Jerry scanned the park through his binoculars, identifying each boy as he went: Mark, Cody, Cody's friend, and little brother Jody. Jerry was still amused that a mother would call her sons Cody and Jody; the similar sounding names confused him at first. He looked through his third floor window with impunity; the reflective glass kept his apartment cool on hot days, but had the added effect of concealing his observations. Jerry had stood outside the apartment in various weather conditions to confirm this, but still he remained cautious.
"Who are you?" Jerry said to himself, upon sighting a new boy.
He focused on the boy's face as the teen paused, waiting his turn. The shaggy brown hair on the round face mesmerized Jerry, but the thick lips did him in; this kid was beautiful, he thought. Just as quickly, the young body was again in motion, skating through the purpose built park.
Jerry glanced at his watch; it was just past two p.m., and still an hour before his daily walk. He always walked the parklands at three, ending up at the bench near the skate park by three thirty. He'd observed that time as the peak of activity with young athletes racing around on their boards, providing him with a private performance. Thankfully, they were often shirtless in the hot summer sun. He wondered if he could go early to get a closer look at the new boy, as there hadn't been a new one in quite some time.
He decided to wait until half past, and be closer to the usual time. He found the boys' ignored his presence, almost seeming to treat him like a part of the scenery as he arrived at the same time each day for his show.
With the new boy down at the far end of the park, Jerry focused on Jody being bullied by his older brother. He watched as the muscled blond pushed his skinny brother aside, denying him his turn. Jerry deduced that the teen was required to bring his younger brother to the park; the older kids went downtown to the larger skate park, leaving this one to the middle-schoolers for the most part. Jerry didn't know for sure how old the boys were, but he had a good idea, comparing their clothes and the friends they kept. Their skate boarding skill level was also a factor, but he'd seen rather talented young ones over the three years that he'd been living there. The two high-schoolers escorting little Jody were the kings of the park, demonstrating their prowess and dominance to the regulars.
Jerry scanned the park, not having seen the new boy come back from the far end.
"Shit! He's gone already," Jerry lamented to his empty apartment, but, through his binoculars, he quickly caught sight of the shaggy hair positioned over the drinking fountain, and sighed in relief.
He decided he'd better go now, and save himself from missing the boy up close. As he went to the door and got his hat and walking shoes, Jerry checked his expectations. Sometimes, from afar, they looked better than they really were. He left his retirement complex on the beach, and headed for the park. He'd chosen this building because of its viewing opportunities. At 61, he looked the part of a retired man, but had kept himself fit, sometimes being mistaken for being in his early 50's. Jerry entered the park at his usual, casual pace that a regular observer would expect, but, in fact, he was more than capable of swift motion.
Jerry rounded the parklands and strolled towards his usual bench. The new boy was still there, skating by in fluid motion. He wasn't disappointed by what he saw either - a lean, yet firm body flexing it's muscles as it performed various manoeuvres. Jerry had categorized their `tricks' in terms of degree of difficulty, mostly as a factor to confirming their ages, but hadn't picked up the slang used to describe them all. To him, it seemed an odd foreign language.
Jerry arrived at his bench, finding it occupied by four boys. He stood casually behind them, not close enough to be noticed but still close enough to see all the action. He stood as usual, near some form of natural obstruction, keeping the open areas free for the boys. The last thing he wanted was to be in the way.
Jerry stood examining the backs of the boys on the bench; some muscular, others skinny, but it was rare to see any with much fat. The four suddenly skated off in unison, leaving him his ringside seat. He moved to sit, cautious of the skaters in motion. Sometimes a boy on the bench would offer him a seat, assuming he needed it; but, otherwise, they had little occasion to speak to him. Little Jody had spoken to him twice though; once to ask the time of day, and the other to get some praise.
"You see that? That was sweet," Jody had asked excitedly, on completing a difficult trick.
"Yes, you're very skilled young man. How old are you?" Jerry had asked, as grandfatherly types were permitted to do.
The eleven-year-old confirmed Jerry's assumptions, and skated off to see his indifferent brother and his yet unnamed friend. Jerry assumed that Cody and Jody were likely fatherless, given their older boards and out of date clothing. The assumed absence of a role model had Jody pestering his older brother for approval, which had the counter effect of annoying the teen.
Suddenly the new boy reached the edge of the incline coming up from the park, and stopped to rest. Jerry took the opportunity to examine him closely. Flat four-pack belly, undeveloped chest, lean back, and slim arms. Fourteen, Jerry settled on, but classified his decision as to be confirmed, seeing that there wasn't enough data. The boy had no friends in the park - that was obvious. He skated alone; no one praised him when he performed difficult tricks. Even in this chaotic sport, there was an order to things. He would display his skill, hoping to break into a peer group. His pale skin was likely indicative of him being new in town. The Florida sun didn't leave shirtless skaters pale for very long.
Jerry looked at his face as he followed a skater going by. The new boy had a gentle sprinkle of freckles around his nose, and now that the boy turned to face him, Jerry could see the deep `innie' navel. Suddenly, Jerry realised that the boy was looking back at him. Casually, he allowed his gaze to follow young Jody as he went by. The boy had proven himself friendly before, so he wasn't likely to object to being openly watched. In fact, he was more likely to enjoy someone watching him, performing for a male influence.
The new boy skated off, either having lost interest in the man who'd been staring at him, or perhaps accepting the ruse that he was watching another boy. Jerry certainly wasn't the only older person in the park; in fact, he'd been joined on his bench by others a few times. He listened to them prattle on while he continued to watch the live skater show before him. He'd even invented grandsons that he saw infrequently. He told the others that watching the boys skate reminded him of his imagined grandsons. Thankfully, Jerry was blessed with an excellent memory, and he was able to recall whom he'd told that story to. He certainly wished he had grandsons to visit, but his attempts at a heterosexual life never succeeded. In fact, he'd not lived a homosexual's life either; he considered himself asexual. He, of course, found the performance of adolescent athletes somewhat titillating, and he would use the mental images during his solo sex later, but had never done anything with a boy since his own boyhood ages ago.
Jerry got up from his bench as the show wound down. Boys were starting to leave for home in time for dinner. He took the opportunity to take the long way around the park, passing the far end where his new boy had gone. As no one knew him, there were no kids calling out his name, and so he would remain unidentified. Jerry caught the boy back at the fountain, lapping up the water like some shaggy haired dog. Just as he went by, he saw the lad's brown eyes locked onto his own. He was caught staring again, and chastised himself. While the others ignored him, this newcomer was also checking out everyone in the park, including the strange old man.
Jerry smiled and carried on; he made it a policy not to speak to them unless they spoke directly to him. He dared not look back to get a last look as he might otherwise have done; instead he continued home. That evening, the new boy would figure prominently in his fantasies as he read erotic stories on the Internet. He imagined himself in the stories, and the new boy's body as the lead character. He really knew nothing about the lovely creature and, so, could easily assign the story's personality to him. The evening's wank was that much more enjoyable.
The next day, Jerry went to the grocery, as he did every Wednesday, picking out the same foods for the week as he usually did. His eyes caught several young lads in the store, but none were remarkable. His mind still wandered back to his new skate brat. While he'd become infatuated before, this time it seemed more intense; perhaps because the boy had caught him, twice, or maybe it was the forlorn look on the boy's face.
Jerry paid for his food and pushed his cart to the exit, when his eyes focused on a boy just outside, his back to the door. He'd bought a great deal of things from boy vendors in such situations, whether it was ice cream or chocolate, which he didn't really need. Heaven help anyone that would send a girl to do a boy's job, as Jerry made it his policy to buy whatever a boy was selling; girls, on the other hand, had a much more difficult job.
His heart skipped a beat as the boy turned around, and Jerry realised it was his new boy from the skate park. For a second, he wondered if his mind was playing tricks on him with a similar looking boy, but this was indeed no look-alike. For the third time, they locked eyes and, again, Jerry smiled.
"Hi," the boy greeted, in a deeper tone than Jerry expected. He knew that, even though he pegged the kid for 14, it was possible that he was anywhere from 12 to 16, given the various rates of adolescent development.
"Hello," Jerry replied, as he paused briefly for the sales pitch, but when he saw no box of something to be sold, he moved on. It all happened in two seconds, but Jerry was now replaying the event in slow motion. Why was the boy there? He wondered, waiting for someone? Judging from his worn shoes and less than stylish clothes, it was possible that he was waiting for his bus-bound mother, to help her with the groceries. Perhaps a younger sibling was annoying him and he chose to wait outside.
As Jerry slowly loaded his groceries into he car, he glanced a few times at the boy pacing outside the store. He flipped through the images of the boys he'd seen in the store, attempting to match them as a sibling to his infatuation. None seemed obvious to him, so perhaps he was waiting to see the manager about a job as a buggy boy. Jerry had seen a man doing that job in the evening, likely a manager, so it was possible, but the boy seemed too young for employment. As Jerry drove away, he intentionally passed the boy, now sitting near the store exit, and recalled those Internet stories of bag boys assisting with carry-outs, who found themselves with lucrative offers they couldn't refuse.
When he got home, Jerry continued to speculate about the boy. It was the most fun his deductive mind had had in a long while - trying to figure out this lad's story; no television tale with their simplistic plots and obvious evidence could live up to this form of entertainment. He was always so excited to see new boys for this very reason, and his shaggy haired loner was the most interesting in a very long while.
***
On Friday, Jerry scanned the park with his binoculars, searching for his new boy. He wondered about going back to the grocery to see if perhaps he had indeed gotten himself a job. He might have to buy a big heavy box of cola if that was the case, just so he'd need help to the car.
Just before Jerry was going to head down to the park, the pale shaggy haired boy appeared. Jerry made his move, arriving at the park to take his walk. As always, he ended up at his bench for the day's show. He tried to avoid looking at the new boy too often, as he didn't want to get caught again. It certainly wouldn't be good if the boy called him names for staring; that would force Jerry to withdraw for a while.
He did watch the boy during his performance, though - skating with increased difficulty in order to impress the gathered cliques. Unfortunately, his desire exceeded his talent and the boy fell from the sky, slapping his leg against the top concrete edge when he landed.
The boy rolled around in pain, as Jerry sat impassively. Inside, he was upset for the boy, but he'd along ago decided that he was an observer only, watching nature unfold. He didn't intervene in bullying or help with injuries; he wasn't retained by the city to be the park monitor he told himself. Many boys had hurt themselves; most wailed for a few minutes and then were back on their boards. The few that couldn't or didn't want to continue, would wait until their friends were ready to go home. There was a payphone by the public washrooms and, of course, emergency calls would be free; but Jerry would give out a quarter if someone asked to call their mother, but no one ever had.
The shaggy haired new boy had retreated to the grassy area across from Jerry to recover. Several of the boys had noticed his fall, but none had done anything other than insult his lack of skill.
"Nice bail; would have been sweet if you'd landed it, poser," Cody's friend had said.
Jody brought him his board, which was obviously damaged, with a large crack near one end. It wasn't a newer board, and so Jerry deduced that it was likely his only skateboard. Jerry was crest fallen to think that the boy wouldn't be at the park for a while, until he'd gained back his confidence and got his board repaired.
An hour had gone by and the boy hadn't gotten up. He wasn't wailing like a younger boy would do; nor was he asking anyone for help. Jerry had seen him try and put weight on his leg, and then sit right back down again. He assumed it was likely the boys' ankle that was injured, preventing him from walking home. Jerry delayed his departure, as it approached five and the park emptied out. He wondered if he should go over to the boy, but that would violate his rules about engaging the boys. Watching them was safe enough, but anything more might get him into trouble. As Jerry stood, he caught the pleading stare of the new boy, but his path was clear; he should walk home and let nature take its course.
I'm posting this story as I write it so please feel free to send me comments and let me know if I should continue.
V.