(damaged boys) 9

There were five of them in the row of townhouses, and underneath the sheen of public normalcy and personal success lived the gaping damage within.
cold december flies away…
Daniel could not stop kissing him. For as much as he tried, he could not control what burned inside him…a long, hateful volcano of madness, destruction and passion…welling up within him until there was no other option. He’d seen the kid in and out of Braden’s condo recently, just one in a line of many over the past few months. They’s never seemed real, before…not human, certainly. And yet, here he was with his tongue in its mouth. It was both repulsive and thrilling.

Kyle heard of these types before, the men who hide and hate and beat themselves up…beat up other people, too. There was the certain thrill of being desired, of being wanted by someone he considered his superior. This man, neighbor of asshole Braden, was smart looking, successful and drove a nice car. Nicer than anything he’d seen growing up in the west side neighborhoods where the only car interior people saw was that of a police cruiser. Kyle liked the forcefulness of it…he’d been thrown out by Braden, and thrown up against the garage door by Daniel…all within a matter of minutes. He like Daniel’s firey nature, as if it was all bottled-up inside him and exploding. He decided he’d like to make Daniel explode…after all, attention was attention, and it gave him a reason to be seen by Braden, if he could make this work.
Daniel lessened his grip on Kyle, kissed him deeply, more pensively and with meaning. He pressed his body full against Kyle’s slight frame, wanting him to feel the hardness. Kyle groped, and Daniel pulled away.
“What?!”
“I don’t want to do this out here. Come on.”
Daniel motioned for Kyle to get into the car.
“We’ll go somewhere.”
“I don’t have any money, so I can’t pay or anything.”
“Don’t worry. Just get in.”
They both slipped into the car and Daniel eased out of the drive and onto the boulevard. His hand reached over and squeezed Kyle’s thigh.
Jeanine thought it odd that Daniel wasn’t at home when she returned from the office. He usually beat her by half an hour, and was almost never late. She checked the voicemail and found a message…he’d be home a little later than usual…meeting went longer than expected, but he’d already had dinner.
She went to the refrigerator and pulled out a Yoplait. The strawberry-banana was her favorite. She sat at the kitchen counter leafing through this month’s Cosmo and hating how she looked. On every page was a woman of perfect beauty, gorgeous coloring, great hair and flawless physique. She contrasted that image to every degree. Even in her snappy business attire she was still rather plain, uninteresting and unextraordinary to the eye. But Daniel loved her for what was inside, he’d said it so many times, she almost believed it. She felt acceptable, normal and even a bit sexy with him. She tossed the empty yogurt container into the garbage and switched off the kitchen light. She padded quietly down the hallway to the den, flopped into an overstuffed chair and flicked on Wheel of Fortune.
The clerk looked at Daniel as he registered for the room. He could see outside, and even through the pouring rain…he could see Kyle in the front seat…waiting. The motel was in a sketchy, run-down section of the city. The kind of place no one likes to drive through. The kind of place that feels abandoned…a place that delivered anonymity. Daniel keyed into the room and once Kyle entered, he quickly locked the door.
There were no formalities…in the darkness, warm, hungry mounths found each other. Daniel pushed Kyle to the bed…wanting more. He was harder than he’d been since college, and he pounded his cock into Kyle like a jackhammer, fucking him without mercy. Kyle loved the feeling of being controlled, having this stranger’s cock shoved into his ass – an exhilirating mix of pleasure, pain and low self esteem. He pushed against Daniel to feel every inch jammed inside him.
And as Daniel fucked Kyle in a seedy motel near the interstate, Jeanine solved the puzzle before Vanna had turned more than four letters : Caligula.
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He thought it was just an old saying, once in a blue moon. But there it was, high above him, peeking down over his shoulder and illuminating the path in front of him. He’d read the definition…a second full moon in one month…very rare indeed. Thus the saying. He walked on the gravel walk, crunching each step…an intoxicating rhythm swirling like southern jasmine after an evening rainstorm. The sound was predictable. It made sense. It was orderly and clean. And Braden liked things that way.
He’d agreed to the vacation months ago, never expecting it to come to fruition. It was a hasty agreement realized suddenly with the arrival of an airline ticket overnight expressed to his office the week earlier. His best friend Marieke was also organized and orderly…so much so that she’d actually planned this vacation over a year earlier, and had planned to take no one other than Braden. And when it came to Marieke, there would be no arguing. There would be no last minute delays, cancellations or rescheduling. He’d even managed to arrange his time off accordingly.
He found himself in Charleston, South Carolina, strolling along the historic boulevards watching tourists, locals and anyone pleasing to his eye. He’d managed to walk alone that evening, Marieke otherwise engaged with a fine young gentleman from Maryland. He thought his name might be Joshua…but he’d not paid close attention. He’d been watching someone else completely. Marieke was introduced to Joshua on the veranda of the hotel, just after the evening cocktails were cleared and guests were ushered into dinner. Joshua was a high school history teacher and soccer coach. At age twenty-nine, he radiated youth and vitality, but was too old for Braden’s taste. With the subtle glance rendered between best friends, Braden departed to find his own mischief. At this point she was probably planning on fucking him…and good for her…or maybe better for him. He’d heard stories of Marieke’s sexual prowess…and not from Marieke.
Walking along the path from the hotel grounds down to the harbor, he relaxed for the first time in over a year. Pressure leapt from his shoulders and he was dizzy from relief. It was also, effectively, the first time he was really single…not dating anyone and with no intention of doing so. Things were always messy in that arena. Better to be single for awhile and figure things out. He sat on a bench facing Charleston Harbor and looked out toward the dark horizon, barely detectable…a line of blackness where the stars dissolved into the sea. Braden watched as small boats passed, headed to their slips in yacht clubs and private docks. All the people with money, he thought…and did it guarantee them happiness? Well, yes…to a degree it certainly did. Problems are problems no matter what the bank balance is…but perspective is everything, and problems look decidedly different from the bow of a yacht.
Braden wandered to the slips located at the edge of the park a few feet from the hotel grounds. There was little activity, except from a smaller boat near the end of the dock. He heard music as he approached…something familiar and moody. As he approached, someone moved topside to secure one of the lines. He saw the flicker of a lighter and the brief illumination of the most beautiful face he’d ever seen. Chiseled and tan with beautiful lips and high cheekbones, he’d accounted and taken inventory of this face in a single instant. His eyebrows were sandy brown, with sunbleached blonde hair tousled by the wind…Braden thought he was looking at an advertisement for youth and beauty and the high life. He was classic, handsome and boyish. Maybe he’d seen him in a magazine…one with matte pages and pungent colognes. He’d stopped breathing for fear of being discovered. It was too late.
“It’s not polite for strangers to sneak about like that.”
Braden stammered, “I’m…I’m sorry…I didn’t mean…”
“You won’t be a stranger if you introduce yourself then, will you?”
“Braden Mackey.”
“Never met a Braden before. I’m Thomas.”