The Ascent of Stan, Part Four
Stan got a piña colada from the poolside bar and tried to relax while the others reveled in Disney-style magic. Everything was cute and well-designed, but something about the place made him feel too white, too American, and too gay. He did the lazy river with the kids and let Kyle take them up the stairs to the volcano water slide. There were a couple of hot tubs, and the best one faced the beach, a two-tiered thing with an infinity edge on both levels. Stan was glad to find that it wasn't too crowded, and also relieved to see what appeared to be a grouchy, middle-aged lesbian couple sitting together in companionable silence on the bottom level. Kyle was always going on about how gay-friendly Disney was. Stan sat on the top level of the hot tub and watched the ocean as the sun sunk a little lower, still hot and bright but not as brutal. He told himself that his fifteen hundred bucks was at least supporting an allegedly gay-friendly company. Kyle had once written an open letter to Disney suggesting that they had a moral responsibility to eventually do a movie about a gay prince. He posted it online and had something like two hundred thousand "signatures" from people who liked the idea.
Only when a dad and his young son got in did Stan realize he must look kind of creepy, an almost forty-year-old guy hanging out in a Disney pool alone. He stayed anyway, because he'd told Kyle and the kids to meet him there when they were done with the slide.
"This isn't as hot as our jacuzzi at home," the dad said to the kid, and something about his tone was deeply annoying, like he was trying to sell the kid on the idea of his family's wealth, or just wanted to make sure the creepy guy sitting alone knew he was accomplished enough to own a hot tub.
"When is mom going to be done?" the kid asked.
"I'm not sure," the dad said. "She's having a spa day. That's the full day. Even meals." He seemed to be directing this to Stan for some reason, but Stan refused to look at him. He was relieved when Kyle and the kids arrived, and would have made a point to kiss Kyle in front of the home jacuzzi douchebag, but he wasn't in the habit of forcing people to explain homosexuality to their six-year-olds.
"That slide was pretty good," Topher said, splashing his way over to Stan. "Can we do the lazy river again?"
"Let's do the regular pool for a minute," Stan said. "I need to cool off. Your sister can take you on the lazy river if you want to go again." He gave Livy a pleading look, and she smiled.
The dad and son from the hot tub followed them into the big pool after a few minutes, and Stan kept an eye on them, annoyed by his awareness of their proximity. The guy was puny and balding, the kid a little spindly but cute. Stan floated near Kyle while the kids did underwater flips and handstands, waiting for a comment or a long, disapproving look. The dad seemed like that kind of guy. An old lady in South Park had walked up to them at the grocery store when Livy was a baby, riding in a carrier on Kyle's chest, and told them they'd ruined that child's life.
"That's really nice, lady," Kyle said. "Enjoy dying alone and afraid in the coming years."
She'd asked the store manager to call the police, saying Kyle had threatened her life. It was a trying afternoon.
"We should go exploring," Stan said. "I mean, around the actual beach area. Kyle - isn't there some place where you can see turtles?"
"Yeah, over near the Marriott somewhere," Kyle said, gesturing to the neighboring resort. "We can always do that tomorrow. I kind of just want to relax." He gave Stan a meaningful look, and Stan realized Kyle meant to have stealthy sex with him today, soon.
"This is a little bigger than our pool, isn't it?" the douchebag guy said to his kid, loudly. "But we've got a salt water pool. I don't know if this one is salt water. It's probably not."
"What the fuck is that fucker's problem?" Stan asked, giving the guy a dirty look. He either didn't notice or was too much of a chickenshit to look back.
"What - who?" Kyle asked. He elbowed Stan. "Don't cuss so much, dude. There's a little kid over there."
"Yeah, I'm talking about his father. He's a douchebag."
"Huh? That bald guy?" Kyle hung on Stan's shoulders, staring. "What'd he do?"
"He's talking about his hot tub and his pool like - who is he trying to impress, his six-year-old? It's pissing me off."
The guy looked in Stan's direction, and Stan gave him an unflinching stare that made him turn away. Stan was bigger than him, and he felt every inch of it as the guy ushered his kid toward the stairs.
"Jesus Christ, Stan!" Kyle said, but he was grinning. "What - are you trying to pick a fight in the goddamn volcano pool?"
"Maybe," Stan said, turning his dangerous look on Kyle. He smirked when Kyle's eyes widened. "I just hate guys like that," he said. "You know - you know how I am."
"Yeah - Liv?" Kyle called. "Can you watch your brother while we take care of something in the room? The bathroom facet was leaking. I want to make sure they fixed it."
"Why does Dad have to go?" Topher asked.
"I'm gonna take an Advil while Daddy sees about the sink," Stan said. "That muscle I pulled is bugging me a little. Livy, do not let him out of your sight, you understand?"
"Yeah, I know," she said.
"I mean it," Stan said. "Topher, stay with your sister. And don't leave the pool area."
"What if I have to pee?" Topher asked.
"Do it in the pool," Stan said.
"Oh, God," Kyle said, but he was already heading for the stairs.
"We'll be right back," Stan said. He felt a little nervous leaving them, but there were about eight lifeguards for every kid, and Livy babysat for Topher on a regular basis at home. He caught up to Kyle and took his hand as they headed away from the pool, crossing the lazy river on a little bridge. Kyle grinned at him.
"Stan," he said. "You could have kicked that guy's ass."
"I know," he said. "And Toph could have taken his kid, but I didn't really have an issue with him."
"So, let's do this quick," Kyle said, and they speed walked toward the elevators. As soon as the elevator doors were closed Stan pressed Kyle to the wall and licked into his mouth, moaning at the taste of his champagne tongue.
"Mhmm," Kyle said when Stan pulled back. "Coconut."
"Piña colada."
"Of course."
They were running for real on the way to the room, laughing like idiots, and as soon as they were inside they started scrambling out of their wet bathing suits. Stan dashed to the bathroom for the little bottle of lotion he'd spotted earlier.
"It's bamboo lavender," he said when he returned to the bedroom, tossing it to Kyle.
"How delightfully absurd," Kyle said. "Did you put the 'Do Not Disturb' on the door?"
"Oh, fuck, forgot." Stan dashed to do it. When he came back Kyle was naked, on his back on the bed, his knees spread while he fingered himself. "Dude," Stan said, grabbing his cock when it throbbed, though it wasn't like he was going to come just from this. "Let me do that."
"You take too long," Kyle said, twisting his fingers into himself. His feet were arched, his toes curled over the edge of the mattress. "I don't like leaving them down there with all those strangers. Get your dick wet."
"Wet?"
"You know what I mean!"
Stan did, and he slicked his cock with the lotion, crawling on top of Kyle. They kissed, and Stan sucked at Kyle's neck, not hard enough to leave incriminating marks but skillfully enough to make Kyle grab a handful of Stan's hair and pull. He leaned back to watch Kyle's face while he opened himself, momentarily resisting the urge to push his tongue into Kyle's panting mouth.
"Fuck me," Kyle said. "So hard, Stan, make me scream."
The TV was still playing soft music, still showing peaceful Hawaiian landscapes. It seemed slightly sacrilegious, but Stan didn't have the time or presence of mind to turn it off. He needed to be inside Kyle, badly, and he groaned when he reached down to feel him.
"Did you do a good job?" Stan asked, teasing him with his fingertips. "Are you ready for me?"
"Mhm, yeah," Kyle said, nodding. "Please, hurry." He was pulling at Stan's forearms. "I need it. You know I need it. Just the smell of you makes me hard when I need you this much."
"Alright," Stan said, lining up. He could feel his slamming heartbeat in his ear lobes, everywhere. "I hope you're right, 'cause I'm gonna pound you, dude, gonna pound your fucking ass."
"Yuh, yeah." Kyle couldn't seem to stop nodding, but he went still when Stan slid into him, his eyes dropping shut. "Oh," said. "Oh, yeah, that's-" He stopped trying to articulate it and just drooled. Stan bent down to kiss him, Kyle's heat rolling over him in waves as sunk in deeper. Kyle hadn't done a very thorough job of prepping himself. He was so tight, squeezing around Stan until he forgot where they were.
"You," Stan said, breathing into Kyle's mouth. "You're so-"
"Yes, I know I'm tight," Kyle said. "Just fuck me, dude, don't wait. I can't wait." He sounded like he might cry. Stan pulled back and gave him a long, slow thrust that seemed to infuriate him. Kyle whined and squirmed, pressing his hips up. Stan could only tease him for a few seconds before he started fucking him hard, and Kyle groaned, nodding again, his head thrown back.
"You like that?" Stan asked. The bed was knocking against the wall, and Kyle was jerking himself like he was going to come already.
"God," Kyle said, groaning. "I fucking love it. Stan. Fuck me like you bought me with the room."
"Who's my little rent boy?" Stan asked, tugging on his curls.
"Me," Kyle cried. "I am."
They'd made a competition of who could say the stupidest things during sex years ago, and it was hardly a joke anymore, just a free pass to put whatever crossed their minds right the fuck out there.
"Mhm, yeah," Stan said, lowering his face to Kyle's neck. "So worth it, fuck yeah. This sweet fucking ass - worth every penny." He was going to come, and he didn't want to, because they wouldn't be able to do this again until they got home.
"Put me on the floor," Kyle said, jacking his cock and groping for the lotion with his other hand. "On - on all fours, push my face down on the carpet and hold my ass up for your dick, please, please."
Kyle didn't really need to beg; Stan picked him up and lowered him to the floor, turning him onto his hands and knees. Kyle was thoughtful enough to yank the comforter down with them, and when he came he managed to spare the carpet, holding the comforter against his dick, humping the 700-count cotton. Stan came almost immediately after him, pinning Kyle completely to the floor. Kyle panted against the carpet while Stan gave him sloppy kisses on the cheek, still pumping his hips as the very last of everything he'd saved up for a week trickled into Kyle.
"God," Stan said. "What - what have we done to this room?"
"I'll call for them to change the bedsheets," Kyle said. "Just give me a second."
"Kay." Stan pulled out of him and rolled him into his arms, checking his cheek for carpet burn. His skin was red, but the sun he'd gotten throughout the week mostly masked it. Stan licked him there, tasting carpet fibers, and Kyle grinned.
"I just couldn't come to Hawaii and not have sex with you while we were here," Kyle said. "You understand."
"Absolutely." Stan wanted to go again, but he wouldn't be able to get it up, too worried about the kids down there on their own, and it wasn't such an easy feat anyway, now that he was almost forty. "I was thinking about our wedding night," he said. "The couch sex at your aunt's place. That picture of you in your green hat."
"You're always thinking about this stuff, apparently," Kyle said. "But it's sweet, Stan, you're so sweet. Who could deserve you? I don't even feel guilty anymore."
"Guilty?"
"Like I'm keeping you from someone else, someone who could match you, but no one could, nobody fucking deserves you."
"Ah," Stan said. He sat up on the ruined comforter and looked around the room, ukulele music from the TV wafting over his head. "I think I have to quit my job," he said.
"What do you mean?" Kyle asked, and he sat up, too. There was nothing Stan liked better than Kyle when he was naked and sitting with his legs splayed awkwardly, his hands in his lap, cock soft and sticky. He put his hand on Kyle's ankle and sighed.
"You're right," Stan said. "I don't like the new job. I hate going there every day, and it's starting to make me hate waking up in the morning. I don't want to keep getting angrier until I'm back to you know where. That poor asshole in the pool - that shouldn't bother me as much as it does."
"Stan - honey." Kyle rubbed his back, frowning. "I'm sure a lot of people come to Hawaii and decide they don't want to go back to their real lives. Let's talk about this when we're at home."
"No," Stan said. "I know I'm right about this. Now that we've paid off our debt, I don't have to feel bad about it. I don't want to feel bad about it, Kyle. I need to do this. I'm serious."
Kyle stood up and put his bathing suit back on. He went over to the half-empty champagne bottle, which was sitting uncorked in the melted ice.
"So what would you do?" Kyle asked, grabbing the champagne bottle by the neck. "Instead, I mean. We might have eliminated the debts, but we've got a lot of expenses, Stan. The kids have zero in the way of college savings, and I really want Livy to go to a private high school next year, and Toph probably needs to be in some kind of special school, too, fuck, his grades are horrible, they're going to hold him back-"
"I could write a book," Stan said. "A gay novel, like you said."
"Stan, that was-" Kyle stopped short of saying it was a joke, holding his hand over his eyes. "Okay," he said. "Okay, no, you should. You've certainly contributed more to our cause than I have. Sure, okay, write a novel." He drank from the champagne bottle.
"Our cause?" Stan said.
"Our family! Put your bathing suit back on, let's go. I don't want to leave them down there for the full duration of - this discussion."
Stan cleaned his cock on the comforter and got up to put his suit on. Kyle called down to room service and asked for a new set of sheets for one of the beds in their room. Stan piled the comforter back onto the bed, hoping they hadn't been too conspicuous. He watched Kyle drink the rest of the champagne.
"Well, fuck," Kyle said, dropping the empty bottle back into the melted ice. "You would be kind of a novelty as a romance writer. You're this butch lumberjack type who made a living as an exterminator. I bet we could sell that, actually."
"You think I'm like a lumberjack?" Stan said, flattered.
"From afar," Kyle said. "I mean, to the lay person."
"So, to people who aren't actual lumberjacks."
"Yes. To everyone else I suspect you're close enough. Oh, God, Stan."
"I know," Stan said, and he put his hand out. "But it'll be okay, I promise. I wouldn't do it if I didn't know it was right."
"I don't want you to be sad, that's - I'll do anything to stop that from happening," Kyle said. He hurried into Stan's arms and hugged him, standing up on his tip-toes. They'd both left their flip flops at the pool in their haste. "I need you to be okay," Kyle said when he pulled back.
"I am okay," Stan said. "Jesus, I feel better already. Just saying all this."
"Well, I need you to be more than okay, actually," Kyle said. "I need you to be ecstatically happy, and I need to be able to credit myself."
"You can," Stan said. "For everything good, I mean."
"What the hell are you going to write about?" Kyle asked when they walked to the elevators, holding hands.
"I don't know," Stan said. "You. Or, like, this couple who've known each other since they were in pre-school, and they take forever to get together, and when they do they're too scared to talk about it, so the one guy thinks the other one thinks it's not serious, but eventually they get married and have kids-"
"No, no," Kyle said. "That's all wrong. I'll think up a plot for you. It's got to be tragic, for one thing. And they can't end up together with a couple of kids."
"Wha - why not?"
"'Cause that's too perfect," Kyle said, and the elevator arrived with a ding. Kyle grinned when Stan squeezed his hand.
The kids were swimming under the bridge that crossed the lazy river as Stan and Kyle walked over it. They waved, and Kyle moaned about not having the camera.
"This is our third time going around!" Topher shouted as the water pushed them along. "It's getting boring!" he said, and Stan was touched. Tomorrow they would find sea turtles. It would be magical.
(the end)
Adorable artwork inspired by the story, thanks Nolly!!
back to the beginning