Fate

The hot humid air whipped through the cab of the truck giving no relief as Charlie drove along the narrow two lane blacktop. He moved his old truck, a seventies Hi-boy Ford, toward the middle of the road on the long straights to avoid the rough broken edge of the pavement. Driving along in no hurry, his right hand holding the top of the steering wheel and his left loosely holding the frame between the vent and lowered window with his arm resting on the sill. His t-shirt billowed against his chest and stomach, the soft worn fabric caressing his skin as it soaked up the sweat trickling down his torso. He came to the end of Deer Lane slowing to a stop, looked both ways seeing no other vehicles approaching. He turned left and accelerated, shifting the transmission through the gears till he was back up to forty-five miles an hour. The truck hesitated a moment when he shifted into fourth so he pumped the accelerator till the engine leveled out and ran smoothly once again. A quick glance at the fuel gauge told him he still had over a quarter of a tank and he made a mental note to check the notebook in the glove box to see when he last changed the spark plugs thinking it must be time for replacements.

The road began to curve to the right and descended toward the creek that split the plateau that made up the countryside. Naturally gaining a bit of speed the old truck bounced roughly when he hit the bridge and just as the truck began to settle down he bounced off the other end. Pushing down the accelerator he began to motor up the steep incline back up to the top of the plateau that made up the next community of Robertsdale.  He neared the crest when his old truck shuddered again, began to misfire till it cut off. He coasted to the shoulder braking as best he could till he came to a stop. He tried to get it to start only to listen to the starter turn the motor over and over. Climbing out he raised the hood and looked confusingly at the motor, checking wiring and belts finding nothing out of the ordinary.

"Shit" Charlie muttered under his breath, closed the hood and went back to the cab to retrieve his cell phone. Lying on the bench seat he picked it up and began to punch in his father's name when he saw the warning for a low battery. Once again, he forgot to charge it and as he feared the phone shut off as he tried to call his father. "Fuck" he uttered, the aggravation of his carelessness tempting him to throw the phone as far as he could. Instead he slipped it in his back pocket, closed the truck door and began to walk. The nearest place was the Haines place but both worked with the county road works and would not be home and the next place was the old Graham place that Jake Williams had bought last year, farming the fields and slowly renovating the old farm house. He hoped Jake was home as he walked along the edge of the road knowing no one would come along anytime soon.

Jake had been a year behind him in school but Charlie remembered how he looked more mature than any of the guys in his own class. Tall, lanky build with broad shoulders and jet black hair. At sixteen Jake had the shadow of a full beard around his jaw and chin and in the dressing room after football practice revealed a chest covered in a matt of hair.  Charlie remembered the first time he saw Jake in the dressing room stripped down for a shower. He had felt a sense of embarrassment and jealously at his  muscular build and look. He even remembered his dick, flaccid, it still hung thick and long compared to the others.  He tried not to look, tried to forget what he saw, confused by his reaction. For weeks, he avoided the younger boy in school and at football practice but when the coach put them together in practice Charlie could no longer avoid Jake, who's casual unassuming personality eroded the last of his attempt to keep him at bay. But as friendly as they became with each other Charlie still maintained some distance, never really allowing them to be close friends. He didn't want to admit how Jake made him feel, this challenge to his perception of himself. After graduation, he knew the chances of them crossing paths was slim since he assumed Jake would go to college and he had settled into a job at the Ford dealership over in town working as a mechanic. He took the classes the dealership required at the community college down in Greenville, nearly an hour away, till he was certified to work in the shop. The pay was good but he had been giving so much to his parents to help with his father's medical bills it left him scraping by paycheck to paycheck. It was why he drove his grandfather's old truck and still lived at home. He always considered it a short-term situation, something that would only take three years or so then he could move on with his life. His parents knew what he was doing, at least superficially and encouraged him to date, trying to get him to live his own life but something held him back. He had no desire to settle down like his sister and begin a family. He kept telling himself the desire for such a life would come later. And the confused feelings he had when he had been around Jake was some silly competitive nature toward another guy that would simply go away when he left school.

For three years after graduation he crossed paths with Jake from time to time, and he found himself standoffish toward him, keeping their conversations short and at times literally avoiding him. He was surprised when Jake did not leave for college but stayed home and farmed with his father. Last year Jake bought the Graham place that was about a mile up the road and Charlie knew Jake was never going to leave, just like himself.

The Haines place was quiet, the carport on the end of the house empty of her car and his truck. Their German Sheppard ran along the fence of the side yard barking as he passed warning him to stay away. He kept walking feeling the heat rising up from the dark asphalt causing him to sweat profusely. His t-shirt clung to his skin and rubbed over his nipples till he couldn't take it and he pulled it over his head tucking it in the back of his jeans. There was something about the heat, the way his body responded to it, skin glistening with sweat, sensitive to the way the hot breeze caressed it. His jeans hung low on his waist making him feel how close to exposure he was, if the jeans slid down only a bit further. They rode just above his cock, so close he felt his half nakedness in a way that made him begin to feel aroused. He slipped a finger down the front and felt the sparse pubic hair that fanned out over his cock and a little further he felt it, the base of his cock. He felt the way it was thicker, filling out with the sensual feeling he possessed, aware of every aspect of his body. He tried to push these thoughts out of his mind, tried to consider what was making him feel this way, now, in this moment. He looked up the long straight road that cut through the plateau with fields of soybeans on each side, the power lines suspended from pole to pole breaking the low flat horizon all the way to the trees off in the distance, the first grouping surrounding Jake's place. Jake’s place, his destination and he felt his cock stir in the tight confines of his jeans.

Charlie kept walking, the distance seemingly to get longer and longer, the heat of the day so bad the horizon blurred. He fanned gnats from his face as he felt sweat trickle down his face and down his torso. After some time, he finally got close enough to make out the house among the trees, Jake’s truck in the rear and beyond that the barn with the doors closed. Scanning further back he saw Jake moving along slowly. Too far to make out what he was doing Charlie knew it had to be something in a garden, hoeing among the rows more like it. He felt his pace increase with Jake in sight. He moved along the hot asphalt faster and the sweat poured from his heated body soaking the waist band of his jeans. As he got near he put his head down and focused on making time till he would finally arrive to his destination.

After another ten minutes he slowed, breathing hard, each breath a struggle, as he came upon the drive to Jake’s house. The red flag on the mailbox was up and the front of the house was dark and quiet through the windows. He ambled along the drive making his way to the rear. As he neared the back corner of the house he heard Jake make a sound, one of pleasure, a relief and Charlie slowed down and eased to the corner. Looking around slowly he saw Jake at the back wall holding a garden hose over his head, the cool water cascading down his naked body. Rivulets of water ran down the contours all the way down to Jake’s feet puddling on the concrete pad. Charlie stared wide-eyed holding his breath as he looked at the naked form. More mature, more filled out, Jake had a man’s body. His hair had grown out long and with his head held down concealed his face. Forearms, chest and legs revealed the dark hair that covered them, wet and lying flat on the glistening skin.

Charlie stood at the corner leaning around just enough to watch Jake. His eyes moved over the masculine form from head to toe and back again, over and over and over till his he couldn’t stop himself. He couldn’t look away, couldn’t not look at the heavy cock dangling between Jake’s legs. He considered the shape of the head, round and flared out. The way the cut skin made a collar around the shaft just below it and how the sac with its two heavy nuts hung behind it, stretched out loose. Images of that first time in the locker room flashed through his mind overlapping with the physical being in front of him. Jake raised up straight, leaned his head back and held the hose overhead letting the water splash over his face and down his chest. Charlie watched the flex of the right arm, the bicep bulge with its movement. He looked at the thick underarm hair matted down imaging himself combing his fingers through it. He imaged what it would feel like, Jake’s smooth fair skin, knowing it would be firm, hard even, with the muscle underneath.

Jake turned off the water and quickly wrapped up the hose at the base of the wall. Charlie watched him turn and pick up his filthy clothes and move up into the screen porch then inside the house. For a moment, Charlie just stood at the corner of the house frozen in place by his confusion, this unfulfilled desire that scared him so. He heard Jake inside, in the room he was outside of at the corner. It broke his trance and he eased back to the front then up on the porch where he knocked on the old wood door. The door seemed to rattle in its frame as he rapped his knuckles firmly on the door. A moment later he heard the footsteps moving through the house getting closer and closer. Then lock released and the door eased open.

“Charlie?”

“Hey Jake…man I’m sorry to disturb you but...can I use your phone?”

“Phone?”

“Yeah…my battery is dead. Dummy me forgot to charge it and, well, my old truck quit on me just this side of the creek and…”

“Oh…yeah, yeah, come on in” Jake interrupted as he moved back opening the door all the way revealing he was only wearing a towel.

“Man, I’m sorry to bother you but the Haines were not home” Charlie stammered as he tried not to look at Jake’s body.

“Yeah they both work.”

“I know, so I hiked it on here hoping you’d be home.”

“Well ya got lucky” Jake replied smiling, revealing his not quite perfect white teeth, a gap between the upper front two giving him a boyish look. “I don’t have a land line so let me go get my cell phone” Jake added as he headed back around the corner to what Charlie knew had to be his bedroom.

Looking around in the brief time afforded him, Charlie saw the work done so far. The living room had new windows, new trim and all the walls freshly painted. Through a cased opening, he saw the same in the small dining room. Jake came back and handed Charlie his cell phone.

“You going to call a tow truck?”

“No way, not out here. I’m going to give dad a ring and see if he can tow me home.”

“Hell, Charlie, give me a few minutes to get cleaned up and I can tow you.”

“I don’t want to put you out...”

“No problem. I’m done working out in the garden for the day. I came in to clean up so I could go into town to grab a few things and get dinner. I can tow you then head on.”

“Sure…okay. Thanks Jake.”

“You look like you could use something to drink. The kitchen is through there. Water and sodas are in the frig; help yourself and excuse the mess. I’ve just started renovating the kitchen.”

“Thanks; I could use something. It is so freaking hot out there.”

“Tell me about it; I thought I would have a heat stroke when I was out in the garden. Make yourself at home and I’ll be ready in a few.”

Charlie kept his foot hovered over the brake pedal in case Jake had to brake suddenly. Jake moved slowly along the road with Charlie in tow who watched the truck pulling him closely as he thought of Jake. The image of him naked hosing off behind his house, answering the door in just a towel then seated next to him as they drove the short distance to his truck. Jake had on a clean white t-shirt and jeans. The cliché for the all-American farm boy, the shirt tight across the shoulders and in the sleeves but loose around the narrow waist, and the jeans, tight in the ass and thighs, bulging in the crotch, sexy, enticing, hinting at what Charlie knew was underneath. He wondered how Jake viewed him, fantasized that maybe, just maybe Jake looked at him with some level of desire. He knew his lanky frame was still rather boyish compared to Jake’s, that was so full of muscle; matured to that of a man. And he knew he was taller than average at five ten but Jake towered over him, at least six three or four. It made Charlie feel like a kid.  It didn’t help he was living at home and not feeling any sort of need to settle down. At least Jake has his own place already, a place to call home.

They made it to his home and Jake had pulled around to the rear up near the barn as Charlie asked him to do. Charlie eased to a stop and climbed out so he could quickly remove the tow rope. He didn’t want Jake doing it and getting messed up. Jake stepped down from his truck and watched him coil the rope then put in the bed of his truck.

“Thanks Jake, I really appreciate it.”

“No problem. So, what are you going to do now?”

“I guess I’ll see if I can figure out what the problem is.”

“It’s getting late, why not do it in the morning? Why don’t you go clean up and come with me into town? We can go the that new place in downtown and grab something to eat. I’ve been wanting to try it.”

“I…ah…well...”

“Come on. I hate to eat alone which is what I do all the time here lately.”

Charlie looked at Jake and he saw an innocence he had not seen before; the teenager Jake has been in high school. Something he recognized in himself and nodded his head in agreement.

“Great. Get inside and get cleaned up.”

They were half way through dinner when Charlie had a thought come to mind. ‘Was this a date?’ It seemed silly to think such a thing, but it seemed like one. Jake and he talked about their favorite movies and gossiping about classmates from high school, especially the girls each had dated. Neither had a good reason for still being alone but neither wanted to talk about it so they laughed it off. Changing subjects, Jake told him about the renovations he was planning to do with his house, the tile for the kitchen floor on order, the way he wanted to redo his bathroom with a large shower instead of keeping a tub in the room.  Their feet bumped together, their hands touched when they reached for the salt, and Jake had taken the lead ordering wine for dinner, something he had never drank and knew nothing about. They laughed, at times just a snicker they tried to suppress, and other times it was out loud, carefree, then they would lean in toward each other and talk in hushed tones, barely louder than a whisper.

The waiter came by and refilled their wine glasses and Charlie saw Jake nod to the waiter, a little confirmation of a job well done.

“Hey, you don’t have to work tomorrow do you?”

“No, I’m off on Saturday.”

“Come back to my place. We can watch a movie or something. I got that new TV thinking it would be great for a group to gather around and watch some football game or movie and…”

“You’ve not had anyone over?” Charlie interjected.

Jake nodded, replying ‘yeah’ as he laughed.

“Okay” Charlie replied and watched Jake settle back in his chair smiling.

The movie was about half way through and at a lull in the action. Jake and Charlie sat on the sofa, not real close but not as far apart as the sofa would allow. Jake sat up, his long legs stretched out in front of him, wine glass in hand nearly empty and Charlie glanced out the corner of his eye from time to time to look at him, the light from the television the only illumination.  Charlie sat leaned down, his legs spread apart so he could rock them back and forth nervously, anxious for something different and afraid for such to happen. He sipped more wine, and found the buzz was slower to come, creeping up on him. He rocked his left knee back and forth and felt it bump Jake. He pulled away and froze as the sensation of the touch lingered, electric beneath the skin. He raised his glass to take a sip and a big moment in the movie occurred and Jake sat up suddenly slapping him on the arm.

“Did you see that?!”

Charlie jerked up, his shirt splashed with the wine that had spilled on it when Jake slapped his arm.

“Oh shit…I’m sorry man.”

“It’s okay but I don’t want to get it on your sofa.”

“Forget the sofa, but we need to get that out of your shirt quickly or it’ll stain it. Go to the bathroom and put it in the sink with cold water. I’ll go out to the laundry room and get something to take the wine out of it.”

Charlie went into bathroom unbuttoning his shirt. At the mirror, as he undid the last of the buttons, he saw how the red wine showed prominently in the white fabric. He slipped it off his shoulders, placed it in the lavatory and turned on the cold water. As the water filled the lavatory he looked in the mirror. He looked at his torso, so lean, his chest and stomach flat, and he felt intimidated when he compared himself to Jake. He ran a hand down his chest over the smooth hairless skin admitting to himself he wasn’t skinny, but he wasn’t as developed as Jake. Jake suddenly appeared at the door and he jerked his hand down to his side.

“This should take the wine out of your shirt” said Jake and he poured a cap full into the stream of water filling the lavatory. Charlie slipped his hands down into the front pockets of his jeans not knowing what else to do with them as he felt nervous with their closeness in the small bathroom. He darted his eyes around afraid to look at Jake knowing it had to be written on his face, the fear, the anxiousness, and the desire. He sensed Jake standing close and he glanced up in the mirror. Jake was looking at his reflection, eyes moving up and down slowly.

“You always had the nicest skin…this olive tone…”

“What?” Charlie asked unsure he heard correctly.

“I’m so fair I can’t take any sun without blistering. I always wished I had skin like yours.”

“Well you got the better body” Charlie blurted out and he quickly regretted it, wondering how Jake would respond.

Jake stood beside him reaching over to turn off the water before the lavatory overflowed then he turned to Charlie, “your body is nice…lean…”

Charlie felt Jake’s hand touch him on the back, gently, such a soft caress he shivered as the fingers moved upward.  Unable to move or to speak he stood still watching in the mirror how Jake stood facing him, his face full of concentration, serious, the movement of the arm barely visible, the one guiding a hand up his back. “I always thought you were so cute” Jake whispered as he brought his other hand up and let it graze Charlie’s skin from his stomach up to his chest. The touch tickled him, aroused him, broke him out of his trance and he turned toward Jake.

“Really” Charlie finally replied, smiling.

“Really” Jake whispered as he leaned toward Charlie till their lips came together, barely touching at first, tentative, still unsure, but Charlie pushed against Jake, an urgency welled up inside him, an opportunity not be lost. They kissed passionately, hands moving over other. Charlie felt the way Jake’s hand moved over his bare skin and he struggled to push up Jake’s t-shirt eager to have his hands on the bare flesh.

Clothes trailed from the bathroom all the way to Jake’s bedroom, the only light coming from the open bathroom door. In the darkness of the bedroom their two bodies moved with each other, one undulating over the other. Jake’s fair skin seemed to glow in the room as it moved on top of Charlie, hips rising and falling pushing their bodies together. Charlie hugged their bodies together, clung to Jake with a desperation he had never felt before. He pushed up to meet Jake’s push downward feeling his cock grow thicker, longer, as it filled out to full erection.

“Jake…put it in me” Charlie whispered in his ear before he tongued it, nipped the lobe eliciting a moan from Jake. Suddenly he was being held down, Jake pushing his legs further apart and kissing him, lips touching his neck, his face and back down to his neck. He raised his knees up and instinctually raised his hips and pushed upward feeling Jake’s cock rub him, the head move smoothly against him. He felt it move along his ass till it pressed against his opening, the fat blunt head pushing against his tightness. He wanted it, this penetration and he pushed back.

The pain froze Charlie in place as he opened up to Jake. He felt his body stretch open as Jake pushed in, slowly working inward. Body quivering, he clung to Jake.

“Relax Charlie…let me in” whispered Jake and Charlie took a deep breath and felt his whole body relax, the pain ease away as he opened up to Jake. He felt the penetration, the slow push inward till Jake’s hips pressed tightly to his ass. It was a fullness he had never felt before, this interlocking of bodies, the way Jake penetrated so deeply within him. He worked his hips, moved beneath Jake, instincts taking over to fulfill his desire. He felt Jake move, pull outward then push back in, slowly, inch after inch moving through the tight ring of his opening. Stretching out as much as he could, back arched, arms thrown up he gave himself to Jake taking each thrust, every penetrating push that filled him, bore into his core.

Jake shifted over him, hands taking him behind the knees folding him in half. HIs knees were pushed down beside his chest, ass turned upward even more and Jake increased the pace of their fuck, began to drive into him with an urgency. Primitive, only basic instincts driving them, as Jake fucked him, fucked cock deep into his body. He felt his opening relax and take the piston movement, the thick shaft slipping inward and back out faster and faster. He begged Jake to fuck him harder, whispered into Jake’s ear, pleading with him.

Jake rose up over him and he rocked to the smack of every penetration. Harder and harder their fuck became, cock shoved inward all the way till hips smacked against ass. It drove Charlie deep into the mattress and rocked the bed till it began to bang against the wall. Every noise a reflection of the rhythm of their fuck. Jake eased down on top of him, the full weight of his body, and he felt Jake grind his cock into his hole, hips working furiously seeking release. His own cock was pinned between their undulating bodies and it pushed him to the edge. He felt his arousal, so urgent, all consuming, his entire body grew rigid. He felt the surge of release, his cock flexing harder and thicker.

“Ohhhh…” Charlie groaned as he came, his cock releasing wad after wad and the ring of his opening spasm with each one gripping Jake as he piston through it.

“Fuck…I feel you…” Jake cried out as he shoved inward all the way and released deep within Charlie, pushing inward with every ejaculation. Charlie felt the way Jake pushed into him, over and over and over. Jake eventually slowed, moved his cock slowly through the his slick load, easily slipping inward and out. Charlie lay beneath him, passive, exhausted from their fuck. The contact of their bodies was hot, slick and they felt the other breathing hard.

Jake slipped free and eased down by Charlie. They grew quiet, still and in the quietness of the room suddenly realized the television was still on in the living room.

***

Charlie drove with the windows up and heat on. It was unusually cold even for January and the heat blowing out below the dash rose upward, filling the cab. It felt good against the dull ache of fatigue from a long day at work. His arms had smudges of grease and dirt on them, his work shirt grimy from being leaned over into engine compartments or underneath doing one repair or another. He looked forward to getting home, taking a hot shower and dressed in clean clothes.

Slowing he turned in the drive and made his way to the back parking next to the newer truck in the carport. ‘Really need to trade for a newer truck soon’ he thought as he climbed out and headed toward the house. He saw large boxes on the screen porch, some opened to reveal cabinets of different configurations. He heard the rap of a hammer coming from inside as he made his way across the porch and inside. The floor of the mudroom and kitchen were covered in cardboard, blue taped holding each seam together. In the kitchen, he saw Jake down on his knees marking the wall, tool belt around his waist and more tools lying on the floor.

“I see the cabinets came today”

“Yeah. I’m going to install one or two and see how difficult it’ll be.”

“Well, I need to go clean up before I get grease on something.”

“Was it busy?”

“Very” Charlie replied as he moved toward the door of the small hall.

In the bathroom, he stripped out of his clothes, careful not to let them touch anything. He would toss them into the washer after showering. He felt the ache in his muscles and reflecting in the mirror he saw how his forearms, neck and face were filthy. It always amazed him how dirty he got when working on a car or truck. Water turned on he waited till it grew hot and he stepped into the tub pulling the curtain closed. He stood under the spray letting it cascade down his body relaxing muscles and taking away the tension of the day. He put his hands on the wall and leaned down letting the spray hit the back of his head. He didn’t hear Jake come into the room or notice him strip down. Only when the curtain slid open did he realize Jake was there. He turned his head and saw the muscular form step in behind him, watched as Jake picked up the soap and moved up behind him till their bodies were pressed together. Soapy hands came down on his back then moved around his torso. Charlie stood up and leaned back against Jake, head resting in the crook of his neck.

“Feels good” Charlie muttered as Jake’s hands moved over him.