Chapter Four (Rex)

I started to feeling surprisingly guilty for taking advantage of Tristian.

I didn't get as far as I would have liked, at the same time, I felt bad for going that far. He'd very obviously never done it with a man nor imagined it, so springing his sexuality on him like that probably scared him shitless. However, there was one good thing that came of all this.

The fact that Tristian was gay.

He was just in denial.

I knew a closet case when I saw it. I'd been around far too many gay and straight men to know what was going on in their minds. Hell, I was a man myself and I knew how things worked. There were several reasons why a man would never want to come out of the closet.

A) His family. They'd probably burn him at the stake. Maybe they were those hardcore Christians that condemned it, so he repressed the feelings for the sake of some higher power.

B) Fear. He was scared to fall in love. Cliche, but it was more common than people thought. Falling in love was scary because you had no idea if that other person was going to catch you or let you fall right off the cliff into a pit of spikes.

I could go on, but those two were the mains and they could branch off too. I just had to figure out what was keeping Tristian so long. I debated several conversation topics and decided to choose the safer ones after last night.

Obviously he enjoyed it. He was writhing and moaning like a virgin-- Oh wait. He was a virgin. Even better! He was still loving it and it was only when I was about to take our making out further when he realized what was happening and freaked out. He was horrified that he liked it and probably another part of him was terrified of how two men did it.

Oh sure, it'd probably be uncomfortable first, but I had plenty of experience with virgins and could make his first time the best time. I smirked as I finished my shower, stepping out and dressing in a snug dark purple v-neck to match the black jeans I'd snagged on sale. I emerged from the bathroom, taking quick strides downstairs, only to see that Tristian had yet to make it to the kitchen, where Ace and Vic were waiting with breakfast.

"Tristian's not up yet?" I asked, perplexed. Ace didn't seem surprised in the least as he bit off a piece of toast after taking a sip of orange juice, his dark hair a ruffled mess, signalling he had just woken up.

"Noon is the earliest he's ever woken up. Give him another hour and he should be ready." He answered flatly, spilling crumbs onto his shirt. Vic sighed, plucking Ace's shirt so the crumbs bounced off before glancing at me as Ace scrunched up his nose.

"It's all right, Rex. Just leave Tristian alone. He's a big boy. He can wake up on his own." He warned, but I waved him off.

"Nonsense. Someone his age should be up and about, instead of lounging around in bed all day. If you have work off today, he should be waking up early with plans, right?" I asked, heading for the stairs. Vic winced and told Ace to wait up before running after me. He slid on the wooden floors on his socks, surprising me as he slid in front of me, blocking me from the stairs.

"Rex. I told you Tristian was off limits." He stated warningly, raising a finger to add to his statement. I smiled and took his hand in mine, watching his face screw up in suspicion as I cradled his hand.

"Vicky, you know me. I'm just teasing. Besides, I was in all seriousness going to go wake him up. I cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye, baby." I promised, holding a hand over my heart with his hand in the other. Vic frowned for a while, then gave up and shook me off.

"Fine, but please, Rex. Leave Tristian alone. He's got enough on his plate." Without adding more, Vic was departing. I shrugged his comment off before heading up the stairs. I had to admit, I was slightly curious as to what Vic meant, but I had to save my nosiness for after I'd gotten Tristian to admit he liked me.

I went to the only other guest room that was closed and peeked inside.

Oh, talk about a good morning!

Tristian was fast asleep, curled up with one leg spread out and the blankets wrapped around him like a snake, just barely hiding his naked body underneath. I hesitated, hearing my promise to Vic about not messing with Tristian.... for now anyway.

I was tempted to break it.

Who wouldn't be?

There was an adorable naked man on the bed, just waiting to be played with. He really did look like a kitten, all curled up and sleeping with his sleeping face and dear God, I was getting hard. Probably not the best time or place. I cleared my throat and waited, but Tristian didn't even budge. I raised an eyebrow and knocked on the door.

"Room service!" I called. Tristian moaned and rolled over onto his other side, pulling the blankets over him as I turned the lights on.

"Go 'way." He grumbled into his pillow. I smirked and strode across the room, approaching the bed as Tristian sighed, ready to go back to sleep, until I tore the blankets off his face. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly.

"S'too early...!" He started until his eyes fluttered open. He blinked a few times, focusing on my face before gasping, shooting up right and smacking his forehead into mine. We both grunted in pain. I stepped back, rubbing my forehead as Tristian held his while at the same time groping for his blankets to hide himself.

"Wh-What're you doin' in here?" Tristian managed at last, lowering his arms to bring the blankets closer. I smirked, putting a hand on my hip.

"I came to wake you up, sweetheart. It's a nice day out. You're young and fresh. Get out more. I'm sure Ace wouldn't mind taking you out... Or... Me." I added, grinning. Tristian blushed, but glared at me anyway as he scooted to the other side of the bed away from me.

"I don't get out. And I certainly don't need no rapist homo takin' me out neither." He muttered dryly, then glanced around the room for a second before cursing under his breath. I raised an eyebrow.

"How rude. You insult me, then curse me? What did I do that was so wrong?" I asked, feigning innocence that Tristian didn't take kindly do as he sputtered for a moment, then shook his head vigorously before glaring at the bed.

"I left my clothes in the bathroom. Could you get 'em for me?" He asked at last. I laughed.

"Insult me, curse me, deny me, and now you want me to do chores for you?" I questioned. Tristian blushed in embarrassment, nibbling his lower lip before rolling his eyes.

"Fine. Sorry. Get my clothes, please." He commanded.

"Mm, I like boys with attitudes." I purred, making Tristian shiver and flop back on the bed with the blankets over his head. I smirked, then drifted out of the guest room and into the bathroom down the hally where Tristian's clothes hung drying on the rack. His jeans were still a bit damp, but other than that, they were fine. I gathered everything up and brought it back to the room to see Tristian half-asleep again, his eyelids ready to close until he saw me and he groaned.

"Just set 'em on the end of the bed. I'm goin' back to sleep." He grunted, pulling the covers to his chin. I clicked my tongue and shook my head, coming over and tugging on the blankets.

"Up and at 'em, country boy. Things to do, places to see, people to meet." I urged. Tristian tugged the blankets back and rolled over with his back facing me. I tossed the clothes on the end of his bed, putting my hands on my hips and just watched him try to fall asleep under my stare, but he just squirmed and finally sat up angrily, snatching the clothes.

"I'm changin', get out." He ordered. I held my hands up in surrender before smirking as I turned to leave, pausing by the door.

"If you lock the door on me, I'll just ask Vic for the skeleton key, so don't bother keeping me out."

"Vic would never do that."

"No, by ask, I mean go into his room and snatch it from his key ring." I answered, making Tristian scowl as I shut the door behind me, then descended down the stairs to greet Vic and Ace. There was also Satan himself sitting at the table, studying a bottle of his Budlight beer with ice cold blue eyes that contrasted powerfully with his dark mop of damp hair.

"Oh, Ricky, I haven't seen you in ages!" I exclaimed. Rick blinked and looked up at me for a second before grimacing.

"Who let you in?" He demanded, bringing his beer to his lips and taking a huge gulp. Vic glared at him before looking at me curiously.

"Is Tristian awake?" He asked. Rick bleghed.

"Fantastic. We have a rapist and a child in the house. What a great combination, Vic. Want me to call the Teletubbies? I hear they're looking for fresh meat." He muttered dryly. I rolled my eyes and reached into the fridge for a beer, watching Rick's face screw up.

"So you're the asshole that keeps stealing my booze." He accused, dropping his boots onto the floor to stand up, giving me a murderous glare. The boy adored his booze as much as he adored his little boyfriend. I smiled sweetly at him anyway.

"Little boys shouldn't drink booze, especially around rapists." I mocked. Rick scrunched his nose up, snatching up his beer before glancing up at the ceiling. He took a deep breath and yelled.

"DEV! HURRY UP! SATAN'S INCUBUS IS HERE AND I RATHER FACE THE PSYCHO BITCH!" His voice echoed off the kitchen walls, making everyone cringe and glare daggers at him. He took a sip of his beer before noticing our glares and shrugged innocently.

"I didn't think he could hear me if I whispered." He responded, dropping his voice to a whisper. Vic snorted and went back to making more breakfast just as Rick's adorable boyfriend made his appearance from the hallway, wearing blue torn and bleached out jeans to match his blue SAY ANYTHING t-shirt and flannel over top.

"Could you say that louder," He muttered, ruffling his hair so it was out of his face, "I don't think the people in China could hear you."

"Of course not," Rick snorted in return, "They don't speak English."

"Haha," Devin drawled, then blinked when he noticed me and smiled, "Hey, Rex. Haven't seen you around in a while." I beamed brightly at him as I took a seat at the kitchen island, swiveling to face him.

"I went back to Cali for a little while to get Coco back." I answered, making Devin nod in understanding.

Coco was my Doberman. He was a tough son of a bitch and I only named him Coco because it was stereotypical-- and cute. Coco was such a sweetheart around Vic and myself. Not so much around strangers, which made him the perfect guard dog slash family pet.

"Can we go now?" Rick asked in obvious irritation as he dropped his beer bottle into the recycle bin, making it shatter. Vic sighed in frustration, setting his spatula down to rub his temples. Ace gave the rest of us warning glares before coming over to murmur something in Vic's ear. To give them privacy, I turned to Devin, who was just telling Rick that he was ready.

"Still going to therapy?" I asked. Rick made a face, shoving his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket.

"Call it what you want, but either way, all signs point to torture. Sometimes I rather sit on a Judas Cradle. Come on, Dev. We're leaving." He grunted, nudging Devin in the shoulder with his elbow. Devin sighed, shaking his head before smiling at me.

"Great seeing you again, Rex. Hope you're still here when I get back! I need advice." He added, glancing pointedly at Rick, who was fishing his cigarettes from his jacket pocket. I nodded and Devin smiled in relief before smacking the cancer sticks out of Rick's hands, grabbing his hand and dragging him for the door. Rick complained the whole way there and the whole way out until the sound of the door slamming cut off his voice.

Shortly after they left, Tristian came downstairs, rubbing at his eye sleepily and yawning. I smirked, watching him try to brush his hair out of his face as Ace finished cooling down Vic to greet him.

"Hey, Tristian. Ready for me to take you home?" Ace asked.

"After I eat you outta house and home, sure. I'm starvin'." Tristian declared and made his way to the table where Vic was just setting out more biscuits and gravy. Tristian grabbed at least five biscuits with tons of gravy as well as a pile of pancakes with syrup. I grimaced and glanced at Ace, who shrugged when he saw my look.

"He could eat the whole United States and still have room for China and Russia... In one day." Ace added, shaking his head.

"Sounds healthy." I drawled sarcastically. Tristian just rolled his eyes at our chiding before he continued eating and Vic only scolded us for being mean before he went back to serving Tristian three more plates of food before they were ready to leave.

I was sad to see Tristian go, but if I worked hard enough on Vic, he'd tell me where the kid lived and I had plenty of time before I had to fly back to Cali.

Vic and I followed Ace and Tristian to the door as Ace pulled a loose jacket on, leaning over to kiss Vic, who kissed him back just like the dutiful wife he'd be if he were a woman. Vic had the makings of a feminine man, but that was within reason. Other times, Vic was a force to be reckoned with.

I glanced at Tristian, who immediately looked away from them and saw me. I grinned and he blushed, looking down at his feet as Ace bade us farewell and went out the door first. Tristian started to follow.

"Oh, Tristian?" I asked. He stupidly looked up and I leaned in, smacking my lips against his forehead. Tristian's face flamed as he stumbled back and almost fell down on the step to the porch before he caught his balance, whirling around and racing after Ace. I smirked, watching Ace start the car and they drove off. Vic and I watched them go in a short moment of silence before he spoke.

"You didn't." He deadpanned. I smiled innocently.

"Didn't what?" I asked. Vic shut the door, walking toward the kitchen with me in tow.

"You did, didn't you? Rex, I told you not to get involved with Tristian. He's got enough troubles already without you confusing whatever's left of his sanity." He snorted as he started to put everything away. I raised an eyebrow as I sat the island with my beer in hand.

"Oh, calm down. I didn't go as far as you think I did, sadly. Oh, yea, you keep dropping hints. Just give me the story, Vicky. You know hiding things from me is a bad idea." I warned. Vic grimaced and kept his back to me for a while before sighing, leaning on the counter top by the sink in silence.

"Tristian's parents died in a house fire a few years ago." He stated. I glanced up curiously as he turned to face me, leaning on the counter as he ran a hand through his hair, averting his eyes.

"Arson?" I asked. Vic shrugged.

"They never looked into it. And if they did, Tristian won't talk about it. Ace says Tristian won't talk about it with anyone and the only way Ace found out was when they stumbled across the subject by accident. According to Ace, Tristian got really upset when he mentioned it. I think his parents' death is why he's so socially awkward and shy. So, please, Rex. Stop harrassing him. He's got enough stress as it is. It doesn't help that there's this creep following him around almost every day." He added under his breath. I frowned some more.

"Creep?" I echoed suspiciously. Vic made a disgusted face.

"Anthony Stewart. He's the asshole I told you about. The one who pretty much tried to kill me. He's moved onto Tristian, but he's being careful because he doesn't want to lose his job. That still doesn't mean he won't try anything and it worries the hell out of me. Tristian's not exactly the toughest guy in the world and even I had trouble keeping Anthony off me. Tristian would fall like a twig." He added, looking uneasy as he glanced out the window.

I didn't like the sound of that. Anyone getting near Tristian to hurt him was making my blood boil. I rose to my feet, finishing off my beer.

"Mmm, well, sounds like he needs a bodyguard." I stated. Vic blinked and looked up with a frown.

"Rex, didn't you just--"

"He's the one," I insisted, watching Vic give me this doubtful stare, "I'm serious, Vic. Something about this kid is perfect. So he has issues. You and Ace have plenty of issues too, am I right? You didn't let that stop you." Vic nibbled his lower lip.

"Well, yea, but Tristian's not--"

"He is to. Otherwise, he wouldn't have broken down like he did last night."

"Oh, God, Rex. There's a difference between submission and force."

"I didn't force anything on him. I know when a man wants me, Vic. I've been around enough, seen enough. I've had plenty of closet cases like this. I just need to be a little careful. Besides, I'm not just doing this because I want to get closer to Tristian. I want to make sure that creep doesn't bother him anymore." I added brightly, smiling. Vic studied my face for a moment, then sighed, waving his hands at me.

"Fine, fine. Tristian's address is in the little notepad near the phone, but please be nice to him, Rex."

"Of course I will. I've seen enough of him to know what I can and cannot do."

"Yea, the problem is you just do what you cannot do."

"Then it wouldn't be on the cannot list."

"Your cannot and my cannot are two totally different cannots."

"Cannot follow this conversation anymore." I responded with a smirk as I copied the address down, waving goodbye to Vic before I headed out to my truck, climbing inside.

I knew Vic was worried about Tristian, and apparently with good reason. I only half knew how Tristian felt. I'd lost my father when I was eighteen because he took risks. One of those risks led to his death after years of chemo. I still didn't like to think about it, but I wasn't going to dwell on it. My father was a good man and he'd hammered that right into me. That was how I saw it anyway.

I just hoped Tristian didn't think what I thought in the beginning.

Because none of it was his fault.