His body jerked in a spasm as his eyes shot opened. He would have flared out had it not been for the strong arms holding him in.
“Danny?”
Danny breathed in the reassurance of his lover. He quietly squeaked out a response. “Daddy?”
“Shhhh.”
Danny turned and burrowed his head under Mitch’s chin, falling back to sleep.
*****
Damon was busy with a purpose. He was out doing chores to Brendan’s exact specifications; he was proving his aptitude as an invaluable submissive. He answered the phone on the way to the dry cleaners, assuming it was Brendan.
He was disappointed to hear his mother’s voice.
“Oh, Damie, I’ve been so worried about you. You never call anymore.”
“Sorry, Mother, I’ve been busy.”
“Didn’t you get my messages?”
“Yeah, I got ‘em. You don’t need to keep pestering. I was planning on stopping by when things settled down.”
“What things? What could possibly have you so busy you can’t return a phone call from your mother?”
“Things I’d rather not get into.”
“I don’t like the way you’ve been so evasive lately. What is it that you’re getting yourself into that you can’t tell me?”
“Listen, Ma, I’m on my way into the dry cleaners and I’m carrying a bundle of clothes. We’ll talk later.”
“Dry cleaners? Since when you do you buy clothes that need to be dry-cleaned? It’s not for that man is it? Don’t tell me you’re still involved with that man who shot someone during your date at the opera.”
“It was after he dropped me off. And his name is Brendan, not that man.”
“I thought he was in jail.”
“Not anymore. I bailed him out.”
“You did what! How could you? He tried to kill somebody. All my friends were talking about it. Everyone in the neighborhood says he’s no good. Even family.”
“This is one of the reasons I haven’t been answering the phone. I don’t wanna hear it from you or anyone else in the family. You don’t know the whole story. You don’t know Brendan like I do. He’s not a murderer. He was trying to protect himself.”
“Damie, please, come to your senses. Nothing good can come from being with that man.”
“Brendan, mother, his name is Brendan! And, if you can’t learn to think for yourself, and ignore all that bogus news coverage and local gossip, then I have nothing else to say to you.”
“How can you say that to your own flesh n’ blood? I love you, Damie. I don’t want to see you hurt.”
Coming to the door of the dry cleaners, Damon stopped with impatience to lean against the brick on the outside of the building. His mother was impeding upon his progress in accomplishing his task. He was preoccupied with getting back to Brendan. He wanted to show him how efficient he could be. He wanted to rush back to spend the rest of his day with him. He wanted, no, he needed to spend the rest of his life with him. Swallowing back his inclination to comfort his mother, he made a decision to reveal his true feelings.
“I love him, mother. He fulfills me.”
“That’s ludicrous. You haven’t even know him that long.”
“I’ve known him long enough. I know my heart.”
“I can’t accept that. I won’t!”
“That’s too bad. Because, either you accept him in my life, or I’m cutting off contact.”
“What? You can’t mean that!”
“I do. More than anything I’ve ever meant before.”
“Oh Damie!”
“Don’t call me back unless you are willing to embrace us as a couple.”
Damon turned off his phone, a decision he would later regret, and walked into the dry cleaners with his head held high. Brendan will be pleased when I tell him that I stood up for him–for us. I’m not going to let anyone stand in the way of our love.
Chapter 5
A Little Turbulence
As excited as Danny was to see Mama Cecelia again, he was equally anxious about meeting everyone else. In typical Danny fashion, his insecurity was expressed through irritability and sullenness. Antonio kept by his side all morning, calming him with shoulder rubs or tightening the gap between them.
Danny was never self-conscious about being seen as gay as long as he was in the company of the others. Who could be anything but proud to be seen with such impressive men? But, when they got to JFK, and Antonio took his hand in a parental fashion, he ignored the sense of comfort it gave in favor of being hypersensitive to the thoughts of strangers he assumed were viewing him as an immature teenager in need of close supervision.
“Sweetheart, stop shuffling your feet, we need to hurry up,” Antonio prodded. It was a struggle to move efficiently through the bustling airport with a large rolling suitcase in one hand, a packed duffle baffle bag over his shoulder, and Danny, with his own luggage, in tow.
“You don’t need to hold on to me. I won’t get lost,” Danny said with a huff.
Antonio scanned the wait to the counter and figured Danny was wound too tight to be able to tolerate the long lines. “Why don’t you stay here with the carry-ons and wait for the others while I check in the bigger bags?”
Danny plopped down, taking a seat on top of the large duffle bag. With his elbows on his knees and his face resting between his hands, he let out a long sigh. Antonio surveyed his sour expression and hesitated to move.
“Well, are you going or not?” Danny groused.
“Don’t move from this spot. I’ll be right back.”
The other three men came into the airport lobby shortly after. Antonio was the first to be located. He wasn’t hard to miss standing a head above most travelers. Mitch tried to wave to him, but his attention was elsewhere. Following the worrisome glances, he found the source of Antonio’s distress.
“Keep an eye on him, while Ricky and I met up with Antonio to check in the bags,” Mitch said, pointing TJ in the direction of the youngest. In retrospect, it would have been wiser to give Ricky the task of keeping Danny out of trouble.
TJ was so pumped about the trip that he was bouncing around like a toddler on crack. He didn’t like seeing his youngest partner anxiously moping and spoiling the mood. Ignoring common sense, TJ snuck up behind Danny to goose his sides.
Danny yipped loudly as he sprung up from his slouching position. “What the fuck, Jay!” He whirled around to confront TJ who was laughing at the sight of him all flustered. Danny responded by hauling off and punching him in the arm with his uninjured hand.
“Ow, you little brat!” In retaliation, TJ reached around to put him in a headlock and playfully swatted his bottom.
“Lemme go, asshole!”
“Whoa, calm down, little boy, and watch your language. We’re in a public place,” TJ teased.
Keyed up by the prospect of escaping from the emotionally draining last few weeks, TJ couldn’t help coaxing Danny back to his old feisty self. Although Danny was less than amused, he got easily swept into TJ’s frenetic energy. As soon as TJ unlocked him, Danny swung around to punch him in the other arm. TJ anticipated it and ran around the luggage to hold him off. Danny tried shoving him, but tripped over baggage. TJ leapt over the duffle bag, running as Danny took off after him.
Antonio grabbed the handle of Ricky’s large tenor sax case in order to check it in. “Please go gather the boys and meet me by the security line,” he told Ricky.
Once he was out of earshot, Antonio turned his focus on his first life partner, his steadfast lover, his unwavering rock, and shook his head. The sight of a champion body builder sheepishly holding out a pet carrier containing the family dog was so incongruent to his senses that it took a good half minute for his brain to register what his eyes were seeing.
“Don’t say it. I’m not in the mood to hear it,” Mitch said, before Antonio could open his mouth. “And don’t look at me like that.”
“How did they do it?” Antonio asked in astonishment. “
How did they get you to change your mind?”
“You know I never thought much of Ethan’s ability to look after our pups.”
“Seriously, Mitch.”
“After thinking about it, I realized it might be worth the inconvenience of dragging this dog around if helps to put Danny at ease.”
“You just came to that conclusion today?”
“Uncle Steve called.”
“How timely.”
“Indeed.”
“So, that’s it? The boys got your uncle to intercede? It’s not typical of him to interfere like that.”
“I don’t think that was his intention. TJ put him on the spot. I could tell he was trying to stay neutral by suggesting I call Danny’s therapist.”
“And?”
“Terry confirmed that leaving the dog behind might not be advisable considering all the issues of abandonment that have been resurfacing.”
“Does Danny know?”
“Not yet. I wanted to make sure we could make all the proper arrangements first.”
“We?”
“All right, me. Sorry, there wasn’t much time before I had to rush over here.”
“It’s not like you to go back on a decision. I hope you don’t regret it.”
“Somehow, I have a feeling I already do.”
Antonio shrugged off his concern with a laugh because what else was there to do? “Come on,” he said, “let’s go gather the boys.”
“Ricky?” Antonio asked, as they reached the location where he’d left Danny. “Where are the other two?”
Ricky pointed reticently towards the impetuous young men running unabashedly through the airport.
“Again?” Antonio’s exasperation rose watching his incorrigible young lovers. They were acting like children and indifferent to the spectacle they were creating. TJ blushed with a broad smile when he spotted Antonio’s finger waving them back over.
“Uh oh, kid, we’ve been caught,” TJ whispered with a conspiratorial elbow to Danny after he collided into him.
“Have we?” Danny asked coyly, allowing TJ to loop his arm over his shoulder. Smiling sweetly to further disarm him, Danny reached up and twisted TJ’s nipple.
TJ hissed in shock. “You little...!”
Danny laughed, running towards Antonio with TJ chasing down his heels.
Antonio put his arms out to block him from crashing into the luggage. “Settle down, Danny,” he hushed sharply in warning. “I thought you were told to stay put.”
“I, well, I...”
The tight thread of Antonio’s patience finally snapped. “Have you lost your senses? Leaving our bags unattended!”
“Um...Ricky was there,” Danny tried weakly to placate when he noticed Ricky standing in the area he recently ran from.
“That’s not the point! You were told not to move.”
TJ quickly caught up, and opened his mouth to take the blame for Danny’s reckless disobedience.
Before he had a chance, Danny’s eyes immediately zoned in on the small crate resting by Ricky’s feet. “Nicky!”
Arf! Arf! Arf! Arf! Arf!
“Someone is sure happy to see you,” Mitch cracked.
Danny gazed up at Mitch, overcome with gratitude and at a loss for words. “I-I can’t believe it,” he stuttered.
The dog barking for Danny’s attention broke his trance. “Coming, boy,” he said, rushing over to him. He knelt down to unlock the cage.
“Danny, no!” they all yelled simultaneously.
It was too late.
Nicky sprinted through the terminal like an Olympic runner, leaving his “mark” all the way through.
“Someone’s gonna need to clean that up,” TJ laughed.
“That’s not funny!” Mitch hissed through gritted teeth.
Danny didn’t hear any of it because he was already chasing after his beloved puppy.
Luckily, the energetic golden retriever, acting as impulsively as his owner, didn’t get too far before he was scooped up by a security guard.
“Hello, little fella,” the matronly woman cooed.
“Hi,” Danny said shyly as he approached the guard.
Her soft expression quickly shifted to a disapproving frown. “Is this your dog, young man?”
“Yeah,” Danny admitted. Who the hell else would it belong to?
“What’s he doing running loose in here?”
Danny began to squirm, irritated that the woman seemed reluctant to give him his dog back.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to let him run off.”
“DANIEL!”
Danny’s entire body flushed at hearing Mitch reprimanding him loud enough for the entire airport to hear. Well, that may have been a small exaggeration, but as far as Danny was concerned, it brought way too much unnecessary attention to the situation.
The security woman was more receptive to handing the dog over to Mitch. For once, Danny didn’t balk at being thought of as an errant child whose father just showed up. He was just happy that she was willing to relinquish her hold on his puppy.
“Your dog needs to be crated at all times. It’s very dangerous for him to be running around in here. We have strict policies about that,” the woman continued to lecture at Mitch, while he struggled to contain a wiggling retriever trying to get over to his owner.
“I apologize for any trouble we may have caused. I can assure you the dog will not be out of his crate again.”
The woman dropped her cross tone, and reached up to pet Nicky. “I’d hate to see this little guy get lost.”
“Trust me, it was an accident that won’t happen again,” Mitch said, as he placed the hyperactive dog in Danny arms. “Don’t him let get away this time,” he warned.
“You have to be more careful, son,” the security guard said to Danny. “And listen to your father.”
Danny was about to shoot back a snotty retort when Mitch grasped him firmly by the shoulder. “Thank the nice lady,” Mitch said. The veiled threat of the tight grip was not lost on Danny.
“Thank you,” Danny said, with saccharine sweetness and a phony smile. “I can’t believe that bitch!” he grumbled as they stepped away.
Mitch released Danny’s shoulder to deliver a resounding swat to the seat of his pants.
Burning with embarrassment, Danny immediately scanned the vicinities to either side of him, wondering if anyone had witnessed his chastisement. He was sure the female security guard must have seen it–not that he would dare look back to check. Carrying the puppy made it impossible for him to rub the sting from his bottom. He knew better than to complain when Mitch marched him back towards the others.
“I don’t want any more nonsense out of the two of you,” Mitch threatened with a finger pointing at TJ.
TJ opened his mouth to apologize.
Mitch cut him off. “I also don’t want to hear your excuses.” Resisting his urge to punish the boys for running through the lobby, he told TJ to grab the bags. “Let’s see if we can board the plane without further incident.”
*****
Mitch lifted the carry-ons to the overhead compartment and stood back, making room for Danny to slip beneath him to take the middle seat. Danny had other plans. He pushed forward to take the seat behind him next to TJ and Ricky. Mitch frowned at Danny’s choice. “If that seat belongs to another passenger then you’re going to have to sit up here with us.”
“Why can’t the passenger sit with you?”
“Antonio and I are way too big to be sharing seats with a stranger.”
“So it’s okay to squish me?”
Mitch ignored his petulant words and sat down in front of Danny with misgivings.
“Do you want the window seat, Danny?” offered Ricky.
“No, I’m good,” he said, placing his puppy’s small crate under the aisle seat. Happily, he just fit. Otherwise, he’d be forced to go beneath the plane with other less fortunate cargo.
The men settled in for the few hours of air flight before gearing up for t
heir hectic next couple of days. Nicky began whimpering almost immediately. He didn’t like being in the crate. It was scary not being able to see anyone. Danny tried to hush him, but hearing his owner’s voice only revved him up.
An older gentleman sitting across the aisle made a nasty face towards Danny to express his annoyance.
“WHAT!” Danny shouted.
“Is there a problem?” Mitch asked leaning over from his seat. The reprimand intended for Danny shut up the grumpy man across from them, who quickly averted his eyes away from the imposingly large man.
“Ha!” Danny snorted.
“What was that?” Mitch demanded to know.
“Did you bring any treats for Nicky?” Danny asked, redirecting the conversation. “It might quiet him down.”
“He shouldn’t be eating while traveling.”
“A couple of pieces won’t hurt him.”
“Hold on.” Mitch grumbled as he got up to open a bag in the overhead compartment.
While handing a couple dog treats to Danny he informed him that if it didn’t work, they were going to have to wait it out until the dog quieted down from exhaustion.
Minutes after the pilot turned off the fasten seatbelt sign, Danny used the opportunity to search for Nicky’s stuffed rabbit to place beside him in the crate. He climbed up on the edge of his seat in order to get a bag that was positioned out of reach.
Mitch slapped the back of his leg. “Get down!”
“Ow!” Danny complained. “Wait a minute!”
“Danny, if you don’t get down this instant...” Mitch’s intentions to cool began to steam.
“Okay, okay, I was only trying to get something for Nicky!”
Mitch stood up.
Danny quickly hopped down.
After expelling a low growl of impatience, Mitch took down the bag containing the dog supplies.
Danny muttered a “thanks.” He bent down under Mitch’s glower to unzip the bag and pull out the dog toy.
Placing the squeaky bunny inside Nicky’s crate didn’t have the desired effect. Danny’s insistent shushing caught the attention of a flight attendant who came by with the refreshment cart. The young woman took a particular shine to the attractive young men traveling with a puppy. “Aw,” she cooed, crouching down to the whimpering pup. “Is there something I could get you?”
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