Simply Red

Max’s Perspective

 It was Sunday morning and I was hung the F over from Gina and Dylan’s wedding… and to be blunt my ass hurt from riding Brody afterwards. Damn I was so horned up when we got home. Drinking does that to me. Brody let me sleep in while he went to pick-up Gina and Dylan’s wedding gift. I had to stay home and rally the guys, get them coffee’d up, showered, packed, and, then take them to the brunch at the newlywed’s place before I dropped them at the airport. Brody would meet us there. Reluctantly I rolled out of bed and showered. We had had our first board meeting a couple of days ago, as we ended the meeting Seth asked me when I was going to quit teaching. He asked it like it was inevitable, honestly… I hadn’t really thought seriously about it. But now I was. In fact, it was all I was thinking about. I loved teaching, but to be honest I loved running my business too, and I had a chance to really build something to be proud of. Brody was right, there was more than one way to skin a rabbit. I thought about my options as the warm water rained down on me. 

Maybe I could hire someone fulltime to help increase production and keep things rolling during the day and then handle the business stuff part-time like I had been doing? Maybe I could become a substitute teacher, that way I could still teach but focus on the business? Maybe I could talk Mrs. J into going down to part time instead of retiring and we could share a classroom? Nah Principal Simmons and the schoolboard would never go for that. I was spit balling ideas in my head as the water started to grow cold. I finally got out of the shower and got ready to start the day. By the time I got down to the kitchen Seth was brewing a second pot of coffee, Zach was out in the yard with his best new bud Zoey, and Cam and Elliot were in the shower together.

“Somebody got some last night” Seth said with a smirk and a snicker. “I forgot how horny drunk Max got.”

I just gave him a shy grin and chuckled. It’s not like I could deny it. Right? “Hey Seth, that question you asked in the meeting…” I said as I grabbed the half-brewed coffee pot and poured myself a mug.

“Which one?”

“The last one about when am I gonna quit teaching” I said turning my gaze to him. “Do you think I should quit?”

“How the hell do I know? That’s a Max decision” Seth said in his calm, thoughtful voice. The guy was a pro at listening and making people think through things. “I DO know that you built a factory in your backyard, so this can’t be just some fleeting thing. Haven’t you thought about this before?”

“Well, yeah. But not seriously. The meeting was an eye-opener. I’m at a crossroads I guess.”

“What do YOU want, Max?” He asked. Again, another huge question.

“Well, I love teaching, but this business is mine. I built it. I’m proud of it. I want to grow it.” I said thinking out loud and seemingly trying to convince myself to focus on the business. “But I love teaching and I’m damn good at it. It’s more than a job to me.” I paused and thought, then blurted out “I want it all, Seth.”

He laughed, “Yeah, who the fuck doesn’t? But you might have to choose.” Seth was an amazing sounding board. He listened to me and we talked through options. He threw out ideas for me to chew on. He asked me very thought provoking questions… damn he gave me a lot to think about. “Listen, it’s not like you need to decide today. Think on it.” Just then the door burst open and Zach and Zoey came running in, then I heard Cam and Elliot coming down the steps dragging their luggage. “You can call me to talk anytime.” Seth said ending our “session.”

“Where’s Brody?” Zach asked.

“He had to go pick-up our wedding gift, he’ll meet us at the house.”

“What did you get them?” Elliot asked. I just told them to wait and see, they all bugged the crap out of me about it, but I didn’t give in, we wanted it to be a surprise. Brody had taken Old Blue to the Mackey’s farm and left us the Gladiator. We loaded up the bed with their bags then we all piled in with Zoey joining us by laying across Zach, Elliot and Cam in the back seat. It was a tight fit but it was only about a fifteen minute drive. Zach was talking dog talk to Zoey; Seth was up front with me and said, “The second we buy a house you know he’s gonna get a dog.”

Zach overheard him, and still talking to Zoey said, “no. No he’s not. No, he’s not gonna get A dog, he’s gonna get ten dogs, and the first one is gonna be just like you. Yes, he is.” Zoey was eating it up, laying on his back across the laps of the three guys and licking Zach’s face as he continued to talk and rub Zoey’s belly. “Yes. He is. I’m gonna name him dipshit… cuz he’s gonna be a goofy little dipshit just like you. Yes, he is. Who’s my goofy little dipshit. Zoey is. Yes, he is.” We were all laughing at him and Seth was rolling his eyes. Zoey of course was basking in the attention of the blonde jock and taking every word as the greatest compliment he ever heard.

When we got to Gina and Dylan’s everyone was out looking at the new house construction, it had come a long way and actually looked like a house. The walls were up, the roof was in place, the windows and doors were in, and some of the major systems had been installed. The place was a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be and it looked awesome. We all jumped out of the car and Zoey was instantly tackled by his cousin Roscoe… of course Zach jumped in the middle of that fight and was loving every minute of it.

When Zach finally pulled himself away from the dogs, Gina and Dylan gave us all a tour of the new house. We had just finished looking at the second floor and were heading down the steps with Dylan and Gina leading the way when Gina squealed “Oh my God, Who are YOU?!!” and the most adorable little puppy, a mini version of Roscoe, with a bow on his head started to clumsily climb his way up the steps to greet her.

“Congratulations” I yelled from above her on the steps, almost in harmony with Brody who had just come in through the front door. Gina leaned down and scooped up the pup, Brody was on the step above her and reached around to pet the lil guy.

“You got us livestock for a wedding gift?” Gina said laughing and nuzzling her new friend.

“Seriously?!” I yelled. “You got US a damn goat!”

“He’s Roscoe’s little brother” Brody said. “Same momma, possibly the same daddy… no one knows for sure.”

“His momma sounds like a little slut” Cam said adding his two cents worth. We all moved down the steps and into the framed-in great room to meet the newest addition to the family. Brody had made sure Roscoe and Zoey were out in the yard before he brought the little guy in to meet his new parents.

“We know you’ve been thinkin’ about getting’ another one, and we figured with the baby comin’ Roscoe could use a friend.” Brody said.

“We’re namin’ him Bosco” Dylan said with a huge smile as he rubbed the puppy’s belly and started the puppy talk with “Yer Bosco, yes you are.”

“Don’t I get a say in this?” Gina asked.

“Well, I’m getting Roscoe and Bosco somehow. We could name the baby Bosco if ya want. Yer call” Dylan said looking at his wife with a grin that dared her to argue with him.

Gina rolled her eyes and laughed, “Fine. His name is Bosco” she said in mock defeat.

“Let’s go meet yer big brother and yer cousin” Dylan said scooping the puppy up and heading out to the yard to introduce Bosco to Roscoe and Zoey.

“Hey Brody, were there more puppies in the litter?” Zach asked with excitement.

“No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No…”  Seth said shaking his head and putting his foot down (literally). “We agreed no dogs UNTIL we knew where we were going to settle down and bought a place of our own.”

“But he’s so damn cute. A littermate would be perfect…” Zach started to argue his case.

“Nope. Not happening” Seth said. That was the end of that conversation. I loved the hell outta Seth, but he was a planner. He had in his mind when they would be ready for a puppy and that wasn’t going to change. And Zach was more impulsive… they balanced each other out. But Seth won this battle (at least for now).

The rest of the afternoon we all hung out, laughed, talked, and ate while Gina and Dylan opened gifts, and Zoey and Roscoe tired out Bosco. It was a great afternoon that ended with me taking Cam, Elliot, Zach, and Seth to the airport. I loved having them all around again and didn’t want to say goodbye so I parked the Gladiator and went into the terminal with them. We hung out and had coffee until their flights were announced. I hugged them all goodbye, saving Seth for last. Damn I had missed him so much. “Call me if you need to talk” he said as we let each other go and he got into the line for TSA. I waited until they all got to the other side and disappeared, then I left the airport, got into the Jeep and went home.

The next several days were uneventful and the house seemed so quiet without all our friends. My mind seemed to be in perpetual reevaluation mode as I continually thought about what the hell I wanted to do with the opportunities in front of me. I talked it through with Brody over and over, he was mega supportive and threw out ideas, but I think I was hoping he’d make the decision for me… he didn’t. I called Seth almost every night for advice as I thought through my options, he listened and led me to think, the man had the patience of a saint. “Listen, Max. You’re waiting for Brody, or me, or someone else to tell you what to do” Seth said. “It’s not gonna happen. This is all you. What do YOU want?”

I let out a deep sigh “Shit!” I screamed into the phone making Seth laugh. “Seth, I gotta quit my job and run this company.” I said out loud for the first time. Seth was supportive, later that night I told Brody that I had made up my mind and was going to talk to Principal Simmons the next day. He was proud of me for making a decision, and supportive as hell. Well, the next day came and I lost my nerve and didn’t talk to Principal Simmons. I had changed my mind about quitting. Then I change it back. Then I changed it again. GODDAMMIT!!! I just could NOT decide.

###

The snow was lightly falling as we pulled to Gladiator into the parking lot of The Biltmore Inn late on an early December night. I was excited to do the Meet & Greet at The Gift Shop on the next morning. We left home as soon as I got home from school on Friday night, dropped Zoey off at Uncle Dylan and Aunt Gina’s place to hang with his cousins (they promised to check on Jimmy in the morning for us too), then drove straight there, we were both starving. We checked into our room and ordered room service and enjoyed a quiet night in the serenity of the mountains.

After dinner we got into the big bed naked and Brody wrapped his tight little body around me. It was cold and his warm body felt awesome against mine. Brody fell asleep almost instantly, but I couldn’t sleep and was a bit horned up. I subtly pushed my cold ass against his warm flaccidness. Nothing. I tried again, and wiggled my muscle butt a little hoping to give him a jolt. I thought he was sleeping when his voice cut through the darkness, “I know what yer doin’, Maxwell. Ya’ aint exactly subtle.”

“Whooo meeee?” I asked in my best innocent voice as I pushed back against him again. This time I got a twitch from him as he started to grow at my taunting. Brody let out what started as a sigh but morphed into a moan as he pushed up against me. He tightened his arms around me and pulled my back into his chest. I loved being with him… sex was just the cherry on top.

He kissed me on the neck, then he licked my neck and shoved his tongue in my ear… he knew that drove me nuts. “Somebody liked that” he said with a snicker when I pushed my ass into him even harder. His playfulness turned into dirty passion as he bit my earlobe before shoving his tongue back in my ear. I was whimpering and moaning as my body writhed against his hardness… he went from limp to steel pole in about 3 seconds flat!

Brody was pushing his hot, rigid pipe against my tight, yearning hole, he lined it up perfectly and pushed. “Ow, shit” I grunted. He entered me dry and it hurt like hell! “pull out, pull out” I whispered in desperation as I reached back and tried to push him out of me. I looked over at the nightstand and saw the bottle of lotion that had thoughtfully been placed there by housekeeping (just like on our last stay). I grabbed the little bottle, reached back and handed it to Brody. I heard the click of the cap as he popped it open, then I felt a cold sensation on my yearning, sore hole as he lovingly massaged the lotion into me. He made small circles with his index finger trying to soothe the soreness and open me up.

“Are you okay?” he asked as he continued to give my hole attention. He moved his lubed finger in and out, getting me good and ready.

“Yeah, it hurt like hell, but it feels better now.” I said.

“I’m sorry baby, I guess I got a little excited” I could hear the guilt and worry in his voice. It was really not big deal; he just entered a little too fast and too dry… shit happens. Right? But I loved the way he cared.

“It’s not a big deal” I said. Then I flipped around so we were face to face and added, “I love you.” We kissed tenderly and I slowly rolled onto my back as we did. Brody stroked his meaty cock with the lotion, getting himself ready to enter me. He moved between my legs and lined himself up with my now soothed, opened, and ready hole.

Our eyes locked, “Are you ready?” He asked, I responded with a nod and a grunted a yes. “You sure?” he asked looking for reassurance and got a ‘hell yeah’ in response. He smiled a dirty little smile and pushed, all the time looking me in the eyes and trying to read my face for any signs of pain… all pain was long gone and replaced by blissful pleasure as he entered me slowly and lovingly. His eyes never left mine as he moved in and out of me with slow strokes, I could feel every ridge of his plump, veiny cock as he did. I just laid there, looking into his eyes and reveling in every sensation… after four years together it all still felt brand new to me. His long, slow strokes got shorter and faster. Our quiet whimpers turned into louder moans and groans as our lovemaking went full force. Fuck, he was hitting all the right places and hitting them hard. His balls slapped my ass as they started to tighten in preparation for their release.

I hadn’t touched my own cock at all, yet I felt my orgasm brewing in my ball sac. “Holy shit I think I’m gonna cum, Brody” I said with surprise. I had cum handsfree a couple of times in my life but wasn’t expecting it. Brody leaned in and gave me a wet kiss, then shoved his tongue in my ear again. “Fuck!” I yelled in a throaty whisper as my load burst through my shaft and splashed between us.

“Oh, hell yeah” Brody whispered as he picked up his pace, then with a final, powerful thrust he filled my insides with his warm cum. We were kissing when he came and I could feel his moans fill my mouth. He pulled his cock out slowly then pushed back in a few times. When he finally pulled out, he leaned in and started licking my cum off my body, then sat back on his knees between my legs. I sat up and contorted myself so I could suck his cock. It was fresh from my ass and ripe with his cum and my musk… it was dirty, gross, hot, sexy, and wonderful all at the same time. We kissed a little more before we went to the big shower and cleaned each other off. We were shivering when after we dried ourselves off and got back under the covers to fall asleep.

The next morning, we got up, got dressed in tight jeans and BroMax T-shirts then went downtown and had breakfast at a cute little place a couple of doors down from the little shop where the Meet & Greet was happening. Brody had been talking to Darren (Stella’s boss) about designing merchandise under the BroMax Farm brand name. We already had made some mugs with the Barn Creatures of BroMax Farm on them a while ago for our website. We had sold a few online, but we originally made them mostly for fun and gave them as gifts (we had a cabinet full of them too). Darren and Stella suggested we bring a few cases with us to the event to see how they were received; we also brought a couple cases of candles just in case things sold out (I wasn’t expecting to need them).

After breakfast we went to The Shop and unloaded the car. The Shop owners were excited to see us again, and even more excited that we brought new, different merchandise with us. They gushed over our T-shirts too… Brody had thought ahead and brought some of those too, so he went out to the car and got one for each of them. Vince and Cody (The Shop owners) wore them with pride, they were good guys and we hit it off with them. Other artisans started to show up and the guys introduced us. There was a straight couple from Charlotte with a greeting card line, Another gay guy with a card line out of Winston-Salem, and several others, all from North Carolina… we were the only candle makers. The guys had set up and area for each vendor, ours space a shelved display with our candles on it, they brought out a small table from the back and Brody rearranged everything to showcase our new stuff front and center… leave it to an artist to beauty out of nothing. He had an amazing eye and our display stood out. Once we were all set up, they opened the doors. They had told us not to expect much, this was more of a feel good thing than a crowd magnet, but the place was packed with Christmas shoppers and our merchandise was selling. Hell, it was a few weeks before Christmas and everything was selling. I was so damn proud of my introverted husband; he was talking to everyone and charming the hell out of them! Other artisans, customer, Vince and Cody. That’s the thing about Brody… he has social anxiety, but when he gets comfortable, he’s… well… is it too gay to use the word delightful? People spark to him, they love him. He just is who he is, he doesn’t put on airs or pretend to be anything but what and who he is.

The day was a huge success, we sold all the merchandise they had in the store, and a lot of what we brought with us. We got so much feedback on our products, most great, some ugly, but we listened to every word. The guys wanted to be the first to carry any new products we developed.

After the event we looked around the little town again and did some Christmas shopping. I found a bunch of stuff for Gina, BA, and the baby (yeah, the baby wasn’t even born and we were already spoiling it). Vince and Cory invited us to their place for dinner. They had a cute little log cabin style house in the mountains. The conversation just flowed; Brody held his own well at a table with three extroverts… in fact he seemed like one himself that night. The guys told us about how they ended up in Asheville after living in Charlotte their entire lives, and the history of their shop, and how it became an icon in the area. They were extremely interested in my business and vowed to come visit our little operation in the near future.  After we said goodnight, we went back to the Inn for a good night’s sleep, then got up bright and early to head home. It had been a great weekend.

 ###

It was the week before Christmas and Brody was in Phoenix working on a big pitch. Bubba and his crew had completed the barn renovation, but candle production was still on hold. We had kicked it into high-gear in October and November to make sure we were ahead of production before we shut down to finish the renovation. We had a stockpile of candles for on-line and Stella orders, and we were way ahead on hotel production. We were going to resume production after Christmas. Meanwhile, Ricky and I were scrubbing every inch of the old barn doing our post-construction cleaning. The renovation had turned out great and the place was shaping up. I was on my hands and knees scrubbing the stained-cement floor and Ricky was standing above me cleaning one of the big pouring stations. “Hey Max” he said. “I know you’ve been thinking about quitting your job and doing this fulltime. Um… after I graduate, I want to do this fulltime too.” He looked down at me while I was on my hands and knees scrubbing and asked “So, what do you think?”

“I thought you were thinking about college. What happened to that?” I asked.

 “I don’t think it’s for me. I’m an okay student, but I’d rather go to work than spend four more years in school. I talked to my parents about it and we found a Project Management Certification course. I want to take it. It’s only a week long and I can get my certification. I think I could learn a lot that could help us out here.” Ricky said. He was a young man with a plan. He looked at me and said, “I love this job, Max. and I want to learn more, and contribute more, and help you build this business. I want to be part of this.” He was so animated and so sincere. This was his fucking passion.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” I asked although it was clear he knew what he wanted. He nodded with an expectant smile on his face. “Well, let me think about the best way to utilize you. We have a few months to figure it out.” I said, then added. “How about you take some time to write yourself a job description?”

“You mean like put in writing what my duties would be and all that?” He asked.

“Yeah, duties, responsibilities, all that. I want to know what you want to do and what you think you can contribute” I said. “Take your time and really think about it, okay?” He nodded. “Then we’ll sit down and talk through it and see if it makes sense. No promises yet, but let’s talk.”

“If I run production, fulfillment, and shipping, and you run the business stuff… maybe you could still teach if you want to.” Ricky offered up. It wasn’t a bad thought. It definitely opened some more options up for me to consider. I had been thinking of a way to leave production to him (or another manager if he went off to college). I had also considered pulling Mrs. J and maybe even BA in part time if they were interested. We were perfecting our production process, and I felt that by the summer I could be comfortable handing it over and concentrating on creating scents and the business of doing business. If Brody’s line took off, that would create a whole other set of challenges I would need to deal with from a business perspective. Ricky and I finished cleaning the barn, the place was spotless when we were done. We were ready to resume production right after Christmas.

Because of the shutdown, Ricky and the guys lost a few weeks work. Brody and I decided to give them all a cash bonus at the holidays to help make up for it. Of course, we gave Ricky a hell of a lot more than the others. He was getting ready to leave so I ran up to Brody’s office to get his bonus. When I came back down, he was putting his coat on. “Hey Ricky” I said from behind him, he turned to look at me. “I couldn’t have done any of this without you. I know our relationship started out…” he cut me off.

“Sucky” he said.

“Yeah Sucky" I continued with a laugh. “But shit worked out pretty good for all of us. Here.” I handed him the envelope. “Merry Christmas from me and Brody.”

He took the thick envelope and opened it. He went to read the card and the cash inside spilled out on the floor. He looked down on the freshly cleaned floor and saw several bills (ten to be exact), when he bent over to pick them up, he realized they were hundred dollar bills. He counted as he picked them up. “Holy shit, Max. This is a thousand bucks.” To a high school kid with a parttime job it was a fortune. Max and I weren’t rich, but the business was holding its and poised to be profitable (even with all the money we put into the renovation), Brody had a great income, and we were good at squirreling it away. My entire income from the school was in the bank. So yeah, a thousand bucks wasn’t chump change to us, but it didn’t hurt that much either… but to Ricky it was a fortune and he had earned every damn penny. He looked up at me with a smile on his cute, young face, “Wow. Thank you.”

 “We’re giving the other guys something too, but not this much, so keep your mouth shut” I said with a smile knowing I could trust him. “Have a Merry Christmas, and I’ll see you on the 27th to get things cranked back up here. Are you going to see Timmy and Trey?” I asked. He nodded, so I went upstairs and got their envelopes for him to give to them since I wouldn’t see them until after Christmas.  “You’re their supervisor, why don’t you give them their bonuses and thank them for their hard work.” With that, Ricky said goodbye and headed home. Brody told me later that he called him from the car to thank him. His dad called me later that night to thank me and talk through his thoughts on Ricky skipping college and getting his PM certification instead. He was supportive. We ended our conversation with him thanking me for taking Ricky under my wing. In reality, I couldn’t have gotten where I was without his help.

 

To be continued…