The Summer Job - 36. Card Sharks

Mikie found Phillip and said, “Let’s head upstairs. It looks like that little matter we’ve been discussing might be happening soon.”

They went to the office and when they were out of earshot of anyone, Mikie said, “Stevie and Skylar are here already. Randy got a good look at them and, they are blazed.”

Phillip said, “Oh joy. They’re high. Where are our guys?”

“Randy is downstairs with a radio looking busy and keeping an eye on our horndogs. Casey and Kelly are moving the stuff you picked out for our locker room. I’m shocked all that that stuff in the basement has just been sitting around.”

“Me too”, Phillip said with some exasperation. “The old Superintendent knew he was going to retire at the end of the year and let a lot of stuff slide. He was an old guy with no help, so I can see it but, a lot of things don’t add up.”

Mikie keyed his radio and said, “The boss is back and has a radio now.”

Randy’s voice replied, “10-4. Our boys are just hanging out. It looks like they’re waiting for their pals.”

Kelly’s voice came on the radio and said, “Could you guys help us at the freight elevator in the annex? We’ve got a bulky load.”

Phillip replied, “We’ll be right there.”

Mikie followed Phillip downstairs to the freight elevator behind a door marked no admittance. Phillip could see the problem immediately. They were moving one of the whirlpools and needed to lay it on its side to get it in the freight elevator.

They muscled it onto its side, slid it in the elevator and set it to go to the second floor. Kelly stayed behind with the dolly while Casey, Mikie and Phillip went back upstairs and pulled the big beast out. Then they sent the elevator back down for Kelly and the moving dolly.

Huffing and puffing from the effort, Casey asked, “What is this thing?”

Phillip said, “The first locker room we’re building is for us. This beast is a whirlpool that seats four. How much of the other stuff did you manage?”

Casey said, “This is it. We saved the worst for last. Did we move a weight bench and some weights?”

“You did. We’ll use them and see if we can grow some pecs.”

Kelly arrived with the moving dolly and they had to repeat the process of putting it on its side and sliding it in the door and the inner door that provided some privacy for the locker room. Once inside, Phillip could see that his boys had indeed been busy. Benches, chairs, two banks of lockers, a training table and numerous boxes were sitting in a nice, neat pile.

Phillip retrieved a box-cutter from the workshop and had the big stainless steel whirlpool out of the box. With some help, he slid it into the corner where there were water and power hook ups waiting. Using the quick start guide, he connected the hose that fed fresh water, another which was for the drain and then plugged in the power. He turned on the machine and set the controller to fill, the temperature to 110 degrees and then opened the valve. From that point, the machine began filling with water.

When Phillip looked up, Mikie, Casey and Kelly had the lockers and benches set up and the locker room was beginning to take shape.

Their radios all crackled to life and Randy stated: “Elvis has entered the building. Looks like the four of them are chatting. They just went into the main building. I think they are headed for the basketball court.”

Phillip said, “OK Randy. Grab a snack or something. Your relief is on the way.”

Mikie said, “I’ll go. Let Kelly tell you about their lunch.”

As Mikie slipped out, Phillip asked, “What did you have for lunch?”

Casey said, “His sister brought us our favorites from Jimmy John’s.”

Blushing, Kelly said, “She made a real fuss over how we looked today. She took our pictures with her phone and texted them to Mom, Dad, my brothers and Casey’s Dad.”

Phillip said, “I take it that’s been an issue?”

Kelly sighed and said, “You might say that. They’ve all been on us about cutting our hair and dressing better. They’re happy we’ve cleaned up a little and are working.”

Randy entered the locker room and said, “Wow. You guys have done wonders with this place.”

Phillip said, “We’re not done yet. I intend for this one to be ours: just for us and our buds. The other one we’ll let little kids or shy kids use that get intimidated in the other locker rooms. Tell me: when you saw Tommy and Buddy show up, how did they act?”

Randy shrugged and said, “They were laughing and kidding around. Tommy didn’t look unhappy or anything.”

The radios crackled and Mikie said, “They’re playing basketball with some other kids. It looks like Tommy is having a blast. One of the guys told me that Buddy sort of looks out for him.”

Phillip replied over the radio, “Let’s keep tabs on them.” Then he said to his crew in the locker room, “Tommy doesn’t appear to be dreading anything.”

Kelly asked, “Could this be... well innocent doesn’t sound quite right, but maybe a no harm, no foul thing?”

Phillip said, “We have to know for sure. Either way, if it blows up it would be a nightmare. If it is just some horny boys having fun, we’ll treat them like the rest. It wouldn’t be the first time we misjudged what we thought was going on. Rumors seem to get a lot juicier in the retelling. Are we all clear about the plan?”

Randy, Casey and Kelly all nodded.

The radio crackled and Mikie said, “They’re moving back toward the Pool Annex. It looks like it might be show time.”

Phillip and Randy took off for the restroom, Casey and Kelly went into the office to follow things on the camera and Mikie would tail their quarry from a distance.

Phillip unlocked the closet inside the restroom and he and Randy got inside. His radio crackled and Mikie said, “They’re on the way up; radios off.”

Phillip and Randy shut off their radios, pulled the closet door shut, turned the latch from the inside and waited silently.

The door swung open and Buddy was saying, “...can’t believe your luck with that 3 point shot.” He was an ordinary looking skinny thirteen year old with brown shaggy hair with a skinned knee.

Skyler, a thin blond boy, said, “It was pure skill.”

At sixteen, Tommy Gordon was a bigger kid than the rest but, he seemed to fit in well with Buddy, Skyler and Stevie. He had short black hair and wasn’t bad looking. He replied to Buddy’s boast with stuttered banter, “R.. r... ight. Skill. You... you... had your eyes closed.”

All four boys laughed.

Stevie McGraw, a slightly younger version of his older brother Patrick with red hair, freckles and pale skin said, “It was pure something you don’t want to step in. Who has the cards?”

Skyler said, “I’ve got them. Same rules?”

Tommy stuttered, “Sounds... good. Let’s play. I’m hor... hor... horny.”

Stevie, Skyler and Buddy laughed at that. Stevie gave Tommy a high five and said, “Then that makes four of us bro.”

Phillip and Randy watched in rapt fascination as Skyler dealt four cards. They revealed their cards to each other.

Stevie said, “Haa! Beat a queen.”

Tommy said, “I got a seven.”

Skyler groaned, “Crap. I’ve got a deuce.”

Buddy laughed and said, “I’ve got a jack. Stevie is high and you’re low Skyler.”

The boys pulled their shorts down and started a real old fashioned circle jerk and they counted to thirty. When they got to thirty, Skyler went down on Stevie and they started counting again. When they got to twenty, Skyler relinquished Stevie’s dick and said, “You’re salty.”

Stevie shot back, “Darn, it was just getting good. Next round.”

Randy and Phillip had to desperately stifle laughter. Nobody was being abused. The boys were just having fun; the kind of fun that might give a parent a stroke but, nothing bad was happening and no one was being forced or coerced. Phillip took note of the game. It looked like fun.

Skyler shuffled the cards and gave them out around the circle. This time Buddy had the high card and Stevie had the low card. They all jerked each other off for another count of thirty and then Stevie went down on Buddy. This time they counted to twenty-five, Buddy was clearly appreciating it when Stevie relinquished his dick.

Buddy said, “That was fun.”

Phillip noticed that the game was progressive; the “time on dick” got longer with every round.

Skyler dealt again and this time with Tommy getting the high card and Buddy losing out. They jerked each other off for a thirty count and Buddy went down on Tommy for a count of thiirty.

Tommy was in pure bliss as Buddy sucked his six inch cock, and sighed when his time was up.

Everyone in the room, including Randy, was shocked when Phillip clacked open the bolt and stepped out of the closet. The players with their shorts around their ankles grabbed at them to pull them up.

Phillip smiled and said, “Don’t worry guys. You aren’t in trouble.”

All four boys were beat red with embarrassment but, Buddy had the presence of mind to say, “We’re not?”

Randy was laughing, Phillip gently elbowed him and said, “The Y has rules against this sort of thing but, we know boys will be boys. That looks like an interesting game. Pull your shorts up and I’ll take you somewhere private where you can play without any danger of getting caught.”

A shocked Stevie McGraw asked for clarification, “So we’re really not in trouble?”

Randy said, “No guys. You weren’t doing anything wrong. We’re sorry we startled you but, we have to keep a lid on this stuff. We don’t want the little kids or adult staff to catch you. If one of the adult staff had caught you, it would have spelled trouble for everybody.”

Skyler said, “Oh thank God. My Dad would have so kicked my ass.”

Phillip said, “That’s why we give you a safe place. Adults take this a lot more serious than it really is. Every horny middle school boys’ hormones drive him to do stuff they wouldn't want to talk about in Sunday school. Come on. We’ll show you a spot where you won’t get caught.”

Buddy Dale said, “Thanks for being so cool about this Phillip. I’m just glad I didn’t crap my pants when that door opened.”

Randy asked a still blushing Tommy, “Are you OK big guy?”

Tommy smiled and said, “Ye...ah. I... I... am too horny to stop now.”

Phillip led to four boys to the locker room that he had cleaned but was still only sparsely furnished so they could finish their game in safety. He asked the four boys to come by his office one at a time for a chat when they were done. With another crisis averted, Phillip put his guys back to work on the rest of the Friday checklist and waited for the Gamers to finish.

Twenty minutes later, there was a knock on Phillip’s door and Buddy Dale appeared.

Phillip had him come in and said, “It’s cool that you and Tommy are close but, be very, very careful about not getting caught having anything that even looks like sex with him.”

Buddy voice cracked as he protested, “That wasn’t really sex. We were just fooling around.”

Phillip said, “I know that, and you know that. Goodness knows Tommy was having fun but, all an adult would see is sex and make a federal case out of it. Tommy is disabled. If they thought you were taking advantage of him sexually, they’re some ugly laws they could use to come after you. Just be aware, OK?”

Buddy, a little shaken at the news said, “Thanks Phillip. I saw you on TV. How can you be so cool after all that stuff happened to you?”

Phillip surprised Buddy by wrapping him in a hug and whispered in his ear, “Because I really do love you guys, I understand and, I’m on your side. Now, go and remember— don’t get caught. When you guys need space to play, we’ll make sure you’re safe.”

Buddy asked sheepishly, “Could I come back and talk to you about stuff sometime?”

“I’d be glad to Buddy. You’re already on my good list because of the way you look after Tommy.”

As Buddy was about to head out the door, Phillip asked, “By the way, who won your game?”

Buddy blushed and said, “We all win when we play that game. That’s why its our favorite.”

As soon as Buddy left, Tommy Gordon came in with a big grin.

Phillip hugged him and said, “How are you doing Tommy?”

Tommy answered, “G... G... Good! I... I... love to hang out and play with my friends. T... T... These friends are s... s... special cuz we do it.”

“Just as long as you want to and no one is forcing you to do anything you don’t want. If that ever happens, just let me know and we’ll sort it out.”

Tommy considered that and said, “OK. I... I... know a secret.”

Phillip said, “If it’s a secret, should you tell?”

“Ye...ah I sh...should. I... I... may sound dumb, but I... I... I’m not. It’ll help one of my friends but, I... I... will only whisper it to you.”

Tommy hugged Phillip and whispered in his ear: “St... St... Stevie likes you a lot. You sh... sh... should do it with him. He... he... is r... r... really good.”

Phillip chuckled and said, “I don’t know Stevie very well yet. I’ll probably like him if I do. I know his brother Patrick.”

Tommy got frustrated, made an odd sound and said, “I... I... don’t talk so good. W... W... With Stevie, it’s not just h... h... his dick that likes you. It... It... It’s his h... h... heart. I... I'm smart enough to tell t... t... the difference.”

Phillip was stunned. Tommy was a whole lot sharper than he had expected.

Skyler Wells entered as soon as Tommy left. Philip gave Skyler the same warning that he had given Buddy about being careful to not get caught— especially with Tommy.

Skyler thanked Phillip and then caught him completely by surprise when he said, “I asked the others and they said it would be OK if I asked you if you wanted to join our game sometime.”

Phillip noticed the erection rising in Skyler’s shorts and said, “I’m usually pretty busy but, I think it would be fun.”

Skyler’s voice cracked as he smiled and said, “Really!? That would be so cool.” He pulled his deck of cards out of his pocket shuffling them and said, “You want to play now?”

Phillip smiled broadly and pulled a surprised Skyler into a hug and spoke softly in his ear, “If I play one on one with a cutie like you, we won’t need cards, but go ahead and pull a couple just to see.”

With shaking hands, Skyler pulled a jack of clubs for Phillip and an ace of diamonds for himself.

Skyler’s eyes widened when Phillip said, “Gentlemen never kiss and tell or welsh at cards and, I am a gentleman.”

Stevie was last and Phillip noticed he was nervous. He entered quickly and sat down on the couch. Knowing that Stevie had more on his mind than a chat, Phillip walked close to the door and clicked the latch.

He sat down by Stevie on the couch and, gave him the same warning he had given Buddy and Skyler.

Stevie listened attentively and replied, “Oh crap. I never thought of that. If we got caught with Tommy, they would try to nail us for that.”

Phillip said, “There’s no need to get caught. Just come here and, I’ll make sure you guys have a safe place. Skyler invited me to join in your game sometime, if that’s OK with you.”

Something went derp in Stevie’s brain when he heard that.

Phillip continued, “Aren’t you going to be a freshman next year? I’m going to be a sophomore. I’m sort of collecting friends since I’m new here. I met your brother yesterday and he’s coming over tonight. You want to come?”

Stevie shook his head like he was trying to collect his wits. His voice cracked a little when he said, “Yeah, that would be really cool.”

Phillip said, “I like you Stevie. You’re probably going to be better looking than your brother. If you could just shake that anger thing you’ve got going on, I would probably find you irresistible.”

He had Stevie, hook, line, sinker, gaff and in the boat.

Stevie trembled a little and said, “You... like me?”

Phillip drew closer to Stevie, put his arm around him and said, “What’s not to like. You’ll go from cute red head with freckles to stunning red head over the next couple of years. The thing I don’t get is what you’re so mad about.”

Stevie trembled some more but leaned into Phillip. Something he really wanted was going his way. He didn’t want to blow it.

Stevie said, “School was hell last year. Bullying was badly out of hand. They called me a fag and pushed me around just because my hair was red and I was too skinny to do much about it. I sort of got mad all the time. I was terrified that they would find out... I really do like guys. They were really bad to some of the other kids here like Seth and the Curtis twins. The staff just let it go on and on and, and a lot of us were just plain miserable. I know I can be an asshole sometimes. I sort of got conditioned that way.”

Phillip said, “I like you Stevie. I’ve heard a lot about the bullying at Grayson Middle School. I won’t put up with it in high school and, I stand by my friends.”

Stevie looked at Phillip hopefully and asked, “Just friends?”

Phillip smiled back at Stevie and said, “That’s how it starts.”

“I am going to the Mayor’s house tomorrow to see Rodney Jefferson. He’ll be home from the hospital. How would you like to go with me, Seth, David and the Curtis twins and have a word with Her Honor the Mayor about what’s going on at Grayson?”

Stevie said, “Holy shit. I forgot. Rodney is the Mayor’s son. You would do that for me?”

Phillip smiled and said, “Please understand Stevie, I really do love all the kids here.” He pulled Stevie into a hug and said, “But, there are a few I like more than others.”