The Summer of 1981, Part 6: Sausalito Summernight

[Padraig]

For those of you who would like to catch up, here are links to the earlier chapters:

Part 1, The Best of Times: http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/sh...ad.php?t=16216
Part 2, Wasn't That A Party: http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/sh...ad.php?t=16225
Part 3, The Boy From New York City: http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/sh...ad.php?t=16229
Part 4, The Voice: http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/sh...ad.php?t=16235
Part 5, Feels So Right: http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/sh...ad.php?t=16238


Any feedback is very much appreciated - I would love to hear from those of you who have been reading. Thanks!!

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After mulling his options, he made a decision.

Tug got up from Tim's weight bench, took off his dress shirt and torn slacks, and returned them to the laundry room. He then walked upstairs in his boxer shorts and called his friend Jay from the phone in the kitchen.

The phone on the other end rang five times and was eventually answered by a deep “Hello."

“Hey, Jay. It’s Tug. What are you doing?”

“Not much. You?”

“I’m going to go to the mall to spend some of my graduation money on new clothes. You want to come with me?”

“Sure. I need to get some stuff for the trip.”

“Great. I’ll be by to pick you up in 10 minutes.”

“OK, see you in a few.”

They both hung up, and Tug went upstairs to redress. He pulled out a t-shirt that he knew would still fit, along with his largest pair of shorts, and put them both on. He then hustled downstairs, left a quick note for his mom, threw on his sneakers, and locked the door on his way out.

A few minutes later, he pulled his car into the Pearl family’s driveway and saw Jay sitting on the front porch. He was the shortest of Tug's friends, only 5'7”, but he compensated for a lack in height with other qualities that many of the local girls found to be extremely desirable: an athletic body developed from years of baseball and wrestling, a lion's mane of auburn hair, deep sky blue eyes, and a rich, bass voice that made him sound much older.

Jay was dressed in his favorite blue t-shirt, the one he said not only matched his eyes but also somehow made his arms look bigger than they actually were, and a pair of khaki walking shorts that came down well past his knees. He waved at Tug, and then hopped up and walked quickly toward the car once it came to a stop. He took long strides for a short guy and was sitting next to Tug in less than 10 seconds.

“Hey there, pal,” said Jay as he shut the door. “What have you been up to the last two days?”

“We had the party for Tim on Saturday, and yesterday I didn’t do much. Helped my parents clean up, went to the Burger Palace, watched some TV. What about you?” Tug put the car in reverse, backed into the road, and then drove toward the ferry.

“My dad and I were supposed to go to a Mariners game yesterday, but of course that didn’t happen. I can’t believe that I’ll always have to associate our high school graduation with this stupid baseball strike.”

“It sucks, I know.” Tug didn’t really care one way or another, but he had learned to just agree whenever Jay expressed an opinion about baseball.

“So I went on a bike ride with Karen down to the cove and we had a picnic lunch. It was the first in a series of romantic things she wants to do before I leave,” said Jay.

“Like what?” asked Tug.

“It's a secret list, apparently - I just show up and she has it all planned out. Like tonight, all I know is that I need to be back at my house by 7:00 and to be wearing something 'warm and cozy', she said. I guess we'll have to hit up the 'cozy' section of Penney's, becuase I'm darn sure I have nothing that's cozy."

Tug laughed, but inside he was a little envious that Jay had found someone special. He and Karen had been going out for two years and were clearly very much in love.

“So what do you really need from the mall?” he asked Jay.

“We need some new camping stuff. My dad’s not sure that our lantern will last much longer, and my mom wants me to pick up some new pots and pans.”

“I still can’t believe you get to tour the National Parks.”

“I still can’t believe I have to tour the parks!”

“Oh, come on, it won’t be so…”

“With my parents, Tug!” shouted Jay, his voice booming loudly.

“You’ll have lots of…”

“And my grandparents!” he shouted even louder, though keeping the smile on his face.

Tug laughed again, only much harder this time. Although he had heard about Jay’s National Park trip for the last few months, his mock outrage was still very funny. Deep down, however, Tug knew his friend, who spent almost every moment possible outside, would really enjoy the experience.

“My parents also told me they want me to fly down and spend a few weeks in August with my other grandparents in Sausalito.”

“Wait – so will you miss our trip?”

“No, I would go after right you and Jim and me get back.”

“Ooh, Karen’s probably not going to like that.”

“No, she didn’t - at least at first. Now she’s hoping to fly down to San Francisco to visit relatives during the same time, and then borrow her aunt’s old Rambler to sneak across the Golden Gate to see me.”

“Well, hopefully that will make for some hot summer nights in Sausalito for you two.”

“I am definitely up for that!” agreed Jay.

The boys continued talking and trading stories during the car trip and ferry ride, reaching the Alderwood Mall about an hour later. They parked the car near Sears, where Jay could get his camping stuff and Tug was sure he could get clothes in husky sizes.

They split up upon entering the store and Jay headed off for the sporting goods. Tug wandered into the general clothing area, but couldn't find the men's section. He was in the midst of his search when he came across a register station and saw a salesman approaching from a nearby fitting area.

The salesman was young, probably not more than a few years older than Tug, with sandy hair and a rugged, brawny physique. His thickset torso had been poured into a light green polo shirt that accentuated every well-fed muscle, especially the twin boulders that were his pecs, which rose and fell and rose and fell as he walked. Tug became mesmerized by the bouncing beef, but eventually pretended as though he was looking at the man's nametag, which was perched atop his massive chest. It read, "Tom Sawyer / Assistant Manager."

As he returned to the station, the manager looked over at Tug and politely asked, "May I help you, sir?"

Tug looked up from Tom's musclebound chest and replied, "Yeah, I'm looking for men's clothing."

"Well, please follow me, sir. I'd be glad to show you." Tom turned and headed toward the back of the store, down an aisle that Tug had not previously seen. As they walked, Tug looked down to see that Tom's lower half was also as tightly packed into his black polyester flair-leg slacks as his upper half was packed into the polo shirt.

Could this guy even bend over without bursting out of his clothes?

"Here we are," said Tom, pointing out the men's clothing section with his entire hand. "Please let me know if you need any further assistance."

"Thank you," said Tug. He watched as Tom walked over to another nearby register station and began speaking with a female sales associate, and he was pretty sure that she too was staring at the manager's beefy pecs as he approached her.

The first rack Tug came to contained a variety of funny t-shirts, one of which featured the slogan, “I Got This Body With Junk Food,” but ironically, they didn’t have one big enough for him. He continued looking through the selection of shirts, but didn’t see any with tags above a size 'Large.'

He kept searching through the different types of shirts, from casual to dressy, but he was unable to find anything that would fit him.

Tug then tried looking for pants and shorts that might fit, but he came across the same problem – nothing big enough. He then walked over to the nearby register station to ask Tom if he bought his clothes somewhere in the mall, since clearly the man also needed big sizes for his big body.

Unfortunately, Tom was gone by the time Tug got to the station, and the salesgirl said she thought he had gone on a lunch break.

It was just then that Jay returned from the sporting could department carrying a lantern and some camping pots. “Find what you were looking for, Tug?”

“Nope, doesn’t look like they have anything in my size. Do you mind if we look somewhere else?”

“Sure. Let me just pay for this stuff.”

A few minutes later the boys had stowed Jay’s gear in the back of the car and were searching the other stores for clothes for Tug. Unfortunately, as with Sears, none carried any sizes large enough, so they headed for the food court to grab a quick bite – Jay opting for Taco Tina’s, and Tug having a burger and a root beer from BurgerMaster.

They sat together at one of the small orange tables, and as he ate, Jay tried to console his friend. “I’m sorry that nothing fit, Tug. It’s a shame that you have all that graduation money and can’t find anything to spend it on.”

“Yeah, it looked like they had some cool stuff in the sportswear department at Penney’s – what did the saleslady call them again?”

Jay laughed. “She said they were called ‘Action coordinates for the young man.’”

Tug smiled and laughed as well. “Who talks like that?”

“Exactly! Why not just call them t-shirts and shorts?”

“Well, whatever they are, they’re not going to fit me. I guess I will have to make a special trip later in the week to visit the Big & Tall store in downtown Seattle.” Tug looked up from his burger and watched his athletic friend eating his taco. “God, I wish I had your metabolism so I could fit into some regular clothes.”

“OK,” Jay agreed, and he quickly pulled up his t-shirt to reveal a set of well-formed abdominal muscles. “I’ll trade you my metabolism and these abs for your height.”

“Oh, dang….you drive a tough bargain, Jay.”

Jay put his shirt back down and his tone grew slightly more serious. “Look, Tug, I know I am around for only a few more days, but I would be glad to go jogging with you at the high school track. We could get at least get a few pounds off of you, and you’d be on your way back down to a size Large.”

“I appreciate the offer. Maybe I will take you up on it.

“Cool. Well, let me know,” replied Jay. "As long as it doesn't interfere with Karen's plans, you know I'm here for you."

"Thanks, Jay."

The boys finished their food and headed back for the car. They toyed with the idea of seeing a movie called "Raiders of the Lost Ark" at the Paradise Theater before heading back to the island, as Jay's older brother had raved about it when he saw it on Friday night. But as it was gettng to be late in the afternoon and Jay didn’t want to be late for his rendezvous with Karen, they decided to head straight for the ferry terminal instead.

[Padraig]

By the way, the description of Tom, the Assistant Manager, was a last minute addition based on someone I saw on a recent trip to Denver. And he wasn't the only stud I saw - it seemed like everywhere I went in that city, I ran into multitudes of well-built men of all types (bodybuilders, powerlifters, athletes, etc.) all dressed in super-tight clothing.

Has anybody else noticed that same thing about Denver? I'm definitely planning a return trip...