Chapter 18-Love to Love You, Baby
Thomas huddled at the bar, hoping that Rob’s band came on soon. He already had a terrible headache, and his nose burned from the cigarette smoke. He just wanted to go home. Surely Cocks of the Walk had to start playing any time now? It had been at least twenty minutes, maybe more, since Jack had dumped him at the bar and had gone into the back. He nervously sipped at the glass of mineral water that he’d ordered from the rather bemused bartender, feeling horribly conspicuous and half-undressed in these awful clothes.
Just then he heard a voice calling over the noise: “Hey, everyone, we’re the band. I’m Rob, this is Ricky and Jack. We are…Cocks of the Walk!” There was a great deal of enthusiastic applause as a relieved Thomas turned his gaze to the stage. He saw his lover standing there, looking astonishingly handsome and sexy in the leather clothing he was wearing. The accountant’s mouth went dry, and he had a vague notion of asking Rob to wear those same clothes for him in private one evening.
Rob lifted his arm into the air in a theatrical gesture. Thomas began to slide off of his bar stool, intending to try to get closer to the stage so that Rob could see him. The rocker brought his arm down, and his band mates began to play the opening bars of one of their most popular (and in Thomas’s opinion) loudest songs. As the accountant started forward, he was startled to feel a hand grip his arm. He looked over his shoulder and saw a VERY large, leather-clad individual standing there leering down at him.
Alarm raced through him. The big man called over the music: “Hey, cutie. Where you been all my life?”
“Please let go of me,” the accountant asked politely, trying to pull his arm free.
“Aww, come on, give me a bit of time,” the man rumbled, not releasing his arm. “A hot little piece like you shouldn’t be alone.”
“I’m not alone; I came to hear the band play. My boyfriend is the lead singer,” Thomas replied, still trying to pull his arm free.
The big man looked up at Rob, and then shook his head. “You can do better than that, sweet thing. Come on, I’ll show you,” he began to tow Thomas relentlessly through the crowd, and none of his struggles helped him get free at all.
Fear spurted through him. “Let me go!” he cried desperately.
But the man wasn’t paying any attention to either his struggles or cries. In despair, Thomas threw back his head and screamed the name of his lover at the top of his lungs: “Rob!! ROB!!!” he wailed as the behemoth dragged him relentlessly into the men’s room and the door closed behind them.
Rob was in the middle of his song when he could have sworn that he heard Thomas calling his name. He stopped singing, startled, his eyes flicking over the crowd. “Hey, Rob? What the hell, man?” he heard Jack ask urgently from off to his left.
He blinked, shaking his head to clear it. “Sorry. It’s just…I could swear that I heard Thomas calling my name,” he told his bass player. “Isn’t that weird? I must be losing it,” he said wryly.
He started to sing into the mic again, but stopped when Jack said urgently: “Uhh, Rob? Me and Ricky didn’t want to tell you cause we wanted to surprise you, but…he is here, man. Thomas, I mean,” his bass player told him.
Rob just gaped at him for a moment. “Let me get this straight…you actually managed to talk THOMAS into coming to the club to see us perform?”
Jack nodded. “Yeah. He was at the bar.”
The singer turned and stared hard at the bar, looking for any sign of his lover. The crowd was looking puzzled and calling questions, but he ignored them. There had been something about Thomas’s tone of voice…he felt uneasy and worried. And this only intensified when he didn’t see hide-nor-hair of the accountant. Sure Thomas wasn’t terribly tall, but still… “Hey, folks,” he said loudly into the mic over the buzz of protest. “Listen, I need your help. My boyfriend came tonight to see us play, and I could swear that I heard him call my name. I’m kinda worried about him. Does anybody see a guy with brown hair and eyes, about medium height, with glasses? He was wearing…” he turned to Jack and looked at him questioningly.
“Gold leather pants and a green sleeveless shirt,” the bass player replied promptly.
Rob blinked, but turned back to the crowd and repeated what Jack had said. “Has anyone seen him? Give a shout-out if you have. Please, I’m really worried about him.”
Someone at the back of the crowd yelled: “Hey, I seen him! He was going into the men’s room with some leather dude! Sorry. man!” he added apologetically, clearly believing that Rob’s boyfriend was cheating on him in the men’s room as they spoke.
Rob gasped in horror and dove off the stage without saying another word, with Jack and Ricky at his heels. He pushed through the crowd, desperate to get to the men’s room and help Thomas. His lover would never go voluntarily with someone else, not in a million years. So he must have been forced to go, which did not bode well for him. ‘I’m, coming, Thomas!’ he thought as he forced his way through the packed bodies. ‘Hang on, baby!’
Thomas found himself pushed up against the tile wall in the men’s room, and a big hand began to pull at his shirt. “Stop it!” he cried, pushing ineffectually against the strong grip. “Leave me alone!”
The big man continued to ignore his pleas. The shirt was ripped off of his body effortlessly. He felt horror and shame mingle inside of him as the other man leered at him. “Nice” he growled. “I knew you’d be a hot piece when I saw you at the bar.”
Thomas struck at the bigger man with his fist, knowing that he couldn’t do much but not willing to give up without a fight. But it was like hitting a brick wall. The man just laughed and forced his head back. “You’re feisty, I like that,” he growled before he pressed his mouth to Thomas’s.
The accountant gagged as the other man’s mouth covered his, gasping for breath. When he did, a tongue tried to snake into his mouth. He bit down on it with all of his might, hearing a roar of pain as the man jerked his head back. “You little shit!” he roared, backhanding Thomas across the face. The force of it snapped his head back.
Stunned, he couldn’t fight back as those hands began to rip at his pants. He was going to be raped in this dirty bathroom by this violent creature. It was his worst nightmare come to life. Overwhelmed by the blow to his face and his choking fear, Thomas did something he’d only done once in his life before – he fainted. His body went limp in the gorilla’s arms, which the rapist barely noticed. He was too busy trying to get the accountant out of the tight leather pants.
There was a cry of fury, and someone slammed into the big man from the side. He was thrown off-balance, having not expected an attack. But before he could come back at Rob, Jack and Ricky fell on him with loud cries of outrage and fury. Jack was especially effective, since he’d studied kung fu as a boy. He drove a hammer punch into the bastard’s chest, and the big man staggered back. Ricky clipped him around the ear, and then both men began to methodically beat the crap out of the would-be rapist.
Rob fell to his knees next to the man sprawled on the floor. “Thomas? Shit, speak to me baby!” he cried as he gathered his lover up in his arms. “Oh, please, Thomas, don’t do this to me!” he begged.
He set two fingers against the side of the accountant’s neck, and felt terrible relief when he found a steady heartbeat. He realized that Thomas had fainted, much as he had when Rob had threatened him with violence that one day. “Christ,” he groaned. “Oh, God. Thank you, God.”
He started to maneuver the limp form so that he could pick Thomas up in his arms. Jack paused briefly from applying his boot vigorously to the now unconscious brute on the floor. “Rob? He okay?” he asked anxiously.
“I think so. I’m gonna take him home,” the singer replied as he cradled his lover to his chest.
“All right. I’m really sorry, man,” Jack said remorsefully. “We just wanted to surprise you. We never thought that this would happen…”
“I know you didn’t. I’ll see you guys later,” Rob bore Thomas away out of the men’s room, and Jack went back to helping Ricky work the fucker who’d tried to rape the accountant over. He knew his friends wouldn’t kill the motherfucker, but just barely – he’d regret ever laying his hands on Thomas for the rest of his life.
Rob took his lover out the side door, reassured by the steady sound of the accountant’s breathing. “I swear,” he muttered as he carried Thomas over to his car, “That this will never happen again. You’re forbidden to ever come to one of these places again, you hear me?”
He didn’t expect a reply from the still unconscious man. He stuck his hand into Thomas’ pockets until he found the other man’s keys. Then he eased Thomas into the passenger’s seat and buckled him in before getting in on the driver’s side. This was the first time that he’d driven the accountant’s car; Thomas didn’t trust him not to speed or do reckless things. He prayed fervently that this would be the last time that he ever got to drive it. He didn’t like having its owner out cold in the passenger’s seat.
He pulled into the driveway of Thomas’s house and stopped the car. He heard a breathy moan, confirming that his lover was starting to come to. He felt a spurt of immense relief and happiness at that small sound. He scrambled out of the car ,and came around to pick Thomas up and take him into the house. He buried his nose in the soft brown hair as he took Thomas up the sidewalk, and unlocked the door of the house with the key on the ring.
“Here we are, baby,” he murmured as he carried Thomas across his living room and over to the couch. He sat down on it with Thomas in his lap, his arms around his lover’s slim form. He rocked the accountant a little, speaking into one small ear.
“Wake up, honey,” he said to his lover. “Come on. You’re safe, it’s okay. I won’t let anybody hurt you again. Ever. Damn it, Thomas, please! I need to see those brown eyes open up. Come on, baby, I need you! God, Thomas, I was so scared! I love you so much, baby!”
The accountant was coming back to himself. He didn’t want to; he was afraid of what he’d find. But then he felt arms around him, and heard a familiar, beloved voice speaking into his ear. When Rob said that he loved him, Thomas came fully awake with a soft gasp. His eyes flew open as he looked up into Rob’s face. The rocker loved him? He felt such an upwelling of relief and wondering joy that he could barely contain it. “Rob,” he murmured.
“Thomas? Oh God, honey!” Rob cried happily. “You’re awake! Shit, I was beginning to worry that something was wrong with you!”
“No,” Thomas replied rather hoarsely. “Do you…do you really love me, Rob?” he asked softly.
“Oh yeah,” the singer replied fervently. “I do. I was gonna wait to tell you for a little while longer, but I was so damn scare tonight that I couldn’t help myself. I wanted you to know. I really, really love you, Thomas Merriweather. More than my own life.”
The accountant took in a shuddering breath, laying his head on his lover’s shoulder. “I love you as well, Rob,” he replied quietly. “So much. You’ve changed my life.”
Rob felt happiness well up in him, even as he said wryly: “Not always for the better,” as he touched the bruise on Thomas’s cheek lightly with his fingertips.
“That wasn’t your fault,” Thomas pointed out. “I chose to come to the club tonight to hear you play. I didn’t have to – I wanted to. I wanted to see what you do and to support you.”
“That’s because you’re a real sweetheart,” Rob replied with a crooked grin. “But you’re never to do anything like that again, okay? I don’t think that my heart could handle another scare like that.”
“I don’t think that mine could either,” the accountant replied drolly. “I have never been so frightened in my entire life as when that man dragged me into…” he stopped, remembered fear making his eyes go dark.
Rob cradled the side of his head and kissed his hair. “Don’t think about that, honey,” he said. “That bastard will never do anything like that again, I promise. Jack and Ricky made sure of that,” he added in satisfaction.
When Thomas gave him a puzzled look, he grinned. “They beat the living shit out of that fucker,” he said with relish. “I think they were majorly pissed that he not only dared to touch you, but that he ruined their surprise for me as well.”
“Oh, I see,” the accountant said softly. Surprisingly, although he wasn’t a violent person normally, he found himself feeling a certain amount of satisfaction as well. That man had gotten exactly what he deserved. “I’m glad to know that that horrible man won’t be molesting anyone else.”
“That’s because you care. You’re a very nice person, Thomas,” his lover replied as he cuddled the accountant close. “That’s one of the many things that I adore about you. Now, I think you should take a long hot shower and we should go to bed. I’ll just hold you,” he added gently.
That sounded wonderful to Thomas. He let his lover pick him up and carry him to the bathroom, merely twining his arms around Rob’s neck. He also accepted the gentle kisses pressed to his face (everywhere but on the painful bruise), closing his eyes and relaxing back into his lover’s arms. While that had been a horrifying experience, he’d been saved by the man he loved. Moreover, he now knew that Rob loved him as well. This evening had been the worst of his entire life – and the very best as well.
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Thomas huddled at the bar, hoping that Rob’s band came on soon. He already had a terrible headache, and his nose burned from the cigarette smoke. He just wanted to go home. Surely Cocks of the Walk had to start playing any time now? It had been at least twenty minutes, maybe more, since Jack had dumped him at the bar and had gone into the back. He nervously sipped at the glass of mineral water that he’d ordered from the rather bemused bartender, feeling horribly conspicuous and half-undressed in these awful clothes.
Just then he heard a voice calling over the noise: “Hey, everyone, we’re the band. I’m Rob, this is Ricky and Jack. We are…Cocks of the Walk!” There was a great deal of enthusiastic applause as a relieved Thomas turned his gaze to the stage. He saw his lover standing there, looking astonishingly handsome and sexy in the leather clothing he was wearing. The accountant’s mouth went dry, and he had a vague notion of asking Rob to wear those same clothes for him in private one evening.
Rob lifted his arm into the air in a theatrical gesture. Thomas began to slide off of his bar stool, intending to try to get closer to the stage so that Rob could see him. The rocker brought his arm down, and his band mates began to play the opening bars of one of their most popular (and in Thomas’s opinion) loudest songs. As the accountant started forward, he was startled to feel a hand grip his arm. He looked over his shoulder and saw a VERY large, leather-clad individual standing there leering down at him.
Alarm raced through him. The big man called over the music: “Hey, cutie. Where you been all my life?”
“Please let go of me,” the accountant asked politely, trying to pull his arm free.
“Aww, come on, give me a bit of time,” the man rumbled, not releasing his arm. “A hot little piece like you shouldn’t be alone.”
“I’m not alone; I came to hear the band play. My boyfriend is the lead singer,” Thomas replied, still trying to pull his arm free.
The big man looked up at Rob, and then shook his head. “You can do better than that, sweet thing. Come on, I’ll show you,” he began to tow Thomas relentlessly through the crowd, and none of his struggles helped him get free at all.
Fear spurted through him. “Let me go!” he cried desperately.
But the man wasn’t paying any attention to either his struggles or cries. In despair, Thomas threw back his head and screamed the name of his lover at the top of his lungs: “Rob!! ROB!!!” he wailed as the behemoth dragged him relentlessly into the men’s room and the door closed behind them.
Rob was in the middle of his song when he could have sworn that he heard Thomas calling his name. He stopped singing, startled, his eyes flicking over the crowd. “Hey, Rob? What the hell, man?” he heard Jack ask urgently from off to his left.
He blinked, shaking his head to clear it. “Sorry. It’s just…I could swear that I heard Thomas calling my name,” he told his bass player. “Isn’t that weird? I must be losing it,” he said wryly.
He started to sing into the mic again, but stopped when Jack said urgently: “Uhh, Rob? Me and Ricky didn’t want to tell you cause we wanted to surprise you, but…he is here, man. Thomas, I mean,” his bass player told him.
Rob just gaped at him for a moment. “Let me get this straight…you actually managed to talk THOMAS into coming to the club to see us perform?”
Jack nodded. “Yeah. He was at the bar.”
The singer turned and stared hard at the bar, looking for any sign of his lover. The crowd was looking puzzled and calling questions, but he ignored them. There had been something about Thomas’s tone of voice…he felt uneasy and worried. And this only intensified when he didn’t see hide-nor-hair of the accountant. Sure Thomas wasn’t terribly tall, but still… “Hey, folks,” he said loudly into the mic over the buzz of protest. “Listen, I need your help. My boyfriend came tonight to see us play, and I could swear that I heard him call my name. I’m kinda worried about him. Does anybody see a guy with brown hair and eyes, about medium height, with glasses? He was wearing…” he turned to Jack and looked at him questioningly.
“Gold leather pants and a green sleeveless shirt,” the bass player replied promptly.
Rob blinked, but turned back to the crowd and repeated what Jack had said. “Has anyone seen him? Give a shout-out if you have. Please, I’m really worried about him.”
Someone at the back of the crowd yelled: “Hey, I seen him! He was going into the men’s room with some leather dude! Sorry. man!” he added apologetically, clearly believing that Rob’s boyfriend was cheating on him in the men’s room as they spoke.
Rob gasped in horror and dove off the stage without saying another word, with Jack and Ricky at his heels. He pushed through the crowd, desperate to get to the men’s room and help Thomas. His lover would never go voluntarily with someone else, not in a million years. So he must have been forced to go, which did not bode well for him. ‘I’m, coming, Thomas!’ he thought as he forced his way through the packed bodies. ‘Hang on, baby!’
Thomas found himself pushed up against the tile wall in the men’s room, and a big hand began to pull at his shirt. “Stop it!” he cried, pushing ineffectually against the strong grip. “Leave me alone!”
The big man continued to ignore his pleas. The shirt was ripped off of his body effortlessly. He felt horror and shame mingle inside of him as the other man leered at him. “Nice” he growled. “I knew you’d be a hot piece when I saw you at the bar.”
Thomas struck at the bigger man with his fist, knowing that he couldn’t do much but not willing to give up without a fight. But it was like hitting a brick wall. The man just laughed and forced his head back. “You’re feisty, I like that,” he growled before he pressed his mouth to Thomas’s.
The accountant gagged as the other man’s mouth covered his, gasping for breath. When he did, a tongue tried to snake into his mouth. He bit down on it with all of his might, hearing a roar of pain as the man jerked his head back. “You little shit!” he roared, backhanding Thomas across the face. The force of it snapped his head back.
Stunned, he couldn’t fight back as those hands began to rip at his pants. He was going to be raped in this dirty bathroom by this violent creature. It was his worst nightmare come to life. Overwhelmed by the blow to his face and his choking fear, Thomas did something he’d only done once in his life before – he fainted. His body went limp in the gorilla’s arms, which the rapist barely noticed. He was too busy trying to get the accountant out of the tight leather pants.
There was a cry of fury, and someone slammed into the big man from the side. He was thrown off-balance, having not expected an attack. But before he could come back at Rob, Jack and Ricky fell on him with loud cries of outrage and fury. Jack was especially effective, since he’d studied kung fu as a boy. He drove a hammer punch into the bastard’s chest, and the big man staggered back. Ricky clipped him around the ear, and then both men began to methodically beat the crap out of the would-be rapist.
Rob fell to his knees next to the man sprawled on the floor. “Thomas? Shit, speak to me baby!” he cried as he gathered his lover up in his arms. “Oh, please, Thomas, don’t do this to me!” he begged.
He set two fingers against the side of the accountant’s neck, and felt terrible relief when he found a steady heartbeat. He realized that Thomas had fainted, much as he had when Rob had threatened him with violence that one day. “Christ,” he groaned. “Oh, God. Thank you, God.”
He started to maneuver the limp form so that he could pick Thomas up in his arms. Jack paused briefly from applying his boot vigorously to the now unconscious brute on the floor. “Rob? He okay?” he asked anxiously.
“I think so. I’m gonna take him home,” the singer replied as he cradled his lover to his chest.
“All right. I’m really sorry, man,” Jack said remorsefully. “We just wanted to surprise you. We never thought that this would happen…”
“I know you didn’t. I’ll see you guys later,” Rob bore Thomas away out of the men’s room, and Jack went back to helping Ricky work the fucker who’d tried to rape the accountant over. He knew his friends wouldn’t kill the motherfucker, but just barely – he’d regret ever laying his hands on Thomas for the rest of his life.
Rob took his lover out the side door, reassured by the steady sound of the accountant’s breathing. “I swear,” he muttered as he carried Thomas over to his car, “That this will never happen again. You’re forbidden to ever come to one of these places again, you hear me?”
He didn’t expect a reply from the still unconscious man. He stuck his hand into Thomas’ pockets until he found the other man’s keys. Then he eased Thomas into the passenger’s seat and buckled him in before getting in on the driver’s side. This was the first time that he’d driven the accountant’s car; Thomas didn’t trust him not to speed or do reckless things. He prayed fervently that this would be the last time that he ever got to drive it. He didn’t like having its owner out cold in the passenger’s seat.
He pulled into the driveway of Thomas’s house and stopped the car. He heard a breathy moan, confirming that his lover was starting to come to. He felt a spurt of immense relief and happiness at that small sound. He scrambled out of the car ,and came around to pick Thomas up and take him into the house. He buried his nose in the soft brown hair as he took Thomas up the sidewalk, and unlocked the door of the house with the key on the ring.
“Here we are, baby,” he murmured as he carried Thomas across his living room and over to the couch. He sat down on it with Thomas in his lap, his arms around his lover’s slim form. He rocked the accountant a little, speaking into one small ear.
“Wake up, honey,” he said to his lover. “Come on. You’re safe, it’s okay. I won’t let anybody hurt you again. Ever. Damn it, Thomas, please! I need to see those brown eyes open up. Come on, baby, I need you! God, Thomas, I was so scared! I love you so much, baby!”
The accountant was coming back to himself. He didn’t want to; he was afraid of what he’d find. But then he felt arms around him, and heard a familiar, beloved voice speaking into his ear. When Rob said that he loved him, Thomas came fully awake with a soft gasp. His eyes flew open as he looked up into Rob’s face. The rocker loved him? He felt such an upwelling of relief and wondering joy that he could barely contain it. “Rob,” he murmured.
“Thomas? Oh God, honey!” Rob cried happily. “You’re awake! Shit, I was beginning to worry that something was wrong with you!”
“No,” Thomas replied rather hoarsely. “Do you…do you really love me, Rob?” he asked softly.
“Oh yeah,” the singer replied fervently. “I do. I was gonna wait to tell you for a little while longer, but I was so damn scare tonight that I couldn’t help myself. I wanted you to know. I really, really love you, Thomas Merriweather. More than my own life.”
The accountant took in a shuddering breath, laying his head on his lover’s shoulder. “I love you as well, Rob,” he replied quietly. “So much. You’ve changed my life.”
Rob felt happiness well up in him, even as he said wryly: “Not always for the better,” as he touched the bruise on Thomas’s cheek lightly with his fingertips.
“That wasn’t your fault,” Thomas pointed out. “I chose to come to the club tonight to hear you play. I didn’t have to – I wanted to. I wanted to see what you do and to support you.”
“That’s because you’re a real sweetheart,” Rob replied with a crooked grin. “But you’re never to do anything like that again, okay? I don’t think that my heart could handle another scare like that.”
“I don’t think that mine could either,” the accountant replied drolly. “I have never been so frightened in my entire life as when that man dragged me into…” he stopped, remembered fear making his eyes go dark.
Rob cradled the side of his head and kissed his hair. “Don’t think about that, honey,” he said. “That bastard will never do anything like that again, I promise. Jack and Ricky made sure of that,” he added in satisfaction.
When Thomas gave him a puzzled look, he grinned. “They beat the living shit out of that fucker,” he said with relish. “I think they were majorly pissed that he not only dared to touch you, but that he ruined their surprise for me as well.”
“Oh, I see,” the accountant said softly. Surprisingly, although he wasn’t a violent person normally, he found himself feeling a certain amount of satisfaction as well. That man had gotten exactly what he deserved. “I’m glad to know that that horrible man won’t be molesting anyone else.”
“That’s because you care. You’re a very nice person, Thomas,” his lover replied as he cuddled the accountant close. “That’s one of the many things that I adore about you. Now, I think you should take a long hot shower and we should go to bed. I’ll just hold you,” he added gently.
That sounded wonderful to Thomas. He let his lover pick him up and carry him to the bathroom, merely twining his arms around Rob’s neck. He also accepted the gentle kisses pressed to his face (everywhere but on the painful bruise), closing his eyes and relaxing back into his lover’s arms. While that had been a horrifying experience, he’d been saved by the man he loved. Moreover, he now knew that Rob loved him as well. This evening had been the worst of his entire life – and the very best as well.
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