The Village

Colton’s Perspective

My mother had talked the courts into mandatory visitation for Ella while she was in foster care by claiming to be a victim too. I called bullshit. She was a willing participant, or at the very least an enabler. Ella didn’t want to see her, and I wasn’t going to let her face her alone. The worst part for me personally was that my mother now knew we lived in Wilmington now. I felt safer when they all thought I disappeared and no one gave a crap, now I felt like a sitting duck. There’s little doubt that my mother told my father where we were living, and my dad is not the kind of guy that likes to be told what to do… if he wants to see his daughter, he will see his daughter. If he wants to beat his son for being a disappointment, he will beat his son for being a disappointment. That’s my father.

I picked Ella up from school after her second period class. She got in the car, her arm still in a cast. She didn’t have much to say (usually I couldn’t shut her up). She’d only been in her new school a week but was doing well, she found a group of friends she clicked with. Things were going well for us both and Zach was confident he could get me guardianship. I was about to move up to the fourth floor into a two bedroom apartment next to Ricky and Timmy; Brody and Max were cutting us a great deal so I could afford it. Seth had taught me how to budget and save and pushed me hard to put money away, I was doing good with that. On top of all that, when I moved out of the apartment on the second floor of The Village, they gave me all my rent back. Seth told me not to tell the other guys, their intent wasn’t to take our money for rent, it was to teach us how to pay bills and adult. They weren’t charging me much rent so two month’s rent didn’t amount to much, but it was a windfall to me. Rodney was helping me get financial aid to go back to culinary school. I was most excited about that, I thought I’d have to choose between Ella and school! I loved to cook and now I felt like I was doing more than just surviving. I had goals and a plan to achieve them… damn, life looked so different when I thought about things that way. I never would have gotten here or had the slightest chance of getting Ella out of that house if it wasn’t for The Village.

We pulled up to the facility where Ella was supposed to meet mother, walked inside and checked-in with the woman at the front desk. She let the social worker know we were there; the social worker was not at all what I expected. He was in his late twenties, dark-skinned, bald, and as rock solid as a freaking bank vault. Vincent looked intimidating as hell, but was the nicest guy you’ll ever meet… I considered myself lucky that he was on our side. He greeted us with a smile, explained what would happen and then led Ella to a meeting room and me to a waiting area where I got a bad cup of coffee from the vending machine and took a seat in one of the uncomfortable chairs against the white wall. I was sitting there just a few minutes when HE walked in. My father was one of those guys who just looked… well… like a douche bag. He was a big man with tats and scars, his once muscular body sported a beer gut, the little hair he had left just flopped on his head randomly begging for a bad combover, and his face had this combination smirk/scowl permanently affixed to it. It was like he was always sizing you up, judging you, and thinking about the best way to belittle you and show his dominance. He sat on the other side of the room and acknowledged me with a menacing scowl. I didn’t respond. I sipped my crappy cup of joe and scrolled through social media on my iPhone. The room was silent, no music, no atmosphere, and certainly no conversation between us.

‘Is my father even allowed to be here?’ I thought to myself, then decided to step out and call my lawyer.  I went right to voicemail, “Hey Zach” I said to the recording, “It’s Colton. I’m waiting for Ella at her visitation and my father is in the waiting room. Is he even allowed to be here? Let me know.” I was going to sit on the step of the building instead of going back up to the waiting room but then decided that I had more of a right to be there than him, so I was going to stand my ground. I went back to my spot in the uncomfortable chair, sipped the bad coffee, and scrolled on my phone again. This time I was looking at cars for sale... yeah, yeah, yeah I know. I needed my money for Ella and school, but she’d need a car to get to school because when I worked the day shift, I’d leave the apartment before her. I was just trying to see what was out there to get an idea of budget… I didn’t want a car payment so I needed something super cheap. Maybe Daddy could help me find something basic. I just scrolled through used cars ignoring my father completely.

Suddenly his booming voice bellowed across the large, empty room. “So, you’re not even gonna talk to your old man?” He asked in a tone that was meant to intimidate.

I looked up as though I just noticed him for the first time and smiled politely, “nope.” Then I went back to looking at my phone. Zach texted me back ‘I’m in between meetings. Yes, he can be in the building. No. he cannot have contact with her per the court order. The social worker knows the deal, If he comes near her call the police and text me.’ I read the message and texted back ‘got it.’

“You can’t avoid me forever boy” he bellowed again, verbally poking me.

I looked up, my eyes steeled and locked to his, “I can sure as hell try.” Before he could bark back at me, Vincent the social worker came into the room with my mother. It hadn’t even been an hour.

My mother looked me over and said, “you look nice.” I thanked her, then she said “ya’ know we’re gonna fight ya’ on this. My lawyer says an eighteen year old boy aint got a chance in hell to get custody.” My father was staring through me as my mother spoke.

I was silent for a moment, then I met my father’s steel gaze and calmly answered my mother, “my lawyer says an eighteen year old MAN with a good income, a nice home, and no record has a hell of a lot better chance of getting guardianship of her than the woman living with her abuser.” My mother just glared at me and my father looked like a wild animal ready to attack his prey when Vincent broke the tension.

Vincent smiled at me and said, “Ella is waiting for you in the other room” then bid goodbye to my mother and started to usher me out of the waiting room. I’m sure they were used to these kinds of situations as everyone’s position was very much planned out. They kept my sister sequestered from my parents after the session. We were almost to the door when my father spoke.

“I’d like to see her now, please” my father said as if thought it was his turn.

Before I could intervein Vincent gave him a polite, but firm “I’m sorry sir, that’s not possible.”

“But I’m her father” he growled as his posture stiffened and he took a step towards Vincent in a futile attempt to intimidate. His efforts were wasted, Vincent was as a brick wall and repeated his earlier response. My father looked at him and said, “where is she? In that room?” he asked nodding his head towards a closed door.

Vincent smiled warmly and said in a calm, matter-of-fact tone, “There are officers in the building, if you make the slightest attempt to make contact you will be arrested on the spot in violation of the court order” Vincent wasn’t playing my father’s game. He looked at my mother and said, “Ma’am if you’d like to continue your visits with your daughter, I’d suggest you come alone next time.” Then he looked up at me and motioned, “come with me Colton.” I followed him with a grin on my face. Damn, Vincent shot my father down without hesitation and all he could do was take it. It felt good to know we weren’t in this fight alone. I thanked him for his help.

Vincent sat down with the two of us and talked about the visit, “how are you feeling, Ella” he asked kindly.

“Crappy” she said, then looked at me. “I almost cried when I saw her, but the first thing she said was “daddy wants you to come home” and that was the end of the warm fuzzies. I am NOT going back to him.” 

“Ella, I know you love her, but you know whose side she’s on” I responded. I wanted to hug her but held back in front of Vincent. My father had hit us both when he felt we deserved it, frankly I used to think I deserved it too but Seth convinced me that it wasn’t normal or okay for him to hit us with a fist, or backhand us… EVER. I always wondered if he did more to Ella, she told me no, but I wasn’t convinced. I suspected there was sexual abuse, or at least attempts. My father was a bad man, and my mother was his clean-up crew. Dad made messes; mom cleaned them up.

Vincent, Ella, and I talked for a while longer, he asked a lot of questions about her visitation, her living situation with the J’s, how the legal battle was going, if I had secured an apartment, etc. I told him everything I could think of, including how The Village had helped us. He was vaguely familiar with them and asked if it would be alright if he contacted Rodney, “I might have access to some different resources that might help you.” I gave him Rodney’s number, then Vincent gave Ella and I his number and arranged for us to have a police escort out to our car. Thank go my father was gone, but I kept an eye on my rearview mirror watching for him as I drove Ella back to school. I did NOT want him to know where she went to school or where I lived. We made it back to school and I kissed her goodbye. Mrs. J was going to pick her up but I promised to get up early and take her to school in the morning. Mrs. J typically had me over every night for dinner, but I was working the late shift that week so we didn’t spend as much time together. On top of that, Craig was coming to town to help Max with the greenhouse. I couldn’t freaking wait to see him! We had talked almost every day since we met at the Harrington House dedication event a couple of months before. Friday was my last night working the late shift so we wouldn’t get to see each other until Saturday night. It would be our first actual date. I told Ella that I would spend Saturday with her, but I had plans with a friend on Saturday night. She understood, plus she had plans to go out to a movie with some friends, she liked her new school and was fitting in… I was so relieved.

The week went by slow and my sleep schedule was messed up from working the late shift, but the time and a half pay was worth it. I woke up after a few hours of sleep every day so I could take Ella to school and spend some time with her. Mrs. J sent dinner with me in Tupperware dishes every morning… The J’s (like everyone in The Village) were just good people and treated Ella and I as if we were their own. Like I said, the week went by slow but FINALLY it was Saturday. I slept until almost noon, then went to get Ella. We went shopping at thrift stores for stuff for our new place. Ella was excited as we dreamed about having a place of our own, free from the fear of our father and the complacency of our mother. I didn’t have much in the way of worldly possessions and needed a bunch of little odds and ends. As far as furniture, I just had a futon and an old coffee table from Seth for the living room, that was it. I did have a bedroom set (again from Seth) but planned on buying a new bed for me and giving Ella my old one once we moved upstairs. I don’t know what it was about a bed but it was like the most important thing to me. Maybe it was because I was homeless for a while and a new bed made me feel secure, it was a guaranteed place to lay my head at night.

After our shopping excursion we just hung out at my place, I made loaded nachos and we watched movies and laughed. Damn, it was so nice to spend time with Ella without the cloud of our father hanging over our heads. I sat on the couch and she laid with her head in my lap. “Thanks for getting me away from him” she said quietly in the middle of Spider Man. I just petted her hair and enjoyed being with my sister. I jumped in the shower late afternoon and got ready to see Craig. I pulled on a nice pair of shorts and a cute polo then took Ella back to the J’s.  On the drive over Ella asked, “So is this just a friend or a date thing?” She knew I was gay and didn’t care, but we just never talked about it… well it seemed like the right time so I told her all about Craig. When we got to the J’s house she hugged me, thanked me for a great day, then said, “have fun tonight, I hope this Craig guy knows you’re the best.” I squeezed her tight and kissed her on the cheek before she got out of my old Corolla. Mrs. J was out working in the yard and waved to me as she greeted my sister with a hug.

BroMax Farm wasn’t far away and less than ten minutes later I was pulling up the long drive. It was kind of quiet. When I got out of the car Zoey attacked me and I dropped to my knees on the gravel, kissed his sweet face, and rubbed my old friend behind his ears and got a face covered in dog slobber as a thank you. God, I loved that dog. When I lived with Brody and Max he would sleep with me every night, watching out for me. He gave me unconditional love at a time when I felt the world hated me. “Where’s Craig at buddy?” I asked the clueless dawg as he continued to lick my face. I walked up to the house and let myself in the front door… Max and Brody considered me family, there was no need to knock. “Anybody home?” I yelled.

“In here, y’all” Brody yelled back and I followed his voice to the kitchen where he was bent over exploring the contents of the refrigerator.

“Hey, Brody” I said.

“Hey Cole, want a water or soda? I’m just grabbin’ some for the guys working out in the greenhouse.” Brody answered.

“No thanks, I’m just here to pick up Craig” I said and then followed Brody out to the greenhouse. I had not been to BroMax since the new greenhouse had been built… Damn, they did it up right. It was a big, beautiful glass structure. When I entered Craig and Max were hard at work, and Maverick was there with them helping. Apparently, he grew up on a farm and Max recruited him to help with growing the herbs on day one. I had invited Maverick to join us for movie night on Friday but I forgot I had to work, Mason made sure he got there and that the guys welcomed him. They really were a good group of people.

“Wow! This place is awesome, Max” I said and Max beamed with pride. He had wanted that greenhouse for a long time.

“Oh crap, is it 6:00 already?! Craig asked. “I’m sorry Cole, we got into planting and I lost track of time.” Then he looked at me smiled, and came towards me “Hi” he said with that fucking magic smile and hugged me in his sweaty arms. “You look good. I am so sorry, I thought it was only like 3:00… we’re just so into this.”

“It’s fine” I said, “Do you want to reschedule?” The voices in my head were creaming SAY NO! SAY NO!

“Oh, HELL no!” he said. “Let me take a quick shower.” With that he excused himself and went into the house to get ready.

“I’m ready to call it a day too” Max said.

“Hey, Maverick, do you need us to drop you off?” I asked.

“Nope. I’m stayin’ here now. Max put me to work in the garden and the greenhouse but I didn’t have a ride from Tommy and Darius’ place so I moved in here” he said looking so much stronger and confident than when I met him earlier that week. He even looked like he put on a little weight. I talked with him and Max while I waited for Craig to shower. “I’m moving into Mason’s place at Harrington House when he moves into your apartment… we’re gonna be neighbors” he added excitedly. He was a good guy and I was glad things were falling into place for him, but they usually did when The Village got involved. Max showed me around the new greenhouse, it was clear that they had been working their assess off in there.

Craig came bursting through the door of the glass structure, all fresh and looking cute as hell, “So, you ready for our um…. first official date?” Hell yeah, I was! I smiled and nodded, then we said our goodbyes and headed to my old Corolla, “Don’t wait up” Craig yelled to the others as he got into the car. Max just smiled and shook his head.

As soon as the doors shut, I leaned over and kissed him tenderly “I’m so happy you’re here” I said.

“Me too” he replied, “I missed you.”

I started the car, turned it around and we headed down the long drive, through the countryside and to a cute little sushi place in the middle of town. Craig had told me he loved sushi, and I never tried it before, so what the hell… I had made reservations as soon as we set our date. Dinner was so much fun, just talking with him in-person! Like I said, we talked almost every day, but looking into his eyes as I listened, and feeling the occasional touch of his hand was so much better. He ordered for us and started me off easy with a California roll (no fish), then a shrimp Tempura roll (no raw fish), then eel… yes EEL! The texture was weird and I had to get over thinking that it used to be alive and slithering, but I admit it was good. Before the end of the night, I was eating raw tuna and loving it.

Craig told me all about school, life in St Louis, and his work with Max. He even talked about maybe coming back here to work with Max permanently after graduation, “If the company keeps growing, he’s going to have to up herb production even more.” He had this sparkle in his eye when he talked about his work. I could’ve listened to him all night.

Next the conversation turned to me and the new life I was building. We talked about my job, the new apartment, and of course Ella. He called me “brave.” It was odd to hear that because I didn’t see myself as brave. I wasn’t a warrior storming onto the battlefield, or a first responder running into a burning building to save a baby, I was just doing what needed to be done. Next, we talked about my plans for culinary school, “I had no idea you even cooked” Craig said, “you never cooked for me.”

“How about I make you breakfast?” I asked with a grin as my foot met the side of his leg and my hand met his across the table. Yeah, it was a pretty smooth move if I do say so myself. His brilliant smile outshined the candle on the table as he accepted my invitation. The waiter brought out fried ice cream with two spoons. He fed me a spoonful of the tiny dessert and I savored not just the sweet delicacy but that perfect moment. Fuck, six months before I was homeless, sleeping in my car in a Walmart parking lot, now there I was face to face with this gorgeous hunk of a horticulturalist eating an expensive dinner. A dinner which I was ready to end and move on to the pre-breakfast activities. He grabbed the check before I could flinch and I thanked him. It hit me at that moment that this was not just OUR first date, it was MY first real date, EVER… and I liked it.

We got in the old Corolla and I drove down Oleander towards downtown and back to Harrington House. We talked some more as we sat on my futon, little touches were exchanged as we talked. His hand on mine, my knee against his, eventually his arm around me, then his soft, supple lips against mine. The last (first, and only) time we were together Craig asked permission for everything he did, can I hug you? Can I kiss you? Can I suck you off? (yes, he really asked permission and I think y’all know the answers). This time there was a fluid motion about it and things just progressed naturally. Our lips touched, our tongues tangoed, and our hands roamed. Soon we were shirtless on the couch, my bare chest tight against his smooth, firm torso. His skin was warm and his heart was beating as fast as mine, exactly like in his hotel room the night we met.

We went from making out shirtless on the couch to naked on MY bed. I have no idea how we advanced to that, all I know is that our lips never parted and my warm, naked body was adhered to his with the glue of passion. Heat, sweat, and lust held us together in a raging inferno of heated lust… I had NEVER felt like that before. Craig was tender and attentive, it was like there was nothing more important to him than me, after all the rejection and loneliness I had been through it felt so powerful to be wanted, almost needed, maybe loved by someone else. His lips left mine after a very long tryst and descended to the sensitive nape of my neck. My manhood jumped into action at the nibbling of his full, plump lips and the occasional poking and exploring of his tongue.

I rolled from my side to my back and put my hands behind my head, linking my fingers and just enjoying the ride. Craig repositioned himself between my legs, kneeling there as he leaned over and licked his way down my eighteen year old body. His tongue bathed my soft skin making me squiggle with agonizing desire. Craig and I blew each other the last time he were together, but we hadn’t fucked yet and I wanted it… fuck I wanted it! Frankly, I had never fucked or been fucked in my life. Don’t get me wrong, I had a few exploratory BJ’s, hand jobs, rim jobs, etc. but never anal sex and I was curious as hell. My masturbatory fantasies usually centered around fucking or getting fucked. Frankly, this was all new and I didn’t know which one I wanted to do first, I didn’t know which one Craig wanted if any, I had no fucking clue how even to bring it up! I got out of my own head and just basked in the attention as Craig finally reached the object of his fascination and gave it a lick. I couldn’t help but look down as his beautiful eyes looked up at me and his tongue spun its magic around my throbbing flesh. I shuddered in presentiment knowing what I wanted, hoping that he wanted it too. I moved my hands from behind my head and put them on his, guiding it as he engulfed me. His hair felt so soft between my fingers and I was doing my best not to aggressively fuck his mouth but just guide him instead… it took a shitload of will power because I wanted to feel the head of my cock down the back of his warm, welcoming throat, but I let him do what he was doing. His mouth was miraculous as it moved up and down my thick eight inches, he lifted off me just long enough to say, “damn, you’re big, Colton” then he went back to bringing me to the periphery of fulmination.

I was so damn close when I abruptly pulled out of his mouth and in a panic said “stop, stop, stop, I’m almost there.”

He looked up at me and grinned, “Yeah, that’s kinda the point.”

“Um… um… but I want… um…” I had a nervous smile and my words were escaping me. “I wanna do… um, more.”

Oh my god the smile that came to life on his cute face, “More?” he asked innocently knowing damn well what I was asking.

“You know” I said unable to really say what I was thinking. Oh my god, I was so nervous and embarrassed. Craig was giggling at my timidity and innocence and just looked at me like he was clueless. “I wanna fuck” I finally blurted out making him laugh out loud. He moved up from between my legs and we were laying side-by-side face to face.

Our eyes were locked, our lips were just centimeters from each other, and his hand was caressing my cheek when he asked, “is this your first time?” I was speechless and a little embarrassed. “Don’t be embarrassed, is it?” he asked again. I blushed and nodded; he responded with a tender kiss. “You sure you want to give that to me?” I nodded again, again he responded with a tender kiss. Then he asked the big question “Are you a top or bottom.”

I laughed nervously, “I don’t know. I don’t think I’m ready to bottom.” That answer put a huge smile on Craig’s face.

“Good, because I am” he answered with a chortle. “I cleaned out this morning.” I looked at him like he just grew a second head. He briefly explained what that meant (without being too graphic and ruining the moment). Shit, I never even thought about that… I had no clue what I was doing, but luckily for me Craig did. “You sure?” He asked, I nodded. “Do you have protection?” he asked; I did. I bought a dozen freaking condoms and put them in my dresser drawer hoping this would happen. I got up and grabbed the box and the bottle of lube from my underwear drawer and tossed it on the bed making Craig laugh. “damn, you’re prepared” he said making me turn red.

My erection had gone down a little when I went to get the rubbers, but I was still semi-hard. Craig laid on his back and told me to face fuck him. I mounted his chest and rested my cock against his pretty face; He took me in his mouth again. It didn’t take long before my shaft was steeled and ready for its first anal exploration. I moved myself between his legs, then pushed his knees against his chest. I looked down on his smooth, hairless, pink, perfect little hole and drizzled some of the lube onto it. My eyes were looking into his as my finger investigated his tight, tight pucker. As soon as I penetrated him, his sphincter grabbed onto my finger and squeezed it, fuck! It was incredible, I had to fuck him. I lubed up my cock and positioned myself so that my face was above his. I lined myself up against his slick hole. Then asked him if he was ready.

“Since the night we met” He answered as he grabbed my naked ass cheeks and guided me forward. His hot passage gripped me, it was like nothing I had ever experienced before. His hole was hot, alive, and thriving around me, his flesh was almost literally devouring mine and it was otherworldly! We kissed as I pushed in deeper feeling his hot tissue envelope my hard manhood and finally resting my heavy balls on his perfect ass. His hands held my buttocks keeping me deep inside his. “Pull out slowly” he whispered into my lips, I did as commanded. I pulled almost all the way out when he whispered, “push back in slowly.” He continued to guide me in and out, faster, and harder until I was pounding him, and pounding him hard! He was teaching me how to fuck and I fucking loved it. I fucked him until I shot my load in the condom, then I continued to pound him some more. He moaned and writhed, his entire being in a state of ecstasy.

I laid on top of him, still inside him until I went soft. I pinched the condom and pulled myself out of his still gripping hole. I took the rubber off and threw it on the floor, then went down on Craig giving him the best blowjob I knew how as a thank you for taking my cherry. My mouth moved up and down his perfection with my hand following. It only took a few minutes before he nutted down my throat and I drank every drop. It was amazing, and the sweet, salty, aftertaste stayed with me after I kissed him goodnight and fell asleep with him in my arms.

The next morning for the first time ever in my life, I woke up next another man. I kissed Craig good morning then got up and made him the best damn breakfast of his life.

To be continued…