Detroit City - DGH Ch. 01

I talked to her a little before the class ended. Our class would meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I could hardly wait to see her again. I have no idea why I became fascinated with her. When I went to class on Thursday, I didn't see her. I looked up at the door and she came in about five minutes late. She was dressed in the coveralls and ball cap.

"Sorry I'm late," she whispered to me. "I had a plumbing job to finish."

She sat down and I now felt better. After class, a few of the guys and Sheila said they were going to the bar. They asked me if I wanted to go. I told them sure and they told me where it was. I asked Sam if she wanted to go and she politely refused. I felt bad about it because I liked being around her. I told her I would see her next Tuesday and she smiled and said she would look forward to it. Surely I wasn't falling for her. Hell, I didn't know anything about her and she dressed in coveralls and a ball cap.

At the bar, it was really noisy. I mentioned to the others that I wished Sam would have come. I couldn't believe what I heard from them.

"Forget it, Jeff, she's a dyke."

"What?" I replied.

"You know, she's a lesbian, she prefers women," said Dan.

"Bullshit!" I replied. "Where did you guys hear that shit?" I was a bit pissed.

"Hey, Man, don't get mad at us. We're just trying to save you some time here. She's not letting you in those pants, or should I say coveralls?" laughed Ben. "Believe me, we have all asked her out over the last few years and she turned us all down. Not even a date."

"Yeah, and we have asked her more than once," replied Joe.

"That doesn't make her a lesbian because she didn't go out with you. I think you need more information than that," I stated.

Joe said, "Ask Sheila when she gets back from the john. She saw her kissing her girlfriends in the showers at school."

"You guys are full of shit. Sam's no lesbian," I rebuked them.

"Hey, Jeff, do what you want; waste your time on her. Look how she dresses, like a man. She's a plumber, for God's sake. How many women plumbers do you know?"

"What about Sheila? She's taking the class and I'm pretty sure she's not gay."

"Sheila takes the course so she can party with the guys and get laid. We all know that and we will all have a piece of her more than once before this class ends. She's a receptionist at one of the big plumbing companies on the west side. She convinces them to let her take the course so she can know more about the business. They don't care and we all love it."

"I still don't think Sam is gay. She is too damn pretty," I said.

"Whoever said you had to be ugly to be a lesbian? I'll be honest with you. I've seen Sam dressed up and she's a knockout. Too bad she just goes for the wrong sex," replied Dan.

It was a downer for me. Damn, I kind of liked her. Pretty smile and a nice personality. They did have some valid points especially if she refused to date any guys and was caught kissing girls. Damn, damn, it wasn't something that I wanted to hear.

When Sheila came back, she asked me to dance. She held me so close I could feel her breasts against my chest. She was a worse flirt than even Darlene used to be. I think Sheila thought it was a turn-on for me when the truth is she made me think of how bad Darlene was.

After we sat down with the rest of the group Ben told Sheila that I liked Sam. It kind of pissed me off. I did like her but I never told these guys. Sheila laughed.

"Tell him what you saw, Sheila," said Ben.

"Well, when I was a junior in high school Sam was a senior. It was after a girls' basketball game. I was a cheerleader and Sam was a jock. She played different sports. I went into the locker room where the showers were and Sam and her two lesbian friends were in the showers. Everyone else had left. I looked up and Cindy leaned over and kissed Sam on the lips. At the same time, Carol was behind her grabbing her breasts. When they saw me, Cindy looked at me and told me to get my fucking ass out of there. I hurried out before I got in trouble. These girls were all jocks. They weren't to be messed with."

Dan continued, "Carol and Cindy are known lesbians and as far as I know are still together. They were Sam's best friends as seniors. We don't see them around much anymore. No hard feelings, Jeff. We just thought you might want to know."

The following week I saw Sam at class. I was happy to see her but yet wondered about what the others had said. I could hardly come out and say, "Sam, are you gay?"

First of all, it was none of my business and second, I still kind of liked her and didn't want to lose the little friendship we did have. I felt so at ease with her. As we worked on projects together, she always made me laugh and I do have to say she was an excellent plumber. She really knew her shit.

It was funny how a lot of the other guys were surprised that Sam and I got along so well. Of course, I didn't lay a hand on her or talk about sex with her. We just told jokes and I told her about my family and she was going to tell me more about hers.

I noticed that one older fella named Ralph watched us quite a bit. He was always kind of stone-faced. I hadn't really talked to him other than saying hello. He seemed to watch Sam at different times. Probably wondered about her and the coveralls. No one talked about her sexual orientation at class. Which I think was a good thing.

I asked her how she became a plumber. I wanted to know much more about her personal life. Maybe it would explain why she turned to women. Damn, she had the prettiest face.

"Well, let's see," she said. "I come from a small family. There is just my mom, dad and I have one sister, Brenda. She's two years older than me. My grandfather started this plumbing business and my dad became a plumber as well as my uncle. My mom does all the paperwork and appointments. Dad and Uncle Ralph are the main plumbers. We do have a couple of extra guys that work for us that are not family."

"Uncle Ralph? Is that the same Ralph that keeps staring at us all the time?" I looked up and he was looking at us from across the room.

"Yep! That's my Uncle Ralph, dad's brother. He's really a sweetie when you get to know him. We take turns taking these update courses. This time it was me and my uncle's turn."

"Why didn't you partner up with him instead of me," I asked.

"I work with Uncle Ralph all the time and besides you seemed like you needed a friend."

She was right. Was it that obvious? I did need a friend. I just wish she wasn't gay.

"Anyway, back to my family. Dad always wanted a son to carry on his plumbing business. Brenda wasn't interested and besides she's somewhat of a priss," laughed Sam.

"Don't get me wrong, I love her, she's my sister. It's just that she's more of the homemaker type. I don't think she would know what end of a pipe wrench to hold.

"I was interested in watching dad as far back as I could remember. I guess when I got older and found out that dad would never have that son to carry on his business I decided to be the one to carry on the family business. Uncle Ralph is a great plumber but not much with the bookwork. He was married and divorced twice and has a son and two daughters but they aren't interested in the business either. So that leaves me," smiled Sam.

"Sam, why the coveralls and ball cap? It kind of makes you look... like a guy. I don't mean to upset you but I was just wondering. You have such a pretty face." I was hoping I didn't push it too far. I didn't really want to get her mad at me.

"I live clear on the other side of town. I work in coveralls to save my clothes. It saves me time getting here from my last jobs. I'm not here to impress anyone as Sheila is. I'm here to take my classes and get on with my life. I'm sorry if it bothers you."

"No, it doesn't bother me; I was just wondering. Please don't take it personal. We are buddies, aren't we?"

"I'm sorry; I shouldn't have jumped on you. I guess I just get aggravated when I don't fit into someone's little box that they think I should be in. And, yes, I do consider you a friend," answered Sam.

"Ok, Friend, would you like to go out with me on Friday? You can even wear your coveralls if you want," I smiled.

I thought I'd take a giant leap here. I wasn't sure what her reply would be. We've been partners for a few weeks now. I really did want to get to know her better.

"I'm sorry, Jeff. I spend Friday nights with my girlfriends."

I knew my face showed the sadness. I guess I was really falling for her and hoping everyone was wrong about her. I was still kind of lonely but the time around Sam was my bright spots for the week.

"Jeff, would you like to go to a Tigers baseball game on Saturday? One of my customers gave me two tickets along the third base line. It isn't a date. We'll go as best buds and each pay our own way."

"What? Baseball game, Saturday, with you, of course I would love to. I haven't been anywhere since I moved here. Maybe you could show me around the city a little?" I smiled.

Sam laughed. "Let's see how it goes with the ball game first. You can pick me up at my house. I still live with my parents. Pick me up at noon so we won't be late." She handed me a card with her name and address on it. I honestly couldn't believe my good luck.

On Saturday, I went to pick up Sam. When I arrived at her house, a very nice looking lady I figured to be Sam's mom, answered he door. I could tell where Sam got her good looks.

"Hello. Oh, you must be Jeff. Sam told me she and a friend were going to the Tigers game today. I'm Marlene Davis, Sam's mother. Please come in. She'll just be a minute."

I talked to her mother for a few minutes about where I was from and where I worked. I mentioned that I met Sam at the class we were both taking. About a minute later, Sam came into the room. She was dressed in jeans, which looked great on her. She had on a large Go Tigers shirt and a Tigers baseball cap with her blond ponytail pulled through it. She looked like a tomboy, but a very beautiful one.

She smiled at me and said, "Not exactly girly but not coveralls either. You have to wear something that says Tigers on it. We can pick something up at the stadium," she laughed. "I hope you're a Tiger fan. I forgot you're not from Michigan."

"I liked the Reds when I lived in Kentucky and the Pirates or Indians when I lived along the West Virginia border. I live here now so if you're for the Tigers, I'm for the Tigers," I laughed.

I liked sports but I really didn't have a favorite team, which was good. Sam was a die-hard Detroit fan. We stopped at one of the souvenir booths and I got a shirt and hat similar to Sam's. "There! Now we're real buddies," I laughed.

The whole day was great. We ate hot dogs and each drank one beer. After that, we had pop. We were like two kids eating everything the vendors came by with. I had to wonder how Sam kept her shape eating all we did. I ran every day so I knew I would have to run a little longer to run off all the extra calories.

The Tigers won and we cheered rather loudly. On the way back to the car, Sam told me she would have to spend some extra time at the gym to work off all that stuff she ate.

"You go to a gym?" I asked. "I run at least three miles every day whenever I find the time. Maybe I'll join your gym and I can exercise with you," I said.

I was still hoping we could be more than friends. I kept looking for a way to get closer to her. I knew she was my buddy, but I wanted much more.

"Well, Jeff, you can join the gym but I work out on ladies day. It's on Monday and Wednesday mornings. Guys day is Tuesday and Thursday, same as our classes. Of course, they have mixed couples day in the evening but it's not my kind of crowd. I hate to be stared at like a piece of meat."

I kind of let it drop. I didn't want to think of her as a lesbian. She was just too much fun and I wanted to keep her as a friend. We stopped at a hamburger joint on the way home and got us something to eat, like we needed it. I went so I could spend a little more time with her.

We sat and talked about the game and what a good time we had. I asked her if she was going to show me the rest of Detroit. She smiled and told me that the only day she had open was Saturdays. We agreed that Saturday would be buddies day for us. She would show me something new every Saturday.

Life was good for me now. In the following weeks, she took me to the MGM Casino, Zoo, a cruise boat, and she showed me downtown Detroit. It actually was a pretty nice place. We went to Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum. What a fantastic place. I loved all the old cars.

It was funny but we didn't even hold hands. Just being with her made my day. Our classes had long been over and new ones were starting. We both were taking the classes offered. Me, because I was required to, and Sam convinced her dad to let her go to the new class. It had to do with welding pipe.

Sheila wasn't there but a few of the other guys were. They were surprised that Sam and I were still partners.

Sam told me a little about her growing up but not much about dating. She did ask me how come I never made it with Sheila. I asked her how did she know if I did or not.

"Sheila tells about all her sexual conquests and your name was never mentioned. I can't believe you passed on her," said Sam.

"She's not my type, Sam. I left West Virginia because of a women just like her. I like sex as much as the next guy but I prefer to do it with someone I care for. What about you? I never hear you talk about your sexual escapades?"

This was the first time we discussed sex like this. I was wondering what kind of answer I would get. Sam looked at me rather seriously before she answered.

"Not any escapades to discuss. I guess like you I'm waiting for the right person," said Sam. "I've been out with a few people but nothing serious."

She said right person, not guy or man. Damn! I also found out she had no-one in her life right now either. At least that's what she said.

"Jeff, I have a favor to ask you."

"What is it, Sam? We're best buds. You can ask me anything."

"My Sister Brenda is getting married and I'm in the wedding. It's going to be a small wedding but mom said it would be nice if I had a date. So since you're my best bud, I'm asking you."

"You and me on a date? Great! I don't have to wear a monkey suit, do I?"

"As a matter of fact, you do. One of the groomsmen can't make it and my future brother-in-law needs a replacement. Since the bridesmaids seem to pair up, I asked Bruce if I could find one for him. I know this is out of the blue, but I'll even pay for the tux rental."

"So do I get to dance with you and hold you close like a real date?" I smiled.

Sam had kind of a different look on her face. I honestly couldn't read it. She was like in a deep thought.

"Well?" I said.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was thinking about something else. Of course, I would love to dance with you. You're my date," said Sam.

"OK, I'll do it. Just because you're my best friend. By the way, I'll pay for my own tux," I said.

Things were back to normal. I worked all week, saw her in class and we usually went somewhere on Saturdays. I so wanted to just come out and ask her about her sexual orientation. I figured she tried to keep it in the closet by the way she never talked about other women. At least in a sexual sense. Most guys she talked negatively about.

One Thursday I did go to the bar with Joe and Dan. I had asked Sam to go but I got kind of a dirty look. That was even a bit out of character for Sam. When we got to the bar, all they wanted to do was know about Sam. How come we were together? Did I ever score?

"First, guys, Sam isn't a piece of meat to me. She's a good friend. I don't appreciate all your accusations about her and if they don't stop we are going to have a problem here."

"Sorry, Jeff," said Joe. "We didn't mean anything by it. It was just odd seeing you two still together."

"We're just friends. You guys know you can have female friends, don't you? Women have a sixth sense; if all you want is sex from them they can sense it. That's great if the gal wants to get laid but there are a lot of nice women out there who just like to have male friends and not get hit on all the time. Sam is one of those types of girls."

I don't know if any of what I said stayed with these guys. I know they weren't looking for friends but just to get a new conquest. I did tell them to stay away from Sam. She really was my friend.

*

Thanks for reading Chapter 1

Comments are welcome and appreciated

DG Hear