Tampa, Florida
Part 12

I’d never been so frustrated in all my life. There, in the spare bed only a few yards from mine, was the most awesome hunk imaginable, sleeping peacefully, and there was nothing I could do about it. I’d kinda toyed with the idea of sneaking over there and giving him a BJ while he was asleep, but I was mindful of that time Mark had slept over at Cody’s house. Cody had thought his bud was asleep while he was fooling around with his boner. Mark wasn’t asleep at all, but he was cool about it, only ‘cause Cody was Cody. If I tried the same thing I’d be beaten to a fucking pulp. I didn’t even have the nerve to jack off ‘cause the noise might’ve woken Mark, and he’d know for sure what I was fantasizing about. Damn!

It was about 6:30 when I woke, and the first thing I noticed – apart from my skin-splitting piss boner – was Mark’s bed. It had been made; all neat and tidy like it hadn’t been slept in. Had I been dreaming about his being here? Or had he gone? Panic set in. I leaped outa bed and checked the closet. Whew! His clothes were still there. Next stop, the bathroom. Nope, he wasn’t there. Next stop, the kitchen. Nope, not there either. The pool! Nope. I searched the entire house but couldn’t find hide nor hair of him. Where the fuck had he gone?

I figured maybe I shouldn’t be running around the house naked, with a roaring piss boner bouncing all over the place, so I took a dump in the toilet, went back to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, jacked while showering, and dressed in my room. I was about to search the house again when Mark came through the front door. Actually, he opened it first. Heh. He was dressed only in shorts and sneakers, and his tanned skin was wet and glistening from a shiny film of fresh sweat.

“Where have you been? I was worried about you.”

“Sorry mama Daniel. I went for a run. Before that I did some laps of the pool. I do that every morning… well, not while I’m at sea, of course. Nice neighborhood you have here." Then he gave me a friendly punch on the shoulder and a big cheesy grin. "Hey, buddy, I gotta go take a shower before I stink the place out.”

Damn! I’d already showered, so I didn’t have an excuse to be in the bathroom with him. Jeez, imagine showering with Mark! Even Cody never got the chance to do that… or if he did he never told me about it.

Over breakfast with me, my folks and Greg, Mark talked about his plans for the day. He was gonna go down to the marina and post a note on the notice board about his availability to crew yachts, then he was gonna check out a few backpacker hotels.

“But you’ve only just moved in here!” I complained. “You can’t leave yet! Besides, my mom always says you should never rush into things. Right, mom?"

My mom nodded even though she seemed a little puzzled.

"You should get to know Tampa better before you make any decisions about where you’re gonna live," I continued. "Anyway, you’re gonna need a contact number on that note you’re gonna post at the marina. You can use our phone number. Right, mom?" Nod, nod again. "So there’ll always someone here to take a message if you’re not. So you can’t leave yet. Besides, I’m Daniel Rex, Supreme Ruler, and I hereby order and decree that you’re not going anywhere. And that’s FINAL!”

Well, I didn’t think it was all that funny, but everyone else did, including Mark. “OK, OK, Daniel. Settle down," he laughed. "I’ll take your advice. I’ll get to know Tampa a little better before I make any decisions. Happy now?”

Well, I knew that my mom was happy ‘cause she was smiling big time.

Greg and I rode our bikes to school like we usually did, but as we approached Paul’s house he wasn’t there to meet us. Normally, he’d rock outa his drive all smiles and whatever and we’d all ride to school together. But not this time.

“What am I gonna say to him when we get to school?” I asked my bro.

“Paul’s in love with you, Daniel. In love. You can’t talk rationally to someone in that situation unless they’re willing to compromise. If I were you, I’d just say hi and be friendly. He’s gonna have to sort out his own head. You can’t do that for him.”

“Mark could, though.”

“Don’t rely on Mark. He doesn’t even know Paul. Besides, I don’t think Mark’s the kinda guy who would understand what’s going on between you and Paul.”

“He understood what was going on between him and Cody.”

“Maybe, but he’s not the type to talk about that kinda personal stuff, specially to a stranger.”

Well, it was Paul who was the stranger for most of the day at school. We said our hi’s and that sorta thing, but he made himself scarce at recesses. Still mad at me? Embarrassed? Not sure what the fuck to say? Who knew?

Naturally, all the other guys were quizzing me big time – Jo, Freddie, Frank, Benny… even the coach. But what could I say? That Paul and I were having a lover’s tiff or something? Yeah, right. My bet was that Paul was also being quizzed by the guys, so this whole thing was gonna get blown way outa fucking proportion. Something needed to be done about it. And fast.

“How many times have I told you not to drink milk straight from the carton?” mom scolded as I replaced the carton in the fridge.

“I dunno. Maybe a million.” Then I licked the white smudge from my lips. “Anyway, mom, if I stopped doing it you’d think there was something seriously wrong with me. And I can’t have you worrying like that.”

“You have an excuse for everything, young man. One day you’ll run out of them.”

“Seen Mark?” I asked as I checked what was on the menu for dinner. Bolognaise? Kewlio!

“Not yet. He’s probably taking in a few sights around town… or maybe he met someone and went for a sail.”

“No woman’s ever gonna nail that dude down.”

“You might be right. But that won’t stop them from trying… and I don’t think there’ll ever be any shortage of contenders. That young man is destined to leave a broken heart in every port he visits.”

“Including yours?” I laughed.

“How was Paul today at school?” my mom asked as she ignored my remark, and kept chopping the garlic and onions.

“Quiet,” I shrugged. “Kinda kept himself scarce at recess, and I didn't see him after school. I dunno what to do about it, mom. I dunno what to say to him. He’s pissed that I talk about Cody a lot. He figures just ‘cause Cody’s dead that I should forget about him or something. I can’t do that, mom. No way.”

“Do you think because I love Andy, and married him, that I don’t think about your father? I will never forget your father. Ever.”

“Do you talk about dad when you’re with Andy?”

“Quite a lot. But I don’t compare them. It’s not a contest. Andy understands that.”

“I wish Paul understood that." Then I got an idea. "Hey, maybe you can talk to him!”

“I’m not sure a mother is the right kind of person to sort out this problem, Daniel. I have a feeling that this is a buddy thing … something you have to sort out between yourselves.”

“Yeah, right. Paul won’t even talk to me.”

“Sounds like you also won’t talk to him.”

“How can I? He’s got this damn idea in his head that he’s right and I’m wrong!”

“And what idea do you have in your head?” she smiled.

“Anyway, I’ve got a bunch of homework to do, so I’d better get to it. Sorry about the milk, mom.”

OK, so my mom was right, I thought as I grabbed my school books from my bag and dumped them on my desk in my room. Paul figured he was right and I figured I was right. But, on the other hand, I was glad my mom mentioned my dad and Andy, and how she had to juggle the memories of my dad with the reality of being married to my step-dad. How could she forget my dad like he’d never existed? Im-fucking-possible. And that’s what I had to try to explain to Paul - how my mom’s situation was closely related to the way I felt about him and Cody. But how was I supposed to explain that? I’d be lucky to get three words out before he became all bent outa fucking shape again.

“Hey, buddy.” It was Mark as he came through the open door of my room. “Howzit?”

“Homework. Bleh. I hate it. So how did it go today?”

“Pretty cool. You’ve got a great town here, man. Checked out quite a bit of it. And I spoke to some people who are interested in hiring me as a temp crew member. So it’s looking good.” Then he stood behind me and looked over my shoulder to check the homework I was doing. “Math, huh?”

“Yeah. Could anything possibly be more fucking boring?”

“It’ll do you good. Stick with it.”

“Yeah, right. It’s OK for you to talk. You’ve finished school.”

“And guess how I finished?”

“OK, OK. I get the message. Hey, Mark, can I ask you a fav? A really important fav?”

“Depends. You’re beginning to sound like Cody. When Cody asked for a fav, it usually meant trouble,” he grinned. Oh, what a grin! It could melt a fucking iceberg. If he’d been on board the Titanic, there would have been no disaster.

“It’s Paul. This whole situation is getting totally outa hand. He’s avoiding me at school. I really need help, Mark.” I pleaded. “I dunno who else to turn to.”

“You’re barking up the wrong tree, Daniel. I don’t know anything about your relationship with Paul. What the hell could I say to him?”

“But you know about your relationship with Cody, and you understand how I felt about Cody, and you know that Cody was the kinda dude you could never forget in a million years, just like my mom can’t forget about my dad.”

“You’ve spoken to Nancy about this?”

“Yeah… just after I got home from school this afternoon. I asked her about my dad and Andy, and if she still thought about my dad when she was with Andy.”

“And?”

“She said yeah, she did. Can I ask a personal question, Mark? Do you still think about Cody when you’re with someone?”

Mark didn’t answer right away. Instead, he placed his hands on my shoulders and began to massage them. “Cody ever do this to you?”

“Yeah.”

“He was like that. He enjoyed being physical. He loved pleasing people. He was the most caring person I’ve ever known. He got a caring award for always putting others before himself at the school valedictory service.”

“I know. And you got one for being the most liked and respected.”

“Heh, yeah. If I hadn’t met that crazy guy I would’ve gotten an award for being the most hated and feared.”

“So?”

“I can’t promise anything, Daniel,” he said as his strong fingers continued to massage my shoulders. “I’ll speak to Paul if you want, but I can’t promise that it’ll make any difference. Like I said, I don’t even know the dude. Fact is, I hardly even know you.”

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