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Even though the game was a disaster for their team they couldn't have cared less. All of them were used to the vicious beatings administered by the rest of the league to their perennial losers, but it was fun anyway, just their own camaraderie and rowdy crowd. If fact, the crowd was the best part of it.
"Did you see that guy a couple rows ahead of us, with the comb over?" Brad was just looking out the window, smiling as he said it.
Kurt put his face in his hands, embarrassed that he noticed, too. "Yea." He said quietly. Neither he or Brad was the type to make fun of people, but the unabashed efforts of personal vanity were too much for either of them. Also, the guy was one of those loud, obnoxious types who purposefully annoy the people around them.
"You know," Kurt continued, "It was kind of weird. I'll bet those strands of black hair were 8 or 10 inches long. But right next to them, wham. No hair at all. Very strange."
Even Mike chimed in. "Did you see in the third inning, when that foul ball whizzed by our section? He turned his head so fast I thought his hair was going to wrap around his neck." He hesitated for a moment. "Can you imagine the newspaper headline? `Fan at stadium injured by whiplash from his own hair.'
They all burst out laughing. Brad laughed too, until he caught himself. "I guess I shouldn't speak so soon, though. My mom's father was bald, and I hear that you get it from your mom's side."
"You should count yourself lucky if a receding hairline is the worst thing you get from them, babe," Mike said quietly to Brad.
When they finally reached the Kovar house and got out of the car, Brad put his hand on Kurt's shoulder and gave him a gentle push toward the house.
"Ready to go back into the lionesses den, buddy,?" he said, as Todd reached over and patted his younger brother's other shoulder.
Todd, more than anyone, knew how emotional his brother was, and how strong his feelings for people could be. Even though Kurt was only a young boy when his Mom died, his attachment to her was probably stronger than anyone else's in the family. Even though this episode with Hana might just be some temporary infatuation, it was important to the older brother that Kurt always know he was there for him.
Kurt just smiled back to both of them, slightly embarrassed that he had been so obvious about his feelings. He had left the Kovar house on a bit of a hard note, though, so he was girding himself to do battle again. Even though he was normally a relatively low-key guy, he was enough of a social animal to have dated a fair amount and had already formed his opinions about girls.
Hana, though, couldn't really be pigeonholed, which intrigued him greatly. She was a little bit shorter than him, and with the kind of slim build that he liked in a girl. Kind of like the slim build that Brad liked (loved!) in Mike. But she wasn't one of those coquettish types who are, in his opinion, so oafishly coy. She came right straight at him, no evasion, no games, a complete frontal assault. Just the way he liked it.
The Metz's had come in just to say their goodbyes, but in Kurt's case also to `get his jacket.' He hadn't even kicked off his shoes when he saw Hana and decided he needed to pounce.
"I think that you forgot this, Kurt, `pravda?'" (true?) Hana said before he could spit out anything. She could never admit to being betrayed by her own big mouth, but it was the next best thing to admitting he'd gotten the better of her.
Taken by surprise, Kurt took the jacket from her, not able to get anything coherent to come out of his mouth. He was ready to do battle, thinking that she might want to pick up where she left off. But he was like the volleyball player prepared for the hard spike but then gets the ball just dinked over his head.
"Um..." he started, tongue tied. "Thanks."
"No problem," she replied.
In Kurt's absence, she could hardly recall what he looked like. Not that he wasn't memorable -- she thought that he was an incredibly handsome guy, especially with that blond hair and nice build. But it was almost as if she had devoured his looks so completely that there was hardly anything left for her memory. She had spent the last several hours going through in her head how this second meeting would go. She admonished herself over he own pretentious questions and childish belligerence, and was determined to show Kurt that she wasn't the bitch that he might think she was
Todd had decided that he'd give his brother only a couple of minutes back at the Kovars, since, like Brad and Mike, he had work to do, too. Wanting to leave Kurt to his business, he slid into the kitchen, where Mike was finishing up washing his hands. Mrs. Kovar was just starting to get dinner ready.
"Todd, would you and your brother like to join us? We'll have plenty of food, and we'd be very happy to have you both."
"Oh, no thanks Mrs. Kovar, but It's very nice of you to ask. I've really got to get back to school. Mike knows my professor and he's a real ogre about completeness, and I've got a lot to do for Tuesday." As he was answering he accepted a small piece of kolachy that Mrs. Kovar offered him.
"Lekvar?" He asked.
Mrs. Kovar didn't usually use that word, but knew that he meant prune butter. "Yes. Your are truly a connoisseur, Todd."
He just smiled shyly back at her, but then took another look and his watch. "Oh, jeze, and Kurt has to get back down to school, too. He has a 3 hour drive, and I'd like it if he didn't leave so late."
"Well, Kurt, both you and your brother have a standing invitation for join us for dinner, so please come back some time in the future."
"I think that we'd both like that." Brad then motioned with his eyebrows back toward where they had left Kurt and Hana.
The three of them continued to chat for a couple of minutes when Brad made it into the kitchen after washing up. Just as Mrs. Kovar was about to pack away a `travel pack' of kolachy for the Metz boys, Mike put his finger up to his lips. "Listen," he whispered.
"I don't hear anything," Todd said, as Mrs. Kovar nodded in agreement.
"That's the point. So quiet. Not a good sign." Brad was smiling.
There was only a barely perceptible murmur, but it was from outside on the porch, where Kurt and Hana were both sitting on the front stoop talking. The only thing between them was Tony, playing the role of chaperone, who always felt it was important to be the center of things. Todd was scratching Tony's head as the two students spoke, occasionally wrapping his hand around the dogs head and pulling him close.
Though Hana liked Tony, she didn't have the attachment to him that Mike did. But she did appreciate how her brother's dog took to Kurt, who continually stroked, petted, scratched and otherwise gave the dog the non-stop attention that he craved.
Sensing that he could now manipulate Kurt, as he had already figured out Brad, Tony rolled over on his back, all four paws in the air, demanding a belly rub. Which, of course, he got. But did didn't always get his way like this. Of their family, Mike was the most devoted to Tony, he really was his dog. But Tony knew that Mike wasn't the soft touch that these strangers were. "Leave it! Take it! Sit! Go! Come!" were all drilled into him as the price for treats or petting from Mike. These other guys weren't nearly as demanding as the real boss.
"I wish that dog could talk. Boy, he'd have a lot to say right now." Mike said, quietly.
"I'm sure that dog has a whole lot of other stuff that he would love to talk about, too, if he could. And I'd love to hear it" Todd glanced slyly at both of them.
"He knows better, though, don't ya, pooch?" Mike gave Tony an extra vigorous scratch to the ears.
"Well, it's time for us to go," Todd said after washing down his third pastry with some bottled water that he had brought from the game. "Thank you so much again for your great hospitality, Mrs. Kovar." Then turning toward the guys, he started to thank them, but with the intention to use more than words.
For a moment he hesitated, looking at Mike, then decided to change his mind and go for a handshake. But then Mike himself reached out and pulled him into a hug. Laughing quietly to himself in relief, he then gave an embrace to Brad and even a rather slight one to Mrs. Kovar, who surprised him with a smooch on the cheek. Mike had told her about Todd's family and some of what he had done for him, and she was eager to clearly, if quietly, return the favor.
"Now I've just got to go reel in my brother. I wish there was a delicate way of doing this, but we've really got to go. So I guess that I just do it the direct way." He said, as they all laughed again. Waving bye as he left the kitchen and walked out the front door, they could all see how he gently shook his brother by the shoulders.
"Time to get going, bud. I've gotta get back to school, and so do you. So let's move it" Todd said, smiling. Then looking at over at Hana, he said, "Thanks for having us Hana. I really enjoyed myself and I think this guy here did, too, eh?" He looked over at Kurt,
She had none of the she-devil look anymore. "We really liked having you guys, feel free to stop over anytime," she said. "And drive safe, OK, both of you."
"Will do," The Metz's replied at the same time.
There was an awkward pause. Hana continued to sit on the top landing, not wanting to seem too desperate or "reactive" as Kurt got up to leave, but at the same time wanting to somehow acknowledge his departure in some subtle way. Unfortunately, being direct was the only thing that came to her intuitively.
"Call?" She said, looking at Kurt. She was momentarily mortified that she had betrayed herself so easily, but the word just blurted out.
For Kurt's part, it was just what he wanted to say himself, but he was glad that she buckled first. But he knew that next time it would probably be him who won't be able to hold his tongue, so he decided not to rub it in too bad. He just looked back, nodded, and smiled.
"Talk to you soon," he said, looking directly at her. He was frozen for a second until Todd pulled at his elbow.
"Now!" his older brother ordered.
As Kurt went to go to their car, Todd bent down and whispered in Tony's ear, but loud enough for Brad and Mike, and Hana to hear. "Tony I want to know everything those guys do in the sack, OK? Next time I come back, you tell me, OK?"
Putting his foot on Todd's back Brad gently pushed him toward his car. "We don't want our pooch corrupted, OK." Todd laughed as he gave Tony a final scratch to the belly and went off to the car.
When the Metz boys had gone, Brad and Mike were finally able to retreat upstairs for some studying. But Brad couldn't quite get down to business until he could talk alone to Mike about Hana.
"Well?' Brad sat on the edge of the bed, anxious to know more.
Mike just smiled. Brad didn't have to ask any more than that.
"It was classic seeing what Kurt did to her, just two words and he put her through floor. She's really smitten with the guy," Mike said. "But I have to say, they both better be careful."
"Careful? What do you mean?" Brad said, confused.
"I know Hana, and behind that tough façade is a really sweet person who's very vulnerable herself. She was really young when we moved, but it affected her a lot. We've been her anchor all these years, and she really needs that. She really needs support and a family."
"And Kurt," Mike continued, "Todd said that he was completely emptied when their mom died. Todd considers him a really strong person, but he's pretty vulnerable, too. If these two start going out, I hope that they realize all this baggage that they both have"
Brad nodded in agreement, but added, "you know, Mike if they're both people who care about others, and I think that they are, they'll very quickly understand each other. If they don't, well, then, it's not to be and it's just part of growing up. But I guess all we can do is watch and see what happens, and be there if she, or they, need us.
"Your right," Mike said, pulling Brad close. He wrapped his left hand around Brad's chest as he placed his right hand into the middle his back, massaging the muscles around Brad's spine that sometimes got tight later in the day. "jeeze, they just met, anyway. We'll see where it goes."
"By the way, how does this feel?" Mike's knuckles circled a small knot just below Brad's right clavicle.
"Ohhhhh...good...just a little bit lower...lower...oh yea, right there...perfect...ohhhhhhhhh yeah...that feels great...."
True to his word from earlier that day, Brad practically mauled Mike as soon as they got in the door. Not that he was expecting any resistance, especially as the mauling was returned in kind. Both of the guys seemed to channel the tension of the previous week into one of their most raucous sex sessions ever. At the end, both were heaps of spent flesh.
Finally squeezing into the shower together, Brad was lathering Mike's hair as he tried to map out what they would be doing in the upcoming week.
"Do you think you'll get a call-back at the one firm, the one with the gay partner?"
Mike rolled his head from side to side, reveling in Brad's touch and motioning for him to keep going down his body. "GPF is what their name is. I'm not sure I ever told you that," he said. "I haven't heard anything from anyone yet, thought it has only been a couple weeks. Maybe I should start calling McDonald's or Burger King, just in case."
Then he reached back and ran his fingers through Brad's hair. "What about the hospital? Have you heard anything?"
Brad was distracted for a moment. Even though they had just finished an hour of "playtime," seeing Mike's arm reach back gave him wood again, big time. Practically drooling at the site of the flexing bicep, it was clear that Mike's workouts were definitely paying off.
Brad just wanted to put his mouth on the big mound and suck it, but yanked himself back to reality to continue the conversation. "um...yeah, uh...My advisor said he had called his sister a week or so ago, but hasn't heard back from her yet. I'll give him a couple more days, then bug him again."
Brad pulled himself close up again. "Oh god, Mike I need more!" With the shower water continuing to pour over them, he turned Mike around to face him straight on, pulling their faces together tightly one more time. The next thing he felt were Mike's hands around his own head, pulling their lips and tight bodies even closer together.
Unraveling himself for a moment to reach back and turn off the water, Mike could only get out the work "later" before the lip lock was attached again.
The next day they were both back up to their usual routine -- Classes, library, gym, intramurals for Brad, work in the woodshop for Mike, dinner, more studying, finally bed. Focused on their long-term goals, the intense schedule didn't bother either of them. They did it for themselves, but also for each other.
Later on that week, Mike finally heard back from one of the firms. It was the big corporate place, the one that he wasn't real enthused about. It would look good on his resume, especially because they were a branch office of a well known national firm and did very prestigious project. But he didn't think their design work was really very interesting, plus the atmosphere was closer to an insurance company than what he hoped it would be in a true design firm.
Luckily, they had left a message and so he had time to strategize about how to delay them, hoping that GPF would come through with an offer. As they were standing by the sink cleaning up after dinner, Brad could see that Mike was getting anxious about the situation. But there's wasn't a lot that he could to about it now, just support him as much as he could. Mike just continued to spoon the uneaten sloppy joes from dinner into a plastic container for tomorrow's leftovers.
"It wouldn't be so bad working there, would it?" Brad asked. "The money is probably pretty decent, at least as far as summer jobs go, and working on the big projects could be real interesting." He took the dried plates and put them in the cupboard. "Plus, I think that you said they are fairly well known, so that would look good on the ol' resume, too, right?"
Mike paused before answering. "Yea, that's all true. There is really no way I should turn them down of course, especially if I don't have any other offers. Maybe I'm getting full of myself, I don't know, but I guess that I really want this to be more than just your average summer intern job. I want it to mean something, but I know I've got to be practical."
"What about you the hospital, babe, have you heard anything?"
"Yea, I did. I'm supposed to call my advisor's sister tomorrow to try to set up an interview, hopefully next week. I don't want to get my hopes up too high, but with you getting this bite for a job downtown, I'm really hoping that I can get up there, too."
"That's great, babe!" Mike grabbed Brad around the waste, swinging him around and around. Even though his own situation was not completely resolved yet he couldn't have been happier for Brad.
Brad joined the parade momentarily, but then deliberately slowed down the celebration. "Not yet, pup. I don't have it yet, but it's a good start. I'll give her a call tomorrow and see what's going on."
"Anything I can do? You need me to cook or pick up anything so that you feel relaxed when you call?"
"No, I guess nothing right now, but thanks. I'll do it before I go to class tomorrow morning. We'll see how it goes." He didn't want to raise expectations for either of them, but deep down was hugely hopeful that they could work near each other for the summer.
Heading into the bathroom, Brad called back into the kitchen, "How long do you think you can delay them?" which Mike barely heard over Brad's tinkle. It was one of Brad's little oddities that amused Mike, that he almost always continued conversations while he was peeing. Brad was hard-wired as a multi-tasker.
Mike put the milk and the other leftovers, including some fancy pickles that Brad had picked up on sale, back into the refrigerator. "I'll see if I can give them an answer in a week, but I'm not sure what reason I should give. I kind of don't want to say `I'm waiting for a better offer,' but I don't want to out-and-out lie, either. Any ideas.?"
He heard Brad laugh as he came back into the kitchen. "One of the lawyers last summer used to lecture me about stuff like that. He says you gotta learn to, um...how did he say it..." He paused for a moment, then continued. "Oh yeah, `finesse' it. You've got to learn how to finesse it. So finesse it."
Mike just chuckled. "Well, I'll try. I guess I don't quite know how what it means to finesse, but I'll do my best." The tone of his voice was more resignation than enthusiasm, he didn't yet appreciate the `fun' side to this game of cat-and-mouse in business deals. He just wanted a good job. "It probably wouldn't be so bad to work there, and a for a lot of people it would be their first choice. So whatever happens, It will be OK." Mike just smiled to himself as he shut the refrigerator door.
"I'll think about it some more tonight, how you might handle it. Seriously, I think that they'll probably be OK if you tell them you need a week to decide. I'll ask my advisor, too. Maybe he `s got some answers." He put both his hands on Mike's shoulders, steering him into the living room. "But right now, we need to study, right?"'
"Yup -- and you too as he turned around and pointed Brad to his chair.
"Time for bed, pup." Mike heard a few hours later, a pair of hands massaging the top of his head as he sat reading on the couch. At first he just ignored the order. `Let's see what he can do to get me to bed,' Mike thought to himself, concealing an evil smile.
Sensing that juvenile defiance was in the air, the hands slowly made their way from the head down the neck, around the shoulders, slowly massaging and stroking, but still no acknowledgment from Mike, who continued his reading. `So you're going to be stubborn, are you,' he thought. Time to bring out the heavy artillery.
Reaching all the way around Mike from his now crouched position behind the couch, the hands slowly, methodically made their way onto the front of his shirt, carefully unbuttoning the top few buttons. uh oh,' Mike thought. I don't know where this is going, but it looks bad for me!' Brad had the sexiest hands a guy could have, deeply veined with that same dusting of black hair that Brad had all over his body, especially his chest. The hands looked like a pair of evil ninja tools emerging from the sleeved of his innocent plaid flannel shirt. Just the site of those virile hands, those man's hands, drove Mike crazy with lust. Fortunately, or unfortunately, he couldn't see the smirk on Brad's face behind him.
Once the top was loosened and the collar gently pulled to the side, the hands moved to the top of the tee shirt. At first they lingered there a bit, pulling and stretching the collar, until both slipped underneath the black tee shirt to make contact with Mikes' hard chest. Brad almost started laughing when Mike's breathing became deeper. Concentration on the book in front of him was slowly becoming impossible. Brad knew his boy.
When the probing hand finally made their way to the erect nipples, Brad saw the book fall out of Mikes hands and the head roll back. Then the book fell onto the floor. `I guess I've got his attention, now,' Brad laughed to himself.
Moving his mouth slowly to Mikes ear, he was about to whisper something like `bedtime,' but instead impulse took over and he just gave the ear a huge lick. Raising his eyes, Brad looked down the now slouching body to see the tenting of the pants beyond.
"Are we ready now?"
All Brad heard for a moment was breathing, then a weak protest that he could barely decipher. "You fuckin' unfair prick." What he thought he heard. And then two new hands reached up and pulled Brad's own face down onto his.