Author: Thinking Horndog
Title: The Heat Wave
Part: 4 of 25
Universe: The Heat Wave
Summary: Meet Cletus Putnam: landlord, entrepreneur, opportunist, sometime
Dom.  It's hotter than Hell and he has the only swimming pool and central
air conditioning in his little lower middle-class neighborhood -- and he's
not above taking advantage of that fact.
Content: exhib mast Mm mm

Chapter 4


        It was well after ten and I was slumped in my Jacuzzi, drinking red
wine and brooding over the collapse of my nefarious plans when a ghostly
figure emerged from the mists -- Jean in a white terrycloth robe and flip-
flops.  "You got a gun under there?" I asked.

        "No."  She hesitated.  "I came to bury the hatchet."

        "So you have an axe..." I accused.

        "No, I came to apologize.  Since my husband, I'm not too trusting
when it comes to men."

        "Well, don't start with me, Honey," I told her.  "I'm an even worse
pervert than you think I am.  The only thing you can count on me to do is
follow my dick."

        Jean smiled crookedly.  "At least you're up-front about it."

        "Honey, if you think that's any indication I'm not serious about
getting into your panties, you've got another think coming!" I rasped.
"There, I said it -- you're still standing there?"

        Jean continued to smile.  "I'm told your bark is worse than your
bite."

        I leered at her, "That's EXACTLY what I WANT you to think!"  I waved
my glass.  "Want some?  It's a merlot."

        "Okay."

        "I'll get you a glass."  I deliberately stood and exited the Jacuzzi
without collecting a towel.

        She one-upped me -- when I got back with the glass, she was in the
Jacuzzi.  "Are you legal?" I demanded crossly.  She arched her back and
nipples peeked above the froth.  "Bottoms?"  She shook her head.  "I'm gonna
check," I warned.

        "Okay."

        I stepped over the rim and settled into my seat, then deliberately
stuck my foot out and put my toes in her crotch.  There was fur there.
"After all this, you just climb into my Jacuzzi naked?  Why couldn't we have
done this days ago?  If you don't like the pool..."

        "Don't tease me.  I SAID I was sorry."

        "Well, no, you didn't," I pointed out, pouring.  "You said you came
to bury the hatchet, then you said you came to apologize -- but you haven't
actually apologized."  I handed her the glass.

        "You're a mean bastard, aren't you?" she asked.

        "Yup.  Vicious.  And stupid -- don't forget that.  I lend women cars
at the drop of a hat -- and pay for repairs, too.  All to sniff the crotch
of some woman's panties."

        "Gawd!  You're incorrigible!"

        "At least.  Drink your wine, so you have an excuse in the morning."

        "I'm not here for that."

        "Well I am!"  I sighed.  "Okay, get on with whatever it is, then, so
I can go somewhere and jerk off picturing your nipples poking above the
water."

        She looked away, embarrassed.  "Cletus, I..."

        "First names!  Perfect!"  I wrung my hands.

        "Stop that!"

        "Oh, all right."  I settled back.

        "I apologize -- I really do."

        "Apology accepted," I replied.  "Now I'm gonna warn you -- run!
Take the kids and hide -- none of you are safe!  I'm even worse than you
think I am!  Go, and never come back -- or you'll wish you had!"  I cocked
my head.  "Am I getting through?"

        She smiled over the rim of the glass.  "Oh, you're a terror all
right."

        I rolled my eyes.  "Yeesh!  There's no help for you.  Ever hear the
old adage that you should go with your first impression?  What was your
first impression of me?  Think about it -- you were probably LESS than
right..."

        She ignored me.  "I can't pay you back -- at least, not all at
once."

        "Great -- you owe me.  All is lost.  Remember tonight when I've
pressed your knees to your shoulders..."

        "I'm being serious!"

        "The difference between us, Hon, is that you don't recognize the
fact that I am, too!" I told her.  "I know things are tight -- it's
irrelevant.  You should walk; I'll call it a bad debt.  If you don't, sooner
or later your pussy lips are gonna hug my erection."

        She giggled, shaking her head.  "Cletus, I'm not going to do
anything of the sort.  I don't do anything like that -- and you can't make
me."

        "I won't try," I told her.  "You'll want it -- I don't force my
women.  I guess I should ask, though -- do you like girls?  Despite evidence
to the contrary?  I have a contingency plan for that, too..."

        "You're a piece of work -- you know that?"

        "I've heard rumors -- you didn't answer my question."

        "I'm not into anything or anybody right now," she replied.  "Least
of all you.  This has been fun, but I have to work tomorrow."  She tossed
back the wine and put the glass down.

        "Wait!" I erupted, then settled back in my seat.  "Ready."

        "For what?"

        "To howl and wolf-whistle and molest you with my eyeballs and tickle
your nipples with the forked tongue I lied about not having to Heather
earlier."

        She slumped, shaking her head.  "Heather.  What am I going to do
with her?"

        "Nothing," I replied.  "In every young person's life, there comes a
day when they win an argument with their parents.  It's a rite of passage
into adulthood.  I bet you remember yours."  Looking into her eyes, I KNEW
she did.

        "I guess you're right."  She made to get up.  "You're going to ogle
me, aren't you?"

        "Yes, Ma'am," I replied, proud of myself.  "What kind of noises do
you make during sex?  I want to get it right in my fantasies."  She rolled
her eyes and stood.  "Okay, I'll stand for the lady..." I announced, and got
up.

        She looked down at my cock.  "It's a good deal more impressive than
it was before."

        "With good reason!" I replied admiring her.

        "You're a horror."  She got out of the tub and put on her robe.
"Good night."

        "Want to get the profile?" I asked, turning, "for later?"

        She looked back, smiling crookedly.  "You are something!"

        "Lie to me -- tell me you won't masturbate, later," I challenged.
"I will."

        "Good night..."  She waved languidly as she picked her way back to
her back door.

        "Good night."  I chuckled to myself and sat back down in the
bubbling froth.  I'd pretty much anaesthetized her.  Next time she would
giggle at my noises, but do nothing -- until it was too late...

                       ----------------------------------

        Apparently, she and Heather buried the hatchet, too, because she
took Heather to work the next morning -- which left Michael a latchkey kid
-- and put him at my back slider around ten.  I was sitting on the couch in
the TV room, watching porn and trying to get a little relief, and had to
bolt up and kill the TV then go let him in.  Given the fact that I'd been
doing pretty well, there was no hiding the boner.  Michael eyed the tent in
my towel, "Damn!"

        "Yeah, well..."

        "You weren't playing those movies again, were you?"

        "What's it to you?"  Robbed of a nut, I was a little grumpy.

        "Nothing -- except I'd sure like to see one!" Michael replied,
looking hopeful.

        That put a different spin on things.  My brain kicked into gear and
I started looking at improvements over Rosy and her sisters for a playmate.
"Oh.  Your mama would pee her panties, you know..."

        "Yeah, well, you don't seem to be on the shit list today..." Michael
grinned, waiting to see if I would call him down for profanity.

        I didn't.  "So I should try harder?" I grinned.

        "Maybe."  Michael eyed me.  "I notice you're not asking whether I
should be here or not."

        "Your mama came over to apologize late last night," I replied.  "I'm
assuming you're good to go."

        "I am," he agreed.  "What about the movie?"

        "Come on..."  I led him back to the TV room, turned the video back
on, plopped on the couch and opened my towel kilt.  Michael's eyes bugged.
"What?" I rasped.  "If you're gonna jerk off to porn, you have to get it
out, right?"

        "Uh, right!"  He slid out of his trunks.  I started thinking about
how his ass wouldn't be any different than his sister's...

        "Kleenexes are over there," I pointed to a box on the end table,
then started choking my snake.  His was up and rock hard; he started
handling it while dividing his attention between watching the porn flick and
watching me.  I did various things, changing speeds and styles, and he tried
to emulate me as best he could -- and he got a nut pretty quickly.  "Good,
eh?" I chuckled as he grunted his way through it, dumping his load in a
tissue.  "It's messier if you let fly and then clean up, but it feels
better."

        "Uhng." Michael nodded.

        "There's only one thing better than getting yourself off," I
ventured.

        "What's that?"

        "Getting help with it."  I reached over and wrapped my fingers
around his hot, hard rod.  Michael looked at me, aghast, but didn't make any
move to remove my hand.  "Come on," I chided, "Don't tell me you don't want
to see how mine feels..."  He reached over tentatively and wrapped his
fingers around my snake while I gently pumped his.  "Feels great, doesn't
it?  There's just something more exciting about it..."

        "Yeah..." Michael gasped, then looked up at me owlishly.  "You're
not gay, are you?"

        I laughed.  "You've seen me look at your sister, and you ask me
that?  I'm bisexual, Son -- which means I take my pleasure where I can get
it.  You stick to one sex, you miss half of your opportunities to get a
nut!"

        "Oh."  Michael blinked.  "I thought it was one way or the other."

        "Nah," I replied.  "It's a continuum -- a spread.  Some people are
more on the left and some are more on the right -- and some run closer to
the middle than others.  Probably everybody is a little interested in
sampling the other side, if they would only admit it.  Gays probably get an
occasional hankering for straight sex, and most straights at least have
fantasies of trying out gay -- but it's not something you admit to people,
because we're all hung up that way and living in the Dark Ages still.  Me,
I'm a little to the right of center -- I can only get really romantic and
mushy with girls, but getting off by doing a little guy sex is good, clean
fun."  I waved one hand in explanations while the other kept Michaels cock
happy.

        "Uh huh," he grunted, his eyes glazed.  I grinned to myself; I'd be
getting lip service soon, at a minimum.

        "If you were a total homophobe, you'd have shit a brick already and
I'd be sitting here by myself," I pointed out.  "But you aren't, so we might
as well enjoy ourselves."

        "Yeah, okay."  I watched him set mental limits, knowing he wasn't
going to keep them.

        Then the damned phone rang.

        It was Karen Moffat.  "I hate to bother you, but I called Jean's...
I got called in to work -- there was a fire at a client and they need a
quick cleanup.  It's overtime, and I can use it, but I'd have to leave
Petey..."  I felt sorry for Peter; just having the name was bad enough, but
having his mother call him that to strangers...  "I hoped to leave him with
Heather and Michael..."

        "Heather is working," I told her, "but coincidentally, Michael is
here.  Where is Kate?"

        "She went to Girl Scout Camp and won't be home until tomorrow,"
Karen related.

        "So you want me to babysit Peter..."

        "I'd be so very grateful!" Karen gushed -- which was probably the
right thing for her to say.  "But please, don't present it like that to
Petey."

        "I wouldn't think of it," I replied.  "It wouldn't be manly."

        Karen sighed.  "Some exposure to 'manly' might do the poor dear some
good..."

        "I have no doubt," I said dryly.  "Drag him over -- he can hang out
with Michael and me."  'Literally,' I added to myself.

        "What's up?" Michael asked as I hung up.

        "Peter's coming over."

        "Oh." Michael's face looked like mine had initially.

        "Cheer up!" I advised.  "If you're even CLOSE to right about Peter,
we'll be able to roll him right into the mix!  He wanted to see the videos
the other day, didn't he?"

        "Yeah..." Michael began to smile.

        "Okay, then.  We'll watch a little more to stay warmed up until
Peter arrives, then run off his old lady and take up where we left off!"

        "Kewl!"

        Peter fit right in.  Michael whispered something in his ear while I
was busy putting up with Karen's effusive thanks and he lit up like a
Christmas tree and yelled, "Bye, Mom!"  They were on the couch when I got
back to the TV room, waiting.  I fired up the video and sat down to Peter's
left, sandwiching him between Michael and I, and did what I'd done earlier
-- uncover my meat.  Peter's eyes bulged, but Michael shucked back out of
his swim trunks on his right, so he didn't know WHAT to do!  "Uuhh..."

        "What are you gonna do -- sit there with a hard on in your shorts
and not do anything about it?" I chided.  "That'd be mighty
uncomfortable..."  I started skinning and grinning and Michael started too
-- and Peter got out of his clothes in record time.

        After that, it was easy.  Peter wasn't huge -- decent, but not
anything special, and kind of narrow.  We got going, and the first time I
reached over and ran a finger along the underside of his shaft, he arched
himself and made like a fountain, splashing cum all over.  Michael laughed
-- Peter had to wipe the mess off of his eyeglasses, among other places.
"Y--you touched me!" Peter panted.

        "I won't if you don't want me to," I replied, "but the only thing
better than getting yourself off is getting help, you know?"  Michael
grinned and nodded and Peter relaxed.

        "I was just... worried..." he muttered.

        "Ain't nobody here but us," I told him.  "I sure don't plan to
incriminate ME by pointing fingers at YOU!  Enjoy yourself!"  Ninety seconds
later, Peter was wanking Michael and I both.

        The video ended and I got up to replace the DVD, feeding it a
bisexual flick to see what would happen.  Then I said, "Anybody want some
tea?"  I got the nod from both of them and went in to get ice and glasses.

        When I got back, Michael was grinning from ear to ear -- and Pete
was licking his cock like it was a popsicle.  I put the drink tray down on
the coffee table and went over to stand to Michael's right and stick my meat
in his face.  "It isn't fair to Peter if you don't hold up your end -- can't
have you talking about him like a dog."  Michael looked momentarily
reluctant, then rolled his lips over my meat and I started to really enjoy
the day.

        It only took two or three minutes for me to unload on Michael's
tonsils -- he did a pretty good job.  By then, Peter was lying in Michael's
lap, occasionally licking his shaft and looking satisfied with his morning.
"I think I'm gay," he announced.

        "Well, I'm not, and Michael doesn't think he is," I pointed out.
"You can have fun both ways without committing fully to one or another, like
they do," I waved at the video.  "Try out a girl before you make up your
mind -- the worst that will happen is that you'll know for sure."  I eyed
him.  "Mama keeps you pretty much under the thumb, doesn't she?"

        "Yeah."

        "That can skew your outlook.  Stick with us -- we'll get you laid,
one way or another.  Then you can make up your mind."  I cocked my head.
"Ever think it might be fun to watch your mama take a dick?"

        "Uuh..."  Peter flicked a glance at Michael, who shrugged.

        "That'd bring her down a peg or two, wouldn't it?" I pointed out.

        "Um, yeah..."

        "Particularly if she KNEW you'd caught her?"

        Peter began to get the idea -- and warm to it.  "Yeah..."

        "I'll work on it.  You don't mind if I stick my dick in your mama,
do you?"  I waggled my meat.

        "No, I guess not."

        "What about Kate?  Is she a problem?"

        "She's a pain!" Peter snarled.

        "So if you had a nice video of her taking, say, Michael here's dick
-- or mine -- or both -- that might give you a tool you could work with to
keep her off your ass?" I offered.

        "Would it!"

        "She's susceptible.  Who knows?  You might end up in charge over at
your place..."  I grinned.  "Look, this is psychobabble, and you can take it
any way you want, but I've read that a lot of guys go the gay direction
because it's less complicated.  They love the women in their life, but
they're owned by them and can't get out from under.  So they love 'em, but
they resent 'em.  Pretty soon it boils over to all chicks, because, well,
let's face it, women can be demanding.  Guys, on the other hand, are
uncomplicated -- you can bust a nut with one and it's all cool, you know?
At least it is as long as everything is open and nobody is busy crapping on
anybody about it.  It's just a lot easier - guys can meet and help each
other get a nut and not even ask each other their names; that's dangerous,
what with HIV and shit, but it's out there.  Girls are trained to always
want more.  So you start to see doing guys as the easy, comfortable
thing..."

        "Yeah..." Peter mused.

        "Trick is, there are chicks out there that are cool, too.  For them,
sex is good clean fun, just like with a guy.  Many of them work both sides
of the street, just like guys do, getting their cookies wherever it's good.
If you hook up with a couple of them, you realize girls aren't so bad.
Let's face it, their plumbing is made to take one of these..."  I waggled my
dick.

        "Yeah..."  On the screen, one guy had the other jacked back with his
knees in the air and was feeding him meat up the ass.  The bottom guy was
eating pussy while the woman and the top guy swapped spit.  Peter sat there,
watching it, half mesmerized.

        "That works, too, of course," I pointed out.  "But pussy is nice --
especially if it's no-strings -- and it's even better if you're in control."

        "Does that happen often?" Peter asked.

        "Believe it or not, some women really prefer it that way," I advised
him.  "There is a lot of crap around about Women's Rights and sexual
equality and such, but when you get right down to it, gender roles are
somewhat driven by biology, and biology takes some time to catch up with the
way societies evolve.  In other words, there are a lot of chicks out there
that talk the talk, but inside their heads, 'Me Tarzan, you Jane', works
just fine for them.  If you can sniff one out, you're in business."

        "Okay."  I could tell that Peter's attention was in and out; he was
REALLY enjoying what he saw on the screen!

        "On the other hand," I mused, "there's nothing WRONG with liking
dick..."  I shot Michael a glance.  "So what's next?"

        "I haven't been sucked yet," Peter said quietly.

        I pretended to count on my fingers.  "I think it's my turn.  Then,
just for grins, we probably ought to go the other way."  I got down and took
him in.

        It didn't take long -- especially because I played with his asshole
-- not really pushing it, just rimming him with a fingertip.  He seized up
and gouted goo in about a minute and a half.  After that, we hung out for a
while, drinking tea and talking -- and watching videos -- until Peter
succumbed to temptation and knelt up between my legs.  From the way he
attacked my knob, I didn't hold out much hope for him being straight; I
talked him through keeping his teeth out of things and keeping his head down
and got to enjoy a pretty good suck -- and when I unloaded in his mouth,
you'd have thought it was Christmas.  I made a mental note to talk to him
about outing himself at his young age.

        I made Michael ante up and take Peter's second load -- once again,
Peter was more than ready, so it wasn't serious work for Michael -- and I
sweetened the pot by handling his action and making it as pleasant as I
could.  After that, I shut off the TV and pulled the discs and gave the
talk, "Look, let's go over this again.  Despite the crap we just did, I'm
not gay; just because you help another guy get his rocks off a couple of
times, it doesn't mean you've made a lifestyle choice.  That said, you need
to cover your ass, because you KNOW how guys -- even guys who would LOVE to
get their dicks sucked -- will make your life Hell if they find out.  You
should never offer to mess with a guy who you don't trust; even if you think
he might be interested, take it slow and don't volunteer.  If I was you, I'd
want to see him make the first move; otherwise, you can get into a situation
where he takes advantage of you and then blabs all over.  Similarly, I
wouldn't do this kind of shit in front of any chick who isn't seriously
open-minded -- as demonstrated by taking on two guys at once, for instance.
Letting other people know about this little interlude could lead to some
serious shit for all of us, so you need to treat it as a sacred trust -- get
me?  If nothing else, you need to remember that if you broadcast shit, we'll
never be able to get together like this again."  I got solemn promises from
both of them, then sent them out to the pool.

        Michael wandered in a bit later by himself to take a leak, and I
took the opportunity to talk to him about Peter.  "Peter is fucking confused
right now -- but he might BE gay.  He trusts you -- you need to be worthy of
that trust.  Don't take advantage of him; if he offers you shit, be cool
about it, one way or the other and don't just be a taker.  If he starts
acting mushy, warn him that he's doing stuff that will get him noticed, and
point him my direction for advice.  Leave it to me to tell him you're not
gonna be his boyfriend, if it comes to that.  Okay?"

        "Yeah."  Michael nodded.

        "Another thing -- he might decide he wants to try advanced shit,
like taking it up the ass.  I recommend that you NOT be the one to break him
in, for two reasons -- first, you haven't done it before, and second, if he
IS gay and he IS prone to get romantic, you'll have a problem on your hands
after taking his cherry.  He's gonna know better than to think he can hook
up with me -- and you can always prong him later, if you want to try it.  By
the same token, while it's only fair to return a hand job or a little head,
I'd never ask you to take his dick between the cheeks -- not that it would
hurt you, because it won't; in fact, it might be a good idea to try it
sometime so you know what it's like before you try to talk a girl -- or a
guy, for that matter -- into it.  But it gives you an opportunity to
distance yourself a little by setting a limit..."  I shrugged.  "You
understand, if you do it and you like it, there's nothing stopping you from
doing it with Peter -- I'm just making a suggestion.  I've done it, and
sometimes it's pretty decent -- some guys like it a lot.  I'm just saying
that if Peter starts acting mushy, you might want to set limits somewhere to
remind him that you're just a fuck-buddy and he needs to look elsewhere for
a boyfriend."

        "Yeah, I get it."  Michael nodded.

        "Being fuck-buddies shouldn't be complicated -- but if Peter is gay,
he has it in him to get hung up romantically on a guy," I pointed out.  "We
need to get him to poke a pussy or two, pronto, so he doesn't start making
assumptions."

        "How are we gonna do that?"

        "Well, there's Amy -- and Heather," I replied.  "Your mama would be
a fine choice, if she was easygoing -- but she isn't.  Amy is probably the
way to go for Peter -- and I'm pretty sure I can talk her into it."

        "Cool!" Michael erupted.  "What about me?"

        "If I was working the list from top to bottom, I'd say Peter's mama,
followed by Amy, followed by Kate -- that's just from the list of what's
available, of course," I opined.  "Peter's mama tops the list because she's
older and knows how to fuck -- she'll break you in right, I figure.  Amy is
also experienced, and probably available -- but we need to save her for
Peter.  Kate has made noises that tell the old bull in me she's fuckable --
we just have to approach her right.  I'll probably have to be the first in
the door in all three cases, to soften 'em up."  I grinned at him.  "Stick
with me, kid, and you won't be cherry when school starts.  We've got a
decent-sized stable to work, here -- and who knows what will show up next!
Better get out there - we don't want Peter getting too lonesome..."

        Michael grinned, nodded, and headed outside.

        Amy just dropped Heather off; when Heather came over a bit later for
a dip, I gathered that Heather had given Amy a rash for egging her on
against her mother.  This, of course, was mildly irritating, because it
meant Amy wasn't going to be available for me to vent my lusts upon -- and
it would tend to make the boys' lives difficult, too. Ah, well...

        Jean got in at five-thirty as usual -- and collected her children at
a little after six without anything significant in the way of
confrontations, merely by announcing, "Dinner!"

        That left me and Peter.  For the good of all concerned, I sat him
down in the living room for a heart to heart talk.  "I figure we need to get
some things straight, Son.  I figure you were pretty impressed with some of
the stuff we did today -- am I right?"

        Peter nodded eagerly.

        "I told you before about how it isn't really safe to talk about it
with just anybody, so I figured we would kind of have a question and answer
session, here.  I'm gonna fire things off -- do you think I'm gay?"

        "I don't know."

        "Well, I'm not," I told him.  "I'm what you call bisexual.  Now,
what that means is I can get my jollies from guys or I can get them from
gals -- basically, whatever is available.  I don't limit myself."  I got out
a piece of paper and I drew a line on it and wrote 'Straight' on the right
end of the line and 'Gay' on the left.  "These are the extremes," I
explained.  "On the right, we have straight guys who would puke at the idea
of looking at a dick.  On the left, we have gay guys who get nauseous
looking at pussy.  Everything in between..."  I drew a line underneath with
arrows on either end, "is bisexual.  Some bisexuals lean a little left," I
made a tick-mark on the line, "and some lean a little to the right," I made
a tick mark off to the right of the first, "but they're all capable of
dealing with both sides of the equation.  I'm about here, I guess..."  I
made a tick mark a little to the right of center.  "Basically, I'm a little
more turned on by girls.  You may be a little to the left of me -- and you
may not.  One of the things that define where you are is how deeply you can
feel for people of one sex or the other.  I've taken up with a couple of
women in my time, doing the whole love and marriage thing -- but I can't get
emotionally involved with a guy.  A bisexual with gay leanings might like to
plow pussy, but only really wants to cuddle and swap spit with guys.  Are
you with me?"

        "Yeah..."  Peter eyed the diagram studiously.  "I think so."

        "One of the prime things you need to know when you're having sex
with them is where they appear to be on the line -- because if a guy is more
into girls, then you can forget him being the love of your life -- it isn't
going to happen and you'll get hurt.  The same thing applies to chicks, by
the way -- in fact, they're probably much more likely to be hanging out in
the middle of the line, because society doesn't penalize them for sucking
each other's pussies like it does us for sucking dicks."  I waved at the
diagram.  "Whatever side you're closest to is where your long-term
relationships are gonna come from -- and the end you're farthest away from
is what we call fuck-buddies.  Fuck-buddies are people you have sex with but
don't get hung-up on.  You can have male fuck-buddies, and you can have
female fuck-buddies -- part of the situation is dependent on you, and part
of it is dependent on them.  If you're into girls, you can have fuck-buddies
who are girls -- because they aren't into guys other than as fuck-buddies.
The same thing is true with guys -- just because you're into them doesn't
mean they're into you -- they might think of you as a fuck-buddy, and that's
it."  I waved at the line.  "Do you know where you are on this?"

        "I think so."

        "It'd be easy to get excited by the shit we did earlier," I told
him, "but I'm gonna ask you to keep an open mind.  You haven't road tested
any girls, have you?"

        "No..."

        "Then I'm here to tell you that you should before you make up your
mind.  I was, shit, probably thirty before I first did a guy -- and I kicked
myself, because I probably passed up a hundred good nuts.  It just doesn't
do to pass up something you haven't had.  Get it all, then decide what's
good and what isn't worth the trouble."  I sat back, eyeing him.  "For me,
guys are fuck-buddies -- and Michael is shaping up the same way.  I guess
what I'm trying to tell you is that if you go to the left end and you get
fixated on one of us, you'll wish you hadn't.  You really, REALLY don't want
to put a fuck-buddy in an embarrassing situation, because he can ruin your
life -- and he will if he thinks he has to in order to get away.  Do you
understand?"

        "Yeah."  Peter looked somewhat crestfallen.

        "Enjoy what you do with us, but realize that we're fuck-buddies, not
someone who is gonna get all mushy with you.  If you can do that, you'll be
fine."

        Peter nodded.  "So... Girls?"

        "They're out there -- both types.  Try it -- you'll like it!  Okay,
maybe you won't -- but I think your REAL problem is your mama and your
sister," I opined.

        "Why do you say that?"

        "They smother you.  I was so embarrassed for you when your mama
called me and referred to you as 'Petey' -- that spoke volumes.  You're not
a man to them -- you get no respect.  I figure girls at school ignore you,
too, right?"

        Peter nodded, grimacing.  "Yeah.  If I'm lucky."

        "Now, let me ask you -- what would happen if you met a chick who
looked up to you with big soft eyes and let you take the lead in things?"

        "Jeez..."  Peter couldn't fathom it.

        "I'm here to tell you it might change things," I insisted.  "It
might change things a LOT!  I plan to put a flea in your mama's ear when she
comes to get you -- and we're gonna thump Kate over the head a couple of
times, too, and try to get you some respect.  Give it some time, kid --
you've got people on your side.  Okay?"

        "Sure."  His smile told me he wasn't expecting much -- but it was
more than he'd had lately.

        "Let's go for a swim," I said.  "If I don't go nekkid in the pool,
Michael's mama will start thinking I'm pulling a scam on her -- and since I
am, I can't afford that..."  We headed out for a swim.