Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 03:32:37 -0700 (PDT)
From: Michael Garrison <mng1114@yahoo.com>
Subject: Two Lives - Two Loves: Chapter 12

This story is a work of fiction.  Any resemblance to actual
events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely
coincidental.  This story also deals with love and
consensual sexual activities between men.  If you are not of
legal age, reside in an area where viewing such material is
illegal, or are offended by such themes, do not read further
and leave this site now.

The author retains all rights to this story.  Reproductions
or links to other sites are not allowed without the
permission of the author.


Two Lives - Two Loves


Chapter 12


I felt REALLY good.

Relaxed...Supple.

Tuesday started as one of those great mornings when you wake
up just long enough to take a luxurious stretch, pull the
covers up a little higher, curl up and then doze off again
for awhile.  I loved those kinds of mornings.  There were no
worries, everything was right with the world, and you knew
you didn't have anything pressing to do.

Whoa.  Wait.  That wasn't right.  Ron was coming
today...well, Ron was coming OVER today; you know what I
mean...and we had to get the pool cleaned up for our scuba
lesson...if it'd stopped raining, that is.

One eye was still buried in the pillow.  The other one
opened enough to check the clock on the nightstand through
the hank of black hair that had fallen down over it.  It was
a little past 5:00AM.  I grumbled a little and half pushed
and half slid out of bed, stumbling towards the door to the
balcony.  Rubbing away some of the sleep that clouded my
eyes, I was startled to see a clear, starry sky and what was
a bright, almost full moon setting behind the tree line.
Still not believing, I went out onto the balcony and held my
hand out, feeling for any stray raindrops.  Nothing.
Excellent.  It was about time.

Going back inside, I was going to rouse Jon but noticed that
his side of the bed was empty.  "That's a first," I thought.
Normally I had to almost drag him kicking and screaming from
bed.  The hallway light was on.  He must've gone downstairs
already.

After taking care of my morning urgency, I followed the
trail of lights down to the kitchen.  I noticed that dive-
boy had finally taken his knife off and left it sitting on
the island counter...as long as he'd been wearing it, it was
probably cutting off his circulation.   Speaking of dive-
boy, I didn't see him but, oh, thank God, the coffee was
already made.  I poured myself some and took a sip or two,
relishing the almost instantaneous satisfaction of caffeine
hitting my system.  I took another few sips, the warmth
lubricating my throat, and called out...

"Yo, Jon!  Where you at!?"

"Here!" I heard a distant answer, then noticed that the
French doors were open.  What the hell would he be doing
outside in the dark, I wondered...especially without me.  I
also noticed the entertainment system was still on from
where we'd left it last night, that blue screen casting an
odd glow over everything.  I scooped up the remote from the
sofa and pressed the macro button to shut it all down.

Setting it on the island counter, I went outside and saw the
pool lights were on.  I could see Jon in silhouette futzing
around with something by the edge.  That sleek outline of
his was the kind of vision I didn't mind having.

"Mornin'," I called out.

"'S'up, dude!  How'd you sleep?" he answered.

"Awesome," I said, letting my morning eyes play over him,
standing there in just his shorts and his Topsiders.  The
undulating reflection of the pool lights on his pecs and his
face was almost too inviting, even if I wasn't totally awake
yet.  "I didn't hear you get up.  You showered already?"

"Yeah, I tried to be quiet.  You didn't budge at all.  You
must've been really zonked," he said.  "Anyway, I thought
I'd let you sleep for a change; you felt like you needed
it."

"Thanks, bro; I did...big time," I said, looking at the
contraption and the mess of tubing he was fiddling with.
"What is all this?"

"I call it the Sniffer-Snoofer," he grinned.

"The who?" I asked.  It was just a little too early for Jon
to be so cutesy.

"The Sniffer-Snoofer," he repeated, his grin widening.  He
stopped, knowing that I was burning with curiosity.  Jon
loved these childish little petty tortures of his every now
and then.  He was obviously feeling really good after last
night, too.

"Okay," I said, not wanting to prolong my agony as I took
another sip of coffee, "...I'll bite.  What's a...Sniffer-
Snoofer?" I sniffed with facetious arrogance.

Oh, he was in his own little comedy heaven now that I'd
taken the bait.  My resistance to his quirky sense of humor
was a little low until I'd finished at least my first cup of
coffee, but I enjoyed his smile, even if it was kind of at
my expense.

"You'll be happy to know that it's an automatic pool
cleaner," he said.

An automatic pool cleaner...cool...didn't hurt my feelings one
bit.  "What's it do?"

"It's got a little motor that pushes it all around the pool,
sucking up all the junk as it goes," he said as he dropped
the thing in the water.  It made a jet-like gurgling as it
sucked in some water and headed for the bottom.

"Cool," I said, pleasantly surprised.

"It just kind of meanders around and should have it all
clean in three or four hours," he continued.  "All we have
to do is check to clean any leaves or junk out of the drains
and traps."

"Excellent!  I'm glad I've got a boyfriend who thinks of
this stuff," I said as I leaned in to give him a long
morning kiss, his hands resting on my hips.

"Mmm," he muttered.  "Thank my uncle; it's his stuff.  Why
don't you go get showered while I start on some breakfast."

"Cool," I said, planting my mouth on his again.

"...and be sure to use some mouthwash this time!" he said,
grinning, mocking me.

I smirked and handed him my coffee cup.  "Here, funny
man...careful where you stick that," I said as I turned to
head back upstairs, trying not to grin.

                          *  *  *  *

That shower was amazing.  I was starting to get used to its
different settings but my favorite was just a deluge from
both sides.  Right now, I was just letting it stream over my
backside, as hot as I could take it.  My butt was a little
sore from our uncharacteristically vigorous workout last
night and the hot water really helped soothe the slight dull
aching.  I had to get back to swimming regularly, that's all
there was to it.  I'm sure Jon had to be a little sore, too,
but if he was, he wasn't letting on.

I finished up, shaved and started to get dressed.  I went to
put on Jon's jersey but something caught my nose and a quick
sniff told me that it needed some time in the washing
machine.  I tossed it in the corner where a pile of spent
towels was starting to turn into a science project and
pulled on an A&F tee instead.  I'd have to see if Jon could
get me a spare one of his jerseys for when laundry day
rolled around.  I was just finishing tying my sneakers when
the smell of sausage wafted up my nostrils.  Dear God...thank
you for Jon.

I rounded the corner going into the kitchen and saw that Jon
had quite a little operation going...Muffins in the toaster,
sausages sizzling slowly away on the stove, a collection of
eggs ready for frying, juice already out, TV blaring away.
He hadn't heard or noticed me and I couldn't resist the
temptation of sneaking up behind him and swiftly grabbing
him around the waist... "Will you marry me?" I whispered
quickly as I grabbed him, planting a kiss on his neck.  He
gasped like I couldn't recall, other than in bed, that is,
and I thought he was going to jump straight out of his skin.

"Dammit, give a guy a heart attack, why don't ya!" he yelled
excitedly as he pushed at me.  I couldn't help but laugh at
having gotten him.  "Fag!" he said, smiling at knowing he'd
been gotten.

"Queer," I replied, grinning, accepting his surrender.
"Truce?"

"Always."

"Smells great; I'm starved!"

"Good, it'll be ready in a few minutes.  Do me a favor and
take care of the muffins while I do these eggs."

I got my part of the work done while Jon assembled the rest
and we sat down to wolf it down.  We'd burned a lot of
calories last night and the food slid down easily.  We just
ate in silence for a while as the sky became lighter and
lighter, revealing what looked like the beginnings of a
gorgeous day.

"Looks like Ron was right," I said.  "I think the weather's
gonna be perfect today."

"Don't hold your breath," Jon said.  "While you were
upstairs, the local weather dude said this isn't gonna last.
They're expecting it to pick up again after lunch sometime."

"Well... somethin's better than nothin', I guess," I said.
Jon nodded as he quaffed more juice.

"I'm sure the pool's gonna be pretty cold, too, what with
all the rain."

"I thought it was heated," I said.

"Yeah it is, but the heater's not on all the time...the gas
bill'd be through the roof.  I switched it on this morning
but it's gonna take more'na few hours to get toasty again,
like I know you like," he winked.

"Hmm, well, guess we'll just have to tough it out...shrinkage
and all," I quipped.

"We've gotta do some straightening up around here, too," Jon
said.  "I don't want Ron thinking we're a couple of pigs."

"Yeah, that pile of towels upstairs is turnin' into a lower
life form.  So where do you wanna start?"

"Let's just put the laundry downstairs for now; we'll do
that later," he said.  "Make the bed, throw our stuff into
the drawers somewhere so it's out of sight..."

I was glad to see that Jon was a practical housekeeper.

"...and that trash basket."

"Which?" I asked.

"You know which..." he looked at me incredulously.  "...the
one next to the bed with your spent condoms piling up in
it."

"Oh, man...no," I said.  "We gotta see how long it takes us to
make it overflow!" I joked.

"Dude, that thing's getting nasty... the EPA's gonna send the
guys in the radiation suits after it," he chided.  "Besides,
he'll see that can full of cum and then he'll know we're
gay."

"C'mon, man," I pleaded, only half kidding, "...it gives the
place ambience."  Even though my huge toothy grin plainly
told Jon I was kidding, he was plainly not amused.  What he
needed right then was a pair of glasses so he could look
sternly at me over the tops of the frames, like some old
maiden aunt who disapproved of everything.  For a moment or
two he didn't say a word, he just stared...a trick he'd picked
up from me.  "Yeah, Okay fine," I finally said.  "I guess we
don't want to be too obvious."

"Thank you," Jon said.

"What're you worried about, anyway," I asked.  "He probably
already does think we're gay."

"I dunno," he said.  "I'm still not ready for the world to
know just yet.  Unless, maybe, he's gay, too...you think he's
gay?"

I kind of chilled for a second, trying to listen for the
little answer-man in my head that popped up from time to
time.  It was funny how I was starting to get used to
listening for and listening to that little voice.  Maybe it
was just that I was getting older and more accustomed to it.
Then I heard it faintly; well, it wasn't so much a voice as
it was a feeling that told me... "I'm getting the same sort of
feel from him that I got from you."

"Which?"

"That he's gay but won't admit it to himself...that he maybe
just needs the right environment to come out...one where he
feels like he's not gonna be dragged behind a car if someone
found out he was gay.  I think that's where we come in."

"How?" Jon asked.

"Well, I figured we'd tie him up down in the basement and do
him 'til we're dry...that oughta 'bout do it!" I said,
straight-faced at first, then breaking out into a laugh.
Jon flung his napkin in my face with a slight smirk.  I
wasn't sure I was seeing what I thought I was seeing, but I
could swear I almost saw a little jealousy forming at the
corner of his mouth.

"Get serious," he said.

It took me a moment to stop laughing at my own joke.  "Hey,
you didn't think havin' him over was a bad idea yesterday,"
I reminded him.  "As I recall, you seemed majorly with
that."

"Well...," Jon hemmed and hawed a little, "...yeah, but I was
only thinking that it'd be nice to get to know some other
guys around here if we're gonna be here all summer," he
began.  "He seems like a really cool guy ...'course, the fact
that he's pretty hot looking doesn't hurt."

"No argument from me," I agreed.  "A little eye-candy does a
guy wonders."  I could still sense that little bit of green
foam at the corner of Jon's mouth.  I'd never seen or sensed
it in him before at all.  Of course, we'd never been in a
situation like this before but I felt like I'd better
address it now...nip it in the bud before it took firm root.
Laying my feelings out there was not something I liked to do
but there were times when I just had to.

We were pretty much done and Jon was starting to clear the
plates.  I quickly put a hand on top of his and looked him
dead, and with all seriousness, in those glittering blues of
his, "But there's something I want you to know," I began.
He froze and stared back at me.  "As hot lookin' as Ron is
or as any other guy might be, as far as I'm concerned,
you're it for me, Jon."  I noticed that his eyes were
starting to glaze a bit.  "There is no other and there won't
be any other; do you understand?" I said, slowly.

"Yeah," he said softly, nodding, not wanting to say much
more than that.  He knew that I knew he'd lose it if he said
much more.  I could feel him trembling, just a little but
noticeable to my touch.  I made him set the plates down as I
stood up to hug him.

"I love you, baby...," I whispered.  I could feel him tremble
just the faintest little bit, broken by the slight pulse and
sound of his labored nasal breathing.  I knew he was trying
very hard to maintain his personal control. "...and that's all
there is to it."  I let my hands play slowly and
reassuringly over his back, and I felt him do the same in
return.

"Please don't ever leave me," he asked, finally having
mustered the control to say.

"Never, baby," I calmed him.  "I'll never leave you," I said
as I kissed him on the forehead.

There it was again.  That was the second time that Jon had
asked that of me.  The first time after that excellent
shower when he'd...oh, how shall I say this... attended?...
attended ...yeah, that's a good word...to us so well, and then
just now.  Asking me...no, it had more the feel of near
pleading with me not to leave him...words that just fell out
of his mouth. That plea felt so odd to me for some reason
and I couldn't nail it down.  It was like some deep-seated
fear just somehow bubbled to the surface every now and then
when conditions were just right, or wrong, maybe, depending
on how you looked at it.  I'd tried sensing what it was, but
it was like trying to grab smoke.  Jon had a lot of walls
built around him, nearly as many as I did.  And it made no
sense to me...at all.  Here was a guy who had everything in
life working on his side: good family, money to burn,
good...no, make that excellent looks, the sunniest personality
I'd ever felt in contrast to my own, somewhat darker
countenance.  People, especially me, loved being around him
because of the excellent energy he radiated, yet here he was
with some lurking fear gnawing at him like a rabid dog
shaking a bone.  My young psychiatrist-to-be had something
really eating at him, but I wasn't ready to suggest that he,
himself, see a shrink.  I wanted to help him so badly but I
couldn't get my arms around the problem...yet.

For the moment, I just settled for keeping my arms around
him...our heads nestling.

"C'mon," I said, patting his back.  "Work session time.
Let's start gettin' this place cleaned up a little."

                          *  *  *  *

After we got the kitchen squared away, we started upstairs
to get the bedroom in order.  We just started shoving our
clothes into drawers just to get them out of sight for the
time being.  You know how that works, though; once they were
out of sight, they'd be totally out of mind.  Organization
didn't matter as much as just not having to trip over them.
I stowed our bags in a hall closet while Jon made the bed.
I hadn't really realized before how handy he could be,
domestically speaking.  His parents appeared to have done a
pretty good job with him.

When I came back in the room, Jon was standing with arms
crossed next to the latest burr under his saddle...the trash
basket.  I put on my best, doe-eyed expression of
blamelessness and slowly shuffle-stepped over to where he
was standing, taking on a comical aspect as I slowly peered
over into the wicker basket, as though there was a cobra
waiting to strike.  Nope...no cobra, just limp latex tubes
filled with me.  I looked as humorously innocent up at Jon
as I could.

"Well?" he said, only the faintest trace of a smile on his
face.

"I'd say they look like condoms," I said, hoping to get him
to crack up.  That was going to take a bit longer this time,
though.  When Jon got fixated on a project, the project
became all-consuming to him.  In this case, the trash was
his focus for the moment.  "We'll have to get some fresh
ones, though; these look used," I said, trying to suppress a
laugh.  That did it.  That got a slight chuckle out of him
as I heard him snicker through his nose.

"Yeah," he said.  "I'd say they'd been very well used," he
winked.  "Would you mind?" he asked, holding his palm out
towards the basket.

"Oh, you want ME to dump this?" I said, goading him just a
little.

"Please," he chuckled back.  "I'm gonna take those towels
down to the laundry room.  Could you grab the other batch
after you dump those and follow me down?"

My brow furrowed a bit, "'kay, but where IS the laundry
room?"

"Down in the basement," Jon began as he scooped up an
armload of the huge white towels. "It's not a room, really.
The machines're around the far side of the room from where
my uncle keeps the wine."

"Geez," I muttered.  "Couldn't he've put it any further
away?  That's almost like the other side of town," I chided.

"Yeah, I know, but it's where the water comes into the house
and he didn't want the machines up here.  Besides, he's got
a woman who comes part-time and does it all for him when
he's in town."

"Oh, that's nice," I said as Jon ambled out the door with
his armload of towels.  "Where is she now?"

"Working at other jobs, I guess, babe.  It's just you and me
this summer," I heard him say as he disappeared down the
stairs.

I dumped the condoms into the plastic bag we'd been tossing
stray junk into, tentatively peeling off one or two that
just wouldn't let go.  I scowled a little at the less than
fragrant mess.  I decided we'd have to see if we had any
liners for this basket.  Oh, God!  Was that a domestic
thought!?  Jon was starting to rub off on me.  I grabbed the
remaining armload of towels and the trash bag and headed
downstairs.

After dumping the trash and piling up the towels on top of
the washer, Jon and I finished straightening things up and
did a quick walkaround of the house to see if everything
looked okay.  Yep, everything looked presentable enough.
Not bad for a couple of frat brats, we thought.  By then it
was closing in on 8:30.

"Let's check and see how the pool thing's doin'," I said.

"Yeah, it might be done by now."

Sure enough, Jon's 'Sniffer-Snoofer' was still jetting
happily around the pool and I was amazed to see that it had
done a pretty thorough job of tidying things up.  Jon went
around to check the traps and just pulled out a few stems
and twigs here and there, tossing them back onto the lawn.
I helped him get the Snoofer thing put away.

I looked around.  The day couldn't have been any prettier...at
least for now, according to the weatherman.

"Okay, here's the plan," I started as Jon turned
attentively.  "Ron'll be here at ten.  Dave's opens at nine.
Why don't you head over and pick yourself out a nice wetsuit
like you wanted, drop the videos off and come on back.  In
the meantime, I'll get all the gear ready."

"Sounds like a plan,"Jon agreed.

Jon trotted back in to get his keys, wallet and the videos
while I started to go get the dive gear.  Not too fast,
though; I really liked watching Jon trot...it added just a
touch more sunshine to my morning.  He disappeared into the
house and I turned to get the gear.

                          *  *  *  *

Jon had taken off and it hadn't taken me long to get the
gear setup next to the pool.  It looked like I still had
about forty-five minutes to kill before Ron got here so I
figured I'd try to get in a little exercise and went up to
change into my trunks.  I decided on the baggy ones as I'd
done that first day with Jon.  I didn't want to risk
intimidating Ron right away, especially since I wasn't
entirely sure what his inclinations were.  My little voice
was telling me that Ron was definitely gay but guarded;
still, I just wasn't entirely sure myself.

I kicked off my sandals at the water's edge and knelt down
to splash a little on myself, seeing what it was like.  Jon
was right.  The water was really cool but it wasn't so cold
that you couldn't get used to it after a minute or two.  I
wished that heater would work faster, though.  At times like
that, I usually just dove in, immersed myself as quickly as
possible and got the shock out of the way.  So I did.

The water rushed up and quickly swallowed me as bubbles
streamed from my nose.  Oh, God, it was cold!  I could feel
my genitalia almost leap back up inside of my body looking
for cover!  Breaking the surface, I looked for the far edge
and just started swimming for it with steady, deep strokes.
My arms and legs bit deeply into the water with a passion.
Next to sex, this was the greatest stress reliever, which I
really needed considering my dreams lately, and was also the
best way to dispel the chill.  Before long, I could feel
myself warming up, getting accustomed to the temperature.
It felt really good to feel my muscles going through their
paces again, too.  I was starting to feel the effects of not
having really worked out for awhile, even if it wasn't that
long since I'd last gotten wet.  We'd been living pretty
well, having been cooped up inside for the past few days and
I'm sure Jon could use the workout, too.  He didn't know it,
but I considered it part of my job to keep his warm little
form in form.

This was a tough pool to do laps in because of its odd,
freeform shape, but I did the best I could.  At the far
edge, I ducked under and twisted around bringing my feet up
just at the wall to make the turn like I'd been taught as a
kid.  Making that turn felt really good, too.  It always had
a very slight disorienting effect for just a split second
that I'd always thought was a little bit intoxicating.  I
had to swerve a little around where the wall turned to form
the 'S' but it wasn't too bad.  I went back and forth like
that for a while, getting nicely warmed and getting back
some tone.  It seemed like almost no time had passed since I
started my laps before it felt like it was nearing time for
Ron to arrive.  I needed a little time to get set for him so
pulled I myself out of the water and started giving myself a
good going over with the towel.

I checked my watch.  It was about five 'til ten when I heard
a car coming up the drive.  "Hmm, bit of an early bird," I
thought.  That was cool, though.  I preferred people who
were a little bit early to those who were habitually late.
It showed that they had respect for your time as well as
their own.  I dried myself off as quickly as I could then
slipped on my sandals and headed towards the house.  My
baggies were still dripping a little so I wrapped the towel
around my waist, trying not to mess up the floor too bad.
Heaven forbid.  Jon might have a fit.  He could be a little
prissy about stuff like that so I tried to accommodate him.
Believe me when I tell you that there is hardly a sight on
the face of this earth that's more annoying and pathetic
than a whiny jock.  Because, you see, whiny and jock are
words that don't go together; the phrase is paradoxical,
they're like opposing magnetic poles.  Mind you, Jon didn't
whine very often, but when he did it grated on my nerves and
sensibilities like fingernails on a chalkboard.  It was
usually easier just to do what he wanted and have done with
it rather than to argue about it.  Every now and then,
though, when I was in the mood, I have to admit that I did
find it amusing to do something just to get him to
whine...that was entirely different than when he'd catch me
doing something; that was pure entertainment for my part.

I heard the front doorbell ring just as I entered the
kitchen.

I was still glistening with dampness a little as I opened
the oversized oak door.  There stood six nice looking feet
worth of smiling, dark haired, brown-eyed, waiter-guy.  No,
I take that back.make that six REALLY nice looking feet
worth of smiling, dark haired, brown-eyed, waiter-guy.  And
there I was looking like something a notch above a drowned
rat.

The breeze coming through the door sent a chill through me
that made my pecs twitch involuntarily...just for a quick
second.  I noticed Ron's eyes flicker down to the twitch in
my chest...just for a quick second.

                          *  *  *  *

                       To Be Continued

                          *  *  *  *