Poor Man's Son - 37. Chapter 36

August 11, 2000

Las Vegas, NV

Gathan

“That was the best time,” Kristin said as we drove out of Vegas. “I will never forget that as long as I live. That flight over the Grand Canyon was unbelievable.” I’d spent a shitload of money, way too much money, so much money that I probably wouldn’t have much for school next year, but hearing her say that made it all worthwhile. I had all of the receipts stuffed in my backpack; I figured when Darius took his turn driving, I’d total them up. The drive was boring as hell. We took I-15 through the Mojave Desert, then stopped in Barstow to get gas. I moved my stuff to the back seat and traded places with El, so Kristin and I could hang out there together.

“So you just take this highway, Highway 58, until you get to Bakersfield, then we get on I-5 north,” I told Darius. I’d learned on this trip that Darius had no sense of direction at all, so I spoke more to El than to him. She’d keep him on track.

“I was just in Bakersfield,” Darius said as he started driving. “Not the nicest city in California.”

“Why would you go there?” I didn’t get that.

“I had to explain a few things to my brothers,” he said.

“You could have just kicked their asses at home,” I joked.

“Nah,” he said. “I’d have gotten in trouble. Mom would crucify me if I damaged JJ’s pretty face, and Dad would do the same thing if I hurt Will.”

“Will might just hurt you back,” I said.

“Yeah, but don’t tell him that,” Darius joked.

“So what did you have to explain?”

“I gave up my spot at Annapolis,” he said. It was clear that he was uncomfortable talking about it. “I wanted them to see the guy I gave it up for, and to know why.”

“So where are you going?”

“Santa Clara University,” he said. “I’ll be close to you guys.”

“Awesome,” I said, and meant it. I really liked Darius, and he treated El so well.

“You didn’t want JJ and Will to think you threw away your future just to be near your girlfriend?” Kristin asked. “Is that what worried you?”

“Yeah. But they’re great guys. They get it.” I reached forward to pat him on the back, then sat back in my seat and got out my backpack.

“I guess I should figure out if I’ll have enough money to come visit you,” I joked to Kristin.

“I guess you should,” she said, smiling at me. I sat down and started adding up the money we’d spent, and as the list went on, my mood got darker and darker. “What?” she asked, sensing my distress.

“I spent a lot of money,” I said.

“How much?”

“Exactly $247,685.” I grimaced at the number.

“That’s more than you have, isn’t it?” she asked. She knew all about my financial situation; I’d been totally open about it.

“Yeah, by almost $70,000. I’m not gonna have any money during school either. I’ll have to work.” That was going to suck. I figured that I’d be able to handle the academics and hockey if I wasn’t working, but if I tacked a job onto that, it could be pretty overwhelming.

“Gathan, I’m sure you can work something out with Stef or with Robbie,” she said.

“Dude, they’ll help you out,” Darius chimed in.

“That’s not the point,” I said. “I spent money like a drunken whore. I was so fucking stupid I can’t believe it. Why should they have to bail me out when I did something that dumb?”

“Maybe you can get a loan based on the future distributions from your trust,” Kristin said. “No one would have to know.”

“No. I owe it to Stef to own up to my mistake. I have to figure out a way to make this right.” I leaned back and Kristin lay on my chest. I pretended to sleep, while she actually did.

 

August 12, 2000

Maui, HI

Will

“So you’re the famous Will Schluter,” the blond god said to me. “I’m Scott Slater.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said, shaking his hand. His eyes twinkled and his hand held mine a little longer than normal.

“Dude, it is so wrong for you to hit on my son,” Dad said.

“I’m not hitting on him.” He gave me this devilish grin. “Yet.”

“Yeah, well let’s see if you can curb your libido long enough to surf,” Dad said, being a smartass. Scott laughed at that.

“I’ll bet I can. Surfing is pretty much the only thing that can make me stop focusing on my dick.” This guy was pretty cool; I could see why my dad hung out with him in high school. I didn’t really say much; I was usually pretty reserved around people I didn’t know, especially older people. Instead, I just took a backseat and listened to their banter.

Scott had a pretty slick shop. He gave us a quick tour, and then we loaded up the jeep and headed out. “Where are we going?” I asked.

“Where else,” Scott said, looking back at me with a grin. “Jaws.”

“Bitchin,” I said. That place was totally kick-ass. I knew my dad didn’t like it because he was usually worried that I’d get myself killed, but in reality, I probably was better on that beach than he was.

I sat back and watched their interplay, and could see why Robbie came along on this trip, even though he wasn’t with us right now. They had an easy, intimate way about them. Even a blind man could tell that they’d fucked in the past, and it wouldn’t take too much imagination to see them doing it again. Scott struck me as a man-whore, the kind of guy who would do or say whatever it took to get off. Kind of like Zach, I thought with a frown. The only thing keeping them from wild monkey sex was my dad, and it only took me a few minutes to realize that no matter how hard Scott tried, Dad wasn’t giving it up. Robbie had stayed back at the condo, so up until that moment I’d kind of felt like their chaperone. Seeing how my dad handled Scott, I realized that was a totally unnecessary role.

We hit the waves and had an absolute blast. Scott Slater was a very good surfer, and each of us kept pushing ourselves to beat out the other two. It was funny to see my dad get so competitive, and to see what a truly excellent surfer he was as a result. I’d kind of blown off the whole professional surfing thing because I was worried that it would take away from the fun of the sport, and as I watched him, I decided that I’d made the right decision. It was like he had something to prove and he wasn’t having as much fun as he normally did.

Spending the day with Scott Slater, it was impossible not to loosen up around the guy. He had such a playful demeanor it was contagious. It was my dad who finally pulled us out of the water. “I promised Robbie we’d meet him for dinner,” he said.

“He’d wait for us,” I said, just to see what his reaction would be.

“I’m hungry anyway,” he said, a little too abruptly. He’d had fun, but not as much as Scott and I had, and that was primarily because he’d gotten into that whole competitive mode.

“Me too,” I said, to help back him up since I’d almost thrown a spoke in his wheel. “Are you coming too?” I asked Scott.

“A double-date?” he asked, getting a glare from my Dad.

“Dude, if you still look this hot in five years, I might go out with you,” I said, being cocky and cracking him up. I saw my dad smile slightly, but he looked surprised. Did he think I had no game at all?

“You’re one amazing surfer,” Scott said to me. It was funny how when he talked about surfing, his façade vanished and he got really serious. It made his compliment that much more meaningful.

“Thanks,” I said, and felt myself blushing. “I was in good company.”

“Yes you were,” he said, reverting to his cocky mode. Dad just rolled his eyes.

We pulled up to the villa and found Robbie sitting at the table with papers spread all over it. He was trying to act like he hadn’t been waiting and worrying about us, but he was like an open book, at least to my dad and me. Dad and Scott went to their rooms to shower, while I stuck around for a second to talk to him.

“You were nervous,” I said. He was going to argue with me, but I stopped him. “It’s a genetic thing. Just like Dad, I can read you like a book.”

He grinned at me, that grin that was so fucking cute, then got slightly somber. “There’s just a lot of history there.”

“Dude, you just drag the past along with you like a truck hauling a trailer. That’s why they call it the past. It’s over; done with.”

“Ya think?” he asked, as he brought back the grin.

“I watched them today,” I said. “I was the chaperone.”

“It’s not like that,” he asserted.

“Whatever,” I said dismissively. “Scott would drop his pants for Dad so quick it would make your head spin.” He frowned, but I just smiled bigger. “Doesn’t matter though. Dad’s so not interested it’s almost funny.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Like you didn’t know that.”

“I know that,” he said, really grinning again.

“If you weren’t carrying around all that fucking baggage,” I joked, “you might be less worried about it.”

He gave me a fake dirty look. “Don’t you need to shower? I’m hungry.”

“When aren’t you hungry?” I asked, poking his tummy. I went to my room to shower and noticed that my cell phone light was blinking. I picked it up and dialed in to get my messages: there was only one, and it was from Berto.

“Hello Will, I am sorry I have not been online for a few days. I have been busy here. We will talk maybe tomorrow when you have time.” That was it. No ‘I love you’. No ‘I miss you’. No ‘I wish you were here’. Nothing. He was blowing me off. Yet another guy was dumping me. There was no other explanation. The only consolation I had was that he’d actually called me and left a message instead of sending me an e-mail. He’d actually spent the bucks on an international call. On the other hand, he’d probably just done that so he didn’t have to see me when he did it, as he would if we were on webcams.

I was in a really bad mood when I came out to meet everyone for dinner. In fact, I was in such a bad mood, I let it cloud my judgment and made a really big mistake. “I’m kind of tired. Why don’t you guys go ahead and eat, and I’ll just order a pizza or something.” That basically broadcast to all of them that I was upset about something.

“What’s wrong?” Dad asked picking up on my mood and crabbiness.

“Nothing,” I lied. The three of them stood there, staring at me, damning that lie for what it was, using only their eyes. “I just got dumped again.”

“Need a rebound?” Scott asked, flirting. I didn’t want to be happy, I wanted to be all pissed off and miserable, so I tried hard not to smile at him, but I couldn’t.

“Dude, you could go to jail for sleeping with me,” I said.

“May be worth it,” he joked. I could tell he was full of shit. He wouldn’t mess with me. Robbie didn’t entirely get that though, and he was getting pretty irritated.

“No, if I’m going to molest older guys, I’m going after Pat,” I said, loud enough so he could hear me. He gave me a dirty look from over in the corner, where he was trying to remain inconspicuous.

“Are we going to eat or what?” Robbie asked.

“You get grumpy when you’re hungry,” I teased him as we walked out to the car.

“So was it Berto?” Dad asked unnecessarily.

“Who else?” I challenged. I played the message for them and they all tried to think of something to say to make it better, but they couldn’t.

“What’s the deal with him?” Scott asked.

“We had a fling in Rome,” I said wistfully. “It was awesome.”

“And now that you’re home, it’s over,” he said, almost rudely. “That’s how it works. Get over it.”

“Get over it?” I repeated. That was pretty insensitive.

“Yeah, get over it. It was a vacation fling. Really good, really intense, and as soon as the plane’s wheels leave the runway, it’s really over.” He stared at me. “That’s how it works. Nothing you do is going to change it. If you’re going to play in the big boys’ world, you’re going to have to have tough skin like the big boys do.”

“So you’re telling me to either quit being a pussy, or go back to playing in the sandbox,” I said rudely.

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you. These guys should tell you the same thing,” he said, gesturing at Dad and Robbie, “but they won’t, because they love you too much and they don’t want to hurt your feelings.”

“You don’t give a shit about my feelings?” I teased.

“Not really. I just want to sleep with you.” We all laughed at that, even though it was probably true.

“Well, I was hoping that I was more to Berto than just a vacation fuck, but I guess I wasn’t.” I paused for effect, and then looked square at Scott. “Looks like neither one of us is going to get what he wants.” That got a chuckle from everyone.

“How old are you?” Scott asked me.

“I’ll be fourteen on September 14^th,” I answered.

He looked at me really intensely. “When did you start puberty?”

“What the fuck does that have to do with anything?” I asked defensively.

“Just answer the question,” he ordered.

“When I was around 12,” I said. “Maybe a little before then.” I’d actually started noticing some stuff when I was eleven.

“You started early, just like I did,” he said.

“I didn’t know you hit puberty early,” Dad said. “I think I was 13 when it hit me.”

“I was about that old too,” Robbie said.

Scott ignored them. “So let me guess what’s happening. You’re two years into this, and you’re developing fast. You look like you’re 16 or 17. I’ll bet everyone around you is telling you to quit acting like you’re that old, right?”

“More or less,” I said, glancing at Dad.

“They tell you to act your age,” he reiterated. “Only here’s the deal. Your body won’t go there. Your body thinks you’re 17. Your body is telling you to go out and get laid. So while your friends are all into their games, video games, whatever, all you can do is think about your dick.”

“I’m not that bad,” I said. He just stared at me, making me concede. “I get your point.”

“The only problem you have is that to do what your body wants, you have to get with people older than you, and that’s a big taboo.”

“I think you’re still trying to hit on me,” I teased, to try and get us away from this topic. He was hitting really close to home, and I really didn’t want to make my pubescent process a subject of dinnertime conversation.

“We already established that,” he joked, but he sat there across from me, his gaze unrelenting.

“So how do I handle it?” I asked. If he was going to pelt me with this shit, I might as well get some pointers.

“I beat off a lot,” he said.

“Got that covered,” I said, forgetting that Dad and Robbie were there. When I did, I felt my face grow warm I was blushing so hard.

“I think a big problem is that your emotional maturity isn’t there to match your physical maturity,” Dad said gently, worried that he’d piss me off.

“Like we’ve seen with Berto, just now,” Scott said.

“Like you guys handle getting dumped any better,” I said.

“Touché,” Scott said with a smile.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” Dad said, shocking the shit out of all of us. He always seemed to have the answer to any dilemma. “I think it’s important for you to be a kid, but I also understand, now, what you’re dealing with.”

“If you don’t have the answers, how the fuck am I supposed to have the answers?” I asked in a joking way.

“How about if I try to help you find them?” he asked. We left that topic behind, and started talking about surfing, boring the shit out of Robbie.

They cheered me up considerably, so much that I had a good time at dinner. We were all pretty tired, so we retreated to our respective bedrooms as soon as we got back to the villa. I was tired, but unable to sleep, so I walked out onto the veranda and took a couple of one-hits. I sat there, enjoying the view of the ocean and the sound of the waves, until I heard another sliding door. That made me curious, curious enough to get off of my ass and sneak down a couple of doors to the patio off Scott’s room.

When I got there, the sight that greeted me made me freeze in my tracks. Scott Slater was standing out there, totally nude. Only I didn’t stop quickly enough. I stepped on a branch and it made a loud sound as it cracked under my weight. He turned sharply and looked toward me, but I don’t think he could see me. Then again, if he didn’t see me, why did he smile? I was determined to escape from the trap I’d gotten myself into, but then I took in his body, and decided that maybe I’d stay a little bit longer.

He lay down on one of the chaise lounges and spread his legs wide, then started playing with his dick. He did it in a really erotic and slow way, just fondling it, nursing it to erection, and then once it was erect, he stroked it slowly, letting his head fall back as he moaned with the pleasure he was giving himself. Every once in a while his head turned toward me, but I was too involved in watching him now to give a shit.

I figured he was getting close, but then again, maybe I was just judging him by my own fuse, when he got up and went inside. I was so disappointed I just stood there, staring at where he’d been. I wanted to see him blow his load. I was about to sneak forward a bit to see if I could peek into his room when the door opened up and he came back out again.

He lay on the chaise lounge just as he had before, only this time he was carrying a shot glass. He looked at it, swirled the liquid around in it, and then downed it, letting out a big “ahh” after he did. I was just pondering that when he started jacking off again, only this time with a mission to cum.

“Ungh!” he cried, a muted moan, and began to blast his load, shooting it all over his naked torso. I stood there, hard as a rock and totally turned on by this whole thing. After he finished his orgasm, he grabbed a towel, wiped himself off, and got up to go inside. He turned and looked right toward my position and it seemed like he smiled, then he went inside.

I froze, totally busted, and then finally got that he’d put that whole show on just for me. That didn’t make it any less of a turn-on; I all but ran back to my room and beat off, thinking about the scene I’d just witnessed.

 

August 14, 2000

Escorial

Palo Alto, CA

Gathan

After my realization that I had royally fucked up my finances, we decided on a change of plans and diverted ourselves to Malibu for a couple of days, but that had turned out to be a bad idea. We all had reasons for doing it, but in the end, it was just prolonging my torture. Darius wanted to go home for a bit, El wanted whatever he wanted, Kristin wanted to see where they lived in Malibu, and I wanted to avoid talking to Stef. JJ had been there, and he and I had gotten into a bitch fest. I think he got off on that, on pushing my buttons and Darius’ buttons too, until we’d get so pissed off we could pulverize him. Just when I was about to get psycho on him, he’d retreat back behind the safety of his mother or Tiffany. It was maddening. I didn’t get why he hated me so much.

In the end, I was such rotten company that, yesterday, Darius, Kristin, and Ella announced, as a collective group, that we’d be leaving. We’d driven up to Escorial last night, and now I found myself up and showered this morning, a man on a mission. I wandered through the sprawling mansion, looking for Stef, determined to face up to my colossal fuck up. I found him in his room with JP. I was kind of surprised to find Will there, too; He saw me first.

“Hey,” he said enthusiastically. He jumped up and gave me a big hug.

“You’re in a good mood,” I said.

“I got dumped again, but I’m happy to see you,” he said.

“Berto?” I asked. He nodded. “Fucker.” I found that I felt almost as protective of Will as I did of Ella. This Berto guy had screwed him over, and that made him my enemy.

“It’s OK,” he said. “I talked to him, and his friend got back from Brazil. As soon as that dude got there, he must have forgotten all about me.”

“I’m sorry,” I told him sincerely.

“It’s alright,” he said. “I have a whole new strategy. I’ll tell you about it later,” he whispered those last two sentence in my ear.

“Did you forget that you were here to see me?” JP asked, pretending to be petulant. I went over and climbed into bed with him, getting an annoyed look from him and a chuckle from Stef.

“I’m here to take care of all your needs,” I said with a leer.

“Get out of my bed,” JP said good-naturedly. “You can’t sleep with me after you’ve slept with both my grandson and my niece.”

“And his partner,” Will added, giving Stef a smarmy look, and embarrassing the shit out of him.

“Now that I will never forget,” I said, re-directing my leer at Stef. I talked to them for a while, bantering one minute, finding out the latest on JP’s health the next, until the conversation seemed to fade, and I got serious. “I need to talk to you,” I said to Stef. “I really fucked up.”

Stef looked worried. “What happened? Are you alright?”

I looked around the room to gather my thoughts, but Will and JP misinterpreted my gesture. “I should be going,” Will said.

“No, stay,” I ordered. “I’m just trying to figure out how to tell you this.”

“Go ahead,” Stef said sympathetically. “I am certain that we can fix whatever problems you have gotten into.”

“We went to Vegas, like we told you,” I said. We’d called them along the way to brief them on our travels. “While we were there, I spent a lot of money. Way too much money.”

“What happened?” he asked.

“I don’t know. It started off with splurging for a monster suite, but I could have handled that. Suddenly it was like I was this crazed idiot. For the first time, I could have anything I wanted. I shopped like a fiend, and bought shit I didn’t need. We went shopping, and Darius and I dropped a lot of change on our women. And we gambled too, although that wasn’t as expensive as the shopping.”

“How did you gamble when you’re all under 21?” JP asked.

“We bought fake IDs,” I said. “The cheapest purchase of all.”

“So how much did you spend?” Stef asked.

“Almost $250,000,” I said, hanging my head.

“And how much money do you have in your bank account?” he asked.

“My last statement read $180,000.”

“So you’re short $70,000?” Will asked. “I’ll give you that. No problem.”

I stared at him and felt my eyes tear up, not because I wanted his money, but because of the gesture, one of pure friendship. He had my back. “Thanks Will, but that’s not what this is about.”

“What is this about?” JP asked.

“It’s about me mismanaging my money, and about me taking inappropriate advantage of Stef’s generosity.”

“I am not worried about the money,” Stef said dismissively. “I am just hoping you have learned your lesson.”

“I think it’s important that he pay you back,” JP said, as he eyed me carefully. Both Will and Stef were about to object, but he had that look on his face, the one that said he’d taken control of the situation and that he would brook no interference.

“I agree,” I said. “I figured that I could give you the money I have, and then I could just work to support myself this year. Then next year, when I get my next check, I can pay you off, with interest.”

“I have a counter-proposal,” JP offered. “You pay Stef $80,000 now, $100,000 next year, and the remaining $70,000 the year after that. Instead of interest, I want you to draft a budget and tell Stef how well you adhered to it at the end of each year.”

Part of me wanted to object that I should do more penance, but part of me was relieved that I would still have plenty of money to live on. “I am amenable to that arrangement,” Stef said. “Do we have a deal?”

I smiled. “We have a deal.” I shook his hand and said ‘thanks’ at the same time. I left after that and went off to start working on my budget.