Trouble Triangle (Tyler's Trouble Trilogy)

by Casey, Travis

  With nothing better to think about, I wondered if Master Chief would have a chapter in his book about his duties as a wiener watcher, and, more importantly, if my dick would get a mention. With the show I gave him, it just might.

  I did laugh as I spent the next hour cleaning up the head, thinking about Master Chief's sole purpose in life for a time was to look at my dick, and perhaps have footnotes about it. Maybe he'd have to call them dicknotes.

  I didn't laugh quite so much when he told me I would be giving his boots a top of the range spit-shine and polish everyday for a month.

  Chapter 8Autumn in Hawaii offered a little relief to the heat of summer. It was still very warm, but more pleasant as the heat wasn't quite so blistering. Holly and Debbie kept me guessing what the future may hold, but Mark often had ideas of how to beat the stress of everyday life.

  Mark and I got off work one Friday evening and headed back to our room to get cleaned up and hyped for the weekend.

  "I suppose you'll be going out with Holly tonight," Mark said.

  "No, I need to give it a rest. Man, she's doin' my head in. She's a bit of a control freak. I'll break it off eventually, but I need to stay with her for a while so she doesn't feel like I just used her."

  Mark shook his head. "I still can't believe you're going to dump her. After what she did for you, I thought you'd worship the ground she walked on."

  I laughed. "No, she does that herself. Yeah, I owe her one, but…. Hey, you want to hear something else? Debbie wants me to stuff her one because she's not sure if she's gay or not."

  He rolled his eyes. "I don't believe this. You gonna do it?"

  "It's tricky." I drummed my fingers over my lips. "If Holly finds out, well, I know she's good with paperwork and could come up with something to get me thrown out. Or Debbie might tell Holly that we slept together just to get back at her. Man, it's a mess. I always wanted to get it on with Debbie, and now that she's offering, I'm scared it might all blow up in my face."

  "So you told her no, then?"

  I sighed. "Umm…not exactly. I'm stringing her along. I told her I strained a groin muscle doing the six-hundred-yard run during the physical fitness test, and I don't know how long it will take to heal. I need some time to think about this one."

  "Well, I know just what you need." He slapped his thigh. "Let's go down to Shit Street and check out some strip joints."

  I rubbed my hands together. "Now you're talking."

  #

  We both showered, changed and got a taxi down to the run-down part of Honolulu, Hotel Street. Known by all sailors and taxi drivers as Shit Street. We got out of the cab and walked past various massage parlors, tattoo artists, strip joints and scam artists, stepping over the odd drunk laying on the sidewalk now and then, and shunning the tarted up ladies of the evening asking us if we wanted a 'date.' No wonder it was a popular hangout for servicemen.

  Mark and I went into a packed bar, Jezebel's. The place was a dive and reeked of stale beer and marijuana. A heavy layer of smoke made it impossible to see across the room. It was fairly dark except for the spotlights illuminating the stage. The strippers weren't bad looking, but most were strung out on dope or drink, and would do anything for a tip. Military personnel occupied all the tables, with a dozen guys standing at the edge of the stage slipping dollar bills into the current stripper's garter belt.

  She leaned over one guy at the edge of the stage. The place erupted in cheers when he reached up and pulled both tassels off her nipples.

  We pushed through the room and made our way to the bar. I shouted out our order, then with beers in hand, we worked our way down toward the stage and found a spot where we leaned against the wall just to the left of the stage and not too far from the stripping action.

  A new dancer came on stage and began her routine. She peeled off her garments in a seductive fashion, and was soon down to a bra equivalent and g-string as Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes played. She sashayed off stage and clambered down the four steps in her spiked heels and stood in front of us. Cheers went up as she grabbed Mark's hand and led him toward the stage.

  Just a few feet before the steps up, she whispered in Mark's ear. He removed her hand from his and walked back to me. He leaned against the wall and took a drink of beer.

  "What are you doing, man? She's hot," I pointed out.

  "She said she wanted me to have sex with her onstage."

  "Well, this ain't no stage." I pushed him toward the limelight. "Why aren't you up there giving her one?"

  "If you're such the porn star, why don't you go up and drill her?"

  I handed him my beer, ran my fingers through my hair and headed for the stage. I leapt up the steps, walked over to her and began a slow hip swivel, as she did. I undid her bra, revealing her tits to the crowd which received rapturous applause.

  As I groped her boobs, she whispered in my ear. "I want you to fuck me onstage."

  I leaned down and removed her thong. For a moment, I just stood there admiring her nakedness. She rubbed me through my pants until I was hard. She dropped down on all fours and turned her head back to look at me. "Come on, big boy. Make me scream."

  I pulled my pants down, dropped to my knees and moved in behind her. I looked out into the cheering crowd, which proved to be a huge mistake. I couldn't pee with one guy looking at my dick. Now I had about two-hundred guys urging me on to jam this stripper. I turned into a shrinking violet before their very eyes.

  The cheers turned to boos. I tried to think of Farrah Fawcett to regain my former glory, but it didn't work. The crowd turned ugly: jeering and throwing cans and ashtrays at me. I quickly did up my pants up and exited the stage.

  As I came down the steps, some jarhead connected a left hook with my right eye, sending me crashing to the deck. "Queer," he shouted. I scrambled to my feet while he assumed a boxing pose, fists up and dancing on his toes like a Golden Gloves champion. He looked like he really did know how to box, so I kicked him in the balls. He dropped to his knees, and I planted a size ten in his face. Fists flew all around me, and I indiscriminately returned fire. Punches landed on me, and mine landed on whoever was closest.

  I dropped to the floor and crawled toward the exit, suffering kicks to the ribs and face along the way, but I made it out to the street. I sat on the curb nursing my wounds.

  Mark came out and sat next to me.

  I looked at him through already swelled eyes. "Yeah, great idea," I said. "Let's go down to Shit Street."

  "Look, Chambers, if you didn't try to fuck everything that moved, you wouldn't be in half the trouble you are." He assessed the damage to my face. "Damn, you really got your ass kicked."

  "I see you got tagged a few times yourself." I fumbled around for a cigarette and lit it. "What am I going to tell Holly?"

  "Tell her you tried to prevent a mugging and ten guys came out of nowhere and kicked your ass."

  "Yeah, right." I took a drag off my cigarette. "Like she's really gonna buy that."

  "Okay, how 'bout this?" He clasped his hands together. "Well, love of my life, I went down to Shit Street, and some stripper begged me to publicly fornicate her. So, I obliged. Only problem was, I couldn't get it up, so some jarheads beat the crap out of me." He smiled. "Pretty good, huh?"

  I took a drag and blew smoke in his face.

  #

  "What the hell happened to you?" Holly asked as I stood at her front door the next day. She ushered me in and sat me on her couch. She gently touched my two black eyes and swollen lip. "Does it hurt?"

  I tapped my eye and grimaced. "Ah, just a little." I leaned back on her couch letting out a slow groan. "Mark and I went down to Waikiki to hear the comedian at The Crow's Nest. When we came out, a gang of locals were harassing a couple of tourist girls. They couldn't have been much more than fifteen. The girls looked pretty scared, so we did what any decent guys would've. We stepped up to the plate and told the Hawaiians to leave 'em alone."

  Her eyes narrowed. "Ohhh, those Mokes can be nasty.
You'd think they'd be grateful after we liberated them from the Japanese. How many of them were there?"

  "About ten or so. They got mouthy, so I punched the biggest one, thinking they'd back off after that. Then they jumped us. Mark got off a little bit lighter than me, but the girls got away. That's all that really mattered."

  "Like, you were so brave. Did you call the police?"

  "No. You know what they keep telling us about when we're out on the town and not to bring discredit upon the Navy." I looked at her sincerely. It looked like she was buying it. "The girls couldn't act as witnesses, because they split, so it would've looked like we were just fighting for the hell of it."

  "You poor thing. Let me get you some ice and a cold beer." She went to the kitchen.

  Gullible is good. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all.

  #

  Debbie and I met up as usual Monday morning, standing between our shops, enjoying the nicotine pulsating through our veins before the workday.

  "So, good weekend, Tyler?" She took a drag and forcefully exhaled.

  "Well, you know, put on the Superman cape, and saved a couple of chicks from getting raped by some locals." I took a drag and shot her a sideways glance. She smiled. "Actually, I was more Batman, and Mark was Robin. But we kept the bad guys from getting into the Batcave. That's what's important."

  Debbie choked as she took a drag. "What a crock of shit," she said with a grin. "I happened to have breakfast with Sanchez this morning." Her smile broadened, if that was possible. "He saw your performance at Jezebel's Friday night, or should I say, lack of it."

  "Oh, shit." I twirled my cigarette in my hand. "Who else knows?"

  "Don't know. You'd have to ask Sanchez."

  "If Holly finds out, I'm dead."

  She fanned her hand. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Forget that a minute. Have you thought anymore about whether you're going to help me find my true identity or not?" She pushed her lips to one side. "You're not going to get too many offers to have unconditional sex with a potential, or past, lesbian ya know?"

  I laughed. I loved her sense of humor. That had always been part of her attraction. "I'm still recovering from the groin pull, and with the ass kicking I just took, well it might be a little while before I'm fit for action."

  "I think you're trying to put me off. Do you think I'm stupid enough to believe that you're not still giving it to Holly?"

  "Oh. Well, umm…well, what if she finds out?"

  She laughed. "You go out and try to fuck a stripper on stage, with maybe half the base watching, and you're worried about your girlfriend finding out that you're getting a little private nookie on the side?" She smacked her forehead. "Give me a break. Look, I told you, I'm not trying to lure you into any kind of relationship. You get sex, no strings attached."

  "Well, except for the fact that I did something stupid over the weekend, I try to be faithful in my relationships."

  Debbie smirked. "Bullshit. You've told me about too many of your past exploits, remember? And I don't buy that you're so hung up on Holly that you want her to have your babies. Trust me, she's a user. If you have fallen for her, which I doubt, she'll break your heart. Does she have something on you?"

  "Course not." I swiped my upper lip. "I just want to give her a fair shot. Why would you ask something like that?"

  "Tyler, we've spent many a night in the Dolphin's getting hammered. You've spilled your guts on more than one occasion. So I know you're not the relationship type. You've conquered Mount Holly, or should I say, you mounted Holly for a jolly. I thought you'd be moving on by now. What happened to the 'find 'em, feel 'em, fuck 'em, forget 'em, Chambers' motto?"

  "Don't you believe people change?"

  She snickered. "Not you. Now, are you going to help me with my dilemma or not?" She placed her hand on mine. "This is really important to me, Tyler. I want it to be you because I trust you. But if you still insist on shining Knight's armor, I'll just pick up some guy from a bar downtown."

  I rubbed my temples. "God. You really do know how to mess with a guy's head. I can't let you pick up some drunken loser in one of the most important issues of your life." I sighed. "If I agree, you promise you won't tell Holly?"

  She ran her finger over her chest in an 'x' fashion. "Cross my heart."

  Holly wasn't like a real girlfriend. We needed each other for now, but I was sure it would fizzle out soon enough. Debbie never treated me like a baby. She respected me and she was hot. And this was just a favor to her. She needed to assess her feelings, so it wasn't like I was really cheating on Holly. I was just helping a confused friend.

  "Okay. There's a motel in Aiea, away from the base and everything else. A little mom and pop place, 'Pacific Breeze Motor Lodge'. How about Saturday night?"

  She beamed. "I won't even ask how you know about the Pacific Breeze motel, but thank you so much." She rapidly clapped her hands with excitement. "You really are a true friend. I can hardly wait."

  "Yeah, me neither."

  Chapter 9Saturday evening rolled around and I looked forward to my date with Debbie. What a contrast. Holly said there would be no sex on our first date. Debbie insisted our first date was all about sex. I rooted through my wardrobe and went with black parachute pants and a white cotton button up shirt, only done up halfway. Mark came into the dorm room as I packed my toiletry bag.

  "You're a bit dressed up. Where you taking Holly?" he asked.

  "Umm, I'm not going out with Holly. Promise to keep quiet?"

  He nodded.

  "I'm going out with Debbie."

  "What? You're takin' Debbie to dinner?"

  "Well, if you consider burgers in a motel room dinner, then maybe. I booked us a room at a motor lodge." I smiled.

  "So you're gonna do it." He grinned and shook his head. "You know, there's a small matter of the fact that Debbie's a lesbian. Don't tell me you're trying to convert her. She can't help it, you know."

  "Hey, she asked me. It's more complicated than that. She's not sure if she's gay or not." I splashed on some aftershave then put the bottle in my bag. "Her head's all screwed up at the moment and she needs some help sorting it out."

  Mark laughed. "Yeah, right. So she comes running to Tyler Chambers, the one guy who has his head screwed on straight. Okay, Doctor Freud, I can just hear it now." He deepened his voice and stroked his chin, "Well, Miss Meyers, the recommended treatment I suggest is for you take all your clothes off, and we have intercourse. If you don't enjoy it, you're gay."

  He went to his wardrobe and changed his shirt. "You really do have a high opinion of yourself, don't you? Well, I hope she wants to go back to women after you get done with her. That would teach ya. The more I think about, the more I come to realize that you and Holly are well suited for each other. Except I don't know how the two of you get into one car together. Those ego-inflated, swelled heads of yours must take up one hell of a lot of room." He shook his head.

  "Ever heard of justifiable intercourse?"

  "No. Justifiable homicide, yeah. 'Cause if Holly finds out, that's what she's gonna plead after she blows your head off. Man, your brain belongs in a museum. It's a piece of work."

  "Thanks for the vote of confidence. Gotta go. Motel Sex awaits. Laters."

  #

  I arrived at the motel and checked in. I nervously waited for Debbie to arrive. Most of my sex had been spontaneous in the past, not on demand. I smiled as I thought about being a long time married couple and setting predetermined days to have sex.

  - It's Saturday night, dear; you know what that means?

  - Oh, but of course. Meat loaf and sex.

  - Could we have hot dogs or tacos tonight, dear? Meat loaf probably isn't the right dish to serve on sex night.

  The room didn't offer any extra frills. A queen size bed sat in the center of the room, with the wall behind the headboard chipped and dented. A standing lamp on the opposite side, a desk under the window, a table with two chairs on the other side of the room, and a TV. Clean, yet it retained a f
eeling that a certain amount of debauchery had taken place over the years. The paper strip over the toilet insisting it had been cleaned offered reassurance that there was no VD lurking under the toilet seat.

  I cracked open one of the twelve beers I had brought with me and drank from the can. I turned on the radio and waved an imaginary drumstick as Joan Jett sang I Love Rock and Roll. A knock at the door raised my heart rate. I checked myself in the mirror to make sure my hair didn't look stupid. I checked my breath and cursed myself for forgetting mints. After one last wipe of my hands on my jeans, I went to the door and opened it. There stood Debbie.

  She looked beautiful wearing a floral print dress. She wore more make-up than usual. The increased highness of her cheekbones made her blue eyes dazzle. The orchid behind her ear complimented her blonde, shoulder-length hair. The dress stopped just above the knees, showing off the rest of her tanned legs. Her high heels added another two or three inches to her height.

  "You look stunning," I said. "Please, come in." She walked past me and looked around the room.

  "Nice," she commented. She turned around to face me.

  I produced a single red rose from behind my back, and offered it to her. "For you. Beauty begets beauty."

  She smiled, took it out of my hand and smelled it. "It's lovely. Thank you."

  "Would you like a beer? They're still cold." I moved toward the dresser where the Coors sat in its self-proclaimed 'Keep 'em Cold Twelve Pack' box.

  "No thanks. I want to be sober for this."

  "Oh, I see. Hope you don't mind if I have a few." I held my hand out flat and gave an exaggerated nervous shake. "Might just help steady the nerves."

  "You're nervous? Thank God." She wiped pretend sweat from her forehead. "I thought it was just me."

  "Yeah, I am a little. Why don't we sit down and talk for a while. I'd like to know a little more about what's going on."