The Want Ad
Wanted: Houseboy.
Mature (55/52) gay couple seeking live in boy for domestic work. You should be between the ages of 19 and 25. Prefer a short boy of slight build who has no romantic attachments. In exchange for maintaining our household, you will receive room, board and salary. Must be willing to work flexible hours. If interested, call xxx-xxxx after 6 pm.
Stacy sat and stared at the employment ad. He was at the end of his rope. He had failed to pass two of his college classes and his uncle had cut off his expense money as a result. He had been barely getting by with the earnings from his job at the supermarket, but they were cutting back and his hours had shrunk by half. He simply did not have enough money to support himself. He'd been answering employment ads for weeks now with no success. The 'Houseboy' ad in the local town newspaper sounded good. The only problem being that Stacy was not gay. He liked girls. And even though he was of slight build, he had an attractive face and a nice personality. He had no trouble getting laid.
But he needed money desperately, so he decided to answer the ad. The worst thing that could happen is that they would say no to him. Stacy dialed and waited nervously while the phone rang.
"Hello." a deep masculine voice answered.
"Hi, this is Stacy Warren. I'm responding to the ad that you placed for a houseboy."
"Oh, yes. Great! We placed that ad two weeks ago and were beginning to think we wouldn't get any response. Do you mind answering some questions over the phone to see if we should go further?"
"Sure. Fire away."
"How old are you, Stacy?
"I'm twenty."
"Good, good. What is your height and weight?"
"I'm five-six, about one hundred ten pounds."
"Sweet. Just the physical profile we're seeking. Do you have any facial hair?"
"No. I'm clean-shaven."
"Wonderful! Would you characterize yourself as a hairy person or a smooth person?"
"Smooth."
"The primary job duties involve house-keeping. You would be required to dust, vacuum, wash floors, do laundry, clean the kitchen after meals, grocery shop and run general errands. Do you feel you could do all of that?"
"Yes. And your ad mentions room and board?"
"Yes. We provide a place for you to sleep and give you all of your meals. The pay is modest, but negotiable."
"How much personal time off would I get?"
"Well, by the nature of the job, we just require that your tasks get done and the house be properly maintained. When the job is done, your time is your own."
"Sounds great."
"Good, good. Would you like to set an appointment to meet with us and discuss this further?"
"Yes, but I have to be honest with you about something."
"And what would that be?"
"Well, I'm not gay. I mean I'm totally straight."
There was a lengthy silence while this sunk in.
"Well, Stacy, you know that my partner and I are gay. We specified that in the ad."
"Yes, but does that mean you'll only hire a gay guy?"
"Not necessarily, but it would make it easier for the boy if he were gay."
"So where do we go from here?"
"Why don't you come over to our place tomorrow at seven and we can see if this will be workable. My name is Burl and my partner's name is Fran. Let me give you the address."
The Interview
Stacy had to take two buses to get to the suburban address that Burl had given him. It was an old, but affluent area with a lot of trees and a lot of room between the houses. Burl's house was a sprawling ranch style house that was probably three thousand square feet. Stacy rang the front doorbell and waited nervously for the door to open. When it did, it revealed a large, middle-aged man with graying hair and bushy eyebrows. Stacy figured that the guy must be six-four and well over two hundred pounds. He was a commanding, almost intimidating presence.
"Hi! You must be Stacy. I'm Burl." the man said and took Stacy by the arm leading him into the foyer.
"Fran, honey, come and meet Stacy." Burl called out in the direction of the kitchen as he led Stacy into a large, comfortable living room.
"Welcome, Stacy. It's so nice to meet you." Fran said and extended his hand. "My, you are an attractive young man. Definitely boy material."
Fran was smaller than Burl, but still much larger than Stacy. Stacy guessed he was probably around five-eleven and maybe a hundred eighty pounds. Stacy surmised that Fran must be the "wife" in this gay couple and Burl the "husband." Burl led Stacy to a large comfortable couch that could probably seat six people. Stacy sat down near the middle and Fran sat at one end.
"Would you care for a drink, Stacy?" Burl asked.
"Sure."
"Fran loves my daiquiris. Would you care for one?"
"That would be fine."
Burl walked over to a portable bar in the room and poured two daiquiris from a shaker and handed one to Fran and one to Stacy. He then poured himself a whiskey and sat in a lounge chair opposite Fran and Stacy.
"So, Stacy, Burl tells me that you think you're straight." Fran asked, smiling.
"Well, I am straight."
"Do you have any prejudices against gays? Are you homophobic?" Fran inquired.
"No. I have no prejudices. I figure each to his own."
"Would you have a problem working for a gay couple?"
"No. I don't believe so."
"That's good," Fran continued. "In our home, Burl is the man of the house. Of course, we discuss all important decisions. But Burl has the final say. If we employ you, you will ultimately be submitting to Burl's authority."
"You make that sound ominous." Stacy replied. "If Burl is the final authority, what is your role in the house?"
"Of course, I work outside the home, just as Burl does. But I do the cooking and bear the responsibility for managing the house. You would be directly submitting to my instructions and commands."
"I'm not really sure about this." Stacy said uncomfortably.
"My dear, I think you're scaring young Stacy with all of this talk of commanding and submitting." Burl broke in. "When we placed the ad, Stacy, we envisioned adding someone to our household who could be like a family member. To compare us to a traditional household, I am the father, Fran is the mother, and you would be our boy. I would hope that our relationship could grow into one of love and respect for each other. So, we are concerned with your sexual orientation. You are a very attractive boy. With a little bit of work, you could be quite pretty. But I'm not sure that you will be receptive to any of that. You say that you are straight. Have you ever done anything sexual with a man or boy?"
"No, never."
"Then you don't really know how you would react to a male sexual encounter." Burl said.
"I don't know. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't like it." Stacy answered.
"Before we hire you, we need to know for sure." Burl said. "Would you be open to a little experiment?"
"What kind of experiment?" Stacy asked uneasily.
"A kiss."
"You want me to kiss one of you?"
"Yes, Stacy. And if it repulses you, we'll pretty much have our answer and you may make your way home. "
"And if it doesn't repulse me?"
"Well, then we'll go a little further in the experiment and see what happens."
"I don't know. Maybe I should just leave."
"You need this job, don't you, dear?" Fran asked. "You're here because you've run out of all other options, isn't that right, dear?
"Yes." Stacy said, resignedly.