Reclaiming Austin

Austin made it his mission in life to try and get the secret of what we were doing for Halloween out of me. This entailed more tickling then I've ever had and some very exciting and energetic sex. But let's face it; he was so cute in his abject determination to get the info, how could I possibly break? Hell, I was wondering about the possibility of blindfolding him after getting his costume on so he couldn't see who I was going as. Well, it was just a thought. So far his best guesses were me being Pop-n-fresh, a Keebler elf or Winnie the Pooh.

On a Tuesday early in October, I loaded Austin into the Jeep after work and took off to the Parliament House in Orlando. After arriving, I escorted Austin into the show bar. Sitting at a table with a skinny young white kid and a half-nude, exceptionally cute bartender, was a 6-foot-2 African-American Drag queen dressed in white sequins and a pearl-beaded dress.

"Well, if it isn't Natasha McVie and her entire fan club!" I called out, loudly announcing my presence. The boys looked confused, and the young one started to get up and tell me the show wasn't for hours yet. But Natasha recognized my voice and had been expecting me. "Boys, go get a net, 'cause I do believe there's an evil smurf and his pet..." Turning her head dramatically to see me and my gorgeous boyfriend, Natasha stood up and walked up to him with all the predatory finesse and determination of a hunting panther.

"And what do we have here?" she said, drawing her fingers across his chest.

"Natasha, this is my boyfriend Austin Camble. Austin, this is an old friend, Miss Natasha McVie, or Frank Lamont."

"Call him whatever you want, Alex. I'll call him 'lunch.'" She said dragging a well manicured fingernail down his chest and looking him in the eyes.

Natasha then shot me a skewed glance and snorted because I broke etiquette by calling her Frank. She then gave her hand for Austin to kiss.

"Honey Child, this boy is cuter then a bowl full of puppies with a kitten on top."

"Wait'll he smiles. He'll have you dressing in overalls waiting on him hand and foot," I said and shot a grin at Austin, who was blushing up a storm of red.

"Now, what's all this about a costume?" she said, holding his hand and leading us into the back after virtually dismissing her circle of admirers.

"Yeah, Alex, why don't you tell her all about our costume?" Austin chided with great amusement.

"Simple, hon. I need him to be a tiger, and you're the only person I'd trust with this task. Oh, and I need some bright yellow hair dye or gel if you can get it," I said, evading the question.

"Sweetstuff, this is a gay nightclub. I can make you fluorescent, glittered, sequined, and day glow if you need." Natasha said laughing.

Her "room" wasn't a big fancy dressing room as befitting such a glamorous "woman." It was a small and grungy room overflowing with boxes and racks and racks of dresses and costumes. The makeup table was overflowing with jars and containers of face paint, powders and rouge.

"Well, honey, when you said you wanted to dress this hunkmuffin as a tiger, I got a hold of a friend who does stage makeup and got this lion mask from The Lion King. Shouldn't be hard at all to paint it up and make the king of your bedroom into our Tyger Tyger burning bright."

"I can't thank you enough Natasha." I said, kissing her cheek as she sat down.

"I know, but hell, I get to play with this naked sports star till it's done, so we'll just call it even. Oh, and I betta get an invitation to any parties y'all go to."

Austin blushed a little and got me to reassure him he wouldn't have to stand around naked. Then we were shown about 20 styles of tiger print fabric, including fake fur, which was gorgeous but outrageously expensive. Finally, I choose a kid-friendly comic print tiger-stripe flannel. Austin stripped to his underwear, and I shushed Natasha when she turned and raised an eyebrow as she measured Austin's back. The scab was gone but the scars of a brutal beating were still evident if you looked close enough. I put my fingers to my lips in a demonstration of secrecy. I would tell her when Austin wasn't around.

When we were done, Austin and I hugged her and then went out to dance. They were doing a mix of all the early 90s dance hits, and we got wicked sweaty and didn't leave the floor till almost midnight. Austin drove us home and almost had to carry me up the stairs.

While the dancing had worn me out, Austin seemed to be wound up by it, and after I got ready to go to bed a very obviously frisky Austin was standing behind me pressing a hard-on into my back and trying to nuzzle my neck. On a normal day this would have lasted about a half second before I pounced on him, but I was soooo tired and I had to work the next day Captain Frisky, however, was both too worked up and too oblivious about my job to care. I was spun around when he finished, and he scooped me up so my legs rode around his waist and his hands cupped my ass as he shoved his tongue into my ear and licked my brain. In the bedroom, I was pressed up against a wall by the bed as Austin removed my underwear, then I wrapped my legs around his waist again. Austin put on a condom without looking, without even stopping his mad kissing. Then without any foreplay, I was lowered onto his cock and fucked and bounced till I was afraid we'd fall over. It was fast, furious and over in about 10 minutes. Austin, the Austin I'd first met, was back, and I felt so happy to be in his arms, even if I was just a sex toy at that moment. I was his sex toy, though, so it was all fine with me. We fell into bed when he finished; his orgasm had been big and intense. He kissed me a few times and fell asleep. I smiled to myself as I snuggled up to him and fell asleep, at last, I thought with a grin, he's accepted me as a girlfriend. I wonder if this was how Jane Goodall felt.

I had talked Marika and Robert into doing a Halloween show, although we were going to call it a Monster Mash. I rolled my eyes a lot, but whatever, the show was going on.

I finished my costume on my lunch breaks and found a great piece for a performance costume to do our show in. On the Friday before our holiday show, we stayed after our sets to design the lighting and go over decorations and the flyers. The next day, Marika, Phil, Austin and I went over to hear our new drummer. Tiago Cortez was an olive-skinned blond with black eyes and an intriguing five o'clock shadow. Tiago had the shoulders and arms of a drummer and that cocky self-confidence that most drummers swaggered with. He must have; he was wearing a black cowboy hat knowing he was going to meet a fag and a black girl. But he was both a great musician and a charming speaker.

"So you guys don't look like most bands I've played with around here before," he said with his slight Portuguese accent as he leaned back against the wall behind him.

"Honey, we ain't like most bands around here. We have talent," Marika said in her diva voice.

It's amazing how much better our sets sounded with a real drummer and not the preprogrammed stuff Robert had been using.

We did a few songs with just guitars, and he seemed to fit right in. After we'd agreed, Marika said she needed to get home and make dinner, and Robert had his wife and kids to return to. When Tiago found out Austin and I were going to go hit the Parliament House, he got excited and said he wanted to go to. I wasn't sure if he knew what the Parliament House, so I asked.

"You do know I'm gay, right?"

"Please. Austin could hide it, you glow like a 7-11 sign." To which Austin nudged me as he laughed.

"So you know what the Parliament House is then?" I said, ignoring my 12-year-old boyfriend.

"Baby, I live in Sanford. I'll bet I've been there more than you."

"So you're gay too?" I asked.

"Not really ..." is all he said as he packed his drums without looking up.

"So you're straight but open?" Austin asked, suddenly finding this interesting.

"I used to think so, but not any more ..." Tiago said through an obvious smile at our confusion.

"So you're bi?" I asked, running out of options.

Finally, Tiago turned around and fixed us with a seductive smile and these self-confident eyes. "More bi than gay or straight, but I don't think there is a title for it. I just like sex, man, boy, woman, girl. I don't care, and I don't care what we do mostly. I've done vanilla and then the next day fisted this queeny kid I picked up. I don't have anybody lined up today or tomorrow, and at gay clubs I have a 100 percent success rate."

Then he dropped his voice a little lower and walked up to us, "Unless you two wanna save gas." I was shocked, and Austin actually stepped behind me and held me as though I were his shield.

"You're gorgeous Tiago, but we're dating and not playing around. Pretty vanilla, huh?" I said with a smile.

"Hey, I'll do some kinky if you want," Austin said as he wrapped an arm around me and pulled me against him.

"I figured you two were exclusive. I sure wouldn't share one of you," Tiago said with a grin.

We talked to him adown and found out all about him and his reason for moving to central Florida.

At P House, I led both boys back to the dressing rooms to find Natasha waiting to get ready for the 10 p.m. show.

"Ohhhh, and look, you brought me one for me this time. How sweet!" she said, eyeing Tiago.

Tiago lit up and took her hand and kissed it, "I am not worthy, Miss Natasha." Of course, she ate that up.

So Natasha showed us the tiger costume and insisted that Austin try on, As he was stripping, she waved Tiago and me away, saying it was going to be about 20 minutes till he was done. She told me to go to the bar and get her a Long Island iced tea and whatever we wanted and to tell them it was for her. So Tiago and I went out and got the drinks from the nearly naked bartender in the piano showroom. Tiago flirted with the naked bartender and took off his shirt showing a very blond, hairy body. I was tempted to run my fingers around in it and bury my face there, but I didn't.

After about 20 minutes, Tiago and I went back to find a full-grown carton tiger getting face paint on and not looking very happy.

"Ohhhhhh, Alex. I know you have your hands full with this one. Lord, you'd think he never wore make-up before," she teased. Finally, she had Austin stand up and shake his ass/tail at us, then turn around. God almighty, was he cute!

"Oh my god, it's purr-fect," I screamed in a none-too-masculine way.

"Oh no honey, it's grrrrrreat!" Natasha said, making fun of Tony the Tiger.

Being the brat he is, Austin came over and started purring, then rubbed his face all over mine, ruining his make up and getting it all over me. After a series of slaps and name-calling, Natasha handed me a towel and some cold cream and scolded Austin for being a 'Bad kitty' Tiagojust laughed.

I told them I was going to go dance and whenever they were done they could find me there. Tiagostayed to flirt with Natasha, so I went out alone, wishing I'd called my friend Michael or Ryan and his boyfriend Michael.

I danced up a storm while waiting. Thirty minutes later, a very, very, very animated Austin came up behind me and picked me up off the floor and spun me around as he kissed my neck. When he finally sat me down, I looked up and saw this odd look in his eyes.

"OK, what are you on?" I asked, noticing Tiagowas also very ... animated.

Austin began laughing and put his hands over his mouth like a little kid. I rolled my eyes, and then it hit me -- all lovey, animated, touchy.

"Holy shit. You're rolling!" I said, as pleased with my detective skills as I was annoyed. Austin didn't deny it. He just glowed and picked me up and brought me in for a kiss.

"Natasha said she has some for you too if you want any," Austin said before sticking his tongue on my brain through my ear.

I passed and decided I was going to be the sober one driving home. But we danced and did some major making out where all the boys could watch us. Yeah, it was tacky and very junior high, but what did I care? I was with the one guy who could make me do something like that in public.

A few minutes later, Natasha walked up. "OK, sugar. You got about 10 minutes, go on and get backstage." At which point Austin kissed me deeply and said, "OK, OK, you gotta go watch the show, OK? Promise?" I was confused until I recalled what day it was.

"Natasha, how could you do that to him?" I said as Austin excitedly ran off.

"Oh pooh, Alex. You ever seen the abs or ass on that boy? It'd be a sin not to show everyone what they can't have 'cause it's yours. A sin!"

To which I had nothing really to say. So she took me up and got me a seat right next to the stage.

Tiagodisappeared later with a very cute black guy who was all dressed up, and Natasha stayed in the back with her entourage, before coming out to MC. The show had three fairly good dancers, a very drunk and unattractive guy, a guy who was probably really hot, 30 years earlier, a professional dancer from a club in Miami (we found out later which disqualified him from amateur strip) and then, last of all, my Austin.

He came out and began laughing until he saw me sitting there. Then the music started, and he stared at me while he slithered out of his shirt. His feet were bare already, so when he spun around a few times and began loosing his pants, he didn't have that awkward time losing the shoes. The pants were off in a few seconds and there was my baby, dancing around wildly from the X and performing for me in a room full of very horny and loud gay men. He slid his shorts down a few times, mimicking what he'd already seen. Toward the end of the song, he dropped them completely nd was about to spin around when Natasha came out with a big fan hurriedly covering him up.

"OK, sugar. We don't do nude her. Pull up the undies and grab your clothes, love."

Natasha was laughing hysterically, watching the hyper-charged Austin bouncing around the stage in his underwear. At one point she stepped over and looked down at me.

"Baby, you shoulda damn well gone as Pooh and Tigger. That boy got way too much bounce!"

Austin ended up winning $500 and was even more bouncy after that. And he was all over me pulling my shirt off and grappling me like an octopus ... a happy, horny, loving octopus.

An hour later, I took Austin to the Jeep and kissed him some more and drove back while he tried to molest me the whole way.

In the apartment, Austin had me naked in about 30 seconds and was all over me. I have no clue why, but there was something delicious about being naked in front of him while he was fully dressed. Finally he let go and stepped back a little. "Tiagotold me about this one thing he's done with much bigger guys and I wanna fucking try it," he announced in a low husky voice.

God, I couldn't imagine anything I would deny this personified sex. So Austin dropped his pants and underwear and lifted me up and kissed me some more and massaged my ass till I was hard as a rock. He'd been hard since the dance floor.

Suddenly, Austin flipped me around and I was upside down hugging his legs so I wouldn't fall, but he'd held me tight and suddenly I felt warm lips taking my cock in.

"Ooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhh," I moaned. So I took his cock in my mouth, which received grunts of approval. A little later, with my legs still over his head, he laid me belly down on the counter and stuck his face in my ass and had me moaning and leaking all over the place. Finally, he used his hand to bring me to climax. 20 minutes after starting he hauled me over shoulder like a sack of potatoes and swatted my bare ass. In the bedroom, he condomed up and then did me with him standing up and my legs wrapped around his wais. And we kissed like we might never get a chance to again.

"I love you so fucking much Alex," he kept saying between kisses. I never got a chance to respond before he was in my mouth again.

He got off 45 minutes later because he was spending so much time kissing me he'd just stop fucking me. After the first time, he laid me down while still inside me and rolled me partially on my side with one leg in the air and pressed forward till we were kissing with my leg pressed between us.

I was told the next day by both Mrs. Tremere and the neighbors below me that we were exceptionally noisy.

Two weeks later, we drove to Seattle Scene early Friday afternoon with Marika and Robert following. Tiago met us there and was talking to this very tall couple and had hands on both their butts. I shook my head with a smile. The windows had all been covered with black plastic, which kept the light out. Tiago had his drums set up and there, were bats and shit everywhere. I went to the back room, which had become our make shift dressing room. I changed into a pair of pleated black pants and a black silk shirt over a black undershirt. My hair was slicked back, I had a big silver dollar sign -- "$" -- around my neck and a big fake ruby ring on a ring finger. Austin insisted I wear a small devil tail so everyone would get the message.

Marika wore a gorgeous sequined dress I barrowed from Natasha. It was black on the top and had red, yellow, orange and gold sequins making flames from the bottom and a red scarf around her shoulders.

At 8 p.m., the lights went out and we got the knock to tell us the show was beginning. We walked out in almost pitch black, guided only by the lights on Robert's synths. Suddenly, Tiago started a simple jungle style drum beat and it got louder and more intricate, then Robert started in on his synth, adding a deeper drum base roll and some organ sounds. This went on for several minutes before Phil began on his electric guitar. Suddenly a red spotlight shown down on me with my back to the audience.

Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man, of wealth and taste...

I turned around and gave a very blasé look across the room.

I've been around for a long long time, Stole many a man's soul and faith.

At this point I had walked up to a straight couple's table and first made eyes at her, then reached over and brought her boyfriend's face to mine by grabbing his tie and kissing him before pushing him back in his seat.

I was around when Jesus Christ had a moment, of doubt and pain Made damn sure that Pilot Washed his hands, and sealed his fate.

I dragged my fingers through this cute guy's hair and then hooked his chin and made him follow me as I walked by.

Pleased to meet you, Hope you guess my name

I took that same guy and kissed him hard on the lips before pushing him away dismissively.

But what's confusing you, Is the nature of my game

I ran my fingers through this lesbian's hair and kept walking.

Stuck around St. Petersburg When I saw it was a time for a change

I was completely behind the audience, which made them all turn. I jumped on the counter and used my feet to drag a waiter close, before pushing him away with my feet.

Killed the Czars and his ministers, Anastasia, screamed in Vain

I jumped down and found this real big guy at a table with both guys and girls.

I rode a tank

I stood behind him and made it look like he was my steed and I was whipping him.

Held a generals rank When the Blitzkrieg raged And the bodies stank

I mimed gagging at the smell as I passed this couple dressed casually.

Pleased to meet you, Hope you guess my name

I pulled Austin in and frenched him for a moment.

But what's confusing you, Is the nature of my game

I ended the kiss and moved behind him and ran my hands down his shirt from his neck, obviously stopping at his nipples.

I watched with glee while your kings and queens Fought for ten decades For the gods they made

At this point, a brilliant light hit Marika and shown off her dress as she sung backup for me and danced. I kissed my dollar sign and grabbed a tip off a table and put it in my pocket.

I shouted out, who killed the Kennedy's When after all, it was you and me.

I spun around and sat in a man's lap and gave him my most seductive stare.

Let me please introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth, and taste.

I sung still on his lap making him laugh uncomfortably before brining him in for a kiss.

And I lay traps for the troubadors Who get killed before they reached Bombay.

I got up and did a little Mick Jagger move with my arms and body.

Pleased to meet you, Hope you guess my name

I took a woman's hand and brought her out of her seat to face me from her extended arm.

But what's confusing you, Is the nature of my game {Instrumental}

I dismissed the woman and danced around, kissing guys, staring down straight boys, dancing and strutting as the drums, guitar and keyboards blasted.

Pleased to meet you, Hope you guess my name But what's confusing you, Is the nature of my game

With more vehemence, I grabbed a young guy and brought his face close to mine and just sniffed his neck before letting him go.

Just as every cop is a criminal

I quickly grabbed the boy before he could sit down and pretended to handcuff him.

And all the sinner's saints.

I spun around with a cherubic smile on my face and let my head fall against my shoulder sweetly,

The Texas tails call me Lucifer Cause I'm in need of some, restraint.

I slammed both hands together and held them over my head as if they were in ropes.

So if you meet me, have some courtesy Have some Sympathy, and some Taste...

I brought my hands down and bowed elegantly before reaching my hand out to take a woman's hand in mine like a gentleman.

Oh yeah

I then brought that boy I had pretended to handcuff over and put their hands together...

Gunna get down baby...

I reached behind myself and grabbed both his ass cheeks.

And Marika and the band slowly finished the song as I danced around until our lights were off. The audience went insane, clapping, whistling and cheering.

Next, Marika did the opening song to the Rocky Horror Picture Show. You know, the one that goes, "Michael Raniey was ill the day the Earth stood still, but he told us, of his plans ..."

I did Werewolf in London, and she did an incredible version of Paint it Black. Then I did an acoustic version of Welcome to my nightmare.

When we called for a short break, Austin was on me in a second and picked me up and carried me to the back the room.

"You were sooo fucking hot with that song!" he said excitedly. Then he kissed me hard for a few moments.

"Guess they're right about power being a fucking aphrodisiac. I totally want to fucking jump you now."

"You may want to go beat off in the bathroom then baby, cause we got two more sets tonight ... we could skip the P House later if you want."

"Naaaaah. I'll wait till we get home and see if I can make you wake everyone in the whole fucking complex up this time," he said, grinning as he reached a hand down the back of my pants and cupped my ass.

I tightend my ass cheeks over his hand and blew a kiss at him.

"Go get me an iced latte, OK honey?" I asked him with a grin.

Our next set was a quick rundown of songs from Rocky Horror and, of course, our regulars all knew this and brought their squirt guns, newspapers, toast, toilet paper and playing cards

I loved the opening song to the Rocky Horror. Marika did a great Magenta, and the crowd went crazy when I spontaneously grabbed Austin out of the audience and removed his shirt while doing Sweet Transvestite.

As we'd warned the people that we were going to repeat our first set for the last show, we did an even more lurid version of Sympathy for the Devil with poor Austin being molested and manhandled by me and kissed with open mouth and tongues.

As we closed down the set and were preparing to go, I finally had a chance to go in the backroom and change. I didn't know that Austin had slipped in right behind me. He pressed me against the wall with my hands over my head as he kissed my neck and shoved his tongue in my ear. Before I got to leave, he dropped to his knees and pulled off my pants and for the first time all on his own, gave me head. I was a butterfly's eyelash away from doing him right there on there on the floor. But I held out, well, most of me did. His mouth definitely brought me to a conclusion. The power and erotic bliss of having this God on his knees before me ...

We rode to the P House and arrived with about half of the Seattle scene costumers. As we strutted in under the narcotic effect a good show can have, Tiago went off to find Natasha, Austin was draped over me, both Robert and Marika left and our crowd dispersed into the army of the night that will always be Saturday night at P House.

Michael was supposed to be there, so my shirtless boyfriend and I walked around outside to see if we could find him. At one point, we were walking up the back staircase, just to do a once over of balcony bingo. It was always fun to see what was going on, even if I never actually ever went into a room.

At the top of the stairs, a small group of college-age guys all dressed in spandex with mascara and blush obviously trawled on was puffing themselves up with the self-appointed role of verbally judging those whom they would and wouldn't sleep with as each person passed. As we got to the top the leader, a bleached-blond skinny bitch proclaimed loudly, "Oh no, not that little blond, but I'll take that big hunk next to him," referring to me and Austin. Although I knew what these clique bitches were and shouldn't have let it get to me, I did. My high was suddenly broken, and as I slumped, Austin spun around before I could stop him or even knew that he'd heard it.

"What was that, you fucking little pussy?!?" Austin demanded, getting right up in his face. The tall bitch went almost white with fear, and his "friends" began trying to skulk away.

"Listen here you fucking cunt, you're an ugly-assed guy and even uglier girl. You can forget drag because they have way too much fucking class to stand around shooting their stupid fucking mouths off just to make other people feel bad because their own sad lives suck so fucking bad!" (Ok, so obviously he hadn't actually watched that many drag shows or drag queens yet)

Austin was raging at the kid. I wanted to be upset, but now all I could do was cheer in my head that my boyfriend was defending me.

"Listen, you fucking sperm waste. There's no way you'll ever get me or anyone like me because you're a fucking sad, pathetic wuss, and I'd rather beat off then let something as fucking sorry as you even look at my dick!" Austin was red-faced and just screaming at the guy.

"Bleaching your crappy hair, putting on all that make-up, designer shirts ... None of it will cover up the fact that you're a fucking pussy with nothing to offer anybody. You're the fucking reason guys like me, and most of the guys here were scared to come out, we're all terrified we'll turn into you. You're the face of everything straight people hate about gay men and women; that all of us are whiny, fucking, spineless pussies who act like bitchy, self-centered teenaged girls. You have no right judging any of us, 'cause there ain't one person here would ever get drunk enough to take something like you home."

Austin was raging by this point, and I saw a security guard approaching and was about to grab Austin when this big bear walked up and said something to the guard and pointed up to the dispersing group of fashion critics. The guard stopped and cocked his hip and watched along with everyone out there as my boyfriend read the self-appointed bitch his version of the Bible.

"Now get the fuck out of this bar, or I swear to God that no one in the place will be fast or strong enough to keep me from beating you where you fucking stand."

The kid, who was now white-faced and terrified, ran down the stairs, followed closely by the remnants of his friends. As soon as Austin was done, the place began cheering and clapping for him. Apparently he'd been the one who actually said what everyone else was thinking. My hero had become the hero to the masses.

For the rest of the night, drinks kept coming our way from every angle as everyone who'd seen the little outrage or heard about it bought us drink after drink. By the time, we came across Michael I could barely stand without Austin's help and we were both hysterically laughing.

"Alex, I heard you just beat up a group of sissies." Michael said after taking a swig of beer.

"Nhope, id waz Aussin, now bhee nhas or ah'll ghet Aussin to ghet you tdo," I lamely threatened before cracking up.

"Thazz rhat, bhe nace or'll havta ... gawd yur bhig!" Austin said as he stood next to Michael, looking up.

"So, you little drunks. How the hell you plan on getting home tonight?" Michael asked with obvious amusement. Reason and logic and sensibility having long left either of our thinking, both exclaimed, "Ah cin drahv!"

Michael sat his beer down and looked me in the eyes seriously and said, "No, you can't! Give me your car keys. Now!"

I fumbled in my pants for the keys and finally handed them to him, "Iss a jip, not a car."

I remember about 20 minutes more before my brain turned off for the night. I'm told that I decorated a large path of sidewalk and several flower beds with my dinner and everything I'd drunk as Michael steered the two of us back to his car. Michael carried me into his apartment and set up the standard drunk care kit: a trash can to puke in, a glass of water and paper towels. He laid me on my side on his couch while Austin slept in an easy chair across from me and Michael went to bed with a shake of his head at his two pathetic palls.

The next day was an exceedingly sunny version of hell. Even Austin who never got hangovers, was feeling it. Michael delighted in tormenting us even though he did take care of us.

Finally, when it was almost 6, Austin said he was fine to drive us home as I had to get ready for the show later. Michael drove us to our car at the P House and left us. I had to get cleaned up and dressed and back down to the Seattle Scene for my Saturday show. On the way home, I had my eyes closed and was trying to will the roads to be clear of bumps.

"Austin?" I asked.

"Yeah ..."

"Next time you defend my honor, let's leave afterward. OK?"

"Word!" That week, Austin surprised me at work all excited and grinning ear to ear, carrying a helmet, and a plain leather jacket.

"Come on, Alex. I wanna take you to lunch," he said excitedly.

"OK, so how'd you get here?" I puzzled.

"I rode, silly!" he teased back.

So taking a further look from his widely grinning face, to his jacket, to his helmet, I suddenly got it. I walked to the front door and saw a big green motorcycle sitting there. I turned and looked at him with confusion on my face.

"Ummm, what? How?"

"It's a Kawasaki," he said proudly, as if that explained everything.

So he gave me the helmet and went and got his off his seat, and we rode to a Cuban restaurant downtown. He explained over fried plantains and this shredded beef dish how he got Dennis to drive him to a used-car lot and used his money to get a motorcycle. He figured it would be until he could save enough for a car.

"Then I went and got some work clothes for work tomorrow," he added with a smirk.

"What?" I choked on a plantain. He got his award-winning smile, and his eyes were so warm and sparkling.

"One of my old friend's fathers works at a jewelry store. He gave me a job selling rings and diamonds to women and desperate dudes," Austin said smugly with a boyish grin. "And I got lunch, but after you get off work and clean up, I wanna take you to dinner."

Austin said proudly then I could hear his "but" coming.

"And?" I asked...

"I, uhhh, need to borrow the money cause after lunch, I'm broke."

"You're borrowing money from me to take me out?" I asked with an overly incredulous roll of my eyes.

"I'll pay you back," he teased.

"Yeah, right. I'll never see that money again."

"I'll work it off then," he said after dropping his voice to a sexy growl. I shivered as the implication hit me.

"Yeah?" I asked softly.

"Oh yeah. I'll fuck you long and hard for each dollar you lend me." He was gunna make me blow a load here at the restaurant without even touching me.

"I-I-I charge interest," I said a little less defiantly.

"Noted," he said confidently, staring in my eyes and making me feel small and weak. I think both of us had found the place and position we wanted to be in.

When I got back to work, I had to tell Marika and James all about Austin's new job, and of course his paying me in sex.

"What is it with you and prostitutes?" James asked sweetly with a bit too much cheek.

"Honey, it ain't called whoring if you live with the guy. It's called a marriage!" Marika said, laughing.

That night, we dressed up smartly and Austin drove my jeep (because the "guy" has to drive, Austin informed me). God I wanted him! Anyway, we went to Orlando, and he took me to a great Indian restaurant that Ryan had told him about when they talked earlier.

As we ate and chatted, Austin kept staring at my eyes till I began to blush under the scrutiny.

"Is there something on my face?" I finally asked, getting my napkin.

"Not yet," Austin answered in his deep sex voice. I began to blush and looked down at the table then up into his brilliant face. Silently he mouthed, "I'm gunna fuck you 30 ways till Sunday" before smiling warmly at my obvious excitement. After dinner, he drove to The Cheesecake Factory in Winter Park for dessert.

"Oh, guess who tracked me down?" Austin asked happily.

"That bitchy queen from the other night?" I responded lightly.

"Nooooo, not her."

"Ohhh! That ugly orange shirt you used to wear that I made you toss out?"

"Close, but noooooooo," Austin laughed.

"Ummmmm, your high school sweetheart?"

"Yeah, but which one?" Austin playfully said, holding my eyes with his.

"The girl! I don't know. They all look alike to me!"

We both laughed, then Austin said, "No, Brian. My best friend from the frat."

"The white guy who thinks he's a Rastafarian?" I asked.

Austin laughed and nodded yes.

"He'll fucking love that you said that. Anyway, he found a box of my stuff in his closet, and the leather jacket you gave me was in his closet behind his."

"Ohhh, that's great baby!"

"Is it OK if he stays overnight? Maybe goes to the party with us?" Austin asked like a little kid asking to spend the night at his friend's house.

"Austin, it's your apartment, too. But thanks for asking. Sure, we'll make him right at home."

"Alex, until I can help pay for stuff, it's your apartment. I know how you feel, but right is right. Hell, we haven't even discussed our situation yet, Am I living with you or just visiting?" Austin asked simply as he gazed at me lovingly.

"We've never talked about this before, but I guess we should soon. I mean, about us and the living arrangements and our relationship and all."

And then we went home, and Austin took me on the dining room table and again later in bed.

"Mmmmmm. In four or five more years, you'll have that interest paid off," I teased as I rested comfortably in his arms.

"I'll just keep borrowing if you offer deals like that," he said before kissing my neck

The next morning, I got up and Austin made us breakfast while I made the coffee, then we ate and later showered together. No sex that time, but we looked at other with that, "soon, I promise" look. We got dressed, and I left a few minutes early to drive him to work before going to mine. I'd told him I'd drive him to work and he could use the Motorcycle on weekends and when our scheduals didn't fit, but I was so nervous about him on that.

I talked with Marika, and she agreed to do the shows that weekend without me rather than not having a show that weekend. That way, I was open for all the parties that weekend.

Friday began with a great day at work, James was given his own window and Marika, Ian and I all got 25-cent raises.

That afternoon, I picked Austin up from work, and we went home and ate dinner before getting ready for Brian's arrival. We were going to the P House Halloween party before hooking up with Michael, Ryan, his Michael and Brandon.

After showering together, Austin grabbed both towels and ran into the living room with them saying, "You can't have a towel until you tell me who you're going out as tonight!"

Of course, I followed bare assed and tried to intimidate him, but he just laughed at my attempts then threw the towels at my face. As I caught them, he grabbed me and began to tickle me with sadistic abandon. As he bent me this way and that, never ceasing his evil torment, the doorbell rang.

"Brian!" we said together with looks of panic on our faces. I told him to answer the door while I ran in and got dressed. Austin wrapped a towel around his waist and went to the door, and I fled to the bedroom and pulled some shorts and a shirt on.

"Hey, Alex!" Brian yelled from the other room.

"How's it going, Brian?" I hollered back.

"Cool man. Sorry for interrupting your scrumping!" he called back. I was soooo embarrassed. I was about lie to him and deny it, but Austin was laughing so hard I just shook my head.

"Don't worry about it. Your frat brother just can't keep his hands to himself. Let me know if he gets too frisky for you!"

"Hey!"Austin protested, though I knew he was grinning at Brian.

I came out a few minutes later and Brian was standing by the door talking to Austin, who was more animated then usual. Brian smiled and walked up and gave me a big one-armed, straight-boy hug.

"Good to see you again, dude. Thanks for letting me stay."

"Not a problem, dude. You're always welcome here." I said with a smile. "Besides, look at the puppy grin you put on his face. How could I deny him his best friend?"

Brian grinned and gave Austin a playful punch. "Hear that, asshole. I'm your best friend, so you better be nice to me."

Austin grabbed his arm like it hurt him and said with a pout, "You hit me again, and I'll get my boyfriend to beat your ass."

"Hey!" I protested. "When the hell did you get a boyfriend? I didn't know you had no boyfriend!"

"Keep that up, and neither of us'll have one," he said with a scowl.

Brian was laughing and scuffed Austin's head and waved for him to follow while he went down and got his stuff.

They came up with a suitcase and a large box, which Brian made Austin carry.

"Hey, it's his stuff!" Brian shrugged when I looked at them. I had set out some of Austin's rolls and was making tea. Mrs. Tremere was slowly turning the two of us into cultured Eurofags.

Austin couldn't be bothered with tea and food as he was excitedly digging through his stuff.

"I pulled a bunch of his stuff aside when he called me from that dude's place and told me was coming over to get it. I could hear that guy telling him what to say," Brian said to me quietly as Austin excitedly went through the box.

"So I took the stuff I knew was special and hid it in a box in my closet and figured if he was doing OK, I'd say I forget it and give it to him later. So what the hell was that guy's deal anyway?" he asked quietly.

"Hey, you two. Stop with the whispering!" Ausitn yelled while holding up a diploma.

"Later," I said, winking at him.

Austin came in grinning like a kid on Christmas,

"Look, all my pictures of you from the Internet!" Austin had made a ream of 8x11 photos of me that he'd apparently read like a comic book as they were now dog-eared and old-looking even though they weren't quite a year old. I took them and went through them slowly, remembering each one I had sent him, including childhood pictures.

I wanted to make a joke and berate him for wasting his paper and ink on me, but when I looked up in his eyes, all I could do was smile and hand them back to him.

"I have all of your photos too, baby." he grinned when I touched his fingers as I handed them back.

"And look, the necklace you gave me, and the Oakleys. Phoebe made me get rid of them, so I stored them at Brian's," Austin said, holding out the pendant and sunglasses I'd given him for his birthday.

"Oh yeah, I got your jacket in my stuff," Brian said, jumping up and running out.

Austin put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed, "Only thing I'm not getting back is all the time she kept us apart."

I put my hand over his and held it as Brian came in carrying the jacket. Austin pulled his hand off me quickly, and Brian rolled his eyes.

"Look, Austin. I don't care if you're gay or bi or whatever." Brian said loudly. Austin blushed and put his hand back on my shoulder.

"Does that mean we can ..." Austin began to ask in his smart-assed voice.

"No!" Brian and I snapped at the same time. We both laughed as Austin said, "Yeah, well. Fuck both of y'all. I wasn't talking about either of you assholes, anyway."

So we went out to eat later and met up with Tiago, who was going to ride down with us to Parliament House. We went home and loaded all our stuff in the Jeep for the ride down. We were going to dress in our costumes at Michael's before heading out to meet up with Ryan, his Michael, and Brandon.

"So no girls, huh?" Brian asked on the way down.

"Naaahh, they'll be lots of 'em tonight," Austin said.

"I'd make sure I checked their naughty bits just to make sure!" Tiago said.

"Why? You wouldn't care either way!" I said, laughing.

"True, but I'd wanna know what I was doing later," he said with a poke to the back of my seat.

"Well, from what Austin says, I'd be safer hitting on a boy in a dress then a girl in overalls," Brian said, poking Austin's seat.

"Depends on which boy and what you plan on doing later on." I teased. Then Tiago added, "He's right. Stay away from the leather crowed or anyone dressed like the Village People!"

We laughed before Austin volunteered, "Of course, it's a gay bar on Halloween. That cuts down your choices by like 90 percent."

"Maybe I need to accept that I'm going home alone for a change," he sighed.

"Safe bet" Austin said, laughing.

So we all piled out and brought our costumes up in bags, satchels and, in Austin's case, a small suitcase to protect the mask.

"Well, I don't recognize those two, so who'd you bring for me?" Michael asked from his doorway as he gazed at Brian and Tiago."

"That depends how you act tonight. If you're very good, you get Brian, and if you're a naughty boy, Tiagois going to spank and punish you." I said, walking past him.

"So how do I get both?" he called after me.

"Actually, Michael, Brian isn't gay." Austin said as he slid past Michael.

"Well technically, neither are you, big boy!" Michael said.

"Technically, neither am I," Tiago answered.

"Hey, you're the only fag here." Austin said to me.

"Uhhh humm," Michael cleared his throat, letting everyone know which side of the fence he stood on.

"Poor Brian. Three who munch rug versus four who suck rod," Michael said.

"How do you know I don't suck rod too?" Brian asked Michael mischievously.

Michael looked at me and shrugged, "You're right, I don't." Then Michael grabbed his arm and yanked him laughing into his bedroom. A moment later, Brian screamed and pleaded loudly. Austin rolled his eyes, Tiago got all excited, and I laughed.

"Whatever you do Brian, don't call him a fag. It just turns him on," I called out.

"Shut up, Smurf. Brian can't respond, he's got his mouth full," Michael called back as Brian laughed.

"All right Michael, let me know if he swallows. Oh, and no fucking him. He's my best friend, and that's my job!" Austin called out.

"Dream on!" Brian said as he opened the door, and we rolled around laughing hysterically at ourselves.

"Yeah, Alex would probably kill you," Austin said matter-of-factly.

"Love, if I catch you fucking him, you will be the first casualty, and you'll be searching for weeks trying to find out where your balls went after I kicked them so hard they flew out your mouth." And then I smiled sweetly and tweaked his nose and said with a kiss in the air near his face, "Loverboy."

"Daaaamn!" Brian laughed. "You finally found a girlfr... I mean Boyfriend who could keep you in your place!" Then he turned to me and said, "Good job, Alex!"

"Brian, don't encourage Mighty Mouse, we have a strict rule about not feeding the animals," Michael said, handing beers to Tiago and Austin.

"He's right, Brian. But if you wanna feed the yeti, he eats anything old and grizzled, and I mean anything," I said, pulling Austin into Michael's room to begin changing him and helping with his costume.

"No more fucking on my bed!" Michael called out. I panicked suddenly, remembering that the only time it happened was with Jason. I stopped and hoped Austin didn't see.

"Well?" Austin said from behind me.

"Well, what?"

"Well, who the hell fucked you on Michael's bed? I know it wasn't him," Austin said only half-jokingly, but with a serious edge.

"Oh, lots of guys. I was a total tramp a few years ago," I said trying to laugh it off.

"You're lying. It was Jason, wasn't it?" Austin asked calmly. I took a long deep breath and let it out slowly before asking,

"Why do you think it was him? I've known Michael a lot longer then either of you."

"Because you'd have told me if it was Jake, and you wouldn't have cared if it was some trick. It couldn't have been Colin, because you didn't know Michael back then. Now you're worried how I'll react."

He was right, even though he was calm. I was still worried. With all that had happened, there were still things we'd never discussed. Part of the problem with two guys dating, I suppose; neither one wants to rock the boat.

"Yeah, one night we got drunk and did it here. It was tacky, and ..." I was about to say I was sorry when Austin put his fingertip to my lips.

"Shhh. We weren't together then Alex. I mean, honestly, a big part of me wishes you'd have just waited and been there when I came back. I mean, as far I was concerned, you were mine, and we should have been together. I also know it was stupid for me to expect that after what I told you. I want to feel grateful to him for taking care of you, I really do. I know how much it had to hurt when I called you, but I can't yet, and I admit it, I'm still jealous. But I do feel bad for him, too. I wouldn't wanna lose you the way he did."

I hugged him tightly around his chest and laid my head on his pecs, "Thank you, Austin. You've always been number one. Always. And you won't lose me unless you chase me away. But I still feel awful for what I did to Jason. He deserved so much more."

Austin kissed my forehead tenderly and brushed my hair aside from my eyes as I'd been letting it grow longer for that night.

Softly he said, "So you gonna help me put this crap on?" while holding up the make-up and mask.

Twenty minutes later he was totally done and then he looked at me and said, "Soooo who are you gonna be?" I smirked at him and began pushing him out of the room.

"Can't tell you yet. You'll see when everyone else does," he cursed me and tickled me a bit but I pointed out he was just making it longer till he found out.

My costume was pretty simple, a red and white horizontal-striped shirt, blue shorts, a slingshot in my back pocket and my longer hair all spiked up with fluorescent yellow styling gel and hair spray. That -- and an evil smirk -- and I was set.

I stepped out and Austin, who was in his tiger outfit, just gave me a dumb stare. So did Tiago, who was in a Zorro costume; very sexy, I might add. Michael was wearing a black paramilitary uniform; very hot in a naughty sort of way. It was even hotter when he slipped his Ray-Bans on and his eyes disappeared. Brian's costume made me laugh. He wore yellow and orange surfer shorts and a Ron Jon's Surf Shop T-shirt with little rubber sharks stuck all over him. Their mouths were on him as in a bite, and little mouth-sized pieces of the costume were cut or torn out. It was funny as hell.

"So what the fuck are you? Dennis the Menace?" Austin blurted out.

Brian began laughing, and as I got up next to Austin in his tiger outfit, Michael began laughing so hard he dropped to the floor. Tiago was the last, but you could see his face when he got it. Finally, I stood next to Austin and brought us to a mirror to show him.

So there in the mirror, we had a very tall, cute cartoon tiger next to a little boy with spiked yellow hair and a mischievous grin. All of a sudden, Austin smiled in recognition.

"Hi, Calvin."

"Hey, Hobbes."

"I guess it's official now, you two," Brian said after swigging his beer.

"What's that?" Austin asked as he hugged me.

"Dude! Theme costumes? You two are so totally a couple now," he said with a laugh.

"I coulda told you that and saved you a trip," Michael said. "You wanna see the video I made of them a few weeks ago when they got trashed and started making out on the floor?"

Austin and I spun around quickly. "What?" we asked in unison. Brian laughed and said, "Thanks, but no thanks."

"No way. You're full of shit. I wasn't that drunk," Austin said after he had settled down and was mostly convinced that he was right.

"Nah, but you both made good faces when I said that," Michael said, picking up his handcuffs, his keys, his nightstick and his fake pepper spray (breath saver).

"OK, troops. Lock and load. We're hitting enemy territory!" Michael said in his deepest voice as he went to the door. We all laughed and followed. I had never seen Michael so sexy before.

When we arrived at a very busy Parliament House, the parking lots were overflowing and the crowd was all amped up a few more notches then normal.

"Holy shit!" Brian said "This is a gay club? It's massive!"

"It's their secret base, Bri. Michael's a general, and I'm a spy. Pretty soon we're taking over. Sorry dude. By tomorrow you'll even be gayer then Alex!" Austin said in a very serious voice.

"Hey!" I protested as Austin pulled me in for a kiss.

"I'm still not gonna let you fuck me no matter how gay you make me!" Brian said unemotionally.

Just then Tiago said in a soft purr, "Relax, Brian. Austin isn't going to fuck your hot tight ass. I am!" He whispered into Brian's ear and goosed him.

In his best redneck voice Brian said "Gollllly. I ain't never been with no Spanish chick before!"

Tiago turned to me and said, "Just for that, no lube."

"No lube, Brian, sorry. She's not Spanish, she's Port-u-geeeze," I said holding the vowels extra long.

"Ahhh, that's OK," Brian said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I'll get drunk enough I won't care."

"You are all freaks, total freaks!" Michael said as he paid the cover charge.

We didn't even bother going inside the club at first. We chose to go get a drink at one of the outdoor tiki bars and show Brian the size of the club. It was fun because sights that I wouldn't have looked at twice were cracking him up: dudes kissing, drag queens, nearly naked leather queens. After about 20 minutes, we ran into Brandon, Ryan's roommate, who was dressed in a doctor's coat with a stethoscope around his neck.

. "Hey, Brandon!" I yelled out.

"Heeeey, Alex," he shouted back with a big grin as he came over.

"Where's the rest of the group?" I asked him after a quick hug.

"Hey Austin," Brandon said after he saw the Tiger. "Ryan and Michael are inside dancing. You can't miss 'em."

I introduced Brandon to Brian, Tiago, and my Michael, whom he seemed rather fond of. Let's face it, a 6-foot-6 guy dressed in paramilitary garb is going to attract a fair amount of attention, and so far Michael was getting more than a few stares.

So our little army grew as we got drinks and toured. As we stood in line waiting to go inside the packed club, a group of cowboys went by, all young and bronzed with big red scarves around their necks. Suddenly I heard my name being shouted and turned to the cowboys to see a very excited one running up to me.

"Alex!" an amped up Asian cowboy was shouting.

"James!" I shouted back, hugging him in surprise.

"I was wondering if I was gonna see you here," James yelled over the noise.

"You did? I-I didn't even know you were gay," I yelled back

"Uh, yeah. I kept dropping hints, but you were always so wrapped up talking about you and Austin. I just didn't know how to say it to you. Marika knows," he said a little lower as we had sidetracked into the closed restaurant with my army in tow.

Michael and Tiago went to find Ryan and his Michael - why do so many gay guys insist on calling themselves Michael instead of Mike or mickey or BOB??? -- while Austin, Brian, Brandon and I talked with James for a few minutes. I barely noticed three guys dressed with black and white headbands with floppy ears, black and white jock straps with tails and black and white boots all wearing dog collars. Then a large hand covered my eyes and a voice far above me said, "Guess who mutha fucka!" I knew it was Natasha, but if she were opening up the gate ...

"Hmmm. Tall, dark skin, hairy as fuck forearms, fruity breath," I said. "It has to be King Kong's gay step brother Queen Kon."

"Wrong, ass weasel!"

"Oh, hell. I know who it is, but how the hell does RuPaul know my name?"

"You're going by 'ass weasel' now?" Austin asked with a smirk.

"It's Halloween. For all I know, you could have done something drastic and gone as a man!" I said smartly while giving Austin the finger.

"Austin baby, you have my full permission to use your teeth from now on. I'd have you start now, but I want y'all in the costume parade later along with your two pirate friends inside," Natasha said, letting go of me and stepping around.

She was dressed as the leader of the boys in black and white spots. She was wearing an enormous black and white fur with a cigarette dangling from a long filter. Cruella De Vil.

I introduced Natasha to James, and Brandon and she hugged Austin and told him how good he'd done the costume, then she stopped at the grinning Brian, who was a tad overwhelmed.

"Oh my, I smell meat, and ..." she sniffed around his face. "it's fresh!" Her predatory nature took over, and she slowly circled his nervous body, sniffing the air dramatically and making the rest of us laugh.

"Austin, help!" Brian yelped good-naturedly as Natasha ran a finger down his chest.

"Honey, Austin belongs to me. Alex belongs to me. Alllllllll these boys here belong to me. Now look me in the eyes and say, 'I love pussy!' and mean it." That made all of us break out laughing. Finally, Brian composed himself and fixed his eyes on Natasha and after cracking up a few times managed to say he loved pussy. Natasha didn't say a word for a minute, then let go of his shoulders and turned to Austin. "Now I don't know who he is, but I know it's all because of you. Alex knows better then to bring a straight boy here without sleeping with him first ... honestly," she said, rolling her eyes dramatically. "I suppose it's going to be up to me to break this one in... AGAIN!" Natasha said putting her arm around his neck.

"Cruella, I invited him because he's Austin's best friend and he was here all weekend," I volunteered.

"I see. Well then, Austin. I reduce your sentence to getting me a Long Island iced tea with extra tea. Tell them I sent you and get whatever all of y'all are drinking. You," she pointed at me. "owe me..."

Before I could ask what, she put a finger to my lips to silence me. "I want all of you to be my guests tomorrow night, at a party." Then she turned to Brian and said, "You too, since you're with them, Moondoggy." She fingered one of the sharks on his chest. "I'll get you the costumes."

"Costumes?" Brian asked.

"Oh yes, honey. Half my dogs are going to be at other parties tomorrow night. I need a few more damnations! Oh, and bring that sexy Brazilian with you, too," she said before leaving.

"Well, we don't have much money Bri, but we're well connected in this little subculture." I said.

"I hafta wear a jockstrap with a bunch of gays all around me?" he finally asked.

"Well, no one says you have to keep it on if you don't want it," Austin teased.

A few minutes later, we all met the other half of our group on the dance floor. We had gone from street gang to army, and with James' group hanging out with us, we were huge.

Ryan and his Michael laughed hysterically when they saw the Calvin and Hobbes costume, and Brian was a hit with the shark attack. Brandon was right about Ryan and his Michael. You couldn't miss them. Ryan was dressed in Johnny Depp's costume from "Pirates of the Caribbean" - the movie, not the ride, Ryan teased - and Michael was dressed in Orlando Bloom's costume. Both had a little upper chest showing. Definitely hot.

Because of the size of the group, cohesion was lax and people floated in and out of our area as they wanted. After an hour or so of dancing and fighting the crowds, we decided to take Brian to the back bar and then over to the Full Moon Saloon. Me, both Michaels, Ryan, Brandon, Tiago, Austin, Brian, a Dalmatian that my Michael was friends with, and two drunk cowboys that were with James went out for a stroll, along with 50,000 other guys in costumes. It was easy to tell who had ins with the theme parks. Like Ryan and his Michael, a few of the Aladdins, Snow Whites and Men in Black were too good. Ryan joked with his Michael about dressing up next year as Buzz Lightyear and evil Emperor Zurg.

We got drinks at the back bar, and Austin tried to snuggle with me without messing up his makeup. My Michael was getting very frisky with his nearly naked dog pal, who was 6-foot-2 with blond hair and not one visible sign of hair on his gym-toned body, and Brandon kept using his Fischer Price stethoscope on bare chests. After we finished our drinks, we went over to the Full Moon Salon, a gay country and western bar next door to P House. It was a lot smaller and catered mostly to the bear, cowboy and leather communities. I saw no sign on the door saying small, passively effeminate, smart-mouthed brats were barred, so we went in. The inside was tiny, but it had a big enclosed area out back with a deck and dance floor, so went there.

Because it was Halloween, the bear and leather communities dressed in full regalia, which meant a lot of leather, a few jock straps, a few chaps and a lot of almost naked slaves and subs being lead around on chains.

"We are sooo doing that next year, baby!" Austin whispered in my ear in a soft growl as a master and an almost naked slave walked past us.

"People will think it's funny with me holding you on a leash, but you will be cute in a leather jock and a dog collar." I said nonchalantly as I sipped my drink.

"Wrong, buddyboy!" he growled in my ear before gently nipping it. "And I'm gonna go talk to that young master dude over there to get some pointers."

Although his assertion was delicious, and his little power game was exciting, I wasn't sure I wanted him getting pulled into the leather crowd. Not that I didn't trust him, or them. I was just very apprehensive about the whole thing. That thought was quickly pushed aside though as I heard yelling.

"Who the fuck are you looking at?" this big daddy type was yelling at someone on the other side of Ryan. My Michael suddenly turned, and I saw him, Ryan and Ryan's Michael put themselves between the daddy and Brian. I was there in a flash; being small means I can move through crowds easily. "He was staring at my boys. Why the hell was he staring at them?" the daddy growled. My Michael, as cool as ever, just paused and said, "He's new, he made a mistake and I'll push him for it. He belongs to me. Now let us buy all you a drink to apologize." And it was over. Brian came over scared to death with eyes like headlights. "What was that about?" he asked, still a little shaken up. "You were staring ... too long and too hard. Basically, you were challenging him," I said as I sipped my SoCo. "Or he might like the way you look in a Speedo, and he was seeing what your reaction was, if you were looking for a daddy or if you were owned. Guess what? You're Michael's bitch now." "I just never saw men all naked like that walking around in public," he said, still bewildered. "OK, both of you," I said to Austin and Brian. "No staring too long, no touching or talking to the naked boys without permission from their master ... and ...well, no nothing unless you ask me or Michael or Michael or Ryan, OK?" Brian nodded that he was cool, and Austin scowled at me. "Alex, you watch Bri. I'm gonna go talk to Michael," Austin said. My Michael was talking with a few leather types. "Oh Christ," I thought to myself with an eye roll. "Yeah, Floppy's got something up his sleeves," Brian said, echoing my thoughts.

"Excuse me? 'Floppy'?" I asked, suddenly brought back to the here and now. "His nickname in the frat." Brian started laughing, "Ohhh god. He's gonna kill me. I don't think he wanted you to know that!" Brian was almost crying he was laughing so hard. I smirked with my evilest grin and blew a kiss to "Floppy," who waved at me as he talked to Ryan, both Michaels, that younger leather type and two other guys. "Ok, So how did 'Floppy' get that name?" I asked. "Freshman year, we all did this social thing with a sorority, and we had three guys dressed as rabbits since it was Easter and we had a bunch of poor kids over. Anyway, one of Austin's ears was broken, and this girl started calling him Floppy ... and it stuck," Brian said, laughing. "Ohhhh, it sure will!" I said, eager to use the nickname when Austin least expected it. I began holding off on drinking as Austin was having way too much fun, and there was no way we were all fitting in Ryan's car.

A little while later, I felt Austin's familiar hand on my ass as he and his little group came over to see me.

"Alex, this is Jentz. Spelled with a J," my Michael said. His name sounded like "Yentz." Jentz was a 30something, dark-haired leather guy, dressed in biker gear and jeans. I got the impression this guy was seriously into this scene, his costume didn't strike me as a costume.

"Hi," I shook his hand, and he just looked me over coldly. "Michael's right, this guy would be a pain to train. Too independent. I'd be willing to train him for you if you want," the guy said to Austin as I looked up at him and started to open my mouth to correct his mistake. But Austin, in his cool, self-assured way, put his hand on my shoulder and pushed me back gently as he stepped between us. "Appreciate it, but I don't share, not my mate anyways. He belongs to me. Besides, I don't think anyone could handle him unless he wanted them to," he said humorously. The guy glared at me a moment. He wanted me, and I think Austin knew it. "He can squeal and complain all he wants, doesn't mean he's gonna get his way with me!" Jentz said coldly while stepping around Austin and up to me. "Austin, are you ready to leave?" I said, being quite through with the implication that I was some spoiled twink. "You didn't ask me if it was all right to leave!" the guy said as he firmly put a hand on my shoulder. "Dude, we're leaving!" Austin said in a deep voice, trying to remain polite but with a definite edge. Suddenly, this heavy-set bald guy covered in hair and wearing a leather vest and some studded bands stepped up between Jentz and me. He looked at Jentz and barked, "Time for you to leave, ass wipe. You were told to stop your shit. Now get the hell out of here before I get every other bear in here to kick your coward ass back to Miami!" Jentz let go and stepped away as if he was going to say something smart to this guy. The bear just stepped up closer and forced Jentz to retreat. "I said leave, and I meant it. I already sent John to get Doug, so you'd best get out now before your ass is banned." Jentz stepped back and gave me one final cold stare as Austin came up beside me and wrapped a big protective arm around me and glared at Jentz. After Jentz had turned to leave and walked towards the door, the bald bear, who must have been in his late 30s, turned to face us with a smile and stuck out his hand. "Hi, name's Gus. Sorry about that creep. He comes in here and tries to find little guys he can bully and work over," Gus looked at me and smiled. "Guy's got good taste, but he ruins kids for the rest of us." It was a compliment, but I was a little put off at being called a kid. Austin introduced us, and we all shook hands. "Nice to meet you, Alex and Austin. I understand the tiger costume," he said to Austin, then turned to me, "but I can't get your costume down." Austin stood right next to me and said, "I'm Hobbes." Then the guy started to laugh a real deep belly laugh that might have been a roar. "Awww, that's great! But what brings you two over here?" he asked before taking a swig on his longneck. "Alex was showing me and my straight friend around. I've only been out a little while," Austin said, finally remembering he had a beer and swigging it. "So what, you came to gawk at the weirdos in leather?" Gus asked, chuckling. "No," we said in unison. Then Austin said, "I was talking to that guy trying to get some pointers on the whole leather thing. He said he'd help." "Yeah, he'd have helped you into letting him having Alex, then he would have gotten really rough on him. That guy likes to go real hard on new guys. He likes them small so he can feel big with them. The schmuck makes all of us sick. He's not what we're all about," Gus said.

Then Austin grinned and shoved me lightly, "Hey, you wanna go now? I want to see him fucking try something with you."

"Nooo, the guy's brutal. We're working on getting him barred from all the clubs and keeping him from scoring. Trust me, you can learn anything you want to here, but don't go with that coward," Gus warned. Austin laughed and said, "Nooo, you don't understand, he wouldn't do shit to Alex. Alex would fucking kick his fucking ass all the way to the fucking hospital." Gus looked at me quizzically, and I shrugged and said, "I'm a lot tougher then I look. Unless he drugged me, I'd break every bone I could get a hand on." I hit Austin's chest with my head. "He's my Rottweiler!" Austin gloated. "Sooo, you're the top?" Gus asked with a confused look on his face. Austin laughed as he shoved me playfully, "Yeeeaaaah right!" "Austin's the top. I'm just ... I took a lot of martial arts growing up," I shrugged before adding, "and Austin's new to the whole gay scene, and has it in his head he wants to be daddy bad ass after seeing all the slaves and leather guys walking around." "Well Jentz may be a total schmuck, but he was right about you being a pistol!" Gus laughed, hitting me gently in the arm. Austin snorted and said, "You ain't got no fucking idea!" "Seems to me no one's asked you what you want, Calvin?" Gus asked as Brian and my Michael came over. "Me?" I asked, wishing I hadn't sounded so stupid. "No, the other elf with Big Bird-colored hair!" Michael said from behind me. "Michael, Brian, this is Gus, Gus, the yeti is Michael and the cute one is Brian." Gus laughed while Michael took off his sunglasses to glare at me. "So?" Austin asked from behind me as he wrapped his arms tightly around me. I loved this feeling. "So? I don't know! I might like some of it, but if you try any of that nasty stuff, I'll stuff you in a sandwich bag and mail you to your mama's house." Gus laughed as I leaned my head back against Austin's chest. "So why don't you go over to Bernie's and look around. Tell him Gus sent ya over." Then Gus explained that he was talking about the leather store located in the building between the Full Moon and the Parliament House Brian, Austin and I walked over to the store, which was still open and had a few customers - most of them gawking at the porno tapes. I rolled my eyes as soon as I saw the pornos. Austin had found my old stash and watched them over and over. I knew we'd be leaving with one. But when the bored guy in the leather vest and harness looked up from his paper, he gave Austin and then Brian a once over then caught my eye and smiled. "Can I help you guys?" he asked. Austin stepped forward with his deadly grin and stuck out his hand. God, he was soooo Southern! "Howdy. Ummm, Gus just sent us over to talk with you," Austin said with a little apprehension. The guy, whom I guessed was Bernie, just smiled and shook Austin's hand.

"So what can I do for you guys?" he asked, a little less formal and a lot more interested. "Well, I was thinking of ummmmm ..." Austin blushed and wrapped a big finger in the hair on the back of my neck and gently pulled me to him. "We were talking to Gus about experimenting," Austin said with a childlike grin and a blush. I joined him and turned to watch Brian gawking at the mannequin in the sling and wearing a body harness and a leather jockstrap. "So what exactly are you interested in?" Bernie asked us. "I'm just interested in some light bondage, maybe. Apparently, he wants to go all Conan the slave lord on me." I said, rolling my eyes. "The first thing I want to look at are gags!" Austin said, staring right at me with a smirk. "What about you, gorgeous?" Bernie called to Brian, who jumped like he'd been caught rifling through a bank till. "Nooo. Nothing for me. I'm OK, just here with those two," he stammered. Austin and I laughed at him, and Brian blushed and laughed at himself, too. "Chill, dude. Just go back to staring at the naked mannequin," Austin said over his shoulder. "All right, little guy likes bondage. And what do you want?" the guy asked, looking into Austin's electric blue eyes. "I don't know," he turned to the mannequin and crossed his arms. "That's kinda hot ... I love the straps on his chest." Bernie walked over to a rack and said, "We carry a whole line of harnesses, cuffs, collars and restraints. We can even make special orders." Austin headed over and started to browse. Bernie came over to me and said, "Since neither of you seem very sure of what you want, can I recommend a few magazines that cover these things?" I nodded and he put three magazines on the counter. "Pick out a good movie, too!" Austin barked to me. I looked up at Bernie, who grinned. We weren't even wearing any leather and he was already barking orders. God, what was I getting into? Bernie made a few recommendations and showed me a few Falcon videos he said were good. I had seen one of them before and shivered as I remembered some of what went on. "Austin, no matter what you see on these tapes, you will not stick anything in me without my consent. Got it?" I asked. "I haven't even looked at any dildos yet!" he called back. Poor Brian just pretended he didn't hear any of it.

"That's not what I was talking about!" I said, thinking of the fisting and water enemas. "Don't worry. I don't think he's got any plans on that stuff," Bernie said with a smile as he took the two hardcore tapes away. "He looks like a poser mostly, probably just some role playing and rough talk." "Alex, come over and look at this" the giant cartoon tiger ordered. I went over and brushed up against the fake fur and looked at a harness with a lot of spikes and rings on it. "So how are you paying for all this?" I asked him while I ran my fingers over the harness. Austin leaned over close to my ear and said, "Stop playing tough, Alex. You've had a hard-on since we left the bar. You want this as much as I do, so pick out your harness. I'll go get a cap and look at some other stuff." He licked my ear gently and made me quiver happily; damn him, I had no responses when he played these games. "OK, I like this one," I said quickly, holding up a set that would cover a lot of me. "Hmmm. On second thought, you go pick out my cap and I'll pick your harness," Austin said with a sexy growl. In the end, I paid with my credit card because I didn't have enough cash for the harness, the cap, the magazines, the extra lube and condoms, the movie, the wrist restraints, the black leather jock for Austin and the mesh one for me. Brian actually picked up some funny condoms and warming lube and bought a few naked man cards to mail out as jokes to frat brothers as well. Bernie gave us a holiday discount (which I'm sure he made up) of 15 percent. We thanked Bernie and left. Austin was ready to leave to go home and play, but I said we were only going to stash the stuff then go back and join the others. It was almost time for the costume parade. An hour later, my Michael was in heavy flirt mode with both Brandon, James and one of the Dalmatian puppies; Ryan and Michael were in a pool competition with two lesbians dressed as Valkyries; Brian, Tiago, and two girls dressed as vampires were in some drinking game and talking about what kind of women they liked; Austin and I were dancing; and the hordes were buzzing like happy hornets. Suddenly, half-naked black-and-white eared men were going around collecting people for the costume parade. We assembled back stage area and watched as the show bar filled up and Natasha De Vil walked out on stage with 30 leashes, all going to different body builders and muscle hunks in Dalmatian get ups. "I do so looooove Halloween!" she announced to the audience. "It's the one time of year I can dress normally, and all your freaks get to wear costumes for me!" she said with a small spin in her black-and-white furs. "Tonight, my minions," she yanked on the reins and several fell over as they crawled around on the floor and mimed humping each other and other puppy-like behavior. "have picked out some of y'all to participate in our costume parade. The winner of each category gets 50 dollars, and second and third get some drinks or breath spray or something .We got a scary category, a funny category, a most imaginative, a theme category and my favorite, the least material used category. But remember, we don't do nude here, so y'all's naughty bits betta damn well be covered!"

We were all paraded across the stage while cheesy Halloween songs set to dance beats played. Although we got a good response, we didn't win for the funny category. When we walked across for the most imaginative, Natasha stopped us. "Now come on y'all, I helped make this damn tiger costume!" which got a loud response. "And you know Calvin here from his singing at the Seattle Scene, and my tiger here is a baseball player at a major school with a reptile as a mascot!" The audience got very loud and our cheers rose audibly. "Oh, and this one may be a tiger, but watch out, cause this little one's the one that bites and scratches!" I turned to bite her nipple but got a mouth full of fake fur. I made a big scene of pulling hair out of my mouth and spitting as we left the stage. In the end, we won second place, but it was only because Natasha encouraged the audience to cheer for us. Ryan and his Michael finished second in best theme with their authentic Pirates of the Caribbean costumes. And Brian actually won most imaginative costume for his shark bites, and because Natasha said what a good straight boy he was coming out to a gay bar on Halloween. Then she patted his ass and made sure everyone saw her slipping him a phone number and miming "Call me!" to him. He probably won because as he was leaving he turned and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. Brian was as big a tease as any boy I'd ever met. Twenty minutes later, we were cleaning up in Natasha's dressing room so we could try our "puppy" outfits on. I made Austin leave while I helped Brian with his. It was partially out of spite and just because I could, and also because Austin didn't have anything to change into with him so he had to get his leather stuff. I swear it was his idea! Anyway, we got a chance to frolic with the other puppies and Austin kept trying to hump him. Another beer or two, and it might have gone from an R rating to a XXX. Brian made an adorable puppy, and two gay boys were very busy trying to sniff his ass. Natasha got the leashes and came over and collared Brian. "I understand from my sources that the three of you have had quite an education tonight," she said looking down at me. "So do I collar you or ..." "No ma'am. I think I'm supposed to do that." Austin said, taking the dog collar from her. "I think we forgot to get a collar, baby guess we'll be back tomorrow ... unless you want one from Walgreen's." There was something amazingly erotic about lifting my neck for this god and being claimed. Part of me wanted to protest on grounds of political correctness, but another part of me was relishing every moment. And I was well aware that I had a hard-on pressing against my black-and-white jock. "Natasha, I don't know if Bernie or Gus are still around. Is there some kind of official ceremony you hafta go through when you collar someone?" Austin asked earnestly. I smiled and let them discuss it, even though I knew. "Honey, one of the blessings about being gay is there isn't much in the way of traditions to hold us down to formalities. There ain't no traditional ceremony, but if you feel you need or want one, good for you." Then she turned to face me while still speaking, "Cause God knows you'll have your hands full with this one." I growed at her and snapped. "Damn, who let the Chihuahua in with the Dalmatians???" I expected him to make a nervous laugh and play along. Almost everyone else would have, but not Austin. He just smiled and ran his fingers down my back.

"No I won't. You might. God knows Michael would. I guess most guys would. Underestimating Alex can be a huge fucking mistake, but we understand each other," he said as he stroked my back lovingly. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the sensation. Then Austin took the leash from Natasha and affixed it to my collar and held the end. "Fuck yeah, I like this," Austin said as he bathed in his assumed power. After a tour through the club on our leashes, Natasha brought us back to her stage and let us go. She told me and Austin to dress in the costumes Austin had retrieved from the car earlier. I protested that my current costume could double for street wear. Austin, still holding the leash to the collar to he'd made me keep on, just gave me a serious look and said "strip!" Natasha told us to be at her house by 2 p.m. for the parties so we could get back to Ryan and Michael's party by 8. Dressing in the mesh jock, the borrowed collar and the very skimpy harness I'd bought, I felt positively naked. I was trying to figure out how I could stay back here. But the sight of Austin in his leather vest, his leather cap, the boots he'd worn with the tiger costume, and his atomic blue eyes, who was I kidding? I'd have followed him into a lava flow. We got a lot of looks as we walked out, and a lot of comments, too. It's not that there weren't 40 other men dressed similarly to us around. It's just that they were all older, larger and a lot hairier. Not that that's a bad thing, but I think a majority still goes for the 20something baseball player and his little blond boytoy. Austin strode around like he was pumped full of testosterone. I almost glued myself to him, acutely aware of how naked and revealed I was. God, this was way worse then my frat hazing, but promised to be a lot more rewarding too. The reaction of Ryan, his Michael, Brandon, James, my Michael and the puppy who was enjoying my Michael's hand on his ass were a combination of wide eyes, amusement, shock and outrageous laughter. Within seconds, Austin was ordering me to put my hands behind my back so my Michael could handcuff me. I found myself; according to Austin's plan I'm sure, pressed up against him seeking his protection. And he was being nice using his massive hands to cover my ass and pulling me in front of him as we stood with the others. It turned out that James didn't drink, and since he'd rode down here with friends, he was free to drive my Jeep later. It was obvious that Brandon, James and my Michael were either a couple plus one or a triad, Tiago had disappeared a while ago with a married couple, Ryan and his Michael were naturally all smoochy, and Austin had claimed me as his. A claim I was not only comfortable with, but eager to explore with my imaginative and very eager partner. I rode home later wrapped in Austin's arms, sitting on his lap, as one hand explored every hidden spot on my body and my lips were stuck to his. I rode Austin into Ryan's house with my legs tightly wrapped around Austin's waist as his one hand held me and the other carried our bag. Brian brought mine along with his, and Michael, Brandon and James all fled to the hot tub. We'd been invited, but I didn't think Austin could wait much longer. Ryan and his Michael were already there. So we headed straight for what everyone called "my room," Brian went and climbed in the tub, just to be a pisser he told us later, then crashed in the family room when the guys got too aggressive. He was supposed to stay in our room, but we were being way to noisy for him to get any sleep.

That night Austin used belts to secure me to the bed and in what I can only call ecstatic zeal, tickled me and massaged me till I begged for mercy and promised him anything. When he finally got down to sex, he released my bonds and laid back so I could straddle his waist and lower myself onto him and ride. When I came it was one of the most powerful I'd ever had. Austin yelled so loud when he came Ryan came over to check on us. I slid down Austin's sticky body to snuggle in his arms. The next morning, I woke up alone in bed and heard a bunch of noises. James, Brandon, and Ryan's Michael were busy making breakfast. Ryan was on the computer working on some project for Disney, and Austin and my Michael were lounging on the pool deck and laughing. I got some coffee and went out to join them. "Where's mine, bitch?" Michael asked. Austin just took my cup since we both drank it the same way. "Austin? How serious is all this slave stuff gonna be? Cause it's real dangerous to take my coffee like that... you're lucky you have a witness," I said turning around to get another cup for me and one for Michael, who asked in his own weird "Bitch, get me a cup or I'm taking your boyfriend tonight" way. "One!" Austin said after me. "One what?" I turned to ask. Austin just smiled and high-fived Michael. "That was a fuckin' good idea, thanks mate! I figured out what it was they were talking about by their gloating and body language: Spankings. Michael was always saying I needed to get my spoiled ass spanked. "You'd better ask first, Austin. Otherwise, paramedics will be fishing your arm out of a trash can so they can reattach it!" "Go get my coffee!" Michael ordered. Two hours later, Brian, Austin, James, and I were dressed like puppies. Natasha had done some altering overnight. She'd sewn wires in the tails of mine and two other guys so that instead of laying down and covering our asses like the rest of the tails were doing, they were way up in the air and they wiggled in a wagging kinda way as we crawled. Austin couldn't stop laughing. Poor Brian was in a fluctuating state of either laughing hysterically or blushing and sometimes both. But it was fun as hell, and the fact the biggest and cutest "puppy" there kept dry humping me made it a hell of a lot of fun. At one point, Brian and Austin got into a wrestling match as Austin went to hump Brian. Frat boys ... We were a total hit everywhere we went, and all those other puppies were a lot of fun to hang with. The puppy that my Michael had been hitting on the night before was named Eryn. He was 6-4, very thin, with blond hair and a swimmer's build. Eryn was almost as big and shameless a flirt as Austin and since he knew most of the other guys, he was our link to them. By the end of the night, we knew who was positive, who was single, who was easy, whom he'd had, who topped and who bottomed. On almost any day, the chances of things getting out of hand when you put 17 young gay men and one straight frat boy together are pretty high. But if you do it on Halloween, the chances go way up and so do the levels of debauchery. When you add in that they were all on leashes led by a very big, outrageous drag queen and they were all almost totally naked ... well, you don't need to be a rocket scientist to know things got very bad, very quickly. I'm not sure when things started to deteriorate, but as these were all private parties and we were driving around in two vans, there was ample time for naughtiness to occur. Brian and a light-skinned black guy named Donnel were the first two to totally ditch the costumes, both because guests paid them to. Brian was just such a totally cool guy, he didn't care what people said and he was totally comfortable going around naked. Another couple, a pair of big blonds with gym-perfect bodies, began making out and groping big time by about 5:30. Austin, half turned on by what we'd already been doing, and half because of where the rest of the group was obviously heading, began with a long, long, lap under my tail. I quivered happily and helplessly as my Alpha puppy had his way with me. And in the future, when he told this story to people, he'd always say how I'd raised my tail for him. A big, cold bottle of Goldschlager was making the rounds and Austin held it up to my lips with a wild grin. "As I recall, every time you drink this, you have wild stories the next day..." I looked at him and breathed a big sigh. "Yeah, that's the story, hell, it's how I got you." "So open up!" Austin ordered in his frisky badboy growl. I closed my eyes in resignation and opened up as my guy poured an extra big mouthful. Before the night was over, the puppies finished that bottle and two smaller ones. By 7:30, almost all the guys were sans jockstraps. Austin had removed mine publicly and draped it over Natasha's arm. Actually, she was holding almost all the jockstraps, but we had our ears and collars still on to mark us puppies. At 8, the entire ensemble of puppies and Cruella descended on Ryan's party. It had just gotten started, and already more than two-dozen people were there ... most of them outside by the pool. When 18 naked guys in puppy ears and collars walked in on leashes, the party instantly kicked up into high gear. "Fuck!" Ryan said as we walked through the door. "I'm glad I didn't bother hiring strippers." As the night wore on, the last of the inhibitions faded with all manner of guests and puppies finding places to explore one another. Eryn and Michael went to the hot tub along with Brandon and James, and Tiago and Brian were drinking together along with Natasha and this tall red head in drag. The two blond gym bunnies were having actual penetrative sex on the back porch right in front of the sliding doors. "On your back, lover boy. I'm gonna give you some fucking serious rug burn on your shoulders," Austin commanded in my ear before running the tip of tongue around it and driving me insane with shivers. I slid silently to the floor and rolled over to look up at my guy with that so self-sure grin on his face. I admit it- he was my heroin. He could make me do anything by flashing his smile, staring at me with those lethal blue eyes and ordering me with that fortitude, that self-assurance that a total lack of fear affords. I was his bitch. He didn't need costumes or symbols, he had me addicted, and I would do what he asked gladly. But hell, he looked that much hotter in his leather stuff assuming his daddy bad ass persona. As I looked up in his excited Lukas Ridgeston eyes, I felt suddenly so protected and comfortable. I didn't even have a snappy joke or sarcastic comment in me at the moment/ Michael and Ryan and a few of the puppies went around with bowls of free condoms and little packets of lube and suggestions as to where things might be more comfortable. We never got this message, though -- only the condoms and lube. And if Austin was as loud, I had to be that much louder. Despite his warning about giving me rug-burn, he eventually slid down with me and held me tightly to his chest with his big arms wrapped around me as he entered me from behind with me on my side and my top leg pressed tightly to my chest. Amazingly, in a house full of people, new guests arriving all the time, we were all alone and in our own world. Part of me knew people were talking about us and watching. I just couldn't care at that point.

Later, Austin picked me up and carried me to the hot tub, we sat next to my Michael and Eryn, who were kissing big time and, well, it was dark and who knew where the hands were? I sat astride Austin in what was becoming our standard pose, me on his lap facing him. Later, as the party was winding down, we went to "our" room and crashed. "Yeah," I thought. "There will most definitely be stories." Then just before sleep took us, as Austin snuggled tightly against me, I said, "Good night, Floppy."

I could feel Austin suddenly stiffen next to me.

"BRIAN, YOU FUCKER!"