Boystown Season Three Read online

  “Long day for both of us, I guess,” Michael said. “First the break-in at Emmett’s restaurant and then Jesse.”

  Keith turned to face Michael. “I know. I still can’t believe all of that with Max and Jesse.”

  “Well, Jesse is going to be fine and there are no charges being filed against Max, so that’s all good news.”

  Keith forced a smile. “I’m glad.”

  “And even better news is that we’re here alone together and I have you all to myself.” Michael kissed Keith.

  Keith got into bed and Michael followed. They wrapped their bodies together in a warm hug, Keith putting his head against Michael’s chest.

  “Everything okay?” Michael asked.

  “Just tired,” Keith replied. “But everything’s always better when your arms are wrapped around me.”

  Michael kissed Keith on the forehead. “I’m glad.”

  Keith closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep, his mind remaining on his earlier conversation with Rachel.

  As Michael and Keith dozed off to sleep, Emmett and Max were in their bedroom talking and getting ready for bed as well.

  “You’re sure you’re okay with Jensen staying in the guest room tonight? I know this is a lot for you take in after everything else that’s happened today.”

  “I trust your instinct,” Max replied as he pulled off his clothes. “If you think it’s okay, I’m okay with it, too.”

  “Well, I didn’t know what else to do. After my long talk with him this morning and finding out he has no home, I couldn’t just kick him out.”

  “Where’s he been staying?”

  “When not in our club basement, you mean? He said he bounces from friend to friend and even stays overnight with his...clients.”

  Max laughed. “Clients? That’s a nice way to put it. The boy is a stripper and a prostitute.”

  Emmett pulled off his pants and underwear and crawled into bed. “He’s also 19 years old and homeless. Kicked out when his parents found out he’s gay. He puts up a tough front but he’s just a scared kid.”

  “We still need to be careful. He’s admitted to stealing, among other things. And now he’s staying in our home,” Max said as he got into bed next to Emmett.

  “I’ll take responsibility for him tonight since I told him he could stay. In the morning, we can all talk together.”

  Max put his arm around Emmett. “The only thing that makes today bearable is having you by my side.”

  “Aww, babe,” Emmett replied. “There’s no place I’d rather be.” There was quiet for a moment and then Emmett spoke again. “How are you feeling about all of this?”

  “You mean finding out I’m a father?” Max said with a chuckle. “It’s going to take some getting used to. It’s hard to process over twenty years of lies in one night. I still can’t believe she kept him from me. I had a right to know.”

  “Yes, you did. But you know now. That’s what we have to deal with.”

  “Thank you for being so understanding and supportive.”

  “I don’t approve of what you did to Jesse. You have to somehow make that right.”

  “I don’t know what came over me. As soon as she told me what Jesse did to Logan -- and to her -- I just lost it. I went into a rage.”

  “Well, we need to work on that, too. It can’t happen again.”

  “It won’t. I promise.”

  “We have a lot to sort through here. Let’s just take one day at a time.”

  Max kissed Emmett. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too. Everything will be okay.”

  Emmett and Max fell asleep quickly and slept soundly through the evening. As the next day arrived, they were up early, immediately heading to the kitchen for their morning coffee. Both dressed in sweat pants, Emmett poured two cups of coffee and placed one on the counter in front of Max, who was checking his cell phone.

  “I need to get downstairs to talk with Ben as soon as he arrives.”

  “Do you want me to be there, too? It may not be pleasant.”

  “No, thanks,” Max said. “I’ll handle Ben on my own. I brought him into our lives and I’ll get him out. Besides, you have to meet with your brothers.”

  “Okay,” Emmett said. “But my offer stands, in case you change your mind.”

  Jensen then entered the kitchen wearing nothing but his tight underwear. “Good morning, guys.”

  “Hi, Jensen,” Emmett said. “Did you sleep okay?”

  Before Jensen could answer, Max said, “Um, in this house you should probably cover up a bit. Put some clothes on. We’re not two of your tricks.”

  “Oh, sorry,” Jensen said. “Most of my clothes are still in the dryer.”

  “You’re fine,” Emmett said. “Do you want some coffee?”

  “No, thanks. I’m not a big coffee drinker.”

  “Well, there’s other stuff in the fridge. Help yourself.”

  “I really appreciate you guys letting me stay here last night. And for being understanding about staying in the basement.”

  “It’s fine,” Max said. “You and Emmett can discuss more arrangements today. I have to head downstairs and then to the hospital.” Max got up from the counter and left the room, his coffee cup in hand.

  “I don’t think he likes me very much,” Jensen said.

  “It’s not you. He’s dealing with a lot, that’s all. Don’t take it personally.”

  “If you say so.” Jensen added, “I should probably get my clothes and go.”

  “No,” Emmett said. “Stay and have breakfast with me and we’ll talk more.”

  Jensen laughed. “I’m never going to turn down food. Done.”

  “Well, you’re going to help me make it. This isn’t a hotel,” Emmett said with a smile.

  “Great,” Jensen said. “Let me go pull on some pants first.”

  “Good idea,” Emmett replied. He watched Jensen leave the room and began removing items from the refrigerator.

  Downstairs, Max was moving some chairs around the restaurant when Ben finally arrived.

  “Sorry, I’m late,” Ben said. “I had something important to take care of first.”

  “Sit down,” Max said sternly, offering Ben a chair.

  “What’s up, man?” Ben asked, sitting down.

  “Your time working for me, that’s what.” Max handed Ben an envelope. “Here’s the money I owe you, plus a little extra. Consider it severance.”

  “Severance? What are you talking about?”

  “Our business relationship is done, Ben. You knew Jesse was my son and, for whatever reason, didn’t say a word to me. And then you used the information to blackmail Jacqueline into staying with you. Sorry, I don’t associate with people like you, let alone work with them.”

  “Come on,” Ben said. “That’s not true.”

  “It is. And I’m not going to argue with you. Let’s try to part on as good of terms as possible.”

  “But I’m not finished here. There’s a lot more work to be done.”

  “There is. And it’ll be finished with me overseeing it. Not you. Look, I have to get to the hospital to see my son. So this conversation is over. I wish you the best.”

  Ben stood up from his chair. “You can’t do this to me.”

  “I just did. What you and Jacqueline decide to do about your baby is your business. But you had no right to withhold information about my son and use it to blackmail his mother. Now get out of here.”

  “You won’t get away with this.”

  “Goodbye, Ben.”

  Max ushered Ben to the door and pushed him out onto the sidewalk. Then he locked the door behind him and headed toward the back of the restaurant.

  Later that morning, Derek was hosting a meeting with his brothers Emmett and Justin in his office in downtown Chicago. He sat behind his desk while his brothers sat in chairs across from him.

  “I’m glad to see you getting around better, Justin,” Derek said. “That’s good news.”

  “I
t is what it is. I’m learning to live blind as best I can,” Justin said. “But it doesn’t mean I still don’t have a perfect vision of what I want for this business.”

  “Well, that’s why we’re all here today. To sort through it and make some decisions.”

  “Before we get into any serious talk, I want to say something,” Emmett said. “I have thought long and hard about this -- and discussed it with Max, too -- and I’ve decided to turn over my voting rights and decision-making power to Derek.”

  “What?” Justin asked. “How can you do that? It disrupts the balance that Dad created in his will.”

  “Come on, Justin. You know I have never wanted to be a part of this. I left it all a long time ago and I have no interest in it now. I am not going to let our father manipulate me from the grave. I’ve made my decision.”

  “But that gives Derek control.”

  “It gives him fifty percent for decision-making; that’s all. And I may revoke it if I ever want to. But right now I trust Derek completely.”

  “Well, I intend to have my say in things one way or another,” Justin said.

  “Of course,” Derek replied. “The whole point of this meeting is to unite us. Get us all on the same page.”

  “So what do you have in mind?”

  “A couple of things,” Derek said. “First, we need to pay back the debt you incurred to the Ciancios. I know your agreement entitled them to a large chunk of the business if you missed the payment deadline, which you did. I suggest we offer them full repayment of the loan, plus the appropriate interest, plus eight percent of the company -- two percent from each of our four shares.”

  “You think they’ll go for that?” Emmett asked.

  “They will have to. Otherwise, we will keep them mired down in court cases forever trying to settle this. They won’t like that any more than we would.”

  “I know them better than either of you. They won’t just roll over and play dead.”

  “Neither will we,” Derek replied. “And we’ll show them that.”

  “You said you had a couple of ideas...”

  “Yes,” Derek continued. “I want to move the company headquarters here to Chicago.”

  “Why?” Justin asked. “The company’s roots are in California. Literally.”

  “Because I think we need a fresh start. It will be a grand gesture to the public that things are changing and it’s not business as usual. Plus, Emmett and I have no intention of moving. Chicago is our home.”

  “Yes, but moving the headquarters will be expensive.”

  “We’ll do it gradually -- one division at a time -- and help employees with the move, if they choose to make it. Of course, the wine division will remain in California. That only makes sense.”

  “And what about our other brother?” Justin asked. “What’s he going to say about all of this?”

  “We have to locate him first,” Emmett replied. “That’s no easy task.”

  “I’ve hired an investigator,” Justin said. “That should help.”

  “Regardless, we have to move forward,” Derek said. “So I’m going to set up a meeting with the Ciancios. We’ll invite them here and share our offer with them. I’d like you both to be there, too. Again, to present a united front.”

  “Of course,” Emmett said.

  “I still hold them responsible for the loss of my children. I don’t plan to lose any more because of them,” Derek declared.

  Justin stood up from his chair. “We’ll work it out with them. I’ll do whatever I can to help. You have my word on that.” Suddenly, Justin lost his balance and stumbled.

  “Hey, are you okay?” Emmett asked, standing up and reaching out to Justin.

  “Yes,” Justin said. “I just stood up too fast.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yes,” Justin said, forcing a smile. “I’m fine now.”

  “Okay, I have something else I need to take care of,” Derek said, getting up from his chair. “As soon as I know when the meeting will be, I’ll let you both know.”

  “Sounds good,” Emmett said.

  Derek grabbed his coat from the back of his office door. “Come on, I’ll walk you guys out.” The three brothers left the office and each headed in his own direction once they were outside the building.

  While her husband headed on to his next task for the day, Joyelle was finally waking up in her bed. Having worked so late the night before, she slept in later than usual to try to catch up on some rest. Rolling over and finding that Derek had gotten up much earlier, Joyelle got out of bed.

  Wearing a scrubs top and sweatpants, she followed the smell of fresh coffee into the kitchen. When she arrived and found the freshly brewed coffee, she also found a note from her husband: “Enjoy your day off. xo.” She smiled at the note and then filled a cup with the dark coffee.

  After taking sip, she pulled her recipe book from the shelf and gathered ingredients from the cabinets and refrigerator. With all the ingredients assembled, Joyelle began to prepare a batch of her famous chocolate chip cookies.

  At the same time in his office in San Francisco, Marco was on the phone. Sitting behind his desk, he waited for someone to answer his call.

  “Mr. Strauss,” Marco said when someone finally answered. “It’s Marco Ciancio. How have you been, my friend?” Marco paused as he listened to the response to his question. “Good, good. Glad to hear it. Listen, I need a bit of a favor from you. Years ago, you ran an auction of my mother’s art collection. Do you remember?” Marco paused again. “Yes, exactly. It was quite a collection. What I need is a copy of the sales documents. I need to know who bought each piece in the collection.” Once more, Marco paused. “Yes, I realize it’ll take some time, but I hope to have the information as soon as possible. It’s of great importance to me. Thank you. I knew I could count on you.” The two men concluded the conversation and Marco hung up the phone.

  “What was that all about?” Rachel asked as she entered the office.

  Marco stood up from his desk. “Just a family matter. When did you get in?”

  “Just now. I came straight here from the airport. I wanted to see you.”

  “Good,” Marco replied, wrapping his arms around her. He kissed her deeply and she put her hands on his chest.

  “Are you sure I’m not interrupting?”

  Marco smiled. “Not at all.” Marco walked over to the door of his office and locked it. “I always have time for you,” Marco added, returning to Rachel.

  “I was hoping so,” Rachel replied, unbuttoning Marco’s shirt and running her hands over his chest. “I’ve missed you.”

  “I’ve missed you, too,” Marco said, kissing Rachel and opening her blouse. “Let me show you just how much.”

  Marco kissed Rachel’s neck and shoulders, eventually working his way down to her breasts. Rachel removed Marco’s shirt completely, digging her fingers into his back. He slowly lowered her onto the sofa in his office and climbed on top of her.

  While Marco and Rachel made love in his office, Cole opened the door to his apartment. Derek rushed past him and into the living room, not noticing that Cole was wearing the Michigan t-shirt that Derek had given him when he was in the hospital.

  “What a great surprise,” Cole said, closing the door behind Derek.

  “I needed to see you,” Derek said. “I know Jesse’s at the hospital and Joyelle is sleeping in because she’s off today, so it’s the perfect time.”

  “Cool,” Cole said. “You know I love seeing you. So what’s up?”

  Without responding, Derek powerfully threw Cole up against the wall, pinning him there. He raised Cole’s hands above his head against the wall and kissed him deeply. Cole wrapped one leg around Derek, pulling him even closer.

  Derek’s mouth moved to Cole’s jaw line, neck, and shoulders as he pulled the Michigan t-shirt off of Cole. Pressing his crotch into Cole’s, Derek looked into Cole’s eyes. “You’re mine. Not David’s. Not anyone else’s. Mine.”

  �
�Yes,” Cole whispered.

  Derek released Cole’s hands and pulled off his own shirt, baring his muscled chest to his lover. Cole grabbed the back of Derek’s head and pulled him close, kissing him deeply. Derek pulled down Cole’s sweatpants, revealing the underwear that was barely containing his erect cock.

  Derek attempted to remove Cole’s underwear, but Cole pushed him backwards onto the couch. Losing is balance momentarily, Derek ended up on his back on the sofa. Cole crawled on top of him and massaged him through his pants. Putting his hands on the back of Cole’s head, Derek pushed his face deeper into his crotch. Then Cole opened Derek’s pants.

  The corners of Cole’s mouth curled up in a partial smile as he sucked Derek’s cock. Wrapping his legs around Cole, Derek thrust in and out of Cole’s soft lips. When Cole pulled Derek’s pants and socks off, Derek used his feet to pull Cole’s underwear off. Neither of them noticed when Derek’s wallet fell out of his pants onto the floor.

  Both completely naked, Derek stood up and lifted Cole from the sofa. He placed his hands firmly on both sides of Cole’s face and kissed him deeply, passionately. His hands then slid down Cole’s back to his firm ass. Slapping Cole’s butt several times, Derek lifted Cole off the floor and Cole wrapped his legs around Derek’s hips.

  Carrying Cole into the bedroom and their mouths never parting during the short walk, Derek then pushed Cole onto the bed. Grabbing Cole’s ankles, Derek pulled Cole’s legs over his shoulders. He spit into Cole’s hole a few times and then shoved himself into Cole’s welcoming ass.

  His toes curling, Cole took Derek deep inside of him. Still standing, Derek pumped into Cole deeper and harder as he bit Cole’s calves. Cole dug his fingers into the bed sheets and then reached up to grab Derek’s chest instead. He grabbed the back of Derek’s neck, pulling his face close to his and kissed him deeply.

  They continued to kiss as Derek forced himself deeper. Then he put his hands on Cole’s shoulders and pushed him back down onto the bed. Cole struggled to get free as Derek vigorously stroked Cole. Before he could do anything to stop it, Cole was spewing cum all over himself.