Simply Red

Max’s Perspective

Our experience in St louis really hit me hard, I mean seriously hard. Yeah, I had heard about Seth’s father and what he did to Brad, and I knew things like that went on all the time… but seeing it… seeing it in-person was a rude awakening. And if I was being totally honest, I’d have to admit that I’d led a fairly privileged life and was blind to so much. Seth’s idea of BroMax offering candles at cost to help the youth center was a teeny, tiny start, and far from enough.  After what I saw I knew we needed to do more, and Brody completely agreed. Elliot and I crunched numbers and decided that the tax benefits offset the costs enough to make it possible for us to donate the candles so that 100% of the proceeds could go towards helping fund their programs and to help guys like Craig directly. We decided to donate one case for every ten cases sold, We would ship them to the organization twice a month along with any rejects or remnants for them to sell at the Farmer’s Market. But it still wasn’t enough, I wanted to do more.

As I continued to flesh out my career path and the future of BroMax Farm, Inc., I realized that the reason I had been so conflicted about changing careers was that teaching gave me purpose. I loved my candle business, but teaching had a different hold on me, it felt like something I was meant to do… a calling. After our weekend in St Louis, I started to see an even bigger purpose for myself.  I started thinking about turning our company into a non-profit 501C3 and giving all the profits to support gay youth causes. Brody was supportive of my desire to help, but not quite onboard with turning the business into a nonprofit. Grandpa had always built philanthropy into every business he ever had, so I decided to give him a call and get his input. I told him about what had happened to Craig in St louis and my thoughts of going nonprofit; It was an interesting conversation. Grandpa believed in companies giving back, but he also believed in them making a profit, and convinced me that BroMax Farm could do both. He and I talked and brainstormed for weeks… seriously we must’ve talked 20 times. He helped me develop a corporate giving plan that found a balance between profitability and giving back; he was a wise man. We decided to donate money and products to organizations targeted at helping gay youth. We would help groups like Seth’s with financial support, and by hiring gay youth who needed a hand up. We created a scholarship fund to help these kids stay in school and reach their goals. As the company grew, so would our giving. It would take a while before all these programs were actually funded, but we had to start somewhere.

We planned to increase our giving as the company grew, and focus our efforts on helping young adults… the teenagers who are too old for CPS and foster care, but not quite equipped to function on their own yet. Brody and I decided we wanted to help guys like Craig find homes, get jobs, continue their education if that’s what they wanted to do. Building strong gay men, women, and nonbinary adults who could stand on their own by creating opportunities; THAT was the BroMax Farm corporate giving mission. Grandpa helped us flesh out the plan, Seth helped us flesh out a vetting strategy, and Elliot worked with us on financials. Brody and I were lockstep on this. We called a ZOOM meeting with the board and had a “lively discussion.” They were all on board with the idea, but poked a million holes in it to make sure we had thought through everything. I realized on that call that we had chosen our board wisely. We put everything into motion and I felt damn good about what we were creating.

Over the next month or so, life moved on. Dylan and Gina had moved into the new house and she was getting bigger and bigger. The parents and other teachers at the school started to do the math and of course the rumors about her pre-wedlock pregnancy were floating around; oh well, welcome to small-town America. By that time, it didn’t really matter. Gina and Dylan were happily married and we were all excited for the baby. Terrance and Harris had finished rehabbing their new place down the road and moved in, it was nice having them so close, the four of us were becoming closer. As for me… I had spent a lot of time figuring out my future and the future of the business. After a lot of soul searching and a million conversations with Principal Simmons, and a million more with Brody, Mrs. J, Gina, Harris, Seth, and anyone else who would listen, I decided to resign at the end of the semester and give back to future generations in a different way… through BroMax Farms. I was all in. Principal Simmons was disappointed, but supportive and mad me agree to be on the substitute list.

Grandpa and Elliot helped me pull together an offer for Ricky. We would pay for his certification in exchange for him staying on for at least one year, and he would get a share of the company for each year he dedicated to us up to five shares. I ended up offering him more money than he asked for, he enthusiastically accepted the offer and told me he felt wanted; I still felt like I was getting a bargain. Grandpa was right; Ricky was gold and with our new focus I’d need him more than ever. Grandpa loved how we chose to give back and even wrote Seth’s group a huge check. Just more proof that I had led a privileged life and it fueled me to give back even more.

Brody had designed a line of greeting cards and mugs featuring the barnyard creatures of BroMax Farm (and friends) that were being produced by a small company in Raleigh and sold by Stella and Darren. We had a sales meeting with Stella and Darren and decided to offer our products in several more territories starting in August. That would give us a couple of months working fulltime after school let out to get ahead of the demand for candles, and to get the company in Raleigh up to speed and build a stockpile of Brody’s new line. It would require some upfront investment on our part to cover production, but there was little doubt in our minds that we would sell everything we produced. We had the right sales team pushing us and all our ducks in a row to expand production as soon as school was out for the year. Our little company was taking shape.

In the midst of everything else going on, I had to plant the garden. This year’s garden looked drastically different from last year’s since I had decided to pull out of the local farmer’s market and focus my attention on the business. I planted less produce and more herbs so that we could still blend a lot of our own scents… the more we sold, the harder it became to keep up with the demand. Brody was looking into the reality of building a greenhouse so we could grow herbs year round but it would probably be a few years before we got to that point. The bees were going insane and we had two swarms which means half the bees left the hive with their old queen, while the others took on a new queen. Mrs. J got me through the chaos and we now had four beehives instead of two and honey production was kicking into high gear.

It was early on a Friday evening, about a month after Mardi Gras. Ricky and the guys had just closed down the barn for the night, and I was working in the garden with Zoey laying in the dirt next to me when I got a call from Seth, his voice was somber. “Hey Max, how’s it going?”

“Good” I said sensing something in his tone, “Is everything okay with you?”

He hesitated before speaking, “Yeah, but do you remember Craig from Mardi Gras?” That was a dumb question, OF COURSE I DID, I’d NEVER forget what happened that day and how witnessing all of it changed my perspective, and frankly the course of my life.

“Yeah, of course” I answered with worry in my voice, afraid of what Seth might say next. “Is he okay?”

“Yeah, he’s good” I sighed in relief once Seth said those words, “but….” Dammit! There’s always a “but”. “His father is harassing him again. Zach helped him get a restraining order, but it’s not helping. His father is obsessed. He stays far enough away as not to violate the order, but he’s always lurking and he has Craig scared shitless.”

I listened to Seth and then asked, “so what’s his father’s end game? What does he want from the kid?”

“He wants a straight son and just can’t grasp the fact that it’s not an option. Craig is gay” Seth said in a resolved but frustrated tone, he just wanted the guy to understand and leave Craig alone. Then he hesitated again. “I have an idea. It’s a huge ask and I don’t want to put you guys in a bad position, so you can say no if you…” I cut him off.

“What are you thinking?” I asked.

“Would you and Brody… um… consider taking him in?” He asked, and before I could answer he spit out his logic, “Listen the kid needs to be far from here for his own safety, his father was released on bail so he can’t cross state lines. Craig needs a job and a place to live. You need help, you have extra room, and you’re far enough away where his father couldn’t get to him. It would only be for a couple of months until he finishes school and figures out his next steps. The school already agreed to let him finish online.” Seth spoke quickly, making sure he got out his argument before I could speak. I didn’t know how to answer, so Seth spoke again. “Listen, I get how big of a deal this is, but like you said in the board meeting, you want to help guys like Craig… here’s your chance” he took a breath, “you don’t need to answer now, think about it, talk to Brody, then we can talk some more.”

I was still at a loss for words, mostly because I was working through it all in my head. The kid needed help, and we could help him. We needed help in the candle barn and had it in the budget to hire. We DID have extra room in the house. But how would it change our world? Brody was still mostly a loner and it would be a big adjustment having a stranger living with us. Would his father find him here and put us in danger? So many questions. But the biggest question was could we make his life better? I felt the answer to that was yes. “Okay” I said with trepidation. “I’ll talk to Brody and we’ll think about it. I get things need to move fast if he’s in danger. Can you give us a day?”

“Of course. He’s safe with Rhonda and Laurie right now, but we want to move him before his dad finds him there” Seth said with calm in his voice. “Max, I know Craig, he’s a good guy. I wouldn’t ask you guys to do this if I had doubts about him, or I felt he had better options.” Seth paused, then added “This is personal for me, Max. me and my brothers went through this shit… we had Brad. Craig has no one.” That did it for me. I promised to talk to Brody and get back to him as soon as possible.

I gathered my thoughts while I finished up a few things in the garden before heading up to Brody’s office with Zoey running behind. When I got to the loft, he was at his easel painting. “Hey” he said.

“Hey. Um Seth called with an update on Craig” I said quietly.

Brody stopped what he was doing and looked at me, “Is everything okay?” The Mardi Gras incident hit him as hard as it hit me.

“Yeah, mostly” I said then told him everything Seth had told me. I had expected a long, drawn out discussion, but Brody surprised me.

“He needs help. We can help. Let’s do it.” It was very casual, natural response as if I had just asked him if he wanted to go to lunch. I started a discussion that bordered on an argument, making sure he understood what I had asked. “Maxwell, I get it. He needs help, and we can give it to him. This isn’t a lifelong commitment, it’s a few months that might could the course of his life.” Brody had zero hesitation, I on the other hand was filled with doubt… somehow, I had expected the situation to be reversed. “Why don’t we talk to Seth and come up with a plan B in case it doesn’t work out or his dad finds him” Brody suggested.

“That’s a good idea” I agreed. We talked it through and decided to do it, about fifteen minutes later we called Seth and committed. Seth said he already had a Plan B set up with the someone in the village in Phoenix if things didn’t work out.

“Are you 100% sure?” Seth asked. “Because if you are, we’re leaving now.”

“Now?” I asked in surprise.

I had Seth on speaker phone and Brody was next to me, he just looked at me and shrugged. “Do what ya gotta do, Seth. We’ll be ready.” Brody was such a damn rock. Seth said goodbye and told us to expect him before Saturday afternoon. He promised to check in with us regularly while they were on the road.

The wheels were in motion and I was going into a panic, things were happening so damn fast. I turned to run into the house to start getting things ready (although I still wasn’t sure what had to be done) and Brody grabbed my arm. “Hey, it’s gonna be fine.”

“I gotta clean the house, get his room ready, go grocery shopping, tell Ricky that Craig will be starting on Monday, Call Elliot about getting him on the payroll. We should probably call your family and let them know what’s going on, and….” Brody cut me off.

“Maxwell, it’s gonna be fine, we’ll get it all done in the morning. Let’s just enjoy our last night of privacy for a while and then we can get up early and nosedive into getting our shit together.” Brody said. He was so damn calm about it all. “Breathe already” he said with a laugh. I took a deep breath. He pulled me to him and hugged me as I exhaled. We just stood the for a few minutes embracing, my body seemed to absorb his calm. He kissed me on the lips tenderly as he released me from his calming embrace. “Let’s order a pizza. You can tell Ricky about Craig when he delivers, we’ll get some sleep, then tomorrow we’ll get up early and attack it all together” he said, then looked up into my eyes, “okay?” I nodded. Brody ordered the pizza and I went in to take a shower.

I did a lot of thinking as the warm water poured down over me. I had wanted to help… this was my chance. It was more than a check or and in-kind donation of candles to help a cause; it was stepping up and helping someone change their world. By the time I got out of the shower, I had a new determination. Seth had texted me while I was in the shower ‘we’re on our way, Zach, Rhonda, and Laurie are with us. Is it cool if we all stay at your place tomorrow night?’ I responded ‘absolutely!’ while my mind instantly went to all the things I needed to do to get ready for more unexpected guest.

I put on some shorts and a Tee and went down to the living room just as Ricky showed up with the pizza. “Hey Max” he said with a cute smile.

“Hey Ricky. Busy night?” I asked.

“It was, but you’re my last stop” he replied.

“Good, I wanted to talk to you, can you stay?” I asked just as Brody walked into the room. He said hi to Ricky, grabbed the pizza, and invited Ricky to eat with us. Ricky texted his dad to make sure he was really done for the night, then followed us into the kitchen and filled a plate with pizza and we sat down at the kitchen table. While I was in the shower, I had thought about how I wanted to approach this with him. We didn’t know Craig for shit! I saw him dancing on a float, then knocked unconscious laying on the ground… that was my entire experience with the guy. I had no idea how open he was about his personal life, etc. and didn’t want to share anything that he didn’t want shared. “You remember Seth and Zach from the board?” I asked.

“Yeah, the guys from St Louis, right?” He asked.

“That’s them. They have a friend about your age who needs a place to stay, so he’s going to be staying here for a few months and working for us.” I said awaiting a reaction. He just looked at me waiting for more info. “I haven’t talked to him about his schedule yet, but He’ll probably start Monday or Tuesday, put him to work wherever you see fit.”

“Awesome, we need another body. Do I need to train him?”

“Yup. I don’t think he has a clue about what we do. But it aint rocket science, you can train him” I said.

Ricky laughed, “I trained T-Dog, I can train anyone.” Brody snickered at his comment.

Ugh, T-Dog, there was that name again, “Timmy” I corrected, getting a huge knowing smirk from Ricky. He knew that name bugged the crap outta me.

Ricky looked at me quizzically and asked, “So what’s the guy like?”

“I have no clue. We don’t really know the guy, he’s a friend of Seth’s”

“And you’re letting him move in here?” he asked, his eyebrows raised. I could see the wheels spinning in his head, he knew something was up. Instead of prying, he just smiled and said, “me and the guys will take care of him.” God, he was a good kid. We talked a little more as we finished eating, then Ricky said “See y’all on Monday” and left.

About an hour later We went up to bed, Brody took a shower before jumping in naked behind me. I had already passed out and Zoey was asleep on the floor at the foot of the bed. Brody woke me up with some tender kisses to the nape of my neck and a gentle probe from his hard tool. His lips moved to my ear as he nibbled my lobe, then moved to a full out assault shoving his tongue deep into my ear. Fuck, that man knew every button I had and exactly how to push them. It took about a minute or two for me to wake up fully, but when I did, I flipped over and put my leg over his little body. We wiggled around and re-positioned ourselves for a while until we were face-to-face with my arms and legs wrapped around him.

We kissed with a fiery passion that I had zero control over. My emotions were raw and my head filled with the stress of what was happening in our world… all that just fucking evaporated. His soft hot flesh against mine transported me to a place of calm lust (yeah, I know that’s a weird combo, but that’s what it was). As we kissed, we fondled, we groped, we rubbed, we grinded, god it was such a welcomed escape. I felt Brody’s dry fingers circling my hole. I pulled his hand away and up to my mouth then sucked his fingers sensually as I looked directly into his beautiful brown eyes. When they were nice and slick, I guided them back to my tight pucker. Brody instinctively pushed in one finger and searched for my prostate. FUCK… he found it and waves of pleasure shot through me. Our lips locked again and my tongue probed deep as I pulled him tightly to me and he massaged my prostate with two fingers now.

He rolled us over so that his smallish body was resting on my muscular frame. He reached between us and pulled his throbbing cock back and positioned it at my tight hole, He left it resting in my crack while he reached into the nightstand for the lube. The gel was cold on my anxious hole as he prepped me with one, then, two, and eventually three fingers. Goddammit it felt so amazing and I was writhing and begging to be fucked. Brody squeezed some more lube into his palm then stroked his cock with it. I heard him moan softly from the pleasure he was unwittingly giving himself as he prepared to breed me. He lined himself up and looked down into my desperate eyes silently begging for permission. I nodded and he pushed forward.

A collective moan escaped our lips as if we were one being experiencing two completely different forms of pleasure at the same time. My passage let him in then contracted around the hot, hard, soft more than welcome intruder. My nails dug into his toned back as I tried to pull him as deep as he could possibly go. He rested his curly locks on my shoulder and whispered into my ear, “Gotdammit, Maxwell. You are so fuckin’ tight” as he pushed further. His warm, heavy balls rested on my ass as he held himself deep within me.

Slowly he retreated, sending thrills of ecstasy through my body. Just as the head was about to pop out of my hole, I moved my hands to his firm buttocks and pulled him back in with a whimper “no. stay in me.”

Brody chuckled quietly, “oh, you like that do ya’?” he said with a grin before kissing me and pushing his way back in.

“No. I fucking hate it. Can’t you tell?” I moaned sarcastically making him laugh. He slowly moved in and out of me making sure I felt every vein and ripple of his perfect manhood. Our breathing synced up as we found our rhythm and his strokes became harder, faster, and more deliberate. My cock was pinned between our two bodies and the friction from his tight little abs was basically jacking me off. “Oh fuck, Brody. I’m so close.” He smashed his mouth against mine upon hearing that and shoved his tongue deep inside my mouth like he was eating my moans of pleasure. We both moaned as the hot semen shot up from my churning balls, through my stiff shaft and landed between our sweat covered bodies. Brody pumped harder and moaned louder as he bred my tight ass, I could feel his heat inside me and it felt so damn good. He collapsed on me and we became one hot, sweaty, cummy ball of flesh as we lie there trying to catch our breath.

Brody rolled off me and we both just lay there staring up at the ceiling with our arms behind our sweaty heads. We turned to look at each other and he just said, “shower time.” I followed the love of my life into the shower where we sensually lathered each other up and rinsed each other off. We dried off then got into bed, our bodies still shivering. I spooned my little top that night as a sex-induced bliss pushed us off into slumberland.

The next morning, I was up at 5AM making a list over everything I needed to do. I texted Seth to see how the trip was going, they were driving straight through so I figured he’d be awake. He instantaneously called me back. He spoke in a whisper “Hey, Zach’s driving and I’m up front keeping him awake. Everyone else is sleeping and we’re still about 6 hours out.”

“How’s Craig doing?” I asked.

“He’s passed out snoring in the third seat of Rhonda’s VW Atlas with Petunia’s head in his lap” he said with a chuckle. “We picked him up from his job an hour before his shift ended and snuck him out the backdoor to take him to his friends place to pack his stuff” Seth said giving me the play-by-play. “Meanwhile, Chip and Alec parked in front of his father’s house and kept an eye on him to make sure he didn’t come looking for him.” Craig had been staying with a friend’s family. “Craig told the family he was staying with and his boss that he was going to Ohio to stay with some friends, that way if his dad starts pressuring people to tell him we can throw him off course for a while.” They seemed to have thought through everything. I just hoped we could keep him safe and give him a better start.

After I hung up with Seth, I called Gina and woke her up at about 6:00 to tell her what was going on. She was not amused by my early wake-up call (note to self: never wake up an 8 month pregnant woman at 6AM on a Saturday). After she cussed me out in a very un-motherlike way, she volunteered to help in any way possible. At the moment I was still in a tizzy trying to figure out what to do, but I promised to get back to her if we needed anything. By the time Brody got up at 7AM I had the house cleaned, my grocery list made, a list of chores for each of us, and a list of crap we needed to figure out with Craig once he got here. The entire morning was a whirlwind as we got ready for our guest. That poor guy had been through so much shit and I just wanted to make things better for him.

Rhonda’s grey Atlas pulled up the long drive shortly after noon, Seth had texted when they exited the highway and Brody and I were out in the yard ready to greet them. Zoey came running in from the pasture when she heard the gravel crunching under the tires. The SUV came to a stop and all four doors opened, out jumped Petunia and she and Zoey wrestled each other for about five seconds then took off running towards Jimmy. Rhonda, Laurie, Seth, and Zach emerged from the vehicle and we all hugged and greeted each other as Craig climbed out from the third row.

Craig got out of the car, looked around apprehensively, and took in his new surroundings. He was safe with us.

 

To be continued…