The Coffee Shop V: Happiness Is A Handsome Hypnotized Hunk
Chapter 3. Deep Dark Secrets
I needed a plan. I needed to figure out what to do. For lack of a better term what I needed was a miracle, and that’s exactly what I didn’t have. Jack was lying on his bed relaxed peaceful and becoming even more so as he continued his backward count from 100 to zero. Much sooner than I liked, he was going to wake up and quite frankly I didn’t know what his reaction was going to be. He might try pounding the stuffing out of me. He might just scream at me and demand that I leave the room. Or worse yet he might never forgive me for having hypnotized him without his consent. And here I thought my super hypnosis powers were going to make it really easy to get the story from Jack. It seems I just made a bad situation worse and I still did not know how to fix it. For that matter, I didn’t even know if the situation was fixable. All I could do was stand there and wait for Jack to finish his count and hope for the best. I couldn’t help but recognize the irony of the situation. I do love the wonderful control that my super hypnosis powers give me, and thus being the master of any situation. Yet the use of my super hypnosis on Jack had left me less in control of the situation than when I started. If the Council of Coins could have seen me now they would’ve laughed their asses off at me and I couldn’t have blamed them.
I walked over to the empty chair that was next to Jack’s bed and sat down. It was more comfortable to sit while waiting for Jack to finish his count to wake up . As I sat there my thoughts drifted back to the Council of Coins and everything that they put me and Andy through. That was another sticky problem I didn’t know how to resolve. I would have been the ultimate fool to believe that the Council of Coins were going to leave me and Andy alone. They had made their plans quite clear the last time that we encountered each other. They were going to look and watch, but I knew they weren’t going to leave Andy and me alone. Sitting here fretting about that problem wasn’t getting me anywhere. There wasn’t really anything I could do about it so I did my best to shove those disquieting thoughts to the back of my mind and concentrate on the problem at hand.
I looked over at Jack lying in his bed. He looked so sublime and sexy lying there limp and comfortable. The cum stain on the front of his light blue denim jeans was still evident. His breathing was shallow and rhythmic and I knew that if nothing else he was feeling pretty good right now. I envied him that feeling because I knew the storm that was about to break out in any second. Sitting there looking at Jack was pleasant to say the least but it wasn’t helping me any. Reluctantly I closed my eyes and tried to think of what I could say to Jack when he woke up. There only seem to be one course of action open to me. I had to remind Jack that I was his friend and had been his friend for a very long time. Maybe that would be enough. I could only hope that it would be. I didn’t like this one little bit. I wasn’t in control here, not at all.
“Why are you still here?” Jack voiced asked interrupting my train of thought. “You have a lot of nerve hang around considering what you just did to me. You shouldn’t have made me cum, you stupid fool.”
The hostility and Jack’s voice was unmistakable. I opened my eyes turned to the left and looked at Jack as he sat there on the bedside, his arms crossed in front of his chest in a defensive posture.
“I thought it would help you Jack,” I answered him. “Are you trying to tell me that you don’t feel better for having been in a hypnotic trance for a while? You look a lot better than when we first started talking this evening, Jack. And to judge from the way that you came in your jeans, you had a lot of stress and frustrations to get rid of.”
“That’s as it may be,” Jack replied. “You still had no right to trance me without my permission, and you shouldn’t have made me cum.”
“You’re right Jack,” I responded. “I didn’t know what else to do. You won’t talk to Steve, you wouldn’t talk to me. It’s not like you Jack. I thought maybe if you are able to get rid of some of your internal tensions, you might calm down enough so that we could start talking. I’m sorry that I hypnotized you without your consent. I won’t insult your intelligence by promising you that I will never do it again. There might come a time, when putting you under without permission will be a necessary act of compassion. Remember Steve in the hospital?”
“Of course I do!” Jack retorted. “But that’s not the same thing, at all. You still shouldn’t have done it.”
“How many times do you want me to tell you you’re right and to tell you that I’m sorry, Jack?” I asked him a hint of exasperation starting to color my voice. “Can we please get back to the matter at hand?”
“I told you before and I’m telling you again, I don’t want to talk about it,” Jack answered.
I sat there and looked at Jack. I remained as puzzled as ever. This was just so unlike him. There had to be a way to reach him. I decided to give it one more shot. “Steve loves you, Jack. He cares about you and he’s concerned about you. He’s worried about you and that’s why he asked me to come over here and try to talk to you. I agreed to try talking with you because I care about you too Jack. You’re pushing Steve away and pushing me away and neither of us understands why. Can’t you at least tell me why?”
Jack stared back at me and stony silence leaving my unanswered questions hanging in the air. The man could be so stubborn it was infuriating. “Damn it Jack! You’re my friend and I care about you. Let me help you!” I implored him as I reached out with my left hand and placed it on his right knee.
Jack jerked his body away from me as if I touched him with a red hot poker. “I told you not to touch me,” Jack growled at me. “It’s none of you business, so butt out, damn you!”
I shook my head in silent frustration as I sat there looking at Jack. Reluctantly I had to admit defeat. I could force Jack tell me his deep dark secret, but that wouldn’t be right. Sometimes doing the right thing doesn’t seem to help. I sighed with regret as I got ready to leave the room. I turned and slowly looked Jack dead in the eyes. I chose my next words with care. “How can you be so selfish?“ I asked him. “How can you be so cruel? How can you deny the people who love you and care about you the opportunity to help you when you need it? If this is your idea of loving someone, of caring about someone, then I don’t know you anymore. I’m not sure if I want to know you, now. Jack, I never thought I’d see the day when you‘d hate Steve so much that you’d do something like this to him. You’re breaking that big man’s heart. I hope you’re happy with yourself.” I shot Jack a look of utter loathing and contempt, turned my head away from him, stood up and walked towards the door.
“I don’t hate Steve. I love him very much, more than you could possibly imagine. I’m doing this for his own good,” Jack called out to me as my hand touched the doorknob of the bedroom door. “He’s better off without me.”
I couldn’t let that comment pass without some type of retort. It was inconceivable to me that Jack was doing something like this for Steve’s own good. The idea was ludicrous. You don’t hurt the ones you love. If Jack had plunged a knife into Steve’s back and twisted the knife around a few dozen times, it would have been kinder than what Jack was doing now. I stopped, turned around and looked Jack fixing him with my best icy stare. “That’s bull shit, Jack. The only way Steve’s going to be better off is if you were dead. At least that way he’d be able to grieve. All he can do now is torture himself wondering what he did to make you hate him so much.”
“He’ll be able to grieve soon enough,” Jack shot back at me.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I retorted perplexed by Jack’s statement.
“You’ll find out?eventually,” Jack answered enigmatically.
“For the love of little green apples Jack, stop playing games and just say what you mean!” I shot back as my temper started to flare. I didn’t like it when people played word games or mind games with me. Jack was very artfully dancing around whatever it is he didn’t want to tell me and I had had enough. I snorted a few times at Jack as I struggled with my temper and tried to compose my thoughts. “Stop being such a chicken shit and just tell me!”
Jack locked his eyes with mine and stared back at me wordlessly for a few moments. The stony he expression on his face crumbled into a look of profound despair. “I’m HIV positive,” he announced. The room became as quiet as a tomb.
“What did you say?” I asked meekly not believing what I’d heard.
“I might be HIV positive, and you can’t tell Steve,” Jack answered in a lifeless voice.
I staggered over the chair next to bed Jack’s bed and sat down clumsily. In fact I nearly missed the chair and almost wound up sitting on the floor. I sat there quietly for a few minutes as I tried to comprehend what Jack had told me. I had imagined many things, such as Jack having an affair, Jack falling out of love with Steve, but not this. This had never crossed my mind for a second. “I’m so sorry Jack,” I said as I tried to offer him a nugget of compassion. “When did you find out?”
“A couple of months ago,” Jack answered in that same lifeless voice. “And before you ask, yes I have had the test confirmed several times. It’s not a false positive, nor a reaction to some medication. There is a ten week window before I’ll know for sure if I have HIV.”
“And what do you do now?” I asked naively, as I looked up into Jack’s sorrow filled eyes.
“I do what’s best for everyone concerned,” Jack’s lifeless voice answered. “All I require from you is that you keep your word. Do not tell Steve or Andy or for that matter anyone else without my express permission. You claim to be my friend, now prove it.”
“Fine. You have my word. I will not tell anyone that you might be HIV positive unless you give me express permission to do so,” I promised him, although I knew this would cause problems between Andy and me. How could it not? How can I carry a secret like this within me and not have it affect my feelings for Andy, Steve and Jack? Jack was right. It was none of my business. Out of compassion and concern I’ve badgered him until he finally told me something that I was better off not knowing, and now I had to pay the price for having acquired that knowledge. The burden of friendship is sometimes heavy and difficult to bear. Worst of all I wouldn’t have Andy or anyone else to help me.
“You can go now. You did as Steve asked, for all the good it’s done. You talked with me and now you know why,” Jack said as he dismissed me from the room.
“Give me a few minutes to regain my composure Jack,” I said as I slowly closed my eyes and started to let the reality of what Jack had just told me sink into my consciousness. “I have to go out there and face Steve and Andy and not tell them anything. You put me in hell of a spot you know.”
“No, you did that to yourself. I told you I didn’t want to talk about it, and you pushed it. You have no one but yourself to blame,” Jack replied.
“You’re right Jack,” I said. I couldn’t imagine what was going through Jack’s mind or what he had to deal with over the past few months. With this newfound knowledge of the situation I could start to see why he was pushing Steve away and why Jack didn’t want talk about it. He was trying to protect Steve, because he loved Steve. The irony was more Jack tried to protect Steve by pushing him away, the more hurt Jack was inflicting on Steve. I wondered if Jack had any idea how his actions were tearing Steve apart.
I sat there and tried to regain my composure. I was going to need all my strength to go down to the living room and not mention this incident to Andy or Steve. Now I understood why Jack had cried out “no” when he’d cum earlier, and why Jack had jerked away from me when I’d put my hand on the knee of his jeans. I shuddered briefly as I realized how I had unknowingly put myself at risk.
“I won’t tell Steve, Jack, but you have to,” I stated emphatically. “He deserves to know if only so that he can be tested for HIV. To not tell Steve would be morally inexcusable.” I looked over at Jack and dared him to contradict me.
“Maybe,” Jack replied doubtfully.
“There is no maybe about it, Jack,” I informed him, stonily. “If you love Steve, if you care about him at all, you have to tell him. You could have transmitted the disease to him, and he needs to know so that he can be tested for HIV. Put yourself in Steve’s place for one second. If he was HIV positive wouldn’t you want him to tell you?”
“Yes, but?.” Jack started to reply and then stopped himself.
“But, what?” I asked, perplexed.
“What if he leaves me?” Jack cried out his voice riddled with fear,
“What difference does that make?” I ask him. I was starting to feel fed up with Jack. He was creating more and more reasons not to tell Steve the truth. “You’re pushing Steve away from you now anyway. You seem determined to be alone.” I closed my eyes to avoid the unspoken plea of help that was written across Jack’s face. I didn’t have any answers. Who did hell did he think I was anyway, Dear Abby? After a few moments of quiet I decided to leave Jack alone. I wasn’t doing him any good.
“I don’t think you’re giving Steve enough credit. I think you’re selling him short,” I commented as I opened my eyes. “It would be ludicrous of me to say that I understand how you feel Jack. I have no idea what you’re going through. However, I do know what your ‘acts of compassion’ are doing to Steve. You’re breaking his heart into small little pieces and he doesn’t understand why. Steve loves you with every fiber of his being and he deserves to know the truth. You owe him that if nothing else. Tell him. Let him decide. Don’t try to make the decision for him. I won’t breathe a word of this conversation to him because I promised you that I wouldn’t. Trust in Steve’s love for you, and in his heart. He just might surprise you.”
I stood up and faced Jack. I waved my hand in an unspoken request for him to stand up. I looked him square in the eyes and slowly placed my hands on his shoulders. I’d like to say that my hands arms and hands were rock steady as I placed them on Jack’s shoulders, but if I did say that I’d be lying. I flinched and twitched. I gulped a few times before I spoke. “I am your friend Jack. If I can be of any help, call me.” I smiled half-heartedly at Jack and slowly let my arms drop down to my sides. I gulped once and slowly turned away from Jack. My heart was heavy and my feet were leaden as I walked out of Jack’s bedroom and headed down the hall to the stairs that lead to the main level of the house.
“Thank you,” Jack called out to me his voice brittle and hard. He was not thanking me, not by a long shot. I think he was being more polite than anything else. I wasn’t a doctor. I couldn’t offer any real help. As for being a friend well, the only thing that I could do was to keep my promise and not tell anyone. The return trip to the living room was all too short.
I arrived in the living room to find Andy sitting on the far end of the couch talking quietly with Steve who was sitting in the chair with a less than pleasant expression on his face. My arrival interrupted their conversation. Steve looked at me expecting me to say something. It was clear he was still upset with me though not as much as before. I suspected I had Andy to thank for calming Steve down.
“Well? Steve asked me. “Did you find out what’s going on with Jack?”
“Yes,” I replied as I sat down on the sofa next to Andy.
“And?” Steve asked impatiently. “What did you find out? What’s the story with Jack?”
“I can’t tell you Steve,” I answered him dejectedly. “Jack made me promise that I wouldn’t tell you or anyone else what he and I discussed. I’m sorry but I gave my word.”
“Well that’s just wonderful!” Steve retorted. “A fat lot of good you are! I should never have asked you to come over! Just what I need; somebody else keeping secrets from me!”
Steve jumped out of the chair and started pacing around the room trying to vent his frustration at me, at Jack and the whole situation. My heart ached for him. I so wanted to tell them what Jack said to me but I couldn’t. My word had to mean something after all. I looked up at Steve a very close friend and it all seemed so unfair. A part of me could understand Jack wanting to spare Steve’s the knowledge that Jack might be HIV-positive. The repercussions of that knowledge would be profound to say the least. Yet another part of me was sitting here watching how Steve not knowing was almost more painful to him. It seemed to be what they call a no-win situation. A wave of profound sadness suddenly washed over me and I started to shake. I guess the news that Jack might be HIV-positive finally sunk in. I started sobbing and crying uncontrollably. I was so sorry for Jack. He was maybe 30 years old and he just received a possible death sentence. The not knowing for sure must have been driving him crazy. Sure he could probably live another 10 or 20 years but it wouldn’t be the same. I thought about what it would mean to Steve and I cried even harder. I suppose it might have seemed weak to you that I would give into my emotions and start crying. After all men are supposed to be tough and strong and keep everything inside. Bullshit! Men are human beings just as women are. Men have emotions and they have to deal with them. I’ve often felt that men who don’t express their emotions, at least in private, cause more trouble for themselves in the long run. All I knew was that I was hurting. Jack’s news had devastated me, and scared me. For just a fleeting moment or two I pictured Andy in Jack’s place and my tears flowed faster.
Andy, that wonderfully wise RCMP Constable; the love of my life; the man I had given my heart to; didn’t say a word. He reached out and enfolded me in his arms, holding me next to his chest and letting my tears soak into that red RCMP T-shirt he was wearing. Andy didn’t say a word. He merely murmured soothing sounds and held me tight encircling me with the strength of his arms and all of the love contained within. He was a welcome shelter in the storm that seemed to have cascaded down around me. I couldn’t imagine losing Andy and just the thought of it terrified me more profoundly than ever before. I surrendered to Andy’s loving embrace while I tried to get hold of myself and stop crying. I didn’t know what was going to happen next or what any of us should do, but I did know that my crying wasn’t going to help the situation at all. It took several minutes before the tears stopped flowing and my sobbing faded into soft sighs of contentment.
With great reluctance I pushed myself up and out of Andy’s embrace, lifted my head and looked him in the eyes. “Thank you, dear heart,” I muttered to him. The words were inadequate but they were all I had.
“Feeling better, Texas?” Andy asked me with a look of concern in the back of his lovely soft doe brown eyes.
“Yes, much,” I answered. “Thank you too, for not asking me about something that I can’t talk about.”
“You gave your word not to say anything,” Andy responded with a small shrug of his shoulders. “That’s good enough for me.” And he flashed me a quick smile of encouragement.
I reached out with my right hand towards Andy’s face and gently caressed his left cheek. Andy closed his eyes and moaned softly as I stroked his cheek gently and let my hand move down to the base of his throat and back up to his chin and then over again to the left side of his face. There wasn’t anything outrageously erotic in the gestures and motions of my hand and fingertips on Andy’s face. It was simply that we knew each other so well and were so in love with one another that our bodies thrilled with the simple touch of each other. (If I have one wish for you, dear reader, it is that someday you find a man like Andy and come to know the type of relationship we have. It may take some time, months, years, perhaps even decades, but it will be worth it. Trust me. And believe that it can happen to you.)
I adjusted my position on the sofa so that I was sitting next to Andy rather than facing him. Andy moved about as well and we both directed our attention back toward Steve. Steve was now sitting in the chair across from us with his arms were crossed in front of his chest and he had a most disgruntled look on his face. He was not a happy camper. I half expected him to start snarling and growling at me.
“So are you all better now?” Steve asked sarcastically. “Did the big strong police man kiss your boo-boo and make it all better?”
I shot a look of disgust at Steve as I clamped down firmly on my tongue in an effort not to fire back some scathing response at him. Last thing we needed right now is to get into a verbal duel. Besides which I just gone through that with Jack and I had had enough for one evening. “Write me up a ticket for hypnotizing a cop, Steve” I called out to him.
“Why you son of a?.” he started to reply and then stopped speaking as he returned to his super hypnosis trance. His face became blank and he slowly turned and his head and looked at me, waiting for his next command.
“Now that’s better isn’t it Steve?” I asked him with just a hint of sarcasm in my voice.
“Yes, master. I do feel much better now,” Steve replied in a slightly robotic tone of voice.
“Go out to the kitchen and make a fresh pot of tea for all of us. When you come back and serve us the tea, you can sit back down in that chair, relax and spend some time in your happy place. Do you understand?”
“Yes, master, I understand,” Steve replied in that same slightly robotic tone of voice.
“Think of yourself as being a houseboy or a butler, Steve. Now go and do your duty,” I directed him.
“Yes of course, master. Do my duty,” Steve replied as his face blossomed into a joyful look. He bounded out of the chair and smiled at me. Evidently he was happy to have something useful to do. I studied him as he walked out of the living room and down the short hallway that lead to rest of the house. I couldn’t help but enjoy the view of those snug dark blue jeans wrapped around those killer buns of his, as he walked down the hallway. My view was cut off much too soon when Steve turned the corner and headed up the stairs. That struck me as rather odd, since the kitchen was not upstairs. “Maybe he has to go to the bathroom first,” I thought to myself as I dismissed Steve’s odd action.
“Do you mind if I ask why you did that?” Andy inquired. His question snapped my attention back to Andy.
“I was tired of Steve being annoyed with me, and I thought he could use some time in his happy place,” I answered as I smiled up at Andy. “Also I wanted a fresh cup of tea. I’ve had enough coffee for the evening.”
“You are a son of a bitch, you know,” Andy grinned at me. “That was naughty, not that I don’t approve.”
“Well, it gives us some time to ourselves and it makes Steve feel better, if only for a little while. I do what I can,” I responded.
“Which is one of the many reason why I love you,” Andy replied as he reached out, grabbed my hand and gave it a strong squeeze.
My heart skipped a beat, but then it always does that when Andy says he loves me. I squeezed his hand back as I sat there on the sofa next to him. I closed my eyes and tried to let the peace and quiet of the room calm my troubled mind.
“So what happens now?” Andy asked to me as we sat there in the sofa next to each other.
“We sit here and wait for Steve to bring us a fresh pot of tea,” I answered.
“No I didn’t mean that. I meant what happens with Steve and Jack?” Andy said with just a hint of annoyance in his voice.
“That all depends on what Jack does,” I answered with a soft sigh. “I’ve done everything I can, and everything that Jack will let me do. Let’s just wait for Steve to bring us the tea, Andy.” The room was filled with a pregnant silence as my words faded away. I didn’t really want to talk and I suspected Andy could sense that. He was always good at picking up on my moods and feelings. For the moment I was content to just sit there on the sofa next Andy holding his hand waiting to see what would happen next. A hot cup of tea was my cure all for feeling bad and goodness knows I could use a cup now. The minutes dragged by slowly. I savoured each one. I cracked my eyes open every now and then to check as my watch marked the passing of time. I guessed that we had at least a good ten or fifteen minutes before Steve returned.
“It must be a pretty serious problem then,” Andy commented after about fifteen minutes of peace and quiet.
“You could say that,” I answered reluctantly. “I can’t say anything more, Andy. Not even a wee little hint. So please, try to curtail your curiosity.”
“Okay Texas. I guess it was the cop in me wanting to find out more,” Andy responded. “I’m sorry for prying.”
“I’m glad you understand that I can’t talk about it,” I replied. “It would be best if I didn’t respond to any of your questions Andy no matter how vague they might be.”
“Well I think you’d better respond to this,” Andy said with a chuckle in his voice as he nudged me in attempt to get me to open my eyes.
“Respond to what?” I asked as I forced my eyes open, turned my head and looked up into Andy’s handsome face. Andy merely smiled down at me and jerked his head to the left.
I turned my head to the left and my jaw dropped to the floor as I beheld a most amazing sight. Steve had returned from his trip to the kitchen but the result wasn’t what I was expecting. He stood there dressed in a black tuxedo (there are other colors of tuxedos, you know) holding a large silver tray upon which was a silver tea service. I watched silently as Steve bent over and placed the tray on the coffee table in front of Andy and me. My eyes followed his motions and I found myself staring at the silver tray.
I blinked my eyes a few times and studied the contents of the silver tray just to be sure I wasn’t seeing things. Upon the tray it was a silver teapot that appeared to have steam emanating from the tip of the spout. A silver creamer and a silver sugar bowl appeared to be nestled next to the teapot. A small open silver bowl filled with lemon slices was set next to the silver sugar bowl. On the opposite side of the silver tray were four bone china tea cups with matching saucers. The thin band of gold just below the rims of tea cups and saucers added a touch of elegance to the setting. I was flabbergasted by the combination of Steve’s attire and the silver tea service.
“Your tea is ready, Sir,” Steve announced in a most professional cultured and polished tone of voice. “Shall I serve you now, Sir?
He stood there ramrod straight with his arms at his sides looking down at me patiently awaiting my response. He had a pleasant little smile on his face as if it were the most natural thing in the world for him to be standing there in a tuxedo waiting to serve me tea from a silver tea service (Desirable yes, dear reader, natural no.) I stared up at him and was soon lost in the fine figure of a man that he presented. I studied Steve’s face and he appeared to be quite content to stand there looking down at me. His face looked freshly washed his hair was neatly combed. Almost of their own volition my eyes started to move down Steve’s body to examine the rest of him. A blindingly white tuxedo shirt covered the front of Steve’s magnificent chest. It looked like the classic formal shirt with a classic lay down collar, a one-quarter inch pleated front and barrel cuffs, and simple small black buttons. As you might expect, a snappy silk black bow tie was nestled at the base of his throat, and a silk black cummerbund encircled his waist just love the top of his black tuxedo trousers. The single breasted one button jacket with satin shawl lapels, satin covered buttons and double besom pockets fit Steve’s magnificent torso very well. Steve had not buttoned the jacket closed so it hung open and displayed just a hint about the front of the tuxedo trousers. I couldn’t tell much about the tuxedo trousers other than they were black and most likely had a satin stripe along the outside seam of each leg. My eyes followed the lines of that gorgeous tuxedo down the front of Steve’s body, pausing only briefly at the fly area of the trousers, where I was not able to discern much detail. My eyes continued their journey down the front of Steve’s legs all the way to the floor where I discovered his feet were encased in a pair of polished black dress shoes. (What was I expecting? Sneakers? Stocking feet?) Steve cut quite a figure of a man as he stood there in that beautiful black tuxedo. He could easily have been put on the cover of GQ magazine.
“Close your mouth, before you attract flies,” Andy whispered to me as he elbowed me in the ribs in an attempt to jar me out of my stud induced paralysis.
“Ah, yeah, sure, pour the tea, Steve,” I replied as I looked up at Steve’s face. It was all I could do to frame and speak such a response to Steve. He was gorgeous, and that doesn’t begin to describe how he looked. In fact gorgeous didn’t do him justice. I certainly wasn’t expecting Steve to change into a tuxedo when I send him out to get some tea. I didn’t even know that he owned a tuxedo. As I sat there watching while Steve slowly bent over and poured the tea into the cups, I let my eyes feast upon his handsome form. (Best of all, dear reader, he was fat-free and low calorie.) As I sat there watching Steve I finally deduced that he must have interpreted my suggestion that he was a house boy to mean that he should dress up like a butler, hence the tuxedo. While I hadn’t intended upon that course of action I was most pleased with the results. I turned my head and glanced quickly at Andy. The satisfied smirk on his face and the delight in his eyes was a clear indication that he was enjoying Steve’s present attire as much as I was.
With what can only be described as elegant grace, Steve bent forward at the waist as he leaned over and carefully grabbed the silver teapot handle with his right hand. That a slight smile on his face remained fixed there is he filled 3 cups of tea with smooth flowing motions. I expected nothing less from Steve, because I knew he always moved with quiet determined motions. I had to shake my head a few times to prevent myself from being lost in the memory of my first hypnotic encounter with Steve. Even after all these years, the memory of how he looked in the working uniform of his as he moved about the room in a deep hypnotic trance never failed to bring back more than a few stirrers of pleasure. It didn’t take long for Steve to fill 3 cups with hot aromatic tea. Steve carefully replaced the teapot back on the tray and then handed one of the tea cups and saucers to me. Once I had taken my tea and saucer from Steve he then handed a second cup and saucer Andy. His butler task finished for the moment, Steve slowly stood up and let his arms fall to his sides. He looked down upon me that same happy smile still fixed on his face and let out a soft sigh of contentment. It certainly didn’t take much to keep him happy.
“Will there be anything else Sir?” Steve asked me as he stood up straight awaiting his next task.
“Not right now, Steve,” I informed him. “You may sit down and enjoy your tea, while Andy and I do the same.”
“As you wish, Sir,” Steve replied. He bent over and grabbed the third teacup and saucer in his right hand. He walked over to vacant living room chair opposite the sofa, paused for a moment and then turned about and sat down in the chair. The teacup and saucer were on the end table next to the chair. Steve brushed at the tuxedo trousers once as he made himself comfortable. A few moments later he leaned to his right and took a small sip of tea from the teacup. He smiled in quiet pleasure at the taste of the hot tea. Moments later he returned the teacup to the saucer, closed his eyes and sat back in the chair. He appeared to be quite content to sit there, waiting for his tea to cool.
When Steve walked away from me and towards the living room chair, I obtained a brief view of the back of his tuxedo. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything remarkable about it. The jacket back was smooth without a vent, and hung down from Steve’s shoulders with only a slight narrowing at the waist. The trousers were a spotless black and followed the contours of Steve’s tapered muscular legs in the usual manner, not especially loose or noticeably snug. Regretfully, I didn’t (and still don’t) have X-ray vision so I could not see past the tail of Steve’s tuxedo jacket to get a look at his buttock in those tuxedo trousers. I hoped to remedy that situation shortly.
I sat there sipping my tea watching Steve as he sat there in the living room chair. Periodically I glanced over at Andy and noticed that he was watching Steve as well. I couldn’t say that I blamed him. Steve cut a dashing figure as he sat there dressed in that tuxedo. It was clear that Steve wanted more instructions to execute. I wanted a better look at Steve’s tuxedo. It would be a shame not to attempt to fulfill both of those desires.
“Steve, when you’re finished your tea I would like you to show off your tuxedo to Andy and me,” I instructed him as I placed my tea cup and saucer back on the coffee table. “I don’t want you to do a striptease Steve, but I do want you to have fun when you show off your tuxedo.” I quickly looked over at Andy to see what he thought of this idea.
“Spoilsport,” Andy said to me and then stuck his tongue out at me, in mock annoyance.
“What? I’m not good enough for you anymore?” I asked him, as I curled my hands into fists and planted them at waist level on my sides. “You need to see some sexy stud in a tuxedo strip, do you?”
“Well, when you put it that way,” Andy drawled. “The answer is of course no.” Andy reached out encircling me with his arms and pulled me close towards him. Moments later he planted a firm heavenly kiss on my lips to banish any possible misunderstandings regarding Steve and his tuxedo. A few moments later Andy ended the kids, and looked into my eyes as he smiled that sexy smile of his known and I’ve come to know and love.
“Damn you’re good,” I said to him, as I smiled up at him.
“Sir! I’m ready to start Sir,” Steve called out interrupting us. Andy and I broke our embrace and returned our attention to Steve. After all it was the polite thing to do. We didn’t want keep Steve waiting.
“Start when ready Steve,” I commanded him. I sat back and got comfortable on the couch eager for the show to begin
Steve stood up and quickly buttoned his jacket closed and let his arms fall to his sides. He looked down at Andy and me with a happy smile on his face. I felt a twinge of regret that Steve’s happiness was going to be very short-lived. Once he woke up he would have to face the reality of Jack’s stony silence regarding Jack’s HIV positive status. I quickly pushed those thoughts aside and concentrated even more intensely upon Steve’s presentation. I was determined to have a good time if only for the next 10 minutes or so.
Steve looked magnificent in that beautiful black tuxedo. I suppose I’m repeating myself by saying that, but it’s so very true. Slowly Steve turned about a full 360? to let us see that beautiful tuxedo from every angle. I took note that I was correct there was a satin stripe running down the outside seam of each pant leg of the tuxedo trousers. Steve unbuttoned the tuxedo jacket and stood there for a few moments continuing to smile at us. (Damn, he was good looking!) He is placed his hands on the front part of his open jacket and pushed aside the jacket as he slipped his hands into the front pockets of his tuxedo pants. This presented a most wonderful view of the front of Steve’s attire. Steve’s hands were thrust deeply into the front side angle pockets of his pleaded tuxedo trousers. I was presented with a clear view of the front of Steven’s attire consisting of a blinding white tuxedo shirt, black silk bow tie at the base of his throat, black silk cummerbund at his waist and the snug but not tight fitting tuxedo trousers. The tuxedo pants were loose enough to conceal any bulges Steve might have had at the front of his pants, either that or Steve wasn’t experiencing any bulges. In either case the black material prevented any detailed examination of Steve’s front pelvic area. Touching was out of the question so I had to make do with my eyes.
A few moments later Steve pulled his hands from his tuxedo trousers and grabbed the front sides of his jacket with each hand. Like a spring flower offering itself to the sun Steve held his jacket open so that I could see the entire front of his outfit and the inside lining of the tuxedo jacket. I was surprised to see that the tuxedo jacket’s lining appeared to be red silk. Clearly this wasn’t an inexpensive outfit. After a few moments Steve released the jacket at let it drop silently closed and let his arms drop back to his sides. Steve looked about and then turned and walked towards the chair where he has been sitting earlier. With one fluid smooth motion Steve slipped the tuxedo jacket off of his torso and snagged it with his right hand before the jacket touched the floor. Carefully Steve folded the jacket and placed it on the empty chair in front of him. Steve spun about and sauntered over to Andy and me swaying his hips suggestively. The dreamy smile on his face confirmed that Steve was having a good time showing off his clothes to us. I can only speak for myself, but I think I was enjoying it more than Steve was.
Steve was only a foot away from me as he stood there smiling down at us. Once again Steve turned about in a full circle to let Andy and I look at his attire from every angle. As I expected, the front of the tuxedo trousers had two side angle pleated front pockets and the back of the trousers had two welt pockets the left one having a button through closure. The cummerbund encircled Steve’s waist and accentuated his slim waist and excellent physique. Oh how those trousers looked on Steve’s butt! I’d never thought of black is an attractive color. I preferred lighter colored clothing for guys because it tended to show the bulges much more easily than black. These tuxedo trousers were the exception to the rule. They were snug and encircled Steve sexy ass in a most enticing manner. I envied Jack for having snagged somebody as sexy as Steve, especially when he looked this good. I looked over at Andy and realized I was just as lucky if not luckier than Jack.
Steve strolled about the room a bit more showing off his body and his clothes. He struck a few classic poses that you might see in men’s magazine; arms crossed in front of his chest, one hand in a pocket, and at one point he even squatted down in a three-quarter profile which provided me with a wonderful view of his delicious buttocks. The way those tuxedo trousers followed every curve of both beautiful hemispheres that were Steve’s ass was a sight to behold. The material of those trousers stretched tightly across both butt cheeks which only enhanced the overall appearance.
“That’s all there is Sir,” Steve said as he walked over to Andy and me and stood in front of us. “Unless you want me to strip Sir? I could put my jacket on and do a strip tease for you, Sir, if that is what you wish.”
“No, that won’t be necessary Steve,” I informed him. “You can go put your jacket on and sit down in the chair over there and just relax for a while. You can even close your eyes and take a little nap you like. I’ll wake you up in a little while. You’ve done a wonderful job Steve, thank you.”
“Thank you. Sir!” Steve barked out. His face beamed with joy as he turned about and walked back to the living room chair. The little sneak waggled his hips suggestively at the two of us as he walk away from us. He bent over and snagged his tuxedo jacket from the chair. He slipped on the tuxedo jacket, adjusted it for a few moments, turned around and sat down in the chair. Steve looked over at us with that same silly grin on his face. He placed his hands in his lap and then his eyes closed and his head nodded forward. He leaned back into the chair as his entire body appeared to relax and he went even deeper into his hypnotic trance.
“Looks like the show’s over,” Andy commented a few seconds later.
“All good things must come to an end,” I quipped.
“Unfortunately that’s true, but I don’t have to like it,” Andy replied.
I nudged Andy’s shoulder with mine, which caused his head to turn so he was looking at me. I reached over and gave his hand a warm soft squeeze, then I directed his attention back to Steve. Steve was a very pleasant sight to look at and so I savored the moment bittersweet as it was. There was so much I wanted to do with Steve and I knew that I couldn’t. Once again I felt a flash of envy for Jack, knowing that this wonderful man Steve had pledged himself to Jack, body and soul. It saddened me to realize that Jack was letting such a wonderful man as Steve slipped out of Jack’s life. Sometimes the things people do just don’t make any sense.
A flicker of motion out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. I turned my head away from Steve and looked off to the left. Jack walked into the room and stopped just short of a halfway across the room. He had changed his clothes. He was wearing a pair of light gray dress pants with black loafers on his feet. The pants had side angle pockets and were pleated. A plain black leather belt encircled his waist. Tucked into those formfitting pants was a plain white long-sleeved dress shirt. The shirt collar was unbuttoned and there was no tie. Jack was not wearing a jacket or a blazer of any type. His outfit could best be described as business casual or perhaps business informal. My guess was that he wanted to look presentable but not handsomely hunky.
“Steve, could I talk with you please?” Jack called out to Steve. There was no response. Jack walked walk up next to Steve and looked down at him. There was a slightly puzzled look on Jack’s face. “Hello? Steve? I’d like to talk with you please,” Jack said as he tried to get a response from Steve. Jack was standing next to Steve, off of Steve’s right.
I took the opportunity presented to get a good look at the back of Jack’s pants. There were no back pockets, which gave Jack’s buttocks the appearance of two smooth gray clad hemispheres. I could not help but notice how well those pants followed the contours of Jack’s backside. If the circumstances were somewhat different I would have been sorely tempted to use Jack’s trigger and put him into a state of super hypnosis I could examine the fit of those pants some more closely. (Yes, I’m a butt man and sometimes it dominates my thoughts, dear reader.)
Jack turned away from Steve looked over at me with a puzzled look on his face.” What’s going on here Paul?” Jack asked me with just a hint of steel in his voice.
“I hypnotized Steve, Jack,” I replied.” Steve needed a little time in his happy place.”
“And the tuxedo?” Jack inquired.
“Was completely his idea,” I answered. “I merely suggested that when he got some tea for Andy and me that Steve should think of himself as a house boy or a butler. I never expected him to put on a tuxedo. I didn’t even know he owned a tuxedo. I have to admit he does cut a dashing figure in that tuxedo.”
“Indeed he does,” Jack commented in a very soft throaty voice as he turned and looked back at Steve sitting there in the chair. The undertones of love and compassion in his voice were unmistakable as Jack spoke. “Would you please wake him up now? He and I need to talk.” Jack walked away from Steve and further off to Steve’s right. Jack stopped when he was of a halfway across the room. This positioned Jack so he was halfway between Steve and I and outside of Steve’s direct line of sight. I suspected that Jack didn’t want to surprise Steve when Steve awakened from his trance.
“Certainly,” I answered. “Once Steve’s awake Andy and I will say our good nights and be on our way.”
“No I would rather that you stay please,” Jack said in a soft throaty voice. “I think it might be easier for me and for Steve if you and Andy are here.” Jack turned away from Steve and looked over at me. It took a moment or two before his eyes locked onto mine. He gulped once and licked his lips as he composed his thoughts. “Paul, you and Andy are two of our dearest and closest friends. We have been through a lot together. Somehow I forgot that. I forgot I had friends. I thought I was alone and now I realize that I’m not. So please stay. I need your friendship now more than ever.”
I swallowed against the sudden lump that appeared to my throat. I knew what Jack was going to talk to Steve about. “I?we are always here for you, whenever you need us. I’m going to wake Steve up now.” I said softly as I turned my attention back to Steve. Jack nodded his head at me, as he turned back to look at Steve.
“Steve, at the count of five you will open your eyes and be fully awake and back to your normal self in every way. You’ll feel refreshed and relaxed and able to take on anything that might be coming your way,” I instructed him. Normally I like to wake my subjects up slowly and savor their return to awareness but this was not the time to indulge in my particular preferences. I paused for a moment to catch my breath and gather my strength. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next but I knew that it wasn’t going to be easy and it wasn’t going to be pleasant.
“Zero. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Wide awake Steve! Wide awake!” I called out to Steve.
Steve slowly raised his head. A moment later his eyes fluttered open and he blinked several times as if trying to clear his vision. He took a deep breath while simultaneously raising his arms straight up in the air in a huge stretch. He let out a huge yawn almost a bellow as he gently shook his head from side to side and tried to wake up. Steve turned his head towards me and flashed that old sexy smile of his at me. “Before you ask Paul, I feel great! However, it was naughty of you to put me back under without giving me warning first.”
“True enough,” I admitted with a chuckle. “But sometimes I just have to be evil.”
“So what’s next oh evil one?” Steve asked an amused tone of voice. “I’m sure it’s going to be?.” Steve’s words froze on his lips and as he turned his head and saw Jack’s standing there across the room. “Jack?” He asked dumbfounded
“Steve, can we talk please?” Jack pleaded.
“Yeah sure,” Steve answered, shaking his head again as if he were trying to wake up. . “Uhmm, maybe we should talk in private?”
“I’d like Paul and Andy to stay if it’s OK with you Steve,” Jack answered in a somber tone. “Paul already knows what I’m going to tell you and it’s only fair that Andy knows as well.”
“Okay,” Steve agreed. He paused for a few moments as he studied Jack’s face. “It’s not anything good is it?”
“No, it’s not,” Jack confirmed. Jack gulped once and took a deep breath as he braced himself to continue speaking. “Steve, I might be HIV positive.”
Suddenly Andy’s left hand grabbed my right hand with a strong reassuring squeeze. I squeezed back. No words were necessary. That simple strong clasping of our hands together reaffirmed the bond between us. We dared not speak and shatter the crystal silence that had descended upon the living room with Jack’s announcement. I had no idea how Steve was going to react. I couldn’t even begin to imagine myself in a similar situation. I prayed silently that somehow this would all work out for Steve and Jack. It was out of my hands.
“HIV positive, you’re sure?” Steve asked quietly.
“I won’t know for sure for another ten weeks or so,” Jack answered.
“How long have you known? Steve inquired.
“About eight weeks,” Jack replied.
“How did it happen? How did you become infected, Jack?” Steve asked, coolly.
“My company put out a fire at a residential house which turned to be a former speed house. When the fire was finally out, I did a walkthrough to check for smoldering embers, and I slipped and fell on an used needle,” Jack explained in a matter of fact tone of voice.
“I see. Now it’s starting to make sense,” Steve said as he nodded his head thoughtfully. His expression was unreadable. Whatever Steve’s reaction was to Jack’s news, Steve was keeping it carefully hidden.
“I’m so glad you understand Steve. I didn’t want to tell you this because I was afraid you wouldn’t understand,” Jack said. The relief in his voice was as plain as the sun on a cloudless day.
Steve did not reply. He stared at Jack silently, with an expression that could only be described as aloof. After a few moments Jack broke the brittle silence.
“Steve, say something, please,” Jack implored him.
“You’re wrong. I don’t understand.” Steve declared in a cool calm distant voice. Steve continued to stare at Jack and slowly his expression changed to one of disgust. “How could you keep this from me? Why would you keep this from me? What were you thinking?” Steve asked. I could hear the frosty edge in his voice starting to build. Steve turned away from Jack for a few seconds looked about the room until his eyes fell upon me. “How could you tell Paul about something like this and not tell me? I thought I knew you, Jack. I guess I don’t. I never thought you could be so selfish and cruel.”
I was surprised at Steve’s controlled reaction to Jack’s news. I think I would have been screaming at the top of my lungs, at Jack. Steve however was keeping a very cool head, in what had to be a very difficult situation. I suspect his police officer training was kicking in. Cops are trained to handle all sorts of challenges in their line of work. They learn to emotionally distance themselves from the situation. I suspected that this was exactly what Steve was doing. My idle mental musings were interrupted as Jack responded to Steve’s questions.
“Selfish? Cruel? I was only trying to protect you. I was trying to do what I thought was best,” Jack answered in a heated voice. One did not have to be a relationship counselor to see that a fight was about to break out. I felt more and more uncomfortable with each passing moment. All I wanted to do was leave and let these two guys work out their problem themselves. But Jack had insisted that Andy and I stay, so we were stuck there. We would have to weather out the storm as well.
“You’re lying to yourself if you believe that, Jack,” Steve responded icily. (The air temperature in the room dropped another five degrees, I swear.) “You were scared, plain and simple. You were scared of what being HIV positive would do to your life, and you were scared that if you told me, I would leave you. You didn’t trust me enough to tell me the truth and let me decide for myself. Your lack of faith in me hurts.”
“You’re damn right I was scared!” Jack shouted at Steve. “Here’s a bulletin from the news room. I’m still scared, and I have every right to be scared!”
“Of course you do, Jack,” Steve agreed coldly. “But you were wrong not to have told me as soon as you knew. That was morally reprehensible. I’m disappointed in you, Jack.”
“Don’t you DARE judge me, Steve!” Jack spat out the words at Steve. “I’m the one who’s had to deal with this devil for the past eight weeks! I’m the one who has to see my life turned upside down and inside out!” Jack glared at Steve taunting him to deny the truth of Jack’s words.
Steve studied Jack for a few moments, and then Steve spoke. “Yes, all that you have said is true. Consider this, though. When two people love each other and are committed to each other, they face all the trials and tribulations of life together. They use their love, respect, compassion and caring for each other to overcome the obstacles that life sets in front of them. They don’t keep secrets like this, from each other. I thought you knew this. I guess I was wrong, about a lot of things.” Steve gazed at Jack with deep sadness in his eyes.
“Are you done giving your sermon from the mountain?” Jack asked, his words dripping with sarcasm.
Steve shot Jack a look of disgust while ignoring Jack’s barbed question. “I’m going for a walk. I need some fresh air. I’ll be back in a half hour or so. I have much to think about, and so do you.” With that Steve got up and headed for the front door. He stopped in front of the door, turned around and looked back at Jack. “Consider this,” Steve barked out to Jack. “All you have to do is to die. I’m the one who has to go on living, without you.” With that Steve turned back to the door and marched out of the house. The loud slamming of the front door that shook the house slightly was the only outward indication of just how upset Steve was.
I couldn’t help but note Steve cut a handsome figure in that beautiful tuxedo he was wearing. He looked very sexy as he walked out of the house. (Trust my oversexed hormones to take note of that at a time like this, dear reader.) Like everyone else I was too shocked by Steve’s action to move a muscle or utter a sound in protest. The silence that overwhelmed the room was shattered a few moments later by a pitiful sobbing.
I looked over to see Jack standing there tears rolling down his face, his entire body shaking with the force of his soul searing pain, as he stared at the chair where Steven had been sitting moments before
Steve had just left the house and I did not know when, or for that matter if, he was going to return. I didn’t know what to do, so I just sat there like a brain dead idiot, looking at Jack. My stomach turned into a huge lump of ice as I realized my oh so wise advice to Jack had just shredded Jack and Steve’s relationship to confetti. Some friend I turned out to be. I wanted to slink way and crawl under a rock somewhere.