(no subject)
Banner by aliensouldream
Title: High Society (Pt. 17)
Pairing/Characters: Casey, Zeke, a SLEW of OMCs (sorry for that... maybe I'll make a list so people can keep track... I just LOVE OMCs, what can I say?)
Rating: NC-17
Warning(s): None!
Author's Note: Dedicated to the lovely gloryunderhill!
Synopsis: Set during the Great Depression, there's an industry that's ALWAYS successful, and Casey's desperate--and he's starting to like that desperation.
Previous Parts
It seemed as if everyone had caught on to the need for silence, though perhaps they’d all been told by Stephen to not ask about what had gone on with Casey and Victor’s mysterious disappearance. Either way, the conversation that Tuesday morning had been light and absent of concern and ‘Are you okay?’ type questions. Yet Noah had known even before Casey had decided on whether to tell him or not. In the privacy of his bedroom, the boy had given Casey a huge hug, saying how hard it’d been to read what Zeke had said to Stephen, rushed and frantic, and not do anything.
By the time Thursday had come around, there were no more lingering, confusing thoughts or furrowed brows for Casey. The rest of the week had been quiet and boring, without getting much attention at all. Cal hadn’t dropped in; Casey sadly admitted to himself that it was good to get a break. He’d gone to bed after three boring but satisfied clients with a smile on his face.
Just as he was dreaming of his father’s prized pumpkins rolling through New York City in the thousands, his sleepy-state was getting nudged away with--who was poking him in the shoulder?
“Casey…?”
It took him a moment to recognize Zeke’s voice. When he did, he scrunched his eyes closed. “Five more minutes…” he mumbled as he turned his head away.
“But it’s a new, wonderful morning,” Zeke replied.
“S’good. Enjoy… it.”
“And it’s your birthday.”
“Uh…” Casey’s eyes fluttered open, and he turned around to face Zeke. He was nothing but a blur with Casey’s eyes as unfocused as they were. “Berf…”
Zeke nodded; he waggled his eyebrows and smiled the slyest smile he’d ever made. “Yup. It’s your birthday. Remember?”
“Erm… no,” Casey said. A heavy yawn took over his face, causing him to cover it with his hand. “Time’s it?”
“Just after eight.”
“Mmhmm. So give the… birthday boy some rest. Thas’ my present; thank ya.”
“No, no. It’s time to get up. You have presents to get,” Zeke said.
“Sleep.”
Zeke sighed. “Hey… how ya doin’, anyway?”
“Hmm?”
“Okay, lemmee rephrase that… how’s your ass?”
That was a strange question. “Huh?” Casey inquired.
“Doesn’t hurt anymore, does it? And you’re not still dwelling on that sick-o that dropped in Monday, right?”
Casey rolled his eyes in one, slow movement. “M’fine. Entirely. Now SLEEP.”
With a growing--evil sort of grin, Zeke stood up with a groan and went over to the door. Before Casey could sink back in the bed, thinking he’d won, he saw Zeke open the door and go to wave someone in. “C’mon, before he realizes what’s goin’ on.” Zeke said.
“Zee, wha…” Casey went to ask, but he stilled with total confusion as not just one person walked in, but all five boys. Each one wore a silly, eager grin. “Guys?”
“It’s your birthday… we’ve come to celebrate,” Jamie said.
“Properly.” James added.
“Huh? Why won’t anyone let me slee--”
“Grab ‘im!” Danny suddenly yelled.
There was no chance to react as everyone then swooped down upon Casey’s bed, all to throw his blankets off of him then grab his wrists, arms, legs and ankles. The shock finally roused Casey enough to make his eyes go wide; he shot looks to each boy, wearing a scared expression. “What are you DOING??” he cried.
“Giving you your present, silly!” Henry said. He grunted as he took Casey’s hips; the others accommodated his next move, involving a quick flip to send Casey onto his stomach. “Only we’re unwrapping it.”
“Wha-wha-wha… wait, NO!” Casey felt someone tugging at his pajama bottoms and he squirmed, flopping like a helpless fish-out-of-water. He saw that it was Noah--HE’D joined in on this torment??
“C’mon, Casey--”
“NO NO NO!”
“Hey! What’s going on in here??”
Stephen--oh, thank god. Casey whipped his head to the right and forced his eyes to look to the door. “Stephen! Stop them!” Casey said in a yelp.
The man strode into the room, looking stern. He looked to each boy with disapproval. “You boys know better!”
“Oh… we’re so, so sorry, Stephen,” Danny said. The sigh he made sounded suspicious. “You’re right. We shouldn’t be doing something as rude as this.”
“Yes, Danny,” Stephen said. Casey’s lips parted as Stephen dropped his eyes, gave him a cocky look--then smiled. “This is MY job.”
Oh no, no, no… “What??”
The boys backed off, allowing the man to walk over, grab Casey by the waist and hoist him into his lap. “Now then,” Stephen said. In a quick flick of his wrist, he brought Casey’s pants down to his thighs and he raised his hand.
While the spanking wasn’t hard or painful, Casey jolted and continued yelping anyway. He kicked his feet in protest, irking out one or two word responses to this ‘torture’. “You!”… “Hey!”… “I--ow!”
“Oh, you’re enjoying it and you KNOW it,” Danny teased past everyone’s counting. Hadn’t they reached eighteen yet? They HAD to have--this was going on way too long. Casey sniffed, scowled and grunted, until finally the slapping stopped. Before he could rise up and try to beat on each and every one of them, Jamie hopped over and pinched one side of Casey’s backside, hard.
“A pinch to grow an inch!” he cheered.
~*~
He was mad. He was going to give them what-for. He would be making this breakfast VERY memorable--oh, he would. There would be punches, scratching, hair-pulling, rolling around the floor in a rage… he opened the door in one hard, wide swoop.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”
Casey jumped a full foot in the air; welcomed by whoops and whistling, he set his eyes on the group, all of them standing at the table to clap and cheer at Casey’s entrance. The boy blinked profusely as he continued gazing around the room. Some streamers had been put up, crepe paper stretching from the light fixture over the table to the walls. On the table were the usual breakfast dishes, only Casey’s spot had a small bowl of… were those chocolate-covered strawberries? His eyes widened. “You… what?” he managed to say.
Everyone laughed and began singing ‘Happy Birthday’, most of them making their voices out-of-tune and high-pitched. Noah was signing it with a huge smile on his face. The fury Casey had carried for the last half an hour was slipping away, joy replacing it. They’d had their fun, and perhaps he couldn’t blame them. It was customary, giving birthday-spankings, and with their line of work…
“Come on, birthday-baby. Siddown!” Jamie said.
Casey blinked, walked over with tentative steps and mocked a snarl. “If I can. Stephen brutalized me,” he said.
“Oh, come off it!” James said, laughing out the words.
“Fine, fine,” Casey said. He sat down in his seat without much difficulty, settled in and sighed at the sight of the berries. “These… look wonderful.”
“’Knew you’d like ‘em. We ALL get a special treat at each meal on our birthdays,” Danny said. “My breakfast was a HUGE piece of Helen’s apple crumble. To die for.”
As if on cue, the kitchen staff walked in with plates of gorgeous-looking foods; pancakes with whipped cream and blueberries to decorate them, bacon and fluffy scrambled eggs. Each boy rubbed their hands together and sat down. “I LOVE birthdays,” Jamie said.
Casey was downright beaming now. Light, happy conversation went around, mostly involving birthday experiences. “James was the last one we did--oh, was it a doozy,” Henry said. “His treat was a Bloody Mary at breakfast, lunch… damn, what was that one…”
“Chocolate mousse,” James replied with a sigh. “Good times.”
Once everyone’s bellies were full, Danny wiped his mouth, hopped from his seat and went to the corner of the room. What he drew out made Casey’s eyes bug out. “Present time!” Danny said.
“Those… are for me?” Casey asked.
“Unfortunately. I have a whole two months to wait ‘til MY birthday,” Danny said, wearing a quirky grin. He brought the gifts over to Casey, some in plain paper bags with curly ribbons tied at the handles, some wrapped in pretty blue paper. “I suppose I can give you a turn,” Danny said.
“Wow,” Casey said in a breath. He took up the box on top; the tag read ‘From Danny’. “Should I worry?”
“N’aw, shut up.”
Casey chuckled and opened it. After lifting the lid, he cooed. “Oh…” he said, bringing out three large bars of the dark chocolate he’d admired from when he’d been sick. “Oh, YES, this is lovely…”
“’Welcome!”
“Mine next!” James said.
The unwrapping continued; James’ present was a black and red silk tie, “For when you have to be really, really proper,” he said. Next up was Henry, who’d chosen a bag of caramels, equally as enticing as the chocolate. Everyone had caught onto Casey’s sweet tooth, it seemed.
Noah’s gift made Casey smile. ‘My favorite author,’ he said, pointing to the three volumes of Edgar Allen Poe books. Casey’s shelves were more empty than he liked, and these would look wonderful upon them.
“Here, Zeke’s,” Jamie said, taking one of the paper bags for Casey to open.
The boy couldn’t help a smile. He bit it away, not wanting to look too eager. After the things they’d gone through--the things they’d done, Casey wondered if he needed to open this somewhere where no one could see. Instead, he pulled the ribbons free, reached inside and drew out a dark blue hat with matching gloves.
‘How… nice,’ Casey thought. While they were thick and soft as butter, he fought down the disappointment and smiled at Zeke. “They’re lovely,” he said. He waved them a little. “Favorite color and everything.”
“You’re welcome,” Zeke replied past the rim of his coffee mug.
“Me next!” Jamie said. He had the same idea as Noah, book-lover that he was. “‘The Prophet’… excellent read,” Jamie told him.
“It’s beautiful,” Casey said, running his hand over the golden twirling text on the cover. This seemed a lot more personal and thoughtful than goddamned winter wear. ‘Swallow it down…’ he thought further.
“So--happy day to you!” Danny said, clapping like a lunatic.
It was then that Stephen entered the room wearing a wide smile. “Mr. Connor… have we recovered?” he asked.
Giggles came from the others as Casey blushed and narrowed his eyes. “Oh, I’m just fine, thank you,” he replied.
“Ah, good. So very sorry for the rude awakening, but it’s tradition around here.” Stephen winked. He drew out an envelope and handed it over to the boy. “This should make up for it.”
Casey took the ‘peace offering’ with a slow-growing grin. He tore the envelope open and drew out a card. While the colorful print and generic ‘Happy Birthday’ message was nice, what fell from it into his lap made his eyes bug out again.
“How much, how much??” Danny fought to lean over the table to sneak a peek. Casey clamped his thighs around the twenty-dollar bill and glared at the young man.
“None of your business! Not that you ever pay mind to that!” he said, sticking his tongue out at him.
~*~
“Prepare to be spoiled, baby-boy,” Jamie said as the guards gathered by the doors, preparing to open them for the night. Casey looked up from finishing his and Noah’s chess game (himself having a rare win against the boy), and blinked.
“Birthday gifts?”
“Perhaps.”
“You’ll be spoiling them as well,” Henry chimed in. He flopped down on the couch and stretched, putting himself in ‘flirt-mode’. “Stephen will be letting them know that the birthday boy and his birthday suit will be happy to serve.”
“And oh, the spankings…” Jamie said.
Casey cringed. “Oh no, c’mon… I can’t get them TWICE.”
“The hell you can’t,” James said.
“Door’s open!”
Stephen’s call made everyone snap into action. Shaking his head, Casey walked over to the couch with Noah and began signing. ‘What happened to YOU, on your birthday?’
A small smile crossed Noah’s lips. ‘No one knows what it is. Not even me.’
This information had Casey part his lips. ‘What?’
‘I was an orphan. I suppose my parents couldn’t handle a deaf child. The orphanage guessed that I was probably around six months old when I was put on their doorstep, but they couldn’t be sure.’
‘My god,’ Casey replied. This was more than sad--depressing. He’d hoped that Noah had been treated to a fun day, even if the others hadn’t really known him until now. ‘That makes me so sad, Noah.’
‘Oh, don’t be,’ Noah told him. ‘A few months ago, Stephen gave me a big bonus, since he’d always given the boys things on their birthdays. We didn’t really ‘celebrate’ per se, but he wanted to be sure I wasn’t completely left out.’
An idea formed in Casey’s mind. ‘Pick a day--close to where you THINK you were born.’
‘What?’
‘Pick a day.’
Noah blinked fast and went blank-faced. After a moment or two, he went to sign back--but was interrupted as they were approached by Bruce. His eyes were set on Noah, of course; as Zeke had said, the boy was a favorite of him. “You. C’mon.” He patted his pocket, where Casey could make out the shape of--‘Petie’. Noah sighed, nodded and smiled as he stood.
“He can’t hear, you know,” Casey blurted before he could think about it. His annoyance to the man was too great to not say anything, however.
Bruce turned his head to him and made a snide smile. “I know this.”
“You speak to him as if you don’t.”
“Little boy,” Bruce said in a gritty voice. He crossed his arms and leaned in to give Casey a cocky look. “He knows what he’s here for. Someone walks up to ‘im, off he goes. He don’t need to hear.”
Casey didn’t reply. He chose to look at Noah and smile as best he could. ‘See you later. Think about ‘your day’,’ he said. Noah simply smiled back and walked off with the man.
Now left by his lonesome, Casey went over to the bar. He stood by Zeke, sure to arc his back out and step to the side in a coy, inviting gesture. “A cherry soda, please--lots of cherries, as usual,” he told Robert.
“Anything for the birthday boy,” Robert replied.
Casey blushed and looked around. Just as his drink was placed on the bar, he caught sight of Stephen waving his hand at him, gesturing him to come over. Oh, boy--this was probably it. Casey nudged Zeke and grinned. “I suppose it’s time,” he said.
Zeke huffed in amusement. “Enjoy yourself,” he said.
“Right.” With that, Casey sipped his drink on his way to Stephen’s side. “Yes?” he asked.
Wearing a grin, Stephen clapped his hands loudly. This grabbed the attention of those closest to them; noting the silence, those further away stopped talking and socializing to look over. Stephen cleared his throat and put his arm over Casey’s shoulders. “Tonight is a special one; our sweet Casey is celebrating his eighteenth birthday!”
Whoops and wolf-whistles went off in the small crowd; Casey blushed and sucked in his lips. Being a spectacle was something he’d grown used to, but not quite like this. He was sure to enjoy it, though.
“To celebrate, there’s a free flute of my best champagne for every one of you--please enjoy,” he said. More cheers and clapping; before Casey thought this was it, Stephen held up a hand to urge silence. “Also! In just a moment, I’d like you all to make a circle; Casey here will be blindfolded and--”
“Woo!” someone cheered with joy, causing everyone to chuckle. Stephen made a wry grin.
“If that’s what you’d wish to do, that’s fine. But… Casey will be taken to the middle and be spun a bit; when he stops, whoever he is facing will get a free night with him in our best room,” he explained.
To say that the room exploded with movement and noise was an understatement. Casey’s fellow ‘co-workers’ all snorted in amusement as a circle formed, and Casey was brought over to it. He was then blindfolded and taken into the ring of men. “Mmmkay,” Stephen said as he put his hands on Casey‘s shoulders.
The twirling began; though it was gentle enough, Casey felt awkward and silly. He giggled and shook his head, then was freed to spin himself. Cat-calls went off, some men yelling, “Stop, stop!”, “Stop there!” or “Me!” After a few moments, Casey stopped and removed the blindfold.
“Good for you, Dennis!” someone shouted.
Casey did his best to smile back at the man. ‘Ugh, happy birthday to me, I suppose,’ he thought.
~*~
Though being with Dennis had been… all right, and he’d been given a hearty tip of five dollars as a present, Casey was glad to be back in the parlor. He’d worried that the remarks of him being ‘spoiled’ were untrue, but he learned differently upon his return. Many hugs--most soft and kind, instead of full of gropes and pawing--went between him and the men. After being in the room for a half an hour, the food was brought out, which included a large, scrumptious-looking cake. Casey’s eyes went wide as candles were lit and a chorus of ‘Happy Birthday’ was struck. Jamie and Danny brought him over to the floweret-covered confection, and he blew out the tiny flames in one big breath. Slices were cut and everyone grabbed a plate to enjoy.
Casey now stood at the couch with Noah and Danny, eating away. Small moans of pleasure went off between them. “This cake is just as good as James’ was,” Danny said.
“When’s the NEXT birthday?” Casey asked.
“Mine, actually! Like I said, two more months,” Danny replied.
“Oh, pish. We have to wait that long?” Casey said. Just then, a hand fell on his shoulder. He turned and found one of the Johns standing there, smiling.
“I’d heard a few days ago that your birthday was this Friday,” he told Casey with a soft smile. He handed Casey a pack of cigarettes--his brand. “I noted that you smoked these.”
“Oh… thanks so very much!” Casey said. He got on tiptoe to kiss the tall man’s cheek. “How very thoughtful of you.”
“Oh, it wasn’t much. ‘Just figured I could get you a little birthday treat.”
Casey sidled up to him, smiling wide as they continued chatting. It felt unfair of him to keep darting his eyes away to scan the room, however.
Where was he? Even if he was getting some lovely attention from the men, he was sure to be truly spoiled by the one that had paid him the most attention thus far. Casey had expected Cal to be here before everyone, but it had been almost an hour and a half and he hadn’t shown. Sighing, Casey smiled at John. “Would you like to come with me to the bar? I haven’t had my champagne yet,” he said.
“I’ve had mine. It’s spectacular--you go ahead, however. I’m still a bit hungry,” he said, showing off his empty plate.
Casey nodded and walked with him; after putting his used plate on top of the others, he sauntered over to the bar. James, Clark and another man stood by it. Before Casey could turn to Robert and ask for a flute, he noticed that there seemed to be a heated discussion going on. James’ eyes were darting from one man to the other; when he saw Casey he brightened and told them, “Excuse me a moment--I need to ask Casey something.”
The men didn’t even notice his walking away. When he got to Casey’s side, he groaned under his breath.
“What is it?” Casey asked.
“Nothing. I just needed an excuse… they’re arguing,” he said.
“About what?”
“Well… Blaine, there--he’d bought me a ring.” James held up his hand for Casey to see a small, silver band upon his ring finger. “Apparently, Clark isn’t too happy about it.”
“Jealous, is he?” Casey asked with a quirky grin.
“Mmm,” James hummed.
“Don’t say you’re annoyed with it. You’re enjoying it, and you know it,” Casey teased; this made James chuckle.
“All right, maybe a little.”
“Hello, birthday-boy.”
Casey’s skin prickled with joy. THERE he was. He turned to see Cal standing behind him; he looked a bit disheveled and out-of-breath. “Hello, sweetheart. Did you… run a few miles to get here?” Casey asked.
“Practically. Sorry I’m so late…” Cal took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair. “There were a few things I had to take care of before coming here.”
“Oh?”
The man put a small smile on and lifted his hand. Two boxes, one small and one medium-sized one were presented to Casey. “Happy birthday, darling,” he said.
James cooed and waggled his eyebrows. “I suppose I’ll go see if things are settled, then,” he said, nodding his head towards the still-arguing men. He walked off, leaving the two of them alone.
“You got me something, hmm?” Casey said as he took the gifts.
“Of course. I said I would, didn’t I?” Cal leaned in and kissed Casey’s temple. He kept his lips by his ear and whispered, “Open the larger one, but not the small--that’s for when I take you upstairs.”
This made Casey’s body heat up. Something private… and heavier than he’d expected. Taking up the larger box, anticipation built up inside of him as he tore the shiny purple paper. When it was clear, he opened the lid and dropped his jaw. “Oh…”
“You’ve expressed a love for vanilla; this has fresh cream, infused with vanilla beans,” Cal said. “And they’re real truffles. Not just ones that CALL themselves truffles. It has both the oil of them, with one rolled inside. Fresh French Valrhona chocolate… it’s called a ‘Madeline’.”
His smooth, silky voice--the description of these extravagant treats, six in total… Casey was ready to orgasm, right then and there. He looked up to Cal with wide eyes. “Cal… these must have been… expen--”
“Shh,” Cal interrupted him. He put his hand to Casey’s cheek and brushed it lightly with his thumb. “They’re for you, and you’re worth it.”
Feeling winded, Casey looked back down to the spheres of fine chocolate. “I… should I eat one?”
“No. Wait ‘til we get upstairs.”
“Please say we’re going. Right now.”
Cal chuckled, took Casey’s shoulder and led him over to Stephen.
~*~
“Oh… oh, oh…”
Cal’s eyes narrowed from the wide grin he wore. Casey let his tongue roll over the chocolate, almost too scared to take a bite from it yet. It seemed perverse to actually EAT it. It began to warm and melt, causing more pleasure to course through his body. He looked to Cal, who held it to his lips and let him enjoy. The man drew it back a little as a tease; Casey followed, grabbing Cal’s wrist to hold it still. “You ARE enjoying this, aren’t you?” Cal asked.
“Immensely,” Casey said, his lips brushing the chocolate as he spoke. He crawled into Cal’s lap and took his first, tiny bite. It was as if a bomb had gone off in his mouth; his eyes widened in a snap, rolled back and closed. “Oh my god,” he managed to mumble as he allowed the bite to sit on his tongue. His legs squeezed around Cal’s hips, ankles meeting behind him. Casey’s cock hardened and pressed against Cal’s stomach. When the chocolate finally melted and trickled down his throat, Casey leaned forward and kissed Cal’s lips in a light brush. “You spoil me, way too much.”
“As if it isn’t worth it, seeing your eyes roll back… making your lips sugar-sweet.” The man bent forward for another kiss, firmer than the last. Hands began traveling up and down Casey’s sides, stimulating him further. “I’d say you were most beautiful eating sweets. Hungry little thing.”
Casey smiled and looped his hands around Cal’s neck. “You’re enough of a birthday present, to me,” he said.
“Mmm… oh, we haven’t done your second present.”
“Ah, yes!” Casey said with a small squeal. There was even more to enjoy. Cal hoisted Casey up with him, scooted down to the head of the bed and laid Casey down underneath him. The small box was grabbed up from the side table and placed on Casey’s chest. Cal sat back on his ankles and smiled.
“Go on. Open it,” Cal said.
Smiling like a child, Casey shuffled to move onto his shoulders and started unwrapping. A tiny clunk was made in turning the present over. What WAS this?, he wondered. He was soon to find out as he cleared the paper away, lifted the lid and looked inside. No--this wasn’t… “Cal…”
“I’d almost given you money as a ‘security measure’, in case anything happened, but…” Cal leaned forward and tapped the side of the box. “This will never depreciate like the American dollar does. Anyone who’s smart is buying gold right now, even if all they do is hold onto it until disaster strikes.”
The small, thin bar of precious metal suddenly felt heavier. Casey let it drop in his lap. “Cal. I don’t know--it’s so much. It had to cost you a fortune.”
“I can afford it. And it’s…” Cal dropped his eyes and swallowed while staring at Casey’s stomach. He seemed sad and gone into thought for a few moments until he began speaking again. “One never knows what could happen--in your profession. If the police were to start cracking down, discovered this place, you’d have to run. But I’ve had to be realistic.”
It was as if the man was speaking in tongues. Casey pulled himself into a sit and met Cal’s eyes. “What are you talking about?” he asked.
“I want you to be with me, all the time. Permanently,” Cal said in a rush, finally looking up to meet Casey’s gaze. “But realistically, it may never happen. If it won’t, or can’t, I want you to have some sort of security. Something to put you in a safe place. This…” he tapped the box again. “…Can assure that.”
“I…” Casey started, but he fell mute for a few moments. All he could do was stare at Cal with wild wonder. The man wasn’t offering anything, not keys or promises that could end up unfulfilled--he was giving Casey absolute safety and survival should he be forced into anything unpleasant. “C-Cal… I have no idea… what to say.”
Cal smiled warmly and placed his hand along the line of Casey’s jaw. His thumb grazed around his chin and bottom lip, stroking it softly. “You mean a lot to me--enough that I’d let you go, if I had to,” he said.
Tears welled in Casey’s eyes. If he wasn’t sure before, he knew now that yes… yes. Cal loved him. The box was placed back on the table and Casey, shaking and feeling delirious, put himself back into Cal’s lap to get close. “Th-Thank you.” The words trembled upon his lips. His eyes then overflowed; Cal cooed and furrowed his brow.
“Don’t cry, sweet boy,” Cal said.
“It’s a good cry, Cal,” Casey said. He then began placing saltwater-kisses on Cal’s lips, soft and slow at first. But when the man slipped his hand to the back of Casey’s head and pulled him in, the kisses went desperate. They sank into the bed together and made love to each other for a long time, using just their mouths.
~*~
This would remain a secret, and rightfully so. No one here--not Stephen, not Zeke or even Noah, needed to know that Casey had gotten this gift. The gold had been brought up to his room even before Casey had showered, put into his bag and stuffed under his bed again. No one needed to know. The truffles, however, were placed on his bedside table in plain sight. That was something that would remain accessible, anytime he wanted to dive into total and absolute pleasure.
When Casey had returned to the parlor, the spoiling resumed. A second five dollar bill had been slipped into his pocket by another John; a small crowd of men insisted on feeding Casey chocolates from the food table, each one wearing a smile and giving Casey kisses; one man that Casey hadn’t met yet, Barry, had given his cock glorious attention and asked for nothing back… the gifts had flowed like many rivers, and Casey was left with pinked cheeks and a smile the entire night.
By the time the night and its many celebrations came to a close, Casey was pleasantly exhausted. His end-of-the-workday shower was more than welcome, and the thought of crawling into bed had him walk back to his room with a dreamy smile. Upon opening the door, he found Zeke, just finished changing into his pajamas and settling under the covers. “Hey,” Casey said.
“Hey. Good night?”
“Oh yes, yes.”
Zeke smiled. “Good.”
Casey smiled and went to his dresser, but stopped in passing his bed. The large, flat box wrapped in plain brown paper with a gold ribbon hadn’t been there when he’d dropped in for his soap. “What’s this?” he asked.
“Birthday present,” Zeke replied.
“From who?”
“Me, stupid.”
“But…” Casey stepped over, picked up the parcel and sat on the edge of his bed. “…You gave me a present already.”
“This morning, yea. This is the REAL one. So open it.”
Something fluttered deep in Casey’s gut. The disappointment at Zeke’s practical, boring gift now faded away. ‘This… is the real one,’ Casey echoed in his mind. He tore the paper off, not bothering to hide his excitement; he found a dark, wooden box--cherry?--a golden clasp holding it closed. “What is it?” he asked.
“Ugh… open it. Geez,” Zeke said.
“Hah. Okay.” Casey flicked the clasp and lifted the lid. It creaked open and revealed a set of colorful tubes--paints. Beautiful brushes were also inside, along with a card. Before Casey opened it, he noticed the labels on the paints. “Watercolors. Oh, Zeke…” he said, chuckling. “I’d told you--I’m not good with those.”
“I know. Open the envelope. Christ, you should know how to accept a gift by now,” Zeke told him, now sitting up and shaking his head.
Casey took a deep breath and ripped the envelope open. He drew out a piece of paper; not a card, but a handwritten note: Certificate for free watercolor-painting lessons it read. “You…” Casey started, then looked up at Zeke. He found the older boy wearing a cocky grin. “…You want to teach me how to paint with watercolors.”
“That’s what it says. Yea.”
Everything from that night--all the gifts, including truffles and gold, suddenly seemed to pale in comparison to this present. This wasn’t just a set of paints requiring a ‘Thank You’ and a hug. This was special. Irreplaceable. “It’s wonderful,” Casey said, sighing the words. “Zeke, it’s beautiful. One of the most beautiful things ever.”
“’Welcome.”
He sounded so dismissive. Casey shook his head while gazing at the many items the box held. “I said ‘it’s beautiful’. This means a lot to me… a lot,” he said. “It’s a gift from your heart.”
Zeke chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Oh, don’t turn into a sap, it’s just--”
“You know it’s beautiful. And you gave it to me,” Casey interrupted. This made Zeke’s smile fade, and he nodded.
“I know,” he replied.
Casey let out a shaky sigh; he then closed the box and looked at Zeke with glossy eyes. “Thank you, Zeke. When… do we start?”
“How about tomorrow after breakfast?” Zeke asked.
“Yes. Yes.” Casey put the paint set next to the truffles, went over to Zeke and leaned in. A small, soft kiss was placed on Zeke’s cheek. He swore he felt the boy shudder at the contact; Casey pulled back and smiled wide. “Thank you.”
The cocky smile returned. “Sap. Go to bed.”
It was Casey’s turn to roll his eyes, only with affection. Zeke was a mysterious, strange little creature. He knew what this gift could do--what it’d done. Casey shut off the light, returned to his bed and covered himself. He didn’t find sleep for a while; Zeke had, his light snoring filling Casey’s ears.
“I love you,” Casey whispered to him in the darkness.
~*~