CHAPTER 5
This is a fictional story dealing with love and consensual sexual activities between males. If you are not of legal age, reside in an area where viewing such material is illegal, or are offended by homosexuality and/or homosexual themes, leave this site now.
The author retains all rights to this story. No reproductions or links to other sites are allowed without the permission of the author.
Note: Thanks to Tim and Rock for feedback on the draft chapters. I owe a special thanks to Robb for doing the final proofreading and catching all those silly little errors I missed.
CONSTRUCTION JOB
by Jeff Allen
CHAPTER 5
Michael and I talked for about an hour and a half that night. I asked his opinion about my job offer from the dean. He asked all sorts of questions. They were darn good questions too! He wasn't an academic, but he was right on about things that were important. How much freedom would I have in the job? What were the dean's expectations for me? What would it mean for my own scholarship? Would I be able to complete my current book project? What about staff support? Would Esther Glarrow be able to switch her loyalties from Roger Boden to me? He helped me think through some of the pros and cons of accepting the Dean's offer. We finally had to stop taking because the battery on his cell phone ran low. We'd explored a lot of questions, but I still hadn't been able to make up my mind about accepting the job offer. At least I'd gotten a chance to talk with Michael.
Tom was an absolute pest during the entire conversation. He kept trying to climb into my lap and put his ear up to the cell phone to hear Michael's voice. Damn cat.
I tossed and turned most of the night trying to decide what to tell the dean.
Brandon and Josh arrived in the morning to accompany me to school. When I protested that they really didn't have to continue the escort service and that my ankle was much better, Josh just laughed and said they'd decided to keep up the escort service until the end of the summer term at the end of the next week. Secretly, I was glad for their company. It took my mind away from my meeting with Dean Hamilton that was scheduled for right after class.
To say that I was preoccupied during class would be a gross understatement. My mind was elsewhere, and it showed. It was one of those times when I felt like the students deserved a partial refund of their tuition. They sure hadn't gotten their money's worth from me that day. I even dismissed the class early to prepare myself for the meeting with the Dean.
In Sarah Hamilton's office I didn't waste time. I told her I needed to know the reasons for Dr. Boden's departure before I would make a decision about accepting the job. She sighed, swore me to secrecy, and then proceeded to tell me that our good Dr. Boden, pillar of the academic community and deacon in the First Baptist Church, had been accused of sexual harassment by no fewer than five female students in the last year. The students all told a similar story. Roger Boden had called them into his office after they had received a poor score on an exam or paper and had propositioned them promising an A or B grade in the course in exchange for sexual favors. Three of the women had buckled under to his demands. The other two had complained to the Dean, and her investigation had identified the other three. All five women were now ready to press charges.
What a mess!
I should have said, "No."
I didn't.
The Dean had the announcement about Boden's retirement and my appointment as Acting Chair out in an email to all the faculty in the History Department later that afternoon, and that's when the fun began.
Three of my departmental colleagues came by my office to offer congratulations. Another told me she was glad to see "...that old sexist asshole out on his ass for a change." Another warned me to be careful because Roger Boden still had a lot of friends in the department. Two others came in to tell me I was a fool to take the position.
The best reaction came from Esther Glarrow. As I walked by the department office on my way home that afternoon, she looked up at me and huffed.
Maybe I'd bitten off more than I could chew.
When I got home that afternoon, my house seemed empty. Tom, the cat, came out of his hiding place. When he saw it was me instead of Michael, he disappeared again until his dinnertime.
I downed a couple glasses of wine waiting for the time when I knew Michael would be done with work and able to talk on his cell phone. We talked again until his battery signaled that it needed a charge.
In bed, I cuddled up to one of the pillows. It was a poor substitute for Michael.
After class the next afternoon I found myself listening to Dean Hamilton's administrative assistant explain the ins and outs of college and departmental budgets to Gary Griffith, the incoming chair of the Biology Department, and me. The administrative assistant continued her presentation for about an hour past the point where I was capable of processing any more information.
Griffith and I walked out of the Dean's office together. Outside the building, Griffith looked at me and we both broke out in laughter.
"Do you think we'll ever figure it out? Most of what was said today is total Greek to me."
He smiled, "Fortunately, we've got a very capable administrative assistant over in Biology. I'm going to be relying on her a lot."
"I'm not sure how much I'm going to be able to rely on our department secretary. She and Roger Boden were pretty tight, and she hasn't said more than two words to me since the announcement that I was coming in as acting chair."
"Sounds like you may have a problem."
"I think I might. Uh, Gary, can I ask you something personal?"
"Sure. If it's too personal, I just won't answer. Okay?"
"Yes, thanks. You're gay, correct?"
"Yes."
"Your department knows, right?"
"Yes."
"How did the faculty in your department react when they found out?" I asked.
"Most of my colleagues didn't say anything. A couple made some disparaging remarks, but that stopped in just a little while. I don't think anyone pays much attention to it anymore."
He looked at me sideways for a second before asking, "Why the interest in my coming out? Are you trying to tell me something?"
I looked away before answering. "Yes. I'm gay, but I'm not out in my department."
"Does the Dean know?"
"Yes, I told her as soon as she offered me the job. I thought she might change her mind if she knew."
He gave a little laugh. "Nice try, but it didn't work, did it?"
I had to laugh. "No, it didn't."
"I assume you're wondering if and when you should tell your faculty."
"You got it."
"Okay, this is a conversation that needs a more relaxed atmosphere and a few beers. Why don't you come out to our house for dinner tonight? I'd like you to meet my partner. We can sit on the deck, have a few beers, enjoy a good dinner, and talk about whether or not you should come out to your department."
I thought about the invitation for maybe three or four seconds before accepting. Gary promised to send me directions to their house over email, and then we parted.
After talking with Michael that evening, I picked up a bottle of nice wine and drove out to Gary's house. Hearing Michael's voice made me lonely, and I realized how much I was looking forward to having him back in my arms on Saturday.
I don't have the best sense of direction, but Gary's emailed instructions were easy to follow. I arrived without getting lost.
I had a great time. Gary's partner, Matt Stevenson, was an assistant football coach at the university. He was also darn good looking. In fact, both he and Gary rated about a 9.5 on the hotness scale. I'd have been seriously tempted if I didn't have a perfect 10 (in the form of Michael) coming to spend the weekend.
Matt and I made small talk while Gary was in the kitchen finishing the preparations for the meal. I know everyone has a mental image of athletic coaches being dumb jocks. Matt was far from it. Our conversation ranged from current university affairs to the state of the economy. Matt was articulate and intelligent. I have to learn to stop stereotyping people. I'd made the same mistake about Michael before I'd gotten to know him.
We had a wonderful conversation over dinner. They told me a little of how they had met. Matt had been a former student of Gary's. I told them a little about Michael. They asked us to come back out to their place over the weekend so they could meet him. They were both completely out to their departments, team, and students. They related some of the difficulties they had when they'd first been outed, but both said that those difficulties evaporated quickly. They encouraged me to tell my departmental colleagues.
Matt put it best when he said, "It's better to get the truth out on your terms than be forced to respond to rumors later."
Gary and I retired to their hot tub after dinner while Matt cleaned up the kitchen. Neither one was shy about showing off his body. Let me tell you that both Gary and Matt looked as good if not better naked than they did clothed. Both had nicely muscled bodies, moderate chest and body hair, and very respectably sized cut cocks.
I went home and slept soundly for the first time since Michael had been gone.
Michael and I had arranged that he would come to Adams Saturday afternoon. He said he needed to take care of some things in Oakdale after work on Friday before he could leave. However, about nine o'clock Friday evening, he called to ask if it would be okay if he came down that same evening. Of course I said yes. My dick was hard by the time I hung up the phone. It stayed semi hard until he arrived.
He arrived about two hours later in a bright red mustang convertible. He explained that the explorer and F250 pickup were company cars. The Mustang was his personal car.
We spent the next two hours or so becoming reacquainted. We both came twice, and as a result we slept late on Saturday morning. Well, that's not quite true. We woke up to use the bathroom, but then we went back to bed for a little more reacquainting. My ass was pleasantly sore the rest of the day.
Michael and I spent the day Saturday tooling around Adams in his convertible with the top down. As previously arranged, we went out to Gary and Matt's for dinner Saturday evening. Both of them went out of their way to make Michael feel comfortable. I think they made the same mistake I had and had a mental image of a construction worker. It was entertaining to watch the conversation shift as they realized Michael had as much brain as brawn.
We ended the evening in the hot tub. We also had a few too many beers to drive home safely so we spent the night in the spare bedroom at Gary and Matt's.
When we heard movement down in the kitchen the next morning, Michael and I pulled on our underwear...boxers for me and sexy black briefs for Michael...and went downstairs. We could smell the coffee as we descended the stairs.
Gary and Matt were standing in the kitchen talking. They were naked.
Gary saw the surprised looks on our faces and said, "Sorry, guys. Matt and I usually don't wear clothes around the house or out in the yard. We didn't even think about it when we got up this morning. We can go pull on some shorts if our being naked bothers you."
Michael smiled, pulled off his briefs, and said, "It sure doesn't bother me."
I looked at the three naked hunks, then shed my boxers. I didn't want to be the odd man in the group. Actually, I really enjoyed seeing all that prime male flesh. It helped get my blood moving that morning.
I felt very comfortable with Gary and Matt, and I hoped it would be the start of a good friendship. I'd lived in Adams for ten years, but they were my first gay friends in town.
Michael had to go back to Asheville the next week, and I had to prepare the final exam for my course.
The exam was on Friday, and the Fourth of July was on Sunday. Michael was coming back to Adams on Friday evening. On the Fourth we would go up to Oakdale and I would meet his parents. The very idea made my stomach do flip-flops.
The week was pretty uneventful. My ankle was almost completely healed so I was able to walk/jog/limp around the town at noontime. I enjoyed the last few days of the class. Esther Glarrow still wasn't speaking to me. That would have to stop when I stepped into the position of acting chairperson on July 6.
Michael and I had another reunion on Friday night. In fact, we stayed in bed until late Saturday morning then, just sort of lazed around the house the rest of the day. I worked on correcting the final exams while Michael read a novel.
Brandon, Josh, Bart, and Isaac made the top scores in the class like they had on all the previous tests. I was pleased to assign them all A grades. They'd earned it.
Saturday night was another fantastic experience in the bedroom as my man demonstrated once again that he knew just what to do with the beautiful tool that grew from between his legs.
Heading up to Oakdale the next morning I was nervous as a long-tailed cat in a roomful of rocking chairs. Michael kept telling me that there was nothing to be worried about, but that didn't convince me.
Up in Oakdale, we drove directly to his parents' house. It was a small farmhouse about a mile outside the town limits of Oakdale. In addition to the house, there were a couple of small outbuildings, a well-kept barn, and a fenced barnyard. Two brown and white spaniels excitedly greeted the car. After licking Michael and giving me a friendly nose to the crotch, they bounded off to the back of the house. Michael took me by the elbow and directed me around to the back of the house. As soon as we rounded the corner of the house, I was face-to-face with his family.
Michael introduced me to everyone. Myron Crane was a large man, but not quite as tall as his sons. His once muscular frame carried thirty or forty pounds of extra weight. He had a receding hairline, and his short dark brown hair was peppered with gray.
Miriam Crane had the same blond hair and blue eyes as her sons, but she was only about five feet tall and thin as a rail. Michael and Marshall had gotten their size from their father and their coloring from their mother.
Marshall's wife, Debi, was almost as tall as Marshall. She had long dark brown hair pulled back from her face with a large comb. She was attractive but not pretty...until she smiled. Then her entire face lit up, and she was absolutely stunning.
Marshall and Debi's two daughters favored their mother much more than their father right down to brilliant smiles that made you smile in return.
Within a matter of minutes, I felt like I'd known them for years. My nervousness began to dissipate only to return full force when the tag-team questions started.
Michael's mother was the first to get me off by myself.
I was getting some more ice tea from the cooler on the picnic table. Everyone else was involved with watching Michael and his nieces toss a Frisbee around the back yard for the two spaniels.
"I'm glad Michael brought you up for the day, Luke. I hope you're havin' a good time."
"Yes, ma'am, I am."
"Michael's never brought anyone home before."
That surprised me. "I...I don't know what to say."
She blushed. With her fair coloring I could see it easily. "I didn't mean that in a bad way, Luke. Michael's always been like that. He keeps a lot of things to himself. Marshall's just the opposite. He's an open book. If he thinks it, he says it. What I mean to say is that you and Michael must be pretty serious about each other."
It was my turn to blush. "We've only known each other for a few weeks. It's way too early to consider it serious. Let's just say that I've never met anyone quite like him before."
"That was a careful answer, Luke. The fact that Michael brought you here tells me he's serious about you. His eyes smile when he looks at you. Yours smile when you look at him. You two are good for each other. I think we'll be seeing a lot more of you around here."
The next one to get me away from the others was Marshall.
I'd gone into the house to use the bathroom. Marshall was waiting for me in the living room when I was ready to go back outside.
"I'll be blunt with you, Luke. What are your intentions regarding my brother?" The words were blunt, but there was a friendly smile on his face that softened the impact of his words.
"Well, right now I can't really tell you what my intentions are. This has all been so fast, I haven't had time to think about it."
"It's not a question of what you think about Michael. It's a question of how you feel about him."
"Look, I've lived by myself for a long time. My life was quiet, orderly, and pleasant. It was also lonely, but I didn't realize that until Michael bulled his way into my house after I hurt my ankle."
He chuckled. "Michael was trying to figure out how to get to know you. When he makes up his mind about something, there's no stopping him. He made up his mind about you that weekend he stopped by your house and ya'll went to lunch. What I was wondering was if you'd made up your mind about Michael."
Marshall's wife Debi was a little more subtle than Marshall when she cornered me, but the message was the same. I was the first guy Michael had ever brought home to meet the family. Like the others, she wanted to make sure that I had the same sort of feelings for Michael that his family assumed he had for me.
Myron Crane was the last to cut me away from the crowd to have a little private chat. He talked about how Crane Construction had been started by his father. Like his father before him, Myron hoped to leave the company to his heirs...Marshall and Michael. He didn't ask me what I thought of Michael. He did ask if I saw a problem with a university professor being connected with a construction worker. How would my fellow faculty members perceive our relationship?
"First of all, Mr. Crane..."
"Call me Myron."
"Alright, Myron, first of all, you and your sons are businessmen. Your business is construction. Marshall and Michael may be working in that business, but not as common laborers. They're the bosses. Second, I discovered quickly that Michael is a very intelligent person who is knowledgeable about a lot of things. I'm not worried about what happens when he meets some of my colleagues. He'll have no trouble holding his own in the conversation. There may be some people who won't accept him. That's their loss, and they can just go to hell, if you'll pardon my language."
Myron burst out laughing. He grabbed me in a shoulder-to-shoulder hug.
"Luke, I think you and I are going to get along just fine."
At dusk we all went over to the local high school football field and, along with the most of the rest of the population of Oakdale, took places in the bleachers to watch the fireworks display.
It was after eleven when Michael and I got in his car to head over to his apartment.
"I noticed that my family all found a time to talk to you. Did they tell you embarrassing stories about me, or did they give you the third degree?"
"Mostly the latter. Marshall and Debi were the most pointed in their questions. Your parents were a little more gentle in pumping me for information."
He reached over and grabbed my hand. "Now the question is, would you come back to another family gathering?"
"I will if you ask me."
"Then I'll hold you to that."
Despite the late hour and the fact that we had to get up early the next morning to pick up the construction crew and drive them back to Adams, we spent a good amount of time making love before falling to sleep.
It was damn early when the alarm went off. We didn't bother with a shower. We just did the bare essentials like peeing and brushing our teeth before heading over to the Crane Construction offices to pick up the work crew.
Marshall and the workers, all Hispanic, were there when we arrived. We loaded up in the company Explorer and the crew cab F250 and headed over to the local McDonald's. Once everyone was supplied with coffee and sausage biscuits, we were on the road out of Oakdale toward Adams. Michael drove the F250. I sat next to him in the middle of the front seat with one of the younger workers sitting by the window. Three other workers chattered away in Spanish in the back seat.
Michael drove into my driveway. He parked the big truck and slid out of the driver's seat. I followed him out of the truck by sliding across behind the steering wheel and out on the driver's side.
Michael reached into the bed of the truck and retrieved my overnight bag. Our hands touched as he handed it to me.
"Thanks for going home with me. I'll see you tonight. Get some rest. Sitting next to you all the way back here has me very horny. I intend to wear your ass out tonight."
"Is that a promise?"
"You bet."
I fell asleep on the couch almost as soon as I was inside. When I woke up Tom, the cat, was curled up on my chest. That was very unusual for him. He normally ignored me. I couldn't understand this new behavior of his until I moved to get off the couch and caught Michael's scent on my shirt. The damned cat had been cuddling up with me because I smelled like Michael!
Tom stretched himself out on the cushions of the couch. I reached down and scratched his head.
"I understand, Tom. His scent drives me crazy too."
Ah, Michael. What was I going to do about Michael?
(To be continued)