One of the other volunteers gave dave a "helper" for the trip back to New York. It was probably a sign of a major change in dave, because he took it. He slept, nearly solidly, all the way back to NY. He dreamed of Marco, he dreamed of Ahmad. Perhaps most importantly, the dreams of that earlier time - when he was the sacrificial victim at the altar, with the man he didn't recognize - came back. He wasn't a sacrificial victim anymore, but in most of the dreams, he was bound, and he was led around my a man who held a chain, attached to his slave collar. The dreams almost always ended with this unknown man, with a deep voice, a beard, and an amazingly long and thick cock, taking him to his bedroom. After he would make dave do something menial, like clean his feet, or empty a chamber pot, or something like that, he would tie dave to his bed - differently each time - and then he would brutalize him. It wasn't making love - there was never any kissing, or any affection whatsoever, just brutal fucking and abuse. dave work hard from each of these dreams. They were short - no more than ten minutes. When they were over Canada, and beginning their descent, he took a trip to the lavatory to relieve himself. It was a big one: it reminded him of some of his best ones with Ahmad, when the man would edge him for ten, fifteen minutes, and not let him shoot until dave could say, in proper Arabic "Ahmad is my MASTER." Ahmad would get a kick out of dave's whimpers, his begging, and ultimately, so did dave.
"Why didn't he do more of that?" dave asked himself. The revisionist history of Ahmad had begun. So too with Marco. He smiled about their summer together, but began to feel that Marco had been too nice. There had been more than one night with Marco when he dreamed that Marco had taken him out to the dig, staked him out on the stand, naked, and then played with his feet, his nipples, his cock, until dave begged him to just enslave him. Italy had brought out an angle of dave he needed to start exploring . When he could.
"When he could" was a major factor, because after he had slept off the jet lag, and had caught up with all the mail and everything else that had accumulated while he was away, he got a notice that school was starting in a week. There was the welcoming letter to the new class of graduate students: there were 10 of them - and there was a listing of his classes. He had Greek composition. This monster class , where he'd be translating English into ancient Greek, was the last one he had to take before he could sit for Master's Exams, and then get permission to write his thesis. He also had the private tutorial with "Professor Carmela" as everyone called her. "Professor Carmela" was a character: some said that Edna Mode had been modeled after her, something Professor Carmela didn't deny. She had the glasses, the haircut, and a very droll sense of humor. Everyone called her Professor Carmela, because she was half Greek and half Italian, and her maiden and married names were long Greek words that were impossible to pronounce. He was taking a class on reading German- Marco had suggested that, because the "Urban scroll" as it had been nicknamed had been written by a Goth, he'd need some German to make sense of it. Finally, he had a seminar: bondage and imprisonment in ancient Rome - about the penal system, and a class on ancient Art History. It was a full curriculum.
He learned, when he was back home, that he'd have to do something else: he'd have to clothes shop. Notwithstanding Ahmad's attempts, dave's wardrobe had pretty much stuck to his white oxford shirts, and jeans. dave hadn't done major shopping since he was a sophomore. Now, as he put on one of his shirts, it was very clear that however much he had built up from his gym work, the work in the field had built him in different ways, and nothing fit. Half of his shirts didn't button, period. The others buttoned, but not without a struggle. The same thing was true about his jeans. He smiled. It was probably good that Ahmad wasn't around, because clothes shopping with Ahmad would have been a really big deal, and very different from shopping with Eric, who was so glad to hear from dave. They made plans to shop that weekend, and to have lunch in the middle of the trip. dave would rent a car, and they'd drive to the outlet stores.
The smile Eric had on his face when dave drove up made his day. Eric had always been a great friend, after that first misunderstanding when he met he and Ahmad. Eric wasn't getting in the car, and dave wondered why. He got out and then he knew. Eric threw himself at him and hugged him, silently, for about 5 minutes. He whispered just once. "I missed you. I'm glad you're back. " That's when dave realized something he hadn't noticed when Ahmad wasn't around: Eric WAS Ahmad's friend. But he was also dave's friend. He LIKED dave. He liked dave a lot. He didnt' want to take him to bed, he didn't want dave to help him with something, he just liked being with him. In Italy, when he felt isolated from the other students, dave realized he felt isolated a lot: he had Gillian, but there really was no one else. Being with Ahmad had been great: he wouldn't have changed that. But he had become isolated. He smiled as he remembered filling out the questionnaire for the trip "who do we contact in case of an emergency?" and he had to think hard before he had written down Gillian as a last resort. He had to meet new people for things other than sex.
"So dave, will you promise me: something more than white shirts and jeans? PLEASE". dave laughed. "I like them. " "Then you should turn around the car and just order on line. Twelve white shirts, six pair of jeans. " "But I don't know what size, Eric." "So take the opportunity to try some other styles. Some other colors. Just try them on for me. Please." dave sighed. "Ok, for you. Definitely for you."
"I hate pink" dave said as Eric brought him a pink shirt. "I bet it looks GREAT on you . And dave..." Eric whispered. "nothing says 'fuck me' better than a tight pink shirt." dave blushed. "I hate pink." "TRY IT ON." dave laughed. "yes sir." He put the pink shirt on the 'buy' pile. It was there with the blue one, the "banker shirt," the pale green one, the dark blue one, and then the six white shirts. "Baby steps" he smiled at Eric. Those shirts were going home with him together with four pair of jeans, a pair of black jeans, three pair of khakis, and new shorts. Eric also insisted that they get some sporty wear: polo shirts, short sleeve shirts. "We're gonna make you the best dressed homosexual on campus, david." When they rang up the bill, which was close to 1000, dave pulled out a wad of cash. There was silence. Eric spoke first. "dave, use your credit card." "I don't have one. Cash is easier." "Then how did you rent the car?" "Oh, I went to the place where Ahmad used to rent. The guy looked the other way." Eric sighed. "OK, after lunch, we're going to your place, and we're applying for credit cards. Just two. Trust me. You'll want them.
At lunch, as Eric was sucking a strawberry milkshake through a straw, he stopped and asked. "So... get laid in Italy?" dave blushed. "Nearly every night. No, EVERY night." "WHAT? dave our wallflower? WHAT THE...." dave laughed, and told him about Marco. Eric began to laugh. "You know, dave, the literature is filled with stories about tops getting flipped to be bottoms. This is the first time I've heard of someone flipping a bottom to be a top. AND YOU DID IT FOR THREE MONTHS. MY GOD. YOU'RE MORE OF A HO THAN I AM." "eric, lower your voice....." Eric laughed. "Why? There are some hot guys here. If they know you're a slut, maybe you'll get a date." "No dates until I get into the semester. It's gonna be tough." Eric smiled. "I think that's a good idea. The transition - trust me - is not so easy. Remember how professors would just not say anything if you didn't go to class?" "No. I always went to class. " A sigh. "WORK WITH ME QUEEN." "It's king Eric. Oh, never mind." "That's how it is in undergrad: you go to class, and no one notices. You miss class, and no one notices. Trust me. You miss a grad class, you'll get a text, an email and a phone call within the day. And wait until you see the reading lists.. "What have I done? " dave sighed and Eric answered "It won't be harder than being Ahmad's boyfriend. A lot less rigorous."
dave wasn't sure about that. It was rigorous in a very different kind of way. There were two people in his cohort whom he knew from his undergrad days, and one other person who had been on the dig, but not from college. Everyone else was new. Different backgrounds, different skill sets, and all faced with syllabi that went on for pages, and pages.
Professor Carmela was something altogether different. dave showed up at her office for his first tutorial. It was at 4, and he got there at 3:57. Her secretary, a thin man named Ed, looked up. "Yes, I have you for an appointment, but you're early. Please have a seat." dave thought he was going to like this woman. At 3:59:30 a short, but striking woman, all in black with a single strand of pearls around her neck, walked over with a big smile. She held out a hand. "Signore dave. Mi chiamo profesoressa Carmela." "Piacere" dave answered and she laughed. "AH. Marco told me he had taught you some Italian. " She paused. "Perhaps I will not use those words, but he asked me to teach you using Italian only. Fa bene con te?" And so it began. At 4, Professoressa Carmela opened the text they were using, and at 5:58, she would look up. "Molto bene davide. La settimana prossima" and then she would give him his assignment. He loved her. He loved everything but Greek composition. "OH dave. Perhaps you need to be a nerdy dyke to love Greek comp. Who's your teacher?" "Uh, Ms. Scharffen. She's a lecturer." "I REST MY CASE. Lisa has been teaching that class for 25 years and three face lifts. Then she goes home to Anita. They've been together since Zeus and Hera, let me tell you. They offered her a professorship and she turned them down. She said she preferred the freedom. " "Gillian, is this class going to do me any good?" "Absolutely not." She laughed. Actually, maybe in the future, when you take cumulative exams. Then it may help you identify styles if they ask you that kind of question.
And so dave settled into his work. He met with Eric once, maybe twice a week for meals, and he skyped with Ahmad maybe once a week. But he lived alone, and his life was almost monastic. Then one day, as he was sitting on a bench near the gym, before he went in to work out, a VERY tall man, in round glasses, with very curly brown hair beginning to go gray, and a big smile, sat down next to him. "Hey. Sorry for the interruption. I'm Apollo." dave laughed, and Apollo frowned. "What's funny about that? " dave blushed. "I'm sorry. I'm in ancient studies and... well" "Ha ha. You expected someone as muscular as you with blond curly hair and a bow and arrow to be behind that name. I get that a lot." "I actually thought you were playing a trick on me. I'm dave." "Nice to know your name dave. You know, I see you around the gym a lot. I'm a grad student in music, so..." He pointed to the music building. "I find myself going in there a lot. " He giggled. "But not the gym. I see you do." He squeezed dave's arm. "Yeah, I go there to hide sometime. " Apollo sighed. "Well, I hope you won't hide from me dave. Let me be honest. I've been watching you. A lot. And I was wondering..." The cocky, smiling man all of a sudden became quiet, and almost withdrawn. "Look, I shouldn't even ask, because you're WELL out of my league, but.... there's a dance this weekend and I wonder if I could take you." dave looked at him. "yes." Apollo pulled back, shocked. "YOU WILL? REALLY?" "Sure. I'm not doing anything that night and actually... I don't think you're in a different league at all. I think you're kinda cute.." Now Apollo was blushing, and dave took a breath before he did something he had never really had to do before. "I see all that chest hair coming out of your top button and... I love the feel of chest hair against me. And I love your smile." Apollo smiled even bigger. "Now, let me get closer because I can't really tell, behind those glasses: are those eyes of yours brown, or hazel or..." He didn't get to finish. Apollo moved in and kissed him. dave didn't push him away. "WOW. My friend told me I should go for it. I mean, I've gotten rejected before, how bad could it be?" "I have to thank your friend, Apollo. I wouldn't have met you otherwise. By the way, I better warn you. I SUCK at dancing. " Apollo laughed. "So do I..... HEY. I have an idea. I threw out the dance because I thought it was safe . You wanna take it up a notch and get a burger and see a movie?" dave smiled. "I'd like that a lot. " Then he paused before asking the next question. "Just in case, which one of us is packing an overnight bag?" Apollo felt his cock jump. "OH. WOW. I didn't think we'd get that far, uh... I didn't clear things with my roommate but..." "I live alone," dave answered. No cats, no dogs, no nothing." "Well, ok, but... " Now Apollo blushed. "I really don't like bottoming." "And I really don't like topping. I took you for a top as soon as you came over." "REALLY? " "Oh yeah. You've got topman swagger. And if you think I was gonna miss feeling that fuzz on me, you're wrong." "GEEZ dave. You know, I have to get to a seminar but.. I JUST GOT A DATE WITH THE HOTTEST GUY ON CAMPUS WORLD!" Apollo yelled, and dave started giggling. "OH, you are JUST not gonna get rid of me dave. Not for a second." He pecked dave's lips and ran off to class. Then he ran back. "HEY. We should exchange numbers shouldn't we? DUH."
"So you found a book at the dig? About what?" They were sitting at the burger place, sharing a plate of fries with their cheeseburgers. "Well, that's a good question. I haven't seen the pages yet but we think ..." and dave told him the story. "WOW. That is awesome. So your ex thinks his ancestor may be in the book?" dave shook his head. "And this is gonna sound weird, but I'm beginning to think I'm in the book too." "Hmm. You mean an ancestor?" "No, ME. It's weird. I can't explain it, but everytime I think about the book, I think I'm going to find myself. Apollo smiled. "You know, I didn't think you had a piano, so I packed my violin. I hope you'll let me play it for you." "I'd love to hear it."
"So, this is chez dave," dave said as he opened the door to the place. "Geez. You've lived here a while. " "Six, maybe seven years. I moved here after I left the service and started school." "So you were a soldier too." "Yeah, but let's not talk about that. " "No... let's not...." Apollo put his hands on dave's shoulders and began massaging them. "Let's talk about other things. Like how I think you have the prettiest lips around. Tasting them was great, but I want them somewhere else. " "Before that... can you put these on me? Please?" dave handed Apollo a set of handcuffs. Apollo's big eyes got bigger. "OH. WOW. Could this date get any better. ?" dave smiled and he put his hands behind his back. He whispered "Take control Apollo. Be the god you are." "GET ON YOUR KNEES SLAVE. SPEAK WHEN YOU'RE SPOKEN TO." dave gulped. "don't judge a book by its cover," he thought, as he dropped down. "YOU PROBABLY CAN'T OPEN THAT ZIPPER WITHOUT HELP SO I'LL DO IT... THIS TIME..." Apollo's long, thin cock popped out. Not what dave expected but... Apollo had never been sucked by a man as experienced as dave , and he knew that within 20 seconds. "FUCK YES SLAVE. YOU BELONG IN A BROTHEL. BEING USED. REGULARLY." He pushed dave's head onto his cock. "I SAID A BLOW JOB NOT A LICKING." dave could feel his cock getting harder in his... khakis. Apollo was getting into this. dave was sucking, rolling back and forth with his tongue, circling Apollo's cockhead. At one point, Apollo looked at him and broke "character." "You spent so much time on my eyes I didn't look at yours. GOD. Athene would've loved your eyes." He picked dave up off the floor and kissed both of his eyes. "Take me to your bedroom, slaveboi." "Yes Master. This way..." Apollo picked up his violin case as they went in. "Where's your hottest spot, dave? " he asked as he kissed dave." "You'll have to find that out." "I will. If it takes me... a weekend." Apollo flicked his fingers over dave's nipples and when dave moaned he laughed. "Like a hole in one. " He began squeezing, as he moved in. He took off his big glasses, and began French kissing this man he had wanted. As they got to the bed, Apollo saw the restraints. He didn't ask. He pulled dave's shirt off (a striped polo!) and tied down his wrists. "I can't believe my luck" he whispered. "Three quarters of the straight men on this campus want you, and all the gay men, but I've got you." dave laughed. "Which one are you Apollo?" "Somewhere in between. Like Apollo. But tonight, I'm your topman. He slid his facial hair over dave's nipples. "OH GOD. How'd you know? How'd you know?' Apollo whispered. "We gods know everything. Like how much are slaves like.... a god's tongue up their chute." "OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" Apollo had a longer tongue than anyone dave had been with: even Ahmad , and he used it so well. dave pushed downward, trying to get Apollo's tongue further into him. Apollo smiled. "You are one horny bitch." "Yes Master. I've missed it. " He saw Apollo reach for the bottle of lube on the counter. "Rubbers?" "Top drawer." Apollo pulled them out. He laughed. "This isn't to brag, it's a point . If we do this again, I need the extra large." "Second drawer." Apollo laughed. "Sorry, I can't help it. From what I know of you dave, I should have guessed." "Make me stop talking. Third drawer." Apollo saw the collection of gags. "OH, I like tape. " He pulled out the roll of duct tape, and a black strip went over dave's mouth. Apollo slipped on the extra large rubber, and began to slide in. "MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMPH" dave was a bit out of practice and Apollo was HUGE. Still, he made love the way you'd imagine a musician would. He moved carefully, thoroughly, and when he found a sweet spot, he worked it. Not enough to completely satisfy dave, but he knew that, too. He wanted dave to be begging for more, and dave was.
"You are just so fucking hot you big stud." Apollo lay down on dave, and dave felt the chest hair resting up against his clean chest. He moved his neck to the side so Apollo could move in. He did. dave was trembling all over, and Apollo, huge as he was, got bigger. He whispered. "I feel like I'm playing a Stradivarius. And every other man was Sears. I'm gonna FUCK you dave. Like I've NEVER fucked anyone before.. " He kissed dave through the tape, before he began thrusting back and forth. This time, he hit each sweet spot and stayed there until he saw the roll of dave's eyes.
"Like that, huh bitch? " dave shook his head yes. "Well, here's to more to cum.. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH" It wasn't a very musical scream, but Apollo shot into dave in waves. Such, long, deep thrusts. "OH, sweetie, where have you been all my life? If I had met you, I wouldn't be with Sharon." "FUCK. " thought dave. "Bisexual. And committed. At least somehow. Apollo looked at him. "Can we cuddle dave?" dave shook his head, and Apollo took off the tape, and undid the restraints. dave hugged him hard. REALLY hard. "That was so wonderful Apollo. I feel like a god DID visit me." "Apollo went for younger guys. Who was his boy? Hyacinthus? " "That's right," dave answered. "But I don't have curly hair, and I don't think I'm younger than you." "Who cares? Let's write our own myths. " He kissed dave. "Hey, before we do anything else, can I play something for you? Please. dave looked up. "SURE. I don't know much about music, so I won't recognize it." "It's not a piece that's written down. I'm going to improvise. I want to play my feelings, from before we talked to now." dave got up and reached for a robe, and Apollo shook his head. "NO. NO. Like Greeks. Naked. " dave smiled. "Sure." Apollo pulled out his violin and began to play. He began with some very quick, frantic notes mixed with pizzicato. Then there was a long, sweet chord, followed by an interplay of bass and treble all slow. Then things sped up, and he ended with a long chord played by pulling his bow across the violin very very slowly. And he finished.
dave looked at him. "Applauding would be the wrong thing to do. I'm not sure what I SHOULD do though." Apollo had put down his violin. dave got up and took his hands, very gently in his. "Tomorrow, we have to talk." "Sharon huh?" "Yeah, Sharon. But for now.. Please, Apollo. Take me to bed. Let me dream about that piece. Let me dream about what it would be like to have you take me tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after. " Apollo didn't have to be asked. He pulled dave into him, in the spoon position dave loved. He fell asleep thinking "Yes, we have to talk about Sharon. And I have to talk TO Sharon."