The Village

Seth’s Perspective

It was only 5AM when I woke up in Zach’s arms in his boyhood bed. We had spent our final night in Wisconsin at his parent’s house before heading back to North Carolina. The kids each had their own rooms at Grandma and Grandpa’s so we had a little privacy. Lying there, I looked around the room where Zach grew up. Kelly had pretty much left it the way it was when he was in high school… it was so Zach! Soccer trophies, a couple of team pictures, his letterman jacket still hanging on the back of the chair to the desk in the corner. The room of a Midwestern, high school, small town jock. But my jock grew up and had become a man, a great man who loved his husband and his family and was still hot as hell… and he was spooning ME. But frankly, I was more in the mood to be forked. Most of our love making started out with subtle moves… a touch, a push back, a small peck… that would turn into something hot and passionate. But not that morning. That morning I decided to go for the direct approach. I flipped around so I was face-to-face with my hot, sleeping Adonis or was he a cherub? There was a beauty and strength about him that turned into cuteness and innocence when he slept. He truly was the perfect specimen, and everything to me.

I watched him sleeping for a minute, taking in his perfection. I stroked his hair and just soaked him in. His eyes opened and he smiled as he watched me watching him. “What are you doing?” he whispered with a chuckle.

“Waiting for you to wake up and fuck me” I said with an evil grin. Like I said, that morning I decided to go for the direct approach.

Zach smiled that brilliant fucking, hardon causing smile of his and chuckled, “well, somebody woke up in a mood.”

“Yeah, and somebody else is gonna get lucky because of it” I growled as shimmied out of my boxers, threw the covers back and straddled the incredible hunk of man I called the love of my life wearing just my T-shirt.

“Damn, you ARE in a mood” he chuckled quietly as I slid my ass crack up and down his manhood slowly awakening the beast. The warmth of his manhood was exhilarating as it went from flaccid, to spongy, to rock hard… each pulse and throb sending chills up my spine. I bent over and kissed him, still perched upon his hips sliding my ass back and forth. Our kisses were filled with quiet moans as we started our lovemaking. My hole contacted open and closed as his large, hard organ moved up and down my crack teasing it as it passed by. God, I wanted him so badly.

I spit into my hand, reached behind me, and used my saliva to lube my yearning manhole. Then I spit and reached back again, this time I grabbed his tool, prepping it to fix the void inside me. Zach lie there with his hands behind his head while I did all the work. I lifted my ass a little as I held on to his steel rod and lined it up for entry, then I sat. I sat on his magnificence and slowly let him enter my body. The head breached my opening with a satisfying *plop* and kept moving deeper and deeper into me. I was in control as I squatted down on my lover and was savoring every perfect, frigging inch. I loved the way it stretched me as it moved through me until his blonde pubes tickled my firm ass and I was filled to satisfaction. I kept him deep inside me as I moved to and froe, then in a circular motion feeling every bit he had to offer.

Zach’s hands eventually found my hips and he lifted me slightly, pushing into me. DAMMIT! He felt so good inside me! While he fucked me with tiny movements, I started to lift up then drop down. Lift up then drop down. Over, and over, faster, and faster until I was bouncing in a frenzy. Zach stopped me and held me down giggling quietly, “Shhhh the bedsprings are gonna wake up the whole house.”

Shit, I was so far gone I hadn’t even noticed. In a risky, uncharacteristic move I looked down on the former high school fantasy of every high school girl and gay boy in a fifty mile radius, smiled and said, “fuck it” then I bounced some more (this time with a little less force… maybe). Our eyes were locked and Zach’s hands held firmly onto my hips trying to slow me down each time I landed in hopes of minimizing the squeaks from the springs… I had no idea if it was working or not as my body bounced and my hand stroked my cock in an effort to coax amazing orgasms from both our bodies. I was on a friggin’ mission! A mission I soon completed as Zach shot his load up my welcoming ass and I popped several wads of creamy manhood out of my flesh rod and onto his face and chest… the release felt amazing even though I repressed the screams of pleasure. I sat on Zach, dripping sweat onto his perfect body as he deflated inside me.

A few minutes later, I rolled off him and we just lay there gazing into each other’s eyes and panting until we heard a *knock, knock, knock* on the old door. And a little voice yell “I’m hungry Zeff!”

Then Kelly’s voice say, “Good morning sweetie, let’s make breakfast” Zach and I giggled as we listen to his mother tend to Izzy out in the hallway. Eventually we got out of bed, cleaned ourselves up and went downstairs to spend the final day of our vacation with the Halls. All in all, it was a great trip.

But Monday night came and we said a tearful goodbye to Grandma Kelly and Grandpa Nathan as we drove away to the airport in the rented SUV. Vacation was over.

Eli and Riley’s wedding was not only a wonderful celebration, but a great escape for us as well. But, the hardest part of any escape is the return to reality and the day-to-day routine of life. The first few days back at work were hectic as hell for both me and Zach as we made up for the couple days that we dared to take off. We weren’t the only ones having trouble getting back into the swing of things, Izzy and Freddy were feeling it too. Freddy was out of school for the summer but we had him (and Theo) enrolled in a couple of different programs and camps to keep him busy, and of course miss Izzy spent her days with Mrs. Mavis. The two kids seemed to get themselves in trouble more than once over their first few days back… they were both so hyped up from our trip to Wisconsin that they had zero attention span and were driving the adults in their world crazy.

Zach and I met with Dan from his office to discuss the final step of the adoption, we expected everything to be final by the time Freddy was back in school. Max and Brody had finalized Theodore’s adoption just before we went to Wisconsin. Now that Theodore was officially a permanent resident at BroMax, he had to change schools for the upcoming Fall semester, that meant Freddy and Theodore would be starting first grade together… the two best buds couldn’t have been more excited. So, on the family front, we were all doing well.

On Thursday, I took the kids to meet Ms. Elkin for their visitation with their mother. I had filled the digital picture frame with a bunch of new pics from the wedding and they were so excited to show them to Karen. Of course, the number one thing that stuck with Izzy was, “Dat mean guy.” God, that little thing could hold a grudge. After their visit they came running out of the detention facility all hyped up. When they first came to live with us, those visits were the bane of our existence. The kids would come home sad, and missing their mother, however, since then they had adjusted to their situation and looked forward to their time with her… and then looked forward to coming home. Those two had adapted to our nontraditional familial arrangement extremely well. Zach and I just wanted the adoption to be final so we didn’t have that cloud hanging over our heads anymore. We wanted to know the kids were ours… legally.

“Seth, do you have a minute?” Ms. Elkin asked as I was buckling Izzy into her seat.

“Sure. What’s up?” I responded still bent over in the backseat of the Atlas tending to Izzy. I pulled my head out of the car, straightened myself up, and made eye contact.

“I was at The Harris Teeter the other day and ran into an old client of mine who had aged out of the system about a year ago, they’re not doing too well and could use some help” she said. “I was hoping you might be able to step in and help them.”

“Of course, if I can. What’s up?” I asked again.

“It’s a long story, but they’re struggling with everything from a bad roommate to not being able to keep a job… they’re just having trouble forging their path. Can I stop by your office sometime this week with them to make an introduction? I think you could really help” she said.

I checked the calendar on my phone then offered, “How about tomorrow morning sometime between nine AM and noon?” and added,

“How about ten O’clock, I’ll bring coffee” she offered and I agreed. The she asked, “are you familiar with Klinefelter syndrome?”

“Vaguely” I said shaking my head. “That’s the one with the extra X chromosome, right?” I had heard of it, but didn’t know enough about it to speak intelligently on the subject.

She nodded, “They have some unique issues, I’d like to join your first meeting if that’s okay, Asher is not always his own best advocate and I want to make sure you get the information you need to help.” I understood what she was saying. Some of the more timid or shy clients that ended up in my office would clam up when Rodney and I asked what they needed help with. ‘oh nothing, I’m good’ they would falsely claim. For many, asking for help was the most difficult part of their situation.

“If you have some time before we meet, look it up. It’ll help frame the conversation for you.” She said.

“If these two little troublemakers give me a break, I will” I answered, then asked, “What are the preferred pronouns?” Although I wasn’t versed in dealing with intersex patients, I did understand that gender identity was usually a hurdle and pronouns were important.

“He/they” she said confidently. “I know you can help them, Seth. He’s had a rough start to life, but is truly a wonderful kid with potential.” She told me that his father died shortly after he was born due to heart issues, and his mother passed away when he was in his very early teens (she didn’t say how). After that he went to live with an older brother for a short while, but he was too young to handle the responsibility, didn’t want to raise the kid, and frankly saw Asher as a freak. He would disappear for weeks at a time leaving the thirteen year old to fend for himself. After receiving several complaints, DSS got involved, eventually removed him from the home and he ended up in foster care where Ms. Elkin met them. She had suspected that he was abused as well but didn’t know for sure. He bounced around from home to home for a bit, and ultimately ended up in a group home because he didn’t seem to fit in anywhere. “Asher has another sister, but she has some mental health issues and couldn’t care for him either. He was close to his mother and she was an amazing advocate for him. He was slow to walk and talk as a baby and his muscles were weak, so she took him to doctor after doctor. They treated the symptoms but never got the diagnosis right. It wasn’t until after his mother had passed that he was diagnosed with Klinefelter syndrome” she explained. “When it seemed that he had completely skipped puberty, one of the caregivers at the group home was concerned and took up the mantle of being his advocate and found a doctor who finally diagnosed him.” The poor kid had been misdiagnosed time and time again and again with everything from autism to Addison’s disease while he was growing up and never got the proper care.

Izzy and Freddy were sitting in their car seats while I talked with Ms. Elkin, but their patience had run out. “Dwive Zeff” Izzy yelled impatiently from the back seat making me and Ms. Elkin chuckle.

“I’ll let you go” Ms. Elkin said with a grin. “I’ll send you a text to confirm our 10AM meeting after I talk to Asher” she added, then we parted ways and me and the kids drove home. For whatever reason, Freddy wanted meatloaf for dinner, so I obliged. By the time Zach got home, I was in the kitchen cooking and the kids were playing quietly in the den. It was a nice, calm family night at home… we needed that. Ms. Elkin texted to confirm our 10AM, and after the kids were in bed, I did some research on Klinefelter Syndrome so I was prepared for our meeting. I could see how Asher had so many more hurdles to jump than our typical client.

The next morning, I got up early and worked in the garden while Zach got the kids ready. This was my first garden and I had basically ignored it for the last two weeks because of the wedding, so I was up every morning since we got home making up for lost time. I was shocked at how well things were growing. There was a lot of weeding and picking to catch up on and vowed to dedicate more time to it over the weekend. In all honestly, I enjoyed my quiet time in the garden with no distractions other than Petunia. She was attached to my side since we got home from Wisconsin. Ricky moved into BroMax while the rest of us were away, Petunia moved in with him and he took care of her, Zoey, Roscoe, Bosco, and Jimmy (Roscoe and Bosco were Gina and Dylan’s fur babies). Ricky said they were in puppy paradise for the four days we were gone, running around, wrestling, and playing together. But she seemed happy to be home just like the rest of us.

Anyway, after my garden time, I got ready for work, dropped Izzy off at Mrs. Mavis’s, then off to the office (Max picked up Freddy and took him and Theo to camp for the day). Ten AM arrived and Ms. Elkin and Asher entered the village with coffee as promised. Asher was cute… no, Asher was pretty, he was very slight with soft features, he seemed almost… I don’t know, I guess the word fragile would apply. He was taller than I expected and void of any muscle tone. His skin was smooth, not just his face but what I could see of his arms and legs as well, it looked as though they shaved their body, but I assumed it was a symptom of Klinefelter. Ms. Elkin and I said hello, then she introduced us.

“HI, I’m Seth” I said shaking their hand.

“Ash” they responded without making eye contact as we shook hands, his grip was almost nonexistent. He had only been in my presence for a minute or two, but it was abundantly clear that shyness, low self-worth, and ambiguity were definitely struggles. I led the two of them to the therapy room so we could get comfortable.

“So, Ash. Tell me about yourself” I said with a smile.

“I, I’m eighteen and have Klinefelter syndrome” they said quietly.

“And…?” I asked trying to pull more from him. He looked at me in confusion, as if nobody ever asked about him before. “What about you, Ash?” What do you like to do? Do you work or go to school? What do you do for fun? Tell me about you.” Ash was caught totally off guard by my line of questioning and looked over to Ms. Elkin for help.

She just nodded and suggested, “tell him about school.”

Ash started out slow and quiet, “Well, um, I just finished my first year of vocational school, I’m going for my AS in Commercial Arts” he said.

I gave him my full attention and asked, “That’s great! How do you like it so far?”

He smiled, “It’s good” is all he responded. At first our back and forth was like pulling teeth. All I got were short answers, but as he became more comfortable with me his shyness seemed to dissipate. “I’ve been doing a lot of my classes online, but I need the hands-on experience so I’m going to have to attend classes in-person more in the Fall… I don’t like that idea, but at least it gets me away from my roommate.” I was surprised by the change in his demeanor. He went from not saying a word to telling me all about himself, school, his roommate, his likes, his dislikes, etc. He was basically rambling. When he turned that corner, Ms. Elkin smiled and excused herself.

“I think you two can take it from here without me” she said and got up to leave. She looked at Ash to make sure they were good and got a slight nod of approval. I walked her out. When we got to the lobby she said, “That’s Ash. Shy and timid until they get comfortable, then they’re a veritable motor mouth” she laughed. “you’ll get more information if I’m not here. Thanks again for helping… Ash is special.” She said before she departed.

When I reentered the room, Asher and I continued our conversation, he really opened up to me. It was clear beyond the “adulting” issues he faced (shelter, healthcare, paying bills, blah, blah, blah), there were some deep emotional issues.

At one point Asher said, "I'm not a guy, Seth. I'm not a girl. I'm not trans. What the hell am I?”

"I don't understand the question" I replied. I felt for Asher, but I didn't see a gender or thing that need to be defined. I saw an amazing human being with a lot of untapped potential. "You're not a what. You're a who... and so far, what I know about Asher is pretty awesome." Is all I could think to answer. I got a faint smile and a blushing like I had never seen (he turned redder than even Max did). After about a half hour, I called Rodney in so we could figure out where to start. I filled him in on our conversation and he got right down to business, “So, it sounds like your living situation… well, sucks” That got a laugh from Asher (a big laugh… almost too big). Rodney asked Asher if they felt safe.

“Well, I feel safe, but I don’t feel comfortable” Asher explained, “He’s never been mean to me, but he’s never been nice either. I don’t like being around people, I’m kind of a homebody, but I just don’t feel like I belong there, so it’s like I have nowhere to go.” After such a slow start to our conversation, I was surprised at how forth coming they were with information. He was in a rough situation, because his tuition was covered through a state program, but he was paying for his own housing. His only income was a small disability check that didn’t really cover all his expenses, he found his current room online… it was literally the only thing he could afford. he had applied for several parttime jobs, even a couple of internships to earn a little extra, but he never made it past the interviews. The Ash we were talking to was not the same person that walked into the room with Ms. Elkin. Ash had a fear of people, especially men, but a different person emerged when he got comfortable. The problem was that it was difficult for him to get comfortable, so interviewers never got to meet the real Asher.

“So, here’s what I see as your immediate needs,” Rodney said trying to wrangle Asher’s ranting and build a path forward. “You need to find a place to live that you can afford and feel comfortable. You need a part time job or internship to supplement your income.”

I asked, “what about healthcare?” He answered that he was on Medicare and was receiving hormone shots occasionally, but needed the shots consistently to function at his best. Unfortunately, there was a lot of red tape involved and he missed a lot of shots. When he didn’t get his shots, his energy was low (he said sometimes almost nonexistent) and at times his symptoms were like PMS.

I gotta tell you, the session with him felt like taking a class. There were so many issues unique to him that needed to be addressed, but his timidness and fear of people made it impossible for him to address them himself. Rodney and I asked the poor kid a billion questions, this was new territory for us, and uncomfortable territory for them. We spent a good two hours with Asher and took page after page of notes. Rodney gave Asher a couple of specific tasks to do like update his resume, make a list of medications he needed help accessing, and write a description of his ideal situation (Ms. Elkin said he responds best when he has tasks assigned to him), then we set our next meeting.

He had his homework, Rodney and I had ours. After he left, we compared notes and made a list of our first steps. Rodney was going to focus on getting him out of his current living situation, I was going to focus on getting him employed, and we were going to tag team on healthcare.

I immediately called Brody and he answered his phone with, “What’s up Zeff?” (they were all calling me Zeff now).

“I got a new client, Asher, who needs a job. Max needs help at the Candle Barn, and Ray Ray needs help at the dry cleaners, but he’s studying commercial art and I was hoping you could help him find something in his field where we could really learn” I said. Then I gave him the synopsis of Asher. “He’s only a year in, I have zero clue about his abilities or skill level, but was hoping you could talk to him and maybe help me, help him.”

“Can he drive?” Was Brody’s odd response.

“I… I think so, I didn’t ask. Um why?” I asked.

“I’m headin’ up a new project and Kev is pushin’ me to get an assistant who can help me in North Carolina… more like a gofer. I’ll need someone who can run back and forth to the print shop, the UPS Store, Make copies, send files, and all that kinda stuff” Brody explained. “It’s minimum wage grunt work, but he’ll be around the process.”

“Brody, are you serious? Don’t fuck with me… that would be perfect for him” I responded. Brody laughed at my response and gave me a few more details. I explained how shy Asher was.

 “If that means I aint gotta talk to him too much that’s a bonus. You know me” Brody said.I also explained that he might need to be a little flexible to account for Ash’s needs. Brody was open to talking to Asher about what they needed, and see if it was a fit.

“Can you have him email me his resume with an intro letter, and I will call him next week when I’m in Phoenix meetin’ with Kev” Brody said before we hung up. I immediately called Asher and added sending his resume to Brody to his task list. He just said, ‘okay’ it was a lackluster response. I was hoping for an excited, rambling Ash response, but even though he didn’t show it, I knew he was excited.

Rodney and I touched base before I headed home for the night. Directly home. For the first time in months! Max was picking up Freddy, and Gina was picking up Izzy on her way to our house for Pizza night. A funny thing had happened to our little group of friends over the past few months. We had all added car seats to our vehicles and worked out carpooling schedules for dropping the kids off at daycare, summer activities, etc. It was almost like a group approach to parenting… and it was working out great.

That night as I drove home by myself, I thought about my meeting with Asher, all of his unique struggles, and his situation. Where the hell would I have been if my brother treated me the way his had treated him. I was lucky to have the family I did and I vowed to myself to help Asher experience the same. That night, I called Brad from the car and we talked the whole way home.

  

To be continued…

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Author's note: Thanks to The Donling for his help and encouragement on this chapter. Also, A shout out to our friend DJFMonkey who would have LOVED the sex scene with the blonde, former HS jock in his boyhood room.