Brief Encounters Ch. 06

****All characters are fiction and are over the age of 18****

Another exciting story in the Brief Encounters Anthology.

Different Outlook

My car came to a complete stop in front of a house, I put the car in park and opened the door. I was late for a new client, really late. 30 minutes late! My head bumped against the hood of the car when I reached for the trunk release lever. When I did, I noticed that my keys were still in the ignition. I grabbed them and put them in my pocket. With keys in my pocket, I closed the door and retrieved my bag.

I sprinted through the fence my client had. I climbed the steps took a breath and then pressed the button of the house.

I was a home visit nurse and I had just been given a new client. Mrs. Dashner. It was the first time I was at this house and I had read the GPS wrong which is why I was late. It was my fourth year of being a nurse. It paid well and the job wasn't too stressful. However, I did have some troublesome clients.

A dark figure stepped behind the screen door and spoke, "Oh, you must be the nurse, Brad right?"

"Yes, sir. Once again, I am sorry for being late. I've never been in this neighborhood before."

"Didja take the wrong exit on the roundabout?"

I nodded.

"Yeah, it happens to everyone. Come on in," he said opening the door.

The man put his hand out and introduced himself, "My name is Howard. Mrs. Dasher's son."

Howard looked like he was in his 40s or even early 50s. He was tall about 6 feet. I was shorter at 5'9. He had a trimmed beard which was mostly black with hints of gray. He had an athletic build. Made me wonder what type of work he did.

I stepped into the house which had wooden flooring, "Would you like anything to drink?" Howard offered.

"No, it's fine. Thank you, where is your mother?"

"Follow me," Howard said. He escorted me to his mother's bedroom. She was bedridden and required daily checking. I was due to meet with her three days a week. Howard spoke to her, "Mother," he said to catch her attention.

She turned over with alertness, "Yes, Howard."

"Your new nurse is here, his name is..." he turned to me.

"Brad. Nice to meet you, Mrs. Dashner."

She smiled, "Such a handsome nurse."

Flattered I thanked her for the comment and Howard left the room.

I sat beside her and began to do a check-up. She smiled at me and said, "You're so thin, I should tell Howard to fix you up a plate."

I laughed, "No thank you, Mrs. Dashner. I just ate."

"You need to eat more, you're very thin. Almost like me."

I flashed a smile as I went silent to check her heart.

I was in good shape. I ran every other day. I went to the gym 4 times a week. Unfortunately, due to my busy work schedule, I didn't have time to date any girls. Which was probably for the best. Despite having good looks from what I was told, I didn't know how to talk to women. Aside from being a nurse to the elderly ones. I was almost 30 and I hadn't even found a wife. My mother would always tell me that I needed to throw myself out there. But I'd always told her that if I did, knowing my luck I'd find a shark.

"Alright, Mrs. Dashner. You seem good. How are you feeling today? Any pain?"

She shook her head. "You gay nurses are always so pretty."

I held back a grimace look by smiling. It wasn't the first time I had been accused of being gay. The nursing profession was dominated by women but also gay men. The straight male nurses were always the minority. It was something I was told when I first started. I didn't let it bother me.

"Sorry, Mrs. Dashner but I'm straight."

"So they say," she winked.

I simply smiled and began to check her under the sheets. When I was finished I told her, "You're good today. Time for some medication."

I set up the medication and she shook her head, "I don't like the needle."

"I know, Mrs. Dashner but it will make you feel better."

I stuck her arm with the IV and then applied the medicine, "This will take a bit, Mrs. Dashner."

"That's fine, I can use a nap."

Before I could even say anything she was already asleep. It must be nice to be able to fall asleep so fast.

But the timing couldn't be better as I had to pee. I stepped out of the room and saw Howard in the laundry room. "Hi, can I use your bathroom?"

"Of course, down the hallway, first door on your right."

"Thank you."

I went to the bathroom.

When I came out, Howard was no longer in the laundry room. I went into Mrs. Dashner's room and found her asleep. One-fourth of the bag had already been depleted which meant I had a lot of time. I sighed and stepped out of the room.

I walked down the hallway and saw the pictures she had on her wooden wall. It was pictures of her and her husband. She and her children. I saw a very young Howard. What interested me the most was the picture of him in an Air Force uniform. I smiled as my father was also in the Air Force.

I heard the sound of water being pushed. I looked past the kitchen and I saw Howard standing at the clothesline with a bucket. Curious, I stepped into the backyard and approached him. He had been doing laundry and had a line of white clothes already on the clothesline. It was mostly T-shirts and undershirts.

Howard quickly took notice of my presence, "How's my mother?"

"She's doing good, Howard," I looked up at the cloudless sky and said, "It's a nice day."

"It is," Howard dumped out the remaining water from the bucket and grabbed another bucket with more clothes. He pulled out a pair of white Hanes briefs, rung it out, and then placed it on the line.

I tried to hold back a smile but couldn't. Howard noticed my smile and said, "What?"

"Nothing, sir," I said with a serious face.

"It's the underwear, huh?"

I remained silent. In fear of any sort of scolding.

"You can speak, I ain't going to yell at yah."

"Sorry, it's just I didn't know people still wore those."

"It's just underwear, son. I've been wearing them all my life."

"Even in the Air Force?"

He grinned, "I see you saw my photo," he had already put four pairs of pristine white briefs on the line and was working on the fifth when he continued, "Yeah, especially in the Air Force. A lot of guys on the base wore them."

"Interesting."

"I assume you're one of those boxer briefs kind of guys?"

"Trunks. I haven't worn briefs since I was a kid."

"All I'll say is that, don't knock 'em till you try them."

"Maybe, but I don't think I'll wear tighty-whities."

He laughed, "They come in other colors you know. Now they have a modern look. The sexy look," he made air quotes when he said the word 'sexy.'

We both laughed.

"I guess to each their own."

"Bingo!" he pointed to me, "People should wear whatever is comfortable. I wear them because I find them comfortable and I have big thighs. Plus they give you a lot of flexibility when exercising. They give your balls great support. Trust me, they start to hang lower when you get older. I say that as someone who's about to hit 50."

I smiled. It didn't seem he was trying to convince me to wear them. More like giving me his own experience wearing the underwear. Which was something I admired. I didn't like when people tried to put their things on other people. I liked Howard.

I glanced at my watch, "It was nice talking to you, I gotta go check on your mother."

I walked back into the house and checked on Mrs. Dashner. She was almost done with her bag. I sat down on the chair next to her bed and wrote some more notes down. When the bag was empty I woke her when I removed the needle. I smiled, "All good, Mrs. Dashner. So I'll be back next week. I'm going on vacation."

She smiled, "Where to?"

"Mexico."

"Ah, a lovely place. I've been many times. I hope you have a nice and safe trip. Maybe find yourself one of those hot Latin men," she said with a grin.

"Once again, I'm not gay," I said in a warm voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry. My mistake. You forget easily at my age," she said with a laugh.

"It's okay, Mrs. Dashner. I'm not offended. Have a great rest of your week. I'll see you next week."

I stood up and left the room where I ran into Howard, "Alright, Howard, your mother is all setup. I'll be gone for the week and be back next week. I'm going on vacation. I was supposed to start next week with your mother but the nurse who was supposed to come today couldn't make it."

"Gotcha, well have a nice vacation and see you next week."

After a much-needed vacation, I was back at work. Still single. I didn't even get laid in Mexico. Which was quite depressing. I danced a lot with hot women with big breasts and large butts but none of them went back to my hotel with me.

I parked my sedan in front of Mrs. Dashner's house. On the porch was Howard sitting reading a book. I waved at him and he waved back. I reached for my hot cup of coffee but when I moved out of the car I lost my grip and the coffee fell onto the steering wheel and opened. Pain hit me as the hot coffee had fallen all over my scrubs and was now sipping through my underwear. Quickly, I got out of the car and attempted to dry myself.

Howard must've noticed something was up as he rushed towards me with a panicked look on his face, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I spilled my hot coffee on myself."

"Come inside, I have towels. I grabbed my bag and locked the car.

Inside, Howard took me to his bathroom and handed me some towels then left. It didn't hurt too much. Most of the hot coffee had spilled on my thigh and thankfully not in my groin. I pulled down my scrubs to my knees and checked my thigh. It was red but not enough to be a problem. My white Calvin Klien trunks were soaked in the coffee however, they now had a brownish stain on them. I cursed as I had just bought them.

"I thought you didn't wear tighty-whities?" Howard teased.

I laughed.

"Oh you let that set it will stain."

I looked up at him and said, "Yeah, it's fine. I'll live. I think I have a spare pair of pants in my bag. I just bought these too."

"I can toss them in the wash for yah. I know you're going to be here a while."

"No, it's fine. I don't want to impose," I said pulling up my pants.

"It would be my pleasure. I can make sure that stain will come out too. Plus you don't want to ruin your new pair of underwear."

"Alright, I appreciate it."

I grabbed my bag and closed the bathroom door. I removed my pants and my underwear. I applied a burn ointment to my burn and put on a clean pair of scrubs. My colors weren't matching now as I had a teal scrubs shirt with a blue bottom pair. It was clear I was trying to make a fashion statement.

I left the bathroom and Howard was outside. He grabbed the clothes and I thanked him once more.

I went into Mrs. Dashner's room and began my process with her, "How was your vacation?" she said eager for an answer.

"It was fun."

"You didn't find yourself a Latina woman?"

I smiled as she remembered I wasn't gay, "I danced with a few but none of them I was able to bring back with me."

She comforted my hand, "It's okay, you'll find yourself one soon enough. You're young. You know, my son, Howard, he likes you."

"I like him too. He was in the Air Force like my father."

"Oh that's great dear, maybe you should talk to him about it. He loves to tell stories about his time in the service. The many outings he had with his male friends."

I injected the needle in her arm and she winced, "Every time it hurts," she said.

"I'm sorry, but I have to."

"I understand," she then turned her head and faced the television. I sat there for a bit watching TV with her until she fell asleep. I rose from the chair and went to the bathroom, there I checked my leg and saw it was still red. It was still something I could ignore till I got home. I stepped outside where I found Howard over the washing machine, "How's it going?" I said.

"Good, I'm working on your stain. The scrubs have already been washed and are on the line."

I watched him as he grabbed a blue bottle and poured it into a bottle with water, "I hope you don't mind your underwear sharing a wash with my own."

I shrugged, "It's no issue."

Howard brushed the underwear for a bit washed it with some water, and then tossed them in the washer. He let the machine run and as it did we talked a bit more. "So my father was also in the Air Force," I said.

"Get out. Really? What's his name?" Howard said.

"Brian Perlman."

"Perlman. I think I knew a Kyle Perlman."

"That's his brother," I described my uncle and Howard knew who it was.

"Yes, I remember Kyle. I didn't serve with him but I saw him a few times on the base. A great guy. I didn't know he had a brother though."

"Well he does and he happens to be my father."

Howard paused the machine and opened it, "The secret to getting bright white clothing, is a little bit of bluing," he poured the sky-blue liquid from the bottle and into the machine. "This helps a lot with pure white clothing."

"Interesting, I didn't know about that."

"Yeah, it's something my father taught me."

"So I have to ask, why not wear colored underwear?"

"White is a good color. It matches with a lot of colors well. My dad wore a lot of white and so did my mom. Plus you can get a lot of pairs for cheap," he turned to me, "Have you tried a pair yet?"

I shook my head, "I was in Mexico remember? Didn't have time to shop for underwear."

"Oh? So you are interested."

I blushed slightly, "I mean, I did think about it. I do jog a lot so I can see the benefits."

"You should try out a pair."

"Maybe when I'm at Ross or something."

"You know, I just bought a few new ones if you'd like to try on a pair. If you like them you can keep them."

I stepped back feeling uncomfortable, "I don't know about that."

"What's the problem?"

"I mean, I'm here to work not try on other people's underwear."

He waved his hand in a diminishing gesture, "You're just trying them on, that's all. Plus you know that bag takes like an hour."

I chewed my lower lip and thought it over. He was right. Also, I was curious to see how good this underwear was, "Alright, sure. Thanks by the way."

Howard and I entered the house and went to his bedroom which was a few doors away from the bathroom. The room was well-kept and neat. He opened his underwear drawer which was filled with neatly folded pairs of white briefs. There must've been like 20. It made me wonder how many he had in the wash already. He brought out a package with new pairs of briefs in them. They were medium, which he was that size. I unfolded them and stared at them for a bit.

He laughed, "They ain't going to bite, try them on. I can turn around if you'd like."

"Please."

Howard turned around. I removed my scrub pants and put on a new pair of white briefs. They were quite snug. Howard turned around and said, "Wow! Those look great on you."

Embarrassed I said, "Thanks."

He spun me around to face the mirror. There I was able to get a better look. I had to admit the underwear did look good on me. It was quite snug and my package looked like there was a tennis ball in there. Howard looked down at my butt and said, "Wow you have a nice butt, Brad."

My face flashed red from embarrassment. I grabbed my pants and began to put them on. Howard noticed I didn't like the comment and said, "Oh I'm sorry. I sometimes can't control myself."

I tied the drawstring and turned to him, "It's fine, Howard. I won't make an issue out of it. Thank you for letting me try on the underwear. And you were right they are comfortable."

He softly punched me in the shoulder with a smile on his face, "I told you. Keep them. Let them be your jogging pair. Heck, take the whole pack."

My eyes widened, "No, it's fine."

He pressed the pack against my chest and said, "I insist. I bet the ladies would like the look on your great figure," he paused, "Sorry, bad habit."

"So you're gay?"

He nodded.

"I see."

"Does that bother you?"

"No, my brother is gay. But I'm straight."

"I understand. Sorry once again if I made you feel uncomfortable. It wasn't my intention."

"No worries."

I walked past him out of the bedroom straight to his mother's bedroom. The comment didn't bother me. I had guys check me out at the gym and some have made comments to me while working out. I wasn't going to be a dick about it. But I was here for a reason.

When Mrs. Dashner's pack ended, I removed the IV and she woke up. I asked her some questions about how she felt and told me she was fine. I grabbed my things and left the room. I didn't see Howard anywhere so I walked to the backyard grabbed my pants and left.

The next time I came to Mrs. Dashner's house, Howard was on the porch once again. It seemed like he was waiting for me. I stepped out of the car this time without spilling any coffee on me. Thankfully the burn wasn't too bad. It itched and hurt but not thing too serious.

I walked down the stone path to the porch and climbed the steps. I waved to Howard who waved back. He stood up and stopped me from entering the home, "Hey, about the other day. I am sorry."

He had already apologized so I didn't know why he was doing it again. Once again I accepted the apology and assured him that everything was fine between us. It had to be if I was going to continue to service his wonderful mother.

The two of us walked into the house and I went to her room. I spoke with her while checking her.

"Howard is sorry," she said.

It caught me off guard. I didn't realize the two spoke about stuff like that, "I told him it's fine."

"He likes you."

I let out a nervous laugh, "I'm flattered but I ain't gay."

She rolled her eyes, "Nowadays everyone is a little gay, don't you think?"

I went silent as I heard her heartbeat.

"You know, the young kids say, you only live once."

I smiled, "I'm here to do my job, Mrs. Dashner."

Her smile turned to a frown. I inserted the IV. Shortly after she went to sleep.

I stepped out of the room to give her some silence.

In the kitchen I saw Howard sipping on some water, he noticed me and said, "Want something to drink?"

I shook my head, "No thanks."

He held up a finger and said, "Oh I almost forgot."

I stepped into the kitchen and leaned against the counter. Howard reappeared with something in his hand. It was my pair of white Calvin Klien trunks. "You forgot these the other day."

"Oh yeah. Thanks. Wow, they look brand new."

He gently slapped my shoulder and said, "I told you. You gotta wash them correctly."

I put the underwear in my bag and turned to him. "You were right about the briefs. I wore them on my jog yesterday. It felt like I was going faster."

Howard sat down at the dining table, "That's great to hear."

I sat on the chair that was on the side of him, "You know, I am wearing a pair right now?"

He smiled, "Oh yeah? You're wearing them casually now. That's quick progress."

The room went silent. It was clear that Howard liked me. I didn't feel the same as I was straight but Howard seemed to be a nice guy. He loved his mother and his mother loved him back.

"Your mother told me that you like me."

He shook his head, "Sometimes my mother can't keep things in her head."

"It runs in the family, I see," I said jokingly.

Howard let out a good laugh, "Yeah it does," he finished his glass of water and placed it on the table, "I have to admit I think about you in those briefs sometimes. I wish I could've taken a photo," he cursed, "There I go again, running my thoughts."

"It's fine, Howard. It doesn't bother me."

Howard stared at me as if he was gathering the courage to ask me something. I could sense it. It made me nervous. I didn't know how I was going to act.

"You think I can take a picture?"

A bead of sweat dripped down my forehead. I didn't see the harm, "Sure, Howard. As long as you don't upload it anywhere."