Rowan's Journey to Manhood

 In the previous chapters…

Rowan, a pale guy with many sexual inhibitions due to the abuse he suffered in the past, embarks in a long journey to a mature sexuality, helped by the men and boys living in a big house named “The Cove”. Charlie, a 19 y.o. playful boy, teaches him the joyful side of sex. Barry, an oversexed worker who looks alike Rowan’s abusive stepfather, scares him. Kale, a Hawaiian school counselor, shows him the tender, healing power of love. Beau, the blond leader of the Cove, experiments Rowan’s ‘power’ to block a man’s ejaculation until he begs to cum. Hendrick, the house young cook, lets Rowan discover how sweet and pleasurable can be anal sex when, after many years, the guy yields his ass to the redheaded boy. The wise Native American Wahkan teaches to Rowan how to trust another man and senses that the guy holds a great power in him. Rowan seems to come from another century, and reveals to his friends that his only school had been the old movies showed at Paul’s cinema. He then discovers the pleasure of submission during a hot bondage session with Kale. Rick explains that the Cove is a sort of shelter for all the men and the boys, including Beau. The day after, Beau reveals to Rowan the tragedy he hides in his heart and talks about the young stableman Jordan, his first love, who took his life after being raped by Joe, the black gardener, as per Beau’s father order. Those sad memories resurface again when Paul, the owner of the cinema and former chauffeur at Rice-Duncan mansion, dies, causing a deep grief to Beau and Rowan. That night Beau, masterfully mixing love and dominance, helps the guy overcome his greatest fears: surrendering to an older man helps Rowan and staying indoors after sunset. Kale misunderstands the relationship between Beau and Rowan and his jealousy explodes. In a restless night, the Hawaiian remembers the French Riviera and Paris, where Beau made him embrace his true nature; then, embittered, he harshly confronts Rowan, who runs away from the Cove.

Synopsys (*** Spoiler Alert! ***)

Rowan's runaway crashes like a ton of bricks on the Cove. Rick, Beau and even Barry are overly saddened and worried. Kale, after a harsh confrontation with Beau, realizes his mistake and understand that it was his jealousy, and not Rowan, to make Beau's love fade. Devastated for having hurt Rowan and Beau, Kale submits to a terrible self-punishment, a real sexual torture: he hopes to gain back Beau's love, but the outcome will be different...

Additional downloads (PDF)

• Cast of Characters with SFW images
• The Cove – Floor Plan
• Book 01 (Chapters 1-10) with bookmarks and PictureBook01 with NSFW images
• Book 02 (Chapter 11-20) with bookmarks and PictureBook02 with NSFW images
• Book 03 (Chapter 21-27) with bookmarks and PictureBook03 with NSFW images

 ≈ ROWAN’S GONE ≈ 

~ ‘I will bring him back’ ~

 “What?!” – Beau exclaimed, jumping out of his bed. “What you mean ‘Rowan has gone away’?”.  “The room is empty, sir, he took with him even the bed sheets. He left this message…” – Rick said, with trembling voice, handing Rowan’s letter to the blond man. He read it in disbelief, and then exclaimed: “But half an hour ago he was here! He spent the entire night with me”.

“The entire night??” – Rick commented, surprised, knowing Rowan’s irrepressible fear to spend the night indoors – “So, it was him, maybe, who argued with Kale in the kitchen! I’ve found a cup of coffee crushed on the floor, and heard a door slam on the second floor”.   Despite his brave efforts, Rick couldn’t hold his sobs any more: “Sir, I don’t know what happened! I only know that Rowan has run away! Please find him, sir! Bring him back home!”

Beau rushed to hug the sobbing boy: “I will, I promise. Rowan will be back soon. But in the meantime, let’s cool down. He’s not a young boy lost in the city, he’s a grown-up guy who’s used to live on the streets and knows how to defend himself. He’ll be fine. Damn, we should’ve bought him a phone!”

“First off, we have to know what happened” – Beau continued, making a plan to manage the emergency – “I’m going to talk with Kale… alone. Sorry, Rick, it will be a very personal conversation, I hope you understand…”

“Of course, sir! I’ll be downstairs, if you need me”. Rick quickly went away and Beau went down to the second floor; he knocked on Kale’s door, but there was no answer. He opened the door, but the room was empty. «He must have gone to work» – Beau thought. He tried to contact him by phone and sent him a text, but there was no reply.

“Merde!” – he hissed. He had always relied on Kale’s judgment to find the best solution to a problem, but this time the problem was Kale himself! He knocked on the other doors, but all the men were at work. There was nothing to do but wait…

~ Sense of duty ~

As soon as Rowan had sneaked out of the basement door, he had headed to the mall district: he knew well those alleys and knew where to hide. He sat under the emergency stairs of a ramshackle building and thought back at the Cove. He would miss all of them! Even the ones who he didn’t know well, Stewart and Barry. «Barry!» – he thought, gasping – «I missed work yesterday night!». No matter what happened, Rowan’s sense of duty left him no choice: he had to talk to Barry.

He stood up and walked to the quarry, entered the big gate, that during the day was always left open, and headed to the small office. The door was ajar and he stepped in, but when he saw Barry, sitting at the desk, he faltered. «He’s Barry… He’s Barry…» – he repeated to himself, forcing the image of his stepfather out of his mind.

“Sir…” – he called in a little voice. Barry raised his head and looked at the guy, surprised: “Hey, kid! I mean, Rowan…” – he said with a friendly smile – “What’s up? You missed work yesterday…”

Rowan guessed that Barry still didn’t know anything about what happened that morning. “Yes, sir, I’m here to ask for your forgiveness…” – Rowan stuttered, nervous – “I have no excuses… Are you going to dismiss me, sir?”.

“Don’t sweat it, I won’t fire you. But don’t make a habit of it, OK?” – Barry said, with a wink. “Sir…” – Rowan continued, timidly – “You should be informed that I’m not living at the Cove any more… And I would appreciate very much if you could avoid revealing that I’m still employed here.”

Barry was surprised: “What you mean you don’t live at the Cove any more?” – he exclaimed, getting out of his chair. He moved closer to Rowan, but the guy stepped back, withering: “Please, sir, I beg you!” – he pleaded fervently – “I need the wage, but if you can’t grant me your discretion, I have no choice but resign from this job…”

Though ignoring what had happened, Barry wanted to help the guy, but still Rowan’s stubborn refusal to have any contact with him made Barry’s anger flare. “OK! OK goddammit! I’ll keep my mouth shut! And now fuck you, kid! Shit damn, I can’t even shake hands with you!”

Rowan felt guilty, as he knew that Barry had been very kind with him, and he would deserve, at least, a little trust by his side, but still he couldn’t force himself to look at Barry without seeing his stepfather. He wanted to hug him and, at the same time, he wanted to run away, but he did nothing, overwhelmed as he was by his inner struggle. He started crying softly and slowly moved to the door whining: “I’m so sorry... Thank you, sir… I’m sorry…”. As soon as he was out, he fled out of the quarry and ran back to the dark alleys that had been his home for years.

~ Tainted love ~

When alone, Barry immediately picked up the phone and called Beau. “Hey buddy!” – the worker said when he heard the melodious voice of the blond boss – “What’s wrong with Rowan? I just saw him and he was barely holding himself…”

Beau sighed: “Long story short, Kale argued with him, I don’t know exactly why, but I guess he was jealous of Rowan, and made the guy run away. I still couldn’t talk with Kale, he’s at school and doesn’t answer to my calls.”

“But will answer to me!” – the worker roared, and shut the phone. Rowan always made him go mad, but Barry considered him like one of the boys, despite his being almost thirty. And no one could hurt one of the boys without paying a hard price! Not even Kale!

He briefly talked to his assistant and jumped into his truck. In few minutes, he came to a screeching halt in front of Kale’s school and went straight to the counselor’s  office. “Motherfucker!” – he yelled, storming through the door – “What have you done to Rowan, uh?”

“Why don’t you ask what he has done to me? He tried and tried, and finally he managed to win Beau’s heart! They love each other, I heard them! And poor Kale is thrown away, like an old rag!”

“Never heard such a big heap of bullshit all at once!” – Barry roared, grabbing Kale by his arm – “Now you come home and tell yourself to Beau why Rowan has run away!”.  “Run away??” – Kale exclaimed, while the strong worker dragged almost bodily to the truck. “Yes, asshole! You should be proud of yourself!”

After few minutes, the two men entered the living room at the Cove, where an anxious Rick told them that Beau was waiting in the attic: “He told me to send Kale up as soon as he got home… alone”. Barry grunted and pointed a menacing finger to the counselor: “I’ll deal with you later!”

Kale climbed to the attic oppressed by the sense of guilt, and when he saw Beau pacing the room, faltered. The blond man turned to him, with a look that didn’t express anger, but rather sadness, as he felt betrayed: “Why?? Why, Kale?!” – he exclaimed, handing him Rowan’s note. The counselor read it with a horrified look and then glanced at Beau, unable to say a word. He crashed on a chair and stuttered: “I… I believed… I couldn’t stand looking at him stealing you from me… so I…”

“What are you talking about?” – Beau said with passion, taking Kale by his shoulders and making him stand up. “Do you really believe that Rowan could ever take your place in my heart? That I could give up on you? That I could forget that room in Pigalle? C’est incroyable! I don’t recognize you anymore! You’ve never been jealous, and now, all of the sudden, you’re jealous to the point of hurting Rowan! Rowan! Hasn’t he suffered enough in his life?!”

Beau paused, heaving. When he talked again, his voice cracked for the emotion: “You want to know what Rowan told me before leaving? ‘You changed my life. Why don’t you change yours, too?’  Does it sound familiar?” [1]. Both men had wet eyes, and gazed intensely to each other. “It was him who pointed out how much you love me and how much I was hurting you. He made me face the fact that … I love you, Kale! I’m in love with you, and I’ve always been since I first saw you sitting at that café in Juan-les-Pines! But now… now… I wish I didn’t fall in love with you...”

The blond man opened his arms, crestfallen, his eyes brimming with tears: “Year ago, in that small room, you trusted me to the point of offering me your virginity… You showed me your vulnerability and opened your soul to me… And now, how could you distrust me so much? How could you forget Pigalle?!”

Kale stepped back, shaking his head, understanding how deep he had hurt Beau, and how abject he had been to Rowan: “I don’t deserve your love… I don’t deserve anything! I’m such a horrible man! I messed it all up! I fucked it up!” – he cried out, turning around and suddenly fleeing out of the door.

~ The men talk ~

In the meantime, in the living room, Barry and Hendrick were talking about Rowan with Charlie, who had finished attending his morning housecleaning, and Wahkan and Chayton, who had returned from a meeting in town. The excited voices trailed off when they saw Kale, bewildered and with his cheeks drenched with tears, rushing down the stairs.

He went straight to Barry and held him by his dirty tank: “You must find him!” – he cried out – “I’ve been such an asshole! Please, Barry, find him!”  In that moment, Beau climbed down the stairs with a distressed expression, and joined the other men. He looked at Barry and Wahkan and said: “Yes, we should find him. Though he knows how to care for himself, I cannot rest until he’s back home”.

“I’ve already found him” – Barry said to Beau, and then, to Kale: “and yes, you’re an asshole!”.  Rick jumped off the sofa and asked, anxious: “Do you really know where he is, sir? Is he safe? When will he come back home?”. “Hey, hey, kid, take a breath…” – Barry said with an affectionate smile – “You heard Beau, he knows how to care for himself. Nothing bad can happen to him during the day, and tonight…”.

He paused and looked around at the men: “Listen, I’ve seen him, and we talked… more or less, but I promised not to reveal his plans. However, I will break my promise if you all promise me that no one will force him to come back to the Cove. The decision must be his to make. Agreed?”

Everyone nodded. “OK, then. He came to ask me if he could keep his job, as he needs money. Tonight he will come to the quarry for his usual night shift. And maybe someone…” – he concluded, looking at Beau – “…could enjoy a nightly half-a-mile walk down the street”.

“As for you…” – he added, pointing at Kale – “when Rowan’s back home you’ll get what you deserve, and believe me, you won’t forget the lesson anytime soon!!”

Knowing that Rowan was safe and that hopefully he would be at home in the morning, Kale silently turned around and went up to his room, in a dazed state. Barry had promised to punish him, but Barry didn’t even imagine how much he had hurt Rowan… Kale had listened to his dramatic confession, the first night they met [2], and now mocked him about those very same traumas he had confessed him trusting in his sensibility. And he accused him of wanting Beau for himself, when Rowan actually did the opposite, forcing Beau to acknowledge his love for Kale.

And Beau was hurt, too. ‘Do you think I could forget Pigalle?’, he had said, his eyes brimming with tears. «How could I be so blind, so evil, so stupid!» – Kale thought, angry with himself – «How can Barry ever punish me as I deserve? How can Beau or Rowan ever do it?»

«No, I have to do it myself!». He looked at himself in the mirror, and he saw a wrathful god, looking back at him with fiery eyes and an irate grimace, ready to exact his toll.

~ An elaborate self-punishment ~

He went to the door and locked it. Then opened a drawer and took a chastity device, the very same he had recently used to punish Stewart [3], and locked it tightly around his cock and balls, placing the key on a table far from the bed. He took from the drawer the remote command for the electric cock cage and placed it on the bed. Then he picked a plastic gag and secured it around his head, so to silence the screams that – he knew for sure – he wouldn’t be able to hold.

He opened a second drawer and picked up a huge black dildo: Barry knew it, as Kale had used it once, to scare the shit out of the worker [4]. The Hawaiian smeared a large amount of lubricant on it, and used more lubricant to grease his ass, pushing inside his anus two fingers, then three and then four, massaging and enlarging his sphincter as much as possible: even for an expert bottom like him, the huge dildo was tough to take.

He placed the dildo on the floor, in upright position, and knelt over it, lowering his ass until the humongous head was firmly pressed against his hole. He concentrated, trying to relax his ass as much as he could, and then pushed down, more and more, stifling the moans of suffering, until his ass gave way and, with an excruciating flash of pain, the black monster broke into the man’s hole. Kale gritted his teeth and dried the tears that rolled down his face; he took a deep breath and sat down on the huge rod all the way, impaling himself.

He stood up with some difficulty, trying to ignore his aching ass stretched to the limit, and lay on the bed. He expertly tied his ankles and one wrist to different bedposts. With the only free hand, he took the remote command of the chastity device and slid his free wrist into a special self-tightening loop he had prepared. He pulled down his wrist, the knot tightened around it… and he was trapped! He had not used safety knots: he was truly helpless and unable to free himself.

He pressed the remote command once, and it started sending a low-voltage current through his cock and balls. The metal cage forcefully kept the growing cock in a bent position and was so tight that an erection would be very distressing, and yet the low current made his cock stir and grow, until it was painfully crushed by the tiny metal frame. This was the level Kale had used with Stewart, but Kale needed more, and pressed  again the remote command.

Suddenly, the electric current rose to a higher level, intensely stimulating the trapped cock and balls, quickly bringing Kale to the verge of the orgasm; but the man knew that if he had given in to the pleasure, a strong electric shock would have instantly and painfully blocked the climax, so he restrained himself as best as he could.

Kale knew well that soon he wouldn’t be able to think straight any more, and let the remote command fall on the floor, out of his reach. Now he was completely at the mercy of the merciless device. He stood motionless on the bed, tied in a spread-eagled position, impaled on the huge dildo, with his eyes tightly shut, concentrating hard to resist the pleasure and to ignore the dull pain coming from his overstretched ass.

~ Sexual torture ~

The electric device wickedly and relentlessly stimulated his cock and balls, without ever give him a chance to catch his breath, as he had set it to a permanent high-level state. Despite Kale’s efforts, his arousal quickly escalated almost to the climax, and the man tried hard to hold his orgasm, knowing how painfully it would be blocked by the wicked device. He panted, straining to keep his sexual urges in check, but he couldn’t hold long the tension and eventually gave in. “MMMMMMHH!!” – he screamed in the gag, when a vicious jolt of current sent a painful shock through his cock and balls, forcing his orgasm to subside.

But the chastity device didn’t stop stimulating his manhood in an exquisite, excruciating way. Soon he was panting again, fighting hard against the pleasure, and he managed to resist a bit longer than before, but in the end his body failed him and he felt his sperm rushing again from his balls to the cock. “MMMPHH!” – he screamed again, when the evil electric shock forced his climax to painfully retract in his groin.

After an hour, Kale was drenched with sweat, heaving, and had lost count of the times his orgasm had been painfully crushed by the wicked device. He was again on the verge of his climax, and felt he could not resist any more: the pressure in his groin was unbearable and the amount of sperm boiling in his balls was too much to hold.

He bravely tried to resist, to hold his orgasm, but he miserably lost his battle. «Beau, Rowan, punish me as I deserve!» – he though, a moment before yielding to the excruciating pleasure. He felt his body tense, his man juice gathering at the base of his cock, his groin strain for the pressure, and his climax exploded. The painful electric shock flashed through his cock, but couldn’t restrain the forceful ejaculation that had been building up for so long. “MMMMHH!! MMMMPHHH!! MMMMMPPPHH!!!” – he screamed into the gag, while the vicious device responded to each and every shot of sperm sending a painful shock to his cock.

Nothing could stop his powerful orgasm, and nothing could stop the evil cock cage to torture the man in the moment when he was more vulnerable. The contractions of his powerful orgasm, doubled by the fierce electric shocks, made his overstretched sphincter painfully clench around the huge intruder impaling his ass. The excruciating sensations overwhelmed his mind and he screamed and screamed into the gag, until his cock finally stopped throbbing and the electric current lowered to a steady, mild level.

Kale knew that the electric device, in the end, couldn’t stop his ejaculation, but he didn’t think it would have been so painful. But at least, he felt a momentary relief, as the pressure in his groin had lessened. Unfortunately, while planning his self-inflicted punishment, he didn’t take in account the sensitivity of his manhood after such a powerful and painful ejaculation.

Mindlessly, the metal cage kept stimulating Kale’s cock, relentlessly, careless of his recent orgasm, and the man strained in his bondage for the excruciating sensation. He futilely tossed his head from side to side, unable to stop the merciless overstimulation over his sensitive manhood.

For many long minutes, Kale moaned for the pain and the discomfort, until the refractory period ended, and again the electric surges turned into exquisite jolts of pleasure that ran through his spine, driving him again up to his climax and to the painful shock that would block it.

As time went by, the man screamed countless times when his climax was forced to recede by a surge of current, and he screamed even more when his orgasm couldn’t be restrained, no matter how frequent and painful were the electric jolts. And he went on screaming when the evil device kept stimulating his oversensitive cock over and over after the painful orgasms. But no one could hear his muffled screams.

After another hour, between his legs tied wide apart, there was a wide pool of semen that drenched the bed sheets. Kale was delirious and cried desperately, feeling the umpteenth orgasm boiling in his groin. When it exploded, along with the frantic electric shocks, his body bucked so wildly that the entire bed moved, hitting hard the wooden floor. Rick, sitting in the silent living room, heard the unusual bumps coming from upstairs and went up to investigate. The noise had stopped, but when he got near Kale’s door he could hear his muffled screams. He tried to open the door, but it was locked. He knocked hard, calling Kale, but all he could hear were muffled sounds.

Alarmed, he ran to the attic and stormed inside: “Sir! Sir, quick! Kale’s in some kind of trouble, but his door is locked!”  Beau stood up, took the passe-partout from a drawer and followed Rick downstairs. He quickly unlocked Kale’s door, and when he entered the room his heart skipped a beat.

~ ‘Have I lost you?’ ~

 “Mon Dieu! Kale!! What have you done?!” – he yelled, looking at the man, spread eagled in tight bondage on the bed flooded with sperm, tears streaming from his eyes and an impossibly huge dildo protruding from his ass, bucking wildly under the vicious ministrations of the chastity device.

Beau scanned the room and saw the remote control near the bed; grabbed it and pressed the green button to stop it, and saw with relief Kale’s body relax. “What have you done… what have you done…” – Beau kept whining, untying with some difficulty the tight knots around the man’s wrists and ankles. Then, he removed the gag, looking at the devastated face of the man he loved so much, and Kale burst into a barely intelligible stream of consciousness, with a hoarse voice broken by the desperate sobs.

“I love you, Beauregard! I’m so sorry! Forgive me! I messed up everything, but we can mend it, right? Tell me, Beau, have I lost you? I didn’t forget Pigalle! I hurt you, I hurt Rowan! Forgive me… Forgive me…”

“Shh…Shh..” – Beau whispered into Kale’s ear, holding him tight – “It’s over… Everything will be fine… Now rest…”. When he could catch his breath, Kale gave him a weary, embarrassed glance and murmured: “Beauregard… I… still need you…”. The blond man smiled with uncertain affection: “I need you too, buddy, but…”.

“No, I mean… I still need your help… to remove the dildo from my ass…” – the Hawaiian pleaded, raising his legs – “But be careful, it hurts as hell…”. Beau gripped the handle protruding from his buddy’s ass and gently rotated the dildo, while slowly pulling it out. When it finally popped out, Kale gasped and then sighed with relief. Next, Beau took the key of the cock cage and removed it with tender care.

Kale lay back on the bed, exhausted and breathed: “I’ve been such a fool…”.  Beau was still shocked by the sight of the man he loved suffer so much, and was angry with him for believing that such a harsh punishment was necessary, or even useful. It was just utterly stupid! That self-inflicted punishment had been so… bestial!

Kale noticed his buddy’s frown and breathed, exhausted: “I only wanted you to tell me you loved me…”. Beau averted his gaze and said in a low voice: “Don’t ask me if I love you, I’m too upset now”.  His voice had an icy tone that Kale had never heard, and suddenly he felt that ice running down his spine and fill his heart. «I’ve lost him… I’ve lost him!!» – the Hawaiian though, desperate. He tried to hold Beau’s hand, but the man moved his arm away and stood up: “I have to go. Take a rest and we’ll talk tomorrow.”

The blond boss turned to the door and saw Rick, still standing in the doorframe, in a mild state of shock. “Hendrick… I’m sorry… I wouldn’t want you to see this. Why don’t you go downstairs and relax in the butler’s room?”.  Rick didn’t move. “Sir… May I… take care of him?”.  Beau nodded with affection: “You’re a real gem, I love you. I’d better go to the quarry and wait there for Rowan”.

~ The call of the Cove ~

While Rick helped Kale taking a long hot shower and changed the bed sheets, Beau walked to the quarry and went to the office. Inside, Barry was checking some papers. “Hey, boss!” – the worker said, still a bit angry – “I can’t wait to go home to teach to Kale a lesson he won’t forget anytime soon!”

“Please, don’t” – Beau replied, and Barry noticed his tense expression – “Kale has… already punished himself way too much. Please, Barry, I know you’re angry with him, but I beg you, don’t hurt him more than he himself already did. I… couldn’t stand it. Will you do that for me, buddy?”  And then he related to Barry the crazy punishment Kale had dished out to himself. “OK, OK, I promise, I won’t touch him, you know I can’t deny anything to you…” – Barry grunted, and soon his irritated grimace turned to a lustful smirk – “But someone has to be punished! If not Kale, then you!”

The rugged worker, with his overactive sexuality, always could make Beau feel better. He smiled and replied: “The sooner the better! But not now, Rowan is about to come”. Barry pointed him to the elevated place in the darkness that was Rowan’s favourite spot, and suggested him to wait there for the guy. Then he switched on the night lights and went to the gate while Rowan was arriving. His hopes to get a more relaxed welcome from the guy were frustrated again, when Rowan refused to get closer to the gate until the worker had climbed on his truck. “Fuck you!” – Barry growled once more, rancorous – “But sooner or later you’ll come to me, begging on your knees!”

Rowan entered the site and locked the gate, made a first full round of the quarry and then headed to his solitary point of view. He sat down and opened with a sigh the colourful, childish snack bag that usually Rick filled with tasty treats. But that night it was empty.

“Hendrick is such a great guy, isn’t he…?” – a melodic voice with an unmistakable European accent said behind him. Rowan kept his eyes on the bag: “I miss him. And I missed you, Beau. But I can’t come back.”  Beau sat beside the guy, looking down to the ground, in silence. He felt so tired! Rowan had left the Cove, his beloved Kale distrusted him and then punished himself in such a stupid and beastly way…

And he himself has made Kale suffer so much, all those years, making him wait in vain for a simple ‘I love you’! It was too much to bear... Suddenly, in the silence of the night, in that peaceful place, Beau felt himself crush under the pressure. He bowed his head and started sobbing quietly.

Rowan became restless: “Please… Please don’t cry… I’ll go away, I will even leave this job, I won’t give to you and Kale any more troubles…”

“Troubles?!” – the blond man exclaimed, looking at him with teary eyes – “Rowan, you’re the best thing that happened to Kale and me! To the entire Cove! You can’t even imagine how Kale was devastated when he knew you had gone away… And look at me, I can’t even hold myself! Rick barely talks, and I had to beg Barry not to hurt Kale for what he’s done to you!”

“Barry?” – Rowan asked, timidly – “Was he upset for my leaving the Cove?”

“He went apeshit…” – Beau replied. He looked deeply at Rowan: “Barry loves you more than you think. More than he himself thinks, actually… Listen, Rowan, this morning you gave me one of the most important and useful advice I’ve ever got: to give a chance to Kale and myself. Your advice opened my eyes, making me see the truth, so I’m going to give it back to you: give a chance to Barry and yourself. He’s way from being perfect, but he’s a good guy. It’s not his fault if he looks just like your stepfather…”

Rowan looked away, down the hill, in silence, and Beau bowed again his head; then the guy stood up and said: “I have to do my hourly round. Thank you for coming, I really appreciated it. You gave me many things to think about. See you tomorrow morning… at home”. «At home? He’ll come back home!» – Beau though with excitement and relief, rising on his feet to hug him, but the guy had already run away.

~ Beau plans a trip ~

The next morning, the men and the boys of the Cove, one by one, gathered around the big round table in the dining room for the usual buffet breakfast. There was a mild tension in the air and few words were spoken.

Kale, refreshed after a hot shower and a long sleep, was thinking back at Beau’s last words: ‘Don’t ask me if I love you, I’m too upset now’. When he had decided to punish himself, he thought he would have been the only one to suffer for a well-deserved retribution, but he had hurt Beau, too. Again.

Now, with his usual sharp mind, Kale understood that for Beau, a punishment is the worst way to solve a problem; but he had to forgive himself: that was the main reason he’d decided to setup such a painful punishment! What he had done was absolutely needed… and absolutely useless, if not harmful. He felt his mind running in a loop, and raised his eyes to Beau, in search of a possible answer to his doubts.

Beau looked back at his friend with an indecipherable expression. As a matter of fact, even Beau couldn’t fully understand what he was feeling. He loved Kale like crazy, now he knew; but when tried to confess his love to his buddy, he actually threw at him his anger and his resentment, making his lover run away and punish himself in that brutal way.

«In Pigalle with could understand, accept and trust each other with a simple glance, but now…» – Beau thought ruefully. There were only the two of them, in that small room in Pigalle, and they needed nothing else, they were each other’s world….

A snap idea flashed in Beau’s mind, and he looked again at Kale, who suddenly stood sitting straight, with an expectant and hopeful expression. “Scotland is very nice in this season…” – he said with a casual tone. The Hawaiian was puzzled: “Er… Your father’s family was rooted in Scotland, wasn’t it?”.  “The Duncan branch, yes” – Beau replied.

“My family had a country house, there, Applecross House. Now it’s technically mine, though I tried to forget it, as it was one of my father’s fondest properties. I’ve spent many summers there, it was a lovely place! So quiet, so peaceful!”

Kale thought that his buddy wanted to stay alone for a while, away from him, and lowered his eyes, feeling his heart sinking: “Are you planning a trip to Scotland?”.  Beau paused, uncertain: “Yes, but… it will be hard, it won’t be a leisure trip. Since my father died, I’ve… taken possession, so to speak, of our family residences in France, and then Rice-Duncan Mansion, here, but still I couldn’t find the strength to go to Applecross House. I… I don’t think I can do it alone. But if you are by my side, I can do it.”

Kale raised his eyes and gazed deeply at Beau. After a pause, he breathed: “I’ll be by your side”. All the men sitting with them at the table flashed a knowing smile to each other. Wahkan was not the only one who could read behind the simple words that were spoken. Beau and Kale were not just planning a trip abroad: they were trying to find a way to renew and strengthen their special bond, dangerously put under strain, and possibly shattered by the recent events.

The tension in the air dispersed a bit and the conversation soon became more lively. Barry and Stewart exchanged their usual rowdy jokes, Alex and Wahkan talked about the places they’d visited in the past and the boys looked at each other with smiles of relief. But the boisterous atmosphere slowly calmed down when, unexpectedly, Rowan came through the archway. Once again, he looked around, focusing his sight an inch above the man’s heads, as if he was disdaining the company. Everyone knew that soon he would have fixed his eyes on Beau, or Kale, or maybe Rick, the ones Rowan found easier to talk to.

They all were surprised when Rowan crossed the dining room, looking at Barry, and talked to him like they were alone in the room. “Sir… I…” – he stuttered, making a visible effort to keep a polite tone – “I wish to extend to you my most sincere apology. I unjustly mistreated and disrespected you. I only hope you will believe that I’m doing my best… which obviously is not enough”.

Barry was touched by Rowan’s unexpected words, and managed the delicate situation in his usual way… dismissing it with a grunt: “It’s OK, don’t sweat it, kid. I mean, Rowan”. He moved a hand, willing to give a friendly buff on the guy’s arm, but Rowan stiffened, and Beau, who was sitting near the rugged worker, placed his hand on Barry’s, flashing at him a thankful smile.

The blond boss turned to Rowan and asked in a polite tone, hoping to put the guy at ease: “Would you give us the pleasure to join us for breakfast?”.  The guy relaxed, turned around the table and sat on the opposite side, near Kale. He helped himself a cup of coffee, raised his eyes with a timid smile and, for the very first time, glanced around the table, looking straight at each man and boy, who smiled back at him and nodded, happy to see Rowan finally taking his place within the Cove.

“Well, Kale…” – Beau exclaimed, with a relaxed smile – “Scotland awaits us! The summer vacations will begin next week, I hope you don’t have any plans!”. He sounded jovial, but the sensible counselor could spot a tension in his tone, the same tension he felt in his heart.

And this is how, a few days later, the two men were flying across the ocean, heading to a distant land where they both hoped to find their lost Pigalle…

Footnotes and references:
[1] See Chapter 26, ~ Revelations ~
[2] See Chapter 4, ~ Painful revelations ~
[3] See Chapter 12, ~ Repressed lust, forbidden orgasms ~
[4] See Chapter 5, ~ The punishment turns into a nightmare ~

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(End of chapter 27 – Please proceed to Chapter 28)