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Bag of Candy Weekend- Chapter 1
I had just finished college and joined a large company in their accounting department. Being the new guy and insecure, I tried to fit in. I read the sports section every day, although I could care less. And flirted with the women, married and single, although I could care less. Slowly, I gained buddies of both genders at work, although I was very careful to keep my private life, private,
The men were always asking who I was banging. I always deferred and said a gentleman never tells. So they conjectured that it was the busty blond that I often had lunch with. I just smiled. Or, more scandalous, the married woman in marketing that was always offering me back rubs. To which I always said married women are off limits, no matter how attractive or willing. But they insisted that married women were best because the only wanted sex--no strings. Of course I knew this only applied to women that were not their wives.
The women, once they found out I was single, this was the first day at work, were always suggesting dates and having accidental introductions to forlorn ladies whose biological clock were running down. I was twenty two, why would I want an older woman if I wanted a woman. Marital happiness seemed the only true state for a single guy. This was particularly true for the divorced women. I was polite but firm that I was quite capable of finding the perfect someone by my own methods. So they gossiped. Maybe I was already living with a woman who was on the run from her abusive husband, Maybe I just ended a tragic relationship and was too wounded for love right now. Maybe I was gay. Now the last was true. But the women quickly dismissed this since I was seen as an obvious flirt.
So my comfort and companionship in the company was secure. Now there was this sales rep, Jack, Jack the Jock, as the women called him. Jack exercised every lunch hour and would return from the gym smelling of body wash and clean water.
Although he was married, every woman watched him avariciously as he sauntered from the gym. I watched to, but I did not gawk. Jack was tall, over 6 feet with a spray-on tan that complimented his light brown hair. As he walked down the aisle with the eyes on him, he knew that he was being watched. This made him look arrogant, no, not arrogant , self-assured. He had the confidence of a man in his early thirties and successful; therefore, he was charming, witty, and dazzling.
After returning from the gym, he would sit at his desk and eat granola and yogurt and brag about how carefully he watched what he ate. So I began surreptitiously putting a Snicker?s bar someplace on his desk while he was at lunch. He asked around about the candy bar but no one confessed. Until one day he came to my desk with the Snicker?s bar in his hand the top of the bar slightly peeled back.
I thought I was caught, but no. He asked if I would like the candy bar because he did not eat candy, the sugar thing. I said sure. As I took the candy and slowly peeled back the rest of the wrapper, he looked at me and said, ?TImothy, I and some buddies are going to my cabin over the Memorial Day weekend. Would you like to go too?? I was shocked.The man of my wet dreams was asking me to go away with him.
?I think I am free then,? I replied as cool as snow, ?who is going?? Maybe it is just us I hoped.
?I and four of my buddies,? he smiled, ?It is a weekend away from the wives.?
?Why would you ask me if everyone else is married??
?We always ask a single man so he can share what it is like to be single--the sex stories.?
?I am afraid that my stories would not be,? I paused, ?interesting enough for you. My conquests lately have been meager.? This was so true.
He laughed, ?Then make some up, we will not know or?, he stopped, looked at me with his hazel-green eyes, I had never noticed his eyes before, smiled and walked away. My first thought was is he planning on seducing me? But I quickly dismissed this because this is not my luck and suddenly several of the ladies flocked around me to ask what our conversation was about. I lied and said he asked about an invoice.
The next day I planned my lunch time so that it overlapped Jack?s. I waited to stop him before he entered the building.
As planned, he saw me before he entered. ?Are you stalking me, Tim?? he asked with a smile.
Flustered I said, ?No, I just had some questions before the weekend and did not want the gossip mill to go into full grind if they saw us talk inside the building. And I prefer Timothy?
?OK Timothy. Discreet, I knew I liked you. What are your questions??
?Where are we going? Are we going alone? What should I bring to wear?? I quickly rattled off.
? We are going to my cabin in northern Wisconsin. Four of my friends will be joining us. It is a Memorial Day tradition. Jeans, t-shirt, sweats, it can get cold, sneakers, it is all very casual, very laid back.? He said with a small laugh like from a private joke. ?It is very rustic.?
?Rustic! How rustic,? I was alarmed because I prefer hotels with bars to woods with ticks.
?Rustic, it is in the woods.?
?It has electricity, running water, toilets, cellphone bars?? I was beginning to panic. I never traveled for more than a day without two suitcases.
?No, yes, yes, no?
?No electricity!? What would I do without my hair dryer. ?Won?t we be cold at night? What will we do for entertainment without TV or at least Netflix??
?Relax, there is a wood stove, which can keep the place very warm. And as for entertainment, we entertain ourselves.?
? I don?t know; I am not the rugged outdoorsman type.?
?You might be surprised at how primitive you can be in the wild, free from the confines of civilization: just men, meat and fire. Especially meat? I choked on an inhale.
?You are not doing a good job of convincing me.? I said shaking my head in disbelief of what the weekend might be.
?I will be there to protect you from the lions and and bears.?
?Lions? I shrieked.
?No lions, but maybe bears, the big hairy ones.? He joked; I thought. ?Besides you are one of the few people in our building that I think is interesting. You have a head, you watch before replying, you are thoughtful, and you are boring. And I think, that this dull exterior hides an interesting person that I would like to be friends with.?
?Boring! You really don?t know me!?, I exclaimed, ?I could tell you some stories.? He had caught me and I was doomed to the wilderness miles from Starbucks.
?So you are not boring,? He laughed with a richness that was genuine and kind. ?So you are coming. It is settled.?
I nodded, defeated but excited. Several days with Jack. ?Who else is coming?? I asked.
?Four friends, male, all married. Demetrius works on the stock exchange in Chicago. Carlos owns a small chain of furniture stores in the western suburbs of Chicago. Leo is a doctor.?
I interrupted ?That is a comforting if I get bit by a snake or suffer frostbite.?
?Leo is a gynecologist, so unless you are on the rag, he is not of much use. And finally Stud?
?Stud?? I broke in, ?Is that his real name or an attribute??
?I have always known him only as Stud. He owns a construction company so that might be why. Then maybe he is just a stud. When you meet him you can decide.?
?They all seem...out of my league. You know, I?m just out of college and not established in any career.?
?I am sure that you can hold your own. They?re all a pretty low key bunch. You are in.?
I nodded. As much as I was afraid of the hardships of the dark woods might have, I was also eager to perhaps see Jack without a dress shirt and tie.
?Great, and relax, you will have fun.? I nodded weakly again. ?I will pick you up, Just give me your address.? So I wrote down my address, telephone number, and email just in case. Jack took the paper, looked at the address and said, ?I know where that is. I can pick you up first. Be ready at 7:30 AM, sharp. This is not an event where fashionably late is chique. You will be ready Timothy? This was not a question and I nodded affirmative. I let Jack head into the building first; I needed to compose myself.
I was worthless most of the afternoon: mentally packing, unpacking, repacking, thinking of reasons not to go, fantasizing about going, worrying about the accommodations, worrying about the weather, packing and repacking again. At least I did remember to request a vacation day for Friday.
Thursday night I pulled out my two suitcases and start filling them with all the clothes I thought I might need. But then I remembered rustic and cringed. No clubs, no bars, no restaurants only five other men. Now if this were Key West, but then there would have been bars, and clubs and restaurants. I checked the weather for northern Wisconsin: nights in the forties and days in upper sixties or maybe low seventies. I unpacked everything. Pulled out my carry-on bag and packed three pairs of jeans, three t-shirts, three long-sleeved flannel shirts that matched the t-shirts, five pairs of briefs that matched the t-shirts, six pairs of white socks, three pairs of tennis shoes that matched the t-shirts, a heavy jacket, and my toiletries box. Somehow, amazingly it all fit. I rolled my bag to the front door so I will be ready.
Next I laid out the clothes for the morning: black jeans, white t-shirt, black and red flannel shirt, and my black Nikes. I was going butch. I set my alarm had two strong drinks and crawled into bed. I had not been this nervous since I tried to proposition Pat in ninth grade, my first. It turned out that he was even more nervous and gay than I was. If that turned out OK, maybe this will too. With that I slept until my alarm nagged me at the ungodly hour of 5:45 AM. Yes, AM. I had not been up that early since college, then that time was the end of my day not the start.
At 7:20 I was outside my apartment, bag at side, waiting for Jack. Promptly at 7:29 Jack pulled up in beige Escalade. He pulled into the no parking space in front of me, and hopped out. He looked hot in jeans and a long-sleeve knit shirt. ?How you doing Timothy, ready to rough it.? He grabbed my bag. ?Jesus Christ, what do you have in here. I said long weekend and rustic. Did you hide a girlfriend in this?? Then he threw it into the back of the vehicle with exaggerated effort. ?Climb in the front with me. We are off to get Carlos.?
?I am sorry about the bag. I just did not know what to pack. I have never done this before.?
? I hope that some of it is liquor and weed.? I panicked, I had not even thought of that. ?Don?t worry,? he laughed, ?we have it covered.?
?I noticed that you had a man, a woman, a boy, a girl, and a dog decal on your back window. Are they yours??
?Yes, that is my wife Jessica; my son, Matt, age 10; daughter Jenny, 5; and Mr. Mutt, 49 in dog years.?
I laughed. ?She, your wife, does not mind you going away for this weekend??
?No, she thought was a good idea. She and the kids will visit her parents in St. Louis. She believes a healthy marriage requires time apart. Since I am going with the guys to the cabin, I am in safe company. Guys, however, can get into trouble no matter where they are, but I did not say that.? He winked. I thought it was that a friendly wink or a conspiratorial wink. I might like this weekend.
Carlos lived west of me in the Elmwood area. Jack picked him up at a Starbucks. He only had a backpack with him, which was quickly tossed in back. Carlos was a short, thin man in his mid-thirties with a light brown complexion and dark eyes. He had a carefully trimmed mustache and goatee, white jeans just a little too tight and bright red shirt under a yellow hoodie.
?Carlos, this is Timothy.? Jack introduced us.
?Nice to meet you, Tim.?
I corrected him, ?I prefer Timothy.?
?Nice to meet you Timothy. Jack says that you work with him.? Carlos said with a big smile showing many teeth.
?Yeah, on the same floor but different departments.? I replied
?Well glad to have you join us.? He said with even more of a smile, ?Do you think that you can manage being with five married guys. You are single, right??
?Two of you seem cool, just need to see what the rest are like?
?Get the five of us together we throw caution to the wind.?
?Carlos,? Jack broke in, ?Do you know where Leo now lives. Since he and his wife have separated. I only have the address.?
?Yeah, over by River Grove. He has an apartment there. Wife took him for a bundle. Guess he knows how a woman works but not how to work a woman.?
After about 20 minutes we pulled up to Leo?s apartment. He was waiting for us in the garage. The place looked well maintained but dated. Leo was not what I expected. He was tall and thin, almost too emaciated with a shaved head. I figured he was going bald and this prevented a bad comb over. His face was angular with high cheekbones. He was attractive in a Johnny Depp way. Leo threw his things in the back, a small canvas bag. I suddenly imaged a cabin full of man stench--unwashed, brisley, and ripe. I avoided locker rooms in high school for that reason and a few others. Leo crawled way in the back, away from Carlos and the rest of us. He was going to be good company I sarcastically thought.
The next stop was Demetrius. Jack had to honk for him and then finally run to the door to rush him along. Demetrius was not what I expected. He was in his late twenties, average height, and dark as night. But he had a body that walked strength. Jack had a nice body, from what I had seen with clothes on, but Demetrius had a stupendous body even under the sweats he wore. I almost creamed myself just looking. Jack introduced us, we shook hands and he smiled. Like stars in a midnight sky. I would need to control my urge to rub my hand up his crotch into his hidden chest. But I was with straight guys and needed to be on best behavior. Demetrius crawled in back next to Carlos, leaving Leo in his sulk.
After a drive to Arlington Heights, we picked up Stud. He was in his driveway leaning against a red Mustang waiting. He threw a small bag in back; I definitely had the most luggage. I had more than all of them together.
?This is Timothy,? Jack said as he introduced us.
?Timothy,? Stud bust out with a laugh. ?That is rather pretentious and formal, How ?
?bout Timmy.?
?I?d rather Timothy,? I replied curtly, ?Timmy is what my parents called me, and I am no longer 12.?
Stud laughed again, ?You are the baby among us, so Timmy it is.? He looked at me with sky blue eyes and I said nothing. Stud was a fit name. He was tall, and tan, natural from outside work, muscular without being a bodybuilder. He was a man comfortable in his skin and in his cloths. He moved with the sureness of a gymnast on a balance beam. I was in lust.
At the request of Stud, I moved to the back to sit between Demetrius and Stud, while Carlos mover to the front to ride shotgun with Jack.
?Is everyone comfortable?? asked Jack. ?Then it is off to the wilds of Wisconsin for a fucking good time.?
?It will be good to get away from the women for awhile.? said Stud. And everyone agreed.
So we were off. And the five guys discussed work, wives, sports, kids all the way to the Wisconsin state line. At the state line Jack said, ?We are out of state, so in accordance with practice no more talk about what is behind us. only what is before us.? Everyone enthusiastically agreed, even Leo, who was now coming alive.