Don't Blame The Band - 2. The Review and Sexual Progress

Tuesday June 21

Monday's practice went well. We were all a little anxious about Keith's review. Rich, our resident pessimist wondered if he was just buttering us up to get our permission to write the review, not that he really needed it, and was going to skewer us in print. Keith did say our crowd size would change, not specifically grow. So that hid any anxiousness between Ant and me.

I picked up Cathy at 4:00 so we could head to Garson's, get a couple copies of the paper, then go somewhere to grab something to eat. Turns out we didn't need to go anywhere else. We walked into the restaurant and were immediately met by Paul.

"Pete, Cathy. I bet you're here to check out the review."

"Oh, that was today?"

"Yeah, like you had no clue Pete. Anyway, Keith dropped off like 50 copies so the customers can see it too. We're gonna be packed this weekend."

"I guess it was good?"

"No Cathy, it was freaking excellent. I hung a copy of the article up already. But here, take a couple copies for yourself. Were you planning on eating? Whatever you want. On the house."

"Holy shit, it must have been good."

"Take a table, read it and we'll take your orders. The usuals for drinks?"

"Yeah." "Sure."

"Pam, a Mountain Dew and a Sprite for Pete and Cathy please."

"Sure thing boss."

We sit down and find the article. Not bad, page 2, before anybody can get bored with the paper:

"This Week in the Jersey Shore Music Scene."

By Keith Sawyer

It isn't often at small clubs and restaurants that I've been very impressed by the so called 'house band.' This past weekend was one of those rare occasions. A friend told me about the band that played Friday and Saturday nights at Garson's Hideout (1525 Ocean Blvd, Atlantic Highlands). He said the band was really good, although the lead singer was just average. So I wasn't expecting much walking in.

At the start of Friday's performance, Eddie Nash, who along with his twin brother David initially formed "The Swarm" made an announcement that they had a new lead singer. So it wasn't going to be the just OK one. But was that a good thing?

It took less than 60 seconds of the first song, 'Whiskey Man' by Molly Hatchet, to determine this was a very good thing. New lead singer Pete Daggett really impressed me. The crowd was into it immediately. Pete is not only a great singer, but a great performer as well. He did everything you'd expect a front man that pretty much only sang. Although he did play the harmonica on Saturday for Billy Joel's 'Piano Man.' He had the crowd eating out of his hands. During a long musical piece in the Outlaws' (Ghost) Riders in the Sky, he left the stage and went in amongst the crowd, talking with people and making sure they were having a good time.

But it all wasn't about Pete. The musicianship of the rest of the band is top-notch. Co-leader Eddie Nash on keyboards reminded me of Ray Manzarek of the Doors. The other co-leader, Eddie's brother David on drums, could easily slide into place in any of today's top professional groups. Think Ginger Baker. Lead guitarist Rich Larkin could get away with changing his name to Richie and nobody would bat an eye. (He reminded me of Sambora). Bassist Anthony Rossi must have Geddy Lee as one of his heroes. And last but not least, rhythm guitarist Gabriel Romano, who I understand found new lead singer Pete Daggett, would make any band happy he was their lead guitarist. Just like Angus Young would.

And their range was amazing. From ballads like the Eagles' 'The Last Resort' or Kansas' 'Dust in the Wind' to southern rock standards like the Allman Brothers, 'Ramblin' Man' to heavy metal kings Black Sabbath's 'Paranoid' and 'Heaven and Hell.' They performed them all flawlessly.

But in my opinion, the highlight of both shows was their closing song both nights, Lynyrd Skynyrd's 'Free Bird.' If you closed your eyes, you wouldn't know it wasn't Ronnie Van Zant and the rest of Skynyrd up on stage.

I highly recommend taking a trip to Atlantic Highlands at 8 PM on a Friday night if you prefer southern rock, or Saturday night for more pure rock and roll and give a listen. I promise you this, you won't be disappointed. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Cathy and I just looked at each other after we finished reading that.

"Holy shit Cathy. We need to eat quick, grab another 5 copies and get them to the guys. In case they haven't seen it yet. If as many people read this paper as Keith made it out to be, it'll be standing room only this weekend."

"You ain't kidding. And he really wasn't exaggerating. You guys really are that good."

We ordered a couple sandwiches so we could get out of there quicker and head back to Middletown. Cathy gave Gabe a heads up call. I told her to not sound excited. Gabe said he'll get the rest over to his house by the time we get back.

"OK Cath, we need to make like Keith screwed us in the review before we let them see it."

"That's cruel. But I love it."

We finish up and head to Gabe's house. The guys were all waiting out front. We get out of my car, looking dejected.

"Oh no. I knew it. He fucked us over."

"Sure looks that way Rich. Shit."

"Hey guys. Here it is, read it and weep."

"That bad Pete?"

"We'll burn them after you all read it."

I had to use every ounce of control I had to not bust out laughing. Cathy just looked down at the ground. We handed out the papers.

"Page 2."

It took about 20 seconds for them all to get far enough in before...

Eddie: "Oh, you guys suck."

Rich: "Fuck. Just wait 'till we can get you back for this one."

Finally Cathy and I were finally able to let loose the laughter we were holding in.

"Oh, man. You should have seen yourselves. You would have fit perfectly at a funeral."

Gabe: "Dead Meat Daggett, that's your new name. And you, my cousin. Who knew you could be that cruel?"

Fortunately they all took the joke in stride, especially after finishing the article.

"We have to get Paul to add a cover charge and give us a raise. The place is gonna be fuckin' packed this weekend."

"Great idea David. I'll call him now."

Gabe goes inside for a minute. He comes back out quickly.

"Son of a bitch already put up signs. $5 cover charge Friday and Saturday after 7:30."

"Between that and the extra drinks he'll be selling, we gotta hold out for like $50 more a night each."

"Let's see what happens Friday. We may be the only people reading this."

Pessimist Rich was soon to find out how wrong he was.

The rest of the week went along as usual, Wednesday and Thursday were typical rehearsal days. There's a little tension between Ant and me, but if anybody notices it, no one says anything. Then Friday happens.

Friday June 24

Cathy, RB, and I pull up to Garson's a little after 7:30. RB is with us again because their parents had an out of town wedding to go to and wouldn't be home until tomorrow. Plus they're enjoying the freedom they get with RB tagging along with us. The parking lot is packed. Fortunately, up close to the building there is an empty spot with a sign 'Reserved for Pete Daggett.' It's right next to David's and Rich's vans and Anthony and Gabe's cars. I'm guessing they had signs too.

"Feel like royalty Pete?"

"Yeah, a little Cath. I guess a few people read the review."

"Yeah. A few, uh huh."

"You're famous now Pete."

"Yeah, I guess so bud."

We get into the building and have to make our way through a sea of humanity. Cathy has a table in front of the stage reserved for her and a friend she was meeting here.

"Your throne, my queen."

"Ha ha. Paul pulled out all the stops."

The tables are crowded closer together than usual. He must have bought more expecting a bigger crowd. Good move on his part. By a few minutes to 8, every table is full and they're standing two and three deep around the perimeter and bar.

"I'm sorry to say Rich, you were pretty fucking wrong about just us reading the review."

"And I'm fuckin' glad I was Pete. I hope you can interact with all these folks. Good luck walking out into this crowd."

"I'm glad I'm pretty thin. I might need to lose weight for tomorrow."

"OK, well it's 8. Let's get out there. Like we talked about yesterday, no more first introduction. You start us off Pete."

Oh, I have to mention, we all agreed earlier to dress similarly. Eddie got us really nice t-shirts with 'The Swarm' in a really cool font across the front and back. Black jeans and high top sneakers. We walk out of the store room looking and feeling pretty professional.

"Wow... This is really something. Welcome to Garson's Hideout everybody. (Cheers) I guess it's not much of a hideout anymore. We have to take this all in for a minute or so. We want to thank Keith Sawyer for his tremendous review. I'm guessing that's the reason a lot of you are here. Are you here Keith?"

I look around and he's waving from the first seat at the bar. I give him a thumbs up and nod at Rich, who starts out with 'Whiskey Man.'

We mix the songs up a little from week to week, changing the order, swapping a couple out, to keep the show fresh. The differences don't matter. We're nailing every note and the crowd is loud. I do spend a little time off stage, but like Rich said, it was a challenge.

We play the final notes to 'Free Bird' and the crowd is louder than ever. Whooping and hollering, whistling and cheering. I try to make myself heard over all the noise.

"Thank you all for coming tonight. You've been a great crowd. Good night!"

We head off the stage, I motion Cathy to bring RB and her friend into the store room. We're all high fiving, hugging, and congratulating each other. The crowd is still cheering, stomping their feet so we go back out and give them another wave and thank you.

"Looks like we'll have to start planning for an encore."

We all agree with David and head back into the store room. We wait a few minutes for it to calm down and maybe thin out a bit before we start getting everything off the stage. RB is beside himself being able to hang with us and even help clear everything away. He's definitely coming out of his shell.

After we get everything stored, Paul makes an appearance.

"Congratulations guys. You're going to make me rich if these crowds keep up. I won't know how good it is until later, but I feel comfortable giving you a little more. They all wouldn't have been here if not for you. Shit, I almost feel like paying Keith too. Almost ha ha."

He hands us each a stack of $20's.

"$120? Wow, thanks Paul, that's quite a raise."

"You guys deserve it Eddie. Only a few of the regulars even complained about the cover charge. I have to share it with you guys or you'll find somewhere bigger to play. Like Asbury Park Convention Center. Believe me, there's still plenty lining my and the rest of the employees' pockets."

"I don't think we're ready for the Convention Center, but thanks nonetheless."

"You're welcome guys. Don't sell yourselves short. Just don't forget us little guys when you get big. I got to get back out there and help out. Feel free to use the side door there to avoid the mob, just lock it for me when you leave."

We agree. Paul has one of the waitresses come back to see if we want anything. We all need drinks because the extra bodies made the place pretty warm. We all leave after a few minutes. Cathy, RB, and I head back to their house. RB is unusually ebullient, talking about the show and getting to help out all the way home. He gets himself ready for bed and comes back out to say goodnight. Cathy and I finally get a moment of quiet.

"Dad said you could stay a while after the show. He gave you a 1 AM deadline. I'm thinking we give RB a little while to fall asleep then maybe make out again, but in my room this time?"

"Um, I thought we were going to wait to, you know..."

"We are. You do such a wonderful job with your fingers I want to see what you can do with your mouth. Plus I want to try giving you oral sex too."

"OK, but I haven't done that before, I can't make any promises."

"Me neither. We'll learn together."

We make out on the couch for a little while, then Cathy goes to look in on RB.

"He's asleep, come on."

I follow her to her bedroom, nervous as a kitten at a Rottweiler show. Once we get there, she starts taking off her clothes.

"Leave your pants on, but you can take off your shirt. I don't want us to be tempted to do more if we're both naked."

"Sounds like a good plan."

I strip off my shirt and continue to watch her undress. She gets down to just her panties and lays down on her bed.

"You take these off."

I kneel down next to her bed and start by kissing her breasts. After I tease her nipples a little with my tongue, I start kissing down her stomach. I'm also starting to pull down her panties. She lifts her hips to allow them to be removed. I pull them all the way off and she separates her legs. I'm getting my first ever look at a live pussy. I continue kissing her breasts. She's moaning quietly, I hope quietly enough not to wake RB, but I tell her to be quieter. I start fingering her pussy, focusing on her clit. After a minute or so I get between her legs and start kissing and licking her pussy. I lick up and down, each time I reach the top, I tease her clit some more. Suddenly she grabs my head and pulls me in tight against her sex. She's bucking and shaking through what I have to believe is an intense orgasm.

She has me stop and lie next to her. We kiss some more. She gets up and puts her jeans back on and starts taking off mine. Once my jeans and boxer briefs are off, she lies down next to me on the bed. I feel her fingers around my cock. She's working my shaft, running her hand up and down my dick. After a minute she changes position and starts licking my shaft and then takes a dick into her mouth for the first time. Novice or not, even though I've never gotten a blowjob before, she's doing wonderfully. After a couple more minutes I warn her quietly that I'm about to cum. She gives a little nod, indicating it's OK to cum in her mouth. That's enough for it to finally become too much and my balls let loose with about 5, 6 or 7 spurts over her hand and my stomach. Who counts at a time like that? She gets back on the bed and kisses me. She hadn't swallowed my cum yet so she's sharing it with me. If I didn't just cum, I'd be hard again, it's so hot. We both swallow my cum and lie there cuddling together for a few minutes before she whispers that I should get dressed and ready to leave. I grudgingly comply. She walks me to the door, looking in on RB as we pass his room. Still out. We kiss a little more and I leave.

Saturday June 25

Garson's was somehow more crowded than last night. The audience had a lot of the same people but it had a different vibe. Maybe southern rock fans are more rowdy. It just felt different. Still great, just different. Paul was extra generous like last night as well, however our stacks of twenties now numbered 7.

As usual, Cathy came along with me but had a different friend meet her there. RB stayed home with his parents, begging to come see the Saturday night show. His parents ended up giving in and said he could go next week. Cathy had some news, her parents joined some kind of card game league or something that met on Tuesday nights. I'd still be allowed over, but since RB would be awake most of the time, we'd have to limit our sexual activities to kissing and fondling through clothes. We decided after the gigs, we'd go to my house, starting tonight.

We got to my house, went into the family room and turned the TV on low. a) Low, so we could hear if someone was moving around upstairs, and b) anybody considering coming down would figure we were watching TV so nothing else could be going on. My parents still think of me as a 10 year old. I guess that has some benefits.

We both agreed that last night was awesome and would repeat the festivities. Once again, one of us always had pants on, while the other received their genital stimulation. I gave Cathy her orgasm. Cathy once again made be feel wonderful sucking my dick. We were both quite satisfied when she got out of the car after I brought her home.

Tuesday June 28

I show up at Cathy's after dinner, around 6:30. Her parents were just leaving after giving Cathy the rules for the night. Yes, I could come over, stay out of her bedroom, don't ignore RB, yadda, yadda, yadda. We found a movie that wasn't too boring on cable. RB hung out with us. Since he'd seen us kissing before, we figured that was safe enough. After a little while I catch RB out of the corner of my eye adjusting himself a little too constantly. I whisper that I think we're making him horny and maybe we need to cool it for a while.

"Why'd ya stop?"

"Lips needed a break."

"Oh. Guess I never thought of that Pete. Anyway, since you did stop I need to talk to you guys about something."

We tell him we're listening and go ahead. We should have kept making out.

"I saw what you did Friday night."

I try to play it cool, hoping he didn't see what I thought he might have seen.

"And what was that?"

Cathy's already squirming next to me.

"You know what you were doing."

"Yeah, but that doesn't tell us what part of it you saw."

"All of it. From the time you guys went into Cathy's room until you came in her mouth."

"Shit, that would just about be all of it. What do you want, I'll buy it if it's within reason?"

"It's not something you can buy. Well, I guess you could, but I doubt you could buy it for me."

"You're not making any sense RB."

"Then I'll make it plain Cathy. I want one of you to give me a blowjob."

"You're nuts! That's not happening."

"OK, I'm sure mom and dad would love to hear that I got up to go to the bathroom and saw what you were doing."

(Under my breath) "Fuck."

"No way. I'm not sucking my brother's dick."

"You think I want to?"

Answering myself in my head, I think 'maybe?'

"No. But, I can't let him tell them. And I can't commit incest with him, I'll end up going to hell. You have to do it for me. Please Pete?"

I can see he's loving this turn of events.

"Geez. You're one hell of a little blackmailer. I didn't know you were related to the wicked witch."

"Ha... Ha. You going to do it, or do mom and dad find out tomorrow? I'm sure it would be wonderful dinner conversation."

"You shit. You'd better hope I never catch you doing anything mom and dad wouldn't like."

"OK you two. No need to start a family war. I can't believe I'm saying this. I'll do it. When?"

"Like the saying goes, there's no time like the present."

"Seriously?"

"Yes. Otherwise I may slip and say something before you do it."

"Just once?"

"Just once."

I don't know it, but RB added silently to himself 'tonight.'

"OK, go to your room, I'll be there in a minute."

"You'd better. I'll start practicing my speech in 60 seconds."

"Fine. Go you little fuck."

(To Cathy) "Are you sure you're OK with me doing this?"

"Not really, but do we have a choice?"

"I can't think of one. God this is gonna suck. Both meanings. I'll be back soon I hope. If he takes more than a couple minutes to cum, I don't know if I can stand it."

"Sorry. I guess I should have closed the door and not assumed he'd be dead to the world like he usually is."

"Give me a kiss so I can taste something nice, hopefully I can keep that in mind."

We kiss. RB starts yelling from his room.

"Mom, dad, if I saw Cathy..."

I walk into his room and he stops. Shit, he's already laying down on his bed naked. And sporting a 4" woody. Well, at least he's kinda small down there. Maybe I'll get lucky and he doesn't cum much. But another side of me is saying his dick looks good.

"I knew I liked you. I'm ready when you are."

I'm guessing the little shit wouldn't know a good blowjob from a bad one. No foreplay for him. I kneel down next to his bed and put my mouth on his dick. Maybe if I pretend it's Anthony I can get through this. Shit, where the fuck did that come from? All we've done is kiss and jerk. Twice, the party and this past Thursday. While these thoughts are going through my head, I'm bobbing up and down above his groin. He's not hiding anything from his sister. He's moaning very loudly as I suck. I'm thinking of Anthony and not really hating what I'm doing. Then there's good news and bad news. The good news is he cums fast. The bad news is, he does indeed cum. Or was it really so bad?

"Swallow it or it doesn't count."

I could strangle the little fucker right now. After swallowing his cum I go into the bathroom to find some mouthwash. OK, so I can't be completely gay if I don't like cum. Right? I wonder if Anthony does. Shit I even have to wonder whether Anthony's ever swallowed cum. He already professed to me he was gay. Means he's done other gay things. Right? May as well stop trying to figure it out right now.

I'm walking back out to the living room and I realize he can't blackmail us for doing the same thing twice.

"Hey Pete. I'm real sorry you had to do that. I can't thank you enough."

"Yeah. I was thinking about it after using some of your mouthwash. He can't blackmail us twice for the same thing. It cost me giving a blowjob for peace from him ever telling on us. Not just for Friday. If he happens to spy again, we have the fact that he coerced us, well me, into giving him a blowjob. I doubt he'd like it if your parents found that out."

Did he really coerce me, or did I do it willingly? Fuck I'm even more confused now than after making out with Anthony.

"I don't think you'd like it either. How quickly you forget what my father does. We can't tell him because he'll throw you in jail."

"Why? We're both under 18, there shouldn't be anything illegal about it."

"He'll use the fact that RB's emotionally immature. Even if it doesn't stick, do you want the world knowing what happened?"

"Fuck. The little shit still has the advantage. I'll think about it more, maybe I can come up with something. I hope you don't mind, but I don't really want to be near him right now. I know we were hoping to make out again tonight, but he killed that fire in me."

"Yeah, I get it. I'll see you later then."

"Great. Well goodnight. I'd ask you to tell your brother to go fuck himself, but that wouldn't be fair to you. He is your brother after all."

"At least you don't have to fake being civil to him every day. I guess some day I at least won't be pissed at him. Goodnight."

There's no way right now at getting back at RB, but I have to be able to hurt him somehow. I head home, brush my teeth for like 10 minutes and use mouthwash three times. I still think I can taste his cum.

Wednesday June 29

Before we start rehearsing, I ask the guys a question.

"Hey, I need to ask you guys a favor with a minimum explanation as to why."

They all look at each other, shrug, and nod OK.

"Good. On Saturday I want to replace 'The Flame' with something else. RB will be coming and I need to get back at him for something."

"For what?"

"I can't say Rich. Hence the minimum explanation."

"Sure, I don't see why we couldn't do that. We switch songs around all the time."

"Thanks Eddie. But I also want to add a twist. Rich, you start the song like you normally would, and after a few bars, enough for him to know what song it is, switch to something else, so I can stare him down at that point."

"That's mean. He must have done something pretty bad. But, yeah. I can do that. Maybe a segue into 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' would work, I start that one off too."

"Cool. Thanks guys. I'd just tell him he can't come Saturday for some reason, but he begged his parents and they relented, so this is the next best thing."

"Are we ever going to find out why?"

"I don't think so David. Maybe Gabe can convince Cathy to tell you all after I'm dead."

"I guess that settles that."

"Yeah, Eddie. Let's play."

We spend our typical 2-2 1/2 hours rehearsing Friday's set. I give Cathy a call afterward, I want to tell her my plan.

"Hey Cathy."

"Hi Pete. What's up? I just saw you before you left for rehearsal."

"Yeah, on my way there I thought of a way to get back at RB, at least a little."

"I'm listening."

"He's coming to the show Saturday. Canceling that would be difficult with all the convincing we had to do with your parents. So I thought of something else. Nothing major, but he'll get the point."

"Yeah, not bringing him would be tough, unless he was sick or something."

"Yeah. Anyway, instead of playing 'The Flame' I asked the guys to substitute for it."

"OK, I get it, he'll be upset you guys didn't play it."

"But that's not all. And this is where he really gets the signal. Rich will start the song like usual, but after a few bars, will switch to 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love.' When he makes the switch, I'll look at RB so he knows it was my idea. Not that he wouldn't guess it anyway."

"That's mean. But harmless. I like it. Of course I may have to put up with a minor tantrum, but maybe I just ignore him for a while. You do know he's going to let you hear it on the way home?"

"Yes, I know. We'll do it late in the show, before 'Free Bird' to limit your pain. But maybe I can convince him that we're even. It's a thought anyway."

"Okay. Well, thanks for the heads up. Anything else?"

"Only that I miss you. I'll call tomorrow after rehearsal, let you know how the switch goes."

"OK. Goodnight Pete."

"Goodnight Cathy."

Saturday July 2

"Thanks for still bringing me tonight. I wasn't sure after Tuesday you'd want to."

"Believe me RB, I didn't want to, but we jumped through too many hoops with your parents to get you to join us to cancel without a good reason."

"Oh."

Yeah, oh. That oh will turn into a 'what the hell' by the end of the night.

First set, no issues, like last week, the place is packed. Cathy and RB are sitting up front with two of her friends so when the time comes, RB will know. If he was halfway across the room, he might not quite get the message. We finish 'Born to be Wild' and Rich starts 'The Flame.' RB gets excited and starts bouncing around. Just before Rich switches, I look directly at RB and smile. When Rich switches songs, he's looking at me like 'what the fuck?' He looks at Cathy and she shrugs her shoulders, basically letting him know it was all me. We finish the set with 'Free Bird' like usual, leave the stage and the crowd again is cheering and stomping their feet. We come back on stage.

"Thanks. Thank you all. Last week you guys were so rowdy we thought you'd bring the walls down. We decided we'd better have an encore set up. Since we're on the Jersey shore, we thought it appropriate to add something by the Boss."

We do 'Born to Run' to close out the show. RB's been pouting all the way through. Fortunately, he's not giving Cathy any grief.

After packing everything up, I go back out to gather Cathy and RB to take them home. It's a few minutes into the ride before he opens up.

"That sucked you know."

"What sucked?"

"Starting 'The Flame' then switching songs. I know you had something to do with it."

"You're right. I had everything to do with it. I can't tell on you or do anything else, but I figured that was a way to let you know, well, you don't matter to me anymore. I don't care what you like or would have wanted."

"I guess this is because of what happened Tuesday?"

"Cathy, your brother's a fucking genius! I don't know how he figured that out. Of course it was because of Tuesday, you little..."

"Pete."

"Yeah, OK. I got carried away. Anyway RB, I consider us even. You made me do something I didn't like, so I did something you wouldn't like. Nowhere near as bad, but my choices were limited. I can't very well make you blow me."

Although I wouldn't mind that in the least. God, my head is so fucked up. He's quiet the rest of the way home. He runs into the house and Cathy and I say goodnight to each other with a few kisses and a grope.

"Good luck dealing with any fallout. 'Nite."

"Thanks. Goodnight Pete."

Tuesday July 5

As has been the pattern the past couple weeks, I head over to Cathy's after dinner. I'm hoping we can at least make out some even if she doesn't want to do more with her brother around. Fortunately he leaves us alone for a while. We make out and just fondle each other a bit, not wanting to push it too far. He was obviously watching or listening, after we settle ourselves, he makes his appearance.

"OK Pete. It's time."

"Time for what?"

"Time for my blowjob."

"What the fuck? You said it was just once."

"Just once last week. After your little joke on Saturday, I decided I was going to make it a regular thing. And I know you can't do shit about it. You stop. I tell my parents what you and Cathy have been doing. I'll be waiting in my room. Don't take too long."

He leaves. Cathy and I stare at each other.

"What do I do? I sure don't want to keep sucking him off. But you're in trouble and we're probably over if he tells."

But am I really sure I don't want to?

"Oh God Pete. I don't know. He sprung this on us at the last second so we couldn't think about reacting. We have to find a way to get him to stop though."

"Yeah. No kidding. And beating the shit out him isn't an option. Maybe I'll bite his dick off."

"Pete..."

"Yea, I k..."

"I'm waiting."

"Fuck. I'm sorry Cathy, but I guess I gotta do this. It feels like I'm cheating on you, but what choice do we have?"

"None. Go ahead, I just have to deal with it too."

I get up and walk to RB's room. Like last week, he's laying on his bed, boner sticking straight up.

"I want you to lick it first for me before you start sucking."

"I'll find a way to get you, you know that don't you?"

"I doubt it. Get on your knees slave."

I almost turn around and leave, but I gotta do this for Cathy and me to remain together, maybe even alive. I kneel next to his bed and start licking his dick.

"Suck on my balls too."

I'll rip your fucking balls off, how would you like that you little fuck? Of course I only think that, but I do lick his balls. I suck one of them into my mouth, then have the thought to suck real hard.

"Ow. Not so hard. That hurt."

"Oh. Sorry. I didn't realize I sucked too hard."

Yeah right. I knew exactly what I was doing.

"OK, no more balls. Just suck my dick."

I know I have to, so I comply. After a couple minutes of sucking, he cums in my mouth again and I swallow without him asking. Up until the times he cums, I'm no longer hating it. God, what is wrong with me? I like sucking a guy off?

"Oh, yes. Take my cum. I know you love it."

I stand up and start to walk away. Before I get out the door I turn back around.

"Fuck you bud."

I visit the bathroom again to get a dose of mouthwash, but it isn't there. The little fuck moved it. I rinse my mouth out with just water, having to wait until I get home before I can do a proper job.

"He hid the mouthwash. I'm not going to kiss you goodnight. I can still taste him even after a water-only rinse."

"OK. Thanks for that."

Cathy kisses me on the cheek and I leave. More confused than I was last week. Knowing I can't do a damn thing about it makes it worse.

Thursday July 7

As we have been doing for the past couple weeks, I head over to Anthony's after rehearsal. Since our little fling at his sister's graduation party, both of the previous two Thursdays we have a repeat performance. I know it's wrong, and just like blowing RB, jerking Ant off, I feel like I'm cheating on Cathy. I guess I am. RB she knows about so it's sort of OK. Not so with Anthony, but there's just something about him that I can't resist. Today, like the first two times, once we start kissing, we lose control of ourselves and jerk each other off to orgasm. So far it hasn't progressed beyond the kissing and jerking. I can tell though, that he wants more, like me, but is holding back because I'm seeing Cathy. I find myself wondering if everybody's cum tastes like RB's. Maybe Ant's is better. Yep. Confused.

Also on Thursdays we've been working on original songs. We put the final touches on the first version of the second one tonight. We completed 'Live Your Own Life' last week and started on 'Love, Hate, War, and Peace' and finished it tonight. I had mentioned to Ant that I had tried writing some poetry a while back. He wanted to read it, so I brought it over.

"Some of these are really good. We should turn them into songs."

"I can carry a tune singing, but writing the music, I think that would be beyond me."

"Well, I've dabbled in putting together some things too. There were a couple poems that stood out, let me take another look at them with the music I've thrown about in mind. I don't just play the bass. Let me get my acoustic."

He re-reads through about 4 or 5 of them and the two I mentioned before kind of fit a couple of his melodies. He played, I spoke the lyrics. After a couple times through, we decided they didn't sound half bad. They needed work before we brought them to the group, but we thought that maybe they'd work. Anyway, we tweaked the melodies the past couple weeks, changed a word here and there for timing, and have a somewhat finished product for two of them. That's how we got to where we are now.

"Maybe we should record them and play them for the guys on Monday, rather than trying to do it live."

"Yeah, that makes sense. Singing an original song with only you, I'm not uncomfortable. In front of the rest of them, I'd be more nervous."

Ant gets his tape recorder and we go through the songs two more times, picking the better sounding of each to share.

"I'll re-record those two versions onto another tape. I'm psyched Pete. This could be really great."

"I hope so."

We kiss and I leave. I once again wonder what his cum would taste like.

Monday July 11

I'm already at Eddie's with everybody else when Ant drives up. He gets questioning looks when he gets out with his tape recorder.

"What's this? You want to record us?"

"Yeah, but not tonight Eddie. Tonight we want you to listen."

"We?"

"Yeah David. Pete and I have been working on a couple songs. We think they turned out pretty good and we want to share them."

"Like, new songs, never heard before?"

I decide I need to jump in too.

"Yep Gabe. I wrote the lyrics, Ant did the melodies and together we tweaked it from there."

"Well, even if they suck, it's worth listening to them."

"There's that Rich Larkin optimism we're all so familiar with."

They laugh at my joke. Ant plugs in the recorder and hits play.

"Play them again."

"Sure Eddie."

The guys listen to them four times. Ant and I are starting to feel pretty good. If they thought the songs sucked, they wouldn't have made it beyond one play.

"David, what do you think? I think we might be able to work with them, filling in the other parts. It'll take some time, but adding a couple original songs to the set, well, that will tell us if we have a future beyond Garson's."

"Yeah. I've been tapping my toes right along with them the last two passes."

"Can you make a few more copies so we can all listen to them more?"

Ant pulls 5 more cassettes out of his car and hands one to each of us.

"Cool. You knew we'd like them, didn't you?"

"We thought it was possible Eddie, yeah."

"Possible. Un huh. Anyway, let's all play along with them a little after we're done tonight and bring back what we came up with on Wednesday. Sound like a plan?"

"Yeah. I've already got some ideas for some licks between verses."

"Awesome Rich. OK, let's practice a little for Friday so we can focus on the new stuff Wednesday."

By this time, you couldn't wipe the smiles off Ant's and my face with acid. I almost want to kiss him. I can see he might be thinking the same thing. But neither of us are willing to take that step.

Tuesday July 12

I don't really want to because of RB, but with the new songs, it may be a little harder to spend time with Cathy, so I head over to their house like usual. Once again, he gives us a little time to ourselves, which we make the best of. Unfortunately with another blowjob hanging over my head, we kiss and I get her off, but little Pete isn't cooperating, so we stop. And guess who shows up 5 seconds after my pants are back up?

"Ready Pete?"

"Never. But I gotta do this I guess."

"Yeah, you do."

This time there's no point delaying so I follow him into his bedroom. He closes the door behind us. That's a new twist. He seemed to like torturing Cathy with his loud moans. I'm wondering what other slight variation he has in store for tonight. He undresses and sits on the edge of his bed. Another twist.

"Kneel slave."

Well, he's consistent there. I kneel, start licking and sucking, but after a minute he tells me to stop.

"Take off your clothes."

"What? No way."

"I'm going to be 18 Friday. I know we can't keep doing this, so tonight is the end. I don't want to go to jail if I keep making you do it and somehow we get caught. But I don't want a blowjob. I want to fuck you."

"No. No no no no no. There's no way I'm letting you stick your dick in my ass."

"Yes. You are, because you know the consequences for denying me."

Oh, man. I'm just stunned knowing I'm going to have to do this. He gives me about a minute to accept it, then pulls a jar of Vaseline out of his nightstand.

"Take 'em off."

I'm backed into a corner, but knowing (hoping?) this is it, I guess I can make myself do this. I guess it'll answer any question in my mind about being gay, or at least bi. As I'm taking off my clothes he's greasing up his cock.

"Lay on my bed on your back."

I move slowly, but I do it. He starts fingering my asshole with Vaseline on his fingers. I feel the greasiness inside of me and think I'm not going to like this one bit. After a couple minutes he pushes my legs up toward my shoulders and kneels between them.

"Oh, this is going to be sooooo awesome."

"Come on. Just shut up and get it over with."

He leans up against my ass with his head at my hole. He pushes a little and he's inside of me. I think just partway, but I'm not sure. So far, it hurt a little, but it's not awful. Thankfully he's kind of small and thin down there. He shoves in a little deeper. I think he's a little more than halfway in. Still not so bad. One more thrust and I feel him leaning up against my ass. Shit, it actually is starting to feel good. He starts pumping away in me and I can't help it. I'm moaning with pleasure. Would it be better with Anthony's dick? Suddenly I'm really curious about that. He's still pumping away wildly. He starts grunting, shoving himself in as deep as he can. He starts squirting in me but his last shove hits my prostate and I start cumming too. I didn't even realize I was hard. Then the roof falls in, figuratively.

"What's taking so long this time?"

Cathy's right outside the door, asking this as we both start cumming. She hears both of us groan and pushes the door open.

"What? WHAT??? What the fuck Pete?"

"I didn't have a choice."

But I didn't necessarily have to like it. Cathy realizes this too.

"Yeah, maybe when he started all this, but looking at your stomach and chest, I'd have to say you liked it a lot. Get out!"

"Wait Ca..."

"Get OUT. Take your clothes and go."

"Let me dress first."

She grabs my clothes and walks out of the room.

"Wait, where are you going with my...?"

She opens the front door and throws everything out on the porch. Well, not everything, my sneakers are still inside by the front door.

"If you can let my brother fuck you, you can dress outside. Go."

She shoves me outside and slams the door. She's loud enough for me to hear from inside, maybe the neighbors too.

"You. Get the fuck away from me. I can't look at you right now."

I can just barely hear RB's attempt at a response.

"But Cathy, I..."

"Shut up and go. Don't talk to me, don't even look at me."

By this time I'm dressed and walking off the porch. Wondering why my life took this shitty turn. I realize my ass is leaking into my underpants, but there's nothing I can do about it now. I walk to my car, go home and jump in the shower.

Wednesday July 13

We're listening to everybody's additions to the songs but it's obvious to the guys I'm not really into it. Only Ant knows it's my birthday, so he knows I should be happy, or at least not sad.

"What's the matter Pete? You seem out of it tonight."

"Yeah. Got a lot of other stuff on my mind."

Gabe takes this as his cue.

"Something happened with Cathy. I guess they had a fight and she threw him out of the house last night. Today she asked me if there was any way we could kick him out of the band."

I never understood the expression 'my heart sinks' until just then.

"Wha, what else did she, um, say?"

"That was pretty much it. What the fuck happened?"

"I can't talk about it yet. I'll try to be more into it. Go ahead, keep playing."

"We'll need to talk about this later. I can't let things go that could mess up the band. Especially when we're doing so well."

We all agree with Eddie, me not so confidently. We run through the songs 6 times, listening to everybody's additions, Ant laying down a base line instead of the melody. One more time with everybody playing along. I have to admit, even in my frame of mind, I can see how good they will sound with everything put together. Fortunately Ant doesn't mention my birthday.

Thursday July 14

Once again, we head over Anthony's house after rehearsal.

"What's up man? Something really nasty must have gone down to bum you out so much and for Cathy to ask Gabe to get you kicked out."

"Yeah, it was, but I really don't want to talk about it. Sorry."

Especially not with you. I'll have three people hating me, and 2 that will probably want me out of the band. Well, RB really doesn't have a reason to hate me, but I'll probably never see him again. I think I'm actually going to miss having sex with him though. Major confusion.

"Well, if you do, I'm here for you. You know I care a great deal about you. I'm willing to help in any way."

"I know, but, um, you may hate me as much as Cathy if I told you. Of course, saying that, I realize it's not fair to keep it from you. So I'm in a connundrum."

We sit quietly together, him waiting to see if I'll say more, me deciding if I want to or not. After a couple minutes, I don't think it's fair to him to remain quiet.

"OK, you might hate me for this, but, God, if we might have any future together, I have to be honest. Maybe I'll leave out some details, if I can. Well, the reason is simply because she caught me with someone else. Go ahead, get angry."

He looks pleasantly shocked when I mention a future together, but lets it slide.

"I'm not going to get angry. I was already sharing you with Cathy, so there's another girl, so what?"

I'm sure he can tell by the look on my face it's not another girl, because I know I'm not hiding it well.

"It was another guy?"

All I could do is nod a little. I'm trying to hold back tears, but I'm not sure I'll succeed.

"Oh. (deep breath) I'm not going to flip out on you without knowing the whole story. I mean, we like each other, and we've done some stuff, but we never agreed on being exclusive, although I guess I assumed it was, as far as other guys were concerned."

"I don't know if it will help, but I was forced into the situation."

"Maybe. Keep going."

I bite the bullet and start sharing everything.

"Well, a couple weeks ago, Cathy and I were fooling around in her bedroom. We had oral sex. Normally her brother sleeps like the dead, but this night that wasn't the case."

"He saw you."

"Right. And he figured it was an opportunity to take advantage of and blackmail us. (deep breath) He threatened to tell his parents if one of us didn't... didn't give him a blowjob. Obviously Cathy had no intention of doing it."

"So Cathy caught you giving her brother a blowjob that she knew was happening?"

"Not exactly. This Tuesday, RB figured since he was turning 18 Friday, anything we did later on would be illegal and he could go to jail. He obviously didn't want that to happen, but he wanted to have a grand finale to his blackmailing."

"I hope this isn't going where I think it's going."

"It is. His last threat is he fucks me or he tells."

"Oh, God Pete. What a fucked up situation to find yourself in. I don't know if I can be mad after hearing that. So basically he raped you?"

"Yeah. No. I don't know. I mean I was a willing participant."

"Uh uh. No. You weren't. Like you said, he blackmailed you. He could have made you do almost anything with the threat of going to his parents."

"Yeah, but I did it because I wanted to keep Cathy. If her parents found out, we'd be done."

"I don't mean to sound harsh Pete, but you're probably done anyway."

"I know."

At this point I do break down crying. Ant doesn't hesitate to grab me and hold me. We sit like that for a few minutes until I stop crying.

"Thanks Ant. I was expecting you to throw me out as well. At least this time I would have been dressed."

"She kicked you out naked?"

"Yeah. Hell hath no fury, yadda yadda yadda."

"OK, well now I know, and I don't hate you. Feel sorry for you, sure. But I know it's not your fault."

"Well, there are a couple more details. I started liking sucking his cock. And when he fucked me, I... I came."

"That may have been a purely physical reaction."

"Thanks for thinking that, but no. I was enjoying it. Maybe this piece will help. I even wondered what it would be like if you were doing it."

"Oh. Wow. Um. I knew you liked me but I didn't think you felt that strongly."

"Yeah, even for the blowjobs, I could only think of you. It actually helped me get through it."

"Hey, it's cool. Maybe someday we'll get to that point. I think I'd enjoy doing those things with you. No, I know I would."

"God, why are you so understanding? I would have thrown me out too."

"You probably don't want to hear this right now, but I love you Pete."

"Huh?"

"I think you heard me right. I love you. That's why I was willing to share you with Cathy. I wanted to be around you and I've loved the things we did, even though I suspected there would never be any more, and at some point, you'd choose and I'd lose."

"Yeah, that may have been the case before Tuesday, but now... I'm thinking I'm more gay than straight. I've been so conflicted these last few weeks, but Tuesday brought it to a head."

"I think you've got the wrong end Pete."

I actually chuckle at that.

"Thanks Ant. I needed that. I don't think I can work on any songs tonight. I'm feeling better than I was. But can, um, can we cuddle and kiss?"

"I'd love to."

We make out for a little while. Just being with him, I start feeling better.

"It sounded like the guys liked the progress they were making on our songs. By the end of the night I was feeling like they could actually be something."

"Yes they did. I'm not sure when, but they'll definitely be included in our rock set. I know one song you'd love to drop to make room for them."

"Ha. Yes, I believe you may right. I think 'Live Your Own Life' works really well with Eddie's piano, maybe we drop 'Piano Man' or at least use it to swap in and out."

"Yeah, you're right. I think that one needs the piano in the finished product. It feels 'simpler,' like the lyrics."

"Cool. We'll see what the others think. Maybe next week they'll be close enough to try out."

It actually ends up being this weekend.

"That would be so awesome Pete. Wow. Performing our own songs to an audience. I'm psyched up just thinking about it."

"Yeah. I hope I don't stumble over the words."

"Not gonna happen. I'm glad you're feeling better, almost normal."

"Yeah, that has a lot to do with you. I knew I had to, but I dreaded telling you what happened, afraid you'd reject me."

"I'm still here."

"It's your house."

We laugh at that. Again, it feels good to laugh again.

"You know what I meant."

"I did. Um, I am feeling a lot better. It's still early. Maybe we can seriously make out?"

"If you're up to it, no pun intended."

"I think I should be able to be 'up' for it. He he."

We start kissing and playing with each other's cock. We usually just drop our pants far enough to not make a mess in them, but today, I take off Ant's shirt, and keep lowering his pants and underwear until he can kick them off. He does the same to me. I start kissing down his body, surprising him I'm taking the next step when I get down to his dick. I start out by kissing it. I move on to licking his piss slit, he's already starting to release pre-cum. I taste it and think to myself, way better than RB's. I finally take his dick into my mouth and slowly work it in and out. I started enjoying sucking RB toward the end of our sessions, but this is on such a higher level. I'm not just enjoying doing this, I feel like I've died and gone to heaven. I speed up a little as Ant starts moaning. I'm not too experienced, but I know he's getting close before he says so.

"Ahhhh, I'm almost there."

I say 'yes, cum' around his cock, not wanting to lose contact with it. When my lips close tight around it again, he starts spurting into my mouth. It's a lot more than RB, but it tastes better. I think 'no mouthwash tonight.'

"Oh, God Pete. That was awesome. I haven't had my dick sucked too many times, but that was the best ever."

"Thanks. It was way better with you than RB."

"Probably because you wanted to. Speaking of wanting to..."

Ant moves down, facing my dick.

"God, it's beautiful."

He takes it into his mouth. Like him, I haven't gotten too many blowjobs, just the one from Cathy, but like sucking him was, this is on an entirely different level. I know I'm not going to last long because I felt myself getting close when I was sucking him. Only a minute or two goes by before I'm telling him I'm about to cum. He sucks harder and faster and I can't hold back any longer, releasing my sperm into his mouth with a loud groan. Thankfully his room is over the garage so it's doubtful anybody heard it.

"Oh God, Ant. I'm sorry I was so loud. I hope nobody heard it."

"I doubt it, but if they did, it's cool. My family knows I'm gay, them and the two other guys I've been with. You're part of a small circle with that knowledge, but it's nothing to worry about while we're here."

"Thanks. You know what you said before, I might not want to hear it?"

"Yeah..."

"I think I'm falling in love with you too. It's going to be har, um, difficult to hide it from the guys."

"I know what you mean, now that we've taken this step. We're going to have to tell them, sooner rather than later."

"Yeah, I'm thinking maybe between sets tomorrow. We may not have time beforehand. They know something's been up with me, so I'll start off and you join in as necessary, huh?"

"Yes. Sounds good. I know we can trust them. On stage, we need to be cool about it though. I'm not ready to come out to the world yet."

"No way. I'm not even close to coming out to my parents, but if we tell the band, I'm going to have to tell them."

Next up - "I'm Coming Out and Fallout From Cathy"