Just a dumb fuck

The Lovecats

Of course they had a room available for Nathan. We had a coffee in the bar area and then went up to the room. It was a Family Suite, which is basically a large sitting room with two bedrooms leading off from it, both of which had a double bed. There was only one bathroom but that’s not a problem when you’re used to sharing one washroom between twenty-four people like we do back at college. Our bags had made it to the room before us, and had even been unpacked, with all my clothes put in a wardrobe or drawers. I wasn’t sure I liked that.

It was only just after nine o’clock and so Nathan suggested we watch a film on the television – it has dozens of cable and satellite channels. I agreed, but said I wanted to have a bath first. I miss having baths. There are some baths at college but not in every washroom. The nearest to our dorm are two floors up on the third years’ – Sergeants’ – floor. There are four small bathrooms there, each with a bath in it, but hardly anyone uses them. I tried them once but it seemed to take ages for the water to run hot and the light was dim, so it was like trying to read my book in a cave. I like to relax and soak for ages with a good book when I have a bath. The bathroom here in our room at the country club is quite smart, so I want to make the most of it.

I set the bath running and dumped a load of my shower gel - the ginger and orange stuff - in it in lieu of bubble bath. It works pretty well. The water was hot and filled up quickly so my bath was ready in only a few minutes. I undressed in my bedroom and put on one of the big, thick, soft cotton, courtesy dressing gowns as I walked back to the bathroom. Nathan was sat flicking through the television channels with the remote to try and find us a film to watch.

“Give me a shout if you need your back shaving,” he joked. ”It’ll knock at least a millisecond off a lap of the bath.”

“Fuck off!”

Twenty minutes later, just as I was really relaxed and daydreaming under a thick blanket of suds, I heard a noise and a brief exchange of voices in the room outside, followed by a light tap on the bathroom door. There was a moment’s hesitation then Nathan came in anyway even though I hadn’t said anything. He was carrying a crystal tumbler of what appeared to be apple juice.

“Room service have just been up, Boots. They’ve brought up what was left over from my father’s business meeting. He’s sent up a half bottle of red wine and a little whisky, along with some ginger ale. I thought you might like that.”

He handed me the glass, which was about half full, and sat down, perched on the edge of the bath looking at me. Well, all he can see is my face. I’m like a submarine hidden by arctic ice. This shower gel has made loads of bubbles. Shane definitely knows how to choose good stuff. It smells good and makes more foam than an airport fire tender.

“Isn’t this totally illegal, Nat?” I said as I took a sip of the whisky and ginger.  It was good stuff! ”Should we expect the Feds to be abseiling down from helicopters and bursting in through the windows any moment now?”

Nathan laughed. “Yes, thirty years in State Penitentiary for you. I’ll get away with it though. We Bauers almost doubled our fortune running bootleg liquor back in the Prohibition. Great grandad used to bring barrels of rum up the Ohio on his yacht. Nobody was going to stop the Governor’s yacht, were they?” I wasn’t sure if he was joking or not.

“Do you mind if I get showered whilst you do your lobster impression?” asked Nathan. “Once we’re scrubbed up, we can watch a film before bed. I’ve selected ‘Extraction’ for us, it’s an action film about a kidnapping.”

Nathan disappeared off to the other bedroom and came back a few minutes later in another of the fluffy white dressing gowns. The bathroom is pretty big, as big as a typical hotel room back in the UK. Americans don’t skimp on room size at hotels. As well as the bath, it has ‘His’ and ‘Hers’ sinks set into a full-length marble counter, then a shower area at the opposite end to the bath. The toilet and bidet are set discreetly in a little alcove.

Nathan shrugged off his dressing gown and stepped into the shower. The glass screen is clear rather than frosted so I can see right through it. Not that I haven’t seen Nathan naked loads of times, almost every day in fact, but it seems different here. Back at college we’re all guys sharing a washroom together, or the showers in the pool. Nothing to it. But here, well, it’s kind of different. More private. More intimate. And I can’t but help look in his direction. That’s the way the bath faces.

There’s something about gingers. Especially ones like Nathan, where the hair is kind of dark coppery rather than screaming orange. Travis is a screaming orange ginger. He looks like an explosion in a marmalade factory. Maybe we should call him ‘Jaffa’. I’ve always like ginger girls even though they are pretty rare. I wonder if the ginger gene is primarily male though? There seem to be more ginger guys than girls. I’ll have to google that.

Nathan looks good. It seems weird thinking that, but he does. He’s about the same height and build as me, well, maybe just a little less muscled, but still pretty buff. If I am gay then he’s definitely the sort of guy I could go for. Not as awesome as Shane, but still hot. Gingers have really pale skin, just seems to go with their hair. We’ve not had a competitive water polo game at college for about a fortnight so Nathan’s not shaved his dick as far as I can tell, so he has a dark coppery fuzz between his legs. That looks kind of horny. I can’t believe him and Riley don’t get hard when they shave each other down. They just have to be the straightest guys around. No interest in each other sexually at all. I get hard just thinking about them. That’s another damn good reason not to get shaved down before swimming or water polo. It would be so embarrassing to get a hard on in front of them at a swim buddy session.

As Nathan stepped out of the shower, directly facing me, and reached for his towel I grabbed the glass of whisky and ginger and raised it to my lips. I didn’t actually drink any, I wanted to save it until later, but it gave me something to do rather than just stare in his direction. A weird thought came into my head. I know it’s going to be hard to tell dad I think I’m gay, and he might take some time to get used to it, but what will it be like if I get a boyfriend one day and introduce him to dad? I think mom will be okay with it, but dad will be harder to tell. But the weird thought I had was that somebody like Jackson or Nathan or Kyle will be more acceptable to dad. The kind of guy that has something about him, real character, and where it’s just incidental that he prefers guys to girls. Dad seemed to get on okay with Kyle when he met him, even though he was with Lee.

“Are you going to stay in there until you dissolve, Boots, or are we going to watch that film?”

I jerked back into reality and sat up in the bath as Nat continued to towel himself dry.

“I’m good, Nat. Just done.”

I stood up and reached for a towel, then quickly turned my back to Nat. My dick is semi-hard. He probably didn’t notice. I’m still covered in soap bubbles.

“Ouch!”

That hurt! Nat’s just flicked me a right pearler on the arse with his towel. Bastard! For an instant I was going to turn around, flick my towel back at him, chase him down like I did back in the pool on Parents’ Day. I can beat him in a fight. I know that. He knows that. Except I can’t chase him down. Not now my dick is standing vertically erect thinking about him. I absorbed the sting, turned my head over my shoulder, gave him the kind of look Paddington Bear’s Aunt Lucy would be proud of.

“Grow up, Sergeant.”

* * *

After drying off, I went back to my bedroom and put my pyjamas on before going back into the sitting room and grabbing a place on the sofa facing the television. Nathan was still wearing just his dressing gown rather than pyjamas. He dropped down next to me on the sofa and started the film rolling. I had my tumbler of whisky and ginger on a small table by the side of the sofa – I had hardly drunk any of it in the bathroom. That was a waste of holding back though, as I could see that the tray room service had brought us had a bottle of whisky that was still about a quarter full, along with a two-litre bottle of ginger ale. Don’t get the wrong idea though: if I drink a quarter bottle of whisky I’ll fall flat on my face then be sick.

The whisky was a brand I hadn’t heard of, ‘Lagavulin’, but it seemed a nice, smooth single malt. Dad says single malts are much better than blends or grain whiskies. One day I’ll go to Scotland and visit a distillery to find out what the differences really are. I don’t think I need to be eighteen to visit. Nathan had the wine bottle on the table at his side of the sofa. It looked about a third full, and that was after he had a glass out of it. This is dead civilised. Americans should revise their drinking laws. It’s not as if me and Nathan are going to get drunk and cause trouble, is it? We’ll just have a glass or two of whisky or wine as we watch a film and then go to bed. We aren’t going to go out driving or rioting. Nathan doesn’t have his car keys, and we aren’t even going to finish the bottles.

“You know what we are missing, Nat?” I said part way through the film. “Noah’s popcorn.”

“I can get room service to bring us some popcorn,” said Nat, “But it won’t be as good as Noah’s.”

He’s right, no popcorn is as good as Noah’s. According to Noah it is simply just two ingredients. Corn and ‘a secret, magic ingredient.’ He won’t ever say what that is.

The film was good, and nearly two hours long. As it progressed I refilled my glass a couple of times, but always made sure I put way more ginger ale in my glass than whisky. Nathan finished off the wine, nearly three glasses in total. By the time the film finished it was almost eleven-thirty and we were both quite mellow. In fact we were leaning against each other, propping each other up on the sofa.

“Time for bed, Boots,” said Nathan, rising carefully to his feet. “Unless you want to watch another film? And you still have some whisky left too.”

I stood up and stepped carefully forward, putting my empty glass by the side of the bottle.

“No, best not. Definitely time for bed. I’ll see you in the morning. Remember, I’m rubbish at golf though.”

I walked slowly to my bedroom, stepped inside, closed the door and climbed into bed. I was feeling quite sleepy, probably a combination of the big meal, relaxing bath and then several glasses of whisky and ginger ale. Just as my head touched the pillow a thought zipped through my brain: what is this costing? I’m not sure I have enough money! I hadn’t planned on staying a night in an expensive hotel, and this place will be expensive. I jumped out of bed and grabbed my wallet from my jacket pocket, pulled out the bundle of dollars I had tucked inside it.

Dad had given me twenty-five dollars a week as an allowance, to last from arriving at Allegheny College up until Christmas. Back home that’s about twenty pounds a week, which would be pretty fair going. A lot of my friends get way less than that. There’s not much to spend it on at college, just an occasional trip into town so far, and then I only bought some snack food, toiletries and stuff like that. Oh, and a haircut. I still have nearly one hundred and seventy dollars left, plenty to last until Christmas at the rate I was spending it. Until now that is.

The lobster dinner must have cost about fifty dollars at least, I vaguely remember the prices of some of the stuff from when me, dad and Shane stayed here. There were no prices on the menu tonight, but the members’ dining room is probably at least as expensive as the public dining room we used on our visit. Breakfast isn’t going to be cheap either if we have breakfast here. Then there’s the cost of the room. Probably a couple of hundred dollars? Obviously if me and Nathan are sharing the costs that will be easier but it’s still going to take just about every cent I have, and then I’ll have no money at all for the rest of the semester. Then realisation struck: I’m not going to be at college for the rest of semester. Dad’s coming to get me on Wednesday.

I stuffed the money back into my wallet and climbed back into bed again. I guess that shows the difference between me and most of the guys at college. I was happy with the twenty-five dollars a week my dad gave me. Everybody else wouldn’t even think what twenty-five dollars is. Will spends more than that in half an hour on Amazon nearly every day, then pays extra for next day shipping. Nathan spent over six hundred dollars on the new stereo and navigation unit for his car. Kyle orders parts for his truck without even asking the price. The students’ car lot is awash with Porsches. I’ll be lucky if I can afford a Porsche before I’m fifty, and then it will be second hand.

* * *

There’s a dog licking my face. Or an Orc. Or a dinosaur. Okay, in reality it could be a badger. A proper English badger, meles meles, to give it its Sunday best, proper Latin name. That happened on one of our cadet exercises once. Five of us were in bashas in the woods, with me being on sentry duty. I was sat with my back against a tree, keeping watch while the others slept, when a badger came snuffling its way into the clearing, clearly intent on investigating what the five strange giant maggots were doing on its territory. I kept dead quiet so I didn’t disturb the badger, and it slowly crept up to one of my mates, sniffed around and then licked his face.  He woke up instantly, and all he could see were two beady eyes and a row of teeth just inches from his face. I’ve never heard anybody scream so loud! The badger bolted and was long gone before my mate could gather his wits, and of course, the others all woke up instantly too. We then had to bug out of the woods pronto and relocate to a new harbour area because the scream would have given away our location to all the other cadets hunting for us. It was dead funny though.

Badgers don’t live in hotel rooms. What just licked my face? I opened my eyes and tried to focus as I got licked a second time, then sat up sharply. Nathan leapt back, laughing. He’d been dragging a banana skin across my face. What the fuck?

“Morning, Boots,” he smirked. “Time to get up. We have a round of golf booked in fifteen minutes. And that’s the time on the first tee, so move yourself. Up, dressed and ready to go at warp speed. You slept right through your alarm, even though I could hear it my room. Maybe you should lay off the whisky.”

Fifteen minutes later we were strolling across to the first tee, Nathan carrying his bag of golf clubs over his shoulder. There were already others out playing, most of them driving round in electric carts or using trolleys for the golf bags: Nathan was the only person I could see actually carrying a bag. As the group ahead of us moved off the green, Nathan put his ball down and selected a club.

“This is a kinked or dog-leg hole, Boots. It’s about a hundred thirty yards to the kink, so I’m going to use a seven iron to get there. Should do me nicely.”

I watched as he stood behind the ball, took a little practice wiggle and then swung his club at it, sent the ball soaring down range. It landed just shy of the kink in the course and then rolled the rest of the way to finish up exactly where he’d said he was hoping to put it.

“Your turn, Boots.” Nathan put a second ball on the ground, well, on a tee, then passed me the club. “A seven is pretty much perfect for this, but you could use something else. To be honest, a seven iron is pretty good for most things.”

It was a seven iron that my dad had given to Shane, along with a putter. He’d said those two clubs could pretty much sort anything. I stepped behind the ball and lined up with it. I slowly raised the club and tried to do what my dad always says to me, position my feet right, swing through my hips, control the speed and angle of the swing, keep the club moving after contact with the ball.

Not bad. My ball soared upwards, really high, and generally in the right direction. It plopped down quite a bit short of where Nathan’s had landed but it was on the fairway and bounced well, rolling towards the corner. I was well happy.

“Pretty good, Boots,” said Nathan, we can soon sort out a few things in your swing, but that wasn’t bad at all. All you need to do now is repeat that again to get on the green and then putt it into the hole and be a shot under par.

Fine chance of that. Sometimes I do well with a shot, like just now, and then the next will just go haywire. Head off in some random direction, unless there’s a car or window around, in which case it will magically home in on them. When it comes to golf, that’s the only consistency I have with my shots.

I picked up the golf bag before Nathan could grab it and we walked to where the balls had landed. Nathan lined up behind his ball and took a slightly gentler swing at it, sending it down nicely towards the green. It stopped just a few feet short of the green, which disappointed him.

“Hit yours just like you did the last one, Boots,” he advised, “This grass isn’t as short and running as fast as I thought it would. I could have done with a bit more power.”

I took the club from Nathan and lined up behind my ball. Ran through the checklist in my head. Then dialled in a bit more power on the swing. The ball soared up, really high up, and veered a little off to the left. Not far, but not perfectly straight. It seemed to hang in the air for a moment at the top of its flight, then plunged downwards. When it hit the ground it bounced a few times then rolled off the fairway into the longer grass near the green. By my standards it wasn’t a bad shot at all. It had done the distance, landed near enough to the green, hadn’t hit anything expensive or gone into a bunker or pond. Nathan seemed to approve too.

“Pretty decent shot. If you’d kept it a little lower, the wind wouldn’t have carried it quite so far sideways and you’d have stayed on the fairway. But generally, that was good.”

When we got to where the balls had landed, mine was only about ten feet from the fairway and looked a reasonably easy hit out of the grass onto the green. Nathan easily chipped his shot onto the green but just overshot the hole and had to watch as it rolled down a slope and finished about six feet from the flag. He passed me the same club as he’d used and stood beside me.

“Just a gentle tap, Boots. Line your hips up more sideways.”

As I stood alongside my ball and lined up, Nathan stepped over and put his hands on my hips, twisted me round a little, then stepped back.

“Try that, Boots.”

Now I can’t concentrate. I’m trying to go through my checklist and all I can think about is Nathan’s hands on my hips. Standing right behind me. His breath on the back of my neck as he moved me into the correct position. I took a swing at the ball. I knew I had it wrong even before the club connected. The ball flew up, smacked down on the far side of the green and off into the grass on the other side. I glared at Nathan.

“What are you trying to do, Boots, launch it into orbit? Never mind, you get another go now.”

I walked over to the far side of the green and quickly found the ball. Before Nathan could come over and interfere I thumped it up onto the green. Gently. I don’t want it going back into the jungle again on the side it just came from. The ball plopped onto the short grass and rolled a few feet. Now it’s probably about a forty-foot putt. At least it is on the green. Nathan passed me a putter. He looked as though he was dying to give me some advice but he kept his mouth shut as I knocked the ball too hard again and it sailed past the hole and ended up thirty feet on the opposite side. It didn’t even roll back down the slope. How’s that happening? Did somebody switch gravity off over there?

Nathan took the flag out of the hole and lined up for his putt. The ball trickled the few feet to the hole and then just dropped in.

“Four shots,” he said proudly. “Nearly three.”

I crept up on the hole sneakily, shot by shot, trying to catch it unawares. Making it think I was aiming elsewhere. Eventually I got the ball in the hole on shot eight. Nathan just smiled and said I needed to improve my putting a little. Like as if I didn’t know that.

My putting was better on the second hole, which was just as well, as it took me four shots to actually get on the green, Two holes down, 16 shots on the card for me. That’s okay by my standards. No major disasters. Nathan’s already realised he’s going to beat me hands down. Apparently most courses are designed so a good player can get round in seventy two shots though dad says eighty is closer to reality for most reasonable golfers. That’s what he usually takes. I’m on target for about double that.

On the next few holes Nathan decided to help out again. I don’t actually mind him giving me advice, I definitely need it, but it’s when he puts his hands on me and moves me around that things awkward. I actually liked it, being close to him, especially when he wrapped his arms round me and guided the swing of my club for a few practice shots. The problem is that I’m not thinking about golf when he’s doing that. I’m thinking how hot he is. I’ve seen him naked so many times too, so I can’t help but think of him holding me like that, but naked. That gorgeous cock of his rubbing against me. What would that feel like? How would I go about getting a boyfriend just like him?

“Boots?”

Bloody hell. I’d better take this shot. Thankfully he must think I’m just concentrating on taking this shot, not day dreaming about him. I swung the club, trying to do as he told me, thinking about the angle of my body to the line of flight I want the ball to follow, the stance of my feet, his chin gently resting on my shoulder as… 

Nathan burst out laughing as I sliced the ball. The power was right. The range was right. The only thing wrong was that it went straight into the jungle and not onto the fairway. 

“Sorry, Boots, I didn’t mean to laugh. I know you’re doing your best. You are actually improving you know. It just takes practice.”

About halfway round the course we paused for a few minutes to let the people who were following behind us, go ahead of us. They’d caught us up because I was taking about twice as many shots on each hole as I should have done, and was also spending extra time going backwards and forwards into the jungle to whack my ball back onto the fairway. Nathan didn’t seem to mind. He was playing well, and he seemed to be enjoying teaching me. I can get that. I like teaching stuff too. I am actually getting a little better. I haven’t had a complete disaster of a hole yet and on one I even got a six. On the last half of the course, Nathan sometimes gave me a different club to the one he was using, saying the weight of the head or the angle of the face would be better suited to my style. He seems to think I am developing a style or a technique. To me, most of the time I’m just whacking it and hoping for the best.

It was nearly eleven o’clock when we returned to the club house. Nathan had scored eighty-two, which he said wasn’t his best but reasonable enough. Obviously I claimed I’d won, seeing as how I had a score of over a hundred and fifty. Well, that’s how proper sports work isn’t it? Highest score wins. Nathan didn’t argue the point. Best of all though was that I hadn’t actually dug up the course, or lost a ball, or landed in a pond. Dad often jokes that he should take a spade along in his bag for when I get in bunkers.

We went back to our room and collected our bags, then went to check out. The moment we arrived there a guy came over and took our bags, disappearing outside with them. As we waited in a short queue to hand our room key back and pay our bill I heard the sound of Lemon Steroids drawing up outside, right in front of the doors. As we reached the desk I took my wallet out of my pocket and began to hope I had enough money to pay my half of the bill. Nathan looked at me, puzzled.

“What are you doing, Boots? We don’t need to pay. We own this place. And anyway, even if we didn’t, you’re my guest. The room and dinner are on me. Well, on my dad anyway.”

Sheepishly, I tucked my wallet back inside my jacket as Nathan turned and chatted briefly to the young lady behind the counter.  She clearly knew him. Once he’d handed the key over and signed for the room – I guess his dad actually does pay even though they own the country club – Nathan led the way out to Lemon Steroids.

“You didn’t mind skipping breakfast, did you, Boots?” Nathan asked as we set off down the drive back towards the road. “I was still full from dinner last night and guessed you were too. I thought about waking you when the alarm went but when I looked in on you and you were still sound asleep I didn’t have the heart to wake you.”

“No, Nat, I’m good. I think even Travis could go a whole day without eating after a dinner like that one last night.”

* * *

About twenty minutes after leaving the club we were on a highway where the hills swept down to the Ohio river. I was just thinking how big and expensive looking the houses were when Nathan slowed down and turned into an imposing driveway on a riverside property. Well, it looked more like one of those gated communities. There was a set of big iron gates with a gatehouse either side, and they opened as we approached them. I could see a camera looking at the car, presumably reading the plates and automatically opening the gates. Beyond the gates, the drive swept up a slight incline towards a large Colonial style house set amongst some trees. The driveway must have been nearly a half mile long. Off to one side, right down by the waterfront was a smaller house, though still pretty imposing. Probably at least twice the size of our house back home. It had a jetty extending out into the Ohio river. I could just make out a couple of other, similarly sized buildings in a second area of trees off to the opposing side of the drive.

“I guess your house is the big one, up at the top of the drive, baby Governor?”

Nathan smiled when I called him baby Governor.

“Baby Lieutenant Governor,” he smiled, “Dad’s only the deputy for the time being. The house is ours, that over there is just the boat shed, and those in the trees are the stables and garage.”

“Boat shed? What do you keep in it? The Titanic?”

Nathan was laughing. “No, Boots, just a small motor-yacht and a couple of speedboats. Our proper boat is down in Florida. It’s too big to come this far upriver.” He’s actually bloody serious.

As the gates opened fully, Nathan crept Lemon Steroids slowly through them then paused for a moment.

“From here, Boots, it’s possible to get right down the Ohio to the Mississippi, then all the way into the Gulf of Mexico. It’s a trip I plan to do one day. Actually, I tried it a few years ago. Took one of the launches out and set off after an argument with my dad. Only problem was, I went in the wrong direction, inland, and only got as far as the lock a mile upstream. Dad already had a patrol car waiting for me when I got there. Well, I was only eleven.”

As I burst out laughing Nathan said, “Buckle up tight, McFly, it’s ten - oh – four,” then gunned Lemon Steroids’ engine. All eight cylinders snarled and the car rocked a little due to the torque reaction. Nathan grinned and floored the ‘loud’ pedal. The acceleration pushed me back in my seat as the tyres squealed and we sped off towards the house at Warp Factor Five. It’s insane how fast this car can go. Weird too how Nathan drives it super sensibly on the roads but then does a stunt like this. There’s a huge gravel turning circle in front of the house and Nathan couldn’t resist doing a handbrake turn on it, sending a wall of gravel up as we came to a halt. He was grinning just like a Cheshire cat as he cut the engine. Maybe I was too. I’ve only ever done that on an X-Box, never for real. My head was still buzzing from the excitement as we climbed out and grabbed our bags. That’s some car.

I followed Nathan up the front steps and into the house. It’s an impressive place. I was half expecting Scarlet O’Hara to come gliding down the staircase in the reception area but instead a side door opened and Nathan’s mom came in to meet us.

“You’re lucky your father’s not home, Nathan, or you’d be out there with a rake by now putting all that gravel back. I think all the neighbourhood heard you arriving.”

Nathan gave his mum a kiss and then pointed to me.

“You remember Boots, don’t you? He’s come to take you to the gallery tonight whilst I stay home and make a nuisance of myself.”

“You’ll do no such thing, Nathan, you’re coming along too.”

“Pleased to met you again, Mrs Bauer,” I said as she stepped over to me and held out her hand. I should have brought her some flowers or something. “It’s nice of you to invite me.”

“I’m glad you could come at last, Craig, Nathan’s always saying how busy you are. And please, call me Angela, ‘Mrs Bauer’ makes me sound so old.”

“You are old, mom, old enough to be my mom in fact,” said Nathan cheekily.

“Your mom?” I gasped in mock astonishment. “I thought this was your sister.”

Nathan’s mom laughed. “You can definitely come again, Craig. Teach my son some manners. He always seems to leave his charm down at the gate.”

Somebody was coming down the stairs now. Elizabeth, Nat’s sister.

“Well, it sounds like my darling little brother has just arrived. Fallen out of a thunder cloud, have you Nathan? Brought something with you too, it seems.”

Something? Who does she think she’s referring to? Well, me, obviously. But ‘something’? That’s pretty aggressive.

“Ignore my darling big sister, Boots, she loves you really but just has trouble expressing her feelings. We got a refund from her Swiss finishing school.”

“Love the Oakdale girls’ leftovers? I hardly think so…”

First ‘something’, now ’leftovers’? That’s a bit much. I’ve not even said a thing to her yet. I’ve hardly been in the house two minutes. This looks like it’s going to be an absolute mare of a weekend.

“You’ll have to forgive my children, Craig, they do take some getting used to,” said Mrs Bauer. Angela. It seems weird calling her Angela.

“SSSSSSSSSSSS!” Nathan’s just hissed at his sister. Hissed at her and contorted his face. Now’s he’s waving his hands about, twisting his fingers like claws. What the bloody hell is going on? Why is his mum just smiling?

“SSSSSSSSSSSS!” She’s bloody doing it back! The two of them are circling each other.

“Alexa, play ‘Lovecats’” said Nathan.

They must have hidden speakers. I can’t see any, but music’s suddenly playing. I recognise the tune. Mom has it at home. ‘Lovecats’ by the Cure. What the fuck are they up to now? They’re prowling round each other like, well, like cats, singing along to the music

“We move like caged tigers, Oh, we couldn't get closer than this…”

“We slip through the streets, While everyone sleeps, Getting bigger and sleeker, And wider and brighter…”

Wow! They’re actually good singers. This is still weird though.

“We bite and scratch and scream all night…”

“We're so wonderfully wonderfully wonderfully wonderfully pretty! Oh, you know that I'd do anything for you... We should have each other to tea huh? We should have each other with cream…”

“Quiet, Alexa.” It was Mrs Bauer. She turned and looked at me. “You must be wondering what on earth you’ve let yourself in for, Craig.”

Nathan and Elizabeth have just snogged each other! He’s just given her a great big smacker of a kiss right on her lips! She’s his bloody sister. Both of them are smiling at me. Their mom is too.

“So, darling brother, have you seen any sense yet? Maybe you could get your friend to batter some into you, he’s handy with his fists, isn’t he? Craig, tell my darling brother to abandon his plans to go to Westpoint and go to the Juilliard instead.”

Nathan’s laughing. “I think you’ll have to get it past dad first. He’s still not got over you turning me into a tiger.”

I must have looked absolutely bewildered. Mainly because I was. Nathan’s mom spoke first.

“They’re always acting and fooling around, Craig, pay no mind to them.”

“When I was about four years old, Boots, my darling big sister decided to turn me into her pet tiger. She got a black marker pen and drew stripes in my hair, then put me on a lead and dragged me all round the house.”

“And he’s been my little lovecat ever since,” laughed Elizabeth.

“They’re like this all the time they are together, Craig. Hardly surprising we packed them off to boarding school at the first opportunity, is it? Other people have such, pleasant, normal children,” said Nathan’s mum, pointedly looking at me.

“Come on, Boots, let me rescue you from my mad sister. I’ll show you your room. Grab your bag.” As I picked my bag up and turned to follow him up the staircase, both he and Elizabeth hissed at each other again.

It’s a huge house. The big ornate staircase only went up to the next floor, but there a couple of other staircases tucked away in alcoves that clearly went higher up. If this house is styled like the old colonial mansions, I guess there would be a third floor for all the servants’ quarters. We stayed on the main bedroom floor, heading off down a corridor into one of the two wings of the building. Nathan stopped at a door about halfway down the corridor and opened it. I followed hm in.

“This is my room, Boots.”

It was massive. His bedroom was about as big as our entire dorm back at college. Well, it was more than just a bedroom. There was a big bed at one end of it, then an open area with a couple of sofas facing each other, a desk, some more chairs, an open area with what looked like a Persian carpet, then a huge screen and a couple of gaming chairs. On a sideboard was a very expensive looking hi-fi system, the sort with valves. There was a music stand a little further down, and a cello against the wall. Or was it a double bass? I forget the exact difference. It’s a bloody big violin type thing anyway. Loads of book cases. Another door led off from the end of the room. Maybe to an en-suite bathroom?

Nathan dropped his bag on the floor. “Come and choose your room, Boots.” He led me out into the corridor and through a door directly opposite the door to his bedroom. There was another room, identical in size, but this one was furnished with lots of antique style furniture. A big four poster bed too. Everything was finished in blue and gold fabrics. 

“If you don’t like that one, try this,” he said, leading me further down the corridor and into a smaller room. Well, smaller by comparison to the other two. It was still way bigger than any other bedroom I’d ever had. You could fit my bedroom at home into this room about three times. Again, it was mainly antique furniture, this time all finished in subtle greens and pink.

“Not your taste, Boots? Try this one.” He led me into a room at the end of the corridor. It was smaller than the others, with wood panelling halfway up each wall and Chinese style wallpaper above that. Lots of pictures, photographs mainly, of mountains and lakes and boats and aircraft. It had a nice wooden desk, and some book cases, full of books. There was normal sized bed in one half.

“I definitely like this one, Nat.”

He smiled. “No problem, if you’re sure it’s not too small. We hardly ever use it for guests. It used to be my grandad’s study. There’s a bathroom hidden behind that book case. It’s really a door.”

Nathan stepped over to a tall book case and grabbed a small brass handle recessed into one side of it. It swung effortlessly open to reveal a gleaming white tiled bathroom behind it. Not huge like the bathroom in the other rooms, but very nice and bigger than the bathroom back in my house, and that is for our whole family. It must be weird for Nathan to leave a house like this and then have to share a bedroom and a bathroom with loads of other guys. And he never let on that he was loaded and the Governor’s son. Then again, I guess most of the other guys might live in houses like this. I’m definitely the poor boy in our dorm. Thing is, back home, I wouldn’t be thought of as poor. With my dad being an army officer we’re a pretty comfortable family.

“Unpack your bag, Boots, then come down to my room.”

“I will, Nat, assuming I can find it. I should have left a trail of breadcrumbs…”

* * *

As I tapped gently at Nathan’s door a few minutes later, I glanced at my watch. It was just mid-day. Okay, so I know back at college we don’t have any privacy but here it’s different, I can’t just go barging into his bedroom without knocking. 

“Just come in, Boots, don’t wait around.”

I went in to find Nathan had changed into a pair of jeans and a white T shirt. He still looked smart even though he was now super casual. I definitely felt overdressed in my jacket by comparison. Nathan seemed to think so too.

“What is it about you English?” he asked. “Always so formal. The old guy who lives on the other side of the river is English. He even wears a jacket and tie to prune his roses.”

I tried to look shocked. “You mean some people don’t?” I took my jacket off and laid it carefully on one of the sofas. “There Nat, just for you. See, I’ve gone native.”

“We’ve got hours to go before we need to think about getting ready to go to the gallery with mom,” said Nathan. “How about we go for a swim? It is swim time on Saturday afternoons after all.” He must have read my mind. “No Boots, not in the river, we do have a pool here. I’ll get us some lunch too seeing as how I only had a banana for breakfast.”

I followed Nathan down the stairs and through the house, then along an external, glazed, greenhouse, corridor type thing – an orangery? -  before finally ending up at a big indoor pool. It wasn’t a proper Olympic sized pool, but it was big for a house pool, probably a twenty-five yarder in length. It was surrounded by a lot of exotic looking plants and a row of teak, steamer style, reclining chairs with big padded cushions. As I was looking around, Nathan picked up a phone from off a wall bracket and spoke into it briefly.

“Lunch will be here soon, Boots. Burger and fries okay for you?”

“Yes, sure Nat.”

I sat on one of the recliners and tried to take it all in. Clearly the Bauers have a lot of money, and it’s old money too, at least by American standards. Sure, there are loads of richer people in banking and stuff like that, but the Bauers look as if they have been rich a long time. That’s probably why it’s no big thing to Nat. He didn’t need to brag about who his dad is when he was at college. He really is a nice guy. And it’s like that ‘evil corporal’ persona he had at college was just an act too. Well, it usually is to be honest. Most corporals in any army are pretty decent guys, or they wouldn’t get made corporals. They just act hard to keep everyone in place. Then they get promoted to Sergeant and mellow out. Except in Nat’s case he really could be an actor. He did look like a prowling tiger earlier. Got the whole mannerisms off to a T. And Elizabeth, what was she hinting at, that stuff about the Juilliard? I know that’s an arts and acting college. It must be pretty top notch if I’ve heard of it. Does Nat actually want to go there instead of Westpoint?

There was flash of light across my face, a reflection off the glass in the door at the pool entrance, as it opened and a smart, middle aged lady came through it carrying a tray with our lunch on it. They actually do look to have a cook or a maid or something here. Nat was smiling as he swung out a folding table from the armrest of his recliner for the tray to sit on. Mine had one too, it locks in place with a little brass catch.

“Hi, Milly,” said Nathan, “It’s good to see you again. And even better to see your burgers. Boots, Milly here makes the best burgers outside of Texas. Always worth coming home for. Milly, this is Boots, from college. He’s really from England though, so he insisted on wearing a tie for lunch. Special homage to your burgers.”

Milly was laughing, smiling at me. “Pleased to meet you, Boots. And pay no attention to Nathan here, there are plenty of burgers as good as mine.” She winked at me as I stood up. “None better though.”

From the smell of them, I could believe it. A proper big, succulent, handmade burger wrapped in lettuce and shredded onions, in a giant bun. It looked delicious. Milly placed the tray down on Nathan’s table and smiled.

“There’s another one on its way for you, Boots, Nathan’s sister is bringing it through right now. She’s always so helpful.”

As Milly turned and left, Elizabeth appeared in the doorway. She was carrying a tray, which she brought over to me and Nathan. “Oh, this is for you is it? I thought it was for my darling brother but it seems he’s already grabbed the first one. So inconsiderate. Still, this will be interesting. I wonder which one I put the poison in? So easy to forget.”

Nathan just smirked, then hissed. “SSSSSSSSSSSS!”

“Thank you.” I wasn’t sure what else to say. Elizabeth really is stunningly beautiful but she is acting very differently from the demure young lady she seemed to be when she came to college on Parents’ Weekend. I wonder if Will knows how she can be? She can’t have behaved like this with him. I took the tray and sat down. Girls, huh?

Elizabeth turned back to us as she walked away towards the door and said, quietly, “I’ll be back in about ten minutes to see if either of you have survived…”

Nathan just smiled and bit into his burger, so I did the same. It tasted fine. I guess poisons do though, or people wouldn’t eat them, would they?

We’d hardly finished our burgers when Elizabeth and Nathan’s mum came through into the pool room.  As I stood up both Nathan and Elizabeth laughed. Nathan’s mum, gave then a stare and then smiled at me. “Pay no attention, Craig, it’s very charming that you have manners. Hopefully some of them may rub off on my children.”

“So long as that’s all that rubs off…”  

I really could get to dislike Elizabeth with comments like that. Except that, well, she’s sort of, oh, I don’t know. It’s like playing with fire I guess. I know I am going to get burned but she’s sparky and enticing. It’s not like I even fancy her, not that way, I’d much rather jump into bed with Nathan, but she’s just so, spellbinding. Is that the right word? Bewitching?

“Boots, close your mouth before my sister thinks you fancy her, you dumbass.” Before I could say anything, he then turned to Elizabeth and added, “He actually does, you know.”

“Nathan!” scolded his mum. “Both of you should just stop picking on Craig, right now.”

Nathan was smiling. I didn’t feel he was picking on me. Well, I guess he was, but he wasn’t being malicious. It was just the sort of banter that went all day in the dorm, everyone taking the mickey out of each other. No-one means anything by it.

“Come on Boots, time to swim.”

Nathan jumped up off his lounger and kicked off his shoes. He wasn’t wearing any socks. He pulled his T shirt off and dropped it on the lounger too, then started to unfasten his belt. He must have changed into his swimming trunks or jammers already. “You coming in too, sister?”

Nathan flicked his belt aside, unbuttoned his jeans and slipped them off. Bloody hell, he’s not wearing anything under them. He’s totally bollock naked! I can’t believe it. He’s just stripped naked in front of his mum and older sister. And nobody has batted an eyelid.

“Come on, Boots,” shouted Nathan and then stepped over to the edge of the pool and dived in, cleanly cutting into the water with barely a splash.

I was still sitting on the edge of my lounger, halfway to standing up, frozen in place. “I haven’t brought my trunks, Nat,” I finally managed to say. There’s no way I can just dive in naked like Nathan has done. Not with his mom and sister here. Maybe not even if it was just Nat in the pool.

Nat bobbed up to the surface and turned to face me. “So what, Boots, neither have I. Come on in. Don’t be such a prude. You can keep your tie on if you want.”

Nat’s mom tried hard to suppress a laugh. “Go ahead, Craig, nobody minds. We’re not looking, I promise you.”

“It’s not exactly as if we haven’t seen what you have got before, is it?” smirked Elizabeth. “I don’t seem to recall you being shy at the pool at college when we visited. Positively strutting along the poolside.”

I could feel my face burning up. I ought to batter Nat for this. I actually do want t go swimming. I can do this. I have my underwear on. My boxer shorts are just like trunks. I can go swimming in them. I just need to brazen this out.

I unfastened my tie and put it down on the lounger.

“Oooh, daring,” sniggered Nathan. He’s not helping.

I tried to look as nonchalant as possible as I unfastened my shirt buttons, took it off and then folded it neatly, putting it on the lounger. I’m sure Elizabeth just took a good look at my muscles. You can’t match that, Nathan. I sat down again and slipped off my shoes, then my socks. Unfastened my belt and unbuttoned my trousers before standing up. As casually as possible, just slid my trousers down and folded then over, placed them on the lounger too. My boxers are black cotton with lycra, very figure hugging but definitely not see through, even when wet.

Nathan’s mom is very studiously looking down at her reading book. Nathan is looking at me. Elizabeth is looking at me. Right in the eye. Like she is daring me. She bloody well is. I can’t let her win. I took a couple of steps towards the pool. Almost at the edge of it. She won’t be able to see anything, just my arse, briefly. If I have the nerve. I reckon I have a window of a few seconds to drop my pants and dive in before my dick starts to get hard. I know it will if I hang around and hesitate. I’m just going to have to drop my underpants and dive in, straightaway. I can’t pick them up, turn around and put them on the lounger, can I? I took a deep breath, slipped my pants down and dived into the pool.

I stayed under the water, gliding towards Nathan. The longer I’m submerged the less likely I am to hear any comment Elizabeth makes. I opened my eyes whilst I was still submerged, could see through the water quite clearly. It didn’t sting my eyes like the pool at college does. This one isn’t chlorinated. It must use ultra-violet filtering of the water instead. Lots of private pools do. Nathan is just treading water, not swimming away from me. Bloody hell, I’ll have to surface. I don’t want him to think I’m gawping at his dick. Which I am, being as he is right ahead of me, in my line of sight.

I twisted upwards and surfaced a few feet short of Nathan. He’s smiling at me.

“See, Boots. I knew you had the balls to do it.”

I just looked at him, as menacingly as I could.

“Take your tie off, I mean,” laughed Nathan.

I glanced over to the edge of the pool. We’re only about ten yards from Elizabeth and his mom. Both of whom are now looking over at us. And this water is ultra-clear. I twisted round to face away from them, chopped my hand down into the water towards Nathan to throw up a huge splash into his face, then took off like a torpedo to the far end of the pool. Nathan was after me instantly, but he can’t catch me. He can just about keep up, but he can’t catch me. How much stamina does he have? Can he keep going as long as I can? I tumble-turned as I reached the end of the pool, planted my feet perfectly against the tiled wall, kicked off with every ounce of force I could muster, dived down under Nathan as he positioned for his turn, accelerated away. I saw a flash of red hair between his thighs, contrasting with his pale skin as I surged away.

I didn’t break the surface until I was nearly halfway down the pool. I glanced back over my shoulder as I turned my head to breathe, saw Nathan sharking after me, his arms barely making a ripple as he sliced through the water. He’s good. Brilliant technique. But so is mine, and I’m stronger. I must have increased my lead on him by nearly a yard. I can make it two yards by the end of this length if I push myself.  I have to make a perfect turn again. A good turn will get me another yard.

I timed the turn well, got a good foot plant on the end wall, kicked off ferociously, As I glided under Nathan, I rolled over onto my back, looked up at him, smiled, gave him a little wave ‘goodbye’ to taunt him as he passed over me. Okay, so I know that cost me the yard I could have gained but it will wind him up. He knows I’m feeling confident enough to taunt him. That will hurt him. Sap his morale.

I rolled over again, headed to the surface, dolphined perfectly for my first breath, saw that Nathan was still underwater, gliding up to surface behind me but not gaining. As I twisted my head round for another breath I could see Elizabeth and his mum watching us intently.

By the time I was approaching the end of the pool and positioning for another turn, I had increased my lead by about another yard, maybe a fraction more. I’m definitely pulling away from Nathan a little on every length, and at every turn too. I tumbled over and swept under Nathan, glanced up at him. He’s giving me the finger! I’ve definitely got to him. No problems, baby big cheese, I’ve got you beat. In front of your mom and sister too. That’ll teach you to try and embarrass me. Which, to be fair, you freakin’ well did, pretty comprehensively. So we’re even.

Halfway down the pool I glanced back over my shoulder. Nathan is now a good three body-lengths behind me. I stopped stroking, glided along, allowed him to catch up.

“Oh, hi Nathan, didn’t see you there in my wake.”

He’s laughing too. We’re both treading water, competition over. “Beat me twice in one day, Boots. First at golf, now at swimming. Come on, let’s do a few more lengths to warm down. I’ll go slow and let you win again.”

We did a half dozen more lengths of the pool, pretty fast but not flat out- we’ve nothing to prove now – then swam over to the side where his mom and sister we still sitting. Nathan grabbed the edge of the pool and hoisted himself out, casually strolled over to a rack behind them and grabbed himself a towel. He stood next to his mum and sister, drying himself off, not the least bit bothered that he was totally naked in front of them. He’s smiling down at me. He knows I won’t do that. I’m not sure what I’m going to do though. Carry on swimming and hope his mom and sister eventually go away? Nathan is grinning. He knows he’s won this one. Nathan wrapped his towel round his waist, picked a fresh one off the rack, walked over to the side of the pool. He leaned down, reached out his hand as he positioned himself between me and his mom and sister, helped pull me out of the water and gave me the towel. Thanks Nat.

I quickly wrapped the towel round me and sat back down on my lounger.

“You two boys seemed to have a good work out,” said his mum, smiling at me, “I haven’t seen anyone swim that competitively against Nathan other than his dad, who can just about still beat him. I think he might struggle against you though, Craig.”

“Hmm all that testosterone,” muttered Elizabeth, “I can smell it from here. Rather makes me wonder what they’re trying to prove though, and to whom. Care to enlighten me, little brother?”

Nathan just screwed up his cheeks and did his cat face at her. I’m can’t tell with these two. Do they really hate each other or is it just one big act? And why do they just call each other ‘brother’ and ‘sister’? I don’t think they ever use their names to each other.

“Come on Boots, grab your clothes. We’ll go to my room and have a go on the games console before we start to get ready for tonight. What time is the car due, mom?”

“It’ll be here at six, Nathan, so we’ll be in plenty of time to arrive at seven. Have fun, boys.”

I grabbed my clothes and stood up to follow Nathan. “Bye for now, Elizabeth, Mrs Bauer. Sorry, I mean Angela.”

As I turned to head off after Nathan I heard Elizabeth say to her mom, and I’m sure she meant me to overhear, “I get the feeling that I should warn of them to be careful, but I can’t decide who.”