Jack Away at College, Part 7
By botpuppy@aol.com
I was determined to do what I had promised him and myself. I began to do my own laundry. In bed, I would try to be a considerate lover instead of the demanding selfish macho man. I even started to do my class assignments, including attending teach's class. Guys seemed surprised; Joe asked me if I was going for some star student award. I still dropped in to the pub for a beer with him now and then, and I leveled with him. Never one to open myself to people, I was realizing that what I had been doing was to shut them out of my life. It felt good to talk with someone that way, and Joe's friendship became precious to me.
Mark and I were on a much more intimate basis, of course. Now, when we had sex, he would tease me about being his bitch, and I would kiss his nipples, nuzzling them with my teeth. I always used a condom now, and learned to live with them. Too risky not to, I figured, and there was no way I would risk giving him something bad along with a good fuck. He teased me about that, telling me that he wanted to experience the thrill of feeling my hot sperm coat his insides. I dismissed this as being love play, not realizing that it was more than that.
Mark and I would sometimes go to the pub together and got to be recognizes as a duo, although I was always careful to make it seem that we were just roommates who enjoyed each other's company. Joe and Paul would join us for a pitcher now and then, and we had good laughs together. When not with us, Paul seemed to always have a new girl or guy in tow. Mark and I gossiped a little about this, with me remarking how it didn't seem to matter to Paul whether he had sex with a guy or a girl, and Mark joking that he was a regular Romeo. One night, Paul was leaving the bar with his latest, a cute blond guy I recognized from campus. As they stood at our table, Paul was kinda cupping the guy's buns in his hand, nonchalantly, squeezing now and then. I could tell the guy was embarrassed but he acted normal, or tried to. I noticed that Mark was very interested, but I was uncomfortable with the scene, and I was glad when they left, Mark and I left soon after that and were soon. In bed, as I was about to kiss him goodnight, Mark said, Jack, could we... and his voice trailed off. Could we what babe? He said, aw nothing let's do some Z's.
I was feeling good about myself now, and thought that it would be satisfying to do something good for someone. Call it atonement, I guess. When I read about the "Big Brothers" in my hometown, I got interested. It was designed for kids in the inner city whose fathers had abandoned them. They were troubled, good kids who just needed some friendship and a little guidance before they fell into the trap, that pit where crack and cheap thrills would grab them and pull them into a life of crime, jail, and degradation.
Not much money in the job, but, what the fuck, I figured its payback time. So I filled out the forms and I asked teach to write me a letter of recommendation. He wasn't as startled by this as I thought he might be, and agreed. I noticed the beginning of a tear develop in the corner of his eye, and then he hugged me. Not at all sexual, and the halls were as crowded as always, but I found myself hugging him back. Just like that, I had convinced him that I recognized my mistakes; No "I'm so sorry", no big talk. He took the information and promised that he would get the letter off that night.
Things settled down to a reasonable pace, and although I was dating, I laid off the "fuck me or leave me" attitude that I had fallen into, and began to actually enjoy a girl's company. I still had my randy moments, but just a quiet, "cool it lover boy" from my date, and I would be content with the heavy petting sessions that we would enjoy. I learned that girls enjoyed the way I fondled their breasts, and in return, would stroke and grasp my cock through my pants. Most of the time this resulted in a satisfying orgasm with me coming home with my load in my briefs.
I had almost forgot about the Big Brothers when my mother called one night, telling me that there was a letter for me from them, and should she open it and read it to me? I thought for a minute, decided that I hadn't been home in months, and said that no, it could keep; I'll be home tomorrow night and explain to u and dad what it's about, I owe you guys a visit anyway, and I miss you. "Oh honey, we miss you too, and I've been so worried about you". I was alone but I still felt embarrassed. Next morning, a Friday, I told Mark that I was going to drive home for the weekend, right after my last class at 4. "You're gonna leave me all alone with all those lecherous studs on campus?" I gave his ass a swat and kissed his cheek, "Save it for me, babe", and headed out.
I left on schedule, traffic was light, and figured I would be home at about seven. It didn't happen. After driving an hour my car started acting up and I pulled over to the side of the road and popped the hood, jumping back as steam began to pour from the radiator. I knew that at best I would have to wait for things to cool down and that it would take a while. Nothing to do but wait and curse myself for taking a short cut on this deserted county road. After about a half-hour, a guy about my age pulled up and got out of his pickup truck. "Hey dude, having some trouble?" He had an easy going way about him and said, "Let's have a look", poking around at the hoses, and examining the one going to the radiator. "Yea, here's the problem, this pin hole leak in the hose, lost the water and overheated. Good thing you pulled over, this could have been big trouble. Tell ya what, I'll tow you to our farm down the road a few miles. I can tape this hose up enough to hold for a short distance till you can replace it. Where you headed". When I told him, he shook his head, "Na, no way, you can drive that far till you replace this hose, dude, where you comin' from?"
When I told him State College, he said, "Hell you can get a hose in town there and be on your way tomorrow" "Shit my folks are expecting me tonight, but I can see you're right"
"There's some chain in my truck, gimme a hand and we'll be back at our place in a few minutes". And we were. On the way, we introduced ourselves. "Name's Joe". "Jack, here, I really appreciate this Joe, this is great of you". He replied that it was no problem, and we just made small talk as he drove. He was good looking, and built solidly, with muscled arms expanding his white tee shirt and a good sized bulge in his tight jeans. I told him that I was a freshman, and he started telling me about how his dad was disappointed when he had explained that he didn't want to go to college. "I always wanted to work the farm, it's great being my own boss, but now that it's happened, I've had guilty feelings about it. See, my dad died early this year, so now I'm the boss". "I'm really sorry about your dad, but don't feel guilty, I'm sure he'd be proud of you".
He was so open, so friendly and giving of himself, so unlike the prick that I realized that I had become. Avoiding the reasons for it, I told him about the work that I hoped that I would be doing that summer with Big Brothers, and he remarked about how he could tell that I was a good guy. "That's a great way to help out kids, you're going to get back as much as you give and then some." Then he turned off the road, and pulled the truck over in front of the barn
We hopped out, and soon had the chain removed. Getting some tape, he wrapped it around the hose, "There", smiling at me, "You're in business again. Get that garden hose and we can have a coke or something while we flush out the radiator. Let' go into the house. He got two cokes out of the fridge; and we sipped as we chatted. Turns out his mom had died when he was a baby and now he was working the farm by himself, with hired help for planting and harvesting. I wanted to hug him; life had dealt him some hard blows. "Let's go finish up so you can get on the road, man."
The car started up and there were no signs of any damage. I offered him my hand and he seemed reluctant that I was leaving. "Hey, if I bring the replacement hose back, would you show me how to install it?"
"No problem Jack, we'll have you on the road in no time and it's on your way, anyhow, right?"