by Jake Biondi
“Just be happy and healthy. That’s what I wish for you,” Patrick said as he helped Jacqueline up from the pew.
Together, they walked down the aisle and out of the chapel into the hallway where Jesse found them.
“There you are,” Jesse said, kissing his mother.
“We bumped into each other inside,” Patrick explained. “Your mother is heading back home to St. Louis.”
“So soon? Why?”
Jacqueline put her hand on the side of Jesse’s face. “I need to get home, to a routine. I need some semblance of normalcy again.”
“But you’ve just gone through so much.”
“I’ll rest at home. I promise...both of you.”
Patrick said, “I told her that I’m just a phone call away if she needs anything.”
“I wish you’d reconsider but I think your mind is made up.”
“It is. A cab is already coming to take me to the airport.”
Jesse hugged her again. “I love you so much. Come on, I’ll walk you out.”
Patrick pointed toward Jacqueline. “Remember what I told you. If you need anything...”
Jacqueline smiled. “I know. Thank you.”
“Since you’re here, Patrick, how’s Logan doing? I understand that doctor-patient confidentiality thing, but...”
“He’s doing okay. The first few days are always difficult, but he’s hanging in there.”
“Thank God,” Jesse said. “Please tell him I love him.”
“He knows you do. And he’s going to be okay,” Patrick stated, smiling. “Go ahead and get your mom to her cab.”
“Will do,” Jesse replied as he took Jacqueline’s arm and walked her toward the hospital’s front entrance. Patrick watched for a moment and then headed toward his office.
Just north of the hospital in his apartment, Cole walked out of his bathroom having just showered. Wearing only a pair of gym shorts, he walked toward the kitchen when he heard someone opening the door.
Assuming it was Jesse returning home, he continued to the kitchen, saying, “Welcome home, bro.”
The door finally opened and Derek entered the apartment.
“Can I get you any--” Cole turned around to see Derek standing nearby. “Oh, my God. You’re home!”
Cole rushed over to Derek and wrapped his arms around him. They kissed passionately and then Cole placed his hands on each side of Derek’s face.
“You have no idea how much I have missed you.”
Derek looked into Cole’s eyes. “I love you, Cole.”
“I love you, too”
Derek kissed Cole on the lips and then his mouth explored Cole’s neck and shoulders. His fingers dug into Cole’s back and eventually slid down under Cole’s shorts to feel his smooth, firm ass.
Cole ripped open Derek’s shirt and ran his hands over his chest. He pushed Derek backwards against the wall as he kissed his nipples. Slowly sliding his hands down Derek’s body, Cole bit his nipples and kissed his firm stomach. Quickly, opening Derek’s belt and pants, Cole allowed Derek’s hot cock to spring forward toward him.
Taking Derek’s dick into his mouth, Cole ran his tongue along the shaft as the head pressed against the back of his throat. While sucking, Cole pulled Derek’s pants down to the floor.
Derek kicked off his shoes, stepped out of his pants, and put his hands on the back of Cole’s head. Thrusting into Cole’s mouth, Derek massaged Cole’s neck and shoulders. Then he pulled Cole up and kissed him deeply, his tongue working its way into his lover’s mouth.
Wrapped around each other, the two took several steps from the wall until Derek could lightly push Cole backwards onto the sofa. With Cole on his back, Derek pulled off his shorts and leaned forward to take Cole’s swollen penis into his mouth. While sucking Cole, Derek spread Cole’s legs and massaged the inside of his thighs.
His tongue massaged Cole’s dick for a while as Derek ran his hands over Cole’s hard chest. Then he dug his fingertips into Cole’s abs and ran them down to his cock. Derek moved his mouth under Cole’s balls and grabbed his cock firmly with one hand. Stroking Cole, Derek sucked his balls.
Moving his hands behind Cole’s thighs, Derek lifted and spread his legs, revealing his tight hole. Derek kissed Cole’s ass, lubing his hole with his tongue and preparing it for his big cock.
Wrapping his legs around Derek’s back, Cole squirmed as Derek rimmed him. He reached out over his head and grabbed the throw pillow, squeezing it tightly as he moaned with pleasure.
Then Derek slowly licked his way up Cole’s body from his crotch to his abs to his chest and up to his neck. Looking deep into Cole’s eyes, Derek pressed himself against Cole’s hole. As his lips kissed Cole, his hard dick plunged into him.
Cole’s entire body trembled as he welcomed Derek’s large cock inside of him. He grabbed Derek’s ass firmly and curled his toes as Derek continued his relentless thrusting. Cole kissed Derek’s neck, then ran his mouth along Derek’s shoulders. Sliding his hands up Derek’s back, his fingers felt the contours of his muscles. He looked into Derek’s eyes and kissed him hard on the mouth.
Derek put one foot on the floor and grabbed Cole’s ankles to spread his legs farther apart. Adjusting his position slightly, Derek pushed even deeper into Cole, whose moans grew louder and louder.
Cole pushed his hands up Derek’s stomach and chest as he watched Derek’s dick drilling into him. His smiles encouraged Derek who responded by quickening his pace.
As he prepared to fill Cole, Derek put his forehead against Cole’s. They kissed and Cole wrapped his arms about Derek once more. Letting out a loud groan, Derek erupted spewing cum deep into his lover.
Cole tightened around Derek, coaxing every drop from his dick. He pulled Derek down onto him and held him tight until Derek eventually slipped out of him. Then he adjusted his position on the sofa to make more room for Derek, who wrapped his arms around Cole and held him from behind.
“I’m so glad you’re home and okay,” Cole whispered. “When I heard about the crash…”
“Shh,” Derek said, kissing Cole’s neck. “Nothing is going to take me away from you.”
“I have so much to tell you.”
“It can wait,” Derek declared. “Right now, I just want to enjoy you.”
Cole smiled and turned his head to kiss Derek. “I like the sound of that.”
“You are so fucking hot.”
“I’m all yours…”
Derek grabbed Cole’s cock, which was still erect. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
As Derek made love to Cole again, the man sat at his desk in his dark apartment with only a single lamp illuminating the room. On the desk in front of him were several fashion magazines with Cole’s image on the covers.
Carefully yet frantically, the man cut out the photos of Cole from each of the magazines. Then he stuck each cutout onto the wall next to him where dozens of cutouts of Cole were already in place. Finally, he picked up a box of matches, lit a single match, and used it to light a small votive candle at the foot of the wall collage of Cole photos.
Meanwhile, Joyelle quietly entered Tyler’s apartment. She turned on the lights and dropped her travel bag onto the floor. Feeling very much alone, she looked around the large living room. She stared at the painting above the fireplace for a moment, then glanced at a few other items in the room that reminded her of Tyler.
She turned and walked down the hallway and into Tyler’s bedroom. Turning on the light in the room, Joyelle immediately saw Tyler’s scrubs folded and stacked on a shelf in the open closet. She walked to the closet and ran her hands over the clothes -- his scrubs, his suits, his ties.
Then she turned toward the bed and focused on a picture on the night stand. As she approached it, the image became clearer to her. It was a photo of Tyler and her holding each other and smiling.
Tears filled her eyes as she lifted the photo from the table. She sat down on the bed and ran her finger over Tyler’s face in the photo. Then she
embraced the picture as if she were hugging it and lay down on the bed all curled up. Her sobs echoed in the room and she held the photo close to her heart.
At the same time, Max stood at the foot of Dustin’s bed in his hospital room. Dustin sat up more as Max continued talking.
“Don’t you understand how much trouble you could be in?”
“I’ll handle it,” Dustin said.
“How? This is one time your charm and sweet talking won’t help you. That’s why I hired Sam for you. He’s the best in the business.”
“I know,” Dustin stated. “And I’m not being ungrateful, believe me. I appreciate all you’re doing for me. And I realize that I need help.”
“Then what’s the issue?”
“The issue is why. Why are you doing this for me?”
“Because you’re my employee and my friend.”
“Aw, come on, Max. You wouldn’t go to these lengths for any other employee and you know it.”
“I--”
“Are you doing it because we’ve fucked a few times? Is it out of some sense of guilt or responsibility because we’ve had sex?”
“I’d like to know the answer to that question myself,” a voice stated from across the room. Both Max and Dustin turned to see Emmett standing in the doorway.
As Max and Dustin stared speechless at Emmett, Carlo’s attorney James Fiorito addressed those assembled in the library of the Ciancio mansion. Gino and Justin were seated on one of the room’s leather sofas while Camille and David each sat in a chair and James sat at the desk reading from Carlo’s will.
“...to each of my household staff members I leave a sum of twice their annual salary as a sign of my appreciation for their outstanding work. I consider each to be extended members of my family.”
Camille and Gino exchanged glances.
“I leave the entire Ciancio mansion and estate to my son Gino with the condition that all family members are always welcome to live in or visit our family home. It is my hope that it continues to be a place where family members congregate and celebrate and I know Gino will possess and maintain the estate with my intentions in mind.”
Justin smiled at Gino who remained focused on James.
“And now for the company, Ciancio International,” James said looking up from the will for just a moment and then continued to read. “Having only recently discovered that Tyler Bennett and David Young are my wife’s sons, I choose to welcome them into the Ciancio family by giving them each ten percent of Ciancio International. Should either or both of them pre-decease me or become incapacitated in any way, their ten percent shall go to my son Gino, or his surviving heirs.”
David smiled and looked at Gino.
“To my son Marco, whom I know will continue to run Ciancio International with my goals and intentions in mind, I leave fifty-five percent of the company. The remaining twenty-five percent of the company I leave to my son Gino, whom I know will understand why I decided to divide the company as I have. Like me, Marco understands the importance of bringing Mancini Enterprises to its ruin.”
“My God,” Justin mumbled.
James continued reading. “In the event that either, or both, of my sons Gino and Marco predecease me or become incapacitated in any way, his percentage of the company shall pass to, and be divided evenly among, his surviving heirs. If he has no surviving heirs, his percentage of the company shall pass to my sister, Camille Ciancio, who understands my goals and vision for the company.”
David, Justin, and Gino all turned to face Camille, whose smile grew wider and wider.
“No,” Gino said, standing up. “That can’t be possible.”
“It is what your father intended in his own words,” James explained.
“Thank you, brother,” Camille whispered.
Gino looked toward the ceiling. “My God, Father, what have you done?”
Even from the grave, people may dictate others’ actions.
Episode #45
It should have been a night to celebrate, but it wasn’t. While Derek’s homecoming night with Cole O’Brien was an exciting, passionate one, Joyelle Mancini and Emmett Mancini had experiences that were less than celebratory.
Joyelle spent the night on Tyler’s bed in his apartment. Clutching a picture of Tyler and her together, Joyelle cried herself to sleep. When she woke up the next morning, she got out of bed and slowly made her way into the kitchen.
As she opened a cabinet to take out some coffee, she looked into the living room and saw Emmett sound asleep on the sofa. She left the kitchen and walked into the next room, sitting down at the end of the couch near Emmett’s feet. She softly touched his bare foot, causing him to stir. He stretched his body and then opened his eyes.
“Good morning,” Joyelle whispered with a smile.
“Joyelle,” Emmett said somewhat loudly as he sat up and threw his arms around her.
Joyelle held him. “Shh.” She felt his body begin to tremble. “Hey, hey, what’s the matter?”
Emmett pulled back from Joyelle somewhat, revealing his teary-eyed face. “Oh, Joyelle.”
“Emmett, what’s wrong?”
“He cheated on me. Max cheated on me.” Emmett continued to cry, putting his head on her shoulder.
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s true. I overheard him last night. He slept with Dustin, more than once.”
“Dustin? That can’t be right.”
Emmett looked directly at her again. “I heard him say so with my own ears. They were talking about it at the hospital.”
“Did you talk to him about it? Maybe you heard wrong or missed something.”
“I just ran out of the hospital. I didn’t want to talk about it. I didn’t want to hear him try to explain.”
“Aw, sweetie. You have to talk to him and hear him out.”
Emmett wiped the tears from his eyes and shook his head. “I can’t. I don’t want to.”
Joyelle put her arm over Emmett’s shoulders. “We’ve been here before, haven’t we? Sitting on a sofa together after you had a rough night.”
“You mean when I broke up with Keith?” Emmett hesitated and then asked, “Why does this keep happening to me? Don’t I deserve to be loved and happy?”
“Shh, of course you do, sweetie. You know that. You are loved by so many people, me included. And I know Max loves you. I have no idea what happened but I know you have to talk to him. People have to talk.”
“I couldn’t face him last night, I couldn’t go home. So I used my key to let myself in here. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Mind? You own this place. And I’m a guest here, too. I think we both cried ourselves to sleep.”
“It’s hard being here without Tyler, isn’t it?”
“Walking in here alone was rough. There are so many reminders here.”
“I can help you go through his stuff, when you’re ready to.”
“Thank you. I can’t think about that right now. I’m sure David will want to take care of that anyway...to make room for another roommate.”
“Where will you stay then?”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll stay with my mother until I have a place of my own.”
“But you have the baby coming soon; you need a home.”
“Emmett, you’re sweet to worry about me, but I’ll be fine. Truly. You need to work on patching things up with Max now -- and that can’t happen until you two talk to each other.”
“Patch things up? How is possible? He cheated on me. How can I ever trust him again, let alone marry him?”
“I can’t answer that for you. Only you and he can work that out. But you know I’m here for you no matter what you need.”
Emmett hugged Joyelle. “What would I do without you?”
“It’ll be okay. Come on. I’ll make us some coffee and something to eat.”
Joyelle helped Emmett up from the sofa.
As Joyelle and Emmett headed into the kitchen, Derek Mancini and Cole O’Brien were ha
ving breakfast at Boystown Bistro.
“I’m sure there’s paperwork piled sky high on my desk at the office. I’m dreading it,” Derek said as he drank some water.
“Just take it one thing at a time,” Cole suggested.
“Do you want to come with me to meet with Sam?”
“I’d love to, but I have another shoot today.”
“They keep you busy, don’t they?”
“They’re getting ready to launch the fall line.”
“While I don’t love that you’re working for Gino, you obviously like it and are clearly doing a great job.”
“Gino’s a great guy, actually. He’s been very generous. Don’t let his last name influence your opinion of him. Besides, once Justin and he get married, he’s going to be your brother-in-law.”
“I’m trying to get used to that fact...”
Cole sipped his juice and then said, “Derek, we need to talk about Dustin.”
Derek sighed. “I knew you’d want to.”
“He tried to kill you, Derek. I’m trying to wrap my head around why.”
“How should I know? He’s obviously crazy.”
“He told me you two had a fling while you were traveling for business. Just like we did.”
“You and I were hardly just a ‘fling.’ Look at us.”
“You know what I mean. He moved halfway across the country to pursue you.”
Derek smiled. “I seem to have that effect on people.”
“Come on. I’m being serious.”
“What do you want me to say?” Derek asked. “I slept with him when I was in Seattle, long before I ever met you.”
“But you said you didn’t remember him.”
“I didn’t. Obviously, he didn’t leave a lasting impression on me like you did.”
“You didn’t even think he looked familiar?”
“I guess he did. I don’t know. Look, Cole, we both have pasts. And that’s the key word -- Dustin is part of my past. You don’t have anything to worry about.”