Twisted (11 page)

“I’m gonna hold you to that, Jeffy.”

“Good.” The song ended and we both wandered off the dance floor and each had a shot of good bourbon. Renee came up and asked me to dance. I looked at Mike. He nodded.

“You need to ask Mike’s permission?”

“Not at all. It’s just common courtesy. Here ya dance with who ya brung to the dance.”

“That’s kind of sweet.” We caught the beat and began to slide along the floor.

“Sandy told me about Mike, about all he went through.”

“He had it pretty rough for a while.”

“I understand why seeing his dad is really hard for him. I never realized all he had to do, just to survive.”

“He was lucky, Renee. He didn’t get into drugs, he didn’t have to sell his body for a place to stay, and he stayed HIV negative.” She was quiet a moment, and it passed through my mind just how horrible homophobia could be. Mike was lucky, compared to Jason. I was glad we decided to give Jason a chance. He was doing a good job cleaning house, and it sure as hell must have taken a lot of guts to look at himself in the mirror, go to rehab, and try to mitigate some of the bad choices he’d made earlier. Just then Renee spoke up.

“That’s another thing. When I think of the serial killer, preying on gay people, going up and down the coast, I just want to cry.

I just had a thought. Maybe if Mike were to tell his dad what he went through, it might help him to get it off his chest. I’ll ask him.”

“Okay, that is a good idea, Renee.” We talked a bit more as we continued to dance.

As the song ended, Mike was asking everyone to listen.

“Okay, everybody, I set up the food buffet style in the kitchen. There’s gumbo, rice, potato salad, bread, jambalaya, black-eyed peas, and smothered cabbage. Mary Grace, the small bowls on the end are vegetarian stuff for you and Jason.”

Everyone filed into the kitchen. Mike and I had another shot of whiskey while the folks were getting their food. We were both feeling pretty happy. Everybody seemed to like the food, and Sandy and Maria offered to help Jason clean up. He seemed pleased with that. It was about eleven o’clock, and I asked Maria, Mike, and Smitty if we should all sing “Auld Lang Syne” at midnight. They thought it was a good idea.

“Okay, what are the four of you plottin’?” Sandy came up to us when we were planning to sing.

“We’re gonna sing ‘Auld Lang Syne’, darlin’.”

“That’ll be nice. The four of you sing really well together. By the way, do you mind if Maria and I stay here tonight, Jeff?”

“Not at all.”

“Good, I’m gonna have a drink, then.” Mary Grace came over and started talking with Maria. When she heard about the singing, she wanted to join in. Sandy turned to Mike.

“I think you need to tell your dad what you told Jeff. What you went through after he kicked you out, how you had to survive, how that makes it so difficult for you with him here and all. I think that would be very therapeutic for you. It did feel good when you told him how betrayed you felt, didn’t it?” She looked up at him with this concerned yet pleading look. I really pitied the guy she married. She was a master at manipulation!

“Yeah, it did feel good. I don’t know that I wanna spend time with him, though.”

“I totally understand that, Mike, but to get it off your chest, to make him know just what he put you through, don’t you think that could help?”

“Maybe you’re right. I will tell him.” He got up and went to get us drinks.

“Sandy, whatever you do, don’t teach him how to do that.”

“Do what?” She smiled innocently.

“Be so manipulative while actin’ so innocent.”

“It’ll be our secret, Jeff.” Mike’s dad joined us on the couches. Pretty soon everyone was clustered around. Smitty stood up, pointing at his watch.

“It’s getting on to New Year’s—ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, happy New Year!” We had joined him in counting down. I grabbed Mike and gave him a big, deep kiss.

“Happy New Year, buddy.”

“Happy New Year, Jeffy.” He, I, Maria, Mary Grace, and Smitty began to sing. “Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?’…”

Everyone raised a glass and yelled out, “Happy New Year!”

Chapter Five

I
WOKE
up to the light shining in through the skylight. The light was cold and gray but bright enough to signal morning. I was warm, and I was all intertwined with Mike. I became aware that both of us still had our longhandles on. I remembered then, we’d both had a bit to drink last night. At least we got our pants and shirts off. I was lying on my back, and Mike had his head and right hand on my chest, and his leg was over mine. His hair was all mussed up, and he opened one eye and gazed up at me sleepily.

“Mornin’, Jeffy, happy New Year to ya.”

“You too, buddy, happy New Year’s.” I felt his hand moving from my chest down my belly, over the fabric of my longhandles. It finally came to rest on my dick, which was already hard as hell with morning wood. He began to gently rub.

“That feels great, buddy.” He threw back the covers and moved so he was between my legs. He leaned over and unbuttoned the bottom few buttons of my underwear. My cock leaped free.

“I’m gonna take care of ya, Jeffy. Just lie back and enjoy.” I felt his tongue running up and down the backside of my shaft while he firmly tugged on my balls. After a few licks, he took my cock in his mouth. It felt fantastic being engulfed in that warm, slick wetness. I could feel him working the back of the head with his tongue as he continued to knead my balls.

“That feels great, buddy. So good….” He began slowly moving his head up and down. I let myself drift in the pleasure. I looked down at him and could see he was taking care of himself with his other hand. He looked up at me.

“You look good with my dick in your mouth, Mike. You like sucking my big cock, don’t ya?” He moaned and moved his tongue even more. I wanted to buck my hips up and fuck his face hard, but what he was doing felt great, and he was obviously enjoying himself. He was moaning and whimpering around my cock as he continued to suck.

“Tastes good, don’t it? My dick feels good in your mouth, don’t it? It tastes good, feels good, and you like it up your ass, too, don’t ya?” He liked it when I talked dirty to him. He was jacking himself even quicker and kept up that great motion of his tongue against my glans.

“Good boy, Mike. You’re makin’ me feel real good. You almost got your ass paddled last night, you know that, don’t ya? I was just about to pull down your pants, take ya over my knee, and slap that pretty ass of yours good.” He began moaning even more, and I could tell he was getting close.

“You would have liked that, wouldn’t ya, that pretty ass of yours swatted until it’s all red and hot. All that blond fur on that pretty butt of yours standin’ out. Yeah, you almost got your ass whooped good.” He was going crazy thrashing around. I smelled the sharp tang of semen, so I knew he’d just lost it.

“You like thinkin’ about that, don’t ya?” He nodded with my dick still in his mouth. He was sucking for all he was worth now, really doing just great.

“You know, bud, you’re gonna get a mouthful in a minute or so if ya keep that up. You want me to come? Should I shoot in your throat, unload in your mouth?”

He was making a sound like, “Uh-huh,” around my dick. The boy wanted me to unload bad. Just knowing that he wanted it, made me lose it. It felt great as I exploded. He took every drop I pumped out. He continued to hold me in his mouth until I was limp. Finally he moved up on the bed, and we kissed. I could taste my very essence on him, me, on top of the familiar taste of Mike.

“You like that, Jeffy?”

“Hell yeah, what a great way to start the New Year.”

“Let’s head down and get some breakfast. I don’t think we ever slept this late before.” I looked over at the clock. It was almost ten. We pulled on socks, jeans, and T-shirts, brushed our teeth, and headed downstairs. Sandy, Maria, and Jason were already in the kitchen. They’d cleaned up from the night before and were just about done with a big breakfast. There were biscuits and gravy, bacon and eggs, and fried potatoes.

“Mornin’, darlin’, Jason, Maria. That sure smells good, don’t it, Mike?” I gave Sandy and Maria a big hug and clapped Jason on the back.

“It does at that. Thanks Sandy, Maria, Jason, you guys are great.”

“Jeff, Mike, I brought some panes dulces, Mexican pastries, from the bakery in Wenatchee for breakfast.”

“That was awful nice of you, Maria, any buñuelos?”

“How could I forget those, Jeff? I know how much you like them.” Sandy pushed a mug of coffee at me and one at Mike.

“Jason, you want to run out to the bunkhouse and let the guys know breakfast is ready?”

“Okay.” He ran out and came back shivering in a few minutes.

“Jason, did you ever talk to Smitty about gettin’ you some boots and heavier clothes?”

“No, that stuff doesn’t look cool.”

“It doesn’t look cool to lose a couple of toes or fingers to frostbite, either. Ya know they swell up, turn black, and they gotta let ’em drop off on their own to tell where the damage stops. You don’t want to lose toes or fingers cause you made a simple mistake like closin’ the door behind you and lockin’ yourself out. Now if you don’t talk to him, I will. I mean for you to do that today.” He glared at me. I glared back until he looked away. Smitty and José came in the back door. Josh was staying in town with Renee.

“Hey, boss, I am making a pot of menudo for New Year’s if you want some later.” I really like the tripe, chile, and hominy soup.

“Thanks, José, I sure would, but aren’t you supposed to have it for breakfast on New Year’s?”

“
Sí
, but I did not want to get these two beautiful ladies and this tough guy mad at me since they were already making breakfast.”

“What’s menudo, José?” Jason was able to stop pouting long enough to ask.

“It is a very good soup made from chile, hominy, and tripe, the cow’s stomach. It is very good for
el crudo
. Jeff and I have had to eat it many times to feel better after drinking too much.”

“Can I drink with you guys sometime?”

“You sure can, Jason.” He looked at me, dumbfounded.

“Really?”

“Sure, just as soon as you turn twenty-one. In fact, whatever you want to drink then is on me.”

“I’ll split the cost with you, boss. That way Jason can drink as much as he wants.”

José was trying hard not to laugh.

“You guys are assholes.” He was glaring at José and me again. I saw Sandy and Smitty put their heads together.

“Hey, Jason, come here a minute.”

“Why?”

“Please? Bert and I just wanna talk to ya a minute or two.” He reluctantly followed them into the mud room. Sandy seemed to get along with Jason real well and so did José. He liked to throw Mike off track by making some smart remark, and with me, I really didn’t know. He had come on to me, and seemed to follow me around like a puppy, but he was always trying to push the envelope. After a few minutes, they came back into the kitchen.

“José, Jeff, I’m sorry for calling you guys assholes. I know you were only joking around, and I just haven’t had friends do that with me in the past.” I clapped him on the back.

“No problems, guy. You see we joke around with each other all the time. I wouldn’t joke with ya if I didn’t like ya.”

“Really, Jeff, you don’t think I’m a little kid?”

“No, I don’t, Jason.”

“Thanks!” That seemed to cheer him up to no end. I made a mental note to ask Sandy what she’d said to him that seemed to turn him around. We took the food into the dining room.

“This is really great, Sandy, thanks!”

“Not as good as your food last night, but thanks, Mike.”

“Jeff, what do you and Mike have planned for today?”

“We wanna get out and ski a few miles and then watch some football. Oh, and thanks for the pastries, Maria. They’re delicious.”

“Can I go skiing with you guys too?”

“You’re welcome anytime, Jason, but you don’t have the gear for it. Mike or I’d loan you some of ours, but we’re quite a bit taller.”

Smitty looked at me and then spoke up. “We talked about this before, remember? Between José and I, we have the stuff. You don’t mind borrowin’ from us, do you, Jason?”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Okay, amigo, Smitty and I will make certain you are nice and warm.” José smiled at Jason.

“If you all would like to stick around and watch football, we’d really enjoy the company, right Jeffy?”

“Yep, you guys are always welcome. We got some bratwursts in the freezer and could make a pot of beans. I think the only thing left over from last night is the potato salad, and I could sure eat some more of that. We got lots of snacks, too, potato chips, dip, and chips and salsa.”

“How about you let Maria, José, and I take care of dinner while you guys ski? José was plannin’ on making menudo.”

“You sure, Sandy? You made this great breakfast.”

“It’s okay, Mike. I’m sure that Bert will help, right?” Sandy fixed a big smile on Smitty. Maria was smiling at José. I just hoped Mike wasn’t taking notes. They quickly agreed. We finished breakfast, and Mike and I started to clean up, but Sandy pushed us toward the stairs.

“Go get dressed for skiin’. And you two take Jason and get him all geared up.” They headed out to the bunkhouse. Once they were out the door, I turned to Sandy.

“What did you say to Jason to make him stop the misunderstood-teenager act?”

She giggled. “The other day he told me he has a big crush on you.”

“What!” I was dumbfounded.

“He told me how he came on to you, and you refused him. Jeff, you handled it real well. You treated Jason like an adult. At first he was all pissed off for bein’ rejected, but then it occurred to him that you respect him. You know, Jeff, he gets all turned on when you get forceful and stare him down and set limits for him.”

“I reckon that makes two of us.” Mike was smiling at me. Sandy started laughing, and he turned bright red.

“Can we keep this conversation on Jason and Jason alone?”

“Sure, Jeff. Anyway, I pointed out to him a few times last night how you and Mike joke around with one another and José and Smitty and Josh and me. He just wants to be part of the group. He really doesn’t know how. I was readin’ some stuff about how kids who come out early have a real rough time of it.”