The boys sat around feeling uncomfortable with each other. Jeremy did not like Matt, and he certainly didn’t trust him. He was unsure of his motives. He thought he was just a hot shot reporter out for a sensational story.
Franklin was frightened. Nichols had scared him, and he was sure that Cobra would suddenly appear and kill them all. He wanted desperately to go home, lie in bed and wrap his covers tightly around him. All the years of therapy had quickly been wiped out, and he was becoming an emotional wreck. He would not leave Jeremy’s side. He even insisted that Jeremy accompany him to the bathroom when he would have to relieve himself.
They had been sitting for hours in the living room idly watching television when Franklin’s stomach began to growl.
“You want something to eat?” Joe asked.
“Yeah. I’m starved,” he said. “What do we have to eat?”
“Nichols said he stocked the fridge,” Matt said excitedly. “Let’s go raid it.”
They hurried into the kitchen and began searching for something suitable to eat. “Pizza!” Jeremy cried out, holding up several frozen large pizzas from the refrigerator.
“Potato Chips!” Matt shouted, holding up two bags, one regular and the other barbeque.
“Beer!” yelled Franklin. Everyone stopped and looked. He was holding up four cans of root beer.
"I could use a Bud right now,” Joe stated.
“For sure,” Jeremy replied. Joe gave him a questioning look. “I’m a teenager, what can I say,” he said with a laugh.
Twenty minutes later, the boys were sitting around the table eating the perfect meal- pizza, chips and soda.
“You guys going to be all right?” Joe looked across the table at Jeremy and Franklin.
“We’re a little scared,” confessed Jeremy.
“We all are. But we’ll be safe here,” Joe said reassuringly.
Matt looked over at the two younger boys. “Can I ask you guys a question?”
“Are you interviewing us for your story?” Jeremy asked sarcastically.
“No. I’m not thinking about the story. If it makes you feel better, anything you say while we’re here is off the record.”
“What’s that mean?” Franklin asked.
Joe told him, “It means that anything you say is a secret and we can’t write about it.”
Jeremy and Franklin spent the next hour telling them about their lives and how they came to be involved with Wellston. Some of their stories brought tears to all the boys’ eyes. On two occasions Franklin broke down and had to be consoled by the others. They described the nightmarish sexual escapades with men five times their age. They had tried to leave on several occasions, but Wellston threatened to kill them if they did.
Finally, Matt asked them about the party the night of the raid. They told him that it was to be one of the biggest events of the year. Central’s football season ended with a victorious season. To show his appreciation, Wellston threw a Victory Party. He had insisted that ‘his’ boys attend. Most of the football team preferred female companionship, but several of the team members were gay or bisexual.
Throughout the evening, numerous male college students had enjoyed their services. It was understood that they would receive no money from the students themselves. Wellston had already arranged to pay each of the boys $5000 for the night. They were to do anything that was requested. Many of the students had been drinking and using drugs rather heavily.
“What happened after that?” Matt asked. He had wondered for a year why the police had not pursued criminal sex charges again Wellston.
“When the police arrived, we were naked in an upstairs bedroom,” Jeremy began. “They made all of the younger boys get dressed, and then they took us to Wellston’s library.
“They took down our names and questioned us for about a half hour. Afterwards, we were then taken home by an officer. My mother was really mad when he told her what happened.”
Franklin interrupted, “You had it easy compared to me. My old man hit the ceiling. He yelled at me for hours. In the morning my parents drug me to a psychiatrist to try and ‘fix’ me. I spent months in an institution where they tried to turn me back into a straight boy.” He broke down in tears.
Matt picked Franklin up, placed him in his lap and held him tightly. Sensing that Jeremy was just as insecure, Joe motioned for him to come around the table to him. He smothered him in an embrace before sitting him on his lap.
They held the crying and trembling boys for about five minutes before any words were spoken. Matt finally broke the silence.
“Come on.” He grabbed Franklin’s hand. “Let’s go in the living room and play a game of Monopoly. Joe picked Jeremy up and held him upside down. He was squealing with laughter. Matt picked Franklin up and did the same.
“Stop! he shouted. “I’m going to pee my pants.” Matt put him down and he ran to the bathroom. He returned minutes later laughing.
They played happily for the next few hours. It was a stalemate until Jeremy finally decided to double team the older boys by selling off Park Place to Franklin, who already owned Boardwalk. It didn’t take long for Franklin to put hotels on the properties and win the game.
“You guys cheated,” Matt pouted.
“Get over it!” Jeremy shouted.
“Let’s hit the sack,” ordered Joe. It was after midnight. They put away the game and headed down the hallway to their rooms. Jeremy and Franklin would be sleeping in the guest bedroom. Joe and Matt would sleep in Jessica’s blue room.
“Night guys,” said Matt. “Keep the noise down, okay? I need my beauty sleep.”
“You should have gone to bed at six,” giggled Franklin.
Matt lunged at him, but both boys ran into the room and slammed the door shut. He could hear them laughing on the other side. Joe grabbed Matt by the hand and led him into their room.
He gave Matt an evil grin. “We’ve got some unfinished business to take care of.”
“Yeah!” Matt said excitedly. Suddenly the other door opened and Franklin stuck his head out.
“Hey, keep the noise down. Two innocent boys in here.” He then began making sucking sounds and moaning, while he gyrated his hips. They could hear Jeremy howling with laughter in the background. Matt lunged again, but Franklin managed to slam the door before he reached it.
* * * * * * * *
Morning found four very happy and satisfied young men. Franklin was the first out of bed around nine-thirty. He went into the kitchen and began preparing breakfast for the others. The kitchen was not an unknown territory for him. He had been making breakfast for his family for a year. As a form of therapy, his psychiatrist had suggested he take up hobbies. He quickly discovered that he had very exceptional culinary skills.
He made western omelets, whole wheat toast with butter and strawberry jam and coffee. It wasn’t too long before the others joined him.
“Mmmm, something smells good.” Joe remarked as he entered the kitchen wearing just a pair of boxers. Franklin looked up and eyed him. He couldn’t help staring at the beautiful, naked boy before him.
“Have a seat. I’ll get you a cup of coffee. How do you like it?” he asked.
“One spoonful of sugar, a drop of cream, please.” Joe replied. Franklin prepared it and set it before him on the table. Joe took a sip and smiled.
“Would you marry me?” he laughed. “Cute, and you cook, too. The coffee’s delicious, and the food smells wonderful.”
“I’ll have to check with Jeremy first,” he responded with a smile.
“You really have it bad for him, don’t you?” Franklin looked at him for a minute before answering.
“Yeah, I guess I do. I think I’m falling in love with him,” he replied wistfully. “I never thought anyone could love me, but Jeremy says he does.”
“That’s wonderful. Don’t make the mistake I did and almost lose out on the best thing you ever had. Jeremy’s a great kid. You two make a cute couple.”
“You and Matt are pretty hot, too!” He said before thinking.
Matt walked sleepily into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes. His hair was a tangled mess. Joe looked over lovingly at him and thought, “I hope I always wake up to this beautiful sight.”
“Morning, Babe.” Matt came up behind Joe and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“What smells so good?” he asked.
“Western omelets, toast and coffee. How do you like your coffee?” Franklin asked Matt.
“I like mine black, just like I like my men.” He looked down at Joe and grinned.
He looked at the plate Franklin set before him. “Franklin! This smells great. You did this all by yourself?”
“Yep!” Franklin smiled.
Matt asked, “Will you marry me?”
“Nope.”
“Why”
“Joe already proposed.” He smiled. Matt slapped Joe on the back of the head.
“Two-timer.” He laughed, smacking him again.
The rest of the morning flew by. The boys did their homework. Matt and Joe used Matt’s laptop to receive their assignments. They didn’t have much to do. Since they were seniors, most was research work. Being excellent writers, they knew they could accomplish it effortlessly.
Joe instant messaged his assistant editor, Gloria. She informed him that everything was going well, but that the two were missed. She was curious what was going on, but Joe insisted that he could not talk about it. Her reply was, “This better be a good story.”
They played games in the afternoon. They found a jar of pennies that Jessica had in her room, so they decided to play a challenging game of Texas Hold’em poker. Jeremy found he had a special talent for betting, and within an hour had managed to secure everyone’s money- a grand total of $22.38.
Around five they became hungry. Since he had prepared breakfast and lunch, Franklin refused to make dinner. The others said they were too tired to do it. After much arguing, they decided they would order take out. Pizza, of course. Jeremy grabbed the phone book and looked for the nearest pizza delivery restaurant. They ordered two large pizzas. One was a double pepperoni, and the other a deluxe without anchovies.
They watched a movie on television while awaiting the pizzas to arrive. Franklin lay spooned beside Jeremy on the sofa. Joe and Matt were lying on the floor with their heads resting on pillows from their bed. All the boys were comfortable. Little did they know that their peaceful atmosphere would soon be coming to an end.
* * * * * * * *
Cobra watched as the pizza delivery car came driving down the street. Its recognizable light was shining on top of the car. Five minutes earlier Daniels had pulled off, ending his shift. The other unmarked cruiser had not yet arrived.
As the car approached, Cobra exited his truck, stumbled into the street and fell to the ground. The car came to a screeching halt. The driver quickly exited, seeing if he could give assistance to the injured man. When he bent down, Cobra rose with a gun pointed at his face.
“What the hell?” The delivery man asked excitedly. “Don’t hurt me! Here’s the only money I have.” Reaching into his pockets, he tossed several crumpled bills on the ground and ran. Cobra laughed at the scared guy racing across a nearby parking lot. He got in the delivery car and pulled up outside Jessica’s apartment.