Trial Of Strength (Book 14)

"THE BOYS - BRIAN, VIC & NOAH - GIVE LESSONS IN LOVE

Cowboy Charlie, who prides himself on being sexually straight, takes his first faltering steps into sex with Vic & Noah, the shy boys he loves. Uncle Mike tells Charlie the racy story of his own colorful life, teaching him not to label complex notions like straight, gay, love and lust.  But it’s Charlie’s own boys who finally demonstrate that sex is only part of being in love – and not even the most important part.

___________________.

<><>    Charlie Eases The Tension    <><>

It had been a dramatic first day for Cowboy Charlie and his boys at the Grady House weekend party.  Charlie loved Vic and Noah like kid brothers.  He prided himself on being “all man”, totally straight with no sexual interest in other men. 

But that self-image was rocked when, seduced by the sensual atmosphere of the Secret Garden, the boys sucked Charlie’s cock, giving him two orgasms.  The boys were thrilled – Charlie not so much.  In fact, he was knocked sideways, felt his manhood was threatened, and he loudly insisted that he was “no faggot like you guys.”

It took all of Doc Steve’s skill as a shrink to talk Charlie down, and by dinner time peace had been restored, though Charlie and his boys were unsure exactly where their relationship now stood. Doc Steve’s wise words had placated Charlie for now, and he had even kissed his boys on the lips. But where did they go from here? 

Steve had advised them to just be themselves, but what did that even mean? ‘Go with the flow’, he had said, but they were not sure where the flow would take them – into a ditch or into a new and happy life.

Charlie had insisted that they should still share one guestroom at the Grady House.  But it had one king-size bed, which meant that they would share a bed as well as a room.  The last time they had been alone together was when they had had sex. So, what now?

When the boys hesitantly took off their shirts Charlie tried to ease the tension.  With a roguish smile he asked, in his Texas drawl.  “Hey, kids, something I always wondered.  When y’all are alone, just the two of you, what do you wear in bed?’

They looked at each other and blushed.  “Nothing, sir,” said Vic.  “We don’t wear anything.”

“Me neither,” Charlie laughed.  “When I sleep alone, I’m in the buff. So why do you keep your undershorts on when you’re with me?”

More blushes, then Noah giggled, “To hide our hard-ons, sir.”

Charlie laughed.  “Well, we don’t have to worry about that anymore, do we?  Not after I saw everything you got in the Secret Garden. So … ta-da”

He dropped his shorts and his long cock flopped out and hung halfway down his thigh.  The boys smiled and followed his cue. They pushed down their shorts and, sure enough, their cocks sprang out, proudly erect.

“There,” Charlie grinned, “that wasn’t so difficult, was it?  So, let’s stop pussyfooting around and hit the sack, kids.”

More confident now, they all climbed into bed butt-naked, Vic and Noah on either side of their cowboy.  Charlie curled his arms around them, and for the first time, they didn’t flinch nervously.  “See?” Charlie said, “it’s like Doc Steve predicted.  Now, whenever we touch in bed, we don’t have to be afraid it’ll lead to sex – ’cos we already did that.”

“Yes, sir,” Vic said, “but this time you don’t have a hard-on.”

“Yeah, not much I can do about that.”  They were taking faltering first steps, somewhat clumsily, but it was feeling good now that their inhibitions were fading.

“Tell you what,” Charlie said, hugging them tighter. “In the mornings I always wake up with a morning hardon.  I slide out of bed, go to the bathroom and jerk off. But now I don’t have to.  I got my boys right here to help me get my rocks off – just as you did in the Secret Garden. That sound like a plan?”

“Yes please, sir,” the boys said in unison, nestling close to him and feeling excited about the morning. 

The boys knew that Charlie’s plan did not exactly spring from spontaneous passion.  It sounded more like a blowjob by appointment.

But it was a start ….

<><>    It Sure Beats A Hand-Job    <><>

After a good, sound night’s sleep Charlie was true to his word in the morning – or, rather, his cock was true to the cowboy’s word, rock hard with his usual morning hardon.

He had no doubt been dreaming of the rodeo and the salivating attention he received from the usual knot of women groupies who surrounded him at the end, hoping to be his sexual choice in his customary post-performance fuck. That, at least, was the image usually in his mind each morning when he crept into the bathroom to jerk off.

But not this morning.  He was still in that comfortable state drifting between sleep and awake when he felt two mouths feasting on his cock. Still half asleep, his lips curled in a smile as his thoughts drifted away from drooling women to the erotic sensation of his boys expertly taking care of his morning boner.

He sighed contentedly and let the current carry him through this new sensation to the inevitable climax where he moaned loudly, and his body was shaken by successive orgasms in his boys’ mouths. 

His eyes opened at last to the sight of Vic and Noah kissing each other, sharing their cowboy’s warm juice between their mouths. They paused uncertainly and were relieved to hear Charlie’s gentle laughter – the very reverse of yesterday’s violent reaction to his first ever sex act with his boys.

“Thanks, kids,” he smiled.  “Damn, you’re good at that.  It sure beats sneaking into the bathroom and giving myself a quick hand job to get my rocks off.  I can see this becoming a regular event, if you two are up for that each morning.”

“Yes please, sir,” they chorused happily.

They pulled away from his cock and settled back beside him. They soon fell asleep again and Charlie looked at their angelic smiles as they slept.  He realized that this is what he most loved about the boys, the happy innocence on their young faces.  An expert blowjob was great, something he now accepted without inhibition.  But what made him love them most was the happiness he could bring to these sweet kids.

Charlie’s thoughts went back to the lecture Doc Steve had given him yesterday – about the danger of being trapped by labels instead of accepting your own feelings – of accepting love on its own terms, whatever form it took.

By now Charlie was wide awake, and the boys were fast asleep.  He would let them sleep, while he went in search of coffee.  Yeah, what he needed now was a coffee boost.  Carefully he slid out of bed and pulled on his jeans.  He grinned down at his boys smiling in sleep.  He bent down, kissed them gently on the cheek, and silently left the room.

<><>    The Tale Of Uncle Mike’s Wild Ride    <><>

Charlie didn’t have to go far to find coffee – he smelled it before he saw it. Following the rich aroma, he saw Uncle Mike sitting alone at a small table by the pool, a coffee pot and cups before him.

Mike looked up and grinned.  “Hey, cowboy, you in the mood for coffee?”

“You read my mind, Mike.”

“Those kids in the kitchen think of everything.  They knew there would be some early risers, so they already have coffee on the go. Pastries and croissants too, the works.  Come and keep an old man company.”

Charlie beamed at Mike and joined him at the table. “Damn,” Mike said, “that shirtless. barefoot-in-jeans look is hot on you, boy.  Sexier even than your rodeo cowboy rig.  What you doing up so early?  Those kids of yours kick you out of bed?”

“Hardly,” Charlie grinned. “I left them sleeping like angels, with smiles on their faces – after they took care of my morning hardon.  Boy, those kids know how to suck cock.”

“Ah, that would be Eddie’s training.  Forget charm schools, that kid runs a blowjob school – and we’re all the better off for it.   Did you know where he learned to suck cock so expertly?  In the back room of my beer bar in Palm Springs.  My customers were lining up to get a piece of that action and Eddie made a fortune in tips.”

Mike chuckled.  “That was until Hassan met him and took him on as his boy. That hot Arab Marine was not gonna have a boy of his selling blowjobs.  He drove out to my bar and pushed his way through the crowd – a fearsome sight, like Moses parting the Red Sea.  The Marine yanked Eddie up off his knees, slung him over his shoulder and carried him away to a new life.  The only blowjobs he gives now are demonstrations at his cocksucking classes for his grateful pals.”

Charlie roared with laughter.  “Yeah, I’ve sampled the wares with my boys. That is hands down the best way to wake up.  It’s gonna be a morning ritual for us from now on.”

Mike took a long sip of coffee and a bite of pastry.  “Son, you have come a long way since yesterday.  I was there when you came out of the Secret Garden after the first time those kids sucked you off.”

Charlie winced.  “So, you saw what Doc Steve called my ‘hissy fit – rhymes with ‘sissy’ he said.”

“Yeah, he was a bit tough on you there, I thought, rubbing salt in the wounds.”

“Maybe so, Mike, but it did the trick, or it’s starting to.  I got a long way to go, though.  I’m still straight, still the tough macho cowboy I always was.  I’ll never be …”  He blushed in embarrassment.

“Never be a fag?” Mike said.  “There you go again, putting labels on things.”

“I know, I know, but I’m working on that. It’s easier for guys like you who’ve never questioned your manhood.”

“Huh, don’t you be so sure, Charlie.  Things have been simpler since I hit middle-age, but it wasn’t always like that.  I have quite a history, dude, a lot of it fucked up.”

“You, Mike? You surprise me.  I’ve always thought of you like the Rock of Gibraltar.  You mean you didn’t start out that way?”

“Hell no,” Mike laughed.  “Maye I should have become a rodeo rider like yourself, but what I rode was motorbikes – in an outlaw group a bit like the Hell’s Angels.  I was one of those mean, scary bikers, with my girl Roxy holding on behind me.  All my crowd had a bike, and a biker bitch behind them. “We rode, rumbled and fucked the length of California – kings of the road.”

Charlie was intrigued. “You mean … these biker bitches, as you call them.  You fucked them?  You were straight then?”

“Dude, about the only thing we didn’t do was slap labels on things.  There were no labels for the shit we got into - strait, gay, bitch-swapping, cluster fucks – who cared, as long as we were having fun.  Ah, maybe I thought I loved my girl – almost as much as I loved my Harley.  I took care of them both, and god help the guy who messed with either one of them.  I’d beat the fucker to a pulp.  I was a bit like fist-swinging Randy in my younger days.  Maybe that’s why I love the big lug so much now.”

“But you changed, obviously.”

“Oh sure, the years took care of that.  When I aged out of all that wildness I aged out of Roxy too.  Without all the craziness there was nothing left, certainly nothing you would call love.  So, we parted as friends.  Last I heard, Roxy was living in some hippie commune in Santa Fe.

Besides, by that time I found I preferred sex with guys … more rugged, somehow, and we had more things in common besides sex.  I had a real good buddy, named Hank.  It wasn’t really sexual, except when we were drunk and horny, but we were a whole lot alike and eventually we scraped together enough money to buy a rundown beer bar in the Springs that was going cheap. 

We worked hard to make ends meet and we were making a go of it, but Hank developed a drinking problem.  Huh, some guys should never own a bar. I tried to help him, begged him not to ride that Harley when he was drunk, but the booze won out.  After a night of binge drinking, he took off on his bike and crashed it into a tree.”

Mike’s face clouded over and Charlie said gently, “He was killed?”

“Yup.  My best buddy was dead, I was on my own.  He left his share of the bar to me, and I was determined to make a go of it by myself – in Hank’s memory, I guess. I worked night and day in that place, hired some good lads as relief bartenders, and it paid off. Some of the old crowd needed a friendly place to hang out, and the customer base grew until I was making real good money.

“It was a gay bar?”

“A leather/Levi biker bar, mostly guys who prefer guys. But one thing that remained from the old days was our refusal to label stuff like that.  Everyone’s money was the same, and I made a pile of it, enough to buy that sprawling ranch house you’ve been to. All day I was surrounded by guys, but at night when I went home, I was lonely.  I didn’t pine for the old crowd – Roxy or even Hank.  I didn’t know what I wanted … until I found it.”

Charlie grinned.  “I know where this is going, Mike.”

“Yup, I met Larry and my life totally changed.  He told me he was attracted to older men – a young hunk like Larry was attracted to me … can you imagine?”

“I can, Mike, easily.  Don’t sell yourself short, buddy.”

“I was in love. Now that is something I can put a label on – love!  I had never been in love before and now it hit me square between the eyes – not in the balls, in the eyes.  We were in love right away.  I closed the bar one weekend and Larry and I spent the whole two days in bed – and not just making love, though there was plenty of that.  We talked a whole lot – we fucked and talked some more.

“Larry told me about himself, about what he wanted in his life.”  Mike grinned.  “Mostly me,” he said, “and then a bike repair shop, ‘cos he loved bikes.  He wouldn’t let me give him the money to buy one, though I could afford it.  But he accepted a loan, and you know what?  He’s already paid it back, every last dime.”

Mike sighed deeply.  “God, I love that kid, Charlie.  There’s no way to explain it.  All I know is that when he’s due to come home my heart starts to beat faster, and it’s like I lean out toward him.  And when he comes in, with that smile on his oil-streaked face, it’s like my world changes to Technicolor.”

“I kinda know what you mean, Mike.  When my boys are away it’s like I lean forward toward them, and when they come in, I stand up straight.”

Mike laughed.  “Cowboy you should have been a poet. Someone else described it like that, an English poet called John Donne.  You ever read him?”

“Nah,” Charlie grinned sheepishly. “In my line of work I don’t much go for poetry, you know?”

“Well, Donne compared lovers to a compass – you know, that two-pronged instrument joined in the middle like an A, it’s used to draw circles.  The lovers are each prong, one stationary, the other roaming. Let’s see if I can remember.

“If they be two, they are two so as stiff twin compasses are two;

Thy soul, the fixed foot, makes no show to move, but doth, if the other do.

And though it in the center sit, yet when the other far doth roam,

it leans and hearkens after it, and grows erect, as he comes home.”

Damn that’s beautiful, Mike.  ‘And grows erect as he comes home’ - that’s just how I feel about the boys.”

Mike chuckled. “And Charlie, when Donne says ‘grows erect’ he is referring to the lover’s posture, not his penis.”

“Mike, old buddy, you are quite the guy.   Here you start out as a fast-living Hell’s Angel, roaring your way through the State with your biker bitch, fucking anything that moves.  You go through the tragedy of loss, then pick yourself up and work night and day to build a better life.  You end up here telling me about the gorgeous boy you love.  So when in hell did you have time to read poetry?”

“In those lonely days before I met Larry.  It’s what kept me going.”

Charlie paused to take a long drink of coffee.  Then he smiled.  “Uncle Mike, you put me to shame.  Here was I having a shit fit over my boys making love to me, yelling that I was ‘all man’ because I get to fuck all the girl groupies at the rodeo.  And here you are going through a tough, precarious life and surviving.  You are the ‘real man’, Mike.  What they call a Renaissance Man.  And I have been privileged to listen and learn.  I feel humbled.”

“You, cowboy, humbled?  Never.  Your boys look up to you like a hero.  I put you up there with Bob and Randy.”

 As if on cue they heard Bob and Randy laughing over coffee some distance away. 

“Just look at those two, Charlie.  In all my travels, theirs is the deepest love I have ever seen.  And look at the odds.  Two straight, married guys running away from wives they don’t love.  They happen to meet in a cheap bar – a grimy gypsy construction worker and a sophisticated upper class business executive.  Both of them are drop-dead gorgeous in their own way.  They have never, ever thought of sex with another man … and they fall in love, totally and everlastingly in love.

“It wasn’t easy at first - theirs was a baptism of fire, you know how Randy can be.  But finally, they accepted the inevitable and settled down as life-long partners.  They are so magnetic they attract a whole clan of men and boys who worship them. Which is where you and I sit now.”

They heard peals of laughter.  “And talking of worship, here come those boys of yours. Ah, and I see you sitting up straight.  The poet got it right.”

“Hi, Uncle Mike,” Vic said.  Then to Charlie, “Sir, sir, you said you would take us to Grady’s gym downstairs for a workout.  Is that still on?  We’re wearing gym shorts and we brought a pair for you.”

“Sure we’re on, kids. I am so wired on coffee I need a way to burn up all that energy.” He turned and smiled at Mike. “And we’ll leave you to your poets, buddy.”

“I’m gonna join Bob and Randy.  That’s where I find my poetry these days – in guys like them. Their love is pure poetry.” 

<><>    Randy’s Bad Joke Misfires    <><>

As it turned out, all the guys were ready for a morning workout.  Larry, dressed in gym shorts joined Mike and, together with Bob and Randy, they all trooped down to the elaborate gym Grady had installed in the basement.  There they found the hot young fireman Jason just ending his workout with his boy, Ben.  They stopped and watched in admiration, and Mike grinned.  “Damn, Jason is so fucking gorgeous.  If ever my house is on fire, I want the Fire Department to send him to put it out.”

Larry chuckled. “Mike, if Jason showed up, you’d say, ‘Forget the damn fire, stud, let it burn.  Let’s fuck.’”

Jason, ever the narcissist, loved an audience and put on quite a show, ending his workout with Ben on the cables.  Ben was standing, arms stretched up in a V clutching the cable handles, and Jason was behind him, pressed against his back, correcting the angle of his pull down.   They were both facing the mirror, Jason’s favorite position.

As they pulled the cables down together it was obvious that the action was turning sexual.  “Watch this, guys,” Randy said, “the grand finale. “It’s how these two always end their workouts.”

Jason was pulling down Ben’s shorts and loosening his own. As Ben leaned forward, heaving on the cables, it was the perfect position for Jason to slide his cock in the boy’s ass.   Ben sighed, “Oh yeah, fuck me, sir.”

“Now that is poetry in motion,” Mike grinned, as the fireman and his boy strained and fucked, their bodies flexing in unison.  From behind, Jason looked over the boy’s shoulder and smiled at him in the mirror.  “Perfect angle, kiddo.  You ready?”

“Ready when you are, sir.”   Their lusty shouts echoed round the gym as Jason shot his load deep Ben’s ass and Ben sprayed the mirror with jizz.

When they separated Ben turned and grinned at Randy.  As well as being Jason’s boy, Ben was also Randy’s kid brother and shared his swarthy gypsy looks.  Randy hugged him then pulled Jason into an even tighter man-hug.  “Thanks Jason, I can always trust you to take care of my baby bro here.  And it looks like you set the tone for us other guys, too.”

“We’re gonna get breakfast and leave you to it,” Jason smiled.  “Work hard, guys.”

They did.  The three couples – Randy & Bob, Mike & Larry, & Charlie and his boys – filled the air with grunts and groans and shouts of triumph when they strained to lift the final heaviest weight.  

Then, just as inevitably as Jason and Ben, the workouts culminated in sex.  This time, in a role reversal, it was Bob who fucked Randy, and Larry who ploughed Mike, while the other guys watched and cheered them on. 

As the heavy breathing died down, all attention focused on Charlie and his boys.  It was not exactly a sex contest, but it was expected that everyone would perform some kind of sexual act.  And it seemed that Vic and Noah would again do their double blowjob act on the cowboy. Blowjobs were as far as they had gone up to now.

Charlie was lying on his back on the bench-press, after the boys had spotted him while lifting his heaviest weight yet.  As the bar clanged down in its cradle there were cheers all round and Charlie didn’t hesitate to say, “Go for it, boys.”

Vic went first.  He knelt beside the bench and pulled down Charlie’s shorts.  His cock was already semi-hard, the usual result of a heavy workout.  He usually sought sexual relief with one of the girls hanging around in the hope of sex with the rugged cowboy, but now it was Vic who did the honors.  Expertly he licked, kissed and sucked until Charlie uttered a piercing “yeaahh!” and shot his load in the boy’s mouth.

With a gleam in his eye Randy said, “Dude, I want you to try something a bit different.  Watching a boy suck you off is all well and good, but it’s the feel that counts.  What if you can’t see anything, only feel?  Believe me, it’s a whole different experience, a brand-new twist.”

“Sure,” Charlie grinned.  “Let’s hope it’s hot enough to make me cum again … in Noah’s mouth this time.  Don’t wanna short-change you, kiddo.”

Randy was quick to grab a discarded T-shirt from the floor and tie it tight round Charlie’s face, blocking out his vision.  Charlie said, “Yeah, see what you mean, bro, feels different. Go for it, Noah.”

But what Randy had called a ‘different twist’ meant more than just a blindfold – much more.  When Noah had stroked Charlie’s cock and made it hard again, he was about to lower his mouth over it, when Randy picked the boy up bodily and set him down so he was standing astride Charlie, still lying on his back on the bench.  Noah’s butt was directly over the cowboy’s cock and, when Randy pressed down on Noah’s shoulders his knees bent, his ass lowered, and the cock slid in easily.

“Wow,” Charlie groaned, “damnit, bro you’re right.  Being in the dark makes all the difference.  Feels fucking incredible.”

With a little urging from Randy, Noah eased his ass slowly up and down on Charlie’s cock and the cowboy moaned in ecstasy.  “Feels so fucking hot, kiddo, best blowjob I ever had.”

Randy felt pleased with himself – but Bob and Mike not so much. They exchanged uneasy glances, feeling that Randy had gone too far in deceiving Charlie like this.  But they sensed that putting a stop to it now might cause even more trouble.

Actually, they didn’t need to intervene.  The feeling was so intense that Charlie moaned, “Damn, this is hot – don’t even feel like a blowjob.  In fact, I don’t think … aagh … aagh … I’m gonna cum, I gotta cum….. yeahh …”  And his cock exploded in Noah’s ass.

Randy was quick to pull Noah up on his feet beside the bench, then untie Charlie’s blindfold.  Charlie blinked in the bright light and stared up at Noah. He frowned as he saw what looked like jizz running down the inside of the boy’s leg. “What the fuck?  What in hell just happened here?”

“Congratulations, bro,” Randy laughed. “You just butt-fucked a boy for the first time. That was his ass, cowboy, not his mouth.”

There was a heavy silence, except for grunts of disbelief from Charlie.  Mike and Bob held their breath, waiting for the storm to break.  But instead, they heard, “That’s not fair …”

That was Noah’s protesting voice.  “It’s not right, sirs.  You always told us that nobody has to do anything sexual he don’t want to.  But Charlie never said he wanted to.  He said he’s OK with blowjobs, but not this.  He was tricked into butt-fucking, and that’s not right.”

“I agree,” said Vic.  “Noah and me have been talking, and we think there’s been too much talk about sex.   Sir, we’ve always loved you for what you are.  Sure, we like giving you blowjobs, but we loved you just as much before that.  Now everyone’s waiting to see what kinda sex you’re gonna do next … even tricking you into it.”

Vic came to an abrupt halt and Noah took over.  “It shouldn’t be like that.  What Vic and me have with Charlie may be different from you other guys, but we like it that way.  We don’t force anything, we just like being with Charlie, being his boys.  Sex happens if we all want it to … but it’s OK if we don’t.”

Noah blushed deep red, feeling he had said too much already.  There was an uneasy silence, then Charlie got up off the bench, pulled the boys to them and kissed them.  “You’re dead right kids.  Me, too, I think things were racing along too fast.  I was gonna make another suggestion, though.  It’s about time I took you to the Equestrian Center where we’ll be staging the rodeo.

“I want you to get to know my horse Bella, and for her to know you.  You’re gonna be taking part in the act, and a close relationship between horse and rider is essential.  We could practice the act some more in the actual ring and show it to the rodeo director.  I know he’s gonna love the idea.  We could go now and be back here in time for lunch.  You up for that?”

“Yes please, sir,” they chorused eagerly.

“OK.  So, let’s go upstairs and get you kitted out in your boots, bandanas and cowboy hats.”  Charlie grinned at the other men.  “We got work to do, guys, so we’ll see you back here for lunch – sex or not … probably not sex.”

He threw his arm over his boys’ shoulders, and they left the room, leaving four chastened men staring after them in stunned silence.

Randy frowned in confusion.  “Did I just do something wrong here?”

“You?  Do something wrong?” Bob smiled.  “No, you were just being you, Randy, trying to cut to the chase, hurry things along.”

“Trouble is,” Mike said, “Those guys were in no hurry, they were happy with the speed they were going.  Actually, what we have here is a case of the boy being teacher to the man. After all Doc Steve’s wise words, after my long description of my own life to Charlie, it was the boys who had the last word.  They see life more simply – they love Charlie the way he is.  If sex comes along, fine, provided they all want it, and it doesn’t mess things up between them.”

Randy pouted a little.  “I just wanted to show Charlie how great butt-fucking can be.”

“To you, Randy,” Mike chuckled. “Fucking is second nature to you, right up there with breathing.  Huh, breeding, breathing it’s all the same to you, Randy.  We ain’t all like you.”

“And thank god for that,” Bob grinned.  “You’re larger than life, Randy.  The world isn’t big enough for two of you.”

“Ah,” Randy said dismissively, “all this talk is making me hungry. I see the guys are bringing out breakfast, or brunch or whatever they’re calling it this time.  Come on, Bob, let’s eat, I’m starved.”

“OK, big guy.  Then I have to spend a little time with Mario going over income and expenses.  As Grady’s manager and financial adviser, I have to keep tabs on where all his huge income is being spent.”

“Mostly on parties like this one, I suspect,” Larry laughed.  “Come on, guys, let’s eat.”

<><>    Just Showing Up    <><>

Meanwhile, upstairs in the master suite, Grady and Mario were still in bed.  They always slept in late at these parties, confident that Danny, Brian and the chefs were making sure everything ran smoothly.  Grady loved being lazy with Mario, a reversal from his hectic, stressful life when he was filming.

After lazy morning sex they were now wide awake.  And, as if on cue, there was a tap at the door and Brian wheeled himself in with a tray on his wheelchair’s tray table.”

Mario smiled.  “Your timing is impeccable, bambino.  Were you trained in one of those grand old English country houses where the butler anticipates the master’s every need?”

Brian giggled as he set the tray on the bed.  “Not exactly, sir.  But you guys are so predictable I can go by instinct.  I’ll be working away and some little bell rings in my brain.  ‘Master bedroom’, I think, so I set up a breakfast tray and … here I am.”

“And a very welcome sight you are, Brian,” Mario smiled.

Grady added, “And kiddo, I hope that little bell also said something about ‘gossip’.  We haven’t had a good gossip session since the party began yesterday, and a whole lot has happened already. I understand that the latest drama took place in the gym.  Tell me you were there and saw it all.”

“No, sir, but I pumped Larry afterwards and he told me everything.  It’s a doozy, sir, but it’ll have to wait because I saw Vic and Noah and they’re on their way up here. They said something about needing acting lessons.

“There was a soft tap on the door and Vic and Noah came in nervously, dressed in their rodeo gear of cowboy boots, jeans, open-neck shirts, bandanas and cowboy hats.”

“Grady said, “Hey, dudes, don’t you two look like the cat’s meow.  Real sexy, like junior versions of Cowboy Charlie.”

“Thank you, sir,” said Vic.  “We hate to interrupt, but Charlie is taking us to the rodeo grounds and we’re gonna rehearse our part.”

“Yes,” said Mario, “that’s exciting news.  Brian told us you’re going to be shills, like regular audience members sitting in the front row.  And Charlie plucks you out of your seats and plants you on his horse Bella. behind and in front of him – the way he did when he arrived here riding Bella.”

“That’s right, sir,” Noah grinned.  “But we mustn’t show that we already know Charlie.  He said we should act surprised and a bit scared.  So, you’re such a great actor, Grady, we thought we should come to you for acting lessons.”

Suppressing a smile Grady frowned in thought.  “Hmm, let’s see … surprised and scared.  Something like this?”  Grady hammed up a dramatic version of the emotions.  “Something like that?”

“Yes, sir, thank you sir,” they said in unison.

“No, kids, that was me hamming it up like too many actors do.  You know, Woody Allen once said about acting, ‘80 percent of success is just showing up’.  So that’s what I do.  I show up on the set and do what they tell me to do.”

Everyone laughed, knowing that Grady was being typically modest, selling himself short.  They had all seen his movies and knew that his on-screen presence was magical.  He didn’t become an international film star by just showing up on set.  Grady worked extremely hard and was always exhausted when he came home. 

Then there was the stress of his celebrity.  He could not go out without attracting a crowd, so he stayed a virtual prisoner in the security of the Grady House. But if he couldn’t go into the outside world, he could bring the outside world in to him – in the shape of the tribe.  Which was why these parties were so important – and why he slept in late with Mario,

“OK” Grady grinned, “so I jest. Actually, my best advice to you boys is to relax. Try to just enjoy the rodeo like regular kids who’ve been lucky enough to snag front-row seats.  If you can do that, the surprise will be real – and don’t worry about the fear.  I am always scared just before the director shouts ‘Action!’.  Hey, maybe Charlie could put your scene in different parts of the show each performance, so it really will be a surprise.”

“Great suggestion, Grady” came the lusty Texan drawl of Charlie who had just come into the bedroom.  Ya’ll just came up with the prefect solution.  But I gotta grab you away now kids, ‘cos the rodeo director is waiting for us and I wanna get you back here before lunch.”

“Oh, don’t worry about lunch, Charlie,” Mario said.  “It’s all very casual … the buffet breakfast kind of slides into brunch that morphs into lunch, which hangs around all afternoon.”

“Yeah, Mario.” Charlie grinned, “but we don’t wanna miss any of the action here.  You guys put on a show better than any rodeo.  Come on, kids.”

“Have fun, boys,” Grady said.  “Break a leg … Oops, probably not the best choice of words where you’re going.   In showbiz talk it just means ‘good luck’.  And you’re in showbiz now, boys.”

As they left the room excitedly Bob came in, followed by Brian. “Jesus,” Grady laughed, “it’s like Grand Central Station in here today.”

Bob smiled, “Sorry, Grady, but I gotta spend a little time with Mario going over the accounts while I’m up here.”

Grady pouted.  “I don’t have to be there, do I?”  I never understand figures.”

“No, Grady,” Bob said.  “You make the money, Mario and I will count it – in the office down the hall.”

Mario smiled, “Grady, you should be nice to Bob.  He’s your manager who negotiated that unheard of 5 percent of the first-dollar gross – in addition to your salary. And your movies gross a fortune worldwide.” 

Bob smiled. “And that 5-percent isn’t carved in stone, Mario.  The last quarter’s numbers just came in and the studio is over the moon, so I’m thinking of nudging that 5-precent up a notch at our next meeting. Besides, Grady, you have your own accounts to go over with your pal Brian – his lurid accounts of the goings on at the party.”

“That’s true,” said Grady eagerly.  “OK, just Brian and me.  The rest of you, out … out.”

As they left, Grady reached over, hauled Brian up out of his wheelchair and planted him on the bed next to him – a position any fan, all over the world, would long to be in.

“OK, kiddo we’ve a lot to catch up on. Don’t start at the beginning, I was here for Doc Steve’s shrink consultation.  Tell me the juiciest thing that happened.”

“Oh, that’s easy,” Brian grinned.  “Like I said, I wasn’t in the gym, but I got all the dirt from Larry.  And the best part was … wait for it … when Randy blindfolded Charlie and tricked him into fucking Noah up the butt.”

Grady sputtered into the coffee he was drinking.  “He what?  Tricked the cowboy into shoving his dick up Noah’s ass?  How in hell did he do that?  No, wait, don’t give me the short version after all, this is too good.  We’re in this for the long haul, so go right back to the beginning. 

“For instance, I never knew anything about Uncle Mike’s early life as a hell-rider, with his own bike-bitch behind him, or so he told Charlie.  So, I want all the lurid details, no matter how long it takes. Like Mario said, lunch is a casual affair, and we can always send down for more food. 

“And by the way, when you’re finished. kiddo, I want your predictions about what comes next “

“Oh, I have plenty of those, sir, and they’ll make your hair curl.  Er, except your hair’s already curly.”

“Never mind the hair, kid.  Just give me the goods”.

Grady flashed his megawatt smile.  It was a smile known all over the world, but this time it was just for Brian.  He hugged his boy and kissed him on the cheek.

Young Brian was a prime example of a boy who loves a man just for himself.  He didn’t care about Grady’s wealth and glamor.  Their love for each other was, purely and simply, for each other.

Grady still owned his former home, a small rustic bungalow shaded by trees in Laurel Canyon. He had hung onto it as the ultimate refuge he could escape to if needed. He would take Mario and Brian with him, and Brian would still sit in bed with Grady, happily trading gossip. 

Just as he was doing now.

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TO BE CONTINUED IN “A Trial Of Strength – Book 14: Chapter 17