Chapter 7: Dad Gives JJ “The Talk”

When JJ got home, his nose itched and he reflexively sniffed. His mood, upbeat from the sex he had just had with Marti, plus getting to watch the lesbian action immediately afterward with her friend Gwen, soured. Oh, right, he remembered, he was supposed to talk to John, their houseguest.

He went down into the basement and felt his mood darken with each step he took. Finally, he forced himself to knock on the guest room door.

John poked his head out and frowned at JJ, but then he shook his head. “Meet me out front, JJ, okay? I know you don’t like me right now, but I think I can explain.”

“Whatever,” JJ replied noncommittally, and headed upstairs. He almost continued on to his own room instead, but then curiosity won out.

A few minutes later, the older man joined him outside, coming out of the house’s side door so that he was at a distance. “Let’s go for a walk.”

They headed down the sidewalk, John making sure to maintain at least 10 feet between them. He nodded to himself and then called out to JJ, “When we met, you immediately hated me, right?”

JJ nodded. “So?”

“And now?”

JJ stopped and considered. A breeze blew from the side, bringing fresh early spring air with it. He took in a deep, cool breath. As he exhaled, he realized he didn’t hate John anymore ... but why?

John was breathing deeply of the fresh air as well. “Our pheromones are causing this, like two queen bees in the same hive. We can’t be around each other or eventually we’ll start fighting. ‘There can be only one.’”

The way John said that last sentence, JJ wondered if it was from some old movie or TV show he didn’t know. “Pheromones?” the boy asked.

“You been getting some extra attention from the ladies lately?” John leveled a piercing look at JJ. “It started for me when I was about 15.”

JJ stared at him. He knew? How? Then he paused, thinking. His mother had told him that JJ stood for John Junior, and John did look familiar, kind of like JJ’s own face in the mirror...

“Are ... are you my dad?”

John scratched the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable. “Um ... yeah. I’m sorry you had to find out like this, JJ. Please understand that I didn’t even know you existed until a week or so ago, and I came right awa--”

Then JJ plowed into him, holding him fast in a strong hug.

“Don’t breathe!” John advised as he did likewise. Then he hugged his son back.

Almost a minute passed before they ran out of breath and had to disengage. JJ took in his next lungful too close to John, and immediately the feeling of hatred washed over him again. He backed off and took several breaths of clean air. Yep, that helped. “This sucks! I can’t be near my own father!”

“Gimme your phone number,” John suggested. “I’ll go get a phone and we’ll talk that way from now on. I was gonna have to move on soon anyway, as your mom...” He realized what he was about to say and then stopped.

JJ considered. “Mom told Dad, um Aaron, that you were gay, but you and she must’ve had sex before I was born. So either you didn’t know you were gay back then, or...”

“Um...”

JJ thought back to that morning, when his mother had kissed him on the mouth and said that he reminded her of his dad... “Shit! Are you fucking my mom again?!”

“Um...”

“You are!” JJ didn’t know how he felt about that. On one hand, shouldn’t his mother and father be together? But on the other hand, she was married to Aaron and they had Regan together! Aaron would kill John if he found out! “Yeah, you gotta go, John ... er, Dad.”

John smiled at his new title and nodded. “Okay, but first I have to tell you some things that I wished I had known when I was your age. First, your pheromones only affect women when they’re fertile.”

“Fertile? You mean...”

“Yeah ... you have unprotected sex with them and they could end up pregnant.”

JJ felt faint. He might have actually knocked up Sally, Marti and Gwen?

John continued, “Second, your sperm will make them orgasm HARD, whether swallowed or as God intended. It feels better for them if it’s intercourse. Third, the longer those women smell you, the dumber they get and the more aggressive or suggestible they become.”

JJ thought for a moment. Sally and Marti had been very forceful with him, but...”Suggestible?”

“You can convince them of practically anything once your stuff starts working on them, and you can usually tell when that happens because they start acting like they’re drunk or drugged. Their pupils get all big. It seems to affect some women differently -- still not sure why -- maybe due to their personality, or how far along in their cycle they are. An hour in close contact with any fertile woman and she’ll practically tear your clothes off, so if someone you don’t find attractive is coming on to you, get the hell out of there. The effect goes away if they can’t smell you anymore.

Third -- wait, no, fourth -- once they stop being fertile, they lose interest in you. You have to time it right and leave when they’re still riding the high, or if you stick around too long, they may start to question what happened. They may even get mad.”

JJ remembered how angry Sally had seemed when she “broke up” with him with a slap across his face. If his pheromones were affecting her the week before that, then that meant that she didn’t trick him by taking his virginity and breaking his heart after all! He had actually had the upper hand the whole time, taking advantage of her with his scent!

And, he realized, he was okay with that. Sally had bullied him for years ... she deserved some comeuppance. And maybe even next month too ... and the month after that...