Chapter 1 - The Repairman

“Anderson Yang. That’s you. Yeah, chief?” I asked when the front door opened.

I’d already confirmed his name when he buzzed me into the complex, but my dyslexia has been known to mix up the numbers on an address or even the street name, so I always ask again.

“That’s me,” the man smiled with a nervous laugh as his eyes quickly traveled up from my chest to my eyes. I guessed he wasn’t expecting someone of my height. That or he was checking out the muscles filling out my shirt. He was a foot shorter than me and maybe 10 years older.

“Should I leave my shoes here? Sorry I probably stink. This is my last job of a long day,” I overshared. I stepped out of my work vans and picked them up.

“However you’re comfortable. You can put your shoes inside here.” He stared at me for an awkward few seconds like he was waiting to see what else I’d be willing to take off.

In this city I’d learned to get used to the older gays staring a little too long. I didn’t mind it. He finally stepped back from the doorway and waived for me to come inside.

“Sweet. I got the new knobs and I think I can fix those shelves with new brackets. It shouldn’t take long, chief! I’ll clean up after myself.” I held up my work bag and gave it a jiggle as if that would confirm that I had indeed brought the right tools.

I don’t mind the guys checking me out, but I was here to do a job. I knew to keep things professional and avoid problems. I’d run into issues with things when I engaged their conversations. It got particularly sticky with rich guys like this. 

“That’s great! Right this way,” he said.

He had a spacious condo on the top floor of a modern building. One entire wall was made of glass with sweeping views of San Francisco Bay.

“Woah! Crazy view! You can see all the way to the bridge! Alcatraz!” I stopped for a second to marvel at his view.

“When it’s clear, you can see all the way up the Marin coast. It’s funny how quickly you stop even looking out at it,” he noted.

He moved up beside me and we stood there, head to shoulder, while he pointed out some of the sights. He got close to me while pointing. He smelled like almond soap. I should have kept things moving and gotten to his kitchen, but he seemed sweet and a little desperate for conversation. 

“And if you squint really hard that way, you can see my country, China. It’s just past Hawaii. Don’t get confused! China is the one without pineapples,” he laughed at his joke.

For a quick second I started to squint which made him laugh harder. His soft, pink lips opened to show perfect teeth.

“Well I better get started,” I said after he’d pointed his tour all the way down to the Bay Bridge and Oakland.

“Oh!” he said as if surprised I’d come for anything other than sightseeing. “Right! Thanks for coming out so late on a Friday. I hope it’s not a problem. I’m sure you have parties to get to.”

“No, it’s perfect. We were doing a kitchen in Brisbane and my boss picked me up with your materials and dropped me here. I live in the dorms just up the street so this was on my way home. I’m getting overtime.” I followed him towards the kitchen.

“You’re at Pacific? I didn’t know they had dorms. It’s a community college, right?” He made his way to the large kitchen island where he had a half-chopped pile of vegetables and a stack of skewer sticks.

“Yes, sir. I’m a freshman. They have a few shared units by the campus. It came with my scholarship. I couldn’t afford to live anywhere else in the city… Wait! These are the knobs you’re replacing? They look like they’re in good shape! They’re barely worn,” I observed.

I set down my bag and pulled out the box of the silver ones he’d ordered.

“Just time for a change. I’ve had this unit for almost ten years and I’m going to redo some things before I sell it,” he sighed. There was a sadness in his tone like he wanted to share more.

“It doesn’t need much. This place looks like a design palace.” I started to unpack my supplies on the kitchen counter opposite where he was preparing the food.

I opened the cabinets and unscrewed the old knobs while he moved around behind me. It’s always weird to work when the owner is hovering around.

“Is it ok if I put on music?” His voice sounded directly behind me and made me jump a little.

“Sure, chief. It’s your place.” It’s always weird when people ask me if they can do something in their own home.

“I have friends coming tonight to grill. I have it set up on the roof deck. My friend is bringing a steak from Japan that costs 800 dollars a pound. He got it as a gift. It should be good.” Anderson was feeling chatty.

“Nice! Must have been one great cow!” I didn’t look up from my work. One of the knobs was screwed in too tightly and it would strip the hole if I didn’t get it out carefully.

After that, he left me to my work and put on a dance station that came through speakers in the ceiling. I quickly moved through all the knobs then got to work on the loose shelves. He finished slicing his vegetables and put them on the skewers then boxed them up to store in the fridge.

++*

Just as I was finishing up with the last shelf I heard the door buzzer and then Anderson glided out of the kitchen to check it. He talked to a voice on the other end and then a few minutes later there was a knock on his door.

“I just want to get a load of stuff. Don’t be a bitch about it,” the voice said when Anderson opened the door. 

His guest was coming in hot.

“Why not get all of it? I’m not public storage. If you want to leave, then you should take your things with you. This is my home,” Anderson replied.

“I can’t keep it all. Chill, ok? I’m moving in with Justin next week and then I’ll have room for it. You’re just pissed we’re done, and you’re being a little bitch about everything.” The guy sounded rude. He needed to be put in his place. 

Things were getting heated in the other room. I set down my tools to listen.

“Moving in with him? We just broke up last month and you’re already moving in with him? I knew you were fucking him before we broke up!” Anderson was getting heated.

I moved towards the open doorway between the kitchen and the living room because I am just that nosey.

The new voice was a younger guy wearing a hoodie over jeans. He was small and skinny like Anderson, but with my pale complexion. He looked like one of those young tech guys who rarely leave the cold dark of their work rooms. 

I stayed out of sight as he moved towards a coat closet near the door. They were equal sized; both in good shape - slim but toned. I wondered what it would be like to date a guy who was my equal. I don’t think I’d be into that.

“And what? You and I were done months ago. We weren’t even fucking anymore. Don’t make this harder, Andy. You’re always so dramatic.” This guy sounded like a real shitbag.

“Fine. But I need your stuff gone. Take it all or I’ll donate it,” Anderson’s tone softened to sadness.

“Why? It’s not like you have someone else moving in. Do you? Anyone? Huh? Nope, you’re just a lonely, bitter man. I can’t believe I wasted a year with you. I should have gone with Justin when he hit on me at your party last year,” the guy responded.

Anderson stood there silently. He looked so helpless, like he wanted to do something but couldn’t.

“Fight back. Kick his ass, bro,” I whispered.

The guy started to grab things out of the closet and stuff them into a bag. I kept waiting for a response, but Anderson was frozen. I should have gone back to work and ignored it. This was not my situation, and I really needed to finish this up so I could get to the gym before it closed. Keep it professional, this is not your problem.

But I couldn’t. My instinct isn’t flight. It’s not who I am. I couldn’t walk away. 

“Hey, Baby?” I yelled and walked into the room. “Oh, we have company.”

The new guy stopped ransacking the closet and turned to look at me.

“Hey,” I called to him with a friendly wave. “You came to clean out the donation pile! Thanks man! I was wondering when that stuff would go.”

“The fuck? Who is this?” The new guy shrieked.

Anderson was still frozen there and I realized he didn’t know my name.

“I’m Ezra. They sent us an angry charity shop worker!” I moved towards him and offered my hand.

“What? No. I’m Kyle. He didn’t mention me? I’m not a donation collector! I’m… his… ex.” Kyle seemed stunned and didn’t move to shake my hand.

“Oh the guy from the pictures! Right. Nice to meet you. Sorry I’m pretty gross, just working on the kitchen cabinets and getting ready for the party tonight.” I backed away and lifted my shirt to wipe my face so he could get a look at my abs. I spent the semester working hard on them.

I twisted and stretched like I was yawning so he could get the full effect.

Kyle’s face was priceless. The smug venom he’d held before now drained into a pallid shock like he’d been hit in the stomach.

“Not really a party. Just some friends coming over. I haven’t introduced Ezra to them yet. It’s still new,” Anderson came over to my side and beamed at me with gratitude.

“You know our friends are going to get along. All the guys on my team are happy for us. You’re just embarrassed that I’m younger than your ex.” I put my arm around his shoulders and pulled him against my side. His body shivered under my warmth. I squeezed his arm for support.

“I’m only 25. How old are you? Your team?” Kyle was one question after the next.

“Baseball. I play for Pacific. Go Pandas! Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!” I held up a fist like a dumb jock.

“A baseball player. Anderson loves a jock… Well I should get going. Justin’s flying me to Palm Springs for the weekend and I have to pack.” Kyle was ready to dash for the exit.

“Palm Springs! My grandparents love it down there! It’s like old people Disney! Are you sure you can’t take more of your things? I was hoping to use that closet for my gear. He gets upset when I track in dirty stuff. I can help load up your car if it’s too heavy.” I pointed to the closet that still had a lot of crap in it.

Kyle’s eyes began to squint like he was fighting off tears. I kept my arm around Anderson to show them both that he wasn’t going to be fucked with again. I pulled him against my chest and rubbed his shoulder.

“I can clear out the bottom stuff.” Kyle turned back towards the closet and started to collect his shoes and a box of books. Anderson looked up at me with a big grin.

“Sweet. I’m gonna hit the shower. Let me know if you need help carrying anything. I mean it, bro! I’m here to help. Don’t strain yourself. You little guys gotta be careful.” I saw a hallway on the other side of the living room. I went down it and ducked around the corner.

“Ok I’ll be there in a minute, baby!” Anderson called as I walked off.

“He’s a total fuckboy. How old is he anyways? You know what? Never mind. It’s not my business. We’re done,” I heard Kyle say when he thought I was out of earshot.

“Kyle, it’s fine if you need to keep some stuff there,” Anderson tried to dial back the tension.

“No. You are moving on. I should too. I’ll come back for the rest of it when he’s not around… total fuckboy. You are really in crisis mode.” Kyle’s words oozed jealous rage, but his voice also held a newfound respect for Anderson.

They exchanged a few more unpleasantries as Kyle made his exit. I hung out in the hallway until he left, and started to worry I’d caused problems for Anderson.

++*

“Oh! My! God! You are my hero,” Anderson yelled about sixty seconds after locking his front door.

“Yeah?” I laughed and came from my hiding spot.

“That was beautiful! I’ve never seen him so pissed! Wow! You were amazing!” He laughed.

“Sorry for butting in there. I just can’t stand assholes like that. You could do so much better than that.” I shook my head.

“You think so? I seem to attract guys like him.” Anderson tilted his head in disagreement.

“You don’t attract guys like that, you settle for guys like that. You’re in great shape. If I was into guys, I’d totally tap that. Next time don’t settle for the flies that buzz around your light,” I complimented. I’d read that quote in an Instapost once and liked it.

“That’s so sweet… You would tap me?” He looked at me with doubt.

“Definitely. Nice eyes… cute face… very tight body… and that ass is perfect. You take good care of your body. Show that same care for your heart,” I offered. I knew I was crossing the line here, but he needed the confidence boost.

“I’m on month 3 of this crazy crossfit program. The food part is super strict, but worth it. Best purchase this year,” he glowed. His face lit up with my compliments, and a healthy blush spread over his honey-hued cheeks.

“It’s working…. Well I should go finish up in the kitchen. I just need to clean up and I’ll be out of your way,” I said.

I headed back to the cabinets and started to clean up.

“Hey, Ezra!” Anderson came in behind me and leaned over the kitchen island. “We are going to have a ton of food, really good stuff. Full bar too. Why don’t you stick around and eat?”

“Oh! I really can’t. My boss has pretty strict rules about that. We get some weird folks. Plus I’m pretty rank after working all day. I was just going to hit the gym and work on my final projects tonight. But thank you!” I begged off.

“Right! Totally… well thank you for being the best fake boyfriend a guy could ask for!” Anderson beamed.

I went to check over the work again and tightened a few screws. It would hold well. I gathered my tools and the trash when I heard the front door open.

A voice yelled something in what I assumed was Chinese. Anderson’s voice answered in similar sounds. I grabbed my bag and headed out.

“Oh!” A guy who looked a few years younger and slightly shorter than Anderson stood in the doorway dragging a small cart with two big cardboard boxes on it.

He had a stretchy, white tank top that showed off a strong chest and arms. His short pink shorts strained with impressive legs and glutes. These guys took care of their bodies.

“Hello there!” He looked me up and down with hungry eyes and a beaming smile of bright, white teeth.

“Kellan, this is Ezra. He’s my new superhero boyfriend!” Anderson laughed then added, “Ezra, my best neighbor Kellan. He lives next door.”

“Nice to meet you,” I nodded. “Just finished with the cabinets. Everything should be solid. You just had way too many heavy things resting on weak brackets. Looked like Ikea junk.”

“Oh I have some really weak brackets at my place if you’re free tomorrow night,” Kellan glowed.

“I think we can! I have a card here,” I set down my bag and started to reach for my wallet.

“He’s hitting on you. He just got his kitchen redone,” Anderson laughed.

“Oh… right.” I let my wallet sink back into my pocket and laughed. 

“My apologies to the straight hunk! You can pick one bottle of liquor of your choice to make up for it.” Kellan smiled and patted the cardboard boxes he’d wheeled in. “But you have to help me get these to the roof deck first!”

“Really? Yeah, sure. I can help with that!” I moved towards him and squatted down next to the boxes.

A college boy does not turn down free alcohol. I put my arms around the bottom one and easily lifted them both. My gym routine did not fail me.

“Damn, he’s a horse. What app did you use to find him? Much better results than GrindMe!” Kellan observed with admiration.

I followed the two men across the living room towards a stairway that went up to the roof deck. Anderson opened the doorway and we were hit with the cold ocean breeze and sounds of the busy streets behind the complex.

The roof deck was the size of the living room and kitchen area combined. It had high privacy walls along two sides and then a glass and metal railing along the other two with open views of the bay. This was the California you see in music videos.

“This place is awesome! I could totally live up here!” I marveled.

On one side, the deck had a living room area with a fire pit and a flat screen mounted on the wall. The other side had a large grill and stone kitchen island with built in appliances. A large blue sail shaded half of the deck. Underneath it was a large hammock strung between two poles. The flooring was this wood that felt like concrete.

“You can set the boxes over here.” Kellan patted the stone island and I carried the boxes over.

“We got just about anything you could want. We can unpack them here.” Anderson pulled out a large drawer on the side of the island. It already held half-empty bottles of assorted alcohol.

We worked through the boxes and got everything into the drawer. I noticed one unopened bottle of bourbon that was hiding at the back of the drawer.

“That one is my dad’s favorite.” I pointed towards it. “My dad’s company gave him this one last year for his retirement. He saves it for special occasions.”

“Please take it! That’s been in there for months. Gays don’t drink that. I don’t even remember who brought it. They probably just grabbed something overpriced,” Kellan informed me and made a face of disgust.

“I won’t drink it either, but my dad would freak if I brought it home for him. Thanks, you guys!” I told them. I pulled it out and set it up on the counter.

“Why don’t we take a shot before you head out? Start your weekend off right,” Anderson suggested.

“Tequila!” Kellan jumped.

“Uh…” I looked out over the view as the breeze cooled the sweat on my skin from the long day’s work. “Yeah, ok. Just one! I gotta get to work on my final projects.”

Kellan was already pulling out plastic cups from the supplies he’d brought. He poured a generous serving and handed one to me. “Just one.” He winked.

“What are you majoring in?” Anderson asked as I started to sip.

I leaned against the stone counter and started to tell them my story.

I grew up in Modesto with four older brothers. My parents had me late in life, hence the retirement. I had no idea what to do with my life, but my uncle was a dentist in Fremont and he’d gone to Pacific College and sponsored their scholarships over the years.

Uncle Danny pulled some strings to get me the scholarship that paid for classes and housing. It wasn’t exactly a passion, but I needed something to get me out of the Central Valley, and my parents were happy to have their last kid out doing something with his life.

“What about your baseball team?” Anderson asked.

“Yeah that was about as true as me being your boyfriend,” I laughed. “I look athletic, but I don’t have time or talent for it. Huge disappointment to my father. My brothers were all-stars.”

“Lucky for you, we judge by looks and not talent. You’re most definitely an all-star here. And is there a Misses Ezra? A girl lucky enough to climb that tree?” Kellan interrogated.

“Not since high school… I don’t know… Girls are different here. I don’t have a lot of time for stuff, and there’s still very few events with the covid thing. Between work, classes, and the gym there’s just no time.” I lamented. It had been a lonely semester here with the exception of my gym crew.

“With a body like yours, you don’t need money, or a job for that matter. A simple FanCams site would greatly improve your finances and love life. If your bulge there is any indication, you’d hit top dollar quickly,” Kellan told me bluntly.

“Yeah, no. I wouldn’t know what to do. I can’t dance, and jerking-off for strangers… well no. I’m not shy, but I’d just look stupid. What if I do it weird and never knew until people start commenting on it,” I laughed nervously. I downed the rest of my shot.

“Honey! With that site, the weirder the better! What a waste. You are throwing money out the window every time you do it in private.” Kellan leaned towards me and refilled my cup with a heavy pour.

“Easy on that. He has projects to finish before you turn him into a porn boy,” Anderson prodded.

“Ok, dad. We’ll make sure Junior gets his work done before his camshow,” Kellan laughed and poured a little more.

“It’s good tequila, very smooth,” I said as if I knew anything about it. 

It hit me pretty fast, and my body started to relax as I leaned against the stone counter. I was losing my urgency to leave with two guys complimenting my body and serving me drinks with a view of the water.

“Your eyes are sparkling in this sunlight. Look at that green. It’s so clear. You must have some Irish in you… and Italian with that nose,” Kellan said and reached up to put his hand on my cheek to closely inspect my ethnic origins. 

He was really forward, but my happy buzz stopped me from pulling away. He was harmless, and there was free alcohol.

“My ex used to say they looked like olives in milk,” I replied and took another gulp. 

The tequila turned my skin to a warm buzz. I started to laugh at my attempt at humor. I started to laugh at everything.

“Quality farm boy. I can’t imagine the girl that would let you go. Did she break your heart? Do you need a fake boyfriend to help you get revenge? We could post some pictures kissing and really hurt her. For the sake of avenging your honor, I will sacrifice my lips!” Kellan pushed.

“Not really. We’re friends. She works at the dollar store and got a new guy. She would really be confused if I posted a pic of me making out with a dude. I miss having someone, but she never wanted to leave Modesto. I had to get out. I mean look at this. It’s beautiful here. It’s a big crazy city and never boring,” I waved a hand behind me towards the view.

“Watch out!” Anderson called as I made a sudden gesture towards the landscape.

My arm went too far and I knocked over the open bottle of tequila.

The glass clinked against the hard stone and a gush of the golden liquid splashed all over the back of my shirt and started to drip down my shorts.

“Oh shit. I am so sorry, guys.” I jerked and turned to grab the bottle. I uprighted it so they’d only lost about half, but my back and legs were soaked.

“It’s fine! That was the cheap stuff. Let’s get that pic of us making out. It’ll cheer you up,” Kellan laughed.

“I’ll get some paper towels. In the kitchen, right?” I turned and saw the mess I’d made on their counter and floor.

“I have a bunch here. Don’t worry. We’ll get it cleaned up,” Anderson said and reached for a drawer next to where we’d put all the alcohol.

The next three minutes consisted of me apologizing profusely while Anderson started to mop up the spill and Kellan tried to mop up me. He rubbed a wad of paper towels over my legs and was headed for my ass when I stopped him. My skin felt sticky as it dried in the sun. 

“On that note, I should get going. Sorry again. Thanks for the tequila. I’ll drop the trash in the chute on my way out.” I set down my empty cup and started to make my exit.

“No, no, no! You can’t walk home like that. You reek of tequila. Let’s get you cleaned up first before a police officer tries to take you in. You cannot wander the streets smelling like tequila.” Anderson put a hand on the center of my chest to stop me.

I could see why Kellan joked about him being a dad.

“It’s not far, just a mile or so,” I said and started to feel a little shaky from the tequila.

“Yeah, no way. You can use my shower and I’ll wash your stuff. I have some clothes you can borrow. I can’t let you stumble home like that,” Anderson steered me towards the stairs. Kellan hung back.

Chapter 2 - The Drunk Boy

“You know what? You really are a great guy. I can’t believe what a dick your ex was. I mean your ass is really great. Super fit,” I said as he helped me down the stairs. I put my arm around him to steady myself.

“Yeah, you are very drunk and very hot… but thanks,” Anderson laughed. He guided me back through the living room and down a long hallway towards his bedroom.

“Even if you weren’t hot though, why would he leave a house like this? And you’re so nice and caring.” I noted as we passed one designer room after another.

His door was at the end of the hall and he opened it to show a grand master bedroom with a huge bed and views of the city skyline.

“Wasn’t enough. His new guy comes from Singapore money. He has endless cash and no need to work long hours,” Anderson sighed. “Here. You go into the bathroom there and then hand me your clothes. My machine can do a quick wash.”

He pushed me into a large bathroom with concrete floors that had this warm glaze over them that felt nice on my feet. I stripped down and looked around. He kept everything in his place perfectly ordered and neat.

“You good, Ezra? Did you get lost in there?” Anderson called when I’d stood there for too long.

“Oh, yeah, clothes, right,” I said to myself and turned back towards the door. I pulled it open and was met with a look of shock as Anderson scrambled to cover his eyes.

“You are not shy, eh?” he laughed as he covered his face with one hand.

“Oh uh yeah! I am out of it today. Well here’s my dick,” I laughed. 

“It’s very impressive, and you are very drunk. Be careful in the shower, ok? I’ll leave the door a little open so call if you slip.” Anderson looked at me with fatherly concern. He was a safe guy. 

He took my clothes and handed me a stack of things he’d gathered for me and then turned to leave. He reached behind himself and pulled the door closed.

++*

I rinsed off in his shower and then found a towel in a side cabinet. I went to the stack of clothes he’d left for me. It was a pair of super stretchy blue briefs, a white tank top from a charity run, and a pair of running shorts.

I dressed and went back out to his bedroom to find him perched in a chair by the window looking at something on his phone.

“These are kinda tight,” I laughed.

“They fit, barely, but they fit. I’ll have your clothes finished soon,” he joked when he saw me.

“Not too bad. Run for the cure, right?” I pointed at the logo now splayed across my chest.

“Gotta fight it. Every mile counts,” he laughed. He stood and came over to me, “How are you feeling? Kell is a heavy pour when he likes a guy. I hope he wasn’t too much.”

“I didn’t eat lunch, so that’s probably why it hit so strong. I was going too hard today. I feel good though. I think I needed that,” I told him. He put a hand on my forehead to check my temperature. 

“You’re a hard worker. You deserve a night of fun. Let me make you some food while your clothes are finishing. Kell’s getting the grill going, and some of the other guys just got here. They brought other food. They’re not as bad as Kellan. I’ll keep them off you. Something in your stomach will help you get home.” Anderson put his hand on my shoulder and led me out to the living room.

“Oh I don’t mind Kellan. You should see some of these guys who hire me. They get really forward and make sex jokes and I just try to finish my work and get out of there. I’ve gotten to where it doesn’t even bother me now,” I laughed. 

“That’s truly terrible.” Anderson said. 

We headed back up the stairs and there were four new guys with Kellan. The outdoor island was filling up with food and the smell of meat and vegetables cooking on the grill hit my nose. The sun was setting with a bright orange over the blue water, and Anderson’s hand kept a firm grip on my shoulder.

“Guys, meet Ezra. He’s having a quick meal before he goes to work on his school projects. He is straight and off limits so be kind.” Anderson’s tone changed. 

He was confident and empowered with these guys. This was his crew.

“Hey, I’m straight Ezra,” I joked. I waved a hand, but kept it close to my body in case any other precariously placed bottles were nearby.

“Ezra, this is Kevin, Kai, Naisin, and Marcus,” Anderson said.

“We’re all Chinese, so you don’t have to do that awkward word dance white people do around us,” Kellan added.

“Oh, I wasn’t going to… no… yeah, cool. We do have Asian folks in the valley. Mostly Filipino though,” I offered. I turned towards Anderson who was keeping his eyes on me. I was feeling a happy dizziness and trying to not act weird.

Kellan started to pour drinks while Anderson told them all about what I’d done earlier with Kyle where I pretended to be his boyfriend.

“I think I really hurt Kyle’s feelings. I should call him and smooth things over.” I started to feel bad.

“No! You can NOT do that,” Anderson grabbed my wrist as if I’d try to reach for my phone.

“We hated him. He’s not coming tonight, is he?” Kai asked.

“No, but we still have tickets to Starstruck next month. Justin got a ticket too so I guess they’ll be there together. Maybe you can bring Ezra,” Marcus said.

Anderson didn’t respond to that.

Marcus was the tallest of the guys, other than me. He had broad shoulders and a deeper voice with fresh cut black hair gelled in a swoop over large, dark eyes. But the way he leaned over the counter and stuck out his ass countered the aesthetic he was trying to exude.

“I don’t know what Starstruck is!” I admitted. 

Everyone gasped like I’d just confessed to killing Lady Gaga. 

“You’re straight. We get it. No need to wave your dick around,” Kellan joked. 

“I think we might enjoy that actually,” Kai countered.  

Anderson guided me towards a stool at the kitchen island. “Sit and I’ll get you a plate.”

The conversation switched between Chinese and English as we ate around the island. The 800 dollar steak was really tasty. They gave me a healthy portion of it. Kellan kept sneaking me shots when Anderson got up to check on my clothes, and get things from inside. By the time we finished dinner, I was feeling pretty goofy.

++*

Kellan went to the fire pit and got it going so we moved over to the outdoor couches around it.

Kellan joined me on the smaller one, and three of the four guys sat on the other one. Anderson came back upstairs and walked over to me.

“Oh, you need a seat,” I said and started to stand to grab a chair.

“There’s a perfectly good seat right there,” Kellan said and put his hand on my thigh. “I’ll use it if you don’t.” 

“Now you’re really going to scare the kid,” Anderson laughed.

“Hey, what’s a fake boyfriend for?” I pulled him down into my lap. He felt light and his firm butt balanced on my thighs.

I wrapped an arm across his waist and tickled his side.

“I’m not too heavy. Am I?” Anderson joked.

“You’re lighter than my ex. Perfect fit.” I bounced him. He laughed, and made no move to leave.

The guys started trash-talking someone who wasn’t there so I leaned back and zoned out. Anderson settled in against my chest, and I turned to watch the city lights as the cool breeze fought against the raging fire pit. There was dance music playing through speakers and the guys switched over to full Chinese. I was feeling the vibe here.

I wrapped my arms around his waist. I think it was a mix of alcohol and the lack of intimate touch I’d had since before the virus started, but it felt nice. He put a hand over my crossed arms and started to rub them slowly.

In this position, his left shoulder hit right at my chin. I started to push it against his skin, rubbing in slow, pressured circles. I let my lips brush against his neck and he shivered. I liked how his body reacted to my touch. Something about it made me feel powerful. 

It all seemed thoughtless and anonymous until he whispered, “this feels nice.”

“It really does. Your house is so chill. I love it here,” I agreed. I yawned and rested my head on his shoulder, my nose touching his neck.

“You know every guy here wishes he was me right now. They’d kill to be in your arms,” he laughed.

The other guys were deep in their conversation, but I raised my eyes and was met with interested looks. I know it’s wrong to play with guys when I have no interest in them, but with Anderson there was a spark in me that was awakening. I was away from my family, my tribe. I wondered for a minute what it would be like to taste his world. 

“You think they’d feel better if I passed you around to all the laps? Is that the fair thing to do here? I don’t want to be rude.” I joked.

“All that would do is free up your lap. Then we’d have a real fight on our hands. It’s best to keep things how they are. These queens can get dangerous. It would be a real street fight,” he whispered.

“We don’t want that. I already ruined one bottle of alcohol.” I agreed. 

“A boy like you can get whatever he wants,” Anderson said with a serious tone. 

He reached a hand up to push his fingers through my hair. My body gave another hard yawn that I tried to cover.

“Your hair is still baby soft,” he observed. 

“That feels good.” I pushed my lips against his neck then let out another yawn. They were coming faster. I felt so relaxed here. 

“It’s sleepy time for you, pretty boy. No more tequila,” he adopted a parental tone.

“I just need a quick nap… [yawn]… and I’ll head on out. Gotta get working on school,” I mumbled. I hugged him tightly and let my face settle into the nape of his neck. 

“K then. quick nap,” he whispered and kept rubbing my head gently.

And that’s how I fell asleep, drunk on tequila, on a rooftop, at a dinner party, amongst a group of older gay men, with a guy in my lap. It was a completely normal ending to a long week of work, school, and gym.

++*

Some time later Anderson slid out of my hold and nudged me awake. Kellan and Marcus were cleaning up the food and the music had ended. The fire was gone from the pit and the air had turned colder.

“Bed time. I’ll get you home in the morning. Come on, you’re too big to carry.” Anderson offered me his hand.

“I am a tree. I can not be moved.” I mumbled nonsense. I got to my feet and we kept our fingers interlaced. 

I held his hand and stumbled behind him down the stairs and back to his bedroom. He led me to his bathroom and unwrapped a new toothbrush for me. I leaned against the counter and brushed my teeth while he brushed his.

“Who invented these? Tooth brushes are a great idea! I hope they made bank.” I spit the toothpaste into the sink. 

“All right, time for sleep.” Anderson ignored my question and took my hand to guide me out of the bathroom. 

“Yep. Zoom we go. Let’s do this.” I squeezed his hand like we were off to fight crime as he led me. 

“Here,” he said when we made it over to his bed. He pulled up a corner of the comforter. “Do you need pajamas?”

“Nuh-uh. No way. I get hot at night. Hot sleeper.” I peeled off the tank top then pushed off the shorts. I usually sleep in my boxers, but the briefs he’d given me would be fine.

Anderson peeled off his long sleeve white shirt, and pushed off his shorts. He had on black briefs that were cut high in the back to show off his perfectly sculpted ass. I’ve always had a thing for ass, but usually it was the female kind. Something about his smooth skin and tight body was quite appealing.

“Your friends are staying here? They are going to sleep in the other rooms?” I asked.

“They have keys. They’ll hang out up there for a while then lock up when they go. They’re probably waiting to find guys on GrindMe for the night.” Anderson turned off the lamp next to his bed then turned towards me.

“Your bed is crazy soft. Technology is fantastic,” I yawned. I turned onto my side to face him. I settled in against the pillow. The moonlight filtered through the heavy curtains just enough to see his face.

“I wouldn’t have put you here, but you had a lot to drink and I don’t want you getting sick and choking or something,” he told me.

“I hadn’t thought of that. I’ve been drunk before. It just makes me tired and happy. I’m not a vomiter… vomiteer? Vomity guy? A vomit grommet?” I searched for a good adjective.

“I just don’t want you thinking I’m going to take advantage of you. I’d never do that,” he advised.

“I’m twice your size,” I laughed. “I’d be the one taking advantage of you !”

“That’s not how it works. I’m sober and crafty,” he laughed.

He settled in next to me and turned so our faces were a few inches apart. “But if you were sober and willing to take advantage of me, I’d worship every perfect inch of you.”

“I might like that. I’ve never experienced a guy, but I’ve thought about it. Oh yes! You wouldn’t expect it, but I have,” I admitted.

“And what did you think about, hot boy?” He asked.

“Well I don’t think I’d want a dick in my mouth. That is not for me, and definitely nothing in my butt. That’s strictly an exit.” I answered.

“So you’re a selfish top. Just my type. You’ll do well in San Francisco,” he laughed.

“But I do love ass. That’s something I haven’t explored, but I choose videos with it. Guy with girl stuff though, but I guess it works the same… right? I’ve heard it’s a whole other level, super tight… like a totally different experience. Is that true?” I reached over and rubbed a thumb against his cheek.

He reached up and covered my hand with his to hold it there.

“I’ve never topped, but from what I hear it’s pretty great.” Anderson rubbed his cheek against my palm. 

“And a guy’s hole works the same as a girl’s hole back there.” I inched closer to him. 

“Yep. Ass is ass. When you’re ready to explore, consider me open, but sober of course. I don’t want you waking up tomorrow and attacking me from regret.” He laughed like he was only partly joking.

“I’d never hit you. I don’t hit people. Only my brothers when they are being assholes,” I promised.

“There are many ways to hurt a guy without using your fists. It’s best we wait for that.” He looked serious.

We got quiet for a minute, just staring at each other. His breath brushed my cheek.

“I haven’t been in someone’s lap since I was a teenager,” he said. “It felt really good. You’re so strong, and I wanted to climb you.”

“It was nice having someone there. My ex never liked that. She was weird about touch. Then the virus hit our senior year and no one touched. Then I moved here… it’s been a weird year… anyways it felt good.” I moved my hand from his cheek to his shoulder.

He pushed towards me and lowered his face to my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around his back and felt his lips on my skin.

I rolled into my back and brought him into my chest. His erection pressed against my thigh which made me realize I was hard too.

I started to rub his back, and he started to slowly grind against me. I rubbed down until my hand found his ass. His briefs were the same soft, stretchy material he’d given me to wear. I squeezed his cheek and rubbed him. His ass was firm and perfectly round. It had me throbbing in my briefs.

“Your body is perfection.” He slid a hand down my chest and rubbed over my bulge. My cock was fully hard and stretched the briefs.

“You like having a guy back here?” I brought my other hand over and started to knead his ass cheeks.

“It’s the best, especially with a thick monster like you have,” he assured.

“What if it’s too big for you? You’re a smaller guy. I don’t want to hurt you.” I pressed. I slid my hands into his briefs and squeezed his cheeks.

“I’d work up to it. I can take it. I’m up for the challenge.” He kissed my shoulder then slid his lips up my neck leaving a trail of goosebumps.

“Maybe we should… you know… give it a shot.” I was reaching peak eggplant in these briefs.

“It is so hard to turn down the hottest guy I’ve ever gotten this far with, but it wouldn’t be right. If you still want to try this after a good night of sleep, then I promise we can do whatever you like. Tomorrow you’ll be clear and you won’t have anything to regret, deal?” He kissed my cheek.

“Can I at least spoon you?” I felt a hint of desperation in my voice. He felt so right in my arms.

“Absolutely.” He kissed my cheek then turned away from me on his side.

I got behind him and he pushed his ass against my cock. I wrapped my arms around him, pulled him into me, and settled my lips against the back of his neck. My erection settled in between his cheeks, and I quickly drifted off.

Chapter 3 - The First Time

Sunrise found me in a warm cocoon under the soft comforter with Anderson in my arms. I felt his breathing as my hands rubbed his chest. My lips were buried against his shoulder with my nose poking behind his right ear.

“Ezra?” He whispered, unsure if I was awake.

“Uh-huh,” I mumbled against his skin.

“Do you know where you are? It’s Anderson from yesterday… the Chinese guy… your fake boyfriend.” He was dropping me clues as if I had amnesia.

“I remember. I didn’t blackout,” I chuckled. His personality was beyond cute.

“Ok. Just checking… are you freaked out? Holding a guy and all? We didn’t do anything.” His voice was nervous.

“Nope. You sure have a lot of concerns with the sexuality thing. I like girls. I’m starting to like you. I definitely like how you feel in my arms. Are

you

freaked out?“ I rubbed a hand up to tweak his left nipple.

“I guess I kind of am.” He admitted.

“You want me to leave?” I kissed the side of his neck.

“No. Never ever. I was worried you’d wake up and bolt out of here or be angry.” He turned his neck trying to look at me, but I was holding him too tightly.

The morning sun lit his room in a soft glow. I eased my hold on him, and felt my morning wood push against his ass.

“I should get going. I was supposed to work on a paper for my bio class and study for the math final. I haven’t even started.” I felt the anxiety of my daily life rush back in.

“I’ll make you some breakfast first. You must be hungry.” Anderson sat up.

I rolled over on my back and rubbed my eyes. He lifted the blanket to see my hard cock straining the briefs.

“We should get up before I lose the morning satisfying this,” I laughed. I gripped my cock and pushed it to the side. It sprang back and Anderson licked his lips. 

“Your clothes are on the dresser. Let’s get some food.” He didn’t take his eyes off my crotch as I slid to the side of the bed and started to get up.

We ate quickly in the kitchen, then I got my work bag and he walked me to the door.

“Thanks for a fun night! I really need to relax like that. I haven’t had a night out with friends in forever,” I told him when I paused in his doorway to pull on my shoes.

“I put my number in your phone. If you need another break, text me. Or if you need help studying. Ok? I do have a PhD.” He bit his lip and his eyes widened in expectation.

“Sure. Thanks again!” I raised a hand, then headed out.

++*

I headed to my dorm and switched out my work bag for my backpack. My clothes were freshly cleaned, and I’d brushed my teeth after breakfast. I headed to the library and plowed through my research project for the bio class.

After a late lunch at the cafeteria, I went back to my dorm to work on the algebra study sheet for my final next week.

I’d been treading water in that class all semester. Every time I’d start to get a concept, the professor moved on to something entirely different and pretended it was all related.

I knew she didn’t hate me, but I always saw a little weird smile when she asked a question she knew I couldn’t answer. It was like she didn’t expect much intelligence from me. I get that look a lot from people.

I worked through the first ten questions and then sat up to feel the tension in my neck from spending an hour poring over this stuff.

My roommate came in and turned on music, then a friend stopped by and asked me to play one round of WarGoblins.

Ten rounds later we were starved and walked to get a slice of pizza. We ran into some guys from the gym and spent over an hour goofing off.

By the time I made it back to my room, question 11 on my study sheet was just not going to happen tonight. I felt the anxiety rush back.

I tried to focus, but it got into the units I’d struggled with the most. I gave up and started to play on my phone. I was frustrated, horny, and thinking about Anderson.

That’s when I remembered that he put his number into my phone.I thought about how nice that ass felt. Maybe my head would clear up after some exploration time.

“Hey. It’s Ezra, the drunk clumsy guy who was trying to poke your butt last night.” I hoped that was a good first text.

“Hey. We are at a bar in the Castro. Come meet us!” He replied. He followed up with a short video of him and Kellan in a noisy club at a table filled with guys I didn’t recognize.

I smiled, but then I got this weird jealous feeling. There was a guy next to Kellan who was looking at Anderson and staring hard.

“Guy in the blue sweatshirt is crushing hard on you.” I typed out.

“Really? He’s a friend of a friend. Super cute! Come meet us! I can send an Uber for you!” He really wanted me to join them.

“2 problems there. Underage, and struggling with Algebra.” I set my phone down and went to get a bottle of water from the student hub.

When I got back to my phone there was a flurry of texts from him:

“I’m great at algebra!”

“Algebra is my bitch.”

“My butt needs poking.”

“I thought about you a lot today.”

The last text made my chest raise. I’d actually thought about him too. It felt like a new level of sleep when I was holding him. I never thought I’d feel that way about a guy. He just had something that I responded to.

“Do you want to hang out after your club?” I finally wrote.

“Meet at my place in an hour. Bring the algebra. My bed misses you.”

“K” I left it at that.

I grabbed my shower kit and towel then headed down the hall. I scrubbed down then put on a fresh black t-shirt, green boxers, and jeans. I grabbed an energy bar from the student hub and then went to get my backpack and study sheet.

++*

Anderson answered the door wearing white sweatpants and no shirt. His hair was still damp like he’d showered too.

“You look nice,” he said when I stepped inside. He closed the door behind us while I took off my vans and set them by his shoe rack.

“Yep.” I wasn’t up for talking. I turned towards him and went in for a kiss.

I put my hands on his sides and lifted him up so our lips met. He quickly threw his arms around my shoulders and wrapped his legs around my waist as our lips wrestled.

I carried him over to his couch and sat down with him in my lap. He straddled me, held on tightly, and let me push my tongue past his lips. I held his ass with both hands and kneaded his cheeks.

He broke our kiss and stared down at me with hunger.

“I need it. Please,” he begged.

“This ass. Fuck yeah. You want me in here?” I gripped his cheeks and lifted him to bounce on me.

“Yes sir. It’s yours, sir.” He whimpered and put his hands on my shoulders to steady himself.

“You’re ready for this cock? Get those clothes off.” I put my hands on his thighs and gently pushed him back.

He slid off my lap and got to his feet. I peeled off my t-shirt. He started to push off his pants but then stopped.

“Ok I kind of need to explain. When I got your text, I got super nervous. So I did three shots at the bar before Ubering home,” he started.

“So you’re too drunk to do this? Like I was too drunk last night? Now I’m sober and you’re drunk and rejecting me a second time?” I was confused.

“No no! Drunk isn’t the issue. Ok no, listen. I got home and showered and I thought about how you’ve only been with girls, and so I wanted to make this more familiar for you,” Anderson continued.

“You brought a girl to join us? Ok yeah that sounds cool,” I leaned back against the couch and looked around for her.

“No. Stop interrupting,” Anderson laughed. “You are so cute. So I got out of the shower and thought about how to make it easier for you and I borrowed some things from Kellan. And well…”

Anderson pushed down his sweatpants and stepped out of them. He had on black stockings that went up to his thighs and a black lace jockstrap. He held up his arms and did a quick turn for me.

“That’s, um.” I was too surprised to think of words. He kept his back to me and turned to look at me over his shoulder.

“It’s weird, right? Did I fuck this up?” His face looked scared and helpless. He put his hands on his back and rubbed down to his ass as he arched his back to poke it out towards me. His body looked smoking good. The jock and stockings made his legs and ass look incredible. His tight waist twisted to show off for me.

I stood up and went to face him. I cupped his ass and lifted him up into my arms again.

“Damn, you look… Daddy likes.” I held him against me and he wrapped his legs around me. I carried him back towards his bedroom.

“Really? You like it? Fuck. You are so strong.” Anderson bit his lip and eyed me with excitement.

“You’re very light.” I observed.

We kissed as I walked slowly down the hallway holding him. I laid him down on his bed and came down between his legs, supporting myself on my elbows so I didn’t crush his smaller frame. I was rock hard and grinded my strained jeans against his bare ass.

“Do you know how many times I’ve jerked off thinking of a hot, muscle stud carrying me off to bed? Your turn,” Anderson said when I took my lips off of his. “Clothes off… please.”

“Ok, but first I should explain. I wanted you to feel comfortable so…” I mimicked his speech from earlier.

“You got trashy lingerie too? This should be good!” Anderson propped himself up on his elbows and looked as I got to my feet.

“No, don’t interrupt,” I laughed. I started to unbutton my jeans. “I um… I wore clean boxers.” I pushed my jeans down and my dick flopped out of the fly. He laughed at my joke.

“Fuck that’s big. I need that,” Anderson’s eyes doubled in size.

He sat up, slid off the bed, and dropped to his knees in front of me. He pawed at my boxers and slid them down with my jeans to the floor. I stepped out of them just as his lips dove on my cock.

I’d had my dick sucked before, but never worshiped like this. He had the tip all the way to his throat and used his hands to massage my nuts. I looked down at him as his eyes stared up at me in admiration. He looked at me like I was a god.

“You are… [gasp]… really good at that,” I praised him.

I put my hand on his head and pushed my fingers through his hair. I gripped a fistful of his hair, and he let out a whimper while slurping on me. I held his head steady and started to throat fuck him. He made little gagging sounds, but didn’t push me away. His throat massaged my cock with expertise.

“Fuck that’s hot… Your throat… I’m gonna cum soon if you keep that up. That’s… talent, chief,” I warned. I’m not usually a fast shooter, but the guy had skills my body had never felt.

“No! No!” Anderson swatted my hand away from his hair and pulled off of me. My cock flopped out, still connected to his lips by a trail of saliva and precum.

“That was… ok I need a minute.” I paced his room and caught my breath.

“Come lie down with me,” Anderson got to his feet and crawled onto the bed. He was on all fours with his legs spread to show his hole. He wiggled his perfect, smooth ass, knowing how much I liked it. He laid down on his side with his waist turned to show off his ass.

“Do we need to do anything first? It looks kinda small. It’s not like a girl where it’s supposed to just go in.” I went to the bed and laid down on my back.

He crawled over me and straddled my lap then leaned down to kiss up my chest. My cock was still throbbing and gave a little spit of precum when he rubbed his ass against it.

“Lube and persistence. We’ll start like this so I can get used to it.” He kissed my lips then sat up and reached back to grab my cock.

He rubbed it over his hole. He gripped my cock and pumped it while poking the tip against his hole. He reached for the pillow next to me and pulled out a small bottle. He squeezed some out on his hand and then rubbed my cock with it. It spread a warm tingle over my rock hard erection.

I reached up and put my hands on his pecs. He had good definition and small, dark nipples. I pinched them and leaned up to suck on them. His cock filled the lace jockstrap as he rubbed it against my abs.

He squeezed out more lube and then gripped my cock with one hand and guided it inside himself. His hole was tight and he took a deep breath then bit his lip as I slowly pushed through his ring. He eased down on me and then stopped right when the head popped inside him.

“Oh fuck that’s big. Oh shit. You fucking stud,” Anderson looked down at me with a pained smile. He put his hands on my pecs to steady himself. I leaned up and kissed him as he straddled my lap and tried to take more.

He slowly slid down my shaft. My cock was in unfamiliar territory. His chute gripped me and massaged my cock in waves that pulsed through my stomach and made my muscles go weak. It felt so different and I pushed up into him, needing more.

“Slow. Please… slow. It’s so good… so good,” he groaned.

I stopped and laid back down against the comforter. I’d let him do his thing. He held steady for a minute and gathered his breath. I put my hands on his ass and kneaded his cheeks. He had his knees on either side of my chest and the stockings rubbed against my skin when he began to slowly bounce on me.

He raised up an inch or so then came back down in a slowly increasing rhythm. I fought the urge to pound him. His hole was perfectly formed for me. If I gave into my primal instincts, I’d hurt him and finish in 30 seconds. I kept still and let his body adjust to me while he bounced and groaned. I distracted myself looking at a piece of art on his wall.

“I’m ready,” he said after what felt like an eternity of slow riding me.

“What position feels best?” I asked.

“My favorite? Getting it from behind. I really get off on being pounded, dominated, especially a guy like you. Make my hole yours.” Anderson got off me and stood up.

He hopped off the bed and went over to a low dresser along the wall near the closet. It had a huge rectangular mirror over it. He leaned over the dresser and stared at my reflection in the mirror.

“Like this, sir.” His eyes met mine in the mirror and pleaded for attention.

“Yeah, boy?” I felt something in my chest growl at the sight of his hole on display. It was more open now, and took on a shape that looked like it could take me. “You need me to breed you?”

“Fuck, yes. Please give me your seed, daddy.” Anderson lit up with lust.

I got behind him and lined my cock up with his hole. I reached for his right leg and pulled it up onto the top of the dresser to spread his ass out. I started to push my cock inside him. It was still so tight, but he begged me to keep going.

“It’s gripping me so tight. It won’t even let me slide out, but it feels so fucking good,” I laughed. I leaned over his back and kissed his neck while we stared at each other in the mirror.

“Pound that pussy, daddy. Make it yours. Please,” he begged when I started to piston in and out of his hole.

I slipped my arms around his chest and lifted it up off the dresser. That hit exactly the right angle to drive into him. I pushed deeper and started to pound him like he needed.

Anderson thrashed and whined in my arms, begging for more. I bit and sucked on his neck while I pounded that hole.

I had the weird sensation of feeling like I was close to finishing, but didn’t get to the release. His perfect hole kept me right there on edge. I sped up on his hole, pushing deeper as he screamed for more.

“I’m going to cum. I’m not even touching it. You’re pounding my spot,” Anderson groaned a few minutes later.

I pulled him away from the dresser and carried him, impaled on my cock, over to the bed. I lifted him and spun him around on me so we were face to face. I wanted to try a different position before he finished. Every time my ex girlfriend finished, things were done whether I was done or not.

“I want to try this. Aight?” I laid him on his back.

“Whatever you want. I’m yours,” he melted into the bed.

His legs went up my chest with his feet planted against my shoulders. The stockings against my skin were pretty hot. I leaned down and kissed his toes. I looked between his legs to see his jockstrap pushed out with his erection. He was keeping it covered, like he was afraid I’d be turned off by seeing boy parts.

“Is this better?” he asked. I started to slide in and out again. His hole was opening to me, but still kept that hard grip on my cock. I pushed all the way inside him and watched his eyes double in size.

“Is that too deep? You feel so fucking good,” I groaned through ragged breath. I was so close to finishing, but wanted to make him cum too.

“I’m so close. Your cock is hitting just right,” Anderson whimpered as his eyes focused on mine.

I leaned over him until our lips met. I started to pile drive that hole with force.

“You want it inside you? You want my seed?” I buried my cock deep.

“Yes, sir. Please, sir. I’m gonna… ahhh!” His body started to thrash against the comforter. I leaned back to look down at his lacey black jock. His tent was pulsing and I watched a glob of white push through the fabric and then another shoot out onto his stomach.

“Oh fuck that’s hot.” I drove into him and felt my cock pulse and shoot into his hole.

I emptied my nuts deep inside him. I pumped a few times to push it deeper then collapsed onto him. He gave a weak whimper and I realized I was twice his size and probably crushing him. I rolled over onto my back and pulled him with me. He laid against my chest, still impaled on my cock.

We didn’t say a word. I put an arm across his back and used my other arm to pull the covers over us. Our breaths synched up and he snuggled into my hold. We passed out together with the bedroom lights on and soft music still playing. He felt so good in my arms. It felt so right.

Chapter 4 - The Organizer

“What time is it?” I asked when I awoke to Anderson rubbing my cock. It had slid out of his hole some time during the night.

I blinked my eyes open and noticed light streaming through the windows.

“9 AM. You slept ten hours,” he laughed.

“I slept so good. Last night was intense, chief. That was a whole other level! I’ve never cum like that.” I rubbed his back.

I slid a hand down to cup his ass, and realized he had shorts on. “You dressed?”

“I showered, made some breakfast, watched the news, did some housework, got the mail, and unpacked your study materials. You need to clean out your backpack. I found half a sandwich in there. I think it was tuna!” He kissed my chest.

“It was peanut butter and jelly,” I corrected. 

He was cradled into my side. When I moved, I could feel the sticky mess that had dried all over my stomach, dick, and thighs.

“I should shower. I came a lot. I think we ruined your sheets.” I stretched and yawned.

“I still feel it inside me. That was the hottest fuck of my life. Sheets be damned! I have new ones anyways.” Anderson leaned up and kissed me. His breath was minty fresh and he had a light cologne that made me sniff him deeper.

“I’m ready to go again,” I said. I pushed my hand into the back of his shorts and poked my finger down to his hole.

“I very much want that, but I more so want you to pass your classes. You will take a shower, eat some breakfast, and then we’re getting to work. If you work hard today then I promise I’ll let you do whatever you want with me. I may be a slave in the bed, but I turn into a dad when it comes to your studies,” Anderson joked.

He gave my cock a squeeze. It was already hard, and I made no move to get up. He pumped it a few times, and then peeled himself away. I went to shower and found he’d washed my clothes from the day before. I could get used to this constant clean laundry.

++*

I found Anderson in the kitchen. He had me sit at the kitchen island and brought over a plate of waffles and a cup of coffee.

“They’re protein waffles. They taste awful, but you’ll feel amazing. I promise a tastier lunch when we’ve gotten some work done,” he said when I raised a fork of them to my lips. They weren’t awful.

“I’m making a schedule for you. You need to prioritize. What days are you working this week?” he asked. He set down a pre-printed, blank calendar for the week while I ate.

He pulled a pair of glasses that I hadn’t seen him wear from his pocket. He pushed them over his nose and began to write.

“You have glasses. Why don’t you wear them?” I asked.

“Normally I use my contacts, but I need the serious stuff for reading,” he laughed. He looked at me with eyes that begged for my verdict on his look.

“They’re good,” I affirmed.

We worked through the week putting my class times, work days, and deadlines for my projects. It was overwhelming to see everything there.

“You have too much going on. Do you need to work this much?” Anderson asked with a sigh.

“If I want food, then yeah kind of. Books, cell phone bill, clothes, fun stuff with friends. It’s expensive here.” I finished my waffles and gulped the rest of the coffee.

“What if we find you a scholarship that covers that stuff? I have connections. Kellan does a fundraiser for AAPI student grants. I always give.” Anderson grabbed his cell and started to text.

“I’m not Asian-American or Pacific Islander. I don’t think I should fake that,” I laughed.

“Right, but he knows people who can get other grants. You can’t stretch yourself like this.” Anderson was typing furiously in Chinese.

“I like working. I support myself. My scholarship covers tuition and housing. I can do this without taking on loans and stressing my parents.” I took my plate and cup over to the sink and started to rinse them.

“Kellan says you should really give CamFans a try,” Anderson laughed. “He is not helpful.”

“I can’t think about that right now. I just need to get through finals.” I started to wash my plate, but then he urged me to leave them in the sink.

We spent the next hour going through the algebra study sheet. He acted like it was basic math and did a good job giving me other problems that showed things simply. We tackled my biology paper next. He tore up most of what I’d written and helped me fix it. It was a solid A by the time he finished.

We took a break for lunch and went for a long walk. He knew the city so well. We got take-out protein bowls and took them to a hidden park at the top of a long stairway that I’d never have noticed before. The narrow stairs were between two houses and went straight up to a clearing with benches and a view of the city.

We finished our lunch and headed back to his condo. Things felt so natural with him, so easy. I’d gotten more done in three hours with Anderson than I had in the past week. It made me realize how much time I wasted when I studied. He was focused and made things so simple. He was also brilliant and seemed to know more about my classes than I did. 

We worked through two more study guides before the sun began to set. I looked over the calendar he’d made for me with everything color coded and little pictures he’d drawn to go with each activity. Things looked more manageable. My anxiety was gone.

“Are you hungry for dinner? I think we’re done for today. You did a good job.” Anderson shoved my last textbook into my backpack. He’d organized it and cleaned out all the junk I’d accumulated.

“No food. I believe you mentioned a reward for hard work.” I put my hand on his back and rubbed it.

“You want to do that again? Well… I guess I did promise,” Anderson sighed like he wasn’t as desperate for my cock as I was to give it to him.

“You did promise whatever I wanted! I need to poke butt.” I reminded him.

“Give me 15 minutes alone to make sure everything down there is presentable!” Anderson hopped up, gave me a kiss, and then went to his bedroom.

I walked around his condo and checked out some of the other rooms. He had a home office with a huge computer setup and a wall full of charts. There was a bookshelf with at least 100 binders organized and lined up perfectly. I realized I had no idea what he did for work, but it looked complicated.

The next room was a guest bedroom with a large bed and attached bathroom. I decided I should clean myself up for him. There was a walk-in shower with a supply of products from hotels. I stripped down and washed myself, making sure my cock was ready to be slurped. I toweled off and started to put my clothes back on, but then decided we were past the point of needing to be dressed for each other.

I folded my clothes and carried them back out of the room. The door to his bedroom was closed so I didn’t want to go in there and interrupt his process. I could hear the thumping beat of dance music coming from inside.

I set my clothes down on a side table in his living room and walked naked into his kitchen to get some water.

I was taking a sip of the water when the room started to roll.

I felt the floor under me start to move side to side. I gripped the counter and looked up to make sure there wasn’t something that could fall on me.

Growing up in the Central Valley, we get overlooked on the earthquake attention. We had a big one a few summers back, but I’d been outside and didn’t feel it much. I set the bottle of water down and watched my cock swing back and forth. It’s not smart to be naked during an earthquake.

The rolling stopped as I squatted down between the island and the counter. In school they taught us to get down next to something stable in case things fell from the ceiling. It’s called the “Triangle of Survival” or something. It wasn’t a huge quake, and nothing fell. I stayed down until I heard Anderson calling from the other room.

“Are you good? You’re naked!” He called when he came into the kitchen. He had on a pair of pink briefs and was rubbing a towel over his wet, black hair.

“Yeah. It didn’t feel too bad,” I said.

We checked the Tweets and saw it was a 4.1 centered across the bay in Oakland. It always cracks me up how everyone jumps on twitter to check what happened. The memes and jokes were already flying.

Anderson leaned over the counter to scroll through them. I came up behind him and saw the pink briefs had a big open circle in the back that pushed out his perfect ass. I quickly lost interest in the earthquake and began to rub and explore his hole.

“Oh yeah,” Anderson melted against the counter as I rubbed a finger around his hole.

“You are tight again,” I noted as my index finger tried to push inside him.

He turned his face and reached for my hand. He brought my finger to his lips and sucked it in. He reached down behind himself and grabbed for my cock. It quickly rose under his grip. He slurped my finger until it was slick with his spit. I pulled it back and moved to his hole.

I started to push through his ring and he instantly began to whimper as he stroked my cock. We got so into it that we didn’t notice someone was unlocking the front door until we heard it open and Kellan’s voice call from the living room in Chinese.

“We’re fine. Go away!” Anderson screamed.

“Well sorry for caring about you! I had a picture knocked off the wall so I thought you might have damage too.” Kellan screamed back.

“Don’t come in. We’re naked.” Anderson’s tone grew increasingly annoyed.

“Is it that beautiful horse-cock from last night? Hi Ezra!” Kellan yelled back with interest.

Anderson switched back to Chinese that sounded like the edge of rage.

“Ok, Ok. Have fun you two,” Kellan called and then closed the door. I heard him lock it back.

Anderson looked pissed and his cheeks blushed a deep red, but I burst out laughing.

“I’m the horse cock?” I reached my free hand up to tickle his right armpit.

“I am so embarrassed. I shouldn’t have told him. We are way too close and he’s always bragging about getting the hottest guys and well… you beat any cock he’s ever gotten. I shouldn’t have bragged. Guys like me don’t usually get guys like you, and…” Anderson started to ramble on.

I leaned up and gave a kiss to silence him.

“Let me put the bolt on so we get no more intruders,” he said when we broke our kiss.

He dashed out of the kitchen and made some noise with the door then ran farther away. I sat my bare ass on a stool and stroked myself while he was gone. He came running back in with a bottle of lube and set it on the counter next to me.

“All is secure, sir. Hole is prepared. Where were we?” he asked. He came and stood in front of me.

With me sitting on the stool, we were eye to eye. I reached for him and put my hands under his armpits. I lifted him up and then stood. I turned and set him on the cold, stone counter. I put my hands under his thighs and lifted his legs so he leaned back against the countertop. I spread his legs so his hole was on display.

“Let’s get these briefs off,” I said. I started to reach for the waistband, but he put his hand there to stop me.

“No. I like them on,” he said.

“Why? I know you have a dick, bro. It’s not shocking to me. Lemme see it.” I didn’t like him feeling insecure about his parts.

“I know, but I like the illusion. It makes things more familiar for you, and my cock isn’t as big as yours,” he blushed. His body tensed up. He chewed on his lip and his eyes fell downward.

“Well it’s not like I want it inside me anyways.” I let his legs drop and then put a hand under his back to sit him up. “You can be yourself with me. I know you’re a dude. Stop treating me like some big porn star who is going to dash out of here. It’s ok, baby.”

I put my hand on the back of his neck and brought his face to look at me. 

I kissed his lips and massaged his neck to ease his tension. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and held onto me. I pulled at the waistband of his briefs and he let me slide them down his legs. We kissed while my finger found his hole again and I pushed inside him as he moaned and sucked on my tongue.

My cock was rock hard and I needed inside him. Without pulling my lips from his, I reached for the lube and flicked off the cap. I took my finger from his hole and poured lube on two of them. I pushed them inside and he took a deep breath and pulled away from my lips.

“Is that good, baby?” I asked. He leaned back with his hands behind him to steady himself on the counter. His cock pointed straight up. It was about six inches and fit him nicely. His legs were spread wide to offer his hole to me.

“Yes, sir.” He closed his eyes, threw his head back, and chewed on his lip.

I rubbed inside his hole, spreading my fingers to stretch him open. His body made little jerks every time I rubbed over a certain spot so I went there and started to tap it. He jumped on the counter, his abs tensing and his cock jumping around.

“That’s the spot?” I asked. His cock started to leak precum as I banged on it.

“One of them. The best one is way back in there and your cock just rams it when you get in deep. It’s like one long orgasm.” He looked at me and his eyelids fluttered under my assault.

I started to ram my fingers in him and he thrashed and whined on the stone counter. He begged for me to fuck him, but I was enjoying watching what I could make his body do. His dark nipples hardened into little peaks and I leaned in to bite and suck on them. He put a hand on my head and started to push his fingers into my hair. He gripped a fist of my hair and pulled my head back then brought me in for a kiss.

I slipped out my fingers and jerked my cock a few times to lube it up. I shoved my tongue past his lips and put my tip to his hole. It slid in easier this time. He wrapped his legs around my waist as I pushed inside him.

“Ezzzrrraaa,” he whined when the tip popped past his ring. My cock plowed his chute and the waves of pleasure rippled through my body. I kept kissing him while I started to pump his hole.

“Use my hole. It’s yours, sir,” he begged. I started to plow him. I held him against my chest, balanced on the edge of the counter as my cock fucked up inside him.

“Is that the spot?” I asked as I rammed deep into his hole.

“God yes! Oh don’t stop. Breed that hole, daddy. Own your boy,” he whined. I started to piston in and out of him.

“That’s my hole. You’re my boy,” I gasped. He was easier to open than the night before and I was able to get deeper faster.

“I am yours, sir.” Anderson hugged me tightly and started to bite on my shoulder as I rammed his hole against the counter. I held onto him while I drove deep inside him.

“I’m so close,” I sighed. I wanted to keep going, but my body wouldn’t let me.

I leaned him back on the counter and put his ankles on my shoulders. His cock was rock hard and his stomach was coated in cum.

“You came already?” I yelled.

“Yeah. I think twice,” he laughed. He crossed his arms behind his head and caught his breath. “That was fucking intense.”

“You want me to stop?” I asked.

“No way!” He looked up at me with alarm.

“But you finished?” I was confused.

“You don’t get how this works,” he chuckled. “My innocent straight hunk. When you hit my spot it feels like one long orgasm. Ejaculation is totally separate. That’s just a side effect. You can keep going as long as you like. It still feels incredible.”

“Oh… Interesting,” I noted. I started to pump him harder.

“Don’t get too interested. I don’t want to turn you into a bottom,” he warned.

“That’s not my thing,” I laughed. 

I loved how we could have full on conversation while I was plowing him. I raised up on my tip toes to get a better angle. I pulled his ass to the edge of the counter and started to pile-drive him. He whimpered and his cock got hard again as I pushed into him.

I pumped him for another five minutes until my cock was ready to pop. I buried it deep and started to fire off inside him. I leaned down over the counter and kissed him while I seeded his hole with my nut.

“So fucking good,” I gasped as I finished inside him and started to suck on his earlobe.

“Yes, sir,” he agreed.

I finished breeding him and then laid against him, holding and kissing him while I recovered. I kept my cock in him and he wrapped his legs around me and pet my hair. We laid there spent for the longest time until he finally admitted his discomfort with the hard stone counter. I picked him up and carried him to the bedroom with my cock still buried inside him.

We showered together and I rubbed soapy fingers inside his hole. It leaked out a solid amount of my nut when I poked it. I felt a weird sense of pride at leaving my mark in him.

++*

We toweled off and then went to his closet to get some things to sleep in.

“I have to admit something,” he said as I stood there naked wondering what I could use for sleep.

“Yeah?” I kissed the back of his neck and rubbed his stomach.

“I was out yesterday with Kellan, and I saw this shirt that made me think of you. He bet me that you wouldn’t text me, but I just had a feeling. We really connected,” he said.

“We did.” I nodded.

“So I got the shirt in your size.” He pulled out a folded black t-shirt. “It says Valley Boy. You know, because you’re from the Central Valley.” He held it up.

“That’s so nice!” It looked like it would fit perfectly.

“And then I saw these sweatpants that would go with it.” He pulled out a pair of grey sweats. “And some straight guy underwear.” He handed me a plastic carton of new flannel boxers.

“What were you going to do if I didn’t text you?” I laughed.

“I’d burn it in a pile in front of your dorm!” Anderson joked.

“Crazy looks good on you.” I kissed his shoulder.

I put on a pair of the boxers. They were a soft flannel.

I followed him to his underwear drawer. He had it stuffed with every color and material of briefs ever made.

“This is insane! You have a problem. You can’t possibly wear all of these!” I laughed and started to poke through them.

“I have an addiction. I know this. Hey! Since I picked out your boxers. You will choose something for me. Anything you want in there.” Anderson backed away from the drawer and I started to rifle through his neatly folded stacks.

“Oh! These!” I pulled a pair of red mesh briefs. They would barely cover anything in the front and the back was a simple black string. “These will do.”

Anderson shrugged and took them from me. He stepped into them and pulled them up. He stuffed his package into the front and the string in back disappeared between his ample cheeks.

He took me to his bed and then snuggled in against my chest as my hand came to rest on his ass. I rubbed his bottom and it quickly had me yawning. I nodded off holding onto him.

Chapter 5 - The Big One

On Monday morning Anderson dropped me at campus on his way to his office.

He was in work mode this morning so there was very little playing around when we woke up. His first alarm had him stirring in my arms with a few minutes of rubbing and kisses. The second alarm made him pull me to the shower where he spent only a few seconds tugging at my cock with a soapy hand. The third alarm had us rinsing quickly and toweling off as we headed to the closet.

Anderson didn’t just put on a basic suit for the office. He had this complicated look of suspenders, an intricate tie knot, and a vest with eight buttons. I quickly pulled on my sweatpants and t-shirt before leaning against his wall of folded, color coordinated shirts.

By the time he was finished, he looked like a confident, powerful boss. It was a complete change from the hungry hole who had begged for my nut the night before.

He worked in the financial district which was a simple jog on the train, but he said he’d stopped riding public transportation with all the anti-Asian attacks popping up around the Bay Area.

“I know it’s not environmentally friendly, but I have a reserved spot in a secure parking garage and it’s just easier and safer,” he tried to explain as he drove me to my first final of the week.

He’d quizzed me over breakfast on the algebra we’d spent most of Sunday learning. It was the first time I’d walk in that class feeling prepared. I wore the clothes he’d gotten me. I’d need to go back to my dorm tonight and stop sleeping at his house.

I didn’t want things to move too quickly there. I was starting to catch feelings for him, but still felt unsure about all this. I wanted to keep things fresh.

We got to my campus and I wasn’t exactly sure how to exit. I know how door handles work, but I was unsure if I should kiss him or not. He pulled off the street into a loading zone and then made the decision for me. He leaned across the stick shift and kissed my cheek.

“Just relax and it’ll all come back to you. You studied everything you need.” He put his hand on my cheek and then kissed my lips.

“Thanks. I think I got this.” I grabbed my backpack from the backseat and exited. I stopped on the corner and watched him pull out into traffic then speed towards the skyline.

The algebra final was nowhere near as hard as the study sheet. She gave us this speech before about how much progress we’d made this semester then she lead us through this confidence building chant. “I know I can. I know I can. I know I can.”

The whole thing was weird, but we all needed good grades so we enthusiastically plowed through it.

I wasn’t the first one to finish, but I was somewhere in the middle. I went back and checked things to make sure, but I felt really good about it. I handed in my paper and left feeling like I would pass the course.

I left the building and decided I should check in with my mom. Things were good back home and they didn’t feel the earthquake. She was happy to hear from me, but needed to rush off to meet with a friend. I felt the urge to tell her about Anderson, but then stopped.

It’s not like my parents would care that I liked a guy. They were pretty open minded. They both grew up in the East Bay and met at Cal State Hayward. They even had a few gay friends in our town. 

They would be surprised, but not freaked out or even disappointed. Still, I wasn’t ready for that. I wasn’t ready to be different.

I hung up with my mom and then headed for my next class. The biology final wasn’t until Wednesday, but we were supposed to hand in our papers today and do a review session.

The class met in a lab on the first floor of an old building. My college didn’t have room to grow out, so it grew up. The college was constructing a new building attached to this one that would add more floors above.

I sat close to the front, and had my paper saved on my phone so I could submit it when the professor called on me.

She made us turn them in live in front of her since the college had recently discovered that nearly 20 percent of papers turned in online were coming from India and China. There were a ton of websites students knew how to find. You could buy your way through college if you had enough money.

The new security measures didn’t really help since the sites could just send you the paper they’d written for you, but this teacher thought looking us in the eyes would help.

We got about halfway through the class when the earth started to move again.

I was just reaching into my backpack to get a new highlighter when it happened. I quickly squatted next to my backpack between two desks.

Yesterday’s earthquake was a heavy roll where it felt like animals were digging tunnels underneath you. This one was a jolter. Jolt quakes feel like someone is slamming the building from above. Instead of side to side, they feel like up and down.

With those, instead of feeling like the building is going to collapse, you feel like it might smash open like a dropped crate.

The room shook violently in several short bursts then jolted in a rhythmic vertical shake. Most people froze in space, gripping whatever furniture was near.

The guy sitting next to me jumped up and bolted out the emergency door. For whatever reason, my body decided to grab my backpack and follow him. I knocked over my desk on the way out, and the professor yelled for all of us to leave.

Just as a big jolt hit, I pushed through the doorway out into the sunshine. I watched the wall next to me crack open and this steel bar pushed out with a sneeze of concrete. This was not a normal quake. 

The earth went suddenly quiet and then the building let out this loud moan like Anderson did when I got too deep.

“Don’t stop! Move, Idiot! Go!” A girl rushed by me and grabbed me by the shoulder. She pushed me forward.

I followed her and, for whatever reason, took her hand. We sailed down the block like Peter Pan and Wendy.

“Get away from the buildings!” She yelled with the command of a drill sergeant. 

The quiet was soon replaced by yelling as a stampede of students poured out of every building. In quake moments like this, you head to the nearest park or open space where no concrete will fall on you. Those spaces are rare in this city.

Wendy zigged across the street and led me to an open square that was quickly starting to fill.

“That had to be an 8!” One lady shouted.

“Was it a bomb?” Called another voice.

“I hate California!” Yelled a Southern accent.

I stood there, my heart pumping, Wendy gripping my hand.

“You saved me.” I whispered to her.

“No I didn’t. I just dragged a hunky jock down the street who was too slow to save himself,” she replied with a flirty grin.

She squeezed my hand to let me know she was kidding. Something in her voice and her grip made me realize she was trans. I was jumping down the alphabet from G to T.

“I stopped for like half a second!” I defended.

“You can’t stop until you get to a clearing. The building is leaning. Look at that! That’s not good.” She suddenly snapped back.

“Oh fuck! My dorm is on the other side of that.” I rubbed my forehead.

“Not for long. You’ll have to sleep in the park with the rest of us. I doubt anyone is going indoors for a while.” She sighed.

“You think? But all my clothes are in my dorm. I should go check on it.” I started back towards the campus since the quaking had stopped, but she yanked my shoulder.

“You can’t be this dumb! A quake that big is going to have an aftershock soon. Are you not from here? Stay put until they make an announcement. You’re safe here.” She took my arm and pulled me back.

I pulled out my cell and texted my mom. “Big quake. I’m fine.”

She called immediately, but as soon as I said, “Hey, mom!” The call cut. I looked at my screen and it said “NO SERVICE.”

“Cell service is dead!” I said to the girl.

“Power too. I think this was a really bad one! Hopefully everyone turns off their gas valves or we will have fires soon.” She noted.

I looked at the street corner and the signals were dead. Not only that, but there were cars jammed everywhere. It was like everyone decided to get in their cars to escape the city.

We decided to hang out under a tree in the shade. She had packed her lunch and offered to split it with me.

Her name was Reina and she was from San Jose. She was finishing her Associate’s in English.

I opened my backpack to find that Anderson had packed me protein bars and a sliced apple.

“My boyfriend packed these for me!” I told her in surprise. The word felt weird in my mouth.

“You have a boyfriend! That’s… yeah I didn’t take you for gay!” She laughed. “I wasn’t getting that vibe from you.”

“Well I’m not sure what we are. We just met and in the past I only dated girls, but…” I started to explain.

“You’re bi. That’s the word you’re searching for.” She snagged the protein bar I offered her.

“Well maybe! I mean I don’t usually look at guys like that.” I opened up and told her what had happened. I tried to hold back explicit details, but then she kept prodding me on things.

“So this morning he dropped me here, and then the earthquake. I wonder if he’s ok.” I couldn’t text Anderson.

My phone was still getting zero signal.

“Campus is shut down! If you need emergency housing, report to the southeast corner of campus. If you need help getting home, report to the northwest side. Do not attempt to return to campus.” A loud voice boomed. An older man was wheeling a large speaker and holding a microphone.

“Campus is shut down!” He started to repeat as he walked through the crowd.

“Guess I’m heading home. I hope you find your possibly-boyfriend. I’m sure he’s ok. Stay away from buildings and stay out of the subway.” She got up from the ground and patted my head before walking off.

I had no idea what to do next. All of my stuff was in my room. My textbook was still in the class. My cell phone wouldn’t connect to anything, and the streets were jammed with cars and wandering people.

My only option was to see where Anderson was. He might be trapped in his office downtown. I didn’t know where that was exactly, but I knew where he lived. He’d likely be trying to get back home.

I headed up towards his area. The normally ten minute walk took well over an hour. Most of the city was fine except for the loss of power and big things that had fallen over.

The streets were choked with cars, bikes, pedestrians. I weaved between them as best I could. Most people were just standing around outside waiting for an aftershock. A lot of people had started drinking, and the smell of pot wafted through the streets. That was the most California way to respond to a disaster.

Halfway there I was passing a church when the first aftershock hit. It felt similar to the rolling one the day before and wasn’t too heavy, but everyone moved to the street where the cars were still trying to drive.

There was more yelling, and the crowds started to grow in the streets. Most of the buildings looked ok and none were leaning like the science building on my campus.

I felt my heartbeat pounding in my ear. I pushed through and kept going until I made my way towards Anderson’s building.

I stopped at the open square across from his building. The damage must have been lighter here as the crowds were thinned out and the cars were actually moving in the streets. I watched a line of cars heading towards the bridge and made my way between them to cross the street.

I touched the callpad near the door, but then realized the screen was blank.

“Gotta use the old way,” a voice laughed from beside me.

I turned to see an older Asian guy in a suit walking up the front steps. He held out a key and used it to open the front door.

“Thanks, chief. I guess power is out everywhere?” I asked.

“The building is fine on the inside. We have our own solar grid. But in disaster mode, the outside entrances switch to manual.” He told me.

I followed him to the elevator, but he used his passkey to open a stairway next to it.

“Elevator is down as well. That’s for fire code. What floor are you going to?” he asked and held the door open for me.

“The top one. It’s only six stories though. Thanks.” I went in front of him and he followed me up.

“This is me. Have a good day.” He got off at the third floor and I kept heading up until it ended. I was sweaty and a little out of breath, but I was here.

I headed down to Anderson’s apartment at the end. I could hear music coming from inside, so I used a metal pen from my backpack to knock on it.

The door started to open, but instead of Anderson’s face, I was hit with the last thing I wanted to see after the craziness of the day.

Kyle, Anderson’s ex-boyfriend, was there holding a glass of white wine.

“The pretty boy is alive!” Kyle was drunk and happy. “I was so worried!”

Chapter 6 - The Clean Up

“The pretty boy is alive!” Kyle was drunk and happy. “I was so worried!”

He opened the door fully and leaned against the frame, taking another sip of his wine.

I looked around, but didn’t see Anderson there. I set my backpack down and was about to go look for him when Kyle threw his arms around me.

“That was so scary! I’m glad you are ok.” He hugged me and put his head against my chest.

“Dude, we are not friends!” I gently unhooked his arms from me. “Where is Anderson? I need to find him.”

“He went to look for an antenna. The cable is out. We aren’t friends?” Kyle held a surprise hurt to his tone.

“He’s ok? Anderson!” I called.

“Do not panic!” Kyle assured. “Your happy little bottom is safe.”

I pushed past him and headed towards Anderson’s bedroom. I went back and poked my head into his bedroom, but didn’t see him. I called his name again. I looked in his bathroom and closet to no luck.

I headed back out to the hallway and saw Anderson dance out of his office. He had oversized, white beat headphones on his ears, a tight blue tank top, and very short red corduroy shorts that hugged his ass so perfectly.

He sang in what must have been Chinese, and did a little dance as he clutched a flat antenna against his chest. 

He shoved his hips in either direction like a Shakira video, and bopped his head as he turned to close the door to his office. It was freaking adorable and I wanted to carry him off to bed and work off my anxiety from this nightmare of a day.

I rushed up behind him and put my arms around his waist and kissed his hair.

Anderson let out the loudest, most overly-dramatic girl-in-a-horror-film scream. Even worse, his lips were about four inches from my left ear. I didn’t care though. I needed to hold someone.

“It’s me.” I kissed his neck and held him tightly against me.

“Ezra? You came! You’re alive! The quake! I tried calling you fifty zillion times! I was so worried!” Anderson melted into my arms and pulled his headphones down against his neck.

“I’m fine. It was so crazy. My building got damaged and the streets were crazy. I really need to fuck you.” My mind went from relief to sex in under a minute.

“Everyone’s here! I can’t just throw them out into the street… I mean I could. They aren’t that good of friends. I really missed you. I was so worried,” Anderson laughed. He pushed his ass back against my quickly rising pole.

“Guys. If you need some time, I’ll finish sweeping the glass in the kitchen. I can break more things if you need a lot of time.” Kyle appeared at the end of the hallway with a full glass of wine.

“There’s glass? What happened?” I pried my lips off of Anderson and looked at Kyle with alarm.

“Shit fell. There was an earthquake. Keep up,” Kyle laughed.

“Some things got broken, but the building is very secure. My company designed it. That’s why I bought here. It’s not coming down unless the whole city does. Very safe for my hunky boy. I was so worried for you. I was ready to brave the streets to get to your campus, but I knew you’d come here… I knew you’d come back to me.” Anderson raised a hand above his head and pushed his fingers through my hair.

“You two are gross… but I’m happy for you!” Kyle smiled at us with approval.

“You’re happy for us?” I raised an eyebrow. 

“We made up,” Anderson explained.

We headed back towards the living room, and Anderson started to hook the antenna up to the TV on the wall.

“The cable is out, but this should get us some news so we can see what happened. I’m glad I bought this with the earthquake kit. How did you get in the building?” Anderson asked as he went into nerd mode with the jumble of wires hidden behind the television.

“A guy let me in, older Asian guy from the third floor. He was nice,” I said as I sat on the couch.

“Our security system’s fatal flaw is young alpha jocks. Sometimes we find random ones working out in the gym without a resident pass. Two guys from the old building across the street use our gym regularly. Someone always lets them in, and it has really improved people’s interest in the building gym!” Anderson laughed.

“They just walk right in and do their workouts? I would be too scared of being thrown out!” I had never thought of that.

“They’re eye candy. We even upgraded the weight setup for them. It’s good for resident morale. The building is full of older gay men. They enjoy the show and even flirt a little. The outside guys are well behaved, and understand that their free gym workouts come with a lot of spectators. Of course you sailed right through! You’d fit in perfectly with the gym bros.” Anderson observed.

“That’s hilarious!” I was learning a whole other world here. 

“They don’t always let me in,” Kyle lamented.

“Too much wiggle in your walk. They doubt your topping abilities. You gotta butch it up. Throw some ‘bro’ and ‘dudes’ in your talk.” Anderson was on a roll with the jokes.

“Fair enough. The twink barrier is solid. Twink discrimination is my daily struggle,” Kyle took his joking happily.

“You two sure made up from the other day,” I noted.

“He has a full bottle of wine in him. It neutralizes his acid.” Anderson explained.

“It’s my happy juice.” Kyle shrugged.

“I had a meeting at my office this morning, and then came back to work from home the rest of the day. Kyle came to get his stuff. The quake hit and we started to clean things up when we got into the wine. We had a good talk. Things feel different now. I feel released.” Anderson disappeared behind the screen and started hooking things together until a television channel appeared on the screen.

“He means to say your cock cured him. One injection of Ezra pushed all the me out.” Kyle nodded as if this was the desired result. “We weren’t right for each other. No need to keep hurting one another.”

“We have tv!” Anderson yelled, ignoring Kyle’s comment.

The television showed coverage from a helicopter flying over the financial district. The streets were choked with cars flowing out from the city. Kyle grabbed the remote and turned the volume up.

“The Bay bridge is completely outbound, all lanes heading east into Oakland. The bridge was just replaced with seismic upgrades, right, Pat?” the reporter said.

“That’s right and CHP is continuing the outbound along Highway 80, 580, 24, and 880 to relieve traffic leaving the city. There’s minimal damage in the east bay,” the news anchor replied.

“We’re still seeing heavy backups as folks try to use the Golden Gate, but that will likely be shut down for the remainder of the day. Drivers are being advised to head east or south.” The helicopter started to pan west over the city.

“That’s my school!” I yelled. “That’s the building I was in! My dorm is right behind that.”

“Pacific College is among many of the schools with sustained damage in this morning’s quake. Its campus will be closed at least through the week.” The helicopter reporter kept panning and started talking about other damages.

“A week? I have finals. We made a calendar! What am I going to do? And my clothes?” I asked.

“You will do what everyone else is going to do this week. Take the beat and breathe. You have an extra week to prepare for finals. You have a home here, and we’ll find you some clothes.” Anderson came to sit next to me on the couch.

++*

We sat there for at least an hour watching every clip of destruction and panic. It sucked us in and Kyle finished the bottle of wine. Anderson slid over and I put my arm around him.

“I got it!” Kellan bursts in the door and snapped us out of our haze. “My guy on the third floor charged three times the price, but I got the good stuff!”

“Oh!” Anderson suddenly sat up from under my hold. “Are we still doing that?”

“Yas we are… oh Ezra’s here! I’m sure the farm boy could use some too!” Kellan held up a bag of weed.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Anderson looked at me with apprehension.

“Yes! Please?” I put my hand on his chest and rubbed him.

“Ok, but I rarely do this!” Anderson grinned.

“You still have the good papers you brought from Bangkok?” Kyle asked. He came towards the coffee table where we were sitting and pulled open a drawer then grabbed a metal box.

“It’s in there.” Anderson started to blush.

“Yeah he rarely does this, Ezra. He’s a good boy.” Kyle laughed as he opened the box to show a full stash of papers and rolling supplies.

A face appeared in the doorway behind Kellan.

“Justin!” Kyle yelled. “You found me! You came to save me!” He set the supplies down and went to hug the man.

“Oh yeah I found him in the hall.” Kellan shrugged.

Justin was taller than Kyle, maybe a few inches shorter than me. He had a nice build

on the skinny side, but with big arms that stretched out his tight blue t-shirt. He pulled Kyle into his side and kissed his forehead.

He had a striking face that ranked somewhere between action hero and boy band lead singer. It looked so perfectly sculpted that he almost didn’t look real.

Justin greeted everyone and Kyle introduced him to me. Anderson said he was from Singapore, but his accent sounded slightly British.

We went up to the roof with snacks and drinks. The sun was beginning to set. Kellan rolled out two fully stuffed joints that we passed and shared.

I’ve had pot exactly three times before, all at high school parties back before the world shut down. I did it with friends, but I never really felt like it worked. I’d get two hits and then cough some and laugh along with everyone else.

This stuff Kellan got was completely different. It hit quick and hard. I felt my skin grow warm and start to tingle. My muscles relaxed and I sank back into the outdoor couch and looked up at the sky.

“It’s good, right?” Anderson asked. I slipped my arm around his waist and pulled him into my lap. I nodded and rested my chin on his shoulder while he took a turn.

Three puffs later and I had zero worries.

“Truth or Dare,” Justin announced. I locked eyes with the handsome Singaporean who was pointing at me.

“Truth.” My lips felt heavy like speaking was going to be a chore, but I felt too relaxed to stand up for a dare.

“What’s it like being you? I mean going through life being hot, tall, young, and hung? Do you even appreciate it?” Justin’s words looked scary, but his tone sounded like genuine interest.

“I don’t know, man. You’re tall and handsome yourself. You tell me,” I laughed.

“Yes, but your beauty, young Ezra, did not come from a network of top surgeons across South Asia. You grew from the root, farm boy,” Kellan interjected.

Justin faked shock, but then burst out laughing. I guess that fact was shared knowledge amongst this group. It did explain his perfect features.

“I’m not the hot one in the family. All my older brothers were taller, stronger, more athletic, smarter. I was a few years below them. My parents were out of energy for sports and academic competitions so I just did my own thing… so yeah… Wow that got dark, you guys.” I apologized.

“Your turn now to ask someone else,” Anderson told me. He rested his head against mine.

“Ok then Kyle! Truth or Dare!” I yelled louder than necessary.

“Dare me, bro,” Kyle mumbled. This pot was numbing us all.

“I dare you to finish getting your shit out of Anderson’s closet.” I laughed to show him I was kidding.

“No one likes you,” Kyle replied and threw an Oreo towards me. It landed on Anderson’s shirt and I quickly grabbed it to munch on.

“Ok my turn. I’m asking Anderson. Truth or Dare?” Kyle sat up from Justin’s side.

“Truth?” Anderson replied with uncertainty.

“What’s it like getting fucked by him?” Kyle smirked at me.

“Are you trying to scare him off? I can’t do that.” Anderson blushed and cupped a hand over his lips.

“You picked truth, now tell the truth. Full details or it doesn’t count,” Kyle urged. 

“Please. Go ahead!” I was curious to know how I was doing.

Anderson took a puff and sucked in for a minute.

“It is definitely the best. It’s not just how hung he is either. It’s like his cock has a map of the perfect places to pound, and he just keeps jabbing the right button that gets me to a higher level. It was way past an orgasm. His tip curves up a little and it hits like perfection.Then when he shoots inside me, he pushes all the way in and holds it there. He pounds right on my reset button.” Anderson swooned.

“Your reset button?” Justin asked. I turned over to see him on the edge of his seat with his elbows on his knees.

“It is like a mental wipe. Like my sole focus is this happy moment. It just resets every idea in my head. The next morning, I woke up and fixed three projects my team was working on for the last three months! Everything just clicked and I had this happy buzz that lasted so long… oh and his balls. Ezra has these fat bull nuts that give me a spanking while he’s fucking me… it’s hot.” Anderson held everyone’s complete attention.

“I wake up feeling like the world makes sense. It’s like therapy.” He finished. 

“I need that.” Kellan nodded. 

I pulled him back against my chest. I was rock hard under his ass. I needed to pound him soon.

“Ok you can all quit staring at him before I have to pull out my knife. I’d cut any one of you bitches,” Anderson joked.

I snapped my eyes up and sure enough, all three guys were watching me. Justin gave me a wink. 

“Kellan, truth or dare?” Anderson moved them forward.

“Truth! I always tell the truth,” Kellan nodded firmly.

“Yeah I do know way too much about you… hmm.. Oh! Last August you swore you didn’t fuck that barista at Introvertia Roasters that I had a crush on! Admit you were lying! Right?” Anderson sat up and pointed an accusatory finger at Kellan.

“Fine! And you wouldn’t have liked him anyways, he was a pure bottom. Perfect for me,” Kellan laughed.

“You could have told me that. I wouldn’t have cared if you’d told me that.” Anderson laughed and eased back into my hold.

I’d used his change in position to slide a hand under his ass. I pushed my middle finger between his cheeks and pressed in against his hole.

“I’m last so I get to choose anyone. I choose Ezra. Truth or Dare, farm boy?” Kellan launched a finger in my direction.

“Dare. I’ve said too much,” I laughed.

I rubbed over Anderson’s hole and quiet little moans escaped his lips as he turned to bury his face in mine.

“I dare you to strip down to your boxers, go to the railing, and show the street your ass.” Kellan beamed like he’d worked hard on that Dare.

“All right! Won’t be the first time.” I slid Anderson off of me, and got to my feet. I took off my shirt and started walking across the roof deck. I pushed my pants down and stepped out of them.

“Wait! I’m coming with you so you don’t go over!” Anderson followed behind me.

I got to the railing and looked down on the dimly lit street. There were still cars trying to get out, but they weren’t stopped in traffic.

I’d never seen the city this dark. A lot of the buildings were blacked out with just a few candles or emergency lights in random windows. The street lights went up just a handful of the streets.

“Look up!” Anderson said. I raised my eyes and saw a sky full of stars where there was normally just a light pink glow of night.

“That’s amazing! The city is out of service. Guys! I think San Francisco doesn’t just need my ass. It needs all our ass! C’mon, guys!” I was very high. Anderson pulled me away from the edge. 

“Ok I think it’s Ezra’s bedtime,” Kellan laughed.

“It’s getting there.” Anderson pulled my pants back up and led me back to the couch.

He sat me down and then turned to perch in my lap again. I slipped my hands into the back of his shorts and squeezed his cheeks as I pushed a finger inside him. He squirmed on it, but kept mostly quiet. He turned sideways on me and then put his lips to my neck and bit softly on my skin.

“I guess we better head home,” Kyle said.

“I don’t think we have power. Look!” Justin pointed a few towers over to one with just a handful of small lights in the windows.

“You’ll stay here! I have the guest room!” Anderson said between little gasps as I worked my finger into him.

“Slumber party! I’ll get more wine. A beer for Ezra?” Kellan jumped up excitedly. 

We had nowhere to go and not much to do other than worry and wait for an aftershock. This seemed like the best way to spend our evening.

Chapter 7- I Fit With You

“You’re 33?” I sat up with surprise.

The guys were working their way through another bottle of wine. We’d been up on the roof for most of the evening and Kellan was rolling another joint. I was the only one not drinking, but I was still feeling the pot and cuddled with Anderson on the outdoor couch. We had another small aftershock about 9:30.

“He’ll be 34 in a few more months,” Kellan added.

“You didn’t know that?” Kyle asked with surprise.

“I thought he was like 25 or something. I mean he is mature and has a career and this condo. I guess I didn’t think about it. You look so young though,” I laughed. I gave Anderson’s ass a firm squeeze.

“25? Really? If you’re going to flatter him, make it realistic,” Kyle joked with an icy tone.

“Really though. He looks young. I would never have thought 33,” I defended.

“Yeah I wasn’t going to bring that up to a hot young guy who was into my ass,” Anderson joked. “Does that bother you?”

The way he looked at me, like he was so afraid of rejection, made my heart twist.

“No! I’ll be 20 next month,” I told him.

“I know. I looked in your wallet when you were sleeping. I wasn’t going to have this conversation with you for awhile, but thanks for bringing up my age, Justin!” Anderson shot him a dirty look.

“I just asked where you were planning on going for your 34th birthday! And you didn’t answer my question!” Justin defended as if it was innocent.

“I already booked the new Dynasty room at the Red Tower in Hong Kong. They were booked for a year before even opening,” Anderson said.

“Thirty-four,” I repeated slowly. Words sounded funny to me.

“33! And you were thinking 25 so let’s stick with that,” Anderson bit his lip and looked at me with hope.

“Ok.” I kissed him. “You’ll be 25, and I’ll be 21.” I laughed.

“That makes us four years apart. Perfectly acceptable.” Anderson eased back into my arms.

++*

We headed back down to the living room when the conversation ran out.

The news stations were still flying choppers over the city. The scenes of endless, dark streets were surreal to see. They showed golden gate park which was stuffed with campers sleeping outdoors for the night in case of more damage.

One reporter interviewed people sleeping in their cars, some having had to leave their damaged apartments and others just worried about another quake.

They played a news conference from the Governor promising to send in busses in the morning for evacuees and the national guard with supplies.

“Cell service is still down across much of the Bay Area. Several key transmitters went down just as everyone jumped on their phones today…” one of the news anchors began.

She used a lot of technical language, but basically our wireless world needed a lot of rewiring before our phones were going to work again.

“Where is my phone?” I felt my pocket and realized it was missing.

“I put it on the charge dock in my office. You were down to nothing,” Anderson said.

I didn’t remember giving him my phone.

Kelllan flipped through other stations, but they all had the same sad scenes. I looked over at Anderson and he nodded towards his bedroom. I nodded in agreement.

“We are going to head to bed. There are two guest rooms and both have clean sheets and towels. If you need anything, feel free to poke around, but do not knock on my bedroom. I will not be helpful.” Anderson stood and offered his hand as if he could pull me up.

“Yup, sleep.” I yawned and stood to follow him.

Justin and Kyle rose to go find their guest room of choice. Kellan just kept flipping through the limited channels the antenna received. I guessed he didn’t have an antenna at his place.

++*

“So what was the deal with Kyle? He doesn’t fit with you,” I started when Anderson pushed me into the shower. The hot water was very limited so it was a slightly room temperature waterfall.

“Fit with me how?” Anderson rubbed shower gel over my chest.

“Well you like to… get things put in your butt, and he seems like he likes to get things put in his butt too. Am I right?” I grabbed the shower gel and squeezed some into my hand.

“When we got together he said he was a top. Later he decided he was versatile. Then we tried to take turns with it… then we got a lot of toys… then we brought in some extras. It was a whole production by the end.” Anderson reached to tug at my cock with a soapy grip.

“So Justin is the top there?” I was more interested than I should have been.

“He claims to be mostly top. I’ve heard the opposite, but who knows. I don’t care what they do, as long as they don’t mess up my sheets.” Anderson seemed more interested in playing around than discussing this.

“And Kellan is a top? Then why does he keep flirting with me?” I kept going.

“Kellan likes men. He enjoys whatever happens between him and other men.” Anderson affirmed. He seemed like he didn’t want to talk about this.

“You got me so hard when you talked about how it feels when I fuck you.” I kissed him softly.

“And what about you? How does it feel when you are inside me? When you’re breeding my hole?” Anderson tugged at my cock.

“It’s definitely squishy!” I made slurping sounds with my mouth. “But also very tight. It grips different from how a girl part does.” I noted.

“They’re different shapes.” Anderson raised an eyebrow.

“Right! I knew that. But yours grabs onto my cock. It gives it this crazy massage. It’s intense. It feels like a different kind of sex, better than anything else,” I admitted.

“So it’s better? I’m better?” He smiled at me.

“You are better.” I laughed. He needed the win.

He soaped up my cock then turned in the shower and poked it against his hole.

He had a tight grip on my cock and he pressed against his hole until it started to slide in. Anderson let out a high moan then exhaled as I slid inside him.

“Oh fuck I need this,” he whined. He pressed his chest against the tile shower wall, and arched his back to push that bubble butt out to receive me.

“We’ve been playing all night. I’m not going to last,” I warned him. I’d been hard for hours with him in my lap. Playing with his hole while he talked to his friends had me worked up and ready for him.

He pushed back against my cock until he had most of it. I put my hands on his hips and gripped them as I started to fuck him. He had one arm against the wall to support himself and the other hand reached down to stroke his cock.

“Baby,” I whispered. I bent over his back and kissed the nape of his neck. I rubbed my nose behind his ear and began to breed his hole.

“Fuck, that’s so good.” He whimpered. I started to speed up and pound him. My cock needed to plant my seed in him.

We didn’t last long. I gave a few deep thrusts and his cock started to shoot all over the tile. I put an arm under his chest and lifted him back against me. I pulled his hand away from his cock to watch it throb and shoot as I pounded him.

“That’s fucking hot.” Each time I slid into him it pushed out another thick glob from his cock.

“Uh huh,” he whimpered under my hold. I sped up on him and started to fire off in his hole.

“Take it, baby. Fuck. Take my seed,” I growled into his ear. I pumped him full of my seed.

We finished and I leaned back against the wall and held him on my cock. We recovered our breath together

++*

Tuesday morning I woke up to Anderson sitting next to me. The sun was streaming in through the curtains and I felt completely refreshed. He was dressed in white shorts and a long-sleeved blue shirt. He had his laptop open and balanced in his lap.

“The Internet is working again?” I yawned and rubbed my nose against his elbow.

“No. Everything is going to be down for awhile. My server stores most of my activity with a 24 hour save. I was looking through the projects we have going. My company can’t really afford to be offline like this, but hopefully it’s fixed soon.” Anderson clicked through a few open windows.

“Hey! Woah! That’s me! That’s my pictagram!” I caught a glimpse of an image while he was closing some of the windows.

“Ok don’t get creeped out, but I was looking at your social media yesterday. I got bored in a meeting and stalked you. Nothing serious.” Anderson blushed and reopened the screen that showed my Pictagram account.

“My parents.” I pointed to one picture.

“You look like your dad. Oh who is this girl? That’s your ex?” He poked an accusatory finger at a pic down the screen.

“Yep, that’s her! Those are my three brothers. That’s Aiden… that’s Ethan… and there’s Tenley… and me. I was 12 here. That’s our dog, Kody.” I pointed through the pic.

“They are cute. You have a brother named Tenley?” Anderson was interested in him. He was the funny one. He could charm anyone.

“My mom’s grandmother died when my mom was pregnant with him, so he got her maiden name. I got named after some poet she liked.” I shrugged.

I walked him through my Pictagram showing him the small life I’d had back in Modesto. I showed him when my parents moved me into the dorm here in the city, and then the pictures got scarce. I’d been too busy here to document much.

We put clothes on and went out to find Kellan sprawled out on the couch with a blanket over him. The TV news was on with the volume low.

There was a press conference on the screen with the mayor. The picture flashed between that and scenes of people camping in tents in the city parks. They showed buses taking people out of the city, and traffic with cars loaded down with belongings. People were leaving. There were small aftershocks overnight, but I’d slept through them.

Anderson made breakfast for everyone while I plopped down in a big chair next to Kellan.

“Morning,” he mumbled as he opened one eye. He reached over and put a hand on my knee. “Come cuddle me.”

“I’m not cuddling you,” I laughed.

“You want me to cuddle you? I’ll do it, but you gotta reciprocate.” Kellan raised his head.

“I do not.” I shook my head.

I pushed his hand away, and he pushed his fingers through mine playfully. I pulled back and he sank back against the couch.

“Fine. That was a test. You are good for my friend,” he laughed.

Justin came in next. He was wearing a pair of shorts and no shirt. He had well developed pecs and a nice form. He waved a hand at us, and went to sprawl on the big chair next to mine. He stretched and yawned, keeping his eyes on me until I looked back at him. He quickly lowered his eyes and cleared his throat.

“We don’t have much food. I made muffins,” Anderson announced as he came back into the living room with a bowl stuffed with blueberry muffins. He served me one and then set them on the coffee table.

“The city is still a mess,” Justin said as he reached for a muffin.

“I’m going to head down to San Jose and get a signal so I can touch base with my team. I think I might head down to Cooper’s in LA.” Anderson said. He grabbed a muffin and came to perch in my lap.

“Los Angeles? You’re leaving?” I sat up and pulled him against me.

“You’ll come with me… if you want. Cooper has a big house, and he’s probably expecting me to show up. Our phones will work when we get down to the South Bay. We can touch base with your family. If you don’t want to stay there then I can fly you home to your parents. I can’t just stay here and wait things out. We are closing millions in deals this week.” Anderson settled in against my shoulder and took a bite of his muffin.

“I’m coming too! We’ll take the Rover. It’s great for road trips,” Kellan said.

“We can stop by the outlets and get Ezra some clothes. Road trip!” Anderson smiled.

“We’ll go with you. I should touch base with my businesses too,” Justin said as if he’d been invited.

“Sure. Why not. It’ll be fun.” Anderson laughed.

Chapter 8- LaLaLand

“Maybe something a little more adventurous?” Anderson asked. He held up a pack of boxer briefs made of this white, super thin, see-through material.

“No! I like regular boxers.” I shook my head. 

“I love these teen boy stores.” Kellan scoped out two skater guys who were looking at shoes.

“I don’t really dress like this. I don’t skate or surf… and I like boxers. I need room,” I told them.

For some reason, they all insisted on following me into stores to find new clothes. All of my things were still in my dorm room on the shut down campus. Anderson and his friends were using this as an excuse to give me a makeover.

“You’re going to LA. They dress like this down there. It’s warmer than the Bay. You could use more athletic underwear too… for your workouts and stuff.” Anderson put his hand on my shoulder.

“Ok, but just a few things… and I’ll pay you back. Really guys. I wear jeans, shorts, and shirts from Target. I don’t do fashion. It’s not me.” I explained. The only one paying attention to me though was Anderson. He was concerned about my nuts.

“These red Vans are a must! You will look so cute in these,” Kyle said. He held up a pair of red skater shoes with the gum colored soles.

“Grab them! Size 11, and some socks that will work with them… oh and the white vans too,” Anderson said. He’d ignored my low spending plea. 

“Can you try these on, Ezra? Please, sweetie? You need clothes.” He pushed a clutch of shirts and pants towards me then followed me back towards the changing rooms.

I gave in and spent about 30 minutes playing their model. Their favorite was a tight black tank top with a red flannel shirt and tight jeans. Anderson wouldn’t even let me look when he went to pay for things. He did it when I was putting my regular clothes back on in the changing room. 

We spent a little longer looking at stores for things they wanted, and then got back on the road towards LA.

Our cells started working just past Hollister. Everyone’s phones started to light up like crazy, and Anderson pulled off into a gas station that was stuffed with drivers paused in similar shock with their phones. The world came rushing back and I immediately called my family.

My mom didn’t answer. I looked at my watch and realized she was probably at her book club, code for wine time with her friends. I sent her and dad a text to say I was ok and heading to LA with friends.

My dad called me a few minutes after that. He just wanted to know I was alive and happy. Dad’s the easy one. I could tell him I was running away to Los Angeles with an older guy I was sleeping with, and he would have said, “Oh that’s nice.” Dad was the easy one.

“Does he want to talk to me?” Anderson asked when I was on the phone with my dad. “Here, give me the phone.”

I don’t know why, but I passed him my cell. Anderson immediately charmed him, told him I was being fed and taken care of, the whole spiel. It was way more info than dad wanted, and Anderson even insisted he write down his phone number and information.

“I assure you, he is completely safe, Mr. Ryan. If you can’t get him on the phone, call mine and I promise I’ll get him. The poor kid was so scared. His campus is shut down.” He called my dad by a proper name to show respect.

Everyone always called my dad Eddie. It sounded weird to hear him addressed so formally. I guess he’d seen my last name when he snooped on my license.

“Well he seems very nice. I’m pretty sure he’s gay and definitely he’s into you,” Dad said when I got the phone back. He seemed amused by my situation. “You be careful, kid. Your mama made pretty boys, and we sent you off to San Francisco.” He laughed.

Dad instantly sniffed out Anderson’s intentions. I didn’t tell him we were more than just friends.

“It’s not like that. It’s all good,” I swore. I couldn’t say more because Anderson was smiling at me with expectancy hoping he’d made a good impression on my father.

“Ok, ok. You be careful though. I didn’t raise you to use folks, and he sounds like a caring guy. You’re my good boy. Your brothers are the troubled ones,” Dad reminded me. He was joking about my brothers.

“I’m a good boy,” I promised. “Love you, dad.”

“Love you too, champ.” He hung up.

The traffic was lighter heading down through the Salinas Valley. We stopped in Santa Barbara for a late lunch, and everything felt back to normal. We walked around the seaport to stretch our legs and got tacos near the beach. It was a very perfect day.

Justin drove the rest of the way into LA with Kyle beside him. I laid back with Anderson in the backseat while Kellan tried to get everyone to play a quiz game on his phone. Everyone thought I was a complete dumb ass for not knowing the chemical name for table salt.

I thought Anderson was asleep against my chest while I was scrolling my phone. Using his lack of attention, I checked my bank app to see exactly sixty-three dollars in my checking account. I really couldn’t afford to be out of work for the week, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. My boss hadn’t even tried to contact me, so I guessed things were shut down. 

Anderson started to stir against my chest, so I closed out of my bank app before he could see how little I had. I opened up social media and scrolled while he stretched and yawned.

After sunset. We pulled up to what looked like a 3-car garage on a narrow street high up in the hills. Justin pulled sideways into the narrow, wide driveway and blocked one of the garages. Everyone got their bags out of the back. I took Anderson’s bag along with the two stuffed shopping bags he’d bought me.

I followed the guys through a small doorway that led to a courtyard behind the garages. We crossed to a front door of a single level house. There was a cool, night breeze that chilled us as we stood there.

Cooper Li was a tall man with broad shoulders and a playful smile. He answered the door wearing a pair of workout shorts. He showed a bare chest of muscles glistening with sweat. He had a towel in one hand and wiped down as he greeted everyone.

“This must be Ezra. I’ve heard all about you. I’ve been Anderson’s best friend since college,” Cooper said as he extended his hand to me as he sized me up.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said. I hadn’t heard anything about him, but I’d only known Anderson for a few days.

He gave Kyle an awkward hug, but didn’t say much. He welcomed us inside, and I got to see that the small, one-story home was much larger than it looked.

We walked in to a large living room with an open kitchen and dining area. The entire back wall was glass and opened to a view of the city. Next to the front door there were stairs down. We followed Cooper down to the lower level where there were bedrooms and more stairs leading down.

“The house goes four levels down the hillside. He keeps digging into the hill to add more levels and rooms,” Anderson explained as I carried our bags.

Cooper put us in a spacious bedroom next to his own. It had a private deck just under the top level. This room had a large bed and its own bathroom.

“Anderson always camps out in this room. Everyone else can find their own rooms on the lower levels. The boys put fresh sheets on every bed, but let me know if you need more towels or anything,” Cooper told us.

Kyle and Justin went to find their bedroom, while Kellan flopped down on our bed.

“This bed is huge. Maybe I’ll sleep in here with you guys? You won’t even know I’m here!” Kellan offered.

Anderson said something in Chinese that made Kellan roll his eyes and slide off our bed.

We had dinner with Cooper at the large table on the top deck. He cooked a variety of meat and vegetables on a huge deck grill.

Cooper had two “boys” living with him. They were smaller guys in their early 20’s. He didn’t explain much about why they were there or what relation they were to him. I didn’t know if they were employees or his boyfriends or what.

Their names were Jose and Mario. They looked like they could be related, but definitely weren’t twins. Jose was slightly taller, but both were short, slim, and cute. They didn’t eat with us, but they did serve drinks and the food. Cooper said they had chores.

+++

“You know Ezra looks just like Rory. He even has that same deep, hot guy voice. Remember him?” Cooper asked as we settled in to eat.

“No! Not at all! He is nothing like Rory.” Anderson looked at me with horror.

“Who’s Rory?” Kyle asked. “I never heard about any Rory.”

“No one wants to hear this. It was years ago,” Anderson begged.

Cooper just laughed.

“Rory was Captain of the rowing team when we were at Stanford. He looked just like you. Same green eyes, big muscles, and huge package. Anderson was obsessed. He tutored him in biology just to spend time with him. Rory played around with him,” Cooper began.

“I was not obsessed. I helped him study. We slept together a few times and that was that. Ezra is sweet, nothing like him.” Anderson sighed and reached for my hand.

“Hey you helped me study too! Is that your move?” I joked.

“We showed up at this party at his frat house that Anderson insisted we had been invited to. The place was so packed that we didn’t even need to sneak in,” Cooper laughed. “And there was Rory, sloshed drunk, and trying to get with this girl who was not interested. The girl looked terrified and I helped her get away while Anderson distracted him.”

“She was pretty drunk too.” Anderson bit his lip like he didn’t want to hear what came next.

“So Anderson got Rory up to his bedroom while I helped the girl find her friends to take her home.” Cooper looked at Anderson and waved for him to finish the story.

“I just asked him if he still had the notes I’d lent him. I really did need them back. I wasn’t intending to do stuff. He was the one who whipped it out once we got to his room. I merely helped him get to sleep safely,” Anderson explained.

“That makes sense. Anderson didn’t want to do anything when I was drunk.” I chimed in and got a few raised eyebrows in response.

“I did not take advantage of him! And we ended up hanging out a few more times. He was a decent guy, but his family would have never let him be gay, and his team would have had issues too. We lost touch after a few months. It just wasn’t right for either of us.” Anderson looked sad.

“You aren’t even out to your own family. They thought I was a renter,” Kyle interrupted.

“You’re not out?” I asked with surprise. It’s not that Anderson was a walking rainbow or anything, but he was definitely gay and I didn’t think it was a secret.

“They wouldn’t understand it. It’s just easier to say I’m single, and they don’t press it or ask questions,” Anderson explained. “And why is this all about me anyways? Let’s discuss Cooper’s live in sex boys here. When did you get them?”

“The boys! They do good work. You know I don’t like living alone. They keep the place nice and take care of things. I travel so much for work. It’s ridiculous having this house just sit here empty. They’re good kids,” Cooper defended.

“I thought you were seeing that Lebanese guy? He was so cute,” Anderson asked.

“He got too jealous. I’m not ready for that. Things with the boys are just simple. They’re very much in love with each other. I met them at a white party in Mexico. It’s not safe there for them. Once they get their status here, they can find work and be ready to fly. It’s really a beautiful thing I’m doing,” Cooper laughed.

“And I’m sure they show their gratitude,” Kellan offered.

“We do have fun, but we had plenty of fun before I offered to help them out,” Cooper affirmed.

“Did you guys ever hook up?” Kyle asked as he pointed between Cooper and Anderson.

“No no. You know Anderson only likes white meat,” Cooper laughed.

“I did date a Latino guy once!” Anderson defended.

“He was from Argentina and lighter than Kyle,” Cooper countered.

“So I’m a fetish? I’m just another white dick to you?” I grinned at Anderson.

“Honey, you are every gay boy’s fetish.” Kellan winked at me.

“No! I don’t want you thinking that! You are not a fetish.” Anderson laughed with embarrassment.

“What kind of guys are you attracted to, Ezra?” Cooper asked.

“I like smaller guys. Which is weird because my girlfriend was bigger than him! I definitely like ass though. That goes in the center of my gender likes Venn. My girl always got all weird when I tried to lift her up… but Anderson seems to like it.” I admitted.

“Oh it’s hot. I feel really safe in your arms.” Anderson leaned against me and I put my arm around him.

“I’m not so much into the dick thing… I don’t mind that it’s there, but I don’t have that gay component. But ass is a definite attraction… and there’s no awkwardness asking for it. It’s just assumed it’s going to go there.” I was feeling open with these guys. They had no off-limit topics.

“It’s not just assumed. A guy like you will attract some tops. You just haven’t met enough of us… but yeah you’re going to get a throng of bottoms mostly.” Justin said.

“Ok let’s talk about something else. I’m trying to build something here with this gorgeous guy. I’d appreciate it if you could all stop bringing up embarrassing stories about me and asking Ezra personal questions. You’re going to scare him off.” Anderson had enough.

Just then my phone buzzed. I leaned down to check a text from my brother Tenley.

“That’s your brother,” Anderson said as he touched my screen.

Tenley: mom says you’re in LA sheltering with a group of gay dudes. She has concerns. I do as well. I’m an hour north working on an oil survey. Need me to rescue you?

I pulled the phone away from Anderson’s interested eyes.

I texted back: No. I’m fine. They’re taking me back when my dorm opens.

“Is he coming to rescue you from the gay dudes?” Anderson asked.

“No. He’s just being stupid.” I looked back at my phone. Tenley could be so embarrassing.

Tenley: Gang Bang at the dorms? I always knew that was your thing!

He was joking.

Me: STFU I’m fine.

Tenley: I’m heading back up to Modesto on Friday and mom wants her baby home. I’ll pick you up tomorrow and you can stay with me in the hotel until we head home.

Me: I’m not going there. I’ll call her tomorrow. There’s nothing to worry about. I AM FINE.

Tenley: Maybe… but I should at least check on you and meet your lovers and thank them for rescuing you. I can’t be a shitty brother and let you get sex trafficked.

“Fuck!” I said a little too loud. They dropped their conversation and looked at me.

“Sorry. It’s my brother.” I waved my phone. I knew my brother wouldn’t let this go.

Anderson took the phone and helped himself to my texts.

“He wants to meet us! Oh I’ll meet your brother!” He looked a little too happy.

“I don’t want him coming here. He’ll insist on taking me home.” I explained.

“Don’t go… please.” Anderson used a weak tone that made my heart sink.

“I’m not. Tenley always gets in this protective mode like he thinks I’m getting myself into problems and need his help. They all do that like I need protection.” I didn’t want to get into the problems with my brothers in front of them.

“You’re the youngest. They all know what it’s like to carry you around. I think it’s nice. I’ll text him the address. We will show him you are fine and working on your school studies.” Anderson insisted. His dad mode was out.

He texted back and forth with Tenley, explaining on my phone who he was and giving him his info. This was not going to end well.

“Perfect! We’ll take him to that restaurant the straights love in Century City. We’ll distract him with a shiny girl and send him on his way.” Anderson seemed to think this was all going well.

“He’s an ass. He’s going to say something offensive. He thinks he’s hot and can get away with stuff. I apologize in advance. He means well… mostly.” I shook my head.

“It will be fine. He’ll love us. We’re very adorable!” Kellan assured.

“How cute are we talking about?” Justin asked.

“Let’s see some pics!” Kyle was not the least bit jealous at Justin’s interest in my brother.

“I’ll find him.” Anderson still held my phone. He opened my social media apps and looked for my brother. They passed my phone around oohing and ahhing.

“You guys are the worst. He’s not even that good looking,” I shook my head.

“Don’t get jealous. We’ll still drool over you. Our thirst for him does not detract from our thirst for you,” Kellan said.

This was going to be a train wreck, and I was just a helpless passenger.

Chapter 9 - Hamburger Harriet’s

Thursday morning I woke up to a flurry of texts.

My mom was pissed that I told my brother I wasn’t coming home.

My dad was pissed that I’d upset my mom.

My boss was pissed that I wasn’t at the worksite to install new cabinets in San Bruno.

Everyone hated me today.

I wrote my mom back that I’d come home when I figured out my work and finals  schedule.

I wrote my dad that I’d make sure mom was happy again soon.

I wrote my boss that I’d ended up in LA because I thought everything was shut down and hadn’t heard from him.

I tossed my phone aside and hugged a sleeping Anderson into my side.

“What’s wrong?” He yawned.

“Everyone is mad at me.” I showed him the texts.

“Your boss is nuts. It’s not safe to go back yet. You don’t even have your dorm room. Tell him you’re homeless. I’ll sue his ass if he tries to fire you! That is inexcusable and any jury in San Francisco will give you everything he owns! Let me call this bitch,” Anderson swiped to show his phone number. He was furious.

“You can’t do that. No! I’m an adult. I handle my business.” I took my phone back.

“Ok.” Anderson kissed my chest. “I just don’t want anything to happen to you. You’re so perfect and I just found you. And guys like that need to be put in their place. I’m protective.” He rubbed his hand over my pecs.

My phone started to buzz again.

“He says if I’m not back Saturday for work then I’m off the crew. Maybe I can ride back to Modesto with Tenley tomorrow and then get my dad to take me… I don’t know if my dorm will be open though.” I sighed. I shouldn’t have left town.

“It will not be open. He’s being unreasonable because you’re young and responsible and he thinks he can strong arm you,” Anderson advised.

“I have to work though. I don’t know what to do.” I shook my head.

Anderson felt so good in my arms. He burrowed against my chest, and rubbed a hand down to my cock.

“You can work for me. I have lots of projects I want to get done before I sell my condo, and Kellan has some things too. Oh! Yao needs his bookshelves fixed. He’s a nice guy on the fourth floor. You can be your own boss. We’ll make it work.” Anderson sounded so confident.

“Ok but just until I can get back to normal. I’m not a charity, and I can’t…” I started.

“I know. You’re a big strong man. You’ll stay with me until your dorm is safe. It’s all going to be ok… Mister Sir,” he interrupted. He squeezed my growing erection to emphasize the point.

+++

We spent the day in the house. Anderson spread out his work stuff all over the bed. I tried to log into my courses, but there was just a message from the college saying things would be down until next week.

Cooper had a full gym setup on the lowest level of his house. He had the latest weights and strength training machines. It was a huge step up from the campus gym. We spent a long time comparing lifting routines with Kellan and Justin. Kyle was nowhere around.

Kellan surprised all of us. The dude was a powerhouse. I’d thought of him as Anderson’s goofier, gayer friend, but he could lift with the best of them. His muscles were not just decoration, and his form was solid. He even gave me a few pointers with my arms.

Justin looked stronger, but didn’t do much. He seemed happy just watching us.  It felt good to be back in that setting with friends and weights.

By the time I got back to Anderson in the room, I was a sweaty mess. He was on a call and arguing in Chinese with someone while he typed furiously on his computer. He got off the bed when I came in. He followed me into the bathroom and watched me strip down. He leaned against the counter and his yelling softened into regular conversation as I pushed off my shorts.

“Sorry, that was one of my developers in Beijing.” He clicked off his phone and moved towards me.

“I’m super dirty.” I held up a hand to ward him off.

“I know. It’s perfect.” He grinned. He peeled off his shorts and turned on the water. He grabbed some supplies from his bag and pushed me into the shower.

“That feels really good. We did a hard workout,” I noted when he started to rub this bodywash over my muscles. It was this mint stuff that made my skin tingle.

“I can tell. You’re muscles are tight. You need to stretch more.” Anderson massaged my back and arms. He had a tight grip that dug in at just the right spots. I put my hands against the tiled wall as my body relaxed under his touch.

“You’re really good at that. You take good care of me.” I took a deep breath as he pushed into a tight spot that opened under his fingers.

“I’m good at worshipping my fantasy alpha?” Anderson laughed. It embarrassed me when he talked like that. He regarded me as some kind of tough warrior he was born to serve. It turned me on in ways I wasn’t entirely comfortable with.

“I’m nothing special. Thanks though. You’re very good for my self esteem.” I turned and pulled him in for a kiss.

“You are very special, Ezra Ryan. You’re the kind of guy I usually only get to see in porn. You’re the guy I would definitely pay $19.95 a month to watch. And now I get to have you in person… so yes you are very much special to me and I will take extra good care of you for as long as you let me.” Anderson leaned into me and rubbed his cock against mine.

+++

Tenley showed up at six. He’d gotten lost in the tiny, windy hillside streets. He’d called Anderson to guide him in and show him where to park.

He pulled up in his small work truck, and parked behind Kellan’s big SUV. He hopped out wearing a tight polo tucked into jeans. He’s always been a hulk of a guy and played every sport. I hadn’t seen him in a few months. He looked happy.

“Goober!” He yelled and came to hug me. Even though I was nearly His height and quite heavy, he still insisted on trying to lift me off my feet.

“Dude! No!” I struggled with him. He left for college when I was 11, and to him I was still his kid brother.

“Goober?” Kellan jumped on the nickname.

“Yeah he was a clumsy ass kid. Always entertained us! He was always climbing things, falling off things, always scared the crap out of my mom. General goober activity… I’m Tenley! Thanks for rescuing my baby brother. I hope he didn’t embarrass the family.” He let me go and went towards the guys to offer his hand.

I introduced him to everyone. We went inside and Cooper’s boys brought in drinks. Thankfully they were dressed in jeans and tshirts.

“I could get used to this view! This house is crazy! My boss has a place in the Oakland hills like this. It’s crazy when you can watch the fog roll in.” Tenley was behaving well and enjoying his beer.

“I adore Oakland views! Let me show you around!” Cooper took him on a tour.

“Oh he is perfect!” Kellan whispered when they left. “He’s like Ezra XL! If I marry him, we’ll be in-laws!!”

“I prefer the original, and I don’t think Tenley plays for our team anyways,” Anderson said.

“I think I need to see the entire brother lineup before I decide. I need options,” Kyle added.

“They’re all straight and happily taken.” I popped their balloons.

We left to follow them on their tour of the house. Tenley was pointing out the earthquake beams that criss-crossed the lower rooms.

“This will definitely hold up! That’s solid,” he assured Cooper.

The next room was the one I was staying in with Anderson. I got a twist in my stomach when I saw a pink thong laid out on top of his suitcase.

“Anderson’s in this room with Ezra,” Cooper informed him.

“Just the one bed? You guys are sharing?” Tenley looked at me with a seriousness he rarely showed.

“And a couch! It’s very comfortable! Super nice couch!” I offered with a bit too much desperation. “It’s very comfortable…”

“Uh yeah. The couch is great for sleeping. It’s a special Japanese napping couch,” Cooper realized his slip and tried to cover.

“Right… Japanese!,” Tenley shrugged. I could tell he wasn’t buying it.

“You have to see the gym! It’s got everything!” I tugged on his arm. I felt like a five year old begging for his approval.

“It’s got everything. You have to see it,” Kellan echoed.

“Yep, everything. Let’s go there,” Anderson reiterated.

We all sounded like hostages talking to an innocent outsider who had unwittingly walked into our situation.

We finished the house tour without further incident, and piled into Kellan’s SUV to head to dinner. It felt weird sitting next to Anderson without pulling him in against me. I felt like I’d hurt him with my lie.

“I think you’re going to like this place. My straight friend said it’s a great place to meet ladies. They have beers from around the world.” Cooper beamed. He shared the middle seat with Tenley.

“No no! I already have a lady and beer at home. When I hang out with gay friends, we go to their world! I went to this crazy bar in the Castro last summer and had a blast.” Tenley laughed.

“You went out in the Castro?” I hadn’t heard of that.

“There’s a drag happy hour in WeHo! Muscle boys get free shots if you flirt with Rusty the drag mom! They have decent food too.” Kellan turned the car a sharp left.

“That’s what I’m talking about! Yes. My girlfriend will be proud. To the drag bar, please!” Tenley was enjoying himself.

This was not going to end well. We went down a series of major streets and tiny side roads until Kellan pulled up to a valet in front of a pink building with a patio packed with guys.

I was worried I’d get carded, but Tenley put his arm around my waist like we were together and pushed me into the middle of the group. We got a table right away because Cooper knew the host.

We got a round, high table with 7 stools near the center of the place. I sat between Anderson and Tenley. Kellan was on Tenley’s other side and then Justin and Kyle with Cooper on the other side of Anderson.

Our server had a long, red gown with a wig in the exact same color. I wondered if they had the performers serve the food in between their shows. I didn’t know how this world worked. She introduced herself as Zinnia and took our drink orders.

“This kid way overdid it last night, so if you can make him something fruity and virgin.” Tenley wasn’t going to let me drink. She nodded knowingly and left to get our drinks.

“I saw Pepper LePew here before she got famous!” Kellan bragged when the server had left.

“That’s the one with that viral clip. My girlfriend’s niece is obsessed with the kid remix.” Tenley laughed.

The guys had a round of drinks, and I finished the pink lemonade monstrosity that our server brought me. It had a kebab of pineapple chunks staked on a rainbow flag.

Tenley took selfies of us to post. He was completely comfortable here, and I was the awkward one. Of course he had them all charmed to think he was a nice guy. I was waiting for him to say something obnoxious after a few drinks, but he kept the guys entertained.

Kellan hung all over Tenley. He got all of his social media accounts, and they bonded over favorite camping spots in NorCal.

“I’m going to the restroom,” I told the table and started to slide my stool out.

“I’ll go with you,” Tenley said. He got up to follow me. We made our way through the crowd to the restrooms behind the stage.

“So what’s the deal here? You’re acting all weird and quiet. Are you dating that guy? He’s a little too old for you, but he’s definitely into you,” Tenley asked when we got out of earshot.

“It’s not like that.” I tried to keep walking. He grabbed my arm and pulled me back to face him.

“There’s four of us brothers. It’s statistically impossible for one of us to not be into dick. Aiden and Ethan are definitely not it, and I know it’s not me. I tried it in college. It wasn’t for me.” He waved his hand in the air as if it was not at all shocking.

“You did? What did you do? Do I know the guy?” I had questions.

“Not important. I let a guy go down on me. I wanted to see how it felt. It was fine… 2 stars, but not how it feels with a girl I connect with. Especially Reina. Once I met her, the game was over. I’m happily locked down. All I’m saying is it’s not a big deal if you’re into guys. It’s statistically correct. You’re the gay one. You took one for the team,” Tenley said confidently.

“I don’t know what I am. I don’t know what we are. I’m still figuring things out, but I really click with him,” I admitted.

“And that’s fine. All I’m saying is I’m your big brother, and you don’t need to be weird and lie about that stuff. I’m not going to judge you. I just need to make sure you aren’t getting into anything stupid.” Tenley put his hands on my shoulders and gave a fatherly squeeze.

“I’m not into anything stupid. I just met him last week when I worked on his cabinets, and then he helped me with my finals and then the earthquake shut down my dorms so I was kind of homeless.” I started to ramble.

“The guy looks at you like there was a catastrophic cock shortage and you’re the last one on amazon. You’re a nice kid who doesn’t know how to say no to things. He’ll have you married and raising a kid before you even get time to think. You got in good shape this year. You went from a skinny dope to a ripped dope, but you’re still a dope, and you’re my dope responsibility.” Tenley nudged me towards the restrooms and we went in to line up at the urinals.

“I’m not a dope. I’ve lived on my own this year. I have a job and pay my own way.” I told him.

“These Asian guys with money, they want a white trophy boy to show off to their friends. It’s like an accomplishment or something. Plus you don’t act too gay. That’s bonus points for him.” Tenley looked around to make sure he was only offending me and not others.

“That’s racist.” I did a double check of the restroom to make sure we were alone. His filter was zero.

“It is very racist! I see it all the time, especially down here in LA. It’s a status symbol like a nice car. You are the Ferrari he can show off to his friends who are pulling up in Jaguars and Mercedes. We come from a line of pretty boys. You have to be careful.” He finished and put his junk away then flushed.

“It’s not like that.” I joined him at the sink to wash my hands.

“You’re young, naive, pretty, and muscled. I’m your brother. I have to help you watch out for these things. You just watch. He’ll start buying you things and giving you money to get used to the lifestyle. You’ll feel obligated to go along with whatever he wants. You are not good at saying No. Then he gets your nut and makes a few babies in the lab, and he has you trapped for life.” Tenley sounded so confident that it actually made me think.

“It’s not like that,” I repeated.

“Fine! I did my brotherly duty. Just look out for yourself, and call me when you get into trouble.” Tenley patted my shoulder as we headed back to the table.

Dinner went fine, and he didn’t say anything offensive. Kellan hung all over him and kept insisting he drink more. After the first cocktail, kellan switched over to water since he was driving us.

The show was entertaining until this one drag queen got up. Her name was Rusty Tetas; a large Latina queen. She was the drag mama.   She got up and told some jokes, then told the crowd she was from the Central Valley.

Tenley let out a big whoop that attracted her attention. “Where you from, sweetness?” She called.

“Modesto! 209 in the house!” Tenley yelled back.

“Get your farm boy ass up here. Bring that one too!” She pointed at me.

“No! I’m not going up there!” I protested.

“You are!” Tenley was drunk and his filter was off.

He ripped me off the stool and dragged me towards the stage. I couldn’t fight him since the crowd was eyeing us and cheering.

“Come to mama,” Rusty encouraged. “Scared little queerling! WeHo will eat you up!”

Tenley got us up on the stage. He loved having an audience.

“Hey I’m Tenley and this is my baby brother Ezra! Today is his 21st birthday!” Tenley lied.

Rusty called for some of her drag friends to join her with us. We were soon surrounded by them. I looked to Anderson for help, but he was laughing and cheering with the rest of them.

“Take it off!” Someone yelled. That made the rest of the crowd start requesting we strip. I moved close to Tenley for protection.

“I can see who the shy one is! Maybe we better get him a drink first?” Rusty joked.

“Oh don’t mind him! He just came out to me! He’s here with his boyfriend.” Tenley put his arm around me and gripped the microphone. He was ready for a show.

“Boyfriend is here? Let’s get him up. Where is I

He?“ Rusty looked at the crowd.

“That one right there. He’s banging that little hottie.” Tenley pointed at Anderson who stood with surprise. He started to walk towards the stage.

“And which hottie are you banging, Mr. Modesto?” Rusty asked Tenley.

“Well my girl is at home, but she would love to see this!” Tenley said.

“Oh I’m recording all of this!” Cooper yelled.

“Well you’ll need a partner for this game. Do we have any volunteers to be the hottie he gets to bang?” Rusty asked the audience. About 100 hands shut up.

“Well that one has been groping for my cock all night,” Tenley pointed to Kellan. “Kellan? Will you be my hottie?” He asked like it was a marriage proposal.

“Yes! Fuck yes!” Kellan shrieked as he ran to the stage.

“Then we have a game! Brother against brother! Hottie vs. hottie! Get those shirts off while we set up!” Rusty boomed in a very deep voice as she sashayed her way to the back of the stage.

This was not going to end well!

Chapter 10 - Cream Puffs

To recap: My brother and I, along with Anderson and Kellan, were standing shirtless on the stage of a gay bar in West Hollywood, California 90069, and being held hostage by the chief drag queen named Rusty Tetas. We were going to compete for the audience and my brother was pumped. 

One of the waiters brought up a tray with four shots of something golden.

“Tequila! Yes!” Tenley grabbed two since he wasn’t letting me drink.

Anderson downed the third shot, and Kellan grabbed the fourth one. He waited for Tenley to finish his first two shots, and then put the fourth one to Tenley’s lips. He drank all three then raised the empty glasses to show the crowd.

The crowd was cheering like crazy for him. There were more shouts for him to strip. Rusty wheeled out a cart to one side of the stage and another queen rolled out a twin cart to the other side.

“On this side, we have two giant bowls of cream puffs. On the other side we have empty bowls, one for each team. Your job is to get the cream puffs from one side of the stage to the empty bowl on the other side using only, ONLY your mouths. Player one will bite a puff, carry it, and deliver it to player two’s mouth. Player two will deliver that puff into the bowl. The first team to get 20 puffs into their bowl will win a crotch full of tips from our generous audience!” Rusty explained the rules.

“Let’s do this!” Tenley raised his fists like a champion. He loved any physical competition especially one with an audience involved.

“Oh, and one more thing. You have to suck all the cream out of the puff before it gets into the bowl. That means player two will have to finish whatever cream player one does not. If puffs are not empty, they do not count.” Rusty was hardcore with the rules.

“We got this! My boy loves cream!” Tenley pulled Kellan under his arm and hugged him happily. His chest was puffing out with beast mode energy. Kellan kissed his cheek and snuggled in under his hold.

We got into positions as Rusty directed. Another drag queen played a shotgun sound using her cell phone and a microphone. We were off.

I went for the first puff, but didn’t think to roll it to the cream filling side. I tried to turn it in my mouth which just made me drop it. I cursed and ran back to the bowl.

This time I bit it cream side first and sucked it all out before I got to Anderson. He took the puff to the bowl and dropped it. I looked over to see Kellan delivering the second puff to his bowl while Tenley jumped up and down cheering him on.

“Yeah baby! Suck it for daddy! Get it, boy!” Tenley praised him. The crowd was loving this. Tenley was wasted and living his best life. For all he cared, this was as good as Friday Night Football back in high school. 

I’d like to say the rest of the game went better, but it didn’t. Tenley and Kellan were in beast mode while Anderson and I kept stopping to do silly stuff like lick cream off each other’s chin.

At one point we even dropped a puff and then kissed for a second which earned us adoring noises from the crowd. I think neither of us wanted this win and we definitely didn’t want strangers shoving cash into the front of our pants. We weren’t in it to win it.

I felt so awkward up there, but slowly a feeling of pure happy seeped into me as it hit me that my brother knew I liked someone, and that someone was a boy, and my brother was concerned, but not grossed out. He might be somewhat racist, but he wasn’t homphobic. It was kind of cool having a brother who would happily make an ass of himself at a gay bar just to spend time with me. I didn’t expect that from him. 

I got lost in my happiness and slipped on the cream puff I’d dropped earlier. I landed flat on my ass then scooted over to Anderson who leaned down to take the puff from my mouth.

Anderson and I ended up getting 9 empty cream puffs to our bowl. Tenley and Kellan got 21 because there was still cream in one puff so it got disqualified.

We got handed towels while Tenley and Kellan, chests covered in cream, were marched to the front of the stage and presented to the crowd. Anderson and I moved to watch from the steps.

“You two are so cute together. I just know things will work out.” An older man approached us as we walked off the stage. He handed us each twenty bucks. “I’d love to watch the video of you together!”

“Oh, thank you,” Anderson said and pushed against my side to move me on.

Rusty Tetas came back onto the stage and told the DJ to play. A loud thumping song filled the room.

Tenley and Kellan started to shake it while guys lined up to put cash down the front or back of their pants. My brother worked the crowd into a frenzy with his dancing. Kellan followed along and got his share of tips.

“You guys were so hot up there!” A voice surprised us. We turned to see another guy from the audience. He gave us cash as well.

We had five other people stop us before we made it back to our table. We’d made $124 for our 9 cream puff loss.

Tenley was working it. He had Kellan bent over the stage and directed guys to his “tip jar.”

“This is getting out of hand… we better get him home before they strip him,” Anderson said.

“And Kellan is completely sober! He’s as into this as Tenley,” I noted.

“That’s his natural state when he gets the spotlight. Plus he’s pretty hot for your brother,” Anderson offered.

We made our way over to them where Kellan was backed up against Tenley who was grinding against his butt with both hands cupping his pecs. On top of that, Tenley was sucking on Kellan’s left earlobe. Kellan’s face was plastered with ecstasy.

I had to think of something to say to get him out of there.

“Remember what you said about Asian guys hooking their trophy boys? Looks like you’re it,” I said against his ear. I tried to use his prejudices against him. 

It didn’t disturb him, but it did make him laugh and back away from Kellan.

“We’re just playing. He’s a good sport.” Tenley backed off and smacked Kellan on the ass. A few bills spilled out of his pants.

“We gotta head out. The guys have to work tomorrow and you’re driving home. to Modesto. Reina will be upset if you come home too hungover.” I pulled at his arm.

Tenley pulled me in for a hug and announced to the crowd, “I love my gay baby brother! Look at this beautiful kid!” He grabbed my face by my cheeks and kissed them.

“C’mon bro, let’s bounce please.” I nudged him towards the door.

He reached for Kellan’s hand and we got him out to the valet. Kellan put him in the front passenger seat to avoid nausea.

“I promise when we get him home and to a bed, he will pass out right away. It’s his power plug. Works like magic.” I told everyone.

I sat in the row behind them with Anderson. I helped get his seatbelt on and gave him a lecture about sitting quietly so Kellan could drive us home.

“I know I know! I drive for a living. You would be shocked at the amount of fuckery I see on the roads. You’ve got to be responsible at all times!” Tenley had moved into the nonsense phase of his drunkenness.

“You’re just fine.” Kellan put the car into drive and headed out.

Tenley leaned across the center and put his head on Kellan’s shoulder. He instantly started to doze as Kellan guided us home.

“Did you enjoy the show? Any of the queens pique your interest?” Anderson asked me.

“I’m not into that… I did like it when you wore those stockings that one time. That was pretty hot… but dress and wig and makeup… that’s not a big turn on. I just like how sexy you felt in that gear. You turned on makes me turned on.” I leaned back and pulled him against me.

“I will definitely work with that. I’ll give you a complete tour of my fetish gear so we can see what else you might like,” Anderson pushed in under my arm.

We got Tenley home and I found his travel bag in his truck while Kellan helped get him inside. Kellan volunteered to share his room. I got him into the shower and dug through his bag for something to sleep in while he cleaned himself.

He was too big for the small couch in Kellan’s room, so we put him in the bed.

“I promise I will not take advantage of your brother. It will be hard, but you have my word.” Kellan assured.

“He’s actually very honorable for as much as he talks. Tenley will be fine.” Anderson trusted him.

Tenley fell asleep in a pair of boxers. I pulled the covers over him and he passed out on his side hugging the pillow and mumbling about his girlfriend.

We left them and went to sleep in our room.

+++

Friday morning found most of the guys sitting around the living room nursing hangovers. I hadn’t drank at all so I got coffee and Tylenol for them.

Cooper’s boys were in the kitchen making breakfast. I tried to talk to them, but they only spoke a little English. They were wearing nothing but tiny workout shorts. They were just a few years older than me with thin, tight bodies.

“El coffee… cafe? Coffee?” I really should know more spanish for a guy who grew up in the San Joaquin valley.

“Cafe! Si si!” Jose said. He poured two fresh mugs then pointed me to the creamer and sweeteners.

“Gracias! And Tylenol? Ouch cabeza ouch?” I pointed to my head then made a hurt face. I opened my mouth and pinched two fingers then brought then to my lips.

“Quiere pastilla! Ay si. Tenemos todo cabroncito!” Jose was enjoying my attempts at murdering his language. He went to the pantry and brought back a bottle of Tylenol.

“Muy gracias! Thank you.” I nodded happily. He gave me a tray with the coffees, napkins, pills, and some breakfast pastries they’d made.

I carried it all back to Anderson and pulled him into my lap to cuddle him.

“Morning,” Tenley grunted as he walked back into the living room. He came to sit next to me and didn’t comment on Anderson being in my lap.

Tenley stole one of the coffees off my tray and grabbed for the bottle of pain pills.

“Last night was a blast!” He said after swallowing some pills. The room was completely silent.

“That was nuts. How much money did you make?” I laughed.

“Money for what?” He didn’t remember much.

“We will have to watch the video,” Justin said from the other couch where he was huddled under a blanket with Kyle.

“You feel ok?” I asked.

“Much better after I threw up a ton of cream and brushed my teeth.” Tenley reached for a pastry off the tray.

Kellan came in next. He was limping a little. He hadn’t drank, but he still looked pretty rough.

“Your brother wore me out. Pure alpha.” Kellan slid onto the couch next to Tenley who leaned back and put his arm around Kellan.

“Wait. You guys didn’t do it, did you? You promised you wouldn’t take advantage of him. Right?” I asked. I looked over at Anderson who had an eyebrow raised.

“I tried to fend him off. He’s an alpha. I’m not made of stone.” Kellan glowed.

“I’m a breeder. I see a hole, I gotta fill it. It’s my duty as a man,” Tenley said with a serious tone.

“What the fuck, bro? What is wrong with you two?” I smacked his shoulder.

“It was the best ever. I didn’t know it could be that good. I can’t wait to see what our child looks like. That nut was powerful!” Kellan laid his head on Tenley’s shoulder and rubbed his own stomach like there was a baby growing in it.

“I do quality work.” Tenley agreed.

“I don’t want to hear about this! You two are gross.” I eased Anderson off my lap and stood up to pace towards the window.

“He’s so gullible, isn’t he?! It’s really adorable.” Tenley laughed.

The whole thing was a joke. They were trying to get me angry. I’d fallen for it.

“It’s severely adorable. We should have kept it going. His cheeks are burning,” Kellan said.

“My poor guy.” Anderson reached for me and pulled me back towards the couch.

“Can’t push him too far or he cries. We used to get yelled at for barely teasing him. He’s a sensitive little flower, but he’s got a good heart,” Tenley explained.

“I do not cry! You’re such an asshole,” I laughed and punched his arm.

“If I was going to do a dude, though. Kell would be my top choice. That ass is primo,” Tenley said. 

“It’s yours when you need it,” Kellan agreed. 

Cooper’s boys brought out trays of breakfast burritos and more pastries. They served coffee and fruit to everyone. Cooper came out last, and thanked them in Spanish.

Tenley used the Spanish he’d been learning to talk to them. They seemed impressed by his fumbled attempts, but quickly went back towards the kitchen.

“When are you guys heading back up to the Bay?” Tenley asked after breakfast.

“Hopefully tomorrow. It looks like the city is getting back to normal. My business is dying with this downtime. I was doing the job of three yesterday with all my employees scrambling to get their houses back in order. The aftershocks stopped, so gas service got restored,” Anderson said while scrolling his phone.

“I guess there’s not much chance of me taking Ezra back to his very worried mom?” Tenley looked at me with concern.

“I think I’ll stick around here. I need to see when my college is going to reschedule the finals. Hopefully they just give us all passing grades. I should be smart and use this time to improve my final projects to get my grades up.” I did not want to go home.

“Understood, new love is hard to leave. I’d be the same with Reina. I’ll smooth things over with mom, but you need to at least call her today.” Tenley nodded.

“Reina is really good for you. You seem so happy. She’s turning you into a decent guy I don’t mind being around.” I patted his shoulder.

“She definitely cracks down on me. That’s how you know it’s love. I go along with whatever makes her happy, and she does the same for me. When it’s right, it’s right,” Tenley admitted. She’d definitely softened his edges.

“You’re pretty cool for a straight guy. Most guys wouldn’t be comfortable having a crowd grope them like that,” Kellan joked.

“Yeah Reina would have loved that place. I’ll probably remember it when I watch the video. My dick is a little irritated this morning.” Tenley gave his lap a soft pat.

“They were paying him. Gay for pay makes it A-okay.” Cooper offered.

“I’ll hang with you guys any time. That was the best. I’m glad my baby bro has a group to look out for him.” He reached over and messed up my hair.

“I will make sure he gets home soon to see his parents. Once we get back to San Francisco and check on things, I’ll take him out there to see them.” Anderson kissed my cheek and smoothed my hair back down.

“Oh they will love you! And don’t worry. I’ll prep them for the gay thing. They’ll be surprised, but they won’t care. If he’s happy and not doing drugs, they’ll be good,” Tenley assured.

Tenley finished his coffee and went to get dressed.

He got on the road about 11. Kellan shared the video link with him to watch with his girlfriend. He seemed perfectly proud to show it to her. I’d only met her a few times, but I was happy for him. He’d marry this girl and they’d probably buy a house in my parents’ neighborhood. They’d settle in and raise a bunch of kids.

It wasn’t the right life for me, but I was happy for him.

Chapter 11 - BoyGear

Anderson went to the bedroom and got back to his work. I got dressed and went out for fun with Kellan and Cooper. Justin decided to head back to the Bay with Kyle. We dropped them off at the airport.

Cooper drove us around to see the sights in LA. I hadn’t spent much time there so it was neat to see. It looked so different from San Francisco.

LA is an endless stream of concrete where the Bay Area is more of a series of cities split up by coastlines and rugged hills, connected with bridges and tunnels. Los Angeles is one giant coastal shelf filled with development. It felt endless.

We were just pulling up to the dog park under the Hollywood sign when I got a text.

Anderson: Your college announced finals schedule update is coming next Thursday. I put some cash in your wallet. Have a fun day and let me know if you need anything. I miss you so much. I’m going to finish all this before you get back so we can have a nice night.

I opened my wallet and saw a 20 dollar bill peaking out behind my ID card. I pulled it and saw a corner of another one behind my student ID. There was a third behind my library card, and a fourth behind a punch card from the coffee place on campus. He had stuffed a folded bill in every crevice and pocket of my wallet. Along with the cash I’d made at the drag bar competition, my wallet was feeling full.

I thanked him and folded the bills. I’d put them back in his wallet later.

We walked around the park and took selfies with the sign. I sent some to Anderson, but he was deep in his work. I felt bad for him.

“He has so much to catch up on from being down for a few days. I feel bad for him having to work while we go out,” I noted when we got back into the car.

“He always has things to catch up on. He is always busy. Do you even know what he does for a living?” Kellan looked at me with a laugh.

“I know he built the building you guys live in. So he does construction, I guess?” I hadn’t really thought about it.

“He does construction, development, investments, tech startups. The man never says no to money. He’s Vice President of one company and then owns two others.” Cooper shrugged.

“Why does he do so much?” I wondered.

“It’s how he was raised. Even in college he was interning for one company and tutoring on the side for cash. It’s why his relationships go bad. He gets too busy and just throws cash at his boyfriend until they get spoiled and too demanding, like Kyle.” Cooper was opening up.

“He stuffed a bunch of 20s in my wallet because he couldn’t hang out with us today,” I told them.

“He will shower you with things if you let him. You’re not the spoiled twink he usually attracts. He’s giving you more of his time than I’ve ever seen. And if you break his heart, we have many places to dump your body where it will never be found,” Kellan said.

“It’s shark season too,” Cooper added. He drove onto a freeway and headed towards the ocean.

“I know you’re his friends and need to scare me. But I’m not planning on breaking anything. We’re just figuring things out. It’s still new. I don’t know where it will go. I like him… enough to tell my brother about him,” I offered.

“Your brother figured it out. He knew what he’d walked into. When I got him to bed, he said you looked happy with Anderson.” Kellan put his hands on my shoulders from the seat behind.

“I think my family will be ok with him.” I shrugged.

“Tenley said they will be fine. I wouldn’t mind seeing him again. When he was sleeping, he rolled over and held me all night. Those arms were magic… as good as Anderson says he feels when you hold him.” Kellan sighed happily.

“Thanks for not trying anything on him,” I joked.

“That was for Anderson. But feeling that boy’s club pushing against my ass all night was the hardest fight of my life!” Kellan held a lurid grin on his face.

“Where are we off to next?” I asked Cooper.

“One of my favorite places. Anderson gave you money and you should spend it!” Cooper smiled.

“No. I’ll give it back to him. I don’t want him doing that. I’m not here for money and I don’t need anything,” I protested.

“You will give it back to him by buying him a gift. That’s the only way he’ll accept it back. Plus you’ll get bonus points for not spending it on yourself,” Cooper explained.

“What do I get him?” For some reason his explanation made sense.

“We will find inspiration at BoyGear. He loves their stuff. You can’t go wrong here.” Cooper pulled off into a parking lot on a side street in what looked like an old warehouse district.

He parked in front of the black building with big silver letters across the front that read BoyGear. We got out and headed inside.

“This place has everything a submissive boy could want. The best gift for him is to help him become your fantasy boy. We’ll find something you’d like to see him wear… or use if you’re into toys. The sky’s the limit,” Cooper said as he guided me in.

“Welcome! I’m Benji. What can I help you find?” A younger, skinny guy approached us. His nametag said “Boy Benji (he/him).”

“Thank you, Boy.” Kellan used a gruff daddy voice. “My Alpha stud here is looking for some lingerie for his submissive.”

“Right this way!” Benji led us down a row dedicated to “butt stuffers” (that’s what the sign said), and into a side room that was brightly lit with white gallery walls and big windows overhead.

There were different sections of the room that seemed organized by how much coverage one would want on their bodies. From thongs to full bodysuits, they indeed had it all.

“Everything has a tag with a QR code on it. Do you know how those work?” Benji asked.

“I scan it with my phone, right?” I tried to sound competent.

“Yes. You can use one of our tablets here.” Benji took a tablet from a charging dock. “You just scan the code there and it will bring up videos of models so you can see how they look in action.”

Benji scanned a code on a tiny green thong. A menu appeared on the tablet showing three different guys. I clicked on the model who looked closest to Anderson. It popped up with a video of the guy wearing the thong and then doing stretches and poses to show it off. The video continued and got more explicit.

“Free porn with purchase!” Kellan joked.

I showed Benji a picture of Anderson on my phone.

“So what do you want to see your cute boy in, and how much of him do you want to see?” Benji bit his lip and smiled at me.

“I like seeing all of him. He likes having his dick covered. Maybe some things that cover in front but full access in the back. He has the thickest ass that needs to be seen. It’s perfect. I want something that shows it off,” I told them.

“He’s a lucky boy to have a guy like you so into him,” Benji put his hand on my arm.

“My ass is way better than his. Where’s my Ezra?” Kellan sounded a bit jealous.

Benji guided me over to a rack against the wall. He grabbed a tag and scanned it. He clicked on the model who looked like Anderson and the video opened. The model was on his knees wearing this tiny cock pouch held in place with thin straps that V’ed out across his thighs. The model laid back on the bed and spread his legs to show his hole on full display. The thin straps hit just right to make his ass look full and round.

“That! Yes! So much that! He likes having all the attention in the back.” I nodded happily.

“These will keep his cock out of the way when you’re in him. A true service bottom will like this.” Benji pulled out color choices.

I chose two pairs in colors that Benji referred to as powder blue and mint green. He would definitely like them. Benji suggested tights with the back cut out. I got two pairs in white.

“I will wrap these up for you. I’m sure he will love them. You are a walking thirst trap, and he’ll feel more confident wearing your fantasy. Feel free to keep browsing.” Benji handed me the tablet and took the items to the front.

“That should use up all the cash.” I turned to Cooper and passed him the tablet.

The two of them picked some similar items for themselves, and then we spent a while looking through the fetish gear. I wasn’t ready to get into that stuff with Anderson just yet.

+++

We got home as the sun was beginning to set. I found Anderson still on the bed typing furiously on his phone while he talked to someone using his EarPods.

He smiled at me and kept talking as I set the bag with my purchases on the bed. I looked in the bag and saw Benji had gift-wrapped everything beautifully in a black box with a silver bow.

On top, he’d added a free book. It was blue and hardcover with the title, “The Top They All Beg For.” I picked it up and started to leaf through it while Anderson wrapped up his phone call.

The book was written by John and Jack Masters, a couple with years of experience making porn. I’d never heard of them. The book was very explicit and had pictures of the two of them for demonstration.

I settled into the bed next to Anderson and opened the chapter called, “Learning a Bottom’s Needs.” It talked about all the prep work a bottom goes through and how to help and support them.

There was a section on different ways to please him using my tongue in his hole. I’d never tried that. I showed the picture to Anderson who did a double take. He ripped the book out of my hands and told his caller he’d have to call him tomorrow.

“What is this? Where did they take you?” Anderson laughed as he looked over the book. “You bought a book to learn me?”

“Uhh yeah… you know I want to figure out how to make this better for you,” I lied as if I’d chosen the book. It was more thoughtful than saying I’d bought him trashy underwear and Benji tossed it in for free.

“You are the sweetest boy on earth! Oh, Ezra! You know you really are a dream. And you don’t need a book. Your natural instincts are perfect. I don’t want you spoiled by the gay world. I like watching you figure things out. It’s so cute. Everything feels so new with you.” Anderson kissed me and moved his work to lie against my chest.

“What about this tongue stuff? Are you into that? Is it safe? It feels good?” I showed him the section I was looking at.

“It’s safe and I’d make sure it is very clean for you… it feels very good. Maybe someday we will try it, but I like what we are doing now… you don’t need to rush. Is this all you bought? It’s a big bag for just a book.” Anderson sat up and leaned to grab the bag.

“I got some things for you. You gave me a lot of cash. You don’t need to give me money.” I pulled the bag from him. “That’s for later.”

“You didn’t get anything for yourself? That was fun money for your fun, not mine. I wanted you to go and have fun with the guys without worrying.” He looked at me like I’d just scored a ton of bonus points. Cooper was right.

“I don’t need anything. You just bought me a ton of clothes too. The guys told me you wouldn’t take the cash back so it would be better to use it on a gift you couldn’t refuse. Seeing you wearing your present is all the gift I need.” I kissed his forehead and hugged him to my chest.

“You picked out something trashy for me? Sometimes it feels like there is no way you can be real.” Anderson rubbed his cheek against my chest.

“I like taking care of you. You’ve been chained to your work all day. You didn’t get to have fun with us.” I kissed his hair.

There was a knock at the bedroom door. Anderson yelled for him to enter. It was Cooper.

“Kellan and I are taking the boys for a fun night out. They left a nice dinner in the kitchen for you two. There’s a full wine closet. Drink any bottle you can reach… not the ones Ezra can reach! Those are expensive. We’ll be back in 4 hours so go nuts. There’s lube samples in that right bedside drawer.” Cooper winked and closed the door.

“I think your friends want us to do it,” I pointed out the obvious.

“They’re never wrong.” Anderson sat up and moved to straddle my lap. “I’ve been thinking about you all day. I really need it.”

I pulled my knees up so he could lean back against them as he straddled my abs. I put my hands on his hips and brought him down to grind against my lap.

“Wait, your gifts! I want to see your reaction.” I tried to slide him off of me, but his thighs clamped down in resistance.

“I got it.” He reached behind and grabbed the bag.

He pulled out the wrapped package and set it on my chest to open it. “Oh it’s beautiful.”

Anderson unwrapped the package and started to pull out the things I’d gotten him. Benji had wrapped each item individually inside the box.

“The guys helped me pick them out. I think you’ll look way better than the guy modeling them. His ass wasn’t s as full as yours.” I rubbed my hands up Anderson’s shirt. His body shivered at my touch.

“The sales guy modeled these? He showed you his body in these? Damn, you white muscle boys get full service!” Anderson looked at me with growing jealousy.

“No, no! He was clothed. There have videos for each product. You just scan the tag’s QR code, see? It brings up videos to see the gear in action.” I used my phone to scan it and it brought up the hot Asian model that made me choose them.

“Oh he’s very nice. These are beautiful… you want me to dance like that for you? He has a nice hole… do you like it?” Anderson bit his lip in search of affirmation.

“Yours is way better. You have those bubble cheeks that I can grab and that hole is so smooth. It fits me perfectly… but a nice dance wouldn’t hurt.” I leaned up to kiss him.

“I’ll dance for you… I’ll do anything for you.” Anderson was getting serious.

I put my hands on his ass and squeezed his cheeks. “You really like them? I asked for something to keep your dick covered like you want.”

“I love them. I like the color. I usually go red or black. I’ll wear anything that gets you hard… sir. Your fantasy is my command.” Anderson leaned down to kiss me. He put on that voice that invited me to dominate him.

“You like being a submissive? That’s what your friends said… that you like being dominated.” I told him what they’d told me in the store.

“Sometimes it’s nice to get a guy who can pull my hair and make me his bitch. But it’s even better when he can hold me after and let me sleep on his chest.”  Anderson pushed against my chest. His touch always made me feel stronger.

“You want to be my bitch?” I chuckled.

“It’s always been my fantasy… but with you it’s a whole other level. You pick me up, throw me on the bed, and fuck me so good. If you want to be a little rougher, I wouldn’t complain. I know we are all supposed to want equality and that’s great, but not in bed… not with you, sir.” He looked at me with serious eyes then lowered his gaze and bit his lip.

“Your past guys didn’t do that? They were more like Kyle?” I asked.

“I’ve found some pieces, but never enough to put the puzzle together like you do. You’re my fantasy, sir. Use me for your pleasure.” Anderson put his hands on my pecs to support himself. 

“I can do that.” I raised up and bit at the neckline of his shirt. I growled and shook him.

We wrestled around for a minute until I rolled and pinned him down. I laid on him, supported by my elbows, and put my nose to his.

“I am yours, sir. Tell me what you want. My body is yours,” Anderson whispered.

“Put on your present, the blue one. Get ready. I’ll get us water.” I eased off him, kissed his lips, and left to give him privacy. I was rock hard and ready to breed him.

Chapter 12 - My Boy

“Woah!” I opened the bedroom door holding two bottles of water. I only dropped one of them.

The overhead lights were off, and his almond-toned frame was backlit by a small lamp on the bedside table.

Anderson was kneeling on the bed with his back to me. His back was arched and his head hung, looking down at the bedspread. His hands were clasped behind his back as if he’d been arrested for something.

His knees, pushing into the mattress, were spread wide so his ass was just a few inches off the bed with his cheeks spread wide. The baby blue straps of the gear I’d got him criss-crossed his cheeks and pushed them up in a tight flex. His hole winked at me.

To the right of his feet was a small pile of lube samples, my choice, on top of a neatly folded small towel.

He stayed silent; frozen in submission and awaiting my touch. I collected the dropped bottle then set both of them on a bookshelf near the door. The room was dead silence, almost quiet enough to hear him breathe as I closed in on him.

I slipped off my shirt, and put one knee on the bed behind him. I leaned in until my lips brushed the back of his neck. He shivered, but kept silent and held his pose.

“You look so beautiful,” I admitted. He turned his face to the side just enough to watch his lips turn up into a smile. He didn’t respond. I hadn’t asked him to.

These are the things that make me want him; make my body crave him. He makes me feel like a man, a warrior, a god.

I reached around and put a hand right between his hard pecs. I pulled his back against my chest and kissed the side of his neck. I kissed up to his cheek. My cock was rock hard in my shorts and I pressed it in between his ass cheeks and wrapped my other arm around him. He let out a little, helpless moan as his body melted into my hold.

“You smell so good… What do you want, boy?” I used a low growl against his ear.

“I want to be yours, sir. I want to please you.” My boy whimpered, his body begging for approval.

I rubbed a hand up his chest, over his face, and pushed my fingers into his hair. I gripped it and turned his face to mine. I kissed him deeply, pushing my tongue past his lips. He tasted minty fresh.

I kept one hand gripping his hair and used the other to free my cock. I slid my shorts and boxers down then stepped out of them. I needed to be inside him.

I put the tip to his hole and rubbed it around. I teased him, slid my cock between his cheeks and bared my teeth against the back of his neck.

“Please fuck me, sir. I need it. Please,” Anderson had this needy whimper in his voice.

I reached for the lube packets and used my teeth to open one. I squeezed a thick trail down my shaft and pumped it. Having him beg for me had me rock hard and throbbing.

“Are you ready for me, boy?” I growled. I probably sounded ridiculous, but it felt natural when he was begging like this.

“Please, sir. Fuck your boy. Own that hole, please. It’s yours,” He whined.

I stopped teasing his hole and reached down to grab my boxers from the floor. I put them to his face. He took a deep hit of my scent and whined happily. I used the distraction to push the tip through his hole.

“Ahh!” He pulled back from the boxers as I shoved into him.

“Too much?” I broke my master voice to check on him.

“Fucking perfect. Thank you, sir.” He leaned forward and grabbed the boxers from me with his teeth.

I slid in deeper. I could hear the pain in his voice. He begged for more, but I held back to let him get used to me.

“Bang your boy, please.” Anderson started to push back on my cock, trying to stuff himself with my thick pole.

“Easy, boy. Slow down,” I warned him. He kept pushing though, until I was about three-quarters inside him. His hole was tight and gripped my shaft in a perfect hold. He started to squeeze it with his ass, sending ripples of pleasure through me.

He relaxed, turned his eyes to look back at me, and nodded. His eyes looked doped and his lips formed a solid O shape. I watched his chest rise and fall as he breathed to calm himself.

“I needed this. Feels so good,” he whimpered.

I started to fuck him. I put my hands on his ass, slid my fingers between the straps of the jock I’d picked for him. I pulled at the straps like handles and pumped his hole with my cock.

“My boy… Fuck, you feel so good.” I pushed in deeper. His body sucked me in greedily. He buried his face in the comforter and let out these crazy whining noises when I began to slide in and out of him.

I started to pound him. I put my knees up on the bed so I was bent over him with my ass in the air and my cock buried deep inside him. I pistoned his hole and slid my arms under his chest to pull him back against me. I bit on his ear, kissed his neck, and licked his cheek.

His body pulsed and writhed under my hold. He whined and bucked as I drilled him deeply. He mumbled some words I couldn’t understand.

We rocked back and forth as I held him and piston-fucked his hole. His body responded so easily to my cock. I laid my chest against his back as I bred his hole. I pushed him down against the bed and drilled him. His body couldn’t hold still. He thrashed and shivered under me, begging for my cock.

“I’m close. Where do you want it?” I gasped for air. My cock was right on the edge and he needed to decide soon.

“Fill my hole. Don’t stop. Please, sir.” His ass pushed back against me, impaling himself on my pole. I shoved in deeper and hit a spot that made him go insane. I pumped that spot a few times and he yelled out a string of obscenities and appreciative remarks for my skills.

His thrashing gripped and massaged my cock just right. It pushed me to the edge and I started to fire off inside him.

“Fuck. Take it. Oh fuck,” I buried my cock inside him and filled him with my nut. I gave a few more thrusts and then collapsed onto him. I kept my cock buried, letting my seed work its way up into him. I rolled onto my side and held him, kept him impaled on me.

I spooned him until our breathing calmed and sleepiness took over. We nodded off, exhausted and sticky.

+++

We woke some time later to a knock on the bedroom door.

“Yee?” Anderson called sleepily.

“You guys didn’t eat the dinner. Everything ok?” Kellan’s voice called. He started to open the door. I pulled the covers over us before his head poked in the doorway.

Anderson said something in Chinese that made Kellan nod and back away. We got up from the bed and headed towards the bathroom.

“Woah, you came!” I laughed. The pretty blue jock I’d gotten him was soaked with his seed. There were splotches of white dried on his stomach, and he’d left a big spot of it on the covers.

“I came two or three times. That was fucking incredible. I really needed that.” Anderson followed me into the shower. He peeled off the sticky jock while I turned on the shower.

We soaped each other up and then put some clothes on to go eat. We found the guys in the kitchen opening a bottle of wine.

“We, um… fell asleep.” I put my arm around Anderson and guided him towards the kitchen island. The boys brought us bowls of vegetables with chicken.

Kellan and Cooper filled us in on their night out. It was nearly midnight. They’d gone to dinner and a club in West Hollywood. It sounded like fun, but there was nowhere else I’d rather have spent the night.

+++

“You like chips? What kind of chips do you want? Pick out whatever food you eat.” Anderson passed me his phone when we were about an hour from San Francisco. I scrolled through his grocery app and picked some healthy avocado chips.

“Anything else you want? If I order now, it should be waiting at my door when we get home. I mostly get healthy stuff, proteins and veggies.” Anderson added oat milk and chicken to his order, then offered me his phone for anything else. I added one pack of oreos.

We’d left that morning. We took the faster, less scenic route back north to see how the city was doing. Services were back, but there was a sea of construction tape and clean up workers on every block as we made our way through the congested streets.

There was a landscaping crew working on the trees near the garage entrance to their building. Kellan gave them adoring nods while we waited for the gate to open.

I helped Anderson put the groceries away. The delivery was waiting at his door when we got there. I lugged in the heavy stuff and he loaded up the washer with the clothes from our trip.

I tried to see if there was an update on the campus, but things were still shut down. I couldn’t work on my school stuff or even access my student account. Everything was down.

“It’s going to take time. Every part of the city has some damage. You just have a few days to chill.” Anderson pulled out his laptop and went to his office.

“The gym here is open? I can do a workout!” That would make me feel better. I’m not good at sitting around chilling.

Anderson said it was open. I put on some of the new workout clothes he’d gotten me and took the access card for the gym. Anderson got me a workout towel as I headed out.

I found the gym on the third floor. It was a large, glass room that opened to the pool deck. The floor was covered in a rubbery foam, and it had all the equipment I could want.

I walked in and saw there were three guys on cardio machines and two others by the weights. A large, muscled guy was running on a treadmill and two older guys were using the ellipses. Everyone turned to look as I swiped the keycard and entered. I guessed they were used to a regular crowd. Most people go to the gym at the same time each day.

I went to warm up on the treadmill in the corner near the two older guys on the ellipses. They both pretended not to be checking me out as I worked up a sweat. I’d borrowed earbuds from Anderson, so I put my music on and got to running. I did a ten minute run and got just over a mile.

I found some disinfecting wipes by the water machine and used them to wipe down the treadmill when I’d finished.

“Thank you! People usually sweat all over it and then move on,” one of the older guys said to me. He looked about Anderson’s age, and was a little shorter and very thin.

“Oh yeah, that’s gross.” I nodded and moved away from him towards the weights.

I got the free weights and went to the corner to start my routine. Everyone was kind of in their own world, but I kept catching eyes on me. The mirrored walls helped them be stealthy, but every time I’d meet a pair of eyes they quickly darted elsewhere.

A new guy came in. He was around my age, a taller, Korean guy with thick arms and a shredded waist that his muscle shirt clung to. He bypassed the cardio and came right over to where I was.

He gave me a head nod then squatted down a few feet from me and began to stretch his muscled thighs. His ass stretched the limits of his small fleece shorts every time he went down. I tried to focus on my lifting and turned towards the open windows towards the pool.

“Hey, bro. Can I get that twenty?” He appeared in front of me and waved his hand to get my attention. I’d been into my music and ignoring him.

“Oh! Yeah. I’m finished with it.” I moved aside so he could get one of the weights I’d brought for my routine.

“Are you new in the building?” He bent over right in front of me, pushing that bubble butt towards me as he grabbed the weight. The waistband of his shorts slid down to show a thin, red strap around his waist with bare skin below it like a jockstrap.

“Just staying for a few days. My dorm got shut down.” I stepped back as he rose back up and smiled at me.

“Nice. Who’s your friend here?” He stretched his arms up and twisted his waist as he lifted the weights.

“Anderson… up on the top floor.” I set the weights down and started on my stretching.

“He is so nice! Of course he would take in earthquake refugees. Was your place damaged much?” He asked.

“I think so. The whole campus shut down. All of my stuff is there.” I explained.

“I’m sure Anderson is taking good care of you… Name’s Jerin… Jerin Park. I’m on the 2nd floor. 203 if you need anything.” He had a handsome face with wide, brown eyes.

“I’m Ezra.” I put my hand on my chest to emphasize I meant me.

Jerin started following my routine. He kept finding ways to show off the better parts of his body for me. I tried to keep it friendly. It was nice having someone to work out with, but the guy was a little too forward. He touched my arms and chest when I flexed.

“Well that’s about it.” I set the weights back on the rack and gave him a wave.

“Wait, you, umm… you have to do a cool down. Want to walk? I can give you a tour of the complex!” Jerin put his hand on my shoulder. He was desperate to keep this going.

I thought about Anderson digging into his work upstairs. I could hang with Jerin for awhile. “Sure.”

He walked me out around the pool and pointed out the special closet with clean towels and supplies. They had a community box with sunblock, a first-aid kit, and pool toys. It had a bin to drop in used towels. He explained that the maintenance team cleaned it daily.

“This is where we get together for parties or dinners. They’re usually public, but if there’s a sign up then it’s private. You can always get coffee here or water from the fridge.” He showed me a big gathering room next to the gym that had a kitchen and cafe tables.

We took the stairs down to the second floor where they had a community business center with a printer, fax, and other office junk.

“My unit is here. Do you want to come in for a minute? Get a bottle of water? You look thirsty.” Jerin swiped his key over the handle and opened his door.

“Sure, but I should head back up soon.” I looked at my phone, but Anderson hadn’t texted me.

“I got this new post-workout powder. A friend back home sent it to me. It’s supposed to help your muscles heal better. It’s got Precklin and Goshen Reckweed. It really works. Sit here.” Jerin pulled out a barstool at his kitchen island for me.

His place was much smaller than Anderson’s, but just as extravagantly decorated. He pulled out a blender bottle and grabbed powders and oat milk.

“It’s so crazy, isn’t it? Everything in the city has some damage, but this building is just like life is normal.” I started to tell him about our last few days down in LA.

“So you guys went together? Things are more than just staying with a friend?” Jerin smiled as he mixed up our shakes. He wiggled his ass when he shook it up.

“Well yeah, I guess. We’re figuring things out.” I realized I should have been more upfront and maybe Jerin wouldn’t be all over me. I didn’t exactly mind his attention though. I felt a little shot of guilt at that.

“You don’t think he’s a little old for you? I mean you’re a very hot guy. You could have your pick.” Jerin poured our shakes over ice and handed me one.

“I did have my pick. I picked him.” I sipped the shake. It was a weird flavor I couldn’t identify, but slightly fruity.

“Oh yeah, I didn’t mean to sound rude, but like… you’re super hot. You don’t need to pick just one,” Jerin laughed. He leaned over the counter towards me and sipped his drink. He had a nice, tight chest that stretched his shirt.

“This stuff is really tasty.” I changed the topic. I needed to cool off the tension building between us.

“It is! Anytime you want some, just let me know. If things get weird up there, you can always knock on my door.” Jerin moved over to stand next to me. He turned to face me and leaned against the counter.

“Thanks. I should head back up. It’s dinner time.” I needed to get out of there before things got crazier.

“A man needs to eat.” He put his hand on my arm. “Let’s workout again. Shoot me a text when you’re going? I’d love to try your full schedule.” He moved to a kitchen drawer and pulled out a business card then put it in front of me.

Jerin Park was a tech guy for Blowfish. I had no idea what that company did. He pointed to his cell number on his card. He moved in close to my side and rubbed his shoulder against my chest.

“Sure, uh… thanks for the drink.” I slipped his card in my pocket and hopped off the barstool. He followed me to his door and let me out.

I headed back up to Anderson’s. The run up three flights of stairs settled my body. I found him in the kitchen making salmon and rice.

“You had a good workout?” He was standing over the stovetop wearing a tank top and workout shorts. “I finished my work. We can have dinner upstairs if you want.”

“I um…” I pulled out Jerin’s card and set it on the counter next to him. “Guys here are very forward. I didn’t anything.”

He looked at it and laughed. “Yeah that’s the danger of sending you off by yourself. I should have warned you. That gym is a shark tank and you’re prime meat.”

“You’re not upset? I didn’t do anything with him, but he was all over me.” He seemed amused by my situation.

“I’m dating a hot muscle-guy and everyone’s jealous. These queens would knife their own brother for good dick. Next time I’ll go with you to fend them off. I’ll bring a big stick to smack them. I’m not scared of a little competition… Fuck, your sweat smells incredible.” Anderson turned and pushed into my chest. I hugged him.

Chapter 13 - Opening Us

“Your classes! Look, Ezra!” Anderson put his phone in front of me where there was a link to the reopening announcement for my school.

We were sitting at his kitchen island eating breakfast. I’d gotten lost in a dumb game on my phone while he was answering work emails and scrolling tweets.

I scrolled through the long notice. The campus was still closed. Everything was going to be online and teachers were working out schedules with students. It advised everyone to check their student access accounts for course details.

The class where I’d been when the earthquake hit had an option to take your grade as-is or work through a final review sheet.

“We can work through it together. That’s an easy A. You gotta do it,” Anderson said. I realized he was reading over my shoulder. He put his chin against my shoulder and rubbed thoughtfully. I reached over and rubbed his hair.

“This other one moved online. Friday morning. Two other classes are just doing review sheet finals for bonus points.” I checked my courses.

Anderson decided we should make another calendar to lay out everything we needed to do… everything I needed to do. He mapped out the projects and study sessions while I finished eating my protein pancakes. He made lists and reminders to keep me on track with things. He was crazy good at organizing information.

I took my plate over to the sink when my phone buzzed. It was a notification from my bank of a large deposit. I swiped it open to see they’d added $2,000 to my account.

“That can’t be right.” I took it over and showed Anderson. “Should I call them? That’s a big error. If I keep it… they’ll send me to jail.”

“No, that’s your pay for fixing things. I deposited it this morning,” he told me.

“I haven’t fixed anything… and how did you even do that? You got into my account?” I was confused.

“Your bank uses CashSwipe. It’s an app to send money back and forth between friends. It was easy to find you since you have your picture and full name. That’s not safe.” Anderson stood and put his hand on my back as he looked at my phone screen.

“You can’t just give me money for nothing. Take it back.” I handed him my phone.

“I saw how low your balance was. You check it compulsively.” Anderson shrugged like he felt bad for me.

“Yeah but that’s my problem, not yours, Anderson!” I was getting heated.

“Ezra… I want you focused on your finals this week. Next week you can get started on my projects here. You can’t do it all, Ezra. I know you have bills coming and I don’t want you stressed. Leave it there if you don’t want it. It’s not even that much money. It was a little bonus check I got for closing a project. Next week you can work it off.” Anderson lifted my arm and put his head against my chest.

I thought about what Tenley had said about being careful with Anderson and not letting him “buy” me. He’d said Anderson would get me used to his lifestyle and slowly take over. Was that what was happening here?

“Dude, no. I’m already living in your house, wearing clothes and eating food you bought, and now you’re putting money in my wallet and my account. You can’t just buy me like that.” I stepped back from him and leaned against the counter.

“Buy you? You think I’m trying to buy you? I’m trying to help a hot guy through a tough time. Your dorm is closed, your boss is being a dick, and your finals are this week. Maybe I go too far. I care about you. I want you happy. Please don’t be upset. I just really like you.” Anderson crossed his arms and looked at me with concern.

“I know… You’re an amazingly generous guy… But that’s a lot of money, especially for doing no work. Take it back… please.” I pushed my phone towards him. I realized he was just being a caring and generous guy. He wasn’t trying to buy me.

“It’s nothing. I can spend that on a night out with friends. You make me so happy being here… You have so much going on, and I want to help you have fewer worries. Money isn’t an issue for me. It’s really nothing! It’s something I can do to help out, like I help with organizing your schedule.You weren’t offended by that. Organizing things for you means a lot more to me than a little fun cash in your bank. Let me take care of you until finals are over, then I’ll work you like a dog to make up for it.” Anderson smiled and kissed my cheek. He pushed my phone back towards me.

“I’m not here for gifts and money and whatever… I like you. I like what’s going on here. This works for me.” I pointed between us to indicate the relationship. “But for me, that’s more than I make in a month. It is a very big deal. I don’t need a sugar daddy.”

“The correct term is Sugar Bottom… but ok. I got it. I’ll chill with the stuff giving… unless I think it’s something that will look cute on you. I do get to dress my straight boy. That’s half the fun of having one,” Anderson assured.

+++

We spent the day in his condo with me working on my final reviews and Anderson checking in on me between business calls and emails. He would quickly look over my work, make a few changes, and then dart back to his office. I took one long break when my mom called, but I got through a ton of work.

“It’s almost 5 PM. I’m gonna head down to the gym. I’ve been sitting too long. I need to move.” I poked my head in Anderson’s office. He was typing furiously and humming along to some pop music that wasn’t in English.

“I’ll go with you! Jerin might be lurking in wait for you to come back. I want to be there so I can fuck with him if he flirts.” Anderson closed out of his programs and followed me to the bedroom.

Anderson put on a pink jockstrap, and I grabbed a new pair of athletic boxer briefs with a camouflage print. He must have ordered more clothes for me, because I found new things in the little section of his closet where he put my stuff. We put on matching long-sleeved white muscle shirts and red workout shorts. We looked like a twin couple, though very different sizes and ethnicities. It was his way of saying we belonged together.

The gym was packed with the after work crowd. It was almost all men in this gym except for two ladies on the ellipse machines. Of the guys, it was about 80% older guys with an assortment of younger, muscled guys. I grabbed two jump ropes and we went out on the pool deck to do our warmup.

Almost everyone in the gym knew Anderson. People kept stopping to talk to him and look me over. I got introduced to everyone. It was the opposite of a productive workout.

“Are you his new trainer? Can I get your info? You’re really ripped, man.” One older guy asked.

“No. He’s staying with me until his dorm reopens.” Anderson explained.

“That’s so nice! You adopted a student! I should adopt a student. I have two extra bedrooms. Do any of your dorm mates need a place to stay?” The guy looked me up and down then licked his lip unconsciously.

“Your friend Rachel was looking, right? Did she find a place?” Anderson asked me with a wink. I had no friend named Rachel.

“A girl? Oh… well I’m not really set up for females.” The guy tried to retract his offer as if females required a home remodel.

“You are so generous! She’d really appreciate it. She’s having a hard time finding a place with her three cats. That’s really sweet of you to open your home!” I played along with Anderson.

“I’m very allergic to animals… I gotta head out. Good seeing you.” The man quickly disappeared. We waited for him to cross the doorway before we exploded in laughter.

“Guys are nuts here! So forward.” I shook my head.

“I did warn you. They go crazy for a muscle boy.” Anderson rubbed my back.

We moved inside and started with the weights. We stretched out and got into our routines.

Every three minutes we got interrupted by another friend. It was throwing off my routine and I wished I’d come by myself with my earbuds to drown everyone out.

“Hey! Oh, Ezra! You remember Marcus?” Anderson tapped my shoulder.

Marcus was the tallest of the guys I met the first night I was here. He had broad shoulders and a deeper voice than the others with fresh cut black hair gelled in a swoop over large, dark eyes. He was in good shape with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Anderson’s friends took good care of their bodies.

He was dressed in a tight, white tank top that showed off his well-developed pecs. It hung down over a tiny pair of running shorts that framed his muscled ass.

“Sup, Ezra?” Marcus nodded at me. “You guys are looking happy.”

He started stretching with the weights and made a nice buffer between us and the rest of the gym. He and Anderson started talking in Chinese as I finished my routine. Other guys came to talk to them, but they kept in Chinese and kept me off to the side. Anderson could tell I was getting annoyed with the traffic we attracted.

Marcus did an unusual amount of squats and stretches that pointed his ass towards me. He kept his back to me while talking to Anderson which made me think he wasn’t interested, but he also kept showing his ass to me and made no move to pull up the back of his shorts when they slid down to show the waistband of his blue jockstrap and the top of his smooth, bubble butt.

At first, I tried to ignore it, but it was so smooth and round and right in front of me. I noticed Anderson saw it too. He smiled at me and shrugged when Marcus squatted down to the ground clutching a heavy weight to his chest. He dipped down to the floor then pushed his ass straight up towards me. It flexed and bulged out in front of me.

It was a little awkward, but it also kind of turned me on. Anderson seemed amused by the whole thing and made no moves to stop it. I started to pay attention. It was pretty nice.

I finished my routine shortly after that, and Anderson was looking worn as well. We said goodbye to Marcus who looked disappointed we were leaving.

“Bro, what was that?” I asked as we headed to the stairs to go back up to his condo.

“He is into you… seemed like everyone was into you. It was my fault for taking you out of the house.” Anderson laughed.

“He didn’t even say anything to me. He just kept pushing his ass for me to see. Did he want me to grab it?” I shook my head and laughed.

“He knows what you like… It’s his best asset too. To be fair, we’ve shared guys in the past… we’re both into the same things. With a hot young muscle-god like you… well… he’s probably expecting me to share. He probably thinks you’re too young for me to be serious about.” Anderson opened the door to the stairwell.

“Share me? I need to hear more about this!” I felt a blush spread over my cheeks.

“You really don’t!” Anderson laughed with embarrassment. “You’re going to think I’m a huge slut.”

“Now I need to know. What huge slut things do you get into? Tell me all!” I couldn’t help but feel a little excited. Anderson had a wild side behind closed doors.

Marcus was hot in a different way from Anderson. Anderson was small and tight with amazing curves on his ass and a pretty face that lured me in every time. Marcus was taller, stronger, more masculine, more like my gym buddies.

Anderson was more of an in-between. He had just enough of the feelings I got from girls to bring me in. Plus, I’d saved him from Kyle which started this whole protective interest thing. We’d eased into things. It may have been helped by alcohol, but it was still a gentle slide to this side of my sexuality. Marcus was a little farther down the spectrum.

Marcus definitely wasn’t the kind of guy I would have checked out before I got into this with Anderson. He was more like the guys I worked out with at the campus gym. I’d hang with him, but not think of him sexually. Anderson had changed me. It kind of felt like a new world was opening with Anderson as my gatekeeper.

“We both share the same fetish. We like worshipping a guy, and being his service boys…  it usually helps bring in hotter meat when we team up. Marcus is great at finding them. He usually gets a hot business guy who’s in town and trying to escape his family life back home.” Anderson unlocked his condo door and we went inside.

“What does that mean? Worship a guy?” I slipped off my shoes and we headed to the kitchen to make recovery shakes.

“Basically we do whatever it takes to please a guy, to make him feel like a king. We start with his feet, if he’s into that, and work our way up. Massage him, suck his cock, eat his ass, bounce on his lap. Sometimes we play with each other for him to enjoy. It’s best when the master directs. Some guys don’t know what they want. You hit that sweet spot when they know what gets them off and it happens to be what gets me off too… nothing worse than surprise bottoms showing up.” Anderson pulled out the post-workout powder and I filled the blender cup with ice.

“So it’s a threesome but with two submissive guys.” I was starting to get the picture.

“Kind of. But a threesome makes it sound like we’re all there for each other’s pleasure. This is more like the two of us are there for one man. We do play together, but only if the guy wants. Otherwise it’s all about him.” Anderson poured in the oat milk and started to blend our shakes.

“What do you usually do with Marcus? You did that with Kyle too?” I was very interested in this story.

“Kyle participated, but he’s too much of a diva to service another guy. Marcus and I would suck each other, eat each other’s asses. Only if the guy tells us to. A lot of guys just want us focused on their pleasure, but we did have one guy who didn’t want us touching him. He just wanted to watch and direct us while he jerked off.” Anderson poured our shakes into glasses.

“So he thinks I’m here for that… Are you into that? What would you think about sharing me?” I asked.

I felt like something real was growing between us. I was worried that stuff might ruin things. Honestly I was still really turned on just doing things with him.

“I think I would love nothing more than to make you happy for a very long time, but I also know you’re only 19 years old and guys are all over you. You’ve got a lot of willing men buzzing around.” Anderson put his hand on my chest. I reached up and covered it with my hand.

“I’ll be 20 in a few weeks. I really like what’s going on between us. This feels so right. I don’t want to mess this up.” I told him.

“You’re very young and very hot. I want you to be free to explore things. I know you will want to try different things with different people. I’d like to be there with you. A relationship goes way deeper than sex. I want to be the partner you can share this with.” Anderson put his head on my shoulder.

“I wouldn’t cheat on you… if we were together seriously. I’m not like that.” I hated that he assumed he wasn’t enough.

“I’ve done the crazy things I wanted with the men I wanted. It helped me know what I want. My college years and 20s were crazy! It’s part of growing up.” He kissed my shoulder.

“You want me and I want you,” I summed it up. It felt like we were pushing against each other on this even though the idea made me super hard.

“All I’m saying is that when you start to think about someone else… just let me know. I’m ready for it.” He sounded kind of excited about this.

“Of course I’ve thought about it. Every guy has. Having two people you’re attracted to pleasing you. That’s always on the wishlist,” I admitted.

“It could be fun doing that with you. I wouldn’t get hurt if I felt included… and I’d rather you experiment with guys I know, guys who respect me.” He looked up at me with questioning eyes.

“You’d like seeing me inside another guy?” I got the feeling this was something he wanted.

“We could start slow… but yeah. I want you to try things, have your fantasy. As long as you save your seed for my body. That’s always the prize at the end of things. It’s like you’re choosing me.” He smirked like he was kidding, but his words sounded serious. I was confused.

“I’ll always choose you.” I assured him.

I wasn’t sure where this was going, but my cock was rock hard. I pushed it against him and his hand reached down to stroke my bulge.

“We’ll start super slow. I promise. You’re going to really like it. Why don’t we get cleaned up and invite him over for a drink. We can just talk about things and see what feels right?” It looked like a question, but sounded like he was giving a command.

Anderson texted him as we headed to the shower. We cleaned up and put on shorts and tshirts. Anderson wore a red thong underneath. I went commando.

+++

Marcus came over with a tall black bottle capped with a green, crystal frog. He and Anderson took it to the kitchen while I checked the score on the Giants game.

“This is going to knock you out if you gulp it! My friend sent it from Tokyo.” Marcus said. They had three small glasses with ice and green liquid.

I thanked him as he handed me the glass with the most in it.

“The Giants are on. What’s the score?” Marcus settled in next to me on the couch. Anderson took my other side.

“Marlins are up by 3, but they just got lucky with one hitter. Giants’ll catch up.” I explained the game as if either of them cared.

“Go baseball!” Anderson gave a half hearted cheer.

“Woah shit that’s strong!” I took too big of a sip. It was this green apple flavor, but it burned my throat going down.

“Little sips,” Marcus warned again.

“Thanks. Maybe later.” I handed the glass back to him.

We watched a full inning of the game. They worked their way through another glass of the green alcohol, and I gave mine a few more tries. It started to taste better just as the Giants hit their groove in the 4th inning. I felt a warmth spread over me and put my arm around Anderson with my feet up on his coffee table.

“You know, Ezra. Marcus is a big fan of Gaping Daisies. He saw them in concert last year in London.” Anderson got the conversation rolling as the game went to a commercial break.

“No way! I would love that! Did they play their good stuff or just the new crap? I hate the new album, but Perving Perfection was my anthem!” That was one of my top bands.

“They covered it all. It was epic. I even got into the after party where they did an acoustic set with Liam Holt! It was life!” Marcus warmed up. He seemed a bit scared of me, but the alcohol and music bond were easing things.

We went back and forth with the conversation as he inched closer against me. He poured me another glass. When I reached for it, he slid under my arm and put the glass to my lips. I had Marcus under one arm and Anderson under the other.

Things were getting started.

Chapter 14 - Throuple Trouble

We went back and forth with the conversation as Marcus inched closer against me. He poured me another glass. When I reached for it, he slid under my arm and put the glass to my lips. I had Marcus under one arm, Anderson under the other, and the Giants game on tv. A game in which I was starting to slowly lose interest.

I looked down at my chest. My arms were spread across the back of the couch with one man snuggled in against each shoulder. They were facing each other and trying to mouth something to each other that I wouldn’t hear. The alcohol was loosening me up and I put my hands on the back of each one’s heads and pushed my fingers through their hair.

I didn’t know how to get things started. I usually forward speed through that part of the porn. I should have done a little research, but this all happened so fast.

They looked up at me with expectant smiles. Something about having them both under my hold sparked this flame of power inside me. I leaned in towards Anderson and gave him a kiss as my hand slid down Marcus’ back to rub his ass. I felt Marcus’ lips press against my neck. He lipped at my skin and sent a tingle through me as my tongue pushed into Anderson’s mouth.

I felt Marcus’ hand on my right thigh. He slid it up inside my shorts until his fingers found my cock. I kept my lips planted on Anderson’s and felt his hand rub over the top of my bulge. I moved my hand down his back and rubbed his ass too.

I pulled my lips away from Anderson and turned towards Marcus. He raised up from kissing my neck and our eyes met. He looked at me, waiting for me to kiss him. I took my hand from his ass though and pushed him towards Anderson’s lips.

Kissing Marcus didn’t feel right. I was way out of my element here. My body was green-lighting this 100 percent, but my brain felt like I was breaking the law somehow. I shook it off and tried to just enjoy the moment. Sometimes I overthink things. Ok, a lot of times I overthink things.

They smiled, kissed, and made out for me. Marcus hand in my shorts was stroking my shaft while Anderson had moved his hand up my shirt to rub my pecs. I laid back, crossed my arms behind my head, and let them explore me.

“You feel good?” Anderson pried his lips off of Marcus and checked in with me. They had my cock so hard, and I was enjoying their kissing. They were going at it full force.

It was hot seeing them kiss, but half of me didn’t feel good.

“Uh huh.” I nodded as Marcus stroked my cock. Anderson was so into this, so I assured him, “It feels so good.”

Anderson moved to slide up my shirt and Marcus let go of my cock. I sat up and Anderson pulled it off of my arms. He leaned in and kissed my left nipple then bit at it softly.

“That cock is huge.” Marcus pulled at the thick lump in my shorts. He gathered the fabric around my shaft and gripped it tightly. He massaged it until it started to leak precum. “Fuck that’s big. Can I suck it, sir?” His large, dark eyes flashed up at me, begging for my dick. .

I pushed at the waistband of my shorts and slid them down until my cock flopped out and settled against my thigh. I put my hand on his head and guided him down. He let me push him until his lips touched the tip of it.

He sucked it in with desperation and made these little whimpering noises as my cock slid into his mouth. He wrapped his tongue around the shaft and sent a chill through me as he worked my cock. My shorts got pushed to the floor and I stepped out of them.

Marcus slid off the couch and went to his knees. He knelt between my legs and dove back onto my cock. He looked up at me and pushed down until my cock made him gag. I reached down and put my hand on his cheek to feel my shaft stretch his mouth. I gave his cheek a few playful smacks and he whined happily while bobbing on me.

“Can you take it all? Deep throat it?” I asked him.

Marcus nodded. I put my hand on his head and pushed him down until he started to gag on me. Anderson raised up to watch as I pushed Marcus down on my cock and held him there with his nose buried in my pubes. He gagged and sputtered on it until my pubes were soaked with his spit.

Anderson kissed me and I let go of Marcus who went back to happily bobbing on it.

“It’s getting warm in here.” Anderson got off the couch and slipped out of his t-shirt and shorts. He stood there in a red thong with his hard cock straining the pouch.

I put my hand on Marcus’ forehead and pushed him off my cock. He sat back on his heels with a whimper and looked like he’d done something wrong.

“Suck my boy,” I told Marcus.

I was close to finishing and we’d just started. As weird as it felt to have a third person there, Marcus had crazy good skills. He was just as good as Anderson with that oral stuff. He was so eager to please me.

My cock was throbbing and drooling juice. It mixed with Marcus’ spit and covered his lips and chin. I reached over and swiped my finger through the spit and precum.

Anderson came to sit next to me on the couch as Marcus crawled over between his legs. I put my hand on Anderson’s back and rubbed down to his ass. I pushed aside the back string of his thong and put a finger to his hole.

“Fuck me, daddy!” Anderson whined as I worked a spit-slicked finger in him.

“That’s my boy.” I growled. I was getting into this. Marcus pulled Anderson’s cock out and started to slurp it but kept his eyes on me. He reached over and put a hand on my left thigh. He started rubbing it up to grab my cock. He wasn’t interested in Anderson, but he followed orders.

“Come back over.” I nodded at Marcus. His lips turned up into a smile and he let go of Anderson’s cock. He crawled back between my legs as Anderson bounced on my finger.

“Why don’t you take this off?” I reached for the collar of Marcus’ shirt and gave it a tug. He scrambled to pull it up over his head, folded it neatly, and set it on the coffee table. He got back on his knees, crossing his arms behind his back to await more instructions.

It felt so weird. This man; nearly my height, well muscled, older, very wealthy, and conventionally handsome; was kneeling between my legs awaiting my orders. His face, below the nose, was smeared with saliva and pre-cum. His hair was messy from me grabbing it and pushing him towards my wishes. His proud pecs pushed out with small brown nipples that quickly hardened to fine points in the cool room.

“You have good muscle tone.” I observed. I put a hand on his left pec, squeezed it and then rubbed over to the right one. I gave it a playful smack.

“Thank you, sir.” Marcus beamed proudly. His eyes filled with hopeful expectancy at what I would do next.

My other hand was working Anderson’s hole. I’d slipped a second finger inside him and he had gotten to his feet and bent forward with his hands on the coffee table. I spread the fingers inside him, gently opening his hole.

“Let’s get the shorts off next.” I told him.

My cock was rock hard and resting against my thigh. He stood and looked down at it hungrily. I was giving it a minute to cool off. Marcus pushed off his shorts. He had small blue briefs that were cut low enough to see that he kept his pubes shaved clean. There wasn’t a trace of hair on him.

“You just about ruined your briefs there.” I laughed. His cock was rock hard and arced up and across his right hip. The briefs were soaked with his precum.

“I did, sir.” He bit his lip and looked as if I was disappointed. “I haven’t done this in awhile.”

“That’s good. You’re rock hard.” I reached for it and squeezed his shaft. His body shivered and a fresh wet spot appeared on his briefs.

“Should I take them off, sir?” He put his hands on the waistband, ready to do as I wished.

“Turn around.” I wanted to see his ass.

“Yes, sir.” Marcus turned and dropped to his knees again. I put my foot on his right thigh and nudged him to slide closer to Anderson.

“You get down too.” I used the two fingers I was working in Anderson’s hole to gently push down. He got to his knees next to Marcus, both of them bent over the coffee table.

I had them there side by side. I slipped my fingers from Anderson and leaned back to admire them. There were two firm bubble butts waiting for my attention. They pushed their asses out to present them to me.

“Fuck, that’s so hot.” I smacked their cheeks and both of them whimpered in needy lust.

“They’re yours, sir,” Anderson told me.

I leaned forward and pulled at Marcus’ briefs. I pulled them down just under his muscled globes. He pushed his ass towards me and wiggled it.

I put my right hand on his right cheek and my left hand on Anderson’s left cheek. I pushed them together, kneading their cheeks.

I gave their asses a few smacks. I was so hard and ready to breed them, but I froze. I’d seen enough threesome porns to twist my thinking on what would be pleasurable. It seemed so simple. You stick it in one and play with the other. Then you switch it up while they both make out or play with each other.

But having it right here in front of me, I suddenly felt a shot of panic.

“Fuck me, daddy.” Anderson begged. He wiggled his ass and turned to look over his shoulder at me with a big smile.

“I’m uh… yeah. Let’s do this.” I tried to sound excited. He was expecting me to go for it. I’d been excited for it and they were both so ready. I’d made a commitment here.

I reached down to stroke my cock. As panicked as I felt, my cock was still raging and drooling precum. I put my hand on Marcus’ ass and rubbed it. He whined and pushed his hole towards me.

I knelt behind Anderson on the floor and lined my cock up with his hole. Marcus looked over to watch as I rubbed his ass and pushed my thumb against his hole. Maybe I could just fuck Anderson and pretend to accidentally cum too soon. I was definitely on the edge. But then that would be rude and Marcus would feel rejected.

It shouldn’t have felt this difficult. It shouldn’t take this much thought.

“Oh, shit. We need lube.” I told them. I needed to get out of there and think for a minute.

“Right there, daddy. On the table.” Anderson pointed to the small table next to the couch.

“Right… cool.” I got up and walked to it. I picked the bottle up and studied the label.

“You ok, Ezra?” Anderson looked at me with concern.

“Good… I’m good. Hey it’s made in Ecuador.” I said.

“Oh.” Anderson suddenly realized the problem. He got up and came towards me. He put his hand on my back and kissed my shoulder.

“Did something happen?” Marcus raised up from the floor with concern. He walked towards us and stopped about two feet from me.

“No… you’re so hot… I’m just not sure about this.” I reached for him and brought him to my other side. I put my arm around him. I felt like a total asshole and needed him to know it wasn’t him.

“It’s my fault,” Anderson began. “I pushed you into it. You kept saying I was all you wanted… I just keep wanting to build things up and push your fantasies and keep you happy here. I really like you. I want you to be able to do crazy things with me.”

“This was pretty crazy.” I laughed.

“You seemed so into it… You never have doubts when it’s just you and me. It’s so natural, so primal when we’re together. You can think of Marcus as like just another me; same size, same shape, same hole.” Anderson tried to joke.

“No one is another you… no one will ever be another you. I don’t want another you anyways. You’re what I like.” I kissed his cheek.

They got quiet at that.

“He’s trying to say he loves you, idiot. Say something.” Marcus smacked Anderson on his shoulder.

Anderson nodded. He was stonefaced and still…

“I heard him…” His voice broke and then a tear slid down his cheek.

“I… you… me too.” He started to cry and buried his face in my shoulder. He slid his arms around my waist. I pulled him into me and held him while he calmed himself. I kissed the top of his head. He felt so right in my arms.

He settled into my hold and quieted down. The three of us stood there, mostly naked, not sure what to do next.

“Oh Hey! The Giants won.” Marcus said and pointed at the tv.

I pulled him into my other side and kissed his cheek. I felt so guilty, but also very relieved. Marcus was so tempting, but he wasn’t Anderson.

“I’m sorry guys. I fucked up your night. I wanted to do the whole alpha dom thing.” I leaned down and rubbed my nose into Anderson’s hair. His smell calmed me.

“Nope. You made it the best night ever.” Anderson raised his head and kissed me.

“I should go.” Marcus pulled away from me and went to grab his clothes.

“You don’t have to go!” I felt so guilty.

“I need to go finish this.” Marcus pointed at his cock. It was soft but still covered in precum. He pulled on his shorts and shirt then stuffed his soaked briefs into his pocket.

Anderson said something in Chinese that made Marcus laugh.

“It’s fine. Really. I have toys, and that new guy on the second floor, Isaac. He’s taking me to dinner tomorrow night. I’m happy for you guys. I really am,” Marcus assured. He came over and hugged us.

We showed him to the door. Anderson’s unit was at the end of the hallway so our nudity wasn’t a big issue.

“Did we really just have our first I-love-you moment during a threesome?” Anderson laughed.

“We didn’t actually say it… but yeah. I guess so… I do.” I put my hand on his ass and pulled him to my chest.

“We will need a better cover story for when people ask. .” He kissed me and I pushed my finger against his hole.

“We should get started on that.” I walked him towards the bedroom.

It was time to have the night we should have had from the beginning.

Chapter 15- Mom, Dad, & Dim Sum

“Your mom is so sweet!” Anderson told me when I came into the kitchen.

I’d slept in until 10:30, after all the craziness we’d had the night before.

“Uh yeah… your mom is too… probably?” I was confused since he’d never met my mom.

“No!” Anderson laughed. “I talked to your mom this morning. She called and your phone was buzzing and I didn’t want to wake you up. We talked for a long time!”

“You talked to my mom? Bro, you can’t answer my phone. What did she want? Was she upset or weird?” I had no idea how my parents would react to Anderson. I was upset that he would invade my privacy like that.

“She was surprised at first since I don’t sound like you… I think she thought I was a girl until I told her you were staying with me. She knew my name! That’s a good start. I told her we will come visit them when you finish all of your projects. I didn’t know you were allergic to cilantro. She told me the recipe for the enchiladas you like. I will make them this week!” Anderson was so happy. He saw nothing awkward about this.

“Bro, that’s so weird! Why would you think this was a good idea?” I was getting pissed. He had no boundaries with me.

“I thought you wanted to go see them? Oh! You don’t want me to go with you?” He looked hurt.

“Of course I want you to go with me, that’s not what I’m saying.” I tried to soften my tone. He was just trying to be helpful and let me sleep in.

“I went too far in answering the phone. I should have just sent it to voicemail. I get it.” Anderson put his hands up in surrender.

“How would you feel if I answered your phone and talked to your mom? I don’t speak Chinese, but still. It’s weird.” I remembered that he wasn’t out to his family.

“You’re right… but now your mom has my number and knows me and she’s excited that we are coming to visit. Your brother told her about us too… so I didn’t think it would be too out of line.. But yeah, sorry… won’t happen again.” Anderson looked remorseful.

+++

Friday morning I took my last final. We’d worked every day to complete the reviews and revise the projects so I felt confident about passing my courses.

Anderson made me pancakes for breakfast and had a bowl of nuts and a glass of fresh lemonade to enjoy while I took my test. I set up near the window in the kitchen where there was a solid wifi signal. I finished the test in two hours with one pee break. I thought I did well, but I couldn’t get Anderson to check things since there was a live monitor watching every student’s camera.

I finished up and then waited for Anderson to finish his work for the day before we got on the road to my parents’ house. It took about 2 hours with minimal traffic.

I was wearing the new clothes Anderson had gotten me, but I had to tone things down for the Central Valley. I didn’t want us getting messed with.

Modesto isn’t too crazy, there’s even a few gay bars that everyone knows about, but it’s definitely not San Francisco. It’s farm country mixed with growing suburbs. I didn’t want us to stick out. Anderson insisted on a short-sleeve button up shirt with nice pants, and I wore a t-shirt with jeans.

I led Anderson on a little tour while we made our way to the house. I showed him my high school, the skate park where I used to hang out with my brothers, and the Sonic with the best icee drinks (not the crappy one by the freeway). 

Ezra’s Family Home

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/21feccdf6d8699f3edba52fffcb1917d6d1c9700/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f5655766f7064616b486a6c676c773d3d2d313037353639393431382e313638323633366461616361356666343937303830393437373536332e6a7067)

Everything was good until we pulled up to my parents’ house.

“Woah. That’s your dad! Daddy Ryan is built… silver fox.” Anderson pointed to where my dad was leaning over the open hood of his old truck.

Dad could afford a new one, but he’d had that one since I was born. He had his shirt off and was covered in sweat and dirt. It looked like he’d just mowed the grass as well.

“Dude, that’s my dad.” I laughed. My dad’s always been in great shape like my brothers. He was a marine and raised us like we were too. While old age had majorly mellowed him, he still kept his gym routine.

“Wouldn’t mind him being my daddy too,” Anderson teased.

“Nope, we are not talking about that.” I shook my head while Anderson put his car in park.

Dad raised his head and grunted as we got out of Anderson’s car. He must have found something on his truck that wasn’t an easy fix.

I waved a hand at him as we walked up the driveway.

“Oh hey there. I’ll hug you when I get cleaned up. Your mom’s inside. She’s been cleaning like a crazy person all day so make sure you say how nice it looks!” Dad offered a hand to Anderson.

“Dad, this is Anderson.” I introduced him.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Ryan,” Anderson shook dad’s hand.

“You too.” Dad echoed the greeting and then added, “Is that the new XR300 coupe you rolled up in?”

“Yes, sir! I just got it delivered last month.” Anderson beamed. He looked happy to connect with my dad.

“Did Ezra even know what it is? He’s never been interested in cars. He’s my bus child.” Dad chuckled.

“It’s a car. It does have nice seats!” I laughed. My dad always tried his best to embarrass me.

“This car can outrun any California Highway Patrol! Fine things are wasted on you.” He teased. Dad went over to have a look at it. Anderson let him poke around it and even offered him the keys, but dad said he was too dirty to get inside it.

We headed in and found my mom mopping the kitchen floor. We stopped at the entrance and Anderson waved. We didn’t dare step on her shiny tiles.

“Oh you made it!” Mom rested the mop against the kitchen island and ran over to hug me.

“You are getting so big,” She squeezed me. I’d had a pretty big transformation from the scrawny kid who moved off to college.

“I’ve been working out more and eating better.” I held her. I realized I hadn’t had a hug from her in months. It felt strange, like I was stepping into another world I’d forgotten.

“You look so handsome. And this is Anderson? Thank you so much for setting this up. It is a nightmare trying to get him home.” My mom landed a shot at me while greeting the new guest.

She hugged Anderson and then immediately led him away from me and into the living room. They were instant friends. Dad came in and mom sent him straight to the shower. I went to poke around my old bedroom while Anderson and mom got to know each other.

Half of my bedroom had been filled with boxes from some health food company. They had stacked things on my dresser and desk and even had a few boxes around my bed. I poked my head into my brothers’ rooms and they were perfectly preserved memorials to their childhood.

“Hey!” I called when I saw my dad pop out of their bedroom wiping a towel over his hair. “What’s all this junk?”

“That’s mine. Don’t touch any of it!” My mom yelled from the living room. We were the type of family that yelled instead of going to find people.

“Well what is all this? And why is it just in my room?” I was annoyed.

“It’s the Kenko Living products! These are all my orders. I’m delivering them tomorrow.” Mom came into the hallway with Anderson behind her. “Oh you two should look at my catalog. I get 50% off all the essential oils, and the Zoom Juice will change your life! Your father and I haven’t been sick since the pandemic!”

“Your mother is a Lotus level seller!” Dad added to impress us.

“Mom, no.” I shook my head. I knew it was useless to talk them out of this. They love things like this.

“I’d like to see the catalog!” Anderson said.

“Oh you will love it! It’s all from Japan. You know they live to be over 100 years old there! Amazing products.” Mom was warming up her sales pitch.

“I’ve been to Japan. There are unusual amounts of very old people there.” Anderson was playing into her pitch.

“We can talk about it at dinner! There is a new fancy Dim Sum place I have been dying to try, but all our friends here are too scared to go. They think they’ll accidentally order an octopus or something strange. My grandmother always took us to the best Dim Sum place in Oakland. It closed a few years back.” Mom put her hand on Anderson’s shoulder as if claiming him as her new dinner buddy.

“I would love that! I’ll tell you what’s in everything. You guys grew up in the East Bay, right?” Anderson asked.

“Hayward. My dad worked at the port in Oakland. We moved out here when I first got pregnant, but we miss it so much. Sometimes I drive over an hour just to get things you can’t buy here. Well let’s get cleaned up and go eat.” Mom turned to me and added, “Go put a nicer shirt on, and are those jeans supposed to be ripped at the knees? Is that the style again? I think you have nice pants in your closet.”

“Those pants won’t fit me anymore. I have legs now.” I flexed my legs to show them my hard work.

“Well at least put a nicer shirt on. You can’t go out in that t-shirt.” Mom held firm. Dad disappeared back into their bedroom to finish getting dressed.

“I’ll find something for him,” Anderson assured. He pushed me back towards my closet.

“Oh bless you, dear.” Mom nodded her head, shut my door, and went to get ready.

Anderson dove into my closet with delight.

“This is so cute!” He pulled a dark green sweater from the back. It was from last year’s Christmas photo. My brothers all had the same one.

“Way too small for me. It might fit you. Take it if you want.” I told him. Anderson nodded and folded it then set it on the bed for later.

“This rugby shirt looks nice enough.” He held up a long-sleeved black shirt with yellow and white stripes across the chest.

I took off my t-shirt and tried to slide into it. It was tight, but not unbearable.

“Makes your muscles look huge.” Anderson tried to make me feel better. He started to dig through my clothes while we waited for my parents. He looted a zip up hoodie, a t-shirt from a summer camp, and some old boxers.

“You are shopping away,” I laughed. He was so happy rifling through my childhood.

“These pictures! You were such a cute kid!” Anderson moved on to my desk drawers.

“Do you want a bag for all your stolen treasures, Indiana Jones?” I sat on my bed and watched him easter egg hunt his way through my room.

“Oh yeah! That would be good.” Anderson grabbed my old backpack from the closet and started to fill it. “Holy shit. Is that a pillow pet? You have stuffed animals! So cute!” Anderson snagged something off a top shelf in my closet.

“His name is Stomper. He’s the Oakland A’s elephant mascot.” I told him. Stomper the elephant was a gift my oldest brother got for Christmas when he was 5. He passed him down to me when he went to high school and decided to get rid of kid stuff.

“I must! Have! Stomper!” Anderson acted like it was Christmas morning.

“Fine, take Stomper. My ex-girlfriend kidnapped him once and took pics of him around town with clues.” I laughed. She liked doing weird things like that.

+++

We took Anderson’s car to the Dim Sum place. Anderson insisted on giving my dad the keys so he could test it out. The whole way to the restaurant we had to listen to dad explain all the wondrous details of the automobile. He even went out of our way to try it out on the freeway until mom complained about his speed. 

“Ok we made it one piece. Everyone still have their limbs?” Dad joked after mom berated him. 

“We’re fine.” Anderson assured from the backseat. “I think that’s the fastest it’s been driven!” 

“Oh she’ll go a lot faster than that. She’s just getting warmed up.” Dad rubbed the steering wheel like it was a new pet. 

We got a nice table near the windows that looked out over a small vineyard for the wine bar behind the restaurant. 

“See? They even have Chinese staff so it’s authentic.” Mom glowed. 

A waiter came over and greeted us. Anderson addressed him in Chinese which made my parents raise their eyebrows excitedly. They were impressed. 

The waiter brought us waters and a kettle of tea for the table. He gave us a stack of clean plates and Anderson waved over one of the ladies pushing carts of food. He asked for an assortment of things and she pulled out little metal canisters from the cart. She set them on our table and removed the lids to show the food. 

“These are pork. I think you’ll like them best.” He told me. Mom used her chopsticks to grab things, but dad just stuck his fork in the things he wanted. It was all very delicious and my tight shirt soon felt a little tighter. 

“Where is the guy with the check?” Dad asked. He was full and ready to go. 

“Be patient. Don’t cause a scene and embarrass us,” mom scolded him. 

“I took care of it. We can go when you’re ready,” Anderson said. 

“What? No! You’re our guest and you brought our boy to see us. That’s a major achievement,” dad joked.

“It’s my pleasure. Thank you for welcoming me.” Anderson put his hand on mine under the table. I pushed my fingers through his and held his hand. 

“Any time! I’m so glad we got to meet you. We were… surprised to hear Ezra liked guys. We had no idea. I’m glad he finally felt comfortable telling us.” Mom was poking around trying to bring up the conversation we probably needed to have. 

“I didn’t know. I mean… I thought about it, but never seriously.” I didn’t want them thinking this was something I’d hidden from them for years. 

“I knew… Well I suspected, but then he got with a girl and he seemed happy with that,” dad insisted. 

“You did bring that up! I remember. I think he was 12, right?” Mom joined in on the quest for who knew first. 

“That boy Kenton on your baseball team. He was Chinese too, wasn’t he?” dad asked. 

“His mom was Filipino and his dad was Indonesian… I think.” I’d forgotten about him. 

“Right, right. I was close,” dad nodded. “Ezra used to follow him around like a puppy. He was an older kid on the team. A real handsome boy, fantastic player. Nice parents, good family. His dad sells Hyundais in Stockton now.” 

“That was just friendship. He helped me suck less at baseball.” I tried to end this side show of a conversation. 

“We will have to stop by the Hyundai dealership on the way home! Now I’m curious!” Anderson giggled. 

“I’m sure he’s off to college. A gifted player like that probably got a full ride scholarship.” Dad shrugged. 

“Well I’m glad Ezra found someone nice. I can’t wait for you to meet the family! You have to come back next month for the birthday celebration. We have ten birthdays in June including Ezra. We do one big party for everyone. Don’t bring any gifts. We just eat and have cake and sing.” Mom pulled out a small mirror to touch up her makeup. 

“We will be there! I can’t wait. I’ll make something.” Anderson was enjoying them. I was glad they hadn’t offended him. 

We headed back to my parents’ house and Anderson collected the backpack and pillow pet and other things he’d looted from my childhood. We hugged my parents goodbye and loaded up the car to head back home. 

“I put his passport in here along with some of the recipes you wanted. They’re pretty easy to follow and Ezra’s not a picky eater.” Mom handed him a manila envelope as we were heading out. 

“My passport?” I asked. I’d gotten a passport my senior year anticipating our senior trip to Mexico. We’d spent three years fundraising for it, but then the pandemic shut us down. 

“Yes, for your trip.” Mom looked at me with confusion. 

“We haven’t talked about it yet.” Anderson smiled.

“Where are we going?” I asked. 

“Oh. I have a big mouth. It was a surprise?” Mom asked. 

“It still will be! Nothing big. I just have a business trip next week and I want you to go with me before your summer courses start. It’ll be good to relax.” Anderson put his hand on my arm. 

“He’s going to love it!” Mom nodded. She gave us another hug and we took off for home. 

+++

“That went really well. Did they say anything offensive?” I asked when Anderson got on the 99 freeway to head home. 

“No, no. They are delightful. So sweet. I hope I made a good impression. You are too good to be true and so is your family.” Anderson shook his head. 

I was glad he enjoyed them. They were pretty chill. I put my hand over his on the gear shifter as the sun was setting over the dry, farm-filled valley. We literally drove off into the sunset.

Chapter 16 - New Roommate

I stumbled out to the kitchen in my boxers late the next morning to find a tall, thin white guy with a manbun, tank top, and tight shorts looking through Anderson’s refrigerator. He had earbuds in his ears and was bopping his head as he took containers out of it.

I backed away slowly and went to find Anderson at work in his office. He was sitting at his desk wearing a pair of my boxers on bottom and a pressed button-up blue shirt with a gold tie on top. I went into his office, but he held up a finger to tell me to wait.

I went back to look at the man in the kitchen. He smiled and helped himself to the chips Anderson got for me. He wasn’t interested in conversation. I nodded at him and went back to the office.

Anderson was still on his business call, but this time he waved me over. He said some things in Chinese and then finally hung up.

“Did you get breakfast? I left you a plate in the microwave. I forgot how much sleep teens need!” Anderson joked.

“There is a hipster dude with a manbun in your kitchen. He’s eating the chips!” I whispered even though the guy was listening to music and was three rooms away.

“Sasha. He’s my housekeeper. He comes every two weeks, but if you stay here longer then I’ll get him more often. He’s good at deep cleaning!” Anderson said.

“He’s kind of cute. I tried to talk to him but he had his earbuds in. He just smiled at me and ate my chips!” I raised my hands in confusion.

“Cute? No, no! We are not getting into another threesome. We already traumatized Marcus, and it’s hard to find a good housekeeper in this city. Do not fuck my Russian.” Anderson teased.

“We need to never speak of that again. Besides, the guy didn’t even talk to me. He’s too focused on eating all the snacks!” I laughed.

“Sasha is Russian. His English is very basic and he gets embarrassed easily. I usually type up what I want done, use the translator website, and print it out for him. Are you mad about the chips? I can get you more. I usually feed him when he cleans. He’s very skinny.” Anderson got up from his desk and came in for a hug.

“No! It’s cool. I just got freaked out. People just show up out of nowhere in this house. I’m not used to that.” I hugged Anderson and then rubbed my hands down to his ass.

“I get lonely when I’m here by myself. I like when people just drop in for random stuff. Maybe with you here I can set some boundaries though. I want you to be comfortable here. I want this to be your home too.” Anderson rubbed his cheek against my shoulder as I massaged his bottom.

“We should go to the park. It’s Saturday. Let’s go run at the big one.” I wanted to get out. It was beautiful sunshine out there, and this time of year there’s usually a lot of gray clouds covering everything.

“I have to work, baby. I have two more meetings this morning.” Anderson looked up at me with a sad face. “But! Your dorm building is going to be open this afternoon for residents so we can go pick up your stuff.”

“I can get my stuff?” I had honestly not even thought about it in the last week. Life was comfortable here with him.

“I made an appointment from 2 to 2:30 this afternoon. Your building wasn’t damaged, but some of the others were so they are offering credit on your student account if you want to give it up… you’d get a new room once all the dorms are back open. What do you think?” Anderson put his hand on my chest and rubbed my pecs.

“Give up my dorm? I don’t know… I’d be living here, and… we just met.” Giving up my private place felt like a big decision.

“It’s voluntary right now, but I’d hate to think of someone sleeping in a shelter when you have a perfectly good bed here. It would only be temporary until things open up… but it could be like a trial for us to share the condo.” Anderson pushed his ass back against my hands where I was gripping him. 

He knows what I like.

“I don’t know. I was planning on going back. We just got together, and it might be too much to be living here.” I was having major doubts.

“Not

living

here, just

staying

here. Plus, I have that extra guest bedroom where you can set up your stuff and have your own private space. We just meet up for food and sex and cuddling and sleep and… whatever else you want. No pressure at all. Go eat your breakfast and think about it. My meeting starts soon.“ Anderson gently pushed me away from him.

+++

I went back to the kitchen where Sasha was on his hands and knees with his ass in the air. He was scrubbing along the bottom of the cabinets and getting ready to mop. I didn’t want to step around him since he was cleaning the floor, so I waited by the entry. 

He wiped down one side and then turned towards me. He looked up and smiled then tried to move out of my way. He waved for me to come in.

“Thank you,” I nodded. I went to the microwave where Anderson had left a bowl of oatmeal for me with all kind of healthy junk in it. I’d never seen him use the microwave so I guess it was there for storage. I doubt he even knew what a hot pocket was. He took good care of me.

“You’re Russian?” I asked Sasha as I went to grab a spoon from the drawer.

“Yes, Russian. Hello. Sasha.” He grinned and patted his chest.

“I’m Ezra.” I patted my own chest and then got to work on the food.

“I clean. You here. No problem.” Sasha pointed to one of the barstools.

“Thanks, I’ll stay right here.” I sat on the stool and played on my phone while I ate and he cleaned. He ignored me completely and went to scrub inside the refrigerator.

“Bowl stay, you eat, I clean.” It sounded like a command, but Sasha smiled and touched my arm.

“I’ll leave it here when I finish. Thank you,” I echoed. 

Sasha nodded a smile at me, and then left to clean the living room.

I started playing on my phone and remembered the text from my boss. I’d ignored him since last week and he hadn’t contacted me again. My classes were over, and Anderson was buried in his work, so I decided to see if he still needed me. 

I pulled up the messages and typed out a text.

Me: Any jobs you could use me on this week?

Boss: You already put your lawyer on me and you think I’d hire you back? Your check should get there this week and includes the disaster funds. Don’t contact me again.

I read over his text. My lawyer? Disaster funds? I instantly knew Anderson had done something. He couldn’t help himself. This was becoming an issue.

I went to his office and set my phone down next to his keyboard so he could see the text from my boss. He was typing furiously and clicking between windows, but he froze when his eyes caught my screen.

“What did you do?” I demanded.

“Oh… That looks really bad. No, no. Let me explain…” Anderson started to close out of windows on his computer.

“Do you even know how hard it is for a 19 year old to find a job in this city that isn’t fast food or bussing tables?” I grabbed my phone and backed away from him.

“I know, but I looked on the city’s disaster grants page and saw your company got a big grant…” Anderson stood from his chair and started to walk to me.

“I loved working with my hands and fixing things. I loved not having someone standing over me and directing everything. I loved getting paid to travel around and meet new people. They even let me pick my hours. I could take all night jobs so it would never conflict with my classes or sleeping in.” I turned and left his office. I headed back to the bedroom to get dressed.

“Let me explain! I looked up his disaster grant application and he requested fifty thousand to pay workers lost wages while the city was shut down. So I called and asked him about it. He flew into a rage! He said he owed you nothing… I threatened to report him for wage theft and fraud.” Anderson followed me into his closet as I hurriedly dressed.

“Yeah, he’s a racist old asshole and blows up. That’s every boss I’ve ever had. I specifically told you to stay out of it. The pay was decent and I was surviving here on my own. All you had to do was stay out of it.” I pulled on jeans and a t-shirt then grabbed some socks from the drawer.

“You’re leaving? Ezra! Please don’t leave. I set you up with jobs here. You can make way better. I can get you a job in one of my companies. Don’t go… please.” Anderson put his hand on my arm.

“I have to go look for a job. I can’t believe you did that. Who does that? That is basic social norms, bro. You’re not my dad.” I went towards the bathroom and grabbed my toothbrush.

“I love you. I can’t just sit here when someone’s taking advantage of you. He was a dick to you and he’s committing fraud. He didn’t even ask if you were ok or had a place to live. He threatened to fire you if you didn’t come back to work immediately.” Anderson was not getting it. 

He put his arms around my waist while I brushed my teeth.

“That was my situation to deal with. You have no boundaries, bro. You stepped in with my boss, and with my mom, and with my financial stuff. This is exactly what Tenley warned me about,” I said after rinsing my mouth.

“Tenley warned you? He liked me… I thought.” Anderson looked at me with hurt in his eyes.

“He said you’d give me money and get me used to being taken care of and then lock me down with kids in a big house.” I felt like a dick as soon as the words left my mouth. 

Tenley was racist and drunk when he said those things. I hadn’t told Anderson what he said because it would hurt his feelings. But now, I could see in his eyes that I’d hurt him. 

“Who said anything about kids? No! I’m not trying to trap you. I mean your sperm would make a beautiful baby… Ok, I get too involved. I get that. I’m sorry.” Anderson pushed into my chest and kept a tight grip on me.

“I know. You’re a great guy who treats me like royalty. You are so caring and amazing and sweet, but I just need some space. You basically turned on the relationship firehose. It’s too much too soon. I need to figure things out on my own.” I wanted to push him away, but he felt so good in my arms.

“Please don’t go. We’re still getting to know each other. I don’t like seeing you taken advantage of. I get so protective of you.” Anderson held onto me tightly and rubbed his cheek over my shoulder.

“Bro! We went lightning speed from ‘hey let’s try gay stuff’ to acting like we’re married or something. You quit my job, you talked to my parents, you dump money in my account, you’re trying to get rid of my dorm and move me in here. It’s turning into one of those Lifetime movies my mom is obsessed with.” I turned to leave his bathroom.

“Ok. I get it. I’ll back off. I’ll stop Lifetiming you. You’ll text me later? Please?” Anderson let go of me and looked like he was near tears. His voice sounded choked and it broke my heart.

“I promise.” I leaned in and kissed his cheek then headed out.

+++

The campus was a zoo when I got down there. A lot of students must have taken the credit offer because the boxes and bags seemed to be flowing out of the dorms rather than in. I found the registration table under a grove of cypress trees.

“Welcome back. Name?” A lady was bent over a laptop, shielding the screen from a ray of sun.

“Ezra Ryan. Room 5B in the Harvey Milk dorm.” I looked at the mess of paperwork and folders next to her.

“Yes. You chose to move out, right?” She asked after typing something into her laptop.

“No! I don’t have anywhere to go. My off-dorm living fell through. Can I change back, please?” I begged.

“Of course! You’ll get a new roommate though. It looks like your guy already cleared out. Let me just fix this up. You’ll need a new keycard though. They changed all the access codes since everyone is switching.” She put out her hand and I gave her the card I use to get in the building and my room.

“Your new roommate is coming at 2. Kirin Park is his name… oh he’s one of the medical students. We are sharing dorm space with the medical school up the street. Your floor changed to a quiet floor. No parties or loud music. Are you ok with that?” She seemed highly interested in my new living situation.

“Uh sure. I’ll probably have an early job anyways.” I shrugged. I needed to find work. 

She got things fixed up in the computer and then issued me a new keycard. 

I went up to my room to see that the furniture had all been replaced. The beds were raised up about five feet in the air with desk space underneath and a ladder to crawl up. All of my sheets and clothes had been bagged up and left on the desk.

I opened the bag and got a hit of dirty laundry. It was pretty rank since it had been marinating since the earthquake. I hoped the laundry center was open.

I changed into workout clothes and took my laundry down to wash while I worked out. I swiped my student card and it had enough funds for at least one load so I stuffed everything into one. I’d reload my card later.

The gym was open, but almost completely empty with everyone moving in or out. I got in a hard workout with only a quick break to move the pile of clothes from the washer to the dryer. By the time I did a cool down run, the timer on my phone chirped. I’d spent almost two hours down here and the workout kept my mind off of Anderson.

+++

Kirin Park was making his bed when I got back upstairs with my laundry. I dumped it on my bed, and turned to greet him. He was almost as tall as me, but had a thin, cute nerd look. His face reminded me of Anderson. But when he turned to set down his pillow, his ass just didn’t have the same appeal. It was tight and cute, but nothing like the wiggly bubble that had entranced me to play for the other team.

I frowned at him.

I missed Anderson. I missed that bubble butt. 

“You’re not Alex Nguyen.” he accused me with a suspicious look. 

“I might be, for the right price,” I joked.

He stared in confusion.

“I’m Ezra. I was going to give up the room, but the place where I was staying got kinda crazy and I don’t have anywhere else to go,” I explained.

“Oh… they put me with a Pacific student. Aren’t you guys on summer break now? I thought this floor was going to be all med students. Er… sorry. I sound like an asshole. I’m Kirin. It’s nice to meet you.” He extended his hand and I shook it.

We talked for a few minutes. He was 25 and finishing med school in one more semester. He was from Orange County and had no idea where Modesto was when I said where I came from. He seemed really nice, but quiet, smart, and reserved.

“I really need a shower. I’ll fold those when I get back.” I pointed to the smashed pile of laundry on my bed. 

I grabbed a towel out of the heap, grabbed my shower pack, and headed out. I left my phone on the charger. Anderson hadn’t texted. I guess he was trying to give me the space I asked for… or maybe I’d been too hard on him. He really did mean well. I felt bad for blowing up at him. He tried so hard to make me happy.

The bathroom pod was empty so I got to use the nice shower that doesn’t burn my ass when I turn it on. I realized it was the first shower I’d had in weeks by myself. It felt so weird to not have Anderson’s hands rubbing my back and grabbing my junk. He spends most of our shower time taking care of me. Fuck, I missed him.

I dried off in the shower and realized I’d forgotten to bring clean clothes. This was a guys only floor so it’s not that big of a deal. I wrapped the towel around my waist, slipped on my flip flops, and headed back to the room.

When I went into my room, Kirin had a visitor with him. They were sitting on Kirin’s bed and quickly spread apart when I opened the door.

“Oh, sorry, you have company… wait! You’re Mike Santiago! You are a legend, bro!” I dropped my dirty clothes and shower pack then went over to him. I held up my hand and he slapped it with his.

“You know Mike?” Kirin looked at me with confusion.

Mike Santiago was very short, maybe 5 feet tall. He was a cute Latino guy with a huge personality. Everyone on campus knew Mike Santiago. He had a ton of followers on the tok, the gram, the tube, and anywhere. He looked a lot taller online, but I’d run across him filming his content. 

“He’s our student body president. His posters were hilarious. And the prank on Julie Summers? She had zero chance of winning after that! It went viral overnight!” I went over to my bunk and looked through my pile for something to wear.

“Yeah I felt bad about that, but she was a total bully. It was so easy finding girls she’d burned. She’s transferring to San Jose State next semester! Maybe she’ll do better down there.” Mike shrugged.

“I’ll get dressed in the closet. You guys want the room to yourselves? I can head out.” I grabbed what I needed and headed towards the closet.

“No, we were just about to head to dinner. Nothing’s open on campus.” Kirin sighed.

I went into the closet and closed the door. I rubbed the towel over me and heard them whispering… Well Mike whispered, but Kirin wasn’t that great at it.

“He’s totally straight, and a total fuckboy. He is hot though.” Kirin was a loud whisperer.

Mike whispered something I couldn’t catch. I put my ear to the door as I stepped into my boxers.

“Yes! His cock flopping around under that towel looked huge, but there’s no way he’s gay or he wouldn’t have been waving it in front of our face like that. Seriously. Let’s go eat.” Kirin whispered.

Apparently Kirin and Mike Santiago were a couple! 

This was surprising news. I suspected Mike was gay. His posters had every color of the LGBTQIA+ rainbow, and he’d made a lot of equality statements as our president. But I didn’t think Kirin was. And what was a hype guy like Mike doing with a quiet nerd like Kirin? 

It seemed like I was becoming a magnet for the gays. I quickly pulled on my shorts and a t-shirt then stumbled out of the closet before they could leave.

“Has my phone made a noise? I’m waiting for my boyfriend to text me. We had a pretty bad fight.” I thought that was a smooth way to come out of the closet; literally and figuratively.

I emphasized the word boyfriend.

“Your boyfriend? I didn’t know you were… Mike and I are together as well,” Kirin told me.

“I did hear it buzzing a few times,” Mike added. 

As interested as I was in their drama, I really had my own to deal with. I went to check my phone and saw Anderson had sent one text about an hour before. 

“I am so sorry. I miss you. I love you, Please let me know you’re ok.”

Chapter 17- Pizza-gram

“I am so sorry. I miss you. I love you, Please let me know you’re ok.”

I read the text out loud and both Mike and Kirin groaned.

“He’s sick for you. You have to invite him to come to dinner with us!” Mike hopped off the bed and came towards me. “Show me a pic! I bet he’s hot.”

I grabbed my phone and opened Anderson’s page to show his pics. I realized I hadn’t checked it in awhile because there was a flood of new pics with us together.

“Woah. It’s a shrine to you!” Mike grabbed my phone and started to scroll. His head barely came up to my shoulder and he was a skinny guy, but he grabbed with a surprising amount of strength.

“I wanna see!” Kirin slid off the bed and came over to put his arm around Mike.

“This boy is obsessed with you, Ezra! Look at all the pictures he posted. He’s proud of you… He’s Chinese. Yang is Chinese, right?” Mike asked.

“Yup. Cute guy. He’s a little old for you… but cute.” Kirin noted as Mike scrolled.

“He’s 30-something. That’s not too old. And he’s in great shape!” I defended. 

“He’s a hottie. That ass is tappable!” Mike nodded.

“Right? I wasn’t even into guys, but it just sucked me in. Magic ass.” I agreed.

“I bet it did. A guy that age is really into pleasing… Wait. I know this guy! Look, babe. That’s the fundraiser we had for the clinic.” Mike held a pic up that showed Anderson in a tuxedo with Kellan and some other friends.

“I remember them! They wrote big checks. You’re in with some serious money, Ezra. Why are you still in the dorms, yo? Get on that.” Kirin urged.

I told them everything that had happened since I met him. We decided to walk down to the pizza place up the street to grab a slice. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast.

“I mean it’s crazy, right? I can’t just keep ignoring the red flags!” I asked when I’d caught them up.

“Look at it from his perspective though. I mean look at the guys he’s dated.” Mike swiped through older pics in his feed that showed Kyle and then some other twiggy guy before him. “This one here just screams gold-digger. Look at that face. Even his smile looks bitchy.”

“Oh he’s fine. They still hang out. I had to put him in his place the first time I met him, but now he’s chill.” I wasn’t annoyed by Kyle.

“Right, but he’s obviously used to boys who need taking care of, and none of the past ones are even close to your league. You’re a hot guy. He’s probably asking himself ten times a day why you’re into him. He knows he’s the reacher in this relationship,” Mike reasoned.

“No way. He’s hot. When we’re together I’m super into it. He does these crazy things. They feel so much better than any girl I’ve been with. It’s like he knows all these secret codes that just take the game to a whole new level.Trust me, I’m there for him. He checks every box.” I sighed.

“Let’s text him!” Kirin reached for my phone as we waited for our pizza order.

“I’ll text him. I don’t know you guys well enough to turn it over to the group!” I took my phone and typed something to Anderson.

Me: I’m ok. Getting pizza with friends.

Him: I love pizza! Are you feeling better? Are you still pissed at me? I really will do better.

Me: I’m good… missing you… this really sucks.

Him: I miss you too. Let’s hang out? Come over?

“Oh!” I slid my phone towards Mike and Kirin. “What do I say to that?”

“Didn’t you just leave him like 10 hours ago?” Mike raised an eyebrow.

“He really intruded on your life. He seems kinda crazy. Are you sure you want to run right back?” Kirin nodded his head.

“Yeah, but… he misses me… and he said he was sorry. Maybe he’s learned his lesson.” I tried to convince them. Truthfully, I missed him.

A waiter who was close to my age showed up at our table with our piping hot pizza.

At that moment, Anderson wrote another text, a text with a picture attached, a picture that showed Mike and Kirin and the waiter much more than they should have seen.

Just above a picture of Anderson’s perfect, round, bubble butt covered only in a very thin, shiny blue thong, was a text that read, “I feel so empty without your big cock. I need it, sir.”

“That’s a sweet ass, bro,” The waiter observed. “Your girl?”

“His boy,” Mike corrected.

“Still nice. Don’t keep that waiting. You want a to-go box?” The waiter asked.

“Please!” I nodded.

“Not a problem, chief.” The waiter went back towards the counter and brought a container.

“Ezra is completely bussy-whipped! I love it!” Mike laughed.

“I am not! I’ll just see him for a bit. We can talk things out… never go to bed angry, right? I’ll be back tonight. I will. Tonight I’ll stay in the dorm.” I tried to convince myself.

“Stop rationalizing and go! Your bottom needs you.” Kirin urged as I stuffed two slices of pizza into the container.

“It’s an assmergency!” Mike looked around expecting high praise for his joke.

They wished me luck and I tore out of there. Luckily, the pizza place was on the way to Anderson’s condo. I didn’t have far to go.

I got to his building and two guys were heading out for the night. They held the door as I ran up.

I got up the elevator to Anderson’s floor when I realized I hadn’t texted him back. This would be a surprise.

I knocked on his door and moved to the side so he couldn’t see me in the peephole. I heard his footsteps coming closer and I stated to the side.

“Um hi? Who is it?” Anderson’s voice came through the electronic doorbell.

“Pizza-gram delivery.” I tried to use my deepest voice.

“Is this a real pizza-gram delivery, or am I in a bad porn movie?” Anderson laughed.

“Bad porn-gram delivery!” I answered.

“Ok, but you better be hung!!” Anderson opened the door very quickly and grabbed my arm to yank me inside.

“Hey!” I almost dropped the pizza box.

“Thank God it’s you! I’ve been getting crank knockers all evening! Pizza-gram, Dick-dash, Hole Patrol, even Cock-in-a-box stopped by! This neighborhood is going to shit.” Anderson pushed me against his closed door and came in for a kiss. 

He fumbled with the locks behind me to keep out unwanted visitors.

“You said you love pizza. I brought pizza.” I held up the container when our lips finally parted.

“Fuck, I missed you.” He took the pizza and set it on a side table and then pulled me over to the couch.

“I missed you more. I can’t stay long. I told the guys I’d be strong and not spend the night here. I don’t think they believed me.” I let him drag me to the couch.

He pushed me to sit and then fell into my lap. He was shirtless and wearing a small pair of fleece shorts with the thong peeking out above the waistband.

“You still love me?” He stared directly into my soul with eyes that begged for my affection.

“I love you. I think we have major issues, but yeah. I missed you so bad.” I gave him a quick kiss.

“I love you too. I will stay out of your stuff. I promise I’ll let you figure things out on your own and only help when you ask for it.” He put his head on my shoulder and I put my arm around his back and cupped his ass.

“We’ll talk that out more later… Do you mind if I carry you to the bed now? I’m so hard and this was supposed to be a Bad-Porn-Gram Express. My shift ends in 20 minutes and then Barry The Plumber clocks in. I’d like to cum before he shows up to finish the job.” I pushed my hand down the back of his shorts and found his hole.

“Ooh I got Barry last time. He’s a gentle lover… 5-star dickdown, but I kind of need a solid pounding tonight. And he always cries when he finishes. Carry me, sir.” His face lit up with an excited smile.

I turned him so he was straddling my lap then put both hands on his cheeks and lifted him as I stood. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and his legs around my waist as his chest fell against mine. He felt so light in my hold. He was made for me.

We kissed the whole way, or at least until I bumped his head against a light in the hallway. He gave a quick yelp then put his lips back against mine. I bumped his ass against the doorknob and somehow the door pushed open.

“Dude, your ass opened the door,” I laughed.

“Think of what it’ll do to your dick.” Anderson grinned.

I carried him to the bed and set him down gently then took off my t-shirt. I laid between his legs and kissed down his neck. He smelled like almond soap and citrus shampoo like he’d known I was coming. I kissed down his chest and put my hands on his pecs to squeeze them. I went in for his right nipple then bit and sucked at it like it would give me milk.

“Fuck, I need you so bad. You’re my everything.” His breathing went ragged as I kissed his skin and rubbed my hands over his stomach. I reached down and felt his hard bulge through the shorts. I rubbed my thumb over it like I’d do with a girl. His body jerked and he looked down at me with hungry eyes.

“Are you ready for me?” I kissed his belly button and swirled my tongue around it.

“I was expecting Barry the Plumber, so I got my pipes extra clean.” He joked.

I slid down his shorts and raised off of him to take them off his legs. He kicked them off his feet and then spread his legs and raised them to show off what I wanted. I pulled the strap of the thong and his dark hole winked at me. I pushed my thumb against it and he whined happily.

He put a hand on each of his feet and pulled them straight up and far apart to invite me inside him. I pushed my thumb against his hole pushed into him.

“Yes, daddy. Please breed your boy.” He wiggled his ass for me.

“It’s so pretty. You have a really nice hole here.” I squatted on the floor between his legs and admired the view.

I’d fallen in love with his ass, but hadn’t really stopped to appreciate the hole I liked to pound. It was a nickel-sized slot with a ring around it darker than his other skin. It was smooth and hairless with a little ridge of skin that went straight up to his balls.

And without thinking, I did something I’d seen in the videos I’d explored since discovering the gay side of me. I dove in with my tongue and pushed it through the ring.

Anderson’s body immediately stiffened and then went limp against the comforter.

“Oh! Fuck! Yes!” He started to go wild. I drove my tongue inside him and felt his hand on my head. He pushed his fingers through my hair and started to wiggle on my tongue.

“Fuck, daddy! Oh my god. Oh shit. Oh fuck you yes!” He praised me as I swirled my tongue inside him.

I expected this would be too gross. I’d told myself this was not something I wanted to try. I thought that was something I’d never get into. But it felt like I wasn’t in control of myself here. It drew me in and I couldn’t resist. I actually liked it. It felt good to please him.

“Yasss, King! Own that pussy!” He yelled out in this high pitched squeal that made me laugh. He was so into this and didn’t care how cheesy he sounded. It was so fucking cute.

I pulled my tongue out and looked up at him with adoring eyes as he gripped my hair. His eyes were filled with hazy lust. He had his knees tucked behind his shoulders with his ass pushed out for me.

“You are so goofy and so beautiful,” I told him. I gave his hole a kiss and rubbed my nose under his nuts.

He bit his lip and shook his head.

I reached for the lube in the side table. I didn’t need him to suck on me. I was already rock hard. I pushed off my shorts and boxers. My cock lurched out and dripped a long strand of pre-cum onto his ass. I collected it with my thumb and pushed it against his hole.

“I need all of it.” Anderson nodded in agreement.

I grabbed the lube and got to my feet. Anderson let his legs drop and then sat up. He took the lube from me and started to suck my cock while he opened it and squeezed some out.

I put my hand on his head and guided him though he didn’t need it. He pumped my shaft and swirled his tongue around the head with expertise. I started to fuck his face and he made happy gagging sounds when I got too far back. He gave it five more pumps and then pulled off of me.

“I hope that’s enough. I can’t wait anymore.” He slathered my cock with the warm lube and then pumped it to coat me in the stuff.

“Me either.” I pushed him back and he went straight into position with his legs spread wide and his hole up and ready.

I pushed into him. He was tight but open for me. He put his hands on my abs and looked up at me with needy eyes. I started slowly, but his ass kept trying for more. He sucked me in and begged me to pound him.

“Fuck that hole. Make me yours,” he whined. I pushed in deeper and started to pound him. I leaned into him and we kissed. He sucked on my tongue while I drilled his hole.

He wrapped his arms around my neck and held on tightly while I pounded him into the mattress. He moaned on my tongue as our lips wrestled. His body shuddered while his hands clawed at my back.

I didn’t last long inside him, but I felt him finish first. His cock, held in place by the thong, was rubbing against my abs. I pushed into him to make it tighter. As I pounded him, I felt warm cum start to coat my stomach as his body thrashed underneath me. He whined and bucked as my cock mashed his prostate and lit him up.

“Huhhhh,” he gasped as our lips parted. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” He whined and shuddered.

“Oh yeah.” I felt his hole squeeze my cock in a tight grip when he came. I pounded him faster and started to fill him with my seed. “Oh fuck, me too!”

“Breed me, sir. I need your cum.” He laid back against the comforter and looked up at me as I raised up. I pounded him a few more times. His hole milked out the last of my nut and his hands went up to squeeze my pecs.

I gave him a few more deep thrusts and then kept my cock in there so he could get all he needed. I fell against him; spent and exhausted.

“Fuck, that was good. You never disappoint,” he chuckled as he caught his breath.

“It’s the Pizza-gram guarantee.” I mumbled in a sleepy, happy haze.

We laid there for a minute, keeping my cock buried inside him. I realized I was probably too heavy for him. He didn’t complain, but I turned him on his side and pushed him up on the bed. I crawled in behind him, keeping my cock in his hole.

I laid down next to him and spooned him from behind.

Anderson grabbed the pillows and put them under our heads. I pushed my lips in against the back of his neck and put my left leg over him. I pulled the covers over us and nodded off.

+++

I woke up some time in the night and realized I was supposed to head back to the dorm. My cock was soft, but the tip was still nestled into his hole.

“I gotta head out.” I reminded myself.

“What? What time is it?” Anderson raised his wrist up to tap on his watch. “It’s 2 AM. You can’t walk the streets this time of night.”

I yawned. The thought of leaving this warm cocoon to get murdered on Powell street does sound a little unappealing.

“Let’s sleep a few more hours and I’ll drive you back, ok? I’ll make breakfast tacos,” he urged when I didn’t respond.

“Oh we have pizza.” I’d forgotten about the slices I’d carried for us.

“Sure, pizza and breakfast tacos. Just a few more hours of sleep, kay?” He yawned and kissed the arm I had slung across his chest.

I nestled my lips into the warmth of the back of his neck. I inhaled his scent and closed my eyes. Just a few more hours.

+++

We slept until just after 10 AM. Well I slept, Anderson was up and working in his office. It was so rare that we woke up together. He seemed chained to his jobs and intent on doing as much as he could before I woke up.

I stumbled down the hall and paused at his office door. He looked up from his computer and smiled at me. He was shirtless and wore the little shorts I’d found him in the night before.

“Taco time? The pizza looked pretty gross by the time I got to it. I hope you don’t mind me throwing it out. I got these new protein tortillas you’ll like.” He stood and closed out of his programs then came to my side to walk down to the kitchen.

He made breakfast tacos for us while I sipped coffee and played on my phone. We ate up on the roof; both in our underwear. The city was covered in a light fog, but it wasn’t too cold.

“Your birthday is next week… I kept the reservations in case you still want to go.” He looked at me expectantly.

“Is it tropical? Is there a beach?” I asked as if I had better options to consider.

“Of course. It will be warm and sunny and just the two of us,” Anderson assured.

“Well if you already booked it… It would be a shame to waste the trip. It’s probably non-refundable, right?” I smiled.

“Completely non-refundable. I’d lose every dime. I just want to spend time with you without all the distractions here. We can talk things out and make things better. I love you, Ezra. I really want this to work out.” He got suddenly serious.

“I love you too.” I kissed him and took a bite of his taco.

Chapter 18- Turning the Page

Author’s Note: I wrote this entire chapter and then later realized it is all in present tense. I just finished reading a really excellent novel (“We are Lost and Found” - please comment if you read it too!), and it was written in present tense. Sorry if it feels out of place.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“But your dorms are open, right?” Mom asks me with confusion.

“They are, but um…” I don’t know how to finish the sentence.

“He’s working on projects in my place and he has a few other jobs lined up in the building. And the guy they moved into his room; complete party boy. It’s not a good match and you know Ezra hates to confront people.” Anderson jumps in.

“Right! I couldn’t sleep there.” I sound a little too desperate in my proclamation.

We’re having dinner with my parents. They came early to celebrate my birthday since Anderson is taking me out of town next week.

We met up at an Afghani place my parents love. It’s pretty international for my simple parents from the Central Valley, but they grew up near Hayward and there’s a ton of Afghans around there. My parents feel super cosmopolitan going to places like this. But in all honesty, it’s just meat and rice with new spices. It’s tasty though.

“Honey, if you want to live with your boyfriend, no one’s going to judge you.” Mom chuckles at the show we’re putting on. Dad tears off a hunk of the Noni bread and looks up suddenly.

“Can we order more of these dumplings? They’re really good. Glad I went to the gym this morning.” Dad tries to change the subject, but mom puts her hand on his.

“No more or you’ll get indigestion. Anderson has cake for us back at his place… or their place?” Mom veers us right back into the awkward discussion.

“I don’t know. We’re still thinking about it.” I finally say after a long pause.

“About the cake?” Dad asks with a disappointed tone. He loves cake and they rarely eat sugar.

“About our living situation. I mean my summer classes are online so I don’t really need to be on campus. This way I can work and study,” I tell them.

“Good then you can come home for the summer! Your Uncle Reggie could use your help in the shop. He’s paying ten bucks an hour for new guys.” Dad encourages.

“I am not going to spend the summer in a hot barn fixing old furniture.” I argue.

“Of course you’re not. You should be here in the city, enjoying yourself and figuring things out with your new guy. I’m sure there’s concerts and festivals and all kinds of crazy fun.” Mom smiles.

“Fine. If no one wants my input then I’m ordering more dumplings,” Dad grumbles.

“You can order whatever you want, sir,” Anderson assures.

“Oh no you don’t. You paid for dinner last time, and this time is our treat. Besides, I’m sure Ezra has already tripled your grocery bill. My boys are bottomless pits when it comes to food,” dad beams at Anderson.

“I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t even know if I want to be a dentist. I just picked something that had a grant attached. I’m such a wreck. I’m trying to work and pay bills and study and…” I start to ramble, but she cuts me off.

“Sweetie, you’re going to be 20 years old next week. You know what people expect of 20 year olds?” Mom puts her hand on mine and leans towards me.

“What?” I lift my fork, unsure where this is going.

“Way too damn much! You really pulled up your grades this semester, and worked a full time job and provided for yourself without asking us for a dime. You’re figuring out life in the big city without running to us for every little thing like your brothers did. I am so proud of you. Take a break and have some fun. Go on your trip and explore new things. You don’t even know how much I want for your happiness. You can’t imagine how proud I am of you.” Mom reaches up and pushes back a stray patch of my hair.

“Thanks, mom.” I set my fork down and lean in to hug her. She kisses my forehead and pats my shoulder.

“And get a damn haircut. It’s out of control.” She lightens the mood.

We finish dinner and Anderson drives us back to his building. My parents had been impressed that he reserved them a parking spot in his building’s garage. My dad hates parking in the city.

When we get back to his condo, mom starts grinning all weird. I have no idea what’s going on with her until we make it to Anderson’s door and he loudly announces “Well, this is my place!” As if they hadn’t seen it when they drove here to meet up with us for dinner.

“Yeah, they know… Why are you all being so weird?” I ask.

Mom pinches my arm and shushes me. Anderson unlocks his door and opens it. We walk in and he flips on the light. Kellan pops his head out of the kitchen and yells, “Surprise!”

Then Marcus pops out of the closet and does the same thing. More people start popping out, behind the couch, running down the stairs from the roofdeck, one from behind a plant. The room suddenly fills with all of Anderson’s friends along with Kirin and Mike Santiago. Even Kyle was there with Justin.

It felt really nice, but also felt weird that these were all people I’d known less than a month; other than my parents. I really had been busy this year.

“You have so many friends here,” mom laughs. “Look at all the presents!”

She points to the coffee table which is filled with wrapped packages and cards.

“All that’s for me?” I ask as if someone else might have a birthday here.

“Of course… everything’s for you.” Anderson puts his hand on my shoulder and squeezes it. I know he wants to kiss me, but he holds back in front of my parents.

I introduce my parents to all of the guys. I’d forgotten that Anderson had claimed that my roommate Kirin was a loud party animal. When my parents get to him, he shakes their hand and introduces himself as my dorm mate.

“So you’re the wild party guy I’ve heard about?” Dad asks with a suspicious look.

“Wild party guy?” Kirin is confused.

“I wish.” Mike laughs.

“I’m a medical student at UCSF. This is the first party I’ve been to in… forever.” Kirin laughs.

“That’s fantastic. Our son is going to be a dentist.” Mom moves the conversation on from dad’s accusation. They realize he is not the party guy Anderson claimed. I do not respond.

I make it through the Happy Birthday song and blowing out the candles and eating a slice of the strawberry cake with 8 layers and fancy gold flakes before things settle down into a regular party. My mom enjoys one small glass of champagne while my dad breaks into the finely aged Scotch that Anderson got just for him.

Everyone is on their best behavior and no one makes crazy sex jokes in front of my parents. Things are going smoothly. Anderson and I have just one glass of champagne each.

“We should head home soon,” my mom says when dad starts to get goofy. “Your home is beautiful. These views of the city are crazy!”

“Oh! Take your parents up to the roof deck, Ezra. They have to see the view before they go.” Anderson pushes us together and towards the stairs.

“There’s a roof deck?” Dad perks up. He pours another glass of Scotch; mom will drive him home. “Allons-y, my boy!” He breaks out in random French. Mom gets this goofy smile. She loves to see him happy.

I take them up and Anderson stays back with the party. The sun is gone and the city pulses with lights and energy. A cold wind is blowing through with force and mom tucks her hair behind her ears as we take in the view. Dad moves along the edge, pointing out landmarks we all know.

“This place is wonderful. The party is wonderful.” Mom says. We hang back by the grill area, and I grab bottles of water from the fridge drawers in the counter.

“It is. I can’t believe he put this together for me.” I hand her a water and start to sip on mine.

“That man loves you. Do you feel the same?” Mom goes right for the tough question.

“I think so. I like being with him, hanging out with him. It definitely feels more real with a boy than with a girl.” I tell her.

“He’s a grown man, Ezra.” She says. I’m not sure how to take that.

“I know that.” I take a big gulp of my water.

“As long as you’re happy. That’s all we want. Your dad likes him.” Mom looks out over the city.

“Dad likes everyone. You like him too?” I feel like a five year old asking for her approval.

“Of course I do. A nice, solid guy who treats my son so well.” She has this coolness to her voice, like she’s not trying to sway me one way or the other.

“How did you know dad was right for you?” I look over and see dad leaning out over the city just checking things out.

“Your dad did every goofy thing he could think of to get my attention. But honestly, I didn’t figure it out until he went away for the summer doing that internship in Fresno. We didn’t have texts back then so I had to page him on his beeper. The 90’s were rough. He tried calling me every night, but sometimes I’d miss him and sometimes he’d get too busy and it really sucked.” She shrugs.

“Yeah it was really rough not having your entire life posted for everyone to see and pick apart!” I joke.

“For the first time though, I felt like I was the one trying to get his attention. It hurt. I missed him really badly. When he came back I was all over him. He didn’t understand why. He told me I was the one who had nothing to worry about, he was the one who had to work to get me. I didn’t need to be chased anymore. I proposed to him and that was that. We never looked back.” Mom sighs happily in her memories.

“I kind of feel that here. I tried to stay in my dorm, but it was too hard. It didn’t feel right anymore.” I open up.

Mom nods.

“I feel right when I’m here. I feel good with him.” I don’t know why I’m telling her this.

“You love him. That’s what it feels like. Pretty cool, kid.” She sips her water.

“It is.” I nod along.

“Hey, Ezra!” Anderson pops out from the doorway that opens to the down stairs. “You guys ok up here?” His smile is full of questioning. We’ve been gone too long.

“It’s beautiful up here! Million dollar view,” dad says and walks over to us.

“Closer to 3 million. My company built this project. I worked with the architect on this unit to get the right views.” Anderson says with pride.

“That’s just a little out of our price range,” mom jokes.

“I think we can swing it. Maybe for our retirement, something in the city would be nice.” Dad looks out over the city again.

My parents head out after giving me hugs and watching me open my birthday gift from them; a pair of running shoes I’d talked about last Christmas. We walk them down to their car and my mom pulls a large plastic container filled with homemade cookies from the backseat. We hug them again and then watch them exit the garage.

“They really like you. I hope they weren’t too weird. My dad with good alcohol can get messy.” I joke as we ride back up together in the elevator.

“I really like them. I feel so bad that you probably won’t have that experience with my parents. I mean, fuck. I don’t even have that kind of experience with my parents. My mom will hug me, my dad will nod at me.” Anderson says.

“Is that cultural? Is it a Chinese thing? I wish I knew more about your culture.” I put my hand on his shoulder.

“No. Chinese parents hug their kids like every other culture. Maybe it’s an upper-class thing. I had an Au Pair and a house staff, and my parents were always somewhere else. Unless I was in trouble and they had to be called in… Maybe that’s why I have such close friends who drop in on me all the time. It’s the family we choose. Right?” Anderson leans into me and puts his head on my shoulder as the elevator whirrs us upward.

“I wish we had that! They treated us like slaves!” I laugh. “We mowed the lawn, raked the leaves, washed the dishes, folded laundry, helped with cooking, scrubbed toilets, everyone had something on the chore chart everyday. No one got pampered in the Ryan house.”

“And yet your parents show up for you. Your mom made you cookies, and they’re probably your favorite kind… She knows your favorite kind of cookie and cared enough to make it.” Anderson looks up at me.

I open the cookies to check.

“Yep, coconut chocolate chip pecan! She didn’t add sprinkles though so technically these are Tenley’s favorite. It’s like she hardly knows me!” I joke.

“We can mail them back to Modesto with an angry note,” he laughs.

“I’ll just eat them. I don’t want to hurt their feelings. If you piss off mom, you get dad’s wrath.” I let the elevator doors open and wave for Anderson to exit first.

“Your dad is so cute! Talk about DILF,” Kellan says when we get back to Anderson’s condo.

“That’s what I said when I first saw him too,” Anderson laughs. It’s good to see him snap back from his melodramatic mood.

“Seriously! We’ve met 3 of the 5 Ryan boys, and they do not disappoint,” Justin adds.

“This is why none of you are invited to Thanksgiving,” I tell them.

“They couldn’t handle that much meat in the same room anyways,” Anderson jokes.

“But we would definitely give thanks,” Kellan adds.

“They’re just excited to see what you’re going to grow into.” Anderson takes my hand and pulled my arm around him.

Everyone laughs and a few make dirty comebacks. I decide to let it go. They have a weird fascination with the men in my family.

“You have to open your presents!” Anderson says when things settle down.

“Mine first,” Kellan says.

He grabs a medium sized box from the table and points for me to sit on the couch. Everyone circles around us and takes their seats. Anderson perches on the arm of the couch. I sit next to him and then pull him into my lap. Kellan sets the box in Anderson’s lap.

Marcus sits next to me on the couch, holding his own gift. I put my arms around Anderson and rest my chin on his shoulder.

“Help me,” I tell Anderson. I slide my right hand up his shirt to rub his stomach.

It’s one of those boxes with a lid you just lift off. We lift it to find a bunch of tissue paper. The first lift of paper reveals these black, rubber-coated handcuffs with keys attached.

“Wow! You really went for it,” I laugh.

“Those are mostly for Anderson, but keep digging for your gift.” Kellan chuckles like this type of gift wasn’t expected from him.

Underneath those is more paper, and then I find a brand new Giants baseball cap. It’s a black cap with a solid black logo of the scripted S and F intertwined.

“I love it!” I lift it up and see the side of it has been embroidered with my name, “Ezra.”

“This is perfect! Thank you, Kell.” I put it on my head and smile at him.

“I’ll be stealing that soon,” Anderson tells me.

“One more item under that!” Kellan gets this goofy grin on his face.

I dig down into the tissue paper and find a picture frame. I pull it out, but Anderson grabs it before I get a good look. He gets off my lap and backs away.

“No! You are such a bitchQ! Why would you do that?” he tells Kellan.

Kellan explodes with laughter and tries to grab it.

“That’s my gift, sir.” I get up and walk to Anderson which is a little awkward since my cock was half hard from having him sit there.

“Ok but don’t make fun of me. It’s truly horrific.” He turns the picture over to me.

“That’s you?” I ask.

The picture shows a younger version of him. He looks like a 12 year old. He’s very thin and has big glasses and a weird haircut. It’s at a restaurant and he’s holding a cupcake with a lit candle in it. There is a man and woman on either side of him. 

“That was his 20th birthday!” Kellan laughs.

“It was back in China and before I started working out. So embarrassing! I was totally closeted and…” he starts explaining.

“It’s cute… you’re so small here. Nice picture.” I look at it and then set it down.

“You are so evil!” Anderson smacks Kellan on his shoulder, but smiles like it’s fine.

Marcus is next and he gives me a large envelope. I open it to find tickets to a private box at the Giants vs. Dodgers game.

“It’s for you two and whoever you want to bring. It includes dinner and drinks in our private box at the stadium. You can teach us baseball,” Marcus says.

“Woah! That’s going to be so lit! Thank you! You will definitely come with us!” I am sensing a baseball theme with my gifts. Marcus smiles.

Kyle and Justin follow up with a new hoodie, also in black with the orange SF logo on it.

“I will be stealing that as well after you wear it, boyfriend privilege.” Anderson declares.

I realize the only thing people know about my interests is baseball. I don’t mind though, at least they thought enough of me to give a gift.

I don’t have the heart to tell any of them that I’m more of an Oakland fan.

The only non baseball gift comes from Kirin and Mike Santiago. They give me a gift card to the pizza place since I had to run off before enjoying it.

We end up hanging out until after midnight before people start heading home. Kellan and Marcus start to clean things up, but Anderson tells them he booked Sasha to come in tomorrow so they stack things in the kitchen for him to work through. 

We finally get everyone out about 1 in the morning. I take Anderson to the bedroom and reward him for putting this all together for me. It was a great pre-birthday party.

Chapter 19- Fly Boys

“This is my passport, and the other one is for my husband,” Anderson said when he handed the security agent our documents.

I snapped my head up at that. I was not his husband. 

I was standing quietly behind him as he navigated us through the airport. Kellan had dropped us off in his massive SUV. We had two giant suitcases that Anderson had tipped an airline employee to unload for us. The employee took our bags and tagged them before carrying them away. We hugged Kellan goodbye, and went to the security line.

It was weird being in this position with Anderson. Outside of the house, he is the commander and I just follow him quietly. He knows how things work and how to get things done.

At home, he is this softer guy who always tries to make me happy and lets me decide things. Out in the real world, he is very much the dad and calls the shots. It felt weirdly comforting.

The security guy took a quick look at me and waved us through. We went through the scanners next. Anderson had his work bag. I had my backpack with some travel supplies, snacks, and an iPad he’d set up with games for me. I hadn’t been on an airplane since I was a little kid, and I kind of felt like that same little kid right now.

We made it through security and headed towards the terminal to a lounge for China Airlines.

“Ah hah! We’re going to China!” I pointed at the sign as we walked. I’d figured out his mystery surprise for my birthday trip.

“That’s just the first stop. Your surprise is a little too remote to get a direct flight,” he assured as I opened the door for him.

From the moment I opened the door, everything switched over to Chinese. He checked in with the attendant who led us to a small sitting area near the windows overlooking the runway. He ordered things for us from the attendant, and then settled in to check his work.

“We have about 45 minutes until we board. I don’t like to get on the plane and just sit there. There’s a restroom over there. We’ll eat a little something before the flight.” He got into his work immediately. I sat in the other chair and started looking at stuff on my phone.

“So I’m your husband now?” I laughed.

“Oh! No, it’s just that in international travel it’s good to get in that habit so we don’t get separated. In liberal countries I’ll be your husband, in others I’ll be your guardian. It just makes things easier. That way they know we shouldn’t be split up. I don’t want to get split from you.” He reaches over and rubs my thigh.

We shared a plate of fruit. Anderson got a cocktail, and I sipped at a bottle of water. The lounge only had a few passengers for the late evening flight. There was a family, and then a few guys who looked like they were on business trips. Everyone was glued to their devices as an attendant moved between tables to check on everyone.

When it was time for the flight, the attendant helped us and the other passengers on our flight line up at a side door. He put me and Anderson in the front of the line. He led us down a corridor and right to the gate. He scanned us in and took us onto the flight.

The airplane was two levels, and most people were already buckled into their seats ready to go. I was met with stares of annoyance from the other passengers. They looked as if we were coming at the last minute and holding things up. The attendant paid them no attention and walked us through the cabin to the stairs near the back.

We went up and through a small lounge with a bar then down a hallway lined with open pods. Each pod had names printed on the side in Chinese and English. At the end of the corridor, the front of the plane, there were four enclosed pods. We were in the one where the sign on the door read, “A. Yang Family.”

“This is crazy!” I said as I followed Anderson to the pod.

“It’s a long flight, about 14 hours. We want to be comfortable, and I have work to finish.” He opened the pod to show a room about the size of a walk-in closet.

Along one wall were two large, blue leather seats. The wall across from them held a built-in screen. There were three regular airplane windows on the outer wall with an organizer below them to store things. Above the two seats was a storage bin for our carry-ons. I put our bags up there and we took our seats.

A man appeared at our open doorway wearing a flight uniform with a red tie and black pants. He looked a little younger and shorter than Anderson with a very thin build and nice ass. He gave me a quick smile, but then addressed Anderson in Chinese. He handed him a menu on thick card stock and then Anderson looked it over and made some choices without consulting me. I pulled out the iPad and EarPods and started looking at the games he’d downloaded.

The man took the menu back and then turned to leave. He gave me a quick look on his way out, but dashed away when my eyes met his. I looked back at my tablet while Anderson got to work on his laptop.

“They’ll bring us dinner after we take off. Then we can watch something. These seats fold out to make a bed so we can get a good night’s sleep before we get there.” Anderson sent a few quick emails before the plane started to head down the runway.

A safety video came on the screen and then the flight attendant guy popped back in to make sure we had our seatbelts on. He gave us bottles of water to sip during the takeoff. 

Soon, we were gliding out over San Francisco Bay. We made a sharp turn to the left and then got a view of the Golden Gate Bridge before sailing out over the endless Pacific. The sun was setting, and I craned my neck to see the last bit of the city before we headed out into the nothingness.

“You can pick a movie,” Anderson handed me a menu on his phone that connected to the screen in front of us. There were a lot of family movies and romantic comedies, but I found an old action movie I’d seen with my dad three years before.

“This one is great!

Peter Rabid

! There was an accident at the lab that turned this guy’s pet rabbit into a monster that smashes his way across New York. It’s pretty good. Stone Smasherson plays the hero.“ I pulled it up on the screen.

“That sounds lovely.” Anderson returned to his work emails and leaned against my shoulder. He pulled his legs up underneath him and yawned against my shirt.

“Baby is tired?” I asked in this awkward voice one only uses with one’s partner.

“Baby is hungry and tired and very horny and so very over his work emails! They never end. I have to babysit all of my assistants.” Anderson rubbed his cheek against my shoulder.

I leaned over and kissed his forehead. I slid an arm around him.

“Well put your computer away and let’s take care of your needs checklist.” I rubbed my hand down his back. The pod was private and we didn’t hear noise from outside so I hoped they wouldn’t hear us either.

“Nope, can’t. I need to respond to these and our dinner is coming. I’ll please my sir after that. My birthday boy deserves air sex,” he assured.

“You got me hard though. You can’t blue-ball me like that.” I took his hand and put it on my bulge where things were quickly rising.

“How did I do that? I didn’t even touch you.” He looked at me with confusion, and started to grip the outline of my pole.

“Just seeing you like this. You’re a powerful guy. Snapping deals, fancy flights, VIP experience, making shit happen. It’s like a whole other you… I kinda like it… It’s kinda hot.” I kissed his cheek.

“You like Alpha Anderson? You want me to dominate my boy? We could try the handcuffs you got for your birthday. I could ride your cock while you’re cuffed to the bed. I mean… unless you’re thinking of me topping you?” Anderson wagged his eyebrows.

“No! Definitely not that. I am very committed to being the one who does the poking.” I opened my mouth wide and bit playfully at his cheek.

“How did I get so lucky? You’re everything I thought I couldn’t get.” His hand massaged my cock so perfectly.

A sudden knock at the pod door brought us crashing back to reality.

The flight attendant didn’t wait for a reply, he opened the door and Anderson quickly took his hand from my bulge.

“Oh. I am so sorry, sir. You asked for the delivery at this time. Do you want me to come back, sir?” He had a tray with covered dishes and glasses.

“No. We are hungry. Please come in.” Anderson told him as if we’d done nothing to be ashamed of.

I shifted away from Anderson as the attendant came in. He pulled a table from the wall that landed between our seats and then set the tray down. He uncovered the dishes to show a small pizza, salad, and a veggie/fruit tray.

“Is there anything else you need? I only have one other room, and they are passed out for the trip.” He pulled napkins and wrapped packages with silverware from a compartment under the tray.

“We have what we need. Thank you.” Anderson looked perfectly at ease, but I could feel the blush burning my cheeks.

“Push the call button when you finish and I will bring dessert or anything else you need.” The attendant moved back towards the doorway, but then paused before opening it. “And the rooms are pretty soundproof.”

He gave Anderson a wink and then left us alone.

“I think he wants us to do it.” I grinned at Anderson and grabbed a slice of the pizza.

“I’m pretty sure he wants to do it with us. He was staring at your bulge hard. Every guy does. I’m really curious though… How did I get so lucky with you? We never talk about this. I love how open you are about this stuff. You really never liked guys before?” Anderson picked at the salad.

“Not really. I mean maybe I felt closer than friendship but not like ‘I need to fuck that’ energy for another guy. And out where I grew up, it wasn’t something people talked about…. Joked about, yes, but none of my friends ever initiated. It just wasn’t on the menu. There were gay kids in my high school, but they were in other circles, I didn’t really consider it, but none of them looked like you.” I chewed on my pizza. It was pretty good.

“Oh, so no Asian boys clawing for your jock? Maybe that’s it, you’re only into Asian guys? Oh shit, I’m literally flying you to Asia.” He grimaced.

“Asia-pheliac? Is that the correct term for it?” I tried to piece together a good term.

“Rice Queen used to be the term, but people don’t say that anymore, and you’re not a queen anyways, which people don’t use that term anymore either… I’m feeling like an old gay.” He leaned across the table and kissed my cheek.

“I have never heard that term… Oh because Asians eat a lot of rice? Well that’s offensive… I don’t know, bro. I’d hate to think you’re my fetish. Isn’t that weird? Or Offensive? It’s not like that. You’re a beautiful person that I very much love…” I hadn’t considered him being a fetish for me.

“You love me and I love you. If you had a fetish for Asian guys, you’d already be on to the next one, or flirting with our attendant. When you get a fetish for just one person that’s called love. You didn’t even want to play with Marcus.” He put a hand on my shoulder to reassure me.

“Marcus is very cute. I’d have gone for it, but I have something real with you. It seemed like too big of a risk, and my body just wouldn’t let me. I’m not attracted to Kellan or Justin though.” I started going through his friends.

“What about Kyle? Would you top him?” Anderson joined my sexual exploration.

“Nah… He’s too much work.” I laughed.

“Oh! Kirin is Korean. What about him? Or that Mike Santiago?” Anderson tried a bite of the pizza.

“Ok that’s interesting. I’m not into Kirin. He seems like he’d just lay there quietly. I really like the noises you make. Listening to you helps me get there. You really get into it and I can tell when I’m doing a good job. It makes me feel like a man.” I set down my pizza. I was ready to jump him.

“You are always doing a good job. That cock brings me joy. I would not throw it out.” Anderson took two bites of the mini pizza slice then set it back down. He’s too healthy for that.

“And Mike Santiago, I’m pretty sure he’s a top,” I said.

“Nope, total bottom. For the purposes of this activity, everyone is a bottom and begging for your nut… for scientific purposes.” Anderson laughed.

“Well in that case, yeah totally. Mike’s just got that big dick energy in a tight little package. He’s a leader. Everyone looks up to him. Having him give me his ass would be an honor. It would be rude to refuse.” I joked.

“Ok then, so far you like boys from southern China, and Mike Santiago. What is the common thread? You’re a mystery-sexual.” Anderson studied me with a sharp look.

“Short, fit guys with perfect peaches. I like my cake.” I decided.

“Noted. I promise to keep up my squat game.” Anderson grabbed a napkin and rubbed at my cheek.

“You know we’re way past that. I love more than that about you. You have a good heart, and you treat me like I’m your favorite person in the world. I’m the lucky one. I’m kind of a mess if you hadn’t noticed. I’m not that good at school, I’m pretty messy, and now I don’t even have a job. I’m your scrub.” I grabbed a celery stick off the tray.

“You’re pretty messy, but I like to clean. It also helps Sasha when I can bring him in more days to clean. He’s actually house-sitting while we’re gone. And you don’t need a job, babe. We can worry about that when you finish your degree. You save me a ton of money in therapists and rent boys. I was up to ten OnlyFans subscriptions. Trust me, you’re earning your keep.” Anderson finished the last of his salad.

“You’re my only fan?” I laughed.

“I’m your service boy. Whatever my man needs, sir.” Anderson said in a breathy, hungry voice.

I leaned over to kiss him. I was finished with the food and ready for playtime.

“Let me just get our dessert and make sure we aren’t disturbed. That thirsty attendant will try to walk in on us if I don’t.” Anderson reached up for the call button.

He stacked our dinner dishes, and met the attendant at the door when he came. He did a quick exchange for the dessert and talked to him in Chinese. He didn’t even let the guy peek in at me.

“Do you want this now?” Anderson showed me two small take-out bowls that contained custard with berries.

I shook my head. I was already unbuckling my belt and my cock was ready to go. Anderson pushed a small privacy bar on the door and set the containers down. He came over and dropped to his knees as I got to my feet.

Sex in a tiny airplane cabin pod may sound exciting, but it ends up with a lot of accidental banging into things. It’s always great with him, but it felt more like we were doing it just to say we did it. Plus, we were both super horned up so it didn’t last that long anyways.

The position that worked best was having him bounce in my lap. I turned him so his back was towards me and then we alternated between him bouncing and me holding him and thrusting up into him. It didn’t take long, and then he fell asleep in the fetal position in my arms with his bottom resting on my cock.

The attendant woke us up some time later. Anderson stirred and then reached for his neck saying he was cramped from the position. He said something in Chinese to the attendant and then scurried to put his clothes back on. I pulled on my clothes before we opened the door.

The attendant sent us to the shower he’d reserved for us while he freshened the room and got it ready for sleep. We were both pretty tired, but we grabbed our pajamas and went to the tiny private bathroom the pods shared. We couldn’t both fit into the shower, but we took turns with one of us under the water and the other helping out.

By the time we got back to our pod, he’d totally transformed the seats to a lie-flat bed covered with a sheet, blanket, and two pillows. He pulled down the window shades and had put new bottles of water in the organizer on the wall. He showed us the sleep sounds on the screen. We picked summer storm.

“I do not sleep on these flights, so if you wake up and need anything, press the call button. You have about 7 hours until we serve breakfast and get ready to land, but call if you’re hungry. If you guys don’t keep me busy then they make me work downstairs with the regular passengers, and that is never fun.” The attendant finished fluffing our pillows and then pulled back the blanket for us.

Anderson said some things in Chinese and the attendant nodded before leaving.

+++

The bed was barely big enough for us. I spooned him with my back against the wall. He was my cuddle pillow.

We woke up before the attendant could rouse us. Anderson was already looking at work emails by the time I opened my eyes. I rubbed his stomach and tried to get him away from his work, but he was typing out a message to someone. I sat up and crawled over him then went to open the window shades. The sun was bright over the endless ocean below us.

The attendant came in with breakfast and quickly stripped the bed. It was neat watching him fold the bed back up into two separate seats. I wasn’t sure I could figure it out if I had to do it again.

“Did you sleep well?” he asked me while Anderson stood against the wall typing on his phone.

“Perfect. Thanks. What’s for breakfast?” I asked.

“Croissants, fruit, sausage. Is there anything else you want? I have some cereal I can bring you.” He moved towards me with a warm smile.

“Any cereal with those little marshmallows?” I asked. “I haven’t had that in years.”

“Yes! There’s Lucky Charms in the kids’ boxes. I’ll run downstairs and grab one. It comes with a toy airplane and string cheese too.” The attendant nodded happily. I hadn’t noticed it before, but Anderson was right, he was flirty.

“That would be great.” I told him.

We settled into our seats and started on the food while the attendant went to grab my cereal. He brought back a box covered in cartoon characters with the airline’s logo. The toy was a tiny model of our plane. It was actually pretty cool.

After we finished our food, the land started to come into view from the airplane windows.

“That’s Hong Kong,” Anderson told me before looking back at his phone.

In front of us we saw an island stuffed with towers punctuated with green parks and hills. We spent the last 30 minutes flying over endless city, until we touch down at a big airport.

“Shenzhen,” Anderson waved his hand out over the concrete runway.

“This is where you have business?” I asked. He’d said we were stopping here before going to our birthday destination.

“Sort of. I need to see my parents, but tomorrow we’ll head on to the birthday place.” Anderson unbuckled his belt and moved towards his work bag.

“Your parents? I’m meeting your parents?” I felt a sudden panic.

“You’ll just see them at dinner. I… um… I have to introduce you as my intern. I hope that’s ok.” Anderson looked at me knowing he’d saved this fact until I had no other choice.

“I’m your intern? Is my name still Ezra? Can I wear a fake mustache?” I joked.

“You are you, but… you’re an international business student at Berkeley. Your fiancee is Chinese, and her family is from Shanghai. Your parents are wealthy developers, and… should I go on? I kind of made an intricate lie here.” Anderson looked at me with pleading eyes.

“Why? Why not just put me in a hotel until tomorrow?” This seemed like a big overture.

“No! I want them to meet you. They’ll love you. I just had to make things fit for them.” Anderson swallowed the lump in his throat.

“They won’t be meeting me. They’ll be meeting this catfish you created.” I sighed. The attendant knocked on our door to tell us it was time to go.

I grabbed our carry-on cases and my backpack. Anderson looked at me with guilt as I held the door for him.

I didn’t know what was going to happen and I am a terrible liar, but I love him.

Chapter 20- The Lies We Tell

“Am I dressed nice enough to be a rich boy? Should I drop some bills on the floor as I walk in?” I was getting nervous as we glided through the city in the back of a limo.

“No! Fuck! You hate me, don’t you? I’m so sorry for dragging you into this. Just be yourself. It’s not like we would normally make out in front of people or anything. You’ll just see them for dinner. I need to get some business settled with my dad and go to the bank with him in the morning. Then we will be off for our dream trip filled with sex and the most beautiful beach. Please don’t be upset.” Anderson sat up to face me.

He reached for my hands and brought them up to his lips. He kissed them and kept his eyes on me. I didn’t respond.

“I’ll buy you a Ferrari. Or a nice gold watch? Please, sir. They just wouldn’t understand, and I rarely see them. They’re old and from a different time.” He kissed my hand then put my fingers to his lips to suck on them.

“Ok fine. But stop buying me things. Instead, you will grant me three things in the future. You can not say no to them and I get to use them at any time. Nothing of monetary value, just some things I will ask of you that you might not be into. Deal?” I asked. I had no idea what they would be.

“Yes! Deal! Ok. This is going to be good. It’s going to be ok.” He did not look so sure about that. He was sweating a little and his face looked pale.

The driver took us up to a gate in a large wall across from a park. Behind it was a shining glass tower and huge shady trees. The guard opened the gate and we drove down a tree lined road that led to a parking garage.

Inside the garage was a glass walled lobby where the driver stopped. He came to open the door for us and Anderson said something in Chinese.

We went in and found the elevators. He used the last one to get us up to the top floor. He had a keycard the driver had given him that let us onto the top floor where an older man in a nice suit was waiting to greet us.

“Hi, Mr. Yang! I’m Ezra.” I went to shake his hand, but he looked confused. Anderson laughed.

“He’s the butler. But your manners are good.” Anderson put his hand on my shoulder and guided me past him.

We went through a big foyer then down a hallway until Anderson opened the door into a large bedroom that was the size of a small apartment.

“Was this your room?” I asked as I dove onto the king sized bed.

“No. We lived in Hong Kong when I left home. This is your bedroom. I’ll be in the one next to it.” He sat down next to me and put his hand on my stomach.

“Separate rooms too?” This was going to suck. “I can’t sleep without you.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll mess up the bed in my room then come here when they’re asleep. It’s a big apartment so they won’t notice.” He laid down next to me and put his head on my chest.

“Why don’t you just tell them I’m your pet? If we are going to lie, why not go big?” I laughed.

The driver from the limo interrupted us by bringing in our luggage.

“Oh yeah I do see it!” Anderson pointed up at the ceiling to explain why we were laying together on the bed. “That crack does kind of look like Harry Styles!”

The driver completely ignored us. He put our luggage in the closet and then left.

“Damn, you’re a quick liar!” I laughed.

Anderson took a deep breath and sat up. He leaned forward and covered his face with his hands.

“Babe, no. It’s fine.” I sat up and knelt behind him. I put my hands on his shoulders and massaged them.

“What am I even doing here? I stupidly thought it would be nice to show you off to them and they’d approve somehow… and this is all so fucked… and I dragged you into this… I don’t deserve you and you don’t deserve this. I finally truly love a guy and I expose him to this.” He was dripping anxiety like sweat in a sauna.

“We will get through this. They can’t be that bad. What time is dinner?” I tried to focus him on moving forward. I wanted to comfort him.

We went to unpack our bags for the night. He found the clothes we would need for the dinner and then went to give them to the housekeeper to have them pressed. I found a TV in the bedroom and started to flip through Chinese cable. There were a few channels in English, but only the cartoon one looked interesting.

I sent my mom a few messages as I watched three episodes of WonderCat. I was halfway through the one where WonderCat gets trapped in a haunted mineshaft when Anderson came in with our clothes.

“Sorry. I had to sign documents with my dad. Let’s get ready for dinner.” He handed me a hanging bag with the fresh clothes.

We took a shower and brushed our teeth then dressed in suits. I had no idea how a tie worked, but he quickly had me ready for business. I had on a black suit with a black and white tie over a white button up shirt. He gelled my hair into a perfect swoop and added a spot of concealer over a new zit on my cheek.

“You look so handsome.” He smiled and pushed back a stray hair.

+++*+

Dinner was in a grand room with views of the twinkling skyline. We walked in and found his parents at the head of a table that could have easily seated 20 people. When Anderson introduced me, they both gave polite nods.

His parents were older when they had him, and they looked to be in their 70’s. They looked like nice people, but both just gave me the shortest of nods to acknowledge my presence.

His father was at the head of the table with his mother on the side. Anderson sat across from her and put me in the seat next to him with no one across.

“Ezra has never been to China before!” Anderson started as he pushed in his chair.

“I’ve had Dim Sum though!” I added. 

They answered him in Chinese as a man came out to fill our water glasses.

“He doesn’t understand Chinese.” Anderson took a sip of his water.

“Will you learn it?” His mother asked in a perfect British accent.

“Yes, ma’am. I’m going to start the beginner class in the fall.” I lied.

She nodded and then went back to speaking in Chinese. That was the extent of her conversational interest in me. 

The guy who had brought the water out returned with salads. He set one in front of each of us. The three of them ate and talked in Chinese. I stared at my plate and quietly worked through my meal. Anderson didn’t do much to include me either. 

The main course was a very tasty beef with vegetables. I expected them to serve something authentic from here, but maybe they had ordered this for my benefit. That seemed unlikely since they kept to a language I didn’t know, and didn’t attempt eye contact.

We finished eating and I was fighting the urge to pull out my phone. I felt awkward and unwanted here, but I reminded myself that this was for Anderson.

Next up was a slice of very dry cake and hot tea. They gave us these tiny cups that would need to be refilled. I tasted it, but it was not sweet and very strong so the small cups made sense.

We finished the dessert and then Anderson got to his feet. His father rose as well so I started to stand thinking we were leaving.

“No.” He put a hand on my shoulder. “Stay here with mother. I’ll be back soon, and we can go get to work on those reports. Have more tea. It’s delicious, right? You two can get to know each other. In English please, mum.”

I glared up at him.

“It’s amazing.” I turned to his mom and smiled. “Thank you for the delicious meal.”

She offered me a half smile and nodded.

Anderson left with his father through a side door.

“Your home is beautiful! The views are wowzers.” I couldn’t think of anything to say.

His mother nodded and sipped her tea.

“What are your plans with my son?” She asked after a long breath.

“Oh! Ok… He is an amazing mentor. I’m hoping to finish school and get hired on at a big firm. He knows everyone and is well respected.” I was treading water in this endless pool.

“He is very easily taken by eager young fools with unscrupulous motives. He offers to help mentor them and they misread his friendship and take advantage.” She went right for the kill.

“Oh no, ma’am! I am quite scrupulous. Lots of scruples. I um…” I said the stupidest thing and then looked down at my tea.

She started to laugh.

“Ma’am?” I looked up to see her enjoying this.

She shook her head and sipped her tea. I was thoroughly confused.

“You don’t seem intelligent enough to be harmful, but don’t get too attached to this lifestyle. You can entertain him for a while. He needs the distraction and loves to help younger men get started. But if I see things turn, you’ll be back in Modesto on your parents’ couch. Our approval means everything to him. Are we clear?” Her voice turned icy.

“Modesto couch?” I asked.

“That’s what your file says. Of course we had you researched. We have a lot to protect here. Your parents look quaint, hard working people. You come from modest means, so I can understand the desire to climb the ladder. But this tree is well guarded. You’ll get your pocket money and trinkets, but don’t aim any higher.” She looked at me as if she could snap my neck and not think twice.

I could see why Anderson was so afraid. She was a tiny stick of dynamite.

I had no idea how to respond to this. She was like an old gangster from a movie. I couldn’t even tell if she secretly knew her son was gay or not. 

I thought of calling my mom, but I knew she would just yell something like. “Put that bitch on the phone! Let me tell her some things!”

“I’m sure you haven’t met his fiancée. Emily’s in Europe for the year. They are to be married next summer,” She continued.

“Oh yes,” I swallowed hard. “She seems nice. He talks about her all the time. So sweet.”

“I only say that because you look at him like she does. My son may be soft spoken and gentle, but I assure you he won’t be swayed to your lifestyle. Guys like you assume all Asian men are into that,  they’re not.” she said.

I looked at her eyes and saw a change. Behind the tough exterior, she knew the truth. She knew that Anderson looked at me the same way. 

I realized that behind all her nastiness was a woman trying to keep the facade they’d built around him his whole life.

“He loves her very much, as my girlfriend loves me. We aren’t engaged yet, but she is back home in Modesto. She’s studying to be a veterinarian! I’m trying to get my career started so I can make a nice life for us.” I smiled at that. I was starting to lie as good as Anderson.

“Oh! That’s wonderful. Veterinarian; very solid occupation if you can’t be a doctor.” She nodded.

“At least until we settle down. Then we want kids. I have three brothers, and we want our children to have that same big family. She’s mormon, I’ll convert before we get married. We’ll buy a place near my parents’ home. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.” I started pulling lies out of my ass until she smiled.

“That sounds like a very nice life. I hope you can get back to it soon.” She picked up the teapot and refilled my cup.

+++

“My mother loved you! She hates everyone! She really liked you.” Anderson glowed when we got back to the bedroom where I’d be staying.

“She likes your fiancée too. How is Emily doing? I haven’t caught up with her in a while.” I walked away from him and went to pee.

“Oh that. Yeah she is a friend I grew up with. She’s engaged to an Italian guy she met on a tour in Paris. Naturally she couldn’t tell her parents the truth since he isn’t Chinese, and my parents were pressuring me to get married. We just set a date that was way in the future to make them happy.” Anderson followed me and stood next to me as I started.

“You have a lot of lies out there. Did you write them down somewhere? I would forget them. That’s a tough way to live, bro.” I felt bad for him. I finished up and shook my cock before tucking it away.

I thought about telling him how his mom threatened me, but he had enough anxiety.

“Don’t call me bro… I’m babe… I know it’s fucked up, but… We have a plan. She’s ready to come clean about things with her parents and then it can be like she dumped me. Then I can spend a few years getting over the heartbreak.” He was flailing with explanations.

“Hey… Baby, stop!” I put my hands on his shoulders and brought him in for a hug. “It’s ok.”

He started crying. I felt his body shake and heard little sniffles.

“It’s ok. I’m here, babe. I love you and I’m here.” I held him tightly. He was fighting a battle I couldn’t begin to grasp. 

I’d never had that kind of pressure on me, and it hurt like fuck to see him broken. 

I let him work through it. I leaned back against the counter and he settled into my hold.

We took a shower and got ready for bed. I gave him extra kisses and a cuddled him. He went to the other room and messed up the sheets then came back and we watched a few more episodes of WonderCat. I spooned him until he fell asleep in my arms. 

+++

The next morning I woke up to an empty bed. This wasn’t the kind of house where you could stumble out to breakfast in your shorts and t-shirt, so I decided to get dressed for the day. 

I found a set of clothes he’d laid out for me on the bathroom counter. I put on the dark pants, white polo shirt, blue socks, and leather shoes. It was a business casual look. I could sell cars in it.

He’d left a note saying he was going to the bank with his dad, but I could get breakfast in the kitchen. I thought about that, but then decided it was best to hide out in the room rather than risk crossing paths with his mom again. I remembered the snack bars he’d put in my backpack, so I ate those and watched tv.

Anderson came back an hour later, and was surprised to find me still in the room.

“You didn’t eat breakfast. The housekeeper said you didn’t leave your room. Are you jetlagged? Are you ok?” he asked.

“I’m good. I just found the snack bars and got pretty full. I didn’t want to wear out my welcome with your mom. She liked me so let’s end it there. Are we heading out soon?” I was eager to get far away from here.

“Did something happen? It seems really tense in here. She did something, right? You can tel me.” Anderson could read the situation.

“It’s fine. They like me, we are good.” I was eager to get on the road.

“Did she offend you? She can be very cruel. I can tell she said something. Tell me… please. I hate thinking she upset you. Please tell me, baby.” He started to blow this up more than necessary.

“I said it was fine. It’s done. Can you respect that or not?” I snapped at him.

“Yeah… ok, Ez. I got it. It’s your birthday. I don’t want to ruin your week, is all. Ok. Let’s get going! It’s your week!.” Anderson puts on a fake smile and things got quiet.

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be a krusty crab. It got to me. I shouldn’t have brought it up. It’s not important. You planned this big awesome trip for me. I can’t wait to get started.” I went to him and kissed him and rubbed his ass.

“Yeah. Ok… Sure. Let’s say our goodbyes. The driver is going to collect our bags. He’s waiting on us.” Anderson put his hand on my back and led me towards the door.

The driver was standing in the hallway. He went into the room with the Butler to gather our things. We hadn’t unpacked the large bags, just the carry-on ones.

His parents were in his father’s study. Unlike Anderson’s overstuffed office back home, this one was neat and organized with walls of books that looked like a designer had picked them for their color and size.

He gave them both short, formal hugs, as though he’d looked up the definition and was intent on meeting the bare minimum to call it a hug. I hung back by the doorway as he talked to them in Chinese. When he turned and looked at me, I nodded at them.

“Thank you for having me in your home. It is very lovely,” I said. I doubted I’d ever be back there.

We made it back to the limo and the driver headed out into the city. Anderson put up the privacy shade and leaned over to put his head on my shoulder.

“It’s so weird being here with you,” he noted.

“You never brought Kyle here?” I kissed his forehead and put an arm around him.

“Can you even imagine? My parents would have thrown him out. He’s so loud and he would have gotten into an argument with my mother. He would have outed me for sure, and not even cared.” He started to bite at my nipple through my shirt and rubbed a hand down to my lap.

“He probably would have stood up to her when she called him a gold digger.” I caught a hint of regret in my voice. 

I knew I was well behaved with her, but part of me wished I would have fighte back. Kyle would have fought back.

“She called you that? Oh shit, Ez. I’m so sorry! What did she say to you?” Anderson sat up with alarm.

“She had an investigator look up my family. She knew things about us. She thinks I’m trying to get your money. She knew about the other guys too. She warned me I’d be gone soon. Basically, she thinks I’m trash.” I didn’t want to bring it up, but it just fell out of me.

“I am so embarrassed. And you didn’t even defend yourself. She said you had good manners. She was impressed. Oh fuck, Ez, I’m so sorry. You put up with it just for me and I exposed you to that.” He looked up at me with eyes full of shame and I instantly regretted saying anything.

“I didn’t want to cause problems for you. You do everything for me and you are so sweet with my parents. You treat them like family. I didn’t want to make trouble with yours.” I sighed and pulled him back down into my arms.

“You are the sweetest man on earth. Seriously, what color Ferrari do you want?” He kissed my chest and rubbed his cheek across my pecs.

“Blue. I like blue.” I kissed the top of his head.

“You got it, sweet boy. You want the Gucci leather seats with it?” He rubbed a hand down to my belt buckle.

“Of course! And the engine that takes jet fuel. And I want it to play that music from the ice cream truck just so people will come out of their homes and look at me… Oh and a potato cannon so I can fire at people who get in my way.” I was going all out.

“I don’t even think that’s legal, but what the hell, you deserve it. One blue, Gucci, Ferrari, ice cream truck, with potato cannon.” Anderson pulled out his phone and typed it out in a note.

We pulled up to a large hotel complex, and the driver came to open the back door. Anderson had jumped back to his side of the back seat as soon as the car pulled to a stop. 

He smoothed out the lump in his pants then covered it with his work bag.

The driver took our luggage to the hotel lobby then followed Anderson as we made our way through it.

“We’re staying here? It looks nice.” I rolled the carry-on bags behind them.

“This way, follow follow,” Anderson smiled at me. He wanted to hold out until the very last minute.

We went through huge glass doors at the back of the lobby and then down a side path along the waterfront to a stand that looked like where you check in at a restaurant. Anderson said some things in Chinese to a small man in a nice suit who quickly waved his hands along the path behind him.

We followed him down the path along the waterfront behind the hotel until we got to a small racing boat. It was gleaming white with blue stripes and the side had some things printed in Chinese.

“What does that say? It’s a vacation boat?” I was confused.

“It says, ‘Don’t ruin Ezra’s birthday surprise or I will shoot you with a potato cannon.’ I had them write it on there to warn people,” Anderson chuckled. He was not giving this up.

“The sign is only like three characters. It can’t say all that,” I reasoned.

“Come along, sweet boy. We have to hurry before the Ferrari dealership closes.” He pressed on towards the boat.

The driver gave our large bags to the boat attendant, and then he took the carry-on bags from me. I followed Anderson on board and we took our seats in front of the man arranging our luggage into secured bins.

“Welcome! English! We have one hour in boat. You need pee first?” The attendant waved his hands to us when he’d finished with our bags.

“No, sir. I’m good.” I looked at Anderson and he nodded that he was ok as well.

“You will buckle the seat belt please!” Our attendant started up the boat and we headed out through the harbor with the endless city skyline behind us. 

I had no idea what spot on the map was one hour from Shenzhen. We were away from wi-fi as well so I couldn’t track us on the map. Anderson raised my arm and put it across his back.

“That’s ok here?” I whispered.

“It’s ok here.” He pushed his head under my arm and rested it on my shoulder.

We cuddled up there as the boat headed down the coast and then out to sea. The land disappeared behind us as we quietly held each other.

“Ok, we’re almost there,” Anderson said after a long silence. “We are going to a private island. It has a gay resort on it.”

“A private gay island? I have never heard of this.” I looked at him with a goofy grin.

“You wouldn’t. They don’t advertise it. Legally it doesn’t exist, but enough high placed Chinese dignitaries find their happy place here… so it’s very safe.” He kissed my cheek and reached a hand up to pet my hair.

“That’s so wild!” I rubbed my nose against his forehead.

“Anyways… Happy birthday, sweet boy. I hope I can make it the best one yet.” He leaned up and kissed me.

Chapter 21- The One, The Zero

The boat docked at a rickety piece of wood that led to a small path lined with thick overgrowth. It looked like an abandoned place where a pirate might have stashed his treasure centuries before.

“This is it? It looks… um like one of those wilderness survival shows. Am I going to have to fight you and eat squirrels?” I smiled as the attendant brought the boat right up to the rickety dock.

“I… don’t… know…” Anderson whispered as though he thought the attendant might be plotting to kill us.

“Should I try to overtake him? Can you drive a boat? I can’t even drive a car,” I whispered back to him as the attendant happily tied the boat to a crumbling post.

“I no kill you. Just wait! Silly men.” The attendant beamed at us.

We heard footsteps coming from the pathway. Faces came into view; three men in matching uniforms. One of them touched something on a tree and the dirt pathway lifted up. A long metal ramp slid out and covered the dock.

“All good. No kill, see?” the attendant laughed.

He lined the boat up with the metal deck, then offered us a hand to step up.

“Welcome, Mr. Yang! We have everything prepared for your stay.” The uniformed man in the middle waved for us to follow him. He eyed me with interest. The other two workers came and got our luggage.

The path wasn’t nearly as long as it looked from the dock. It zigged and zagged a few yards then opened to a clearing with a small, green barn. The man hit something on his watch and the barn doors slid open to reveal a lobby of white marble with deep, gold veins. In the center was a large sculpture of a naked man riding a bull. It was about 10 feet tall and looked like something from Ancient Rome.

The man led us past the check-in stand and out another pair of sliding doors that opened to a large garden. We headed for a golf cart and got in the back bench while the guide sat in front. He started it up and drove us around the narrow circle drive and out through the garden. It felt like we were on a ride at Disney with lush flowers and statues lining the path into a thick forest.

We drove around a three-story hotel and then out to smaller, individual casitas. Every building was built of gleaming white marble and huge windows blacked out with privacy tint. The roof of every building was covered with greenery and shaded from the harsh sun. It was extremely private and quiet.

He drove us up to another white, two-level building, and parked the cart near the entrance.

“This is the island center. We have two restaurants, a coffee shop, gym, business and activity center should you wish to engage with others. The pool is behind, with a bar next to the ocean. Everything is open around the clock since we have visitors from every time zone. Feel free to spend as much time as you like here.” The man told us.

He walked us inside where there was a small coffee shop with six tables. An older man was working on his laptop at one table while a younger, male couple shared drinks at another. Past the coffee place was a small market with gifts and travel necessities. I poked Anderson and pointed towards a display of lubricants, condoms, and other sex things. He winked at me and we walked on. They had other things like snacks, sunblock, hats, etc…

“The casual restaurant.” Our guide waved towards a small cafe where several groups, all men, were having lunch. We got a lot of interested looks from the other guests.

We went upstairs to the gym and activity center. There were large tables and a wall shelf with games, books, and charging stations for phones or anything else with a plug. The business center was tucked into a small corner of it.

We headed back downstairs and out where there was a more formal restaurant under a large awning. It hugged the edge of the pool where there were lots of men splashing around or lounging in the shade. Across the pool was a bar area where guys were sipping cocktails. Behind that was a wide beach of pure white sand that disappeared into a crystal blue sea.

“This is crazy!” I looked at Anderson who nodded in agreement.

The guests at this resort were about 75% Asian, with a splash of other guys from around the world. I made eye contact with a few of them, and felt my cheeks blush from the amount of staring. Anderson must have noticed too because he held my hand very tightly.

“Your luggage should be in your casita by now. Feel free to have a drink first or wander around.” The guide handed Anderson a little package with keycards and the room information. “It is the third house on the beach side just that way.” He pointed down the sand.

Anderson thanked him and said some things in Chinese before handing him some money. He handed me the keycard packet and we headed down to room 18.

Our little place was a two bedroom suite with a kitchen and dining area. The living room and both bedrooms had walls of glass that opened to the beach and water. Outside the living room was a patio with a fire pit and large, outdoor couches.

“This place is crazy!” I repeated as we set our packs down on the living room couch. Our luggage was lined up in the bedroom and an attendant was arranging things in the kitchen.

“Oh good, he’s stocking the refrigerator. I ordered things we usually eat back home so you have familiar stuff,” Anderson noted. He went to the worker and talked in Chinese with the man.

“He’ll put our clothes away. Let’s get changed into swimsuits and go to the pool?” Anderson asked. He pointed to one of the carry-on bags.

“Yes! Did you see that beach?” I followed him to the bedroom.

Anderson snapped a wristband on each of our right wrists. It had a chip inside to scan for anything we wanted to eat or buy. It also had our personal and medical information in case something happened.

“I got you two options. I’d love to see you in this Caledaro swim brief. It will look so hot on you, but I know guys like you usually go for extra boring board shorts.” He held up my choices. The one he loved was very skimpy; white with little palm trees in a hectic pattern. The other shorts weren’t super long, they looked ok and had a tropical blue print. I started to grab for them, but Anderson pulled them away.

“No, please. You will look so handsome in the smaller ones. They’re designer, and I have shorts you can wear over them until you go in the water or get used to being stared at. Pretty please.” Anderson pulled out a small pair of white fleece shorts with thick drawstrings.

“I don’t know. We already got the looks from the other guests. Are you sure we need more attention?” I’m not big on parading.

“There are tons of hot guys here. You’ll see more when the sun starts to go down. They like fresh meat, but I’ll protect you. I like people seeing what I got.” He offered me pouty lips and big eyes that begged me to fulfill his little fantasy here.

“Ok fine, but I’m wearing the shorts over them.” I stripped out of my clothes and struggled into the stretchy bikini bottom ones.

“Bro! It has a pouch for my junk. That looks obscene!” I laughed. I stuffed my cock and balls into the pouch and pulled them up in the back. The print did a little to hide my bulge, but from the side I looked very well endowed.

“It’s a gay designer. You have a big cock. Embrace it. I know I do.” Anderson pulled out a matching pair for himself. He handed me the shorts to cover up with.

The shorts covered things. Without the distracting print, though, it brought the focus back on my package. We grabbed two beach towels and sandals then walked back down to the pool.

It was late afternoon and things were getting louder in the pool area and bar. I stayed behind him as we made our way to the bar area. He grabbed us a small high table and waved for a waiter. We ordered lunch and he decided to let me have a cocktail. No one asked me for identification.

We sat in the shade and I kept my beach towel folded in my lap.

“My god, they are circling like hawks,” he laughed as two older guys made their third pass near our table near the beach.

Our sandwiches arrived and we started eating, but the waiter interrupted us with another round of cocktails. These were tall skinny glasses with blue frozen liquid, perfect for the humid, sunny afternoon.

He said something to Anderson who translated for me, “They’re from those guys. They want us to join them when we finish eating.”

Anderson pointed over to a white cabana tent near the pool where a group of handsome Chinese guys were checking us out.

“That’s really nice!” I raised the glass to thank them then turned back to my turkey sandwich.

“Yeah I’m sure they’re plotting to get you away from me. They look like five hungry bottoms.” He raised his glass too.

“Where are all the tops?” I laughed.

“It’s hard to find pure ones. Once you figure out how good it feels inside you, it’s hard going back.” He winked at me.

We finished our sandwiches and the fruit cups the waiter brought afterwards. One of the drink-buying guys got bold enough to leave the cabana and swaggered over to us. 

He was short and thin, but cute with black spikey hair. His eyes locked on me and I quickly looked down at the last melon in my cup.

“Shit. He’s coming over.” I looked to Anderson for help. 

“So it begins.” He seemed delighted at the attention.

“Hi,” the guy started. “Couldn’t help noticing you two. I’m Evan. Do you guys want to join us?”

“We were going to get in the pool. Thank you for the drinks though.” Anderson answered for us.

I looked at his abs. He was skinny but toned with a nice ass stuffed into a dark blue Speedo. Anderson put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it to show ownership.

“Cool. You guys should come over first. You can set your towels down and get some waterproof sunblock. You’re very fair. You’ll burn fast here.” The guy put his hand on my other shoulder to challenge Anderson.

“Yes, thank you! He forgot the sunblock in our room. My boy will burn. You will be punished later, boy.” Anderson stood. 

He snapped his fingers like he owned me. I got an intensified version of the rush I see when he is out there being a powerful man. I knew it was just a game. I knew he would be begging for my dick when we got back to the room, but it still turned me on. I decided to play along.

“Yes, sir. Very dumb of me, sir. I’m sorry, sir.” I stood and followed them to the cabana.

Evan stopped by the doorway to the tented covering and waited for us to enter. He looked at me with probing eyes, trying to figure out my submission to Anderson.

I made eye contact with him, but then lowered my eyes to the ground and followed Anderson.

“Guys, this is… what were your names?” Evan asked as he came into the tent behind me.

“I’m Anderson and this is my boy Ezra. It’s his birthday in two days.” Anderson put an arm around my waist and I put one across his shoulders.

Everyone wished me a happy birthday. They invited us to have a seat in the tent. There were loungers arranged around a table filled with snacks and bottles of alcohol and different juices. We set our drinks on the table, and Anderson started talking with the group in Chinese.

“Do you know any Mandarin?” Evan asked me.

He’d slid in next to me on the lounger. Anderson was sitting up while I leaned back and kept a hand on his back.

“I only know hello. It’s Ni Hao, right?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Perfect. Just like a native,” Evan sighed and propped an elbow up on the back of the lounger right next to my shoulder. 

He rested his cheek on his open palm and looked at me with curious eyes. Anderson was charming the group. He is good at making new friends.

“I should probably take some classes, but his English is better than mine, so it’s not really an issue.” I reached for my drink and took another sip.

“Where do you live? The US, right? You look like a kidnapped, innocent farm boy. I’m guessing Iowa? Kansas?” Evan reached over to squeeze my left bicep. “Damn.” He was impressed.

“Yep, just a plowboy from Kansas… I’m kidding, but I am from Central California’s farm country. We just had a regular house though.” I let him feel my muscles.

“So how old is our plowboy going to be? The face looks 16, but the muscles look 22.” Evan guessed.

He rubbed a hand up to my shoulder. I was shirtless and his eyes kept finding their way back to my pecs. I flexed them for him as the second alcoholic drink worked its way through me. Anderson did not seem to care what we were discussing.

“I’ll be 20. The big Two-Oh. He surprised me with this trip for my birthday.” I told him about our trip so far. He listened with interest as I talked and finished my drink.

“That’s so romantic… How old do you think I am?” Evan asked.

“Not much older than me, right?” I guessed.

“Just turned 29. You’re sweet though. Let me get you another drink? I could use one too.” Evan pushed.

“I should probably get permission first. He doesn’t like me drinking much. I get too happy.” I nodded towards Anderson.

“He keeps a tight leash. I would too if I’d landed you first. You’re a very good boy.” Evan slid his hand down to my left pec and gave it a squeeze. “You’re solid as a rock.”

“So where are you guys from? Your English sounds kinda British and kinda American.” I tried to lighten the conversation.

“Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Shanghai, and Macau.” Evan pointed his way through the group then back to himself where he added, “I’m from Hong Kong, but I have a place in LA where my business sends me every month.”

“We live in San Francisco.” I had nothing more to add to the conversation. 

His touch made my skin buzz, and Anderson was completely distracted with the group. They were laughing about something in Chinese.

Evan reached over me and patted Anderson on the shoulder. He said something to him in Chinese and Anderson nodded.

“Go help him carry the drinks, boy,” Anderson told me as he nodded towards Evan who was getting up from the lounger.

The group of guys laughed and said some things in Chinese while looking at me.

I stood and Evan grabbed my hand then led me back out to the pool area.

“He really has you whipped. Is he super wealthy or what?” Evan asked as we made it to the bar.

“Wealthy? I guess so. He’s just so hot. He acts tough in front of everyone, but he really knows how to make me happy. And that ass. It’s my happy place.” I was playing the submissive character, but that was the honest truth. He made me happy.

“He’s a lucky guy. Are you two exclusive?” Evan asked as he waited behind another guy for the bartender’s attention.

“I am, but he’s interested in trying more. I just like what we do together.” The alcohol had me being truthful.

“I’m sure he does everything he can to please you.” Evan put his hand on my back, and I got this tingly feeling that spread down my spine. “He does, right? Can he take your whole cock? It looks pretty big there.”

“He does, but… no, it’s these swim trunks he got me. They have this pouch that makes my cock look huge.” I slid down the waistband of my shorts so he could see I had something on under them.

“Oh those are hot. Don’t blame the pouch, you’re practically breaking it with that thing.” Evan put a finger inside the waistband of the shorts and pulled them out in the front to look. “Fuck, that’s big.”

“It’s quite large, I’ve been told.” I laughed. Maybe getting a third drink wasn’t a great idea.

The bartender saved me by calling on Evan to ask what he wanted. Evan ordered a bunch of drinks and scanned his wristband to pay for them. We moved to the side to wait for them. Evan stared me down like he wanted to say something.

“You’re a very handsome guy… You know what I love about guys your age?” Evan was even smaller than Anderson, but he backed me against an empty table.

“Yeah?” I asked.

“You just touch right here, just a gentle rub.” He puts a hand on my abs and slowly rubs back and forth. “Gets them totally hard, every time. It’s like these little sensors right here. You’ll lose them with age, or maybe it’s too much rubbing. You get desensitized eventually, but it still works at your age. You feel that?” He rubbed slow, pressured circles around my belly button. 

“Drinks are up,” the bartender called. His timing was impeccable. I pushed Evan’s hand away and breathed deeply. The stomach rub definitely works on me and I needed to get back to Anderson before things went too far.

“I got it.” I pushed past Evan and saw that the bartender had set 6 drinks on a cardboard tray with individual holders like they do at Starbucks.

I grabbed the tray with both hands and Evan walked me back to the cabana.

Anderson eyed me when I walked in. The guys were all holding shot glasses. Anderson downed his and smiled at me.

“Oh. What happened, babe? I know that look. You flirted with him, Evan?” He laughed as I slid in next to him and set the drinks on the table.

“Just a little. He didn’t go for it.” Evan sighed and plopped down next to me.

He leaned toward the table and poured himself a shot from a big bottle of tequila. The other guys helped themselves to the drinks on the tray. Anderson took one of the drinks.

“My innocent one. He is such a boy scout. Look at his blush. So sweet.” Anderson slid onto my lap and wrapped an arm around me. He held the drink to my lips and I sipped at the straw.

“He didn’t even try to touch me. He’s a good one.” Evan put his head against my shoulder.

“He was so sweet to my parents too!” Anderson started to tell them about my experience meeting his parents.

“He didn’t even curse at her. He didn’t want to cause problems. Am I not the fucking luckiest boy on the planet?” Anderson was getting tipsy.

“He’s perfect,” Evan agreed. He turned to me and rubbed his cheek against my shoulder.

“He has a big heart, big muscles, and a big cock. He’s my big One.” Anderson kissed me.

“Big one, what?” I asked, expecting more from his sentence.

Anderson and Evan both cracked up at that. The other guys had gone on to their own conversations. I had Anderson on my lap and Evan snuggled into my side.

“In Chinese, you call the top a ‘one’ and the bottom a ‘zero’ because that’s how the parts look… get it? The one pokes the zero. You’re a well-endowed top so you’re his big one,” Evan explained.

“You are the big poker, the big one. My beautiful, perfect, birthday boy.” Anderson kissed me.

“What are my chances of getting in on this?” Evan put his lips close to our kiss.

I felt his hot, minty breath on my cheek.

“That’s up to my boy here, but I don’t think he’s ready for that.” Anderson pulled back and looked at us.

He put his hand on my hair, ready to guide me towards Evan if I wanted it. We’d been here before.

“What do you want, boy?” Evan asked with a sudden force to his voice.

“I want to go swimming. It’s getting heavy in here.” I guided Anderson off my lap and stood. I looked out the opening of the tent where the sun was just beginning to set. 

“That sounds like a good idea,” Anderson nods. 

They don’t argue with me. Evan grabs a drink and stands up. Anderson grabs our towels and we head out.

Chapter 22 - Howie Bangs

“Swimming, yes. But leave your shorts here with the towels.” Anderson came towards me.

I slid off the tight shorts and got appreciative gasps from the guys in the cabana.

“I made him wear those. You guys are welcome,” Anderson laughed.

I looked down to see my cock was half fluffed from having him in my lap. There wasn’t much point in covering up, so I just raised my hands and did a slow spin while shaking my butt. That brought more happy comments from the group.

“You are going to get eaten alive in that pool. We’ll have to keep you between us to fend them off.” Evan got beside me and hooked his right arm around my left one.

We went out to the pool which had filled in with a younger and louder crowd. The sun was going down and the drinks were flowing. They’d added a second bartender who was moving frantically to get drinks out.

We got in the pool and went to a shady spot in the corner where we wouldn’t be hit by the last blinding rays sweeping in from behind the pool. There were guys of all ages and ethnicities, but the largest group was Chinese guys around Anderson’s age.

Anderson hung on to one side of me while Evan took the other. Anderson eyed the crowd, but Evan had his eyes fixed on me.

“You must hit the gym every day.” Evan rubbed a hand over my pecs while his chest pressed against my left bicep. “So hot.”

“Almost, I take rest days though.” I put my arm around Anderson’s waist, but he was looking at the crowd.

“I think I know that guy.” Anderson raised his head up like a meerkat as he peered at some guy across the pool.

I tried to look where he was pointing, but the crowd was thick.

“Oh shit, yeah! That’s Howie Bangs! That’s him!” Anderson got suddenly excited.

“Howie Bangs? Where?” Evan poked up his head and rested his chin on my shoulder.

“Howie Bangs sounds like a drag name… like ‘How He Bangs.’ Get it?” I laughed, but they ignored me.

“Well that’s just his stage name. Remember when I told you I had like 10 CamFans subscriptions before I met you? He was one of my favorites.” Anderson put his hand on my back and suddenly noticed Evan was all over me.

“He’s one of the best independent porn stars. He is always coming up with crazy stuff. Just when you get tired of watching him fuck some guy, he throws in something new. He’s so good.” Evan lipped at my ear while checking the guy out.

“I’ll bring him over.” Anderson used my shoulder to launch himself into a perfect swim-stroke and shot across the pool. He was on a mission.

“I guess that leaves us to play.” Evan rubbed his hand right down the middle of my stomach and then cupped my package.

“Did I just get dumped for a porn star? Is he at least hung?” I laughed.

“He’s ok. It’s more about what he does. He likes to dominate and humiliate the guy. He usually gets a bigger muscle guy. Like you, but not as hot. Sometimes he goes for twinks though… and sometimes daddies… one time he had this Buddhist monk guy, but it was probably a costume.” Evan rubbed my bulge and it started to awaken at his touch.

I should have stopped him. But at that point, Anderson had made it over to Howie and pushed a guy out of the way to get next to him. I was too focused on that to push Evan away.

“He’s coming over!” I turned to Evan as Anderson and Howie swam towards us. I didn’t want to look like I was concerned.

“Ezra! You’re jealous! Of Howie? Please. You’re twice his size and this cock is definitely bigger, and Anderson is so into you. He’s just a little starstruck. You look like my collie when he sees me petting another dog.” Evan kissed my cheek and stroked my tent.

“I guess so…” I sounded dejected.

“Ezra! Meet Howie. Oh and this is Evan.” Anderson shoved Howie towards us.

“Hi, Ezra.” Howie looked at me with laser focus.

“I’m a huge fan, Mr. Bangs! I’ve seen every scene, so hot!” Evan pushed between us and put his hand on Howie’s shoulder.

“Thank you. Have you seen my work, Ezra?” Howie asked.

“He’s too innocent for that.” Anderson nudged Evan away from me and pushed into my chest. I put an arm around him protectively.

“I’ve seen porn, just not yours. I don’t know Chinese stuff.” I held Anderson in front of me and put my chin on his shoulder.

“I’m actually Thai.” Howie laughed.

“Sorry.” I was feeling like the odd man out here.

Evan slid against him and Howie hooked an arm around him.

“Oh but his models come from all over the world just begging to work with him.” Evan snuggled into Howie’s side.

“In the videos they do, but they’re actually paid quite well.” Howie took a sudden interest in Evan who was practically clawing at him.

“No way! I would have thought they pay you. You handle them so well.” Anderson reached under the water to rub my lap as I supported us against the side of the pool.

“They watch my videos so they know what to expect. I also have a special instructional video so they can get prepared and know they will be safe. The real money comes from my fans. I can make 50-60 times what I pay the model. Only a few of the guys in my videos were volunteers. Most of the guys who contact me requesting to be in my videos are either unattractive or want to wear a complete mask to hide their identity. I get quality guys my fans will want to see.” Howie let Evan rub his chest. He flexed for the boy.

“That makes sense. I could never appear in porn with my line of work.” Anderson reached into the swim suit and gripped my growing cock.

“You guys want to come back to my room? I’m up in the main hotel.” Evan was ready for action.

“Our suite is just down the beach here. We have drinks!” Anderson stroked me under the water.

“Sweet! Yeah. I can show Ezra some things.” Howie put his hands on the side of the pool and lifted himself out of the water in one graceful move. He hopped to his feet then turned to give Evan a hand.

I pushed up backwards so my ass was on the side of the pool, then got to my feet. I helped Anderson out. I kept Anderson in front of me as we walked to get our towels and my shorts. He hid my tent quite well.

+++

“Why don’t you guys help yourself to drinks from the kitchen while Evan and I go get um… prepared,” Anderson said as he opened the door to our little suite house.

“Definitely.” Evan nodded gratefully and followed Anderson back to the bedroom.

Howie stepped into the open kitchen which was right next to the front door. He opened the fridge and looked around at what the attendant had stocked for us.

“Damn, this is a party house.” He pulled out juice bottles then looked over the alcohol.

I turned to look at the pantry and found a few bags of the chips I loved from back in San Francisco. I was surprised they had found them here and that Anderson had remembered to order them for me.

“That’s so sweet. He remembered my favorite chips! Look at that! He is so thoughtful.” I held up a bag for Howie to see.

“I’ve never seen those in Asia. He must have had them flown in or something. The man loves you.” Howie nodded as he started pouring things into a silver shaker.

“He seems to love you too.” I laughed. “He said you were one of his top performers.”

“Ahh. So your boy likes it rough then. You seem a little reserved though. How is that working between you guys?” He poured a healthy measure of vodka and closed the shaker.

“It’s good, really good. I hadn’t experienced guy stuff before. It’s different. We’re taking it slow. I can see he wants things a little more wild though.” I opened the chips and offered him some.

“He’s probably good with that for now. You’re a tall, young, muscled stud with a deep voice and big package. The wild will come later. Don’t rush into escalating things or you’ll hit the wall and start doing weird shit that doesn’t even feel good anymore.” Howie set down the shaker and looked at me with serious eyes.

“I’d like to push things a little. I just don’t know how to do that. Maybe I should watch your scenes.” I popped a handful of chips in my mouth.

“No, no, no. That’s not beginner stuff. You need some experience for that or you could hurt him, hurt yourself. I’ll give you a few pointers, simple things. High earning guys like him spend long days being in charge of things. They want to be a little bitch boy pleasing their alpha when it comes to play time.” He poured out two drinks and handed me one.

“Should we wait for them? I think he’s taking a shower,” I said.

“Nope. Rule 1 is they wait for us. Cheers.” Howie raised his glass and clinked mine when I lifted.

“These are good!” I took a big sip of the sweet juice.

“You want to see one of my scenes?” He moved towards the living area and clicked on the screen on the wall.

I followed him. He connected it to his phone and pulled up his fan site. He scrolled through a few videos until he settled on this one with a younger muscled guy who was quite a bit taller than Howie.

“This was one of my best models. I met him in Moscow and we filmed in his apartment. Look at the view! His family is in oil, tons of money. He didn’t even negotiate the rate. I think the pay was just an excuse for him to do it.” Howie pointed at the guy on the screen.

The scene opened with Howie coming into the shot and the guy instantly dropped to his knees, clasping his hands behind his back with his head bowed. Howie moved towards him, and put his thumb to the man’s lips. The man eagerly sucked on his thumb and slid his tongue around it.

“That’s a hungry boy, yeah?” Howie pulled his thumb back and the man followed, crawling on his knees over to the couch where Howie plopped down and offered the man his feet.

“This looks heavy,” I observed as the scene continued with the man taking off Howie’s shoes and kissing the bottom of his feet.

“Yeah this is mild for my stuff. The guy came three times before I finished with him. I expected him to try and get out of the filming agreement afterwards, but he was happy to see it online,” Howie explained.

We watched a little more and things got weirder. The man sucked on Howie’s toes then slurped his way up to Howie’s shorts.

“I don’t think this is for us.” I laughed nervously.

“That’s what I mean, bro! These guys push the weird further and further to get off. But it pays really well; my videos generate crazy money every month. I’m not even into it, but it pays the bills. When it comes to sex with a guy I’m really into, I just like the plain stuff that comes naturally… That Evan is pretty cute. You guys weren’t planning on using him for a third, were you?” Howie asked.

“No. Please. He’s all yours. Anderson keeps trying to offer guys he thinks I’ll want to join us. I’m not ready for that, but he wants to fulfill some fantasy he thinks I have.” I sipped the drink, feeling myself open up. Howie was much cooler than I thought.

“Submissive boys do that. They never feel enough for us. Just be clear with what you want before you turn into an alpha pet.” Howie turned off the scene and moved on to some music videos.

“Alpha pet? I’ve never heard that.” I felt like I should be taking notes.

“These rich, power-guys will shower a stud boy with gifts, money, fantasies, anything they want. They end up dropping college, losing time on building a career, and being totally dependent. Then the boy gets older, stops working out so much, maybe gets addicted to alcohol or drugs… turns into someone the man no longer wants. Things come crashing down and then they’re on their own. No money, no job, no skills… Maybe the man gives him an allowance or helps him transition to life on his own, but often the man just gets another boy, another pet.” Howie shrugged.

“I don’t think that’ll be us. He is helping me with my classes, and I tell him not to buy me anything. I try to stop him from the gifts. I’m not in it for that.” I tried to reason it out.

“So you’re a low-budget alpha pet,” Howie laughed. “Kidding! All I’m saying is don’t get caught up in this.” Howie waved his hand around the palatial suite.

“It gets easy to drop your classes when he’s flying you around the world staying at resorts and lounging at pools. He loves you for sure, but don’t forget to build something of your own.” Howie reached over and squeezed my shoulder.

“You’re a good life coach. I really do need to think about that.” I nodded my head to agree with him.

“Think about what?” Anderson interrupted.

He and Evan bounced out of the room wearing jockstraps and leather collars.

“We’re ready. Did you make drinks?” Evan looked at our glasses then looked for two more.

“There’s stuff in the kitchen. Knock yourself out, and grab me a refill.” Howie used his lips to point towards the kitchen. He held up his glass.

“Yes, sir. Of course,” Evan looked embarrassed. He came for Howie’s glass then went to the kitchen.

“Do you want a refill, babe?” Anderson asked me.

“Nah. I’m good. Thank you though,” I said.

“Are you guys ok? It seems serious in here.” Anderson looked at me with concern.

“Just a little coaching session. Your alpha could use some attention, and I wouldn’t mind a little time with Evan here.” Howie stood up and went towards where Evan was hurriedly mixing drinks.

“Sure… yeah. I thought maybe we could all play together here. Wouldn’t that be fun?” Anderson came towards the couch where I was sitting.

He could tell that wasn’t where the mood was headed.

“Ezra’s not ready for that. Stop pushing the freaky shit or you’ll lose him. The boy loves you and only you… All this desperation to excite him is going to push him away. When he’s ready for it, he’ll let you know. In the meantime, let your alpha cuddle and love you. Bounce on his cock and worship him, but stop rushing him to things he doesn’t want.” Howie gave a speech that left Anderson’s jaw hanging open.

“I wasn’t trying to…” Anderson started, but Howie cut him off.

“Oh, and nice move getting his favorite chips delivered. He noticed and loved it. That made him feel special. More of that, less of this.” Howie started rubbing Evan’s ass.

“Ezra…” Anderson started.

“Come here.” I pulled him down into my lap and put my arms around him.

“Evan.” Howie snapped his fingers. “Give Anderson back his things and follow me back to my room. Fixing a sweet relationship makes me horny.”

“Yes sir.” Evan raced back to the bedroom and closed the door.

“Have a good night, guys. You guys have something special. I truly envy that… And happy birthday, Ezra!” Howie chugged the drink Evan had made.

Evan came back out wearing his swimsuit and holding his towel.

He quietly followed Howie out the door. Anderson waited for a moment as if in thought.

“I was not trying to get a big group play thing. I swear. It’s just that you… you are SO out of my league and when I get around other gays… especially other Asian ones… I just feel like I have to show you off. It’s like ‘Look what I got, bitches!’ when I show you around. Every guy was so hot for you.” Anderson twisted on my lap to face me.

“I didn’t see that.” I shrugged.

“Exactly! You don’t even see how hot you are. And with these fuckboy shorts I talked you into, every guy was glaring at me with jealousy. It felt so good! And then we saw Howie who is a HUGE icon here and he was into you. But I swear I’m not trying to share you with them. I love you and I know you don’t want a third or fourth guy in here. I just let it get too far.” Anderson leaned down and put his forehead on mine.

“So I’m a trophy?” That was exactly what Howie had been talking about.

“No… well yeah, but you’re much much more than that. I love you. I love every inch of you inside and out. My life was so hopeless before I met you. I have been dumped 12 times, Ezra. You’ve probably never even been joked about being broken up with. You are so gorgeous and sweet and humble and I am so sorry I keep fucking this up.” Anderson was drunk and starting to meander off topic.

“On your knees, boy.” I tried to sound like Howie.

Anderson looked confused for about three seconds until I put my thumb to his lips and pushed in. His lips turned to a smile and he sucked my thumb as he slid off my lap and dropped to the floor.

“You want to worship those toes, boy? Show your alpha some appreciation?” I was doing my best to recreate Howie’s over-the-top video.

“Yes, sir.” Anderson lowered his face and kissed the top of my toes.

“That’s it, boy. Get your reward.” I laid back on the couch.

“Um, sir… ‘’ Anderson looked up at me with disgust. He lifted my foot to show it was pretty dirty since I hadn’t worn my sandals after we got out of the pool.

“Oh… ok let’s skip the toes.” I laughed. My feet had a layer of dust and sand underneath.

“I can lick your ass, sir. Would you like that?” He tried to offer something.

“That’s not going to end well either. Can we just do what we do best?” I reached down to his collar and tugged him towards me. I put my hands under his armpits and lifted him up to my lap. I set him so he straddled me face to face.

“I love it so much when you pick me up. It makes me feel so protected.” Anderson leaned down to touch his forehead to mine.

“You’re always protected with me. No one fucks with my boy.” I touched my lips to his and rubbed my hands down his back to cup his ass.

“Bed time? Maybe wash your feet first?” Anderson rubbed his ass against my bulge.

I lifted him as I got to my feet. He wrapped his legs around my waist and his arms around my shoulders as I carried him off to the bedroom.

Chapter 23- Birthday Boy

“I told them not to ring the bell! Did it wake you up?” Anderson set down a tray of food on the bed next to where I was waking up and blinking at the morning sun.

“You brought breakfast?” I looked at the tray of covered dishes.

“Your favorite. Avocado toast with bacon and eggs. This one is waffles. Happy Birthday!” Anderson sat on the bed next to me and poured me a glass of orange juice.

“One of these days I will wake up and you’ll still be here sleeping,” I joked.

Anderson was always up and starting his day by the time I opened my eyes.

“I got up at 4:30. I finished my work day and cleared my emails so we can be together. I thought that would be better… I get to wake up in your arms every morning. You sleep like a rock. I can move you, explore things, lick things; nothing wakes you up.” Anderson sat next to me and picked up the plates.

“What are we doing today?” I picked up the toast and took a big bite.

“I have a full schedule! You can pick as little or as much as you want.” Anderson pulled a long card from under one dish that showed a menu of activities.

“It looks great… but the list is in Chinese.” I studied the card as he reached for his coffee.

“Well, we are in China, sweet boy. You could learn a little.” Anderson joked and turned the card over where it was listed in English.

“Ahh! Ok we are starting with the massage. I’ll do that… dolphin voyage? Maybe not. Oh! Rock climbing, yes! Lunch! Where is sex? There’s no sex today?” I pushed the card back towards him and pointed with an angry look.

“Well that’s anywhere and anytime you want it. Sex is always on the menu, my heart. It’s the basic.” Anderson put his cheek on my shoulder and rubbed playfully.

“Good.” I yanked the card back. “This all looks good, but honestly I want to do stuff you want to do too. You pick something. I picked the rock climbing. Not the dolphins though… I get freaked out by the ocean. I like it, but big things floating around me… no.” I shook my head.

“Let’s get cleaned up, go for the massage, and then see where the day takes us.” Anderson kissed my left nipple and blinked up at me with those beautiful eyes.

+++

“Do we get totally naked?” I asked when the massage guys put us in the room and gave us a little privacy to change into these ridiculously soft robes.

“The rule of thumb is keep covered what you don’t want touched. If you have your dick out, they will assume you want it taken care of,” Anderson laughed.

I stripped off my t-shirt and shorts then paused when Anderson and I both got to our underwear. I hooked my thumbs into the waistband and his mouth opened in shock.

“Just kidding.” I snapped the waistband of my boxer briefs.

The guys came back in. There were dressed in matching uniforms; white tank tops with come Chinese words on them and white shorts. The shorter one came towards me while the taller, more muscular one went for Anderson.

We laid down on the massage tables, and the smaller one went to pull a heavy blue curtain between us.

Anderson barked something in Chinese that made the man stop and pull the curtain back open. He said some other things and my massage guy nodded.

For all the jokes people make about these massage places, ours were pretty standard rubdowns. The small guy climbed around me like a jungle gym using his elbows, knees, and strong grip to smash the tension out of me. He knew these spots to dig into that released pressure I didn’t even know I had. I was face down against the padded table and the guy was on my back working his magic.

Anderson said something and then the masseuse started to really get into it. He twisted and pushed my muscles into these positions that squeezed any tightness out of them. I started to gasp and make these weird noises as he rearranged my body.

“That’s intense. My guy is woah,” I sighed when I looked over to see Anderson carefully watching me.

His guy was doing similar things to him, but he seemed more focused on the guy who was now squatting over my lower back and pulling my muscles into new positions.

Anderson caught my eyes and quickly forced a smile. He didn’t seem nearly as relaxed. I felt my massage guy’s ass come to rest on my own. His knees were on either side of my abs. His chest pressed into my back as his hands rubbed roughly down my biceps.

“Oh yeah. Bro, for real,” I mumbled as he popped my back in this satisfying crack.

“You’re um… really getting into it over there,” Anderson chuckled. “I might need a few lessons so I can do that at home.”

“You do this at home and I am yours for life.” I let out a happy sigh as I melted into the table.

My massage guy never said a word to me. I guessed he didn’t speak English, or maybe this was just part of the experience. Either way, I would have married that guy if Anderson didn’t already have me. He was short, small, not very attractive, and looked older; but fuck if he didn’t know how to make my body feel celestial.

The guy stretched my shoulders out wide and then let me settle back into the table. He put his hand on my hair and patted me like a dog before sliding off of me. I had my face turned towards Anderson so I caught the guy’s hard bulge as he gathered himself. Anderson’s guy slid off of him, and they left.

“Not even a goodbye. I didn’t even get his name,” I laughed. I felt a strange closeness to the guy.

“You very much enjoyed yourself. I’ve never seen that look on your face.” Anderson raised an eyebrow at me. He seemed a little jealous of my rubdown.

“Very good birthday surprise.” I laughed and rolled over onto my back.

“Dude, you are full hard!” Anderson pointed. “That guy almost got you off!”

“I’m just relaxed. You look pretty laid back as well” I reached for the towel to hold

“If you get any harder, you’ll rip those briefs.” Anderson grinned. “I guess older guys are really your thing. I thought it was just me, but now I have to watch out for all submissive daddies.”

“He was very good with his hands. Your guy didn’t get you hard?” I looked over, but Anderson was on his side propped up on one elbow with his leg turned over to push his bulge against the table.

“Mine focused more on my bottom. I told them what we like, and their service usually warms up couples for each other. He stretched me really well and we have privacy for at least an hour.” Anderson pushed up his ass and wiggled it for me.

“What? He went inside you? That’s not cool.” I hopped off the table and went to inspect him.

“He didn’t really go in, just warmed things up so you could get what you want.” Anderson laid flat on his tummy and arched his back to push up his ass.

“Let me see here.” I pulled at the waistband of his briefs, a sensible black pair of Calvins instead of the thongs or lacy things he usually wore.

His firm, bubble butt opened for me and I leaned down to kiss each cheek. He spread them for me so his hole was on display. It twitched and winked at me when I brushed a finger over it.

“See? All ready for daddy to breed. I am empty and ready, sir.” Anderson looked back over his shoulder at me and bit his lip expectantly.

“Tight little body.” I kissed in the center of his back. “Tight little ass.” I kissed his cheeks again. “And tight little pussy for me.” I rubbed my thumb over his hole then leaned in to lick it.

“Fuck yeah. Please, sir,” he whimpered.

“What does my boy want?” I growled at him then lapped at his hole. I was getting used to this. It had seemed so gross to me just a few weeks back, but it made his body twist and writhe, his mouth whine and beg. It felt so good to have power over his pleasure, make him squirm for me.

“It’s your birthday, sir. I am yours.” Anderson looked back at me as I worked his hole.

The room was pretty bare except for the two massage tables, a padded bench, and a shelf with oils and other things they used for the massages. There were two, high windows above the bench with light shades pulled down so we could get light, colors, and shapes from outside, but no observers.

“Which of these is lube?” I asked. Everything on the shelf was either not labeled or in Chinese.

“My bag,” Anderson gasped as I worked a finger inside him. “I have the good stuff in there.”

I leaned and stretched to grab the bag with one hand without taking my other from his hole. I handed it to him and he leaned over the table to rifle through it until he pulled out an unmarked clear bottle. He handed it to me and I poured some around his hole then pushed two fingers inside him to spread and coat his chute.

“Oh fuck. That’s it. Uh!” He started to moan as I opened him. I put my other hand on his back to rub his muscles like the masseuse had done to me.

“You feel so good.” I rubbed his smooth, dark, flawless skin. He settled down against the table.

His hole was ready for me and my cock was straining the boxer briefs I’d worn. I was so ready to pop, and opening him was doing nothing to settle my cock.

“Fuck me, sir,” he begged.

I knew I wasn’t going to last long inside him. I tried to calm myself, but he was wagging his hole and begging for me.

“Turn over. I’m so close. This is going to be quick. Like Big Quick,” I cautioned.

“As long as I get your cream, life is good.” Anderson sighed contentedly as he rolled onto his back. He looked up at me with those beautiful eyes that made me weak.

Everything about him made me weak. I paused to kiss him; his lips are so soft and pink.

If you’d asked me on my 19th birthday, I would never have guessed I’d be spending my 20th birthday in China mounting a 33 year old dude who begged for my seed… and loving every fucking minute of it. I couldn’t explain it. He was a truly beautiful person.

“I love you,” I told him as I put my tip to his hole and began to slide in. Something about the intense massage had me feeling vulnerable, sappy, open. It was all very zen.

“I love you… Happy Birthday… oh fuck!” Anderson gasped as I pushed inside him.

He was tight, but sucked me in. His mouth opened and his eyelids fluttered as I started to pump him. His hole gripped me so perfectly that I knew I wasn’t going to last long. He was made for me. He felt so right.

I leaned into his chest and kissed him as I pushed deep inside his ass. I could feel my seed pushing up my shaft and was right on the edge. I kept it deep inside him and drilled that spot inside him that made his body twist and twerk.

“Fill me. Please.. Yes, sir.” His teeth bit softly on my lip as his hands rubbed my back, pulling me into him as I banged his hole.

“I’m gonna cum. Oh fuck!” I warned as I started to pump inside him. I pushed deeper and his body started to fire off too. I felt his hot cum shoot against my stomach as his body jerked in my hold.

Our lips locked as our bodies writhed and wrestled. I pushed my cum all the way into him. His fingers gripped my back like he was afraid of flying away, and then we heard a loud crack and we dropped about a foot or so.

“I think we broke the table, babe.” I started to push off of him to look, but he held me back.

“Fuck.” Anderson hissed, undisturbed by the destruction. He held onto me, recovering his breath as I laid against him and tried to put my leg out in case the table fell farther.

“Babe, something broke.” I laughed. I’d pounded him too hard.

“Don’t care, I’ll pay for it, just hold me,” he whispered.

By now, we were at a 30 degree angle and our sweat-drenched bodies slowly slid down. I put my foot down to steady us as he recovered his breath and sucked at my shoulder.

“You are so good at that,” he said when he raised his head to meet my eyes.

“According to the table, I am not,” I laughed and then added, “Sorry, table.”

We got up, took a shower in the small bathroom in the room, then put our clothes back on.

“I’m so sorry. We will pay for that,” I said when the attendants came back in after Anderson opened the door.

They shrugged like it happened all the time and went to the table to clean things up. Anderson laughed at my politeness and told me it was unnecessary.

“The amount we pay for services here could rebuild this whole space,” he told me.

+++

After lunch, we headed for the rock climbing place. It was in the center of the island and built on top of the activity center. The roof deck had games and tables for the visitors. The sun was blazing overhead so most people were crowded in under the large umbrellas. Anderson and I sprayed each other down with sunblock then went to find the guy in charge of the climbing supplies.

The rock was a man-made wall that went up about 20 feet and was surrounded by super squishy mats in case of falls. The instructor put us in harnesses and clipped us into the safety ropes. There was no chance of injury and the wall had large enough footholds to where this wouldn’t be much of a challenge.

“That looks really high,” Anderson said and I could see the fear in his eyes.

“You live way higher than that,” I noted.

“Yeah, but I take the elevator or stairs to get home. I don’t scale the building. But… it’s your birthday, so….” He sounded very unenthusiastic about this.

“Bro, it’ll be fun. I’ll climb right behind you so I can catch you. It looks really tame, super safe. I’m right behind you,” I assured him. I patted his bottom to nudge him towards the rock.

Anderson took about 30 seconds of slow, apprehensive climbing before he figured out it was super easy. We got to the top in about 5 minutes total.

“Look at the view up here!” It was only 20 feet or so, but the rock was close to the beach and we could see the mainland with sparkling towers and green hillsides.

“It looks so pretty up here,” Anderson agreed.

“Why did you leave it? China seems really nice.” I watched a cargo ship make its way towards the port. “There’s so much going on here and it’s a lot newer and nicer than San Francisco.”

“The price of freedom.” Anderson shrugged. “I couldn’t be myself here.”

I put an arm around him as we sat on the ledge and watched a flock of seagulls flying towards the island.

+++

“Hey, um… we are going to take the flight tonight. Feels like it’s time to go home, ok?” Anderson woke me up from the nap we’d settled into before our dinner reservations.

“I thought we had two more days.” I yawned and stretched.

“We do, but some business things came up. I’ll make it up to you. We can hit that surfing spot in Santa Cruz you were looking at. But we need to go. The boat is ready when we are. I packed your things and set out sweat pants and a t-shirt for the plane. Get dressed, ok?” Anderson spoke with urgency.

“Yeah, kay. Everything is ok?” I asked as I sat up and got out of bed.

“It’s fine. It’s good. I just want to make the flight. We’ll get dinner on the plane.” Anderson nudged me towards the bathroom.

I quickly brushed my teeth and hair then put on the clothes he’d picked for me. A waiting golf cart took us to the boat landing and then we headed back to the mainland.

Anderson looked worried and he kept typing things out on his phone. Something was up, but whenever I pushed about it he just made some excuse about business.

He made a phone call when we docked and got into an awaiting car. He talked to someone in Chinese using his confident business voice. He got quiet for a minute and his confidence dropped to a slow string of emphasized words. He paused again then let out a long sigh as he hung up.

“Listen, Ezra. I have a little business here, but I want you to head back. Marcus will pick you up in San Francisco. I’ll be there in a few more days.” Anderson put his hand on my leg.

“I don’t mind staying here a few more days. We were supposed to stay till Saturday anyways.” I kissed his forehead. He looked so worried.

“No! You have to go. I don’t want you to get stuck here too. You are leaving tonight.” Anderson tried to make his words sound light, but his voice started to break. He was scared of something.

“I don’t want to fly back alone. We can hang out with your family for a few days.” I wasn’t going to leave him when there was obviously something wrong.

“It’s a government issue. My lawyer is fixing it, but it will take a few days. I had some business deals and I paid the right fees and taxes, but of course it didn’t get filed correctly. I’m somewhat detained until it gets fixed. It will be a week at the most. You have to go though. Just trust me.” He forced a smile and laid against my chest as the car took us towards the airport.

“I’ll stay out of the way. I can hit the gym and watch some shows. I’m not leaving you.” This was getting weird.

“You can’t stay, Ezra. They’ll be suspicious; a hot, young, muscled white boy traveling with a man of my status and current legal issues… They’ll hold you for questioning at the very least. And it’s worse because you truly don’t know anything. No, I need you safe back home. If anything happened to you…” Anderson put his hand on my shoulder.

“Legal issues? Are they going to arrest you?” This was setting off every alarm I had.

“Only if I don’t get things fixed… which I will do and things will be fine. I just need to clean things up and then I’ll be home, and I’ll focus much better if I know you are safe. Please don’t argue. You mean everything to me. You need to go.” Anderson was insistent, and the car was entering the airport.

“This feels really fucked up.” I reached and took his hand.

“Here, take this card for any emergencies, and here’s my login for the wifi on the plane. We can text the whole way home. I texted you your plane ticket.” Anderson handed me a paper with notes and a credit card with my name on it. “Now please go. I love you.”

The car pulled up to the curb. My phone buzzed in my pocket. I slid in the paper and credit card next to my phone. We kissed while the valet got my luggage out of the trunk. Anderson hugged me one more time, and pointed me towards the right entrance.

Chapter 24- WTF

“You didn’t sleep on the plane? You look so tired.” Marcus met me as I left the terminal in San Francisco. He’s nearly as tall and fit as I am, so his strong hand felt reassuring on my shoulder.

He took my backpack and put his hand on my back as I wheeled the luggage Anderson had packed for me. I felt like a kid being handed off to dad from an international flight, but I was too tired to think.

I’d spent the flight texting with Anderson and trying to understand what was happening. Anderson kept assuring me it was just simple misunderstandings and he needed to work with his lawyer to smooth things out before he could come home, but this didn’t feel right and he wasn’t answering questions.

I’d tried to catch a nap, but it just didn’t come.

“I’m going to stay with you until he comes back,” Marcus said as we made our way to his car.

“Uh… yeah thanks,” I mumbled a response. I wanted to lie down and close my eyes, but we needed to get home first.

“I’ll be your Anderson for the week. He asked me to take care of things.” Marcus pulled on my arm to stop me from stepping out in front of a car that was making its way down the parking aisle.

The car came to a halt and the driver looked at me with annoyance but waved us to go first. Marcus held up a hand to thank him and then nudged me to keep walking.

“So anything you need… you know… I’ll be here for it.” Marcus’ voice cracked a bit like he was making a heart-felt proclamation.

“Thank you. I need a bed.” I yawned.

He put his hand on my shoulder when we got to his SUV. I got my luggage into the back before collapsing into the passenger seat. Marcus leaned over me to buckle my seatbelt as I turned towards him and closed my eyes.

+++–+++

I don’t remember how I got to bed or changed out of my clothes, but I woke up sometime later in Anderson’s bed with Marcus cuddled against my side. He was trying to be there for me in Anderson’s absence, but he didn’t feel the same.

Marcus is a handsome guy, but he’s taller and stronger, bulkier, than Anderson. His personality was different as well. Where Anderson was talkative and attracted attention with his humor, Marcus was quieter, more reserved, more masculine. It was nice to have someone there, to not be alone, but he wasn’t a replacement.

The next few days were spent facetiming with Anderson and starting my new courses. It was hard to focus on them not knowing what was happening with Anderson. He kept trying to reassure me that things were getting settled and he’d be home soon, but he sounded less hopeful each day.

By Thursday, he wasn’t responding to my texts, and the communication went dark.

“He’s not answering me either,” Marcus said when I found him in the kitchen making dinner for us.

“I’m worried, I should be worried, right? This isn’t normal?” I was losing perspective.

Marcus didn’t have any wise words of comfort. He shrugged, patted my shoulder, then went back to stirring whatever he was making.

+++–+++

Friday morning I was working through a study sheet when Marcus came into the living room with an older guy in a nice suit. They looked at me like they had big news to drop.

“We have an update, Ezra,” Marcus said and pointed towards the man.

I set my computer to the side and went towards them.

“I’m Adam Rodriguez. I have some things for you. It’s urgent. Can we sit together?” the man asked. He moved and spoke like a secret service agent in one of those high budget action films. He offered a reassuring smile and waved towards the living room.

I followed them and took a seat on the couch next to Marcus while Adam sat in the big chair and opened his messenger bag. He pulled out a large, thick envelope.

“Let’s get to the point. Things have deteriorated with Mr. Yang’s situation in China, and it could have ramifications back here as well. He’s facing serious charges there. The district attorney here in San Francisco has notified us that they’re opening an investigation into his businesses here as well.” Adam started to open the envelope.

“For what? He’s the most put together guy, successful guy I’ve ever met.” I was in disbelief of this whole thing. Anderson was not a criminal.

“We’re working on sorting things out, but I’ve been appointed to look after you. He doesn’t want you involved in any way, and we all think it’s best for you to clear out of here as quickly as possible. They’ll likely be serving a search warrant in the coming days, and Mr. Yang… Anderson, wants you far away from this.” Adam pulled out a stack of papers.

“I am super far away from this! I have no idea what’s going on. None of this even sounds real.” I stood and started to pace towards the window.

“Perfect. Ignorance is safety in this situation. My team is setting up your new apartment. It’s three stops from campus on the Muni and right on the bay. As far as anyone needs to know, you’re a student from a wealthy family and you’ve never heard of Anderson Yang.” Adam pulled out a set of brass keys attached to a small blue plastic keychain.

“Oh, shit.” I shook my head in disbelief. There was no way this was real.

“Big key opens the door, little key opens the mailbox, and blue fob opens the gate, pool, gym, other amenities. This card is for your account. You’ll get paid every three weeks, and the rent and utilities is covered. If you need more, just call my office. Lets get your things packed. I’ll drive you over there. My team should be finishing up the apartment.” Adam stood and looked around for the bedroom.

“I’ll help you pack.” Marcus put his hand on my shoulder and gave it a supportive squeeze.

+++-+++

“I’ll take these bags back to Anderson’s condo. I can stay here a few nights if you want?” Marcus hung up the last of my clothes as I stored my underwear and socks in the top drawer.

“I think I need to be alone.” I was numb.

“All finished guys? The cable and internet guy is finishing up in the living room. He gave me this card with the passwords and instructions. You got the gigablast package! Super fast.” Adam handed me a long plastic card from the cable guy.

“Yeah. I think I’m going to stay with Ezra until he gets settled.” Marcus zipped up the empty bags.

“I’m fine. I’ll be ok by myself. Thank you though.” I handed Marcus the last empty suitcase.

“I think it’s best if we put some distance between the worlds.” Adam agreed.

“Ok, but you call me if you need anything.” Marcus gripped my bicep.

I gave him a hug, it felt like something that would move him towards the door. Adam grabbed two of the empty suitcases and headed out. Marcus took a while to let go.

Things felt real when I was alone there. The large, one bedroom unit was decorated in dark wood and deep blue. Adam’s team had filled it with furniture, stocked the fridge with food, and even hung some art pieces on the wall, swirling mixes of blue skies and yellow stars.

I went to open the patio and saw my view of the pool below, the city skyline ahead, and the bay to my right. The apartment pool looked like a mickey mouse head with hot tubs for the ears. It was nestled into the center of the 8-story, C-shaped tower. I was on the top floor, at one end of the C so my view came with the ever-present bay breeze.

I decided to do the one thing that always made sense to me, workout. I didn’t know how long I’d be here, or even if I wanted to stay, but it felt better than dropping my classes and heading home to my parents’ house. My parents! I didn’t even know how to begin to tell them about this.

I found the gym on the second floor with huge windows looking out over the pool where an assortment of adults were lounging and swimming. I did a ten minute run to warm up and then worked through my weight routine.

There were all kinds of people hanging around the pool, but as the sun began to set, the crowd left too. It gets too cold at night to be in a pool. I finished with a ten minute cool down on the treadmill and watched as one of the hot tubs filled up with guys using the grill. The other hot tub was far from the grills and fire pits and looked dark and empty.

The gym had clean towels near the entrance and I grabbed one to wipe down as I headed out. There was a bin for used towels so I would make sure to return it the next day.

I was going to take the stairs up to the 8th floor to head to the new apartment, but I realized it was empty and lonely. Instead, I went down the stairs and outside to check out the empty hot tub.

I passed the guys grilling. I got a few interested looks, but I wasn’t ready for that much company. I went around the pool to the quieter hot tub. I used my key fob to open the gate and went inside.

The area was dark except for bright blue lights from under the bubbling water. I set my towel on a chair along with my phone and keys.

I slipped off my shirt and turned when I suddenly spotted a guy sitting in the corner against the wall with his feet in the hot tub. He was looking down at his phone.

“Oh! Hey. Didn’t see you there. Is it ok if I use it?” I pointed towards the water.

“Sure,” the guy mumbled before looking up from his phone. “Oh! Hi there,” he added when our eyes met.

He was a dark-complected twink with huge brown eyes and a puff of curly black hair emerging from shaved sides. His face looked perfectly sculpted and manicured with soft pink lips that reflected the water’s glow.

“I’m not bothering your chill time? The other tub is packed with guys.” I slipped off my shoes and socks.

“Nah. It’s cool. Just relaxing after a long day at work. We call the other one the Douche Tub. They think they own it. They take over the gym too sometimes. It’s a grunting fest.” He laughed.

“That sucks. Sorry you had a long day at work. I’ll be quiet.” I stepped into the hot tub and sat down.

“No no! Talk to me. I just ducked out because the roommates are having a party. Not something I wanted to deal with after flying all day. I’m Julian. What’s your name?” His face cracked into a smile that showed perfect teeth.

“I’m Ezra. You travel for work? That’s cool.” I laid my arms on the sides of the hot tub to stretch out my back. My muscles were tight.

“Travel is my work. I’m a flight attendant for Uniwest. I did back and forth to Reno three times! If I have to serve one more canned Mai Tai to one more bleach-lipped Karen, I’m going to hurl someone out over Lake Tahoe!” He set his phone down and slid into the hot tub a few feet from me.

“You don’t look capable of hurling anyone.” I laughed. Julian was even more compact than Anderson.

“I grew up in Fresno and my parents are Dominican. Don’t let the twinkbod fool you. I am war!” He laughed and flexed his arms to show respectable biceps.

“My mistake! Fresno is rough. I’m from Modesto. We don’t fuck with y’all!” I nodded knowingly.

“How does a kid from Modesto afford the rent here? Your OnlyFans must be hot!” Julian slid closer to me.

We joked and talked for almost an hour. He was so effortless. It made me miss Anderson. Worse, I couldn’t even bring him up after Adam’s warning.

“Well bro, I need to go face the roommates and get some food before I pass out. Hopefully their party winds down early. Luckily tomorrow is a day off.” Julian went to get his stuff.

“I have food and no roommates if you want to chill some.” I offered.

I felt a sudden panic at his attempt to leave. I didn’t want to go back to an empty place. I hadn’t been alone in a long time.

“That does sound nice. Lemme grab a shower first?” Julian yawned.

“Sure. I will too. I’m pretty rank from the gym. I’m in 801.” I got out and went for the towel.

“The Penthouse! That OnlyFans really does pay!” He joked.

“I’m up to 3 subscribers. Maybe 4 if you’re into me?” I winked.

+++–+++

I went back to the new apartment and hopped in the shower. The team had stocked it with the same products from Anderson’s shower. Had they been in our place? Had Anderson given them a list?

I was brushing my teeth when the doorbell rang. I wrapped the towel around my waist and ran to let Julian in.

I opened the door to find him standing there in a tank top, backwards cap, loose shorts, and crocs. The lazy look worked on his petite frame. He was staring down at a piece of paper in his hand with a focused look.

“You found me,” I joked. “Lemme put some clothes on real quick. Come on in.”

I left the door open and he slowly walked in as I went to the bedroom for clothes.

“Who’s Anderson?” I heard him ask as I started to close my bedroom door.

“What?” I thought I misheard him. I dropped my towel and opened a drawer to find some shorts.

“This letter was taped next to your door. It’s an email from someone named Anderson sent to, I’m guessing the person who printed and taped this to your door. But it’s written to you,” Julian called from the living room.

“The fuck?” I stepped into a pair of shorts as I stumbled out of the bedroom. I barely covered my dick in time to earn a happy look from Julian.

“It’s here. Who is Anderson?” Julian held the paper out of my reach as I lunged for it.

“Please! Please. Can I have it?” I pulled back and put my hand out.

“First answer my question. This guy seems like he’s hella into you and majorly fucked up whatever you had.” Julian looked at me with sympathy.

“I can’t tell you. Please just let me have it. Please.” I felt my heart pounding in my ears.

“Ok. This is complicated.” Julian set the letter on the kitchen island. “You’re hot, but I already have enough complicated.” He turned to leave.

“No! Don’t go! I’ll explain… how can I put this… Earlier when you joked about my OnlyFans… He’s my… only fan.” That didn’t come out how I thought it would.

“So he’s paying for all this.” Julian raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah… it’s not like that. We were together… and then we weren’t…. And then I got moved here… and maybe that letter gives me some kind of clue. That sounds bad. I’m not explaining this right.” I looked between Julian and the letter on the counter.

“He hurt you.” Julian turned and picked up the letter. “Here. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be a dick. You’re hurting and I invaded your privacy. Have a good night, Ezra… I’m really sorry for what you’re going through.”

“Will you stay? We can make food. We can hang. I have a crazy view from the patio. We can eat out there. You’re hungry. I’m hungry.” I raised my hands like checking for rain.

“You’re a hot mess… and I’d be a bad, gay cliché for falling for the hot boy in distress, but… let’s see what’s in the fridge.” Julian leaned forward and gave me a hug.