It's a cold, rainy northern Iowa afternoon in 1973. Twenty-three-year-old Jerry Jansen sits in the living room of his parents' house. There was sad apprehension in the room as he sits there with his mom, dad, brothers and sisters. He was leaving soon to start a new life in Des Moines.

Jerry was discharged from the Army three months earlier. He planned to come back to his hometown and finally begin his life like everyone else did. After three months of unsuccessfully searching for a job, Jerry realized there was no future for him here. So he started searching the job market in the Des Moines newspaper. He saw an opening at the printing company he had worked at before joining the Army. He applied and was hired to start the following Monday. 

The sadness in the room increases as the time grows near for him to leave. Knowing the longer he stayed, the sadder everyone would get, Jerry stands up and says, "Well, I think I better get going. January rainstorms have a way of turning into snowstorms, and I have to drive 100 miles tonight." After going around the room giving everyone a hug, he picks up a small suitcase with some clothes for the week and walks to the door followed by his mom and dad. A handshake from his dad, a final hug and kiss from his teary-eyed mom and he is out the door. 

Starting the car engine, he knows he is beginning the next chapter of his life, a chapter into a future he has no idea where it would go. He is leaving his family which he loves, but more importantly, he is leaving that town, which he hates. The town has never been good to him. 

Growing up, he was always a weak, skinny kid. He has a massive burn scar covering most of his left arm from a terrible accident when he was a baby. He was so young at the time he never had a conscious recollection of the event. The scar was the subject of constant ridicule from the other kids, and being a weakling on top of it, he was always the victim of intense bullying most of his childhood and his self-esteem was nonexistent by the time he graduated from high school. 

He hoped things would be different when he returned from the Army, but it was clear they never would be; people seldom change in small towns. In that town, he had been branded a loser and a wimp at an early age, and that would never change. He isn't sad to be leaving that town. 

As he puts the car in gear and heads down the road, his mind turns to the happy last two years he had spent stationed in California. How he misses California on this dreary night in Iowa. It has been an escape from the dismal days of his childhood. He enlisted instead of waiting to be drafted, so he was able to choose what his Army job would be and where he would be stationed. He learned how to play the drums in a youth band growing up and was elated when the recruiter told him he could play in an Army band rather than fight in a combat unit. He chose to be stationed in California. It was a great choice. 

For the first time in his life, he was able to make some great friends. His new friends introduced him to the world of getting high. Mostly marijuana, and a few times, they played with psychedelic drugs like acid (LSD) and mescaline. The drugs opened his mind to a whole new level of consciousness he had never known. He learned to relax with his friends and they enjoyed a lot of great times getting high and listening to music together. He still kept in touch by mail with a couple of his friends who lived in California. God, he misses California on this dreary night. He misses the friends he had made, and he really misses getting high.

His mind stops wandering when the sound of rain on the windshield gets louder and he realizes the rain has turned to sleet. His attention focuses on the deteriorating road conditions. He is relieved when he sees the next road sign that says Des Moines is only 10 miles ahead. He has to decide where he is going to stay for the night. Not having a lot of cash, he decides a hotel in the downtown area would be cheaper than a motel. He finds a section downtown with several older hotel buildings close together so he randomly picks one and finds a spot to park the car. Walking thru the cold and windy sleet he opens the door to the hotel. 

The warm air feels good as he walks to the desk clerk to check in. He pays for five nights, hoping he'll be able to find an apartment before the week is over. The musty smell of carpet that should have been replaced twenty years ago filled his nostrils as he walks down the hall to his room. A gush of cold air hits his face as he opens the door to his room. "It's cold as shit in here," he thinks. "Where's the fucking thermostat?" He goes over to the heating unit by the window and turns the temperature up to high. He looks around the dingy room. 

There isn't much to see. Besides the bed, there is a small dresser with a small TV sitting on it, a chair, a lamp, and a small bathroom area with a shower. It isn't much but it's only going to be for a week, so it would have to do for now. It is going to be a while before the room warmed up so he turns on the TV, takes off his clothes and gets under the covers of the bed, hoping the room warms up soon. 

As he lays under the covers, his mind is not on the TV. Walking down the hallway to his room triggered a memory from Jerry's first job as a bellhop in a hotel almost as run down as the one he is in now.

A salesman had just checked in at the front desk. Jerry grabbed his suitcase and escorted the older gentleman to his room. After putting the suitcase on the luggage rack, Jerry handed the key to him, expecting to get his tip. 

The salesman smiled and said, "How old are you?" 

"Seventeen" 

"Man, I bet you're fucking every girl in school, aren't you?" the man said as he reached out and ran his finger in between Jerry's crotch up along his zipper.

Taken a bit back by this Jerry shyly replied, "Um... no, not really"

"Then I bet you're jacking off every day, aren't you?" 

He started rubbing harder along Jerry's growing bulge.

"Why, when I was your age, when I wasn't jacking off, I was thinking about jacking off" 

Jerry just stood there frozen, not knowing what to say or do, realizing his cock was getting hard inside his tight jeans. Before he knew it, the man had his zipper down and running his thumb against Jerry's hardening cock, only the cloth of his underwear stood in the way.

"Have you ever used a rubber?" The man said as he pulled Jerry's cock out and held it in his bare hand. 

"No, Ummm... I've never seen a rubber." 

Hearing that, the man reached in his suit coat pocket and handed Jerry a condom, which he eagerly accepted and put in his own pocket. 

"Oh man, you've got a nice cock. I bet it's bigger than mine," he said as he unzipped his own pants and pulled out his hard cock. 

"What do you think? Is mine as big as yours?" 

Jerry didn't know what to do. "Ummm... I dunno"

The man took Jerry's hand and put it around his cock. 

"How does that feel? I think your cock is bigger than mine, but I've got some big balls. Feel 'em."

He pulled Jerry's hand inside his pants until he was holding the guy's scrotum in his hand. The man then started stroking Jerry's rock hard cock and asks him,

"You should come down to my room when you get off work tonight."

Jerry didn't say no, but replied, "Well, not in THIS hotel, but I better get back to the desk before the desk clerk starts wondering what I'm doing."

With that, the man nodded in agreement and released Jerry's cock.

Jerry somehow got his hard cock back in his pants and left the room. He hoped the desk clerk wouldn't notice the huge bulge that wouldn't go away. If she noticed it, she didn't say anything. Jerry couldn't get the picture of what had just happened out of his mind. 

When his break time came, he ran into a bathroom and locked the door. He took out the condom he had been given and slipped it over his hard cock. The feeling of latex rubber over his cock for the first time and the image of the cock he had held earlier made him stroke his cock and in less than a minute erupted his load and he watched the cum filling up the condom. His release calmed him down and he was able walk back from his break without the huge bulge in his pants. 

He never saw that man again, and he had forgotten all about it until just now. Walking down the hotel hallway has triggered that memory. Jerry is stroking his cock as he recalls the experience and his mind comes back to the present when he shoots a load of cum all over his tummy. The room has now warmed up and it is getting late, so he sets his alarm clock and rolls over to get some sleep. 

Jerry wakes up the next morning, eager to start working at his old job again and find an apartment before the week is up. He doesn't want to stay in that dingy hotel any longer than he has to. The first day at work goes ok, meeting his new workmates and getting into a new routine. The day goes by quickly as he anticipates quitting time so he can begin his search for an apartment. After work, he buys a copy of the day's paper, grabs a quick burger and heads to the hotel to relax and search the want ads for apartments. 

He is greeted again by a rush of cold air when he opens the door to his room. The maids have turned off the heat. He's cold, tired, and feeling a bit grubby with printer's ink he can't get off his hands at work. He turns the heat back on and decides a hot shower is what he needs right now. 

Jumping in the shower feels great as he turns the water as hot as he can stand. He always loved hot showers. He enjoys running his soapy hands all over his body. His fingers linger over his nipples as he caresses them and squeezes them with little pinches. His hands soon find their way down between his legs. Running his hands and fingers around and over his hardening cock, thoughts always fill his head with fantasies of being with the women he'd never had and had no idea of how to get, but a guy can always imagine. 

Stroking his cock and fondling his balls, his hands work their way around to the crack of his ass. He never wondered why, but he's always been fascinated by how good his asshole felt when he played with it. Running his soapy fingers around it and poking inside it as far as he can seems so perverted and so pleasurable at the same time. 

He starts feeling dizzy as the hot water raises his body temp above a comfortable level. He turns off the water and steps out of the shower. Steam fogs the entire room as he stumbles his way to the bed and collapses down on it. Pleasurable feelings overwhelm him as he lay there wet, naked, and stroking his hard cock. It doesn't take long before his load shoots onto his stomach. 

He lays there and begins to run his fingers into his cum, spreading it all over himself.  Many times, he'd run his fingers through his fresh cum and touched his cum covered finger on the tip of his tongue. He never likes it but always tries it. His curiosity to taste his cum is always overcome by the thought of how perverted it is, so it never goes further than that. 

He cools down, gets dressed, and starts to search the want ads for apartments to rent. There aren't as many options in his price range as he expected but he does find three possibilities and makes a list for him to check out tomorrow after work. 

The next day at work goes by quickly. He is enthused about finding a place to live. His enthusiasm does not bear fruit when he finds out that two of the places on his list have already been rented and there was no answer for the third one he called. He doesn't have any luck the next day either and he was getting a bit depressed, thinking he might have to spend another week in that depressing hotel room. On Thursday, his hopes are raised when he sees a new listing for a furnished studio apartment in his price range at $105 a month. 

The next day being Friday, he checks out of the hotel. He doesn't want to have to check back in next week, so during his lunch period, he calls the number listed for the apartment from work. On the second ring, a woman's voiced answers, "R&D Furniture."

"Uuummm yes," Jerry says, "I'm calling about the apartment for rent?"

"Which one?"

"The address listed is 1910 1st Street, is it still available?"

"I think so. You'll have to come into the store."

"What are your hours? I don't get off work until 4:30."

"We're usually here till 6."

"What's the address?"

"3579 University."

"Oh great. I work on University. I think I can find you."

"OK. We'll see you then."

A smile comes to Jerry's face as he hangs up the phone. His first success all week. He is going to actually look at an apartment.

4:30 comes quickly as Jerry punches out with his first paycheck in his hand. He easily finds the furniture store located in a not very fancy part of University Avenue. Jerry walks up to the run-down storefront. He opens the door and sees rows packed with average-looking furniture. Near the center of the store, he sees a middle-aged lady working at a desk.

"Can I help you?" she says as she looks up from her work.

"Yes, ma'am. I called earlier about the apartment on 1st Street?"

"Oh yes, I remember."

She rolls her chair around and shouts to the back of the store,

"Dennis, somebody wants to see the apartment on 1st Street."

A few seconds later, a head pops out from one of the rows of furniture. The man was clearly busy and didn't appreciate the interruption.

"Hi, I'm Dennis. I'm in the middle of something right now. Can you hold on about twenty minutes?"

"Sure, no problem."

At that momen,t he hears a voice coming from the back of the store.

"I can take him over." 

Jerry sees a friendly, well-dressed man walk up to him offering a big smile and a handshake.

"Hi! I'm Roger Drennon. That's my brother Dennis and this is his wife, Becky"

"Nice to meet you, Roger, I'm Jerry Jansen"

"Which apartment do you want to see?"

Becky interrupts and says "He likes the one on 1st Street."

"Sure thing, let's go out the back door where my car is parked and I'll drive you over there."

Jerry follows Roger out to the back and over to a very nice new Cadillac parked near the door. Roger unlocks the passenger door and holds it open as Jerry gets in. He is immediately impressed with the feel of the luxurious leather seats and interior of the finest automobile he'd ever been in before. 

Roger gets in with a big smile on his face and starts the engine. 

"So, Jerry... are you from the Des Moines area?"

"No, not really. I was born and raised in Storm Lake."

"So what brings you to Des Moines?"

"Well I had a job here before I joined the Army and couldn't find a job in Storm Lake when I got out, so I came back down here to get my old job back."

"How long were you in the Army?"

"Three years."

Roger reaches his hand over and puts it on Jerry's leg,

"Man, this sure isn't an easy time to be in the military. I can appreciate how hard it must be for you young guys to have to put your future on hold because of this god damned war."

"Yeah, but I was lucky and didn't have to go out of the country." 

Jerry moves his leg as a signal to Roger that his hand shouldn't be there. Roger quickly moves his hand back to himself and continues with small talk. 

In a few minutes, he pulls up next to a tall brick building with the numbers 1910 above the door. It is one of many buildings just like it in the area. As they get out and start walking up to the door, Roger stops and starts pointing at different buildings, "We own that one over there, these two on the left and another one half a block down." 

Jerry, obviously impressed, says " Wow, that's quite a few buildings."

"My brother and I have been in the rental business for over twenty years now, so we've accumulated a few during that time."

Roger takes Jerry through the front door and down a long hallway. Although the building is old, it's clean and seems well maintained. Halfway down the hall, they come to an elevator. They get in and Roger pushes the button to the seventh floor. As the elevator starts its ascent Roger tells Jerry, "This is a nice apartment and there is a larger freight elevator in the back where you can move your furniture up." 

Jerry interrupts, "Ummm, I don't have any furniture, I thought this was a furnished apartment."

"Oh No! I'm so sorry," says Roger.  He laughs and puts his arm around Jerry's waist.

"You wanted the furnished one, my mistake," and he quickly removes his arm. "Let me show you a furnished one." He stops the elevator and takes it back down to the first floor. 

Once off the elevator Roger takes Jerry down to the end of the hall and opens the door to the last apartment in the hall. Once inside, Jerry sees a sizeable living room, with a hide-a-bed couch, coffee table, small easy chair, and a lamp. Off to the left is a small but efficient kitchen with a table and chair set. To the right a short hallway to a bathroom on the right and a large walk-in closet on the left. Everything looks OK except the bathroom only has a tub, no shower. It is enough to get by for now; it's clean and it's available. Jerry thinks about it for a moment. "It's nothing fancy, but it'll do for now."

Delighted, Roger says, "Great! Do you want to move in right away?"

"Yeah, I've stayed in a hotel all week, so right away would be great."

Roger puts his hand on Jerry's back just above his belt.

"Well let's go back to the store and do the paperwork and get you your key. I think you're really going to like it here in Des Moines."

They head back to the store, fill out the paperwork and Jerry walks out the door with a key in his pocket and a good feeling as he gets back in his car and heads home for the weekend. After a week in that depressing hotel, he is more than anxious to get the rest of his belongings and move into his new apartment!!

To be continued.......