Date: Thu, 7 Feb 2008 09:02:56 -0800 (PST)
From: firehose Joe <firehosejoe@yahoo.com>
Subject: chapter 23 To thine own self be true

"This above all: To thine own self be true, for it must follow as dost the
night the day, that canst not be false to any man." Shakespeare (Hamlet)

Though the theme of wrestling will be a key component in the early chapters
and a continuing theme, the story is about relationships and being true to
oneself. Thanks to TalonRider for assistance proofing the story. This is
wholly fictional with no reference intended to persons alive or dead.

Please do not distribute to other sites without permission of the
author. Comments can be sent to firehosejoe@yahoo.com


From the previous chapter:

Reaching down, Nicco offered a hand to Alejandro. Grasping his wrist he
gently pulled Alejandro so he could sit. Leaning back on his hands,
Alejandro looked up. "Thank you. I don't have any place on me that doesn't
hurt but thank you." He said smiling weakly.

"Let's get you in the shower. Come with me." Taking Alejandro's arm, Nicco
helped him to his feet and pulling Alejandro's arm around his shoulder,
Nicco led him back to the showers.



Chapter 23

"Hold on a minute and let me adjust the water." Nicco said as Alejandro
leaned against the tile wall. Soon the temperature was warm enough to
soothe aching muscles. "Wait here, let me get something."

Nicco went into the adjacent hall and brought back a short aluminum bench
and set it in the spray. Directing Alejandro to sit, he massaged and soaped
his back and chest with his strong hands and thumbs. Carefully pulling
Alejandro to his feet, Nicco soaped his crotch and legs finally turning him
to rinse the soap away. Redirecting the water, Nicco helped Alejandro lay
back on the bench resting his legs atop Nicco's who had straddled the
bench. With a bottle of oil he had nearby, Nicco began to massage
Alejandro's penis with gentle firm motions. He never varied his speed or
pressure.

Despite the muscle weariness and pain he felt nearly everywhere,
Alejandro's cock began to respond. Slowly it stiffened and began to leak
precum. He groaned as his abs shuddered with the growing desire for
release.

Nicco gently rubbed himself while concentrating on Alejandro. He smiled
when he heard the beginnings of a continual moan from his young
friend. Seeing Alejandro's balls retract he watched in anticipation. Soon
it came. Involuntarily, Alejandro arched his back and cried out with both
pain and pleasure as he shot rope upon rope of creamy cum. Nicco kept up
his work on Alejandro's rigid muscle until he reached down to stop
him. Nicco increased the pressure on his own cock and with a few firm pulls
on his muscle began to cover Alejandro with his cum.

When his contractions subsided, Nicco reached across and smeared their
blended cum across Alejandro's chest, abs and crotch. Grabbing his arms,
Nicco helped Alejandro sit and they let their tongues explore each other's
mouth with passion and leisure. They were both spent, both sated.

Finally Nicco redirected the spray and once again cleaned Alejandro's
chest. Little had been said other than a few brief instructions by Nicco.

"Let's get dressed and grab something to drink at the bar. We still need to
talk." Nicco said.

Finally at the bar Nicco asked, "Was I too rough. The match, was it
anything like what you expected? Tell me what you're thinking."

Alejandro realized he was at the beginning of a new experience. No, it
hadn't been too rough but with the wrong person it might have turned out
differently.

"I needed to see how serious you were Alejandro. You are strong, fast; you
have skill and are a quick learner." With a bit of concern, Nicco asked,
"Was what we did after Ok?"

"Yes! What do you mean?"

"I didn't want to force anything." Nicco chuckled. "That's a lie, I wanted
to force a lot of things but we hadn't talked about that."

Before he could go further Alejandro said, "Nicco, what we did was all I
could do at the moment. Now that I'm a bit more rested, well" he let the
words fall away as he offered the gentle challenge with a smile.

Nicco smiled in return. "Perhaps you'll give me a match again soon and the
winner will claim his prize." Nicco said with a challenge. "You want to do
more of this kind of wrestling? I mean with me and possibly others."

Alejandro felt himself warm at the thought. "Yes. If I can find a person
who will work with me but, um" he didn't know how to finish.

"What is it?" Nicco encouraged.

"I was willing to trust that you wouldn't try to injure me. I still don't
have much more than a clue as to what's appropriate and what isn't as far
as rules and, as you say, `claiming your prize'."

Nicco chuckled. "When men step onto the mat with the understanding that
they will fight without specific rules or regard to time limits certain
understandings should be reached first. Anyone I would suggest you wrestle
understands that and wouldn't take advantage of you.

"I have several men in mind who would likely welcome an opportunity to work
with a young, skilled, wrestler like you. Two of them are partnered with
men who don't enjoy wrestling but are willing to let the other pursue his
interest when an appropriate opportunity arise, barring erotic involvement.

"Three of the others offer different challenges. Two are as aggressive as I
was today and will see the contest as one where the winner takes what he
will from the loser. With each you will need to build a sense of trust and
together understand what is within your individual limits. They will
respect yours as you will theirs. The third is a more traditional
wrestler. By that I mean he is not given to kicks and punching. Usually, he
will not quit a match until both men have spent their loads on each
other. Most often the match ends with both men nude.

"Do you have any preferences?" Nicco asked

Alejandro answered, "I'd kinda like to talk to them, to get a feel if I'm
comfortable."

"Unless you have objections, I'll talk to them, tell them about today and
see what they think. If they are interested, you can take the next step
whether just to talk or whatever. That way you'd be able to see more what
your style and preference might be.

"If you will give me a phone number I should be able to contact you this
week with some of their responses, if not all of them." Nicco offered. They
soon parted -- Nicco to his preparations for the week to come and
Alejandro headed home.

Even though he'd blown a load in the shower, Alejandro drove home feeling
that familiar stirring in his balls. He wanted to tell someone of the
day. Frederick would have understood immediately. Alejandro wasn't sure
Charles would understand. Still, he called and casually asked if Charles
was busy that evening.

"Forever reading, Alejandro. You know how it is. The research is unending
and some, oh be honest, most of it schlock. It is the stuff of sloppy
dissertations." Asking about Alejandro's day, Charles enthusiastically
encouraged him to come over for a light dinner, and a glass of wine.

Over their wine and dinner, Alejandro tried to describe the night before
and the day. He could tell Charles was engaged but not quite able to
understand the passion that fueled him.

"Everything, or nearly everything in my life has been proscribed by
expectations of self, my family, and community. Somehow this makes me feel
real. Oh, that sounds ridiculous. Let me try again.

"Wrestling is like many individual competitions. There are accepted rules
and formats that are followed. It appeals to me because of the immediacy of
it. Success or failure is known in the moment and not measured by arbitrary
standards set by one's self or others. The fact that it involves nearly
continual body contact appeals to me for the obvious reasons." Alejandro
smiled.

"The wrestling match with Nicco was different than any I've had. It was
more of what I imagine a fight or brawl might be. There was obvious sexual
tension combined with the knowledge that we were fighting to make the other
submit to our strength, our skill and ultimately our sexual
desires. Understand Charles, the fight is real and the desire during the
grappling is to defeat the other and there is little `pleasure' involved
then.

"That comes after. The primal element of fight blended with the sexual urge
for conquest and domination fuels both the contest and the pleasure that
follows. For me it was a whole different experience that I want to repeat
often."

Charles looked thoughtful as he listened. "You called this place Bear's
Den, right? May I go with you some time to see what it's like?"

Alejandro, with a look of surprised pleasure turned quickly toward Charles
and said, "Of course!" He felt his back spasm with pain from all the abuse
it had taken. He caught his breath for a moment.

"You need to get those muscles relaxed. Listen to me. Go to the bathroom
and draw a tub of hot water and soak while I clean up here. Afterward I'll
work on your back. Don't argue with me about this. Stubbornness will only
result in greater pain tomorrow. Now go!"

Later, lying on the bed, Alejandro relaxed under Charles' strong hands. The
heated oil enabled him to knead the muscles in Alejandro's back, shoulders,
and neck. Rolling him over, Charles continued working all of Alejandro's
muscles and watched as his cock began to respond.

"Do you want to take care of that?" Charles asked smiling.

"Yeah, I want to fuck you; but, I'm sure it would undo all the work you've
done on my back. Do you mind just getting us both off." Alejandro said.

Charles stretched out above Alejandro and began to rub their cocks against
each other. Carefully balancing his weight he increased the body contact as
their dicks rubbed against each other until they each erupted spewing cum
between them.

Later at home, Alejandro lay in bed thinking about the events of the last
24 hours and wondered what would come next. Thinking of Nicco and their
wrestling, he fell asleep.

Late Thursday afternoon Alejandro's private phone rang. Nicco called to let
him know he'd contacted the men and had gotten a positive response of
interest from each. He gave Alejandro the names and numbers. He said he
would regret not seeing Alejandro the coming weekend. There were some
pressing deliveries needed so he would be driving most of the weekend.

Alejandro looked at the list trying to decide how to proceed. Deciding to
invite them to lunch seemed a good way to have a conversation on neutral
ground. Of the two men Nicco had subtly cautioned Alejandro about, one was
no longer interested and the other agreed to meet him at a neighborhood bar
after work the following week.

Liam O'Donnell's directions were easy to follow. Alejandro drove around the
neighborhood getting a feel for the place. 20 years ago it was typical
working middle class neighborhood. A balanced mix of stand alone and duplex
two story houses filled the streets. The requisite Catholic school was
nearby as were several small restaurants and bars.

Alejandro pushed the door open and stepped into the place. The noise was
jovial, with laughter and loud conversations. A few eyes followed him, an
obvious newcomer. Liam had told him to look for him at the bar. With the
bar at near capacity, Alejandro wondered just how he'd know who Liam was.

Mid way down, a man turned and looked at him full on, sizing him up openly
and with a hint of derision. Gaining his feet, bringing his beer, the man
walked toward Alejandro. Not knowing what to do, Alejandro simply stood and
watched the man approach. He was an inch or two shorter than Alejandro and
built like a stout barrel. His hair was close cut, his eyes blue and his
skin fair.

He stopped a few feet in front of Alejandro and looked him up and
down. "From what Nicco said, I was expecting someone with a bit more beef
on their bones. Liam O'Donnell." He simply said extending a meaty paw to
shake Alejandro's hand.

"Hand's more than a bit soft. Not a working man are you?" It was said more
as observation than question. Alejandro noticed the coarse rough calluses
on Liam's hand.

"Alejandro Algara. Call me Alex if you like." Alejandro said, choosing not
to respond in any other way. He held Liam's gaze then asked, "Is there room
at the bar or should we try for a table?"  Liam held his gaze as if trying
to make up his mind. Then with a slight jerk of his head, he nodded toward
a table, turned and walked toward it without another word.

When they were seated, Liam caught the eye of a waiter and when beers had
been ordered he said, "So you want to wrestle me, do ya?" The faint left
over Irish brogue played with Liam's speech. It was lilting in a way that
nothing else about the man was.

Alejandro met his look and simply said, "Nicco suggested we talk. I want to
find someone to workout with. That's why I'm here."

Beers were served. After taking a long swallow Liam set the bottle down and
looked at Alejandro. "I don't workout boy, I wrestle. If you want to
workout go to a gym." Picking up the bottle he took another swallow as he
kept his eye on Alejandro.

Alejandro felt completely out of place suddenly. Part of him wanted to get
up and leave. Another wanted to face this man and find out why Nicco had
recommended him. With his gaze equally leveled he said, "Wrestling's a good
workout. I don't need a gym. I just need somebody to, uh, fight with."
Alejandro said not wanting to be chided about `workouts' again.

Slowly a smile began to play with the corners of Liam's mouth. "Need
somebody to fight with, eh? Well there's plenty here who'd be happy to
oblige." With that, he raised his voice a bit and called to a friend,
"Matty, got a boy here lookin' for a fight." He said with a bit of laugh
and lilt in his voice. The man turned, looked and laughing waved him off.

"Liam, if you're not interested I'll leave." Alejandro started to get up.

"Calm yourself boy-o. Just havin' a bit of fun at your expense. It's not
usual for a stylish young man like yerself to come waltzin' in here looking
for a fight. Not that there haven't been more than a few since I've been
coming here. But I'm guessin' you know what I mean." With that Liam
chuckled to himself, his chest shaking with mirth.

Alejandro quickly understood the humor of the situation and laughed at
himself. "Ok Liam. Drinks are on me but don't be expectin' me to haul you
drunken ass out of here."

"Well that more like it, lad!" Liam exclaimed, slapping the top of the
table as he laughed. "We may just have something to talk about after all."

Liam had grilled Nicco for information. At first he wasn't interested in
the least but after hearing Nicco's description of Alejandro and the match
he'd had with him he was willing to give it at go, for a drink and a bit of
amusement if nothing else.

With a characteristic bluntness typical of his work blended with his
natural Irish wit and humor he drew out Alejandro `till both were talking
easily and finishing their second beer. Liam was a Mason's Supervisor on a
large condo high-rise being built in Chicago. He apprenticed himself in his
mid teens and become a Master Mason by his early twenties.

He didn't leave the heavy work for his crew. Beside them daily, he lifted
mortar, brick and block. His additional responsibility as the Job Foreman
was to insure that his crews followed the building design and
blueprints. On the job, Alejandro imagined he was a no-nonsense
construction supervisor who led by example. As they talked, Alejandro tried
to imagine what Liam must look like without clothes.

He could see the bulging shoulders and thick neck. His flannel shirt
concealed his arms till he moved. Then Alejandro could see the thick biceps
push against the fabric at times. Liam's hands were chunky and strong with
short fingers that showed signs of hard work.

Leaning his elbows on the table and shifting his weight he drew Alejandro
toward him with a nod of his head. "I probably don't have to tell ya, but
this kind of extra curricular activity is not something I share with my
friends. We'll not meet here again, and if anyone is to ask you, you're
here to talk to me about a bit of work. Got it?" Alejandro nodded.

Liam continued talking softly, "Nicco said we could work at the club unless
you've other arrangements. `Course we'll need to talk about the
particulars." Liam raised an eyebrow and winked, "We can do that later when
we've a bit more privacy, don't you think lad?" Leaning back with his voice
at a normal level Liam continued, "So what's it to be. I'm sure I can do
the `work' for ya if ya want me. Shall we meet at the job site to discuss
it in more detail?"

Alejandro, quick on the uptake understood immediately. "Yes, come out to
the car and I can give you directions and show you a sketch of what I have
in mind." With that he pulled out a $20 and left it on the table, gathered
his coat and walked to the door not looking back to see if Liam was
following. Smiling to himself he thought, `give him a bit of his own back
and see how he likes it'.

On the sidewalk, Liam smiled. "Cocky little fooker, aren't ya?"

"Guess that's what this is all about, isn't it?" Alejandro said as they
walked to his car. They agreed that when they met the next day, they'd talk
about their mutual expectations.

"Are ya quite sure what you're gettin' into, boy? I think we both need to
be clear about how we'll do this thing. Agreed? We'll talk more tomorrow."
Liam said then added, "In private, I usually wrestle in by shoes and a
jock. Wear what you want. I'll see you tomorrow." With a handshake they
parted company.


Ps. Guys, I'd enjoy having someone do a read through before editing to
catch the things I don't see -- you know `can't see the forest for the
trees'. Anyone interested?


A writer's peculiar food and drink are the comments of his reader. Feel
free to share your thoughts with me.  firehosejoe@yahoo.com