Trial Of Strength (Book 14)

"NEW MAN LUKE DEFIES RANDY"

"Dude, you are so fucking fired.”  That’s big Boss Randy to a newly recruited construction crew man, Luke, who has punched one of the boys to the ground – a cardinal sin for Randy.  But the injured boy himself, young black kid Ossie, is in charge of the company’s payroll, and pleads with Randy not to fire Luke.  The reason he gives brings Randy and his lover Bob to tears.

---

<><>    The Greek Chorus    <><>

And so, the Grady House party came to a close.

These big weekend gatherings at the opulent home of movie heartthrob Grady and his Italian lover Mario were inevitably hyper-charged events. Whenever the 30-or-so men and boys of the tribe gathered regularly to relax, they broke loose and had fun.  It was also an opportunity for the oversexed group to sort through their tangled passions that had become even more confusing since the last party.

The resulting succession of dramas may not qualify as Greek Tragedies, but they were watched over and commented on by the equivalent of a Greek Chorus – a Greek Chorus of two, consisting of the internationally famous young action star Grady, and his faithful houseboy Brian. 

The Grady House was a secure refuge for Grady, whose celebrity made it near-impossible to go out in public without drawing a crowd. So the house and grounds were his safe, private world – the tribe were his people – and Brian was Grady’s bridge to that world.

As he worked tirelessly to serve the party guests, Brian kept his ear to the ground and gathered troves of information for eager retelling to the gossip-hungry Grady. The fact that Brian was in a wheelchair was no impediment to this operation.  At the end of each day Grady sat in bed and effortlessly hauled Brian out of his chair and planted the eager boy on the bed beside him.

“OK, kiddo, what’s the scoop?  This one was a big one, eh?”

“A doozie, sir.  Especially the last day.  That put the cream on the party cake.  As you know, the construction company that keeps us all afloat financially – just gets bigger and bigger.”

“And richer, eh?”  Grady’s eyes sparkled.

“And richer, sir, thanks to the tribe founders, Randy and Bob. Randy is known as the muscle in the outfit and Bob is the brain.  They fit together like a hand in a glove.”  Brian chuckled. “Though it’s usually Randy inside Bob, if you get my drift.”

“You’re starting to get dirty, kid.  Keep it up.”  Grady flashed his rascal smile that made hearts beat faster all over the world.  “Though in Randy’s case it was cock in butt, eh?”

“Of course, sir – always.  And nobody quite realized that, for Randy, using muscle to build buildings by day and to fuck Bob by night were almost one and the same.”  Brian smiled his impish smile. “Eddie coined a phrase for that – pounding brass or pounding ass – no difference for Randy.” 

“Yeah, cute,” Grady laughed.  “But whatever you call it, practice makes perfect.  Randy gets plenty of that. – and winds up pretty nigh perfect, as I have regular proof.”

“But we digress, sir.  So, Randy, Bob and Mark inaugurated the new construction site today.”

“And don’t tell me.  It wound up being brass and ass, eh?” Grady licked his lips.

“You know Randy too well, sir.  Randy was in his favorite place – a construction site, doing his favorite thing – fucking Bob.  The icing on the cake here was that Mark, the cop they’re both in love with, got to watch.”

“Damn I wish I’d seen that.”

“Me too, sir.  But Ryan later gave me every last detail and he’s as good at gossip as I am.

“And you are the best, kiddo.”

But not only that. Something known only to Ryan and me, is that Ryan filmed parts of it.  Eddie had previously given him one of his cameras, and tips on doing stealth filming.”

“Outstanding!” Grady laughed.

“Some of the time Ryan himself was getting ploughed by Randy, and it would take a contortionist to film and get fucked at the same time.”

“But it’s not impossible,” Grady said, his eyes glazing over.  “I could do it …”

“But you weren’t there, sir …”

“So who else was?”  Grady was getting impatient for details.

“Bob, of course.  And when Randy saw him talking with Ryan, then looked at the empty construction site, something clicked …”

“Ah, the brass and the ass, eh …?”

“Yeah.  As Randy thought about pounding iron (and brass) on the construction site, and pounding ass (Bob’s) also on the construction site, he went all caveman – you know how that can be.”

“Oh yeah, I do, I do  …”  Grady was salivating and his eyes glazed over again. “But what about Mark?  The cop, the gypsy construction boss and the macho businessman – when that trio gets together, dammit, you could sell tickets.”

“So”, Brian continued, “by that time Randy had finished with Bob, leaving him panting in the grass, and Ryan wondered what came next – whose cock would be in whose hole.  Ryan said it was like a game of Lego, slotting in Lego blocks where they fit best. 

“But Ryan’s a math whizz and he solved it.   He knew Bob loved butt-fucking the cop … Mark was in love with Bob … and most important of all, Randy had the pleasure of watching Bob topping Mark.   While they made love, that left Ryan for Randy and … well, I ask you sir … who ever says no to getting reamed by the boss?”

Grady grinned at Brian.  “You serious, kid?  You seriously asking me if I’ve ever rejected Randy?”

“Right – dumb question, sir.  Anyway, Ryan was having the time of his life – and so was Randy.  You know that arrogant smile he gets on his face when he’s a winner.  The boss threw his arm over Ryan’s shoulder, pointed to the non-existent audience and said, ‘So, kiddo, you wanna do the honors?” 

‘Sure thing, sir.  Gentlemen, I declare this construction site well and truly open.’ 

<><>    Here’s To The Next Time    <><>

On the last evening, that triumphant mood ruled the dinner table too.  As always Randy was the star when he rose to give extravagant thanks to the chefs and all the guys who had worked hard to make the huge party a success.

The ritual was always the same, as the chefs lined up proudly, shoulder to shoulder, in chef’s caps and aprons.   They whisked off their hats, held them high and swooped them down in a theatrical bow to thunderous applause.

Mario rose to acknowledge Randy’s speech.  “Signori, there is always a feeling of sadness when these gatherings come to an end.  Grady and I, Danny and Brian, have so enjoyed your company that Grady is talking of retiring from the movies and declaring this a non-stop party house.”

There followed loud, encouraging cheers for Mario.  Then Grady rose to his feet clasping his hands above his head like a victorious prizefighter.  And a bread storm immediately rained down on the movie star, the last of many noisy bread fights aimed at Grady that weekend.”

Eventually Bob rose to restore some sense of decorum.  “Guys, I don’t wish to rain on this circus parade, but I have to remind you that for most of us work begins next week. All except Vic and Noah who are being whisked off by Cowboy Charlie to a promised fishing trip up at the lake in the forest.”

More cheers brought deep blushes to the boys’ faces. 

“The movie cameras will start rolling again and Grady will strut his stuff in the Malibu surf, along with his growing team from the tribe – surfers Jamie, Nate …cameramen Eddie and Angelo … and the on-set caterer Felipe.  The gears at the construction sites will start grinding again, including the largest site which, as you all know by now, was the subject of an inauguration worthy of such a lusty bunch of men.

“And Brandon and his band of warriors will reopen the business office to meet the growing challenge of new work sites and the hiring of more staff than ever before.  Boys, always know that we love you all, and we’ve got your back.  You can always come to me for help and, heaven knows, Randy is always there to protect every boy from harm.

“So once again, I thank our hosts for such an eventful and joyful weekend …” Bob raised his glass … “and here’s to the next time.”

<><>    Ossie Takes Center Stage    <><>

Next morning the frenzied activity shifted away from the Grady House and back to the tribe’s compound.   The first task to prepare for the new construction site was the hiring of a work crew. The brunt of this work – interviewing and compiling hire lists – fell initially on Ossie, who was himself a relatively new hire. 

Some years ago, Ossie had met two of the tribe’s men – construction boss Seth and Seth’s boy, the redhaired chef Will – at the Laguna hotel where Ossie worked in the personnel office, in charge of payroll.  He had explained his unusual affection for payroll work, where he dealt not with dull lifeless facts and figures but with real people, their lives and incomes.  Ossie loved his work at the hotel, but missed the energy of the big city in L.A.

He met the tribe’s office manager Brandon who took an immediate liking to the young black boy with handsome coffee-colored features, curly black hair and sparkling green eyes.  He was also a hit with the other boys, and was respected by the men for his good-humored efficiency.  The final seal of approval was given, as always, by boss Randy by butt-fucking him.  Ossie was mesmerized by the big gypsy, and they became firm friends.

Putting together a large work crew involved mostly four men.  At the top was Bob who, as the company’s business manager, supervised Brandon and his office staff, and Ossie who was doing most of the actual work of advertising and job interviews.  And above it all, of course, was Randy who actually worked with the crew.  If he decided he didn’t like working with a guy, the guy was out on his ass – fired.

“How’s it going so far, Ossie?” Randy grinned, giving the boy an affectionate hug.

“Pretty good, sir, no glitches so far.”

“Yeah, thanks mostly to all that spade work you did, kiddo.  Fucking brilliant.  Those lists you drew up were excellent. Bob thinks we’ll prob’ly hire most of them, and I agree.  What a crowd here today, eh?    Good idea having them all assemble here for processing, then we truck them to the site.  Are you, er, having second thoughts about any of the guys?”

“Hmm, one or two, sir.  But it wouldn’t be fair to tell you their names, ‘cos I don’t wanna prejudice your mind against anyone.  You have the last say, after all – you’re gonna be digging ditches with them.”

Rand laughed and ruffled Ossie’s black curly hair.  “You’re good at this, kiddo, you know that?  You nearly done here?”

“Ahead of schedule, sir.  One more truckload to go to the site and we can leave Brandon and the other guys in peace here.

As a satisfied Randy walked off, there was one problem Ossie hadn’t told him about.  It was something he encountered everywhere – on most of his previous jobs too – and had always managed to settle it himself. 

It came not from a defect in himself, but a blind spot in others.  Ossie was young (22), black confident and good at his job.  In the past, some guys had resented him for some, or all, of these attributes.  A young black kid in charge of a guy’s wages, giving him his paycheck.  And if there was ever a dispute, the man had to argue it out with this confident youngster with steady green eyes, who was invariably right.

Previously, at the hotel he worked at, Ossie had been dealing with mostly young people closer to his own background.  They spoke the same language – they all had clerical jobs at a hotel.  But roughneck laborers like this construction crew were cut from a different cloth.  The worst was when he had to discipline one of them, however mildly. 

He could see in their eyes what was running through their minds …  ‘Who the fuck does this kid think he is?  Sitting at a desk all day writing memos.  Prob’ly never done a real day’s work in his life’.

Ossie had become skilled at brushing aside these unfair criticisms.  Of course, he could have referred them to Brandon or Bob, but pride on the job always made him feel better to handle the issue himself, through reasoning words and genuine compassion.  After all, he told himself, wasn’t that what Employee Relations were all about?

<><>    Luke Swings A Punch    <><>

There was one such difficult guy on this job – one of those guys with a chip on his shoulder, at war with the world – and certainly at war with Ossie.  Common sense would have told Luke that his job depended on this confident young black guy – but therein lay the very problem.

Ossie had known from the start that Luke would be the difficult one – there’s always at least one.  Luke was not particularly good looking – average height and looks, didn’t laugh much with the other new guys.  Even the simplest request brought a surly look from him. 

Ossie wondered what his problem stemmed from, but no amount of sweet talk worked with this guy, determined to be sour even when there was no problem.  And yet, there was something about Luke that made Ossie keep him on the list.  Ossie had called him in for an interview twice and had eventually added his name to the hire list.

The last truck was loading to take him to the site with the last of the new hires.  But he seemed determined to resist for some reason – always some new distraction, another phone call – whatever.  Ossie prided himself on his even temper, but this time it was sorely tested.

“Luke, please, you’re holding everything up.  The other guys are already there. What’s your problem?”

“Get off my case, kid.  What would you understand anyway, scrawny young black boy like you? You’re dealing with real men here who do a real man’s job.”

Ossie knew very well that Luke’s only problem was him, Ossie.  Luke resented being ‘pushed around’ by an ‘uppity black boy’ and had decided to put Ossie in his place right from the start.

“OK,” Ossie said, “that’s it, we’re leaving.  You with us or not, Luke?”

Luke pushed forward and, accident or not, brushed heavily against Ossie.  “Fuck you, boy.”  They both lost their balance in the scuffle; Luke swung his fist aimlessly and it landed on Ossie’s jaw.

The guys already on the truck had been watching, and now gasped at the ugly turn the dispute had taken.  Several got off the truck to help the boy, sprawled on the ground, but pushing through the crowd came Randy, eyes blazing. “What the fuck?”  He knelt beside Ossie and touched his face gently.  “You OK, kid?  That’s gonna be quite a shiner you got going there.  OK, guys, back on the truck, nothing to see here.”

Brandon came wheeling himself down the ramp from the office and tended to the bruise that was already forming.  Randy loomed over them all and sneered at Luke sprawled in the dirt.

“As for you, asshole, you’re fired. You are so fucking fired.”

Luke was stunned from the fall and could only bang his fist on the dirt in frustration, and moan, “Fuck … shit damn …”

There was a delay as Brandon filled out the requisite form as a hedge against legal action.  That was highly unlikely, but the paperwork was a legal requirement.  Randy was still kneeling beside Ossie.

Randy shook his head.  “Dumb asshole.  Lose a great new job through a burst of bad temper.  Hell, I’ve been known to lose my cool too, but I never lost a job because of it.  Well, one or two, maybe.”  He shrugged.  “OK, several actually.    But this is not about me.  It’s about this asshole.  I was right to fire him, eh kid?”

Absolutely, sir, textbook case.  He punched out a colleague, and physical violence is a firing event.  You were right to fire him, sir … but I wish you wouldn’t.

Randy’s jaw dropped.  “Say what?  You wish I wouldn’t fire him?  Dude, the guy took a swing at you … at my boy.  He’s lucky I’m not tearing him limb from limb right now.  I thought you were a rulebook kind of guy.”

Ossie frowned.  Sir, one thing I’ve learned is that sometimes you have to throw the rulebook out the window.  Look at your brother, Doc Steve.  He does it all the time.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not sure brother Steve is the best example to follow.  He’s a licensed therapist.”

“But it always works, sir.  Still, I agree, not Steve.  Maybe you are the best example to follow.  You said you’ve burst into plenty of rages and lost jobs.  But you yourself have given guys second chances.  Look at Seth.  His crimes against his boy Will were worse than Luke’s here but you saw something special in him and look at him now – he’s one of your site managers.”

“Hmm. You make sense Ossie boy.  And all the new hires are on probation anyway.  But the main thing now is to get this show back on the road.  Tell you what.  You and me will meet with Bob and Brandon and the site managers during the lunch break and hash it all out.  In the meantime, Brandon’s done with the paperwork, so let’s hit the road.”

Randy raised his voice. “OK, guys, drama’s over … let’s roll.” He shot a savage look at Luke.  “You too, man.  Not my choice, but you must have an angel in your corner.”

Ossie grinned and murmured, “First time I’ve been called that, sir.”

“Listen, kid, I know an angel when I see one.”  He flashed a beaming smile. “And here comes one now.  “Hey, Bob, over lunch, Ossie and I wanna know what another angel feels about this situation.”

Bob smiled, “OK, buddy.  I’m spreading my wings.”

<><>    Ossie Tells His Story    <><>

After all the surly attitude, Luke was a changed man. Meekly he pulled himself into the truck, with just a glance at Ossie.  It seemed like he wanted to say something, but now was obviously not the time.

At the new site there were impressed comments about the size of the site, and Randy split them all into groups with their own assignments.  He looked at the main gate.  “That gate is choked with weeds.  Last thing we want is a truck to get stuck and block the entrance.  I know weeding ain’t exactly construction, but I want a volunteer to clear it out pronto.  Any takers?"

“’I’ll do it,” Luke grunted without making eye contact with anyone.  But Randy glanced at Ossie, shrugged and mouthed, ‘Who knew?’

The morning progressed busily and when the lunch whistle blew Randy shouted.  “Another surprise for you guys.  Lunch is provided by the company, cooked in our own kitchens, and a damn sight better than the gut-shredding stuff you get from your average roach coach.

Freckle-faced Will drove onto the site and got out of his truck, wearing his green apron, with tufts of red hair escaping from under his white chef’s hat.  “HI, guys.” he grinned.  “Welcome aboard.”

The grinning redhead was an instant pal to the guys as he unloaded the box lunches, and they helped him set up the table provided for it.  It was traditional, especially on a first day back, for the other site managers (Zack, Seth and Darius) to meet with Randy and Bob in Randy’s large trailer office.  Today they were joined by Bob’s assistant Ryan and by Ossie, who was slightly intimidated to be in such high-powered company.

Will had already served their lunch and beer in the big trailer, and now quietly slid a bottle of Randy’s favorite Blue-Label scotch near his feet.  Will tapped the side of his nose as a sign of discretion, and Randy grinned, “Red, you always treat me so good.  About time I fucked you my thanks,”

“With my dad Seth’s approval,” Will chuckled as he bent down and kissed Seth’s cheek.

 They all sat around informally and began a spirited discussion of the events of the first day back at work.  Apart from a few minor glitches the work seemed to have progressed well on all four sites, and they naturally concentrated on the new largest site, Randy’s.

After encouraging reports all round Zack raised his beer bottle.  “Guys I think we all owe a vote of thanks to young Ossie here.  He did the spade work in putting together a shortlist of prospective new hires – not an easy job, but his choices seem to meet with our approval.  Thank you Ossie, and thank you Brandon for hiring Ossie as your payroll assistant.”

They drank a hearty toast “to Ossie!” who looked embarrassed.  “Thank you, sirs.  But I’m not feeling too great about myself right now.  I seem to have broken every rule in the book today.”

“Ah,” Randy grinned, “which brings us to the subject of Luke.  I wondered when we would get to that one.  Guys, with the speed news travels around here, I’m sure you’ve all heard of the ugly incident before we left home.  And you all know me well enough that, in any other circumstances any guy who throws a punch to one of our boys and knocks him down, is fired so fucking fast his head don’t have time to spin.”

Randy grinned down at Ossie. “But not this time.  I did fire him, but Ossie asked me to hold off. That shiner on Oddie’s face is a real beaut, but the guy who caused this is right now having lunch out there with the other new crewmen.”

In the sudden silence all faces turned to Ossie, who knew he had to come up with an explanation.  He took a deep breath. “Before I begin, sirs, I repeat that I am aware I broke many of the rules, including invasion of staff privacy, not prying into their lives outside work, and not becoming emotionally involved in my own work.  Randy was right, of course, to fire Luke, and I was wrong to ask him not to. I spoiled his image as a tough guy.”

Randy grinned.  “Don’t worry about my tough-guy image, kiddo, I can take care of that myself. I do every day.”

“So, Ossie,” Bob said gently, “I know you don’t make mistakes, especially a series of mistakes like this.  You must have had a reason.”

“Sir, I believe I did.  With some applicants I’m not sure about, I do several interviews, and Luke was one of them. The first time he came in to interview he was not especially impressive, but he’d had the experience Randy was looking for.  Tell you the truth, he was on the surly side, but we’re not hiring for charm school, just for strong guys who can do the work and follow orders.  I was wavering but decided to put him on the shortlist and do some background work on him.

He checkout out alright on background, no disqualifiers.  Plus I had this hunch about him, you know, sir, that gut feeling you always talk about.  So I asked him to come in again and bring his ID, Social Security, insurance and so on. 

“When he came back, he said he had all his IDs on his smartphone and pulled it out to show me.  He went to the restroom and left me to download the stuff from his phone.  Then came the surprise.  After I copied the stuff I needed, I was about to shut off his phone, but his IDs were followed by a video, a home video that was private so I should have shut it off but didn’t.

“It was taken in a rather scruffy back yard where two young boys were playing boisterously, with sticks and trashcan lids – cute kids, about five and seven, I’d say.  Whoever was holding the phone – their mother, I guessed - was laughing and said, ‘Quiet, boys, dad’s home.’  The gate opened and Luke came in.  The kids stopped playing and stared at him.

“After a long pause Luke’s face broke into a beaming smile – made him look almost handsome. ‘I got it.’ He shouted.  ‘I got it.’

“The boys cheered.  ‘Looks like I got the job, kids. The guy put me on the hire list and told me to report back in three days for the first day’s work.’  The kids went crazy.  The young one threw himself at Luke’s chest and clung there, the other climbed on his back and Luke whirled around trying to shake them off.  ‘We knew you would … you’re the best, dad … we love you….”

The celebration went on noisily as the kids fell off him and chased him excitedly.  The image shook and the phone went blank - evidently the wife had dropped the phone …  And that was that.

“This morning Luke was just one of the crowd – but one with a bad attitude.  He had looked so cheerful on the video, that I assume he had a chip on his shoulder about me.  I encounter that a lot – some of these butch guys resent taking orders from a young black guy like me, that chip grows bigger and bigger, and the guy forgets his job depends on me.

“I could have de-escalated the situation more effectively, I’m sure, but suddenly there I was on the ground with an aching head, and I heard Randy shout, ‘You’re fired, asshole.  You are so fucking fired’.

My mind went back to the video, the excitement on the kids’ faces. The joy in that little family – ‘you’re the best, dad,’.  And I tried to imagine the same backyard tonight where dad comes home and tells his kids he lost the job.  And I knew I could not let that happen, whatever the rules.  And I didn’t want my company to be the cause of so much sadness.   

“That’s when, and why, I appealed to Randy.”

Bob had tears in his eyes as he looked at Randy, who said, “Luke won’t lose his job, Ossie.  When he gets home tonight his boys will still call him ‘the greatest dad’.  Because for them, he will be.”

<><>    Human Resources    <><>

The rest of the busy day passed productively, and Luke became just one of the crew.  He even joked around with some of the other guys, and Randy said to Ossie.  ‘Looks like your gut feeling was right, kiddo. No fists this time, at least.  Just one of the guys.”

When the final whistle blew, Randy yelled. “Thanks guys – good day’s work.  I can usually tell when a new crew is gonna come together well, and this one does.  Same time tomorrow, so don’t get drunk tonight.

As they walked back with Bob, Randy put his arm round Ossie’s shoulder.  “I can guess where your thoughts are kiddo – in a scruffy back yard with two excited young kids hugging their dad.”

“Yes, sir,” Ossie grinned, “two kids who’ll prob’ly be celebrating with ice-cream for dinner.  Kinda gives you a good feeling, don’t it sir?”

Randy smiled into his green eyes.  “Yes it does, kiddo.  If you hadn’t stopped me firing Luke, I would have thought no more about the whole thing – water under the bridge.  But now I do think of Luke and his boys.  Makes me realize, every day we deal not only with crewmen but with guys who have families, mouths to feed … ice-cream to buy.”

“That’s the love part, sir,” Ossie smiled.  “We should never forget that.”

“Randy and I never do,” Bob said.  He and Randy exchanged smiles and Randy said, “Say, Ossie.  If you have no other plans, how’d you like to have dinner with Bob and me in the Boss House, just us three and Brandon.          

“I have no other plans, sir,” Ossie said with a surprised smile.  “I would like that.”

So, an hour or so later Ossie presented himself at the door of the Boss House.  Bob smiled, seeing that Ossie had showered and changed into clean shorts and a smart polo shirt for the occasion.  Bob had, with great difficulty, forced Randy into a clean white T-shirt – “as a good example.”

“Dunno what’s such  a good example about another shirt,” Randy huffed.  “Most guys seem to like the old tank I wear for work.”  But he grudgingly did as he was told.

Dinner was lively, served by Brandon.  He had not been very vocal during the tense little drama but now Randy asked him, “So, as office manager, dude, what did you think about today’s weird events?”

“Well, like Ossie said, we get so wrapped up in our busy work lives we sometimes forget we’re dealing with flesh and blood people with their own loves, lives and concerns.  You can tell a lot about others just by watching them.  That ‘scruffy garden’, for example.  What did you make of that, Ossie?”

“Hmm, not much money but someone evidently tries to do a bit of gardening.  And they need more outdoor furniture – probably indoor too.  We could help with all that.

Brandon said, “Reminds me of when I first met the tribe.  Eddie discovered me living alone in that little bungalow and mentioned to you guys some of the things I needed.  Before I knew it, Randy was up there fitting pull-down shelves. Zack came next with two air-conditioners.  Then Mark came to check on security and put spy holes in the door – at wheelchair height.  Last came Jason, with fire extinguishers.

“Are you suggesting we team up to help out the Luke family?” Bob asked.

“Why not?” Ossie said earnestly.  “Companies with real Human Resources Departments get involved in many aspects of their employees’ lives beyond their jobs.  For example, I’m sure our landscaper Finn could take some plants over to the wife.  He throws so much stuff away.

“Thoughts for the future, maybe,” Bob said.

Dinner was fun. With lots of laughter rehashing the day’s other events, until finally Brandon said, “Time to clean up, eh Ossie?”

The boys cleared the table and went out to the kitchen.  Bob smiled at Randy.  “OK, I know what you want, big guy.  I could see it in your eyes when you watched Ossie.”

“He’s a remarkable kid, Bob, and I wanna thank him for everything he did today.”

“And by ‘thanks’ we both know what we’re talking about.  I’m sure Ossie would say yes to dinner – I also watched the way he watched you – hungry as a bear cub. Er, after dinner I was planning on going across the street with Brandon to have coffee with him and his man Ranger Pete … chat with them for a while.”

So it turned out that when Ossie came back from the kitchen, he found himself alone with Randy – and had an instant boner.

<><>    Cue The Violins    <><> 

“So here we are, alone at last kiddo.  I’m glad ‘cos I wanted to thank you for the classy way you handled the Luke incident today.”

“Sir, I wouldn’t call it classy, I’d say compassionate – treating people as humans, not just names on a list. And when you say thank me, do you mean you’re gonna fuck me?”

Randy’s gypsy features broke into a devilish grin.  “I guess that’s what boys think is how I thank people.”

“You already fucked me, sir, when I first joined the tribe – but you do that to every new guy.”

“Yeah, but this is different – you’re different from how you were then.  That nervous new kid has grown up into a fine young man.  And as a result a little family is celebrating rather than comforting each other.”

Ossie smiled and started to unbutton his shirt. “Hey, what you doing, kid?”

“Well, sir everyone knows that when you fuck you don’t like foreplay – cut right to the chase, you always say.”  Ossie’s attention turned to rummaging through the drawer of the nightstand.”

“So what now?” Randy chuckled.

“Well, sir, everyone knows you keep lube in the nightstand even though you mostly don’t use it. I was just making sure – just in case.”

Rand roared with laughter and pulled the boy into a warm, tight hug.  “Kiddo. Will you stop with your everyone knows how I fuck a boy?  Everyone’s different, you especially. 

“When you told us your story of Luke’s family, and how you didn’t want to ruin their happiness, I saw that Bob had tears in his eyes.  And I got tears too seeing Bob cry, and knowing why Bob was crying – ‘cos he has a heart like yours.  It was one of those magical moments and I knew right then I wanted to make love to you. 

“Yes, kid, I said make love, not just fuck.  I want to feel that warm heart of yours, to bring a little happiness to you like you did for that family. Ossie’s own eyes were moist now and he kissed Randy’s cheek. 

“OK,” Randy said, “now’s the time you can cue the violins … and take your clothes off.”

Ossie giggled and pulled off his polo shirt.  “Jeez,” Randy said, you’re prettier than ever.  You been using the gym like I showed you when you first came here?  And that velvet smooth skin, the color of milk chocolate, just like Darius’s.  And his same dancing green eyes too.”

Randy fell to his knees and pulled down Ossie’s shorts.  “Oh yeah,” Randy sighed, as the long brown cock sprang free and touched his lips.  “Beautiful … not as big as Darius’s, but no one in the world can match that boy’s humongous rod.” 

Randy gently turned Ossie around.  “And there they are, hose perfect buns – round, juicy and just a bit lighter in color than the rest of you.

Randy got to his feet, picked Ossie up by the waist and laid him gently on his back on the bed.  Mesmerized by the dark, long-haired gypsy towering over him, Ossie gently stroked his own cock as he watched Randy pull off the T-shirt Bob had made him wear, then kick off his boots and drop his jeans.

Ossie gasped as the naked construction boss strode round the room and pulled a jar of lube from the nightstand.  “It’s here if you want it, dude.”

“I don’t think I shall sir.”

“Nah, I thought not,” Randy grinned.  “Just two rules here.  No boy ever has to do anything sexual he don’t want to.  And you don’t shoot your wad till I say you can”.

“Understood, sir”

Randy got on the bed naked, and braced on hands and feet, arched over Ossie.  Slowly he lowered himself until their chests touched, then their cocks, and at last Randy’s monster lay full length along Ossie’s curly black pubic hair.  He moved gently back and forth, cocks grinding against each other.  He was playing with the boy, teasing, driving him crazy. 

“Please, sir.  I want to feel you inside me.  May I turn over?”

“Sure you can.  Offer that pretty ass to me.”

Ossie rolled over and heard Randy spit in his palm.  He made his cock wet … and eased it gently inside his warm, soft butt.

Ossie sighed deeply as he was treated to Randy’s classic way of making love to a boy’s ass.  He pushed in deep, paused in the fiery depths, teased his inner sphincter with short tender movements, before pulling all the way back, leaving the boy begging for more.

Randy pulled out, turned Ossie over on his back, and raised his legs.  This time when Randy slid his cock inside, Ossie was treated to the hypnotic pale blue eyes piercing down at him from the swarthy stubbled features smiling above him.

Ossie sighed.  “I think I love you, sir … I love you.”

“And you would know all about love, kiddo, having spread so much of it around today.  So while I make love to you now, I want you to imagine that scruffy little house.  In one room Luke is making love to his wife.  And in the other room two young boys are hugging each other with excitement after their dad, the greatest dad in the world, has just landed a brand-new job.

<><>    Big Thank You From A Little House    <><>

Ossie had said earlier that one of the rules he had broken was to have become too emotionally involved in his work.  Well now he was throwing the rule book clear out of the window.  Not only was his mind running on the new hire and his happy family, but he himself was falling in love with his boss, and his boss’s lover, and their friends, and his whole world.

It was hard to say which of these made him finally reach his climax, but at last Randy smiled, “You’re a great lad, Ossie, way sexy, too. You’re bringing me real close, so you can shoot now while I fill that cute butt with my jizz.” 

Randy bent and kissed the boy, a passionate lingering kiss that lasted as long as their orgasms.  When at last they pulled back, Randy said, “And that was a great big thank you from that little family, who have no idea it was you who brought so much joy to their house today.”

As the gypsy and the boy lay panting together, Randy’s phone rang.  Bob said, “Randy, if it’s OK with you, I’m gonna spend the night over here with Brandon and Pete.”

“Sure. Buddy.  The kid and I are doing just fine here, he makes a good bedmate. You’ll get yours tomorrow.”

“Don’t I always?” Bob laughed.

Randy snuggled against Ossie.  “Seems you’re here for the night, kid.”

“Fine by me sir.”

Randy sighed.  “That man of mine – too smart for his own good.  I sometimes think he’s running the whole show. Or he thinks he is.”

  <><><><><><><><><><><><><>

TO BE CONTINUED IN “A Trial Of Strength” – Book 14: Chapter 23