The usual disclaimers apply. This story will have some mild m/m sexual content as well as possible fetish situations. If that bothers you, or you know you shouldn't be reading this, then ask yourself why you are and then go do something to repair your karma. If it is legal for you to read this kind of entertainment (because really, that's all it is) then do so.
Ryan arrived at the sporting goods store and walked inside. It felt a little like returning to the scene of a crime, but this time he was going to purchase his items. The woman behind the counter stepped in front of him and motioned for him to wait.
"You need to leave your bags here. I'll put them under the counter, until you're ready to check out."
Ryan nodded and handed his two, large bags to the clerk. "Keep them safe."
"Of course." She tucked them beneath the counter. "Enjoy your shopping."
Ryan wasted no time, and walked straight to the rack of vinyl exercise suits. He spent fifteen minutes looking at the various colors and patterns. Some were a solid color -- black, blue, white, yellow, or red. Others were a combination of colors, or had stripes of a different color down the arms and legs. He chose a black suit with silver stripes down the outside or the arms and legs, and a suit that was mostly dark blue, but had silver sides, and a silver stripe down the outside of each leg. He picked two mediums, one for himself, and one for Trevor. While Trevor was a little taller and more muscular, the suits were designed to be loose fitting, so a medium should fit either of them. Besides, that would make it possible for them to trade suits, and the thought of that made Ryan tingle with excitement.
As he was examining the suits for defects, he noticed a very small button on the tag inside the suit top, at the collar line. That must be what set off the alarm the other day. The button was very small so he doubted it would be felt when wearing the suit.
Ryan walked back to the counter, and placed the suits near the register. The clerk smiled. "Will this be all today?"
"I'm not sure yet. I'll look around and be back in a few." Ryan nodded.
"Alright, I'll hold these here." She smiled and casually ran her hand down the sleeve of the black and silver suit. "These are pretty cool, but different. I'm not sure I would enjoy wearing one. Do you work out in them?"
Ryan shrugged. "I don't plan to work out in mine. I'm getting one for me and one for my boyfriend. We'll probably just wear them around the apartment, when we relax." He got another emotional tingle, when he referred to Trevor as his boyfriend.
The clerk relaxed her smile and nodded. "I see." She abruptly turned away and busied herself with some receipts in a drawer.
Ryan realized she disapproved of him having a `boyfriend', but he didn't dwell on it. He knew not everyone would be thrilled to hear about their relationship. He moved to the baseball section of the store, and looked at some shoes and batter's gloves. Some of the gloves were made with shiny plastic, and for a moment, he thought about getting some to go with the suits, but that would make it challenging to use things like the TV remote.
He spent another ten minutes looking through the store but nothing else caught his eye, so he returned to the front counter, and got in line behind some people buying tennis equipment.
When it was his turn to pay, the clerk avoided eye contact and rather dryly asked if he had found anything else to purchase.
Ryan shook his head. "No, just these."
She rang up the suits, and they totaled a bit over two hundred dollars. She removed the small buttons from the collar tags, and dropped them into a bin under the counter.
Ryan paid with his credit card, and the clerk bagged the suits. "My other bags too please."
The clerk handed him the two Leather City bags, and quickly helped the next person in line.
Ryan left the store. He wanted to check out the arcade in case Cody was there, but the leather was getting heavy to carry. The thin plastic bags were cutting into his hands, as they lacked more solid carrying handles. He decided to go put the bags into the jeep and lock it up, before heading to the arcade to look around.
David pulled into the mall parking lot and stopped. "Where do you want me to drop you off?"
Cody pointed. "Over there, by the food court."
"Sure thing." He drove around to the entrance. "You want me to pick you up later?"
"No thanks. I'll catch the bus back to your place."
"What time will you be home?"
Cody faced him. "Gosh, dad, I'm not sure. What time do I HAVE to be home?"
David laughed. "It isn't like that. I just want to know when to expect you in case I need to go out. I haven't got a spare key so you can't get in unless I'm home."
"You would be surprised how easily I could break into your place." Cody shrugged. "I have no idea when I will be back. If you aren't home I'll wait either outside in the hallway or on your balcony."
"Yeah well don't go climbing up there in daylight when everyone will see you." He parked the car by the entrance to the food court.
"Oh really? Thanks for the advice. It isn't like I haven't done that a hundred times before."
David pointed to the passenger door, and laughed. "If you are going to be rude you can just get out."
Cody opened the door and stepped out. "Sorry, just messing with you. See you later tonight." He turned away, but then paused and turned back to the window. "If I don't come home for some reason, try not to worry too much."
David nodded. "I'll do my best. Oh, and try not to beat up any more bikers, if you can help it."
Cody ducked his head into the window. "You know about that?"
"It was on the news. Something about a dog attack, but I recognized the bite mark on the one biker's arm. You need to be more careful."
Cody stepped away from the car. "Yeah. I kind of messed up. Later."
David put the car in gear and pulled away.
Cody looked around for a moment, and then entered the food court. As usual, the scent of the various foods made his stomach queasy. He looked around the room, but didn't recognize anyone. He wondered if Ryan might be at the arcade, so he headed in that direction.
When he got to the arcade, Frank was sitting behind the counter, surveying the room. He turned towards the entrance when Cody entered, and for a moment, they locked eyes, before he returned his gaze to the room.
Cody approached Frank and stood in front of him. "Hello Frank."
The security guard faced him, a rather blank expression on his face. "Hello Cody."
"I'm looking for a friend." He prepared to give a description of Ryan when Frank interrupted him.
"Your friend Ryan was in here yesterday looking for you. I told him you had not been here. He said he would wait in the food court. He has not returned since." Frank's speech sounded robotic.
Cody nodded. "Thank you Frank. You have done well."
"Thank you Cody." Frank resumed watching the room.
Cody turned to face the room, but he knew Frank's information was accurate. It would be impossible for the man to lie to Cody. H e casually sniffed the air. As faint as Ryan's scent had been at the bakery, it was nonexistent in the arcade.
He frowned and headed back to the food court. While it was probably a waste of time, he was going to sit at `their' table for a while, on the off chance Ryan looked for him there today.
Ryan made his way back through the mall to the food court and paused. He looked around, focusing on the table he and Cody had met at on Friday, but it was empty. He shrugged, and worked his way through the mass of tables, and out into the parking lot. The top was up on his jeep but the zipper windows were out. He set his bags in the front seat and began to zip the windows into place. It took a few minutes for each side but eventually the jeep was as secure as it could be. Not that a child with a plastic knife couldn't cut his way in, but it would deter the lazier thieves.
He tried to hide the bags on the floor of the back, as best he could, and then rolled up the windows and locked the doors.
It was Sunday and he didn't have anywhere else to be, so he could waste a bit of time sitting in the food court or playing some video games at the arcade. He went back inside the food court, and made his way through, heading towards the arcade.
As he was leaving the food area, he instinctively turned around and looked at the people moving about. His pulse jumped when he recognized one of them.
"Hey Cody, wait up!" Cody was heading into the food court, from the direction of the arcade.
Cody stopped. He had detected Ryan's scent, and a second later, the teen called his name. He looked in the direction the sound had come from and smiled. There he was; Ryan was walking towards him.
They met just outside the food court, stopping a foot or so apart. Ryan looked Cody up and down for a second, before he spoke.
"Hey, I see my shoes and jeans, but what happened to my shirt?"
Cody smiled. "Hey you. Oh, yeah, um, I accidentally trashed it. I'm really sorry. I have money to replace it"
Ryan shrugged. "That's cool. Hey, do you want to go somewhere and talk?"
Cody nodded quickly. "Sure. Where do you want to go?"
Ryan thought about it and then pointed towards the bookstore. "It'll be quiet in there. We can grab a bench somewhere out of the way."
"Okay, lead the way."
Ryan moved around Cody and began walking.
Cody fell into step behind him and noticed Ryan wasn't wearing the leather pants, shirt, or boots he had loaned him. He didn't say anything at that moment, as they would shortly have time enough to talk.
Ryan entered the bookstore and made his way to a table in a quiet corner of the sci-fi section. He sat down. "How's this?"
Cody sat across from him and nodded. "Perfect." He tried not to smile, but failed.
Ryan also smiled. "I don't really care about that shirt, so you don't have to replace it."
Cody shook his head. "No, I want to."
"I thought you don't have a lot of money?"
Cody shrugged. "I made a little Friday night."
Ryan thought back to his Friday night and shuddered. "I had a terrible Friday night."
Cody nodded. "Sorry, I know."
Ryan gave him a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, you just looked really upset, when you said that, so I assumed something bad had happened. I know how those things go, is what I meant."
Ryan nodded. "Yeah, my boyfriend and I got jumped by some biker thugs. They were going to hurt us, but someone stopped them."
Cody was quiet for a second. "I didn't know you have a boyfriend." He was sad to discover that, as, it could make it difficult if he and Ryan were to ... interact.
Ryan noticed the change in Cody's mood and quickly explained. "Oh, he wasn't my boyfriend on Friday when we met. We just decided last night to try it last night. He is my roommate, and we've been friends for a few years now.
Cody nodded but didn't smile. "Oh, I see."
Ryan shrugged. "What's wrong? Does it bother you that I have a boyfriend? I thought you were gay too."
Cody smiled. "I am. And, I'm happy for you, but I'm also a bit jealous."
Ryan smiled. "Good. I thought maybe I had read you wrong before. Well, I mean, not `good' that you are jealous, but good that we're both gay."
Cody nodded. "Yeah, I would like us to be friends."
Ryan quickly nodded. "Me too. I've been thinking about you a lot lately."
"I thought of you every time I put the exercise suit on...so...I thought of you a lot too."
"Oh yeah? I bought two more today. If you want to keep that black one, you can. Do you have it on now?"
Cody nodded and lifted his shirt, exposing the black vinyl suit. "Yeah, I thought this would make it easier to give you back all your clothes at once."
Ryan shrugged. "Yeah, that would be good. So, I`ve got to ask. Why didn't you meet me on Saturday, like we agreed? I waited most of the day."
"I'm sorry Ryan, I had intended to be here, but...I hurt myself Friday night, and was recovering all of Saturday. I would have called, but I don't have your cell number."
"You were hurt?" Ryan was concerned. "What happened?"
Cody extended his left hand and opened his palm, revealing the ugly, red scar. "I burned my hand pretty badly."
Ryan leaned forward. "Wow, that is a nasty scar. It looks healed now. You said you did that Friday?"
Cody realized that, although he hadn't lied about being burned, he had healed quicker than a human would have. "Yeah, Friday. It will hopefully heal more, but maybe not."
Ryan sat back. "Wow, you really healed up quickly."
Cody nodded. "I suppose I did."
"Well I'm glad you weren't hurt worse." Ryan smiled.
Cody smiled back. "Me too. I am sorry I didn't show Saturday but I'm glad we finally met up again." He looked down at Ryan's chest. "Um, where are my clothes?"
"Oh, they're back at my apartment. I didn't think to wear them today, as I didn't know if you were ever coming back here."
"That's cool. I can get them later I guess."
Ryan looked at him. "You have my clothes on. Do you want to swap them?" He reconsidered. "Oh wait, these aren't my clothes, so I probably shouldn't loan them out."
"They your boyfriend's?"
Ryan smiled. "Yeah. Turns out he likes wearing my clothes too. Oh, I hope you don't mind, I let him wear your leather pants and boots last night at the bar. He really wanted to and I didn't know how to ask you."
Cody nodded. "That's cool." He was silent for a moment, staring into Ryan's eyes. "Is your boyfriend cute?"
Ryan felt his face flush, and his ears warm. "Yeah, I think so."
Cody held his gaze. "Is he cuter than me?"
Ryan looked slightly shocked, but then regained his composure and shrugged. "You two are different. He is taller than you and more muscled, since he works out. You are cute, but in a different way, if that makes sense."
"Well, I'll say it again, I'm jealous of him."
"Thanks." Ryan was quiet for a minute. "Hey, do you really want to replace my shirt?"
Cody nodded. "You bet. Just show me what you want and it's yours."
"Ok, thanks. We could go over to American Eagle, if you have the time."
"I have all the time in the world. Now that we are together again, I'm not planning to let you out of my sight." Cody stared intently into Ryan's eyes.
Ryan thought about what Cody had said for a moment and then nodded, smiling. "Stalker!" Ryan laughed. "Let's go find me a shirt." He stood and motioned with his head.
Cody also stood and followed him out into the mall. They walked the second level and stopped outside the store.
Ryan pointed inside. "I like a lot of the stuff they sell here. Is this ok for buying me a shirt?"
Cody nodded. "Whatever you want."
"Cool. Let's go look around." Ryan walked into the store.
"Ryan wait." Cody held his hand up.
Ryan walked back over to him. "What is it?"
"I am wearing your exercise suit. Won't it set off the alarms?"
"I don't know. Maybe the stores use different sensors. Don't worry though; I saw what they look like, when I bought the two suits earlier. Kneel down for a minute."
Cody knelt and looked straight ahead, while Ryan pulled back Cody's shirt and the top of the exercise suit.
"Here it is. I'm going to rip it off. I hope it doesn't tear the suit." He pulled gently and the tiny sensor ripped free of the vinyl tag. "Cool. Now you can come inside."
Cody rose. "Thanks. I wouldn't want to cause a scene."
They walked into the store and spent half an hour looking at clothes together. Eventually Ryan narrowed down his choice to three shirts.
"Which one do you like best?"
Cody shrugged. "Try them on, one at a time, and I'll let you know."
They walked over to the changing room, and Ryan took the shirts inside. He emerged, wearing the first shirt. It was a long-sleeved, blue, denim shirt, with silver snaps down the front. "Well?"
Cody shook his head. "It wouldn't be my first choice. Try on the black one next."
Ryan nodded and returned to the dressing room. He removed the blue shirt and pulled the black one over his head. It didn't have any snaps or buttons on the front. It was just a long-sleeved cotton shirt with some logo across the back.
"What about this one?"
Cody shrugged. "Better than the last one. Let me see you in the last one." He pointed back into the changing room.
Ryan smiled, and slipped back into the changing room. He removed the black shirt, and pulled on the white, cotton shirt, with buttons down the chest. He purposely left the top three buttons undone and walked out of the changing room.
Cody smiled. "Yeah, that one."
Ryan nodded. "I think so too. I like how it looks on me."
Cody agreed. "Me too." He stepped up to Ryan and raised his hand between them. "May I unbutton one more?"
Ryan breathed heavily, and nodded. "Sure."
Cody reached up and unbuttoned the fourth button from the top, exposing Ryan's chest down to the bottom of his sternum. "That's better. Show off your chest, it looks nice."
Ryan just nodded.
Cody could sense the teen was highly aroused and took a chance. He didn't want to come between Ryan and his boyfriend, but he did want to send a clear message that he wanted Ryan too. He raised his hand and ran two fingers down Ryan's exposed chest. He felt the familiar tingle beneath his fingers when he touched the teen's skin.
"You're very attractive."
Ryan gave a slight shudder. "You just shocked me again." He leaned forward. "That feels nice."
Cody placed his palm on Ryan's chest and moved it under the shirt so he was covering Ryan's right chest. He gently squeezed and rubbed his hand slowly around. "You have nice muscle tone. Not too much, just right."
"Oh, wow, that feels even better."
Cody withdrew his hand and smiled, holding Ryan's gaze with his own. "I'm glad you enjoyed me touching you. I would like to do that again, and more, but you have a boyfriend."
Ryan nodded. "Yahs, and I don't want to upset him."
"Neither do I. He's very lucky to have you."
"Thanks."
Cody stepped back. "So, which shirt do you want?"
"What?" Ryan blinked.
"We did come here to get you a new shirt, didn't we?" He winked at the boy.
"Oh, yeah. I like this one." Ryan held out his arms.
"Good, it's my favorite too. I wouldn't mind borrowing it sometime, after you've worn it a while."
"Sure, anytime."
"Cool. Let me go hang up those other two, and you can change back into your shirt."
Cody reached into the changing room, and picked up the two shirts Ryan didn't want. He crossed the store, and returned them to their respective racks.
Ryan pulled his own shirt back on and picked up the new one. He turned to leave the dressing room, and found himself face to face with three guys his own age.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't see you there." He tried to step around one, but the guy moved to block his path. "Excuse me."
The largest of them stepped up to him. "You probably didn't see us because your buddy was standing so close, with his fucking hand under your shirt, you little faggot!" He kept his voice quiet, but it was full of rage.
Ryan took a step backwards, his pulse racing. "Look, I don't want trouble."
The other two moved forward to stand next to the larger guy. He glared at Ryan. "Well that's too bad. Maybe after we're done with you, you'll think twice about being out in public, with normal people." He laughed quietly, and turned his head to each side, glancing at his friends. "You guys with me? Let's beat the shit out of this queer."
The guy to the left nodded and balled his hands into fists. "I say we teach them both a lesson."
The guy to the right started to say something but his voice didn't seem to be working. He gurgled a response, and brought both hands up to his throat.
The larger guy, in the middle, turned to face him. "What's with you? Not having second thoughts, are...?" He didn't complete his sentence. He saw his companion's face turning red, and saw someone else standing behind him.
Cody moved around the guy he was choking, so he was in sight of the other two.
The leader of the three looked stunned. "What the fuck are you doing to him?" He could see Cody's left hand around his friend's neck.
"I couldn't help overhear the unkind comments you made to my friend. You guys are looking for a fight, but you picked the wrong guys to fuck with."
"Let him go, now!" The guy took a step towards Cody.
Cody smiled. "Do you see my hand? Do you see where it is? Right now, I'm applying pressure to both arteries that run up his neck. I've been holding them for almost ten seconds. At forty-five seconds, he'll pas out from lack of oxygen to his tiny brain."
"I said let him go." The guy balled his hand into a fist.
Cody casually shrugged. "Of course, I could tighten my grip and crush his windpipe. Here, let me show you." He tightened his grip and the guy began to scream, though not much sound escaped his constricted throat.
The guy backed down. "Ok, man, don't hurt him."
Cody looked confused. "Why shouldn't I? Weren't you planning to hurt my friend, and me?"
"No, man, we were just having some fun. We didn't really plan to mess you guys up."
Cody nodded. "I see. Now why don't I believe you? How about I show you what I do to people like you?" He tightened his grip, and the guy he was holding coughed once, loudly, and stopped struggling. Cody released him, and he fell to the floor.
The other two guys moved so they were standing side by side, and faced Cody. The smaller one pulled his arm back. "You shouldn't have hurt him."
He took a swing at Cody, but missed his target, as Cody stepped to the side so quickly it was difficult for them to follow his movement. Quicker than seemed possible, Cody's right hand snaked forward and grabbed the fist that had just missed his face. He wrapped his hand around the guy's fist and squeezed.
The guy cried out in pain, and tried to pry Cody's hand off his own, but the more he fought, the tighter Cody gripped his hand. Several knuckles popped, and he fell to his knees.
Cody didn't release his grip. In fact, he tightened it. "Have you changed your mind or do you need some more encouragement?" He momentarily tightened his grip and heard what sounded like a finger break. They guy screamed in pain.
From across the room, two clerks approached. "What's going on here?" One of them asked. She looked at Cody. Let him go. We've called security."
Cody looked at her and released the guy's hand. "Awesome. They can talk to these guys about the threats they made against my friend." He looked at Ryan, and saw he had backed up against the changing room door.
The clerk shook her head. "You can all answer some questions."
Cody nodded. "Of course, happy to assist."
The guy struggled to his feet, an cradled his hurt hand in his other. "Let's just get the fuck out of here." He looked at his friend, but the other shook his head.
"No, I'm not going anywhere. I want to see this guy get busted for assault."
Cody stepped up to him and the guy took a step backwards. "How would you like to see me rip your heart out through your chest?" His voice was quiet but powerful.
The guy started to protest but they were all interrupted by two police officers. The larger one pushed his way into the midst of them.
"What's going on here? Who started this?"
The guy with the hurt hand motioned with his head at Cody. "He did. He attacked us. He hurt my friend there, on the floor, and he was hurting me, before you guys arrived."
The larger guy agreed. "Yeah, they started it."
"We did not!" Ryan stepped away from the changing room, and stood beside Cody. He slipped his left hand into Cody's right hand and gave it a squeeze. "They cornered me when I came out of the changing room, and threatened me, because we're gay."
The officer looked at Ryan, and then at his hand, holding Cody's, and frowned. "I see. And you did nothing to provoke them?"
Cody shook his head. "No sir."
The larger guy shook his head. "Oh bullshit. You had your hand up his shirt, giving him some gay chest massage or something."
Cody faced him. "Jealous?"
The guy took a swing at Cody, who purposely did not move. His fist struck Cody in the face, and knocked him backwards.
Cody pulled free of Ryan's grip and staggered slightly for effect, before regaining his balance. He straightened up and faced the two officers. "Need I say more?"
The shorter officer shook his head and turned to the older one. "Let's take these three outside and get their friend some medical attention." He faced Cody, and pointed to the guy on the floor. "What did you do to him?"
Cody wiggled his jaw with his right hand and shrugged. "Jujitsu. Besides being good exercise, it's also great defense."
The shorter officer pointed to Ryan and Cody. "Don't move. We'll be right back." He reached up to the radio on his shoulder and called for paramedics.
The larger officer escorted the two guys, who were still standing, to the other side of the room, and began to gather their statements.
The second officer remained with Ryan and Cody. In a moment, he was joined by two mall paramedics, who began to examine the guy on the floor.
One of the paramedics looked up at the officer. "What happened to him?"
The officer pointed at Cody. "The karate kid there had some fun."
The paramedic looked at Cody. "What exactly did you do?"
Cody shrugged. "Simple choke hold...like this." He motioned with his left arm, bending his elbow into a V shape, and pulling his fist towards his face. "I came up behind him, when he and his buddies were threatening my friend. He'll be fine, but probably a bit sore when he wakes up."
The officer shook his head. "You can be charged with assault, coming up behind someone and doing that to them."
Cody faced him and held his gaze. "No...it was self defense. You agree with me don't you?"
Ryan detected a strange tone to Cody's voice. It was quieter and calmer than a moment prior. It sounded so convincing; of course, he knew it really had been self-defense.
The officer slowly nodded. "Yes, it must have been self defense. Three against two, after all."
Cody nodded. "Exactly. You don't need to detain us any longer. You have our statements. We are free to go."
The officer looked at the paramedics. "He'll be fine right?"
"Yes, he should be. We need to get him to a hospital." They unfolded a stretcher, and, after putting the guy on it, picked it up and left the store.
The officer looked at Ryan and Cody. "You two are free to go." He stepped aside.
Ryan looked at the officer's face, and saw he seemed to be in a slight daze.
Cody grabbed his hand. "Come on, time to go." He pulled him towards the door, staying as far away from the other officer as possible.
They were walking out the entrance when they were stopped by two more officers, who had just arrived.
The older of the two blocked their exit. "Not so fast, I want a word with you, Mr. Walker." He pointed to Cody.
The other officer, who was younger, looked strangely at Cody, and then at Ryan. He noticed they were holding hands. A slight smile crept over his face.
Cody shrugged. "We were cleared to leave, by the cop back there." He pointed over towards the fitting rooms.
"Yeah, well, I'm the senior officer here, and I say you aren't leaving just yet." He pulled out a pad of paper and a pen.
Cody sighed, and faced the younger officer. "Hey Kyle, long time no see..."