Autumn - 5. Countin' on a Miracle

“What’s up, dude?” Brett placed his hands on the teen’s shoulders, peeking at the phone as they walked towards the elevator.

“Hmmm, text from Trip asking me to call him. And an e-mail from Chief Jacobs in Arlington.”

“I think we can guess what Trip wants to talk about. Wouldn’t you think so, Brett? Danno probably told him about your arrest. The damn Texan isn’t going to be happy until you agree to give him some sort of exclusive interview. What does Jacobs want?”

“Hmmm… he wants a meeting across the river.”

“He wants you to go over to the station? When?”

CJ wasn’t surprised by the slight agitation in the marine’s voice. He knew Brett was not likely to let him anywhere near the place by himself. His dad would feel the same; the cop better not expect to intimidate him in any way.

“Nope, he says he’d like one of my dads to call him as soon as possible, to arrange a meeting. He gave me his mobile number.” CJ’s tone was calm, he had no concerns over anything the chief might have to say. He had complete trust in his dads keeping him safe from any tricks the cop may try to pull.

“I think you better handle this one, César. You’re CJ’s legal guardian, you get to make any decisions needed.”

“I’ll call him, but any meeting will have to include you. Legally, CJ may be my responsibility, but you have as much say concerning him as I do.”

“Hello… I’m right here, you know. What about me and what I think? Don’t I get a say in whatever goes on?”

“Of course you do, bud. But as your father, legally I have the final word on anything concerning you while you’re a minor. I’ll call him once we get home and see what he wants.”

“Okay, sorry to get all excited. While I’m at it, I realize I was a pushy ass last night, I apologize,” CJ was riding shotgun and turned sideways, looking back and forth between his dad, and Papa Brett who was in the back seat. “I know we’d made plans to ride the bikes out to Virginia this weekend, but if it’s okay with you, I’d rather do it some other time. What I really, really want is a hard work-out, and a little time in the steam room or the sauna. Then I’d like lunch with just you guys. I’ve been surrounded by too many damn people since those idiots arrested me. We can go visit Adriano and Uncle Tommy again afterward.”

“You’ve been spending too much time with Papa, CJ. You’re starting to plan things out, and order people around, like a marine sergeant would.” CJ had a shit-eating grin on his face after his dad’s comment, while Brett tried to look indignant. He failed miserably.

“Fuck you, César. He gets the anal-retentive organizing skills from his father the bean counter, not from me! Actually, bud, your plan sounds perfect. Dad and I will deal with chores while you’re at Yates. How does lunch around thirteen hundred sound to you?”

“Cool! I’ll get in touch with Uncle Trip later and see what he wants.”

On his back doing bench presses, CJ was sweating profusely. He was exerting himself more than usual, wanting to use physical activity to help rid himself of stress. Stress generated by the events he’d lived through in the past day. He tried to prevent his mind from replaying details of what had happened: Adriano’s accident, the death of his wife, Uncle Tommy’s shooting, the disagreement with the detective’s parents, the confrontation with the priest, and his arrest by the idiots in Arlington. No matter how hard he tried, quick flashbacks intruded in his thoughts, affecting his concentration, and at one point making his right arm falter―the barbell he was lifting started to tilt. It could have smashed onto his chest had it not been for a hand shooting out and holding it steady.

“Whoa there, big guy! I was watching your form, impressed with the way you were handling the weight so well. What happened?”

“Thanks for the help, man. Just got distracted thinking about a lot of crap that happened yesterday. You just saved me a lot of pain and some serious embarrassment. What’s your name, man? I’m CJ.”

“Hayden, bro. I’ve seen you around here before, CJ. You usually work out with a tall Asian guy. What, no partner to spot you today?”

“Nope. That’s my friend Chatri, we don’t usually lift on Saturdays, I came in on my own today. The last twenty-four hours have been crappy and I needed the physical activity. I think I’m gonna call it quits though, maybe sit in the sauna for a little while.”

“Actually, that sounds real good. See you there in a few. I wanna finish up with some crunches.”

Some ten minutes later, as promised, Hayden walked into the sauna room. The man wore a white towel around his neck and a smile on his face. Almost everyone who ever used the sauna or steam rooms wore shorts or wrapped their towel around their waist. Not Hayden. He was on full display and CJ couldn’t say he minded. The guy’s brown hair had lots of red in it, not a flaming carrot top, more of a dark rust, and the carpet matched the drapes. A smooth, well-defined torso had a sprinkling of freckles on it, which seemed to multiply over his shoulders. Both of his arms had tattoos on them, although not even close to being sleeves, they looked good. CJ thought the guy was fairly young, either a freshman or a sophomore at Georgetown he guessed.

Hayden placed his towel to CJ’s left, on the bench above him, and spread his legs widely as he sat down. CJ turned his head to say something to his new acquaintance and ended up staring right at the man’s penis. He kept his gaze on the man’s crotch for a minute; it was obvious Hayden noticed.

“Go for it, CJ, have a taste.”

“Dude, you nuts?” CJ’s head snapped back and he looked up at Hayden staring straight into his eyes. “I ain’t giving you a blow job here where someone could walk in any minute. I’m not even looking at you anymore.” He didn’t say no; he said not here.

“Hell, if any of the guys out there on the floor walked in, they’d probably wanna join. You could end up with more than one of us to play with. But it’s cool. Come back to my place with me, we can have some fun there.”

“You live in the dorms?”

“Nah, I share a house with my brother, who’s a senior here at GU, and a couple of his friends. It’s at the bottom of the hill, across from Lauinger Library. Wanna come over? You can shower there afterward.”

“Yeah, that’d be cool.”

“Let’s go then.”

CJ threw his sweaty duds back on, grabbed his gym bag, and followed Hayden out. Walking through campus, they kept mostly silent; both were smiling, and constantly stealing glances at each other. Once at the house, the guy turned around, grabbed CJ in his arms, and planted a furious kiss on his lips.

“Bro, you’re hot, and I love your ass. I’d enjoy tapping that!”

“Sorry, guy, but that ain’t gonna happen. However, I’d love to have that taste you mentioned before.” CJ stuck his hands underneath Hayden’s shirt, running them up his hard, smooth abs and chest; in the process, lifting off the sweaty garment.

“Works for me, studly. Strip!”

Clothes flew everywhere, in seconds, both men were naked, Hayden sank to his knees, and CJ had to lean back against the door to maintain his balance. The mouth which had enveloped his hardening cock was hot and wet; the tongue running underneath his foreskin, caressing the sensitive glans, made him moan and feel weak in the knees.

“Oh fuck! That feels incredible, please don’t stop.”

But stop Hayden did, as he turned the teen around and attacked his ass; slurping up and down the cleft, separating the meaty half-globes. When he drilled his tongue inside the pucker, the moaning increased in both frequency and volume.

“Oh, oh, man, oh, that’s insane! Fuck! Dude, you’re driving me crazy. I want a shot at you!”

“You do, eh?” said Hayden as he slowly rose, maintaining contact with the younger one’s body. He nibbled on CJ’s ear as his hard cock slid up and down the youngster’s ass crack. “You sure you don’t want me to just slip it inside you? Huh? Seems to me you’re ready for something other than my tongue.”

“I’m sure, stud. I want your cock inside me, but in my mouth. Come on, you can play with my butt if you want, but I wanna suck you.”

They ended up on the floor right there by the front door, side by side, head to toe. The aroma of the two sweaty men going at it after their workout permeated the room, assaulting CJ’s sense of smell. It worked to inflame not only his passion, but Hayden’s too. Soon after latching onto one another, it was all over.

While in the shower afterward, lathering their bodies, the conversation turned to details of their lives. CJ discovered Hayden had a girlfriend who wasn’t aware of his interest in men. This bothered CJ but he gave no outward impression of his discomfort. When the boy disclosed he was a junior in high school, his host got visibly nervous and began to hurry things along, obviously trying to get the underage boy out of the house. CJ became even more upset when he realized this. What the fuck? Why would Hayden mind if he was young all of a sudden? Not like he was an innocent little kid.

“Hate to rush ya, kid, but I hafta meet my girl for lunch.”

CJ slipped on his new Walls black t-shirt with the embroidered penguin logo on the left breast, a pair of gray cargo shorts, and his flip-flops. “No problem, I need to get home anyway, my parents are waiting for me.” There was no suggestion of getting together again from either one.

“Damn, boy! What took you so long? We were ready to send out the Marines to try and find you.” Brett greeted CJ as he walked into their home in his usual boisterous way.

“Ha, ha, Papa. You’re so funny. I met this guy and I sorta got distracted.”

“Oh? And how exactly did you get distracted?” César’s paternal alarm started chiming inside his head.

“You know, Dad. I got, distracted.”

“Humor me, CJ. Why don’t you explain how you got distracted? Papa and I are old, sometimes we can’t figure things out on our own.”

“Sure, Dad. But old, my ass! Anyway, I was doing bench presses. I lost my concentration, and the barbell started to slip. Hayden was there and grabbed it before I dropped it. We chatted for a bit there and then in the sauna. The guy was smoking hot. He must have noticed me staring ‘cause he asked me to give him a bj right there. I turned him down.”

“I’m glad you showed some common sense. Hopefully, you learned a lesson in Arlington, even though you didn’t do anything. Sex in public places is a no-no. So how come it took you so long to get back home if nothing happened?”

“What’s up with all the questions? You guys haven’t done this before.”

“But we’re generally aware of where you are and what you’re doing. It’s not like you to kind of disappear, without letting us know what’s going on, when you know we’re waiting for you.”

“Fine, I guess I did take longer than I usually do. Sorry. Nothing happened at the gym, but he invited me to walk with him to the house he’s watching for the summer. He wanted to fuck me, but I turned him down on that front also. Ended up trading BJs which was fun, and then we took a shower together. That’s when I found out he had a girlfriend. It bothered me, so I didn’t even hint at getting together again. I think he was surprised I was in high school, he thought I was a GU student.”

“César? He’s your son.” Brett wasn’t smiling when he spoke. CJ’s smile disappeared; a look of slight worry replaced his previously cheerful expression. César realized how he handled the situation could impact CJ’s openness with them in the future. He and Brett had told him from the moment he moved in he could talk to them about anything. This was not the time to make the boy regret he’d believed his fathers.

“Fuck you, Jarhead, you wanted a kid, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, well…”

“CJ, Papa and I disapprove of you going home with this guy. Wait! I’m not going to go crazy on you or anything, we told you we would always listen to anything you had to say. I’ll stand by that statement. I’d like you to do the same for us and listen to what I have to say. We have no issues with you having sex. Both of us did so when we were your age. When Landon visited, you slept together, and I’m assuming sleep wasn’t all you did. This is different. You went home with a stranger and by doing so put yourself in danger of getting hurt.”

“Dad, he may have been older, but we were close to the same size. And you know I can take care of myself.”

“Yes, we do know, CJ. But after the Memorial Day Weekend incident we discussed overconfidence and that comes into play here. Nothing bad happened. You had your pipes blown out―pun intended—and you came home safe and sound.”

“That’s right, Dad. So what’s the big deal? All I did was get blown by a guy. And that was a cheesy pun, by the way.”

“I’m going to sound like a silly helicopter father, but here goes. He could have overpowered you with someone’s help. If that person had been waiting at the house, he could have used something as a weapon against you, before you had a chance to react. He could have been just as skilled as you are in martial arts, or even better. Don’t laugh at this one, but he could have even bitten off your pecker while he was blowing you!”

“Ouch!”

“Yeah, ouch. Pretty sure Brett will agree with me, we’d rather you not do anything like that again. Particularly with someone older than you. Did you ask him how old he was? The age of consent in Washington is sixteen. That guy could be charged with rape.”

“Ohh, I never thought of that. He lives with his brother who’s a senior so definitely younger. Prolly a freshman or a sophomore.”

“Gotta think about all of it, buddy. Look, you meet somebody and decide to get frisky? Great! Bring him home, let one of us meet him, and then go up to your room, and fuck each other silly or whatever.”

“Dude, your father and I love you. We understand being horny.” Brett had been standing in the kitchen, across the breakfast bar where César and CJ were sitting, listening and nodding his head frequently. “When we were teenagers, we walked around popping wood all the time like you do. I think being gay makes it easier to get laid. No matter what they may think, women will never understand how we’re wired. They need a reason to have sex, we just need a place. So you have a place. Be smart and don’t take unnecessary risks when you do decide to have a little fun.”

“Papa’s right, CJ. We’d like you to always think about your safety. We also want you to learn from your experiences, especially when you do something which may not be real smart. The arrest yesterday taught you never to leave home without identification. The blow job today should teach you not to go home with a trick.”

“Geez! Fine. I guess you’re right. I need to remember I’m being treated as a grown-up by the two of you and should try to act like one. But damn could the guy suck dick!”

“Asshole!”

“Hey, dads, did you call the Police Chief over in Arlington?” CJ and his dads were walking along the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath on their way towards Rogo’s. The twenty-minute walk from their home was one all three had made repeatedly over the past summer; one where greetings were constantly exchanged with the multitude of strollers along the popular pathway. He had traded text messages with Trip. The man had suggested meeting at the bar, and they’d agreed since the place was conveniently on the way to the hospital.

“Dude, with all the excitement over you getting your tank emptied, we forgot to tell you.” Brett threw an arm around CJ’s shoulders, an affectionate move that brought smiles to a young couple walking toward them.

“Funny, Papa. So what did he want?”

“The same thing he told you in his e-mail. He wants to meet with us. We insisted you’d be present, even if I get to make the decisions since you’re a minor.” They had reached Rogo’s and César held the door open for the other two men. “He wanted to do it before the holiday weekend was over, so we agreed on Monday morning around ten. He’s talked to the two cops involved, and wants to chat with us before he makes any decisions on how to proceed.”

“Okay. Can we get the assholes fired?”

“No idea what will happen, buddy. They’re probably unionized, and those two will get lawyered up at the first sign of trouble.” César waved at Margarita, the manager on duty, who gestured, indicating they could take any open table. He picked one towards the back, wanting a little privacy for their conversation with Trip.

“What time is Trip meeting us, CJ?”

“He’s next door at Uncle Danno’s, Papa. He told me to text him once we got here and he’d be right over.”

“Okay, text him. What do you want for lunch?”

“Bacon cheeseburger, sweet potato fries, and an iced tea.”

“I think I’ll have the same. What about you, César?”

“I wanna try the Mango Shrimp Salad: green mango, grilled shrimp, and the spicy lime dressing we like. I think I’ll have an iced tea also.”

“Hey, there’s Uncle Trip.”

“How are my favorite nephew and his two sexy dads doing? It’s good to see y’all.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Favorite nephew and sexy dads, my ass. Park your butt down, cowboy. I think we all know what you want. Where were you yesterday?”

“Fuck you, Jarhead. Your son happens to really be my favorite nephew. The fact he keeps getting into newsworthy situations is just a plus. I spent most of the day yesterday working on stories about Potus. The Post called me up, I’d included Tom’s name amongst my list of contacts, and because of it, they asked me to work on their coverage of the shooting. I’m headed to the hospital after lunch. No reporters are being allowed near him yet, but he and JP have agreed to give me the first interview, a joint one at that. The paper’s going to love the human interest side. Easy to spotlight the angle, now we know he’s gonna be okay.”

“Great, that’s where we’re headed too, we can go together. CJ wants to visit Adriano’s kids first, then we’ll drop in on Tom.” César turned his attention towards the server who had been standing by the table for the last minute and placed their order. After asking his boss’s boyfriend if he wanted anything, and adding Trip’s choice to the ticket, the young man made a bee line towards the kitchen.

“So, CJ, I hear you had a little run-in with the boys in blue in Arlington. Feel like telling Uncle Trip what happened?” Being old school, the reporter had taken a spiral-bound notepad and a pen out of his backpack.

“Sure, I’ll tell you what happened. But you can’t publish a story about it.”

“Damn! You’re no fun, nephew. Fine, same rules as before. I won’t publish anything unless I have permission from you and your dads.”

“Okay. I decided to skip lifting yesterday and go for a run instead. I have several five-mile…”

CJ and his dads promised to let Trip know the outcome of the planned meeting with Chief Jacobs on Monday. Once they heard what the man had to say, they would decide on further action. If the outcome was to go public, Trip would get an exclusive interview with the three of them.

“That’s all I can ask for. But I’m still writing a story, just as I did after the motorcycle rally incident. I’m filing them away for the future. One day you’ll be famous, then I’ll get to write your biography.”

“Ha! Don’t hold your breath, Uncle Trip. After spending two weeks in Senator Rubio’s office, and seeing how politicians have to deal with being in the news all the time, I think I’m going to pick a more private career.”

“Does that mean Georgetown University and Georgetown Law are out of the running as potential schools?” The thought of CJ moving away, after he had fully come into his life, wasn’t one César wanted to entertain.

“Pretty sure, Dad. Prolly want to pick a school far away enough from home so I can live in the dorms. Speaking of Georgetown, that guy I told you ended up spotting for me at the gym had some really cool ink on his arms. Pretty colorful stuff and a couple lines of script.”

“Maybe after you turn sixteen. We need to check what the law in Washington allows.” César spoke before CJ could make any further comments.

“What?”

“I’m gonna pee my pants if I start laughing now!” chuckled Brett.

“Shut up, Jarhead! If it’s legal, you’ll have our permission to get inked, CJ. With some restrictions. Papa and I were wondering when you were going to ask us. We’d already agreed on our response.”

“Have I told you lately that I love you guys a hell of a lot?”

The laughter of all four men attracted the attention of passersby. After walking down Pennsylvania Avenue for the past fifteen minutes, they rounded Washington Circle Park, nearing the entrance to the Ronald Reagan Institute of Emergency Medicine―better known as the emergency room at GWU Hospital.

“Do you know what you want?”

“Yeah, Papa, I want a tribal design in the shape of an upside-down triangle below my neck, between my shoulder blades.”

“That works. Dad and I don’t want you to go crazy, and we don’t want anything that would show when you wear a t-shirt or shorts. That means the torso, back, groin and ass are fair game. We also discussed piercings and would prefer you hold off on those. If you decide you want one, ask and we’ll discuss it.”

“Unca CJ, Unca CJ, you came to see us!”

“Of course I came to see my little monsters. Look at all those toys all over the room. I guess you’ve both had a fun day.” CJ and Adriano’s kids had interacted a few times over the summer; he’d even babysat them on a couple of occasions. The kids had taken a liking to their unca from the minute they’d met him. “And I see daddy’s awake, hopefully feeling better. I brought markers so we can all sign his cast. Maybe you two can also draw a little something on it to make it look better?”

“Yay!” came the shout from both children.

“Getting there, CJ, getting there. César, Brett, thank you so much for coming to see me.” Adriano extended his hand to greet his visitors, managing a half-smile for them.

“You look as well as could be expected, Adriano. And the kids seem to be doing okay.”

“Not real happy about things right now, César. But I’ve got my two little angels to worry about. I gotta put up a strong front.” Adriano was in the bed by the door, sitting up, with his broken leg propped up by several pillows.

“You’re family, Adriano, and family looks after each other. You need anything at all, you ask for it. Danno’s going to talk to you later. He’ll clue you in on some background about us. Pay attention to him.” César spoke discretely in front of the injured man’s parents; he and Brett had already decided their resources would be made available to the bar manager and his kids. Danno would act as an intermediary, letting Adriano know he need not fear financial difficulties.

“That sounds like something an Italian would say. Are you sure you’re Cuban, Mr. Abelló?” Adriano’s father was sitting next to his son while his wife looked after their grandchildren.

“Mr. Abelló is my father, sir. I’m just César, or Emperor if you feel like using the nickname the yahoos I call friends gave me.”

“Very well, César it is. But you have to stop calling me sir. I’m Angelo and my wife is Antonia.”

“Any idea when you’ll get sprung?” Brett had moved closer to the bed occupied by his friend, after greeting his mother and father.

“Not sure yet, Brett. The kids are going home with my parents today, Doc discharged them earlier. He said I should be getting out sometime tomorrow. After I’m out of here, we’ll all head up to New Jersey for the funeral. The kids and I will return to Falls Church sometime the week after the services. Mama will come back with us and stay until I can get my crap together. I may have to move back to New Jersey if I can’t cope with being a single parent.”

“As Emperor said before, talk to Danno, listen to what he has to say before you make any decisions.”

“Hey, JP! What’s going on, dude?” Brett wrapped his old college buddy in a bear hug as he greeted him. Detective Kennedy was still in the intensive care unit, so that’s where César, Brett, and CJ had gone after leaving Adriano and his kids.

“Hey, mates. Caleb’s in with Tom, changing the dressing on his wound, so I came out for a cup of coffee. You’d think with all these medical types having to be alert they’d have good stuff around here.”

“You should have told us, Uncle JP. We could have stopped at Starbucks or Dunkin and brought you some.”

“That’s okay, you’ve done plenty around here already, mate. Just wait until my husband gets his hands on you.”

“Why? What did I do?”

“Nothing bad, CJ. Trust me, it’s all good. Tom’s kinda emotional right now, mates. Just wanted to warn you. He had a friendly e-mail from his ex-wife. She mentioned Tom’s parents returned to Boston early this morning, and quickly organized a family meeting. They complained about not being allowed to visit their son, who they thought was dying, by some snot-nosed little fag. She said if a teenager was able to stand up to Frank Kennedy, maybe it was time she and her sons did the same. She asked Tom to e-mail her when he was up to talking on the phone. He did so immediately. He’s waiting for a call from her, countin’ on a miracle.”