Date: Thu, 4 Jul 2002 12:48:41 -0700 (PDT) From: Roddy Schmidt Subject: Docking Jas I turned out of my driveway and headed into the sun on Lincoln Avenue. The air was heavy and warm with the aroma of ripening fruit. Thank God for air conditioning. The grape crop would be early this year. Peaches and Plums were in their prime. In less than three weeks I would be 20 and I was `headin' out on my own' leavin' all this behind,... well, it seemed like it to me at the time. As I crossed Orange Avenue the radio announcer said something about it being `high noon in New York'... I understood it being three hours ahead of local time, but what's with the `high noon' stuff? I puzzled that for awhile until I reached Old Hi Way 99 just above Kingsburg. I was really on my way. I had traveled this route dozens of times before, but today it looked totally different. Usually, when I was heading south on 99 it was at night. My brother and I in the pickup with the horses, my folks following behind or sometimes ahead of us towing the Airstream. Show time. Until the crops were actually being gathered we showed all summer, nearly every weekend. It was our `family thing' as my Dad put it. But today, I was on my own. Even though my birthday was still some two weeks away, the folks had given me the family car... a Ford Aerostar. Leather Captain's chairs with all the bells and whistles. The new Windstars had come out and instead of trading the Aerostar in, my dad bought one of the new Winstars and had our Aerostar detailed and repaired to mint condition, which included a a new set of Michlin's. The fact I might have liked something less "soccer mom" escaped them, and my Dad was so excited about fixing the Aerostar up to perfection, well... it was never discussed... Actually, I was grateful for it today seeing how it was loaded. I had to take out the rear bench to give me enough room for my stereo and computer stuff. I figured if I didn't have to make any pit stops I could make L.A. by about one one-thirty or two. It was a straight shot. I was on my own! I kept mulling just what that meant for me, along with trying to figure the `high noon' thing. I understood noon...twelve o'clock, lunchtime, middle of the day... ah, the hell with it. Concentrate on the road. Traffic was light. My dad always counseled leaving early... he always leaves early. `Never be on time; always leave early and be early...' that was his motto. I hate mornings. Ten or eleven o'clock was fine with me, but with my Mom nagging about every damn detail ... Mothers can get on your nerves like no one else in the world....nine o'clock was the time to leave. It had been agreed that as soon as I finished summer session I'd head south and find a place to live at S.C. (I'd really wanted to go to Stanford, but U.S.C. had a better dance department...) I couldn't tell my Mom that, though. I just made it sound like the extra cost wasn't worth the difference. Anyway, she bought off on it, partially because she had a brother who lived in Huntington Park. My plan was to get down before most of the other students and find a nice suitable apartment not too far from campus, get moved in, and do some auditions. The Shrine Auditorium was almost adjacent to the campus where the Western Circuit of Ice Cycles made its home... another draw for me, but one I couldn't mention to my Mom either. For her, college was a place where you `prepared yourself for a respectable career'... dance, or God forbid, Ice Skating for a living.... well, she didn't even think about that, much less discuss it. Out of habit I pulled off at Castaic at the top of the Ridge, got out to stretch and went to the restroom grabbed an Iced Tea/ Lemonade mix to go, and got on the road again. I was on my way for real and I was on my own! Traffic was fine until I got into the San Fernando Valley, then because I had to keep tabs of my route on my laptop (another pre-birthday present from my grandparents) I had to slow down my pace. I negotiated my way right onto campus and found the Housing Office with absolutely no hitch. I even had a few fumes of gas left; I was set! It was good to get out and stretch. The air was cooler but a little muggy. Two thirty and the place was dead. I went right up to the desk, gave my name and told the woman what I thought I wanted, she motioned me to a sort of cubicle and pulled out some beat-up three ring binders and began to show me various listings. Just about the time we were getting down to the close-in location stuff, this pear-shaped guy blusters in. He wasn't exactly geekey, but he also wasn't all that suave. What he was, was self assured and had a million dollar smile. He had kind of a pointy head. His hair was close cropped, not skinned, but close. He wore fairly thick glasses that made his eyes look really close together. His mouth was big and very used to smiling. He had perfect white teeth. He was wearing a white oxford cloth shirt, sleeves rolled up below his elbows, with his monogram on the left breast pocket. His pants were an expensive khaki and he wore no socks in his tassel loafers that looked like some kind of crocodile skin or something. Everything about him reeked of money. I noticed when he stuck out his hand to shake it with the woman at the reception area, a thick gold-link I.D. Bracelet, a manicure and his nails were polished... clear, but polished. He took the cubicle next to me. The lady helping me refocused and she began to tell me about a place only three blocks from the north edge of campus... the fact that most of my classes would be either in the center or even south of campus did not seem to creep into her sales pitch. The place she had in mind, for a `more mature, serious student' like me, was at the entrance to Fraternity Row on 29th Street. I could just go out the front of the office here, make a right and walk up to the corner of 29th and I'd be right there... She described the apartment as being in what once had been a fraternity house and now served as an overflow dormitory on one wing for the fraternity, whose `House' was now on' the Row'. Two very nice apartments that had formerly been three, and used by the officers of the fraternity, had been completely remodeled and refurbished... The two apartments were described as being `large' for university housing, sharing a very adequate bath with the other apartment. It took me awhile to realize that `apartment' had a different connotation here from what I was used to... here it meant a `sleeping room with a nice shared bath facility', where to me I envisioned a sleeping room, bath and some form of kitchen facility... I was disabused of that idea for the price I was willing to pay, and the proximity to the campus... This was considered a very fine `apartment'. (I had a lot to learn about living in a big city and going to a major university.) She did offer that meals were available at a very nominal cost and that this was the finest chef on Fraternity Row. The meal plan consisted of breakfasts every day except Saturday and Sunday, which was more of a Continental Brunch, and a sign-up for meals at other times with the exception of Monday nights which were Fraternity Meeting. I could also sign up for lunch and dinner every day but Saturday and Sunday. Sounded pretty complicated after a nearly five hour drive... but it was better than some of the other places she had suggesting. Mrs. Bartle, I learned her name was, seemed very much opinionated that this was the very place I needed and that I would find it most appealing if I would just look at it. She even proceeded to call to see if anyone was there now, since it was so close... The House Manager, a Mr. Herbert Basmajian was there now taking delivery on the new furniture for the rooms and if I wanted to run down he'd wait for me... She gave me the original and a carbon of a referral form she had been filling out as we talked. She said I had to have Mr. Basmajian sign it and that I needed to return it whether I took the apartment or not . She also went into her `used car salesman mode' and encouraged me to look at this carefully, because in the past these apartments had not stayed on the market long... yada yada yada... Her directions were precise. I made every turn out of the parking lot just as she said and found myself looking at a building that some Frank Lloyd Wright intern had probably drafted for a project in the late forties or early fifties... One side was a low flat roofed building that Eled into another two story structure connected by a sweeping curved roof... all if which was surrounded by tropical plants. It looked like what I imagined a Banana Farm to be... The most prominent feature was the roof line which sort of swooped out at you and almost lured you in whether you wanted its protection or not. The windows were all well above 8 feet off the ground and made a band of glass around the top of the first floor. This same motif was repeated on the second floor wing. The entrance had two massive mahogany doors flanked by irregularly shaped paned windows set in shadow boxes on either side which made for both privacy and invitation at the same time. I walked up the tree steps of the front stoop to ring the doorbell, but there was none... just two very massive hammered brass curved door pulls that appeared to be a tubular circle split where the doors came together. The back of the pulls was a hammered brass solid circle some inch and a half thick. Very impressive. I was prepared to make a hefty tug, but the doors were perfectly balanced and almost took me off balance with their ease of swing. The foyer itself was on a cant so that when one entered you'd be facing half-right into a gathering room. I stepped into a foyer that looked the shape of a squashed pentagon. Directly in front of the doors to the left was a faceted mirror with a modern chandelier and a low moulded mahogany bench. Directly in front of the path of entrance you faced into a gathering room which could be divided by mahogany accordion doors. Through those doors on the farthest wall you could see a mammoth natural stone fireplace. Immediately to your right was a mahogany closet kind of structure whose doors went from floor to the (at least ) twelve foot ceiling. There were no knobs or any kind of decoration on the plain doors. Behind the closet were stairs leading to a second floor. Between the mirrored wall and the wall into the common room was a long hallway running the length of the El. On the left side of the wall there were two doors. On the right side of the hall wall was a long bulletin board. At the end of the hall you could see that the door went through some sort of ante room and outside. The entrance was impressive to say the least. Everything was very highly polished, most especially the very dark green, nearly black, floor. The smell of new paint waft through the halls. Out of nowhere appeared a guy who obviously considered himself a cool dude. He wore flip-flops, a pair of string colored cut off pants that had frayed from washing and a nearly clean T-shirt advertising some `Sailor's Ball' with a sorority the previous April. His blue black hair was thick and wavy. He had sharp features and swarthy skin. He was handsome in his own rugged way. "Hi, I'm Herb, Mrs. Bartle said you'd be coming by..." He stuck out his hand in an honest, friendly way. "We just got the furniture today and the mattresses and box springs just arrived abut an hour ago", he said as he opened the first door behind the mirrored wall. I was impressed with the size of the room. The dark floor had a room sized low shag rug on the floor that I guessed was about a 10 by 12 and there was plenty of space around that, so this was a big room. "Nice", was all I could think of, "very nice, very spacious". And indeed it was. You came into the room into about a five by five space that butted into the massive closet. More mahogany, but at about 8 feet up there was another door indicating that there was space above the closet for storage. The Closet was deep, but not a true walk-in... The doors were opened by tapping and when opened revealed full length mirrors in opposition so you could see yourself for and aft. Under the very high windows was the bed, a queen size. On the opposite wall directly to the right of the door was a nice desk bookshelf arrangement... sort of an ettigere with a built in desk. The decor was not quite oriental, but smacked of a bamboo-ness to me. On the wall opposite from the closet was another closet, but that proved to be a built-in sink, electric burner and refrigerator all in one unit, and beside that a very neat table that folded down from the wall into the room and there were two chairs that fit in the built in space. In the corner was another leather-look wing backed chair with a round table. I was sort of awed by it all. Herb had me look at built in dresser in the hall space that went into the bathroom area. The bath had a basin, stool, large shower then another stool and basin. The stools were in their own little cubicles affording privacy, but it was obvious that this was a shared bath. Herb explaind that `privacy' could be afforded by turning the `occupied' sliding dead bolt on the inside of the bathroom door of the other apartment. He gave a stage wink as if to convey a special message... As we were enjoying the `private joke' we heard the front doors fly open and Pear Shape came in bellowing, "Is Basmajian here?" Herb excused himself and went to the foyer and introduced himself and suggested the newcomer join us in the `apartment'. Pear Shape came in and acknowledged my presence by, "Hey, I remember you from the Housing Office... Hi, I'm James Alvin, but everybody calls me Jas." He shot his hand at me and gripped in a very masculine hearty handshake. "I heard your counselor telling you about this place and I told my counselor I wanted to see it. ... Man, this is nice." Herb smiled and shot me a glance. I smiled back and made up my mind that, `if that kid moves in here, he's gonna take that back room...' Herb must have read my mind, because he said, "Here, let me show you the other room, it's just a reverse of this one. Unfortunately we haven't finished getting the furniture placed or the bed set up, but everything is exactly the same. Herb led Jas through the bathroom into the rear room. I opened a few more doors, peered into the desk and checked out that funny little kitchen thing... Jas was very verbal and open about his enthusiasm for the place. I heard him ask about the board arrangements and prices. I listened as they discussed the terms and payment schedule. The terms and the prices were good. I especially liked the fact that I didn't have to mess around making breakfast, and the fact that even though you were on a meal plan and tentatively scheduled, two hours was enough to cancel or add a meal, and there was no minimum. The `no heavy duty cooking' left me with a few questions... exactly what constituted `heavy duty?'.... But that could wait. I quickly calculated my budget. I could afford this, especially if I got any kind of stipend or work study... things looked pretty good. The only real question was parking. I could hear Herb and Jas negotiating as they came back to the room where I was still trying to be nonchalant about the apartment. "Well, what do you think? We just listed them this morning when we found out the furniture would be here today. Usually, we don't get a response so soon, but this is only the third time we renovated them in five years. Most of our tenants stay until they graduate." "I'm impressed. I have only one question, what about parking, I have a car?" "Parking is $30 a month additional. Let's go out back and I'll show you where you park. There is a $50 deposit for the remote, but you get that back when you return it." We headed out the door into the long hall. We moved through the kitchen and pantry area to the back door. There was a key pad on the back door as well as a keyed dead bolt. The parking lot was fenced with barbed wire on top. It was all but hidden by a growth of some tall bushs that were very neatly trimmed to the top of the 10 foot Cyclone fence. Only the roll ofbarbed wire was really obvious. Must be a nice neighborhood. The gate was operated by a remote and you had an assigned space. Spaces were also rented to Fraternity Brothers, but two spaces were reserved for the tenants of the rental apartments. Slots were assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Mine would be number 1, directly opposite the gate. It seemed like an ideal set up for my needs. At the door Herb explained that generally the back door through which we came was locked with the key pad at all times, on weekends, or times when the cook wasn't there, you also had to use a key for the dead bolt. Added protection for all of us. The dead bolt had to be key operated both from the inside and the outside insuring maximum protection for the cars. Fraternity brothers had rigid times when they could go in and out; only the paying tenants had unlimited usage. Also, Herb explained, Fraternity Brothers had to go around to the front of the house and were not allowed through the kitchen area. So there were a few perks for the `paying customers'. I had about decided that this was the place for me. Granted, it was the only place I looked, but it was fairly priced, new and clean and I could walk to school most of the time and I.... well I just liked it. But then, there was Pear Shape... When we came back in he was going through the front apartment opening and closing drawers just as I had done, but already I felt resentment that he was `going through my stuff'. I knew he liked it as much as I did, but I would be damned if he were going to get my room!..... I told Herb I'd take it and asked, "\when can we do the paperwork....?" He smiled and replied, "Right now if you'd like, in fact, if you sign up for the year, you can move in right now and I won't start the rent until Orientation and Registration, but you won't have any meals until then..." "Fine, I'm ready to move in this afternoon." "Does that go for me too?" from Pear Shaped Jas. "Well, yeah, if you want it we can arrange something... sure. I'll need to round up a crew to get your room assembled... Let me have your referral slips." He scrawled his signature and said to wait right here... where else would we go? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I sat at the desk arrangement. Jas sort of ambled around the room. I decided that maybe I could be a little cordial since it appeared we would be housemates, and said, "You know, I didn't even go in that back room, how is it?" "Looks the same as this one except it is reversed. The furniture is all piled up in one corner and the rug is still in its wrapper. I wonder if it is the same as yours?" "Probably, ...they probably got everything at the same place and just duplicated it. I think I'll go out tonight and buy some sheets and a mattress pad... I don't think I'll need a blanket in this weather... I can't imagine it will get cold at night... I wonder about towels... I brought only one set..." Herb came in with bunch of papers... as we signed we talked, and I asked him about laundry facilities and such... linens and towels and such were on our own. The fraternity had a washer and dryer, and he said we could check it out, but it was usually kind of messy and ate quarters... He suggested that we go to the laundry on the corner of Hoover and Figuroa. He said for an additional 10 cents a pound they folded everything for you. Most of the guys used Mel's at the entrance to the campus for shirts and stuff. In the sign-up process we learned that Jas' dad was a physician in the Bay Area. That he was being sent to SC because his dad was an Alum, that he was on probation and the reason he didn't have a car was that his folks wanted to make sure he concentrated on his studies. If he passed all his classes he could bring his car up the next semester. He made it rather clear that his father would be footing the bill and that Herb merely needed to send his dad the notices. I began to like him less... I worked my ass off keeping up my grades to get into this place. I was getting a very small scholarship and they made me feel like they were doing me a big favor. I brought them a strong B average... this punk is on probation from high school. His dad's an alum, big money, writes him a check and he gets in just like that... Paperwork finished, I asked Herb where the nearest Sears might be found. He gave me directions and said that stores generally stayed open until nine and I had plenty of time. With that Herb left the room and came back with a remote for the parking area, two keys; one for the dead bolt and one for the room. He said the our room keys opened the front door if it ever got locked... He said he'd insure that it was locked until the Fraternity started using the rest of the house for their dormitory spaces. Herb explained that the gathering room, the sitting room, and dining room were common areas and we should not hesitate to mingle. We were invited to any parties held here, we just had to pay our share. The Fraternity appreciated the income derived from our rental and in the past the relationships had always been cordial. With that he took his leave. Jas asked me if I had any plans for the evening. I told him "No, the only thing on my agenda is to get some bedding, towels and a few supplies for my fridge." "Mind if I tag along? I don't have any plans either, and I don't have to go back home until Wednesday. I told my folks that if I couldn't find an apartment or a roommate by then I'd stay in a dorm... I really didn't want to be in a dorm." "Be my guest... where is your luggage? By the way, how did you get here so quickly? When I left you were still looking at the pictures ...? Did you take a cab?" "No, I walked. It's a straight shot from right out the Housing Office to here. That's the thing I like about this place... You think they'd mind if we rearrange the furniture?" "My guess is, no, but there don't seem to be too many ways you can make it fit better and still be as usable as the space is now. What did you have in mind?" "Nothin' really. MIne's all piled up in a corner, I just thought, if I have to move it anyway I'd just try something else." "Are you planning to stay here tonight?" "Yeah, I guess, I mean, Yeah. I'll get some sheets and stuff too, I guess. I don't have any towels and never use a pillow ...just something to get by until my flight on Wednesday. My bags are still at housing, would you mind if we swung by there on our way to Sears? I'll buy you dinner." "That won't be necessary. From the directions Herb gave us, it looks like the Sears store is on the way and we have to take these forms back to the Housing Office anyway... If we're going to get your stuff, though, we'd better leave, it is getting on to 4:30 and they probably close pretty soon." We locked our doors, went out to the car and headed back to campus. We turned in our forms. Mrs. Bartle fairly beamed when I told her I'd taken the place and would be moving in tonight. She allowed as how those apartments are always the first to go and she was so glad to know they were going to two fine young men.... We got Jas' bags. He had a wheeled carry on and a little duffel bag. Nicely matched in a very deep maroon with gold piping... Wow! already into the school colors... We snaked our way into traffic. It was now quarter to five, not the best time to be going anywhere in Los Angeles... On our way to the Sears store we came upon a huge WalMart Superstore. We could see Sears from the parking lot pull in. I suggested we try WalMart first and if we didn't see what we wanted, we could always go to Sears later. We went to bedding and both bought sheets. I chose some fitted tan bottom sheets and some more colorful top sheets. I bought two sets with pillow cases to match. I also bought a king sized woven thermal blanket in a shade darker to use as a bed spread. I chose two sets of towels, one tan set and the other darker brown. I had a chocolate set in the car somewhere that my Mom had picked out. She was one of the precursers to Martha Steward. Always choose colors that will match or go together... Jeezus, would I ever be rid of that woman?..... Jas bought white flat sheets and dark green towels... I bought some fruit and a box of Chex, a quart of milk and some orange juice. Jaz bought Pop Tarts. I had a small microwave, a toaster oven, a crock pot and a set of stoneware dishes and cutlery that my Mom had gotten as premiums at our local Safeway. I had a set of four of everything plus 8 more teaspoons. Mom believes you can never have too many teaspoons. I found space for our new purchases behind the seat and we decided to go back to the new digs. I got a little lost coming back, nothing serious, but on that detour found a real nice little steak house. I wanted to celebrate. Jas thought it would be a good idea too so we stashed the food, dumped the bedding. It was still about a quarter to six and I wasn't yet hungry so I decided to unload my van. Jas helped for awhile, until it was obvious it was a job I had to do myself. He retreated to his room and I heard him moving furniture around. He came back into my room and announced, "We forgot to buy T.P. and Kleenex." "So we did. Bad planning. I'll make a list of stuff and you do the same. The items we can share, we'll divvy up, the personal stuff we'll pay for ourselves." I was getting tired of this moving stuff anyway. It was about 7:30 when I suggested we go to dinner. Jas was only too eager. He'd run out of energy to do much else and admitted he was famished. So we retraced our steps and found Chris' Pit, a small, but truly good steak house. The salad dressing was to die for and the Iced Tea was a flavor I'd never had before. The potatoes tasted like they'd been baked all day and there was an abundance of real butter, chives, sour cream, real bacon, shredded cheese and an onion-garlic mix I'd never tasted before. Bread was steaming when it was delivered in little French Rolls and you could have your choice of Whole Wheat, White, Dark Rye with caraway seeds or a very sour Sour Dough. We passed on a dessert. After a very satisfying meal, we pulled our our respective lists. We discovered that we used the same shampoo, body wash, tooth paste and Listerine. I suggested since I would be here for most of the time until Registration, I'd just pay for it all and he could use it the next two days until he came back for school. He agreed, if he could pay for dinner. Deal. So, back to WalMart. We buggied around the Drug Center and got our stuff. When we went to check out, I did notice that Jas had squirreled away a very large tube of KY Jelly and a big box of Trojans... This guy must be a real lover... Jas paid for his `personal' items, I bought the rest and we went to the car. There was a Marble Slab Ice Cream Parlor across the street from WalMart and I suggested we have a cone. That was a good suggestion. Jaz paid for the ice cream too. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The day and the drive was catching up to me. I had a long day ahead of me tomorrow. I wanted to make the rounds of some of the Dance Academies and I needed to check out the University Dance Program. Undoubtedly there would be auditions scheduled. As we turned on to 29th to get to the parking lot, we noticed that the lights were on in Jas' room. We parked and I was able to manipulate both the deadlock and the keypad. As we came down the hall, two heads, then a third popped out of Jas' room. They were attached to bodies that were glistening with sweat, stripped to the waist with shirts tucked into the back of their shorts. Obviously, they had been working.. I proceeded to my room and found a large manila envelope attached by a push pin. Inside were copies of the rental agreement, maps of the area and stuff you needed to find your way around. Nice touch. Also, the air conditioner had been turned on, to just above freezing. Your breath didn't show, but a few more minutes running and... I walked over to the thermostat and discovered it had been turned down to 55 degrees and on full cool, fan high. On the floor in the bathroom aimed at Jas' opened door was an oscillating fan on high... The three `Brothers' were busily trying to get the room arranged. Unfortunately the thermostat for Jas' room had been damaged , because he had no air, so they improvised... The desk and wing back and table were set. The rug was on the floor, the mirrors were being attached to the backs of the closet doors, it looked pretty good, except for the bed. The Headboard and Foot board were fine, but the necessary side boards that attached them and held the boards that supported the box spring and mattress were not available. Also, there seemed to be something awry with the mattress, wrong size or something. Herb had been called and he would not be able to solve the problem until tomorrow when the store opened where the bed had come from... The Brothers cleaned up their mess and busily buffed the floor. They would be gone in a matter of minutes. Their task had been to get everything set up before we got back... but, The Brothers left and an apparently bewildered Jas came in and explained exactly what I had heard myself. He may have been Mr. Personality, but he was also helpless when it came to improvising... For whatever reason, I said that since it was a `queen sized' bed he could sleep with me. I explained that I normally slept alfresco, but that maybe that wouldn't be too great an idea, especially with the freezer still going. Jas perked up and I turned down the thermostat to a more reasonable 72... Jas first words were. "I'm not Gay, you know." "Meaning what?" was all I could muster... "Well, I don't mind you sleeping naked, in fact I do myself, but, I'm not gay you know..." "No, I don't know. Sounds like that is an issue for you. How would I know something like that?" "Well, you probably are, I mean, I saw your dance bag and all... I mean"... "It's dangerous getting all your exercise jumping to conclusions like that"... "I wasn't trying to be rude or anything, and I didn't mean to say you ...." I cut him off, ... "well you were but, since it is so important to you, I happen to be Homosexual. If you have a problem with that, then it is just as well we get it into the open right away, because I don't anticipate that I'll be making any changes about that during the year, and if you're going to be uncomfortable, you might want to look for another roomie, or figure out how you'll be safe in your room. There is a lock on the bathroom door you know." "Hey, that's not what I meant... I just, well, I'm not gay and I didn't want you to think that, well.... I'm sorry, I'm making this worse." "Yeah, I agree. You are. Do you want to trust the fact that I'm not all that attracted to you and that you have my word that you'll be safe... nothing will happen unless you want it to, and then I reserve the right..." "Hey, I didn't mean that. Honestly, it's just...." "Yeah, I know, you're not Gay... I picked that up along the way... but pardon me if I observe that, `me thinks the boy protesteth to much' with apologies to the Spear Shaker..." "Hey, I said I'm sorry... can I sleep here tonight or not?" "Suit yourself, but you're not gay... and I do sleep nude." With that he went into the bathroom, leaving the door open, took a whiz in my toilet. He then went to his basin and started brushing his teeth. I found my stuff, stripped, wrapped myself in a Bath Sheet and prepared to take my shower. We didn't say much after that. I showered, wrapped myself back in my towel again and came into my room and started sorting my dirty clothes into `whites' and `coloreds'. I had closed the door between my room and the bath... I heard the shower turn off. A few minutes later there was a feeble knock on the door between the bathroom and my apartment... "Yes...?" "May I come in?" "Come..." Jas cam in buck assed naked and approached the bed and stood there looking forlorn and pleading... I stepped around to the opposite of the bed and dropped my towel and stared to get into bed. I waited until he pulled back the sheet and lowered himself into bed before I reached for the light switch. I couldn't help noticing that he was well hung, but what caught my attention was that he was uncircumcised. I'm not all that turned on by uncut guys, but this thing had a proboscis hanging off the end of it... I'd never seen such a preponderance of skin. I have to admit I was staring... He smiled, rather smirked, and said, "Never seen anything like that before?" I turned out the light and said, "Can't say that I have"... He pulled the sheet up under his chin and said, "It has its advantages sometimes..." Huh? Advantages? This was my day for enigmas. "High Noon" and now "advantages to having two inches of unnecessary skin on the end of your dick"... just the hygienic problem... hell, I have a long day ahead of me. I'm not going to even ponder that one... I rolled over on my side and stared at the closet... He was safe... very safe from me... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I had trouble falling off to sleep. Tired as I was his constant motion kept me awake. He jiggled. Every so often, he sort of lift himself or something. Eventually though, I must have dozed off... When we first got into bed, there was enough space between us that a normal person lying on his back could have been all but spread eagle between us and not have touched either of us... I turned over on my back and even in my stupor I was cognizant that someone was very close beside me. I returned to the arms of Morpheus and must have turned on my left side because this time I was up against Jas' very warm body. Shit! This is going to go ever great... I am in bed with a homophobe and my stiffening disk is dangerously close to his ass. I could feel his regular breathing, so I assumed no harm had been done. I rolled back onto my back and lay there, now wide awake. Within seconds, he did likewise and our hands touched. I tried to pull my hand from under his, but he gripped it... not hard, but it was definitely a grip. I contemplated how to get out from this situation and he spoke. "Interested?" I was sure that is what he said, `interested?' with the rising inflection of a question, a provocative question at that. "I beg your pardon... I ... I ... didn't realize you were awake. You are on my half of the bed..." "Yes, but you were interested, weren't you? I mean, I could feel it." By now I was getting both pissed and somewhat frustrated. What was going on here...? "Actually, I am a bit confused. You are lying clear over here next to me and..." "Look, I know you want to. ... Go ahead." "Go ahead and what?" "I'm not gay, but, well if you want to fuck me, go ahead." And with that he turned on the lamp on his night stand. "I am not interested in any kind of foreplay, whatsoever... I am not gay..." "I know, you've said that repeatedly... but your actions are telling me something a whole lot different right now, and I frankly don't like it. Mind fuck is not one of my favorite games..." "It isn't a mind fuck. I'm serious. I am not gay. I don't do any of the regular stuff that ... that... well, gay people do. I just like to take it up the ass. I really dig women, but there is one thing a woman can't do for me... she can suck me, she can jack me, she can do all of those things leading up to a good fuck, but she obviously can't..." By this time I had sat up. I was looking him square in the face. My peripheral vision caught his Wal-Mart bag on the night stand. Sometime after we'd gone to bed, he'd fetched it and it was on the night stand! "Uh, exactly what the hell do you have in mind here... I mean, you go through this drill of how you aren't gay, you make all that fuss before we bed down, now I see you've got your stash of props... What the hell gives here?" "Simple. Fuck me." "Ah, just like that, fuck you.. No warm up, no foreplay, just stick it in..." "Works for me." He pushed himself on to his stomach and got into a semi-doggy position. He actually `winked' his asshole at me! He had incredible skill. He could open and close it at will. Yeah, you got it. It turned me on... in a funny kind of way... "I knew when I scooted over to you and you got hard you were interested." "You take a lot of stuff for granted. I was asleep. I was in REM sleep, at that. I wasn't dreaming of you. I wasn't plotting, like you seem to have been..." I positioned my now turgid member at the entrance of his chute. I touched the head on his hole and moved it around. He said, "Wait... put this on," and he handed me an unwrapped reservoir condom. Condoms I knew but I had never used one of these before... "Let me put a little lube back there." He greased the entrance and with what was left put a bit on the tip of my now sheathed member. Once again we lined up and I put my head at the entrance and pushed. I drove it home in one thrust. He gave a little exhale when my testicles slapped against his. I started slowly undulating in and out... he caught my rhythm and I began to increase my speed. He had an uncanny ability to squeeze and relax which produced a sort of milking effect. He had done this before. He knew what he was doing. I began to breathe heavily, and then he said, "Wait. Stop." Shit! What's going on here? He reached over and deftly slipped a condom over his own now throbbing member. "Go", he commanded. And I did go. I was getting more and more frustrated by the minute. I fairly pistoned him and he obviously enjoyed every thrust. I began to feel the banging on my balls and had to slow the pace for the pain I was causing myself! I was throwing him a mean fuck. The harder I pounded the more he squeezed and released. Just then, he really clamped down and I had one of the most horrendous orgasms I had ever experienced. I'm not one of those who counts how many spurts, all I can say is it was as good as I had ever had. I collapsed on his back and he slowly let himself sink to the bed and we lay there for, how long I don't know, but then with an expulsion motion, he pushed me out and said, "We'd better shower." I was ready for a shower. I walked into my stool area and stripped off the now full condom and watched it float momentarily in the water below. Urination came a bit slowly, then with a cleansing burst I emptied my bladder and it splashing into the bowl. Meanwhile, Jas had gone to his cubicle and left the door open. When I went to start my shower, I could see him very carefully washing himself, paying great attention to cleaning his foreskin and applying some sort of green liquid to it and washing it with a washcloth. He smiled and said, "Thanks, that was the best I've had in a long, long time." Somehow, I believed him. It certainly was true for me, but I wasn't quite so gracious and just stepped into the shower. I was still wide awake when he returned from his shower. It was about four o'clock in the morning. I was higher than a kite. I lay on my side of the bed on my back. He got into bed and reached over and took my hand and squeezed it. "Thanks", he said. I really was bewildered. We talked for awhile and Jas told me about his childhood, how he grew up in a `nice' neighborhood. He talked about his neighbor kid who was Jewish and three years older than he. He talked about how this boy taught him about anal sex. Jas admitted to being `not all that popular' neither in the neighborhood, at school or even at the Country Club. He told me how would submit to Heime and Heime would `like him'. He told of how when he and Heime were caught his dad passed it off as `boys will be boys' and `curiosity is normal', but it wasn't enough for his mother and Jas couldn't `play' with Haime any more, but how they'd sneak off and `do funny' anyway. He told me of how he realized that if he let other guys that he wanted to be with `do funny' with him, he had instant friends and was accepted. It was at the country club that he learned a new thing just a few years ago. He asked me if I had ever `docked' with anyone. I admitted I hadn't. I didn't know what it was. I soon found out. The discussion had given me about a three-quarter erection. Even in the dim light of the nightstand light it was obvious. Both of us were semi aroused, but Jas with all the grace of an elephant put his hand over my dick and said, "I see you're ready." With that he proceeded to tell me to kneel in front of him on the bed. He put a towel between us on the mattress. There we were, kneeling face to face and he pulled his foreskin back until his head was fully exposed. It was a bright reddish-purple and absolutely glistened. He explained how after he would wash it with green soap and cleanse it thoroughly he'd put a little bit of K-Y Jelly on it, which he did, and then pulled my dick so that both our piss slits were `eye to eye'. He then slipped the foreskin back over both of our dicks and gently massaged them. It was an incredible feeling. I was totally unprepared for the sensation and almost shot my wad on the first one or two motions, but Jas warned me it was better if you held back as long as possible. Very gently, almost in massage fashion, he stroked the skin over our cocks... never moving the foreskin farther back than the rim of my head... Finally, I just couldn't stand it any longer and he realized it and did some incredible motion on the underside of the two `docked' dicks and there was an explosion of ejaculate that squirted onto the towel beneath. It took my breath away. I fell forward on to him, but he steadied me. I nearly blacked out. The fuck was great, but this was something so totally different for me, I have no words adequate to explain it... When I regained my composure enough to walk to the bathroom I proceeded to urinate again, and then wash my precious manhood. What a night. All this from the guy who `wasn't gay, you know.' We finally got to sleep around six o'clock. By then I was emotionally drained and physically spent. I finally awakened around 10:30 or so... Jas was gone. There was a note saying he was off to `explore' the neighborhood and that he'd `catch me again tonight'. The note was signed with a drawn smily face with a curly hair out of the top... He caught me again that night... and even though the mixup on the beds was solved, there was no reason to mess up his new sheets since he was leaving the next day around noon and wouldn't be back until Registration and Orientation. Epilogue Jas and I lived together there until I graduated. He never did get his car. He spent 4 semesters on `academic probation'. The first summer he managed to bring up his average so he could start the second year, but he got involved with a sorority gal he met at a function at the house and they married during the summer. I was his best man at his wedding. We have drifted apart and I don't even know where he is right now. He divorced after about 15 months and remarried another girl from San Jose where he was attending school at the time. I wasn't able to make either his second marriage or his eventual graduation from S.C. because of my own graduation from the University of New Mexico... By the time he had completed his baccalaureate education he had amassed enough hours and proper courses that he received a Bachelors Degree in University Studies from U.S.C. and then just 8 days later received a Master of Arts in American Studies from San Jose. I've never docked again...