Hierarchy of Needs 1

Hierarchy of Needs

By Wes Dayton

Chapter One: First Encounters

Jeff Towers. A 6' 3" Adonis jock of my high school. He takes lots of girls to formal dances at our school, and unknowingly was the frequent star of my masturbation fantasies. Looking back on it now, I still wouldn't change a thing. Everything about Jeff was what I was looking for in a guy. He was smart, witty, charming, handsome, muscular, and laid-back. I had the great fortune of sitting directly beside him in my senior psychology class, which was the last two class periods of the school day. "Save the best for last," they say. I wouldn't say Jeff's body was distracting; as I was still able to focus on the lesson for that day. However, he was gorgeous. He had short cropped black hair, emerald green eyes, a sculpted face, and very kissable lips. While the class was enjoyable in itself, the experience was infinitely improved thanks to the eye candy I had sitting to my immediate left.

Classes for all the seniors at Greenview High School were winding down to graduation as it was mid-May. The days were long, and many students were frequently home sick with a case or two of senioritis, a strange disease that seems to plague nearly all the senior class for one or two days, but miraculously does not prevent them from attending other social obligations with friends during school hours. Once recovered, students focused on finals. How a student rounded out his or her academic career would affect their chances of being accepted to their college of choice. Needless to say, it was important for students to excel on their final examinations in all their classes in order to ensure enrollment at their college of choice. In an effort to succeed, many extracurricular study groups had been formed. I was feeling fairly confident in all my classes, especially psychology, so I opted not to join any extra study groups and just brush up on my own for a few minutes a day to ensure I kept my facts in order.

I gathered up my materials and packed them into my blue backpack along with my other books and zipped up the bag. As I slung the bag over my shoulder and headed for the door, Jeff called after me.

"Hey, Curtis, wait up!"

"Hi, Jeff, how's it going?"

"Pretty good. Hey listen, do you have any plans this weekend?" Stop it, Curtis. Get your mind out of the gutter. It's an innocent inquiry.

"Um, no, not really. I have the weekend off of work for a change and I'll probably just end up driving around aimlessly as a result of boredom." Wow, could you come off as more of a loser to your crush?

"Sounds cool. I do that sometimes myself, just to get out of the house." We both exchanged smiles knowing we had found some common ground to start a friendship on.

"Hey, I know I've never been much of a friend to you, but I was hoping maybe you would help me study some of this psychology stuff? You seem like you've got your act together in class, so I was hoping you could spare some of your time. I'm having trouble getting the definitions and remembering certain information. Do you think you could spare a few hours for a cram course?" A nice naked Jeff Towers in a very compromising position flashed through my mind upon hearing 'cram course', but I hurriedly shook the thought from my mind's eye.

"Yeah, I don't think that would be a problem. Where do you want to study... my house, or yours?" I asked.

"Um, well, actually, how about meeting at your house and we'll go from there?" Jeff said, his handsome face smiling back in anticipation.

"Sure, that will work. Is, um, seven o'clock ok?" I asked, feeling like I was asking him out on a date.

"Yeah, see you then."

"Wait... do you know where I live?"

"Yeah, I've been by your house before..." Jeff said.

"OK, see you then." A sudden thrill that he even knew where I lived shot up and down my spine for a few seconds, and then I readjusted the backpack and boarded the bus for home. This would certainly be an interesting adventure for me. I wasn't looking forward to anything, but at least it was a chance to spend time alone with my crush; even if it was spent on pouring over a psychology textbook, and pages of hand-scribbled notes from our lecture class. I looked out of the school bus window and let out a long sigh as the bus lurched forward to start it's 45-minute route to my house. One by one I watched each student exit the bus and head toward their home. By now I knew all the stops by heart, and it was just a matter of time until I was safe at home and free to work out my sexual frustrations.

I eyed the clock suspiciously all afternoon, jealous of how patient it was, and wondering if it was keeping the correct time after all. After checking other clocks in the house and comparing the times, I settled myself knowing I was just anxious. I cleaned up my already clean room, making sure that we would be comfortable enough to study here. I went through my computer and deleted anything incriminating in my browser's history and temporary files, and password protected the computer for extra measure. I checked the time, it was six thirty. I took a shower, even though I didn't need it, and changed into fresh clothes. I sprayed some cologne on my neck, slid a black polo shirt over my slim frame which slightly passed the waistband of my boxer-briefs, and khaki pants enveloped my sculpted hips and firm butt.

I had just finished lacing up my black sketcher dress shoes/boots when the front doorbell rang. The grandfather clock hadn't finished chiming it's seven bells when I answered the door. We were both temporarily speechless. Standing before me was Jeff Towers--perfect in every way. Embroidered letters formed the phrase "Ohio State" and wrapped around a white baseball cap which clung securely to Jeff's head. I scanned down to his gray screen-printed T-Shirt which showed support for the Tennessee Titans. The gray shirt disappeared behind the waistband of his blue Levi's, unnecessarily supported with a stylish black belt. Holy shit this was going to be difficult for me.

I began to stammer, to prevent me from embarrassing myself by starring at his crotch. "Uh--Um--Hello!" I said, enthusiastically sticking out my hand, which was met eventually by his and proceeded to be an awkward handshake.

"Please, come in." Jeff shifted his book bag from his right hand to his left and walked inside.

"Nice place," he said, glancing around.

"I wish it were mine!"

"Study in your room?" Jeff asked.

"Sure, it's this way," and I proceeded to direct him up the stairs and into my bedroom.

"Cool room!" Jeff commented.

"Yeah, it's not that spacious, but it's mine," I said, switching on the stereo to a low volume and cranking some hip-hop tunes out of my computer into the stereo. Two red bean bags were situated against the wall with a table between them. I motioned for him to take one of them, and he did. I sat across from him and opened up my psychology book. "So, where should we begin?" I asked, looking up from my book and into his eyes. For a moment he sat there looking at me, and I wondered if he were alright. "Jeff?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah, sorry," he said with a nervous laugh. "Um, let me think," he said, reaching into his bag to get his psych book. He opened it up to chapter eleven; human development. "I guess I just really need to review the end of the book really. I'm pretty comfortable with the material up unto this chapter. It's keeping all the terms straight, like 'Unconditioned Response, Unconditioned Stimulus, etcetera."

"Yeah, I understand, that can get a bit tedious," I agreed. "Ok, then, let's begin. Do you want to take notes, or just study the book and paraphrase?" I asked.

"Um, paraphrasing and discussing it with someone usually helps me," he responded.

"Good, me too. This will work out great." A thrill of excitement ensued that started from my gut and worked it's way throughout my whole body until a nice feeling of warmth enveloped my entire body. Part of the excitement was that I was sharing my knowledge and love of psychology with Jeff, and the other part of the excitement was that maybe I would be able to share so much more than that with him before the night was over. "Ok," I began, pointing at the diagram of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, "Maslow says that in order for a person to reach their full potential, known as 'self-actualization', the basic need must be met in the following order: Physiological, Safety, Love, and Esteem."

Jeff's face lit up when he began to understand how the shape of the triangle reflected Maslow's theory that a person must meet the previous stage in order to get to the next. After two more hours of studying, with me coming up with analogies to help him understand the material, we decided to call it a night. Jeff glanced at the clock, and then turning to me asked, "Hey, do you want to go do something?"

His question caught me off guard, but I quickly composed myself. "Um, it's 9 pm. What is there to do?"

"Well," Jeff said nervously, "We could go grab a bite to eat--my treat for you taking the time to study; or we could go catch a movie?" Jeff offered.

"Um, I'm not all that hungry. The movie sounds good... what's playing?"

"Not sure. You got a paper?" He asked. I walked out to the dining room and picked up today's paper. I opened it to the movie section and glanced at the page.

"Let's see... Not Another Teen Movie, Road Trip..."

"Ooh, Road Trip looks good. Want to go see that?" Jeff asked.

"Sure, that sounds good. The next and last showing is at 10 pm.

"Just in time," Jeff said. We headed out of my house and as I descended the outside stairs Jeff asked, "My car, or yours?"

"You can drive," I said, smiling at Jeff. I climbed inside his black Honda Civic and we were on our way to the theatres. The ride down was awkward and full of silence, neither one of us seemed to want to break the ice. Thirty minutes later, we arrived at the theatre. I purchased my ticket and we went to find our seats. The theatre was empty for once, so Jeff and I sat in the dead middle of the theatre. I took my seat, and Jeff sat down right next to me. His leg casually touched mine. I almost jumped at the contact but didn't object. I could feel him smiling in the darkness as the projector came to life and the speakers boomed the soundtrack.

While the movie was entertaining, I wasn't paying all that much attention to it. Instead, I was paying more attention to Jeff's actions. Even though my eyes never left the screen, I knew every move he was making. During the first 30 minutes of the movie, the pressure of Jeff's leg against mine casually increased, and I was casually pressing back. Then our arms wound up touching. At some point in the last few scenes of the movie, Jeff's arm wound up draped behind me and over my shoulder, and I was leaning ever so slightly into him, partly because of his insisting on the hand draped over my shoulder. The credits came up on the screen, scrolling by lethargically. Neither of us made an effort to break contact with the other. It wasn't until the film ran out of the projector and the theatre flooded with light from overhead, that we decided we should start home.

"That was nice," Jeff said.

"Yeah, I liked it too," I said.

"Now, about the movie," Jeff said, with a devious smile. There was no denying it. We both knew it wasn't an accident we wound up being that intimate. I climbed into the passenger seat of the car, and during the ride home the conversation was much more lively. We talked about how confident he was with the material in psychology, and how he thought he would do on his exam. Then we actually talked about the plot, or what we could remember of the plot anyway, or the movie. As Jeff exited the interstate, he turned to me as he stopped the car at a stop sign. "Do you want to go home right away?"

"Um," I started, a bit nervous, "What do you mean?"

"Well," Jeff said, searching for courage, "I'd like to take you somewhere special."

"Uh... I guess that... would be alright."

"Cool. I know you'll like this place," Jeff said, taking the opposite direction from my house and into the more deserted part of town. I stared out the window, letting the conversation die. I watched all the closed businesses fly by on the side of the road as Jeff went farther and farther out of town. Ten minutes later we were turning down an old dirt road through a field.

"Where, exactly, are we going?" I asked, a bit nervous. Jeff might be luring me out here to kill me, after all.

"Hang on, we're almost there," excitement seeped from Jeff's voice and showed on his face, even in the dimly lit car. True to his word, two minutes later he shifted the car into park. We had stopped at a covered bridge that had a creek running under it. The only light that illuminated the scene was from the full moon overhead.

"What is this?" I asked, surprised I had never discovered this secret hideaway.

"Martin's Mill Bridge," Jeff responded. "Come on, I'll show you around." I eagerly complied and as I came around the car to meet him, he took my hand in his. "This is where I come to think. You're the only other person I've brought here," Jeff said.

It was a beautiful space, even in the low-light conditions. The sound of rushing water filled my ears and the sweet smell of the river was a pleasant surprise to my nose. In front of us was a trail that had a gate locked across it. We walked around the barrier and started down the road. Five-hundred feet later was a park area complete with a pavilion, picnic tables, and playground area. He stopped me in the middle of a gently sloping clearing about 100 feet from the pavilion. He sat down on the grass and pulled me down to do the same. He sat looking into my eyes for a moment, then breaking his gaze turned his head heavenward. He reclined onto his back with his hands behind his head as the crickets chirped around us. I looked once more up and down his gorgeous frame and then lay perpendicular to him, with my head on his chest. I listened to his heartbeat and his steady confident breathing as we both gazed at the stars in content silence.

"This is nice," I said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, it is a beautiful place," Jeff said.

I tilted my head towards his face and looked into his eyes. "No, not just this place. I love lying here like this with you."

"Oh," Jeff said, his face flushing with warmth. "Me too, I love feeling the heat of you," Jeff said, gently petting my face with his hand. He let his hand linger on my chest and I watched his hand rise and fall with my chest. I relished the moment, drinking in all its euphoria; so much so that I felt myself start to fall asleep.

I gently sat up and looked at Jeff, and saw that he was already asleep, with his eyelids closed and a gentle smile on his face. I stroked his face lightly and then kissed him gently on his closed lips. His eyes began to flutter open and I broke the kiss. His smile widened into a delirious grin and he pulled me into a hug.

"What time is it?" I asked him.

Jeff activated the light on his watch and read the face of his watch. "It's quarter to three," he replied.

"Damn. I hate to go, but I better get home before Mom and Dad have a heart attack!"

"Yeah, me too," Jeff said. He pulled me to my feet and we walked casually up the trail and back to his car. The drive back was spent with my head gently lying on his shoulder, and every now and then planting kisses on his neck. The trip home was over entirely too quickly.

"Pick me up around noon tomorrow?" I asked, stepping out of the passenger side.

"Sure," Jeff said with a smile.

"Awesome, see you tomorrow!"