Family Always Has Your Back - 7. TC4 — Chapter 7: Bad News

It was a warm and clear Saturday June 30, 2018, morning barely 6:00 am, when Adam walked out of the master retreat. He was dressed simply in boxers and a loose t-shirt and moved over to the kitchen in the presidential suite and flipped the coffee pot on to brew. It was quiet in the suite as he walked over to the French-doors that led to the balcony overlooking the harbor. The morning sun pushed against the darkness forcing it back to usher in the new day. He stood there for a few minutes before heading back to the kitchen.

He waited at the dining room table, with two mugs of coffee. At 6:30 am, Robert walked out of his bedroom suite.

“Morning, Dad.” He was rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Robert was dressed in boxers and a loose t-shirt.

“I fixed you a coffee.” Adam nodded towards the balcony doors. “Let’s sit on the balcony.”

“Alright, Dad.”

With coffee in hand, father and son moved outside to sit and talk. They sat down in the patio armchairs on each side of a cocktail table.

“Have you ever noticed we tend to dress alike?”

“I have, Dad. Seems we have similar tastes.”

“That we do.” He paused, he breathed in deeply, and exhaled slowly. “How did you three sleep?”

Robert glanced over the rim of his coffee mug at Adam. “Dad, if you want to know if spent the whole night fucking, you can just ask. You’re my Dad, we should be open and frank with each other.” He chuckled some. “You always get weirded out when we discuss sex… We slept well, and I left Giles and Martin asleep in bed. We didn’t do anything besides making out… a lot. Martin has a boyfriend now, and he wasn’t going to fuck it up with him by having a three-way with us.”

Adam nodded. “Mingan is a good match to Martin, and they’ll have a happy life together.”

“I wish I knew how you did that. How did you even know?”

“I overheard you and Giles talking about Martin on Monday.” He gave his son a smile. “If you want me to give you my insight I will.”

“No, I’m good… we’re delaying the talk, aren’t we?”

Adam nodded. “Was waiting for you to wake up. Now Rob, you might find what I tell you hard to hear. If you want me to stop, say so. Cool?”

“Yeah, Dad. We’re cool.”

“Tell me what you think happened?”

Robert sat for a moment to collect his thoughts. “Mom told me that, ‘your father got me pregnant on a dig site for our Archeology class. Then he disappeared after the semester was over’. Judging by your look, that’s not correct.”

“No, it isn’t”

They sipped their coffees, in the lull of their conversation.

“When I first came to Boston, I made a promise to myself to live as an out gay man. I was going overboard and wearing all manner of gay pride gear and looked like a walking rainbow. There was no mistaken I was gay. I met Michelle in New Student Orientation, we were assigned to the same class by our last names, and by random seating, we ended up sitting next to each other. She’s the one who told me I was trying too hard. We quickly became friends. Now, I wasn’t too experienced in dating, and she fixed me up with one guy. It looked promising, but it didn’t work out.” Adam snorted a chuckle. “More like he didn’t want to break in a relationship virgin. Which I was.”

He sipped his coffee, while Rob waited silently. “After my third disastrous date, your mom was there to help me pick up the pieces. She even gave me a book to read. A Gay Man’s Guide to Dating, the same book I loaned to Jer.” Adam looked off thinking about that first two months. “Michelle became my best female friend, and we were inseparable. We used to go to parties, smoked some weed that first year, and generally got shitfaced on beer and vodka.”

“Dad… you smoked weed? Isn’t that on your zero-tolerance list?”

“Yes, it is. This was before your uncle Tibs, fucked me over, and I was young and stupid.” He looked at Rob. “If you remember, when I told you the rules, that weed isn't legal in Florida, and if it ever did become legal, we would revisit it.”

“You did, say that. I’d forgotten.”

“Well, we had a lot of shit going on then, so I’m not surprised.” Adam sighed. “So, Michelle and I would party hard, get into all sorts of trouble, and then nurse our hangovers at South Street, IHOP, and other greasy spoons across Boston. I’m surprised I kept my grades up with all the alcohol, weed, and partying I was doing… And your mom paid for me to get laid.”

“What?” Robert chuckled looking at his dad.

“I didn’t know she did it… it was at the start of my sophomore year. One of our classmates, Levi, nice guy on a student visa from Russia, gorgeous eyes, he worked as an escort because of the terms of his visa and not able to get a job. She paid him to sleep with me.” Adam chuckled. “I’d sworn off men, after that third date, and Michelle said she had enough of me moping around. What’s funny, after that first date, we liked each other enough that we started dating. That’s when Levi told me what Michelle did, and he gave her back the money. He still did escort work, made a shit-ton of money on it, but we dated for most of my sophomore year.”

“So, you and Mom liked to party. I never would have imagined.”

“I’m censoring myself on some of my more rebellious activities. Whatever you do, don’t look me up on the Boston PD database.”

“Seriously, Dad? What did you do?” He was smiling and with the occasional chuckle.

“A drunk and disorderly charge from streaking an outdoor concert stage for a charity concert on campus.”

They both shared a laugh. “Wow… Dad, you’re cool.”

“That’s the only thing they caught me doing.” Adam smiled. “I’ll tell you about one thing but promise me you won’t follow my example… but your mom, me, Levi, and a guy she was dating Marius. We stole a car, and then stripped it down to the frame… all because someone dared me to prove I could strip it down and then put it back together without any manufacturing specifications.” Adam shook his head and chuckled. “I lost a hundred bucks on that bet. Took me a month to get it put back together, with some upgrades, and then returned it back to the dealership with the new spec list.”

“Jesus, Dad.” Robert smiled and laughed. “Anything else?”

“Yeah, there’s a few more bad decisions, but none I’m going to share.” Adam paused to sip his coffee. “This is where it’s going to start getting dark.” He glanced at Robert who nodded for him to go on. “Thanksgiving my senior year for my bachelor’s degree, I had dinner with your grandparents. They did not like it that a queer was in their house. Your Aunt Kimberly wasn’t that big of the royal bitch, yet, and this was before she met your Uncle Seth. Well, as soon as dessert was served and over, I left. Too many remarks. I had a few words with Michelle after that. I felt ambushed and seriously disrespected. But we made amends and were still friends.”

Once again, he paused, and looked over at his son. “My twenty-first birthday was the night you were conceived… we had gone out with some friends, to celebrate my now legal ability to buy beer. We were drunk, more so than normal. And it took Ted and Charlie to get me back into my dorm room. Michelle stayed behind to look after me… I remember Michelle asking if I wanted a blowjob, and I said sure… I had ‘whiskey dick’ something fierce but was sobering up a little. She then asked if I wanted to…” He looked at his son. Robert sat with wide eyes and it was clear he was stunned. “…spend the rest of the night with her. And I said yes. I consented to us having sex… Do you want me to continue, Rob?”

Robert nodded and coughed to clear his throat. “I did ask for you to tell me. But… goddamn… I can see why you said you had every right to hate Mom.”

Adam stood up, dragged the chair closure to Robert, and sat back down, draping an arm around his Son. “I need to be clear about a couple of things. I loved Michelle. Your mom was exceptionally beautiful, bright, intelligent, funny, and if I had been interested in women and not meant to be with Duncan, I might have asked for her hand in marriage. My love for her was beyond that of a friend or family but it was not romantic.” He kissed Robert on his cheek. “I have no regrets in sleeping with her, nor do I regret what came from it. I love you unconditionally.”

“I know you do, Dad. I love you too.” Robert finished off his coffee. “And the next morning, you two fought.” It was a statement, not a question.

“Yeah, we did. It was bad. I was mad and hurt not because we had sex, but that she took advantage of me. We both said things that were spiteful, and she left my dorm room crying.”

Adam was silent for a moment and let out a deep breath to calm the emotions playing in his heart. Silent tears came to his eyes. “About a week later, Ted knocked some sense into me, and I reached out to your mom. She never returned my calls, texts, or emails. I went by her dorm room, to find out she hadn’t been there since the day after my birthday, her stuff was completely cleared out. I even went to your grandparents to try to talk to her. They threatened to have me arrested for trespassing. After a month, I learned she left campus entirely, and was completing her degree remotely. I finally got an email from her student email address that simply said. ‘Stay away, I’ll contact you when I’m ready’. Then any email I sent to that address was bouncing back as undeliverable. The account was closed.”

Robert stood up and sat back down in his father’s lap. He put his arms around Adam’s chest in a hug while he lay his head on his shoulder. “You seem like you needed this.”

“Thanks, Rob.”

“After that email, you stayed away because you didn’t know where she was, and my asshole family wouldn’t tell you.”

“Pretty much.” He rubbed Robert’s back. “Are you okay? Knowing what happened?”

Robert nodded. “I am. I see why you didn’t tell me before. If you had before this trip, I would have hated you and asked Grammy if I could move in with her and Grandpa.” He paused. “Now, I feel sorry it happened to you, but glad it did so I’m around to have such a fantastic dad.”

“And I have a fantastic son… like I said the other day, I have a right to hate your mother, but I don’t. I still love her Rob.”

They sat silent holding each other, each lost in their thoughts. Adam’s phone started to ring on the table in front of them.

“Hand me that please, Rob. That’s the ring for Carol.”

Rob passed him the phone and went to leave, but Adam kept him back.

“Carol, good morning. Why the early call?” His expression changed from a somber look to a furious glare. “When do we need to get back by?” Adam paused. “Alright, I’ll call you later with the details.”

He hung up the phone and looked at his son. Robert had partially moved off his lap. “We’ve got to be back in Tampa tonight, which means we’re going to have to fly. Go wake up the other boys. It’s family business, but we’ll take care of Martin, get him fed and then home.”

“If it’s bad, I don’t think Martin would mind if we put him in an Uber, or the suite here has a Limo for transportation. We can send him home that way.” Robert gave his dad a hug. “Dad… what’s going on? You know Jer is going to freak the fuck out about the plane.”

“I know, and I feel bad I’m going to have to do this to him.” Adam let out a calming breath. “The Assistant District Attorney for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit is charging Jeremy with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. A third-degree felony. All because he saved Travis and they are not accepting the stand your ground claim.” He nodded some. “Go on, I’ll go wake Duncan and we’ll tell Jeremy. Don’t say anything yet.”

Adam paused yet again. “How much more shit, does my family have to go through?” He wasn’t talking to anyone specific.

~.~

Adam and Duncan stood holding onto each other in the middle of the master retreat. Adam was looking distraught.

“How should we approach this?” Adam kissed Duncan’s cheek.

“Straight to the point. Tell him what’s happening, and then tell him we’ve got to fly back.” Duncan rubbed his back. “What airline are we going to use?”

“Delta, and it will be in First-Class. I have a reason for it.” He ran a hand across his bearded chin thinking. “Let’s get this over with.”

Duncan nodded his agreement and they left the master retreat. They stepped into the living room, where the other boys had congregated. They each had a mug of coffee. Duncan walked over to the bar to fetch the bottle of Irish Whiskey.

“Jeremy, Travis, come with Duncan and me, please.” Adam gave Robert a silent message, who acknowledged it with a slight nod.

The two boys walked with the two men back to their bedroom suite. He motioned for the boys to have a seat on the bed, and then Adam and Duncan sat down with them.

“Jer, Trav, we have unwelcome news, and worse news.” Duncan started with. “Adam will tell you more in a moment, but it’s going to affect us four the most.” He nodded to Adam to continue.

Jeremy and Travis sat twitching a little under the gaze of the two men. Subconsciously, they held hands pressed tight against each other.

“We knew something was going to happen when you rescued Trav from Driggs’ attack. We just didn’t know this was going to happen. This is in no way either of your two’s fault, so remember that and hold on to it. The ADA for the thirteenth circuit, has decided to charge Jeremy with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, for violating the restraining order and using his martial arts to defeat Driggs. Carol called and briefly told me this morning what was going on, and I called her back when I was with Duncan. Seems this asshole is running for Mayor in the elections in February and has been overzealous in charging cases.”

Jeremy looked towards the ground and shook his head. “I was waiting for this but I’m happy that I helped my boyfriend and would do so again.”

“We know you would, Son, and we stand by you.” Duncan reached over and patted his shoulder.

“When do we have to be back in Tampa?” Travis looked between the two men.

“That’s the worse news… Travis can I see your pills, please?”

“Sure.” He quickly got them and handed them to Adam. He sat back down further on the bed, and had Jeremy sit between his legs. Travis held him from behind.

Adam looked over the bottle with a nod. “These will work… You take three of these at a time, and up to four times in a day?” Travis nodded his answer. “That is a lot. But, the worse news. We must be back tonight. Which means we’re going to have to fly.”

The color drained from Jeremy’s face, and he trembled more. “It’s… it’s… something that has to be done?”

Travis whispered in his ear and Jeremy visibly started to calm down.

“Yes, I’m sorry, Jer. I don’t want it to be this way.” Adam held up the bottle of whiskey and Travis’ meds. “We can help you in one of two ways, Jer, to be calm on the flight. The first is you take a couple of your boyfriend’s anxiety pills. The second, and the more difficult, we get you drunk, but not slobbering drunk. The choice is yours.”

Without hesitation, Jeremy answered. “I’ll take the pills… when do I need to?”

“Two before we leave for the airport, which won’t be till later today, and then one once we’re on the plane. These should keep you fine for the four hours of flight time.”

Jeremy nodded, reached forward to grab the whiskey, and took a good slurp from the bottle. His face was a grimace. “Trav has told me that rum helps him relax… and I need to do that now. I hope you don’t mind.”

“In light of the circumstances, if I had some weed, we’d let you smoke it.” Duncan looked at his son with an empathic look.

“When are we getting home, Adam and Duncan? Do I need to call Bryce?”

“I’m calling the concierge’s desk as soon as we’re done talking, and it’s going to be Delta Airlines, in their First-Class accommodation. I’ll call Bryce and Giles’ parents and let them know we’re headed home.” Adam paused. “Any other questions?”

Both teens answered no.

“Alright, let’s get the day started. Get ready for breakfast, and we’ll eat, then come back and get packed.”

The four of them broke ways to get ready for breakfast.

~.~

Giles, Martin, and Robert had said their goodbyes as Martin left in the Limo reserved for the presidential suite of the Boston Harbor Hotel. The concierge would be returning the rental back for them, and they checked out of the hotel to head to Boston Logan Airport. They took the water taxi from Rowes Wharf to the Ferry Terminal across Boston Harbor. A quick bus ride got them to Terminal-A, and the Delta Customer Service center.

Jeremy trembled and had a death grip on Travis’ hand as the two teens walked ahead of Duncan. The service center was small, and off to the side of Terminal-A on the ground floor. Adam walked up to the counter while Duncan and the boys stood off to the side.

“Thank you for choosing Delta, how can I help you today?” The Delta service agent was a pleasant looking woman with a big smile.

“I’m Adam Smith… I’m here to pick up six boarding passes, and can you check the flight arrangements please?”

“I can help you with that, I just need to see your ID, and any membership cards you might have with us.”

Adam passed her the cards and waited. The service agent typed in Adam’s information in her computer terminal and pulled up the reservation profile. Her eyes became huge and she stood up a bit straighter.

“Yes, Mr. Smith. The six boarding passes are printing now, give me a moment to get them for you. You and your party will be escorted through security momentarily. As for the flight status…” She trailed off for a moment. “I’m showing that flight was full, and we had to bump off six passengers. Per the priority policy, they are getting full refunds, and accommodations on the next flight.”

She walked over to the printer and packaged the tickets. She then had security come and escort the travelers through TSA and to the Delta Sky Lounge, to wait for their boarding time.

“Adam, hun… how in the hell did you get six people bumped from this flight?” Duncan had taken him aside to a private corner.

Adam took out a card and handed it to Duncan. “Read the back. I’m not entirely sure how my Grandfather got it, but I’m guessing Tibs might know. But, that’s a family pass. From the original owners of the airline before it was bought, sold, bought, traded, incorporated, sold again… myself, and my party has priority access to all flights on Delta, anywhere Delta services. I only have to pay $50 a ticket, and that’s covering taxes and fees.”

“Holy shit, hun… honeymoon, in Japan.”

“We’ll do that.” Adam smiled and kissed Duncan. “I didn’t know about the bumping, or I would have done a different flight.”

“I know, hun.”

The husbands walked back over to be with the kids. They didn’t wait long before they were called for boarding.

~.~

The six of them were called onto the plane first, thanks in part to the family card that Adam carried. First-class seating was plush with only two seats on each side of the aisle, four rows on each side, for a total of sixteen seats. The travelers took the first six seats on the left side, with Adam and Duncan in the first set, then Jeremy and Travis, followed by Robert and Giles.

Jeremy sat on the aisle, looking pale from being on the plane, after getting a soft drink from the stewardess he took the third pill of Travis’ anxiety meds. He held tightly to Travis’ hand. With his eyes closed.

“You’re going to be alright Jer.” Travis leaned over and kissed Jeremy’s cheek. “I got you.”

“I know Trav. Thank you.” They shared a smile and then Jeremy jumped a little as the plane started to back away from the gate.

They were soon in the air for their 7:00 pm four-hour flight to Tampa International Airport.

~.~

The airport shuttle pulled up to the Harbour Island house shortly before midnight. All six men lazily entered the house pulling their luggage behind them. As a group, they left the bags near the front door and made their way to the family room. Four tired boys sat down on the two couches, while Adam and Duncan sat at the island bar, turned to face them.

“Giles, Travis… I spoke to your parents, and they agreed that you can stay the night here. In fact, you both can spend the next week here.”

“Thank you, Adam.” Giles paused. “If you have the air mattress, I’ll set it up in Jeremy’s bedroom.”

“There’s no need for that.” Duncan gave the four teens a smile. “Giles, you and Rob can sleep in his room, and Trav can sleep with Jeremy.”

“We just let you four spend the past week as couples. There’s no way, we’re going back on that now. You all showed you were mature enough to handle it.” Adam paused some, his voice took on a serious tone. “Just remember the rules. No sex in the communal areas. Keep it to the bedrooms, and Duncan and I will do the same. Robert reminded me of something, and I want to go over it really quick. While we don’t want a repeat of what happened during the custody case, Duncan and I have no issues with nudity. We’ve said keep it confined to your bedrooms, but one of you has been nude sunbathing in the backyard. I don’t mind you doing so, and if you want to, Jeremy can show you where he does it. Just make sure the cameras are off, and you can’t be seen from the water.”

The four boys agreed they would.

“Also, we don’t mind if you four go skinny dipping in the pool.” Duncan added. “Again, don’t get caught on camera or from the water. Otherwise, have fun, and if you do go around the house in the buff… if you’re in the kitchen, put some clothes on. Hot grease on your dick is not fun, and don’t ask how I know.”

They all shared a laugh.

“Now, if you will excuse us… I’m going to go make love to my husband.” Adam smiled as he took Duncan’s hand. They started to head towards the master retreat.

“Eww, gross Dad.” Robert joked. “Have fun.”

“Oh, we will, Son.”

The four boys grabbed their bags and scampered off to the bedrooms as well. After quick showers all around, the three couples made their way to their beds.

Adam and Duncan spent some time making love to each other. Duncan topped Adam missionary, so they could kiss and look into each other’s eyes. The big man, moaned as his partner thrusted in him, and released a torrent of his semen across their midsections.

Robert asked Giles if he was wanting it rough again tonight, concerned about his tenderness. Giles confirmed he still wanted it. After their shower, the two sixteen-year-olds walked naked into Robert’s bedroom proper, when Robert grabbed Giles from behind. He locked Giles’ arms behind him and forced him up against the wall between his and Jeremy’s room next to his computer desk. With his free hand he took the lube from his desk drawer, and splatter some on his cock and pushed some into Giles’ well-bred hole. With a firm thrust, Robert joined them together, with Giles letting out a moan of passion.

“My God… this is what I want… give it to me, Rob!”

“As you wish.” Robert went ahead to roughly ravish his boyfriend from behind.

In Jeremy’s room, the two fifteen-year-olds laid in the same way they’ve been all week; Travis was on his back, and Jeremy lay on his right side, with his head on Travis’ chest. They were both naked, with just the sheet covering them. They talked softly some, with Jeremy still high on Travis’ meds.

“How are you doing, Jer?”

“Better, now that I’m no longer on the plane.” The weariness was clear in his voice.

“See, it wasn’t that bad. You did good.”

“It went well, but I think it was mainly the pills. I was still scared shitless.” He leaned up and kissed his boyfriend’s lips. “I don’t know how you can take this many at once, and have it not affected you so much.”

“I’ve gotten used to them. It’s almost time for an adjustment.”

The sound of a large THUMP on the wall, between the bedrooms, startled the two boys. More thumps occurred with some muffled moaning. It enlisted some giggles from the pair.

Jeremy looked at Travis. “When we finally have sex, I don’t want the first time to be rough.” He said soberly. “I can’t promise you that will be soon. Just talking about it, is making me feel indifferent to the idea.”

“That’s fine Jer. When you’re ready.” He kissed Jeremy in return. “I want our first time to be special, and I want to give you as much pleasure as I can from it. Even if it means you have to keep your eyes closed.”

The muffled moans and thumping eventually ended letting them drift off to sleep undisturbed.

~.~

It was 2:00 am, and the night found Erin Ros and another gentleman, Chad Winters, in bed together next door to the Harbour Island home. They had just finished their own session of making love, and it found the two men laying on their sides and faced each other. Erin ran his fingers across his love’s chiseled torso and abdominal muscles.

“I need to ask you a favor, Chad…”

“What do you need? If I can swing it, it’s yours.”

Erin smiled and traced his fingers up to Chad’s face. He knew where to touch Chad, that enlisted the most pleasure in him. “There’s a kid next door, Jeremy Isen, and he’s going to need a defense lawyer. I would like you to take the case.”

“Okay. That’ll be simple enough. Are you going to introduce us? Also, is there a reason why you want me to?”

“I’ll introduce you on Monday, after Jeremy gets charged officially.” He paused the movement of his fingers. “An old rival of yours, Rufus King, is the State's Attorney on the case. He’s overcharging because he plans to use it as an example for his crackdown on youth violence in his bid for Mayor next year.”

“Rufus has always been an asshole.” Chad leaned in and kissed Erin passionately. Since he started this relationship with Erin, he found he was quick to recover like a teenager, despite his thirty-odd years. “Why do you care about this Jeremy?”

“I have a personal stake in Adam and his extended family. It’s taken me years to arrange for all eleven of them to come together.” Erin looked into Chad’s eyes. “You’re so beautiful.”

“You’re changing the subject, Erin. The eleven of them?”

Erin chuckled. “Always the lawyer… yes, the eleven of them. This family needed to come together.”

“Always the cryptic.” Chad deeply kissed his lover. “Make love to me again.”

The pair returned to making love.

Night passed for all in the family, and those that watched in the shadows.