Young and Hungry - For Life - 22. Francesco

Wanda called Alex to tell him her father was ok with James coming to see the animals provided he was prepared to attend a safety lecture and someone remained with him all the time.

“Wow! my very own private viewing of the circus animals. You’re not such a bad brother after all”

“Oh, was that a compliment? Anyway there are rules and Wanda’s dad is not the type to be disobeyed, understand?”

“Sure, I’ll be an absolute saint”

“Yeah, well we’re going on Sunday, that’s the performers’ day off as well as mine, so be ready early”

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James was up bright and early on Sunday, even helping his mother prepare breakfast so they would not be delayed.

They set off west, arriving about 10.00am. Alex introduced James to Wanda and she inturn introduced James to her father.

“So you’re the towner’s brother and interested in animals?”

“Yes Sir, I’m so keen to see how you take care of the animals”

“Very well, come with me and I’ll give you a safety talk, in the animal care tent, then Wanda will have to look after you”

“What should I call you, Mr Ringmaster?”

“That’s my occupation not my name. Just call me Jack”

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After the safety demonstration, Jack asked James “Do you have any questions?”

“No Jack, I think you have been very comprehensive”

“Very well then, you wait here while I get Wanda. No wandering off now”

“Of course, I’ll be right here”

While waiting for Wanda and Alex, James walked around the tent looking at the whips, harnesses and other equipment used for the animals. He started to think about the use of the whips. He remembered that during the performance, the whips were only used to create noise and that was enough to make the animals perform. But he thought the sound of the whips must be a trigger in the animals’ mind of something to fear and that was probably that they had felt the pain of being whipped sometime during training.

As we walked behind a pile of hay bales he came across a young man in a strange position. They were both startled and James said “Sorry, I didn’t know anyone was here. Are you injured?”

“Me, no why?”

“You seem to be bent over as if in pain”

“I’m just stretching, it’s part of my daily routine”

“Oh, are you Bendy Boy, I saw last week?”

“Yes, that‘s me. They still insist on calling me that, even though I’m almost eighteen.”

“What is your name?”

“I’m very glad you asked, the circus management don’t seem to recognise that. I’m Francesco” he replied as he reached a hand between his legs to shake hands with James.

“Pleased to meet you Francesco” replied James as he reached down.

“Are you going to stay in that position?”

“For about twenty minutes”

“Why so long?”

“I need to continually stretch my muscles to maintain my flexibility”

When James heard Alex call, he said “I’ve got to go now, I have to be supervised by Wanda while I’m here”

“Her, good luck with that. Will you come back?”

“Um...I’m not sure...because I’m not a circus person I need someone with me all the time. Boss’s orders”

“How about me?”

“If that’s ok with the boss, that would be great”

Francesco slowly straightened up, looked James straight in the eye and said “Let me handle her, ok?”

The two young men came out from behind the hay bales and Alex said “Oh there you are, I thought you wandered off”

“I was told to wait here, so here I am with my new friend”

Francesco put the suggestion to Wanda and she was only too pleased not to have to chaperone James, so she and Alex could do their own thing.

James picked up a tension between Wanda and Francesco, so when they were left alone he asked “Do you two not get on?”

“Oh on a professional basis we’re fine but she can be a bit up herself and very demanding”

“She seems ok to me and Alex really likes her”

“He’s welcome to her. Hope he can satisfy her needs”

“Did you two have a relationship?”

“Sort of, but she’s hard to impress. I was here in this tent, I usually do my training in here, when she came in all sultry like, really begging for it. You know I tried to do the gentlemanly thing and please her with foreplay, like she’d never had before but she rejected me.”

“Tell me more...pleeease”

“Well, I did my signature backbend, put my head through my legs so I was looking forward and walked towards her and licked out her juices.”

“That must have impressed her?”

“Not really, she said she wanted me in her. Fine I thought, I can oblige. So I bent over backwards and walked around the tent on all fours until I was stiff, then asked her to lower herself onto my impressive erection.”

“Surely that impressed her?”

“She said no, she expected me to be the man and take her. No problem I told her, so next time we met in here I was ready”

“So did you just do the regular position?”

“No, that’s not my style. The next time we were together, I folded myself into ball and rolled around the tent. Each time I rolled over my dick it got a bit stiffer. When I was ready, I rolled towards her, adjusted my position slightly, rolled forward and inserted myself into her. Then rolled back and forth in and out of her until I came.”

“I just can’t even imagine that, must have been amazing”

“No it wasn’t for her apparently. She told me it was not making love, it was just a party trick”

“Wow! I would have been impressed”

“Thank you James”

“Can I ask you something personal?”

“Sure”

“With all your flexibility, can you suck yourself?”

“Of course, want me to show you?”

“Here?”

“Why not, there is very little privacy in a circus. We all live so closely together”

“I’d like to see you, but what I really want is to learn how to do it. Can you teach me?”

“Well, there’s no trick, it’s a matter of flexibility and stretching the right muscles. Tell you what. I’ll teach you some yoga positions today, you practice them at home and we’ll see how you go next time we meet”

“You mean I can come again?”

“Yes, come as my guest. I like you James. You seem interested in what I do and don’t treat me as just an act or freak”

“Thank you Francesco, I really like you too and am certainly interested in you, not just what you do”.

James spent the rest of the morning learning some yoga exercises and was then invited to lunch in the circus food tent. All the other people there seemed like normal people to James, but he knew they weren’t. Most were performers with exceptional talents.

The two boys sat alone away from the communal tables as this was how Francesco normally ate his meal. But, James did notice others eyeing them and asked “Should I not be here? Your friends are staring at me”

“That’s just because you’re a towner, and circus people are suspicious of outsiders. They like to think they are one big family, but really they are just insular. I don’t mix with them much as I have no wish to be involved in their petty quarrels and competitive behaviour”

“What do they do?”

“Because they know I’ve been in the circus all my life, they think I have advantages and that Jack has a bias towards me. But nothing could be further from the truth. The truth is, I get top billing, because I am the best and that makes them jealous. Also they don’t often see me with a guest so in this case, you are the novelty. I hope it doesn’t make you uncomfortable”

“I don’t think so. Well not as long as you are with me”

“Good, just be yourself and don’t worry about their stares. They’re the freaks, because they can’t accept that I have a friend”

“Why do they think it’s strange that you have a friend?”

“Because you are the first in years”

“Why?”

“I guess I just don’t make friends easily and as soon as I do, we leave town and I never hear from anyone again”

“So why me?”

“I don’t know, well I can’t put it into words. I feel comfortable with you James and you don’t treat me...well you just seem natural with me. You don’t want anything from me. Well, except to teach you how to suck yourself”

James laughed loudly and that again attracted the attention of the rest of the diners.

“I wonder what they’d think if they knew that” asked James.

“Probably be jealous”

“Why jealous?”

“Half the men out there have asked me to show them, they’re desperate to do it, but I refuse to help them”

“Why”

“I don’t really like them and it’s nice to imagine them trying and failing miserably”

“But you are helping me”

“I like you James and I think you might be a friend for a while. At least this year we have three months in the same place, so our friendship could last that long”

“I hope it lasts longer than that Francesco”

“Do you really?”

“Of course”

“Then I believe you James”

As Francesco put his hand on James’ he added “Please don’t disappoint me”

James did not reply as he was choking up, but Francesco took his reaction differently and assumed James did not want to make a commitment to a continuing friendship. This feeling was further confirmed when James changed the direction of the conversation.

“Tell me what some of these people do in the circus”

“Um...what...oh, of course. Well the young couple at the top of the table are our current trapeze act and the heavily built guy over there is their catcher”

“Catcher?”

“Yes, the catcher is the one who remains on the bar while the flyers swing from the platform and he catches them. The catcher needs to be strong in the arms shoulders and legs, as well as being able to remain upside down for the entire performance”

***

Alex thought he would do more than just lunch and a walk in the park, so on this date he asked Wanda if she would like to see a movie after lunch.

“That would be great, do you know what’s showing?”

“I’ll check on my phone”

They agreed on a movie that started at a suitable time that would allow them to have lunch before. During lunch Alex said “I so much like being with you Wanda”

“Me too and it’s good to meet someone outside the circus”

“Do you mostly have dates with circus guys?”

“Not often but Francesco is my age and we had a few dates, if you could call it that.”

“What do you mean, was he that dull?”

“Not dull, just so into himself. He is a contortionist, has been learning since he was a baby and always lived in circuses. I have to admit he is the best contortionist I’ve ever seen and dad says he will be the best in the world one day.”

“So why didn’t it work out between you two?”

“Because he was always the contortionist, continually stretching, practicing and trying new positions. You hardly ever see him upright, he is always folded into some strange position or stretching one muscle or another.”

“I guess it’s not an easy job and he needs lots of practice.”

“Yes, up to a point, but this guy couldn’t stop even on a so called date. His idea of a date was to stay on the lot and show me his latest position he worked out.”

“But he must have some interesting lovemaking positions”

“Oh yes he did. The first time we were intimate he asked me if I’d like him to do oral on me. I was thrilled and thought, what a gentleman he was, wanting to please me first and not just thinking with his dick”

“So was he good?”

“If you like being licked by a deformed animal”

“What?”

“We were in the animal feed tent, his favourite love nest he called it. He told me to lie down on the hay and then he stood over me, leaned backwards and folded himself around until his head was between his legs. Then he stepped a little closer and started licking me in that position.”

“Wow!”

Wanda gave Alex a disapproving look and he replied to it with “Sorry, so you didn’t like it?”

“No, it was not lovemaking, just him showing off.”

“So that was the end of it?”

“No, I gave him another chance a week later”

“And then he did the missionary?”

“Not exactly, but I don’t want to talk about it now”

“Of course, I shouldn’t have asked, I’m sorry about that. When we are ready to make love, I can assure you it won’t be like that.”

***

After lunch James asked “Can we go for a walk?”

“But you’ve seen all there is to see of the circus”

“Not here, let’s walk somewhere else”

“You mean off the lot?”

“Of course, is that a problem?”

“I don’t usually leave the lot. I’m always exercising or practicing new positions”

“You mean you never have a day out or go shopping or to the movies?”

“No, everything is provided for me here”

“No wonder you don’t have any friends. If you never leave here, how can you meet people?”

“I met you, that’s good isn’t it?”

“Of course and I like that you think so, but if we’re going to be friends we need to share experiences, like going out”

“If you think it’s ok, then maybe we could walk around the outside of the lot”

“I was thinking of going a bit further than that. My brother takes his girl to the park. I hear it’s quite beautiful, down by the river”

“There’s a river here?”

“Yes, let’s go see it”

“Do you think it’s safe?”

“Of course, I might not wander around a strange area at night, but it’s the middle of the day”

“Ok, I trust you”

“Good, but it might be wise to change your clothes before we go”

“What’s wrong with these clothes?”

“Tights, bare chest, as beautiful as it is, and what look like ballet shoes, might not be the usual streetwear around Parramatta”

“I don’t have much else”

“You must have some jeans and a T shirt”

“I have a pair of pants I wear if I need to go to a doctor and I think I have a circus souvenir T shirt that they couldn’t sell because it has a slight tear”

“Sounds good enough. Where’s your van?”

<>

When they reached the van, Francesco said “You can sit there while I look for the clothes.”

“Thanks. So this is where you live?”

“Yes, all my life, I try to keep it clean and tidy, but Jack says I really need to get a new one as this is becoming too old and may soon not be roadworthy.”

Francesco stood on the bench seat, next to James, so he could reach the overhead locker.

“I’m sure the shirt should be here somewhere”

“Yes...that’s good” said a distracted James. “Um...can I ask?”

“What?” said Francesco as he jumped off the seat and stood directly in front of James.

“Um...you don’t seem to be wearing a protector. Isn’t that normal with tights?”

“Oh that, I do for a performance. I wear a light protector, not for protection as such, but just to smooth things out down there”

“Things aren’t too smooth at present”

“You noticed!”

“I could hardly miss it, just a few centimetres from my face”

“Do you like what you see?”

“I really do like what I see, Bendy Boy”

“James, please don’t call me that”

“But isn’t that your professional name?”

“Yes, I’ve been known as that since I was seven years old, but nobody’s noticed that I’ve grown into a man”

“I can see you’ve certainly grown into a man”

Francesco lowered himself to a kneel and said “You have quite a manly bulge yourself”

Francesco didn’t get off the lot that day.

*****