Hmm...It seems a few people were left a little confused by the end of Chapter 5. Did they or didn't they? Well, the beginning of Chapter 6 should clear that up. And in answer to everyone who asked me why I didn't write more explicitly, the answer is simply because it's not my style. There are plenty of other stories on Nifty that offer explicit sex scenes, and do so better than I would be able to. My stories are an alternative. I trust you to fill in the details. Visit my website; it's updated twice a week and features a weekly column.
http://www.steliko.com/bleedinghearts
Write me at: Aterovis@aol.com
Chapter 6
Wow. That was about the most coherent thought I could muster for a while following what had turned out to be the most amazing experience of my life. Of course, I wasn't particularly trying to be coherent; I was simply basking in the afterglow of our lovemaking.
Wow, I thought again, except I must have said it out loud that second time since Micah chuckled.
"I wish you would stay that easy to impress," he said with soft teasing. My head was resting in the hollow between his shoulder and his neck, his arms wrapped around me, and our legs intertwined.
"Just make me feel like that every time and I'll stay impressed," I murmured into the soft skin at the base of his throat. His hands stroked my back gently, causing goose bumps to rise up...among other things.
Micah laughed. "You can't be ready to go again already," he said in mock exasperation.
"Tell him that," I said, trying not to blush and failing miserably.
"Hey, I'm not complaining but I'm not as young as you are. I need a little time to recover."
"Oh yeah, you're so ancient. You're what, five years older than me?"
"Something like that."
I sat up and looked down into his eyes. He was just as beautiful in the golden early-morning sunlight that was sneaking in around the curtains as he'd been in the moonlight. "Ok, old man, I'll give you time to recover. You get ten whole seconds before I ravage you. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six..."
"God!" Micah laughed, grabbing me and pulling me down on top of him, "I've created a monster."
"...five, four, three..."
"Is this what our relationship is going to become now?"
"...two...hey, you asked for it, mister...one." I swung my leg over him as I leaned down and cut off his retort with a deeply passionate kiss. His response was almost immediate. "See?" I breathed, "That wasn't so hard now, was it?"
Micah choked down another laugh. "Don't you have work to do?" he asked.
"Oh, shit!" I yelled, sitting up so suddenly the room actually spun for a second. I frantically searched the room visually for the clock, but couldn't find it at first. Finally, I realized that one of the pillows had been thrown over it at some point. I yanked it off and let out a yelp.
"I'm late!" I squealed as I leapt up and began running aimlessly around the room searching for clothes. Micah sat up in the bed and watched me with a bemused expression.
"Killian, calm down," he said in a maddeningly reasonable voice.
"Calm down?" I screeched. "Easy for you to say. You're not the one who probably just blew his whole case."
"You don't know that you've blown anything," Micah pointed out, then with an evil grin he added, "Except me, of course."
I stopped in my tracks long enough to glare at him. Grin still in place, he slipped out of bed, picked up my pants and held them out to me. "You're a great detective, Killian," he said. "If this guy is cheating you'll find out one way or another."
I dressed quickly and started for the door. Micah caught my arm on my way by him and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. "Good luck, Kill. I love you."
I stopped long enough to give him a real kiss goodbye. "I love you too," I told him as I dashed out of the room.
I took the stairs two at a time and practically burst onto the floor Knox was staying on. The hallway was completely empty. I glanced at my watch. Knox was already in the conference. I couldn't believe how much time had gone by since the alarm went off this morning. How could I have been so careless? And after I'd promised Novak not to get distracted. I was furious with myself.
Suddenly, an idea began to form in my devious little mind. If Knox was busy with the conference until noon, now was the perfect time to search his room. The only problem was I didn't have the first clue about how to get in there. If I could get his keycard somehow, or slip in while they were cleaning his room... Of course, those things probably only worked in movies and books. Novak had never given me any lessons on breaking and entering. Being a retired cop, he generally shunned such lawless tactics. I, on the other hand, had no such qualms. Whatever gets the job done; that's my motto. If only I had the know-how.
A careful perusal of the hall showed me to be alone, so I approached Knox's room to get a better look at the door. It pretty much looked tamper-proof, at least to my amateur eyes. I wondered how anyone broke into these types of door these days. They must have some sort of Bond type gadget, a card that deciphers the door code or something. I tried the handle on the off-chance it was open. No such luck.
I pressed my ear against the door, thinking that maybe the cleaning lady was in there and I could convince her this was my room and I'd locked my card inside. To my complete and utter surprise, I felt it swing open as soon as my ear touched the cold surface and I almost stumbled into a woman wearing a white fluffy robe on the other side of the door. I straightened up quickly and tried desperately to think of some excuse. Why didn't I have one ready like Novak had told me?
"Hang on," the brassy blonde barked into the cell phone she had pressed against one ear. "Do you work here?" she demanded in a high-pitched whine.
"Yes," I said, thrilled that she'd saved me the trouble of coming up with a cover story. I took a closer look at her. If she was in a bathrobe, she probably wasn't on the cleaning staff. It looked like this was the proof I needed that Knox was cheating on his wife. I'd met Mrs. Knox and this, quite definitely, was not her. This woman had to be his mistress, but I needed to be sure.
"Well for Christ sake, do something!" she shrilled.
"Um, what exactly do you need?" I said hesitantly while my mind ran ahead full-tilt.
She heaved a monumental sigh meant to express her dissatisfaction with the service. It succeeded in ruffling my hair and alerting me to the fact that she hadn't yet brushed her teeth this morning.
"I told them down at the front desk that the damn toilet was overflowing. Now will you quit standing there like a dolt and do something."
"Um, I'm not the plumber," I said, thinking quickly. "He's been called. They just sent me up to see if I could help with anything. Want me to take a look?"
"I want you to do something!"
I stepped around her and started for the bathroom while she trailed after me grumbling into the phone. "I swear, as nice as this place looks you'd think they'd have better help."
"Did this start after your husband left?" I asked casually.
"Ha!" she snarled into the phone. "He wants to know if it started after my husband left." Then to me, "I don't have a husband."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I just assumed that the man who rented the room..." The toilet was indeed overflowing. A small lake had formed on the tiled bathroom floor and had started to seep by the dam of towels she'd piled in the doorway. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do now that I was here.
"He's not my husband," she informed me. "And no, it didn't start after the bastard left, it started before. He just left me to deal with it. Now you deal with it." She turned away and continued with her conversation on the phone while I made a show of stepping gingerly into the water and wiggling the handle on the commode. Niagara Falls kept flowing. "I know!" she was saying in response to something the person on the other end of the line had said. "He's married alright, but not to me. Oh no! I don't have the moneybags his missus has, the bitch. You know, I don't know why I'm so stupid. I've been putting up with him for two years now; putting up with his sudden calls asking me to meet him for a weekend, putting up with him sneaking me in and out of his rooms while he's gone, putting up with not seeing him for weeks at a time, knowing that he's with her. But do you think he ever does anything for me? No! I'm just the other woman. I'm just supposed to come running whenever he calls. I'm just supposed to sit around waiting for him to come back. I'm just supposed to deal with the fucking toilet when it overflows while he runs off to his little conference. I can't even have him for one day! Is that too much to ask? Is it?"
There was a pause and then, "You're damn right it's not fair!" she shrieked. "I'm still an attractive woman. I could find someone else, someone who'd marry me. Hey, why aren't you doing anything?"
It took me a second to realize that last bellow was directed at me. "I think we should wait for the plumber," I suggested.
"Then what the fuck are you doing here? What good are you? And why aren't you in uniform?"
She was just noticing that now? Oh well, I'd gotten what I needed, more than I needed actually. I was more than ready to make my exit. "You called so early I didn't have time to get my uniform on," I said glibly. She gave me a confused look as she tried to work that one out. "Why don't I go see if that plumber is here yet?" I said quickly and made a bee-line for the door.
The elevator doors were opening just as I passed. I glanced in at a hotel staff member with a plumber in tow. I felt a rush of adrenaline as I realized how close that had been. I trotted down the stairs and arrived at our room feeling flushed with the pleasure of my accomplishment. I let myself into the room to find a rather surprised Micah sitting up in bed, clutching the sheet to his chest, his eyes large and round.
"Killian," he gasped, dropping the sheet to reveal the fact that he was naked as the day he was born. "You scared the hell out of me. I thought you were the cleaning lady or something and here I am still naked."
"Sorry," I said, although somewhat unconvincingly on account of the giggles.
"You certainly seem to be in a better mood," he observed.
"I should be. I just closed the case!"
"What? That's great!" He jumped up and grabbed me in a huge bear hug. "I told you you're a great detective."
"Actually, it was just dumb luck. I came real close to missing it altogether."
"But you didn't and that's what counts! I'm going to order a celebratory breakfast," he said heading for the phone.
"Let me call Novak first," I said, eager to tell him of my first big success on my own.
"Don't you think it's a little early?"
"Are you kidding? Novak rises before the sun."
"Hmm, if I remember right, he's not the only one," he said with a smirk.
I grinned back as I picked up the phone and dialed out. Novak answered on the second ring.
"Guess what?" I said breathlessly.
"Hello, kid," he said evenly, "You know, most people start their conversations with a salutation of some sort, such as hi, hello, hey, yo, or even wassup."
"Hi, hello, hey, yo, wassup. Now guess what?"
"You closed the case?"
"Oh," I said as I deflated.
"Sorry, I guess you wanted to pop the big news. Let's try that again, shall we? I don't know, Killian, what?"
"It's not the same now," I pouted.
"Well I still don't know the details."
That brightened me a little. "He was cheating on his wife," I told him triumphantly.
"You know that for a fact?"
"I talked to the mistress myself. It's been going on for some time now."
"She told you that?"
"Yes. Well, she thought I was there to fix the john, but..."
"To fix the-never mind. I probably don't want to know. Great job, kid. I knew you had it in you."
"It was dumb luck actually. I didn't even know she was in the room at first. Knox snuck her in while he was in the conference. If I hadn't, er, overslept this morning I probably would have never known she was there. I just happened to be outside the room when she opened the door and I practically fell in."
"Still, you had the presence of mind to act when the opportunity presented itself. A good 75% of our trade is blind luck."
"Well whatever it is, I did it. I'll be home this afternoon I guess. You want me to come in and type up the report tonight or will tomorrow morning be soon enough?"
"Actually, didn't I promise you some free time if you finished up this case quickly?"
"Oh, yeah," I said. I'd almost forgotten in all the excitement.
"Why don't you stay one more night? Have Micah show you the city. I'll even pay for the room. Consider it a little bonus for a job well done."
"Are you serious?"
"Yep. You earned it, and besides, this was your first solo case, you deserve to celebrate its successful closing."
"Oh my gosh! Thanks so much, Novak."
"Don't thank me; just keep up the good work."
"Oh, I will."
"I don't doubt it. Now go have fun. And Killian?"
"Yeah?"
"I hope you get to sleep in tomorrow morning too." I could hear the wink in his voice as the phone hung up. I felt my face burn bright as I carefully hung up the receiver on my end as well.
"What did you get all excited about?" Micah asked, coming out of the bathroom in a robe now. "And why is your face so red?"
I waved off the second question and just answered the first. "Novak said we could stay another night on him, as a reward for finishing up the case so quickly."
Micah's eyebrows flew up. "Really? Wow, that's really nice of him."
"Tell me about it. He said to have you show me the city." He frowned a little and I quickly rushed on. "Oh come on, Micah!" I whined. "I don't want to stay in the hotel room all day and night. Show me stuff I've never seen before."
"I could do that right here in the hotel room," he said forcing a smile.
"Or we could go out and then come back here for that."
"You're not going to give up, are you?"
"Nope."
He sighed. "Fine, I'll give in now and spare us both the bother."
"Woohoo!" I hollered, jumping up and down.
"Don't get too excited. We don't even know what we're doing yet."
"What is there to do?"
He shrugged. "There're museums, shows, clubs..."
"I don't want to go a stuffy old museum, not this time anyway. I want to have fun. I want to celebrate."
"A club then?"
I stuck out my bottom lip. "We can go to a club at home."
Micah laughed. "The clubs here are about as much like Inferno as a kitten is to a full-grown tiger."
My eyes lit up. "Oh really?"
"Really. We have all day to decide what we're going to do. Now what do you want for breakfast?"
I smiled slyly. "You."
"Holy sea of men, Batman," I yelled to Micah as I stood at the rail overlooking more writhing men then I had ever seen in one place in my entire life.
Micah laughed; at least he looked like he was laughing. The noise level was so high any sound he might have made was lost completely. I didn't even know how on earth he'd heard me. The music was pounding so hard the walls actually seemed to vibrate with the bass line. The lighting was low and between that and the smoke machines, the atmosphere was much murkier than the Inferno, which was my only experience with a gay club before tonight. You could have fit four Infernos inside this place and there were easily six times as many people crowded inside. I could already feel a trickle of sweat down the middle of my back.
"Quit gawking," Micah shouted in my ear. "Someone's going to mistake that open mouth for an invitation."
I snapped my jaw shut and took another look around. The club was called Michelangelo and was known as the premier gay club in the DC area. In the center of the dance floor was a huge white statue which looked remarkably like Michelangelo's famous David except for one small change. Or not so small actually. This David was sporting a very impressive erection. Over his head, a huge disco ball hung from the ceiling, which was painted in a parody of the Sistine Chapel. There were still naked folks lounging about on clouds and such, but they were all hard-bodied men in this interpretation, and some were doing more than just lounging.
There were two dance floors-a smaller one and a huge one. We'd entered through a glitzy entryway, showed our ID's and Micah had whisked me off down a hall crowded with guys. He'd led me up a flight of stairs, and now we were overlooking the larger dance floor. I was still in culture shock. I'd never felt like such a hick before.
"It's a little tacky," Micah was saying, "but lots of fun. You ready to dance?"
I looked back down at the mass of men down below me. "As I'll ever be," I yelled back.
He led me back down the stairs and we plunged into the sea of bodies. It was at least an hour later before we broke free for a much needed breather. I'd been groped, grabbed and fondled more in that hour than the rest of my life combined. Micah clutched my wrist and started pulling me back down the hall. I couldn't help but notice that he really seemed to know his way around.
We were moving down the hall when suddenly someone going the other way let out a high-pitched squeal and grabbed Micah's arm.
"Oh my Gawd!" the guy howled. He had a middle-eastern look, olive complexion, dark, almost black eyes under heavy eyebrows, and a hawk-like nose. His black hair hung to his shoulders in soft curls. He was very striking, not someone who would be easily forgotten. "What are you doing back in town? We've been looking for you. Are you here because you heard?" he yelled while gripping Micah's arm as if he thought he might bolt at any second. Actually, judging by the look on Micah's face that was entirely possible. He had the same expression in his eyes as the raccoon we'd found in the garage when I was a kid. Dad had cornered it and shot the poor thing with the same pistol I'd later used to kill a serial killer who was hoping to make me his next victim. I'd cried about that damn raccoon for hours.
"I'm sorry," Micah said trying to shake the guy off his arm. "I think you must have me mistaken for someone else."
The guy hung on like a leech. "No fucking way, honey," he cooed. I decided that he was on something. I didn't know much about drugs but I guessed it was probably ecstasy. "I'd know you anywhere."
"Well I don't know you," Micah growled. He snatched his arm away setting his cling-on stumbling and yanked me off down the hall before the guy could recover his balance. I almost had to run to keep up with Micah. He pulled me into a lounge with plush red chairs and sofas arranged around the room. There were more guys in here; it seemed there was no shortage of male bodies no matter where you went in this place. Most of the guys in here were occupied with at least one other guy, some with more than one, but there were still more than a few sets of hungry eyes following us as we made our way into the room.
"I'm not sure whether to be flattered or frightened," I said to Micah. The volume level was a little lower in here so I didn't quite have to scream.
"What do you mean?" he asked me, pushing me gently into a recently vacated chair and straddling my legs.
"All those guys staring at us."
Micah snorted. "They stare at anything with a dick."
"Gee thanks. You really know how to make a guy feel special."
He laughed. "I didn't mean it like that. You would definitely be of special interest to most of the guys in here. You're what's known as a twink."
"Twink?"
"It means you're young, hot, and blonde. The last isn't necessarily a requirement but it helps."
"Hot, huh?"
"Oh definitely. Very, very hot. If you ask me, you're the hottest guy here."
I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer to me. "I might have to argue about that," I said.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah, because I happen to think that you're the hottest guy here."
"How about if we call it a tie?"
I pretended to think it over. "I suppose I could live with that."
He leaned in and gave me a deep kiss that started a familiar tingle in my crotch.
"Keep that up and I'm going to want breakfast again," I giggled.
"They have a room for that too, you know," he said suggestively.
I felt my eyes grow wide as Micah started laughing. "You were just kidding, right?" I asked naively.
"Actually, no, I'm not. Maybe I'll show you later. Hey, I have to go pee. How about you?"
"No, I'm fine." I said absently. My mind was still on the room Micah had alluded to; I wasn't sure I wanted him to show it to me.
"Ok, then stay right here. I'll be right back." He leaned in a kissed me again, then jumped up and started for the door.
I watched him cross the room and realized I wasn't the only one watching his progress. It made me feel good to be with a guy other people seemed to find as attractive as I did. They could look as long as they didn't touch. I was admiring his tight butt as he vanished from my sight through the door. While I was still looking in the direction of the door, I noticed the guy with the long hair from the hallway slip out behind him. I sat up sharply, debating whether or not I should follow. I was about to go when I felt a presence leaning over me from behind.
I spun around and looked up to find an angel hovering over me. Not really, of course, but that was my initial impression. He was backlit by a bright spotlight, making his halo of reddish-blonde curls seem to glow like fire. His white satiny shirt only enhanced the illusion. As he moved around to stand in front of me, I realized he was quite real and to my surprise, he didn't look a day over 15. He was a little shorter than me, with a pale, creamy complexion and rosy red cheeks that were as smooth as a baby's bottom. He had the biggest pair of blue eyes I'd ever seen and perfect little rosebud lips. His hair hung in ringlets all around his face. In short, he looked like a Renaissance painting come to life.
"You're with the guy who just left, right?" he asked.
"Huh?"
"The guy who just left, the one Razi followed out? Is he your old man?
"My old man?" I glanced back towards the door again; still trying to decide if I should stay put or go after him.
"Your boyfriend. Is he your boyfriend?"
I turned back and focused on him again. "Who is Razi?"
"Man, are you on something? Try to focus here. Razi's the guy who grabbed your boy in the hallway just now. He's sure he knows him. Is he your boyfriend?"
"Yeah." I shook my head. I was having trouble following this conversation. "Who are you?"
"Tad."
"Tad who?"
He made a face. "Tad Young if you must know. I'm with Razi."
I looked him over. "Speaking of tad young, aren't you a tad young to be in here?"
"Like I haven't heard that before," he said, rolling those huge blue eyes. "Why does it matter to you how old I am? Besides, you don't look that much older than me."
"I'm 18."
"Oh, well ok. Anyway, Razi thinks he knows him. What's his name?"
I suddenly wasn't so sure I should say anything more. "Why should I tell you?"
"Is it Micah?" he asked.
I looked up sharply.
"It is, isn't it?" he said with a grin, revealing perfect white teeth. "Razi was right."
"Who is this Razi and how does he know Micah?" I asked, deciding there was no point arguing and wondering why Micah had pretended not to know this Razi guy.
Tad, if that was his real name, shrugged. "He's just some guy. I think they used to work together."
"Where?" I asked, suddenly interested. I knew next to nothing about Micah's life here in the city.
Tad's eyes shifted away and he shrugged again. "I don't know," he said evasively.
"Yes you do."
"Why don't you ask Micah?" he shot back.
"Because I'm asking you," I snapped.
"Sheesh. Excuse me for living. I should have never come over here." He turned and started walking away. I was on my feet in flash. I grabbed his elbow and he turned to face me.
"Hey, I'm sorry," I said quickly. "Let's start over, huh? I'm Killian."
He smiled. "Hi Killian. You've already made fun of my name so we don't need to go there again."
"Sorry about that."
"It's ok. I'm used to it."
"Is that your real name?"
He looked at me suspiciously for a second, then nodded slowly. "It's short for Thaddeus."
"So where did Micah and, uh, Razi work together?"
"Look, I don't know for sure so I probably shouldn't say anything."
I pleaded with him with my eyes. With a sigh, he gave in. "Razi said he used to be in the business."
I frowned. "What business?"
Tad gave me a measuring look. "You're not from around here, are you?"
"Will you just..."
"Ok, don't get your knickers in a bunch. The same business Razi is in."
"Which is?"
He looked around, as if to make sure no one was listening, then leaned towards me conspiratorially, slipping an arm around my shoulder. "The escort business," he whispered dramatically.
It felt as if the room retreated from around me. So this was Micah's big secret, the one thing he couldn't trust me with. And now I knew why. Micah used to sell his body for sex. He'd been a prostitute.
Tad yanked his arm back suddenly as if he'd been burned. The crowd came flooding back into focus as he hurried away. I started to call after him but I felt someone slip their arms around my waist from behind. I jerked my head around to find Micah.
"Who was that?" he asked in a falsely bright voice. His eyes staring after Tad were troubled and distant. "Was someone trying to pick you up? I knew I shouldn't have left you alone."
I pulled away from Micah's embrace and turned to face him. "That was Razi's boyfriend," I said, matching his faux-cheerful tone as his eyes flew open wide in surprise and his mouth turned down sharply with dismay. "You remember Razi, don't you? You used to work together after all."