Locked In

by Jannine

"This place is creepy Michael!"

"Oh you big baby. It's not creepy. It's just musty and filled with old stuff."

"It stinks! I don't think this place has seen natural light for like 20 years!"

"More like 30. My mom used to bring me here; I think I was about 3 on my first trip."

"Awww, and I bet you were cute even then!"

"Flattery is not getting you out of this Ben; you promised to help me pack up these boxes."

"And tell me again why I volunteered to give up my monthly Friday night of dancing and clubbing."

"Because you worship the ground I walk on and besides that, if I don't get these out of here before Monday, this warehouse is being bulldozed and these classic, historic comics will be lost forever... You don't want that."

"Okay, yes... I worship the ground you walk on... but let's be clear on one thing -- when we get home tonight, I have every intention of letting you pamper me to within an inch of my life! You're gonna owe me lover... big time."

Michael laughed "That sounds like a threat!"

"No, it's a promise! Let's just get on with this!"

Michael asked Ben to shift the heavier boxes around and stack them by the wall nearest the warehouse door while he sealed them and made sure that the old books weren't being any more damaged than they were, after decades of just being left to rot in the cold, dank warehouse.

Two hours and umpteen boxes later and almost a whole roll of tape and the bigger boxes were ready to be transported. Michael had hired a small trailer to run the boxes back to his mother's garage where he would store them until he figured out what to do with them. Some of the books he would be able to sell and hopefully make some good money on but others were just dust collectors and not worth much at all. Those in good condition he would bag up and try and sell off at discount prices at his store; others he would donate to charity drives etc. He just didn't want the warehouse to be torn down and have the comics destroyed.

He had inherited the contents of the warehouse when he initially purchased the store but he just never got around to checking out the contents thoroughly; he was always going to do it 'one day'. Two weeks ago he got served notice that the owners of the building opposite had purchased the warehouse and land and that it would be torn down. He either had to move the contents or they'd be demolished along with the actual building. It was now or never time and luckily he had charmed his sexy husband into helping him with the arduous chore.

Michael had propped open the door with a hand trolley when they first came in, knowing that the electricity hadn't been connected in the warehouse for quite some years. They had enough light to see where the boxes were but he had no idea which box contained which books -- that would come later. There would be much sorting and preserving of stock later. Luckily his mom and Carl rarely used their huge garage, so it made for perfect storage.

Ben carried the first of the boxes out to the trailer and Michael finished boxing up some other piles. On the way back in from his second trip to the trailer Ben tripped on the wheel of the hand trolley and cursed, "Shit!"

In his frustration he kicked at the trolley; he was more annoyed that he had to carry out boxes because the stupid trolley was needed to hold the door open. Then he was more annoyed because he hadn't thought to use a box to hold the door open while he used the trolley... so the heavy kick to the trolley served both to vent his annoyance and his frustration. The trouble was, the kick also saw the door slam shut, with Michael's keys on the other side, still in the lock.

Just as the door closed with a click, Michael ran as though in slow motion, his mouth trying to get the words "No Ben, don't let it close...." out. It was too late. The door closed.

Ben turned to look at Michael who had now stopped in his tracks with a jolt and said "Please tell me that doesn't mean what I think it means!"

Michael exhaled, "We're locked in."

"I think I just asked you not to tell me that!"

"I'm sorry... but that's exactly what it means. I propped the door open with the trolley and I left my keys in the lock so I wouldn't lose them."

"Oh great! That's just wonderful."

Michael wanted to say he was sorry and that he was sure it would be okay, but in all honesty, he had no idea how they were going to get out of that warehouse. Ben looked around, as much as he could in the very dim light. There were no windows in this place, no other doors; it was just a shell of a warehouse with storage racks and the one door. The one locked door.

"You do realise there is no other way out of here, don't you?" Ben asked with a tinge of sarcasm.

Michael took particular note of Ben's tone and replied calmly "Yes, I do realise that. You do realise that's why I propped open the door in the first place."

Ben heeded Michael's mock sarcastic tone and took it one step further; "You do realise that a hand trolley is not really made for propping open doors!"

"And you realise that if you hadn't kicked the fucking hand trolley, the door wouldn't be locked now!" Michael said almost laughing, trying to get the upper hand.

"Well I didn't leave the keys in the lock, on the outside!" Ben was almost crowing now.

There was no comeback for that observation. Michael decided to quit while he could still perhaps walk out of this situation with a little dignity intact.

Ben walked over to the far side of the warehouse and poked around. There was nothing here but a few old chairs, a ratty old sofa, dozens of crates and of course, the boxes of packed comics that he hadn't finished loading into the trailer. The storage racks were mostly empty and the floor was strewn with odds and ends, mostly rubbish. There was nothing of use to help them get out of there. There was no window to hurl a chair through which Ben decidedly wanted to do at that moment and there was no means of light, which was probably also a good thing -- given his frustration at the situation. It prevented Michael from seeing the smirk on his face at the precarious nature of their predicament. 

"I'm sorry Ben. I don't know what else to say."

Ben could make Michael out on the other wall and knew by his quiet tone that Michael was already upset; he didn't need Ben's wrath as well. "We'll figure something out Michael."

Michael scoffed "Yeah, like what exactly!"

Well that was enough to set Ben's mood off again. "Well I don't know! I'm not a freakin' escape artist -- just give me time to think!"

No reply held the notion that Michael had no ideas either and that pretending time would solve this situation was indeed inane, but Ben needed the time to cool off. He strutted purposefully across the warehouse, mindful not to trip on anything and he went to the door. He shook it as hard as he could, not really expecting it to open, but to check the doggedness of the door, whether it was damaged somehow. Of course the door was the most solid piece of crap in this whole entire warehouse. They weren't busting out of there any time soon.

"Who knows we're here?"

Michael considered the question by Ben and moved toward the voice. "Um, I told Teddy I was coming down here today because he asked me to go to some fucking book reading thing and I had to get out of it... My mom of course -- she knew I wanted to store stuff and that we'd be making a couple of trips back and forth and I guess Brian. I remember him asking if I wanted to hit the gym this afternoon and he mocked me when I told him what I was doing, of course. That's about it."

"And do any of them know exactly where this hell hole is?" Ben asked in a pleading voice.

Another question to be considered, but he wasn't sure if Ben would appreciate his response this time. "I'm not sure... I've talked about this place -- I guess. Oh, my mom has to know where it is, she's been here!"

"Since you were 3?"

"I see your point..."

"No Michael, I really don't think you do! This situation is not panning out favourably." Ben's arms crossed against his chest and he took a deep breath.

Michael kept his cool, "Yes, I can sense that Ben but getting shitty and uptight isn't going to change that... so why don't we just..."

"I'm not shitty Michael, I'm frustrated! I want to get out of here and I have no clue as to how to make that happen."

"Well as long as you're not shitty then!" Michael rolled his eyes in the darkened space and appreciated Ben not being able to see that. He did hear an audible exhale though, one that did indeed hold much frustration.

Michael pulled up a crate and sat down, which immediately appeared to set Ben off even more. "So what, we're giving up already. We're just gonna sit here until someone finds us?"

Michael sprang back to his feet, "Well Jesus Ben, what do you want me to do? I have no idea how to get out! I thought I'd sit and think for a minute, but by all means -- if you have any other plans -- feel free to share!"

He sat back down, regretful that he lost his temper at Ben. Arguing wasn't helping and he wanted to keep a calm head because clearly Ben was losing his struggle to keep one at this point in time.

"If you had just let me go back for my cell when I forgot it earlier, we'd have been able to call someone by now."

Michael's hands went to his face in despair; this situation was going from bad to worse! He was hoping Ben hadn't remembered that particular portion of their problematic situation. "Yes, I had already thought that myself. I just didn't see the point at the time, I didn't think we'd need a phone... hindsight is a wonderful tool."

Ben didn't respond, Michael was right -- hindsight was indeed wonderful. He prided himself on always being careful and organised. He hardly ever forgot his phone but today was the exception and he and Michael had been kidding around and teasing one another and had just left the house without a care in the world. Left behind, one fully charged cell. Ben kicked at the grimy floor with that realisation.

"Will you please just sit down, calm down and let's talk this through."

Ben didn't have any other immediate ideas, so he might as well. He pulled up another crate and sat a few feet from Michael. In the quiet Michael had a thought. "Well we know that at the very least they're scheduled to pull this place down on Monday morning... [Michael heard Ben suck in air, ready to let fly with a few expletives at that notion] But let me finish Ben... My point is that hopefully people will be around checking on things, finalising details etc. I don't think they'd just show up Monday morning with no more formalities, would they?"

"Well let's hope that's the case."

"And the other good thing is that we have water bottles and we have snacks. I knew we'd be here for a while and I knew you skipped lunch earlier, so I threw together some fruit and other things. They're around here somewhere."

Ben almost smiled in the dark, finally a glimmer of hope. "Well let's leave them for now; no telling how long we're going to be in here... but yes, it's great that you thought to do that."

Michael smiled too, concession from his husband that he wasn't totally useless. "Why don't you pull your crate over here a bit more..."

Shuffling of the crate and feeling warmth from Ben's body put a smile on Michael's face. He rested his hand lightly on Ben's knee and said "I'm really sorry honey."

Ben took his hand in his and said "No baby, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I got so tense -- I didn't mean to get so worked up. Forgive me?"

"Always. You know, we'll look back on this one day and laugh... really, we will."

Ben squeezed his hand, "Well assuming we don't get bulldozed in the meantime, I sincerely hope that's true baby."

After deciding that fighting and becoming angry and annoyed and frustrated wasn't going to do anything but get them depressed, hot and bothered; Ben and Michael found an old painter's canvas cover and lay it out on the floor. It had to be better than lying on the filth that was under it. It had been stored up on a shelf so it appeared, or at least felt halfway decent. They sat on the ground cover.

After a few long minutes of awkward, tension-filled silence Michael said lightly "You up for I Spy?"

Ben couldn't help but laugh. "I can't see for shit in here Michael... what am I supposed to Spy exactly?"

"I spy with my little eye, something beginning with S."

"Oh, we're really gonna do this huh? Okay. Um.... S... Scraps?"

"Nope."

"S.... Shit."

Michael laughed, "Nope."

"Stench ridden comic books?"

"No! Sexy. I see sexy... you!"

"Ohhh, we're gonna play that kind of I Spy... Okay. I spy with my little eye, something beginning with K."

"Kerosene lantern?"

"Wishful thinking! It has to be real Michael."

"Sorry... um... Krispy Kreme Donuts."

"Cut it out! Kiss me you fool!"

"Oh... I like this game."

They came together in the dark and their mouths honed in like an arrow on a target.

Ben lay back and outstretched one arm for Michael to lean his head on and they continued to kiss.

Ben opened his eyes some time later, purred like a content kitten and said "For a minute there I forgot where I was..."

"Mm, me too. I'll see if I can find our water bottles; I think we may be getting parched if that action is anything to go by."

Ben just laughed; he wasn't really in a joking mood, but it was either appreciate that or grow heated again and he didn't want to go there.

Michael brought back the water bottles and the bag of goodies that he'd thought to bring for snacks. He lay back down and Michael said "Ben... Can I ask you something?"

"Anything baby... always."

Michael snuggled in closer to Ben's body and said "I was just thinking... not much else to do in here I guess... I was wondering what your 'type' is..."

"My type?"

"Yeah -- your type of man. I mean... I've seen photos of some of your exes and I knew Paul and I'm wondering how it is you came to settle on me. Most of your previous lovers were blond, tall, academic types. And then there's me."

Ben's fingers gently fiddled with Michael's hair in the dark and he said "Well... I never really thought of myself as having a 'type'. I know what you mean about my exes though, build and looks-wise... but I was always more interested in the content of the body, not just the outer surface. It was pure coincidence that some, most of them, were similar in looks I guess. But I told you a long time ago that I fell for you the first time I looked into those brown eyes for real and I saw the essence of you. That's what it's about Michael, for me at least."

Michael ran his hand lightly over Ben's chest and abdomen and said "Well I'm glad that you recognised my 'essence' and that you wanted to look deeper."

"And what about you? You told me that you fell in lust the first time you saw me in your store... but I'm not exactly your 'type' either -- going by prior conquests. I'm not talking about tricks or one-night stands, they don't count here... but when you look at Brian, cos let's face it, he was your first real love... and there's the good Doctor. I'm not like either of them, am I?"

"No, I guess not. I don't actually think I believe in 'the type' notion anyways. Let's face it, my mom is nobody's type... but she has Carl and he adores her. Teddy never seemed to be anyone's 'type', but he and Blake are so happy together, like they were made for one another. Then you have the other side of the coin, Brian. He is everyone's type -- but yet he could never settle for any one person, not that he'd admit to anyway. Does that mean his 'type' is young, inexperienced and blond? Or is his 'type' just the guy he can't actually have?"

"Hm... interesting point. Okay, my turn to ask you something. How did you learn to kiss? Or more importantly, who taught you how to kiss?"

Michael sat up and looked down in the direction of Ben and laughed "What kind of question is that?"

"It's my kind of question! I want to hear it from you, in your own words... so out with it!"

"Okay. Well I suppose it comes as no surprise to you that Brian is involved. [Ben cleared his throat and gave a throaty laugh] I think we were 13 or so. We got our hands on this porn magazine and we were looking at the pictures and we decided it looked hot. We got some oranges and we practiced for ages... I think my mom thought we had scurvy or something; we were going through so many oranges! After a week or so of that, we decided to practice on one another. I actually kissed him first, but then he took charge and he ended up going the full circle; tongues and everything. We laughed so hard we almost peed in our pants, but at the same time... it was so awesome!"

Ben said sexily "No wonder he was your first love!"

"Yeah, well... Let's not go there. So that's the beginning and end of that tale! My turn again."

"Oh, maybe we shouldn't have started this game!"

"Don't wimp out on me now! I'll make it an easy question... Um, out of all my friends -- who would you most like to fuck?"

Ben's body tensed up with surprise, "Oh yeah, that's real easy! We are so not gonna go there!"

"Well I know in the past I've given you cause to think I'm not mature enough to handle this conversation; but honey, we're married now... I don't get jealous anymore, not over crap like that. I promise."

"Is this like an 'I need to know this information before I die' type of question? If someone kicks that door in 30 seconds after I answer this are you going to hate me and never let me forget this conversation?"

"Okay firstly, we are not going to die in here! We're good people; we don't deserve to die here. Secondly, if someone kicks that door down in 30 seconds, I will throw that person down on the ground and fuck them myself! Lastly, I could never hate you and this conversation goes no further than these four walls, I promise. Now spill."

Ben laughed "Hm, why don't I quite believe that... but I will give you the benefit of the doubt, after all you did answer my question. Okay... excluding Brian because... well we know why... Ah, I'd probably say Ted. [He waited for some kind of reaction from Michael but there was no shriek or guffaw so he pressed on] I'm not sure why; only that he's a very sensitive guy and I'd like to know that side of him, the wilder side I guess... see if he's a tiger in the bedroom or a pussy cat!"

"You know Teddy used to have a gigantic crush on me."

"Yeah, I had heard something about that. It was like a lifetime ago though; you're lucky to have such a good friend in him. He's a special guy."

"Yeah he is; he's the person I'd trust more than anyone I know, behind you!"

"I'm sure he feels the same about you. Have you ever wanted to be with him, sleep with him?"

"Is that your next question in our intimate survey, or doesn't this one count?"

Ben laughed "No... my survey question will be much more difficult than that! I'm just curious... but you don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"It's fine... I can honestly say I've never thought of Teddy in that way; and it's not that I don't find him attractive, because I do think he's gorgeous but he's more like a brother to me and I just couldn't imagine ever sleeping with him. I had enough trouble imagining him and Emm doing it... let alone him and me!"

Ben smiled "I know... it's always hard to think of friends as sexual beings; unless of course it's Brian, then you find it difficult not to think of him that way."

Michael laughed "Yeah, he certainly carries that title well. Okay, so what's your next probing question Professor Bruckner?"

"I'm thinking...."

Michael used Ben's thinking time wisely and did a few sit up and leg stretches. He was getting sore lying on the hard ground.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to stay calm and relaxed. I'm just stretching... trying to keep focused."

"Okay... well focus on this; I want you to tell me about that one spot on your body that just drives you wild if it's touched or caressed... I want you to describe it to me."

"Ooh, now we're there... down to the nitty gritty details huh? I like the way you play Professor."

Michael took a mouth full of water and said slowly, enticingly "You know when you're behind me... and you're getting ready to enter me -- and I'm lying low to give you better access, you inevitably end up running your hands along my sides, down my waist. [Ben murmured in the dark, with the mental picture that Michael was describing] Well just after you enter me, your fingers dig into the flesh on either side of my ribs, just below my armpits... and sometimes you kiss that spot just before you thrust all the way in... that spot -- when you kiss it, is the most amazing spot on my entire body.... Knowing that you're inside me and still thinking enough to touch other parts of my body and not just concentrate on my ass or your dick... that drives me nuts!"

Michael could feel Ben's breathing becoming quicker; obviously his description had done the trick. Ben reached out in the dark and felt along Michael's arm and then trailed his fingers around and slowly caressed the area on Michael's side that he had just described.

"Mm, that's the spot."

Ben's fingers were pulling at Michael's sweater. He pulled it up to reveal another layer of clothing, which too was lifted. Ben's mouth closed in on the spot and his tongue slowly trickled over it, leaving a moist trail of delicious saliva on Michael's bare skin. Michael's loins came alive and he inched over more on to his side. Ben continued to work on the spot, kissing the skin, sucking it gently, grazing his unshaven chin against the delicate area, bringing tingles of excitement to Michael.

Ben's hands roamed Michael back as he continued to lavish the area and Michael's excitement could no longer be contained. He lifted his hip so as to allow for the growing excitement coming between him and Ben. He decided to let Ben know exactly what he was doing to him.

Michael drew his body closer into Ben's and his bulging jeans, which were becoming most uncomfortable, came into contact with Ben's own excitement. They both growled and then Ben leaned around and claimed Michael's mouth with his, crushing his lips hard against Michael's.

Within moments Michael wrenched his mouth from Ben's and he pushed at Ben's body, hastily removing himself from Ben's clutches. Ben was taken aback at Michael's resistance, "What's the matter?"

"Please tell me you have a condom!"

The silence was deafening.

"Fuck!"

"Exactly! I used my emergency from my wallet a couple of months ago... remember the night at Teddy's? Tell me you have an emergency!"

"Sorry baby... I wish! Shit."

Michael's breathing began to subside; he had allowed himself to become very excited but now there was no point. He and Ben could not possibly keep going with their love-making manoeuvres if it couldn't possibly lead anywhere! As it was, he was almost beyond the brink of returning.

Ben collapsed over onto his back, the realisation of the moment just now hitting him. At the very least, the thought of being able to take his mind off the fact that he was trapped in a decrepit smelly warehouse for God knows how long, by being intimate with Michael almost made it bearable, but now, that thought was lost on him -- on them!

They both lay there silently for the longest time.

They had been in the warehouse for almost 5 ½ hours now.  The last 2 hours they had spent just huddled together, keeping each other warm and they had sworn off the sex talk and any intimate touching or references to body parts whatsoever; it was much safer that way.

They had enjoyed some snacks and were trying to make the water last. Michael had been busting earlier and couldn't hold on any longer; he found an old bucket and he placed it in the very back corner and took a pee. Ben had been giggling so hard, listening to Michael peeing in the empty warehouse with his noises bouncing off the dense walls that he too needed to go. It was Michael's turn to laugh.

Back in their huddled position Ben asked "So, do you really think your mom is going to put this together baby? Realising that we haven't brought any boxes for storage... assuming something is wrong... checking on us? It's a stretch don't you think?"

"This is my mom we're talking about Ben! Once, I was 10 minutes late home from school and she rang the police station and hospital checking to see if any accidents had occurred. [Ben scoffed at the notion.] Another time, I said I was coming for dinner and I forgot and I took off to a club with Brian... I was like 22 or something... well she was beside herself! She was convinced that I was lying in some gutter somewhere, beaten up or dead. It was only my Uncle Vic that convinced her that guys do it all the time; forget to turn up at their mother's house for dinner! The next day when I showed up, she let fly and called me everything and smacked my head a few times for good measure! I was always pretty careful after that; if I wasn't going to show up, I'd at least call. I hated to think of her being that scared that something happened to me..."

Ben smiled "It's nice to know she cared so much and that you would be missed so much... but honey, its different now. You're a married man, a father... you have your own life, your own home... your own business! Do you really think she'll think anything of us not showing up?"

"Well I hope so Ben, because if she decides to pick this moment in time to stop worrying about me... then we're screwed!"

With that unsavoury thought still etched in his mind, Michael suddenly sat upright with a jolt.

"What? What's wrong?" Ben panicked.

"I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner! Jesus Ben... there has to be an alarm here, right? If we find it, and we set it off... won't someone come?"

Ben jumped to his feet. "Oh baby, I hope you're right! Okay... think logically. Where would an alarm be?"

It was dark but they could make shapes out and they knew where the door was, so everything in the relation to the door area they should be able to locate. They decided to start with the door first. Ben ran his hands around the door frame, nothing. They worked their way from there. Ben went one way and Michael went the other. When they got to the shelving, it almost seemed like an impossible task to ever find anything, if indeed there was anything to find.

A few minutes later Michael hollered "Shit, I think I found something... quick Ben, over here. Just follow my voice."

Ben made his way over and he actually bumped into Michael, who was crouched low by the edge of one of the shelving units. Ben crouched down next to him and Michael took his hand. He placed it on a square box with a wire poking out.

Ben felt around and said "It feels like some kind of alarm box... but I can't be sure. I suppose we would just have to rip the wire out and see what happens...."

"We have nothing to lose at this point."

Not more than 25 minutes later Ben was the first one to spy a light shining in under the door. He let out an exasperated "Hey!"

Michael jumped, startled at Ben's outburst and then he too saw the light. They bolted for the door and they began thumping on the solid door in unison. "We're in here!"

A moment or two later the key was turned and the door came open. There stood a guy in a dark green security uniform, holding a flashlight and a lit cigarette pursed in his lips.

"You guys in a spot of bother?"

Ben said with glee "Oh man, you could say that! We've been stuck in here for hours! Thank God you found us!"

The guy looked at them blankly, "Why the hell are you here? This place is coming down tomorrow!"

Michael "I was actually packing up all these boxes... I own this stuff."

"Oh... and who was the bright spark that left their keys on the outside of the door?"

Ben gripped Michael's waist in the torchlight and said "Everyone makes mistakes pal..."

The guy just nodded, not really caring that these two had been locked in for hours. He was just doing his job. He got a call to check a silent alarm at an abandoned warehouse and he went, not really expecting to find anything.

He was about to leave them to it when he saw one of the boxes, that it contained comic books. "Hey... they're comics you're packing up?"

Michael "Yeah... I have a store down the block!"

"No shit! I never miss an issue of Rage."

Ben smiled "Well... you just so happen to be in the company of the writer of that very comic! Michael Novotny-Bruckner."

The guy shone the torch on Michael, blinding him in the process, "No shit! That's you? You're him? Cool. Hey, you guys need a hand?"

So, the guy helped Michael and Ben load the rest of their boxes into the trailer and Michael gave him a card from his wallet and told him to stop by the store. He'd fix him up with some stuff and promised him a lifetime supply of free Rage issues.

Ben and Michael contemplated going straight to Deb's and then they decided they were hungry and should head for the diner, but then another thought struck... they had unfinished business. They headed home. Michael pulled a new box of condoms from the bathroom cabinet and tossed them to Ben. Ben took 2 out and shoved them in his wallet and then tossed a couple to Michael, he too stuffed them into his wallet and once that was taken care of, they got down to the serious business of finishing off their intimate survey...