Chapter 1

Arthur Burton took another swallow of beer, very expensive beer, his second. He was waiting for Mel, Melvin Glassman. He hadn't seen Mel in years, not since they left ASU. The call had come unexpectedly this afternoon. Mel was in Phoenix on business and wanted to meet at the bar in the Arizona Biltmore at 5:30. It was almost 6:30 now, and Arthur wasn't happy about being kept waiting this long and paying five dollars for a beer he could get for two at most other bars.

He took another swallow of beer, noticing the glass was almost half empty. "That's it," he told himself. "I'm not buying another beer. If he isn't here by the time this is gone, I'm outta here."

Arthur was eyeing the waitress for what must have been the twentieth time. She was as young as some of his students, young enough to be his daughter, but that didn't stop him from dreaming. Watching her back as she walked into the dining room, he let his mind wander to his memories of Mel.

At ASU, Mel had been an unabashed geek. He looked like a geek, pudgy, awkward, with an unruly shock of dark hair contrasting with his pale complexion. And he acted like a geek, with minimal social skills and caring about little beyond his major and his quirky hobbies.

It was through one of Mel's hobbies they got to know each other. Somehow, Mel had developed an interest in the British aristocracy. Arthur was sure Mel fantasized about being an eighteenth century English lord, having his way with the serving wenches and the innkeeper's daughter. When Mel learned Arthur was majoring in British history, he insisted on picking his brain for everything he knew about the aristocracy. He even read some of the books Arthur loaned him, probably the only non-required books he read that weren't related to his major, Organic Chemistry, during four years of college.

With Arthur's interest in British history and Mel's enthusiasm, the two young men bonded, spending hours together discussing the history of Britain and its aristocracy. Arthur enjoyed finding someone to talk with about his interests and was flattered to be viewed as an expert by someone so obviously intelligent as Mel.

Arthur did his best to try to help Mel lighten up a little and develop some social skills. He took Mel to his favorite bar, and even introduced him to some girls, friends of his girlfriend, Arlene. Of course, they weren't beauty queens, Arlene was the best looking girl in her group, but they were friendly enough and better company for Saturday night than watching tv and masturbating. But Mel never followed up with any of them, it seemed he was fixated on his English lord fantasy.

After graduation, Mel went on to a more prestigious university to do his MS and PhD. While Arthur stayed at ASU, completing his master's in history, then dropping out of the doctoral program after Arlene got pregnant. At first, Arthur and Mel had tried to keep in touch, but over time their contacts became less and less frequent, until they were no longer even exchanging Christmas cards. Arthur didn't even know what state Mel was living in now.

When, finally, Mel came walking into the bar from the hotel lobby, he looked a lot less geeky to Arthur than he used to. In fact, he didn't look geeky at all - he looked good. His physique could now be called trim, athletic, rather than pudgy, and his hair was wavy, long, combed back, reaching to his collar. He was wearing what looked like an expensive sports jacket that went well with his tanned complexion.

"Arthur, it's good to see you," Mel said, as they shook hands. "Sorry I'm late. Been waiting long?"

"Almost an hour, about a beer and a half," showing him the half-empty glass.

"Sorry about that," Mel said, ordering a beer for himself from the barman who had miraculously appeared the moment Mel came to the bar.

"Uhh, that's alright," Arthur said, turning to look at the waitress as she walked in from the dining room. "Are you staying here. It's pretty expensive, isn't it?"

"Don't worry. I can afford it." Watching Arthur's eyes following the waitress, "She's cute, but kinda young. You like em young?"

Arthur laughing, letting his eyes move from the waitress to Mel's face, somehow more handsome now, "I like em any way I can get em. It's been a long time since I've been with anyone."

Mel, laughing in response, "Tell me what you've been up to for the last... what, almost fifteen years since we lost touch."

Surprised at how self-assured Mel appeared, all his old awkwardness seeming to have disappeared, Arthur said, "Well, I'm still at MCC. I'm tenured now, and..." Arthur's eyes looking down, "You heard about Arlene and me."

"I heard about you getting divorced. Where's Arlene living now?"

"LA, and of course she's got Stephanie, our daughter. It makes visitation kind of difficult."

"Let me show you my family," Mel said, pulling out his wallet and opening it to a photo of a beautiful blonde woman and a young boy and girl. "That's Laura, my wife, and our children, Tracy, she's five, and Justin, three."

Arthur was surprised, wondering how someone like Mel could have hooked up with a woman so much out of his league. "That's a beautiful family. You must be very proud."

"I am. My father-in-law is the owner of Omega Biotech. When he retires, I'll be in charge." Replacing his wallet, Arthur noticing the wiry hairs on Mel's fingers, "Come on, let's go up to my suite. We can have dinner there, and talk. It's on me. Remember, I married the boss's daughter," Mel laughed. "Oh, and bring our beers."

When they entered Mel's suite, a beautiful oriental girl wearing a white blouse and dark slacks greeted Mel. "This is Noriko, my personal assistant," Mel said, before looking over some papers she handed him. Within a minute, a statuesque blonde with a voluptuous figure came in from an adjoining room. For a moment Arthur thought she might be Mel's wife. "Terri, my secretary," Mel said, then engaged in a short, whispered conversation with her. In a few minutes, both women left and Mel and Arthur were alone in the suite.

There was a wet bar with imported beer in the fridge, as well as wine and a variety of liquors at the bar. They ordered steak dinners from room service, then, over another beer, Mel asked, "How's Arlene doing?"

"She's doing fine, probably better than I am. She's teaching and I pay her child support. I don't think she has anything to complain about."

"Has she remarried?" Mel asked, looking into his eyes.

"No, I know she's dating. But as far as I know she isn't serious about anyone. She still looks good, though."

That's when the food arrived. They continued with their reminisces over dinner. Then, while pouring the brandy, Mel said, "You know, I always really liked Arlene, thought she was very attractive. Do you still have feelings for her?"

"No, no feelings, at least, no positive feelings."

"So, you wouldn't mind if I saw her, went out with her?"

Now, Arthur was really surprised. "It wouldn't matter to me, but Mel, you're married, and to your boss's daughter. What about your wife? Are you sure you want to take that kind of risk?"

Leaning back in his seat, Mel said nothing for several seconds, just stared at Arthur. Then, "You were my best friend at ASU, really my only friend, so I'm going to tell you a secret. You saw Terri and Noriko, well, besides being my employees, they're also my mistresses."

Arthur didn't say anything, just stared back waiting for him to continue.

"After I finished my PhD, I went to work for a bioengineering firm. To tell the truth, I wasn't as happy - as satisfied - as I thought I would be. True, I was doing organic chemistry on a professional level, but it was more routine than exciting, and my personal life didn't satisfy me.

"You know how I liked to watch PBS. One night I was watching a program about evolutionary sociology. One of the things covered in the program was how sexual attraction and dominance are based on survival characteristics, that the male perceived as having superior evolutionary characteristics becomes the alpha male, the dominant male. Once that evolutionary superiority is established, all the males and females submit to him. I thought about that for a long time - several weeks, thinking that if I could just bend things a little so I could make girls see me as having those evolutionary characteristics, then..." his voice trailing off.

"Well, as I mentioned, my work in the lab was more routine than demanding. I used my free time to study topics like physical and social anthropology, evolutionary psychology, human sociobiology, behavioral ecology. With my knowledge of organic chemistry and using the company's equipment and drugs, I developed my serum. The secret that made me what I am today. It took me over six years, but in the end, I had what I wanted."