Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2004 16:47:54 -0700 (PDT)
From: Evan Bradely <evanbradley33@yahoo.com>
Subject: Chapter 32 of "The Crew"

The following fictional story deals with sex among males.  If you are
offended by such material, are too young, or reside in a location where it is
not allowed, depart in peace. Though not observed in this story, please care
enough about yourself and humankind to practice safe sex.

The author retains all rights.
EvanBradley33@Yahoo.com

Chapter 31
Linked Fortunes

                       Les Proctor's Law Office

Boyd was silent as Hal drove them into the city after being summoned to Les's
office concerning Boyd's bogus arrest.  "It's going to be okay, Boyd," Hal
reassured him.  Boyd just shook his head rapidly in the affirmative but looked
out the side window.  They rode on in silence.  Hal knew that each mile they
traveled increased Boyd's dread of what awaited him both in the immediate and
long-term future.

"Look at me, Boyd."  The young man slowly turned his somber visage toward Hal,
who would momentarily move his eyes to his passenger and then back to the road
then back to Boyd.  His heart wrenched when he looked at that handsome, frozen,
lonely face.  "I hope by now you realize you aren't alone anymore.  It won't be
just you and I there.  All the crew will be there with us.  You're one of us
now.  And when we return to the site, nothing will have changed.  You will
still be one of us."

Boyd shook his head in the affirmative, turning to stare ahead.  Hal knew Boyd
either wasn't buying what he'd said or was so worried that Hal's words didn't
register.  After several turns, the last one into an office-building parking
lot, Hal eased the pickup into a parking space.  The two didn't waste any time
locking up the truck and walking to the office building, through the glass doors
and over to the elevators.  They had a car to themselves as Hal punched "5,"
sending the car silently upwards.  Disembarking from the elevator, Hal turned
left with Boyd following, both turning again at the end of that hall.  Half way
down Hal opened an office door with Les Proctor's name on it.  Inside, Hal
marched up to a blond hunk sitting behind a reception desk.  "Hello, Carlyle."

"Hal Winston!  What a pleasure!"

"Carlyle, meet Boyd Reynolds, a new client of Les's.  Boyd, meet Carlyle
Madsen."  Boyd and Les's secretary shook hands.

"Go on in, guys.  Les and Tom are waiting for you."  Both Hal and Boyd noticed
Carlyle's eyes sweeping over their bodies, checking them out.  Undoubtedly,
Carlyle was one of "the family."

Hal opened the office door, and the handsome man behind the desk arose, walking
around to greet them, a smile on his face.  He and Hal threw their arms about
one another, rocking in a brotherly hug.  Boyd stared.  Les Proctor was a stud.
One didn't know how, with a name like Proctor, Italian genes somewhere in his
heritage had carved out such a handsome man.  He had perfect black, curly,
gelled hair that caught the light, reflecting it back at various points.  A
broad, smooth forehead set off intelligent, blue eyes with lighter black brows
arching over them.  Somehow his eyes conveyed that a laugh was incipient.  One
had only to say the right word to trigger it.  His jaw and chin were softly
square, his nose a perfect balance to eyes and mouth.  His lips were on the
thin side, and a faint five o'clock shadow was already apparent on his cheeks.
Whereas one might have expected patrician hands, Les's were those of a workman.
Hal had decided long ago that they must owe to Proctor genes.  Les carried a
nice set of shoulders, a mounded chest, and a thin waist.  His smile was warm
and genuine.

'He could pass for a prince,' Boyd thought.

Hal introduced Boyd, who was caught up in one of his typical stares when
confronted by the new, sexy, or radical.  He hesitated before moving his hand
toward Les's, blushing slightly before such a hunk.  Both Les and his other
guest noticed Boyd's reaction, detecting that Boyd was inexperienced in being
around gay men.

Les gestured toward his other guest, a tall black police officer.  Tom
Halstead's looks were the sort to command the attention of others.  His short
black hair was cut close to his head, appearing more like a skullcap than a head
of hair.  He was neither menacing nor ingratiating in his looks and manner.  But
his intense black eyes immediately captured those of anyone caught in his gaze,
holding them, probing deeply, assessing, causing one almost to miss the smooth
expanse of Tom's forehead.  Black brows slanted down toward a wide nose, under
which a thin moustache arched over his moderately wide and eminently kissable
lips.  His jaw was square, but then sloped smoothly to a respectable, round chin.
The shoulders on the man!  They seemed like wings.  With such shoulders, his
chest was wide and muscular.  Flat stomach and a waist that bespoke strength.
Muscular thighs tested the trousers of his uniform.  In contrast to Les, Tom
possessed more delicate fingers and wide hands.

Hal shook Tom's hand, smiling, his eyes twinkling as he commented that he was
always happy to meet a GOOD friend of Les's.  The corners of Tom's mouth
twitched with the beginnings of a smile before he shut it down.  Boyd shook
Tom's hand, his eyes captured by Tom's.  As Tom shook the young man's hand, he
felt it shaking a little, causing those hard brown eyes to lose their edge.  He
saw a young man who just might be at the end of his rope.  Boyd's haunted eyes
told Tom that the young man hadn't been happy for a long time.  There weren't
any lights there, suggesting that he had no "lights" in his life.  What a shame
to find such a fellow in his present jam.  He could imagine about five
scenarios, anyone of which would leave a young man as defeated as this one.

Les gestured to chairs in front of his desk.  Years of working with clients had
taught Les to assess their emotional state before launching into business.  Boyd
was wound tight, he realized.  "Boyd, I'm not going to ask you to recap what
happened."  The men saw Boyd's shoulders relax immediately, testifying to his
relief that he wouldn't have to expose his foolish behavior before these
experienced men.  They didn't have to guess on how much he was beating up on
himself.  "Hal has filled me in, and as soon as I called Tom and explained your
situation, he named two rookies as likely candidates for what is clearly an
entrapment situation.  Tom, maybe I should let you take over the discussion
here."  Les's smile for Tom was imbued with more than a professional mien.  The
smile Tom returned was dazzling, not just because of his white teeth but also
because of his feelings for Les.  Any gay man would have understood immediately.
Hal appreciated how open they were being before Boyd.  He doubted they were so
transparent with most other people.

"Oscar Rasmussen and Tye Forsyth!" Tom stated.  "We had some complaints almost
as soon as the two hit the streets.  What with a couple of unexpected
retirements and injured officers, we're a little short handed on the night
shifts, so we had to take the unusual step of putting them out by themselves
instead of assigning them to veteran officers.  They were chosen because of
fairly good scores in their academy classes.  We gave them a beat that we didn't
think would produce problems.  But we had two complaints, widely separated,
about the two seeming to lead citizens into behavior that made them legally
vulnerable.  Of course, these are the only instances we heard about.  We figured
there were more hassled citizens out there who were not going to call in to
complain to the police department about two of its officers.  The complaints
were nothing for which the two young officers could be disciplined - not until
you, Boyd.  They made a mistake in entrapping and then arresting you and not
following procedure when they did so.  It was as though they didn't take the
arrest seriously.  So we finally had what we needed to deal with them."

"Oh man," Boyd said, not certain if he should feel relieved.  "Am I going to
have to go to court?"

"No," Tom answered.  "The city attorney would laugh us out of City Hall if we
brought such a case forward to be prosecuted.  There's no way she would take
this case into court.  She's running for re-election this year.  She won't want
to have touchy issues forced on her.  Besides, if that hadn't worked in our
favor, there was another recourse.  Our "family" is more numerous that you might
imagine.  Many of our brothers who worked their way into positions of power
learned a long time ago how to work behind the scenes to effect full justice
when possible.  I can't understand what made those two rookies think this arrest
would play.  I studied their records from their academy training.  They're a
couple of hotdogs, always pushing the envelope, always taking the aggressive
approach.  Oscar didn't fare well in our diversity course, especially when it
moved into sexual orientation.  His instructor noted that Oscar might need more
training since he evinced marked homophobic tendencies.  In that respect, he's
probably like many of our older officers.  We find the younger officers more
tolerant.  Oscar's the guy that waited for Tye to finish with you, Boyd.  Oscar
isn't ever going to be the highest watt light bulb in a pack.  Anyone else would
figure out that Tye is a closet case.  Oscar follows Tye's lead, so we suspect
that Tye saw an opportunity to get free blowjobs but not have to come out of the
closet for them. I myself wonder if Oscar isn't attracted to Tye but unable to
admit it.  Tye wears the pants in that duo.  He apparently decided that, if they
took a soft approach by not cuffing you and embarrassing you publicly, you'd go
along, showing up in court, pleading guilty, and taking a slap on the wrists.
It makes me angry that they cared little about the record of you that would
leave behind - all so Tye could have his kicks and Oscar his satisfaction."

"I'm probably asking an improper question, but what is the police department
going to do to them?" Boyd responded.

"Since it's a personnel matter, I have to be careful what I tell you, but after
what you've been through, you deserve some answers.  Their captain reamed them
out good for such an arrest.  I won't be violating any confidence when I tell
you that they will never work together again.  Each one will also be assigned
to a veteran officer who will guide him into more tolerant stances.  And they
have been warned to clean up their act in specific ways or be bounced from the
force.  Those specific ways I can't identify.  As you can guess, they will be
returning to certain courses at the academy to reinforce the directives given
them.  Oh yeah, expect to receive a letter of apology from each one.  The issue
for which they are apologizing won't be specified.  It'll be something like
being discourteous, but they and you will know to what it refers.  If a case
isn't going to court, their captain always makes his men apologize in writing
for what he considers breaches of professionalism."

The men sat in silence for a bit.  "Is that it?" Boyd asked Les, smiling for
the first time.

"That's it, Boyd."

Boyd arose, offering his hand to Officer Halstead and thanking him warmly for
his help.  Tom immediately snaked an arm around Boyd, pulling him into a hug.
Boyd's head slowly sank onto Tom's shoulder as his body seemed to melt against
the officer's.  "It's going to get better, buddy," Tom whispered, making certain
his breath tickled Boyd's ear.  "Trust me."  Les smiled his approval to Tom.
Finally Tom released Boyd, smiling a farewell.  Boyd turned to Les.  "How much
do I owe you?"

"Not a thing," Les replied.  "All I did was listen to your tiresome boss and
call Tom."

"Ya, ya, ya," Hal shot back at Les, but he was smiling and winked as he did so.
The men shook hands all around as Boyd and Hal took their leave.

On the ride back, Hal asked how Boyd was feeling.  "Really great, Hal.  It's
funny.  This arrest frightened the you-know-what right out of me, but somehow it
revealed that everything you've said about our family is true."  Hal smiled when
he heard the "our family," for it meant Boyd was accepting them as just that.
"I'm not alone anymore.  I do feel less lonely.  I'm not going to miss college
classes as quickly as I thought."

"That's great, Boyd.  Every word and gesture we all made was directed toward
making you one of us."

They rode on in silence as Hal drove to the suburbs.  "Um-m-m-m, Hal, may I ask
you a question?"

"Shoot."

"Would you mind if Yuki and I dated?"

Hal shot Boyd a big smile.  "Of course not.  Besides, that's for Yuki to decide,
not me."

"Do you think I have a chance with Yuki?  I mean, do you think he'd be
interested in a guy like me?"

"What do you mean by 'a guy like me'?"

"You know - a dull farm boy.  I'm ignorant of all the music he likes.  He
probably likes to party a lot, club on weekends.  I think he's a lot more
experienced sexually than I am.  Hell, who am I kidding?  I'm not experienced at
all, or I'd never have gotten in this trouble.  Anyway, I don't know about any
of that stuff in his life."

"Before I answer your question, tell my why you are drawn to Yuki."

"You won't laugh?"

"I don't know what you are going to say, Boyd.  If I do laugh, it will probably
be with delight or happiness.  I won't be laughing AT you."

"Okay.  Here goes."  Boyd sucked in a breath.  "He's so exotic.  I've never
known anyone like him.  No, that's not what I mean.  I've never known anyone
Asian, but I like those guys."

Boyd was silent for a bit.  "Is that all?" Hal asked.

"No.  This will be kind of embarrassing."

"Boyd, we're gay men.  You won't say anything I haven't said to someone at
sometime about Drew Nichols, my guy."

Boyd pulled in a breath. "I've never known any Asian guys, but I love looking at
them and fantasizing about them."

"That's all?  Just that his heritage is Asian?"

"No.  I like his looks.  I like his body.  I want to feel it all over." Hal shot
a glance at his partner.  Sure enough - Boyd was blushing.  "I want to hold him
in my arms.  Pick him up and carry him to my bed.  I want to run my fingers
through his fine, straight black pubes and hold that dusky, hard cock.  I want
to suck on it and make him moan . . . and call out my name.  I want to caress
that sexy little ass.  I want to make passionate love to him.  I want him to
smile at me wickedly the way he does Kenji and Max, to think thoughts about me
as he does of them.  I've imagined what it would be like for him to love me.  I
want it.  I need it.  I'd be so happy if I had it."  Boyd paused for some
seconds.  "Oh-h-h-h no.  Do you think he's a top?  I'm a top. . . . I guess
two tops could have a relationship, but it might be troubled."

Hal smiled.  "I'd venture a guess that Yuki is a total bottom.  Doesn't mean he
wouldn't top if given the opportunity or if you asked him to do so, but it's
fairly safe to say, I think, that Yuki is no top.  Besides, if you two fall in
love, you'll work it out. . . Boyd, I'm a little worried.  It sounds as though
you have fallen in love with Yuki's ethnicity, not Yuki the man.  I assume you
see him as a man?"

"Oh yeah, and I know I haven't expressed myself well, Hal.  I know if I'm just
pursuing a type, I won't find happiness, and I will only bring him pain.  But I
also think it's possible that the type Yuki represents may give us a real
chance.  If I can date him, I can get to know the man.  I sort of have an idea
of the man, working around him as I have, but that's different from dating.  So
I'll ask again, do you think I have a chance with him?"

"Yes, Boyd, of course you do.  For all the deficiencies you think you possess,
you also possess some winning attributes.  You are a handsome, sexy man.  I
don't think you harbor an evil or hurtful impulse.  You're careful and stable,
all qualities that Yuki needs.  And Yuki is obviously taken with you."

"He is?" Boyd asked as though the thought had never occurred to him.

"Are you kidding?" Hal looked at Boyd, disbelief written all over his face.

"No," Boyd answered softly, looking with puzzlement at Hal.

"I've caught him looking at you when you're working.  I've noticed that he works
differently when you are nearby.  He's more focused, more deliberate, less
likely to take momentary breaks, to kibitz, to look around.  When we're at the
gym, he stops just short of grandstanding for you and letting you view his body.
I'm not complaining about the way he works, mind you.  He's acclimating nicely
to our work.  But he's a 'young 18,' not a veteran of work.  Yeah, I'd say he'd
jump at the chance for a date with you."

"Okay."

"Boyd, a word of advice - when you date Yuki, just be yourself.  He's got a
better fix on you than you have on him.  You are what HE wants.  You'll
disappoint him if you come on like some guy you've decided he wants.  You are
just fine the way you are.  That's what he wants."

Boyd was silent long enough that Hal knew another potentially embarrassing
question was coming.  "Hal, I really don't know that much about sex.  If he
wants me to top, he'll expect me to take the lead.  I know I'm going to mess up
there."

"No you won't, Boyd.  Just let him feel all that passion for him I heard in your
voice a bit ago.  Ask questions if you aren't certain if he's liking something.
Even though he's probably a bottom, he's probably a firecracker in bed.  He'll
add himself to what you're doing.  He'll want it to be as good for you as you
want it to be for him.  I can assure you that you two will have it worked out
in record time.  I expect you'll be a couple overnight."

"Thanks, Hal.  I needed to talk to someone about this.  Thanks for being my
big brother."  Hal and Boyd swapped grins.

"Anytime, little brother."

They rode on for a few more blocks.  "If I'm out of line asking this, tell me
so," Boyd said.  "But my guess is that you and Drew loved each other, but you
didn't work it out.  How do you know Yuki and I will?"

"The real answer is that no one knows how you two will fare.  It's really up to
you.  Puppy love will make you goofy and sweet for a while.  Then the challenges
will start, each one testing how committed you are to each other.  As long as
you keep talking and working out your differences, your relationship will
deepen."

"M-m-m-m, you don't have to answer because it's really nosy of me, but why
haven't Drew and you been able to do that - to put it back together?"  Boyd
hastened to add, "I've heard the other guys talking about it.  They really want
you two to be reunited."

They rode in silence for a while as Hal mulled over an answer.  "After something
bad has happened in your early life - losing someone you love, I mean, you work
through all those stages of shock, denial, grieving - all that.  Finally, you
think you've buried it.  You've certainly moved on to other places anyway.
That's what we are supposed to do with dead stuff - bury it, let go, and move
on.  That's what I thought I'd done.  Then I literally stumbled on Drew.  He
touched so many of my hot points."  Hal grinned.  "You remember my telling you
all about the crew helping me bag Drew and how our relationship grew.   I knew I
was in love.  No one was more shocked than I to discover that a former love
popped back into my life in the person of Brett.  I found out I'd never really
gotten over Richie Collins.  As I described him to you, Brett was no prince
among men.  Just the opposite.  He was an arrogant, graspy, greedy schemer.  The
crew saw it; I didn't.  As you've heard, he arranged it so that Drew saw us in
bed together."

"Whew!  I remember.  And I thought I was caught in a tight spot." Boyd
exclaimed, looking at Hal wide-eyed.

"Drew disappeared from all of us.  Holed up in his home for a week, suffering.
It was my fault.  I never ever wanted to hurt Drew.  But I had reached for what
I thought was my due - Richie Collins.  And I was such a dope.  Brett continued
his poisonous ways.  Some of the crew tried to warn me.  I refused to hear
anything negative about him.  Meantime, the crew hatched a plot to pull Drew
back in with them."  Hal pulled over into a parking spot and shut the engine
off.  "I love those guys so much for taking care of Drew because I certainly
wasn't doing anything.  I was paralyzed with guilt when it came to Drew, so I
just didn't allow myself to think about him much at all - only when something
forced me to do so."

Hal paused, breathed out a sigh of defeat.  "My fogginess ended when I found
Brett fucking Gwen Thomas.  I told you about that sorry mess.  I went through
meltdown the way Drew did.  Then I started thinking about him again.  Imagine
how you'd feel if you'd hurt Yuki like that."

"It would take a ton of forgiveness, wouldn't it?" Boyd uttered.

"Yes.  I think we are about there.  I've been trying to reconnect with Drew.
But this won't happen to you and Yuki - at least not the way it did with us.
Oh, you'll have guys who will angle after one of you or the other.  You both are
desirable men.  If you work at it and are understanding, you'll end up like the
other stable couples in the crew.  I hope by that time that Drew and I will
number among them."

"I think I know what Drew is for you now.  What are you for Drew?"

Hal cocked his head to the side in surprise, thinking.  "Damn, man, that's a
good question.  I've never really thought about it from that angle before.  I
was always in the lead, always running the show, always making decisions for us.
Hm-m-m-m-m.  Doesn't sound good now. . . .What do you think I am to Drew?"

"I've only been with Drew and you at the gym.  I haven't seen you two in any
other social setting, so I can't really say much about his desires in regard to
you.  I have seen that he watches you a lot when he thinks he's not on others'
radar screens.  Do you know that he can't help smiling when he's watching you,
whether you are working out or teasing or chatting up the guys?"  Boyd chuckled.
"He gets a boner too."

Hal laughed happily.  "Hey now, you been checkin' out my man?"

"Why not?  You been checkin' out mine," Boyd shot back, mimicking the tone of
Hal's voice.  The two men shared a chuckle.

"And?" Hal signaled Boyd to continue.

"You finally realize that Drew can be strong.  I'd like to see him in his
corporation sometime.  I'd like to see him behaving professionally.  I know
he'd be a bit awesome."

"No 'bit,' Boyd.  He's awesome.  And he is strong.  Since I've been trying to
rebuild a foundation for us to have a new relationship, he hasn't cut me any
slack.  I've understood that if it's important to me, then I'll have to do it.
He's not taking me on faith anymore."

"But I think he wants you to be the lead.  I think he wants to shelter in your
love. . . . When I was the older brother, my brothers were that way sometimes,
especially Mat, my youngest.  When I realized that, I understood that I
sometimes wanted that too.  I didn't want to be the strong, big-brother type all
the time.  That's why Andy Norton, my high school boyfriend, and I hit it off.
He wanted to be the lead because he usually wasn't at school or in sports.  And
I wanted to feel what it was like not to be top dog.  He was really good for me
that way.  It wasn't important to him to force his superior position on me once
I gave it to him.  He used it to make me feel accepted, valued.  I think we'd
really have had a chance in the future if my dad hadn't thrown me out.  I know
now I've lost him forever."

"How do you know that?"

"It's Andy and his family.  I'll bet a year's pay that he started dating someone
exclusively after my dad caught us and threatened to tell his parents.  He'll be
married before he finishes college.  I know his parents and their hold over
him. . . Now that I think about it, my parents would have been the same had Dad
allowed me to stay.  It saved me from Andy's fate.  I know Andy will never
forget us.  But he'd never wait and seek me out."

Boyd was silent for a space.  "What I see is that Drew wants that from you - to
let you take the lead.  But you may have to think of something really creative
to get him to trust you on that point.  So you are a chance for him to
experience a different role with all its different nuances.  I KNOW he want to
give you love, look after you, care for you.  You can see that when you two are
close together.  I don't know anything about his early life.  But I believe he
still views you as his future happiness.  So if I ask Yuki for a date when we
get back to the site, why don't you call Drew and ask him too.  Let's do it
together, you know - start down the road to love and happiness together?  In
fact, since it's a sensitive time for us, why don't we double date?  I know it
sounds 'high school,' but it could be fun too.  We could have a quick dinner and
go to a Renegades game together.  Then we can go our separate ways - for
exploration of possibilities," Boyd suggested, a salacious grin spreading across
his face.

A wry grin on Hal's face answered Boyd's.  "How old are you?  You're too good
looking to sound so wise," Hal teased.  For the first time since Hal had met
him, Boyd's laughter was full of joy.

(To be continued.)

With delirious gratitude for contributions from Medfly, Drew Hunt, and Rye
Encoke.