“Wait.” Bruce got up and turned out the lights. He switched on a stereo set, and soft music spread gently over the room. Then he crossed back in front of Kevin, with the light from the foyer behind him, and slowly began to undress.
Kevin forced himself to sit quietly and watch. His whole body was bursting with lust, but he controlled the impulse to rush over to Bruce and tear the clothes from his body. He just sat on the couch and let his desire build even more as he admired the slim, olive-skinned beauty of the boy’s torso.
When Bruce had stripped completely, he poised naked before Kevin. The older man stared at the sinewy figure which seemed to ripple in the light-glow for a long moment. Then he got up abruptly and quickly took off his own clothes.
“Ahh, look at that,” Bruce said. “Isn’t that lovely?” He stood directly in front of Kevin and caressed him intimately-knowingly.
Kevin pulled the boy close to his hairy chest and kissed him again. He drew him down to the couch and lay beside him, fondling him. He murmured in Bruce’s ear and was rewarded by the boy’s mouth seeking out the sensitive parts of his body. Finally, his hands were eager on the boy’s hips, trying to turn him.
“No,” the boy whispered. “Not like that. Like this.”
He knelt beside the couch and lay his head on Kevin’s knee.
“Ahh, there’s a good lad,” Kevin said. “Aye, that’s right, me hungry darlin’. Oh, yes, sure that’s the way. Oh, ’tis madness you’re drivin’ me to. There! There! That’s it!” His fingers tangled convulsively in the boy’s hair and he half-rose from the couch as he felt the passion expertly drained from his body.
Later they lay side by side in each other’s arms. Kevin stroked Bruce lazily, tenderly, without lust. For the moment Kevin was at peace, although he knew from experience that it was a moment which couldn’t last.
“Have you been in the life long, lad?” he asked idly.
“I started in prep school. Bob and I started together.”
“An’ who would Bob be?”
“My roommate.” Bruce nodded toward the closed bedroom door off the foyer. “We’ve known each other since we were twelve years old.”
“Have you now? Well, judgin’ from the surroundin’s, one o’ you must come of a pretty wealthy family.”
“I guess we both do. When we were kicked out of school, our families didn’t want us around. So they agreed to foot the bill for this place if we’d stay in New York while they lived down the disgrace.”
“Caught corn-cobbin’ were you now?”
“Yes. And drummed out of prep school. Drummed out of our families too, I guess. Except for them paying us to stay out of their sight.”
“A sad tale.” Kevin chuckled. “Still, I’d hardly say you’d been forced into a life o’ hardship. One thng’s puzzlin’ me, though.”
“What’s that?”
“‘Well, if you an’ this Bob’s so chummy an’ all, an’ you’re so fond o’ one another that you stay together, then how is it you play around with other fellows?”
“That’s easy. We just grew up a little. See, when we started with each other, it was fun mostly because it was so forbidden. But when we came to New York, It began to pall. And we were honest enough with each other to admit the reason. You see, both of us get our big kick the same way. We both want a man to love us; neither of us wants to play at being the man. So we sort of work as a team to find men to give us our kicks.”
“I see. And did you get them tonight, me darlin’ ?”
“Did I ever! Kevin, you’re the best I’ve had in a long time. And did I satisfy you?”
“That you did, laddie. That you did!”
At that moment the door to the bedroom opened. A boy’s voice called out. “Everybody decent in there, Bruce? We’d like to join you for a drink.”
“Just a minute. I guess we’d best put our pants on,” he told Kevin. “After all, I don’t know how shockable Bob’s friend might be.”
“Right you are.” Kevin got dressed.
Bruce pulled on his pants and kicked the rest of his clothes under the couch. “Okay, Bob, come on in,” he called as he turned on the lights. Kevin continued dressing, feeling more secure when fully clothed.
A slim blond lad, almost a fair-complexioned counterpart of Bruce, entered. He was followed by a tall man in his forties who had a powerful build that looked as if it was running to fat. Introductions were made on a first-name basis all around, and the man's name was Phil.
The boys went to the bar together to make some drinks and stood there giggling and chattering in subdued voices like a pair of schoolgirls comparing notes after a date. Phil sat down across from Kevin and smiled pleasantly at him. “Swingin’ kids, hey?” he said after a moment.
“So ’twould seem.”
“Mine’s a real hot baby. How’s yours?”
“As sweet an’ sizzlin’ as you might want.”
“Yeah? Hey, maybe later we could play switch.”
Kevin looked Bob up and down for a moment. “Now that might be very nice indeed,” he said after a moment.
“Good. Then it’s settled. Say,” Phil winked, “ain’t they experienced for such youngsters, though?”
“Bruce is for sure.”
“So’s Bobby. I wonder just how old they are, anyway.”
“Oh, eighteen or nineteen, I’d guess,” Kevin said.
“I’ll bet they’re younger. I’m gonna ask them. Hey, Bobby,” he called. “How old are you kids, anyway?”
“Seventeen.”
“Both of you?” Phil wanted to know.
“Yes. Our birthdays are only a month apart.”
“Well,” Phil smiled and got to his feet. “Whaddaya know about that?” He stred down at Kevin with a small smile. “It looks like you’re the patsy, after all.”
“I’m not followin’ you.”
“You see,” Phil said calmly, “if they were over eighteen, I’d nail ’em for soliciting. But they’re too young for anything but a delinquency charge. So that leaves you as the fall guy for impairing the morals of a minor.”
“What’s that you’re sayin’ ?” Comprehension spread slowly over Kevin’s face. “Is it a bull you are then?”
“You got it. I’m a vice cop, and this is a pinch.”
“Wait just a minute, now.” Kevin got to his feet slowly. “Where the hell do you come off pinchin’ me? After you lovin’ it up in the bedroom with the lad over there? Or was it marbles you was after playin’ in there? Is that what you expect me to be believin’ ?”
“Think what you want, pal. You can’t prove nothin’ on me. I’m just doing my duty. You’re the one’s under arrest.”
“Under arrest am I?” Kevin’s face grew purple with rage. From the corner of his eye he saw the two boys standing frozen and staring at them. “And for what? I’ve done nothing you haven’t done yourself.”
“I didn’t do anything,” Phil said, still calm. “And if I did, you couldn’t prove it.”
“Nor can you prove that I have.”
“Oh, but I can. You see, you told me yourself. Of your own free will. And by the time l get through with those two boys over there, you can be sure they’ll bear me out.”
“But why?” Kevin’s voice shook. “Why are you out to get me? You never even set eyes on me before this night.”
“Because I can’t stand pansies,” the detective told him softly.
That’s when Kevin hit him. He hadn’t known he was going to until after he threw the punch. It caught the detective flush on the jaw and he went down hard, cracking his head against the leg of the couch as he hit the floor.
For a moment nobody moved. Kevin stood over the detective with his fist still clenched. The two boys stood across the room and stared at him with their mouths open. It had happened so quickly they were all three stunned.