His first week in Des Moines is behind him, Jerry is back home for the weekend feeling pretty good about things overall. He's working again and he's got a place to live. Not bad progress for his first week on his own again. His time with his family is not great, but okay. He's bored at home.
Everyone is into their own individual dramas and not really concerned about what Jerry's doing at all. Saturday night, his dad is out all night drinking and he has to listen to his mom tell him how depressed she is with the whole situation. Jerry's glad he's only there for the weekend. He looks forward to Sunday afternoon when he can get out of there. He is anxious to move into his new apartment.
He gets his car loaded up the next morning for his trip back to Des Moines. There isn't much. Besides the rest of his clothes, his mom gives him some basic kitchen utensils, a couple of blankets and sheets, and an old twelve-inch black-and-white TV. His stereo takes up most of the space in the back seat.
His stereo is his prized possession. He bought it one component at a time while he was in the Army when he got his monthly paycheck. Along with his large record collection, it is the thing Jerry is most proud of. He is looking forward to getting it set up in the new apartment so he can enjoy his music again.
With better weather than the week before and clear roads, the drive back to Des Moines goes by quickly. Jerry pulls up in front of the building he would now be calling home. A feeling of anticipation comes over him as he moves everything into his new apartment. Once he gets everything in, he sits down to finally rest and decide where to set up his stereo equipment.
Looking around the room isn't really exciting. The walls are bare, the furniture is sparse, not much to get excited about. He knows it will feel better when he gets his music playing. It isn't. He sits on the couch listening to one of his favorite albums but it doesn't sound as good as it did back in California with his friends around and smoking pot. Jerry doesn't realize it yet, but he is lonely. Very lonely. He unfolds the bed, puts on the sheets and blankets. He hooks up the TV and watches in bed until he falls asleep.
After he gets off work the next day, he stops at a grocery store to stock his empty kitchen. It feels good knowing he'll be cooking tonight instead of grabbing a fast-food burger. Walking through the aisles of the store, he finds himself staring at every girl he passes. He smiles at each one, trying not to notice that to them, he doesn't even exist. He wants to meet a girl so much but has no idea how to do it. He tells himself not to worry about it. He's only been here a week.
He gets home and takes the grocery bags into the kitchen. After putting a record on, he puts his groceries away and thinks about what to make. He doesn't know much about cooking. He decides to start with fried potatoes and onions. He slices them up and puts them into a frying pan. He turns the stove on while he cuts a large round steak into several meal-sized portions.
He hears a knock on the door. Opening the door, he sees Roger standing there with his friendly smile.
"Hey, Jerry, how ya doing? I was just in the building and thought I'd stop by to see if you got moved in OK."
"Um... yeah... I got everything in last night. There isn't much here but it's all mine," he says with a laugh.
Roger sort of invites himself in and closes the door behind him. They stand in the room, engaging in friendly small talk. Roger asks him who he has playing on the stereo. Jerry goes over to his record box on the floor to show him the album cover. Roger follows close behind. Jerry kneels on the floor going through the albums. He feels Roger's fingers lightly touch his back near his belt.
Jerry is wearing a loose T-shirt and Roger's fingers easily slip under the fabric and start to dance their way up the bare skin of Jerry's bony spine. Jerry notices it right away but he doesn't mind. He feels a rush of tingly sensations as his skin responds to Roger's fingertips. A smile starts to form on his face. The aroma of cooking onions starts to fill the room.
"Oh, shit! I forgot I have something cooking on the stove."
"I can see I caught you in the middle of something," says Roger, "I just wanted to see how you were doing. I'll come back sometime when you're not busy."
Jerry laughs, "Yea, I'd hate to burn my first meal in this apartment."
He extends a handshake to Roger. Roger gets close, shakes Jerry's hand while putting his other hand on his back,
"I'll stop by again when I'm in the building."
"OK," is all Jerry says.
Roger walks out the door and Jerry finishes cooking dinner.
As he sits on the couch, watching TV and enjoying his first meal in his new place, he thinks about the tingling sensations he felt when Roger's fingers were running up and down his spine. He also thinks about how Roger had touched him several times when he was showing him the apartment last Friday.
It seems obvious that Roger is making advances. Everything Jerry had been taught growing up told him this was wrong, but his body was telling him it was good. These conflicting thoughts stayed with him for a few days after, going back and forth between good and bad, right and wrong. He comes to a decision: "This is wrong," he decides if Roger makes any further advances, he would have to reject them.
Three days later, Jerry has just finished eating and is watching TV. He hears a knock on the door. He knows who it is and when he opens the door, there is well-dressed Roger, smiling as usual. Jerry just kind of stands there, hesitant to invite him in. But Roger is very good at conversation.
"You're a printer, right?"
"Yeah."
"I was meaning to ask you about some printing we're needing at the store."
"Sure, what do you want to know?"
Jerry stands back and invites Roger in. They walk over to the couch and sit down. Roger sits fairly close to Jerry and starts a conversation.
"So, how'd you get into printing anyways?"
"Well, they offered a printing class in high school and I took it as a sophomore. I liked it a lot, so in my junior and senior years, I was in a vocational printing class three hours a day."
"So, how did you end up in Des Moines?"
"Well, my high school printing teacher left the same year I graduated to start a printing program at the community college down here in Ankeny. Since my parents couldn't afford to send me to a four-year college, I figured I better try to get into a community college."
"When did you graduate?"
"I didn't graduate. After about a year, I had to drop out and get a full-time job because I couldn't afford to stay in school anymore. I got a job at the same place I'm at now, but the Army soon came after me. I enlisted for three years, served my time, and here I am."
Roger keeps the conversation going with questions. His hand slowly creeps closer to Jerry's leg. Jerry notices it right away. He's so occupied answering Roger's questions he doesn't do anything about it. Roger puts his hand on Jerry's leg. Jerry is getting nervous as hell. He has already decided in his mind that this is wrong and he doesn't want to do this. Roger's hand on his leg doesn't feel as good now as Roger's fingers running up his spine did a few nights ago.
Jerry's body freezes. He doesn't know how to handle this. Roger's hand has moved to the inside of his thigh, slowly creeping closer to his crotch. Jerry can feel his cock starting to get hard. He knows he has to do something, and fast. Without saying a word, Jerry lifts Roger's hand off his leg and puts back on his lap.
There is a moment of silence before Roger gets the conversation going again as if nothing has happened. In a few minutes, Roger decides it is time to leave. As he walks toward the door, he takes Jerry's hand into his and softly says,
"I hope I didn't offend you earlier."
Jerry just looks at him, not knowing what to say, not knowing what to do. He says something but is unaware of what it is. Roger makes his way to the door and politely leaves. Jerry nervously returns to the couch, relieved that it is over. He thinks,
"At least, I let him know I don't want to do this."
He spends the rest of the night watching TV, feeling better about himself and thinking there will be no more experiences like that with Roger.
The weekend comes and Jerry heads back home to visit with his family. Just like last weekend, he does not enjoy it. Everyone is still involved in their own individual dramas and has little time or interest in anything Jerry is doing. Saturday night, his dad goes out drinking and comes back late, drunk as hell. He has been an alcoholic as long as Jerry can remember and he hates that part of him.
There was an eight-year period when his dad quit drinking and Jerry was able to enjoy a relationship with his father without alcohol in the way. While Jerry was away in the Army, his dad started his drinking ways again and Jerry resents it with a passion. He does not feel sad when he leaves to go back to Des Moines. He is just glad to get the hell out of there.
The next week starts out as usual. Jerry is starting to get into a dull routine now. He is lonely. He keeps thinking he'll meet someone soon, even though he has no idea how. Wednesday night after dinner he settles back to listen to records and watch some TV as usual. When he gets tired he strips down to his T-shirt and underwear and gets into bed as usual.
He lays in bed for a while and is almost asleep. He thinks he hears a faint knock on the door. He lays there a while and there was another knock. Thinking it's probably Roger he doesn't answer. The knocks come again, a little louder each time. Jerry knows he has to answer the door.
He gets out of bed and opens the door a tiny bit. Through the crack in the door, sure enough, there is Roger.
"Hi," Roger whispers, "I wasn't sure if I should stop by or not. Can I come in?"
Not sure what to do, Jerry opens the door, allowing Roger to walk in.