The Hathaway

Dinner

Helmut was nowhere to be seen so I followed Ben and Miss M. into the kitchen and asked her where he was. “Oh, I expect he'll be back shortly,” she said over her shoulder. “He was gone when I got home after lunch, and didn't leave word where he was going. That's usually a sign he's managed to arrange a hook-up or he might be heading for one of the cruising areas.”

“Oh,” I hesitated. “Doesn't that bother you?”

“Why should it? We're not a couple anymore. He can do what he wants.”

“But I thought...”

“You thought I still cared about him? Well I do, of course. Why do you think I've let him stay here for so long? He's still family, no matter what he's done.” She turned to face me, “And I'm not some innocent young school-girl who gets all gooey and romantic and thinks prince charming will whisk me away to some sort of fairy tale ending. I've lived long enough to know better than that. Now, Ben, you said you had something you wanted to talk to me about?”

I thought it best to let Ben chat with her alone, and headed back out toward the front door to chat with Andi about the ghost we had seen last night. But as I entered the living room, Helmut came strutting through the front door. When he saw me he rubbed his crotch and said, “Damn, that was hot. I got two of them to suck me good, and nailed three in all. I even went down on one of the college students, couldn't have been more than nineteen or twenty. Still got his cum all over my chest. Want to see?”

He began to open his shirt in the middle of the living room. Helmut had never been shy about his body. Tall and muscular, he was covered in tattoos and had a tendency to wander around the house in nothing but a jock strap. “This is probably not the place.” I said.

He just smiled and grabbed my hand to drag me to the privacy of the study. Since he had returned a little over two years ago he had been sleeping on the daybed in the corner. We all still called it the study, but Mr. Phipps had eventually moved the desk and all the paperwork into another room so Helmut could claim this one as his own. He shut the door and removed his shirt. The traces of cum could easily be seen splattered across his chest. They were mostly dried and crusty, but a couple of spots were still slightly wet. He traced over these areas with his finger and popped the final drops in his mouth. Closing his eyes, he savored the taste. “mmm, essence of twink. Nothing like it.”

I decided to take advantage of this unexpected opportunity. “You sure he was over eighteen?” I asked skeptically. “There are some local kids who probably wouldn't mind being sucked off.”

“Nah, he was a college student. I asked him what he was studying and if he had a crush on any of his professors. Why?”

“No reason, I didn't know you like them young, wondered how young.”

He stood back and looked at me sternly. “What you getting at? You want to know if I like jailbait?”

“No, umm...”

“Let's get one thing clear. I like men, not children. I've never gone in for any of that shit. Have you ever seen me do anything creepy like that? I mean, it's all well and good in porn, as a fantasy, but that shit ain't real. Why would you think...”

“I didn't,” I realized I owed him an apology. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply anything, it's just when you brought up the guys age I figured it was a good way to bring up what I wanted to ask you tonight.”

“And what was that?” he was still hurt, but he was listening.

“I want to offer you a job. It's complicated, and you would be working around the kids who will be joining us next week. Most of them will be underage, but a few may be legal. Either way, we would have to be sure there was no...umm...fraternization going on with the staff.”

He laughed. “I suppose...I did come in and brag about bagging a young one. But don't worry, I can keep in in my pants when it matters. You can even do a background check if you want, nothing to hide, just some old disorderly conduct things from when I was still drinking. Nothing else. So, what's the job?"

I explained it to him as he got ready to take a shower. When he had finished stripping and was wrapping himself in a towel to head out to the downstairs bathroom, he said. “Sounds like it's right up my alley. Are you gonna want me to live on the property or come in during the day?

I hadn't really thought about that. “I don't know. What do you think?”

“I've done security before and it varies. But if you're worried about protesters and the like, I think it makes sense to have a presence on the property day and night. If the first order of business is to survey the fence and out buildings, I can see if any of those structures might be salvageable as a kind of gardener's quarters.”

“Sounds good to me. Can you come over tomorrow and get started on that?”

“Sure thing.” He opened the door and headed toward the bathroom, but before he went in he turned and said, “Why don't you get that boyfriend of yours and come join me? I'm ready to go at it again.” He winked and made a point of leaving the door open just a crack to allow us to watch if we wanted. He knew I wouldn't, but he was still as much of a tease as ever.

There wasn't time for a proper conversation with Andi before dinner, and I saw Sylvia setting the table in the dining room, so I decided to join her and help. Despite the excitement of having a place of our own, this still felt like home. It was comforting to be surrounded by the familiarity of the rooms and the regular routines, but it was the people who made it feel safe and warm. The smells emanating from the kitchen got the better of me so I broke one of the cardinal rules of the boarding house and stuck my head in the kitchen to see how it was going.

I expected to see Ben sitting at the table wrestling with his dilemma, but instead, Miss M. had given him one of her aprons and was instructing him on the proper ways to stir each of three pots. When she looked over and saw me standing in the door, she smiled and said, “Nothing like preparing a meal to help you get your priorities straight. Right Ben?”

He nodded and smiled, “Yup.”

“And if you think cooking works, I can tell you from years of experience, washing up is even better,” she continued. “Maybe I should have you do the dishes tonight too.”

He looked at her in surprise, “Wait, what?”

“Or better yet,” she turned to me and said, “I should make you do them as penance for peeking behind the curtain and spying on my culinary secrets!”

She shot me an evil grin, and I laughed. Ben had clearly come to a decision that he could live with, and I was more than willing to do dishes as a way of saying thank you. “Gladly,” I replied. “Whatever you want.”

Dinner with the family was just what we needed after the difficult day we had both had. Everyone seemed to sense our need to avoid the heavy subjects we had been dealing with all day, and steered clear of them. Helmut, never one for tact, took the conversation in an entirely different direction when he asked, “So, which one of you is wearing the butt plug tonight?” Andi and Sylvia both giggled, and Miss M. just did a face palm. “I've been waiting for the show to begin. You know...” He did a little jump in his seat and began to vibrate while crossing his eyes and moaning.

Miss M. let out a little, “Oh my god.” while the other two started laughing outright.

We both sat in stunned silence and Ben began to blush. “I didn't think anyone noticed.” I managed.

Helmut looked at me like I was being stupid, and Andi interjected, “Oh no, it was quite noticeable. I thought poor Sylvia here was going to pee her pants.” Sylvia started laughing so hard she couldn't speak, and just nodded her head in agreement.

“My fault, I'm afraid.” Miss M. offered as a kind of apology. “I should have known better. After all, we have spent the last two years being woken up at all hours by...” she searched for the right euphemism, “...the music of love. Perhaps I should have just offered a nice potted plant or something less personal. But, alas, I was full of hubris and...well...” She shot us both a knowing smile that made it clear she was happy to see us enjoying her gift. Ben breathed a sigh of relief and squeezed my hand under the table.

Helmut grunted and complained that we were no fun anymore before Andi moved the conversation to a more neutral topic. “How do you like your new digs? When you gave us a tour just before you moved in it looked spectacular. I bet it's quiet out there.”

“It is,” Ben offered, “for the most part.”

“What do you mean?” Sylvia asked. “Those protesters haven't been back have they?” Her voice rose in anger as she spoke.

“No, nothing like that.” Ben looked at me and I nodded my encouragement. It's just, well, we saw something last night. Something dark.”

The table was silent for a moment as everyone looked at each other. Andi finally broke the silence with the simple question, “Dark?”

“It wasn't that Maggie girl, was it?” Helmut balled up one fist and said, “Next time she needs to ask first. Ain't no need to go knocking a guy out like that. I wouldn't have said no.”

“No,” Ben continued, “Not Maggie either. No one we could identify, just a dark shadow in the form of a man.”

Andi's eyes grew wide. “A shadow figure. That's not good.”