As soon as he walked in the door, Ben was immediately hit with Melissa, draping herself all over him, physically and verbally, asking in that cutesy voice he hated, to go right back out and spend the evening at the mall with her, shopping with her for the baby gift she needed to buy for Sarah's shower this weekend. They could eat dinner out at that pizza place in the mall she liked.
Ben's immediate refusal was the spark that fully ignited Melissa's long-simmering anger.
Ben, a good-looking, athletic, twenty-something had just returned home from a long session at the gym. That in itself -- these outrageously long amounts of time he spent working out lately, almost daily now -- had kept her seething almost the whole while she'd been alone in the apartment. So, her anger having been primed like that, it was no wonder she flared up loud and bitchy instantly, like a struck match, when he pleaded exhaustion from a seriously tough workout.
This deep, explosive, all-consuming anger of Melissa's had been brewing for a few weeks. It wasn't just him neglecting her so much, choosing the gym over her, it was more and more about the boy, this now-regular work-out partner Ben found last month, the boy Melissa was obsessed with now because Ben was obsessed with him now.
She'd been trying to allay her suspicions, telling herself lots of dudes into serious fitness like Ben had gym buddies, but that rationalization had rung increasingly hollow.
The time they spend together now -- Ben and this teen-age boy! not even a dude his own age! -- was suspicious enough to Melissa, but Ben was also way too effusive about the boy, talking about him so excitedly, so often -- especially when he'd rave about "how damn ripped" the "sexy-ass" dude's "smoking hot body" was, all that "hella hot muscle."
So Melissa decided to lace her tirade that afternoon with cheap, leering, innuendo-drenched aspersion, taunting Ben, sneeringly wondering just why it might be that he was spending twice as much time lately with his work-out buddy -- a boy in his teens! -- than he was with her.
"You sure seem a hell of a lot more interested in him than you do in me, Ben! You talk about how hot his body is constantly! And you two aren't just doing gym dates all the time any more, now you've even started going out with him after your workouts! Been wondering for a while now if there's anything you'd like to tell me. Hmmmm, babe? You boys started fucking yet? Can he suck your cock as good as your girlfriend?"
Ben got furious, bristling with shame -- she was kind of right, of course, but that wasn't really the point. So what if he loved the thrill he got, being physically intimate while training with Hart? And of course he'd admit it was a sexual thrill, lusting after him in the gym and the sauna and shower, but that's what made it so bracing and addictive. But he's never made a pass at Hart, of course, nor has Hart ever made a pass at him.
So can't he just enjoy the incredible rush of pleasure he gets from having his first really close, intimate, personal male friendship? One made so much stronger because it was a male closeness based in the body, in working their bodies, admiring each other's body. That was something he'd never had before with another male, and it was magnificent.
The sad truth was that what Ben had found with Hart -- bonding over men's bodies and beauty together -- just that was decidedly a far more fulfilling a physical friendship for Ben that what he'd had for the past half-year with Melissa. He and Hart ogle each other and worship muscle and talk about their bodies all the time -- or the bodies of the other dudes in the gym, or the bodies of the boys in the bar they go to all the time now, after their workout. It's amazing talking about male beauty with a gorgeous young gay boy -- insanely exciting. To talk frankly about handsomeness, about boy's faces and bodies and cock and ass and muscle -- things Ben thinks about al the time. These have been some of the most exciting weeks of Ben's life.
So sure he's spending a lot of time with Hart. Amazing time.
Lately they've been hanging out together, after the gym, at this amazing gay bar Hart likes to go to, for a beer or two after their workout. Ben loved going there -- cool space, and the dudes there were all into muscle -- it was like going from gym to gym. Ben loved being a hot straight dude in a bar full of hip, hot, good-looking, hard-bodied gay hotties. Complete rush for him. Ben loved that Hart wanted to turn him on to such a totally sexy space, loved that they've agreed to make it their regular thing after a workout.
So yeah, Ben was pissed, knowing she wasn't even half-right. He'd found an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime bud. And the stuff they did together was just 100% bro-stuff -- working out and knocking back a few. He admits the sexual charge, sure -- dudes are sexually complex, what else is new? Ben's obsession, though, was almost chaste, it was so pure. Just starry-eyed bro-worship. But even with it being non-sexual, it was far more meaningful, physically, than what he had with Melissa. What he'd ever had with a girl, actually.
He had every right to an epic male friendship in his life, and he wasn't going to be made to feel guilty for enjoying it and spending as much time with his bro as he could.
He sneered at her, proper-pissed.
"You're just jealous of my body, of how good I look. Hot enough to attract a super-fit young dude, into serious muscle, into being my work-out partner."
Indeed, Ben did look good -- fitness-model handsome, with blonde hair he kept close-cropped, a permanent beard-scruff accenting his rugged features, and a physique of hard, rippling muscle he's carved to lean perfection. His obsession with his body, with sculpting it to the classic male ideal of beauty, has made him a gym regular, one who loves the stares he gets all the time from the other guys in the locker room and showers.
But stung that she'd teased out the secret of his same-sex attraction, he nevertheless refused even to try to defend himself. It would only dignify her low insinuations by trying to explain the complexity of his feelings for Hart. Suddenly not wanting to spend any more time with her right now, in her weird, mean mood, Ben stormed out, without even changing out of his sweaty gym clothes, heading straight to Hart's place for consolation and another chance to spend some time with his bro -- and hopefully find a place to spend the night while he and Melissa cooled off.
Ben was totally gone on his friend Hart -- a ridiculously handsome, excitingly out gay male. Ben had never seen at all what importance Hart's sexuality would have to Melissa, so he hadn't even bothered to mention his new bestie got with dudes. Besides, who even cares about that any more?
It was such a kick, too, that Hart was so much younger -- nineteen, just out of high school, but already supporting himself doing HVAC work. For a young'un, the boy's life was a lot more together than Ben's currently was.
It was very cool and very natural the way they'd met. Ben noticed this good-looking dude one day at his gym (tough guy not to notice, his body is exceptional). From that day, he started seeing him around all the time. Hart must have noticed him, too, because the two young men started nodding to each other. Hart came up to him one day, while Ben was lifting, and struck up a conversation, pointing out how they seem to work out same time, same days.
The two guys clicked instantly, and Ben suggested they finish the rest of their routine together that day. Then they both hit the sauna together, where each remarked on how beautifully toned the other's body was. They started complimenting on specific areas each felt the other had sculpted to perfection, using excitedly graphic language to capture the power of each other's hard-carved physique. It was so cool that day, for Ben, talking so descriptively and excitedly about another boy's body, trying to capture his his powerful beauty in words.
As they both grew more confident in their talk that day, alone in the steamy intimacy, Hart acknowledged, as off-hand as he could, the impressive size and shape of Ben's cock.
Ben immediately returned the favor. If he'd never commented on the beauty of another boy's body to him before, he'd sure never dared talk about another dude's dick. But Ben had found it no problem at all -- a pleasure, in fact -- to praise what a long, thick, uncut beauty Hart was packing.
By that time Hart had made it clear he was gay, so Ben grinned and added, "Bet the dudes really go for a stud-cock like that?"
Hart smiled shyly and admitted they did indeed.
