Simply Red

Max’s Perspective

The Holidays were great, filled with family and friends in and out of our home all week. We had both of our families with us at Christmas, then Seth, Zach, Dylan, and Gina on New Year’s Eve, and the week ended with our Barn Warming open-house on New Year’s Day. Everything was perfect, well… with the exception of our ‘fatal fuck’ in the shower (as Zach dubbed it). I can’t believe I ended up in the ER on the day of our party, thank god Terrance was around or we would’ve been stuck in the ER all night and missed our own party. I still had a bump on my head as a souvenir, but other than that I got off easy.

Seth, Zach, and Petunia drove back to St Louis, and based on the millions of pictures they texted during the trip home, it went fine. Like I said, the holidays were great, but they were over and I was diving headfirst into the New Year.

It was my first day back at school, and Principal Simmons had set up a meeting for us at the end of the day. Ricky had asked me to meet with him that day too, so I planned on taking him out to dinner after his shift to talk about his future. The new year was starting off full throttle. The first day of classes went well and I was happy to be back in my classroom, but honestly, I didn’t teach a hell of a lot that day; the kids were all too hyped up from the long holiday break to concentrate on anything too important. At the end of the day, I straightened up my room, gathered my stuff, and headed down to the Principals office.

“Hey Max, how was the first day back?” Principal Simmons asked me.

“Wasted” I replied as I took a seat on the other side of his desk, he just laughed.

“Your party was great, thank you for inviting us” He said making small talk. “What you guys have done to that old barn is amazing.”

“Thank you” I said appreciating the compliment. “We’re proud of it.”

“Well, that’s pretty obvious, and that’s why I wanted to talk to you” he said shifting from friend to boss. “Max, no one builds a factory in their backyard for a hobby. You’ve got a nice little business going there and It’s pretty clear you love it” he stopped talking and looked at me with raised eyebrows giving me the chance to respond.

“I do love it, but I also love teaching. I’m kind of at a crossroads here, and in all honesty. I have no idea which path to take” I let out a heavy sigh. “I want it all.”

“Well, that’s why I wanted to talk” Principal Simmons said. “Being out in the middle of nowhere, we have a lot of kids in this school with parents who don’t have the time, or sometimes the education to help them at home.” He explained. “So, we teach them here, and that’s about it. They have no one at home who understands what they learned that day, or pushes them to the next level.” He pulled a file out of his top drawer as he spoke. “I’m working on my budget for the next school year and have requested funds for a position I’ve temporarily titled “Student Champion.” He took a piece of paper out of the file and pushed it across the desk for me to read. “This is the job description. Basically, you’d tutor and mentor the kids that need the extra one-on-one time. It would be your job to meet with their teachers, understand their strengths and pitfalls and navigate them to the next level.”

I listened to him as I read the description, it was an interesting idea, “This looks like a great idea, I can think of a half dozen kids off the top of my head that could benefit from it.”

“Mrs. J had this idea several years ago, but we could never get funding. Until now, and I think you’d be perfect for it.”

“It sounds good, but how does another job solve my dilemma” I responded as I looked up at him.

“Well, you know how funding goes. I can only get enough to pay someone parttime. You’d have scheduled meetings maybe two days a week for 4-6 hours, then you’d be free to melt wax until your little heart is content. So, you’d still be doing both but your focus would be on your business… maybe you CAN have it all” Principal Simmons said with a smile in his voice. “And if business is slow, maybe you’d consider substituting as well when we need help.”

“Well, if it’s parttime and it was Mrs. J’s idea, why not ask her if she wants it?”

“Oh, I did. But she wants out” he said with a chuckle. “She told me she’s done her time and wants to be a farmer. She recommended you and I think it’s a great idea.” He was leaning back in his leather chair with his hands behind his head, then moved forward putting his elbows on the desk and looking me in the eye. “Max, you’re a damn good teacher. You connect with these kids on a different level. I would love to keep you in the classroom, but we both know that won’t last forever. This way, we keep you involved with the school, at least for a little longer, and you can focus more on your company. And… If you ever decide you want to get back in the classroom you know I’d find a place for you.”

I sighed… another freaking decision. “But what if I don’t last more than a semester or two and end up quitting altogether?”

“Then I kept you around another semester or two before losing a good teacher” he said. “Listen, Max. You’re a damn good teacher, but beyond that you connect with the students and the other teachers; you’d be perfect for this. Frankly, if it doesn’t work, we figure out a plan B. Worst case scenario is that you help me solidify the position and integrate it into the fabric of the school, and I find someone else to fill the position when you leave.” He made a lot of sense and was very convincing. “And meanwhile you can keep your benefits and still be an integral part of this school.” We talked a little bit longer, and he agreed to give me some time to think it through. We shook hands and I headed home.

The ride home went by quickly as my brain processed what the Principal and I had just discussed. When I got to the barn, the music was blaring and the guys were working hard. Brody had the doors to his office shut to drown out the noise. I went over to the speaker and turned it down “You guys, Brody’s working.” I said.

“He said it was cool, Max” Ricky said as he turned the music back up just a little. I inspected their work before heading up to say hi to Brody, they had made good progress. When I got up to his office, Brody was buried in a project. “Hey” I said with a kiss. “Are those guys bugging you?”

“Nah, they’re fine. They asked before they blasted the music. I had my EarPods in and have been lost in my own world anyway.” I was happy how well our situation was playing out with him in the loft and us on the main floor. I was afraid we’d drive him nuts, but he seemed to like having us all around. Brody told me about his day and the new project he was working on for the agency, and then I told him about my meeting with the Principal. “That sounds like it might be a good option for ya’” is all he said about it for the moment. I reminded him about my meeting with Ricky and that he was on his own for dinner. “That’s fine, we got enough leftovers in the house to choke a damn horse, I’ll find somethin’ to eat.” He said before I kissed him and let him get back to work, then I headed down to the main floor to join the guys.

When I got downstairs to the candle factory, they were all hard at work. I have to admit it was fun to watch them. The three cute, young guys would sing and dance along with the music, or just joke with each other… it was a fun work environment and they worked as a well-oiled machine. I would love to have taken credit for creating it, but it was Ricky’s influence. There was a spirit about the guy that was contagious, the more I got to know him, the harder it was for me to understand how he could ever have followed a redneck bully like Billy Ray. He was a leader, not a follower.

I put on my pouring apron and joined in. We were hard at work when Jordon called me. We had fulfilled his order way ahead of schedule and he was ready to talk about adding the rest of his hotels to the program. Holy shit, he was talking HUGE numbers. We would have to up our production time to fulfill it. We talked for about fifteen minutes and he told me his Procurement officer would take over the project from here and I would be hearing from her soon. After I hung up with Jordon, I sat on a barstool at the kitchen counter next to the was melters and opened my laptop to check for orders. There were several from Stella as well as a good-sized reorder from The Resort. Ricky had already taken care of the few orders that came through the website. I printed out all the orders and called Ricky over to discuss them. Within about fifteen minutes we had a plan of action that would keep us busy for a couple of weeks, we had also planned on pouring candles with the scent from Jordon’s hotels whenever we had down time so that we could get ahead of it. Ricky went straight to the storage room to pull any existing inventory and get it ready to ship for the Stella orders while the other two boys worked to finish up for the day. It was about 6:00PM when we shut it down for the night. We had several orders ready for UPS to pick-up the next day, and our production schedule mapped out for the next several days. Trey and Timmy said goodnight and headed out the barn door.

“So, where do you want to go for dinner?” I asked Ricky.

“Are you good with going to my Pop’s place?” He asked. We ordered delivery from there a lot, but it occurred to me at that moment that I had never dined in there.

“That sounds good. I’ll follow you in.” I said goodbye to Brody before Ricky and I jumped into our cars and headed towards The Pizza Place. I didn’t bring anything with me, the purpose of that meeting was to listen to Ricky’s thoughts and ideas. Between my meeting with Principal Simmons and the meeting with Ricky, I hoped to have enough information to piece my future together and make a decision. When we got to the restaurant Fern and Sue greeted us with open arms and sat us at a table in the corner. The restaurant was dark, but there was enough light for us to conduct business.

“Max, your party was great” Sue said to me as we sat.

“Thank you two so much for catering it, the food was amazing… in fact Brody was excited about eating leftovers tonight” I responded, that got a laugh from Sue.

“Do you want a menu, or do you just want me to bring you something?” Sue asked. I looked across the table at Ricky.

“Definitely let her choose” he said with a smile. “she always goes off the menu and it’s always awesome.”

“You know best” I replied, then Sue took our drink order and left us to do our business.

“Thanks for giving me this chance, Max” Ricky said. “I really thought hard about this” he said. He had a manilla file folder in front of him and pulled out a sheet of paper and pushed it across the table. “This is the job description I wrote up. I also put a list of things that I want to learn in the future down on the bottom of the page.” I took the paper and read through it. It was very well thought out, had a lot of great ideas, and most importantly it took a LOT off my plate. He wanted to handle production and distribution which left me to focus on designing scents and products, client relations, and running the business. On the bottom of the sheet there was a number.

“What’s the number?” I asked.

He suddenly got shy, “that’s how much money I’d like to make for fulltime.” I got to be honest here, he way under-valued himself. I had already discussed with Brody and Elliot what we could afford and researched what a project manager should make. If we moved forward with this, we were prepared to offer him more, but I wasn’t ready to share that with him yet. That night was his time to be heard. We talked through what he was thinking to start, where he wanted to take the job, etc. Then he asked me for my thoughts.

“I think you did a great job on this and you seem to have a good vision for your future. It’s smart and would free me up from making and shipping product so I could focus on the big picture and growing the business” I responded. Ricky got a big smile on his face. Meanwhile the food arrived, and it was awesome! She brought out Fritto Misto for us to share as an appetizer. I’d never heard of it before, it was an amazing mix of fried seafood. Then she brought out homemade spinach ravioli as an entrée. None of this was on the menu, I realized they were treating me like family. Ricky and I talked some more and I started to really organize all this in my head. Ricky’s role in the company, my role in the company, my role at school, it all just started to fall in place in my mind. After months of trying to figure it out, suddenly I could visualize everything… I mean really see how we could take it all to the next level and make it work. That day so many things changed for me. I started to see my world differently. With plenty to think about I set business aside for the rest of the night, and decided to enjoy the great meal in front of me. Sue sat down with us for a while, and eventually Fern made an appearance as well.

“You’d be lucky to get this one” Fern said proudly as he motioned towards his son.

“You don’t have to sell me” I said with a smile. It was getting late and I had to teach the next day so I shook Ricky’s hand and told him I’d pull something together for him in the next few weeks (we had plenty of time), then said goodnight to Ricky’s parents. I tried to settle my bill, but my money was no good there. On the drive home, things really started to gel in my mind. Things were finally making total sense to me. YES! It was almost 10:00 when I got home. Brody was already in bed, so I pulled out my laptop and started to write. Org charts, job descriptions, growth projections, it suddenly was so much clearer and made so much more sense to me. After a couple of hours strategizing and writing out my thoughts, I went up to bed. Brody was fast asleep on his side, I kissed him on the neck, wrapped my arm around him and fell fast asleep.

The next few weeks were a blur of activity as I continued to teach, filled orders, and fleshed out my new world. It was February before I knew it. Seth and Zach had invited us to St louis for Mardi Gras, we were leaving the following weekend and were damn excited. As far as our life went, things were going well with one exception… our sex life. Brody was scared shitless to fuck me since our “fatal fuck” incident. He was attentive, loving, and protective of me, but he wouldn’t make love to me. It was a Friday night and I decided to change that. I took a shower before I got into bed, Brody brushed his teeth and joined me a few minutes later. I was lying naked under the covers and he moved in behind me in his boxers and spooned me. I pushed my ass back against him… no response. Nothing. I reached behind him and fondled his soft cock.

“Not tonight, Maxwell. I’m tired” Brody whispered.

“No, you’re not” I whispered back. “You’re scared. It’s okay, I’m fine Brody.”

“Maxwell, when you passed out it scared the livin’ shit outta me. I thought I lost you just because I got horny in the shower.” He was sincerely worried.

I laughed, “it was a freaking fluke, Brody. I’m not gonna die if you fuck me. I promise” I said. I heard him chuckle a little. Then he pushed his groin against my ass. He was still soft but he wiggled his cute little body around, rubbing himself on my ass and I could feel him getting harder. FINALLY! I was gonna get fucked again. It had been a month! A freaking month! Hell, I can barely remember going more than two days without it since we moved in together much less a damn month! Considering that I was the one who got knocked out, you’d think I’d be the one who was gun shy… nope. I was ready to get back in the saddle. It took a little persistence, but after a few minutes he was hard as a rock. I decided I would have to work up to fucking so I rolled onto my other side and we were face-to-face. I looked him in the eyes, ran the back of my hand up and down his cheek, and kissed him tenderly. He kissed me back and it felt wonderful. I know he was still worried about hurting me, but I never felt anything but safe with him.

As we kissed, I reached down and fondled his now hard manhood. It was burning hot in my hand and the skin was so tight. He was harder than usual, I guess going without for over a month will do that to a guy. After about five minutes, he touched me back. FINALLY! He grabbed my cement pole and stroked me; it was freaking electrifying. Jolts of excitement shot through my sexually deserted body and I was afraid I was going to cum from just a hand job. If I’m being honest here, I had masturbated a few times in the bathroom… but that sums up my sex life since New Year’s Day, and it had been a good week and a half since I came. I was doing my best not to explode at just the touch of his warm, soft hand.

I decided to kiss my way down his body. Lips, neck, nipples (throwing in a playful bite every now and then), I licked my way down his tight, adorable little abs, and stuck my tongue in his bellybutton. He arched upwards and moaned as I did. Then I moved down and licked him from tip to root, and back up again before taking him in my mouth. By then he had stopped resisting me and was basking in the pleasure I was giving him. I looked up to make eye contact but his eyes were rolled into the back of his head. I smiled around his cock, knowing he finally gave in to my urges… and his own.

I worked his cock with my mouth and it was clear he was about to cum: I pulled off him before he did and moved down to his balls. They were so warm, soft, and smooth and my lips had missed them. I suckled them one at a time, bathing them in my saliva. Next my tongue wiggled its way down his soft, smooth taint as I subtly pushed his knees to his chest opening his sweet, pink manhole to my assault. I licked around it tenderly, lapping his musk and loving every. Fucking. Minute of it! God, I had missed this… this… ecstasy, this eroticism, this… this closeness… this connection between just the two of us. A connection I had never had with another, a connection I COULD NEVER have with another. Finally, I plunged my tongue into him and ate him out with an enthusiasm that overtook my entire being. Yeah, I know I’m making this all sound so aethereal, but it was. It freaking was. Nothing had ever felt more perfect. After a good fifteen minutes of me just reveling in the taste and feel of him, I laid on my back next to the man I loved. I turned my head towards him, looked in his eyes and whispered, “I want you inside me.”

He started to protest, “I don’t know if I’m ready, Maxw…” I cut him off and grabbed his straining manhood.

“This says otherwise” I sighed empathetically. “I know the ‘fatal fuck’ incident scared you” I said trying to lighten the mood. “But there’s no way in hell I’m giving up sex with you. You know you love it too.” He actually mustered up a smile for me as I stroked his face. “Now, make love to me” I said quietly. But I didn’t want him to make love to me… I wanted him to fuck me, and fuck me hard, but I’d settle for love making. Yeah, the last time he fucked me I knocked myself out… but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a great fuck. I mean, he had never been that deep inside me and it was otherworldly.

Brody reluctantly moved between my legs, after sitting there for a moment looking into my eyes, he took a deep breath, then exhaled and pushed my legs back to my chest. He went down on my and rimmed my hole gently, then a little more aggressively until he was eating me out like it was his last fucking meal. This lasted forever! He stretched it out as long as he could… I knew he was avoiding the inevitable. “it’s time” I said quietly as I reached into the drawer of the nightstand and handed him a bottle of lube. Jesus, he spent forever lubing me up, then he finally started to lube himself up. He slowly, gingerly (pun intended) lined his throbbing manhood up with my pink hole. Finally. Fucking finally, he pushed in and breached my hole. His eyes never left mine and when he saw the look of pleasure and bliss on my face, he relaxed a little and pushed further. I contracted myself around his warmth and girth… goddammit he was the perfect fit for me. Slowly but surely, he pushed forward until his balls rested in my crack and he bottomed out inside of me.

He was above me, looking down into my eyes and asked softly, “are you okay?”

I nodded and whispered, “I am so perfect.” I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled his face down to kiss me. It was a soft, lover’s kiss as he slowly moved in and out of me. Oh my god I had missed the feeling of him inside of me more than anything. It had been a loooooong time. Too fucking long. As Brody watched my eyes and face, he realized that I wasn’t in any pain or danger and he lightened up. His strokes became faster and more deliberate, but not harder, he was still a little nervous. With Brody inside of me again at long last, and an almost two week load inside my ample balls I shot handsfree. The first shot was strong as hell and hit us both on the chin. Brody smiled, picked up the pace and within another ten strokes or so was breeding me, damn it felt good. Brody’s tight little body collapsed on top of me and we just lay there in sweaty satisfaction. Damn I needed that!

That weekend Brody and I put work aside and just spent time being together. Saturday night we went out to a romantic dinner, just the two of us. Sunday was family time with dinner at Daddy and BA’s.

When we got home Sunday night, Brody and I cuddled up in bed with Zoey at our feet. It was the perfect end to the perfect weekend.

 

To be continued…