by Lynn Lorenz
“Where’s the rest of your family?”
“Gone.” He didn’t want to talk about them, not now, and ruin the mood he was in, the warm feeling he wore like a blanket around him.
“Where?”
“Just gone, okay?” Tony shouted.
Scott held out his hands, moving them in a calm down motion. “Okay, okay. Forget I asked.”
Tony simmered. He shouldn’t have shouted, but he really didn’t want to talk about them. If Scott knew the truth, he’d leave, Tony was sure about that. And now, more than anything, Tony didn’t want to be alone.
“Just a few more blocks.” Tony looked around and sighed. It’d been a long day, and he couldn’t wait to get home with Scott.
Chapter 8
THE FIRST thing Scott noticed as they stood under a streetlight was that this was the last light he could see for… well, it seemed like forever. They stood on one side of the street, and on the other, an eerie landscape stretched in front of them.
“Damn, Tony, it’s dark.” Scott strained to see, but the world’s lights had gone out. He looked up at the sky, and the stars looked as if he could touch them, they were so clear and bright.
A cat yowled. In a vacant lot down the block, something skittered over rubble, and a small dark shape dashed across the street.
“Cats?” Scott clung to Tony’s hand.
“And rats.” Tony shrugged. “Cats come out in the day; the rats at night. Mostly.”
Scott shivered. “I don’t like rats.” He took a step closer to Tony, making Tony feel about ten feet tall. He wrapped his arm around Scott.
“I got a cat.”
“Really?”
“Well, he’s wild, but he visits me in my backyard.”
“You got a backyard?”
“Yeah. It’s small.”
“Cool.”
They stood there a little longer, eyes adjusting to the dark. “Let’s go. It’s just down the block.”
They stepped off the curb and crossed into darkness.
Scott let Tony lead him down the block. On either side, narrow houses stood empty. Without realizing why, he lowered his voice. “No one lives here, do they?”
“No. Just me, I think. Never saw no one else, but then I try not to let anyone see me.”
As his eyes adjusted enough for Scott to see, more details of the homes they passed emerged. Sheets of plywood covered doors and windows. A few of the front doors had been busted open, black rectangles in less-black squares. Everything was empty.
Lifeless.
This small part of the city hadn’t flooded, but had been vacated, yet no one had come back to claim it.
“Where are all the people who lived here?” Scott whispered.
“Gone. Evacuated.”
“But there’s no flood damage.”
“Naw, it didn’t flood here. Still, most of these houses had real poor people living in them. Guess they found something better wherever they went.” He shrugged.
“Why didn’t you leave?”
Tony tensed, dropped his arm from Scott’s shoulders, and clamped his mouth shut tight.
Scott felt Tony’s body react to the question. He stopped and touched Tony’s arm. “Sorry. I forgot. No talk about family.”
They walked on in silence.
Almost to the end of the block, a large pile of rubble lay across the sidewalk. Tony hopped on top, held out his hand, and helped Scott over it. Then, still clutching Scott’s hand, he pulled him through a small broken gate.
“This is it.”
Scott stared up at the narrow shotgun. Plywood covered the front door and window.
“How do we get in?”
“’Round back. Come on.” He tugged, and Scott followed.
They went to the side of the house and slipped into a black tunnel. On one side, the wooden boards of the house, and on the other, a chain link fence. Scott ran his hand over the wood, letting it guide him in the dark.
Tony stopped at the end, peered around the back of the house, then sighed. “All clear.”
Scott leaned forward and whispered, “From what?”
“Just checkin’. Seein’ if anyone been here, that’s all.”
“Right.” Scott didn’t understand, but this was Tony’s place, and he knew what to do, so Scott went along with it.
They went up a few concrete steps to a back door. Tony fished in his pocket and came out with a key. He unlocked the door and pushed it open.
They went inside, and Tony left the door open.
What little light came from the doorway showed Scott they stood in a small kitchen. A smell filled his nostrils, damp mixed with mildew, mixed with age. It wasn’t a stink so much as an air.
“Not bad.” Scott nodded. In the near dark, he saw the flash of Tony’s smile, and his heart did another little flip.
“Thanks.” He grabbed Scott’s hand and placed it, palm flat, against the wall. “No lights. You got to feel your way to the back.”
They edged along the long hall that ran down one side of the house from back door to front door. They came to an open door, and Tony pointed. “Bathroom.”
Scott peered in. Dim light from a high window gave the room an almost illuminated glow. It looked clean. A claw-footed tub stood against the wall, a pedestal sink at one end, the toilet at the other.
“Great. I need to pee.” Scott stepped in and went to the toilet, not bothering to close the door. He unzipped, pulled out his dick, and pissed, leaning forward to make sure he didn’t miss.
Tony waited, leaning against the wall in the hall.
Scott zipped up, flushed, and then came back to Tony’s side. “You?”
“Yeah.” Tony went in, same song and dance, then zipped, flushed and came back out. “Bedroom’s through here.”
He led, hand feeling his way along the wall, as Scott followed. The three-sided rooms opened onto the hall with no wall to close them off. Tony switched his hand to the other wall, and Scott did the same, and they moved deeper into the room.
Tony stopped. “Here’s the bed.”
“Great. I’m bushed.”
Tony stepped aside. “You want to get in first?”
“Sure.” Scott dropped his backpack on the floor, put his hand out, found the bed, and sat. He pulled off his shoes. “How many blankets do you have?”
“Two, but they’re thick. I keep my socks on.” Tony shrugged off his jacket and spread it out on the bed, like an extra blanket. Scott did the same.
“Okay.” Scott, socks on, stood, pulled the blankets back, and slipped into the bed, rolling over to the far side of the double-wide mattress. It creaked as Tony sat, then creaked as he stood, then creaked as he climbed in under the covers.
The heat under the blankets shot up ten degrees, or so it seemed to Scott. The big man’s body radiated warmth. Tony rolled over on his side to face Scott.
Scott rolled over to face Tony.
Neither said a word, but Tony’s deep breathing sent a shiver through Scott. He’d been with men before, had always known he liked boys. When he first came to the city, he’d traded his body to men for shelter, food, and cash and sworn he’d never do that again. Those times may have involved Scott’s body, but never his heart.
With Tony, there was a difference. Scott wanted Tony. Wanted him to touch him, caress him, to feel his big, rough hands on his skin. To feel his lips, his kisses. Under his jeans, Scott’s cock came to life, pressing harder as it grew.
Scott reached for Tony’s hand and threaded their fingers together on the mattress between their bodies. They lay that way for a long time, just staring at each other in the darkness and breathing in each other’s scent.
Tony didn’t move, but his breathing changed, from deep and slow to shallow and rapid. Something else changed in the dark. The level of heat under the blanket almost roasted Scott’s already on-fire body.
Scott wondered if Tony was as hard as he was. How big his dick was, how it would look, feel, taste.
Wonder
ed if he made a move, would Tony welcome it or reject him. If Tony offered only friendship or more. God, he wanted more. Wanted to belong to someone. Wanted someone to care about him as much as he cared about them.
Scott reached out in the dark, his hand breaking the invisible barrier between them, and touched Tony’s face.
Tony sighed.
Scott shuddered at the sweet sound. He ran his hand over Tony’s cheek, across his forehead, back down to his chin, then his fingertips outlined Tony’s lips. They parted, and Scott slipped the tip of his finger into Tony’s mouth.
Tony sucked it in, fast and hard, his tongue dancing around it, driving Scott crazy. Then with a sharp nip, he released Scott and pulled away.
Scott, breathing hard, heart beating so fast it felt more like a vibration than a beat, pulled Tony on top of him with the hand holding Tony’s hand.
Tony rolled over without the slightest hesitation.
That was a good sign.
The weight of the bigger man pressed Scott into the mattress, and Scott felt grounded, secure, desired.
Tony cradled Scott’s head in his hands as Tony’s forehead rested against Scott’s.
“Fuck, Scott,” Tony whispered, his voice shaky with either fear or need, Scott couldn’t tell.
He stretched up and found Tony’s mouth with his.
Tony gasped, pulling back slightly, then returned to Scott, his lips brushing softly over Scott’s. Scott’s cock stiffened, uncomfortable in his jeans. He shifted, slid a hand down, and adjusted himself.
His hand brushed Tony’s hand, doing the same thing to his jeans.
Scott laughed. “Guess we should take off our pants, huh?”
“Yeah.” They broke apart as both of them wiggled out of their jeans. They dropped their pants over the edge of the bed and onto the floor; then they rolled back to the center of the bed.
They resumed touching each other’s faces, kissing softly, tasting, exploring, building the desire and heat between them. Tentative, afraid of rushing, afraid of frightening Tony off, Scott kept his hands above Tony’s waist and under his shirt, although his own body screamed for Tony’s searching hands to delve lower and discover what waited for him, just below Scott’s navel.
Scott pushed Tony’s shirt up and pulled it off. He kissed warm skin, soft and scented of male, moving his lips lower, over rounded shoulder, down firm chest, until he’d reached the wide flat disk of Tony’s nipple. Flicking it with his tongue, Scott pulled soft moans from Tony until Tony shifted under the blankets and the nipple drew to a hard point.
Scott took Tony’s hand and guided it south. Tony’s fingers bumped along Scott’s ribs and over the sharp angle of his hip, as Scott led it straight to the place that ached the most.
Tony brushed Scott’s cock with the back of his hand, and Scott inhaled, his breath caught on the power of just that glancing touch. With each touch, each jostle, waves of arousal beat against his groin. He arched toward Tony and moaned.
Tony kissed Scott, smiling against his lips.
Made bold, Tony took Scott’s shaft in his hand.
“Oh God.” Scott shuddered at the feel of heat, rough skin, and eagerness wrapping his flesh.
Tony pulled up, dragging his hand along the tender skin, and Scott cried out.
Scott reached for Tony, trailed his hand down all those hard chest muscles, past springy pubic hair, and wrapped it around his thick shaft.
He shuddered again as Tony whispered, “Scott.”
Scott claimed Tony’s mouth as he stroked Tony’s cock.
Chest to chest, cock to cock, they humped and stroked, moaned and gasped, bringing pleasure to each other, taking each other to the very edge with bites and kisses and suckled tongues. Their hands merged, rubbing cock against cock, pulling and thrusting through that tight ring, until they exploded over the edge of the cliff.
The stars shooting behind their eyelids illuminated each other, laying bare their naked need.
Chapter 9
SCOTT WOKE in the dark without a single clue what time it was.
“Tony, wake up.” He shook Tony’s arm as he sat up.
“Huh? What?” Tony sat up, his head whipping around, eyes wide and staring.
“I have to go to work, and I don’t know what time it is. Shit!” Scott slapped his head and fell back on the bed.
“Oh yeah, man. Forgot about that.” Tony scratched his chest.
“At the shelter we had alarm clocks.”
“I got a watch in my jeans.” Tony rolled to the side and came back up with his pants. He dug in the pocket and pulled something out, then handed it to Scott and flopped back, rolling over onto his belly and burying his face in his pillow.
In the dark, Scott could feel the round face of the watch, but only one side had a strap. He held it up to his face and squinted.
“This is no good. I can’t see a thing, man,” Scott complained. “If I’m late again, Miss Tiffany will have my ass in a sling.”
Tony sighed. “Here, give it.” He took the watch, pressed a button, and the dial glowed. Then he pushed it back into Scott’s hands.
“Cool!” Scott hit the button, the face lit. “Three o’clock.” He exhaled, relieved he had plenty of time.
“Do we have to get up now?” Tony’s muffled voice came from the side of the bed.
“You don’t, but I need to get up in a little bit.”
“Good.” Tony reached out, grabbed Scott, and pulled him to his side.
Scott curled against Tony as those strong arms wrapped around him. Tony sniffled into his neck, his breath puffing warm against Scott’s skin.
“Mmmm, you smell good, Scott.” Tony licked a line from Scott’s neck to his shoulder, and Scott shuddered.
Scott backed up closer to Tony, pressing his butt against Tony’s crotch. A thick, hard cock speared its way into the crack of Scott’s ass, and Scott rubbed up and down on it.
“Shit, boy, you gonna make me come.” Tony groaned. “How much time you say we got?”
“Enough.” Scott bumped back again.
Tony moved his hips back and forth, sliding his cock along the valley between the firm globes of Scott’s bottom, and then reached around and took hold of Scott’s dick.
“God, that feels so good.” Scott sighed with contentment.
They took their time, rubbing and stroking, Tony’s kisses traveling over Scott’s shoulders and neck, his tongue searching Scott’s ear, his jaw, until Scott shifted, turned his face toward Tony, and their lips met.
Scott opened for Tony’s tongue. Tony filled the opening, delving deeper and deeper into Scott’s mouth, touching teeth, sucking tongue, exploring the roof of his mouth. And all the time, jerking Scott off as he thrust along Scott’s seam.
The pace picked up, and Tony shifted, his cock dropping and now spearing between Scott’s thighs, the head of the thick dick pushing past Scott’s balls. Scott clamped his legs tighter as Tony’s thrusting sped up. The slapping of Scott’s sac against the head of Tony’s cock made a sort of music, along with their moans and sighs.
Tony did all the right things to Scott. He let go of Scott’s cock, spit into his hand, then took a new grasp of the hard, hot flesh. This time his stroking matched the pumping of his cock through Scott’s legs, and together their arousal ramped upward, each hard stroke pushing them higher.
“Gonna come, Scott.” Tony’s harsh breathing sounded so loud in Scott’s ear.
“Me too, Tony, me too.” Scott hung on the edge, caught between the pain of his balls pulled and stretched with each thrust and pleasure as Tony jerked him off, rough hands in a tight circle.
“Here it comes… oh fuck!” Scott froze and shuddered as he came.
Tony cried out, and Scott felt the swell and pulse of Tony’s orgasm under his balls. They shuddered, then Tony wrapped his arms around Scott and pulled him so tight Scott thought he might not breathe.
“Shit, that was fucking good,” Tony muttered.
Scott laughed. “Yeah, you�
�re right!”
They lay there for a few minutes, then Scott tapped Tony on the arm. “Gotta get going. We need to clean up first.”
With a weary sigh, Tony sat up and threw back the blanket. “Guess we need to get a clock, huh?” He grabbed his jeans from the floor.
“Yeah. I’ll get one today.” Scott picked up his pants, got out of bed, and followed Tony as he led the way to the bathroom.
They cleaned up, changed clothes, and headed to the kitchen. Tony opened the back door, and Scott stopped and looked out on the small backyard.
A cat sat on the fence, amber eyes staring at them.
“That him?”
Tony looked past him. “Yeah, that’s him. I call him Top Cat.”
“Good name.”
“He’s wild as shit. Lives off the mice and rats.”
“That’s good. Keeps them away from here.”
Tony nudged Scott. “Let’s go.”
Scott went down the stairs as Tony locked up and shoved the key in his pocket.
They walked down the alley to the front of the house, checked the street, then climbed over the rubble, crossed the street, and headed to the bus stop.
On Tchoupitoulas, they only had to wait about fifteen minutes for the bus. It lumbered to a stop, the doors opened, and Tony and Scott got on. The bus driver stared at them as if he’d seen a couple of ghosts. Scott paid their fares, and they headed to the middle of the bus and sat.
“You boys stay around here?” The driver glanced into the long rearview mirror that let him see the passengers.
“Yeah.” Tony shrugged. “Why you asking?”
“Cuz nobody never gets on the bus this stretch.” The man pulled the handle and the doors hissed shut.
Scott nodded. “Neighborhood’s coming back.” He elbowed Tony, who just gave him a shy smile. They settled into the seats and Scott watched the streets go by in a slow blur, Tony warm at his side.
Way in the back, an old white guy leaned against a window of the bus as he slept, but he and Tony and Scott were the only riders all the way to Poydras.
“WELL, THANKS for walking me to work.” Scott shifted his feet as he stood at the entrance to the alley. “Why don’t you come in and have some breakfast? My treat.”