Lincoln's Pride Ch. 03

"No, Lincoln, you can't come with me. I need you here today," Mr. Hamad said and waved to my work area in his office. "Caleb is late, but that's normal. You just need to show him some of what you do and make sure he doesn't buy anything. Just babysit him until his real business manager comes back tomorrow. I have some last minute meetings before our flight tonight."

He was moving around his desk, deciding which files he would take with him. I adjusted my grey tie by the window and looked out over the city knowing it might be the last time I saw Los Angeles for a long while. I wish I had made time to see my family before we left, but I had video signed with my dad and he understood. I had told him all about the bee incident and using the epipen and still feeling sore. He said I should be grateful to be alive and grateful to Mr. Hamad for not firing me.

"Lincoln? Are you listening?" I heard his voice right behind me as I was leaned against the window. I felt his warm breath on my neck and my skin tingled where the air had brushed. "Lincoln, little one, are you having an attack still from the bee sting?"

"Sorry sir, I just got lost in the view," I admitted with a bit too much sadness in my tone. I started to turn to his voice. He was still uncomfortably close behind me and I turned directly into him. He stopped me with a hand on my shoulder and then pushed me back to look out at the window as he pressed in behind me. His brawny, warm chest felt good on my still sore back muscles.

"Focus, little one. I know you will miss your world here, but we will return when possible," He put strong hands on either of my shoulders and gave them a squeeze like the massage he gave me in the doctor's office. I relaxed under his touch and woodsy cologne. I breathed him into me as he roughly worked my sore muscles.

I was still a bit groggy from the medication working its way out of my system. He rubbed me with concern. He leaned over me and his cheek brushed against mine as he asked, "Does that feel better? Still sore, little warrior?"

I nodded against his bristled cheek and admitted, "A bit, sir... but that feels better."

I closed my eyes for a second and then felt him draw me back against him for a tight hug. His hands rubbed over my abs and I tightened them at his touch, arching my back to show them off to him. His beard prickled my smooth cheeks as he put his chin over my shoulder again, his face next to mine so we could look out over the city together.

He leaned me forward then, pressing his thumbs into my lower back to continue the massage. My ass pushed back against him as my face touched the glass. His package pressed in between my cheeks separated only by thin dress pants and the thin, sheer black briefs I'd watched him stuff his snake into this morning when he came out of the shower.

I felt his bulge press into me, thick but soft. My hole twitched and my cheeks clenched it in a hug that betrayed my secret interest in him. I didn't want him like that. I knew I couldn't, but my body ignored my protests.

My face turned back to him, pressing my cheek against the cold window as my eyes turned to look at him. He looked down at me with intent as his hands massaged my back, my ass pushed hard against him. His look, concerned but not sexual. He was intent on making me feel better and I suddenly realized how dirty I was being, pushing up against him. I turned red and he caught me, his expression relaxed into a forgiving smile.

"It's ok, baby blue eyes," he assured, "You're still coming down from the medicine." He understood. I sighed relief.

"It's the first time you are away from your family and the only culture you've ever known. I get that, little one, but I'll be your family until you can see them again. I will take care of you and help you adjust. I will be your father and help you grow into the man you are to become," Mr. Hamad had something in his voice with that last part. It wasn't his normal, self-assured imperative tone. He pulled me up away from the window and back into a hug. He started to rub his beard against my cheek in soft, upward lifts.

"I know i'll be ok sir," I relaxed my back against his chest and he held me up with ease. "I will make you proud and learn everything you can teach me," I breathed him in and closed my eyes.

My skin felt a wave of goosebumps in his warm, protective arms. From the outside, we must have looked like two buff gay queers readying for their honeymoon in Queeristan. But from the inside... deep inside his protective muscled hold... it made sense. Somewhere between friendship and family, he held me and it felt primeval, this was how it was supposed to be, since time began. He held me until the anxiety passed and then he kept on just because it fit. We said nothing to each other, it would have ruined it.

"I'm late for group hug? Damnit! Traffic was a bitch," a sing-song gay voice shattered our silence and I heard an awful scraping as Mr. Hamad clenched his teeth. Caleb caused him pain, confusion, anxiety. I wanted to hurt Caleb. I had become oddly protective over my mentor, my protector.

"Yes, that's why you leave early," Mr. Hamad's tone was angry, annoyed by the intrusion. He tore away from me after pausing to kiss my cheek. The simple gesture let me know I wasn't painful, not confusing, nor did I bring him anxiety. I wasn't the cause of his angry tone. I was simple, pleasant, punctual. I win.

With that, Mr. Hamad grabbed his case and headed out past Caleb. The two exchanged an awkward kiss with sloppy tongues. Well... it was awkward for me and there seemed to be an air of obligation to it. I wasn't used to seeing guys do that, but Mr. Hamad was foreign and seemed to have odd relationships with the blonde boys in his life. I mean ours wasn't exactly the standard boss/intern... but it worked.

Caleb had worn a suit today and he actually didn't look too bad. His blonde hair was gelled up nicely, and floated higher as he gave a loud yawn of perfectly white teeth.

I stayed by the window in the last bits of warmth as Mr. Hamad's aura escaped the room. My heart sank at his absence. He hadn't left me with another person since we'd been together. He would be back. I smoothed my suit and tucked my shirt back into my pants, willing my hard cock back before I turned around. I just needed to babysit this guy and keep him happy.

"Coffee, intern!" Caleb sang to me as he floated in and tossed a leather work case on the desk. A few fashion magazines tumbled out along with a gold cased iPad. I moved to pack them back nicely and saw the bag had not much else inside it save for a pack of gum.

I went for the phone and asked the secretary to have coffee sent up. Caleb sat in Mr. Hamad's oversized leather chair as though it were a familiar spot. He laid back and swiveled around to look out the window. I saw his black leather shoes pop up on the back table.

I let him be and went back to last minute data entry since he seemed ok with quiet. The coffee arrived in fancy paper cups and I wondered if he had fallen asleep. I debated disturbing him as it could mean I could get some work done while still following Mr. Hamad's imperative.

"Well, babysitter? Coffee?" an impatient voice sounded from behind the big chair.

"Oh yes of course, Mr..." I didn't know what to call him.

"Caleb, just...Caleb. Bring it over. You're my personal slave for today. I'm assuming you've already been informed of that," He sounded annoyed and fumbled to exert control through his tone.

I went to him and walked around the chair to see him playing on his phone. The sunglasses were off and his blue eyes surveyed me appraisingly.

"Do you need anything else, sir?" I said, placing the coffee in his outstretched hand.

"Caleb, call me Caleb. And no. Just need to wake up," he said lazily and took a sip at the cup.

"Ok, well take your time. I am working on things over here. I can show you whenever you're ready," I said and backed away slowly. I really didn't get his relationship with Mr. Hamad, especially after seeing the caliber of muscle man who begged to be with him. This guy was ok looking, thin, toned and athletic but in a gay way like one of those little russian swimmer dudes you see in the olympics. Not one of the good ones either. I guessed Mr. Hamad was into that.

****

He slept for a solid hour or more until Mr. Hamad's phone rang on his desk. I cursed myself for not telling the secretary to not disturb us. I had just finished the last of the work I needed to do though, so I quickly jumped to answer it.

It was Mr. Hamad checking in. He laughed when I said Caleb was asleep and we immediately heard Caleb yell, "Am not!" from behind me. Caleb demanded the phone and I passed it to him and went to packing my computer and filed the papers I had completed.

"Yes, daddy, he already showed me what I need to do," I heard Caleb say in a baby talk voice. "Daddy?" I thought to myself. I shuddered and shook my head. I had gotten somewhat desensitized to the gay world this past week being in West Hollywood, but it still creeped me out hearing a grown man call his... whatever it was, things like that. It wasn't like that between me and Mr. Hamad, no, not at all. I was determined that it wouldn't be that way.

I was glad Mr. Hamad didn't try to come on to me like that. I needed this internship or whatever it is. We weren't like that at all, I reassured myself. Caleb turned to look at me as he was finishing up on the phone, "Yes daddy, he is taking good care of your -ittle -aby cub," his whiny little boy voice made me cringe inside, but I raised my eyebrows and nodded to be agreeable.

I looked at the clock, it was just past noon. Mr. Hamad had promised to be back by 5 since our flight was that evening. We'd checked out of the hotel and everything was packed in the trunk of his rental car. I sighed to myself.

Caleb and I decided to go for lunch and that's when things went from bad to worse. Caleb led me down Santa Monica Boulevard to this string of gay places. He kept trying to hold my hand as we walked but I pulled it away insistently. I was not his to hold. I wanted that clear to every passerby.

"You know if I really hit the weights, I could be your twin, or maybe older brother, but not by much. I bet you have a tight little body under that suit," Caleb said with a laugh after ordering us sandwiches at a small place filled with business guys on their lunchbreak. The place was narrow but long, and the tables were close together.

This pair of older guys, maybe 30's, in suits were seated next to us and the taller one kept looking over at me. He was a thick muscular man with an expensive black suit. He had a thick, black, neatly trimmed beard, thick brown lips and round brown eyes. He looked Arab, like he could be Mr. Hamad's cousin. I got distracted by the way he eyed me like he knew me from somewhere.

"Oh um, yeah totally bro," I said to Caleb dismissively and looked back at the man staring me down. He took a sip of his coffee and raised a thick, dark eyebrow at me and gave a nod. I couldn't take my eyes off him as though his stare simply wouldn't allow it. He was superior and held me in his gaze.

I gave a half smile not wanting to offend him. Then he nodded his head away from our tables in two quick movements with a slight smile. I followed his eyes and saw a sign for the restroom. I shook my head no and turned to see that Caleb had caught on to the situation.

"You're staring at my slave. Do you require his services? He is trained quite well and responds to pain." Caleb interjected with a deadly serious look and the Arab guy turned to him with an incredulous smile.

"Seriously?" his deep voice crept out between his curled up brown lips.

"No!" I said, "He's... No sir, he's just messing with you really. I'm straight... sir..."

"Silence sluthole!" Caleb commanded, still holding a straight face. "Just for that I insist you go extra rough on that ass. He's taken five men already this morning, but I guess he's yet to be broken."

"Woah, I just thought he was a cute kid. Thanks anyway, man," the guy said looking at me with controlled disgust. His lunch partner, a thin white guy in a nice suit shot me the same look.

"He's joking, really... He thinks this is funny... uh but thanks... but... um, no thanks," I held up my hands and must have been bright red. Caleb held up his phone and snapped a picture of my expression before busting out in laughs. He was really enjoying this and I hated him more.

The man adjusted his tie and then reached down to adjust something else. He gave me a smile, the disgust in his eyes had turned to amused adoration. "Don't let him get to you, cutie. You get used to that stuff around here," he said and I blushed some more. He reached across the table and stroked the back of my hand with a strong brown finger. I felt the warmth I normally got from Mr. Hamad. I bit my lip and looked up at him. I didn't pull away.

"It's ok... sir," I don't know why I added sir. Something about the man, the expensive suit, the commanding but soft way of speaking, the scent of cologne that wafted invitingly across the table, reminded me of Mr. Hamad's presence. He kept his eyes on me as I ate my sandwich.

"You're not from around here, eh?" the Arab man said to me a few minutes later. Caleb raised an eyebrow while chewing on a pickle, loving the continued advances the man made towards me.

"Up north sir," I said, shoving a chip into my mouth.

"He's mountain people. First week in the big city," Caleb interrupted. "Tonight we're shipping him off to the Middle East, Satra to be exact, so he better get used to lions like you... sir."

"Satra?" the man said and looked at me as though he expected this to be another joke.

I nodded, "Yes sir, I am interning with Mr. Hamad, Samir Hamad of the Hamad family." I volunteered too much information.

"My cousin!," he exclaimed. I perked up, feeling instant comfort with him.

"I had heard he was getting a new cub. I'm Nabil! Come! Let me look at you!" He stood and I followed his moves. His height eclipsed me by a few inches. I was looking up a little as he squeezed my biceps, my pecs, patted my abs. He felt strangely free to explore me as though I were the new car his cousin had purchased.

"Yes, very nice. too nice for Samir!" he joked, "I heard his former cub was lazy, soft, weak. You are very fit, any lion would be proud to call you his."

"I am not his former cub! And Lincoln is just an intern!" Caleb was red and nearly yelling from behind Nabil.

"I apologize," Nabil said without taking his eyes or hands off of me, "But he does look more like a replacement."

"Let's go Lincoln, I'm done here," Caleb poured venom over his words.

"Oh," Nabil turned to eye him for a split second and then decided he wasn't interesting. He turned back to me and the smile returned to his eyes. He issued half-hearted apologies to Caleb, "Sorry, you are very... um nice as well."

"I said, 'let's go!' Lincoln! Now! Come, Intern!" Caleb stormed towards the door. I scrambled past Nabil but realized we hadn't paid the check.

"Oh the check," I exclaimed and stopped, turning to the table to pull out my wallet.

"No no, this is on me. I have caused you trouble," Nabil said and reached for his wallet. He pulled a business card and held it towards me. "Tell Samir I say hello and wish his family the best. Tell him I very much approve of his new boy and look forward to seeing you back in the homeland myself."

"Thank you sir," I said and reached for his business card, but he pushed past me and slipped it into the back pocket of my suit pants and then squeezed the cheek a little too hard as I let out an "Ahhhh" as his ear pressed close to my lips.

I straightened up as the now familiar chill of a powerful Arab man handling me spread through me. "Goodbye, sir," I said and he released me with a soft kiss to the cheek. He swatted my ass as I walked quickly to catch up with Caleb.

******

"You were just SO totally into him, weren't you?" Caleb asked as I stepped out of the cafe. He'd waited for me, sulking against a metal streetlight pole with a rainbow banner.

"No," I said with a snort, "No way dude. I'm not into guys. He's just Mr. Hamad's family and all. I wanted to make a good impression. Why do you queers think every dude is just three sips away from sucking cock?," I spat, suddenly angry with him and exhausted by his constant tantrums.

I'd wheeled around, met angry stares, and suddenly realized my comments were not appreciated by the mostly gay passers-by.

"Of course you're not into guys like me, but them... they're different, right? You get that. I saw how you react to their touch," Caleb prodded.

"What does that mean?" I laughed and looked away from him as a light blush settled in across my cheeks. He started to walk on and I followed him quietly hoping his short attention span would turn quickly to something else.

"You know what I mean, Lincoln," he said putting a hand on my arm as we got near the entrance of Mr. Hamad's building. He loved squeezing my biceps and I usually encouraged it with a flex when he did it. Who doesn't enjoy a little adoration.

"They're not like us. It's why I fell for Samir in the first place. They just have this power over guys like us. Gay or straight, it doesn't make much of a difference. Blonde boys and dark men, it's primal. At some point in history or evolution we must have lived under their power. Genetically our bodies never got over it. They growl and we bow," he looked serious for once.

Caleb squeezed my bicep and added, "It's not about gay or straight. It's like we're not even from the same planet as them. They feel it too, this need to protect and dominate us. They need us like we need them."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Mr. Hamad is my boss, like a big brother who is teaching me how to be a shark like he is. That's all it is bro. Sorry to pop your little jerk off fantasy. It's just not going to go that way for me. I'm not like... you," I said as my mind turned his words over.

"Keep telling yourself that, cowboy. It might sound a little funny in your head though when you find yourself bent over his desk getting rid like a bronco," Caleb couldn't let it go without the last word. I decided to give it to him. I still had a babysitting job to complete.

We got back up to the office without incident and my body heaved a sigh of relief as I closed the door behind Caleb.

"So what do we do with three hours to kill before Samir comes back? You finished everything, right?" Caleb asked as he stretched out on the couch.

"Yeah, I guess. I was going to show you how to enter data and file things to at least pretend like you earn some of your salary," I started.

"Nope, not interested, but I could help you out with something you will definitely want to learn to control," Caleb looked at me with a smile.

"Uh, like what?" I said with hesitation, unlikely to entertain whatever he was going to propose.

"Have you been on an airplane before?" He asked but didn't wait for an answer, "Of course you haven't. And you ESPECIALLY haven't been on the kind the Hamad family flies. It's not normal seats. You'll be in a little pod with two seats that slide out into short beds. 13 hours, Linc. 13 hours of breathing his air, his power, sweat, cologne. I know what it does to me and I bet it does the same for you, right?"

"He smells like a dude, I guess. I don't go around sniffing people to get off, man," I tried to sound convincing. He was talking about my secret world with Mr. Hamad as though he were a part of it. A twinge of anger rose in me.

Caleb just rolled his eyes. "You'll want to sleep and maybe you will, for a little bit. But even then you'll be pressed together in the little pod. And god help you if he's behind you. He'll put you by the window, give you a line about seeing the view. He'll be behind you, have you helpless and trapped in his space. I doubt he'll give you alcohol because you're only 18 and he is genuinely concerned about your health and growth. But he'll give you something, a pill."