GENERAL DISCLAIMER: This story contains sexual situations between adult males involving various aspects of the kink and fetish communities. If you find material of this nature offensive then you should not read any further. All characters in this story are over the age of 21. If you are under 18 years old in the US or under 16 in the UK you are not legally allowed to read this story. This is purely a work of fiction, any resemblance to persons living or dead, or to any events that may have occurred, are purely coincidental. The author claims all copyrights in this story and no duplication or publication of this story is allowed (except by the websites to which it has been posted) without the consent of the author. Nifty does not exist without donations. If you enjoy these stories, please donate here: http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html
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The Brownstone on Union Park
- Chapter Seventeen -
Carter got into his Jeep on the driver's side with the remaining drinks in the white bag. He opened up the cap of the yellow sports drink and downed the entire container in a few large audible gulps. He screwed the cap back on and looked at Michael.
"Oh shit, I'm sorry, I didn't even ask if you wanted any," Carter apologized.
"I'm fine, besides, there's still a water left if I get thirsty," Michael said in response as the engine started and the AC kicked on.
"Oh damn, that feels soooo good," Carter replied as he pressed the side buttons to retract the windows and placed his head near the source of the AC vents that were starting to get cold.
"Yeah, I'm really looking forward to sleeping in AC tonight, it will be different for sure," replied Michael.
Carter put his foot on the clutch, shifted the manual transmission into gear, and began to drive off campus leaving Cramden College behind in the rear-view mirror.
"It's going to be different for you Michael," Carter replied.
The air conditioning was going full blast on the top level of the brownstone that contained Michael's new bedroom. The heat and humidity that Thursday evening from the move was brutal and made transporting the boxes and mattress a sticky affair. However, the perfectly controlled interior cooled by the central air from when James remodeled and effectively gutted the brownstone made it bearable. Most of the other brownstones on Union Park still had the old-fashioned window units installed for the summer months; these homes were simply too expensive to add or redo all the duct work. It was such a travesty that the ugly window boxes spoiled the facades of the gorgeous Victorian brick buildings.
Carter carried up the mattress to the top floor by himself after both he and Michael brought up the cardboard boxes on the first few trips. Even in the coolness of the brownstone, Carter was sweating profusely by the time he reached the top floor after multiple trips.
"I guess that's the last of it!" Carter announced as he laid the mattress down on the bed frame.
"Thank you again so much for transporting all this over from the Cramden campus, I couldn't have done it so quickly without your help," Michael replied and looked around his new room.
It would not be that much to unpack, just the five boxes that were mostly clothes and a few personal items. After moving every year of his undergraduate life he learned to live without too many things.
"No problem, happy to help!" said Carter with genuine delight and then added, "Oh, and I have another small freebie for you too."
Michael looked confused as he could not possibly think of another thing that Carter could give him to help make his move go smoother.
"I'll be right back!" Carter said and ran down to the floor of his own bedroom to return a moment later, "So, given that this is an extra-long twin bed, I figured you probably wouldn't have any sheets to fit it on the first night here, so I got you some authentic Chandler University bedding.
There was a bit of sarcastic tone on the last sentence when describing the quality of the bedding. Chandler University was not all that prestigious compared to some of the other local colleges and Universities when ranked nationally.
"Oh thanks, yeah, I never thought of it but I guess my existing sheets for my standard twin bed wouldn't have worked with this one," Michael replied.
"Here, have a look and tell me what you think," Carter replied and unfurled the sheets on the bed.
He threw his arms out while holding two of the corners and an explosion of crimson red sprang forth as it was spread over the top of the mattress. The sheets were patterned with the crimson and subtle grey design from Chandler but had the cartoon-like cheetah mascot head in yellow in a repeating pattern. The words "Chandler University" in the gothic chancery font also appeared on the lip near the edge of the sheets.
"I know they're kind of cheesy, but, they're also free, so whatever," Carter explained.
Michael tried to find a corner of the fitted sheet and in doing so realized that they were a similar soft jersey like material that Carter had on his own bed. From a purely tactile sensation, it faintly reminded Michael of the time he slept over the first night.
"No, they're perfect!" Michael replied as he fingered his hands over the downy like jersey cotton.
"You can always get a different set of sheets that are not so loud in color later on, but at least you'll have something for tonight," Carter qualified.
Michael finished securing the four corners of the fitted sheet to the mattress and then moved on with the flat sheet. He admitted the yellow cheetah heads against the red background did look a little juvenile but he would not be looking at them in the dark when he was sleeping, but he would certainly feel the softness of the fuzzy cotton.
"They feel great, that's really the biggest thing," Michael said as he finished smoothing out the sheet on top noticing the fresh smell of fabric softener too and then asked, "Did you wash them for me too?"
"Yeah, they had sort of a funky smell from the plastic packaging they came in so I did them earlier this week with the rest of my laundry," Carter explained.
"I kind of feel a little guilty about all this, I'm happy to pay you for some of this stuff," Michael began to justify.
"It's all good, thank the housing department at Chandler and their ordering mix-ups," Carter replied and then stepped out of the bedroom door briefly and added, "Oh, and one more thing from my friend in housing. Well, it's actually part of the Chandler welcome package to new students for early acceptance but they had plenty of extras this year."
"What's that?" asked Michael as he could see Carter hiding something behind his back with his left arm.
"This!" Carter exclaimed and revealed what he was hiding behind his back the whole time, "This is the Chandler Cheetah!"
Carter extended the plush stuffed animal about the size of a standard teddy bear. It was the same yellow as the ones on the sheet set but had visible black spots making it appear more like an actual cheetah. The red Chandler University emblem was shrunken down but visible on the white part of the cheetah's chest. Granted it was cute, but kind of pointless at a practical level. Nevertheless, it was still a gift from Carter even if he did not spend any of his money on it.
"Thanks again," Michael said as he extended his hand to accept the plush toy.
"I know, you probably think I'm insane for getting an extra one for you," Carter lamented.
"No, it's great! When I was a kid I had a huge a stuffed animal collection but when I came home from summer camp one year my parents got rid of them all and said I was too old for them. This is the first one that I've had since then," Michael explained and placed the stuffed cheetah on the bed.
"Well, I promise I'm not going to take this one away from you!"
"You better not! I almost had a nervous breakdown when I was like ten," Michael explained as he got his bed pillows out from another box and placed them on the top of his bed.
"Haha, well we don't want that!" Carter replied and then was reminded of one more technicality, "Oh, and an additional surprise too, this one is essentially from James."
"What's that?" Michael asked looking dumbfounded.
"Turn around and go into the bathroom," Carter instructed.
Michael turned around from the bed and flipped the light switch on the outside wall illuminating the bathroom inside. The contractors had made substantial progress since they began their remodel on Sunday when Carter and James were in Provincetown. In that time, they managed to take down the wall separating the stand-up shower from the toilet area and put a soaker tub in place. The back of the walls were decorated in the same classic subway tiling as the bathroom below. The single pedestal sink was also replaced with a dual vanity and included much more storage space. The single most distinctive feature was the beautiful skylight above the soaker tub that gave way to the night's sky.
Michael looked around at everything in detail soaking in all the newness and luxuriating in the fact that this was his own private bathroom even though it was technically not a full bath. He stepped closer to the soaker tub and peered upwards where he could clearly see the moon but not many stars. With all the light pollution from the city, only the brightest stars in the sky and moon were visible.
"Yeah, I know it's a little weird with the layout like this with only a bathtub and the sinks. The cost to redo the sewage lines from the top floor was just too much for James apparently. The empty space next to the tub is where he wants to put in his dream Japanese toilet-bidet system in the future," Carter explained, "but I guess that's round two of the redesign."
Michael was still extending his neck to the side and looking upwards at the skylight and replied, "Are you kidding, this is perfect!"
"You obviously can use the bathroom on the floor below when you're getting ready in the morning. It's not exactly practical or easy to take a bath every morning up here, but if you wouldn't mind using one of these sinks as your primary one that would ease the congestion with the lack of cabinet space below."
"Of course, I can do that," Michael agreed.
"Nice. I think James said the contractors would be coming back sometime on Friday tomorrow to finish up the ceiling painting and hook up the plumbing for the tub. Just wanted to give you a heads up on that."
"Good to know, does that mean I have to be around to let them in?" asked Michael.
"No, they have a key to the place," said Carter while triggering a memory, "Oh, and I still have to get you the entryway key. The copy that I made over the weekend is down in the kitchen. And I also need to send you the code for the home automation app," Carter replied.
"Yeah, James sent me a link and I downloaded and installed it on my phone but I guess I need the code to actually make it work and unlock the doors?" Michael questioned.
"Basically. Let me do that now. Once you're logged in, your phone will actively sense the door locks if you're within a foot or two and it will just open when you're nearby," Carter said as he texted Michael the security code.
"Thanks, I knew it would be something simple like that," Michael said and stepped out of the bathroom looking around the room again and asked, "Were the contractors able to do anything about a closet or a place to hang clothes?"
Carter stepped out of the bathroom and turned off the lights, he walked down to the other side of the long narrow bedroom near the other end by the dresser and explained, "So, this was the best compromise they could come up with."
He pointed to the built-in wall shelving that had some cubby style squares going up to the ceiling for storage. There was also a long horizontal bar built into the wall for dress shirts or other clothes that required hangars. It was not officially a closet but it would essentially pass as one albeit with limited privacy.
"Again, like the bathroom, it's not ideal with how things came out, but this is just a temporary thing," Carter continued to explain, "They couldn't punch out too much of the wall on the other side because of the plumbing connected to the kitchenette area running from the bathroom. Eventually, James will have to redo that when he redesigns the master suite."
"Do you know exactly when that's going to happen?" Michael asked?
"I honestly don't have a clue," Carter replied and then continued, "But if you're asking if you have anything to worry about I think you're good for a few years or so based on the way James blows his money."
"On what?" James asked with genuine interest as he raised his eyebrows.
"Mostly shoes and clothes. As you can probably tell by now his appearance is very important to him. He thinks it's nothing to drop a couple hundred dollars on a haircut and coloring and then spend the same amount on drinks that night," Carter explained.
"A hundred dollars on a haircut!" Michael exclaimed.
"Yeah, like a said before looks in the gay world are more important than any of us would like to admit. And we don't live in the suburbs, this is the city, it matters more than ever here. I gave up on trying to be a label queen ages ago when I realized I would never be able to afford it and just focused on my career and body instead," Carter explained.
It was true, Carter's wardrobe was definitely lacking in variety and quality compared to James' closet. Most of his clothing was casual gym wear that he wore on a daily basis since he spent so much of his time working with college athletes at their competitions, training, and recovery therapy. He had a couple of nice dress shirts that James helped him pick out and one solid black suit that he only wore at weddings and funerals. At the end of the day, Carter simply felt more comfortable in a pair of workout shorts with a tank top. And his black strappy Chaco sandals.
"Actually, do you remember on Saturday morning, after the first time I stayed over when you were saying you also worked as a personal trainer in your spare time?" Michael asked as he put one foot behind the other and began to tighten his body in a sign of mounting anxiety.
"Yeah," Carter replied with slightly raised eyebrows.
"I was wondering how much it would be to start a workout plan. I've always felt like an idiot when I used to go to the gym at Cramden and mostly stuck to the cardio equipment. And I never was able to put on any muscle--I think I actually got skinnier," Michael explained as he started to talk even faster.
Carter smiled in response to the request. He was, in fact, waiting for the day Michael to ask him for help with physical training and conditioning thinking that if he had more confidence in his appearance he would lose some of the nervous energy he so easily fell victim to.
"Of course, man! I'd love to help you out!" Carter replied and put his arm around Michael's shoulders as he gently steered him in the direction of the bed and motioned him to take a seat.
"If you're busy with work or other things right now it can wait. I'm not in any rush," Michael said as his heart beat a little faster and sat down on his bed next to Carter.
"It's all good. Here, take a look at the fitness app I use to track everything. This is just me and my progress over the years," Carter said while opening up a screen on his phone that showed the total amount of weight lifted over the past seven years.
Each session was broken down into weekly averages and created a smooth curve in red with a gradual upward trend. He swiped to the right and showed how each year he was lifting more and more and then started to plateau over the last two years. Underneath the red line there as a blue dotted that stayed more or less constant.
"So, if the red line is weights what's the blue line for then?" Michael questioned pointing at the graph on his phone.
"That the baseline cardio, I do. Cardio is great if you are looking to burn extra calories or train for distance sports but it really doesn't do much to build muscle. Eventually, I reached a point where I was bulking up so much that I wanted to cut back on the calories. I needed to burn some of the extra fat I put on so I always do a few hours of intense running and rowing every week to keep my total body fat below eight percent."
"What percent body fat do you think I'm at now?" Michal asked looking down at his legs and arms.
Carter stood up from the bed to take a step back and get a better look at Michael. He was not easily able to tell with his clothes on and without even asking him started to lift up Michael's shirt.
"Here, put up your arms," Carter instructed.
Michael raised his arms and Carter easily peeled off the T-shirt Michael was wearing that got a little sweaty from all the trips up and down the stairs from the move and threw it by the side of the bed.
"I don't want to make you feel like a piece of meat but there are special skinfold calipers that actually measure body fat, but I don't have them on me at home. I can give you a rough estimate if you want. Is it OK if I feel your sides and a few other areas?" Carter questioned with furrowed brows realizing it might make Michael uncomfortable.
"Um, yeah, it's fine," Michael responded realizing Carter was about to bring his hands to his body.
Carter felt the sides of his hips above of his waist and squeezed what little he could find of Michael's love handles closer to the front of his stomach. He moved around to Michael's back and squeezed again on his back of the upper arm near his triceps and then measured the pinch of skin on his biceps. With each rough measurement, he made a mental note of how many centimeters he was measuring and able to pinch off. Finally, Carter squeezed some skin underneath Michael's shoulder blades. He stepped back and was looking upwards apparently doing some sort of mathematic calculation in his head.
"So, this is just an estimate but I think you're somewhere around seventeen to eighteen percent body fat, which is totally healthy by the way. I personally don't think you should be focused on a number like that, just like total weight isn't important. The focus should really be on building muscle for someone your age that's already at a healthy weight."
Michael was trying to process all this information, it was all so new to him. He also was beginning to feel a little exposed like this sitting on his bed shirtless while Carter lectured him on body fat percentage numbers and inspected his body. It also was kind of cheap thrill.
"Look, I know it's a lot to take in. If you're really serious about wanting to change your body the best thing to focus on in the interim is adjusting your diet appropriately. You probably heard the cliché that abs are made in the..." Carter cut off and rolled his right hand in a circular motion indicating for Michael to finish the sentence.
Michael stammered, "Kitchen?"
"Bingo!" Carter replied and pressed his index finger on Michael's nose causing him to blush slightly.
It made Michael feel so childish whenever Carter did these little gestures of endearment but he was beginning to enjoy them.
"Speaking of which, I'm actually starving," Carter mentioned and stretched his hands up in a Y-shape almost touching the ceiling.
"Yeah, I'm getting kind of hungry too," Michael added.
"OK then, you wanna go down to the kitchen and get something to eat?" Carter asked.
"Sure, I need to get groceries at some point too. I can pay you for whatever we do tonight though," Michael replied.
"Oh, stop it! It's your first official night here as a roommate. I feel like we should go out and celebrate but maybe we'll save that for when James comes back tomorrow night," Carter demanded and tousled his hair, "We still need to teach you to loosen up and relax a bit! C'mon let's go downstairs, you can finish unpacking later."