Andy Keeps Trying - Chapter 10

ANDY KEEPS TRYING

Chapter 10: Andy keeps a secret

I barely had time to see Zach's cock as he hurried to cover himself, but it was obvious that he was hard (and pretty massive) under his trunks.

I did, however, get to check out his bare white ass, and damn, those were some yummy buns!

Wet and juicy.

I could not help but think that the Crown family had some excellent genetics.

But damn it, Andy, focus! He was getting raw-fucked by Victor Garcia… Of all people!

“ZACH?!”

“Oh, fuck… No… Andy?”

The poor guy looked mortified.

“Is that… Is he Zachary Crown?” Adrian asked, bewildered.

“Guys, please. Don't talk about this to anyone!”

“Relax, Zach. They won’t rat us out; they were about to do the exact same thing.” Victor said, looking rather unbothered.

“That’s not the point. My parents, the campaign… They don’t know. Nobody knows about… About me.”

“If you don’t want to get caught, don’t have sex in a communal shower!” Adrian remarked rather snidely.

“Victor told me nobody was here at this hour…”

“I told you, aside from potential other pervs! Case in point.” Victor pointed his finger at us.

I was speechless.

Victor and Zach together?

It was like my worlds colliding, in the most fucked-up way possible.

“Andy, I’m begging you. You won't tell my mom, will you? She doesn’t know I date men, and given what happened with dad…”

“Oh God, this must be a joke!” Adrian threw his hands in the air.

“What's your problem, reporter?” Victor snapped at him.

Those two were definitely not destined to get along.

“Wait… He's a reporter? You're a journalist? Fuck, that’s even worse.”

Zach looked alternately at Adrian and me. His hard-on had subdued. He was breaking down.

I finally spoke up.

“He's a journalist, yes, but he won't tell anyone.”

“I won't?” Adrian asked me, surprised.

“No! This isn’t a story. This is just… I mean, Zach, what the hell is this?”

“I'm sorry, okay? I thought… Well, I didn’t think, actually.”

Clearly, his dick had taken the lead on this one.

“Hey, Andy, I don't think you're one to teach Zach a lesson. Everyone here knows his father banged you last Christmas, pretty much in front of the whole city. We don’t need your moral lessons.”

Victor was the worst sometimes. I gauged Zach’s reactions, I still was not completely sure what he knew and did not know about my past with his father.

“I… I’m not giving any moral lessons, and it wasn’t in front of the whole city!”

“The bay window wasn’t very private! Does your boyfriend not remember? How did he get the pictures exactly?”

“Don’t even go there, Victor.”

“Come on, Zach. Let's just go. There's no need to feel bad.”

But Zach was not ready for this to be over. He needed reassurance first.

“Guys, just promise me. Please. Promise you won't say a word.” He begged.

I let out a sigh.

“No, I won’t tell a soul, and neither will Adrian. It's none of our business. But Zach, I’d be careful around him.”

“What now?” Victor grunted.

“He’s 19, Victor. Be considerate.”

“He's a grown man; I can tell you that much. He’s the one who hit me up by the way. Don’t listen to Andy, Zach, he’s just frustrated because I dumped him in college.”

“Hold on, you two were dating…?”

“Yeah, man, this is even more messed up than you thought.” Adrian intervened.

Zach was taken aback.

I mean, if I slept with his father; he could sleep with my ex. We were even, sort of.

Given the circumstances, I decided the most important thing was to be there for him.

“None of that matters. Zach, I promise, we haven't seen anything. We don't know anything. This won’t come out. All right?”

He nodded.

“All right. Thank you.”

“Well, we do have something to finish, so see you later, guys!” Victor said, grinning.

Why was he always like this?

And how did this sort of thing keep happening to me?

“See you tomorrow, Andy.” Zach said shyly.

“Yeah… Have a… A nice evening.”

Freaking awkward.

Honestly though, I could understand why Victor had agreed to this hookup. Zachary Crown looked stunning as he left, droplets dripping down his muscular back.

“Well, that was unexpected.” Adrian said once they were gone.

“Definitely.”

“How do you feel about this?”

“I’m not sure. I guess I feel bad for Zach. He looked so scared about this getting out. You won't tell anyone, right?”

“I won't.”

“Promise?”

Adrian was upset.

“Look, we haven't talked about the front page since we started dating, but it really was a political move. Nothing else. I have no interest in exposing people’s personal lives. I’m not working for a tabloid.”

“Yeah, you needed the picture of me blowing David to make your political point…”

“You're still mad at me for that?”

I wrapped my hands around his shoulders.

“No, and let's not even bring it up.”

Avoidance was my coping mechanism.

“I'll keep the boy's secret, okay?” He kissed me on the neck like he always did.

“I trust you.”

“As you should.”

We were still hugging when I felt something against my thigh. This scene was very reminiscent of the previous week.

“You're still hard?”

“Hey! They were both hot as fuck! And you’re still super sexy in your little Speedo. Remember, we were supposed to have fun!”

“Are you still into it?”

“Of course!”

From high-nerves to hard sex, sometimes, all it took was a twisted smile.

I got on my knees and I started sucking Adrian’s cock deeply, only seconds after catching my ex in the shower.

Adrian was so turned-on that he quickly came in my throat as I burst my loads onto the tiles.

Somehow, I think he and I were both even more riled up from the unexpected encounter.

It was taboo and spicy.

Trust me, though, I was way less in the mood the next morning when I was faced with the prospect of spending the day with Zach.

Things did not seem so exciting anymore.

We were working with Kendrick and Laurie on the final draft of the official policy that would be sent to the press in early September.

Two months before the primary vote, the campaign would take a much more serious turn and we all knew things would get more hectic.

I tried to act normal, but Zach was obviously thrown off.

He was usually confident, joking around and smiling, but now he was stressed and clumsy.

It was very unlike him and even Laurie noticed that something was off.

“Have you gotten enough sleep? You’re acting weird, Zach.”

He laughed awkwardly.

“Ah, no. I’m fine. I mean, I’m… I just got… Like, it was insomnia.”

He was so out of it that, at one point, I had to take him aside— pretending to review the latest data set we had both worked on— to talk to him.

“Hey, man! Relax! What's going on with you?”

“You know what's up. I… I’m losing my shit. I don't want to come out. I’m not ready. Not like this.”

“But you don't have to!”

“I know, but now that you know, and like…”

“Zach, breathe. No one should ever be forced to come out on someone else's terms.”

“Your new boyfriend didn't mind exposing my father…”

I sighed.

“Yes, well, you're not a political figure, and trust me, he won't say a word. And like I promised, neither will I.”

“You’re sure?”

“Absolutely sure. But stop being weird, or people will notice."

“It's just…it was kind of a big deal yesterday, you know.”

“How so?”

“At the pool, in the showers… It was my first time doing it for real.”

“What?”

“I mean, I had fooled around with some guys before, gone to third base, but it was my real first time.”

I was shook.

The fact that Zach lost his virginity the exact same way I did, with the same person, was just mind-blowing.

“Oh… Yeah, that's… Hm… significant. Are you okay? You don't regret it? Victor’s been good to you, right?”

“Yes, he has. I was the one who came after him. You know, he had that Speedo picture on his profile on GrindR. I reached out to him. I was ready; I wanted it.”

“Well, that's good news, then.”

What was I supposed to say, seriously?

“He's not my boyfriend, but we made plans to see each other again. We sort of connected.”

“I definitely saw that…”

He smiled.

“Yeah, I swear I really didn't know it was your usual swimming pool too, or that he was your ex. We waited a long time before doing anything, and then when we were sure everyone was gone…”

“That's all right. I'm not judging you or anything.”

Given the raunchy and sloppy blowjob, I had taken part in right after they left, it would have been ironic to say anything.

“I think my dad suspects that I might be gay, but we've never had that conversation. I was ready to come out during my freshman year at Stanford, but then the scandal happened. And like, it was so much for my family already.”

“I'm so sorry about that. I really am. We’ve never had that talk, but…”

He chuckled.

“You think I didn't know my father was sleeping with men before you? We all knew; he wasn’t very discreet about it.”

“I'm aware that I wasn’t the first guy on his list…”

“He told me about you, though. At the hospital. He said he was serious about you.”

And it just kept getting weirder.

I felt myself blushing.

“David was… He’s off limits. I love my job, and he’s twenty years older than me. I felt terrible when it went public. It was tough, and I swear, I thought about you, and I felt even worse. The last thing I wanted was to hurt anyone or destroy a family.”

“I was fine. I mean, I wasn't, but it was mostly because I was hiding my own secret…”

“Believe me, I know how heavy that secret can be. I’ve been there. You should come out when you feel ready but clearly, David would be in no position to make any sort of remark about your sexuality. He'll understand, so you don't even have to worry about that. As for Rebecca, your mother loves you, and I don't think she really cares either.”

“Maybe, but I'm also the grandson of Richard Pallow, and these last few years, it's not been as easy to be gay as it was, especially at Stanford.”

That broke my heart.

I hugged him.

I hated that things could go backwards once again, and that people might be more inclined to stay in the closet.

What the hell was going on in America?

Even in Pennsylvania, it did not seem so clear that Alicia Jan would keep her seat, it was as if most of the population firmly believed that the Democrats were just Evil at this point.

“In any case, you have time. You can come out on your own terms. I spent years in the closet, and then I took some time before getting a boyfriend. But, to be fair, I’m the worst person to give you advice. Not only because of what happened last year, but because I’m just a mess when it comes to relationships.”

Zach looked at me with his father's piercing blue eyes. That never failed to startle me.

“Your boyfriend looks nice.”

It was my turn to crack a smile.

“He is, but it’s also fairly recent, and right now, we're just having fun.”

“In the pool showers?”

“Partly, yes.”

We laughed and it was like a weight being lifted off our respective shoulders.

“Thank you, Andy. I do feel better.”

“Good. You shouldn’t feel bad. You’ve reacted so maturely to what happened with your dad. I know you’re a great guy. Also, it might sound silly telling you this now, but you’ve really been a great help at work, and everyone on the team loves you. I’m already dreading your departure.”

“We still have four more weeks until the gala. I'll leave right after.”

“Listen, Zach, just be careful with Victor; he’s unpredictable. But don't stress yourself out either. You’re at an age where it’s just normal to experiment.”

“I'll take your advice.”

I hugged him again— briefly.

No need to make this even more fucked up.

“Are you ready to go back to Kendrick and Laurie?”

“Yeah. Also, I can finally tell you now!”

“What?”

“Kendrick! Damn it! That man is so freaking hot; I’ve been drooling over him since I joined the office!”

I burst out laughing.

Kendrick was hot, indeed, but tragically, he was also very much heterosexual.

We worked on the upcoming gala, our biggest event of the year, and Zach gradually relaxed throughout the day.

For no less than sixty years, the Republican parties and their conservative allies had organized an annual gala to fight for a righteous cause.

This year, the goal was to raise donations for cancer research.

In a time of burning conflict between their respective factions, Rebecca and Broadhall had to show a united front before hundreds of prestigious guests,standing together to perpetuate the decades-long tradition.

As a matter of fact, this gala and the speeches they made there could make or break the primary election on November 6.

There would not be another occasion to have such an impact on influential members of the party or conservative allies in the State. It was a huge deal.

Laurie and I left together around 6:30 p.m. because we had plans at the apartment.

We were cooking dinner  for our very first double date.

Yay!

It was a bit strange because when we used to do that, Darius was there.Now there would be a new guy at the table.

Besides, Laurie was still suspicious of Adrian, and Cody mostly saw him as a sex maniac, which was fair, given how inconsiderate we had been while having sex in the apartment.

Preparing the dinner was fun, though.

Laurie and I were not the best cooks (and that is an understatement), but we tried making a fancy roasted vegetable quiche, which I thought was a great summer dish.

It was not a complete success— the quiche ended up looking like a pizza— but it tasted good and was made with love.

“It was easier when your boyfriend was a cook.” Laurie commented at some point.

“Don't even start!” I warned her.

“I was just kidding. I swear I’ll behave.”

Cody was quite late because of work, which always left me wondering what sort of work he might do for David (I knew what would happen back then if I stayed late at the office), but Adrian arrived right on time with a nice bottle of wine and his best-looking suit.

He wore it partly as a joke, but he did look very good in it.

“I heard it was a fancy dinner!”

“Indeed, it is! You made the right choice with this outfit.” Laurie said, greeting him warmly.

The three of us had a very nice time, even better than expected, demonstrating that Laurie had moved past the news article as well.

Or so I thought.

We discussed the best looks from the last episode of Drag Race because we knew Cody would not contribute to that conversation. We also commented on the latest shenanigans from the Trump administration.

This whole presidency was getting seriously scary.

Mentioning politics had always equaled sex between Adrian and me, so we never really talked about it. Weirdly enough, it was the first time I heard him bring up some valid points about the current situation.

We had time to discuss things in depth because Cody was nearly two hours late, arriving home well after 9 p.m., which was very unusual for him.

“What happened?” Laurie asked him as he crossed the threshold.

“Hi, honey.” He kissed her. “Sorry, guys. We're presenting the project I've been working on all summer for the start of the school year next week, and it was the only time David really had to review everything.”

That was why I knew so little about Cody’s work; it was always odd when he mentioned David’s name.

Of course, the journalist in the room caught that.

“David?”

Cody looked at me, unsure.

I stepped in. There was nothing to hide.

“Cody works at the city planning department. His direct supervisor is David Crown.”

“Oh… That's…”

“Just a job.” I spoke.

“Isn't it weird for you that your roommate works for Crown?”

I was already tired of this conversation.

"It is, but it's a great opportunity for Cody, and it has nothing to do with me.” I replied, sounding a bit too defensive.

“Should we go sit down and start dinner?” Laurie proposed.

But Adrian did not let this go.

For some reason, he was much more bothered by this than by running into Victor at the pool.

“Okay, so you’re working for the wife, your roommate is working for the husband, and the son is basically working for the two of you.” Adrian summed up, looking at Laurie and me.

“Yes, what’s your point?”

“I don’t have one. It’s just interesting.”

And that was the moment when things derailed.

Laurie put our quiche-pizza on the table, rolled up her sleeves, and said:

“Interesting enough to make the front page of the Daily Philly News?”

Adrian and Cody froze in their tracks, about to greet each other. You could have heard a pin drop.

“Is there something you want to tell me, Laurie?” Adrian asked.

I had grown to learn and love how upfront Adrian was. He was not the type to let people walk all over him.

It was great, but this time, I wished he had kept quiet.

“If you want to go there, I can say it. When you published those pictures, you did something awful to the candidate I had been working my ass off for and to one of my best friends. It was extremely uncalled for.”

“Nobody knew it was Andy.”

“His boyfriend knew! Darius broke up with him.”

And it was only getting worse.

Cody intervened so that I would not have to.

“Guys, this is just a casual dinner. There's no need to rehash the past.”

But it was too late. Adrian looked at me.

“You think I’m responsible for your breakup? You miss your ex?”

“No, I don’t think that. I think I’m responsible for my breakup, and I think Darius wasn’t the right person for me.”

Laurie looked down at her shoes, a little embarrassed.

“Look, I know I messed up. I was just doing my job, but now that I've gotten to know Andy, I regret doing something that clearly hurt him.” Adrian explained.

“So, you only regret it because you’re dating Andy now? Don't you think it was just wrong?”

“Well, don't you think supporting an anti-gay marriage policy while he's sleeping with other men is wrong? People deserved to know the truth about David Crown’s hypocrisies.” 

“I don't know— David would have won the primary more easily than Rebecca, and if he had been elected, he would have been much better for the country and for gays rights than Broadhall. The Daily Philly News is playing a very dangerous game.”

“That article didn't help Broadhall. Rebecca is actually catching up in the polls.”

“Yes, thanks to our work. Shouldn't we proudly fight to have a more moderate conservative candidate win over a fascist?”

“Honey, cut it off. No political talk, please.” Cody said, sitting at the table. “I’m hungry.” He added.

“I’m sorry if I was too forthcoming…” Adrian said.

Laurie did not respond, she was mad.

“Guys, can we just chill? The article was released months ago. David hasn’t been running the campaign since April. We all know that most of what we do is facilitate bullshit alliances between rich people to gather support anyway. Let's just have a nice dinner.” I settled.

“Andy's right.” Cody said.

I smiled nervously at him, appreciating that he had my back.

“All right, I'm sorry. I got carried away.” Laurie conceded. “I didn’t realize it, but part of me was and still is upset about the article. Also, part of me thinks the Crowns are being targeted and that makes me feel a certain way. Someone tried to shoot them.”

“I was there, and trust me, I never wanted it to happen. I’m pressuring the police and following every lead I can to understand how the hitman got there and what his motive was.” Adrian told Laurie earnestly.

They were both a little more collected.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

It took some time, but once we had cleared the air, we were able to enjoy a somewhat nice dinner together.

Adrian, however, did not stay overnight, and I suspected it was because Laurie was staying.

She apologized to me after he left.

“I overstepped. I'm sorry. I told you I would behave and I just couldn’t.”

“That's fine. Adrian and I have been avoiding those conversations, so it makes sense that it would come back to bite us.”

“Still… I’m sorry, and if I have to apologize to Adrian, I will. I just want you to be happy, Andy.”

Laurie kissed me on the cheek and went to take a shower.

Cody usually joined her (which is why I was not too concerned about being discreet with Adrian— I could hear everything they were doing so it was only fair to return the favor) but that night, he stayed behind.

What surprised me the most was when he approached me for a serious conversation.

It was not his style.

“Andy, I want you to be happy too, and I know you and Adrian are fairly new. I’m also very much aware that you like to have a lot of sex, but, like, be careful.”

“Why? You think he's not good to me?”

“It's not that. The campaign is about to get really intense as we get closer to the votes. He’s covering it, and you’re very much involved in it.”

“And?”

“Adrian has strong opinions, so things might get complicated. I know you were looking for something simple.”

“I can't break up with him just because of his job.”

“No, and if you're happy, ignore whatever I'm telling you. I’m just saying, be careful. Darius was too jealous, and it hurt you. I just want you to make sure that Adrian respects you first and foremost— before his job, his career, and before the scoop.”

That did not sit right with me.

Not because I disagreed with Cody, but because I feared he may be right.

We had put up a wall between our jobs so that Adrian could release whatever he wanted about the campaign, and I could do whatever I wanted to help Rebecca without him knowing. But theory and real life were two different things.

Already, we had tried to use sex to tackle the issue.

Not that I minded the ridiculous amount of sex we were having.

“I'll be careful. Thank you, Cody.”

“You know I'm always on your side.”

He kissed me on the cheek too; that was cute.

“How is it with David?” I asked.

“You mean the work, or do you want to know if I noticed whether he was dating anyone?”

“The work, Cody! He’s free to do whatever he wants in his personal life.”

“Honestly, I have to say the projects are really interesting, and he’s a great boss. Super cool, and easy to deal with.”

I chuckled. “I’m not surprised. He’s always been that way.”

“No, I mean even if I don’t suck his cock— he’s still really cool!”

I burst out laughing.

“Shut up and go to the bathroom. I'm sure Laurie is waiting for you.”

“You bet she is! Sleep tight, roomie!”

I would be sleeping on my own for the first time in days, as Adrian and I had been inseparable lately.

I wondered if it would be a good idea to take a step back and assess what I wanted for the future of our relationship.

Not that I wanted to break up with him; but after a month, maybe it was now the right time to see if things would lead to something serious.

I was not sure.