Valley of the Dudes (15 page)

Read Valley of the Dudes Online

Authors: Ryan Field

Tags: #Erotica, #Romance, #Fiction

 

His mother never seemed to have enough money; her open palm was always in his face.

 

Joey made more than enough money with his TV series to support them both, and Joey

 

refused to take Anderson’s money. Anderson worked for one small garment company in

 

Pasadena that made men’s underwear and swim trunks. The underwear was extremely

 

sheer and exposed his entire body. Then he worked for another small underwear company

 

with more international appeal, and modeled a new line of men’s underwear with little

 

cartoon characters printed all over the fabric. He wasn’t fond of modeling almost in the

 

nude, but it made enough money to support his mother. And, in a general sense, he was

 

building his own platform and gaining attention. He wasn’t the kind of model whom

 

people recognized by name, but they did know his face and his body.

 

He kept his body in perfect shape, and he knew how to make fast money when he

 

needed it. But the real reason he kept in shape was to please Joey. With each bench press

 

and sit-up he did at the gym, he imagined Joey’s large hands roaming all over his body.

 

Instead of getting tired, like with most couples together for a long time, their sex life

 

continued to thrive and grow. All Anderson had to do was touch Joey with his index

 

finger, and Joey would be ready to mount him.

 

When Anderson wasn’t working on his body, he was taking care of all Joey’s

 

needs. He kept the house, did the laundry, and cooked all the meals. He even massaged Joey’s feet in hot water and rubbed them dry at the end of the day. Harriet lived with

 

them in her own private suite at the other end of the house. But she was usually busy in

 

her office, managing Joey’s career with promotional work or planning a new strategy to

 

boost his ratings. She wasn’t very domestic—she couldn’t cook, she didn’t know how to

 

turn on a washing machine, and she didn’t know which end of the vacuum cleaner to

 

push—so she didn’t mind that Anderson took over all the household duties.

 

Their lives fell into a nice, even groove. Anderson and Harriet had reached a

 

silent agreement with which they were both happy. Harriet saw how much Joey and

 

Anderson loved each other and she didn’t get in their way. If anything, when Harriet

 

watched the way Anderson knew how to care for Joey and keep him calm and relaxed,

 

she stopped interfering in their lives.

 

There were times, though, when Anderson grew anxious and bored and lonely.

 

Joey kept long hours shooting the TV series, and Harriet, even when she wasn’t working,

 

wasn’t much company. The only conversation Harriet could carry was about Joey’s

 

career and how to keep it moving forward. Anderson had hoped that having Cody and

 

Roy in Hollywood would make things
less
lonely. But after Roy left Cody—a shock to

 

everyone—Cody wasn’t the same person he’d been in New York. He was always

 

working, and he was seen at all the best Hollywood parties. There was even a rumor

 

going around that Cody was having an intense relationship with well-known Hollywood

 

personality Grayer Crowley. Grayer was not openly gay, constantly pretending he was

 

straight, so Cody kept away from his openly gay friends.

 

All of which meant Anderson had too much time on his hands. But he didn’t want

 

to complain. His goal was to keep Joey happy and contented. The one time Anderson did confide in Cody about his loneliness, Cody sent him

 

to his Hollywood doctor and the doctor prescribed “dudes” for Anderson (even the doctor

 

didn’t use the real term for the drug). The doctor smiled and told him the drug was

 

harmless, that they would keep him relaxed and he’d feel less anxious. It worked, too.

 

Anderson took a pill in the middle of the afternoon, his most anxious time of day, while

 

he waited for Joey to come home from work. He’d sit back in a chair, put his feet up, and

 

smile all afternoon for no reason at all. Even his mother couldn’t upset him when he was

 

taking dudes.

 

Then one evening, while Anderson was waiting for Joey to come home from the

 

studio, he turned on the television to watch the National Music Awards. Cody had been

 

nominated for an award that night and he didn’t want to miss it. Cody had invited them,

 

but they couldn’t go because of Joey’s schedule. Anderson sat back on the floor against

 

the coffee table and smiled, wrapping his arms around his knees. He’d taken a couple of

 

dudes that afternoon and he wasn’t feeling any pain.

 

They had all come a long way in a short time since their struggling New York

 

days. Joey was in the third season of a hit TV series, Cody was now an internationally

 

known pop star, and even Rush had become a world-famous model. When Rush had first

 

called Anderson to tell him he’d been signed as a male underwear model, Anderson

 

cautioned him about modeling underwear. He advised Rush to be careful, because no one

 

took male underwear models seriously.

 

But Anderson didn’t know Rush had been signed to model Carson Blaine’s new

 

line of underwear, and he didn’t know Rush’s body would have the largest, most

 

controversial ad ever placed in Times Square. Rush had never been one to brag or boast. After that, Rush started modeling all of Carson Blaine’s clothing, from underwear to

 

jeans. He was now one of the most famous male models in the world.

 

When the awards show cut to a commercial, one of Rush’s television

 

advertisements came on. Anderson sat up straight and watched. He was smiling, happy

 

for Rush’s success. Rush was modeling a new line of men’s jeans for Blaine. Rush had

 

never looked better, and from the way his body filled out Blaine’s jeans, it wasn’t

 

difficult to see why he was one of the most famous male models in the world. Cody

 

leaned forward and shouted, “Harriet, come in here. You’re missing everything. Carson

 

Blaine is one of the sponsors for the awards show and Rush is on television now, wearing

 

Blaine’s new jeans.”

 

Harriet was in the kitchen. She’d just come out of her office and was waiting for

 

Joey to come home. They had all planned to watch the awards show that night, but Joey

 

called to say there had been a problem at the studio and he’d be home later than usual.

 

When Harriet came out of the kitchen, she stopped in front of the television. She

 

caught the tail end of Rush’s commercial. Rush was standing alone, with his back to the

 

camera, naked from the hips up—if the jeans had been any lower, his ass crack would

 

have been showing. He was wearing a pair of Carson Blaine jeans with back pockets so

 

low they were practically on his thighs.

 

Harriet pressed her lips together and smiled. “I always had a feeling that Rush

 

Goodwin would do well. That boy is so special. There’s something about him that I’ve

 

always loved.”

 

Anderson nodded in agreement. It wasn’t often that Harriet said something nice

 

about people in show business. But she’d always said good things about Rush despite usually complaining about how vicious show business people were. “I think it’s because

 

he’s real, Harriet,” Anderson said. “There’s nothing fake about Rush Goodwin. He has a

 

strong sense of dignity you don’t see often.”

 

Anderson took a deep breath and sighed. When
he
modeled underwear, he looked

 

trashy, like a sex-starved porn star teasing guys with his ass. But when Rush did it, he

 

looked innocent and naïve. Rush definitely had an intrinsic gift that Anderson didn’t have.

 

Harriet sat down in a chair next to the coffee table and said, “Like I said, I always

 

liked that boy.” She called all gay men “boys,” but she didn’t mean any harm.

 

A half hour later, Harriet frowned when Cody’s name was announced. He’d won

 

the award for which he’d been nominated and the camera cut to where he was sitting in

 

the audience. Anderson sat up and started clapping his hands. “Yes, go, Cody!” He turned

 

to Harriet. “I can’t believe he actually won.”

 

Harriet sneered. She wasn’t as fond of Cody as she was of Rush. “I can,” she said,

 

“because he’s a vulture.” She sat back and lit a cigarette. “The stories I’ve heard about

 

Cody are unreal. And now he’s sleeping with Grayer Crowley. I hear they are living

 

together up in Radcliff Benson’s old place.”

 

“Oh, Harriet,” Anderson said, “Cody’s not that bad. He’s just very serious about

 

his work. He’s always been intense about work.” But that was all he said about Cody,

 

because he’d also heard a lot of bad rumors around town, including the one about Cody

 

sleeping with Grayer Crowley. Supposedly, Cody was either drunk or stoned all the time,

 

and he allowed Grayer Crowley to rule his life. Grayer was a controlling closeted gay

 

man with a hit TV reality show and a longstanding national radio show that featured the

 

hippest, hottest music talent in the business. But Grayer wasn’t talented as an artist or a performer. He’d achieved his success through a combination of luck and brass balls.

 

Grayer was considered the most ambitious behind-the-scenes man in Hollywood, and he

 

was always looking for a way to advance himself.

 

Harriet and Anderson watched Cody jump out of his seat when his name was

 

announced. He stood up, straightened his black formal, and slowly crossed to the stage to

 

accept his music award. But when he reached the stage and they handed him the award, a

 

tall man ran up to the stage and took the microphone from Cody’s hand. He stepped in

 

front of Cody and said, “I’d like to make this formal protest right now, on live television.

 

There is something going on right now…”

 

Anderson frowned and pointed at the TV. “That’s that famous rapper. I can’t

 

remember his name, but he hijacked another awards show last year. He waits for

 

someone to win an important award, then runs up on the stage and makes some kind of an

 

announcement about something political. It’s such a shame. They should call security and

 

have him arrested. Why on Earth would he want to ruin Cody’s night like this? Cody

 

worked hard for this award.”

 

Harriet laughed and slapped her knees. She pointed to the TV. “I wouldn’t worry

 

about Cody,” she said. “That viper knows how to take care of himself. I’m more worried

 

about that poor bastard who just got in his way and tried to make his political speech.

 

That snake Cody will bury the poor son of a bitch on stage.”

 

Anderson stared at the TV screen and his jaw dropped. While the tall man was

 

trying to steal the spotlight with his political speech, Cody reached for the tall man’s

 

shoulder, squeezed it tightly, and said, “Oh no, you don’t,
dude
. This is not
your
award.

 

It’s
mine
. And you’re not ruining my night. Take it over to CNN, dude, where it belongs. This isn’t a news show—it’s an entertainment show.” Then Cody yanked the tall man

 

backwards, shook him around a few times, and shoved him right off the stage. He did this

 

all with one hand, holding his music award to his chest with the other.

 

Harriet shouted, “Look, he won’t even let go of that award! He’ll take that award

 

to bed for the next year.” She was rocking back and forth, laughing so hard there were

 

tears in her eyes.

 

Anderson ignored her. He watched a couple of security guys run up to the stage

 

and pull the tall man into the wings. The audience applauded and cheered for Cody—not

 

just because he’d won the award, but because he just stood up to someone twice his size.

 

When Cody stepped back to the microphone to give his speech, he took a deep breath and

 

smiled. Then he went right into his acceptance speech as if nothing had happened.

 

While Cody spoke, Harriet and Anderson heard a horn honk. It was Joey, home

 

from the studio. He always honked three times when he pulled up to the house. Harriet

 

jumped up from her chair and ran to the bar to make Joey a drink. Anderson jumped from

 

the floor and ran out the front door. When he met Joey in the driveway in his bare feet, he

 

put his arms around Joey’s wide shoulders and kissed him on the lips. “You just missed

 

Cody winning the National Music Award,” he said. “It was great.”

 

Joey put his hands down Anderson’s pants and smiled. He squeezed his ass a few

 

times and said, “I’m sorry I missed it. But I had a rough day today.”

 

Anderson arched his back so Joey could put his hand farther down his pants. He

 

wasn’t wearing underwear that night, and he felt his penis growing. He kissed Joey again

 

and said, “Come inside and have a nice quiet drink. Harriet’s making you a martini. You

 

can tell me all about your bad day, and I’ll make it all better later tonight in bed.” He reached down and grabbed Joey’s crotch. “You’ll forget all about your troubles when I’m

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