Kyle
The next day I continued to write. I was living the story each day and writing it was only a matter of recordkeeping. Someday, I was going to have to show him what I'd written, but so far, he really hadn't shown an interest in what I wrote or what I'd already published for that matter. It made me wonder whether he was one of those people who read volumes of textbooks, but never read just for pleasure.
As the time for his arrival came near, I double checked to make sure everything I'd planned was in place, so we wouldn't have any awkward pauses. He was going to be there at 5:30 today. I was clean and prepared. The bed had fresh sheets and I'd written over six thousand words that day. All was set.
His arrival time came and went. He's always on time, I thought. What could be holding him up? I couldn't call him until enough time passed as then I'd have a genuine reason for concern. I wanted to pick up the telephone, but I knew I'd appear needy. I needed to appear unconcerned but upset. When he arrived, he'd need to be punished. I'd wished to avoid that for now, but this indiscretion could not be ignored.
When he had not arrived after forty-five minutes, I decided it was now a sufficient amount of time and I might not look needy. I was less concerned with how I might appear and more concerned that something might be wrong. I'd originally set the time I'd call at two hours, but as I sat there looking at the wall wondering where the hell he was, my patience had grown shorter and shorter. After all, a Dom demands his sub be on time. I picked up the phone and called, getting that recording that usually meant the phone was out of power. "Not accepting calls at this time." The way he'd left the day before didn't translate into him not wanting to return.
Something's wrong, I thought.
I grabbed a piece of paper, scribbled a note and left it attached to the front door. Hopping in the car, I headed over to the apartment building he said he lived in. I had his phone number and I knew the building, but I had no idea what apartment number to go to.
A few minutes later, I pulled in and parked in the lot. I could see that right near the entrance was the mail center. I scanned the boxes and for the first time wondered if he might still be using a pseudonym, but as luck would have it, I saw his name a few seconds later and had his apartment number.
He was on the second floor in Apartment B. I was there in a few seconds, knocking on the door. There was a commotion inside and the door opened. Standing in front of me was Preston in torn clothing, covered in bruises. His face was swelling up and beginning to disfigure. My boy'd been beaten almost beyond recognition. One of his eyes was already swollen shut.
"OH MY GOD, what happened?"
"I was getting out of the car. Some guys came up behind me and called me a faggot. I turned around and there were three guys standing there. One of them pushed me and asked me if I wanted to suck him. Then they pushed me back and forth until I fell on the sidewalk. They started beating and kicking me. I couldn't get up to run away and just when I thought they were going to kill me, they laughed and walked off. I think I might have a cracked rib."
"Have you seen a doctor or talked to the police?"
"The police were here. One of the girls who lives here found me lying there and helped me in. Then she called 'em. I told them everything I know and gave them the best description I could."
"They didn't offer to take you to the ER?"
"They did, but I refused. I don't need the ER."
"No? Why NOT?"
"Well, for one thing the only thing they'd do is x-ray me, tell me I have a cracked rib, and that there's nothing they can do. Then they'd tell me it would heal in time. I could use a pain medication, but I'll get by. In the meantime, I'll save myself a thousand-dollar emergency room bill."
"Get your books and tell me what you need from the bathroom. You're going home with me."
"Oh?"
"Yes, you have any problems with that, Boy?"
"No, Sir."
"On the way I want you to give me the description of the guys that roughed you up."
"Why? I told the police."
"Because I told you to." I didn't feel like arguing with him about it and let's face it, being the Dom has its advantages.
"Yes, Sir. Ow. Don't make me smile."
Once in the car, I reminded him to give me the description I'd asked for.
"Well the guy that hit me first was a tall skinny guy. I think he was about six four. He had short dirty blond hair and one of the guys called him Ron. The other guys were about my height. One of them had really dark hair and the other one had brown hair. They were all white guys. The tall guy was wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt and the other two had colored t-shirts with pockets. I think they had a pack of cigarettes in them. The cops'll never do anything about it."
A few minutes later we were pulling up outside the house. I walked Preston inside, stripped him down, and tucked him into bed. I had a few heavy-duty pain meds from an extraction of two wisdom teeth months before. I gave him one with a glass of milk, then unloaded his clothes and bathroom items from the car. It wasn't long before the painkiller took effect and he nodded off to sleep.
While he slept I made room in the closet and after a few minutes, sat down at the desk to write. I hadn't planned my novel to take a turn like this one, but sometimes things just happen.
It wasn't long before it became obvious that I was too angry to write. Now that his things were put away and I knew he was sleeping, I grabbed his keys and headed over to his apartment. It was a small place and he didn't have much. I was planning to pack up everything and move him in. On the way, I watched the neighborhood. The threesome he spoke about should be easy to find if they were still around, but there were few people on the street. Just before I got to his apartment building, I turned the corner and was surprised to see three young men walking down the street, facing the other way. There was no mistaking them. How often do you see three young men, one a blond over six feet tall and two others matching Preston's description?
I continued to drive and parked about a block in front of them. Leonard's words hit me like a ton of bricks. "You never use your skills to attack. This kind of fighting is for self-defense only."
Locking the car, I turned back and walked toward them. Turning my hand back at ninety degrees from my wrist, I bent over to dust off my shoes. I normally don't exhibit feminine characteristics, but I was baiting the hook. I needed them to believe I was helpless. They'd already been on the attack recently. I needed to look like a victim begging to be taken down. I didn't know any other way to catch their attention. If they were who I thought they were, they'd soon be bothering me. I was a little older and bigger than Preston, so I figured I had to look like someone who was unable to defend himself. Guys like them never attack anyone unless they're sure they have the upper hand. As it was, I'd be outnumbered.
A moment later, they were on me. "Hey, it's another fag," one of them yelled. I threw my hands over my cheeks letting out a scream of surprise an octave above my own. As one of them swung at me, I went to work. Catching his arm, I had him on his back in a single motion. The other two were laid out on the sidewalk in another ten seconds or so. They were in pain, but none of them were hurt seriously. I walked over calmly and whispered, "I heard you boys like to beat up us fags. Anytime I hear you've done it again, I will find you. Next time, I'll do some serious damage."
One of the boys whispered something and all I could make out was the word, "Abomination."
I saw something familiar in his eyes. It was that gaydar thing I've never quite understood but learned to rely on. "Damn but I hate when a closet case beats on his own kind because he hates himself so much." Looking at the other two I laughed. "Looks like I'm going have to protect that one, too."
Climbing back in my car, I headed back to my house. I realized I'd done what I really wanted to do and even though I'd planned on moving Preston out of his current house, I knew I couldn't do that without clearing it with him. He wasn't my slave. He was my boy. Taking away his authority over his possessions and his life would likely piss him off. We didn't need that. This could wait a day or two.
The medication I gave him likely had him sleeping really deep, and it hadn't been very long since I left, so I made a pit stop at Leonard's.
I was concerned that he might not be there. He spent a lot of time at AA. As I pulled into his driveway, I was relieved to see his car. I'd lucked out. He'd likely gone to the morning meeting.
Leonard also lived in one of the original houses in the neighborhood. His was built of local stone and he'd brought it back to original condition. Along the front was a big porch and I could see Leonard with a book, rocking away in a hanging porch bench. "Hey, Leonard."
"Boy! I mean Kyle, what's up?"
I climbed onto the porch as he rose to give me a hug. Sitting on the opposing chair, I told him about discovering Preston all beat up and bringing him to my house. Before I had a chance to say more he reached out and examined my hands. "You didn't play victim again, did you?"
Looking down out of habit, I soon realized I was subbing and pulled myself together. "I had to, you should have seen him. He was swollen and bruised. I was going to head over there and get some of his things. No actually that's not true. I was going to get all of his things. I was just starting to realize I needed to have a special talk with him first and there really was no hurry. I thought if I did that I'd just piss him off in the process. As I started changing my mind I saw the guys he described. I knew I couldn't just attack them, so I saw to it that they attacked me, confirming their identity in the process."
"So you just baited them and let them make the first move, just the way you knew they would."
"Well yeah, I know those kind of guys. They can't resist beating someone they assume is helpless. Those guys are trash."
"Well, it's done. So, this special talk you're going to have. Have you decided what you're going to say?"
"I have several thoughts on that. At first, I was just going to demand it, you know go all Dom on him. Now, I just don't know. I can't just tell him I have to protect him. He'll get all defensive. I don't even know the guy that well."
"You know him more than anybody ever has. You have his soul in the palm of your hand. You just don't know his life plans, his family affiliations, the foods he hates and the foods he loves. You're falling for the guy. You just said it. The problem is you're clueless."
It was obvious he was enjoying watching me fall for Preston. "Now get out of here. My new boy is coming by in about an hour and I have to prepare."
"No advice?"
"Yeah, that kid is likely crazy about you, so he'll want to move in, but you need to assure him that living with you won't get in the way of his studies. Both of you are stressed for time and need to be able to work at home. You may need to set some new rules to secure your own dominance. The more time you spend together the easier it is to go vanilla. He may not want that."
"Sounds good to me. Okay, I'm out of here." Giving him a hug and thanking him for his help, I ran down the steps, hopped in the car, and headed home with new hope.