Chase was still out of town for his family emergency. He had gotten a call from his brother that his mother was in the hospital. It had already been a week and at that moment there was no telling when Chase might be coming back. That was fine. It wasn't like I had any pressing commitments at my own apartment. I just picked up my uniforms for work and hightailed it back to my friend's house for my house sitting gig. Chase was worried that his place might be broken into if it was evident that it was empty. I was enjoying Chase's premium channels and movie collection, and raiding his fridge at will. Such was the cost of home security. Besides, I was saving him from potentially having to throw away a bunch of stuff from his fridge that could go bad while he was out of town. I was outside in the backyard lounging in a chair on the patio. I was playing around on my phone and enjoying the setting sun as the temperature finally and thankfully started to drop a little.
I heard splashing from the pool across the fence. Chase's neighbor was apparently enjoying one of his infrequent frolics in the water. I had met Stan and his wife Margaret over the years I had known Chase. They seemed like good people and friendly neighbors. We had been over there when they were barbecuing more than a few times. The wife was the social one of the two, and always invited us over if we were outside during one of their gatherings. Family reunions, graduations, Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day. If they saw us, we would inevitably get an invite. They were a nice couple, Stan was probably twenty years older than Chase and I, with Margaret a few years older than Stan. The last of their three kids had gone off to college, so now it was just the two of them in their house. I could tell Margaret was having a difficult time with that, but Stan seemed more than fine. Stan seemed ecstatic when Margaret wasn't looking. The sound of my game being played on my phone apparently got Stan's attention.
"Chase? What are you up to?" Stan called through the fence.
"No Chase tonight. It's me, Brad. Chase went out of town and I'm watching his place for him while he's gone."
"Oh, hey Brad. That's good. There have been some break ins around here lately. You're a good friend to look out for him like that. Hey, you wanna come over? The old lady's visiting her sister in Arizona, so I'm enjoying the pool while she's gone. She's the one who wanted the pool, but now it seems like she barely ever uses it."
"No thanks, I'm good. I don't want to intrude."
"Oh nonsense. Go change into your swim trunks and come on over. It'll be nice to have a real conversation. My wife is always clucking with her friends on the phone. I don't care about new recipes, or the color she wants to paint the walls, or the other stuff she thinks she needs to tell me."
"Alright, I'll be over in a bit." I assured him.
I grabbed some gym shorts from Chase's dresser that would do the trick and went back out into the backyard. I circled around the side and out through Chase's gate, going in Stan's gate a few feet over. Stan was lounging on a pool float and once he saw me he gestured to another one that was empty and waiting. I eased into the deep end, not knowing how cold the water would be and bracing myself just in case. I needn't have worried, as the heat from the day made the water a nice comfortable temperature. I hoisted myself onto the pool lounge and floated around, directed by the pool's water jets. Stan was on the other side of the pool, allowing his own float to be pushed around however the pool decided. We both lazily circled the perimeter, talking about this and that. Our jobs, our cars, his kids, his wife, Chase, the houses...all of it was freely discussed as the night wore on.
"You want a drink?" Stan asked as he pulled himself out of the pool.
"Sure, I'll take a Coke."
"I mean a real drink. I'll put a splash of Jack in there for ya."
Stan went over and started up the spa before heading inside to grab the offered drink. He came back out shortly with the bottle of Jack Daniels, a two liter bottle of Coke, a bucket of ice, and a couple of glasses all on a tray. He set the tray on the wide stone ledge of the spa and climbed into the bubbling water.
"Come on over Brad. I'm not your butler."
I climbed out of the pool and headed over to the spa, starting to climb in. I was half into the water when the temperature change made me slow down. Stan had the heater going as well as the jets, and I gingerly eased myself into the noticeably hotter water. Once I finally got settled, Stan handed over my drink. He had already finished half of his by the time I had settled onto the seat. I took a gulp and immediately my throat burned. Had he even bothered with the Coke? It was unexpectedly strong, and it took a minute for me to stop sputtering.
"Good?" he asked.
"Smooth." I choked as I gave him a thumbs up.
We continued talking as we lounged in the spa about this and that and life in general. When my glass was near empty, he filled it without hesitation. These weren't short bar glasses, these were regular drinking glasses. The Jack bottle seemed to be emptying more quickly than the Coke. Shouldn't it have been the other way around?
"So I was wondering if you would suck my cock." Stan said abruptly during a conversational lull.
I nearly spit out my drink, but managed to swallow it down, coughing after I did. Stan was just watching me as I tried to breathe. He calmly sipped his drink as I recovered.
"I'm not sure I heard you right." I said, stalling for time.
"I'm pretty sure you heard me. Did you think I didn't know what goes on over there? I was in my pool some weeks ago just before Chase's last girlfriend stopped showing up over there. Besides, Chase and I talk as well. He doesn't keep his life a big secret. In fact, he's helped me out a few times himself."
I almost missed what he was saying. If I heard him correctly, the night I caused Chase's breakup with Chrissy out on Chase's backyard picnic table, apparently Stan could hear us. I knew I wasn't exactly quiet. I wanted Chrissy to be able to hear me. I didn't think about any of the other neighbors possibly listening. I really should have thought that through a little better. I turned red and was looking at my glass rather than Stan. My peripheral vision was good enough that I could see him watching me.
"Sorry about the noise, Stan. That was really rude of us."
