“Tell you what? Keep what quiet?” Tommy shook his head. “You’re not makin’ sense.”
Ben gaped at him. “Why didn’t you tell me you’re dating Scott Masters?”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Tommy was startingto think Ben had seriously lost it.
“What are you talkin’ ’bout? You know his name’s Mike.”
Ben goggled. “You really don’t know, do ya?” He grabbed Tommy’s hand and tugged him through the hallway toward the door that led down to the basement apartment. “You need to come with me,now.”
“But—” Tommy pulled back, but Ben held on tight.
“I mean it. This can’t wait.”
Tommy gave up fighting and just went along with whatever it was had Ben so all fired up. He yanked his hand free of Ben’s. “Okay, okay, I’m comin’.” He followed Ben down the staircase and into his bedroom, sorely perplexed.
“Sit,” Ben commanded, pointing to his bed, and then grabbed his laptop from where it sat on the floor next to the nightstand, charging. Tommy did as instructed. It was clear something was eating away at Ben, and the sooner he got it out, the better. Ben opened up the laptop and went online.
When Tommy saw the site, he groaned. “I donotwanna watch porn, okay? You know that stuff doesn’t int’rest me.” Having sex with Mike was one thing. He didnotwant to watch other guys having sex. His parents might have disowned him,but there were some things so deeply ingrained that he couldn’t have gone against them if he tried.
Ben ignored him, peering at the screen, obviously searching for something. Suddenly he let out a “Yes!” and turned the laptop toward Tommy. On screen, two guys were having sex on a couch, and even with the sound turned down low, he could hear their moans and cries.
Tommy was getting riled. “Okay, you’re clearly not gonna listen to me, so I’m just gonna—” He choked on the words when the camera angle changed and he was staring at a guy who looked just like Mike on the screen. A younger Mike, no beard, fewer muscles maybe, but yeah, no question, it looked like Mike. Only it couldn’t be—this guy had to be in his midtwenties.
“There,” Ben said with a flourish of his hand toward the screen. “That’swhat I’m talking about.Thatis Scott Masters. He’s a porn star. Hell, he’s one of the most famous porn stars around. He didn’t tell you that, did he?”
Tommy blinked, then peered at the screen. He took a deep breath. “No,” he said, stretching out the vowel, “that’s not Mike. He just looks like him. That guy is way younger than Mike, for one thing.”
Ben stared at him and then sighed. “Okay. We’ll play it your way.” He turned the laptop to face him, his finger moving over the pad.
“I think you need to stop this,” Tommy started, but even as he said the words, Ben was turning the laptop once more and Tommy was confronted with a different view, a bed, two guys as before, but this time….
Oh dear Lord, itwasMike.HisMike, with the graying beard, even the glasses.
Mike, his dick deep in some guy’s ass.
Mike, his face buried between the guy’s asscheeks.
Mike, kissing this guy with passion, his hands all over him.
I think I’m gonna hurl. Bile rose in his throat.
It was like his insides had turned to ice. He dragged his gaze away from the screen and stared at Ben in absolute silence. No words would come. His throat was tight, his chest tighter.
“I’m sorry.” Ben regarded him, his expression watchful. “I thought you knew. When I walked into the living room and saw him sitting there, I… I didn’t know what to think. And when I watched the two of you…. Man, you were so comfortable with each other, I shoulda figured that you couldn’t have known.” He bit his lip. “Me tellin’ you the way I did was harsh too.”
“Tommy, can I talk with you for a minute?” Caroline walked into the bedroom, smiling. “I just wanted a word about Mike, that’s all.”
He hadn’t heard her approach. Tommy shook his head. Numbness spread slowly through him, and he fought the nausea that threatened to overcome him. “Not… not right now.” He rose slowly to his feet and teetered slightly. “Sorry, but I….” He couldn’t fight it anymore.
Tommy ran past a startled looking Caroline to the bathroom, slammed the door shut behind him, sank to his knees, and threw up his lunch. His throat burned, and the retching wouldn’t quit. When it got to the dry heaves he forced himself to draw in deep breaths. He closed his eyes and waited for the world to stop spinning and trying to throw him off. Behind him the door opened, and he felt Caroline’s gentle hand on his shoulder.
“Sweetie, did something you ate for lunch disagree with you?” She rubbed across his back.
Tommy shook his head. He opened his eyes, reached for the toilet paper, and tore off a couple of sheets to wipe his mouth. His legs shook, and the muscles in his belly quivered.
Caroline crouched next to him and held her palm against his forehead. “You don’t have a temperature.”
