When Todd got home, he immediately went to his desk and turned on his laptop. He inserted the flash drive, clicked on the `My Computer' icon, and then the new disk drive. He opened the files and looked through the pictures. As he flipped through, he couldn't help but notice how great the pictures came out. He still had a hard time believing it was him that he was looking at.
As he looked through them, his mind couldn't stop wondering at all the excitement that could be coming his way—like being recognized everywhere he went. He imagined people looking at him with confused looks that said `I know him from somewhere, but I can't remember where...
But, what really made him smile, was the thought of being out with Blake somewhere, and, when he sees one of the underwear ads, Blake stopping and tell anyone who will listen that that sexy man in the ads was his boyfriend.
What brought him back to his surroundings was the bedroom door being opened. Instinctively, Todd closed the lid of the laptop and looked at Robert.
"Are you hiding something you don't want me to see? Another homemade porn movie?" Robert smiled.
"No," Todd smiled back. "It's my modeling pictures."
Speed walking to Todd's side, he said, "Oh, let me see."
"I can't. Not yet, at least. I've got to show them to Blake first, and then I'll show you and the guys tonight."
"Oh, come on, Todd. Just one picture?" Robert begged.
"No. I want Blake to see them first. I promise I'll show them to you tonight," Todd said, smiling.
"Fine," Robert said with mock attitude. "I guess it's a perk being the boyfriend." He emphasized the word boyfriend.
Smiling, Todd said, "Thanks, Lucky."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do what you gotta do, then come to the rec room for a game of pool."
"Be there in a few minutes."
Todd opened the laptop again and then the internet browser. Getting into his email, he clicked on new message and then typed in Blake's name. His email address popped up and in the subject line, Todd wrote, `DO NOT OPEN WITHOUT ME ON THE PHONE!!!'
There was no message, other than the pictures he sent as a zip file through the email. Then he figured, just in case Blake's curiosity got the better of him, he wrote a message below, in the body of the email.
`If you open this without me on the phone, you'll be punished with six months without sex. Do you understand? Continue if you must, but my hand will be getting all the attention that would be for you if you don't follow these instructions.'
Todd smiled at himself, then signed his name with the words `I love you' under it. He hit the send button and went and joined Robert in the rec room, making sure he brought his phone with him.
A couple hours later, Todd's phone rang and he was surprised to see Blake's name.
"Hey, baby. Is everything alright?" Todd asked, concerned.
"Yeah. I just got online and saw your email said to call you before opening."
"But, it's only 3:45 there. Why are you not working still?"
"It's pouring rain over here. Not one customer, a few owners this morning, but nothing else to do but groom the horses when they came in from the rain from wondering."
"Oh, okay. You get a shower yet?"
"Yup. Just got done, opened my computer to check my email and then I see your email saying not to open without you on the phone. Why do I need you on the phone to open your email?"
"You'll see in a second." Todd went to his laptop and opened the files and looked through until he found the picture with only one eye showing through his hair. He wanted Blake to see that one first.
"Okay, go ahead and download the file."
Blake clicked the download link and about a minute later, the file was on his computer. "Okay, it's downloaded."
"Okay, now go into the folder, and on the top bar, there should be a link that says `unzip file'."
Todd waited for a moment. "Yup, found it."
"Good. Now click it and wait. After it's done unzipping, open the folder and click on DSC104."
Blake did as he was instructed and when the folder was opened, he saw all of them were tagged with `.jpg'. "What are these? Pictures?" Realization hit him hard. "Oh, my God. These are your modeling pictures, aren't they?"
Todd smiled. "Yeah, but click on 104 first."
Blake clicked on it and the first words out of his mouth were, "Holy, shit!"
"You like?" Todd asked, smiling bigger.
"Like? I want you to make love to me right now. You're fucking sexy—AND I KNEW IT WAS UNDERWEAR. I JUST KNEW IT!" Blake yelled triumphantly.
"Yeah, I don't know how you knew, but you were right."
"Can I look at the rest now?"
"Sure, click away," Todd said, listening to Blake's reaction.
Twenty minutes later, after all the pictures had been seen, Blake was at his desk with a major hard on. He always knew Todd was a hot guy, but seeing these pictures, with him in nothing but underwear, well, it turned him on even more. Todd gave Blake details about the shoot, the company and their ad ideas.
"A girl?" Blake said. "They want you to be in an ad with a girl? I thought they were men's underwear."
"Their reasoning is that you won't find too many straight guys who will look at an underwear ad with just a guy in it. They want a hot girl to grab the guy's attention."
"You won't have to do anything with her, will you?" Blake asked.
"Nothing that I'm not comfortable with, I'm sure. I might have to kiss her, but that's no big deal."
"No tongue!" Blake said, stern.
Todd laughed. "No tongue. I promise."
"And no touching of boobies either. That's...yucky," Blake said, for comedy effect. It worked.
Todd laughed even harder and, when it subsided, he said, "I'll be taking direction. They know I'm gay, but if they tell me to grab her boob, then I'll grab her boob, but I won't like it. You know that."
"Yeah, I know. So, when do you find out if you got the job?"
"Tuesday at four. Melony is supposed to call me then."
"You have nothing to worry about. Like I said before, they'd be stupid not to give it to you. You're way too sexy."
"I don't know. I never saw the pictures of the other models," Todd said.
"Doesn't matter. They probably called them all today and told them they found a model, and it wasn't them. You got the job. I can feel it," Blake said, giving encouragement to Todd.
"I would be kinda cool. Make some extra money, maybe travel a little, and show off in underwear. Yeah, that could be fun." Blake heard a mischievous smile in Todd's voice.
"As long as you remember you got a boyfriend waiting for you and a fuck buddy that I've approved of."
"Meaning?" Todd asked, teasingly.
"No playing around outside of our arrangement," Blake said, exhaustively.
Again, Todd laughed. "How many times do I have to say it? I've already got the best. Why would I want anyone else?"
"What about Robert?" Blake asked.
"Hey, now. You opened the relationship. Not me," Todd said, trying to keep his voice light.
Okay. Touché. You got me there."
"Anytime you wanna close it, I'm game," Todd said.
"Nah. It's cool. We can keep it open until school's done with."
"Why? You still wanna play with Jackson?" Todd asked, teasing.
"The last time I slept with Jackson was the week before you arrived for the summer. I found out he's gotta boyfriend now. Some guy named Alan. Never seen him, but he swears he exists. He's still leaving at night, and sometimes not coming back until the next morning for work."
"I'm sorry, baby," Todd said.
"Oh, well. That's life, I guess. I'm not worried about it anymore. My hand is getting a lot more action though."
Todd laughed, and they moved on to countless other subjects as they talked for another hour. Before they got off the phone, Blake made a quick announcement.
"I've just made one of your pictures my background image on my desktop."
"Which one?" Todd quizzed.
"The first one, the hair and the eye, and the body, and the underwear and THAT package! Yum!"
"You're crazy, baby."
"Crazy in love," Blake said. "By the way, what's the name of the company?"
"De-Briefs NYC," Todd answered.
"Hmmm. You can debrief me anytime, mister." Blake had a playful tone to his voice.
"Well, Wednesday night, Robert's got a science or math lab or something. He won't get out until 9. Wanna have a date? I'll model the underwear for you?"
"Um, hell yeah!" Blake said, excited.
"Okay, you let me know when you're done working, and we'll meet online. But I'll call you on Tuesday with the news, whatever it is."
"You'll be calling me to tell me you got the job is what you'll be doing," Blake said.
"If you say so, baby," Todd said, smiling. "I love you."
"I love you, too, Todd. Sleep well tonight, okay?"
"I will, baby. You, too."
They hung up, and Blake immediately closed his laptop, and carried it into common room to show everyone Todd's modeling pictures.
Todd did the same thing in New York. He closed his laptop and headed to the rec room with it tucked under his arm. When he arrived, all the roommates were hanging around, playing pool or watching TV.
"Well, you wanna see?" Todd asked.
"Yeah," Robert said.
"See what?" Keith asked.
"His test modeling pictures," Robert said, walking over to get a closer look at the pictures.
Todd sat the laptop down on the coffee table as the guys sat on the couch or stood behind it. He opened the top and clicked on the first file.
"Holy shit, Todd," Ricky exclaimed.
"Day-umn!" Tony called.
"Wow! You got some balls to do this," Keith said.
Nicky and Robert both remained quiet.
"What kind of underwear is that?" Ricky asked.
"It's a special kind... Cotton around the butt and Bamboo and Nylon in the pouch." Todd remembered he still had on a pair. "Hold on," Todd said, and stood. He unbuttoned his pants and the four straight guys gave him a strange look. "I'm still wearing a pair. Here," Todd said, and lowered his pants. Turning, he explained, "Back here, it's like all other types of underwear, just cotton. But up front," he said, turning to face them, "the fabric is softer and it breathes a lot better."
"I would imagine so," Keith said. "I can see your dick through the fabric."
"What?" Todd asked, bending over, looking for himself.
"It looks like mesh," Keith said. "A lot of little holes."
"Do you see outline or the skin?" Todd asked, worried. He didn't want to show too much, and it might just do that in the pictures. He hadn't really noticed.
"It looks like a bit of skin, but the outline is prevalent. I don't know. Maybe it's a trick of the underwear," Keith said.
"Can you see anything in the pictures?" Todd asked them.
Tony was the first to say anything. "I don't see anything but the outline. No skin, at least, it doesn't look like it."
"Thank, God. If you can see through the underwear, I'd tell them I'm not interested."
"It looks comfortable, though," Ricky said.
"Shit, it is. Under the balls is a thick line of Nylon and you put your balls over that, and it holds everything up front. Not once today have I been uncomfortable, sitting on or squashing `em. I haven't thought about it at all. Not even adjusted myself."
"Where can I get some?" Tony asked.
"They aren't on the market yet," Todd explained, pulling up his pants and buttoning them back up.
"Damn. I wanna try a pair," Tony said. "When will they be out?"
"Don't know. But I got another pair. I only wore them for about twenty minutes. You're welcome to `em. You just can't tell anyone about them, yet."
"Cool. If you don't mind, though, I think I'll wash them first," Tony said, giving a cool smile.
"Y'all look at the other pictures, I'll go and get `em," Todd said.
When he returned with the camo pair, as he walked in the door, he could have sworn he saw Nicky adjusting himself, but quickly moved his hand as Todd walked in. He was the only one left standing, as Robert came around and sat down on the couch, looking at the pictures with everyone else.
"Here ya go," Todd said, tossing Tony the underwear.
"Thanks, dude. I gotta do some laundry, so I'll be trying these on tonight," he said, and got up and headed to his room.
Once all the pictures were looked at, the guys turned their attention back to the TV or the pool table. As Todd grabbed his laptop, he started back to his room, but was called by Nicky on his way down the hall.
"Yeah, bud. What's up?" Todd asked, as Nicky caught up with him.
"I'm confused, again," Nicky stated.
"'Bout what?" Todd asked, stopping and turning toward Nicky.
"Looking at your pictures got me hard and I don't know why."
Todd glanced at Nicky's crotch and sure enough, there was a faint outline in the denim of Nicky's dick pointing sideways toward his right hip. "Damn, boy," Todd said, laughing. "I don't know what to tell ya."
"I don't either, but I wish this damn thing would go away," he said, frustrated, and turned back to the rec room.
Why don't you go and take care of the problem?" Todd suggested.
"I'll do that tonight in the shower, before bed," then he turned and headed back down the hall.
Todd shook his head and headed to his room.
That night, Nicky was in the shower and started in on his session. In his mind, all he could see was Todd in the underwear. The yellow pair has shown Todd's outline the most. He couldn't get Todd out of his mind, and the images he remembered worked so great, his session was over in less than three minutes.
The next three days went by as slow as anything for Todd. His excitement about knowing one way or the other about the job was too much to take. He would look at his watch in one of his classes, and then look again, only to see that two minutes had elapsed. His frustration was irritating him, and even when he and Robert had their fun, that was the only time that it seemed time went by too fast. Their hour long sex seemed like fifteen minutes. He wished he could just fuck the rest of the time away, just so his agony of having to wait to find out the decision was over.
Finally, on Tuesday at 3:58, his phone rang. Todd was in the kitchen, when he heard it, and ran back to his room, just in time to grab the phone before it went to voicemail.
"Hello?" He said, breathing heavily.
"Todd?" Melony asked, not recognizing the voice.
"Yeah, it's me. Left my phone in my room and ran from the kitchen," Todd said, holding his breath, even though his lungs were screaming for air.
"Well, we've come to a decision," Melony said, waiting for Todd.
After a few moments, Todd's impatience got the better of him. He asked, "And?"
"Well, the new face for De-Briefs NYC, well, is you," she said, smiling.
"Oh, my God! Are you serious?" Todd was elated.
"Sure am! D told me how easy it was to work with you, and you were his only choice. The rest of the team looked over all the photos and everyone agreed that yours were the best. Todd, we want you to represent De-Briefs NYC."
"Holy shit! I can't believe it," he said with excitement. "I don't know what to say."
"Well, how about saying yes?" Melony said, laughing.
"Yeah. I'm still interested and I'm amazed that you guys want me." Todd couldn't sit still. He was pacing his bedroom, not knowing what to do next.
"We do! Now, let me tell you a little more. I'm sure you're wondering about pay."
"Yeah, I am, now that you mention it," Todd said, going to his desk and grabbing a pen and paper.
"You'll get a minimum of a thousand a month, whether you work or not. That's base pay. Five hundred every two weeks. For photo shoots, we'll pay you $350 an hour. Runway work is $1300 a day, minimum of two days, at least. Any travel is all expenses paid, including a nice hotel. Nothing too fancy, but not a dump either."
"Travel? There's travel involved?" Todd asked, surprised.
"Well, we want to try to get to Paris, Milan...all the major fashion cities around the world to show off the product. We'll have to play that by ear, but you'll need to apply for a passport, if you don't already have one," Melony explained.
"Yeah, of course," Todd said, still dumfounded.
"So, next week, you'll get your first check for $950. That's the $500 base, plus the hour and a quarter for the shoot you did on Saturday. We'll want to use a few of those pictures, but we can't do that, nor pay you, until you sign the contract."
"Oh, yeah. Do I need to come in for that?" Todd asked.
"Do you have a fax machine?" Melony asked.
"No—Wait. Yeah, I do. I don't know the number though. Hold on," Todd said, running to the office and dialing his cell number. A moment later, it rang and he saw the number flash on his caller ID. After writing it down, he hung up the machine and gave her the number.
"I'll fax it right over. Take your time and look it over, but if you can, get it back to me by Friday. My fax number will be on the cover sheet. As soon as we get it back, your first check will be in the mail."
"Sounds great," Todd said.
"Okay, if you have any questions, just call me. You got my number," Melony said.
"Yes, ma'am," Todd answered.
"Good. Talk to you soon, Todd. And congratulations, again."
"Thanks, Melony. Thanks a million. This is so awesome," Todd said radiating through his smile.
"Don't forget—by Friday."
"Got it. Bye," Todd said, and hung up.
A minute later, the fax machine rang and another minute later, seven pages came through the fax. Todd grabbed them and started reading through, but didn't understand it. It was in English, but it was also in legalese. That's what he called it when he would look through his mom's stuff and see contracts. He knew he was going to have to fax it to her to let her look it over. He opened his phone and called home.
"Hello?" Christine answered.
"Hey, Mom," Todd said.
"Hey, honey. How are you?" She asked, glad to hear his voice.
"Great. Listen, I'm faxing you over something. I need you to look it over for me. It's in legalese and I don't understand it."
"Okay, what's it for?" She asked, walking to her office.
"You'll see in a minute. Turn on your computer and go to your email. I'm about to send you something that goes with it."
After Todd faxed the pages to his mom, he went to his computer and looked through his pictures, and found the least sexualized picture, as well as the least amount shown in the crotch; he could, and attached that to an email and sent it off.
Christine picked up the first page that came through and looked over the heading. "What's `De-Briefs NYC'?" She asked.
"Open your email, and you'll find out," Todd said, holding his breath, waiting.
Christine grabbed the other page and put it with the first, then clicked on her email. There was one new message from Todd. When she clicked it open, she clicked the open button and a picture of her son, wearing nothing but underwear and a smile, looked back at her. "Why are you sending me a picture of yourself in underwear?"
"Well, that was from a modeling shoot I did last Saturday. They've offered me a job. That's the contract I need you to look over." Again, Todd held his breath.
There was silence from Christine's end of the phone for about a full minute, before Todd heard her yell for his father. A few seconds later, Todd heard his dad enter the room, asking what was wrong. Christine put the phone on speaker, and set it on the desk.
"Look at this," she said. Todd could tell she was a bit agitated.
"What?" Don asked, walking around her desk. "Whoa. Why is there a picture of Todd in his underwear on your screen?"
"Todd? You wanna tell him?" Christine asked, folding her arms and leaning back in her chair.
"A few weeks ago, this modeling scout came up to me and asked me if I'd like to be considered for a modeling job. He took some pictures and turned them into this company. Last week, the company called me and asked me to come in for a professional modeling shoot. They narrowed their pick down to five guys—well, actually, four guys, and I was one of them. This past Saturday, I went in and I found out it was a new underwear company, and we took some pictures. Melony, from the company, called me today and told me they want me as their model. They faxed me over the contract, and I sent it to Mom. She asked what it was for, and I sent the picture to show her," Todd explained.
"How many guys were up for the job?" Don asked. Christine gave him a not so nice look.
"The scout told me that there were five scouts, looking for at least twenty five guys each. So if they all got their quota, there were about 125 of us...maybe more."
"And how many guys got offered the job?" Don asked, specifically looking away from his wife.
"Just me. They only want one model for right now. In a year or so, they are gonna look for others."
Don couldn't help himself and smiled. "Hot, damn, son. I'm proud of you."
"Donald!" Christine said, standing. Don gave his wife a worried look. "How can you be so encouraging? We sent him to New York for school, not to prance around in his underwear for a camera."
"Mom, I'm not prancing—" Todd said, but was cut off.
"Stay out of this for a minute, Todd," Christine said, looking at the phone, then back at her husband.
"What's wrong with it?" Don asked her.
"First off, I don't want us wasting money on school, if his grades start to go downhill. Who knows how much time this will take away from his studies?"
"When have you known Todd to let his studies go downhill? He's always gotten good grades. Why do you think this will ruin that trend?" Don asked.
"This is different from working at the mall for the summer. He's never had a job while going to school."
Todd was tired of staying out of it, and jumped in. "Nothing's going to change, mom. I'm gonna keep up my schoolwork, and they know my school comes first. If I have to go somewhere, I'll talk to my professors and make sure I have the work I need to do while I'm gone and I'll email it back or something."
"Where might you have to go?" Christine asked.
"Well, Melony said something about London, Paris, Milan...other fashion cities, too, I think. Runway work, I suppose."
"You mean, you'll be parading around in your underwear in front of a room full of people?" Christine asked, flabbergasted.
"Yeah. It's to show off the product. I'll be the featured model. I'll be the face of the brand," Todd said.
Before she could respond, Don cut back in. "What's this really about, Christine?"
"His schoolwork," she answered, defiantly.
"Honey," he said, walking up to her and putting his hands on her biceps. "I've known you way too long to know that this has anything to do with schoolwork. Something else is bothering you."
Todd listened and Don waited for Christine to answer.
"What if my friends see this? What if they see our son in his underwear in some magazine? What'll I tell them?" She asked, looking into Don's eyes.
"You'll tell them, as proud as can be, That's my son, and he beat out over a hundred guys to get that job.' You can't tell me you'll be embarrassed. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Look at him," he said, turning her to look at her monitor. "He's a great looking kid who takes after his mama. So what that he's selling underwear? Who cares? I'll be the first to show all of my friends. Look at this,' he said, picking up a random magazine and opening it. `That's my son,' I'll tell them and I'll be proud."
There was a pause as Christine looked into her husband's eyes. "Really?"
"Of course," he answered, rubbing her arms in a reassuring manner.
Turning her attention back to the phone, she asked, "Besides running around in underwear on a runway, what other types of advertising are they looking for?"
"Mainly print...magazines, maybe newspaper. I'm not really sure about paper stuff. She said online advertising too. Oh, and also billboards."
"Billboards?" She asked, looking back at Don.
"Yes, ma'am," Todd answer.
Don nodded and gave her a warm smile. "What's the pay like?" She asked.
"A thousand a month, photo shoots I'll get $350 per hour and for runway work, $1300 a day with all expenses paid. Oh, she also mentioned possible TV ads too, in, like, a year, but she didn't mention the pay for that."
"Oh, God," she said, putting her head on her husband's chest. "Everyone's gonna see my baby in his underwear."
Don gave a laugh and Todd finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Seems like it," Don said, wrapping his arms around her.
After a couple minutes, Todd broke the silence and asked, "So, will you look through the contract for me? Please?"
Christine lifted her head off Don's chest and said, "I'll call you back when I'm done."
Todd gave the biggest smile he could form and said, "Thanks, Mom. You're the best. I love you."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Call you soon," she said, then reached down and hit the end button.
Todd immediately called Blake.
"I told you you got the job," Blake said when he answered the phone.
"How the hell did you know?" Todd asked.
"I don't know. I just kinda felt...happier than usual today. Guess I could feel it. Have you told Mom and Dad yet?" Blake asked.
"I just got off the phone with them. Mom's looking through the contract for me," Todd said.
"Was she upset?" Blake quizzed.
"A little, at first. Then Dad talked her out of it. He thought it was cool."
"Well, what did Mom say?"
"Melony called and told me I got the job, then faxed over the contract. I faxed it to Mom and asked her to look it over. She tried to say that she was afraid my schoolwork would take a backseat, but Dad pushed her and her fear finally came out: she's afraid everyone's gonna see me in my underwear."
"That's Mom for ya," Blake said smiling. "Wanting to protect the world from her son's good looks and a bulge that could poke an eye out. Wants to keep all the boys and girls safe, that's all."
"You're an ass," Todd said as Blake laughed.
A few moments' silence was broken when Blake spoke again. "I'm proud of you, Puppy. And I'm excited for you, too."
"Thanks, Baby," Todd said. "Oh, I was looking at the calendar and was thinking the week of the tenth would be good for a visit. Is that good with you?"
Blake told Todd to hold on for a second and clicked on the calendar button on his phone and looked up the week in question. "Looks like it'll be fine. I'll let Papa know tonight."
"Good. So, what are you up to?" Todd asked, getting a little horny.
"Still working. Remember, it's only 2:30 out here."
"Oh, damn. I forgot about the time. I'm horny, too. Oh well. I guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow for our date to get off with you."
"Just a little more than twenty four hours away. Just hold out as long as you can...or fuck Lucky tonight, either way."
"Yeah, not sure what I'm gonna do yet about that, but I'll let you go. Don't want you getting in trouble."
"Good, because Papa's coming this way. Gotta go. Love you bunches, though," Blake said, and before waiting for an answer, he hung up as Papa rounded the corner.
"How are things going, Blake?" Papa asked.
"Pretty good, Papa," Blake said, stroking a brush along one of the horses back.
"Good. Very good. Keep up the good work," Papa said, dismissively, as he passed on by.
Blake smiled, and then put his full attention back on the horse before him.
When dinner was called that evening, bringing an end to the work day, Blake was starving. He went up, sat down and gulped down a full glass of tea before all the seats around the table were full. When everyone showed up, Papa said the blessing, and they began to fill their bellies with the wonderful cooking that Mama had prepared for them. Tonight was homemade fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn on the cob, freshly baked biscuits and gallons of sweet tea for everyone.
There was some lively conversations during dinner, but as everyone got full, their mouths seems to stop working, or their stomachs were just too full for them to be able to concentrate on forming words. When silence engulfed the table, Mama told everyone to scoot and get their showers and to enjoy their evenings. As everyone got up, they thanked Mama for dinner and lazily wondered to their building for showers and to relax for the rest of the evening. As Blake was coming out of his room, wearing only a towel, heading to the shower room, he was surprised to see Jackson open his door, wearing his towel.
"Not going out tonight?" Blake asked, trying to make conversation.
"Nope," Jackson said, and closed his door and slipped in front of Blake toward the bathroom.
"That's nice. A night to relax here at home. Haven't done much of that lately."
"Whatever," Jackson said, as he entered the bathroom.
Blake shook his head and kept his mouth shut, not wanting to start any arguments.
When they showered, the other guys started a conversation about the upcoming football season.
"...New Orleans and Green Bay...hell yeah, that's gonna be a good game," Dwight said.
"Who you cheering on?" Charles asked.
"Green Bay. They seem to have a good, hard team this year. They might take it again," Dwight answered.
"I don't think so," Miguel said, as Charles translated. "If they're not careful, they'll think they got it in the bag because of last year's win. No team is just going to let them have it again. They're gonna do everything possible to take away their crown."
"Yeah, but who?" Bruce asked.
"Beat da hell out me," Miguel answered in his broken English.
Blake kept glancing at Jackson out of the corner of his eyes, and noticed that Jackson was staring at him as he showered. Blake wasn't going to say anything or let Jackson know that he caught him, but he did keep his eyes on Jackson in a subtle way. As Blake bent over, with his back to Jackson, to wash his legs, he saw Jackson's body turn toward him, and saw Jackson's penis give a twitch.
`So, he still likes what he sees, at least,' thought Blake.
He didn't do anything to intentionally tease Jackson, but he saw Jackson sport a semi by the time his shower was done. A minute after Jackson was done; Blake turned off his water, and grabbed his towel, as he put this things on his shelf. Drying himself off, he walked over to his cubby and grabbed his toothbrush and paste and grabbed a sink opposite Jackson. When he got done drying, he folded his towel and placed it over the edge of the counter between his body and the sink, as was the ritual of all the guys. No one ever seemed to be in a hurry to dress, and Blake didn't mind.
When he started on his teeth, Blake looked in the mirror and caught Jackson looking at his ass through the mirror reflection. When Jackson's eyes flicked from Blake's ass to Blake's face, he quickly turned away, hoping Blake didn't notice. Jackson hurriedly finished his teeth and left back to his room. Again, Blake wasn't but a minute or so behind Jackson, and before walking out of the bathroom, he wrapped his towel around his waist, as to not offend the girls, if they were in the hallway.
Once he got to his room, he slipped on a pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt and walked back to Jackson's door, where he knocked, twice.
"Who is it?" Jackson called.
"Blake."
There was a pause. "Blake, I'm not in the mood to talk right now, sorry."
Blake opened the door and said, "Well, then, how about listening then? All I want is five minutes." Again, there was another pause. "Please," Blake asked, again.
Rolling his eyes, Jackson said, "Fine."
Blake walked in the room and closed the door behind him. He didn't sit, but continued standing, to let Jackson know he wouldn't get too comfortable.
"I've been waiting for you to approach me to want to talk since we last talked...well, argued that is, but you never did, so I figured I would finally just approach you and get this over with."
Jackson remained silent, waiting.
"I wanted to apologize to you about the way I treated you over the last year or so. It wasn't right, and I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?" Jackson finally asked.
"Sorry for inviting you into mine and Todd's arrangement. Sorry for leading you on after I knew how you felt. And sorry for treating you the way I did while Todd was here. I just wish you would have told me the truth and maybe none of this would've happened, and we could still be friends."
"What are you talking about? I told you the truth."
"Yeah, okay. You were, if you aren't still, in love with me." Jackson opened his mouth to say something, but Blake plowed on. "No one would get as angry as you did if you still didn't have feelings. You know you didn't tell me the truth when I asked how you felt about me, did you?"
Jackson stared at Blake, and then looked away. "No."
"Why didn't you tell me the truth?" Blake asked.
Jackson looked uncomfortable for the first time in weeks. His hard-ass stature and attitude had abandoned him when he needed it the most. "Because I did love you and when you offered me the chance to be with you, intimately, I told you what I thought you wanted to hear to allow it to happen." Looking at Blake, he continued. "No matter what I do, I can't stop feeling the way I do about you. I thought that if I found someone else to play with—to fuck—I could stop feeling this way. But I can't."
Blake stared at Jackson for a moment, and thought he saw Jackson's lower lids fill with tears. He took a few steps over to Jackson, and knelt on the floor, next to the bed. "Jackson, I do love you, but as you know, it's as one of my best friends. If I hadn't found Todd, I would be lucky that you would want to be with me. I'm only sorry that it can't happen. I love Todd, you know I do, but if he wasn't in my life, I would love you because you love me. You, my friend, are an amazing guy, and someone is going to be very lucky that they will have you as a boyfriend."
Jackson wiped his right eye to extract the tears before they fell down his cheek, but before he could get to his left, Blake reached up and wiped the falling tear for him.
"Thanks," he said, breathily.
"Can you forgive me for the way I've treated you?" Blake asked.
"It's me who should be asking for your forgiveness, the way I've been avoiding you," Jackson said, giving a weak smile to Blake.
"Honey, there's no reason to apologize to me. You were only doing what your heart needed. I just don't want to lose your friendship over all this. You're too important to me for that to happen."
"Thanks, Blake, but I don't deserve your friendship. I've messed up a lot of things because of this. I'm just sorry I wasn't stronger...to be able to deal with all this without being the ass I was...without bringing Alan into the mix."
"What's Alan got to do with it?" Blake asked, curious.
"I don't love him. Hell, I don't really even like him."
"I thought things were going great? I mean, you never came home anymore. You were, I assumed, always over at his place." Blake said, pulling Jackson's desk chair out and sitting.
"Well, things were great, at first, but then they went way down hill—and fast."
"You wanna talk about it? I don't want to push you," Blake said, cautiously.
"No, I need to talk about it. At first, I wanted to fuck someone else, and you know why. When I met him online, we talked, and then I went over. Instead of fucking, we went to dinner then a movie, and then coffee, before going back to his place. We had more coffee and then we slept in the bed together, both in our underwear.
"Anyway, next day is when you and I...uh...last talked," Jackson said, not really wanting to remember every little detail.
"Yeah," Blake said, in that `keep going, I understand' voice.
"I went back and we talked and then we agreed that we would try a relationship. I know, two days is kinda fast, but we just figured it would be okay. We wouldn't base it on sex. Well, that's what happened. When I go over there, we eat or go out to eat, drink coffee and then get in the bed and fuck. Most of the night, we probably have about a ten minute conversation. It's awful, and it's getting annoying."
"How are you feeling about him? Specifically?" Blake asked.
Jackson thought about it for a few minutes. "I don't love him. He annoys me because we still don't know each other that well, but he wants to hang all over me and kiss me in public. I wouldn't care if I felt the same way, but I don't. He's a lot more fem than he led me to believe. When I met his friends, it was girl' this, or queen' that, or `Mary, please'."
Blake couldn't help himself and started laughing. For the first time in a long time, Blake finally saw Jackson smile.
"Oh, Blake, it was awful. I did everything I could to keep from slapping some butchness into him. I was waiting for him to tell me he's a drag queen so I'd have an excuse to leave."
Blake continued to laugh, not at Jackson's misery, but at his reaction to all the fem antics given by Alan. He was imagining Jackson's face and body language at that point in time, and he couldn't help but laugh. When the laughter finally subsided, Blake gave the advice that he would use himself.
"Tell him it's over."
"It'll kill him," Jackson said. "It'd crush his feelings so much," Jackson said.
"So, what? You planning on avoiding him; not answering his calls, in the hopes that he'll stop contacting you?" Blake asked.
"That was kinda the plan," Jackson said, sheepishly.
"And that would be wrong. It's like leading someone on, purposely. No, if it were me, and I felt the way you did, I would call him up, have him meet you somewhere for coffee, get it to go and maybe go for a walk and tell him how you feel. He might feel the same way you do, and he's getting tired of it too," Blake explained.
"What if he still likes me? What then?" Jackson asked.
"Well, you'll know as soon as you suggest a walk saying we need to talk. He'll ask if something is wrong or something like that, and you'll know what to say, and how to word it."
Jackson gave Blake a look that told him he wasn't sure. Blake finally finished up by saying, "Listen, one night of discomfort, about ten minutes of feeling guilty for hurting him, and then it's over. You can offer friendship, but if he's really hurt, he'll reject it. If he feels as you do, he'll probably accept it, and then you'll both just kinda forget about each other over time. Get it over and done with as fast as you can. Otherwise, it'll eat you up inside."
Jackson listed to Blake's words, and agreed. "You're right. I just need to call him up and get it over with. I'm gonna call him and ask if he wants to go to Starbucks tonight. Get it over with."
"Have him meet you there. The ride together after it's over might not be the best thing," Blake said.
"Good thinking," Jackson responded.
"Well, I'll leave you so you can get things done. I'm gonna call Todd and then probably go to bed early. I'm exhausted."
"Thanks for the advice. And I'm sorry about everything," Jackson said.
Blake waved off the apology, and smiled at Jackson. "Good luck and good night."
The following day, Jackson told Blake of the horrible talk he shared with Alan. As Jackson was starting to feel forced into their relationship, Alan was starting to fall in love. He thought everything was going okay and it was a shock to him to hear Jackson talking about ending their relationship. Jackson explained how Alan had started crying, begging Jackson to reconsider, then anger came through and he started calling Jackson names and cursing him. Finally, he stalked away, leaving Jackson sitting on the bench, finishing his coffee in peace.
"How did you feel after he left?" Blake asked.
"Relieved. You were right. Ten minutes of guilt, and then it was over. I was honest with him, and even offered friendship, to which he rejected, just as you predicted. It's done. I've erased his number and email from my records."
"Cool. Well, congratulations. It's all over. You're officially single, again."
"Yeah, now I'll have to go back looking for sex online," Jackson said.
"Nah. Just use your hand. That's what I do," Blake said.
"Yeah, until next month, when you go see him and fuck your brains out," Jackson said with playful repulsion in his voice.
Blake laughed, and then answered. "Yeah, but then it's just talking until Christmas, then nothing again until May. Remember, I don't have any sex either during those times I'm not with Todd. Well, at least, not anymore, and I understand why it has to be that way, so don't think I'm trying to guilt you or anything," Blake added, forgetting who he was talking to for a split second.
"I know," Jackson said, giving a sly smile.
Jackson tried, for as long as he could, to not worry about sex, but right before Blake left for New York, he broke down and looked through the ads on his favorite sex site. He even got Blake involved, helping him look through the ads. They talked about the guys who had pictures up, judging and rating them from what they saw and read on their profiles. Most of the time, they ended up laughing for about five minutes from what they had just said.
As they went from profile to profile, Jackson got a message notification and he and Blake looked at each other with excited anticipation. Before he could hit the message button, a second and third notification came through.
"Wow, aren't you mister popular tonight?" Blake said, moving closer to look at the screen.
"Whatever. They all just want my big dick, that's all."
"That's enough for just sex. It's melts in your mouth and completely satisfies and all that jazz," Blake said, laughing with Jackson. "Believe me, I remember." He gave a wink and swore he saw Jackson blush.
When he finally hit the message link, he saw that one of the messages was from Alan.
"Are you gonna read it?" Blake asked.
For an answer, Jackson clicked on it and opened the very, very long message from Alan.
"Oh, good God," Jackson exclaimed. Blake let out a giggle at Jackson's expression.
Scanning over the first couple of paragraphs, Jackson and Blake both surmised that Alan was begging Jackson to reconsider and hoped he would give Alan another chance. Jackson clicked on Alan's profile link and then searched the page for what he was looking for. When he found the block function, he clicked it and went back to the messages. Alan's message was no longer visible; the block function had deleted it.
"Now that that's taken care of, why don't we get back to the business at hand?" Jackson said to Blake in a whimsical voice.
Blake rolled his eyes and smiled.
The second ad was a strict top, looking to pound some hot ass. Jackson hit the respond button and typed, `Can you not read? I said I was looking to top, not looking for a top. I'm not a bottom and I won't reconsider. So unless you like being a bitch boy, please don't respond back to me.'
"A bitch boy?" Blake asked, surprised.
"Yeah, well, I need to take out some aggression," Jackson said, smiling.
Blake shook his head and Jackson got to the third ad.
`Looking to BTM for a hot, hung TOP. BB is the only way I play..."
Once Jackson saw the two capital `B's, he clicked the delete button without a response.
"BB...is that bareback?" Blake asked, not sure.
"Yup, that's why I deleted it. I don't want to play Russian Roulette with my life. I was lucky that when I was being raped by those people, they never had anything more than Chlamydia. My parents would make up excuses that I was a no-good slut, sleeping with girls at my age. I was too afraid to tell the doctors anything, for fear of reprisals. Anyway, when I got on my own, I always use protection, unless I'm truly in love with someone and we both get tested. The only exception was J—" Jackson remembered that he never told Blake the name of his boyfriend, and wanted to keep that a secret, just a little longer. "The republican boyfriend from San Francisco."
"Yeah, the one whose name you won't tell me. Why is that?" Blake inquired.
"Just not ready to yet. I'm sure you'll hear about him soon enough. He's bound to run for Congress soon. When he does, if he steps out of line, I'll ruin his life. I think he deserves that."
Blake smiled and shook his head. "Remind me to never get on your bad side."
"Oh, I like you, so you have nothing to worry about," Jackson said, winking with a sly smile. At that moment, another notification rang though, and both boys turned their attention back to the screen. The message was from the strict top. Jackson looked at Blake, who smiled back.
"Go on. See what he says," Blake encouraged.
"What if he bitched me out for being mean to him?" Jackson asked.
"Then delete the message. Big deal," Blake said.
Jackson clicked on the message and it read: `WOW! I love aggressive guys. I'll be your bitch boy for the night if you'll be my master and use me however you wish. My only request is that we play safe. Not into blood, scat or diseases. In other words, no cutting and no shitting. Also, no condom, no play. If you have any objections, please don't write back.'
"Looks like we got a winner," Blake said, smiling at Jackson.
"Boy, do we!" Jackson agreed. He wrote back asking for the address.
As Jackson said goodbye to Blake, Blake reminded him about taking him to the airport the next afternoon. "Do you want me to ask Mama to take me?"
"Nah. I'll be back tonight. I'm just gonna fuck him and then I'm coming back. Tomorrow's Saturday. I'll sleep in a little bit—wait! When do you need to be at the airport?"
"Plane leaves at ten, so about nine," Blake answered.
"Cool. I'll sleep until about eight, get a shower and we can get some breakfast on the way to the airport. You packing tonight?"
Yup. Almost finished. Just waiting for the dryer to finish my last load, then I'm done."
"Cool. If you don't hear from me by 8:15; come in and wake me, okay?"
"Will do. Now go and have fun, but be safe," Blake said.
"Always," Jackson said, smiling, as he closed Blake's door.
The following day, the plane left on schedule, and before Jackson left, he gave Blake a hug. Blake had been avoiding them, not wanting to unintentionally lead Jackson on. But since Jackson initiated the hug, he felt comfortable reciprocating. Two hours and forty five minutes later, he landed in New York, ready to see his baby. He was so excited to see Todd that he was speed walking to make the seconds pass quicker. When he finally ascended the escalator to the main floor of the airport, he didn't see Todd anywhere. A minute later, he heard his name, and a smile spread across his face. When he turned, he saw Robert instead.
"Where's Todd?" Blake asked, crestfallen.
"Well, hello to you, too, mister," Robert said, smiling.
"Sorry, Robert," Blake said, taking him into a hug. "It's great to see you." Blake took a step back, breaking the hug, and looked Robert up and down. "Looks like you've lost a little weight," Blake said, putting his hand on Robert's chest, and moving it down to his stomach.
"Not really lost weight, but I've gotten leaner. Less fat and more toned," Robert explained.
"It suits you very nicely," Blake said. "Turn around."
"Why?" Robert asked.
"I wanna see if you lost any of the cushion on that ass of yours," Blake said. Robert blushed. He also changed the subject.
"Todd couldn't make it because the underwear company called him at the last minute. They're shooting one of the ads today for the gay or straight mags. Anyway, the model was leaving town tonight, so they asked Todd if he could come in as soon as possible. He asked if I would pick you up, so I agreed. Don't worry," Robert said, seeing Blake about to say something. "I have strict instructions to drop you off at De-Briefs and take your bags back to the apartment with me. I've got homework to work on, so I won't be staying."
"Really? He wants me to come there?" Blake asked, smiling.
Robert started leading Blake to the baggage claim area as they continued to talk.
"Yup. Already cleared it with somebody. Said it wasn't going to be a problem for you to watch."
"Good," Blake said. "I hope it's the girl. Then I can watch out and make sure she doesn't touch anything or that Todd doesn't touch boobies."
Robert laughed and said, "You're crazy. Boobs are nice and soft."
Then you go and touch them. I don't want my boyfriend grabbing boobies and then me with the same hand. I might get cooties."
Robert was almost doubled over with laughter. Blake smirked, glad his jest had been a success.. He honestly didn't care what Todd did with anyone. He just liked to play up the `Oooh. She's a girl' factor for laughs. It usually always worked, and he enjoyed the little routine. After Blake's bag was retrieved, he and Robert headed to the front to grab a taxi. The taxi line was so long that Blake looked around and saw a lot of Lincoln Town cars and grabbed one of them.
"You take credit?" Blake asked, before getting in.
"Yes, sir," said the driver.
"Awesome," Blake said as he and Robert climbed in the back.
"Where to, sirs?" The driver asked. "550 5th Avenue, to drop him off, then Washington Square Park for me," Robert said.
From La Guardia, the driver jumped on Grand Central Parkway, crossed into Manhattan through the Midtown tunnel, headed north on the East Side, then did a U-Turn onto 5th Avenue, and headed down until he stopped in front of a plain building front with the numbers 550 across the top glass.
"Fifth floor. You can't miss it. Todd says it's the only office on the floor," Robert said.
"Great. You don't mind taking the bags?" Blake asked, as he stepped out.
"Not a bit, bro. Have fun and I'll see you both later."
"Thanks," Blake said, and before shutting the door asked, "Do you have the money for the car?"
"Yeah. I got it."
"Let me know how much and I'll pay you back tonight, and I don't want any arguments. I wanted the car, I'll pay for it," Blake said.
Robert smiled and shook his head. "Okay, okay. Go! Have fun."
Blake closed the door and headed inside the building. At the fifth floor, he opened the door and Allison noticed him and asked, "Are you Ashleigh?"
"No. I'm Blake. Todd's boyfriend," he explained.
"Oh, right. Yeah, he's waiting on you," she said with a smile. She handed him a neck badge and told him how to get to the studio. He thanked her and headed on his way. When he arrived, he opened the door and he heard music playing, but nothing else was happening. People were standing around doing nothing. No flashes were being made, no direction was being given, and none of the three mock rooms were being used. Looking through the crowd, he couldn't even see Todd.
"Is that him?" Blake heard someone ask. He turned around and saw a man and woman looking at him.
"No, damnit," he heard the man answer his own question. Walking over to Blake, he looked at the woman and asked, "Where the hell is he?" Turning to Blake, he asked, "And who the hell are you?"
Blake suddenly felt out of place. "I'm Blake. Todd's boyfriend."
"Oh, right," the man said. "Sorry to snap at you. I'm Roger Spellings and this is Melony Fitzpatrick," he said, indicating the woman standing next to him.
"Good to finally meet you guys. Todd's told me about you. He really likes both of you a lot from the way he talks. Also, a guy named D, I think he said," Blake explained, shaking both their hands.
"Yeah, D's the photographer," Melony said. "That's sweet of Todd to say that. He's a good guy too. We're glad we found him."
"You probably want to find Todd," Roger said, changing his tone from aggravated to appreciative.
"Yes, sir," Blake responded, watching Roger stand on the tips of his toes. "He's over there, in the kitchen area, talking with D."
Blake followed Roger's finger to the other side of the room, to a kitchen set up, surrounded by huge camera lights. As he got through the crowd, he saw Todd, looking just as beautiful as ever. He had just removed the robe he was wearing and was going through some poses while D looked like he was giving some direction. When he finally turned back around, he noticed Blake and a huge smile grew on his face. Blake stopped walking and saw Todd say something to D, to which D nodded, and Todd ran over to Blake wearing only the underwear. When he grabbed Blake, they threw their arms around each other, not wanting to let go.
Todd pulled back and planted a huge kiss on Blake's lips. Blake gave into it and grew lightheaded as Todd broke it. He grabbed Todd, forgetting the power behind his kisses.
"I've missed you so much," Todd said.
"I've missed you, too, Puppy. You're looking so sexy," Blake said, looking Todd up and down, running a hand through Todd's hair.
"Oh, yeah. Thanks. I forgot my robe when I saw you. I didn't care," Todd said, grabbing Blake's hand and pulling him back to the kitchen area. When they arrived, he grabbed his robe as he introduced Blake and D.
Blake shook D's hand and Todd asked him to finish what he was saying before Todd saw Blake.
"Nah, don't worry about it. You visit with your boyfriend. As soon as Ashleigh gets here, we'll do it for real. You got the gist of what I was saying, anyway," D said.
"Thanks, D. I'm ready, whenever," Todd said. Turning to Blake, he smiled and leaned in for another kiss.
Breaking the kiss, Blake looked at Todd and said, "So, you're doing the straight ad today, huh?"
"No—the gay one. Ashleigh is a guy, but he's running about an hour late so far. They can't reach him by phone and no one knows what's happened to him."
"I hope he's okay," Blake said.
"Yeah, me too, but I want to get this shoot done. I'm tired of waiting around."
"Well, it's all new to me, so I don't mind right now. It's kinda cool," Blake said, looking around.
"Yeah, it's not too bad, and it could be fun, if we could start work," Todd said, seeing Melony make her way over, talking to a few people along the way. As she did, Todd got an idea, and as Melony came over, he got the chance to express it.
"If he's not here in fifteen, we're gonna call it a day. You'll get two hours pay for showing up," Melony said, turning.
"Melony?" Todd called. She turned around. "You want to get this shoot done today, right?"
"Yeah. Wanted it in the papers and magazines by next week. Two at most."
"How about in fifteen minutes, if he doesn't show up, Blake takes his place?" Todd asked, giving a look of encouragement.
"What?" Blake and Melony asked together, looking at Todd.
"Look at him," Todd said, stepping behind Blake and lifting his shirt. "He's in great shape. He takes great pictures, and he's my boyfriend, so all the poses and pictures will look more natural. We know every inch of each other. We finish each other's sentences. We can almost read each other's minds, sometimes. What better duo for a sexy photo shoot than boyfriends who've been together for five years?"
Melony looked from Todd to Blake a few times, scanning Blake up and down, and contemplating what Todd said. After a few minutes, she asked Blake, "Would you be willing?"
Blake looked to Todd and saw him nod his head, then looked back at Melony and said, "Yeah, sure."
Melony grabbed Blake's hand and started dragging him through the crowd. When she found D, she said, "Todd had a great idea. How about we use Blake instead?" Before D could say anything, she pleaded her's and Todd's case. "He's got the muscle, he's not shy," she said this looking at Blake. He gave a small nod. "He's willing and he's Todd's boyfriend. Their acting won't be acting—it'll be more natural. It'll look more natural on paper." She paused for a second. "Did I mention he's willing?"
D looked from Melony to Blake. "Let's see the chest and stomach."
Before Blake could move his arms, Todd, again, lifted Blake's shirt up for him. Blake smiled and rolled his eyes.
"Not bad," D said. Tapping his first finger on his chin a few times, he finally said, "Come with me."
Blake followed D to the test area that Todd had used for his first test pictures. The chair was missing and the background was red this time, but D asked Blake to stand in the middle and give a smile. FLASH.
"Now, give me surprise," D instructed. Blake did. FLASH.
"Sexy," D said.
Todd stood behind D and Blake focused on him as he gave, what he thought, was a sexy look. FLASH. D never said anything, so he must have succeeded.
"Anger," D called out. Blake succeeded. FLASH.
"Flirty." Blake pulled his cowboy hat down over his eyes and slowly leaned his head back and gave a smile. As his right eye saw the camera, he stopped moving. FLASH.
D stood up. "Let me take a look at these. Give us a few minutes," D said to Blake.
"Sure," Blake answered.
"Roger, Melony, Bill, Thomas, Amy. Come to the office. Let's make a decision," D instructed the others.
Todd walked up and took Blake in a hug. "You did amazing."
"Well, they're looking now. You know I'm not that photogenic," Blake said, giving Todd a worried expression.
"Well, maybe to you. But you know Pax and Tristian both agree, as do I, that you take great photos. And D can make anyone into art. Just look at my test pictures."
"He didn't do much. You're Michelangelo's `David' in the flesh. Todd, you're so beautiful, I would have been more surprised if they didn't give you the job," Blake said, and kissed Todd's full lips.
They chatted a few more minutes, and the longer they waited, the more nervous Blake became. "If they wanted me, they wouldn't take this long."
"They're looking and scrutinizing every picture. They did the same with my pictures. They'll be back in a few minutes," Todd said.
About five minutes later, the small group emerged back into the studio and D came over to Todd and Blake. "Let's get to work. Pictures look great, and the cowboy hat was a great addition. I wanna use it in a few pictures."
Blake smiled, huge, and said, "Sure. Just let me know when."
"Go and see Melony and she'll give you the underwear," D said, picking up a camera and looking it over.
Todd led him over to Melony and she was looking through the choices. "Do you have a favorite?"
"Not really. They all look good to me," Blake said. "I'll wear anything you give me."
Melony finally settled on a red set of briefs and handed them over. "Here. Just wear these first. We'll be going through a few different colors and patterns throughout the day."
"Cool," Blake said. "Where can I change?"
"Todd'll show you the screen. We've decided we'll give you a thousand for today, for stepping in at the last minute. Then after all this is done, we'll need to get you to sign a release form for the pictures. Wait, you are eighteen, right?" Panic suddenly filling her chest.
"I'm twenty," Blake said, smiling.
Thank, God. Okay, we'll do the paperwork after all this is over, or during a break. Go and get changed and then Cynthia will come over and do your hair and makeup."
Blake looked at Todd and mouthed, `Hair and makeup'?
Todd smiled and led him over to the privacy screen. He joined Blake behind it and they talked as Blake changed, while Todd looked over the goods. He smiled, wanting to reach over and grab, but held back, looking forward to the night—and their lovemaking. Blake exclaimed about how comfortable the underwear was and Todd said that he told Blake it was unbelievable. Todd handed over a robe and Blake wrapped it around himself. When they stepped out from behind the privacy screen, a woman with bright red hair grabbed Blake's hand and led him about twenty feet away to a lighted mirror and a stool.
"I'm Cynthia," the woman said, introducing herself, with a slight Southern accent. "Just need to put a little powder on your face, to keep it from shinin', then fix your hair. Y'all'll be starting in the bedroom and D wants a `just woke up' look." She told Blake to close his eyes as she powdered his face, and then added a slight bit of color on his cheeks. She brushed his eye brows and his eye lashes to remove any loose powder. Then she started on his hair. She got some foam in her hands and ran it through his hair, making it look messy. When she announced she was done, she turned him to the mirror and Blake loved his hair. It was that professional messy look...not a just woke up look. At least, not to him.
"Wow. I like this," he told her, turning his head from side to side to look at it all.
"Good. D's waiting on you two. Better scoot on over," Cynthia said. "Good luck," she called as they walked away.
As they passed, Melony asked if they wanted something to drink. They both asked for water and headed over to talk to D.
"I want you guys to act like you normally would. Act like we aren't even here. Pretend it's a lazy Sunday morning, you just woke up, and y'all are talking and reading the paper or something. Catch up with what's going on if you want. It's all still pics, so it doesn't matter what you talk about. Just be natural," D explained.
"Yeah, cool," Todd said. "You want one with us asleep first?"
"Sounds good. Then just do your thing," D said.
Todd and Blake crawled in bed and Todd held Blake as he usually did. They put the covers over their knees and lower legs and Roger came over and fixed it like it was kicked down and not placed there. As they got comfortable, Blake closed his eyes and relished the feeling of being back in Todd's arms. It wasn't until D told him to lose the smile that Blake realized he was even smiling.
D moved around them, snapping pictures and Todd and Blake could see the flashes through their eyelids. About five minutes later, D called for them to wake up and start their day. Todd woke first, opened his eyes and looked at Blake.
"You gonna wake up?" Todd asked.
"Don't you usually wake me up with kisses or something? He told us to act natural," Blake said, keeping his eyes closed.
"Oh, okay," Todd said, and Blake could hear his smile.
Todd leaned down and kissed Blake's shoulder, then moved up to his neck. All the while, the flashes were lighting up the room. When Blake finally stirred, he turned on his back and smiled up at Todd. Todd leaned in for a kiss and the flashes went nuts. Todd turned over and laid back down as Blake moved over and placed his head on Todd's chest and draped his left arm over Todd's stomach. Todd reached up and put his hand on Blake's arm.
"I told you that Jackson and I made up, right?" Blake asked, talking to Todd.
"Yeah. Everything still okay?" Todd inquired.
"Yeah. Last night, I helped him find a fuck buddy. He couldn't hold out any longer, and since he and I don't do it anymore, he went looking online. Found a strict top, and when he basically told him off telling this guy that he was a top and only a top, the guy wrote back saying he loved aggressive guys and he was willing to be a bitch boy for the night."
Todd laughed a genuine laugh and Blake gave a big smile while the camera clicked over and over again. A few minutes later, Blake turned on his back and put his head on Todd's stomach while Todd ran his hands through Blake's hair. He lifted his right leg at the knee, which hid the bulge in the underwear. They both heard D call, "Perfect."
They talked a bit more. Blake asked about the roommates and how that was working out. Todd had no complaints and told of new information the guys told, the more comfortable they got.
"You confuse Nicky anymore with your hot body?" Blake asked, smiling at Todd.
"Nah. He hasn't said anything, but I did overhear Tony say something about Nicky jerking off a lot lately. Nicky played it off as just being a horny guy without a girlfriend. Makes me wonder if he's not wanting to try guys again. But I'm not the one, if he does. I might tell Robert. Maybe he could help Nicky out, if he wants to experiment again." Todd gave a small chuckle.
"Okay, guys. Those were great," D said to Blake and Todd. Looking back at the watching crowd, D called, "I want two coffee mugs. Fill them with Coke or something. I want it to look like morning coffee. And I need a newspaper, too."
A few minutes later, all items were gathered and given to the boys. "I want you guys sitting on the bed, talking and reading the paper and drinking your coffee. You're great at natural. Keep it up," D said.
The boys got their mugs of Coke and a newspaper. They moved to sit against the headboard and Blake sat with his back against Todd's left side, as Todd draped an arm over Blake's shoulders. In Blake's hands, he cupped his mug as if his hands were cold, trying to keep them warm. Todd placed the paper on his and Blake's legs as his right hand held his mug.
"Have you gotten any more clues from Robert? If he still likes girls?" Blake quizzed.
"I still haven't seen him out with girls, and he doesn't mention them, so I would say he's more into guys. I've told you that I think he's gay, he's just holding onto the title to try and kid his family so they won't be disappointed."
"Has he told them he's bi?" Blake asked, looking at Todd, surprised.
"What?" Todd said, looking at Blake with even more surprise. "No. He said he won't do that. I mean, I think he's kidding himself by telling himself he's bi. If he admits he's gay, he'll know his parents will be disappointed. Or his dad will be for sure. He thinks his mom might already have an idea."
"Oh," Blake said, finally understanding. "Have any of the roommates asked about him or you or anything? Have they heard anything?"
"If they have, they haven't mentioned it. Robert and I keep as quiet as possible when we play. They all think he's straight, so at the moment, if they have suspicions, they haven't voiced it."
"Hey, guys. Can you do something, please?" D asked, smiling at them.
"We're being natural," Todd said.
"That's great, just be natural as you move into different poses," D said.
"Okay," Todd said, and moved around a bit and got in a different pose with Blake.
They moved into different positions as they kept up their conversations At one point, Todd ended up sitting on Blake's crotch as he tickled Blake while wearing Blake's cowboy hat. A few more poses later, D called a ten minute break before moving onto the bathroom set.
Melony walked over and handed them each a robe and told them her thoughts. "These pictures are gonna be great guys. I've never seen a more comfortable shoot between two people. The tickle fight looked amazing."
"Thanks," Todd and Blake said together.
They made their way back to the bed and sat down. A few minutes later, Melony came back over and handed them different underwear. "These are for after the shower scene," she said.
"What shower scene?" Blake asked, nervous.
"No one's gonna be naked. One of you is going to be in the shower, behind the glass, and the other will already have his shower. Then you guys will play it out from there."
The two of them talked about it and Todd said he'd be in the shower, and Cynthia got to work on Blake's hair, making it look like he just got out of the shower and dried off. She sprayed him with water on his shoulders and doused his hair then ruffed it up. When D came back, he called them over.
"Who's in the shower?" D asked.
"I am," Todd said.
"Do you care if you're naked in the shower? You can't see through the glass, so nothing's gonna be seen," D asked.
"Yeah, cool," Todd said.
"Great. Let's get in position," D called, grabbing his camera from his assistant.
Todd stepped in the shower and pulled off his underwear and threw it to Melony, who was waiting. D was about to snap the pictures when he noticed that Todd was bone dry.
"Cynthia, we need Todd wet, please," he said, a little annoyed.
Cynthia grabbed her spray bottle and ran over to Todd and started spraying his hair in haste. When she was done with his hair, she started spraying his body, at least the parts she could see. Todd made it easier and cupped himself in his hands and stepped out from behind the glass. Behind her, Roger was willing Cynthia to move so he could see Todd as she did.
"Thanks," Cynthia whispered.
"No problem," Todd whispered back.
"Okay, that should do," D called. Cynthia retreated as Todd got back into position. "Todd, I want to see as much as you want to show. I don't want to see your rod, but as much up to it, would be great. I want people to know you're naked. Blake, I want you to step next to the shower with a towel around your neck, holding his underwear in your hand, like you're offering it to him."
"Okay," Blake said. Before he got in position, he helped Todd get in his own position, not wanting anyone else to see Todd's crotch. When Todd was in position, Blake pushed the glass door back, just enough to see a little bit of the edge of his pubes, but not enough to get a glimpse of anything else. Then he stepped to the side and held out the underwear off the end of one finger, smiling at Todd, mischievously.
"That's great, guys. Hold that pose," D called as he clicked away.
When he called he was finished, Todd grabbed the towel from around Blake's neck and dried his body, then grabbed the underwear and slipped them on before stepping out of the shower.
"Okay, Blake. Dry his hair for him," D called.
Blake put the towel over Todd's face and started moving the towel around Todd's head, while showing Todd's face. Blake intentionally got a little rough so that Todd would make some faces. As Blake knew he would, Todd made a few different faces for the pictures. When he was done, Todd did the same to Blake, and then they started kissing, letting the towel drop to the floor.
"Give a little make out for the camera, guys. That's great," D called.
Todd and Blake were happy to oblige. Todd turned, so that Blake was pressed against the sink area as Todd's butt was to the camera. Their make out session turned real, as they both forgot about the camera. At one point, Todd's lips found the side of Blake's neck and Blake's left hand went down and slipped inside Todd's underwear, holding Todd's right ass cheek. His left hand was hooked up and running his fingers through Todd's hair. Blake completely forgot about the camera and pulled his left hand out of the underwear and hooked his thumb inside and started pulling them down.
"Hold it!" D yelled, clicking away.
Blake opened his eyes and instantly blushed.
"That's very sexy," D said. "Blake, do that again, but put your thumb on his hip and push the underwear down, while looking into the camera. No expression but ecstasy is what I want to see. Todd, keep doing what you're doing."
"I forgot they were here, and I'm hard," Blake said to Todd.
"I know, me too," Todd said, smiling.
They kissed again, and a second later, Todd was kissing Blake's neck. He moved his thumb inside the hip band of the underwear and started tugging the underwear down. He heard D tell him it was good, and he stopped, and then looked at the camera as Todd's tongue found Blake's skin. The look of ecstasy Blake gave was more real than D could have hoped for.
After he finished clicking that pose, he asked if they were ready to move onto the kitchen.
Todd looked at Blake, who gave a quick jerk of the head, and Todd looked back, without moving his midsection. "Uh, D?"
"Yeah, Todd?" D asked.
"Can you give us like five minutes? We both have a problem that needs deflating."
D caught on quick and said, "Yeah, just come on over when you're ready."
"Thanks," Blake said, over Todd's shoulder. "I can't wait to get home."
"Tired of this already?" Todd asked, concerned.
"No, I'm so damn horny, I won't be able to wait for tonight."
Todd laughed, but agreed with Blake, wholeheartedly.
Their last scene was in the kitchen, where Todd decided to be at the stove, like he was cooking breakfast, but in reality, the food was already made up, ready to eat for the benefit of the shoot. Todd spooned some eggs out of the pan onto Blake's plate, who was taking a drink of orange juice as the camera lights flashed repeatedly. After all the food was put out, Blake got a strawberry and reached over and fed it to Todd. About forty-five minutes, and about twenty poses later, D finally called it a wrap.
"You think we got everything?" Todd asked, taking a robe from Melony.
"Yeah. We got about a thousand pictures to choose from. If we didn't get it, then it wasn't meant to be gotten. You guys did a great job today, and I think this is going to be an awesome ad layout. We've already got about fifteen billboards around the country, waiting on us and our ads to go on them."
"Really?" Todd asked, smiling.
"Yup. Two in L.A. and two here in New York. The rest are in most other major cities around the country."
"Including Atlanta?" Blake asked.
"Yup. Y'all are gonna be famous back at home," D said, smiling, imitating a Southern accent.
"I can only imagine what my friends will say," Blake said, covering his eyes, but smiling, nonetheless.
After they dressed, Blake and Todd went to Melony's office so that Blake could sign a release form and she could get a copy of his driver's license on file. When that was all done, she handed him a check.
"What's this?" He asked, taking it from her.
"Your pay. A thousand dollars, like I told you," she said.
"Wow," Blake said, looking at the check.
"Yours will be in the mail next week. Three hours plus base," she explained, looking at Todd.
"Nice," Todd said, smiling. "Listen, do you think we could get a copy of the pictures sometime this week?"
"Not of these. These are ad pics, but you guys can come by anytime after Tuesday and we can let you look through them in one of the offices," Melony explained.
"Great. Up until five, right?" Todd asked, double checking the time.
"Yup. On Wednesday, Roger and I'll be here until about eight or nine. If you wanna come then, the office will mostly be empty."
"Awesome," Todd said. "We'll be back on Wednesday then."
"Great. Well, I gotta get to work on the choices, the layouts and everything else, so I gotta run. Have fun this weekend. It was good to meet you Blake, and thanks again for stepping in," Melony said, shaking his hand.
"It was my pleasure. I had a lot of fun," Blake said, smiling.
"Good." She walked to the door and turned back to the boys. "If you'll excuse me..." She gave a smile and walked through the door.
Todd looked at Blake and Blake smiled back. "You ready to go, baby?" Todd asked.
"Yes. I can't wait to see the apartment," Blake said, smiling.
Todd put his arm across Blake's back and they walked out of the office, down to the street, hailed a cab and headed to Washington Square and the Blythmoore Building, where Todd calls home.