The Man from Swift Current Chapter Sixty Four - The Hockey Team

Chapter Sixty Four – The Hockey Team

Rick woke up with a pounding headache.   He wished he hadn’t had so much beer last night.   He moved his head and saw Sam climbing out of bed.

Sam, seeing Rick was awake, said, “Good morning, Rick.   It’s time to get up, marine, and get dressed.”

Rick moaned, “Oh, man!   My head hurts.”   He could hardly see straight, his head hurt so badly.

Sam laughed and said, “Serves you right for drinking too much last night.  The sooner you get dressed for the day the sooner we can get some coffee in you and some aspirin to help ease that headache.”

Rick asked, “Did I make a fool of myself last night?”   Last night was a blur in his memory.   He remembered playing cards, but he didn’t remember getting into bed.

“No, you didn’t say anything incriminating or do anything stupid, other than get drunk.  Fortunately, I was able to get you to leave before you lost all control.   I was worried you’d start saying stuff and then things really would’ve gotten ugly for you,” Sam said.

Rick nodded and said, “Thanks for looking out for me.”

Sam said, “Not a problem, buddy.   I talked with Glenn last night.”

Rick sat straight up in his bed.   “You did what?” he exclaimed, panicking.   Sitting up suddenly had been a mistake!   The room spun like a top.   He put both of his hands on his head and groaned.

“Relax, dude!   We had a nice chat about you and what we needed to do to help you get back on track here,” Sam said.   He smiled, trying to avoid a showdown with his friend.   He knew he had taken a risk talking to Glenn, but someone needed to help them keep from being discovered.

Rick narrowed his eyes as he looked at Sam.    “What exactly did you say to Glenn?”   His voice was hard as steel.

Sam took a step away from Rick, hearing the threat in Rick’s voice.  “Dude!  Settle down!   I’m not your enemy.   I’m trying to help you, okay?”

When Rick didn’t relax, Sam started to get worried he’d crossed the line with Rick.

Rick thought, “I thought I could trust Sam, and now I find out he talked with Glenn last night.   What do I do now?”

Rick slowly got out of bed and drew himself up to his full height.   His whole demeanor was very menacing.   His anger had cured the headache.   He was fully awake and very angry.

Sam said, “Rick, please calm down.   I asked Glenn to set up a blog so you could see what he’s doing any time of the day or night.   He said he would do it.   I encouraged him to put up videos, pictures, and other stuff to make it interesting for you.”

Rick relaxed a little bit.  “Is that all you talked about?”

Sam was almost afraid to say anything else.   He had never seen Rick get so angry.   He knew Rick’s emotions run deep.   He kept his feelings well hidden when he was around other people.   In fact, Sam had assumed Rick was mild mannered, and he never expected him to react this way.   He was beginning to realize Rick cared very deeply for Glenn, and any threat to Glenn would be met with the equivalent of an atomic bomb!   He didn’t know what to say in the face of such hostility.   He was rescued by Rick’s cell phone.   Rick reached over to the night stand and retrieved his cell phone.   He flipped it open and read the text message.

“Peyton out of Jail.   Talked 2 Sam.   Sam deleted ur messages.   Call when u can”

Rick looked up from the message.  “So, you deleted my text messages.”

“Yes, I did,” Sam responded, hoping this wouldn’t cause another firestorm.

“Just what else did you do while I was out cold,” Rick said, menacingly.

“I told Glenn not to text you or call you so much; since it seems to be keeping you from concentrating on your job here,” Sam said.   Rick’s angry stare made him flinch.

Rick asked, “And who are you to decide what is best for me and Glenn?   Did you ever think maybe the only reason I’m maintaining my sanity is the daily text messages I get from Glenn?”

Rick had been upset by Sam’s actions, but now he was really angry.   When he heard Sam had talked to Glenn, he was more scared than anything, but his fear had been replaced with a white hot anger at the audacity Sam displayed in telling Glenn not to call or text him.

Sam could tell he was losing Rick’s trust, and he needed to do something and do it quick to calm Rick down.   He held up his hands, as if to ward off a physical blow.   “Rick, I deleted the text messages because they could be very incriminating if they fell into the wrong hands.   Your cell phone can be confiscated at any time by the MPs.   You and Glenn need to be more circumspect with your text messages and e-mail.   The military can access both at any time.”

Rick considered this for moment, then responded, “Sam, you should have talked to me first before touching my stuff.   How would you feel if I had done to you what you’ve done to me? “

Sam said, “I wouldn’t like it.”   He knew Rick had him there.   He would have been just as angry as Rick was at the moment.

“Just because you know about me and Glenn doesn’t give you license to violate my privacy or do things you know you shouldn’t.   I don’t care how good your intentions are, you should never cross the line into my private life.   Do you understand me?” Rick asked, his eyes blazing with fury.

Sam saw he’d lost a lot of ground with Rick, and sought to regain some of it by apologizing.   “I’m sorry, Rick.   You’re right.  I should’ve talked to you about it and let you make the decision to delete your messages.”

Rick sat down on the edge of his bunk.   “Sam, are you in a serious relationship?”

Sam replied, “No.   You know that.   Why do you ask?”

Rick looked up at Sam and said, “Maybe when you finally find the one you love, you will finally understand why I’m so angry about the stunt you pulled last night by stepping between me and Glenn.   I’ve done everything I can to protect Glenn.   I’ve not told him many of the things that go on here, so he won’t worry.   To you it might seem I’m depressed, and maybe I am; but I’m doing the best I can to survive the next nine months until I can leave this hell hole and return to my life with Glenn.”

Sam replied, “I know you’re trying to do your best.   I want to help you if you will let me.”

Rick snapped back, “I don’t need you to fuck up the only thing I really care about in this whole world; and that is my relationship with Glenn!”

Sam said calmly, “I’m not trying to come between you and Glenn.   I was only trying to make things easier for you two, and might I add I am trying to help you keep your relationship below the radar screen.”  Rick’s expression showed Sam he was shutting him out.  “Rick, I want to be your friend.”

“Then treat me with the respect I deserve.   You took a lot upon yourself to answer my cell phone, and to delete the private messages that were on it,” Rick said.   “I want and need to have friends here; but I don’t need friends who overstep their boundaries into areas of my life where they don’t belong.”

Sam said, “I agree with you Rick.   I said I’m sorry.    I messed up.   Can we move past it and try to trust each other?”

Rick replied, “Why should I give you another chance?   You knew what you were doing would make me angry, but you did it anyway.   How am I ever going be able to trust you again?”

Sam didn’t know what to say that wouldn’t inflame him more, so he remained silent and looked down at the floor.

Rick continued when Sam didn’t answer.  “I’m willing to give you another chance, but be warned I won’t tolerate being taken advantage of by someone who thinks they are better than I am because I’m in love with a guy.”

Sam’s face reflected the shock he felt when he heard Rick’s statement.   “What do you mean?”

“The way you’ve been treating me has been very different than before you figured out things.   I’ve not said anything about it, figuring you’d get over it; but since you want me to trust you, I need you to understand your attitude toward me is more of a danger to me than those text messages you deleted,” Rick explained.   “Think about it, Sam.   Look back at how you’ve reacted to what I’ve said, and what I’ve done over the last few days.”

Sam sat down on his bed.   What Rick was saying really rocked him.   He thought his behavior hadn’t changed, but what Rick was pointing out was that his homophobia really hadn’t gone away.

“I guess you’re right.   I thought I’d moved beyond the prejudice I used to feel against gays,” Sam said.

“Now do you understand why I’m so hesitant about trusting you?” Rick asked.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.   I need to re-examine my feelings and make some adjustments,” Sam said.   “Will you help me, Rick?”

Rick smiled for the first time since the conversation began.  “Yes, I will and you can help me at the same time.”

Sam breathed a sigh of relief.   He was afraid he wouldn’t be able to repair the damage he’d done to his friendship with Rick by talking to Glenn.

Rick flipped open his cell and sent a quick text back to Glenn, “talk 2 u tonight, will call.”

“Let’s go,” Rick said as he quickly dressed and he and Sam headed over to the mess hall for some coffee.

*** ***

I waited impatiently for Rick to return my text message.   When it came through, I was very relieved, but disappointed at the same time.   I was glad Rick responded so quickly; but I wanted to talk to Rick right away, and had to settle for talking to him later.

I continued working on my blog.   Ben had set it up as a password protected website so I could keep things fairly private between us, even though the military would still be monitoring everything he was seeing over the web.   I added a lot of pics from our road trip and wrote extensively about all the places we had visited.   It was pretty late when I finally retired for the night.

 The next morning I got up and wandered downstairs to find something for breakfast.   I found Taka had already made a fresh pot of coffee.

“Do you want some coffee?” Taka asked.

“No thank you, Taka.   I don’t drink coffee.   I’ll just grab some orange juice,” I said.

I opened the fridge and retrieved the OJ and poured myself a glass.   “Taka, have you already registered for your classes?”

“Yes, Frank and I registered yesterday.   Have you and Ben done yours?” Taka asked.

“No, but we plan to do it today.    Ben wants to introduce me to his teammates since he has practice today,” I said.

I heard Ben coming down the stairs.   He came into the kitchen with his hair standing straight up.   Taka and I laughed.  “Ben, your hair looks like you stuck your finger in a light socket!”

“I know, but I needed some coffee to wake me up before I attempt to take a shower,” Ben said, taking the coffee cup Taka offered him.   “Thanks Taka.”

Ben sat down next to me at the kitchen table.   “Are you ready to finish your registration today?” he asked me.

“Yeah, I am.   I’m looking forward to meeting your teammates.   I remember how your teammates helped me out during our senior year of high school,” I said.

Ben smiled and said, “Yeah, we saved you from being totally annihilated by all the other jocks who hate gays.   They knew if they so much as even touched you we’d beat the living daylights out of them.   We made it pretty clear you were one of us, and we always take care of our own.   I’ve already talked to the guys about you, Glenn, and we’ve agreed we will do the same thing here.”

Hearing Ben tell me he had already talked to his teammates about me was a relief.  “Thanks, Ben.   You’re the best!”

Ben’s megawatt smile lit up his face.   “Don’t you ever forget that, cousin!   Now, we just need to work on the girls.   I need to get a girlfriend really soon and you’re going to help me.”

I looked over at Ben in surprise.   “How am I going to help you get a girlfriend?”

Ben laughed.   “You’re going to become friends with all of the girls, then tell them what a wonderful, handsome cousin you have and wouldn’t they want to meet him!”

“How do think that’s going to happen?” I asked, thinking back to our high school days.

“Just like in high school, when every girl in the school knew you were gay, they would talk to you because they knew you weren’t trying to get into their pants.   Remember how they would all sit with you at our hockey games?”  Ben asked.

I remembered, alright.   I started to blush.   “Yes, I remember all the girls commenting on how good looking you guys were, and how they had plans to get one or the other of you to date them.   They got pretty graphic sometimes!”

Ben laughed.   “So you already know what to do.   So, let’s get cleaned up and I’ll take you down to meet the team, then get our class schedules figured out.”

Ben got up from the table and put his cup in the sink.   Taka asked, “Glenn, are you really gay?”

“Yes, Taka, I’m really gay.   My boyfriend is on active duty with the Marines right now,” I answered.

Taka said, “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure,” I replied.

“How do gay guys have sex with each other?” Taka asked, earnestly.

Ben started laughing, “Okay, Glenn, let’s hear you answer that question.”

Taka looked puzzled.   “Why are you laughing, Ben?   Did I ask a funny question?”

Taka’s question made me laugh, too.   He really didn’t have any idea about gay sex.   “Taka, tonight I will show you some internet sites where you can see for yourself what gay sex is like, okay?”

Taka replied, “Okay.   I didn’t say it to make a joke.   I hope I didn’t offend you, Glenn.”

“You didn’t offend me, Taka.   I’m sorry for laughing at your question,” I said.   “I was just surprised by it, that’s all.”

Taka looked relieved.   “Okay, I will wait until you come back.”

Ben said, “I’m sorry, Taka.   I shouldn’t have laughed at your question either.   Glenn, let’s go.”

Ben left the kitchen and took the stairs two at time.   I followed him up the stairs, thinking about Taka’s question, wondering why he wanted to know.   I like Taka.   I especially like seeing him in his jockey shorts in the morning!   He really doesn’t have any body hair, at least in all the areas I had seen thus far!

I let Ben shower first while I worked on my blog some more.   As I sat there posting more pics, my cell phone rang.   I picked it up from the night stand and answered it.

“Hello,” I said.

“Hello, sweetheart!” Rick answered.

“I’m glad you called.   I wanted to talk to you about Sam,” I said.

“Yes, we need to talk about Sam.   What did he tell you?” Rick asked.

“He said I needed to stop calling you or texting you so much, so you could concentrate on your work and limit our calls to weekends or your days off,” I said.

“Is that all he said,” Rick asked.

“No, he told me you got drunk and he was going to delete all of my text messages from your phone.   He tried to convince me he was your friend.   I was so angry he dared to call himself your friend when he answered your phone and violated your privacy by reading your text messages,” I said.

Rick said, “Yes, I’ve already talked to him about that, and we’ve arrived at an understanding.   Did you set up the blog he suggested?”

“Yes, I’m working on it right now.  Here’s the address,” I said and gave it to him.

“I think the blog is a good idea,” Rick said.   “I think I’ll start one so you can read about what I’m doing.   Sam is right in that we need to be more careful.”

“Yes, but that still doesn’t excuse his behavior nor does it make it right that he went through my text messages to you,” I said.

“I’ve already addressed that issue with Sam, and he assures me he will never do that, again.   He’s on thin ice with me and he knows it.   Let’s try out what he has suggested and see how it goes.  Are you okay with that?” Rick asked.

“I think you already know my answer,” I said with just a little bit of an edge in my voice.

“I know, Glenn.   I feel the same way.   But there is some wisdom in what he’s suggesting.   Are you willing to try it?” Rick asked me, again.

“Okay, but only for a week,” I said.

Rick laughed.  “Okay, we’ll do it for a week.   I will call you a week from today at this same time.”

I wrote down the time and the date on my notepad.   “I’m holding you to that, Mr. Lernier.   I’ve noted it and you know I won’t forget!”

Rick laughed.  “Yes, I know you won’t forget.   I’m doing better now and I promise you I won’t be getting drunk, again.   I felt pretty bad this morning.”

“Good.   Just be careful, Rick.   I need you back here with me, soon,” I said.

“I know.   I miss you,” Rick said.

“I miss you, too.   I love you,” I said.

“I love you more,” Rick answered.   “I’ll talk to you in a week.   Bye.”

“Bye, love,” I said, as the line went dead.

Hearing his voice really made me miss my guy.   I wanted so much to wrap my arms around him and hold him close.

Ben came into my room, “Hey, are you going to get a shower or what?”

I replied, “Yeah.   I just talked with Rick for a few minutes.”

“How’s he doing?” Ben asked.

“He’s doing okay,” I said.

“Good.   Hurry up or we’ll be late for practice,” Ben said.

I took a quick shower and got dressed in record time, at least that‘s what Ben said.   I guess he would know, since we shared a room our senior year of high school.

We drove over to the Mariucci Arena and parked the Land Rover near the entrance.   Ben escorted me into the arena and down to the locker room.   As we entered the locker room, the smell of sweaty male bodies hit my nostrils.   Yeah, it’s a guys’ locker room alright!

We came around the corner and I saw the entire team dressing out for practice.   Ben introduced me to each of his teammates, as we made our way to his locker.

“This is Jay, Zach, Kent, Mark, John, Taylor, Joe, Kit, Jimmy…..”

I didn’t catch all of the names as Ben pointed them out to me.   They were in varying degrees of undress and my attention wasn’t on learning their names at that moment.

Ben smacked me up the side of the head.   “Stop staring at the guys!   You’re not even listening to me!”

I tore my eyes away from a gorgeous dark haired guy who was returning my stare with a great big grin.   He had jet black hair and dark eyes and was covered with lots of hair.   He dropped his shorts and let me see him in all his glory.   Damn!   I wish I didn’t have a boyfriend!

Ben said, “Stop flirting with my cousin, Devon.   He’s taken already!”

Ben’s comment didn’t faze Devon at all.   He grinned all that much more.   He came over to me and put his arm around my shoulders.   “You must be Glenn.   I’m Devon, and, despite what Ben says, I think I can win you away from your boyfriend.”

I wasn’t sure what to think or even say.   My body was reacting big time to this guy’s naked body.   Ben came to my rescue, “Don’t pay any attention to Devon.   He doesn’t care whether you’re a girl or guy as long as you’ve got a pussy he can fuck.”

Devon laughed, “Yes, that is true.   Just remember me if you decide you need to have some sex to help you make it through the long months until your boyfriend shows up.”

Devon turned and went back to his locker.   I couldn’t take my eyes off of Devon’s perfectly shaped body.   Ben guided me by the arm to his locker and he began getting ready to go out on the ice.   I followed the team out of the locker room and took a seat next to the coaches.  

Ben introduced me, “Coach, this is my cousin, Glenn.”

Coach shook my hand, “Glad to meet you, Glenn.   Have a seat and enjoy the practice.”

I watched the team execute their plays and the coaches did their job very well, getting their players ready for the upcoming game.

After practice, I waited in the locker room as the guys got showered and dressed.  

Again, Devon approached me.   He came up behind me and grabbed my ass in one of his huge hands.   “I’m always available, Glenn.   See you at practice tomorrow,” Devon said, as he let go of me and headed out of the locker room.  

I stood there in shock, or at least semi-shock.   I’ve never been approached so directly before by anyone.   Rick and I have never gone to any of the gay night clubs; so I’ve never experienced being hit on by another guy, other than Rick and Ian.   I wasn’t sure how I felt about it.   I was flattered that he thought I was good looking and wanted to have sex with me; but, on the other hand, I was a little annoyed that he didn’t respect the fact that I had a boyfriend.

Ben came out of the shower and saw that I was kind of just standing there in a trance, “Earth to Glenn.   Hello!   What are you doing just standing there?”

“Oh, nothing,” I said.   I decided not to tell Ben anything about what had just happened.

I followed Ben back to his locker where he quickly dressed, and we left to go over and finish our registration.

I got all of the classes I wanted, as did Ben.   We drove back to the house and I went in search of Taka to see if he was ready for some on-line gay sex!

I found Taka in his room.   “Are you ready, Taka?” I asked.

Taka said, “Yes, can you show me on my computer, so I can save the websites?”

“Sure,” I replied.

I spent the next hour showing Taka various websites.   By the time we were finished, I was pretty horny and I could see that Taka was also.  The only thing that kept me from helping Taka out was my promise to Rick that I wouldn’t have anything to do with other guys while he was gone.  I am pretty sure Taka is gay from his reaction to the websites we were looking at.   I guess I’ll just have to wait and see how things develop.

I left Taka in his room and returned to mine.   I pulled up my blog and started writing about my day.   I know Rick is going to have a cow when he reads about Devon and Taka!   I guess I’d better make sure he knows that I’m not going to give in to temptation and cheat on him!