Sporting Chance

I dozed off and on as I contemplated that morning and I kept visualizing his naked body on mine, the desire in his eyes as ejaculated his hot semen in my face. The erection that kept popping up throughout the afternoon was evidence that I wanted more and I fantasized about fucking his ass until I no longer felt guilt or shame for what we were doing. I wanted to masturbate but I want to save my cum for him even more. I laughed to myself at thought that I might fuck him for a lifetime before I could ever accept that I was batting for the other team.

Eventually I got around to thinking about the testing mess, the mess that Marcus Wolfe had put us in without the slightest consideration for the educational professionals who might innocently be tarred forever with the brush of fraud and scandal. No matter what happened there would be those who figured that we were all in on it. I don't know what came over me but I decided to call Marcus, to ask him what the hell he was thinking. This was my life he was fucking with. He picked up on the first ring.

"Marcus, this is Jeremy."

"Hey! How is my injured warrior? What's going on?"

What's going on, hell. I wanted to climb through the phone and kill him.

"Not much. I've been lazing around, taking it easy, trying to nurse these muscles. Coach Baker has been taking care of me and Coach Chancellor stopped by this morning. Who'd have thunk it, huh? I gotta bust my ass all over the tennis court to bring out the best in them. If I'd have known that's all it took I'd have done it the first week of school."

"Will wonders never cease? Well, if you've got Baker and Chancellor taking care of you then I guess I can quit worrying about the athletic department exploding into flames, right?"

"Yeah, I think everything's going to work out okay. Dr. Harcourt had said I'd improve with the help of a masseuse and it turns out Coach Baker's a great one. He learned while he was studying to be a physical therapist."

He laughed bitterly. "I think every P.E. coach planned to be a physical therapist but couldn't cut it. I'm not surprised; Baker's good at everything he does and the arrogant bastard knows it. So his massaging your body, has this helped your relationship with him, unthawed the ice a little?"

I didn't like the nasty implications in his voice. He hadn't spoken to me with such venom in his voice since I'd been hired but I decided to let it pass for a while.

"Oh, yeah, I think things are better but then you'd hope a man is not your enemy if he's doing deep tissue massage on you."

"Right."

"So Marcus, what's all this shit about a Georgia Bureau of Investigation probing the schools in this county for cheating on the state tests?"

"What?!"

I couldn't read him, did he know or was he really surprised?

"How do you know this, when did you find out, why didn't you tell me before?"

He was upset but he was angry, loaded for bear.

"Hold on, hold on, hold on. I've just heard it and it sounds like I might have been the last goddamn one to find out, too."

"Did it sound to you like I knew?" he snarled.

"Oh, I don't know, Marcus, I guess I just figured you knew since I just got backed into the wall accusing me of knowing that you and Lou Mansfield have been cheating on student exams and it seems like half the fucking teachers in this motherfucking paradise are in on it with you. And get this, it seems like they all think I'm in on it with you since I such a goddamn good friend of yours!"

I needed to calm down. My anger was going to only make things worse because Marcus might try to implicate me.

I literally could hear him swallowing.

"Who told you?" he asked in a low voice.

"Seeing as how you didn't let me know I was stepping in this shit I'm going to keep that little piece of info to myself, Jughead. My ass is already going to be in the hot seat with the interview and god knows what else. I heard they're doing polygraphs and I'm really pissed."

There was a silence on the line and I just waited, listening as he breathed into the phone.

"You there?" I asked.

"I'll be over in a few minutes, Jeremy. I'd rather have this discussion face to face."

"Don't. Don't even think about it, Marcus. I've been told these people are watching us, trying to put together who's involved. I don't need you showing up here and making it worse for me. I just called to ask you why you put me in this situation but I can already see it was a mistake to call. Hell, they might even have our phones tapped."

"Goddamn. Look, I'm sorry, Jeremy. It was never supposed to be like this and I figured you didn't matter. Your students are all the best in the school. It's the others that are the problem."

"Marcus!! I'm a COACH!! Where are your fucking BRAINS??? The athletic department has every reason to want student scores to be good so we can get the best people for the teams. Can't you even see what you've done?"

I could hear him swallowing and his heavy breathing.

"Goddamn it, Marcus! Didn't you think it was going to catch up with you? Shit, you fake test scores and when these kids go on to college they're going to flunk out. Didn't you people realize it was going to show up somewhere along the line? What happened to that shrewd master sergeant I thought knew it all?"

He was quiet and then, "How much do they know, Jeremy?"

My hostile laugh reflected my disgust, my total disillusionment with the world around me.

"I'd say they know just about everything, Marcus. Now it's just a matter of when the paddy wagons get here and they haul your ass off to jail with the rest of the crooks."

"I can't believe it. Why didn't Archie tell me, why didn't someone tell me about the investigation? I don't know what I should do next."

"Stand up like a man and take your medicine, that's what you do. You'd probably better call the superintendent and resign. Or offer to turn state's evidence, whatever it takes to show you've got the balls to stand up and do the right thing here. I've heard you're being put on leave pending the completion of the investigation."

"Oh, god, oh, god, what am I going to do, Jeremy?"

He was panicked and scared. I'd never seen him like this, not the tough Master Sergeant.

"From your reaction it looks like I've just given you a good heads up and I'd suggest you call a lawyer. I'd call one as in the very fucking minute you hang up the phone with me. Look I've got to go, Marcus. Someone's pounding on the front door, probably the goddamn GBI."

I hung up. I'd lied, there was no one pounding on the front door. I stood there thinking about what I'd just done. I wasn't sure if I'd called Marcus to cuss him out for putting me in this shit or if it had been to warn the Ranger I'd had so much respect for in the past. Probably both and I knew it. He'd been pure hell for me at Fort Benning but after I got to Iraq it didn't take long for me to realize his version of hell had saved my life on more than one occasion. I truly didn't know if he had no idea about the investigation but he deserved my warning him. I owed him that.

I sat on the back porch swing in my robe and just looked at the gardens. A vegetable garden and a flower garden; Mrs. Moon obviously had loved gardening and now I took great pleasure in it, too. I enjoyed my tomatoes and beans, the peas and corn. I heard Rick come quietly into the house in case I was sleeping. I turned and looked into the kitchen. He hadn't noticed me through the screen door and he was maybe three feet from me as he stood at the counter.

He got two Cokes from the fridge and filled two glasses with ice, all the while silent and deep in thought. I could smell his Old Spice deodorant and he'd changed his clothes again. His blond curls were damp again, wet from another shower. He was always wet from a shower every time he came over now and I felt it in my loins as my cock stirred. I liked him wet, fresh from a shower, smelling clean with his old man deodorant. Had he known what I was just figuring out, that my seeing him like this was a turn on for me; did he know I found it incredibly sexy? As I watched he took the barbeque from the bag and put it out on the table.

He was so handsome, so mature and so boyish at the same time, wearing a half tee shirt that barely covered his pecs and gym shorts that only just covered his buttocks. He must have left his thongs in the living room because he was walking around barefoot. His legs were so tan and I could see the faint dust of blond hairs glisten in the light as he moved. He was dressed like this for me, to tease me because he knew I liked it. I realized it with a shock and grinned. That devil was seducing me.

Watching him without him knowing it, seeing him without any armor up, I knew it had gone too far for me to ever consider backing out now. I had an iron erection; I wanted more than friendship, I wanted to fuck him. I was lonely in this town so far removed from my home. This mess we were all in, this awful investigation was getting closer to me than I wanted to admit and I wanted to be in his arms, to have him tell me that everything was going to be alright.

He was startled when I came in from the back porch.

"God, it smells great, Rick. Thanks so much for this, I'll pay you before you leave. Don't let me forget."

"It's alright, Jeremy, I don't mind at all. I enjoy your company and it's lonely for me over at the farm."

"That's good, I enjoy having you here, too."

He smiled and his eyes were burning with passion.

"I like that you're calling me Rick," he said softly.

"I'm having to practice to get used to it. You know, over and over again in my mind I say it, Rick. Rick. Rick. Rick. Rick. Rick."

He laughed. "That's my name, don't wear it out."

We both burst out laughing.

"God," I teased. "I haven't heard that line since grammar school. Rick. Rick. Rick. Rick."

We ate and joked around before I decided to tackle the elephant in the room.

"Rick, about what we did earlier, I've never done anything like that before. I..."

"I know," he said miserably, "you were caught up in the moment but you don't ever want to do that kind of queer stuff ever again."

I reached over and touched his hand.

"I didn't say that. Don't put words in my mouth. Rick."

His eyes lit up and he grinned.

"So?"

"So I'll have to take it one step at a time. I'm not so sure how good I'll be at this gay lover bit but maybe I can satisfy you. Occasionally."

He kissed my hand and I pulled it away from him.

"Don't."

He laughed. "Damn. I can see it's going to take some work with you. No problem. It'll be fun."

"I'm not your first man, am I?"

"No. You're not."

"How many before me, or should I even know?"

"Only one. There was a guy I roomed with at state teacher conferences, another coach. We were both horny one night and it just happened. We never talked about it but roomed together at the next three conferences and then he moved out of state. No goodbyes, we've not seen each other since. It doesn't matter. We were both married with kids and it was never going anywhere."

"None before him? What about when you were younger, a teenager, in college?"

"No. I'd fantasized, masturbated thinking about guys I liked but I never followed through on it."

"And what about your wife, your marriage; is that what busted you up?"

He nodded. "Probably. Of course she didn't know that, hell, I didn't even admit it to myself at the time but I couldn't even get an erection with her anymore. She was such a bitch I didn't want to touch her, she disgusted me. Then after she left me and we got divorced I knew I didn't want pussy ever again. I wanted cock but I didn't know what to do. Being gay in Georgia is bad enough. Being gay and thinking you're going to teach in Georgia is out of the question. So I just jacked off a lot. After you came and you became my jack off fantasy."

"Really," I grinned. "I'm flattered. Was I in your mind the day you were jacking off in the athletic office?"

He laughed. "Oh yeah, you were the one. You looked like a walking sex god that day. You squatted down and the head of your cock slipped out of the leg of your shorts. Of course it was in your jockey but still I didn't think I was going to make it to the office before I shot my load in my shorts."

"Oh, I see," I smiled. "And when did you figure out I had watched you doing the deed in the shower?"

"As soon as I walked back through the office and saw your playbook," he grinned. "I knew damn good and well you'd never let that book out of your sight unless you locked it up. I just didn't know what you were going to do and I really sweated that out, you bastard. I could have had a stroke worrying, you know. Why didn't say something to me, why'd you let me sweat it out like that? You asshole, you with that sexy grin of yours."

"Sexy grin? You mean like this?"

I grinned and he laughed.

"Yeah, like that, stud."

"Stud? So you think I'm a stud?"

"I just ate your ass out this morning, sucked your cock, and ate your cum. Does that answer your question? You've never said anything about it either. Did you like it or didn't you?"

We were joking around but there was fire in his eyes. I stepped forward, took him in my arms, and kissed him, really kissed him. My leg started to hurt and I leaned into him. Rick returned my kiss with everything in him; he moaned and I sucked his tongue in to my mouth. At last we came up for air.

"My leg's killing me. Why don't you feed me this barbeque, Rick? Rick. Rick. Rick. Rick. I love your name."

"Sit down," he said, his voice deep with emotion.

We laughed as we fed each other our barbeque dinners, making a mess with of our faces with barbeque sauce. At last we used the wet napkins to clean up and went into the living room and sat on the couch. We sat on opposite ends; the couch was visible from the window. We were quiet for a long time and then Rick broke the silence.

"Did you like being in bed naked with me, Jeremy?" he asked softly.

"What? My kisses didn't answer that question for you, babe?"

The smile on his face was beautiful.

"I'm glad, Jeremy, so glad. I want to have sex with someone who cares about me and I think you do, at least I hope you do. It should be obvious to you by now how much you matter to me."

"Maybe I can make you happy, Rick but I don't know how we're going to work this. We can't live together or everyone will talk and we can't do anything that'll give anyone a clue. I don't know if I can look at you from now on and people not see how our relationship has changed. Any suggestions for how we're going to work this?"

"We'll figure it out. I've got a cabin up in Tennessee and I've taken a few buddies up there before. Fishing trips. Maybe we can do the same."

"Yee haw, I can't think of anything more romantic. Two queers fucking in the middle of the woods in Tennessee. I can hear the banjo from 'Deliverance' twanging now. Why don't we just fuck on a surfboard with a great white shark swimming under us?"

"Shut up, dick wad," he laughed and slapped my head playfully.

We went to my bedroom and Rick had me lay down while he massaged my leg. He still seemed as though there was something on his mind, something he wasn't saying.

"Out with it, Rick. You've been wanting to tell me something ever since you got here. What is it?"

He took a deep breath.

"Marcus Wolfe resigned this afternoon and turned himself in to the GBI. Archie was stunned, he had no idea how he found out. Marcus said he'd tell them everything he knew and was willing to take whatever punishment they decide to give him."

He did it, the master sergeant whose training saved my ass more than once did it. He manned up and did the right thing. I wasn't sure what I was feeling deep inside but it wasn't good and I obviously didn't hide my feelings well enough to hide them from Rick. He stopped massaging me and lay down beside me, his face close to mine.

"You told him, didn't you?"

I nodded my head, afraid to speak. A really good man had made a serious mistake that had ruined his life. He'd retired from the army after a lifetime of honorable service, he'd started a new career, and he'd screwed up big time. Now he'd shown me an example of what it really means to man up. I stifled the tears that for some reason were close beneath the surface. I never cried, hadn't since I was a boy, not even when I saw men get blown apart in battle. Why now?

"It's all right that you did, Jeremy, it's really okay that you told him," Rick said softly, his hand gently caressing my face. "He's your friend and I respect that."

I didn't say anything for several minutes because I wanted to burst into tears like a child and I refused to cry in front of anyone, particularly not Rick.

"It was her," I whispered at last. "Her. She did this to him."

"You mean Lou. You're probably right, she's always had a way of leading men on, has since we were kids. I just hope they fry her ass for this."

We lay quietly in bed until I fell asleep in his arms, my soul in pain for a man I'd cared so much about, still cared about.

I awoke with my face in his neck and I knew from his breathing that he was awake too.

"Thank you for being here for me, Rick. I'm sorry if I got all maudlin on you."

He wrapped his arms and legs around me, pulling me close to him. He smelled so good, so sexy with my face buried in his neck. Without thinking I gently kissed his neck as I clung to him. Rick's hand softly traced over my face, my closed eyes, and my lips.

"Whatever you want, Jeremy, I'm here for you, whatever you want and whenever you want it."

His voice was soft and different, almost loving. Suddenly I felt so close to him and I wanted to let him take over, to care for me. Me, an ex-army Ranger, I wanted someone to take care of me. Me. By another man. I felt helpless for some reason, torn inside and I was comforted by his being forty two, so strong and masculine, so much older and wiser, able to console me, to reassure me at my most vulnerable. I fell asleep in his arms again, content and safe with him.

I awoke with a start and his muscled arms and legs held me close. It was dark, no light at all, and for just an instant, a millisecond, I wondered where I was, maybe Iraq, maybe Afghanistan and maybe he was the enemy.

"Shhh, shhh, you're alright. I've got you."

I felt his lips softly kiss my forehead and I went back to sleep. When I awoke again it was still dark but I wasn't as disoriented. The clock on the nightstand showed 1:19 a.m. Sunday morning. The moonlight shone across the bed and I saw that Rick was naked. I slipped off my robe and I was naked beside him. He was so gorgeous, a perfect specimen of a man, and I wanted him so much I could barely breathe. My eyes devoured his body in the faint light, his quarter sized nipples, his narrow waist and washboard abs, his penis lying listless in its bed of thick pubic hair, his beautiful legs and feet.

I was possessed like I'd never been before and I leaned over and kissed his lips as he had mine, just barely touching them. He stirred but remained asleep. I began to kiss down his body, starting at his neck, then his nipples, and on down his chest and stomach. He moaned.

"Don't stop," he whispered.

My chin bumped into his penis, already hard and throbbing. I hesitated as I looked at it, knowing this moment could never be taken back. If I put that thick hot cock in my mouth there was no going back, ever. I saw the dribble of his precum as he pushed his cock toward my lips. The glans, hard and smooth, touched my lips and a pearl of precum wet them. I licked my lips and as if on autopilot my mouth opened and I slowly swallowed his cock.

The response was instantaneous. Rick started whimpering and mewling almost like a kitten, soft sounds of sexual passion. He started jerking and I pulled off, not wanting it to end too soon. I kissed his thighs and pushed his legs up, opening his ass wide, and then I licked his asshole, tasted him as he had me. His ass tasted of soap and the faintest hint of his sweat. I kept licking, kissing, probing, doing all the things I'd done to all the pussies I'd had in my past. Rick reacted more passionately than any woman I'd ever fucked.