Puppy Love 2:
Building a Family
by
Jeff Erno
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Published by Fanny Press on Smashwords
PO Box 70515
Seattle, WA 98127
For more information contact: www.Fannypress.com
www.jefferno.com
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
Puppy Love 2: Building a Family
Copyright © 2010 by Jeff Erno
Cover design by Sabrina Sun
ISBN: 978-1-60381-437-9 (ePub)
Produced in the United States of America
Smashwords Edition License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.
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To my dear friend a fellow author Michele L. Montgomery, whose loving words of encouragement have inspired and motivated me. You’re my most loyal fan and one of my closest friends. I love you.
And in loving memory of my best friend and soul mate, Jason Scruggs; you have always been to me as Drew is to Petey. You are my sweet Drew, and you’ll remain in my heart forever. I love you.
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Puppy Love 2:
Building a Family
1
The four of us were riding together back from Fort Lauderdale. Matt and I were in the front seat of his parents’ SUV, and Alex was with Drew in the back. They’d been on their spring break vacation while Matt and I had gone on our cruise. It was the most awesome vacation of my life! I curled up next to Matt as he drove, resting my head against his shoulder. None of us were talking much, all feeling rather exhausted from the ten days of sunshine and partying. That morning when Alex and Drew picked us up at the docks, I had gushed to Drew, telling him every detail of our trip. The four of us had lunch together in Fort Lauderdale before we began our four-and-a-half hour drive north to Tampa.
I was not really all that excited about going home, for I knew that things were not that great with Kathie. She and I had quarreled a few times about my relationship with Matt, and it seemed that it was more and more difficult to find common ground upon which we could communicate regarding this issue. When I had rejected her friend Cameron, choosing a relationship with Matt over Cameron’s so-called equality, it had not set well with Kathie. I suppose she had convinced herself that she knew what was best for me, and that a minor thing like my own free will was merely an obstacle that stood in the way of my own true happiness. It seemed ironic to me that she disliked Matt so intensely because she felt he was too controlling, yet she herself was the one who was trying to manipulate me.
The day I had returned to Matt, leaving Cameron behind in the restaurant and bolting down the street towards my true hero, had been the real turning point in my life. It was then that I had decided with whom I would spend my life, and how I would find the contentment I’d so long desired. After that pivotal decision had been made, it seemed the rest seemed to just sort of fall into place. Drew and I had begun discussing plans for me to move in with him and Alex, Matt had signed me up for Tai Kwon Do classes, and I was even making plans to attend university at the start of the fall semester as opposed to community college. This would mean that I’d be going to a different school than both Matt and Drew. Whereas Drew would remain in his teaching position at Hillborough Community College, Matt was planning to attend Stetson University to pursue a degree in business administration. My first impulse was to follow Matt and attend this college as well, but he dissuaded me from doing so, urging me to consider which school would be best for achieving my own personal goals. Ultimately I decided upon the University of Tampa.
Alex was gearing up for his graduation and had already begun an internship with a software distributor in Tampa. It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that he would be taken aboard as a full time associate within the company upon the completion of his degree. Drew had confided in me that once Alex had settled into his new position and was happy, he was going to approach Alex about the possibility of returning to school to complete his graduate studies. Secretly I’d hoped that Drew would elect to attend the University of Tampa with me, although I knew realistically that even if he did so, it would not necessarily mean we would see much of one another on campus. It just was sort of comforting to know that there would be someone there that I already knew.
The night of my birthday party and the days immediately following had been a time of significant turmoil for me. I was so emotional about the decision I’d made to be committed to Matt, that I wanted to jump into everything with both feet. I wanted to move out of the apartment immediately and to start doing all of the things I’d been reluctant to do previously. Drew started taking me to the Gay Student Union meetings with him, and I started wearing an earring that displayed rainbow colors. I even bought a rainbow flag bumper sticker which I attached to the frame of my bike. If Matt had allowed it, I’d even have worn my collar 24/7, but actually he was the rational one during this transitional period for me. He persuaded me to remain calm and to wait things out at the apartment until the end of the school year. “Pup, wait til after the end of this semester, or at the very least until we get back from vacation. There is no reason for you to be making a major change just yet. Plus, I don’t want you doing anything out of anger. When you make life decisions, you have to think with your head, not your heart.”
“But when I decided on you, I thought with my heart, sir,” I protested. “Didn’t I?” He had looked down at me smiling and ruffled my hair affectionately.
“Yeah, it was your heart and your feelings that led you to make the decision, but still you had to think things through, right? Don’t you remember? I told you I wanted you to think about it really hard.”
I nodded in agreement. He was right, as usual, and so I elected to just chill out a bit and try to maintain a low profile around the apartment. I made a very valiant effort, I felt, to remain respectful of Kathie at all times. Things just felt odd, as if there was a constant underlying tension that existed between us. We were cordial, but not close to one another like before. She seemed to also have a way of getting her digs into me about Matt, saying things to get a point across without actually coming right out and being blunt. The day before we left on the cruise she had stated to me, “Not all of us have a rich boyfriend.” She was responding to a question I’d asked about if she and Carter were planning any vacations together in the near future.
Whenever she said these things to me, it would cut me to the quick, and invariably I’d run to Matt, either emailing him or talking to him on the phone or in person, telling him verbatim what was said. He just seemed to brush it off, downplaying my emotion, and led me into a rational way of thinking. “Pup, you gotta understand, it is normal for her to be a bit jealous. All these years she’s taken care of you and watched out for you. Now she prolly feels that you’re being taken away from her, and in some ways you are.”
“But why can’t she just be happy for me? I mean, I’m happy for her having Carter!”
“Once she sees how happy you really are and really gets on with her own life, I bet you two are gonna be really close again. The bond you have is strong enough to hold you together, no matter what else happens.”
“Yeah, at least I used to believe that. I don’t know though now. She just is so different.”
“You’re both different, pup. People change. They grow…it’s all part of life, but she’s gonna be your sister forever, no matter what.”
Sometimes it scared me the way I depended upon Matt so very much. He was my voice of reason, my conscience, my emotional stabilizer. I worried that he would eventually tire of me, get disgusted by my weaknesses and dependencies. I feared that he would ultimately seek a partner who was stronger and more mature. What was it that he even saw in me? Why did he put up with my insecurity and my quirkiness? Drew had explained it to me one day when I confessed my fears to him. “Petey, Matt likes you because of all those things, not in spite of them.”
“But how is that possible?” I’d responded. “How can he like that I’m a crybaby?”
“You’re not a crybaby. You are just sensitive and emotional, and you have this air of innocence about you. It is like you are so very transparent, you have nothing to hide. Matt sees in you an honest person who is very trusting. Sure you’re weaker than him, but he’s the kinda guy who likes to look out for the underdog. He’s like a superhero or something.”
“Yeah…you’re right about that. He is totally a superhero. Does that mean I’m like Lois Lane?”
“You’re a lot cuter than Lois Lane…plus she’s got a pussy.”
I turned my back towards him, thrusting my butt in his direction, “So do I!”
As we drove back from Fort Lauderdale, I slid my hand onto Matt’s thigh, easing it down to the inner part of his leg near the groin. I rested it there affectionately as I lay against him. I was not wearing the shoulder-strap seat belt but merely had on the middle lap belt, leaving the far right seat vacant. Alex and Drew sat behind us, both apparently dozing serenely. “I love you so much, sir,” I whispered to Matt, “Thank you for the cruise. Thank you for everything.” Matt shifted slightly in his seat, bringing his arm around my shoulder, pulling me into him tightly. He steered using only his left hand.
“You’re my pup. I’m glad you had fun.” As I leaned into him peacefully and closed my eyes, suddenly I felt his body tense and instantly my eyes shot open. He was gripping me firmly, holding me close to him as we came over the crest of a hill. Immediately in front of us was a huge pile-up of cars and Matt reacted promptly by slamming on the breaks and holding me tightly at the same time. He gripped the wheel tightly with his left hand as the truck went into a skid. We had been traveling at a speed of about 75 mph and were suddenly coming to a screeching halt. Alex’s cell phone, which had been sitting on the back seat, flew through the air and crashed into the windshield. I felt the impact of both Alex and Drew as their bodies were slammed into the back of the front seat, jolting us as I pressed my firmly-panted feet against the floorboards. The only thing that kept me from slamming my own head against the dash was Matt’s intense grip around my shoulder.
“Fuck!” he screamed, as he steered the vehicle frantically, trying to regain control. The back of the truck spun around, causing us to fishtail as I heard the deafening squeal of the brakes, the tires leaving behind black streaks of rubber on the pavement. The truck spun around so that we were sliding sideways across both lanes and then finally skidded to a jolting halt. We had not hit anything, but were facing the wrong direction. The truck had stalled.
“Oh my god!” Matt yelled. “What the fuck! Are you guys all right?” He craned his head backwards to see Drew and Alex pushing themselves back into a seated position.
“Yeah…fuck! What happened?” Alex yelled.
“There’s an accident. I gotta get this fucker outta the road before someone slams into us!” Matt pulled his arm from around me, pushing me away from him. I knew it was not a gesture of unkindness, but an act of survival. I leaned away from him, allowing him space to restart the ignition. He fired up the engine again and threw the automatic transmission into drive and gunned it, driving immediately over to the shoulder of the road. We were facing the wrong direction, but Matt kept driving. He continued until he was back to the top of the hill we had just come over, then he pulled right out into the middle of both lanes, immediately flipping on his hazard lights. “Everyone out of the truck! Petey, grab your phone.”
Drew and Alex piled out of the backseat hurriedly as I reached under the dash to press the latch release for the rear door. I then unbuckled myself and shoved the door open, climbing down to the ground. I ran to the back of the vehicle and pulled open the rear door which was slightly ajar. I grabbed my duffle bag and unzipped it as quickly as I could, digging inside to find my phone. “Call 9-1-11!” Matt ordered, “Come on Alex, there are people still in those cars down there. Drew, you and Petey stop any traffic from coming through, but stay the fuck off the road!” He and Alex raced back down the hill on foot as I dialed the emergency number.
“Fuck, there must have been ten or fifteen cars piled up down there!” Drew said to me. “All these cars came booking over this hill and just crashed into each other!”
“There’s a big accident! Please help!” I screamed into the phone. “…Drew, where are we?”
“On Interstate 75, northbound, mile marker one-forty-three,” he responded.
“I-75 at about mile marker 143; there’s a huge pile up…ten or twenty cars!… Yes, we are safe, but there are people hurt… Yes! Please hurry!” I clicked off the phone and ran to the front of the SUV, looking down the hill to see Matt. He and Alex were already almost out of sight, checking each vehicle to see if anyone needed immediate help.
“Oh my god!” Drew screamed. “That truck…it’s upside down!…It’s leaking water or something.”
“Fuck! That’s not water, Drew…it’s gasoline!” Matt and Alex were beside the truck, and Matt dropped down to a crouching position peering inside the driver-side window. He grabbed for the door latch, jerking against it with all his might, but it did not budge. He turned to Alex, yelling something to him, and Alex headed back up the hill towards us.
Drew had turned back around and was waving at the oncoming traffic, urging them to stop before they approached us. “Stop! Stop! It’s an accident! Stop!!”
“Get a tire iron!” Alex screamed to me. “From the truck!” I ran immediately to the rear of our vehicle and started hurling our luggage behind me onto the ground. As soon as there was a bare spot on the floor of the truck, I reached for the latch to lift up the spare tire compartment, shoving all the other contents that remained on the floor out of the way. I grabbed the tire iron hurriedly as Alex approached me, handing it to him quickly. He did not say anything but spun back around and headed back down the hill. I ran behind him, stopping at the top of the hill as I remembered that Matt had told me to wait.
I watched as Alex handed over the tire iron to Matt, like a runner passing a baton. Matt spun around and bolted towards the opposite side of the upturned pickup. He was swinging the tire iron against the glass of the passenger window. He did it three times, and I saw shards of glass flying around him. He used the tire iron itself to quickly clear off the broken pieces of glass that were still stuck in the window, and dropped down to his knees, crawling into the truck. I panicked and headed down the hill at full speed.
“Petey, what are you doing?” Drew yelled from behind me. “Wait!” I did not listen to him but ran towards the pickup truck which was continuing to pour the contents of its gas tank upon the pavement. As I approached the truck, Alex grabbed me.
“What are you doing?” he demanded. “Get back up the hill.”
“No! That truck is gonna explode! It’s leaking gas!”
“Get back up the hill!” Alex repeated.
“Matt!” I screamed, as Alex grabbed tightly a hold of my shoulders. Matt backed out of the vehicle.
“I can’t get in there! Fuck! There’s a woman in there…unconscious! I can’t fucking get in!”
“Let me do it!” I screamed.
“Petey, I told you to stay by the van!” Matt yelled at me.
“Sir…please! That truck is gonna explode! Please…let me do it…I’m small enough to fit!”
He looked up at me as he knelt there beside the broken window. “Get over here! Fast!” Alex released me and I ran to Matt. “Watch the glass…now, listen to me…you gotta get over to the seatbelt and unlatch it. She’s gonna fall forward when you do….right on top of you. You gotta use all your strength to push her towards me…and hurry!”
I crawled inside, my heart pounding in my head. The adrenaline within me was racing so fast I did not have time to be afraid. I heard Matt behind me, instructing Alex to get the rest of the people out of their vehicles as quickly as he could, and I scurried into the upside-down pickup, crawling on my knees. As I inched my way across the ceiling of the truck, which was now of course the floor, I winced, feeling a shard of glass stab into my leg. The woman that I moved towards was still conscious, I immediately discovered, but moaning. “Can you undo your seatbelt?” I asked her. She did not respond, as if she couldn’t hear me at all. I pushed myself closer to her. The weight of her body had pressed her head down flush against the ceiling of the pickup, but the seatbelt was still holding her in place. When I got close enough, I tried to pull against the seatbelt, but there was no slack. I reached above my head into the section of the seat where the belt was clasped. “I’m gonna undo your seatbelt…” I said to her, “and you’re gonna fall onto me. It’s okay though, I will get you out.” Again she did not respond to me at all; I wondered if she was in shock.
“Hurry Petey!” Matt yelled behind me, and I reached up to the seatbelt clasp and pressed into it. I had to extend both hands, pressing into the release using both of my thumbs. Finally I felt it give way and the seatbelt popped out of the clasp. As Matt had said, the woman immediately fell forward. I reached for her, thrusting my body under hers, and her weight shoved me backwards, right onto the steering wheel. I cried out in pain, but quickly stifled it as I concentrated upon using all my energy to hold onto her. She was not a big person, but her body was limp, like a rag doll. She was not cooperating at all. I pressed my hands against her shoulders and shoved her backwards, away from me, as I felt the steering wheel pressing into my back.
“Unghh!” I cried, as I shoved with all my might. I moved my hands downward on her body, gripping the waistband of her jeans. I tugged hard, suddenly realizing that her leg was pinned underneath me. I wriggled around frantically, shoving her whole body as I did so. When I’d freed myself from the position of being pinned, I finally was able to get a good grip around her waist. I tugged hard, now being back in a kneeling position on the ceiling of the pickup. Gradually I inched her closer to the window. Matt’s upper body was leaning inside; he was reaching for her.
“Just a little more, pup!” he yelled. “Come on!” I gasped, as I felt my own tears stinging my face. I didn’t think I could do it. “Petey, push hard…NOW!” Then with all my strength I shoved her body towards Matt. He finally was able to grab her, sliding his hands under her arms and pulling with all his might. She slid out of the window smoothly as I scurried behind her. When I made it out, Matt was already a good fifteen yards away from the pickup, dragging the woman to safety. I pressed my palms against the pavement and pushed myself up into a kneeling position, gasping for breath. “Come on, Petey!” Matt screamed as he turned to look for me, “Get away from the truck!” My leg was throbbing, but I scurried to my feet and ran after them.
In the distance I could hear the emergency sirens. “Is everyone out of their cars?” I yelled. Alex was now beside us.
“Everyone is out…except two people.”
“Where are they?” Matt turned to him. “We gotta get them out!”
“No…no, they …um…there’s no saving them.”
Matt turned his attention to the girl in his arms. He laid her flat on her back on the grass. We were in a field, at least fifty yards from the pileup on the highway. “She has a pulse…she’s breathing…but she isn’t conscious. Alex, go get a blanket! Petey, are you all right?”
“Yes sir,” I said, “I just cut my leg.”
“Oh my god…it’s gushing. Sit down and put pressure on it. Sit right here…next to her. I’m gonna go get the paramedics.” Just as he said that, a huge explosion erupted behind us. The truck from which we had just escaped had gone up in flames. “Fuck!” Matt screamed. He jumped up and ran down the field, down well past the wreckage and back onto the highway. I heard the sirens loudly now, as I sat there, staring down at the woman. I hoped she was going to survive. This didn’t even seem real to me.
Alex returned with a blanket and covered the woman, again checking her pulse and breathing. “I think her leg is broken, and she has a head wound.” he said. “Petey, you’re bleeding everywhere!” He moved over towards me. “Lie down!” I obeyed him, laying down on my back. He reached down to my calf, where the glass had cut into my leg, and tore the fabric of my khakis clean away from the wound. “There’s still a piece in there. I gotta pull it out, Petey.” I winced as he jerked the shard of glass from my leg. Then immediately, he leaned into me, pressing down with his palm firmly over the wound. I could hear people running, as I lay back, closing my eyes. It was Matt with the paramedics.
The rescue workers gave their immediate attention to the woman, who apparently had suffered a very severe blow to her head when her truck had upturned. More paramedics arrived, and a young guy in his mid twenties knelt down beside me. He was blonde with a very boyish face. “Eww…nasty cut,” he said, as he smiled down at me. “Are you hurt anywhere else…besides your leg, I mean?” I shook my head.
“No…uh…no sir,” I said. Matt was kneeling on the other side of me.
He reached into his bag and pulled out a bottle of something, uncapping it and pouring it over the wound. I grabbed Matt’s hand firmly, as I winced from the sudden sting. “Sorry,” said the paramedic. “I know it stings. My name is Eric, by the way. You’re gonna need some stitches for this, but I’m just gonna wrap it real quick.” He proceeded to bandage me up, tying a white piece of cloth around my leg securely. “You gonna be all right? I gotta move on to help these other people.” I nodded. “I don’t think you need to go in the ambulance…we’ve stopped the bleeding. One of the officers can drive you in to emergency.”
“Thanks,” said Matt. “We have our own vehicle. We weren’t in the accident.”
“Oh, okay,” said Eric. “Take care of him!” he said, as he turned from us and headed down towards the wreckage.
“Do you think she’s gonna be okay?” I asked Matt, referring to the woman we’d saved. “Is she still unconscious?”
“I don’t know, Petey, but she is still alive, and if you hadn’t crawled in that truck to get her, she wouldn’t be. You’re a hero, you know.”
“No…no, you’re the hero, sir.” He reached down and brushed my hair off my forehead.
“I can’t even believe this,” he said. “Look at that truck…those cars. They’re gone.” We watched as fire trucks approached, and the workers began to focus upon extinguishing the inferno. There were people around us everywhere, and suddenly we were invisible. Matt reached under my shoulders and slid his hands into my armpits, pulling me up against him. He stretched his legs out on either side of me as he repositioned himself into a sitting position. “I’m just glad you are all right. You could have been hurt so bad.”
“So could you, sir…I knew that truck was gonna explode. I knew it.”
“Yeah, but I told you to wait up on top of the hill.”
“You wouldn’t have saved her though…you couldn’t have fit into that window…the truck was too smashed.”
“I know, pup...but still--” he did not finish his sentence but just hugged me very tightly. He rocked me back and forth in his arms. “I love you pup,” he said, as we sat there and waited for it to be over.
* * * * * * *
“Now you have battle scars,” said Drew, as we walked out of the hospital together. “If you can handle the pain from getting those stitches, you should be ready to get your tattoo, no problem.”
I laughed. “Yeah, but they don’t give you a local anesthetic for a tattoo, silly.”
“We still are getting you that tattoo though, pup,” said Matt. “Just not til you’ve moved out of the apartment.”
“I can’t wait, sir,” I exclaimed. “I can’t wait to be marked by you.”
“Are you guys as hungry as me?” asked Alex. “I’m totally fuckin starving.”
“I’m so hungry I could eat a…uh…dick,” said Drew.
“You’d be hungry for that even after a full seven-course meal,” I said.
“True,” he laughed.
“Where do you wanna eat, pup?” Matt asked. “You decide since you’re the hero today.”
I blushed. “I’m not a hero, sir. I don’t like to decide stuff like that. Will you decide….please? I like whatever you like.”
Matt sighed. “All right, let’s just go to that restaurant over there, across the street. We can walk. In the future though, if I tell you to decide something, ya better do it…or else.” I looked down at the pavement in front of me, thinking I was being genuinely scolded. “Or else you will get tickle tortured!” Matt yelled, reaching out and grabbing me around my sides, digging his fingers playfully into me. I burst into giggles.
“Okay! Okay! I decide we go over there!” Matt pulled me into him and put his arm around me as we walked together across the street. I was feeling no pain in my leg at this point because the anesthesia hadn’t yet worn off, and I’d changed into a pair of shorts instead of my khakis.
A sign above the doorway of the restaurant boasted, “Homestyle Family Cooking”, but as we entered, it became obvious that the establishment was simply a little diner. It sort of reminded me of that little greasy spoon that I’d seen on the re-runs of the show “Alice”--Mel’s Diner. It very much had a small-town feel to it, and appeared to be patronized mainly by local working people. A sign just inside the door told us to “Please seat yourself”, and we did so, Matt selecting a booth in the non-smoking section.
As we were sitting down I looked across the room to spot a group of people in uniform, obviously medical workers. Suddenly I realized who they were--paramedics. My rescuer Eric was amongst the group. “Look sir,” I said quietly to Matt as I nodded in their direction, “it’s Eric, the one who bandaged my leg.”
“Oh, yeah,” he acknowledged, and as he did so Eric looked over to make eye contact with Matt. He raised his hand to us, in an informal waving gesture. The four of us took our seats in the booth, Matt and I on one side and the other couple opposite us. Drew and I were of course seated on the inside, next to the wall.
“I’m getting a burger,” Drew announced. “Extra greasy.”
I made a face. “How can you eat that stuff?” I asked. “Don’t you realize how many fat grams there is in that. Plus it is red meat.”
“Whatever,” he said.
“This place is totally a blast from the past,” said Alex. “Its like retro or something.”
Just as he said this, a waitress appeared, carrying a tray with four glasses of water. “Ev’nin, gentlemen. Can I start you with something’ t’ drink?” We gave her our drink orders and she disappeared.
“I wonder if her name is Flo,” Drew said. “You know, like from Mel’s Diner.” We laughed. I had just picked up my menu and was reading it over looking for anything that might not be too unhealthy, when Eric approached our table.
“Hey guys,” he said. He looked directly at me. “How’s your leg, little guy?”
“Fine, sir…thank you.” I quickly looked back down at my menu, feeling suddenly shy. I did not like being the center of attention.
“I heard about how you guys helped all those people today. It was amazing…wanted to say thanks. I’m Eric,” he reminded us, “In case you didn’t remember.”
Matt extended his hand to greet Eric, and they shook. “Matt,” he said, offering his own name. “This is Petey, of course, and these are our two friends Alex and Drew.” Eric then shook Alex’s hand.
“Nice to meet you,” he offered. “So, are you guys from around here, or just passing through?” He casually pulled up a chair from the table behind him, placing it in front of him as he sat in it backwards, his legs straddling the seat. He crossed his arms in front of himself, resting them on the back of the chair.
“We’re on our way back to Tampa,” Matt answered. “We were on a cruise, Petey and I. Alex and Drew were vacationing in Ft. Lauderdale.”
“Really?” said Eric, “I’m gonna be moving to Tampa myself in a couple o’ weeks. “Just got a full time job offer. Gonna be a full-fledged paramedic.”
“Cool. Congrats,” said Matt.
“Where in Tampa?” asked Alex. “I mean, where’s your place gonna be?”
“I’m renting an apartment over on the east side, on Gennessee Avenue.”
“Cool, that’s not far from our place,” said Alex. “Drew and I have an apartment on Wilder.”
“So what are the hot spots in Tampa?” asked Eric. “Any good clubs?”
“Wherever we’re at,” said Matt jokingly, “that’s the hot spot.”
“No doubt,” said Eric, looking over to smile at me. “You dudes seem pretty cool.”
“What kinda clubs you like?” asked Alex. “We’ve got all kinds.”
“Um…alternative, I guess. Maybe dance clubs.” Alex’s face sort of lit up when he said this. Alex was sort of the activist in our group, being the president of the Gay Student Union at our community college. I think his “gaydar” kicked in when he heard the words “alternative” and “dance” used in the same sentence.
“Yeah, we can show you a few clubs like that,” Alex said.
“You guys should come to a party tonight. My friend Adam is throwin this big bash. Lotsa cool peeps gonna be there.”
“We still have a two hour drive home,” said Matt. “But thanks anyways.”
“Could always spend the night, drive home in the morning,” Eric suggested. “You could crash at my place if you wanted.”
“Sounds cool, but we better not. Been partying our asses off anyways all week. Be cool to go out some time, though, when you get moved to Tampa. Let me give you my number.”
As they were writing down one another’s number, I spoke up. “Eric…um…how’s that lady doin? … the one from the accident.”
“Oh, well I’m not sure, but I think she’s gonna be just fine. She was talkin and everything by the time we got her to the hospital. Her name is Brenda.”
“You shoulda seen that truck,” said Alex. “The one side was so caved in that Matt couldn’t even fit through the window.”
“Yeah, Petey went in,” interjected Matt. “He’s our hero today.”
“Well she owes ya big time. If you hadn’t gotten her out, she’d ‘ave burned up.”
“We only did what anyone else would do,” I said, feeling my face redden. “I wouldn’t have even known what to do at all if not for Matt.”
“Still, you’re the one who saved her, Petey,” said Matt. “No one can take that away from you.”
“You guys sure you don’t wanna hit that party? You can stay at my house. It’s better than driving all that way.”
“None of us have to work or go to class tomorrow,” said Drew.
“Yeah, and drivin two more hours right now would totally suck,” said Alex.
“What about you, Petey? You wanna go to the party?” asked Matt.
I looked up at him wide eyed and said very quietly, “I want to if you do…but what about Kathie? She’ll be worried.”
“Well that’s no biggie. You can call her if we decide to go.” Just as he said that, our waitress returned with the drinks.
“Well, talk it over, guys,” said Eric, “I’ll be here a few more minutes.” He nodded to us as he got up from the chair and returned to his table.
* * * * * * *
“No, really I’m okay…everyone’s okay. I just got a little scratch on my leg.” I was talking to Kathie on my cell phone.
“You wouldn’t have needed stitches if it were only a scratch. Stay where you are, I’m coming down to get you right now.” She was starting to freak.
“No…please…it’s okay. You don’t have to come down to get me. We will be back in the morning. It’s just Matt and Alex don’t feel like making the long drive tonight. Please…”
“Put Matt on the phone! I wanna talk to him,” she demanded.
“He’s not here, he’s…uh…he’s in the bathroom right now.” Matt reached over and held out his hand, being that he was sitting right next to me.
“Give me the phone, Petey,” he said calmly.
Worriedly, I obeyed him. “She’s pissed,” I whispered to him as I covered the receiver with my palm.
“Hello?” said Matt into the phone. “Yeah, everything is fine.” He paused for a minute while listening to her response. “About eight stitches. He got a piece of glass stuck in his calf. He actually was very heroic today. Crawled into an overturned truck to pull out a woman who was trapped. You’d have been proud.”
Matt remained calm while Kathie yelled into his ear. I could hear her going on even though Matt had the phone pressed tightly against his head. He got up from the table to step away. Drew raised his eyebrows as he looked over at me. “You’d think she’d be happy that you’re all right,” he said.
“All she can think is that I could have been killed, and I bet you anything she’s gonna blame it on Matt. She blames everything on him; I’m so sick of it!”
“She just is being protective of ya, that’s all,” said Alex. “Don’t worry about Matt. He can handle it just fine. He doesn’t need anyone else’s approval.”
“I’ll just be glad when I get moved in with you guys. Then she won’t know what I’m doin every single second.”
Matt had returned to the table, and I looked up at him inquisitively, awaiting his report on the phone conversation. “Everything’s cool,” he said. “I told her I’d have you back safe and sound tomorrow by noon.” I reached under the table and placed my hand on Matt’s thigh.
“I’m sorry, sir, that she yelled at you.”
He shook his head. “Didn’t really yell. Just got a little excited, but only cuz she was worried bout ya. Everything’s cool.”
We followed Eric over to his apartment. It was a large two bedroom, and he informed us that two of us could share the one spare bedroom and the other two could crash on the hide-a-bed. Alex immediately volunteered to take the hide-a-bed for himself and Drew, and of course Matt and I got the bedroom. We hauled our suitcases in and deposited them in the bedroom and then joined the others in the living room. “You guys want a beer?” offered Eric.
“Sure,” said Matt. “Could use one about now.” Alex also accepted the offer, but Drew and I declined. I’d wait until the party if I had any alcohol at all. The five of us sat in the living room, making small talk. Matt was sitting on this big comfortable sofa, and I sat Indian-style at his feet. Drew was sitting next to Alex on a love seat across from us. To be honest, I wasn’t sure I was even up for a party, but I was thankful we did not have to go home just yet. I loved spending all of this time with Matt, and as I realized that our vacation was coming to a close, I did not want to be separated from him again.
After conversing with Eric a few minutes, it became apparent that he was not really familiar with the Dom/sub lifestyle that the four of us had embraced. His references made it clear to me that he considered us to be “boyfriends” rather than owner and pup. This did not seem to bother Matt at all, and he actually seemed to adapt to the perception of our host. Instinctively, I knew to refrain from addressing Matt as “sir”, and he called me by my own first name, rather than “pup”.
But then after we had sat there a few minutes, and Eric had turned on the stereo, Matt suddenly surprised me by something that he did. He reached down and handed me his beer bottle. It was empty. “I need another one,” he said, and without even thinking, I jumped to my feet to get it for him. Eric looked over to us without saying anything, and I suddenly wondered what he thought of me waiting on Matt like that. I obeyed Matt’s orders so frequently and so automatically, that it just seemed natural to me, but to an outsider it may have been a bit startling.
When I returned to the living room, I resumed my position at Matt’s feet. He took the beer from me without acknowledgement and spread his legs apart slightly so that I could slip back into my comfortable position between them. Eric was telling Matt about his recent trip to Mexico, and occasionally Alex or Matt would interject a comment or question. Drew and I both sat quietly.
When the conversation got around to career stuff, Alex told Eric about his internship and his job with the software firm. Matt explained the situation that he was in, with the impending inheritance of his father’s business, but Drew never spoke up to explain that he was a college professor. I found it to be a little bit ironic that the one person amongst us who was the most successful career-wise, did not even bother to talk about it. When Eric finally did ask Drew about his profession, Drew simply stated that he was a teacher and did not elaborate.
As I looked over to Drew, seeing him sit there at Alex’s side, I suddenly realized just what an amazing person he was. He was without question one of the least self-centered people I’d ever known. He was without-question the perfect sub. Never once had I heard him ever question his owner Alex, he never expressed feelings of jealousy or anger, never whined about anything. He obeyed every instruction given him, and always strove to stay out of the center of attention, deferring always to his owner.
I wondered if I ever would become half the person that Drew was. I was so very thankful for him, and for all of the help and reassurance he had given me over the past months. He seemed to understand every feeling or insecurity that I had, and he always helped me to do my very best to serve my owner. Never once had he said a single word of criticism to me about Matt. Even at the times when I was being disciplined or the times when Matt chose to be away from me, Drew continued to show Matt the utmost respect.
After Matt finished his second beer, he suggested that we get ready for the party. It was already about nine o’clock, and Eric quickly concurred with Matt’s suggestion. He informed Matt and me that we could use his bathroom in the bedroom, and Alex and Drew were shown to the bathroom off the hall. Eric said he had some stuff to do while we got ready, so we then separated.
I followed Matt into the bathroom and shut the door behind me. Matt turned to face me and then stepped forward, causing me to back up against the doorway. He reached up above my head with both hands and placed his palms flat against the door. Then he moved them down so that they were on either side of my head. He was leaning over me and had me trapped between the door and himself. I smiled up at him, trusting him completely, and becoming immediately thankful that we were finally alone together.
I sensed from Matt’s demeanor that he was in the mood for a little more than just a shower. During our cruise, he had taken advantage of many opportunities to use me for his sexual satisfaction, but it had been nearly a day-and-a half since we had had any real privacy. I was about to slide down the door and drop to my knees, when he spoke to me. “Pup was a very good boy today,” he said softly. His voice was dripping with sexuality, and just the authoritative sound of it made me instantly hard.
“You remember what I told you before about actions and consequences, pup?” he asked.
I nodded silently as I looked up at him. I was staring wide-eyed into his face, and then I finally spoke. “Yes sir, I remember. Every action has consequences.”
“That’s right,” he said. “When you do things that are bad, the consequences are bad. When you are good, you get rewarded.”
“But sir,” I said, starting to protest, “I did not do anything to be rewarded for. I disobeyed you, actually.” I looked down, away from his face, as I said this. “You told me to stay by the van, but I didn’t. I ran down the hill instead.”
“I know, pup,” he said, moving his hand from the wall to gently push up my chin. He forced me to look up at him. “Why did you do that?” he asked.
“I was afraid sir. I thought you were in danger,” I confessed.
“Pup, do you think I’m so strict a master that I would punish you for trying to save me?”
“You are always fair, sir,” I said to him sincerely. Tears welled in my eyes. “I didn’t mean anything bad about you.”
“I know you didn’t pup, but listen to me. Do you realize what exactly you did today? You saved another person’s life. That is incredible! Can you think of anything more heroic than saving a life?”
“You saved me though, sir. Remember? That is how we met. You saved me from Devin and Kyle, when they were beating me up.”
“Yeah,” he nodded, “and I knew that what I did was good. You need to know that what you did was good too. There is nothing wrong with feeling good about yourself. You should feel good, cuz you deserve it.”
“Okay,” I said finally, “but I don’t see how what I did was any better than what you or Alex did. It’s not like I could have saved that lady all by myself.”
“True,” he admitted, “but we aren’t talkin bout me or Alex right now. We’re talkin bout Petey. In a minute you’re gonna strip off your clothes for me and take me inside of you.” My heart raced as he verbalized his intentions. “And I’m gonna fill you with my load…you know why?”
“Cuz it’s my job,” I said to him sweetly.
“Yeah, and cuz what else?”
“Um…cuz good pups deserve owner cum?”
He nodded. “That’s right. Good pups get owner cum, bad pups don’t. But that’s not all. I’m gonna give you something else…something ‘sides my cumload.”
“What?” I asked eagerly.
“That will be later. It’s a surprise,” and with these words he then leaned in and kissed me. As he pressed his lips against my own, I reached out to him, grabbing him around his waist. I slid my hands upwards, feeling the hardness of his body as I tilted my head slightly, having learned how to effectively respond to his kisses.
His tongue entered me, as he moved his hands down the door until he reached my own waist. He leaned forward as he grabbed my shirttail and pulled it up my body. Briefly we pulled away from one another as he peeled the shirt over my head. Then instantly he reconnected himself to me. I could taste the beer on his breath and smell the masculine scent of him with which I was now so accustomed. I pulled myself towards him, pressing my body against his, as he ran his hands across my smooth back.
“Take off your shorts…strip for me pup,” he ordered. I did so, all the while staring up at him. I stood there then, wearing only my white briefs and socks, my leg bandaged just below the knee. I reached down again, this time grabbing the elastic waistband of my underwear. He smiled as I slid them down over my butt, all the while staring directly into his eyes. I stepped out of them, and then immediately fell to my knees. He did nothing to discourage me.
As I knelt there, I positioned my weight so that I wasn’t putting pressure on my sore leg, but honestly gave it little thought. I’d have walked over a mile of broken glass to serve him at that moment. My own cock was rock hard, and my heart pounded in my chest. Even after having served him all of this time, I still got just as excited when I knew it was about to happen. Initially I’d been so modest around Matt, not wanting him to see my puny body, but at this moment it excited me to be so exposed. I loved the fact that I was smoothly shaved, marked as his property, and that he could see how rigid my cock was-- proof of my eagerness to please him.
I took my eyes off from his face and focused my attention towards the bulge in his pants. I reached up reverently, touching it gently with my fingers, excited like a small child in a candy store. Just as my fingertips brushed against the fabric of his pants, he stepped backwards, distancing himself from me. I was surprised and disappointed, immediately looking back up at him. He looked down into my eyes, gauging the eagerness that I was obviously conveying to him. He took another step backwards, positioning himself in front of the bathtub. He was about three feet from me now. I continued to kneel in the exact position that he left me, knowing I was not to move until given permission.
He then took off his baseball cap, his movements being very slow. It was almost seductive the way that he paced himself. He turned the cap around, adjusting the back to make it slightly smaller and tossed it to me offhandedly. “Put it on,” he said simply. I obeyed, turning the cap backwards before placing it over my head.
Then he pulled his polo shirt up, peeling it off his torso and over his head. He carelessly tossed it on the floor in front of the vanity. He stood there then, shirtless, towering over me. He was wearing khaki pants, and the waistband of his boxers was visible above the waistline. His abs were tight and smooth, caved in somewhat in the region of his innie belly button. My cock was literally throbbing as I stared up at him in awe. His chest was so smooth and hard, his pecs being well defined. He was not bulky though, just muscular and toned. When he reached above his head to grab the shower curtain bar, I saw his biceps flex and took in the sight of his neatly trimmed armpits. He was the embodiment of absolute perfection!
Involuntarily, I whimpered as I looked up at him. I craved him so badly. I wanted him inside of me, wanted to taste him, to feel him, to be of service to him. He responded to this audible expression of my desire, by merely smirking. He looked so cocky, so very self confident as he stood there. Then oh-so seductively he reached down with his right hand and positioned it in his groin area. He moved his legs apart slightly and assumed a position of absolute authority. He then brought down his left arm, quickly pointing to his crotch as he grabbed himself arrogantly with his right hand, squeezing his own hard cock and his balls. “This what you want, pup?” he asked sarcastically.
I could barely find my voice as knelt there before him. I nodded my head automatically. “Yes sir,” I finally said, not recognizing my own voice as I did so. It was so quiet and timid, even more so than it normally was.
“What?” he demanded. “What did you say?!”
“Yes sir!” I repeated, this time a little louder, but my voice was still shaky.
He unclasped the button on his khakis, allowing them to loosely slide down his hips. The outline of his cock was clearly visible within the confines of his white cotton boxers. I could see it pointing upwards, angled slightly to the left of his groin. He rubbed himself, allowing me to see the throbbing responsiveness of his rock-hard shaft. He neither moved towards me nor indicated that I had permission to crawl to him. He merely continued to rub himself, finally reaching up with the thumbs of both hands and grasping the waistband of his boxers. He pulled them down slowly. First his khakis slipped the rest of the way down, and then he proceeded to pull down his underwear.
He stepped out of them slowly, shoving the clothing into a pile with his foot. Now we both were naked. Unlike myself, Matt sported a thick growth of hair around his pubic region. It was medium brown in color, just like the hair on his head. He had an almost-invisible trail of hair that ascended from his groin and went part way up his abdomen. Other than this, he was smooth from the waist up. His arms were mildly hairy, covered with a very faint-colored layer of brown hair. It was just his fore arms really, as he was smooth for the most part.
Everything about him was the opposite of myself. He was tall with very broad, masculine shoulders. He had a very clearly defined chest, and tight, rock-hard abs. His groin was covered with pubic hair, and his legs and fore arms were slightly hairy. I, on the other hand, was very skinny, puny compared to him. My chest was not cut like his, but merely smooth and flat. My shoulders were narrow, and my body was entirely smooth. I had very soft features, and big brown eyes. It was with these eyes that I then looked up at him imploringly, pleading with him as I conveyed nonverbally to him my hunger to serve. I knew that this hunger was in turn feeding his desire to be served. We fit together so well, each providing for the other the very thing that we craved so intensely.
He did not command me to crawl to him. I think the only reason was simply because he was aware of my bandaged leg. Instead, he stepped back to the position where he’d just been moments before. He positioned himself above me, in a manner that commanded authority, planting his feet firmly on either side of my slender body. My face was merely centimeters from his rock hard cock, and I made virtually no effort to back away or to even look up at him. I simply stared at the part of him to which I was most enslaved. My mouth fell open as he grabbed my head with his left hand. He used his other hand to hold firmly to the base of his cock, guiding it into the warm, comfortable hole that was made for it. He released his cock and grabbed a hold of the other side of my head, thrusting smoothly as he slid into me.
I heard him moan as I felt his rigid cock make contact with my tongue. I carefully clamped my lips around the shaft, concentrating on providing him a smooth entry. I’d become expert at this by now, and cranked my jaw at the exact moment his cock head reached my throat. He continued to slide in with one smooth movement, burying himself balls-deep. He did not start to thrust into me or to pump me on his shaft, but instead savored the warmth and tightness of my mouth. I felt the intensity of his grip and realized he was flexing the muscles of his ass, relishing the heaven-like feeling of my deep, hungry throat.
He finally pulled me back up his shaft, bringing me to the very tip of his cock. As he held me there I rolled my eyes to look up at him. I knew this was what he wanted. He wanted to see the hunger, my desire to please. He held my capped head there in his hands, staring down at me authoritatively. “Suck my cock!” he ordered simply, and then he began pumping. He had developed an ability to coordinate the downward pump with his own hip thrusting. My mouth and tongue had long since memorized the shape of his cock. I knew every vein, every single inch of him. It was similar to the way our tongues familiarize themselves with the inside of our own mouth. That was how well I knew my owner.
He continued with the synchronized thrusting and pumping, fucking my throat as fiercely as if it were an ass or a pussy. He’d trained me well, teaching me how to take him deep without gagging. I knew where to go mentally to block out all of my feelings of pain or discomfort. I knew how to give up virtually every shred of control that I had over my own body. I had learned how to be his hole.
I wish I knew the very thoughts that flashed through his mind as he rocked himself in and out of me. On more than one occasion I’d asked him about this, trying to get him to offer me some insight. He always gave vague answers, telling me he thought about how good he felt and knowing how right it was, how it simply was “the way it should be.”
His thrusting became more rapid, and his grip tightened on my head. I knew I would soon have my reward. I focused on continuing to provide him with the suction that his cock deserved. I wanted to please him more than anything in the world. He slammed himself in and out of me, verbalizing his pleasure by saying “Oh yeah!…Fuck yeah!” Then finally he gripped my head tighter than ever and slid all the way into me, forcing my nose flat against his groin. Then I felt the cumload firing into his throbbing cock. I felt it with my own tongue. It was coming!!
He erupted, pumping his load deep into me, and I felt his cock spasm in my mouth. After three or four heavy spurts I began to taste the load that was backing up in my throat. I gulped quickly, being unable to breathe, but not even thinking of it. “Ahhhhhhh..uh…ahhhhh!” he moaned as he emptied himself. I swallowed eagerly. He pushed me away from him quickly when he was finished, both of us gasping for breath. He leaned against the countertop of the vanity, staring at himself in the mirror. “Oh fuck! That was hot! Pup, get in the shower.”