The Cove

In the previous chapters…

Gerry's heterosexual inclinations and his inhibitions make it hard for him having sex with Rowan, despite the sheer love he feels for him. However, a part of him longs for men's love, and at the Cove he cautiously explores his sexuality, sucking Alex' cock and then making sweet love to Brennan.
Kale goes to Hawaii to pay a visit to his dying father and brings back with him his young cousin Laniakea, who struggles to fully explore his sexual inclinations and find his place within the Cove. With Kale's help, Laniakea learns how liberating is voicing (or even screaming) his pleasure and reveals to have been raped by two homophobic guys, back home.
Beau understands that he's not the wonderful and generous man he's always believed, and tries his best to overcome his limits.
The sudden appearance of Gerry's female lover causes a fuss in the Cove and leads to a weird three-way between Kale, Gladys and Gerry. Rowan feels inadequate for Gerry, and looks for reassurance into Barry's arms, but this causes a fight between Gerry and Barry, who later on find a common ground (rough sex!) to settle their quarrel.
Barry is arrested and put in jail, where he ties a strong bond with Wade, a barely legal straight boy. At his trial, Barry makes the hot Judge Ricardo Garcia fall for him.
Jorell reveals to Kale that his father walked out on him when he was seventeen and never heard from him since. Immediately, the Cove starts searching for Jorell's father, and the traces lead to the infamous San Quentin Prison. There, Jorell finds out how unexpectedly caring and understanding was his father, who unfortunately died in prison.
LaShawn meets Joshua, the supposedly straight jet pilot, and gently brings the uptight and repressed guy into the frightening and delightful world of man-love; and though the brave pilot then dies in a plane crash, LaShawn knows for sure that he died in peace with himself.
Laniakea is adamant in being a strictly 'top' guy, but when he talks about that with Barry, the sexy worker widens... Laniakea's perspectives.
After pondering it a lot, Beau proposes to Kale: the news about the surprising marriage makes happy everyone... but Barry, who gets unexpectedly tense and thoughtful. After few days, the two lovebirds get married at Maison de la Motte, with a romantic, and somewhat hilarious ceremony, and then fly on honeymoon to France.
In Provence, Beau and Kale visit the small village of Saint-Julien, where they meet a sexy guy who in all likely is Beau's half-brother, but they decide not to unveil the truth.
While they're away, at the Cove things go downhill: Barry is irritable, sad and surly, he continuously argues with the men and ultimately leaves the Cove.

Synopsys

Kale leaves Beau alone and runs back home; there, he harshly tongue-lashes the men and then goes talk to Barry. What he will discover about Barry and himself will be quite surprising and unsettling...

Additional downloads (PDF)

~ Cast of Characters: the “Who’s Who” of the Cove!
~ Floor Plan of the Cove
~ Book 01: Chapters 01-10 (PDF with bookmarks)
~ Book 02: Chapters 11-20 (PDF with bookmarks)
~ Book 03: Chapters 21-30 (PDF with bookmarks)
~ Book 04: Chapters 31-35 (PDF with bookmarks)

≈ Chapter 35 – A Three-Legged Stool ≈

~ The Cove’s gone ~

When Kale entered the huge arrivals hall at Los Angeles Airport, he felt a bit disappointed not to find anyone from the Cove waiting for him. But then he reminded to himself that he left France in such a hurry that he couldn’t alert anyone of his arrival.

He exited the airport and enjoyed the fresh air of the evening. The eleven-hour flight from Nice to Los Angeles took off at 6PM, but due to the different time zones, it was just 8PM in California. He took a cab, and after about an hour he arrived at the Cove.

Inside, the house was dark and silent; Kale crossed the entrance hall and entered the living room, that was deserted, which was unusual, because after dinner usually men and boys stayed there, chatting (and often flirting), until bedtime.

“Sir, you’re back!!!” – Rick exclaimed, coming from the kitchen – “You’re back!! You’re back!!”

Kale turned around, opening his arms, and gave a long, strong hug to the boy. When they recoiled, Kale looked more attentively at Rick’s face, and noticed the deep anguish in his eyes.

“Hendrick, it’s so nice to see you! But where is everybody?”

Rick faintly shook his head, and his voice trembled when he answered: “Barry’s gone away…”

“You miss him, don’t you?”

“Very much, sir… And I feel ashamed, because maybe it’s been my fault, too…”

“What you mean? Are you talking about the accident in the gym? When Barry shoved you to the ground?”

“Oh, no, sir, that’s totally forgotten… I’m ashamed because now that Barry’s gone, I realize that I took him for granted, I knew I could rely on him for anything, he was a constant presence in the Cove, he made the Cove sparkle with his irrepressible sexuality, his funny banter, his unsettling straightforwardness… But I never told him how important he was for me, because… I didn’t know! Now he’s gone, and he said he won’t come back…”

Rick looked around at the empty, depressing living room and added with a small voice: “This is what the Cove has become since Barry went away…”

“But where is he gone? Where is he living now?” – Kale asked, and Rick made a smirk of sorrow: “Alex gave him the keys to his old apartment, the one he used when he was still a cop, before moving to the Cove. But this caused more tensions between the men: Wahkan and Jorell accused him not to have at heart the Cove, and he got angry and moved away, too, bringing Charlie with him. They all live in Alex’s apartment, now.”

Kale felt his heart skip a beat, as he didn’t expect things to have escalated so much; a chill ran through his spine, and he asked cautiously: “What about the other men?”

“Gerry said he doesn’t feel comfortable any more, here at the Cove, and at first I was afraid he would’ve moved back to his old apartment with Rowan; thanks god they didn’t, but Gerry goes out in the morning and comes back late in the night, and often he even spends the night somewhere, probably with his woman, Gladys. Wahkan and Jorell are still here, they are as distraught as me and would like to find a solution to bring things back to how they used to be, but they have no idea how to do that. And Stewart is here, too… in a way. I mean, he lives here at the Cove, though…”

“Though what?” – Kale asked, anxiously, realizing how dramatically serious was the situation.

“Stewart barely talks to anyone… including me. He often doesn’t even come down to have dinner. When we meet he barely greets me. Since Barry went away, he never… you know… he never let me sleep with him.”

Rick, until that moment, had kept a grip on himself, but talking about how Stewart ignored him, his voice cracked. Kale pulled again the boy in a tight hug: “Come here, Rick! I wish you hadn’t to go through all this. I hate seeing you in such a bad mood…”

Rick recoiled and with fierce determination wiped the anguish from his face: “Thank you, sir, but you don’t need to worry about me or Stewart, there is something more important to take care of. Pl… Please, take care of the Cove, sir…”

Despite the effort he was putting in hiding his sorrow, Rick couldn’t prevent his eyes to get wet. Kale was moved from Rick’s maturity and loyalty and his heart overflowed with love for him. Looking straight at Rick, Kale took his face with his hands and murmured: “Yes, I’m going to take care of the Cove, and I’m going to start with its most valuable member…”

Their lips met in a tender kiss, and Rick felt weak in the knees, overwhelmed by Kale’s sweetness. The long days of uncertainty and solitude, in a house that seemed deserted, were suddenly lifted from Rick’s heart by those tender lips pressing against his own, and those comforting arms holding him.

Rick held Kale tighter, their bodies pressing against each other, until he realized that his long neglected manhood was painfully pressing against his trousers. With a gasp, Rick recoiled, shooting a shy glance at Kale: “I’m sorry, sir… I didn’t mean… I didn’t want…”

“Shh… There’s nothing to be sorry for” – Kale said softly, taking Rick’s hand – “Now I want you to come with me, without asking questions…”

He gently pulled Rick upstairs, to his room, closed the door and again looked straight at him with loving eyes: “You’ve been so brave and selfless, you called me and held the fort alone, soldiering on at your best without giving up. A boy would’ve run into hiding, but not a fierce young man such as you. Because this is what you are: a young but resolute man, who knows what must be done and does it without holding back.”

~ A confident ginger man ~

While talking, Kale started taking away Rick’s clothes, one by one, until the boy was completely naked. “Sir… What… What are you doing, I…” – Rick stuttered, when he couldn’t hide anymore his raging hard-on. Kale didn’t reply: he just smiled tenderly and got naked himself. And then, much to Rick’s astonishment, Kale fell on his knees and gently took Rick’s stiff dick into his mouth.

“Sir… Oh, sir…!!” – Rick exclaimed, feeling his head light for the sudden pleasure radiating from his manhood and the surprise of seeing one of the most senior men of the Cove servicing him in such a tender and delightful way. Long days had gone by since Rick last had enjoyed Stewart’s attentions, and it didn’t take long until the pent-up pressure in his groin quickly grew to the boiling point: “I’m close, sir… I’m so close!!”

“Hold back!” – said with a firm voice Kale, who didn’t expect the boy to be ready to shoot so soon – “Hold back, Rick, I know you can…”

With a herculean effort, Rick refused to give in to the pleasure that was about to explode into his groin. When he could breathe normally again, Kale stood up and lay on the bed, bending a leg at the knee to give to Rick an extremely enticing view over his toned body. He looked at Rick with lustful eyes, scanning the young muscular body, the fiery red hair on his head and the equally red bush around his throbbing manhood and murmured: “Fuck, ginger men are so sexy…!”

Rick smiled wide, proud of making such a good impression on an experienced man like Kale, who gestured him to come closer: “You’re a man” – Kale said seductively, shamelessly offering himself to the boy’s eyes – “and a man has his needs…”

The boy didn’t move, puzzled, and Kale made his message even more clear raising one leg and massaging his own man hole with two wet fingers: “I see you’re ready, your beautiful cock already knows what to do, so come here and be my man…”

“Me…?” – Rick asked timidly, finding hard to believe that Kale was really asking to be fucked by him – “I’m just a boy…”

“You proved your manliness beyond any possible doubt, in these last days” – Kale said, smiling – “No matter how harsh were the circumstances, you always knew what to do, and sure enough you know what to do now, too. Besides…” – Kale added with a randy tone – “…I’ve never been with a ginger man, you’re my first…”

Rick flashed a proud and confident grin and knelt on the bed, between Kale’s legs; he spat on his own cock twice and pressed his stiff member on Kale’s quivering hole: “Then this ginger man is going to make love to you, Kale…” – he said sensually, calling Kale by name, and slowly eased his stiff cock into the man’s velvety chute.

Both Kale and Rick gasped for the exquisite feeling, and then Rick started pumping his meat in and out Kale’s ass, looking straight at him. Kale didn’t se any trace of the previous shyness in the boy’s eyes: quite the opposite! Rick had such a confident attitude that Kale felt a thrill down his spine. Resorting to his innate sensibility, Rick sensually rocked and tilted his hips so to give to Kale the greatest pleasure ever, titillating him and pressing his inner buttons until he saw the tanned Hawaiian squirm under him.

Rick felt he couldn’t hold back much longer, and reached out to Kale’s cock, stroking it with a tight grip. He was surprised when Kale gently pushed his hand away and said with coarse voice: “No need for that… Just fuck me, stud, and I’ll cum for you… Yeah… This way, yeah! Nnngghh… You’re fucking the cum out of me… Oh, fuck!! FUUUCCKK!!!”

Kale’s cock throbbed hard and stiffened, and suddenly a geyser of warm man cream erupted from it, hitting Rick’s torso and dribbling on Kale’s groin. Rick was blown away, realizing that he’d made Kale cum so hard just fucking him, like only the manliest studs can do, and finally gave way to the pleasure that had piled up into his balls. He uttered a chocked grunt and shoved his cock one last time all the way into Kale’s depths, and flooded them with countless shoots of manly juice.

Slowly, their orgasms subsided, and Rick lay down on Kale’s chest. He closed his eyes, exhausted, and smiled wide when he felt Kale’s arms wrap around him and his warm voice say: “Stay here tonight, Hendrick, don’t go back to your room…”

“I’m not going anywhere…” – Rick replied with a sad tone – “I’d ran to my room… if there was someone waiting for me”. Kale gave him a comforting glance and a light kiss: “We’ll think about that tomorrow. Now let’s get some rest, we both need it”.

With a sigh, Rick nested into Kale’s tender embrace and closed his eyes. Drifting to sleep, the boy smiled: Kale was back, and sure enough he would’ve saved the Cove. Little he knew that Kale wasn’t as confident as him, about the future of the Cove…

~ Tongue-lashing, Round One ~

Rick woke up early, as usual, and disentangled from Kale’s arms. The man murmured, half-asleep: “What time is it, kid?”

“It’s six-thirty, sir, go on sleeping. I’m going to make breakfast.”

Kale painfully remembered the task awaiting him that day and all of the sudden he was fully awake: “No, wait, let’s go take a shower together… Just a shower!” – Kale giggled, noticing Rick’s dick suddenly coming to life under the sheets – “While getting ready, I need you to fill me with all the details, I need to know everything. And then you and Laniakea will prepare the breakfast.”

“There’s no need to disturb Laniakea: these days almost no one comes down to have breakfast…”

“Not today.” – Kale said resolutely – “Today everybody will come downstairs and have a proper breakfast… or else!”

Rick smiled, admiring Kale’s determination: “Thank you for coming back, sir…”

They woke up Laniakea, who was pleasantly surprised to see Kale back home; and then, while getting ready, Rick told to Kale all the dramatic events that had led to the current, depressing situation.

When alone, Kale checked himself in the mirror and watched the clock: 7 AM, time to start the show.

He went out to the hallway and, first off, he went upstairs to Stewart’s room. He noisily entered without even caring to knock. Stewart was not sleeping, but was lying on the bed with a sullen expression on his face. The man’s ruffled hair, his long stubble and the manly odor filling the room told to the attentive Kale that Stewart had not taken much care of himself, lately.

“Kale! You here??” – Stewart exclaimed when the door crashed open, surprised to see Kale there; the steely glare in Kale’s eyes sent a shiver down Stewart’s spine.

“Get out of that bed, soldier, and wipe off that sullen expression from your face” – Kale ordered with a stern tone, and sure enough the unexpectedly harsh order instantly wiped off Stewart’s expression – “Report to the dining room in half an hour, and I want to see you sparkly clean, perfectly shaved and properly dressed. Quick march! Don’t make me wait, soldier!”

“S… Sir, yes, sir!” – Stewart stuttered, taken aback by Kale’s unusually commanding attitude.

“Hmmm.” – Kale grumbled, turning around and leaving Stewart alone. Closing Stewart’s door, he mentally scanned the Cove and decided: «Next step: basement!»

This time, Kale knocked on the door, out of respect for Rowan: Kale’s target was Gerry, and he didn’t want to be rude to Rowan. When he entered the room, Rowan was alone; they quickly hugged and then Kale asked where Gerry was.

“He spent the night away, I don’t know where…” – Rowan replied with a sad glance – “It happened quite frequently since Barry’s gone away. Gerry is… hard to deal with, these days. Anyway, he usually comes back in the mor…”

Rowan was interrupted by the back door opening. Gerry appeared in the doorframe; his wrinkled clothes and reddened eyes told about a wild night. Gerry shot a surprised glance at Kale, but it was quickly replaced by a defensive attitude: “I know what you’re going to tell me, man, and I don’t want to listen.”

“But you will listen, Gerry! You may be older and much stronger than me, but if you’re half as wise as I think, you won’t mess with me! Now go take a shower and come upstairs in half an hour. And put on some clean clothes.”

“What the fuck is wrong with my clothes? Are we going to have breakfast with the Queen of England?”

“You’re going to have breakfast with me! Wearing clean clothes is a sign of respect to me, to the other men and to the Cove, a respect that lately you didn’t give great proof of!”

Gerry moved closer to Kale with a menacing expression, but Kale wasn’t scared: “Now what? Are you going to beat me? This should solve any problem, right? Go get a shower and come upstairs when ready. I want to talk to you all.”

Without waiting for a reaction, Kale turned around and went away. Next, he went to the attic, to give a warm hug to Brennan, and then moved to Jorell’s and LaShawn’s suite, where he had a much nicer conversation than he had with Stewart and Gerry: Kale knew well that Jorell had been the one who more than anyone had showed a great concern for the Cove’s future, though of course not without criticism.

The last stop was at Wahkan’s and Chayton’s suite. When Wahkan saw Kale he silently moved to him and held him in a strong, friendly hug that lasted for many long seconds. “I’m so glad you’re here, Kale!” – the Sioux gravely said when they parted – “No need to say anything: I can read your just reproach in your eyes, and I won’t deny my faults. But first we have to think to the Cove: the situation is serious…”

“I know, Rick has related to me everything and… well, I can see the situation with my very eyes. I’ve asked everyone to come and have breakfast downstairs at 7:30; please join us, Wahkan. You too, Chayton, of course. I want the entire Cove… or what remains of it… around the dining table.”

“We’ll be there” – Wahkan solemnly replied, and Kale went away.

~ Tongue-lashing, Round Two ~

One by one, the men and their boys came down and sat at the big round dining table. The cautious glances they shot at Kale were partly of hope and partly of shame. Kale didn’t reciprocate their glances, though, as he was looking with a disconsolate expression at the three empty chairs, the ones usually used by Barry, Alex and Charlie. Truth to be told, even the fourth empty chair, Beau’s, caused him an intimate pang of pain, but he forced himself not to think about that, for the time being.

At first, Kale just ignored the guys of the Cove: he knew well that this would’ve added to the men’s tension and sense of guilt.

Kale took a plate of eggs Benedict and smiled to Rick: “Eggs Benedict! If I remember well these are Stewart’s favorites. How sweet of you, preparing something special for your man…”

He looked at Stewart, who lowered his eyes, ashamed not to have noticed his boy’s kind gesture.

They all started eating, in silence; men and boys mostly looked down at their own dish, while the tension in the air was palpable. After a long pause, Kale raised his gaze and shot a steely glance at Gerry, Stewart, Jorell and Wahkan: “I have many things to say, but first off I want you to look around this table. Watch the fear and the pain in the boys’ eyes! Listen to their deafening silence! Whatever happened, you can’t have the boys, your boys, pay the price of your stubbornness! When did you last tell a kind word to your boys? When did you last gave them a comforting hug? I’m flabbergasted!”

No one replied, and even Wahkan, usually bearing an authoritative attitude, looked like a kid caught with the hands in the cookie jar.

“I came back from France, and you may easily imagine how hard it’s been for me, because I sensed that Barry needed help… Yes, don’t look me like that! He needs help! It doesn’t take a genius to understand that something deep is going on in his heart: he may sometimes have a burst of anger, but never without an apparent reason. Your friend, your buddy, the guy you all love was hurting and what did you do? You let him go away without even flinching!”

Jorell moved nervously on the chair, as he felt that he didn’t deserve the harsh reprimand. Kale toned down his voice and looked at him: “I know you tried to keep the situation under control, and you too, Wahkan, and I thank you for that. But it wasn’t enough, you shouldn’t have stayed motionless while watching Barry, and then Alex and Charlie, go away, without even trying to understand why.”

Wahkan shot a contrite glance at Kale and said gravely: “I know that my biggest flaw is pride. I was blinded by my pride, I was sure I could manage the situation, but I underestimated Barry’s uneasiness, I didn’t even try and understand what was crossing his mind. I should’ve done something…”

“You still can” – Kale replied – “I know you are not intimate with Barry, but you have a special sensibility in looking deep into a man’s heart and mind. When I bring Barry back home he will need your help, while… while I go and pick up the pieces of my marriage. I count on you, Wahkan, and you all, too!” – Kale concluded, looking around the table.

“Sir…” – LaShawn murmured – “You will bring Barry back home, won’t you?”

“I will” – Kale replied flashing a comforting smile – “I will bring him back, should I tie him and drag him across the town!”

Stewart took a deep breath: “I feel like shit… I argued with Barry, I’ve neglected and hurt my boy and let things escalate like this without even thinking that I was part of the problem. When Barry will be back home… I will undergo any punishment you’re willing to dish at me. I deserve it.”

“No, Stu.” – Kale replied with a warm tone – “The Cove is a place of love and understanding, and forgiveness. In the past we’ve held trials and administered punishments, but not anymore. If you’re really willing to make amends, you know where to start…” – he concluded, looking a Rick.

“And now, wish me luck” – Kale suddenly said, standing up – “I’m going to pay a visit to the prodigal son, and it won’t be a walk in the park.”

Rowan stood up and gave to Kale a tender kiss on his cheek. “You can do it.” – he said to the counselor, looking straight at his eyes – “If there’s one man in the world Barry can blindly trust, it’s you.”

Kale smiled and nodded, recognizing the very same words he himself said to Rowan, more than a year before, when they first met in dramatic circumstances [1].

~ Seduction gone wrong ~

Half an hour later, Kale rang the doorbell at Alex’s old apartment. He didn’t know what to say to Barry, and while waiting he felt his heart pound hard into his chest. The door opened, and Barry’s mouth sagged open for the surprise: “Kale! You… You should’ve not… Why have you come?”

Kale put on his most seductive smile: “If you let me in, I’ll tell you…”

While the counselor showed a great confidence, deep inside he felt a pang of pain, looking at Barry: he was wearing only his dirty work jeans and a worn-out tank top, and apparently he had not shaved for days.

“Are you alone?” – Kale asked, and Barry grumbled that Alex was at work and Charlie was at the communal pool. Kale flashed a randy smile and said with a lascivious tone: “Good. Because this show is for your eyes only…”

The counselor knew well that, in order to come to the root of Barry’s problems, the least useful thing was to force Barry to talk about his inner feelings. So, unable to think out anything better, Kale decided to speak Barry’s language, sex. With slow, languid moves, Kale started unbuttoning his shirt, until it fell to the floor.

Barry’s reaction wasn’t the one he expected: he looked tense, uneasy, rather then lustful as usual. Kale didn’t relent, and unbuttoned his trousers, pushing them down the legs and stepping out of them.

“Fuck… Fuck!” – Barry growled, torn between a growing desire for Kale’s toned body and a dull anger raising into him – “What the fuck are you doing? Whatever you have in mind, it’s not going to happen! You can put your clothes back on!”

“Are you really sure it won’t happen?” – Kale whispered sensually, dropping his underwear and revealing his throbbing hard-on. He could clearly spot Barry’s massive junk growing stiffer into his dirty jeans, and knew he was on the right path.

“Fuck, why have you to make things so hard for me?” – Barry said in a low voice, with a hint of pleading – “I… I don’t want to make love to you… Please, go away, Kale!”

But Kale didn’t go away: he knew well how irresistible some things were for Barry. He turned around, knelt on the sofa with his legs wide apart and arched his back downwards, making to Barry an offer that sure enough he couldn’t refuse.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!!!” – Barry said aloud, feverishly tearing away his clothes. When he dropped his briefs, his cock was as stiff as an iron bar. Kale smiled, sure that he had won the loving fight with Barry, but when he raised his gaze over Barry’s face, he saw a mask of anger, not love. “You know me well, no?” – Barry yelled – “You flaunt your perfect ass and Barry, the oversexed guy who first fucks and then says ‘hi’, instantly falls for you, right?? Well, next time think twice, because this club that you crave so much can hurt you bad!”

Barry spat on his hand and quickly wetted his giant cock, menacingly getting closer to Kale, who suddenly got scared: “Barry… Barry, please… I’m sorry, Barry, if this is not what you want…”

“Too late, stud!” – Barry said aloud, grabbing Kale’s hips with both hands and pointing his thick hard meat to Kale’s puckered hole, ready to split it apart.

“Barry, please, no…” – Kale pleaded, now fully aware of the danger he’d put himself in – “Please don’t… Barry, don’t! Barry!”

With a beastly growl, Barry gripped hard on Kale’s waist and his entire body trembled for the effort; Kale gritted his teeth and grabbed the backrest of the sofa, ready to withstand the painful impalement… but he felt Barry entering him with the sweetest care and gentleness, inch by inch, without causing to Kale the least discomfort, until the entire rod was fully inside his him.

~ Barry’s secret ~

Barry was still trembling, trying hard to control his anger and ashamed to have been on the verge of hurting Kale, the man he loved, the man who trusted him. His hips started rocking back and forth gently, with long intense thrusts, and it wasn’t just mere sex for Barry: as always when the words failed him, he was putting in his fuck all his tangled feelings, his sorrow for having scared Kale, his need for forgiveness, his desire to give pleasure to his buddy, his appreciation to have him there, instead that in France.

Both Barry and Kale lost the sense of time, while their love-making slowly brought both of them to the peak of their pleasure; and when Kale heard Barry grunt and moan, and felt the giant cock pumping loads of man juice into his depths, exploded in a body-shaking orgasm that took his breath away.

Kale had made love with Barry like a million times, but clearly sensed that this last fuck was something special, something different; and the uniqueness of the moment was even more obvious when Barry, without pulling out, leaned down to Kale’s back and chocked a sob.

“Barry…” – Kale murmured – “Barry, talk to me… What’s happening to you?”

“You still don’t get it, man?” – Barry whined with uncertain voice – “I… I’m in love with you, Kale.”

“My wonderful man” – Kale replied, disengaging from Barry’s grip and turning around to look straight at him – “I was afraid you had an illness, or some serious problem, but thanks god it’s nothing like that… I love you too! You know I do! But what’s that face? What is the problem? Don’t tell me that it’s because I married Beau… I think we’ve already made more than clear that nothing’s going to change between you, Beau and me!”

“That is the problem…” – Barry replied sullenly, cleaning himself with the discarded tank – “Nothing will change between the three of us, Beau stated it clear; but something has changed for me, nevertheless. I didn’t just say that I love you, moments ago: I said that I’m in love with you. Madly, hopelessly in love with you. At first I didn’t understand, after all I’ve been into men for a while now, and I’m fine with it, but now, all at once, it was not just a matter of physical attraction: I was not prepared to feel… torn like this! Because that’s exactly how I felt when I watched your plane take off, heading to France: I felt like someone had torn off a piece of my heart…”

“For years the three of us got along nicely” – Barry went on, sitting on the sofa next to Kale – “We loved each other, we were fuck buddies, and we had a great time together. I knew since the beginning that the bond between you and Beau was special, but somehow we were… a three-way couple. When you and Beau got married, and at the airport you joked about going to honeymoon together, I suddenly realized that a three-way marriage just can’t exist. I was out. And that was the moment I realized that I’m… I’m lost without you, Kale…”

Kale felt his heart beating furiously, listening to Barry’s words. He took Barry’s face into his hands and gave him a passionate kiss, expressing in the only way he could the sudden turmoil that was wreaking havoc into his heart.

“I… I feel the same” – Kale then said, eventually focusing on his own feelings – “I can’t even think to live my life without you! I’m not sure I can fully explain how I feel, but I’m in love with you, too, Barry…”

“Yeah, and what about Beau?” – Barry asked, sullenly. Kale flashed a faint smile: “I didn’t think it was possible to fall in love with two persons at the same time, but I’m in love with you, and I’m in love with Beau as well. And before you ask whom I love more, there’s no answer to that question, it’s a different kind of love, but in both cases it’s a lifetime bond, it’s something rooted to the innermost part of me. I couldn’t live without Beau as much as I couldn’t live without you, Barry. I know, you probably would be hurt when you see me with Beau, but I swear I’ll find a solution! I’ll manage to… split my life between you and him! Whatever, but I can’t lose you, I need you to be part of my life. Forget Beau, I’ll try to keep the two of you apart, if I can.”

“NO!” – was Barry’s unexpected reply – “What are you saying, that I should give up on Beau? Fuck, this would be even worse, I…”.

Barry froze for a moment and then exhaled soundly: “Kale, I’m fucked up as much as you… At first it was all so confused, but I replayed in my mind what happened at the airport a million time, and bit by bit I realized that my love for you is not the only reason of my pain. At the airport Beau’s coldness and his jealousy hurt me, and I was pissed off because I was going to lose you for him. But then, while watching your plane taking off, I suddenly realized that, in one fell swoop, I had lost forever the two persons I was in love with. Yeah, don’t look me like that, Kale. It was truly heartbreaking, and even scaring, realizing that I… was alone. I had lost you, and I had lost Beau.”

Barry stood up with an unusually solemn expression and silently put on his underwear and his jeans. Then he took a deep breath and concluded: “In these last days I fought hard against the guys of the Cove, as if they were guilty of something; I’ve hurt them and I caused a great grief, but all the while I was fighting with myself, with feelings that I didn’t even understand. But when I moved out of the Cove I finally saw the truth: I have to rebuild my life away from you and Beau, away from the Cove. You may think that I’m strong, and I am, but I’m not that strong: if you really love me as much as you say, you can’t ask me to come back to the Cove, you can’t ask me to bear the life-long, endless torture of seeing you and Beau living your life together…”

Kale was speechless. He stared at Barry, trying hard to cope with the unimaginable turn of the events. Only one thing was painfully clear to Kale: Barry was not going to come back to the Cove. His mind was running in circles, desperately trying to find a solution to an insoluble problem. There was something on the back of his mind, something he couldn’t focus on, but it was enough not to lose his hope.

“Do you really love Beau… the way you love me?” – Kale then asked.

“No” – was Barry’s resolute reply – “It’s like you said: it’s a different kind of love. But fuck me if it’s not as much as deep! I don’t even know how it started… That man can worm his way into your soul without you even being aware of what’s happening, and all of the sudden, bam!, you can’t do without him anymore! It’s like… it’s like waking up in the morning with Beau’s thick cock shoved all the way into your ass!”

“I definitely know what you’re talking about!” – Kale giggled, happy to see Barry coming back to his usual self. As a matter of fact, all that talking with Barry about deep feelings, and listening to Barry’s revelations, had been a bit surreal. Sure enough, Kale thought, those days alone had been so hard for Barry that he had to question himself, and gaze into his own heart… incredible as it may seem!

~ A three-legged stool ~

“I wish I had a plan” – Kale then said, standing up and grabbing his clothes from the floor – “but at the moment I don’t even know if I’m still married or not. Nevertheless, I need you to trust me, Barry. I want you to come back to the Cove.”

Barry’s face withered: “I’m not sure it’s a good idea… I left a lot of grief and bad blood behind, when I went away. And I already told you how hard would be for me come back to the Cove!”

Kale took out his phone and gestured to Barry to stay in silence. He dialed a number and put the call on speaker. Rick’s jovial voice welcomed him: “Sir, it’s so nice to hear from you! Are you coming back? May I help you in any way?”

“Yes, Hendrick” – Kale replied – “First off, what about Stewart? Is he behaving?”

“Behaving is a major understatement” – Rick replied, excited – “As soon as you went out, he brought me bodily to our suite and… well… let’s say he mended his ways with me, sir! Err… twice, actually!”

“I’m so glad to hear it!” – Kale said happily, but then his tone became more serious: “I was thinking to what you told me when I arrived at the Cove, yesterday. You said you were… ashamed? I don’t remember well, but it was important, will you tell me again why?”

“It’s true, sir, I feel ashamed and guilty, because I realized too late that I took Barry for granted, sort of… I knew that he was there for me, if I ever needed him, he was the sparkling soul of the Cove, his mere presence made everyone feel happy and safe, nothing could scare or worry him. All us boys have our men to take care of us, but we all felt Barry’s boys, in a way… But I never told him so! Not once! That’s why I’m ashamed, sir! I wish I could tell to Barry how much I miss him, how important he is for me, for all of us… Sir, will you please tell him if you see him? I know it’s late, but please, tell him…”

“I surely will, thank you Hendrick. See you soon!”

Kale closed his phone and looked at Barry, who had moist eyes: “Fuck, this is below the belt, man…”

“I wanted you to hear it with your own ears” – Kale replied – “Because, you see, the Cove is a three-legged stool. There’s Beau, with his dreams, his desire to help people, and… his solid wealth, we can’t deny it. There’s me, with my efforts to understand what’s in the people’s heart and to soothe their struggles. And there’s you, with your ‘unsettling straightforwardness’ (Rick’s words, again), your endless energy, your solid presence. The three of us are the very heart of the Cove. I indulge in the pleasant thought that the Cove couldn’t do without me, and sure enough it wouldn’t even exist without Beau; but take my word: the Cove can’t survive without you, either. Since you went away, the Cove started withering and became a gloomy place.”

Barry grunted, shifting from foot to foot: “And now, after that claptrap of yours, how the hell can I keep saying no? Damn you, I hate when you play such dirty tricks with me…”

“Before coming here” – Kale said, giggling – “I said to LaShawn that I would’ve brought you back, should I had to tie you and drag you across the town. I was not joking!”

“OK, man, you win…” – Barry sighed – “But let me talk to Alex, first. I wish I could have recorded our conversation, because I really don’t know how to relate to Alex all we said today, and convince him to come back with me”.

Kale flashed an uncertain smile: “Take your time, because I’ve actually put the cart before the horse: you and I are only two legs of the stool, but the third one is still in France, and for the life of me I don’t know how I’ll mend the fences with him. I left my newlywed husband alone and interrupted my honeymoon to run to another man: it’s not something one can easily forgive… Especially if that ‘one’ is as proud and self-centered as Beau.”

“If you need someone to knock some sense into his hard head” – Barry said with a wink – “just give me a shout!”

Kale smiled and kissed Barry: “You’re one of a kind…” – he whispered, and off he was.

~ A loving troglodyte ~

Alex and Charlie came back to the apartment after dinner and immediately headed to the only bedroom: the ample suites of the Cove were a distant memory, in those few squared feet. Barry was sleeping on the sofa, or at least he didn’t open his eyes when he heard the door open: he was still replaying in his mind all it happened in the afternoon between him and Kale.

Truth to be told, Barry felt a bit anxious, because he didn’t know how to explain to Alex why he changed his mind and decided to go back to the Cove: he knew well that Alex himself, taking his side and moving out of the Cove with him, had put a strain on his relationship with the other guys.

What Barry didn’t think of was that Alex, moving out, had put a strain on his relationship with Charlie, too…

While Barry slowly drifted to a restless sleep, Charlie silently undressed and took a shower, before going to bed; he didn’t invite Alex to have a shower with him, like they often did, but closed the bathroom door, instead, clearly meaning that Alex was not welcome.

When ready, he sneaked under the bedsheets, naked, and lay on his side, giving his back to Alex. Soon he felt the guard’s beefy hand gently caressing his shoulder: “Hey, kid… Is everything OK? You’re so quiet…”

“I’m fine, sir, don’t worry… I just feel… I feel a bit weird, that’s all.”

“Do you miss the Cove?” – Alex asked, already knowing the answer; but Charlie’s reply was not the one he expected: “I miss my buddies, yes, sir. But I can live with it, if this is what you want. It’s not for me to discuss your decisions, sir. You said ‘pack the bags, we’re leaving’, and I packed the bags.”

Alex couldn’t ignore the strain in Charlie’s voice. “I’ve been a little bossy, haven’t I?” – Alex said softly, pressing his body against Charlie’s back – “I didn’t ask what you thought, I just ordered you around… Fuck, I’m such a troglodyte! I’m sorry, kid, I should’ve been more attentive, I took for granted you would’ve moved out with me, you never question my choices…”

Charlie felt Alex’s massive body brush against him, with sweet insistence, and wasn’t surprised when he heard Alex say: “Maybe I can do something to make amends… Eh?”

“I’m not in the mood, sir” – Charlie replied, still giving his back to Alex – “But if you want me to suck your cock, or you feel to fuck me… I will do, I’m your boy, sir…”

“No, kid” – Alex replied softly, giving a light kiss on Charlie’s neck – “I’m not going to do anything, if you are not in the mood. You’re my boy, not my sexual slave, you know… I won’t tie you to the bed posts, spread-eagled, to keep you at my mercy…”

Charlie’s mind was suddenly filled by the enticing image of himself, restrained on the bed, fucked senselessly by his sexy guard, but forcefully got that image out of his head. He didn’t want to have sex with Alex, he was angry with him!

His thoughts were interrupted by another tender kiss between his shoulder blades, and then Alex said: “No, I’m not that kind of man… I won’t shove my cock down your unwilling throat, skull-fucking you mercilessly!”

Another kiss, down the spine, and then another one at the very beginning of his ass crack. Two muscular hands caressed Charlie’s buttocks, gently parting them, while Alex’s voice, from under the bedsheets, became a whisper: “I won’t split open your tiny boy hole, impaling you with my big hard cock… No, kid, I’m not going to do that, I won’t make you scream for the furious fuck I could give you…”

Charlie’s stubbornness wavered, and he instinctively parted his legs, but just a little, to give to Alex an easier access to his back portal, and had to muffle a squeal when he clearly felt Alex’s wet tongue darting his clenched hole, trying to break in.

“Sir… ohh… sir, I… OH!!” – Charlie exclaimed, when two wet fingers forced open his sphincter with utmost gentleness. From under the covers, Alex went on teasing Charlie: “This lovely little hole needs to be stretched, don’t you think so, kid? My fingers are beefy and thick, but maybe they’re not enough… I can’t think to anything better, though…”

~ Charlie gives in ~

The fingers started wiggling in the most exquisite way, and Charlie was lost, he rolled on his belly and opened his legs wide, offering himself to his master, his man, his sexy guard: “Please, fuck me, sir…” – the boy whined, unable to restrain himself anymore – “Do to me all you said, and even more! Please sir!”

Faking a rough attitude, Alex forcefully spread the boy’s ass cheeks and pointed his hard cock to the puckered hole: “Should I impale you, boy? Making you scream your lungs out until you beg for mercy?”

“Yes, please, sir!” – Charlie exclaimed, raising his ass.

“You asked for it!” – Alex growled, and his hips sprang forward… but only a couple inches, enough to make Charlie feel suddenly split open by the wide cock head, but without causing any harm to the boy; and then the massive tool crawled its way to the deepest depths of Charlie’s body.

“I’m your boy… I’m your boy…” – Charlie kept murmuring, while Alex’s bulky torso brushed rhythmically on his back and the muscular hips slammed on his buttocks; and with that simple sentence he was expressing everything: that he loved Alex with all his heart, that he understood why they had to move out of the Cove, that his life was worth living only because his powerful man was with him… and inside him!

“Yeah, you’re my boy, Charlie” – Alex said with labored breath – “You’re the best boy a man could ever have, and I love you, kid… I love you… Nnngghh… Are you ready to be filled to the brim with my love? I want you to cum with me, kid…”

“Too late, sir” – Charlie breathed – “You already made me cum twice! Aww… But… You’re so sexy, sir… So powerful… I… I… AAAHH! YES! YES!!”

The moment Charlie felt Alex cock throb hard deep inside him, flooding his fundament with burning hot man cream, couldn’t help but cum again, soaking the bedsheets under him with another fresh load of boyish juice.

After unloading into Charlie’s tender flesh, Alex stood still for a moment, panting, and then gave one last kiss to Charlie’s back, between his shoulder blades. He rolled sideways and crashed to the mattress, making Charlie roll with him and locking him into his arms, in a spooning position.

“Tomorrow, kid, first thing in the morning” – Alex said in a low voice into Charlie’s ear – “pack our bags. We’re going back to the Cove…”

“Thank you, sir…! I love you so much!” – Charlie replied, barely holding his joy, but suddenly gasped: “But what about Barry? We can’t leave him here alone!”

Alex giggled: “He will come back with us… willingly or not!”

With a sigh of relief, Charlie closed his eyes, and he was almost asleep, when he asked: “Sir… What made you change your mind?”

“Do you even need to ask, kid? It was you. Not your sort of sexual strike, which didn’t last long, anyway” – the man chuckled – “but your selfless way of doing what must be done, even when you don’t want to do it. At first, you didn’t feel to have sex, but you were sincere, offering to service me any way I liked. I would’ve been a monster if I accepted, of course, but still, you were ready to do that, out of love for me. Well, it’s about time I do what must be done, out of love for the Cove. And Barry, too. We owe you, kid…”

The next day, early in the morning, Charlie started packing the baggage as planned, while Alex went to the living room to wake up Barry and try and convince him to come back to the Cove. Much to his surprise, he found Barry shaved, wearing clean clothes and with his traveling bag already filled with his few belongings.

There was a mutual glance of understanding, and they both smiled with affection. Neither of them knew what made the other change his mind, but it didn’t care.

“When you’re ready, I’m ready” – Alex just said, and Barry replied: “Let’s go home, buddy.”

* * * * * * * *

Footnotes and references:

[1] A year earlier, Rowan was a runaway guy who had found refuge in the Cove’s basement room, bringing with him the grief of years of sexual abuse from his stepfather; Barry found him and tried to have sex with him, triggering Rowan’s worst nightmares; only Kale could gently win Rowan’s trust, saying the very same words that now Rowan repeats. See Rowan’s Journey, Ch. 4, ‘Barry. And then, Kale’.