The Snow Man Ch. 02

The main street of Brush Creek was deserted now and the snow was not so much falling as blowing straight down, with occasional shifts to a horizontal direction when a strong gust of wind came along. Alex and Rob located the Melody Inn behind the McDonalds and got the Blazer into the unplowed parking lot with some difficulty. It was one of those old-fashioned motels where you park outside your door, and although it was still afternoon it looked like most of the rooms were occupied. At one end of the building was a small office, and inside the office was a skinny, balding clerk sitting by a portable electric heater with a hand-rolled cigarette in his mouth.

"Well this is yer lucky day, fellers! I got one room left for ya!"

"We need two, actually," said Alex, gesturing at Rob.

The clerk spit a mote of tobacco on the floor and shook his head. "I just have the one," he said. "Rest are taken. It's a decent room, nice and cozy for a couple cowboys like you." He snickered as if he'd said something funny.

"Why don't you take it, Alex," said Rob. "You've played good Samaritan enough for one day. I'll find someplace else to stay."

"You're crazy. There isn't any place else to stay in this God-forsaken town." The assessment was confirmed by the clerk, who gave an expressionless shrug. "We can split the cost if it makes you feel better."

"Are you sure you don't mind sharing a room with me?" Rob asked hesitantly.

"I think it'll work out," said Alex.

Alex paid for one night with his credit card and retrieved his suitcase from the Blazer. When they entered their room, they discovered that the clerk had failed to mention one little detail, although under the circumstances it probably wouldn't have made any difference in their decision: the room had only one bed. And it was a standard size double bed, which would be cramped enough for a married couple let alone two men. Rob and Alex looked at the bed and laughed.

"What do we do now?" asked Alex.

"I guess I could sleep on the floor," said Rob reluctantly.

"Watch out for rattlesnakes," said Alex.

Rob looked up in alarm. "Are you serious? Are there snakes here?"

Alex punched Rob on the arm and laughed. "I've got some soap and mouthwash if you need it," he said, rummaging through his suitcase. "Toothpaste. Shampoo. Snake repellant."

"You must have been a boy scout," said Rob.

"Yeah. I've got an extra pair of underwear, too, if you need it. May be too big for you."

Rob laughed.

Once again Alex noticed that Rob was watching him as if he were waiting for something. It made Alex a little uncomfortable. "Listen, Rob, let me get something out of the way. I don't have any problem with your being gay or whatever.. . . in case you were wondering."

"I didn't think so," said Rob. "You seemed pretty cool about it."

"I know some guys would have a hard time handling it, but it doesn't bother me." As Alex said this he walked to the window and looked at the snow mounding up on the cars in the parking lot. "Actually, when I was younger I was a little curious about gay stuff," he added.

"What do you mean?" asked Rob.

Alex kept looking outside. "Jeez, it's kind of embarrassing," he said. "I don't know why I brought it up. I never told anybody this before. Anyway, I was just curious -- you know? When I was in high school I had a friend who was gay. We talked about it sometimes. I used to wonder what it would be like, to be like him." His voice trail off and he cleared his throat. "Listen, I'm just rambling. I didn't mean to start talking about that crap. Just forget I said anything about it."

Rob sat on the edge of the bed and watched Alex thoughtfully. "I don't want to piss you off or anything. I mean, we hardly know each other. But can I ask you a personal question?"

"I suppose."

"Did you ever do anything with your friend?"

"Do what?" Alex was flustered.

"Hook up. Fool around."

"No!"

"Did you ever want to?"

"Huh?" Alex's breath caught in his chest. He couldn't believe he was having this conversation! He didn't like talking about such personal things, but there was something about Rob that made him want to open up. It was weird. And anyway, they'd probably never see each other again after this blizzard, so why should he lie? "Look," he said abruptly, "I'd be a liar if I said I never thought about it. Yeah, I thought about it. But I liked girls, and I ended up getting married."

Rob nodded. "I had a feeling about you when you picked me up this afternoon."

Alex now turned from the window. "You had a feeling about me? What's that supposed to mean?"

"I dunno. I guess it was the way you looked at me or something. I thought you might be interested."

Alex shook his head. "Sorry, dude, I can't go there."

Rob rubbed his chin. "Look. I believe in laying all the cards out on the table, okay? I know we don't know each other very well, but I was never good at hiding things so I'm just going to put it out there. No offense, okay?"

"Okay."

"I think you're hotter than hell. I'd hook up with you anytime."

Alex's felt a knot in his stomach as if somebody had punched him. He didn't know whether to be flattered or angry, but either way he figured the conversation was going in the wrong direction. "I'm married," he repeated. "I don't cheat on my wife."

"To tell the truth, I think married guys are the hottest. And I have a boyfriend back home, too. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do," said Rob.

"Oh Jeezus!" Alex was too embarrassed to meet Rob's eyes now and he was running out of things to say.

Rob got up from the bed and Alex knew he was standing nearby, but he kept staring out the window. Snow was covering all the familiar objects outside and the whole landscape looked different. Everything was grey and blurry Even the light was different. It was strange how a snow storm changed everything.

"They say no two snowflakes are exactly alike," said Rob.

Abruptly Alex turned to his younger companion. "I thought it would go away, you know. But it didn't. Even after seven years of marriage. I probably never should have gotten married in the first place. I never had the guts to do anything about it."

Rob put his hand out and gently touched Alex's forearm. "You have great arms, you know that? You must work out a lot." Then he added: "There's nothing to be scared of. It's just who you are."

Rob kicked off one of his running shoes, and then the other, and stood beside Alex in his stocking feet.

"What are you going to do?" asked Alex.

Rob shrugged and pulled his navy blue sweater over his head, shivering as he pulled his arms from the sleeves. "Jeez, it's cold in here! I guess we were lucky to find this place but it sorta reminds me of that Alfred Hitchcock movie."

"Psycho?" asked Alex.

"Yeah. The motel where the crazy guy stabs the chick in the shower and blood goes everywhere."

Alex shivered and drew the drapes closed.

"I doubt anyone's watching," said Rob. "Who cares anyway? Nobody knows us here." He unfastened his leather belt and let the ends hang down from the loops of his jeans. Alex was staring now and Rob knew it. He reached slowly for his zipper. It made a little ratchety noise as the fly opened. Then he pushed his jeans down over his hips and kicked them down to the floor so that he was standing in his white cotton briefs. "Brrr. We gotta turn the heat up in here!"

Alex knew it was impolite to stare but he couldn't help it. Rob had an amazingly beautiful body, like one of those Olympic athletes that the Greeks made statues of. His arms and legs were solid muscle, his stomach was flat and his waist as slim as a runner's. In the dim light of the motel room his skin seemed to glow like marble.

"So, what do you think?" asked Rob.

Alex had to clear his throat. He voice was shaky. "Pretty nice," he whispered.

Rob looked up into Alex's eyes. "Your wife is never going to know, dude. Nobody in the world will know. It's just between you and me, okay?"

Alex shut his eyes and sighed. How many times had he secretly fantasized about an encounter like this? How many times had he tossed and turned in his bed, battling thoughts of naked men that made him feel so ashamed? And now this gorgeous young hunk was standing here taking off his clothes, daring Alex to look!

"There's nothing to be afraid of," said Rob, "You can look. You can touch, too, if you want."

With a slight, teasing smile the young man stepped closer and brushed the front of his body against Alex. Alex felt something hard touch his thigh. Oh God, he thought: Was this really happening?

"You're getting me hard, man," murmured Rob. Indeed, Alex could see that Rob was aroused. His erection was pushing out the front of his briefs. "You want to touch it?"

With his heart pounding wildly, Alex reached down and touched the elastic waistband of Rob's briefs with his fingertips. He couldn't believe he was doing this. Men weren't supposed to do this kind of thing with other men. But he didn't seem to have any self control.

"I'm here for you, man," murmured Rob. "Go ahead, it feels good!"

Alex put the palm of his hand against Rob's crotch and felt the hard knob there. At the same time, Rob reached out and cupped his hand over Alex's zipper. Instantly Alex felt his penis pulse inside his shorts. Rob had barely touched him but it felt like an electric charge.

"Oh Jeezus," Alex groaned. He grabbed Rob's wrist and held it tight. He was going to push him away, but his muscles seemed frozen.

"You can't ever tell anyone about this!" he whispered.

And still grasping the younger man's wrist, he pulled him closer.

* * *

(To be continued)