Bob and Sheila lived next door to my parents and me. They were all great social friends, constantly inviting them over for beer and wine and a soak in the hot tub. They didn't know I knew, but I once nearly walked in on them in the middle of a full partner swap after ditching my senior homecoming date early.
I was taking a gap year post-high school graduation, honestly unsure of what to do with the rest of my life. Between shifts at the sports bar, I'd often pick up odds and ends gigs around the neighborhood like babysitting or house sitting.
Bob and Sheila asked me to house sit for a long 3-day weekend while they and my parents slipped away for a "golf outing and wine tasting getaway" up North, where undoubtedly they'd make a side quest to the White Lotus Hot Springs swingers resort. I was more than happy to watch TV and dog sit for the weekend for a few hundred bucks.
"Jason may pop in from college" Sheila called as they were leaving, both couples piling into my Dad's silver Suburban. "I left some cash in the kitchen drawer in case you guys want to go out for a movie or something."
Jason and I were roughly the same age, classmates in several classes in high school including computer science and AP US History. He was once put on suspension after being caught peeping into the girl's locker room and again after hacking the 12th-grade Biology teacher's email to send a staff-wide message about how the earth was flat.
I last saw Jason before he left for college. He was slightly overweight with hair long enough to pull into a small ponytail. He wore a steady rotation of Anime shirts and spent time gambling money on options and cryptocurrency. He had a reputation for being an awkward duck subsisting on a diet of Doritos and microwave pizza, with a complexion that reflected these substandard choices.
Last summer my girlfriends and I ran into him at Tina McCory's party. Despite not being particularly popular or outstandingly attractive, he found ways to make himself indispensable at parties by procuring copious amounts of beer and booze through his "connections." Random older women who often drove him around town. He often used the cash he made to solicit blowjobs and other favors from some of our classmates. As far as I knew, no one ever obliged.
However, we did occasionally spend some time together socially. After all, he wasn't a complete creep. As kids of the notorious swinger couples on the cul-de-sac, it made sense for us to escape these hot tub hook-up nights by going to a movie or party. I got to know him a bit better in those instances. We had similar interests in action movies, geeky sci-fi literature, and a shared celebrity crush on Margot Robbie.
Rex, Bob and Sheila's 6-year-old Doberman, nuzzled my leg and shook his head towards the front door. I grabbed his leash, laced up my shoes and we took off for a quick afternoon walk.
An hour later I returned to find Jason's car in the driveway. A touch temperature check of the hood indicated he had just recently arrived.
"Get over here Rex!" A familiar voice called from inside the house.
I opened the door, dropped Rex's leash, and he went flying to the arms of his master, tippy tapping along the laminate floor.
I looked up, expecting to see the same nerdy guy but was pleasantly surprised to find he had been replaced by an absolute stud.
Jason's first year of college came with a glow-up. He was a few inches taller than I last remembered and a few pounds slimmer too. His hair no longer in an unruly ponytail, but shorter and styled like late 90s Leonardo DiCaprio. He was wearing an open white button-down, closefitting undershirt, and jeans that showed off his new muscular pecs and biceps. His nipples just peeking through that fruit of the loom.
"Long time no see," I said, reaching in for a hug and a reason to cop a feel. I teasingly smacked his butt and felt his glute tighten underneath.
"Hey Jenn" he responded, "Nice to see you."
We spent a few minutes exchanging pleasantries, me asking about his experience in the dorms and what he was up to now.
