Preston
Everyone needs a break, and I was more than ready for one. I felt a personal obligation not to bother Kyle when he was writing, and I'd studied until I couldn't bear to look at a textbook again. Checking the time, I thought Dexter might be home, so I gave him a call.
Plopping down on the couch, I punched in the number and in a few seconds, he was saying hello. "Hey Dexter, how're things?"
Dexter was quick to respond. "Well things are just super. You were lucky to reach me. I've had my phone off a lot lately. I've been spending most of my time over at…" Dexter seemed to be listening to somebody else. "Oh, I almost forgot I can't tell you. It's a surprise."
"What? So, you still won't tell me the name of your mystery beau? Do I know him?" I asked, knowing I'd never be able to pry a name out of him.
"You know of him but don't worry, you'll be meeting him soon enough."
"I can hardly wait. Oh, by the way I'm starting self-defense training. Kyle's into it and after what happened, I think it'll be a good idea. I've never done anything like that before."
"I know what you mean. Guys like us have to be careful. I can't wait to see you turn into some big butch bruiser."
"Yeah, enough of that. But it wouldn't hurt. You might want to consider something like that. I mean it could happen to you next."
Minutes later we hung up. I promised to tell him all about it. Oddly he seemed to think it was all very funny.
*~*~*
Two days later, Kyle and I arrived at a building on the edge of an industrial area. There was a desk in the entry, but there wasn't anyone there. It was about five-thirty in the evening and my first self-defense class was to begin in a half hour. I was hungry but had strict instructions not to eat anything for a couple of hours prior to class. In the next few minutes Kyle showed me the place as people began to arrive.
I saw that most of it was covered with a massive mat. Several people were already doing a few warm up exercises and stretches. Everyone was wearing thick, white, cotton robe-like coats and drawstring pants. A thick cotton belt held it all in place. They all looked like they were getting ready for a judo or karate match. At the opposite end of the room was a man who seemed to be the instructor. He noticed us coming and walked toward us. "Hi Kyle, this must be our new trainee."
"Leonard, I'd like you to meet Preston." I'd rarely heard Kyle call me by my proper name and it seemed so formal it bothered me for a second.
Leonard took me by the sleeve and turned me around, pointing to a door. A young man wearing the same white robe-like uniform had just entered the room. Grinning, Leonard gestured to him to come over. "Preston I'd like you to meet…"
"Dexter?" I interrupted. "Is that you?" A few seconds later, Jake walked through the door. "Oh my God," I said, "You're both going to take this class with me? That's awesome."
Dexter came close and took me to the side. "So, you met the instructor, Leonard?"
"Yeah, just before you guys came in."
"You know the mystery man I've been telling you about? Well that's him. He's my new… you know."
'You know,' sat on my brain for a minute. I looked at Leonard, who certainly looked the part and then at Dexter. I had an irresistible urge to check out Leonard again, realizing there was no doubt that Leonard was Dexter's new Dom. Before I could respond, Kyle came over and interrupted us. "Leonard teaches this class and Dexter's been here, but Jake's new here. Leonard will be training all three of you. The boys wanted to surprise you."
Jake joined us, and Leonard approached the group to explain a few things. "It'll be a long time before you'll be prepared to test your skill against another person. Tonight, you two will be starting to learn how to move and how to fall without hurting yourself. Dexter has a head start on you, but another night of practice before moving onto another fall, won't hurt him. I would rather you all move at the same pace. Be patient and stick with it. The day will come that you'll be standing in combat with one another."
Jake objected, saying, "That would be kind of weird. I mean we're all close friends, we could never hurt each other."
"Once you can separate your emotion from what you'll be doing in combat, and learn how to avoid being hurt, you'll be ready. By then, you'll understand that you won't be hurting one another. Some people have difficulty acting violently without emotion. Hopefully, you won't be one of them. It's a hard lesson to learn. Kyle here knows that. What he did to the boys that roughed up Preston tells me volumes."
"What… did Kyle do?" I said turning toward Kyle to see his reaction. "Kyle?"
Turning me back toward the same door Dexter and Jake had emerged from Kyle whispered, "Come on, let's change for class. I think the time has come to give you the details of that afternoon. I promised I'd tell you later. I guess it's later." Turning to the group, he excused us, and we headed for the locker room.
A feeling of dread followed me with each step. Once inside the room, Kyle opened a door and brought out a bundle. It was apparently one of the outfits that Dexter and almost everyone else in the room was wearing. He handed it to me and I began to untie the thick white belt that held the carefully folded bundle together.
"Before long, you'll never have to worry about guys like the ones that ganged up on you."
"Do you really think so?"
"Absolutely. I don't think they'll be bothering you anytime soon, though."
"So tell me, what did you do?"
"I'll tell you about it while you start to get dressed." Taking a deep breath, Kyle sat on the bench that ran between the rows of lockers next to where I was standing. Then leaning toward me, he said, "You remember the day I gave you the pain pill and you went to sleep? Well, after you nodded off, I left the house and drove to your apartment with your keys. At first, I was just going to get your things and move you lock, stock, and barrel to my house. I needed you to be safe.
"Right around the corner I saw three guys that fit the description you gave me exactly. I didn't say anything. I parked the car and got out ahead of them. I tried to make myself look as helpless as I possibly could. Anyway, they were watching as they walked toward me. As I expected, they decided I was weak and tried to attack me just like they attacked you, with one big difference. I was prepared for it.
"I took all three of them down in a few seconds and left them with a stern warning. You know, I have a suspicion that one of those guys might be one of us. I was so mad, I raised the idea that he might be fighting on the wrong side. Anyway, that's what Leonard was referring to. I should have told you.
"Actually, there's something else I should have told you. Leonard is… my old… Dom. He's the guy who showed me the ropes. We're just friends now, but we're good friends."
My eyes teared up as I looked around the room to make sure we were alone. Throwing my arms around him, I whispered into his ear, "No one has ever done anything like that for me." He turned my face and kissed me hard.
"No one will ever hurt you again. Not ever." It was the biggest commitment I'd ever been given, a lifetime of protection. Apparently, this whole training I was about to begin was all part of that.
Finally dressed, we returned to the room they called a dojo. We were given a single fall to learn. Our instructions were to practice that fall over and over and when our arm grew tired from slapping the mat, we were to change sides, and do it left handed. "You never know what side you'll be falling on. When you fight with one of the others, you could run into a lefty. Remember, if you ever have to do this away from this mat, you better get it right."
Practicing with a cracked rib wasn't easy. The belt I wore helped, but I concentrated on learning and less on the occasional discomfort from my recent injury.
It was boring, but I could see the other men falling hard on the mat and getting up without a scratch. This was their warm up, so it was obviously important that I know how to fall without getting hurt. I knew that one day soon I'd be doing just that. I needed to learn this backwards and forwards.
At the end of the session, we were sent to the showers. Jake changed out of his uniform and pulled his clothes on, saying, "I'll fall a gazillion times on this mat, but I've never showered in front of you, not to mention a room full of men, so I'll be showering at home. Thank you very much." Having seen guys run from the showers in high school, I knew what he was afraid of.
Everyone else was finishing up and we were pooped. I hung my clothes over the locker door and headed into the shower. A moment later, Dexter walked into the shower room. My heart jumped. I expected Dexter to be naked and that was something I thought I could easily ignore. What I saw sent a lightning bolt through me I never expected.
Dexter and I had known each other since Jake introduced us. I'd never had an occasion to see Dexter with his shirt off, much less buck naked. Dexter had a well-defined body, a set of stomach muscles I could only hope for, and the most beautiful piece I'd ever laid eyes on. It wasn't long before he noticed my stare.
"Hey, look up," Dexter said.
Knowing I'd been caught, I thought it best to just fess up. Looking around to make sure none of the other men were within earshot I said, "Sorry, I just never dreamed that you were walking around with that between your legs, at least not with the loose-fitting clothes you always wear."
"Surprise surprise…"
I turned around to keep from staring again and to allow myself to adjust to the idea that I would never see Dexter in the same light again.
"Now that," Dexter said, pointing behind me, "is something I've been aware of for some time, considering the tight pants you wear."
I spun around. Is Dexter talking about my ass?
"Damn," he said, shaking his head from side to side.
"What."
"You have one fine ass on you, boy."
"Dexter, cut it out. You wouldn't have the slightest idea what to do with that, and don't call me boy. I'm not your boy."
"Maybe not, but I sure as hell know want to do with that."
"Dexter you're as big a bottom as I am. What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about getting you on a bed with a length of rope and a tube of lube, that's what. Wow, you should see how red your face just turned."
"Well, cut it out. I'm not your boy, I'm Kyle's boy and don't be so loud, you're going to out us."
"Dude, this is a gay club. You were outed when you walked in the door."
Never having been in a gay anything before, I was stunned. "Seriously, all those hot men out there are…"
"Yep, all those men are wishing they were in here with you." Then signaling to my ass, he added, "Just think, they'll see that too, pretty soon. We'll see who's staring then."
"Cut it out, you're just playing with me."
"Not yet, I'm not."
"Dexter stop it! You're embarrassing me."
All this talk was starting to have an effect on me and it wasn't something I wanted to happen right there in front of Dexter. Jake's fear of showering with us seemed a lot more reasonable. I needed to leave the shower right then, not out of embarrassment about Dexter, but because I was going to be rock hard in a minute. I grabbed the towel, but before I could cover up Dexter caught me.
"See the effect ol' Dex has on you? Someday, I'm gonna show you what I'm all about." There was a seriousness to his tone that left me feeling like he'd stopped teasing me and was instead making me a promise, a commitment I was inappropriately anxious to see come to fruition.
"But Dexter," I said, "I have a boyfriend… and so do you."
"Having a 'boyfriend' is nice but that bump in your towel tells me volumes." Then with a grin he whispered, "If I didn't know better I'd swear that was my future permission to have my way with that." I was oddly less and less embarrassed seeing him stare at my rising towel.
"You wish," I countered, realizing how lame it sounded only after I said it. I stepped away, went to my locker, and began to dress.
The door opened, and the rest of the men started coming in just as I pulled up my pants. I finished dressing, checked in with Kyle, telling him I'd meet him in the gym, and left the locker room.
Leonard was out before Kyle. He came over, told me it was great to meet me, and shook my hand. When Dexter joined us, he pulled me close to him and planted his lips square on mine. Then, pulling away unfazed, he said goodnight.
I was not at all unfazed "Dexter? What are you doing?"
"Sorry, I forget you're not out yet. That's just a typical goodbye kiss. You and I need to get together for some lessons in gay etiquette. I forget you haven't even been to a gay bar."
"Actually, I've never been to any bar."
"Dude, your parents don't even know yet, do they?"
"Well, no."
"When you gonna tell 'em?"
Embarrassed by my fear, I said, "I was waiting until I tried it and knew for sure. I guess I knew all along but was using that as my excuse. I'm still afraid to tell them."
"Well, when you do, you don't have to be specific about how we go about this, you know."
"Well, yeah, I know that. Especially considering what I do with Kyle."
Kyle finally arrived, and I got to witness him getting similar kisses, which confirmed what Dexter had explained to me. There was a big difference though. Kyle and Dexter got lots of kisses. The rest of the men shook my hand. Dexter leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Next time they'll kiss you, too. Most of the time when you first meet, they'll just shake your hand."
Heading out to the parking lot, Dexter and Leonard walked toward their car. Kyle and I were parked nearby. Throwing our dirty uniforms in the trunk, we prepared to head home. Jake was already long gone.