Sunday Morning, Keys, and an Offer
Everyone slept in Michael’s cabin that night.
After they all went to bed, I folded their clothes, cleared away the cups and bottles and then curled up on the couch. It felt like I’d witnessed something profound, and I was happy for the time alone to process it. I drifted off to sleep on the couch in front of the fireplace as the last embers died down.
It was the last morning. Michael had given me instructions at the start of the weekend as to what needed to be done before everyone left. The fresh mountain air was crisp even as the hint of the afternoon heat crept in.
I cleaned each of the guest cabins and packed the bags for Kyle, Jeff and Damien and Dylan. Then I set each of the bags in front of the doors. I brought toiletries and fresh clothes up to the main cabin. After that was done, I started breakfast. Predictably, the coffee and smell of food got everyone out of bed.
Damien and Dylan were first up, neither bothered to put on clothes. They walked out the back door heading to the lake, hand-in-hand.
The others filtered into the small kitchen one by one.
Jeff looked a little sheepish as he exited Michael’s bedroom wearing a pair of Michael’s shorts. But he was upbeat, giving a hearty goood morning to Kyle.
“How’s your ass this morning buddy?”
“Feeling good,” Jeff responded brightly.
“It might be a long drive home,” Kyle continued as he poured a cup of coffee and grabbed a plate of bacon and eggs. “Yesterday was a big day for you. Was that your first time fucking a guy?”
“Yeah.”
“Felt pretty good, right?”
“Not as good as fucking my wife but, yeah, it felt good.” He looked at me for the first time.
“I know that was your first time on the other end,” Kyle laughed.
Michael wandered into the kitchen next. He gave a disapproving look at the shorts Jeff wore.
“Oh sorry. I didn’t think you’d mind.”
“I don’t mind you borrowing clothes, but everyone else is naked. Take them off.”
Jeff paused, his smile frozen on his face. Kyle smirked.
“Yeah okay, right, of course…” Jeff pulled them off and threw them at me. Kyle whistled at him when he bent over.
“Okay knock it off.”
At that moment Damien and Dylan came back from the lake. “God it is so beautiful up here. This was great Michael. Thanks again for having us up.”
“You’re always welcome.”
“Are we doing the contest?” Damien asked looking at Michael and then at Jeff.
“I haven’t had a chance to propose it yet, but that’s the plan.”
“Well, Steve will participate.”
I hadn’t heard anything about a contest.
“What’s this?” Jeff asked.
“It’s a test to see if you’re ready to be a true Master—think of it like a final exam. Are you interested.”
“I think I’ve had enough dick and ass for one weekend.”
“It’s not about that,” Michael said with a quick glance at Damien. “It’s a contest of wits and will.”
Damien stepped closer to me, “I’ve never forced him to do anything, so why does he do what I tell him to do?”
“I don’t know. I guess because he’s fucked up.”
Damien laughed at that. “You may be right about that but why did he decide to serve me?”
Jeff stood for a moment. He glanced at me wearing a cock cage and hiking boots, then shook his head.
“Sure, the slave has to be willing first but something in him reacts to a true Master.”
“So, what does that have to do with a contest?”
“We believe you have that same ability,” Michael continued. “We want to test our theory. Are you up for the challenge?”
“I have to get back home and I don’t want to get caught in traffic.”
“The commute is the other direction and besides this won’t take long.”
Jeff looked at everyone’s faces. “Are Kyle and Dylan doing it too?”
“No offense, Kyle, but I’m guessing you don’t want to be a Master,” Michael said.
“Too much work for me.” Kyle confirmed, stuffing his face with a fresh biscuit.
“And I have enough work just helping keep Damien’s property entertained.” Dylan grabbed a plate and joined Kyle at the kitchen table.
“No, this is for you.”
Jeff shifted his weight from side to side.
“You trusted me last night but what we did then won’t really have any meaning if we’re wrong about you.”
“What do I have to do?”
“Dressed, you have power over him. The test is to see if you can control him without the advantage.”
“I don’t know.”
“It’ll probably help if he understands the context.” Damien said. When Michael nodded, he continued, “Michael wants to start a sort of men’s retreat program. Helping men like you to find who they are. Their inner stallion, right Michael?”
“Exactly. I feel like I see it in you, but it would help me to know for sure.”
“What if I can’t? What happens?”
“Nothing. Life continues as it has always been. But it is a competition so of course there has to be stakes.”
“Like what?” I felt Jeff’s eyes on me.
“Steve, if you win, what do you want?”
“I want to mount him,” I said immediately.
Kyle whistled. Dylan and Damien stifled a laugh.
Jeff’s face reddened.
“Sounds like he wants to show his dominance.”
“Fuck it. Alright. I’ll do it. But if I win—he’s drinking my piss and then licking my balls.”
Michael smirked. Jeff looked like he wanted to swallow the words back down, but it was too late.
We separated long enough for everyone to shower and dress then we jumped in Michael’s Land Rover to go to the contest site. To my surprise, he drove down the hill past the tree line to the field that was in plain view of the highway.
When we got out of the SUV, Michael waited. Jeff looked at him expectant then realized what Michael was waiting for. He unbuttoned his shirt and put it on the back seat. He was wearing jeans so he had to take off his shoes before he could get his pants off. Michael, Damien, Dylan and Kyle watched without comment.
“With a little training, he’d be a top-notch stallion,” Michael said.
“Yeah. Strong legs. Well proportioned.” Damien added.
“Hey, I’m right here guys.”
Michael showed Jeff a cock cage like the one I wore.
“I’m not putting that on.”
“This is important. Don’t rely on your cock, rely on your will.”
Jeff reached for the cage in Michael’s hand, but Michael held onto it.
Jeff let go of the cage, dropping his hands to his sides. Michael stepped close to him and placed the ring under Jeff’s balls. Jeff’s cock began to lengthen at Michael’s touch. Michael fit the cage over his cock.
Once the cage was in place, Michael produced a lock from his pocket and slipped it in place. He snapped it shut with a click.
“The rules are simple. You’ll both be blindfolded. Your keys will be hidden in the grass.” Jeff started to protest. “But,” Michael cut him off, “each will see where the other’s key is hidden. In other words, Steve will know where Jeff’s key is and Jeff will know where Steve’s is.”
“So what? I have to convince him to give me my key?”
“Yes. But that’s not all. As you can see, we’re still on my land but in about 20 minutes, the commuters are going to clog that road. You’ll be in plain sight. If that happens, the contest ends, and you both lose. If that happens, we’ll go back to camp and you’ll earn your keys back. I don’t know how, but it’ll definitely make you late getting home.”
Jeff nodded.
“Ready?”
Damien placed the blindfold over Jeff’s eyes and turned him the other way to make sure he couldn’t see where his key was hidden. Dylan took the key and walked into the tall grass maybe 10 feet from us. He showed me a stone then kneeled, placing the key underneath. When he came out, he deliberately walked in circles making it impossible to trace his route. Then it was my turn.
I heard movement in the grass, then Michael’s voice as they pulled off my blindfold.
“Your job is to convince Steve to help you using nothing but your words.”
“This isn’t fair, he doesn’t care about winning.”
“Maybe. The trick is to figure out what he does care about.”
Jeff had been such an ass to me since the hike. I wanted him to lose. All I had to do was hold out until Michael called it. Whatever Michael had planned, it’d be worse for Jeff.
I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at Jeff.
“Hey, come on boss. Help a guy out.”
“You’re going to have to do better than that.” Damien noted.
“Look, I’m sorry I’ve been a dick. But I thought that was what you wanted.”
“You didn’t have to…” I started.
“I didn’t have to what?”
“Be cruel. I know it…I know you don’t understand,” I looked at Damien trying to remember his defense of me yesterday. “But this is just my thing.”
“You’re right. You want to be their property, that’s cool.”
I smirked. “I’m kinky, not stupid. I know what you’re trying to do.”
“Look,” Jeff walked away from the shield of the car in full view of the road. “I’m out here naked. Just tell me where to look.” He was watching where my eyes went. When that didn’t work, he tried a new angle.
“I’ll tell you what, you tell me the general area where it’s at and I’ll tell you the general area for yours and then we both search. Sound fair?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Do you think that’s what he wants, Jeff? A fair fight?” Michael asked. Then he looked at his watch, “We have less than 10 minutes.”
I didn’t move. “Where’s mine?”
“You tell me first.”
“You don’t trust me?”
“I’m the one standing out here in front of god and everybody.”
I walked out next to him, leveling the playing field once again. I wasn’t sure I wanted to win, or if I won, what that would mean. A single car passed on the road below. It was moving too fast to notice us—this time.
“It’s starting,” Michael warned. “Five minutes.”
Jeff lowered his voice so the others couldn’t hear. “If you help me now, I’ll treat you like the others.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that I’ll start using you. As my slave. Even after this weekend.”
I studied his face. “You’ll have to ask Damien’s permission. I’m his property.”
“Okay, yeah, I can do that.”
“I mean now. Tell him that you promised to use me and ask Damien if he’ll agree to give you the same privileges as the others.”
“Three minutes.”
Engines rumbled in the distance. The commute was upon us. “Damien.”
“Yeah.”
“Steve wants me to have the same privileges as the others, that cool with you.”
All eyes were on Damien. He seemed pleased. A slight smile at the corners of his lips. “Jeff, having a slave as needy as Steve takes effort. You sure you want that? You’ll have to help with his training and exercise.”
“Here they come…” Michael held his hand aloft like it was a checkered flag at a car race.
“Yes. Yes. I agree.”
“Steve, you’ll take orders from Jeff as though they came from me.”
“Good enough?”
“I’m hearing horns!” Kyle piped up.
“I want to lick your ass.” I demanded awkwardly, using the last shred of leverage I had.
“Yes, okay. Where’s the key?”
I was standing on the rock Dylan had shown us. I bent over and plucked the key from beneath the rock, placing it on the palm of my hand. I offered it to Jeff.
Jeff ran back to the shelter of the SUV and unlocked his cage.
“Where’s my key?” The noise from the highway grew louder.
Damien held it up, “I have it, I’ve always had it.”
We rode back up the hill while Dylan and Kyle congratulated Jeff on his Mastery.
“Which first—have him lick your balls, then piss in his mouth?” Kyle asked.
Jeff smirked, pretending to weigh it. “Nah. I think I’ll watch him drink my piss first, then feel his tongue on my balls. Hand me that water.” He chugged the bottle in two long gulps, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand like he was on a job site.
The second we stepped out of the car, he claimed his prize. “On your knees, slave.”
His cock rested heavy on my tongue. The stream came slow, deliberate. He watched my throat work with every swallow, making sure the others saw me drink it down.
When he finished, he shifted forward, pressing his weight on me. I licked his balls while he grinned at the crowd. Then he bent lower, making a show of it. “Go on,” he muttered. “Claim your prize.”
I spread my tongue lower, burying my face where he told me—claiming the prize I’d demanded back in the field. The others cheered like it was a victory lap.
Jeff, playing to his audience, leaned back and let out a loud fart, grinning as the three of them broke up laughing. The stench hit me first. The laughter second. I swallowed both. Kyle and Dylan slapped Jeff’s ass like he’d just scored the winning touchdown.
Michael stepped forward, putting his arm around Jeff. Dylan and Kyle settled down.
“This wasn’t about piss or balls. What you did was convince a man to put your needs above his own. You found the key that mattered. The key that made this man tick. I watched his face, he was dead set against you, against complying. That’s mastery.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“It’s not a guess. What did you realize? It’s important.”
“I thought about what he wanted and realized he probably wanted permission to be my slave. So, I gave it to him.”
“Perfect. That’s a true stallion.”
Jeff nodded. He still held his cage in his hand. He handed it back to Michael. “I’ll never forget this weekend. I know who I am now. Thank you.”
As Jeff dressed, I loaded his bags into his car. The others chatted absently. Finally, Jeff stepped into his car without even a glance in my direction and drove off.
“Thanks again. I should get going too.” Kyle said. “This was wild, man. Don’t get me wrong, you guys can keep the deep stuff. I’m just here for the fun.” He laughed and leaned in for a bro-hug before jumping into his car and heading off.
“Kyle’s gonna Kyle” Dylan said, shaking his head.
“Yeah. He never changes.” Damien agreed.
“Oh, I don’t know. I think he may have more depth than you give him credit for.”
“We’re gonna head out too.” Damien said as Michael turned. I began packing our bags into the car.
“I know. But let’s talk first.” Michael walked backward toward his cabin. “All of us.”
Dylan and I looked at Damien. He sighed, “You heard the man. Let’s go.”
When we got inside, Michael was in his office behind a massive hardwood desk. “Sit down, please.” He gestured to the chairs. “You too,” he said looking at me. “I have an idea I want your thoughts on.”
We sat.
“I think there are more men like Steve and Jeff. I think there’s more of them than us.”
Steve and Jeff, what did he mean by that? Were they grooming Jeff to be a slave?
“You’re probably right,” Damien looked at me as he spoke.
“You, better than anyone, know I am. You saw what Jeff was, that’s why he was here this weekend.”
“I had my suspicions,” Damien crossed his legs and sat back in his chair.
“You had more than suspicions. You work with Jeff. A miscalculation could have ended your job or, from what my lawyers tell me, Steve’s company. But you invited him anyway.”
“Your lawyers? You’ve been doing research.” It wasn’t a question.
“Yes. I asked for a report after that night at the party weeks ago. You had an eye, and I wanted to find out what made you tick.”
“Michael, I like you but I gotta tell you, this is starting to feel a little weird.”
“Sorry, I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable so let me get to the point. I want to buy Steve.”
Damien laughed. “Look, I treat him like property and,” he turned to me “yes, he wants that. But it’s just role playing. I can’t sell him.”
“I know that.” Michael said coming around to the other side of his desk. “But we all know that Steve is yours. Without your permission, there’s nothing I can offer him.”
“What makes you think I’d give him up?”
I smiled. There was no way Damien would let me go. I was a part of him.
“Because you’re tired.”
Damien’s face dropped at the truth of Michael’s words. I felt an ache begin in my chest.
“Look,” Michael continued, “just because you’re good at reading others doesn’t mean you have the perfect poker face. Owning someone, body and soul, is a lot. You said it yourself not 30 minutes ago. Yes, he will do anything for you but that’s because he needs you. It’s time to tell him what you need. Tell him to let you go.”
He was offering to take Damien’s burden. Damien leaned forward and put his head in his hands.
My world crumbled. Tears welled up in my eyes spilling down my face.
“I’ll take care of him. And you can move on. Everyone wins. Hell, if my idea works, I’d have a job for you one day. Maybe soon.”
“If he’s training more,” Dylan kneeled next to Damien’s chair to comfort him. “We can get another one when you’re ready.”
“Can you shut up?” Damien asked, not unkindly.
Damien’s face was wet too. Not just sadness, I realized—relief.
“Thank you, Steve. Thank you for trusting me with who you really are. But…”
The chasm in my chest split wider. I couldn’t breathe.
“…this is the end of our road together.” Turning to Michael, “You’ll take care of him?”
“He’ll be fine.” Michael assured him. Damien patted my head and rubbed my back. Then Dylan took his hand.
“Don’t go yet,” Michael walked between Damien and me. “I’d like you to stay for this next part. I think he’ll need you here.”
“Okay.”
He kneeled down, “Steve, look at me. How would you like to never have to make another decision?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m very rich. I have lawyers, MBAs, CPAs—even PhDs. They’ve looked at your business and your properties and they can liquidate it all in a way that makes sure everyone is taken care of. The proceeds will be put in a trust that you can access if you ever decide to leave.”
“What are you asking me?”
“I want to train men, like you. Men that want to be slaves to other men. I can do it without you, but you’re unique. A model slave. Help me. And in exchange, I’ll take care of you.”
He stood. I looked at Damien.
“This decision has to be yours.”
“He’s right, but it can also be the last decision you ever make. You don’t have to decide now. If this isn’t what you want, I will take you back to the city, back to your old life, whenever you’re ready.”
I had a choice, but the only choice I wanted was Damien. And that wasn’t on offer.
I heard their goodbyes in the hallway, the scrape of shoes on the porch, then the sound of our car—their car—pulling down the gravel drive.
Alone at last, I sat frozen. What would I do next?
Thank you all for taking this very personal journey with me. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have.
I'm considering continuing Steve's adventure to a second novella/book. I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
--Silas
