by Anna Collins
His hair looked like he had slept in it and he always had a routine that he followed to the letter. After his workout, he would have a much-needed shower and then dress to the nines in a Brooks Brother suit that was tailored to his unique body. He wasn’t muscular, but he was lean and everything about him screamed that he was never going to let age catch up with him.
“I use all of those things as a substitute so that I can feel good about myself. I lose that courage when I step into the front door for Sunday dinner. The bone China is intimidating and the way that they stare at me makes me feel like I am being called to the principal’s office. I’ve had my mouth open a few times ready to say what was on my mind, but something would always prevent me from doing it. It might be easier if I had a sibling, but I don’t even have that buffer to rely on,” I had slipped into a white skirt and red blouse for my job as a pharmacist. It wasn’t glamorous, but I made me a fair amount. It afforded me the opportunity to go to night school to become a doctor.
The apartment was a studio and we had managed to make it into a two bedroom by using those fake walls that you see in office cubicles. We got a good deal from an office building that was shutting down and was practically giving them away. Unfortunately, the walls were not enough to prevent overhearing amorous activity.
“I can’t fault you for being afraid of them. I’m a grown man and they still make me feel like a little boy when I come over for dinner. They’re always grilling me about my sex life. They really don’t have a filter. Parents that majored in psychology can’t be easy. You’re always being put underneath the microscope. I really don’t know how you managed to survive long enough to escape. You would have thought that they would be able to see that their daughter was struggling with life decisions,” Jackson said as he was now down on the floor doing 50-pushups.
I had met Jackson when I was looking for a roommate right out of college. He was the only one that looked me in the eye instead of down to a prominent region of my anatomy. I couldn’t help that I was built like an hourglass. My hips sometimes had a mind of their own. My breasts pretty much entered a room before I did. They were all natural and my long blond hair was a perfect stereotype to make me look like an airhead bimbo.
“I think that we both have a lot to learn about ourselves. I allow my mother and father to think what they want is exactly what I want. You’ve always had the ambition to go into politics, but you are relegating yourself to a call center. I’ve come to see you a few times and you’re the only one that dresses to impress. Everything about you is polished with no hair out of place and those clothes are pressed to perfection,” I said wanting to put him on the spot like he had just done with me.
The one thing that we could do was push each other’s buttons. It made things awkward and sometimes we went to bed angry at one another. We would always make up in the exact same way every time that we got into it. Whoever was at fault would make breakfast and bring it to the other one in bed as an olive branch of friendship and undying devotion for one another.
“I know that you’re right, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t have my own opinion about what you’re going through. They don’t even know about your summer stock in England. They thought that you were going over there to meet with local colleges that were vying for your attendance. I’ve never seen you happier than when you were on stage. There is this light about you that shines through when you’re doing what you are destined to,” Jackson said as he was now doing sit-ups with no shirt on and showing me that those railroad tracks were not just painted on.
“I think that we have beaten this to death. It’s not like anything’s going to change overnight. My shift starts in less than an hour. That gives me enough time to have a quick bite to eat and then take my bike down to the path behind the building,” I said as I went over to where my Kona was hanging by the door.
I wasn’t much into girlie things, but the purple and black design was perfect to give me a sense of my own style. It cost me a bit more than I wanted to spend, but it was worth it to have something that wasn’t going to break down or need to be replaced in the next couple of years.
The black one with the Kona logo on it was Jackson’s. I could’ve been a spokesperson for the brand. It was free advertising whenever we were seen in public. I had a Bell Muni bicycle helmet that would have cost me almost $70.00 but I had got it half price during black Friday. It was a madhouse, but I was determined not to pay full price. My parents had taught me to wait patiently for the right time to strike.
“The one thing that you can admit is that losing that gas guzzling pig of a car that you had was the best thing that you could’ve done for yourself. We’re in a climate that is pretty much the same all year around. We are not your typical California hippies and millennials. We have each other to rely on and that’s more than most people can say. I moved here because of a job opportunity to supervise instead of being one of the grunts,” Jackson said as he walked down the hallway. He was stripping off his sweat pants for a more natural look.
I had a feeling that he was doing it on purpose to tease me mercilessly. He knew that there was nothing that I could do about that itch that I couldn’t scratch in the middle of the night. He did have an amazing piece of hardware swinging between his legs. It was soft, but it was still 6 inches and at full height, it was a good nine solid and thick inches. It was enough to choke a horse. I was willing to let my curiosity get the best of me.
I swallowed hard with that nervous energy in the air. I didn’t see him as anything more than a possible reprieve during those dry spells. I was having one of them. I had been almost five months since I had been with a man and I was starting to think that maybe there was something wrong with me. It was just that I worked considerably long hours. There wasn’t any time to make the acquaintance of the man that I was going to spend the rest of my life with.
He stopped at the doorway to the bathroom glanced over his shoulder and then shook his ass in my face like waving a flag in front of a raging bull. He was gay, but I could see past that for one night of exploring each other’s bodies. I’d actually snuck into his room one night and peeled back the sheets to look at him with more than avid interest.
“I don’t know why you keep tempting me. You’re not even interested in girls’. I would rather be with someone that was there with me and not thinking about Tom Cruise,” I said with a teasing gesture mimicking what he would do to Tom cruise if he ever got the chance. I was motioning with my fist back and forth against my mouth with my tongue pushing against my cheek to give him a better idea of what I was referring to.
I pulled back the door, a sliding version like you would see in a barn. It would’ve been so nice to play hooky. I could jump into the shower to scrub his back and any other body part that he might need cleaning.
“I’ve already told you several times that I could be convinced for the right girl to experiment. I’m going to leave that for you to ponder with your imagination. Don’t think that I don’t know about you watching me in the shower. I’m betting that you had the lock taken off and that pocket door put on just so that you could walk in on me at the most opportune moment,” Jackson said as he went into the bathroom, closing the door and almost daring me to rush over to witness my own version of the full Monty.
He was a little taller than I was. I had imagined many a lonely night being pressed up against the wall in an act of depravity that would leave us both with smiles on our faces. I didn’t really know why I hadn’t jumped at that opportunity. He had presented a few times by coming into my bedroom and jumping onto my bed after being freshly showered and shaved clean down there.
He liked to use a Gillette razor, one of the more expensive Brands and I had to admit that it did a pretty damn good job. I didn’t tell him, but I had used it a few times without his knowledge. I even thought about buying one myself, but it seemed too damned delicious to share something that he had touched his body with. It was almost erotic and naughty and I felt that life needed a
little bit of an edge to keep me from going insane. Jackson did that for me in more ways than one. I didn’t want to ruin our friendship over something that would most likely last for less than an hour. I didn’t know that for certain, but my personal experience with guys had proven to me that they only had one thing on their mind.
The studio had this open concept with the industrial look of exposed pipes above us. I couldn’t help myself. Once I got one look at the place, I had to sign on the dotted line. I knew that there was no way that I could afford this place on the salary that I was getting as a pharmacist. I could’ve asked my parents, but I didn’t want to go down the road of owing them a debt. My father had taught me to be self-sufficient.
I strapped my helmet on, climbed onto my bike and rode it down to the elevator with my foot pressing on the button. I took it down to ground level, rolled through the lobby and out onto the street before I finally was on the path that was going to lead me to the city lights.
I was getting into a rhythm, keeping up with the flow of the other riders that had taken a page from our book. They had gotten rid of their carbon footprint. I didn’t even own a cell phone. I had no interest in having my parents being able to call me at all hours of the night. I was looking forward to seeing one gentleman that had made me blush every time that he had come in for a prescription. That guy had this sexuality that had me thinking of him in one of those Axe Body spray commercials with the girls screaming to have him.
Chapter 2
He was there waiting when I arrived. I put my bicycle away in the back where I would know where it was. I didn’t trust bicycle locks and I would rather have it under foot than to worry that somebody was going to snatch it out from underneath me.
It appeared that I was the only one in at this ungodly hour. I wasn’t much for being a morning person, but Drake made it worth while. I had a natural beauty with very little makeup and only enough to accentuate what was already there. My secret weapon was Maybelline. They made some great products in my price range.
“You’re either pregnant or you just drove in on your bicycle again,” Drake said as he stood there in a finely tailored Italian suit made with fibers that most likely cost him a fair sum of money in exchange.
I felt drawn to touch him in a creepy way. That most likely would have had him looking at me funny. It wasn’t just his clothes, but those designer glasses were something to see. I had all sorts of useless information in my head from studying instead of playing with the other kids. Those were Casanova Venezia. They had a price tag of $7000. They were vintage and they gave him a class that made him in a league of his own.
“If I didn’t know any better, I would swear that you’re saying that I’m fat,” I said smiling to let him know that I was only tickling his funny bone.
“I wouldn’t care if you weighed 200 pounds and you would still be beautiful to me. I find that inner beauty to be more important than the outside. Of course, there has to be some kind of attraction for me to want to plant my flag,” Drake said with the monogrammed family crest of the Sumner name on a black handkerchief with a gold leaf of the letter S in his breast pocket.
I almost spit up my coffee. I knew that he was famous for his compliments and flirting alike. He grinned with those capped teeth and a clean shaven face with not even the hint of stubble left behind. He told me in confidence that he had found a unique shop nearby that did close shaves like they did back in the day. I’d gone by to check it out myself and was quite amazed to be transported to a simpler time. The owner was a wise old man that had a steady hand.
“If you’re not careful, you’re going to make my panties burst into flames,” I said feeling self-conscious and definitely blushing a shade of red. He could easily turn me into a blushing little schoolgirl.
I found that our interaction and banter was enough to fuel the fire for me to take matters into my own hands when I got home. I was never going to tell him that some of my fantasies revolved around him and Jackson becoming more than intimately acquainted with my warm curves. I had a nice figure, but I didn’t go to the extreme of becoming anorexic. I was comfortable with my healthy outlook on life and that showed in the way that I lived in the moment.
“I would pay good money to see that, Michelle,” He said leaning over the counter because he knew that our little game was about to become a little bit more explicit.
I had purposely volunteered to open up at the start of the day because there was very little chance that what I was about to do was going to be witnessed by others. He had been coming into the pharmacy every day for the past two years. My attire had changed in that time to something more risqué. My lingerie was from Victoria secret. I always got something interesting every week. I was about to show him my latest find.
“I can’t promise that they will burst into flames, but I think that you’ll have a bit of a schoolboy problem where you might have to hide your excitement from little old ladies,” I said knowing full well that his body was going to respond to seeing me in my less than formal state.
The white skirt had my hands grabbing at the hem and pulling up until he saw the floss like material of that red mesh nestled in between my buns. They had become a guilty pleasure. I turned and bent over just far enough so that he could see that my bra was the exact duplicate. It was a set and there was no way that I was going to break them up for anything.
“I could easily go someplace else, but I wouldn’t get this personal touch. You better be careful because you are playing with fire. I have a hot poker in my pants that is happy to see you. I might have to retaliate and give you a taste of your own medicine,” Drake said as he pulled down his zipper so that I could see the bulge of his manhood inside the tightly woven material of those briefs.
They were not Hanes or fruit of the loom. This was the kind of craftsmanship that you would find only with someone with a fine hand for detail. He told me in hushed tones that he bought Bon Bon underwear. They were the perfect mix of fashion, beauty, and art. They were perfect with gold around the waist which he was happy to show me by lifting the waistband over his pants.
“I see that somebody is in a particularly naughty mood today. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. I’ve been wondering what it was going to take to have you play along. I’ve been showing you more than I have shown any man. It’s about time that you return the favor. I have to say that whoever the lucky girl is that she has to be very happy with what you possess,” I said with him flexing that piece of pipe and showing me that it wasn’t just a rolled up ball of socks.
“I’ve never been shy about my body,” He said as he unbuttoned that first button and pulling the tie away from his neck. He was doing what I could only describe as a striptease.
I was a captive audience. I wasn’t quite sure how far he was willing to go, but I wasn’t going to stop him. There was nobody in the store and I kept a watchful eye on the camera to the door to make sure that we weren’t interrupted. This was the most fun that I had while working in quite some time and I didn’t want anybody to ruin it prematurely. The shirt was a white Nordstrom original. He always did go for the classic look with no deviation to show that he was trying too hard.
I felt a little awkward. The temperature had risen and not even the air conditioning could cool things off. He didn’t look at all nervous as he opened that shirt and showed me what hours at a gym could mold his body into.
“I can see that somebody has come to play today. You are no longer satisfied with just being a spectator. I’m glad to see that you’re taking some chances, Drake. It shows that you’re not stuck in your ways like I’ve always believed you to be. From the moment that you came in here two years ago, I thought that you had a stick up your ass. It wasn’t until I got to know you better that I realized that growing up with a silver spoon in your mouth wasn’t as fun as it sounds,” I said as he pulled down the waistband of his underwear to show the fat sized head of his anatomy.
He snapped it back into place and I had a photograph o
f his length and size to complement those fantasies that left me waking up in a cold sweat. I’d taken my fair share of cold showers thinking about him. That was another reason why I didn’t jump Jackson whenever that need arose. I didn’t think that it was fair to use his body. I would close my eyes to imagine that it was Drake underneath me thrusting with the power of his hips from below.
“You were lucky that you weren’t subjected to the competition that a parent can bring out in his kids. Money is the root of all evil. It makes you do strange things and that it was never truer than pitting three brothers and one sister against one another. My father enjoyed torturing us claiming that it was to bring the best out of us. When my parents died the cracks in our fake smiles came through in various ways. Tanner was the one that was affected the worst. After the funeral, he fell into the wrong crowd by throwing money at drugs and women,” He said making me believe that we were more than just flirting buddies.
“If that is the worst that happened to Tanner, then what happened to the rest of you?” I asked not really knowing that it was my place to uncover the dirty laundry of the Sumner name.
“I threw myself into my work as a real estate mogul. I have several properties and I even have a few tenements that are scheduled to be demolished. My brother Frankie found his calling with gambling. He’s what they call a professional poker player with his own ups and downs. That is where he gets his thrill. My sister found that sleeping with any man with two legs and the money to lavish on her was her way to escape. We don’t see each other and the holidays are spent eating alone and sending out greetings by e-mail. I know that sounds sad, but we really don’t want anything to do with one another. Unfortunately, that is not going to be an issue any longer,” He said obviously trying to come up with the right words and not quite managing it.