1.
Tom Jacobs punched his right fist into the heavy bag, and wanted more. Yeah, he savored the give of the bag as his arm extended out. The pure move pleased him, as his entire side moved with the blow and not just his arm. The effort electrified him. But it wasn't his best.
The last several minutes he'd been spent. This was his body going beyond and doing more. Now if only his mind could be as true.
Or was it his spirit? Two, three more lunges at the bag, and the deep
thuds
put a small grin at his full lips. His soaked, thick hair flicked with his moves, but his eyes never let the black leather taking his fists. But something inside didn't feel satisfied.
A few more pounding thrusts, and his workout ended. The ache deep in his shoulders actually felt good. The grimace on his face didn't betray the appreciation he was taking in the exercise, as he passed the other men getting in their time in the musky gym. His shirt matted to him, and didn't make it any easier as he tugged to get the gloves free.
The sounds of other punching and grunts echoed around him as he made his way to the locker room. Even spent from the workout, he had to acknowledge a restlessness inside himself.
An hour and it's still there.
The sweat-soaked shirt and the weary ache felt good, even if his mood didn't match. The long days at the office and the brutal exercise weren't calming him, so he'd just have to tolerate it. Maybe the steam room would help tonight.
After stripping away the wet tee and shorts at his locker, he shot over to the scales. His six-one nakedness balanced nicely and didn't inhibit him at all as he noted one ninety-six tonight. He shrugged and got going.
Fifteen minutes of steam and a hot shower soothed, but they too didn't quite quench him. The brooding stuck around. He'd just carry it. Or, perhaps another night of some porn and relief before going to sleep. It was something he was too used to.
One last look into the locker room mirror made him wince. His fit physique was okay, but the crooked nose never ceased to haunt him. One punch in the sixth grade had stayed with him for years. But deep inside he knew it'd probably been the best thing for him. He'd never let himself feel weak again.
On the way home, the Porsche responded like he wanted. No music tonight and the passenger window down let him take it in. No way could he articulate what it was about the car's purr that moved him; it just did.
Upstairs in his dark high rise apartment, he got ready to wind-down. Teeth brushed, one last check on email, and he'd settled down with his phone ready for some reading, when it buzzed. The ID stopped him in his tracks. His mother. Well, at least it wasn't his sister.
"Hey mom."
"How's it going?" Her words came quietly, like his own. Ambiguously muted. This call could be about anything, but it started calmly.
"Excellent. Getting home from the gym."
"Excellent. Always excellent. Gee, I love the positivity. Tom, Tom."
He couldn't help but smirk. The tone had stayed even, but the sarcasm told him she wanted to tease. Her nice presence, five-foot-five and a hundred, twenty-five pounds of poise--that was what the rest of the world saw. But she treated him to a little rambunctiousness now and then. She must have known he liked it.
He teased back. "Ellen, Ellen."
"Ha." She sighed. "It's so weird when you call me by my name like that. But you're doing okay?"
"Oh, everything's pretty good, I guess. You?"
She sighed on the other end before getting to it. "Fine. Well, I was fine before I heard from Sonya."
This stopped Tom cold. He'd managed to relax some, but word that his recent ex had contacted his mother brought him to a halt. His mom cared about everyone, so having an ex call her started getting him pissed.
"What the hell? Why did she call you?"
"Hey, hey. Take it easy. I don't want you going back and giving her a hard time."
"She had no business calling you."
His mother's words sunk even lower to almost gravelly. Was she lying in bed already?
"She's upset. She loves you. That's why she called me. She can't believe you broke-up with her."
How could he possibly explain this to her? She saw goodness everywhere, and probably would even with a self-centered model-type like Sonya. Part of his problem was that he was heading in the exact opposite direction of how good-hearted his mother was.
He pushed himself to get relaxed again.
Fuck Sonya.
He pushed to extend his legs out. Took deep breaths. Five am would come early.
"It didn't work out, that's all. I'm twenty-six. I have a lot going on. I explained all that to her."
"I'm worried about you." Another sigh. "You get these girls thinking you're serious. The next thing they know you're leaving."
"I do not lead them on. They believe what they want to believe. I am always honest. I'm getting established still."
"My god, you just got a raise. You've got your own accounts now at work. A hundred-fifty a year. You're doing fine."
"I'm focused."
"You're alone."
He'd be better soon as he could end this call and get to his porn stories, but he bit at his lip so as not to take a shot at the poised Ellen Jacobs.
Don't burst her bubble.
Deep down maybe he doubted he could ever feel content. Anyway, that didn't need solving tonight.
"Mom, I'm fine."
Mostly.
Some rustling on her end convinced him she had already turned in. This made a few times lately she had called at the end of her night. Good, he could keep this short.
She couldn't help but chastise a bit more. "You're not turning into a player, are you?"
He bristled, and struck back. "We can't all be happy like you and Gary."
The pause on the other end made him twinge a bit. Her boyfriend professor wasn't all
that
for her, and he knew it. But he also knew she didn't want to be alone, and his retort maybe landed too heavy.
For the only time during the call, her tone got tight. "Gary is very good to me. I... I... ."
"Yeah. You're right. He is. I shouldn't have popped off. I'm tired."
"Well, get some rest. And, think about what I've said. You can't just keep dumping these different women. It's...bad. Bad karma."
Quick thoughts of some smartass replies flew right by, and he let it go.
She added more. "You'll find more satisfaction if you let yourself care deeply. You will."
"Yeah, I'll think about it. I'm sure you're right. I'm going to do something different."
She made a sound that sounded close to a giggle. "You are?"
He stretched his nude frame out again on his king-size bed. The high thread count sheets cradled him nicely.
What's she giggling about? Is that more sarcasm?
"Yep," it was his turn to sound gruff. "I'm going to find someone who can challenge me."
Her soft laugh back made him smile.
"Good." She said.
"Goodnight."
"Goodnight, I love you."
"I love you, too."
He half-tossed the sheet from his chest. In an instant, his hand latched onto his cock, and he was surprised it was already swelling for him. Perfect, he could knock this out, and slide into sleep in no time. His mind started trying to conjure just what kind of challenge might be best.
...
2.
Usually, having lunch with his sister was fun.
