dontravis.com blog post #498
How did you like the first part of Corporal Jozef Zuzluski’s story? Lippy bastard, isn’t he?
****
JOE
Saturday, Lieutenant Saunders
got up before Joe, hit the shower, threw a casual invitation to breakfast, and
headed out the door when Joe declined. Joe didn’t think he’d drunk that much
Friday night at Morry’s, but his gut didn’t feel accepting of bacon and eggs or
much of anything else. Nonetheless, after the door closed on the lieutenant,
Joe crawled out of bed and let the shower revive him a little. He was shaving
with a bath towel snugged around his waist when Saunders appeared in the open
bathroom door.
“Rough night?” the lieutenant
asked.
Joe wiped off the last of his
shaving cream. “Didn’t think so but—” He shrugged his shoulders, aware of the
other man’s eyes sweeping his naked torso. “What’s on the agenda today, sir?”
“Doing what the Army does
best. Hurry up and wait.”
Joe examined his superior
critically. The yellow polo shirt the lieutenant wore hugged a good torso. Navy
blue slacks outlined slim hips and a nice crotch. He almost became dizzy as he
realized he didn’t know what he wanted to happen next. He’d shot his mouth off
to the lieutenant the other day without knowing why. Tired of the work details,
maybe. Or was it something deeper.”
“Penny for your thoughts,
corporal.”
Joe shrugged again. “Just
wondering what happens next.”
Saunder’s lips curled into a
tight smile. “Up to you. You can drop that towel. Or you can get dressed and go
to the Crocker Art Museum with me. Or… there’s always Morry’s.”
“And if I decide to drop the
towel?”
“Then we’re gonna violate a
whole bunch of United States military regulations.”
“That oughta be worth it all
by itself.”
“You like violating norms?”
“Live for it, sir.”
“Go on. Your choice.”
Joe hesitated a minute before
dislodging the towel and letting it drop to the floor.
Saunders nodded. “Impressive.
Not many men are uniformly handsome. You know, from top to bottom, but you seem
to be one of the them.”
Feeling like a bull on display
in the auction ring, Joe said the only thing he could think of. “Thank you,
sir.” So help him, he felt a tingling in his guts, and his manhood began to
stir.
Saunder’s features went stern.
“I’d appreciate it, corporal, if you didn’t get a hard-on around me.”
The coup-de-gras delivered,
the lieutenant turned and walked out of the hotel room. Joe stood before the
mirror, his face flushed, his guts crawling with shame.
****
Joe spent a good part of the
day in Morry’s, but his obvious mood kept most of the patrons at bay. A few
guys and gals he’d chatted with the night before kept their distance. Understandable.
He tried to clean up his mood, but the damage was done. Midafternoon, he
returned to the hotel room and flopped down on his bed. Maybe he was more
looped than he thought because a little rocket ship buzzed around in his head.
Crap, why had the lieutenant humiliated him like that?
That’s an easy one, Zazulski.
To get even. Bring him down. Revenge. That got him to thinking. Why had he done
almost the same thing to Saunders last month? That one wasn’t so easy. Maybe it
just came down to putting the cocky shavetail in his place. Nah, that didn’t
compute. Joe thought long and hard, and just before he dropped off to sleep, he
still hadn’t come up with the solution, except that the good-looking officer
got under his skin. Why?
The key in the lock brought
him awake. He opened his eyes in time to see Saunders enter the room. The
lieutenant paused, looking surprised.
“Thought you’d be at Morry’s.”
“Was. But it wasn’t doing the
job.”
Saunders held up his cell
phone. “Got a phone call while I was at the Crocker. The committee finished their
work early, and I picked up the papers already.” He laid a thick envelope on
the desk before the only window in the place.
“So mission accomplished?”
“Yep.”
Joe sat up on the side of the
bed. “We can head back to base?”
“Can. But I thought we’d stay
over tonight and leave sometime tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
“Look, Joe. I’m sorry about
that stunt this morning. I just….”
“You just wanted some payback.”
The officer grinned. “Yeah.
Guess I’m human after all.” Saunders sat on the edge of his bed facing Joe. “Okay,
that explains my actions. But why did you say the same thing to me a couple of
weeks ago?”
Joe shrugged. “Lipping off, I
guess.”
Saunders shook his head. “Uh-uh.
You don’t get off that easy. Come on, give.”
“No excuse, sir.”
“None of that. There was a
reason. Now give.”
Joe stared into the man’s blue
eyes. “I…. Uh, I was….”
“Jealous,” the lieutenant
finished for him.
Joe blinked. “Yeah. I guess
that was it. Sorry if—”
“Joe, I’m going into the bath
to take a leak. When I come out, I want you in the same condition as when I
left you this morning.
“Sir?”
“You heard me.”
With that, Saunders got up and
headed for the bathroom. As soon as the door closed behind him, Joe jumped up.
“Son of a bitch!”
He almost tore buttons from
his favorite shirt getting out of it.
****
Personally,
I think the two of them were merely jockeying for position. And I think maybe
the lieutenant got the better of Joe. What do you think happened when Saunders
came out of the bathroom? Can you play that scene in your head? Who was top?
Who was bottom? Tell me what you think.
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Don
