Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 17:53:11 -0800 (PST) From: Evan Bradely Subject: Chapter 3 of "The Crew" The following fictional story deals with sex among males. If you are offended by such material, are too young, or reside in a location where it is not allowed, please depart. Though not observed in this story, care enough about yourself and humankind to practice safe sex. The author retains all rights. EvanBradley33@Yahoo.com Chapter 3 Beginnings Max and Kenji Members of the crew gradually noticed Hal's disappearance from the jogging track and gym. He sometimes did that. Tonio wondered aloud about Hal's reason for cutting out without saying anything to anyone. Max had replied, "Struggling with his demons." No one had to ask for an interpretation. Max and Kenji had caught a ride with Ted and Levi back to the construction site to pick up Max's pickup. They drove home in silence. Since they had showered at the gym, Max took their gym clothes down to the laundry room while Kenji started dinner - Japanese noodles with steamed vegetables and green tea, one of Max's favorites. He set the table and prepared small salads while Kenji prepared the noodles, both men working almost wordlessly. Dinner passed much the same way. Eventually, Kenji placed his chopsticks on their holder and leaned back. Max was becoming proficient in handling and eating with chopsticks, but he was still slower than Kenji in completing his meal. At first Max had found the appliances trouble. But he'd said nothing, for he wanted some elements of Kenji's culture and background in their life together so that he would be comfortable in his new home. Kenji had so taken to Max's home and society that it seemed natural for the two of them to inhabit the same space - as though they'd been roommates for several years. Max smiled, remembering the close body contact Kenji and he had fallen into while Kenji was teaching him how to hold the chopsticks and move the food to his mouth. Max had moved back in his chair so that Kenji could sit between his big muscular thighs - Kenji's idea. Kenji had placed his right arm and hand over Max's, secretly delighting in the heat transmitted from Max's muscular forearm to his own smooth, sinewy forearm. Then he had guided Max's fingers and hands in eating as Max leaned forward against him to eat. He loved feeling his lover's warm, hard chest up against his back. He could even feel Max's well-developed pecs pressing into his back. He loved Max's head up next to his own. If Kenji were too slow helping Max, the latter would begin licking or nibbling on Kenji's ear, who couldn't avoid a giggle - or a hard cock. It wasn't the easiest arrangement for eating, but it was exciting. The next day, they ate an entire meal that way, taking turns feeding each other with the same chopsticks. It took longer to eat, but what foreplay! Kenji liked feeling Max's cock fill as they ate. Occasionally, Max would gently slide his calloused hand up Kenji's smooth, sinewy legs, setting off electrical charges that raced up Kenji's leg to his dick and balls. Then Max would slide his big hand across Kenji's crotch, smiling about the hard mound he found there. It was one of the most erotic situations Max or Kenji had ever experienced, amplified by their eating at the same time. No way could they stay out of each other's pants or in their clothes after an experience like that. They didn't mind. Their hunger for each other could not be satisfied. They were like rabbits. The real driving force wasn't just lust; it was the intense, almost burning love each felt for the other, a wholly new experience for either of them. They were hooked on it and on each other. It was still too new for them to analyze the forces that were shaping it. But it stood in stark contrast to what Hal must be feeling. They sat in silence, drinking the Chinese beer both liked. "We hurt Hal," Kenji said matter-of-factly. "No, I hurt Hal a long time ago," Max stated. "WE hurt Hal," Kenji iterated, indicating in a rare display of independence that Max wasn't listening and that Kenji's view would be seriously considered. "How did your talk about us go with him?" Kenji asked. Max frowned. "I didn't say anything." Kenji looked surprised. "I thought we decided something had to be said about the date and my moving here." "You're right - something does. But I just didn't know how to get started. I knew it would be painful for him. While we were waiting for you guys to show up, he started reliving his past." Kenji was confused. "Talking about his life?" "No, reliving it in his own mind. He does that. I can always tell. I knew he was retreating into his past because of you and me. I thought I'd let him get it out of his system and then talk to him in the gym or on the ride back to the construction site. It never occurred to me that he'd disappear." "Why doesn't it work for Hal?" Kenji exclaimed with pent-up frustration. Max was surprised. It wasn't like Kenji to allow his emotions to burst out like that, especially since Kenji was the most recent guy who had moved on from Hal. "I dunno," Max answered glumly. "As I told you, I've tried to get something going with Hal and each of our buddies when they came in the company, but none of the combinations ever held. Believe me - it's been a life lesson: sex doesn't substitute for love. I'm not blaming Hal; he's done his part. But just like us, Ted and Levi were attracted to and then fell in love with each other. Rich, Jamal, and Tonio don't want to get permanently hooked up with anyone, not even Hal. Oh they're not reluctant to jump in the hay with him, but I could be easily convinced that it hurts Hal more than it helps him. "Because it reminds him of what he lost? What he doesn't have?" Kenji asked. "Yes. . . maybe persuade him that he'll never have a guy in his life - except for the 'on-loan' guys." "On-loan guys?" "Rich, Jamal, and Tonio - guys who'll jump into his bed to scratch an itch but that's all. Nothing to build a relationship on." "Oh." Silence followed. "Why do you think Hal left the gym tonight without saying good-bye?" "It was too painful watching Ted and Levi and you and me together. It hurt too much remembering that nothing took with Tonio, Jamal, and Rich. I haven't talked to either Hal or Rich about it, but I've sensed that the break-up with Rich was wrenching. I think it had to do with Richie. Did he tell you about Richie Collins when they were in the orphanage?" Kenji nodded his head in the affirmative. They sat in silence for several minutes, sipping their beer. "Hal's hungry both to give and receive love." Max chuckled. "I'm honestly not certain WHICH is more important to Hal - the giving or the receiving. I think it's the giving." "I agree," Kenji responded. "But none of us needs his love," Max continued. "That's what burns! He knows he's important to us as an employer but probably not even as a workout buddy. He thinks he doesn't mean any more to us than that. He's had a lifetime of it. I think he's beginning to feel desperate," Max observed. That's the only explanation for Steph." "Who's Steph?" Kenji asked. "Hal's ex-wife. He married her in the flick of an eye. They weren't together much longer either. It had to be a bad experience for him. He never really talks about it. Who knows, it probably mixes in with all his other failures." "Did you know her?" "Steph was too good to ever get to know a laborer. She came from class and money. She sort of looked at me as though I were fly buzzing around a picnic lunch. Which was okay with me because she seldom came to a construction site. Too working class for her. When she did have to come by, I could tell that she was pissed off. Usually it was to push Hal about something. I think it embarrassed him. Well, given all this history, it was easier for Hal to cut out tonight . . . . I should have seen it coming when he started down Memory Lane while we were waiting in the parking lot. I wonder how many times he's hiked down that lane." Kenji raised his eyebrows in a wordless question. "When people feel desperate, they often do stupid things," Max answered. "How many hikes down Memory Lane before Hal feels desperate again and jumps into what looks like another quick answer like Steph?" "I've only just met Hal," Kenji said, "but I wouldn't want to lose him from my life. Maybe we should ask him to dinner sometime. Be real buddies to him." Max mulled it over. "I think we have to allow for a cooling off period before it would work for Hal." "Cooling off?" "We need to let Hal get used to our being together. It's too soon after your moving out. As for being real buddies to Hal, we work out with him, you know." "But we're men. We'd do that with just about anyone if we worked with him. It wouldn't make any difference whether we liked him or not. Kind of like watching a ball game, you know, or betting in an office pool - or shingling a roof. You don't have to be buddies with others to do that, so those activities don't really say 'Hey, we're buddies.'" "You mean you don't feel like you and I are buddies at the gym?" "Not the same. We live and love together, which colors everything we do." "Do you think your wish to do something for Hal grows out of a guilty conscience?" Max asked gently. Kenji was silent for quite a while. "I didn't mean to offend you," Max explained. "You didn't. I was just examining my motives carefully. I DO feel guilty about not being for Hal what he wanted, what he needed, especially after he saved me . . . from I don't know what! But that isn't what made me suggest dinner. I just wanted for us to be with him in a situation that wasn't the construction site or Murphy's Gym. I thought it might open us up to each other in a different way than work or the gym does. Give Hal something different, another dimension in our relationship." Max thought for a bit. "You have a good idea. I think we need to act on it. But a dinner here for the three of us is more intimate. It's too soon for that kind of dinner here in our home. But something you said gave me an idea. How about we treat him to dinner on the fly at a restaurant prior to our taking him to the a Renegades ball game?" "Renegades ballgame?" "You must not have been around here very long. The Colliston Renegades are a Triple A baseball team. They're a training group for two major league teams. I've spent several relaxing evenings watching them play. I really shed cares and concerns when I'm at the ballpark. Everything's slow and easy. But it can be exciting sometimes too. I have a feeling it might work the same way for Hal. It would be a good setting for us to begin to bring him into our lives more. . . . I'm correct in thinking that was your overall strategy?" Kenji grinned. "Yeah, that was it." How he loved this man! Right from the start. As darkly handsome as Hal was, it was Max to whom Kenji was attracted. He loved his big body. His big square head sported a lazy crew cut. His smaller ears stood out just a little from his head. His blue eyes always seemed veiled as though Max had dropped a protective shield over them so that one could not look into his soul. His face was wide. He had a wide boxer's nose and a strong chin between which resided a small mouth with full lips. A thick neck flowed into muscled shoulders, huge knots of them in the caps. Max was "homely handsome." >From Kenji's perspective, Max had been almost reverential toward him right after Hal had hired him, looking out for him the first couple of weeks. It was clear that Kenji had no construction experience. Yet it satisfied Max deeply that he as foreman could take Kenji under his wing, telling him carefully what tasks he needed to perform and how he was to perform them. They had drunk each other in on those occasions. It was as though they couldn't disconnect. Max learned a new appreciation for Hal's years of shepherding young boys in the orphanage. Then Max discovered ways to touch Kenji, sending sparks down Max's limbs to his cock. Kenji had loved those touches, trying to return them, knowing he was more reticent than Max. Kenji had known Max wanted him, thinking his own desire for Max quite transparent, but Max had seemed uncertain about Kenji's feelings for him. The date arranged by Hal had surprised both of them. They really hadn't given any thought to being observed, but Hal obviously had been watching and correctly interpreting their behavior. That date brought them together. They were both grateful to Hal for it, but each felt guilty as hell too. Though they didn't discuss it, each wondered if he could be the author of as selfless an act if it were going to cost them an opportunity to realize one of their dreams. Max and Kenji cleaned up the kitchen and then moved out to the deck where they lazed about on chaise lounges, a habit they had formed on evenings after working out. Occasionally they commented on something, offered an insight about this or that, shared a joke, made plans for the evening with Hal. Max would gently nudge Kenji to tell him about his early life, but Kenji kept that part closed off. Somehow Max didn't think it was a trust issue. They were so close now that he would have known if Kenji didn't trust him. Kenji was so sensitive that it had to be something that would make Kenji ashamed to disclose. As frequently was the case, Kenji offered to give Max a backrub. Max knew where it would lead, and he was more than ready. They made love almost every night. Only when they were dead-dog tired would they crawl under a sheet with Kenji's head in the crook of Max's arm and a leg thrown over his, sleeping until the alarm clock awoke them early the next morning. They locked up the house and shut off the lights. Then went down the hall to the master bedroom. They shed their clothes, and then Max pulled back the bedspread and sheet. Kenji had a big towel ready to spread under Max. Kenji asked Max to wait before lying down on the bed. Kenji wanted to look at that beautiful, butch body again. Max's pecs weren't huge muscular plates like Hal's. His nipples were just as small. The bottom of his pecs curved back into his pits more sharply than Hal's. His stomach was full of muscle, and his lats sloped down into a slim waist and a breath-taking, full, muscular ass. Not fat! An ample ass bestowed by the gods! An unusual, thin, asymmetrical black tattoo in a modern design rose above and below Max's belly button for about four inches up and down, most of it residing to the right of his belly button. It called attention to the hard rod below. The tattoo was such an exotic touch, given Max's looks. One would have expected a Marine Corps emblem or something similar. Kenji loved the tattoo, tracing it with his fingers during the afterglow of their strenuous lovemaking. The muscles in Max's arms and legs were big bundles of power. He'd trimmed his pubic bush to a small bar about two inches wide over an average, straight, six-inch cock. A small round sack of balls hung just below his cock. Kenji melted inside every time he looked at that big body. He loved to be held in those powerful arms, loved those muscle-powered legs clamped around him, loved resting his head on that muscular chest, especially loved feeling those calloused hands caressing him. Loved the warmth of that cock and those balls as they nestled against his flesh. Loved lying under that butch body. He tried every way he knew to let Max know that. Slowly, Kenji was revealing how afraid he had been before he hired on with Hal. Max knew how much Kenji liked to be held. He thought it must have something to do with his being homeless when he showed up at the construction site. Kenji had been out walking through the new subdivision as a way to get out of the train station before someone there tipped to the fact that Kenji had taken up residence, which anti-loitering ordinances forbade. So Kenji had taken to roaming all day long until late at night to kill time, thinking about what he could do to get his life back on track. He just couldn't bring himself to go to a shelter. It would have felt too much as though he were on his last leg. When he saw Hal's construction site, he took a gamble and walked in to apply for a job. Max knew that, as soon as Hal had tipped to Kenji's sad circumstances, he would have made work for Kenji just to save him from those feelings of being lost and alone, teetering on the edge of the precipice. Hal had become familiar with those feelings over a lifetime. While Kenji was immersing himself in his lover's body, Max was doing the same. Kenji was small, spare, and wiry. Pity the man who mistook him for a weakling. It was a revelation for Max: wiry muscles could harbor a lot of strength! Kenji had this glorious mop of black hair that spun itself around his head the way a lion's mane framed his regal head. Like Max's, Kenji's nose was wide, but it was perfectly moderated by Kenji's widely spaced dark eyes with dark, thin brows above. Like Max, Kenji's mouth was small, but his lips were thinner than Max's though just as nicely shaped. Kenji had broad shoulders for his size, but his pecs were not particularly defined. He had a sexy, flat stomach, feathered hair in his pits, a slim waist, and a nice but average ass. His cock was about 5 inches long, surrounded by straight black hair. He was uncut, but not so much that his foreskin covered the entire head of his cock. His balls were average in size. His legs too were lightly muscled. What was so arresting was the worried look on Kenji's face. His eyes bespoke fear. Max could see what had so easily won Hal's heart - and his too. All a man wanted to do was soothe that apprehensive look from Kenji's eyes. It would be like a monstrous orgasm to accomplish that feat. Kenji pointed to the bed, so Max lay face down on the towel. He loved feeling Kenji's smaller hands on his body, loved feeling the smaller man sitting on his ass, feeling that fat cock poking his ass, the small of his back, the middle of his back. Kenji started with Max's feet, but it took an act of will not to start with his powerful ass. Kenji loved it, loved running his hands over the hard, rounded cheeks, loved sliding his hands on their sides up through that deep crack and back again, loved feeling the hair wreathing Max's pucker. Then he'd scramble up and sit on Max's butt, while he ministered to Max's upper body, feeling his cock and balls slide on the oiled surface of Max's ass. It really got hot when Kenji finally asked Max to turn over. Frequently, the massage was never finished - well, not in any regulation way. Kenji couldn't stop nibbling on Max's nipples. And his fat little cock would smear the precum it was emitting plentifully all over Max's stomach. As often as not, Max couldn't take it any more, so he'd grab Kenji and roll over on top of him, setting him off into giggles - until Max started his own love-making. Then the giggles turned into sighs, escalating to moans, evolving into gasps or muttered expressions, sometimes in English, sometimes in Japanese. They liked to 69, but the pronounced difference in their height made it almost a workout for one of them. Kenji, because Max didn't have a monster dong, liked to be fucked, liked to be on the bottom. That was fine with Max, who was always more a top than a bottom. It was one of the factors that had made Hal and him not quite a comfortable match - they both wanted to top the other. Max and Kenji's orgasms were powerful. And the afterglow in which they expressed their esteem and love for the other forged a powerful bond between them. Afterwards, they drifted into a deep sleep, clinging to each other. Russ and Gwen Thomas Hal wasn't at the construction site the next morning, making Max and Kenji shoot each other worried looks. The other men noted his absence as well. Ted and Levi had a whispered conversation about it at one point. Jamal had muttered to Tonio that Hal must be having a bad time. "Think he has a hangover?" Jamal had asked Tonio. "Naw, you know Hal doesn't get drunk," Tonio replied. "Take some big blowup for Hal to get drunk. I haven't seen anything that bad recently." Simultaneous with these quiet exchanges, Hal was dressing in a suit. Dr. Russell Thomas and his wife Gwen were friends of Dr. Charles Haynes and his wife Deirdre, whose house Winston Construction Company was presently building. Dr. Thomas had called earlier in the week to arrange a meeting to talk about building a home. He'd invited Hal to breakfast with him and his wife. As owner of his own construction company, Hal took care of the up-front business himself. In a rare streak of independence, he didn't bring Max or anyone else into that part of the business, rarely imparting information about new contacts for future projects until a contract had been signed and until Hal felt the moment to announce the new project to his employees was propitious. It was something he'd learned from Walter Henderson. Never allow anyone, especially outsiders, to know all your business! That was how Hal knew Walter had moved him to special standing, making him the equivalent of a son learning the business. Walter had begun teaching Hal that part of his business, gradually withdrawing, allowing Hal to handle the upfront stages of construction projects. When Hal arrived for the meeting, he noted that the Thomas home was big and upscale, but it was not on par with the Haynes's new home. 'Ah,' he thought, 'even the rich play Keeping Up with the Joneses.' Gwen Thomas greeted him at the door. She was smashingly beautiful - blond, high cheeks flushed with health, a bow mouth with naturally red lips, nice breasts and a thin waist. 'What an ass!' Hal thought. Then he chastened himself. She ushered him into the living room, explaining that Russ would be right down. She explained about the Haynes connection and how happy and excited the latter were about the progress on their house. They heard clomping on the stairs. Hal had expected a man the equal of Gwen, so he hid his surprise when Russ appeared. He was short, rotund, balding, sporting horn rim glasses with Coke bottle lenses. He had a little moustache under and not much wider than his nose with another smudge of whiskers under the middle of his bottom lip. He was breathing heavily even though he'd only walked down and not up the stairs! Clearly, Russ had bought Gwen as a trophy wife. Hal's brow wrinkled, remembering that he had been a trophy husband and lover to Steph, his ex-wife. Hal understood instantly that Russ would be little interested in the house. It was the latest price he had to pay for marrying a woman beyond his reach. It was likely a trophy house for Russ - to match his trophy wife. Russ and Gwen invited Hal into the dining room, which was laid out with china on placemats with silver and linen napkins - really elegant for breakfast. Hal wondered why they were trying to impress him. Keeping up with what they thought the Haynes's gesture would be? Charles Haynes was a surgeon. Russ Thomas was a radiologist, making Hal wonder if there was a pecking order among medical specialties. In a flash he realized that, if types of construction companies were rated with different degrees of respect, it must be true of physician specialties as well. Hall understood immediately: the Thomases had told the Hayneses that they were meeting with Hal - that's where they secured his contact information. If a report of that meeting were to get back to the Hayneses other than through Russ and Gwen, they wanted it to be the best report possible. They didn't want Charles and Deirdre regretting having them as friends. Russ immediately plopped down in a chair, pulling a napkin into his lap. Hal moved quickly behind Gwen, seating her. Once again he was thankful that Walter Henderson had seen to it that Hal was "finished for society," considering some of the big clients who wanted a Henderson-built home. As a consequence, Hal could handle himself at a rodeo, fish fry, Texas barbecue, gentleman's club, country club, mansion, or estate weekend. A maid came in to serve them breakfast. Gwen did most of the talking, explaining where the lot was located and what kind of a home they wanted. Hal asked questions along the way, trying to develop in his mind a broad sketch of the project they were discussing. Hal kept trying to sound Russ out about his interests in the home, but he was wasting his time. Russ was too busy shoveling in a plate of Eggs Benedict. At one point Hal looked back at Gwen, noticing that the way she was looking at him was downright hot and predatory. Hal groaned inwardly. There was no way he could become involved with Gwen while Russ and she were his clients. When he had become Walter's general manager, that was one of the first lessons he'd been taught - never mix with clients while they are clients. Walter was shrewd in business, and Hal had acquired almost all that shrewdness. He could see that he would need to make the point about his unavailability to Gwen early on. He wondered, given Russ's desire for a trophy wife, just how much he actually cared about Gwen's sleeping around. When Russ finished his breakfast, he arose and said good-bye, explaining that he had some early consultations he needed to make. He assured Hal that he wanted him to stay to discuss the house with Gwen. Then he could send Russ a bid. "Others will be bidding as well?" Hal asked. "Oh no, just you," Russ had stated. Hal started wondering what Deirdre Haynes and Gwen Thomas had discussed that made his the only construction company to be considered. Gwen and Hal returned to the living room where Hal began making notes. Gwen provided him the blueprints and the address of the lot. She requested that they meet at the lot when it was convenient for Hal so that they could discuss how the house was to be situated. When she gave Hal her cell phone number, she was pointed in telling him that he could call her there any time he wished, punctuating the assurance with an alluring smile. (To be continued.)