At the gym, Matt’s desk fronted a large window thatgave him a full view of the pool. As he sank into his chair, heignored the splashes and shrieks that came from the childrenplaying in the water. The phone messages waiting for him seemed tohave multiplied since the last time he came into his office. With aglance through them to make sure none were from Vic, Matt droppedthe whole stack into the trash can beneath his desk. He didn’t havethe energy to call all those people back, let alone the time. If itwere important, they’d call again.
He really hoped they didn’t.
Turning to the next stack of papers on his desk, hebegan to riffle through invoices that needed to be paid—chlorinedeliveries, new sanitizers for the locker room showers, a repairorder to replace a few warped tiles at the deep end of the pool.Matt skimmed each page before he scribbled his signature along thebottom, giving his approval for payment. His mind still lingered inthe past, replaying the morning foot-job, the tender kiss they’dshared before Matt hurried to work, the feel of Vic’s bristlygoatee in his hands when Matt dipped his head back to claim thatkiss. He moved onto the timesheets, giving each a cursory glancebefore signing off on them. Unconsciously he reached out with hismind, in the hope Vic might be nearby. Every now and then his loverdrove a route that brought him close to the gym, and whenever thebus passed in front of the building, Matt would feel warmth andlove flood through him as Vic’s way of saying hello. After Matt’sfrazzled day, the unexpected touch of his lover’s mind wouldbrighten his mood…
The phone on the desk rang.
Maybe it’s Vic. Matt knew his lover’stelepathic capabilities outstretched his own. Maybe he’d picked upMatt’s tentative mental reach and decided to call.
The phone rang a second time, insistent. Ithad to be Vic; who else would Roxie patch through?
Before it could ring again, Matt answered. Clearinghis throat, he ran a hand through his unruly curls and tried tokeep the excitement from his voice when he said, “Matt diLorenzohere.”
“Hey, Matthew.”
The voice was male, soft and sinuous like silksmoothed across bare skin. There was something intimate about it,something that made Matt feel slightly guilty for no real reason hecould discern, as if he’d been caught doing something bad. Onething was certain—it wasn’t Vic. Disappointment stabbedthrough Matt, so poignant it almost took his breath away. Hecouldn’t hide it. “Hey,” he sighed. Then he asked, “Who isthis?”
Laughter filled his ear, tinkling and bright. “Don’tyou recognize my voice?” his caller asked.
“No,” Matt said, a little perturbed. “If I did, Iwouldn’t have asked. Who—”
“Has it been that long?” The laughter died butmirth still laced the stranger’s voice. Whoever it was, he enjoyedMatt’s ignorance. Determined not to be drawn into conversation withsomeone he didn’t know, Matt kept silent. The caller sighed, alusty sound that rushed through Matt like a breath of winter air.“Seems just like yesterday to me, Matthew. I thought everyoneremembered their first love.”
A name flashed through Matt’s mind, written inRoxie’s flowing script. “Jordan,” he whispered. No. It couldn’tbe…could it?
But the voice on the other end of the line laughedagain. “So you do remember.”
“You weren’t my first love. We weren’t evenfriends. Where’d you get this number?”
“I saw you in the paper,” Jordan replied.
Which meant he knew Matt worked at one of the gyms intown and called around, just like all the other reporters, until hefound out where. But why would Roxie let his call go through? Afterthe article ran, he insisted that every call be screened. Sohow…?
Through his silence, Jordan continued, “It was afuzzy picture, Matthew. But if you’re working at the gym,you’re probably pretty buff. I always thought you’d grow up sexy.So.” Matt could hear the smile in Jordan’s voice. “What are youdoing tonight?”
Matt resisted the urge to slam the phone down.“What?”
“Tonight.” Jordan sighed in his ear—if that wassupposed to turn him on, it failed. “As in, go out with me. Just adrink between old buds, catch up on things. What do you say?”
“No?”
Everything about the moment seemed surreal to Matt—afew yards away, kids shouted playfully at each other, and splashesof water slapped the tile floor with each dive into the pool. Here,in his office, amid the normalcy of paperwork cluttering his desk,sat the phone. And on the other end of the receiver was a voice hehadn’t thought of in years, belonging to a man he wouldnever call or speak to on his own, a man to whom he hadnothing to say. Jordan was a blast from his past, asunwelcome and unsavory as the furnaces of hell.
Who was Jordan? The first guy Matt had ever had sexwith, back when they were too young and stupid to know better. AndJordan was also the first guy to find out about the oddabilities that simmered in Matt’s semen. After their first tryst,Jordan was gifted with supernatural speed, running the mile in gymclass in two minutes flat. The average teenage boy could maybeclock that distance in six, seven minutes, tops. They didn’t cluein at first, of course, but after the second coupling, it clicked.Jordan realized where the power came from, and he wanted more.
And more.
Jordan joined the school’s track team, winning everydamn race. But soon he started acting like the powers were his own,not a gift from Matt—he even told Matt once he should feel luckyJordan let him hang around, like he was some damn groupie orsomething. Soon Matt had had enough. Even if he was sticking it toJordan to “boost” the powers before a race, he sure felt as if hewere the one getting fucked. He called it quits, right beforefinals.
But Jordan forced Matt to give him what he wantedanyway. He threatened to tell the whole school Matt was afaggot—he’d tell their parents Matt raped him, time and again. Hecajoled, rubbing against Matt’s crotch, trying to get himinterested. He hit him, first with his fists and then with hisbelt, whipped him until Matt consented. Because of Jordan, Matt hadkept his distance from other men for years. Because of him,Matt almost hadn’t given Vic
