Oct. 29, 2013. Acacia Ave., Glendale, CA.
Scott
I’d done it. I’d actually recorded something. It wasn’t much, just a couple demos, but still. It was the first time in a long time I’d had anything this close to a finished product, and it felt good… really good. I had Taylor to blame, I knew that for fact. He’d been the catalyst, the one who, whether he’d meant to or not, got me seriously thinking about what to do next. Thinking about the future.
I ran a hand through my hair as I rolled my chair away from my desk. The future… It used to be something I was vaguely aware of, but avoided thinking too much about. Now, I couldn’t help it. I constantly wondered where I’d be in six months, in a year, in two years. It was looking more and more like music, the thing that used to be my entire reason for living, was starting to make a comeback. And then there was Tay.
If my personal future had been vague, any kind of future with another person was practically non-existent. But that was changing too. We hadn’t said as much, but it seemed like Tay and I were working towards… something. I didn’t know what yet, but something. It was scary as hell, but the good kind of scary, like being pulled to the top of a roller coaster. For the first time, I actually wanted to think long-term.
I looked over at my phone at the sound of a beep; I took a swig of my beer and looked at the message. When it loaded, I damn near choked. Tay had taken a pic of himself sprawled out on his bed, wet hair splayed out around him, one hand playing with the silver ring on his nipple. The pic stopped just at his hips, but it was low enough to show what wasn’t there, namely clothes of any kind. His lips were caught between his teeth–naughty boy, breaking rules again–and his eyes stared up at the camera, all dark and hungry.
It only took me a second to dial his number.
“Hey Scott.”
“Someone just sent me a very naughty picture,” I teased.
“Oh, really?” Tay giggled.
“I love it,” I said in a lower voice. “Can’t wait to see it in person.”
“Can’t wait to show you. We get a break in two weeks, for the holiday.”
“Oh yeah?” You finally gonna come visit?” I asked.
“Mhm, I sure am.”
“I can’t wait, babe.” I grinned; I really was looking forward to seeing him, and not just the bits he’d snapped a pic of, although I was definitely looking forward to those, too.
“Me either… I miss you.”
“I miss you too,” I said softly, the tone of his voice turning my thoughts from erotic to sentimental. I was still getting used to thinking of anyone like that, but I had to admit I liked it.
“If we’re lucky, I can stay for a few days. I haven’t really figured out how to, um… get away. But I will.”
“Good,” I said. “No interruptions. Just you and me.”
Tay sighed happily. “Sounds great…”
“Yeah it does. So, I take it the piercing went well?”
“Mhm. It kinda hurt, but not too bad. I made Zac go with me…”
“Did he hold your hand?” I asked, chuckling. I could just imagine Tay sitting in the chair, squirming like a girl as the needle penetrated his skin… it was a pretty hot image, actually.
“Maybe…”
“Aw. How cute.” The addition of Zac to the mental image made it less hot, but only slightly.
“Yeah, well I had to hold his hand, too.”
“…Why?”
“The little bitch got a tattoo,” Tay answered, and I laughed hard.
“No shit, really?”
“Yup. Apparently he’d been thinking about it for a while, like years.”
“Wow. So what’d he get?”
“An om. White ink, on his chest. It actually looks awesome.”
“Yeah, that sounds pretty cool,” I agreed, trying to picture it. Zac was pretty good looking already; a tattoo could only help his case, not that I was about to tell Tay that.
“I knew he had been pretty into the yoga thing for a while, but I had no clue he had ever thought about getting a tattoo,” Tay said. “I mean, he’s always drawing shit on himself, but it’s not really the same.”
“He’ll have to show me sometime.”
“I tried to get him to let me take a pic for you, but he’s kinda shy,” Tay said, giggling.
“Zac? Shy?” I said, chuckling. If there was a list of words I could think of to describe Zac Hanson, shy would be dead last.
“Well, about his body, at least,” Tay explained, and I nodded.
“Oh, yeah I guess so.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tay asked after a second.
“Huh? Nothing. Just that I get being shy when you’re not exactly the typical hot guy type.”
“And Zac’s not the typical hot guy type?”
“Well, not really,” I replied. “I’m not saying he isn’t good looking, just not in the usual way, you know?”
“No, I don’t know,” Tay sassed. I really didn’t like the attitude he was taking.
“I’m not trying to insult the guy. But you gotta admit, he doesn’t really fit the conventional idea of hot.”
“Yeah, well, neither do I.”
“Yeah, okay,” I snorted, rolling my eyes. Blond hair, blue eyes, and a body most guys would kill for… nothing conventionally hot about that. Of course, he was a little on the scrawny side. And maybe his eyes were just a little too feminine. “Okay, maybe you don’t. But that’s not a bad thing.”
“Well then it’s not a bad thing for Zac, either. He doesn’t have to be fucking perfect,” Tay spat.
“I never said it was a bad thing!” I shot back, frustration flaring up. “Jesus, I know you’re doing the whole protective bro thing, but relax.”
Taylor was silent for a minute, then he let out a heavy sigh “I’m sorry… It’s just, he’s a lot more sensitive about his looks than I knew.”
“…Did something happen?”
“Just something he told me, after he got the tattoo. I asked him how he was gonna explain it to his wife, because she’s… well, a prude. A huge prude. Like, world’s biggest prude.”
No wonder Zac had perma-bitch face, if he had a bitch for a wife. Especially now that I knew how twisted his tastes were; he probably wasn’t getting any kind of satisfaction at home.
“Apparently,” Tay went on, “it won’t be an issue, because she never sees him without his shirt. As in, she refuses to see him without a shirt.”
“Oh. Wow.” Damn. Poor guy. That explained a lot about his self-esteem issues, considering how long he’d apparently been married.
“He probably wouldn’t like knowing that I told you that, but yeah. Anyway, it’s just another reason I don’t like that bitch. Never really have.”
“Yeah, I don’t blame ya.” If Tay got that defensive about what I’d said, I could only imagine how he felt about his bitch-in-law.
“She was kind of a package deal with Natalie, though.”
“Groupies… they travel in packs.” I remembered Taylor telling me about how he’d met his wife, at some mall concert back in the day.
“Mhm. It was pretty much a done deal that they were gonna get married once me and Natalie did.”
“That blows for him.” If there was one thing I could relate to, it was other people trying to make decisions for me. I’d fought it tooth and nail, but it’d cost me damn near everything to do so. In the position Zac’d been in at the time, I could understand not wanting to put up a fight and risk losing it all.
“Yeah… I never really did get why he puts up with her. Especially now that I know shit like that.”
“Yeah, well sorry ‘bout the comment, then.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t really recommend calling him pudgy again,” Tay said in a warning tone that I’d normally call him out on. But in this case, it was understandable.
“Fair enough.”
“Anyway, I’ll try to get you a pic of the tattoo. But no promises.”
“Some Dom you are,” I snorted, and Tay let out an exasperated sigh.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m trying here.”
“Speaking of,” I said, remembering an order I’d given Tay, “did you punish him yet?”
“Um, well,” Tay stammered, stalling. “I did the one punishment. With the plug.”
“Mhm, how’d that go?”
“Oh, he was thrilled,” Tay snorted. “But… he was pretty good. He took it better than I expected.”
“Oh yeah? Did you make him wear it all day?” It seemed like Taylor need a distraction from the more serious discussion we’d been having. Plus the thought of Tay taking control over Zac like that was hot, to say the least.
“Mhm. Even during the concert, and outside to greet the fans afterward.”
“Oh you are evil.”
“Yup,” he giggled. “And he stayed out there forever. Apparently some fans were doubling back to get more than one autograph.”
“He must’ve been on edge,” I said, chuckling. I could practically see Zac standing there, trying to smile politely while going silently insane.
“Oh, he was practically begging by the time we got back to the hotel.”
“I’ll bet he was,” I said, lowering my voice. “Did you give it to him right away, or did you tease him some more?”
“I teased him a little… not much. I mean, he had been pretty good and he was just so pitiful, whining and everything.”
“Needy little slut,” I murmured, chuckling.
“He sure is.”
“So, gave the little bitch what he wanted, hm?”
“Yeah,” Tay sighed.
“Tell me.” I seriously hoped my tone let him know that wasn’t a request, but an order. Something about hearing Tay talk about fucking around with his brother was way too hot.
“W-well, I teased him a little bit… sliding the plug in and out a little, talking about it.”
“Yeah,” I sighed, encouraging him to go on.
“And then I figured, you know, he’d been pretty good, so I’d try something a little new with him. Figured he’d like it.”
“Oh?” I asked, curious. “What’d you do?”
“Used, umm…” Tay mumbled, and I swore I could hear him blushing. “My tongue…”
“Ooh, dirty.”
“Y-yeah, and he fucking loved it, too.”
“Mmm, I’ll bet he did, the little slut.” memories flashed behind my eyes for a moment, but I quickly pushed them aside, focusing on Tay’s voice. “Did you like it?”
“Yeah… He was just so pitiful, though. C-couldn’t decide if he wanted me to keep doing that or to fuck him. So, naturally, I did both.”
“Naturally,” I echoed in a mock-serious tone.
“B-but… Yeah, he took that punishment a lot better than I expected. He just got whiny, not bitchy.”
“Well that’s good,” I said, grinning. “Maybe he’s finally learning.”
“Maybe…”
“Can’t wait to see you. Maybe if you’re good I’ll lick your tight little ass again. Would you like that?” I asked. Tay whimpered, and I grinned wider, picturing him on his hands and knees for me.
“I’d love it,” he moaned.
“Alright then. Since you’ve been so good. You have been good, right?” I added. I felt like I could trust him again, now that I knew about the only possible distraction.
“Mhm, I’ve been good.”
“Good.” I paused, thinking. Zac wasn’t the only other distraction, I reminded myself. “Hey babe, how often do you talk to the wife?”
“About every other day, I guess,” he said, and I nodded, chewing my lip.
“Can I ask you a serious question?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“I need you to be honest. Even if you don’t think I’ll like hearing it, I need truth on this,” I told him.
“Okay.”
I sighed heavily; I didn’t really want to ask this, but I had to know the truth. With all my thoughts about the future, I sometimes stubbornly–and maybe a little intentionally–forgot he was still technically married. But when I did remember, I hated the way it made me feel. I had to know if Tay and I were heading in the same direction. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him; I just needed to know we were on the same page.
“Do you still love her?”
“No,” he said softly. “I haven’t for a long time.”
“Do you tell her you do?”
“As little as I can get away with, but… yeah.”
I sighed again. I wasn’t surprised, and I didn’t really have a lot of room to be upset; he was still married to her, afterall.
“I don’t wanna ruin your marriage, not that it sounds all that happy to begin with…” I started, picking my words carefully. “I just don’t like the thought of you sayin’ those words to anyone else.”
“O-okay,” Tay replied.
“Do you think you could do that?” I asked quietly. I wasn’t asking much, but at the same time, I was asking a lot.
“I… I think so.”
I smiled. If he was willing to go that far… well, it had to mean something.
“I really do love you, ya know,” I told him. “Crazy as it sounds.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, laughing. “I know. I love you too.”
“I’ll see you soon, right?” I really wished he was there now, so I could hold him. Again, I wasn’t used to feeling so mushy. But with him, it felt right.
“Two weeks.”
“Good. Can’t come soon enough.”