Still just working through some character stuff, but I promise things will pick up in future installments. I also apologies for the unreasonable amount of time that it has taken to get this up, but I do have the next two chapters done as well, so they should be up pretty soon. Lastly, this is a story that includes sexually explicit material and gay themes. If that stuff is illegal for you to read or offends you, kindly piss off. And now on to:
Luke's Life Chapter II
Shane Pulled out of the boathouse parking lot and began the long drive across the city to his house. A slight smile played across his lips as he recalled the way that Luke's whole face had changed at the start of their conversation. Luke's slight scowl and distant (challenging?) glare had been replaced with a confident, but slightly guarded smile, as they had began to talk. The one thing that stood out the most, however were Luke's steal-grey eyes. Shane found something mysterious about them which he wasn't quite sure how to read. In a way, they seemed to belie whatever image Luke was trying to portray. They made it seem as though there was a certain softness behind his scowl, and an air of uncertainty behind his confidence.
The conversation, for what little there was of it, had occurred relatively easily, but it could have been a conversation that any two strangers might have had. Still, there seemed to be some connection, as much in what was unsaid as in what was said. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking. Signals, of course, were vague and they could be dangerously misleading if one weren't careful.
Shane started to frown. He was probably just being an idiot. Was he letting his cock do his thinking for him allowing himself to be drawn in by some hot-looking straight guy? Fuck.
Then there was Luke himself to consider. Clearly the guy had quite a short temper, but at the same time, it seemed that he was able to let things go as quickly as they had begun to bother him. Maybe that was why Shane felt drawn to Luke. Luke was another Toby. Cynical, jaded, and short fused, but likable in a lot of ways.
But in the end, Toby had been a bastard, why would Shane feel any connection to anyone who reminded him of Toby?
Jesus Christ', thought Shane, He's probably not even gay. What am I doing wasting my energy thinking about him for'
Looking out the window, Shane realized that he was almost home. That gave him a start. It was as if he had driven home on auto-pilot and somehow the last ten minutes hadn't registered. Shane made a decided effort to forget about Luke and pay attention to the road ahead, as if to make up for his prior lack of concentration.
Upon arrival, it was inside and to the shower before he could get caught up in some banal conversation with his father about why he wasted his time at the lake.
His father tended to be so boring and straightforward, the sort of man that could only see athletic or artistic endeavor as a trivial waste of time. Did he not understand that it was the trivialities that made life worth living? Worse, though, there was also the chance that he get caught in the middle of a fight between his two younger siblings. And with that thought in mind he rounded the corner into his en-suit.
In the bathroom, Shane stripped off his cloths and padded across the cold tiles. He gave an involuntary shiver. It was the middle of summer but his mom felt the need to keep the house at a frigid 17 degrees... Something about menopause.
Shane shuddered again. Although he held a certain soft spot for his mother, it was definitely time to think of something different! Women, at times could just seem so vulgar and inelegant. The seemingly universal traits of irrational anger, monthly bloating and clinginess certainly seemed unbecoming for what had always been explained to him as the fairer of the sexes. With men, on the other hand, things were at once more straightforward and more veiled in mystery; if only there were some sure way to know.
And then there was Luke. Shane couldn't keep his mind off the elegant picture of youthful masculinity. Rather than the sort of thoughts he had had in the car, though, this time Shane's thoughts were more aesthetically oriented. As he turned the water on and stepped into the shower, Shane drifted back to the events that had unfolded about an hour ago.
Luke was bending down to pick up his boat. His legs were lean, corded with muscle and dusted with light brown hair. His ass? Well, the rowing had done a nice job there. It was clearly defined with slight dimples and oh-so noticeable in his spandex rowing shorts. Very little was left to the imagination.
Shane smiled, finding himself getting extremely hard as he turned on the water and began to lather himself up.
Now he imagined Luke was on the water, the sun glistening off the sheen of sweat glistening dampening Luke's bare back. Every muscle was loaded under the weight of the stroke. Luke's face was creased in pain, but that was the only indication of the tremendous effort that he was putting forth, the rest of his body flowed gracefully through the motion of each stroke, to the point that it looked relaxed. There were no un-necessary movements; every ounce of strength was employed to move the boat forward, nothing else. The beauty and fluidity of the motion was not unlike the motions of an Olympic swimmer, or a speed skater. It was beautiful.
For Shane, few fascinations rivaled his captivation with the male body in motion, because few things were as graceful. Luke's was also quite the body to see in motion.
Shane's hand moved up and down his soapy shaft with increasing urgency as he let his imagination run wild.
Now Luke was standing on the other side of the shower glass. He was naked; perfect. His angular jaw was highlighted by a five o'clock shadow and his eyes pierced into Shane with a look of pure lust. Luke's chiseled pecs tapered down into a prominent six-pack and a slim waist. The treasure trail of hair that extended down to the base of his shaft, was partially obscured by his erect cock, head swollen and slightly dripping precum.
Shane whimpered slightly and looked up to see Luke bite his lip and extended one hand out in a light stroke of the shower glass while the other one slowly massaged his balls.
Shane stepped forward as if to initiate the impossible contact between their bodies, while he imagined Luke letting out a slight gasp as he started to rhythmically thrust his hips forward forcing his eight inch shaft through his closed fist.
That was all it took. Shane was just coming to climax...
And then his little brother, Logan, barged through the (unlocked?) door. Fuck!
Luke spun around to hide his engorged cock, while a slightly stunned and blushing Logan beat a hasty retreat...
Realizing that he had probably been in the shower more than long enough, a slightly frustrated Shane quickly finished washing himself, tossed on some sweat pants and a t-shirt and headed downstairs. He entered the living room to the familiar sound of his sister, Courtney, talking on the phone in that shrill and over-animated way that only fourteen year-old girls are capable of.
"No Way! Are you serious" Courtney shrieked.
`It could curdle milk', thought Shane. Jesus!
"Like O-muh-gawd!!!"
It was worse than cat getting its tooth pulled out... Shane thought back to Lord Wallton -a character from Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian grey which he had been reading for a class- and decided that the man had definitely only been half right when he had said that, "women were the decorative sex, [who] had nothing to say but [spoke] eloquently". Courtney was anything but eloquent.
Seeking refuge in the kitchen, Shane sat down on one of the island stools, and watched his mom as she fussed over the stove.
"Have a good paddle?" She inquired.
"Yeah... it was good" Shane replied in a somewhat absent and contemplative tone.
With that his mom stopped what she had been working on to turn around and give him a knowing look.
"What?" inquired Shane trying to look as confused and nonchalant as possible. Over the last 19years of his life Shane had become quite accustom to that look, and it always meant that an interrogation was forthcoming.
"What's on your mind?" Inquired Sean's mom.
Nothing, why?
"You've met someone" his mom stated.
"What makes you think that?" replied Shane.
"Well, let's just say that you have a smile on your face and you certainly weren't just thinking about kayaking".
"So, So what?"
"... So what's he like"
Shane silently cursed. For all his years of keeping secrets and trying to be confident and unreadable, his mom always had a way of reducing him to the same little boy who years earlier had drawn with lipstick all over the walls and later tried to hide it with whiteout. Just as it was back then, he felt completely exposed and he instinctively knew that a lie would be pointless.
"I don't know" Shane gave in. Damn mothers and their motherly way of knowing things. Luke frowned, not at all liking the mind games but he decided to admit defeat.
"his name is Luke, he's a rower and pretty hot. Beyond that... well, I don't know".
"You don't know what?"
"Anything. Weather he's gay, weather he likes me, whether he would kick the shit out of me if I tried to make a move... anything! Hell, he looks like he could get pretty intimidating. Certainly he isn't your typical dandy little fag" Shane let out in a frustrated whine. "Still though, it's as if the attitude was more just for show, you know?" Shane contemplated, his tone softening.
"So he's a big guy then?"
"Fairly, but it's not really that, It's more the way he holds himself... either with a cocky air of being above everyone or as if he is challenging you".
"Well, then, maybe you should be careful", cautioned Shane's mom.
"helpful..." Shane let out sarcastically.
His mom sighed in frustration and turned back to the stove. It was as minute before she spoke again.
"Listen honey, I can't tell you what to do, obviously you were there". There was a pause. "Your instincts have been pretty good in the past, trust them... But for christ's sake be careful! You know I worry" ... "It's just that sometimes you have to take risks to be happy"
"I guess" replied Shane, not sounding fully convinced. Risks were always something that were better when one had the upper hand in the risky situation. Although there was a certain present exhilaration that can naturally come when stepping into an unknown situation, it would take considerable planning to avoid disaster.
After that moment's pause for thought, he walked up to his mother and wrapped her up in an embrace as his way of saying thanks for the talk.
"Do you want help with the food"
"No" replied Shane's mother, "why don't you go check and see what trouble Logan is getting into."
Logan? Shit. He was going to have to face his brother sooner or later. He just hoped the encounter would be short and not too embarrassing. Maybe he would get off easy and they would never speak of the afternoon's incident again.
"How's your school coming along?" inquired Luke's Uncle Edward.
Luke silently cursed the fact that he had forgotten that his Dad's extended family would be over for dinner this evening.
"Very well, and..." Luke was about to continue before he got cut off.
"And the rowing?"
"Good, good. Actually I just got back from the lake. You should have seen it today, though... "
And then baby Carson, came crawling up to his grandfather (Lukes' uncle) and uncle Eddie presently turned his attention to his grandson. Seeing that their conversation, such as it were, had been ended, Luke went to go greet his great aunt and grandmother. The two women briefly paused to acknowledge him before going back to whatever it was they had been gossiping about– probably the scandal that was Luke's cousin and her boyfriend; the proud? (and unwed) parents of baby Carson.
Continuing his rounds, Luke turned to see his dad and his aunt. Luke's Aunt waved a hello but then went back to her conversation, while his father didn't as much as look up. Well, that just left Luke's cousin, Sam, whom he found in the Kitchen chatting easily with his mom. He walked in to greet the two women and received a hug from his cousin, while his mom smiled appreciatively. In truth Luke sympathized most with both women. His mom had to put up with the in-laws, while his cousin had to put up with her family. In both cases, it was some sort of grotesque punishment as far as Luke was concerned. If nothing else, that was some sort of bond that Luke could share with them, at least for the evening.
Luke truly hated these evenings. Usually he was the center of attention and the one who was in control. These family gatherings were so dull and banal. It seemed odd that, while Luke found non of his relatives especially interesting, he likewise seemed to not interest them. While he could be charming and engaging on any range of subjects, it was as if his Father and that side of the family had managed to completely tune him out.
Turning back to his cousin, Sam, Luke smiled. Sam was one of those people who was just genuinely easy to get along with. After briefly going over pleasantries, the two fell into steady conversation. Sam and her boyfriend, Mark, had just scraped together enough money to rent a new apartment for themselves and the baby and Sam was almost finished the night classes she was taking so she could earn a better income for her new family as a dental hygienist. Luke, on the other hand, had made it halfway through telling Sam about his college acquaintances and his latest regatta before they were interrupted by the sound of the baby crying. Sam gave an apologetic smile and then rushed out to attend to her son.
Not quite sure what to do next, Luke remained seated at the kitchen table for a few minutes before deciding to venture back out into the living room. He wished he hadn't.
The fist thing that Luke heard was his grandmother gushing "awwwwe! Look at that. He's ready to be a grandfather too..."
Luke then turned to see his father gently rocking the baby in his arms. It was about this same moment that Luke started becoming uncomfortably aware of all the attention in the room turning toward him.
Then the inevitable came. Uncle Edward turned to Luke and asked "Yes, tell us Luke: When are you going to meet a nice girl to settle down with."
Luke's face flushed slightly before he quickly regained his composure and put on what he hoped would be interpreted as a lecherous grin, and cockily responded.
"I've met plenty of pleasant girls, it's just that there is always so little substance behind those pretty faces. The arrangement where they leave the next morning seems to be working fine for the present"
This statement was met with a few rolled eyes and a look of mild disapproval from Luke's grandmother, but it had been sufficient to divert any attention away from Luke's status as being perpetually single.
If they only knew.
In fact, a small part of Luke wished that he had told them that he was currently devising a way to charm a gorgeous young guy, whom he had met at the lake, into his bed. It certainly would have caused quite a beautiful scene and probably would be the topic of his Grandmother's gossip (and disapproval) for months to come. In truth, though, that just wasn't his style when it came to family. These relatives were not the most tolerant of people; a bit old fashioned would put it mildly.
The baby started crying again abruptly ending the potential of any further conversation aimed Luke's way and so Luke simply took a seat.
For a moment Luke resented the little bugger for the attention he got, but then he remembered what things were like before Carson was born.
Truthfully, though, they hadn't been much different than now.
Luke had always been sort of ornamental at these sorts of gatherings. He was like the sort of handsome painting that everyone is glad to see. He could be twittered over for a few minutes, but beyond that, he seemed to blend into the background. But then, why should they pay attention. For all they were concerned, Luke was a sure bet. He was generally polite and well spoken, he succeeded at sport, he succeeded at school, and one day he would find a beautiful wife to settle down with and have 2.5 kids and be happy. What else was there to talk about? All they need do was take a second or two to double check that Luke's life was going `according to plan', never mind how he felt about any of it.
If they only knew.
`Well, here's to consistency', thought Luke as he surveyed the same Sunday gathering that had taken place once every couple of month's since Luke could remember. Luke silently cursed himself again for not remembering that it was to be held this particular Sunday, went to get himself a drink and then took a seat back in the living room. When asked a question he would respond appropriately, and occasionally add his two cents to the conversation. Beyond that, he would smile appreciatively the few times he was referred to in passing, but basically he just contented himself to watch another dull evening unfold from the sidelines.
Later that evening, Luke lay awake in bed feeling like shit about life. A brief smile did play across his lips as he recalled meeting Shane out on the docks, but that quickly faded. Shane was no different than any other guy Luke had encountered, so in the scheme of things, their meeting each other didn't even matter. Luke briefly considered masturbating, but really he didn't feel like it. Mentally beating the shit out of himself had put him out of the mood. Instead he drifted off to sleep with nothing more substantial than a vague hope that things would be better one day.
that's chapter 2. Feedback would be great. In the last few months of not having a computer and whatnot I have also lose most of the emails I recieved so if anyont wants to help me edit that would be fantastic.
Email feedback to: dgwhatever@yahoo.com
-Dan