Daring Plans


Co-written by: Mel, Jo, and Jodie

Characters: Kyler, Kadyn, Rene, and Cameron (with some Tops dropping by.)

Special Note: A heartfelt thank-you to Chris Dangerfield for accepting the position of Jodie’s Technical Advisor.
 
************************ 

Kyler walked through the back door of the candy store and placed his laptop on the small desk in the corner.

“Hey, you’re a bit early today, Kyler,” Kadyn greeted his friend while wrestling with an empty carton in an attempt to flatten it for the recycle bin.

“Yeah, I finished up faster than usual at bakery this morning.” Kyler sniffed and shook his head. “Man, I still miss the aroma of coffee brewing in here.”

“Rene will be dropping by any minute now and he’s cut way back on drinking anything caffeinated.” 

“You’re a good friend, Kadyn, not wanting to put temptation in his path. Oh, before I forget, I hope my inviting Cameron over is all right. He doesn’t have a shift this morning and is kinda at loose ends.” Kyler abstractedly flipped through the paperwork awaiting his attention.

“No problem at all. He more than welcome here any time. I trust he won’t bothered by there being no coffee on.”

“I don’t think so. It’s hotter than hell out there so he’ll probably prefer something cool.”

“I for one don’t mind the heat,” Kadyn laughed. “We get a lot more customers during these hot summer days. In fact, business is booming as you’ll see when you do up the end of month financial reports.”

A knock on the screen door interrupted their conversation. “Come on in, Cam,” Kadyn called out.

“Hi, Kadyn. Good to see you again.”

“Yeah, it’s been a while. Pull up a chair and make yourself at home.”

Cameron grinned at Kyler. “Isn’t it a bit hot to work? At least I work at night when it’s cooler.”

“The AC is working fine. But if it wasn’t, I could always sit in the cooler,” Kyler joked as he made separate piles for invoices and statements.

As Cameron’s arrival also heralded Rene’s, Kadyn merrily greeted his best friend. “Hi, Rene. We’ve got company today.” Although he and Rene got together regularly, and even met up periodically with Kyler, having Cameron drop by made for a nice change.

“Hi all.” Rene smiled at the sight of his friends. “Hot enough for you?”

“I’ll say,” Kyler answered with a wave in Rene’s direction.

“You gonna join us at the table, Kyler? You have some extra time, don’t you?” Kadyn inquired.

“Be right there.”

“So, guys, what will your poison be this morning?” Pen and paper in hand, Kadyn joking adopted the pose of a waiter about to take an order.

“Soda,” Cameron replied politely, hiding a smile. He loved it when the guys got together and goofed around.

“Make mine a Dr. Pepper, please,” Kyler requested, taking a seat next to Cameron.

“I’ll have a fat free strawberry smoothie.” Rene grinned at the look of shock on Kadyn’s face. “Hey, I gotta start watching my calories. I’ve gained three pounds since I went off coffee and started drinking your shakes.”

“Yeah, right! And it sure is showing, my friend.” Kaydn merrily returned the easygoing banter as he left the room to fill everyone’s request.

Drinks served and a large bowl of chips sitting in the middle of the table, Kadyn joined his guests. “So guys, aside from the heat and our town almost bursting at the seams with tourists, what’s new?”

“Nothing really new with me,” Rene replied. “Zack and I are still basking in the memories of our cruise. I’m hoping that in another couple of years we can take another one; maybe the Alaska cruise or even the Mediterranean.”

“Yeah, that sure sounded like a terrific holiday. I’m still kinda envious even though Logan has agreed that someday we should give it a try.” Kadyn had already heard just about every detail of his friend’s vacation.

“Not sure if Chad’s into cruises,” Cameron admitted. “It sounds like heaps of fun. At least I know how to swim now.” He grinned at Kyler, “thanks to Hugh having super human patience with me.”

Kyler sat back in his chair and contemplated letting the others in on what he’d been investigating off and on over the past few months. He had originally planned to tell Cameron but as yet, hadn’t got around to doing so. ‘Maybe all three of them would be interested,’ he thought and then boldly introduced the subject before he changed his mind. “I guess I kinda got some news. A couple of you may remember a while back when my partners were working a lot of extra hours and leaving me with more time on my hands than I wanted. Well, I joined a couple of groups online and made some new friends. They’re, ah, kinda different.” He smiled and waited to see if anyone would bite.

Cameron just raised his eyebrows slightly in question. He was usually game for anything his friend was up for.

“Online friends, huh? Different how?” Kadyn inquired, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. Although he’d be the last to admit it, he was the most inquisitive of the bunch.

“Zack’s real fussy about online friendships. He’s got a list of dos and don’ts a mile long for anyone I chat with online.” Rene answered.

“Logan says I can go online as much as I like,” Kadyn replied with a crooked grin. “As long as it doesn’t interfere with our relationship, my business, my sleep or my chores; which boils down to me grabbing for my iPhone whenever I get a free moment, which are few and far between. All I can say is, thank God for apps and a fairly reliable wireless service.” He winked at Rene and wondered if the other man remembered the first time they got in trouble together had involved being unable to pick up a signal on their cell-phones.

Cameron grimaced slightly. “I got a bit addicted to Facebook,” he sheepishly disclosed. “Chad put his foot down when I didn’t quite make it to bed one night.”

“Sounds like we’re all kinda in the same boat,” Kadyn commented with a sigh of acceptance. He pulled his chair closer, put his elbows on the table and his chin in one hand. “Okay, Kyler, about these new friends of yours. You gonna tell us about them or not?”

“Well I figured the groups I joined might have something in common with our lifestyle. And before you ask, I had my Tops’ permission to join as long as I didn’t give out personal information about us, our families or our friends.” Kyler thought it important to have that clarified before moving on. “I was soon talking with two of the members more than the others. While one of them was in a relationship similar to ours, he and his partner also explore the BDSM lifestyle. He told me about clubs they went to and some of the games they played. The other was a single man who liked experimenting with new a Dom every chance he got. They both have their own preferences when it comes to implements and scenes. I became interested in learning all I could; I just don’t really know why. I have to say that Hugh and Patrick’s response when I mentioned it to them was somewhat less than enthusiastic. In fact, they sort of told me to forget about it. Only I can’t seem to let it go. I’ve even gone so far as to look into a club that I found after painstakingly winding my way through the twists and turns of a cyber-space maze. It’s not a leather bar or a place that normally caters to only those into BDSM. It is a regular bar just off the main highway on the way to Kamloops that closes to the general public once a month in order to provide a play space for a very explicit group of people. They don’t even serve liquor that night. You are allowed to drink within reason but it is strictly BYOB. There will be monitors to watch folks’ intake of the stuff and make sure they don’t overdo it. Although it is not publically advertised, people who hear about the party through the grapevine, so to speak, are welcome to attend provided they follow the rules. Would you guys consider looking into it with me?”

Kadyn stared open-mouth at Kyler, unable to believe what he was hearing. He blinked several times before shaking his head and muttering, “Count me out, man. That stuff is a real turn-off for me.”

Cameron was on the other end of the spectrum. “Sounds cool,” he enthused. “I’ve always wanted to see what happens in one of those clubs.”

Rene was sure his face was giving away his feelings as he felt it heat up. He’d secretly looked at a few fetish sites and found them to be exciting. However, he’d never actually contemplated following up on the idea. But now an opportunity was presenting itself. Did he have the guts to join in? “I…uh,  might be interested in checking it out.”

“See, Kadyn, Rene and Cameron are on board. You don’t want to be odd man out, do you?” Kyler was bent on persuading their friend to join in the adventure. “Besides, you’re the only one who doesn’t drink in public unless his partner is present, so you can be our designated driver.”

Kadyn sat quietly chewing his bottom lip and glancing from one to another of the three men sitting at the table with him. He didn’t want to admit that he found attending such an event alarming, but that the thought of it was actually fear-provoking. Fact was, just being in an unknown situation with strangers where drinking was involved could give him nightmares. ‘Still,’ he thought, ‘it’s not like I’d be going on my own.’

Kyler smiled when he saw the younger man weakening. Now if the other two would support him, Kyler was sure Kadyn would bend under the pressure.

“K, I’ll go if you will. We don’t have to do anything; just have a look,” Rene suggested to his friend.

“Rene’s right, Kadyn There’ll be no pressure to do anything we don’t want to. Promise,” Kyler pleaded in his most persuasive tone.

“Come on, Kadyn,” Cameron joined in. “It’s not as if you’ll be alone. There are four of us. We can watch each other’s back.”

“Hmm, maybe if you gave me some examples of what we might see.” Kadyn was really hoping they’d be able to set his mind at ease and convince him it wasn’t something he had to be so leery off.

“Well, I can only guess that we’ll probably see people being spanked and maybe a bit of light bondage. Although there is not dress-code to speak of, we might get to see some neat costumes and such. The play party is being hosted in a nightclub, so that’s likely the extent of what will take place. Just the light side of BDSM,” Kyler explained, emphasizing what he trusted would be the least off-putting activities.

Cameron smiled to himself. “Heck,” he jokingly scoffed. “It won’t be as frightening as a Top on a rampage. We deal with that kind of thing weekly.” His comment generated agreeing nods and amused snickers from the others sitting around the table.

Kadyn glanced from one of his friends to the other and slowly nodded his head. “I suppose I can be your driver. Of course, I’d have to talk it over with Logan first.”

“I’m glad you’re coming with us, Kadyn,” Kyler enthused. “It will be so much more fun with all of us going.”

“Do you have a specific date in mind for visiting this club?” Rene asked.

“Well as luck would have it, there’s a party this coming Sunday evening that I’d like to attend if it’s all right with you guys,” Kyler informed them. “Aah…. I’ve just one suggestion to make. If at all possible, I think it would be best if we didn’t mention the word ‘fetish’ when running our plans by our partners. There are certain words that seem to raise red flags for Tops that don’t much bother most folks, and I am pretty sure that’s one of them. What do you say? Do you see that as a problem?” He really wanted to go and hopefully learn something new that would make it possible for him to re-introduce the topic of mild BDSM activities with Hugh and Patrick.

Kadyn shrugged. “Okay by me….I guess.” He wasn’t exactly one hundred percent on board as yet, but couldn’t figure a way out without sounding like a wimp. Not as long in his relationship with Logan as the others were with their partners, he was unsure of how he’d even bring up the ‘fetish’ subject.

Rene felt uncomfortable with the idea of keeping the nature of the evening from Zack, but then again he also felt uncomfortable discussing it with him. He and Zack had a great love life. Zack was a passionate and considerate lover. Certainly the man was all top. Rene knew right from the get-go that his husband did not switch roles in bed, but that didn’t mean things were boring, far from it. However, he’d always had a secret interest in trying things that might be considered a little kinky; if only he had the courage to suggest it to Zack. Maybe if he went and saw some of the things at this club, he might have a better feel for the whole idea and know if it was something he wanted to really try or just leave to fantasy. “Yeah, I’m sure I can skirt the whole fetish thing when I discuss it with Zack.”

Cameron was pretty sure Chad didn’t have any views on fetish clubs, neither positive nor negative. It was not a conversation they’d ever had. He was excited at the thought of witnessing a way of life he knew little about. He wondered if there was any way he could talk Kyler into participating a little bit more than his friend was planning. He grinned to himself; Kyler couldn’t resist a dare.

“I don’t work Sundays and I know Chad and Kipper have something going on at the mine, so I’m in,” he announced. “As for keeping it quiet, I wouldn’t have it any other way. What Chad doesn’t know can’t hurt me.”

“Great! We’ll finalize our plans after we’ve had a chance to talk to our partners,” Kyler merrily proposed just as a door noisily closed, followed by loud laughter and conversation erupting from the candy store. It was a sign that Kadyn’s presence was required out front.

Kyler pushed back from the table. “I better get back to updating Kadyn’s books before he fires me,” he joked.

Time had run out for this particular impromptu meeting of the minds as the group separated with each man going about their day while thinking over the best way to approach their partners about their Sunday evening scheme.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

They arrived in good time on Sunday evening and were rather impressed by how well organized it all was. Next to no line-up so everything moved smoothly through the registration process, with first-timers having to fill in questionnaires. Liquor quantities were checked and there were no problems with Cameron carrying a cooler containing a dozen beer and a few cans of pop.

The organizers had gone to a lot of work setting up a makeshift dungeon which set the mood for those wanting to participate. There were several monitors making their presence known through ‘don’t mess with us’ body language and an intimidating stance to back it up. 

Kyler glanced over the printout he was holding at arm’s length. It was a list of rules governing the behaviour of those attending the party. They were handed out to everyone entering the bar and upon paying their ‘membership’ fee of ten dollars. Several stood out for him.

‘First and foremost: No means NO! There are several Dungeon Monitors present at all times and their decisions are final. The list went on with: Use of cameras is strictly forbidden. Drunken, lewd and/or obnoxious behaviour are grounds for expulsion. Unwanted and/or unrequested touching is also prohibited by anyone in the Dungeon. No solo play permitted and Doms are responsible for caring for the Subs they play with. No intercourse or oral sex is permitted in the Dungeon. Safewords, either visual or spoken, are a must. Feel free to ask for information or advice, but first request permission to converse with the person to whom you wish to speak. Do not interrupt anyone presently in a conversation.’ Kyler read quietly to himself.

“Keep your cells phones turned off and hidden, guys,” he whispered to his friends as they made their way over to an empty booth in the corner.  

The ‘Dungeon’ was surprisingly large and appeared to house all the equipment any player could possibly wish for. Aside from the main stage area, there were half a dozen smaller play stations for those who wanted a little more privacy. Booths ran along two long walls with plenty of tables and chairs set up with great views of any action taking place. 

Kadyn sat against the back wall. Not because he wanted a good view of the rest of the room, but because he hoped he’d be less conspicuous while unobtrusively checking out anything that caught his eye. Many of the patrons were clad in attention-grabbing apparel designed for the occasion, but it was the equipment that troubled him. “There’s a lot of racks and stuff, Kyler,” he muttered to his friend as Kyler slid in beside him.

“Don’t worry, Kadyn. Nothing is gonna happen that’s not consensual. It would be against the rules,” Kyler tried to reassure the younger man. He glanced over at Rene who was sitting on Kadyn’s other side with Cameron settling next to Rene. He grinned when he realized the three of them had unconsciously surrounded the most uneasy one of their group.

It was after catching sight of a large man in leather leading another man by a leash attached to what looked like a dog collar, that Kadyn nervously kept his eyes averted from the area where most the action was taking place. It never crossed his mind to wonder what any of these folks did in their normal day-to-day lives and that this was for many a chance to play at something they enjoyed.

Cameron looked around and was somewhat stunned by the variety of people around him. There was lots of flesh being shown and in one corner there was body painting being done.  He couldn’t believe where one woman being painted was holding big peacock feathers. He appreciated the bare chested men; a lot of them in leather harnesses and often wearing skin tight trousers. He saw quite a bit of woman-on-woman action; men-on-men encounters were a bit rarer but easily noticeable if you knew what to look for. And of course there were het couples with either gender seeming dominant, some even switching roles. It was pretty obvious who was paired-up and who was trolling.

Rene was fascinated with the sights and sound in the room. He saw a man dressed only in black leather chaps. His build reminded him a great deal of Zack; the same broad shoulders, muscular chest and narrow waist. Even his hair was close in colour to his husband’s. Rene was sure the man was all Dom until a tiny woman dressed in a full bodysuit of gleaming red leather approached him and the man fell to his knees in front of her and bowed his head. The woman stroked his head like a beloved pet, then drew the man to his feet and attached a chain to a nipple ring Rene hadn’t noticed until now, and led the man over to a wide padded bench. The man bent over the bench and she began to paddle his exposed buttocks. Rene was left laughing to himself at the very idea of his Zack behaving in such a manner. 

Cameron passed each of his friends their drink of choice and they all settled back to experience an environment filled with goings-on that were so new to them.

Cameron was really enjoying people watching. For a moment he thought he might be dressed too flashy in his leather pants and a blue silk shirt that matched his eyes, but he quickly learned by looking around that he was on the demure side. He nudged Kyler with his foot under the table as another bare-chested man walked passed who was attached securely to chain held by a Dom fully clad in black. “How about we strip down,” he teasingly suggested with a wink.

“Not in this lifetime,” Kyler immediately responded, biting back a grin at the groan escaping from Kadyn. “If Hugh ever got wind of my being naked in a public place, my ass would be grass.”

“I’m with you, Kyler. After our adventure with body painting and streaking, I keep my clothes on in public thank you,” Rene added with a grimace.

Several scenes involving a spanking bench and assorted paddles had taken place, when a sturdy portable St. Andrews Cross was moved to center stage. A rack of implements, including a wide selection of floggers, was set up nearby. 

“Hey,” Kyler whispered loud enough for his companions to hear. “This is what I’ve been waiting to see.”

“Kinky,” Cameron whispered back. “But I’ve been on the receiving end of Chad’s hand too often to want to encourage him to move to an implement. You’re nuts, man.”

“But there must be something here that interests you, Cam. You know, on a personal level,” Kyler insisted.

Cameron took a long look around. “Nothing really jumps out,” he said finally, “Honestly, Chad gives me all I need and I don’t think he’d be into anything left of center so to speak.”

Having gotten his answer and not wanting to push his friend, Kyler turned to the other two. “Isn’t there a single thing either of you guys might be willing to try?”

“I find it really interesting to watch, but nothing I’d be willing to do here with a stranger.” Though Rene secretly thought it would be fun to try some of these things out with his husband.

“How about what’s going on over there, Kadyn?” Kyler pointed to a sling suspended from a rack in the far corner that was presently occupied by a young woman. A tall man stood nearby keeping an eye on her. The couple had been there since the four men from Jade Heights had entered the room.

“No way!” Kadyn stated adamantly as a shudder ran through his body. “I’d probably throw up if I had to stay still for that long.” He calmed slightly when he felt Rene’s sympathetic hand resting on his left shoulder. Any peace of mind he’d acquired quickly faded at the sight of an older gentleman of undetermined age approaching their table. He shrank back when the man addressed them. 

“Hello, my name is Jonathan and as well as being one of this evening’s guardians, I am also the chairperson of our organizing committee. I meant to come over sooner but got waylaid. I like to personally welcome first-timers such as yourselves.” He extended his hand to shake each of theirs, and then squeezed in beside Kyler when introductions had been made. “So what brings you folks to our party?”

Kadyn, Rene and Cameron all looked at Kyler, obviously expecting him to be the spokesperson for their little group. It seemed only fair as it had been his idea for them to come here in the first place.

“I heard about parties like this from someone on the internet and since I’ve kinda developed inquisitiveness for flogging, I talked my friends here into coming with me,” Kyler explained. “But I think I’ve decided to reconsider giving it a try at this time.”

Before Kadyn could voice his happiness in his friend’s decision, Cameron spoke up in hope of overturning this change of heart. “Come on, Kyler. Don’t be such a wuss!” he exclaimed. “You can’t bring us here and then chicken out.”

“I don’t know.” Although stung by his friend’s taunting, Kyler still hesitated. “Hugh says a scene can have sexual overtones, so I doubt he’d be pleased if I let another man near me.” Kyler felt even as he spoke the truth, he was still trying to back out.

“Oh, I’m sure Jonathan could find a female match for you if you aren’t too scared.” Cameron smiled winningly at the chaperone. “You can find a good player for my friend, can’t you?”

“Actually, if you really are interested in venturing into the unknown, Kyler, one of our ladies is an artist with the flogger and excellent with newbies. I’ll locate her and introduce you. Be right back.” With that, Jonathan got up and walked off in search of the member he was referring to.

“So, Cameron, you think I’m too scared to do it, right?” Kyler leaned across the table and hissed to his friend. “Are you making it a dare?” Getting nothing more than a mocking face-splitting grin as a response, goaded him into doing exactly what his challenger wanted. “Fine then, I’ll do it!”

Cameron smirked at his friend. “Hugh can’t worry about carnal connotations if it’s a Domme. Unless you’ve changed orientation while I wasn’t looking.”

Kyler just rolled his eyes. Jonathan returned before he had a chance to make a smart-alecky comeback.

“I’d like you to meet Madame Sophie, boys. Sophie, this is Kyler, Kadyn, Rene and Cameron. Kyler is the one who might be interested in a scene.”

Kyler gazed up at the woman. She was not at all what he was expecting, but then again he hadn’t had an exact image in mind to begin with. She was a little plump and barely over five foot two, of which four inches of that height was due to the black high-heeled boots. She had a mass of red curls wildly encompassing her pretty face and looked to be in her mid-forties. She was dressed in only block net stockings that didn’t quite reach the top of her thighs, a pair of skimpy leather panties and matching bra.

Cameron wanted the boots, but wisely kept that thought to himself.

Rene felt slightly uncomfortable with being so close to the scantily clad woman. This reminded him of attending his brother-in-law’s bachelor party when he was only nineteen and very closeted. A stripper teased him by dancing only inches from him and all the guys at the party egged him on to put money in her G-string. 

“Hello, boys,” Sophie greeted with a smile as she sat down next to Kyler and placed her hand on his.

Its’ surprising softness immediately set him at ease and for some unfathomable reason, Kyler instinctively felt safe with this woman.

“Do you realize, Kyler, that the flogger is possibly the most popular implement in a power exchange such as those we have here? Its’ use offers sensations ranging from a gentle massage to overwhelming pain.” Sophia lightly patted his hand as he stared wide-eyed at her description of the activity he was considering.

“You make it sound almost appealing,” Cameron commented. “Stress on the ‘almost’. And I can tell you, Kyler is right into it.” He gave his friend another shit-eating grin.

Rene shook his head with a small smile and directed his words unswervingly to Kyler. “It’s what you came here for. But you should only do it if you really want to.”

“But there is no need to fear it, Kyler,” Jonathan spoke up. “Madame Sophie excels at all aspects of flogging. She knows how to choose a flogger; how to negotiate a scene; how to select patterns and strokes to get the anticipated results; and more importantly, how to interpret a sub's emotional and physical status throughout the scene. You are in perfect hands for your first foray into our world.”

“Come with me, my dear boy. You have some choices to make.” Sophie got to her feet and tugged on Kyler’s hand until he did likewise; then she led him over to where a number of floggers were hanging on a rack.

Kadyn made a grab for his friend but wasn’t quick enough. His anxiety grew as he watched Kyler walk away and he hurriedly got up and went out to the entryway of the club. Not wanting to be outside on his own, he headed for a small alcove that presently served as a clock room of sorts, and began nervously circling it. 

Jonathan frowned in puzzlement when Kadyn bolted from the room. He’d easily picked up on the young man’s apprehension and had wondered about the cause when he’d noticed the gold collar around Kadyn’s neck and had assumed the boy was a sub immersed in the lifestyle. ‘Maybe he’s here without his Dom’s permission and is worried about courting trouble,’ the guardian thought as he followed the object of his concern.

When he caught up with him, Jonathan found Kadyn agitatedly pacing and muttering to himself. “Kadyn!” he called out to get his attention. “Where is your Dom?”

Kadyn stopped in his tracks and stared opened-mouth at the other man. “Huh?”

“Your Dom? You do have one, don’t you?”

“No,” Kadyn denied with a shake of his head while looking at Jonathan as if he’d grown a second one.

“Then why are you wearing a collar?”

“Because I belong to Logan and he belongs to me,” Kadyn softly answered while slowly running his fingers over the band of gold that encircled his neck.

“And does Logan wear a collar as well?” Get another negative signal, Jonathan continued his interrogative. “Who exactly is Logan to you?”

“He’s my partner.”

“And….,” Jonathan prompted. Not getting a response, he bluntly asked what he intuitively suspected. “He’s your Top, isn’t he?”

“Yes,” Kadyn replied with a nod.

“Does he know where you are?” Receiving another adamant nod, Jonathan ran his fingers through his thinning hair and sighed out his frustration at how much work was involved in getting information out of this young man. “Then why isn’t he here with you?”

“Cause I didn’t ask him,” Kadyn shrugged. “I guess none of us thought to ask our partners to come along. But I sure wish he was here,” he added somewhat forlornly.

Jonathan’s brow creased as he took a moment to think about what was being said…or in this case, not being said. “Tell me, Kadyn; do your three friends also have Tops?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Tops who know where their Brats are but weren’t invited to accompany them, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

Jonathan barely managed to stop himself from groaning out loud. “May I have your cellphone?” He held out his hand and was pleased when the requested item was placed in his palm. He flipped it opened, scrolled through the directory, hit the name he was searching for and patiently waited. “Hello, is this Logan? My name is Jonathan Delaney and I am calling on behalf on your very skittish partner. I don’t believe a fetish party is a place of comfort for him, especially without his Top. I was hoping you’d be available to join him.”

To say Logan was surprised would be an understatement. He was sure the word ‘fetish’ had never been part of the conversation when Kadyn had mentioned attending a party with a few friends. He readily agreed to get to the club as soon as possible.

“I strongly encourage you to persuade three other Tops to accompany you,” Jonathan firmly suggested.

Logan assured Jonathan he would not be arriving solo and that he should expect to see four, if not five, unhappy men within half an hour.

“Thank you. I look forward to meeting you all.” With that he hung up and handed the phone back to its’ owner. “Logan is on his way.” He took Kadyn by the arm and firmly steered him back to the dungeon area. “No harm is going to come to your friend, Kadyn. He is in safe hands, so there is no reason for you to be so uneasy.”

“Where have you been?” Cameron asked. He was only now cluing into Kadyn’s strange behaviour and was beginning to worry about him. “How the hell can we watch your back if you disappear like that?” 

“You had me worried,” Rene mildly admonished. “We said we’d stick together tonight.”

“Sorry, guys. I was just out in the hallway talking to Jonathan. He called Logan and convinced him to come get me. I think your partners may also be on their way.” Kadyn answered somewhat distractedly as he searched the room for Kyler’s location.

Cameron paled slightly. “You are kidding, right?” He had some sort of idea as to how Chad would act in response to his Brat being at a fetish party; especially with the clothes he was wearing which almost screamed, ‘I’m available!’ He’d once jokingly called his leather pants ‘take me, I’m yours’ clothes, and Chad had not reacted well.

Rene’s stomach tightened. Although he hadn’t directly lied to Zack about where he’d be, he certainly hadn’t said it would be a fetish party. What had his words been again?  Oh yeah, ‘Zack, Kadyn, Kyler, and Cameron have asked me to go to a bar with them in Kelowna on Sunday. Kadyn is going to be the D.D. Do you mind if I join them? We won’t be too late given it’s a Sunday.’ Zack had replied that he was fine with Rene going out with his friends and that he should have fun and be safe. Now he was on his way here after getting a phone call from Logan. Crap, how was he going to explain this? 

“Oh my God, she’s tying Kyler to that large x-type stand,” Kadyn declared when activity on stage attracted his attention and he almost choked at his friend’s predicament.

Cameron jerked his mind back to the present. “What? You expected him to stand still under a flogging?” he asked. “It’s often standard operating procedure.”

 “I sure hope he’s not doing something he’ll regret,” Kadyn earnestly voiced his concerns.

“I’m sure he’s fine, K. They seem to know what they’re doing here and it is what he wanted to try.” Rene gave Kadyn’s hand a reassuring squeeze.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

While Kadyn had been wandering the hall, Sophie had taken Kyler to choose a flogger and prepare him for a scene. She loved the excitement of playing with a novice; the challenge it presented in keeping him safe, in helping him make the right choices, in encouraging him to open up about himself, and in just plain doing what was right by him.

All good Doms and Dommes recognized the value of new players. Young, good-looking ones like Kyler and his friends were the ones who kept the club alive, but they sometimes had to be handled with kid gloves.

Sophie patiently watched as Kyler toyed with a couple of the lightest suede floggers by letting the thin strands of leather slip through his fingers. His final choices met with her approval and a smile of pride almost split his handsome face in two.

“Let’s sit down and chat while we’re waiting for our turn to use the cross,” she suggested, sitting down at a table nearest the stage so Kyler could get a good view of what was transpiring. “I’d like you to tell me a bit about yourself. Actually, truth be known, I’d like you to tell me a lot about yourself.” She smiled cordially and patted the chair next to her own.

“What do you want to know?” Kyler asked a little warily as he took his seat.

“Preferably something I can’t discern on my own. For instance; and you can tell me if I am right or wrong; I put your age to be in the early twenties.”

“Close enough,” Kyler confirmed with a grin, keeping an eye on the action taking place in front of them.

“And you’ve never tried anything that even remotely resembles a BDSM scene.”

“Right again!”

“You’re also Gay.”

“You got it!” He cringed at what he thought was a considerably hard landing of the implement being laid across the sub’s back that elicited a painful moan.

“Don’t let that unnerve you, my pet,” Sophie crooned while gently caressing her novice’s arm. “Those two men are very much in love and play every chance they get. The Dom is perfectly in tune with his sub’s needs and limits.” She waited for the words to sink in before continuing. “The way they play is a turn on for both of them. Is the sub’s position something you think you’d be comfortable with?”

“You mean the bondage?” Kyler gave it some thought and slowly nodded. “Yeah, I think I’d prefer it that way.”

“Okay, on to something new. How much have you had to drink this evening? Alcohol and playtime are not a good mix.”

“Only a few sips of beer. I was too caught up in what was going on to drink much.”

“Good boy,” she praised. “Any chance you happen to have a life-partner?”

“Two!” Kyler couldn’t help but chuckle at the surprised expression on her face even though it vanished almost immediately.

“Have your partners ever spanked you as part of your sex play?”

“Aah, not really,” Kyler responded with some hesitancy, a flush of embarrassment warming his cheeks.

Picking up on the young man’s awkwardness, Sophie leaned closer and calmly asked, “Then have they spanked you for real? I don’t care one way or the other, Kyler. As a Domme, I get my pleasure from pleasing you as a sub. I only want to give you what you seem to be in search of. Knowing all I can helps me reach that goal.”

“Do I have to tell you everything?”

“Yes! For safety sake, it’s best that you do. I understand how hard it might be for you as a grown man to admit to being disciplined. Unfortunately, I need you to be embarrassingly honest with me.”

Kyler shifted uncomfortably and murmured, “Yeah, both my partners are Tops. But I don’t get punished because they’re older or smarter or more experienced…even though they are. It’s just something I need, and even want on some level. I went from one safety net in the home I grew up in, to another in the home of my partners where I now have two men who love me and care enough to keep me safe. Come to think of it, they’ve had to make a lot more adjustments to their daily routines than I’ve had to.”

Sophie didn’t comment, she merely nodded her head. “Are they presently aware of you whereabouts?”

“Of course! I’d never have come here without asking them first.” Kyler deliberately omitted his deliberate failure to inform them he was attending ‘fetish’ party with plans to participate if the opportunity presented itself.

“All right then, implements have been chosen. Now all you need is a safe word. What will it be?”

“Hmm…how about ‘jade’?”

“Good, ‘jade’ it is.” She got to her feet. “It’s time to find out just what you’re made of, my sweet and handsome lad. What clothing do you feel comfortable removing?”

“Just my shirt,” Kyler stated as he began to undo the buttons. Within minutes he was stripped to the waist with his hands and feet securely strapped spread-eagled on the St. Andrews cross. Last minutes jitters caused him to think about his partners and speculate what their reactions would be if they could see him now. For a moment, he panicked until he remembered he was in a safe place with a Domme he truly trusted in spite of only being introduced to her half an hour ago. It briefly crossed his mind to wonder if his companions were watching and if so, what were they thinking. He briefly looked over his shoulder to where Rene, Cameron and Kadyn were sitting and threw them an ‘eat-your-heart-out’ smirk. It would really be icing on the cake if they ended up being a bit envious, especially if he really spaced out.  

Soft hands began to gently caress his back as a low voice purred close to his ear. “Relax, my precious boy. It takes a lot to get that endorphin high you’re hoping for, and if you’re nervous or if you tighten up on me, you’ll never get there. Remember, the flogger is marvelous in the right hands. They can be soft and sensual while lightly warming your flesh or they can hurt a lot and leave your back burning. You are so manly and everything a Domme could possibly desire in a novice sub, my pet.”

The rhythmic petting and quiet droning enabled Kyler to let go to the point that he was barely aware of her moving away from him. Seconds later, the first stroke of the flogger landed on his right shoulder and slithered down his back. It felt like a light kiss and had him relaxing even more as he waited for the next one.

Lack of air caused Kadyn to loudly exhale. He hadn’t even realized he’d been holding his breath. “She-she just hit him!” Kadyn was outraged. He hoped Logan wouldn't be too much longer.

“Kadyn, relax,” Cameron instructed, his voice soothing. “She’s not doing anything he hasn’t consented to. He’ll have a safe word he can use at any time. Besides, she’s not hitting him hard. But that may come later when he’s flying.” Cameron was surprised that Kadyn was so unnerved in the club. He always associated the word ‘wild’ with Kadyn, and he wondered if what had happened well over a year ago had really affected his friend more than he thought. He was really torn. On one hand he wanted to watch Kyler but felt Kadyn needed him more.

“Cameron’s right, K. Remember, this is something Kyler wanted.” Rene put his hand on Kadyn’s shoulder. “Would you feel better if we went outside and waited for Logan?” As much as he wanted to stay and support Kyler, Rene felt it might be wise to get Kadyn away from the whole scene.

Knowing his friends had been looking forward to this evening and not wanting to ruin it for them, Kadyn bend his head, put his elbows on the table and covered his ears. “No thanks, Rene. We’ll stay in here where you two can keep an eye on Kyler. I’ll be okay if I don’t look. I’ll just concentrate on hoping our partners get here as soon as possible.”

“I’ll be happy if they don’t arrive at all,” Cameron retorted. “Why Jonathan felt the need to include Chad in the call I’ll never know. If he wasn’t one of the Guardians ....” he let his voice trail off as his attention was caught by what was happening in front of them.

The flogger continued to land; the increasing strength and tempo of the strokes barely discernible. Kyler slowly began to relax as the heat built and his mind began to wander. He didn’t realize the lashing had ceased until he felt soft fingers lightly fluttering along his arms, across his shoulders and down his back.

“Hugh,” he dreamily murmured. “Don’t stop yet.”

Sophie smiled and whispered in his ear. “As you wish, my sweet.” She picked up the second flogger Kyler had chosen and retook her position to pick up where she’d left off.

Another few moments and Kyler was flying high, thanks to the endorphin induced sub-space he entered.

Rene watched each stroke as it landed on Kyler. Although he couldn’t imagine letting some strange woman flog him, he did think it would be interesting to feel such a thing at the hands of his lover. If only he could find the courage to make such a suggestion. However, he was too nervous that Zack would think he was weird for having such fantasies. 

“Wow,” Cameron breathed. “Maybe Kyler’s onto something here.” He turned to Rene and smiled wickedly. “Is it hot in here or what?” he asked as he started to undo the buttons on his shirt. He pulled it out of his pants and just left it to hang open. He was fully aware that although he hadn’t modeled in a while, he still had the looks.

Rene grinned and fanned himself with exaggerated movements. “Yeah, it’s hot alright.”

Meanwhile, Jonathan was standing in the archway between the temporary dungeon and the hall. He was simultaneously keeping watch over the action on the stage and looking out for the expected arrivals. Eventually the men he’d been waiting for entered the establishment and he quickly made his way over to greet them.

He immediately recognized he was facing a group of alpha males in full protection mode searching for their mates. Being a Dom himself, he didn’t find this in any way intimidating; he intuitively knew this was not posturing. This was who they were; this was how they lived. These men were not to be messed with when it came to their Brats.

Some hardly heard sound from the lobby drew Kadyn’s attention. He was up and running as soon as the four men appeared. Once close enough, he threw himself into Logan’s arms.

“What took you so long?” Kadyn all but wailed the accusation.

“It’s been all of thirty minutes since I got Jonathan’s call, honey,” Logan soothed as he tightened his hold in an attempt to quell the shaking of the slender man in his arms. “I’m taking Kadyn outside to get his car,” he explained to the others. “Jonathan will accompany you to wherever your partners are.”

Cameron turned to look towards the lobby, wondering why Kadyn had suddenly bolted. His eyes locked with Chad’s.  “Fuck!” was all he muttered under his breath.

Rene felt his face heat up with a flush of embarrassment as Zack approached. He really did not want to explain this to his husband.

Chad and Zack slid into the booth next to their respective partners. Two older men stared questioningly at the two younger ones for a moment or two.

Then Zack wrapped his arm around Rene’s shoulders and pulled him in close for a hug. “It looks like we’re in for an interesting conversation when we get home, huh?”

“Are you very angry with me?”  Rene asked quietly.

“No, love, I’m not angry. Was I worried? Yes. Am I surprised? Most definitely, but we’ll touch on this issue once we get home,” Zack assured his husband, gently drawing circles on his back to calm him.

Chad embraced his antsy Brat and whispered in Cameron’s ear, “I trust you have a good explanation for why you are attending this kind of event?” He began to do up the buttons on the opened shirt.

“Not really,” Cameron answered honestly. “Although in my defense, I did say I was going to a club with Kyler. I just didn’t add ‘oh by the way, it’s a fetish event’. I didn’t do anything,” he hurried to explain. “I was just people watching. My shirt’s open because I suddenly felt hot.”

“Of course,” Chad wryly intoned, not swallowing a word of it.

“Either of you know the whereabouts of my partner?” Hugh wasn’t too pleased to see that Kyler was not with his friends. He turned to look over his shoulder in the direction that two fingers were pointing and growled when he saw his Brat hanging on a compact moveable cross.

Sophia saw the big man’s approach and stepped forward to intercept him. “I trust this young man belongs to you.” She smiled when he merely nodded, possibly too surprised to trust himself to speak. “He wanted you here. He’s been pretending it was you instead of me.” She was pleased to see a softening of his expression.

“Thank you for taking care of him,” Hugh sincerely voiced his appreciation.

Kyler had briefly lost all awareness of what was going on around him and to him until he imagined a large hand gently rubbing over his back moments before tenderly caressing the side of his face. He glanced up through squinting eyes and gave a lop-sided smile to the person who’d move to stand in front of him.

“I must be dreaming,” he mused. “But that’s okay, ‘cause it’s always good to see my main Top anytime.”

The hand sharply patted his cheek and Kyler heard an accompanying growl. He blinked in surprise and tried to focus both his thoughts and his vision. His goofy grin widened. “Hugh? You’re for real, aren’t ya?” he sought clarification and received a second growl in reply. Making more of an effort to concentrate through the haziness still muddling his brain, he looked around and merrily inquired, “Is Patrick here too?” This time the response was a negative shake of the head.

“Am I in trouble?” Kyler’s brow puckered in bewilderment.

“We’ll discuss that when we get home, my lad.” Having already freed his Brat’s feet, Hugh set about undoing the leather cuffs that held Kyler’s hands in place.

“Okay by me.” A nonchalant shrug of Kyler’s shoulders seemed to remove any concerns trying to surface as he staggered forward and fell against his lover. Wrapping his arms around Hugh’s neck, he announced in a loud whisper, “Man, I’m feeling real randy, Hugh. Wanna take care of it for me?”

“Hmm, something else we’ll take care of when we get home,” Hugh assured his Brat with a soft chuckle and he landed a sharp swat on the seat of Kyler’s pants. “Now get this done up.” He tugged on the shirt he’d just helped the other man put on.

“Yeah…home’s good. Patrick will be there too.” Kyler giggled as he struggled to get a button to go through the proper buttonhole. His hands were slapped away as bigger ones took over the chore.

“Thank Madame Sophie for taking such good care of you,” Hugh directed, turning his Brat towards the woman who was obviously more than self-satisfied with her handiwork.

“Oh yeah, you bet! Thanks a whole bunch, my lady.” Kyler kissed her hand and would have fallen flat on his face had Hugh not grabbed him in time.

“Man, this sub-space stuff is real heady, huh? But I kinda like it even though my back feels very hot and as if thousands of bees are trying to make it their new home. I’m pretty sure I wanna do it again, Hugh, but only if you’re willing to be my Dom. That’s important, you know.” Kyler babbled to the man who was firmly guiding him off stage and across the room to where their friends were patiently waiting for them.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Cameron laughed aloud when he saw how goofed up his friend was.

Once at their table, Kyler dropped down on the bench beside Chad and sent him a silly grin. He leaned forward in order to get a better view of Cameron. “I owe you big time, buddy. This was such a blast and I never would have had the balls to do it had you not dared me to.”

Chad’s expression clearly indicated the man was adding yet another infraction to the growing list of misdeeds his Brat had to make amends for.

Cameron just dropped his head on the table and groaned. “Thanks, man,” were the only words discernible.

 “Yep, I’m really indebted to you, Cam; you too, Rene, for coming here with me tonight.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.” Rene gave Kyler a weak smile.

Kyler suddenly realized someone was missing. “Where the hell is Kadyn?”

“He ran over to Logan the second he came in the door. I think they went outside together.”

“Yeah, and he’s probably still wrapped around Logan,” Cameron added. He lifted his head and quickly grasped that Hugh’s demeanor was far from welcoming, and it caused him to shift uneasily.

“Actually, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to discover they’ve already left for home,” Zack interjected. “And I think it would be best if we all followed suit.”

“I second that!” Kyler loudly declared, trying to get to his feet. “Oh yeah, home! Any place where we can indulge in some wild, passionate, and hopefully kinky sex works fine for us. Ain’t that right, Hugh?  God I am so damn horny!” He worked at adjusting the front of his jeans. While some might have found him outrageously uninhibited, Hugh merely rolled his eyes at his young partner’s antics and steadied him.

“Home sounds good to me too,” Chad agreed, sliding out of the booth. “Hugh was kind enough to give me a lift earlier and so we’ll be driving back with him and Kyler,” he informed Cameron.

Cameron screwed up his handsome face. “Oh joy,” he jokingly grumbled, “as long as I don’t have to sit next to ‘randy’ boy here.” His voice might have been acerbic, but his eyes were dancing with mirth as he watched Kyler clowning around. “Man, you are so high,” he told his friend.

“Although Logan rode with me on the way here, my love, you and I will be making the return trip on our own,” Zack whispered for Rene’s ear only. “Not that we have to discuss this evening’s events during the drive. That can wait until we are in the comfort of our own home. Hmm, maybe even our bed.”

Rene nodded. “Yeah, sounds good to me.”

Three Tops left the club; each with a partner tucked safely under their arm.

The End 

The Torch





By Lady Jodie

Kadyn jumped up and down and swung his arms. Then he blew on his hands to keep the chill out of his fingers. It was cold but at least the sun was shining. The entire population of Jade Heights was present for this special event. Throngs of people lined Main Street, most jumping around and trying to keep warm while they waited for the arrival of the next torch bearer.

Not only Kadyn, but also his Dad had been two of many Jade Heights citizens to apply on the internet for a chance to be an official Olympic Torch bearer. Both had been lucky enough to be chosen to run through their home town.

The crowd cheered as the lead vehicles came into sight. Chief Barrett turned on the siren much to the delight of the children. The drivers of the white van and the two cars advertizing the 2010 Olympic Games, honked their horns. Following a short distance behind was a large Coca-Cola truck with huge speakers blaring out and one of the organizers yelling for people to get ready.

If it was possible, the crowd actually grew louder as Mr. Hart appeared from the direction of the highway leading to Kelowna. Like his son, he was dressed in a white outfit with shades of green and blue covering his left arm. A number adorned the right side of his jacket and a picture of the torch was on the left.

He ran up to Kadyn and lit the torch the young man was holding. Flags were waving madly and the noise level rose to deafening proportions.

It seemed as if the older generation was passing the flame to the younger one. Vincent and Mrs. Hart were among the picture takers. Having been standing next to Kadyn, they had the perfect advantage for getting the best photos.

Kadyn smiled and held the torch up over his head as he began to run towards the next bearer. Mr. and Mrs. Hart hugged each other and laughed when Vincent took off to accompany his partner.

It seemed to take only minutes to cover the three hundred metres allotted to him before Kadyn was lighting his best friend’s torch. This time it was three of the Pierce men in the forefront with cameras flashing.

Once Rene’s torch was going strong, he was off and running. Kadyn quickly slipped on the red jacket Vincent handed him and zipped it up. He pulled the hood over his head so little of the white clothing he had on was showing. This was Rene’s moment in the sun, but Kadyn wanted to run beside his friend. Vincent and Zack ran with them.

It was a once in a lifetime experience and the two young men who had been looking forward to it for so long, were definitely pumped.

All too soon, they reached the other end of the small town and Rene was lighting some young lady’s torch. Although their runs were over, the adrenaline would race on for some time to come and the memories would last forever.

The End

Community Service




Co-written by:
Mel, Jo, Carol and LJ



Six young men stood facing Jade Heights’ Chief of Police, Chandi Barrett. Although shifting uncomfortably, they were paying attention.

“You’ve all proven how much you enjoy painting, so this weekend’s work should provide you with a good deal of entertainment, which in turn should keep you out of trouble.” Chief Barrett turned to the older, stern-looking man standing beside him and grinned before turning back to the young men in front of him. “This is the town’s Superintendent of Public Maintenance. His name is Cliff Richardson and he will be overseeing the project.” Chandi stepped back, but continued to watch the proceedings.

Cliff glared at the small group with slight scowl on his face. He was wondering what he’d done wrong in life to deserve the dubious pleasure of supervising this bunch of mischief-makers. “Okay, boys; listen up! Here’s how we’re going to distribute the work to be done. Look around at the playground equipment and take note that there are six main colours in use. You will each be responsible for painting the items that correspond with the colour you’ll be issued.”

He waited impatiently as his make-shift crew quietly obeyed him. At least they’d had the sense to dress in old clothes and most were wearing hats. Glancing over the list in his hand, Cliff began reading off names. “Kadyn Hart, you’ll be doing all the blue items; Cameron Jackson, green; Kyler Jamieson, red; Jason Copeland, purple; William Fleming-Monroe, yellow; and Rene Wilson-Pierce, you’ll be in charge of the black and white trim work. After all, you are the professional artist, are you not?”

Getting a shy, nervous nod in response, Cliff grunted and led the way over to a white utility van. He handed a gallon of paint and a couple of brushes to each man, then gruffly issued final orders. “I won’t put up with any horsing around. I expect a good job, or else.” He stared from one man to another, daring them to ask what ‘or else’ meant. “I’ll be available if you need help or have questions. Now, go get started. You’ve got a full two days work ahead of you.”

The work crew divided into two groups with Rene, Kadyn and Kyler going towards one side of the playground equipment area and Cameron, Billy and Jason going to the other side.

“Any chance old man Richardson is a retired military sergeant?” Kadyn jokingly wondered out loud. It was a beautiful day and Kadyn was more than up to working outdoors. There was very little that actually got this particular young man down, as he found adventure in just about everything.

Kyler on the other hand, noticed the number of people hanging around behind the barriers that had been set up around the playground equipment and felt somewhat embarrassed. He’d be glad when this weekend was behind him. “He sounds like he might be,” Kyler quietly commented and shrugged his shoulders.

Rene nodded his head. “Yeah, I think he’s from the same military background as my father. Everything regimented, and heaven forbid you have a bit of fun while you work.”

He stood back and looked at the job ahead of them. There was a large climbing apparatus with swings, slides, a merry-go-round, a rope bridge, bouncy ride-on animals and teeter-totters. Each was painted a bright colour with black trim. However, to his artist’s eye they were boring and lacked originality. Rene had been working with the children at the day care and had grown to understand the things which excited and interested young kids. He felt if he was going do this job, he should put his expertise to use and make this a better place for the town’s children.

The only thing making him hesitate was the stalwart Cliff Richardson. If he were to take his ideas to the man, would they be shot down without consideration? But then again, if he went ahead and did it without asking, would he be in trouble?

He turned to Kadyn and Kyler. “Guys, I have an idea. What do you think about...?” He went on to tell them his thoughts and concerns, hoping they could provide some advice.

“Hey, I really like your ideas, Rene.” Kadyn was always supportive of his friend’s suggestions. “You can count me in. The super hinted at you using your artistic talent, didn’t he? So I say we should go for it.”

“Me too,” Kyler joined in. “Maybe if you do the outlines, the rest of us can fill them in. Bet the others will want to do it your way as well. Let’s go tell them about it before they start painting.”

Jay quietly took the pail of paint handed to him. He disliked purple. It was such an odd color to him but he decided to keep his opinion to himself as he followed his team-mates over to the jungle gym. “I thought a park was supposed to be alive and bright but these colors are dull and drab,” he mumbled to his fellow co-workers. He glanced over at the other team, then nudged Billy and Cameron. “Wonder what they’re up to?” he asked as the other two men followed the jerk his head to the other group.

Billy was highly disgruntled. “That does it,” he muttered under his breath. “I’m officially changing my name. William is my goddamn father.” His attention was distracted by Jay’s nudge and he looked up to see Kyler, Kadyn and Rene walking over.

‘Green,’ Cameron thought to himself, ‘of all the disgusting colours. I not only miss out on a day’s pay, I’m going to get covered in green paint.’ He glanced over at Jay’s question and grinned when he saw Kyler’s expression. His friend was obviously excited about something. “What’s up?” he asked when Kyler was within hearing range.

“Rene’s got some neat ideas for brightening this place up. It will sure beat just slopping paint over everything; provided we can get away with it.” Kyler’s eyes sparkled with anticipation as he shared this info. “I’ll leave it to Rene to tell us what he wants done.”

Rene began to detail his plans to all his new friends. “I work with a lot of kids at the day care centre and I know that they love anything to do with animals. So I was thinking about giving each piece of equipment an animal theme by painting them in the colours, spots, stripes, etcetera of various creatures. For instance, the slides could be painted in beige with the spots of a giraffe; the jungle gym orange with stripes of a tiger; the merry-go-round in white with black zebra stripes; the swings in off-white with leopard spots; and the teeter-totters in black and yellow stripes like a bumble bee. We’ve been supplied with all the primary colours along with black and white, so I can mix some to get any shades we’re missing. I think it would be very appealing to the children and make our park a show place. The only thing I’m worried about is how to handle this. Do we go to old Cliff and ask if it’s okay? Knowing his type, we’ll probably be told no. Or do we just go ahead and do it in hopes that once the project is done it will be accepted? Of course that puts us in the position of possibly being in further trouble if he doesn’t like it. Or do we just paint things the same as they’ve been painted every time since the park opened?”

“I say we just go ahead and do it!” Kadyn piped up enthusiastically. “It will sure make the job more interesting and look so much better when finished.” Glancing around to see where the ‘Boss’ was, Kadyn noticed him in deep conversation with Chandi and a couple of other older men. “He doesn’t seem to be paying us any attention, so if we quietly go about our business, it might take him a while to catch on to what we’re doing.”

“Kadyn’s right. I say we go for it,” Kyler added his two-cents worth.

“Great idea,” Cameron concurred with a grin crossing his face. “I get dibs on the tiger.”

“No way do we go to Old Grumpy about this,” Billy stated emphatically. “He’s a by-the-book man. Anyway, we ain’t doing this for him. We’re doing it for the kids.”

“We can paint some of the bouncy animals the colors they already are. There’s a gray elephant, a black panther and a muddy-looking hippo; all without faces. Jack’s got some cans of old spray paint left from when he painted the metal lawn furniture. Maybe I can snag those and bring them tomorrow,” Jay suggested. He looked over Rene shoulder and issued a warning. “Hey, we better get a move on before the boss-man wonders what we’re up to.”

Kyler grinned when he saw another man walking over to the truck. “No fear. Looks like he’s already having a coffee break from the number of cups on the tray that other guy is carrying. They’re probably sucking up to the Chief.” Kyler’s comments results in snickers from the rest of the work team.

“Then it’s best to start while they’re doing their own thing. Show us what you want done first, Rene, and we’ll follow your lead.” Kadyn was eager to get the activity underway.

“Okay, let’s go for it,” Rene agreed. They gathered up all the paint cans and a few empty plastic pails. Rene mixed some paints to achieve the desired shades and then gave out the instructions for putting on the base coat of colour for each animal print they would be doing, explaining that they needed to get all the base coats finished on Saturday so that the decorative spots and stripes could be added the next morning.

Rene took the can of white paint and began work on the merry-go-round. He looked over at Kadyn who was applying red paint to the sides of the covered bridge in long, smooth strokes. His friend’s shave head was now covered in a short stubbly growth. “I see you’re not keeping the bald look,” he teased. “Did Vincent not appreciate being partnered with a billiard ball?”

Kadyn grinned and wiped a hand across his head, leaving a couple of splotches of red paint behind. “He wasn’t exactly thrilled. But hey, it’ll grow back in soon enough.” “Well I don’t think Zack would have liked me shaving my head either. But between you and me, he umm...well he like the shaving I did do. He wants me to keep it like that.”

Kadyn burst out laughing over that comment, while Kyler, who had overheard part of what was said, snickered.

Kyler was busy slapping yellow paint on the teeter-totter. Tomorrow he would add the black stripes. He glanced over at Cameron who was more than generous in applying the orange paint to the jungle gym. “The way you’re splashing that around, Cam, you’re going home today with as much orange on you as you did last Saturday. There must be something about tigers that really appeals to you,” he teased his friend. “You’ve already got some splattered on your face and the front of your shirt.”

Cameron grinned back at his friend. No matter how bad his mood, Kyler could always make him smile. “Chad liked the tiger look,” he replied. “And I need some brownie points after having to do this when I'm supposed to be working. He was really good giving me last Saturday off, but today I don’t get paid for.” He looked down at himself. “At least the clothes are old and way out of date. Plus, I’m not turning myself off-white.” He looked towards Billy, who just grinned and stuck his tongue out.

“This is more fun than I thought it would be,” Billy commented as he liberally spread a thick coat of beige on the first of two slides in preparation for the spots that would be added later. “I can’t wait to see the kids’ faces when they see what we did. We just need to think of a way to keep the Boss man occupied when we get creative tomorrow. He’s got a stick so far up his butt, he can’t bend over.”

Cameron spluttered at the vision Billy had just given him.

“Billy, that’s not nice!” Jay was laughing hard and shaking his head even though he had been thinking the same thing. He started on the elephant, being as it was going take the most time. He gave it a gray primer coat, wanting it good and dry before he added the contrasting colour tomorrow. The panther and hippo were not going to take as much time, even though the hippo would also need some darker brown to enhance the lighter base coat. When he saw the merry-go-round spin, he smiled to himself and let out a small chuckle

The morning passed quickly and the young men were surprised when Chandi called them over to the picnic table under a shady tree. The Chief was carrying several large boxes from the local pizzeria and Officer Quinn was juggling half a dozen, extra-large tumblers of pop.

Kadyn jumped down from the perch he had been sitting on. He landed precariously and slipped in a small puddle of paint that had accidently found its’ way to the ground. Picking himself up, he laughed to discover that the seat of his cut-offs was now a bright yellow. “At this rate, I’ll look like a rainbow by the end of the day,” he joked to Rene.

Rene laughed good-naturedly as he joined his friends who were heading to the truck for their unexpected lunch. “Zack is constantly sending me to wash off paint. A career artist is never without paint splotches on some part of them.” He looked excitedly at the pizza and pop they were being offered. “Wow, this is really nice; thanks, Chief Barrett. Way better than the PB&J I’ve got in my bag.”

“I should have let you guys know that your meal would be provided. Sorry about that,” the handsome Chief apologized. “You’re doing some good work from what I can see. Don’t you agree, Cliff?”

Cliff merely grunted and helped himself to a slice of pizza. However, the painting team missed the wink he sent Chandi’s way. “Kadyn, you better sit on the grass unless you want to find yourself with extra work cleaning up that seat you’re about to use.”

Grabbing some food and one of the drinks, Kadyn merrily settled himself at the foot of the tree. He smiled when Kyler and Rene came over and sat with him.

“Hope you guys don’t mind if I take on the responsibility of doing the whole bridge,” Kadyn mumbled around a mouthful of food. “I’ve got plans for it; might just turn out to be my first masterpiece.”

Kyler snickered at that. “Well, I got the teeter-totter done, so after lunch I’ll work on the red posts and railings. It will leave the two tunnels to be painted purple and the swings to be primed with off-white. And of course, there are the little stairways and wooden paths to paint green. Then that should be it for today, right?” He grinned when he got vigorous nods of agreement from the two men sitting across from him. He got up and walked over to the table to get another piece of pizza. “What do you wanna work on next, Cam? Pick a colour, any colour,” he jokingly suggested to his friend.

“Not fussy,” Cameron replied. “I guess I could take care of the stairs and wooden paths. After all, I got allocated the green at the start of the day; unless you have a great desire to do them.” He was getting increasingly fed up with this whole thing and even Kyler couldn’t make his mood any brighter. He looked at his fingernails and wondered if he’d ever get them clean again.

Jay eyed the pizza as he took a bite of the sandwich Jack had sent with him. He loved pizza but he loved Jack more and didn’t want to hurt Jack’s feelings. However, he did manage to grab a few slices before it was all gone. He gave his painting partners a sly grin. “What? I’m a growing boy,” he said, tossing a potato chip at Billy.

“Thanks,” Billy laughed. “I’m still working on the slides. I think they’ll need another coat of the beige. They started life as bright yellow and that’s still showing in some places.”

“All right, boys; back to work!” Cliff hollered when the thirty minute break was over. He clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention.

“Thanks for the pizza, Chief. It went down well with the ham and cheese sandwich Vincent made for me.” Kadyn had a healthy appetite and would eat just about anything available. He threw his apple core into the trash and laughingly complained to no one in particular, “Wish he hadda packed some cookies though.”

As the work crew headed for the playground apparatus, Kyler spotted Hugh standing next to the fence that spectators had to stay behind, and ran over to him. “You checking up on me, Hugh?” he asked with a wide grin.

“Not exactly, Brat. I brought you the lunch you left on the kitchen counter. Guess it was a wasted trip.”

“No, it wasn’t. I’m glad you came.” Kyler threw his arms around his partner’s neck and hugged him. “Maybe we’ll get a break this afternoon and I can eat it then.”

“Sounds like a plan. I think I’ll hang around for a bit and watch you guys work. Meanwhile, you better get back to the job at hand.” Hugh kissed Kyler’s cheek and sent him on his way.

The painting continued to progress smoothly during the afternoon. Only a slight hitch occurred when a couple of the guys got into a giddy mood and started a game of mini-paintballs, using their brushes to flick different colours at each other. It ended up involving all of them, but was all in fun and came to a sudden end with a shrill whistle from Cliff. None of the Brats wanted the older man in their face, so they quickly calmed down and finished up.

Rene looked around at the work they’d done, as he was cleaning up and stowing his supplies for the day. Everything was looking great. He only hoped that old Cliff didn’t pay any attention to the colour changes they’d made. He bid his friends good-bye and began the short walk home. He wondered if he should tell Zack about the changes to the painting job they were doing. He knew his husband wouldn’t like him keeping secrets unless it was a good one, such as a surprise, would this qualify? It wasn’t that he thought Zack wouldn’t like his idea for the painting but he was afraid he’d insist that Rene talk to Cliff about it before hand and that he knew wouldn’t fly with his friends. Well all he could do was hope Zack just asked general questions that didn’t lead to details he’d rather not reveal yet.

“Can I give anyone a lift home?” Kyler offered. “I don’t mind going out of my way.”

“No, that’s cool,” Cameron answered. “I want to walk. I guess Chad’s at the lounge and I can at least help out. Probably wonderful jobs like cleaning the toilet,” he muttered the last under his breath.

“It’d be great if you would drop me home,” Billy replied. “Mace is on call so I have to make my own way home. I don’t think it’s too far out of your way, is it?”

“Not out of the way at all, Billy. What about you, Kadyn or Jason? Need a lift?”

“Came on my bike,” Jay told him as he unlocked his mountain bike from the rack. “But thanks anyway, dude.” He got on his bike and headed home.

“No thanks,” Kadyn responded to Kyler’s offer. He called out farewells to each of his friends as they left, and waited patiently for Vincent to pick him up. He grimaced when he looked down at himself and it hit him just how dirty he had gotten. ‘Hmm, wonder what Vince is gonna make of this?’ He shrugged nonchalantly while muttering, “What will be, will be.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Rene and Kadyn met at the park entrance early Sunday morning. “Looks like we’re the first ones here,” Kadyn announced.

“Yeah, looks like,” Rene agreed with a yawn. “I need another coffee. Zack pushed me out the door this morning, so I barely got my first one down. As much as I enjoy the painting, getting up this early on a Sunday morning really sucks.” He looked at his watch. “We’re a bit early. I’m gonna run to Tim Horton’s and grab a large double-double. You wanna come?”

“Ya don’t have to ask me twice. Let’s go!” Kadyn happily went along with his friend’s plan. He fell into step beside Rene and started talking about the day’s upcoming activity. “I’m eager to get back to painting that bridge today. Hope I get doesn’t take longer to do that the other stuff, cause I got lots in mind for it.” Kadyn glanced at his friend, a wide grin on his face. “Speaking of paint, how long did it take to get yesterday’s off ya?”

“Oh, no problem; I’m used to having paint on me. Though Zack did comment on the volume; doing this kind of work creates more mess than my usual, to say nothing of that little splatter fest we all got into!”

“Vincent made me throw out my old clothes and then he scrubbed almost half my skin off,” Kadyn exaggerated, scowling briefly before his grin reappeared. “But he kinda made up for being so rough later on.”

Rene laughed. “If I threw out my clothes every time I get paint on them, I’d be in the poor house!”

“Whatcha talkin’ about guys?” Kyler had seen them leaving the park when he was dropped off by Hugh and had deliberately stolen up to startle them. He laughed when his sudden appearance made them jump.

“Just about how we spent last evening,” Kyler answered.

“Well, I don’t know about you guys, but my back and shoulders were beginning to stiffen up by the time I got home. Must have been all the bending and stretching. But a nice long soak with Hugh and some reflexology from Patrick worked wonders,” Kyler almost purred at the memory.

“Reflexology, huh? That sounds nice. I guess that’s the advantage to being partnered to a doctor, cuz otherwise I wouldn’t thank you for it.” Rene shuddered. “Just having a dentist for a father-in-law is hard. I mean Todd’s the best and he did a great job when I had a bad tooth, but now it means I have to have regular dental check-ups with no chance of avoiding them. A medical doctor would be even worse!”

Kyler just shrugged and grinned while Kadyn vigorously nodded his agreement.

The three men picked up their coffees and headed back to the park just on time to see the Cliff Richardson and Chandi Barrett arrive.

“Hmm, wonder why old man Richardson is all dressed up?” Kadyn mused, taking another mouthful of his drink.

“Maybe he’ll tell us.” Kyler joked. “Looks like all the gang’s here,” he commented, pointing towards Billy and Jason who were approaching from the far side of the park. “Cameron may be another few minutes, seeing as he and Chad are having a bit of a conversation in Chad’s Ranger over there in the parking lot.”

“This sucks,” Cameron moaned for the hundredth time that morning. Chad, the eternally laid-back Top, just looked at his Brat for a good minute. Cameron turned red and mumbled, “I know, I know, it’s my own fault. But I had plans involving a clearing and a blanket.”

Chad smiled and patted the younger man’s knee. “I don’t think that clearing is going anywhere, Mugs.”

“I hate waiting,” Cameron muttered. “You know me; instant gratification. Oh well, maybe we’ll finish early and the plan can be put into motion.”

“You never know, babe. Now get a move on before someone has to come and drag you out of the Ranger.”

Chief Barrett waited patiently while Cameron sauntered over to them. “Okay fellas, listen up. The same rules are still in force; painting crew on the playground-side of the fence, on-lookers on the other side. There’s to be no visiting!” He looked pointedly at Kyler whose break in protocol had him running over to talk with one of his partners yesterday. “Again, anyone needing to use the men’s room will be escorted individually by either myself or Officer Quincy, who will be joining us shortly. We’ll be doing KFC for lunch, and Stewart from the bakery has treated us to some cookies. Right now, I think Cliff has a few words to say.”

Cliff looked over the group, pausing a moment to glare at Cameron who’d had the audacity to keep him waiting. Cameron just looked back. Only Chad could get him to look away and Cliff was no Chad. Cliff merely rolled his eyes, totally disinterested in getting into a staring match with any of the young hoodlums. “If you boys work well today, you should be finished shortly after your noon meal. And by the way, just so you know; the changes you made when applying the colours yesterday, did not go unnoticed.” He smiled inwardly when he recognized body language indicating embarrassment and apprehension. ‘I should let them sweat it out,’ he thought briefly before changing his mind. “I’m cutting you some slack because you’ve done a fairly decent job so far. I’m off to church and I expect you all to behave while I’m gone. Now get busy!” He winked at Chandi when the young men scurried to get the supplies out of the truck.

“Geesh, did he just compliment us? I wonder if it hurt,” Kadyn mused in a low voice and chuckled. He watched as Cliff walked away. “Guess not. ‘Cause he hasn’t burst into flames yet, and he isn’t rolling on the ground in agony or anything like that.”

Jason just shook his head. He was in a bad mood and didn’t want to be there. He hadn’t slept well and all he wanted was to be home in bed. “Just shut up, Kadyn! Why do you always have to say a smartass remark?”

Kyler saw Kadyn’s face fall. He reached over and grabbed Jason’s arm. “What the hell is your problem? Someone piss in your corn flakes? If so, there’s no need to take your shit frame of mind out on any of us, especially Kadyn.”

“Hey, it’s okay, Kyler,” Kadyn spoke quietly, trying to hide the fact that he had been hurt by Jason’s uncalled for remarks. Although he appreciated Kyler standing up for him, he didn’t want there to be any trouble. “Let’s just get done what has to be done, all right?” His eyes pleaded for Kyler’s cooperation.

Rene looked at Jason. Although he didn’t know the other man well, he recognized the signs of someone spouting off in an attempt to alleviate their own bad mood. “Jason, ya know none of us really want to be here. But since we’re stuck, how about we try and make the most of it. We can leave our mark on Jade Heights in a positive way. Maybe the gossips can stop talking about us as the guys that showed off their assets to every kid town, and talk about us as the guys who made the park a fun place for those kids.”

Jason jerked his arm out of Kyler’s hand. “For your information, I don’t eat corn flakes.” He then turned to see Rene in his way, so he had no choice but to listen to what the older man had to say. “All right, God I didn’t mean anything by it. But hell, he’s just so grrrr…” He waved his arms out for a minute and almost hit Rene with the bag of spray paint as he pushed past him to head over to where he was supposed to be. He felt bad about snapping at the kid, but hell he could be so irritating.

“Hey guys, let’s just calm down and finish this off.” Billy stepped in to help Rene smooth the rough waters. “Kadyn, you have a masterpiece to finish, right? I’ve got the slides that need spots and Cameron has strips to put on the jungle gym as soon as our local artist gets the colours mixed.” He smiled over at Rene. “Guess you and Kyler know what you’re gonna work on.”

Cameron was glaring at Jason. He was in an equally bad mood but at Billy’s words, he turned to Kyler. “Let’s just get this done, while tight-ass is in church.”

Although tempers seemed to be settling as fast as they had flared, Chandi nevertheless stepped over to prevent anything else starting up. “Take it easy, guys. It’s all right to joke around but there’s no need for anyone to over-react.” He saw the bag in Jason’s hand and called out to him. “Jason, what do you have there?”

Jay rolled his eyes. ‘Now what!’ he thought as he retraced his steps back to the police chief. “Just spray paint,” he grumbled, holding open the bag. “What’s the big deal?” he snapped without thinking. He wasn’t use to cops being nice. ‘Today is going to be a blast.’ He kept his thoughts to himself as he waited for Chandi to comment. He didn’t like the cops in Vancouver and to him, this one was no different.

“Drop the attitude, no one is impressed by it. Hand over the bag, please.” Chief Barrett held out his hand and snapped his fingers. “Sorry, Jason, but only the paint provided by the town is to be used. It is a special non-toxic formula especially developed for children’s playground equipment. I’ll just hold onto this and you can pick it up when you leave.”

Jason scowled at him as he handed over the requested item. “I wasn’t trying to impress anyone, but considered it dropped,” he muttered. ‘Yeah, it’s going to be a grand day,’ he thought as he waited to be told to what to do next.

“Wait here a moment, please,” Chandi instructed. “The rest of you can gather up what supplies you need and start work.” He waited while Rene mixed paint and doled out numerous small cans of colour to each of his workmates. Five young men set about their work, leaving Jason behind. Chandi turned and eyed Jason for a minute or two. He was beginning to suspect he was dealing with a fellow Brat, and a very unhappy one at that. “You are obviously out of sorts and presently lack the ability to play nice. So rather than take a chance on your mood having a negative affect on the others, here is what’s going to happen. You are going to finish off the three bouncy rides you worked on yesterday, then you are going to come back over here and call your partner to come pick you up. It shouldn’t take you much more than an hour. Now get a move on!” Chandi’s voice clearly conveyed he was losing his patience.

The Chief of Police and Officer Quincy stood shoulder to shoulder, keeping a watchful eye on their young charges. They watched as the various designs took shape, almost appearing to come alive.

“Those guys are doing a bang up job of this, aren’t they?” Paul mused, somewhat astonished by what he was seeing. He chuckled when he heard a mumbled agreement from his superior.

Kadyn leaned the ladder against the side of the bridge and climbed up carrying his brush and a can of white. He meticulously painted fluffy clouds on the see-through roof that he had done in a pale blue yesterday. He was actually enjoying himself. Although he’d never be anywhere near the artist his best friend was; he could still enjoy creating beautiful scenes for the children who would be playing here.

The jumping toys were the first to be completed. It was almost an hour later, when Jason stomped over to them. He still looked far from happy even though he had done a good job of the task he had originally assigned himself.

Jay waited until the Chief noticed him before speaking. “Since you are sending me home, can I pick up my attitude where I dropped it? And can I have my spray paint back too?” He had a smug look on his face. “Also, I rode my bike so no need to be picked up.” He held out his hand for the bag.

Not liking the look he was getting, Jay dropped his arm to his side and took a deep breath. “Look, I’m sorry for the crap I gave you all this morning. It was uncalled for.” He took a deep breath. “May I stay and finish out my sentence with the guys? It’s not fair to them if I get sent home because I’m being an ass.” He really did think it was unfair he got to go home and they had to finish without him.

“By all means, Jason; you are more than welcome to stay. I think those two tunnels can use a second coat.” Chandi smiled as he reached into the back of the supply truck, pulled out a large can of purple paint and handed it to Jason. “I know I can depend on you to do as good a job with this as you did with the elephant, panther and hippo.” He raised an eyebrow to quell any retort the young man might be planning to come back with. “Thank you, Jason,” Chandi added, a touch of kindness and sympathy in his voice.

“No problem, dude, and thanks for understanding.” Jay gave the Chief a weak grin as he took the paint. “It just had to be purple,” he grumbled as he walked back to the playground apparatus.

“I can help you out,” Billy offered. “I’m done with the giraffe slide. How about a Purple People Eater?” he suggested to Jay with a smile. “Just shut up and come with me,” he spoke softly to Jay under his breath. “Cameron is almost as pissed as you are. The best we’ve got out of him is a grunt.”

Rene put the finishing touch on his zebra-striped merry-go-round and stood back to assess his creation. It had taken years of work throughout his university art classes to learn when to stop painting and call a piece finished. He was his own worst critic, always finding small faults and wanting to go back and touch them up. His professor had actually threatened to tie his hands behind his back when he finished a piece and make him learn to assess his work with less a search for perfection and more a search for artistic beauty. However, he was finally at the point where he could accept that what he saw as imperfections were considered by others to be a part of what made his work unique.

Satisfied that he had created something the children could enjoy, he sealed up some of the leftover paint and went to see how Kadyn was coming along with his bridge creation. He admired the sky-scape, though he had to laugh at the blobs of white paint that had dripped on Kadyn’s very short hair. “If you wanted to do more body painting, buddy, you shoulda told me. I’d have been happy to help.”

Kadyn laughed as he slid down the ladder to stand next to his friend. “I think by the time we finish up here, I’ll have had my fill of painting anything for a good long while.” Glancing around, he commented with a note of awe. “Wow, it’s all coming together just grand. Gotta love Cam’s tiger and Billy’s giraffes; your zebras are fantastic! Some still need faces added, huh? I’m gonna start painting grass and flowers on the red walls of this bridge. I made need your help with some of it. I’ll just give you a shout if I get in over my head, okay?”

Rene nodded his support and set about painting faces on the presently faceless animals while finishing highlights were being added by his fellow painters. They all took time every so often to stop what they were doing to admire and praise each other’s handiwork.

“At the rate you’re going, Kadyn, you’ll have used every colour to do your creation,” Kyler teased when taking a closer look at the young man’s work.

Cliff arrived back shortly before noon bearing gifts in the way of lunch. He stopped short when he saw the work that had been done in his absence. “What the hell is all that?” he enquired, an expression of shock on his face. He glanced at the two police officers and groaned when he saw wide grins on their handsome faces. “Humph, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out the pair of you were in cahoots with our group of hooligans.” The edge was taken off his scolding by the sparkling flecks of amusement in his brown eyes.

“It seems a lot of others also like the new concept.” Chandi nodded his head in the direction of the fence where a large group of spectators had gathered to watch the artwork unfold. “We’ve attracted twice the crowd that we had yesterday.”

Almost all the painting was complete. It was a wild array of colour with jungle animals that smiled greetings at anyone who looked at them. Four of the work crew was standing back watching Rene and Kadyn who were still working on the walls of the bridge.

“God, I wonder who came up with that scenery idea?” Cliff grumbled some, but more in order to maintain his façade than because he was really annoyed. He shook his head when Chandi and Paul burst out laughing. They’d both seen through him. Putting the packages down on the large picnic table, he gruffly ordered, “You may as well call the boys over here and get them fed.”

Six young men apprehensively made their way over to the older men. Having seen Cliff’s return, they fully expected to have his wrath come down on them hard. They were in for a pleasant surprise.

“You boys have done a great job with that equipment. It’s inspirational and I’m sure it will now be a lot more appealing for the children to play on.” Looking Rene squarely in the face, Cliff continued. “Bet I’m right in guessing you initiated the whole scheme.” He smiled at the blush of embarrassment that spread across Rene’s cheeks. “Of course, you couldn’t have done it with out the help of a good team.” His smile expanded to include all of them. “Your imagination and efforts to do your best have definitely made my weekend worthwhile and restored my faith in the younger generation. Now stop gaping at me like fish out of water and eat up before that chicken gets cold!”

Kyler closed his mouth, only to open it again to take a big bite out of the fried chicken breast he held in his hand. He had been floored by Cliff’s praise.

Kadyn blinked as Cliff’s words sank in and a big smile brightened up his paint- speckled face. “Whoa, man, who’da thought? He really, really likes it” He grabbed up a chicken leg as he turned to Rene to see his friend’s take on what had been said.

Rene was grinning widely. “I really hoped he would. I know he comes across as a grump, but what’s not to like about making a children’s park friendlier?”

Cameron just grunted as he reached for something to eat. He’d really enjoyed painting the tiger for the kids, but he wasn’t ready to be sociable.

Jay fixed his plate and went to sit under the tree. He felt if he sat with the guys and Kadyn said something smart, he would say something to hurt his feelings again. Shaking his head, he took a tentative bite. KFC was not his choice of food but it filled the pit.

Billy couldn’t quite believe it when he heard Cliff’s praise. ‘Maybe he’s not so bad after all,’ he thought to himself. He felt good about him and Jay having taken the extra time to add a flowery vine to the sides of each tunnel. He looked around in time to see Jay go off by himself and shrugged. He’d done his best for his friend, so he turned to apply himself to the KFC. Mason didn’t allow it in the household and he intended to enjoy this break in his diet.

“Okay, listen up guys!” Chandi waited until he had everyone’s attention. “As soon as you’ve eaten your fill, you can gather up the debris and clean your brushes. Once everything has passed Cliff’s inspection, you’re free to go. Those of you who are being picked up can call home now and let your partners know you’ll be ready in about an hour. And before you say anything, Jason, I do remember you telling me you rode your bike over.”

“We’re allowed to leave early? Right on, man!” Kyler didn’t have to be told twice. He pulled his cell out of his pocket and began to dial home. He grinned when he saw a couple of the other guys doing the same thing.

“I better make that a bit longer than an hour,” Kadyn mused, holding his phone to his ear and bouncing impatiently as he waited for Vincent to answer. “I’ve got a few more things to do in order to complete my so-called masterpiece.” He smirked when he heard Rene’s chuckle.

Rene opened his cell to call Zack. His husband was at home, working on the books for the pharmacy. Their usual Sunday morning habit of lying in bed, reading the paper and making love, had been curtailed by Rene’s enforced community service. The younger man was hoping they could at least make up for some of that loss in the afternoon.

Cameron was straight onto his phone. “Chad, please come and get me. We’re being released early. Pack up the picnic blanket. I’ve got plans involving it and a certain clearing.”

Billy was also on his phone. “Mason, can you come and pick me up. I want to use one of my vouchers.”

When he saw the other guys get up, Jay made his way over to the table. “Kadyn, can I talk to you for a minute?” he requested, wondering how the younger man would respond.

“Sure thing,” Kadyn noticed the others slowly making their way back to the playground. He wasn’t exactly thrilled about being left behind on his own with Jason. His fingers tightened around the paper plate containing scraps that he had scrunched up to throw in the garbage while he waited for his antagonist to speak.

It didn’t take a fool to notice that Kadyn was nervous. “Relax, I’m not going to bite,” Jay told him, taking a deep breath. “I’m sorry for being such an ass this morning. I had no right snapping at you like that. It’s up to you, but I’d still like to be friends.” Jay held out his hand.

Picking up a note of sincerity in the other man’s voice, Kadyn accepted the extended hand and shook it. “Don’t sweat it,” he good-humouredly advised before running off to join the others.

Jay smiled. ‘That guy is way too hyper,’ he thought as he made his way over to the other guys.

Cliff was slowly walking around and closely inspecting the completed artwork. He couldn’t help smiling at the animals; the wide grins painted on them were contagious. “Great work, boys. You’ve really outdone yourselves. Maybe next year, you can volunteer to do it instead of having to as a result of causing mischief. Now just what do you feel you have left to do, Kadyn?”

“Ah, I’d like to paint a parrot on each wall of the bridge. If Rene will draw them for me, I can fill them in.”

“Sure, I’d be happy to,” Rene offered. “Just show me where you want them.” As he began the outline of the first parrot, his mind wandered over what Cliff had said about volunteering. The town had numerous public facilities that could use a bit of artistic flare. He’d seen some towns that had painted their fire hydrants to look like Dalmatians and wondered what he could come up with for a hydrant. Then there was the senior’s community centre that could some sprucing up. Yeah, there was a lot of potential.

“All right,” Cliff approved Kadyn’s plan. “The rest of you can collect the paint cans, rags and brushes, and take them back to the truck. Then get out of here. And I don’t expect to see any of you in disgrace on one of my work details again.”

Kyler, Cameron, Billy and Jason were quick to follow this last order and soon had the playground area cleared of painting supplies.

“Kyler, someone’s waiting for you!” Officer Quincy’s voice carried across the compound from where he and Chandi were standing by the exit leading to the parking lot.

A rushed goodbye to his friends and Kyler was off. “Hi Guys!” he hollered as he ran over to his partners. “We’re free! We’ve served our time and paid our debt to society.” Hugh and Patrick had promised to take him to the lake for a picnic if the community service was completed with enough time to spare. He was over-heated and sweaty, and definitely looking forward to a refreshing swim followed by whatever else came to mind. With luck, that activity would necessitate a second cooling-off time in the water.

Chad arrived minutes later and Cameron was never so glad to beat a hasty retreat.

“Did you bring the blanket?” he asked anxiously as he climbed into the Ranger.

“As if I’d dare forget,” Chad chuckled and leaned over to kiss his Brat. He knew exactly what his lover had in mind.

“See you around, guys,” Jason called as he walked to where he’d left his bike. “I am so outa here.”

Billy hopped into Mason’s truck when he turned up. He kissed his husband and murmured, “Missed you. Take me home and fuck me senseless.”

About half an hour later, Jack turned up on a motorcycle. He’d been working on getting his license in secret and wanted to surprise his Brat. “Where’s Jay?” he asked Cliff who was closest to the gate. On hearing that Jay had been let go early, he remounted the bike and roared off in pursuit.

With the last of the painting finally done, Rene and Kadyn tied up the trash bags and closed the back doors of the van. They turned to find Zack standing behind them.

The public had been barred from entering the fenced-in area of the playground. However, Chief Barrett did permit those with good cause to do so. Zack was one of them.

“I bet you’re both glad to have that over with,” Zack commented. He chuckled at the two of them covered in a multitude of colourful spots. His smile softened when he looked at his husband’s beautiful face.

“Hi!” Rene smiled at Zack’s arrival. He never failed to feel a thrill of excitement when his husband appeared. Just knowing he belonged to this incredible man was enough to get his pulse racing. “I’m sure glad we’re done for today, but I do have some ideas for other projects I’d like to share with you later.”

“I hear there’s someone needing a drive home,” Vincent’s voice teased as he walked up to them. He too had been given permission to enter. He paused to glance over his partner and shook his head. “You’re a real paint-magnet, Kadyn. Not quite as bad as yesterday though, so we might be able to save that outfit. At least we can keep it for any future activities that involve painting.”

“Vince, you gotta see the neat stuff we did!” Kadyn exclaimed after hugging his partner to show without words how happy he was to see him. He took the bigger man’s hand and began dragging him across to the newly-painted equipment.

Zack and Rene followed at a more leisurely pace.

“Looks like you guys are going to have your artistic talents splashed across the front page after all, Rembrandt.” Zack pointed to a photographer for the Jade Heights’ local newspaper taking pictures while a woman wrote down notes. “I wonder what Kadyn is telling them?” He smiled at the sight of a paint-splattered young man bouncing on the balls of his feet and excitedly waving his arms while imparting bits of what he apparently considered newsworthy information.

Zack’s curiosity was satisfied when the other couple joined them and Kadyn excitedly shared his news.

“I gave the reporter all the details and she’s gonna write up a story,” Kadyn announced, rather pleased with himself. “But I told her the whole scheme was your idea, Rene, and that the rest of us just went with the flow. We’re gonna have our names in the paper. There’s even gonna be pictures of our work.”

Rene was beaming. This is what his art should be about. Not the praise, but the enjoyment and pleasure it might give to those who viewed it.

“At least it’s the public playground and not something more personal and private.” Zack quipped and ruffled his lover’s hair.

Rene, Vincent, and Kadyn joined in the laughter as they headed out the gate.

The End