As soon as Grace left, I gave a heavy sigh, washed my face thoroughly, and brushed my head- and face-fur. Luckily, the room had a sink and mirror for that purpose. It hadn't been as bad as it might have been, I supposed. I had a feeling of accomplishment at having avoided all but very minor nips from the whip, but I would just as soon file the whole experience under "Done, no need to repeat." The worst part had been at the end, when Grace had ordered me to lie on my back on the bed, keep my hands at my sides until further notice, and had then knelt over me and sat on my face. Grace had used my nose to stimulate her clit. With my mouth covered and nostrils pinched shut, I had been unable to breathe at all. This was probably one reason Grace liked Academy Boys, none of whom would panic over a minute or two of asphyxia. I fervently hoped Grace had gotten her frustrations over dealing with Father out of her system, and would try another boy in the future.
I finished clean-up and dressed once more. I checked the tie in the mirror, remembering Maverick's warning.
I left the room and headed back for the main hall, to see whether... oh no, what was his name?? Benjamin, that was it! Benjamin. To see if Benjamin knew I was available now.
He was so unobtrusive I nearly missed seeing him, sitting on the sofa in the waiting area. Most guests continued circulating until their boy was ready, but Benjamin was simply sitting, alone, waiting. I didn't really notice until he leaned forward, his face alight with a charming smile.
I stopped and smiled. "Oh, hi! I'm ready now, if you want to come back to the room with me."
He stood up and returned my smile, presenting his ticket to me. Basic session, I saw with some relief, no toys this time, no whips.
Normally I would have simply turned and let him follow, but I instinctively took his hand and led him to the room.
Once there, he dropped into a comfortable straight-backed chair facing the side of the bed, saying nothing but continuing to smile at me. I was expecting a little more in the way of direction. "Do you want to lie on the bed? Should I take my clothes off?"
He beamed at me. "I'm happy to talk, if that's all right."
I blinked in surprise, not at the suggestion of talking, but at the idea he would solicit my approval. I smiled and sat on the edge of the bed facing him, crossing my legs at the ankles, resting my hands on the bed on either side of me, pressing them downwards slightly as if to hint It's really soft. "What would you like to talk about, sir?"
He shook his head slightly. "Oh, don't call me that. Just Benjamin."
It all struck me as very odd. It seemed clear from the way his eyes roamed over my body, pausing often at my belly, that he found me attractive. But just as often he looked me in the eye. I grinned. "Okay, then what would you like to talk about... Benjamin?" That felt still more strange, calling him by his first name — partly because, at least for the moment, I was his slave, and partly because he was near my father's age.
He sighed, maintaining his smile. "Oh, just about yourself. How long have you wanted to be a Hanging Boy?"
I smiled as I thought back over the last few months. "Not very long, really. Just since last Spring, in fact. I guess that's a little unusual. It's been my goal since we hanged an Academy graduate at my house. My dad's house. Marshall."
Benjamin's eyes lit up. "Marshall? You saw him hang?"
I gasped. "You knew him?"
Benjamin shrugged. "Well, that's putting it too strongly. I've met a lot of the boys over the years, and I did spend time with Marshall at a party several years ago, just like I'm spending time with you now. He was very sweet."
I laughed. "I'm not surprised he made an impression on you. He did that to everybody."
"Oh, I'm sure."
I wished there were some way I could satisfy my curiosity about him: especially about the source of his wealth — if Benjamin regularly paid as much as he was paying tonight to do nothing but talk, he couldn't be hard-pressed for funds. I hesitated to steer the conversation in that direction, and not merely because it might not be my place to do so, as his temporary property. Even if we had been social equals, it was obviously impolite simply to ask, "So, Benjamin, where's your money come from?"
Before I could frame a question that might start things in that direction, Benjamin spoke again. "Why did you decide to be a Hanging Boy? I'm always curious about that."
I paused to think. It seemed simple enough to attribute it to Marshall's inspiration, but I knew there was a much deeper reason. "I guess it's not exactly right to say I decided to be one. I've always been one, from the moment I was born. Marshall was like... sunlight making the seed germinate, and grow, and blossom. The seed doesn't decide to do that, you know. It was made for doing that."
Benjamin grinned, delighted. "I've never heard it put quite that way before."
I laughed. "You would if you talked to Maverick, my roommate. Anytime I start to wonder if it's really possible to be born to be a Hanging Boy, I just look at him."
Benjamin cocked his head. "There it is again. There was a light in your eyes when you talked about hanging, and now the same thing when you talk about your roommate."
I looked at him appreciatively. "You really pay attention, don't you?"
He smiled and shrugged, and again avoided talking about himself. "I assume you spend a lot of time picturing your own hanging."
I laughed again. "Only when my heart's beating."
"Can you picture it for me now? What do you see and feel?"
I sighed and looked into the distance. "Mostly I see the people. The audience. I'm..." I began losing myself in the daydream, my voice growing softer. "I'm inside my body, so I can't... see myself, watch myself visibly, if you see what I mean. But I can see the people, all staring at me. Their mouths are open. They can hardly breathe. A lot of them are using their hands, rubbing themselves, without even noticing. And somehow it's through their faces that I'm able to watch myself, so I know what I look like, wriggling as I hang by the neck. I can feel their arousal, it washes over me and takes me higher, much higher than I ever thought I could get..."
My lungs suddenly emptied in a rush, as a tremor shook my body. I looked down and saw that my hand was between my legs — I couldn't remember putting it there — I had rubbed myself through them. I had a damp spot on my shorts. Now what?
I felt the blood rush to my face. I had completely botched this session, giving myself an orgasm instead of taking care of my customer's needs. My mind spun, looking for a way to salvage it. I smiled shakily. "I'm kind of having my own party over here. You're invited, you know."
Benjamin smiled again. "I'm already participating, to the extent that I can. I'm not really able to perform, but I'm glad I was able to provoke a reverie that gave you as much pleasure as it did."
I blinked in astonishment, my eyes helplessly drawn to the crotch of his pants. "You can't... at all?"
Benjamin looked down at himself in response to my gaze. "Not have sex in any usual sense, no."
"Oh, Benjamin, I'm..." I stopped. For someone who, so far, hadn't said anything about himself, he didn't seem at all uncomfortable with this subject, of all things. "I was about to say I'm sorry, but I'm not getting a feeling I need to."
He laughed. "And you said I pay attention to other people. You're very perceptive, Wynn. You're the first Hanging Boy who has noticed on his own that I'm quite comfortable with my disability." He shrugged. "Not that I don't occasionally regret what I'm missing. I'm like most people, and it's natural to miss things you can't have. On the other hand... well, I have quite a sweet tooth, and I don't know whether I'd survive without peanut brittle." He chuckled. "At least the quality of life would seem far less without it. But there are people who are allergic to peanuts, so they're denied that pleasure. We all have things we take pleasure in that are denied to others.
"So I focus on the things I can enjoy rather than worrying about what I can't. I find I do enjoy the company of young males such as yourself — sex is just one small dimension of personal interaction, and I think some people miss some of the other dimensions that can be just as rewarding."
I was fascinated. I felt happy with my own life, but that that was because I had everything that I could think of wanting. Benjamin was missing something that I couldn't imagine doing without, yet seemed quite happy in spite of that. But he must not be looking at it that way. The list of things he wanted must simply be different from mine. "And you do enjoy watching hangings, right?"
Benjamin nodded emphatically. "Very much so. I think it's partly that it's so impressive to watch a young male give literally all he has, for the purpose of giving pleasure to others. As well as making himself quite happy, of course. And I hope you understand, I also take pleasure in seeing the male form. It has a beauty that goes well beyond sexual attraction."
That explains his roving eye, I thought, even though he can't take the next step. He smiled. "Well, I'm not going to be hanging tonight, but I do have a male form. I could at least show you more of it, if you want." The Wynn of six months ago would never have dreamed of saying anything like that to a stranger. But now I did enjoy a chance to show off what I was becoming.
Benjamin looked me over, thoughtfully, and scratched his chin. "That's quite tempting, but I've realized I did quite enjoy your climax a few minutes ago."
I chuckled and put my hand over my face, feeling myself blush again. "I'm glad you liked it. I didn't exactly mean to. So you want me to... do that again?"
Benjamin smiled. "I understand it's not so easy to do it on demand. It might be easier if I give you something to think about again, like before. I can tell that there are two things that get you very excited: hanging, and your roommate. You said his name is Maverick?"
I looked at him puzzled, and nodded. "Maverick, yes."
Benjamin nodded. "All right. Well, imagine you and Maverick are being hanged together. Making love while you hang."
I took in my breath sharply as images raced through my mind. "Are we... so we're close together, right?"
"I imagine you'd have to be."
"And... our hands, what about them? Are they tied, or can we use them?"
Benjamin winked. "Up to you. This is your fantasy."
I closed my eyes and sought out some of the images that had flashed through my consciousness moments ago. Start with hanging, I told myself. The feeling of the rope, holding me, supporting me, caressing my neck. Taking my breath away...
Watching Maverick hang. Maverick's hips thrusting, his legs reaching out to enfold a lover...
Both of us hanging. Our cocks bumping together, swinging apart, swinging back to seek new contact. Maverick's chest compressed against mine, rubbing briefly, furry and soft and smooth, nipples hard...
I felt myself getting hard again, fiery tingles flooding through me in time with my pounding heart.
Then I realized I was sitting on the same bed as before, in the room with Benjamin — when did he come back? Where's Maverick? Where's the noose? I was bent over, panting through my wide-open mouth, beads of sweat chilling my overheated skin. I couldn't come again this soon, but my skin had that tingly-all-over feeling that comes after a really powerful orgasm. How...?
I sat up and looked at Benjamin, wide-eyed. "That was..." I couldn't find words.
Benjamin grinned. "It was indeed." He sighed. "Sadly, I suspect our time is up."
I looked at the clock by the bed. "Ummm, yeah." I looked longingly at him. "Will you come back? Do you come to all of the parties?"
"Most of them, yes. And I do hope to see you again sometime — this has been very rewarding. You do understand, though, I'd like to meet some of the other boys too. In fact, in just a few minutes I'm meeting..." He reached into his pocket to look at his ticket. "Jem. Of course, since I find these sessions less physically exhausting than some of the other members (though no less stimulating and satisfying), I usually do two or three at each party. By the time you graduate, I suspect I'll have met most of your classmates, other than the ones who are hanged before I get a chance."
Impulsively I moved to his chair, bent and threw my arms around him, keeping my gooey fingers away from his suit, and kissed him on the cheek. "Well, at least remember me then. Like I'll always remember you."
He colored slightly, and looked very pleased. "Rest assured."