Players

"See, that's the bullshit thing about it. They're totally violating the agreement."

Leonard took another swill from his beer. The other men in the kitchen nodded silently.

He continued. "Victor needs to control his people better. They can't be just wandering over and taking business from us."

"I'll talk to Victor," said Dexter.

"Some shit's gonna happen if this keeps up."

"Stay cool for now," said Dexter. "Let me talk to him first."

Peaches wandered into the kitchen with a tray of hors d'oerves. Leonard picked one from the tray.

"What's this?"

"Sushi."

Leonard put it back on the tray and took a cracker with cheese instead. Dexter took two sushi rolls, including the one Leonard had handled. He discreetly dropped that one in the wastebasket behind him and ate the other one.

"Victor's pretty reasonable," said Dexter. "He doesn't want unnecessary problems. I'll talk to him this Sunday. It's probably just a discipline issue with his people." He motioned for Peaches to get Leonard another beer.

Leonard's lids lowered as he accepted the beer from the houseboy. "You're a sweet little thing."

Dexter suppressed a smile. "Mi casa es su casa."

"Y la chica de casa?"

"Anoche si tambien."

A little smile played on Leonard's face as he gave the houseboy a pat on the rump.

Dexter excused himself from the kitchen, making a mental note to keep an eye on Leonard. Something about the attitude.

In the living room, the high definition big screen was playing host to the latest edition of Mortal Kombat. Two of Dexter's lieutenants were sitting side-by-side on the couch, working their controllers furiously as the others in the room whooped and cheered them on.

One of the guys on door duty approached Dexter and whispered something to him. Dexter nodded and handed him a key. He returned to the kitchen, where Peaches was kneeling in front of Leonard. The other men in the kitchen maintained a respectful silence as Peaches sucked Leonard's dick. Leonard appeared to be in a trance-like state as he neared his climax.

Dexter waited until Leonard got his nut before tapping Peaches on the shoulder and telling him he was needed at the back entrance. The other men groaned in disappointment.

"Don't worry," said Dexter. "He'll be back in a few minutes."

More people arrived, and the party was now well underway. Tremaine stepped out onto the back patio to take a look at Dexter's back yard.

It was nice. A large swimming pool dominated the yard with inlaid dark blue tiles, giving it the illusion of greater depth. Tremaine went to the edge of the pool and looked in.

The depth was a clever trick. The tiles near the surface started at a medium-dark blue and graduated to black tiles at the bottom.

On the other side of the pool was a neatly-trimmed patch of grass, followed by the first of three levels of flower beds. The back wall of the yard, which was brick, was shaded by thick trees and covered in ivy, which ran along the entire length of the walled garden and partially concealed an oversized kennel. Two massive rotweillers and a doberman lounged in the enclosure, eyeing Tremaine. Not hostile or suspicious, exactly. Just...watchful.

"Someday I'm going to have a place like this," Tremaine promised to himself.

He walked around the pool to take a closer look at the flowers. One group, an orange-colored variety with yellow accents caught his eye. He knelt to take a closer look.

"Those are hibiscus," said a voice behind him.

"They're gorgeous," said Tremaine, turning to Dexter.

"My garden is my real passion," said Dexter. "I have people take care of the yard, but I do the flower beds myself."

Dexter leaned over one of the flowers and pinched a dead offshoot from the stem.

"It must be a lot of work," said Tremaine.

"It is, but it's worth the effort. Lots of attention. You have to pay attention to the small things."

Tremaine nodded.

Dexter continued. "It's like running the business. Small things matter."

Tremaine picked up on something in Dexter's voice and was listening more closely now.

"Managing people is like growing flowers," said Dexter. "You find the most promising ones and nurture them. You keep your eyes out for early signs of problems."

"I see," said Tremaine.

Dexter paused, then asked:

"How are things going in your world?"

"Good."

"How are things with Leonard?"

"He's okay," said Tremaine.

This hardly sounded like a ringing endorsement.

Tremaine added: "I don't work with him much directly because I'm under Melvin, and Melvin works for him."

Dexter nodded.

"Well, my business is like my garden. I always like to know what's going on."

Tremaine nodded.

Where was this going?

Dexter slipped Tremaine a card. "Why don't you add this number to your cell phone? Destroy the card, of course. Maybe make up a fake name for the listing."

So that's where it was going.

"Okay," said Tremaine.

"It's nice to have someone to talk to sometimes," said Dexter. "If you ever feel like you want to talk about anything, just use that number."

"Thanks," said Tremaine. "I will."

"And keep it under your hat."

"Keep what under my hat?" Tremaine asked innocently.

"Good boy," said Dexter. "You'll go far."

They went back inside the house together. Leonard met them at the door.

"What's up?" he asked.

"We were looking at the hibiscus."

"What?"

"Flowers."

"Oh."

"Hey!" said Dexter. "I think we're about to get started! Peaches is back, so everything must be ready."

Dexter threw an arm around Leonard. "Why don't you pull the numbers?"

Leonard brightened up. "Okay!"

"And take an extra one for yourself."

"Cool!" said Leonard.

The Mortal Kombat game was stopped and Dexter called for everyone's attention.

"I want to thank everyone for doing a great job this month," he said, pulling a sheet of paper from his pocket.

Everyone got quiet. Dexter continued.

"This month we moved ten percent more units than last month. We met our goal."

The room broke into applause and cheers. A few "woof-woofs" were heard in the back of the room.

"We also made some excellent progress in firming up business in the Parker Heights district. We did some negotiating, a little bit of sweet talk, and a little bit of hard ball in that area.

"I am pleased to report to you that we are now the official provider in Parker Heights."

The room broke into cheers again. Parker Heights had been an open question.

"We're doing great things, and I thank each of you for the hard work and dedication you've shown. Give yourselves a round of applause."

More clapping, then:

"Now, as you know, we have a great tradition here. This is your night. This is the night we celebrate our achievements and set our focus for the months ahead.

"And as I promised, we've got something special for you tonight." Dexter picked up the remote and pointed it at the big screen. "Are you ready?"

Applause.

"I said, 'Are you ready?'"

Applause and shouts.

Dexter pressed a button on the remote. A dim scene appeared on the screen.

A bedroom.

A white boy.

Naked.

Face down.

Legs spread.

The room burst into applause again.

Dexter flicked the picture off.

"Now, before we start the festivities, I wanted to give props to two of our guests tonight." He motioned for Darius and Todd to come to the front.

This was a surprise. They had just joined the back of the crowd.

Dexter continued: "You may not know these guys, but they are the ones who have generously provided tonight's entertainment."

More applause.

"But there's another side to this story. These guys are customers of my cousin Avery's side of the organization."

The room grew quiet. Crackheads?

Dexter dispelled it. "These guys aren't smokers themselves. But they practice good hospitality. And they have been good customers to my cousin.

"And in our organization, we value good customers. We value people who do right by us and keep us working.

"It's all about good customer relations. But last week, our friends here had a bad customer experience.

"A couple of guys from one of our group's posses took advantage of these guys and stole their packages."

Murmurs of disapproval.

"Fortunately, they weren't actual members of the family...just guys who hung out with the family."

Dexter paused to let this sink in.

"The point is this: When you're running your game, you need to be careful who you run with. Don't just let anybody run with you. And even if you know them well, keep an eye on them.

"When you're on the job, you are responsible for everyone who is running with you. So keep that in mind."

Dexter turned to Todd and Darius:

"Avery tells me that you're good people. He tells me that you've always dealt straight with him and that you're the kind of people he enjoys doing business with."

"Thanks," said Darius. Todd couldn't believe this was happening.

"And on behalf of my cousin, I wanted to say that we respect our good customers. We like to treat our good customers right. Don't we?" he asked, turning to the group.

More applause. Dexter continued:

"Anyway, since you're so valued by my cousin and our organization, and because you've been so generous in lining up tonight's entertainment, we wanted to do a little something for you to make it up to you and show our appreciation."

Dexter hit another button on the remote, and a new scene appeared:

A garage.

Two slings.

Two twins.

Buck naked.

Legs spread.

The room exploded into shouts and applause.

Darius and Todd's jaws dropped. They exchanged looks and smiled.

"We've asked the twins to make their apologies. Peaches will show you to the garage."

Peaches motioned for Todd and Darius to follow him, and the three made their way through the crowd and down the hallway.

Moments later, the three of them appeared on the television screen. Todd waved at the camera as Darius removed his shirt and handed it to Peaches.

At the back of the living room, one of the street captains said to the man next to him, "Fuck those crackheads. I want to get back to the white boy."

His friend nodded.

Tremaine, who was standing nearby, felt an odd twinge.

In the garage, Todd said to Darius:

"This feels a little weird. I've never performed on camera before."

Darius, who had by this time removed his pants and was feeling Maurice's ass, was more sanguine.

"It don't bother me. I'm ready to fuck."

Todd peeled his shirt and handed it to Peaches. He shucked his pants and handed them to the houseboy as well.

Peaches folded the clothes and set them on a nearby bench. He stepped around the back of the sling holding Damon and then stepped forward so his feet were on the base of each contraption and grasped each frame to add stability.

"I know we got a camera here," said Darius. "Is there also a microphone?"

Peaches nodded.

The twins looked nervous.

Darius turned to Todd.

"Let's make these bitches scream."

In the living room, the crowd burst into hoots and applause as the two figures on the television screen stepped up to the slings and grabbed the chains.

Darius had chosen Maurice.

Todd had chosen Damon.

They began by moving the slings back and forth in a gentle swinging motion. The houseboy stood between the contraptions, holding the frames and standing on the base of each to add stability.

Darius and Todd continued like that for a few moments, their dicks hanging between their legs as they continued the back-and-forth swinging of the slings.

Then, releasing one of the chains each, they held out their hands to Peaches, who reached behind him, grabbed a bottle of lube, and squirted a little bit into their outstretched hands.

They kept the slings swinging with their other hands as they began stroking their dicks. Lubing them up. Getting them hard.

Tremaine slipped out of the living room and down the hallway. He stopped at the master bedroom.

The door was closed.

Tremaine tried the handle and found that it was not locked. He quietly opened the door a crack and looked inside.

The white boy was there.

Just like on the television screen.

Only more beautiful.

A lieutenant was coming down the hallway shaking his head.

Tremaine closed the door quietly and returned to the living room.

Todd and Darius were hamming it up for the camera. The slings were now swinging back and forth at a wild pace.

Todd turned to Darius and said loud enough for the camera:

"Are we ready to do the damn thing?"

Darius said, "Ready!"

Both of their dicks were now rock hard, suspended in midair in front of them. As the slings swung to them, their dicks came within inches of their targets. Sometimes touching their targets.

Todd yelled:

"I think we need a countdown."

Darius yelled:

"Time for a countdown."

"Ten!"

"Nine!"

"Eight!"

"Seven!"

"Six!"

(A sound could be heard coming from inside the house.)

"Five!"

"Four!"

(Definite sound from inside the house. Clearer now. The men in the living room were yelling the countdown with them.)

"Three!"

"TWO!"

"ONE!"

Darius and Todd stepped up to the slings, and their cocks entered their targets in one swift movement.

Damon and Maurice howled.

The men in the house yelled.

The fucking had started.

Standing to the side of the big screen so as not to block the view, Leonard held a fish bowl full of paper slips.

One by one, the men in the room pulled a number from the bowl.

The two street captains returned to their places at the back of the living room.

"What'd you get?"

"Fifteen."

"Damn, Player. That sucks."

"I know. How about you?"

"Four."

"Lucky fucker."

The other street captain adjusted himself. Tremaine scowled and went into the kitchen.

It was Leonard's lucky night.

In addition to getting two draws instead of one, he lucked out in the order of things.

His first draw got him a ten.

His second draw got him the most coveted number of all:

One.

The other players looked on him in envy.

Leonard would pop the cherry tonight.

Tremaine drew his number (six) and went back outside to sit on the patio. He needed a little time to pull his thoughts together.

There was some shit going on about Leonard. That was obvious. He fingered the business card that Dexter had given him.

It was some deep shit, whatever it was. For someone as high-ranking as Dexter to give some peon street dealer like Tremaine his personal cell number...

Damn. It was unheard of.

It was also dangerous. If the shit got back to Leonard, it would be over for Tremaine.

It might even be over for Dexter.

Fucking unbelievable.

But something was definitely about to go down. Tremaine could feel the tension off Dexter when Leonard had met them at the door. Dexter had been smooth, of course. He'd played it off and then played up to Leonard.

Tremaine didn't really know Leonard. Jumping levels wasn't his game. He preferred to keep low, work hard, and stay out of the political bullshit as much as possible.

He knew Leonard was an asshole. Everybody knew that. But Leonard was a dangerous asshole, so nobody messed with him.

But now Dexter seemed to be getting ready to mess with Leonard. And he had essentially picked Tremaine to be on his team.

Tremaine didn't like it. He didn't want to be a snitch for Dexter.

Maybe he could just play dumb. Hear no evil, see no evil. Keep Dexter's cell phone number but never use it...

A troubling thought occurred to him. If Dexter was approaching Tremaine to be his spy, who else was he approaching? This could be a problem. If Dexter had another set of eyes and ears in Leonard's branch of the organization, then playing dumb might not work for Tremaine. If the other guy was dropping dimes on Leonard but Tremaine wasn't, then Dexter would know that Tremaine wasn't playing his game. That might be bad.

Shit. Tremaine wished he hadn't come to the party.

A roar of applause erupted from inside the house. Tremaine went inside to see what it was all about.

Leonard had emerged from the bedroom triumphant, beaming with the glow of sexual conquest.

High-fives and back-slapping all around.

"How was it, Leonard?"

"Primo!" declared Leonard. "Tight, wet, and smooth as a silk glove."

"Did he yell?"

"Screamed like a bitch," grinned Leonard.

Tremaine looked down at his number. He suddenly felt like shit.

But ratting out Leonard would be less of a problem for him now.

A lieutenant was talking to Dexter in low tones on the couch. He was bent in close so Dexter could hear him.

Dexter heard everything the lietenant was saying, but his eyes and "sixth sense" were working the room even as he appeared to be giving the underling his full attention.

Dexter took stock of the room. Leonard had wandered off, oblivious in his beer and general dimness. A cluster of street captains were on the porch playing poker, their chips and bills stacked neatly in front of them.

Where was Tremaine? Dexter finally spotted him on one of the seats on the porch. By himself. The kid seemed to be keeping to himself alot this evening.

Mario approached Dexter with a smile on his face.

Dexter looked up, "How was it?"

Mario gave two thumbs up.

Dexter looked down at the pad in his hand. "Tremaine's next," he said. "Go tell him. He's on the porch."

Todd and Darius took turns in the shower and got dressed to return to the party. The twins remained suspended in the garage in case Todd and Darius decided to have an encore performancelater.

The big screen television now showed the garage with just the twins and nobody fucking them, so Dexter picked up the remote and changed the channel to the bedroom.

Strange. The picture was completely dark. Dexter mentioned this to Peaches and told him to check the camera after Tremaine came out of the room. Peaches promised that he would, and Dexter turned on the Mortal Kombat for the time being.

Dexter took an out-of-town phone call in his study, then returned to the living room. Two of his street captains were still playing Mortal Kombat.

Dexter caught Peaches as he left the kitchen with a tray.

"I thought I told you to check the camera when Tremaine came out."

"He's still in there."

Dexter looked at his watch. Odd. He went back to his study, locked the door, and typed his password into his computer.

The house was wired for security, and each room was equipped with carefully hidden closed-circuit cameras. The security camera in the bedroom wasn't as good as the one they had set up for the party, but it was good enough.

And after a few clicks of his mouse, Dexter started to get the picture.

Tremaine had covered the party camera with a shirt. That's why there had been no picture in the living room.

Dexter zoomed the security camera on the two figures in the room. Michael and Tremaine were on the bed together.

Not in the bed. On it. Sitting on the edge next to each other.

The white boy was slightly hunched forward, a towel covering his lap.

Talking to Tremaine.

Tremaine was sitting close to the white boy, listening.

Fully clothed.

Dexter could not hear what they were saying, but he was getting the gist.

The white boy broke into a sob. Tremaine put his arm around him protectively.

Dexter logged off and stared at the screen saver for a stunned moment. He drummed his fingers on the desk and shook his head in wonder.

Leonard was making his way from the bathroom when Peaches intercepted him.

"Well," said Leonard. "If it isn't our sweet young thing."

Peaches giggled and looked at him coyly. He was carrying a bottle of wine.

Leonard rather fancied the houseboy. The blowjob in the kitchen had been good. Damn good.

"I wish our sweet young thing wasn't so busy with the party," said Leonard. "It's a shame you're so occupied."

Peaches purred at Leonard, "Well, I'm not nearly as occupied as I'd like to be."

"Do tell?"

"The party's let up a bit. And that white boy's been having all the fun."

Leonard rather liked where this might be leading. Peaches produced two glasses from behind his back and let them clink together lightly.

Leonard smiled. "Well, if you need a little break from all the work..."

Peaches smiled and pushed open the door to one of the guest rooms. They disappeared inside.

Two of Dexter's lieutenants came into the garage and began unfastening the twins from the slings. The crackheads rubbed their ankles and looked around in the garage.

"Where are our clothes?"

"Peaches has washed them. You'll get them soon."

"Soon?"

"Soon. But first you need to come inside the house with us. There's been a slight change in the program."

Tremaine was still trying to make sense of things. He was sitting in the front seat of his car on the street in front of Dexter's house.

Dexter was standing outside the driver's side window, crouching low. He had just given Tremaine the address to a nearby hotel.

"Now, just be sure to get your ass back here after you tuck him in," said Dexter. "Drop him off and come straight back."

"I will," said Tremaine. "But what about Leonard?"

"You'll be back before he wakes up. He'll never know you were gone."

Tremaine decided not to ask about this. He nodded and started the engine.

"And remember that you owe me," Dexter said as Tremaine pulled the car away.

Tremaine suspected that Dexter wouldn't let him forget.

Nobody seemed to mind the change in program. The twins were good pieces of ass. And Peaches even contributed to the fun for a while before disappearing into the guest room just in time for Leonard to wake up in his arms. Nobody missed the white boy.

The party finally broke up as the sun began creeping over the horizon.

Sunday morning.

A sliver of light edged around the heavy curtains of the hotel window.

Michael awoke to the sound of running water. Tremaine came out of the bathroom.

"I've run a bath for you."

Michael rubbed his eyes and nodded his thanks as he rose from the bed. Tremaine watched him as he passed him and went into the bathroom.

Michael had a nice ass. And someday Tremaine would experience it.

But not today. Not yet.

Michael stopped at the mirror. He didn't look any older, but he certainly felt it.

He reached down and felt the water in the tub. It was hot, but not too hot. Nice.

Michael eased himself into the tub and lay there for a few moments with his eyes closed.

He opened his eyes and reached for the soap. This would be a long bath.

Something caught his eye. He turned towards the corner of the tub where it was.

A flash of orange. With yellow accents.

It was a flower. A hibiscus. Michael picked it up.

Tremaine was in the other room watching television.

Michael looked toward the bathroom door.

He couldn't see Tremaine, but he suddenly felt peace.

Sunday afternoon.

"Damn," said Todd. It was really all he could say.

Darius took another sip of his cocktail and eyed the bartender absently.

They had been sitting at the bar all that afternoon. Not talking, really. Just looking at each other occasionally and saying, "Damn."

"Hell of a party."

"Damn."

That had been the conversation all afternoon. Hell of a party. Damn.

Finally, Todd said, "I wonder what happened to the white boy?"

Darius shrugged. It was the first time that either of them had mentioned Michael all afternoon.

Todd turned back to his drink.

There was laughter in the far corner of the bar. A squeal.

A group of bargoers swept past the bar. One of them accidentally brushed against Darius.

Darius turned quickly, but it was nothing. Just a skinny tipsy kid in a bright blue tank top. He needed a haircut. Brown hair down to his shoulders. Almost like a little mane.

"Sorry!" he apologized to Darius. "I didn't mean to bump you!"

Darius shrugged. The little group continued towards the pool tables. The kid tagged with the group like a young colt.

Cute. In an awkward way.

Todd paused.

Darius paused.

They looked at each other.

Then they emptied their drinks and headed for the pool tables.

THE END