Chapter 11
Derek returned with a clean T-shirt as Katt emerged from the bathroom. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Katt put the shirt on, then slipped into his jacket. He knew he wasn’t fooling the two men. When he’d left the bathroom, the mirror had reflected a pale, sickly image.
“Are you sure?” Garrett asked, concerned. “You don’t look so good.”
What was he supposed to say? Reveal his humiliation? He needed to just leave. Tell them he was done and get the fuck out of there.
“Katt,” Garrett said. “You don’t have to keep going. If it’s all too much for you, it’s okay.”
The hurt and anger bubbling inside Katt had a strange effect on him. A part of him wanted to flee this place and never look back. But another part…
What? Wanted to stay? No, he didn’t want to be here. Why would he?
Maybe because these guys have made you feel more welcome and included than anyone else ever has?
Sure, but why? So he’ll let them fuck him? He was just a conquest to them.
So, why is Garrett giving you an out? None of the men had pressured him. The things he’d done so far had been his decisions.
“Do you want to leave?” Garrett asked. “You’re under no obligation to continue.” He glanced at Derek, who nodded. Garrett added, “If you want to stay and just hang out, talk, play pool, whatever… that’s cool too. What you do, or don’t do, is entirely up to you.”
In some ways, Garrett reminded him of Franco.
Or, at least, the person he’d thought Franco was.
Katt started to wonder if part of the hurt of this cruel joke was the thought that Franco was part of it.
In less than a month, he’d really started to like the guy and thought maybe they could be good friends.
Maybe he already thought they were, hence the hurt.
And Todd? Being lied to and played by his former best friend—who’d made Katt believe they could be best friends again—hurt like fuck. Why the fuck had Todd sent him here? What the hell was his reason? Why would he do this?
Garrett’s “options” hung in the air between them. If Katt left, where would he go? He was living at college. He’d told Franco he was never coming back, but he had to. All his stuff was there. And he wasn’t ready to go back there. Not yet.
“I’ll… stay,” Katt mumbled. “But… I don’t want to do anything else.”
“All right,” Garrett said. “You don’t have to.”
“Yeah, sure,” Derek murmured. “Understandable. Things got a little wild there.” He smiled small. “They usually do when the twins are involved.”
Katt chewed his lower lip. “The twins… are they actual twins? Brothers?”
Garrett chuckled. “No. We just call them that because of their similar features and mannerisms. Though many people do mistake them for biological twins.”
“Okay.” Katt sighed. “I like them. They seem sweet, even kind of… innocent… when they’re not…”
“Sucking you off?” Derek chuckled. “Yeah, it’s kind of magical the way they balance the innocence with the naughty.”
“They are a natural wonder,” Garrett smiled.
When they returned to the rec room, the twins approached Katt. Both looked apologetic. “We’re sorry if we got carried away,” Mickey said. “I hope you’re not upset with us.” He and Marcus looked genuinely concerned.
“No, I’m not,” Katt said quietly.
Samson walked over and gently gripped Katt’s shoulder. “My apologies as well if I went too far. We all want you to enjoy yourself while you’re here.”
“Thank you.” Katt swallowed, some of the former heat flushing his face as his mind flooded with the recent memory of holding the man’s massive cock in his hands.
“I’m okay. I just got a little… overwhelmed…
but that’s not your fault. You were going to stop, and I… ” He cleared his throat. “You know.”
Samson smiled. “Sorry about the mess.”
“Samson always makes a mess.” Marcus flipped his hand and rolled his eyes exaggeratedly.
The men in the room laughed.
“I’m not the only one,” Samson rumbled, looking pointedly at the twins, who both giggled.
“But we don’t make as big a mess as you,” Mickey snickered.
“Yeah, well.” Samson shrugged, chuckling. “You got me there.”
“None of us makes a mess like Samson,” Lucas snorted. “Not with that Paul Bunyon club of his.”
“Shit.” Garrett shook his head and laughed; the man wasn’t lying.
“Watch yourself, boy,” Samson warned. “Or I’ll beat you with that club.”
“You already have,” Lucas smirked and winked at Katt. “And it leaves me bruised and walking funny every time.”
Royal sauntered by, his arm slung over Scotty’s shoulders. “How can you tell? You always walk funny, all dainty and prissy-like.”
“Bend over,” Lucas fired back. “And we’ll see who’s walking funny.”
Royal snorted. “You think you’ve got what it takes to make me walk funny?” He pffted. “In your dreams, sweety.” He looked at Katt, a smirk forming. “Even the new guy knows you’re full of it. He saw your dick. No crippling powers there.”
“Fuck you.”
“You can try.” Royal smiled smartly. “But we all know who’ll come out on top.” He strolled out of the rec room with Scotty.
“Dick,” Lucas scowled.
“Why do you guys fight?” Marcus hugged Lucas’s arm. “Be lovers, not fighters. It’s more fun. Lots more fun.”
“With you little hotties, definitely. With him?” Lucas made a face, and the twins giggled.
Katt had a hard time imagining Lucas and Royal fucking, much less as “lovers.”
The twins turned their attention back to Katt.
“Do you…” Marcus nibbled his lower lip, the question hanging unfinished in the air between them.
“…want to do anything else? Or…?” His eyes were wide and blue and waiting, and there was something careful in the way he held himself, like he was trying not to want the answer too badly.
Katt looked into his eyes for a moment too long. He became aware of his own breathing, the specific weight of the air in his chest. He let it out slowly. “I… do,” he trembled, his answer shocking not only himself, but also Garrett and Derek.
“Katt?” Garrett touched Katt’s elbow, drawing him back. His voice lowered. “Are you sure about this? Back at the bathroom, you said…”
“I know.” Katt hung his head and stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets. “I don’t know… I just…”
“Don’t feel pressured,” Garrett said. “No one here expects anything of you.”
Katt knew that. He hadn’t felt pressured.
So, why did you say you’d keep going?
He didn’t know the answer. Maybe it was the hurt and anger pushing him. Did that even make sense? Angry or not, why would he agree to keep doing stuff with these guys if he didn’t have to?
Katt glanced at the twins, then Samson. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he’d never been so turned on as he was with them. Was he gay? Had that incident in the fort turned him gay, and he just didn’t know it until now? Katt’s head throbbed; he didn’t know what the fuck was happening.
“I know,” he whispered. “I’m not feeling… pressured.”
Garrett gently gripped his shoulder. “If something is bothering you, it might be a good idea to talk about it before you go any further. Engaging in something like this with unresolved emotions could have negative effects. We want this to be a positive experience for you.”
Katt stared at the floor, his jaw knotted, an ache seeping into his ears and down his neck. “I lied.” The confession emerged barely audible.
Leaning closer, Garrett frowned. “What?”
Katt swallowed and hesitantly raised his eyes. Garrett swam before him. “I lied about…” He glanced anxiously at the other men who couldn’t quite hear what he was saying, but were inching closer. “… about why I’m here.”
“I don’t understand,” Garrett said, confused. “Why would you lie? What were you lying about?”
The others were tuned in, waiting for Katt’s answer.
“I…” How would they react to the truth? Would it piss them off? They might be gay men, but they weren’t sissies. Most of them could probably kick his ass.
Garrett touched his arm. “It’s okay, you can tell us.”
The twins moved closer, each taking one of his hands. “We’re your friends.” Marcus gazed up at him, his soft blue eyes sincere. “We like you. Don’t be afraid. We won’t be mad.”
Katt let the two boys lead him to the sofa, where the three of them sank onto the cushions.
The other young men gathered around. The twins squeezed his hands affectionately, encouraging him to speak.
It suddenly occurred to Katt that holding their hands didn’t feel weird.
In fact, it felt comforting. As odd as it seemed, he felt safe in this house.
He believed Garrett and the twins that he could talk to them without fear.
“What’s going on?” Garrett asked without malice or accusation. “Why would you lie about why you’re here?”
“I had to,” Katt said, eyes down.
“Why?”
“If I told anyone,” Katt mumbled, “then I wouldn’t…” he sighed and met Garrett’s eyes. “I wouldn’t get into the fraternity.”
Garrett frowned as he glanced at the other guys. “The fraternity? What do you mean?”
Katt hesitated. “It was an initiation.”
“What was the initiation, exactly?” Lucas walked closer.
Swallowing hard, Katt said, “I had to sign up for the Curious Boys segment, convince all of you that I was curious about my sexuality, and then…” He looked down. “… fuck a porn star, or rather... get fucked.”
“How would they know if you really did it?” Derek asked.
“I was supposed to bring back video evidence,” Katt mumbled. “For all the brothers to watch.”
“And these are all supposedly straight guys?” Lucas snorted with a heavy eyeroll. “How did they justify that without sounding like flaming fairies?” Some of the others snickered and seemed equally curious.
Katt shrugged. “Todd said—”
“Who’s Todd?” Lucas asked.
“The president of the fraternity. He said all the brothers had done it.” Katt shook his head. “Not… fucked a porn star, but had fucked a man. He said…” Katt’s gut tightened as he repeated Todd’s lie. “He said that it bonded the brothers and cemented their loyalty to one another… or something.”
Garrett eyed Katt. “You sound skeptical.”
“I wasn’t.” Katt sighed. “It kind of made sense. I mean, they wouldn’t want it going around campus what they’d done, which would draw them into a closer-knit society. And it would prove how much they wanted to be part of the brotherhood if they were willing to…”
“Sounds like a lot of bullshit to me,” Lucas scoffed.
“I’d bet both my nuts they’re all a bunch of closeted, repressed gays just looking for reasons to do—and watch—gay shit, and still call themselves straight alpha males.
Pft. Ain’t nothin’ more alpha than that man right there. ” He gestured at Samson.
The big man smiled small, then returned his focus to Katt. He had yet to remark on the situation, though he seemed to hang on Katt’s every word as if analyzing everything that Katt said.
“Pardon me for saying,” Sean joined in. “But you don’t seem like the fraternity type. Why would you go to these lengths just to join their brotherhood?”
Katt shook his head. “I had no interest in it, until…” His words stopped as a band of pressure squeezed his chest.
“Until what?” Mickey asked softly, resting his chin on Katt’s shoulder.
“Until Todd invited me to join,” he whispered.
“Why did that change your mind?” Garrett asked.
Katt sniffed and stared at his lap. “Todd… was my best friend from my intro story.”