Hagen, Lynn - Hawk's Pretty Baby [Brac Pack 2] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove)

Brac Pack 2

LYNN HAGEN

Copyright © 2011

Chapter One

Johnny smashed the plastic bowls into the dishwasher, slamming it shut as he grabbed the dish towel and wiped the counter and sink off. Starting the dishwasher while he swept the floor, he frantically looked at the clock and noticed he only had ten minutes to get the kitchen finished before Sean came home.

After emptying the dustpan into the waste bin, he readied his mop water, sloshing the water around the floor until it was clean. The mop water disposed of and cleaning supplies stored away, Johnny closed the closet door as his brother walked through the front door.

“What are you smiling at?” His brother Sean tilted his head to look into the kitchen, seeing it clean. He tossed his jacket on the couch and grabbed a beer from the fridge, tracking dirty footprints on Johnny’s clean floor.

Dang, now I’ll have to do it again.

Johnny waited to see what Sean wanted for dinner. He had to be extra nice. Tomorrow was Friday, and he didn’t want Sean saying he couldn’t go down to the recreation center. His friend Cecil would be there, the guy who treated Johnny like he was normal, like he had a brain. Not like Sean, who constantly called him stupid and a retard. His brother was mean as heck, but he was family and all Johnny had.

Just because he had been diagnosed mildly retarded—Johnny really didn’t agree with that one bit—didn’t mean Sean could treat him like he was brain-dead. He couldn’t figure out why Sean agreed to raise him when the courts found their mother unfit. She was a drug user, which is why he hated drugs. He saw what they did to his mamma. If Sean didn’t like him, why did he agree to be his caretaker?

Johnny tried his best to make Sean happy. He cleaned the house, cooked dinner, did the laundry, and even cleaned Sean’s nasty room. Some of the things lying around on that disgusting floor seemed to move sometimes. Gosh, he didn’t like when Sean had those used condoms lying around in his room. It was one thing to be a slob, but a whole other to be nasty about sex. Being clever and wise, he always used a pencil to pick those up then left the pencil on Sean’s desk to use.

Johnny snickered at that. He was a rebel.

“Fix me some spaghetti tonight. And don’t screw it up, stupid.” Sean leaned back against the couch, drinking his beer and watching football. Same thing he did every night. Johnny was surprised his brother even worked. The man was lazy with a capital L.

Mad at the way Sean spoke to him, Johnny hurriedly browned the ground meat. His heart ached at the way his brother treated him like a slave. He filled a pot with water then placed it on the stove to boil. Once it was ready, he snapped the sticks of hardened spaghetti in half, making sure he kept his sleeves away. For some reason, he always forgot to watch out for the steam that made his hands hot.

Carefully combining the ingredients, Johnny sloshed the mixture around to make sure the sauce got all over the noodles. He saw a few chunks of meat that hadn’t broken up all the way but shoved those to the bottom of the pot.

Piling Sean’s plate high, Johnny took it to him, returning to the kitchen to eat his snack sized portion. Sean harped about not having a fat brother, so he watched what Johnny ate, making sure it wasn’t too much. Sighing, Johnny knew he would still be hungry after dinner, but Sean refused him seconds. Being resourceful came in handy when he snuck into the kitchen while his brother was gone and nibbled on what he could, things Sean wouldn’t notice were gone or gotten into.

Sean was five times larger than him and mean as all get out. Defying him wasn’t an option. If he kicked Johnny out, where would he go? Reluctantly, Johnny always did what Sean told him to for fear of being homeless.

He sipped at his water as he ate, hoping it helped to fill him up.

As hard as he tried, Johnny couldn’t figure Sean out. They were all each had. Why abuse the only person that loved you unconditionally? He would do anything for his brother, but the feeling wasn’t shared. It hurt him deeply. Johnny had no joy in his life. His only bright spot was seeing his friend on Fridays.

Sadness stayed with him constantly. All he ever wanted was someone to love him. To tell him how much he meant to them. Not even his mother had done that. She was too busy leaving them at home alone. He felt so alone, so unwanted, that he had to wipe away the tears that silently ran down his face as he ate.

Finishing his dinner, he cleaned the kitchen…again. Exhausted, Johnny finally turned the light off and went to bed. The springs in the mattress poked him in his back as he pulled his thinning blanket over him, trying his best to go to sleep but excitement at seeing Cecil tomorrow kept the sandman at bay. Touching the necklace that Cecil had helped him make with his pretty pink letters that spelled his name, Johnny smiled as he closed his eyes. The thought of his friend was the only thing that made him smile.

* * * *

Where was he?
Cecil should have been here by now. He always came to see Johnny on Friday. Pacing back and forth, he watched every car that pulled in the parking lot.
Nope, not him
. Chewing at his fingernails, Johnny wondered if maybe he made Cecil mad at him. He tried to remember if he had done something wrong but couldn’t come up with anything.

Thomas, one of the counselors, tried to tell him that Cecil might have had to do something important and couldn’t come. No, it had to be something he did. He just knew it. Being stupid pushed Cecil away. Cecil might not like spending his Fridays with him. Johnny began to panic. He didn’t want to lose Cecil as his friend. He had to find Cecil and say he was sorry for being stupid.

The man was his only friend, his only bright spot in an otherwise lonely life of sorrow and pain.

Johnny became dizzy as his heart was beating too fast. Dots swam before his eyes. He had to find Cecil, he had to…

“Quick, somebody call 911. Johnny just passed out.”

* * * *

Johnny sat outside the hospital. They had released him after explaining that he had an anxiety attack. Once Sean found out there was another hospital bill, Johnny may have another one from worrying over what his brother would do to him.

That’s exactly why he was sitting on a bench watching the flow of traffic. Fear kept him from going home. Sighing, he knew it was useless to stall. Where else would he go? No friends, no other family, and certainly no money. He wasn’t sure Cecil would let him stay at his house. Besides, he had no clue where his friend lived. The choices weren’t even there to be taken from him.

He ran his finger through the hole in his jeans, playing with the fray that was hanging. What he wouldn’t give to have a normal life, someone to love. What was so wrong with him that either they left him or hit on him?

“Hey, Johnny.”

Johnny glanced over his shoulder to see Tank and…who was that guy? He knew Tank from the recreation center. When Cecil volunteered, he always had Tank with him, but the guy standing next to Tank was a complete stranger.

As they neared him the stranger tilted his head up and sniffed. Strange. Johnny sniffed as well and didn’t smell anything out of the ordinary. Maybe it was him? He raised his arms up and sniffed his pits. They weren’t stinky.

Standing, Johnny faced the two men.

He took a step forward, caught himself then stepped back. Tank was the biggest man Johnny had ever seen, but the man with him…wow. The feelings swirling through his body were confusing. Why did he have an urge to run into the man’s arms?

Johnny blushed as the man openly perused his body with his eyes. The thought of this man leaving or hurting him should have stopped Johnny. That’s what his mamma and Sean did. Instead, he walked forward, his feet taking him to stand right in front of the large man. He reached out, running his fingers over the man’s arm.

The man only smiled gently, running his hands through Johnny’s messy hair. Johnny licked his palms, running them over his runaway locks, trying his best to smooth them out and look presentable. The man chuckled and tucked a knuckle under Johnny’s chin as raised his head.

“What’s your name, pretty baby?”

Johnny melted like a Popsicle. He could feel a big, goofy grin stretch his face. The man was dreamy. “Johnny Stone.”

Johnny wanted to curl into a tight ball in the man’s arms as he licked his face. Heat crept up his cheeks as the man gave a low growl. That sound was hunky as all get out. “Growl again.” He whispered up to the man.

The man chuckled, pulling Johnny into his arms. Although he was terrified of strangers—his brother always yelled at him that his dumb ass was going to get kidnapped if he talked to them—Johnny didn’t think this man would hurt him.

“I’m Hawk Magnar,” Hawk whispered down to Johnny as he gave another one of those low, throaty growls. Johnny beamed up at the tall man. He wanted to say more, but his tongue kept getting tangled up in his mouth. Stupid tongue.

“Are you feeling better, pretty baby?” Hawk asked him as he sat Johnny on the bench.

Johnny nodded. “Uh-huh. They let me go.” His finger pointed at the hospital. His face was leaning closer and closer to Hawk’s, sniffing at his good smell. He leaned back. His face was feeling real hot.

Johnny scratched at his head, wondering if Hawk really liked him, or kinda liked him, or was he just being nice? Johnny was really liking Hawk, and not in a buddy sort of way. His penis was growing hard just sitting next to the guy. Would Hawk think he was a pervert if he saw the puffiness in his pants?

Johnny pulled his legs up onto the bench, wrapping his arms around them. He peeked at Hawk from the corner of his eye. “How tall are you?”

“Six feet and four long inches. Why? Is that too big for you?”

Johnny felt his ears heat up. He could tell Hawk was teasing him. “That’s pretty big. I’m five feet and four really, really long inches.” He fiddled with the rip in his jeans again.

He didn’t have very good social skills. Talking with Hawk was easy though. He didn’t have to fumble for words like he normally did, spouting out stupid stuff from his mind. Sean accused him of not having a brain to mouth buffer. Whatever that meant.

“Sounds pretty tall to me.” Hawk chuckled.

“Not really.” Johnny shrugged. “Kids liked to pick on me when I was in school.”

“If you were still in school, I would beat them up for you.” There went that growl again, only this time it sounded scary. The sound gave him pause, but he brushed it away.

It registered after a moment what Hawk had said, and Johnny’s eyes rounded. “You can’t do that. Being a bully is mean.” He gasped.

“For you I would. Nobody else, though.” Hawk winked at him.

Johnny looked straight ahead. Why would Hawk beat people up for him? He ripped one of the strings off his frayed jeans, pulling it slowly apart. “It’s a good thing I don’t go to school anymore. I just turned eighteen a few months ago. I graduated.” Johnny had been proud of himself, even if no one was there to congratulate him like the other kids had.

“I’m proud of you.”

Johnny turned his head away, tears threatening to spill out. No one had ever said that to him before, and he was going to cry like a girl. He wiped at his eyes as he watched people walking by, hoping Hawk didn’t notice. Clearing the lump in his throat, he rolled the string around with his fingers, turning it into a ball. “Do you know why Cecil didn’t come to see me?”

“He’s sick, pretty baby.”

“Is he okay?” Johnny turned back to Hawk, concerned.

“He’s getting better.” Hawk moved a little closer to Johnny, and his heart beat a little faster as the man’s thigh touched his. Johnny tossed the fabric ball, grabbing at another loose string.

“Can you take me to see him?”