The Village

Seth’s Perspective

What sucks more than a Monday? A Monday where you’re deal with two kids who were doted on by their grandparents over a four day holiday weekend…. Ugh! Freddy was just excited to go back to school with all his friends, but Izzy, well Izzy was being… well… a little frigging diva! First, she wants pancakes then she doesn’t, then she says “no” to every outfit I pull out of her drawer and demands on dressing up as a princess to go to daycare. She woke up whining and all morning she was bitching and moaning about something… she mastered the word “no” quiet well. It took all three of us, but finally, we were able to convince her to eat her breakfast and get dressed in her normal clothes (Freddy was such a massive help with her when she got in her moods). The kids said goodbye to Zach then we got into the Atlas and headed off to pick up Teddy for school. Freddy and Teddy spent Thanksgiving together, but after that they were separated for most of the weekend doing stuff with their own families. The two of them were excitedly sharing the details of their holidays while Izzy sat in her seat entertaining herself by talking to Maxine. I dropped the boys off at school, Izzy off at daycare, then drove to The Village.

I was the first to arrive that morning. I dropped my bag off in my office then walked over to Marilee’s for coffee on my way to BroMax and I grabbed a box of coffee and some pastries for the guys to celebrate their first official day of production at the new plant. It was nice having them right across the street, by the time I got there things were in full force. The music was playing, the guys were talking, laughing, dancing at their stations, and working their asses off, and the place smelled like The Resort… it was obvious to me whose order they were working on. I walked into the main plant and down the center aisle, Ricky saw me from across the floor and called me over to where he was standing on the former altar. I made my way through the plant saying hey to all the guys as I did. The thing about BroMax was that the guys always seemed to be having a great time. Max and Ricky had created such a great work atmosphere, not only did they provide jobs for our guys, but they also made them feel like they belonged; permanent jobs were coveted.

“Hey, Ricky. I bought coffee and pastries” I said.

He grabbed the boxes from me and said, “Awesome. Thanks, I’ll put them in the break room for the guys.” I followed him into the former sacristy and we set everything up on the counter.

“So, did you get Trevor all set up today?” I asked.

“Yeah. Timmy’s short staffed so Trevor’s shadowing him, they’re in the storage building taking inventory” he answered. I thanked him for all his help then asked where Max was. “He’s up in his office going through paperwork.”

I made my way to the back of the plant and up the old wooden steps to Max’s office. The door was open and I knocked on it as I entered, “Hey, Max” I said with a chirp in my voice.

“Hey, Seth, did you drop the kids off?” He said looking up from his desk happy to see me.

“Yup. How was your weekend with the family?” I asked as I took a seat on the other side of the desk.

“It was great, I still can’t believe they showed up like that. They spoiled Theodore rotten” he laughed.

“He was telling Freddy all about it on the way to school this morning” I said with a laugh. Then Max told me all about his weekend; how surprised he was at the numbers from the grand opening, the visit with his family, etc. and I told him all about mine as we drank our coffee and took a much needed break from life. Man. Me and Max used to talk like that all the time back in college, but with our families, our careers, The Villagers, etc. We didn’t spend nearly enough time alone just hanging out. Maybe now that we worked just across the street from each other we’d be able to spend more time together. While Max was talking, I walked over to the balcony and looked out on the guys working. I saw Trevor enter with Timmy and they went to work packing candles in boxes. “So, I see you found a place for Trevor” I said to Max.

“Yeah, the timing was perfect. He has inventory and shipping experience from his time at Old Navy, and with the expansion Timmy was in desperate need of help” Max said. “If he’s good it could turn permanent for him.” That was the thing about Max, he was willing to take a chance on almost anyone and if they delivered, he rewarded them. He was running a business not a charity, but without a doubt, it was a charitable business. Max came along with me when went down to talk to Trevor, he hadn’t had a chance to meet him yet.

Trevor was at the front of the plant packing boxes when we walked up to him. He couldn’t have been working there for more than an hour, but he moved with speed and confidence and seemed to know what he was doing. “Hey, Trevor. How’s it going?” I asked startling him a bit.

“Oh, um, hi Seth” Trevor said as he continued to work.

“This is Max, he’s the founder of The Village and owner of BroMax Candle, Company” I said startling him again.

“Hey, Trevor. Welcome aboard” Max said with a smile and a firm handshake. “Timmy’s thrilled to have you here… he really needs the help.”

“Thank you for this opportunity, sir. I greatly appreciate it” His word were sincere and his tone appreciative. “So far I like it here a lot, everyone’s been so nice.”

“Just let me, Timmy, or Ricky know if you need anything. I’m glad you’re here” Max replied and then excused himself to go help Ricky with something. “Good to meet you, Trevor. I’ll catch you later, Seth” he said as he walked away.

“I heard Rodney and Victor were able to get all your things from Pete’s place” I said, he nodded. “Did you sleep good?”

He smiled, kept working, and said, “Yeah, it’s a nice place, and all the guys seem great.”

“So, are you doing okay?” I pried.

He let out a heavy sigh, “Hell, I dunno, Seth.  Less than two days ago I was living with Pete and getting ready to go out clubbing, now I’m alone, living in a strange place, and starting a new job… I mean it’s all good, but overwhelming.”

“I’ll bet it is” I said. “But you’re really not alone, I promise” he smiled like he wanted to believe me but there were so many changes. “Don’t forget that we have a session at 4 o’clock. Okay?” He agreed. I walked through the plant towards the exit yelling goodbye to all the guys on my way out. I passed Mason in the retail shop “Great work on Saturday, the shop looked awesome” I said as I exited the building and headed towards the office.

By the time I got back, BA and Rodney were there and running at full steam. “Hey Darlin” BA yelled as I walked in. I saw all yer stuff and was wonderin’ where ya’ll disappeared to.”

“I just went to BroMax to check on our newest Villager” I said.

“Rodney caught me up on everything and I filed all his paperwork. How’s he doin’?” BA asked. Rodney asked how he was doing and I updated them both on progress.

“Considering we just met the kid like thirty six hours ago, he’s doing pretty damn good” I responded before the three of us talked details and logistics on next steps for Trevor, that meeting morphed into discussions about several villagers, and then a general staff meeting. I also turned Benny’s check over to BA to deposit. We ended up ordering lunch in and working up until it was time for my session with Trevor, it was a productive day.

The session with Trevor went well. He loved his new job and was settling into his new living situation… either that or he was an amazing liar. “I called some of my friends today to tell them I was safe” he said, “but I didn’t tell them exactly where I was living yet.”

“Well, like I told you, be cautious and make sure whoever knows you’re here is trustworthy, we all have to look out for each other” I reminded. That was a big concern with having apartments onsite, safety. If the wrong person came looking for one of our Villagers, the others could be in harm’s way. We had alarms, key codes, security cameras, etc. not to mention ALL residents were vigilant and on alert for people who didn’t belong, including those who lived on the floors above the second. Trevor understood. We talked through his short term goals of saving and budgeting for a permanent home, what he wanted in a permanent job, etc. Then we started budgeting his living expenses and savings based on what he was making at BroMax, and I got him thinking long term goals. It had been my experience that if I can get these guys to think about their long term goals, they succeed. They feel like there’s hope and a path for success; Taylor, Maverick, Colton, Mason, and Alejandro were all great examples of that, and Asher was well on his way. They all had felt hopeless until they really thought through what they wanted from life and we worked together to build a plan to get them there. Yeah, they all had bumps in the road, but they refocused and got through it. I had the same hope for Trevor.

I was walking Trevor out of the office after a good session when Asher walked in looking frantic. “Seth, do you have some time to talk?” He asked.

I tried to subtly calm him and get him back on track, “Asher, you remember Trevor.”

Asher barely looked up at him, “oh yeah, um hi” is all he could say.

“Hi, Asher” Trevor said. “Hey, I’ll be home tonight if you just wanna hang out. I was gonna see if some of the guys might want to go out for dinner or something” he added trying to connect. Trevor’s life had been flipped upside down and he needed a friend. Asher barely acknowledged the poor guy as he left and went up to his apartment.

I shut the door to the Therapy room and Asher let go a motor-mouthed rant to end all rants. He covered everything from his fear of flying for the first time to how he had to repack because he was sure he packed all the wrong clothes. Then he went off about “what if the people in the Phoenix office don’t like me when they meet me.” Seriously, I can’t think of a damn thing that WASN’T freaking him out. I let him go for about twenty minutes until he tired himself out.

I took a deep breath and said, “You frigging got this, Ash” he rolled his eyes at me. “They are paying money to fly you out there and put you up in a hotel for a few days just so they can meet you because they are impressed with your work. They believe in you; Brody believes in you… why can’t you?”

“What if they don’t like me in person?” he asked with his eyes wide and desperate.

“They’ll love you” I said. “Look Ash, you have done such a great job of being social. Just be you.” Ash really had become part of the group, the guys back at the candle barn all loved “Asso” but now that they had moved to the church, I was afraid the isolation might push him back into his shell. Ash was cute, smart, talented… and his own worse enemy. “Listen, you are packed. Your work is done. Why don’t you hang out with Trevor and the guys tonight? He needs a friend, remember what it was like when you first got here?”

Asher just nodded and gave in, “Okay. I’ll go see if he wants to hang out.”

“Promise you’ll stop over thinking this and just enjoy the honor of your first business trip.” I said. He promised then left the office and went up to the second floor and I packed up and got ready to head home.  

Zach had carpool duty that night so I went straight home, I was running late. By the time I got there Zach had dinner on the table and was feeding the kids. “Hey you guys. What’s for dinner?” I asked as I made my way to the kitchen table.

“Ticken stwips bitz” Izzy said (Izzy to English translation; Chicken strips, bitch).

“IZZY!” Zach barked. “What did I tell you about that word?!” Riley had been around all weekend and she loves it when Izzy says bitch “it’s so cute” she responds when we tell her to stop. Okay, fine, it was cute, but the last thing I need is a toddler with who curses like a sailor.  It was Freddy who figured out how to break his sister of the habit.

“IZZY! That’s a naughty word and Santa knows you said it” Freddy informed his sister with the most serious look on his face. “If you keep saying that he won’t come.”

The cute, mischievous smile left Izzy’s face and was replaced with a somber look of regret. “I sowwy” she said in an attempt to right here wrong.

At that moment Zach and I discovered the most powerful behavioral modification tool ever known to parents… The threat of landing on Santa’s naughty list! Christmas was going to be fun at our house!

Asher’s Perspective

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! Is all I could think as I sat on the lounge chair by the pool. NAKED! I felt so free!

My world had changed so drastically over the last couple of months. I had a rough start to life, my father died shortly after I was born and my mother passed away when I was a teenager. After that I went to live with my older brother for a while, but he wasn’t all that much older than me and couldn’t handle it, he didn’t want me, and treated me like a freak. He would disappear for weeks at a time leaving me all alone… I hated it, but it was all I had. I had a sister too, but she had some mental health issues and couldn’t take care of me. They put her in a home somewhere, but I had no idea where (I planned on finding her once I got my act together). Anyway, The old lady who lived in the apartment next to my brother’s reported him to DSS several times, eventually they got involved and put me in foster care. I bounced around from home to home for a bit, and ultimately ended up in a group home because I didn’t fit in anywhere. I was close to my mom; she was my fan, my advocate, and my protector. Once she was gone, I was pretty much on my own. I was slow to walk and talk as a baby, and my muscles were weak. Mom took me to doctor after doctor, they all treated the symptoms but never got the diagnosis right. It wasn’t until after she died that I was diagnosed with Klinefelter syndrome. One of the caregivers at the group home noticed that I had like totally skipped puberty, and she fought for me and found a doctor who finally diagnosed me. I had been misdiagnosed time and time again and again with everything from autism to Addison’s disease while I was growing up so never got the proper care. The caregiver from the group home worked with my social worker, Ms. Elkin to help me get treatment… she could only do what she could do within the system. Then, I aged out of the system and was on my own and had no idea how to be an adult. I was failing miserably. Thanks to Ms. Elkin, I was able to get some financial and get into school to study for my AS in Commercial Arts. I found a cheap room to rent but my roommate was awful… he wasn’t mean, but he wasn’t nice and he and his friends treated me like a freak, I hated going home.

One day I ran into Ms. Elkin at Harris Teeter when I was grocery shopping, she asked me how I was doing… then she changed my entire life! She saw I was struggling with life (despite what I told her) and introduced me to this guy Seth who worked for an organization called The Village that helped young LGBTQIA people get a fair shake in the real world. Oh my god you guys! They swarmed around me and changed my entire life in like a week! They found me a place to live (my very own apartment… no crazy roommate to socialize with), a job in advertising (where I spoke Klingon in the interview), they even helped me get a car… an awesome car! It was an old green Jetta that I named Yoda (Green Jedi… get it? Yeah, I’m a nerd), most importantly they gave me hope!

Seth, the guy that ran The Village had a two year old daughter who gave me a tomato one day… yeah, it sounds stupid, a tomato. But in her imagination that Tomato (who she named Belle) was her best friend, and she gave her to me. ME. I mattered to that little girl. Such a stupid little innocent gesture that made me feel like the most important person in the world for the very first time in my life. That same little girl also basically changed my name to “Asso” for all the new people in my life. But that name made me feel like one of the guys. Accepted. They called me that not because the hated me, but because they liked me… maybe some even loved me.

Okay, okay, I’m motor-mouthing , I do that when I get comfortable. I just ramble and say whatever is in my head, Seth had been teaching me to notice it and get back on track. So. Here I go… I’m sorry for rambling, now back to my story; life is going GREAT and I was on my first business trip.

I was freaking out over this trip. I packed and repacked like a billion times, I rehearsed what I’d say to some of the people I dealt with online and over the phone when I met them in person, and of course I obsessed over everything. But to my shock, the first two went great. Brody (my boss) and Seth kept telling me not to overthink stuff and just go with it… I tried; I really did but that’s not me… I obsess. It’s what I do. The plane ride was nerve-wracking but fun, I worked on my computer the entire flight and time flew by (see what I did there lol). When we got to Phoenix we went right to the office. WOW! The place was so cool and laid back, and everyone there was so nice to me. I was scared to meet them all, I just knew for sure they’d think I was a freak and mock me, but instead they were hugging me, welcoming me like I was part of the team. It felt good! Ever since I met Seth I had started to feel like part of the world, until then I always felt like the Omega werewolf… the lone wolf… but now I was starting to feel like part of a pack and I liked it. I was starting to understand why people socialized… it was difficult for me to do, but it made me feel good to be accepted, part of something bigger, powerful even. It gave me confidence. Enough confidence to call an Uber to take me to The Resort, a gay resort where guys hang out naked by the pool and… I don’t know, probably do stuff with each other, I guess.

So, there I was sitting by the pool, NAKED! I was painfully shy. Hell, that’s doesn’t even scratch the surface… I was scarily withdrawn. Ms. Elkin used to worry that I would just pull away from society altogether… if she could’ve seen me then… well, no, I wouldn’t want her to see me then, naked and all, I… I ... I mean… YOU KNOW WHAT I MEANT! I meant this was a huge step. I was a virgin… um, I had been touched by a friend of my brother’s a couple of times when I lived with him but I don’t want to talk about that. I had also flirted with this guy at the print shop back home, Jake, but I was so shy and moved too slow, so I got stuck in the friendzone, it was my own fault. But that night I was in a strange, sexually charged place, far from home where no one knew me, and no one had preconceived notions or expectations. I was just a cute (at least I hoped I was cute) young twink hanging naked by a pool with other guys… and THAT part was problematic. A s a result of Klinefelter syndrome, my genitals were small. My nuts were small (almost impossible to find) and not all that useful, and my penis was tiny… but thanks to the hot naked guys around me it was harder and even bigger than ever. Right there. Out in the open. For STRANGERS to see. WHO THE HELL WAS I? THIS WASN’T ME? ASHER? WAS IT? Hell, yes it was! I felt incredibly free! The Jake incident and my newfound confidence gave me the guts and determination to do this. I tried to act casual as I lie there with my boner reading Wolverine for the like millionth time, but I knew they were watching me. I was definitely getting attention.

I peeked out from behind my book to see a couple of guys sitting on the other side of the pool watching. Both of them had beards and muscles, oh my god did they have muscles. Near them were a couple of guys who looked to me in their thirties, both had darker features and toned bodies… all they guys were so hung I was in awe. My body was nice, but very lean, smooth, and slight. Kinda feminine to be honest. Since I had found The Village, Rodney made sure I had health insurance and was getting regular testosterone shots. My body was stronger and getting a little tone, but muscles weren’t my thing, and a big cock was not my blessing… but I had the perfect ass (not that I was ready to give that up, but I knew I had it). Looking at all these built, beautiful, hung men was pushing me back into my shell. I started to get scared as my newfound confidence rapidly deteriorated, in fact I was about to go into a panic when I heard a voice say, “It’s so nice here, I’m so happy to be out of the snow” I looked up to see a cute guy about my age with a wrestler’s build. He was masculine but innocent looking at the same time, all I could do was bite my lower lip. “I’m Martin” he said with a smile, then asked, “can I sit here?” Not that I could say no since he had already sat down.

“Asher” I said barely audibly.

“I’m from Minnesota, I’m just here on vacation with some friends… I LOVE THIS weather, where are your from” He asked.

“Um... North Carolina” I uttered.

“I LOVE that state, we went to Carolina Beach for a week once…” Martin said, then he rambled on and on. He was very talkative. I just listened, in awe of the fact that he was talking to ME. “So, do you like it here at The Resort?”

“Oh, um, I’m in town on business and just came here on a day pass” I said, “I’m not staying here this trip.”

“Oh my god, this place is amazing, you have to stay next time…” Martin said and then went on about the place. He was the exact opposite of me; talked and talked. While he did, he sat on the side of the lounge chair facing me, and occasionally touching me. First it was a light touch to my arm, then my knee, then he moved up my thigh and his knuckles grazed my ever-hard shaft. His touches were light and his movements slow, in fact I hardly even noticed them.  After about a half hour of talk he said, “you are beautiful. I’m sure you hear that all the time.” I turned 100 shades of red as I thanked him for the compliment. “Would you like to see my room?” he asked.

I just gulped.

 

To be continued…