Monopoly

Monopoly

September 21^st, 2005

Zurich

The hands placed over his eyes, made Guntram giggle. “How old are you really, Konrad?” He grabbed the hands and kissed the fingers with tenderness.

“The idea is that you act surprised and take your time to guess who it is,” the older man said, but quickly bent his body over the man crouched on the floor to deeply kiss him under the astonished yet curious looks of their children.

“Konrad, the babies,” Guntram said a bit shocked, quickly looking at his eighteen-month-old sons. “You're early.”

“I'm playing truant,” Konrad said very proudly. “At forty-seven.”

“You are a dangerous rebel indeed,” Guntram joked. “Can I do the same?”

“Not if you want to be able to sit for a week,” Konrad smirked. “How is university going by the way?”

“Konrad!” Guntram whined.

“It's a simple question. So?”

“Fine,” the young man grunted sullenly.

“You need to practice a lot more, Guntram. One word sentences are the pinnacle of human communication. Your ‘fine’ should have come out a bit drier and commanding.”

“Impressive lecture, Konrad,” Guntram answered softly, hoping to divert his attention from the topic.

“Anyway, I already saw your preliminary grades. Good work.”

Guntram had to take a deep breath before he would express his opinion—once more—on Konrad's “constant meddling” with his school life. 'My lawyer was a hundred times better than him. He only wanted to know if he had to pay for any extra tuition or not.' With a forced smile, he said ironically, “I'm glad you approve of them.”

“Indeed,” Konrad replied in a haughty tone, calculated to make Guntram smile at his antics. “But there was a good reason for my ‘constant meddling’ as you call it.”

“Which was?” Guntram asked as he buried his smile in his love's chest, giving him a light hug as the boys looked at them again.

“Checking that they were fine and that you didn't need to study this weekend.”

“No, I don't. I'm just finished with the first round of exams.”

“Then, I have a surprise for you and these two gentlemen,” Konrad answered with a smile. “We fly away tomorrow at dawn.”

“Don't you have to work?”

“Yes, but I can finish everything in the plane.”

“Where are we going?” Guntram asked curious, and quickly removed a toy from Klaus' mouth before it was chewed into nothing.

“It’s a surprise. Curiosity killed the cat, Guntram.”

* * *

The familiar shape of the villa and the palm trees in the garden made Guntram softly smile through the car window. 'Ideal for the babies, if it were not for the fact that it's pouring cats and dogs.'

* * *

“The boys are in bed now,” announced Guntram as he entered the ample living room. “Nobody ever guaranteed a sunny day in the Côte d'Azur, unlike in Spain,” he mumbled as he watched the dense rain falling over the garden, almost invisible under it. He let the heavy velvet drape fall back over the white curtains.

“Do you want to take a walk down the Rue d'Antibes or the Boulevard? We didn’t go there last time we were here,” Konrad asked, removing his eyes from the book he had been reading for the past two hours, enjoying the peace and privacy of the house.

“Nah, I don't want to catch my death with this weather,” Guntram shook his head but smiled.

“We have to do something,” Konrad said in a determined voice, and Guntram raised an eyebrow in interest.

“Something?”

“Can't let you become bored. I already feel bad that it's raining today.”

“Oh, did you have plans?” Guntram whispered seductively and approached Konrad stealthily, crouching in front of him to place his hands over his thighs to rub softly along them.

“No, not really,” Konrad answered, his mind well away, frowning a bit as he searched for a solution to his almost ruined surprise.

“Well, the boys are in bed for their nap, and we won't see them till five o'clock. We could learn from their example and...” suggested Guntram.

“Monopoly! I must have a spare set stored somewhere,” Konrad replied jumping to his feet, making Guntram almost lose his balance and fall to the floor. “That's what we used to do when it rained.”

Guntram, now sitting on the wooden floor, could only gape at his lover, thinking that maybe his words were a double entendre. To avoid looking like a dork, though, he kept silent and watched the retreating form of Konrad leave the room.

Some twenty minutes later, Konrad returned with a box in his hand. “It's the British version, but I think you remember London.”

The young man gaped again at Konrad from his place on the sofa as the man moved aside the centrepiece on the coffee table in front of him and opened the box to remove the board. Much to Guntram's astonishment, unlike in the box he had owned as a child at school, the play money here was set in perfect order, the cards were clean and the figures were kept in a small red velvet bag.

“It’s funny. I think you mentioned once that you used to have one of this,” Konrad commented as he set the “Chance” and “Community Chest” cards after having organised the money.

“Do you really want to play Monopoly?” Guntram faltered. 'Damn! I thought he wanted to play in bed! It's raining, there’s no children, no service… It’s ideal for that!'

“Yes, it's fun.”

“Konrad, you don't have to work today,” Guntram said acidly.

“No, I don’t. Last time I played with Michael, he took all my money away. That's why he's where he is.”

“He got a promotion after beating his boss?”

“And how! Impressive technique. I was the last man standing. First, he killed Ferdinand, and then Goran. All in less than six hours. I survived ten.”

“There is no such thing as ‘technique’ in Monopoly. It's a matter of luck,” Guntram said with a chuckle.

“I used to believe it too, but not anymore.”

“Oh, will you share that knowledge with a humble Economics student?” Guntram joked, hoping Konrad would see the irony and drop the idea of a round of Monopoly.

“No.”

“No?” repeated Guntram astonished.

“Get your own bank, and we'll speak.”

“Sure, I'll pay Michael double,” Guntram grinned.

“Forget it. He's after my secretary, and she doesn't want to leave me,” Konrad answered with sufficiency, placing Guntram's initial load of money in his hands. “Are you sure you can manage this?”

“I'll survive,” Guntram answered, slightly upset at the suggestion that he was ‘money-retarded’, as Ferdinand, Konrad, Albert, and even Michael, liked to hint occasionally. 'When did I say that I wanted to spend a Friday afternoon playing Monopoly? This is for children!'

“Which figure do you want?” Konrad asked, lining up the silver figurines. “The terrier is cute.”

“I'll take the battleship,” growled Guntram. “Are you sure you don't want the bowler hat?” he asked ironically.

“No, that's for amateurs. I'll take the frog.”

“I don't remember having this one in my set,” Guntram said, taking the figurine between his fingers to inspect it, only to leave it again on the board, losing his interest.

“It complies with all the manufacturer’s regulations,” Konrad quickly said, and Guntram frowned at him.

“If you are already quoting something made up for the SEC people, then there's something fishy about this figure.”

“No, of course not,” Konrad defended himself. “This is impossible,” he mumbled, sounding terribly offended.

“Let me see the handbook,” Guntram lunged over the table to take the box, but Konrad was faster and snatched it before Guntram could lay his hands on it. “Konrad...” he admonished.

“How about if you start the game?” the Duke hid the frog in his hand to save it from Guntram.

“Konrad...”

“A two hundred pounds loan at 1%?”

“Private loans among players are not even accepted in the rules!” Guntram protested, and Konrad looked at him with pleading eyes. “Fine, I'll take it. You keep your frog.” 'He can be so childish sometimes. Probably he ordered the frog at Harry Winston's,' thought Guntram. He took the money and rolled the dices over the board.

“Ouch! Whitechapel,” the youth complained, grimacing at the fact he was forced to buy in the popular area.

“You don't want to buy there?” Konrad asked merrily.

“Not really. It's a bad area, and the rents are very low,” Guntram said as he read the property deed. “It's outrageous. You need more than twenty-five years to recover the investment,” he mumbled.

“It's just a silly game,” Konrad said innocently, and Guntram really looked at him, knowing in that precise moment that the game was anything but a simple pastime.

“So... Do we auction it?” Konrad asked nonchalantly.

* * *

Two hours later

Guntram couldn't believe his bad luck. He had landed in another of Konrad's properties. 'With a bloody hotel on top! Whoever heard of placing two hotels in that miserable place?'

“That would be about 125 pounds, dear,” Konrad announced merrily after reading the property deeds card.

“I've been doing nothing but paying you for the last two rounds,” Guntram mumbled as he gave him the money.

“Bad luck. Perhaps it changes now.”

“One day you'll land in Bond Street, and I'll wipe that smile from your face.”

“We'll see,” Konrad answered, picking up the dices to roll them over. “Twelve… and I get a Chance card.”

“Lucky you,” Guntram mumbled.

“‘The tax office has overcharged you and returns you a hundred pounds.’ That's very nice of them, don't you think?” he read and commented at the same time, handling it over to Guntram to show his good faith.

“That only proves that this game is for children. It's unrealistic. A charade devised to make people believe in the system,” Guntram couldn't help to say. “I never got a single dime out of the tax office.”

“Tsk, tsk. Give a million to a socialist and he'll become Uncle Scrooge.”

“This is when you say that the only good thing about Marx is that he was not Keynesian?” Guntram retorted hotly.

“No, far from that. You have very bad luck today.”

“I'll see to the babies now. Don't touch a thing,” Guntram said frustrated as he rose from the sofa facing his lover.

“We can call it quits,” Konrad used a conciliatory voice.

“Not if you want to return in one piece to Zurich,” Guntram answered before he stormed out of the room.

* * *

Three hours later

“Community Chest card. ‘You forgot to make your tax declaration and you are fined with 500 pounds.’?” Guntram read incredulously. “That's simple robbery! They lost my papers!”

“Welcome to the adults’ world, luv,” Konrad chuckled impersonating a British low-class accent, and Guntram stared at him. “Pay first, and then send your receipts to be evaluated at their convenience.”

“Can you do a thing?” Guntram asked in mock seriousness.

“No, it's the tax office we’re speaking about,” he refused with a falsely mortified face. “How about a mortgage on one of your properties?”

“You are very insistent on this mortgage thing,” Guntram said as he counted up to the one pound notes to gather the money to pay for the fine. “I'm broke,” he admitted, staring at his empty wallet.

“You have a slight cash flow problem but you're still not broke. Well, at least, not in my book.” Konrad observed nonchalantly.

“All the properties before the GO square belong to you... as well as the ones after it,” Guntram mumbled, thinking. “I need to get an eight in order to land in that square, and then get a five to leave your realms unscathed.”

“Oh,” said Konrad sounding very innocent.

“That's your bloody strategy! You bought everything around the good squares and distributed your properties every three or four squares!” Guntram shouted realising his love's game.

“I believe it was another Frenchman, Voltaire, the one who said something like: ‘If you see a Swiss banker jumping out of a window, follow him, there's bound to be money in it’.”

“Is that your excuse to buy all these rubbish places?” Guntram asked puzzled.

“There's no such thing as rubbish. Only bad management.”

“Are you an optimist now?”

“Probably,” chuckled Konrad as he passed the dices to Guntram. “It took me some time to realise how Michael had beaten me. He calculated the probabilities of landing somewhere, and then he looked for the best way to either tax me or take my money away every time I got my customary 200 pounds salary.”

“Oh, since I skipped school today, you decided to teach me a lesson,” Guntram said with a dangerous edge to his voice.

“You're a fast learner, I see,” Konrad said with a sneer.

“As you said, this is a cash flow problem. I'll take my chances before selling or mortgaging anything.”

“That's the spirit.”

“I should have never played with you,” he growled, thinking fast on how to reverse the game now that he had discovered Konrad's strategy. 'Bloody cheater, there's a strategy even here!'

“Think of this as a nonofficial master's degree,” Konrad chuckled, proud that Guntram had discovered his game by himself. “Now starts the real fun.”

* * *

Very late that night

The sandwiches' bread was dry and the cheese had started to ooze fat as Guntram frowned and cursed his own lousy strategic planning. 'Here I am, playing some kind of Risk-Monopoly with phoney money that looks real. Mortgages make no sense as I'll lose an income source. I have to sell one of the train stations.'

“Guntram, leave it. You're almost broke,” Konrad sentenced before taking a sip of warm orange juice.

“You're in no better shape than I,” the youth retorted obfuscated.

“I have more resources than you. It's getting late. Very late.”

“Afraid I can still reverse the odds?”

“You have proved that you can play with Michael,” Konrad said dryly. “Your turn.”

Guntram rolled the dice and closed his eyes when he saw the number: seven. 'That's his bloody hotel again.'

Happy that this was the coup de grâce for Guntram's finances, Konrad merrily informed him that he owed him only 56 pounds. “You have no more cash,” he said as he took the money from Guntram's hands. “And you still owe me some twenty pounds more.”

“Can we reach an agreement?”

“No, I prefer cash, or perhaps that house you have in Picadilly. Is it for sale now?”

“You don't have that much cash, and I doubt the bank will give you any money,” Guntram retorted with a huff. “I'm thinking on another solution,” Guntram purred like a cat. “One mutually beneficial for us.”

“I'm listening.”

“Last time you were in jail the bail was very large,” Guntram commented as his fingers played with Konrad's buttons.

“Fits the crime,” snorted Konrad. “If you don't pay me, that's your next destination.”

“Perhaps we could reach a court settlement, my Duke,” Guntram said in a seductive voice. 'About time we play something real. Have had enough of lessons on the financial world.' “I believe I could give you something that you would like more than cash,” he added with a false sigh.

“Depends on what and who's offering it,” Konrad answered visibly amused at his kitten’s change of tactics. 'Let's see how much he wants.'

“It would be money very well spent, sir,” Guntram rose from his seat and once more crouched in front of Konrad.

“It is twenty pounds we are speaking about.”

“The best twenty pounds you have ever spent,” Guntram said, lacing his arms around Konrad's neck to kiss him. “I can be good to you,” he added with a childish grin, and his fingers began to open Konrad's collar to kiss his neck with real tenderness, unlike a professional.

'Only that? For the promise of such a show, Roger would have skinned me alive.' “Nothing else?”

“It all depends on you,” Guntram chuckled as his game of “who’s a sexy foxy” was turning into a really funny one. “But in the bedroom, lest we give a heart attack to the maid.”

“Sensible words, my love,” answered Konrad, relieved that for Guntram the seduction attempt was nothing else than a childish game. “But maybe I should have it in written.”

“All right! You win!” Guntram almost shouted, exasperated at his lover's infinite delays. “Let's go to bed and do what we are supposed to do on a rainy day, on a weekend, and on holidays,” he said very frustrated. “I quit, oh Lord of Monopoly!”

Konrad laughed as he rose to his feet, unceremoniously pulling Guntram up from his elbows. “That frog brought me luck.”

* * *

Still chuckling, Guntram entered the large bedroom they shared and led Konrad by the hand to the four-posted bed. “Professionals don't take you by the hand, sir,” Konrad said smugly.

“This is based on your own broad experience?” Guntram answered with a well-known edge to his voice.

“A little. I've watched many films,” Konrad replied with an innocent air. “They always give a show first.”

Doing his best to hide the blush heating his cheeks, Guntram released his lover’s hand and took four steps away from Konrad. He trailed his hand all over the bed post, caressing the wood with a mischievous smile. “A show?”

“It's the minimum required for a twenty pounds fee.”

“Make it thirty, and we'll see,” Guntram replied, doing his best to control his giggles as he took a further two steps away from the bed where Konrad had comfortably laid to watch his lover.

“Thirty? I don't think my finances could handle it,” Konrad smirked with a glint in his eyes that Guntram found enchanting. “Twenty-five.”

“Twenty-five and tomorrow you carry Klaus,” Guntram chuckled, his hands removing his own jacket.

“Deal.” Konrad crossed his arms over his head to stretch his back and watched with hungry eyes how Guntram approached the bed and leaned over it to kiss his mouth with real eagerness while his small hands caressed his hair. With another mischievous smile, Guntram broke their contact and stood in front of him, taking his belt off in a single move to next throw it away.

The youth’s fingers travelled across his shirt to undo the first button, and unwittingly it got entangled in the chain of the gold cross he wore around his neck. Smiling, he then undid the second, the third, the fourth and the fifth button, once more coming near the bed to be touched and reassured that he was doing it well.

Konrad's fingers easily unbuttoned the last two buttons of Guntram’s shirt and his mouth kissed the flat and well-formed stomach, enjoying the muffled whimper he heard when his hands drew large circles over his lover's back, lingering on each one of his kisses as he knew his kitten loved to start slow and being able to set the pace of their passion.

Guntram closed his eyes in utter delight. That mouth knew where to kiss him, and those hands where to touch him. He allowed the pleasure to engulf him whole for some minutes, content with simply caressing Konrad's head in a way he knew the man just loved. Finally, unable to wait any longer, his desire for Konrad driving him mad, he violently pulled his shirt off, but the golden chain that had gotten caught on one of the shirt’s buttons strangled him.

Konrad quickly helped him to untangle the shirt from the chain, and the Duke frowned at the long, red mark it left on Guntram's skin.

“All right, Guntram, exotic dancer is not your thing,” Konrad commented, rubbing the reddened neck as the boy sat on the bed next to him. “Is it still in one piece?” he asked as the youth examined the crenel cross, once more pending from his neck.

“It was a present from my father for my baptism. Gives a new meaning to the expression ‘to die by the cross’,” mumbled Guntram. “I don't know why I still wear it. Maybe I should put it away.”

“Leave it, it's an honour to carry one,” Konrad said with a tired smile.

“Does Goran not have one just like mine? Funny, because I always thought it had a weird shape. Father Patricio was always looking at it very suspiciously. Maybe he thought it was a pagan, New Age thing.”

“It is not, and it's called a crenel cross,” Konrad explained him. 'Does he not even know what this is?' “It represents the crenellation of a fortress, and those who wear it are consecrated to the defence of our Mother, the Church.”

“I thought it was something Orthodox or Serb. Bregovic has one too.”

'Should I tell him?' “Perhaps it also means something different for them, something war related; like a club symbol,” answered Konrad, his voice coming out a bit raspy. 'No, never. Knowing the truth would only make him unhappy.'

“You're right,” Guntram dismissed the cross from his thoughts, unclasping it and leaving it abandoned on the bedside table. “I’ve always thought my father must have been high when he named me and gave me this weird cross,” he said with a chuckle, and he laced his arms around Konrad's neck to kiss him deeply, more than ready to enjoy their night together.

* * *

“Have you learned your lesson, young man?” Konrad asked as he took his exhausted lover in his arms and kissed his neck in a way he knew maddened Guntram. He got lost in the limpid eyes that locked themselves with his and in the shy but knowing smile he received as the youth's head buried itself in his broad chest. 'He's so sweet.'

Guntram repositioned his body to better return Konrad's embrace, content and feeling in bliss after their love making, and said with a chuckle, “That a good whore can turn upside down the financial system?”

The brutal smack on his bottom almost made him jump out of the bed, but the “That's not the real lesson here” growled in his ear made him rethink the wisdom of it.

“Sorry, Konrad. It was a bad joke,” Guntram said softly. 'Can't take a simple joke made on his beloved banks? Should have known.'

“Try again,” said Konrad piqued. 'Why is it always so hard to tell things to him?'

“Not to play with the big boys like you?” Guntram asked again, using a light tone to hide his nervousness as he felt very uncertain of where Konrad's mind was going this time. 'Why does he always become a psycho when I make the slightest critic of his people? It's maddening. He wants me in, but he can't stand that I have a different opinion.'

“You still haven't learned,” Konrad said seriously. “Time to teach you a lesson you won't forget any time soon,” he added as his hand travelled across Guntram's stomach to firmly grip his member and pump it with slow moves.

Not quite understanding the change of mood in his lover, the boy still moaned and relaxed his stance, his bones dissolving in the sensations his lover provoked in him.

Guntram felt Konrad positioning his left leg over his hip and penetrate him again with great care, waiting for him to respond to his caresses before he did anything else. 'He's so big and delicate at the same time,' he thought for the hundredth time, losing himself in the pleasure he was receiving.

“I do love you, Guntram,” Konrad whispered in his ear. “That's the lesson you should never forget.”

Moved beyond words, Guntram smiled and his hand took Konrad's, lightly squeezing it. “I also do,” he replied, disengaging from Konrad's embrace to face him. “I love you with all my heart.”

“You're my life, Maus.”

“And you mine,” Guntram said in an almost broken voice, and he put his arms around Konrad's neck to pull him against his chest, as he laced his legs around the other man’s pelvis to prevent him from going away.

Konrad smiled and let him do as he wanted. 'He's like a kitten, always seeking to be hold. Telling him the truth makes no sense. It would only kill him. It is a heavy burden for any man.'

One of Konrad’s hands placed itself under Guntram's nape as the other firmly clutched his hip for better leverage at the moment of penetration. He watched expectantly how Guntram arched his neck in pleasure at the intrusion of his member and waited for the youth to get used to him before he began moving in the slow motion the other man loved so much.

Nearly dead in the aftermath of their intense night of love making, Guntram collapsed over the pillows and watched his lover with his eyes filled with love. “We should play more frequently, but I’m afraid tomorrow will be sunny,” the young man said with a smile.

“Tomorrow we'll play responsible parents and take the boys out,” Konrad answered, feeling something break inside of him under the warm smile he received.

“Good.” Guntram exhaled a long breath, and his hands travelled along the arms that supported Konrad's body, bent over his. “You should think about starting your own business school,” he joked with a naughty grin. “Honestly, I can't do a repeat of tonight’s performance.”

“How about a round of Ludo? I'm sure that, if I look well in the mansard, I'll find my old board,” Konrad said innocently. 

And he chuckled like a fool as he dodged the pillow hurled at him.