SUSPICIOUS MINDS | DALLAS

[James Rodgers]

SUSPICIOUS MINDS 

It was five minutes and twenty seconds past ten o'clock. The house was quiet, and everyone went to sleep. All he needed to do was to remain discreet and sneak out the front door. The following day was a school day but James found no desire in going to bed anytime soon. He planned to skip the morrow and pretend to be sick. After all, the boy never skipped a day since the beginning of his Senior year, a few days ago. 

You see, he was a hardworking young man, always getting the best grades, always on time for his classes and activities but between attending school full-time and teaching the unteachable that was Choreography, in one of the local dance schools, James Rodgers was quite the busy young man for his age. At times he just wanted to take a day off from everything. James didn't really hail from an elite private school but he went to the extremes as to aim as high as he could and he went ahead mirroring Jackson's confidence and applied to Oxford University. His teachers were quiet happy to write him letter recommendations but the tuition rates were very high in comparison to the UK citizens.

Without some sort of international scholarships or federal financial help there was no way Helena could pay for it. Still, he wasn't going to back up for anything and until he gets a response back, he was going to keep his plans a secret from his family. The young man had big dreams.

Blue pools clamped shut momentarily, and with the aforementioned decision in mind he moved down the hallway like a silent shadow, calculating each step he made as to not wake up Margot or Helena. There were times when Colt Jackson slept over in the guest room, but, not tonight.

---

The night was cool but comfortable enough for him to stay out for hours in a pair of white sweat pants and a white t-shirt of thin fabric which he wore underneath his varsity baseball jacket in burgundy and white. He made it to the baseball park positioned in the center of a small city park and hoped that it was deserted. Stomach in knots about his future, he needed to entertain himself... to just let it all go if only for tonight. Swinging a heavy baseball bat in his left hand with a flawless maneuver, he ventured into the park, oblivious to the comings and goings of two men in suits.  All of a sudden he felt himself light, body and mind. The air was fresh. Tonight was perfect.

If baseball was a team-oriented sport, James' competitive nature had found ways to practice his favorite sport - when it came to physical skills - alone when the company of others in the middle of the night was almost, impossible. Securing the baseball bat between his thighs, fingers slid down the front of his jacket as he unbuttoned it. When he was done, he discarded it on the ground, along with a small backpack which carried a bottle of water, a small clean towel, the glove and ball.

He found a high fence and advanced towards it, putting neon green circular stickers against the surface and at different heights. Sucking his bottom lip into the mouth, he leaped backward and made his first accurate throw. When the ball bounced back his way he captured the fast ball with pinpoint precision but he had started slow. He continued to repeat the process multiple times, each round swinging the bat with more controlled power than the previous round; sometimes he would shift his starting ground, picking various distances, striking his targets at different points. He never missed once until his mind went to this one guy named Dallas.

The two men had only met couple of times at the bar but the hunk had left something behind, unforgettable. There was something, so alluring about the beast, something dangerous... something he couldn't put his finger on, something incentive. James jerked back to the present when he missed to catch the ball. It went right past him. He cursed under his breath and a small smile crawled to the corners of his mouth while he turned around. Eyes on the ground, he followed the ball as it rolled down the short invisible path it laid. The ball paused. It was now bathing in the shadow of another.

James raised his eyes quizzically, to get a glimpse of his intruder, and blinked sluggishly.

---

note: i hope this was okay (:

[Dallas Harper]

ONE TWO THREE THEY'RE GONNA RUN BACK TO ME, CLIMBING OVER MOUNTAINS&& 
SAILING OVER SEAS, THEY ALWAYS WANNA COME BUT THEY NEVER WANT TO LEAVE
THEY JUST WON'T LET GO

[/i] or whatever the film was…

Ducking down a small dirt alleyway between two houses, Dallas crossed the street and found his way into the ballpark. His eyes glanced around lightly to see if anyone was around or watching but his peepers didn’t catch glance of someone. Stuffing a hand in the pocket of his trousers, Dallas fished out a box of matches while the other plucked the cigarette that was resting behind his ear. He’d almost brought a coat out of habit but the Las Vegas nights during the summer were almost as hot as they day was.

With the men’s room in sight, Dallas moved for the door when he heard noises off to the right and around the corner near the baseball diamond. Curiosity getting the better of him, Dallas plucked the cigarette from his lips and peered around the corner. It was a fella practicing baseball. Was the season not over yet? Dallas was gonna have to look at the morning paper a bit more carefully.

Catching a glimpse of the man’s face in the streetlight above the diamond, Dallas realized he recognized the guy. No shit! It wasn’t a John but James- look at that. He’d seen the guy at the local watering hole a couple of times and Dallas had introduced him to the bartender to help the guy get a drink. He was legal for pretty much everything else but alcohol. At James’ age, Dallas had been joining the army- long time ago it seemed. The fella was handsome in a pretty-boy manner and had a very athletic built- Dallas wouldn’t kick him out of bed. Feeling like causing a little bit of a lighthearted row, Dallas approached, sticking the cigarette back into his mouth. A ball rolled past James and right up to Dallas’ feet, one boot lifting to stop the ball under his heel. Giving James a smirk, Dallas knelt down to pick up the ball, “Looky looky who’s playing hooky. Isn’t it past your bedtime, Jimmy?” Dallas said, throwing the ball back at the guy. He’d played ball in school growing up but it was like riding a bike- the motions were still there.

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[NOTE] Great Starter! (:
[Tag] James Rodgers

[James Rodgers]

SUSPICIOUS MINDS

Danger. It was something that James craved in his life, but at the same time feared. If you laugh in the face of danger, then you're an idiot and if you laugh in the face of danger, then you could also be a fool. So you're either the idiot or the fool, but that is also how society viewed things in general, never too sure of what it truly wants to think. The way people lived their lives in accordance with the law and common sense also meant living their lives with contradiction. But then, never was anything great achieved without danger.

What he knew of Dallas was so little, but it was enough for James. He helped him get introduced to the bartender and he was given a drink. Now he could hit the bar whenever he pleased even without Dallas' company and if the bartender was having a shift that night then James could get anything he wanted to drink as long as he puts money on the counter. The bartender would know when to stop intoxicating the young one because he too, wouldn't want to lose his job over some eighteen year old shitfaced. 

Dallas had seemed a little bit secretive when James had asked him a question about his past, and, telling him that he worked as a lifeguard and pool boy at some Vegas casino wasn't enough to fool James. That wasn't all he did or does, James thought then. So, they spent those evenings drinking and having a blast by simply dealing with the present. James ended up inebriated by both the alcohol and the other that he was drunk as fuck and unable to stand or drive himself back home. Dallas had taken the keys from him and drove him back.

The Texan had quite the physical stature. He had the built of a God from ancient Greece. The way he talked, the way he carried himself around, James had noticed certain details in the body movements of his acquaintance that rose the aforementioned suspicion. James thought the same, even when he looked up to find Dallas smirking at him to throw the ball his way. Everything about him spoke of somebody who was trained for operations of the non-civilian kind.

"It's you!" James caught the ball in his hand and smirked back. Truth be told, he wasn't too pleased to see him and Dallas himself, wasn't the issue. James has been suffering of something that made him feel physically attracted to others of the same sex. He has long struggled with it and the simple presence of certain men of his type gave him a hard-on here, and a more painful one there. He was ashamed of it and even came to believe that he was having some sort of a mental illness which had prevented him this whole time from crossing the bridge over to Pimpleton. Mortified, he couldn't even speak about it to Helena and Margot, let alone finding contentment in telling Colt Jackson who he considered as a father figure.

He looked away from Dallas, moistening his lips and dropped the glove, baseball bat and ball to the ground. He picked up his bottle of water and turned on his heels holding the bottle in one hand, and the cap in the other between an index and middle finger. He advanced forward, glancing past Dallas' left shoulder to take a mental note of the two men in suits now walking to the far side of the park behind the fence to take a seat at the bench, facing them under the shadows of the trees.

Both of the young men were now bathing in the dim illuminance level of the few yard lights in proximity. James' temples and chin gleamed with a sheen of sweat from his exercise. "A-yo, were you... been followed?" He asked between two hesitant sips of water and moved forward some more to bring their distance closer. A small laugh suddenly escaped him as he blinked away from the suspicious presence of the dark silhouettes on the bench, thinking that the thought that had just crossed his mind was simply of paranoiac nature.

 "You know it, it's definitely past my bedtime. But I have the day off tomorrow...," he answered with an unmistakable caught-red-handed smile and shrugged his shoulders, "thought I'd stop by the park tonight to pitch and catch a few." James had felt the presence of simmering sexual attraction when he spent time with Dallas at the bar couple of times, and he knew that the attraction - purely sexual -  was mutual. His inbuilt radar couldn't have been wrong although he was hoping that it was.

James continued interacting with the other in a relaxed manner while stretching an arm behind his back to give a small rub along his lower spine. "But it's good seeing you man, after a fairly uneventful day of mine." He shifted his weight from his left leg to his right and inch by inch, he dropped his gaze to the Texan's mouth while placing the cap on the battle to secure it. "And you? How's it hanging?" James' blues traveled up once again to catch Dallas' dark ones as he cocked his head to the side with a hint of a smile. "Why the park of all the other entertaining places in Vegas you could have gone to?"

---

Dallas Harper i had a good one for you that i lost to a proboards error not long ago, so forgive this entry, it isn't the best since i couldn't rephrase everything that crossed my mind earlier but i hope it's still looking ok. 

[Dallas Harper]

ONE TWO THREE THEY'RE GONNA RUN BACK TO ME, CLIMBING OVER MOUNTAINS&& 
SAILING OVER SEAS, THEY ALWAYS WANNA COME BUT THEY NEVER WANT TO LEAVE
THEY JUST WON'T LET GO

[/s] Dallas smirked as he saw the fella's shocked expression. Seems his friend hadn't expected to see anyone or anything but his own shadow tonight. Surprise! Here Dallas was- granted, it wasn't to try and find James but the run-in was amusing enough to wet Dallas' appetite. The thing was, Dallas wasn't shocked to see James at the park and wouldn't be surprised if the man was here for the same reasons Dallas was. It was the flickers of the eyes or the looks the guy gave him that let Dallas know there as a bit more kick in that mind than any average Joe who chased skirts. While Dallas wouldn't put it past James to be a skirt chaser too, there just might be more in common between the men than Dallas had first thought. The pool boy had a knack for noticing these things- his life and freedom often depended on picking the right guys from the wrong ones.

Dallas plucked the cigarette from his mouth and flicked it into the distance, watching the red tip disappear into the dark night. "A-yo, were you... been followed?" Dallas peeked over his shoulder, a flash of nerves popping up to think someone had tried to follow him. There were two men in suits who had appeared and moved to sit on a bench under the tree. Dallas smirked- he knew what they would be doing. Turning back to James, he shook his head, "Not me." Dallas' hand moved to slick his hair back while the other reached for is pack of cigarettes. He pulled a cigarette out and placed it between his lips, "Want something to suck on?" Dallas smiled and took another cigarette out and put it beside the other. Lighting them both between his lips, Dallas stepped closer to James and handed him the cigarette.

"You know it, it's definitely past my bedtime. But I have the day off tomorrow... thought I'd stop by the park tonight to pitch and catch a few." Dallas couldn't help but laugh! Did he just say that? Oh sweet Jesus! He didn't mean it the way Dallas took it but the mental image was appetizing. He had to feed this a little bit, "Which do you like better?" James wouldn't get it- or maybe he would- but Dallas couldn't help himself, especially considering the place they were in. If only James knew there were many who came here to pitch and catch every night- just not the way James was thinking. Dallas liked the man's innocence and envied it- also wanting to see how far he could push its boundary if he could.

Dallas smoked his cigarette quickly, feeling the tobacco start to calm the urge for more than just one stick. "But it's good seeing you man, after a fairly uneventful day of mine."Dallas envied that- he had been from pool to pool to pool after working a long shift at the casino pool. "And you? How's it hanging? Why the park of all the other entertaining places in Vegas you could have gone to?" Dallas' eyes met James' baby blues and gave him a smirk as he took a drag from his cigarette, "Long day for me. Came here to let off some steam, maybe pitch and catch a bit too." Dallas said straightly. Throwing the cigarette on the ground, grinding it out with his boot, Dallas held out his hand to James, "Got a glove? " Dallas had played baseball in college and in the military. James needed a partner and Dallas thought he'd offer- maybe Dallas would get something out of it a bit later? His hopes weren't up but the sizzling chemistry between the two was enough to wet his appetite for a little bit.


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[NOTE] Hope this works! (:
[Tag] James Rodgers

[James Rodgers]

SUSPICIOUS MINDS

Cigarettes were enormously dangerous for your health. That's what responsible parents would always tell their kids. Some may have decided to bear the parental advice their entire life, others tried to but did as they pleased at the end either when they hit puberty and wanted to be part of the cool kids in town, or simply because of other life events that lead them to smoking tobacco. In James' case, he didn't heed his mother's advice because he was a 'good' kid, but more like that James knew what was right and what was wrong for him. He disliked smoking because of many unhealthy factors that can ruin one's life from affecting the respiratory system, to the central nervous system, cardiovascular system, reproductive and digestive systems. Another more personal reason would be he distaste for what tobacco smelled and tasted like.

But, it did occur to him to smoke a few times and not because he wanted the other teens to think that he's cool like them or anything. James would simply do it at times because of the idea of he forbidden. Smoking surely wasn't forbidden by law, but it was forbidden by what values he stood for. So when Mr. Harper here had decided to light a second cigarette between those full lips that made James feel instantly, vulnerably drawn to as he surveyed the guy, the boy didn't want to say no to the offer after all the trouble Dallas may have went through, unknowingly maybe, to look seductively provocative.  

Even after he accepted the cigarette, he didn't take more than four or six drags. When the smoke entered his lungs, James found the taste unsavory but he didn't physically react much to it because he was still quite familiar with the taste. It wasn't his first time. His thoughts were definitely elsewhere, focusing on Dallas than the cigarette between his fingers. He shook his head and chuckled as he stared back innocently at the other male. Of course, he had absolutely no idea what Dallas was referring to when he asked him, ''Which do you like better?"

James response was 'i'm good at catching but i do batter too', feeling quite glad that a man he met only couple of times before could already be taking interest in one of the activities he loved the most, baseball. He was feeling more appreciative when Dallas advanced and requested the glove so that they could play a few rounds. Perhaps if James could spare some extra time later, he would definitely opt for a drink in the company of the man before heading home; be it at the bar or elsewhere. "I mean, thinking about it, I wouldn't have minded working as the pool boy at a casino," he laughed and took one last drag before he unequipped the cigarette, "you never know who you might bump into. All them rich, beautiful looking people, men and women alike..." He emphasized the word 'men', and perhaps he simply wanted to hint to the other that he was, different.


He handed Dallas the leather mitt along with the ball and held his eyes for a second or two, fingers lingering in his own hair for a moment. "I'm not sure which casino exactly you work at, but if you know the High Noons, then you might have bumped into Colt Jackson... good friend of the family." James looked away and retrieved a second glove from the ground as he cracked his neck and raised a speculative brow. "He's like a father figure so i took the risk to ask for help. I've asked him for a job... yes... but he thought I was still too young to work at a casino. I've applied to Oxford University and I have high hopes that my application will go through successfully but I don't think my mother or I can cover my tuition and fees, including living costs. So, aside from my part-time job at the dance institution, I was hoping to find a serious job on the side to do after school, so i can budget over a ten months period and save up as much as I can."

With a disappointment look and a lopsided half smile, he dropped his gaze to Dallas' lips, momentarily savoring them with his eyes as the simple thought of that mouth somewhere on his body teased his senses in spite of how down he felt at the thought of his future. He blinked away and with strides away from Dallas, he created about 50ft distance between the Texan and himself. It was a distance that would give them a challenging enough a space to play, but also close enough to hear one another talking if out loud. 


Since he was just practicing, James imagined that they could switch turns between catcher and pitcher. He opted to start as the catcher as he walked behind an invisible plate. He positioned himself with the fence at a close distance behind him so that if he misses to catch, the ball wouldn't go far away, and would hit the fence so that none of them had to run after it. If James missed, he would pick up the ball and throw it back at Dallas for the next pitch. Dallas looked confident enough to ask for the glove, and it was only natural for James to assume that the man must have had some sort of an experience in the past playing Baseball.


With his left foot just slightly ahead of his right, James raised his head and flashed Dallas a grin and a wink as he nodded his head, signaling for him to pitch. James wasn't wearing any armor so he only hoped that the ball wouldn't injure him in any way.

---

Dallas Harper it's all about the pitching and catching now =p hope this was an okay post. feel free to  write James' actions for game rounds if you want to.

[Dallas Harper]

ONE TWO THREE THEY'RE GONNA RUN BACK TO ME, CLIMBING OVER MOUNTAINS&& 
SAILING OVER SEAS, THEY ALWAYS WANNA COME BUT THEY NEVER WANT TO LEAVE
THEY JUST WON'T LET GO

[/s] Yeah, he'd caught it. But who were they kidding, they had read one another head to toe and probably could guess that each of their cocks perked up when seeing a member of the same sex. Dallas was solely for one party but James could dip into both- just meant he was an experienced man. Letting the comment slide just to be a bit neglectful, Dallas punched into the leather glove and readied himself. He couldn't believe his was playing ball instead of having fun in the men's restroom. Guess he could always play the five finger shuffle if he didn't get lucky tonight. Nothing wrong with helping oneself reach a blissful nightcap before bed.

"I'm not sure which casino exactly you work at, but if you know the High Noons, then you might have bumped into Colt Jackson... good friend of the family." Dallas shrugged. He'd never heard of the man. Probably because he didn't work at High Noon. He worked the pool at the Americano Club and stole the sweet jewels from its ritzy guests. "No, work at the American Club." Dallas said, his mouth dry. He needed another cigarette- he'd just throw the ball around a little but before lighting up another.

"He's like a father figure so i took the risk to ask for help. I've asked him for a job... yes... but he thought I was still too young to work at a casino. I've applied to Oxford University and I have high hopes that my application will go through successfully but I don't think my mother or I can cover my tuition and fees, including living costs. So, aside from my part-time job at the dance institution, I was hoping to find a serious job on the side to do after school, so i can budget over a ten months period and save up as much as I can."

Dallas thought about this for a second, thinking about whether he wanted to put in a good word for this fella or not. He would like to work with someone as handsome and hard-working. Meant less work for him and more time to drink on the job and get paid for it. A life guards life isn't all it's cracked up to be. "We got an opening. I'll put in a good word for you." Dallas said- it all mattered if Dallas remembered or not. He planned on getting plastered with alcohol when he got home. If he remembered all this in the morning, then the kid would get a call for a job opening. "As long as you don't mind fishing people who've drowned out of the pool." Dallas chuckled to himself as he told the guy the warning. Dallas had never had to do it but he thought it'd be funny to see James' face.

His mind went dirty when James crouched down and readied his hands in front of his crotch to catch the ball. The man was sexy even when he wasn't trying- not fair but Dallas drank it up. Turning sideways, Dallas tied to remember all the steps. It was like riding a bike, right? Dallas wound up and then threw the ball, looking down the line as the ball left his fingers so he could see where it landed. Pretty shitty. The ball landed five feet in front of James and bounced into his glove. Catching the ball as it was thrown back at him, Dallas didn't make an excuse for his poor throw. He just wanted a chance for redemption. The next couple of throws were better and the last few were even pretty good. Catching the ball and pausing, Dallas also tried to catch his breath. Smacking his dry lips in an attempt to wet them, Dallas pulled a cigarette from his pocket, "Not too bad considering its been since my time in the milita..." Shit, a slip up. "... since my time at college."


Lighting up his cigarette, Dallas closed the gap between the two guys, "Hey slick, you got some water?"
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[NOTE] Sorry for the wait! (:
[Tag] James Rodgers