Chapter 9

nine

THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN

Imade it. My ass is in the hard plastic seat, sore, and still feeling kinda like it wants to pucker in on itself, but here I am. A student. Taking notes and listening to the lecture. Anything to keep my mind from what I just left behind.

Not even bothering to listen to them discuss future plans together, I bolted. Do I regret Briggs?

Not for one single moment. He was eye opening in so many ways.

Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I check the board for scores from our last quiz. Not looking good. That’s okay… I can fix it.

“Hey!” Snagging her sweatshirt, I spot Kinsley nearby. She pauses her stride to look where my fingers are pinching the fabric.

“What’s up, Mason?”

“You’re really smart. And since G’s not here to help me, I was wondering if you could tutor me. It’s for my biology class.” I point at the door to show her. Her mouth quivers a bit as she pinches her lips together.

“Mason… are you, um, hitting on me? Because George⁠—”

Rolling my eyes, I puff out, “I’m gay. I just want to get an A. I know it’s pretty late, but I have an idea and I need help. I’m not stupid; I just need to focus better.”

When I glance up at her face, her brown eyes are wide. Oh. I guess I said it out loud. “I didn’t know you were gay. Sure, I’ll tutor you. Not because you’re gay, just because…” Trailing off, her cheeks turn pink.

Wow. That felt really fucking good to say. Shrugging one shoulder, I smile. “Thanks, Kins. I appreciate it.”

We exchange numbers and agree to meet up in a couple of days, but she gives me a bunch of assignments to do before. Not even bothering with scheduling an appointment, I head straight to my advisor’s office. Fortunately, he’s available.

“Can I help you?”

Taking a big breath in, I tell him, “My name’s Mason Locke, and I want to change my major. I’m a senior and I know it will take me a semester longer or so to graduate, but this is what I want.”

After that little meeting, I head straight to the barber’s on Main Street. He asks me what kind of cut, and I tell him something different. Because I am different.

While I sit in the chair, I text Xavier.

Me

I owe you.

Xavier

Took you long enough.

Me

?

Xavier

You think just because you parked the vette back strategically I wouldn’t notice the scratches?

Me

I’ll call the guy and get it fixed next week.

Xavier

Good man.

Me

Xav?

Xavier

?

Me

I’m gay.

Xav?

Xavier

Ok but you’re still paying for the car.

Smiling, I stuff my phone in my pocket, but it rings. It’s Xavier.

“Yeah?”

“Who is he?” His voice sounds gruff.

“What do you mean?”

A heavy sigh rings through, peaking the speaker. “Who’s the guy? I need to check him out.”

“No. You’re gonna be all weird about it and spy on him and it’s not like that. I mean…yeah. I was into someone. But he’s preoccupied now. But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m gay.”

“Fine. I’ll find out on my own.” There’s a pause. “Mason?”

“Yeah?”

“If he’s not with you? He’s not good enough for you.” Tightening my lips together so I don’t shed the tears threatening my eyes, I hold my breath so long, he asks, “You there?”

I nod and the barber taps my shoulder to tell me to remain still, but I answer, “Yeah. Thanks.”

“Got you. And I’ll find out everything about him. If he hurts you? You tell me.”

“Love you, cous’.”

“Love you, too.”

It’s early afternoon and I have plenty of time to get tasks done. Heading back to my apartment, I straighten the place, take care of Sweetie’s needs, then gather up all my dirty clothes and toss them into a bag. My place does have a space for a washer and dryer, but I never bought them. So, I drive back to my mother’s house.

“Mason?” she asks as she peeks her head around the corner of the laundry room when I enter from the garage.

Maybe it’s all the years of pent-up anger toward her. For not caring about me and not loving who I am. But I barely heed her presence, stuffing clothes in the washer and say, “Hi, Mom. I’m gay.” She’s silent and still as I pour some liquid soap in. Finally, I turn to face her. “Just thought you should know.”

Her long fake lashes blink at me several times, as if trying to contemplate the words. Crossing my arms, I lean a hip against the cool metal of the machine.

“I know I’m a big disappointment to you already, and I’m sure you’ll have something awful to say about this. But honestly? You’re a disappointment to me, too. Don’t compare your son to everyone else. I’m me. I’m Mason. I’m not Xavier.”

Her eyes get puffy, and her throat constricts as she swallows. “Is that what you think? That I compare you?”

“Yes. Because you do. You have told me to be more like him. Well, I’m not. And I like men.”

“Mason… I’m sorry I made you feel that way.” There’s a long enough pause, I consider just leaving, when she says, “I’m just a little stunned here. I don’t know what to say.” She takes a step toward me, but the irritation in her lack of response annoys me further. I shouldn’t have expected a big change in her. But it still hurts.

“How about that you love me. That you accept me for being me. That you’ll support me, and I don’t have to do everything you think is best for me. I’ve grown up now, mother. I can take care of myself.”

Opening her plump lips to retort, her voice gets caught in her throat until she closes her mouth and straightens her shoulders. “Well, it certainly looks like it. You’re washing your clothes on your own and everything.” Reaching across the divide between us, she places a cold palm against my cheek. “I love you. And I do accept you. I just wish things didn’t have to be so hard for you.”

“They’d be a lot better if I had you supporting me.”

She wraps her little arms around my waist, and I hug her back, resting my chin on her brown hair. “Tell me what you need, and I’ll try.”

I just nod, reserving the talk for where my future is going for another day. “Okay, I will.” One shock to her system is enough for today, I suppose. Sitting at the kitchen table, she makes me a snack while I sit and study for Kinsley’s assignments. It’s easier now that I have a goal.

Instead of waiting for the right man to find me, I’m just going to become the best version of myself. That way, if he finds me, then I’ll be okay with or without him.

Briggs and Caitlyn can have a happy life together doing whatever they want. I don’t want her in my life and feel relieved I’m not the father of her baby.

Focusing on the words in front of me, I try to avoid the questions racing through my mind like, is Briggs happy now? He did say he wanted to knock her up. Was that his goal? Did he want her all along?

Will they get married, and will I have to see them together around town from now on?

Above all, I force myself not to feel the agony I know is coming tonight when I’m alone in my bed. All the dashed dreams that Briggs would be there beside me. Dreams of us living in his amazing apartment together, the fantasies of what I want for my future. It was a stupid idea.

Now, I’m more pragmatic. Time to stop living in delusions.

By the time my laundry is done, and I eat a polite dinner with Mother, it’s dark out and raining pretty heavily for winter. Shrugging on my coat, I load up my clean clothes and head back to my apartment. Rushing through the wetness, I try to get to my door quickly, so the clothes don’t get too soaked, but as I reach it, I stumble.

A large blonde man sits with his back and head against it, looking like he just lost his Sweetie.

Briggs slides up the panel and stands, then tries to grab my basket from me. “Let me.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I’ve been here. Said I was coming after class. You ignored my texts?”

Licking my lips, I don’t respond. I had, not wanting to think about the pain of being second best again.

“Can I come in?” he asks with a nod toward the apartment.

I brush past him and unlock the door, leading the way inside. My hands shake slightly as I take the basket from him and shrug off my coat. He’s not even wearing one, but rubs his hands up and down his forearms like he’s cold.

“Hang on,” I tell him and dig out a fresh towel, then grab a blanket from the closet. Giving it the sniff test, it still smells fresh, so I hand it over to him.

“Thanks. Mind if I sit?” he asks, pointing to the couch.

Nodding, I refuse to relax, standing near the corner of the room. My stomach ties in knots, waiting for him to say something I don’t want to hear. “Well, congratulations.” The sarcasm is heavy in my words.

His blue eyes find my face and then my feet. “Oh. She’s a liar, Mason. She’s not pregnant.” Biting his bottom lip, he rubs his hair dry with the towel and sets it on the table in front of him.

That knot ties tighter, as if what he says next could give me eternal hope or damnation. “She’s not?”

The wrinkles on his sweatshirt flatten as his broad chest expands with a deep breath. “No. If you had hung around for two seconds, you would have heard that. But… I mean, you abandoned your girlfriend and left me to get her to confess.”

“She’s not my—” The sudden sharpness in his glare makes me stop. “Girlfriend.”

“Then why does she say she is? What has this whole thing been about? I thought I was just your bull, huh? Just the guy you let fuck your girlfriend and get off on it. Thought you’d just use me?”

Pointing to my chest, I rip out, “You were using me! You wanted Caitlyn!”

His brow furrows as he tosses his head to the side. “Are you fucking kidding me? I wanted you! Caitlyn’s… She’s not a nice person, Mason. She’s an absolute cunt to you. And you just let her. I’d treat you so much better. But I also never intended to make you cheat. And I’m sorry I did today, but I’m not sorry we were together.” He stands as I stay locked in place, frozen by the words he speaks. Briggs… is into me?

Placing a hand on either side of my head, he leans into my face until our noses almost touch. “I just wanted you so fucking bad. I couldn’t help myself. With your tight ass and kissable lips. Your need for destruction everywhere. You drive me fucking crazy, twister.”

“You want me?”

The heat of his breath hits my lips like fire as he chuckles. “Yes, I want you. Listen, I’ve been with guys before who weren’t, uh, out yet. And I get frustrated. So I thought I should leave you alone. Plus, Caitlyn was in the way. So I figured you were straight and didn’t want me in that way.”

With a hand at the back of his head, he scratches his hair and looks down, but I take my finger and lift his chin back up. “I’m not straight. And I don’t want Caitlyn. She was never really my girlfriend, but if it makes you feel better, I’ll call her right now and break it off.”

His chest rises and falls rapidly. The energy between us is palpable. Like he’s going to rip my ass a new hole as soon as I say go.

“Why did she say she was pregnant?” I ask.

“She was jealous because she knows that I want you and not her. And she wanted us apart. But I swear to god, Mason, if you don’t call her right now and cut things off? I’ll do it for you.”

His hand reaches up and grips my jaw. Brushing his stubble against my face, he says, “Because you’re mine.”

Without breaking eye contact, I slip my phone from my pocket and find her number, then call. She answers on the first ring in a flurry of rants. Ignoring her, I ask, “Caitlyn?”

“Yeah. Didn’t you hear me?”

“Caitlyn, listen to me. We’re done. I don’t want to see you again, okay?”

“Listen here, you⁠—”

Briggs hits the end call button, then tosses my phone on the sofa. Just as he turns back to me, his thick arms grip my waist and hoist me up against the wall. My legs wrap around him as he grinds on me, and his lips greet me in a tight embrace.

Breaking our kiss, he groans against my neck and asks, “Are you too sore?”

“N-no. Fuck me, daddy.” Dropping my legs, he undresses quickly, peeling off his layers of wet clothes, and I do the same. Just as I shirk off my hoodie, he gets on his knees and takes my hard dick in his mouth. “Oh, fuck!”

I watch him as his eyes find mine, his strong hand stroking himself as he bends before me. Running my fingers through his hair, I follow his motions as he gives me the best blow job I’ve ever had. With a smug smile, he licks my tip, teasing it before suctioning the entire cock down his throat and working my shaft with his hot, wet mouth. My legs get weak, and I want to slide down, but the sensation is too good that I don’t want to miss a second.

One of his long fingers works itself under my balls, pressing on my taint until I gasp. Pulling back from my dick, he lifts up his arm and slips the finger inside my mouth.

“Suck,” he commands, and I swirl my tongue around it, then slurp it in between my lips.

He presses it back between my legs, then farther until it reaches my asshole, and I moan. But just as I think I’ll come, he pops my throbbing cock out of his mouth and gives me a smirk, raises up, and says, “Lube. Now.”

I shuffle past him and grab the bottle from my nightstand, but his hand stops me from returning to the living room. With a smack on my right butt cheek, he says, “Get on the bed on your stomach. Face down, ass up, little boy.”

This morning, I wasn’t nervous. Passion overtook me until I loosened up completely. But hearing him demand such a vulnerable position, I get a bit scared… and really turned on. This is exactly what I want with him.

“You want this big dick in your ass again? Greedy boy. Taking it twice today.”

“Yes. Give it to me.”

Kneeling behind me, he rubs the liquid all over my ass and warms me up with some fingers. “Press back against me, baby.”

Pushing on his hand, I control the rhythm I need until his fingers slide out and his dick edges against my entrance. This time, it’s not as harsh and my body relaxes back into his quicker than before.

“Ugh… that’s it. You’re so used to my cock in your ass now. It was made for your hole. Fuck yourself on me, Mason. Show me how much you want me.”

He stills and I ride him, bouncing my cheeks off his stomach and controlling the pace. My hard dick swings between my thighs until I grab it and tug. Running his palms over my back, then to the back of my neck, Briggs grips me there.

“Okay, let daddy take over. Good boy.”

Once I let go, everything washes over me. Briggs makes me his, branding me with his body until I hope he never lets go. I don’t want him to. As my fingers snake into the comforter, I cry through the pleasure that shreds my body into pieces. My cum sprays out all over the bed as he continues to rampage into me. His harsh spank on my ass, along with his gruff, “Good fucking boy. Such a good boy for daddy,” make me leak more. I didn’t think it was possible, but at the end of one journey toward ecstasy, he shoves in deeper, and my dick surges with ropes of cum all over again.

With a roar, his hips thrust firmly into my backside as he fills my ass for the second time today. Slipping out slowly, he falls to his side and pulls my back into his chest. Our skin sticks together through all the sweat. He kisses along my neck, puffing out breaths. “You okay? Too rough?”

Shaking my head, I let the afterglow dull my thoughts. “No. It was amazing.”

Briggs rests his chin on my shoulder and glances up toward the window. “Oh! Hey, sweetie! Nice to meet you. I’m gonna help my boyfriend take good care of you.”

I roll over to face him, brushing some blond locks from his forehead as he smiles. “What did you say?”

“I told you, you’re mine. And since you aren’t going to say it, that means you’re my boyfriend. I claimed that ass.”

“Yeah…okay. Boyfriend.” Scooting over until I get on top of him, I lean down and bite his bottom lip. “And daddy.”

“Fuck. Give me ten and we’ll go again.”