This story is entirely fictional, and any resemblances to actual persons are completely coincidental. Actual locations are mentioned, and are used for 'background' only.
'Phalen - Finding Happiness' Chapter four
by Roy Reinikainen
Greg seemed captivated by the surroundings of his new home as Phalen drove from the airport. He looked out of the car window, exclaiming about every few minutes about something. "So this is what a desert looks like," he murmured almost to himself.
"You'll get used to it," Phalen responded from the front seat. "Besides, this isn't desert. This is green." Jeff caught Greg's disbelieving expression. "And it stays this way year-round," Phalen added. "And, we don't have all that darkness in the winter." He looked over his shoulder while they were waiting for a traffic light, and smiled. "A pretty good place all-in-all."
They drove past the University where Jeff pointed out various buildings, and then turned down a palm-lined residential street. Greg craned his neck and tried to look up at the passing trees.
"There's Dad and Brad." Phalen waved as he pulled into the driveway. "They must be getting ready to go on a run." Phalen climbed out of the car and trotted over to the two men while Greg leaned closer to the window and watched them stop stretching and greet Phalen with a bright smile. They were dressed alike, in a pair of very brief red running shorts, running shoes, and nothing else, unless one considered the fine sheen of perspiration glistening on their chests.
Greg touched Jeff's shoulder and nodded to the two men, as he started to get out of the car. "That's Phalen's Dad?" Jeff nodded and grinned while Greg took a second glance. "Do you guys know anyone who isn't gay?" Jeff smiled at his brother's tone of voice as he held the seat forward for him to get out of the back seat of Phalen's two-door car.
Greg unfolded himself and took a moment to try and stand straight. He nodded toward the seat just vacated and spoke in a low voice. "That's almost as cramped as the seats on the airplane." He shrugged his clothes back into place. "At least we never left the ground."
"C'mon Greg, let's go meet the neighbors. You'll like them. We'll just say hi and then you can get inside and sleep, or eat, or swim, or do whatever you want."
"Hey guys," Jeff said in greeting as he and Greg approached. Larry had just finished giving his son a hug and looked at Jeff giving him a welcoming smile. When he saw the person standing at Jeff's side, his smile if anything, grew brighter. "Guys, I'd like you to meet my brother. Greg, this is Larry, Phalen's Dad, and the one with the smooth chest is Brad . . . my best friend."
Greg exchanged pleasantries and shook their hands but was otherwise pretty restrained as he tried to stifle a yawn, apologizing to everyone with an embarrassed glance, and a murmured, "jet lag."
"Jeff, you didn't tell me you guys looked so much alike."
"You think so?" Jeff shrugged amused agreement. "He's a lot older than me," Jeff said in a teasing voice Greg had never heard. He turned toward Jeff with a slight frown. "And he's got blue eyes. Mine are green," Jeff continued, smiling at his brother and ignoring his expression. "Other than that, I guess we're pretty much the same. Did I mention he's older than me?" Greg found it difficult to reconcile the cheerfully teasing man he was seeing with the melancholy brother he knew as he was growing up. Jeff's behavior along with something about the easy-going smiles of Larry and Brad put him at ease. He felt more free than he could ever recall. The new feeling of freedom, in addition to Jeff's playfulness banished his fatigue.
"He forgot to tell you that along with the blue eyes, I got the looks," Greg quipped, drawing Jeff's surprised expression and Larry's chortle. Even Phalen's eyes widened.
"What! Mom always told me I was better looking,"
Greg made a sour face and shook his head. "Yeah, well you know Mom. The woman has no taste." He turned a serious expression on Larry and Brad before he grinned at Jeff and winked.
Larry and Brad watched the two men not knowing what to think. This was not what they had been led to expect of Jeff's, "intense," brother, and was definitely not the behavior they were accustomed to seeing in Jeff.
"Well, I have lots of taste," Phalen interrupted, and then leaned close to his father. "And I've seen 'em both naked," nodding toward the two brothers. "There's no doubt about it. They're almost identical, except for the eyes, that is. On a scale of one to ten, I'd give 'em both a 9.5." He paused a moment and then grinned. "That's their score, not their size." Jeff playfully swatted him on the seat of his shorts making him jump, while Greg dramatically rolled his eyes and looked skyward. "Now, if you wanna see a ten, you should see David, their father. Again, his score."
"Dad?" Both Jeff and Greg said simultaneously, seeming genuinely surprised at Phalen's statement. Phalen nodded looking smug.
"Yep, and I've seen him naked too." He crossed his arms and looked from the brothers to his father and Brad seemingly very pleased with himself.
"What is it with you, young man?" Larry laughed as his son gave him a, 'who, me?' look.
"He's horny," Jeff murmured to his brother. Greg gave Phalen a quick glance and moved to put a little more distance between himself and Phalen. He turned to Jeff with a serious expression.
"Thanks for the warning." He cast Phalen another quick glance. "Does he get this way often?" Phalen silently watched the byplay between the two brothers, completely taken off-guard. He glanced at his father, who returned a brief shrug.
"Only when he's breathing," Brad added with his usual impish smile, speaking for the first time and drawing Phalen's instant attention. "You'll become accustomed to it. That, and his moans and groans in the morning."
Greg looked thoughtful. "Hmm. I take it he's especially horny in the morning?" He tried to look serious as he studied Phalen and then turned toward Larry. "I'm a doctor. Maybe we can put him on some sort of experimental drug. You know? To calm him down a bit, and give everyone a moment's peace." He turned to Phalen for just a moment and then looked at Brad who was finding it difficult to not laugh, both at Greg's teasing and at Jeff's expression as he watched his brother.
"It must be rough looking over one's shoulder all the time, wondering when he's going to jump you." Larry chuckled and Phalen looked from Greg to Jeff, not knowing what to think. His mouth moved a couple times before he gave up trying to think of what to say.
Greg turned to Larry. "Labs are always looking for a sucker to test those new drugs." He gave Phalen an appraising look. "He seems healthy enough, except for the perpetually horny-thing." Larry and Brad finally couldn't stand it any longer and began laughing, clapping Phalen on the back. Jeff smiled, but was still unsure what to make of his normally somber brother's behavior.
Greg casually laid an arm across Phalen's shoulders, smiling at Larry as he and Brad said they needed to start their run before it got any hotter. With a wave, they began running down the street, keeping pace with one another. He gave Phalen a good natured pat on the back.
"Hotter," Greg silently mouthed the word, asking Jeff if he'd heard correctly. Jeff merely shrugged.
"Ready to head inside, men?" Jeff glanced toward his brother who was quietly speaking with Phalen. He nodded and moved away, glancing over his shoulder at the two runners who had reached the end of the block. 'Maybe I've been worrying about having Greg here for no reason,' he thought to himself. 'I'm going to have stop thinking of him as unapproachable.' Jeff flicked a glance toward Greg who continued to watch Larry and Brad's retreating figures.
"Here Phalen, you're the athlete. You can carry my bag. Maybe you can work off some of that extra energy." Greg chuckled and turned toward Jeff, saying something in Finnish.
"Huh? What energy? What did you just say?" Phalen hefted the large bag and followed them toward the courtyard door. "Were you calling me names, or something?"
Greg stopped, waiting for him to catch up. "Nope, I just told my brother how nice it was to meet your father and his friend."
"Oh." Phalen looked toward Jeff, who was holding the courtyard door open for them. "Brad's more than Dad's friend, Greg," he said, giving Jeff a smile as he walked past.
Curt turned onto his back and covered his eyes with his arm. The room was hot and smelled of sex. In fact, he could still taste his own sperm on his tongue. 'Sperm,' he thought. It was a taste he once thought he was addicted to, his or anyone else's, that and the feeling of a man beneath him, moaning with pleasure.
He had accepted the invitation of Daniel, one of his co-workers, to go to dinner. Afterward, they had ended up at Daniel's downtown apartment with Daniel begging to be fucked.
The whole scene was like something out of his past . . . a past he had been trying to overcome and forget. Even so, his body responded to Daniel's expert touch. He hated himself for staying . . . for allowing himself to be stimulated. He tried to will himself to lose his erection but his body betrayed him. The door to the apartment was only a few steps away, yet he couldn't bring himself to leave. With the feeling of the warm mouth surrounding his erection some of the old needs resurfaced. His resolve, melted as his body continued to respond to Daniel's expert touch. He glanced toward the door once more, and then down at the man on his knees before him.
Seeing the blond head in front of him, hearing the moans of pleasure, and feeling the warmth of Daniel's mouth surrounding his erection was too much. He forgot the door to the apartment, and gave in to the sensations he was experiencing.
He turned his back to the door. He wanted Daniel. He wanted to bury himself in Daniel's ass. He wanted to feel Daniel squirm, and beg. He wanted to be in control and to dominate Daniel like he had many others before.
"Condoms," he ordered, pulling away from the man on his knees. Daniel sat back on his heels and looked up at Curt, and the erection, inches from his face.
"Uh . . . "
"If you want this dick buried up your asshole, you'll give me a condom. Otherwise, you may get to taste my cum, but your asshole is going to wonder what it would be like to be stretched by this." He grasped his penis and slowly wiped it across Daniel's cheek, leaving a shining trail of precum behind. Daniel wiped a hand across his cheek and then licked it clean.
"I don't fuck anybody without a condom." He swiped his cock across Daniel's cheek once again, grinning at Daniel's mesmerized expression. "So, what'll it be? Do you want a taste, or do you want to be satisfied?" He faced Daniel with his fists on his hips, wondering why he was suddenly feeling angry. His erection bobbed in front of him, a thick invitation Daniel was finding difficult to ignore. He glanced at Curt's penis and then up at his face, and then came to a decision.
He scrambled across the bed and rummaged about in a drawer of a nightstand. Curt watched the slender pale skinned young man with a vaguely feminine body so much different than Brad's. Daniel found what he was looking for and then crawled back to Curt with a foil-wrapped condom and some lube. He held them out to Curt who almost sneered. "That's your job, Mister. I'm here to fuck your slender white butt. It's your job to get me ready." He nodded at the condom in Daniel's hand and thrust his hips forward as he spread his legs slightly wider apart. "Do it."
"Yes sir." Daniel sat back on his heels and lovingly spread a thin coat of lube over Curt's erection before rolling the condom down its length. He stroked the penis a couple times before liberally coating the condom with lube. He looked up at Curt for instructions.
"Good work, boy. Now, I wanna see you get yourself ready for this." He grabbed the base of his erection with one hand and gently tugged on his testicles with his other. Daniel seemed transfixed by the thick erection springing from its base of dense black pubic hair. Curt tugged on his balls once more, tantalizing Daniel.
"Well? On your back," Curt ordered, when Daniel seemed unable to take his eyes off the sight inches from his face. "Let me see your fingers buried in your asshole as you get it ready." Daniel remained on his knees, staring at Curt's erection, his chest quickly rising and falling as he took rapid breaths through his open mouth, totally captivated by Curt. For his part, Curt had surrendered to the moment. He was no longer thinking of his past or what he was going to feel like when he left the apartment. The only thing of importance was the slender blond man who had climbed onto the bed and who now had three fingers buried deep in his own ass, stretching himself as he liberally applied the slippery lube to his hole.
"Enough!" Curt pushed Daniel's hand away, exposing the glistening pink hole which pulsed in anticipation of what was to come. Curt stepped close to the end of the bed, grasping both of Daniel's ankles and pushing them back to his shoulders opening him even wider. Daniel groaned, a low sound, deep in his chest. His own erection lay on his stomach, pulsing each time he tightened his sphincter. His face was flushed, his eyes almost pleading as he continued taking rapid breaths through his mouth.
"Please, sir," he murmured. When he repeated the word it was barely more than a movement of his lips.
"What did you say?"
"Please sir, fuck me," He responded, speaking louder. "I want you in me. Stretch me. Work me hard. I want to feel it tomorrow." His voice was low, insistent. He looked from Curt's face to the erection, poised to enter him, licking his lips. "Please." The voice had lowered until it was not much more than a whimper.
Curt moved closer, and in one stroke buried the entire length of his erection in Daniel's hole, ignoring the sharp intake of breath and the pain he knew he must be causing. He gave Daniel only a few moments to become accustomed to the intruder before he started working his hips. With the first thrust, Daniel groaned a breathy, "yessss."
'This isn't the way things should be,' Curt thought as he began roughly thrusting himself into the man below him. 'Why am I acting like this? I'm sure I'm hurting him. Why is he enjoying it?' Curt paused a moment and looked at the man beneath him.
'Why am I doing this?' He was frustrated and about to pull out.
Daniel grabbed at Curt's hands, still holding his ankles against his shoulders. "Harder, sir," he panted. Curt blinked, and began to thrust hard, angry that Daniel was enjoying his treatment, angry at himself. The bed shook with each forward thrust and combined with Daniel's almost continuous moans of pleasure.
Daniel began to furiously stroke his own erection. With the speed Curt was moving he knew it couldn't be long before Curt would climax. As their orgasms approached, both men's breathing grew rough. Curt closed his eyes. He could both feel and hear the slap of his testicles against Daniel with each powerful forward stroke. The hole grasped his penis tightly, surrounding him in furnace-like heat. That plus the smell of his and Daniel's perspiration spurred him on. He knew Daniel wanted to be kissed, but he . . . couldn't.
He leaned forward, resting his hands on the bed, giving himself greater leverage as Daniel wrapped his legs around his waist. Droplets of perspiration fell onto Daniel's chest. Curt watched as one drop landed on the blond man's neatly clipped beard and then left a glistening trail over his cheek. Daniel eagerly licked his lips, cleaning away a second drop.
'I remember Brad doing that.' The thought caused him to falter for a second. 'It should be Brad,' he thought to himself. 'Brad should be beneath me, not this guy.' The momentary surge of pleasure he felt disappeared to be replaced by the return of a simmering anger. He was angry at himself because he had allowed himself to give in to temptation. He was angry with Daniel for tempting him. He was just angry. 'It should be Brad,' he thought once more, tightly closing his eyes and fiercely slamming his hips forward one last time as he pumped the condom buried in Daniel's hole full.
'If this were Brad, I wouldn't have to wear a condom. I'd be able to feel my own sperm surround my cock.' The pulsing of Daniel's sphincter around his erection signaled the man's own orgasm, as much as did Daniel's hoarse groans and gasps for breath. Curt propped himself up, unwilling to lie on top of the man. He didn't know what to do. He and Brad would always cuddle until they finally fell asleep. He couldn't do that with . . . this person. It wasn't Daniel's fault. Still, he felt used, and was angry with himself for allowing anything at all to happen with a man he cared nothing about.
'I'm a better person than this,' he groaned inwardly.
'Phalen may have been right when he said I should start seeing someone, but this is not the way.' Daniel shifted beneath him, still impaled on Curt's firm, but slowly shrinking erection.
"Sir?" he whimpered. "Can I taste it?" The voice was rough with emotion. Curt opened his eyes. There was no doubt, Daniel was a desirable man. The flawless skin, the clipped beard, his dark green eyes . . . all beautiful. He was intelligent. He had a wonderful body. If he wasn't already in love, Daniel would be perfect. The problem was, he was in love. He knew he shouldn't be here . . . doing this. It wasn't the right thing to do. He pulled out of Daniel's hole and stripped off the condom, looking at it for a moment, the milky-colored latex filled with cum. His body, his mind, everything had betrayed him.
'Why am I here,' he wondered, inverting the condom and holding it over Daniel's eagerly waiting mouth. 'I can't blame anyone but myself. I wasn't strong enough. I can't blame Brad for leaving.' He watched the thick sperm drain out of the condom in a long strand, and disappear into Daniel's open mouth. He heard him swallow and then look up with a tentative smile. Daniel knew something was not right, but couldn't guess what it might be.
'It's not his fault,' Curt thought. 'He's done nothing wrong. Don't lash out.' He thought for a moment and then slumped onto the bed at Daniel's side and then rolled onto his back with his arm over his eyes and sighed.
"I've got to go," he croaked, not trusting his voice to say more. He uncovered his eyes and rolled his head to the side, noticing the look of disappointment on Daniel's face. Once again he told himself it wasn't Daniel's fault he was feeling the things he was.
He forced a grin, trying his best to spare the man any more pain than necessary, and then leaned close and kissed him deeply, tasting his own sperm on Daniel's tongue. "You've done nothing wrong," he murmured, tenderly running a thumb along the blond man's jaw line. "You're wonderful. It's just that being with you here . . . like this . . . makes me think of someone else. I realized I'm not over him." He caressed Daniel's cheek, trying to be tender and not show the discomfort that was now bordering on revulsion.
"I've got to leave, not because of you or anything you've done, but because of me." He sighed when Daniel took his hand. The man's mute understanding was making things worse.
'It should have been Brad,' he thought, drawing away and jumping off the bed, anxious more than ever to be away. He skipped putting on his underwear, stuffing them into a pocket of his pants instead. The same with his socks. Those went into his jacket pocket. He quickly tucked his shirt tails into his slacks, and buttoned a couple buttons of his shirt, feeling to see if he still had his wallet, car keys and phone.
'I've got to get out of here,' he thought, once more looking at the handsome man lying on the bed watching him get dressed.
For a moment, he pitied Daniel. He didn't deserve to be treated like this. Curt tried to smile and then climbed onto the bed, supporting himself on one knee as he once again kissed Daniel deeply. Daniel put his arm around Curt's shoulders, trying to pull him close. He resisted and stood on shaky legs.
He ran his fingers through his hair and headed toward the apartment's front door, letting himself out without looking back. He ran down the hallway, anxiously tapping his foot as he waited for the elevator. He punched the button a second time and then a third.
"C'mon, c'mon," he murmured. There was a chime and the doors began to open. He shouldered his way past the doors, angrily jabbing his thumb at the button to close the doors, thankful there was no one else present to witness his actions. He leaned against the back of the elevator cab and jerkily ran his splayed fingers through his hair.
'It should have been Brad,' he angrily said to himself as he stormed out of the elevator and crossed the building's lobby, ignoring the stares of the people standing nearby. 'I've been unfaithful.'
He slammed the door to his car and waited until the roof retracted, folding itself into its compartment behind the back seat. 'I've done it again. I have no control.' He screeched out onto the street feeling the warm air rush past as he raced home as quickly as possible. He wanted to take a long hot shower in hopes it might wash away the feeling of being dirty. 'I love Brad.' He pounded the steering wheel in frustration, and then lovingly ran a finger over Brad's photograph on his dashboard.
"I'm sorry," he croaked.
Greg inhaled deeply in a moment of spontaneous sensuality. A gentle breeze, barely enough to qualify, carried the scent of night blooming flowers. He leaned back in the patio chair with his hands behind his head enjoying the gentle evening warmth. The palms in Jeff's backyard were dark green silhouettes against a watermelon-pink sky. A single bird flew overhead seeking home before nightfall, the flapping of wings the only sound.
"Ahhhhh." He exhaled a long contented breath. 'Things here are so peaceful. It's almost as if I've started over with my life . . . like I'm being given a second chance. The problem is, I don't know where to start. I'm afraid the same things will happen here as back home. I don't want to be laughed at again.' He inhaled slowly, trying to calm himself. 'Face it,' he chided himself. 'You're a coward, pretending everything is fine. Who are you trying to fool?'
He could still hear the laughter of his fellow medical student at his fumbling attempts at lovemaking. It was his first time with a woman, and it was awful. Her laughter turned to ridicule when he lost his erection. The same thing happened with the two men he'd attempted sex with. On both occasions he was so afraid of not being able to perform, his worst fears were realized. He closed his eyes and shivered at the memories, the pleasantly warm evening did nothing to hide the cold dread coming from within.
There were no words to describe the feelings of envy each time he saw Jeff and Phalen embrace. Just yesterday, Phalen walked into the kitchen, wrapping his arms around Jeff's waist and looking over Jeff's shoulder as he prepared dinner, never saying anything, just trying to be close. Greg thought of the times he caught Jeff wearing a contented smile as he silently watched Phalen at some task. When Phalen realized he was being watched and looked up, Jeff's smile would blossom. At times, the tenderness they showed to one another was almost embarrassing in its tenderness.
He was certain he wasn't alone in envying Jeff and Phalen's relationship. On the few occasions Phalen's father had been over to visit, Greg had caught him watching the two men with something akin to longing. When Larry realized he was being watched he gave Greg a shy grin and looked away both from Greg, and from his son and Jeff. He was left wondering why Larry's expression had been so wistful.
It gave him a strange sort of comfort knowing someone else he knew might be searching for the same thing he was. He had lain awake on a couple occasions wondering exactly what it was Larry was searching for. He and Brad seemed devoted to one another. He remembered Larry commenting that the two of them didn't have a chance to spend enough time together, due either to his job or Brad's. 'Maybe that's his problem,' Greg remembered thinking one evening, just before he finally fell asleep. On one occasion when both men were visiting, he remembered Brad snuggling close as Larry draped an arm over his shoulder.
'Why would Larry be envious of his son's relationship? There had to be something more to it . . . something he wasn't aware of.' He shook his head slightly and sighed once more, noticing how the sky had changed from a pink to a light purple. The fading rays of the sun painted the wisps of clouds, a gossamer white against the darkening backdrop. There was a sudden rustling of the night birds in the trees overhead, just as quickly fading away.
He twisted and looked over his shoulder at the sound of a patio door opening.
"Hei." Jeff used a Finnish greeting, giving him a tentative smile as he dragged a chair over to the table where Greg was sitting. Greg folded the newspaper he had been reading earlier and turned to his brother.
"Hei, mit^Ê kuuluu," he continued, asking how Jeff was. The answer was a slight grin accompanied by a shrug.
Jeff was wearing the ubiquitous red nylon running shorts, with a side slit going to the waist. He drew his bare feet up onto the front edge of the chair and wrapped his arms around his legs, resting his chin on his knees. It was the same pose Greg had seen him in many times as a child, sitting on the window seat in his room staring out over the neighboring park.
"I'm fine." Jeff's response seemed half hearted.
"You don't look fine." Greg leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table. "Is everything okay?" Jeff gave him a crooked grin.
"I've been talking with Larry. He's not happy at work." He looked at his brother with a distracted grin. "It bothers me to see other people unhappy, especially Larry. He's been through so much. He deserves a little happiness in his life."
"Aren't he and Brad doing okay? They seem to dote on one another." Greg felt slightly guilty, asking a question he had been curious to know the answer to.
Jeff heaved a sigh and stretched his legs out in front of himself, crossing them at the ankle. "I honestly don't know how to answer that. They've both got a lot on their mind right now. Larry's distracted by all his work stuff, and Brad's seems unable to move on after Curt." His soft snort carried a meaning but signified nothing to Greg.
"Was this Curt person a bad guy? What caused them to split up?"
Jeff took a deep breath. "Curt fooled around behind Brad's back, and no, he's not a bad guy, really. He's sort of a pathetic figure right now. He's beating himself for causing the break up. I think that he only now realizes that he really did love Brad." He grinned slightly. "It's sort of like a story in a book. Right now, most of the characters are miserable."
He softly snorted and abruptly shook his head as if banishing troubling thoughts, glancing at his brother and smiling. "I'm really glad you're staying with us, Greg." The pool lights cast flickering shadows over his features. "I've always been sorry we weren't closer when we were growing up. You were just enough older than me to keep us from having much in common." Greg could barely see Jeff's crooked smile.
"I always remember being a little awed by you, your drive, your intelligence . . . everything. I always wanted to be like you, but I never felt close enough to you to tell you what I felt. I found myself imitating you though. I wanted to be just like you. I always wished we did things together, but I was too young. So, I ended up watching you from a distance." His voice trailed off until it was barely above a whisper. "I needed a friend."
He seemed to catch himself before he said more. He cleared his throat and grinned. "Maybe the two of us can finally find the time to really get to know one another. I'd like nothing better than for my big brother to also be my best friend." He swallowed past a lump in his throat.
"I'd like that too, Jeff. You have no idea how much." He chuckled a moment. "Here, you're telling me you envied me as we were growing up. Now that we're adults, it's me who is envying you." He could see Jeff's expressive eyebrows rise in query.
"You've got the thing that I dream of . . . a partner to love. The need is like an ache in my gut; one that lingers. Sometimes it's barely noticeable. Other times it hurts so much I can think of nothing else." He gave his brother a crooked smile. "Since you and Phalen visited Mother and Dad and me back in Finland, the ache has grown until I can hardly bear it."
"I see happy people all around me and wonder where I went wrong." He bowed his head for a moment. "Before you say anything, I know I haven't done something wrong, really." He paused a moment and watched his brother's solemn expression.
"You know, Jeff. I once heard a professor of mine say to someone that one can't give happiness to anyone who doesn't have it in them." He took a deep breath. "Sometimes, I wonder if I have it in me. At times I feel so . . . empty."
Jeff reached across the table and gave his brother's hand a brief squeeze. "You have it in you. If you didn't I don't think you'd be worried about it."
"You think so? Truly?"
Jeff nodded. "I do. I had to work hard to find mine. Sometimes, I almost gave up. I'm glad I didn't." He gave his brother an encouraging grin. "You'll find what you're looking for, Greg." He paused a moment. "We'll find it together."
The front door slammed and both men looked into the house, welcoming the distraction from a conversation that was becoming too emotionally laden.
"Where is everyone," Phalen shouted. He saw them sitting on the patio and stalked through the living room, dropping his book bag and gym bag on the floor with a muffled thud. He stepped into the open doorway and stood with his fists on his hips, looking upset.
"I'm a baseball player! I'm not on the friggin' track team for pity sake!" He flopped down onto a lawn chair and almost immediately stood and began to pace, waving his arms. "I have one class in a nice building on the corner of campus. It's on the fifth floor, by the way. Suddenly, at some invisible signal everyone jumps up and rushes out of the room like there's a fire."
"Damn, I'm slow. It took me a second to figure out that the class was over. The teacher and I were left staring at one another. Do you realize, I had to haul my ass in ten minutes all the way across that city they call a campus, to the fourth floor of another building." He turned and looked at them, his fists once again resting on his hips. "I managed to arrive after what had to be a record-setting pace. Picture it. I'm running at top speed, juggling all my worldly belongings in those two bags." He nodded to the two discouraging lumps on the floor immediately inside the door, and then huffed and puffed a couple times, for effect. "Then I discover that the elevator's broken, so everyone has to trek up those steps like so many buffalo in a stampede."
"And then . . . and then, the dried up old stick someone calls a professor, taps his watch with a claw and tells us that he was never late for class when he was in college." Phalen whipped around, ignoring the grins of the two men seated close by. "Probably wasn't late 'cause he went to college in a one-room school house out on the friggin' prairie someplace." He flopped onto the chair again, looking from Greg to Jeff, trying not to grin and break the mood he'd created.
He leaned back and threw his head back and laughed.
"I'm awful aren't I?"
Greg laughed and applauded. "No, I thought you were quite good. Was that part of a performance for a drama class, or something?" He ducked as Phalen mimed throwing something at him. Jeff merely shook his head, pleased to hear his brother laugh.
"We have a smart ass staying with us, Jeff." Phalen stretched his legs out in front of him and absently reached for Jeff's hand, glancing at him with a fleeting expression that was tender enough to almost make Greg cry. "Just what the world needs . . . a funny doctor."
~ to be continued ~
Thank you for taking the time to read my work. I always welcome your email and enjoy hearing your thoughts. If you would like me to send a pic of the character(s), please ask.
In addition to the first 'Phalen' story, I have three other stories you may want to read. 'Leith,' and 'Chris' are located in the Nifty College Section. The third story is called 'Wesley', and is located in the Adult Relationships section. I hope you enjoy them all.
Best wishes,
Roy Reinikainen roynm@mac.com suomalainen_abq@mac.com