Jerry

By: Will B
(© 2009 by the author)
Ably Assisted by Ed

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Trace and Jerry have hired Sam to be the master chef and Pete as manager of the hotel. They have also hired Ted and Hank Long as lifeguards.  The four new employees are getting along well, but Jerry has had the feeling that he had met the four of them before—he just couldn’t remember where or when.

Chapter 8

When Jerry woke up the next morning, Trace was standing over him, smiling.

“That must have been some dream you were having last night, my love. I thought you were going to take some kind of advantage of me while you were sleeping, because … well, let’s just say, I was able to cope with the invasion!”

“You know, Trace, I had this weird dream, and Sam and Pete were there, and so were Ted and Hank … and we were on a ship … and I was in this room and … men were going to this barrel…”

“Yes, yes, I know, my love, but you’re home, now, and everything’s gonna be OK.”

“Oh, I know. Even in the midst of the fun and games, I kept thinking, ‘Where’s Trace … I wanna go home’.”

“And what have you decided, Jerry?”

“Oh, you know—just like ‘she’ said, in ‘that movie,’ If I can’t find happiness in my own backyard, I’m not going to find it anywhere, because after all … tomorrow is another day. Oh, no! That’s not right. It’s ‘There’s no place like home.’”

“You’ve been watching too many old movies.”

“I know, but as long as I have you…”

Who knows how long this corny lovers’ back-and-forth chit-chat might have gone on if there hadn’t been a knock on the door? Sam’s voice was heard calling, “Breakfast in 15 minutes.”

“Just time enough to jump into the shower. Come on, Trace. We can wash each other’s backs.”

In spite of temptations to play, Trace and Jerry were showered and dressed just as Sam was putting breakfast on the table.

The entire staff plus Jerry and Trace were enjoying their breakfast when Trace asked, “What are your plans for today?”

“We need to go to our apartment and get some of our belongings,” said Hank.

“We’ve got to move some of our clothes, also,” replied Pete. “When would you like us to take up residence?

 Trace’s computer went ‘ker-ching’ diverting everyone’s attention.

“Let me check my email, guys, and then we can decide. Trace went to his computer and printed out several e-mails.

“Read these, Jerry.”

“”Humph!” Jerry said. “This is from that group called The FARTS. They want to know when we will be open because they want to rent the whole place for a weekend conference …They saw our ad for staff in the ‘Blade” and want to know how soon we’ll be ready for business.”

“The FARTS!” said Andy. “I hope they don’t live up to their name.”

“I’ll email them back and ask them for a little more information about their group,” said Trace.

“And here’s one from Tad Comings,” said Trace. “He has seven applicants who’ve applied for jobs as ‘gentlemen’s gentlemen’, and he wants to know if he should send them here or if we want to interview them at his office?” 

“Trace, why are we interviewing seven applicants? There are only six cabins?” Jerry asked.

We’ll have one on standby so that each guy can have a day off—or in case some other emergency arises, Love,” Trace replied.

“Perhaps we should go to Frisco and interview them there,” said Jerry. 

“Good idea. I’ll email him and see if we can do it the day after tomorrow,” Trace said. “Sam, could you and Pete meet us at the lawyer’s office? And Andy, I’d like you and Wall-Eye to be there, also.”

“Sure thing, Trace,” Andy replied.

“Ted and Hank, you’re part of this family now. Can you be there, the day after tomorrow? I’ll give you the address.”

“We’ll be there,” they answered in unison.

“Oh, good grief, Charley Brown! Here’s another one from two brothers, uh … named Bob and Bill Hunter.** They’d like to come out for a few days, to do some brainstorming … away from their home in Baltimore.”

“Trace, how did two guys in Baltimore, see the ad in the Frisco ‘Blade?’ Jerry wanted to know.

“Oh! I forgot to tell you. I e-mailed the Frisco office and asked them to have the same ad placed in the Chicago, New York, Washington, Baltimore, and Miami ‘Blades.’ It looks like it’s paying off!”

 “Hummm,” pondered Trace. “Looks like this hotel is attracting business already. I won’t give anybody a definite date yet, but can the four of you be ready to move in … the day after we have this conference?”

“Yup!” “Of course.” “Right On!” Everybody was in agreement, so Trace gave the four gentlemen the address of Comings and Gowings. He emailed Tad Comings and informed him that there would be eight of them coming to the interview the day after tomorrow at ten o’clock.

Sam said, “I’ll make a list of some groceries that will be needed for the next two weeks.”

The day of the conference arrived, as long-expected days do, and at 11:00 Trace, Jerry, Andy, and Wall-Eye drove to Frisco.

When they arrived at the law offices of Comings and Gowings, Sam and Pete and Ted and Hank were just arriving in their respective ‘horseless carriages’.

Tad Comings greeted them and showed them into a large conference room.

“Trace, do you want me to call the applicants in one at a time, or would you prefer to meet them all at once?”

“Umm…I don’t know. Jerry, waddaya think?”

“Hmmm. I think maybe as a group would be best, Trace.”

“Okay. Yeah … that way we can explain what we expect, all at once. Tad, if you will…?”

Tad nodded and went out in the hall to another room and returned with seven young men. They were all handsome young men, and they appeared to be a little nervous.

Tad introduced Trace and Jerry,  after which Trace introduced the other six members of the staff.

He began, “I’d like to thank for applying for the job of ‘gentleman’s gentleman.’ Let me tell you what that means…. The Souchard Hotel is opening as a combination spa, restaurant, a clothing optional beach and hotel for men. Men only,  I remind you… Some guests will be staying in the rooms on the second floor, but others, who may want a little more elegant accommodation, may rent one of our six guest cottages. Each cottage will have one or two occupants, and this is where the seven of you come in. Each day six of you will each take care of one of the cottages. The seventh person has the day off, and days off can rotate.”

“Any questions, so far?”

The seven young men shook their heads, no.

Trace went on, “ Each of you will be assigned one of these cottages. Your responsibilities will be: one, you will be responsible for taking these gentlemen their morning tea, coffee, or breakfast if they’d rather not eat in the hotel dining room … two, you will see that their clothes are cleaned and pressed, and make sure that the bed linens are changed as needed, every day, if necessary.”

One young man raised his hand, “Why would … oh, I see.”

Trace smiled at him, and went on, “Your hours will be from eight in the morning until noon. After that, you are free until 7:00 in the evening until 11:00”

“We would like to provide some light entertainment in the dining room during dinner. Perhaps, some of you can sing, or tell stories while our guests are dining. After dinner, some of our guests may wish to enjoy our other facilities—the sauna, the swimming pool, or the ‘play room’.

Another young man raised his hand. “Are we supposed to accompany our guests to the pool or the ‘play room’?”

“That is entirely up to you. Any arrangements you make with the guests is entirely your own affair, but I caution you that it might not be a good idea to become overly friendly with any of the guests. I say this for your own protection, if you understand me.”

All seven of the men nodded in agreement.

“Now as to salaries and such… This hotel is just beginning, and to start off I can offer each of you $500.00 a week, room and board and health insurance. Your rooms are comfortably appointed, and I think you will like them, and—take my word for it—you will enjoy the meals prepared by Sam, our master chef. As our business grows I hope to able to increase your salaries.

“We are going to have to hire wait-staff and cleaning and laundry personnel.  Because of the nature of the hotel, the staff will be all male … Oh, and one other thing … discretion is an absolute must. Anyone caught discussing our guests or tipping off the media as to who is staying at the hotel or what their particular ‘interests’ are, will be dismissed. And, if any of you have a problem with any of the guests, please feel free to talk to Jerry or me.

“Now, we would like to get to know each of you. Suppose we start with the young man who is sitting to the right of Hank.”

The first young man was five-foot-ten, blond, blue-eyed, curly hair, with a frank, open face. “Hello. I’m Peck Harris. I’m twenty-four, and I’m a college graduate, and I majored in drama.”

Jerry asked, “Peck, suppose you were asked to do a strip-tease for the dinner guests as part of the entertainment. Would you object?”

“Heck, no,” said Peck. “In college I tried out for the lead in ‘Equus’. I got the part and they told me I was as good, if not better, than that actor who took the part in London, and later on Broadway. ”

There were chuckles and laughs from the group. They thought that Peck would probably have been a hit in the play when he did a ‘full frontal!’

“Well,” said Jerry, “Think about what song you would like to have accompany you as you performed.”

Trace said, “Peck, sit down and relax, and we’ll interview the next applicant.”

Dirk Jones was twenty-three, five-foot-eleven, with dark hair.

“Tell us about yourself, Dirk,” Trace requested.

“I’m an electrical technician, and if I do say so myself, I’m pretty good at setting up lighting for entertainment events.  If we’re going to have after-dinner entertainment, I can help with the lighting to set the mood.”

Jerry had his question ready. “How would you feel about stripping for the customers?”

“Sir, I was the strip poker champion in my group at the technical college—I mean I think the other players wanted to see me bare my soul—and the rest of me, too. Heh, heh, heh!”

The next to face the questions was Jake Lewis, twenty-two, five-foot-nine-and-a-half inches tall with red hair and green eyes.

“What special talents do you have, Jake?” Trace asked.

“I’ve had two years of college. I majored in communications. They tell me I have an excellent speaking voice, and I love to recite poetry, which is  sometimes beautiful, sometimes sensuous, and sometimes, well, just down right dirty.”

“Would you strip, if asked?” asked Jerry.

“Sure would. Would you like me to drop … ‘everythin’ and give you a demonstration?”

“Woo-hoo, ooohhh,” came from Ted and Hank. There was slow clapping from Sam and Pete.

“Well, maybe not just now, but thanks for offering,” said Trace.

“I’m Kevin North.” said a good looking twenty-five year-old who was five-foot-eleven, with straight brown hair. “I'm a college graduate." The tall and muscular young man then added, “And I work out, so I can stay buff.”

“Any talents?” asked Trace.

“As a matter of fact, I’ve worked out a hot routine where I slowly strip, and if I have a partner, I would strip him and give a demonstration of various hand-job techniques.”

Andy snickered and said, “So, you’re a real hands-on-guy, eh? Hah hah hah.”

Wall-Eye looked at Andy and said, “Down, pale-face! Can’t I take you anywhere?”

The fifth applicant stood and said, “I’m Anton Price, and I’m twenty-one.”  Anton was five-foot-eight, with dirty blond wavy hair. “I’m a high school dropout, and I’ve been living on the streets ever since my step-father threw me out of the house when I was eighteen because he found out I was gay.”

“Any talent?”

“Talent, hell! There isn’t a thing I haven’t done to, for, or with guys just to earn a couple of bucks so I could get something to eat and maybe have a place to stay.”

All laughter stopped.

“Mr.  Mackenzie, if you give me a job, I’ll do anything you want me to. I’ll scrub floors, wash sheets, strip in front of the guests, I’ll…”

Anton stopped to regain his composure.

 

“Please. I need a job. Please…!”

He sat down next to Kevin and Kevin put his arms around him, and said, “It’s OK, buddy. I think you’re gonna be all right. I think we’re all gonna be all right.”

Applicant No. 6, who was six-foot-one and had a ‘weedy’ build and black hair, introduced himself. “Hello, I’m Hank Owens. I’m twenty-three years old and I’ve had two years of community college. I’m interested in photography, both in front of and behind the camera.”

 

Wall-Eye asked a question, “Mr. Owens, have you made any films?”

“Yes, sir, I have, and as I’ve been listening to the conversation this morning, I think some of them might be entertaining for the guests at the hotel when they start arriving.”

“I think the staff should have a look at them first, just to be sure,” Wall-Eye responded.

“Oh, yeah, man!” “Sounds hot!” “I’d sure like to see ‘em!” were some of the comments heard from the group.

Ben Lowry, the last applicant, was twenty-five, five-foot-ten, with brown hair. “I’m also a college graduate, and I majored in film making, too.”

Hank and Ben exchanged looks—and smiles.

“Perhaps you could give me some, er, professional advice,” said Hank.

Ben shot back, “I’d like to give you anything, Hank—in the nature of cinematic advice,” and he winked at Hank.

“Gentlemen, I am most impressed with all of you. Jerry, do you agree?”

He nodded his head.

“Andy and Wall-Eye, and Ted and Hank, do you have any questions you’d like to ask these young men?”

All five shook their heads no.

“All right, then! Gentlemen, I would like to offer all seven of you jobs as Gentlemen’s Gentlemen at The Souchard Hotel. Tad, you and I had talked about drawing up contracts for our employees to sign, outlining their duties and what their terms of employment are. Are they ready?”

Tad replied, “Yes, they are, Trace. I’ll have Ron bring them in, and we’ll let these seven men look them over and, if they all agree, sign them.”

“Good,” said Trace. “Tad, do you or Ron know of a good restaurant that could accommodate all of us—including you and Ron—for lunch? I think we need to celebrate.”

“I do, and I’ll call and make reservations,” said Tad.

While the contracts were being read and signed, Jerry said, “You know, Trace. I think we’ve got a good team here, and I’ve thought of a name for them—Souchard’s Seven.”

Andy said, with a twinkle in his eyes, “How about this. They’re all tall, so how about calling them—the “Seven Dwarfs?”

“Oh, yes,” said Wall-Eye. “Pale-face has had another good idea. We could let each of them decide what name they would like to be called by.”

Trace looked at the seven men and asked, “Does that sound like a good idea to you?”

They all nodded in agreement, and Hank said, “I’ll be ‘Ass-Full,’ because that’s where I like to take it.”

Anton said, “You can call me “Ropey,” because my dick is as thick as a rope.”

That brought a few chuckles.

Dirk volunteered, “ I’ll be ‘Slappy,’ because I like to spank or be spanked.”

Tad and Ron looked at each other and Ron said, “He’s our kind of man!”

The other five got into the spirit of the game. Peck said, “I’ll be ‘Dick,’ because mine is so-o-o long.”

Jake said, “I’m ‘Sleazy,’ because I’m just so ‘down and dirty!’”

Kevin took the name ‘Grippy.’ because he was so good at hand jobs.

Ben said “I’ll be ‘Leaky,” because my precum is—er—quite a mouthful.”

Ben’s remark brought down the house! Trace was howling with laughter, but finally, he remembered his ‘dignity,’ and said, “Hey, guys, I think it’s time we all went to lunch.”

And so they did. 

To be continued...

** Bob and Bill Hunter appeared as teen-aged brothers in “Richard’s Story, They’re a little older now.

As always my deepest thanks to Ed, my ‘alpha reader,’ and to my ‘beta reader.’ Not only do they look for typos (I put a few in just to keep them happy), but they also point out inconsistencies. Keep up the good work, you two! I don’t want people to stop reading my stories because of misplaced modifiers such as ‘Running down to the beach, the large wave knocked Jerry off his feet and the undertow pulled his boxers off.’

Beta’s note:  And don’t forget about commas instead of periods before Dialogue Tags!

Posted: 07/24/09