It Started Under the Tree

PART 1

Jack and I had known each other in passing in college. There was always a twinge of curiosity there, but I got together with Lisa and the rest was history. Any interest in "the other side" was buried under my marriage, and my faithfulness to her. Until, all these years later, Jack moved next door.

Lisa herself was the one who inadvertently brought us together, despite me doing my best to avoid Jack. I had taken time off to work on the fence out at the lower end of our yard. Lisa was visiting her sister and was worried about me working out there alone. Without asking me, she had asked our friendly new neighbor if he could come down and lend a helping hand...

I was leaning against the fence, taking a break, when I heard the roar of a powerful engine. I looked up to see a metallic-gold pickup truck coming down our street, and I recognized Jack at the wheel; he jumped out and waved at me, and I knew he was coming down for any reason other than to help with the fence.

"Hey, Joe!" he shouted. "Just the man I was looking for! Are you busy?"

I sighed and dropped the hammer I was using to pound in a fence post. "I'm just taking a break," I said, the hammer leaving a dent in the fence post.

"Great," he said, grabbing a cooler that was behind his seat. "Meet me over in the shade over there," and he dashed off in the direction of the shade.

I turned and started walking in the same direction, hands in my pockets and whistling in spite of myself. I was so hard up for sexual contact that I was easy pickings. I knew it and Jack knew it, and this was my chance to get back into the saddle again.

I heard the gate in the fence close behind me and looked back to see Jack close behind me. I slowed my pace and he jogged to catch up with me.

"Hot day," he said, and I nodded in agreement. I was grateful for the shade of the trees. We found a spot under a big oak and laid out the cooler. "Want a beer?"

"I guess," I replied, and he pulled two beers from the cooler and handed me one.

"Cheers," he said, and we clinked our bottles together and took a long pull.

I eyed him warily. I didn't know what was going to happen that afternoon, but I was both intrigued and cautious.

"So, you and Lisa have a great marriage, huh?" he said, and I nodded, taking another pull on the beer.

"Twenty years."

"That's cool. Two decades. I can't believe I lasted that long in my first marriage."

"I guess in the end, I'm just lucky in that way. How long were you in yours?"

"Eighteen months," he replied, and he took a long pull on his beer.

"That's not so bad."

"Yeah, but I admit I screwed up. I was young and stupid. Thought I knew everything."

I nodded, still not knowing what point he was trying to make.

"What about you? Married young like me, I guess."

I nodded, but I still wasn't sure where he was headed with this conversation.

"I suppose you were in your teens when you got married?"

I nodded again.

"Boy, I was way too young. I wasn't ready for the responsibilities of a long-term relationship. Makes me feel a little jealous of you."

I had to laugh at that one. "You're jealous of me?"

He nodded. "Yeah, you're a real man. Not afraid to commit yourself to one woman."

I had to laugh again. "You're just catching me at a bad time. I have a bit of an itch. Lisa and I aren't making love as much as we used to."

He looked totally sympathetic and understanding and I knew he was about to make his move. "You and the missus aren't getting it on anymore?"

I shrugged. "I can't really say all that much about it these days. It's like she's out of gas. I think she thinks it's her job as a wife to always be there for me, no matter how stuck we get."

Jack's eye twinkled. "Maybe you just need a little push."

I froze, looking at him. From the twinkle in his eye I knew he was thinking of me and him having sex. I was thinking it too, and it excited me. Jack was a very sexy man, and he had always been very direct and obvious about his desires for me. I just never thought that I would actually go and do something that would break Lisa and I up.

"I suppose we should get back to work," I said, and we both stood up and headed back to the fence.

We were at the cooler getting more beer when Jack, the smooth operator, the man who had always got whatever he wanted, turned and said, "Joe, I need to get something off my chest. I'd like to get to know you better, and if it's okay with you, I'm going to stop beating around the bush."

I looked at him, surprised by his boldness. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," he said, and he put his beer on the ground and walked over to me. He put his hands on my shoulders and looked me straight in the eye. "Joe, I need to know if you're up for a little fun."

I swallowed hard. "What kind of fun?"

"You know the kind of fun I mean."

I knew that Jack wanted to have sex with me. I had known that for years, but this was the first time he had made his intentions so obvious.

"Lisa'd be pissed off," I said.

"Maybe you should stop worrying about what she thinks."

I looked at him. What was I doing? I wasn't even thinking really, just reacting to the sexual tension that was building between us.

"Maybe."

Jack stepped closer to me, and I felt his body touching mine. I felt the powerful muscles in his arms tighten against me. "Tell me you want it, Joe. Tell me you want to have sex with me."

I stood there, unable to fight the desire that was overwhelming me. I was so hard, so excited by the thought of being with Jack, that I was unable to speak. I just stood there, looking into his dark-brown eyes, trying not to betray the desire that I was feeling for him.

"Come on, Joe," Jack said. "Go ahead. Tell me you want to have sex with me."

I swallowed hard and went to speak, but just then a car sped past, drowning out whatever it was that I was going to say. Jack stood there, waiting. I stood there, looking at him, thinking about what a waste it would be to destroy a marriage over one man, over a fling. But I wanted it so much. I wanted to have sex with Jack so badly that I couldn't think of anything else at that moment. It didn't matter that I was married to Lisa and we had slept in the same bed for twenty years. It didn't matter that I was betraying her in my mind and in my heart.

I just wanted him. I wanted to take Jack in my arms and fuck him, and I couldn't for the life of me understand why it was wrong.

"Joe," he said, softly, and he stepped closer to me, and I wanted to turn and run, but I couldn't. I was rooted to the spot by the strength of my desire for him. "Joe, I can see it in your eyes. You want it. You want to fuck me, don't you?"

I nodded, and he grabbed my hand and pulled me into his arms and kissed me. I kissed him back, and we stood there, in the shade of the trees, making out like two teenage boys.

We held each other's hands, our fingers entwined with each other, and I wanted to see his skin, see if it was as fine as it looked.

He pulled away and put his fingers under my chin and lifted my face up to his and kissed me again, harder and deeper than ever before. His tongue slid into my mouth, and I slid my arms around his waist, pulling myself up against him.

His hands found my ass under my shorts, and he pulled me against his groin, and I could feel the hard, enormous lump that was his cock, straining against his shorts.

I moaned into his mouth, and he moaned back at me, and I felt his tongue slide down my throat, down to my chest. He pushed me back against the tree, and his lips found my nipple, and he sucked it through the fabric of my T-shirt, and I gasped as he did.

I could feel his hand working at the buttons of my shorts, and I found myself beginning to undo the top button of his.

I was out of control; I wasn't thinking. I was just letting my body react to Jack's touch.

He pulled up my shirt and slid his hands over my stomach and my chest. He pushed me back against the tree and kissed his way up my chest to my mouth, and I could taste my nipple on his lips.

Jack let my shirt fall back down, and he kissed my neck, and I was moaning because I wanted him so much, and then his fingers were tugging at the button of my shorts, and I was pulling at the zipper of his.

"Jack, man, what are we doing?"

He looked up at me, the lust making his eyes look like dark brown pools of chocolate. "We're getting it on."

"What if somebody comes along?"

"Who's going to come along? It's lunchtime."

I was still scared. "What if somebody sees us?"

"Joe, nobody is going to see us. Besides, who cares? All that matters is that we're together. You want it, don't you?"

I nodded, and he reached into my shorts and wrapped his fingers around my hard cock. I gasped, and he said, "You do."

I nodded. "I do. I want you so much."

His hand tightened on my dick, and I moaned. Jack grinned at me. "I knew it."

He began to stroke me, and I closed my eyes, letting the pleasure wash over me. My cock was so hard it hurt, and Jack used his other hand to reach for my balls. He squeezed them gently, and I moaned with pleasure.

I heard a zipping sound, and he said, "I want to suck you. I want to suck your cock."

He slid down my body, and I looked down to see him kneeling in the dirt at my feet. He looked up at me, grinning, and then he yanked my shorts down, and my cock sprang out of them, hard and ready for him.

I felt his velvety soft lips touch the head of my cock, and I gasped. "Oh, Jack, oh, yeah, I want it, man, I want your mouth on me, oh, yeah."

He smiled up at me, and then he slid his lips down over my cock, and I thrust my hips forward, pushing myself into his mouth. I could feel his tongue sliding up and down my shaft, licking the underside of my cock, and I pushed myself into his mouth, deeper and deeper.

"Oh, man, Jack, I love it, I love it, I love your mouth on me."

He slid his lips up and down my shaft, and he pulled back and let my cock almost go free and then thrust into his mouth again.

I could feel the pressure building in the base of my spine, and I knew that I was going to cum, soon. I began grunting, and Jack cupped my balls in his hand and squeezed them gently, and when he did that, I shot off, sending hot thick spurts of cum down his throat.

He swallowed, and continued to suck me, milking me for all my cum, and when I was done cumming, he released my dick from his mouth and looked up at me. He kissed the tip of my cock, and then he stood up in front of me.

There was nothing to clean up. He had swallowed every drop of cum. I heard a truck coming down the road at a distance. It sounded like Lisa's.

Jack grinned at me. "We can get a room in a motel. I'll call you tomorrow."

---

PART 2

All the next day I felt like a teenager, looking at the phone every five minutes with puppy-dog eyes. I wanted to hear Jack's voice so bad that I could hardly concentrate on what Lisa was saying to me.

"What's the matter with you?" she said. "You've been acting weird all day."

"I'm sorry. I guess I'm just tired."

"You look tired."

"I am. I didn't sleep very well."

"Is something on your mind?"

"No. What could be on my mind?"

"Well, maybe you had a bad dream. Maybe you had some bad news."

"Huh? No, no bad news."

She looked at me. "Joe, you know you can tell me anything, right?"

"That's right."

"So what is it? What's wrong?"

I couldn't tell her that I had had a one-night stand with a man. She would think that I had gone crazy.

"I'm just tired. I'll be fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine."

She got up from the table and started to clear the dishes. I waited until she was out of the kitchen and then I got up and went to the phone. I picked it up and dialed Jack's number.

His voice mail kicked in, and I hung up. I called him again, and it went to voice mail. I hung up. I called him again, and it went to voice mail.

I tried again. "Jack, man, call me. I want to see you. Call me."

I hung up, and I waited. I waited for two hours. He didn't call.

That night, I went on-line. I logged onto Facebook, and I went on Jack's page, and I sent him a message.

"Jack, man, come on, call me. I'm worried about you. I want to talk to you."

I waited, but he didn't respond. I gave him another hour, and then I logged off Facebook. I went on-line, and I checked my e-mail. I checked my voicemail. I checked my cell phone. I didn't hear anything.

Finally, after two hours of restless pacing, I went to bed. I was so afraid that I would fall asleep and miss Jack's call that I took all the phones and left them on the nightstand next to the bed. I would hear it if it rang, and I would catch it before it went to voice mail.

I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, and I thought about Jack. I thought about his hands on my body, and his mouth, and I felt my body respond to the memory. Then I closed my eyes and thought about what it would be like to touch him, to stroke his sweet, supple body, to hold him in my arms.

I heard the phone ringing. I sat up, grabbed it, and answered. "Hello?"

"Joe?"

"Jack?"

"Yeah, man, it's me."

I could hear his voice, but I couldn't believe that he was on the phone. "What the hell, Jack? You've been ignoring me all day?"

"No. I've been busy."

"Oh, really? And what have you been busy doing? Kissing all the boys?"

"That's a good one, Joe. You're a real comedian."

"I'm a comedian? You're a comedian. What's going on?"

"Nothing's going on, man. I'm just working. How about you?"

"Me? I'm fine. I've been worried about you."

"I told you, I'm fine. I haven't been ignoring you. I haven't been ignoring you. I've been working."

There seemed to be a peculiar tone in his voice. I didn't know if he was lying to me or not, but there seemed to be a tone in his voice that I had never heard before. It almost sounded like a nervousness, a fear.

"Jack, I've been worried about you."

"Thanks. I appreciate that. I've been busy. I'll be fine. I'll call you later, okay? I'll call you later."

"Wait, Jack..."

But he had already hung up.

---

PART 3

That Saturday, Jack showed up at the house. I hadn't heard from him for two days, and I was worried about him. I had wanted to call him, but I had waited to see if he would call me. He hadn't.

I opened the door, and there he was, standing in front of me. I hadn't seen him in two days. He looked like shit. He had circles under his eyes, and he looked like he hadn't slept in a week.

"Jack, man, what's going on with you? You look like you've been working all the time. Are you okay?"

"I'm all right, man. Look, can I talk to you?"

"Sure."

I led him into the living room, and I sat down on the couch, and he sat down in an armchair across from me. He looked at me.

"Joe, man, I've really done some bad shit."

"Jack, what are you talking about?"

"Joe, I need you to get me some cocaine for me."

"What?"

"I need you to get me some cocaine."

"Okay. I can get you some cocaine."

"No. I need you to get me a big fucking load of cocaine."

I stared at him. "Jack, I don't know if I can do that. Where am I going to get a load of cocaine?"

"Joe, you think I'm kidding. I'm not kidding. I need you to get me a big fucking load of cocaine."

"Why?"

"I'm running a business, and I need money."

"What business?"

"Fuck you."

"Jack, wait a minute. I'm your friend. What's going on?"

"Nothing's going on. I've just been doing some stupid shit, and I need to make some money to pay for it."

"Jack, what exactly have you been doing?"

He turned his head toward me, and he looked at me. The look in his eyes was so cold and so blank, so empty. He looked like a man who had been living in hell, and he'd had enough.

He didn't say anything for a long time, and I didn't say anything, and then he turned his head away from me and looked out the window.

"I've been fucking some dirty little faggots. I've been fucking around with them and doing some drugs and spending all my money and pissing off the wrong people and getting into some bad shit and making some bad choices. I've been doing some stupid shit. I need to make some money."

I was silent for a long time. I didn't know what to say.

"Jack, I don't think I can do that. Lisa would kill me." I heard Lisa walking around in the second-floor hallway. I thought about how I hadn't told her about Jack. "Jack, I can't do this. Lisa would kill me if she found out."

"Joe, I'm going to be honest with you. The people I owe money to, they're going to kill me if I don't make them some money soon. I'm not kidding, Joe. I'm not fucking around here. I need to pay these people."

"What people?"

"Joe, I'm just trying to get enough money to get myself out of this shit. I'm just trying to get enough money to get myself out of this mess. I'm just trying to get enough money to get out of town."

He looked so sad, so defeated, so defeated.

"Jack, man, I don't know what to say. I can't get Lisa to approve a big purchase without a reason."

"I have a big fucking reason. I need you to get me a big fucking load of cocaine."

"I don't know..."

"Joe, I need you to do this for me."

He was starting to wear me down. I'd never seen him like this before, and I didn't think I had ever heard him talk like this. He was like a man on the edge of a cliff.

"Jack, what do I tell Lisa?"

"Tell her it's for a party."

"She's going to want to know what kind of party."

"Tell her it's a Christmas party."

"A Christmas party? It's June. What the hell kind of Christmas party do we need a bunch of cocaine for?"

"I don't know. I know that's not the best thing to do, but please. Can you just do this for me?"

I thought about it. I thought about the expression on his face, about the tone of his voice, about how afraid he was, about the fact that he was my friend. About how badly I wanted his body again.

"Okay, Jack. I'll do it for you."

"Thanks, Joe. You don't know how much this means to me. I really appreciate this, man. I really need this. Thanks."

I got up and walked him to the door. He turned around, and he looked at me. "Really, Joe. I really appreciate this."

"You're welcome, Jack. Hey, you want to come over to the house for lunch tomorrow?"

"I would love to, Joe."

He smiled at me, and he left. I watched him walk to his car. He looked so sad, so defeated.

---

PART 4

The next day, Jack didn't show up for lunch. I called him twice, but he didn't answer.

That afternoon, at around three o'clock, I was walking out of my office in the back of the house when I heard a car door slam. I looked out the window, and I saw Jack walking up to the door. I opened the door, and he walked in.

He was in an awful mood. He didn't say anything to me at first. He just walked into the living room, and he stood in front of the chair that he was sitting in last time, and he just stood there for a long time.

"Jack, are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay. I'm in fucking trouble, man. I need your help. I need you to get me that cocaine. When can you get it?"

"I talked to Lisa. I don't think she believes the whole party thing, but she's going along with it. I'm meeting my old dealer at 8 tonight by the dump. We should be able to get everything you need."

Jack smiled. He was patting his pockets.

"Thanks, man. I really appreciate this. I really do."

I was looking at him, and I noticed that he was sweating. There was sweat dripping down his face. There was sweat dripping down his neck. There was sweat dripping down his shirt. He was sweating so much.

He looked unwell, but the sight of his shirt starting to dampen gave my cock a little twinge.

"Jack, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I'm just fucking scared, that's all. I'm just fucking scared."

"Jack, what did you do?"