This story has been nagging at me for a while. Dave makes several appearances in my stories about GTO and her family, but he just seems to be in the background. While he is a major character, not a lot is known about him, or really where he came from. I thought that it was time to tell his story.
This is significantly different than my GTO stories. It kind of took off on me, and is considerably longer than most of my other stories. It mostly focuses on Dave's life before Gail's later years.
Now, without further ado.
Dave:
I was born and bred in Las Vegas, Nevada. That may have had something to do with my chosen profession, but we'll get to that later. My parents weren't rich, but we really didn't lack for anything that we needed, and there were still some luxuries now and again. We lived in a decent house in a nice area that my parents had bought right after my sister was born. I'm the oldest of the three. My brother is three years younger than me, and my sister was born 5-years after him. We got along well, and I truly loved my parents and siblings. My parents weren't special in any way, I guess. Dad worked as a mechanic, and mom was a nurse in one of the hospitals. We were a typical blue-collar family.
I wasn't exactly a loner throughout my childhood, but I did keep it to a few close friends. I was always rather quiet, and, some would call it, standoffish. I wasn't that way on purpose. That's just how I was. Maybe it was all the reading that I did. I loved reading the Louis La'mour Westerns. I really began to identify with the solitary characters that he wrote about. I admired their sense of right and wrong, and their grit in standing up to the bad guys. They had backbone, and they stood up for their beliefs. I guess I just began to emulate their outlook on life.
My love of reading helped me in school too. That and a natural aptitude for math. No, I didn't graduate at the top of my class, but I did well enough to get a few scholarships to college. I liked playing sports, and I guess I was OK at it. I played football and baseball my first two years of high school. Over the summer between my Sophomore and Junior years of high school, I got a summer job with my dad's garage. I enjoyed the work, and it helped me fill out my frame. That's also when I discovered a new passion. At the end of the summer, my dad had picked up and old Camaro. It wasn't running, and it was actually in pretty bad shape. He told me that we were going to fix it and it would be my 16
th
birthday present. That pretty much ended my high school sports career.
I would continue working at the shop on weekends. After my homework was done, I would go out and work on the car until supper. I would also sneak out and work on it on Sunday afternoons after church when I could. Mom and dad were very clear that I had to have all of my schoolwork finished before I set foot in the garage. I learned very quickly that they were serious. By the time I turned 16, the car was running. It didn't look very pretty, but it was drivable and reliable. At that time, it had a strong 350-cubic inch Chevy engine, and a Muncie 4-speed manual transmission. We didn't really build the engine up much. It was still pretty much stock, but it was still kind of fast. Yeah, I did get into a couple of illegal street races, but they were mainly just for bragging rights. I learned who to stay away from too.
As I said, I wasn't the most popular kid in school, but I wasn't the least popular either. I am fairly good looking, and I developed pretty well. I had a few girlfriends throughout high school and didn't graduate as a virgin. I guess that it had gotten around the school that my 'asset' was rather impressive. I was surprised when one of the cheerleaders actually asked me out. Unfortunately, she had neglected to get her boyfriend's approval first. She had also neglected to inform me that she was dating someone else. I held my own pretty well, and it ended up pretty even by the time all was said and done. We had the time to talk about it as we were waiting in the principal's office, and I explained that she hadn't informed me that she had a boyfriend, and that I was not in the habit of dating girls who were in relationships. We talked for a bit more before we were called in. After the explanation, we just ended up with a week's detention. We ended up becoming friends, and he publicly dumped the cheating bitch.
During my Senior year, I ended up working at my dad's shop after school and on weekends. Mom and dad saw that I was responsible enough to have a job and get my homework done at night before going to bed. They had taught me about being careful with my money and not blow it all as soon as I got it. Every paycheck, I would put half into a savings account for emergencies. I would use what was left on building up my car and entertainment.
I had just turned 18. It was in November of my senior year of high school. It was on a Sunday afternoon, and I had just pulled up to my house, when our neighbor came outside and asked if I could help her with something for a few minutes. Georgianne was a 42-year old divorce', about 5'5" tall, wavy blue/black hair, blue eyes, and built like a brick shit-house. Her daughter had already gone to college, so she was living alone in her house. We would always help her out when she needed anything done, so I never even though of refusing her. Besides, did I mention that she was gorgeous? She would quite often come over during the summer and join us for a barbeque and swim in our pool. I would spend a lot of time either in the deep end of the pool or sitting with my towel in my lap to hide my erection as she pranced around in her bikini. Let's just say that she was a frequent visitor to my late-night fantasies.
"So, I hear that you just had a birthday." She began as I followed her into her house. "It was your 18
th
, wasn't it?"
"Yes, ma'am. I turned 18 two days ago."
"Well then, I need to give you a special birthday present." Georgianne replied as she took my hand and led me to her bedroom. Turned out, she wanted me to move some furniture for her. I'm not sure exactly how much we were able to move the bed in those few hours, but it seemed like the whole house moved a few times.