Take It Slow Part 24

Daniel didn't want to move but knew he'd have to in a few minutes. The bathroom was calling to him. He turned a little, moving more into Benny's arms, which always seemed to be open to him.

"Mmm, feels good. Did I thank you for last night?"

he murmured against Benny's chin.

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"Did you need to? I don't think thanks are necessary here. If so, I need to thank you, too. I'd say we both enjoyed becoming lovers. That's what we are now, lovers, not just boyfriends. I really like that." Benny said, tilting his head down and taking Daniel's lips in a morning kiss.

"I was afraid I'd be too much like some teenager, you know?" Daniel said, moments later.

"Uh, Daniel, you are a teenager. We both are," Benny said, teasing.

"Yeah, but I don't really feel like one, do you? I think with what we've both been through and the way our lives are headed, I feel pretty grown up. Do you know what I mean?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah, the streets have that effect. You grow up in a hurry. I'm so grateful that they found you before that Jack guy did anything to you, other than mistreat you, I mean. I don't mean to make light of how horrid it was with him." Benny looked like he was afraid he'd said something to hurt Daniel.

"Relax. It was pretty horrid, and I was scared s.h.i.+tless he was going to make good on all the lewd promises he made for when I was 'old enough'." Daniel put air quotes around the last two words.

"It was smart of you to tell him you were only seventeen instead of nineteen. It probably saved you,"

Benny acknowledged.

"Yeah, but time was running out." Daniel s.h.i.+vered at the memory. Benny's arms tightened around him. His Benny, always there with the comfort.

"Okay, enough past. When's your birthday? When will you be twenty?" Benny asked, bringing a hand up and smoothing Daniel's hair off his forehead.

"Why? You going to get me something?" Daniel teased.

266.

"Of course. Come on, tell me." Benny's hands went to Daniel's ribs in a threat, waiting for an answer.

"Oh s.h.i.+t, don't, I've got to pee. January first. I was a New Year's baby." Daniel admitted, getting up.

Benny followed him, and they both used the facilities, brushed their teeth, and in perfect harmony, reached for each other for a real good morning kiss, without the morning breath. Daniel gloried in the softness inside Benny's mouth and the warmth of his arms. He squirmed against Benny.

"You're starting something. You want bed or breakfast?" It sounded like Benny had a hard time asking the mundane question, what with Daniel's hands on his behind, pulling him in closer.

"Both, in that order. Race you." Daniel said, turning to sprint toward the bed. It was close, Benny hitting the sheets a second after Daniel. They rolled together, laughing. Despite being so very grown up, they grappled on the bed like the teenagers they still were.

"G.o.d, there's something to be said for a big bed."

Benny mumbled, his mouth occupied with sliding down Daniel's chest toward the very hard, very eager c.o.c.k that stood up waiting for attention. Daniel's c.o.c.k, when hard, stood straight forward, while Benny's tended to curve upward a little more and to his right side. Daniel reached for it, making his lover gasp. Yeah, they'd have breakfast later. He wasn't too sore from last night, and he doubted if Benny was, either since they'd taken such care with each other.

They were both grateful for the leftover pizza by the time they got up the second time that morning. Starving, they heated the slices in the toaster oven and added a shared peanut b.u.t.ter and jelly sandwich for dessert.

"Perfect first breakfast together in our new home, don't you think?" Benny asked, as he stood and headed Take It Slow 267.

toward the sink to clean up. Daniel cleared the table and joined him. They threw out the paper plates, washed the gla.s.ses, and put the bread and other things away.

"I feel very domestic, and it's a very nice feeling. I think I appreciate things so much more after all I went through. I know other guys my age might be more interested in sports or hooking up or bigger, better cars and all that, but to me, this is pure happiness. I have a home with someone I love, and we have a future doing what makes us happy." Daniel took Benny into his arms, hiding his face in Benny's neck, afraid he sounded dorky.

Benny wrapped his arms around Daniel, leaned back against the counter and answered. "I know how you feel.

I've never been into showing off or trying to be better than anyone else. I was so happy to be helped, and when I saw what went on at Mama Sasy's and how much they all love just helping others, it touched something in me and made me want to be part of it. Being able to use law, which I wanted to do anyway, as a way to help out, makes it all too perfect to believe."

"I know it's all going to take time, but we can really build something there. It's amazing that it's happening like it is, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. We're going to make this program continue.

We'll expand and improve it any way we can come up with. It will be wonderful working on it with you, Benny."

"You're an amazing man, Daniel," Benny said, pulling back to look in Daniel's face.

"Me? Why?" Daniel was sincerely confused.

"You have been to h.e.l.l and back and managed to pull yourself together and forgive your father, build a life that anyone would be proud of, and have a future that will make you happy and help countless others. That's Take It Slow 268.

pretty amazing. Don't look like that," he chided, seeing the look on Daniel's face. "I mean it. Sometimes I can't believe you love me, Benny Adams, Mr. n.o.body."

"Where in the world is that coming from? Why would you feel that way about yourself, Benny? Easy, Mano, and Dad may have rescued me, but you saved me, my honey-eyed lover. If it hadn't been for you, I'd still be thras.h.i.+ng around on that cot freaking out every time I closed my eyes. You grounded me with you warmth and caring and lack of demands when I wasn't ready." Daniel took Benny's face between his hands and held him still, making Benny look right into his eyes as he talked. "We built a strong love through all of that.

Besides, you're just as big a part of what we've started at Mama Sasy's as I am. We went out together, you know, to find Franklin and then the others. The only difference is I lived through h.e.l.l. You deserve credit for helping me through the aftermath. I love you, Benny. I'm the lucky one here."

Daniel didn't give Benny a chance to say anything else negative, if that's where he was headed. He covered Benny's mouth with his and pushed his tongue inside, happy when Benny met it with his, eagerly. Daniel moaned as he felt both their c.o.c.ks pressing against each other in renewed interest. He put his lips near Benny's ear and whispered, "Think we'll ever get tired of this?"

"Never! Come on, let's go back to bed." Benny added to that request with both hands grasping Daniel's b.u.t.t and squeezing. Oh, yeah. "We'll go to Mama Sasy's a little later. At least it's Sunday, so it won't be as busy.

We'll have to try to do better on that, though. Get up earlier so we can allow for things like this coming up, so to speak."

They both laughed and hurried to the bedroom, dropping clothes as they went. Since they hadn't made Take It Slow 269.

up the bed, they were able to slip right in, arms already around each other and lips searching. For long moments, they lay still, kissing softly, despite both being full and hard. It was like time stood still and Daniel felt like all his senses were elevated. His skin registered Benny's soft skin and hard bones covering him. Benny had nothing extra on his body at all. Lean and lithe, he was still pure heaven to Daniel. Moving his hands from the top of Benny's head slowly down his back, he delighted in the small shudders he felt as he mapped each inch of Benny. Benny pushed his hips hard against Daniel's in response to the caresses. Daniel finally released Benny's mouth to say, "I want you inside me again."

"You sure? You're not too sore or..." Benny looked excited and hesitant at the same time.

"I'm sure, Benny. I'm good. I will never get tired of watching you enter me and looking at your eyes at the same time. They glow, warm and gold, full of what you're feeling. I love it." Daniel smiled when Benny blushed.

"G.o.d, the things you say," Benny muttered, dropping his head down and kissing Daniel again.

"Come here, and I'll say it a different way," Daniel promised, and was rewarded with the speed with which Benny met his request.

"I'm so looking forward to getting things going,"

Daniel said, as he drove them to Mama Sasy's later that day. They'd called in and been told things were fine and they should take their time. They did, for a while, but both felt like they should be at the diner. Daniel wanted to make sure that Ba.s.s was settling in and to see how Franklin was doing. Already he felt a sense of, not Take It Slow 270.

owners.h.i.+p, but responsibility. He knew how Mama Sasy must feel every time a new young man showed up.

There was so much potential for changing lives and making them better.

"I know what you mean. Are you itching to go back out one night soon, looking for anyone needing help? I know you can't stand to think there are so many out there like you and me." Benny said, putting his hand over on Daniel's shoulder as he drove.

"Maybe, but you know what I'd really like to do?"

Daniel had been thinking about this for a long time. It niggled at him.

"What's on your mind? You sound hesitant?" Benny asked, turning a little toward him.

"I wish there was some way we could get this Butch dude off the street and maybe into jail where he belongs.

From the sound of it, he's out there looking just as hard as we want to, for the opposite reason. I'd rather be finding these boys before they need medical help because he's caught another one in a vulnerable situation and beat on them. He's seriously f.u.c.ked up, you know?"

Daniel was almost shaking as his voice got a little rougher and his thoughts darker.

"I agree, totally, but how would we do something like that?" Benny asked and then, as if a light bulb went off over his head, he said, "Hey, maybe we could talk to my uncle about it. Not all cops are as accepting as he is, but he might know who is and maybe they could do some sort of sting operation and catch Butch."

"That's a good idea. Can we call him and see if he'll come by and let us talk to him? Tell him we'll spot him a free lunch and a piece of Mama's pie if he'll come by.

Franklin should be there today, since it's Sunday. He might be able to give us some good info on Butch. We could call Jeff and Robb and see if they know anything Take It Slow 271.

they could tell us about his habits, too. This would go a long way toward making it safer on the streets for the ones we can't get to, ya know?" Daniel was excited about the possibility of getting Butch off the street. He remembered when his biggest fear was of being accosted and hurt by someone just like Butch.

"How are Jeff and Robb doing? I haven't heard anything from them, but I might have missed it." Benny settled back and reached for his seatbelt as they pulled into the diner parking lot and headed for the side of the dorm to park.

Daniel knew that Easy and Mano were here, too, at least until tomorrow morning. They would be good to talk things over with. He knew they were both ready and willing to help in this kind of situation; Mano, because he'd lived through much the same thing in Tampa, and Easy because of Mano and his love for him.

Officer Adams only accepted the pie, but he and his partner listened as Daniel, Benny, Franklin, Ba.s.s, Easy, and Mano told of the havoc that Butch had been wreaking on the young men on the streets in this area.

They had called Jeff and Robb, and all they'd been able to add was that they thought he lived close to where they used to live, because he always seemed to know where they were. Given their old address, they had a starting place.

Mama Rosa came over to add that she would attest to how badly these boys had been beaten, and she felt sure that if Daniel and Benny hadn't shown up, the two now-models would have been hurt much worse. Butch had a couple of guys who hung with him and followed his orders when it came to beating young gays. She said she'd been through the same thing with her son, Mano, and hated to think of others going through the fear and the pain he had.

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Officer Adams promised to not only be on the lookout himself but also to bring it before his captain and see if they couldn't get a more concerted effort to find this man before he actually killed someone.

Daniel put his arm around Benny as they watched his uncle leave the diner. "Are you feeling the same sense of accomplishment as I am? It's like things are looking up.

We're making a difference here. We're going to be a force to be reckoned with, aren't we? We're going to build a network of people in so many areas that will make our program work well and help so many guys just like us."

Benny turned into Daniel's arms and kissed his cheek, ignoring the chuckles from the back booth, and said, "It's going to be a good thing, Daniel. We're going to be a power couple with the backing we have here. I have the best feeling about the direction we're going. I want to talk to Ba.s.s about helping with the GED program. It won't take you long to get yours. I want to know if Franklin has his, and if he needs any training to be able to do more, or if he's happy just working at the garage.

Maybe he could take it over some day, if he had some business training."

"Your mind's just moving a mile a minute, isn't it? I like that. Let's get some supper with Easy and Mano, Ba.s.s and Franklin, and we'll talk about it." Daniel leaned in a little and whispered, "I love you, Benny."

He heard Benny's indrawn breath and saw the dawning smile as Benny looked into his eyes. Benny winked at him, tightened his arms in a quick hug and said, "Only as much as I love you. Isn't it great, the way that works out?"

They turned and headed for the kitchen to get some food before going back to the table and joining their friends. They had a lot to talk about.