Date: Tue, 22 Mar 2011 09:29:42 -0700 (PDT)
From: John McDonald <madmax212542007@yahoo.com>
Subject: The Neighbor Series - Chapter 2

Several weeks later, Todd and Rick noticed a flier outside the locker room
at school.  An event for young swimmers was to be hosted by the local
Aquatic Center.  Volunteers were being solicited from high schools and
colleges in the surrounding area.


"What do you think Ricky?  Sounds like it could be fun."


"I'm sure it would be, but I know you- ....you're only thinking about
staring at college guys' asses, Todd."


Todd gave his best buddy a playful punch on the arm.


"Ow.  Take it easy, man," Rick jested. He further responded by attempting
to pin Todd's arms to his sides.  Todd countered by spinning his pal around
and bear-hugging him from behind.


"Come on, you horndog, you.  I can feel you poking me with something I'm
not into."


Todd pushed him away.


"Liar.  You know I wouldn't do that with you, Rick.  Raging hormones or
not, I wouldn't cross that line with my oldest, dearest friend."


Todd then feigned sadness, to which Rick responded by putting his hand on
his chum's shoulder.


"Hey, I was just kidding.  Lighten up, Todd."


"Me too."  And Todd reached out like lightning and pinched Rick's left
nipple before bolting from the gym.


"I'll get you for that, Todd."


"If you can catch me."


Both boys howled with laughter as they raced out of the building.


***************************************************************************************************


Dan made his weekly check on his parolee, Carlos.  He usually had his cases
check in at his office, but with the added complication of housing the
ex-con at his sister's address made this a different matter.  It was
Carlos' day off from his warehouse job at UPS, so Dan caught him at home
having a second cup of morning coffee.


"Hey Carlos, how's it going?"


"Just great, Mr. Robinson."


"You can drop that `Mr. Robinson stuff; I'm just Dan, okay?"


"Sure, Dan.............Work is going great; I've been putting in some
overtime and getting to know both the day crew and the night crew.  This
apartment is terrific, and I can't thank you enough for helping me find and
haul the furniture I've got.  This is like a real home, you know?"


"I can see that you're keeping the place up.  Where'd you learn to be such
a good homemaker?"


"Martha Stewart's influence, I guess."


Both men got a good chuckle out of that.  Talk turned to physical fitness,
and Dan invited Carlos to be his guest at the local fitness
center. Technically it was Dan's day off, but he was on call.  About an
hour later, they were in the midst of some intense weight training.


In the mirror, Carlos made note of wiry, yet muscular, young man about his
own age working out on an elliptical machine.  The man's back was to
Carlos, so the ex-con had a full view of a very nice ass. The sight caused
a stir in Carlos' jockey shorts.


Then Carlos thought about Kirk, a guy on the night shift at the warehouse.
Kirk had winked at Carlos the last time they were both working; he was
pretty sure he had gotten a familiar signal.  Carlos continued reviewing
this event when a voice interrupted him.


"Carlos, I need to get back to my office; there's an issue with another
client."


"Thanks for inviting me over here, Dan.  Do I need to leave with you?"


"Oh no; stay as long as you like.  There's a bus at the next intersection
north that will drop you back close to your place.  Take advantage of all
this great equipment; you even might consider a membership of your own.  I
think they're having a special first year membership offer; ask Connie, the
receptionist, about it."


"Thanks again, Dan.  I'll catch you next week."


After a few minutes, the guy from the elliptical workout area came over to
the free weights.  He nodded at Carlos and grabbed a pair of 30-pound
weights.  Both men pumped in silence, but each observed the other with
interest in the surrounding mirrors.


Carlos set his own pair of weights down and approached the other man.


"Say, do you suppose you could spot me on the barbell?"


"Sure, no problem."


"Name's Carlos.  I'm thinking of getting a membership here.  A friend
invited me to check the place out."


"Cool.  My name is Brian.  I've been a member for a couple of years.  It
keeps me fit, but it helps most with relieving stress."


The men walked to the barbell bench.  Carlos selected 100 pounds for each
side of the bar, locked the weights in place and lay down on the bench.
Brian stood at the head of the bench and observed.


"This is a good starting weight for me to handle.  I'll be okay on my own."


"Well if you need a hand, just holler at me."


Brian went back to the free weights and Carlos worked the bar.  After a
time, Carlos added more weight to his, and Brian went to the stretching
area.  About 30 minutes later, both men headed to the locker room from
opposite directions.  As Carlos pulled a towel and soap from his locker, a
cheerful voice broke his concentration.


"So how did your workout go?"


Carlos looked up and saw a smiling Brian.


"It was good. Hard exercise always makes me feel good.  You?"


"Some weights, some cardio, some stretching.......I try to cover all the
bases and, yes, I feel pretty good too.  All I need is a hot shower."


Carlos mulled that comment over and decided against saying anything
suggestive.  He liked Brian's look, especially his shapely ass and
well-defined chest.  But there was also Kirk.  What is a horny man to do?


"I'm going to shower too and then take a bus home."


"Which way is home?"


"North towards the UPS depot."


"I live out that way.  I have to pass UPS on the way home; be glad to give
you a lift."


Brian was thinking that he'd like to get to know more about the muscular
blue-eyed stud, especially when Carlos dropped his workout shorts, stuffed
them in his locker with his tank top shirt, and walked naked to the shower
with a towel over his shoulder.  Brian's jaw dropped at the sight of the
flexing butt muscles as Carlos strode away.


Brian wasn't sure if he'd been given a signal; his "gaydar" wasn't fully
developed.  He decided to play it cool, but had to think of a blizzard
raging at the North Pole to make his own pole relax.


Brian got his shower, dressed without glancing at Carlos who was also
dressing, and they headed out to the parking lot.  The men got into Brian's
Jeep and headed northward through town.


"This is good of you, man.  I appreciate the ride."


"No problem.  I'll have to admit to an ulterior motive, though."


"Oh?  What's that?"


"I know I just met you, Carlos, but something about you makes me want to
know you better."


"Me too, Brian.  But I think I have to put some cards out for you right
off.  I'm an ex-con."


"Oh....uhhh......what were you in for?"


"I drove a getaway car for some guys I used to think were my friends.  They
were robbing a convenience store and we all got busted for armed robbery."


"How long were you in?"


"Ten years..........It gave me a lot of time to think about where I wanted
to go and what I wanted to do with my life.  They talk about `rehab'; well,
I got rehabilitated."


"And you got an awesome body while in there, right?"


"As a matter of fact, I did get seriously into body-building while I was in
prison."


"Well, I guess some good things can come from being locked up."


"I suppose.  If I'd been smarter in my teens, I could have spent more time
on my body and less hanging out with trouble.  Oh well; water under the
bridge as they say."


"I've had my own `water under the bridge' experience."


"What was that, Brian?"


"I got married and discovered it wasn't for me.  She was a nice girl, but
our life together made my insides a mess.  That's why I say working out is
a great stress reliever.  If I don't work out regularly, I'm popping
antacid tablets all day."


"So what stressed you out in your marriage?  She spend too much money?"


"No, it was deeper than that.  I basically shouldn't have married.
Everything about being together got under my skin.  I was fighting nature."


Carlos reflected on that last comment and realized what Brian was saying.


"So.......you're gay, right?"


Brian hesitated, but figured he had nothing to lose.


"I'm pretty sure.  I've never been with a man in that way, but I know where
my eyes always go in a crowded room.  When I see a couple making out on
television, I'm not watching the woman."


"Sounds like gay to me...................I came across that in prison.  In
fact, I was a participant; an EAGER participant."


Brian absorbed what Carlos was saying and let his mind wander to visions of
Carlos' naked ass back at the locker room. Then he felt a hand on his right
thigh.


"So what do you want to do about your curiosity, Brian?  Why don't you come
back to my place and we'll talk about it."


"Just talk?"


"Well, we can start with talk and see where it goes."


They were just a few blocks from Carlos' apartment now.  Brian felt his
heart racing as he made a mental decision to throw caution to the wind.
Carlos was experiencing the same cardiac sensation, since he hadn't been
with a guy since getting released from prison.  He'd become better
acquainted with both his hands.  Brian was attractive and seemed to be very
willing.  Carlos could feel himself leaking pre-cum in his shorts.


"That's my place over there; the 4-plex.  I live in apartment A on the
ground floor.  You can park in front of the garage door with the "A" on
it."


Brian eased the Jeep into the driveway and both men got out.  Carlos led
the way, with Brian's eyes riveted to the ex-con's hind end.  They entered
Carlos' apartment and sat on a couch in the small living room.


"Nice place, Carlos."


"Yeah, a big improvement over my last address."


Brian looked around some more.  Then he looked at his hands in his lap.
Then he looked at Carlos who watched him with an obvious hunger in his
eyes.


"You know.....I'm not a steak."


Carlos laughed.  "I'm sorry.  It's just been awhile and you DO look fine,
Brian."


"I'll bet you say that to ALL the curious guys."


Carlos moved closer to Brian and put a hand on Brian's thigh again.


"Are you certain you're curious, Brian?"


Brian looked into Carlos' deep blue eyes and felt an adrenalin rush.  By
some sort of instinct, Brian swung a leg over Carlos' legs and sat on his
lap facing the hungry ex-con.  He put both hands behind Carlos' neck and
just watched his facial expression.  Carlos slipped both arms around
Brian's middle and pulled him closer.  Brian leaned in close to Carlos'
face.  Their eyes locked as their lips drew nearer.  It was like a magnetic
force: their mouths slammed together and an intense make-out session
commenced.


***************************************************************************************************


Across town, swimmers and divers from all the surrounding schools, and some
from upstate, converged on the Aquatic Center.  Todd, Rick and some other
guys from their school were assigned to work with beginners.  The Center
was promoting water safety and swimming/diving techniques, and split up the
enrolled participants by ability.


As per usual, Todd's eyes drifted to all corners of the pool area.  One
dive instructor in particular, a tall blond with a sweet ass, caught his
eye.  Later he would learn that 19 year old Ben Fogel was a sophomore at
the college Todd wished to attend next year.


The day's events concluded around 4, and the volunteers were treated to
recreational swimming and diving into the early evening.  Todd elected to
hang around longer than his teammates, and Rick resisted any further
teasing.  He knew his buddy well; he'd hang around, drool a little, and
then walk to his mom's boutique to catch a ride home.


Todd had done a dozen laps in the olympic-sized pool after a couple of
"just messing around" dives from the high board.  He noticed that nearly
everyone had split, so he figured he ought to shower and get on with it.
In the locker room, he came around the corner of a row of lockers and
collided with the dive instructor he'd been eyeing earlier in the day. The
diver dropped a toilet kit and both young men stared at each other for 3 or
4 seconds.  They each absorbed the sharply attractive features in each
other's face.  Then they made a simultaneous move to pick up the kit on the
floor and promptly banged heads.  Both laughed.


"Hang on.  I'll step back and pick up my kit."


"I'm sorry, man.  I didn't know anyone else was in the locker room."


"No problem.  Did you have fun teaching strokes to those little guys?"


"About as much as you did coaching those intermediates."


"Interesting, we both had our eyes elsewhere than business."


Todd blushed a little, which made the other young man laugh out loud again.


"I'm Ben, by the way, Ben Fogel."


"Todd; Todd Masters.  I'm a senior at Madison."


"I'm a sophomore at Auburn U."


"No shit!  I've applied there for next year as a freshman."


"It's a great school. I'm majoring in Sports Medicine, and I'm there on a
diving scholarship."


"I'm hoping to anchor Auburn's swim team in a year or two.  I have several
state records in high school competition."


Ben stepped back a few paces and looked Todd over from head to toe.


"Yep, you've got a swimmer's body alright.  If I told you you had a great
body, would you hold it against me?"


Todd roared.


"That is the corniest line I've heard in awhile.  My best friend says that
to me a lot.  He's straight, and I'm..............."


Todd stopped dead in mid-speak.  What was it about Ben that made him
instantly comfortable in the same way he was with Ricky?  He hadn't meant
to tip his hand about his sexuality, but he had just bared himself big
time. Ben flashed him an all-knowing smile.


"Don't sweat it.  I came out when I was 16.  Ever since then, I'm pretty
open and casual about it."  "About what?"


Ben's face fell, but then Todd giggled.


"Just kidding.  My straight buddy, Rick- he and I can talk about it with no
problem.  I feel that kind of ease with you, Ben."


"That's because `it takes one to know one' or something like that."


"How does that explain Ricky and me?"


"Maybe he's a closet case like you."


"No; he has a girlfriend and I never catch him looking at guys unless
they're doing something blooming stupid."


It was Ben's turn to laugh.  "Blooming stupid".  Who used to use that
expression all the time?  One of his grandparents, maybe. The boys sat on a
bench and started talking about school and the challenges of being
different.  Before they realized it, an hour had passed.


"Todd, let me give you my email address.  Do you use Messenger at all?"


"Sure; I use Yahoo for that."


"Cool.  When I get back to Auburn, I want to keep connected with you if
that's okay."


"You bet it's okay.  It's MORE than just okay, Ben."


"Terrific.  I think this is the start of a very special friendship, Todd.



I hope the readers are enjoying the ride.  As the characters further
develop, their encounters will heat up.  However, this is more than a j/o
piece.

Any and all feedback is welcome.  I so enjoy writing, especially when it
reflects back on paths not taken.

I owe a special thanks to David Lee (under Nifty's  Prolific authors) for
his friendship and encouragement. Since posting Chapter 1, I've gotten
feedback from Jack, Colin, Neville, Terry and Dave; thanks, guys.


madmax212542007@yahoo.com