Caleb's Big Problem
by Londonboy
A story inspired by chats with Bruce.
Caleb sat in the bar nursing his second beer of the afternoon. It was Sunday and he had come through the underground tunnel beneath Pacific Coast Highway to get away from the July heat of the sun-drenched beach. He knew all the rules about not overexposing your skin to the California sun, but his half Irish-half French skin screamed for a little tanning. He also wanted to create a white spot in the shape of his Speedo to highlight the effect when he peeled the tight piece of nylon off of his body. Caleb knew, however, that if he stayed out too long he’d turn red like a lobster, the main downside of having fair skin. He looked around the Friendship, one of his favorite bars in Los Angeles, and noted it was pretty full. Everyone seemed in a great mood, a result of a blue-skied day and being surrounded by a bunch of shirtless, sweaty, semi-drunk men. Caleb felt pretty frisky, himself, but, then again, he always felt frisky. He sat on his favorite stool – at the end of the long bar so he could watch everyone come through the front door. You also got a great view of everyone breaking through the crowd to get up to the bar. But mostly he liked it because he was near the dart board, and if he felt that someone could be a good challenge he could ask them to play.
Unfortunately, Caleb felt there weren’t too many guys in the bar that would grab your eye. He scoped out all the regulars and even acknowledged a few men that were always friendly. He was one of only a few guys that didn’t have their shirt off, mainly because he didn’t need to. The blue t-shirt he wore did a horrible job of concealing his beautiful built body, as if it was supposed to. Caleb was proud of the results of years of hard work that his body showed. He was especially happy with his naturally broad shoulders. It was one of the first things that other men noticed – when looking at the 36-year-old stud from the front or the back. Caleb knew that genetics had given him a gift when it came to his shoulders and he made sure to wear shirts where the seam was forced to sit high up on the bulging mounds of muscle. This also caused the sleeves to ride pretty high on his thick upper arms, which emphasized his biceps.
And it was Caleb’s biceps and shoulders that were causing a handsome man on the other far end of the bar to stare. Caleb was shocked he hadn’t noticed him before. They guy looked pretty big, himself. He wasn’t as built as Caleb, but he had a great smile, super hair, and a manly mustache. Mr. Stash – Caleb had a habit of giving people nicknames immediately - nodded his head as soon as they locked eyes. It was a very manly motion, and it made Caleb happy. He returned the nod of the head and Mr. Stash’s smile broadened. Suddenly the guy was off the stool at the other end and started the long walk maneuvering through the crowd to come be near Caleb. It took a few minutes for Mr. Stash to make the crowd part and let him through. This gave Caleb time to check him out. The guy was probably about six feet tall, had nice shoulders, a pretty good build, and looked to be about forty. He was also wearing a t-shirt and that gave Mr. Stash high marks in Caleb’s book – he obviously didn’t have a need to go shirtless in order to attempt to catch some guy’s attention. There was hope for Mr. Stash. When he finally made it beside Caleb’s stool he had already received a thumb’s up. He immediately stuck out his large hand, grasping Caleb’s smaller raised hand to shake it firmly.
“Hi, my name is Troy.”
“Hey, Troy, my name is Caleb.” There was an abrupt awkward silence and both men just stared at each other smiling. Caleb figured he would have to break the ice. “Is this your first time at the Friendship?”
“Is it that obvious?” Troy seemed to be embarrassed.
“No, I live in Santa Monica and know most of the regulars who come here. You tend to notice fresh faces, especially a handsome fresh face.” Troy’s eyes seemed to be surprised and flattered at the same time. Troy must have thought he should be complimenting the man he had flirted with. Caleb immediately figured out that he was in the lead position for this little dance he and Troy were doing. This was nothing new to Caleb. He knew he was what most people would call a pretty boy and that was fine with him, even though he secretly wished he looked more rugged – like the Marlborough Man of those old commercials. Troy obviously thought of himself as the lesser “catch” of the hook-up so he figured he would need to do most of the work. This made Caleb want to flirt even more intensely with the man, since Troy didn’t seem to think of the two of them as equals. Caleb liked to help other men know their own great qualities. This usually made the flirting less stressful or forced. If both guys felt as sought after as they were seeking, it made the dance of getting to know what made the other person excited so much more fun. Caleb decided to turn on the mega-charm for this new guy.
“So, Troy, what made a cute guy like you want to get my attention.” Again, Caleb marveled at the fact that the big guy seemed to be shocked at the compliment. It is truly wild how some men, no matter how much of a stud they are, can be so insecure. Caleb admitted, though, that he was the same way, at times.
“I dunno. I guess . . . if I can be real honest…” Troy hesitated a little and Caleb nodded his head to encourage the man. “To be real honest, I was attracted to your body. You have a great body.”
“See, now that wasn’t too hard, was it Troy?” Caleb reached up and placed his hand on Troy’s shoulder – a move that surely sent waves of pleasure through Troy’s big frame. “I’ve worked mighty hard to get this body noticed, sir, and it’s nice that you would compliment it with your presence beside me.” Caleb could see that his wicked sense of humor was a little lost on Troy. He was pretty sure the big guy just wanted to hurry up to the “do you want to get out of here” part of the evening. As great as that made Caleb feel, he wanted to enjoy the fun of flirting for a lot longer. “Do you throw darts, Mr. Troy?”
“Excuse me?”
“Do you play darts?” Caleb was pointing at the electric board against the wall. No one was using it at the moment.
“Oh, well I haven’t in a long time, but I’d like to.” It was hard not to notice how disappointed Troy was that they were going to be staying in the bar a little longer. Caleb grabbed his drink and some change the bartender had left in front of him earlier. He then stood up from the stool, being careful to watch Troy’s expression. Caleb immediately saw the look he had become used to over the last twenty years or so. Troy’s face went from excitement about where the night was headed to something that resembled disappointment.
“You’re short!” Troy did little to cover up how surprised he was that the built stud he had cruised across the bar ended up being only five feet five inches tall. Caleb knew that Troy would think he was even shorter than that because of how disappointed he was. When people saw Caleb from the waist up only, they expected someone pretty tall. It was mainly because of those blasted wide shoulders he had inherited from his tall father, but it was also because he had worked out like a fiend for about fifteen years to build a physique that might help people ignore the fact that his body was vertically challenged. But good old Troy, here, reacted the same way that most gay men did – with mouth agape and eyes thrown wide. Caleb could now name the thoughts that went through a guy’s mind upon seeing him stand up for the first time. The first thing was, “Oh my God, his shoulders are almost as wide as he is tall.” Or, “Wow, my teenage son is taller than this guy!” Or worst of all, “How did this guy pack on so much muscle when he’s so short?” That one hurt the most because Caleb was so proud of how he had shaped every possible muscle in his body. He had long ago stopped wishing to be tall, but he did fantasize about meeting someone that didn’t freak out when Caleb stood beside them for the first time.
“Well, Troy, they do say that great things come in small packages.” Caleb was so used to speaking this line that it might have sounded a little rehearsed to someone that was fully present to the conversation – which, at the moment was not true of Troy. Suddenly Troy realized how rude he was being and laughed a little to cover up his inability to filter what he was saying.
“I’m sorry, Caleb, it’s just that from down at the other end of the bar you looked huge.”
“I am huge.”
“I guess I meant tall, you looked tall.” That kind of statement always sent Caleb flying back to junior high and made him feel like the short, pudgy, shy kid that everyone made fun of. Many years of pumping iron and therapy had given him the skills to work through the emotions that came with this jolt to the past, but no amount of muscle or affirmation from a therapist prevented the memory. Caleb forced his mind to go to a place of power – of strength. He tensed his legs and knew that they burst into a cornucopia of ridges, bulges, valleys and monstrous veins. Troy did not notice, but Caleb saw two guys standing a few feet away turn to each other with shocked faces and then point at the two pylons of power stretching the fabric of the short man’s shorts. A few weeks ago Caleb had nicknamed these two guys the “Twinks.” Their reaction was enough to calm Caleb down and bring him back to the task at hand – flirt the socks off Troy, well the socks, the pants, the shirt and, of course, the underwear! Now there was a mission, a desire in Caleb that would make any self-help guru cream in his pants. This short muscle man had a will of iron that matched the steel-like muscles covering his body. Troy might have run screaming from the bar in fear if he had known how driven the short guy in front of him had suddenly become. Caleb turned up the charm.
“Well, Troy, if you see someone here that can put my body to shame then I’d understand why you’d want to move on, but, if not, shall we play some darts?” Caleb then raised his right arm and slowly moved it into a bicep flex. “I think you’ll find my bicep is quite tall, now isn’t it?” Troy’s face stared at the nineteen-inch bicep pumped in front of him. His mouth opened as he focused on how the tip of the mound divided into two beautiful peaks. Caleb knew that Troy had never seen something like that before, and probably never would again – this close up. To make things even better, Caleb noticed that the Twinks, a few feet behind Troy, had frozen completely – staring at the flexed arm. Caleb laughed a little as he saw both men sport a boner in just seconds. One guy seemed to have a pole so long that it almost poked out the bottom of his cargo shorts. Caleb noted that for future reference. He turned back to Troy, who actually had saliva creeping down the side of his chin.
“Darts . . . darts would be good.”
“Thattaboy, Troy, thattaboy.” Caleb lowered his arm, grabbed Troy’s arm and pulled him toward the dartboard. He put some change into the machine and chose the game 301. After explaining the rules to Troy, they began to play. Caleb was impressed by Troy’s skills. He was actually a bit of competition. In the middle of the game Caleb heard a familiar voice and cringed.
“Well look-a-here, little Caleb’s hustling someone at darts again.”
It was the bully of the Friendship - Carlos. He was also a first rate rent-boy. Everyone in the bar usually wanted Carlos. He stood about six foot four and was a big beefy fellow. Troy even looked small compared to Carlos. But the fucking frustrating thing about Carlos was that he was also drop dead gorgeous. Even Caleb was smitten. Carlos had a huge personality, confident, loud, and aggressive. He loved flirting with everyone and, in a special way, he loved getting under Caleb’s skin. It was probably because Caleb tended to ignore him, but Carlos probably knew that the smaller muscle man was interested. Carlos was not dumb.
“Hey, Carlos. How’s tricks?” Caleb knew that this question made Carlos angry, the big guy thought people didn’t know he was a piece of ass that could be bought. Caleb also intended to convey this little bit of information to Troy, who had immediately zoned in on the other big man before him. Troy had as little ability to hide his attractions as he did his disappointments. It was quite clear that Troy did not register Caleb’s revelatory comment. It was also quite clear that Troy would be lost to Carlos, if something weren’t done. “Your turn Troy.”
“Troy, huh?” Carlos was looking at the new meat. “It’s great to meet you Troy.” Carlos held out a huge hand and Troy sort of melted as they shook. “You go ahead and throw, Troy. I bet you’re gonna get a bull’s eye – one way or another.”
Caleb was fuming as Troy stepped up to throw. The guy was obviously so flustered by the massive Carlos that he actually missed the entire dartboard with all three throws. Caleb picked up on the fact that Troy was searching for a way to end their game quickly so he could talk to the big flirt that had joined them. After Troy had retrieved his darts and moved to stand very close to Carlos, Caleb stepped up to throw. That’s when Carlos decided to go in for the kill.
“Here, little man let me help you.” Carlos walked up behind Caleb, bent down and wrapped his arms around the smaller guy’s waist. He stood up, lifting Caleb into the air. By the grunt the bigger guy let escape from his mouth and the way he wobbled as he stood up, it was obvious that Carlos was shocked by the weight of the shorter man. You could also hear the strain in his voice. “I’ll give you a little higher perspective.”
Caleb immediately took a deep breath and counted to ten. In extreme cases of frustration he had been taught to “take a breather” so he wouldn’t fly off the handle. He did not want to make it obvious to anyone that he was embarrassed and fucking mad. He released the air he had been holding and decided to go ahead and throw his darts, even though he really wanted to jam them hard into Carlos’ arms.
“Thanks, Carlos. This is a little better.” Caleb could tell his cheerful response and calm manner caught Carlos off guard. He took his time, on purpose, and acted like he was being careful to aim. By the time he was preparing to throw his second dart he could tell Carlos was having trouble continuing to hold his full weight.
“Come on, little man, hurry up and throw your darts. Troy, here, is getting a little bored. I can tell when a man is ready to move on.” This only made Caleb stall a little longer and Carlos finally let go. Caleb slid down the larger man’s body and landed on the big feet below him – allowing his entire weight to hit Carlos’ toes. “Shit!”
“Sorry, big guy. I couldn’t avoid such big feet.” Caleb stepped to the side, threw his last dart – hitting the middle of the board – and turned to Carlos, who was pressing one foot with his other to work out the pain. “Your turn, Troy.” Caleb walked up and pulled his darts from the board, pressing the button for the game to switch to player two. Carlos hobbled over to face Troy, putting his back toward Caleb.
“Troy, buddy, it’s obvious that you deserve to be with a bigger man than this squirt. Did you see how easily I lifted him? How about you buy big Carlos a drink?” Troy looked like a small child lost in a large crowd. He had no concept of what the dueling musclemen had been doing for the last few minutes. He was simply caught up in his Carlos lust. Caleb decided he had one last trick up his stretched-to-the-max sleeve. He bent down and slid his arm between Carlos’ legs. His shoulder was pressed up between the bigger man’s ass cheeks, and he had his hand in a fist pressed up against Carlos’ crotch. The smaller man stood up, being sure to reach out and grab the larger man’s waist with his other hand. Carlos’ feet left the floor and his entire frame was lifted into the air by Caleb’s one arm. Carlos was now sitting on the huge flexed bicep that Troy had admired earlier. The entire bar went silent in one second. No one could believe that Caleb was able to lift the huge Carlos with one arm. They could not fathom that this small man, although built like a muscled fireplug, was so strong. This display of strength excited Caleb. He had always been strong, even as a short flabby kid. All of his life he had looked for chances to shock people with displays of power. Carlos had grabbed on to the fist at his crotch to balance himself, even though he didn’t need to since Caleb held him tightly at the waist. The crowd let out a gasp of amazement as Caleb pulled his fist and forearm away from the big guy’s crotch and extended his arm. Even with his arm straight out, Caleb was able to hold up the big man’s body. He then brought his arm back and made his massive bicep peak up Carlos’ ass again. When his fist was straight up again, it met the stiff cock that was tenting Carlos’ pants. That was all Caleb needed – to know his display of strength had turned Carlos on. He dropped his arm and Carlos landed standing on the ground.
“Hey, Carlos, I think you’ve lost some weight. My arm isn’t even tired. I could have let you ride that bicep for a lot longer, but I can see that it might have caused you to have an accident.” Caleb’s taunting made Carlos turn red. He swung around and looked furious. He stepped toward Caleb menacingly. “Watch it there, big guy; I don’t think you want to make me angry.” Caleb tensed every muscle in his body. Even the bulges produced in his neck looked super charged. Carlos froze in his tracks. You could see that he was trying to calculate his chances of winning a fight with Caleb. It was when he looked at the tensed biceps of the smaller guy, especially the arm that had just lifted him into the air with no problem, that he changed his demeanor abruptly. He stared at Caleb as he said his next sentence, knowing he couldn’t win the battle, but he could still take the prize.
“Hey, Troy-man, how about that drink. Just make sure it’s something tall and strong.” He emphasized the word “tall” for Caleb’s sake. The two men stared at each other for a few more seconds and then Carlos turned toward the still-enamored Troy. He threw his arm around the other tall man and then pulled him towards the bar. The crowd suddenly began to talk again and Caleb suddenly felt self-conscious and alone. He glanced around, noticing everyone was trying to avoid his eyes, and then decided to leave. He brought his arm back and sent the three darts he picked up from the table flying into the dartboard. He used most of his strength and imagined the bull’s eye was Carlos’ face. All three darts hit the center of the board with so much force they sank in completely. Caleb knew the next guy wanting to play darts wouldn’t be able to pull them out. He walked directly to the door and didn’t acknowledge anyone. Once outside the fresh air and still-warm late afternoon sun calmed his tense body. He took a few deep breaths and turned to start the walk home.
To be continued