Tangled : Part Two

THREE : CAT AND MOUSE.

Four years ago I received my inheritance. My parents were both killed in a motor accident when I was twenty-three and their estate was left in trust for me until I turned twenty-five. My inheritance was comprised of three pieces of property and a fairly substantial bank account.

The properties consisted of: one - the cottage my parents had lived in; two - a rather run down building in the village; and three - a plot of vacant land on the south-west beach front.

The cottage I sold immediately, too many memories and as it was quite a long way out of town, I would never use it. I decided to hang onto the plot of land on the beach front as I hadn't quite made up my mind about it. As for the run down building: I came up with an idea after I'd been to have a good look at it. It had a spacious ground level, part of which I renovated and turned into an art gallery. The top floor consisted of two two-bedroomed apartments. I re-modeled them and moved into one, glad to be out of the rented bachelor apartment I had been living in.

I approached Danny, who was at that time, a typical struggling artist, and persuaded him into a partnership with me. He moved out of his run-down place and into the second apartment. And so The Gallery was born. The income from the sale of the cottage and the money my parents had left me financed the entire project with a substantial balance which I kept in a savings account. I hired a very old friend of Danny’s - Jane Summers - as secretary/receptionist and to keep the gallery open when Danny and I were not available.

I am a photographer, but I also love art. I wanted our gallery to cover all aspects of fine art; photography, painting, sculpture, and so forth. We exhibit anything and everything; giving local artists a place to show their work. Surprisingly, it's doing very well and to boost our income I do contract photography work and Danny continues to paint, selling his work when he can. He subsidizes his income with the modeling jobs which seem to come his way fairly often. So between the contract work, Danny’s modeling gigs and sales from The Gallery, all our overheads were covered and we could afford to pay Jane a very generous salary.

Two weeks went by before I tangled with Lee again. This time it was not in Pen Island as I had been avoiding it.

It was not long after my last contact with Lee that I discovered that he lived only about four blocks from me, so it was inevitable that we would run into each-other at some point. I was surprised that it took as long as two weeks for it to happen.
On the Friday evening, I closed up The Gallery and made my way down the block to the local supermarket. I bought the things I needed and slowly ambled home carrying the weighty paper bag.

I was walking along in a daydream, when suddenly a body dashed around the corner and ran straight into me. The paper bag fell from my hands at the impact and tumbled to the ground and I staggered back, trying to regain my balance. Groceries spilled out and scattered across the sidewalk as the bag broke.

“Damn!!” I exclaimed as I watched a bottle of milk shatter.
“So sorry!” A gruff voice apologized.

I knelt and started picking up my scattered groceries. The man who had run into me got down on his knees in front of me and started to help. I put the salvageable goods in a pile in front of me and looked up. Bright emerald eyes stared back at me. In front of me on the sidewalk, on his knees was Lee. He looked at me in surprise, then he stood up quickly and stepped back.

“Well, well, well!” He snorted. “If it isn't the pretty little rent-boy.”

I stood up slowly and glared at him. I bristled at the way he emphasized the 'little'.
“I am not . . ” I started but he cut me off with a wave of his hand.
“Oh, just shut it, will you.” He growled. “And keep the hell away from me.”
“What?” I barked back at him. “You ran into me, you big clumsy oaf!”
“You ran, I ran, we all ran! I don't give a shit!” He said archly. “Stay out of my way.”

He spun on his heel and walked away quickly.
“And you from me!” I yelled at his back. “Oh, and thanks ever so much for your help!”

He stopped and turned to face me. He extended his hand and gave me the finger.
“Ha, fucking ha!” He yelled. Then he turned and disappeared around the corner, leaving me standing there with my shopping around my feet.

In the week that followed, I saw Lee three more times. On each occasion, he treated me with contempt and loathing.
Four days after the last incident I was on my way home from shopping again when I saw him walking up the pavement towards me. When he was close to me, he stopped and glared at me. His emerald eyes pierced my brain and left me a little breathless.

“I thought I told you to keep out of my way?” He growled.
“I am not changing my habits just for you.” I replied acidly. “I walk this way every evening.”
“I swear that if I come across you again, I shan't be held responsible for my actions.” He said roughly.
“What is your problem?” I asked belligerently. “I've done nothing to you.”

“And just keep it that way.” He barked as he pushed past me. I turned and watched his retreating back.
“You have this crazy idea that I'm a hustler. Well I'm not and never was.” I shouted at him.

He stopped and turned to face me.
“Yeah, right!” He said. “Go tell it to the marines.” Then he laughed sourly. “In fact, why don't you go sell it to the marines.”
“You know what?” I said acidly. “I don't care what you think of me so go fuck yourself!”

He took a couple of steps towards me and I thought that this time he wasn't going to let me off lightly. But then he stopped and dismissed me with a wave of his hand.
“You're just not worth it.” He said and turned and walked away. God, I hated the way that he was able to get such a rise out of me.
Wednesday evening I met up with him again.

Danny and I had been invited to the opening of the new wing at The Fine Arts Museum. As owners of a small art gallery, it was natural that we would be invited, as were all gallery owners and curators in the area.

The new wing was splendid, with spacious exhibition rooms and up to date facilities. The museum was opening the new wing with an exhibition of Jonathan Fraser's work. I knew Jonathan very well as I had several of his works in my own gallery. We had become firm friends.
Danny and I wandered around the rooms admiring Jonathan's extraordinary paintings. We had a quick chat with Jonathan himself when he had a second to spare. The poor man was beleaguered by adoring elderly women, each one competing for his attention and I suspect, something more. I had to smile inwardly at this as I knew perfectly well that Jonathan was as gay as Danny and I.

A little later, our attention was directed to the podium. The formalities were about to start. Danny and I found a nice spot and waited for the curator of the museum to begin. He made a short speech of thanks to the sponsors of the museum and then introduced the architect who had designed the new wing. To my complete and utter surprise, it turned out to be Lee. My heart fell and I tried to hide myself behind a tall man in front of me.

Lee accepted the applause and accolades with a lazy smile on his face. His eyes roamed over the gathering and as his gaze passed over me, I dropped my head slightly to try and avoid being recognized. But unfortunately, he knew me immediately. His smile froze for a second and his green eyes blazed into mine. Then they swept past me and moved on.
I grabbed Danny's arm and started to slowly pull him towards the doors.

“What the hell is going on?” He whispered as he tried to pry my fingers off his arm.

“We have to leave. Right now!” I whispered urgently. “Don't ask why, let's just get the hell out of here, I'll explain later.”

The curator continued to wax eloquent on the merits of the new wing while Lee stood beside him and watched my slow backward retreat from under his brows with a small contemptuous smile.
Danny pried my fingers loose and stopped.

“I want to have a word with Jonathan before we go.” He whispered stubbornly and turned and moved towards Jonathan at the other end of the room.

The curator finished his ramblings and the crowd broke out with applause. I stood near the doors nervously, hopping from one foot to the other and watched as Danny chatted to Jonathan. I kept glancing around to see where Lee was, but somehow I'd lost track of him when the gathering broke up.

“I advise you and your . . friend to leave right now.” A voice rumbled in my ear from behind me. “This is not the local cruising ground.”
I turned to face Lee, his face dark and angry, his eyes like chips of polished emerald. He beckoned to George, the security guard.
“George.” He said. “This . . gentleman is leaving. Show him out, will you!”

George, whom I had known for some time and who knew me very well, looked at me puzzled.
“But Mr. Barker . . !” He started but Lee cut him off.
“Just do it!” He growled angrily, his brilliant eyes on me. “He's outstayed his welcome!”
“Yes, sir!” George replied, a little alarmed.

“It's alright, George.” I said quietly with a smile. “I was leaving anyway.”
George stood there awkwardly, not understanding why I, of all people, was being thrown out of the museum.

“I should think.” I said to Lee. “That you might be making a very serious mistake.”
“Never!” He replied curtly. “I don't make these sort of mistakes often.”
“Really?” I said and smiled sweetly. “We shall see.”

Just then Danny came back to me.
“Danny, we're leaving.” I said and took his arm. Lee watched us with dark angry eyes.

I smiled at him again while Danny looked from Lee to me in confusion.
“What's going . . ?” He started but I cut him off.
“Later! Let’s just get the hell out of here!” I said quickly. “Goodnight George.”

I took Danny’s arm and dragged him out of the building.
The following Friday night, I saw Lee yet again and this encounter was by far the worst.

Danny coerced me into going to Pen Island with him and after some thought I decided that I was not going to go out of my way to avoid Lee any longer. If I met up with him again, so be it. I would deal with it, if and when the time came. I was not going to give in to such an arrogant, self-serving, egotistical bastard any longer, gorgeous though he may be!

We arrived at Pen Island a little earlier than normal and joined Darren and Clive in our usual four-seat booth. Lee was not there, so despite my resolution not to care, I was rather pleased that a confrontation would not be necessary. However, after about an hour he walked in and sat at his usual seat at the bar. He scanned the room quickly, his green eyes glowing in the soft light. His gaze stopped when it reached our little corner. He glared at me and his lips compressed into a thin disapproving line. He dismissed me with a shake of his head and diverted his attention to his drink.

The banter around our table continued at a quick pace and I actually started to enjoy myself. I had all but pushed Lee out of my mind. Darren and Clive and even Danny, were all on top form and laughter was the order of the night.

Soon I found that I needed the rest room, so I got up and made my way through the throng, still laughing quietly to myself at the joke Clive had just told. For all his seriousness, Clive had a wickedly evil sense of humor which surfaced on very rare occasions. Tonight happened to be one of his best nights and he had us all in stitches most of the time.

After I had finished in the restroom, I made my way down the dim corridor back into the club. When I was about half-way down the corridor, I saw a large figure of a man enter the top end of the corridor and to my horror, I recognized Lee immediately.

I stopped dead and suddenly realized that I was trapped. I couldn't move forward because he was approaching me fast and there was no room in the narrow corridor for us to pass each-other comfortably. One of us would have to press up against the wall to let the other by. I couldn't go back into the restroom as I would then be trapped in there with him. I decided on the lesser of the two evils and moved to let him have right of way. I put my back to the wall and tried to become part of it. He got level with me and turned to push past me. That's when I realized that he had not actually recognized me yet.

I quickly turned my face away from him and hoped that he would just go by without knowing who I was. He didn't. He turned to face me and started to move past me sideways. Then he stopped. We were now both jammed in the corridor, facing each-other and I could feel his hard warm body pressed against mine with every cell in my being. I turned my head as far to the side as it would go and waited for him to move past. He didn't. He grabbed my chin in his hand and turned my face to his.

“So here we are again, rent-boy!” He exclaimed. “Stuck in this dim corridor, pressed up against each-other. It could be quite a turn on, except that you are not exactly what I would wish for.”
“I really don't want to be here either.” I mumbled. “And let go of my face, you're hurting me.”

He ignored me and continued to hold my chin in a firm, steely grip. I tried to pull away but his grip was solid and besides, there was not enough room. The next few minutes were the most surprising moments of my life. He suddenly bent his head and kissed me. His tongue forced its way past my lips and it ruthlessly explored every part of the inside of my mouth. My eyes flew wide open and I saw that his eyes were open too. They bored into mine as he kissed me. I tried to push him off me but, again, there was just not enough room. We were too closely pressed against each-other.

Then I got another shock. I could feel his arousal at the base of my belly. Despite what he had said, his cock was steely hard and it pressed solidly into my groin and the heat of him flooded through my body.
He released my lips and laughed evilly.

“I could go for you in a big way if it weren't for the fact that I really dislike you intensely.” He said, his voice thick with lust. Then he pushed his pelvis even harder into mine and ground his hips against me. An electric shock shot through my body and I felt my dick respond alarmingly.

Anger overtook me and I threw myself sideways to escape his grip. I stumbled away from him and leaned against the wall. I glared at him. He watched me carefully, a sardonic smile on his face, while he rubbed his bulging crotch with one hand.
“Not bad!” He smirked. “You’re quite the little cock teaser.”

“You unforgivable bastard.” I croaked, my voice heavy with anger and frustration. “You arrogant, self-righteous, conceited son-of-a-bitch!” I stopped to catch my breath.
“Aha!” He exclaimed. “Some fire at last. I was beginning to think that you didn't have the balls for it.”

I saw red. I flew at him and threw a punch at his chin. He tried to dodge it and was almost successful, but the corridor was just a little too narrow. My fist just caught the edge of his jaw and I managed to knock him back a step. He straightened and lifted his hand to massage his chin.

“Good for you. You get that shot in for free!” He laughed and moved closer to me. “The little rent-boy is tougher than he looks.”

I shot out my fist again and this time it connected with his chin full on. He staggered back from the blow, a look of utter surprise on his face. He really hadn't expected me to strike out again. Even though my knuckles stung from the contact, I felt a rush of self-satisfaction.
“What about that one?” I asked, my voice grating with anger. His eyes blazed like green fire as he pulled himself upright. “Do I get that one for . . !” I began but suddenly his fist lashed out at me and caught my cheek bone. I stumbled back against the wall, my head spinning. He stepped forward and grabbed me by the neck of my shirt and pulled me upright.

“No little rent-boy is ever going to get the better of me again.” He growled into my face, his eyes dark with anger. Then he released me and pushed me back against the wall. I regained my feet and stepped away from him. My cheek stung from the blow, but I resisted the urge to lift my hand to it. I did not want to give him the satisfaction.
“Fuck you!” I yelled. “And for the last fucking time, I am not a hustler.”

“Go pretty boy, run along now!” He laughed. “Keep this up and maybe, just maybe I might grow to respect you a little.”
I glared at him. “As I said, you are seriously making a big mistake.” I growled. “You're going to regret this, I promise.”
“I have never regretted anything I've ever done, so keep on hoping, pretty boy!”

“Well, there's always a first time for everything!” I said angrily and stormed out of the corridor. I didn't go back to Danny and the guys, I just walked out of that place and vowed never to return. God, how I hated him!!

It was only later, at home that I realized that I might have over-reacted somewhat. The reason I knew, was that I had felt a whole lot more than anger when he had pressed himself hard against me and kissed me. His kiss had thrilled me and, although at the time all I wanted to do was get away from him, I knew deep down, in retrospect, that I had responded to him in some primal way. His roughness and obvious arousal had awoken a deep yearning in the pit of my stomach. I hated him and I knew that I ought never want to see him again, but to my utter surprise, all I really wanted, was to see him again.

I noticed that his punch had split my cheek open and it was bleeding a little. I cleaned the cut and threw on a bit of iodine. Chalk that one up to experience, I thought.
The following Monday, I did see Lee again. This time, I had the upper hand and I was on my own ground. It was to bring a change in my life that was totally unexpected.

To be continued...