The house looked the same as it always had and yet this time, it felt like I was going behind enemy lines. Have you ever noticed how people's homes often have a certain smell? That's how I knew it was different. Her smell was gone.
I have lost count of the number of nights I spent at Pete's house throughout my childhood and well into my teens. I was so familiar to his parents I didn't need to knock. I could just walk right in, even if I wasn't with Pete. Some afternoons after school, I would show up with Pete unannounced and his mother would always have enough food ready, just in case. They took it for granted I would probably show up.
I stopped coming after Pete's fifteenth birthday. He had invited twelve kids from our class to his house for a barbeque. We were in his room and everyone else was due in less than an hour when we heard something smash downstairs, followed by a lot of yelling.
'Fuck,' Pete muttered to himself.
I had never seen or heard Pete's parents argue before so I tried to make a joke about it, but he didn't laugh.
'It's been like this everyday for the last week,' he said. 'They won't stop.'
We heard their voices move out into the garden followed by a loud bang. Pete peered out the window.
He sighed. 'There goes the barbeque.'
The voices were inside again and they were getting louder. Footsteps on the stairs. I couldn't make out exactly what they were saying because they were shouting so loud. It was grownup stuff, none of it interested me much at the time. But Pete looked freaked.
'I'll be back in a sec,' he said, hurrying out of the room and shutting the door behind him. A moment later and the shouting stopped. Footsteps came quickly towards the door and it opened again. Except it wasn't Pete. It was his father, Joe Wilson.
'David?' he said.
I can't remember if I said anything in response or if I just stared, open-mouthed like an idiot.
'I think it's best you head home, son. Barbeque isn't happening anymore. We'll do it another time.'
His eyes bore into me. I could feel my heart thumping in my chest as I stood up and grabbed my things. He moved aside as I walked out the door but I still brushed against his stomach and felt the hairs on my arm stand up. Just before I went downstairs, I looked left and saw Pete standing in the doorway of his parents' room. I could hear his mother crying inside.
'Another time' never came. Pete didn't have a birthday that year. Claire Wilson filed for divorce three years later. I remember the date because it was exactly one week after my eighteenth birthday, four months ago now. She moved out the day she gave him the papers. With no more fighting, Pete's house was safe terrain again. But it still felt strange to be back.
I closed the front door and followed Pete down the hall. I could hear the sound of a lawnmower. We went into the kitchen and I saw him through the window.
His shirt was off and his tanned skin glistened under the sun. Pete's father had been a football player in his younger days and he had kept his build intact. I watched him lift the end of his dark blue t-shirt up and wipe the sweat from his brow. I felt a tightening in my shorts as I caught a glimpse of his abdomen and the dark strands of hair trailing down from his naval.
Is it weird to have a thing for your best friend's father? As far back as I could remember, I had. I would never tell Pete though. It would make things awkward.
Joe's t-shirt looked like it could rip under the strain of his muscles at any second. Despite being in his late forties and Pete and I having youth on our side, I was pretty sure if we tried to take him in a fight, we would both get out asses kicked.
'You deaf?' Pete said.
'What?' I looked at him, pulled back to reality against my will.
'I said do you want something to eat?'
'Oh. No, I'm good for now. Ate way too much for lunch.'
The lawnmower stopped. Pete opened the fridge and I moved to stand around the corner of the kitchen island to disguise my growing erection.
The back door opened behind me. I could smell his scent the minute he stepped inside. I turned.
He stared at me. I had not seen him this close in years.
'David, you've got taller,' he said. 'Good to see you again.' He smiled and gave me a pat on the back. His hand was strong and firm. I shoved my hands into my pockets to readjust myself.
'Good to see you again too, Mr Wilson.'
'Mr Wilson?' he laughed.
I felt my face redden. 'Sorry. Joe.' It had been so long since we spoke, I had forgot we were on a first-name basis.
'You staying for dinner?'
'Yeah,' Pete answered for me. 'He's staying over.'
Joe nodded. 'Alright. I'm going to have a shower, I stink.'
He went upstairs and I spent the rest of the afternoon until dinner trying to focus on my conversation with Pete as I wouldn't fantasize about what Joe would look like in the shower.
Dinner was quick. Joe and Pete spoke about father and son stuff and he asked me a few questions about how I had been doing since he saw me last. After dinner, he gave Pete and I a beer each from the fridge and then another and then another.
I slept in the spare bedroom. It was just after three in the morning when I woke up, needing to use the bathroom. I got up and crept into the hall. I only had my underwear on. Pete's bedroom door was closed but I could still hear him snoring.
The door to Joe's bedroom door was open a crack but there was nothing but darkness inside. I went to the bathroom and quietly turned off the light and shut the door after myself. I almost jumped when I saw Joe standing in the doorway of his room. He was wearing black underwear that hugged his thighs. His body was truly magnificent. His chest was covered in hair, his legs were thick and muscular. His shoulders were so broad, he looked like he could run through a wall.
'You alright?' he said in a low voice.
'Uh, yeah I'm OK,' I said.
'It's late. You having trouble sleeping?'
'Nah, I'll be out cold again in a minute.'
He didn't move from the door, so neither did I. It was hard to read the expression on his face in the dark.
'Come here,' he said.
I walked slowly toward him. He took up the entire width of the door frame. I was not sure what he was going to do or say so I was surprised when he wrapped his arms around me and gave me a hug.
'It really is good to see you again David,' he said. His whole body enveloped me. His skin was warm. He smelled amazing. 'You know you were like a second son to me for so many years.'
He stepped back. I was hard as a rock and there was no hiding it now. I silently prayed that he would not look down because I had no idea how he would react.
Joe stepped back from the door and beckoned me in. I walked in, feeling his breath on my neck as I passed him.
'Sit,' he said.
I sat on the mattress, him next to me. I am not a small guy by any means, but Joe still dwarfed me in size.
