Chase of a Lifetime Read Online Free

entered the kitchen, more
people grabbed him and congratulated him. He passed through the dining room and
heard his mother talking about his yearbook. “Listen to this,” she said, with a
sing-song voice she only used with company. “These are all the things Jim has
been up to while he’s been away at school.” She started reading a list of his achievements,
beginning with a school play he’d done his freshman year. He felt a lump in his
stomach and a wave of nausea passed through his entire body. He didn’t think
he’d done anything that great. He’d done what he was supposed to do and he’d
spent the rest of his time shoving a big black dildo up his ass. He didn’t know
how to respond to all this attention and he needed to be alone and take a few
deep breaths.
    His mother continued to read from his
yearbook and he headed toward the main hallway. A short bald man stopped him at
the entrance to the living room and congratulated him. While the man spoke, Jim
glanced across the room and saw Cain Mayfield’s father, Len Mayfield, standing
beside the fireplace. In that light, Cain and his father could have been
mistaken for brothers. Jim wondered where Cain was that night. He’d been
certain Cain would have at least showed up for a few minutes. Evidently, he’d
been wrong.
    Jim made eye contact with Cain’s father for
a second and turned around fast. The walls started to close in and it became
harder to breathe. He left the short bald man in mid-sentence and headed to the
staircase. He climbed the steps two at a time and rushed to his bedroom. When
he entered, he closed the door to drown out the noise from the party and sat
down on the edge of his bed.
    While he was gazing out the window at the
group of women who were still standing near the swimming pool, one looked up,
held out her hand, and the other turned to leave. It must have started to rain.
He’d heard there might be a chance of rain that night.   As he turned, his bedroom door opened wide and
Len Mayfield leaned into the doorframe and said, “I thought this was the little
boys’ room.”
    Jim sat up straight and said, “Ah well, no,
Mr. Mayfield. It’s down the hall to the left.” Len wore a dark suit jacket that
night with light stucco slacks. Though he was old enough to have a son
graduating from college, he still had thick brown hair, a tight lean body, and
a deep tan. According to local legend, Len had worked his way through college
as a male model. He’d even posed for Playgirl magazine in his senior year.
After college he’d put all that aside to build a career as an investment
banker. Jim had overheard his mother and father talking about how often Len
Mayfield worked out at the gym and how careful he was about his diet. They
spoke about Len with snide tones, as if they were jealous he looked so good and
they didn’t. People often mistook Cain Mayfield and Len Mayfield for brothers
instead of father and son.
    Instead of turning to leave, Len walked into
the bedroom and pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his breast pocket. “How are
things, man?” he asked. He lit the cigarette and sat down on Jim’s bed.
    Jim’s mother had a no smoking rule in the
house and he knew she wouldn’t be thrilled about Len lighting up in his
bedroom. “The bathroom’s not hard to find. It’s just at the end of the
hallway.” He didn’t want his mother to think he smoked inside the house.
    Len inhaled deeply and ignored him. He
glanced around the bedroom and blew a stream of smoke through his nose. Jim had
left one of his jock straps on the end of his bed. When Len noticed it, he
picked it up and smiled.
    “Smoking’s not good for you, Mr. Mayfield.”
He’d never seen Len smoke before. He wondered why Len seemed interested his
dirty jock strap.
    Len puffed harder and set the jock down on
the bed where he’d found it. “I’m a grown man, Jim. Besides, I only smoke
socially. I’m not addicted. A pack can last me six months. I might not smoke
again