10 - Caomhnóir – Manny

 

 

“It smells like a chemical factory in here,” Hamlin muttered under his breath as he entered the house. Tightening his hold on Romper’s leash, he paused at the stairs leading up to the living room, trying to figure out why the place smelled the way it did.

 

“Well now, return the conquering hero,” Gebhard said, stepping from the gym into the entryway. “And you can blame the stink on Manny. He’s teaching Jakie how to do graffiti.”

 

“Manny’s back?”

 

“He is. Has been for over a week now. We hired him on as a counselor for the boys.”

 

“Oh,” Hamlin said softly, at a loss for words at the moment.

 

“So who’s your friend?” Gebhard asked, bending to scratch behind Romper’s ears.

 

Hamlin told him, explaining that he’d gotten him while he was out west. “Actually, he found me,” he added. “Someone dumped his on the beach. We sort of adopted each other.”

 

“Well, I guess as long as he behaves you can take him upstairs with you.”

 

“He will,” Hamlin told him as he started up the stairs, the puppy bounding ahead of him.

 

It didn’t take long to figure out where to go next. The smell and the sound of voices led him up to the third floor and Jakie’s room. Hamlin paused at the open door, watching in fascination as Manny showed Jakie how to do the next section of what it seemed was going to be a large mural on one wall. A second boy, Hamlin figured it had to be Jakie’s roommate, was drawing outlines further down the wall, consulting a sketchpad as he did. It wasn’t until Romper started yipping to get free of the leash that any of them noticed they had an audience.

 

Jakie immediately set down the can he was holding and dashed over, first greeting Hamlin with an “You’re back!” and then scooping up Romper, laughing when the puppy began washing his face with its tongue.

 

When the second boy came over to get his share of Romper’s attention, Jakie introduced him as Sandy, which given the color of the boy’s hair seemed like a natural nickname to Hamlin.

 

Manny was the only one who remained where he was. He watched the boys, a slight smile on his face for a moment until he looked directly at Hamlin. The smile broadened, and then faded when Hamlin didn’t return it. “Welcome back,” he said quietly.

 

“Thanks,” was all that Hamlin said in reply. He wanted to say more, but something stopped him. Maybe the boys’ presence, maybe everything he’d been thinking about on the long journey home, maybe—He wasn’t certain, but any words he might have said died before they were spoken.

9 - Caomhnóir – Manny

 

 

“What’s wrong?” Manny asked a couple of nights later when he found Jakie slumped dejectedly in a chair in the study room.

 

“Things ain’t no fun any more now that Mr. Wyndham’s gone.”

 

Manny cocked an eyebrow as he sat down next to the boy. “Fun how?”

 

“You know, getting to go out and lift stuff for him. It was—" Jakie shrugged, “fun.”

 

“And illegal,” Manny pointed out.

 

“So? You stole stuff for him; the other guys did other things. What’s the difference?”

 

“There isn’t any difference. He had us doing things we shouldn’t have. Okay, if he’d left us where he found us, yeah we’d have been doing it anyway, but that doesn’t make it right.”

 

Jakie rolled his eyes. “So now suddenly you’re a preacher, telling me I done wrong and I should be glad it’s over now?”

 

“If you want to look at it that way, yes. But you’re a smart kid, your grades show that, plus you’re street smart on top of that. There should be something else you can find to do that’s fun and legal.”

 

“Yeah? Like what?”

 

Manny sighed. Then he had an idea. “I know you well enough to know you like to draw.”

 

“But I ain’t too good at it. Things always come out like, what’s that word for making people look like comics?”

 

“Caricatures. And that’s not a bad thing really if we channel it.”

 

“We what?”

 

“Jakie, you’re going to learn to wield a spray paint can.”

 

“Hey, cool, but ain’t that illegal too?”

 

“On a subway car, or a building, yeah. But not here. We start with your bedroom, assuming your roommate doesn’t have a cow.”

 

Jakie grinned. “He won’t or I take steps.”

 

“Jakie,” Manny growled. “He has to agree because he agrees, got that.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, okay. So I talk to him and then you show me how?”

 

“Talk to him, yes. Then you sit down and come up with some sketches that you both like. After that, then I show you the ropes.”

8 - Caomhnóir – Manny

 

 

Gebhard looked across the desk at Manny, while Mr. Shadrick sat in another chair, one leg crossed over his knee, listening.

 

“So,” Manny continued, “I’m really at loose ends now. I can get a job doing something menial, but—" He shrugged. “What I want to do is be here, helping out in some way. This place was my home for the last three years, and the kids are like family, the only real family I ever had. Does that sound stupid or something?”

 

“Not really,” Gebhard replied. “The problem is, what would we do with you?”

 

“One possibility,” Mr. Shadrick interjected. “Let him be a counselor. It would make our lives easier. He could watch the boys in the evenings, make certain they studied, did their chores, got to bed on time. That way you and I could have time for ourselves, which God knows we don’t now.”

 

Gebhard nodded. “Not a bad suggestion. Of course we couldn’t pay you much, Manny, but if we hired you, you could go back to living here. Since Mr. Shadrick has taken over Mr. Wyndham’s former quarters, his old room is vacant now.”

 

“So you’ll consider it?” Manny looked hopefully at both men.

 

Gebhard glanced at Mr. Shadrick, receiving a nod in return. “Tell you what; we’ll give it a month’s trial. If it seems to be working well then we’ll hire you on permanently.”

 

“Thank you,” Manny said, heaving a sigh of relief, not at all feigned. If this hadn’t worked he had been at a loss as to what other ploy to use to remain connected to the house and the boys. He needed the in, in order to find out if Gebhard had connections to the Scriostóir responsible for having him shot.

 

“You’re welcome. Where are your belongings? Do you need a ride somewhere to collect them?”

 

Manny snorted. “Belongings? Everything I own is in my backpack except what I left here, which has probably been doled out to the kids by now.”

 

“I should have known, and they have I’m afraid,” Gebhard replied with a smile. “Alright, let’s get you settled in and then we can let the boys know you’re back.”

 

An hour later, Manny was facing a room of excited teens. Five of them he knew already, two others were newcomers. Gebhard explained that, as there was room, he and Mr. Shadrick had decided to continue Cerdic’s good work and take in as many kids as could fit comfortably in the house. Manny had bitten back a snort of derision at that, wondering how either of the men could have missed exactly what Cerdic had had the boys doing. ‘There are none so blind--’ he decided as he was introduced to the newest residents.

7 - Caomhnóir – Manny

 

Hamlin walked along the shore, smiling as Romper romped around and ahead of him. The dog was a new addition, something to keep him company while he tried to work things out in his head. Unfortunately, the working out part wasn’t happening.

 

He cared for Manny, more than he ever had for anyone, even Cerdic.

 

Hamlin had escaped his miserable childhood, living on the streets until Cerdic had found him and brought him to his home and into the fold. He did everything he could to repay Cerdic, even though he had been more than certain Cerdic was not one of the good guys so to speak. Hamlin had no illusions about people. They were out to take what they could by hook or by crook, and if Cerdic used that to his advantage to stir up trouble it was no skin off of Hamlin’s nose.

 

Then Manny had come into his life and things had changed. He’d discovered what it meant to love and have that returned. They had become lovers, keeping that part of their lives a secret from the others, as hard as that had been.

 

When Cerdic had sent him off to London he had wanted to say no. But you didn’t refuse an order from him. So he’d gone, and one year later Cerdic was dead. When he’d returned to the city and the house, Manny was there as always.

 

There but, Hamlin noticed almost instantly, somehow different, and Hamlin couldn’t put his finger on why. Just that he was. Manny had left the next day, promising to return, and to explain what was going on. He hadn’t.

 

After almost a month had passed, Hamlin gave up waiting. He couldn’t stand being there at the house, a place so full of memories of the two of them. Like a petulant child he had run away.

 

Now he was on the other side of the country and all he wanted to do was go back to the one real home he’d ever known. But he couldn’t, because now he knew what it was about Manny that had seemed so strange. Sitting down on the sand, heedless of the fact that it was still damp from the early morning tide, he took out his wallet and looked at the one picture he had of the boy he loved.

 

Taken soon after Manny had arrived at the house, it showed him laughing at something one of the other boys had been saying. Hamlin had snapped it without Manny being aware, and now he suspected that had he known he would have destroyed it somehow. Because, as Hamlin looked at it and compared it with his memory of Manny the last time he’d seen him, he understood what had bothered him the day he’d come back from London. In the three years since he’d first met Manny, the boy had not seemed to age one bit.

 

“Why?” Hamlin said softly, stroking a finger over the picture. “How, between the time you were fifteen and now, at eighteen, do you look exactly the same?” He closed his wallet, lying back to stare up at the clouds. “Do I go back and ask, and feel like the fool that I probably am for having such strange thoughts, or do I stay away because maybe I’m not crazy. Maybe he—Ooof, dog, damn it. You’re soaking wet.” Hamlin glared at the puppy who was now sitting in the middle of his chest, looking down at him as if he’d done something particularly special that warranted a treat.

 

Putting Romper back down on the sand, Hamlin got up, and after attaching the leash they headed back to the small beach house he was renting. As they did, Hamlin realized that this would be their last night there. He had to go back home and pray that Manny was there, waiting for him. And that he would be able to explain the unexplainable.

 

It's release day for 'Runaways Box Set'!

 Runaways Box Set

https://www.jms-books.com/edward-kendrick-c-224_229/runaways-box-set-p-4781.html

 

https://www.amazon.com/Runaways-Box-Set-Edward-Kendrick-ebook/dp/B0CBZHB8LR/ 

 

GENRE: Gay Erotic Romance Box Set
LENGTH: 165,551 words
RATING:

Four stories of gay young men surviving on the streets. Contains the stories:

Surviving: Brothers Terry and Kel, on the run from their abusive father, hook up with a trio of Denver street kids who teach them how to survive. Can the budding relationship between Terry and Rudy, the leader of the trio, last through the problems that ensue -- including Kel's attempted kidnapping and the loss of the squat the group has been calling home? Perhaps, with the help of a local pastor, it will.

Strays in the Time of COVID: Thrown out of his home, Guy ends up on the streets as Covid ravages the country. Soon, he's adopted by a dog and a kitten. He meets three homeless teens -- Mack, Tone, and Dani, who names the kitten Ghost, and the dog Shadow. When Guy learns that, like him, Mack and Tone are gay, he hopes the attraction he and Tone begin to feel for each other can survive the life they're forced to live.

The Encampment: Homeless and in danger, Davie accepts an offer to live at the Encampment, a mountain site run by Maddox, and Ran. Among the residents is Vin, who befriends Davie. Davie finds out there is more to the place than it seems when he and Vin are sent to stop slavers preying on homeless teens. Things get interesting as the two of them try to survive while dealing with their attraction for each other.

The Runaway and the Enforcer: Beau is an enforcer who goes into hiding after he refuses to follow his boss's orders and harm a rival's kid. Rick, an eighteen-year-old denizen of the streets, witnesses Beau killing one of the men searching for him. Rather than kill Rick, as well, Beau befriends him -- an act he may come to regret, when Rick convinces Beau to take him along, when Beau goes on the run after taking out his boss.

EXCERPT FROM "Surviving"
Note: may contain sexually explicit scenes of a homoerotic nature.

"How are you doing?" Rudy asked Terry the morning after the fight.

They were alone in the squat, since at Josie's insistence she, Snap and Kel had gathered up all the dirty clothes and taken off for the Laundromat.

"I've been better," Terry admitted. "But I've been a hell of a lot worse too so it's all relative."

"Your head still ache?"

"No. My arms and shoulders though ..." He thought it was better not to mention his legs did too, from all the running.

Rudy nodded, going behind the sofa where Terry was sitting. "Lean forward."

Terry did, groaning when Rudy began massaging his shoulders.

"Am I hurting you?" Rudy asked, concern lacing his voice.

"God no! That feels great."

"Good. I never know for sure."

Terry turned his head to look up at him. "You do this often?"

"Not really. Just sometimes when we've had a long day I do Snap." He laughed. "Okay, that didn't come out right. I give him a massage while he takes care of Josie."

Terry chuckled. "That could be taken two ways and one of them brings up images I'm not sure I want."

"Good point." Rudy kept on, carefully working on Terry's tightly knotted muscles. When Rudy was finished, Terry sighed, half in relief because he felt better, half with regret that Rudy had stopped. It had been a long time since anyone other than Kel had touched him in a ... he supposed a personal way. With Kel it had been to clean him up after a beating, or to give him a quick hug when something good happened, the way brothers do.

Terry was surprised when Rudy came around to sit beside him. At least until Rudy said, "Give me your arm."

Grinning a bit, Terry replied, "I rather like it where it is."

Rudy just shook his head. "You know what I mean." When Terry stretched out his arm, Rudy went to work, starting at his shoulder and moving down. Terry rested his head on the back of the sofa, savoring the feeling of Rudy's hands on him. Despite the reason behind it, it was almost sensual. When Rudy finished, he moved to the other side, chuckling when Terry immediately offered his other arm without even opening his eyes. "You like this, don't you?"

"You better believe it." Terry frowned in thought. "You know, I don't think anyone's ever done this to me before. In fact I know they haven't."

"Damn, you don't know what you're missing."

"I do now," Terry replied with a smile. "If I had the money, I'd hire you as my personal ... umm ... masseuse?"

"I think that would be masseur. And you wouldn't have to hire me. I'm quite willing to do it for free."

Terry's eyes popped open with surprise. "Seriously?"

"Yeah." Rudy smiled, saying, "Okay, lay face down on the sofa. Or better yet on the floor."

"Umm, why?"

"I'm betting your legs feel as bad as your shoulders did, from our being chased last night."

Terry resisted gulping at the idea Rudy was going to massage his legs. That did not however stop him from doing as Rudy said. He rested his head on his folded arms, tensing when he felt Rudy's hands on his thighs. This was getting way more personal than he thought he could handle.

"Relax," Rudy said softly. "I'm not going to do anything more than give your legs a rub down."

"I know." Terry wondered when he said that if he sounded as needy for something more as he felt. I'm being ... stupid. He's just a nice guy who's trying to make me feel better after what happened last night. Physically. I mean ... easing aching muscles since ... Damn. The feel of Rudy's hands on the backs of his legs was erotic. Stop, he cautioned himself. Pretend it's Josie, or some girl I went to school with. Easier said than done. He almost sighed with relief when Rudy's hands moved lower, rubbing his calves. He finally began to calm down.

Then Rudy blew it when he said, "This would have been better if I'd had you take off your jeans. Or not."

"Yeah, umm ..." Terry managed to get out.

Rudy leaned forward, his hands beside Terry's shoulders. "Turned you on, didn't it. Or at least I think it did. It sure did something to me. So ..." He kissed the nape of Terry's neck then got up. "Where the hell is a cold shower when a guy needs one?"

They both heard the sound of approaching footsteps outside the door at the same moment, then a series of knocks.

"That worked just as well," Terry muttered, rolling over and sitting up.

"Big time," Rudy agreed as he went to lift the bar off the door and let Josie and the guys in.