Berto's Roses
By Ben
Part XXI
"Actually, maybe there is something that you could help me with, Berto. I need to buy a desk for my computer and maybe a table to work on as well. Is there a place in town that I can find something like that?"
"Oh, si, Senor Ben. There is a fine carpenter that I know of. He can make anything you need."
"Whoa, I'm not sure I want to spend a lot of money for something to hold up my computer..."
Berto smiled and put on a wily expression. "Oh, no. You will not spend much. Berto will see to it that Carlos treats you fairly. I will go with you to make sure. Shall I ask Senor Roberto for the use of his truck?"
"Hmmm, I think I'll do that, but you are certainly more than welcome to come with me. I could use your help and I would enjoy the company. Let me talk to Bob and see if we have time before Mack gets here. I need to be here to talk some things over with him and Bob."
Berto seemed very excited that he could help me. I Found Bob in his room, resting before his guest arrived. He assured me that would be plenty of time for all the talk and paperwork with Mack as he would be staying for a few days. He gave me his truck keys and I went to find Berto.
Instead, I found Manuella, so I asked her if she knew where Berto was. She opened her mouth, leaned her head back and took a deep breath. I knew I would have to hold my ears or Manuella's mouth in order to save my hearing, so I did the latter. Manuella was surprised to find my palm clamped across her open mouth and she damned near bit me.
"It's okay, Manuella. I will go and find him. I'm sure he is in the garden." She looked at me as if she couldn't understand why anybody would actually move around to find Berto, instead of screaming at the top of their lungs for him.
I looked in the garden, but didn't find Berto. I walked to the side of the house where the carport was and saw him pacing by Bob's truck. He had put on a bright yellow polo shirt and (yes. It was true!) shoes. They looked to be brand-new Nikes and he was strutting around in them rather proudly.
"Nice shoes, Berto. Can you drive there without scaring me to death?"
Full of self importance, Berto took the keys I offered to him. "Si, Senor Ben. I will be very careful." He lied. If anything it was worse that the trip to the airport. As with most young men, Berto thought that being able to get a vehicle to move quickly, holding it on the road (for the most part) and not hitting anything of significance made one a great driver.
He drove at two speeds: fast and stop/slide. We arrived, in his customary cloud of dust, at a small wooden building in the center of town. Berto didn't bother parking the truck. He just hopped out and left it, with the keys in the ignition, in the middle of the street. I reached over and got the keys, then followed him inside.
Stepping into the shop I saw several work tables, wood clamps, bar clamps and shelves that held all manner or woodworking hand tools. I also noticed that the wooden flood was swept clean, although the scent of fresh-cut wood was strong. This was a smell that I have treasured since I was a small boy, watching my grandfather in his basement woodshop.
There was nobody in sight, so Berto walked out a door in the far wall, calling for Carlos. I followed him into a narrow alley. He opened, without knocking, a door to a building adjacent to the shop. I stopped outside and looked, with surprise at a small kitchen with a short table, at which was seated an elderly woman and a young man.
I assumed that the woman was Carlos' wife and the young man his son. "Hola, Senora, hola Carlos." Berto began. Of course, the rest of what he said was lost on me, but he looked and gestured towards me several times. Carlos, the young man, stood saying "Si, si...aqui." signaling for us to follow him, he led us into the next room.
Against one wall was a sturdy wooden table, about eight feet long, and two and a half feet wide. The design was simple but the workmanship was remarkable. I was afraid to ask how much it cost. A table of this quality would be over $500 back home. I wasn't prepared to pay that much. All I wanted was something to put my computer on. This table would do well for that and give me ample room to do layouts, etc.
"Can he build me a table like that, and how much would it cost me?" I asked Berto. They exchanged a few words. " He saws you can buy this one for $100 dollars. Offer him fifty." Berto advised me.
"It's worth many times what he's asking, Berto..." I started.
"Please do not insult him, Senor Ben. I will offer him $50." Berto turned to Carlos and made the offer in Spanish. Carlos shook his head and, I assumed, mad a counter offer. The exchanged offers for a bit and then Bert asked me, "Would you be willing to give him $70 for this table?"
"Hell yeah, uh I mean yes. Make the deal before he changes his mind." Berto did so and he and Carlos shook hands. Carlos also shook my hand and I counted out my U.S. currency for him. He then called "Mama!" The elderly lady shuffled in and he handed the money to her, while explaining what had just transpired. Her face lit up and she took my hand saying, "Gracias, Senor."
Had I just bought this old woman's table? And, for next to nothing? I was feeling very guilty about the whole thing. Berto and Carlos just grabbed the table, and made their way through the door with it. I followed behind and managed to get ahead of them so I could open the tailgate of the truck.
As the were loading the table, strong, lithe muscles expressing them selves on both young men, I saw the old woman dragging a heavy wooden chair from the shop door. I hadn't even though about a chair, but now realized I would need one.
"Berto, how much for this chair?" I asked as I wrestled it from the Senora, who was determined to get it on the truck herself. "Senor Ben, you have already paid for it. The chair was part of the deal." This was just too much. The chair was worth more than what I paid for it and the table combined. How could I make this up to these generous people?
"Berto, does Carlos build large projects like building and rooms? I have some work that needs to be done around the house to get it ready to be a Bed and Breakfast. Would Carlos be interested in taking a look at what I need?"
Berto gave me that wily looked again and spoke with Carlos. He seemed agreeable to it. Berto confirmed this to me and told me that Carlos wanted to go to the house with us now so he could help unload the table, too.
I thought it was a great idea, so I handed Berto the keys. He gave me a look that said "crazy Gringo" and climbed into the driver's seat. Carlos started to climb into the bed, but I motioned for him to join us in the cab. He sat in the middle and openly eyed me all the way back to the house.
I noticed a bright red Jaguar in the carport and guessed that Mack had arrived. It looked like a lawyer's car. Berto backed the truck next to the door. He got so close to the house on my side that I wasn't able to open my door. He and Carlos slid out under the steering wheel. I had no choice but to do the same.
They took the table into my room and I took the chair. They put it where I showed them and I pushed the chair up against it. That done, I led then out to the patio to show Carlos, through Berto, what I wanted. I also showed him the rooms on the first floor where I wanted the bathrooms, and the area on the second floor where I wanted the big bathroom. Finally I showed him the carport and explained the expansion that I wanted.
I told him I could draw up the plans as soon as I got my computer set up, using AutoCAD. He had no idea what I was talking about, but seemed satisfied that he would have a picture to look at. He felt confident that he could build everything I need and do it as soon as I wanted it. We didn't discuss a cost estimate, as I wanted to give him the plans first. Besides, I wanted to talk to Bob about it, first.
Berto took Carlos home and I went up to Bob's office to meet Mack and talk. I opened the door and there was Bob and, I assumed, Mack by the desk. Mack was a short, trim black man with a balding head, a moustache, and an expression of deep concentration on his face-his eyes closed.
He was leaning across Bob's desk. He had his shirt off revealing a VERY hairy body. He had his dress slacks crumpled around his ankles and Bob's cock in his ass. Bob was naked and standing behind Mack. He, too, had his eyes closed and was fucking his lawyer in long slow strokes.
I took a step to leave and tripped over the doorframe. I landed on my ass and elbows, noisily on the floor. This, of course, alerted the two men to my presence. " Bob just smiled and said, "Ben, back already? You okay? This is Mack. Mack, this is my old friend, Ben." The guy actually extended his hand and, after I got up, shook mine. It was one hell of a way to meet your lawyer.
"I'll...uh...come back...um ...later." I stammered. I started to back out the door, watching where I was going this time.
"Don't be silly, Ben. You've seen me fucking before. Besides I need some help." Grunted Bob, never missing a beat. This scene really wasn't "doing it" for me, but I knew what he wanted. I shut and latched the door, to keep Manuella from walking in, and walked behind Bob.
I reached around and clamped my fingers onto his nipples, hard. I pressed my body against his back and whispered into his ear, "Give it up man, pop that nut, cum for your buddy, Mack." Bob was moaning and so was Mack. Both were getting close. I twisted the shit out of Bob's nipples and he came immediately.
He thrust his cock into Mack a couple of more times and then lay across him on the desk. Thank God he wasn't as big as he used to be. He would have crushed the little guy. I stepped back to give them some air. Bob stood back up and withdrew his spent cock from Mack's asshole. I noticed that there was no condom.
Through all of this I didn't begin to get hard. Although I have had great sex with black men, and did so regularly over a three-year period with Fred, Mack just wasn't attractive to me. To start with, he was hair everywhere except the top of his head. Add to this his body, although trim, seemed out of proportion. His torso was much longer than his legs. He had a larger than normal head and his face was less than handsome.
I waited until they were breathing normally and had put their pants back on. All in all a strange start to a business meeting. We finally got down to brass tacks and I found that Mack was a genuinely nice guy, and certainly knew what the heck he was doing as a lawyer.
We had all the details wrapped up in a few hours. I told Mack he could print out from laptop just as soon as I had my computer out of the boxes and set up. He told me he would be around a couple of more days and that there was plenty of time.
"Bob and I are going to go out for something to eat. Would you care to join us?" asked Mack. I can deduct it as a business expense." He joked.
"You know, I think I'll just hang out around here. I just had a bunch of stuff delivered and I really want to get it unpacked. Besides, I promised to help Berto out with some stuff in the garden. He's teaching me how to care for the roses while he's at school. Thanks for the invitation, though."
"Ah, yes. Well I can't blame you there. Berto is a hot little piece of ass, but I don't think he would welcome any advances." Mack said with a leer.
"I wasn't planning that sort of an evening with him. But thanks for the advice." I said this only half-kidding. Mack had pissed me off with his remark about Berto. I said my good-byes and headed down the stairs.
I poked my head and saw a sad-looking Manuella sitting at the little table in the kitchen. "Manuella? I won't be going out with Bob and Mack. Could I get you to fix something?"
Her face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Oh, si, Senor Ben. I will cook you a wonderful meal!" I got crushed against her round body as she squeezed the air from me.
"Oh, one other thing." She let go and looked at me questioning. " I would like for you and Berto to eat with me. I really hate to eat alone."
This touched her and she teary eyed. "Si, Senor Ben. We will eat with you." Another hug, gentler and more motherly this time. Hey if I can get a great meal and make her happy at the same time, why not?
I walked out to the garden in search of Berto. He was pruning the bushes. It looked treacherous to me. I wasn't sure I could bring myself to chop then as he was doing. "How do you know how much to cut?" I asked after he had turned to see me.
"You must feel it. I will show you how. Come down here." He was squatting down, as he usually did. "Give me your hand, be careful of the thorns." Because he as more lithe than me, I ended up kneeling behind him. He took my left hand in his and placed it on a dark green branch
I had to put my other hand on his shoulder and lean over him. "Do you feel that, Senor Ben? Right there. That's where you cut." He took the shears in his right hand and carefully made the cut. "Here is another place. Feel that? " Another cut. "Now you find one."
I moved my hand and he said, "Si, right there. You are doing well." He turned his face to look at mine. This put our lips just a few inches apart. My body was almost literally wrapped around his and, God, how I wanted to hold him, kiss him, love him. This was too close. I started growing hard, and I was afraid he would feel it or see it. I stood up, clumsily.
"Yeah, I guess I'm a natural, Berto. Um...it's getting kind of late. I told your mother that I wouldn't be going out with Bob and Mack. I also asked her if you and she would eat with me tonight. I told her that I don't like to eat alone."
Berto stood and looked directly at me. "No, Senor Ben, it is not good to be alone." He stooped once again and picked up the stems and roses he had cut. "Here, this is for you. I know they are your favorite." He handed me a large white rose. "Gracias, Berto."
"You are welcome, Senor Ben. I will go and put this away, then see if Mama needs my help."
Watching him walk away, I realized that I was alone. I thought that's what I wanted. I went to my room and unpacked a few boxes. I wanted to get a head start before supper. I found all the major pieces and put them on my new table. It was a lot of work and I was soon hot and sweaty.
I put off connecting all the cables until later and took a shower instead. With visions of being so close to Berto in my mind, I washed my body. It reacted to the mental images and I had to relieve myself. I worked my cock to a rather noisy orgasm, rinsed and turned off the water.
I heard a soft knock. "Senor Ben?" It was Berto's voice. Had he heard me, had he seen me thorough the frosted glass shower door? "Yes Berto?"
Uh-oh. What's next? You just have to wait to find out. ben_sc@hotmail.com Other stories I have posted on Nifty can be found under the Author's link. Look for Lyle Benton.