Brad's Search

[Autolycus]

Wow! Thanks for the update, such a great story

 

[Kyanimal]

He chuckles. “It’s so relaxing being like this, not having to hide behind yet another layer. It’s so relaxing, it’s almost therapeutic.”

AMEN!

Lovin' this story!
Chaz

 

[AstareGod]

Wow! Thanks for the update, such a great story

AMEN!

Lovin' this story!
Chaz

Thank you both! I'm glad you're enjoying reading the story. It feels good to get back into the swing of writing.

That sauna scene was kinda nerve-wracking for a bit, wasn't it?!

I should have the next part out soon. Until then!

 

[72-Jay]

Thanks for another great update to the story.

Getting that drunk coulda turned out bad..but its good things turned out ok

 

[Friend1720]

More, please ... oh, please more!!

 

[Friend1720]

Thank you both! I'm glad you're enjoying reading the story. It feels good to get back into the swing of writing.

That sauna scene was kinda nerve-wracking for a bit, wasn't it?!

I should have the next part out soon. Until then!

Sob!

So looking forward to more as promised in December??

 

[AstareGod]

Oh my god it's been six months!? I know, I know... I'm bad! <- This is what I need done to me.

I've had a busy few months, BUT - I've recently been pouring more energy into the story and have a few new parts written. I just need to do the all important editing to make sure they really shine. However, Part 68 is done, so why don't I just post that tonight?!

Thanks for another great update to the story.

Getting that drunk coulda turned out bad..but its good things turned out ok

Thanks, 72-Jay! Oh gosh the stories I could tell about myself getting too drunk. Some people find their limit and never hit it again. I haven't been so lucky. But hopefully those times are all in the past and I won't have any repeat experiences. They make for some awesome stories, however. Luckily Eric had a good friend by his side to help him through the night.

More, please ... oh, please more!!

Sob!

So looking forward to more as promised in December??

Thank you for the nice comments, Friend1720! Ask and you shall receive!

 

[AstareGod]

Hey guys and gals! I know it's been a long time, but the next part is now available! I've been feeling more inspired lately and have poured some more energy into the story, and I have lots of good ideas about the adventures Brad and the people he's close to will be going on. Thanks as always for reading!

Part 68

Eric and I step out of the sauna. The heat felt nice while we were in there, but it’s a relief feeling the much cooler air now.

He fans himself with his hand. “I don’t know about you, but I need to freshen up a bit before they call us back.”

I nod. “That’s a good idea.”

We walk back to the empty shower room. There are eight individual showers in a cubicle style, four of them on each side. Each has a curtain suspended from the ceiling. He chooses one and hangs both his towel and robe on a hook next to it. I pick the one directly across from him and do the same. He steps inside but doesn’t close the curtain. After all, what would be the point? It’s just the two of us alone.

We don’t have much time, so we just rinse the sweat from our bodies for about a minute. He turns off his water first, then I follow just a few seconds later. We step out and begin drying off, not really looking at each other. As we dry off, I hear footsteps approaching. I look up, and see Luke standing there. He waves at us. “Hey guys, your massage therapists are just about ready for you. When you’re all done, come meet me up front.” Eric nods and thanks him, then he turns around and walks off.

When we’re both dry, we slip on our robes and tie the belt straps tight. Eric turns to me. “Ready?” I nod, and he continues, “I’ll meet you back here once we’re both done.” He leads the way as we walk to the front. Luke greets us again, and we follow him through a hallway and around a corner.

Two massage therapists—both men—greet us as Luke hands us off to them. Mine introduces himself and tells me his name is Robbie. Eric disappears behind a door with his therapist, as Robbie shows me inside a small, dark room with a table in the middle. The table has a thick layer of white sheets on top. Relaxing music is piped into the room, but other than that, it’s quiet. Robbie asks me if I’d like any scented oils during the massage, rattling off a few options. I pick two that seem like they’d smell nice. He retrieves some tiny bottles from a shelf on the wall, opens them, and pours a few drops from each bottle into a nearby machine. He then says he’ll leave the room and give me a minute or two to disrobe and make myself comfortable under the sheets. I nod, and with that, he steps out of the room and closes the door.

I untie my robe and hang it on a hook near the door, then place my hand on the massage table. It’s very warm to the touch—these sheets feel like they just came out of a clothes dryer. Nevertheless, I crawl under them, turn around, and lie flat on my stomach. It’s a good thing I spent time in the sauna before this to get used to the heat. I also start to smell the scents I chose, but the smell is not overpowering, thankfully.

I hear the door crack open, and Robbie call out, “Are you ready for me?”

I answer him, “Yeah.”

He steps in all the way and closes the door behind him. “So, this is your first massage ever, right?”

“That’s right.”

“OK. I won’t be using a lot of pressure today, so just try to relax.”

“All right.”

He starts rubbing his hands together. “Before I start, are there any parts of your body that have been bothering you lately?”

I sigh. “Well, my neck cramped up last night when I went to turn my head.”

“Ouch, that must not have been fun. Out of curiosity, what do you do for a living?”

“I work as a software developer.”

“So you must sit for a long time each day, huh?”

“Yeah, probably for too long.”

“Right. It can certainly put lots of stress and strain on your muscles, but I’ll have you all fixed up and feeling better by the time we’re finished.”

“I hope so.”

He chuckles. “All right, I’m just going to feel around your neck and upper back for a bit.” He places his hands between my neck and shoulders and rubs them gently. He hits a tight spot on my right shoulder, and I wince a little in pain. He eases up on the pressure. “You all right?”

“Yeah, it just hurt a little bit.”

“Sorry. You’re pretty tense back there. You might feel a little pain as I work on these muscles, but the pain shouldn’t be unbearable. Just try to relax, but let me know if I’m working you too hard.”

If he works the right places, he won’t have any problem working me hard.

He applies pressure again and moves his hands in specific patterns around my neck and shoulders for a few minutes, then starts moving his hands toward my lower back. “How’s that feeling for you?”

“Feels great. No complaints here.”

“Good.”

He continues for the next several minutes in silence as his hands gently encourage the pain and tension out of my muscles. He then lifts his hands up and slides then under the lower portion of the sheets. He begins massaging my feet, which feels a bit ticklish, and moves up to my ankles and calves. The feeling of him rhythmically squeezing and releasing is putting me in a daze, and I’m finally starting to unwind and feel more loosened up. That is, until his hands reach higher and higher up to my thighs. It’s been a while since anyone has touched me there, and it’s quite exciting, but I try not to focus on it.

He works his hands back down toward my feet, then removes his hands from under the sheets. “Still feeling OK?”

I let out a relaxed sigh. “Yeah.”

“That’s good. Can you turn around and lie on your back for me?”

I do as he asks, hoist myself up, and flip around face-up, all the while keeping my eyes closed. He puts his hands back under the sheets and massages my feet and legs again for quite a while, then switches over to my chest and abs. I open my eyes, look up at him and smile, and he smiles back. I close my eyes again and keep trying to enjoy the feeling of his hands. He speaks up again after a few moments, “All right; turn back around again, and lie on your stomach. I’ll work on your back a little bit more.” I turn around again, and as he continues massaging me, I feel like I’m not nearly as tense as I was before. After several minutes pass, he speaks up again, “I’m just about finished. Is there any other part of your body you want me to focus on before we finish up?”

I shrug my shoulders as best as I can from a lying-down position. “I don’t think so.”

“Do you feel like this helped at all?”

“Oh, it helped a great deal. I feel a lot better now.”

He gives my back a few final squeezes. “That’s great to hear. I’ll go ahead and leave the room so you can put your robe back on. Just step out of the room whenever you’re ready.”

I nod, “All right.” I hear him exit the room and close the door. I open my eyes, and sure enough, I’m all alone. I lift myself off the table and stand up. I feel a bit lightheaded, so I take some deep breaths. Once I feel fine, I take the robe off the hook and put it on. I open the door and step out, and Robbie is standing there in the hallway.

He looks up at me and smiles. “How are you feeling?”

I nod. “A little dizzy, but otherwise I’m good.”

“That’s good. Your muscles were very tense when we started, so you might feel a little bit off for the rest of the day as your body gets used to the amount of work I did. Try and drink plenty of water, and don’t drink too much alcohol tonight.”

Oh great. Now he tells me. “I think I can handle that. Thanks for everything.”

“You’re quite welcome; I hope the massage helps.”

“It is, I can feel it already.” I glance back at the door Eric disappeared behind. “Do you know if my friend is done yet?”

“Yeah, I saw him leave just before you came out.”

“Awesome. Well, thanks again.” I reach up and shake his hand as we start walking back to the front desk.

“Not a problem. I’m glad you’re feeling better! Have a great day.”

“You too.” I make my way back to the men’s area and check the changing rooms, but there’s no sign of Eric. I walk over to the hot tub and find him there by himself, his robe hung up on a nearby hook. The jets are roaring, making it hard to see clearly what’s underneath, but I can tell he hasn’t bothered to put on anything. I try not to think about it for fear of springing a tent in my robe.

He looks up at me. “How was it?”

“It was nice. I feel a lot better.”

He smiles. “Awesome. I knew it would help.”

“You want to stay back here a little longer?”

“Sure. Come join me.”

I untie my robe and hang it on a hook next to his. I dip a foot into the hot tub. “Damn, this water’s hot.”

He chuckles. “You’ll get used to it.”

I slowly step into the bubbling-hot water until I’m neck deep, then make myself comfortable across from him and let out a long sigh. I look up at him, and we share a smile. “So, how was your massage?”

“Mine was good, too.”

“I hope you didn’t mind that the therapist was a guy. I didn’t even think to ask when I made the appointment.”

He shakes his head. “It didn’t matter at all. I’ve gotten them from both men and women, and they’re equally as good. I don’t have a preference either way. You, on the other hand… Any problems south of the border?”

I laugh. “No. He was working my muscles so hard, it was easy not to concentrate on that.”

He nods. “Yeah, there’s enough going on to distract you that it’s usually never a problem.”

A man in a bathrobe rounds the corner and starts walking toward us. He seems to be somewhere in age between Eric and me. He takes off his bathrobe and is completely nude underneath. I try not to look, but it’s hard to resist. His body is not too thin, but not too toned or muscular, either—just the way I like it. He has a neatly-trimmed bush, and his cock is nice to look at, though I try not to look for long.

He hangs his robe up on a hook. “Mind if I join you guys?”

I shake my head, and Eric chimes in, “Don’t mind at all.”

With that, the guy steps in. I scoot closer to Eric to give the guy some space. The three of us soak in the hot water, not saying anything to each other, but just enjoying how relaxing the water feels. I lean my head back and close my eyes, losing track of time. Eventually, I hear the other guy stand up. I’m treated with a nice view of his ass as he gets out, grabs his robe and a towel, and starts walking to the shower area. A few minutes later, almost out of earshot, I hear Luke’s voice call out for the guy. He must be getting a massage, as well.

Eric looks over at me. “We should probably get moving, too. We’ve been in here a while.”

I nod. “Sure, let’s go.”

We both get out of the hot tub. I watch as Eric takes his robe and drops it into a bin. “Won’t be needing these anymore.” I do the same, then follow him to the showers. We pick the same ones we used before and do a more thorough job washing up. It’s easy to steal glances of his body as he keeps his eyes shut while he shampoos and rinses his hair. I pay extra attention when he starts soaping up his cock and balls, along with his ass. He turns his body toward me to rinse off his back, and I quickly avert my eyes, hoping he didn’t catch me looking. I’m thrilled that he’s so comfortable being naked around me, but I don’t want to make it awkward.

We finish showering and start drying off. I watch as he wipes his face dry. He lowers the towel from his face and makes eye contact with me. “Feel like a new man?”

I nod. “Yeah, this has me feeling much better than before. Great suggestion!”

He smiles. After we finish drying off, we walk over to our lockers and get our clothes. He looks up at me after he pulls on his shirt. “Want to head back up to the room after this so you can give James a call?”

“Yeah, that would be great.”

We continue getting dressed, deposit our towels into the bins, and walk out to the front. We wave at Luke and Ivy, and they wish us a good rest of our day.

We go up the elevator to our floor. Eric waves his keycard and opens the door after the lock clicks. As we enter, he walks to the fridge and grabs a bottle of water. “Want one?” I nod. He grabs another one and hands it to me. “Would you prefer if I left the room while you talk to James?”

I shake my head. “Don’t be silly. I’m not sharing any top-secret information with him. I don’t mind if you hang out here while I talk to him.”

He chuckles. “Cool.”

I swig some water, then tap my phone’s screen a few times to call him. As the phone rings, Eric gets his laptop from the desk, kicks off his shoes, and makes himself comfortable on the bed. I sit on the chair on my side of the bed and prop my feet up on the ottoman.

James answers, “Hey there, cutie.”

“Hey, James. How’s your weekend going?”

“Oh, it’s going fantastic! We took Paul and the kids out and around the city yesterday. We went to the zoo, the aquarium, and the Ferris wheel.”

“Wow, sounds like you guys did a lot!”

“Yeah, we felt pretty beat at the end of the day. We’re just taking it easy today. What about you guys?” I tell him about going to the drag show and the casino, though I leave out the fact that I didn’t do too well gambling, and I don’t even dare telling him about falling asleep holding Eric in my arms. He chuckles, “You guys seem like you’ve been keeping yourselves occupied, as well.”

“We sure have. Eric sure knows how to have an enjoyable time here. Time has flown by since we’ve been here.”

“Well, hopefully time keeps flying by, because I can’t wait to see you again, cutie. I’m going through Brad withdrawals.” I laugh. Eric’s been keeping me pretty occupied, but it’s still been a while since I’ve gotten off with James, and the sexual energy has definitely been building up within me. I really need a release. Jerking off sure doesn’t seem to cut it. He continues, “Speaking of flying, when does your plane land back here in Seattle?”

“I have no idea, but I can email you my itinerary here in a little bit. I know it’s on a Sunday.”

“Do you want me to pick you up from the airport?”

“Yeah, that would be awesome!”

“Of course. What about Eric? Does he need a ride from the airport, too?”

“Uh, I don’t know. Let me ask him.” I move the phone away from my mouth. “Eric, do you need a ride from the airport when we get back to Seattle? James is picking me up, and he’s asking if you needed one, too.”

Eric looks over at me. “I haven’t talked to Lorna yet about picking me up, but if James doesn’t mind driving me back home, I’m cool with that. Tell him I appreciate it.”

I position the phone closer to my mouth once more. “Eric says yes.”

“Sweet! Yeah, just let me know when your flight lands, and I’ll be there.” I hear him sigh from the other end. “I really miss you, Brad. I can’t wait until you get back.”

“I can’t wait to get back, either. It will be nice having things go back to normal.”

“You’re right about that. You guys have any plans for tonight?”

“Not yet, but knowing Eric, he’ll come up with something fun.”

He chuckles. “Sounds good. OK, I’ll let you go. You two have a fun time tonight.”

“Thanks, babe. You too.”

I hang up, then Eric looks over at me. “Speaking of coming up with something fun, I have a great idea.”

“What’s that?”

“How would you feel about going to a comedy show?”

“That sounds like fun! What made you think of that?”

“That old drag queen cracking jokes last night was cracking me up! I hadn’t had a good laugh in a long time, and it felt great!”

I chuckle. “I know what you mean. I was laughing pretty hard myself.”

“I’ve been checking around here, and I found a comedy club a few blocks from our hotel, and they have some shows tonight. They serve food, too, so we can go there for a bite to eat.”

“Sounds wonderful to me. What should we do in the meantime?”

He yawns. “I don’t know about you, but that massage did a number on me. Plus, I didn’t sleep very well last night. I’m thinking of taking a nap.”

I nod. “Yeah, you look like you need one.”

He scoffs and gives me a dirty look. “Hey!”

I blush. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”

He chuckles. “I know you didn’t; I’m just fucking with you.” I smile nervously, then he continues, “What are you thinking of doing?”

I stand up, stretch, and look out the window. The clouds from earlier this morning have disappeared, and it looks a lot warmer outside now. “The weather looks perfect for a swim.” I walk to the dresser and retrieve my swimsuit, then change into it as Eric keeps checking things on his laptop. I slip on the flip flops that he’s been letting me borrow all week. “I shouldn’t’ be gone long.”

“Have fun. I’ll be here when you get back.”

I step out to the pool and set my stuff on a nearby chair. There are lots more people out here than there were in the middle of the week—families with kids, and a few couples. I ease my way into the pool and aimlessly and mindlessly float around, enjoying the sensation of almost-weightlessness. The water’s a bit chilly at first, but honestly, it feels pretty great after spending all that time in the sauna and hot tub back at the spa. A little girl enthusiastically swims laps back and forth, but she’s courteous enough to keep some distance from me so she doesn’t splash me as she kicks her feet.

I push off the edge and swim a few laps, then take a break and rest my arms up on the side. This sure is the life. I’m really going to miss being here with Eric after this week is over. I swim a few more laps, then decide I’ve had enough of being in the water for one day. I hoist myself out of the pool and dry off, then pick up my stuff and head back to the room.

I stay as quiet as I can as I close the bathroom door and rinse off. I step out and walk over to the bed. Eric’s lying on top of the sheets, sound asleep, wearing only his underwear. Seeing him there in peaceful slumber, a nap doesn’t sound half bad. I pull on a pair of briefs and lie down on my side of the bed, quickly falling asleep.

* * * * *

I wake up and feel some movement on the bed, then open my eyes and turn around to face Eric. He yawns as he rubs his eyes and eventually opens them. “Ah, decided to take a nap yourself, eh?” His voice croaks a bit, and he clears his throat.

I yawn too before answering him, “Yeah, it was hard not to.” I stretch my arms out. “I’m feeling kind of hungry. Do you know when that comedy show is?”

He picks up his phone. “There’s one that starts in about an hour. Think you can wait that long?”

I nod. “Yeah, I’m not that hungry.”

“Cool. If we leave here in about half-an-hour, we should have enough time to walk there without needing to rush.” He flips himself over and sits up on the edge of the bed, then leans over and starts putting on his pants, standing to pull them up the rest of the way. He turns to me as he zips up his fly. “So, while you were out by the pool, I checked my email and heard back from Rick about the project that Chase wants to do.”

I get up and start getting dressed. “Oh really? What did he say?”

He pulls on a shirt. “He’s considering making you the lead on the project.”

My eyes widen in surprise. “What?”

He sits down to put on his shoes. “You’d be the one talking with Chase, finding out what his project requirements are and if it’s a good fit for us to work on, and if Chase decides to have us build it, you’d also be in charge of hiring and managing your own team of developers.” I’m in shock, and he continues, “Of course, his final decision relies on how well you’ve been doing on this project, and he asked for my input…”

I grow impatient. “Well? What did you tell him?”

He chuckles. “I told him you are one of the best people I’ve ever worked with, and that you have what it takes to head this project on your own.”

I slowly pull on my shirt as I try to process everything he’s telling me. “Can I be honest with you?”

“Of course you can. You can share anything with me, Brad. You know that.”

I take a deep breath. “Well, I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve never worked on any kind of project all by myself before. What if I don’t know what to do, or run into something I can’t figure out on my own?”

He walks over to me and puts his hand on my shoulder. “I’m not going anywhere. If you ever hit a wall and need help, come talk to me. I’ll still be around. But I believe—no, I know—you’re a really smart guy, and you’ll be able to figure things out. I wouldn’t have told Rick you’d be a good fit if I didn’t believe in you and what you are capable of.” He moves his hand back down to his side.

I sigh. “I guess there’s only one way to find out.”

He chuckles. “That’s right. And don’t worry, I’ve got your back. I’m not going to let anything fuck it up for you.”

I smile. “Thank you, Eric.”

“No problem; now hurry up and finish getting dressed. We have a comedy show to go to!”

I hurriedly put on and tie my shoes, and soon after, we’re out the door and on our way down to the lobby.

 

[72-Jay]

Nice to see this story update AstareGod

 

[Friend1720]

Thanks for the continuation.

Looking forward to what Brad's Search leads to .... possibilities are endless, but hope it brings happiness to Brad.

 

[AstareGod]

Nice to see this story update AstareGod

Thank you 72-Jay! Happy to see you're still enjoying the story!

Thanks for the continuation.

Looking forward to what Brad's Search leads to .... possibilities are endless, but hope it brings happiness to Brad.

Thanks Friend1720. He's gonna be going on lots of adventures here shortly. I think I'm enjoying this part of the story so much, with him in Vegas, that it's giving me lots of ideas about the kinds of adventures I want him to go on from here. Still so much more to write!

---

Speaking of so much to write, I actually started a new story here called Aquatic Anxiety. It's completely unrelated to this one, with a new plot and set of characters, and I'm far from done with this story, but I figured I'd get a second one out there. Enjoy!

---

Part 69

Eric and I step out onto the street, and he points to the left. “Let’s head this way.” We turn and walk for a few blocks, then make a right and walk for a few more. Eventually, we come up to a building with tons of flashing lights on the outside and the words “COMEDY SHOW TONIGHT” spelled out on the marquee.

We walk inside and up to the box office to purchase tickets. The cashier asks us where we’d like to sit. Wise from our experience the night before, we choose a table that’s not at the front of the stage.

We squeeze through the other tables, chairs, and people on our way to our table, and a server shows up and hands us some menus. We look them over and place our orders with the server once he comes back. Though it’s tempting to order drinks, we both remember how much we drank the night before, and don’t want to feel the same ill effects tomorrow morning as we did this morning. We get some non-alcoholic drinks instead.

The server delivers our food and drinks, and several minutes later, the lights dim, and the announcer calls the first comedian onto the stage. Eric and I finish eating as she starts her routine, which is good, because we’re soon cackling at all the jokes she’s cracking and stories she’s telling.

After a while, she brings on the next comedian, who does his bit for about half an hour. We applaud after he does his big finish, and then he calls up the next one. By the end of the show, six comedians in total performed their shows—way more than I was expecting—and I definitely feel like I got my money’s worth. I certainly feel like I haven’t laughed as much in my entire life as much as I’ve laughed tonight.

We pay our server and step outside and start walking back to the hotel. The show lasted so long that night has already fallen. Eric leads the way, and after we cross the street, he stops in his tracks. “Oh shit, we’re going the wrong way.”

I chuckle. “I thought something was off about the way we were going. And you haven’t even been drinking tonight!”

He sneers at me playfully. “Shut up. It’s fine—we can turn here and keep going this way.” We do so, and as we’re walking past what looks like a diner, he stops in his tracks again. “Oh, my god.”

I turn to face him. “What’s wrong?”

He points to the diner. “This is the first place Lorna and I went after we got married.”

“What, you pulled out of the drive-thru and came here?”

He nods enthusiastically. “Pretty much. Can we go in for a little bit?”

I shrug. “If you want to.”

He excitedly makes his way to the door and swings it wide open, and I walk in behind him. A sign at the entrance instructs us to seat ourselves, so he picks a spot right up at the bar, and I sit next to him. An older gentleman with a nametag that reads ‘Harold’ greets us, hands us menus, and walks away.

Eric turns to me, a huge grin plastered on his face. “Do you know who that is?”

I shake my head. “How the hell would I know who that is?”

He chuckles giddily. “That’s the same guy that served Lorna and me on our wedding night. I remember telling him we had just gotten married, and he got all the waiters and waitresses together and they sang us a song and congratulated us on getting married. Oh gosh, that was such a special night.”

“Do you think he remembers you?”

He rolls his eyes. “That was fourteen years ago. I doubt he remembers me at all. Still, though, it’s nice being here.”

Harold interrupts Eric’s moment of reminiscing and asks us what we’d like to order. Eric chimes in first. “I don’t know if you remember me, but fourteen years ago, I came here with my new wife right after we got married, and you treated us so well, and had everyone here sing for us. I know you probably don’t remember that, but does it ring a bell?”

After a few seconds, Harold tilts his head. “Of course, I remember.”

Eric’s eyes widen in shock. “Seriously?”

The gentleman laughs. “Yeah! Believe it or not, even in Vegas, not many people decide to come here to my humble little diner to celebrate getting married, but I certainly remember you and your bride.”

Eric shakes his head. “Oh, my gosh, this is too much.”

Harold speaks up again. “Who’s your friend here?”

Eric answers, “We’re on a business trip to train a client of ours on a project we built.”

Harold smiles. “Sounds like you’ve made quite a life for yourself. Still with the wife?”

Eric looks at him incredulously. “Yeah, we’re still together.”

Harold chuckles. “Well, you never know. I’m happy for you both.”

Eric smiles. “Thank you.”

Harold continues, “So, what can I get you boys?”

We order some milkshakes—the same thing Eric and Lorna got when they came here for the first time. Harold takes care of a few other customers, then comes back and talks to Eric some more about what’s happened in his life since getting married—having kids, getting the job he has now, among other things. I’ve never seen Eric look so glowing and jovial. They talk for a few more minutes, and Harold turns to take care of the other customers again.

We sip up the last of our milkshakes, and Harold returns to us. “Can I get you guys anything else?”

Eric sighs. “No, thank you. We have an early day tomorrow, so we should get going.” He starts taking his wallet out of his pocket.

Harold holds up a hand. “No no, it’s on the house.”

Eric looks up at him. “Are you sure?”

Harold nods. “Yeah, don’t worry about it. It was great seeing you again. Real nice catching up. Made my night.”

Eric reaches his hand over the counter and shakes Harold’s. “Likewise. I’ll have to tell Lorna that I saw you.”

Harold smiles. “You do that. I wish you and your wife the best, and same to your friend here. Have a great rest of your time in Vegas.”

We get up and turn to leave. As soon as we step outside, Eric turns to me. “I cannot believe he remembered me!”

“It sounds too good to be true, but from how he was acting, I know he wasn’t making it up.”

He nods. “Yeah. He truly, genuinely remembered me.” He chuckles. “Gosh, I’m glad I made that wrong turn. Otherwise, I would have never come here.”

We get back to the hotel and make our way up to the room. We step inside, and he looks up at me. “Jeez, you look beat.”

I yawn. “I am. I feel pretty tired, even after that nap earlier.”

He shakes off his shoes. “It’s probably the massage. It can do a number on you.” He takes off his shirt, then continues, “You still planning on working out in the morning?”

I sit to take off my own shoes. “Yeah, I probably should.”

He starts unbuckling his belt. “Well, you better start getting some shut-eye now, if you don’t want to feel tired tomorrow.”

I yawn again. “You’re right. What are you going to do?”

He pushes his pants down to the floor, but leaves his underwear on. “Is it OK if I check a few things on my laptop?”

I nod. “That’s fine. You won’t keep me up.”

“Cool. I shouldn’t be too far behind you.”

He turns to get his laptop from the nearby desk while I walk to the bathroom to brush my teeth. After I finish, I walk back out to the room. He’s sitting cross-legged on the bed, typing on his laptop. “Eric, can I turn off the lights?”

“Go ahead. I won’t be up much longer.”

I walk around the room and flip the switches to turn all the lights off, except for the one on his side of the bed. I walk over to my side and take off all my clothes, tossing them into a pile on the floor, and make myself comfortable under the sheets. I turn onto my left side, facing him, and close my eyes. Just when I start to nod off, I feel the bed shake, and open my eyes slightly. He gets up and moves his laptop back to the desk, walks to the bathroom to brush his teeth, then finally walks back to the bed and turns off the last light in the room. There’s just enough light coming through the window for me to see him slip off his boxer briefs and get under the covers. He starts by lying on his back, but eventually turns and faces away from me, and minutes later, starts snoring softly.

The memories of last night come rushing back. I want so strongly to snuggle up behind him and hold him in my arms again, but I know that’s something that will likely never happen again. The chances of that are slimmer than getting struck by lightning—or maybe slimmer than the chance of me having sex with a woman ever again. I try as hard as I can to be grateful for the moment we were able to share the night before, but I can’t help but feel this huge void inside of me, and a powerful desire to fill it by being physically close to him.

I try to mentally shake myself back to reality. Thinking rationally, I know I likely feel this way because of how close we’ve been getting as friends, and sure, there were some nice moments last night when I got to be physically close to him. But I tell myself that is not my role in his life. He has Lorna for that, and I have James. Still, though, that doesn’t make the desire go away.

I just try as hard as I can not to think about it, until I slowly, but finally, drift off to sleep.

* * * * *

My phone’s alarm goes off, and I quickly reach for it and turn it off so it doesn’t wake Eric. It feels much too early, and I just want to go back to sleep, but I convince myself I’ll feel better once I get up and moving.

I quietly put on my workout gear and head down to the fitness center. Once again, I’m the only one masochistic enough to force myself to work out this early in the morning, but it gets my blood pumping, and I’m already starting to feel more awake and alive. After I feel sufficiently awake, I towel off all the equipment I used and head back up to the room.

I walk in and see Eric standing by the fridge in just his black boxer briefs, drinking from a water bottle. He turns to look at me, and says in an extremely hoarse voice, “Morning, Brad.”

I gasp, my eyes wide in shock. “Oh, my god, Eric, what happened to your voice?”

“I don’t know,” his voice cracks, “too much yelling and laughing this weekend, I guess.” He chuckles, but it sounds so pathetic, it’s hard to keep myself from looking worried.

“Well, I hope it starts sounding better soon.”

He rolls his eyes. “We’ll see.”

The air in the room is a bit humid. “I take it you’ve showered already?”

He nods. “Yeah, I’m just waiting for the iron to heat up. You go ahead.”

I walk into the bathroom, close the door behind me, and take a quick shower. Even though working out woke me up, I’m still in desperate need of coffee. I dry off, hang my towel up, and step out. Eric’s still at the ironing board, finishing up his shirt. I walk past him to the dresser, put on a pair of briefs, and start gathering the rest of my outfit. He finishes ironing and starts getting dressed while I begin ironing my clothes. I try to finish up and get dressed quickly. We collect our things and head down for breakfast.

After we sit down and place our orders, he takes a sip of his coffee. “How do I sound?”

The look of concern on my face is hard to hide. “You sound awful.”

He shakes his head. “Yeah. We went a little too crazy this weekend, huh?”

“Only you must have, because I still have my voice.”

He chuckles. “True, true. Well, there’s no way I can talk to all the groups during training like this.”

“So what do we do?”

“You have to be the one to lead the training.”

“Me?” I get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. “No, I can’t do that.”

He looks at me with a serious expression. “You’re going to have to. We don’t have a choice.”

A bunch of thoughts rush through my head—most of them me imagining how this can all go wrong. I’ve never led any kind of training like this before, never been the one talking the whole time to a group. Since this project began, even with our development teams, Eric’s been the one leading the way and talking to everyone, and I’ve always stayed in the background watching. I am so not prepared to be in the spotlight now, but as Eric said, I don’t have a choice.

My heart’s racing so much right now, I hardly need the coffee anymore, but decide to finish it off anyway.

We finish up breakfast and walk to the car. He starts up the engine, and we’re off to our second week of training. On the way there, I try as hard as I can to remember exactly how he started off each meeting—exactly what he said, what steps he went through when showing off the various parts of the project, and how he answered some of the common questions asked by many of the groups. We get to the training room and tell Diane and Linda that we are going to be switching roles, at least for today, and they seem very understanding of the situation.

The first group makes their way into the room, and after everyone gets settled in, Diane gets their attention and introduces me. I struggle as I attempt to recall how Eric conducted this part of the training and try as hard as I can to emulate exactly what steps he went through—and what a struggle it turns out to be—but I do my best to get through the first two training meetings of the day as Eric takes the role I had last week, navigating through the program as I talk about its features and how to do certain things.

We take a break for lunch and go to the same Thai restaurant we went to last week. After we place our orders, I look up at him, helpless and exhausted. “I’m doing horrible up there.”

He gently squeezes my hand and responds, his voice still very hoarse, “I know you’re not used to it, but you’re doing the best you can on such short notice.”

I groan. “I’m trying to remember what you did, and do the same thing, but it’s just not working.”

He takes his hand back and continues, “That might be the problem. I certainly had my own way of running those meetings, but my way may not be the most natural for you to follow.” He pauses, then goes on, “Don’t try so hard to be exactly like me. Have faith in your own talents, and just try to be yourself.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. Take a deep breath and try to relax. The harder you force yourself, the harder it ends up being. Just let things flow when you’re up there and talking.”

I sigh. “OK, I’ll try your advice.”

We walk back to the training room for the next meeting. This time, the group we’re training works in a call center handling the hotel reservations. I keep Eric’s advice in mind, and try to be more myself rather than act exactly like he did last week.

Several minutes into the meeting, as I’m in the middle of showing to the group how to apply promotional codes to a reservation, someone in the group raises their hand. I point to them, and they speak up. “In the system we’re using now, sometimes we give discounts to our players’ club members, but it doesn’t always work, because our rules for offering discounts are kind of complicated, and we have to get a manager to recreate the whole reservation just to apply the discount. It is super aggravating! What do we do in this case?”

Her question instantly makes me remember that one bug it took me four days to fix. “That does sound very annoying. Are you talking about when a club member should be eligible for a certain discount, but it doesn’t show for some reason?” She nods, and I start to laugh. “Funny story about that: I ran into this very same issue myself when I was working on this part of the program. It wouldn’t show me certain discounts, either. It turns out the discount rules are complicated, because it took me a few days to fix that feature so it would show the correct ones. Yeah, even for us programmers, computers can be a bitch sometimes.”

Oops. I realize what I just said. Time seems to pass slowly as I whip my head around away from the group to look at Eric, and we share a glance of shock over my utterance. But I’m snapped back to reality as the people in the room cackle at my statement, taking no issue with my candor. I try to regain my composure and ask her what exact scenario she went through when she ran into her issue, and Eric clicks through the program to make sure her issue doesn’t occur in the system we built. I speak up again, “Looks like our system handles your scenario correctly, which is great, but in case it doesn’t follow the rules correctly for some reason, we built in a feature where you just click a button to ask for a manager override, and all they have to do is click a button on their end, and you’re all set.”

Her eyes brighten up. “Wow, that sounds a lot easier than what we have to do now.”

I smile. “That’s our job—to make your job easier.”

The rest of the meeting goes smoothly, and we take a short break after it’s over and the group leaves. Diane and Linda come up to us at the front of the room, and I look solemnly at them. “I’m really sorry about my, er, rather unprofessional language earlier. I’m really new at this, and I’m a bit nervous, but I assure you it will not happen again.”

Diane laughs. “Are you kidding? The whole group thought it was funny, and I’m sure we all started paying closer attention to you.”

I breathe a huge sigh of relief. “So, you’re not mad?”

Linda smiles. “Not at all. I was actually wondering when you were finally going to loosen up.”

Diane quips. “You’re right, though; computers can certainly be a bitch.”

The four of us laugh—well, Eric’s laugh is more like a wheeze, but still.

The last group of the day comes into the room, and the training goes even better than the last group. After the meeting ends, we see them out, then bid goodbye to Diane and Linda and drive back to our hotel. After dinner, we head back up to the room and practice playing some Blackjack for the rest of the night, then it’s off to bed.

By the next morning, his voice has barely made any recovery, so I lead all the training meetings again for today. Time seems to fly—I suppose it’s because I’m more engaged with each group instead of just clicking around on the computer on Eric’s cue. After the day is over, instead of practicing more Blackjack, we decide to hit up the pool and hot tub.

Wednesday rolls around, and his voice has greatly improved. Since I’m getting the hang of leading the training meetings, and it seems to make the day go faster, we agree to alternate our roles for all the meetings today and tomorrow.

At last, Friday arrives. Two weeks ago, when we landed here, this day seemed so far off, but it’s finally here. We meet with the last two groups, take a break for lunch, and head back to the training room.

Diane and Linda are there, along with a few other people. Linda introduces one of the other people—another woman—to us. “Guys, this is Yolanda, our I.T. director. She’s going to head the team that will be responsible for transitioning to the new system you’ve built.” Eric and I both shake hands with her, and everyone sits down at a table.

Yolanda speaks up, “I want to thank you guys for training all of our people here over these two weeks. It was certainly a huge task, and it would have been impossible for me or anyone else here to accomplish it on our own, so thank you.”

Eric smiles. “It was our pleasure. Both Brad and I enjoyed every minute.”

Yolanda nods. “That’s very nice of you to say.” She clears her throat, “So, my main concern is making sure this transition goes without a hitch and that we won’t run into any problems during it. I’ve read through the documentation you’ve written, and I believe our team is capable of handling the process, but I wanted to run through each step with you here in person to make sure we completely understand what we’re getting into.”

We spend the next few hours going step-by-step with her team through the process of installing our system and moving all their computers onto it from the old one, answering their questions along the way. We finally get to the last part of the process, and after we’ve covered everything, Yolanda closes her notebook. “As you can imagine, a place like us must run practically all day and all night, so there’s never a convenient time to do a switch like this. However, Thursday tends to be our slowest day, so we’ve chosen a time after hours on that day next week to make the switch.” She then looks at us intently, “I want to stress the importance of making sure this goes smoothly, so in that regard, would it be possible for you both to be available to us during our transition?”

Eric and I share a glance, then he looks back at Yolanda. “Would you need us here in person, or is this something Brad and I can do remotely?”

Yolanda laughs. “Oh, bless your heart, you guys have been here a long time and need to get back home! I couldn’t ask you to stay any longer. Yes, this is definitely something you’ll be able to do remotely.” Eric and I breathe a collective sigh of relief. She continues, “So, first thing next week, I’m going to have my team simulate the transition in a test environment. If we run into any issues, we’ll let you know, so that we can get everything ironed out before Thursday night.”

Eric smiles. “Sounds good. We’ll be able to help in whatever way we can.”

“I’m glad to hear that, Eric.” Yolanda and the rest of her team stand up, say their goodbyes to us, and leave the room.

As we start packing up our stuff, Diane turns to us. “Well, looks like we finished up a bit early. How about Linda and I take you guys out for dinner and a drink, on us.”

Eric looks at me, and I give him a quick nod. He looks back at Diane. “Thank you, that would be wonderful.”

“Awesome. Right this way, guys.”

We finish packing up, then follow Diane and Linda to a restaurant we haven’t been to before—it’s super fancy, and I feel a bit underdressed. The host immediately recognizes them and quickly seats us all at a table.

Eric and I take a look at the menus, and my eyes widen in shock when I see some of the prices. Diane must have noticed my expression. “Order whatever you’d like, Brad.” When the server comes by, I do exactly that, and order the roasted salmon. As we eat, it’s nice talking with Diane and Linda outside of the context of this project. We find out more about their families and how they came to get their jobs, and we share the same with them.

We finish up dinner and get up to leave. Diane turns to us as we’re walking out. “If you guys are ever in Vegas, give us a call. I’ll put you on a list to get discounted hotel rooms.”

Eric smiles graciously. “That sounds wonderful, Diane. We’ll certainly keep that in mind.”

We say our goodbyes, then Eric and I start heading back to the parking garage. As soon as we get in the car, he turns to me, lowering his voice to a whisper. “About those hotel discounts—we’ll get more than discounts.”

I give him a confused look. “What do you mean?”

He starts the engine. “Can you keep a secret?”

I chuckle nervously. “Yeah.”

“I put a backdoor in the system so that I can register any hotel room I want without it going through the payment process.” For a second, I believe he’s completely serious, then we both start laughing as I realize he’s joking. Or, at least I think he’s joking.

He pulls out of the parking spot and drives back to our hotel. We get to our room, and he sets his bag on the chair. “Still feel like going gambling some more tomorrow?”

I nod. “Yep, as long as we can practice some more tonight.”

He chuckles. “You know me. I could do this all night.”

He pulls out the same deck of cards we’ve been using to practice the whole time we’ve been here, and most of them are starting to look pretty worn. As we practice, I start relying less and less on the basic strategy cheat sheet until I’m not looking at it at all. I feel like I’m beginning to win more hands than I’m losing, and it’s helping me feel more confident about playing the tables tomorrow.

He starts shuffling the deck. “Want to keep going?”

I nod. “Sure. By the way, what’s our plan for next Thursday?”

“You mean when our client does the launch?”

“Yeah.”

He sighs. “We’ll have to stay late at the office. We’ll need to be there in case we have to fix something at the last second, but I’m hoping it’ll be an easy night, and we can go home as soon as they say they’re finished.”

I groan. “I hope it’s that simple. I’ve never had to stay up late for something like that.”

He cracks a half-smile. “Me either. We’ll survive, though.”

After we finish up a few more hands, I glance at my phone. “Holy shit, it’s past midnight.”

He looks up at me. “Really? Damn, I didn’t realize it was getting that late. Want to call it a night?”

“Sure, I think I’ve had enough practicing for now.”

He starts putting the cards back in their boxes as I quickly yawn. We take turns getting ready for bed, then strip down and crawl under the covers. We’ve both had such a long day, it doesn’t take long at all for us to fall asleep.

 

[72-Jay]

Thank you 72-Jay! Happy to see you're still enjoying the story!

And I was happy to read another update to it tonight Thanks

 

[Autolycus]

Thanks for the update - a wonderful insight to the lives of your characters.

 

[Kyanimal]

Reading this is Fun! I like the way you move the narrative.

Looking forward to More!
Chaz

 

[AstareGod]

And I was happy to read another update to it tonight Thanks

You're quite welcome! The updates are gonna keep plugging along, and hopefully your enjoyment of reading them will as well!

Thanks for the update - a wonderful insight to the lives of your characters.

Thanks, Autolycus! Sometimes my writing goes on a bit of autopilot and I get surprised as well with some of the insights into the characters that come about. It's a constant, continuous journey of discovery for us all!

Reading this is Fun! I like the way you move the narrative.

Looking forward to More!
Chaz

Thanks for the kind words, Chaz! There's a lot going on in Brad's life as I weave his tale and it is getting a bit more complicated to keep things moving along, so hopefully I'm doing an OK job so far!

 

[AstareGod]

Part 70

I slowly open my eyes. I’m not sure what time it is, but I don’t have to be up early, so it doesn’t matter anyway. It’s nice not having to worry about waking up early for training for the rest of our time here. I’m lying on my back when I feel Eric jostle about and sit up on his edge of the bed. I turn my head and look to the left, and see his back turned to me. I watch as he stands and makes his way to the bathroom. I’m not going to get many more chances to see him like this, so I may as well enjoy them as much as I can.

I force myself to sit up in bed and check some things on my phone while he takes his shower. Several minutes later, he steps out of the bathroom, rubbing his hair dry with a towel, but otherwise has nothing else covering himself up, and acts as nonchalant as always. He looks up at me after he retrieves a pair of boxer briefs from the dresser and begins putting them on. “Morning. Sleep well?”

I yawn. “Yeah, considering how exhausted I was last night. You?”

He cracks a half smile. “Same. We were up pretty late, huh?”

I lift the sheets and step out from under them, against the protests of my legs and feet. “Yep, but we got some good Blackjack practice in.”

He grasps a pair of pants by the waist and flaps them a few times to straighten out the legs. “You’re right about that.” He starts pulling them on. “How would you feel about going to the casino right after we eat?”

I walk past him on my way to the bathroom. “I suppose that would be OK. I’m just hoping there won’t be a repeat of last weekend.”

He zips up his pants. “After as much practicing as we did last night, I think you’ll be fine.”

I give him a half-hearted chuckle as I close the bathroom door and take my own shower, trying to get in and out quickly. I dry myself off and step outside. He’s sitting on the bed, fully dressed, and checking a few things on his laptop as I walk to the dresser, get my own outfit for the day, and start dressing.

He looks up at me. “Hey, I don’t want to put your mind on work since it’s our day off and all, but I heard back from Rick about Chase’s project.”

I pull on my shirt. “Oh?”

“He wants you to contact Chase first thing on Monday to set up a meeting. He’s pretty confident in your ability to handle this project all on your own, and, needless to say, I believe in you, too.”

I grab a pair of briefs and let out a long breath as I lift them up to my waist. “To be honest, it sounds a little intimidating being the person in the center of it all.”

He gives me a reassuring smile. “It can feel like that, but take it from someone who’s been in your position before—take that feeling of intimidation and trust in yourself that you can handle this. I know you can. You’ve given a thousand percent during this whole project. Trust me when I tell you that you have all it takes to be successful in whatever you put your mind to.”

I sigh as I pull my pants up. “I’m glad you have that much confidence in me.”

He stands up, walks over to me, and gently shakes my shoulders. “I do. And you should, too.” He takes his hands back, and I finish getting dressed, putting on my shirt and socks and shoes. I gather my wallet and phone, and he closes the lid of his laptop and looks up at me. “Ready to go?”

I nod. “I think so.” We go down to the lobby for breakfast, and I’m thankful again that the hotel has a late breakfast on the weekends. After we finish up, we head outside, and Eric hails a cab. We hop in, and soon we’re dropped off at the same casino we went just last weekend.

We step out, walk up what seems like a hundred steps, and make our way inside. As we walk onto the gaming floor, he looks at me. “You ready?”

I sigh. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” He gives me a gentle and encouraging pat on the back. We begin heading over to the Blackjack tables and pick one with a low minimum bet—ten dollars—and toss our cash onto the table for the dealer to take and change into chips. We sit there and play a bunch of hands over the course of an hour. I don’t do as well as I feel I should after practicing so much, but I’m up about a hundred dollars, so I guess I shouldn’t complain. We get up and move to another table, and it’s more up and down as I lose a bunch, then win a few hands and am back where I started.

Right after we finish a hand, I look over at Eric while the dealer clears the cards from the table. “I know you said I should get used to a lot of up and down, but this is too much!”

He cracks a half-smile. “Yeah, but are you having fun?”

I shrug. “I guess so.”

“Then that’s all that matters. I’m having a great time playing with you here. It doesn’t matter if I win or lose—I want to have a good experience doing it, and that includes having you right next to me.”

I smile. “Well, count me in!”

After we play for a while longer, we decide to take a break. I’ve started doing better, and now have two hundred dollars more to my name than I had walking in. We stand up and allow two spectators to take our spots at the table and try their luck. Eric glances at the chips in my hands. “Doing better I see, huh?”

“Yeah, all that practice sure paid off!”

He chuckles. “Looks like it!”

I feel my stomach growl. “Though I am starting to feel a bit hungry.”

“Want to go to that same sushi place we went to before?”

I nod. “Sure, and guess what, I’ll even get the sake!”

His eyes widen. “All right, now you’re getting adventurous!”

After grabbing a bite to eat at the Japanese restaurant, we head back to the gaming floor. We sit at a table and play for another couple of hours, and my luck starts taking a turn for the worse. A few times I almost lose it all, but through a stroke of luck, I win a hand and stay in the game. I really don’t want to have to borrow more gambling money from Eric like I did last weekend.

I stay in that same position for quite a while—Eric doing much better than I am—and eventually we decide to take another break. We walk to the bar in the center of the gaming floor and sit down and order a few drinks. The bartender walks away, and Eric looks up and sees the expression on my face. “Are you doing OK?”

I nod hesitantly. “I think so. I just feel this strong urge to do well, to win lots of money, you know what I mean?”

He laughs. “Do I? Of course I know what you mean! Winning a bunch of money is an invigorating feeling, don’t get me wrong, but it can be very addicting.”

“I know, but you and I have spent so much time practicing—and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it—but I want to demonstrate that I’m good at it, that I have what it takes to win big, just like you did last weekend.” I pause as the bartender delivers our drinks, then continue, “I still want to have something to show for it, you know?”

He chuckles. “That’s good, but don’t let it get to you. Remember, the casino always has the edge. This shouldn’t be a money-making scheme, or something you feel you have to do to prove anything to yourself—it should just be about having fun.”

“I know, but I want to be good at it, too.”

He gives me a somewhat stern expression. “You’ve stuck to your limits, right? You haven’t pulled out any extra money?”

I shake my head. “No, what I have here is what I started with.”

He nods slowly. “I’m glad to hear that.” He swallows the last part of his drink. “Ready to go back out there?”

“No time like the present.” I gulp down the rest of my drink, then we walk to another table—one with a higher minimum bet this time. I have to say, the free drinks the waitresses give us when they come by are great. I’m fully aware that the drinks make us—or at least me—make more bold decisions with bets, but it’s fun nonetheless. Well, that is, until I’m almost out of money because I’ve lost the last five hands in a row, but just like that, things turn around and I start doing wonderfully, and am back up by a couple hundred dollars. We stay at this table a while longer, winning and losing hands seemingly in an endless cycle, until the energy at the table dies down to the point where it’s just not fun being around everyone here.

Eric looks over at me after the current hand is over. “Want to go somewhere else?”

I sigh. “Yeah, let’s do it.”

We gather our chips and take another break at the bar. I’m in the absolutely wrong place to do this, but I try getting my mind off of gambling for a bit. I can see why it’s so addicting, though. The whole atmosphere is mentally stimulating, and the whole act of gambling fucks with your mind. You feel awesome whenever you win, and it’s a constant chase to feel that rush of endorphins. Whenever you lose, the feeling is terrible, and you want to do everything you can to turn it around as fast as possible. But, that’s what we came here to do, so after another drink at the bar, we get up and wander around, looking for a table with two adjacent free seats. It takes a while, but we eventually find a ‘21+3’ table, albeit with a higher minimum bet. He turns to me. “How’s this one?”

I shrug my shoulders. “Sure, why not? Doesn’t look like any other tables are free.”

With that, we sit in the two free seats at the table. After play goes around for several hands, I try betting on the three-card poker hand side bet, only to be met with defeat as my side bet gets taken away. I remember Eric mentioning that the side bet isn’t worth it, and decide not to try playing it again, but as luck would have it, I would have won the side bet on the next few hands had I chosen to put a chip on it. That’s the trick with gambling, through—you never know when you’re going to hit it big.

After a few more hands, I get a bit more risky with my bets, putting down more than the minimum in hopes that I’ll win the hand and have more chips to bet with, but I end up getting close to losing it all once again. I don’t want to end up with Eric giving me sympathy chips, so I reduce my bet to stay in the game a bit longer, and eventually start doing well again.

I watch as a few other people win their three-card poker hand side bets, so I say to myself, ‘The hell with it,’ and place a $5 chip on the side bet circle. And wouldn’t you know, I’m dealt two clubs, and the dealer’s up-card is a club. I finally win the side bet! The dealer takes my red chip and puts two green chips in its place—my $5 bet turned into $50. Play goes around the table as usual, and I lose my regular bet, but I don’t seem to care—I came out ahead.

I put two more red chips onto the main betting circle to replace the ones I lost, and before I realize it, the dealer starts a new hand. I begin reaching out for those green chips I got when I won my side bet from the previous hand, but quickly remember when the cards start getting dealt out, it’s hands off the chips. I look at Eric, who sees I left my side bet winnings there, but watch his expression turn into one of bewilderment. I glance back at the cards in front of me, and notice I have two sevens, and the dealer’s up-card is a seven. I win the side bet again. Twice in a row. The dealer takes the two green chips and sets a purple $500 chip in their place. I feel a little bit special, since I have never even held a purple chip before. I know the rules, and leave the purple chip where it is while I play my regular hand, split my sevens, and end up breaking even, winning on one hand while losing on the other.

The rest of the table makes their decisions, the wining players are paid out, and the cards are cleared from the table. Eric points to the purple chip on my side betting circle. “Are you going to take that?”

I’m momentarily stuck in a daze. I have just won the side bet twice in a row, inadvertently, letting my first win ride and get me more money a second time. I’m now up by at least five-hundred bucks—more than I’ve ever had gambling before. Do I take the money and run, or let it ride one more time?

I turn to him, trying to channel as much confidence as possible. “Maybe I’ll get lucky a third time.”

His expression turns serious. “If I were you, I’d take the five hundred, but,” he sighs, “it’s your money.”

It’s too late anyway, as the dealer has already started doling out the cards. My heart’s about to beat out of my chest as I anticipate the cards that are destined to be dealt in front of me, all determined by the shuffling machine inside the table. The dealer flips over the first card in front of me, a five. The dealer gets to himself, turns over a seven, then gets back to me, and…

…Turns over a six.

I’m unprepared for the sheer amount of energy from everyone at the table when the dealer flips over my second card. Miraculously I won the side bet three consecutive times. My five-dollar original side bet, after three hands, has now turned into five-thousand dollars.

What the actual fuck?

How is this possible?

This cannot be happening.

Can it?

Eric gives my shoulder a gentle shake and snaps me back to reality when the dealer gets to me. I glance at my side bet, and where the purple chip once sat are now five orange chips with ‘$1000’ printed on them. I can’t even fathom what’s happening right now in front of me, but the countless hours of practice with Eric has taught me to always double down on an eleven, so I do so, and get a face card and hit twenty-one, and end up winning the main bet, though it makes little difference, because I just won five-thousand fucking dollars.

Afraid they’re going to quickly disappear right in front of my eyes, I reach my hands out to the five orange chips, as well as the winnings on my main bet, and pull them close to me. I turn my head and look at Eric, who’s pulling back his own winnings. “Can we go now?”

He laughs. “Are you fucking kidding me? Yes, before you do something really insane like bet it all a fourth time!”

With everyone around the table cheering us, we happily rise to our feet and make our grand stride to the cashier. I proudly place all my winnings on the counter. It takes the cashier some time to inspect the chips, but she eventually opens her drawer and starts counting out bills. I don’t recall ever holding this amount of cash at one time, but I try to keep it from rushing to my head as I shove it all in my wallet.

Eric’s next, and places his chips on the counter for the cashier to count. He turns to me after the cashier gives him his money. “All right, let’s get out of here.”

I nod, and with that, we head to the exit. I almost can’t believe my eyes when we step outside. So much time had passed that it has started getting dark. I pull out my phone and check the time, then look up at Eric. “Did we just spend that much time in there?”

He smirks. “Time can fly by fast when you’re winning at gambling.” He hails a nearby cab, and we are whisked away back to our hotel.

* * * * *

After we eat dinner at our hotel’s restaurant, we go up to the room to start packing. I look up at him as I hoist my suitcase onto the bed and begin filling it with clothes. “When are we flying out tomorrow morning?”

He thinks for a second. “Ten, but we should probably get to the airport around eight-thirty.” I sigh—so much for sleeping in for our last morning here. He chuckles. “It’s not so early.” I give him a half-hearted smile, then he continues, “So, are you still in disbelief that you won that much money?”

I cock an eyebrow. “Can’t you tell?”

He starts putting clothes into his own suitcase. “Well, the bottom line is: your money is your money, and you’re free to spend it however you want, but can I give you some advice?”

I shrug. “Sure.”

“Don’t get too spending-crazy. Go out to a nice dinner or take a weekend trip with James, but put most of it in savings. You want to be able to enjoy those winnings for a long time.”

I nod. “That’s good advice.” I sure had some wild ideas running through my head on the way back here, but his thinking is best—enjoy it over the long run instead of all at once. “I’ll probably take James out to dinner, though—lord knows with how busy we’re both going to be with this project and Chase’s, I won’t be able to enjoy a weekend away.”

He rummages around in the drawer until he finds and holds up his swimsuit. “How about enjoying one more time in the hot tub instead?”

I laugh. “Can’t argue with that!” With that, we both stop packing our suitcases, take off all our clothes, and put on our swimsuits. I slip his flip-flops on one last time, and we head out to the pool area.

I step into the hot tub as he goes over to turn the knob to start the jets. Once they spin up, he makes himself comfortable, sitting across from me. “So, are you still planning to see your mom soon?”

“I’m hoping I can. I promised her that James and I would take a trip down to Colorado after we finished up with this project.”

“Well, talk to Rick when we get back in town. You’ve been working so hard, I’m sure he won’t mind giving you a few days off before things get too hectic with Chase’s project.”

“I hope he will.” He gives me a reassuring smile. I do some mental math. “So, if we need to be at the airport at eight-thirty, we should probably be up at six-thirty, to give us time to get ready and have breakfast.”

He groans, then chuckles. “Forget what I said earlier, that is early. And I’m not even halfway through packing.”

“Well, tell you what, I’ll get up earlier and take my shower first so you can finish packing tonight and sleep in a little.”

A cheesy grin washes across his face. “Oh, Brad, you’re so sweet.”

I laugh. “Just return the favor sometime.”

We spend several more minutes soaking in the nice, hot water before getting out and heading back to the room. After all, we have an early flight to catch. As Eric rinses off in the shower, I finish packing my suitcase, zip it up, and set it onto the floor, then it’s my turn to rinse off and start getting ready for bed. I set aside my outfit for tomorrow on the chair beside the bed, climb under the sheets, and flip off the bedside lamp. The excitement from winning all that money, and the thoughts of what I want to do with it all, certainly make it harder to fall asleep, but I eventually drift off as Eric quietly finishes packing and preparing for tomorrow.

* * * * *

I open my eyes. It’s still the dead of night and completely dark in the room, but I feel a rhythmic movement and hear slightly-labored breathing. I slowly turn my head, and there’s just enough residual light for me to make out the unmistakable sight of Eric jerking himself off.

He’s leaning back against his pillow, eyes closed, the bedsheets pushed down to his upper thighs, and the rest of his body above that exposed. He’s gripping his cock in his right hand and tugging at his balls with his left.

He turns his head toward me and opens his eyes. His face quickly morphs into a shocked expression as he pulls the sheets up to his midsection with his left hand, covering his erection, but there’s no denying what he was doing just seconds prior. If it’s possible, his breathing gets more labored. “Oh my god, Brad, I’m so sorry.”

I chuckle. “Why? For waking me?”

It’s hard to see in the dim light, but he gives me a sneer. “You know why.” He turns his head away from me. “God, I’m so embarrassed.”

“Don’t be. Every guy does it, after all.”

He sighs. “Yeah. Still, though, I should’ve waited until our trip was over. But it’s hard to resist the urge.” He looks back at me. “Two weeks is too long, you feel me?”

It’s my turn to blush now, though it’s impossible to tell in the darkness. “It is, but at least you made it longer than me.”

His eyes widen in surprise. “Is that so?”

“Yeah—that night we went to the drag show, when we got back to the room I was so horned up I had to jerk off in the bathroom before coming to bed.” Gosh, it feels weird to admit that, but I just saw Eric pounding away, so it can’t be that bad.

He chuckles. “Really?”

I sit up and feel a little more easygoing. “Yep. I had to lay back in the bathtub to make it work.”

He laughs and shakes his head. “God, that reminds me of being a teenager and having to make even the most uncomfortable spots work just to rub one out. Thank god I’m not as horny as I was back then.”

“Still, though, when the mood strikes, it’s hard not to follow through.”

“You’re absolutely right.” He looks down, his erection still going strong as it pitches a tent under the bedsheets. “This thing’s probably not going to go away on its own.”

The few seconds I got to see of him stroking away replay over and over in my head, and soon I feel my own cock beginning to get hard. “Well, I’m not one to keep you from finishing what you started.”

He sighs and begins lifting the sheets up. “All right, I guess it’s off to the bathroom for me, then.”

I interrupt him. “What? No, trust me, there is no spot in that bathroom that is comfortable for that sort of thing. I’ve tried.”

He scoffs. “Then what am I supposed to do? Finish off right here?”

I shrug. “Well, we’ve done just about everything else in front of each other.”

He pauses for a moment. “I guess you’re right.” He glances over at me again. “Are you sure you’re OK with this?”

I nod. “I don’t mind. We’re just guys, and every guy jerks off. Who cares?”

He looks down at his erection again and breathes another quick sigh, then quickly flips the sheets over, uncovering his hard cock. He leans his head back and closes his eyes. His right hand reaches down and finds its way around the shaft as he begins slowly stroking it once more.

It’s fucking unbelievable that he feels comfortable enough to do this right in front of me, or that I was able to convince him to, but I am not complaining one bit. Neither is my own cock, as I feel it painfully throb as it begs to be stimulated. As I watch him pleasure himself, I think, Why can’t I join in the fun? I push the sheets down and start stroking myself as well.

He opens his eyes and looks over at me. “Couldn’t resist the urge either, huh?”

I shake my head. “Of course not. I’m a guy, just like you.”

He gets up and starts walking to the bathroom. He disappears inside long enough for me to start worrying that he wants to finish himself off alone in there, but I’m relieved when he returns a few seconds later, his erection pointing slightly upward, and tosses a hand towel onto the bed. “Here. You’re gonna need it.”

I mutter a “thanks” as he sits back on the bed and resumes stroking himself. God, I could have never imagined myself being in this situation. Admittedly, I’ve had kind of an innocent crush on Eric for a while. I am super appreciative of how close he and I have gotten, and I have enjoyed getting to know him better and spend so much time with him.

We spend the next several minutes lying there on the bed pleasuring ourselves. Luckily for me, he has his eyes closed most of the time as he leans back against his pillow, presumably fantasizing about god-knows-what—I dare not interrupt to ask. In any case, it allows me to watch as he rhythmically moves one hand up and down his shaft while the other gently tugs at his slightly hairy balls. He pauses occasionally to rub the ridge of his cockhead with a finger, then goes back to moving his hand back up and down.

Eventually I notice him pick up the pace and increase his hand movement and the intensity of the cupping and squeezing of his balls. His breathing gets heavier as he starts letting out soft moans. These are sounds I never thought I’d hear him make, but they sound absolutely heavenly.

His stroking continues increasing in speed and intensity until I see him arch his back and push his head into his pillow. His stroking greatly slows down, and his body begins pulsing as rope after rope of cum spurts out the tip of his cock and lands on his semi-hairy chest, his balls tensing and pulling closer to his body after each one. I count about four or five ropes of cum before it starts just dribbling onto his pubes as his hand comes to a rest at the base of his cock.

As I’m watching him and stroking myself, I start quickly approaching my own orgasm. My own breathing gets more and more labored as I stroke faster and faster. The sight of Eric pleasuring himself and exploding all over his torso pushes me closer to the edge.

I am just seconds from my own orgasm, when, as I look up and down Eric’s body, I glance up at his face. His eyes are open and he’s looking straight at me. I’m caught off guard a bit, but it’s not enough to stop myself from finishing what I started. I close my eyes and my own orgasm starts as I pump out my own load that my balls have been holding for a week, and slowly open my eyes as the intensity of my orgasm begins to fade. We gaze into each other’s eyes for what seems like forever until my orgasm finally subsides, and we break eye contact as I look down to see how much of a mess I’ve made. Luckily, my abs have kept it well-contained.

I grab my washcloth and begin wiping myself down. “God, that sure felt good.”

He chuckles as he looks down at his own mess and starts cleaning himself up. “You’re right about that. My balls probably would’ve fallen off if I’d waited one more day.” He squeezes his cock at the base and works his thumb and finger up the shaft and squeezes out one last drop of cum and wipes it away with his washcloth. He looks back up at me. “But, as good as this felt, we probably shouldn’t tell anyone about it.”

I nod quickly. “Yeah. Let’s keep this between us.” He’s right. It’s probably best if we keep it a secret. Had I crossed a line with James? It’s too late to go back now. But all that really happened tonight was just two good friends getting their rocks off because they had to. Sure, it happened in the same room, but there was no touching involved, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with two guys being naked in the same room, right? After all, we were kind of forced into this situation because there weren’t any other rooms left when we checked in, and it’s hard to deny a man his desire to take care of his own biological needs, yes? In any case, I shouldn’t feel too guilty, because Eric and I will never share a moment like this again. Right?

He finishes wiping himself down, then stands up and walks to the bathroom to drop off his towel. I wait until he starts walking back before I get up and do the same. As I’m heading back to the bed, he’s sitting on the side, cock still semi-hard. He looks up at me as he starts setting his alarm. “Six-thirty, right?”

I groan. “Let’s do it. It’s early, but I don’t wanna feel rushed tomorrow.”

He yawns as he sets down his phone. “All righty, six-thirty it is, then.” He lifts the sheets and makes himself comfortable under them as I do the same. We turn out the lights and get nestled in, me lying on my back. There’s still a slight smell of sex in the air, but I’m so spent it has no effect on my cock.

I feel some rustling beside me as he flips himself over to face me. “Brad?”

I hesitate for a second, then answer him, “Yeah, Eric?”

“Did you have a good time here?”

I try not to make it obvious that I was in a combined state of disbelief and ecstasy over what transpired just a few moments ago. “Of course. I mean, the training was a lot of work, and we got thrown some challenges, but you made it bearable… No, not bearable, but enjoyable.”

He chuckles. “I’m glad to hear that.”

I turn my head to look at him. “What about you? Did you have a good time?”

“Absolutely. I knew I would coming here with you. I’ve really liked getting to know you, and we had tons of fun going to the casino, the drag show, the comedy show, hell, the whole time! This trip would have been boring as hell by myself, and probably not that much better with anyone other than you. I’m glad we were able to do this trip together.”

“Me too. I would definitely consider this trip to be a highlight.”

In the dim light, I see him crack a smile. “Same here.” He yawns again. “All right, bud, six-thirty comes mighty early. Time to get some shut eye.”

I sigh. “Yep. Good night, Eric.”

“Night, Brad.”

He’s right. I didn’t check the time, so I don’t know how much sleep I’ll actually be getting, but there’s no point in thinking about it. It doesn’t matter anyway. I’d gladly trade sleep anytime for getting to experience what I did with Eric again. It’s a shame though that this was the only time it would happen. Most likely.

-----

Thanks, as always, for reading!

Music has such an impact on some of the writing of this story, and this song in particular had just the perfect emotional inspiration for the ending of this part. Enjoy!

London Grammar - Strong

 

[72-Jay]

You're quite welcome! The updates are gonna keep plugging along, and hopefully your enjoyment of reading them will as well!

Deff looking forward to those updates

 

[Kyanimal]

Great way to "wrap" up the trip!

There is a casino here in town that I've never been to ... yet. However, I have played on some trips, including in "Lost Wages". Though even in Vegas, there is So much to see, and do, that gambling was just a "side thing".

There are slot machines Everywhere out there, which can be fun, but I really get into roulette, and have developed my own system, betting a total of 12 chips at a time. It's all about how they're distributed on the table, dependent on the odds for each bet. I'll cover 6 splits, 12 numbers in two of the columns (6 each), with a 6 chip bet on the entire third column. That gives me 63.889% coverage. When I win, I either loose 6 and gain 12, or loose 11 and gain 17. So, a win spin is always up 6.

My main challenge is getting my bets down before the next spin. And, after i place a few of that kind of spread, the croupiers tend to speed things up. It also depends on how many other players I'm battling to get my bets in place. Sometimes I don't get all my chips down where I want them. And, even when I do, I can still loose all of them.

My personal approach to gambling is that it's for the entertainment. I'm paying for the table/machine time for as long as I can/want to play. It's truly pay for play, just like a show, a concert, a movie, a flight, my electric bill, a tank of gas, etc., etc., etc. Of course, if I come out ahead, I'm happy. And, if I break even, or loose my limit, at least I had fun doing it.

In addition to common roommate situations, which I'm sure most of us have experienced, I've also been on extended trips with co-workers. Yes, we shared rooms, but not the same bed. It was considered perfectly natural to be naked around each other, and no big deal was ever was about it.

I don't recall any jerk off sessions, though there was that one week in New Orleans, when by the second night, and for the rest of that week, we were sharing the same bed ... and ... well ... I'm not here to interject that story into this one.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I can really relate to what's been happening with Brad and Eric, and I'm looking forward to more!
Chaz

 

[AstareGod]

Deff looking forward to those updates

I'm glad you are, 72-Jay! I hope you're enjoying reading as much as I am writing! I'm about to start writing the part(s) where Brad and James make their trip to Colorado. It's still several parts out, but I can't wait to get to that.

Great way to "wrap" up the trip!

There is a casino here in town that I've never been to ... yet. However, I have played on some trips, including in "Lost Wages". Though even in Vegas, there is So much to see, and do, that gambling was just a "side thing".

There are slot machines Everywhere out there, which can be fun, but I really get into roulette, and have developed my own system, betting a total of 12 chips at a time. It's all about how they're distributed on the table, dependent on the odds for each bet. I'll cover 6 splits, 12 numbers in two of the columns (6 each), with a 6 chip bet on the entire third column. That gives me 63.889% coverage. When I win, I either loose 6 and gain 12, or loose 11 and gain 17. So, a win spin is always up 6.

My main challenge is getting my bets down before the next spin. And, after i place a few of that kind of spread, the croupiers tend to speed things up. It also depends on how many other players I'm battling to get my bets in place. Sometimes I don't get all my chips down where I want them. And, even when I do, I can still loose all of them.

My personal approach to gambling is that it's for the entertainment. I'm paying for the table/machine time for as long as I can/want to play. It's truly pay for play, just like a show, a concert, a movie, a flight, my electric bill, a tank of gas, etc., etc., etc. Of course, if I come out ahead, I'm happy. And, if I break even, or loose my limit, at least I had fun doing it.

In addition to common roommate situations, which I'm sure most of us have experienced, I've also been on extended trips with co-workers. Yes, we shared rooms, but not the same bed. It was considered perfectly natural to be naked around each other, and no big deal was ever was about it.

I don't recall any jerk off sessions, though there was that one week in New Orleans, when by the second night, and for the rest of that week, we were sharing the same bed ... and ... well ... I'm not here to interject that story into this one.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I can really relate to what's been happening with Brad and Eric, and I'm looking forward to more!
Chaz

Thanks, Chaz! You make very good points about gambling. It is all about the entertainment. Winning money should be secondary. I forgot that one time when I lost about a hundred bucks, then went out and got two hundred more to try to win it back, and lost it all. I felt absolutely terrible. Gambling can really fuck with your emotions. So, it's best to go in with a clear head and expect to lose it all, because that's a very real possibility.

You know, even though I lost a bunch of money, the comps are awesome! I got to stay at the hotel for free for a couple nights and got free buffets. I also met someone down by the pool area on one of my free hotel nights, I treated him to a free buffet, and we ended up spending a weekend in New Orleans. So, at least it wasn't a total loss!

I've never tried roulette, but I've read up a bit on how it works, and the mechanics seem interesting. I can imagine how challening it would be to get your bets down! I wonder how the house keeps track of what everyone puts down, because the chips would all be on the same betting area, right? Maybe I'll have to read up more on it, or go to an actual casino and see it in action. There are a few here in Oregon, mostly on reservations.

As I'm writing this story, I do think pretty frequently about whether the situations I write pass enough of a believability test. Your personal accounts confirm that they can, at least for you! The only time I've really shared a hotel room with non-family as an adult was my Freshmen year in college in band, and we slept four to a room! (We had two queen beds, at least.) No real nudity, and certainly nothing sexual, though a few times guys would change down to their underwear when we got ready to leave for a game. That was it. I'm sure if it was two to a room, something like that could happen if you got paired with someone with gay tendencies or at least an open mind. In any case, it seems like what transpired between Brad and Eric could very likely happen in real life, and that was what I was going for! I don't mind at all your interjecting your story or experiences here. That's the whole point--I want to connect with the people who enjoy my story and get to find out how they relate, so by all means, interject!

Thanks, as always, to everyone who has read!

 

[72-Jay]

I'm glad you are, 72-Jay! I hope you're enjoying reading as much as I am writing!

I am

I'm about to start writing the part(s) where Brad and James make their trip to Colorado. It's still several parts out, but I can't wait to get to that.

Deff looking forward to that!
Going to be interesting to see what they do/where they go on the trip to my home state....