“We need to talk.”
Jeremy looked at Conrad curiously as he rose from his chair after finishing his lunch of high carb pasta salad. Dylan glanced at his watch and said to no one in particular, “Geoffrey should be leaving soon to pick up Dante and Andy at the train station.”
Jeremy stepped away from the table as the man turned and started up to the veranda and to the door to the atrium. The boy followed him inside until they were standing by the long koi pool. Conrad was holding something behind him and then held out a blue and turquoise swimsuit.
“Take your shorts off and put this on. Oh, and bring your boat shoes.”
“Why?” Jeremy asked with a grin.
“We’re going to the beach. Just you and me. I like Dante, but I’m not a big fan of Andy Daugherty. Besides, you need to play and have some fun while we’re here. You’re about to spend the next eleven months working that cute ass of yours off.”
“Just you and me?” Jeremy asked.
Conrad smiled and nodded. Jeremy grinned and said, “I’ll be right back!”
He had wondered why the dancer was wearing a Navy blue swimsuit with his green Izod. Now, running up the stairs as he grinned down at the man, he knew why. He felt his erection immediately pop up in his khaki shorts as he reached the second floor and he ran quickly to his bedroom.
Rafael was in there, changing into a different pair of tights, as Jeremy entered.
“What’s up, Jerm?” he asked with a cautious smile.
“Conrad’s taking me to the beach while you and Alistair work on The Gazelle this afternoon!”
“Cool,” Rafael replied with a reserved smile.
Jeremy noticed, as he quickly pulled off his shorts and underwear, how restrained was Rafael’s enthusiasm at the news. He stood before the teenager with his erection pointing toward him and flirtatiously sang, “Rah-fay-el. Would you like to suck my dick before we go?”
“Maybe Conrad can,” Rafael replied evenly as he looked away, carefully adjusting his tights.
Jeremy’s smile immediately disappeared as he asked, “Are you upset?”
Rafael exhaled and turned around. He tried to smile as he replied, “No. I’m not. I’m just…I love you and I know we have a relationship that lets us be with others sometimes and I know I’m…I’ve just never been in love before and it’s different and weird and I love you so much I can’t stand it, sometimes. I know you like Conrad. We talked about you last night. He likes you very much. He respects you and your motivation. I…I shouldn’t be jealous and I’m really not. I want you to have fun and tonight, when we go to bed, I will make love to you and we will be so happy.”
“I love you, Rafael,” Jeremy replied. “Don’t worry. I don’t think Conrad’s going to do anything sexy with me. He just wants to go to the beach and have some fun.”
Rafael smiled and said, “All right. In that case, go have some fun.”
Rafael grinned and kissed the boy before he sank to his knees and grinned. “I guess he’ll just have to wait a few minutes until I get my recommended daily allowance of Jeremy sperm.”
When the boy finally reappeared downstairs, clad in his swimsuit and yellow pullover, Conrad was nowhere to be seen. Concerned that he had offended the man by taking so long, he ran to the back, but Dylan, naked and about to jump into the pool, said that Conrad wasn’t back there. Jeremy ran to the front of the house and when he opened the front door, his panic subsided as he found the man sitting in his Porsche, listening to Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and smiling under his Ray-Bans.
“I won’t ask what took you so long,” Conrad remarked with a grin. “I’ll just see if you’re blushing.”
Jeremy giggled as he approached the car and Conrad studied him carefully. “Yes, I do believe I detect a bit of a blush! Was it fun?”
“Yes,” Jeremy replied shyly as he climbed over the door and dropped into the seat.
“There still seems to be a bit of swelling down there,” Conrad observed with another grin. “Didn’t he finish you off?”
“Yes,” Jeremy replied with exasperation. “It’s just that…well, sometimes he’s so good that I can’t go back down afterward.”
Conrad was about to make a comment he knew he would regret, but was cut-off by the horn of a Lincoln Continental. He looked in the mirror and Jeremy looked over his shoulder as Geoffrey drove up in Alistair’s car with two teenage boys in the backseat, one with golden blond hair and an imperious air about him, the other a black boy with a round face and closely cut hair.
“I believe Lord Daugherty has arrived,” Conrad declared with disdain, “with our school’s token Negro.”
Jeremy looked at Conrad with surprise and the man said, “I’ve been urging Alistair to try to recruit more black trainees. So far, Dante is the only one. I’m hoping more try out at the auditions next month.”
Geoffrey climbed from the car and saw that Andrew Daugherty was simply sitting there. The young man grinned at Conrad as he walked around the front of the Lincoln and over to the passenger side of the Porsche as he said, “I think his Lordship is waiting for me to open the door.”
Conrad grinned and asked, “Was it really bad?”
“Oh, man. It’s a four-minute drive from the station and I’m already on the verge of beating the Holy Fucking Shit out of him. If his father wins the election in ’72, God help the Secret Service and the servants in the White House.”
“Don’t worry,” Conrad replied as Dante shyly opened the other door and climbed out. “Someone will surely find pictures of Bobby Daugherty in bed with a hooker. Either that or Andy will get arrested in a Bronx shooting gallery next year.”
Dante slowly approached the car as Geoffrey said, “I’m off to take m’lord’s luggage up to his suite.”
Conrad grinned at Dante, who walked up and softly said, “I’m really sorry. He’s in kind of a bad mood today.”
Geoffrey smiled at the teenager and said, “Don’t worry. I know how to handle shits like him. I went to a whole school full of Andy Daughertys. In fact, I think we may be related. I have a great-grandmother who was a Daugherty. That may explain why I can’t stand my mother’s side of the family.”
Jeremy giggled as the young man walked back to the car. Conrad had turned down the radio and smiled at the black teen as he said, “It’s great to see you again, Dante. How has your summer been?”
“It was great,” the teenager replied with a toothy smile as he tried not to gawk at Jeremy, who discreetly placed his hands in his lap. “I went home to visit my mother and my folks and I’m back now to get some practice in before class starts. I’ve got to get back into shape.”
Walking past the rear door of the car Geoffrey slapped the window as the blond glared at him and he yelled, “Hey! Get a move on, there! I’m putting the car in the garage after I take up your suitcases! You don’t want to spend the rest of the day in there, do you?”
The boy shook his head and opened the door, declaring, “Good help is so hard to find these days.”
“Yeah?” Geoffrey replied as he lifted suitcases out of the trunk. “Tell that to your cousin Trip. He sucked my dick last April at Chad Wilhite’s party. He says you whine like a girl when he sucks yours.”
Andy looked at the young man with outrage and then huffed as he marched toward the Porsche. He looked at Conrad and nodded his head as he said, “Mr. Hartsfeld.”
“Andrew. It’s nice to see you again. Boys, this is Jeremy Fenwick. He’ll be joining Ballet Academy next month. He’s been training under Anna Pulchova.”
Andy pushed ahead of Dante and extended his hand with a smile as he quite obviously checked Jeremy out and said, “Hi! Andy Daugherty. You look pretty hot. You’re a good dancer?”
“Yes, I am,” Jeremy replied as he failed to resist checking out Andy, as well.
“Dante and I are third year dancers,” Andy said he smiled arrogantly. “You’ll have to come up and party with us tonight. Are you swimming this afternoon?”
“We’re going out to the beach,” Conrad replied, adding quickly, “I’m sorry we don’t have room. See you later.”
Before Andy could point out that he had two seats in the back, albeit tight ones, Conrad gunned he engine and sped away, giving Jeremy’s erection an extra surge.
“Did you see how that Andy guy was looking me over?” Jeremy asked as they sped through the trees and to the road in front of Alistair’s property. “I thought he was going to rip my clothes off!”
“He probably wanted to,” Conrad replied. “Would you let him?”
“No way,” Jeremy replied. “He’s a jerk.”
“Then why are you squeezing your penis?” Conrad asked with a grin.
Jeremy blushed deeply and said, “Actually…”
“You think Dante is sexier?”
Jeremy squirmed uncomfortably in his seat and then replied, “My parents would be horrified to hear me say this. Of course, my parents would be horrified if I liked any guy, but they’d be doubly horrified if they knew I liked a black guy, but yeah. I think Dante is really sexy. He’s got a great body and a nice face and…Do you think I’m sick or weird or wrong or something?”
Conrad turned onto the narrow road and gunned it. “Of course, not! I think it’s perfectly natural for you to find a black guy attractive. Even if you are a Southerner.”
“Hey, I’m not like the other people down there,” Jeremy declared quickly. “I’m not prejudiced. I think black people should be treated just like white people.”
“I think that’s very admirable of you, Jeremy. I’m proud of you, but if you keep squeezing your penis like that, I’m going to suggest you just pull it out and do it.”
Jeremy blushed again as he quickly released his erection. “I’m sorry,” he said softly as Conrad laughed.
“Don’t worry about it, Jeremy. You’re twelve and you’re a walking hormone right now. Besides, you just saw two hot fourteen-year-olds—and yes, Andy is sexy and Dante is very sexy—and you’re sitting in a Porsche 911 with a beautiful danseur. I’d be very surprised—and not a little disappointed—if you weren’t hard.”
Jeremy giggled shyly and said, “You’re a lot more relaxed today.”
“Yes, I am,” Conrad replied as they sped along the winding road. “I suppose it’s the good company I’m with.”
Jeremy smiled at him as he smiled back.
“You’re a very handsome man,” the boy said cautiously.
“Thank you,” Conrad replied. “I appreciate that, especially coming from such a beautiful boy as you.”
He reached over and squeezed Jeremy’s left hand before releasing it and downshifting as they passed the train station and came to Highway 27. He turned right onto the highway, but then turned left a block later on Atlantic Avenue.
“How far is it to the beach?”
“About a mile,” Conrad replied. “It’s at the end of this road.”
“Cool! I didn’t realize we were this close to the ocean!”
“Haven’t you seen the seagulls?”
Jeremy giggled and Conrad grinned as he asked, “How often have you been to the ocean?”
“Oh, lots,” the boy replied. “We used to go to Ft. Lauderdale a lot and Miami Beach. Dad has friends in Malibu and we went to Puerto Vallarta once.”
Conrad noticed that Jeremy had used the present tense when speaking of his father and the boy realized what he had said afterward. Before Jeremy could react, however, Conrad said, “There are some extraordinary beaches in the Mediterranean that you must visit. Perhaps if I go next year, you would honor me by accompanying me.”
“Really?” Jeremy asked with surprise.
Conrad nodded and said, “We’ll stop in Paris and Milan for a bit and I can introduce you to some friends of mine in the ballet world.”
Jeremy looked at the man with awe and said, “You’d do that for me?”
Conrad smiled at the boy as they slowed for the stop sign at Bluff Road. “You still don’t get it, do you, Jeremy. You don’t realize just where you are.”
“We’re in the Hamptons,” the boy replied with confusion.
Crossing the street and heading down the slight hill past Bluff Road, Conrad shook his head and said, “Jeremy, you’re at one of the finest ballet schools in the world. You’re one of the best twelve-year-old dancers in the country, maybe in the world. You’re at the top, Jeremy. You get personal attention from Alistair Mountjoy. You get to swim at the beach with Conrad Hartsfeld. You’ve arrived, Jeremy. You’ve made it. You’re here. You’re at the top. I don’t think you fully realize or grasp what this means. You’re at the top, Jeremy. All you have to do now is bleed and suffer and work until you drop from exhaustion to stay here. In return, Jeremy, you get to dance with the best and greatest in the world—and you get to accompany me to Paris and Milan and Majorca. Or maybe Mykonos.”
Jeremy stared ahead as he saw the beach approaching. He looked down at his feet, at the boat shoes, and shook his head.
“I guess I don’t really get it. Everything seems like a surprise to me, like I’m in a dream.”
Conrad slowed down and turned into an almost full parking lot to the left. He paid the parking fee to a man in the wooden shack guarding the lot and then pulled into one of the few parking spaces left. When he turned off the engine, he turned toward Jeremy and smiled.
“It will probably be a lot more real to you when you actually start your daily routine, your daily grind of getting up at dawn, doing your exercises, going to school, going to training, staying until eight or nine and then going home to do your school work and passing out over your algebra homework and waking up at dawn to start it all over again. Of course, when you’re thirteen or fourteen, you’ll start auditioning for some of the productions with roles for young dancers—Midsummer Night’s Dream, Peter Pan, Coppélia. You’ll start entering the competitions. Of course, all of that is in addition to what I described earlier, and then, by the time you’re Rafael’s age, assuming you haven’t had a nervous breakdown by then—and I’m not kidding here, Jeremy. I’m absolutely serious—assuming you haven’t had a nervous breakdown by then, then you start the real work. That’s why Andy Daugherty does drugs. That’s why Rafael turns the showers into a daily orgy. They do these things to stay sane because of all the pressure. But, with the pressure, if you survive, come great rewards, as well, and one of those rewards, Jeremy Fenwick, is that you get to go to Paris with Conrad Hartsfeld and lie on the beach with me in Majorca—or here at Amagansett.”
Jeremy looked at him with determination. “I understand. I know it’s going to be hard work. And, I’m grateful that men like Alistair and you are helping me. I’m so grateful. I think you’re the most wonderful man I’ve ever met—except for my father, of course. I won’t let you down, Conrad. I swear. I will work as hard as I can. I’ll make you proud. I will.”
“I know you will,” Conrad replied, “which is why we have to get out of this car now, take that blanket in the back and that cooler down to the beach before the afternoon is over, and have some fun.”
Jeremy giggled and replied, “All right!”
They climbed from the car and Conrad said, “Wait a moment.”
He walked around to Jeremy, leaned into the car and removed a tube of suntan oil and dropped to his knees before the boy.
“Take your shoes off for a moment,” he ordered as he squirted cream onto his hand. Jeremy did as he was told and then Conrad began to apply the cream to the top of his feet, to his calves and knees and up his thighs, as high as inside the leg openings of his swimsuit. Jeremy felt an instant erection form with the man’s touch on his bare skin, but this time he was not embarrassed, even when Conrad looked up and saw the rise in Jeremy’s swimsuit right in his face, just inches away.
“Take off your shirt,” the man said huskily.
Jeremy did as he was told, his hands trembling as Conrad stood and applied more ointment to the boy’s back. As he rubbed it in, he also massaged the boy’s back, paying careful attention to his lower back and his shoulders. Jeremy turned to lean on the car and moaned audibly. Conrad smiled, fighting his own urges to spin the boy around and kiss him passionately. When he was finished, he ordered Jeremy to face him and when the boy did, Conrad applied more cream to the boy’s chest and stomach. As his hands slid over the boy’s nipples, Jeremy moaned loudly and Conrad quickly withdrew his hands.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly as he resumed his work, avoiding the boy’s two large, erect nipples.
“That’s…okay,” the boy mumbled. “It just…felt so…good.”
“Yes, um, yes. I understand,” the man replied as he finished the boy’s stomach and went to work on his neck and face.
“We don’t want you to look like a lobster tomorrow night when you perform for everyone, do we?” he said as he smiled into Jeremy’s eyes.
“You’re so…kind and wonderful and…”
Conrad placed a finger on Jeremy’s lips and said, “That’s enough, Little Man. Let’s go hit the beach now.”
In a shaky voice full of lust, Jeremy asked, “Don’t you want me to put some on you?”
Conrad reached into the back of the car and removed a large beach towel as he replied, “I already took care of that. Here.”
He pulled the ice chest out of the car and took one handle as Jeremy grabbed the other. The boy slipped his feet back into his Topsiders and the two proceeded toward the beach.
“This looks familiar,” Jeremy said as they walked past the dune grass and onto the beach. “It’s like I’ve been here before.”
“The beaches in the Hamptons are famous,” Conrad replied. “Maybe you’ve seen pictures of it.”
“That’s it!” Jeremy cried. “There’s a picture on Teddy’s desk back at the apartment of Alistair and Rafael when Rafael was twelve standing here on this beach! That’s where I saw it!”
“That’s quite possible. We’re only a couple of miles from Alistair’s house,” Conrad replied.
They found an empty spot on the crowded beach and set the cooler down before Conrad spread out the towel. Jeremy slipped his Topsiders off and stood barefoot in the warm sand as he looked around with a huge grin on his face.
“It’s not very hot here,” he stated. “Don’t they have summertime in New York?”
“They do,” Conrad replied as he opened the cooler and tossed a liter bottle of Perrier to the boy. “It can get in the nineties here, but not like it does for the whole summer down where you’re from. It’s probably around eighty right now, but don’t let the temperature fool you. You can still get a nasty sunburn. It’s also important that we stay hydrated. You and I are going to have a workout tonight!”
Jeremy nodded as he drank his water and looked around. He then giggled to himself as he thought of the kind of workout he’d like to have with Conrad. The Man raised his eyebrow at the boy and kicked some sand on his legs.
“Behave, boy, or I may have to toss you out in the water.”
“Oh, yeah, Old Man?” Jeremy replied as he screwed the cap back on his bottle. He tossed his sunglasses onto the blanket as he set the bottle down and said, “You have to catch me first!”
He took off running through the sand toward the very water that Conrad had threatened to dunk him in. The man followed, not trying very hard to catch him, as he called, “Don’t ever challenge the great Conrad Hartsfeld, young man! Others have rued the day they were so foolish!”
“Words, words!” Jeremy cried as he abruptly turned at the damp sand. The surf flowed over his feet as he ran, causing him to splash and lose speed. “Blah! Blah!”
However, the loss of speed was enough for Conrad, not really trying, to catch up and grab Jeremy. He lifted the squealing boy into the air and threw him over his shoulder before marching out into the surf.
“Let me down!” Jeremy cried with laughter. “Let me down!”
“Oh, I will!” Conrad replied. “Believe me!”
He had gone far enough that the waves were riding to his chest before he leaned forward and threw Jeremy, his arms and legs flailing wildly, into the water. Conrad laughed as he watched the coughing boy rise and fling the water from his face. Jeremy laughed and then lunged forward, knocking the man over into the water. For several minutes, they wrestled in the periodic waves, laughing and calling out challenges to each other until Jeremy began to tire. Then, for several minutes, they stared out at the vast expanse of water, watching the waves coming to shore, gazing up at the sky and the thin, wispy cirrus clouds above. Conrad stepped over to Jeremy and dropped down.
“Climb on my shoulders,” he said and Jeremy did so, his erection pressing into the back of Conrad’s neck as the man stood.
“This is so beautiful,” the boy exclaimed.
“Yes, it is,” Conrad replied. “You should see the clear, blue Mediterranean sky. It would take your breath away.”
“I want to see it,” Jeremy replied adding after a second, “With you.”
“You will,” the man replied as he turned to the side and began walking parallel to the shore, the waves washing gently over his right side. Soon they turned and walked back ashore toward their blanket. Conrad let the boy down as they reached their spot and Jeremy looked up at the man with love before they sat down on the blanket.
“This is such a beautiful place,” Jeremy said softly.
“Yes, it is,” Conrad replied.
“I don’t think I’ve been this happy in a long time,” Jeremy added. “I don’t remember the last time I was this happy.”
Conrad ruffled the boy’s damp hair and leaned back on his arms. Spreading his legs, he said, “Sit in here and lean back against me.”
Jeremy smiled and nodded, sitting down between his legs and leaning back against his torso. He could feel Conrad’s erection pressing against his butt, but he did nothing to encourage the man, though he softly declared, “I love you, Conrad.”
“I know, Jeremy,” he replied. “And, I love you.”
For a long moment, neither spoke, though Conrad could look down Jeremy’s body and see the boy’s erection quite plainly poking the swimsuit outward. He sighed heavily.
“You do realize, Jeremy, that you and I can’t…go to bed together.”
There was a long pause before Jeremy replied, “I know.”
“It doesn’t mean that I care for you any less. Quite the contrary. I love you very much, Jeremy and that’s why I can’t have sex with you.”
“I know, but I don’t understand why.”
Conrad looked down and inhaled Jeremy’s red hair. The boy added, “I know you dated Dylan.”
“Yes, I did,” Conrad replied. “And, I dated Dante Harris and Andy Daugherty, too.”
Jeremy turned his head and looked up at Conrad with surprise as he replied, “Andy? I mean, yeah, I can understand Dante. He’s hot. I love his body and his black skin is sexy and he looks like he’s really sweet. But, Andy Daugherty?”
“Yeah, well, it wasn’t for his personality. I used him and he used me. I wanted an entree to Dante, because Dante is staying with the Daughertys and Andy wanted to get fucked by one of the greatest dancers in the world. You have to admit, though, that he’s sexy.”
Jeremy shrugged as he looked out over the ocean and lay his head back against Conrad’s shoulder. “He’s okay. I like his golden hair. It’s pretty. And, he has a nice body and a nice tan.”
“He’s never going to amount to anything,” Conrad said. “He doesn’t deserve to be at Ballet Academy. He’s here because of his family’s money. They know it and he knows it. He does the bare minimum necessary to keep from being kicked out. He’ll never be anything, though, and there’s no way to get into his head and rescue him from the future he’s set out for himself. It’s a shame, really.”
“He doesn’t really have to do anything, does he?” Jeremy replied. “I mean, doesn’t he get his trust fund when he’s twenty-one?”
“I suppose, if you want a life of drifting aimlessly from one party to the next until you OD on pills or heroin or whatever’s in his future. Dante’s different, though. He knows his escape from Tupelo, Mississippi is through Ballet Academy of America and he’s going to do everything he can to succeed. I admire Dante and I have to admit that I briefly considered mentoring him…until you came along.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Because you have more promise,” Conrad replied, “and because there are several dancers who are willing to help Dante. Because you…you’re special, Jeremy. There’s something about you that makes you different from any of the other dancers at Ballet Academy. And, I love you.”
Jeremy closed his eyes and felt Conrad’s heartbeat as he lay against the man.
“So, if you love me and I’m special, then why can’t we have sex like Rafael and I do?”
“Well, because I’m afraid that would change the relationship we have. I want to mentor you, I want to help train you. I want to work with you to make you the truly extraordinary dancer you can be, and I don’t want to complicate that with sex. Does that make sense.”
“I guess,” Jeremy replied. “But, what if I want it?”
Conrad kissed the top of the boy’s head and said, “Maybe I’m doing this more for me than you. Maybe it would make it difficult for me to mentor you if I complicate things with sex.”
Jeremy turned around and faced the man before he declared, “I love you and I’d let you do anything you want to me.”
Conrad frowned and took a deep breath as he looked around at the other people on the beach. “Jeremy, we need to be more discreet here on the beach.”
The boy blushed and nodded as he scooted away and picked up his Perrier bottle. As he unscrewed the cap, he said, “You’re the most beautiful man in the world and I would do anything for you.”
“I know, Jeremy. You know, I grew up in the suburbs of Boston before I came to Ballet Academy and they use the word ‘wicked’ a lot there as an adverb. They’ll say ‘She’s wicked hot’ or ‘He’s wicked smart.’ Well, Jeremy, you are a wicked fantastic dancer and you are wicked sexy and wicked beautiful. You’re a wicked boy, Jeremy.”
He thought it curious when the expression on the boy’s face changed. Jeremy turned and looked out across the Atlantic. For several minutes, neither spoke until Jeremy finally drank the last of his Perrier. He rose and said—with a decided lack of enthusiasm, “Let’s go swim more.”
Conrad nodded, but said, “We’ll have to leave soon, though.”
Jeremy nodded and then began to walk toward the water. Conrad followed him to the edge of the surf, where the boy seemed to study the ocean thoughtfully before he took Conrad’s hand and walked out into the water.