Be Proud. The heartfelt wish
(Previous part: link.)
The day wears on.
Finally the time arrives when the bars start serving alcohol.
"About fucking time." Ryker mutters to himself as he takes a swig of his ice-cold beer. The chill is a welcome contrast against his heated body. The bar, a place called The Barrel, isn't very crowded yet, maintaining a good, low-key atmosphere..
"Come on..." A voice with a pleading, wheedling tone interrupts Ryker's thoughts. "I know we planned to spend the day together, butβ¦ itβll just be this time, and then Iβll spend the whole day with you. I promise."
It doesn't take Ryker long to find the source of that voice.
Two men are sitting at a table near the bar counter. One of them is large and appears to be about sixty years old, while the other is barely thirty. The younger man is the one who just spoke.
"But Jason, my boy." The older man says in a calm, subdued tone. "I even took the day off work to celebrate Pride with you today, and now you want to go hook up with a Grindr match?"
"Pleeeeease!" This fellow Jason exclaims in a childish tone, with a look of wide-eyed adoration, as he rubs his partner's belly. "If I go, I'll come back much more relaxed, and we can have fun together!"
"Ok, whatever. Go." The older man says in a resigned tone.
"Yaaaay! See ya!" Jason exclaims this as he rushes out, nearly colliding with the door because he is already texting his match at the same time. Apparently, he hasn't realized... or hasn't wanted to realize... that his partner is devastated by his sudden departure.
For several minutes, the man simply sits there, gazing at his beer in silence, resigned. Then he gets up dejectedly, probably to go home, alone.
"Hey, man! It's scorching hot out there! Why don't you have a beer with me before you head out?" Ryker calls out, with two ice-cold beers he has just ordered sitting on the bar, catching the man's attention.
"Hello, buddy. is that beer for me?" The man asks. Then, after Ryker nods with a smile, the man downs it in one gulp.
"Wow, dude! You really needed that!" Ryker chuckles.
"You bet." That man replies with a sigh.
"I am Ryker, by the way."
"Harold."
"What was that about?"
"Ah, you saw. You know how it isβ¦ young people these days." Harold pauses to take another long swig of beer. "He said heβd be back in a little while, but in all likelihood, I wonβt see him again for a few days. So much for spending Pride with my boy, it seems. He always gets what he wants from me. Do you see this?" Harold asks, pointing to the text on his tank top, stretched over his belly.
"Yeah⦠what's the story behind that?"
"He made me buy it because he says Iβm like his genie in a lamp... that he can get anything he asks for if he rubs my belly," Harold explains with a forced smile and sad eyes.
"You don't look like you're enjoying the joke."
"Wellβ¦ you knowβ¦ with a body like this, I only attract that kind of guyβ¦ I've learned to settle. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about my looks, butβ¦ it has its consequencesβ¦."
"No fucking way, man," Ryker growls, stepping deep into Harold's personal space. "You are built like a tank. You're really hot."
"Hahβ¦ thanks, Rykerβ¦" Harold blushes, caught off guard by the sudden heat radiating from the younger, massive man.
"Soβ¦ how does it work? Like this?" Ryker asks, locking eyes with Harold as his large hand begins to rub the man's belly. A nervous smile flits across Harold's face. He clearly still canβt believe a man like Ryker is paying him genuine attention.
"Oh! Hahahaβ¦ yeahβ¦ just like thatβ¦" Harold stammered, his voice thickening with sudden arousal. He is completely unaccustomed to anyone other than immature, needy boys taking an interest in him. "Do youβ¦ do you have a wish for the genie?"
"Maybe later," Ryker murmured, his tone dropping an octave. "Right now, I want to know⦠what's YOUR wish?"
"W... what do you mean?"
"Your wish, Harold. What is your deepest desire?"
Ryker keeps rubbing Harold's belly, his touch radiating a hypnotic, heavy warmth. Harold's eyes suddenly cloud over, turning a smoky gray as if falling into a deep trance.
"Iβ¦ I wishβ¦" Harold drones, the words slipping out involuntarily. "I wish to be with someone who actually loves meβ¦ who cares for me and worries about me just as much as I do for him. Aβ¦ a relationship between equalsβ¦ someone who truly wants meβ¦ I want everyone to stop treating me like a living fetish and see me for who I really amβ¦"
Ryker stops rubbing his belly. The sudden break in contact causes Harold to snap out of his light trance, blinking hard.
"You know what� Deal," Ryker says, a dangerous, satisfied smile spreading across his face.
"What do you...?"
But Ryker seals his lips with a kiss that Harold receives eagerly. Harold surrenders completely to the firmness of Rykerβs heavy hands framing his head. It is a sincere, authentic kissβ¦ entirely unlike the manipulative touch of someone who just wants to take something from himβ¦
When the kiss ends, they gaze at each other, both smiling.
"Your wish will be granted," Ryker says, a cocky, knowing smirk playing on his lips. "And at the same time, Iβm going to set you free, Genie."
"Hahahaha, youβre funny. What if we head back to my...?" But Harold cuts himself off as a strange, electrifying sensation tears through his veins. "Whatβ¦ what is thisβ¦. ohβ¦ fuckβ¦ fuck yeahβ¦" The sensation intensifies, rapidly mutating into pure, overwhelming pleasure. "YES!!!!"
With a raw cry of ecstasy worthy of a climax, the transformation begins.
Haroldβs body begins to give off dense, heavy smoke as he continues to moan with pleasure. It's as if his entire being is shedding layer after layer of lifelong conditioning and resignation, watching them disintegrate into thick smoke that dissipates into nothingness.
Mind and body transform in perfect harmony...
To fulfill Harold's deepest wish.
More and more of his old self vanishes into the smoke.
Soon, the smoke begins to reveal a brand-new version of Harold.
Impeccably groomedβ¦ no longer disheveledβ¦
No longer trapped in clothes meant to mock him.
His mind is finally free from the shackles of his own insecurities and doubts.
Little by little, the smoke clears.
When the final wisps of smoke vanish, Harold blinks out of his ecstatic daze, slowly grasping what has just happened. Speechless, his hands roam over his chest and arms, exploring his newly forged self.
He feels entirely like himself, yet completely reborn.
He is exactly who he always wished he could be.
He whips around to face Ryker.
"Ryker! How? How did you�"
But the spot is empty.
Ryker... and his ice-cold beer... are completely gone.
"Whoa, is someone smoking a cigar in here? Because that⦠OW!"
A sudden impact jolts Harold from his thoughts as a handsome guy bumps hard into him, spilling a fresh beer right down Haroldβs pristine new shirt.
"Oh, gosh!" The man exclaims. "I am SO sorry! Are you okay?"
"Oh, shitβ¦" Harold says, looking down at his stained shirt. "Well, don't worry about it. It was an accident."
"I'm so incredibly sorry! I was walking up to the bar and got completely distracted by this thick cloud of cigar smoke andβ¦ I just didn't see you thereβ¦ andβ¦ andβ¦" The man seems genuinely remorseful.
"Don't worry, really. Itβs fine."
"How could I not worry? Iβve completely ruined your shirt! And I know itβs hot out, but, damn, that beer was ice-cold." The man continues to apologize while trying, unsuccessfully, to dab the stain away with a few napkins. "You know what? I live right around the corner, and one of my shirts would probably fit you perfectly. Why don't we head over to my place so I can lend you something clean?"
"Moving a bit fast, aren't you? Buy me a beer first⦠one you don't spill on me, preferably," Harold says with a mischievous grin.
"Oh! Iβ¦ Iβ¦ I didn't mean it like thatβ¦ unlessβ¦ well, unlessβ¦"
"Relax, man! I was just pulling your leg."
"Oh⦠hahahaha! Well, you definitely got me. My name is Tony."
"Har⦠Hal. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, Hal. Nowβ¦ if you still want that beerβ¦"
"Sure⦠the shirt can wait."
"I don't know," Tony chuckles, eyes scanning Hal's chest. "That wet look actually suits you."
They sit at a table.
Two fresh, cold beers are ordered.
And from that moment on, everything flows.
Outside, Ryker walks away into the heat of the afternoon. He doesn't look back through the window... he doesn't care about the happy ending. He just smirks, his dick still heavy and half-hard from the sheer thrill of breaking Haroldβs pathetic chains and molding him into something better.
The encounter with Tony was just a lucky twist of fate, but thatβs the fun part of disintegrating a man's weakness... watching the chaos and the power you've just unleashed.
Whether Hal ends up in a serious relationship or just spends the night riding Tony until dawn, it doesn't matter. The genie is out of the lamp. Hal is finally free to hunt for exactly what he wants, on his own terms, and without apologizing to anyone.
