My Summer

by Declan Rhodes

  Coils of rope in a variety of materials and colors hung from pegs. Next was the section of assorted leather restraint equipment including cuffs, hoods, harnesses, and thick leather straps. I glanced down seeing my cock stiff and pointing straight ahead. "Damn, maybe Sir needs to start a collection.”

  “If you stay with Sir Tom down here in the Keys, I’m sure the two of you can come play here sometime. Master thinks the world of Sir Tom. He would be happy to host the two of you for playtime."

  My cock jumped. I imagined Sam and I tied up together. I was slipping further and further into a world that I never imagined visiting a little over a month ago. I asked Sam if he enjoyed bondage and that helpless feeling. He said, "Of course.” I think he was surprised that I needed to ask the question.

  Sam told me that he had boyfriends before his Master, but they were addicts who sent him down a dangerous path, too. Hank was the first man who made it clear that he was taking care of himself. Sam wanted someone to take total control. He knew that he needed it.

  Sam told me that his motivations were confusing to a lot of people, but he believed he experienced more freedom after giving up total control to his Master than when he was responsible for everything in his life on his own. He said that his Master set his spirit free.

  “Of course, he’s not perfect, and I’m trying to help with that.” Sam pointed at his belly as he talked about Hank, and he grinned.

  After I ran my fingers over the firm leather upholstery of the padding on the table and the cross, imagining what it would feel like against my back, I told Sam that I thought we should get back to the pool. The conversation in the pool was coming to an end when we returned. Sir swam to the pool ladder when he saw us and climbed out. "Get dressed, Joel. We've got that shopping stop, and then we need to head back home."

  Hank called after us, “I’m sorry that the visit was so short, but I’ve enjoyed it, Tom, and I'll get everything in order. You only need to contact me with the launch codes. Tell Rita not to worry at all when you see her. That bastard will never bother you or Rita again."

  I think my heart stopped for a moment when I saw Sir standing by the pool naked with water dripping from his body. Talking to Sam made me even more appreciative of my relationship. I didn't want to think about the end of the summer. Graduate school was a world away from the Florida Keys, and it was an entirely different life. I was starting to lose confidence that I knew what my future life should be.

  I hugged Sam before we left, and Hank said, "Sam, give him two, one for me as well. Tom says you are a very impressive boy, Joel. You take good care of him. Tom is a special man."

  While hugging Sam, I called back to Hank. "I will, Sir Hank. I will take great care of him." Before I hugged Sam even harder, I saw a huge smile spread across Sir's face.

  We had one more stop in Key West that day. It was the leather store. We browsed the collection of harnesses and collars made out of neoprene. Sir purchased two harnesses and a new collar. He put the new collar around my neck in the car. "It looks good. Now you don't need to take it off even for showers or swimming. We only need to make sure that we clean it every few days.”

  I said, “I figured out one reason that I love the collar. Wearing it means to me that you are touching me continuously. I don't ever want to take it off for more than a minute or two.”

  11

  Test

  Sir didn’t explain the plans he worked out with Hank. He only asked me again, "Do you trust me?"

  "Yes, I do."

  "Then I will share more details when the time comes, but for now there’s nothing to talk about. Keep your focus on us, and everything will work out.” I trusted him, but his wrinkled brow told me that his mind was still troubled. We ate dinner at a little seafood shack on Big Pine Key on our way back home. It wasn’t far across the Seven Mile Bridge from Marathon. I was used to how many people knew Sir. The restaurant owner exited the kitchen to speak to us, and two other customers stopped by the table, too. Everyone hugged Sir and expressed genuine happiness at seeing him.

  I said, “Sir, it's a great thing to see how many people do really like and care about you."

  He set his menu down on the table. “No matter how successful you ever become in your career, and no matter how much money you might make, always be humble and always show you care for others that will meet you on common ground. I"m convinced that humility is the key to a peaceful and productive life."

  The ideas were nothing new to me, but Sir's manner of living them out was inspiring. I said, “I’ll remember." Unfortunately, I didn't know how quickly my resolve would be tested.

  We ate the rest of our dinner while chatting about the day. I spoke softly and mentioned the playroom at Hank’s house. Sir said, “I thought you’d like that. Maybe we’ll have to schedule a play day for ourselves sometime soon.”

  I had a plate of fried grouper. It was simple, but it was delicious. As I took my last bites, Sir asked if I was interested in stopping at a favorite bar in Marathon before returning to the island. He said that it would be the perfect way to cap off such a positive social day. I fingered the neoprene collar around my neck and wondered what people might think, but everyone ignored it at the restaurant.

  Most of the bar patrons and the bartender welcomed Sir as an old friend. He introduced me, and they nodded and smiled. A few shook my hand. Sir ordered beers for both of us at the bar, and we carried them outside to a table at the edge of the parking lot. The air was stuffy inside, and we decided to take advantage of the cool breeze blowing outdoors.

  I’d drained about half of my beer when Sir leaned over to me. "There's one in there who’s not a fan, but ignore him if he tries to disturb us. He's all bark and very little bite. Stay calm, Joel.“

  A few seconds later, a man exited the bar, and Sir nodded in acknowledgment. He was middle-aged and heavyset. His hair was still dark, but he had a large bald spot on the back of his head. He high-fived men at one table before he stepped back inside to place an order at the bar.

  "Who is he, Sir?"

  "His name is Cal. He once worked for my father, and he's a friend of Rita's dad. His work was so shoddy that Dad fired him, and then he went to work for Rita's uncle. He's had it in for all of my family ever since. I’m sure that he noticed me."

  A few minutes later Cal exited the bar. He ambled over toward us with his beer in hand. Sir said, "Let's go," in a low tone.

  We started to get up when Cal spoke up in a loud voice, "It's the famous writer! He's come back to hang around with the little people."

  Sir whispered, “Start walking.”

  "And who is that with him? Is that your bodyguard, Tom?" The man moved at an angle to cut off our route to the car. "What's the matter, Tom? Are you trying to get away now that you've been spotted by one of the little people?"

  Sir stopped and spoke through clenched teeth. "Just can it, Cal, we're on our way home."

  Cal stared at me, and I watched him examine my collar. "What's that around his neck, Tom?"

  "Leave him alone, Cal. Joel, let's go. It's time to go home." I turned away and walked toward the car.

  Cal reached out a pudgy hand, and his index finger touched the side of the collar. "Do you..." He mockingly cleared his throat. "Own him, Tom? You've got so money now that you used some of it to buy yourself a man?”

  The unwanted touch and the insulting comments made me seethe inside. I didn’t want anyone to touch my collar without permission from Sir or me. I turned my head and hissed at Cal. “Keep your hands off me."

  Sir spoke calmly, “Keep walking, Joel."

  Cal moved again to try and cut us off. He reached out and grabbed the ring on the front of my new collar. Cal laughed and said, "All I would need is a little leash, and he could be my puppy instead. Does he have a muzzle? Or a little tail?“

  I closed my hand into a fist while Sir said, "Ignore him, Joel. We're going home now."

  I barely heard Sir’s words. My thoughts focused on the fact that a man who alr
eady hated Sir was invading our personal space. His grip on the ring was an attack on the connection between Sir and me. Casting aside any rational thoughts, I pulled my fist back and slammed it into the man's pudgy belly. I know that I'm strong, but I didn't expect to see him crumple to the ground so easily. As I stared in disbelief, Sir tugged on my arm. I let him pull me toward the car.

  He didn't say anything else until we exited the parking lot in the car. "Joel, that wasn’t good. You have to keep your calm. Don't fuck things up for us. I know that he was awful. He’s always like that, but you assaulted him.“

  Sir was angry with me, and I knew immediately that I’d disappointed him. His displeasure felt like a knife to the gut. I wasn’t someone who got into fights. I pleaded, "He attacked us, Sir."

  "It was only words. You have to be able to step away from words. The law won’t see it your way.“

  Tears began to roll down my cheeks. "He touched the collar, Sir. He touched the collar."

  "It was a touch. I told you to walk away."

  I hung my head as the car pulled into the parking lot near Sir's boat. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again. I learned my lesson. Please forgive me.“

  He grumbled in a low voice, "Once may have been enough."

  Everything grew progressively worse after we returned to Rusty Door Key. I tied up the boat while Sir walked toward the house. He was standing in the kitchen when I opened the door. I hung my head again and said, "I'm so sorry, Sir."

  "Come over here, and I want you on your knees."

  I knelt down in front of him. I wanted to look up into his handsome face, but I was too ashamed. My body shook, and I reached up to wipe another tear from my cheek. What came next shocked me.

  Sir reached down and unbuckled the new collar from around my neck. In a voice that came out whinier than I intended, I asked, "Sir, what are you doing?"

  He pulled the collar away from my body and said, "Joel, when you have proven to me that you can remain calm and obedient in stressful situations, you will earn the collar back. Until then, I'm revoking my ownership."

  "Sir, please…” My shoulders began to shake, and I cried out loud. Sir took the collar with him to his office. I heard him open the desk drawer. He said, “I’m keeping it in here until the day that I can put it back around your neck. You are not to open this drawer without permission.” When he returned to the kitchen, I felt his eyes on me, and I slowly looked up at him. My vision was blurry with tears. We stared at each other for several minutes in silence. The tears slowed. I sniffed them back, and my frenzied breathing began to slow.

  He placed a hand on my shoulder. "I want you to earn the collar back. Will you do that for me?"

  I nodded. "I will do anything to get it back. Honestly, I will."

  "Calm and obedience. Even under stress. Do you understand?"

  I looked down again. "Yes, Sir, I understand. I'm very sorry."

  He reached a hand down to me. "Get up and let's go to bed. I don’t want to hear sorry. I want action to correct the mistake."

  "Do I still get to sleep with you?”

  Relief swept through my body when he chuckled. "Of course you do. Believe me, I thought about putting you on a rug by the bed, but I don't think I would sleep well without you in my bed. Come on. We’ll continue to sort this out tomorrow."

  I was alone in Sir’s bed when I woke up the next morning. It was raining. The drops rhythmically beat on the roof of the house and the palm fronds outside. I listened for any thunder, and there was only rain. Before climbing out from beneath the sheets, I checked the weather forecast on my phone. It said the rain would last all day long. There was no mention of thunder and lightning, only rain.

  I slid my feet out to the side of the bed and pulled on a pair of shorts. After tugging the flip-flops onto my feet, I set out to find Sir. I looked in each corner of the house, and a prickle of worry raced up my forearms when I didn’t find him. I opened the front door and looked out. I hated the rain.

  I turned back to the living room to grab an umbrella and noticed that it was gone. Sir was outside somewhere in the rain with the umbrella. I didn’t bring any real rain gear with me to Florida, but I decided to pull on a T-Shirt before heading outside to look for Sir.

  I found him on the boat dock. He stood silently staring toward the mainland with the umbrella in hand. He heard my approach and turned to face me. “Good morning, Joel.”

  I wrapped my arms around my chest while raindrops pelted my head and ran down the sides of my face. “I thought you don’t like rain, Sir.”

  “I don’t, and neither do you, correct?”

  “I hate it. Can we go back to the house, or can I stand under your umbrella with you?”

  “No.”

  I raised my head and wiped the rain from my face. “What? Did you say no? I hate the rain, Sir.”

  “Are you calm?”

  “Well, no, not really. I feel agitated. If we’re going to be outside in the rain, can I jump in the water and swim? Maybe it won’t feel the same way. I hate this. I do.”

  He pointed at the surface of the dock. “Knees.”

  I wanted to shake my head no, but I already knew that I’d done enough the day before to harm my relationship with Sir. I cringed as I lowered my knees to the surface of the dock. It was damp, and I closed my eyes lowering my head downward.

  Sir asked, “What did you learn yesterday?”

  “That I shouldn’t punch strangers in the gut.”

  “What words, Joel?”

  “I couldn’t forget that lesson. I fell asleep repeating the words to myself. I said, calm and obedience, Sir.”

  “Do you feel stress I know that I do, and I want to go back inside.”

  I mumbled, “A lot of stress. I hate the rain so much. Please, let’s go inside.”

  “Are you calm?”

  “No, but I’m obedient. I’m doing what you asked.”

  “I want you to be calm. If you are fully obedient, you will follow my instruction to stay calm. Breathe deep. Relax.”

  I tried to ignore the shirt clinging to my chest and the water running down beneath the back of the shirt’s collar. I wanted to shiver, but I tried to ignore the impulse.

  Sir said, “Obedience. Do what I said. Breathe deep and relax.”

  Sir was testing me, and whether he realized it or not he hit a tough spot deep in my gut. I wanted to cry. The memories came flooding back into the dark, emotional parts of my mind as the rain pelted even harder.

  “Are you breathing?”

  “I’m trying, Sir.”

  He squatted down next to me. He held the umbrella far enough away that it didn’t prevent rain hitting me, but he reached out and touched my chin. Lifting it, he said, “Open your eyes and breathe.”

  I opened my eyes, and the raindrops fell from my eyelashes blurring my vision. I watched Sir take a deep breath, and I followed suit.

  “I hate standing in the rain as much as you do, but I need you to obey me and remain calm. I’m not going back to the house until that happens.”

  I wanted to point out the fact that he was holding an umbrella, and I had no similar protection, but I knew that questioning Sir would skirt the borderline of disobedience. I inhaled once more. My body began to shiver in the rain, and I felt a twinge of fear creeping up my spine. “Sir, I don’t know if I can do this! I do hate the rain.”

  He clenched my chin in his hand. “Obedience. I need you to obey me. Tell me why you hate the rain so much.”

  I shook my head. I didn’t want to tell him. I knew why, but it always sounded so childish to say it out loud. I tried to breathe once more.

  “Calm, Joel, and you can go inside. Obey me, breathe, and stay calm.”

  I looked deep into Sir’s dark brown eyes. I saw that he didn’t like it any more than I did. I blurted out, “Sir, it scares me!”

  “Obey me and stay calm. You need to do that for both of us. Face it head-on. Breathe. Calm.”

  I watched Sir breathe deep. I glanced at h
is hand and saw that his knuckles were white from gripping the umbrella so tight. He wanted to go inside, too. I dropped my shoulders and did my best to relax my muscles.

  “Are you calm?”

  I held my gaze looking at Sir’s face. “Yes, Sir. I’m breathing. I’m calm.”

  “Thirty more seconds. Can you do that for me?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  I only blinked twice as he counted the seconds. He whispered, “My obedient boy. I’m proud. Stay calm.”

  His words of pride were enough to take me through the rest of the time in the rain. After the thirty seconds elapsed, I asked, “Can we go inside?”

  He nodded. “Yes, but walk calmly. No racing in the rain.”

  I rose to my feet and walked back to the house. The fear continued to gnaw at the base of my spine, but I was calm. I was in control. I obeyed Sir’s instructions.

  While I stood in the living room dripping water onto the floor, Sir retrieved towels, a blanket, and the neoprene collar. He wrapped me up in a blanket against his body, and we settled onto the couch.

  Sir kissed me and then wrapped the collar around my neck. “You’ve earned this back. Thank you. You did it for both of us.”

  I nestled my face into the side of his neck as he buckled the collar around my neck. “Thank you, Sir.”

  “I have to ask you a question, too. You said you were scared of the rain. It is unpleasant, but why does it scare you.”

  “It’s stupid. Do I have to tell you?”

  “Do you want to start keeping secrets from each other?”

  I kissed the side of his neck and whispered, “No.”

  “Then what is it?”

  “My dad left my family on a rainy day when I was eight years old. It was raining all day just like this. I’ve hated rain ever since that day. I don’t get it either. I love to swim in water, but I hate rain.”

  “I hate it, too, Joel.”

  I pulled my face back and asked, “Why do you hate it?”

  “My parents died in a storm. The roof caved in.”