Just One of Those Things

I spent the three hour study group rubbing my foot against his while he pretended not to notice. By the time we adjourned for the night his face was red, and from the way he was sitting, kind of hunched over, I suspected he had a hard on. It was almost funny that I could get such a gorgeous man so hot and bothered. So, forgetting my earlier conviction to act like an adult, I kept doing it.

I teased him every chance I got, at school, at the study group, but we didn't actually speak a word to each other until two weeks later. At first I had grouped Vince in with the other spoiled entitled offspring of the upper crust. But over that time I had come to realize that Vince's poor academic performance was definitely not for lack of effort.

I watched out of the corner of my eye as Julian spent half an hour trying to explain the same legal concept to him again and again. Most of the young future-masters-of-the-universe were happy to aim for 'barely passing.' I mean, why bother when your name was all you needed to open any door you could want? But Vince genuinely wanted to earn his place here.

Finally, in barely concealed frustration, Julian suggested that Vince ask me, that I could probably explain it better. Vince apologized for at least the tenth time. I actually felt a pang of sympathy for the guy. Then, to my surprise, he took Julian's advice. Whatever else he was, he was really trying if he was willing to ask for my help.

He stood next to my chair for a few seconds while I pretended not to notice.

"Hey Jack?" I looked up at him and smiled. He flushed and took a deep breath. "Julian said you might be able to explain this to me."

"Sure. Sit down."

We spent ten minutes going over the difference between procedural and substantive due process, until I was satisfied he had a grasp on it. He was so lost in concentration that he seemed to forget who he was talking to.

"Thanks." He said gathering up his things. "Seriously, it feels like all I do here is waste everyone's time. I'm sorry for the trouble. If there's anything I can do for you, just ask."

"Sure. No problem." I was a little surprised, but not so much that I didn't make sure to brush his knee as he got up, drawing his attention to his unintentionally suggestive offer. He remembered our situation and frowned at me.

For whatever reason I ended up helping him a lot over the next few weeks. I didn't mind. Academics always came easy to me. Besides, it gave me a chance to continue teasing him to my heart's content. I couldn't decide if he needed the help so badly that he was willing to endure my touches and innuendos, or if he secretly liked the thrill of being semi-flirted with by another man. I suspected it was a combination of both. But more than that I genuinely found him interesting. Enough that I was beginning to forget that my entire reason in joining the group was getting closer to Julian.

Vince wasn't smart, at least not by Ivy League Law standards, but he worked harder than anyone else I knew. Unlike many of the other offspring of politicians and corporate titans who went around like the Ivy League was their birthright, he seemed painfully aware of not belonging here, and equally determined to earn his place fair and square.

There was also the fact that he was hot as ..... It actually used to irritate me before I knew him. Like, it wasn't enough, the family, the money, the social status. But he got to look like some all-American Adonis on top of all that? But the more I knew him the more began to appreciate that he was as unaffected by his appearance as he was by his wealth and status.

I was running out of reasons to keep teasing him when he finally took away the last one. One night he followed me to my car under the pretense of once more going over the constitutional underpinnings of judicial review. It was clear there was something else on his mind, so I waited fiddling with my keys until he finally came out with it.

"I'm sorry I didn't recognize you at my dad's fundraiser."

I couldn't help but smile, which made his cheeks turn red. I was really starting to like the way he blushed when I smiled at him.

"It's just...I don't want you to think that the reason I didn't recognize you was because you're...you know..."

"What? Working class?" In my case that was somewhat of a euphemism, as I was in fact poor as shit.

"Yeah."

"Isn't it?"

"No, of course not! You have to understand, there are about five hundred faces I have to remember already - senators, congressmen, campaigners, contributors, lobbyists, spokesmen for special interest groups, not to mention all their spouses and children... This isn't an excuse. It's an explanation. You can go on thinking I'm a dick, just not for the wrong reason..." He finally caught my suppressed laugh. "You're teasing me again, aren't you?"

I busted up and gave a 'little bit' gesture.

He looked at the sky in a God-save-me gesture. "Honestly, the only people I know from school are the ones I have study group with. And not even all of them."

"I bet you remember the hot ones. Trevor, that redhead two rows from the front in Con Law who always wears those super tight jeans?" I gave a low woofing noise.

He laughed and nodded. "No joke. And that blonde guy who sits right behind him..." Mmm. How many fantasies have I had featuring those two. Usually together.

Suddenly Vince's eyes opened wide in realization that he had all but admitted he didn't recognize me because I wasn't attractive. "Not that you're not..." he stuttered, "I mean, it's not like I don't think you...because I do...oh shit, I'm just going to stop talking."

I snorted a laugh. "Yeah, I'm fighting them off with a pointy stick. Seriously Vince, I'm not delusional. You don't have to humor me."

He gave me a piercing up and down look that said he hadn't been. Huh. Score one for my ego. And jack off fantasies.

I guess I must be growing on him. I knew for sure that he was growing on me.

"I understand you're not that guy." I said. "I'm sorry I ever thought you were."

I looked him up and down and sighed. For the first time it really struck me what a damned shame it was how much his life was going to suck.

For the rest of the night I couldn't get Vince out of my head. Until that day I honestly had never thought of him as attractive. Sure, he was hot. But I had known far too many hot assholes for that to be enough. But now I saw Vince as a good man, one who was genuinely doing what was right by him, and that pushed him right over into the sexy as hell category.

I finally figured, why not? I took off my clothes, sprawled out naked on my bed and let myself fantasize about him. About where that kiss might have gone if I had let it.

I let my hand encircle my semi hard dick, remembering how he had tasted, like expensive wine and something sweet he must have been eating at the party. I remembered the warm, solid feel of his body against mine, the unmistakable long, firm throbbing of his erection pressing against my stomach. He had gotten so fucking hard from that kiss it made me stiffen up just thinking about it.

I switched over to pure fantasy as I imagined grabbing and rubbing his steely length through his expensive slacks. With my free hand I began unbuttoning his shirt from the top, and he helped me by un-tucking it from his pants. Neither move was very graceful considering how close we were. I felt a hot surge as I pictured his chest, broad with a light coating of auburn hair between his stiff pink nipples, picking up again below his belly button to disappear under his bulging slacks.

I pulled away from his lips causing a grunt of protest, which was cut off when I ran my tongue over one of his sweet little buds, and the grunt was replaced by a muffled curse and a shudder. I was still rubbing him through his pants when his groping hand found my bulge. In a flash he had my belt unbuckled and my pants undone. With better access he reached in and began palming my erecting, reaching back to massage my balls with his long, talented fingers. I closed my eyes and groaned against his chest as I ripped his pants open.

I shoved him back onto the park bench, where he landed with a surprised grunt. I straddled him, and leaned down to seal my mouth over his again. The kiss took on a whole new dynamic as we pressed together almost savagely. I couldn't wait any more, and neither could he. I fished his cock out of his underwear and began fisting it hard and fast. He did the same and moments later I had my hand wrapped around both of our lengths, stroking us together, while he had one hand in my shirt raking across my chest and the other behind my neck, pulling our mouths closer, deeper.

He got to the edge first. I felt his body under me stiffen and shake, and I sped up my hand, only seconds away myself. He screamed into my mouth as he blew all over his stomach and my hand in five long, heavy pulses. I couldn't help pulling away a little to look at him. Oh, fuck did he look sexy covered in cum ...

I groaned as ropes of semen splattered all over my stomach and chest. I lay for a couple minutes catching my breath and basking in the sleepy relaxed afterglow. Then I got cleaned up without thinking anything of it. Vince was a very attractive man, who, for some reason, seemed to think the same thing about me, which was definitely a turn on. From then on I kept teasing him not because I had any reason, but just because it was fun.

Vince

As the son of a fourth generation politician I had been exposed to some real gold standard lying-sons-of-bitches in my day, and as such had become an excellent judge of character. That's why I believed Jack when he said he'd keep my secret. And it's also why, in spite of myself, we were sort of becoming friends.

I say sort of because for the life of me I couldn't decide if I liked Jack or hated him. He made me crazy, that much was for sure. The way he was always touching me, giving me those knowing looks, teasing me when nobody could hear. Maybe it was because I had never been really flirted with by another man, but that little bastard drove me right up the wall without breaking a sweat. I had gradually decided that he was more attractive than I had thought at first. His looks were the kind that grew on you the more you knew him. And he was really helping me out with school. After just a few weeks I was already optimistic about my exams. I might even get out of the bottom 25%. At the same time I was more than a little bit jealous of him. He put in less than half the study time than I did, but easily stayed at the top of the class. It didn't take me long to realize that I could probably count on one hand the people I knew who were smarter than him. I guess that explained the full ride scholarship.

In any case, I found that the more I knew him, the more I couldn't stand him thinking I was some stuck up preppy asshole. That's when I tried to tell him why I hadn't recognized him at my dad's party, and ended up making a complete jackass out of myself. I seemed to do that a lot around him.

**************

It had only been a few weeks and I was getting frustrated because that old itch, the need to be with another man, was back far ahead of schedule. I suspected that Jack's flirting with me had everything to do with it. So one day after class I asked him out for coffee, found a private spot, then asked him to stop.

Jack, to his credit, was genuinely surprised. "Yeah, sure," he said, shaking his head. "I didn't realize it was bothering you like that. I'm really sorry man."

"It's okay. It's just...the less I think about that sort of stuff the better."

"That sort of stuff? You mean other men?"

"Yeah."

Jack leaned forward in his seat, his expression serious for a change. "Look Vince, this is none of my business. But you're a good guy. Everything bad I ever thought about you, you've managed to turn it on its head. You don't deserve to live like this. You shouldn't be so unhappy just to satisfy your family."

"I'm not unhappy."

Jack made an incredulous noise but I continued like I hadn't heard.

"And my dad really isn't like that. He doesn't have any problem with gay people. Personally he's all for marriage equality, repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the Defense of Marriage Act..."

"He doesn't sound like a conservative to me."

"He calls himself an Eisenhower Republican."

Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Really. That's why my brothers are named Ike and Dwight."

"Lucky them. So, why are you named Vince?"

Oh, great. I should have seen that coming. "Well..." I fiddled in my seat, "my mom really loved those cheesy horror movies from the fifties. You know, House of Wax, The Fly, House on Haunted Hill...come on, don't make me say it."

He thought about it for a second, then burst out laughing. "Wait, Vincent Price? You were named after Vincent Price? Seriously?"

"Really more of an inspiration..." That only made him laugh harder. Thank you mom. I sighed and let him get it all out before continuing.

"You may not believe it, but socially he's pretty progressive."

Of course that provoked the obvious question. "Well then, why doesn't he come out with it? This country isn't the same as it was twenty or even ten years ago."

I of course knew the answer off the top of my head. "It's changing among young people, who unlucky for us don't vote. The day when it becomes politically feasible for conservatives to support equal rights is still a long way off."

"What about Dick Cheney? He got away with having a gay kid."

"Dick Cheney also got away with shooting a guy in the face. My dad just can't pull off that kind of audacity. Changing the rules just to suit himself. Trust me. I've gone over this a thousand times in my head."

Jack gave me a skeptical look. I knew that look. Most people have the luxury of moral certainty when it comes to matters of principle. Not me, and not my dad. You have to take the system as it is and try to work within it. Some people, a special few, have the ability to change the system from within. But I was not one of those people, and neither was my dad. It's dirty, and ugly, and soul-crushing, but it's just what you have to do to get anything done.

So I asked him, "You ever heard of Ginny Shelton?"

He paused, nose wrinkling. "Is she that one that wants to reinstate the old anti-sodomy laws?"

"Yeah. Well, she's also my dad's rival. If he doesn't get his share of the value voters then Connecticut gets Senator Shelton. And if it wasn't her, there's always some fire and brimstone social conservative waiting in the wings. If it wasn't her it could be someone else just as bad." I decided not to try to explain to him how I needed to marry Jenna to ensure her father's continuing political support. Something told me that wouldn't go over well.

Jack waved his hand. "All right, even if I were to concede that, which I don't, it might not be crazy to expect your dad to be a dad. You keep saying how great he is. If nothing else you could tell him. You shouldn't have to go through this by yourself."

That same old argument I had been having with myself for more than a decade now. But the answer never changed. "It's because he's a good man that I can't tell him. If he knew, he would want me to be happy, no matter what it did to him." I tried to ignore the fact that, contrary to my previous assertions, I had just admitted I wasn't happy. "And then what would happen? Even if it didn't destroy him outright, every defeat after that I would wonder, was it because of me? Was I an anchor around his neck? I would end up hating myself, and, even if I did find someone to be with, I would end up resenting him. I couldn't imagine living like that. Life in a political family, it's just different. Everything you do has consequences. You can't just think of yourself."

Jack leaned back in his seat and huffed. "You mean, you can't think of yourself at all."

"I am thinking about myself. Because the thing I care about most is seeing my dad be the great man I know he can be. I don't know if I'm smart enough to actually help him, but the least I can do is not be a liability. I know you don't believe this, but he can make life better for a whole lot of people. What he does affects the lives of three and a half million people. Maybe someday the entire country."

It was so much bigger than just me. It was my family's legacy. It was influence that affected the lives of everyone in the state, and, God willing, someday everyone in the country. Lots of people were unhappy in their personal lives. At least my unhappiness would serve a greater purpose.

Jack sat tapping his fingers on the tabletop, regarding me for a long time with a thoughtful expression. Finally he broke the silence. "I'm really sorry I teased you Vince. And I'm sorry that I kissed you. You've obviously got enough shit to deal with without me making it worse for you. It was stupid and immature and it should have never happened."

I shrugged. "It's all right."

"No, it really isn't." He got out a pen. "Look, I know you can't talk to your dad, but..." He scribbled his phone number on a napkin and handed it to me. "Call me. Any time." He moved like he was going to squeeze my shoulder, but caught himself. He finished his coffee in a couple gulps and left.

It didn't take me long at all to take him up on his offer.