Catering with Benefits (1) - 3. I Slipped Between the Cracks

Craig & Justin had been dating regularly for a month. They felt comfortable in each others’ company and Justin was feeling at home when at Craig’s. One night over pizza, beer and a DVD, Justin asked Craig how much rent he paid for his apartment and Craig explained how he came to be living there.

Craig’s apartment was in fact owned by his parents. They had purchased it as an investment, using as a deposit, the money Craig’s grandparents had given his parents when the farm was sold. They got a good price for the farm and as they had no debt on it, decided to share some of their good fortune with their children while they were still alive and could enjoy seeing them use it. The unit had always been tenanted since they purchased it. Craig had lived at home until he completed his nursing studies. His parents had always supported his lifestyle and put no conditions on him having visitors, even for overnight stays. But Craig, always being a bit shy, had always felt a bit uncomfortable having his lovers stay over at his parents’ home, even though he knew they did not mind. So when he got full-time employment at St. Vincent’s hospital, he worked out a budget to see if he could afford a place of his own. He did not want to share with a flatmate so the place needed to be cheap enough for him to afford on one salary.

While he was looking around for a flat the tenants in his parents’ investment property vacated and his mother suggested to his father that they make the apartment available for Craig. They both loved the idea as it would not only be helping their son but they would have a reliable tenant and save on agent’s management fees. But they were not going to give it to Craig free of rent and Craig did not want that either. All three negotiated a rent that suited all their needs. His parents were still getting a return on their investment and Craig felt the independence of supporting himself. Craig paid his parents just a little less than market rate for the apartment.

Craig was curious about why Justin was living with his aunts, so when asked, Justin was unwilling to tell Craig the whole story so early in their relationship. He feared losing Craig if he disapproved of his family. He just told Craig “Things were difficult at home because my father did not approve of me being gay so I moved to my aunt’s for the peace of the family. When I first moved there I was fifteen so I was given my own room and my younger cousins shared. Now that they are older and wanting some independence the house is getting a bit crowded and living arrangements can be tense. But my aunts won’t ask me to leave as they love me and I try not to be any trouble to them. But most importantly they promised Mum they would take care of me.”

“Have you ever thought of moving out?” asked Craig.

“Well I am aware of the family tensions and would like to move out, but my lack of regular employment means I can’t afford a lease on a flat and friends I’ve asked to share with are wary of taking in a flatmate without regular income. I didn’t go to uni, like you. I didn’t even do a trade course or follow up my HSC with any further study. I find it difficult to get motivated by my work and come from a family that placed no achievement expectations upon me. In some ways I think I slipped between the cracks. I know my aunts still care for me but naturally they have prioritised raising their own sons. I have not spoken to my father since I was fifteen and have only occasional contact with Mum. He thinks we have no contact and Mum has cut me out of her life like he has, so she only calls me from her work.”

Justin did not have any work now, as prior to his accident he only worked casual shifts at pubs and restaurants. He tried the places where he had worked before and although they promised to put him back on the books, he never received any call-backs. Craig promised to call his friends at the restaurant where he had previously worked when a student, to see if they could give Justin a few shifts per week to get started.

Justin knew that Craig usually did not like to have him stay over on the nights before a morning shift as he wanted to get a good night’s sleep before a 7:00am start. After the movie ended, Justin finished his beer and suggested “I had better be off now, so you can get an early night”.

But tonight Craig was feeling very relaxed and replied “You don’t have to go, you know.”

“But I thought you had a rule about school nights.”

“Oh, I usually like to have an early night before an early shift.”

“... and it’s still early.” suggested Justin

“You’re right, so if we went to bed now we wouldn’t be breaking any rules, would we?”

Craig started to clear the remains of their meal, but Justin said “Leave that, I can do it in the morning, when you leave for work and just let myself out. I don’t want you to be late getting to bed.”

“Sounds good to me.”

They both squeezed into the bathroom together, as Justin already had a toothbrush at Craig’s, as he put it, ‘Just in case’. Then they cuddled up in bed together, shared a few kisses and lay quietly to go to sleep. Justin fell into sleep first, but was awakened shortly afterwards when he felt a hand reach between his butt checks and then the familiar coldness of lube. He rolled onto his stomach to signal his acceptance. Justin felt one finger, then a second and finally a third stretching him. The feeling was warm and tight but gentle. He felt the fingers withdraw and he heard the snap of a condom being stretched..... a little delay and then he felt a slow penetration until the thighs of his lover pressed against his butt cheeks. He lay there still and soaked up the pleasure of slow full penetration. The fit was like a key in a lock. Then movement started, very slowly at first, then a little faster, in and out, enter and withdraw, yes it felt good to be full of his lover; then no, don’t leave me empty as the tip of the penis almost slipped out. Pleasure and pain, come and go, arrive and depart, put and take. All of these feelings alternating like a pulse, again and again. Invade and retreat, insert and extract, occupy and vacate, please don’t let this end, but climax was near for both. Then explosion, fireworks, bells toll, canons fire, followed by peace, stillness, satisfaction and contentment. Lay motionless and completely sated, then sleep.

The next night at home in his own bed Justin could not sleep at all. He lay there like a tortured soul. He was unable or at least unwilling to tell Craig the whole reason why he left home when he was fifteen. He did not think Craig would accept him if he knew the truth of his family. Craig came from a loving almost squeaky clean family and Justin felt he could not reveal his background from such a dysfunctional family. He felt he was already skating on thin ice by not having regular work and was lucky to have Craig allow him into his life.

Justin grew up in western Sydney, the child of a school teacher and a plumber. It was a catholic family so Justin attended the local catholic schools. He was not a good student as he was not academically inclined. However he worked hard and managed to keep up and get fair grades. Instead he was good at most sports, but particularly enjoyed gym work at school and joined a gymnastics group outside of school.

Justin had known for about two years that he was gay, but kept it hidden from family and friends, until he was found by a school prefect in the toilets, with Sam Hiscock, the school gardener/handyman. It was not the first time they had been together around the school, but they had become a bit careless about their meetings. On this occasion it was about thirty minutes after final classes for the day and all other students and most teachers had left the campus. They were unaware one of the prefects was doing final rounds and they were caught, Sam with his pants down and Justin on his knees. The prefect was a bit of a try-hard and would do anything to impress the teachers at St. Patrick’s if it furthered his promotion through the prefect hierarchy. They both pleaded with the prefect not to say anything. But the more they pleaded the more determined he was to report his find. It would get him brownie points with the principal and he hated gays anyway. It was odds on that Sam would lose his job and Justin would at least be outed, if not expelled.

The next day Sam did not turn up for work, but Justin went to school, hoping their pleading might have worked. By lunch time he had heard nothing from either the prefect or the principal, so he thought they had gotten away with it. He even thought about what he might do to thank the prefect, but ruled out a blow job. Mid-afternoon he was hauled out of class and off to the principal’s office where his father, Brendan Haynes, was waiting with Brother Francis, the principal. Both were furious and threatened all sorts of punishment. Sam had left Justin to face the music on his own. The principal wanted to expel him from the school, but Haynes intervened and the principal relented. As furious as his father was with him he still believed his son needed a good education and expected that the school would now keep Justin on a short leash and that would be the end of this sort of activity. The event was to be kept from his mother and it was agreed by all that no more would be said about it. When Haynes asked Brother Francis what would happen to Hiscock, he said him his employment would be terminated immediately but for the sake of the school’s reputation there would be no police report. Further, he assumed Haynes did not want his son to be put through a police interrogation and possible court proceedings. Haynes agreed but indicated that if he ever saw the man again he would take care of the matter himself. Brother Francis made no further comment.

A story was fabricated about why Justin’s father was summoned to the school in the middle of the day. His mother was told they needed a plumber urgently and Justin had volunteered his father. Justin went along with this as he loved and respected his mother a lot and did not want her to be hurt or disappointed in him. As for his father Justin did not care too much for him, but if it kept him out of trouble with the school he would go along with it.

But Justin knew he was gay and that it would not change, so he just had to be more careful about what he did and where he did it. He would continue to seek out men with the same leanings as his but decided that the school grounds was not the place to do it and now he had some experience with an older man showing him the way, he would seek out younger sex partners where he would not always be the bottom.