The Freshmen - 9. Chapter 9

August 14, 2004

Marousi, Greece

Will

“What are you doing?” Travis asked me as he answered his phone.

“Just finished getting ready to go to a party tonight,” I said. “Marie and I are going to hang out with the Australian swimmers.”

“I saw your boy got a gold medal today,” he said, trying not to sound grumpy.

“I was so glad that he did,” I said. “The American who came in third is a complete douche.”

“Really?” he asked.

“I am so unimpressed with our swim team,” I said, referring to the Americans.

“Dude, what the fuck? Michael Phelps is the man!” he said. I rolled my eyes.

“Yeah, he’s a great swimmer, a lot of them are, but you talk to them and it’s like that’s their only skill. They don’t have shit for brains,” I said.

“You’re the only gay dude who goes to the Olympics, watches a bunch of hot almost-naked men, and complains that they’re not fucking rocket scientists,” he said, cracking me up.

“I have higher standards because my boyfriend is fucking brilliant,” I said.

“Who the fuck is he?” Travis demanded, acting all outraged. I laughed with him for a bit.

“I need to add something to our deal,” I said.

“Our deal?” he asked.

“Yeah, the one we sealed with the Ancient Relic of the Massive Cock,” I said, making him chuckle.

“What do you want to change?” he asked. It was sad to hear how insecure he was. He was such an awesome guy, and he had no reason to doubt that.

“I’m kind of assuming that ‘sex’ includes anything where a dick is involved,” I said.

“So making out doesn’t count?” he asked.

“I don’t think it should, but if you want it to, I’m good with it,” I said.

“No, I think you’re right,” he said, agreeing with me. “Is that what you wanted to change?”

“No, that was a clarification, not a change,” I said officiously. I knew his eyes were rolling even though I couldn’t see them. “I want us to promise that while we’ll spill the beans to each other on who we’ve been with, we won’t tell anyone else.”

“In other words, if you managed to suck on the Thorpedo, you don’t want me to start shooting my mouth off about it,” he said bitterly.

“Travis…” I said in a plaintively reproachful way.

“Sorry,” he grumbled.

“Think about it. What if you hook up with a famous actor? And part of your fucking him is that you promise not to say anything to anyone. If we don’t have a confidentiality pledge in place, then you’d end up indirectly breaking your word,” I said. I didn’t get a response from him for a bit, but that was okay. I knew he was just thinking.

“That makes sense,” he said. “I’m glad you brought that up. It would have bothered me when it happened, even though I know you wouldn’t say anything.”

“I love you,” I said.

“I love you too,” he responded, and sounded happy.

“So what’s going on with your schedule?” I asked.

He sighed. “I had my audition for the commercial, and it supposedly went well but I haven’t heard anything yet.”

“Isn’t that how show biz works?” I asked.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t make it any easier,” he said. “You’re not supposed to be back until the 29^th, right?”

“Why, you planning your schedule out so you can have all your boys out of the house by the time I get back?” I teased.

“That’s more your deal than mine,” he groused. I could have gotten mad at him for that, but he was trying to get a grip on our situation, and he needed my help.

“I’m not sure when I’m coming back,” I said. It came out wrong: the sadness in my voice actually made it seem like he’d really annoyed me.

“Seriously?” he demanded, totally pissed off.

“Travis,” I said hastily, to calm him down. “I didn’t say that right.”

I heard him sigh. “I mean, you don’t have to get mad at me,” he said.

“I am not mad at you, I’m just frustrated,” I snapped, then calmed my ass down. “I miss you so fucking much it hurts, and you are all I think about. So I’m sitting here in Athens, and I’m not having any fucking fun because all I can think about is how badly I want to catch a plane back to LA.”

“And I’m here, being all bitchy, because I feel the same way,” he said.

“Marie looked at me today in that knowing, smarmy-ass way that she has,” I said, making him laugh.

“I know that look,” he said.

“She asked me when I was flying home because she knew I couldn’t handle being here until the 29^th. I told her that I’d probably be coming back with Grand, Stef, Dad, and Jake,” I said. “She was planning to stay here with me until the 29^th so I don’t know what her plans are now.”

“That’s really sweet of you,” he said, and sounded sad. “It bugs the shit out of me that you can’t even enjoy the Olympics. I feel like it’s my fault.”

“Well, it’s not, but I may blame you for it anyway,” I teased. “If I do that to the point that I get pissed at you, then I won’t miss you so much.”

“That’s probably exactly what you’ll do, but I’m not worried about it,” he said with faux confidence.

“Oh yeah? Why?” I challenged, mimicking his tone.

“Because I know exactly how to cheer you up,” he said. “All I have to do is pull out the Ancient Relic of the Massive Cock.” It took me a while to stop laughing.

“Maybe when I fly back you can meet me in New York,” I said.

“Had a great time with you the last time we went there,” he said, casually. “Maybe I can get a gig at the diner we went to.”

“You could handle that with no problem,” I said. “Besides, I want you to meet Kris.”

“Dude, I cannot believe it’s been a week, and it’s already like they’re married,” he said, cracking me up. I’d kept him up to date on JJ’s blooming relationship.

“I’m amazed that they’re getting along,” I said. “I’m even more amazed that JJ has been way less bitchy. I think someone killed him and put a clone in to replace him.”

He laughed. “You said Kris was a good lay. Maybe that did it.”

“He is good, but I’m used to a much higher standard of satisfaction,” I said playfully.

“Yeah, well you can show me how that works in New York,” he said. It was awesome to hear how happy he was. “Once you get it all figured out, tell me the plan.”

“I’ll talk to you later,” I said, and ended the call. I went into the bathroom and put the final touches on my appearance, then went out into the main room where everyone else was hanging out.

“You look very good,” Stef said, eyeing my ensemble. I wore a mesh shirt that had a few gashes in it to make me look like a badass, black pants, and a black jacket to go over it.

“Thank you,” I said. “This is the same outfit Patrick Christian modified for me when I went to MOMA.”

“I recognize that now,” Stef said. “I remember seeing you wearing it in the video when you did your dance number.”

“That’s what happens when you do shrooms at MOMA,” I said. Stef laughed at that, then stopped abruptly. His eyes moved beyond me and I turned around to see Marie, and she was stunning. She was wearing a top that kind of looked like the dress she’d worn for prom, in that it was made of flat pieces of some sort of metal that overlapped. That dress had been black, but this top was multi-colored, and looked amazing. She’d matched that with some chic black jeans and high-heeled boots. Then to top the whole thing off, she’d worn the Eid Mar necklace I’d gotten her for her birthday.

“Dude! What the fuck? You are gorgeous!” I said. She smiled broadly at me.

“Why thank you,” she said, then walked up and put her arm through mine. “It’s our night for heavy metal,” she joked, referring to our shirts.

“Pretty amazing that we match perfectly, since we didn’t coordinate our wardrobes,” I said.

“You both have excellent taste,” Grand allowed in his stuffy way.

“We must take a picture,” Stef insisted. That seemed to be Tom’s prompt to do a mini photo shoot. They expected that when we were done, that would be our cue to leave, but when I hesitated, they all focused on me.

“I’m thinking of going back with you guys on the 19^th, but I need you to drop me off in New York,” I said.

“I thought you were going to stay until the 29^th?” Dad asked.

“I’m betting someone is homesick,” Jake said, and winked at me.

“Then why are you going to New York?” Dad asked.

“Travis is going to meet me there,” I said.

“See,” Jake said in a smarmy way. “Homesick.” I laughed at that.

“Maybe we can stop there for a day as well,” Dad mused, but looked mostly to Stef. “I’d like to see JJ.”

“That’s his way of saying he wants to meet Kris,” I said to Stef. Jake chuckled while Dad gave me a dirty look.

“That might be interesting enough for us to divert there for a day,” Stef mused.

“Stef wants to meet Kris too,” I said to Grand.

“So it seems,” Grand agreed. Marie and I used that as our opportunity to bail.

“That’s going to be hilarious if everyone drops in on JJ,” I said, chuckling. “As soon as he finds out that’s the plan, he’ll start freaking out.”

“Why?” she asked.

“He’ll think that everyone is going to give him shit about marrying Kris after dating him for three days,” I said, making her laugh.

“I mean, it’s his life,” she said, in a way that told me she thought there was no way this would last.

“Yeah, and that’s how my father sees it,” I said sarcastically. We both shook our heads at how JJ’s whirlwind relationship must have wound Dad up. We got to the lobby and found a limo waiting for us, and in addition to the driver there was a security guard who sat up front with him.

“Is it so dangerous that we have to have guards around all the time?” I asked her. Sometimes this just seemed like so much overkill.

“It makes Stef happy,” she said fatalistically. “I’m surprised you dressed so well for a party with a bunch of swimmers.”

“You did,” I accused.

“It’s different for girls,” she said smugly.

“Well, since I’m gay, I have to look better than the breeder dudes,” I said, making her laugh, then I got more serious. “It was kind of like when I went to Darius’s frat party. I dressed a bit differently because I’m not part of their group.”

She thought about that. “You want to stand out?”

“Not necessarily,” I said. “I just don’t want it to seem like I’m trying to be like they are, because I’m not, and I can’t be.”

“I don’t understand,” she said.

“I wasn’t a Beta, so I didn’t want people thinking I’m a frat boy,” I said. “And I’m not a swimmer or an Olympian, so I don’t want people thinking I’m a super-athlete.”

“You don’t want to be a poser,” she concluded.

“Exactly,” I said. “That was a damn good way to put it.”

“I’m smart,” she said, cracking me up. The limo pulled up to a nice hotel and our security guard escorted us in. I found that annoying, but it did enable us to make an entrance.

We had an absolute blast at the party. A large ballroom was reserved, and while there was food, most of it was ‘healthy’, which was pretty funny. There was a bar, but the only athletes who were drinking were those who were off tomorrow. I led Marie over to where Nick Politis and some other Australian bigwigs were holding court, more or less. “You made it!” he said in a friendly way.

“I did, and I brought my cousin with me,” I said. “Nick Politis, this is Marie Hobart.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” he said, turning on the charm. “Will described you perfectly.”

She looked at me questioningly. “I told him you were smoking hot.”

“Thanks,” she said. We chatted with him, met the Prime Minister, a dude in his 60s named John Howard, then managed to jump out of that status cauldron and hang with the athletes. I spotted Ian Thorpe across the room, where he was talking with a bunch of the other swimmers. I stared at him until he looked at me, and it was so cute to see him smile when he realized I was there. “Someone is happy to see you.”

“I’m hoping,” I said, and dragged her over to that group.

“And what do we have here? One very lovely Sheila,” Grant Hackett said, hitting on Marie.

“I’m Will Schluter,” I said introducing myself. “This is my cousin, Marie Hobart.”

“Don’t much give a shit who you are, mate,” he said playfully. “Grant Hackett,” he said to Marie, and shook her hand.

“It’s nice to meet you, even though you didn’t win today,” she said.

“Now that hurts,” he said dramatically, and put his hand over his heart. “You can’t be like that when I lose to the Thorpedo.”

“Ian Thorpe,” he said, introducing himself to Marie. After those introductions, we were absorbed into their group, and while I was having a really good time, I was watching Ian starting to fade. My time with Travis had taught me what introversion looked like.

“Need a break?” I asked him quietly, so only he could hear me. He smiled weakly and nodded.

“Have you seen the outside bar?” he asked me.

I smiled at him. “Lead the way.”

We managed to make it look like we were just going to the bathroom, and as soon as we were out of the room, he briskly took off and led me to a bar about four stories up, with a nice outdoor seating area. The bar itself wasn’t anything special, but what was truly outstanding was the view. We stood there staring at the Acropolis, which was lit up so brightly that it reminded me of the Disney Castle, and seemed so close I almost thought I could reach out and touch it. “It’s spectacular,” he said.

“This is really incredible,” I said. “Thanks for bringing me out here.” He must have thought I was implying that I wanted to go back inside, so he started to walk away, but I stopped him. “Have a seat.”

“For a minute, anyway,” he said cautiously. We grabbed a table and a waiter came over, so we ordered sodas. “Fun party, but I’m exhausted.”

“You don’t like crowds all that much,” I said. “Right now, you’re craving a quiet place where you can just relax.”

“What are you, a fucking mind reader?” he asked, smiling.

“You seem like an introvert, and that’s what they do,” I said. “I could see you starting to fade.”

“I’m not that boring,” he said, and seemed annoyed.

“There’s nothing boring about that at all,” I said, then focused on his clothes. He was wearing a trendy shirt, one that was pretty out of place in this crowd. I knew why I was trying to look different, but I wondered why he was. “I’m trying to figure out where you got that shirt,” I mused, even though I already knew.

“Take a guess,” he challenged, raising an eyebrow, thinking there was no way in hell I’d pick the right designer.

“Channel,” I responded. His eyes opened wide.

“How did you know that?” he asked, stunned.

“I’m friends with Karl Lagerfeld and he showed me his ready-to-wear line earlier this year. This shirt was part of it,” I said. “I’ll bet that’s one of only ten that are out there.”

“Who the fuck are you?” he asked. I laughed with him.

“Stefan Schluter’s grandson,” I said.

“Ahh,” he said, getting it now. “No wonder you knew it was Lagerfeld.”

“He’s a pretty amazing guy,” I said.

“Stef or Lagerfeld?” he asked.

“Well they both are, but I was referring to Stef,” I said.

“He’s one of the people I’ve always wanted to meet,” he said a bit wistfully.

“Then let’s go,” I said.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, shocked.

“I said ‘let’s go’,” I repeated. “We’ve got a big suite near the Arena. We’re all staying there. Come on. I’ll introduce you.”

“I don’t know,” he said skeptically.

“Up to you,” I said. “Where are you staying? I’ll bet you’re not in the village.” He gave me an annoyed look because I was right. I was guessing he’d rather have some peace and quiet than a massive party.

“I’ve got a room at an apartment building,” he said. I asked him where it was, and he gave me a dour look.

“You don’t want to tell me?” I asked, then started laughing. “Alright, I get why you’re nervous. You’re totally paranoid because you think I’m some psycho working for the evil American swim team and I’m going to kidnap you so we’ll have a shot in hell of winning a freestyle.”

He laughed at that and let down his shields enough to be happy for a bit. The pressure on him at these games must be overwhelming. “I wouldn’t put it past them,” he joked.

“So where is this place?” I asked again.

“Close to the stadium,” he said, and then described it. I started laughing.

“Dude, that’s where we’re staying,” I said.

“That’s a bit disappointing,” he said, pretending he meant it. “I had this visual in my mind of you being some evil mastermind who was going to abduct me, and it turns out all you’re doing is offering me a ride home.”

“That’s hysterical,” I said, and it took us both a bit to stop laughing. “So you really thought I was a psycho killer straight out of a horror movie?” I was gently flirting with him now, and he smiled and blushed, which was the cutest fucking thing.

“Actually, I tagged you as a stalker because every time I look up you’re staring at me,” he said, cracking me up.

“You are fucking gorgeous, so of course I’m staring at you,” I said, in the same tone I’d say ‘duh’. It was funny how my comment both excited and worried him.

“So since you’ve become my number one creep in Athens, how is it that I haven’t seen you in the building?” he asked. He was hilarious.

“Other than the fact that I’m very sleuthy, there’s a very good reason for that,” I said, then paused. “The penthouse has its own elevator.”

“How very posh of you,” he said, rolling his eyes at me. “I’ll think about it.”

“You think I’m harmless enough to give me your phone number?” I asked.

“I’m not about to hand out my real number to a crazy bloke like you,” he said dismissively. He was fun when he loosened up and enjoyed himself. “Now, I am willing to give you my temporary Greek number that goes with this shitty disposable phone.”

“I’ll take what I can get,” I said, and programmed his digits in. I called his number, he saw it pop up and smiled shyly at me, then we went back to the party.

As soon as we got there, he was absorbed by his countrymen, while I managed to drag Marie away from Grant long enough to talk to her. “I need your help.”

“What do you want?” she asked.

“Ian wants to meet Stef, so I’m trying to talk him into going back with us,” I said.

“He and Grant are staying in the same building,” she said in her smarmy way, acting like she knew something I didn’t.

“I already know that,” I said, mimicking her tone, even though I didn’t know about Grant. “I need you to help convince them to come back with us.”

“You want me to sleep with Grant?” she demanded. That she’d leaped to that conclusion so quickly told me she was thinking of doing exactly that.

“Dude, asking a guy back to hang out does not mean you have to fuck him,” I said.

“Whatever,” she said.

“Maybe your standards are just a little too high when a hunky Australian Olympian who just won a silver medal is beneath you,” I said, making her seem like a snob. She gave me a dirty look and we rejoined the party. Still, she was good at manipulating both Grant and Ian, so twenty minutes later found the four of us in our limo heading back to the apartment complex.

“I wondered what it was like at the top,” Grant said, looking at our apartment tower as it came into view.

“If you want to be with a top, I can show you how that works,” I said to him in my sultriest tone.

“Christ,” he said, rolling his eyes at me, then we laughed.

“If you’re nice to me, I’ll show you the view,” Marie flirted, referring back to our penthouse. He was a total wolf, but she was so good she had him in the palm of her hand. Ian rolled his eyes at me.

We got back to the apartment and found my father, Jake, Stef, Grand, and Tom hanging out in the great room, each of them doing their own thing. “Good evening,” Grand said, the first to stand up and greet us.

“Hey,” I said in a friendly way. “This is Ian Thorpe, the dude who won gold in the 400-meter freestyle and set a new world record,” I said.

“That was a stunning achievement,” Grand said, and shook his hand warmly. Grand had a way of projecting confident power, something that was less intimidating but more impactful than the way my father tossed his weight around. It was cool to see that generate a sense of both respect and comfort in Ian. I introduced him to the rest of our group, and it was funny to see them as much in awe of him as he was of them.

“It is certainly a pleasure to meet you,” Stef said.

“I have wanted to meet you for damn near my whole life,” Ian said to Stef. “I’ve read at least three of your biographies.”

“That is kind of you to say, but I am not the hero of the hour, you are,” Stef replied with a smile. I interrupted their mutual admiration moment by introducing Grant.

“This is Grant Hackett,” I said playfully. “The dude who didn’t win.” Marie laughed, while he shook his head.

“Story of my life, living in the shadow of the Thorpedo,” Grant joked.

“I brought him back anyway,” Marie said. “He’s kind of cute.”

We spent about 45 minutes with them, but of all of us, Tom probably had the most fun. He became much more animated when he was with his fellow Aussies. The four of us managed to escape by going out onto the upstairs patio. It was a veritable garden that happened to contain a hot tub, while beyond it you had some awesome views of the area. We were high enough up that noise from partying, cars, and general conversation was more like a soft wafting sound. “This is incredible. I had no idea this was up here,” Ian said.

“We should go for a dip in the hot tub,” Grant said, winking at Marie.

“I’ll go with you,” I offered. He gave me a frustrated look that was fake, while Marie and Ian laughed.

“Fucking seppo bastard,” he mumbled, which made us all laugh harder. But the vibe had changed, and I suddenly felt like I was cock-blocking Grant and Marie.

“Want something to drink?” I asked Ian. He shrugged and followed me back inside. We grabbed sodas and I led him back to my room, then closed the door behind us.

He saw the bed, and kind of freaked out. “Not sure it’s safe to be in here with you,” he said softly. I could sense the struggle inside of him, and I knew that I was going to have to take the lead.

“Are you worried about something I might do, or something you might do?” I asked, moving closer as I did.

He looked down and shook his head a few times. “I’m not gay,” he asserted.

“Have you ever done anything with another dude?” I asked. I was really close to him, so I leaned in and gently kissed his forehead, since he was looking down. I was surprised that he didn’t push me away, but instead he just shrugged. “Did you like it?” He shrugged again.

I reached down and gently grabbed his chin, then used it to nudge his face higher so I could look into his eyes. “You’re safe with me,” I said, then I kissed him. He tried to fight me, not physically but mentally. I could feel his internal struggle and was saddened by how intense it was. This must have been what JJ had to deal with when he was crushing on Alex. I cringed thinking that this was what Travis would have to adapt to if his career took off, then I tried to cheer myself up by telling myself that the world of acting didn’t seem as bad as the world of athletics. I was probably lying to myself about that.

As we made out, it was like I could feel him unsnapping, letting go of one restraint only to get hung up on the next one, then letting that one unsnap, and so on. His tongue was probing my mouth and I responded, then pushed him back onto the bed where we rolled around and dry humped each other. I reached down and grabbed his hard dick through his pants, then broke off our kiss and smiled at him. “So that story about guys with big feet having a big dick is evidently a thing,” I said, getting a chuckle from him. We got undressed in kind of a hurry, then we blew each other. He seemed like he was a novice, so when he first went down on me, I was worried I would feel teeth, but his mouth was really wide, so after a bit he got really good at it. We ultimately ended up in a sixty-nine, with him on top. I started playing with his ass and he went fucking crazy, so I popped his cock out of my mouth and started probing his hole with my tongue. He pushed back against my mouth, begging for more, a favor I happily granted. I stroked his cock as I tongued his ass, feeling his orgasm slowly build until he moaned loudly and started to blow his load. He pushed my hand away to nurse out the end of his climax, then used his own cum as lube while he stroked me off the rest of the way. “Wow,” he said, grinning at me.

“That was fun,” I said, smiling back. We lay there in bed facing one another just smiling, until he freaked out a bit. His smile changed to a frown, and I watched as his restraints began to button back up one by one. He tried to get up but I stopped him. “Stay.”

“I’ve got to get some sleep,” he objected.

“I made this rule,” I said, then paused, forcing him to ask me about it.

“What rule?” he asked fatalistically.

“When I mess around with a dude, he has to stick around for at least half an hour so he doesn’t kill the afterglow,” I said.

“So I’m stuck here,” he said, acting like he didn’t want to be.

“It’s not a bad place to be stuck,” I said, winking at him.

We both kicked back in bed, lying there on our backs, when all of a sudden he got really tense, sat up, and stared at me. “You’re not going to…”

I cut him off by putting my finger over his lips to shut him up. “I told you I was safe. I am not going to out you.”

“Thanks,” he said, then sighed. “How did you know?”

“You thought I was hot and let it show,” said, which made him nervous. “I’m just kidding. I’ve got pretty good gaydar. I was flirting with you pretty hard, but in a subtle way. It’s no secret I’m gay, so that made it easier to figure out you were interested. Most guys will never see that.”

“They always ask me about it,” he said. “Fucking press. They were asking me if I was gay when I was a fucking teenager! Sixteen fucking years old.”

“I’m really sorry,” I said, and pulled him into a sideways hug. “My read on it is that because they’re such scum, they don’t deserve the truth.”

“So that’s how it works? Because of their probing, I have to lie to my country, to everyone, about this?” he asked, having gotten himself all fired up.

“Let me ask you this,” I demanded, matching his tone. “Why is it anyone’s fucking business who you have sex with as long as it’s consensual?”

He opened his mouth to argue, then closed it again, then finally spoke. “It’s not that easy.”

“I know it’s not easy,” I said. “I watched my brother deal with it, I watched my ex-boyfriend deal with it, and I’ll probably have to watch my current boyfriend deal with it.”

“Wait, you have a boyfriend?” he asked. “What the fuck?”

“I do, and he’s awesome,” I said. That confused the fuck out of him. “And when I talk to him tomorrow, I’ll tell him I fucked around with this hot swimmer, he’ll ask me if it was fun, I’ll tell him that it was, and we’ll be cool.”

“That’s a bit difficult, I would think,” he said.

“We’ll find out,” I said. “You’re the first person to test our open relationship.”

“What a fucking honor for me,” he said, then we both chuckled at the situation. When we were done with that, he left, and I didn’t try to stop him.