Don't forget to support Nifty with your contributions to keep this venue alive!
Next Door Neighbor
James Furman was just entering his apartment as he heard his land-phone ringing shrilly. He had no intention of running fast to answer it. Whoever it was could just leave a message. He had hurdled through a really rough day at work. His miserable SOB boss was all over him for everything and anything. The worst part was that he didn't even know what most of Mr. Raymond's ravings were all about, so figuring out what he did wrong was not an option. He could only conclude that Jason Raymond was just out to get him.
He stripped and put on a pair of gym shorts... commando style. He popped a frozen chicken pot pie in the microwave, and poured himself a shot of scotch, straight up. Finally he settled himself in his lounge chair, which faced his 42" flat screen TV, and picked up his phone. He checked the call log and identified the recent caller to be his parents. He listened to the message which his mother had left. The message was short and sweet. His mother was not one of those women who spent hours yakking on the phone.
"Something's come up, honey. Call me as soon as you get this message." It was just as James expected, short and sweet. He decided not to call back until he had finished his drink, and downed his meager dinner.
His relationship with his parents had once been very close, but it changed drastically when he came out to them. They didn't disown him, or call him names or anything like that, but they avoided talking to him about his private life. Worse, James had to stop introducing them to his friends. His parents treated every one of them as if they were the culprits who turned their son gay. He once complained to them that for God's sake, he wasn't even sleeping with these guys. They were just friends. His parents just held up their hands, refusing to hear anything that private.
Shortly after he came out, his sister Anne got married, and she left the old homestead also. Nancy and David Furman became empty nesters, and sold their big house in the suburbs. They bought a small two bedroom bungalow in town, where they had been living for three years. The only time James had ever seen it was the day he helped them move in. It was as if they were ashamed of him, and didn't want their neighbors to meet him. They never invited him over, preferring to meet him at some restaurant, where they could have an anonymous dinner together. James had no desire to call them, but he couldn't very well ignore their message. They would only call back.
Call back -- they did. But James was still nursing his chicken pot pie which was very hot. He didn't pick up the phone.
"It's important," his mother's voice pleaded. "Please call."
I love you, would have been a nice way to sign off, James thought.
He finished his drink, and his dinner, and put up a pot of coffee. When it was ready, he drank two cups, and ate an old piece of apple cobbler he found in the rear of his refrigerator. He was determined to delay returning his parents' call as long as possible.
He cleaned up and put all the dirty dishes in the dish washer. Then he took the garbage, and dropped it in the incinerator at the end of the hall of his condo. Finally he settled back down in his lounge chair, picked up the phone and called his parents.
His mother answered and never even asked where he had been, or what took him so long to call back. That would have been a waste of words. She just dove right in.
"Your dad has to go to London - England - not Ontario, on business for a month or more, and I'm going with him. We need a dog and a house sitter. I asked your sister but she can't handle it, with the new baby and all. We were hoping, no, we were sure you would do that for us. Would you, please?"
Wow. His mother said please. James was more than impressed, and he said of course, he would. They wouldn't be home anyway, so what did it matter to him where he slept. He wasn't getting much action anyway.
"When are you leaving?"
"Early Saturday morning. Could you be here Friday evening?"
"Sure, I'll secure my condo, pack some stuff in my car on Thursday evening, and come straight from work on Friday."
"Thank you, darling. We knew we could count on you."
After he hung up, James could not imagine what madness made him agree to house sit or take care of a dog. As far as he was concerned, dogs were messy, dirty animals. This mutt, Buttons, was acquired after he left home, and he really didn't know the beast anyway. Well, he thought, I'm committed, so I might as well make the best of it.
He arrived at his parents' home Friday evening, and they actually seemed pleased to see him. Nancy had even prepared his favorite meal for dinner, Hungarian goulash. During dinner, she took out a legal pad and started to read a whole list of instructions for James. Most of them were obvious common sense things to do around anyone's house, but the last one interested James the most.
"You don't have to walk Buttons," his mother said. "Our back yard is fenced in and totally private. Just let him out, and let him play whenever you like. The only thing you have to do is police the yard every day or so and pick up his poop. There's a pooper scooper and plastic bags in the broom closet."
"How come you fenced in?" James asked. "We never had a fence at our old house."
"Buttons kept wandering onto our next door neighbor's property. He never did any harm; just sniffed around, but the bastard threatened to shoot him the next time he caught him on his property, so we were forced to fence in. I'm glad we did anyway. The privacy suits me fine."
James was all for privacy. He made a grunting sound meant to mean he agreed with his mother for a change. "Where is Buttons now?" James asked. He hadn't seen him since he arrived.
Just then they could hear barking and scratching at the kitchen door, which led to the back yard. "He's outside," Nancy said, "and he wants to come in." She opened the door and Buttons came bounding in. He was a black ball of fur, no more than twenty pounds, and of no discernible breed. He was indeed a mutt.
He completely ignored the humans, and ran to the corner of the kitchen where he found his food dish, and water to drink. After satisfying himself, he ran into the master bedroom, lay down on his doggie bed, and went right to sleep.
After dinner, David and James loaded David's car with the suitcases for the trip. Even though David had a full size sedan, the entire trunk and half the back seat, were loaded. Their stuff would never have fit in James's sports car, and still have room for three humans. The plan was for James to drive them to the airport early the next morning, and then his peace would be restored.
The morning dawned bright, beautiful and unseasonably warm. Nancy and David put Buttons out in the back yard along with a dish of food and another dish of water. They hugged and kissed the dog until James had to insist that they had to leave. He was certain he would not get a farewell as lovey-dovey and huggy as the dog did. He was right.
They unloaded the luggage at curbside check-in, and David shook his son's hand. He told him to call his sister if he needed anything. His mother gave him a peck on the cheek, and admonished him to take good care of Buttons. He couldn't wait to get out of the airport.
When he got home, he checked on Buttons through the kitchen window. The dog was chewing contentedly on an old tennis ball. His dishes of food and water were virtually untouched. James decided to leave him out there for as long as the dog was content. He had not had a chance to do his daily run this morning, so he put on his sweat suit, made sure he had the house key, and headed out for a two mile jog. When he returned, he checked on Buttons once again. Nothing had changed. Even the food and water remained untouched, but the tennis ball was a little more frayed.
Content in the knowledge that Buttons did not need him, James went to the guest room and stripped. He took a long, very hot shower. During the course of the shower, he whacked off to a rather satisfying orgasm. He attributed his success to being in a strange place. After he dried off, he put on a pair of gym shorts (no underwear) and a tank top shirt. He went into the kitchen to make himself some breakfast. In order to save time, Nancy hadn't made anything before they left the house. She said that she and David would eat at the airport after they checked in their luggage. While he was frying some eggs and defrosting a bagel, the phone rang. The caller ID said that it was his sister.
"Good morning, Anne," he said without a hello.
"Hi, Jimmy. I just wanted to know if Mom and Dad got off OK, and if you need anything."
"So far, so good. Maybe I'll come over later to say hello, and kiss Little Jake."
His sister and her husband, Big Jake, lived only thirty minutes away if you walked briskly. James was so hot for his brother-in-law that he didn't like to be around him too much. He was afraid he would forget himself, and do something he shouldn't. Often when he was whacking off, he would picture Big Jake fucking Anne. He would try to place himself in Anne's place.
"Wonderful," Anne answered her brother, "but don't bring Buttons. I think that Little Jake might be allergic to him."
"Don't worry. I had no such intention."
After breakfast he strolled very slowly to his sister's house, and it took him close to an hour to make the trip. He left Buttons in the back yard, basking in this glorious warm weather. Big Jake was in his yard trimming bushes. He was wearing cut-off denim jeans and no shirt. His bulging muscles immediately made James sweat. Jake's package made him swoon. His jeans were tight, and he probably wasn't wearing underwear. James knew that his visit would be short by necessity, and it was. He stayed about an hour. His sister made him an iced tea, and then he told her that he wanted to go back home to check on Buttons. Big Jake offered to drive him, but he declined. He said that he needed the exercise. He literally ran home, where he whacked off once again thinking of Big Jake and his bulging denim shorts.
He spent most of the day, doing some work he had brought home from the office. He knew that his boss, Jason, would not like anything he did anyway, and he wondered why he bothered. His mother had left the freezer and refrigerator full of food for him. There was plenty of left over Hungarian goulash from the evening before, and he decided to finish it off for dinner, and make some room in the fridge.
Every hour or so, James would open the kitchen door and call to Buttons, but Buttons seemed to have embraced outdoor living, and wouldn't come in. James was happy enough with the status quo. When it got dark, he still tried to get Buttons to come into the house, but the stubborn animal wasn't moving. There was still plenty of food and water for him in the back yard. James guessed that Buttons was not a big eater. He prayed that he wasn't sick.
At about eleven o'clock, James decided to get into bed and watch the news on TV. He undressed, pulled the sheets back, and just before he started to climb into the bed, he remembered that Buttons was still in the back yard. Naked, and with only the night-lights showing the way, he went into the kitchen and opened the door. He went out into the moon-lit yard and called to Buttons, who continued to ignore him. James did not want to leave the dog out all night so he picked the mutt up. For whatever reason, the dog did not resist him. Maybe he was ready to retire indoors at last. James walked back to the house with Buttons cradled in his arms. The temperature had dropped to more seasonable degrees, and James's naked body appreciated the warmth of the little mutt.
He had left the kitchen door open, but now it was tight shut. James hadn't realized, but the door had a spring which closed the door automatically. Unfortunately, James and Buttons were locked out of the house. He put Buttons down, and the dog ran right back to his tennis ball.
James panicked. It was getting colder by the minute. He was totally naked, and he had no shoes on. He could hardly walk to his sister's house shoeless and naked. His cell phone, car keys and house keys were all inside the house.
"Fucking dog," he yelled. Buttons looked up at him quizzically.
The only thing James could think to do was to implore one of the next door neighbors to let him use a phone to call his sister. He knew she had a key to the house. The neighbor's house on the left was pitch black. It looked like the inhabitants had retired for the night. There were lights on in several rooms in the house on the right, but that was the neighbor his parents were feuding with. Well, he had no choice, and he personally was not at odds with the neighbor.
He opened the fence door, and closed it carefully behind him, so Buttons could not get out, and he started to walk towards the house next door. He was going to knock softly, but since there were lights on in the house, he rang the bell. He had no way to cover his nakedness, so he made no effort to do so. Besides, his parents had told him that a single man lived in that house. Thank God for small favors, he thought.
"Just a minute," a male voice yelled. Then, as he reached the door, he yelled again. "Who is it?"
"It's your next door neighbor's son." He didn't dare say that it was the next door neighbor. "I'm in trouble. I need help. I locked myself out of the house and I need to use your phone."
The door was opened immediately, and a man stood there wearing only a bath robe, and it was obvious that he had nothing on underneath. At least he was wearing slippers, which James could sorely have used.
"Mr. Raymond! Jason!" James gasped.
"James," his boss said smiling at the naked man in front of him; all the while checking out James's very ample package. Jason took James by the arm and pulled him in. "Come in," he commanded. His voice was quiet and concerned, not at all like the snide way he talked to James in the office. He went to the hall closet and offered James a bathrobe similar to his. James was very happy to cover himself at last, especially in the presence of this man, whom he hated. They both sat down on the sofa in the living room.
"I had no idea you lived next door to my folks," James sounded incredulous.
"I never connected your name to theirs. I had no idea they had a son. Before they bought that pesky dog we were quite friendly. I met your sister and her husband several times, but I haven't seen them since the baby was born. Your parents never mentioned that they had a son. Are you on the outs with them or something?"
"Or something!"
"Would you care to talk about it?"
James could not get over how concerned Jason sounded. This was a different man from the one he knew at the office. He was actually beginning to like him.
"I'd better call Anne before it gets any later. We can talk tomorrow. I'll be staying here for a month or so." There was no question in James's mind that Jason's eyes lit up when he delivered the news.
"I really don't think you should call your sister at this late hour. When there's a new baby in the house, the parents get precious little sleep. It would be a shame to wake them. Why don't you stay here for the night and we can call her in the morning. You're welcome so long as you don't bring the dog."
James was stunned. The person he hated most in the world wanted him to spend the night.
"You wouldn't mind?" he asked sheepishly.
"Not at all. In fact, I'd like that. Let me make some coffee for us, and then we'll talk. I know why I am on the outs with your folks. I'd like to know why you are, and why they won't talk about you. Maybe between us, we can mend fences." Jason started to laugh. "That pun was unintended."
Many thoughts went through James's mind. His parents were ashamed of him. He could take revenge on them and out himself to their next door neighbor, who was bound to spread the juicy news throughout the neighborhood. But if he did, he would be outing himself at work also. What the hell. He hated Jason anyway, and if he got fired, it might turn out to be for the best. He might even get a better job. He made up his mind to be completely truthful with Jason.
While the coffee was brewing, Jason put out two plates, a fork, and a tray of apple cobbler. James smiled to himself. Jason liked what he liked, and he was beginning to warm up to Jason more and more, at least in a social setting. He was beginning to have second thoughts about outing himself, and possibly getting fired.
Finally, after James had downed a couple of bites of cobbler, Jason said, "Talk!"
James steeled himself. "My parents don't talk about me because they are ashamed to admit to anyone that their son is gay. I am an embarrassment to them."
Jason nearly choked on his apple cobbler. "You're gay?" he gasped in astonishment.
"Yes, and if you don't like it, you can fire me. Look I'll get out of your hair. Just let me call my sister."
Jason's shoulders began to heave as he began to cry uncontrollably. He frightened James, who just stood up not knowing what to do. Out of pure instinct, he put his arms around Jason in a misguided attempt to console him and stop his crying. He had no idea why he was consoling his boss. Jason was crying in James's chest, as his arms tightened around James's waist. They were being pretty intimate, considering that under a thin robe, each was naked.
"Please," Jason said after he regained some of his composure. "Don't call your sister. It's my turn to tell you something. I know how hard I've been on you. If I didn't care for you, and didn't feel that you were the most talented man in the office, I wouldn't bother with you, one way or the other."
He hesitated, and looked around the room, sending his gaze away from James's eyes. The silence was long, and James was getting uncomfortable, even though Jason's confession had somehow restored a good deal of his self esteem.
"There's more," Jason whispered. James focused his attention back on his boss. They were still holding each other tightly, and James was starting to harden. He was definitely getting very embarrassed. He didn't want Jason to see or feel his erecting member.
"Yes, I'm listening," James whispered back.
"I'm gay also. I was afraid to be nice to you. I thought you were straight, and I had fallen in love with you when I first interviewed you. I thought that if I was too nice to you, I might say or do something to frighten you and make you quit. I love you, James Furman, and I don't care who knows it, especially your parents. I'm begging you to stay here tonight."
Suddenly Jason stood up. He closed his lips on James's lips. James lost his breath. Jason parted James's robe and clamped a soft palm on James's cock, which was now seven inches of hard throbbing lust. Unable to control himself, and forgetting everything about Jason that he hated in the past, James also opened Jason's robe, to grab a fat eight-incher. They were both cut, and at the moment both were feeling light headed.
"Make love to me," Jason begged. He took James's arm and led him to the bedroom. Both robes fell to the floor and the men examined each other. James was about 5'11" tall, blue eyes, sandy blond hair, a pug nose, and a strong chin. His hair was cut close in a buzz cut. He was twenty-six years old. Jason was older at thirty-one. He was 6' 2" tall, straight brown hair, hazel eyes, a nose with a slight bump, and a square manly chin. They were both solid and muscular. Jason may have had a few more pounds than the charts recommended, but he looked great.
They fell on the bed, kissing passionately. Jason leaned over first and took James's cock into his mouth. The youth came fast, much too fast, but he recovered quickly, and gave Jason a slow, sensuous blow job.
"Will we do this again?" Jason asked, making it sound like he was begging.
"I think so, but where does that leave us in the office on Monday."
"You worry too much," Jason laughed. "On Monday we'll share a ride to work, and you will become my chief assistant, but before all that, can I ask a question?"
"Sure," James said, smiling broadly.
"Before morning comes, will you fuck me?" James answered by smacking a wet one on Jason's lips.
It was James who was able to talk first. "I think we should build a shrine to that fucking, miserable mutt who brought us together."
"Done," Jason said as he fell down on James, and gobbled his lover's cock into his wet and slobbery mouth. Neither gave a thought to Buttons, who was sleeping comfortably under a tree in the back yard.
About a year later, James sold his condo and moved in with Jason. His parents were beside themselves. There was no way they could hide the fact that James was their son. Every neighbor on the street was aware that a gay couple was living in that house, and one half of that couple, was the Furman's son. James took particular joy in seeing his parents squirming in such discomfort. He could only hope that someday they would accept his and Jason's life style, and happily introduce him to anyone in the world, as their son, and Jason as their son-in-law.