Summer is the start of the busy season for Neptune's Pool Service, owned by Pete Crawford. A new client, Corey Brennerman, captures Pete’s interest, if only because he seems attached to his cell phone 24/7. Corey is a serious workaholic. Pete remembers when he used to be like that, and he wishes he could do something about it.
Pete comes to Corey’s aid in a grocery store parking lot one evening and helps him catch the punk who tries to steal his cell phone. As a result, their relationship moves from that of client/hired help to cautious friends. When a Fourth of July party leads to a tryst, Pete is running scared because he thinks Corey is too stressed and vulnerable to handle anything serious right now. But Corey confronts him, and they work things out -- in the pool, naturally.
A death in the family brings them even closer together. Can Corey make some positive changes in his life? Could the relationship they’ve begun to build become something that might last forever?
It was almost lunch time on another Saturday at the Y, a week since I’d been with Corey. I was sitting on my perch, watching the pool when a familiar voice called up to me.
“Hey, Pete.” I glanced down to see Corey standing there, wearing a T-shirt and shorts. Christ, but he looked good to me. And that was dangerous.
“Hey, Corey. You get a membership?” I looked back out at the pool.
“Yeah, yesterday. Is it time for lunch?” he asked.
“Almost. My relief is on his way.” I pointed in the distance to the other lifeguard heading in our direction.
“Have lunch with me?” he asked, hopeful.
“Sure.” Riley walked up and waved. I climbed down.
“See you in a bit,” I said, walking away with Corey behind me.
“I’ll meet you out front,” I said.
“Okay.”
I got my wallet out of the locker and met Corey at the entrance to the Y. I opened the door for him and we walked out into the blazing sun.
“Salad bar?” I asked.
“Sure, that’s fine.” We headed over there and joined the long line.
“You gonna stay after lunch to swim, or what?” I asked as we moved up slowly.
“Yeah, thought I’d hang out a bit.”
“Something wrong with your pool?” I asked as I grabbed my tray and chose my food from the buffet.
“Not at all. But I wanted some company. Your company,” he emphasized.
“I see.” We hadn’t talked about what happened last weekend. I’d left him there on the couch, my squishy underwear reminding me of our encounter on the drive home.
We reached the cashier and paid for our food. Grabbing plastic ware, Corey and I walked over to the drinks area, got our soda and found a booth.
After we settled in, I asked, “What do you think is happening here, Corey?”
He looked a little confused. “What do you mean? I thought , you know, with what happened that night ...”
“We had a tryst. It happens. That’s all it was, though.” He was crestfallen.
“But, don’t you find me attractive?” He asked. “I mean, isn’t that why ...”
“I do find you attractive, Corey, but you have some issues to deal with, and I don’t want to be your crutch. Saturday night was great, but you need to figure your stuff out, and then we can talk, maybe. I mean, do you even know if you’re really gay, or was that just the heat of the moment?”
He was shocked. “What? Jesus, Pete.” Now, he was angry. Leaning in, he whispered, “I rubbed my fucking dick against yours, man. I knew exactly what I was doing.” Then he gave me a suspicious look. “You didn’t do all that out of pity, did you?”
I couldn’t look at him, because I wasn’t sure.
“Oh, wow. That just makes it all better, doesn’t it?” Corey put his food back on the tray. “Well, I guess I should thank you for at least not saying something just to make me feel better.” He stood up with the tray. “I’m gonna go. I guess I’ll see you for cleaning the pool, right?”
I nodded.
“Okay. Thanks for everything.” With that, he left.
I was a jerk, and apparently, I was a coward, too, since I sent Jimmy over to Corey’s house the next week to check on the chemicals and brush the pool.
