I was grounded
while you filled the skies
I was dumbfounded by truth
you cut to lies
I saw the rain dirty valley
while you saw Brigadoon
I saw the crescent
you saw the whole of the moon
The Water Boys ---- The Whole of the Moon
********
And winter hung on. My classes were profoundly not engaging that semester. I trudged the wide diagonal walk across Central Quad, and reflected on how much collective time I had spent walking around this sprawling campus.
This diagonal walk had been planned by some long ago genius of a landscape architect as an impressive enfilade of comfy benches and spring flowering Yoshino and Kwanzan cherry trees. When the trees bloomed in spring, the 'cherry walk' swarmed with students. Boys without shirts played endless games of Hacky Sack. Boys with ponytails played guitar. Gay boys caught the spring sun. Proletarian scholars played chess. Coeds, out to be seen, pointedly ignored all of them.
But not today. Today it was just fucking cold.
Baseball practice had started in advance of the season, and I saw little of Griffin. He forbade me from attending his practice, as he did not want me "hanging around like some girl friend." Ouch. That hurt, but I played along, as I had committed to his down low jockish discretion agenda, requiring us to just be 'buds' on campus and in town. What the actual fuck ever.
As if I had conjured him up like a wizard, he texted: "b here 8:30p with beer, treat 4 us" Ok, then. His 'treats' could be anything but they were always fun. Some awesome new weed followed by a Sara Lee pound cake and a raging hot fuck. A Hitchcock film with four bottles of decent pinot grigio followed by a raging hot fuck. A triple order of Dan Dan Noodles followed by a raging hot fuck. And Anders. Anders had been his treat as well. So, I knew I had to go, if only for the certainty of the raging hot fuck.
It was getting later. I went to the food court and ate a good chicken tarragon wrap from a plastic box, with a large sugar cookie and a small mediocre coffee, then back to the dorm for a nap before heading to Griff's for my 'treat'.
It was the all the way dark when I woke up. The Korean twins I shared the dorm-apartment-pod with were out, probably eating with their buds from the engineering school. There was a sixer of Rolling Rock in the fridge, and I opened one while getting ready. I would bring Griff a five-pack, which I had certainly done before.
Griffin answered his door on the first ring. "Trav! Right on time and with a super-generous five pack! I am so honored!"
"Flame on, asshole! You're lucky it's not a four pack." I clowned.
Killer jawline with three days of dark scruff. Raggedy gray sweatshirt, baggy boxers with little pine trees on them, slouchy crew socks. He enveloped me with his whole body, both big hands on my ass, and I inhaled his magic Griff scent. Weed. Locker room shower soap. Tent canvas. Doritos. Fuck. Under his 'bama boy spell once again.
"You are pure evil, and you must be destroyed." he clowned back. He took the five Rocks and put them in the fridge, while I sprawled back on the ugly plaid dumpster sofa. There was a fresh bottle of Jack Daniels and three shot glassed on the desk and the foot locker table had been shoved aside. Plans were being executed. He joined me on the sofa with half a spliff in the clip, and we did three good hits each.
"Who is joining us?" I motioned my head towards the Jack and three glasses.
"Caleb. He is 32, works full time on the grounds crew and lives in town. Hot as Hades. The deal is that he kicks back, we service him together, then he goes. No recip, fucking, or anything else. Cool?" Eyebrows up, he wanted my buy in.
"Ok, I'm in. I play well with others." I was baked, curious, horned. Let the evening implode.
"You do play well with others. I've watched you play. Loved it when Anders licked my cum off your swimmer boy ass. One of those moments that can stop time." Evil Griff grin.
Caleb arrived. About 6'1, 190, scruff, awesome thick chestnut hair pulled back in a ponytail. Dirty Levi's, work shirt with 'Caleb' stitched on the front, Wolverine work boots that had clearly seen some real work, black leather jacket. I put out out my hand. "Hey, I'm Travis. Or Trav." Smooth. Real smooth. Older guys could still make me feel coltish.
"Caleb. Good to meet you." Deep voice, and a wariness about the eyes, grown man, working class, not to be fucked with. Hot, with a natural, assumptive masculinity, probably far more intelligent than he let on. I glanced at Griff, and gave a slight nod of approval.
Caleb kicked back on the sofa, ass at the edge of the seat, knees spread, already signaling that he was to be orally pleasured by us. Griff poured the Jack. We did three rapid shots. "You wanna get high, Caleb?" he asked, fresh joint in hand.
"Nope, can't get too fucked up tonight. Can't stay long either." He had a Tidewater accent, soft, fluid; a spareness of words.