Date: Sun, 7 Apr 2013 18:14:55 -0700 From: Charles Wolfe Subject: The Ultimate Challenge- Chapter 9 Who was Parker? Better yet, how did he know me? Or even more important, where the hell did he get my phone number? It was a frustrating situation I had gotten myself into. How would I talk with him and what would I say? The week went pretty much like this: Monday we had practice and talked over the tournament. Tuesday I looked back through my texts and saw his text again, wondering if it was worth it to actually contact him. Would it be rude to just brush it off? Wednesday came around and classes were boring so I pondered more over the stupid text, filling the box with words only to delete them all over again. Sighing heavily multiple times, I must have given myself a workout as I kept analyzing and overanalyzing the message. Thursday I finally texted him, simply saying "Hey sorry for missing you Parker. Don't know if you want to still grab some coffee but I am down for a drink." Why did my stomach have to tumble as I sent it? It wasn't like I was cheating on Kyle or anything; I could still have gay friends from other teams. Parker however felt... different... somehow. It's not that I loved him, cause I didn't, I just felt something different for him. Meeting up with him probably would be the best way to figure out what that something was. It didn't take him long to get back to me that day, little less than five minutes. I had texted in the middle of class so it was no surprise it took longer than normal. But still he was, and I quote, "happy to hear back from me". To make it easy, he wanted to meet halfway, apparently in West Hollywood there was a great Starbucks to drink at. For me, any Starbucks would have worked perfectly but not to fight over the location, I reluctantly agreed. He suggested Saturday early in the morning but I told him that I had Frisbee practice, something I couldn't miss. Given my absences due to Kyle, missing another one due to another guy would make it a little complicated. So here I am, sitting outside on Santa Monica Boulevard drinking a spiced latte. It was approaching noon but I didn't mind. I didn't have any big projects to worry about at the moment so I was free to do with my time what I pleased. Seeing the couples pass around me made me realize why West Hollywood was such an accepting place. On the opposite side of the street two women walked hand in hand as their little son ran out in front of them, bouncing a basketball that was bigger than his head. Just in front of me two guys shared a sweet kiss, the tender embrace a sign of love. But like most places, West Hollywood accepted everyone, straight couples browsing the stores for chic clothing or lingerie, items that the men could buy for their lover or vice versa. Sipping my coffee, I began to wonder where Parker was or if he was even going to show up. Placing my cup down on the table, I look at my phone to see no new messages. I would be super irritated if he stood me up, my approval of him not high to begin with. Thankfully though he arrived shortly thereafter, a slight jog over to the shop making it look like he knew he was late. "Hey sorry for keeping you so long. Traffic over the ridge was brutal. I hope you weren't waiting too long for me." Swallowing my pride, I shake my head, "Nah it's alright. How was your day?" I motion to the empty seat, hoping he would sit. Parker looks at the seat then over to the barista's counter. "Before I answer that, could I get a coffee real fast?" He didn't really give me a chance to answer, taking off inside the shop to put in his order. Sitting there slightly flustered, I took a deep drink of my latte and contemplated just getting up to leave. Normally I wouldn't have minded, but he was really starting to get on my nerves. I was trying to be the better guy here by showing compassion but it felt like he was just shitting on it, thinking of himself first. Parker returned a few minutes later, sighing heavily as he sat in the chair. "So where were we? Ah my day, it was long and hectic. I had a ton of homework to do earlier and I lost track of time. Sorry again about being late. How about you? How have you been?" He places his hand in the center of the table as he takes a drink of his coffee. Squinting slightly at him I thought to myself, 'Is he really trying to be romantic towards me? Really? The hand in the center of the table move?' I tried to make it look like there was a glare hitting me by changing my sitting position to a more straightened stance, something that would hopefully catch him off guard. "It was fine." I normally hated short sentences but this was a perfect chance to do that, reply with as little as possible to see how he would react. Taking the last sip from my coffee, I shake the cup to make sure that it was actually empty. Damnit, it was. Looking around me for the closest trash can, I found one behind me. Completely ignorning what he was saying, I make the basketball shot, sinking the cup right into the black hole. Nice! Turning back to Parker, I hear him say, "Nice shot. Surprised you're not on the basketball team." Now he was really trying to flater me. Chuckling slightly, I lean back and cross my arms. "Nah, not my sport." It did make me think of Peter and if he was still playing. I really needed to see how he was doing. If it weren't for his enthrawling orange eyes, I could have easily disreagrded him as some guy hitting on me. I still didn't know if he was actually gay but from all the signs he was giving me, the picture was becoming slightly clearer. Moving to make small talk with him, I ask what he is studying at Northridge. As we moved into the new subject I began to space out as I attempted to listen in. It was weird how much he reminded me of Kyle when he and I first met, teh cockiness that he had to him that seemed to sucker me in. Thankfully I was able to tame him down a little but Parker was a whole new Kyle, the bravado of the bad boy swagger radiating off him. We talked for longer than I had expected, him seemingly controlling time to slow it down. Realizing what was now there, I made the motions that I needed to get back home. While it was the weekend, I had a ton of "homework" that I needed to do. As nice as he was trying to be, I didn't want to spend my entire day with him. After making the intentions clear I was going to be leaving soon, I began to fidget with a napkin on the table. "As nice as it has been to talk with you Parker, I need to get back to my dorm and study." Right before I moved to stand up, Parker reached across the table and moved his hand onto mine, trappinng the helpless napkin underneath. I was slightly shocked he made the move, even though I had tried multiple times to make it clear I wasn't interested. "This was nice. Thank you for meeting up with me. Hopefully we could do this againn sometime." Quickly slipping my hand out from his, I thought to myself, 'not while I am with Kyle'. Smiling at him, I grab my bag and move towards the parking structure where I parked, eager to get someplace new. Throughout our entire converstation I never once asked how he got my number, something that kept nagging at me as I pulled out my keys to drive back. ***** When Monday came around, I was glad to have my mind cleared free from Parker. Granted I was still bored but at least I didn't have to focus on him. Instead what I was doing with my time was wondering throughout the campus, exploring it i a greater detail than I had before. Cal State Long Beach is a decently sized campus and with all the floors in each bulding, one could easily get lost. After wandering around the campus for a few hours I realized it was getting close to practice time. Making my way back to my dorm, I weaved my way through the USU then down through Brotman Hall. Looking around the top floor I strolled around, then to the second floor. It seemed vary bland as I walked around it, the nondescript offices seemingly shut off from any student interaction. Reaching the end of the hall, I looked around, becoming bored of my exploration. This building was a bust, nothing really interesting in it. I mean yes the admissions and financial aid offices were important but beyond that there was nothing really fun here. Off to the side, a few fliers reached out from the wall, the air conditioning blowing their lower sections on and off the wall. Walking down to where the posters hung, I looked at them, my interest perked. Pushing one of the fliers down, I saw it was a study abroad poster, the main graphic showing a group of students standing in front of a sand dune. Its catch line: Studying abroad in Chili gave these students the ability to sand board, when was the last time you did something exotic? Looking at another poster it was Ireland, their tagline: It doesn't cost a lot of green to study in Dublin. As I continued to look over the other countries, ranging from the United Kingdom to Germany to South Africa, it got me to wonder if I would be up for traveling abroad again. Being from a military family, the General had always taken us abroad when he could but one thing that he had promised my mom before she died was that we would always have house in the US. Hence was our close connection to the Watson's; they often being the ones to take care of us when he was overseas. Taking a leap, I opened the door into the office and decided to look into it. Maybe it could be fun to study abroad in another country, who knows? The office was small, but it was lively as well. Posters from different countries hung from each wall and little trinkets were placed around the tables to show what was to be seen. The student behind the desk looked up from the computer, her beaming smile welcoming me in. "Hi, welcome to the Study Abroad Office. Something I can help you with?" She was Latino but her accent was different from the Mexican I was used to hearing. Looking for the words, I was too caught up in the visual aspects of the office to react. "Umm yea. Sorry. Hi. I was just wondering where all a student could go? I saw a few countries out in the hallway..." I drop off the sentence to imply interest in all the countries. Her disarming smile showed that she had been abroad herself, the maturity of living in another country appealing to me. She rose to her feet and walked around the table to pick up two promotional materials. "We have two main programs, our CSU International Program and USAC. Do you know how long you might be interested in studying abroad?" I shrugged my shoulders, still unsure if I even wanted to do it. There was a lot to think over if I wanted to go abroad; how it would impact my relationship with Kyle, what all the team would think, if the General would even let me go abroad for a year. It was a lot to take in but right now was just an exploratory session, dipping my toes into the mere thought of it all. "I really don't know yet." "Well it's good that you at least came by; the first step is looking into it all. Our CSUIP program is the year long program in another country, USAC is short, ranging from a semester all the way down to 5 weeks during the summer. USAC is more popular, with most of our students going during summer." She opened the book to display some of the countries. Flipping over the United Kingdom, she started explaining the costs of it all, where and what all I could study, and how many students normally get into the programs. As she covered the United Kingdom more, I began to get more interested in it, thinking it would be fun even to do a summer session over there. When it came to other programs, I had no language skills to help me out, my Spanish being lost mostly right after I finished high school. She did inform me that through USAC I wouldn't need a secondary language, English being the main one taught in this particular program. As she finished up her spiel on the country, I really began to think that this might be something I want to do. Taking a book with me, she told me to come back whenever and that, on an almost weekly basis, there were study abroad sessions where I could meet up with other students who were also interested in going abroad. The book felt heavy in my hands and I looked down at it, flipping through the pages indiscriminately. Leaving the office, I began to wonder what I might have gotten myself into. ***** Practice was normal as usual, Pike not going into much emphasis on the training, our next tournament not for over a month. He had plenty of time to get us into a better condition, his level of competition much higher than any of ours. The team had backed off me a little bit over my relationship with Kyle but I could tell that at times it was still a little sticking point that needed refining. If they were ever going to accept him as my boyfriend it would take a lot of work on both his part, my part, and both team's parts. Walking back to the dorm with Bryan and Zach, I realized subconsciously that I hadn't talked with Michael or Skyler in a while. It had been a few weeks since they, well yea... reconciled... or so I thought. I didn't really want to play match maker too much with them as it was their relationship. I did have vested interest in both of them so it would have been hard to be with one without seeing the other. Breaking off at the lobby, I headed towards Michael's room. While I also wanted to see Skyler, I didn't know exactly where he lived, if he even was on campus. Knocking slightly on the door, I waited outside, unsure of what to expect out of Michael. Given how I haven't heard from either of them, I was hoping for the best. Michael opened the door, and stood there, the entrance slightly obscure. "Hey what's up?" He was being coy as he stood there half nude, his body slightly glistening under the lights. Pajamas were the only thing on but I could tell from the slight bulge pointing towards me that he was horned up. Coughing slightly, I take a step back as the sex smell ensnares my nostrils. "Did I interrupt something?" Trying to peer around the door, I began to wonder if it actually was Skyler in there. Confirming my suspicions, Skyler pulled the door open a little more to reveal his shirtless body, his pants hanging haphazardly from his waist. "Hey Chris what's up?" I couldn't help but stare at the two of them blankly, my eyes peering over each of their bodies. The clearly obvious sex session had brought out the bodies that they had, Michael and Skyler's abs and biceps flaunting their toned definition to me. Blinking at them, I come back to my senses. "Umm... Nothing much. I just wanted to stop by and say hi. I didn't mean to interrupt anything." I take a few steps back as if I were to leave. Michael instead motions for me to come inside, "Nah it's alright. We just finished, you're not interrupting anything." I had seen the way he was looking at me before, his lustful eyes groping me visually, the thought of seeing me naked making me feel slightly awkward. Taking a few steps inside, I move quickly move to the opposite bed, my sight of the disordered sheets letting me know where not to sit. Michael and Skyler quickly rearrange the sheets as they go to sit down, the silence making me uncomfortable. "So... How have you two been, you know since the talk and all? I see... things have... worked themselves out..." Skyler cradled Michael as he opened up first, his abs flexing with every word he spoke. "Yea, we've been great. Some changes needed to be discussed but I think that we now trust each other a whole lot more now." He squeezes Michael as he finishes the sentence. Turning my head slightly, I focus in on one specific word that stuck out to me, "Changes?" I readjust myself in the bed, leaning towards them to wonder how they have spiced up their relationship. Michael squirms slightly in Skyler's grip, fidgeting as he worded his response. "Well...." He pauses slightly as he looks up at Skyler, "We have a slightly more open status..." I had heard of gays having an open relationship but to have my friends do it was a whole different situation. I didn't want to judge them over it but it seemed so foreign to me. "Wait what? How is that building your guys' trust back up? You're seeing other people." I looked at them completely confused, my leaning forward stance now moving back against the wall as it provides support for me. Skyler takes up the conversation, "Well, first off, if we ever do have sex with other guys, we let each other know. There are no secrets now between us, though we do admit that mistakes do happen. By making it more open, we can learn new things that we may not have experienced with each other." Michael leaned up defensively, his stance moving into one that defended the choice they made. Raising my hands, I stutter out, "I'm not wanting to judge you guys. I am in no place to do that." Michael blurts out in his flustered state, "No you shouldn't. Not with Kyle and all." I really had hoped that he had moved on from that, especially with the own cheating situation he went through but apparently he hadn't. Skyler glances at Michael and, through his eye contact, tells him to calm down. "Sorry Chris. And thanks. It's going to be hard but if it doesn't work, we've both agreed to stop it if need be." From the looks of it, I didn't think they really needed to see other guys. They both had the sex appeal to them that I thought would make it stupid to see anyone else. Realizing my time here was limited, I got off the bed and made my way to the door. Michael got to it first and opened it for me. "Sorry, I know I should move on from it but for some reason, I still slightly don't trust him. Not completely yet." Smiling weakly at him, I lean in and hug him, his shirtless body pressing against me, the sweat seeping into my clothing. "It's alright. I just hope you will someday come around to see him for who he is now." Leaving the two of them to, well, I don't really want to think about it, I made my way back to my room. What would it be like to have an open relationship? I didn't want to cheat on Kyle but it might be interesting to mix things up from time to time. Calling up Kyle as I usually did, we talked for a little bit before I brought up the subject, "Hey babe, what are your thoughts on having a threesome? Or maybe swinging with another couple?" I barely muttered that last sentence as I thought of Skyler and Michael, the two of them appealing to my erotic visions. Kyle was caught off guard by the topic, a complete change from our conversation about school. "Umm.... I don't know. I never thought about it. Why? Is something you might want to do?" Quickly reacting, I stuttered out, "I don't know to be honest. I just was thinking it might add a little spice to us. Maybe we could learn some new moves from someone else." I tried to play it off as a joke but in all actuality I kind of did want to have an orgy of some sorts. Just to experience it, feel what it was like and all. Kyle was silent for a few seconds, the buzz of the line grinding on my ear. "Who did you possibly have in mind? Cause I don't want to do it with Joe Blow..." Crap... Though I knew he might object to them, I tossed it out, "Michael and Skyler?" His reaction though was completely different than what I had expected. "Well it would take some talking over but I don't see why not." Tossing the slight joke, he added, "It would be fun to top Michael." We both chuckled at the thought of Kyle mounting Michael, his slender frame ramming Michael's rugby body. I couldn't help but get slightly turned on by topic and it's possibilities. Would Michael and Skyler really be up for this? ===================================================================== Well this chapter tossed out a few important things that need discussing... First off- opinions on Parker? He's kinda a dick but maybe we can warm up to him as Chris gets to know him more right? Second- What are your thoughts on Chris studying abroad? I am debating on him going but I don't really know where (as it will involve me doing research into said countries). Lastly- An open relationship? Or an orgy for that fact? Kinky right? Hmm.... Please donate what you can to Nifty to help keep the site up. I do this for fun but without Nifty, I would possibly be charged to post it so this is really nice. Any help is needed thanks.