Free The Price Of Dick by Dan Skinner

established himself in his career. Whatever my reasons for opening my home to him, they were never closely scrutinized. I met their criteria for “normal” and they accepted me with no suspicions. I assumed it was because I could provide an endless supply of imported beer. When they inquired about my work as a photographer, I’d queued up the hetero romance shots on the computer for them to see. That satisfied any remaining questions they had. Dick might have been the one in the closet, but I was the one he was handing a mask to wear from inside it.
    Every get-together with these guys was a festival of ‘ remember whens .’ They’d probably remain that way for eternity. I’d heard so many stories of Dick’s conquests of women during his college years, they could have filled an entire issue of Hustler Magazine. Their admiration of his prowess with women was like the crowning jewel of their precious friendship. I began to wonder how much was real and how much exaggerated tale-telling by the Lady Killer .
    I wondered, silently of course, how a man who clearly preferred men, could convince so many people, including the women he dated, that he was heterosexual. He apparently had hidden talents.
    I socialized with these people strictly for his benefit. In truth, there wasn’t a one of them I really cared for. Juvenile minds in adult bodies didn’t intrigue me. Their collective lascivious laugh sessions were, in fact, annoying. But I did it because...
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    The next shoot. The next male romance script for them to follow.
    My young dark-haired friend, Mike , would portray the playful gay lifeguard with a dewy-eyed crush on the straight college jock who came to the pool to lie in the sun and study. He’d watch the stud oil his body, roll up his trunks and fall asleep in a pool chair, hooking his legs over the edges so that, both face up and down, his assets were constantly displayed to even a casual observer.
    Now , he wouldn’t say it, but Dick was himself captivated by Mike. I’m not sure what it was. The photos he’d seen of him already may have sparked his interest, or perhaps it was Mike’s lack of sexual inhibitions. The boy had a strong personality signature that made him attractive in unique ways. He oozed sexuality from every pore. He was a guy who looked like he liked to fuck, and all you would have to do was ask him. No strings attached. For a closet case attracted to men, I could see why Mike would be appealing.
    Dick also had some requests of his own, in addition to playing his scripted role in this particular shoot. He wanted Mike to believe that he was absolutely and positively one hundred percent straight. Period. I also couldn’t tell Mike that he was my roommate. He was to be introduced as simply a business acquaintance. Dick would spin the rest of the tale himself.
    I set the game in motion by informing Mike that my new straight friend had volunteered to do the male romance shoot for me as a gesture of kindness; an owed favor. He was a modeling novice, very nervous about posing with a man. He had strong reservations and might be inclined to back out of it if given half a chance. It was up to Mike to try to make him comfortable, just as he had with the model on the occasion of our first shoot by the lake. All of these things were Dick’s ideas. It brought a smile to Mike’s face as I told him. He loved his role of seducing the seemingly unattainable.
    I arranged their meeting. The ‘newbie’ model, Dick, entered the apartment as if he’d never been there. He was wearing one of his light-colored business dress suits. It accentuated his recently deepened tan and the deep-set baby blues. They shook hands with gentlemanly etiquette. Stiff, reserved. One hand swallowed the other. The size discrepancy between the two men was striking. Mike was immediately smitten with Dick. His eyes fastened on him with a curious fascination. His body language was all youthful lust hidden beneath a layer of