Ficlet: Good Advice

JL issued an Advice Challenge on the Den. The challenge was to share your best advice in 4 words or less. Jess wanted to talk about the best advice he'd received. And it's only 4 words.  Just a short little ficlet.


Title: Good Advice
Characters: Ken/Jess
Challenge: Good Advice in 4 Words Or Less


As the liquid ran down his throat, Jess thought to himself that there was little else that felt as good as a cold beer on a Friday evening. A beer and some quiet was the perfect ending to the week. The bar was fairly empty as he waited for Ken to show up. He looked at his watch and took another gulp from the bottle. A few more drinks would make the upcoming dinner with Lane and Bill more bearable.


The setting sun poured into the bar when the door opened. Jess turned to greet Ken. But instead of Ken, a group of businessmen walked in. Jess turned back to the bar. He lifted his almost empty beer toward the bartender to signal another.


The bartender handed him a bottle then walked away. Which suited Jess just fine. He didn’t want to make small talk with anyone. Jess debated whether he should move as the businessmen filled the table behind him. They were congratulating one of them on the upcoming birth of a baby. Jess was afraid they were going to get drunk and rowdy. He just wasn’t in the mood to deal with a bunch of spoiled rich men.


Just as he was about to change places, he heard the expectant father moan out loud.


“Fuck man. I can’t be a father. Fathers are old and wise. They have a shit ton of advice to give. The only advice I have to give is to take an Uber when you go out drinking.”


One of the other men slapped him on the shoulder. “Just give him the same advice your dad gave you.”


“My dad’s advice was ‘obey or else’. I’m hoping to be a bit more enlightened, ya know?”


Jess snorted. That was the same advice his own dad had given him. He couldn’t think of a single time anyone had given him good advice. His thoughts were interrupted as another one of the men spoke up.


“Hell yeah. I feel you. My own dad’s advice was to always say ‘yes, sir’. He was a sergeant in the Army and wanted the same kind of discipline at home.”


Jess’s mind raced back to his high school years and his English teacher, Mrs. Benton. She had retired from the military and ran the class as strict as any drill sergeant. She’d had vocabulary words every week and the students had to write them a hundred times throughout the week. Unbidden the definition of the word advice rushed into Jess’s mind. Advice: guidance or recommendations concerning prudent future action, typically given by someone regarded as knowledgeable or authoritative.


As the definition tumbled in his mind, he had a change of heart. He had been given good advice. It was definitely guidance concerning prudent future action. And it was given by someone regarded as authoritative. Well, Jess thought, a dominant could be considered authoritative. And Ken was his dominant. The best advice Ken had ever given him had been “go get the paddle”.


Taking another pull from the beer bottle, Jess knew without a doubt that the group of young businessmen behind him wouldn’t understand the words as advice. But that’s exactly what they were. Go get the paddle definitely had Jess being concerned about his future actions.


Ken has utter those words many times. The words alone create a change inside him. Change for the better. Sometimes, the paddle was used on his ass. Mostly, he would hold it while they talked. The paddle stripped away the masks he wore. It tore down the defenses that he’d put up to the rest of the world.


Ken didn’t want masks. He wanted him and all the mess he was. Jess snorted again. So maybe Ken wasn’t as wise as he thought. Except his advice did change Jess’s future actions. Just the words ‘go get the paddle’ altered the direction of his thoughts and his actions.


“What’s going on in that mind of your’s?”


Ken’s voice startled Jess. However, the kiss he gave him warmed him completely.


“Just thinking about advice and future actions,” Jess replied.


Ken grabbed Jess’s beer and took a drink. “Well, our immediate future actions are to meet Lane and Bill for dinner. Any other actions are up for discussion.”


Jess grinned at Ken’s leer. There was definitely one thing that was better than a cold beer on a Friday night. And that was a Friday night spent in bed with Ken. “I’ve some advice for our future actions. Let’s discuss them after dinner.”


Jess heard the men at the table continue to give advice to the expectant father as he stood up. As he walked to the door with Ken, he thought the best advice for anyone was to love fully. He finally had that in his own life.


End

You can read more stories about Ken and Jess on their page.