Urban Decay: Darkly Mine Season One

by Leona Windwalker

“Okay, then.”

  “What are you having?” he asked me, glancing back down at the menu.

  “I’m going to have the Lumberjack stack, with pecans and blueberries, and ask fr blueberry and maple syrup and a side of bacon,” I told him.

  “That’s six huge pancakes!” he said, staring at me like I was crazy.

  “Then you’ll just have to help me eat it,” I teased.

  “I’m having a double order of chocolate chip and Nutella pancakes,” Henry said.

  “Strawberry crepes,” Rusty said. “Henry, you’re going to get diabetes if you keep eating like you do.”

  “It’ll be alright. It’ll sort itself out if I do once I get Made. I mean,” he said, catching himself, “before I get Made to do all the proper adult shit. I’ll graduate from here and have to eat granola, right? Part of the proper adult shit.”

  Shannon laughed. “Granola? Are you suddenly going to become a grown-up or a hippy?”

  “Hippies can run companies, look at Ben and Jerry. Ohh, if I get to be a hippy, that means I can still eat like this ‘cuz I can smoke weed and get the munchies?”

  “You’re crazy,” I laughed. “It doesn’t work like that.”

  “You do that, and instead of helping run your dad’s company, you’ll be off in a van with a dog solving mysteries,” Rusty told him.

  Henry looked at him cooly. “And you’d be my Fred.”

  Rusty rolled his eyes. “It’d hurt if it weren’t so true,” he sighed dramatically.

  “Cool. Let me know when we meet our Daphne and Velma,” Henry said.

  I shook my head at them, looking apologetically at the waitress as she brought us our drinks. Then I noticed her name tag. Her name actually was Daphne. How much had she heard?

  “Let me start by saying I am not joining any Scooby gang,” she said. “But I will take your order if you’re ready.”

  Shannon’s hand flew over his mouth, and he bent over in laughter.

  “Sorry, I can’t take these guys anywhere,” I told her. I rattled off our order as the other two guys just stared at her in surprise.

  “I didn’t know she could hear us,” Henry mumbled as she turned away.

  She raised her hand in the air then and waved it. Yep, she could still hear every word.

  “I should find a rock and crawl under it now,” Henry said.

  “I’d let you, but then who would I have to torment?” Rusty asked him.

  I laughed. So this is what being a normal teenager was like. Right here, there was no Family, no monsters, no march of relentless years. Just four guys, in a booth, hanging out. Me, with two genuine friends and a boyfriend. I wished it could last forever. All too soon, Our meal was over and we were hurrying to make it to class after grabbing the books we’d left behind.

  14

  I spent every possible moment I could with Shannon. Most of the time, Henry and Rusty were there, too. I knew they were trying to stop me from getting in too deep with Shannon, but they were far too late. I had fallen hard and fast for him and he for me.

  The day of the open book test came and went and I passed it with flying colors. The work was starting to make sense to me, and I began to have a real glimmer of hope that I could pull off what the Family expected of me. Then it was mid-terms, and Shannon’s time with us grew shorter.

  “I have to present a joint project for American Lit,” he said. “I’ve been paired with a guy named Joe. I’ll have to spend a lot of time in the library with him to get it done.”

  I kissed him on the forehead, eager to smooth away the wrinkles there his distress caused. “It’s okay, baby. I’ve got a paper to write for English Comp and the guys, and I have had to study for a big final in Biochemistry. We’ll meet up for dinner at the cafeteria every night and can Facetime before bed. Then when it’s all done, we can go celebrate with pizza, burgers, and milkshakes, yeah?”

  “I guess,” he said, his smile wobbly. “It’ll just be hard, seeing you in the hallway and at the library, but not being with you,” he pouted. He was adorable. There was nothing childish about him; his pouting was always playful without any hidden agendas. I was a lucky man.

  “It will, but it’s just a week,” I reminded him.

  “Yeah. I can’t believe Pollard waited until today to spring this on us and pair us up. Man,” he complained. “You’d think it was our only mid-term. And this is half our grade!”

  I decided to take his mind off of it before he managed to upset himself enough not to enjoy our last night together before the mid-term madness began. I sat down next to him, kissing the side of his head. “So, tell me, what are you going to be doing over the break?”

  I knew what I would be doing. I’d be flying back out to San Diego, spending an awkward as fuck Christmas and new year with the Montgomerys as they introduced me to the public as their son. They’d kept paparazzi mostly away from him all of this time, and I did resemble him enough to be his brother, so it shouldn’t raise too many suspicions if anyone had seen him before. They even had a cover story about corrective plastic surgery to explain the discrepancies away if noticed.

  Shannon grimaced. “Mom is working, including Christmas Eve and Christmas day, at the resort she cleans for. My sister is spending it with my grandmother, but she only has a one-bedroom retirement apartment with a pullout sofa, and my sister will be sleeping on it. So, I told Mom not to worry. She told me I couldn’t just stay here, so I kinda told her about you, how you’re my boyfriend, and led her to believe you were taking me home with you.”

  I sat still in shock. He’d done that? Wouldn’t she expect pictures? Oh, God, what if she told someone? The Montgomerys were socialites, and there’d be pictures of us as a family at the two galas that we would be attending. Plus the photo op they’d set up for me, Henry, and Rusty to dress as Santa elves and deliver gifts to kids at a children’s hospital, not to mention the thing where we were taking a busload each of military kids to Disney a few days after Christmas for two days of magic in their lives. He wouldn’t be in any of them.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t want her to feel bad about me staying here and I knew it would be better for us if I did because she’d not have to scrape up bus fare.” He was crying now.

  “Bus fare? The Maryvale transit system only goes as far as Rosemont Mall on the edge of town,” I said. Then I felt really stupid. “Wait, you were going to go Greyhound? All the way across three states?”

  “Four,” he corrected.

  “Okay, four. That doesn’t make it any better. That’s even worse!”

  “Well, poor people can’t afford plane tickets, especially this time of year and to places, other people go on vacation!”

  “I know, bay. I’m sorry. Just the thought of you trapped on a bus for that long with whatever kind of weirdo might be there made me crazy.”

  “Weirdos can get on planes, too,” he pointed out. “Not all of us have private jets, either.” He sniffed, wiping at his eyes as he caught his emotions back in check. “Let’s talk about something else,” he said. “This is depressing..”

  I slid onto the floor in front of him. “I know something we can talk about,” I said huskily.

  “Oh, yeah, what?”

  “You can talk to me about how you like your cock sucked,” I said, reaching for the edge of the tracksuit bottoms he’d changed into after class. He raised his hips, his eyes darkening to a stormy blue, his lips parting as he registered what I was about to do. I tugged them down over his hips to his knees, pulling his briefs down along with them.

  “Are you sure? We’ve never…”

  “Mmmmhmm. I think I’ve waited long enough to taste you. Unless you don’t want me to?”

  “Oh, yes. I mean, I want you to?” he said breathily. His cock hardened under my gaze.

  I slipped both hands around it, pulling it towards my mouth. I swirled my tongue around the tip, my eyes locked onto his.

  “Oh, God, yes, like that,” he whimpered.<
br />
  I did it again, then lowered myself so I sat on my heels. Then, I sucked the head into my mouth, my eyes still on his the entire time.

  “Your mouth is so warm,” he moaned, his hands flying to my head, fisting my hair. I relished the sting as he pulled on the strands.

  I flattened my tongue beneath it and began suckling it, moving my hands gently up and down his now completely swollen shaft. He whimpered, his hips giving a small jerk involuntarily. I pulled off, leaning in to smell the juncture of his hip as I took a deep breath. He smelled of that green bar soap he always showered with and the musk of a man. I cupped my hands under his cock, cradling it, licking it from just under the nest of dark curly hair his dick jutted out from, tasting the faint salty tang that was Shannon as my tongue slid down his shaft. Reaching the tip, I lifted his throbbing cock and caught the droplet glistening at the slit, savoring the saltiness of his desire.

  His hands gripped my hair tighter and he pushed my head down. “More, please, oh God, please more,” he whimpered brokenly.

  With an invitation like that, I was not about to refuse. Not even when I felt the shadowy presence of another within my mind, silently observing. I opened my mouth and slid him in deep, then began bobbing my head. I slipped a hand under and rolled his balls. His hips began to jerk frantically, to the point where I had to abandon what my hands were doing and grasp his hips to help slow his movements. That done, I began to hum. That did it. He flung his head back, his hips jerking hard against my hold, hard enough to nearly break free, his cock hitting the back of my throat. Tears filled my eyes, but I didn’t pull away. His cum was filling my mouth, and I wanted every single drop. I felt Arrakus withdraw from my mind as I swallowed the last of it and pulled him from my mouth, licking him clean before tucking him back away. I was thankful he left me this, the afterglow of having loved on my man.

  Shannon released his grip on my hair. “I didn’t mean to-” I stood up. “Shhh,” I said, interrupting him with a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Let’s just cuddle for a few minutes before I go, okay?” I sat next to him and pulled him into my arms and we sat there just like that. Neither of us said a word. We basked in the presence of each other and in the knowledge of what we’d just done. Then the bell sounded, reminding us dorm residents that we needed to return to our rooms. I gave him another quick kiss, reluctant to part from him. His door opened, his roommate returning.

  “Ew, it smells funky in here. What did you guys do?” he asked, wrinkling his nose.

  “I’ll Facetime you when I get into bed,” I promised my now red-faced love.

  “Okay,” he replied.

  I hurried back to my room, not only wanting to avoid disciplinary action if caught out late but needing to consult with Rusty. He was already in his usual bedtime wear of a pair of jersey pants and a t-shirt, his hair still damp from the shower he’d just had judging by the fact he was exiting the bathroom where I could see steam still on the mirror.

  “Hey,” he greeted me.

  “Hey,” I replied. I scratched the back of my head. “I need to ask you something.”

  “Okay?” he asked, his curiosity now peaked.

  I sat down on the edge of my bed. “You know those galas I gotta go to?”

  “You meant the Christmas and New Year ones? Henry and I have to go to those, too.”

  That was a relief. I wouldn’t have to be on my own, then. “Yeah. Um, are those a plus one sorta thing?”

  He looked at me gravely. “You want to take Shannon, aren’t you?”

  “Maybe,” I said.

  “I’ll be taking Cindy Greenfeldt, the daughter of my dad’s VP. Henry’s escorting Mary Schumway. She used to go here, but after high school, she returned home. She now helps her mom with charity work and takes pottery classes, from what I hear. Henry’s had a crush on her since fifth grade. So, yeah, we can take a plus one, but you know Shannon’s not Family. If you’re making things serious, you know what you need to do.”

  Ask permission to tell him about me, about us, really. And if he didn’t deal with it well, he’d have to die.

  “I just want to take him as my date. He’s got nowhere to go for Christmas.” I explained what he’d told me.

  “You’ll have to clear it first, you know. Everyone will have to pretend they are regular people.”

  He was right. But, this was doable, it was just for a short while, and it would help cement my image as a young, gay bachelor. I definitely didn’t want them to find me a date. I knew that would probably come later. They’d parade some eligible gay and bisexual men from other branches of the Family and wait to see which stuck, then marry us off to each other. I didn’t even entertain the thought of risking Shannon to tell him, to see if I could later also get permission to have him Made. He was far too precious to risk for that. No, I’d take the happiness with him I could get now then do my best to make sure he found joy again, while never wanting for anything. This I could do, even though it hurt like a knife to the heart.

  Mind made up, I girded my loins and took my phone out of my pocket to call Father.

  15

  “Are you sure it’s okay?” Shannon asked, his eyes wide.

  I smiled at him. There was no need for him to know just how fraught with tension my request to bring him with me as my plus one had been, nor the reasons why.

  “Of course! My parents are eager to meet the guy who not only helped me get back into the swing of things academically but who managed to capture my heart. I’m afraid you’ll have to come along to the events I mentioned, so it’s not all kicking back sipping cocoa,” I told him.

  “And the dinner thing, you said the guys would be there? Why aren’t they flying with us?”

  “They’ll be at the gala, yes. It’s a major charity event, so people fly in for it, which is what they’ll be doing. Henry’s Family lives in Tampa, and Rusty is from Seattle.”

  “Oh, right. “Shannon wiped his hands on his pants.

  “Maybe I should just go back to the campus. I don’t have anything fancy enough to wear to any of those things!”

  “My father’ PA is already taking care of that. I told her about your size.” I smirked, knowing exactly how I’d gotten those measurements. That blow job had left us both desperate for more, and the moment we’d both taken our last final, we ran to my room and hung a sock on the outside of the locked door. We didn’t re-emerge until we’d sucked, fingered, and frotted ourselves stupid. I had ample opportunity to look at his clothing labels.

  “I can’t afford to pay you back,” he said, a crease forming between his eyes as his anxiety grew.

  “Now, we talked about this,” I reminded him as the cab pulled up in front of the airport, within the drop-off and pick up zone. “What good is it having so much money if I can’t spend it on things that make you happy? And me, too. Seeing you enjoy things makes me very, very happy.” I kissed the shell of his ear before opening the door to get out.” Besides, we’re here now, and the pilot is waiting.”

  He didn’t argue any further. “I still can’t believe it,” he gushed. “It’s like a fairytale. Me, the son of a hotel maid, getting on a private jet to go spend Christmas at my boyfriend’s beach penthouse in California.”

  I watched as the cab driver handed our bags to the steward who appeared. I paid and tipped the driver, then followed the steward as he trucked our bags inside. “Gate 32A,” I told him. I turned back to Shannon. “And you better believe it. I’m no prince, but I hope to make your fairytale Christmas come true.”

  He flung his arms around me. “You are the best boyfriend ever!” he cried. “So sweet, kind, and thoughtful.”

  I hoped he never found out just how wrong he was about me. I was only sweet with him. Kind people didn’t pull the unwary from their lives and feed on them, and as for thoughtful? If that were true, I’d have spoken to Father and invited him to come weeks earlier than I had. We reached our gate and quickly checked in with the waiting crew, our bags were taken from the luggage cart and t
aken out to the plane waiting on the tarmac as we walked out to it ourselves.

  “That was fast,” Shannon said.

  “One of the perks of being insanely rich,” I replied, gesturing for him to take the movable stairs ahead of me.

  “It’s nice to see you again, River,” the stewardess said. I had to hand it to her. She played the part well, her delivery was almost good enough to convince me that I’d met her before. “Your mother said to tell you that she’ll be meeting you herself when we land.”

  Oh shit. That was going to be all kinds of awkward. I’d kinda hoped we would be picked up by a chauffeur and that the Montgomerys wouldn’t be home. It was a vain hope, but still, this was not the best way to meet my supposed parents for the first time. I schooled my face into a delighted smile, though.

  “Oh, good! It’s been a while and I’ve got so much to tell her,” I said.

  I went inside and she followed me in. The cabin door closed behind us as she pulled it to once a member of the ground crew wheeled the stairs away.

  “Where do I sit?” Shannon asked me, whispering.

  “Anywhere you like,” our flight attendant replied for me.

  “Er, thanks, Ms., Ms.,” he floundered.

  “Just call me Raquel.”

  I shot her a grateful look at the deft way she’d let us both know her name. By her earlier words, River had known her quite well. She no doubt regularly worked the flights he went on between home and school in the past.

  Shannon slid into a window seat, stretching his long legs out as he settled into the well-padded leather seat. “Man, this is the life. It’s like a super comfy armchair, but with seatbelts.”

  I laughed. “Glad you like it, I don’t think we’d have time to buy new seats and have them fitted if you didn’t.”

  He chuckled, the sound showing he was more relaxed now than he had been just moments ago in the car.

  “Buckle in, and I’ll bring refreshments after we take off and it’s okay to unfasten your seatbelts.”

  “Thank you,” Shannon told Raquel, dutifully fastening his seatbelt. I sat down across from him and did the same.