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Benny's House
Chapter 18 – The More Things Change...
by Matt
From the diary of Benny Harrison
Friday 1st May 2015
Yesterday I wrote about how 'normal' everything was. I now realise that I was, very stupidly, tempting fate with that. Today was... well let's just say it wasn't normal! That doesn't mean it was bad though. What happened with Malik and Abdul was... unfortunate, but I suppose it's all dealt with now.
It also looks like I'll be having a new sub in the house soon, too, albeit on a trial period. Zack's visit was today. You'd think that by now, after what's happened with Charlie/Wesley and Malik/Abdul I'd learn to steer clear of relatives, but Alex and Zack both seem excited about the idea of both being in the house.
Obviously something else happened today but... I don't know if I'm ready to think too much about that yet...
Benny rushed home from school. He knew he would be home before Malik anyway, but it still felt like he needed to hurry. After he had confronted his General the previous night, he had expected to finally get some answers but somehow Malik had managed to weasel out of talking again, although this time it really was more of a postponement. They had agreed that they would get together to talk properly after Malik finished work on Friday.
Benny greeted Roger as usual and quickly went over the evening's plans. He had requested that Malik not be included. He didn't know exactly what he was going to find out from the elusive General, but he worried that Malik may not be in the right frame of mind afterwards to be in charge of anyone.
Zack was also due to come round that evening too. Benny just hoped that he would be done with Malik in time to meet with Alex's cousin properly. He settled into his lounge, knowing he was likely to spend the whole evening in there.
Malik arrived home at his usual time. Benny was actually a little surprised, almost expecting him to be deliberately late to avoid talking.
"Hey," Benny said with a smile as the General walked in.
"Hey," Malik said back, smiling weakly.
"Have a seat," Benny said.
Malik approached and looked at the options available. There was a chair across the coffee table from Benny, or there was space on the sofa beside him. He took a deep breath and ended up sitting alongside his Master.
"Malik, what's going on?" Benny asked. He reached out and gently stroked the young man's arm.
"I don't wanna do this," Malik said back with a sigh.
"I need to know what's going on. I'm... worried!" Benny explained. "There's something... I don't know, something wrong between you two? Please, just tell me."
Malik grabbed a cushion from behind him, wrapped his arms around it for comfort and leaned back in the seat. He looked at Benny, sighed once more and began, "The thing you need to know is... Abdul... was my hero!"
Benny frowned, confused by both Malik's comment and his demeanour.
"Growing up, being so close in age he was more like a cousin or a big brother than an Uncle to me. Yeah, I used to call him Uncle now and then to wind him up, but we were close. I looked up to him. When people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I used to say 'Abdul'. And he loved me too. He treated me like a person instead of just like a little kid."
Benny listened. Malik sounded so sad as he spoke. It was not what the young Master had expected.
"I suppose things started to go wrong about nine years ago," Malik said, thinking back.
Monday 13th March 2006
Thirteen-year-old Malik sat in the attic room, staring blankly out the window. He let out a sigh as his eyes moved from star to star in the night sky.
"What's wrong?" a voice called from behind him.
"Crap," Malik called out, jumping at the sound. He turned to see Abdul standing in the doorway. He jumped up from his seat and faced towards his Uncle. "You made me jump!" he snapped angrily.
"What's wrong?" Abdul asked again, ignoring his nephew's reaction. He walked towards the boy. At nineteen, he towered over the short youngster.
"Nothing," Malik said unconvincingly, staring up at Abdul.
Abdul smirked. "Bullshit. I know you Malik. You've been off for a while and it just keeps getting worse. What's wrong?" he said, refusing to back down.
Malik's jaw clenched as his eyes watered, but he remained silent as he stared up at his hero.
"Mal," Abdul started. He took a seat on the bed, bringing his eye level down roughly to Malik's. "Come on, you know you can talk to me."
"Not about this," Malik said weakly.
"About anything!" Abdul insisted.
"And you won't tell anyone?" Malik asked.
Abdul reached up and gently stroked the boy's arm. "Our secret. I promise."
Malik froze. He trusted Abdul, more than anyone in the world, but this was huge. He took a deep breath and started, "I... I'm different... from everyone else." When Abdul just gave him a quizzical look he continued, "I don't like girls the way other boys like girls. I... I kinda like boys the way that other boys like girls. Crap, I... I can't... I don't know how to say it. I like.... I like other boys."
Abdul's hand dropped away. "I know what you're trying to say, Malik,2 he said sharply, "But you can't tell anyone else about this. If your Mum or Dad or any of the family finds out about this... it wouldn't be good."
Malik looked even more scared. It wasn't as bad as the visions he had had of Abdul completely flipping out and disowning him, but it wasn't far off. "Abdul, I...."
"Don't. I can't talk to you about this. Let's... just pretend you never said anything!" Abdul said before standing up and dashing out.
Malik flopped down onto the bed and burst into tears.
Saturday 18th March 2006
Malik sat in the back of Abdul's car, watching as houses sped past. He had barely seen his Uncle since he told him his secret and it had made him feel more alone than ever. Then Abdul had just turned up and asked him to come out with them. He was with two of his friends, one of whom was in the front passenger seat while the other sat in the back beside Malik.
"Where are we going?" Malik asked nervously.
"Don't worry about it," Abdul replied. It was the third time he had evaded the question.
Fifteen minutes later, they pulled up in an old abandoned industrial estate on the edge of the town. Malik peered out of the car window but stayed in his seat. Abdul's friends got out and headed for one of the nearby buildings, the only one with a light on. Abdul pulled open the door and looked down at his nephew.
"What are we doing here?" Malik asked, his hands trembling.
"Hey relax, you know I'd never hurt you!" Abdul said, squatting down.
"Yeah," Malik said with a smile, slightly more confident about everything.
"Come on then," Abdul said, standing up.
Malik climbed out of the car and followed Abdul into the building. As they got inside, he saw that along with the two friends they had travelled with, three more guys around Abdul's age were already inside.
"Abdul?" Malik asked, pausing as a feeling of panic washed over him.
"It's okay, we're not going to hurt you. We're going to help you!" one of the other men said.
Malik stepped to the side and gripped tightly onto Abdul's arm. "I don't like this. I want to go."
"Mal, we're going to help you!" Abdul repeated the other man's words. He pushed Malik forward as everyone gathered, leaving the boy stood in the middle of a rough circle of men.
"Take off your clothes!" one of the men snapped quite sharply.
Malik froze, looking round at the all then burst into tears.
"Fuck's sake, grow up Malik," Abdul snarled, then stepped forward and grabbed at his coat, pulling it off. "Just do what we tell you, okay?"
Malik's hands were shaking as he cried. He tried to run back to the door he had come in through, but Abdul and one of the other men were too fast. They grabbed him before he could get away and pushed him back into the middle as they all closed in around him.
"Fine, we'll do it for you," the man who had demanded he strip said angrily.
Before Malik could respond, there were hands all over him, holding him down, pulling at his clothes. Moments later, he stood there, naked and desperately trying to cover up.
"Abdul..." Malik whimpered, looking to his Uncle, who just shook his head back.
Benny's breath caught in his throat as he listened to Malik recount the events. "Oh my God. Did they..." He couldn't even bring himself to say the words.
Malik shook his head. It was a bit of a relief to Benny, but not much.
"So, what happened?" the Master asked.
Malik took a deep breath. It was taking every ounce of self-control he had to hold it together. "They just... humiliated me, insulted me, told me how disgusting I was for being the way I was," he explained. "But it got worse."
"How?" Benny asked, already dreading the answer.
"Eventually, they started to convince me that if I was gay, then I should do other things for them. They used to say that if I was a cocksucker, then maybe I should suck theirs." Malik said, shuddering slightly.
"So they made you?" Benny asked in disgust.
"No," Malik replied firmly. "They were always VERY careful about that. They never made me do anything, they just... I don't know, messed with my head to the point where they made me think I wanted to do it. More and more things over time until I was pretty much just letting them do whatever THEY wanted, but thinking it was MY idea! They used to tell me that by doing all my 'gay stuff' that way, I could act like a 'normal person' for the rest of the time."
Benny was at a loss for what to say.
"But..." Malik started, suddenly looking as guilty as he had the previous night.
"But what?" Benny asked, wondering what more there could be to it.
Malik put down the cushion he had been hugging and sat up face-to-face with Benny. "But... this is the part... you may not like," he said sheepishly.
"What is it?" Benny asked, slightly worried. He sat up straight too, matching Malik's posture.
"Well after that had been going on for a couple of years, Abdul went away. He got a job with one of our relatives down South and so I went a few years without actually seeing him," Malik explained. "The stuff him and his friends had been doing seemed to stop with him gone, which was great. But eventually he came back."
"And it started up again?" Benny asked, frowning.
Malik shook his head. "No, the opposite. By the time he came back, I wasn't some helpless kid any more. I was twenty, somehow I'd actually got a bit of self-confidence back and I was out. Seeing him, though... that brought it all back. It made me think about what he'd done and it was like somebody had just lifted a curtain and revealed the truth to me about what he had done."
"Wh... what did you do?" Benny asked, leaning forward.
"I kicked the crap out of him!" Malik said, his fists clenching as he remembered it. "And then afterwards, I just... kinda... took control of him. I told him that he was mine to command and that if he didn't do everything I said, then I'd tell the police and our family what he had done to me when I was just a kid."
Benny stared in astonishment. It suddenly made sense. Abdul's total subservience, Malik's anger towards the man, it was all so clear now. Then something else dawned on him. "Wait... is that why he's here, in this house? Are you making him?"
Malik stared back for a moment before he finally nodded. "Yeah, he doesn't want to be here. He hates it and honestly, he hates me, but he knows there's nothing he can do about it."
So many thoughts rushed through Benny's head. He very nearly made a decision on the spot, but the last time he had done that, he had expelled Roger from the house and almost destroyed everything eh had built. The main thing he had learned from that was that being in charge meant decisions had to be considered carefully.
"I'm really sorry, Benny. To begin with, when things were different, it didn't seem like a big deal. But then, when you made that announcement about only wanting people to be here by choice, I knew I should tell you."
"Then why didn't you?" Benny asked with a slight frown.
"Because... I was scared. I figured there were only two possible outcomes. Either you'd let Abdul leave and I'm still so angry at him that I didn't want him to get off that easily, or you'd make me leave and... and this place means everything to me," Malik explained.
Right then, Benny couldn't help agreeing with him. Those really were the only two options he could see for himself. He stayed silent for a few moments.
"Please don't make me go. I'm sorry I hid it from you," Malik pleaded.
Benny smiled warmly. "Don't worry, you're not going anywhere," he said reassuringly. "But Malik, all of that aside... thank you for telling me all of that. I know it can't have been easy, and I'm sorry you had to go through it."
Malik just nodded, too choked up to speak back.
"Come here," Benny said, holding his arms out. Malik leaned into him and the two hugged.
Benny had virtually sleepwalked his way through most of Zack's visit so far. They were now sat in the Dining Room having dinner. Zack had been allowed to sit amongst the other Boys to give him a chance to speak to them away from the prying ears of Benny or his Generals.
Benny's mind had been, understandably, fixed on the story Malik had told him. He hadn't really got to know Abdul as well as some of the other Boys in the house, but even the small amount he knew of the man made the tale hard to believe.
Benny quickly realised that the part he had struggled with the most was accepting that anyone could actually be that vile to another human being. It was a strange thought, considering how much of his time was devoted to teasing and torturing his own slaves, but he knew that was quite different.
He kept thinking over and over about Malik, aged just thirteen, surrounded by the older teens, so scared and alone. Somehow from there his mind made the jump to Wesley at that same age, enduring the endless stream of bile and torment from his own father. He wondered if Malik and Wesley might have actually shared their stories with each other. Perhaps it was that bond, that shared history of abuse that had helped them bond so closely.
Thoughts of Wesley reminded Benny how much he missed his former General. He briefly entertained the notion that, had he dismissed Charlie from the house as soon as he learned of what the young man had done in his youth, Wesley might not have left. He quickly dismissed it, but found himself pondering a similar question about Abdul. Did the man deserve to be expelled from the house because of things he did almost a decade earlier?
The Master was shaken from his thoughts by the sudden realisation he had been asked a question. Alex was staring straight at him expectantly. "S... sorry, what?" he asked, a little dazed.
"Ugh," Alex grunted, "I asked if you were even going to bother talking to Zack tonight?"
"Sorry," he said quietly. "Just got a few things on my mind."
"Yeah, well get over it. You're meant to be the man in charge. Start acting like it!" Alex snapped moodily, sick of putting in all the effort for his cousin's tour.
"Hey, watch it!" Roger snapped back from the opposite side of Benny.
"No, he's right," Benny said in Alex's defence.
Roger scowled. "Well that still doesn't excuse talking to you like that," he muttered.
"How about we make it up to him by letting him get a bit more involved?" Benny said, suddenly grinning.
Alex smiled back, looking at his Master curiously. "What are you thinking?"
"Wait and see!" Benny said, formulating a plan in his mind.
They carried on with dinner as normal. Once they were all finished, the two Boys assigned to household chores for the evening set about clearing the table while everyone else got up to head to their designated activities.
"Not so fast!" Benny called out. "Everyone back to your seats," he ordered.
The room was suddenly abuzz with chatter as everyone wondered what was going on. Quite correctly, most of the surmised that it was something to do with their guest, with most eyes falling on the young man.
"Zack!" Benny called out. The few who weren't already looking at the boy now turned to him. "What do you think of my house, then?"
Zack looked nervous for a moment, but after a reassuring nod from his cousin he smiled. "It's great, I love it!"
"Glad to hear it," Benny said with a gentle nod. "But before we consider letting you join us here, we need to test how good you are at following orders."
The quiet chatter slowly died away to anticipative silence as everyone waited to see what was about to happen.
"Stand up," Benny called out.
Zack immediately obeyed.
'Good start,' Benny thought to himself as he watched the boy stand. "Up there," he added, gesturing to the centre of the table.
Zack hesitated for just a moment, then stepped onto his chair and up onto the table as ordered. He stepped along it carefully, avoiding the few remaining items that had yet to be cleared until he reached the spot Benny had indicated.
"Take off your t-shirt," Benny called out.
Zack's nerves finally got the better of him. With the eyes of eight Boys, three Generals and the Master all fixed on him, he froze. Once again it was a simple smile from Alex that got him going again. He reached down to his waist, grabbed the bottom of his t-shirt and quickly yanked it off, dropping it to the side.
Benny say back and observed. It had been nearly three years since Benny had seen Zack. The first time he had, they had been at a nudist beach so he had gotten a pretty good look at every inch of the boy. Back then he had been short and chubby, but the years had been good to him. The puppy fat had faded away and while he was far from muscular, he wasn't really chunky either. He was more like a generic lump of clay waiting for the final push towards manhood to shape him into his adult body.
His hair was dark, almost black and as a result, he already had small tufts of hair in his armpits, a dark narrow trail of hair running down from his navel and a couple of stray hairs around his nipples. As Benny studied the boy, comparing him to his blonde, beautiful cousin, he failed to see any family resemblance at all.
"Jeans too," Benny said, raising an eyebrow.
Zack took a deep breath and glanced around the room, immediately wishing he hadn't as he made brief eye contact with everyone else one by one. He reached down and undid the jeans, letting them drop to his ankles, then stepped out of them and kicked them aside.
"Fuck!" Malik gasped as he saw the bulge in front of the boy's white Calvin Klein briefs.
Benny grinned, remembering the boy's ample endowment. In response to Malik's exclamation and wide-eyed stare, everyone at the opposite end of the table dashed towards the Generals' side, their expressions soon matching Malik's.
The young Master stared Zack in the eye, smiled at him and simply said, "Let's see it then!"
Zack smirked a little. Despite his nerves, he was about to unleash his favourite body part. While he was little self-conscious about the rest of his body, his cock was something he always drew great confidence from. He grabbed the underwear and bent down, yanking it down to his ankles, then stood back up proudly.
Amazingly, it too had grown since Benny last saw it. Back then, it had been an impressive six inches when soft, swelling to a monstrous nine and a half inches when hard (something Benny had taken great pleasure in seeing). While it had only gained another inch or so, that still made it a fairly colossal tool. It had also thickened fairly substantially. Beneath it, two equally weighty balls hung down too.
Zack had flushed bright red as he saw everyone staring, his dick hanging down heavily from the large bush of almost-black. He looked at Benny once again.
"Go on then," Benny said with a grin.
Zack immediately knew what the Master meant as he reached down and grabbed his penis. He started stroking it, getting a surprising thrill from the audience of eager spectators. As the Boys were naked, as always, it was impossible for them to hide their own arousal at the show, almost every one of their cocks now standing at full attention.
Zack soon joined them, his fleshy monster reaching its full size. He dropped his hand away and let the erection bob around in front of him, pointing almost downward simply from the sheer weight of it.
If Benny had to guess, he would have put it at just short of eleven inches, easily the longest he had ever seen in real life, while its width had swollen to the same thickness as Zack's wrist. 'Fuck me, it's like a third arm!' he thought to himself. As he observed his group of Boys, he could tell just about every one of them wanted to get their hands on the impressive erection. He considered picking someone, but thought it ultimately more cruel to simply make them all wait.
"I wanna see you cum! You have two minutes!" Benny called out, shocking Zack from his proud smugness.
"I... I... what?" he asked, frowning back at Benny.
"Two minutes, to cum. One minute fifty now actually," Benny replied. "And if you don't, you're out!" he threatened. It was very much an empty threat. The boy seemed to be well behaved and his endowment would certainly make him a fun addition to the house, so even with the connection to Alex, he could think of no good reason not to allow him to join. That didn't mean he couldn't have some fun with him now though.
Zack responded to the threat instantly, grabbing his cock with both hands and pumping away at it. Even the fact that two hands easily fit on it at once was enough to arouse most of the guys, but seeing the boy standing naked and alone on the table, frantically masturbating was enough to frive most of them to imitate him.
"None of that," Benny said, looking round to his Boys. "Hands on your heads!"
There was a collective groan as they released their own swollen cocks and followed their Master's command. Everyone continued watching as Zack furiously stroked at the huge tool, beginning to groan more and more with each passing second.
"Twenty seconds left," Benny called out. When it reached ten, he started a countdown aloud, with everyone else joining in.
They had just reached three when Zack called out, "Oh God!" and his cock erupted in a fountain of spunk. It sprayed high into the air, flicking left to right as his hands continued to stroke. Each spurt flew up, then fell down with an audible splat onto the table. His hands continued moving until every last drop had oozed out onto the wooden surface beneath his feet.
A brief round of applause, accompanied by a couple of cheers signalled the audience's approval of the show, but it was short-lived as Benny raised a hand to silence them. "Very good, Boy," Benny said coldly, then looked down at the table, "But look at the mess you've made. Clean it up!"
Zack looked suddenly nervous again as he stared back blankly.
"With your tongue!" Benny added with a wicked grin.
"I....er.... I..." Zack stuttered. He looked to his cousin again, but this time all he got was a shrug. He took a deep breath then dropped to his knees, lowered his face to the table and stuck out his tongue. He started lapping up the first few drops, knowing every eye was still fixed on him. Some of the Boy even moved back down the table to get a better look at his arse which was now exposed and spread.
Zack worked back and forth across the surface of the table, retrieving every drop of spunk he could find. When he was done, he pushed himself back up, remaining in a kneeling position, now almost right in front of Benny.
Benny had to suppress a smile as he observed the ongoing erections plaguing his boys. They needed release and he was tempted to allow it, but instead he chose to take the opportunity for a rare show of dominance.
"On your back!" Benny snapped at Zack who obeyed, rolling onto his back. Benny reached up and placed an arm under each armpit, then slid the boy along until his head was off the edge of the table. He reached down and undid his jeans, pulling the front down, along with his underwear to reveal his own erection.
Suddenly all eyes were back on Benny. As hot as it was seeing Zack on his back, his still fairly-firm cock resting on his stomach, it was actually quite rare to see the Master's cock.
Benny pushed his boner against Zack's lips. The boy knew what to do, opening his mouth and taking Benny's stiffness inside. He didn't really have to do much sucking as Benny pretty much just fucked his mouth as he stood there. Every now and then one of the Boys would attempt to sneakily grope their own cock until they received a cutting stare from the Master, stopping them dead in their tracks.
Benny could feel himself getting closer and closer to cumming. He enjoyed having everyone seeing him fucking the face of the new Boy (as Benny had by now decided he would definitely be joining them). It gave him the feeling of power he enjoyed so much, without actually hurting anyone, a win/win as far as he was concerned. He was so caught up in the feeling that it barely registered in his perception when there was a knock in the distance and Roger left the room.
"AH fuck yeah," Benny called out as he pulled his cock from Zack's mouth just in time to shoot his load over the Boy's chest. He didn't linger on it for too long. As soon as he had finished cumming, he put his cock away and zipped up. "You can get dressed," he said to Zack almost dismissively.
There was a slight groan of disappointment from the Boys, most of them presumably hoping to get involved in the action.
"Okay, everyone back to your usual activities!" Benny called out.
The Boys started slowly filing out of the room, a couple hanging back a little to get a glance at the new Boy's impressive girth. By the time they had all left, leaving just Benny, Alex and Zack in the dining room, Zack was fully dressed again.
"So you still think you'd like to join us?" Benny asked with a slight smirk.
"Hell yeah!" Zack said happily.
"And your parents would be okay with you moving out?" Benny asked, suddenly thinking back to how long it had been since he had seen his own parents again.
"Doubt they'd even notice," Zack muttered, suddenly looking a little down.
Benny shot Alex a questioning glance, but the older teen simply shook his head that gave a definite message of 'don't ask'.
"Okay, well I'm not saying you can just move in tomorrow, but I'd definitely like to offer you a place here. We can talk about it more soon," Benny said, smiling as he saw Zack's face light up. He looked to Alex and said, "Why don't you take him home?"
"Okay, no problem," Alex replied, looking almost as happy as Zack.
They headed out into the atrium just as Roger emerged from Benny's private lounge. Benny immediately knew from the look on Roger's face that something was up. "Everything... okay?" he asked hesitantly.
"You've got a visitor," Roger said. "He... insisted on speaking to you so he's waiting in your lounge."
Benny was both worried and intrigued. He smiled at Zack and said, "I'll see you soon, take care," then dashed across to the door. He opened it up and peered inside. His breath caught in his throat as he saw who was standing in there. "Dale?" he said in shock.
Alex and Zack had sat in the car in absolute silence since they left the house. They glanced at each other occasionally, but neither of them said a word. By the time they reached Zack's house, they still hadn't spoken.
"What's wrong?" Alex finally asked as they sat in the driveway.
Zack folded his arms and glared at his cousin.
"What?" Alex asked, "Are you okay?" He reached out and stroked Zack's arm.
The younger teen pulled his arm away and looked down at Alex's hand in disgust. "That!" he snapped. "That's what's wrong!"
Alex cautiously pulled his hand back, looking at it in confusion. "I don't... follow!" he said with a slight frown.
"You're being... I dunno... nice," Zack said, shaking his head.
"And that's.... bad?" Alex asked, getting gradually more confused.
"Yes! Well.... no..." Zack argued back, blushing a little before gritting his teeth again and staring more intently at Alex. "You've changed. It's like you're not even you any more!"
Alex suddenly felt a little annoyed. He knew he really had changed. The time he had spent with Benny and the others, the work he had done with Victor, the time he had spent working on his issues, it was all paying off. He couldn't even remember the last time he had really lost his temper, it was like he was finally in control of his own emotions instead of it being the other way around, yet Zack seemed to think it was a bad thing!
"Yeah," Alex said, almost feeling his temper flare, "It's called growing up!"
Zack snorted, "No, it's called being whipped!" He shook his head, nostrils flaring as he observed the older teen, thinking about the evening. "You're... awesome and scary and.... intimidating. Or at least you were! You should be running that place, but instead you're running round serving a pathetic little boy!"
Alex was getting pushed closer and closer to the edge. He had never really thought about it before, but he felt a strong sense of protectiveness, devotion even, to Benny, so hearing someone refer to him as a 'pathetic little boy' was really pushing his buttons. "Mind what you say!" Alex snarled through gritted teeth.
"Ooh yeah, there it is!" Zack said, a twinkle in his eye as he saw the sudden anger in his cousin. "Come on, show me the real Alex, not the submissive little pussy that little prick's turned you into!"
Alex's fists clenched as his nostrils flared. "Don't!" was all he could manage to say. He wasn't actually sure whether he was saying it to Zack or himself.
"You gonna hit me, or you too much of a wimp?" Zack teased cruelly. When Alex remained still, he swung his hand out to slap him.
Alex's hand shot up in the air and grabbed Zack's wrist before the hand could make contact with his face. His fingers dug into the younger teen's wrist. It made Zack flinch a little, but he looked almost happy about it.
"Get out!" Alex snarled furiously, thrusting Zack's hand back towards him.
"Okay," Zack said airily with a slight shrug, then opened the door and climbed out. He leaned back in and added, "See you soon, cuz." He slammed the door and walked casually towards the house.
Alex found himself breathing heavily. His hands clenched the steering wheel, his knuckles whitening. "Okay, you can do this, just breathe," he whispered to himself quietly, forcing himself to calm down.
"Hi Benny," Dale said politely as the boy walked in.
"H.... erm... hi," Benny stuttered nervously. He walked further into the lounge, but was careful to keep some furniture in between the two of them.
"Shall we... sit?" Dale asked. He could tell that he was making Benny nervous and while part of him wanted to say something to put the boy at ease, another part of him was finding a kind of twisted enjoyment at watching him squirm.
"Yeah... okay," Benny said, slipping into one of the seats, his eyes fixed on Dale as the older man did the same. "Is everything okay? Is Josh..." He didn't quite know what he was asking.
"Don't worry, everything's fine," Dale said, considering everything that had happened recently before adding, "Well it's fine now!"
"Good. So... don't take this the wrong way, but... what do you want?" Benny asked nervously.
Dale took a deep breath. Was what he had to say particularly difficult, or just unpleasant? Either way, he appeared reluctant to say it. "I... want to give you Josh!"
Benny stared for several moments, replaying the sentence in his mind over and over. He must have misheard or misunderstood. "You... you... what?"
"Ugh, that's really not how I wanted to say that," Dale groaned .
Benny sat up in his seat slightly, taking a little comfort in the fact that Dale seemed to be struggling with the conversation as much as he was. "Look, why don't you... start at the beginning."
Dale nodded, taking another deep breath. "Yeah, good idea," he said quietly. He thought for a moment, then started, "Well Josh and I kinda broke up a while back."
"Oh," Benny said. He knew everything that had happened as Sam had filled him in. "What happened?" he asked, feigning ignorance.
"He..." Dale started, then shook his head. "It doesn't matter. We're putting all of that behind us. We got back together and things are... well they're really good!" He smiled as he spoke.
Benny couldn't help smiling in response. Regardless of his feelings for Josh or the way things had ended between them, he had always liked seeing Josh and Dale together, they seemed to make each other remarkably happy.
"But..." Dale continued, "There's something missing."
"Something?" Benny asked, beginning to get an idea of where Dale was heading.
"Yeah," Dale nodded. "Josh is a sub, he has been pretty much ever since... you! He's reached the point where he's realised that it's not the most important thing in the world, but it's still undeniably part of who he is. He... needs it."
"Okay..." Benny said, contemplating what Dale was getting at.
"I know Sam's told you about the time he spent in charge of Josh and since they ended things, he's tried meeting other doms. I even tried doing it myself but... it just doesn't work for us. It seems like the only person who's ever been his Master and done it well... is you!" Dale explained.
Benny nodded. "Yeah, except for the part where I almost killed him!" he said bluntly.
Dale stared at the boy. He knew the matter would have to come up eventually, but he had expected to be the one to do it. "Erm... well... yeah, apart from that."
Benny felt like he was back in his old room, reliving that day. After the assault (that was what he had taken to calling it, referring it to as an 'incident' or anything like that only served to lessen the seriousness of it) Dale had been the one Josh called. Dale had come round immediately and found Josh still cowering on the bed, his wrists bloody and Benny just standing in the middle of the room, shell-shocked. That meant he was the only other person who had actually seen how bad it was. Other people had been told about it since, but Dale had actually been there, he had been the one to pick up the pieces.
Dale stared at Benny for several seconds. "You know, when Josh came to see you, he came home and he told me how much you'd changed. He told me all about this place and how you'd really grown up and matured since that Summer."
"And?" Benny asked, knowing there was more.
"And I thought he was either mistaken or just fooling himself. I mean, let's face it, when it comes to serving people, he really hasn't got the slightest bit of sense, has he?" Dale said, smiling slightly.
Benny smiled in response. Dale was definitely right about that.
"So that's why I sent Sam," Dale continued.
Benny looked a mix of confused and hurt. "You sent him here to spy on me?"
Dale shook his head. "No, not really. You've met the kid, you know how keen he was, that was all him. I just used him to gather some intel."
Benny frowned a little, folded his arms and asked, "So what did this intel tell you then?"
Dale looked a little sheepish. "He pretty much agreed with everything Josh said," he confessed.
"And you believed him?" Benny asked suspiciously.
"Partly," Dale said. "Honestly, Benny.... I don't like you. You... scare me a little, but I trust both Josh and Sam, so if they say you've changed then I'm willing to take their word for it, but that doesn't mean I've forgotten what you can do."
"No, neither have I!" Benny replied, staring Dale straight in the eye, holding his gaze for several seconds. "And now you want to 'give Josh to me' then?" Benny asked, repeating Dale's words from earlier.
"Yeah, that... wasn't really the best way to put it. What I meant was... I want you to be his Master again," Dale requested.
Benny's heart felt like it was about to pound through his chest. Although part of him remained unsure that going back to Josh was the right thing to do, it wasn't that part that was in control right then. "So you want him to live here? And serve me?"
"Erm... no," Dale said hesitantly. "That's where it's a bit... complicated. Like I said, I'm still with him and I always intend to be, so I was thinking more like a part time arrangement. Maybe he could stay here two nights a week?"
"Five nights!" Benny demanded.
Dale frowned and shook his head. "No way, three nights?"
"Four," Benny replied.
"Three nights and alternate Saturdays!" Dale suggested.
Benny thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Deal!" He wasn't sure he even wanted the deal, but he had made it now. He reached out and offered his hand to Dale who paused for a moment, then took it in his own and shook it.
"So what does Josh think about this idea then?" Benny asked curiously.
"He... erm.... he doesn't actually know about it yet," Dale said nervously.
Benny grinned. "Really? That's awesome. I'm sure I can come up with a fun way to tell him!" He chuckled wickedly as a plan began to form in his mind.