The Coffee Shop V: Happiness Is A Handsome Hypnotized Hunk
Chapter 16 A Cowboy In The Rain
The sky was overcast with the dull gray clouds that cut off the bright sunshine and made all the colours appear muted and dull. A steady gentle rain was falling. There was no wind. A lot of people don’t like days like this. I am not one of them. These days are among my favourites. I enjoy walking in the rain, wearing one of my cowboy dusters (leather or water proof cotton), with a felt cowboy hat (with a rain cover on it—felt cowboy hats are expensive), a pair of leather gloves on my hands and a pair of leather cowboy boots on my feet. (Yes, dear reader, I would we wearing clothes under the cowboy duster. I’m not in the business of catching a cold or getting arrested by the police for indecent exposure.)
There is something soothing and calming about strolling about in the park, with the rain gently falling down on your cowboy hat, and across your cowboy duster. I find I can let go of my troubles and worries when I do that. I can enjoy nature and the simple wonder of raindrops falling. Such days are few, especially in the autumn, so I treasure them. They always seem to come on a workday, instead of on a weekend, when I’m able to take advantage of them.
This was a Saturday morning, so you’d think I’d be more than happy to be out here in this park walking around. I wasn’t though. Andy had left me a short letter in my apartment mailbox asking me to meet him here this morning at 11 AM. I phoned Andy to confirm that the letter was in fact written by him, although I recognized his handwriting. After my previous adventure in meeting Andy for dinner, I was a lot more cautious. The letter was from Andy, so here was I was walking around in the park looking for Andy. The letter had said to meet him on the south side of the lake (a pond would have been a more accurate term), but it had not stated a specific location.
I checked my watch. It was 10:55 AM. I looked around but could not find any sign of Andy. I turned to my right and started to walk down the path near the lakeshore, turning my head about and gazing at the few people who were about on this drizzle filled Saturday morning. No one stood out. No one grabbed my attention. I continued looking. Halfway down the length of the path I came upon a tall man standing near the lake shore. He appeared to be looking out over the lake. He was facing away from me so, I could not see his face. He was wearing a cowboy hat, though, and it appeared he was wearing a cowboy duster as well. I walked up to him.
“Is that you, Andy?” I called out as got closer.
The man did not respond. He did not turn around. I walked up and approached the strange man at a forty-five degree angle so that I would not surprise him. He would see me coming, out of the corner of his eye. When I was about three feet away I stopped. It was Andy. He had a far away look on his face, as if he were in some other world. “Hello? Andy?” I called out to him as I raised my right arm and waved my right hand.
Andy jerked his head once before turning his head to look at me. “Hi. Sorry about that, Paul. I was thinking.”
“So it would appear,” I commented. “So what did you want to talk with me about. Your note was somewhat cryptic. All you said is that it was important that I meet you here today.”
“Do you like the rain, Paul?” Andy asked looking deep into my eyes.
The question caught me off guard. It seemed as if Andy was avoiding answering my question.“Of course I do. You know that, Andy,” I answered. “I would think that by now, you know me well enough to know what I like.”
“Do you think being kissed in the rain would be romantic?” Andy asked. “Have you ever wanted that to happen to you?”
I blinked my eyes at Andy and didn’t answer the question. I was at a loss to understand where he was going with this.
“Well?” Andy prompted me.
“Uh, yeah, I guess,” I answered cautiously.
“Paul, please don’t hedge. Just answer my questions,” Andy said with a hint of sternness in his voice.
“Then yes, I think kissing a guy in the rain would be as romantic as hell. In fact kissing you in the rain like this, right now, would be fantastic,” I answered with a slight taunt in my voice.
“So why don’t you do it then?” Andy responded.
“What? Here? Now? In Public? In front of everyone?” I blurted, the blood starting to drain from my face.
“Yes, exactly. Do you have the courage to do that, or are you a scared little pussy of a cowboy?” Andy said with a snarl.
My face flushed as a surge of anger boiled up within me. Andy knew me well enough to know what buttons to push to get a response out of me. In the back of my mind, I wondered why he was doing this here and now. I had made a lot of progress in my horse riding lessons, and Andy had told me how pleased he was with me. He said that I was turning in to a real cowboy. And now he went and said this. What was the deal here? I ground my teeth as I got more and more angry. My face was hot, flushed with blood. Andy had a knowing smirk on his face that only increased my anger. I’ll show him, I thought to myself. Sometimes I let my anger get the best of me, and this was turning out to be one of those times.
I marched up to him, clamped my hands on either side of his face, and pulled his head down and slightly to the left, while at the same time I move my head up and to the right. I pressed my lips against Andy’s and pulled his head down harder towards me. I thought about nothing but clamping my lips on his and giving him a kiss he wouldn’t forget. I’d show him!
Andy’s response was energetic to say the least. He responded full in kind. He pressed back on my lips just as hard as I was pressing on his. The sweetness of the moment overflowed into my mind and the world consisted only of my lips locked on Andy’s. I was vaguely aware that Andy’s big strong arms had found their way about my body and were doing their best to keep my body pressed close to his. Of their own violation, my hands had released Andy’s face and had somehow snaked their way about Andy’s torso, just below the level of his arms. My arms were doing their best to keep that magnificent torso of Andy’s pressed up against my willing body.
It is said that the first kiss in the rain is the most romantic of all. Brother, they weren’t kidding! I was on Cloud Nine, and it did look like I would be coming down anytime soon. My eyes were tightly closed as I drank in every second of this moment. A part of me was aware of the rain steadily beating down on Andy’s cowboy hat, as well as my own. I could hear the rain hitting our cowboy dusters. I was safe and warm in Andy’s arms, with his lips on my lips. Who the hell cared about anything else?
We’d kissed before, many times. This was clearly different. There was something deeper about this kiss, as if Andy was trying to make a point about it. Frankly, I was so caught up in the pleasure of the moment, I really didn’t care to think about anything else.
Andy moved his lips as he opened his mouth slightly. “God you taste fantastic!” He muttered.
“You too,” I answered somewhat stupidly. I was engaged in some heavy duty lip action, so my brain wasn’t exactly firing on all cylinders, if you catch my drift. We didn’t say much of anything for the next few minutes. I decided to let Andy decide when to finish the kiss, after all I’d started it.
Andy broke the kiss and unwrapped his arms from about me. I reluctantly released him from my embrace. Andy reach down and took my gloved hands in his. He looked up at me and smiled. “You’re my brave little cowboy, Texas,” he said.
“Huh? What do you mean?” I asked still lost about where Andy had been heading with his line of thinking before we’d become involved in our mega kiss. My anger had long since been boiled off by that kiss of Andy’s. No man in his right mind, could stay angry at Andy after kissing him. Andy’s magic, and he’s all mine.
“This is the first time, Texas, that you’ve ever kissed me in public. You took one more step to coming out of the closet. Look around you. Everyone saw us,” Andy answered. There was a soft smile on his face, and a glow in his eyes.
I blushed as I realized he was right. I quickly looked about. There were a few odd stares from some people walking by, but no one said anything. “You. You bastard! You tricked me!” I spat at him, as my anger welled up again.
“Yes, I did. And I’d do it again, in a heartbeat. Are you ashamed at what we just did?” Andy looked me dead in the eye, daring me to lie to him. The glow in his eyes had faded away.
I gulped. I loved Andy, and I had sworn to myself that I would never lie to him. “You could have warned me,” I countered.
“If I had, you probably would have come up with some logical reason to avoid the situation, Paul. I DO know you, remember. It was time to see how serious our relationship really is. It was forced partly out of the closet when you were in the hospital, and I apologized to you for that. Over the past few months I’ve come to realize that our relationship is still very much a secret. I’ve decided I won’t be anyone’s ‘dirty little secret’,” Andy declared as he looked sternly at me. He was daring me to contradict him.
I looked at Andy, slightly puzzled by his actions. I had not expected him to do something like this. He had seemed content with our relationship as it was. Now, I had learned differently. It galled me to admit it, but he was right. I had been holding our relationship back. He had taken the next logical step. I’d never felt so lost and alone in all my life. Andy was only a foot away from me, but he might as well have been on the other side of the Grand Canyon. There was a gulf between us, which I had blindly chosen to ignore until now. I didn’t know how to bridge it.
“The ball’s in your court, Paul,” Andy said, breaking the silence that had descended upon us.
“So what would you have me do?” I asked. I didn’t know what Andy wanted from me. I didn’t know what the ‘right’ answer was.
“Follow your heart, young cowboy. Follow your heart,” Andy said with a sad smile. Without warning he turned about and walked away from me. Before I realized it, I was standing there on my own and Andy was disappearing in the misty rain that continued to fall. I looked at him, still too stunned to follow after him. Sometimes he could be frustratingly mysterious. Here he was talking like wise old Tibetan yogi, and I hadn’t a clue what he wanted from me. When he did that, it really annoyed me, especially when what he was saying was correct. I stewed in my frustration for a few moments. I knew one thing, I could not let him just walk away like this. Above everything else, I wanted Andy in my life, and if the price I had to pay was to come fully out of the closet, so be it. I sighed softly to myself as the scope of this decision I’d just made dawned on me. There was no turning back. I gathered up my courage and got ready to run after Andy.
I didn’t get more than three steps before my way was blocked by a strange man whom I did not recognize. To add to my problems, I got that creepy crawly feeling across my forehead and along the back of my neck as I looked at the strange man. Trouble, with a capital ‘t’ and I was on my own. Andy was long out of sight and probably long gone. For a second or two I thought about whipping out my cell phone to call 911, but I realized the phone would easily be taken from me. This guy was as big and strong as Andy, from the looks of him, which meant I was way out of my league, physically. The fact that he was wearing a stocking over his head was a dead giveaway that this was not a social call.
Suddenly someone grabbed me from behind and had my right arm pinned up behind me. I groaned out loud due to the sudden pain that shot up my right arm. A cloth gag was shoved into my mouth cutting off any chance of my calling for help. A third person grabbed my left arm preventing me from struggling. I was in deep shit now. It was turning into one hell of a Saturday.
“You just don’t learn, boy,” the man said.
I wanted to ask what was going on, but the gag prevented me from talking. The ice cold lump of fear that had just appeared in my stomach only confirmed that this experience was not going to be pleasant. ‘Where the hell was Andy?’ I wondered to myself.
“It seems you didn’t understand our message the first time. We will have to explain it to you again,” the man said. “Only this time, we won’t be so gentle.”
I listened carefully to the man’s voice. I could not be sure if it was the same voice that I had heard in the alley those many months ago. He was trying to frighten me with his words. He was succeeding, but I’d be damned to hell before I’d let him see fear on my face. Maybe I couldn’t stop the beating that was about to happen, but I would not cower before this bully and his friends. It might not help but I closed my eyes and started to project a compulsion field around me to put these guys to sleep. The fear was playing havoc with my concentration. I could tell that the field I was forming was very weak and fluctuating wildly.
I waited for the first blow to fall. After what seemed like an hour, but was probably only ten seconds nothing happened. The grip on my arms suddenly slackened, and then the hands that were holding me let go. The gag was removed from my mouth. I had been released.
I opened my eyes. The thug standing in front of me was swaying slightly on his feet and his head was nodded forward. He looked like he was asleep on his feet. Standing next to the thug was Mister Black, one of my slave boys from the Coffee Shop. I had not seen him in several months, since the last time he had been over to help me during my recovery from my hospital stay. Mister Black was wearing a dark blue waterproof jacket over his white dress shirt and dark blue jeans. He was oddly enough, wearing a plain black silk tie. A quick glance down showed he was wearing nondescript sneakers.
“You’re safe, sir,” said Mister Black. “They didn’t hurt you, did they, sir?” He asked with concern.
“No, I’m fine aside from a sore right arm,” I answered as I turned and looked about. It was only a small surprise to see that the other two thugs, who were wearing stocking masks, were also asleep on their feet. Behind them stood Mister Red, Mister Green and Mister Yellow, each smiling at me warmly. Like Mister Black they too were wearing waterproof jackets over white dress shirts and dark blue jeans with sneakers. Each man wore a plain silk tie in the same colour as his name. Their jackets though did not match. All in all they looked casual and did not call attention to themselves which was probably the general idea.
“We would never let anyone hurt you, sir, if there was any way we can prevent. it,” Mister Red said to me.
“Thank you so much for saving my ass, boys. How did you even know I was in trouble? Did the Council put you up to this? Are they behind this?” I asked. I was fairly certain the Council was not involved. I suspected that Andy’s dad had tried to send me a second stronger message to stay away from his son.
“The Council approved this course of action, sir, but they did not originate it, nor are they responsible for it. If you would give me a moment, sir, I will have your answers for you directly,” Mister Yellow replied. He took a cell phone from his jacket pocket called a number and whispered a few words before hanging up a few seconds later. He returned the cell phone to his jacket pocket. “The answer to your questions is headed your way now,” Mister Yellow said as he pointed somewhere behind my right shoulder.
I turned slowly about so that I was facing the direction indicated Out of the rainy mist a figure slowly appeared. It was Andy.
“You okay Texas?” He asked as he walked up to me and hugged me.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I answered stunned at seeing him again. “What the hell is going on here, Andy?”
“I’ll explain in a few minutes. First we have to deal with these creeps. Wake them up boys and have them take of their masks,” Andy directed Mister Black. “I want to get a good look at their faces.
“Done, sir,” Mister Black replied.
I watched as these thugs calmly raised their heads and opened their eyes. They each reached up and removed the stocking masks they had been wearing and placed them in an inside pocket of their windbreakers. They then stood there looking out in to space with a mindless peaceful expressions plastered on their faces. It was clear that there was a powerful compulsion field in place and they were responding to it.
Andy walked about the three men for a few minutes studying their faces. In the meantime I noted that these men were casually dressed in light coloured windbreakers, dark jeans and casual shirts, of various colours. I wasn’t paying much attention to what they were wearing. I was still in the dark as to exactly what was going on here.
“Fred Hummer, Mark Brent, and Kyle James. All good friends of my Dad. Mister Black, ask Fred to tell you what they were supposed to do here and who put them up to it,” Andy said coldly. It was clear that the identities of these men had upset him.
“Done sir,” Mister Black replied.
“We were supposed to wait for Andy and that cocksucker he’s been hanging out with, Paul Walton, to appear in this park at about 11 A.M. Once Andy left we were to warn Walton to leave Andy alone and to beat him up again. Not as badly as before but a lot more painfully. Simon Anderson asked us to do him this favour. We all agreed that Andy deservers better than to have some limp wristed fag chasing after him and ruining his life and his career,” Fred Hummer said as dispassionately as if he were reading names from a phone book.
“Well that proves it beyond a shadow of a doubt, Paul. My dad is behind your assault. We can’t prove it in a court of law, though, so we can’t take any legal action,” Andy said as anger began to build on his face.
“Hold on a second, Andy. You’ve lost me. Just what the heck is going on here?” I asked in surprise.
“I’ll explain everything in a few minutes, Paul. Just let us deal with these guys first,” Andy said as he brushed off my question. I could see that he was exerting a lot of effort to remain calm and controlled, despite how upsetting this information was to him. He looked at the three men for a few more seconds before he spoke.
“I’d like to beat the living shit out of all three of you, but that would only make matters worse. What am I going to do with you three now?” Andy asked out loud.
“Might I offer a suggestion, Mister Anderson?” Mister Black asked.
“Please do, Mister Black you know more about this mind control stuff than I do,” Andy answered.
“It would be a simple matter for my associates and myself to walk these three men over to one of the picnic tables and sit with them for fifteen minutes or so, keeping them calm and peaceful. We will alter their memories so that they never saw you or Mister Walton. The men will think that neither of you showed up for the meeting. They will report that to Simon Anderson,” Mister Black said.
“What about next time? My dad will not stop. I know him,” Andy said.
“It is also a simple matter to have each of these men report to me or my associates any information regarding new actions they are directed to take against either you or Mister Walton. These gentlemen will not even be aware that they are reporting to us. When such a situation arises we can take the necessary action to see that neither you nor Mister Walton are harmed.” Mister Black looked as if he was enjoying this idea.
“I’m sorry, sir, I should have asked your permission before suggesting this course of action,” Mister Black said as he turned his attention back to me. “All of us, all your boys, would dearly like to punish these three men for what they have done to you sir. Couldn’t we make them feel the pain you felt, if only for a few minutes?” Mister Black looked me in the eye as he spoke to me. He gulped once. It was clear that he was serious in his request as well as nervous about not having asked my permission beforehand.
“Your suggestion seems fine with me, Mister Black. I will not sanction you punishing these three men in any way for what they did to me. While I understand your desire to do so, and in fact I share that desire, it would lead to undesired complications. You do see my point, I trust?” I replied.
“I do sir,” Mister Black said.
“Well off you go then. Andy and I have some talking to do,” I said.
“Yes, sir,” Mister Black said, softly.
“Wait just a second, boys,” I called out to them as they started to turn about to leave.
“Yes, sir?” Mister Black said answering for all of them.
“Thank you very much, boys. All of you have been very good boys and I am very happy and proud of all of you. Let me give each of you a big warm ‘thank you’ hug, before you go,” I said with a smile.
“Oh, thank you sir!” Mister Black said happily as he walked up to me, eager to get a hug from me. It took me only a few minutes to give each of those men the hug that they had more than earned. I whispered to each of them how thankful I was that they were keeping an eye out for me. They each blushed at my praise.
Hugs concluded, Mister Black and his three associates headed off towards one of the picnic tables a few minutes’ walk away from Andy and myself. I watched them go in silence, knowing that the problem of future attacks from these men appeared to have been solved.
“Okay, Andy. Out with it. What the hairy heck is going on here?” I asked as I turned about and faced Andy. I crossed my arms in front of my chest. I do that when I am annoyed or upset with the person I am talking with. Andy was well aware of that fact. He sighed once as he looked at me. Then he started to speak.
“Paul, I had to have clear incontrovertible proof that my Dad was behind the attack on you. As much as I love you, I could not take your word on something like this. Also, I knew it was killing you to have to keep such a secret from me, knowing that you couldn’t tell me something like this because you didn’t have any objective proof.”
“What the heck are you talking about?” I asked even more confused now. I had never mentioned even a hint to Andy that I knew his Dad arranged the assault on me. If anything, I had tried to divert suspicion from Andy’s dad. ‘Where had he gotten such an idea?’ I wondered to myself.
“Paul, I know that you knew about this months ago,” Andy said softly. “Please don’t lie to me and tell me that you didn’t know.”
I looked at Andy, and then I lowered my head and looked at the ground. I couldn’t lie to him when he confronted me directly about this. Slowly I raised my head and looked Andy in the eye. He expected the truth from me.
“Alright, then. Yes, I knew about this months ago and I did not tell you. How the heck did you find out that I knew?” I asked him.
“You talk in your sleep, Paul,” Andy said with a grin. “You also answer questions in your sleep too.”
“Oh great blooming blueberries!” I cried out in disbelief. I looked at Andy and said nothing further for a few moments. Andy stared back at me as if he were waiting for me to ask more questions. Finally my brain started to work again and new questions popped into my mind.
“So you took my midnight ramblings as facts and acted upon them? Don’t you think you overreacted? I could have been dreaming, Andy,” I said to him.
“I’m a cop, Paul. Give me some credit for having a brain in my head. I went down to The Coffee Shop, and talked with Mary about your midnight ramblings, as you called them. She was most interested to learn that you do in fact talk in your sleep. She also explained to me how you acquired the information through the accidental mind scan you did of my dad’s mind. She was very careful to explain that what happened was out of your control, and your actions were not intentional,” Andy explained.
“As for your boys, again I talked with Mary to contact them. They were more than happy to agree to help me in setting up this little trap for my dad’s friends. In fact, when they first found out who was behind the assault on you, they wanted to dispense some justice of their own on my dad. I was able to convince them that you would not approve of something along those lines. Do you have any idea how much they care about you, Paul? If they don’t love you, then is it something that’s damn near close to that.”
“If I have any regret about this, it is that I had to use you as bait. I told my dad that you and I would be meeting here today and that I planned to have us openly express our affection for each other in public. I know my father well enough to presume that he would try to take further action to discourage you.” Andy finished speaking and looked at me, waiting for my reaction.
At first I was upset at being used as bait. Maybe it was standing the gentle rain that cooled my anger. More likely it was the realization that what Andy had done was correct. Not only had he solved the problem of those three guys attacking me in the future, but he had taken a huge burden from my shoulders. He was a sweet, thoughtful, caring, loving and smart man.
“Whatever did I do, to deserve a man like you, dear heart?” I said to him as I stood there looking at him.
“Damned if I know, Texas,” Andy said with a lopsided grin on his face.
“You were right you know,” I told him as I walked up to him and placed my gloved right hand in his left hand. “I needed a good swift kick in the ass, to come all the way out of the closet. Thank you for that.” I leaned my head on his shoulder as best I could, careful not to bump my cowboy hat into his.
“First time a guy has ever thanked me for kicking him in the butt,” Andy said with a chuckle. “Come on. Let’s walk around the park a few times before we head home.”
“Sounds like a great idea to me. Can we stop by The Coffee Shop on our way home? I want to pick up some coffee and thank Mary if she’s there,” I said.
“Sure thing,” Andy agreed. We walked for a bit before Andy spoke again. “Paul, do you think you will ever join the Council of Coins?”
“I don’t know, Andy. I really don’t know,” I said after a moment’s thought.
We talked about many things as we walked around the park for an hour or so. Then it happened.
“Two fags walking in the rain. Your kind make me sick! Someone needs to teach you fags a lesson!” A voice behind us called out.
We stopped walking, stood up straight and turned around. We faced a group of young men who looked both tough and mean. There were six of them against the two of us. With those odds, I guess they thought that they could overcome Andy’s obvious brawn. This was my second encounter today with a group of men who wanted to harm me. I was starting to wonder if my cowboy hat was some type neon sign that attracted trouble like a flame attracts moths.
“Might I ask which of you fine young gentlemen made those remarks?” I asked in a cold and hard voice. I had no intention of showing these guys any sign of weakness. I’d already had to deal with somebody trying to scare the crap out of me today. I was in no mood for more of the same.
“I did, faggot. You want to do something about it?” the biggest young punk sneered at me. He was at least six inches taller than I was. He would have been a challenge if not a match for Andy.
“Not in a group brawl, where the odds are against us, no. However, one on one, just you and me, now that’s a different story,” I answered.
“You? A pipsqueak like you? Don’t make me laugh,” The young mountain sized punk cackled at me. His buddies standing around him started to laugh as well,
“Are you nuts, he’ll mop up the floor with you. All of them could do the same with both of us,” Andy whispered to me, as he looked over at me.
Andy was right. I had to be nuts to keep on acting the way I was. Oddly enough I did not feel frightened at this group of punks about to pummel us. If anything I felt pity for them. With a degree of self confidence and self assurance I had never felt before, I slowly, calmly walked over to the big young punk who had spoken. so that I was standing in front of him and he was towering over me. He smiled down at me, and his smile was far from friendly. I raised my head and looked him dead in the eyes. I did not inject any commands into his mind, although the opportunity presented itself.
“How about using that brain of yours for something besides ballast, and thinking for a second? I’m half your size, and I’m still standing up to you. Either I’m crazy, or I’m really really dangerous. Would you like to guess which?” I kept my eyes focused on his as I spoke. I was surprised at the raw cold power that seemed to pour out of my voice.
We locked eyes like that and after about a minute the young punk broke eye contact with me, turned to one of his buddies and said, “They ain’t worth it. Let’s get out of here.”
“No way! I mean to teach these fags a lesson. Ain’t no one gonna stop me!” Cried out one of the young punks from the middle of the pack. He walked over to me and grabbed my left arm just above the elbow.
I shifted my attention to him and looked at him. Quickly my eyes found his as I spoke to him “You were warned.” With that I used the physical contact between us to access his mind. In the time it took to form the thought I projected the command that his right hand and arm were paralyzed and that the skin from the fingertips to the shoulder of his right hand and arm felt like it was on fire. I had no idea I could do that. I didn’t plan it. It just came to me on the spur of the moment. I think I was more surprised than the punk, when it worked.
“What the fuck! He’s on fire! He’s burning me! Fuck! I can’t let go! Somebody get him the fuck off me!” The words were torn from the young punk’s throat. He starting crying and sobbing uncontrollably as the pain continued to pour into his brain. In only a few seconds he had been turned from a swaggering bullying young punk into a sobbing whimpering young man.
I was sure that both Andy and the other members of the gang were surprised at this sudden turn of events. I was even more surprised, though I did my best not to show it. I had never had my powers take control of another mind so easily before. I felt stronger more powerful and more in control of myself than ever before. It was as if I knew exactly what to do to handle this situation, and I just went ahead and did it without a moment’s hesitation. I had not had any plan in mind when I decided to stand up to that threatening mountain of a young punk. This was just a bit weird, but in a good way. These thoughts flashed through my mind in only a second or two so they did not take my attention away from the young punk who had grabbed me.
“Touch me gentlemen and you will join your friend in his current dilemma,” I warned them as I looked over at them. The young punk continued to whimper and cry.
The leader of the pack, whom I had just stared down, spoke softly to me, managing to sound like he was trying to threaten me as well. “Let him go.” He waved at his fellow pack members to stay where they were.
“As you wish,” I said. I released my controls on him. The young man scurried away from me as fast as he could and back to the safety of his pack. I stood there looking at the six young men, silently daring them to continue their plans to teach me and Andy a lesson.
“Now you know that not all fags are weak and easily bullied by the likes of you. I have no desire to fight with you, gentlemen. You leave me and my friend here alone and we will leave all of you alone. Rest assured that I will defend myself, should you ever attack me, or my friend again, and next time I won’t be so gentle. You can count on it. Now, that said, do we have any other business to discuss?” I stood there with my hands and arms hanging by my sides, ready to move in an instant.
“What did you do to me, you freaking fag?” The young punk who attacked me asked.
“Just a little something I learned from a Zen Master of The Empty Hand. That was lesson one. Would you care to try lesson two?” I said in that same cold powerful tone of voice.
“Let’s just get out of here,” one of the other pack members said in a shaky voice.
“Just wait until next time,” the young punk who attacked me, shot back at me as the pack left. The pack leader slapped that young pup upside the back of his head. I smiled to myself as I realized the leader of the pack would make sure the entire pack kept their distance from me and from Andy. I had stared him down and he knew in the bottom of his soul that I wasn’t bluffing. I meant what I said. As I thought about it, I realized that deep down I did mean what I had told the pack members. This was not like me, but it felt good to stand up for myself.
“Wow, Paul. That was impressive. It was also the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen!” Andy said to me when I walked back to where he was standing. “What the hell were you thinking? What the hell is wrong with you?”
I blinked my eyes at Andy and didn’t answer him. I was still coming to terms with what I had done.
“All I did was stand up to a bully, Andy. You would have done the same thing,” I answered calmly.
“Not without a SWAT team for backup I wouldn’t have. They could have hurt us badly or even killed us. What’s going on with you anyway?” Andy said. He wasn’t satisfied with my answer.
“Let me think for minute,” I said as I walked over to the nearby picnic table and sat down. I was different now that I thought about it. What had changed recently? Then I had it, and the conclusion was both thrilling and frightening. “I think I know, Andy.”
“Well don’t keep it a secret, Paul,” Andy prompted me as he stood in front of me waiting for my answer.
“Ever since I touched the coin that the Council of Coins said had picked me, I’ve fell different. It was subtle at first and I didn’t really notice anything. Now though, it seems clear. My powers have gotten stronger, a lot stronger, and they are more potent more penetrating,” I said.
“Are you having problems controlling them, Paul?” Andy asked with concern.
“Not at all. Somehow I knew I could handle that pack of punks. You have to admit that not only did I stand up to them, but I kept my cool and didn’t use any more force than necessary,” I said confidentially.
“You caused that one guy a lot of pain and suffering for a good minute, Paul. That was cruel,” Andy said with a frown.
“Yes, and I derived no pleasure from it. Andy, it was necessary to make the point that I was dangerous at least to those punks. I had to back up my warning in case they chose to ignore it. You know as well as I do that punks like that don’t heed warnings,” I replied.
“I suppose you’re right,” Andy sighed as he reluctantly conceded to my point. “Why did you decide to stand up to those punks instead of just walking away?”
“I’m out of the closet now, Andy, and nobody is going to force much less scare me back in there. I’m not ready to join a gay pride parade yet, but I’m not going to hide who and what I am anymore. Well, the fact that I’m gay anyway,” I answered.
“I see,” Andy said.
“Oh, and there was one other isty bitsy teeny weenie reason, too,” I said with a grin.
“And what would that be, pray tell?” Andy grinned back at me.
“Nobody, but nobody messes with my man. If they mess with you, then they mess with me and all the demons of hell to boot,” I said as I crossed my arms and tried to look mean.
Andy reached out and punched me playfully in my right arm. “You’ve come a long way, Texas. I’m so very proud of you,” Andy said as he grabbed me and hugged me. Before I could even form a reply, he planted his lips on mine and gave me one of those dipped in honey sweet kisses of his that make my head swim and my cock throb. After about a minute he broke the kiss. “What was all that bullshit about a Zen Master of the Empty Hand?” Andy asked with a chuckle.
“Yeah, it was bullshit. I figured they weren’t smart enough to know better. Besides, I could not have told them the truth,” I answered.
“Which is?” Andy prompted me.
“When I touched that young punk, I was not only able to link to his mind and read it, I was able to make him feel physical sensations. I’ve never been able to do that before, or if I have I never realized it until now. You know what they say about necessity being the mother of invention,” I answered.
“You never cease to amaze me, Texas,” Andy said with a chuck as he put his arm around my waist and lead me back to our interrupted walk around the lake in the park.
It rained the rest of the day. We went back to my place and Andy spent the night. We had supper together. We talked. We watched a move. We made love. I fell asleep in Andy’s arms, which believe me dear reader, is the best place on earth to be.
The next morning we had breakfast and spend the day together. There was nothing noteworthy in what we did. Andy could not spend that evening with me though, as he had to work the next day. Thus I was left to entertain myself for the evening. One of my boys came over to help me clean up. It was Mister Yellow’s turn. He enjoyed himself a lot, and I enjoyed watching him move about vacuuming the room while dressed in his tan three piece suit. Yes, dear reader, I did freeze him a few times when he bent over or squatted down, so that I could take a big hard squeeze of his buttocks. I have to keep my boys happy don’t I? I mean I didn’t derive ANY pleasure from such actions. Yeah, right, and if you believe that then I can offer you a great deal on the Golden Gate Bridge.
I had to face going to bed alone, which was not a desirable situation. It was the price I paid for being involved with a police officer, and I was happy to pay it. Andy was my man. I would not give him up. At least, not easily. I knew now, beyond any doubt that Andy felt the same way about me. Andy’s dad had failed to split us up. I knew that we’d still have to watch for actions from Simon Anderson in the future, but we were forewarned now and on our guard. Those thoughts brought me comfort.
We had already proven to ourselves that we could handle what life thru our way. We would continue to do so. Because when you get right down to it, that’s all you can do.
It had been a very long time, but late that night I got out the white candle, took it to the living room and lit it. As I sat there alone, with darkness all about me save for the small circle of light given off by the burning white candle I cleared my mind and let calmness wash over my soul. I thought about Andy (like I could stop myself from doing him), and all the things that had happened to us in the past months. Our lives and our relationship had changed and grown in so many ways. There had been bumps in the road but we had found a way over them. In my mind I recalled that image of Andy astride his white stallion, Blizzard, with the sun setting behind them. “Please keep Andy safe, Lord, and thank you for sending Andy to me.” I quietly whispered aloud as I prayed. With that final thought I blew out the candle and headed off to bed. I carried that image of Andy with me as I climbed into my bed (my cold lonely because Andy was not there with me, bed), and closed my eyes. Shortly sleep enfolded me. And yes, dear reader, I was wearing one of Andy’s unwashed RCMP t-shirts. The red one.