth, and looking in his eyes gave me a shiver that I felt all the way down to my dick.
Our main dish was steamed fish with fresh ginger, bean sauce, celery, and scallions, eaten the same way. The food was spicier than I usually ate, and I kept sweating and drinking cold water. I worried that the food wouldn’t agree with me—how embarrassing would it be to fart, or get diarrhea, while I was having sex with Victor?
When we had finished eating and pushed our plates away, Victor asked, “So. How did you like last week?”
It took me a moment to realize he was talking about the sex. And the handcuffs. “It was different,” I said. “I never did anything like that before.”
He used his spoon to corral an errant piece of celery. “There’s a whole world of variety out there when it comes to food,” he said before he popped the celery in his mouth. “The same is true for sex. There’s vanilla—and then there are variations.”
“My experience has been pretty vanilla up to now,” I said. “Though I did date this one guy who wanted to drizzle chocolate on my chest and lick it off.”
Victor’s eyebrows rose. “And did you like that?”
“Never got to it. He met somebody else and dumped me.”
“Young men can be very stupid,” he said, and I wasn’t sure if he was talking about me, or the guy who dumped me, or guys like me in general. “Fortunately there are those of us who are a bit older and wiser.”
He smiled his wolfish grin. I shifted in my seat. “Can I clean up for you?” I asked.
“I wouldn’t want you to get your clothes dirty,” he said, and I wondered if he thought I’d spill something on myself while clearing the table. Then I looked in his eyes, and I knew.
I may look innocent, and when you compare me to somebody like Victor, I guess I am, but I knew a few things. I stood up and slowly unbuttoned my shirt. Then I folded it and draped it over one of the other chairs. I kicked off my shoes, leaving me barefoot. Then I undid my belt and my pants and stepped out of them.
Victor was quiet the whole time, but I knew he was watching me. I folded my pants carefully and laid them on top of my shirt. That left me in my favorite baby-blue Andrew Christians. I liked the way they accented my frontal assets, if you know what I mean.
I leaned over and began collecting the empty containers. “Those are such pretty briefs,” Victor said. “You wouldn’t want to spill anything on them.”
“I’ll take that chance,” I said, smiling back at him. I hadn’t spent big bucks on them to take them off so quickly.
I played the part of the good little houseboy. I tossed the garbage and put the dishes, glasses, and silver into the dishwasher. When I was done, Victor joined me in the kitchen.
“You are quite the sexy thing, aren’t you?” he asked.
“Me?” I said with false innocence.
He stepped right up behind me, slid his hands beneath the waistband of my briefs, and cupped my butt cheeks. “Yes, you,” he said as he leaned in to kiss my neck. I had about four inches in height on him, so maybe that was all he could reach, but it felt kind of vampiric anyway.
His hands were warm on my ass, and my dick pronged up to iron. He pushed the briefs down, leaving me naked, while he was still fully clothed. He stepped even closer so that I could feel his stiffness through his pants. T
here was something very sexy and liberating about being naked that way.
He began caressing my neck, tickling the loose hairs there, and then suddenly he was slipping some kind of collar around my neck.. I couldn’t see it, but it felt like leather. It was warm, like his skin, and slightly rough.
I turned my head a bit and saw him take what looked like a dog’s leash and clip it to the collar. Ooh, kinky, I thought. Did he want me on all fours?
He did. He pushed lightly on my shoulders, and I went down to my knees. I nuzzled my face against his crotch, and he moaned. “Oh, you know what to do, don’t you?”
I had no clue what was going to happen next. Was I supposed to bark? Sit up and beg? Roll over so he could scratch my belly?
“I think it’s time we went to the bedroom.” He turned toward the kitchen door, and I began to stand up.
He pressed on my shoulder. “Stay on your knees, boy.”
His tone was scary—but my dick sure seemed to like it, bouncing up and down as he led me from the smooth marble of the kitchen and dining room to the plush carpet in his bedroom. Victor had me climb up onto his bed and remain in my crouched position. Then he smacked my butt with something that looked like a flyswatter.
“Hey!” I said, but my dick jumped in response.
It wasn’t that painful—more like a faint stinging sensation. When I looked over my shoulder, I saw Victor put a black leather glove on his right hand. For a couple of minutes, he alternated caressing my butt with that smooth hand, and slapping it with his flyswatter.
He walked in front of me. My hair was hanging down in front of my face, and I was thinking that I needed to get a haircut soon, which seemed a weird thing to consider in the middle of a sex scene. I watched Victor as he opened his bureau drawer and pulled something out. When he turned back to me, he had a pair of metal tit clamps in his hand.
I’d only ever seen them in porn movies. He pried one open with his right hand and then very gently clipped it to my nipple. Ooh. I liked that. A mild pinch, but it sent signals from my chest to my groin. Then he clipped the other one to my other nipple.