Knight of Ocean Avenue (32 page)

Shaz touched his cheek. “Then we’ll engage in some more of our very enjoyable practice until you do pass, right? This is No. Big. Deal. You’ve slayed dragons of monstrous proportions.” He counted on his fingers. “Realized you’re gay. Came out to your construction crew. Charmed the pants off the most important lady of fashion. Conquered the Little League.” He put his hand back on the wheel. “This is just a mouse we need to kick out of our bed. Today? Next year? One of these days, we’ll get him.”

“I want to pass.”

“That’s important.”

“Maybe I can pass for you,” Jesus, he couldn’t stop shaking.

Shaz touched his cheek with his slim fingers. The same fingers he’d pushed so exquisitely into Billy’s hole last night. “I don’t care if you pass for Mickey Mouse, just get it the fuck out of your way.” He grinned. “Enjoy your inner massage. Go get ’em, my knight.”

Billy gazed at Shaz. The beautiful green eyes, those full lips, that lovely cock he promised to shove in Billy’s ass when he passed. “So I don’t get fucked until I pass, right?”

“Correct. You do the fucking until you pass.” Billy inhaled and started to turn toward the door. Shaz grabbed his arm and he turned, jumped from the little lightning bolt in his butt, and stared into Shaz’s eyes. He looked totally serious. “But if you never pass the test, I will love you not one tiny particle less.”

Billy’s lips parted on their own. Did Shaz just say he loved him? “Do you—?”

“Love you? Yes. I was marking time in my life until I met you.”

Some little piece of the puzzle called life clicked into place. “Me too.”

“Yes. We belong together.”

“Hard to believe.”

“Yes, but you do believe it, don’t you?”

Holy shit
. “Yes.”

“Good. Get your ass in there.” He grinned. “Literally.”

Billy started to laugh. He opened the car door and walked across the parking lot to the building, still chuckling. When he got inside, showed his acceptance papers, his fingerprints, and background check, his whole body froze. Like ice.
So what?

He surrendered his personal objects and went to the computer. His hands shook so hard he could barely rest them on the keys.

His head swam. The proctor called, “Start.”

No breath. Can’t breathe. Might die
.
Zing
. The hard chair pressed against the butt plug, and he smiled.

On a shower floor, the tile should be installed a) to a wood floor b) to a concrete subfloor c) to a portland mortar bed d) b or c
.

Black with white dots swam in front of his eyes as his hand hit the key.
Shaz loves me. Shaz loves me. Might die. So what? Die happy.

His ass throbbed, hands shook so hard he had to hold one with the other.

You’re dumb, Billy Ballew
.

Shaz loves me.
Click.

You fucked up again
.

No, I’m gonna get fucked
. Click.

He forced air into his lungs and his head fell backward.
Click
.

“Are you all right? You don’t look well.” The proctor stared down at Billy with a frown.

“Fine. Never better.” He barely got the words out.

“Okay. If you say so.” The man walked away but kept staring at Billy from his spot at the front of the room.

People—mostly guys and a few women—mumbled and sighed at different computers all around Billy. Poor guys. They didn’t have a butt plug in their asses. They didn’t have Shaz waiting for them.

Waves of blackness washed over his vision.
Breathe, dammit
. Law questions. Hardest ones.
Tingle, throb. Click.

His stomach growled like it wanted to join the protest. He burped eggs.
Ugh
.
Click
. Swallowed. Again.
Tingle. Throb
.
Ooh, that one went straight to the balls
.
Finish and get fucked. Finish and get fucked
. A.
Click
. D.
Click
.

Click. Click.

Wait. Was that the last one? He scrolled through the answers, his hand so tense he couldn’t feel it.

The last one. Should he look again? Crap, he’d die first.

So all he had to do was hit one key to know if he passed.

Shit, can’t look
. Couldn’t. He’d pass out.

The test was self-scoring.
Just one click
.

His hand moved toward the key. The contents of his stomach burned hot up his esophagus. He slapped one hand over his mouth and clicked with the other, then dropped his head into his hands.
Can’t look
.

The proctor hurried up the aisle again. “Are you all right, Mr. Ballew?”

Billy nodded but never raised his head. “Can’t look.”

“Can’t look at what?”

Billy snaked a hand toward the screen.

“Oh. You can’t look at the fact that you passed the exam.” The guy had a laugh in his voice.

“What?”

“Mr. Ballew. You passed.”

Billy raised his head. The spots still danced through his field of vision, and his half-hard cock did its own dance every time the plug pushed up into his butt hole. “Sure. I knew that.”

The guy put a hand on his shoulder. “Congratulations. You obviously worked your butt off on this.”

Billy laughed through another ass throb. The words pushed out through the laughter. “Yes. Yes, I did.” He stood up and hugged the guy, which required bending over. “Thank you. What else do I have to do?”

“You’ll get a notice in the mail.”

“So that’s it? I’m done?” Other guys looked around at him with pained expressions.

The proctor put a hand to his lips and led Billy toward the front. He handed him his phone and other pocket contents. “You’re done.” He glanced at his watch. “Maybe a new record on time to completion. At least it’s the shortest I’ve ever seen.”

Billy pumped the proctor’s hand.
Done. Dear God
. He turned and walked toward the door.

“Good luck with your new career.”

Billy turned.
What
? It was like he could feel some weight falling off. All the stuff he never thought about, never planned or expected, never dreamed—because he couldn’t pass a test. All that joy flooded in and made him light-headed. His own company. Start with Shaz’s building. Look for other work. People who needed good design/build talent. He could do that. He knew how. He could be an equal partner. Well, almost. He grinned at the proctor. “Thanks.” A few steps took him out of the building into the late-morning sun. A few steps that covered years and miles.

He could practically feel the sun shining off his teeth. With a leap forward, he started jogging toward the Jag. Through the windshield, he could see Shaz talking on the phone. He looked up, and his eyes widened.

The car door opened. Shaz leaped out and ran toward him. “You passed! You did it! Yes!” From five feet away, Shaz leaped toward Billy, and Billy stepped forward and caught him. No planning. Their lips met in a wild, crazy kiss. Shaz wrapped his legs around Billy’s waist, then leaned back and laughed. “I knew it. Gone. No more crappy test. My own contractor.”

“You did it. Only you could have made this happen.”

“Yes, that’s true. I’m the magician Shazam. I waved my wand and made you the smartest, bravest, hardest-working contractor on the planet. And don’t you forget it, buddy.”

They kissed again. Okay, so maybe the people in this parking lot were not impressed by their PDA. “Take me home and fuck me. I earned it.”

“Yes, you did.” Shaz slid to the ground and hopped back in the open driver’s door.

Billy climbed in the passenger seat, put his head back on the seat, laughed hysterically, and promptly fell asleep.

When he opened his eyes blearily, they weren’t in their garage. They were on Ocean Avenue. “Where are we?”

“Stopping for lunch.”

“But what about fucking? This butt plug is driving me crazy.”

“And it will continue to do so a little longer, okay?”

Actually, he was starved. He glanced around. “Where are we going?”

“The Bay Bar.”

“Seriously?”

“Sure. I like the Bay….”

“You do?”

“Yep.”

Shaz parked in front of the bank building about a block from the bar. He got out, met Billy beside the car, and took his hand. “Come on, you have to be hungry. I want to hear every detail.”

By the time they got to the bar, they’d unlinked hands. No use making too much of a statement. Inside the cool, dark bar, music played and people still gathered at the tables for a late lunch. Shaz looked around.

Billy pointed. “There’s a booth.”

“No. I think there’s a better table back here. Come on.”

Where is he going?
Billy followed Shaz to the very back of the bar. Shaz walked through an archway. There was a smaller dining room back there that they didn’t open unless there was a lot of overflow. Billy stepped through.

“Congratulations!”

“Yay, Billy.”

Jim, Harry, Raoul, Charlie, half of Billy’s drywall crew, two tile guys, and Mrs. Elmont, one of Billy’s favorite clients, sat around a bunch of tables that had been pulled together.

Billy stared, looked at Shaz, then stared again. “How? How did you get here? I only passed the test an hour and fifteen minutes ago.”

Jim pulled out two chairs. “Sit. We’ll tell you everything.”

Sitting. That should be interesting
. He chose a butt cheek and settled on the chair between Jim and Shaz, only to learn that Shaz had let Jim know the day before and asked him to organize people who could come at a moment’s notice.

Shaz grinned. “I knew you’d pass. Just not at what time.”

Jim passed two glasses, a pitcher of beer, and a basket of onion rings to Billy and Shaz. “So tell us everything.”

Billy smiled. Everything? How he’d nearly passed out and only that damned butt plug kept him conscious? No, might leave that out. That throwing up was a near thing, but being able to answer the questions through an orgasm meant he could barf and answer at the same time? No, wouldn’t include that either. How about knowing that Shaz, Jim, and the other guys believed in him, and that made it possible to walk into the exam room? Yeah, that he could share.

For the next two hours, over burgers, fries, a lot of beer, and a semi-erect cock, he told his story.

B
ILLY
SAGGED
against the sink as Shaz pulled out the butt plug. “Sweet Jesus, that hole must be ready for a Tyrannosaurus rex.”

“Was that a compliment?” Shaz laughed and cleaned the plug.

Billy slipped an arm around Shaz’s shoulders. “I know I’ve said it, but I want you to really get how grateful I am. You made this happen. I could never have done it without you.”

Shaz set the plug on a towel and looked up at Billy. “Yes, you could. You could have done it without me. Maybe you wouldn’t have, but you could.”

“Same thing.”

“In practice, perhaps, but not in truth.”

Billy kissed those full lips. “Thank you. Please get that. This means so much more than just a test. Or maybe I should say, it was a bigger test than it looked like.”

Shaz’s eyes got shiny. “I do understand. The biggest dragon yet. You’re immensely welcome.” He wrapped his arms around Billy’s neck and held him close; then he looked up. “So, one more hurdle?”

Billy grinned. “What? No. No more hurdles. I barely survived this one.”

Shaz gazed at Billy. “What about tomorrow?”

“Fuck.” Billy sagged to the heated slate floor. “I kind of forgot for a second.” He dropped his head to his knees. “You know how to hurt a guy.”

Shaz sat beside him on the floor. “What are you going to do?”

“No idea.”

“I have a suggestion. Let’s do a little sweet lovin’ to give Mr. Cock his reward and save the big celebration for after you survive tomorrow. I’ll be waiting for you. You’ll be more relaxed once the day is over.”

Billy shook his head. “Oh man.” Barfing seemed possible again. He dropped his head on his knees. He’d had enough. He clenched his jaw. “Maybe I’ve had enough fucking dragons this week. I don’t have to say anything to them, right?”

Shaz shook his head. “Nope. Not a thing.”

“Lots of guys never come out to their families. I mean, Teresa already knows, so that’s enough for now, right?”

Shaz ran a hand over his neck. “Yes, whatever feels good to you. We have all the time in the world.”

“They never come to my place, so I don’t even have to tell them I’ve moved. I guess I could let them know about the contractor license. That would take a little heat off.”

“Your whole family will be superhappy for you.”

“Yeah.” He sighed. “I am kind of tired.”

“I’m sure you are. This has been a long tough month.”

“I wouldn’t mind waiting to get fucked until I was more awake.” He grinned. “Just so I can remember every detail.”

“You can sleep right up until you have to get dressed to go to your family’s. No work tomorrow.”

Billy rested his head on Shaz’s shoulder. “That sounds good.”

“Come on.”

Shaz pulled Billy up and, with their arms around each other, they made it to the bedroom, moved the stuffed cat and the real cats, curled up in a sixty-nine, and sucked each other senseless. They ended up hugging under the covers, and Billy listened to Shaz’s breathing deepen.

Sleep sounded wonderful. Tomorrow didn’t.

Yeah, they’d all be superhappy he finally passed the test. But was he going to leave it at that? Lead them on? Lie to them? Could he do that to his family?
Shit
. Could he do that to Shaz?

B
ILLY
PLOPPED
the ragged cat in front of Shaz’s sleeping face. “Meeoww.”