New Year's Eve is Not Charley's Day

Reader discretion is adviced, this story contain graphic content depicting violence which may not be suitable to all readers. This is a fictional story and do not portray real events or real persons.

Charley heard the click of the gun and turned quickly, instinctively grabbing the weapon and pulling it from David’s hand. He knew instantly that David never loved him; he’d been used. He pointed the gun at David.

“I was joking, man.” The tremor in David’s face betrayed the truth.

“Going to kill me and take all the money. Leave me here to take the blame. Lying bastard.” He put the gun to David’s chest. “How’s it feel? Scaring me with an empty gun, you’re pitiful.” Charley pulled the trigger. The gun discharged with the din of a thunderclap.

David collapsed like a bag of potatoes.

“Fucking shit. He was trying to kill me. Shit, what am I going to do?”

Charley stood still for a moment, took a deep breath, and headed back to the house with the gun still in his hand. He searched again for his sweatpants and found them on a bush next to the stairs. His keys were still in the pocket.

Twelve hours later, he sat in a bus terminal in the next town. He had a small suitcase stuffed with a few clothes–he made sure the apartment looked as though he had not gone on the lam. The backpack he had next to him was filled with cash. He’d only taken a small amount from the duffle bag, but it was enough to fill his backpack. He’d pushed his car over a small cliff and into the lake. The gun was tossed from a bridge into the same lake, and he had a ticket on the first bus headed to another state. He hoped that when the bodies were found that people would think that he was a victim as well.

Charley looked up and tried to calmly surveil the room. He noticed a man, possibly in his forties, with silvery hair, looking at him. Charley smiled, and the man smiled back. Charley considered going over toward him and striking up a conversation. ‘I’d be less conspicuous,’ he thought, but just as he stood, an announcement came over the speaker. His bus was loading passengers. He slung the backpack over his shoulder and picked up the suitcase. He gave another glance toward the handsome man and noticed that he was no longer there.

“Have you got that OK?”

Charley turned. The man was standing next to him.

“Um, yeah. I think so,” said Charley.

“I saw you stand when they called my bus. Are you on four-twelve, too?”

Charley nodded.

“Eric Lake.”

“Charley Baker.” It was the first time that Charley used the new name. He thought it best to stick with Charley, but he hoped a different last name would help him hide out in the open.

Eric followed Charley out to the bus. The line to get on was short. Charley put his suitcase down for storage under the bus but kept the backpack with him. As they waited, Eric bent forward and whispered into Charley’s ear. “I shouldn’t tell you this, I know, but I’m a closet homosexual, and I think you’re incredibly attractive. I should go on the bus first, and you can decide whether you want to sit with me.” Eric stood back up. He was almost six inches taller than Charley. “Thought it best to be straight with you.”

Charley considered the irony of that statement. What would it be like to be with someone who was honest? Especially now. ‘I can’t tell him the truth, not the entire truth.” He watched Eric get on the bus. He could see his figure moving toward the back.

“Sir,” said the driver.

Charley smiled at him and moved toward the door. He stepped onto the bus and made his decision. Most of the eight other passengers were in the front several rows. Eric sat two rows from the back. Charley walked straight to the seat next to him.

“Is this seat taken?” Charley asked.

“I’m saving it for you,” Eric replied.

Charley put his backpack on the overhead shelf. He felt Eric touch his leg just about his knee.

“Your legs are muscular, aren’t they?” asked Eric. “Oh, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.”

“I don’t work out.”

“I do. I worry about getting flabby.”

“It must be working,” smiled Charley.

“I want you to know that I don’t usually go up to young men and tell them my darkest secret.”

“Tell me why, and why you decided to tell me.”

“I’ve got a good position in my company, and my boss, well his brother was a homosexual, and things were not happy for them. I don’t want him to resent me or anything, so I just keep it to myself. That means I don’t go to gay bars or parties or anything.”

“That must make you lonely.”

“Maybe a little. I was married before I admitted it to myself. My wife fell in love with someone else and left me; she took the kids. I was visiting my daughter for Christmas vacation. I haven’t told them either.”

“You have to do what’s right for you.”

“There’s something different about you,” Eric said. “When you smiled at me, it gave me a tingle. And I’m not talking about getting a hardon. It was something more than that.”

Charley looked at him. ‘Was he just saying that to get me in bed?’ he asked himself. “So I made you hard and gave you a tingle?”

“Yeah, actually. Oh, shit, you make me feel like a kid. No one does that.”

Charley turned in his seat. He reached up and stroked Eric’s face. “You make my heart beat faster.” He hardly knew this man, but he wanted to kiss him. He wanted to forget the ugliness of the previous day. Charley leaned in and turned his face toward Eric’s.

Eric moved closer and turned his head. Their lips barely grazed, but both men felt the electricity of physical attraction. As Eric cautiously pushed his tongue forward to caress Charley’s lips, Charley opened his mouth enough to let him in. With his hand on Eric’s chest, Charley rubbed his thumb across Eric’s hardening nipple. Eric ran his fingers through Charley’s hair and held the back of his head. A dip in the road shook the occupants of the bus and separated the two men.

Charley gazed into Eric’s blue eyes. “Fuck, Eric. No one’s ever kissed me like that.”

Eric looked back at Charley. He was thinking of reasons why he shouldn’t let things go any farther. He was old enough to be this man’s father. He didn’t really know Charley. Yet, this man was different. He’d lusted after lots of men in the past. Men at his job, men at the gym, waiters at a restaurant, even the guy who ran the popcorn machine at the local theater. He’d gone to bed with two of them, been blown by two others whose names he couldn’t remember. He could see himself making love to Charley; he could even see Charley between his legs, being penetrated for the first time with that face looking at him. ‘I shouldn’t do this,’ he told himself. He reached over and held Charley’s hand. ‘But I’m going to. I’m going to take this man home with me.’ Eric took a deep breath. ‘Lot’s of FBI guys are gay and have lovers. I won’t be the first. Maybe it’ll work out.’

Charley leaned back in the seat. His fingers were interlaced with Eric’s. ‘My life is finally going to change for the better,’ he thought. He had a smile on his face as he nodded off.

The driver woke everyone for the late-night stop at a combination diner, gas station, and bus depot. Charley had slipped five twenties into his pocket after buying the bus ticket, and he offered to buy Eric a meal. Charley hoped Eric would invite him to stay with him. The two of them ate chicken fried chicken as they talked about the things they like to do in their free time. Charley talked about the time he worked in a tractor supply store, but he changed it to a feed store so Eric wouldn’t suspect anything if word of what happened on New Year’s Eve got out. After eating, the two used the restroom and while washing their hands, Eric took advantage of their being the only two in the room to kiss Charley. He moved behind Charley and nuzzled his neck while pulling Charley back against him.

“When we get to Evansville, I want you to stay with me. I don’t care if you want to sleep on the couch, but I want us to get to know each other better.”

“I have a feeling,” said Charley, “that I’m not going to want to sleep on the couch.”

The door to the restroom opened, and the driver walked in. Eric immediately released Charley, but he’d been caught hugging a younger man, and Eric’s face turned red.

The driver gave Eric a friendly slap on the shoulder. “Hey, man, it’s cool. I don’t give a shit.” He walked to the urinal and pulled out his dick. “Just so you know, when the lights are out, I can’t see what you’re doing back there.”

Eric stood with his hands at his side as if stunned into immobility.

“Thanks, dude,” said Charley. “We’re only holding hands back there. It’s too public for anything else.” He turned to Eric. “Come on, let’s get back on the bus.”

Eric nodded and followed Charley back to his seat. Charley smiled as they sat. “You know, he’s probably caught people fucking back here. He doesn’t give a shit that you were kissing me. He wouldn’t even remember tomorrow.”

Eric leaned back and closed his eyes. “I know. It’s just…” He reached his hand over and grabbed Charley’s fingers. “I don’t want any problems.”

“I know,” replied Charley. With his left hand interlaced with Eric’s, Charley put his right hand over the clasped hands. “I don’t want any either.”

The bus arrived in Evansville in the late afternoon; Charley and Eric had taken the time to tell one another about their childhoods and adolescent years, and the two of them felt even closer. Eric got them an Uber back to his apartment, and when they got there, he offered the first shower to Charley, but Charley refused.

“I want to scrub your back,” said Charley. “I want us to shower together.”

“You don’t think that’s rushing things?”

“Not if there’s something to these tingles we keep feeling.”

Eric laughed and grabbed Charley; he kissed him again. ‘I can see myself married to this guy,’ he thought. He led Charley into the bathroom.

“Watch, but don’t touch. Not yet, anyway,” chuckled Charley as he slowly removed his clothing.

“Wow,” said Eric under his breath.

“Now you,” Charley told him.

Eric did his best strip-tease act which made Charley laugh. Eric ended his routine by turning on the shower. “It’ll be hot in just a few seconds. You’re already hot,” he smiled.

Charley took the moment to examine the six-foot figure in front of him. The man was toned, even slightly muscular; his trips to the gym were undoubtedly more than just basic exercise. His semi-erect cock had to be around seven inches long, Charley estimated. ‘About as long as mine,’ he thought. Eric’s pubic hair as well as his crew cut was silver. Charley wanted to rub his face against the silver bush above his dick. Eric’s ball hung low in a loose, hairless sack.

“I cannot believe how handsome and sexy you are.”

“What?” Eric turned, his hand still checking the water. “Me?”

Charley walked up to him and pressed into him. “You.” Charley kissed his chest before sucking on one of his nipples. Eric pulled him into a caressing kiss as the two moved under the steamy hot water. Charley pulled back and smiled, “You’re distracting me. I’m here to clean your back.”

Eric reached for his body wash and scrubbing pouf; he loaded the plastic scrubber with soap and handed it to Charley before turning his back. Charley began scrubbing immediately and was rewarded by the moans of how good it felt. When he finished, Eric took the scrubber and returned the favor. When the men finally moved to the bedroom, both had been completely exfoliated.

Eric folded Charley into his arms as the two lay under the covers of his queen-sized bed. “I’m not sure how far we should go since this is our first time together.”

Charley looked into Eric’s eyes. “You are the kindest man I’ve ever known.” Charley wanted to give himself completely to Eric, but he wanted it to be Eric’s decision. “I need to do what I’m going to do next.” He kissed Eric, and as Eric’s mouth opened, he ran his tongue over Eric’s lips before moving down to his neck. He found a particularly sensitive spot just below Eric’s ear and spent several minutes eliciting moans of pleasure from his new lover.

Charley’s mouth moved over the hair chest of the man who couldn’t believe the intensity of pleasure he was now receiving. Eric wanted to roll Charley onto his back and push himself into the young man. He had never wanted to fuck someone so much as he wanted at this moment. But Charley was moving down to his now rigid cock. He felt fingers wrap around it. He was so hard, his dick almost ached.

The warm wetness of Charley’s mouth on the head of his cock caused Eric to push his head forcefully back against his pillow. Tears moistened his eyes as Charley’s lips surrounded him and slid down his shaft.

Charley was glad that he knew how to take all of the seven-inch rod into his mouth and throat. His tongue massaged the underside of Eric’s dick, and he felt the quivering response that seemed to emanate from all of Eric’s muscles. ‘I could spend the rest of my life worshiping this penis,’ thought Charley. He applied some suction before moving his lips up the shaft until they gripped just the head of the throbbing, hard dick. He pushed back down with this tongue forcing the penis against the roof of his mouth until his nose was once again buried in the silver bush of his moaning lover.

Barely audible, Eric tried to warn Charley of his impending climax, but Charley wanted, needed Eric to ejaculate his seed. Two more rides up and down the shaft, and Eric grabbed Charley’s head to pull him off, but Charley held on, and Eric’s cock pulsed five times, filling Charley’s throat and mouth with his cum.

Charley sat back. He continued to swallow until every drop was gone; then he held the slowly deflating tool, and with his tongue made sure no cum was left behind. He moved back up so his head and Eric’s were side-by-side. Eric was still breathing hard. Charley could feel the thumping of Eric’s heart. It matched his own. ‘I want this to last forever.’

“Oh, Charley. Stay with me. Let’s see if we can’t grow together.”

Charley nodded. “I’ll stay with you until you tell me not to.” Charley’s eyes filled with tears. “But there’s something I have to tell you. I don’t want to because it’s so horrible, but I have to.”

Eric pulled Charley to him. “Something that happened to you?”

“Yeah.”

Eric kissed Charley’s forehead just as the telephone rang.

“It’s OK; I need to pull myself together and figure out how to tell you.”

Eric kissed him again and answered the phone.

“Lake here,” answered Eric.

“Hey, Lake; it’s Cooper. You still at your daughter’s place?”

“No, I’m back in town.”

“Well, we need to head back up that way.”

“What is it?”

“Looks like a drug deal that went south. A police officer’s been killed. The whole thing is bizarre, and there’s a kid missing that worked for the head guy. The DEA was working with this officer, a sheriff’s deputy, and they’ve asked for our help.”

“How old’s the missing kid?” asked Eric.

“Nineteen. Name is Charley Walters. I’ve got a photo of him. I’ll show it to you when I pick you up.”

“Fuck, man. I just got home.”

“You’re officially in charge on this one. Sorry, bro. That’s what happens when you’re the top guy in the office.”

“Since when?”

“Since now. I’ll see you in twenty.”

Eric pushed the red button on his phone. ‘Nineteen-year-old missing kid named Charley,’ he thought. He turned and looked at the bed. Charley’s tear-stained face looked up at him.

‘Shit,’ thought Eric.