Rob Hill walked over to me and put his hand on my shoulder.

“Happy birthday, man,” he offered with a smile.

“Thanks, Rob.”

Rob was a wrestler on a scholarship to the University of Iowa, so he was far more sporty and athletic than me. Regardless of how masculine he was, from what Hank had told me, Rob was Coach Murdock’s submissive, so that was one thing we had in common.

Rob and Coach Murdock had started having sex when Rob was in high school. When Rob got his college scholarship, Coach Murdock had followed him. Now, they were a couple similar to Hank and myself. Because of the situation with the wrestling team and the university, their relationship was very secretive. In fact, Hank and I were two of a handful of people that knew that Rob was Coach Brick Murdock’s boy.

“You’re lucky,” Rob said with a glum tone in his deep voice.

“You mean because I have Hank?” I questioned.

“Yeah, but more because you can be so out in the open,” the jock admitted. “Hank married you and gave you his last name. I envy you that.”

“Our situations are very different, Rob.”

“I know,” he conceded. “Sometimes, it gets frustrating, though, especially when I see you and Hank so happy.”

“I’m sure that one of these days Coach Murdock will make an honest boy out of you. You just hang in there…”

There are neighbors and new friends all about.

There is music and food… But my eyes keep finding their way back to Austin.

He’s the most beautiful thing that this crazy, old world has ever given me.

That angelic boy takes all my aggression and all my orders. That sweet soul worships me like no one ever has. He makes me feel like the man that I was meant to be. And I’d lay down my life to make sure that he’s always protected and safe…

When Angie had brought him into my house almost six years ago, I have to admit that I was attracted to the boy. Back then, my desire had seemed so strange, but I was drawn to him from day one. Never before had I lusted after some teenager, especially a male. That had been a surprise. But something about him stoked the fires within me.

Some would say that what I felt for the boy was wrong. After all, he was only a kid at the time. So I was distant and maybe even cold to him, but I loved him more than I ever did that no-good mother of his. In my defense, I didn’t lay a goddamned hand on him until I could take him legally as mine!

Instead, I watched him grow and turn into the sweet, sensitive boy that stole my hardened heart.

When that bitch left us, it was the best thing to ever happen to me. It was just me and him against the world… His willingness to care for me and do my bidding without question acted on me like a tonic. He was everything that I’d ever wanted in a wife, so I had counted the days and waited until the boy turned 18. Then I took him and claimed him as a man does…