by Hayden Hunt
“Thanks,” he said, gratefully, “you’re a real gentleman.”
I had to laugh, because this ‘real gentleman’ had just covered his moaning mouth as I had cum into his asshole.
“I try,” I joked.
The sex was great, but, surprisingly, what came next was even better.
After we fucked, I was able to come out of my shell a lot more. My social anxiety was mostly gone… how could it not be? We had just done the most intimate thing two people can do together.
And because of that, we were able to just speak completely freely. It was nice, it was liberating. We talked about our past relationships, our daily lives, our interests. I hadn’t talked to anyone like that in a really long time, including Joshua.
When it started getting late, and Gene could no longer keep from yawning every other minute, he finally announced that it was probably time he headed home.
But I didn’t want him to head home.
“You don’t have to,” I said, trying to be as casual as possible. “You could just… stay the night here. I mean, it’s really late, it’s not a good time to be on the road.”
He knew as well as I did that the comment about being on the road was total bullshit. Plus, we had stopped drinking hours ago and were both mostly sober. But, he went along with it because he wanted to stay, too.
“You’re right, probably safer I stay here.”
So, he did. And it was the best night’s sleep I’ve had in a long time.
4
Gene
I had an awesome time with Eli last night, but I wasn’t really expecting much more to come of it.
Not that I was opposed to that necessarily – he was obviously a very nice guy who had his life together. But, I wasn’t dumb enough to think a guy like him could be interested in a guy like me.
I mean, he’s a state assemblyman. And I’m over here working at the local animal shelter. We are on very different paths in life.
I’m cute, though, I’ll openly admit to that. I’m a young, attractive guy, so I’m not surprised that our night ended in a hookup. I’d be shocked if it went any further than that though.
And I wasn’t bummed about that or anything. In fact, I’m not looking for a relationship right now. I haven’t been since I’d gotten my heart broken by my ex. Wasn’t looking to do that again anytime soon.
So, I didn’t mind at all that Eli was incredibly out of my league. It was comforting to know that it was never going to lead to any heartache. And, in fact, it couldn’t! Because I had very specifically not left my phone number and not asked for his. We’ll probably never see each other again.
When I went down to feed the dogs, I was a little sad to see Cody not there anymore. He brightened up my day. But, ultimately, I was happy he had a home. And a fantastic one at that!
He really seemed to bond with Eli, too. I could see it last night. That pup was following him around the whole damn house.
As I was feeding the dogs, I heard the familiar sound of the door chime ringing out. Someone was at the door, hopefully someone who was looking to adopt. Though, at this time, it could be the mailman, too.
“Hello, welcome to Paw Pals!” I said, as I turned the corner into the lobby.
I was surprised to see that, staring back at me, was a man holding a bouquet of roses.
“Hi, are you Gene?” he asked.
I looked him up and down. “Uh, yes, why?”
“Delivery for you.” He held up the flowers and then handed them to me.
I looked down at the flowers, then back up at him. “Uh, are you sure?”
“Unless there is another Gene that works here, these are for you. Will you sign for me?” He handed me a pen and clipboard.
“Uh, sure.” I set the flowers down and then picked up the clipboard to sign my name.
“Excellent, have a great day.”
“You, too.” I called out after him.
I had no idea from whom these could possibly be. Obviously, there was no boyfriend who could have sent them, and there was no reason for family to send them. My parents sent me gifts on my birthday and Christmas, but never outside of those days.
And I only had a couple close friends, none of whom had ever sent me gifts.
I took the bouquet and started looking for a card. At first, it seemed like there wasn’t one, until I took the plastic wrap off the flowers, and a tiny one fell out.
I picked it up quickly, my heart pounding in anticipation.
Gene,
I had a wonderful time last night. I think you forgot to leave your number, so here’s mine. 555-3214
-Eli
I was stunned. He’d sent me flowers?
I wasn’t expecting this. I know last night was fun, our chemistry was great, but I’d never expected he might actually want to date me. If I had known he had been interested in more than sex, I wouldn’t have run away so quickly this morning before he’d woken up.
Now he probably thinks I’m rude! Not leaving a number and running out on him. But I was trying to be the opposite of rude. I’d thought he probably wouldn’t have wanted some random hookup still in his bed the next morning. I know I always wish my hookups would leave before the awkward morning routine begins.
Maybe he didn’t want anything more, though. I couldn’t imagine how he would. He was way, way out of my league. He’s a polite man, so maybe these are thank-you-for-the-good-sex flowers?
Uh, do those kind of flowers even exist? Is that a thing people do? Send yay-sex flowers?
Regardless, I don’t think that’s it, because he specifically left his phone number like he wanted me to call him.
Though, maybe it’s not for a relationship, maybe it’s just because I’m good at sex, and he’d like another go. To form a friends-with-benefits situation. Yeah, that I most definitely can understand.
Question is, am I interested in that? I mean, he was damn good at sex, too. Our chemistry was great. And I’m really into that hookup stage in my life right now. He wouldn’t be a bad guy to continue seeing.
Eh, what’s the harm? I pulled out my cell phone and made a move to text him.
“Hey, got your flowers. Thanks!” I sent first.
“No problem, hope roses are okay. Wasn’t sure what you liked,” he sent back.
“Roses are my favorite.” I lied.
I didn’t want to say more than thank you because I still wasn’t entirely positive of what he wanted. I didn’t want to come on too strong, so I was leaving the ball in his court. Sure enough though, I got another text back from him making his feelings very clear.
“When can I see you again?” he asked.
Oh, okay, so that’s obvious now. This is definitely a sex thing! That’s totally code for “are you available to come to my place tonight?”
And I was.
“Tonight?” I asked.
“That would be fantastic!” he responded.
“Your place? Nine?”
“Perfect, see you then!”
I really hadn’t considered the possibility of hooking up with Eli again, but, now that I was going to, I was completely stoked.
Although I’ve definitely hooked up with plenty of guys since breaking up with my ex, things have been slow lately. I hadn’t had as much time to go out on dates, which, of course, meant I had a lot less sex. So, if we could keep this arrangement up, that would work out perfectly for me.
I needed regular sex with no strings attached. And, I’m guessing, so did Eli. Really, I guess him hitting me up makes perfect sense. He’s looking for some rebound fun.
Obviously, since he just broke up with his boyfriend yesterday, it’s not like he’s had time to date or find any other single gay guys in the area with whom to have fun. Then, there’s me, who basically just fell into his lap.
I’m sure, in a few weeks when he starts dating again, he’ll get tired of sex with just me and move on, but for now this should be fun.
5
Eli
When I woke up t
he next morning to find Gene already gone, I was disappointed. I understood that he probably had to go to work early or whatever, but I had been hoping to catch him before he did.
I never thought that the day I broke up with my ex would have been such a happy one. But, honestly, last night was downright amazing. And I’m not talking about just the sex, I’m talking about Gene.
I know my feelings are raw right now, and I probably shouldn’t be making any romantic decisions, but I can’t help myself. I really, really like this guy.
He’s funny, smart, compassionate, and very cute. He’s not a total man-child like my ex, either. He comes off as very mature, which I need in my life.
I’m not sure where he’s at in life or what his impression of me is, but I really think if I get to know him, I might want to seriously date this boy.
Okay, yeah, that’s probably a horrible fucking idea. I know I can’t just jump from relationship to relationship. I need to give myself time to heal or whatever.
But, I mean, do I really? What do I have to heal from? The boy I thought I knew and loved turned out to be a complete and total fucking fraud. A serious grade-A asshole, and I’d let him take years of my life from me.
Do I really want to allow him to take anymore? I owe him nothing. I certainly don’t owe him more time.
And I’m truly not upset. Like, I’m so excited for Cody and my crush on Gene that I haven’t even been thinking about my breakup.
Speaking of Cody, I found him curled up under the covers right by my feet. Instinctively, I called him to me so that he’d come up by my chest, but then I realized he couldn’t hear me.
Probably for the best I didn’t wake him yet, though. As soon as I do, he’s going to be bouncing off the walls as Jack Russells often do.
I couldn’t imagine how Cody’s poor family ever left him to begin with. He’s the sweetest dog. I was expecting some behavioral issues on the first night he was here, because I know it’s quite an adjustment coming to a new home, but he’s been a total angel. I guess he might start acting out later this week, though. Only time will tell.
But, I’m prepared for it, because I’ve made a commitment to be his owner. I understand that’s going to come with complications. He’s an animal, it’s not all going to be fun and games.
I guess that’s what people think when they get a puppy. That’s it’s just going to be this cute little addition to their life without being much extra work.
It’s incredibly cruel. It’s so much easier to adopt out puppies than older dogs, and, yet, people knowingly get them when they aren’t planning a life-long commitment.
Cody is lucky, of course, he got adopted, but, plenty of animals who are surrendered when they’re no longer small and cute don’t get that opportunity. It breaks my heart.
I’m truly not sure how Gene copes with it day in and day out, for so many years. I think that might be a major reason why I’m so attracted to him.
He must be an incredibly compassionate person to do what he does. And you don’t find that compassion everyday. I definitely hadn’t found it in my ex. I had been the kind one in our relationship.
Ugh, I can’t believe I excused his selfish and childish behavior for so long. When he had been the complete opposite of my nature.
In a pathetic way, I think I even convinced myself that had somehow been a good thing. Like we complimented each other, he could be selfish for me, and I could be not selfish for him. Ugh, what a load of crap.
Cruelty is no complement to my kindness. Admittedly, I hadn’t realized he was cruel until I realized he had been cheating on me. But I had known that he was selfish and mostly thought about himself.
And that should have been a bigger red flag for me. Because selfish people who only think about themselves are only going to make choices with themselves in mind. They’ll do whatever they want, regardless of the pain it causes you. They don’t care that much.
I needed something different, and, although I had just met Gene, I really wanted to explore whether he could be it, whether he could be my something different. Someone mature and kind, who is willing to give the way I am.
Okay, I’m getting a little ahead of myself. I don’t even have the guy’s number.
I was going to rectify that, though. I wasn’t willing to let go of a potentially good man just because I’d forgotten to ask him his number. I mean, obviously I still knew where he worked.
It would be way too creepy to just pop in there, though. I definitely wasn’t going to do that. I’d need to do this in a way that was cute.
Flowers, that’s it, that’s what I’m going to do. I’ll leave my number on the card. That way, he doesn’t feel cornered at work, and the ball is in his court in terms of whether or not he wants to contact me again.
And worst-case scenario, he doesn’t want to contact me, but he has a beautiful bouquet of roses. Which puts a positive spin on anyone’s day, right?
After I called in the flower delivery and gave them the address to the animal shelter, I waited impatiently to hear from him again. I actually had butterflies in my stomach. It was like I was in high school all over again.
I distracted myself with Cody, though. I was appreciative of his energy today, it was very distracting. After I fed him, he was literally running from one end of the living room to the other. I took him out into the yard and played fetch for awhile with him, but I decided a better use of our time would be to get out of the house where he could burn off some energy and I could avoid staring at my phone non-stop.
I took him to the dog park and left my cell at home. I still thought of Gene, but it did force me to be a little more present in my time with Cody.
And what a distraction he was! He was positively adorable at the dog park. He ran up to every single dog there and excitedly jumped from side to side in front of them, trying to get them to play. Some of them took the bait, but most eventually gave up when Cody ran circles around them. It was hilarious to see, this tiny dog doing circles on Boxers and Pitbulls.
Most of the other owners got a kick out of him, too. A few came up to compliment me on how adorable he was.
I did have a little difficulty trying to get him to pay attention and come back to me, with him being deaf and all. But that’s a problem we’ll rectify later with some training. I’m going to make sure I trained Cody well with sign language so that I still have some control over him at times like this.
But that’ll start next week. For now, I just want him to be happy and comfortable in his new environment. After months at the shelter, he deserves a little joy. And, after my breakup, so do I.
When we got back from the dog park, I was thrilled to see that Gene had texted me.
“Hey, got your flowers. Thanks!” he said.
I was relieved – so he didn’t think I was trying to be a total creep.
“No problem, hope roses are okay. Wasn’t sure what you liked,” I responded.
I wanted to ask right off if he’d be interest in going on another date, but, after sending flowers, I didn’t want to come on too strong. I wanted to feel out his reaction a little first.
“Roses are my favorite,” he sent back.
Okay, good, so, that’s a positive reaction. If he didn’t want me to flirt with him more, he’d shut me down, even if he’d liked the flowers. So, this is my clear sign to go for it, right?
“When can I see you again?” I asked boldly. My heart was pounding as I pressed send, terrified of a negative reaction.
“Tonight?” he answered.
Yes, hell yes! He’s into me, he’s totally fucking into me. And I was going to get to see him again tonight!
“That would be fantastic!”
“Your place? Nine?”
“Perfect, see you then!”
I put my phone down, and my mind started racing with possible plans for tonight.
I wanted to send a message to him that I was definitely interested, for more reasons than just sex. That, despite my recent breakup, I’d re
ally like to try a relationship with him, if at all possible. But what would send that message?
I know, I can cook! But, wait, nine is a little late to eat dinner, right? So that could come off kind of strong.
Maybe I’ll just grab some desert? Totally, yeah, I know he likes sweets, so I’ll grab a really cute cake and make some fancy coffee drink and go from there. I’ll set the table up really cute, too.
And when he tells me he’s on the way here, I’ll ask if he’s eaten dinner, just to be safe. If he hasn’t, I’ll order something in. Yeah, okay, that could totally work.
I could feel myself getting ridiculously excited to see him again.
6
Gene
When I was getting ready to go to Eli’s house, I got a text from him asking if I’d eaten dinner yet. Just so happens that I hadn’t, so he said he’d order something for us.
Cool, sex and food, my two absolute favorite things.
I was expecting, when I got there, we’d start having sex right away, and then he’d order pizza or something, but I was surprised to see that, when I got there, he already had a bunch of Chinese food delivery laid out on the table, with two plates and place settings on either side of the table.
Additionally, he had added some Christmas decorations to his kitchen that we hadn’t done last night, and there was a beautiful centerpiece on his table. If I didn’t know better, I’d think this was downright romantic. But this is a hook up situation… right?
“So, I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I got a little bit of everything!” Eli smiled as he led me to the table.
“You sure did,” I laughed awkwardly. “That’s really sweet.”
And it was really sweet, it just wasn’t what I had been expecting. I thought he’d have been itching to tear my clothes off the minute I’d gotten in the door. I thought we’d eat greasy pizza in bed between having sex. But, he actually wanted me to sit down and eat with him?
“Hopefully you can find something you like,” he said.
“I’m sure I can, I love Chinese food,” I said, deciding to roll with it. I’m already here, and this was nice, so I might as well eat and relax.
We sat down and started scooping out dishes for ourselves. It was a literal feast. He had gotten orange chicken, kung pao shrimp, sweet and sour pork, garlic eggplant, dumplings, steamed rice, white rice, spring rolls, and chow mein. Of course I could find something to eat, I loved literally all of it.
