Only Temporary Ch. 03

Justin is offered a temporary consultant mission to help a large marketing firm lower its environmental impact. It is meant to be a couple of months (bullshit) job and he has no expectation over it... Until Joshua, a former college classmate, suggests he moves into his suburban house for the time of the mission.

ONLY TEMPORARY

Chapter 3: Gray Sweatpants

I woke up confused and disoriented.

It took a minute for my brain to remember that I was no longer in my Nashville's apartment but staying at Joshua's place.

I checked the time; It was only 7 a. m.

I was used to waking up later than that but Colorado was an hour behind Tennessee. I had to adjust.

My cock throbbed heavily in my pajamas.

This feeling was very familiar.

I could not remember a day when I had not woken up with a strong hard-on.

Normally, though, I was sleeping naked. I had felt compelled to wear something that night.

Despite Joshua's efforts, I still felt like a guest in a home which was not mine and I was not fully comfortable yet, even in the intimacy of my bedroom.

I got out of bed with my firm morning wood and I waited for it to subdue before going downstairs.

When fully stiffed, my cock could reach a decent seven inches, - who had never taped their own dick? -, and I was pretty happy with my size.

I checked myself in the mirror.

I was sometimes harsh on myself.

I was not a fan of my dark curly hair, - they needed so much attendance -, I did not have a sharp jaw like so many models and Hollywood actors, my body was okay but I remained somewhat thin and lengthy, like an eternal twink.

I had accepted myself with time.

You know the saying, how the hell are you going to love someone else if you cannot love yourself?

There were some parts that I enjoyed, my dick for instance, my abs were naturally defined, I guess my brown eyes and my very dark hair were giving me some sort of a style.

My biggest asset was... my ass.

I had been blessed with a huge butt and I had worked tirelessly to make it firmer along the years, doing squats and legs exercise to exhaustion.

Still, it was an everyday battle to be confident in my own skin.

The house was quiet, just like the neighborhood.

Joshua was still asleep.

I bet he was sleeping in the nude but I better not thought about that for too long since I wanted to control my erection.

I was amazed with how generous he had been and I thought it would be a nice gesture to make breakfast for the both of us.

I tried to be as discreet as possible in the kitchen, making sure that I would not wake him up.

On the fridge, there was a picture of his wife Jennifer in a bathing suit with one of her friends, unless it was her sister. It was likely as the two blondies did look somewhat alike.

Unfortunately, Joshua was wearing clothes on every photograph in the house.

I found what I needed to make pancakes and eggs and I went a bit overboard.

I tried to design a nice-looking plate, I squeezed a few oranges to make natural juice, I added banana and mango pieces on the side.

Healthy and delicious.

I felt like a proper chef.

When the tray was ready, I was tempted to bring it to Josh's bedroom but I wisely recognized that this might be weird.

I was contemplating my work when I heard the main front door opening.

I got worried.

Who could that be?

Fuck.

It must have been Jennifer! Who else would have the keys?!

I mean, it was her home, she could come back at any given moment.

I felt very self-conscious being in my bottom pajamas, I was shirtless otherwise.

It was not Jennifer though.

Joshua appeared in the kitchen.

At first, I thought he was drenched with water as if he had gone in the pool with his clothes on but I quickly realized that it was sweat.

There was nothing left of the big shot lawyer.

No glasses, no well-done hair, no trimmed beard, and no business-casual shirt.

Joshua was rough and I loved it.

His dark hair was sticking to his forehead, his cheeks were red, beams of sweat were falling into his eyes, and he was panting, visibly exhausted.

From what I could tell, he had just stopped running and he was walking inside the house after an intense exercise.

I am describing his face when my attention was, in fact, focused on something else entirely.

My housemate was wearing a pair of gray sweatpants giving him a bulge to die for.

It was properly huge.

I did not dare hoping that the bump in his crotch could truly be his cock, but it sure seemed like it.

I mean, it was not rocket science what he could have been hiding there!

Did he know what he was doing?

Was he aware that he was exposing himself that much?

Aside from the gray sweatpants, Josh had taken off his pair of sneakers when walking inside the house and he was wearing white socks turned gray, as well as a dark green compression shirt matching his eyes.

The tight top was full sleeves and literally glued to his skin.

It was very dark under his armpits due to the stains of sweat.

It was otherwise perfectly embracing the shape, curves, nooks, and large muscles of his chest.

I could see everything without actually seeing it.

It was like magic, or like looking at a super-hero in his tight costume.

I was, once again, stunned.

Joshua leaned against the kitchen's counter as he caught back his breath.

"I thought you were still in bed. What have you been doing, man?" I asked him.

"What... does... it... look like... I've been doing?"

Fair point, that was a dumb question.

He wiped his mouth, dripping.

"But dude, it's 7:20! Here, take that."

I handed him a glass of water.

The breakfast might be too full for him.

"Thanks."

As I got closer to his heated body, I smelt his natural odor.

Musky, manly, raw... I liked it. Pure testosterone.

"When did you wake up?"

He drank the entire glass of water and his breathing slowly came back to normal.

His bulge was still very much in the way.

God bless the gray sweatpants!

"I wake up every day at the same time. At six."

"Damn. And I thought I was waking up early today because of the time zone difference."

"I'm a morning person." Joshua explained. "I don't have time to work out during the day so either I go for a run or I go to the gym first thing in the morning."

"Shit, you're dedicated."

"It's nice to run with the sun rise. Besides, I've told you, it helps me stay sane."

"Well, I'm not surprised that you don't stay up too late at night then."

"Yes, I feel like an old man sometimes."

"All props to you though. Early bird gets the worm."

"Exactly... What's all of this?"

He finally paid attention to the breakfast.

"I wanted to prepare something for us. You like it?"

His face changed to an expression of glee.

"Fantastic, yeah! Love this. I should just go take a shower and change before eating anything though. I stink."

Some would say that he stank, some might have called this a rare and delicious fragrance.

I will let you decide which side of the fence I was on.

"You don't smell that bad." I replied, staying neutral.

"You should smell my junks or my ass then. I promise you, that must be hellish down there!"

What the hell was he talking about?!

The definition of my best breakfast would have been with my tongue smashed against his sweaty genitals or inside his musky hairy asshole!

Also, was it a serious offering?

No, regrettably, he was only messing around.

"How much have you run, man? It didn't seem like a chill jog."

"That's my curse, I always sweat a ton. Another thing Jen complains about. To be fair, I did go at it strong this morning. Five miles or so in less than thirty minutes."

"Dang, we could never run together."

Joshua turned around to walk towards the staircase. He wanted that shower.

I noticed the very clear stain of sweat against his ass crack.

Yummy.

"Why? I wouldn't be an ass. I'd wait for you!" He said, walking away.

"Then, I think you'd have to literally walk. I'm that slow."

He chuckled.

"Maybe my juicy ass will motivate you to run after me!"

It was obviously a joke (right?!) but seriously, I might have been able to run a freaking marathon if that sweaty bum was in front of me for the entire race.

Joshua could definitely smother me with that rump.

I thought of something clever to say but my housemate was already gone, climbing the staircase.

I was left with my breakfast, and, to my torpor, I realized that I was sporting the biggest erection in my pajama pants.

Believe me, it was more than obvious!

I had a literal tent in my pants and Joshua could not have missed it.

I was mortified.

Was I supposed to apologize? To say something about it? He had ignored it; I should probably do the same...

Fuck my life.

At the very least, the embarrassment got my cock to go back to its flaccid state in a minute.

My mind was all over the place though.

Had Joshua thought anything of it? Like, did he not care or did he think it was just my morning glory? Did he realize that it had anything to do with him?

God... He must have to.

He was not that naïve.

And that meant his comment about his quote-on-quote "juicy ass" was not so innocent and humorous after all.

I breathed in and breathed out.

Ten minutes later, he was back in the kitchen.

His hair was still wet but it was now due to the shampoo and water, and he was wearing another pair of gray sweatpants, but a much cleaner one.

Since he had planned to stay home that Sunday, it was lounge-wear day.

A sweatshirt was completing the outfit.

If you were wondering, the bulge in the pants was still very much there, prominent and rather in your face, well, in my face to be precise.

Underwear was unnecessary in this outfit.

Given the erection incident, I made much more efforts not to look at his crotch and I managed to remain collected.

"That's what I'm talking about, a good breakfast after my morning run! I'm always starving when I come back." Joshua exclaimed, biting in the pancake.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Don't treat me too good Justin, I may get used to it and want to keep you as my personal maid!"

Again, it was just a funny remark but my mind could not stop reeling.

Fuck my values and fuck the global warming! Let me get on my two knees and clean this man's house, dirty sneakers, and more importantly his stunning body for the rest of my life.

"What are you plans for today?" I deflected.

"It's usually my off day. Since Jennifer cannot drag me to the church, I'm honestly all about Netflix and chill, I may do a bit of housework too."

"May I help?"

"Nah... You got things to do anyway, right?"

"Yes, I need to go to the city. I have to get the car I've rented and I'll probably wander around a bit. I like to discover a new town like this, by just walking and losing myself in it."

"Want me to come with you? I can at least drop you off at the car renting place."

"Please don't worry about that, I'll take a cab. You're doing too much for me already."

"Suit yourself."

We basically went our separate ways for the rest of the day.

I took my taxi and got my car, a black Toyota Camry, and then, I went to lunch by myself.

It had been a long time since I had learned to go to a restaurant and enjoy a nice meal on my own.

I know some people are uneasy dining alone, I was fine with that.

I listened to a podcast about an infamous serial killer who was most known to murder his victims with an axe.

Since it was a sunny afternoon, I walked around downtown, visited some shops, and sent some pictures of the city to the few friends I had in Nashville.

I kind of wanted to show Joshua that despite his generosity, I was not going to impose my presence all the time or overstay my welcome.

I came back in the middle of the afternoon with some products to cook a nice dinner.

Since my breakfast had been a hit, I wanted to thank Joshua with my special recipe of Lasagna the following evening.

The recipe had been taught by an ex-boyfriend of mine.

Probably the only good memory I retained from this relationship. The longest I had had in my life, about eight months before we started hating each other.

I texted Joshua during the day to tell him that I was taking care of dinner but I let the surprise as to what I was cooking.

When I came back home, he was mowing the already perfect front lawn.

I saw his hairy chest from a block away.

Sometimes, it really felt like he was trying to turn me on, he had removed the sweatshirt as he was working outside.

The gray sweatpants and the shirtless combo were a definite yes in my books.

Forget about what I said earlier, I would make that man my breakfast, lunch and dinner any day.

I wondered how many noisy neighbors were checking him out from their windows.

The area had a Wisteria Lane from Desperate Housewives' feel to it.

"I thought you were resting today." I said, getting out of the car.

"I mow the lawn every Sunday in Spring and Summer. Jennifer likes it to be perfect."

"But Jennifer's not here."

I realized that I had talked too fast, as usual.

It had come across wrong, like I was criticizing his wife.

Joshua replied a bit harshly.

"I like it too."

"I didn't mean that..."

"It's important to feel good in your own home. It's important also to show your lazy neighbors that they could give themselves a kick in the butt sometimes and mow their fucking lawn!"

Dang. I had not realized it was such a touchy subject.

"Sure..."

"What's all this?"

He pointed at the bags that I was getting out of the truck.

"Food! Delicious food!" I said, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

He was wearing work gloves and he took them off as he reached for the bags.

"Let me help you out."

"Okay, but no looking! The kitchen is mine tonight."

"Fine, Gordon Ramsay. I'll let you do your thing."

"That's right. You just have to sit back and relax."

If there had been a tense moment, it was already gone. Joshua was smiling and seemed in a much better mood.

"Am I still allowed to talk to you from the living room while you cook?" He asked playfully.

"Sure, I'll allow it."

He laughed from the other side of the wall.

"Okay. So, I spent some time on the phone with Jen earlier. We talked about the living arrangement."

I was cutting ricotta cheese but I paid careful attention to what he was saying.

"And? She's okay with it?"

"Of course, she is. We've talked about it and she'll stay for the whole month in Salt Lake City, at least until early July."

"Oh... Is her sister doing okay?"

Thank God, Joshua could not see that I was smiling to my ears.

I should not have been happy about that news but I truly was.

"She is. It's mostly difficult with the kids. Two teenagers and a toddler, they're all reacting differently and Evelyn is feeling overwhelmed. It's understandable. Evelyn, that's my sister-in-law."

"I had gotten that much from context, you know."

"Fine, smart ass. It's just you don't always seem that clever!" He mocked me.

It was all in good fun.

We kept on talking through the wall.

"Are you close with your nephews?"

"They're great! I don't see them much often though; it's a trip to go to Salt Lake. Besides, I'm not such a fan of Evelyn's husband."

"I suppose this issue is out of the way now."

"What do you...? Oh, right. I hadn't even thought of that."

"See, who wasn't clever already?"

"Shut up."

"And what about Jennifer's work? How does she manage while she's gone?"

"She was already working mostly remotely and she's found a client in Salt Lake, that's how we came to the decision in fact. It was just making sense for her to stay with her family and it even turns out to be a good deal money-wise."

When he talked about it, it almost sounded like it was a relief or at the very least, a good thing to have this time off from his wife.

Maybe it was just my imagination talking as I supposed that after so many years, you do want some time apart from times to times.

That being said, I had never been with someone for that long. I could not really understand how it felt.

"Okay, well, you'll tell your wife thank you on my behalf."

"You'll tell it yourself. We'll organize something, she'll probably come back for a week-end or two."

"Sure... And I'll probably have moved out until then."

Joshua's head comically passed through the door frame.

"Why are you saying that?"

"Hey! Remember the first rule! No looking at what I'm doing here!"

He sighed and turned around.

I had a nice view of his back. He was still shirtless. This pair of sweatpants were too saggy for my taste but I approved the outfit nonetheless.

Visibly, his ass could never look bad.

"You can stay even when Jen will be back. She's already told me she doesn't mind. Your mission is supposed to end by the end of July, correct?"

It was sweet how he was respecting my stupid rule and kept talking without looking at me.

"That's correct."

"Then it's a done deal, you don't need to look for a place to rent. If you want, I can set up a call with Jennifer so you can meet her and she can tell you that directly."

"No, that's okay. I'll send her a thank-you text tonight."

"Do that. Now, more importantly, when do you think that secret dish will be ready? I'm hungry."

"Give me about an hour?"

"Sure, I'll finish a few things I had started in the garage in the meantime."

Joshua in the garage and me in the kitchen, it did start to look like a bad housewife's roleplay.

Not that I minded the part when it was for this hunk of a man.

Sadly, Josh had put his sweatshirt back on when we finally sat down for dinner and I revealed my dish.

I was satisfied with how it turned out; I just hoped it tasted as good as it looked.

"That looks fancy." He told me.

"I hope you like lasagna."

He made a face.

"Shit..." He muttered.

"Oh, no! You don't like it?"

I was so disappointed.

He burst out laughing.

"I'm kidding, idiot. Who doesn't like lasagna?"

"That's not funny! I've spent a lot of time on this."

"I know. Let's freaking eat!"

We ate, we chatted, and we laughed.

I felt more relaxed and the bottle of wine helped to loosen me up even more.

We mostly talked about work though since my mission was about to start.

Joshua told me more about what he was doing, basically making sure the company was not breaking any law when working for their clients and resolving any issue before it could escalate to court.

He presented me the company in more details, and he told me who to trust and who to be careful around.

According to him, Sabrina Barthel was one of the good people in YVBM.

Not that she was particularly smart or great at her job, but she was not creating any drama and only cared about making the C. E. O. happy.

"She knows the world won't stop spinning if something goes wrong at the company and that's refreshing. Some people are so dramatic, it's tiring."

"I see what you mean."

On my side, I told him more about my own career.

I explained the circumstances in which I had found myself developing processes to limit carbon print, and how I had learned to set up easy and cost-effective tools for company to decrease their environmental impact without it feeling like a sacrifice on their benefits.

All throughout, we joked around and teased each other.

He called me a radical leftist and I called him Robert Shapiro.

He rightfully took this as an insult.

Sometimes, it was difficult for me to not live this experience as a date.

When I was staring at his green eyes for too long and felt like I could be falling for him, I forced myself to recenter by glancing at his wedding ring.

After years of being clueless, I finally saw the purpose of such an object.

The ring did create an immaterial barrier.

Joshua's body, as hot as it was, was forbidden territory.

He helped me put the dishes in the dishwasher and at 10 p. m., he called it a night.

I was sleepy too.

I received a text from Jennifer before we went to bed. She was replying to my thank-you message.

"Hello Justin. No need to thank me for the vacant room. Any friend of my husband is a friend of mine and is welcomed in my home! I'm glad you can keep some company to Josh while I'm away. I cannot wait to have a proper lunch altogether one of these days."

She did seem really nice.

"Your wife just wrote to me." I mentioned.

I read the entire text to Josh.

"See, we're all good. I told you she didn't mind at all. Jennifer is great."

"Funny how she phrases that, keeping you some company."

"Yeah."

He hugged me like the day before to tell me good night. Maybe the hug lasted a little longer this time around?

More realistically, my mind was playing tricks on me.

Before he left though, a question popped in my head.

"Josh, does your wife know that I'm gay?"

"Why?"

I bit my lips.

It should not have mattered at all since her husband was so obviously straight.

"Have you mentioned that to her?"

"You think she's a homophobe or something? That if you're gay, you cannot stay at her place?"

"No, of course, not."

"Then, what?"

I did not have an answer to that.

Indeed, what difference did it make? The comment about keeping him company had thrown me off, like I could be a danger to her marriage or something.

This was silly.

"Nothing, I... I was just wondering."

"Well, if that can help you sleep better tonight, I think I did mention it to her. You know, most of the people she works with in interior design are gay men. She's a Christian but Jennifer lives in 2025."

"Yes... I... I didn't want to imply anything."

"In fact, knowing her, she might see this as a good thing. If I was with a straight buddy of mine, she might get some ideas."

I was not following.

"What do you mean?"

"I bet she sees you as an ally for her. Gay guys and women work together against the straight men, all cheaters and liars! That's a well-known fact." He joked.

"I've never seen it that way."

Joshua shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, maybe I drunk too much wine and I'm not making any sense. I'm just saying, she might have been scared if I were to hang out with my straight bros too much. With them, I may have been more inclined, or more encouraged by my buddies, to..."

He searched for the words.

"Scratch that seven-years itch?" I finished his sentence, in reference to our conversation the previous day.

He smiled.

"Exactly."

"She may have a point then. There's no chance I would encourage you to cheat on her with another woman." I continued.

He looked at me strangely.

I had drunk too. Maybe I was not making sense either.

Why did I have to specify "another woman"?

"Yes... That's it. No chance. Good night, man."

"Good night, Josh."

"Thanks for keeping me company."

He winked at me one last time before disappearing.

Damn... Joshua Dawson truly was the whole package; Controlling my libido would be harder than I thought.