Spare Me
by Nelson
January 2004
WARNING: The brats are pretty bratty in this one, but it’s meant to be a fun story. Someone, who’ll remain nameless (Alex), said even the Tops are a bit bratty in this one ;-)
Zach guzzled the last of his tea, and noticed Ben was looking at him from across the table as he put his glass down. “What?” he asked, licking the remains of tea from his lips.
“Thirsty?”
“Not so much now, thanks for asking,” Zach said. He shot a glare at his partner beside him. “I don’t know why I couldn’t have another beer. It’s not like I’m driving,” he griped to Nelson.
“Because I said ‘no’?” Nelson responded.
“Sarcasm isn’t very attractive on you, Nelson,” Zach muttered, pouting over his “no more beer” edict. He spied Ben grinning at him. “What are you so happy about? You weren’t allowed any more, either.”
“But, I don’t care as much as you do,” Ben replied.
The waitress came over with a pitcher to refill their glasses and Nelson put a hand up to stop her. “That’s all right, thanks. We’ll just take the check, please.”
“Sure,” she said warmly, and left to get the ticket.
“What movie did you guys pick out?” Vic asked.
“We didn’t,” Nelson responded, leaning forward with his elbows on the table in the spot the waitress cleared. “We couldn’t seem to agree on one. There’s isn’t much playing.”
“I wanted to see something scary, but since some of us can’t handle it without slamming tools into walls…” Zach started to say with an accusing look at Benji.
Ben and Nelson spoke at the same time, one protesting and one ordering Zach to stop immediately. “Well, didn’t he?” Zach asked in his own defense.
“That’s enough, I said,” Nelson warned and Zach slumped back in the booth looking at Ben.
“Is there anything else you guys would like to do?” Vic asked, changing the subject.
“How about bowling?” Zach asked, sitting up enthusiastically.
Ben looked at him, mouth hanging open. “Bowling?!”
“Yeah, it can be fun,” Zach said.
“Fine with me,” Vic said and Nelson agreed.
Ben didn’t, and he grumbled, “I don’t want to go bowling.”
“Now, Benji, it’s their turn to pick what we do. Zach picked bowling, and everyone has agreed.”
“I didn’t!” Ben said and crossed his arms. “Bowling is lame.”
“It is not,” Zach said. “I used to bowl all the time. Come on, Ben. We can have a ‘brats versus tops’ game!” Zach grinned with excitement and looked to the tops to see if they were up for the challenge. “We can whip them for a change.”
“Brats versus tops, huh?” Nelson asked, leaning into his partner. His lips brushed Zach’s ear and he whispered into it. “You’re going to loooose,” he taunted.
Zach tipped his head into Nelson’s with the tickle from his lips on his ear. Nelson pulled back and smiled at Zach. Zach sang back, “No we wooooon’t.”
“I’m not so sure about that. Are you Vic? I think we stand a good chance of winning, don’t you?”
“Absolutely,” Vic responded. He slung his arm around Ben’s shoulder and pulled him close. “You up for a match?”
“I don’t bowl.”
“Come on, Benji. It will be fun,” Vic said and was interrupted when the waitress came over with the check. “I’ve got it.” Vic dug in his pocket and came up with some cash, handing it over to the waitress. “Keep the change.”
After the waitress left, Nelson asked, “Are we ready then?”
“Let’s go,” Zach said and started pushing Nelson out of the booth.
Nelson scooted out of the booth before Zach managed to push him all the way out. “I’m going, Zach. Quit pushing.”
“Hurry up,” Zach instructed.
Vic had slid out of the booth and had Ben by the hand pulling him along, since he wasn’t going willingly. Vic paused at his car, reaching back into his pocket for his keys. “We’ll meet you over there,” Vic said.
Nelson heard Ben still fussing as he got in the car, “But, I don’t want to go bowling.” The slamming door captured any further complaints and shut out Vic’s response, which Nelson knew would be forthcoming. He smiled and got in his own car.
Minutes later the couples pulled into the parking lot of the bowling alley, and it was obvious by the look on Ben’s face that he was no happier to go bowling now than he was earlier. Nelson looked at the scowl he wore then turned questioning eyes to Vic, who gave Nelson a quick nod that everything would be fine. Vic put a hand to Ben’s back and gave him a nudge to push him forward, since it didn’t appear he was too anxious to go inside.
Nelson and Zach preceded them into the building and Vic caught Ben’s arm before following them inside. “You know what I told you in the car,” he said. “It’s their turn to pick and they picked bowling. You need to straighten up and lose the attitude.”
“But, I don’t want to bowl,” Ben argued again, as though repetition would convince Vic.
“You heard me, Benjamin. Don’t make this evening turn unpleasant,” he warned.
“*I* won’t make it turn unpleasant.”
“You will if you keep it up. I mean it,” Vic said, pausing for an attitude adjustment. None was apparently going to happen and he added, “If you continue with this attitude, we’ll go home and you can go directly to bed. It’s up to you.” Ben huffed and folded his arms, then Vic folded his own. “Do you have something to say?”
Ben glared at Vic for a moment then said, “I don’t want to go home and go to bed, either.”
“Which do you want to do less? It’s one or the other: bowling or bed. Your choice. What’s it going to be?”
Ben rolled his eyes dramatically and stomped toward the door of the building, clearly indicating bowling was the better choice, and Vic followed him inside. They found Nelson and Zach already at the counter, gathering their bowling shoes. Nelson looked back at them when he heard them approaching. “There they are,” he said. “You need shoes.”
They stepped up to the counter and the clerk greeted them, “What size?” she asked.
Vic asked for a 9 and an 11 and she was quickly back with their shoes. Ben looked at the less-than-fashionable footwear and said, “I’m not wearing something half the population has had on their smelly feet.”
Vic looked at him evenly and said, “Bed then?” Ben looked unpleasantly back, then snatched the 9s from the counter. Nelson and Vic exchanged knowing smiles as the brats led the way to their designated lane.
Nelson said quietly to Vic, “He’s still not happy to be here, I take it.”
Vic shook his head and said, “Hardly. This could end up being a quick game.”
“He’ll be fine once we get started, I’m sure,” Nelson said hopefully, trying to convince himself as much as Vic.
“We’ll see, won’t we?”
The couples found seats surrounding their lane and all of them changed into the bowling shoes they were given, Ben grumbling the whole time. Zach was quickly changed and went to the station assigned to their lane to input their names. “We’ll be gentlemen and even let you old farts go first. Age before beauty,” he quipped.
“Why don’t we go every other one?” Nelson suggested as he finished tying his shoes.
“Fine with me,” Zach said. He input their names and they flashed up on the monitor one at a time. “I hate these computer scoring things. You don’t get a practice bowl.”
“Why not?” Vic asked.
“Because it registers the score whenever you bowl. First bowl, first score. No practice,” Zach explained. He finished inputting their names then joined the others to find a ball among the varying choices offered by the bowling alley.
Everyone was busily searching for the perfect ball, and Ben picked up a 10-pounder, slipping his fingers in the drilled holes. “This is too tight.”
Zach laughed and said, “Is that usually a problem for you?”
“Zachary!” Nelson said. Vic couldn’t help a smile at Zach’s comment and Nelson saw it. He said to Vic, “You aren’t helping.”
“Yes, sir,” Vic said, laughing harder.
Zach said to Ben, “You need something heavier than ten pounds. Get a twelve.” He was trying to help Ben pick the right ball and finally they had success. They gathered around the alley and Zach looked up at the monitor. “You’re up first, Nelson,” he announced.
“Me first?” Nelson asked. Noting his name on the monitor, he stepped forward and picked up the ball he had selected moments earlier. “Okay, brats. Watch and learn. You don’t tangle with tops and expect to win,” he said with a grin. Proving his point, he bowled a strike. Watching the last of the pins fall, he turned around and took a bow. “Top that,” he challenged their brats.
“We aren’t tops. We’re brats and proud of it,” Zach said. Vic and Nelson exchanged high fives. “You’re up, Benji.”
“I don’t want to do this,” he complained again.
“Benjamin, one more word…” Vic warned.
With his hands fisted at his side, he said, “But, I TOLD you…”
“Benjamin David…”
“Victor Stewart…” Ben said back angrily. Zach fell back against his chair laughing and it was infectious. Vic’s surprised look softened when he saw Ben try to stifle a smile at Zach’s reaction to what he said.
“Bowl,” Vic said simply.
“I don’t want to,” Ben repeated yet again. Vic stood to his feet and started reaching for his keys and Ben knew what that meant. As much as he hated to bowl, he had no intention of going to bed at 7:30 on a Friday night. “Fine!” he said, and stormed up to find his ball. He slipped his fingers inside and approached the lane. He drew back to send the ball down the alley and was mortified as it dropped heavily beside him, the momentum from his swing propelling it back toward the carpet.
Zach burst out laughing and held his stomach. “Oh, God! Benji, it goes THAT way!” he laughed, pointing toward the pins. “I guess we DO get a practice bowl after all, or does that one count?”
Seeing Ben’s face flame, Nelson and Vic tried not to laugh. Zach was doing enough of that for all of them, but they couldn’t help grinning at Ben.
“That’s IT. I’m not playing,” Ben said. “You can just make me go to bed,” he said to Vic.
Vic was already getting up to go to him and try to calm him down. He was chuckling when he reached Ben and handed him the ball he gathered on the way to him. “Now, just stop it and bowl. It was an accident. Try again.”
“I don’t want to. You bowl if you want to.”
“Benjamin,” Vic said, trying to turn serious, “Cut it out and bowl.”
Ben glowered at the ball held out to him and said with his arms crossed, “No.”
Vic looked at his angry lover and stopped laughing. “Excuse me? Did you just tell me ‘no’?”
“I think that’s what I just said,” Ben retorted. Then he added with a hurt look, “You were laughing at me.”
“Pumpkin, I couldn’t help it. It was funny. You would have laughed had it happened to any one of the rest of us. Now, straighten up and bowl.” Vic held the ball out to him expectantly. Ben just looked at the ball then back at Vic, maintaining his defiant posture. Vic saw things getting worse and said in an attempt to halt the runaway train, “Keep it up and you’re going to be going to bed early on your belly. You’re being rude.”
“I wasn’t the one laughing at people,” he said, looking past Vic at Nelson and Zach.
“You were being rude before you dropped the ball and I’m not going to have it.”
Zach said from behind Vic, “Hurry up, Benji! We have to beat these guys.”
Ben looked over at Zach then snatched the ball angrily out of Vic’s hands. Vic grabbed his arm and warned, “Watch it.”
“You’re the one who wanted me to bowl,” he growled.
“Get your temper under control right now. I’m about this close to taking you home,” he said, holding up his thumb and forefinger barely a centimeter apart. “I will NOT tell you again.”
Ben took a deep breath, holding his lover’s gaze then silently turned toward the pins. Vic reclaimed his seat and watched Ben bowl, praying he did a good job so it would improve his mood. Zach cheered him on, “Come on, Benji! Right down the middle!”
Ben gripped the ball tighter on his next try and sent the ball sailing down the middle of the lane. Pins scattered everywhere but two on each side stood stubbornly in place. “I’ll never get both of those,” he complained.
Zach jumped up and went to his bowling partner giving him direction for knocking both pins down. He held Ben’s arm and turned him toward the pins, pointing in a specific location. “See? If you hit that one right there on the side, you can get them both.” Ben nodded understanding and Zach returned to his seat.
Ben concentrated on striking the single pin where Zach directed and almost pranced excitedly when it slid across the lane, toppling and bringing down the other pin with it. “Yeah!” he exclaimed, returning to Zach. They raised both hands overhead and smacked their own high fives.
“I thought you didn’t bowl?” Zach said, grinning at his friend.
“I don’t,” Ben said, finally smiling about the game.
The competition remained tight, and barely halfway through the first game, Zach announced, “I’m hungry. I’m going to get something to eat.”
Nelson looked at Zach in shock and said, “We just ate, Zach. You don’t need anything right now.”
“But, I’m thirsty.”
“Thirsty is different from hungry. Go get something to drink.”
Zach raised exasperated eyes to the ceiling and huffed loudly. He looked back at Nelson to see if it warranted a change of heart, and his partner looked steadily at him. No dice; a drink it was. Giving up, he turned to Ben. “Come on, Benji,” Zach said, tugging at Ben’s arm. “We can go while Vic bowls.” They went to the counter, and Zach saw they had nachos. “Ooo, nachos,” he said.
“Nelson said just to get something to drink,” Ben reminded him.
“I want nachos,” Zach said as they waited in line.
“You’re going to get in trouble,” Ben predicted.
“No, I won’t. It’s just nachos. He’ll lecture me, but that’s it.”
“Sure he will,” Ben said as their turn came up. “That’s almost as bad as other things.”
“I don’t think so,” Zach disagreed. “I can tune out a lecture. ‘Wah, WAH, wah, WAH, wah, waaaahh…” Ben started laughing at Zach’s perfect imitation of a Peanuts schoolteacher. “I just listen for the pauses and say ‘yes, sir’ or ‘no, sir’.”
Their turn came up, and Zach said to the girl behind the counter, “Nachos and the biggest Coke you have.”
Ben looked over at Zach and said, “Oh, he’s going to love that.”
Zach shrugged his shoulders and said, “I’m thirsty.”
“Have you been licking a salt block today?”
Zach shrugged again. “I don’t know why I’m so thirsty.” They watched the girl fill a cup so big it would take two hands to carry it. Zach paid for the food and took the big cup. “Get the nachos, will you?”
“Sure, make it look like I bought them,” he said grabbing the container.
Nelson and Vic saw the two approaching with the purchases. “Good grief,” Nelson said. “Look at the size of that drink.” Zach was already slurping the Coke, and he gnawed at the straw between his teeth. The boys placed the items on the table in their section and Nelson said, “You aren’t drinking all of that, and I thought I told you no food right now.”
“It’s for later, and I’ll share my drink,” Zach said. Nelson just looked at him. “It IS for later. I didn’t want to have to get in line again.” Vic smiled and looked away at the explanation.
“I told you ‘no’. Give them to me,” Nelson said, holding out a hand.
“Why? Are you hungry?” Zach asked tentatively.
“They are going in the trash, young man.”
“Nelsoooon! That’s wasteful!”
“And, buying them after I told you not to was disobedient. Hand them here.”
“But, I want them!” Zach said.
“One…” was Nelson’s response.
Zach knew he was pushing it to have bought them to begin with and the counting served to warn him he was pushing still farther. “But…!”
“Two…” Nelson continued. Zach quickly handed over the nachos before Nelson got to “three” and watched bitterly as he deposited them in the trashcan nearby.
He said to Nelson as he came back to their area, “That was just a waste of money. MY money.”
“Would you rather we talk about disobedience and the definition of the word ‘no’?” Nelson asked.
“No, sir,” he grumbled. “Can I have some later?”
“Zachary. Bowl,” Nelson said. “It’s your turn.”
Zach glowered at Nelson before he approached the lane. Nelson looked over at Vic and said, “I saw you laughing. What am I going to do with you?”
“Nothing. Sorry,” Vic said, smiling wider and holding up a hand.
“I’m going to take you to the bathroom, if you don’t cut it out,” Nelson warned, laughing himself.
Imitating the whine he knew so well, Vic said, “But, Nelsoooon! I don’t WANT you to take me in theeere.”
Nelson laughed at the performance and played along. “Then you’d better behave yourself, young man, or that’s exactly where we’ll be going.”
The two shared a good laugh and Ben approached them for a swig of Zach’s super-sized drink. He looked at the straw that was already mangled from Zach’s teeth. “Gross. Why does he have to chew on the straw like that?” he asked, examining the straw.
Nelson answered still smiling, “He always does that. Habit, I guess.”
“What are you guys laughing at?” Ben asked, noting the grins still on the tops’ faces.
“Nothing; we’re just being silly,” Vic said.
“Tops being silly? Is that allowed?” Ben asked with a grin.
Vic grabbed him and pulled him down beside him and dug his fingers into Ben’s ribs. “YES, it’s allowed. But only on occasion.”
Ben giggled and tried to pull away. “Stop!” Vic brushed a kiss against Ben’s head and looked up when Zach shrieked excitedly to have bowled another spare.
He came over to the carpeted area where everyone was sitting and leaned toward Nelson. “Beat THAT, tough guy!”
Glancing up at the scoreboard, Nelson said to Vic, “The pressure’s on, buddy.”
“You can do it, Nelson!” he said encouragingly.
The friendly competition continued and the brats won the first game by just a few points. “Game over!” Zach exclaimed. “I knew we could whip your butts.”
“Rematch,” Vic said. “We have to get our reputation back, and quickly.”
“I don’t want to play anymore,” Ben said.
“I thought you were having fun,” Vic said with confusion.
Ben reluctantly admitted, “I did have fun, but I want to quit while we’re ahead of the game.”
“Oh, no, you don’t,” Nelson said, getting up to begin another game. “Best of three.”
“You can’t stand to lose, can you?” Zach asked, swatting at Nelson’s butt as he walked toward the lane to bowl again.
“Hey!” he said, feigning shock and pain.
“You know better than to be a sore loser,” Zach scolded, shaking a finger at his partner. “Tops aren’t allowed to behave that way.”
“We just like a fair game,” Vic said. “Best of three is fair. You two just got lucky this time.” He leaned back and threw his arm across the seat behind Ben. “You’ll see when we beat the pants off you this time.”
“Oh, sure. Blame it on luck when you lose,” Ben said, tapping Vic’s knee with his own. “We’re going to mop up with you this time, too.”
Zach agreed, “That’s right. The tops will be bawling on the way home.”
“Better them than one of us, for a change,” Ben said.
“Well, if you’d behave yourself…” Vic said.
“I DO,” Ben said. “You just don’t understand me.”
“I understand you JUST fine, Pumpkin,” Vic said with a smile and a wink. Nelson bowled another strike and Vic jumped up. “There you go! We’re gonna win this one, I just feel it!”
“Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that,” Ben said as he took his turn.
Zach wandered back to the table and an audible slurping sound came from the tub of Coke as he drained the last of it. Zach turned to Nelson, “Can I have some nachos now?” Nelson looked back at him, not saying anything. “Well? Can I? Pleaaaase? I want a snack.”
Nelson sighed, and looked at his watch and saw it had been a few hours since dinner. “I guess you can. Go get some.” Zach got up and held out a hand for money. “What?” Nelson asked, glancing at the expectant palm turned up to him.
“Money,” he said simply. “I need something else to drink, too.”
“I don’t think so,” Nelson answered.
“But, I’m thirsty!”
“I mean, I don’t think I’ll give you any money.”
Zach grunted. “It’s only fair you pay for it. You pitched the nachos I paid for.”
“Yes, I did. After you bought them when I told you not to. You wouldn’t have lost that money if you had done like I told you. Now, go get some more if you want to. And, no more drinks with caffeine. You’ve had your quota for about a month with that one drink.”
“Everyone was sharing that drink!”
“You heard me,” Nelson said and watched as his disgruntled lover turned to go to the snack area. He heard him complaining to himself under his breath as he walked away.
He returned momentarily with another drink and the nachos balanced on top of it, with a satisfied smile on his face.
“What did you get to drink?” Nelson asked when he saw the more appropriately-sized 12 ounce cup under the nachos.
“Don’t worry, Nelson. It doesn’t have caffeine.”
Nelson looked suspiciously at his partner and said, “You didn’t answer the question.” He noticed that the drink was in a plastic cup and not the heavy paper cup like the last drink was in.
“It’s NOT Coke,” Zach said, still avoiding the question.
Nelson asked, “You got beer, didn’t you?”
“You just said no caffeine and it doesn’t have caffeine in it.” Zach smiled innocently at his partner who failed to smile back. Zach’s eyes turned worried when a thought struck him. “You aren’t going to throw it away, are you?” he asked pulling the cup protectively toward him.
“Give it to me,” Nelson said, holding out a hand.
“But, I’m still thirsty!” Zach said, still not relinquishing the cup.
“One…” Nelson started.
“Would you quit counting at me? I hate it when you do that,” Zach said with a pout, and relinquished the cup of beer.
“Then start doing what I say the first time I tell you to do something,” Nelson said, getting up to go to the trashcan.
Zach looked uncertainly at his partner when he came back, not sure how he would react to the beer purchase. When Nelson didn’t say anything, he took it as a sign that he wasn’t in trouble, so he reminded him, “I’m still thirsty.”
“Go get bottled water if you’re still thirsty.”
“I don’t know if I have enough money. I spent nearly $20 already and you threw out half of that.”
Nelson leveled a look at Zach and said, “You knew I wouldn’t be happy about the beer. I just cut you off at the restaurant. And, I told you not to buy the nachos the first time, but you did it anyway.” Zach looked away and flushed slightly with the accusations. “Go get water if you’re still thirsty.”
He poked his tongue out at the back of Nelson’s head, when he turned and saw Vic heading over. A look of surprise crossed Vic’s face, his features causing Nelson to turn back to Zach, whose attention was still on Nelson. As he turned quickly around, he just caught the tip of Zach’s tongue as it slipped back in his mouth where it belonged. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to piece together what had caused the surprised look on Vic’s face. Nelson’s eyebrows did a slow creep up his forehead and he looked hard at Zach, who swallowed nervously.
“I was just licking my lips,” Zach said.
“Oh, really?” Nelson asked then turned to Vic. “Is that how it looked to you, Vic?”
Vic looked at Zach and answered Nelson, “Not exactly.”
Nelson turned back to Zach and said, “I think we have a few things to talk about when we get home.”
Ben came back from the bathroom interrupting the conversation, and noticed all the bowlers in their group were gathered around the table. “What’s going on? Is it my turn again?”
“Nothing’s going on that you need to be concerned with. Let’s go over here,” Vic said, encouraging him over to the sitting area near the lane.
They sat down and Ben looked uncomfortably over at his friend. He recognized the posturing of a top in lecture-mode and a brat on the receiving end. “What happened?”
“Nelson needs to talk to Zach for a minute.”
Taking in the pout on Zach’s face as well as its red color, Ben asked, “What did he do?”
“Don’t worry about it, Pumpkin,” Vic said with a glance over his shoulder at the other couple. Ben couldn’t take his eyes off them, trying to figure out what was going on by reading lips and facial expressions. Finally, they came back to join Vic and Ben; Zach was obviously not pleased with the conversation, whatever it had been.
Zach sat down on the other side of Ben, leaving Nelson the seat at the monitor controls and well away from him. Zach failed to meet Ben’s curious look, so he eventually gave in and looked away. Vic tried to interrupt the uncomfortable situation by asking, “Whose turn is it?”
Ben glanced up at the monitor and then over to his friend. “It’s Zach’s turn.” Zach made no move to get up and remained slumped against the chair with his arms folded. “Zach it’s your…” Ben started.
“I know! I’m not playing.”
“Zachary…” Nelson said in his best warning tone.
Vic leaned over Ben and patted Zach’s leg. “Come on, now, Sweetheart. We finally got Ben in the game. We don’t need you quitting on us now.” Zach didn’t answer and kept his eyes turned away toward the lane and pins. Vic gave his knee a gentle shake and said, “You can’t beat us if you don’t play.”
Nelson kept quiet, hoping Vic could get through to Zach with calm urging, and that their evening wasn’t about to draw to a quick close. Vic said, “You want a couple of old Tops to win? Huh? Do you?” Ben watched Zach’s face and began to smile when Zach’s pout started to crack, and a restrained grin started to appear.
“No,” he mumbled.
“Then you’d better get up there and show us how it’s done.” Zach’s eyes darted toward Nelson then quickly looked away. Nelson mouthed a “Thanks” to Vic with a wink as his partner started to come around. He slipped away and returned with a bottle of water for Zach and it was waiting for him by the time Zach’s turn was over.
*****
The game continued, and another team took the lane behind them. All four bowlers were smokers and soon enough, the smoke drifted over into their area. Vic complained quietly to Ben beside him, “We’re going to smell like smoke.”
Ben inhaled deeply and said, “Ah, secondhand smoke. It’s all I get since we got together.”
“That’s right and that’s bad enough. It’s nasty and you know it. Not to mention it isn’t good for you.”
Ben looked to ceiling then to Vic. “But, I like to smoke.”
“You’d better mean that in the past tense,” Vic warned.
“I DID mean it in the past tense. I’m not smoking anymore.”
“Good.”
Ben got up for his turn and aimed the ball before directing it down the lane. His timing was off and the ball curved around to find the gutter. It dropped and rolled down the crevice leaving every pin unharmed.
Zach’s mood had lifted since being “spoken to” by Nelson, and he said jokingly, “There aren’t any pins in there, Benji. The middle. Down the middle.” Zach pointed toward the kingpin in demonstration.
Ben rolled his eyes and huffed as he checked the scores on the monitors. “We’re behind.”
“That’s right, boys. Read ‘em and weep. The Tops are going to take this game,” Nelson said.
“I don’t think so,” Ben and Zach said at the same time. Ben tried again and bowled a spare. “Crap! That would have been a strike if I didn’t screw up the first time.”
“It’s better than another gutter ball,” Vic said, standing to take his turn. He looked at Ben over his shoulder as he reached for his bowling ball. “Although we wouldn’t have complained if you tried that again,” he said with a grin.
“I’ll just bet,” Ben said.
The game continued, and Zach looked over to the group near them as he returned to the seat at the monitor controls. “Hey,” Zach said, leaning over to Ben as he sat down. “That girl keeps staring at you.” He nodded behind Ben toward the group over his shoulder. Ben started to turn around and Zach said urgently, “Don’t look!”
“Where?”
“Behind you. The blonde.” Nelson was up and taking his last bowl. “Okay, you can look now.”
Ben cast a careful eye over his shoulder and the girl in question caught him looking. His face turned red and he turned back around to Zach. “I think she’s looking at you,” he muttered.
“No she isn’t.”
“She can’t see anything but the back of my head,” Ben explained. “She must be looking at you.”
Zach looked up and caught the girl staring again. He responded with puckered lips and a wink, just as Nelson turned from the pins in time to catch him. He looked to see who Zach was flirting with and saw the girl return the wink. “Zachary, what are you doing?”
“She keeps staring at us,” Zach said. “I thought I’d give her something to look at.”
Vic sat down beside Ben, having just returned from the restroom. “Who’s staring at you?”
“A girl behind us, two lanes over,” Ben said.
Nelson said to Zach, “No more kisses or winks, unless they are directed at me. I might get jealous.”
Zach looked at Nelson disapprovingly and said, “Please.” Then turning to Ben he said, “Your turn. Make it count or we’re going to lose this game.”
“I guarantee it,” Vic said confidently.
Zach asked, “Did you hear him, Benji?”
Ben glared back at his partner and said, “I heard him. Keep talking, Vic.” Vic laughed at the friendly competition and watched his lover try to score as many points as possible.
In spite of their efforts, the brats were beaten in the second game by the Tops, who did their own taunting at the brats, in a very un-Toppish style. “Ha!” Vic said. “It WAS luck the first time. I knew it!”
“It was NOT!” Zach said. “Best of three.”
“Oh, NOW you want best of three?” Nelson asked.
“We’re not losing this game,” Zach said. “Get ready to feel defeat.”
*****
An hour later, shoes and balls were turned in and the victorious brats returned home with their partners. Zach was still smiling, exuding the smell of victory, when they pulled into the garage.
“That was fun,” he said, dropping his jacket onto the kitchen chair.
“It was,” Nelson agreed. “Hang your coat up, please, then we need to talk.”
Zach’s stomach twisted as he was suddenly reminded the whole evening hadn’t been a victory. He had gone one-on-one with Nelson and lost that battle. A couple of them, actually. Basking in the glow of the brat victory, he had totally forgotten Nelson’s promise to “deal with” his behavior when they returned home. “Nelson, I’m sorry about the beer and nachos.”
“Hurry up,” Nelson responded.
Zach took his coat to the hall closet and hung it up as slowly as he dared. The chore took far less time than he would have liked, and he was soon back in the kitchen with his waiting lover. Nelson pulled out a chair when he saw him approaching and motioned for him to sit in it.
“I don’t think I need to tell you the meaning of the word ‘no’, do I?” Nelson said, launching the lecture. “At least, I shouldn’t, since we’ve discussed it many times.”
“I was hungry,” Zach explained.
“Do I?”
“No, sir.” Zach picked nervously at his fingernails while they talked.
“Then, would you like to tell me why you deliberately bought food after I said, ‘no’?”
Not really, Zach thought. He searched his mind for an appropriate answer and came up with, “I thought I could eat them later.”
“Did I say you could buy something to eat later?”
Wah, WAH, wah, WAH, wah, waaaahh… “No, sir,” Zach said, answering in the void created by the question mark.
“Then it would appear you disobeyed me, wouldn’t it?”
“Things aren’t always what they seem…” Zach said.
“But, this time they are. Aren’t they, Zachary?”
“I guess so,” Zach said.
“No, not ‘guess so’. Either they are or they aren’t.”
Zach gave in and said, “It’s the way it seemed. I’m sorry.” He cast a pitiful look Nelson’s way, hoping against hope that it would make a difference. “I was hungry.”
Ignoring the excuse, Nelson continued, “Then you sneaked and bought beer, knowing full-well how I would feel about it.”
“Sorry,” Zach muttered. “I was thirsty and you said ‘no caffeine’. Not ‘no beer’. I really don’t think it’s fair that you should be mad about that. I didn’t disobey you.”
“Did you or did you not know how I would feel about it?” Nelson asked.
Damn. Boxed in again. “I might have had a little bit of an idea.”
Nelson was nodding his head. “I’m sure you did. Yet, like with the nachos, you bought it anyway.”
The way Nelson was acting, Zach was starting to worry that he misjudged about a lecture-only response from Nelson. “I’m reaaaally sorry, Nelson. Don’t be mad.”
Nelson pressed on, “Then there is the fact you stuck your tongue out at me behind my back.”
Zach groaned inside. This was getting worse by the second, and he was really beginning to worry. “I didn’t mean anything by it. Really…”
“It was disrespectful and rude. Not to mention childish.”
“Well, you threw out my food and my drink! I wasn’t happy about that.”
Nelson said calmly, “I’m sure you weren’t. You were probably no happier than I was that you disobeyed me, but you didn’t see me sticking my tongue out at you, did you?”
Zach squirmed in his seat. He muttered, “I couldn’t exactly say anything. But, I was mad and it was an emotional release.”
“Emotional release? That’s a good one, Zachary,” Nelson said as his hands rested on his hips.
“I’m not trying to give you a ‘good one’. It’s true. It’s not good to hold things in…” Zach said determinedly.
“And, it’s not good to disobey or disrespect your partner, either,” Nelson said, keeping the subject alive. Zach looked at his shoes so he wouldn’t have to look at Nelson. They had reached the summit and he waited for the decision of his fate to be announced. Nelson continued, “You’re going to be punished for disobeying and disrespecting me, young man. Tomorrow, you’re going to write 500 lines: ‘I will not disobey or be otherwise disrespectful to my partner’.”
“Five hundred?” Zach said with a worried frown. “That will take forever! And, tomorrow is Saturday!”
Nelson looked at him thoughtfully. “I know of something else that wouldn’t take as long. I could spank you tonight and be done in about ten minutes. Would you rather I do that instead?” Nelson asked firmly.
Zach immediately began to shake his head ‘no’. “No, sir. Lines are fine.”
“And, for sticking your tongue out at me,” Nelson said, pulling Zach to his feet, “you’re going to stand in the corner with your tongue out until I tell you to pull it back in.”
“What?” Zach asked in surprise, as he was so rudely walked over to the corner.
“You heard me. If I catch your tongue in your mouth before I tell you to, I’ll spank you.” Zach looked curiously at his partner. Nelson looked back at him and said, “You wanted to stick out your tongue, now stick it out.” Zach swallowed hard to clear his tongue of spit then slowly slid it past his lips, and it hung out of his mouth limply. “Face the corner,” Nelson said, and Zach slowly turned to glare at the boring wall.
It wasn’t a big deal at first, but his tongue quickly started to dry out and his jaws were feeling it from the constant pressure of his teeth against his tongue to hold it in place. After five minutes, he complained to Nelson, “Nelthun…It’th hahrd to sthwallow.”
“You can manage,” Nelson said stubbornly. “Stop talking.”
“Thu’re nean!”
“I said ‘no talking’, young man.”
Zach crossed his arms and held his tongue firmly in place, swallowing awkwardly. The air on his tongue caused it to feel a bit prickly and cold. He reached up and tentatively touched it and could swear he felt each individual taste bud. Five more minutes later, he was not only bored with the corner, but wishing he could get some spit around his parched tongue. He tried to speak again, his hanging tongue making it difficult, “Thow muth longah, Nelthun?”
“I said, ‘no talking’,” was the response. Zach sighed and continued staring ahead. His tongue felt like it had grown, rather than shriveled, with the lack of moisture around it.
Finally, after fifteen full minutes, Nelson called to him. “Okay, Zachary. You can put your tongue back in your mouth, and come here.”
Zach pulled his dry tongue back in his mouth, and the prickly feeling increased rapidly as the moisture surrounded it. “That wasn’t very nice,” Zach said as he shuffled toward his lover, pout firmly in place.
“It wasn’t nice for you to stick it out at me, either.” Nelson wrapped his arms around Zach and kissed his head.
“My tongue feels weird.”
“I’m sure it will be back to normal in no time. Do you think you’ll want to stick it out again any time soon?”
Zach rubbed his tongue around his mouth trying to get it wet again. “No, sir.” If he did, he would make sure tattletale Vic wasn’t around. He leaned heavily into Nelson’s chest. “I think you’re just mad because we beat you tonight.”
“That hasn’t got a thing to do with it, and you know it,” Nelson said, patting Zach’s back. He pulled him away and said, “You know you would have been punished whether we won or not.”
Zach knew it was true. He licked his lips and said, “That really was mean. My tongue will never be the same, I just know it.” Nelson smiled at his petulant brat, and Zach said, “Was that punishment in the Secret Book of Top Procedures and Punishments?”
“No, I thought that one up all on my own.”
“How creative of you,” Zach said. Thinking about the rest of his punishment he added, “I’m sure ‘lines’ are in the book.”
“Yes, it’s in the corresponding chapter to the Secret Book of Brat Behaviors to Get Your Way. The one that talks about outright disobedience?”
“I didn’t know you knew about that book…” Zach said, leaning back into his partner.
“I picked up a pirated copy about two years ago. I thought it would come in handy when we got together.”
Zach muttered against Nelson’s shoulder, “I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to turn you in for that, Nelson.”
Nelson laughed and took Zach’s hand. “Speaking of turning in…” and the two went to bed.
The End. (All right, who has their tongue hanging out about now? You have about 8 minutes to go…)
