(Joshua's POV - Sunday 6 July 2014)

Fuck! I almost burnt myself stirring the charcoal chunks in the barbecue pit. The sun is already burning high in the sky, warming my back, and the heat coming from the fire in front of me doesn't help on my bare chest. Mark chuckles beside me as he waits for the embers to get hot enough before Mister Cook starts braising the beautiful beef ribs he brought for lunch. Aaron and Camden are in the swimming pool, playing with all the guys, chasing them around and sprinkling them with huge loads of water. This is only our third barbecue party of the year, and this time, Liam insisted that some of his friends join us. This was actually a great idea. Liam is getting closer to my friends, feeling more comfortable around them, but even outside of the club, there always remains this invisible barrier between the Doms and the Subs, however thin it gets, and he still has a hard time to fight over his shyness in their presence. So, when he asked if we could invite a few of his Sub friends, I immediately agreed to it, thinking that Liam would feel better at ease and it certainly worked.

I watch them as the little minx is obviously plotting with Ed and less than a minute later, the two of them dive underwater and resurface just behind Camden while Mick, Tony and Eric keep Aaron busy. Both Mark and I pause in bewilderment as Liam and Ed jump and haul themselves on Camden's back. Our friend bends under their weight and the three of them find themselves sinking under water. Mark and I peek at each other and burst out laughing at the scene. Well, this was definitely something! I would have never imagined my quiet boy to get so bold with Camden! Especially Camden! So having Ed, Mick, Tony and Eric was indeed a good idea and I am glad to see the boys enjoy themselves while Mark and I take care of the food. We will have our share of fun later this afternoon and the games should be fairer with four Doms against five Subs... or maybe not.

Today is some kind of reunion party for everyone. Liam and I took a short week of vacation and only came back last Sunday. The week has been very busy, like always after some vacation, and we didn't take the time to go to the club at all except for last night but it was really brief. It happens that a certain friend of Liam's came back on Friday from a long trip - ahem... - and I honestly couldn't prevent him from spending Friday night and most of Saturday at his place. The two friends had plenty of things to tell each other so it was only fair, but when I picked him up yesterday evening to go to the club, we both had other things in mind than watch a show and we quickly ended up in my playroom, right after we had agreed with all the guys to arrange this barbecue party for today.

Despite Liam's affirmations about feeling fine and having completely recovered from the incident last May, I still found him very tired during the first half of June. We did start with short days at the office in the beginning, but then I had to travel and when I came back from a two day trip on the second week after Liam's return to work, I found him more tired than before I left, so rather than dealing with more arguments, I just thought that we could take a few days off before the end of the month rather than wait until August. Convincing Liam was much easier than I would have thought. I actually suggested to visit the Northern half of California and the cherry on top of the cake was that I proposed to visit his parents in Los Angeles on our way there at the same time.

Considering that he hadn't seen his parents at all since last Christmas, Liam could only agree. I knew he had been missing them and he also admitted that his mother had been bugging him for quite some time to finally meet me. I also learned that Liam never told them about our three-week separation in April so he was rather eager to introduce me to his parents. They are also ignorant to what happened in May; unsurprisingly I should say. However, I can't really complain on these two facts or else, my encounter with Mr. and Mrs. Reed might have been a little more difficult. We took the jet to California and stopped in LA for a couple of nights and I got to finally meet them.

Liam's parents are very kind and clever people - though this is not surprising since my sweet boy clearly inherited that from them - and they are obviously very involved in the university where they both work. Their passion for teaching perspires from all their words, almost as much as their unconditional love for their son. It was very touching to see how they care for Liam, somehow reminding me of Mark's parents - something I never experienced in my own family, and certainly not with my mother.

Speaking of the witch, she happened to hear about the embezzlement from one of her friends but the only information she seemed to retain from what slipped to her at the time was that I had officially come out, revealing my relationship with Liam. Of course, it didn't sit very well with her and when I eventually accepted to take one of her calls - after she hassled almost all my closest relations with unstopping phone calls - she begged me to change my mind and promised me that she would find a perfect lady for her only son. Well, I simply flipped her off, saying that, as an adult, I was entirely free to live my life the way I wanted it. Seeing that she wouldn't go anywhere with me, she spat angry words at me - something about dishonoring the family - and hung up on me. The good thing is that I haven't heard back from her since then and that suits me perfectly well.

Whatever! After a couple of very pleasant days in LA with the Reeds, Liam and I flew to San Francisco and we spent the rest of the week visiting the beautiful city, as well as San Jose, Berkley and Sacramento. To Liam's relief, the weather was not so hot in North California and we were able to enjoy long strolls in the cities. We also spent a lot of time in our hotel rooms and it was clearly not only to sleep or cuddle - if you see what I mean.

Getting back to work after a week of real vacation was only harder, but all good things have to come to an end, right? Well, not all good things, but holidays at least. Despite the summer season, the company's activity hasn't slowed down; on the contrary, it rather increased. My PR people have managed to keep the embezzlement scandal low and the company's reputation is blooming. About two weeks after Liam's abduction, we eventually got the final report of the investigations and I have to admit that it all sounded very ridiculous in the end. Those bastards got themselves into deep troubles for less than five million dollars!! I know that five millions are a lot, but once you have divided that amount into the number of incriminated people, you understand how ridiculous it was to take such proportions. Fuck! How can you risk being found guilty of murder intentions for such a low amount?

We learned that Kenny was actually the initiator of the traffic. He started by stealing raw material from the work-sites about two years ago to sell it off the market. After a while he also started stealing more expensive equipment and replacing it with cheaper one. He met Dominic at a Christmas company party we held a year and a half ago and the two guys got on very well - too well actually. Kenny thought that with a little help from the Accounts Payables Manager, it would help the traffic and he was right. Dominic started trafficking some of the purchase orders and invoices and they eventually shared their benefits. That was until Derek noticed that something was wrong in the reports about a year ago, but instead of reporting them, he just joined their business and this is when he started adjusting the financial reports as he needed.

They wanted to develop their business but Denzel, my former Compliance Manager, discovered their ploys and wanted to denounce them. However, the problem was that Derek had once caught him cheating on his wife with a colleague in the office and he blackmailed him. This is why Denzel resigned when I came back from my vacation last August. With that information in hand, it was then easy to guess why he wanted his friend Devon to join the company so much. Their little business developed then and things got even worse when they actually managed to get rid of the Accounts Receivable Manager. I now understand better why Derek wanted Dominic to cover both functions. He was able not only to traffic the invoices we received from our suppliers, but also those that we send to our customers.

It could have lasted for long but I am not a complete zero in finance and I had to notice that something was off in the P&Ls and reports. The audit was what rushed everything. Derek got scared and wasn't sure he would be able to conceal everything from the auditors. He wanted to slow down things for a while but it seems like Kenny had other things in mind. Liam stalking them was just a coincidence since he didn't know about the doubts I had on the financial department. Kenny and Dominic's reaction was utterly exaggerated but they are so dumb that they didn't think twice and kidnapped him. The rest was just an escalation in their behavior, apparently increased by a rush of adrenaline and over-confidence but it could have turned really wrong.

Anyway, they are now rotting in jail as I wanted and my lawyers are charging them with as many faults as possible. Two other site-workers were found guilty for stealing some material, as well as an AP assistant in Dominic's team. These three were simply fired and the seven of them have now been replaced. You can easily guess that Tony and his own team have run scrupulous background checks on all the new recruits and that they will keep a closer eye on everything from now on.

With flutters in my stomach, I realize that everything should go for the best now; and not only professionally speaking. My company may be a successful business, with even bigger development opportunities, but on a more personal side, I have the most adorable young man to love and cherish. Love no longer scares me and I wish I could take our relationship a step further with Liam moving in with me. I mean, this is just the logical progression for any couple! When you feel good with someone, when you love that person, you just want to share more and more time with them, and this is what I want with Liam. I want him to feel like this place is his home. I want to have him by my side at all times; to share dinners with him; to lie down in bed with him every evening; to hold him in my arms and to feel his body next to mine when I wake up in the morning. Does that sound so illogical?

Up to last Friday, Liam has spent every single night here with me and if it weren't for Shannon's return, it wouldn't have stopped. Sometimes, I think I should try and get him another job; maybe in another state; maybe in another country; maybe on another planet... No, just kidding; I wouldn't do that. For one, Liam would probably kill me for doing anything like this if he found out. And then, I may be a selfish person but I am not cruel. Liam needs his friend as much as his friend needs him and I know how the two of them missed each other over the past two months. However, it doesn't change anything to the fact that I want Liam to live with me and I wonder what it would take for him to accept the offer. I have a feeling that Liam's desire to look after his friend and to financially support him are not the only reasons for refusing to move in with me.

I have only met the young man twice since Liam became my Submissive in October and I believe that Liam is putting every effort to avoid us to meet more often. In my opinion, it has to do with our lifestyle and I have already suggested him to reveal it to Shannon if it can help. I should hope that the boy would be able to keep his mouth shut and not spread the information everywhere. To be honest, the ideal solution would be for Shannon to join the lifestyle and find a Dominant who would guide him to a more stable life; and I think that Liam is secretly dreaming about that. The problem is that from what Liam has been telling about his friend, I don't see this as a possible option right now. Shannon seems to be too unstable in many aspects, and not only in his sexual life; he likes to switch but he also refuses almost all forms of authority. That clearly sounds as a lost cause for BDSM, but I know the guy is kind and that he truly cares for Liam.

Well, he doesn't know what he misses... I sincerely believe that our lifestyle is great but that's maybe because it just suits us well. Anyway, I do love it and Liam blooms in it. Our sexual life has been back to normal ever since the day I took him back to the playroom over a month ago and we now go back to the club on a very regular basis, at least on every Saturdays, but also on a week day every so often. Liam is enjoying himself to the fullest and the only remaining dark spot is Jeremy's absence. Despite all our efforts, we still haven't been able to spot him anywhere and I have to say that it worries me quite a lot. Tony has a lot of contacts everywhere from his past acivities; he knows a lot of people, but none of the paths he followed led anywhere. And this is not normal.

"What's that sudden dark expression?" Mark asks, startling me out of my brooding thoughts. I didn't realize that I have been zoning out and the embers are now more than ready to welcome the beef ribs and vegetables.

"Hmm nothing... I was just thinking about things. Never mind! I think we're ready to grill!" I suggest in a more cheerful tone.

"Yep..." Mark replies with a sigh.

My friend has been acting a bit weird recently. He is less playful and also talks less than usual. For example, right now he would have normally insisted and bugged me until I would have told him what I was thinking about - which I actually don't mind because today is not the day to bring up Jeremy's subject. The fact that he drops off so quickly worries me a little bit.

"What's wrong, Mark?" I ask him straightforwardly.

"Huh? Nothing's wrong... Why are you asking?" Mark asks, quickly recovering his usual poker face, but I have seen that dull light in his eyes.

"You have been distant recently... like something's bugging you. You know you can talk to me if you have problems," I encourage him. Mark frowns and I don't insist right away, allowing him some time to think this over. There is a long minute of silence while he cautiously displays the meat and veggies on the grid.

"No, I'm fine. I'm just... a bit at a loss at the moment," he eventually replies with an annoyed gesture.

"Which means?"

"Which means I don't know what I should do about my... personal life."

"I don't understand. You've always done what you wanted. What's the problem?"

He sighs deeply before he explains. "Your relationship with Liam is great and I wish I could find someone like Liam... well, not exactly like Liam, because he is a bit too quiet for my taste, but someone that I could mold and with whom I could maybe develop something... I'd like to try again and take a Sub under contract, like I used to until a year ago..."

"You know that Liam is definitely not as quiet as he looks like, right?" I tease him. My sweet boy is much more tempered than what he wants to show off.

"Yeah, I know that..." he chuckles.

"It was your choice to stop taking Subs under contract last year... You said you were tired of these relationships because they don't lead anywhere... Plus it's much easier for you to get into threesomes without having a contract with a Sub..." I then reason.

"I know, I know... but I'm getting tired of that too. Seeing what you and Liam are building... it's just... I now realize that it's possible to build something without renouncing to our lifestyle and I want to try that again. But if I keep using the one-evening Subs, I'll never get a chance to meet the right one and start a strong relationship..." he argues.

"Your last contractual experience was what made you change your mind last year..." I remind him, remembering how his latest long-term Sub played with him and how it affected him at the time.

"And I remind you that your last experience before Liam was not any better and yet, you still gave a chance to Liam," Mark argues. He has a point here. Devin was actually kind of similar to Mark's last Sub; Mark broke their contract for similar reasons.

"True... So what? Are you going to take a new Sub?"

"I might. I'm giving it another couple of months and I'll see..." he says thoughtfully.

"Well I know a Sub who would surely agree if you offered him a contract..." I tease him.

"What do you mean...?"

"I heard Joey is looking for yet another refresher," I reply, wiggling my eyebrows.

"Ugh, don't be stupid, Josh! But yeah, Aaron told me about it and I need to schedule an appointment with Joey. Don't get him wrong though; Joey just needs reassurance and that's all I'm going to give him. Besides, he's hitting on Master Jeffrey I think," he chuckles.

"Okay, then what about Ed? He has been looking in our direction as if he was hoping for you to join them in the swimming pool... and he has visited your private room quite a few times over the years..." I suggest.

"Naaa, not Ed! And that's not what he wants. Ed doesn't want any long-term contract; plus he's not really my kind anyway. Talk about quiet! He's one of the quietest Subs at the club!" he whispers.

"Oh well! I'm sure you'll find one soon enough. There have been plenty of new recruits recently," I say, patting his shoulder.

"Yep... Anyway, I have a threesome scheduled for next Saturday with Mick and Tony. And then I'm taking a week off to visit my parents in New Jersey," he replies, suddenly getting more cheerful.

"That's great! That will do you some good!"

"What? The vacation or the threesome?" he asks playfully. Ahh! I much prefer him like that!

"Both..., asshole!"

"Who's an asshole?" Cam asks, suddenly by our side, shaking himself and sprinkling us with his drenched long hair. Our friend started a new genre about six or nine months ago and decided that he would grow his hair and beard. He has had his hair long ever since high school, keeping it at neck's length, but now it is reaching his shoulders and it actually suits him pretty well.

"You're the asshole!!" both Mark and I reply at the same time, bursting into laughter.

"Well fuck you, guys! And deep at that!" Cam replies mocking bitterness.

"Phew, no thank you," I exclaim.

"What about you, Marky darling? Wanna try my monster again??" Cam jokes in a sensual tone, palming himself through his wet swimming trunks.

"Yeah, you dream about it!" Mark huffs as he flips the meat and vegetables on the grill. "My ass still aches when I think about it, and it was years ago!!!" he mutters, but before he has time to see things coming, Camden wraps his arms around his waist and pulls him into his chest from behind.

"Oh come on, Bro... Don't you want to remember good ol' times??" Camden murmurs in a deep tone, playfully humping against Mark's ass.

"Fuck off, Cam!!" Mark shouts. Despite his slightly bulkier body, he has a hard time escaping from Camden's firm grip and he soon finds himself pinned face down to the ground. Oh God, Camden looks like a bear in rut and I just can't help laughing at these two idiots fighting on the lawn.

Half an hour later, the food is ready, the table set on the terrace and all the guys except Liam and Ed are out of the pool and settling down to eat.

"Liam, Ed!" I call out to the boys who are still lazying in water. "We already called you five minutes ago, so hurry up while the meat is warm!" I remind them as I take a seat at the table. There is laughter coming from the pool and a few seconds later, Ed joins us. Turning back, I see that Liam is still playing the starfish in the middle of the pool. "Liam, get your ass here before I go and get you!" I shout to him before I turn back to serve some food. Everybody is helping themselves and talking animatedly and the atmosphere is happy and relaxed as we all enjoy the early afternoon under the sun. I nearly jump on my chair when fresh and wet arms wrap around my shoulders from behind and dripping hair snuggle into my neck.

"I'm here..." Liam whispers teasingly in my ear.

"What the hell! Liam!!!" I growl, moving to disentangle from his grasp and pulling him to sit over my lap, his legs dangling on his side of mine. "You are seeking problems, young man..." I growl at him, holding him firmly in my arms and making him laugh.

"No... I'm just teasing you..." he manages through his giggles. I tilt his head to the side to give me access to his lips and push my tongue inside his mouth for a lustful kiss while one of my hands roam toward his backside.

"You know how teasing me might end, don't you?" I ask with a knowing look and squeezing his left buttock.

"You wouldn't do that... not in front of everyone..." he argues, giggling even more.

I take my most serious face and whisper: "Wanna bet? I could totally spin you around across my lap, pull down those swimming trunks and spank you right here and right now. And believe me, a spanking on wet skin is much more painful..." I warn him. Liam thinks it over for a few seconds, takes a quick look at the laughing audience and hastily jumps off of my lap to take a seat on my right, making everybody laugh even harder as his face turns to a deep crimson red. Good boy! He does know that I am not kidding.

After a very good lunch, the rest of the afternoon passes very quickly. People switch between the pool and the deckchairs, enjoying the sun and refreshing in water, and by 6:00 pm, they have all left after we all promised to renew this sometime soon. It was a tiring and noisy Sunday but it felt really good for once to relax and not work at all.

Liam really enjoyed himself and is now relaxing on the couch in the family room after a dinner made of leftovers while I finish cleaning off the kitchen. Once I am done also putting back everything into place in the backyard and sliding shut the windows of the swimming pool, I find him already asleep and can't help a smile at his cute small frame curled up on the couch.

"Babe..." I whisper, softly shaking his shoulder. "Let's go shower and then you can go to bed..."

He stirs on the couch with a mumble but lets me lead him upstairs and to the bathroom where I undress us before we step into the shower. Liam is so sleepy that he doesn't put much effort into cleaning himself but I don't mind because I like tending to him. I even take a little advantage of the situation, massaging his private area for longer than necessary, and I even slip the tip of a finger inside his butt hole, causing my shaft to harden, and that also wakes him up a little. With a mischievous smile, he wraps his arms around my neck and tries to haul himself up for a kiss. My hands slide from his butt down to the back side of his thighs, and I lift him up to wrap his legs around my waist as I deepen the kiss.

Once the upper part of his back is leaning against the wall of the shower, my hips start rocking, the tip of my cock probing his entrance. I haven't really prepared him, so, very slowly, I impale him on my hard length; he bites his lower lip as his muscles stretch around my girth and I give him a couple of minutes to adjust before I start thrusting back and forth.

"Ugh Josh... feels good..." he moans after a few minutes.

"Mhh I love your tight ass, Baby... Stroke yourself," I instruct, keeping a firm hold on his waist in order not to let him slip. One of his hands leaves my shoulder and slides between our chests to reach for his own erection. I love watching him jerk himself off and this is my undoing. Slamming one last time deep inside of him, I let a load of cum flow inside his hot cavern with a groan, soon followed by his own climax.

After a minute recovering from our panting, I gently pull out of him and slowly put him back on his feet. We quickly finish cleaning ourselves and after we have brushed our teeth, we finally head to our bed where we cuddle in a comfortable silence for a while. I was expecting him to fall asleep, but about fifteen minutes later, Liam's eyes are still wide open as he endlessly brushes his fingers over my chest.

"Did you have a good day, Baby?" I ask, breaking the silence.

"Yeah... it was very good... thank you for letting the guys join us..." he whispers rather absent-mindedly.

"Just good...? Not perfect?" I tease him.

"Very good is already good..." he replies and I understand that he hesitates to add something else. "It would have been perfect if my best friend had been here too... but I still enjoyed myself a lot..." he sighs. Argh... Shannon again!

"I proposed you to invite him but you didn't want to..." I argue.

"I know but... How would I have explained the presence of all these friends I never told him about?" he replies with a sigh.

"I just don't get why you still hide so many things to him, Baby. But anyway, you could have said they were my friends," I reason.

"Yeah, but... he would have gotten nosy. Shan is far from stupid, and Ed, Tony or even Eric are just too obvious! I'm sure he would have guessed... or at least gotten doubts. And then I would have earned the worst questioning ever from him... not mentioning how he would have freaked out among men like Camden or Aaron or even Mark... he would have drooled all over the place!" he mumbles.

"Are you saying that my friends are droolable?" I reply with a chuckle, earning a playful slap on my chest.

"Ugh! You know what I mean!! Of course they're super hot!"

"Really?" I exclaim. "Now I might get jealous..." Liam props himself up and moves to completely lie over my body, grinning widely.

"You don't have to cause you're much hotter than them..." he replies suavely. "But to Shan, any of them would do..." he then adds with a little pout. I exhale a long sigh and hug him tighter, pulling his head to the crook of my neck.

"I think you should tell him. If you think he can keep that to himself and keep from shouting it on every roof, then you should just tell him."

"I can't, Josh..."

"Why...?"

Liam takes a couple of minutes to think things over. "I'm scared... I'm scared he might judge me," he finally says.

"Liam, if he judged you by your lifestyle, he wouldn't be your friend. You have always accepted him as he is, so why wouldn't he accept you as you are?"

"Ugh, I don't know... I need to think about it..." Liam mumbles sleepily.

"Shannon is your best friend and you shouldn't keep him off so many important things. If he truly loves you as a friend - and I'm sure he does - he won't reject you, Baby," I whisper, running my fingers through his hair. I can't believe that I am eventually taking this Shannon's defense... "Just be loyal to him and stop lying to him," I conclude and Liam only hums in answer.

How hypocrite!! Don't you think there is one last thing you should confess to Liam? Ugh yes... I still need to tell him about my involvement in his friend's last job! I have been meaning to tell him since we got back together but I still haven't found the good opportunity to do it. Poor excuse, I know. Then do it now! Yes, I should do that. The longer I wait, the worse it will get anyway.

"Baby?" I whisper slowly, feeling my heart rate increase in my chest. "Liam?" The only answer I get is a very light snore. Damn! What do I do? Should I wake him up? I roll us to the side and look at the peaceful expression on his tired face. Humpf... I guess this can wait for another day, right?

Published on 22 Dec 2016

So this takes place exactly one week before the opening scene of I Was Shooting For The Moon, I Hit Two Stars, so get ready for some Shannon antics again 😁

Before you ask, yes I could have written a whole chapter on their vacation and the encounter with Liam's parents, but at the time I wrote this story, I didn't feel like it and I still don't, so a summary is enough (at least to my taste) 😋

And since it's been a long time, I'd like to thank you all again for reading this story! It recently passed over 100K reads, at the same time as I Was Shooting For The Moon, I Hit Two Stars reached 250K... this is just amazing for such a newbie as I am, so thank you! I simply hope that I will still see you around in the next story of the series 😘