To Serve and Protect
By:
BJ Williams
(© 2013 by the author)
Edited by: Gerry Young
The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's
consent. Comments are appreciated at...
Chapter 3
The next morning, Andy woke to the sound of water running. He turned and saw that the bed beside him was empty.
“That sneak, he’s already in the shower,” Andy whispered as he hurried from the bed.
When he entered the small bathroom, he could see Michael’s naked body through the clear shower curtain. He grew instantly hard as he watched Michael’s hand run down his body to his groin, where he slowly began stroking his sex.
“Are you going to join me, or do I have to finish this off myself,” his question startled Andy, who hadn’t realized that Michael knew he was there.
Without answering him, Andy pulled aside the curtain and stepped into Michael's arms. He didn’t have a chance to speak, because Michael crushed their mouths together in a bruising kiss. Gone was the slow tenderness of the night before, for in its place was a man who not only knew what he wanted, but demandingly took it.
He broke the kiss, paused, and took a long, sensuous look at Andy’s naked torso.
“Hot fucking body, stud muffin,” he growled, standing so close to Andy that his breath teased his ear.
“Excuse me,” Andy replied with a slight blush. “No good morning or how are you?” he asked.
“I know how you are, sated and wanting more, why else are you here in the shower?” he arrogantly asked, and Andy gave him a look that said ‘you wish’. “Now don’t go playing hard to get with me now, stud puppy, especially after last night’s awesome sex,” he said as he moved Andy’s body closer to the wall with his own.
“It's not stud muffin, it's Andy,” he said rudely and pushed Michael away so that he could step from the shower. “And right about now I am definitely regretting it.”
“Alright, let’s get this out in the open, so we can get on with the sex,” Michael said. “That man that made love to you last night, well he’s not me, ok? So yes, he is me, but not me; me!”
“Excuse me, would you mind running that by me again?” he asked and then had second thoughts. “Never mind; just let me go and I won’t bother you again,” he demanded, but Michael had other ideas.
“Testy in the mornings, aren’t you,” he shot back and then added, “What I'm trying to say here, is that how I was when we did it last night, that is not how I usually am, all cuddly and tender, it's not the real me.”
“But I liked that you, I liked how you took control, but you also took your time and made sure that I came along with you,” Andy explained.
“Well, sorry if I disappointed you, but it was the only way then, you know, to woo your hot ass into my bed,” Michael said and saw the confusion and hurt on Andy’s face. “Ok, let me try this from a different approach. Had I been like this, like I am now — all grabbing and demanding — would you have gone to bed with me last night?”
“Not on your life, I’ve been there, done that, with others and I refuse to allow myself to fall into that shit again.”
“Precisely, so I came at you with suave, debonair approach and bingo, there you were, happy as a satisfied whore with a monster cock in her and in my bed. I will say this, not many guys have been able to handle my cock, but you took it all like a seasoned whore.”
Andy’s hand rose and crossed Michael’s face so fast and hard, that it brought tears to Michael’s eyes.
“What the fuck was that for?” he asked as he rubbed his stinging cheek.
“That was for calling me a whore,” he paused, “… especially when we both know who the real whore is.” His voice was injuring, something Michael was sure he had meant to be, and when Andy went to place another slap to Michael’s cheek, Michael grabbed his arm around the wrist and pulled Andy to him.
“You are allowed one for my rudeness, but two, then I swing back; got it?” Michael adamantly asked, and Andy knew that he meant it. “I apologize if I misled you, but I do have an image to uphold.”
Again, Andy tried to leave, but Michael crushed his body against the shower wall and kissed him. The kiss was deep, hot and it ignited a fire in Andy, as Michael’s tongue entered his mouth. With Andy pinned against the wall, Michael’s hand was free to roam about Andy’s body. He dropped it quickly down to his cock and began stroking it.
“What the fuck, Michael, where do you get off kissing and fondling me like that? Haven’t you heard a single Goddamned word I’ve said?” Andy cursed, pushing Michael away, and when he raised his hand again, he remembered Michael’s threat and quickly lowered it.
“Now don’t go acting like you didn’t like it, you know you did; after all, it shows,” Michael said as he ran his hand over Andy’s erection. “Now tell me, stud muffin, I want you to tell me that I didn’t cause that. There is one thing that I know for sure, and that is my kisses always go directly to a man’s cock,” he added with a self-assured grin.
“And to think that you were this tender man who knew what I wanted and gave it to me, but now, you’re nothing but an arrogant Neanderthal bastard,” Andy said and turned his back to Michael, choosing to ignore him and hoping that he’d just go away.
But inside Andy, that small fire that the kiss had ignited, it had turned into a raging inferno. He could feel a heat rising and threatening to consume him. Michael did speak the truth; his kiss had gone to his cock, and he could feel his heart pounding in it, and he struggled to will it down.
“You’re nothing but a cocky son of a bitch, arrogant and filled with pride,” Andy said over his shoulder, keeping his erection from the man’s eyes.
Michael pressed his body against Andy’s, which put his cock directly where he wanted it, between Andy’s cheeks.
“I like to call it, self-assured, as opposed to arrogant, because, unlike you, stud puppy, I know what I want and simply take it. In fact, I am so sure that you want me this very second, that I’m willing to bet that we’ll be fucking within the next ten minutes.” Michael whispered in Andy’s ear, while he rubbed his cock between Andy’s rock hard globes.
Andy remained quiet; because he knew what Michael was saying was true, he did want him. He wanted Michael Brady more than anything in the world, well maybe not as much as he wanted Billy. But Billy was a fantasy — a dream that would never come true — and here was a man who wanted him.
“Come on, cupcake, I dare you to tell me I’m wrong,” Michael repeated.
“Well, Neanderthal man, that is one bet that you’ll surely lose,” Andy countered, turning and shoving Michael away from him. He then stepped successfully from the shower, leaving a stunned Michael standing there.
Naked and wet, Andy grabbed a towel from the shelf and walked away, teasing Michael with his naked ass.
A part of him wanted to turn and run back into Michael’s arms, but a larger part demanded respect and the man he had had the night before to return. As he dried himself, Michael came strutting into the bedroom. Andy, as much as he tried not to, turned his eyes, giving him a side-glance. He looked at Michael’s naked body, as water ran down it, and sighed. The problem wasn’t that his man was a living Adonis, but that he knew he was.
Michael was a tall man, much taller than Andy, and his power and self-confidence exuberated from him. He was broad and powerful in a rough sort of way, and when Andy turned towards Michael, Andy could clearly see his features in the bright light of day. Michael had moved next to Andy, still smiling that infuriating smile that went clear into Andy’s soul. He had a clean, chiseled face; a hard, rugged and unrelenting jaw line with a perpetual five o’clock shadow. He had wide-set eyes, not grossly wide, but sexy wide, which were large, piercing, and a rich shade of brown, with a slightly crooked nose, and lips that were so sensuous that Andy, inwardly, wanted to kiss them again.
His hair was so dark a shade of brown that wet, it was almost black, and in the sun’s light, it had a dark auburn hue mix in it. Unlike Andy’s short hair, Michael wore his long, to his shoulders, and it was curly, with the long, soft curls framing his face, despite the fact that when dry it was unruly and wild as well. Even his five o’clock shadow seemed to set his jaw all the more and give an utter sense of ruthlessness to his eyes, which Andy assumed that Michael had.
As much as he wanted to grab his clothes and leave, Andy let his eyes roam down Michael’s body. He was every bit as well muscled and defined as Andy was. His abdomen rippled nicely with a six-pack and it was when Andy saw his cock as it stood fully erect, he let out a gasp, causing Michael to laugh, because it stood out a good nine or more inches.
“Everyone does that when they see my monster of pleasure — gasp out loud,” he said as he continued laughing and stepped so close to Andy, that his cock brushed Andy’s. “Now, pretty boy, just think how pleasing it will be in your…” Andy interrupted him.
“No Michael, I am not going to let you sweet talk me back into your bed,” he said.
He used every ounce of strength that he had within him, to walk away. Before he reached the bedroom door, Michael grabbed his arm and he saw the fury and betrayal in Andy’s eyes.
“If you force my ass back in bed, it’ll be because you are raping me,” Andy coldly said, which caused Michael to let go.
Andy found his clothes strewn about the living room and he dressed as quickly as possible. He paused at the door long enough to give Michael a hard look, then turned and quietly closed the door behind him.
Michael, who had hurried to the door to stop him, slid down the closed door and cried once Andy had left. “I only acted like this because I refuse to lose you, I lose them all when I care for them, Andy,” he cried out and then wailed into his hands.
He refused to let Andy see him like that, a whore, so he quickly stood to his feet and determinedly walked into his bedroom. Ten minutes later, he walked out of the room dressed in a suit.
“You deserve better than a whore,” he said with that same determination in his voice because he knew what he had to do.
* * *
Across town…
Captain Thompson walked into the restaurant and looked around; the mayor was waving at him from a corner table. He’d gotten them a table away from the others at the restaurant, where they could talk freely without being overheard.
“Thanks for meeting me, Craig; I know that you had a hard night of it, what with the newest murder, and I promise not to keep you beyond our meal,” Francis Bryant, Springfield’s mayor said.
“As bad as my job gets at times, Francis, it can’t even compare to the shit you must have to put with,” Craig said and Francis smiled, nodding his head. “I’m all yours until you need to leave.”
They both stopped talking when their waiter came over and took their order. They talked about everything under the sun but the murders until they had been served.
“As you are aware, I received the latest weekly report for the task force that the Commissioner and I set up to investigate these murders,” he said, and Craig nodded. “Have you had a chance yet to read it?” he asked.
“Not yet; I received my copy last night, but what with the latest murder, I’m afraid that I haven’t had time yet to read it.”
“Well, let me bring you up to speed,” he said. He pulled out his copy of it and began reading it to Craig, scanning with his eyes over the words before speaking.
“Well, one thing I read, and this really hurts me, is that the ties used in the commission of the murders, were Springfield police issued. That means that the killer must be a police officer, because these ties are exclusive to the uniform that we issue to the men and women of the force.”
Craig sat back, his face showed his own disappointment in what he had heard, as well as the pain that tore at his heart.
“I won’t believe that one of Springfield’s finest is committing such a heinous crime,” Craig firmly stated, slapping his hand on the table, which caused those within its sound to turn and look at him.
“You can’t or you won’t, Craig? Believe it,” the mayor whispered as he leaned across the table.
Craig had that deer-in-the-headlights look upon his face, as he sat back in his chair, considering what Francis had said. Then, like a light bulb suddenly illuminating, he got another idea.
“What if, Francis — and just indulge me here for a moment — but what if our killer is buying or stealing them from the same dealer we get them from,” he reasoned. “After all, we get our uniforms, as well as the ties from U-First Uniforms and Cleaners,” he told the mayor.
Francis sat back and he, too, considered what Craig had said.
“There are other companies that use U-First, like security firms and other police forces, like Chicopee or maybe Holyoke.” He further reasoned with the mayor and leaned forward with both hands resting on the table. “Also, what if the killer is an employee of U-First,” he asked and then sat back to give the mayor a chance to think over all that he had just said.
“That could very well be true, Craig. So yes, maybe it could be another customer of U-First or someone at the company. But whoever it is, he is trying to implicate the police of this city, that he or she is committing the murders.”
“I also doubt that our killer is a woman, because it doesn’t fit into the profile of the killer that the FBI constructed.”
“I remember reading it, but I can’t find where I saw it,” he said as he quickly ran through the papers before him.
“According to the profile, the killer is between twenty-nine and thirty-five, white and holds a decent job. The profiler also told us that he’s killing out of vengeance.”
“Vengeance, how so?” he asked over his coffee mug.
“According to the profiler, the victims may have rejected him or his advances, for whatever reason. But — and this is pure speculation — he may be ugly or grossly unappealing to the victims.”
“What about Travis Butler? After all, he was married with a son, who I understand is now a police officer as well,” Francis said and motioned to the waiter for the check.
“He's Andrew Butler, who looks like a much younger version of his late father.”
The waiter brought the check and after Francis signed the slip, left, allowing the two men to talk further.
“I’ll have the task force look into the employees at U-First, as well as check out whatever customers are using the same uniform, or more specifically, the same tie, and see where it leads us. Now, what else does the report say,” he asked.
“Well, other than the victims being common street hustlers, nothing much is new.”
“But Travis Butler … you and I do and can agree on, was not a common street hustler as you call them.”
“True, Craig, but…”
“But nothing, I’ll have the force investigate all avenues we have mentioned. There is something about Butler and the others that connects them, but what are we missing, Francis?”
“I don’t know, Craig, but like you said, look into it even deeper.”
“And I’ll have the task force check the victim’s friends, family, I am certain that the missing piece to this puzzle lies in who they all knew.” Craig assured him as they both stood to leave.
“Craig, my gut tells me that — and I never, ever doubt my gut feeling — that it’s someone on the force,” he said as Craig tossed a tip on the table. “Perhaps someone that Butler knew. In any event, I want this case broken soon. I have the press as well as Governor Barnes breathing down my neck. Now, I have to go, I have a budget meeting at nine,” he said and shook hands with Craig before leaving him alone at the table.
* * *
Andy drove to Thom’s house after he left Michael’s apartment. He was all mixed up inside and needed someone objective to talk to. He parked his car beside Thom’s and walked up to the front door, where he glanced at his watch before ringing the bell. It was nearly one in the afternoon, so Andy wasn’t quite sure if Thom was up or still asleep. He rang the bell anyway, stepped back, and waited. He had contemplated leaving after a few minutes had passed, but decided to ring it once more. His finger was about to push the button when Thom’s front door opened and Thom stood there in nothing but a towel.
“Andy?” his face showed his worry that Andy was there. “Is something wrong?” he asked, and Andy shook his head.
“I need someone to talk with, about … you know … gay guy stuff,” Andy said, as he kicked at the floor as if trying to remove some invisible spot.
“You caught me fresh out of the shower and about to make breakfast,” he said over his shoulder as he led the way to the kitchen.
Andy had never seen Thom like this, half naked with just a towel around him, so he took a long hard look at him as he followed him into the kitchen.
“I’m not really hungry, Sully, but I’ll have a cuppa coffee,” he said and Thom poured them both a cup from a carafe.
Andy raised his mug to Thom’s and then each took a sip before they set them on the table.
“Ok, now let’s talk. What's eating at you?” Thom asked, and Andy at first shrugged and then spoke.
“I did something really stupid last night,” he said and Thom gave him that ‘ok, what was it?’ look. “I went to Michael Brady’s apartment last night, you know that dude that hustles downtown.”
“I know who he is, and whatever possessed you to go there?”
“Well … Michael called the station at the end of my shift and asked me to come over to his apartment. He said he needed someone to talk to and…” he paused and took another sip of coffee. “…well … it's the ‘and’ part that I'm regretting.”
“I take it that you ended up in bed with him,” Thom assumed and his face showed a hint of disappointment.
Andy started from the beginning and explained all that had happened, right up to when he walked out.
“I see; so what I don’t see is, why is it a problem for you?” a puzzled Thom asked.
“I kinda fell for the guy … well, that tender Michael that made love with me, not that arrogant Neanderthal one from this morning.”
“Now I see, and now you don’t know how to handle what you are feeling. Right?” he asked, and Andy nodded.
“I’ve been driving around thinking, and when I hadn’t a clue as to how to handle all this, I came here,” he finished. “Oh God, Thom, I like him so much, but I hate how he’s so arrogant and controlling. Last night, he was this man that I could spend the rest of my life with. But this morning, I hated how he was; he was like a Jekyll and Hyde.”
“Forget him, Andy, because if you don’t, he’ll leave a trail of heartaches that will destroy you,” Thom advised.
“My head is telling me that same thing, but it’s my heart … my heart says to give him another chance.”
“How in fuck can your heart be speaking? You don’t even know the kid,” Thom argued and Andy knew that Thom was right, but still, his heart had formed an instant attachment.
Andy felt drawn to Michael because Michael had cried so easily and wasn’t ashamed to let him see it. He also suspected that Michael was hiding something and using his ‘Mr. Macho Caveman’ as a mask to hide his inner self from the world. But what angered Andy, was that he was not ‘the world’, but a man who had cared for him.
“I know that, Thom, and that's why it’s so confusing to me. You know me; have I ever fallen for someone in all the years that you have known me as gay?” he asked and Thom shook his head. “Precisely, and that is what confuses me. I just fell for him, not in love, but a deep attraction to him that totally warped my thinking.”
“Ok, then where does this leave Billy? Do you still love him?”
“I’ll always love Billy, but let's be realistic here, he’s living God knows where, and even if he did still live here, I couldn’t tell him, because he would never accept me as gay. I could not live without his friendship, Thom.”
“Don’t you think you are doing to Billy, that one thing you hate others doing with you, like thinking for Billy and assuming how his reaction to you will be?” Thom asked and Andy lowered his head as he nodded.
Thom got up and went around the table; he took Andy into his arms and hugged him. Andy had always felt secure in Thom’s arms, as secure as when his father had held him. But something was different between them, what with Thom in just a towel and with Andy’s face against his chest, something had changed. The towel was missing, because it had fallen when Thom had pulled Andy to him.
Andy’s hands slid down Thom’s back and when they felt Thom’s muscular ass, Andy froze.
‘Oh fuck, he’s naked,’ he thought, and he quickly slid his hands upward.
“Sorry about that,” Thom said, backing away from Andy and giving him a full view of his nakedness … more so, his cock, which was standing tall.
“Oh … I … I … oh, God, I need to leave,” Andy stammered and hurried toward the living room.
“Am I that disgusting?” Thom asked from the kitchen’s doorway.
Andy turned and looked at Thom, who had retied the towel around him.
“No, you were that inviting,” Andy said and hurried out the door.
Outside in his car, Andy rested his head against the wheel, trying to calm his breathing and racing heart.
“I did not just tell him that he was inviting?” he asked aloud.
He had never expected to see Thom naked, and when he did, he liked what he saw. Thom, for a man in his early forties, was built like a twenty-something-year-old, with muscles where they should be and defined. He even had a slight six-pack going. He was still resting against his steering wheel when Thom knocked on the car window.
“Andy, would you please come inside and talk to me,” Thom asked, no longer in a towel but instead, he had changed into gym shorts and a tee-shirt.
Even in those shorts, Andy could see the outline of his sex as it pressed against the fabric. And to add injury to insult, Thom noticed that Andy was checking him out.
“Dammit Andy, you get your ass in my house, now,” Thom demanded, his voice heated and adamant.
“Yes, sir,” Andy muttered as he got out of his car and followed Thom back into the house.
Once inside, Thom closed and locked the door before turning his attention to Andy.
“I had thought that we were comfortable with each other,” he began as he stood inches from Andy. “I assumed that with us both being gay, that something like me, naked, or in just a towel, wouldn’t bother you. I assumed wrong,” he added with his hands resting on his hips.
“We are comfortable, Thom, but…” he paused to take a deep breath before he continued on, “…the thing is, I have never seen you naked before today and well, inside my head, I liked what I saw.”
“Damn kid, but you are one fickle gay dude,” Thom said. “Do you even know who you want? Is it Billy, Michael, or me?” he asked.
“You? And what would you do if I were to say that I wanted you?” Andy asked, hoping that Thom would shoo him away.
“Are you saying that, Andy? Are you saying that you could want me?” Thom asked, shocked by what Andy had said.
There had been times during the years, after Andy had turned seventeen that Thom had looked at him, as other than a supposed uncle. After all, to Thom, Andy was a younger version of Travis, right down to that one cute dimple that they both had on their right cheek.
“Maybe, so what would you do,” he asked again and Thom closed the gap between them, took Andy into his embrace and smiled.
“This,” he said and lowered his mouth to Andy’s, passionately kissing him.
The kiss was not just a kiss; it was filled with fury of fire and passion, which melted Andy where he stood. When Thom released him, Andy stepped back gasping for air as he looked at Thom, differently.
“So, Andy, what are you saying here?” Thom huskily asked.
“I can’t, Thom, it wouldn’t be fair to you. I need to get my fucking head together,” he said, moving around Thom as he walked to the door.
“Then let me worry about what is fair or not for me,” Thom said as he placed a hand on Andy’s shoulder and turned him around. “I won’t say that this is the first time that I have thought of you in a sexual manner, because I would be lying. But then, if you were truthful also, haven’t you at least once or twice, wondered what it would be like with me?”
Thom needed that reassurance from Andy. He’d been approaching his half century mark and he was feeling like life had passed him by. He had spent all of his adult life, in love with Travis, and now with him gone, Thom found himself very much alone. His doctor had told him that he was beginning a midlife crisis, but Thom shrugged it off as missing Travis.
“More than you can imagine, Thom, I've wondered what it would be like to have you make love to me,” which surprised Thom.
“Really? I mean … really, Andy? You've wondered about … us?” Andy nodded from where he stood at the door. “Ok, so would you like to see firsthand, or what?”
Andy walked over to where Thom stood, smiling, and he placed his hands on each of the Thom’s shoulders.
“Would it be me that you would be with,” he paused, “Or would it be my father?” he asked. He caught the shocked look in Thom’s eyes, and he realized that he had hit a nerve.
“Your father, what would ever make you think that?” he asked.
“I may be young … but blind? That I am not. I saw how you looked at Dad, and being gay, I knew what that look meant. But what surprised me … no … what shocked me was that Dad had the same look for you. You know, there have been times when I … oh, never mind; it doesn’t matter now anyway.”
To be continued...
Posted: 12/06/13