The Elegant Corpse

Sean didn't get off work until after midnight, and then drove the car five times back and forth in front of the guarded gate at the entrance of Roger's community before pulling over and showing the note to the security guard.

He got back in the car and gripped the steering wheel with both hands.He dared to say that the four surveillance cameras were pointing straight at him now.The security guard went through the check-in process, put a gaudy sticker on the windshield, and opened the gate.

Sean thought, his car looks like a piece of scrap metal in the driveway here.When driving into this neighborhood, he looked at the brand new SUVs and luxury cars all the way.And he fumbled for a while before he figured out how to type in the password that Roger had written to him in neat handwriting.

Although it was clearly written to him how to reset the password after entering the door, Sean was worried that he would make an oolong, so he simply locked the door.

A brand new sofa and a remote control for the high-definition satellite TV greeted the eye.The entire room has been meticulously maintained and is as immaculate as its owner.For the first time in years, Sean wondered how long he hadn't washed his jeans.

He went into the kitchen and found a sandwich of ham and bread.Anyhow, within an hour Sean was feeling much better.

From where he was sitting, the answering machine was automatically playing the incoming call messages: a man named Jay reminding Roger that they were meeting; a man selling life insurance to Roger; Understand.

During the commercial break, Sean was busy looking for drinks other than orange juice and white water, and the phone rang again: "Roger, dear, this is Pete. Thank you for your hospitality last night, if you are free soon Can we do it again. Next week? Hugs sweetheart." After the message was saved, a red light went on on the phone.

Sean went to the answering machine and played the recording again.He pressed a few keys.

Then he went back to the living room.

***

Roger wants to be a good driver who obeys the rules, is safe and prudent, but when he drives home on Route 405, there are as many faces as in the Pantheon flying in front of him.

Tommy Stone was a model in Jay's photographs of young men taken between 1981 and 1990.Alice found a box under his bed that contained many reprinted versions of those photos Jay had taken.Roger pored over the photographs for longer than his duties allowed.Tommy Stone had once been a man's slave.He was photographed wearing a collar and a brown leather coat, the symbols of slavery used in old-school circles.But his partner wasn't in any of the photos, which Roger found odd.Several familiar faces smiled at Roger through the photo.In the picture, Jay is staring at the photographer, as if trying to scare him from pressing the shutter.Quentin, the man who introduced Roger to Avatar, has blond curls and that James Dean smile.A young Pitt, also in leather and a top hat, wanted to be No. 1 for a brief time.There were a dozen others, now dead or forgotten.

Ghosts, and the people who loved them.

As for Patrick, he certainly isn't in any of the photos, since Patrick never actually set foot in the leather ring.The affair between him and Roger has nothing to do with the outside world, it only belongs to the two of them.

In addition to these photos, there are many explicit magazines.How could a terrified locker have these things?Roger couldn't help feeling puzzled.A closet of clothes made Roger once again feel that the group of strange ghosts in his memory seemed to be standing behind him.The owner of this room did not intend to hide his identity, on the contrary, he was a person who could come out at any time.

"Look at these men, is there anyone who has a special relationship with your brother?"

"You mean boyfriend?" Alice took the photos from him. "No way. I think he had one. There was a guy on a Harley who used to come by our door and they always rode out together. I remember my dad talking about it once. But the guy Not in the picture." She handed the picture back to Roger.

There is something strange here.

He found a pair of handcuffs in a drawer.It is the kind that is easy to break free.No whip, no cane, and no whip.No collars or other tokens of slave status.

Roger stood in the middle of the room, wrinkling his nose.The room resembled his own once, and he could feel that he was missing something.

"Do you remember anything that happened the night your brother died?"

"Mom and I were at a movie in Westwood. It was the premiere. Dad was out on a business trip. We didn't find out Tommy had an accident until we got home."

It has been too long, and there is no grief in her tone, only sadness.

"He was laying in the bath with his wrists slit. His ankles were also slit. The doctor told me he was bled out. He said he should go fast. He fell asleep like that and then couldn't do it anymore. wake up."

A pale retelling.These words seemed to have been recited countless times in her mind.

"He said he couldn't go to the movies with us because he had business to do. He was so happy. I think the most unacceptable thing for mum was what Tommy said to her, she always knew he was going to What. It's like Tommy lied to her."

"He said he had something to do?"

"It's terrible, isn't it?"

Roger thought about it. "Movie premieres are usually scheduled on Wednesday nights, did you guys do that too?"

"Well, I think so," said Alice, looking at him strangely.

Roger rubbed his thumb across his lips. "Does your brother have an address book?"

"Yes, all the boys in those days had it. A small black book."

"did you find it?"

Alice looked a little surprised. "No. It's strange, isn't it? He always has it with him. We got the purse back, but not the little book."

Roger immediately realized that it was the killer who had erased evidence that could point to him.The book that Roger and Marianne found in the YMCA locker might have been in Sean's storage as well.This means that his name should be in the contacts of those victims.Based on this, it can be inferred that this murderer is inextricably linked to the niche leather circle he once stayed in, which is also what Roger is worried about.

Roger's mind was full of phantoms from the past.Men in leather, hanging out at parties; men smoking filterless cigarettes, following him with eyes; .These are friends.In a sense, it is his extended family.One of the "family members" used an almost cruel ritualized method to kill the others.

It frightened and disgusted him, and at the same time made him furious.

***

It wasn't until Roger drove the car into the cul-de-sac where his neighborhood was located and saw that every room in his house was lit that he remembered that he had given Sean the key.

In Roger's well-organized life, he only has sex with some old friends who don't spark, such as Pete.If there are other needs, he will spend money to find slaves.Usually he chooses men who are experienced and don't weigh him down too much emotionally.That way, Roger would be able to meet his needs without having to evoke the sense of boundless sadness and loneliness that Patrick's departure had left him with.

He'd show Sean that this was just a one-off exception.The benefits of proximity and Roger's inner guilt, plus an unfortunate coincidence.They shouldn't have further expectations and fantasies about this relationship.

Roger turned off the engine, and found that his hands holding the car keys were soaked with sweat, and his heart was beating wildly.

"Hey." Sean was sitting on Roger's new sofa, wearing an emerald green UC T-shirt, gray sweatpants, and a pair of white socks.The TV was on mute, and the light from the screen danced on his face.

Roger put down his briefcase. "You don't have to wait for me."

"I didn't wait. I told you I couldn't sleep after work." Sean's voice was a little rushed.Once again, Roger felt challenged, as if Sean had thrown him a dozen Scrabble tiles to make Roger spell the word he had in mind.

"Have you eaten?"

"I made myself something to eat. I wrote a bit. I read the news for a while. It said that some people were killed in Compton. I thought I could see you there, but you were not there."

Roger began to understand that, like his nail-biting habit, Sean's spouting speech was a sign of nervousness.

"Not every case will ask us to go, especially in such a southerly place."

"Oh."

Roger hung up his coat.Normally he would go straight to the bedroom and change, but right now he doesn't feel like he can do that.He turned on the answering machine and left a message on his phone as he went into the kitchen to get a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

There was a call from Jay, a couple of hangups, and his insurance specialist, again lobbying him to upgrade his policy.

"Besides, I don't know which room I should sleep in," Sean said from the kitchen door.

"Ah." Roger put down the water, thinking about how to start the little speech he had prepared earlier - about expectations, sexual desires, emotions and financial situations.He cleared his throat, and Sean started looking at him with that uneasy look.That was the last scene Roger could remember clearly, though, because afterward he was only vaguely aware of himself taking a few steps on the kitchen floor, and then Sean walking towards him, and the softness of the cotton under his palm. Soft to the touch and the taste of Sean between the lips and teeth.

They stumbled into the cupboard and one of them let out an "ouch".

"Sorry," said Roger.Sean smelled of soap, and the hair at the nape of his neck was still damp.Roger tasted his earlobe and chin, felt the faint smell of alcohol, and Roger knew Sean had bathed and shaved for him.

He felt that the clothes of the two of them seemed to be endless.But there were still many similar awkwardnesses, and he didn't feel that he was on the right track until they both fell into his big bed naked.

Sean stretched and writhed under Roger's kisses, shaking, before rolling over on top of Roger, pecking at his neck and shoulders and licking his nipples until Sean only started sucking when the other asked to "harder" and "again".Later, Roger got up and rolled over again, holding Sean's head and hips, like holding a large piece of melon, and enjoying the other's whole body.His face rubbed against the other's skin, as if wanting to rub water, he stuck out his tongue to draw on Sean's chest, licked and nibbled those freckles.His nose traced circles in the hair around his navel.

"Roger..." Sean shook his head and whispered.

"I want you," Roger said hoarsely, "turn over."

Sean eagerly did so, stretching his arms over his head and spreading his legs.

Roger found lube and a condom in his nightstand, and traced with his hands on Sean's ass, feeling his curves, groping his fingers between his buttocks, dabbing the lube back and forth around his entrance.

"Does it still hurt?" he whispered, leaning on the back of Sean's neck.

Sean mumbled some sticky words, the last being "Like your hand was still on it all day..." He rubbed his ass back and forth into Roger's hands.

"Don't worry, don't worry!" Roger chuckled, pushing the lube inwards, trying to relax Sean enough to allow at least two fingers to sink into the knuckles. "I don't want to hurt you, puppy."

Sean moved under his palm. "I like it rough, Roger."

"Not this time," Roger said, slipping the condom on and lubricating with clean hands.He leaned into Sean's entrance, and Sean raised his head and arched his back.

Roger sent the front end in but met repulsion.He stopped and waited.Sean's whole body was like a knot that was slowly and actively unraveling.Centimeter by centimeter, Roger felt the internal muscles of the opponent's body give in, and then Sean's body's reaction got the better of him, and he began to swallow Roger, almost sucking his penis into him.Roger's heart was trembling, he could barely breathe, and he forgot how to breathe, until Sean swung under him, calling his name, and then pulled his attention back.Roger began to push into the warm, tight body beneath him, as if to pierce him directly.

Sean choked out a cry and began to grip the mattress tightly with one hand, all the muscles in his back tensed and then relaxed.Roger kept pushing, feeling the walls of his gut contract around his cock, and his orgasm building between his legs.The moment it officially hit, pleasure overflowed his chest and brain.

Sean was panting intermittently under him, and Roger immediately propped himself up on his elbows, not wanting to crush him.He brushed back the sweaty curls on Sean's neck, leaned over to lick the sweat there, and whispered, "Are you okay?"

Sean didn't answer.As Roger pulled himself out, Sean rolled over and wrapped his arms around Roger, leaning against him, with his head on his neck.

"Did I hurt you?" Roger asked.

"No."

"I've got to get rid of this," Roger said, pointing to the condom. "Can I get you some water?"

"want."

The reflection in the bathroom mirror was Roger, not Roger, the strong limbs were his, but the startled eyes were not his.

"Your water."

Sean sat up.His wonderful hair was like a pile of orange and red hay.He took the glass from Roger's hand and drank it in big gulps.He put the glass on the table, and a shudder ran from his neck through his shoulders.Roger took him into his arms, put his hands on him, caressed him, and shook him lightly. Only then did Sean calm down slowly, and the trembling gradually receded.

"You're tight," Roger said, "and you don't do it often."

"Yes."

Roger put Sean on his shoulder, comforted him, and kissed his hair.He fell backwards with Sean, until Sean finally rolled over, lying across Roger's broad chest, surrounded by Roger's arms.

"Sean?"

"Ah."

"Is this your first time?"

There was a long silence.The body under Roger's arms was stirred by a wave of emotion. "Yes." Sean replied quietly.

He might have really hurt him.Roger opened his mouth to make it clear to Sean, but he felt a huge wave of emotion still stirring in the man under his arms, so he changed his mouth and asked, "What else do you need?" ?"

"That's all," said Sean, "just lie there."

***

At [-]:[-] in the morning, the phone rang.Roger has a luminous alarm clock that displays the time on the ceiling of the room so that when his phone rings in the middle of the night, he can tell the time as soon as he wakes up.

"I'm Corso." It's meaningless for him to say that, because at this point he can only be approached by work, and the other party naturally knows who he is.

When Sean woke up, Roger was mostly dressed. "Roger?" came a murmur from under the blanket, and Sean seemed to like sleeping with his head covered.

Roger patted the top of his head that was exposed under the wool blanket. "I have to go to work. I'll call you when it's convenient."

"Oh." Sean stretched out his hand, warm and soft, fingers hanging on Roger's wrist.His eyes were still closed, his head dropped back on the mattress, mostly covered by the blanket, but he still held on to Roger.

"Sean, I really have to go." Roger wanted to push the opponent's hand away, but Sean did not let go.

"Take me with you." Sean seemed to be talking in his sleep.

Roger smiled. "No." He leaned forward and kissed Sean.Sean turned his head and kissed him back, and Roger reluctantly released his hand and stood up.

"I'll call you," he said.