Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2007 14:13:15 -0800 (PST)
From: Mickey S <njmcmick@yahoo.com>
Subject: Wrong Turn, Chapter 17

If you are under age, or live in an area where reading stories that include
sex between males is illegal, or if you're not into this type of story,
please leave. This is a fictional story that takes place in a world where
everything is safe. In the real world where many things are not, the
characters would take precautions. Please respect yourself and others
enough to always play safe.

If you have read any of my previous stories you will know that I tend to be
a romantic with a bent toward happy endings. This story starts out as a
potential romance but is one that takes a wrong turn, or so it seems. And
as for the ending, you'll just have to read on. The author retains all
rights.  No reproductions or links to other sites are allowed without the
author's consent. Comments are appreciated at NJMcMick@yahoo.com.

Chapter 17

I called Matt the next morning to give him the news about Jose. I figured
now that everything was out in the open he could hurry up the divorce. He
was quiet as I told him about Jose's visit to the bar but surprised me when
he responded to my suggestion that now he should press for a quick divorce.

"Actually, I was thinking just the opposite. It's all about negotiating the
financial settlement now. You're in no hurry because the divorce will only
make a negative change in your life. Right now you're covering the
household expenses and giving Anne a generous stipend but the rest of your
income is yours and you still control your investments. After the divorce
you'll be much worse off. And it's not like you're in any hurry. You and
Carlos aren't planning to run out and get married as soon as you're free,
are you?"

"I'd love to if we could, but I see your point. And now that Carlos and I
can be open about our relationship he can move into the hotel with me, so
we don't have to wait for the divorce for that."

"And it will give me time to try to dig up a little dirt on Anne and Chaz
down in North Carolina."

"I don't think you're going to find anything there. Even if they are having
an affair Anne is such a stickler for 'proper' social appearances that
they'd probably keep it very well hidden."

"Speaking of social appearances, I have another idea. I'll drop a hint that
you and Carlos intend to live in the city, but if the financial settlement
is too punitive you probably wouldn't be able to afford that, so maybe
you'd look for a place the two of you could afford in the suburbs, such as
Middletown."

"Oh, that would kill her, having the two of us living in her
neighborhood. Not that we could afford that neighborhood but there's plenty
of cheaper housing close by. And you could let her know that I'm eager for
all of our friends to meet Carlos."

"Okay, I'll get in touch with her side and start the negotiations. I'll let
you know how it goes. In the meantime, relax and enjoy your little hottie."

Carlos moved into the hotel at the end of the week. At the same time I
switched from my room to a small suite. It wasn't that much larger but it
gave us an extra closet and room to move around without bumping into each
other. Even though he'd been spending several nights each week with me, it
was so nice to wake up with him every morning knowing that that was where
he belonged. And I was sure it was a good feeling for him not to have to
live out of a suitcase anymore, running back and forth between the rooming
house and the hotel.

A month passed and Matt had no progress to report in his negotiations. He'd
offered Anne the house and half of everything else, including my salary,
but she wanted more. She was determined to make me pay until it hurt. I was
just as determined not to offer any more. If I was going to give up my
share of the house I needed at least part of the rest of our assets to
start my life over. So we were at a stalemate, but as Matt had said, that
situation wasn't a problem for me. As much as I wanted it to be over with
Anne, I felt I could hold out forever. I figured sooner or later she'd want
to be free of me and get tired of living off an allowance set by me.

Carlos began the training program to become an investment fund manager. He
seemed to be a natural at it, soaking up and retaining the information he
was taught. It was good to see him so enthusiastic about his job after
watching him plod along in the mailroom for so long. He'd always maintained
a good attitude no matter what he was doing but now he was genuinely
excited. The fact that he was making a lot more money didn't hurt, either.

We settled into a comfortable routine, still dropping by Rick's for a drink
after work even though it wasn't very convenient, exploring new
restaurants, spending an evening at the Eagle now and then. And we went to
the private club once a week, often when they had a special theme
party. When there was sexual activity there, we usually joined in, at
Carlos' direction. He never let me forget he was in charge on those
occasions, and sometimes pushed me to try kinky things I never would have
on my own. Sometimes I enjoyed them and sometimes I just tolerated them
because he enjoyed them. Even if the activity itself wasn't something I
liked, I liked doing it with and for Carlos. In the rest of our life things
were more equal, although when we had a difference of opinion things
usually ended up the way Carlos wanted.

The second week of March our entire life was turned upside down yet
again. One morning I'd been at work about half an hour when I had a call
from Stephen Garrison's secretary, requesting that I report to his office
immediately. While Stephen was vice-president of my department and I'd sat
in on several meetings led by him and run into him on a few social
occasions, the only time I had been to his office was the spring before
when he'd informed me of my promotion. I wasn't up for another promotion so
I couldn't imagine why he wanted to see me. When I walked into his office
he looked anything but happy. He was staring at the flat screen monitor on
his desk and working his keyboard and mouse. He glanced up at me and waved
to a chair so I sat down. Finally he focused his attention on me.

"I received a very disturbing email this morning, Peters. Very disturbing."
He swiveled the monitor around and there was a photo of Carlos fucking me
on the bed in the apartment. Both of our faces were clearly identifiable as
was his cock in my ass. Stephen clicked the mouse and another picture
appeared, this one of me sucking Carlos. I sat frozen in my chair.

"I don't consider myself a prude and I would like to think I'm tolerant
about what two consenting adults do in private, but that doesn't mean I
want to see it." He shut off the monitor. "This bank has a very strict
policy regarding sexual harassment, and a violation of that policy disturbs
me even more than having to view these pictures."

"Sexual harassment? What do you mean?" I was absolutely horrified at seeing
those pictures on his screen and was so glad he'd turned it off or I'd
never have been able to speak.

"Last summer, Carlos Fernandez posted for a position in our department. He
was turned down, mainly due to your negative comments about him. Recently
when he posted again, you gave him a glowing recommendation, the exact
opposite of last summer. How else am I supposed to view that, given these
photos? It certainly looks as though your opinion of his abilities changes
in direct relation as to whether or not he's having sexual relations with
you."

"But that's not what it was at all! I, um, er..." I didn't know what to
say. He was sleeping with me before and after both the negative and
positive recommendations. How could I explain that?

"Well, it sure looks to me as though you either pressured him to have sex
with you in order to get a good review, or he decided to sleep with you to
assure himself of a promotion. Either way, this would warrant an
investigation. Our policy on sexual harassment is clear. Not only won't we
tolerate any sexual shenanigans in the office, there can't even be the
appearance of such."

"Please don't blame Carlos. This isn't his fault."

Stephen studied me carefully. "I tend to believe that, given the other
picture that was sent to me." He switched the monitor back on and clicked
the mouse. A picture of me fucking Kyle in the woods appeared. Damn!

"Now I'm going to investigate any apparent impropriety in my department
anyway, but when I see that you are also molesting my nephew, you'd better
believe you're in trouble."

"I wasn't molesting him. Kyle is legally an adult."

"I don't care how old he, you're a lot older and you took advantage of
him. Or are you claiming this was his idea?"

I couldn't think of anything to say. How could I explain what had happened
in the woods with Jose, Carlos and Kyle without making myself look like a
depraved slut? And if I told him about Kyle's attempted blackmail and
Carlos' response, that would make both of them look just as bad. Carlos
could already be in trouble just from having sex with me. And Kyle had said
he wasn't out to his parents so even though this would out him to some
extent, I didn't want to make things any worse for him.

"Now my inclination is to turn this over to Human Resources for an
investigation into your affair with Carlos Fernandez, but there is an
alternative."

My ears perked up. I myself couldn't see any alternative to the disaster
facing me.

"If you were to resign, accepting full responsibility for the situation
with Mr. Fernandez, there would be no need for an investigation."

"But how would that help me?"

"Well, if it was determined that you were guilty of sexual harassment,
you'd be fired. Resigning would be far better for your career. On the other
hand, if our investigation concluded that Mr. Fernandez had taken advantage
of you, he would be the one who was fired. Of course, being used that way
still wouldn't look good on your record, so either way your future here
would be in doubt. I'll give you 24 hours to think about it. If your
resignation is on my desk tomorrow morning, I'll drop the matter as far as
your relationship with Mr. Fernandez is concerned."

I was stunned. Seeing those pictures and realizing how they made me look
was bad enough, but the idea of losing my job just blew me away.

"Of course, there's still the matter of my nephew. Whatever you decide to
do here, I will have to discuss this with my sister, her husband and
Kyle. If I feel there was any coercion at all on your part I'll do
everything I can to ensure that they report it to the authorities."

"You have no reason to believe me or do me any favors, but please talk to
Kyle alone before you bring his parents into it."

"That sounds like you do have something to hide."

"No, believe me I don't, but I think that whatever Kyle has to say, it's up
to him whether or not he wants to tell his parents about this." I sure
didn't want to take the blame for what I'd done with Kyle but I hated to
out him any more than the picture already had.

"I'll do what I think is right as far as my family is concerned. You think
about what you're going to do about this job. I'll expect your answer
tomorrow morning."

I was in a daze all the way back to my office. My whole world had just
blown up and I couldn't even think straight. I was surprised that I'd been
able to have any kind of conversation with Stephen at all. As soon as I got
to my desk I called Carlos on his cell phone. He was in a training session
so his phone was off, but I left a message asking him to come to my office
on his break.

Twenty minutes later his head appeared around the corner of my doorway,
that little smile on his face. That alone made me feel better, although not
very much.

"You look really agitated, Ry. What's the matter?"

I got up and closed the door, then took a deep breath and told him about my
little meeting. His eyes just got wider and wider as I talked.

"That fucking Jose! I really thought we were done with his meddling."

"I assume it was him although I have no idea how he knew where to send the
pictures."

"He has access to my address book on the computer at the apartment and that
included all kinds of people here at the office. And since Anne told him
about Mr. Garrison he knew just who to send the pictures to. I'm surprised
he waited so long."

"Do you think I should call Kyle and warn him? I feel bad that he's going
to get caught in the middle of all of this."

"Let me call him. You have to protect yourself here. If they suspect you of
having forced him to have sex then any contact you have with him will look
suspicious. So what are you going to do here?"

I sighed. "I don't know. I'll have to think about it but it doesn't look
like I have much of a choice."

"We both know you're not guilty of sexually harassing me and I sure didn't
sleep with you in order to get ahead here, so they can't prove anything."

"No, they can't prove us guilty of anything but there's no way either one
of us can come out of this looking good, especially if we fight them."

Carlos glanced at his watch. "Look, babe, I have to get back but we'll talk
about this at lunch and again after work. Try not to obsess about it. We'll
come up with something."

It didn't do any good to try not to think about it. The rest of my day was
shot. Carlos had some good news at lunch but it didn't help much.

"I called Kyle as soon as I left your office. I expected him to be in
school so I'd thought up a very carefully worded message to leave him. But
it turns out he's on vacation this week so he answered the phone."

"I'll bet he freaked when you told him about his uncle and the pictures."

"Well, he wasn't thrilled, but fortunately, depending on how you look at
it, things have changed somewhat for him since last fall. His parents
caught him with a guy a few months ago and even though they're totally
unaccepting, they know he's gay."

"So what's he going to say about me?"

"He doesn't want them to know he was trying to blackmail you so he said
he'd try to make it sound like it was a one-time thing, something that just
happened spontaneously and was totally mutual. His parents won't like it
but then there's nothing he could say to make them feel any better about
it."

"I hate to see him having problems because of this shit between Jose and
me. It's not fair to him."

"No, but then he did bring it on himself. If he'd dropped it after that
first time there wouldn't be any pictures of him. The ones that Jose took
with his phone didn't have Kyle's face in them, only yours."

"I still can't shake this feeling that everything is my fault, that I
brought all of this on myself and others through my stupidity and lust."

Carlos was quiet for a long moment and then spoke quietly. "I know we've
both been a little reckless at times, Ry, and I guess we could have been a
lot more careful, but I don't regret the way our relationship has
developed. I hope you aren't saying that you wish none of this had happened
between us."

"No, that's not what I'm saying. Meeting you is the best thing that ever
happened to me although I wish I'd been a little more attuned to what I
wanted so we didn't have to stumble so much through this period of
discovery. You're right that we should have been lots more careful, but
that's hindsight and we can't change the past. We just have to figure out
what to do now."

'That's right, Ry. And we will figure it out, together."

After work we talked about the situation over drinks at Rick's and
continued the conversation through dinner. It became more and more clear
that the only solution was for me to resign. I no longer had any hope for a
career at the bank anyhow. Carlos' future there didn't seem bright either,
but if I took full responsibility and quit he would at least still have a
job. And once he was fully trained and had a little experience he could
look elsewhere.

"So how do you think this is going to affect the divorce, Ry?"

"I don't really know but it looks like Anne shot herself in the foot this
time. It was her witness and her big mouth that caused this. She's been
holding out for more than half of my very large salary but it looks like
now she's going to be stuck with a share of nothing. Of course, I can't
just sit around and not work. I'll have to find something pretty quick but
even so there's no way I'm going to start out making what I am now."

"You don't have to, babe. Don't forget we're together and I'm making pretty
good money now. I can carry us for a while."

It was so good to hear Carlos talk about us being together and offering to
help support me if need be. Although he was making a lot more than he had
been in the mailroom it still wasn't close to what I made. He had no idea
how much I was giving up, but then money isn't everything. Especially since
a good chunk of whatever I made would be going to Anne.

When we got back to the hotel I wrote my letter of resignation. While I
would make it clear to Stephen when I gave it to him that I accepted full
responsibility for my actions and take any blame for my 'inappropriate'
relationship with Carlos, there was no way I was putting that in writing. I
merely said that I was resigning "to pursue other career options."

I hand delivered the letter to Stephen in the morning. He informed me that
he'd spoken to Kyle's parents and while he was satisfied that I hadn't
forced myself on his nephew and would let that matter drop, he made it
clear he had nothing but contempt for my actions all around. In my letter
I'd given four week's notice but he suggested I leave at the end of the
month, two weeks away.

When I got back to my office I called Matt to tell him what happened. While
waiting for him to come on the line I realized that since he was my lawyer
I probably should have consulted with him before making any decision but it
was too late for that now.

"Don't you ever have good news when you call me?"

"Well, losing my job sure isn't good news, but I think screwing Anne out of
a lot of alimony could be looked at as good."

"Nothing is ever as simple as that, Ryan. It may be clear to us that you've
lost your job due to Jose's actions brought on by Anne's interference, but
on the surface there's no proof of that. To anyone else it looks like
you're just walking out on a very good, very lucrative job, possibly to try
to get out of paying alimony. That may hurt you more than help you. You may
end up having to give up more of your assets to make up for the lower
alimony."

"That in itself should be proof that I wouldn't do this on purpose. No way
I'd want to do that! I had a great job with a fantastic salary. Even if
Anne got two-thirds of it I'd still be left with plenty to live on. Any new
job I get will pay so much less that I may not even be able to scrape by
after paying Anne. This hurts Anne but it hurts me too. No one could think
I'd do this on purpose."

"Well, our only witnesses are Jose and Stephen Garrison and both of them
are hostile to you. That doesn't mean they're going to lie under oath
though. I'm going to subpoena both of them and also get a copy of the email
that Jose sent to Stephen. That alone should prove that you were forced out
of your job."

"Nothing's ever easy, is it, Matt?"

"I'll admit your situation is more complicated than most divorces I've
worked on, but it's not that bad, Ryan. You and Anne are both going to end
up with less than you wanted but neither one of you will be
starving. You're young and have great earning potential. And Anne would
have to get a job sooner or later in any case."

"Yeah, she has her degree in fine arts and with her volunteer background
she shouldn't have any trouble getting a job with a museum or gallery. It
probably wouldn't pay all that much but it's the kind of thing she'd
enjoy."

"I'll get to work on the subpoenas and witness depositions but until you
have a new job we won't be able to have any substantive negotiations. I'll
keep you posted and you do the same."

I spent a good part of my last two weeks in the office explaining, or
rather trying to avoid explaining, why I was leaving so abruptly. Since I
didn't have anything else lined up my coworkers knew it had to be more than
just 'exploring what was out there.' I could do that without resigning. But
they all sensed that it was something I didn't want to talk about. They
knew I was going through a messy breakup with Anne and I hadn't talked much
about that, so maybe they thought I was having a very early mid-life
crisis.

I contacted the headhunter I'd put Carlos in touch with the previous
summer. He hadn't been able to do much for Carlos but with my resume he had
more to work with. In my first week of unemployment he had two interviews
lined up for me. By mid-spring I'd decided on a job with a firm that
handled investment funds for retirement plans. I wouldn't be a fund manager
as I had been, just an investment specialist, but it was similar to what I
had been doing. It was also almost exactly what Carlos was doing now at the
bank. Due to my experience I was making quite a bit more than him but I
thought it was ironic that we now held similar positions.

As soon as I started the new job Matt pushed forward with the
divorce. Since we hadn't been able to agree on a financial settlement, the
divorce court turned it over to arbitration. We both got to present our
case and then the arbitrator would impose a settlement which would be
announced at the final divorce hearing.

The hearing was set for the second week of June in the county courthouse in
Freehold. Carlos and I both took the day off from work. While I would have
loved for him to be at the hearing for moral support, I realized that would
be inappropriate. We drove down to the shore early and I dropped him off in
Asbury Park before heading west to Freehold. He said he wanted to explore
the town and we agreed to meet at our favorite restaurant for lunch after
it was all over.

I met Matt at a Starbuck's near the courthouse and we walked in
together. Anne and her attorney came in a few minutes later, accompanied by
Chaz. I immediately resented that she got to have someone for moral support
and I didn't, but knew there was a difference between Carlos and
Chaz. Carlos was the co-respondent in the case, the one who had supposedly
come between Anne and me, and Chaz was just, well, Chaz. Maybe they were
just friends, maybe they were more, but we hadn't been able to prove
anything. Anne glared at me and took a seat at the table opposite the one
Matt and I were sitting at. She and her attorney whispered to each other
until the judge came in.

He recited a bunch of legal mumbo jumbo and then got to the crux of the
matter -- the arbitrator's decision. There was no longer a question of Anne
keeping the house. With my new salary it would have been impossible for me
to support both her and the house. The arbitrator found me at fault for
having cheated on Anne and determined that I should be punished in the
settlement for that. He fortunately found Anne indirectly responsible for
causing me to lose my job so I wasn't further penalized for having tried to
cheat her out of alimony with my resignation. She ended up being awarded
two-thirds of the equity in the house as well as two-thirds of our other
investments and half of my retirement fund. She was also awarded half of my
new salary as alimony.

With the property distributed, the rest of the divorce proceeding was a
formality. I barely listened as the judge droned on. The attorneys did all
of the talking for both of us. Almost everything was done through
depositions and stipulation. At last the judge ended the hearing, declaring
the divorce final. There were some papers that Anne and I had to sign, but
it was over. I was a free man. Lots poorer, but free.

I called Carlos with the news as soon as I got to the car. In fifteen
minutes I was hugging him outside the restaurant. I told him generally how
things had gone as we were seated at a table in the corner of the main
dining room.

"So I can stop thinking of myself as the other woman now?"

I reached under the table and gave his ample package a squeeze. "Believe
me, Carlos, I've never thought of you as any kind of woman."

"And in spite of all of my references to your pussy, I consider you to be
all man as well."

Over lunch we talked about the financial settlement in actual dollar terms
and what that would mean to our living situation. For the several weeks
prior to the hearing we'd done some speculating and had looked around at
possible places to live based on what the outcome might be. Using a
fifty-fifty split of everything as our 'best case' scenario, we'd looked at
apartments and condos in Manhattan, Hoboken and Jersey City. Manhattan and
Hoboken were out of the question based on the morning's verdict. Jersey
City had some possibilities but we hadn't seen anything there that excited
either of us, especially in the price range that was now open to us.

After lunch we walked up to the boardwalk, passing Paradise and another
club on the way. The whole southern end of the city seemed to be under
construction. Asbury Park had been in a steady downturn for many years and
every effort to resurrect the city had failed, but it looked like maybe
they were finally turning the corner. There were a number of high rise
luxury condo buildings under construction or planned for the entire block
across the street from the boardwalk. We strolled along the boardwalk in
silence for a while, holding hands and enjoying the beautiful late spring
day. When we got to the northern end of town, past Convention hall, Carlos
stopped and leaned on the railing overlooking the beach.

"You know, Ry, we've talked a lot the past couple of months about where
we're going to live, but we haven't really talked about us, about where our
relationship is going and how we're going to live."

I tensed up. It was true that we hadn't talked at all about our feelings
toward one another. We'd made the decision a while back to take things
slowly and not push, and apparently part of that was not talking about it
either. The fact that he was bringing it up now made me nervous. Maybe he'd
waited until after all of my job and divorce issues were settled to tell me
things weren't working out for him. He'd never made a secret of his desire
to sow his wild oats for a long, long time, and maybe he was feeling
stifled by living with me and being with me all the time.

My tension must have been obvious because he turned to face me, put a hand
on either side of my face and pulled me down to his face, kissing me
lightly on the lips.

"Relax, babe, I'm not breaking up with you. If I wanted to do that I would
have done it back at the restaurant so you couldn't make a scene." He
grinned for a second but then his face grew serious. "I'm in love with you,
Ryan."

I nearly fell over. That was the last thing I expected him to say. I'd
known for months that I was in love with him, but never dared to dream that
he felt the same way. I knew that he had strong feelings for me but he was
also the hedonist, the guy who wanted to experience every type of physical
pleasure with as many other guys as possible. And he'd always said he had
no intention of settling down, not for a long time anyway. So many times,
whether in the throes of passion or afterward when we were just cuddling,
I'd had to bite my tongue so I wouldn't save the word love to him. I was so
sure I would scare him off if I told him how deeply I felt. And now he was
the first one to say it.

"Oh God, Carlos, you have no idea how happy that makes me to hear you say
that. I've been in love with you for so long but was afraid to say it."

"Yeah, I know. You don't exactly hide your feelings well. I haven't said
anything before because these feelings for you confuse me and scare me. I
keep telling myself that I'm too young, that I'm not ready to settle
down. There are so many things I haven't done or tried. But every minute
I'm with you is so great and I can't imagine not being with you always."

"Falling in love and committing to another person isn't exactly the end of
life, you know. As much as I've always taken it for granted that I was
basically monogamous, doing things with other guys with you hasn't been so
bad. In fact, it's fun sometimes. I know I'd be perfectly content to just
be with you, but until you're ready for that it wouldn't kill me to help
you explore the things you want to try."

"I can't promise you that someday we'll be monogamous 'cause that isn't
anything I ever aspired to, but then again I never dreamed I'd fall for
someone like I've fallen for you. I love everything we do together, whether
it's just you and me or if there are others involved. Maybe I'm just
immature and selfish, but I'm not ready to give up playing around with you
and other guys. But I do think I can commit to you as far as saying that
you're the one I want to be with, now and into the future. I love you and I
want you in my life, my whole life. If I'm going to be with another guy
sexually, it's got to be with you. Can you handle that for now?"

"I think so. I wasn't comfortable with it at first, like back at that first
sex party when I saw you with another guy and felt so lost, so jealous."

"I remember when you told me about it and I was surprised that you would
feel jealous, but what surprised even more was when I realized how much it
upset me that I had made you feel that way. From that time on I made sure
that you were always the center of whatever I was doing, and that's just
the way I wanted it."

"I know you said you were going to do that and I assumed it was just
something you were doing to make me feel better. And maybe you had to force
yourself keep your attention on me at first, but over time I saw that you
were always with me even when you were with someone else. There's a
connection between us that a third person can't break. If we're with
someone else they can add to what we're experiencing but they can never
take away from what we have, because that's ours and no one else can touch
it."

"I like the way you put that, Ry. No one else can touch what we have, what
we feel for each other. I can't promise that I won't share my body with
another, but my heart is yours. I think it has been since that day I walked
into your office and you were sitting there shivering. You were one of the
hottest guys I'd ever seen, but there was so much more than that. You were
this strong man, but there was a vulnerability there too. I knew I had to
know you better, to explore that strength and vulnerability. It turned out
to be the perfect combination to hook me."

"I am so glad. That first time you seduced me, calling me sir while clearly
being totally in change of the situation, I was yours."

"As long as we remember what we feel for each other, I don't think we're
gonna have any problems. The rest will work itself out."

He put his arm around my waist and we walked back down the boardwalk.

"So what do you think we should do about a place to live? I didn't come out
of the divorce with enough to buy a place in or near the city, and even
renting might stretch us a bit. I suppose we could stay at the hotel for a
while, but it would be nice to have more room, to have a place that was
really ours."

"Why don't you let me look into that, Ry? I have a few ideas."

I stopped and looked at him. "Why am I not surprised? You've always got
ideas."

He grinned at me. "Yeah, and you usually love 'em."