This drama is fiction and the names, places, and situations are for reading and interest only. This is an old fashioned love story that resembles something real, a long time ago.
Cards in the Deck - Adam and Ben
by benz13_98@yahoo.com
Well here I sit in the Surgical Waiting Room having watched Adam get attacked by a shark! Fucking shark!! He was just just paddleboarding in the Gulf and I will never in my life believe I had to watch such a thing. He just came up from behind and grabbed Adam's leg. We heard the scream and saw the fight. Fortunately, being a star football player, he was strong and kicked free. His foot and ankle took some real damage. We got him out of the water as quickly as possible. He lost blood. I'm just waiting now/ Impatiently waiting.
This all began last October. My name is Benjamin Brevard. I'm 37, devilishly handsome, so Adam says, from an old family and with money. Black hair, neatly parted, fit body, 165 lbs, and 6'0. I have maintained my perky butt and I will not apologize for it! My parents, Phillip and Margaret (Margo) have retired to Florida which I don't think they would have done if it were not for my previous lover, Ian. He changed all of our lives:) Another story.
Our family was in textiles during the textile boom. My great grandfather got into cotton but branched into metals and made the barrels for the oil companies. He was a real force and self made. My grandfather sold out much of the business when unions set in and revenues started declining. The value of the company was enormous. We watched other such families lose much of their assets and production moved overseas. Bunch of them went broke. The younger Brevard generation took off and I don't see much of them except at the Brevard Trust Board Meetings.
The important result was the formation of the Brevard Trust which has helped our small Alabama community given the job losses that were felt back then. We provide scholarships, healthcare support, and we attempted disaster support but FEMA was just a bitch to deal with so we stopped. I am now running the Trust since Ian, my lover of almost 20 years, passed two years ago from an aneurysm and I have a small packaging company in one of our plants which produces the boxes your cell phones come in as well as much of the packaging for items sold on TV. I didn't need the work but it has been very fulfilling to be engaged in business.
I live alone at Brevard House which is a really big house on the outskirts of town and I would love to sell but it's not quite time. Being a big playboy and private school student growing up, I didn't have much ties to the community. I have tried to fit in somewhat since but I will always be one of the Brevards. They loved Ian but he was one of their own - maybe I will tell you later.
One particular Friday night, I went to the Friday night football game. It's a big thing here and I really enjoy the games and being out with the locals. The game was great and our home team won. It was a good night. I was a bit hungry so driving through town, I spotted the famed Tastee Freeze which serves the best burgers and those crinkle cut fries which only God could have invented. I was driving my grandfather's vintage 1976 Rolls Royce - 4 door burgundy with tan leather, as I usually do on weekends. I sold the fleet of cars my family owned but kept this one. It's so awesome. The locals treat it like a parade car lol. I have two other cars, the Maserati Quattroporte and the Tahoe. We always liked having a big GM SUV in the fleet.
As I pulled in, I noted a couple of the football players standing in line and one really fine player, a black guy named Quinn Collins noticed me. When I got out of the car, he yelled "Gawd Damn what a car!" His friend, and star player was Adam West, a very fine looking young man with his straight blonde hair and boyish face. He shouted "Shut up Quinn and mind your damn manners!" Everyone in line laughed. The third guy was named Joe but he didn't seem to be the sharpest tool in the shed. I approached them and noticed they were arguing with the counter attendant. I said, "evening gentlemen, I'm Ben Brevard and you all played one hell of a game tonite. Mr. West, you ran like a guy being chased!" I shook their hands thoughtfully and they were silent until Adam stuttered, "ttthank you Mr. Brevard. Glad you could come and watch." Then he smiled a sheepish grin and those pouty lips almost caused me to faint. They were all beaming with excitement. It's fun being a celebrity sometimes.
I asked what the problem with the counter was and Quinn said they all have $7 between them and didn't want to split a burger three ways. I couldn't blame him. I said, "please allow me" and walked up to the counter and dropped $30 and told the counter lady to give them whatever they wanted. She huffed and took out the notepad. Adam was concerned that they didn't know how to pay me back. I said dinner with the star players was good for me! Quinn said, "hell yeah, that's right!" and we all chuckled.
We ate and we talked and we laughed. They were all seniors so the team was going to have setbacks next year. They were all relaxed as we sat at one of the concrete tables and put down those burgers. I had to put a stop to all that "Mr. Brevard" crap. I was young again and I was just Ben and was loving the night air and youthful company. I was never meant to be a Mr. Brevard. If they had seen me in my day, I was crazy like them and a bit of a bad boy. I must have been feeling nostalgic. My current scene would have been Birmingham at a great foodie place on the west side but this was the place for me that night.
When I finished I told the boys I was going to leave but they had made my night. Quinn complimented the car again and said, "I have got to take a ride on that broom and soon!." I said sure, why not. Adam, who had been very friendly but quiet through the dinner, followed me to the car. He gave me a very sincere thanks for dinner. He was so fine filling up those jeans and those old cowboy boots. I nearly had a hardon, the thought of him jumping into the car with me and making out like teenagers. Dang!
I spoke candidly with him, "Adam, I think you have a lot going on up there," pointing to his head, "and I hope you are going to do something with it. Thoughtful and confident makes for the winning model! I'm very impressed with you." He smiled and said "I have some ups and downs and, well, tonite was really special, meeting you personally, I mean. You are amazing." It goes without saying, I was speechless.
I gave him my cell phone and asked that he contact me in the next few days. I honestly thought there was a place for him in our intern program at Brevard and I could see him learning some important skills in the plant or in the Trust. I think he was skipping back to the table. I shivered - as I knew this feeling, the feeling of liking someone, that someone might like you back, the flattery and the challenge. Reminded me of many times in the past and the hardon that would be with me all the way home. The issue was that I was not that 17 year old cocky ass high school kid anymore.
On Wednesday evening, I received a text from Adam asking if I could stop by and it was important. We had texted quite a lot in the past few days and I knew him well enough by now to know he was serious and I didn't ask why. I eased the Tahoe out of the garage and headed into town. His street was neatly lined with ranch houses, mid 50's. The yard was kept but the house needed work. As I parked and exited the vehicle, I noticed strange movement in the house. Then I heard the yelling, "You stupid! Can't do anything right! Fucker!" I was appalled then I heard a loud crash. Ok, I had to gear up for a fight and I was ready for it. Whatever was going on in there was going to stop! I rang the bell and it was quiet for a minute.
A big man opened the door and yelled, "What do you want?" I responded calmly, "good evening Mr. West, I am Benjamin Brevard and I am here to see Adam." When I'm angry I do not speak in contractions. He replied, "what the hell for?"
"Mr. West," I stated, "Adam and I are in a business discussion and I want to talk to him personally."
He said sneeringly, "what the hell are you talking about? What kind of business dealings would he have with you?"
I replied sharply, "I am considering Adam for an internship at Brevard starting Christmas break and going through the end of summer. I usually take a couple of seniors each year. The money is good, he will learn some good skills and the recommendations from Brevard go miles. Do you have any questions?"
He looked back at Adam who was sitting on the floor against the wall. My heart was bleeding but my head was racing. I spoke to Adam and said, "Adam, please get up." I pushed by the SOB father and took Adam by the arm. We walked out onto the front porch. I looked at Mr. West and said, "sorry for the interruption but you have a son with a 3.75 GPA, was JV Captain, and a 4 star runner for the Tigers. I think we can make a brighter future for him, don't you agree?" I raised one eyebrow and gave him the "I just won this" look. "Thank you and good night." I pulled the door closed behind us and we walked out onto the porch. "Fucker" I heard him say as he stormed around in the house.
"Adam," I said calmly, " you wanted me to see that. Why?"
He replied almost in tears, "these are my ups and downs. If I tell you about it I sound like a limp noodle, like some damn cry-baby. You see it, well, I needed you to see it so you know me. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He looked down shamefully and I used a finger to lift his chin back up.
We talked through it and just as I was about to leave, and he was smiling and talking about better things, I said to him, "Adam you are a Zeus among your kind and this will take nothing from you. You hear? Nothing he does means shit. Nothing." He nodded agreeably but I wasn't sure he believed me. He followed me to the car and I had to touch him again. I just placed my hand on his face and said, "this will not last forever. Nothing ever does." He didn't shrink away from me. "Text me tomorrow," I said. I climbed in and drove away.
Saturday morning, after an away game win Friday night, he sent me his usual text greeting. "Hey there B, whattupp?" I loved how comfortable he was with me. I loved the "whattup" too. So funny. I said nothing much, just some work around the house. He said his dad had gone fishing for the weekend and he didn't have anything to do. I took the hint. I texted back, "you want to come to BH for a tour?" "Yep" was his reply. "Come at 1" I texted to him.
When he arrived I had the front gates open. He drove up to the front door. I met him at the front entrance and pointed for him to drive around back and park by the garage. Nosy passerbys and all that. We walked the driveway back to the front of the house. It's a long walk back around and we talked about the game. Gave me his best plays. Didn't score but led the ball up the field twice. I ushered him into the front door and watched his face.
"Oh my God," he said when he took a good look. He studied the detail wood work, the portraits, the staircase bannister. After several minutes, I told him this was just the foyer and we had a ways to go. We studied the front drawing room, the dining room, the library, and the den. We went off to the east wing to the large family room, kitchen, billiards room, and the laundry facilities. He looked up the back stairs and saw the breezeway that leads to the garage where his truck was parked.
It was getting on to 3 pm. He said it was like touring a museum. I told him that's exactly what it is. He asked why so big. I reminded him that there was a time when 3 generations of family lived in the house. Families did this when there was a family business at stake. As the younger generation all took off, there wasn't anyone left really but me. He asked if I was scared to stay by myself. I said no and there was an incredible security system that I would show him another time. He asked what was on the other side of the house. I told him about the rooms that were my grandfathers'. There are all sorts of documents and records housed back there that were not for public consumption - not yet anyway. That tour was definitely for another time.
We lounged in the family room and talked a long while. While the conversation was quite innocent, you know I couldn't resist eyeing that bulge in his jeans. These home grown boys just blew me away! He heard the cook come in to start dinner. She comes everyday at 4 to get dinner ready. "The one luxury I allow myself," I said. I asked him if steaks and potatoes were good. He beamed, "Definitely!"
After a filling dinner, we lounged on the leather sofa with music playing. I asked him playfully, "are you staying over?" He said he had a change of clothes in the car. We both laughed. He asked about my parents and I told him about Phil and Margo. My dad sat around with one eye open and one closed. We thought he was asleep and awake at the same time. He didn't really get excited about much but he loved running the family trust. Margo was the CFO of a big bank and worked all the time. She was a career woman first. She was tough and some people didn't like her but she ran things. No small talk, though.
Then he got to the elephant in the room - the portraits of Ian and me and the pictures of us together.
"What about him?" he asked nervously. I told him Ian was an abandoned kid that Phil and Margo took in as a foster project. I raised my eyebrows at how odd that sounded. Adam laughed. I told him I didn't quite understand because Ian was simply the best looking guy ever - not sure why no one would adopt him. Ian said that because he was older, parents thought it was too late for him. They wanted children to raise. Later I learned he was moody and stubborn but once he got some foundation under him, he was incredible!
I looked at Adam seriously and said, "here comes the brunt of it - I had guys when I wanted them back then, Adam. I was the gay one in the family. I was rich and good looking and got most anyone I wanted. I was a bit wild to say the least." He was quiet. Ian wasn't thrilled living here. He just wandered the house after school and played video games in his room. The very day I got home, he got into a fight at school and Margo had to come back to get him. She was mad as shit when they got home but once I learned what the fight was for, he was quickly off the hook, defending one of my public school friends from the school bully. Once we got together, everything changed I was so happy with him and he lived right here with me. The problem came when the parents decided they wanted to adopt Ian and didn't know we were together by that time. I fell in love with him and it was the first time I had ever loved anyone." As I got quiet, Adam spoke and asked, "did you stay together after he was adopted?"
I told him Margo had figured things out and got us counseling to help us separate but it didn't work. We were discreet and played along for her and Phil the last year of my high school - he was 2 years younger than me. Then he came to college with me and we were together ever since. He had an aneurism very sudden and died two years ago." I could barely speak now and Adam put his hand on my arm and said, "its ok. I want to hear whatever you can tell me." Truthfully, I had never grieved so hard. Phil took it hard as well. Margo was quite logical in her grief but I know she hurt too. Adam chimed in with the story of his Mom's cancer and when she died, so did his whole family. He told me how his family was quite happy and normal. His mom was a sweet lady and made everything about Adam His dad became a monster after that and he felt like an orphan too. I didn't know about his mom until that moment. So much tragedy I told him.
Adams' phone beeped and he looked at it and laughed and responded. "Quinn is such a fag sometimes," he exclaimed. I was immediately offended. Here I was opneing up about my sexuality and he calls someone a fag? I got up abruptly and walked out and down the hall to the kitchen. He followed soon after and asked if I was ok, did he do something wrong?
I told him, "calling someone that is not..." he interrupted and said it was just Quinn and he always called him that when he started in on his Gucci, Prada, Lacoste tyrades. "Quinn is a fashion snob as you can tell and it's just between us - I'm sorry Ben. I would never use that word against anyone," he paused for about a minute, "without calling myself that too." He looked down not knowing what was coming.
"Adam," I said, "are you gay?"
"No one knows but Quinn. My father can't know and I don't wanna be run off the football team." Suddenly, I understood. I was thankful this friendship started on something other than gaydom!
Time for cheering up - I said, "come with me upstairs. I want to show you something." We headed up the backstairs.
Doctors are coming out to talk to me right now. But you will learn how strong Adam's passion was in the next discussion.