Naked Ambition. Dan Roberts

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СКАЧАТЬ gotta watch yourself. ‘Cause if this guy is who we think he is, things could get, like…” Zach rolled his eyes.

      “Like what?”

      “Like, weird. You know.”

      “Dude, it’s all gonna be cool.”

      “Well, Dad’s worried about not being in town over the next few days. He’s afraid you might need help and he won’t be here for you.”

      “Look,” Nick said with all seriousness, “we’ve decided on a course of action, right? And it’s going well so far. Besides, if I need help I know just what to do.” He then tapped his finger on the pocket where he kept his cell phone. “I just call your number and scream ‘HELP!’ And you come riding in to rescue me.” Nick then laughed.

      “Damn you! It’s not funny. I worry, you know.”

      “Sorry, bro. I know you do. I just don’t think there’s anything to be worried about.”

      “So what’s next?”

      “Next?” Nick repeated. “How about you put this car in gear and we get our asses home. ‘Cause I need a shower and some food.”

      From a distance, a pair of eyes observed Zach’s VW drive out of the Samuel Scott Recreation Center’s parking lot. Only minutes later, those same eyes were focused on a tall, blond young man with a shy smile on his face. As he approached, the young man speaking in a still-adolescent voice said, “Thanks for waiting, Coach. And for the ride home.”

      IT WAS LATE—ALMOST MIDNIGHT—when the telephone rang. Clarkson, who had been in a deep sleep, was brought, suddenly, into the present. As he opened his eyes, he saw that he was still on his patio, near the pool, looking up at a star-filled sky. He shivered a little, the result of a cool breeze blowing across his naked body. He rubbed his eyes as he tried to focus on the present, leaving behind a highly sexualized dream he had been having.

      It was the persistent ringing of the phone that finally got Clarkson to move. Slowly, he pushed himself up and out of the lounge chair. It was then that he discovered that he had a partial erection, one that dissipated as he walked toward the patio phone. He wondered who would be calling at such a late hour. Actually, several names came to mind. Finally, at the phone, Clarkson picked up the receiver.

      “Hello.”

      The voice on the other end was muffled; purposely disguised. It took less than two seconds for Clarkson to identify the purpose of the call. In an outburst of anger, he said, “Who is this?”

      The person on the other end began talking again but was not allowed to finish because Clarkson interrupted with, “I don’t know who the hell you are but you had better stop calling me. Do you hear me?”

      There was silence. Neither the caller nor Clarkson said anything for several seconds. But Clarkson could hear the heavy breathing on the other end. He also recognized how upset this caller had made him when he heard the words pervert and sodomizer and predator being used to describe him. Whoever it was on the other end was trying their best to scare him. At least, to harass him.

      Not sure what to do he slammed down the phone only to have it ring again in less than a minute. After once more picking up the receiver, and without even attempting to listen, Clarkson yelled into the phone. “I’m going to report you to the police if you don’t stop calling here.”

      The last thing Clarkson heard from the voice on the other end was, “Go ahead and I’ll tell them everything I know about you and your fucked-up activities.” Now it was the caller who hung up first, leaving Clarkson to wonder whom it was that had just called him? And why?

      TUESDAY

      WEEK ONE

      DAY 4

      NICK AWOKE WITH A START. That was followed by a shudder that could be felt throughout his whole body. Looking upward toward the ceiling, Nick blinked his eyes several times as he checked in with himself. Something had just happened. That ‘something’ was terrifying enough to cause his body to shiver and to make his heart pound. With eyes now wide open, he looked around, seeing only the grayish darkness of a room. Knowing that this was not his bedroom, he wondered if he was still in the uncertainty of that ‘something’—at least, some remnant of it.

      A few moments passed with Nick not moving. Still feeling a hint of the surreal, he sat up and looked around once again. Although still night, and although the room was dark, there was enough light coming in the window from a nearby street lamp that he could see the faint outlines of several pieces of furniture. At first, he was puzzled as well as disoriented. Then he remembered where he was—safe but too warm in the guest room of the Baker home. Now, with his mind clearer, his eyes darted toward the glowing numbers of the digital clock on the nearby nightstand. It was 3:19 am.

      Nick felt the bed sheet beneath him. It was damp. So was his skin. More specifically, it was moist and clammy. It felt as if he had just gotten out of a steam bath. That, he thought, was due to the heat of this summer night. It was way too hot not to have air conditioning. Unfortunately, there was no A/C at the Baker home that night due to the central unit having broken down earlier in the day. That’s why, just before turning out the lights, Nick had switched on the fan that Mr. Baker had brought him. The fan, positioned in front of the open bedroom window, was somewhat of a joke since all it did was blow more hot air into a room that was already horribly stuffy and close. Usually by this time in the morning, Nick, who preferred sleeping naked, would have had, at least, a sheet on top of him, covering him for a bit of warmth. But not this morning, not with the room being so oppressively hot. So, that was how he awoke—naked, hot and perspiring.

      In this mostly awake state, Nick recalled the last evening. He remembered being very tired—actually, exhausted—from a day of doing the work of a landscape laborer and an evening of teaching at the volleyball camp. He had been both physically drained and emotionally fatigued when he got into bed around 11:00 pm. His body wanted so much to shut down and rest. But, even though Nick closed his eyes, sleep evaded him. The problem was that he couldn’t turn off his mind.

      A host of thoughts popped up, each one bringing a myriad of questions that needed answers. There were thoughts about the new school year that would be starting in a few weeks: the expense of it and how would he pay for it. And, of course, he wondered if he could make the grades needed to stay there. Then there were the thoughts about the Sylvan Acres’ “Summer Shakedown,” a local volleyball competition coming up in a little over a week. Who was coming? Who would he team up with? Would his team take the championship again? Then there was Black Oak’s ‘Super Volley Bowl’ which would be coming up soon. SVB was the mother of all volleyball competitions, one that he had been gearing up for all year. Logistics, travel plans, food supplies—the list went on as he mulled it all over in his head. However, most of his sleepless time had been focused on Coach Clarkson: finding out the truth about him and why he was so friendly with Jack. The latter was his main focus and concern, one that kept his mind occupied for what seemed like hours. Finally, sometime past midnight—and after a lot of tossing and turning—Nick’s mind gave itself over to sleep. That’s when the ‘something’ happened.

      Now, as Nick lay in the dark, his bank of memories began to open. He knew what that ‘something’ was. More than a dream, it was a nightmare; one that he had experienced several times before. But not recently, thank god. In fact, it had been almost a year since this nightmare had last interrupted his sleep.

      The СКАЧАТЬ