Date: Sun, 2 Nov 2014 20:50:09 -0600
From: Jack Schaeffer <jack.schaeffman@gmail.com>
Subject: Forever - Chapter 15 (Beginnings)

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Comments welcomed: jack.schaeffman@gmail.com


FOREVER
By Jack Schaeffer
Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.

Chapter 15

When the alarm went off at 6 o'clock, the sun was barely lighting up the sky
outside my window. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and padded naked to the
bathroom, my morning hardon leading the way. Still half asleep, I stood
outside the shower waiting for the water to run hot. When I stepped in, the
powerful water jets attacked my body and the fragrant Bvlgari shower gel
assaulted my nose, both working in tandem to wake me up. Eventually I was
alert enough to function.

I brushed my teeth, shaved my face, deodorized my pits, and sunscreened my
whole body. Then I got dressed in my "work" clothes, laughing to myself. I
came to Hawaii for a relaxing, get-away-from-it-all vacation, and now I had a
budding new relationship with a wonderful guy and a new "job" cleaning pools.
Not that I was complaining; any day working with Sam was a going to be a
great day.

I put a change of clothes and my brown top siders in my beach bag, just in
case we stayed in the city for the evening. I thought maybe I might need
something nicer than a t-shirt for dinner. Always be prepared. I then headed
to the kitchen for my usual fruit and granola breakfast. After eating, I
washed and dried the dirty dishes and spent a few more minutes getting
everything in the gourmet kitchen put back in its place from last night's
dinner. I grabbed some cold water bottles from the fridge, stashed a generous
supply of sunscreen in my bag, and stuck my shades on top of my head. Out the
door with five minutes to spare.

The drive down to Honolulu was pleasant enough. Traffic wasn't too bad and I
had no trouble following Sam's detailed directions to the Paradise Pools
office/warehouse complex near the airport. I could see several large
passenger planes in the sky out over the ocean lined up for landing. It
looked like five or six other businesses occupied various suites within the
same building.

I pulled into the parking area next to three white trucks like the one Sam
usually drove. He was leaning up against one, his arms crossed in front,
waiting for me with a big smile. I couldn't help but notice his bulging
biceps in his tight t-shirt, and remembered how it felt to be held in those
big, strong arms. Hoped that happened again today.

I parked the car, put the top up, swung my beach bag over my shoulder, and
locked up. Sam was looking me over as I walked up to him. I think I was
blushing.

"Looking good this morning, Jack. Nice uniform. But I think you're missing
something." He reached through the window of his truck and pulled out a
Paradise Pools white t-shirt for me. "Here, put this on. Let's see how it
looks."

"You want me to change right here in the parking lot?" I asked.

"Yeah. I've seen you without your shirt before, Jack. I promise I'll behave."
More blushing on my part. I'm sure I was red all over as I quickly shed my
own t-shirt and slipped on my new white work shirt. Sam might have made a
tiny gasp when I had my shirt over my head, but I couldn't be sure. The new
shirt fit a little snug across the shoulders, but wasn't too tight anywhere
else. Sam whistled when I pulled it down.

"Damn, Jack. You fill that out nice enough, don't ya." The smart ass was
back, complete with goofy grin. I decided I liked this side of Sam a lot, the
playful side that didn't take things too seriously. He made me feel like a
kid, instead of an adult with the weight of the world on my shoulders. I was
looking forward to a fun day with him.

"Thanks, Sam. You look pretty good yourself, ya know."

"Thanks, Jack. Now come on, let's get loaded up and on the road." He motioned
for me to follow him into the large open garage area next to the trucks. The
interior space was filled primarily with racks and racks of pool chemicals
and other supplies, from what I could see. Together we dragged half a dozen
heavy 50 pound buckets of chlorine powder tablets to Sam's truck. Sam could
carry one in each hand. I struggled to carry only one in two hands. Lifting
it up and over the tailgate of the truck earned me a slightly pulled muscle
in my back. Not a great beginning. Maybe I needed to work out. Perish the
thought.

We gathered a few more odds and ends, including about a hundred feet of
plastic tubing like the kind that was used on the robot cleaner back at the
house. Sam looked at a clipboard hanging on a nail near the entrance,
confirmed his assignments for the day, and we were off.

We had the windows down and some music playing in the background. It felt so
good to just be hanging out with Sam, riding along, not talking, just being
together. He was visibly happy - he couldn't stop smiling. Then I started,
and pretty soon we were giggling, then laughing. His laugh gave me a hardon
in two seconds flat! I had it so bad for him. This was going to be a long -
and very hard - day for me.

Our first stop was west of the airport on Ewa Beach Road. The house was not
huge, but sat on prime beachfront property. The driveway curved in off the
street after Sam got the gate open with the security code. We drove past a
grove of tall, swaying palm trees on our right and parked in front of the two
car garage. The pool was immediately to our left behind a low decorative
safety fence. Just behind the pool was a large bath house painted to match
the main house, complete with his and hers toilets and showers. The control
room for the pool pumps was at one end of this building.

The pool itself was nothing special, just a rectangle maybe half the size of
the one at the house where I was staying. It looked very dirty to me, like
maybe it hadn't been taken care of in a while.

I heard Sam whistle softly. "Oh man, would you look at that?" said Sam.
"We've got a lot of work to do. I know Tommy said this was a first time call
out, but damn, it looks like they haven't touched it for a month or more." He
squatted down next to the pool and looked at the water with his intense eyes,
studying the situation. Meanwhile, I studied Sam's taut, stretched thigh
muscles, wishing his shorts weren't in the way so I could see even more of
his sexy legs. Don't mind me, I'm just the free labor.

"Okay, Jack. Let's get busy. I'm gonna check the pH and chlorine levels,
which can't be good. Can you get one of those buckets of chlorine tablets out
of the truck and bring it to the control room? We'll start with that. Oh, and
there should be a bag of pool shock in the truck as well. We'll need that,
too. But be careful, Jack. I don't want you to get electrocuted." His cheeky
grin was playfully mocking me.

"Very funny, smart ass. You just wait. I'll shock you, right when you least
expect it." We were both laughing as I turned towards the truck and he headed
for the control room at the end of the building on the other side of the
pool.

While Sam was busy with his little test strips and doing the easy stuff, I
wrestled one of those big ass buckets of chlorine all the way from the truck
to the pool side. I had actually dropped it off the back of the truck, but
thankfully the driveway was made of small decorative gravel instead of
concrete, so the plastic didn't crack. That would have been bad. Sam would
have teased me mercilessly. As it was, I needed to get him back for that
electrocution crack.

Using all my remaining strength I quietly carried that bucket into the
control room. Sam's back was to the door, his attention on his little
experiments. I dropped the bucket with a thud on the floor right behind him.
He jumped half a foot, twisting in the air, the beaker of water he was
testing flying out of his hands. The water landed on him, the glass beaker
thankfully flew straight into my hands.

"What the hell?" Sam yelled.

"Get a shock there, Sam?" I asked, my own goofy grin plastered across my
face. He had water all down the front on his t-shirt and a little on the
crotch of his shorts. One of his nipples was very noticeable in the wet
shirt. Very hot! "Did you lose this?" I asked, as I handed him back his glass
beaker.

"You dork, that scared the shit out of me." He tried to sound mad, but he was
smiling. Then he gave up and we burst out laughing.

"Told ya I'd get ya back." I said.

"And you did, too. Look at me. I'm a mess."

"It'll dry. Besides, you look sexy in a wet t-shirt."

"Oh, you think I look sexy, do you, Jack?" Now his smile grew even bigger,
his eyes dancing with excitement, teasing me again.

"Not even a little bit, you jerk." But I was nodding my head yes as I said
it. We burst out laughing again. At this rate this pool would have an inch of
algae growing in it before we ever even got started.

We finally managed to pull ourselves together. I got the bag of pool shock
out of the truck. I think it was concentrated chlorine powder and some other
chemicals, but what did I know? I set that on the floor next to the chlorine
bucket, and watched as Sam opened up tubes and filters and cleaned out some
really gross looking gunk, throwing it in a black plastic trash bag, which he
asked me to hold open for him. It smelled as bad as it looked.

That job done, he started adding chlorine tablets to the automatic dispenser.
He explained to me how that would keep a steady supply of chlorine running
into the pool, maximizing the inflow when the sun was down. Then he added the
full bag of shock to the system, setting a timer on a separate dispensing
mechanism for that. He made a note of the date and time on a chart on the
wall inside the control room.

"Okay, Jack. That's all for in here. Now we need to clean the pool itself.
Think you remember how to use the skimmer?"

"Yeah, I think so. That's the big pole with the net on the end, right?"

"Yep. I'll get you started. Then while you use that, I'll run the handheld
sweeper. They don't have a robotic vacuum here. Too bad. As dirty as that
water is, they could have it run 24/7. Oh well."

We went out to the pool, me with the skimmer, and Sam carrying what looked
like one of those flat, Swiffer floor sweepers with a vacuum hose connection
on the top. We put those things down and went back and hauled out the vacuum
hose, which Sam connected to the top of the sweeper pad, and I connected the
other end to the vacuum pump in the control room. Sam yelled for me to turn
it on, and I flipped the switch. It fired right up and I could hear dirty
water surging through the hose.

Back out at the pool, Sam had dropped the sweeper to the bottom, its long
pole sticking up like a periscope. I extended the skimmer pole out to its
full length and moved toward the one end of the pool. Sam walked up behind me
and reached around to grab the skimmer, his hands next to my hands.

"Now remember, Jack. Use this kind of movement and keep your hands spread
wide so it stays balanced to save your back muscles." We practiced moving the
skimmer across the surface of the water. I felt Sam draw in a little closer
to me, his breath on my neck and his hips grazing my ass. The gentle
movements together were sensual and erotic, and if I wasn't mistaken, Sam had
something hard in his shorts to match my own tumescent member.

There was a moment when we both realized what was happening, and Sam quickly
disengaged, and I could tell he was a little flustered. I was worried he
would be mad at himself for letting things get too serious. Of course, I had
no idea what to do about it, so I said nothing. But I did smile at him,
letting him know I was fine and okay with things. He breathed a sigh of
relief and smiled sheepishly back at me. Nothing more was said. We got to
work.

And it was tough work, too. That pool was disgusting. Three times Sam had to
empty the wet, gross gunk from the vacuum canister into another black plastic
bag, me holding it open trying not to look at or smell the nasty concoction
being dumped into it. We were at it for nearly two hours with only a quick
water break in the middle when Sam finally declared the job was done. The
pool looked brand new compared to when we arrived.

We cleaned up the equipment using a spray hose and packed it all away in the
control room where it belonged. Sam checked the chlorine levels one more time
- they were spot on where they needed to be. He checked his phone for a
number and made a call, apparently leaving a message for the owners telling
them all that we had done and reminding them to not swim until that evening,
to give the chemicals enough time to do their thing. We hauled our tired
bodies back to the truck, where we sat, catching our breath and relaxing for
a few minutes.

"Jack, thanks for your help. That was a nasty job. I'm sure you didn't count
on that kind of a day. Me either, actually. But Tommy will be thrilled -
another happy new customer. I hope they call him when they get home and let
him know."

"It was okay, Sam. I'm glad to help. Mostly I'm just glad to spend the day
with you. I'd probably do just about anything, really."

"Sorry about earlier, Jack. I got a little carried away. You do things to
me...and I was losing control there for a minute." He was blushing. I loved
it.

"Sam, please don't apologize. I love it that you get excited being near me.
You weren't the only one feeling it. I'm glad you had the strength to pull
away, though, cuz I know I didn't." I would not have known what to do with
him, but I certainly would have let him do whatever he wanted to me, most
likely. But I didn't tell him that.

"Thanks, Jack. I appreciate that. Whadda ya say we get some lunch? I'm hungry
after that workout."

"Sounds great to me."

"Cool. I was thinking we drive over closer to our next stop. There's a Subway
near there. You okay with sandwiches?"

"Sure, Sam. Sounds good to me. Where are we going, anyway?"

"We have two pools to service over on Kahala Avenue. It's where the really
rich folks live. It's by Diamond Head. You probably drove right past it the
other day. It'll take a while to get there, maybe 45 minutes or so. You okay
to wait that long to eat?"

"Yep. I'll be fine. Lead the way." I settled back into my seat in the truck,
and enjoyed the sunshine and beautiful scenery as we slowly made our way back
to the main highway - H1. Then it was like any other interstate expressway -
multiple lanes of concrete, broken up by overpasses and exits. I could see
parts of Pearl Harbor in the distance, and the mountains off to the left.
When there was nothing good to look at outside the truck, I amused myself
with stealing glances at Sam. God, he was a sexy man! I loved everything
about him - the shape of him, the size of him, the smell of him. How he
carried himself, how he acted, even just the sound of his voice turned me on.
I could hardly believe I was sitting in that truck with him. I wondered if he
felt the same things about me.

He caught me looking at him, and grinned. I think he may have been trying to
secretly look at me, too.

"What're you looking at, Jack?"

"Just admiring the sexy scenery, Sam." He chuckled at that.

"Jack, you're killing me today!" He was grinning as he reached down and
adjusted himself with the hand that wasn't on the steering wheel. I could
have done that for him if he'd just asked. Geez, I am such a perv!

"Seriously, Jack. I can't believe this is happening. What are the odds that
you come for a vacation and I happen to be cleaning your pool and we click
like this? Amazing! I'm beyond glad I found you, Jack."

"I'm glad you found me, too, Sam. I was beginning to believe that it would
never happen, and I was destined to live a lonely life with just my hand for
company." He actually blushed at that. I probably did, too. But I didn't
care.

"Can I tell you something, Jack?" asked Sam.

"Anything, Sam," I replied.

He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I have never felt the way I
feel about you, Jack. It goes beyond just thinking about you constantly, and
wanting to be near you. I catch myself wondering how you are feeling. Is he
alright? Is he happy? Is there something I can do for him to make his
vacation better? I don't want to keep bringing him up, but I never, ever felt
these things with Jeremy. Sorry - he's my only reference for this kind of
thing. I just never knew it could be like this."

He turned to look at me and saw the happy tears gently running down my face.
I just smiled at him through the mist and tried to swallow the lump in my
throat.

"Oh, Jack. I didn't mean to upset you. Shit, I always say too much. Just
forget I said all that." He was so sweet when he was embarrassed.

"Sam," I croaked softly. "Please don't ever stop saying things like that to
me. Please. I've waited my whole life for someone to care about me like you
seem to. I...I don't know what I've done to deserve you." I had to stop
because talking was too hard through the tears. To be honest, they were
starting to annoy me.

Then Sam did an incredible thing - he reached out with his right hand and
grabbed my left and held on. My heart started pounding in my chest. From such
a simple thing like holding my hand?

"Jack, I know this is all happening super fast - for both of us. I think we
are both more than a little surprised that we found each other. I just hope
you understand that my feelings for you are not just about sex. I like that
we flirt a little, and fuck if you don't get me hot and bothered all the
time, but I...I don't know how to say it...I think I want...I don't
know...more. I want more with you than just sex. Do you think that could ever
happen, Jack?"

Oh. My. God! He did want the same things that I did! I started trembling and
then shaking, then I was silently crying all over again. I couldn't help it.
I was so embarrassed, and I couldn't speak, so I did the only thing I could
think of: I started nodding my head up and down, trying to tell him, "Yes!
Yes! Yes! I want that, too."

He glanced over at me, probably worried that I hadn't responded. He saw me
looking at him, tears streaming down my face and my head bobbing up and down.
He broke into a huge smile, his own beautiful blue eyes tearing up
immediately. He squeezed my hand tighter and we just held on, riding the wave
of overwhelming emotions together.

Just then we came to the exit for Waialae Drive. Sam changed lanes and we got
off the freeway. Waialae runs underneath the H1 highway, and we followed that
for a few blocks, then turned onto Kilauea Avenue just past a mall. At the
next major cross street, Sam pulled into the Subway restaurant and parked
under a large shade tree. He still had not let go of my hand. I hoped he
never did.

Sam turned to me, drying his eyes as best he could with his left hand. "Jack,
do you really mean it? Do you think there's something here between us?"

My own waterworks had finally stopped. "I think so, Sam. I hope so. I mean, I
don't know. This is all so totally new to me. I just know I have wanted more
with you than I have ever wanted before. Ever. I...feel things for you, Sam,
that I don't have words for. I know I want you as my friend forever, but I
want more than that, too. And yes, it goes way beyond sex for me, too, Sam."

He just looked at me, smiling, and shaking his head in wonder. There was no
doubt we had just crossed a line of some kind. We both knew it. I was nervous
and scared, but I knew there was no way I was turning back now. Sam's deep
blue eyes somehow captured mine, drawing me in, and we locked together. He
looked deep into my soul - that's the only way I can describe it - his focus
intense and unrelenting. Then, like I had seen him do so many times now, he
nodded once and by his beautiful smile I knew he had chosen to not turn back
either.

I wanted to do something to somehow mark this incredible moment, but I was
still too scared to kiss him. I wanted to, but it didn't seem right. I chose
instead to hold his one large hand in both of mine, like I was never letting
go. He immediately did the same, and we sat there holding hands tightly,
still looking into each other's eyes, neither one wanting to break the spell
between us. At some point a sense of peace came over me, a knowing that we
were doing the right thing, for both of us. Just don't screw this up, Jack,
whatever you do.

Nature called. "Sam, I really don't want this moment to end, but I gotta
pee." He laughed, and we got out of the truck and headed into the restaurant.
Sam walked half a step behind me and again had his hand floating near the
small of my back. My protector was guarding me again.

We took turns using the bathroom, then got in line. Sam was standing close to
me, and I think unconsciously touching me in little ways with his body. I was
hyper aware of him and loving it. When it was our turn, I got a six-inch
turkey on white with pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and hot
peppers. A little mayo and Sriracha sauce and I was set. Sam got a steak and
cheese sub with the same fixings, with the addition of pickles. He skipped
the Sriracha sauce in favor of barbeque sauce instead.

We took our sandwiches, chips and drinks and sat across from each other in a
booth near the back. We didn't talk much as we ate, but we kept looking at
each other. Our eyes would meet, and instead of looking away, we would hold
our gaze for a few seconds. It was sexy in some bizarre way. I know my dick
started getting hard.

At some point I slipped my right foot out of my flip flops and found one of
his feet under the table. I rested my foot on top of his, and he didn't move
his foot away. He looked at me with amusement and kept eating, as did I.
Every so often I would rub my foot across the top of his, and he would look
up at me and smile. After a few minutes of this, the frequency increased, and
pretty soon I was moving my foot across his continuously, in slow, soft
motions. Sam looked into my eyes and his expression turned serious and
intense.

I continued what I was doing - not that I really knew what that was - and
watched him across the table. His eyes held mine. His breathing got
noticeably more shallow and rapid, almost panting. He whispered, "Jack, just
so you know. You're stirring up a fire that I may not be able to put out."

I stopped immediately. The last thing I wanted to do was make him
uncomfortable or push things too far. "Sorry, Sam. I didn't mean to do that.
I was just having a little fun with you."

He reached across the table and put a hand on mine, resting it there softly.
"It's cool, Jack," said Sam, smiling as his breathing returned to normal. "I
liked it - a lot." He gave me that smart ass grin of his and sat back, taking
his hand with him. Every touch from this guy leaves me desperate for the next
one!

We finished our lunch and stepped back out into the sun. Sam pulled his
shades down over his eyes and looked at me. My knees instantly felt weak. He
was so hot looking! He smiled a huge smile, I blushed and smiled back, and we
were off to the next stop.

Our next pool was night and day different from the last. First of all, it was
three times the size, with crystal clear water lapping up against the mosaic-
tiled edge of the pool. The designs were intricate and rich in color and
contrast as blues swirled with reds. The bottom of the pool was also done in
tiny mosaic tiles, the predominant image a large calligraphy-inspired letter
"M" done in shiny gold against a dark navy background. Stunning.

The pool's beauty matched the house that sat along side it. Sam was right -
this is where the really rich folks lived. We were at the west end of Kahala
Avenue, and in addition to the amazing pool, the house sat right on the
oceanfront with its own private beach. I could see an elaborate deck and
outdoor entertainment area just off the back of the enormous house. Some
rather expensive looking European vehicles sat in the driveway under the
shade of countless swaying palm trees. Sam's truck looked a little pathetic
in this picture.

"So, Jack. This one should be easy. All we need to do is check the pH and
chlorine levels and make sure everything is running the way it should. Ready
to learn how to do the testing?"

"Sure, Sam. You're the pool master. I'm here to do your bidding."

He smiled. "Oh yeah? What if I asked you to take off all your clothes and
jump naked in the pool. Would you do it?" Smart ass was back.

"Sure. Should I have the skimmer in my hands or the sweeper?" I replied, my
own sexy smirk matching his. We both knew he was teasing. It was fun.

He laughed. "Come on, you goof. Let's get this done."

I followed Sam to the pool control room. It was bigger and had a lot more
pumps, filters and things than any of the other pools I had seen - all two of
them. Sam pulled test strips out of his pocket and handed them to me. He
extracted some water from the system into a glass jar for the purpose and
instructed me to hold a test strip in the water for a few seconds. I then
pulled it out and we waited until the colors stopped changing.

"Good. See, Jack. The pH is exactly between 7.4 and 7.6. That's perfect. The
chlorine levels look like 2.1 parts per million. We want that somewhere
between 1 and 3, so we are spot on. I'll check the pumps and filters, and we
are out of here."

Sam opened up the filters and thankfully only one of them had any real gunk
in it. He pulled that out and threw it in a sealable trash can there in the
control room. I was glad he didn't ask me to do that part. I didn't want to
throw up on him. That stuff was so gross.

After making an entry on the chart on the wall, we locked up the control room
and walked back to the truck, Sam touching my back lightly with his hand. I
loved it when he did that.

We turned right out of the driveway onto Kahala and continued east. Maybe a
quarter mile down the road, Sam pulled into the entrance to an estate and
stopped at the closed gate. Instead of putting in a code, he pulled out his
phone and dialed a number.

"Hi. This is Sam with Paradise Pools. We're here for a check and clean on
your pool and spa. We're at the gate." There was no acknowledgement of him or
what he said, just the click of a phone hanging up and the sound of the gate
reluctantly opening. Sam closed his phone and tossed it on the seat between
us. He seemed slightly upset, something I had never seen in him before.
Interesting.

We drove slowly through the gate and followed the drive up towards the
entrance to the house. We were met with a sour faced lady dressed to the
nines in a designer dress and covered in jewelry, all of which I am sure was
real. It was 2:30 in the afternoon.

"You can't park there. What's the matter with you?" she complained, as Sam
stepped out of the truck.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Richardson. I didn't realize. I'll be glad to move the
truck. Where would you like me to park it?"

She scowled at him like he was an insect or something. "Park it back by the
gate. And off to the side, in case my friend Betsy needs to get through
later. God, I thought you people knew better than to pull up to customers'
front doors."

"I'll move it right away, ma'am," Sam said politely. He motioned for me stay
where I was, standing on the edge of the driveway and out of the way. I
wouldn't move for all the money in the world. This woman scared the crap out
of me. Unfortunately, as Sam slowly reversed the truck and moved back toward
the entrance, she turned her attention to me.

"Who are you? You a new worker? I've never seen you here before."

"My name is Jack, ma'am. And yes, I'm new."

"Well listen Jack, or whatever your real name is, you stay with Sam and don't
let me catch you anywhere but working on the pool. You got that?" I nodded,
scared to speak again.

We stood there in stony silence while she waited for Sam to make the trek up
to the house on foot. When he arrived, she had a mental list ready for him.

"Sam. Here's what you're going to do today. The spa is not heating up
properly. It's supposed to be 110 degrees at the top setting. It didn't get
close to that last night when Mayor Carlisle and his wife Judy were over.
Also, the cleaning machine that you said should run in the pool at night?
It's broken. That needs to be fixed. The pool is quite dirty, and I have 40
guests coming tonight for a party. You simply have to get it perfect again."

"Mrs. Richardson, do you know if anything happened to the robot cleaner that
it wouldn't be working? We just installed it last week," asked Sam.

"How should I know? That's not my problem. I think one of the kids might have
stepped on it or dropped it or I don't know. Just replace it already and get
a move on - I need you and your filthy truck out of here before the caterers
arrive. I can't believe you're this late already." She was clearly not a
happy camper. I have seldom encountered someone with such a disdain for
people who were trying to help them.

I saw Sam swallow hard and mentally brace himself before saying, "Well, I'm
very sorry Mrs. Richardson, but I don't have a replacement model for that
robot on the truck with me. If you remember, we special ordered that one from
the mainland. It will take two weeks to get another one in."

"You mean to tell me that you don't keep a spare on your truck at all times?
What's the matter with you people? Have you no brains? Can't you think past
the next party or drug rave or whatever it is your kind do? I don't care what
you have to do, that pool had better be clean before you leave, or Uncle
Thomas will be hearing from me this very night!" She was practically
screaming at Sam, and he was doing his best to maintain his composure, but I
could see it slipping at the edges.

Clearly having no more time for the likes of us, Mrs. Richardson huffed in
disgust, turned on her four inch designer heels, and stomped back into the
house, slamming the front door loud enough the neighbors had to have heard
it. I just stared at Sam, my mouth hanging open, a stunned look on my face.

"What just happened, Sam?" I asked carefully.

"That...was a stuck up rich bitch who thinks she's better than us because she
has money. Come on. We better get busy before she comes back and starts
yelling some more and I lose my cool and get fired." He was very upset, and
it made me mad that someone, anyone, would talk to my Sam with that much
disrespect. I followed Sam down a sidewalk through the thick tropical
vegetation and around to the back of the house.

The pool was enormous! It had an irregular shape with no straight edges, only
curves of various dimensions. It the middle of the large pool was an island
structure, maybe ten feet by ten feet or so, again with all curved edges, and
covered in gorgeous tropical vegetation and small palm trees. It was
beautiful. There was an eight foot tall mountain-like structure sculpted in
the middle of the island, and a waterfall that flowed from the top of it into
a little stream which then emptied back into the pool. Beyond the flat grassy
area behind the pool I could see the rolling ocean waves crashing on the
private beach.

In addition to the pool, there was a 12 man spa set into the concrete decking
that surrounded everything and connected the pool area to the main deck off
the house. The pool control room was in one end of a very large outbuilding,
which of course matched the main house in architecture and elevation. I
guessed it also housed bathrooms and shower facilities for guests. Sam had
the door open to the control room and was pacing the floor, steaming mad. I
kept silent and waited for instructions.

"God, I can't stand that woman. Ugh! What does she expect us to do? Do you
see that, Jack?" He was pointing to a large, plastic cleaning robot, not
unlike the one at the house I was staying at, only much larger and circular
in shape. And it was seriously damaged - the outer plastic case was
shattered, leaving a huge hole in the hull of the thing. It didn't look
fixable to me.

"Clearly one of her brats or a guest fell on it or dropped something on it.
There's no way to fix it. I've got to call Tommy and see what he wants me to
do." So he did.

The conversation with Tommy was heated and Sam was clearly frustrated. I
don't think Tommy was mad at Sam. I think they both were upset with the
client. But what were they to do? Sam calmed down finally and listened to
Tommy's instructions, at one point looking at me and nodding. I think I just
got included in the plans. A few seconds later, Sam hung up.

"Okay. The robot's a no go. Tommy's gonna order a new one today, but it'll
take two weeks to get it, at least. So...now we get to clean that humongous
pool by hand. You up for that?" he asked.

"Sam, I'll do whatever you need me to do. Just tell me how and I'll do it."

"Thanks, Jack. But you may not be my friend anymore after we're through. We
better get started. Grab the skimmers over there and I'll get these brushes
and poles. Then we have to figure out how we're gonna do this." I didn't know
what to make of his last comment, but I followed him out to the pool with all
the equipment we could carry. Sam attached telescoping poles to each of the
18" brushes, while I fully extended the poles attached to the skimmers. The
problem was immediately obvious.

"Sam, uh...how do we reach the whole pool with these? It's too big," I asked.

"Yeah. I know. So we have to go into the water and do it the really hard way.
You didn't bring a swimsuit, did you?" I shook my head no. It had never
occurred to me.

"No problem. Me either. Tell you what, let's do this. I'm gonna go commando
in my cargo shorts. That way my underwear stays dry and maybe I can dry the
shorts afterwards in their changing room. I think they have a spin dryer and
hand dryers in there. You willing to do the same?"

"Sure. Let's do this." So we both went to the changing room for guys. There
were two divided "stalls" with curtains. Sam took one, I took the other.
Again I missed out on seeing him naked, but given the current mood and the
job facing us, it was probably for the best. Sam came out at the same time as
me, both of us holding our underwear and grinning like fools. It was kind of
funny. He looked incredibly hot, his cargo shorts resting low on his waist.

Sam pretended he was going to snap my ass with his underwear like you would
with a wet towel. I pretended it hurt. Then told him to do it again. It was
silly and stupid, but it broke the somber mood from before and when we both
shed our shirts and went into the pool to start scrubbing it, Sam was
noticeably more relaxed. That made me feel better, too.

Sam showed me how to use the brush to scrub the sides and the bottom. The
pool actually looked very clean until we started scrubbing it. Then all kinds
of gunk started floating to the surface. Sam explained that the robot did the
scrubbing and then vacuumed up the mess at the same time. We would be doing
the vacuuming after we scrubbed it all first.

As we worked, Sam kept looking over at me and smiling, and I stole quick
looks at him, too. He had an incredibly sexy chest, the dense brown hair
dripping with water was turning me on. Being commando in wet shorts left
nothing to the imagination. Thankfully the water was deep enough to hide my
hardon for now.

"Jack, I'm sorry for getting so upset earlier. I really need to learn to keep
my cool with people like that. I play right into their game. It's stupid, I
know."

"Sam, she was pretty rude and disrespectful. Is she always like that?"

"Always has been to me, but I'm kind of used to it. I put up with rich kids
at school for years. I learned if I see a kid with designer clothes and a
fancy car, move in the opposite direction. I couldn't stand them. They were
always so superior." He was getting animated again, and not in a good way.

"Sam, it's okay. I didn't mean to stir it up again."

"Sorry, Jack. Ugh! It just brings back bad memories is all. My sister and I
went to private schools in Connecticut where I grew up. My parents sacrificed
heavily to pay for just the tuition. There was nothing left over for
expensive clothes or activities. But the local public high school was gang
and drug infested, if you could believe the evening news. Anyway, Kat got
through it okay. She's tough. She'll just tell 'em to fuck off and take no
prisoners. Me, I'm not like that. I'd rather get along with people or avoid
them, not confront them.

Grammar school and junior high were okay. I played some sports so I was
pretty well accepted and didn't get much razzing for not having the best
clothes or sports equipment or whatever. I don't think the guys at that age
paid much attention. But high school was a nightmare.

I somehow got pegged as a "have not" and was targeted for a lot of crap for
what I wore, what I drove, even how I talked. I mean, shit Jack, I grew up
with most of those guys, and we all talked the same, ya know? Just because
their daddies had more money than mine, I was somehow a loser? So what if I
didn't have 20 pair of jeans in my closet. You can only wear one at a time,
and soap and water are cheap. And I was proud of my used car - I paid for it
myself with money I earned cutting grass in the summer and shoveling snow
during winter breaks for six years while half those assholes sat in the ski
lodge at Aspen drinking spiked hot chocolate and figuring out how to steal
their mothers' valium.

That's the other thing. It seemed like the more money a kid's family had, the
more screwed up they were. Most of the really rich kids were head cases or
drug addicts or worse. No self-respect. I'm glad my father made me work for
things. It makes me feel good about myself. I see someone like Mrs.
Richardson, and I see her look down her nose at people with less than she
has, and I wonder if her nasty attitude is because deep down she knows those
people she looks down on have more real character inside them than her piles
of money could ever buy. She knows she doesn't have it, so she puts them down
as a way to not feel as bad about herself.

I guess that's what gets me so fired up about it. If you have money, great.
Good for you. Hopefully you worked for it, or you work now to take care of
it, your family and your responsibilities. But if it was just handed down to
you and you are loaded with wealth but have no character, I have no use for
you.

My dad taught me that. He saw I was struggling one time with having to shovel
a neighbor family's driveway after a really big snowfall. The kids that lived
there were always nasty to me, and instead of helping shovel their own
flippin' driveway, their parents had to pay me. Sure they could afford it,
but why wouldn't the kids just do it for the sake of doing it? Anyway, I was
griping about having to go over there, despite the $100 I would make, which
was a lot of money to me then, so he stopped me and asked what was wrong. I
told him I always felt like the biggest loser around people like that who had
tons of money and made fun of me for having to work. You know what he told
me? He said you win with character, Sam. Character always wins out over
money. A man with character and little money is always worth more that a man
with little character and lots of money. And a man with both can change the
world. I never forgot that. So when someone like Mrs. Richardson spouts off
like today, I try to remind myself that we win today by doing the right thing
and cleaning this pool as perfectly as we possibly can with a good attitude.
She may have all the money in the world, but we've got what she can't buy."

The whole time he had been talking, Sam was also vigorously scrubbing the
dirty pool bottom with his brush. I was nearly out of breath trying to keep
up with him - his manic cleaning and his passionate words. My arms were
aching, as was my heart. I hated the idea that anyone would mistreat Sam,
especially over something stupid like money. It wasn't his fault his family
had what they had. And I was so proud of him for working hard and buying his
own car. I remembered my own pride in paying off my car not that long ago.
Sure, it was an old, used relic compared to the shiny new rides in the
showroom. But I bought it all on my own, by my own sweat and tears, so to
speak. It mattered.

But I was also suddenly very worried. Sam clearly had issues with people who
had a lot of money. And little did he know he was waist deep in that pool
with one of them. Not that I would ever treat him like Mrs. Richardson, of
course. But what if, when he found out I had money, he changed his opinion of
me, or started to question my character? Clearly character was very important
to Sam. It was to me, too. Was mine good enough for Sam? How could I know?
How could he? I could feel some of my new found confidence slipping away.

Sam and I didn't have dissimilar backgrounds, or so it seemed. If anything,
he probably had more than I did growing up. I certainly didn't go to private
schools. And I never had a car in high school, either. My new found wealth
was none of my doing, and my insecurities with how to handle that had been
languishing in the background as I focused on more immediate concerns -
lately that was Sam. The money was being taken care of by people I trusted.
There wasn't anything I could really do about it - except spend it, I guess.
I was still anticipating opportunities to do good with it, and I was sure
once I was back in Denver and working with Larry and Todd I would hopefully
start to figure some of that out.

After listening to Sam, and realizing I agreed with him and his father that
money with no character was a bad combination, I was more determined than
ever to never be like that. I didn't want to act like a Mrs. Richardson, all
judgmental and ignorant towards people who didn't have as big of a bank
account as she did. Barely six weeks ago I had nearly nothing in my pocket.
Now I had more money than I could spend in six lifetimes. Did it change me?
Was I a different person now? I hoped not.

I remembered what Sharon had told me about money being an amplifier of what's
already in a person. If I were a good person, with good character, then the
money would enable me to do more good. Change the world, even, like Sam's dad
had said. I knew Sam had great character - that was obvious, especially after
seeing how he handled himself today. I was proud to be working alongside him
in that pool. I felt like a better man just standing next to him.

If things worked out between Sam and I, and our relationship became something
more...permanent...as I hoped, we could change the world - together. But
would he be okay with using money he hadn't earned himself? To me, the money
was just money. It wasn't really me, per se, just a tool for me to use. For
Sam, it sounded like what money he had was a part of him, and I guess I
understood that. In a way, it was true, because he had given his time and
effort and determination to earn that money - he exchanged part of his life
to have those funds. In that moment I understood that the value of a dollar
is not always a dollar. It might be more, it might be less, depending on how
much of yourself you gave up for it.

I had been silent, thinking about all that Sam had said. He stopped pushing
his brush suddenly, and turned to me, leaning on his pole. "You're awfully
quiet, Jack. Did I say something to upset you?" He had a very concerned
countenance. His heart for me was so evident on his face.

"No, Sam. Not at all. I was just thinking about what you said. Well, about
what your father taught you about money and character. I was just wondering
about my own character, and whether or not I am...I don't know...one of the
good guys? I know I would never even think of treating you like Mrs.
Richardson...or those fools in your school. I don't know, Sam. I guess I just
want to be...good enough for you. You deserve the best...and I...just want to
be that for you." I was looking at him, earnestly hoping he saw in me a man
of good character, worthy to be his friend.

Sam surprised me by not saying a word. Instead he dropped his pole and walked
over to me, pushing through the waist deep water. He didn't stop until he had
me in his arms, and I was wrapped up in the security blanket that was Sam. He
held me tightly, not caring who might see us. I rested my head on his chest
and listened to his heart beating. It was a powerful sound.

"Jack," he whispered. "I've known you were a good guy almost from the day I
met you. I don't know how I knew, but I knew. I promise you, if I didn't know
that you were a man of great character already, we wouldn't be together
today. I made a mistake with Jeremy. There were signs I ignored. But with
you...well, I just know. You're the real deal, Jack."

I leaned back a little so I could see his face, but not so far as to break
the embrace. "I appreciate that, Sam. I do. But how can you be so certain,
when I don't even know myself? I see you working so hard today, doing the
right thing, and your character is on display. It's obvious. What have I done
to show you mine? I'm not fishing for a compliment, Sam. I really need to
know."

"Jack. How about the fact that you asked me if I needed help cleaning the
pool at your house? Or that you asked me to dinner and encouraged me about my
future? That you came with me and spent the day at the beach? That was huge
to me. Or...that you would trust me with your secret, despite how scared you
were? Jack, you've spent hours with me cleaning dirty pools with a great
attitude, and for no money. Nobody does that without great character, Jack.
Nobody!"

I smiled at him, feeling better. "Well, Sam, that's just cuz I've got the
hots for you." We both blushed and chuckled.

"You are such a dork!" said Sam, as he hugged me tighter, then let go. "Come
on, little man, let's get this job done. I've had enough pools for one day."

"You're the boss, big guy."

We doubled our efforts and finished scrubbing the pool bottom and sides. My
arms were sore, but my heart felt much better. Sam was good for my soul, no
doubt about it. I hoped I was for him, too.

Sam manned the sweeper while I did my thing with the skimmer. I was getting
better at it, moving faster across the water with no back strain. Together we
managed to get that pool looking pristine, the water sparkling in the sun.
Sam turned on the massive spa to check the temperature readings. While that
heated up, we cleaned and put away all the equipment. I tested the pH and
chlorine levels - they were perfect - while Sam refilled the chlorine tablet
dispenser and cleared the pumps of any gunk. There was very little,
thankfully. After checking the spa water temperature - it was 112 degrees -
Sam turned it off and called the job finished.

We dragged ourselves to the changing rooms. With no hesitation, Sam went into
a "stall" and came out one minute later in just his boxer briefs. I nearly
fainted. They were dark blue, fit snuggly to his body, and I could see the
outline of his cock clearly resting across the front. He wasn't hard, but
there was plenty in there.

He smiled at me, his hands on his waist. "Well, come on, Jack. I'm not gonna
be the only one standing around in his underwear." His sexy grin made me
laugh. I jumped into the "stall" and came out in my black boxer briefs. I
don't think I filled them out quite as much as Sam did, but he still whistled
at me.

"Damn, Jack. You're killing me. You are seriously killing me. Maybe this
wasn't a good idea." He turned away from me, I think to hide his growing
hardon? I thought about teasing him and trying to make him show me, but it
didn't feel right. I didn't want to disrespect him, and somehow doing that to
him would do so. I don't know how I knew that, I just did.

The Richardsons had everything you could ever need in a bathhouse. No
surprise there. We took turns running our wet cargo shorts through the spin
dryer, which got most of the water out. Then we held them under the high
velocity hand dryers and the shorts dried out completely in no time. As I
slipped mine on I stole a glance at Sam's crotch. He was definitely bigger
than me. I smiled to myself. I guess my pet name of "big guy" was spot on.

Now that we were sufficiently put back together, we made sure nothing was out
of place in the bathroom, and stepped outside, only to be immediately
confronted by Mrs. Richardson. She had changed into an even more elegant dark
blue evening dress, her jewelry dripping with diamonds and sapphires. She was
beautiful, on the outside. Her insides were frozen, blackened stone. It was
sad, really.

"Is the pool clean, Sam? Did you fix the robot? You should have been out of
here an hour ago, you know." She practically barked at us. Sam just smiled
and took it in stride. I hoped my face didn't show the disgust I felt towards
her.

"Yes, Mrs. Richardson, the pool is very clean and ready to be used. The spa
is registering 112 degrees. The robot unfortunately is not fixable. We have
ordered you a new one and it should be here in about two weeks. Until then we
will be out to clean the pool manually, no additional charge. If there's
nothing else you need, we'll get out of your way." He practically bowed to
her, it was so precious.

"Hmpf. Fine. I still think you should have had a spare robot in your truck.
Short sighted if you ask me. I'll be sure to tell Uncle Thomas exactly what I
think about that when I see him at the next meeting." Without a thank you or
goodbye, she turned and stomped off.

"You're welcome," I whispered, lest she hear me. Sam snorted, not so quietly,
but she was slamming the door at the same time, so she didn't hear him.

"Glad that's over. Come on, let's get out of here," said Sam. He didn't need
to tell me twice. As beautiful as the house and grounds were, there was no
peace in that place. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to grow up in a
house with that much unprovoked animosity always below the surface.

It was now almost 6 o'clock, and traffic around there had picked up
considerably. Sam weaved in and out of it like a pro and we were quickly on
the H1 headed back towards the airport. The light in the sky was dimming as
the sun began to set in the west.

"Sam, I have a question. Why did Mrs. Richardson keep referring to Tommy as
Uncle Thomas?"

Sam smiled. "Not Tommy. His dad - Thomas, senior. In Hawaii, people sometimes
call one another by "Uncle" or "Aunty" instead of Mr. or Mrs. as a term of
respect, especially for your elders. Mr. Barlow would be Uncle Thomas to Mrs.
Richardson. I think she knows him from one of the many business clubs he
belongs to. That's how he networks and builds the pool business. He is a very
smart guy. Tommy is learning from one of the best."

"That makes sense, I guess. It's different, calling someone "uncle" that you
aren't related to. But then I'm not Hawaiian."

"Yeah. Tommy explained it to me. He called my dad "uncle" once when he
answered the phone back when we were in college. Freaked my dad out. He had
no idea who this kid was who was calling him "uncle". But now I get it. When
I see Mr. Barlow on occasion, I call him "Uncle Thomas". You should too, if
you ever meet him. He would be honored by that."

"So would you ever call Mrs. Richardson 'aunty'?" I asked facetiously.

"Hell no! That's a term of respect. I have no respect for that woman. I will
do a good job for her, because that's the right thing to do. And I won't be
rude to her, no matter how nasty she is to me. We beat her with character,
remember? But I won't pretend to respect her. But enough of that woman.
Whadda ya want to do tonight, Jack? Any ideas?"

I didn't really care, as long as it was with Sam. "I really have no idea,
Sam. I guess we should eat something, maybe?"

"You wanna change first or just go as we are?" asked Sam.

"Whatever you think. I have jeans and a nicer shirt and shoes. But I'm cool
just keepin' it low key. We could do pizza again. That was good."

"Perfect. Let's do it." We enjoyed one another's company in relative silence,
listening to music and relaxing after a long day's work. My muscles were a
little sore - I was going to be hurting tomorrow, I feared. Being a pool boy
took a lot out of you.

Twenty minutes later we were parked near the pizza restaurant where I had
told Sam I was gay. That seemed like a lifetime ago. In a way it was. I was
starting to think of that night as a "rebirth", the night I became the real
me. The gay me. It made me smile now, instead of nauseous like before.
Progress.

Sam locked his truck and we walked down the crowded sidewalk towards the
hopping pizza joint, his hand never straying far from my back. It was so
comforting to know it was there. We stepped inside past a noisy crowd of
half-drunk guys that were just leaving. One of them accidentally bumped into
me and stumbled. I reached out instinctively to steady him, and he shouted at
me, "Get your hands off me, faggot!" The guy closest to him seemed horrified
that he said it, and mouthed the word "Sorry" to me and gently pushed his
inebriated buddy to the sidewalk.

Sam had closed ranks and was now physically separating me from the rest of
the guys as they filed past. Thankfully nothing else was said, and we made it
inside to the hostess stand without further verbal assault.

"You okay, Jack?" Sam whispered. I nodded my head and smiled weakly. I wanted
to just forget it happened. I suppose I would have to get used to that from
time to time if I was going to be out as a gay man. The thing is, I wasn't
sure the guy really knew I was gay. I think he just said it because he was
drunk. If that was the case, I could overlook it. I guess I needed to
overlook it, regardless. We beat them with superior character, right?

Sam and I were led to a booth and our waitress arrived, introducing herself
as Abby. She was cute, and clearly enamored with Sam from the get go. She'd
better watch herself. Sam was mine now, and I was not above an old fashioned
cat fight if it came to that. She couldn't have weighed more than 90 pounds,
so I liked my chances. I smiled sweetly at her as Abby took our drink orders
and left us with the menus.

"Down boy. You look like you're ready to slam her to the ground, Jack. What
gives?" asked Sam.

"Sorry, Sam. I got a little territorial for a second. I've never felt like
this about a guy...and well...you're mine. She can't have you." It sounded
silly coming out of my mouth, but I didn't know how else to say how I felt.

Sam was loving it. His blue eyes were dancing in the light of the restaurant,
and he was staring at me like he gets when he's serious. But this was more
amused than intense. "So Jack, I'm yours, huh? You sure you still want me
after all the mess I dragged you through today?" Our hands were on the table
and I could tell he wanted to hold my hand, but it was too public for that.
Bummer.

"Yes, I'm sure. As sure as I've ever been about anything. Maybe because of
today. I was...really proud of you, Sam...the way you handled the situation
with Mrs. Richardson. I could never have done that." He visibly swelled with
pride when I said that.

"Don't count yourself short, Jack. You were great today. I threw a lot at you
and you didn't miss a beat. And I really appreciate the help. Tommy told me
to tell you thanks, too, especially for you being there at the last place.
That was way too big a job for one guy alone. After today, I'm sure he'd give
you a job and pay you, too, if you wanted it."

"Naw, I just want to hang out with you, Sam. If we do that standing waist
deep cleaning somebody's pool, it works for me. Shall we get the same pizza
as last time?" I could see Abby approaching and I didn't want her lingering,
trying to flirt with Sam. Sam nodded his agreement and sat back in his seat.

Abby came up to the table and practically turned her back to me to stare at
Sam. I spoke sweetly to the back of her head. "Excuse me, Abby. We would like
to order an extra large house special. And we seem to have not received our
drinks. I'm sure those are on the way and will be here quickly, is that
right?"

She turned, a little reluctantly I think, and smiled apologetically to me.
"Yes. I'll get this order in right away and your drinks will be here
shortly." She trotted off, knowing she was beaten. Sam was smiling from ear
to ear at me, thoroughly amused at my jealous behavior.

"Sorry, Sam. You'll have to come back without me sometime to give her another
chance. I'm sure she'd take you up on it."

"Fat chance of that, Jack, and you know it. There's only person in this place
I want, and that's you." I smiled at him, mouthing a silent thank you. Even
though I was trying to be a little playful, the truth was I still had some
insecurities to work through. I knew Sam felt pretty strongly about me, and
those feelings were mutual. But there was still a tiny part of me that feared
another guy could swoop in and take him away from me. I mean, he was
gorgeous. He could have any guy he wanted.

"Jack...where'd you go there? You zoned out on me."

"Sorry, Sam. I was thinking of things I shouldn't be."

"Like what?"

"Well...I don't know...I...I can't help wondering, why me? I mean, you could
have any guy you wanted. But you say you want me. Not that I'm not thrilled.
I am...don't get the wrong idea. I just don't understand why, I guess. Ugh!
Sam...just ignore me. I don't mean to be so needy." I was screwing this up by
talking too much.

"Jack. Look at me." Sam raised a hand off the table and slowly and
deliberately put it under the table. I got the hint and followed suit,
finding his hand waiting for mine halfway. He grabbed on and held me tightly.
I looked back at his eyes, and we locked in. "Jack, you are not too needy for
me. I get how you feel. I have those same thoughts sometimes, too. We just
met, and suddenly we have all these feelings and emotions and desires. It can
get confusing and scary. That's why we agreed to try and go slow, so our
brains can catch up to our dicks. I don't want just any guy, Jack. I have
waited a long, long time for you. I can't tell you exactly why you're the
guy. It's a lot of things and none of those things. It's just you. I want
you, Jack. From the first day I met you, I knew you were special. I had no
idea if you were gay, but I sure hoped you were. And then we sat here in this
restaurant and you told me you were gay and...I could have cried, I was so
happy."

I laughed. "I did plenty of that for both of us that night."

"And here we are, Jack. Just a few days later, and I don't know what all is
going to happen in the future, but for now, I couldn't be happier with the
guy sitting across from me. Besides, you like the same pizza as me, so you
can't be all bad." His sexy grin was making my dick hard again.

"Thanks, Sam. You're not so bad yourself." With that, our pizza arrived,
followed by our drinks, delivered with a smile by two people who were not
Abby. I guess she was busy elsewhere. Pity.

Sam and I dug into the pizza. I think we were both hungrier than we thought.
The pizza disappeared in short order. The whole time we ate we communicated
with our eyes. It was more than flirtatious. There was some kind of deeper
connection being made. I finally sat back, twisting in the booth, totally
stuffed.

"Ugh! I ate too much," I said.

"Me, too," said Sam. "Let's pay the bill and go for a walk." I nodded in
agreement. That sounded wonderful to me. The bill came and we split it down
the middle. I figured out a 20% tip for Abby. I took her man away, the least
I could do was give her a decent tip for her troubles.

After using the restroom, we made our way through the busy restaurant to the
street. People were milling around everywhere. We started walking, Sam taking
up his usual position slightly behind me, hand at my back. It was perfect.

We walked slowly together down the street, ambling along, watching other
people and not talking, just being together. It was relaxing. I saw several
couples holding hands as they walked. I wished Sam and I could do that, but I
knew it wasn't a good idea. Besides, I was happy with his hand near my back.
It made me feel safe.

We eventually sat down on a bench in a little park area along the street. We
were not directly under a street light, and we were out of the direct path of
people walking by. Sam had his right hand resting on the bench beside his
thigh. I gently rested my hand on his. He looked at me in a sideways glance
and smiled. He liked it, I could tell. I did too. I felt like I was being
naughty, and it made me super horny.

We sat there in silence for I don't know how long. Everything that needed to
be said was happening now through the touch of our hands. How many ways can
two people communicate, I wondered. The crowds started to thin out as the
hour got later. I knew I would eventually have to go back to the house, and
Sam back to his apartment. It made me a little sad, but I was okay with it.
It was the right thing for now. What mattered most is that Sam and I knew we
both wanted more than sex. That reassured me that I could do this - be in
this relationship and see where it would lead.

Eventually we got up and walked together back to Sam's truck. Once inside the
cab, we both reached for each other's hand and they collided, hurting our
knuckles. We were suddenly laughing and rubbing the backs of our hands. Then
we settled in for the short drive back to the shop, holding hands, enjoying
the connection once again.

Sam pulled up next to my car, and we got out. He handed me my beach bag as I
unlocked the car, and I threw it in the backseat. I turned to say goodbye and
he stepped up and hugged me. I wrapped my arms around him this time, and held
on tight, my face buried in his chest, smelling him and wishing I could stay
in his big strong arms forever. He had them wrapped now around my shoulders.
I felt so safe in his embrace.

Sam leaned back and I did the same. We stood there, just looking into each
other's eyes. I could feel a wave of new feelings rushing up inside me, like
adrenaline, only better. Sam was a couple of inches taller than me, and as he
bent down, he gently put a hand under my chin, tilting it up towards his
face.

And then...he kissed me.

It was the gentlest of kisses, soft as a warm breeze. I didn't move, just let
his lips glide across mine. I was suddenly aware of a tingling feeling
everywhere in my body, all the way to my toes. Then something else kicked in
and I started to kiss him back. Gently at first, exploring the feeling of his
lips on mine, mentally cataloging sensations to process later. The intensity
increased, and I involuntarily opened my lips a tiny bit, unaware I had done
it. I felt Sam's tongue tentatively run across my lower lip, testing,
probing, hoping. It was pure electricity to me. I opened my mouth fully and
his tongue met mine, each one eager to know the other. This continued until
we needed to breathe. We reluctantly broke our lip lock, panting, our hearts
racing. I think I was even sweating a bit. We rested our foreheads together,
refusing to fully separate as we slowly regained our composure.

I was afraid to speak, my thoughts a complete jumble. Sam was making
incoherent little noises. They sounded sexy to me, not that I needed any more
stimulation. My dick was harder than it had ever been, and I was pretty sure
I could actually feel precum leaking out of it. There would be no hiding my
engorged
state.

Finally Sam found his voice.

"Jack...oh, Jack...I...I can't believe how you make me feel. I...oh,
man...Jack, I am so..." I shut him up by kissing him again. I couldn't help it.
My lips had been apart from his long enough. Our tongues were immediately
wrestling to dominate each other, alternately invading and retreating, adding
to the sensations running through me again. I had no idea that kissing was
going to be so overwhelming to my senses.

Sam pulled me tighter into him, and I could feel his hard cock rubbing
against mine. No doubt of his state, either. We were gently grinding our
crotches together as our mouths matched the movements. Just as I was about to
put my hands on his ass, Sam suddenly broke off the kiss and stepped back
from me, ending the embrace. We were both gasping for breath. I was dizzy and
my knees felt weak.

"Jack," he gasped. "I'm sorry. I have to stop...I can't...oh, man...Jack, I
knew you did incredible things to me, but...damn, Jack...fuck, you're
amazing. I...I've never felt all that from just a kiss. Oh my god, Jack. You
can kiss!"

I was still trying to catch my own breath, the wonderful sensations all over
my body totally foreign to me. I had no words to describe anything at that
moment. Until Sam spoke, I had not realized I had been harboring real fears
that I would not be able to kiss a guy and have him like it. Apparently Sam
really liked my kisses! The relief was another overwhelming wave moving
through me. I finally fell back against the car, hoping it would support me
and my knees wouldn't fail.

Sam looked at me and he suddenly got concerned and was right there in an
instant. "Are you okay, Jack? Talk to me." I nodded my head yes, but I still
couldn't speak. He pulled me into a hug and then the dam broke. My face was
plastered to his chest, the tears soaking his Paradise Pools t-shirt. I was
so embarrassed that I kept doing this to him. He had to think I was the
biggest lunatic on the planet. But I was happy. Happier than I ever dreamed I
could be. With every ounce of inner strength I pulled myself together and
stepped back from him.

"Sam...never in a million years...I just never would have believed...Sam,
thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. For doing that...for kissing me.
And for what you said...and for being you...and for, oh, god, Sam. You are so
fucking hot! Look at me. I'm a mess!" The front of my shorts had a huge wet
spot where the precum had leaked through my underwear and my shorts. Sam
smiled at me, then his cheeky grin popped out, but before he could say
something, I pointed at his crotch. He had a matching spot on his shorts,
too. He blushed, and then we both broke out in hysterical laughter. We
laughed so hard we fell on the pavement and rolled around holding our sides.
It was crazy!

Finally spent, we calmed down enough to help one another to our feet. We kept
our distance a little bit, knowing now we both had a very short fuse. The
physical desire we shared for one another was palpable between us. That in
and of itself was turning me on again. I could feel my cock firming up.

"Okay, Jack. We better call it a night. You okay to drive home?"

"Yeah, I think so. Oh, man. What a day, Sam," I said, smiling at him in the
dark. I was pretty sure I had my wits about me again.

"Yeah, didn't expect all this. But it was a good day, wasn't it, Jack?"

"The best day of my life, Sam. The very best!"

"Call me, Jack, the second you get home. Cause, you know..." He was my lovable
smart ass again, teasing me.

"I certainly do know. And yes, I promise I'll call you. Be safe, Sam."

"You too, Jack." I wanted to hug him again. But I didn't trust myself. I
don't think he did either. So I got in my car, waved to him, and drove away.

My cell phone started ringing just as I was shutting the front door at the
house. Perfect timing. "Hey, Sam. I just came through the door. You home,
too?"

"Yep. Safe and sound. And horny as hell. Jack, I'm not kidding. I can't stop
thinking about that kiss. Where did you learn to do that?"

I laughed. "Sam, I have never kissed anyone until you tonight. You started
kissing me and I nearly panicked and ran. I was so scared I wouldn't do it
right."

Now he was laughing. "No way, Jack. Are you serious? You could give lessons
on kissing. On second, thought, don't! Save them all for me. I probably won't
survive them, but what a way to go!"

"Sam, you're just saying that. Besides, it took two to kiss, and you nearly
had me cumming in my shorts. My dick was so hard I thought it would break. I
still have a huge mess to clean up as it is."

"Me too. That's never happened before to me, just from kissing. Seriously,
Jack. You've got everything I could ever want in a guy. And then some. So
hot. So fucking hot!"

"Thanks, Sam. Be careful, this could all go to my slightly screwed up head,
and then you'll have a real mess on your hands."

"I just want you to know how I feel, Jack. I want to be upfront with you from
the beginning. Nothing hidden. I have it bad for you, you know that. After
tonight, it's gonna be a lot harder to keep my hands off of you. But remember
what I said earlier today, Jack. Before the hand holding and the kissing and
all that. I want more with you than just sex. I...well, I just want more. Can
we do that, Jack?"

"Yes, Sam, we can. I mean, I have no experience with these things...but it
feels like we already have more going on...I mean, I feel things,
Sam...and...well, yeah, we can have more, Sam. I want that very much."

"You're the best, Jack. I'm so glad you came to Hawaii. I can't imagine now
not knowing you and having you in my life. Where in the world did you come
from?"

I chuckled. "Chicago, Sam. Chicago. You know I'm just a guy, right? A guy who
is equally as glad that you found me. I have been waiting a very long time,
too. And for someone who wanted more than sex. I needed it to be that way,
Sam. I need you to want me for more than that, and I believe you do. That
means everything to me." I stopped before I said too much. My feelings were
fast outracing my head and my mouth.

"I do, Jack. I really do. I should probably let you get some sleep. Can I
call you tomorrow morning?"

"Of course. You have a busy day?" We had never gotten around to talking about
tomorrow, and I sadly realized I may not see him.

"Don't know yet. But I know it's going to include you somehow. Not sure when,
yet. I'll talk to you in the morning and we can make a plan, okay?"

"Yeah. For sure. Call me. Good night, big guy."

"Night, little man." He hung up.

I dragged myself to the bathroom, stripped off the mess, and climbed into a
hot shower. The jets spraying me all over brought all the sensations from
earlier back to the surface and I jacked off thinking about Sam and my
amazing first kiss and if he was doing the same thing I was right now. In
less than a minute I was spraying the walls of the shower with cum, more than
I had ever seen fly out of me. As I came down off my orgasmic high, my legs
buckled and I slid down the wall, uninjured. I was exhausted. I barely got
myself dried off and out of the bathroom. I was asleep before I finished
falling into the bed.


To be continued...

Author's Note: Jack and Sam kissed! Their relationship is growing stronger
every day. Will it be strong enough to handle the upcoming separation? Will
this be just a vacation romance or Jack's forever love? Stay tuned...

I can't do this without the exceptional assistance of my editors: Mark, Harry
and Josh. You guys make it all possible. Many thanks, from all of us.

And I am grateful for all of you, the readers, who have written telling me
you love Jack and Sam and all the other characters. I appreciate the kind
words - they keep me going. Thanks for your patience as this story unfolds. I
love discovering what the future holds for Jack along with all of you.