Date: Tue, 29 Nov 2016 22:00:13 -0500
From: rw6789@aol.com
Subject: "A Trial Of Strength" - Part 339  by Rob Williams

A TRIAL OF STRENGTH - PART 339
By Rob Williams

IN THIS CHAPTER:

Grady, the heart-throb new movie Tarzan, and his Italian lover Mario, have
a bitter separation.  Both have had repeated sex with other men, causing a
rift that is beyond repair.  Bob tongue-lashes Grady; Randy rebukes Grady
physically – a brutal gym-workout and a savage fuck. But Mario hurts so
deeply he decides to go home to Italy.  "As the plane took off Mario shut
his eyes tight to hold back the tears."


CHAPTER 339 – "GRADY & MARIO BREAK UP"


************ In the previous chapter ***********

Brandon, the hero of the hour for saving Uncle Mike from drowning in the
pool, had got a spectacular reward from the man he loved, Ranger Pete.
Pete had bought him a leather outfit and they had gone for a bike run in
the desert where they were joined by the Marine Hassan and his boy Eddie,
Brandon's best buddy.

Hassan, a powerful, macho Marine captain, had felt a craving for a
temporary role reversal where he himself was dominated by an equally strong
man.  Brandon and Eddie had watched breathlessly in the basement of the
soldier's small desert hideaway as Pete had chained him up, whipped and
fucked him, then made him shoot two more loads in the boys' mouths.

They had returned triumphantly to Uncle Mike's house where Brandon, now a
reluctant hero, had been interviewed and photographed by the local
newspaper, with his pal Eddie acting as his "press agent."

With Eddie hovering in the background, `protecting his client', the session
went well.  Brandon coolly described the rescue from the pool (without the
melodrama Eddie had recommended) and Mike expressed his heartfelt gratitude
to "this brave boy".  They took several shots of Brandon alone – smile,
no smile – then with Mike standing behind him beaming.

Then Brandon said, "I'd like one with my best pal Eddie, `coz he taught me
practically everything I know.'  (He neglected to add "... about sucking
cock", an omission that made Hassan and Pete sputter with laughter in the
background.)  So Eddie took his place crouching beside Brandon, his arm
around him, eyes sparkling with pride and joy.

And that was a picture the two best friends would keep and treasure for the
rest of their lives.

Later, as Mike, the two men and their boys relaxed in the garden eating and
drinking, there was a crunch of tires outside the gate and Mike grinned,
"Oh, I forgot to tell you guys, we're gonna have company."  The gate opened
and in came the blond fireman Jason with his boy Ben, followed by young
Brian in his wheelchair.  There were whoops of delight from the boys who
swung into an exaggerated greeting as if they had just been reunited with
long-lost friends.

Mike smiled, "I've heard all about you `three amigos' and thought you
should all be together, along with my nephew Brian, who I've gotta say is
looking real great, kiddo – a changed man.  Plus I can never miss a
chance of drooling over the most gorgeous fireman on the planet.  I'll jerk
off looking at you later, Jason.  But first, sit your butts down and eat
and drink."

The conversation was raucous at first with the boys all talking over each
other, but when they settled down they peppered Brian with questions about
the Grady House.  Brian was the houseboy there and they all wanted to hear
the latest on Grady, the heartthrob movie Tarzan.

Brian was subdued and seemed reluctant to answer questions.  But finally he
said, "You know guys, there's a rule that what happens in the Grady House
stays in the house, and we're big on confidentiality.  But ... we are kinda
family here and, and ..."

He seemed to fold up and his eyes filled with tears.  "Thing is, I'm not
sure how much longer there's gonna be a Grady House, `cos Grady and Mario
have had a massive fight and they're gonna split up for good.  They've
quarreled before ... I mean, who hasn't? ... even split up once for a few
days ... but this time it's real bad and Danny, my boss who runs the house,
is kinda devastated about it.  He suggested I take a few days off out of
it, so I came out here."

Mike squeezed his hand comfortingly as the tears flowed.  "See, guys, I
don't know what's gonna happen and ... and I'm real scared.  I mean, I love
those guys, they're my life, and when they split up and there's no more
Grady House ... I mean, what's gonna happen to me?"


********************* Chapter 339 *********************

Uncle Mike put his arm round his nephew and said, "Hey, hey, kiddo, things
can't be as bad as that.  Couples have arguments all the time then patch
things up, especially if they love each other as much as Mario and Grady
do."

"But they don't anymore, sir," Brian said tearfully.  "This time they're
splitting up for good."

Pete said, "Brian, I agree with your Uncle Mike.  We all know the stress
Grady is under with that whole movie on his shoulders, with all the press
and paparazzi.  Last time they fell out was because Mario felt left out,
kind of invisible while Grady became this big celebrity.  But they got back
together pretty quick because they're crazy about each other.  This time
won't be any different, you'll see.  I mean, what can have happened that's
so bad they can't resolve it?

"What happened!" Brian said wide-eyed.  "They both had sex with other guys,
that's what!"

"No!" gasped the other boys in unison.  "That's not possible," Brandon said
... "Well, maybe with Jamie or Lloyd or Adam or one of the other guys, but
there's nothing unusual in that."

"No," Brian sobbed, "it wasn't that.  It was guys outside the tribe –
guys we hardly even know."

By this time tears were flowing down Brian's face and Mike took charge.
"Hey Brandon, could you go and get a couple more bottles of wine from the
kitchen, a white and a red, and bring some of those sandwiches you'll find
in the fridge?  Looks like we're in for the long haul here."

As Brandon wheeled away Mike said, "Look, Brian, if you're up for it I
think it would be good for you to tell us the whole story rather have the
details come out in dribs and drabs.  It's not good for you to bottle all
this up.  You're with family here – and that's what families are for."

Brandon soon came back carrying the wine and sandwiches on his tray table.
He poured a glass of wine for Brian, who gulped it down and swallowed a
couple of sandwiches – the first food he had eaten all day, too upset to
eat.  They let him eat now, he took another sip of wine, then looked at his
uncle with a wan smile.  "Thank you, sir.  I feel better now."

"Good.  OK kiddo, in your own time, tell us exactly what happened."

Brian took a deep breath, cleared his throat and began his tale, with the
four men and three boys hanging on his every word.  "See, it all happened
over the last few weeks though me and Danny only just found out about it.
We got the story just two days ago from them separately, partly from Grady,
part from Mario.  They're not talking to each other and only told us, and
Danny said we should keep it secret ..."

"Yeah, what happens in the Grady House stays in the Grady House," Mike
shrugged.  "You say all this had been building over a couple of weeks?  How
come?"

"Well, what Grady calls principal photography is winding down on the movie
and now all the public relations stuff moves into high gear.  That means a
lot of quick trips all over the country, abroad too, to make personal
appearances for the movie.

"The studio gave Grady a personal assistant to travel with – seems
celebrities always need an assistant to stay close and take care of them.
Well the guy Grady chose – I think his name is Connor – is the same
age as Grady, same sense of humor.  They knew each other already, saw each
other on the set all the time and liked each other a lot.

"Good looking?" asked Jason.

"It seems so, sir.  Grady said he has dark Irish looks – real masculine,
the kind Grady goes for ... well, you know what I mean.  Anyway, with all
the pressures of traveling, the press, back-to-back events, Grady said he
was exhausted and Connor took good care of him.  Wherever they went they
had adjoining hotel rooms but spent a lot of time together and ... well, it
seems one thing led to another and they ended up sharing a bed ... most
nights."

"You mean they fucked?" Eddie said, wide eyes gleaming.

"Yeah, and Mario knew nothing about it until ..."  Brian choked up and took
a sip of wine.  "One night around 3am Mario was restless in his empty bed,
missing Grady a whole lot, he told us, and thought he would surprise Grady
by phoning him.  Thought they might have phone sex, or something.  But it
was Connor who answered the phone.  He said Grady was asleep, even checked
with Grady lying beside him but Grady grunted no."

"Wow," Eddie said, deep in the drama.  "So the cat was out of the bag big
time."

"Yeah," Brian said.  "Next day Mario called Grady, who could never lie to
him, and the whole story came out.  Well, of course, Mario was totally
shattered ... and furious – you know that Latin temper Italians have."

"So what did he do?" Brandon asked.

"He was so dazed he kinda went on automatic, doing chores as usual.  He
took one of their cars in for servicing to the mechanic we always use –
Rick his name is, real hot, black hair, handsome face, a bit like Mario.

"I think Rick's always had the hots for Mario and this time on the spur of
the moment Mario took him into the back room of the garage and fucked him.
He told us the revenge felt so good he's seen Rick several times since.
And then," ... Brian teared up ... "Mario said Rick's a better fuck than
Grady, but I don't think he meant it."

Tears started to flow again and Mike said, "You can stop if you want to,
Brian.  It upsets you, of course, we understand that.  But can you just
tell us how things stand now?"

"Well, when Grady got back from his trip with Connor, we heard Grady and
Mario having a flaming row where Mario boasted about fucking Rick
... `what's good for the goose is good for the gander,' he yelled ... and
stormed out of the house.  Grady shouted, `and don't come back!', and they
haven't spoken since.  Mario's gone to stay with his old pal Jamie, and
Grady told us he's gonna sell the house.  And I don't know what's gonna
happen to Danny and me."

"Well you don't have to worry about that last part, Brian," Pete said.
"Whatever happens there will always be jobs for you at the tribe's house
and plenty of places you can stay."

Even Hassan, who never did `warm and fuzzy' offered his support.  "You can
always stay with Eddie and me and help Tommy at Steve's house ... but
that's getting ahead of ourselves.  Maybe it won't turn out so bad after
all."

That last bleak utterance of hope left them all gloomily sipping their wine
with blank stares.

Mike jumped up and said, "Thing to do now is take it one step at a time.  I
gotta go and make my reappearance at the bar, `cos my bar-tender is coping
with the beer bust all on his own.  And I suggest you all come with me.  I
know Brandon and me will get a big reception – the hero and the guy he
brought back from the dead – and with you guys there too there won't be
a limp dick in the place.

"Now I'm not suggesting that we sweep this news under the carpet, but my
advice is that we take a deep breath, try to relax and have fun at the bar.
You'll all spend the night here and then go back to L.A. tomorrow to give
whatever help you can.

"Sounds like a plan," Jason said, and the other men agreed.  The boys, of
course, circled the wagons around Brian and he realized that, unlike his
former lonely life out here in the desert trailer park, he now had a family
of loving friends he could turn to.  And that would never change, no matter
what setbacks life brought.

**********************************

And so they got dressed for the bar in various leather-Levi outfits, and
when they all walked into the bar a great cheer went up for Mike and
Brandon, who were the center of attention for the first half hour.  Then
the focus turned to the leatherman Pete, the muscled soldier Hassan, and
the shirtless fireman Jason, all looking as if they had stepped straight
out of a porn video.

The boys were already well-known in the bar so it was a pretty raucous
crowd, and for a couple of hours the drama playing out at home was pushed
to the back burner, as Mike had hoped, although the boys were still overly
attentive to Brian.  The men too were sensitive to the boys' concerns and
Jason, who felt responsible for Brian having brought him here, eventually
said to the other men, "Time to call it quits, I think, guys."

They had dinner at Mike's house, joined by Mike himself after the beer bust
was over, and went to bed early, with some of the couples sleeping in the
garden as it was a warm desert night.  There was, of course, some
love-making but everyone's thoughts were still a hundred miles away on the
Grady House.

In the morning they made an early start back.  There were effusive hugs
between Mike and his rescuer Brandon, and his nephew Brian.  Mike had a
quiet word with the men, wishing them luck when they got back and urging
them to keep him posted on events.  Then the convoy set off – Pete
driving Brandon and Brian, with the bikes stowed in the back; Hassan in his
jeep with Eddie; and Jason in his SUV with his gypsy boy Ben.

Conversation was muted in all three vehicles as everyone was apprehensive
about what they would find when they got home.

*******************************

In the Grady House, meanwhile, after Brian left it had been a quiet,
cheerless night with just a gloomy Grady and his houseboy Danny.  It was
tough on Danny, trying to maintain a normal domestic routine in such
abnormal circumstances.  The absence of Mario left a huge hole in the
middle of the house, which had always been defined by the love and laughter
of the two lovers.  Danny cooked dinner for them both but the brooding
Grady ate little.  Danny, very ill at ease, spoke seldom, just letting
Grady vent.

"I just don't get it – Rick, the mechanic!  I always knew he was hot for
Mario, but me and Mario joked about it.  I never thought in a million years
that Mario would betray me by actually ..." he spat the words with disgust
... "actually fucking him.  You've seen Rick, Danny ... do you think he's
hot?"

Danny shrugged non-committally.  "Yeah, I guess ..."

"Do you think he's hotter than me?  I mean, hot enough for Mario to choose
him over me? Do you think he's in love with Rick?  What did he tell you?"

"Sir I ... I didn't speak much to Mario before he left to stay with Jamie
and Mark, so I couldn't possibly know if ..."

Grady slammed his fist on the table.  "Fuck ... fuck ... stupid asshole,
banging Rick ... makes me so fucking mad.  I don't wanna see him again
... ever.  He can just clear out and ..."  Grady was getting crazed and it
scared Danny.  "I'm not going to work tomorrow ... I'll call in sick."

But sir," Danny said in alarm, "you can't, the whole production depends on
you."

"Yeah?  Well they can go fuck themselves too, the whole lot of them."  Then
more calmly, "It's only one small scene anyway, they can shoot around me.
I want you to sleep with me tonight, Danny.  I'll show the mother-fucker I
don't need him.  I'm a fucking movie star.  I got a whole bunch of guys
wanna share my bed."

Danny had slept with Grady and Mario before but it was always light-hearted
love-making, lots of fun.  This was more like an order.  Grady didn't
really want him – just a hot body to take Mario's place.

And that was made real clear in the morning.  It had been a restless night
... Grady tossing and turning, reaching out to Danny, then pulling away
because it wasn't Mario.  And it was fairly late the next morning and Danny
was still asleep when he was woken by Grady shaking him.  "Hey, kid, I got
a massive hard-on and you gotta take care of it.  Get on your back."

Danny knew that every morning when Grady woke he made love to Mario and
Mario fucked him.  It was their morning ritual.  But this time Grady would
get his rocks off with Danny.  Still only half awake Danny turned on his
back and felt his legs being pushed back as he looked up at Grady looming
over him.  He was frightened by the look in Grady's eyes.  He had never
seen him like this, this angry – crazy angry – and he screamed as he
felt Grady's dick slam inside his ass in a painful dry fuck."

"No, sir, please I can't ..."

"No!  You saying no to me?  You forgotten who I am?"  He sneered, "But you
wouldn't say no to Rick, your new lover, that asshole."  In a panic Danny
realized Grady was talking to Mario, taking his revenge.  "When I get a
morning hard-on it's your job to get me off, you son-of-a-bitch.  So here
goes, traitor."

The fuck was fast and brutal.  As the naked Grady pounded his ass Danny was
in a daze of panic and pain ... and, unbelievably, lust.  In his delirium
he flashed on the scene in the movie where Tarzan forced himself on the
servant girl, the scene Grady had rehearsed with Brian in this very bed.
Now Danny was the servant boy getting force-fucked by Tarzan, this
stunningly gorgeous man, eyes blazing down at him, muscles rippling in his
magnificent body, his long hard rod driving in his ass like a piston.

Danny gritted his teeth and took deep breaths though his nose, staring up
at the wild, beautiful eyes, as Grady leaned forward and pinned his wrists
to the bed.  He was forced to endure the ramrod drilling his ass and listen
to the rage-filled voice.

"Is this how you fuck that grease-monkey, eh, your new lover?  You hold him
down like this and pound his ass?  Is he hotter than me?  Is he so hot you
tell him you love him?  So hot he makes you cum in his ass.  Does he
squeeze his ass round your dick and tell you he loves you?  Do you feel the
jizz racing up your dick?  Do you watch his muscles flex, watch him shoot
his load all over his gorgeous body ... does that make you bust your load
like this ... aaagh, fuck you ... fuck you, man ... aaagh!"

Danny felt Grady's cock explode in his ass and, despite the pain and fear,
his own cock blasted semen over his writhing body.  Grady was completely
demented as he stared wildly down at him ... he was in another world, a
world of pain, grief and resentment.  He pulled out sharply, making Danny
scream again, and yelled, "Now get out ... get out and don't come back.
Who needs you?  Plenty more where you came from!"

Danny stumbled blindly from the room with only one thought – he had to
get away.  Naked, he stumbled downstairs, across the garden, opened the
gate ... and fell into Bob's arms.

********************************

As Bob held him tight Danny sobbed, "I gotta get away, sir.  Take me away,
please."

"Sshh, sshh," Bob said soothingly, stroking the boy's head.  When Danny
stopped shivering Bob held him at arm's length and smiled, "Now what's this
all about, Danny?  Tell me what's happened."

Danny pursed his lips and looked fearfully over his shoulder.  Bob frowned,
"Now I know all about your vow of confidentiality here but this time you
have to tell me everything, Danny.  This is me, Bob," he said gently.  "You
know you can trust me."

The garbled account came stumbling out.  "Grady told me to sleep with him,
sir – kinda like taking Mario's place.  But it wasn't the Grady we know
... he looked real wild.  And when we woke up just now he fucked me, but he
was kinda crazed, like he was yelling at Mario, punishing him, and he hurt
me, then yelled at me to get out and not come back.  I don't even think he
knew it was me, sir."

Just then Pete's truck pulled up, back from the desert.  Brian opened the
door, put out his wheelchair and lowered himself into it.  Pete and Brandon
made moves to get out too but Bob said, "It's OK, guys, I'll take care of
him.  There's all kinds of shit going down here.  It's lucky I came up here
to talk business with Grady just as Danny was leaving.  Better I handle it,
but I'll make sure no harm comes to Brian."

Reassured by Bob's calm, authoritative tone Pete nodded.  Brandon gave
Brian a thumbs up through the window and they drove off.  It was clear that
both Brian and Danny were highly nervous and Brian blurted out, "I just
came back to get my truck, sir.  Brandon said I can stay with him and Pete.
Don't make me go inside, sir, please."

Bob smiled, "Listen, boys, I'm in charge now and nothing bad is gonna
happen to you, that's a promise – and I don't break my promises.  I
think you should both go to the kitchen and make a nice hot breakfast for
yourselves.  Nothing like sharing your troubles with a real close buddy, so
talk it out between you, and wait `til I come back. I'm going to have a
chat with Grady."

Danny bent down and hugged Brain and they went off to the kitchen.  Bob
sighed deeply and headed into the house and upstairs.  When he opened the
door to the master bedroom he saw Grady lying naked on the bed in a fetal
position.  Bob pulled up a chair beside the bed, sat down and said sternly,
"Look at me Grady."

Like he had just woken from a nightmare Grady jerked his head up, startled,
and stared blankly at Bob.  He opened his mouth to speak but Bob took the
initiative.  "Grady, I'm not here to get involved with your feelings for
Mario.  That's for you to work out.  I'm not here as a friend.  I'm here,
first, as Randy's lover and second as your business manager.  Are you
listening to me?"

The cold anger in Bob's eyes was even more frightening than Randy's blazing
fury and made Grady pull himself together and say meekly, "Yes, sir, I'm
listening."

"Good.  First, and most important, there are two boys downstairs who are
frightened out of their wits, boys who idolized you and devoted themselves
to taking care of you.  One of them you as good as raped, the other one,
the boy in the wheelchair, thinks his world has been shattered.  He's in
danger of regressing to the scared, depressed young kid he was before he
met you.

"I said I was here as Randy's lover because I know how he thinks and feels,
especially about men who mistreat boys.  If Randy were here now instead of
me he'd be thrashing the shit out of you.  I'll give you the benefit of the
doubt and assume you did not intentionally hurt the boys, so when we're
finished here you will come down to the kitchen with me, get on your knees
and beg their forgiveness.

"Now, as your business manager I'm wondering why you're not at work at the
studio right now."

"I called in sick," Grady said sullenly, "and I'll do the same tomorrow.
They can all go fuck themselves."

Controlling his anger Bob said coldly, "You mean all the crew, the cast,
the hundreds of workers whose paycheck depends on that movie, people you
called your friends?  They're the ones who can all go fuck themselves?"

"I'm in no shape to work, after the sucker punch that prick gave me when he
betrayed me ..."  he was shouting now ... "having sex with a fucking grease
monkey!"

"Be quiet!" Bob snapped.  "I told you I'm not involved in your love life,
or lack of it, but as your business manager it's my duty to protect your
financial security.  And that means your job.  OK, today I suggest you
spend the day pulling yourself together and making amends to those two
great kids down there.  And early tomorrow morning you will be in the gym
at our house for your daily workout with Randy – and whatever else you
two do down there."

"I'm not gonna workout again.  No point.  I did it mostly to look good for
Mario but now the asshole's got a new lover I ..."

"You might want to reconsider that, Grady.  Like I said, I know Randy and
all his moods and if you don't show up he'll come up here and give you the
kind of workout you don't want.  Trust me, I know.  It won't be pretty –
and neither will you.  So you will get your ass down to the gym, then
you'll go to work and earn the money to pay for this lifestyle and this
house."

"I'm selling the house," Grady said defiantly.  "I want my old life back,
that little house in Laurel Canyon where no one depended on me and I had no
damn lover who'd stab me in the back."

"Fine," Bob barked, losing his patience.  "I'll put the house on the market
right away.  As for tomorrow morning, I'll leave that one to Randy.  Right
now you're coming with me to convince those boys they have no reason to
feel as scared and desperate as they do.  Put your shorts on."  When Bob
laid down the law men obeyed.  He was such a commanding alpha male, and
Grady had always loved and respected him so completely that he now meekly
followed orders.

A few minutes later Bob knocked on the kitchen door and went in, followed
by Grady in just his shorts.  The sight of the boys shocked him.  They were
sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast and when they saw Grady they
recoiled, with fear in their eyes.  Grady could never have believed these
two wonderful, loyal kids, his good buddies, could shrink from him in
terror.

"No," he said, a sob in his voice.  "Please don't be scared of me guys."
He walked forward and fell on his knees before them as they remained
seated, and stared at them pleadingly.  "Guys, I've been a total asshole to
you and you've always been so good to me.  I got lost ... I mean, so much
has happened ... and I took it out on you.  Especially you Danny this
morning in bed.  But I never meant all those things ... never meant to hurt
you."

His eyes brimmed with tears.  "I love you guys, you know that.  Please, can
you forgive a total dickhead for losing his mind?  Please don't leave me.
Can we spend the rest of the day together and make up and maybe laugh a
little like we always did?"

The tears were flowing now and he buried his face in Brian's lap.  Danny
raised his hand, hesitated and looked at Bob.  Bob smiled and nodded and
Danny stroked Grady's tousled hair.  "It's OK, sir, we'll stay with you."
He looked questioningly at Brian who nodded eagerly.  "Goes for me too,
sir.  Would you, er, like some breakfast?  There's plenty here and you
haven't eaten in a while.  We've been keeping track."

Grady looked up at their gentle faces and then at Bob.  "I don't deserve
them, Bob."

Bob smiled and shrugged.  "Whether you do or not, Grady, you've got them,
and you're a lucky man.  Enjoy your breakfast, guys."  On that he left
quietly.  Outside the door he heaved a big sigh, smiled and murmured to
himself, "It's up to you now, Randy."

******************************

While Danny had been spending his fitful, nervous night with Grady, Mario's
own desperation was finding solace in Jamie and Mark.  Jamie was Mario's
first friend when they met at the hotel he worked at, a friendship that
blossomed as time went on.  So it was natural that he would take refuge
with the blond surfer and his cop when his world fell apart and he left the
Grady House.

At first Mark and Jamie had let him simply vent.  "All this time when he
travelled with Connor as his personal assistant they were sleeping
together!  Disgustoso! Incredibile!  While I was at home making the house
and garden perfect for him he was shacking up with this guy.  I was so
freaked out when I discovered the truth my only thought was la vendetta
– revenge.  That's why I had sex with Rick ... and went back for more."

He sobbed as he fell into Mark's arms.  "I can never forgive Grady.  He
obviously doesn't love me anymore.  And I can't love him.  I can't go back
to that house, can't stay in this country.  I'll go back to Italy to my
family, to people I can trust."

Mario was falling apart, in desperate need of comfort and love.  He held on
tight to Mark, felt his warmth and strength and, like a man clutching a
lifebelt said, in his delirium.  "Don't let go ... please don't let go,
Mark.  Hold me, love me, make love to me."  He looked desperately at Jamie.
"Is it OK, amico?  Will you let us?"

Jamie smiled at Mark, then at Mario's tear-stained face.  "Buddy, it's
exactly what I need when I'm in trouble.  Nothing like a gorgeous cop to
hold onto."

Mario needed desperately to be touched, held, loved.  His pride and
self-esteem had taken a beating.  The love he thought was eternal had been
wrenched from him and he needed reassurance that he was still loved ... by
someone.  Frantically he stripped naked and fell on the bed looking up at
Mark with pleading eyes.

Mark had just come home from work, still in his police uniform, and he now
smiled down at Mario, unbuttoned his shirt and took it off, then pulled his
T-shirt off over his head.  "I know just what you need, Mario."  He
unzipped his pants, pulled out his cock and lubed it up from the lube jar
that was always by the bed.  He knelt between Mario's legs and pushed them
back.

"Mario, whatever else happens in your life you know you will always be
loved by Jamie and me.  We'll do whatever it takes to protect and comfort
you.  Are you sure you want this?"

"Yes please, sir, if ... if Jamie's OK with ..."

"Mario," Jamie said softly, "it's just what you need.  I should know.  And
I'll be right here with you too."

He smiled and nodded at Mark who eased forward, pressed his cock between
the cheeks of the Italian's ass, and pushed it in ever so gently.  Mario
made whimpering sounds like a lost puppy and pressed his fingers into the
slabs of Mark's chest, needing the touch of warm human flesh.  He gazed up
into the gentle blue-gray eyes of the handsome blond cop and let himself
float on an enveloping cloud that carried him away from his pain and
despair.

His mind shut out everything else except for the eyes smiling down at him
and the exquisite sensation of the big cock making love to his ass.  And
just when sadness pushed its tendrils in and threatened to taint his
euphoria, Jamie knelt beside the bed, leaned forward and kissed him.  Mario
ran his fingers through Jamie's tangled blond hair and rested his other
hand on Mark's thigh, feeling his hard muscles ripple under the black surge
of his uniform.

He was safe, he was loved ... and, as proof, the cop's rod was moving
rhythmically inside him, caressing him.  His mind flashed on making love to
Grady but he instantly banished the image and the sharp stab of pain it
caused.  Aware of the jolt Jamie pulled off his mouth and said, "Sshh
... relax and feel the joy.  We love you, amico, and I know just how good
my master's cock feels in your ass.  Do you want to feel his juice inside
you?"

Mario glanced at Jamie, then stared up at the Greek God face smiling down
at him and spoke as if in a dream.  "Si ... lo voglio molto.  Per favore,
signore.  Please, sir."

Mark ran a hand over the square cut features and said, "Such a beautiful
man.  It's a pleasure to cum inside you, Mario.  I love you, man ... aaahh
..."  He sighed and flooded Mario's ass with his semen, a healing balm that
soothed his body and drove the anguish from his tortured mind.

Mario heard laughter above him and saw his friend, the tanned blond surfer,
stroking his cock.  "Cum for us, Mario," Jamie laughed.  "Show us there's
still hot Italian blood pulsing through your veins.  Show us you love us
too.  I'm gonna shoot, amico.  Here it comes ... I love you, man ...  I
love you ..."

Jamie sprayed semen all over the beautiful naked Italian, joined by Mario's
juice as his own cock erupted all over him.  He held his arms up pleadingly
and Mark and his boy fell into them and held tight to their troubled
friend.

****************************

The next day had a strange feeling of unreality to it as the dust settled
and both Grady and Mario found some solace in nurturing friends.  At the
Grady House, after Bob had forced Grady to make his peace with Danny and
Brian, the boys turned with relief to doing what they enjoyed doing most
– taking care of Grady.

They felt it was not their place to judge him – they would leave that to
others.  Judgement was replace by love and loyalty as they watched and
cared for Grady, who moved around the house in a daze, his mood a toxic mix
of anger, resentment, melancholy and a deep sense of loss.

Down at the tribe's compound Mario's mind was similarly filled with the
same confused emotions.  He had spent the night sleeping in Jamie's arms as
Mark had gone to confer with Randy and Bob and had spent the night with
them.  In the morning Mario tried to drown his sorrows in work.  "I'm going
to do some gardening, Jamie," he said.  "There was so much landscaping to
do up at ... at that house ... that I have neglected Bob and Randy's
garden."

Jamie put in a few hours work in the office and his heart broke as, from
the office window, he watched the solitary Mario hacking at the ground,
wrenching up weeds, taking out all his anger at Grady on the innocent soil
of the garden.

That night both ex-lovers slept alone in their separate houses.  Mario told
Jamie he wanted to be alone to think things out, and Jamie respected his
wishes, though he slept right next door, ready to offer support if needed.
Grady did the same, spending the night in his big lonely bed, with the boys
sleeping together next door, on the alert for any signs they might be
needed.

An ominous silence settled over both houses, a knife-edge apprehension of
what came next.

****************************

That silence was shattered for Grady early next morning by the insistent
ringing of his bedside phone.  He woke in a daze.  Drained of energy he had
not even thought of going to work.  His mind was so exhausted, he was so
lethargic that he couldn't possibly concentrate on work.  Fuck the movie.
Fuck them all.

He looked blearily at the clock.  6am!  He picked up the phone and was
blasted by Randy's gravelly voice.  "Where the fuck are you?  You know I
always insist you get here on time."

"I, er, I'm not coming.  I can't ... too tired.  I'm not going to work
anyway, so I don't need it.  I'm gonna stop working out altogether so I
won't need a trainer anymore."

"Are you fucking firing me?"  The noise was so loud Grady jerked his ear
from the phone.  "Now listen up, dickhead.  I signed on to keep you in top
physical shape for this damn movie, and I intend to do that.  Fuck feeling
`tired.'  I never took you for a wimp, asshole.  Now, you get your fucking
ass down here.  If you're not here in twenty minutes I'll come up there and
give you the kind of workout where you'll never work in front of a camera
again.  Nobody'll want you!"

The phone went dead.  Grady was suddenly wide awake.  It was not only that
Randy had scared him – he had a talent for scaring guys.  It was the
hard-on he gave him!  Whatever else Grady was, or had become, one thing was
constant.  He loved to get fucked in the ass.  And no one – no one –
fucked like Randy.  It was why Grady worked so hard in their grueling
workouts – so Randy would reward him by shoving his monster dick up his
ass, as he did most mornings.

In automatic obedience he stumbled out of bed, pulled on his shorts and
sneakers and ran downstairs to his car.  As he started it up Danny and
Brian came out to see what was up.  "Gotta go, kids," he shouted from the
car.  "Randy ... workout ..."  He roared away and the boys smiled at each
other.  It was the first sign of real life they had seen in Grady for days.

*******************************

Randy had spent a lot of time the previous day talking to Bob and Mark
about the situation roiling the tribe.  Actually Bob and Mark had done most
of the talking.  Randy just listened, wrapped in his own world, his own
standards of right and wrong.  Randy didn't deal in the niceties of
speculation and what-ifs.  His innate masculinity made him strong and
direct.  He always knew what he had to do.  Didn't stop to think about it
... just did it.

And now, in the gym, he got things ready for a special workout.  He knew
Grady would come – he was used to men obeying him.  And when he heard
footsteps on the stairs down to the gym and Grady burst in breathlessly,
Randy made no reference to anything other than the job at hand.  Simple and
direct.

"OK, we got a late start so only a short warmup on the treadmill.  Grady
stepped on the moving belt and walked slowly, attempting the
near-impossible task of slowly shaking off his lethargy.  But Randy was
having none of that.  "Shit, man, is that all you got?"  He reached over
and adjusted the setting to a much higher speed, forcing Grady to run
... fast.  Then Randy jumped on the other treadmill beside him, set it to
the same speed and ran alongside him.

Grady thought his legs would cave in, but he looked at Randy running
strongly beside him, staring straight ahead, his stubbled jaw set in
determination.  He looked magnificent as always, wearing only gym shorts
and sneakers, his muscles rippling as he ran, his long black hair swirling
across his face, a light sheen of sweat already shining on the slabs of his
pecs.

Grady was seized with a desire to please this man.  So he ran step for step
in sync with him, elated by his closeness, by the virile brotherhood of men
testing their physical limits.

And so it went on for the whole, hour-long workout.  Making up for lost
time Randy reduced the rest periods between sets and moved Grady from one
exercise to the next with military precision.  There was scarcely time to
breathe, certainly no time to think about anything other than keeping pace
with Randy, obeying his orders, pleasing him.

Randy had never pushed the actor's body so hard, barking the count for each
exercise, more reps than ever before, more intense than ever before.  Grady
lost all sense of time or place, grinding through a macho world of sweat,
grunts and muscle wrenching pain.  He howled obscenities and hopeless
protests... "Fuck you, man ... no more ... I can't ... bastard ... I'm
finished, man ..."

But he was not finished ... Randy wouldn't let him finish until he had
driven him to muscular and mental exhaustion.  At last he pushed Grady in
front of the mirror and said, "That's it, man, look at that fucking jock,
pumped to the max.  Best you've ever looked ... hottest fucking Tarzan ever
to hit the screen.

Suddenly Randy yanked down Grady's shorts and dropped his own.  He picked
Grady up bodily and sat him down on a waist-high bench, his legs hangin
over the end of it.  He pressed his hand on Grady chest and shoved him onto
his back.  Grady stared up at the wild gypsy and knew what was coming
... what he had longed for.

"You done good today, man," Randy said, spitting on his palm and rubbing it
over his long, thick cock, hard as a steel rod.  "You deserve this."
Standing at the end of the bench he grabbed Grady's legs and pushed them up
high so his ass was level with Randy's cock ... waiting for it.  This is
what you've wanted all along, right?"

"Yes, sir, thank you, sir."  The handsome jock, movie heartthrob to
thousands, now buck naked, was totally in thrall to this swarthy muscle-god
with the wild black hair and hypnotic blue eyes.

"OK, here it comes, stud."  With no hesitation, no foreplay, Randy rammed
his massive pole deep inside Grady whose screams bounced off the gym walls.
"No, man, I can't ... it's too ..."

"Fuck you, man," Randy's eyes flashed.  "No one says no to me, least of all
a pretty boy like you who's been craving my dick since he walked in.  You
earned this, asshole, and you're gonna get it."

The fuck was ferocious – Randy at his most savage.  He knew it's what
Grady wanted, what he needed ... the only way to blast him out of his
self-pitying lethargy and jump-start his life.  And he knew the man could
take it.  As always Randy had an instinct for a man's limits and took him
right up to them, and then for an instant just a bit beyond.

He was right.  As the initial stab of pain wore off and Grady gazed up into
the electric blue eyes he fell once again under the spell of the savage
gypsy.  Randy hooked Grady's legs over his shoulders, leaned forward and
pressed his hands against Grady's biceps, effectively pinning him to the
bench, his captive.  "You're mine now, stud, helpless, and I can do what I
damn well want to you ... and your ass."

Grady surrendered totally to the rugged construction boss and to the
pile-driver pounding his ass.  His body was alive, burning hot, his mind
conscious only of the man dominating him.  He wanted it so bad ... wanted
more ...  "Yeah, more ... gimme more ... fuck me, sir, pound that ass.
Shit, it feels so good ... it's making me ... I'm gonna ... fuck, fuck I
can't stop.  I'm gonna cum ... aaagh."

He shot a massive load over the gym-pumped muscles of his chest and abs and
braced himself to feel Randy's cum filling his ass.  But that didn't
happen.  Randy kept fucking, keeping up the insistent rhythm of his shaft
as it pistoned deep inside him.

"No!  I just shot my load, man ... it hurts now.  Finish me off.  I can't
take any more ... I'm begging you ... cum in my ass!"

"Fuck you, stud.  No man tells me when to cum.  I tell you ... and I'm
telling you now.  I'll fill your ass with jizz when I see you bust another
load."

Grady's face crumpled in pain.  "No, sir.  I can't ... not again ... I'm
drained, finished."

"I'll tell you when you're finished, boy.  Look at me.  Look in my eyes
... look at me ... look at me."  The deep voice seemed to come from far
away ... mesmerizing ... and the pale blue eyes hypnotic.  He heard himself
say, "Yes, sir ... fuck me, sir."

A slight smile crossed the dark, square-cut features and the voice said.
"You're mine now, Grady, and you're gonna do what I say.  I'm gonna take
your ass, harder than ever before and when you cum again I'm gonna bust my
wad in you.  It's what you want, right?  Tell me, man.  Tell me you want
it, tell me you'll cum for me."

The pace quickened, the force increased until the gypsy was jackhammering
the jock's ass harder than ever before.  Grady was reaching his ultimate
pain threshold and Randy knew it.  He stared into his eyes, pounded him
savagely and, for an instant, took him beyond his physical and mental
limit.

"No!" Grady screamed.  "Please, sir, I give up ... I submit ... aaagh
... aaagh!"  His body shook, his muscles flexed, his tortured face thrashed
from side to side ... and his cock exploded again, seconds before Randy's
huge dick emptied its load deep inside his ass.

The muscular young jock, the new Tarzan, was now a shuddering wreck, his
body jerking in spasms, arms hanging limply over the sides of the bench,
eyes staring dazedly at the savage gypsy who had just demolished him.

Randy yanked his cock out and towered over him.  "That's what you needed,
stud, and I'm the only man who could give it to you.  Now get up."

"No, Randy ... I'm done."  Now that the adrenaline drained from him, all
the misery and frustration over Mario flooded back and his despair
returned.  "I gotta go home ... can't work ... fuck the movie."

"I said get up!"  Randy grabbed his wrist, yanked him to his feet, then
twisted his arm behind him in a half-nelson and forced him to look at
himself in the mirror.  He hissed in his ear from behind him, "Look at that
fucking loser, man.  You can't work eh?  Not like all the other working
stiffs who drag themselves to work each day, like all the guys down there
at your studio ready to work, just waiting for `the star' to appear, the
man who all their jobs depend on.

"What about all our own boys, getting up ready and eager to work, some of
them catering to your needs?  They work damn hard, like my construction
crew and millions like them.  All except you, the big stud movie star."  He
sneered. "No, he's gonna crawl back to bed `cos he's depressed `cos he's
had a fight with his boyfriend.  Well la-di-fucking-da.  Shit, if Bob and
me missed work every time we had a fight we'd be dirt poor by now."

He released Grady, shivering with fear and shame, and threw his shorts at
him.  Now put these on, and your shoes, and this."  He tossed him one of
his old tank tops from a pile of dirty clothes in the corner.  Grady
hurried to obey him and allowed himself to be dragged upstairs and out to
Randy's truck.

Randy threw him in the passenger's side, slammed the door, got behind the
wheel and the truck peeled away with a screech of tires.  It wasn't long
before they were speeding through early-morning Burbank and approached the
main gate of Warner Studios.

"Now I'll only say this once, boy.  I've given you all the juice you need
to pump you for a solid day's work.  So when we get there you're gonna walk
in there as if nothing happened, and you get in front of the cameras and
act, or swing from the fucking trees or whatever the hell it is you do in
there.  I'll have one of the boys pick you up this evening and you report
to me.  And if you tell me you worked good I'll fuck you again.  If not,
I'll wash my hands of you – no more workouts, no fucks, no more tribe."

They pulled up at the gate, Grady turned and gazed into Randy's eyes.  A
smile crossed Randy face and he said, "Go get `em, Grady.  Knock `em,
dead."

Grady squeezed Randy's arm, then jumped out of the truck, his old vigor and
charm fully restored, and ran to the gate where he was greeted effusively
by the guard and the group of workers clustered there.  Randy grinned,
shook his head, and drove away muttering, "The things I do for these guys."

At the house he was met by an anxious Bob and Mark.  "What happened?"

"Ah, nothing much.  I put him through a tough workout, fucked his ass,
threw him in the truck and took him to the studio.  He's real stoked, he'll
work good today ... could be the best scenes in the movie.  Now where the
fuck is breakfast?  I'm starved."

"Coming right up, sir," laughed the twins, appearing with trays of food.
While they fussed over him, Bob and Mark grinned at each and said in
unison, "Son of a bitch."

*********************************

And so the tribe had rallied to protect its own.  The three masters had,
each in his own unique way, calmed the troubled waters.  Bob, with his
cool, steely authority had restored peace between Grady and his boys;
Randy, the rugged man of action, had whipped Grady into shape physically
and mentally; and Mark and Jamie had projected their own deep love onto
Mario, showing him that he too was loved and protected.

But while they had all combined to bring some semblance of peace to the
situation the problem at its core was still unresolved.  Even though the
dust of the initial eruption had settled, Grady and Mario were still
consumed with anger and resentment toward each other.  Both had the firm
conviction that the twin acts of betrayal had shattered the love they once
shared.  It was irretrievably lost.

In the next few days they took refuge in work.  Grady was shooting the
final scenes of his movie, to be followed by the imminent prospect of more
publicity trips.  Mario worked on the garden, under Jamie's watchful and
troubled gaze.  But despair gnawed at both men, the ache grew worse, and
separately they came to a decision on how to handle their anger and grief.

Mario's solution was the most drastic and he shared it only with Jamie.  "I
cannot stay here, amico.  Too many memories, too much hurt.  I have to
shake it all off, make a clean break.  I am going home to my family in
Italy."  Jamie heart lurched and he started to protest but Mario held up
his hand.

"No, Jamie, my mind is made up.  I don't know how long I will stay there,
maybe for good.  I will leave quietly as I don't want to stir up any more
trouble, so I am telling only you.  You will tell Mark, of course, but
please don't tell the other guys.  I have already made an airline
reservation for Alitalia's afternoon flight to Rome the day after tomorrow.
I will take only the few clothes I need, and leave my stuff here for you,
amico, to use as you please."

Jamie threw his arms round his friend, and they hugged long and hard, both
of them in tears.  But Jamie knew he should not try to dissuade Mario.  He
could only imagine the heartache he was feeling and knew he had to take
whatever action he felt imperative, no matter how drastic.

Meanwhile, Grady was on his way up into the hills to consult with Doctor
Steve.  The tribe's therapist (and Randy's brother) was the first member of
the tribe he had met, except for Lloyd, his gym buddy, who had referred him
to his lover Steve all that time ago.

Steve, of course, knew all the details of the drama that had consumed the
tribe and welcomed the opportunity to offer whatever help he could in his
professional capacity.  An expert in human nature he knew that passion had
two equal but opposite faces – passionate love and passionate dislike.
When a relationship went bad, the stronger the love had been the stronger
the resentment that resulted.  The intensity was equal – and the love
between Grady and Mario had been very intense.

Steve gazed with sympathy at the tormented man sitting restlessly on the
couch facing him and, like any good therapist, listened without
interruption while Grady poured out his troubles.

"No one knows what it's like, doc, when I travel on those publicity trips
– the back-to-back interviews, smiling, turning on the charm all day,
trying not to make a mistake and say the wrong thing.  Everyone wants a
piece of you – the studio execs, the press, the foreign PR guys who talk
to you like they own you.  They've all got their angle to work, but there's
no one really looking out for me.  It's totally exhausting and sometimes
reduces me to tears when I finally get back to the hotel room.

"That's why they let me have a personal assistant whose only job is to
support me.  I chose this guy Connor from the PR department, a guy I
already knew.  We got along well, had the same sense of humor.  He's real
bright and did a great job, always pulling me away from the crowd when he
could see I was exhausted.

"We had separate hotel rooms but he spent a lot of time with me after the
day's work.  I needed someone to care for me, to hold me, to help me relax
before the whole circus started up the next day.  It was great when he
slept with me, holding me and ... well the inevitable happened and we
started having sex regularly.  I guess I wasn't thinking straight.  Mario
was thousands of miles away ... this was like a whole other world,
separate, nothing to do with life in L.A.

"Well one night Mario found out in the worst way.  He phoned me at three in
the morning, but Connor was in bed with me and he answered.  The shit hit
the fan and I confessed the whole thing.  I thought he would understand."

His voice rose in anger.  "But instead, Steve, he went right out and
punished me by having sex with our garage mechanic Rick.  I mean, the guy
is real hot and I guess Mario fell in love with him, or some shit like
that, and saw him again and I guess he still is.  Damnit, Steve, it makes
me crazy thinking of him fucking that guy.  It's over, doc, I can't see him
again – ever."

There was a long silence as Grady stopped, fighting back tears.  Then Steve
spoke.  "Grady, I understand your need for a personal assistant on these
trips and you've explained why you chose Connor."  He fixed him with his
intense blue eyes.  "But why didn't you choose Mario?"

Grady looked as if Steve had slapped him.  "Mario?!"

Steve shrugged, "Sure – Mario.  Seems like a natural choice to me from
what you've just said.  You need someone who'll look out for you and
protect you ... has to be someone you get along well with, someone bright,
with the same sense of humor, someone who'll hold you at the end of the
day, give you a shoulder to cry on ... even, it seems, someone you want to
share your bed with and make love to.  Like I said, there seems to be one
obvious choice."

"But ... but Steve I could never ask Mario to be my `personal assistant.'
He would have found it demeaning.  I mean he already felt kind of
overlooked, living in the shadow of me and my damned celebrity.  I couldn't
have asked him that even when we still loved each other.  He'd have been
insulted."

"Hmm, are you sure about that, Grady?  I've always found that if love
between two people is strong enough, like yours used to be, you can ask
each other anything."  Steve shrugged. "Well, I guess it's a moot point
now.  Too late for that, especially now you've broken up.  Anyway, you've
already got Connor.  You're right – probably wouldn't have worked."

Just then there was a tap at the door and Lloyd poked his head in.  "Er,
sorry to interrupt, guys, but there's a phone call for you Steve, and I
thought you should take it.  Line one."

"Thanks, buddy.  Do you mind, Grady?  Sounds important."  He picked up the
phone ... it was Jamie, sobbing.  "Sir, I need to see you ... I don't know
what to do.  I can't get a hold of Mark and I'm so sad.  See, Mario's told
me he's going back to Italy ... he's leaving us.  He's going day after
tomorrow – he's booked and everything, afternoon flight to Rome on
Alitalia.  He told me not to tell anyone but I thought it would be OK to
tell you, you being a private shrink and all."

"Jamie ... take a deep breath and try to relax.  I'm with a patient right
now, but come up here in an hour and we'll talk, OK?"

He put the phone down and sighed.  He looked at Grady and came to a
decision to break his vow of confidentiality.  "Well, Grady, that's it, I
guess this whole session is moot now.  Problem solved.  Seems Mario is
leaving town, going back to Italy."

"What?!  Are you sure?"

"Oh yeah, it's not just talk, it's definite.  He's already got his
reservation – Alitalia to Rome, day after tomorrow."

Grady's mind was racing.  "Doc, could I use your phone?  Make a couple of
calls?"

"Sure help yourself, Grady.  I'll leave you alone."  Steve left the office,
not at all sure how this would all play out.

********************************

It was surprising, given how news spread in the tribe, that this particular
secret was kept between so few men.  The day came, an afternoon where all
the other men were at work.  Only Jamie and Mario were at the house, two
close friends locked in a tearful farewell and promises from Jamie that he
would go visit Mario in Italy.  "Oh, sounds like my cab," Mario smiled
through his tears.  "No more stretch limos ... those days are passed."

On the drive to the airport Mario kept his eyes mostly closed, not wanting
to be reminded of places in the city that reminded him of his former life
with Grady.  At the airport he lined up to check in and looked over at the
almost empty line at the First-Class check-in desk, which he and Grady
always used in the old days.

He sat in the departure lounge trying to make his mind go blank.  For a
moment he flashed on those corny final airport scenes in romantic movies
where at the last minute the lover comes charging through the airport
yelling, "No, wait, it was all a mistake.  I love you.  Don't leave."

Not this time, though.  And he didn't expect it ... didn't want it.  This
was the clean break he needed.  They boarded, he made his way to the back
of coach class and took his seat.  There was the usual pre-departure stuff,
they closed the doors and the plane pushed back from the gate.  As it
taxied he let himself look through the window to get his last fleeting look
at L.A.

The pilot announced they were next for take-off, the engines roared and
they sped along the runway.  As they lifted off Mario felt he was leaving a
whole chunk of his life behind, a life where he had found friendship, joy,
laughter and love.  Yes, he had been loved.  He inhaled sharply so he
wouldn't cry, leaned his head back and closed his eyes, hoping sleep would
come.

It did, of sorts, though the dreams of half-sleep kept haunting him.  He
had finally dozed off when he felt a nudge at his elbow.  He opened his
eyes to see the Italian flight attendant smiling down at him.  "Scusi,
signore, but could I please see your ticket?"

Confused he fumbled for the ticket and gave it to her.  She looked at it
and smiled again.  "Bene, I have the right passenger.  Would you kindly
follow me, signore?  You have been upgraded to first class."

He struggled to his feet in a daze, thinking there must be some mistake.
He grabbed his backpack and followed the flight attendant up the whole
length of the plane and through the curtain into the opulent hush of the
first class cabin.

She stopped, looked back with a smile and pointed to the front row.  "Here
you are, signore.  This is your new seat."

Mario looked down ... and saw Grady staring nervously up at him, with an
empty seat beside him.

*******************************

TO BE CONTINUED in "A Trial Of Strength" – Chapter 340


Hey guys, this is Rob Williams.  I hope that chapter got you off, and I
welcome your comments and suggestions, which can be very helpful in
planning future chapters.  E-mail me in confidence at rw6789@aol.com.

ALSO, I invite you to visit my Web-site www.atrialofstrength.com. You can
read the whole story, all the many chapters, with extras, including
pictures and biographies of all the characters.  Click on the `Our Story'
tab to read the current chapter, or click on the green button to browse all
the chapter synopses.  Enjoy