***Note that the following story is a work of semi-fiction, or maybe "inspired by a true story." Part is 100% true, and part is fantasy, and I leave it to the reader to determine which is which. Certain details have been tweaked to protect the "innocent."***
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I don't know what the hell brought all that on. I mean, I had always seen myself as perfectly straight, a guy who whose fantasies and experiences were with women only, thank you very much. Maybe that was the problem... that I'd never thought about it before, so I had no counter-argument ready when all that was challenged. But still, even in my wildest imagination, there's no way I would have ever thought that....
Sorry... I'm jumping the gun. Let me back up.
It all started because Corey and I had become friends. And we were the most unlikely of friends. I knew him somewhat while we were in college, as he was the roommate of one of my best friends. My friend and Corey were themselves an unlikely couple, with different personalities and interests. But as roommates they were perfectly matched, with something of a odd couple kind of thing going. So again, I ran into and talked to Corey all the time, but we had never really hit it off for whatever reason.
That all changed in the year after graduation, after my best buddy suddenly found a woman who became The Love of His Life.® He was so enamored (ok, pussy-whipped) with her that the guy started flaking out on getting together with anyone else, many times leaving both Corey and I in the lurch. Finally, my friend up and moved in with her, and more or less fell off the face of the earth. By that point, Corey and I had gotten into the habit of hanging out together, and I actually started having a blast with him. We never looked back.
The thing about Corey was... well, he was the most intense person I think I've ever met. Everything about him was intense. Quiet. Reserved. Brooding. Almost like coiled tension in human form, ready to spring. I think some of the intensity sprang from his upbringing. I didn't know his whole story but I knew he had a rough childhood, and he was very closed off, especially at first. At times it felt like he viewed the world with a certain... wariness. And his hobbies tended to be solitary, and hard core. He was a dedicated distance runner, always pushing himself. He loved hiking, too, but his true love was rock climbing, and he did it every chance he could. All this gave him a nice athletic build. He wasn't bulky, but the man had more strength in his little finger than most guys had in their legs.
Beyond that, he was a great looking guy... but he had sharp, angular features that added to his overall vibe of intensity. He had the most piercing, icy blue eyes I've ever seen, which had a way of stopping you dead in your tracks.
But as I got to know him, I got to sense that this quiet intensity was just a shell... really just the tip of the iceberg. While he might seem stand-offish, I got the sense that deep down he hungered for real connections with other people. I came to realize I had never met a guy with more zest for life. The man was up for anything at the drop of a hat, a guy who ran around like he wanted to experience everything the world could possibly throw at him. He salivated at the thought of travel, especially if it was to new places. Plus, give him a couple drinks, and he became the world's most engaging, interesting conversationalist--you had to work to keep up with him. And most of all, he was fiercely loyal to his friends. I mean like Blood Oath loyal.
In terms of personality, I was as different as I could be... like a yin to his yang. I'm Sean, and I am as sun-shiny as Corey is stormy. I'm well known for my humor, a great circle of friends, and my ability to talk to anybody. I've kept active and have good build, and am hairy in all the places a guy should be hairy. I have a devilish smile that I've used with devastating effect on the ladies... and overall, I can say with no false modesty that I'm damn good looking, in a puckish way.
Even in our love lives, Corey and I were worlds apart. I kept up an active love life with several women, including a serious relationship that lasted right up until the last few weeks of school when she dumped me in spectacular fashion. I was still smarting from how all that went down. Corey, as far as I knew, had a long-distance thing going on for at least four years with a girl named Jenny, but I rarely heard him talk about her. I only know the few times she blew into town, they had animal sex that matched Corey's trademark intensity.
That summer in the late-1990s was challenging. I had started working at a big indoor-outdoor music festival as a bar back, hauling kegs, cases of wine, bags of ice and what not. There was something going on nearly every night, so I was able to get loads of hours, and the endless shifts of heavy lifting was giving me a body to envy without ever having to go to the gym. Best of all, being a sometime musician myself, I got to hang out with all kinds of people in the industry, ranging from musicians and promoters to roadies, so I got a chance to get to know the business.
The tradeoff is I had next to no free time, and when it came it was usually in oddball chunks. Fortunately, Corey's work schedule had more flexibility, and pretty much alone among my friends we were able to hang out fairly regularly. Over grilled food, endless conversations, and plenty of liquor, we became pretty tight. We planned big plans, argued about music and groused about the sad state of our respective love lives.
And then things took an unexpected turn.
I was heading over to Corey's place... we were planning on grilling some burgers and he wanted to share some Brazilian jazz he had just picked up. I knew nothing about Brazilian jazz, but was in need of company and a cold beer. He mentioned that he had brought on a new roommate named Jake, who might be around as well. All fine with me.
Once I arrived, we cracked open some beers and Corey put on his music. Shortly thereafter, his roommate Jake showed up. I really didn't see him--he called out a general "hello" on his way by, then shouted over his shoulder that he was just back from a run and was going to hit the shower. Corey shouted back that since we were about to be hit with a summer thunderstorm, Jake should have just waited outside and let nature clean him off. Jake grunted something indistinct and hopped into the bathroom.
While the water ran, Corey somewhat filled me in on Jake. He went to our same college, and Corey had known him from a couple of classes they took together. Jake was pretty much a jock, and kept busy in a couple of amateur league sports since graduation. Jake had mentioned to Corey previously that he thought he knew who I was from college, but I couldn't ever remember meeting him.
After a few minutes, Jake came out to join us, freshly clean.
Jesus.
I mean, I've always thought I was straight and all, but...
Jesus.
Jake was wearing nothing but a pair of lounge shorts, with a sizable bulge indicating he was going commando. While Corey had a tight athletic build, Jake was straight up a hunk, with well-developed muscles. He had dark brown hair that dusted his entire, muscled body. I mean, he wasn't a gorilla or anything, but had hairy forearms, a nice hairy chest, and a treasure trail that I suspected led to a completely unmanscaped bush... as evidenced by the pubes peeking out over the waistband of his shorts.
It wasn't just his body that screamed "jock," however--it was his whole bearing. The way he strode into the room and plopped down on one of the chairs had such a... physicality to it. A swagger. A confidence. Like, that even as he was lounging with a leg casually thrown over the arm of his chair, he could leap into action in a flash if someone suddenly threw a spiral pass.
To be blunt, my boy Jake was hot.
Jake had grabbed a beer and effortlessly joined us in our conversation. We had a blast. He brought a certain cockiness to the table, a snarky sense of humor that balanced out Corey's brooding intensity and my happy-go-lucky charm. We covered a lot of ground, getting into a particularly vehement argument about local bands as we tossed back a few too many adult beverages.
During a break in the storm, we grilled a few burgers and ate them down like a pack of hyenas. It was summer at its finest.
Rain soon drove us back inside again, and our well-lubricated conversation resumed. Perhaps not surprising when you throw alcohol and bored young guys together, the talk turned to sex. It started when Jake made a kind of deliriously raunchy comment... one that often passes between roommates, especially those that share a bedroom wall and have zero secrets. But he caught himself, realizing there was a new guy in the room, and started half-apologizing.
