Chapter Fifty-Six
Walden was determined to find a place to relocate his “office”. The romance of starting a computer company in a garage was ended when his mother opened the garage door to take her super market purchases into the kitchen. Walden had been hard as a rock when the door machinery suddenly started raising the door and she may have seen way too much of his erection. Mothers see everything.
The morning had begun well enough. Walden woke early at five-thirty and went to the garage to see what had happened over night. He was delighted to see that revenues had grown to nearly a thousand dollars for the month and December wasn't even over. He noticed dust on the drive array and decided to clean up while he waited for Brian's usual arrival at eight or so.
Dust being death to drive mechanisms, Walden decided just dusting off the cabinets wasn't enough. The constantly accumulating dirt on the floor was the source of his problem. Sweeping helped, but a wet mopping would be even better he decided. Between the warmth of the garage and the exertion of mopping he worked up a sweat. Then he spilled some water onto his canvas shoes, soaking one of them thoroughly. The solution was to work in his underwear. So boxer-clad, he finished his job. He sat on a garden chaise that had been brought into the garage for the winter and waited for the floor to dry.
His thoughts turned to the idea of a video poker game add-on to the site. They could call it a practice “room” and charge money for entry while still avoiding actual gambling. The users could get a refund if they were the most successful players. The payoff wouldn't be gambling, just a business promotion expense, he reasoned. It's a refund for volume usage, not in any way related to the outcome of card play. Would that work? We need a lawyer, he thought. Maybe Brian would know. Ah, Brian, he smiled. I rattled him last week with that “desperately” comment ... If only he didn't have such a cute ass ... It's absolutely perfect. Walden dozed off, dreaming alternately about poker hands and Brian's ass.
“Hey, Sleeping Beauty ...” came a soft voice. “Walden?” A hand gently shook his shoulder.
“Wha? Hm?” Walden sat up with a start. “Oh, Brian. It's you.” He saw Brian walking away from waking him to his work table. “Oh my God!” Walden notice his erection poking out of his boxers. He tried ineffectively to hide it. He got up, hurried to where he had left his clothes, and put the shorts on. More leisurely he pulled a t-shirt over his head. Anyone could see the bulge in his shorts, but Brian wasn't looking. Walden sighed in relief. But he has to have seen me, he thought, so embarrassing.
If he saw anything, Brian said nothing about it. “Wow! Look at the overnight numbers!”
“Yeah,” Walden said, glad to be talking about business. “We're starting to catch on, I think.”
“You know what they say. 'Don't quit your day job' and all, but … a thousand. Not bad partner.” Brian turned to Walden with a smile.
“Your book chapters are a big part of it,” Walden added. “And I was thinking … what about a practice poker game?”
They chewed on that idea for a while, barely acknowledging Walden's mother, who said she was going grocery shopping. “Bye, Mom” and “Bye, Ellen” was all she got. The poker room seemed doable. The money exchange issues were not so easily solved.
“I don't know, Walden. Is it gambling? Is it gambling-related?” Brian shrugged and the conversation stopped. “By the way, why were you sleeping in the garage? You should get yourself a blanket, a least.”
Walden explained about mopping the floor and falling asleep while he waited for it to dry. “I was dreaming about the poker game when you found me.”
“Does poker always give you hard on?” Brian teased.
“You noticed that ...”
“Dude, it was impossible to miss!”
“Yeah, well … It happens, you know.”
“We need to get you a girl … uh, boy friend. How long has it been since you got laid?”
“Since that night in Stockton.”
“No shit? I couldn't go that long.”
“Yeah, well … I never used to, but lately … My old friends are gone and I haven't had time to make any new ones. You know how it is ...”
“Not really. I'm married, remember.”
“Yeah, I remember. It was no problem for you? Shifting gears from prison back to the real world?”
Brian blushed and then he wondered why he was blushing. His prison life was no secret to Walden. “Sex, you mean? No, but my … my performance has been … 'uneven' I guess is the word.” Involuntarily, Walden's eyes went to that specific part of Brian's body, as if he could diagnose Brian's trouble through his clothes. Brian chuckled. “It's nothing that shows, Walden.”
Walden's eyes moved back to Brian's face. “You're so fuckin' perfect, it's hard to believe you're having any problems.”
“Perfect? There are a million things wrong with me. I'm not all that bright, for one major problem. Like I'm kinda stupid, really.”
“No, you're not. You just had a sucky education. You're writing a fucking BOOK, aren't you?”
“A electronic book, if you want to call it that, on gambling, for God's sake, which I am plagiarizing, more or less ...”
With a sob, Walden grabbed Brian and kissed him more from frustration than passion. It wasn't a peck, it was a real kiss. Brian stood with his mouth open as Walden back away. “Quit running yourself down,” Walden said. He took another step back, aware of the growing tent in his shorts.
At that point the garage door began opening. Walden doubted that he sat down quickly enough to hide his erection.
“Want some help, Ellen?” Brian offered.
“Thanks, Brian. Walden, you look like you've seen a ghost.” She walked quickly through the kitchen door. Brian helped carry the many bags into the kitchen and then left for Clorox before they had a chance to say more.
Still frustrated that afternoon, Walden walked into a junk store on Webster. “Collectibles by Cloris,” the sign said. A burly man said hello. “You don't look like Cloris,” Walden smiled.
“Yeah, so Cloris left years ago and signs are expensive. What are you looking for?” The man wasn't unfriendly, just skeptical that Walden was a buyer of collectibles.
“A cheap office. Your upstairs looks empty. Would you want to rent it?”
The man looked at Walden with different eyes, appraising his prospects. “What are you looking to pay?”
“Much less than you hope, I guess.” They concluded their business and Walden returned home.
That night he slept fitfully, not looking ahead to the next day, whereas Brian by the time he slept was completely drained, knocked out as if drugged. Ann, however, slept beautifully after remarking, “Brian, what got into you today? Is Clorox giving out bonuses? Tonight and last Friday … you really hit the old sweet spot.”
Z helped Rory clean up after the dinner for three couples. Tim left for work right after eating while Larry, Cal, and Craig discussed plans for their football camp over another beer. Cleaning up after dinner at Rory's was always easy since Rory didn't actually cook. It was a lot of busy work, mostly packing up left over take-out and washing a few glasses. Larry had called out an offer to help but Rory told him no; it gave him a chance to talk to Z.
“What do you mean, 'He never went home'?” Rory asked puzzled by Z's salacious news.
“Craig came to town for Andrew's show in Milpitas and never left,” Z answered, shrugging his shoulders.
“What's he planning?” Rory persisted.
Z shrugged again. “I have no clue. You know that little place I rented … it's getting crowded. He keeps buying stuff.”
“And you're in love?”
“Oh, no. It's nothing like that, Ror. Nothing like that. We just … get along well.” Z smiled, affirming his own statement.
“Hmph. You're living together. You're having sex aren't you?” Rory waited for Z's nod. “You're laughing at each other's jokes. You're looking into each other's eyes like you just turned sixteen. Every time you say something, you look to him for approval ...”
“No, I don't,” Z insisted. “You're inventing things.”
“You're in love. It's cute. It's very cute, Z, and you deserve it. Eric's miserable, you know.”
“How do you know Eric's miserable?” Z was honestly shocked.
“He told me. I saw him a couple of days ago at your old house.”
“He said, 'I'm miserable?' Literally???” Z didn't believe it; that didn't sound at all like Eric.
“Well, not literally … but it's what he meant.” Rory got on a chair to put some glasses away.
Z looked up. “What did he say? Exactly?”
“He said, 'I miss this place.' He looked heartbroken. And he ran his hand along the porch railing like he was petting a dog.”
“He always did love that old house; but Rory ...” Z cautioned, “You have never been great at reading people. I don't get heartbroken out of that; nostalgic, maybe, but not heartbroken.”
“Suit yourself. He looked miserable to me,” Rory replied, stepping down off the chair. “I'm thinking we'll skip Christmas this year. Just go to Tim's sister's for the day. What are you going to do?”
“I … I don't know. Hadn't thought about it. Craig's going to Nashville to see his kids, if his ex-wife can stay sane around him for a couple of days. Maybe Darren and I will go home. Darren's going to be alone with Nicky in China again.”
The group broke up and Z enjoyed the brisk air on the walk to his apartment. Craig tried to hold his hand but he brushed him off; the second time he gave in. In minutes Craig's hard and calloused hand felt comfortable and warm; Z gave a gentle squeeze. “Rory thinks we're in love.” Z felt an answering squeeze.
“Cal and Larry do, too, I think.” They continued walking. Craig was silent but thinking. “What are we in, Z? A relationship?”
“We're … exploring boundaries. How does that sound?”
“It sucks. I love you. I've loved you from the first time I met you.”
“I know. You keep telling me.” Z gave Craig's hand another squeeze.
“I keep thinking, 'Maybe he didn't hear me the last time'. That's why I keep telling you.”
“I hear you every time. I just can't say it back yet. That's all. Give me some time, ok?”
They got to Z's little apartment and went to bed. It was a standard double bed, fine for two people unless one of them is a big ex-football player. Z had trouble trying to get comfortable.
“Do you want me to sleep on the floor?” Craig asked.
“No. I want you right here, all tangled up with me,” Z said and kissed him.
“Let me get a bigger bed.”
“You have to quit buying me stuff, Craig.”
“I love you, Z.” Craig rolled over, away from Z.
“I know, I know.”
Craig found Z's hand and sucked on a finger. He pressed his butt against Z's pelvis. “I like it when you fuck me.”
“I know, but tonight I'm kinda tired. It was a long day at work.”
Craig turned back to Z and asked, “Am I missing something? I was pretty sure we were getting along.”
“We are.” Z stroked Craig's cheek and kissed him. “I like everything we do.” Z kissed him again. “I like you very much – in bed and out.”
After another kiss, Craig smiled. ”Let's see if I can give you some sweet dreams.” He slid lower in the bed and kissed the head of Z's cock, and then licked it, and then deep-throated it, letting it harden in his mouth. Z groaned with pleasure and gradually responded, at first reluctantly and then whole-heartedly.
Craig gasped as Z entered him. Despite his willing invitation, he always found the initial penetration a shock. Was it this big the last time? Yes, it was; the last time and every time; but more and more fucking wasn't a real choice for Craig; Z's cock was something he needed.
The next day Craig bought a more comfortable bed and insisted on delivery that day. Z would protest, he knew, but it would make sex better. He couldn't wait for Z to get home.
“This is so fuckin' weird,” Nicky said to Morrie after the wardrobe manager left the backstage room. “I thought the Japanese did this shit.”
“It's Chinese opera, Nicky, not kabuki . Go with it.”
Nicky's costume was confining and uncomfortable. The makeup was drying and heavy. The mask was even heavier and pinched his Western nose. “If I'm wearing makeup, why do I have to wear a mask too?”
“Shhh. Nicky, quit complaining.”
“You want to know what else they put makeup on? My dick. It's covered with some kind of plaster
dildo-thing and it looks like a sword.”
“No one can tell.” Morrie looked expectantly at the door. “Tin-tin said it will wash off.”
“He lies, Morrie. Constantly.”
“They don't think of it as lying.” Morrie stood as the door opened. “Ah, Mr. Ma.”
Mr. Ma entered followed by Tsien-tsien. The two Chinese looked at Nicky and then laughed. “It will do,” Ma said and Tsien-tsien nodded. Either they both wore especially ill-fitting suits or they were armed. Nicky figured that he didn't really want to know as he looked at the bulges in their jackets.
“You know what to do, Nicky. Just follow Quek Kwang's direction.” Tsien-tsien spoke with assurance. “We'll be in the box seats above and to your right. If anything goes wrong, just roar like a dragon and walk off the stage.”
The performance was to be a classic Chinese opera from the Ming Dynasty called The Peony Fan. Nicky was to play a dragon, a non-speaking, non-singing role, all he had to do was roar on cue. Quek Kwang was playing the part of his servant. At least that is what Nicky had been told. In actuality, there was no role for a dragon in the famous opera Peony Fan. There was every other kind of stock character from doomed lovers to warlords, but no dragon. So when Nicky entered in the traditional costume of a dragon, the audience gasped and a murmur of protest spread through the house.
“Roar,” Quek Kwang whispered and Nicky bellowed. The murmurs grew louder; there were boos. The other actors looked shocked. “Roar again, louder,” Quek Kwang urged and Nicky bellowed loud enough that his voice cracked and the bellow ended in a squeak. The audience was incensed; the boos grew into cat calls. Especially in the boxes and the balcony people were on their feet gesticulating rudely. “Again,” Quek Kwang ordered.
The audience essentially rioted, completely masking the sounds of gunfire. At that point Quek Kwang backed away from Nicky in shock and pulled hard on the leash he had been using to guide the 'dragon'. The tug caused Nicky's costume to fall off, leaving him naked. The roar from the audience grew louder and menacing. “Filthy foreigner,” an English-speaking member of the crowd screamed. The elaborately made up mechanical penis erected and Quek Kwang gave a boy's plaintive wail and backed his butt up against it.
Angry Chinese stormed the stage. The nudity was shock enough; the vivid depiction of homosexuality was unprecedented. More gunfire went unnoticed. Then all the lights went out.
Quek Kwang pulled Nicky from the stage. Nicky didn't need any encouragement and he followed blindly into the wings and down a stairway, stumbling against a wall as he went. The impact with the wall caused the hardened makeup on his cock to crack painfully. It was a tearing, intense pain and he screamed.
“Are you shot?” Quek Kwang asked; he pulled Nicky into a room and turned the lights on, he saw the reason for Nicky's pain. “Oh … here ... Let me help.” He removed the fragments of plaster from Nicky's cock piece by piece. “No damage,” he assessed when he was done. “Get dressed. We have to leave.”
They quickly put on some black clothing that was mysteriously available. “It fits,” Nicky remarked in a dazed, idle way.
“Prior planning pays off,” Quek Kwang admitted.
“This was all planned?” Nicky asked.
“Of course,” the young man answered. “Hurry.” Nicky took Quek Kwang's offered hand and followed him again through the darkness. On the other side of a heavy door the atmosphere changed and Quek Kwang slowed. “Ok, we're clear.”
“Clear of what?”
“The opera house.”
“Do I want to know what really just happened?”
“You can read about it in the papers tomorrow.”
“I can't read Chinese.”
“I will read it to you,” Quek Kwang laughed. He took Nicky to a hotel room and cleaned the remains of the makeup off. Then they drank some beer, ate something like beef jerky, and took a long bath in a large hot tub. “Your penis feels better?” Quek Kwang gently squeezed the object in question. Nicky got the strong impression that the evening wasn't over. “I need to wax your chest.”
“Wax my … Why?”
“By morning the police will be looking for a hairy-chested foreigner. I will lighten your hair also. A reddish color would be believable, Morrie said. No fucking until we're done, Morrie said.”
Heiko was worried. He waited for the passengers from the Lufthansa flight from Munich, looking eagerly for his brother but there was no sign of Wolf. He had him paged twice and then gave up. He got to a new SUV and called his parents.
“No, he should have been on the flight. We put him on the flight to Frankfurt ourselves. What could have happened?”
“Frankfurt? I met the non-stop from Munich,” Heiko replied. “I must have met the wrong plane.” Heiko checked his notes. “Here, the non-stop flight was what he told me. I'm sure of it. The same one you're taking on Sunday.”
“He must be finding his own way to your apartment. Or did he go straight to Tahoe? That's what we're planning.” The confusion was very un-German.
Heiko and Tom waited up until midnight, when Tom gave up and went to bed. “Don't worry. He's a big boy, Heiko.” Tom's goodnight kiss provided no comfort. At some point Heiko fell asleep in the chair. He awoke with a start at seven in the morning when the doorbell rang.
“Wolf!!!” There stood his brother looking tired and rumpled, but smiling happily.
“Heiko,” Wolf said and gave his brother a kiss on the cheek.
“I love the way you European guy kiss each other,” a voice said.
“Torrey!” Heiko noticed his bright and perky-looking neighbor standing behind Wolf.
“I, uh, spent the night at Torrey's,” Wolf admitted with a grin that explained everything.