Chapter 25
After a nice weekend together, Monday brought a shock to start Colin’s day. No sooner had he booted up his computer than Maryanne bustled into his office.
“Sabeen Hassani sent me an email. She says she can’t handle the lobbying trip and she wants out.”
“Fuck,” Colin said, rolling backward in his chair in disappointment. His new-found confidence quavered at the blow. “I thought I had her on-board. I’m sorry, Maryanne. I told you someone else could have done a better—”
“Stop, Colin. It’s a setback, not a failure. Get her to come in, or go see her. Try to make her change her mind.”
Colin nodded, turned to his computer and sent Sabeen a request to talk more. She finally agreed to come in the afternoon.
Hernán poked his head into Colin’s office a little before twelve. “Cariño, do you want to get some lunch?”
Colin looked up at him and shook his head. He heard the frustration in his own voice as he said, “I can’t. I’m going over Sabeen’s material again to try to figure out how to either change her mind or still get in front of Senator Gerragos.”
Hernán sat in his visitor chair. “She dropped out? Well, you were afraid of that.” He looked at his hands. “Hey, uh, can I help? Maybe she’d be more confident if she could work with you in her own language.”
Colin looked at him, puzzled. Then he got Hernán’s meaning. “Oh! Good idea. Is your Arabic enough, do you think?”
Hernán shrugged. “I don’t believe I could translate complicated ideas, but I know enough to handle every-day conversation. Let’s give it a try.”
“She’s due in around three. Is your class over by then?” Hernán nodded, and Colin closed his manila folder. “It’s a plan. Maybe I’ve got time for lunch after all.”
Shortly after three, Hernán joined Colin and Sabeen in a conference room. Sabeen appeared to be in her mid-thirties, with dark eyes and brows. Her hijab was turquoise in color. Hernán introduced himself in halting Arabic, and she gave him a smile and a greeting in return.
Colin explained that Hernán would try to translate if anything was unclear to Sabeen. They spent the next hour together. A few times, when Hernán hesitated or stammered, Sabeen lowered her head and shyly helped him seek a word or phrase in Arabic.
With Hernán’s help, Colin explained how important her story was to their mission, and impressed the fact she would only be talking to a few people at a time.
“It isn’t a big public gathering?” she asked through Hernán. “Like those meetings at the United Nations I see on television?”
“No,” Colin assured her. “It would be four or five people at most, plus our group. You would only have to talk to them for a little while, to tell them your story and answer a few questions maybe.”
“Ah. I didn’t understand before,” she said. They discussed the project some more, with Colin impressing upon Sabeen that the legislation they were working to defeat would make it harder for people like her to find safety in the United States.
Finally she nodded. “All right. You have persuaded me. I will do it.”
Colin gave a relieved sigh, and threw a big smile to Hernán. “Great. Let’s go over your story again. You know we want you to tell it in English, but with Hernán’s help we can try to make sure everything is clear. Then we can practice some questions you might get.”
<<Will you be there with us?>> Sabeen asked Hernán in Arabic.
When he translated, Colin nodded thoughtfully. “That’s a good idea, so we’re ready if there are any questions we didn’t anticipate. If you’re willing, I’ll clear it with Maryanne.”
“Of course,” Hernán answered immediately. “Just let me know exactly when so I can make adjustments or get coverage for my ESL classes.”
After Sabeen had practiced, she left with a list of possible questions and answers in English and Arabic to study. Colin immediately took Hernán into Maryanne’s office to explain their plan.
She was delighted. “See, Hernán? I told you even some Arabic would be useful. And good job, Colin, on changing her mind.”
“It was really Hernán—” he began, but Hernán cut him off.
“Your words convinced her, Colin. I just translated for you.”
“I knew you could do this,” Maryanne said smugly to Colin. “You’re going to kick ass up on the Hill this week.”
The morning of the visit to Capitol Hill was also when David and Brandon arranged to take Hernán and Colin running with them. Colin would have begged off but he knew Hernán was still uncertain around new people. A run would help distract Colin from worries about his lobbying mission as well, so he rose at the ungodly hour of six a.m. to put on shorts, a long-sleeved, wicking shirt and his running shoes.
They met in front of Colin’s building. When David and Brandon jogged around the corner and came to a stop, neither of them had even broken a sweat. Their enthusiastic greeting made Colin mutter, “Save me from morning people.”
Brandon punched him in the arm. “We’ll keep the run reasonable. Promise. David ’n I figured two miles for your first time would get the blood pumpin’. Y’all will be back for coffee before you know it.”
They set off toward the Mall at an easy pace. Brandon ran next to Hernán while David stayed near Colin, a half-block behind. Ten minutes into the run, Colin gasped, “Go on, David. Leave me and save yourself!”
David chuckled. “You’re doing fine, Colin. I like to run but Brandon is a lot faster even with the prosthesis. Hernán is keeping up with him and that takes some pressure off us.”
“What do you think of Hernán’s chance for getting asylum?” Colin managed to ask.
“A lot of it can depend on which immigration officer hears the matter,” David admitted in a conversational tone, as if they were standing around a water cooler instead of destroying their bodies on a hell-run. “I’m sorry to say there are a few homophobes in there who resist granting asylum when the application is based on sexual orientation. Don’t worry about it much, though. As I said, there’s a second bite at the apple before an immigration judge if we get one of the bad officers.”
Soon after, they completed a loop back to the condo building. Hernán looked flushed and excited. Colin wanted to die, but happily watched Brandon cajole Hernán into trying a longer run.
“You handled this easily. You could probably do a marathon with no more trainin’.”
Hernán grinned. “Well, I doubt it, but I would like to run on the streets and paths more. It’s so much more interesting than the basement of our building.” He glanced hopefully at Colin.
“Oh no,” Colin exclaimed. “Leave me out of your masochism. I said I’d try it but this isn’t for me. Kickball any day!”
Laughing, Brandon and David made plans for Hernán to join them again the next morning. They ran off to keep training while Colin and Hernán visited a nearby Starbucks for coffee.
As Hernán added sugar to his drink, he bumped his shoulder into Colin’s. “Running wasn’t really so bad, was it?”
“It wasn’t terrible but I’m not a convert.”
“You aren’t wiped out, though, are you?” Hernán asked, lifting an eyebrow.
Colin’s heart began to flutter. His mouth went dry but he answered, “Not wiped. Why? What are you thinking?”
Hernán sipped his coffee and gave Colin a wink. “Well,” he drawled. “We’re up earlier than usual. The blood is pumping. We don’t have to be at the center for a few hours yet. Maybe…”
Colin swallowed hard. “You’d better not be teasing me, Nán.” He could feel himself chubbing up already. The thin liner in his running shorts would do absolutely nothing to hide the erection threatening to grow.
“I’m not. Based on what Chris said, and how long you’ve been taking, uh…” He trailed off to look around the coffee shop. No one was near. “Anyway, I had a really dirty dream about you last night. I want to see if it feels as good awake.”
They stepped out of the coffee shop and began walking toward the condo building. By that time of morning, pedestrian traffic began to fill the sidewalk with go-getters hustling to work. Colin rested a hand on Hernán’s waist and whispered fiercely, “You are downright wicked. You have to walk in front of me now. These shorts show exactly how much I like where your mind is—”
“Colin!” Despite the morning traffic noises, the voice that called his name sounded familiar. Colin turned, dropping his hand from Hernán and already tensing.
Ethan Schinderman hurried up the sidewalk toward him. Colin hadn’t seen him since their kickball season ended in July. Ethan had been heavy as long as Colin knew him, but he’d apparently lost a significant amount of weight in the past months. The suit Ethan wore seemed to droop around him. His face was gaunt.
“Ethan,” Colin said cautiously. “I’m surprised to see you here.”
Ethan came to a stop and peered up at Colin. His bushy brown hair was partially tamed, but he wore the same thick glasses that tended to slip down his nose. Dark smudges under his eyes showed through the lenses.
Whatever was going on with Ethan’s appearance didn’t seem to affect his smug tone. “I changed jobs two months ago. Lambda Law Fund was a dead end for me. I work at the George Washington University law school now, in one of the legal clinics.”
“That’s great,” Colin said politely. “I remember you weren’t happy at the Law Fund.”
Ethan’s gaze swept over Colin in his athletic clothes, passing over Hernán initially. Then his attention snapped back. Colin saw his eyes widen.
With one finger Ethan pushed his glasses back into place. “Well,” he said breathily. “Is this your latest recruit to the team?”
Colin ignored the question. “This is Ethan Schinderman,” he said to Hernán, his tone as remote as he’d use in a professional meeting. “We play kickball on a league together sometimes.”
Ethan gave a slow, sly grin. “Hernán, you say. I love your name.”
“Thank you,” Hernán answered cautiously. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“So, have you played kickball before?” Ethan asked. “You look like you’d be a natural.”
“Uh, kickball?” Hernán said to Colin, uncertainty in his voice. “Is it like football? I mean soccer?”
Ethan didn’t let up. “Oh, there’s a great gay soccer league. I mean, assuming you’re gay…” His voice trailed off, though his lip curled slightly at one side. Hernán flushed, giving answer enough. “I play volleyball, too, in the spring. Colin never got involved with that team, though. If you’re interested I’d be happy to introduce you to the group I play with.”
Colin interjected, “I’m sorry to run, Ethan, but we’ve got to get ready to head up to the Hill.”
“Oh? What are you lobbying for today?” Ethan asked.
Colin answered, “The usual immigration issues” at the same time Hernán volunteered, “Asylum.” He stopped immediately when he realized he’d spoken over Colin, and blushed.
“Immigration,” Colin said again, hoping Ethan would drop it.
Ethan’s eyes took on a calculating look. When they’d been friends, Colin usually ignored it as nothing more than a sign of mischief. He’d come to recognize—too late—that the look was a warning he should heed. It meant Ethan sensed something going on he wanted to unravel, either to satisfy his own curiosity or, more often, to stir up shit.
“Hernán, are you an asylum seeker?” Ethan asked.
“This isn’t appropriate to discuss,” Colin interjected awkwardly before Hernán could answer. “We really have to go. Good to see you again, Ethan. Best of luck with the new job.”
Ethan wouldn’t take the hint. His lips curled slightly. “You know, Colin, you’ve avoided me since we stopped dating.”
Hernán’s eyebrows went up.
Shit, Colin thought. I should have expected this. Aloud, he said, “Come on, Ethan. We went out one time more than a year ago. That’s hardly dating.”
The comment was for Hernán’s benefit, but Ethan flared his nostrils. He flicked a glance back and forth between Colin’s burning face and Hernán’s pale one.
Ethan’s smile stretched wider. “So sad, Hernán,” he said. “We all used to be so close. Colin. Me. Tom. Scott. Brandon.” Ethan rattled off names of teammates, but his eyes glinted at Hernán’s flinch. He’d scored a hit with Brandon’s name. “Then Brandon got involved with someone, Johnny and Scott broke up, and Colin…” He threw a glance Colin’s way. “Well, he pined for Brandon for such a long time.”
Hernán’s remaining color drained.
Colin tried to keep his tone civil. “Ethan, you’re perfectly aware Brandon and I are just friends. He’s happily married to David now.” It was a little bitchy of him to say, because of the torch Ethan had carried.
Not to be outdone, Ethan nodded. “I heard. That must have been tough, Colin. I know the two of you dated.”
Double shit. He hadn’t seen a reason to discuss that with Hernán. Did he mention it, the first night in Provincetown when he was drunk? He couldn’t recall. In any case, Ethan made it sound like a big deal and Hernán would probably wonder why Colin kept it from him. Through clenched teeth, he said, “We went out just a few times. Really more as friends than anything.”
He frowned. “But how did you know about it?”
Ethan shrugged, his eyes on Hernán. He clearly scented blood. “Hernán, you should have seen our friend Brandon. Just gorgeous, with the sweetest Texan accent you ever heard.”
Colin opened his mouth to bark at Ethan, but Hernán spoke first. “Actually I know Brandon. We had dinner with him and David recently. Very nice couple.” He stuck his hands casually into the pockets of his running shorts. “Colin, should we be heading home to get ready for work?”
Ethan deflated, and Colin permitted himself a silent cheer for the way Hernán handled him. “Yes, you’re right. Ethan, take care.” He put a hand on Hernán’s back to usher him away toward their building.
He risked a quick glance back at Ethan, only to see him lowering his cell phone and slipping it into his coat pocket.
Hernán led the way back to their apartment. Once inside, Colin stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Hey, about the shit Ethan said—”
“Don’t worry about it. I could tell he was just trying for a reaction.” Hernán shrugged. “So he likes my boyfriend. I can deal with some competition.”
Colin laughed. “Believe me, there’s no competition there.” He sobered slightly and said earnestly. “Or with Brandon. You know that, right?”
Hernán smiled slyly. “Yes, I believe you. But just in case you have any doubts, I’d be happy to re-enact my dream…?”
Colin all but dragged him up to the bedroom, both laughing all the way. As Hernán pulled off his running shirt, he sniffed his pits. “Should we take a shower?”
“Nuh huh,” Colin said as he frantically removed his shoes and socks. “I love the way you smell when you’ve been working out.”
He dropped his shorts and shirt before joining Hernán in the middle of the bed. Their bodies were a little ripe but it just turned Colin on even more. His cock jutted forward, hard as a bone. It slid tantalizingly over the smooth skin of Hernán’s hip as he rolled his lover over and on top of him.
Arms wrapped around each other, bodies fitted together, they kissed like the first time. Colin broke away to ask, “Can I suck you, Hernán? Do you feel okay about that?”
Hernán nodded and then gave a small smile. “I’ll show you how my dream started.” He swung his body around so that his beautifully thick cock was near Colin’s mouth and his lips were inches away from Colin’s erection. He grasped the base with one hand and took Colin’s sac in the other. “I still may not be very good at this, but I’ve been thinking about it a lot since the first time we tried.”
“Oh my God,” Colin moaned, shivering as Hernán took him into his mouth. He was a little uncertain with Colin’s dick, a little awkward with teeth and lips, but in no time he seemed to have solved the important problems. He figured out that Colin loved it when he swiped the tip of his tongue just beneath the head. He couldn’t take more than a few inches into his mouth, but he worked the rest with his fist and sucked as much cock as he could.
At an especially loud groan, Hernán raised his head. “Sounds like I’m onto something here.”
He went down again. The wet swirl of Hernán’s tongue over the head of his dick went right up Colin’s spine to make him open his mouth and suck Hernán in deeply. The precome leaking from its folds or foreskin tasted salty and sweet, and he dug his tongue in to lap up more.
The circuit closed as each man sucked the other, pleasure zipping between Colin’s dick and his mouth. The heft of a meaty cock against his tongue, burrowing toward his throat, turned Colin on so much that he grasped Hernán’s ass cheeks with both hands to pull him in even deeper. He choked slightly, pulled back, and dove forward again until the head pressed into his throat.
He desperately wanted to feel Hernán lose control and shoot in his mouth. The PrEP he was on and his own research convinced him he had nothing to fear from swallowing Hernán’s seed.
Hernán’s lips and tongue were too good. In less than a minute Colin put a hand on his head to still him. “I’m going to come if we don’t stop.” Hernán held his eyes as he gave one more long, depraved lick from the base of Colin’s cock to its head.
“I want that,” he said wickedly. “I’m going to taste you and drink you down. But not quite yet.” Hernán reached into the bedside drawer to pull out Bluebeard and the bottle of lube. “This was part of my dream too.”
He popped open the lube and drizzled some on the dildo and on his fingers. He swallowed Colin down again as his fingers stroked over Colin’s hole. He pushed two fingers inside, making Colin tremble before he pulled off his cock with a gasp.
Colin locked eyes with him as he pulled Hernán’s dick toward him again and resumed his oral assault. The sweet juices leaking into his mouth made him ravenous for more. The half-lidded dark gaze of his lover inspired him, and he silently asked permission as his fingertips crept closer to Hernán’s crease. Hernán inhaled sharply, but nodded. Colin did nothing more than brush over Hernán’s opening, teasing the surface even as he drew Hernán’s dick into his throat.
When he closed his eyes to concentrate on bringing Hernán pleasure, he felt the cool head of the dildo against his asshole. Hernán’s mouth was on his dick again as he slid Bluebeard inside, torturing Colin with his lips and his tongue and the toy.
Colin moaned around the dick in his mouth as the chilly, slick silicone entered his body. Hernán knew how he liked it, what he could take, how fast… In seconds, Hernán was fucking him hard with the dildo while he sucked with greater abandon, excitement helping him to take Colin deeper down his throat. The pressure in his ass, the wet warmth around his dick, the glorious cock in his mouth and the fiery blaze of Hernán’s body pressed against his sent Colin quickly to the top.
Hernán, too apparently, because he stopped sucking Colin to say hoarsely, “I’m about to come. You should stop.” Colin shook his head as well as he could with a stuffed throat, and stroked more determinedly with his fingers along Hernán’s backside. Hernán groaned and took Colin back into his mouth, licking and sucking frantically on the top few inches as he mauled Colin’s ass with Bluebeard.
Soon he spasmed and gave a muffled cry. Colin’s taste buds watered at the spurts of creamy, salty, mineral fluid blasting into his mouth. It sent him spiraling over the edge as he came. Hernán stilled the dildo and swallowed what Colin gave him.
They both sagged onto the bed. Hernán carefully pulled the toy from Colin’s ass, but Colin refused to release the dick in his mouth. He kept nursing gently as Hernán softened, letting him down slowly from his orgasm until Hernán put a hand on the side of his face. He withdrew his dick gently and turned his body around so they were face to face. His eyes were wet, though whether from tears or from the cock that had been buried in his throat, Colin couldn’t tell.
Lips swollen and red, he met Colin in a blistering kiss. He let Colin use his tongue to probe and taste, and then he did the same. Colin’s ass throbbed pleasantly from the dildo and his cock tingled with aftershocks as the kiss went on and on.
Eventually Hernán broke away long enough to glance at a clock. He grimaced but said, “We should start getting ready soon.”
Colin sagged bonelessly. “I know you’re right, but I really wish we could stay right here.”
Hernán gave him a concerned look. “I don’t know how I feel about coming in your mouth like that.”
“Did it feel good for you?” Colin asked, and Hernán nodded. “I loved it. You taste wonderful. Between the Truvada and your low viral load, it’s really fine.”
Despite Hernán’s concern, he returned a shy smile. “You taste great too. Your dick got so hard when I fucked you with Bluebeard while I was sucking. It made me feel powerful.”
“Was it really okay, what I did with my fingers?” Colin asked, suddenly aware that he had risked triggering some reaction in Hernán.
“It was. There was a moment when I got a little scared, but I just said to myself, ‘It’s Colin.’ Then I was fine.”
“Maybe… Before we get any more adventurous, I think we should talk about things. I mean, what you’re okay with, what makes you nervous, how I’d know if you’re uncomfortable with something. You know?”
“That makes sense.” Hernán kissed him. “But not now. Your mission awaits.”
As they finished their showers and were dressing, Hernán unzipped the black cloth bag containing his new suit. “It was so lucky that the alterations were ready in time,” Hernán said, excited as he tugged on the elegant pants. Colin stood behind Hernán, facing a mirror over his shoulder and helping him to knot his necktie. Hernán leaned back against Colin as he took over to pull the triangle of material snug.
Colin held up the suit jacket for Hernán to slip on, and then rested a hand on his shoulder. “You’re gorgeous, Nán,” he whispered to his boyfriend facing him in the mirror. “Better than Andrés Montiel on Club de Cuervos.”
Hernán laughed. “I’ve created a monster. You’re addicted to the show, aren’t you?”
“Guilty,” Colin admitted as he donned his own dress shirt and tie.
He turned to face Hernán and shook out the nervousness in his hands. “This is it. All the planning, and now I’m leading a group up to Capitol Hill.”
Hernán put his hands on Colin’s face. “You’ll do great, corazón. You know every word of what you need to say, and the team trusts you completely. You’re going to kick so much ass they’ll be wiping it off the interior of the capitol dome for days.”
Colin exhaled heavily. “I’m glad you’re going to be there with me. And not just for Sabeen.”
“I love you. I believe in you. And after you crush it today, I’m going to show you how my dream ended.”