Written By: LJ
Skyy stood in stunned silence and stared at the scene unfolding half a block away. His mouth was opened but he was finding it hard to vocalize his thoughts.
“Why are they here? How did they know I was in on it?” he whispered through chattering teeth, once he recovered the ability to speak. He watched as Dennis amicably shook hands and bid farewell to the two police officers. He ducked behind the bushes in Mr. Blakeney’s front yard and hoped he hadn’t been spotted as the patrol car slowly drove past him and turned the corner. He blanched when it hit him just how busted he really was.
Several minutes later he heard a familiar voice asking, “What are you doing out here, Buddy?” He spun around and saw Dusty leaning out of his truck window. Skyy gratefully accepted the invitation to get in and quickly crawled into the passenger seat of his partner’s pick-up.
“For shit’s sake, Skyy, I can hear your teeth rattling and you’re shaking like a leaf. You’re goddamn near frozen. Why were you standing there instead of going home?” Dusty asked as he reached across the other man to shut the door before flipping the heater on high.
“No! Don’t do that!” Skyy cried out and pushed the lever back to low. “It’s going to hurt, D.”
“Okay, kid! What’s up?” Dusty pulled into the driveway, shut off the motor and shifted until he was facing his fellow-Brat. “And where the hell are your gloves?” he demanded when he saw Skyy’s bare hands.
“I wasn’t wearing any!” Skyy looked down at his clenched fists and muttered. “And my mittens are stuck to the back bumper of bus number 72. I’m in a lot of trouble, D.” Skyy sighed deeply and murmured. “I just want Den.”
‘This can’t be good!’ Dusty shook his head but kept his thoughts to himself as he got out of the truck and walked around to the other side. “Out you get, little buddy. Let’s go find Den and start thawing you out some.”
The two young men entered the house and moments later found themselves face to face with one rather displeased Top.
Dennis stood with hands on hips, glaring down in loving exasperation at his youngest Brat. He walked over and began removing Skyy’s scarf, hat, and jacket. “Dusty, would you go upstairs, love, and gather up a couple of towels, Skyy’s nightshirt, flannel pants, housecoat and slippers?” Dennis requested as he led Skyy over to the kitchen table. “Better bring down his mink as well.” he called out to his quickly disappearing partner.
“Den, I-I….” Skyy stuttered. He couldn’t stop shivering.
“Later, Sport! First things first! Getting you warm is our number one priority,” Dennis patiently suggested as he gently stripped Skyy of all his clothing.
“It’s gonna hurt, Den. I know! ‘Cause I’ve been this cold lots of times and it really hurts when things start to warm up.” Skyy certainly wasn’t looking forward to the next hour.
“It will be different this time, little one. Dusty and I will be here to take care of you,” the older man lovingly promised. “Thanks, Grease-monkey!” Dennis took a large towel from Dusty and after wrapping it around Skyy, sat the younger man down. Next, he filled two basins with cool water. He placed both in front of Skyy, the larger one on the floor and the smaller one on a TV tray-table he had Dusty bring up from the family room. “Soak your feet in here, Sport.”
Skyy slipped one toe into the water and immediately yanked it out. “It’s friggin’ freezing, Den!” he wailed.
“Listen to me, baby. This is the only way to get your hands and feet warm without it hurting too badly.” Dennis saw the disbelief in his Brat’s violet-blue eyes. “Do you trust me, Skyy?” he quietly asked, already knowing the answer.
Skyy gazed into the warm brown eyes of the man he loved more than he was able to express with mere words. He nodded his head ever so slightly and slowly lowered his feet into the water. He held his breath as he tentatively eased his hands into the second basin. He was pleasantly surprised and greatly relieved when the feeling slowly returned to his fingers and toes without the accompanying pain he was expecting. He marveled as Dennis added warmer water to the basins at regular intervals.
“Wow! How did you know this would work, Den?” Skyy glanced up at his oldest partner in awe.
“It’s happened to me more times than I care to remember, Sport, and it’s how my parents cared for me when it did,” Dennis explained as he handed Skyy some Kleenex. “Used this, Skyy, not your sleeve!” he gently admonished and chuckled at his Brat’s groan of indignation.
“But my hands are in water, Den, and my nose is running,” the younger man complained.
Dusty grabbed the tissues out of Dennis’ hand. “Here, Buddy, I’ll hold it while you blow.”
“Did you know this would work, D?” Skyy asked, nodding his head towards the basins of water.
“Yep, ‘cause Den has had to thaw me out once or twice since we’ve been together.” Dusty laughed and threw his arms about Skyy’s shoulders and hugged him.
An hour after arriving home, Skyy was cuddling on Dennis’ lap and sipping a mug of hot chocolate. All his extremities were back to normal and he was snuggly wrapped up in his mink blanket. All three men were aware this quiet moment in time was just the calm before the storm. Although Dennis had all the questions and Skyy had all the answers, it would be the older man making all the final decisions.
“Well, young man, do you want to talk things over tonight or wait until the morning?” Dennis asked when Skyy’s yawn indicated the younger man was fading fast and would soon be asleep if he didn’t get things moving.
“I can’t wait all night, Den!” Skyy stated adamantly as he bolted upright and stared wide-eyed at Dennis. He wondered what the man had in mind.
“It’s okay, Skyy. I was just giving you a choice. If you’d rather get it taken care of before going to bed, then we may as well go into the study as soon as you finished your drink.”
“I’m done with it now,” Skyy pouted and put the half filled cup on the table.
“Aah, I’ll just tidy up in here before heading upstairs to have a shower.” Dusty offered. He didn’t want to witness the upcoming discussion between his two partners.
Dennis smiled his understanding and set Skyy on his feet. “Gather up the ends of the blanket so you don’t fall over it, Sport, and follow me.” He led the way down the hall and into his office. He sat down on the large leather sofa where he waited for the younger man to shuffle over and sit beside him.
“So, Skyy, how was your evening?” Dennis inquired. As innocent as the query sounded, it was still followed by an ominous silence. “I trust you enjoyed yourself,” he stated when there had not been a response to his question.
“Well, for the most part……” Skyy left the rest of his comment hanging in the air. He was unsure of the best way to go about explaining and hoped Dennis would prompt him.
“Why don’t you start at the beginning and tell me all you did tonight?” Dennis pointedly suggested. “Unless you’d rather just skip to a certain activity you participated in. An activity that was not only illegal, but extremely dangerous.”
Skyy took a deep breath and studied the man sitting next to him. The younger man was reassured of his place in his partner’s life when he saw the unfailing love, total acceptance and patient understanding in Dennis’ handsome face. “I-I was bumper-skiing on the back of a bus,” he murmured and hung his head.
“Do you think it was a good idea or a smart thing to do?” Dennis’ soft voice was completely devoid of accusation or censorship.
“Neither.” Skyy shrugged his shoulders in hopelessness of his explanation being acceptable. “But it looked like so much fun, Den. I just wanted to try it! At the time, I wasn’t a hundred percent positive it was illegal and I kinda pushed any thoughts of it being dangerous out of my mind.”
“I know it was a lot of fun, Skyy, but was it worth the sound spanking you’ve earned?”
Skyy sat there, quietly chewing on his lower lip. He wasn’t exactly sure of the answer to that particular question but had a strong feeling he was about to find out. He felt Dennis slide the blanket from around his shoulders seconds before he was plucked from his warm cocoon and firmly guided across the bigger man’s lap. A cold draft wafted over his bared butt as his nightshirt was lifted and his sleeping pants were lowered. “Ooooow!” he wailed when the first of many painful smacks landed on his backside.
Dennis continued to land one hard swat after another until he was convinced his youngest Brat had learned this very important lesson in avoiding dangerous and illegal activities. By the time he had completed several circuits, the bottom in front of him was a fiery red and Skyy was sobbing into the pillow he had clutched in his arms. Dennis ended the spanking and began to calm Skyy by rubbing rhythmic circles on the young man’s back. After allowing several minutes to pass while Skyy’s cries slowly diminished into hitched breaths and hiccups, Dennis rearranged Skyy’s clothing and gently pulled his chastened partner into a forgiving embrace, being mindful of one very sore bottom.
“H-how come you knew it was the k-kind of fun not worth the p-price, Den?” Skyy stammered in a small tearful voice.
“Because, baby, I learned this lesson the same way you just did. Face down over the knees of someone who loved me enough to hurt his own hand making sure I would never repeat the stunt again.” Dennis spoke softly into the damp curls of the head resting on his shoulder.
Skyy lifted the other man’s large right hand, turned it palm up and held it in his own smaller one. He tenderly ran his fingertips over the hot reddened flesh. He turned sad apologetic eyes up to Dennis before tightly wrapping his arms around the older man’s neck. “I love you too, Den, and I’m sorry! I won’t do it again. Promise!” he sincerely vowed as he wiped his face on his sleeve.
“I know, little one. But to make sure the lesson has been implanted in your head as well as your butt, I want an essay done on the dangers of bumper riding. Aside from your writing assignment, it’s over now. Would you like to talk about the rest of your activities or just go up to bed?”
“Talk,” Skyy mumbled and began playing with the buttons on Dennis’ shirt.
“Come in!” Dennis called out at the tentative knock on the study door and smiled when their other partner stuck his head in the opened doorway.
“Aah, is the coast clear?” Dusty hesitantly inquired. Receiving affirmative nods, he walked in and picked up Skyy’s blanket before flopping himself down next to Dennis. “You okay, little buddy?” Dusty reached out a hand and gently removed a remaining tear from his fellow-Brat’s cheek.
“Yeah, we’re okay,” Skyy murmured and glanced up at their Top. “Aren’t we, Den?”
“You bet we are, sweetheart!” Dennis assured him and gathered both his Brats closer. “How about sharing the tale of your evening’s entertainment with Dusty and me, Sport?”
“I’d sure like to hear all about it, Buddy!”
“Okay! First Aaron and I took in the early show like we planned. You guessed it, Den! The ending was sad and really sucked. We should have gone to the other movie. Next we had something to eat at Subway’s and as we were leaving we bumped into three of Aaron’s friends from school.”
“And who would they be, Skyy?” Dennis asked. He somehow felt he wasn’t going to be too thrilled with the answer.
“You remember Calvin, Marty and Warren, don’t you?”
Dennis looked over to see Dusty rolling his eyes as both men’s suspicions were confirmed.
“Go on, Buddy!” Dusty encouraged before Dennis could voice his concerns.
“We all drove up to the Brookvale Skiing Resort in Warren’s SUV to check out the special events advertised. And you were right again, Den. It was so crowded! Warren had to park a couple of miles from the lodge. When we finally got there everyone was packed into the place like a bunch of sardines in a can. To make matters worse, we waited in line forever to get a free cup of hot chocolate that tasted as if someone had washed dirty socks in it. Man, I was glad to get out of there.”
“Bet you weren’t looking forward to that long hike back to the truck, eh kid?” Dusty teased once he stopped laughing.
“Was it then the idea of hitching a ride on the back of a bus surfaced, Sport?” Dennis voiced his hunch when Skyy vehemently shook his head in response to Dusty’s question.
“Yeah!” Skyy reluctantly admitted. He once again acknowledged the older man’s uncanny ability to zero in on things, especially when it involved one of his Brats getting into mischief. “I’m not sure who got the idea first, but we all held onto the bus at one time or another. I let go as the bus hit bare pavement but Calvin didn’t and he ended up getting hurt. We think he might have broken his collar bone. At first we couldn’t decide what to do. I had my cell phone and used it to call Calvin’s parents. They weren’t home and I was about to call you, Den, when the police showed up. Aaron and I kinda faded into the crowd, figuring the other three could handle things without us. What I want to know is how the police knew I was there and how they found out I live here?”
“One of the officers spotted your wallet lying on the road near the scene. Although they strongly suspected your involvement, they don’t have any actual proof or witnesses. They were merely returning your property and took the opportunity to inform me of what had taken place, just in case I might be interested.” Dennis smiled knowingly at the young man sitting on his lap and watched the facial expressions play across Skyy’s face as the pieces fell into place. “It could be that when you pulled your cell phone out of your pocket, the wallet dropped on the ground without you noticing due to your hands being so cold.”
“You’re probably right,” Skyy agreed and let out a long dejected sigh. “Meme isn’t going to be too happy about me getting the mittens she gave me for Christmas stuck to the bumper of a city bus. Man, I’ve had them for less than two weeks.”
“Your mittens are presently hanging in the laundry room, drying. They must have fallen off the bus and were returned along with your wallet.” Dennis felt Skyy relax against his chest with the contentment this information provided.
“You sure got off light, Buddy, considering all what could have gone wrong,” Dusty commented while shaking his head in wonder at his younger partner’s good fortune.
“Ya think!” Skyy exclaimed as he shifted slightly and gingerly rubbbed a hand over his sore bottom.
“Yeah! I think! And if you ever pull a crazy stunt like this again, I’ll kick your butt myself!” Dusty threatened.
“No you won’t ‘cause you’re not allowed!” Skyy hotly returned and gave his fellow-Brat the finger. “Ooww!” he cried out when Dennis grabbed the offending hand and gave it a sharp smack. Skyy massaged the injured area and glared up at the one responsible for it hurting. He pouted when both his partners began chuckling at his look of outrage.
“That is not an acceptable way of communicating, young man,” Dennis admonished.
“Sorry, D.” Skyy’s murmured apology was readily accepted. “Den?” Skyy looked up to make sure he had the older man’s full attention. “You’re not gonna squeal on Aaron, are you?”
“What you boys were doing was very dangerous and illegal, Skyy. Stephen should be made aware of it. That is, unless you know for sure Aaron is going to tell his partner himself.”
“I-I don’t know if he going to or not. Aaron knows I was going to tell you. I really was, Den! Honest! But I was having a hard time figuring out how and I didn’t think asking ‘Wanna play a game, Den. See if you can guess what I’ve been doing?’ was the best way to go about it.”
“I believe you, baby,” Dennis assured him. “And while I appreciate your intention to be up front with me, I still want to be certain Stephen is also informed. This isn’t the first time you and Aaron have gotten into trouble when in the company of these particular acquaintances, is it?”
“No, but Aaron better not blame me!”
“Come on, Buddy. Like Den is always telling us, everyone is responsible for his or her own actions. Not just the three of us, but everyone. If Aaron takes it out on you, just let me know and I’ll take care of him!”
“Yeah, right! Like I’m gonna let you fight my battles. Thanks, D, but no thanks!” Skyy rolled his eyes at the idea and let his head drop onto Dennis’ shoulder before quickly straightening up and turning towards his older partner. “By the way, Den, how come you know so much? I mean you were right on about the movie and the ski resort. You did a bang up job of getting the freezing outta my hands and feet. You even knew about the fun of bumper skiing.”
“It may seem to you like I know a lot, Sport, but it’s simply because I’m older and have more experience in some areas.”
“Ha! Older is right!” Dusty joked and winked at Skyy.
“Bet I thought of something you don’t know,” Skyy teased in a singsong voice. Seeing Dennis’ smile of indulgence, he continued. “This small city we live in has approximately two dozen buses, right? So how come the bus my mitts got stuck to, was number 72 instead of a number somewhere between one and 25?” Skyy seemed pleased with himself for finally catching Dennis off guard, or so he believed.
Dennis and Dusty exchanged amused glances. “The reason is due to buses being replaced. Their numbers are retired and the new replacements get the next one in sequence,” Dennis explained and both men waited for Skyy’s reaction.
“Show-off!” Skyy muttered, momentarily glaring up at his oldest partner before allowing a crooked grin to appear on his face. All three men burst out laughing.
The End.
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