Mike is. He’s a pit bull. When he sinks his teeth into something, he never lets go.”
“You could have told him not to come,” Ed said.
“I tried,” Jonathan said, “but he wouldn’t listen. Mike is like that. He’s used to
getting whatever he wants.”
“Are you going to
fuck
him when he’s here?” Ed asked. It came out fast and his
voice went lower than usual. “Are you going to
suck
Mike’s dick like you suck mine?”
Jonathan’s face dropped and his body froze. He clenched his own his fists and
said, “I can’t believe you’d say something like that to me. I thought you were different. I
guess I was wrong about you after all.” He turned to leave and said, “Tell the crew to
shoot without me today. Tell them I have a weird stomach flu and I’ll be back to work the
January second. I really need to get out of here right now.”
Then he left Ed standing alone in the kitchen and crossed to the front hallway. He
squared his shoulders and lifted his head. His lips were on the verge of trembling and tears were forming at the corners of his eyes, but he didn’t want Ed to see how hurt he
was. He heard the sound of his own heels clicking against the wooden floors and his heart
pounded in his chest.
When he reached for the doorknob, a strong hand grabbed his arm and pulled it
back. “Don’t leave,” Ed said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. It’s just that this guy Mike
makes me crazy. He’s only coming out here for one reason.”
Jonathan tried to pull away, but Ed was a strong man. “Let go of me,” Jonathan
said. “You’re hurting my arm.” Ed wasn’t really hurting his arm, but Jonathan wanted
him to think he was.
Ed wrapped his other hand around his waist and pulled him away from the door.
“Why didn’t you tell Mike about
us
? He should fucking know about me. I deserve that.”
Jonathan’s eyes opened wide and his head went back. He looked into Ed’s eyes
and said, “What should I tell him about us? We haven’t made any commitments to each
other. At least not as far as I know. Please let me know if I’ve missed something, Ed. You
won’t even tell Noah or Lisa about us. And you know damn well I’d never say anything
because I love Noah and I don’t want to confuse him.”
Ed tightened his grip. “Stop acting like a child. You’re having a temper tantrum.”
Suddenly, Jonathan was tired of being controlled by everyone. The television
network was trying to control his career, Mike had been controlling his personal life, and
now Ed was trying to do the same thing to him. “Let go of me, Ed.”
“Let’s go into the kitchen and talk about this rationally,” Ed said. “Calm down.”
Ed leaned forward and his legs were bent. He put his other arm around Jonathan’s waist
and held him even tighter. Jonathan’s heart beat fast and his eyes bulged. He shouted, “I don’t want to talk
about it. Let go of me. I want to be alone for a while. I’m going to fly back to New York
today and spend New Year’s all alone in my own apartment.”
Then Ed turned him around, lifted him off the ground and threw him over his
shoulders. He carried him back to the kitchen. Jonathan kicked his legs and pounded his
fists on Ed’s back. But he wasn’t pounding hard. He didn’t want to hurt him.
When they reached the kitchen, Ed stretched out his right arm and cleared the top
of the center island with one quick swipe. Newspapers fell to the floor, the salt and
pepper grinders landed under the table on the other side of the room, and Ed’s coffee cup
cracked into pieces next to the island. He was still holding Jonathan over his shoulder
with the other arm, and Jonathan was still kicking his legs.
“What are you doing, Ed?” Jonathan shouted. “Have you lost your mind? Put me
down, you big
idiot
.”
Ed lowered Jonathan to the counter and wrapped his arms around Jonathan’s body.
He pressed the right side of his face to Jonathan’s chest and said, “I think I have lost my
mind. I’ve lost it for you. Don’t leave. Let’s just talk this out like rational adults. I’m am
a big idiot sometimes, but I don’t want you to leave like this.” Ed didn’t sob, but there
were tears in his eyes and he sniffed back a few times.
Jonathan stopped fighting; his body relaxed. He cupped Ed’s head in his palms
and lifted it to his face. He looked into his wet eyes and said, “I’m not going anywhere.”
He kissed his forehead and swallowed hard. “And you’re not an idiot. You’re a fantastic
man and a very good father.” Ed stared at Jonathan for a second, then grabbed the back of his head and kissed
him hard. Jonathan shoved his tongue into Ed’s mouth and held his shoulders. Then he
ran his palms across the large muscles on Ed’s back and rolled his tongue in circles. Ed
tasted like a man should taste. The wiry stubble on his face burned and scratched
Jonathan’s skin. He knew he couldn’t fight back anymore, because this was the one rare
exception when he needed to be controlled.
When Ed finally pulled him off the counter, he turned him around and said, “Pull
down your pants.” Then he yanked down his zipper and pulled out his erection. He
leaned into Jonathan and started to dry hump his leg with hard pounds. “I need you now.”
Jonathan bit the inside of his mouth and clutched the counter. No one had ever dry
humped him before. He knew Ed wanted to fuck him right there in the kitchen. “What if
someone comes in?” Jonathan whispered. He leaned back, slanted his head, and kissed
Ed’s chin.
“I don’t fucking care anymore,” Ed said. “Now pull down your pants and lean
over the counter.”
While Jonathan lowered his jeans, Ed reached for the butter on the counter behind
them. It was unsalted, whipped butter in a round container. He stuck two fingers into the
container and rubbed the soft white butter all over his dick. “Open your legs,” Ed said.
He spread the butter around the lips of Jonathan’s hole and covered it until it was slick
and ready for entry.
Ed mounted him hard. It reminded Jonathan of the first few times they’d had sex.
The heavy breathing, the racing hearts, the dripping sweat brought it all back. And there
was nothing awkward or forced about it. Ed’s thick erection penetrated Jonathan’s tight hole as if it had been sized for a custom fit. Ed bucked his hips with vicious thrusts and
rammed his cock to the bottom of Jonathan’s ass with brunt force. Jonathan arched his
back and gripped the other side of the counter for support. He held his own erection and
jerked to the rhythm of Ed’s fucking. With each loud slam and crack, he came closer to a
release.
A few minutes later, Ed slapped his ass hard and filled his hole with come.
Jonathan came at the same time and shot all over the kitchen cabinets. When it was over,
Ed kissed the back of his neck and asked, “Are you okay now?”
Jonathan knew he wasn’t talking about his physical condition. He was talking
about his emotional state. So he backed into Ed, rotated his hips around a few times, and
said, “I’m good.”
“Are we okay?” Ed asked. He was still inside and his hands were massaging
Jonathan’s ass cheeks.
“We’re good,” Jonathan said. “But you’d better pull out now so I can go upstairs
and clean up fast. The crew will be here at any minute and I feel buttery and grimy.”
Ed laughed and gave him one last pound. Then he slapped his ass again and said,
“Yeah, you’d better wash all that butter off your butt. It’s not sanitary.”
Chapter Fifteen
When Mike called Jonathan from the airport on New Year’s Eve, Jonathan, Ed,
and Noah were downtown looking at an empty storefront in the Lower Haight section of
the city. Ed had read the advertisement in the newspaper. The storefront was actually on
Haight Street, not far from Fillmore. It was the sort of neighborhood where you’d expect
to see bars and lounges instead of a low-cost veterinary clinic that focused on neutering
and spaying animals. But it was exactly the sort of place Ed had been picturing in his
mind: less commercial than Upper Haight, with a mixed variety of essentials that ranged
from an elementary school to a Zen center. He wasn’t doing this to make a profit. He
already had more money than he’d ever be able to spend in his lifetime. He wanted this to
be a community service.
It was after five o’clock in the afternoon and they were walking back to the car.
Ed was wearing the new black leather sport jacket Jonathan had given him for Christmas.
The weather was cool. It was one of those sunny and crisp San Francisco days between
winter rain storms. Jonathan’s cell phone rang and he reached into his back pocket to
answer it. Ed had just unlocked the car and was opening the back door for Noah.
Jonathan turned away from them so they couldn’t hear what he was saying. He spoke for
all of two minutes, then closed his phone and put it back in his pocket. His jeans were
tight, so he had to force the phone into his pants.
Ed smiled and asked, “Who was that?” He already knew, but he didn’t want to
look jealous. He wondered why Jonathan was wearing those tight low-rise jeans. They were the ones that made his ass round out and bubble. He could have worn the baggy tan
pants that made his ass look flat.
Jonathan shrugged his shoulders and checked to see that Noah’s door was secured.
He stared down at the handle and said, “It was Mike. He’s at the airport. You’ll have to
drop me off at the hotel so I can go get him. He said it was silly for him to rent a car
when I already have one.”
Ed opened the driver’s door and said, “We’ll just go now. I don’t mind driving
you over.” He looked into the back seat and said to Noah. “We’re going to the airport to
pick up Jonathan’s old buddy from New York, Mike.” He was smiling and his voice was
calm. But he spoke with an over-animated tone that bordered the thin line between
sarcasm and arrogance.
“I don’t want you to go out of your way, Ed,” Jonathan said, crossing to the other
side of the car. “It might be better if I just get him and bring him to the party later
tonight.”
He knew he could take advantage of the situation because Noah was listening, so
he waved his arm and said, “I can’t wait to meet this Mike. Don’t give it a second
thought.”
But the drive to the airport was quiet. The only one who spoke at all was Noah.
He was excited about Ed’s new clinic. He liked the location they’d just seen and he was
hoping his father would rent it. Ed said he had a good feeling about it, too, and said he
was going to call the landlord and put down a deposit. When Ed asked Jonathan for his
opinion, Jonathan looked him in the eye and said, “I think it’s the best thing you’ve
decided to do since you’ve moved here.” When they arrived at the airport, Mike was standing outside the terminal waiting
for them. Jonathan pointed to a tall man with blond hair near an airport limousine. He
was standing beside a set of pretentious designer luggage, with a matching bag over his
shoulder. He wore a pale blue, button-down oxford, loafers and cream-colored slacks.
Jonathan said, “That’s him over there, the guy with the blond hair and the Gucci bags.”
Ed rubbed his jaw. “You mean the one with the pink sweater over his shoulders
with the sleeves tied together?” He didn’t smile, but he was making fun of him.
Jonathan glared at him. “Yes,” he said.
“If he’s only staying one night, why does he have so much luggage?” Ed asked.
He’d counted three suitcases plus the shoulder bag. Ed had met
his
kind before: a
pretentious New York queen who came from nothing, got lucky, and pretended he was
old money for the rest of his life.
“Mike packs for everything,” Jonathan said, shrugging his shoulders.
Ed tapped the Range Rover’s horn a few times and pulled up to the curb. Jonathan
got out of the car, went to Mike, and hugged him. It was only a quick, harmless hug, but
Ed clenched his teeth and frowned. Then he got out of the car and opened the back hatch
so they could load Mike’s luggage. He forced himself to smile. He didn’t want to resort
to junior high school drama.
When Jonathan introduced Mike to Ed, Ed’s eyebrows immediately rose and his
head slanted to the right. Mike leaned forward and bent his knees as if he were about to
curtsy—it was an almost-curtsy—and said, “It’s lovely to meet you, Ed.” Then he
extended his right arm forward, palm down, as if he expected Ed to kiss his hand.
What the fuck? Ed wasn’t sure what to do, so he grabbed Mike’s limp fingers and shook them a
