Date: Sat, 5 Oct 2013 06:18:52 +1000
From: maxwell Dowling <maxieplus1@optusnet.com.au>
Subject: Never Give Up 25

Never Give Up 25

The next day they all decided to do a tour of the country, I stayed behind
with Dan as I wanted to work on my designs and ring Rory at the store.

Dan wanted to hit the gym so he left after morning coffee.

I put my boardies on and sat in the shade at the table by the pool,
sketchbook in hand.

Raphael and Gus arrived to do the garden and pool. After talking to Rory I
was happy that all was good there, his line was walking out the door and he
had to make another order for us both, he added a few more ideas he had to
be made up as samples.

Raphael came up to me and said, "Good morning Cody, what are you drawing?"

"Some designs for Armani, I work freelance for them and now's a good time
to put down some ideas. We are going to Milan tuesday for a few days at
their invitation and I am looking forward to it."

"Oh so you won't be here next week?"

"No mate we should be back friday sometime."

He sat down next to me and started to look at my drawings, I felt a little
uncomfortable and moved inside to make another coffee, I asked him if he
wanted one. He said yes please.

When I returned I sat opposite handing his cup to him.

He said, "Cody these designs are really good, I hope Armani are impressed
with them, you are a genuine artist."

In he next breath he said, "What happened to you Cody, with the scars I
mean?"

"Sorry Raphael, it is an off limit topic, I'm afraid I won't talk about it
again."

"Well okay, I just was wondering."

"Cody I want to apologise for my behaviour the other night, I didn't mean
to go that far with you both and so you know, I didn't actually buy the
drinks. My friend Julio did and he's not very nice, I suspected he was
drugging tourists to rob them, he no longer is a friend and I told the club
manager about it, I humbly apologise."

"It's okay Raphael but it was dangerous, I'm allergic to some medications,
thank god this one only made me sick."

He again apologised, thanked me for the coffee and went back to work.

Mike disappeared after dinner and when he came back he looked like a
million dollars, he had borrowed Luke's hipsters and he had a great t shirt
on. I took loads of pics as it will probably be the last chance I get to
see him like this.

"Where are you off to Mike?" Dan said.

"Oh just thought I might take myself out to a club and maybe lose my
virginity so mum will have one less worry."

We all looked at mum and laughed.

He left soon after, we had a swim, then showered and went to bed. I thought
I heard Mike come in around five, I hadn't slept much, just watched Dan
most of the night and managed to take a few photos of him sleeping.

I went out to the kitchen and made coffee. Mike was sitting by the pool.

I went to ask him if he wanted one, he turned and I gasped,

"What the fuck has happened to you Mike?"

He had the beginnings of a black eye.

"Oh nothing much Codes, he got a lucky punch in but he won't be having sex
or looking too good for weeks to come."

"Who Mike?"

Mike laughed and said,

"Codes, a guy at the club was annoying this aussie girl outside the club so
I decked him and kicked him in the balls."

"What?"

"He was a local gigolo and was being really rude to her."

He was almost giggling.

I sat back and couldn't say anything, I was in shock.

Dan appeared and grabbed Mike and hugged him tight.

"What's that for Dan?" Mike said.

"Oh just for looking after her, that's all."

"How's that coffee looking Squirt?" He said smiling at me.

"Coming up Mike, Dan do you want one?"

"Yes Codes, please."

By the time I got back, Jamie and Luke were there hugging Mike, they had
listened from their room.

Luke made coffee for them and we all just sat around looking at Mike in a
different light, what a hero.

"Oh" he said.

"That happened around eleven o'clock last night."

"Where the hell have you been since then Mike?" Luke asked.

"Ummm, losing my virginity three times Lukey baby."

"What?"

We all said.

"Well I was on a high and we went to another club, we hit it off and one
thing led to another, three times later I walked home."

"My poor baby, did she hurt you dear?"

Mrs L came out and hugged Mike.

"No mum and I got her phone number in Australia, she lives near Dan's place
so expect me to visit more often Codes."

He turned to Jamie and said,

"Sorry Jamie, I have to break it off with you, I'm going to be very busy
pumping out babies."

Just then his phone rang, it was Miss Australia wanting to hook up with him
today so he showered, dressed and left twenty minutes later smiling from
ear to ear.

The following weekend our family left for home, through lots of tears we
bid them farewell at the airport then drove back to the villa.

We hadn't seen Raphael at all, Gus said he was okay but felt he dishonoured
his Australian family, he had told Gus what happened.

He thanked us for talking to him and thought we might have had an impact on
him, apparently he had enrolled at university to do environmental studies.

Well something right came out of it.

We packed our bags for our trip to Milan tomorrow and I was so excited for
Dan and I. We were all alone, the house felt empty so we went and had
dinner down the road. When we got home we did a fair bit of nude swimming,
interrupted by a wonderful passionate lovemaking session on the pool
lounge. I washed Dan all over with my tongue then sat in his lap while he
made love to me. Awesome.

We slept well and were both up very early, the driver would be here soon. I
didn't know what to pack I was so excited, Dan took over and packed one
suitcase saying if we needed anything else we would buy it. He then made
coffee and we sat by the pool and waited.The flight was awesome, it was a
Gulfstream jet and Dan was blown away by it. I said to him after he came
back from the flight deck,

"Forget it Dan, it won't fit in the garage but I will help you out if you
want to join the mile high club." I wiggled my eyebrows towards the
bathroom and he didn't think twice as he grabbed my hand and pulled me into
it.

A limo met us at the other end and took us to this magnificent villa atop a
hill, it was huge. A butler showed us to our room that was the size of
Dan's apartment almost. He told us that Vincenzo had appointments but we
were to shower and change and then we would be taken to the headquarters to
meet him in an hours time.

I was so nervous as we were driven up to the front of this large building
with Armani displayed across the front door. Vincenzo met us in the foyer
and it was like meeting an old friend, he took us to the showroom first
where they were setting it up for the gala tomorrow. I was surprised at the
lack of Hollywood hype, it was simple and very tasteful.

We met his assistant and she directed us to the backstage area which was
loaded up with racks of clothes for the parade, I flipped through and saw
some of my designs among them. She said they were using ten of my items, I
nearly broke down and thanked them both. She added, "Cody, we are launching
a new range for the european and asian markets only so these won't be
available in Australia or America. A new exciting designer has come to our
attention so half of the event will be about his designs and our new
venture, we feel there's a market for it out there."

I wished them luck and said I couldn't wait to see the launching then
Vincenzo said, "Let's go home Cody, we have a party to attend tonight,
nothing lavish just something casual by the pool and a barbecue with a few
friends. Unfortunately Marcel can't be with us, he has pressing business in
Paris and I miss him terribly." Dan said, "Well message him and tell him
that."

"Already seven times Dan and he only left this morning." He giggled.

I smiled at Dan and secretly sent him a message, I love you. He replied,
not as much as I love you. We continued that all afternoon and mostly into
the night. It was fun, and I noticed Vincenzo doing the same.

His friends were wonderful, so casual and down to earth, among them were
some stunning guys, I figured they were models. Vince said they were here
to do the parade, they were some of the best in the world. I told him they
didn't have an inch on my Dan, he was the best in the universe as far as I
was concerned. We laughed and he said he had checked him out on the
internet and he agreed he was a great model and he did think about hiring
him for the parade but thought it was a bit rude to ask because we were on
vacation. I said thank you for the thought but I didn't think Dan was
interested in working while on holidays.

Dan was getting friendly with a tall dark headed model who had flawless
skin and looked beautiful in his shorts and tank top, like the others he
was posing all night. He leaned into Dan and said something to him, Dan
blushed and walked away towards me. He looked at him as he closed his arms
around my waste, and kissed my neck. Later that night Mr Model tried again
so Dan took my hand walked me over and said to him, "Why would I settle for
second best when I already have the best looking guy in the world, go play
with your mates, they seem as plastic as you are." The model shrugged and
turned away looking for another unsuspecting victim.

Vince apologised and said, "Sorry guys, I have to use them but I'm afraid
they become very snobbish when they hit the big time. Don't believe all you
read in the fashion pages, if I had my way I would prefer ten men like Dan
and you Cody to do the show but unfortunately contracts are hard to break.

The night ended and we ad went to bed early as we were tired. The next
morning we were taken to Armani, to be preened and styled for the press.

We took our front row seats and settled in to watch the show, it was
awesome and I took in everything. Mr model was good at his job, he winked
at Dan like he was some old lost friend, Dan looked away blushing.

"I can't stand this Codes, I want to go home." I said, "It will be over
soon Dan, I miss our family also." I knew what he meant by his comment.

Then the big announcement came over the speakers. Armani's new european
range. "Ladies and gentlemen, Armani would like to introduce our new
collection, Rory teen."

I looked at Dan gasping, he was as struck numb as I was, on stage were all
Rory's designs and the speaker spruced about a new australian discovery,
Rory along with the Cody Mitchell line, they expected it to be a european
hit.

(And it was). The cameras didn't stop for the next hour then Vincenzo came
on stage and thanked the models, the designers and introduced me. I stood
up my legs wobbling, then he said, "And now Rory." I looked and saw this
beautiful boy walk with a very slight limp on stage, he waved at the
audience who went wild.

I looked at Dan and said, "Is that our Rory, Dan?" He said, "Yes and
lookout here he comes Squirt." Rory ran up the catwalk and jumped off the
stage, he then swept us up in a big hug. He had grown some, I cried into
his neck as it was so good to see him. He just smiled from ear to
ear. "Surprise" He said.

"What's happening Rory?"

"Oh not much Codes, Jaques flipped over my clothes, he said it was exactly
what Armani were looking for and we did an awesome deal. They flew me here
because they knew you would be in town. I have an open ticket so if you
don't mind can I come stay with you in Spain for a few days?"

"Can you? Of course you can then we can all fly home together."

We caught up on all the gossip and Vince suggested we should to go home and
eat, he would catch up later as he had a lot of interviews to do.

We caught a cab back to the Villa and talked non stop for hours.

Rory began to yawn and it was late so we decided to hit the beds.

Dan and I made love and nestled in for the night,

"Codes."

"Yes Dan."

"Codes what did you mean when you said we can fly back together?"

"Oh Dan I was going to talk to you about that, I really want to go home
when Rory does, I miss our family but if you want to go on to London we can
do that also."

"It's okay Codes, I'm a bit homesick too so let's go home."

"Good, I will ring mum tomorrow and let her know we can go to England maybe
next year."

"It's good having Rory here, we will have to make sure he has a good four
days, maybe we could take him to our restaurant?" Dan said.