Knots 3

Chapter 28

Matt

We had sex with the four menu items and about eight other guys over the next six weeks. Sometimes we worked in the middle of the week and a few evenings. A couple of times Derrick drove us to Rockbury, the same town where Dillon and Andy used to go, but we stayed at a fancy hotel for the evening instead of the Oxford Suites. Derrick was always there until one time when we showed up at his apartment and found a note on the door saying he’d be late, the guys inside had paid extra, and he didn’t think they were the type to cause trouble. When we got into the room, we saw why.

There were only two guys, but they were both overweight with chubby faces. Their names were Coby and George. Coby had zits all over his face, wore jogging shorts with his belly hanging over the front, and flip flops which exposed some pretty ugly toes. I remember thinking there wasn’t any way I was sucking on those things. George had a scruffy beard, big ears, and yellow teeth. We figured we were really going to be earning our money on this one. Andy and I tried to be professional; we said hello, and then proceeded to have sex as if they were really hot. It was awful, but these guys were generous and gave us each a $100 tip. Kissing some guy with a beard and/or zits on his face was bad enough, but hell, Coby had zits on his ass too. It took everything for me not to yell, “Fuck, I’m going to vomit, I gotta get out of here.” Andy and I hung in there. These guys were very nice to us and I suppose we shouldn’t have been so negative, but they sure made us realize that we’d been spoiled, because most of the guys we fucked were pretty hot. But hell, didn’t these guys deserve sex as much as the next guy?

Of course they wanted to come back again, and it was then I began to wonder if I really wanted to do this anymore. It was the first time I fully realized that this was work and not just fun and games. We had sex with them two more times and we told Derrick he didn’t have to be there since they were such nice guys. They tipped us both times and Derrick had them pay $600 each which meant Andy and I earned $1800 each off these guys, plus another $300 in tips.

By the end of the first week in August Andy and I had earned around $9200 each because we’d been working twice a week and occasionally three times during the week. I hid my money in the garage under the storage cabinets where I knew no one would go. A couple of times I was almost caught putting it there and sneaking in to count it. My parents and I got in a few arguments because they thought I was out a lot and kept asking what Andy and I were doing that was keeping us so busy. We told them we went out to the pond, to see a movie, jogging, practicing football at the park, and any other thing we thought would sound normal. The nights were harder to explain, but we were sixteen and could drive so we told them we were going to the amusement park at the beach in Rockbury and thought we’d stay over. Things were so much different once we were sixteen. It wasn’t that we were adults, but our parents didn’t want to treat us like kids either and after everything that happened with Dillon and the trial, my parents were more lenient than normal.

On August 9, Derrick asked us if we’d be willing to be male escorts and go out on dates one-on-one over in Rockbury where we were less likely to be known. I remember August 9 because that was the day I retired. Things had gotten out of hand and I was having trouble sleeping at night. The old dream of me carrying the large sack of knots up a steep hill came back again, except the sack was bigger and heavier, and I couldn’t make it to the top of the hill anymore. Football was getting ready to start, and to be honest, I didn’t like myself very much.

Andy and I had been so busy fucking guys for money that we hardly spent any time with Gina, Emily, Alan, or Ernie. They’d call or want to do something and we always told them we had other things to do. In fact, Andy and I spent very little time doing things we loved. The only thing that brought a smile to my face was when I thought of the money sitting under the storage cabinet in the garage. But what good was that to me anyway? I couldn’t spend it or let anyone know I had a lot of money. The sex had turned into work and I knew there wasn’t any way I was going out on my own with someone I didn’t know.

Andy, on the other hand, loved the excitement of the idea, and agreed to do it.

I warned him. “Andy, it’s dangerous. You don’t know who you’re going to get. You could get hurt.”

“Damn, Matt. As always, you worry too much. Nothin’s going to happen.”

“You don’t know that. Are you really willing to take that chance?”

He shrugged. “Derrick’ll take care of me. He’s not going to get someone who will treat me badly. After all, these guys have money.” He ran the tips of his fingers from the top of his head to his thighs. “And if they want all of this more than once, then they’ll pay and keep paying because they aren’t going to hurt their hot teenage fuck.”

“What if you get some homophobe or religious fanatic?”

“That’s not going to happen.”

I hated to say what came next, but I felt I had to. “Don’t forget, I warned you about Dillon and you didn’t listen. I never once said, I told you so. But I hate the idea that something bad could happen, and while I might not tell you I told you so, you’d know that’s what I’d be thinking.”

“Like I said, Matt. You worry too much. Everything’ll be fine. You’ll see. And while your stash stays the same, mine’ll be getting bigger.” He smiled and patted me on the back. “And I’m not sharing any of it with you.”

I put my arm around his neck and pulled him to me. “It’s your life. I’ll love you no matter what, but I’ll be pissed if someone hurts you.”

He gave me a quick kiss on the lips. “I understand. I’d be pissed too.”

*****

Derrick was pissed when I told him I wanted out until I told him I had another guy for him. His ears perked up and I made arrangements for him to meet Randy. He liked what he saw and much to my surprise let me go. I was knowledgeable enough by then to know that getting out usually isn’t this easy, but to Derrick’s credit, he had always treated us with respect and paid us what he owed us. Randy was aching to make money and he was a natural whore anyway, so he was perfect for the job. Writing that now makes me feel sad because I really hadn’t been any different. Fortunately, I hadn’t completely forgotten what I wanted to do with my life and the knowledge that football was about ready to start and the fact that I had a chance to be starting quarterback helped a lot. That’s something that money can’t buy.

Andy

That damn Matt pulled out on me and I had to work with Randy. Matt said it was because he didn’t want to be going out alone with some guy he didn’t know, but it had seemed to be building for some time. First we had the fat guys with zits and then we had some skinny guys whose bones you could feel when you hugged them or the bones protruded out of their hips and you could see the ribs poking out from their skin (and I preferred skinny guys over fat guys any day). Well, at least that’s what Matt saw and felt, but what I saw and felt was money.

To be honest, after everything that had happened with Dillon, I had a lot of anger inside and I really didn’t give a shit. Sure I’d organized the GSA Club, but even that was a way of showing Dillon I could do something good, and that I didn’t need him. I’m not sure why I cared because the chance of his finding out about any of this was unlikely. And now I was bringing in the big bucks and I wasn’t seducing young boys, but fucking older guys who were using me with my consent, and I was getting paid for it. Never again was I going to let someone like Dillon make me fall in love with him and then squeeze every drop of love out of it.

Randy and I had a lot in common when it came to anger, and in a way, making these guys pay good money for sex with a fifteen- and –sixteen-year-old was a way of expressing that anger. At the time, I thought the money was the real motivator, but as I’ve reflected about it over the years, I realized it was the anger than fueled my desire. Like Matt said, what could we do with the money? We couldn’t go out and buy a car, or expensive clothes, or jewelry.

Football was getting ready to start and there wasn’t any way I was going to let my whoring around keep me from playing football, so at least I had that going for me. But on August 9 I decided to be a male escort and also team up with Randy for group sessions. I didn’t want to admit it but I always knew there was a chance some guy could do terrible things to Randy or me when we were out on a date alone.

Randy and I were each getting $1000 per date and we only had to service one guy at a time. They took us to nice places, and since most of them were old enough to be our fathers, they acted like they were out on the town with their sons. They registered us in the hotels as father and son. I did see a few raised eyebrows now and then, but there was nothing they could prove. The money started rolling in and once football started I figured I’d work Saturdays except when we had a game.

Matt

Preconditioning for football began on August 21 and Andy didn’t show up the first two days of practice. I stopped by his house and his parents told me he’d gone to Rockbury with a friend. At first they thought the friend was me. When they realized it wasn’t and football had started, he and his parents got in a big fight because they wanted to know why he wasn’t going to football practice. Andy told them he was getting together with Randy and had some business to take care of. That really pissed them off and they told him he couldn’t go and couldn’t use their car. He said, “Fine. I already have a ride.” They hadn’t seen him since.

I hated to think about it because I had a pretty good idea about what had happened and I felt helpless to do anything about it. What was I going to say, “Andy’s been out whoring and maybe he’s been killed or beaten up so badly he’s lying in some alley somewhere.”

Coach Mills, the varsity football coach, retired over the summer and Coach Gilbert took his place. I thought about talking to him because he was an okay guy, but again, I couldn’t break Andy’s cover. Hell, I’d be breaking my own cover. Knots. Those damn knots.

Andy’s parents called the police and they put an APB out on him because he’d been missing for three days. The police found him dumped in a field just outside of Rockbury. I found out later that he was beaten so badly they could hardly recognize him from all the bruises and blood on his face. His right arm, his left leg, and two ribs were broken. His penis and balls were intact but had a note tied to them. “God hates fags.”

A week passed before I was able to see Andy in the hospital. The door to his private room was closed, so I pushed it open a bit and stuck my head in to see if he was awake. His arm and leg were in a cast. His leg was held up by some odd looking contraption. He saw me but had difficulty smiling as I walked to his bedside and grabbed his hand. “Damn, Andy. I should have been there for you.”

He opened his mouth to talk and I saw two of his teeth were missing. He mumbled, “It’s not your fault. It’s mine.”

I squeezed his hand. “We should have continued what we were doing. If we’d done that and stuck to the rules, you and I would have been together and safe.”

He tried to catch his breath. “No Matt…You did the right thing. You got out. I should have, but I didn’t. I didn’t listen to you. I guess I got what I deserved.”

“No one deserves this. No one. Like I said when we were just kids: God loves us unconditionally. He even loves fags and whores like us.”

Andy pointed his head at his crotch. “Not according to the note on my dick.” He tried to smile.

I leaned over and kissed Andy on the forehead. Andy’s face was so battered, bruised, and covered with scabs, that it made me think of the times I had kissed Coby, the fat guy with all the zits on his face. Sometimes you just can’t keep the images from your past and the things you have done out of your mind, even when your best friend is lying in a hospital bed half-dead.

“At least you’re going to be all right. It looks like you might miss another season of football though.”

Andy exhaled and then took in a deep breath. “Afraid so. The first broken leg wasn’t my fault, but this one is. I was laying here thinking of the time we were mowing lawns and the trailer hitch on my bike broke and I had tied the trailer with the lawnmower on it with a bunch of knots. Remember?”

“Yeah. You got a knife and cut them all off because you didn’t want to be bothered trying to untie them.”

“Yep. That’s it. I didn’t want to take the time.” Andy sighed and shifted in bed, trying to get comfortable. “God I’m in pain. The pain killers only help a little.”

“Don’t talk. I’m going to stick around for a while.”

He dropped his head back on the pillow again. “I feel like a man on his deathbed and I need to say what’s on my mind before I die.”

I patted the cast on his right arm. “You’re not going to die, so you don’t need to make a deathbed confession.”

He attempted to smile and all I noticed were the two teeth he was missing. “Hell, Matt. I have nothing to confess to you. You know everything about me.”

“You’re right there, Andy. We really are best friends aren’t we? We’ve shared everything, told each other everything, and never lied to each other. I love you, Andy.”

Tears began to roll down his cheeks as he mumbled, “I love you too, Matt. But what a strange love it is that we have.”

This is the end of Knots 3 - - Knots 4 will begin next week.

_______________________________________________________

Chapter Quotes

Friendship gives us the strength to turn from lambs into lions. ― Stephen Richards

The best gift we can give other people is our whole selves in truth. By doing so we give them a true and accurate mirror that allows them to see themselves. We also give ourselves the best opportunity to grow. ― A.C. Ping, Be

...while finding true love was one of the most splendid things that could happen to you in life, finding a friend was equally splendid. ― Félix J. Palma, The Map of the Sky

________________________________________________________

If you like this story, please write a review, click like, and follow me. Contact me at eliassctt@gmail.com I answer all emails.

I’d like to thank Lisa for taking the time to edit Knots 1, 2, & 3. As the author, I take final responsibility for all parts of the story, including any errors.

This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, events or locales, is purely coincidental and no slanderous intent is implied.