Trenton lay there for several minutes, waiting for his heart rate to return to normal. It almost had, when a knock on the door sped it up again. "Trenton?" It was Clive's voice. Trent's heart kicked into overdrive.

"Huh?" Trenton struggled back into a sitting position.

"Are you okay in there?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine. Open up."

Complete, paralyzing terror hit Trenton. He looked at the puddles and runnels of spunk spread on the tile floor before him. Maybe he could convince Clive it was hair conditioner? No, probably not.

"I'm okay. What's the problem?" He stretched and caught the end paper towel dangling from the roll hanging by the sink. Jerking, he managed to pull the roll off the spindle so that it bumped off his head and rolled across the room. Swearing under his breath, he ripped off several towels, wadded them, and started trying to wipe up his come.

"Your Mom says you ran in here like a scalded cat. Are you sick?"

"No, no. Nothing like that." He scooped and wiped frantically. Fuck! The shit was harder to wipe up than raw egg. It just seemed to scoot and smear.

"Trenton, you sound really off. I want you to open this door right now."

"Can't right now. Give me a minute." One handful of towels went in the trash. Trenton grabbed some more, hastily jerking off a long streamer. The roll spun and danced. He scrubbed the floor wildly.

"Can you open the door?" Clive sounded concerned. "Trent, you're scaring me."

"No problem. No sweat," Trenton babbled, stuffing the dirtied paper towels in the trash, nearly filling it. He staggered to his feet, grabbing up the paper towel roll. Looking at the spindle, he realized that there was no way in hell he was coordinated enough at the moment to put it back, and instead slammed the roll down on the counter.

"I swear, if you don't open this door, I'm gonna kick it in! I can, Trenton. I've done it before."

"Cripes, hang on!" Trenton was reaching for the lock when he realized that he was still unzipped, cock dangling free. "Fuck!" He stuffed himself in and zipped up, reaching for the door.

He got it open to find Clive braced against the opposite wall, leg cocked up, ready to kick. Clive lowered his leg and stepped in quickly, grabbing Trenton's arms. He looked the boy up and down, turning him roughly to scan for damage. Then he grabbed Trenton's face, brushing his hair up out of his eyes, and stared into them.

"Your pupils are dilated." He leaned close, squeezed Trenton's jaw so that his mouth popped open, and sniffed. "No booze, no pot. Trenton, did you take anything?"

Trenton tried to shake out of Clive's grasp. "No! Geez, you think I'd do that?" He didn't escape--Clive had him too tight. He was probably going to have bruises. The thought of Clive leaving a mark on him, his mark, made his cock twitch again, and he bit his lip to stifle a moan.

Clive went still, looking at him in surprise. He said slowly, "No, Trenton, I really don't think that." Clive watched the way the boy's teeth were mauling his lush bottom lip, and said, "It's not that I don't trust you, but you worried me--rushing into the bathroom like that, so distressed, and not wanting to open up, and then acting mysterious and embarrassed. There's only three possibilities I could come up with. You were sick, you were drinking or doing drugs, or you were..." He smiled slowly.

His eyes flicked to the shiny spot on the floor. Trenton froze. Clive released his hold on one arm, bent over and extracted a paper towel between thumb and forefinger. He held it up and examined it, giving it a little sniff. His smile expanded as he dropped it back in the wastebasket. "or else you were indulging in a bit of spontaneous self abuse. Really, Trenton, it's nothing to be ashamed of. Perfectly natural, especially at your age."

Trenton slumped. He didn't know whether to feel relieved or defeated. "You won't tell my Mom, will you?"

"No. Let's just blame it on that hot dog you had for lunch. You really shouldn't have chili, relish, and sauerkraut, you know."

"Thanks Clive."

"But that does leave me with one question."

Trenton eyed him apprehensively. "Yeah?"

Clive's grip on his arm loosened. He slid his hand down, till his thumb stroked the tender skin at the crook of Trenton's elbow. "Exactly what it was that inspired such desperate measures? You should be about past the spontaneous boner when the breeze blows stage. What got you so hot and bothered, Trent?" Trenton couldn't speak. He stared at the thumb smoothing over his skin, then looked up at Clive silently.

Clive searched the beautiful green eyes, glazed into mint crystal, and nodded. "We need to have a talk, Trent. Ask your mother if you can stay over and have dinner with me. I'll see that you get home."