Three of a Kind - 1
Three of a Kind
Copyright © 2009 by Sean Michael
All rights reserved. No part of this eBook may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever
without written permission except in case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or
reviews. For information address Torquere Press, Inc., PO Box 2545, Round Rock, TX 78680
Cover illustration copyright Alessia Brio
Used with permission
ISBN: 978-1-60370-713-8, 1-60370-713-1
Printed in the United States of America.
Torquere Press, Inc.: High Ball electronic edition / May 2009
Torquere Press eBooks are published by Torquere Press, Inc., PO Box 2545, Round Rock, TX
78680
Three of a Kind - 2
Chapter One
Zane looked at the mile marker, then at the map.
Then at the big assed saguaro outside, then at the white smoking pouring out of the engine.
Fuck a duck.
Zane looked at his fingers shaking and trembling against the steering wheel. There was a deep cut
in one of his knuckles and it was red and raw. Hurt.
Didn't hurt as bad as some of him, but it was something to focus on. Something to look at while he
sat in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere Arizona, trying not to run in blind circles, screaming.
Headlights lit up his rearview mirror, the truck slowing, pulling up behind him. Zane grabbed his
hat, pulled it on, told himself not to panic. Just a good Samaritan. Okay.
The guy who got out of the truck was tall, wearing jeans and a wife beater. He came up to the
window. "Hey. You okay?"
Zane nodded, tugged the brim of his hat down a little. No. No, he wasn't okay, but he wasn't in
Abilene anymore, so that was all right. His nose was broken, for sure, maybe his cheek and he was
scared to try and take his shirt off. "Truck blew the water pump."
"I'm not surprised. This thing looks like it belongs in the junk heap. In fact I think I might have a
few there looking in better shape." The guy went around to the hood and put it up, checking out his
engine.
Zane slid out of the cab, heading for the front. "I don't suppose you have some duct tape and water
to spare? I'd be real grateful." He ached, deep inside, and just wanted to get to San Diego, see the
ocean.
"I probably got the duct tape, but not that kind of water on me." The guy slammed the hood and
bent a little, peering at his face. "You're almost in worse shape than the truck."
"I'll be okay. Someone'll be by with water. Thanks for stopping." He'd sleep in the truck and then
figure shit out in the morning.
The guy snorted. "This time of night? You're lucky I happened by." The guy nodded at his truck.
"Come on. I'll take you home and you can clean yourself up. Tomorrow I'll bring you out and the
tow truck can get this puppy to the junk heap."
Three of a Kind - 3
"I... If you've got a spare water pump, I could install it in the morning." If it cost less than the
$37.50 in his pocket.
"Sure we can see what there is. Hell, it's a junk heap, there's bound to be something you can use." A
square hand was thrust out. "Butch Serno."
He reached out, shook. "Zane Howell. Pleased."
Butch turned his hand. "That's a nasty scratch."
"Yeah. Been a long couple days." Real long.
"Well, let’s see if we can end this one with a bit of antiseptic and sleep." Butch led the way back to
his red pick-up.
"Y...you're sure? I... I ain't got much cash to pay for a night." God, he was tired, and if this guy was
going to hurt him, he thought he'd rather just lie down and die.
"Oh, I think I can manage to put a scrawny pup like you up for a night without expecting anything
in return."
"Thank you, sir." He pulled down his hat again, grabbed the trash bag with what was left of
everything he had, something deep inside him screaming as he lifted. Please, God. Let him get to
wherever without breaking down.
The garbage bag was taken from him and put in the back of the truck and the passenger door
opened. "You think you can get in without making a face like that again?"
"I'll give it my dead level best." He eased himself up, sitting gingerly.
Butch got up behind the wheel and started her up, heading back out onto the road. "How badly are
you hurt?"
"I'm not fixing to die. Just real sore."
Butch nodded, quiet for awhile before they turned into a long lane into a junkyard. "I got a
roommate. So you know."
"I won't cause no trouble. I swear. I'll be out of your hair in the morning."
"I just thought you'd want to know. Not have it sneak up on you." He got a measured look from
dark brown eyes.
"Thanks. I. Hell, right now I'd sleep in the truck here, 'til morning." Zane turned his head, looking
out into the blackness.
Three of a Kind - 4
Lights were on in the large warehouse-like building where they pulled up, the front area full of
strange looking mounds that he couldn't quite make out in the dim light.
"Oh, I think we can do you better than the truck." Butch killed the engine and hopped out, went
around for Zane's bag of stuff.
Zane eased himself down, slowly followed Butch, running on adrenaline and autopilot. He refused
to start thinking about what kind of a fool he was, what sort of a dead-on moron. He had the rest of
his life to kick his own ass on that account.
"Hey, honey, I'm home." Butch called the words out but seemed unconcerned when there was no
answer.
The place was all one big room, areas separated by... well, statues, by the looks of them. There was
one that was the hood of a car with various engine bits soldered on, that separated an area with a
big bed from an area with a couch and a rocking chair and a TV.
The kitchen was separated from the "living room" by a bar countertop which looked to be a large
wooden box decorated with plates and bottles, utensils. Two stools, each topped with a hubcap
waited there.
The living space was separated from the rest of the place by strings of stuff hanging from the
ceiling like those cheesy hanging beads, except these weren't beads, they were made up of all sorts
of things from more hubcaps to twisted bits of metal. Three or four of them only hung down
partway, making a doorway of sorts.
The walls were decorated with more hodgepodges of things that had obviously been deliberately
arranged that way.
Butch caught him looking and grinned. "Randy's an 'artist'."
"Cool. Very cool." He wasn't an anything, but he was getting damned good at it.
Butch looked around and shrugged. "Keeps him busy anyway. You mind sleeping on the couch?"
His bag was set on the floor next to the couch, which looked new amid all the... other stuff.
"No. That's great, thanks." He sat down, twisting his shaking hands together. "I appreciate it."
Butch nodded and gave him a critical look before going over and pulling something out of big
wooden wardrobe. "First aid kit, let's get you cleaned up."
Oh, God. Don't be nice. Please. "You don't have to."
"No, I suppose I don't. Wouldn't make me much of a human being though, would it?" Butch sat
next to him, opening the first aid kit.
Three of a Kind - 5
He made a non-committal noise. What did he know about what made a human being at this point?
Butch took his hat off and tilted his face, eyes running over it critically. Zane knew how it looked -
- two black eyes, broken nose, the imprint of a gold nugget ring on his jaw.
"Damn, Zane. You need to hang out with better folks."
Butch got up and ambled toward the kitchen. "I've got some ice. It'll help with the pain."
Yeah, no shit. George had made a shitload of promises, all of them gone sour. Some of them gone a
lot worse than that.
Butch came back with a bowl of water, a washcloth, a second cloth wrapped around ice, and a glass
of water.
"Here, take the painkillers first. It'll still hurt like a son of a bitch when I clean it up, but the sooner
you take the Tylenol, the sooner they'll kick in."
Zane nodded, took a deep breath and blinked hard, clearing his eyes. "Thanks." He looked at the
pills, saw the Tylenol symbol and swallowed them.
Butch didn't say a word, simply passed him the glass of water and sat down again, wetting the wash
cloth. Once he was done drinking, Butch's big hands gently dabbed the cloth against his face. He
closed his eyes, telling himself not to flinch, not to move.
"Damn, someone was pissed at you."
The words let him know he could tell the story if he wanted to, but left it up to him.
"Yeah. Someone was." Fuck. Fuck, he was a stupid asshole. "There's no shortage of fools in the
world."
Butch snorted and went back to his gentle ministrations before passing over the dishtowel filled
with ice.
"Thanks." He leaned into the cold, the tears sliding out where no one could see.
Butch took his hand, cleaned and bandaged it, the antiseptic cream stinging a little. "You gonna let
me look at whatever had you grimacing back there?"
Zane shook his head. "I can't take the shirt off. It hurts too much."
"Well then, I should definitely have a look." Butch pulled a Swiss army knife out of his pocket.
"I'm going to cut it off. You can have one of Randy's in return."
Three of a Kind - 6
He swallowed hard, scooted back and off the couch, adrenaline pouring through him. No. No
cutting. He'd had enough for a weekend.
"Whoa!" Butch held out his hands. "I'm just cutting the shirt off so I can see if your ribs need
wrapping or if you need the hospital. I'm not here to hurt you."
"No hospitals." He was really shaking now, hanging on by his toenails. "Sorry. It's been a shit
couple days."
"All right, kid, but let me at least look at it. I don't want you dying on my couch, you know?"
"Okay." He settled back down, watching the big hands.
Butch carefully cut through the collar of the T-shirt and then closed the knife and put it aside. "I
could just rip it open at this point?"
Zane nodded, breath coming easier. "Y...yeah." He hadn't looked. He didn't want to know.
Butch put a big hand on either side of the cut material and tore Zane's T-shirt open down the front,
whistling low as his chest came into view.
"Is it bad?" He was scared to open his eyes.
"It's a fucking freak show. I think you've got ribs busted up. I can wrap it, but it looks like shit and I
bet is going to hurt like hell for awhile. You sure you won't let me take you to the hospital? If it's a
matter of money, I can take care of that."
"No hospitals." When (if) George woke up, he'd be looking for his truck, his ex-lover.
"All right." Butch dropped the subject and grabbed some elastic bandage from the first aid kit. "Can
you raise your arms up for me?"
"I'll try." The left one went easier than the right, the sweat pouring off him.
"That'll do." Butch worked quickly, binding his ribs. The bandage made the deep red bruises stand
out.
"Th...thanks." He was going to be sick. Fuck. Come on, Z. Hold it together.
Butch finished up and then put the first aid kit back together, closed it up. "You want some
whiskey?"
"I..." What? You're not legal? Shut up. "Yeah. Please."
Three of a Kind - 7
Butch nodded toward the wall of hanging stuff. "Toilet's on the other side of the barrier if you need
it. But don't touch anything over there -- it's all Randy's shit."
A sleeping bag was dug up from under the couch.
"I won't touch nothing. Promise." He leaned back, held the cloth over his face.
Butch got up and went to the kitchen, pulling the bottle of whiskey out of the cupboard and pouring
a fingerful into two glasses. One was brought over and given to him. "You need anything else,
Zane?"
"No, sir. You've been real nice. I appreciate it."
"Call me, B--"
He was interrupted by the front door banging open. "Butch! You're back. Cool."
"Hey, Randy. We've got company."
Randy wasn't quite as tall as Butch and more willowy. He had a grease stain on one cheek and his
hands were filthy and full of bits and pieces.
"Hiya, company! Oh hey -- you're hurt."
"Yeah. Zane. Hi." He tried to stand, offer his hand.
"What happened?" Randy asked, dumping his handfuls on the table and coming over to get a closer
look.
He blushed, ducked his head. "I... the guy I was living with and me fought."
Randy sat in Butch's lap. "Really? That's awful. Butch would never do something like that to me,
would you, Butch?"
"No, sir, I would not." Butch put a protective arm around Randy's shoulders and the guy snuggled
right in.
Zane nodded, looked at the floor. Yeah, well, he thought he was special.
Randy bounced up. "Okay. Nice to meet you and all but I've got this wicked piece all worked out in
my head. I need to figure out what to use as the squishy brains. Maybe silly putty or something..."
Randy grabbed his pile of bits and pieces and wandered off to the other side of the warehouse,
chattering away to himself.
Wow. Artist. Zane finished his whiskey, coughing at the burn, groaning at the cough.
Three of a Kind - 8
Butch shot his back in one gulp and then gathered up their glasses. "Well, it's getting fucking late
and I've got to go to work tomorrow. Here's the remote. I'll spread out your sleeping bag for you --
the less movement the better, I'm guessing."
"Yeah. Thanks for everything." He helped as best he could, slipping his boots off.
The lights went off and he closed his eyes, prayed. Dear Lord. Please let me make it through
tomorrow alive and whole. I'm sorry. I was stupid. Forgive me. Amen.
He heard Butch settling on the big bed in the next "room" and he could hear the sounds of welding
and banging from the other end of the warehouse, Randy singing softly, one song after another as
he worked.
Eventually the whiskey and the ice and the pills helped and he slept, dreams nipping at him
throughout the night.
Three of a Kind - 9
Chapter Two
Randy was curled up against Butch's back when the alarm went off at six a.m.
Fucking damn, pulling these double shifts were going to fucking kill him. Especially when he
brought home a stray and was up to two in the morning patching the guy up.
Butch got out of bed and scratched his balls, yawning, stretching. Mornings weren't exactly his deal
anyway. He'd have to get an extra large coffee at the new Starbucks on the way in to the job this
morning.
He pulled on his T-shirt and jeans, padding out to the kitchen to grab a quick bite. Standing at the
bar with his cereal, he looked over at the couch.
Oh, man, somebody'd fucked the kid up but good. Eyes swollen shut, face bruised, the kid looked
like he'd met the business end of a semi. And the kid looked young, too, all bruised up like that. It
made Butch rumble and growl. What kind of a prick did that to someone and then left them to fend
for themselves?
He knew there were a lot in town that considered him a bit of a soft touch, but for fuck's sake...
At Butch's rumble, the kid shivered and sat up, a low cry sounding before the kid shoved a first into
his mouth to muffle it.
"Oh, hey, Zane. It's okay. You're safe. I didn't mean to wake you."
Bright blue-green eyes stared at him a second, just visible in those bruises. "Hey. Sorry. Dreaming.
Morning huh?"
"Yeah, so the alarm clock claims. How's things feeling this morning?" He kept eating, trying to
decide if he wanted juice before he headed out.
"I'll live. You got something I can use to haul water? I need to baby the truck on a little farther."
"I can drive you back out with your duct tape and water if you want. You can stay here for a bit if
you like, though. Heal on up some. Me and Randy won't bother you any." He hated to think of Zane
out there hurt like that with an unreliable truck. "In fact, if you get her running enough to bring her
back, you could work on her, find yourself some parts out of the yard."
"I have thirty dollars, man. Thirty dollars and this bag and that truck that's..." The kid sighed. "This
is a mess."
Three of a Kind - 10
"Well the couch ain't exactly deluxe accommodations, you can bunk there as long as you like. And
this is a junkyard, yeah? You pick up parts for free if the owner okays it. I okay it. Food... well we
can figure something out. You know anything about construction?" He could find the kid a job,
even if it was just as a runner over on Bob's big site.
To his surprise he got a nod. "Been a roofer since I was fourteen. 'S what my daddy did."
"No shit. I do construction contract work. I'm sure I can rustle you up something with Bob. He's got
a huge site going and half his boys are wet behind the ears in experience."
"I could work." Right. As pale as that face was? Butch thought the kid would be lucky to not fall
over.
He nodded. "I'll talk to Bob, see about bringing you in with me in a couple of days. I'll be happy to
take grocery money from your first paycheck if that's worrying you."
"Why? Why are you being so nice to me?"
Butch shrugged. "Because you look like you could use a little kindness."
He'd have stopped for anyone pulled over on the side of the road, that the kid was hurting had
upped the ante, but if a man didn't help out when he saw a need, he might as well be living in a
cave.
"I... the truck's not mine. I mean, it was once, but he... It's all messed up, but I could be in trouble."
Butch shook his head. "Nope. Don't tell me. I'll drive you to it; you'll fix it up and park it out back.
If the cops show up, all I know is it's your truck."
If the kid was planning to rip him off at some point, he wouldn't have admitted to the truck being
sort of stolen, whatever that meant. Only he didn't know that it was so it didn't matter.
The kid nodded, stood and carefully put on an old work shirt from the bag, then slid on the boots.
"I'm ready when you are."
"'k." He searched out the duct tape and grabbed a couple of gallon bottles of water from under the
sink. "Let's go."
Zane carried the trash bag half-filled with whatever, hat pulled down low, bruised jaw softened by a
line of coppery-red stubble.
The fact that he was bringing his life's possessions with him, made Butch wonder if Zane was going
to cut and run once he got his truck running. Oh well, it wasn't his problem. He'd made the offer, if
Zane didn't want to take it, he wasn't going to chase anyone down.
Three of a Kind - 11
They drove out, the desert traffic light for so early in the morning, coming up on what has left of
the kid's truck. Shit. Look like the lowlifes had been out and about early-early. They'd taken the
tires, the mirrors, god knew what from under the hood.
Beside him Zane shrank, like a balloon with the air let out.
"Shit, Zane, I'm sorry. I should have driven you back last night or tried to tow it in." He sat there
staring at it, figuring they'd have to call Samuels now, get it pulled up onto the flatbed and driven
back to the yard.
"S'okay, man. You were way cool." Those eyes wouldn't meet his, but one hand was offered over,
his taken. "I'm gonna see if there's anything left behind. I appreciate the help, sir."
Butch looked at Zane. "I'm not going to leave you out here with your truck undriveable." Fuck,
even if he didn't have a soft spot for strays he wouldn't do that. "And I've told you the name is
Butch."
Shit, the kid was too fucking pale to be out in the desert sun, even if it was September. "I haven't
the foggiest idea what to do next."
"I do."
He called up Bob and told the man he'd be in at noon. Then he called Samuels and asked him to
come out with the truck, explaining they had a wheel-less vehicle. He grabbed one of the bottles of
water, opened it and handed it over to Zane. "Relax, we've got about a half hour, maybe an hour."
"Thanks." Poor pitiful kid, trying so hard to hold his shit together.
"So, where you from?" Butch asked conversationally.
"Round Abilene. Was heading to San Diego."
"You drive all that way all beat up?" Damn, the kid was running from something desperate.
"Yeah. I left about ten-ish on... uh... What day's today?"
"Friday."
"Then Wednesday night."
Butch shook his head. "You're lucky you didn't puncture a lung bouncing along some of these
roads."
Those eyes met his for a second. "Would have been better than staying."
Three of a Kind - 12
"Ouch." He reached out and patted the thin thigh, hoping Zane didn't think he was taking
advantage, he just couldn't not reach out.
"Yeah. I... I was stupid. I don't know what to do now. I..." Zane rubbed his forehead.
"You spend a couple days healing and it won't seem so insurmountable."
"Yeah. I guess."
Man, with that face all swollen and the glum look, the kid was a real sad case. "So, what's in San
Diego?"
"The beach." He got a shrug, a sad little look. "I didn't know where else to go."
"Oh, it's nice out at the beach. You can still go. Only a bit delayed for rest and recovery for you and
the truck, yeah?"
"Yeah. Hell, it's only six more hours. Maybe I'll hitch out there, sleep on the beach until I figure
some work."
"It's up to you, I've made my offer."
"I'm sorry. I don't mean to sound ungrateful. I'm just... Three weeks ago I was home in my room
talking about going to college and now? I'm..." Those hands spread, shaking. "My brain's not
caught up with my body."
He reached over and took one shaking hand, squeezing it. "It's okay, Zane. I want you to know I'm
not asking anything of you -- not pressuring you or anything, okay?"
Poor kid. Brought out all his protective instincts, made him think again that finding the asshole
who'd done this and pounding him into the ground wouldn't be a bad idea.
Zane nodded, looking down at their hands. "Okay. I just... I'm sorta..."
Butch tugged on Zane's hand gently, arms opening up to give the guy a hug. It was shit being alone
when the chips were down and it felt like it was you against the whole entire world.
Zane was feverish, stiff, eyes looking at him. "He said he loved me, and I believed him. I'm an
idiot."
"Ah, kid, we're all fools for love, yeah?" Look at him and Randy, his beautiful, spacey, loon of a
lover. Not his first choice, but then love didn't give you one.
"Yeah, I guess. I could have used a less harsh lesson though."
Three of a Kind - 13
He nodded and let Zane go, watching as a glint in the distance slowly drew nearer and turned out to
be Samuels with the flatbed. Zane was quiet, polite, knew when to help and when to stay the fuck
out of the way. It wasn't long at all before they were headed back to the junkyard, following
Samuels.
"I didn't mean to eat into your day."
"Don't sweat it, kid. I'm working two jobs at the moment, eight 'til four and then six 'til midnight
over on another site. I'm glad of the break."
"Oh, wow. Long days." Zane winced, nodded.
"Yeah. I'm doing a friend a favor. It's been a couple months and I'm about at the end of my rope on
it. Projects got to be finished in two weeks though, so there's an end in sight." Thank the fucking
lord because he hadn't fucked Randy in a couple of weeks, being too damned tired and Randy was
usually "inspired" through most of the night.
Zane nodded. "I worked for a commercial and residential crew in the summers back home. I know
about that."
They pulled up next to the warehouse and he jumped out of the truck to help Samuels get the kid's
truck off the flatbed. "Put it on my tab, Sammy."
The old Chevy landed in the yard with a rattle and a shudder. Damn. Talk about bubble gum and
bailing wire. The kid shook his head. "Damn. That's. Damn."
"Yep. No offense, but she's seen better days."
"Yeah, no shit." Zane took his hat off, wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Why don't you go in, help yourself to some cold water and a bite to eat? I'll be along in a minute."
"You sure? I could do some work for you, work off the tow charge." So fucking earnest, so solid.
"You heal up first. I won't say no once your ribs are good."
He gave Zane a nod at the warehouse before turning back to Samuels. "You got any chains hanging
around? Randy wanted me to ask. He's doing a piece called freedom and it needs chains, man. I
think those were his exact words."
Samuels laughed and promised to come by sometime with chains and to keep an ear open for
anyone else having some to get rid of.
Butch headed inside, noting that Randy was still fast asleep, sprawled naked as a jaybird on his
back and snoring lightly.
Three of a Kind - 14
Zane was in the kitchen, washing his face, his hands, bright red curls springing wildly. He looked
so young when he didn't realize anyone was looking at him and that hunted, defensive look was
missing. A single tear escaped those swollen, blackened eyes, Zane looking out the window, hands
gripping the edge of the sink.
Butch went over to the guy, petting him on the shoulder. "How about some breakfast at the IHOP
out on the highway? I don't know about you, but shit seems harder when I haven't had my coffee
yet."
Zane nodded, offering him a wry grin. "I could so go for a glass of cold milk and a cup of coffee."
"All right then. We'll do that and I'll drop you back here before heading off to the job." He gave
Zane a smile and headed out, taking another look at Randy as he passed the bedroom. Kid looked
good.
Zane kept his head down, carefully not looking, heading straight for the front door.
"I'd ask him to wear shorts while you're here, but he's not likely to remember."
"No. It's cool. He seems like a happy guy."
"He is as long as his artwork's going the way he wants it. He gets pretty morose sometimes. A good
hard fucking usually clears that right up though." Well, he hadn't meant that last part to come out
loud...
Zane chuckled, groaning at the end, one hand on his ribs. "Good therapy, huh?”
"Seems to work well for Randy."
Then they were back in the truck again and he was roaring down the highway. "Coffee at the
IHOP's the strongest in the area. I think Milly uses tar as her base."
"The one in Abilene had the best pecan pancakes."
"You'll have to try ours out and see how they compare. I like the blueberry ones myself. And the
waffles covered in fruit."
"Yeah. I like the waffles." Zane sounded hollowed out, empty.
Butch wished he could do something for the kid, but Zane was so closed off and he worried too
much physical contact would scare the kid off.
Zane dozed off about ten minutes before they pulled into the parking lot, jerking awake when they
stopped.
Three of a Kind - 15
"We're here," he said softly. He reached over and petted Zane's leg. "You're safe here. I promise."
"Oh. Thanks." Those surprisingly pretty eyes met his, and he got a smile. "I think I can smell the
coffee."
"Excellent, I'm feeling more awake already." He gave Zane a wink and a smile of his own.
Zane got some looks as they walked in -- how could the kid not? He looked like he'd been mangled,
but Zane didn't hide, simply followed the waitress to the booth.
"You've got guts, kid, I'll give you that."
Zane smiled up at Milly. "Two coffees, and I'll have the blueberry pancakes today."
"I'll have the $2.99 two egg special, please. Over easy. And a glass of milk."
Butch settled back after they got their coffees, relaxing. "So, you mind my asking what the fight
was about?"
"I was pissed off." Zane sighed. "I met George a few months ago, he was in the Air Force there at
Dyess and uh, he got transferred to Goodfellow and asked me to come with, said we could live
together and shit. So, I sorta told my folks and they showed me the door and I went to George's."
Zane poured a healthy dose of sugar in his coffee, stirring idly. "I'd been there a couple weeks and
then Monday night, George took me to a party and gave me a drink and when I woke up, I was
naked and in a booth in this bar and it was almost Wednesday night and I don't remember nothing. I
went to the apartment and he'd done sold my TV, my stereo, my stuff, thinking... Hell, I don't know
what he was thinking. He said it was over and we fought some and he, uh... sorta got the better of
me for a bit, but after I hit him. Hard with a broom handle. He went down and I grabbed what I
could and the truck keys and went."
Butch growled, pissed off that someone, some hotshot stud in the fucking Air Force, would do that
to this sweet kid, use him like that. "We could go back if you wanted. I'd like to let this George
know my opinion of someone treating their lover like that."
Zane shook his head. "I was a fool. I should've known better."
Butch sighed. It was a pretty fucking sad world when you couldn't trust the person who said they
loved you. "Well, I'm sorry, Zane. Even fools don't deserve to be treated like you were."
"Yeah. Won't happen again, yeah?"
Butch nodded. "Then you really would be a fool."
"Yeah." Hell of a lesson for somebody so young.
Three of a Kind - 16
Their food came and they both tucked in; he was hungry now that he had had his coffee. Zane ate
quietly, peppering his eggs and dipping the toast.
Once they were done, he finished his refill of coffee and checked his watch. "Damn, time flies
when you're not at work. I've got to take you back to the yard. You want me to talk to Bob about
you working once your ribs heal up?"
Zane nodded. "I'll need some cash and I'm a hard worker."
Butch nodded. "I can float you some money until your first paycheck. Hell, you can take a few to
pay me back. We'll stop by the bank on our way back to the yard."
"It's okay, man. I got thirty. I'm good."
Butch frowned. "Didn't you just say you needed some cash?"
Zane tilted his head, blinked. "Well, yeah. Thirty bucks isn't going to last long. Hell, I owe you
more than that in gas."
"Well then, I'll stop at the bank and get you some. And you don't need to worry on what you owe
me until you're working and have money of your own. I'm a little flush right now, what with the
two jobs and all." He didn't want Zane to feel like it was charity, but he didn't want the kid needing
in the cash department either.
"I... You're like my own personal guardian angel."
Butch chuckled. "I can't remember ever being called an angel before."
"There's a first time for everything."
"Yep, I guess there is." He put down fifteen dollars to cover their food and a tip for Milly who'd
dished Zane up an extra large plate.
"Let's go."
Zane nodded, following him, like a little, busted up Texan shadow.
Three of a Kind - 17
Chapter Three
Randy woke up slowly, blinking at the sunshine pouring in through the window onto the big bed.
Yawning, he got up and wandered to the kitchen, pulling the orange juice out of the fridge and
drinking it eagerly. Oh, that tasted good and woke up his brain, too. Yeah.
He put the carton back in the fridge and wandered into the living room, stopping short at the
slender body stretched out on the couch, face black and blue. Oh yeah, Butch's friend. Zip? Zap? Z
something anyway.
The guy was sound asleep, frowning, hand on a pretty belly.
Randy wandered over and looked down, grinning as his morning wood twitched. Not bad. Even
with the swelled up and bruised face. He liked the red curls; they were cool. Almost like coils. Oh,
man. Cool. He could do that face with metal. The swelling, the coily hair.
Randy bounced, hard-on forgotten and went to grab his sketchpad, coming back to sit bare-assed on
the coffee table to do a quick sketch.
The coffee table was cold enough and made him squeak as he sat.
Those eyes flashed open, the guy sitting up quick, a pained cry filling the air. Randy squeaked
again, scooting back and falling off the other side of the coffee table, legs up in the air.
The cowboy stood up, standing by the sofa. "Sorry. Sorry. You startled me. You okay?"
He laughed. "And you startled me, so we're even!" He shook his head and did a backward
somersault to get his legs under him and came up, rubbing his ass. "I'm good."
"Cool. I told Butch I'd do some work outside to pay for letting me crash on the sofa. I'll get to it."
Randy blinked. "But you're hurt! Butch couldn'ta meant you needed to do the work today."
He got a quiet smile. "Just doing my share."
"But I want to draw you!" He bent and picked up his sketchbook and pencil that had fallen when he
had.
"Me? Why?"
"Your curls. And the swollen face. Like an angel that got beat up, you know?" He started walking
Three of a Kind - 18
around the Z guy, hands flying as he talked. "I've got these coils, yeah? They'd do your hair so
good. And I wanted to get it all down before you're not swollen anymore. Wow, those are great
eyes. Blue, yeah? But like crystals."
"Oh. Okay." The guy backed against the wall, flinching a little.
Randy tilted his head. "I'm not going to hurt you. Oh! You're not like the people who think their
soul'll get caught if a picture's taken of them are you?"
"Uh. No. You wave your hands a lot. I'm real sore."
"Oh! Oh, sorry. Sorry, I could try to stop. I will. I'll stop." He put the pencil in his free hand and
started sketching. "See? Stopping."
"Thanks. Should I sit?" Those eyes were tired, but not mean, just very quiet.
"Whatever, Z, I'm easy." He drew a picture of just the curls and then another of Z's face.
"Zane." The guy sat so carefully, breath hitching a little.
"What?" He blinked at Z, flow interrupted.
"My name. It's Zane."
"Oh! I knew it was something with a Z!" He laughed and nodded. "Zane. Got you. Zane, Zane that's
his name. It's starts with a Z and ends with an E. Oh yeah. Oh yeah."
Zane blinked and tilted his head. "Yeah."
He grinned over. "Now I won't forget again, I promise."
Unless he ate more of that loco weed he'd found out at the back of the yard last fall. He'd been
forgetful for days after eating that shit.
He went back to sketching, humming and drawing quickly, picture after picture of Z -- Zane. Some
were quick little caricatures, others were of the concept he had for the piece, and a couple were
even pretty good likenesses. He could draw okay, but he found it boring to always create things that
looked exactly like the model. That's what cameras were for.
Man, Zane could sit really still. Like really-really. Barely even blinking.
It was pretty cool and Randy got lost in the drawing, turning page after page and experimenting
with coloring in the outside area instead of the inside of the face area, but that looked really freaky
with no features, but kind of neat too and his feet were getting tired of him standing in one place
and so he finally stopped and grinned. "Hey, thanks."
Three of a Kind - 19
Zane nodded, put his hat on, changing the whole look again. "You're more than welcome."
"Oh, wait a second! You wear that like it's a part of you. Cool!" He did a few more sketches and
then stopped and looked sheepish. "Sorry. Sorry. Butch says I hare off into my own world and
leave people standing."
"I don't mind. I'm sitting."
"Yeah, I wish I was.” Grinning, he went and sat on the coffee table again. "I like that hat."
"Thank you. I do, too. It's comfortable." He got a shy smile, quiet and warm.
Randy nodded. "I keep forgetting to put a hat on out in the sun, and Butch growls if he catches me.
Says it's baking my brain."
"That sounds uncomfortable."
He giggled. "I guess. It doesn't bother me." He shrugged and put down his sketchbook, moving to
sit next to Zane, looking at his face. "That doesn't look very comfortable either."
"No, but it'll get better." It looked horrible and swollen, sore.
"You want ice? We got ice? There's all kinds of freaky home remedies, too. I bet old lady Withers
down the road would have something to make it better faster. She smells bad though. She does it on
purpose, says it keeps away the monsters. She's a little crazy, but she's nice enough."
"I don't want to smell bad. In fact, I probably need a shower tonight."
He wrinkled his nose and sniffed. "Well, you're sweaty, but this is the desert, everyone is sweaty.
You're going to need help. I can help you, 'cause Butch isn't here."
"I can't. I left my stuff in the truck. I don't have any clothes or a toothbrush or nothing."
"Butch took off with your shit? Okay, you can borrow mine. I've got clothes." Randy realized
suddenly he was still naked and grinned. "Even if it doesn't look like I do."
"If you're sure. I don't want to get anyone in trouble." Man, you could still see the blush through the
bruises.
Randy reached out, fingers just not touching Zane's face as he traced it. "No one's in trouble, Zane.
I want to make you not look so sad."
Zane made a soft sound. "Oh, I reckon I'm in a bit of trouble. I should probably work some, huh?
Since your man's pulling a double."
Three of a Kind - 20
He giggled. His man. Oh, he liked the sound of that; he'd have to tell Butch. It would probably have
Butch fucking him through the mattress to show him who belonged to who. "You should probably
get better, but I hate housework, so if you wanna clean up I'm not going to stop you."
"Okay. I can clean." He watched Zane move, stiff and slow like a cowboy robot.
"Or you could lie down and rest. There's movies and shit."
"Yeah? What kind of movies? I used to have lots."
Randy bounced up and went over to the TV stand he'd made, tugging open the door. "Butch likes
cowboy movies and action flicks. I like ones he says are crap and boring and have no point." He
shrugged. "Sometimes it's nice to zone out and let your brain free associate, you know?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I know about that." Zane worked quick, for moving slow. "I like all sorts of movies."
"We could watch The Fisher King. I love that movie so much. Butch doesn't like it because Robin
Williams isn't being funny in it."
He found the movie and put it in the DVD player.
"Okay. Did you know that Parry is a representation of Parsifal from the King Arthur legends?"
"Oh, I like the King Arthur legends. The round table, fighting to the death with your brother
knights. All that testosterone in one place." Randy liked that a lot.
The cowboy chuckled, wincing as he did, then headed toward the kitchen.
Randy realized again that he was naked and went and pulled on a pair of shorts before heading over
to the kitchen. "You don't look so good. I think you should come and sit with me and watch the
movie." Anybody who looked that sore and winced like that shouldn't be walking, he was pretty
sure of that.
A fine sheen of sweat covered Zane's face and neck. "Yeah. Let me do the dishes and I'll sit."
"No. I think you should just sit." He went over and took Zane's hand, tugged him away from the
sink.
Zane came, holding onto his hand, sitting, almost gray under the bruises.
He petted Zane's hand. "You don't look so good, Zane. Like, maybe really not okay at all not so
good."
"I feel sorta ick."
Three of a Kind - 21
"Ick's not good. Especially when you're as beat up as you are." He got up and fluttered. He didn't do
emergencies very well. He went and got water and Tylenol and pushed them into Zane's hands.
"Are you going to pass out? Should I call Butch? Or an ambulance?"
"I'm fine. Needed to sit a minute." Zane smiled at him, nodded. "I'm good."
"Yeah? Yeah? 'Cause I don't have a license, and Butch has the truck, so if you're going to do
something that needs medical attention, you should tell me now while I still remember how to dial
911."
Oh, he liked Zane's smile. He liked it a lot.
"Yeah. I swear. I'm good."
"Okay, good. Cool. Yeah." He went and hit the play button on the DVD -- the remote had been
sacrificed to his 'dream of chains' piece so now it had to be done by hand -- and went back to sit
next to Zane. "You can lean on me, if you want. I like snuggling during movies."
"I don't think Butch would appreciate that, much." Zane leaned back, stretching out a little.
Randy tilted his head. "Why not?"
"Well, because." Zane tilted his head. "People tend to sorta like to keep their lovers to themselves."
"You mean you and Butch haven't already? Oops. My bad. And you're really cute, too, under the
bruises."
Not that Butch screwed around or anything, but they were kinda casual in a possessive growly bear
way.
"Uh. No. No, he didn't. I didn't. No."
He petted Zane's hand again. "Maybe once you're feeling better."
"Uh. Right." He got a nervous grin, then those eyes turned to the TV.
Randy turned to look and grinned, slouching comfortably on the couch. He loved this movie.
Three of a Kind - 22
Chapter Four
Zane slept on the sofa again, wearing the shorts and T-shirt he'd grabbed from the apartment, jeans
and work shirt washed while he was in the shower, hung on the towel rack to dry.
He woke up with the sun, blinking slowly, crawling off the sofa and heading out to the yard to start
working. The morning sun felt good, his ribs damned sore today, but Daddy'd always said day three
was the worst.
He wasn't sure how best to help, so he started weeding, cleaning, watching the lizards scramble
through the sand. He'd been out there working for a couple hours when a throat cleared.
"Hey, Zane what are you doing?" Butch was standing in the doorway, scratching his bare chest,
only a pair of shorts on.
"Uh. Working?" He used the wall of the house to crawl up, straighten. "Did I wake you up?"
Butch shook his head. "It's after ten. More than long enough to be lying in bed. Should you be
doing that?"
"I wasn't sure what to do, but weeds are weeds are weeds." Sweat was pouring off him, soaking his
T-shirt, his jeans.
"No, I meant should you be expending energy like that? The face wouldn't be slowing you down
any, but the ribs can be fucking dangerous."
"My dad says the third day's the worst. I reckon I push through today, I'm home free."
"Well, there's pushing through and then there's working yourself into the ground. Randy thinks I
asked you to help out around here, thinks it was a pretty hard-ass thing for me to do. I'd have to
agree with him. If I had. I wonder where he got that impression."
"You said I could. You said I could help out to pay for food."
"I meant once you were healed up."
"Oh. I. I wasn't trying to piss you off. I was just trying to help, pull my weight."
Butch nodded and came over, hand on his arm, supporting him. "I'm not pissed off. And you'll get
your chance to pull your weight, but there's no shame in waiting for that to be when you're well and
not hurting."
Three of a Kind - 23
He leaned into Butch, suddenly exhausted, so fucking hot. "Okay. Okay, yeah."
Butch's arm went around him and he was led back into the cooler air of the warehouse. "How long
were you out? The sun's hot out here, will dehydrate you like that."
"Five-thirty? Six?" He shivered a little, chilled.
"Oh, that's no good. Come on, water."
Butch led him to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water, uncapping it and thrusting it at him.
He groaned as the cold water hit his throat, his knees buckling. So good. So good.
Butch caught him, holding him up and then leading him toward the bed where Randy lay in his
naked sprawl. "You need to lie down."
"I." He blinked and somehow he was down, the room spinning.
"Jesus fuck, Zane. You trying to kill yourself here?"
His head was held up, the water bottle pressed against his lips again. He drank deeply, the water
splashing on his belly.
Butch got his T-shirt off and tugged his shorts off, taking the water bottle and wetting him all over.
"Oh. Oh. That." Cool. Cold. Good. Wow.
"You got yourself dehydrated, Zane. You hardly needed that on top of everything else." Butch's
hands were cool, smoothing the water over his skin.
He let his eyes close, too tired to fight how good it felt.
"Your face isn't looking so swollen," murmured Butch, fingers sliding gently.
"Cool." He nodded, groaned a little.
"You're pretty tight. You want a massage? Shoulders, arms, legs? I'll stay well away from the ribs."
"I. Okay. Feels good." He kept his eyes closed, still swaying.
Butch's hands slid to his shoulders, rubbing and massaging the muscles there, forcing them to relax.
"Oh." Oh, God. He'd not even known he was hurting there.
Three of a Kind - 24
Butch's fingers stopped for a moment, resting strong and warm on his shoulders. "You okay,
Zane?"
"Uh-huh."
"Okay."
Butch's fingers slid down along his arms, working the muscles there as well. He let himself relax,
eyes rolling, heart not pounding in his chest. Butch's fingers slid down to his legs, massaging his
thighs, fingertips reaching beneath the edge of his boxers.
"Oh. I didn't know I hurt there..."
"You've been holding yourself so stiff, trying to be brave and pulling your weight and crap." There
wasn't any censure in the words though.
"I don't want to break down."
"Yeah, you've got pride coming out your ass -- I got that."
He laughed and the sound was harsh, damn near broken. "No. That wasn't pride, man."
"Whatever it was, you're the loneliest man I have ever known, Zane. And you don't have to be."
"I..." Tears filled his eyes, hot and sudden and scared.
"Shh, shh. It's okay, Zane. Truly."
Butch's hands slid beneath Zane's shoulders and guided him up to lean against the solid chest, arms
sliding around his back, holding him. He sobbed, the pain pushing out of him. Butch let him cry,
not saying anything, simply holding him gently. A warm body pushed up against his back, resting
lightly against him, a new set of hands stroking his arms.
He cried until he was empty, then relaxed, leaned between them, lost.
***
Butch kept in his growls, holding Zane between himself and Randy.
He still wanted to find the guy who had done this to Zane and beat the asshole to a pulp. Maybe
now more than ever. It was wrong to make a kid still wet behind the ears feel bad enough to cry
like that.
He figured he wasn't going to get a chance though. Zane had enough pride for a whole handful of
people. The best he could do was show Zane not everyone was an asshole.
Three of a Kind - 25
The kid finally relaxed, eyes closed, those red curls damp and curling around that bruised face.
Randy looked over at him, face stricken, worried. Butch's sweet artist was a loon, but Randy
wouldn't hurt a fly. He found a smile for Randy; Zane was worn completely through.
"You should sleep on the bed, Zane," he said softly. "Randy and I won't bother you, and it's big
enough."
"I feel... I feel like a bum."
"You'll be back on your feet in no time, Zane. Needing a little help doesn't make you a bum. It just
means you're down on your luck."
And he knew that Zane was good for every penny and more, knew that kid's pride would demand
nothing less than full and total repayment, no matter how long it took him.
"Well," said Randy, sitting and stretching. "You've got a bum. But then we all do. At least as far as
I've noticed." Butch watched Randy's head tilt. "I mean, would you even be able to walk without a
bum? And do people in wheelchairs have bums?" Lord, there went another tangent.
Zane's cheeks heated, and he sat up, nodding. "Gonna go wash my face, yeah?"
"You feeling better?" Butch asked. Zane always seemed to be taking off. Either he was scarier than
he knew or it was that pride again.
Zane nodded. "Yeah. I need to splash some water." Zane moved slowly, but surely, heading straight
for the bathroom.
"That was odd? Do you think he's one of those people who get offended talking about bums?
Except he brought it up, didn't he?" Randy frowned.
"He said he felt like a bum. You know the guys who live in the streets and beg?"
"Why would he think that?" Randy asked, frowning harder in the direction Zane had taken.
"Because he's used to making his own way in the world. And our helping him feels like a handout
to him."
"But he needs your help, Butch."
"I know, babe. That doesn't make it easy for him to ask for or accept it."
The water started running in the bathroom, the sound of splashing next.
"You think he's going to stay?" Randy asked.
Three of a Kind - 26
"Bob's got a job for him. I imagine he'll stay a few weeks anyway -- enough to pay us back and get
some money in his pocket. Longer than that... I don't know. Why?"
Randy usually didn't pay that much attention to people's coming and goings.
Randy grinned, leered almost. "He's cute."
Butch shook his head a little. As used and scared as the kid was, he'd be surprised if Zane didn't
turn straight.
"Keep it in your pants, Randy."
Randy pouted. "But I'm not wearing pants."
"Yeah, you should go fix that. Zane needs his sleep, and he'll get it better in the bed if we're not in
it, too." Butch got up and went over to the coffeemaker, pouring himself another cup as Randy
pulled on a pair of shorts and helped himself to a can of Coke.
"I want to get started on my new series anyway. I'm doing Zane. All those curls, man."
He grinned and pulled Randy close, giving his lover a long kiss, body aching some. He'd jacked off
in the shower, though; he'd be okay until Zane was more comfortable or had fled.
Zane came out of the bathroom, blushing dark and ducking his head when he saw them.
Butch let Randy's mouth go. "You should have something to eat before you get lost in your work,"
he warned Randy.
"Yeah, yeah." Randy grabbed a banana and an apple, making rude gestures with them as he
wandered off into his studio.
"What about you, Zane? You hungry?"
"No, but I reckon I ought to eat something. Yesterday's eggs only travel so far."
He nodded. "How about some soup? I've got it ready made in a can."
"That's cool." Zane walked over to the kitchen, to him. "Want me to help?"
"Sure, you can get down the bowls. They're in the first cupboard. Spoons are in the drawer under
the counter."
He got down two soup cans, opened them and poured one into each bowl and set them in the
microwave.
Three of a Kind - 27
"I'm not all that much of a cook," he admitted. "And Randy hardly eats at all, and if he has to
prepare it? He'll skip it instead."
Zane nodded. "I do okay. My mom has MS, gets tired a lot, so I learned the simple meals. You
know, meatloaf and stuff."
"Oh, yeah? Well hey, I do groceries Saturday night -- there's never anyone in the stores -- you
could come with me, get the fixings for your meatloaf and whatever you else you need. I don't mind
eating ready-made, but it sure would be nice to have real food now and then." It would be awesome
to have someone around who could cook.
"Oh. Okay. I can do that." Zane looked more relaxed already, given something to do, a direction.
"And I'll be more than happy to pass cleaning duty on to you, as soon as those ribs are healed up."
He got a nod. "Third day's the worst, right?"
"Hell, yeah. And then you start feeling better and forget about it and move just right and you forget
all about the third day being bad." He'd fallen off a roof or two. Tried to avoid them now when he
could.
Zane chuckled, moaning a little as he did.
Butch reached out, fingers trailing gently over the taped ribs. "You'll be right as rain in no time,
Zane."
"I hope so. Hurting like this sucks."
He nodded. "You need some more painkillers?" The microwave beeped and he took out the soup,
setting it up on the bar counter.
"Yeah. Please." Zane stirred the soup, got things set up. "Should I get a bowl for Randy?"
He shook his head. "He took some fruit and headed to his studio. He'll be brain deep in one project
or another. If I can get a decent meal a day into him, I count myself lucky." He frowned suddenly.
"Working the double shifts lately, it's been awhile since I managed that."
"Ah. He seems real... complicated."
"Not really. He's... well he's a little low on life smarts, but he's a bit of a genius when it comes to
art. And he tangents from one thing to another in his head. You get used to it," he promised.
Zane nodded, smiled. "He was very nice to me yesterday."
"I'm not surprised -- he doesn't have a mean bone in his body." He pulled down the bottle of
Three of a Kind - 28
Tylenol and put it by Zane's bowl with a glass of water and helped himself to a ginger beer. "He's a
bit fascinated by your curls."
Zane took the pills and swallowed. "Yeah, he drew some yesterday while I dozed. Pretty cool."
"He sells a lot of pieces. What he doesn't sell winds up out front." Butch grinned. "He's done the
decorations in here as well. You might have guessed."
"Yeah, kinda. It's very cool. Very different."
"At least the materials are cheap. We don't actually sell much of the crap that comes through here.
Randy swallows it up."
"Do y'all take it to Phoenix to sell? The art I mean?"
"Yeah, there's a gallery there loves his work. Owner came out here and 'discovered' him a couple
years ago. We get the odd person showing up here wanting a piece, too. Or wanting one
commissioned."
Randy had an agent now, so all the details were handled, thank God, 'cause he'd never known if
Randy was being ripped off or was doing the ripping off.
"Cool." Zane ate most of the soup, then pushed the rest away, getting himself a glass of water.
"Thanks for the lunch."
"You're welcome. I was gonna watch a movie this afternoon; you interested in joining me?"
"Sure. I like movies." He got a nod, a little smile. "What are you watching?"
"I was thinking of making an afternoon of it, actually. Relax and watch the three Terminators."
He got so little time off with the damned double shifts; he liked to relax when he could.
"Cool." He got a quiet smile. "I'll do the bowls right quick and come watch."
"Sure."
He figured Zane wouldn't be pushing it washing up a couple of bowls, so he didn't protest.
The water started running, Zane efficient as hell, even wiping the cabinets and the microwave as he
went.
Butch put a bag of popcorn in the microwave and went to grab a couple beers. "You want a beer,
Zane? Or a soda?"
"I... I'm not legal, yeah? I'll take a soda."
Three of a Kind - 29
Oh, it hadn't even occurred to him that Zane wasn't twenty-one yet. "Sounds good."
He grabbed out a Coke and one for himself as well, figuring he didn't want to sit there and booze it
up alone. He put on the DVDs in the five spin and got comfortable on the couch.
Zane sat in the armchair, opened his Coke and settled, quiet enough to seem like he wasn't even
there.
Butch let the coming soons run until the microwave beeped and then fetched the popcorn, putting it
into two big bowls and handing one out to Zane. Then he started the movie, settling in to enjoy.
Zane made it about forty-five minutes before falling asleep, popcorn held carefully in those long
hands. Butch snagged it without waking the kid, finishing it off as Arnie caused mayhem. He
flipped to disk two once the first movie was finished and then disk three, falling asleep himself
before the end of the last one.
The smell of something spicy and meaty and good woke him up, the sun already gone down, the
little light on in the kitchen.
Grunting, he headed for the kitchen. "What do I smell?"
"Chili and cornbread. You had the fixings. Is that okay?"
Well, shit, there was a huge pot bubbling away and a skillet of golden cornbread. Even a plate with
a somewhat lopsided chocolate cake.
"We had the ingredients to make all this?" He could feel his smile growing. "It sure as hell is okay.
It's fucking fantastic."
"Hey." Randy popped in, hands, arms and face dirty. "I smell something good."
Zane grinned, looked pleased as anything, the first easy expression Butch had seen.
"Turns out Zane knows how to cook."
"Oh, cool! Not just a pretty face."
He shook his head. Randy didn't even realize what he'd said.
Zane rolled his eyes, face closing again. "I didn't know how hot to make it, so I went with mild."
"Sounds great, Zane." Butch went over, nudged his hip against Zane's. "He didn't mean anything by
it."
"Oh, hey. I know I look like hammered shit. No offense taken."
Three of a Kind - 30
"Yeah, but he didn't even mean it like that. I told you he thinks you're cute."
"Oh." Zane blushed a deep dark red. "Everything's ready to eat."
"Cool, then let's eat. Go wash up, Randy."
His lover nodded and trotted off to the bathroom.
Butch sat down at the counter, stomach growling. "I feel like I'm at a restaurant."
Zane beamed, cheeks bright pink.
Randy wandered out of the washroom, grinning. "Man, we're gonna get spoiled."
He nodded happily. "Fucking homemade cornbread."
Zane handed him a tub of margarine. "Yeah."
Grinning, he spread margarine over the steaming cornbread and took a healthy bite. Tasted as good
as it smelled. He dug into his bowl eagerly. Zane handed Randy a bowl, a spoon, then fixed his
own bowl, adding onions and cheese.
"Wow, this is really good."
Randy nodded. "Yeah, really."
Butch watched as Randy tucked in, eating like he hadn't had a decent meal in weeks. Thing was, he
probably hadn't.
"Thanks. Glad y'all like it."
Butch and Randy ate fast and went back for another bowl. He must have had three nice sized
chunks of cornbread, and the only reason he didn't have a fourth was because there was cake.
He wondered what else was in Zane's repertoire, because this rocked.
Zane was all grins, relaxing, peaceful. "Glad y'all liked it."
"Dishes before dessert," he said, grabbing Randy's arm before he could drift away.
"There's dessert? Wicked."
"Dishes first, Randy."
His lover stuck his tongue out.
Three of a Kind - 31
Butch laughed and started collecting bowls. They got a soft little laugh, Zane dishing the leftovers
into another bowl and putting them into the fridge. It was nice, working altogether, and it wasn't
long at all before they all had coffee and cake, him in his arm chair, Randy and Zane on the sofa.
The cake wasn't beautiful, but it was good -- homemade, moist, real cake.
"You're hired," he said as he finished his last bite.
Randy nodded. "This was. Wow."
"Yeah? Cool. There's other stuff I know how to cook, too. Nothing fancy, but food."
"Hey, what you served tonight was way outside our capability. So I don't think you need to
apologize."
Randy was nodding in agreement.
Zane grinned, nodded. Oh, the kid liked that, liked not feeling useless.
"We should go food shopping. Make sure we've got the ingredients you need for repeat
performances."
Randy made a face and Butch chuckled. "I meant me and Zane, we."
"Oh, good!" Randy went over to Zane and hugged him enthusiastically, if gingerly. "That was
seriously good, Zane. Do it again." Then Randy wandered off back to his studio.
Zane blinked a little. "He. Uh. He doesn't like shopping?"
"Not unless it's for art supplies, no." Butch grinned. "And even then, don't give him a budget."
Zane chuckled, nodded. "I hear that."
"You about ready to head off? I promise it's not the torture that Randy makes it out to be."
"Sure." Zane nodded, grabbed his hat. "Let's go."
He headed out, Zane at his heels and got them on the road to Farm Fresh. It was nice having some
company along for a change.
"So Bob said if you were feeling up to it, he'd have work for you starting Wednesday. I told him I
imagined you'd give it your best shot, which meant you'd be there. I hope that was okay."
"Oh, man. You rock. Thanks. I'll be there. Promise."
Three of a Kind - 32
Butch grinned. "You're welcome. Bob's good people, he'll keep you on as long as you work hard
and he can keep finding jobs for you to do."
"I will. I can work hard. I'll get used to the heat."
Yeah, that was probably going to be the hardest thing. “You keep your hat on and plenty of water
on stock. Bob usually has a cooler and the lunch truck that comes by has lots of sodas and juice and
whatnot. I usually buy my lunch, but if there's gonna be food like that chili to warm up, well. I
might be saving a bit of money."
Zane nodded. "I hear that. I like enchiladas warmed up a lot."
"You can do enchiladas?" Oh, they were going to eat well as long as Zane stuck around.
"Yeah. Beef and chicken. Although the chicken ones sometimes are too juicy."
"Too juicy? That's what napkins are for."
They pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store and headed in.
Zane chuckled, shook his head. "So I know chili, roast, chicken casserole, meatloaf, stew, that kind
of thing."
"Cool. I usually do Stouffers, Swanson, Sara Lee..." He winked and grabbed a cart.
"Sara Lee does good pound cake deals for strawberry shortcake."
"Oh, if we get the whipped cream in a can we'll need to buy extra, Randy likes to play."
"Oh. Okay." There went those cheeks again, hot and red.
"I'm sorry. I guess that's the last thing you want to hear about, given what happened."
"No. No, it's cool. It's good that some of it's good, yeah?"
"Hell, I'll bet the percentages are the same as they are with straight guys. Some relationships are
good, some aren't." He touched Zane's arm gently. "I'm sorry you hit a bad one. Especially so early
on."
"It's okay. I... I think I'll just not go looking. I have bad taste."
"Wow, you're pretty young to declare an amnesty on dating."
"Yeah. Well, no one's gonna be looking for a while."
Three of a Kind - 33
"Oh, you'll be looking fine in no time, I'm sure."
Zane had the body and those eyes... Butch bet there was a real pretty face under the bruises and
swelling.
"Thanks." He got another quiet smile, then Zane pointed at the line of meat. "What do you like?"
"Beef, chicken, pork." He shrugged. "Food."
"Then how about hamburger and a couple of chickens and a roast?"
"Cool. We can grill if you want. I lied before. I do a mean hot dog on the grill." He winked at Zane.
"Ooh. Cool. I like hot dogs." Zane gave him another smile, a nod.
"Excellent. I can spell you on the weekends."
He tossed some chips in their cart. "Put in whatever you like, yeah?"
Zane bought real food -- chiles and tomato paste and potatoes, salad and cake mix and oil and
grapes and shit. Butch picked up apples and bananas and raisins for Randy to munch on, along with
a couple cans of nuts. He refilled their water supply and decided on some ice cream. It was all very
domestic and far more fun with someone else.
Zane added a couple of cleaning supplies to the mix, along with paper towels.
"Oh, cookies. Randy likes those ones with the marshmallow in the middle and I like the fudgey
ones. You?"
"Oreos."
"Good choice. You like the old-fashioned regular ones or the mint and peanut butter crap ones?"
"The black and white ones. Double Stuf if they have them." Zane chuckled. "There doesn't seem to
be much sense in fixing with ain't broke."
"You said it." He tossed in a Double Stuf. "What do you like to drink?"
"Dr. Pepper, iced tea. Chocolate milk."
"'kay. We also need root beer for me and juice for Randy."
"Okay. I can drink water, too. Honest."
Three of a Kind - 34
"Water's great. Gets boring, though. Like always doing it in the missionary position." Damn. He
was going to stop doing that, wasn't he?
Zane chuckled. "I guess, yeah."
"Anything else you need?" Their cart was pretty full. It was time to head out.
"Nope. Thanks. You've been real generous." A dirty twenty dollar bill was offered over.
"I seem to remember suggesting you start paying me back once you get your first paycheck."
Last thing the kid needed was an emergency where he wound up having to ask for twenty dollars to
cover him.
"Yeah. I had to offer, man."
He touched Zane's arm awkwardly. "You're good people, Zane. Don't let anyone convince you
otherwise."
Another sweet little blush, and Zane nodded. "Thank you, sir. I appreciate it."
"And that's not just the food high talking." He gave Zane a wink and headed for a cash register.
Zane helped bag, moving better tonight than this morning. Butch bet the kid would be up on the
roof day one on the job. They got the groceries into the truck and headed out. "You want to stop
anywhere on the way?"
"No, I'm good. 'sides, your ice cream? Needs a freezer."
Butch nodded. "It does." He headed home, grinning. "Of course it usually has a couple dozen
frozen dinners for company."
"My food's better than frozen dinners any day."
"Hell yes." He chuckled. "That's not much of a compliment actually, is it? It's good though, better
than just better than frozen dinners."
Zane laughed, nodded. "Hell, even frozen dinners are better than they used to be."
"They are. And most of them'll cook up in the microwave now." He gave Zane a wink. "So are you
gonna stay a bit then?" If Zane was, they'd have to get him his own bed. Butch had a hunch the kid
wouldn't want to keep sleeping in their bed once his ribs were better.
"If you'll let me, yeah. I... I noticed there was an old trailer out in the yard. I thought maybe I could
sleep there, give y'all some privacy."
Three of a Kind - 35
He made a face. "It needs a lot of work before it's livable, but if that's what you want, go for it."
"It's better for y'all, yeah? And it'll give me a chance to fix the truck, work."
"Whatever makes you happy. We'll see what we can find to make it livable tomorrow."
"You've been great, Butch. I'll make it up to you. I will." So sincere. So fucking young.
"I know you will. Don't doubt it for a second." Kid needed to have his confidence built back up.
Not to mention he truly believed it.
"Thanks. Thanks a lot."
He grinned. "No problem, Zane."
No problem at all.
All he needed to do was convince the kid of that.
Three of a Kind - 36
Chapter Five
Randy stretched as he woke up, blinking as he searched the place for Zane and Butch. He was
pretty sure it was still the weekend. Sunday. It was deserted though.
He went to get himself some orange juice and grabbed the chocolate milk instead. They'd never had
chocolate milk before. Cool.
There were odd noises from outside, and he pulled on his shorts and wandered out, grabbing a hat
from the peg by the door.
Wow, check it out. Butch had moved the old trailer a little closer to the warehouse, away from the
piles of junk in the yard, and him and Zane were working on the inside by the sound of it.
Randy wandered over to the door and poked his head in. "Hey."
He got a grin from Butch, who was fixing cabinets. "Hey, babe, you sleep good?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Hey, Zane."
"Howdy." Zane was shirtless, sweating, patching the holes in the floor, shooing the lizards he found
outside.
Wow, maybe all construction workers were sexy.
"Are we moving?" he asked.
Zane blinked over. "Nah. Butch is going to let me live in here for a while. Give y'all your house
back."
"Oh, you don't have to do that. It's going to be hotter out here."
"Randy."
"Yeah, Butch?"
"You ever think maybe Zane would like his privacy, and he's just being polite?"
Randy grinned. "Nope. It never crossed my mind. I can see though, how Butch would take some
getting used to." He winked, chuckling away to himself. "You guys look hot. I could play houseboy
and fetch you something to drink."
Three of a Kind - 37
"It's fixing to be October. I won't die." Zane smiled over.
"Oh, I hope not, that would be a shame." He wanted to see what Zane looked like without the
purple bruises all over his face.
"A root beer for me, babe. You want a soda or chocolate milk or something, Zane?"
"Oh, no!" Randy shot Zane an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. I drank some of your chocolate milk."
Zane chuckled, shook his head. "Hell, even if I'd bought it, I'd share. I'll take some water, thanks."
"Thanks, man. Butch, how come you never buy me chocolate milk?"
"I didn't even know you liked it, Randy. Now if you'd come shopping with me, you could choose
anything you want."
He stuck his tongue out at Butch. Shopping sucked unless he really was allowed to buy anything he
wanted. And he wasn't stuck to a time frame or a certain store. He liked browsing. In interesting
stores.
"Kay. Beer of the root and liquid of the earth. Food, too?"
"Not for me, thanks." Zane bent down, started patching tile.
"We'll finish here first, babe."
"Okay."
He turned to go when Butch called out, "Don't forget what you've gone back for."
"I won't." Geesh. Anyone would think he was absentminded or something.
Okay, so occasionally he got distracted and got wrapped up in something when he was supposed to
be doing something else. But it had only happened a couple times or so. A half dozen at the most.
In the last couple months.
So maybe Butch had a point and what had he come in for? Oh yeah, drinks for the sexy
construction workers. Grinning, he got what they wanted and a juice for himself and wandered
back out. He gave them their drinks and sat on the big chair in one corner to watch.
Zane seemed as relaxed around tools and stuff as Butch was, moving from one thing to another, the
bandages around his chest soaked through with sweat.
Man those bandages looked white against Zane's tanned skin. "How's your ribs?" he asked.
Three of a Kind - 38
"Better. I don't think I'll do any cartwheels for a while, but I don't reckon I'll die, either." Those
bright eyes smiled over at him, twinkled.
He grinned back. Oh, those were pretty eyes. He'd seen marbles that color. Had them in one of the
boxes of things he'd collected and brought in. He'd have to find them. They were easier to see now
that the swelling was going down.
"So, are you guys gonna be doing this all day?"
"Oh, I don't want to eat up Butch's day off. Not at all." Zane blushed, gave Butch a smile. "You
ought to go have fun."
"I'm not letting you live out here if the place is still a wreck, Zane. And I don't mind."
Randy grinned. "Butch likes this kind of shit. I could paint the walls for you. Murals."
"Sure. The walls are all patched."
"Cool!"
"You might want to give him some direction, Zane," Butch put in dryly.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"No offense, babe, but if he doesn't tell you what he wants, you might do god knows what."
"Well, yeah. I'm an artist."
"Oh, I'm easy. Whatever'll be cool."
Randy stuck his tongue out at Butch who grinned at him. "You have to use that if you're going to
stick it out."
"Eww, the paint would taste icky. It would have a nice effect though..."
Zane laughed, the sound merry, fascinating.
Randy smiled, focused on Zane. "What's your favorite color?"
"Green." Zane didn't even hesitate, nodding happily.
"Oh, I like green. And red. And blue. Yellow. Orange." He nodded. "All the colors are pretty cool."
"You forgot purple." Zane looked over at him, winked.
Three of a Kind - 39
"Oh, purple is always understood."
Zane's laugh mingled with Butch's, the sound making him smile.
He kicked his legs, watching them, watching the sweat slowly drip down their bodies. He could
smell them both, heady and male. His cock was hard and he dropped his hand to cover it, moaning
softly as he hit it through his shorts.
Zane moved over, stretching up next to Butch to fix a light switch.
"Oh..." Oh, so hot together. Butch was taller and more muscled, Zane thinner, wiry.
He started rubbing, couldn't stop. Couldn't.
Zane looked over, eyes going wide, hands dropping. "I. Uh. I'm gonna run inside and borrow the
bathroom."
Randy groaned and turned away. "Sorry. Sorry. Oh. I'll go. It's your trailer. You guys were. You
look so hot together." Oh, he hadn't meant to upset Zane, he hadn't.
"S'okay. Been in your space." Zane gave him a quick smile and scrambled out, heading straight for
the house.
Randy looked up at Butch. "You guys looked so good together."
"I told you what happened to him, Randy. Keep it in your damned pants."
He slouched, cock shrinking down at the words, at the look of disappointment on Butch's face. "I'm
sorry."
"Uh-huh. You'd better go before he gets back."
"But he's inside!"
"So go to your studio and hide out there."
"'Kay, Butch. I am sorry, I really didn't mean it."
Butch gave him a short, hard hug. "I know. But you have to use what's in that head of yours, babe.
Even when the little head's trying to take control."
Oh, if Butch was making a joke he wasn't staying mad-mad.
Randy nodded, kissed Butch's cheek and headed off to his studio to turn up the music loud and
bang some pieces out. Literally.
Three of a Kind - 40
Chapter Six
Zane finished putting the leftovers away for them to take to the site, then headed out the back door
to work on his truck before it got too dark. He wasn't staying in the main house any more than
necessary to cook and eat and clean up, use the bathroom and shower. He'd upset Randy, somehow,
and that wasn't very fair, was it?
He and Butch were right friendly, chattering and joking on the ride to the job. The big boss liked
him well enough, too, giving him more and more to do.
Once he got another paycheck, he'd start paying Butch back and really work on the truck, maybe
talk about buying the trailer and moving it somewhere with water and more electricity than an
extension cord. It was old and hot and falling apart, but it was clean.
Randy was already out there, picking through the junk near the truck, a half-full basket next to him.
"Evenin', Randy." He smiled, nodded, trying to be friendly.
"Oh, hi, Zane. Hi." Randy ducked his head and then raised it again. "I won't be long. I don't wanna
make you uncomfortable."
"Uncomfortable? I'm cool. I don't mind company." He popped the hood, started working. "Whatcha
doin'?"
"Looking for diamonds in the rough. There's a goldmine of good stuff here. I'm looking for little
bits." Randy gave him a bit of a smile.
"Little bits? Oh! I found something for you at a site!" He dug in his pocket, pulled out the handful
of colored glass beads.
"Oh, those are amazing!" Randy jumped up and held out his hands, beaming wide. "Oh, they're
cool, Zane. And look -- these are just like your eyes."
Zane grinned. "Yeah. Pretty wicked, huh? I saw them and reckoned you'd have a use for them."
"Very wicked." Randy bumped his hip. "Thanks, man."
"You're more than welcome." Good job, Z. Way to make amends. He leaned deeper into the truck,
feeling easier in his skin, less like an intruder.
"So what about you -- what're you doing?" Randy leaned into the truck with him, blinking at the
engine.
Three of a Kind - 41
"Trying to fix this old bitch so she runs." He grinned, started pointing out the pieces he'd replaced,
the parts that still needed fixing.
"It looks pretty complicated..."
"Some of it is, but these old trucks are easy compared to the new ones."
"It'd make a neat sculpture. Without the truck around it. And maybe some color."
"I've seen that sort of thing, down at Rice in one of the museums. Industrial art. Pretty cool." He
loosened the carburetor. Damn thing needed a cleaning.
"You've never come into the studio to see my sculptures. You wanna?"
He looked over, nodded. Hell, even if he hadn't been curious, he'd have said yes, but... "That would
be wicked, thanks."
Randy bounced and beamed at him. "Cool. Come on. I mean you've seen some of my work in the
yard, right? Butch says you can't tell the art from the junk most of the time, but he's being funny
when he says that."
"He's very proud of you. Says you sell your work in a gallery?"
"Yeah. Some guy showed up a couple years ago and wanted to buy it. Can you believe that? It
makes me laugh sometimes, thinking of my sculptures in people's living rooms."
"That's cool." He shut the truck hood, following Randy back across the yard.
Randy grinned as he opened the door. "I'm working on the pieces of you. You know from when I
sketched you?"
"Yeah. Me? Really?" Weird and cool all at once.
Randy nodded and pulled him into the room, turning on the lights.
There were pieces everywhere and stuff stacked in shelves against the walls. None of the pieces
looked like him. None of them really even looked like people. Or faces.
There were lots of things though that might have been curls, curly and springy and green marbles
and glass and paint in twos that must have been eyes. One that was a square-ish shape of metal in a
cowboy hat.
"Wow. Wow, this is too cool." He looked around, fascinated.
Two of the walls were lined with shelves with all sorts of clutter on them. Zane couldn't have told
Three of a Kind - 42
you what order existed there, but he would bet Randy knew where everything was and had a reason
for why the lengths of metal pipes were sitting next to a basket full of broken plates.
A third wall had large pieces of stuff leaning against it. There was welding equipment in one corner
and all sorts of hammers and tools scattered all over the place.
Randy moved to one of the pieces, bouncing. "This is you. See the glass marbles? Those are your
eyes. And this is your hair. It's a metaphor, you know? Because you were all hair and eyes that day.
When we first met. Or was it the second time? Anyway. It's you."
"It's wicked cool, Randy." He was serious; it was weird, but really cool. Sort of fascinating and
wild and innocent.
"Yeah? Really? Wicked." Randy bounced over to another piece, this one the cowboy hat. He
picked up a piece of paper from the floor and brought it over, showing a sketch of him wearing his
cowboy hat, but the inner lines had all been rubbed out, leaving the shapes, which the piece itself
echoed completely.
Zane grinned. "Wow. That's... Wow. I like it. Very..." He searched for something he'd learned in art
history at school. "Minimalist."
Randy laughed and caressed the piece with his fingertips. "It's my favorite. I call it 'hero in a
cowboy hat'."
"Hero? Why hero?"
Randy shrugged, smiled. "Because your face was swollen and your ribs cracked and you didn't
have hardly anything or any money and you kept going anyway."
"Oh."
Oh.
Oh, wow.
"Thank you. I... That's nice to hear."
Randy nodded. "I make what I see."
He squeezed Randy's hand, smiling. "That's cool."
Randy squeezed back and then hugged him, beaming away. "Thanks, Zane."
They grinned at each other. "Want ice cream?"
Randy nodded enthusiastically. "I do!"
Three of a Kind - 43
"Me, too. Wanna see if Butch wants to go to Dairy Queen with us?"
"Oh, sure! That'll be great. Me and my two favorite guys."
Zane grinned, feeling fine. Feeling at home, feeling at ease.
Randy took his hand and tugged him out into the living quarters.
He was laughing as the walked, stumbling along. "Hey, Butch."
"Hey, Zane. Randy. You guys look chummy."
Randy nodded and bounced. "Zane and me want you to take us to Dairy Queen."
"My treat." Zane gave Butch a grin. "I'm craving a strawberry sundae."
Randy bounced. "I'm gonna have a banana split. Banana." Randy giggled.
Butch chuckled. "You sure you want to give him sugar?"
"He's sleeping with you." Zane winked, grinned.
Randy giggled. "I don't know -- you're the one buying me ice cream..."
Butch laughed. "Yeah, he's right."
Zane pinked, but grinned. "I can handle it. We'll play Scrabble all night."
"I did a piece with Scrabble tiles once. I found thousands of pieces from old Scrabble games. I must
have picked through the piles for days."
"More like months, Randy."
"Was it that long?"
"Hell, yes."
Zane started giggling, tickled. "Do y'all have a picture?"
Randy tilted his head. "I don't know. Samsy should." Randy laughed, looking like a mischievous
boy. "He hates being called Samsy. It's 'Samuelson' only all hoity-toity and high falutin'."
"We ate for a year on that one, babe. One of those high falutin' people spent a whole lot of money
on it. And we take pictures of all the pieces that go to the gallery."
Three of a Kind - 44
"We do?"
"Well, I do. Just to make sure, you know."
"Aw, Butch." Randy went over and melted against the strong body. "You're so good to me."
Butch grunted and kissed Randy's nose. "Come on, you've got me wanting DQ now, too."
Zane grinned, nodded. ""Banana split, strawberry sundae and?"
"Plain soft serve."
Randy rolled his eyes. "Come on, Butch, live a little."
"Oh, I will. I'm going to have some of your banana."
"We'll get him an extra-large."
"I already have an extra large," Butch told him with a wink.
Randy started giggling, nodding, too.
Zane blinked, then started laughing, hard and long. Oh. Oh, man. That? That was better than ice
cream any day.
***
It was cool in the Dairy Queen, so they sat at a booth and ate their treats. Butch ate his soft serve
and then sat back and watched Randy and Zane eat.
Randy was great fun to watch eating complicated food. And, for Randy, a banana split was
complicated.
There was the banana, which Randy always made sure was split. Because it wasn't a banana split if
the banana wasn't cut down the length. There were three scoops of ice cream, whipped cream,
chocolate sauce, strawberry and pineapple topping, nuts, and three cherries, because Randy always
asked for one for each scoop so the other two scoops didn't feel left out.
Then eating it was a big production.
Zane ate like he worked, steady and quiet, focused, saving the cherry until the end.
Randy offered him one of the extra cherries and then grinned and said "Cool!" when Zane declined.
"The cherries are the best!" Randy had managed to get his face and hands sticky and messy and
looked like any of the kids there.
Three of a Kind - 45
"You're going to have to take a shower before setting foot in my truck."
Randy pouted.
Zane handed his cherry over to Randy on the long red spoon. "Here, you can have this one, too."
"Are you sure? I had three."
"Yeah, I'm sure." Zane gave Randy a nod. He was a good kid, solid and decent as they came.
Randy beamed and grabbed the cherry, popping it into his mouth. "You're good people, Zane."
Butch chuckled as Randy echoed his thoughts.
Zane pinked, tipped his hat. "Thank you, sir."
Randy giggled. "Sir. Me."
"Wouldn't know it to look at you at the moment." Butch grinned at Randy. "So, are we all
sufficiently ice-creamed up?"
"I think I am, yeah. That hit the spot." Zane nodded, gathering up the napkins and such into a pile.
"Yeah, thanks Zane!" Randy bounced up and took all the garbage Zane put together, taking it to the
bin.
Butch gave Zane a smile, admiring the face he could now see. "This was really nice, thanks."
"My pleasure." Now that the swelling and discoloration was gone, he got to see the high
cheekbones, the pure copper in the little 'stache the kid was sporting, those huge, bright blue-green
eyes.
Randy came bouncing back. "So, what are we going to do now?"
Zane chuckled. "It's too dark to work on the truck."
"We could play a game. Not Scrabble, but something else," Randy suggested. "We've got board
games, don't we, Butch?"
"We do."
"Cool. I'd like that." They each got one of those sweet smiles, then Zane stood, brushing his jeans
off.
Three of a Kind - 46
They all headed back out to the truck, Zane winding up between him and Randy this time, the long
body warm where it pressed against him.
Randy was talking ninety to nothing, Zane smiling and quiet, head bobbing to the music on the
radio.
They pulled up at the house, Randy still bouncing, still high from the sugar. "I'm gonna go check
the games, see what still has all the pieces. Sometimes I need bits and raid them."
"Cool." Zane shook his head, watched Randy sproing for the house. "Man, to bottle that energy."
Butch chuckled. "Yeah. He's got a fair bit anyway, but you give him sugar and he's just gone. Gotta
make sure to have something with protein on hand for when he crashes though. Or he gets snarly."
"Oh. Good to know. There's leftovers in the fridge."
"Cool. If I'm around I throw a can of chili or something at him. If I'm not, well, I don't mind the
snarly if I'm not there to be on the receiving end." He winked at Zane before getting out and
following Randy in at a more reasonable pace.
Zane shuffled along behind, whistling soft and low.
Butch was glad the kid was becoming comfortable, settling in. He liked having someone to drive in
with in the morning and so far it hadn't been a problem to drive Zane home before heading over to
the second job. The homemade meals were filling Butch's belly in the best possible way, and he
was going to miss it as well as the company.
It was nice that Randy and Zane seemed more comfortable around each other now, too
He laughed when he got in. Randy had a dozen board games stacked on the coffee table and was
putting out snacks.
Zane shook his head, grinned. "Which one are we starting with?"
"Risk? It has all those pretty pieces."
"It takes forever to play, babe," he pointed out. Randy pouted.
"I'm easy. Just show me what to do."
Randy crowed happily and put all the other games on the floor, opening the Risk game and setting
up the board.
"We each get a bunch of armies and we take turns choosing countries and the goal of the game is to
take over the world," he explained as Randy claimed red.
Three of a Kind - 47
"Like Pinky and the Brain?" Zane took the yellow.
Randy giggled. "Yeah, only without the rodents."
"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure. I evicted a load from the trailer. They’re homeless now."
Randy's giggles got louder.
"You need traps? I needed to go out and buy a bunch for the yard anyway," Butch noted.
"No. I got them out and patched where they got in."
"'Kay."
They each got their pieces and started the game, Randy rambunctious, Zane quiet, and him
somewhere in between.
***
After ages and ages the game was down to Butch and Zane, fighting over the last few spaces on the
board, and Randy had started wandering back and forth between the game and his latest art piece.
Normally he'd have abandoned the game altogether, but it was his model: Zane and Butch bent over
the game.
He liked the way they looked together and wanted to capture the feelings in metal.
So far he was pretty happy with the piece.
He took a good look and then wandered back in to get another gander at his models. Zane was
smaller, leaner, but faster where Butch was stubborn and strong. They were fine together.
It still made him hard, too, like that other day, and he thought maybe he should go back and jack
off in the bathroom or something so he didn't upset Zane.
Butch took that moment to look up. "Hey, babe. You come to watch me win?"
"That's not for sure yet, you know." Zane grinned up.
Butch smiled back at Zane. "Well no, not a hundred percent, but I've got a risk here, trading in three
cards. What are we up to? Eighty armies?"
Zane chuckled. "Gotta appreciate your confidence."
Butch dumped his armies all on the one country. "Argentina attacks Peru. Three dice to attack."
Three of a Kind - 48
Randy came in and perched on the edge of the table. "I don't know, Butch, he's got a lot of armies
in that one country."
"Three? Cool." Zane rolled, all grins.
Butch was having luck, slowly whittling Zane's armies down. Randy pouted. It was the only thing
he hated about these games. That someone had to lose. He leaned a little, wondering what would
happen if his elbow hit the board, accidentally of course.
"Zane's not gonna be upset if he loses, Randy, it's just a game." Butch gave him a look, somehow
knowing exactly what he was thinking.
"Nope." Zane's pretty, bright eyes shone, twinkling. "Although I could pretend to throw a fit."
Randy giggled. "Oh, that could be fun. Hurry up and win, Butch -- I want to see the fit!"
Zane laughed, the sound relaxed and happy, better and better as he healed.
A few more rolls and Butch did indeed win. "All right! Good game, Zane."
Zane nodded, leaning back on his elbows. "Yeah. Very cool."
Randy pouted. "What? No fit?"
He got a laugh, Zane throwing himself on the floor and wailing, stamping his feet. He giggled
madly, Butch chuckling.
Zane stopped, winked. "Better?"
Randy nodded happily, holding his hand out to help Zane up. Zane took it, sitting up, hand callused
and hot, strong. He didn't want to let go, wanted to keep holding the warm hand. Zane smiled at
him, squeezed his fingers. He smiled back, found himself leaning in.
His shoulders where caught, Zane's eyes shining. "Careful, now. You'll fall."
"You and Butch'll catch me."
"Well, yeah."
"Okay." He leaned in some more, watching those eyes shine. He could feel Butch's eyes on him,
watching them.
"I..." Zane swallowed, smiled.
He pressed their lips together, amazed at the color of Zane's eyes this close up.
Three of a Kind - 49
Zane's eyes went wide and shot to Butch, then Zane scooted back, cheeks dark red. "I'm sorry. Oh,
shit. I'm sorry." Zane stood, scrambling for the door.
"No. No, it's okay. Right, Butch?" They were having fun and enjoying each other and Butch didn't
mind, he was sure and...
Butch nodded to him, hand sliding on his shoulder as he strode after Zane, stopping him. "Randy's
right. It's all right. I'm not upset."
"I didn't. I mean. I. I'm sorry." Zane was scared. Not upset. Not worried. Really scared.
He went over and took Zane's hand in both of his, holding it, stroking it. "Me and Butch would
never hurt you, Zane. Never."
"Randy's right." Butch's voice was low, soothing.
"I... I wouldn't come onto him. I wouldn't."
"You didn't, Zane. He came onto you."
He nodded at Butch's words. "I did. I like you. Butch likes you. But I can be good."
"Yeah, Zane. You tell Randy to back off. You tell us to back off if you want us to."
"Uh. Us? Y'all? But. I. I don't understand."
Butch shrugged and ran his hand through his hair. "Yeah, us. Look, Randy and I... we're together,
but occasionally one of us finds someone we wanna be with for a night or two, you know? Not
often, just now and then. But you... I don't know how to explain it."
Randy rolled his eyes. "No, you don't." He turned to Zane, looked into those beautiful eyes. "We
want to kiss you and touch you and make love to you. Together. All three of us. You're special."
"Me? Special?" Oh, Randy could see how much Zane wanted to believe him.
He nodded eagerly. "The only other real life person I ever used as a model for my work is Butch."
He grinned and bounced suddenly. "Come look at what I'm doing! It's you and Butch, looking so
good together!" That would convince Zane.
Zane chuckled, nodding. "How could I refuse?"
"You can't!" He grabbed Zane's hand and Butch's too, tugging them into his studio and over to the
newest work where two lovers created out of pipe wound into the right forms and leaned in toward
each other.
Three of a Kind - 50
"Wow, you work fast." Zane walked around, looked.
"You guys were playing for awhile. And I was inspired. See how they aren't touching, but you still
know they belong together?"
Butch stood behind him, hands, looping around his middle. "It's good, babe."
Zane nodded. "Way cool."
"Do you understand? See how you belong?"
"Don't push, babe," murmured Butch into his ear.
"I..." Zane met his eyes, smiled, and the look was sad, lost. "I don't want to be in the middle of you.
You're so good together."
Randy went over to him and took his hand again. "You don't have to be in the middle."
Zane stroked his fingers. "I don't get it. Why would you want me?"
Randy looked at Butch -- was Zane serious? Butch nodded. He turned back to Zane. "Because
you're... good-looking and nice and hot and a cowboy and strong and... you."
"Thanks, but..." Zane shook his head. "I'm not... I'm not good at the whole sex thing..."
"Oh, how can you say that? You've never even tried with anyone who cared, have you? I mean.
Well, I've been assuming the guy that did this was your first, or close to it and he doesn't count! He
was obviously a selfish, mean bastard. Butch and me, we'd make it good for you. Oh, and I'm
pushing, aren't I? When I said I wouldn't. I'm sorry." Randy shut his mouth, blinking back his tears.
Zane was so good at it, he'd bet anything. Stupid, mean man who hurt him.
Zane blinked at him, hand running through those amazing curls. "We need coffee."
"We do?" He supposed coffee was better than Zane running back to his little trailer.
"That's a good idea," Butch agreed, heading for the kitchen.
"Okay." He took Zane's hand, tugging gently.
Zane got into the kitchen and started puttering -- making coffee and getting out mugs and sugar and
milk.
Randy perched himself on one of the stools, watching. He liked touching, Zane liked having his
hands busy. He could understand that. Butch leaned against the bar counter, watching them both.
Three of a Kind - 51
The tension in Zane's shoulders eased, the smell of coffee good and strong. Three cups were poured
and fixed, Zane knowing exactly what they wanted.
"You take care of us," Randy said, realizing it for the first time. He looked around, noticing how
clean everything was, remembering the food that was served at mealtimes now. "See? You already
have a place here."
Zane pinked, smiled. "Y'all have been so good to me. How could I not?"
"See? We're good to you and you're good to us. Why should it be any different in bed?"
"Randy." Butch's voice rumbled softly.
"What?" He wasn't pushing. Not much. Not hard.
"Zane knows we're interested. The ball is in his court."
He pouted. Wasn't he allowed to even try to convince Zane? Even just a little?
Zane chuckled, shook his head a little. "This is the strangest situation I've been in for... days."
He laughed. "Only days?"
"Maybe weeks. I don't want to tempt fate."
"I want to tempt you though. Are you tempted? At all?" He tried his most winning look.
Zane sat, shaking his head, grinning. "Man, you're something else. How could anyone not love you
to death?"
"Me? Butch says I'm a pain in the ass."
Butch chuckled. "Only when you're being one, babe."
Zane drank his coffee, eyes watching them both, quiet and curious.
He sipped at his own coffee, but he wasn't really interested in it. He was more interested in tasting
Zane. He fiddled with his cup and tried not to pout or be a pain in the ass.
Butch's hand reached for his, squeezed gently. "Relax, babe."
He squeezed back and nodded, giving Butch a smile. Butch was so good to him, loved him no
matter what.
"I don't know what to do." Zane sounded really young, worried.
Three of a Kind - 52
He looked over to Butch, because he knew, just knew, that anything he said would be pushing and
that wouldn't be fair. He did reach out though and take one of Zane's hands with his free one.
Butch reached out, too, taking Zane's other hand, closing the circle. "You do what feels right, Zane.
No one wants to force you into anything. Randy and I are here and we're interested in you, both of
us, together. So if you want us, that's great. If you don't want us, well we're big boys. I imagine
we'll manage even if we will be disappointed. If you only want one of us... well I don't know, I
guess we'd have to talk about it."
Randy nodded. Oh, it would break his heart if Zane wanted Butch but not him, but he wanted that
scared, afraid to love, to touch, look off Zane's face and if having just Butch would do that for
Zane... as long as Randy didn't have to give Butch up, he supposed he could live with that.
"Nothing needs to be decided tonight," Butch added.
"I... I haven't. I mean, since that night, nothing. Nothing's happened down there, you know?"
"Oh. Oh, Zane." He squeezed Zane's hand. "Have you wanted it to?"
"I don't know." Zane met his eyes. "Got me into a load of trouble before."
He shook his head. "That wasn't you, it was him. Me and Butch, we're not like that. We aren't."
"I know." Zane nodded, stood and grabbed the coffee pot. "Y'all want some?"
He shook his head. He was hyped up more than enough, thanks. And he knew Butch'd get upset if
he kept pushing this when it obviously was upsetting Zane.
"I'm gonna go and work on some pieces. You know where to find me."
"Oh. I'm not trying to run you off..."
"Yeah, but I don't wanna keep badgering you and I probably will if I stay."
"You're not badgering me." Zane put the coffee pot down, gave him a hug. "I'm sorry. I'm a stupid
kid."
He hugged Zane back, the contact making him happy. "You're not a stupid kid, you're just wary.
What's that expression about the fire?"
Zane chuckled. "You mean out of the frying pan into the fire?"
He laughed. "Oh, no, that's not the one. The one about being shy two times."
"One bitten, twice shy, babe?"
Three of a Kind - 53
"That's it!"
"There's no fire in that, Randy."
"Well I thought it was once burnt, twice shy."
Zane laughed, the sound sweet and real. "Maybe once burnt, twice Bactined."
He giggled and cuddled in. Zane wasn't a lot shorter than him, and they fit together really well.
Zane relaxed, leaned into him. Oh, that was sweet. He hummed and held on, fingers moving
automatically, sliding along Zane's back, touching. Zane made a soft, low noise, but didn't pull
away, just stayed close.
"Do you feel like you need to be Bactinated?" Randy asked, making Butch laugh. He glared. He
wasn't being funny -- it was an honest question.
Zane smiled. "Is it silly to say I don't know? I don't know how I feel."
"Well, I say lots of silly things, so even if it is silly to say that, it's okay."
Butch chuckled again. "It's not silly, Zane. It's honest."
"Oh, good." Zane nodded, took a deep breath. "Good."
"You smell good, Zane. I bet your skin is soft. Especially your lips. I'd love to touch you. To kiss
you. Just to see."
Zane's skin went hot, those eyes blinking up at him, tongue wetting those pretty lips.
"Oh... shiny." Randy was leaning in again, slightly down, getting closer to Zane's lips, to taking his
kiss.
"It that good?"
"Uh-huh," Zane murmured as Butch laughed.
"Shiny is always good where Randy is concerned."
He grinned, and it was his smile that pressed to Zane's lips. Not the fleeting, startled press of lips of
before, this time he could feel the heat of Zane's blood below the surface, could feel the softness of
the red lips.
The little copper mustache tickled and Zane tasted like coffee and sugar, sweeter than Butch,
almost... quiet, if a person could taste quiet. He snuck one hand inside Zane's shirt, fingertips
sliding softly on the thin belly. Oh, Zane's skin was so soft, smooth.
Three of a Kind - 54
Zane breathed into his lips, soft and sweet, those eyes searching his. He stared back, telling Zane
without words that this was good and he was happy and Zane tasted and felt good and he wanted to
taste and feel some more. Lots some more.
"Oh," Zane moaned, lips sliding beneath his.
It made Randy shiver and went straight to his cock, which he was really trying to ignore, trying so
hard to be good and not push and push like he wanted to, oh he wanted to because it was good.
He felt Butch's hand on his back, saw Zane's eyes widen and knew Butch was touching Zane, too.
Zane's lips parted, a soft gasp sounding. Randy couldn't help himself. He couldn't. He let his tongue
slip into Zane's mouth, moaning at how warm and soft and good it was. Sweet and hot, oh, Zane
tasted good. Right.
His fingers kept stroking Zane's belly as his tongue explored, learned that Zane's mouth was hotter
farther in and that Zane's teeth felt good under his tongue. The lean muscles in Zane's belly jerked,
a groan vibrating his lips, making him want to hear it again and again.
He licked the roof of Zane's mouth, almost giggling at the sensation against his tongue. Zane
gasped, eyes going wide. Zane pulled away and then pushed back for more.
Oh, yeah, it felt good, it felt really good and Zane could feel how good it felt, too. Uh-huh. Randy
kept kissing, kept looking into those amazing eyes, stroking Zane's tongue with his own now.
Butch's hand was hot on his back, sliding beneath his sweater to draw little circles. Oh man,
between the two of them he was so hot.
Zane's fingers reached out, touched his arm. He moaned, shivered. Oh, that touch was sweet, soft,
almost not there but yet oh so there.
"Is that okay?" Zane was shivering, swaying a little.
"Oh, yeah. Yeah. Very okay. Uh-huh." He nodded, too, so Zane knew he really meant it.
Butch chuckled, the sound low and seductive, going straight to his balls. "I'd say that's a yes."
"Oh. 'kay." Zane pet his arm, his hand, stroking his skin.
He wanted so much to move this to the bed, so Zane could lie in Butch's arms while he explored,
but he was scared of spooking Zane, so he didn't suggest it. Instead he kissed and kissed Zane,
trying not to press up to close, moaning a lot because it felt good.
Finally Zane stepped back, panting, flushed. "I. I need to sit for a second. Stole my breath away."
Randy grinned. "That's a good thing when it comes to kissing."
Three of a Kind - 55
Butch put an arm around each of their shoulders and walked them toward the sofa.
"Oh, the bed would be more comfortable," Randy pointed out.
Butch snorted. "Don't make me pop your ass."
Zane chuckled, ducked his head. "The sofa's pretty comfortable."
"Not as comfortable as the bed."
Butch did pop Randy's ass then, making him dance away, laughing.
Butch settled Zane next to him on the sofa, Zane taking a minute to relax, ease back. Randy took a
second to watch them again. Oh yeah, it felt good, seeing them close, relaxed, together. He went
and sat on the other side of Zane, smiling so wide as he reached out to slide his finger along Zane's
lower lip.
Zane blushed, leaned toward the touch.
"So responsive," he murmured. Wow. Was this the guy who'd said it didn't work anymore? Who
didn't think he'd be any good at this? Randy was hooked already.
Zane's pretty eyes met his, sparkling. "Thank you."
"I wanna kiss you again."
"I'd like a turn," murmured Butch softly.
"Oh!" He bounced and clapped his hands. "Yes. Oh, please, I want to watch."
Zane looked up and over at Butch, lips parted. "You want to kiss me? Really?"
"Hell, yes, I do."
Randy nodded, yes his Butch did and he was going to watch because Butch kissing was a beautiful
thing from up close and he'd had the good fortune to see it once from the outside and it made him
melt and he really wanted to see it now.
"Okay." Zane smiled, eyes fastened to Butch's. "I can handle that."
"Me, too," murmured Butch, leaning in slowly, giving Zane all the time in the world to back away.
Zane vibrated some, but didn't move away; he watched Butch, waited. Butch's lips pressed gently
against Zane's and then moved away enough to let him lick at Zane's mouth, tongue tracing the
pretty lips all around and then licking them open, making Randy sigh happily.
Three of a Kind - 56
Zane moaned, leaned toward Butch, lips begging for more. Butch held back for a moment,
continuing to tease the tip of his tongue into Zane's mouth before oh-so-gently sliding it inside,
their lips closing together again. Butch's hands came up to cup Zane's face, tilting it slightly so he
could deepen the kiss.
Oh. Oh, look. So pretty, the two of them together, Zane bowed toward Butch's strength. Randy
didn't even go get his sketchbook, he simply watched, knowing he'd remember how they looked
forever.
Their lips slowly parted and then came back together again, the kisses long and languid, sweet and
hot at the same time. Zane's hands landed on Butch's chest, fingers sliding slowly, caressing.
Randy's cock was so hard from watching them kissing, and he moaned softly, hand dropping to it,
rubbing himself through his shorts.
Zane groaned, sliding closer to Butch, then shifting away. One of Butch's hands slid down and
around Zane's waist, encouraging him to move closer again, but not forcing it.
Someone was a snuggler. Randy would bet Zane didn't know he was yet, but oh, so sensual... Butch
would love that. Randy slid his hand into his shorts, breath hitching as his hand closed around his
cock.
Zane hummed, the sound sweet and sensual. Randy reached out with his free hand, running his
fingers through Zane's lovely curls. So soft, almost slick, and bouncy. Zane smiled, leaning into the
touch. Randy buried his face in it, moaning softly. It even smelled good.
Zane was shifting, rocking a little, lost in them. Butch's hand found his face, stroking softly before
taking his own hand and guiding it around to the buttons on Zane's shirt.
He could smell them all, the three of them together and wanting. Oh, it was fine. He opened Zane's
shirt, both his and Butch's fingers diving onto the exposed skin, exploring its warmth and
smoothness, its textures and heat.
Those muscles were lean, long, Zane not bulky, but so solid, strong.
Randy licked at Zane's neck, needed to taste again, moaning as the flavor of Zane's skin filled his
mouth, made his cock throb.
"Oh..." Zane shivered, chin lifting. Oh, yes. That was. Yes.
He licked his way around and up Zane's chin, teasing at the edge of their lips, not really trying to
join the kiss, just wanting to be a part of it in some small way. Randy could hear Zane and Butch
breathing hard, panting together. He licked their jaws, smiling at the way Butch tasted darker,
heavier than Zane.
Three of a Kind - 57
Zane was leaning into Butch now, heavy and warm, cuddling. He leaned against Zane in turn,
rubbing. Butch held them both up, solid and strong.
"Oh. I. It's warm." The wonder in Zane's voice almost made him cry.
He tugged gently, pulling Zane's shirt off, and then he pulled his own off, throwing them both at the
TV. Then he pressed back against Zane, moaning at skin on skin. It was good, really good. He was
gonna make sure it wasn't anything but that for Zane.
Zane's fingers worked Butch's shirt off, the kid watching Butch carefully the entire time. Butch
purred for Zane, encouraging and helping, shrugging the shirt off.
"This is good?" Zane's hands slid over Butch's skin.
Butch nodded, moaned a little. "Yeah, Zane. It's good."
Randy reached out and slid his fingers across one of Butch's nipples, drawing the flesh up. "He
likes it when you pinch," he noted, doing so.
Butch jerked and groaned. "Oh, babe..."
Zane chuckled, bending close to look. "So tight."
He could feel Zane's breath on his fingers and they fluttered, letting Butch's nipple go to caress
Zane's face. "Take it between your teeth and suck," he suggested.
"You're sure?"
Butch made a noise suspiciously like a whimper. "Oh, yeah," whispered Randy. "I'm sure."
"Mmm...'kay." Zane's lips wrapped around Butch's nipple, eyes closing as he sucked.
Butch jerked toward Zane, hands sliding to hold his head in place. "Good. 's good."
Zane groaned, flushing dark, hands sliding around Butch's waist.
Randy squeaked happily and pressed against Zane's back, loving the hot skin. He left kisses on
Zane's shoulders and neck, licked along Zane's spine. His hands petted their bellies which felt so
good under his fingers.
Zane lifted his head, looked up at Butch. "I. I'm gonna. If we don't stop, I'm gonna..."
"We can stop if you want," Butch said softly. "But feeling good and coming is kind of the point, so
that's not really a problem."
Three of a Kind - 58
Randy purred and rubbed. If Zane came, that would give him permission to come, too. His hand
twitched, wanting to slide back into his shorts. He was good though, waiting and not pushing.
Not unless exploring the knobby spine in front of him was pushing. And he didn't think it was. It
was exploring and tasting.
Zane moaned, leaned up to kiss Butch. "I don't wanna stop."
"Good," murmured Butch. "Neither do I."
"Me, too," Randy added against Zane's skin, looking up Zane's back and moaning as Butch and
Zane's mouths met again in a long kiss. Randy let his fingers tug upon the button of Zane's jeans,
carefully undid the zipper so Zane wouldn't mess up his pants. Okay, and so he could slide his hand
into Zane's briefs and cup the hard heat.
Long and heavy and hard, the silky smooth skin slid across his palm. He rubbed his own cock
against the top of Zane's ass, his hand wrapping fully around Zane's cock, pumping easily. Soft
cries were muffled in Butch's mouth, Zane rocking into his touch.
He snugged up against Zane's ass, letting Zane's movements rub his cock. He buried his mouth in
Zane's neck, licking and sucking. Maybe even leaving a mark as he kept stroking Zane off.
Zane bucked, motions becoming desperate and graceless. One of Butch's hands joined his, hot and
hard around his hand and Zane's cock.
Heat sprayed, Zane's cry rich and overwhelmed and sweet.
Randy rubbed eagerly against Zane's ass, letting that sound and the sharp smell push him over,
flooding his shorts. He moaned, hand still moving, though slowly now, hips rubbing gently.
Zane panted, leaning toward Butch, heat pouring off him. "Oh."
Randy settled against Zane's back, resting, happy and spent. Butch grinned and chuckled softly.
"Things seem to still work just fine, Zane."
"Yeah." Zane nodded, laughed a little. "Seem to."
They settled on the couch, and he looked over at Butch. "You still needing?"
Butch gave him a grin, hand dropping to rub the sizeable bulge in his pants. "Yeah, I am."
"I could suck you off."
Butch purred, legs spreading wider. "You could."
Three of a Kind - 59
"You... y'all want me to go now?"
"Why would we?" he asked, truly confused.
"I..." Zane shrugged, grinned. "I don't know how this is supposed to work."
He smiled and leaned in to kiss Zane. "You're supposed to enjoy yourself. That's how it's supposed
to work."
"Oh." Zane's eyes were something else, so close. "Okay."
"Cool." He kept kissing and licking at Zane's lips, opening Butch's pants one-handed. Zane was
more involved, eager, kissing him back. "You taste so good. Doesn't he taste good, Butch?"
"He does," said Butch, hips pushing toward his hand, hurrying him along a little.
Zane petted Butch's belly, side, kissing him all along the way.
Randy tugged out Butch's cock, fingers teasing the leaking tip, making Butch moan loudly. "Wanna
help?" Randy asked Zane as he broke their kisses and settled on his knees between Butch's legs.
"Okay. What do you want me to do?"
"Have you ever given a blow job before?" He knew Zane wasn't that experienced, but he had had a
boyfriend.
"I." Zane looked over at him, a little pale. "Do I have to count anything that happened before?"
He shook his head, hand reaching out to stroke Zane's cheek. "Oh, Zane, this is supposed to be
good. I just wanted to know if you knew what usually happened or not."
"Yeah, pretty much." Zane nodded. "I... I can't use George as an example."
He surged up and gave Zane a hard kiss. "You forget that George guy ever existed. Sex is good. It's
fun and it's hot and there's nothing else in the world that feels like it. Me and Butch'll make you go
George who?"
Butch groaned. "Babe? I've been patient. Either do something or let me jack myself off."
He giggled. "You do what feels good. If all you want to do is watch? That's good, too."
Zane nodded, leaned against Butch's chest, fingers exploring.
He bent and licked at the tip of Butch's cock, making his lover moan, hips jerking. "That's better,
babe."
Three of a Kind - 60
Zane's hands slid over his skin, over Butch's thighs.
He hummed, making a meal of Butch's cock, licking and sucking at the tip, tongue sliding down
along the length of it where he stopped to mouth Butch's heavy balls.
He heard Butch groan, looked up to see Zane sucking on one of Butch's nipples. He nodded
happily, beaming at Zane. That was it. Then he went back to what he was doing, letting his mouth
drop over the top of Butch's cock, sucking firmly.
Butch moaned loudly, hips starting to push the hard cock into his mouth. One of Zane's hands
dropped down, fingers circling Butch's balls. Butch gave another groan of approval, one hand
dropping onto his head, holding him there as those strong hips started driving Butch's cock into his
mouth.
Zane stilled, eyes staring down, worried, watching.
He hummed around Butch's cock, hands sliding to his lover's hips, wrapping around them and
encouraging the movements. Harder, faster, let Zane see he liked this, wanted it. Needed it as much
as Butch did.
Butch followed his direction, letting him have it, crying out as seed poured down his throat.
He sucked until Butch relaxed back against the sofa, hands sliding away from his head and then he
pulled slowly off, licking his lips and gazing up at the two of them. "Love that."
Zane watched him, smiled. "You look like it."
"I like being able to make Butch crazy, make him come."
Butch's hand landed on his cheek, the touch soft, loving, those blue eyes gazing down at him.
"Nobody makes me crazy like you do, babe."
Zane watched them for a long while, quiet and pretty, those curls all mussed. "I should get on to
bed, y'all. Tomorrow's my day to go grocery shopping."
"Oh. You could sleep with us. Butch is real warm and a great snuggler." And he was pushing again,
he knew he was, but Zane was pretty special.
"I don't want to get in the way."
He shook his head and Butch grunted, spoke for them both. "You seem to fit in fine, Zane. But if
you'd be more comfortable in your own bed, we won't take offense."
Zane nodded, squeezed his hand. "I... I'd like to stay, if y'all don't mind."
Three of a Kind - 61
Randy bounced up, losing his shorts completely and laughing. "Oh, we don't mind at all, Zane. We
don't!"
Butch grinned. "You actually going to make it to bed with everyone else, babe?"
He nodded, not at all in the mood for working on his art. "You want the middle, Zane?"
"Okay." Zane stood, fastened his jeans.
Randy was going to tell Zane they usually slept naked, but Butch gave him a warning look and he
held out his hand instead. "Come to bed, Zane."
Zane nodded, took his hand. "Yeah. Okay."
Smiling, happy, he led Zane to their bed, Butch stripping and following them. "You can share my
pillow until we get you one of your own."
Zane pulled off his boots and socks. "Thanks."
He bounced into bed, staying near the edge on his side. He'd snuggle in once Butch and Zane were
settled. Butch sat and patted the bed beside him.
Zane stripped off the old jeans and T-shirt, keeping on the tightie-whities, and sat near Butch. "This
okay?"
Butch nodded, easing Zane down into the middle of the bed and then lying next to him, one hand
on Zane's belly.
"I'll get the lights." Randy bounced over to the switch and hit it, going back to the bed in the dark
and sliding in on his side.
Zane took a quiet, shaky breath. "Night."
He cuddled up to Zane, hand meeting Butch's on Zane's tummy. "Night, Zane. Sleep good."
"Yeah." It wasn't long at all before Zane relaxed, snuggling right into them, soft snuffles sounding.
He let himself melt against the new body in their bed, smiling as Butch pet him.
He lay there for awhile, listening to Butch's snores join Zane's sleep sounds and then he fell asleep
himself.
Three of a Kind - 62
Chapter Seven
Zane woke up warm and not alone and more than a little discombobulated.
Oh.
Wow.
Butch.
Randy.
Weird.
Fucking cool.
But weird.
He slid from the bed, went to piss and take a shower, mind working over what happened last night.
There was a knock at the door and it opened a little, Butch's voice sounding. "Zane? You mind
sharing?"
Oh. Oh, wow. "No. No, I don't. Come on in."
Oh.
Butch let himself in and took a quick piss before joining him in the shower. He was given a warm
smile. "Hey."
"Hey." He'd never shared a shower with someone before. "Good mornin'."
"Morning. You're looking good." Butch picked up the soap and washed quickly.
"Thanks." He washed his hair, fingers massaging the shampoo into his curls. He didn't know
whether he could touch, whether he should.
Butch's hair was washed, too, the short dark strands taking nothing at all to be soaped up and rinsed
off. Then Butch lounged against the back wall, watching him with warm eyes. "Once you're done
with the business end of the shower, you want to make love?"
Three of a Kind - 63
He felt his cheeks turn dark red -- would he ever stop blushing? -- but his body went hot, cock
jerking. "I do."
"I was hoping you would," Butch told him softly, smile making the blue eyes shine.
"Oh." He grinned back, leaned into the spray, rinsed the shampoo away.
By the time he was done, Butch's hands were on him, sliding and warm, slick in the water.
"Oh. Oh, that feels good." He couldn't believe this. Before had been... Zane shook his head a little.
No. Before was over.
Done.
"I hope so. I hope you'll tell me if I ever do something that doesn't feel good, Zane." His nipples
were teased to hardness, Butch bending to suck one into his mouth, lips tugging, pulling. His
fingers slid over Butch's shoulders and he rose up on his toes, eyes wide. "Fuck, you're so
responsive, Zane. It's wonderful."
"It is? I want... I want to make you feel good, too." He'd hated feeling incompetent, incapable.
"Just do what feels natural, Zane. I bet when you stop stressing it you're an amazing lover." One of
Butch's hands stroked his belly, the other teased his cock with feather light caresses.
"Me? Stressing?" He chuckled and leaned toward Butch, nuzzling the strong shoulder, hands
sliding around the trim waist.
"Mmm. Maybe just a little." Butch switched nipples, licking at him, tongue flicking across his skin.
"Oh, that feels... wow." He shivered, pressing closer.
"I hope so; it's supposed to," murmured Butch, hand sliding to his prick.
"Thank you." He spread his legs, hips rocking, cock filling for that huge, hot hand.
"No, thank you." Butch's mouth wandered back up, found his, their lips pressing together.
He smiled, pushing into the kiss, rubbing against Butch with a happy little sound.
Butch's hand kept working him, tugging and sliding on his flesh, thumb pushing into the tip of his
cock.
Oh. He was going to. Just like that. Wow. Man. Yeah. Oh. Zane arched, pushing up, balls drawing
tight. Butch squeezed him tight, encouraging his orgasm, tongue fucking his mouth. "Oh. Oh." He
shot with a cry, pleasure sliding through his skin.
Three of a Kind - 64
Butch nodded and rubbed against him. "Good. You're damn sexy, Zane. Hot."
His fingers dropped to find Butch's cock, share the touches, the pleasure.
Butch groaned and pushed against him, cock sliding through his hand. "Yeah, that's it, that's it."
He purred, leaning to lick at Butch's skin, hand still moving. God, he felt sexy and fine and good.
Butch shifted them, leaning back against the wall and humping up into his hand. The big hands slid
around his back, opening and closing against his skin. His lips found Butch's nipple, sucking hard,
enjoying the salt and soap flavors.
"Damn, Zane, you're a natural." Butch's voice was rough and a shudder went through the big body.
Oh. Oh, God, this was... He groaned, getting hard again, wanting again.
"Don't stop, Zane," groaned Butch. "Please."
He wouldn't stop. No. Not when it was so sweet. He pulled harder, toes curling, fingers pumping
Butch's prick. Another shiver and then Butch came, heat spreading over his hand, a cry sounding
from Butch's lips.
"Oh. Oh, wow. You're. Wow." Zane leaned over, nuzzling Butch's skin.
Butch relaxed back against the tile, hands sliding lazily over him. "You're not so bad yourself."
"Yeah? Thanks." He hummed, touching, trying not to short right out.
Butch hummed, hands encountering his renewed erection. "How about we bring this back to bed
with us? Take care of it there?"
"Oh, I'd like that." He pinked, a little embarrassed at his eagerness. "It feels so good."
"That's nothing to be worried about -- it's supposed to feel good." Butch leaned past him and turned
off the shower. "Means I'm doing it right."
"Yeah." He leaned down, licked the back of Butch's shoulder.
"Oh, you're doing right, too, Zane. Feels real good."
"Cool." He nodded, lips brushing Butch's skin. "Real cool."
Butch shivered again and stepped out of the shower, bringing him with.
Randy was splayed out on the mattress, naked and spread and snoring, making him chuckle.
Three of a Kind - 65
Butch chuckled. "A real charmer, isn't he?"
"He's something special." Zane shook his head. "One of a kind."
"Yeah, he is." Butch's fingers slid under his chin and tilted his head. "So are you."
His eyes went wide, heart stopping. "M...me?"
"I know it sounded kind of casual yesterday, but you're the only person Randy and I have ever
invited into our home, our own bed. It wasn't just a whim. We wanted. Want."
"Oh." He reached up, cupped Butch's jaw, stroked it. "Oh, thank you. Thank you."
Butch nuzzled into his hand and then bent to bring their mouths together. He'd never known kissing
could be like this, huge and hot, overwhelming and fine. Butch's tongue pushed into his mouth, but
it wasn't intrusive, it was hot and wickedly good. He melted, lips opening easily. Oh, this was.
Wow. Hot.
Butch's fingers explored his face, sliding over his cheeks, over his eyes, tracing his nose. He was
rubbing again, fingers sliding over Butch's skin. Butch backed him up to the bed, laying him down
on it next to Randy and following him down. Their cocks met as Butch lay on top of him, the
strong arms keeping Butch from crushing him.
A thrill went through him, along with a little fear that he pushed aside. Butch wasn't going to hurt
him. Randy turned toward him, rubbing against him, but obviously still asleep. Butch chuckled,
tongue sliding over his lips, hips moving their cocks together. He smiled, lips opening for Butch,
hips arching up, meeting Butch's.
"You taste good," Butch told him. "Feel even better."
"Oh..." He let his hands explore a little, sliding over Butch's skin. Oh.
Butch moaned for him, pushing into his touches, sliding their pricks together, heat and hardness
rubbing. He arched, lost in the rhythm and sensation.
Randy's mouth was suddenly on his neck, tongue licking, lips nibbling as Randy's hands slid on his
and Butch's skin. Butch broke their kiss long enough to whisper "morning" and kiss Randy hard
before that mouth returned to his, tongue invading. He'd never known his neck would be so
sensitive, his entire body thrumming and buzzing.
Randy's cock was as hot and hard as Butch's, as his own, rubbing against his hip, Randy finding
Butch's rhythm. Their moans and groans were like a symphony, filling the air with the music of
their need. One of his hands found Randy, held on, learning the differences between them. Randy
was softer, leaner where Butch was rangy muscles. They were both eager though, moving against
him, pushing into his touches.
Three of a Kind - 66
He moaned, balls aching, head swimming. It was like last night, but more overwhelming, more...
naked. Butch ground down against him, hips moving faster, harder, noises growing harsh and
needy. One of Randy's hands pushed beneath his ass, pressing against his crease.
Zane stilled, world coming to a screeching halt. No. No, that hurt. That burned. No.
He shook his head, shifting away. "I. I can't. I can't."
Randy's hand slid away immediately, petting his side instead. "S'okay," Randy told him, breathless.
"I can stop if you want," murmured Butch, body still moving on him, sliding their cocks together,
lips exploring the other side of his neck.
His breath caught in his chest, eyes meeting Randy's. He couldn't quite believe they didn't mind,
weren't mad. Those eyes though? Not angry, but wanting. "No. Don't have to stop."
Randy beamed at him and kissed him, tongue sliding in his mouth, teasing his back into Randy's
mouth.
"Oh, good," Butch said against his skin. "I sure didn't want to stop -- you feel so good."
He pulled Randy closer, pushing into the kiss. Yes. Yes, please. Felt so good. Randy pushed a hand
between him and Butch this time, fingers wrapping around both their pricks, squishing them
together. He moaned, body rubbing faster, harder, pleasure zinging through him.
Butch moaned. "Yeah, babe. Fuck. Yeah."
They all moved together, Butch and Randy's breath loud in his ears. It was easy, to relax and move
and feel and need.
Randy's thumb slid across his slit and Butch's and Butch shuddered, body heavy and solid on him.
"Soon. Fuck."
"Uh-huh. Please." He nodded, pushed harder.
Butch's mouth focused on his neck, sucking, maybe leaving a mark and Randy sucked on his
earlobe.
He came, entire body jerking and rocking, hands on them both, keeping them close. Butch groaned,
rocking against him, spreading more heat between them. Randy kept humping his side, moaning
softly.
He turned his face, took another kiss from Randy. "Oh. Wow."
Randy nodded, hips moving fast. Butch reached out and pinched one of Randy's nipples, twisting it.
Three of a Kind - 67
Randy's eyes went wide, a soft cry sounding as heat splashed against him. Zane moaned, nuzzling
into them, breathing deep. Oh. Oh, they smelled so good.
Butch slid over to the side and they cuddled him between them, all of them sharing warm kisses.
"Thank you. So good. Thank you."
"You don't have to thank us every time, Zane. We're enjoying ourselves, too."
Randy nodded at Butch's words. "Yeah."
"Sorry." He pinked. "I'm new at this."
Randy giggled and kissed him. "And you don't have to say you're sorry, either. It's not wrong to say
thank you. Can you do something wrong making love, Butch?"
"You can not enjoy yourself, I guess. That seems fucking wrong." Butch's eyes twinkled. "Get it?
Fucking? Wrong?"
Zane laughed, took another kiss and another. "Then I'm good."
Randy beamed at him. "You are!"
Zane started chuckling, tickled and melty and happy.
Butch's stomach growled and that made Randy giggle. "You're always hungry!"
Butch tapped Randy on the nose. "Unlike you, who never are."
"I got fixings for biscuits and sausage and gravy." Zane liked cooking, and the more he did, the
better he was at it.
"Oh, that sounds good!" Randy kissed him and bounced up. "I'm going to get fat if you keep
cooking."
Butch chuckled, hand sliding on Randy's belly. "Oh, yeah, that's going to happen."
"We all work hard." Zane grinned, searching for his jeans.
Randy got up and headed out to the bathroom, unconcerned with his nudity.
Butch's hand slid along his shoulder, warm, good. "You doing good, Zane?"
He looked up, smiled. "Yeah. Little wiggy, but good."
"You make sure and tell us what you need, okay? Randy wouldn't deliberately hurt you for
Three of a Kind - 68
anything, but he gets going with an idea and if you don't say anything, he'll take it to mean you're
fine with it." Butch grinned. "Not that I can't be an inconsiderate bastard, myself."
Zane nodded, smiled. "I don't know what I need, yet, but I'm learning."
"Good. We can be pushy, but we'll also back off, yeah?"
He leaned up, dared to kiss Butch again. "Yeah."
Butch's arms came round him, holding him in for another kiss. "Good. As long as we're all good."
"You'll tell me if I get in the way?" He didn't want to lose this, not yet.
"We will." Butch gave him a smile. "I don't expect you will. You fit in well."
"I... I'm happy here." He was. He had been for a few weeks now. Real and truly happy.
Butch's smile grew and the man nodded. "Good. I had a feeling."
"Yeah? About me?"
Butch nodded. "Yep. About you."
Randy came out of the bathroom and wandered to the kitchen, pulling the chocolate milk out of the
fridge and drinking out of the carton.
"Of course I had a good feeling about him, too." Butch gave him a wink.
"Randy, there are clean glasses. I even put some in the freezer last night."
Randy looked over, little chocolate milk mustache on his upper lip. "Oh, I just wanted a quick
drink, no need to make dirty glasses for that."
Zane chuckled, shaking his head and stepping close enough to lick the chocolate milk from Randy's
lip, cheeks blushing at his daring.
"Oh." Randy's hands slid around him, holding him close. "And see? You aren't going to do that if I
drink out of a glass."
"I might." He smiled, nuzzling. "If you distract me I can't make breakfast."
Randy chewed on his bottom lip. "I don't think that's very good incentive for me not to distract
you."
"Yes, it is," said Butch, popping Randy in the ass. "I'm hungry. You two can play after."
Three of a Kind - 69
He chuckled, winked. "Gotta feed the beast."
Randy laughed. "Yeah. I know. It's scary otherwise."
"Oh, look who's talking!"
Randy stuck his tongue out at Butch. Butch leaned past Zane to suck at Randy's tongue.
"That's not going to get breakfast made..." Not at all. So pretty.
Butch sucked on Randy's tongue a moment longer and then let go. "You'll have to watch that.
Randy's real good at distraction."
"I can see that." Zane grinned, grabbed sausage and eggs.
Randy smiled and sat up on the counter next to where he was working, seeming unconcerned that
he was still naked. "You and Butch would be like Mr. Serious and Boy Serious if it wasn't for me."
Butch snorted. "Responsible, maybe. I'm not sure about serious."
"Boy Serious?" He chuckled, shook his head. "I'm not. I'm funny, or I used to be."
"Yeah? I like funny." Randy smiled at him. "Butch has a bad sense of humor."
"My sense of humor is just fine."
"Uh-huh."
"It is."
"Sure, Butch, if you say so." Randy shook his head and mouthed "no" at Zane.
Butch chuckled. "Babe, that only works if I'm not standing right in front of you."
Zane started laughing, tickled down deep as he dug for a skillet.
"Yeah, maybe, but it made Zane laugh and he has such a pretty laugh." Randy stuck out his tongue
again.
"You just want me to suck on that some more, don't you?" murmured Butch, moving to stand
between Randy's legs, the big hands cupping Randy's face as their mouths merged.
Zane wasn't sure if he was supposed to watch or not, it was so intimate, so intense, so he busied
himself with starting biscuits and sausage, cracking eggs. So beautiful.
Three of a Kind - 70
Randy was rubbing up against Butch, humping away against the firm belly, hands holding tight to
Butch's shoulders.
Zane pulled out the honey, the butter, set the table, breathing hard, panting.
Butch growled softly, grabbed Randy's ass and encouraged the movements, his own ass moving.
Randy's cry was muffled by Butch's mouth, the scent of come suddenly strong, sharp, Randy's
movements slowing, stopping.
So fine. Damn. His hands were shaking, cock hard in his jeans.
Their mouths parted, foreheads resting together, Randy panting hard.
"Rub it into me," murmured Butch and Randy moaned, hand moving to rub his come into Butch's
belly.
"That's it, babe."
"You needing, too, Butch?"
"Twice already, babe. I need food before I can get it up again."
"Yeah, and maybe a nap."
Randy shrieked as Butch pinched his ass.
Zane chuckled, started the eggs, breathing the scent of them in. "Do y'all want honey or gravy?"
"Butch needs honey, I'm sweet enough."
Butch snorted. "I like your gravy, Zane."
Randy giggled and Butch rolled his eyes. "And you claim my sense of humor is bad."
Zane chuckled, stirred the eggs. "Someone hand me the flour?" He thought he should feel jealous,
but he just felt... happy.
Butch gave Randy another quick kiss and brought the flour over, offering him a kiss as well.
"Oh. Yes, please." He nodded, stretching up for it, that happiness growing, spreading through him.
Butch's hand landed on his ass, lips pressing against his, tongue sliding into his mouth. The kiss
went on and on, everything else fading away. When Butch's lips finally slid away from his, he
found Randy at the stove, stirring the eggs and whistling softly.
Three of a Kind - 71
He blinked, more than a little dazed. "Oh. You saved the... the eggs."
Randy nodded and grinned at him. "You don't want to see Butch when his stomach really starts
growling."
He laughed again and pulled out the biscuits, putting them on a plate with the sausage patties and
heating up the grease for gravy. "Y'all want lots of pepper today?"
"Sure," said Butch, stealing a biscuit.
Randy took one, too, breaking it open and then blowing on his fingers before pouring honey over it.
Zane leaned over, stole a bite of Randy's, watching to make sure he was still good. Part of him was
waiting for shit to hit the fan.
He got a grin and Randy licked his nose and then one eyelid, his lips. Then Randy smiled and
finished his biscuit, slowly wandering to the table and sitting on a stool in front of one of the plates.
He got everything finished and on the table, sat between them. It felt. Well.
Like a family.
Randy picked at his eggs and sausage, but had three biscuits with honey and a tall glass of
chocolate milk, while Butch ate everything on his plate and then casually took bites off Randy's
until it was empty, too. Butch ate quickly and quietly, like he always did, Randy chattering and
wandering from topic to topic.
Zane sat and listened, nibbling and munching, enjoying them.
Butch cleared when they were done eating and Randy watched the naked ass moving, catching his
eye and grinning. "He's a stud, isn't he?"
"He is." Zane nodded. "You're mighty fine, yourself."
Randy grinned. "Eh. I'm not stud like Butch. Or a hottie like you." Randy tilted his head. "I'm... a
'tweener."
"A 'tweener?" He let his eyes drag over the sandy brown hair, the lean muscles, the bright eyes.
"You're fine."
Randy beamed and grinned. "A 'tweener -- not a stud, not a hottie, something in between. Fine. I
like that. Like a wine or piece of art. Fine."
He nodded, serious, admiring. "Yeah. Real fine."
Three of a Kind - 72
Randy tugged his chair over closer and gave him a kiss. "Wanna play with fine?"
"Uh-huh." His hands slid around Randy's waist.
Randy shifted, moving to straddle him in his chair. "Okay?" Randy asked, eyes warm, wanton.
He nodded, grinned. "Yeah. Okay."
"Cool."
Randy's mouth closed over his, hot and eager, hands sliding along his shoulders and down his front.
He groaned, hands sliding up along Randy's ribs, opening wide. How many times could they all
come in a day?
Butch's chuckle came from behind him, a kiss landing on the top of his head, hands on his
shoulders. "Randy, are you ever not horny?"
"Lots of times," Randy murmured against Zane's mouth.
"Like from birth to age twelve?"
"Ten. I was precocious."
Zane chuckled, pinched Randy's butt. "Your balls wouldn't have dropped yet."
Randy squeaked and wriggled. "I said I was precocious."
He grinned, goosed again. "I heard."
Randy squeaked again, cock rubbing against his belly. "Butch! He's pinching!"
"If I was set up right, I'd have swatted you."
"I didn't hurt you, did I?" Zane stroked, petting the soft skin.
Randy grinned and shifted back into his hand, rubbing against him as much as possible. "No."
"He was being a brat," said Butch, fingers sliding down to tease his nipples. "He likes a bit of a
firm touch now and then."
Randy nodded, blushing . "Just a bit."
Zane leaned down, nuzzling Randy's throat.
Three of a Kind - 73
Randy moaned, head dropping back, hands sliding through his hair. "Oh. Oh, I love your curls so
much. They're like magic."
He grinned. "Does that mean no shaving them off?"
Randy gasped. "Why would you want to shave your head?"
"I never do, but I do usually do the crew cut thing."
Randy looked at him like he'd said he drowned puppies. "But why?"
Butch chuckled. "Just because you like it longer and curly doesn't mean Zane does, babe."
"It's girly. Guys used to tease me." Zane blushed, rolled his eyes.
Randy rolled his eyes, too. "Stupid guys used to tease you. Guys who think you're hot -- that would
be me -- think it's awesome. I want to jack off with it wrapped around my cock. I want to wrap my
fingers in it and fuck your mouth. I love these curls."
Zane groaned, blinking into those warm eyes, suddenly hot and hard. "Really?"
Randy nodded, hips starting to move again, rubbing against his belly. "Yeah. Truly really." Randy's
hands slid through his curls, carding them.
Butch grunted. "Randy's got some fucking sexy ideas."
"Uh-huh." Zane nodded, eyes closing.
Butch's mouth closed over his as Randy kept rubbing against him.
"I want to ride you, Zane. Will you let me? Please, I want to feel you inside me."
His eyes flew open, head shaking. "I don't want to hurt you, Randy."
Randy gave him a confused look. "No, not hurt me -- I want you to fuck me. Butch was mostly
joking before, you know? I mean, I like having my nipples pinched hard sometimes and to really
feel his hands on me when we're going at it hard, but I'm not into pain. I just like getting fucked."
"I..." He blushed dark, confused and feeling seriously like a babe in the woods. "It doesn't hurt
you?"
Randy still looked confused, and Butch growled suddenly. "It doesn't hurt if you fucking do it right.
Did the asshole who sold your stuff and beat you up not prep you first?" Butch looked really angry.
Really, really angry.
Three of a Kind - 74
He went stiff, suddenly scared and sick and needing up and out. He was always pissing people off.
Fuck. "I. I need to. Uh. Get up, man? Yeah. I."
"Oh, someone hurt you? Oh!" Randy hugged him tight and then scrambled up, tears in his eyes.
"That's not right." Randy's hand slid on his shoulder and then pulled away. "Sorry, sorry, I. I want
to hold you and tell you it's going to be okay. I won't hurt you, I never would and Butch won't. He
won't. He's the gentlest man I know."
"Except when it comes to creeps who hurt people," growled Butch. One large hand slid to his
cheek, tilted it up, Butch looking him in the eye. "Are you sure you won't take me back to this guy,
Zane? Let me beat the crap out of him? Sex shouldn't fucking hurt. He didn't have to hurt you."
"I. He'd kill you. He tried to kill me. Hell, I might have killed him, yeah? I don't know."
Butch closed his eyes, growl growing loud for a minute and then fading. When Butch's eyes opened
again, his eyes were sad, sympathetic. "It'd serve him right if you had. What did he tell you? That it
always hurt, but you'd do it if you loved him? Or did he not even give you a choice?"
Randy was standing on his other side, arms wrapped around his middle, tears leaking slowly.
"It was fucked up. It bled and bled after the last time. I was working here before it stopped." He
stood up. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset y'all. I didn't." He headed for the door, for the trailer,
breakfast a lead weight in his belly.
It was Randy who caught up to him first, grabbing his arm and pulling him into a hug. "Zane. Oh,
Zane. Oh. Please don't run away. Please. I just want to hold you."
Butch was right behind him. "You didn't upset us, Zane. What happened to you did."
He leaned against Randy, eyes closing. "I... Me too." He laughed, the sound raw and fragile. "Me
too."
Randy held onto him, hands petting him gently. "I'm sorry, Zane. So sorry. It's awful. I'm sorry."
Butch's arms came around them both and they were nudged back inside out of the glare of the sun.
"I'm sorry, too, Zane. Making love's a beautiful thing and there's no good reason for it to hurt."
They made their way to the sofa, the men settling on either side of him, holding him, supporting
him.
Touching him.
Randy's head rested on his shoulder, hand stroking his belly, while Butch's arm rested around him,
free hand stroking his thigh.
Three of a Kind - 75
Every now and then one of them would drop a soft kiss on his skin or his lips.
He let them hold him. Let them help and heal.
Three of a Kind - 76
Chapter Eight
Butch was still working the damned double shifts and they all fell into a routine during the week
where they slept together, but didn't do more than sleep.
Randy did most of his sleeping during the day, spending the rest of his time in the studio, working
madly. Working, Butch knew, through his upset over Zane. He might have swung a hammer or two
with rather more vigor than usual himself.
Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny, Zane curled between him and Randy, both of them
snuffling and snoring softly.
Butch watched them for a bit, noting that Zane's injuries were pretty much healed, his face soft and
pretty without the swelling and bruising, the long line of chest enticing, sexy without the bandages.
Randy looked younger than Zane, even in sleep, even though he wasn't. Something to do with the
mileage, Butch supposed. And that was a path he needed to avoid as it started itching at the back of
his neck, making him angry again.
Instead he slid his fingers across their faces, touching them gently. Zane snuggled into his touch,
smile sweet and happy. Butch rumbled happily. Why would anyone want to hurt a pretty kid like
Zane? He shook his head. Poor guy was going to miss out on something special for the rest of his
life because of one asshole.
Zane scooted closer, hands sliding around Butch's waist.
Of course he'd have thought little more than a week ago that Zane would never enjoy sex with men
at all again, and yet here he was, sensual, eager, sweet, and most definitely interested in sex with
men.
He bent and licked at Zane's lips, opening them and slipping his tongue in.
Zane's eyes blinked open, the man still mostly asleep, smiling at him. "Mmm... Randy."
"Nope. He's the leach at your back." Butch grinned, kept licking at Zane's lips.
Zane chuckled. "Sorry. Was dreaming, Butch. You taste good."
"Sounds like it was a good dream. And you don't taste so bad yourself. You smell good, too."
"Yeah?" Zane scooted even closer, fingers sliding. "It was a good dream. We were all making
love."
Three of a Kind - 77
Butch hummed. "Sounds like a dream we could easily make a reality." He brought their mouths
together again, kissing Zane deeply as he slid one hand back to stroke Randy awake. Zane was
sweet and wanton first thing, all melted and warm. Randy was waking up, too, rubbing against
Zane and making happy horny noises.
Zane moaned, eyes closed again. "Good."
"Yeah. I think weekends just got that much better. And they were already pretty fucking sweet."
Randy laughed softly, continued rubbing against Zane, face buried in Zane's hair.
"Mmm... Yeah. Sweet. Kiss me again?"
"Oh, yeah."
He bent and took Zane's mouth, hand sliding down to wrap around their cocks, stroking them
together. So hungry, Zane rocked into his touch, lips opening for him, so sweet. That's it. Feel it.
He'd love Zane into melting further, and then he'd make love to Randy, fuck him, let Zane see how
good it could be.
He deepened the kiss, hand moving nice and easy. Zane rocked, pushed, cock sliding on his hand.
One of Randy's hands slid down to play with Zane's nipple, tugging and squeezing gently. Zane
moaned into his mouth, moving faster, cock sliding over his palm harder, tip slick and wet.
"Could get used to this," Butch murmured.
"Already am," Randy added, laughing and happy.
"Oh. You make Saturdays sweet."
"Yeah." Butch slid his thumb across the tops of their cocks, pressing it into Zane's slit.
Zane jerked, hips bucking, come spraying out over his fingers.
Butch groaned, sucking on Zane's tongue, easing his strokes. He was going to save his for Randy's
ass.
Zane's eyes met his, jewel-bright and happy.
"That's a good look on you."
"Hmm? Me?"
Butch chuckled. "Yeah, you."
Three of a Kind - 78
Randy moaned, humping away behind Zane. "What about me? I'm still wanting, Butch."
"You want me, babe?"
"Uh-huh."
"Want me to fuck you?"
"Oh! Oh, Butch, yes. Please. God, I need it."
He looked down at Zane. "You gonna be okay watching? I'm not going to hurt him, I promise."
Those eyes got a little wigged, but Zane was a brave one, nodding. "Yeah. Okay. I'll be okay."
He kissed Zane slowly.
"I love it, Zane," Randy said softly, rolling over and grabbing the lube out of the side table drawer.
"This is lube. It's our friend."
Butch chuckled, moving to settle between Randy's legs, those brown eyes smiling up at him.
Zane nodded, sliding away, giving them space.
"Need you, Butch," Randy told him, hands sliding up to cup his face.
He bent and kissed Randy before backing off, slicking up his fingers. Randy held his legs up and
back, open and ready, so Zane could see. Butch slid his finger up and down along Randy's crease,
teasing the tip of one into Randy's tight heat.
Zane slid back under the covers, eyes fastening onto them.
Randy writhed on his finger. "Oh, Butch, been too long. More. Please."
He slid his finger in and out, fucking Randy slowly, wanting Zane to see how good it could be.
Zane reached out, stroked Randy's arm.
Randy looked happy, drunk, head turning so he could smile at Zane. "Hey, pretty cowboy. Gonna
watch Butch love me?"
Zane nodded. "Gonna try. It... It makes me shivery."
"It feels good," Randy murmured. "More Butch, don't make me beg."
Three of a Kind - 79
"I like it when you beg, babe." He slid a second finger in and found Randy's gland, hitting it,
making Randy jerk and cry out.
"Butch! Again!"
Zane moaned, hand sliding over Butch's shoulder. He smiled at Zane quickly and then turned his
attention back to Randy, stretching his lover, taking his time.
"Butch, please. You. I want it to be you."
Zane's hand slid away, Zane's cheek on the pillow.
"You ready for me, babe?"
"Yes! Come on, Butch. Been too long, don't tease me."
"You wanna slick my cock up, Zane?"
"I... Yeah. Yeah, I can do that." Zane moved, the top of the lube popping open.
Randy groaned, and he chuckled. "Patience, babe, Zane's getting me ready."
"Faster, Zane. I need."
Those long fingers wrapped around his cock and stroked, slicking him up. He groaned, pushing into
Zane's hand.
"Don't make it so good he comes, Zane."
Butch chuckled. "Greedy."
Randy nodded, entirely unrepentant.
Zane pulled his hand away, almost smiled.
"Ready for me, babe?"
"Fuck yes!"
He chuckled and lined up, moaning as his cock slid into Randy's body.
"Oh... Oh, Butch. Yeah. Oh."
He could feel Zane, right there, hot, close, watching. He moaned, eyes meeting Randy's, seeing the
Three of a Kind - 80
pleasure and the need, and he started to thrust, Randy's legs wrapping around his waist, pulling him
deeper.
Zane's hand brushed his side, his ass, caressing him. He spared Zane a glance, a smile, groaned at
him and then turned back to Randy, those eyes drawing him in like they always did. Fucking Randy
was exquisite, his lover never failing to let him know how fucking good it was.
Randy's eyes lit up, watched him, needed him, that sweet ass riding his cock.
Yeah. He nodded, lost himself in it, in and out and in again and fuck, there was nothing like it on
earth. He managed to get one hand around Randy's prick, tugging as hard as he fucked.
"Oh fuck, yes! Harder, Butch. Wanna feel you until tomorrow."
Zane's moan was sweet, low. He moaned, too; it felt good, knowing they were making this look
good enough Zane could find pleasure in it. He pushed harder, making Randy's eyes grow wide,
knowing his lover was close.
"Come on, babe. Let me feel how good it is."
Randy bucked and cried out, body shaking and squeezing Butch's cock hard. He roared as Randy's
climax triggered his own, his spunk shooting almost in tandem with Randy's.
Zane watched them for a long while, then quietly slid out of the bed, heading for the kitchen to start
coffee before the shower started. God, the kid was sweet, always worrying about giving them
privacy.
Randy was petting him, making little happy noises now and then. "He's okay, right, Butch?"
"Yeah, babe, he's just giving us space."
Randy gave him a look. "We've got lots of space."
He chuckled. "I know. We just need to convince Zane, yeah?"
Randy nodded, arms holding him close. "Gonna nap, Butch."
"Okay, babe."
He kissed Randy and held his lover, waiting for the soft snores to begin.
Three of a Kind - 81
Chapter Nine
Butch was still working double shifts and Randy was often working on his pieces, but today Randy
was only now getting up, and he bounced out of bed eagerly, not wanting to work on his art. He
went over to grab Zane's arm and drag him back to bed. "Oh, make love with me, Zane."
Zane blinked over, cleaning rag falling to the ground. "Randy? Would you like some breakf..."
"You know what I like for breakfast, Zane?" He tugged Zane down to sit on the bed and attacked
his jeans.
"Biscuits and chocolate milk."
He giggled. "Well, yeah, but you know what I like best?" He got Zane's top button undone, pulled
down the zipper and fished for the man's cock.
Those pretty eyes were wide, bright, sweet as anything. "I... Uh... Randy?"
"Yeah?" he asked, wriggling down onto his knees in front of Zane.
"You, uh..." Zane's fingers slid across his lips. "So pretty..."
He smiled and caught Zane's fingers, sucking them in. Zane moaned, cock jerking, filling. He
grinned, biting the tips of Zane's fingers.
"Randy..." Zane groaned, arched, eyes rolling. "Damn. I... Damn."
He licked the fingers and let them slide from his mouth and then gave Zane no more than a grin as
warning before swallowing Zane's prick whole.
Zane arched, hands slapping down onto the mattress, jerking away. "Oh. Oh, Randy. Randy. Stop.
Stop. Stop. You have to stop."
He pulled away, hurt and surprised. He hadn't done anything wrong.
"I... I haven't been tested. I don't even remember some of it, Randy. I'd rather die than make you
sick."
"Oh! Oh." He wrapped his arms around Zane with a relieved little laugh. "I have condoms."
Zane's arms wrapped around him, held on. "Oh. Cool. Sorry. I didn't want to hurt you, you know?
I... I couldn't."
Three of a Kind - 82
He beamed at Zane and whispered. "I love you, too." Then he kissed Zane's nose and got up, went
to the side table and pulled out the condoms, waving a ribbon of about four at Zane. "See?
Condoms!"
Zane laughed -- and that sound was so sexy. So fine.
Happy, Randy opened one of the condoms and pushed it down over Zane's cock, following it with
his mouth, picking up right where he'd left off.
"Oh... Oh, fuck. Randy. So hot!"
Yeah, he knew it was. He was good at this. He bobbed his head up and down, giving Zane head
enthusiastically. Zane groaned, hips bucking up, pushing into his mouth. He would have been
happier without the glove, but it didn't dim his enthusiasm any. He wanted to blow Zane's mind.
Zane stretched, flushed and hard, rocking up. "Gonna. Soon."
He nodded, grinned around Zane's prick. He'd have stayed on it anyway, but it wasn't like he was
going to get a mouthful of anything. He sucked harder, hand pushing into Zane's jeans to cup his
balls.
Zane jerked, head falling back, cock jerking hard in his lips. Randy kept sucking, doing his very
best Hoover impression, imagining his mouth was filled with hot, salty liquid.
Zane leaned back onto the bed, panting, moaning. "Oh. Oh, wow. Randy."
He pulled off, getting rid of the condom and then tugging Zane's jeans and underwear right off
before pulling open the buttons of Zane's shirt and lying against him, rubbing. "You liked that!"
"Uh-huh." Zane pushed against him, giving him a hard, deep kiss, tongue sliding through his
mouth.
He rubbed harder, mouth opening wide for Zane. Zane's hands slid along the small of his back,
rocking them together, tongue pushing deep. Oh, it was so good, and he rubbed and he rubbed and
then he was coming, spraying spunk all over Zane's belly.
"You smell good." Zane's lips moved over his face, tasting him.
"Yeah? You taste good. I want to taste your come. Will you get tested?"
Zane turned a bright, dark red. "I...I'm sorta scared to, Randy."
"Oh, 'cause maybe. Yeah." He nodded. Yeah, scary. "I'll go with you. Hold your hand."
"Yeah?" He got a quiet smile. "You... You think I'm okay?"
Three of a Kind - 83
He nodded. "Yeah," he said smiling. He sure hoped so, he really liked Zane. Like a lot.
"Yeah? Cool." Zane kissed him, still holding on.
He kissed back, nuzzling against Zane. "It'll be okay, Z-man."
"You hungry, Randy? I'd make you breakfast." Always taking care of them.
"I could eat. But I could snuggle for awhile, too. I could do both. I'm easy." He grinned at Zane and
then bent to nibble at a nipple.
"Oh!" So sensitive, so tender. "I... I like you easy."
He giggled and licked, fingers sliding, finding Zane's nice flat belly. Zane's fingers weren't still,
petting his hair, his skin, his shoulders.
"It's good, isn't it?" he murmured. "Touching and kissing."
"It is." Zane nodded, eyes warm, happy.
That was so much better than that sad face and worried eyes.
He cuddled in again.
So much better.
Three of a Kind - 84
Chapter Ten
Saturdays were getting better all the time. Zane was beginning to feel... settled. It probably was a
fucking mistake, but it was true, damn it.
He crawled out of bed, letting the guys sleep, and headed for the shower. Just thinking a little about
George kinda made him feel filthy.
He'd only just soaped himself up when Butch joined him in the little room, taking a piss and then
leaning in. "Want some company?"
"I do. Sure." He nodded, smiled, and this smile felt real.
Butch climbed in with him, groaning happily as he stepped under the water. Zane handed over the
soap, turned to grab the shampoo.
Randy was there, too, grinning at him, bottle in his hand. "Can I play with your curls, Z-man?"
"I... Sure. Sure, Randy." He leaned over, took a quick, shy kiss.
Randy grinned and kissed him back before crowding into the shower with him and Butch.
Butch grumbled. "We need a bigger shower."
"Do you want me to get out and give y'all more room?"
"No!" Randy and Butch answered together, and Randy giggled.
"Butch is just being growly." Randy leaned in and whispered exaggeratedly. "He thinks it makes
him sexy."
"Don't everything make him that way?"
Randy snorted and nodded and started working on his hair.
Butch grinned. "Flatterers, the pair of you."
"Will it get us laid?" Randy asked.
That tickled the living shit out of Zane and he started laughing, full, deep belly laughs that felt so
goddamn good.
Three of a Kind - 85
"Is he laughing at us, Butch?"
"He's laughing at you, babe."
"I... I'm just laughing, man. Just laugh...laugh...laughing."
Randy laughed, too. "It's a great laugh, Z."
"It really is." Butch's hand slid along his back.
He leaned back a little, enjoying the heat, the pressure against his spine. "Thanks, y'all."
Butch met his eyes, smiled. "Anytime."
Zane could feel his cheeks heating, but there wasn't anything he could do to stop it.
Randy kept playing with his hair -- 'washing' it. "We gonna go play after we're all unsoapy?"
"It is Saturday," Butch added.
"You noticed that." Zane grinned at Butch. "I like Saturdays..."
Happy eyes met his. "I'm mighty partial to them myself."
His cheeks heated some more, and he found himself leaning forward, almost begging a kiss. Butch
gave it to him, mouth closing over his, tongue fucking in nice and gently. Randy moaned next to
them and pressed close, cock hard on his thigh. Reaching out, his hand wrapped around Randy's
hip, keeping that heat against him.
"You two are so sexy together," murmured Randy. The guy started licking his cheek and Butch's.
Weirdo.
It was a little hot though, he'd admit that.
Then Randy moved down, those licks coming to his neck, his collarbone, shoulders. Randy found
all these little hot spots, each one making him arch, moan a little into Butch's lips. Butch's hands
cupped his head, fingers exploring his curls, the shape of his skull, his face.
His cock was so hard it ached, throbbed and pressed against hot, wet skin. Butch's cock was as
hard, thick and long, burning against his belly.
Randy patted their hips and he muttered, "Turn."
Chuckling, Butch helped him shift so Randy could get at their pricks.
Three of a Kind - 86
"I. Oh..." His eyes rolled back in his head, his throat worked.
Randy beamed up at them and grabbed his and Butch's cocks in one hand, pulling them together.
Then Randy leaned in and started licking; Randy's tongue worked the very tips. He stared over at
Butch, still more than a little stunned that this was happening. Butch smiled, kissed him.
He had Butch's mouth on his, and Randy's on his cock, licking and biting and sucking. "I. I don't
know if my knees'll hold, y'all..."
Butch gave him a slow smile. "I'll hold you up."
Randy went down on him and then came off again, grinned. "Butch is real strong. Hey! Did you get
your results back yet? I want to taste you so bad."
He nodded. "I did. I didn't open the letter, though." He wasn't sure he wanted to know.
Randy blinked up at him, mouth so near to his and Butch's cocks. "Why not?"
"I guess I'm a little scared to." He didn't want to be sick. He didn't want to have to leave. He knew -
- knew -- that Butch and Randy were good people, but knowing that didn't change the fact that he'd
have to go.
"Oh, Z-man." Randy's arms went around his waist, face pressed against his side. Butch hugged him,
too.
"It's going to be all right, Zane. No matter what that piece of paper says, okay?"
"Yeah."
Right.
Okay.
"Please can we look, Zane?" Randy looked so earnest.
"Well, not in here..."
Butch laughed first, goosing him lightly, and then Randy bit at his hip. His laughter joined theirs
and then the water turned off, both Butch and Randy encouraging him out of the shower. Randy
took charge of drying everyone, bouncing and rubbing seemingly randomly with a big, fluffy
towel. His cock bobbed a little, paying better and better attention.
Once they were dry, Randy grabbed his hands and tugged him along. "Where did you put it?"
"Folded up in my wallet."
Three of a Kind - 87
"And where's your wallet?" Randy bounced.
Butch chuckled. "Take it easy, babe."
Randy rolled his eyes at Butch. "I've been waiting to taste him forever."
"I'm salty." Like everyone else.
Neither his nor Butch's comments seemed to put a damper on Randy. "Salty and what else?"
"Huh?" He wandered over to yesterday's jeans, pulled out his wallet and got the folded up
envelope.
"Everyone tastes salty, but I think everyone tastes like something else, too." Randy came over to
stand next to him. "You want me or Butch to read it for you?"
He handed it to Randy. "Here." He didn't hold his breath.
Randy bounced again, but seemed to be having trouble opening it. He handed it over to Butch.
Chuckling, Butch took it and slid the envelope open. Butch turned to him. "You sure you want me
to read it?"
"Yeah. If it's bad, tell me."
Butch gave him a squeeze, and Randy stepped up behind him, wrapping around him. "It's going to
be okay, Z-man."
Zane nodded, but his heart wasn't into it.
Butch didn't linger or wait or play any mind games with it. He scanned the letter and smiled.
"You're fine. All clear."
"For real?"
Randy was already squealing as Butch nodded. "For real, Zane. Congratulations."
His knees buckled, honest to God buckled, and he hit the floor. Hard.
Randy came down with him, holding on and hugging him tight. "You're clean. It's okay. He didn't
hurt you like that."
Butch's hand stroked his hair.
He nodded, fighting to breathe. He wasn't infected. That fucker hadn't... "Didn't ruin me."
Three of a Kind - 88
"He didn't. You're okay." Randy hugged him tight and laughed. "I knew you weren't sick. You
couldn't be."
He met Butch's eyes, knowing that the man would understand him.
Butch's smile was soft, eyes gentle and understanding. "You need a minute, Zane? Or just to be
held for a bit?"
"I'm okay. I'm okay." He thought he was going to be okay.
"Are we gonna go to bed and celebrate?" Randy asked, looking from him to Butch and back again.
"I don't know if I can." He was still rather numb from sheer relief.
Randy's mouth opened, but Butch put a finger across Randy's lips.
"How about we all sit and have a beer?" Butch suggested.
"Okay. Or breakfast. I'm sorry. It's so stupid, but...You know when you have something so heavy
and then it's gone and the weight is just... gone?" It almost hurt.
Randy was nodding, though. "Yeah. Yeah. I know how that feels. A piece will ride me like that
sometimes."
Zane's head bobbed; he was so fucking glad somebody understood.
"I'll make breakfast. Scrambled eggs and toast, I can do." Butch patted him on the ass and headed
for the kitchen area.
Meanwhile Randy dragged him over to the couch. They settled, Randy grabbing the remote
clicking the TV on. Randy being Randy, he found some cartoons and was soon cuddling in close
and laughing at the antics. Zane was almost dozing again when there was a commercial break, then
a news update.
"Local authorities have picked up George Wildon in conjunction with the rape and murder of a
young man in Fort Stockton, Texas. He is reported to have been heading to the West Coast,
possibly Santa Barbara."
Zane sat up, stared at the television. "No fucking way."
There was a picture of George - bruised and bloody and scowling. Jesus, the man was ugly.
"Huh?" Randy rested his chin on Zane's shoulder. "What?"
"That's him." Jesus fuck.
Three of a Kind - 89
He was gonna...
He.
Fuck.
"Him? Who him?" Randy blinked from him to the TV and back again.
Butch came over. "Randy? Zane? What's the matter?"
"That was him. On the TV."
George.
"The guy who hurt you?" Butch growled. "Where is he?"
He nodded. "Rape and murder."
Murder.
Oh, God.
Oh, sweet Jesus, thank you.
He hadn't killed the son of a bitch.
"Oh, my God, Zane -- that could have been you!" Randy wrapped around him, and Butch sat,
holding them both.
He sat there, blank and empty, a little raw.
Murder.
Randy was making little upset noises. Butch petted him and Randy both, murmuring quietly, those
big hands comforting. Finally he stood and walked outside, right into the sunshine, and let it beat
down on him.
He wasn't a murderer.
He wasn't.
And he was free.
***
Three of a Kind - 90
Randy jumped up and Butch grabbed his arm, tugging him back into a hug. "I'm not sure he wants
to be around anybody right now, babe."
Randy pouted. "I suppose I could go put some pieces together."
"I think that's a really good idea."
He patted Randy's ass, and then his lover disappeared down the other end of the warehouse.
Going back to the kitchen, Butch turned off the stove and cleaned everything up. It didn't take long,
but he figured it was long enough. He went out to find where Zane had landed up.
Zane was standing there. He stood and stared with a shocked look on his face.
Butch cleared his throat so he wouldn't scare the kid and then went up to him. "How're you doing,
Zane?"
"I don't know, man, but I think... I think I'm good." Those eyes met his.
He opened his arms, making the offer. Zane stood stiff for about fifteen seconds; then he got an
armful of shaking cowboy.
He held onto Zane, stroking the skinny spine. "It's good news. It's good news."
"It is. It is. I was fucking scared, man. So fucking scared."
"And now you don't quite know what to do with yourself, huh?"
"No. No, I know. I mean, I'll stay until y'all ask me to go. I. I can, now. I'm free."
"Randy and me, we don't have any plans to ask you to go. None whatsoever."
Zane nodded, leaned a little harder, and Butch saw Randy, bouncing, wanting to come over, join in.
"You feeling up to some enthusiasm?"
"I think, even if I wasn't, it'd be shitty not to let it happen."
"He thinks you're the greatest thing since sliced cheese." Randy had fallen for Zane, hard.
"Yeah? That's pretty cool." Zane smiled at Randy, waved him over.
That's all Randy needed, his sweet lover bouncing over and throwing himself at them. "Are you
okay?"
Three of a Kind - 91
"I am. I'm good." Zane still sounded like a man who'd been given the shock of his life.
Randy started kissing on Zane, looking happy as a clam.
Butch chuckled. "How about we go inside where we won't burn any important bits?"
Zane and Randy both laughed, and the sound winged up into the sunshine.
"Come on, I want to suck you both." Randy grabbed their hands and tugged them back toward the
warehouse.
"Horndog!" God, he'd never known how tense Zane had been -- all the time -- until today. The man
was... young, alive.
"I am!" Randy pushed into Zane's arms the minute they were inside, mouth latching on.
Zane moaned, the lean body arching, rocking into Randy. Butch put his hands on them and started
walking them toward the bed. He guided them so they didn't have to let go of each other.
"I'm free. Did you hear?"
Randy squeezed Zane tight. "And clear."
"And ours," added Butch.
"Yeah. Yeah. I... Fuck, I want, y'all, huh?"
"Yes! Anything!" Randy bounced on the mattress. "Anything at all!"
They laughed again, and Randy stripped Zane down, fingers sliding on the tanned, smooth skin.
Butch undressed more slowly, watching them touch and kiss. Fucking sexy, the pair of them. Zane
was hard, pretty cock curving up toward the flat belly.
"I get to taste you now, right?" Randy wriggled, moving down Zane's body.
"Oh, God. Please. Please. I've never barebacked. Please." Jesus, that was hot.
Groaning, Randy slowed, taking soft licks along Zane's body. Randy lingered at Zane's navel and
Butch growled, climbing up onto the bed with them. Zane turned, took a kiss from him, tongue
sliding against his lips. He let Zane in, sucking on his tongue.
They were rocking, rolling together, Zane's hips moving like he was fucking Randy. Zane's prick
slid along Randy's cheek, leaving a trail behind that Randy was trying to lick. Deep, low moans
pushed into his lips, Zane right there, wanting him, wanting both of them.
Three of a Kind - 92
Butch reached out and guided Randy's head, getting that mouth up against Zane's prick head.
Predictably, Randy's mouth opened and he took Zane in. Zane's cry echoed in his head, it was so
loud, and Butch could imagine how that cock felt, sliding on Randy's tongue. Randy's head bobbed
slowly, cheeks hollowed out as Randy sucked.
"Oh. Oh, God. Please." Zane's head was thrown back, the lean throat working.
Butch leaned in and nibbled the exposed skin, watching out of the corner of one eye as Randy kept
working Zane's pretty prick. Zane's legs spread, one draping over the top of his. He grabbed hold,
wrapping his hand around Zane's thigh and spreading him wider.
These amazing sounds started pouring out of Zane, those hips moving faster. He knew how good
one of Randy's blowjobs felt, and without the glove, Zane had to be going insane with pleasure.
Zane stilled, went stiff, then moaned a little. Butch let his hand slide down, found Randy's fingers
slowly circling Zane's hole. He stroked across it as well, and then reached for the lube. Even if this
was all they did, it would feel even better with slick.
"It... it's okay, right? Y'all?" Sweet kid.
Randy's head bobbed faster in answer and Butch nodded, stroked Zane's cheek. "It's good. It's all
good."
"'kay. Fuck. Randy..." Zane's entire body shuddered. "Please."
"Come for him, Zane. He wants to taste you." Butch slicked up Randy's fingers and encouraged
him to slide one into Zane's body.
Zane groaned, but the sound wasn't pained; it was stressed and hungry.
"Give it up and we'll show you what else you've been missing. What can be yours."
Randy swallowed and Zane jerked, actually moving on Randy's finger before grunting hard, entire
body convulsing. Randy swallowed and swallowed, and Butch stroked Zane's belly. The kid was
beautiful like that -- the pleasure painting his face.
Zane's prick was still hard as nails when Randy pulled off, the kid's hair sweaty, cheeks flushed.
"Oh, wow, Z-man! You taste awesome."
Randy got a nod, a dazed, still-wanting grin.
Grinning, Randy rubbed against Zane. "You're still hard; you wanna do me?"
Zane shook his head a little. "I... I won't hurt you."
Three of a Kind - 93
"You won't!"
Butch nodded and turned Zane's face so he could look right into those amazing eyes. "You've seen
me take Randy. You know it doesn't hurt when you do it right."
"I don't... You'll help me?"
"I will. But you also need to know, me and Randy, we won't ever make you do something you don't
want to do."
Randy nodded. "I want you inside me so bad, but not if you don't want it, too."
"I don't want to hurt you."
Zane reached for Randy, drew him up into a kiss that started slowly, then turned almost brutal.
Whimpering, Randy wrapped his arms around Zane's shoulders and held on, kissed Zane back with
equal passion.
Zane was moving again, and Butch didn't really think he was going to have to encourage anyone
too much. The kid's hips were bucking and rolling, driving against Randy. Butch slicked up his
own fingers and then Zane's. He guided Zane's hand to Randy's ass.
Randy moaned, pushed back into their touch eagerly. The kisses went on and on, even when he
encouraged Zane to touch Randy's tiny little hole.
He slipped his own finger in, making Randy jump and buck hard against Zane. Getting his mouth
against Zane's ear, Butch whispered. "You now, slip your finger in with mine."
Zane whimpered, arched against him, but that finger carefully -- carefully -- slid in with his.
Randy pulled his mouth from Zane's to shout. "Yes! Fuck!" Then he attacked Zane's mouth again,
riding their fingers.
Butch felt Zane's moan, vibrating all through the lean body.
"Another one," he told Zane. "Put in another one. Stretch him. Get him ready for your cock."
Zane whimpered, but those fingers moved, stroked Randy's hole, one more slipping in. Randy rode
them like it was the best thing ever. It didn't take long before Randy was ready, and Butch got more
slick, hand wrapping around Zane's cock. The heavy prick was like a brand on his palm, fully hard
and throbbing as he stroked it.
"On your back, Randy." It would be good for Zane, to be able to watch Randy's face, to know there
was nothing but pleasure coming from this.
Three of a Kind - 94
Randy was quick to comply, lying on his back and grabbing his knees, spreading his legs.
Zane chuckled a little. "Eager, huh?"
"Yes. Please, I've been dreaming about you fucking me." Randy blushed suddenly. "Been dreaming
that Butch does you while you do me, too."
"Oh, God..." Zane stopped laughing, moved between Randy's legs. Someone liked that. A lot.
Randy spread his legs even wider. "Come on, Z-man. I can't wait to feel you inside me."
Butch rubbed Zane's back, encouraging him. That pretty cock barely pressed against Randy's hole,
gently resting there. It had to be driving Randy fucking nuts.
Hips bucking, Randy tried to get Zane into him. "Please. God, Zane. Please. Please."
He let his hand slide down and cup Zane's ass. The gentle touch got Zane moving, body knowing
what to do.
"Oh, yes. Z-man!" Randy wriggled and bucked, helping Zane sink in.
"Jesus. So damn tight, honey. So tight. You okay?"
"Uh-huh. Except you need to start moving. Fuck me hard, okay?"
The thick need in Randy's words made Butch moan. No way could Zane resist that request. No man
could.
"Fuck..." Zane grunted and his hips started rolling, moving into Randy, fucking the man good and
hard.
Randy's hands let go of his legs and wrapped around Zane's shoulders, holding on and encouraging
the movements. Butch settled behind Zane, letting the kid feel his body. Zane's ass bumped against
his cock, over and over, body slamming into Randy, rutting hard. Butch groaned, the friction
driving him wild.
"I ain't... I'm fixin' to... Y'all."
One of Randy's hands wrapped around his own cock. "Come on, Z-man. I'm ready."
Butch was, too. He pushed in tighter, his cock rubbing with every movement Zane made. A flush
climbed up along Zane's spine, hips bucking and rolling.
"That's it," growled Butch. "Come on, now. Everyone. All of us."
Three of a Kind - 95
"All... All of us. Fuck." Zane slammed deep, went stiff and still.
Come spurted up over Randy's fingers, and the scent pushed Butch over the edge. He came hard,
his spunk spraying up along Zane's back.
Zane leaned forward, gave Randy a slow, soft kiss. "You cool?"
Randy was beaming. "No. I'm way better than cool. Thanks, Z-man."
Zane nodded, blushed dark. "Yeah."
"You okay?" Butch rubbed Zane's back.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good. Damn good."
Randy laughed and held open his arms. Butch encouraged Zane into them and then lay next to his
lovers.
"Love you, Zane," Randy said softly.
"Yeah? For real?"
"For real." Randy hugged Zane tight. "I don't say things I don't mean."
"He doesn't." Butch stroked those springy red curls. "Me, too."
Zane chuckled. "My options are to say me, three, or I need a haircut, huh?"
Randy shook his head. "Just say you'll stay."
"Until y'all don't want me."
"Then you're here forever." Randy kissed Zane and lay back again, looking happy as a clam. "I'm
gonna do a piece with all three of us. Something big and bold." Randy kept muttering softly to
himself.
Butch met Zane's eyes and smiled. There were pancakes waiting. Pancakes and a whole sunny
weekend, all for them.
Them. Three of a kind. It worked for him.
End
Three of a Kind - 96
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