by T. M. Smith
They’d had a conversation early on when Victor and Andrew suggested, maybe it would work better for them if they never went beyond kissing or making out unless all three of them were present. Mattie knocked that down quickly. “That’s bullshit guys, and placing that kind of limitation on our relationship can only cause us to fail,” was Mattie’s reasoning. So they nixed the idea quicker than they suggested it. It was mornings like this that made Andrew happy they’d let Mattie have that one.
They’d just gotten dressed and went down to the kitchen to start getting everything set up for the party when the first knock came at the door. Everyone came out to the house to help Mattie celebrate, including Andrew’s mom. They spent the day down at the docks swimming and riding the jet-skis. When they were all waterlogged and starving, they slowly walked back to the house which had been transformed for Mattie’s birthday soiree. Victor and Andrew knew they’d gone overboard, but with everything Mattie had suffered through in the past year, they wanted to make it abundantly clear that they were celebrating his life.
The yard was lined with Tiki-torches, hanging lamps swung from multiple tree branches and lights were strung from the porch to the trees. They had tables and chairs brought in that were littered throughout the yard, there was a buffet style table just off the side of the porch with a bar and a DJ sat up at the other end. A twelve foot by twelve foot area next to the big tree that sat in the front yard had been sectioned off for a dance floor and Mattie was currently dancing his way across it, spinning Cassie in circles in her sky high stilettos.
As the sky grew darker and their guests began to trickle out, heading home, Victor covered Mattie’s eyes as Andrew led them up the stairs and down the hall. Victor spoke softly in his ear as he blindly followed Andrew’s lead. “I have office at work, Andy have office here, we have space. You need something that is only for you Matthew.” He heard a door knob turn then a door creak as it opened.
When Victor dropped his hands from Mattie’s eyes he looked around the room that was his when he first moved into the house. The bedroom furniture was gone. There was a small table by the window with a sewing machine and two mannequins, one male one female. There was an easel in one corner with a stool and a box full of paints and brushes. A long desk took up the wall where his bed once sat with a large screen laptop and a big comfy desk chair. The only thing that remained from his old room was the big, multi colored papasan chair.
Mattie was speechless, he couldn’t find the right words to say, thank you just did not seem sufficient for this. He ambled over to the chair and plopped down; smiling at his guys when he saw there was a huge present on the wall behind them. “What the hell is that?” he asked.
“This is why I had to convince you to stay in bed this morning.” Andrew responded with a wink. They stood there, waiting for Mattie to get up and open his last present. He rose slowly, giving each of them a sideways look before he walked over to the wall and tore the paper down the middle. He took a step back and gasped, soaking in what was under the paper.
Victor and Andrew had built a four foot by six foot frame and turned it into a collage of pictures, chronicling Mattie’s life. Mattie’s eyes roamed over the images of his childhood that he had told Victor to throw away, then he saw a newspaper clipping from six years ago when Mattie played the lead in Romeo and Juliet for his junior high talent show, where had they found that? Mattie’s life flashed before his eyes, literally. The good, the bad and the ugly. But with the pain there was so much happiness captured in images of Mattie and Jordan at a baseball game or playing cards down in the dining room. There was a picture of him and Cassie from last summer attacking each other with water guns, the smiles on their faces wide and bright. And the last image in the frame was of him sitting on the steps of their home with Victor on one side and Andrew on the other. Mattie smiled up at Jordan behind the camera while Victor and Andrew’s gaze was trained on him. The love they had for him radiated off the black and white image in front of him and he didn’t even try to hold back his tears.
“It’s perfect,” Mattie said as he turned and wrapped an arm around each one of his men.
“There’s room for more,” Andrew told him. And indeed, the bottom section of the frame was empty.
“Then we will fill it up, hell, we’ll fill the entire room!” Mattie exclaimed, standing on his tiptoes and kissing each of them on the cheek in turn. “I love you guys, so much.”
Then he turned and bolted out of the room, yelling something about cake.
~ Chapter 13 | Life is what you make it ~
By the time Mattie’s birthday came around again he had finished his first year at NYU and only saw Dr. Elliot once a month. He chose another intimate gathering out at the house with old friends, as well as some new ones and this time Dr. Elliot came out to join the fun. Not only had Mattie filled up the frame they made for his last birthday, he’d framed more than two dozen images of him with Andrew and Victor and scattered them throughout their home. What Mattie would remember in vivid detail about his twentieth birthday was waking up to a new Nissan Altima parked in the driveway, with a big red bow on top of it.
Seasons changed and as another year flew by, Mattie saw Dr. Elliot only a handful of times that year. There was a brief period where he argued he didn’t think the visits were necessary any longer, but Victor and Andrew insisted he keep attending therapy, even if only every couple of months. He graduated from NYU with a BA in Basic Studies, unsure if he ever wanted to actually do anything besides what he already did at the studio, but wanting that piece of paper hanging on his wall nonetheless.
Mattie wasn’t expecting anything extravagant for his twenty first birthday. Hell, what could there possibly be that he did not already have. In the last three years he found a home, a family, the love of not one but two amazing men. He had a degree, a job, hobbies and a life that he never in his wildest dreams imaged he would have. But still, when Andrew handed him a simple white envelope, his name written across the front, he glared at his men. That was, until he opened it. Three round trip plane tickets to Europe, first class, and an itinerary for a three week tour through France, Italy and Europe.
“Holy shit! Vic, Andy, this had to cost a mint.” He jumped into Victor’s arms, wrapping his long legs around Victor’s waist and painting his face with kisses. He did not even climb down, just reached for Andrew and pulled him close, painting his face with kisses as well. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“Down boy!” Jordan joked. “I guess those season tickets for Yankees stadium are going to pale in comparison.”
That got Mattie down, “What?! Really??? Oh my god, this is the best birthday EVER!” Mattie squealed hopping over to Jordan and kissing him on the cheek.
“Hey!” Victor barked, playfully.
“When do we leave?” Mattie asked.
“Well, that is up to you.” Andrews’s response was vague. Mattie quirked his head to the side, asking the silent question. When Andrew had said he wanted his and Victor’s relationship with Mattie to be similar to the one they shared, finishing each other’s sentences and so on, Mattie did one better. He had these odd facial expressions and a quirky sort of body language that only Victor and Andrew could translate, so they had a constant open line of communication, without speaking.
“Have you decided if you want to get that Masters degree you’ll probably never use? Or would you rather take some time off to globe trot with your boyfriends that are sorely lacking your attention?” Andrew was kidding, or course, on both counts. They’d pay for Mattie to attend college from now until the end of time, if it’s what he wanted, if it made him happy. And their sex life was anything but lacking.
“College, schmollege! I think it’s time I got the first stamp on my passport.” Mattie high fived Jordan before punching his fist in the air.
“All right then, we leave in two weeks.” Andrew barely got the words out of his mouth before Mattie plowed into him.
Mattie did not realize their time
in Europe would pass in a blur, but he had a blast regardless. They went from Amsterdam to Germany then over to Venice, Florence and Rome. Victor swore they gained fifty pounds between the three of them while they were in Italy. Mattie couldn’t get enough of the authentic Italian cuisine. The last leg of their trip was in Paris, France where they spent three days touring the Eiffel Tower and the infamous Notre-Dame cathedral among other things. The hotel in Paris was a surprise for both Mattie and Andrew though, Victor having changed the reservation without telling Andrew.
He’d found a lovely art house themed hotel on Trip Advisor online and after pouring over ratings and reviews, decided it seemed like the perfect ending to their whirlwind vacation across the pond. Le 123 Sebastopol was located in central Paris and boasted an old French Cinema theme throughout the hotel, complete with an in- house theater in the basement where they watched a movie about a women that trained whales then lost her legs but still found love, Rust and Bone.
They got more than one curious stare when they arrived to check into a room with one king sized bed, the three of them. The concierge was very concerned that an error had been made and was more than happy to correct it, but Victor assured him the reservation was correct and no changes needed to be made.
Their suite had a private balcony that you could walk out onto from the living room, and then walk into the bedroom from the other end. Their first night there, they stayed in, ordered room service and vegged out in bed watching TV, until Mattie got frisky and got both his men wound up. With three partners in their relationship instead of two, sex was often a lengthy process, though never boring. This instance was no exception. Mattie lay on his back as Andrew nailed his prostate with every down stroke with Victor behind Andrew doing the same to him. Actually, Victor was trying to fuck them both through the mattress, and if the steady staccato beat of the headboard hitting the wall, interloping with the shouts and moans of the three men in the throes of ecstasy were any indication, Victor was doing a damn fine job of achieving his goal.
Andrew continually tried to convince his two partners that the grass was indeed, greener on the both sides of the fence. But neither of them were having it. His versatility allowed Andrew the best of both worlds; fucking and being fucked at the same time. It was one of his great pleasures in regards to their sex life. Andrew had convinced Mattie to take the top position and make love to him once, and while Mattie enjoyed the experience, it wasn’t one he was likely to repeat. He was a natural bottom all the way while Victor was a true top, so Andrew’s versatility made them the perfect triad.
***
They arrived back in New York to a small fiasco at the studio. The permits that Andrew had secured for a shoot on a boat out on Long Island Sound had been misplaced so Jordan had to reschedule. Since everything had been booked, they were out all those fees. Victor was so pissed off over the financial loss that he went out the next week and bought his own boat. One of their models had up and quit while they were in Europe as well, but that wasn’t nearly as big as the permits.
Andrew wasn’t nearly as sold on the idea of dropping the kind of money a boat would cost so soon after their trip though. Victor had to do some serious sucking up to convince him.
“It’s a huge investment babe,” he countered when Victor first mentioned the idea. “I know we aren’t hurting for money, but Mattie’s birthday trip really did cost a mint, and now you want to buy a fucking boat? And not just any boat, a yacht??”
“You saying we should not have been taking the trip?”
“No Vic, that is not what I’m saying at all. I’m happy we went, it was one of the most amazing things we’ve ever done. I’m so happy the three of us got to share that experience, get away from the real world and just be with each other for a while. What I am saying is, it doesn’t seem wise to turn around five minutes after spending thousands of dollars on that trip and spend thousands more on a goddamn yacht!” Andrew was adamant and just may have won the argument, but Victor never did play fair.
He walked over to the desk where Andrew was sitting and turned his chair sideways, falling to his knees in front of Andrew. “Andy, babe, think of money we can be making.” He unbuttoned Andrew’s pants. “We can be using the boat for shoots.” He slowly slid the zipper down, every tick of the metal as it gave way sounded louder than normal in the quiet attic room. “No bill for hotel in the city, models just stay here.” He leaned in and gently bit down on the mass of Andrew’s cock, still trapped inside his boxers. “I am thinking, we save money not spend.” He slid his fingers under the elastic of the boxers and pulled down, exposing the red, swollen head of Andrew’s cock. Victor teased the slit with the tip of his tongue, looking up and meeting Andrew’s horny stare.
Andrew reached for him, running his fingers through Victor’s hair. “Jesus Vic, what you do to me,” He whispered and Victor knew he’d won that one.
Fifteen minutes later Victor sat on the couch across from Andrew’s desk with his phone to his ear, setting up an appointment with the yacht salesman for the next day. He could still taste Andrew’s release on his tongue. Victor had just disconnected the call when Mattie bounded up the stairs into the attic.
“Hey, I thought…” Mattie stopped mid-sentence, sniffing the air in the room. “What a minute, were you two fucking up here? I don’t recall getting an invitation.”
Andrew latched onto Mattie’s wrist and pulled him down into his lap, kissing his nose. “No fucking, just sucking. Vic wanted something so he used my dick against me, the bastard.”
Victor looked their way, his face trying to convey innocence with a “what? who? me?” fake ass smile before licking his lips. Andrew and Mattie dissolved into fits of laughter.
“Anyway, what were you thinking Mattie?” Andrew asked.
“I thought we could cook some steaks on the grill, eat on the porch and enjoy a quiet, inexpensive, night at home; just the three of us.” Mattie stressed the word inexpensive while eying Victor.
~ Chapter 14 | Ghosts of the past ~
For Christmas, Victor gave Andrew and Mattie his now infamous plain white envelope with their names written in the middle in his almost undecipherable scribble. In the five years they’d spent together they had been to Europe, Italy, France, Ireland, Alaska and Spain. In each envelope were tickets and itineraries for a Caribbean cruise. It was a ten day cruise that would take them away from the almost blizzard- like conditions that had set up permanent residence in the fog over the city that year.
While they were away on the cruise, Jordan held down the fort at the studio and managed that month’s event at Club Berlin along with the fabulous five. While he still filmed an occasional scene, Jordan had moved mostly behind the camera at the studio. They currently had twelve models on the payroll, not including Jordan, and hoped to bring on more with the latest batch of flyers at the club.
Jordan, Kory, Lincoln, Asher and William were the fabulous five, as Mattie had nick named them. They were the five guys that had been modeling off and on for the studio for five years or more. They were also family, some of them all but living at the house in Mamaroneck full time. They had locked up the house while they were away on the cruise; since everyone but Kory went to be with their families for the Holidays it was really the only option.
They wouldn’t find out until they returned that Kory had wound up staying at Linc’s apartment with Linc’s boyfriend, Lance. Linc had gone to stay with his family for the Holiday, of course, only to return to the apartment in the city he shared with Lance to find Kory bent over his Italian leather sofa with Lance balls deep in his ass.
That was an awkward situation that caused a lot of strife between Kory and Linc and almost got Kory fired at one point. He’d always had a chip on his shoulder, but he was so free and uninhibited when he shot scenes, that Victor kept him around these last few years mostly because he was one of the top ranked models on the site. And there was something about Kory that reminded both Victor and Andrew of Mattie when he first came to them. T
hey were certain there was something Kory kept buried from them, much like Mattie had, something that made him so guarded and cocky.
2015 would prove to be a banner year for the site. They brought in several new models and Jordan completely transitioned to off camera only while he finished his medical degree. And Linc finally found happiness with one of the new models. Chris was a straight gay for pay model they hired shortly after they returned from their cruise. But as he grew more comfortable and confident with scenes, and settled in as another member of their nuclear family, he started to fall hard for Linc.
As with everything in life, the transition was a little rocky. Lance had decided he would stop at nothing to get Linc back, though he’d done nothing but fuck around the entire time they’d been together. And Chris brought his own baggage into the relationship as well. They really loved each other though, so they fought their way through to the other side, intent on finding their place in the world together. It was their chemistry on screen that pushed Victor to change things up again, ever evolving in a cutthroat industry. He decided to turn the next event at Club Berlin into a meet and greet with Chris, Linc and Gabe, one of the other models, signing autographs and taking pictures with fans. They’d shot some amazing footage over the summer out at the house with different combinations of the three men as couples, ending the marathon shooting schedule with a very erotic threesome, that would all be featured in their first full length DVD releasing the following month.