Just a warning: this chapter was very hard for me write, and you'll know when you reach the ending why. I hope I handled this well...
Being the Person I Can Be – Chapter 4
As it turned out, our day did go awesome! When we got to the gym, we immediately hit the treadmills. Jeremy was adamant that we had to work our cardio just as much as our strenghth training. I just looked at him and pretended like I knew what he was talking about. So we hit the tredmill for about a half hour, watching whatever movie they had playing on the televisions. It was a comedy with a comedian I knew well, and we laughed and walked. About halfway through he told me to pump up the speed and incline, and before I knew it, I was panting and struggling to maintain my composure. I looked over and he was briskly racing along, the speed and angle of incline not even affecting him.
“What the fuck man?” I joked, putting my feet on the sides of the treadmill and taking a drink of water.
He straddled his treadmill and told me not to worry about it. “You’ll catch up; I’ll make sure of that.”
We laughed and went back to walking. I couldn’t help but notice his strong, silken hairy legs and the way they worked on the treadmill, or the fine, slick sheen of sweat that was developing on his body. I was glad our treadmills faced the wall so nobody could see my dick start to harden up. But Jeremy sure noticed.
“Is that thing ever soft?” he asked, not looking at me.
“Not since last night,” I responded. He laughed and we kept walking.
We were watching the movie when I felt him reach over and grab my hand. I looked over and he smiled at me and turned back to the movie, his smile never leaving his face.
“You don’t have to hold my hand,” I whispered over to him. “It’s okay.”
He looked back at me. “I want to hold your hand.”
I couldn’t help but smile like a little kid, feeling his hand in my mine and walking on the treadmills. Everything felt so great and wonderful right then, that I didn’t even notice the burn in my calves or the breath rapidly decreasing in my lungs. I could have walked on that treadmill holding Jeremy’s hand all day if I had to.
We got off the treadmills and he showed me some of the exercises he does, coaching me along the way. I realized that I was lifting a lot less than Jeremy was, but it didn’t even seem to faze him. He showed me some great bicep curls, ways to build my chest and abs, and some leg presses that really got my legs burning. He was a great instructor, showing me the proper way to do things. It didn’t hurt that his body was working and sweating and I couldn’t keep my eyes off of him.
Before I knew it, we had been working out for over an hour. “We better get going. Greg’s waiting at the restaurant probably.”
We went down and showerd off – in separate showers – and got dressed and ready to go. We headed back to his car and hopped in, and off we went. The sun was shining bright and the sky was a blue I hadn’t seen before in a long time. I smiled and watched the trees go by.
“Isn’t it a great day?” I asked.
Jeremy nodded. “Yeah, it is nice. I think being here with you only makes it that much better.”
He leaned over and kissed my cheek. We drove in silence, and soon we were at Gayle’s. He came over and opened the door for me, and I stepped out.
“You know, I’m not a girl, you can probably let me open my own door,” I said, jokingly shoving him out of the way and closing the door.
It wasn’t too busy, and we were met at the door by a tall, salt and pepper haired guy. It was obvious the guy was extremely built for a middle-aged man, and he had one of those distracting, 80s porn star mustaches. I instantly didn’t like the guy.
“Where have you been Jeremy?” the guy asked, opening the door and letting us in. “I’ve been waiting ten minutes for you to get your ass here.”
Jeremy apologized profusely and mouthed ‘Greg’ to me while the guy berated him. “Your dad shouldn’t have left you this place; you can’t even get to a damn meeting on time?”
He looked at me with disgust. “You’re friend can wait here, we have real business to discuss.”
Greg marched off into the kitchens and Jeremy turned to me, looking depleted and upset. “I’m sorry, can you wait here? I’ll have Claire get you some lunch, anything you want.”
He headed off following Greg when a tall, blonde girl stepped up and told me she had a table for me. She sat me down at an oak table, right next to the window, and offered me a menu.
“I’m Claire by the way,” she said, a perky smile on her cute, round face. “Jeremy said to take extra good care of you. You must be special.”
“Thanks, I guess I am,” I said, more of an encouragement to myself than to her.
“Can I get you anything to drink?” she asked.
I ordered water and she cheerfully went off to get it for me. The restaurant was painted a neutral tan color and each table or booth had a gorgeous chandelier hanging over it. The chairs were comfortable and sat high at the table, which I liked. I watched traffic go by out the window when Claire brought me my water.
“So who are you anyway?” she asked me.
“My name’s Josh. I’m a friend of Jeremy’s,” I responded.
“Huh…he’s never mentioned you before. In fact, Jeremy doesn’t mention much about his friends at all,” she said. She sat down across the table from me and I asked her if she had other customers to take care of.
“No, Jeremy made it very clear that you were my only customer while you’re here,” she responded.
I couldn’t help but smile, and Claire noticed quickly. “I know that smile, and don’t even think about it. Jeremy is so not looking for somebody right now. I’ve dropped enough hints that I like him, and he doesn’t even seem to notice them.”
I wanted to blurt out that Jeremy and I had had one hell of a night the night before, but I didn’t think it would be appropriate. Claire asked if I wanted anything to eat and I told her to surprise me. She pranced off and was quick to return, a steaming plate of fish, brown rice, and asparagus in her hand.
“Jeremy said you were watching your weight or something so I figured this would work,” she said. I thanked her and she sat back down. I figured as long as she was here, I could get some info about Jeremy out of her.
“So what’s Jeremy’s story?” I asked. “I know his mom split a long time ago and his dad is dead, but that’s all he’s said to me.”
Claire thought the question over for a minute. “He doesn’t open up much, so I don’t really know. I do know that about three years ago he weighed 250 pounds and was drastically gaining weight. He slimmed down a lot and has really changed his life. That was about the time he shut off though.”
I couldn’t believe it! Jeremy was a former fatty! I couldn’t even imagine my hunky friend anything other than the blonde haired Adonis he was. It made me love him even more that he knew what it was like to battle weight and overcome it. But then I started worrying – what if I was just a charity case, he saw himself in me and that was why he wanted me. Given, I was nowhere near 250 pounds, but I was still a “fatty” in my mind.
“Wow, can’t believe he was that big! And what do you mean he shut off?” I asked.
“About the time he started loosing weight, he suddenly changed; his whole demeanor, everything. He was so outgoing before, and one day he came in a shell of himself. He’s gotten better, but he’s never been the same. I ask him all the time what happened, but he doesn’t tell me.”
“Did something happen to him?”
Claire shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. He used to date a lot before that too, but I’ve only seen him with a few girls since then. Sometimes I worry about him, that he’s not going to make it.”
“What do you mean? Why wouldn’t he make it?” I asked.
Claire shook her head and got up. “I’ve said way too much already. If he hasn’t told you, I don’t want to be the one to tell you then. Can I get you anything else?”
I shook my head and finished my meal. Soon after, Jeremy emerged and he looked upset. He told me we should go and we went out to the car and climbed in.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
He nodded his head. “Yeah, it’s alright. Greg’s just a fucking douchebag, that’s all. But let’s not worry about that, okay?”
He looked over at me and smiled, shifting the car into drive. We drove off. I wanted to ask him so badly about what Claire had told me, but I just couldn’t. If I knew his secrets, it would ruin everything; he wouldn’t be the perfection I had in my head. At the same time, I knew that if I didn’t say anything, I would stew in doubt and questioning until I erupted and wanted to know everything. As I was about to open my mouth to speak, he beat me to it.
“I’ll run you by your place and you can get a change of clothes, some warmer clothes, and we can head over to the bonfire,” he said. “I want you to stay with me tonight again too.”
“Yeah, sure, of course,” I said. “Jeremy, I think we need to talk.”
He looked at me a little quizzically. “Uh, okay, what do we need to talk about?”
“Now, it’s probably none of my business, none at all, I mean we just met,” I started.
“You gotta stop that, Josh,” he interrupted. “I want to be open with you, if you want to know something just ask.”
“Okay, I talked to Claire today,” I said. “She said some stuff that surprised me.”
He nodded and asked me to continue.
“You used to be overweight? I wish you had told me that before,” I said. “I mean, I was a little whiny bitch about being fat, and you were 250 pounds? It would have been a little reassuring if you had said something.”
“I’m sorry, I guess I figured it didn’t matter,” he replied. “If I told you I was fat, you probably wouldn’t have wanted me anymore, anyway.”
“Don’t ever say that. I want you now, and I’ll want you tomorrow too. I just have to get some things off my chest,” I said.
He turned to me and smiled. For the first time, Jeremy wasn’t the strong, independent, hunk of a man I knew him to be. Jeremy looked upset, even through the smile, and it cut me to the soul to see him like that. He reminded me of a piece of fine china that looks perfect and shiny and new, but when you inspect it closer, there’s a tiny crack that runs it’s way through it. He looked so pitiful in the driver’s seat that I just wanted to reach over and pull him to me and comfort him.
“Claire said she was afraid that you wouldn’t make it. Why would she say that?” I asked.
Jeremy shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. Claire can run her mouth a little too much and exaggerate things, but don’t worry about anything, okay.”
“Yeah, whatever you say,” I replied.
He reached over and turned my head to look at him. He looked over and his eyes burned right through me.
“I’m serious, don’t worry about anything,” he said.
I nodded my head and took his hand in mine. I kissed his knuckles and we sat in silence the rest of the ride. When we got to my apartment, I ran in, grabbed some clothes, and came back out. He was sitting in the front seat, his head in his hands. When he knew I was coming, he rubbed his eyes and looked over and smiled, trying to hide something.
“You sure you’re all right?” I asked, climbing in the passenger seat.
He smiled at me and assured me everything was alright. “I’m just a little tired.”
“Do you want to just go back to your place then? I really don’t mind,” I said as he pulled off.
“Of course we’re gonna go. I want you to meet my friends,” he said.
“I’m kinda nervous to meet them though,” I said. “How are you going to introduce me?”
He looked over at me and smiled. He had a knack of looking at me and smiling, and I loved it every time he showed off those bright beautiful teeth in my direction.
“I’m gonna say ‘This is my sweet-ass love machine, Josh’,” he joked.
I punched him in the arm. “You prick.”
We laughed and held hands all the way to the beach. I hand’t realized how far the beach was until I looked at the clock and realized we had driven in silence and holding hands for almost an hour. I smiled from ear to ear. Yeah, we both had our issues, but I knew that Jeremy and I were perfect for each other, and that we were going to be okay.
When we got to the beach, there were a few other cars in the parking lot. We got out and walked through the sand to where a group of about five people were sitting around a campfire. The sun was just starting to reach the horizon. The sky was perfectly clear and the temperature was dropping by the hour. I was glad that Jeremy suggested I bring some heavier clothes for the night.
“Hey Jeremy!” a tall, dark haired guy waved. His hair was a black brushcut, and it was clear that he was built, even more so than Jeremy. It was also clear that he had packed away a few cold ones.
“Hey Russell!” Jeremy called back.
I followed a few steps behind Jeremy as we walked through the sand. A blonde woman sitting on a log leaned over to another guy and I could tell she was asking him who I was. The guy was skinny and had blonde hair down to his shoulders. He shook his head and looked confused.
Jeremy stepped up and grabbed my arm, pulling me closer to the group. “Hey guys, this is my boyfriend, Josh.”
I smiled to myself hearing Jeremy call me his boyfriend. I looked over at the blonde chick and the blonde guy and both looked disgusted. At closer look, the woman looked about ten years older than me, and her face was caked in cheap makeup. She was wearing a flowered halter top despite the coolness in the air. The guy wore a long sleeved shirt that looked like long underwear. His hair was soft and clean looking, but he himself looked like he had a disease. I shot a look at Jeremy and wondered why he associated with these people.
“Josh, this is Penny, and this is Rick,” Jeremy said, introducing me to the two. They just nodded and forced a smile.
A short, slightly chunky woman with reddish brown hair in pigtails jumped out and extended her hand.
“It’s about time Jeremy found someone!” she gushed. “I’m Katie!”
The brown haired man behind her stepped up and exteded a hand. He had sad eyes, but his smile was genuine. He had a goatee and his handshake was firm, and I could sense that he was probably nicely built underneath his jacket.
“I’m Aaron,” he said.
The guy named Russell hadn’t stepped up, but I saw him shoot a glance towards Rick and looked nauseous.
“That’s Russell,” Jeremy said, pointing to the guy. Russell nodded his head in my direction and smiled faintly.
We sat down and Katie handed me a bottle of water. “You don’t look old enough to drink,” she told with a smile, opening a beer for herself.
She sat next to Aaron and he snuggled her in the crook of his arm. Russell sat alone, drinking his beer, while Rick and Penny were leaning against each other, Penny’s hand getting dangerously close to grabbing Rick’s cock. Jeremy put his arm around me and pulled me close.
“So how did you two meet?” Katie asked.
“He developed my pictures, and I think we both developed a boner after that,” Jeremy said with a laugh. Katie and Aaron chuckled and I couldn’t help but smile too.
“How long have you known each other?” Aaron asked. Jeremy looked at his watch.
“Twenty hours?” he said.
“Oh, so you’re new! How sweet!” Katie said.
We sat and talked a little more about Jeremy and I, and Katie and Aaron seem genuinely interested in our story. Russell, on the other hand, was anything but.
“Why the hell you queer out like that Jeremy?” Russell suddenly piped in.
Jeremy looked at him shocked. “What do you mean?”
“You and I used to be best friends, now you’re too busy fucking ass. I didn’t even know you liked the cock,” Russell responded.
Katie shot him a look. “Shut up you prick,” she shouted.
He put his hands in the air and shook his head. “Jer and I used to hang out all the time, now he’s got a little faggot boy and he’s turned into a fucking homo.”
I tried not to cry. I could feel hotness develop behind my eyes and the pressure of my tears swell up on the corners of my eyes. I put my head down and Jeremy reached down and held my hands.
“Russell, I still want to be your friend, but if you ever talk about Josh that way again, I swear I’ll knock you out. And you know I can,” Jeremy said. I could hear rage in his voice.
Russell paused for a second. “Look, your little pansy fuck is crying like a baby.”
Jeremy turned to me and I looked up at him. The tears were running down my cheek and I couldn’t help it. I bit my lip and looked at him, not wanting to leave but not wanting to stay. I wanted to enjoy my night with him, but I couldn’t stand Russell, and once Rick joined in with the taunting, I was ready to punch them both in the face.
“I hope you’re happy, fucking homo,” Rick said. “We all thought you were coming back to us, but now you’ve got a boyfriend and you’re never gonna come back now.”
“Josh is the best thing to happen to me since my dad died,” Jeremy said. “And you will not talk about him that way again.”
There was such an authority in his voice and a passion behind his words. I stole a shot at Russell and he sat down, folding his arms across his chest and pouting. Katie and Aaron were suppressing laughs and I could see Aaron fist pound Jeremy.
“You tell ‘em,” he whispered to him.
I looked up and smiled at Katie and Aaron and I knew that they were going to support Jeremy and me whether Russell and Rick wanted to or not. Jeremy wiped my tears away, kissed the top of my head, and then he got up to leave. Katie and Aaron got up too, and before I knew it, we were packing up and heading off.
“We better go somewhere else,” Jeremy muttered.
“Yeah, run way fag,” Rick shouted as we walked away.
The four of us moved to another spot and Aaron started another fire. We talked for hours, and I had completely forgotten about the entire encounter with Jeremy’s other three friends. We could still see the faint light of their fire down the beach, but no bodies or individual shapes were visible. Hours passed, and I checked my watch and it was one in the morning. And I had to piss.
“Hey Jeremy, I’m gonna run to the little boy’s room,” I said, leaning over and whispering in his ear.
“You’re gonna have to find a bush then, baby,” he said.
I scampered off and ducked into a cove of trees. I could see my friends faintly through the brush, but I knew that they couldn’t see me, and I liked it that way. I really didn’t want anybody to watch me piss.
I whiped my dick out and was relieving myself when I felt footsteps come up behind me. They paused at my back and I could feel two strong hands on my shoulders, and then move down and touch my ass.
“Oh Jeremy, not in public,” I giggled. I closed my hands and let his hands roam my body, massaging my ass.
Suddenly, his hands gripped onto my ass and his finger nearly shot up my asshole through my jeans. A hand reached around and covered my mouth, and and I tried to scream and get away, but the free hand spun me around and I was staring into the face of Russell.
“You think you’re so special, fucking with a guy like Jeremy, don’t you?” he said, laughing.
He spit in my face and then shoved me to my knees. I felt another set of hands on my head, and I looked quickly and Rick was standing there, his cock hanging out. He let out a stream of piss down the back of my head, and Russell’s hands moved to my mouth to shut me up again. I tried desperately to scream, to get away, but they were strong and overpowering me. Russell yanked his pants down and whipped out his cock, a massive piece of meat. He shoved it in my face and forced my mouth open.
“Yeah, you like cock so much, fucking take mine you fucker,” he said.
He was jamming it in my mouth, and I was crying and screaming into it, my screams muffled and my tears soaking into the hair around his cock. Rick’s cock emptied itself and he moved next to Russell, shoving his cock in my face. It looked grossly small, barely the size of a tube of glue. Both of their cocks were rubbing on my face and filling my mouth, and my tears kept flowing and I tried to make noise, but they kept pinning my arms down.
Russell threw me to the ground and flipped me over, yanking my pants down and mounting my ass. I could feel his cock against my buttcheeks, and he shoved my face into the dirt. I couldn’t see where Rick had gone, but I heard his footsteps retreat. It was just Russell and I.
“Yeah, you’re gonna take this now you bitch,” he said.
He was laughing and my face was being shoved into the dirt. Leaves were filling my mouth, dirt caking my tongue, and all I could do was cry. I couldn’t break free, no matter how hard I tried.
“Fucking cunt,” Russell growled.
I felt his cock touch my asshole, and he let out another laugh. But this laugh was interrupted by the sound of a boot smacking against his skull. He was off me in no time, and I could hear his let out a scream. I flipped around, and Katie was at my side, helping me to my feet, helping me to get my pants up. My tears were streaming through my eyes, and but I could see Jeremy grab Russell off the ground and literally throw him against a tree. In my emotion, Jeremy almost looked angelic, almost as if a halo was developing around him.
Aaron grabbed Russell and held him back while Jeremy got right in his face.
“I don’t care who the fuck you are! You ever touch him again I swear I will murder you, you fucking piece of shit. If I ever see you or your rat-faced, cunt smelling, shit eating friends again, I will hunt you down. You will never see me again, and if you ever go near Josh again you will live to regret it,” Jeremy screamed.
His face was beet red, his eyes bulging, sweat pouring out of his forehead. He was jabbing his fingers into Russell’s chest, and he finished his tirade with a massive slap across his face that sent him Russell flying into the ground. Jeremy turned to me, grabbed me, and held me so tight I thought he would break me. We walked back his car, and he set me in the passenger’s seat, my legs hanging out in the parking lot. He knelt on the pavement, my hands in his. Tears were streaming down his face, and he couldn’t help but kiss my hands over and over.
“You’re my hero,” I managed, choking up and tears welling up in my eyes.
He lost it. Jeremy, the strong man I thought couldn’t be touched, broke down and buried his face in my lap, his tears soaking through my jeans. He was sobbing, deep racking sobs that shook me to my core. I put my hand on his head and ran my hands through his hair, my tears dripping down onto his head.
He looked up at me, his eyes filled with tears.
“I love you so much, I can’t even tell you Josh,” he said.
He stood up and closed my door and then climbed into the driver’s seat. His tears were drying and he had stopped crying. I couldn’t figure out why he was so much more emotional than me, and I wanted to know what was hurting him so horribly. He took my hands in his again and he leaned over and kissed me deep, and I wrapped my arms around him and pulled me close to him.
“We really need to talk,” he said. “I want to be honest with you; I want you to know everything.”
As always, please comment and let me know how you responded to this chapter. The next part will really blow the lid off of everything, and it will probably be the most explosive chapter yet.