At age 30 my life is in crisis. Like most men, I used to date girls. I had a few girlfriends in high school, though none of those girls stayed around very long. I attributed those short-lived relationships mainly to youth. By age 25 I had met Chelsea Lockwood. A month short of my 28th birthday I married her.
For years I had no clue that I'm gay. Had I known my orientation at age 15, I might have dated an openly gay 16 year old named Ken Thatcher. Instead, his 15 year old sister Jane became my first girlfriend. Four other girlfriends came after her by the time I had turned 20.
Let's backtrack to a time a few weeks after the wedding. The deep down desire to have a man sexually is rising to the surface. I started hanging out with Jane's brother and his friends at The Alley Bar. I tell Chelsea that I bowl twice a week. It wasn't long before I met Michael at that bar.
Michael Watson is a hunk. His thick hard pecs, biceps the size of a baseball and broad shoulders are the product of many hours at the gym. He turns out also to be a former marine and a combat veteran.
His hair is a light-brown buzzcut. His eyes are blue and lips thin.
Anyway, it was my fourth visit to the Alley Bar when Ken told me that a friend of his was coming to hang out with us.
"You guys will hit it off," he said. "You have some common interests."
I didn't have long to wait before Michael came to the table. We had a long chat over a couple of beers. I discovered that we did have a few things in common, high school football for one. We also happen to enjoy the same movies, the same music and playing golf.
Anyway the shit hit the fan on a recent Saturday afternoon. Michael and I had already texted each other a few times. He had come for a visit. It seemed innocent enough to my wife.
"Let's go down to the driving range and tee up a few balls."
He liked my suggestion.
We came to side by side 4' by 8' rectangles of artificial turf. Each of us had a bucket of 30 golf balls. I brought my own clubs. He was using one that belongs to the range.
We peered down range at a line of trees. The temperature on that spring morning was already in the mid 70s and would no doubt go higher.
Michael is a decent golfer as am I. Usually Saturday morning I would play 18 holes. He wanted just to practice.
We took our time hitting 30 balls. Finally by noon we were leaving the driving range.