Trial Of Strength (Book 13)

"THE MATURING OF BOYS TO MEN"

As the whole tribe parties at the Grady-House, it’s time to repair frayed relationships. The ruggedly handsome Aussie Adam and his mate, sexy tanned surfer Nate, have drifted apart and get back together in a passionate act of love. Meanwhile, the hunky Hispanic Miguel tops the swarthy Italian stud Mario, urged on by Miguel’s boy Finn who joins in and double-teams the virile Italian.

<><>    Adam & Nate Get Reacquainted    <><> 

The big Grady-House party for the whole tribe was not just about fun, eating, drinking and sex, though there were abundant helpings of each.

In the midst of the festivities there was business to attend to. For instance, the tribe’s co-leader and financial manager Bob had a brief meeting with the Grady-House’s co-owner Mario – Grady’s Italian lover and personal manager – to discuss finances in his office. 

“Won’t take long,” Bob said.  “Just need to briefly go over your investments.  I see Warner Studios paid Grady a bucket of money for the movie’s publicity tour he just completed.  Their heart-throb action-hero star is clearly valuable to them.”

“And he earned every penny,” Mario smiled. “The tour was exhausting. Grady overdosed on all the attention, the flash bulbs, screaming fans, keeping the charm going, making that fixed smile seem genuine ... and those interminable dinners with executives and their wives who act like they own you.   

“Poor guy, now he has to get back in physical shape for when filming resumes in a week.  His face and physique are his fortune, amico.  Which, I suppose, is why Randy is here, for one of his grueling gym workouts.”

He was right.  While Bob and Mario worked in Mario’s office, Randy took Grady downstairs to the gym.  “OK, dude, gotta get you back in shape after you’ve been wined and dined on that tour.  Looks like that celebrity lifestyle caused you to lose a little muscle tone.”

While that was going on, many of the couples in the tribe now had time to relax and pay attention to each other, free of work distractions.  There was one relationship in particular that needed reinforcement with some tender, loving care.  In all the noisy festivities it had gone unnoticed, neglected even by the participants themselves.

The love affair of the two Aussies, Adam and Nate, went back a long way.  Young Nate had been a tourist visiting from Sydney when, one day at the beach, he had met the cop Mark and his sexy blond surfer Jamie.  Jamie and Nate became best buddies and had traveled together to Sydney to visit Nate’s home.  On the long flight from Los Angeles they had been attracted to the tall, handsome senior purser of the flight-crew, named Adam.

Long story short, Nate had moved to Los Angeles and became a member of the tribe.  Shortly thereafter Adam had moved to the airline’s base in Los Angeles and, over time, his friendship with his fellow Aussie Nate had flourished and Nate had become Adam’s boy.  Their relationship survived even when Adam fell in love with Doctor Chad and they bought a house together, where Nate happily joined them.

But as so often happens, life and work intervened and they gradually saw less of each other. 

When Nate’s friend Jamie had been hired on Grady’s beach lifeguard movie in the important job of supervising all the surfing action, he needed an assistant, and his buddy Nate had been the obvious choice.  It was intense, exciting work, but the hours were long and kept Nate away from home a lot, especially in recent weeks.  Jamy and Nate had been asked to accompany Grady on a ten-day national promotional tour, which was both glamorous and grueling.

Meanwhile Adam was often away working his airline’s transpacific flights, and when he was home his focus was naturally on his lover Chad.  But now that everyone was gathered together for a long weekend at the Grady House there was time for couples to get reacquainted.

The first morning, when Adam sauntered down to the garden, to the brunch that had been set out by the young chefs, he spotted Nate sitting alone nursing a cup of coffee.  “G’day, mate,” Adam said in his deep Aussie drawl.  “Long time no see ... at least long time no speak.  Where’s your buddy Jamie?  I thought you two were joined at the hip these days.”

Nate smiled.  “At work we are, but these days Jamie is fully occupied by his friend Felipe and their new threesome with the cop Mark.  They’re together now.  Where’s Doctor Chad?

He’s in our room on the phone to his hospital, sorting out another emergency as usual.  His hospital makes heavy demands on his time.”

Nate grinned, “But rumor has it that not all of his treatments are so urgent, right mate?”

“Ah, the rumor mill,” Adam laughed.  “Yeah it was quite a session.  Grady came to our room to have Chad check out his sprained ankle.  Chad told him to keep the foot elevated and that was Grady’s cue, and mine, to relieve his other stress – on his ass.  He wound up getting just what he needed – degraded and spit roasted by two hunky lovers.”

Nate laughed, but behind the laugh Adam sensed a certain level of unease.  “So,” he said,” last night I was doin’ the dirty with Chad and Grady, and your pal Jamie was in bed with Mark and Felipe.  Where did that leave you, mate?”

“In bed with Vic and Noah.”

“Oh yeah, how’s it going with those two young blokes?”

“I really love those kids, Adam – so sweet and eager to learn.  They look on me as their big brother, and I kinda like taking them under my wing.”  Nate’s brow clouded. “’Course, the guy they’re still nuts about is cowboy Charlie.  They’re so proud of being his boys, though they see him so rarely.  But he calls them often to check on how they’re doing, see if they need anything.

“Matter of fact, I looked up the rodeo schedule, and next week Charlie will be at the rodeo in Orange County near San Juan Capistrano.  It’s a little over an hour from here, and I plan on taking the boys.  They don’t know yet, I wanna surprise them, but first I have to ask Bob if they can have the time off from the office.”

“Good on ya, mate, brilliant idea. If you want, I’ll have a word with Bob. He’ll say yes to me.”

There followed an uneasy silence as they poured more coffee.  Then Adam spoke up.  “Listen, Nate, I gotta tell you something.  I’m feeling guilty about you ... I’ve been neglecting you.  Like, when you guys all came back from that publicity tour with Grady, there were naturally big reunions – Grady and Mario with Brian – Jamie with his pal Felipe and with Mark.  And when Eddie screened that movie of his, his man Hassan was so proud that he hauled him off to bed and made love to him.

“I was working, but when I got home I went straight to bed with Chad and didn’t even visit you.  I mean, dude, who was there to give you the big welcome?”

Nate smiled weakly.  “Oh, Vic and Noah took care of that.  We spent quite a long time, with them pumping me with questions about the tour.  I think they found it all kinda glamorous.”

“Good for them, dude, but that don’t excuse me.  You and me, mate, we go back a long way, and we love each other.  For the longest time you had me to yourself until Chad came along, and then ...”

He trailed off, uncertain how to continue.  Instead, he reached across the table and squeezed Nate’s hand.  “Hey, it’s getting warm sitting here.  You wanna go for a swim?”

“Sure,” Nate smiled more brightly.  “That’d be great.”

They were already wearing just boardshorts – Adam’s brown with a broad white strip round the butt, Nate in the red lifeguard shorts he wore on movie shoots and almost everywhere else.”

They went to the large pool, grinned at each other and dived in.

<><>    The Start Of A Whole New Love Affair    <><>

They swam competitive laps at first, then ended up splashing around like energetic teenagers.  Their playful laughter helped them relax with each other and recapture those early days when they had been two laidback Aussies getting to know each other and falling in love.

“Dude,” Adam laughed, “you seem really at home in the water, it’s your element – like a duck.”

“Make that a swan, mate, and I’ll agree” Nate laughed.  “Comes from all those long hours I spend with Jamie in the ocean, waiting for the director to set up a scene, waiting for a cloud to pass, waiting for the prefect wave for all the surfing extras to ride.  And then we do it all again, take after take.  It’s all about timing, a lot can go wrong, and it takes a lot of skill.  Jamie is brilliant at that and I gotta say, I’m getting pretty good too.  Some days we spend almost all-day in the water.”

“Well good on ya, mate, you sure outlast me in the water.  My elements are on land and in the air on those endless bloody flights.  So, you wanna even up the playing field kiddo and try dry land for a change?”

“Sure thing.  I wanna explore the grounds they got here.”

“OK, let’s go walkabout, mate.”  The more the two Aussies talked, the more their accents deepened.

Adam watched Nate haul himself out of the pool, muscles flexing, water pouring off his deeply tanned body.  Adam pulled himself out too, grabbed two beer bottles from the outdoor bar, tossed one to Nate, and they set off on their ‘walkabout’.

Adam looked admiringly at Nate striding beside him. “Guess that tan comes from hours on a surfboard under the California sun, eh?  Looks gorgeous.  Come to think of it you’ve developed a damn fine bod, Nate – bigger than you used to be, great definition. You get all that from your athletic job too?”

“That and regular gym workouts.  It’s almost a condition of the job that we keep in shape ‘cos there are frequent shots of us on camera as we’re surfing.”

“Hey,” Adam laughed, “I’d pay good money to see that guy on a screen.”

“You don’t have to, mate.  You got the real thing right next to you, free of charge, in the flesh.” 

“Too right, mate, I do.”

They were both dimly aware of a subtext to all this – flirting? seductive? – maybe.  They were just having a good time together, like the old days.  Adam said, “You’re right about these grounds, Nate.  They’re a beauty.  Did Mario design all this?”

“Yeah, it’s all his.  He was an expert landscape designer back in his Tuscany home, but now almost all his focus is on Grady.  He told me once that he wanted one of the guys here to join him in a landscaping business, even approached me, but I already had my home management business and even that went by the wayside when I started work on Grady’s movie.

“But you’re right, Adam, the grounds are bloody brilliant.  See that thick high hedge over there?  That’s the Secret Garden.  Mark is having a picnic lunch in there with his two boys Jamie and Felipe to work through the complexities of a three-way love affair – what Mark prefers to call his ‘loving little family of three’.  I’ve never been in there but apparently Mario let the garden run wild and they say the atmosphere is kinda magical.”

“And what’s that clump of trees over there?” Adam asked.

“Ah that’s another special place – Mario calls it his grotto.  I don’t know about magical, but it sure has heavy sexual vibes.  A whole lot of couples have got it on in there.”

They gravitated to it naturally, a clearing with soft grass hidden from view by the lush leafy trees that surrounded it.  As they stood in the middle of the clearing Adam said, “Yeah, I see what you mean, mate.  Definitely has a feel to it.  Let’s hang out here for a while.”

They sank down on the grass and lay on their side facing each other, propped up on one elbow, slowly sipping their beer.  Adam lightly traced the neck of his beer bottle down Nate’s throat, down the cleft between his pecs, then teased his nipples with the cold bottle making Nate jolt and giggle.

Adam grinned, “Feels great, don’t it mate, being here with you, just us two?”

“Mmm,” Nate purred.’

Adam took another sip of beer and his brow furrowed.  “How long is it since we made love, you and me?”

“Hm, I don’t keep track of stuff like that, but a long time. I do recall that you were usually on top.”

“So how long since you fucked me, Nate?”

“Oh, even longer ago ... so long I can’t remember.  After all, you were always the man and I was your boy.”

“Yeah, I guess so.  But that was then ... sure don’t seem that way now.  I mean look at you, buff and beautiful, confident, assertive.  You’ve come a long way from your early days as the tribe’s houseboy.  So on that tour, was there any sex?”

“Hell yeah, loads of it, but it had to be all in the secrecy of our hotel suite at the end of the day.  Damn, the days were so stressful we had to let off steam in the evening, especially Grady.  Poor guy, he was knackered, and you know Grady – nothing like sex to take away the tension. Mario fucked him silly, but not only Mario.  We all took a turn.”

“You mean, you fucked Grady?”

“Too right ... a lot.  And he loved it.” 

Adam stared at Nate and grinned seductively.  “Yeah, I bet he did.”

“I fucked the other guys too.  Eddie said it felt like when Hassan reams his ass.”

“Quite a compliment ... you’ve developed into quite the macho top guy.”  Adam reached down inside his shorts to adjust his cock that was pressing hard against his leg.

“What’s up, mate, you getting ready to whack off?”

Adam laughed.  “Not exactly.  But like I said, dude, I’m feeling kinda guilty about neglecting you – no big welcome home.  I’m thinking I should give you a belated welcome-home gift.”

“Are you saying you wanna fuck me, Adam?”

“Not exactly.  But dude, the new macho Nate is really turning me on.  I’m thinking ... how would you like to give my Aussie ass the treatment.”

“You mean, like ... me fuck you?”

“Damn, it’s tough getting through to you, Nate – like pulling teeth.  Of course that’s what I mean.  But if you’re not man enough, and all this musclehunk macho is all just for show ...

Nate suddenly bent his leg, pressed his foot against Adam’s abs and shoved hard, sending him over on his back and the bottle flying out of his hand.

Nate jumped to his feet and stood staring down at the surprised, squared-jawed Aussie.  “Not man enough?!”  Nate flexed his muscles. “This is the real thing, dude, what you see is what you get.  If it’s good enough for Grady and Eddie it’s sure as hell good enough for you.”

Adam’s cock stiffened in his shorts.  The macho dominance was real, not just skin deep. The surfer’s buff body was matched by a forceful voice and tough attitude as he unlaced his shorts, took them off and flung them aside.  He grabbed his cock and grinned.  “Still wet ... that’ll help.”

He leaned down, pulled Adam’s shorts down and tossed them aside too.  “That’s better.  Now I can see what I’m getting – and it looks bloody hot.”  Nate paced around Adam who lay staring up at him.  “Those guys I talked about fucking were great looking, but you are the real deal, mate, a total alpha stud. Grady just plays one in the movies,” Nate chuckled.  

“That welcome-home present you mentioned.  I’ll take it now, thanks ... your ass.  Quite the fantasy – watching a dominant Aussie topman get his ass creamed.  That what you want, stud?”

“Too right, mate – the feel a muscle-jock surfer’s dick in my ass.  Fuck me, man, I want it bad.”

Adam pulled his legs back and when Nate knelt down behind him he pressed his shoulders against the soles of Adam’s feet.  As Nate leaned forward, the legs slid over his shoulders and his cock pressed against his hairy hole.  “I’ve missed you Adam.  I realize now how much.”

“Welcome back, mate,” Adam smiled.  “Open your present ...”

“Yeaahh.”  Adam sighed deeply as he felt Nate’s cock penetrate his ass and slide down his chute until it came to rest deep inside.  Nate bent low and kissed Adam ... their first kiss in a long time.

Nate pulled back and said, “Watch and enjoy, mate.”  He pulled his cock all the way out, then drove it in deep, the start of a long, gentle fuck, making love in a role reversal that thrilled Adam. He stared up at the boy he had all but forgotten, no longer a boy but an athletic young buck. 

Despite his newfound dominance Nate still had that open, mischievous Aussie grin and sparkling brown eyes that Adam had always found so sexy.  But now it was not so much the cheeky grin of a fun-loving boy, but the confident open smile of a self-assured man.”

“Man that feels good. You are so fucking hot, Nate – an older version of everything I loved about you from the first.  Work my ass, dude.  We’ll make long, easy love in this special place.”

Which is exactly what they did, staring at each other, two pairs of smiling brown eyes making love, as Nate made love to the Aussie’s warm ass.  They explored each other’s body with their hands, feeling, stroking, teasing, and kissed each other’s faces – eyes, cheeks and lips.  They were happily lost in this hidden place, on the soft grass, the leafy shade trees rustling in the breeze.

They lost track of time, but eventually Nate reasserted control and smiled.  “About time I finished you off, mate, wrap up the present you gave me.”

“On the understanding that you can unwrap it again any time you like, mate,” Adam grinned.

“Gotta fill it up first though.”  While he fucked harder Nate wrapped his hand round Adam’s cock and stroked it, faster and faster until Adam groaned, “God, you’re beautiful, dude.  I wanna cum and feel you shoot inside me. “

“So let’s do it, mate.  I’m real close ... fuck yeah ... here we go ...”

They laughed together as they both blasted jizz, Nate deep inside the handsome Aussie who spurted semen all over his own heaving body.”

Suddenly the only sound was their panting breath as they smiled at each for long seconds.  Then their laughter began again, Nate fell forward and they rolled over in the soft grass.  To both of them it felt like the start of a whole new love affair.

<><>    Date-Night    <><>

They were roused out of a post-sex snooze by Chad’s voice.  “Well, l it’s about time, you two.”

They woke with a start and instinctively reached for their discarded shorts.  Chad laughed, “No hurry, guys.  Nothing I haven’t seen before, though never quite this sexy.  So who fucked who?”

Adam grinned and pointed his finger down at Nate’s head.  “That would be surfer-jock here.  You have no idea what a topman he makes – fucks like a stallion.”

“Hmm, I’ll remember that,” Chad smiled.  Wearing cargo shorts and a sports shirt hanging open over his chest, the doc sat down cross-legged beside them on the grass.  “Seriously, guys, I’m happy to see that you two got together at last ... way overdue.  With the demands of your jobs you haven’t spent time alone for ages.  You’re big boys now and should be having big fun.

“Too right, doc.  Life has a habit of getting in the way of the important stuff, but we took care of that and plan on doing it a lot more in the future, eh Nate?”

Nate grinned and Chad said, “Matter of fact I’ve been doing some thinking about that.  This weekend up here seems to be all about threesomes – almost a theme of the party, what with Mark, Jamie and Felipe ... and Mario, Grady and young Brian ... and now us three.  Can be a tricky juggling act sometimes.  And we three have let the balance get out of whack lately.

“So you come up with any ideas, doc?”

“Well, maybe one.  Like you said, Adam, work keeps getting in the way.  We tend to let ourselves drift, and you two especially have drifted apart.  So we have to get some kind of program going here.  What you two need is a date-night every week – an evening and night to yourselves where you can do whatever you want ... even more of the same,” Chad grinned kicking at the shorts on the ground.

“It doesn’t have to be the same night each week because of your shifting work schedules, but the important thing is it must happen once a week without fail.  I’ll be quite happy to be on my own with our dog Molly.  Not quite the same as being with you, Adam, but close,” Chad teased.

“I’ve been talking to Bob, and he said he does that with Randy.  They have so many calls on their time running the construction company that their time alone could easily get swamped.  So Bob insists they have at least one evening together, just the two of them.”

“Sounds like a plan, doc,” Adam grinned. “What d’ya say, Nate?”

“I would love it.  Every weekend we could look at the upcoming week and choose a day.  Something to look forward to.”

“Plus ...” Chad said, “we three should spend more time together, and this party is the ideal opportunity.  Nate, you could ask your boys Noah and Vic to join us – a family of five.  I overheard Mark say that’s another theme of this party – families within a family.”

“Great idea, Chad,” Nate said.  “OK, let’s go and scoop the kids up.  They’ll love it.”

<><>   The Plots Thicken    <><>

Adam and Nate put on their shorts at last and as the three men left the clearing they bumped into Mario and Finn, Miguel’s boy.  “Ah, amici, you have been enjoying our grotto.  Everything work out OK?”

“Better than we ever could have expected, mate,” Adam smiled.  “Say, magic seems to be everywhere in this place.”

“Grazie, amico, I like to think so.  Grady and I try hard.”

Chad laughed, “Mario, you and Grady make your own magic and it spreads everywhere.  How’s it going, Finn?”

“Going great sir,” Finn said with a wider smile than they had ever seen on his often-serious face.

“Actually,” Mario smiled, “we are just doing the rounds of the garden, two expert landscapers comparing notes.”

As they parted Chad said, “Why do I sometimes suspect that Mario’s devious mind is planning something, even during the simple act of a walk round the garden.  I know Finn is the tribe’s gardener and landscaper, but ... ah, well, in this crowd everything is soon revealed.”

“Talking of plotting,” Nate said, “I need to ask Bob something – he’s sitting over there drinking coffee with Brandon.  Will you come with me, Adam?”

“You two go plot,” Chad smiled.  “I’ll be over by the pool nursing a Bloody Mary.”

Bob looked up with his usual cheerful smile.  “You two look happy – a glow that I recognize.  Rumor has it you’ve been together in Mario’s grotto.”

“Damn,” Adam chuckled, “word sure gets around fast.”

“Never underestimate the grapevine, Adam.  Come join us.”

As they sat down Nate said, “Bob, I need to ask you a favor – has to do with Vic and Noah.  In a few days their hero, cowboy Charlie will be performing at a rodeo in Orange County, about an hour south of here, and I would like to take Vic and Noah down there to visit with Charlie. I know they would love it, them being Charlie’s boys and all.  But the question is, can they get a couple of days off work?”

“Well, Nate, you should be asking that question of Brandon here, he’s their boss.  What do you think Brandon?”

“Hmm ...” Brandon furrowed his brow.  “Well, sir, the pressure of work in the office is much less than it was the last few weeks when we were cranking up for the construction company expansion.  Those kids put in a lot of overtime, and they deserve a break.”  Brandon smiled, “A couple of days with their cowboy is just what they need. So sure, we could manage that.”

“Thanks a bunch, Brandon,” Nate grinned, “I owe you one, mate. I’ll go break the news to them.”

Nate ran off and Adam smiled at Bob.  “Nate brought me along for added support.  Thought you might be more inclined to say yes to me.”

“And you see,” Bob chuckled, “the boys worked it out for themselves.  I always believe in leaving it to them.  I have a feeling I shouldn’t be calling Nate your boy, though.  I suspect you two came up with something rather more mature in the grotto over there.”

“Too right, mate.  You and Randy should give the grotto a try sometime.”

“Way ahead of you, Adam.  Been there, done that.  But you have reminded me that I should lure the big gypsy in there before the weekend is over.”

Adam saw that Nate was coming back from the bar with Vic and Noah, all carrying what looked like Bloody Marys, Nate carrying two, one for Adam.  They sat at the table with Chad, who smiled at the youngsters.  “Vic, Noah, I want to say something to you that one of us should have said before now.  Welcome to the family, guys.”

Their faces lit up and they looked at Nate, who said, “It’s my fault, kids.  See, when Adam and Chad set up home together we automatically became a family of three – even more so after my visit to the grotto just now.  But when I became you guys’ big brother we became a family of five – six if you count Molly ...”

“Which we do,” added Chad, the devout dog lover.

“You being in the family was kinda understood but never stated.  Well, Chad just stated it, so it’s official.”

Their eyes sparkled as they said in unison, “Thank you, sirs.”  Vic asked, “But, er, can we go on living in our apartment over the office that we like so much?”

“Of course,” Nate laughed.  “Being a family don’t mean we have to live in the same house or crowd into the same bed.  No, you’ll have your own freedom as you always have.  Oh, and one other little item of news. I’ve had a word with Brandon who’s giving you two days off next week.”

“Er, days off?” Noah asked, puzzled.

“Yeah, so I can take you down to the Orange County rodeo for a two-day visit with Cowboy Charlie.”

Their whoops of delight made heads turn in the crowd, not least Grady’s, sitting by the pool with Brian. “Hey, what’s that all about, kiddo? You taking notes? Sounds like primo gossip to me.”

“Don’t worry, sir, I’ll get the scoop from Brandon.  I got my notebook right here.”  He wheeled himself over to Bob, Brandon and the new five-member family (six if you count Molly, which they always did).

“Ah,” Bob smiled, “Grady sent you to take notes, eh Brian?”  Then he watched in amusement as Brandon earnestly gave all the details to his boyfriend while Brian scribbled eagerly in his book.

When at last they finished, Bob smiled, “There’s so much material, Brian, that you and Grady will be trading gossip late into the night.  And there’s more to come.  Here’s a tip.  Have you noticed that Mario and Finn were gone a long time walking all through the garden? Finn just got back and told his man Miguel that Mario would like a little chat with him in his room.  Something big going down there, so stay tuned, kiddo.”

“Thanks for the tip, sir.  I’ll go back and tell Grady what you said.  Together we can often work out what’s happening.  Gossip guessing is Grady’s favorite game.”

He hurried back to Grady who asked, “So what gives, kiddo?  Spill.”

Brian’s eyes opened wide.  “Sir, you...will...not...believe ...”

<><>    Mixed-up Metaphors    <><>

Mario was wearing loose-fitting beige linen lounge pants, his usual slider sandals, and a white linen shirt unbuttoned halfway down his chest.  As Grady always said – “what the classy European man wears when lounging at home – and it helps if he’s gorgeous.”

He was sitting on a couch in his bedroom, with plans and photos spread out on the coffee table before him, plus a bottle of Pino Grigio and two wine glasses.  There was a knock at the door. “Come in ... Ah, Miguel, benvenuto, amico.  Come and sit with me and have a glass of wine.

The handsome, hunky Hispanic was barefoot in blue board shorts and one of his favorite Hawaiian shirts hanging loose over his chest.  Mario felt an involuntary stirring of his cock in his loose pants. But he banished that from his mind and smiled, “Mi scusi for dragging you away from the party, Miguel, but I had something rather important to ask you – about your boy Finn.”

“And all these landscape designs and photos?” Miguel smiled.

“I see you are quick to put two and two together, mi amico.  You no doubt saw Finn and me walking around the garden ...”

“... deep in conversation,” Miguel smiled.  “And when he came back his face was shining with pure joy.”

“And that, Miguel, is because he loves gardens and everything that goes into designing and creating them. “I will as you say, er, cut to the case?”

“The chase,” Miguel smiled, “cut to the chase.”

“Grazie, amico, I try so hard with my English idioms.  I so want to be like the other guys here, just as Grady does.”

Miguel laughed, “Mario, you will never be like the other guys here.  Look at you, a European classic, you should be on the cover of Esquire.  Nor will Grady ever be totally like the other guys, and he’s already on all the magazine covers.”

Mario sighed.  “Si, è vero ... ah well, as the French say, ‘vive la difference’.  OK, so let us get down to brass tracks.”

“Tacks ...”

“Yes, brass tacks.  Oh, I should stop trying, and just limit myself to plain English.”

“We could try my language – Spanish.”

“Oh no, my Spanish is even worse than my English.  Linguistically I am a basket ... er ...”

“Basket case?”

Mario laughed.  “I give up.  Miguel, maybe you should go out and come back in, and we’ll begin again – no idioms, no metaphors, just straight talk.”

“Mario, you’re adorable.”  Miguel leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.  “As well as drop-dead gorgeous.  Not a basket case in sight.”

“Miguel, you have only succeeded in giving me a boner ... see my sex slang is perfect.  Oh dear, I have gone so far off the beaten track I almost forget why I asked you to come here.  Ah, yes, Finn, your handsome young friend and expert gardener.

“There, I’m back on track.  I know that Finn is currently the gardener at the compound but he is so much more than that, Miguel.  He’s not only a talented landscaper, he absolutely loves gardening – and that’s essential.  Landscaping is two parts talent and three parts love.

“Miguel, maybe you don’t know this but back in my hometown in Tuscany I had a degree in horticulture and was becoming quite a successful landscape designer.  When I came here, that was my goal, to have my own landscaping company.  Well, all that faded away when I became Grady’s lover and got immersed in his career, which absorbs much of my time.

However, when Grady is working I do have most of my day to myself and I have been thinking I could revive my plan of having my own company – if I had a partner who was as passionate about gardens as I.  And Miguel, I believe I have found that man.”

“You mean Finn?  You want Finn to be your partner?”

“In a word, yes.  I know there’s a lot to think about, but ...”

“No there isn’t, Mario.  My gut reaction is yes.  You see, I have been worried for some time that Finn is not living up to his potential.  Currently he is co-gardener and housekeeper with his pal Tyler.  But he thinks of himself as a houseboy.”

“Horrible word,” Mario said.  “Grady and I long ago stopped calling Brian that, he’s so much more than a house-cleaner.  Between you and me, Bob wants to turn over the cleaning to a janitorial service and free up both Finn and Tyler for better things.  He’s already spoken to Pablo about moving his boy Tyler up in the world.”

“Well I know for sure Finn hates being seen as a houseboy,” Miguel said.  “He’s started calling himself a landscape gardener.”

“So let’s make it official,” Mario smiled.  “Let’s get Finn up here right now.”

Miguel walked to the open window and saw Finn down in the garden with his buddies.  Miguel put his fingers in his mouth and blasted a piercing whistle.  “Hey Finn,” he shouted.  “Get your ass up here, dude.  Mario’s room.”

A minute later Finn came in to find two men looking very pleased with themselves.  Finn had a fleeting impression that the handsome Italian and hunky Hispanic looked good together, a good fit, but then concentrated on what Mario had to say – basically what he had explained to Miguel.

“Finn, I was impressed by the original ideas you had when we were inspecting the grounds just now.  Most of them even I had never thought of.  So, the upshot of all this is that I would like you to consider becoming my partner in a landscaping business.  I’ll ask Bob to set up the company – small at first, just you and me taking care of the compound garden and Grady-House grounds, plus other gardens like Adam and Chad’s.  And over time it would grow from there. What do you think, Finn?”

“Wow!  Wow!”  Finn threw his arms round Mario, then hugged and kissed Miguel. “This is epic.  Just the kind of thing I’ve always wanted. Wow, my mind is racing.” 

He looked at Miguel and frowned. “Sir, I know I’ve often been difficult ...quite a handful as they say.  Some of that comes from having been a street hustler ... you know the old saying, ‘you can take the boy off the streets but can’t take the streets out of the boy’.  But you were tough, sir, didn’t let me get away with any of my shit.  Just the topman I needed.  

“Well sir, those days are over.  I promise I’ll work real hard at this, make you and Mario proud of me.  “We’ll make a success of this, ‘cos I’ll be doing something I really love.”

“I know you will, dude, ‘cos I love you.”

Mario added, “You are so talented, Finn I too am sure you will ... what’s that wonderful phrase you have here ... ‘cut the custard’?’

“Mustard, dude ... cut the mustard,” Miguel laughed.  “OK, so let’s drink to your new venture.  Mario filled a wineglass for Finn and they all raised their glasses in a toast.  Miguel said, “To Mario and Finn, landscapers.”  They drained their glasses, then Mario opened another bottle.

They drank and chatted for a while, Mario and Miguel listening to Finn’s eager rush of ideas. The wine loosened Miguel up and he found himself gazing at the handsome Italian, at his dark Mediterranean looks, and his perfect body that his loose clothes couldn’t hide – including the bulge in his pants.

The hungry gazes that passed between Mario and Miguel were not lost on Finn either.  Miguel said, “We owe you a lot, Mario, this represents a big change for us.  I wish I could think of a way to thank you properly.

“I can, sir.  I know a way.”  Finn impulsively jumped to his feet and both Miguel and Mario saw a newly confident young man, flush with the confidence that went with his new status. It was as if he were already taking charge, though what followed was not exactly included in his new job description. “I know how you can thank Mario, sir, and I think you both know it too.  It’s obvious.

“Mario, I’m gonna ask you something impertinent and you can shut me up if you like.  Everyone knows you fuck Grady most of the time, but don’t you sometimes want it the other way round?”

Miguel protested, “Dude, that’s a little bit personal, don’t ya think?”

“No Miguel it’s fine,” Mario smiled.  “I want my new partner to be assertive.  It will be useful dealing with our difficult suppliers, amico.  As it happens you’re right, Finn, there are times when I would like to submit to certain men.  It does happen sometimes, with a guy like Randy, for instance, but Randy fucks everyone, of course.  There are men I have never made love to, though, and it’s not for lack of desire.”

“Oh come on, guys,” Finn laughed, “stop pussyfooting around.  We all know what we’re talking about here – do I have to draw you a picture?  I just wanna watch my man and my partner fuck.”

“That’s my boy,” Miguel grinned.  “Always speaks his mind bluntly.  Calls a spade a spade and a fuck a fuck.  We better start listening to him, Mario.  I’m game if you are.”

Mario laughed.  “I am what I think is called fair game, Miguel.  Did I get the right word this time?”

“Dead right, buddy.  Bullseye!”

<><>    Happy As A Clam    <><>

Finn stepped back and watched as his man and his new partner stood up and faced each other. 

Miguel shrugged off his Hawaiian shirt while Mario undid the last few buttons of his fine white shirt and let it fall to the ground. He kicked off his slider sandals and untied the strings of his loose linen pants.  Without taking their eyes off each other they moved almost in sync, though the Italian’s movements were more graceful than the rugged Hispanic’s.

Miguel pushed down his boardshorts, while Mario’s pants dropped to the floor and he stepped elegantly out of them.  Naked now, they stood motionless and gazed at each other, a contrast of Mario’s charm and Miguel’s virility.  

For Mario it was like seeing Miguel for the first time, in all his naked glory – a swarthy, sexy muscle-god, a man’s man, ruggedly handsome with chiseled Hispanic features, heavily-stubbled square jaw, thick black hair and penetrating dark eyes.  Mario breathed “Bellissimo.”

Miguel was mesmerized by the man from Italy with his handsome Mediterranean looks – tousled black hair, the dark chiseled features of his native Tuscany, laughing brown eyes and seductive, smooth, naturally muscular body.

They reached forward and stroked each other’s chest, Mario feeling Miguel’s solid, bulging pecs, Miguel running his fingers down Mario’s long, elegant waist and washboard abs, then reaching round him and squeezing his butt.

Then they kissed, tenderly at first but with mounting passion.  As they kissed Miguel pushed against Mario, chest to chest, forcing him to step backwards toward the bed until they fell on it, still in each other’s arms, still kissing.

They laughed as they rolled over and over, kissing, licking, nibbling, as their desire deepened.  Finn was thrilled watching the two handsome men, his men, making passionate love.  He pulled out his raging cock and stroked it, careful not to cum until he saw them climax.

The feverish activity on the bed slowed at last, with Mario on his back, Miguel kneeling over him pinning his wrists to the bed.  Miguel panted, “Happy, Mario?”

“Happy as a clamp, amico.”

“Clam ... happy as a clam.”

“Whatever you say, Miguel.  You’re in charge.”

“Damn right, I am.  You’re at my mercy, you gorgeous Italian stud.  And now I’m gonna make love to your ass.”

He pulled back up on his knees, spat in his palm and lubed his long steely cock. Mario, his hands now freed, hooked them behind his knees and pulled his legs back, as Grady had done so many times for him.  Miguel leaned forward between his legs, bent down and their mouths again pressed together.  As they kissed Mario felt the head of Miguel’s cock press against his ass and slide gently, endlessly, deep inside him.

“Mmm,” Mario moaned, but the sound was muffled by Miguel’s mouth churning against his, and he surrendered totally to the muscled Hispanic stifling his mouth and drilling his ass.

Finn was enraptured by the sight of the two gorgeous men making love, one dominating the other.  Finn felt different too.  He was no longer the troubled, troublesome boy of Miguel.  He felt he had finally shed the tawdry self-image of street hustler and rent-boy.  All the fear, toughness and fake macho of the streets were in the past. 

This new sense of his own virility was real, a reaction not to threats on the streets, but to his newfound self-worth, soon to be a partner in a company doing work he loved, working with a terrific man who at this moment was getting butt-fucked by the man who loved Finn, and whom Finn loved intensely.  It don’t get much better than this, he grinned to himself.

Except that it was about to get a little better – the icing on the cake as Mario would say (if only he could get his metaphors right). 

“Hey Finn!”  He was shaken out of his reverie by Miguel’s deep commanding voice.  “This here man is you partner, and partners have to help each other when they’re in trouble.  And this guy is in trouble.  See, I won’t spill my load in his ass until he shoots his own.  But I won’t let him touch his dick.  Think you can come to his rescue?”

“Sure,” Finn grinned.  “I’m the best guy to have around when there’s trouble – especially this kind of trouble.”  He knelt on the floor by the bed and smiled down at Mario.  “Howdy, pardner.  What can I do for you?”

“I need your help Finn.  Your man is driving me crazy and I’m so close.  Can you help?”

“Like I said, pardner, I’m the best man you can find for this little job.”  He shuffled sideways on his knees until he was level with Mario’s cock, already rock-hard and oozing pre-cum as Miguel fucked him. “Don’t worry, dude, I’ve been trained by the best – my pal Eddie.”

Finn leaned down, opened his mouth wide, lowered it all the way down Mario’s rigid cock and clamped his throat muscles hard round it.  Miguel growled, “That’s it, do it stud.  The guy is so fucking gorgeous and I’m so close.  Get him off, man ...”

It took only seconds before Mario’s body shook, he stared wildly up at Miguel’s magnificent body flexing above him, and “Aaaghhh ...”  They howled in unison as their cocks erupted, Mario’s in Finn’s mouth, Miguel’s in the Italian stud’s ass.

Finn leapt to his feet, grinned at Miguel and held out his hand.  “Put it there, man.”  Miguel grabbed it in a crushing handshake, then pulled him close in a hungry kiss, sucking Mario’s spilled juice into his own mouth.

Finn broke away and looked down at the dazed Mario.  “Don’t they usually pop champagne over a new partnership?  I think we can do better than that.  Here’s to a prosperous future, dude.”  Finn stroked his cock a couple of times until it blasted streams of juice that splashed down on the handsome face and heaving chest.”

“Perfect,” Miguel said, smiling down at the cum-splashed face.  “Now that my man is your partner, Mario, I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”

Whenever you like, amico.   I’ll be waiting with basted breath.” 

Miguel and Finn erupted in peals of laughter, and Mario grinned, “What?   What ...?”

<><>    Young Tyler Gets An Offer    <><>

A short time later, showered and dressed, they emerged from the house, Miguel in the middle, his arms draped over Finn on one side, Mario on the other.  Mario was softly rehearsing to himself, “Bated ... bated breath.”

They were greeted with cheers, as befits men coming out of the house glowing as brightly as these three.  Besides, their lusty howls had echoed from one end of the grounds to the other.

Mario went to join Grady, who was grinning expectantly, and Brian who had whipped out his gossip notebook, pen poised.  Miguel joined his lover Zack, who was sitting with Randy, Bob and Randy’s adopted son Pablo.

Finn peeled off to go sit by the pool with his pal and workmate Tyler.  Just now, after their shower, Finn had confided to Miguel and Mario his unease about Tyler.  They had always worked together as a team.  They were co-house managers, which included the compound’s building and grounds.  From time to time they made love in the garden on their break, and Finn felt protective of Tyler, who was more reserved than the assertive Finn.

Now, as Bob and Miguel looked across at them, Finn and Tyler appeared to be in earnest conversation.  “Oh dear, look at them,” Bob said.  “Finn’s no doubt giving Tyler the news, and judging by Tyler’s anxious expression and body language, he’s wondering where all this leaves him.  He’s always so dependent on Finn’s company.”

Miguel said, “So Pablo, as Tyler’s man, his hero actually, what’s your take on this?”

“OK, guys, so there’s this thing I’ve been toying with for some time.  Randy, you know my assistant mechanic Ben and me have been setting up that central mechanic’s workshop where us two and our crew will handle the heavy equipment repairs for all your construction sites.  It will include a warehouse with all our supplies so we don’t have to wait for parts from vendors.

“It’s a big undertaking and I’ll need a manager to control inventory, organize the warehouse and coordinate the budget with your office, Bob.  No heavy lifting, more like counting the nuts and bolts than screwing them in.”

“And you’re thinking of your boy Tyler,” Randy said.  “Good move, Pablo.  I always prefer to keep key positions in the family.  What d’ya think, Bob?”

“It’s a great idea.  Except, you know you’re not that easy to work for, Pablo.”

Randy stiffened but Bob didn’t back down.  “It’s true Randy.  You’re no picnic either, with your rages, and Pablo copies you in everything.”

Pablo took it in stride.  “You’re right, Bob.  But this is my kid Tyler here, I love and protect him.  If I come down too heavy on him you guys would come down on me like a ton of bricks.  Only thing is, Bob, if I take Tyler from you, who’s gonna clean and manage the compound?”

“Yeah,” Randy grinned, “I guess you’ve got a master plan for that too, Bob.”

“As a matter of fact I do, Randy.  I don’t want any of our boys to think of themselves as houseboys – they’ve all grown out of that.  I won’t go into details here, but in general terms I’m thinking of asking Brandon to put his staff Vic and Noah in charge of all household affairs. They can contract out the actual cleaning to a janitorial service and manage the central supplies store we’re planning.  I’ll take care of all that later.”

Bob smiled at Randy.  “And don’t look at me like that, Randy.  I know that horny look, when you think I’ve taken charge, become uppity and need to be taken down a peg.”

“Damn straight,” Randy grinned salaciously.  “What about this date-night thing Doc Chad was talking about?  Me and you could have one right now.”

“Randy, a date night is more than just dragging me off to the Bat Cave and pounding ass.  It generally involves dinner at a restaurant, a movie maybe, and making love at the end.”

“OK, what say we do it in reverse – kick off with the fuck part, keep the other stuff for later?”

Everyone laughed and Bob said archly, “Randy, I’m not going to dignify that question with a reply.”  He waved at Finn and Tyler. “Hey guys, come join us over here.”  They came and sat down, with Tyler looking confused and uneasy.

“OK, Pablo,” Bob said, “it’s your show.”

Pablo reached across the table and rested his hands on Tyler’s.  His usually gruff assertive tone softened as he said, “Kid, Finn’s probably been telling you his good news eh?”

“Yes sir, and I’m very happy for him.  Er, but I was wondering, er ...”

“... wondering what happens to you? Only natural.  So how would you like to come and work for me, kiddo?”

Tyler gave a puzzled frown.  “Excuse me, sir?”

Pablo smiled his most winning crooked smile.  “I said, how about leaving your job at the house and coming to work with me?  How about it, kiddo?”

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 

TO BE CONTINUED in “A Trial Of Strength” – Book 13: Chapter 4