My Summer up the Mountain

(Author's Note: The characters in this feature are entirely fictional. Any similarities to actual persons are coincidental and should not be construed as actual portrayals. That said, I hope you enjoy the story.)

It was early summer between my freshman and sophomore years in college. I had met Dylan just four months earlier in Microeconomics class -- a subject I quickly learned to hate. While I seemed to struggle from day one, Dylan didn't appear to have any problem with it. During lecture, he was always quick to have a correct answer, even to the most obscure question posited by our geek of a professor.

Over the course of those first weeks, we struck up a friendship, most of which was grounded on my interest in picking his brain at every opportunity. Although he was good looking and fairly popular, I was most impressed with his brain. For me, microeconomics was a sink or swim class, and Dylan was my life preserver.

Like me, Dylan was also a sophomore. His advantage though was that his parents, although (also divorced like mine), were both successful CPAs. He had grown up in a household where Accounting was spoken almost as a second language.

Whether through osmosis or other means, he clearly had a knack for the subject. In fact, he was already working in the field as a part time admin assistant/bookkeeper at a print shop near campus. I, on the other hand, had virtually no experience, nor interest, in the subject.

As a History major, my goal was to get in and get out of the class with at least a 'B' so that I could move on to my higher division courses with my GPA intact. Luckily, Dylan showed mercy on me and took me under his wing. At least two times a week, we would meet up at the student union and he'd tutor me as best he could. On occasion, we'd also hang out socially, going to the movies, hitting the beach, or doing short day or weekend hikes in the California back country.

As the semester ended, it was apparent that all of Dylan's hard work and personal attention had paid off. Even if I had bombed the final, based on my point totals, I would still receive at least a 'C' in the class. Ultimately, as if by some miracle, I ended up eking out an A-.

It took Professor Geek a few days to post the grades on his office door, but as soon as I saw them, I was ecstatic. I immediately called Dylan to see how he had done and to offer him a celebration beer or 12. Naturally, he said he had aced the class, and he'd be by later for a few beers; however, he wouldn't be able to stay long.

"Sure, I understand," I said. "I'm sure you probably have a better offer waiting for you," I added, figuring he had a hot date lined up. "So, what's her name? And does she have a friend?" I asked with a chuckle.

"I wish," he said. "It's nothing like that. I'll tell you about when I get there. I'll see you in a bit."

About 30 minutes later, Dylan was at my door.

"Come on in, it's open," I yelled in response to his knock. "Hey bud, what's up? You didn't sound so good on the phone. We should be celebrating," I said, handing him a cold Sam Adams.

"I would, but my dad called me this afternoon."

"Is something wrong? Bad news?" I asked.

"No not really. He wants me to come up to his place in Big Bear and hang out with him until school starts again."

"That doesn't sound so bad. In fact, it sounds like fun. Why don't you want to go?"

"I kind of have responsibilities at the shop. I can't afford to lose that job. Plus, my old man and I don't always get along so well when it's just the two of us."

"Didn't you say his girlfriend lived with him, and that she was pretty hot? Maybe with her there you two won't get under each other's skin so much. Hey, maybe she has a hot daughter or niece? How awesome would that be?" I asked, trying to get his mind on something else.

"She WAS living with him," he said. "She bailed a couple of months back."

"Wow, that sucks. For both of you. I mean, I feel your pain. My dad and I don't see eye-to-eye on much these days either."

"Well, your dad also isn't insisting you go for an extended visit."

Dylan paused for a few seconds and then downed half of his beer. "Hey, you don't have any immediate plans, do you?"

"Well, I kind of need to look for a job," I said, scratching my head. "I'm running low on funds and my dad isn't as, hmmm, 'supportive' as your parents."

"I tell you what, let me call my dad back. He was planning on having me help him around his office and do some work on his house and maybe his business partner's place. I'll see if they've got enough work for both of us. What do you say? You up for an all-expense-paid working vacation? And he's got a four-bedroom cabin. It's not like we'd have to bunk together or anything. Plus, his partner is a pretty cool dude. I'm not sure, but I think they still have a boat they use to take their clients out onto the lake. If not, I know my dad still has the SeaDoos."

"That sounds pretty cool. I could go for that," I said. "Actually, it sounds pretty fucking awesome! And it would get my dad off my back too."

"Great," he said. "I'll call him this evening right after he gets home and has a couple of drinks. Hopefully, I'll catch him in a good mood."

Dylan held up his bottle and we toasted. "Here's to a 'not-so-shitty' summer,'" he said.

As we sat drinking -- both of us wearing workout shorts and t-shirts -- I couldn't help but admire Dylan's muscular legs, chest and bulge. Even though we had swapped stories about former girlfriends and sex many times, I had never confided in Dylan that I was bi. I wasn't sure how he would have taken it, and since he never brought up the subject, I certainly wasn't willing to risk our friendship by disclosing that I sometimes jerked off while envisioning my mouth wrapped tightly around his hard cock. Perhaps I would someday, but this was not the time.

After downing a couple more bottles, Dylan stood to leave. "Ok, thanks for the brews, and congratulations again on your grade. I appreciate the compliment, but it was all you, bro! I'll let you know as soon as I talk to him," he said.

"I don't think that's the case, so thanks again for all of your help." I said. "There's no way I would have survived that class without it."

It was approaching 9 p.m. when Dylan called. I almost didn't want to answer for fear that his dad had refused his proposal. "Hey bud," I answered nervously. "Did you talk to your dad?"

"Just got off the phone..."

"And?"

"And what?" he said. I could tell by the tone in his voice he was fucking with me.

"Well? What did he say?"

"Hell yeah, bro! He is going to have us work for him at his office, and they are going to have us work on their houses too!"

"That's awesome!" I said. "So tell me a little bit more about your dad and this partner of his?"

"Long story short, my dad -- his name is Ron, by the way -- and his former co-worker, Dave, went into partnership together several years ago. I thought I'd told you that story? Anyway, before they left their old jobs, they were both having affairs with their assistants. My dad divorced my mom and moved up to Pine Ridge with his slut -- which lasted all of about a year before he caught her cheating on him. Dave divorced his wife at about the same time and he moved up there too. They both bought homes, started their own tax accounting business, and the rest is history."

"No, you'd never told me the whole story. That's pretty fucked up -- I mean about him cheating on your mom. Kind of serves him right though that he got cheated on by his girlfriend. That's almost the same thing that happened in my family, only my mom was the one who cheated on my dad. So, is that why you two don't get along?"

"Well, among other reasons," he laughed. "The good news is we both have jobs and we're going to fucking party our asses off!"

"Sounds good to me. So, when do we start?"

"We're supposed to report for duty first thing on Monday. I'm going to run down to the shop in the morning to break the news to Tom. I'm sure he's going to be pretty pissed at me for not giving him more notice. Anyway, assuming I survive that, I'll come by around to pick you up around noon. That will give us the rest of tomorrow evening and all day Sunday to get settled in. Can you be ready by noon?"

"Not a problem!" I said. "And hey, thanks again and good luck in the morning."

"It's cool. You can thank me later. Besides, you haven't met my dad and Dave yet. You may be cursing me by the time we get back," Dylan said laughing. "They're actually pretty laid back, but they can both be pretty intense at times too."

"Two old tax accounts? I'm sure it's nothing I can't handle," I said with a slight chuckle. "If I can put up with that dweeb of a professor for an entire semester, I'm sure I'll be fine hanging out with your dad and his buddy for a few weeks."

I started packing as soon as we'd hung up. It didn't take me long. In less than an hour, I'd managed to stuff everything I thought I might need into a medium size gym bag and my backpack, including a couple of my favorite porn DVDs and some toys I'd ordered through a catalog. It wasn't so much that I was planning to use them -- I just didn't want to leave them in the dorm just in case someone from maintenance came in to do some work.

I was all set and ready to go when Dylan called around 10. "Hey dude, you want to leave already?" I asked excitedly.

"Um, well, yes and no."

"Oh shit, what's wrong? Your car won't start? If that's the case, we can take mine. It's no big deal," I said.

"No, it's not that," he said. "You're going to have to go without me... at least for the first week, maybe more. After I broke the news to Tom this morning, the poor guy just about had a heart attack. He said that any other time it wouldn't have been a big deal -- he would just have his wife come in and fill in until I got back. She used to take care of the books until they hired me. But, she can't now because she has to fly back east to take care of her mom. He pretty much begged me to stay for a couple of weeks -- at least until they can find a temp and we get him or her up to speed."

"Awe, dude, that sucks..."

"Look, it's no big deal. But my dad was counting on the help, so I called him and told him that you would go up and get things started. I hope you're cool with that?"

"Yeah, yeah, that's fine. It might be a little awkward since we haven't met yet, and we both know I'm not great with numbers," I added with a laugh. "But, are you sure he's alright with it?"

"Oh yeah, it's totally cool. And don't worry about having to do any accounting. It's just mostly cleaning up files and carrying boxes and stuff. I'll be up as soon as they can find someone here -- two weeks tops. In the meantime, I'm going to call my dad back and let him know you'll be up there later this afternoon. Sorry about the last-minute change of plans, but I can't leave Tom in a lurch. I'm going to need this job when I get back, so I can't just walk out on them."

"It's alright. I totally understand. I'd do the same thing if I were in your shoes. Shoot me your dad's address and phone number. As soon as I get it, I'm going to get out of here. I've already got all of my shit packed. All I have to do is throw it in the car and go."

"Ok, bro. It's on its way. Give me a call later this evening and let me know how everything is going. Oh yeah, and it's easier to get to his place if you go the back way up through Riverton. It's a little farther in terms of miles, but it's a lot faster since his place is on the far southeast side of Pine Ridge. And, since you're going up early, you should miss most of the traffic."

"Ok, got it. Thanks," I said, and hung up. Wow. I hadn't sees that coming, I thought, as I sat waiting for Dylan's text.

The drive up was fairly uneventful, and the scenery was spectacular. I had camped and hiked several trails around there with my dad when I was younger and my dad was stationed at San Pedro, so I wasn't totally unfamiliar with the area. I just hoped that Dylan's dad and his friend weren't a couple of creepy old pot-bellied assholes living in some run-down, termite-infested A-frame cabin in the middle of nowhere.

All of those fears were quickly laid to rest as soon as I turned off of the highway and made my way up the pine tree-lined lane to toward Ron's house. Pulling into the driveway, I was greeted by a brand-new black Audi S8 and a humongous Bavarian-style mountain home that easily could have been an Architectural Digest cover shot. The house stood three stories tall, with large, wide-pained windows and full walk-around balconies off each of the upper floors. Looking toward the rear of the lot, I could see a full-size SUV, and behind that, a stand-alone three-car garage, complete with a basketball hoop and what I assumed to be a fully marked, half-court painted on the driveway below. "Holy shit!" I thought. "This guy must be fucking loaded!"

As I sat behind the wheel of my crusty Corolla admiring the view, an older, sandy-blonde guy dressed in jeans and a button-down dress shirt appeared on the second-floor balcony. He was talking on his cell phone as he waved and motioned for me to come inside. I waived back, killed my engine and went around to the trunk to retrieve my bags.

I had barely made it up the stairs of the porch when the front door swung open. "Hi, you must be Mark?"

"Yes. And you must be Ron?"

"No, I'm Dave, Ron's partner. Ron just ran into town to grab a few things. He'll be back in about a half hour or so. He told me you were on your way and asked me to wait and let you in."

"Well, it's nice to meet you Ron... I mean... Dave." I could feel my face begin to flush. "Sorry. It's been a long drive."

"Hey, no worries," he said laughing. "People get us mixed up all the time. To be honest, we've been friends so long, it's getting hard for me to tell the difference sometimes. Why don't you come on in and take a load off and I'll show you around? Would you like a soda? Water? Beer?"

"Um, sure, I wouldn't mind a cold beer if you have one?" I said.

"You got it. You can set your bags down over there if you'd like until you guys figure out which room you'll be staying in."

"Ok, thanks," I said.

As I looked around the large living room, it was obvious that it had been professionally decorated. Every painting and piece of furniture had been perfectly matched to the style of the home.

"Here you go Mark," Dave said as he handed me a chilled Sam Adams.

"Hey, that's one of my favorites. Thanks!"

"Yeah, Dylan said you liked that kind, so Ron picked up a couple of cases yesterday right after we closed the office. C'mon, let me give you the nickel tour," he said.

"Cheers to that," I said, holding up my beer. Dave returned the toast by clinging the neck of his bottle against mine.

He explained as we went through the house that it had originally been a small two-bedroom cabin when Ron bought it. Then, after he and Dave had started their firm and had landed the first of several large clients, Ron had the place re-built.

"Wow, that sounds like a lot of 1040s," I joked as we made our way up to the second floor.

Laughing, Dave explained, "Oh, we only do individual tax returns for select clients. We mainly handle corporate accounts -- 10Ks and annual audits for corporate clients. There aren't enough W-2 customers up here to make any real money. Certainly not enough to have and maintain a place like this," he said.

"I can see that," I said, taking a long drink from my beer.

"So, you're an accounting major too?" he asked somewhat rhetorically.

"Oh, god no," I said. "If it hadn't been for Dylan, I wouldn't have survived Econ. No, I'm a History major. I know it won't be as lucrative but think it's interesting."

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with that. If you enjoy what you do, you'll never have to work a day in your life... at least that's what I've always been told," he said laughing.

"Yeah, that's what I've heard too, but now that I see this place, I may reconsider," I joked back. "Besides, that's probably not something you want to hear your new employee saying just before he goes to work in your accounting office."

Dave laughed out loud. "You're right. But don't sweat it. Believe it or not, my undergraduate degree is in Art History."

Dave had stopped short of showing me the master suite, but the rest of the tour had been amazing. We had just walked back into the downstairs living room when Dave's phone rang.

"Yeah, he's here," Dave said. "I just finished showing him around. Ok, I will," he said hanging up. "That was Ron. He's on his way back, but he wanted me to let you know that he will still be a little while. He said he was going to run by the office and pick up a few files. Would you like another beer?"

"Sure," I said as I made my way back toward the living room to wait. "So, where's your place?" I asked loudly so he could hear me from the kitchen.

"Me? I live on the other side of the lake," Dave said, re-entering the room. "I'll have you over one of these evenings after you have settled in a bit. My place isn't as big Ron's, but it's pretty nice. At least that's what I've been told."

"So, what do you guys do for fun around here?"

"Mainly work, work out and just hang out. There's a pretty good movie theater in town, and there are several good restaurants and bars close by filled with hot MILF tourists -- if you catch my drift. When I'm not otherwise occupied, I spend every moment I can relaxing in my hot tub, and I'm pretty sure Ron does too."

"That sounds great," I said. "And hopefully not alone either?"

Dave laughed. "Not if either of us can help it," he said.

There was an awkward moment of silence, then he asked if I was seeing anybody steady.

"I was, but we broke up a couple of months ago," I said.

"That's too bad, but it happens. So, you and Dylan hang out a lot?"

"Yeah," I said, suddenly aware that his questions might be leading somewhere. "But he's been working a lot lately, so we only get together when we can both carve out a little time."

"I see," Dave said. "Well, I'm sure a couple of young, good looking guys like you two can always figure something out."

"Um... yeah. Well we try... just to be clear though, we don't like "DO" stuff together," I said.

Dave laughed again. "Oh, I wasn't implying anything. But then again, you just never know? Besides, I don't think there is anything wrong with it. Believe it or not, I've had my share of fun over the years. And no offense, but you just strike me as an intelligent young person who might like playing both sides of the fence."

Hearing his comment almost made me drop my beer. Always one with a witty comeback, Dave had rendered me momentarily speechless. "Well..., I... Um... well, I..."

"I thought so," he continued. It was as if he was able to see right through me. "Hey, like I said. There's absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying sex -- whether with a woman or a man. It's just sex, and if it turns out there's more to it, that's great too!"

I sat there for a second, dumbfounded. I couldn't believe that I was having 'that' conversation with a virtual stranger who also just happened to be one of my new bosses.

"Listen, I think I hear Ron pulling in the driveway," he said. "Maybe we should continue this conversation another time?"

"Uh, yeah. Ok," I said. Then, from out of nowhere, I blurted out: "To be totally honest, I have tried some things, but..."

"I thought so," he said smiling. "Now let's go introduce you to Ron."

Dave opened the front door just as Ron was making his way up the steps. He had two bags of groceries and a 12-pack in his left hand, and a briefcase in his right.

"Hey, you're just in time," Dave said. "We thought you got lost or something."

"No, I forgot the Dublin files, so I had to swing by the office. And who do we have here?" he said rhetorically.