To Breathe Again

Chapter 8 - Brotherhood and Banter

This one's a short chapter.  I'm a bit on a role with my fiance out tonight.  (I hope to upload a few chapters tonight)  I think he's with his buddy night-fishing.  He asked me if I wanted to go.  Ummm, no.  I don't like mosquitoes hitting me in the face all night.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy being out there in the swamp, but the bugs drive me nuts.  I will say that the sounds and sights are beautiful.  Aaaanyways, off we go...

Samuel's POV

I grab a glass and fill it with whiskey before climbing into the hot tub on the deck. Grant and Trent are sitting at the patio table nearby; Grant flipping through the latest issue of Bass Pro and Trent reading something on his phone. They see me lean my head back as I take in a large gulp of air.

Grant looks up from his magazine. "What's up, brother? Problems at school?"

"If it were that simple, I would be fine," I reply, taking a sip of my drink.

Trent stops reading and puts his phone down. "Are you okay to help Grant's client out tomorrow? I mean, we can cancel if you need to."

"No, no," I reply. "I tell you what, man, that, at least, will be a good break from dealing with those damn kids. I swear if one more 18-year-old girl with a Daddy fetish leans into me one more time trying to push her non-existent boobs my way, I'm going to vomit."

Grant laughs out loud. "Dude, most guys would kill for that kind of attention. Not that I would, I think it sucks as well, but most guys would."

"Yeah, well not this guy. I want a woman who's done playing games and knows what she wants. I want a woman with a body; nice curves I can grab onto. I want something soft to lay my head on and warm to sleep against at night. I also want a woman with a brain and not some chick that is still doing whatever mommy and daddy tell her to."

I sigh and continue. "I don't know, man. Most of the women like that are either taken or are just so jaded that they've turned bitter towards all men. I mean, damn, I'm not a jackass like their ex's. Not all men are creeps, you know. We may think a lot of smut, but we don't always want a fucking one night stand." As I ramble on, I can see Grant smirking.

I'm wondering what my buddies are up to though because I keep catching them both grinning at one another. Damn it, are they going to play another fucking practical joke on me? Trent plays too damn much and Grant just likes to see me pissed off. I'm going to be watching my back for the rest of the weekend.

Trent speaks up, "Yeah. I agree with ya, man. I'm tired of the games they play. I don't need a woman to purposely make me jealous to get my attention. If she doesn't already have my attention, then there's a deeper problem. I want her to have her own hobbies and life so I can breathe. I don't need to be stuck to her hip."

"Fuck yeah. Remember my ex, Rachel. Damn, that woman was fuckin' evil." We both groan as Grant brings up that horrible woman, if I should even call her that. I think it's a strike against all women to give her that title. "I couldn't even fish without her wantin' me to hold the damn phone near the water so I could prove I was on the fuckin' boat and not with another fuckin' chick."

I laugh at that. "Yeah, I remember having to get you two additional phones during that relationship because, and I quote, 'If'n you wanna hear the water so much, bitch, listen to this.' I said in my best redneck accent, '...and down went that phone into the lake.'" We all started laughing at the memory.

"Damn straight," Grant replied. "But seriously, I want the same thing. I want an 'ol lady that'll give me a big 'ol hug when I come in the door; maybe have some supper cookin' when she can. Someone who'll sit in a boat with me or maybe play a little Xbox with you, Sammy. Trent can drag her to the gym if'n he wants." He laughs.

"Nah, man. I don't need a fitness queen. I want someone who's healthy but nice and soft," Trent replies.

We grow quiet, each thinking about that perfect woman. The fictitious, dream-worthy woman that will only live in our fantasies.

Trent breaks the silence. "Hey, that new client referred me out to a few of his buddies, did I mention that?" Grant and I shake our heads. "Oh, fuck, man, sorry. I meant to. So, now that the Congressman has his family under our protection, he knows a couple of celebrities in town. They asked to meet me later this month. The more I keep growing, I'm going to have to bring in more men. It's great because I've got at least a dozen of my buddies getting ready to jump ship and move into the private sector."

"That's great news, bud!" Grant says while smacking Trent on his shoulder. "It looks like we are all lookin' good right now. Sammy, you publish that book yet?"

"Not yet. It's at the editor's but my department chair is pretty happy with it. Looks like I'll get tenure next year," I replied, smiling into my whiskey.

"Fuck yeah, you will," Grant replied. "Aight, well I'm gonna get some sleep. I'll see you two fuckers in the mornin'. Remember, we're headin' to Michelle's around 8:30." We both nod in understanding and he walks back into the house.