by Drew Hunt
Joey wanted to scoop the man up into his arms and lay the biggest, wettest kiss on his lips, but common sense intervened, he contented himself with a brief sideways hug.
Once the food shopping was out of the way, Joey spotted the home-wares department. “Towels! Those things you’ve got are useless. You need some new ones.”
“If you say so, Sir.”
Pushing the trolley in a determined fashion, Joey made his way to the bewildering array of towelling material. Kevin was forced to break out into a slight jog in order to keep up.
“Fuck, who’d have thought there’d be so many to choose from? What colour do you want?”
“Um, a dark colour I think.”
“Yeah, that’d be best, won’t show the dirt. Now which size?”
“Can I help?”
Joey turned on his heel to see a middle-aged shop assistant, her blonde hair tightly pulled into a ponytail. “Yes, Diana,” he said, glancing at the woman’s name tag. “He needs new towels.” Pointing at Kevin.
“I see. Hand, bath, or beach?”
“Shower,” Joey said, once he realised Kevin wasn’t going to reply.
The woman giggled and put on a maternal air towards Kevin. Joey wouldn’t have been surprised if Diana wasn’t about to pull Kevin’s head into her generous bosom and smother him in affection. He wondered if Kevin often brought out the mothering instinct in older women, maybe part of his attraction to the guy lay in the fact that he wanted to protect him. Joey would have to give that more thought.
Looking over at Kevin’s face, Joey saw his pup had a deer caught in the headlamps look about him. Joey couldn’t help smiling.
“I think you ought to get bath sheets. We have them in two sizes.” She rifled through the display, until she found what she was looking for. “There’s this one, and,” repeating her actions, “this one, too. As you can see, this second one is a bit larger.”
“Right,” Kevin said.
“This brown really matches your eyes,” she said, looking into Kevin’s face. He went red and began to scrutinise the floor again.
Joey didn’t think he could hold in his laughter for much longer.
“Thanks, I’ll take a couple of the smaller size,” Kevin almost whispered.
“Okay, but we’ve got a special promotion on the larger ones. Well actually it finished last week, but I could have them scanned through at the sale price for you.”
“Th-th-thanks.”
After picking out another large bath sheet, the shop assistant spent a couple of minutes explaining how the towels should be washed before they were first used.
“Okay, thanks,” Joey said, taking hold of the towels and putting them in the trolley before wheeling it down the aisle. Once they were out of the woman’s hearing, he said, “I think you brought out her mothering instincts back there. It was kind of cute.”
Kevin pulled a face, which caused Joey to chuckle.
“That sort of thing happen often to you?”
“Yeah, sometimes.” Kevin began to fidget; Joey could tell the man was uncomfortable with the topic, so he decided to drop it.
Spying the pharmacy department ahead of them, Joey made a beeline for it. “Gotta pick something up in there. You’ve been walking funny this morning,” Joey said rather than asked.
“Uh?”
“Pup, if you’re in pain, I wanna know about it. Is it your ankle or because of last night?”
Kevin’s face began to redden. “Well, um, kinda both.”
Stopping walking and putting his hands on Kevin’s shoulders, so he couldn’t turn away, Joey fixed his man with one of his more penetrating stares. “Why didn’t you say anything? I don’t like that you’re in pain.”
“Apart from my ankle, everything else isn’t a bad sort of pain.” Last night was…” Kevin’s cheeks were growing redder by the second. Almost whispering, he said, “It was fantastic, you’re fantastic.”
Joey smiled. “But this doesn’t get away from the fact that you were in pain and you haven’t told me. I’m angry with you about that.”
Joey felt Kevin shiver. “S-s-sorry, Sir.”
In a softer tone, hoping to lessen Kevin’s distress, Joey asked, “Will you promise not to hide anything like that from me in the future?”
“I promise, Sir.”
“Good.” Joey patted Kevin’s shoulder, then marched straight up to the pharmacy counter, and despite there being other customers around, asked, “What have you got in the way of suppositories? I need one with a pain killer in it.”
“Is it for haemorrhoids?” the young assistant asked.
Joey was going to answer ‘No’, but felt Kevin stiffen next to him. “Uh, yeah.”
“Are they bleeding?”
Joey felt Kevin fidget. “No.”
The woman asked a couple more questions about possible interactions with other drugs, Joey was fairly certain Kevin wasn’t on any other medication, so told the white coated woman he wasn’t on anything else.
Kevin’s embarrassment wasn’t at an end however. Up until that point the assistant could have believed the suppositories were going to be used for the treatment of piles, but when Joey confidently picked out a bottle of massage oil, a large tube of lubricant and a box of magnum condoms, their could be little doubt that the woman behind the counter knew exactly what was going on. But Joey was oblivious, or rather he didn’t care.
“You should ensure that the massage oil doesn’t come into contact with a condom, as it’ll severely weaken the latex,” the pharmacy assistant told him.
“Yes, I know,” Joey said, putting the items in his trolley.
Joey then asked about ankle supports. Kevin didn’t think he needed one, and said as much, but Joey wasn’t listening.
Their shopping finally completed, the two made for the checkouts. Kevin let out a sigh of relief, which caused Joey to grin. Yes, he’d really enjoyed this shopping trip.
* * * *
Walking the short distance back to Kevin’s place, his pup wearing his new ankle support, Joey noticed Kevin shivering. “You cold?”
“Yes, Sir,” he said through chattering teeth.
“Why didn’t you put on a warmer coat, then?”
“Uh, forgot.”
Joey was getting used to being able to tell when Kevin wasn’t telling the truth, but why would he lie over something like that? “Do you have a thick winter jacket? I know the other day when I saw you at Parker’s, you weren’t wearing anything waterproof.”
“No, Sir.”
“No to not having a warm coat, or no, you don’t have a waterproof?”
“Um, both, sorry.”
“Why?”
“Well, um, dunno. I guess I should get one, it’s October and I suppose it’ll be getting even colder.”
“Pup, please answer me honestly. Is it because you can’t afford one?” Joey asked, putting as much concern into his voice as he could.
“No, not really. I could pick one up at a factory outlet shop or something, they’ve got one quite near work.”
“So, why haven’t you?”
Kevin didn’t reply.
Joey was about to get angry, but remembering Kevin’s nervous state, thought better of it. “We’ll talk about this some more, when we get you home. I’m not going to have you cold, okay?”
“Okay, Sir.”
As the pair approached a road junction, Joey’s attention was drawn to a pick up truck on the opposite side of the road, waiting for the traffic lights to change. The driver’s right elbow rested on the open window. He was wearing a cowboy hat and was decked out in a checked western shirt, bandana tied round his neck, head tilted back as he loudly sang about having lots of wide-open land on which to roam.
“Looks like he’s enjoying himself,” Joey commented with wry amusement.
“Cole Porter.”
“Huh? It says Grover’s Equine Supplies on the truck.”
“No, stupid, I meant the music. Oh, Sir, no! I’m sorry!” Kevin shra
nk away, a horrified expression on his face.
“Sor-right.” Joey dropped one of his shopping bags, and reached an arm out to stop Kevin from fleeing. “I promise it’s all right.”
Kevin lost some of the fear from his eyes.
“But I’ll have to punish you for being disrespectful to your owner.” Joey went on quickly, “But remember I’m not Cal, I won’t beat you. You understand?”
“Y-y-yes, Sir. I’m so sorry, Sir.”
“I know you are. I’m going to ask you to trust me on this. I know trust is something you have difficulty with, but I’m going to show you that you can trust me. It’s important if I’m going to be your owner.”
“Yes, Sir.”
The lights changed, allowing the traffic, along with the singing cowboy, to move off. Kevin, however, remained downbeat for the remainder of the walk home. Joey wanted to comfort Kevin. His heart ached for the misery the little guy was going through, but he knew he had to demonstrate that he could be trusted, Kevin would benefit from the knowledge in the long run. Though he’d only studied psychology at a basic level, Joey knew submissive people like Kevin felt safest if they had definite boundaries.
“Okay, you put away the meat, and the other things that need to go into the fridge. You can leave the rest till later,” Joey said, once they’d entered Kevin’s bed-sit.
“Yes, Sir.” Kevin’s voice was quiet. He was beginning to shake.
Joey sat himself in the armchair and watched Kevin work. He was sure the little guy was dragging it out.
“Come here, Pup.” Joey said once Kevin finished his task. The smaller man approached cautiously. When he was directly in front of Joey, the larger man reached out for Kevin’s hands and held them firmly, and he hoped reassuringly. “I’ve decided your punishment.”
Kevin’s eyes fell to the floor, and he began to shake.
“I said I would never beat you. You didn’t believe me, did you?”
Kevin swallowed before replying, “No, Sir.”
“Well, let this be a lesson to you. I always mean what I say. I think when you come to realise that, you’ll feel happier.”
Kevin nodded.
“Your punishment will be a ten minute tickle.”
Kevin’s head shot up, obviously he wasn’t expecting that. “A tickle, Sir?”
“You might enjoy it at first, but I’m going to be ruthless, and by the end, you might not think it was so enjoyable. But it won’t cause you pain or leave you with any scars. “
Kevin dropped to his knees, scooted forward and gripped Joey round the waist. The seated man felt and heard Kevin crying.
“There, there. Let it all out.”
Reaching forward, Joey began to gently stroke Kevin’s back. No, there was absolutely no way he could inflict any further pain on this already abused man. Kevin needed love and security. Joey hoped he was up to the task of providing it.
Kevin’s soft sobs gradually diminished, when he lifted up his face, Joey tenderly rubbed the remaining tears away with his thumbs. “Ready now?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Okay, strip.”
Kevin was hesitant, but Joey remained patient. He knew the man had major trust issues. When Kevin was naked—apart from the ankle support Joey insisted Kevin keep on—he stood between Joey’s spread legs.
“You need to piss before we start? I don’t want you having an accident.”
“Uh, yeah.” Kevin reached for his clothes.
“Oh, no, you don’t. You can walk across the hall as you are.”
“But, Sir!”
Joey shook his head.
“Please, Sir, I can’t.”
Joey stood up, his height advantage allowing him to look down at the shorter man. “Pup, you can and you will. I want to teach you that you shouldn’t be ashamed of your body. It’s only a couple of strides, chances are, nobody will even see you.”
Walking to the door, Joey flung it open and pushed Kevin out. Kevin almost ran for the bathroom, which fortunately for him was unoccupied. After taking a quick glance up and down the hallway, Joey satisfied himself nobody had witnessed Kevin’s small act of exhibitionism. Secretly he was glad, because he honestly didn’t want to cause too much embarrassment to his charge.
Thinking he’d have a couple of minutes before Kevin came back, Joey set about arranging the small room. This chiefly consisted of spreading out one of the new bath towels on top of the quilt cover, Joey realised he should have bought Kevin some new bedding as well.
Kevin ran back into the room, much sooner than Joey expected. “Whoa, where’s the fire?”
“I almost got caught,” Kevin said, breathlessly.
“But you didn’t. That’s the main thing.”
“Yeah, guess so.”
Joey took his smaller friend into his arms. “I made you do something which I knew you didn’t like. It was part of your punishment. But,” Joey touched Kevin’s nose with an index finger. “I gave you a task which didn’t put you in danger. I left the door open, so you could get back in, and I could also listen out for any sign of trouble.”
Kevin looked up into Joey’s face, an expression of wonder on it. “You’d have helped me out if there’d been any?”
“Course I would. You’re my pup, my responsibility. It’s my job to look after you.”
Kevin buried his head into Joey’s chest, Joey thought the smaller man was going to start crying again, but he didn’t.
“No one’s ever wanted to look after me before.” Kevin’s words came out muffled, as they were spoken into Joey’s now very wrinkled silk shirt.
“Well, you have now. However, it’s tickle time!”
Joey dug his fingers into Kevin’s ribs. The latter convulsed, opened his mouth and laughed uproariously.
“Stop wriggling.”
“Can’t help it, Sir,” Kevin got out through his gales of laughter.
“Okay, I’ll have to put you on the bed, then.”
So saying, Joey effortlessly picked Kevin up under his arms, slung him over his shoulder, and walked the few steps to the bed. He then dropped his shoulder, caught Kevin, and gently laid him face up on top of the towel. This last would be needed to protect the bed sheets when Joey gave Kevin his reward.
Climbing onto the bed, Joey straddled Kevin’s hips. He then reached up and placed Kevin’s arms at his sides, wedging them in place with his knees.
“Now the fun begins!” Joey said in a mock threatening voice.
“Oh, be gentle with me, Sir,” Kevin said, doing his best Olive Oyl impression.
“No way! This is your punishment for being a naughty puppy when he was on his walk.”
The next ten minutes passed rather quickly for Joey, though he was pretty certain Kevin wouldn’t have said the same. Joey found out Kevin had many ticklish zones, not least the sides of his ribs, his neck, and his inner thighs. But without doubt, Kevin was most ticklish on the soles of his feet.
They’d barely started when, through his laughter, Kevin begged his owner to stop. Joey was in two minds, but as he knew Kevin wasn’t being physically harmed, he continued. Joey also needed to press home the point that when he said ten minutes, he meant ten minutes. Kevin wouldn’t respect him half as much if he could be swayed too easily.
“Okay, okay,” Joey said after looking over at Kevin’s bedside clock. He’d actually gone a couple of minutes over, but that was his right as Kevin’s owner.
Kevin’s laughter—as well as his convulsions—lessened fairly quickly, though he kept twitching occasionally, as well as letting out the odd giggle. Smiling down at his red and tear-streaked pup, Joey asked, “You enjoy that?”
“Um, at first.”
“Aww, I enjoyed all of it, in fact.” Joey reached out to touch Kevin’s side.
“No! You promised.”
Widening his grin, Joey said, “And I stick to my promises.” He then leaned forward and kissed Kevin passionately on the lips.
Kevin soon opened his mouth and allowed Joey’s ton
gue inside.
Pulling back, gasping at how wonderful it was to be so intimate with his little friend, Joey said, “And I also promised myself that if you’d been a good boy, I’d give you a reward.”
“A reward?” Kevin smiled.
“How’d you like a full body massage? It’ll also give me a chance to check out your arse.”
Kevin giggled.
“No, you horny pup, I meant check it out to see if it’s red or something.”
“It’s still a bit painful.”
“I’m still disappointed in you. It’s very important I be told when something’s wrong, so I can fix it if I can.”
“I know, I’m sorry.” Kevin’s happy expression evaporated. “It’s just,” he swallowed, “It’s just I never had anyone who’d take care of me before.”
“You do now. You got that?”
Kevin nodded. “Yes, Sir.”
Joey lowered his head and vacuumed Kevin’s tongue out of his mouth and into his own.
The kiss was interrupted by Joey’s mobile phone ringing. “Fuck!” he said, getting off the bed. He felt like ignoring it, but if it was his mother, he’d never hear the end of it. Looking at the display, Joey sighed. It was his mother.
“Hello Ma.”
“Joey, where are you?”
“I’m at a—”
“I’m at your uncle Jacob’s, I’ve been here for the past hour. You promised you’d put those shelves up.”
Shit! He’d forgotten all about it, and he hadn’t promised any such thing, he’d been press-ganged into doing it by his mother. “I’m kind of busy at the minute, Ma. I could—”
“Joey,” Her voice took on that tone, the one he dreaded hearing. His heart sank; there was no room for negotiation when she used that voice. “Uncle Jacob is family.”
He just knew she’d pull the family card. Looking over at Kevin, lying nude and inviting on the bed, Joey cursed inwardly, but he knew he couldn’t stay. “Okay, Ma, I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
Joey knew he’d have to change before going to his uncle’s, goodness knows what his mother would say if he turned up in leather. He also had to pick up his power tools as well.
“You’re a good boy, Joey. I told Jacob you wouldn’t let him down—”
“Yeah, yeah. Okay Ma, bye.” Joey flipped his phone shut, cutting his mother off in mid-sentence. Turning to Kevin, Joey told him why he had to leave. “It could take a few hours. Once I’m there, they’ll no doubt find loads of other jobs for me to do.”