Chapter 20 - Feel Me. (Wednesday, June 8th continued)

Kerek’s blindfold games were over with before lunch which meant that the boys had a lot more free time than usual that afternoon. Brian decided he’d use his time to get in a good long workout. Spending all day lounging around the Residence surrounded by several well-muscled younger men was wreaking havoc on his personal body image. He felt a lot better about himself after winning the morning’s Trial, but he would be even happier after a nice long swim and a couple hours on the weight set.

After forty-five minutes of swimming laps, Brian showered off the chlorine and then headed to the exercise area set up under an awning on the patio. Both Daniel and Dane were already there lifting free weights and chatting about their different regimes. Brian decided to start with some quad curls and glute sets on the leg machine.

It was a rather peaceful afternoon at the Residence for once. The inmates had all settled in by now and seemed mostly comfortable around each other. The initial rush of lust they’d all experienced when they first arrived and had found themselves immersed in a sea of hot bodies and unlimited sex had receded enough that nobody seemed to feel the need to be fucking 24/7. Instead they were all just doing their own individual things. Several of the other boys wandered out to the patio either to swim or workout but nobody interfered with Brian’s extra-long workout.

Brian eventually moved over to the weight bench to start on his upper body. He quickly ran through several sets of biceps and triceps curls, some lats and delts sets and then lay down on the bench for the requisite bench presses. He decided to start off with a relatively light weight on the bar so he could get in some long sets with a high number of reps. When that was accomplished, he upped the weights and proceeded to push through a more serious strength training set.

“Need me to spot you?” Daniel, who appeared to have just finished his own workout offered.

Brian looked up to where Daniel had positioned himself right over the head of the bench, his junk hanging obscenely right over Brian’s face. “Uh, yeah, sure,” Brian decided to accept the offer of assistance, albeit a little reluctantly.

After a few sets with the weights being steadily increased each time, Brian was sitting up and wiping away the sweat that was dripping from his brow while Daniel was supposed to be adding an additional two pounds to each side of the bar for him. He heard the clunk of the weights being loaded and the snap of the holding pins locking them into place. Lying back down, Brian gripped the bar, nodded to his spotter and pushed up. Daniel assisted him, offsetting the weight of the bar until Brian gave the signal that he was ready. Brian took a few deep breaths to oxygenate his blood and then braced himself before telling his spotter ‘OK’.

When Daniel let go his hold on the bar, however, Brian pretty quickly discovered that it was far heavier than he’d expected. With a brief sideways glance, he could see that the prick had added ten pounds to each side instead of the two pound weights he’d been expecting. Daniel stood back and laughed nastily at the shock on the struggling lifter’s face. Brian couldn’t do anything. He locked his elbows but still could barely keep the bar upright with the unexpected additional twenty pounds. If he tried to move the bar at all it was going to come crashing down on his chest. He was shaking already, his muscles straining but sure to give out any minute. He didn’t even have the extra breath needed to call out for help. And all the while Daniel just hovered there smirking at him, an angry contemptuous sneer marring the man’s otherwise handsome face.

“Whoa there, Tiger!” Dane, fresh from his after workout shower exclaimed as he came sauntering back across the patio and saw Brian struggling. The big brawny blond hustled over and immediately grabbed the weight bar, guiding Brian as he settled the thing on the upright supports. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, Brian? You might be able to show us all up when it comes to your kissing skills, but you don’t have to kill yourself on the weight bench too!” Dane cheerfully kidded the man, thinking he’d just overdone things by accident.

Brian hopped up off the bench and moved to confront a still laughing Daniel. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, asswipe?” If his muscles weren’t shaking so badly that he could barely lift his arms, Brian would have immediately punched the still sneering jerk right in the face. “You could have fucking killed me!”

“Hey, man, it was just a joke. Get a sense of humor already,” Daniel held his hands up with the palms out as if to indicate it was all harmless fun.

“Fuck you, Daniel. That was NOT just a fucking joke,” Brian huffed, taking two more furious steps towards the retreating Asian man.

“Yeah, well, you just remember to stay out of MY business, Sweet Cheeks, and I’ll leave you alone too. Got it?” Daniel threatened.

Even though Brian wasn’t sure he could lift his arms, he wasn’t going to back down in the face of this uncultured bully. He stepped forward, his chest shoving against the shorter man’s chin. Daniel of course raised his arms and shoved Brian back a couple steps. And the whole thing might have come to blows if Dane hadn’t stepped in between them, blocking the antagonists with his bulk before grabbing Brian by the shoulders and resolutely guiding him away.

“Damned fucker! He was supposed to add four pounds and instead he puts on fucking twenty! Then he drops the bar. I could have been fucking killed. Fucking joke, huh? Asshole . . .” Brian was still so incensed he couldn’t see straight. Luckily he wasn’t fighting Dane, who managed to lead the spitting and snarling man into the house and seat him at the kitchen breakfast bar.

It took Dane and Malik, who happened to be in the kitchen getting a bottle of water at the time, a quarter of an hour to get Brian fully calmed down. Paal, who was the only one that still managed to be on decent terms with Daniel, had been dispatched to make sure he stayed out of Brian’s sight for the rest of the afternoon. Between times when he was cursing Daniel, Brian cursed himself out for breaking his resolve in the first place and getting involved in the conflict between the big bully and Adrien. But, it was too late now. Brian didn’t believe in regrets or in backing down for the likes of Daniel. If the creep wanted to try and take him on, Brian would show him what regret really meant.

Brian had finally settled down enough that he was able to concentrate on something other than his plans to castrate Daniel. He’d busied himself at the computers in the Greatroom, working on his Blog entry for the day. Everyone else seemed to be giving him a wide berth in order to avoid his bad mood. Over on the other side of the room, Dane was watching television and Justin was curled up on the couch with his ubiquitous sketchbook. It was quiet for the moment.

“Hey, guys. Anything good on?” Kerek asked, coming downstairs and into the room.

“Well, let’s see,” Justin smiled up at the new arrival as he picked up the TV remote. “We have porn. And . . . more porn. And . . . Yes, even more porn!” Justin giggled as he tossed away the useless remote. “You know, if anyone had ever told me that I could get bored of watching porn, I would have laughed at them. But, when that’s your only choice 24/7 it’s pretty amazing how fast you become inured to it.“

“You’re just not watching the RIGHT porn, then,” Kerek laughed, climbing over the back of the couch and taking up the challenge to find something interesting enough to watch. “Let’s see . . . something inspirational . . . Ah, yes! Here you go. How’s that strike you?”

Justin looked up from his drawing and found that, yes, indeed, Kerek had found something that caught his attention. “Wow . . . Well, okay, that IS pretty hot . . .” After a couple of minutes of silence, the little neophyte, always curious and willing to learn something new, piped up again. “How does he do that? You know . . . I mean, this guy is taking them BOTH and doesn’t even seem to need any time to adjust. How the fuck can he do that?”

“It’s not that hard. At least, not once you’ve trained yourself a little. It’s all a matter of practice,” Kerek made it sound so simple. He must have noticed Justin’s look of disbelief though, because he chuckled and turned his attention away from the television to focus solely on the incredulous little blond boy. He slid down off his perch on the back of the couch until he ended up insinuating himself between Justin and Dane. “You don’t have to top to take control of a situation, you know. Now this guy,” Kerek pointed to the man they’d been watching on the TV, “he’s what we in the business call a Power Bottom. And, with your attitude and that stellar ass of yours, you, my friend, have all the makings of a phenomenal Power Bottom too. With a little practice and some training, you’d be able to force respect out of even the big bad tops like your buddy Brian.” Kerek aimed a wink at the eavesdropping top in question, generating a little return smirk from the man sitting across the room.

“Hmmmmm. Power Bottom? I like the sound of that. So, how do I go about earning such an elite title?” Justin asked, his tone teasing but also betraying his interest.

“Well, my son, you just happen to be in the presence of a professional and, with the right incentive, I could probably be persuaded to impart some knowledge on you.” Kerek assumed an authoritative air.

“You’re a PROFESSIONAL Power Bottom? That’s quite the title!” Justin kidded. “And just how do you become a professional at bottoming?”

“You work as a high priced male escort for more than eight years,” Kerek replied with complete seriousness.

“You’re an escort?” Dane asked when Justin appeared too shocked by this revelation to speak. “Wow, man! I did NOT see that coming. But if that’s the case, then what are you doing here with the rest of us low-paid working stiffs?”

Kerek shrugged. “I’m twenty-five. In my business that’s fucking ancient. I can’t keep doing what I’m doing forever and I wouldn’t mind retiring sooner rather than later. If I can win this money, then I plan on heading somewhere nice and warm, buying myself a little club or a bar and maybe taking up fishing or some shit like that for a hobby.” Kerek grinned over at his listeners. “But, even if I don’t win, I figure that my appearance here certainly can’t hurt my business prospects.” Turning his attention back to the youngster who was still gaping at him, Kerek tried to move the conversation back to where they’d left off. “So, what do you say, Blondie? Time to get ‘Powered Up’?”

*Hehehehe* “Yeah. What the hell? I’m always willing to try something new,” Justin tossed aside his sketchpad and turned to face his new teacher. “So, Teach, how do I make myself into the biggest, baddest, Power Bottom around.”

“The first thing you gotta understand is that bottoming doesn’t mean you just get to lay there like a blow up doll and enjoy the view,” Kerek insisted, ignoring the snorts of laughter from both Dane and Brian. “Not only is that boring as hell, but it’s not likely to impress your top. Bottoms have a lot more power than they know, but it takes skill to put it to good use. Let’s face it, without the bottom, the top wouldn’t have what he needs to be satisfied. A bottom can take care of himself anytime he wants by simply finding another man or a sex toy, but the top needs you. The top also has a lot more to lose than the bottom if things don’t go well - part of topping is the control, knowing that he’s in charge and in order to feel like he’s doing a good job, he’ll want to make sure he’s pleasing his bottom. I mean, if the bottom doesn’t get off, the top’s failed to control things, right? So, it’s really in your best interest to make sure your top’s enjoying himself in order to push him to attempt to please you more too.”

“Makes sense,” Justin shrugged, easily accepting the philosophy of bottoming. “So, make it better for the top and he’ll make it better for the bottom. Got it. But, how exactly do you do that?”

“Like I said, you don’t just lie there. You have to let him know what you want. You have to take at least that much control. He won’t resent it though if it means a better fuck for everybody. A top who walks away knowing that he pleased his partner is going to be a lot more satisfied than one who walks away feeling like he only pleased himself,” Kerek continued the lesson. “So, tell him, with words, what you want or, more importantly, what you don’t want. If you’re not comfortable or in pain you won’t be enjoying it and then neither will he,” Kerek emphasized that point by insisting on eye contact before he went on.

“If you’re not comfortable with words, use nonverbal means. A well timed moan will tell your top a lot. Gasp, sigh, moan, slap, and grunt all you want to inspire him to keep doing whatever the hell it is he’s doing. A top, who is basically trying to impress you with his moves anyway, gains esteem by hearing these sounds of encouragement, plus it points him in the right direction. But don’t moan and groan if you don’t mean it. It just sends mixed messages.”

“I can do moaning,” Justin reassured his teacher with a smile.

“I’m sure you can, Blondie.” Kerek grinned back. “Now, let’s talk positions. That’s another area where a lot of bottoms fail. You don’t want to let your top get lazy and always do it in the same position. You need to stir things up. Plus, you can set the whole psychological tone for a fuck just by pushing your top into a different position.”

“Huh?” Dane interrupted, clearly thinking Kerek was heading off on some strange tangent. “Isn’t fucking just fucking? I mean, different positions feel different, but that’s really the only difference I can see.”

“So big and yet still so naive,” Kerek shook his head but patted Dane’s shoulder affectionately. “You couldn’t be more wrong, big guy. For example, doggie style can be super demeaning, which you can use to your advantage if your top is having trouble dominating - you help him out by forcing him into a power position. Missionary can also be used to bring out his aggression and, while it’s the most basic position, it’s still the best way to put your top in the driver’s seat where he can feel in control of the pace. Cowboy, on the other hand, gives the bottom more control, which your top might like if he enjoys that kind of thing and it also gives him some time to breathe after he’s been pounding away like a jackrabbit. Spooning is all about gentleness and comfort for both of you, which is sometimes a good thing if you both need the emotional care and it sort of equalizes both partners. Straddling him while you’re both sitting up is another way to enhance more intimacy and it’s a nice way to slow the tempo down and remind each other that you’re both human beings,” Kerek looked over at his two very different couch companions and smiled at how intensely they were both listening to his little lecture. “So, you see, it makes a huge difference which position you fuck in. A Power Bottom needs to think not only about how a position physically makes you feel, but also about how it makes you and him feel psychologically. You’ve gotta play the mind game. Whoever has the control is probably going to be a bit more comfortable at any given moment, but it doesn’t hurt to change it up, every so often either.”

“Cool. I never thought about any of that,” Dane admitted, looking over at Kerek with new respect.

Kerek smiled but didn’t break from his lesson plan, concentrating now on Justin. “Now, getting back to the topic of letting your top know what you DON’T like, let’s move on to pain control. If there’s one thing that will make any bottom better at sex - and by extension make your top happier with the way you’re responding - it’s the awareness that pain free anal sex is possible. All it takes is practice.”

“And don’t look at me like I’m talking crazy, Blondie, I KNOW what I’m talking about here.” Kerek had to laugh at the boy’s uncertainty. “All it takes is training yourself to relax, breathe and when and how to clench. Of course, knowing when NOT to push your own limits is important too. I don’t recommend, for instance, starting out on something like the Giant here. And you’re not going to enjoy double penetration, or anything like that, right out of the chute. But, if that’s something you want to eventually try, don’t psych yourself out of it either. Just get yourself a comparably sized dildo - or two - and work your way up to it.”

“Shit! Why is everybody always using ME as an example of what Justin shouldn’t be doing?” Dane complained. “You make me sound like some kind of freak of nature or something. I’m perfectly proportioned for my body type. And I’d never hurt you, Justin.”

“Chill, Big Guy. I meant no disrespect. I love your big bad Boy Rammer, Baby,” Kerek was quick to reassure his friend. “And, if you wait a bit, I’ll be happy to show you just how much. But this little one is just not ready for all you got to offer, capice?”

“Where was I?” Kerek turned his attention back to his pupil. “Right . . . Even if you’re not going for something quite so extreme, you’ll enjoy it all more if you learn a couple easy techniques. The main trick is not letting the penis enter you, but rather having your hole relax around IT. This takes a bit of skill, but you can do it with a little practice. See, the opposite of relaxation is tension. If you can willingly tense your hole, you can also willingly relax it. So, what I do is, right before my man penetrates me, I like to squeeze my hole super tight, then relax into it, allowing myself to sink deeper onto him rather than letting him break into me. It works every time. Get yourself a good dildo and practice every day and in pretty much no time, you’ll be doing it without even realizing it. And, before you know it, you’ll be doing what you saw that guy on TV doing - you won’t need hardly any time to adjust to penetration. Which means that your top won’t have to be worried about hurting you and won’t have to slow down at all, or at least not for very long.”

“Truly excellent advice,” the couch-bound pow-wow was interrupted at this point by the approach of the Power Top who’d been listening in from his corner of the Greatroom. “If all bottoms out there had you as a teacher, Kerek, I’d be a very, very happy top. Unfortunately, I come across the lazy blow up doll bottoms far too frequently.” Brian confirmed what they’d all just learned. “Of course, all this is completely academic unless you put it to use. So, care for a practical demonstration, Sunshine?”

“Awww, that’s so nice of you, Brian. Offering to help me study. You’re a true humanitarian, aren’t you?” Justin couldn’t resist teasing.

“I do what I can, Sunshine. I do what I can,” Brian shook his head and smiled benevolently down on the boy.

Brian was still smiling as he manhandled the eager little pupil onto his hands and knees on the seat of the couch and proceeded with his very own lessons.

“You have all been doing an excellent job at pleasing me, my children,” The Master praised as the group stood around for that evening’s Challenge announcement. “I was so proud of all of you and how well you did with the Blindfold Trial this morning. But, I think you can do even better, my pets. So, I think I’m going to give you all another try with the blindfolds.”

The two masked servants carried in their usual silver trays, this time laden with several leather objects.

“Tonight we’re going to play my own very special version of Blind Man’s Bluff,” The Master went on. “You will ALL be blindfolded this time. And, just so Brian and his irrepressible lips don’t have an unnecessary advantage, you will all be gagged as well.” There was a round of groans from the assembled contestants at this condition, but still everyone accepted the proffered leather mask and gag that were presented to him by the servants.

“Now, the rules of this game are very simple. You will be blindfolded and gagged and then let loose in the room. All you have to do is find a partner and fuck him. The first couple to get off wins.” It sounded far too simple, which was probably why each of the competitors still seemed to be holding his breath. “But, as always with my little Challenges, there is a tiny little twist . . . You see, whichever couple wins will be paired up for the rest of the week. So, make sure that whoever you do choose to complete this Challenge with is someone you trust. An ally. Someone you will be comfortable spending a LOT of time with over the next few days. And someone who you think will be an asset to you in upcoming challenges. You don’t want to choose wrong or you’ll suffer the consequences.”

The room was quiet after this announcement as the boys all thought through their own private strategies. As soon as everyone had their masks and gags in place, the servants came around and, one by one, spun each contestant several times then led him off to some distant part of the room far from where he’d started. This way, no one would have any idea where the rest of the men were standing. There was also the added inconvenience of the several chaise lounge chairs that had been brought in and placed randomly throughout the room. But, once everyone was in place, The Master wished them all luck, a whistle was blown and the game was started.

It didn’t take that long for the guys to stumble their way around enough to locate another warm body. They’d spend a little time groping at each other, trying to figure out who was who and then, for the most part, they would all move on. Sometimes it seemed like one of a pair was interested in doing more, but the other either thought they could do better or maybe had a different plan.

Brian wasn’t sure what everyone else’s strategy was going to be, but he thought that if he was going to be forced to be paired up with anyone for the entire rest of the week, he’d prefer to partner up with young Justin. They’d just finished up their afternoon ‘study session’ right before dinner and Brian thought, overall, it had gone remarkably well. The kid wasn’t kidding when he said he was a fast learner. Brian thought that with a little more practice, he might end up being one of the best sex partners the well experienced man had ever had. So, if he had to spend an inordinate amount of time with any of the guys here, he would rather it be with the Terrific Twink That Could. Besides, he rationalized, the boy needed Brian’s expertise as a top if he was going to truly advance with his studies.

So, when the first couple of guys Brian encountered in the Blind Man’s Bluff game tried to encourage him to stay and complete the transaction, he pulled away. Neither of them were the right shape to be his Twink. He kept an ear out though, trying to catch the sounds of another couple getting close to finishing. If he heard indications that he was falling behind, he intended to just grab the next available body and take his chances.

Unfortunately, making his way around all the added furniture and trying to find the one boy in the bunch that he wanted proved more difficult than Brian would have thought. The next time he came across someone, he found that the someone already had a someone of his own and the pair were starting to get busy. Not a good sign. Brian resigned himself to go with his Plan B and fumbled his way off to find whoever he could.

A couple of minutes later, Brian had at last found a free body and a free chair and was plowing away at the willing ass - he thought it was Paal - when he heard the unmistakable sounds of grunting and mewling that generally signalled the end of a successful fuck coming from his right. He tried to increase his own pace, but it was already too late. “Master, we have our winners,” one of the servants trumpeted the news throughout the room a minute later. Brian sighed but didn’t bother stopping. It only took him another two minutes before both he and his partner reached their own conclusions. Then he finally sat up, pulled off the annoying mask and looked around to see who the lucky couple would be.

Brian wasn’t the only one uncomfortable with what they found as they took off their masks. The two servants had the winning pair standing between them at the front of the room - presumably so that they could receive the congratulations of their peers. Nobody was going to offer any congratulations to this pair, though. In point of fact, it looked like Adrien - who was standing there glowering at everyone around him - would slug anyone who even tried.

Adrien’s putative partner, and the man he’d be teamed up with for the next several days, was the only one who seemed happy about the situation. That man was actually smiling the biggest, nastiest and most gloating smile Brian had ever seen. When he caught Brian’s eye, his triumphant smile somehow got even bigger.

Yep, Daniel was tickled pink about his partner. He’d be able to stick close to Adrien for the rest of the week, and there was nothing that the irate Surfer Boy could do about it. If you looked closely, you could see in Daniel’s eyes that he was already compiling a list of just exactly how he planned to further torture Adrien.