Part 62
I’m stirred awake. It’s still the dead of night. I feel Eric tossing and turning in bed next to me. His jostling about stops, and I turn and look to my left. The room is dimly lit, but my eyes have adjusted enough so that I can see him sitting upright, facing away from me. A shadow is cast in the crevice of his spine and under his shoulder blades. The muscles in his arms and back flex as he rises to his feet.
I get a clear view of his ass. Though it’s dark, I can tell he either doesn’t shave down there often, or at all, but he still has the perfect amount of hair. His ass muscles alternate flexing as he walks to the bathroom and closes the door. About a minute later, he emerges.
I squint my eyes to look like I’m still asleep, but keep them open barely enough to see. His cock—oh god, his cock. Though I didn’t get a good view of it at the airport restroom, I could tell it was a good size. This just confirmed it. It swings like a pendulum back and forth as he makes his way back to the bed. He has a healthy amount of pubic hair. He might not shave below the belt at all. And his balls are the perfect size—hell, everything about him is perfect.
He reaches the bed, lifts up the covers, and makes himself comfortable under them. It’s not long before he starts lightly snoring. I, on the other hand, discover I now have this raging boner, and it’s going to be a while before my heart calms down enough to fall back asleep. I’m just hoping that’s not the last time I get to see his gorgeous body in all its nude glory.
* * * * *
I head down to the fitness center for the fourth time this week. Chase is there, and we talk for a bit after he finishes his workout. He tells me he’ll probably make it up to the hot tub one last time this evening before he has to fly out the next morning.
I wave at him as he leaves. “See you there.”
I wrap up my own workout and go back upstairs. Eric is in the shower, so I pick out my outfit for the day and begin ironing. When I’m about finished, the shower stops, and a couple minutes later, Eric steps out with a towel around his waist.
“Morning, Eric.”
“Good morning, Brad. Shower’s all yours.”
I unplug the iron. “Thanks.” I head into the bathroom, strip off my sweaty workout clothes, and take a fairly quick shower. I dry off and tie the towel around my waist.
When I step out, I see Eric standing and looking at his laptop. He’s in the middle of buttoning and tucking in his shirt. He looks up at me. “So, Rick replied to the email I sent him last night about Chase and his project.”
I walk over to the dresser and retrieve a pair of briefs and socks, take off my towel, and begin putting them on. “What did he say?”
He zips up his pants and buckles his belt. “He thinks it’s awesome that we made a connection while we were here, and he’s looking forward to talking to him.”
I finish getting dressed, and we pack our bags and head out to our client for our fourth day of training. Eric and I have settled into a groove, and the meetings with the different departments all go smoothly. At midday, we break for lunch, then finish out the rest of the day and head back to the hotel.
We make our way down to the restaurant for dinner. I swallow a bite of my fish, and look up at Eric. “So, what’s our plan for the weekend?”
He thinks for a moment. “Hmm. Well, I don’t know about you, but I only packed a week’s worth of clothes.”
“Same here.”
“We can take it easy tomorrow night and do laundry, then Saturday and Sunday will be totally clear for all sorts of stuff. And there’s lots to do here.”
“Cool.”
“You still up for trying your hand at Blackjack?”
I nod nervously. “I think so.”
He places his hand on my arm. “Don’t worry. You’ll do just fine.” He takes his hand away, chews and swallows a bite of his food, and continues. “Anyway, we can do that Saturday, and maybe do some other things out and about, see a show, whatever you feel like doing.”
An idea pops into my head. “We could… Ah, never mind.”
He raises his eyebrows. “What? What is it?”
I sigh quickly. “Are there any gay bars here?”
“Oh, my gosh, there have to be.”
“Have you ever gone to a drag show?”
He chuckles. “No, I haven’t, but it sounds like something you want to do.”
“Sure, they’re lots of fun, but would you want to go, too?”
He tilts his head. “Yeah, why not? We’re in Vegas—may as well see the best they have to offer, huh?”
“All right, that’s awesome! I didn’t think you’d be interested in going.”
“Well, in the past I couldn’t see myself going to something like that, but I’m trying to live with a more open mind nowadays. Being a family man doesn’t really push your boundaries too much.”
“That’s why you have me, right?”
He chuckles again. “I guess so.”
“Well, as far as tonight goes, wanna hit the hot tub again?”
“Of course!”
We finish up dinner and head back to the room. Eric glances at his phone as we make our way inside. “Hey Brad, Lorna wants me to give her a call. Do you want to head to the hot tub and I’ll come out and join you when I’m done?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
“Cool, I’ll call her now.” He taps his phone’s screen a few times and walks over to look out the window. A few seconds later, I hear Lorna answer. Not wanting to overhear their conversation, I waste no time changing into my swimsuit as they make small talk and Eric talks a little about how training’s been going. I make myself a vodka soda—the quickest thing I can think to make—and venture outside to the pool area.
I walk over to the hot tub, and see Chase already there.
He’s leaning back with his eyes closed, but opens them and looks up at me when I get closer and set my stuff on a nearby table. “Hey there, Brad.”
“Hey, Chase. How long have you been soaking?”
He gives me a weird look. “Smoking? I don’t smoke.”
I chuckle, then speak a little louder. “No, soaking.”
“Oh,” he laughs, “these jets are loud! I just got here like five or ten minutes ago. Got to get as much hot tubbing in as I can before I fly back to Seattle.”
I turn the timer up to its maximum and step into the bubbling hot water. “I hear you. We’ve had some good days up there this winter, but I can’t wait for the warmer temperatures to come back.”
He smiles and nods in agreement.
I take a sip of my drink. “So, can I ask you, how did you get your job at the university?”
“Sure thing. I’ve had an interest in psychology as far back as high school. I like trying to find out what makes people tick—you know, what motivates people to feel and act in certain ways. Anyway, when I got to college and started taking classes, I began thinking about what would happen after graduation and what job I wanted to get. But, the job kind of chose me.”
“How so?”
“Well, I remember taking a particularly hard class. It had to do with the body’s senses and how the brain processes them. Everyone was having a hard time in that class—the instructor was by far one of the worst I’ve ever had. He just had this terrible way of explaining pretty much anything he was trying to get across to the class.”
“Yikes.”
“Yeah. Anyway, I found that I picked up the material from the textbook way easier on my own, and I ended up skipping a lot of the classes, showing up for just the tests, and doing pretty well. A bunch of the other students were holding study groups with each other, and I became a sort of unofficial tutor and actually taught much of the material to them. And then we all started doing better in the class.”
“That’s awesome! It sounds like what you did was really helpful for the other students.”
“Thanks! It was, and it also gave me lots of experience. When I started pursuing my master’s degree, I got a job as a teaching assistant, then went on to teach my very own course and got involved with the office that handles experiments.”
“What kind of experiments do you do?”
“All kinds, really, but nothing too crazy. The one I’m working on now tests other people’s abilities to perceive emotions and perspectives outside their own. The computer makes it super easy to do, though, because we show fifty or so pictures to them and capture their responses to what they think is correct based on the questions we ask. You can imagine how much paper we’d go through if we didn’t have the computer to work with. But the software we use is really archaic, and we could desperately use an upgrade.”
“Well, hopefully that’s where we could come in. We’d love the chance to see what we can come up with for you.”
“Oh, believe me, I’m contacting you guys as soon as you get back in town. I wouldn’t know the first place to look for a software company, but here you guys are, a local company, down in Vegas on business, training a client on a new system. Those are a lot of good signs right there. It almost seems meant to be that we ran into each other.”
“That’s awesome to hear. I’m glad you think so.”
“Plus, you guys are so easy to talk to. I had this idea that I’d be going from one stuffy corporate office to another.”
I chuckle. “Well, I hope we’re nothing like that. We’re pretty strict on our deadlines and quality, but we’re otherwise laid back, at least Eric and I are.”
Speaking of the devil, we both look toward the door and see Eric stepping outside, clad in his bathing suit. We both wave to him. He waves back, then sets his drink on a table near the pool, peels off his shirt, and dives into the deep end.
Chase looks back at me. “That’s good to know. So, same question: How’d you get your job there?”
“Hmm. Well, I’ve always been interested in computers almost as far back as I can remember. My dad got me my first one at seven years old, and I basically taught myself how to program it.”
“Wow, that’s impressive!”
“I went to college and got my degree, but it’s not in anything computer-related. I tried taking a few programming classes, but I taught myself better than any of the instructors could, kind of like you and that one psychology class. I ended up deciding to get a degree in something else entirely just in case a job with computers didn’t work out. Anyway, when it finally came time to get that job, all the big companies wanted people with degrees.”
He rolls his eyes. “Of course.”
“So, I found my current company on a job search, and they didn’t require a degree, so I decided to apply, got an interview, and showed them some of the side projects I had done for myself and some other people, and they took a chance and hired me. I’ve been with them for a couple of years now.”
“Sweet! Why do you think they picked you over someone who might have had a degree?”
“I remember making a point to them in my interview: Technology changes so rapidly, someone with a degree has learned everything up to that point, but a person who can self-teach will have an easier time picking up new things even after they graduate.”
He nods. “That’s a good point.”
“They thought so, too, apparently. And I’m glad they did.” I take a sip of my drink, and look over at the pool. Eric’s still doing laps back and forth.
Chase continues, “So, do you have a girlfriend?”
Oh boy. This is always a bit awkward for me to answer. “Not quite. I’m gay, actually.”
He looks down. “Oh, sorry. That was dumb of me to ask that question that way.”
I shake my head. “Don’t worry about it, it’s fine.”
He looks back up. “So, boyfriend?”
“Yes. His name is James. What about you?”
“I’m engaged, actually. Her name’s Melanie, but she goes by Mel. In fact, I’ve been mistaken for being gay a few times when I mention my fiancée’s name is Mel, and people assume I’m talking about a guy, so I’ve gotten used to using her full name.”
I chuckle. “That must get annoying.”
He smiles. “It’s not too bad. I just laugh it off, usually.”
I hear Eric hoist himself out of the pool. He grabs his drink and makes his way to the hot tub. I look up at him. “Have a nice swim?”
He’s a bit out of breath, but has no problem answering. “Yeah, the water’s refreshing, but I’m ready for something warmer.” He looks over at Chase as he steps in. “Hey, good to see you again. How’s it going?”
“Things are good. I’m flying out tomorrow morning, so I should probably head back to my room and start packing. It was great meeting and talking with both of you.”
Eric reaches his hand up to Chase’s and shakes it. “Likewise. Have a safe trip back to Seattle, and think about giving us a call about your project.”
Chase smiles. “I was just talking to Brad about that. I will definitely be calling you guys when you get back.”
I shake Chase’s hand as well. “It was a pleasure meeting you. Take care.”
“You too. Talk to you guys later.”
With that, Chase steps out, wraps a towel around himself, gathers his stuff, and gives Eric and me one last wave as he makes his way inside.
I take a sip of my drink and look over at Eric. “Everything good on the home front, I hope?”
He takes a swig of his own drink. “Yeah, for the most part.” He shakes his cup and jostles the ice around for a few seconds. “Eva got into some trouble at school.”
“Uh oh.”
“It wasn’t anything too serious, just some teenage drama involving a boy.”
I chuckle. “A boy? Yeah, they’re nothing but trouble.”
He smiles. “You would know, huh?”
I give him a smirk.
He continues, “Anyway, she’s had her eyes on this boy for a while. You know, she’s at that age when teenagers start getting romantic and all. We even had him over at the house a few times, but that was months ago, before he got interested in some other girl. Well, according to Lorna, apparently he broke up with this other girl recently and wants to get back in Eva’s good graces, and she and this other girl got into a shouting match about it at school.”
“Yikes. How do you feel about all this?”
“Personally, I’m not a big fan of him. It's obvious he’s just playing the field, and Eva took things more seriously than he ever wanted to. Lorna and I have tried talking to Eva about him, but she still has feelings for him. I figure we can only do so much; as long as no one’s getting hurt or into too much trouble, I stay on the sidelines and let Eva figure things out on her own. I figure she’ll handle things much better as an adult if she starts learning as a teenager.”
“Has Gavin expressed interest in girls? Or anyone, for that matter?”
He raises his eyebrows. “At nine years old? Thankfully not. By the time he starts, though, Eva should be graduated from high school, so I’m crossing my fingers Lorna and I won’t have to deal with more than one hormonal teenager at a time.”
I snort. “Yeah, even one is too many to deal with.”
He rolls his eyes. “Tell me about it. Anyway, Lorna just had to go in today and talk with the principal. It’s actually kind of nice being away from it all—it’s almost like taking a break from being a parent. Don’t get me wrong—I’d be there in a heartbeat if I had to, but I know Lorna’s more than capable of handling what happened with Eva. Plus, she’s probably more suited to dealing with that situation, since she’s a woman and all.”
I nod. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”
“We’ll see.” He takes another sip of his drink. “Have you talked to James lately?”
“No, I’ve just been preoccupied with everything going on here.”
“You should give him a call. I bet you a lot has happened with Paul and his kids getting settled in. He’s most likely busy, too, but I know he’d definitely appreciate hearing from you.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Just then, the hot tub’s jets turn off. I glance up at the clock. “You wanna stay in for a bit longer?”
He nods. “Yeah, the water feels great.”
I hoist myself out of the hot tub and spin the timer back up to start the jets again. “I could use a refill, too. You want one?”
“Sure, if you don’t mind.” He downs the rest of his drink and hands me his cup. “Thanks, Brad.”
I walk back to the room and begin preparing to make two more vodka sodas when I notice Eric’s work outfit on the bed. His pants are folded, and his boxer briefs lay neatly on top of them. It takes all my might and self-control to keep from picking them up and inhaling the strong, masculine musk they likely contain. It’s difficult, but I resist as much as I can, and focus instead on making the drinks. It’s a good thing these will be our last two for the night, because I have to turn the bottle upside-down and shake every last drop of vodka out. I give each drink a quick stir, then head back outside.
Eric looks up as I get closer, reaches up, and thanks me when I hand him his new drink.
We spend the next several minutes soaking in the hot water. The sun has already set, and I watch as the myriad lights on the buildings in the distance start turning on. Other than the few times when he takes a drink, Eric leans back with his eyes closed. I can imagine he’s got a lot going on in his mind. I know he said being here in Vegas is like taking a break from being a parent, but those responsibilities never truly go away, even when far away from home, and it must be harder dealing with things from a distance. He’s been a father for most of his adult life, and I wonder if he ever imagines how his life would be different if he had waited longer to have kids.
The jets shut off once more, and Eric opens his eyes and looks at me. “Ready to go inside?”
I take a deep breath. “Yeah, I guess we should.”
We both guzzle the rest of our drinks, step out of the hot tub, and grab towels to dry off, then gather our belongings and head back to the room.
Eric points at the bathroom. “You can go shower first if you want.”
I take him up on his offer. I hop in the shower and quickly rinse off, taking off my swimsuit mid-shower and wringing out all the water. I dry off, hang up my towel, and step outside.
Eric’s sitting on the bed with his towel around his waist, watching the news on the TV. Nothing notable is on.
I grab my toothbrush and toothpaste. “Bathroom’s all yours.”
“Thanks.” He rises to his feet, picks up his boxer briefs from where they lay on the bed, makes his way to the bathroom, closes the door, and starts up the shower.
I brush my teeth, then crawl under the sheets and mindlessly watch the news on TV. Before I forget, I pick up my phone and text James to ask him if tomorrow would be a good time for me to call. He texts back that tomorrow would be fine, and we message back and forth a little more about how my training is going and how Paul and the kids are doing. We text ‘Good night’ to each other, and I set my phone back down on the nightstand.
Eric steps out of the bathroom a few minutes later, wearing just his underwear. He walks to the dresser to retrieve an outfit for tomorrow, then glances over at me. “You look beat.”
I let out a half-hearted laugh. “I am. I’m not used to meeting with the sheer number of people like we have been lately. It’s a little exhausting for someone like me who’s used to working with just a computer all day.”
He plugs in the iron. “You’re not the only one. I’ve never trained a group of people this big or for this long. It’s a lot to take in, but I think we are doing a pretty good job, huh?”
I’ve taken in lots of things that are big and long, but that is neither here nor there. I nod. “I’d say so.”
“Well, we just have tomorrow, then the weekend will be here. You can make it.”
“Yeah, though if I’m going to get up early enough to work out in the morning, I should get some shut eye now.”
He chuckles. “All right. Well, don’t let me stop you. I won’t be long, anyway.” He turns back around and starts ironing.
As much as I’d like to stare at him ironing his outfit in nothing but his underwear, the hot water from the hot tub and shower, together with the vodka sodas, force my eyelids shut.
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