A Trial of Strength

A TRIAL OF STRENGTH - PART 397 By Rob Williams

CHAPTER 397 – "LARRY'S WILD SEXUAL INITIATION"

IN THIS CHAPTER:

Mike, the handsome middle aged bar owner, and his younger lover, the hot stud Larry, have hit a rough patch and might even split up. But the other boys take over and lure Larry out to the desert to make him see sense by initiating him into the tribe. Larry's induction is intense – he gets simultaneously butt-fucked, tit-tortured and sucked off by his buddies while his best friend Jamie spills his load all over him." _____________________________________________________________________

************ In the previous chapter *************

The cop Mark and his lover Jamie were on a week-long vacation in their beach shack in the remote dunes along with the Marine Hassan and his boy Eddie. After they had played out their fantasies and frustrations in sexual games ranging from rough to romantic, Mark received a phone invitation from their good buddy Mike, better known as Uncle Mike.

Still fit and handsome in his late fifties Mike owned a popular leather bar in Palm Springs where he lived in a sprawling house with his lover Larry, a much younger man in his early twenties. Mike invited the guys to come and spend the last weekend of their mini-vacation with him and Larry. The senior boy of the tribe Pablo and his boy Tyler would also be there.

They all thought it would be great to see Mike again after so long. Young Eddie gushed, "Can't wait to see Tyler out there. You know, I became that kid's first friend that day he first dropped in on us at Uncle Mike's house – I mean literally dropped in from his peeping-tom perch in a tree."

"It'll be great to see Larry again, too," Jamie said. "We have a long history together but we haven't kept in touch as much as we should. I mean he pretty much stays out there all the time taking care of Mike's house and helping him run his bar. We've got a lot to catch up on."

But Mark looked uneasy and Hassan asked what troubled him. "Dunno really," Mark said. "Just a hunch, but when I spoke to Mike on the phone he was excited about seeing us, but there was something in his voice ... a kind of over-eager tone ... like he really needed us to visit. And when he mentioned Larry he faltered a bit. Then again, nah, maybe I'm imagining things."

It was a long drive from the coast to the desert where their arrival naturally caused considerable excitement. Pablo and his boy Tyler had already arrived and Tyler now raced out of the house and into the arms of his pal Eddie as he leapt from Hassan's jeep.

Pablo greeted Jamie by pulling him into a macho shoulder bump. Larry hung back looking slightly bashful, Jamie thought, so Jamie gave him a long, warm hug. "Lot to tell you, dude," Larry said. "I need to share some ... well, we'll talk as soon as you're settled in, eh?"

While Larry took the two junior boys Eddie and Tyler to help him in the kitchen, Mike sat out by the pool drinking beer with Mark and Hassan, and the senior boys Pablo and Jamie. At first conversation flowed easily. Mike had a stream of questions about the tribe and they reassured him that everyone was doing just fine back in L.A. Eventually Mark smiled, "But enough about us, Mike. How about you? Things going well with you, Larry, the bar and all?"

"Sure, can't complain," Mike replied blandly. "Pretty much same as always."

But they could tell from his lack of enthusiasm that that was clearly not true. They all knew and loved Mike as the solid, self-assured older man who had built a very comfortable life for himself out here in the desert. He was always cheerful, the rock on which others depended. Mike was the only one who ever called boss Randy `boy', and Randy looked up to him with huge respect.

But right now he looked weary somehow, his shoulders hunched and there was almost a defeated look in his eye. "You OK, Mike?" Mark asked. "You seem a bit ...deflated somehow."

"What? No, I'm fine, like I said. I ... I ... oh shit, who am I kidding? Guys, I am so glad you're here. I really needed to see you ... to unload on you, I guess. It's Larry. You know how crazy I am about the boy ... he's made me feel young again and we were both great together."

"Were?" Mark frowned.

"Yeah. Thing is ... I think Larry's gonna leave me."

"Bullshit," Hassan said. "We've seen you two together and there's no way that boy ..."

"No ... no let me finish, buddy. See, when we first met I was surprised that a hot young guy like him would find me sexy. I thought at first he might be a gold-digger, you know, out to find a rich guy to keep him. But when we started to have sex I came to realize that he was genuine, the real thing. So I took the plunge and asked Larry to come out here and live with me."

"And it worked just great," Pablo said. "We could all see that, and Randy said so too, and he's never wrong about stuff like that."

"Yeah, and he was right. We've had a terrific time together but ... well in the last few weeks I've noticed a restlessness in Larry. See, out here in the desert you can get a sort of island fever, stuck in a small world ... and this is a small world. I know Larry loves me, but right from the start I've been scared he might one day leave me for a younger guy, a guy his own age."

Mike choked up. "And now I think it's happening. There's a hot young guy called Franco, same age as Larry, who's been hanging round the bar a lot. Nice young guy, I like him ... and so does Larry – more than like him. At first I thought it was good for Larry to have a buddy his own age until ... until Larry and him had sex ... they made love."

"How did you find out?" Mark asked.

"Larry told me. He has always been totally honest with me and he came to me and told me face to face. He closed the bar on his own one night and Franco was still there so Larry went home with him and – that's when it happened."

"And ... what? What else did he say?"

"Not much, except that he's confused, says it's like he's walking in the dark, he don't trust himself anymore. Says he loves me as much as ever but he liked having sex with Franco and it's thrown him for a loop. It's thrown me for a loop too. I'm sure he's gonna leave me, guys. Dammit, how can I, a guy pushing sixty, compete with a hot young stud of 23?"

Mark protested, "Hey, don't you think you're jumping the gun a bit, Mike? I mean, it just happened – one time. Maybe Larry does like this kid, a guy his own age, but you're projecting that into him leaving you. That's a bit of a stretch, buddy ... kinda paranoid don't ya think?"

Suddenly Pablo stood up and clenched his fists. "It's the other guy's fault, trying to break you two up. I've seen assholes like him before. Don't worry, Mike. Tell me where this guy lives and I'll sort him out real fast."

Mike chuckled. "That's exactly how your dad Randy would react, Pablo. You really are a chip off the old block. Thanks, kid, but `sorting out' Franco is not the answer."

Pablo sat down, a bit deflated, then Jamie spoke up. "Mike, Larry and I go back a long way as you know. I knew him when we were running wild as skinheads, long before I barged in on the tribe and Mark, er, sorted me out," he grinned. "Would you mind if I spoke to him? Maybe I can find out what's at the bottom of this, how he's really feeling. I think Larry would confide in me."

Mike looked searchingly at Jamie. "I guess it couldn't hurt. Thanks Jamie. If it's OK with Mark."

Mark nodded. "I think it's a great idea. If anyone can get through to the boy, Jamie, you can."

********************** CHAPTER 397 *********************

The sun was climbing toward midday but a cloud had fallen over what should have been a joyful reunion between the host Uncle Mike and the men of the tribe – Mark and Hassan, and the senior boys Pablo and Jamie.

Once they had decided that Jamie should speak to his old buddy Larry, that should have put the subject to rest for now, but this was too fundamental of an issue to be ignored. They were all shocked and saddened to hear of Mike's fears that his boy Larry would leave him for a younger man but, out of deference to their old friend, they did not try to stifle it under a change of subject to trivial distractions.

They all remembered the technique of their therapist Doctor Steve, who had told then that, once a patient had answered a question, Steve stayed silent, a silence that got so uncomfortable that the patient would jump in again with words straight from the heart, more significant than the first.

So they let Mike talk, which is what he had longed to do as he waited anxiously for their arrival. "Guys, I'm sorry to unload on you but this is all so new to me. When my long-time lover died some years ago I threw myself into my work at the bar and turned my back on romance. Losing him was so painful to me that I determined never to let myself become that vulnerable to love and loss ever again. I was done with love ... determinedly single.

"Then, out of nowhere, along came Larry and pretty soon, though I fought against it, I found myself falling in love ... and with a guy in his early twenties! What the fuck was I thinking? A hot young stud like him falling for a guy pushing sixty like me? I thought it couldn't be real, couldn't last, but you know what? It was real and it did last, all this time until ..."

Mike choked up again. "I wish I had never met Larry. No, no! Strike that, I didn't mean that. I love, Larry. I'm crazy about him ... I just can't bear the thought of losing him."

Mark grabbed Mike's hands across the table. "Hey, hey. You're not gonna lose him, Mike. Maybe a few little adjustments round the edges, but you are not gonna lose him, trust me."

A glimmer of hope came to his eyes at Mark's words. "The hell of it is, Larry says he still loves me, but tell me this. How can a young guy still be in love with me while he's hanging out with a hot guy his own age, and now butt-fucking him?"

"Easy," Pablo said. "Hell, I'm in love with Randy and I still fuck with Jamie and the other guys – and what's more I've got a lover, Darius. And Randy don't mind – in fact he encourages it. So wrap your mind around that lot, Mike."

"Yeah but that's different. I mean you guys are in this tribe of yours where you're almost all fuck-buddies. But how would it work if one of you went to a bar like ours, met a stranger and went to his place and fucked?"

"Oh, no, that wouldn't happen," Pablo said. "There's a rule Randy made years ago that whatever goes on inside the tribe nobody, but nobody, gets to fuck outside of it. Actually it did happen once, I'll never forget it. Darius met this guy in a bar who wanted to make a mold of his cock for a dildo and Darius went home with the guy, got drunk and fucked him.

"He confessed to Zack of course and he hit the fucking roof. You never wanna get Zack that mad, let me tell you, it's a scary sight. He almost chucked Darius out, but he punished him instead – big time."

"But Mike," Mark said, "why do you say `this tribe of ours'? It's your tribe too, yours and Larry's. You may live way the hell out here but you're in the tribe too. Randy made that clear some time ago, and he has the last word on stuff like that. Man, he looks up to you so much, he thinks it's an honor to have you in the group."

Mike perked up a bit. "You don't say. Well how do you like that? Big stud like Randy."

"Uncle Mike," Jamie asked. "Does Larry consider himself part of the tribe?"

"I shouldn't think so," Mike said. "We've never talked about it. No, he thinks all he's got is me." His mood darkened. "Until Franco came along, that is."

A look passed between Jamie and Pablo, a silent understanding, the dawning of a plan maybe.

The group had strayed back onto thin ice but fortunately Larry appeared, pushing the drinks cart followed by Eddie and Tyler carrying trays of snacks. They spread them on the table and Eddie and Tyler sat down. As he passed behind Mike before sitting next to him Larry pressed his hands lightly on his shoulders. Without looking round Mike reached up and covered one of his hands with his.

That almost imperceptible intimate gesture summed up for Mark the anguish they were going through and his heart went out to them. Mark himself had gone through some difficult episodes with Jamie, one quite recently, and he knew how delicate relationships could sometimes be. God knows, he thought, how much harder it was when there was an age difference of 35 years.

There was a contemplative, rather awkward silence for a while until Eddie, who was unaware of the problems, chirped up, "Why the long faces, dudes? You guys look like a rainy Tuesday night. Did somebody die or something?"

Jamie frowned at him and shook his head slightly as a warning. Eddie realized he had put his foot in something and pursed his lips to stop himself from asking, `Who? When? Where? How?"

But at least Eddie had melted the ice and the conversation picked up, hesitantly at first but then gaining in confidence when Mike asked about their trip to the dunes. Mark began a rather bland account of events but Eddie finally un-pursed his lips and sailed forth. He took over the account with machine-gun delivery, complete with lurid descriptions and exaggerations.

Often Eddie's motor mouth could be annoying, but this time it saved the day, amusing Mike and Larry and stunning young Tyler with his colorful descriptions of the cop's homoerotic `punishment' of the Marine captain, and the subsequent fantasy where Eddie had played the role of rookie Marine recruit being initiated by the horny captain.

They all relaxed, but under the placid surface there still flowed the unease about Mike and Larry's trouble and the uncertainty of what came next.

As the pace of the conversation slowed and several of the men closed their eyes to snooze in the sun Larry said to Jamie, "Hey, buddy, you wanna see what I've been doing to the garden?"

It was clearly a transparent ploy to be alone with Jamie, who promptly took his cue. "Sure, dude. Let's go take a look." Jamie cast a quick unobtrusive glance at Mark who nodded slightly. Jamie got up from the table and followed Larry to the far corner of the extensive grounds where a small grove of trees shaded a wooden garden bench. They sat on the bench and turned to face each other.

"This where you come to be alone and meditate?" Jamie grinned. "I know, I have the same kind of hideaway on the grounds of the tribe's compound. Great place to decompress. If I had used it more I might not have had that meltdown I had in the office. You probably heard about that."

"Yeah," Larry said. "Eddie called to talk to his former boss Mike and spilled every last detail."

Jamie chuckled. "Yup, that would be megaphone-mouth Eddie. Nothing stays secret for more than a minute and a half when that kid has a story to tell. You heard the way he rattled on over drinks just now."

"But everything's OK now with you and Mark?"

"Oh sure – better than ever." Jamie paused, proceeding carefully. "Which probably can't be said about you and Mike right now eh? Mike told us all about it while you were in the kitchen – he seemed anxious to unload. Do, er, do you wanna talk about it, Larry?"

"Sure," Larry grinned sheepishly. "Why do you think I brought you over here? I needed to unload too, and you are my best buddy, dude. I had nobody else to confide in." Jamie waited for more but Larry hesitated. "It's kinda hard to know how to begin, though."

Well," Jamie said gently, "why don't you start by telling me about your pal Franco?"

Larry smiled. "He came into the bar a month or so ago ... he had just moved to Palm Springs from New York. He didn't know anyone out here so he hung around the bar a lot. He's a real good guy, Jamie, you'd like him – laidback, funny, kind, and we get along real well."

"Sexy too?"

Larry grinned and shrugged. "Yeah, that too. Real handsome in a dark, Latin kinda way – comes from an Italian background. Anyway, we started hanging out together after my shift ended at the bar. Mike didn't seem to mind – he encourage it, glad to see me with a friend my own age. We went to the gym together and became gym buddies. And then ..."

"Then ...?"

"Oh shit, I guess it was inevitable really. We went to his apartment one evening, had a few drinks and ... and we ended up fucking ... no, making love ... fucking too. You know ..."

"Was it a one-night stand?"

"That's the hell of it, dude, I don't know. I mean, it was great sex and we both wanna do it again, probably will but ..."

"But Mike ..."

"Yeah, of course. Don't get me wrong, I love Mike a whole lot and sex has always been great between us. I love living with him and I know he's nuts about me, tells me so all the time ..."

"But ..."

"But I ... this is just between us eh?" Jamie nodded. "Well, it's got where I need to be around someone my own age – just to hang out and have sex with too. But I can't tell Mike that. He's already self-conscious about the age difference between us so that would get him real worried."

"It already has, Larry."

"I know, I know, and the last thing I want to do is hurt such a great guy as Mike. I mean, how do you do it with Mark? Er, can I tell you something? I've always been a bit jealous of you, Jamie, and what you have with Mark. It's always been plain sailing for you two."

"Huh, don't know where you got that from, dude. Early on I was always paranoid about Mark leaving me. And we've had our ups and downs ... one time so bad that he almost threw me out. I had fallen in with a grungy crowd of surfers, druggers, and Mark caught me doing crystal meth with them. He went totally apeshit, said it was all over between us and was even gonna have my `MM' tattoo removed from my arm.

"We managed to survive that crises, but then another time Mark got it in his head that I was gonna leave him for Jason, who's younger than Mark – that same `younger man' bullshit Mike's going through. But we sorted that one out too, and we're now rock solid. Relationships always have rough patches, dude, like the one you're going through now."

"Yeah, but you and me, we're different, Jamie. Another reason I've always been jealous of you is that you've got this tribe of great-looking guys who like and respect you, and it's OK for you all to fuck around with each other. So, like, if you ever get horny for someone younger than Mark you've got it right there – you can fuck with one of the boys. And Mark don't mind – as long as you're his boy and are always there for him."

Jamie frowned, "But that reminds me of something weird that Mike said – that he and you have never thought of yourselves as members of the tribe – I guess just because you live out here in the desert. I mean, when did you last come into L.A. and spend time with us?"

"Can't remember," Larry shrugged. "Long time ago. Anyway, I would never really fit in. I mean, I'd never measure up to you, Jamie. You've got this classy thing about you, they all look up to you, and you're the boy of a gorgeous cop, one of the senior men. But me ... not so long ago I was still kinda trailer trash in St. Louis until I got on a bus to come here and find you – and I met Mike. Nah, I'm not really tribe material, dude, and you know it."

"I know no such bullshit thing, Larry, and now you're starting to make me mad. Of course you and Mike are in the tribe. Trouble is, you never take time off from the bar and come and visit us. Only time I ever see you is on our trips out here like this one. We used to be so close in the old days and I often miss you, dude? Hell, if you lived in L.A. we'd probably be fuck buddies."

"You think so?" Larry asked with a hint of shyness.

"Yes I do – and it's what you need, Larry. Oh, I know the customers in the bar like you and get on real well with you, but they're mostly older guys. I tell you this – if you were living with the tribe none of this stuff with Franco would ever have happened. You could have your cake and eat it – be lovers with Mike and still fuck around with us younger guys when the mood hits you."

That was a lot to take in, but Larry was focusing on one thing. "You really think we'd be fuck buddies if we lived closer, dude?"

"Hell yes. As I recall we fucked once before, didn't we? You're a hot fucking stud, Larry, but you're just feeling insecure right now. Man, what do I have to do to convince you?" Jamie slid along the bench, wrapped his hand round the back of Larry's head and pulled him into a churning kiss."

When they finally pulled apart Larry panted, "Wow." Jamie got up, pulled off his T-shirt and stood facing Larry with his arms open wide. "See? I ain't exactly chopped liver either, am I?"

Larry grinned, "You're fucking gorgeous, dude, and you know it."

"So what are you waiting for, big guy? Here am I, there you are ... so shut up and suck." Jamie dropped his board shorts and his cock sprang out inches from Larry's face. Instinctively Larry's jaw dropped and Jamie grabbed his hair and pulled his face forward on his cock.

Jamie was surprised at Larry's skill and fervor as a cocksucker – evidently he had plenty of practice on Mike, Jamie thought. Damn, he's almost as good as Eddie – well, no one's as good as Eddie, but still. He even had Eddie's talent of `edging' – clenching his throat muscles round Jamie's cock and bringing him to the edge of his climax before releasing it at the last minute and denying his orgasm repeatedly.

Jamie looked down at the tousled dark hair and the handsome face chowing down on his cock and gasped, "Oh, man, you're bringing me so close but I don't wanna cum yet." He yanked his cock free, put his hands under Larry's armpits and pulled him to his feet facing him. "Shit, dude, you must've had a ton of practice on Mike, he's a lucky guy. You really had me going there."

"You got a prime piece o' meat there, buddy. Went down my throat a treat."

"But what do you really want, dude?" Jamie asked.

"Jamie ... when I went with Franco I fucked him. And next time I was gonna ask him to fuck me." Suddenly Larry's face broke into a mischievous smile. "But getting fucked by a cop's boy can't be too bad so – I guess you'll do instead."

"Asshole," Jamie laughed as he grabbed Larry and wrestled him to the ground. The two young jocks wrestled playfully for dominance until Larry lay on his back on the grass and Jamie straddled him on his knees. He reached forward and pulled Larry's shirt off over his head. "Damn," Jamie said, admiring his ripped torso, his bulging pecs and razor-sharp abs. "You've really been working out hard, man."

"The gym's about all there is to do around here," Larry smiled ruefully.

"And those fucking tits ... I'd forgotten those huge hard nipples. Biggest I've seen."

Larry's eyes sparkled. "Well they get a major workout from Mike and I love it. I'm a real nipple whore, dude. Mike works on them for hours."

"Well we ain't got hours dude but what we lack in time we can make up in force. Like this." Kneeling astride him Jamie clamped his fingers on the big solid nipples. He squeezed hard, twisted, and ground them in his fingers, watching the handsome face grimace and thrash from side to side, his long hair whipping across his handsome face as he groaned in ecstasy.

And this was the young jock face that Mike saw every day, and Jamie knew at that moment what excited Mike so much about his lover and why he was desperate not to lose him. Tears came to Larry's eyes as he moaned, "Yeah, shit I love that. Your nails, dude, use your nails."

So Jamie dug in with is fingernails, sending Larry into a delirium of painful pleasure. Suddenly Jamie pulled off ... and began flicking at the ultra-tender nipples, then rubbing them, slapping them, then scrubbing them with his fingertips. "Aaagh ..." Larry howled, his body arching up for more. "Aaagh ... fuck me, dude, fuck my ass. I wanna feel your dick in my ass."

Swiftly Jamie moved back, pulled off Larry's shorts and pushed his legs in the air. "You sexy mother-fucker, you wanna feel a surfer jock's big dick up your ass while he punishes your tits? Here it comes, big guy."

Jamie's cock was still wet from Larry's mouth and he pushed it between his ass cheeks and drove it deep in his ass. Larry's eyes opened wide and he moaned, "Oh, shit, that feels so fucking hot, man." He looked up at the blond jock, muscles flexing in his ripped body as he fucked, his thick blond hair falling over his handsome, smiling face.

"This is what you need, Larry – to get ploughed by one of your buddies. And it's all OK, `cos after we've both busted our nuts I'll go back to my man Mark and you'll go back to Mike and turn him on by telling him all about it. But first, I'm gonna send you through the fucking roof, you sexy son of a bitch."

A gleam came to Jamie's eye as he quickly accelerated the pace of his fuck, plunging in faster and deeper. He licked his thumb and forefinger on each hand and reached forward to the already raw nipples, making Larry gasp at the very first touch. His wet fingers slid over the nipples, sending jolts of pain and pleasure through his chest and whole body.

It is said that a man cannot feel two sources of pain at the same time, but Larry did – the pounding in his ass from the jackhammer cock matching the searing pain in his tits. And it drove him wild, his body rearing up under the dual attack. He grabbed his cock and pounded it in his fist, adding to the euphoria that was consuming his entire body.

"Fuck you, man," he yelled, bucking wildly beneath Jamie. "Yeah, work those fucking tits, let me feel that dick reaming my ass. You're fucking beautiful, Jamie. Shit that hurts ... you're gonna make me cum. Please, man, let me feel your jizz in my ass. It hurts so bad ... aaagh ... I'm gonna cum ... I'm gonna fucking cum ... yeah, fuck yeah ... aaagh!"

The pornographic sight of the tortured young jock blasting cum all over his writhing body was enough to make Jamie give a last savage twist to his tits as his cock exploded in his buddy's ass. Tears were running down Larry's face as he looked up at Jamie and moaned, "Un-fucking-believable, dude. God I love you Jamie."

But as soon as the euphoria began to wear off and the physical pain subsided it was replaced by the familiar emotional ache as thoughts of Mike came flooding back. He stared up at his friend and said plaintively, "Help me, Jamie. Please, will you help me?"

"Of course I will, dude," Jamie smiled. "That's what a buddy does. And after all, kid, you're a member of the tribe, aren't you?"

Of course the group round the table heard the yelling coming from the far side of the garden, and knew it could mean only one thing. Mark accepted it as a positive sign and smiled knowingly at Hassan. Mike looked uneasy, though, afraid Larry was being hurt, but Pablo said softly, "Don't worry, Uncle Mike, it's all part of the plan. Jamie would never make his buddy do anything he didn't want to – it's a rule of the tribe."

As for Eddie, his eyes were gleaming. He knew he was in the middle of an event that would be talked about for a long time (at least he would talk about it, for sure, and he tried to remember every detail so he could tell the story to Darius later – on camera). He was bursting to say something now but, just as Jamie had done earlier, Pablo signaled to Eddie with his eyes to keep his mouth shut.

The wide-eyed young Tyler was sitting across from Eddie and kept kicking him under the table but Eddie, in silent frustration, mouthed to him, "Later, dude."

Soon after the yelling died down Jamie and Larry reappeared, both shirtless in shorts. Larry had not put his T-shirt back on knowing that the fabric would rub against his raw nipples and get him hard again. Mike looked up anxiously and saw Larry's bulging red nipples, a sight he saw often when he worked on them, so he knew exactly what had happened.

Mike reached up and squeezed Larry's hand. "You OK, kiddo?"

"Sure I am, sir. Jamie and me are buddies. Hey, you guys, anyone wanna join me in the pool?"

It was Larry's way of avoiding any follow-up questions, but several of the guys realized that he also needed to cool off his burning nipples in the water. Eddie eagerly joined Larry, they quickly shed their clothes and jumped in the pool. Tyler glanced at Pablo who grinned his consent, so he too got naked and leapt in too with a joyful shout.

Pablo said, "Hey Jamie, as the boys seem to be otherwise occupied, you wanna give me a hand clearing the table and taking these plates to the kitchen?"

"Sure, dude," Jamie said, a little too eagerly, and they quickly gathered the plates and went into the house.

Mike smiled at Mark and Hassan and sighed. "You know, guys, I've always made it a point to be in control around here and stay on top of things. But I gotta tell you I've kinda lost the plot right now. I feel like I'm swimming upstream and losing the struggle."

Hassan smiled and put his arm round his shoulder. "You know, Mike, there have been times in L.A. when we men have fucked up and the shit has hit the fan – with Randy usually throwing the first pitch, eh Mark?" Mark grinned ruefully and nodded. "But when stuff like that happens," Hassan continued, "we occasionally leave it to the boys to sort things out. They may seem hyperactive and impulsive sometimes but they've got cool heads on their shoulders – it's the way we've brought them up.

"Now you may have lost the plot, buddy," Hassan grinned, "but I'd bet that right now Pablo and Jamie are hatching some kind of plot of their own in the kitchen. And my advice is to leave it to them. I know how worried you are, and Larry's obviously confused, but those boys probably have their finger on the pulse on what's going down much better than we do."

"I agree," Mark said. "What the captain here is saying, Mike, is stop swimming upstream and just go with the flow. Here, have another beer."

"God, I'm glad you guys are here," Mike said. "OK, you're right. I'll just kick back and let nature and the boys take their course."

All three men lolled in their chairs, put their heads back and closed their eyes against the sun. But it wasn't long before Jamie and Pablo had finished in the kitchen and came back out. Jamie nodded to Pablo who cleared his throat. "Er, Hassan. Whenever you're out here don't you usually go and check on that little house of yours out in the desert, the one with the, er, black room in the basement? Or were you and Mark gonna go out there and do your thing?"

"Hah," Hassan chuckled, "no Pablo, Mark and me already `did our thing' as you call it out at the beach, as Eddie described to you earlier in glorious Technicolor. But you're right, I should go out and check on the place stuck out there in that remote place. But not yet. Hell, I've had enough driving for one day after that long haul here from the beach."

Pablo glanced at Jamie who said, "Well, sir, why don't you stay put and let Pablo and me take a run out there and check on the place for you. All you have to do is give us directions, `cos all those roads out in the desert look the same. Unless maybe Larry knows the way."

"Sure I do," said Larry from the pool. "I go out there from time to time to make sure the house hasn't burned down or anything. I could take you there in my new SUV."

"Perfect, thanks dude," Pablo said. "Hey kid," he said to Tyler, "you wanna come with us?"

"Sure I do, sir," Tyler said."

"And what about me?" Eddie wailed. "Hell, I'm the senior junior boy and Hassan says I'll soon be the junior senior boy, so I have to go."

Jamie laughed. "You're right, dude, we can't go without a senior-junior, junior-senior whatever, so you're in. OK, guys, get dressed."

As the boys climbed out of the pool and reached for towels talking noisily, Mike said quietly to Mark and Hassan, "Bit contrived, don't you think, guys?"

"Sure," Hassan chuckled. "But like I said, it's all part of the plot – and the plot thickens."

The boys gathered outside the gate and Larry backed out of the garage in a brand new SUV. He jumped out and said proudly, "How do you like my car, guys? I bought it three weeks ago. Well, Mike co-signed the loan for me but I'm responsible for the payments. It's the first car I've ever owned, except for that old truck Mike let me drive."

The guys oohed' and aahed' as they walked round it and Larry said apprehensively, "OK, Pablo you're the expert mechanic. What do you think?"

Pablo's face broke into a broad smile. "Sweet, dude, real sweet. Great choice ... this make is real solid, one of the best. Pop the hood for me and start it up and let me take a look." He raised the hood, Larry started the engine and Pablo examined it with an expert eye. "Yeah, it's a beaut. This'll be good for at least a couple of hundred thousand miles and then some – provided you service it regularly. When it's time, bring it into L.A. and I'll check it out for you."

They all piled in, Jamie up front with Larry proudly behind the wheel, and Pablo in the back with an excited Tyler and Eddie. They roared off and in a few minutes were out in the open desert, speeding along empty, featureless roads that, as Jamie had said, all looked alike. But Larry had been out several times to check on Hassan's small house and drove confidently as they went deeper into the desert.

Larry was feeling better than he had for weeks. He was not only with a bunch of guys more or less the same age as himself, give or take a year or two, but he was leading the way, driving them in the car he was so proud of. He thought of Jamie as his best friend, of course, and he knew he had Pablo's support, though he was always a bit in awe of the boss's boy, in much the same way as boss Randy intimidated a lot of guys.

As for the two younger boys, Larry was happy they had come along as they kept things light with their effusive chatter so the heaver topic of his problems with Mike were avoided. Eddie was trying to prepare his young friend Tyler for the house they were headed for.

"See, dude, Hassan got this little place when he first came to this country looking for Mark, so he could make amends for all that torture stuff during the war. You already know about that so I won't say any more on that subject." Jamie looked in the rear view mirror and grinned at Pablo, rolling his eyes. "If only," he muttered.

"No, Jamie, but it's important Tyler knows something about the place before he sees it. As I'm Hassan's boy I can tell you what he likes most and that's privacy ... well, he likes a good blowjob more than anything but that's a whole nother whole story. So he got this place in the middle of nowhere for complete privacy and contacted Mark and asked him to meet him there.

"And here's the part you will not believe. When Mark finally found the place he went down to the basement and ... wait for it, dude ... he found Hassan naked and chained to the wall, just as Hassan had chained Mark all those years ago in the war. And ... get this ... Hassan wanted Mark to dish out the same treatment he had given Mark. How d'you like that?!"

Larry smiled at Eddie in the rearview mirror. "Eddie, when I read reviews of movies on Netflix some of them say `Spoiler Alert' to let me know they'll be giving away the plot. Same goes for a lot of things – like seeing a new place. Guys like to be shocked when they see something unexpected like Hassan's basement. But you've pretty much blown that."

"Oh I don't mind," Tyler said, coming to his friend's defense. "I like listening to Eddie talk."

Jamie opened his eyes wide and stifled a laugh, but Pablo said, "Don't go there, dude."

Larry loved this boy banter. It's what he had missed so much being surrounded by older men like the patrons of the bar he worked in. He not only missed the company of younger guys ... he missed their touch too, which is why he had enjoyed sex with Franco so much. Only difference was, these boys' company was encouraged by Mike, but sex with Franco could be a deal breaker, the end of their relationship.

"You guys are the best," he said. "I don't have buddies like you out here. That's why I hooked up with Franco, but then we ... well you know ... we did what we did. Hanging out with a guy is one thing, but sex is something else again – totally different."

"Yeah, ain't it though," Pablo said, digging Jamie in the back through his seat and exchanging a conspiratorial grin with him in the mirror.

Eventually Larry turned off the road onto a sandy track that was so faint it could easily be missed. They bumped along for five minutes or so until a small house came into view, shimmering in the distance. It stood there baking under the blazing desert sun, with peeling paint whose colors had been long ago bleached a dirty white.

But it was surprisingly self-contained, with running water and electricity provided by a single line that looped into the distance on poles disappearing over the horizon. Larry found the key where he had hidden it on his last visit and they went it. "Ooh," Tyler said, "it's like being in one of those ghost movies where a shape leaps out at you and ...

"... and gotcha!" Eddie grabbed him from behind and Tyler yelped with nervous laughter.

"Sorry to disappoint you Tyler," Larry said, "but this ain't no ghost house. A bit musty is all from being shut up for so long, but the walls are thick so it stays cool. Let's just open the windows and air it out for a while. And then ... ta dah ..." He held up a 12-pack of beer he had brought with him from the car."

"Now you're talking my language, dude," Pablo said. "That little patio out there looks nice and shady under the old awning, and there are plenty of old chairs. Come on, guys, let's chill."

A few minutes later they were sprawled in chairs sipping beer and feeling good about themselves. They didn't talk much, they left that to Eddie, but even he fell silent after a while and they leaned back and closed their eyes, each with his own drowsy thoughts.

Larry kept his eyes open and looked around at his friends. He thought of Jamie as he had been earlier, leaning over him naked, fucking him and squeezing his tits. He looked at Pablo, the handsome mestizo, tough mechanic and boss's boy, always in charge the way his dad Randy took charge of the tribe. Then at Tyler, the newest kid, pressed close against his master Pablo, idolizing him. And adorable Eddie, the sexy young rascal of the tribe, a chatterbox, though now he was unusually quiet, his eyes closed with a blissful smile on his face.

They were all so good looking, each in his own way, and really sexy. Sure, his pal Franco was handsome and great sex, but nothing like Jamie had been out in the garden. This whole group, the whole tribe, seemed to feed on a diet of sex – sex and love. He could see why Randy had made the rule of no sex outside of the tribe. But is that what he had done with Franco? Is that what made Mike so anxious that he would leave him?

Pablo shook him out of his reverie. "Great ain't they, buddy? Why look outside the tribe when you got a bunch of guys like this to choose from." Pablo squinted. "Hey, that looks like some fucking boner you got under those shorts. Beer always do that to you, does it, dude?"

"Asshole," Larry grinned. "'Course it's not the beer, it's you guys. Anyone would get a hard-on being with a group of guys like you."

Pablo gave a broad grin of satisfaction. It was working. He jumped to his feet and said, "OK, listen up, guys." They all opened their eyes. "There's one man here nursing a giant hard-on, and never let it be said that this group ever let a good boner go to waste. So it's time we checked out Hassan's basement here, the one that spoiler-alert Eddie already described. Let's get this show on the fucking road – or into the fucking basement."

All the guys except Tyler had seen this room in the past at one time or another, but it never failed to impress. Tyler's jaw dropped in amazement at the room, all-black except for the floor to ceiling mirrors on each wall. He reflexively grabbed Pablo's arm, nervous at the sight of the chains on the wall and sex-game equipment lying around.

Pablo pulled him to one side and said quietly, "Don't worry kid, nothing bad's gonna happen to you – you're my boy. But I do want to make sure of something. I've told you before that no one's ever gonna make you do something you don't want. It could be that one of these guys will want to fuck you and I will only allow that if you want it. I know you're fine with Eddie or Jamie – and me, of course – but how do you feel about Larry?"

"I think Larry is real hot, sir. I've always thought that and if you let him fuck me I'd be fine with that – I think I'd like it. But you wouldn't leave me here, would you, sir?"

"Not on your life, kid. You're my boy. OK, guys, pull up a bench and listen up. There's something I have to say to Larry." They all sat down and Pablo took charge, standing under the red spotlights shining down from the ceiling beam.

"Larry, the fact that we have all ended up here is not really by accident. It's something Jamie and I cooked up between ourselves. See, we were surprised and disappointed when Mike said you and him didn't really think of yourself as members of the tribe. Well that's bullshit – of course you are. Randy says you are and that's good enough for me. And if you two had realized that, you might not be in the mess you are now."

"It's partly our fault though. With you being out here all the time working the bar we didn't think to invite you to our place in the city often enough. If we had you could have had what I'm gonna offer you now. You spend a lot of your time with those customers in your bar, and they're all great guys but they're mostly older than you, so I can see how you were attracted to this Franco character if he's as hot as you say he is.

"What you need is, dude, is young meat, dude – and I mean young meat. It's only natural, and that's where we come in. You know our rule that guys only fuck around within the tribe. Well we're all in the tribe, over eighteen, and hot to trot. So we want you to dip your toe in that water – much more than your toe, actually," he grinned – "to sort of welcome you into our group, right guys?" There were eager murmurs of agreement all round.

"Good, so here's want we want to offer you, buddy. Ass. Seems you already got some ass from this Franco, but you ain't seen nothin' yet, dude. Here we are – me, Jamie, Eddie and my boy Tyler. You already took it up the ass from Jamie, but you're a fucking hot stud, man and a guy like you has to fuck. And, hell, you've got a huge boner to prove it. So you get your choice. Who's it gonna be, dude?"

Pablo took his seat with his buddies and Larry stood up. "Guys, I kinda suspected something was up when you suggested this trip out here. I've heard how you circle the wagons as you call it when one of the boys is in trouble and I figure that's what you're doing for me." His eyes got moist and he choked up for a second. "It would be a privilege to be a real member of the tribe, and if the price of entry is fucking ass, well lead me to it."

He paused and looked at the group on the bench. "Damn, I would love to fuck any of you ..."

"Group fuck, group fuck ..." Eddie chanted and Larry laughed. "Not yet Eddie, I haven't graduated to that yet. But you're right, Pablo, I do have a need for a fresh young butt, so if I have to choose just one I would go right now for the youngest among you ... you Tyler."

There was a ripple of approval and Larry said, "You are of age, aren't you?"

"Sir," Tyler said indignantly, "I'm eighteen and three quarters, almost nineteen."

"He sure is," Pablo said, "and I guarantee riding this young colt is a hot experience. I do it all the time, eh kiddo?" Tyler nodded, his eyes shining. "His ass is real precious to me, Larry, but I will loan it to you as a token of my personal welcome to you. You still ready for this, kiddo?"

"Yes please, sir," Tyler said eagerly.

"OK, Larry, he's all yours."

Larry held out his hand and Tyler got up and faced him. "You sure you want this, Tyler?"

"Yes, sir. Very much."

"Good, so let's take a look here." Gently he pulled Tyler's T-shirt off over his head and ran his hands over the boy's bare chest. "Damn, you've changed since you first dropped in on us out of that tree. Looks like Pablo's been working you out hard."

"Yes, sir – and if I work real hard he fucks me at the end of the workout."

"I can see why – you have a great young body. Let's see the rest." He unbuttoned Tyler's shorts and let them drop. He walked round him and stared at the perfect while globes of Tyler's butt. "Wow, lots of squats in the gym too, I bet. Great glutes, kid. Hey, Pablo, your boy is pretty nigh perfect. Better watch out or someone'll steal him from you."

"I'd like to see them try," Pablo growled. "They have to deal with me first."

Tyler blushed, being talked about like a boy for rent, but it really turned him on. Larry led him gently over to an old mattress on the floor and said, "I think you know what to do, boy."

Tyler willingly lay on his back on the mattress, hooked his hands behind his knees and pulled his legs back, offering his ass to Larry as he had done so often to Pablo. "Oh shit, that looks so fine. Pablo, I can see why this kid is so precious to you. Thanks for letting me do this, man. It's just what I needed."

Towering over the awed Tyler Larry pulled off his shirt and dropped his shorts. His eight-inch cock sprang out hard as iron from a thick bush of black pubic hair, and Tyler inhaled sharply.

Larry knelt on the mattress behind his raised legs. "Don't worry kiddo, I promise I won't hurt you. Wouldn't dare with that man of yours watching," he grinned. "Good, I see the room comes fully equipped," he said, reaching over to a jar of lube by the mattress. He dipped his fingers in, then eased two fingers slowly into Tyler's ass. Tyler sighed deeply but Larry could see in his eyes that he welcomed the intrusion in his butt.

As Larry pulled out his fingers and lubed his cock he said gently, "Tell me you want it, kid. It turns me on to hear that from a guy."

Tyler looked over at Pablo who smiled and nodded, and the boy looked up at the naked young muscle jock and his dark, rugged face. "Please, sir, I want you to fuck my ass. I wanna feel your dick inside me, sir."

Larry smiled, "And I bet a handsome boy like you gets just what he wants from his master, and you will from me. Take a deep breath." Larry pressed his cock against the smooth, tender ass and gently slid it inside, over the sphincter then down the chute slowly, inch by inch. When it stopped against the warm membrane deep inside Larry said, "You OK, Tyler? Does it feel OK?"

"Feels awesome, sir. I love it."

"Good, `cos I'm not only gonna fuck your ass, boy, I'm gonna make love to it."

He was as good as his word, and it was one of the tenderest, most sensuous fucks the boy had known. Pablo was a great fuck, of course, driving him wild alternating gentleness with spurts of savagery – a combination of love and raw lust. But Larry was all tenderness and warmth as he leaned forward, braced his hands on the mattress and smiled into Tyler's big blue eyes.

Larry had needed this for a long time. He was used to the older, bawdy crowd in the bar with their lewd jokes and raucous laughter and enjoyed the compliments he received as the hot, shirtless young bartender. But he was never the mature, commanding figure nurturing a younger man – until now.

As he looked down at the eager freckled face, wide blue eyes, tousled brown hair and lithe young body writhing beneath him, Larry was the one in total control and it boosted his confidence in his own masculinity.

"Your ass is so sweet, kiddo, so warm and tender. I could make love to you like this forever."

It was not forever – Pablo had first claim on that – but it did last a long time, as the other three guys looked on in awe and rubbed their own bulges. The two guys relaxed into each other and made love endlessly, it seemed. All the time their eyes were fixed on each other until at last Larry bent lower and licked Tyler's open lips, then clamped their mouths together in a hungry kiss, their searching tongues pressing against each other.

When he pulled back Larry said, "Tyler, would you like to feel my juice in your ass?"

Tyler looked up at the macho square-jawed face, the dark eyes burning into his, and felt the long shaft easing in and out of his ass. He stroked his own cock and replied softly, "Yes please, sir. Very much. And will you let me cum too?"

"Duh," Larry grinned. "After making love like this we gotta cum together, kid. You ready?"

Tyler nodded eagerly and Larry pumped faster. "You're beautiful, kiddo, and you're making me cum ... here we go, boy ... yeah ... fuck, it feels so good ... let me see you cum, kiddo ... now!"

As Larry flooded the boy's ass with his sperm Tyler jerked his own cock, pointed it up and shot a spray of cum on Larry's chest, followed by another and another. Looking on in wonder Eddie shouted, "Damn, will you look at that, guys? He's another gusher, just like me."

That broke the tension as the group erupted in laughter, joined by Larry and Tyler as Larry fell on Tyler, held him tight and smothered his face in kisses. When they finally broke free they fell on their backs and looked up ... at Pablo, clapping his hands slowly and smiling down at them. "That was real hot, Larry, and I could see that my boy loved getting his butt ploughed by you. Man, when you come into town I'll loan him to you again ... maybe work on him both together. What do you say, kiddo?"

"Yes please, sir," Tyler beamed and Pablo pulled him up off the mattress.

There was a momentary silence as Pablo stroked his jaw. There's just one thing though, Larry – a rule of the tribe that maybe I neglected to make clear to you."

As he lay on the mattress Larry had a sense that Pablo was playing with him but the sight of the muscular young mechanic, shirtless in jeans as he always was at work, made Larry's cock stir, despite his explosive orgasm minutes ago.

"See," Pablo said, with a sparkle in his eye, "when a master loans out his boy's ass to another guy it don't come free – there's a fee to pay."

"And that fee would be ...?" Larry grinned. "No, let me guess ... the other guy's ass maybe?"

"Bingo! Come on guys ... let's see if Larry here has what it takes to be one of us." Pablo dropped to his knees, yanked open his jeans and pulled out his cock. He scraped Tyler's cum off Larry's chest and used it to lube his cock. Then, copying Randy's impulsive no-foreplay technique, Pablo pushed up Larry's legs and drove his cock deep in his ass. "Come on guys," Pablo shouted, "I'm gonna need a hand with this hot damn stud."

"Fuck you, man," Larry grinned, "I busted my load already."

"Yeah, in my boy's ass. Now you pay."

Eddie and Tyler looked to Jamie for their cue and he said, "Boys, I happen to know that Larry's tits are really, really raw right now, from when him and me tangled earlier. So when I tell you to eat his tits I mean it in the gentlest possible way."

"Gotcha, dude," Eddie grinned. "Come on Tyler, let's do the honors." As Larry got butt-fucked by Pablo, Eddie knelt on one side of him, Tyler on the other. They bent their heads ... and flicked their tongues at Larry's nipples.

"Ah, no guys, not my tits. I can't take that and Pablo's dick." But Larry had no choice and he howled in painful ecstasy as the boys licked and sucked on his ultra-sensitive nipples while the stud mechanic pounded his ass.

Larry stared wildly up at Jamie. "I blame you for this, buddy. Come on, man, show some mercy."

Jamie shrugged. "Not much I can do about it, dude. My advice is lie back and enjoy." Jamie pulled out his cock and stroked it, grinning down at the muscular jock being tripled teamed.

Larry was mesmerized by the mechanic's chiseled mestizo face with its square stubbled jaw and high cheekbones, and the rippled muscles of his torso flexing over him. He reached up to Pablo and pressed his hands against his chest in a futile attempt to push him off. He dug his fingers into his bulging pecs but Pablo just laughed. "When I'm in full fuck no one pushes me away, dude. Only relief you're gonna get is when I bust my nuts in your ass, and that's gonna happen real soon. Here, maybe this'll help."

While he ploughed his ass Pablo grabbed Larry's already hard cock and pounded it. And that was Larry's real induction into the tribe – getting butt-fucked and tit-tortured by his buddies while he got jacked off and his best friend got ready to cum all over him.

"OK, guys," Pablo yelled, "you ready? Let's do it. Welcome to the tribe, dude – you're one of us. Here it comes, you sexy mother-fucker. Aaagh!" As Pablo's cock exploded in Larry's ass the two boys pulled off his tits and stood up with Jamie. Larry looked up and saw three streams of jizz pour down on him and splash on his face, and he gave a jubilant yell as his own cock erupted for the second time in that dark desert dungeon.

As they helped Larry up to his feet Pablo said, "So let that be a lesson to you dude – you want young juicy sex, you know where to get it. And let's not hear any more bullshit about you not being one of the tribe. And once in, you can't get out."

"Just like the Mafia," Larry grinned. "And that would make you the Capo dei Capi, I suppose."

"No, dude, that would be Randy. But I'm the Capo's boy, and don't you forget it. OK, guys, now we've got that settled let's get the hell out of here. I need a cool swim and a cold beer."

They shut up the house, made sure it was secure, and in half an hour they were back at the house. Mike, Mark and Hassan were lounging by the pool when the boys came in and it was clear right away that the clouds had lifted from the glowing Larry. He went straight up to Mike and hugged him tight.

"I'm sorry for the trouble I caused, Mike, but I promise that everything's gonna be just fine from now on. No more crap about me leaving you. If you or I wanna fuck anyone else there's a whole hot tribe of men to choose from – your buddies as well as mine."

"Thanks, kiddo. You've made an older man very happy. And of course you can still hang out with Franco and be good buddies – maybe even fuck buddies when we both know him better. Listen, the guys and I have been talking, and I think it would be good for you to spend a week in L.A. with the boys. We've got a slow week coming up at the bar with so many guys out of town, and I can handle it with the relief bartender. You could go back to L.A. with the guys when they leave here and in a week I'll come into town and pick you up. Sound good?"

"I'd like that, Mike. Hey, sirs," to Mark and Hassan, "think you can put up with me for a week?"

Hassan grinned but Mark seemed distracted. "What? Oh, yeah, sure. Be great, just what you need, buddy. Sorry, I got a bit sidetracked there. I just had a call from Bob and it seems there's a big problem brewing between Randy and Zack. They've been best buddies for years, but they're both hotheaded alpha males and they've clashed before."

"Yeah," Mike said, "kind of inevitable, I suppose, like two stallions in a pissing contest to mark their territory."

"I guess so. Only this time Bob thinks it's more serious. Zack's even talking about leaving the construction company and setting up on his own."

"Ah, don't worry, Mark," Mike said. "I know Randy and his hot temper, but I don't take no bullshit from him, he listens to me. I'll be out there in a week, so maybe I can do something."

"Let's hope so, buddy. Someone has to. But enough about tribal pissing contests, let's just enjoy the weekend. Hey guys, how about we all take Mike and Larry out to dinner? It'll be a bit of a celebration as their troubles seem to be over. You boys took care of that."

"Yeah we did didn't we?" Eddie said proudly. "OK, sirs, and it's time you heard how we did it."

Hassan grinned, "And you're the one to tell us, eh Eddie?"

"You got that right, sir." Eddie spread his hands. "So ... you will not believe ..."

TO BE CONTINUED in "A Trial Of Strength" – Chapter 398

Hey guys, this is Rob Williams. I hope that chapter got you off, and I welcome your comments and suggestions, which can be very helpful in planning future chapters. E-mail me in confidence at rw6789@aol.com.

ALSO, I invite you to visit my own Web-site www.atrialofstrength.com. You can read the whole story, with extras, including pictures and biographies of all the characters. Click on the green `Chapter Synopses' button to browse all the chapter descriptions. Enjoy

AND DON'T FORGET – if you enjoy these stories PLEASE DONATE to the Nifty site. Nifty needs your donations to provide these thousands of wonderful stories. So please go to http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html and give what you can. The other authors and I thank you. ... Rob