Aaron Smith's Life Adventures

“You won’t tell the team that I kissed you?” asked Aspyn. He sounded afraid.

Maybe his middle name isn’t Danger, I thought. He’s probably only Rowdy when he’s drunk, and based on the fear I was seeing in his eyes, I’d bet he was one of those guys who nursed a beer all night long and only tasted a drop each time he tilted the bottle back. Still, he was sexy, and I was horny. I decided to give it a shot.

“I won’t tell. Why don’t you get dressed, and we can grab something to drink and a sandwich and go back to my room? I’ll sneak you in. No one will need to know that you’re there.”

Aspyn sat up. “No,” he announced. “I’m going to work on my English paper. I can order a pizza. I did promise you lunch.”

“I didn’t help you to get something out of it.” I stood up. I was still feeling horny, and looking at his naked body wasn’t helping. I walked calmly to the door. I looked back at him; he’d grabbed a towel. “We could have had fun,” I said with a serious tone. “But you’re not ready, and I would never force it. I hope you figure things out, but I do want to say one thing. Your team is not part of the solution to your problem of happiness. It starts with being honest to yourself.”

I opened the door and left, realizing that I’d been really lucky–a father who understands, a first lover who didn’t saddle me with any emotional baggage, in fact, none of the guys I’d been with were clingy assholes. Best of all, I had a husband who loved me and showed me what real love is. As I thought about Mitch on the way back to my room, I knew that love was out there for me, and it could be as easy to find as walking up to a guy in a movie theater and talking to him. I’d find it again; I just had to keep looking.

A message from my father convinced me to spend my last semester at home as I did my last two classes online. His company needed a junior database manager, and with the knowledge I’d gained from a couple of classes I’d taken the year before, I knew I was ready to take on the challenge.

I went to France at the end of May and took Jayden and Tony along. I got them a room at a hotel not too far from my brother’s apartment. We met for lunch every day at various restaurants, and I spent a couple of days touring some old Roman ruins while they were there. I rode the train back to Paris with them; all of us had a piece of work in the Louvre that we wanted to see. I thought the place was overly crowded. What took me aback was the Winged Victory of Samothrace. She was so tall and majestic. I wanted to just look at her all day, but I had to get them to the airport. I headed back to my brother’s place, but I knew I had to visit the Victory again.

My brother and I spent a truly enjoyable week together before I headed back home to Texas. I began one of my last two classes soon after I arrived back. The professor agreed to let me get started. I also started my job at my father’s company, part-time at first. It became apparent to me almost immediately that the current manager was falling behind because he was unaware of some new tools that made writing SQL code easier, quicker, and less error-prone. Within two weeks, we were back on track and completing requests within forty-eight hours, many of them on the same day. Now I had time at lunch to join my dad and talk about the other coworkers.

Unfortunately, my father was not into gossip. I gleaned very little from him about the other workers. This one was married, maybe, he wasn’t sure. That one was new (it turned out he’d been with the company for five years). To be honest, I wanted to find out more about the handsome man who spent his entire day in cubicle B-7. I’d only been able to catch glimpses of him, but he had a really attractive face. He was always at work when I got there and was still working when it came time to leave.

I decided to work on a laptop in the breakroom one day with a perfect view of the restroom doors. I was sure I could catch him going into one of them or coming into the breakroom. That’s the day I ran into Jordan. I had expected to run into him during the first several days that I was there, but our paths hadn’t crossed. I had not asked about him as I didn’t want to give away that I knew him.

He stood in front of me and in a calm voice that hadn’t lost any of its sexiness, he said. “Hello, Aaron. It’s good to see you.” He pointed to the chair to my left. “May I join you for a bit?”

“Sure.” If it was possible, he was even more handsome. He was fit and trim. I had flashbacks of looking into his eyes as he pressed into me. I found it strange that the feelings he had stirred inside me were far away.

He sat and looked up at me. “I need to thank you for helping me realize that I could be happy.”

I’m sure a look of confusion came over my face. “How’s that?”

“When we… met, I was not in a good place. What I’ve come to realize is that my father had been henpecked and had become a doormat, and that’s what I thought being a husband was all about. I did my best to deny that I was attracted to guys, and I picked a woman just like my mother. My life was hell.

“At that party, when I looked up and saw you and you smiled, I was… I don’t know… I’m not sure I can explain it. I needed to be with you. Wanted to be with you, and that brief time I was with you… well, I just knew that life could have more to it. I talked honestly with a therapist, and he helped me understand that I could either be miserable or leave. So I left.

“I will say that I wasn’t very happy when I found out how old you really were.”

“I couldn’t help it,” I told him. “I needed someone who would take one look at me and want to be with me. Someone who could stop the loneliness. Make me feel wanted. You did that for me. I was afraid that if I told you how old I was, you wouldn’t want me. And now, when I think about you, I just have good memories.”

“I’m glad. I was concerned you might have thought me a letch.”

“Never, Jordan. You were my first, and it was special.”

He stood up, and I stood as well. He hugged me. “I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I’ve been transferred to the Atlanta office with a promotion.”

“No, I hadn’t,” I replied, “but I’m happy for you.” I hugged him and whispered in his ear, “Your boner is in my top five.”

His cheeks reddened. “Not number one?” he said after glancing around the room to see if anyone overheard us.

“I’m not saying anything more. Best of luck in Atlanta.” I walked back to the IT room. My heart felt lighter. I felt more grown-up than I ever had. I’d closed a chapter that I hadn’t been aware that I was reading. I got to the door and read my name. My life had taken a turn; I had a perspective that was new and fresh.

I took a deep breath and walked to cubicle B-7. The name on the door was Lance Johnson. I could see that he had a spreadsheet on his screen, but it was blurred by a security screensaver. He was not there, however. I took another deep breath. Why was I here? I’d never had a good look at him; I didn’t know him. I turned to go.

“Are you looking for me?” asked a voice with a slight East Texas twang.

In front of me stood a handsome man with great dirty blond hair. His hair reminded me of the man who played the Sundance Kid in that movie with Kathryn Ross. I wished I’d had hair like that. “Yes, I am,” I replied. “I’m Aaron Smith. I’m the assistant database manager. I wanted to know if you needed anything. I haven’t seen any requests from you, and I wanted to let you know that the database department has things under better control now so if there’s anything we can do to help you…” I was rambling.

“I’m Lance Johnson. Oh, I guess you know that. I requisitioned some yellow toner for my printer three weeks ago, and I’m still waiting for it.”

He was good-looking, but I wasn’t feeling any positive vibes from him. “That’s not my department, but I’ll be happy to look into it for you.”

“I know it’s not, but it’s the only thing I need. Professionally that is.” He smiled. Things suddenly felt awkward.

I had the feeling he wanted to say more so I continued to stand there. Ten seconds of silence lasts a lifetime.

“Did you want something else?” he asked.

“No, I thought you had something more to say.”

“Not at all.” He stepped in front of me. “If you’ll excuse me, I want to get finished with this work. I want to leave early; it’s my wife’s birthday.”

I stepped to the side. “Of course. I’ll find out about the toner.” I went back to my office and opened my laptop and promptly sent an email to the supply department. With an urgent flag, I requested they get the toner to Mr. Johnson, a married man, handsome and off-limits.

With the Fourth of July fast approaching, I went to Hobby Lobby and bought little flags to place along the edge of the road. I’d volunteered to bring an apple pie and made sure I pre-ordered several from the best pie shop in town. I finished my project and sent it to the professor. I figured I’d have a few days of respite. That night, my father came home early from his date with Stevie. I immediately knew that something was wrong.

“Are you going to tell me now, or do you need more time?” I asked him.

He seemed angry to me, but he walked up to me and hugged me. I put my arms around him, and we stood there in the kitchen just holding on to one another.

“I want to move out of this house,” he finally said.

I thought for a moment. “Do you want your own place? Or did you want to share a place?”

He let go of me and sat at the table. “I haven’t thought about anything but getting out of here.”

I sat down across from him. “There are several options, Dad. First, selling this house versus renting it out. Second, do you want a house, condo, or apartment? You could retire now. I’ve got money in a trust that Mitch set up. It’s more than I’ll need.”

“You’ll want a place of your own when you graduate and start working full-time.”

“This is almost like a place of my own. We hardly ever run into one another, but there’s always someone to count on. I like sharing the house with you. But you won’t hurt my feelings if you want to live by yourself.”

“I guess I just want out of here. That’s the thing that’s driving me.”

“Do you want a place to share with Stevie? Some place you two can be alone.” I asked.

“Stevie’s been fucking his step-brother. He says he’s been in love with him since high school. He says the guy’s going to leave his wife. I just want a fresh start.”

Part of me wasn’t surprised; Stevie always seemed like a lost boy looking for something. The part about the step-brother was a tad shocking. “I’m sorry, Dad.”

“Well, it was fun, and I learned a lot about myself. I guess I’m feeling a little sad, but I know things will get better. I don’t think that getting a fresh start will solve everything, but it might help me stop hanging onto baggage that I don’t need.”

“Start looking for a place,” I told him.

“That’s what I was doing today after work. I like the condos by the river. If we sell this place, I can get one.”

“Make a cash offer, Dad, then we won’t have to worry about selling this first, and I can take my time to find a place and move out.”

“I don’t want to take anything with me, except some clothes. Donate what you don’t want to the women’s shelter.”

“I’ll get someone to take care of it.” That meant delegating it to someone. The one thing I appreciated from the money that Mitch left me was being able to do things like visiting my brother or taking care of things for my father without worrying about when I could do them. I was certainly luckier than most.

On the morning of the Fourth of July picnic, my father left early to help set things up. Afternoon thunderstorms were threatening an early end to the celebrations, but since the company always set the food up inside and people ate outside, only a small change of plans would be needed if rain arrived early. I showed up at eleven with my pies and wandered out on the patio where the guys and gals were grilling hot dogs and burgers. I meandered through the crowds of people who were gathering. I knew many of them as I’d been attending this function since I was a little kid. There were new faces from departments I hadn’t worked with, but no one I engaged with other than a ‘hello’ and a ‘nice day’. I saw people getting inside to make their plates, and I joined them. Since I didn’t have a plan to sit with anyone to have lunch, I considered going to my office space to eat but then opted to sit at a table in the café area.

I’d made myself a cheeseburger, grabbed some potato chips as well as potato salad, and a big brownie. I pulled a Dr. Pepper from my pocket and placed it on the table. As I sat down, I snuck a piece of brownie and was blown away by the soft chewiness of the deep rich chocolate. I was about to take a sip of my soda when the security officer walked up.

“Hey, Smith,” I acknowledged.

“Hey, Smith,” he replied. We shared last names, but we weren’t related, and I’d known him for several years. “How ya doin’?”

“I was doing just fine. Are you about to change that?” I asked.

He chuckled. “Maybe. I thought maybe you’d take care of my cousin here. He’s a police officer, and he’ll be on duty tonight. I’m on duty now. His name is Smith.”

“Officer Smith?” I asked.

“You talking to me?” said the blond man in the police uniform who just popped out from behind Smith. It was a bad De Niro impersonation.

In an equally bad Matt Leblanc impersonation, I replied, “How you doin’?”

All three of us started to laugh.

“Hey, I like this Smith guy,” said the police officer.

“OK, OK,” I interrupted. “I’m Aaron.”

“I’m Eric,” he added as he sat down.

“I’m Roy, by the way.”

“No one cares, Smith,” I retorted.

“Where’s your food, Eric? I only have enough for me. Eric has no food, Smith.”

“I’ll get him some,” replied Roy as he went toward the food tables.

“It’s nice to meet you, Eric.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Aaron.” He extended his hand for a fist bump. “When Roy told me that he knew a gay kid named Smith who was really cool, I expected a kid.”

“And you got… me.” I smiled and grabbed a chip.

“Lucky me,” he replied. He was looking directly into my eyes. “And, honestly, you’re making my heart beat a little faster.” His lips spread into a cute smile.

“Are you trying to make my heart beat faster, too?” I asked.

“Who? Me?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, you.”

He took the chip from my fingers. “Is your heart beating faster?” He tossed the chip into his mouth and crunched down on it. Smith should have warned me about this guy. He was certainly handsome and sexy, and that police uniform made him super hot. “I’m not sure it’s racing, but it did skip a beat when I saw first saw you.”

“So, you want to go out with me?” he asked.

“Maybe,” I teased. “Depends on what you have in mind.”

“What could a guy like me have in mind for a handsome guy like you?” He grabbed a chip from my plate.

“Guys looking for friends don’t tell each other that they’re handsome. So I’m thinking that it’s not friendship you’re after.”

“Fair enough. This is deep for just having met. But maybe people should discuss these kinds of things. You’re handsome; you’re funny. I’d like to get to know you. Getting you in the sack is not my goal. I’m wondering whether you’re attracted to me so that we can go on a date. Just so you know, I don’t do hookups anymore. And while a fuck-buddy would be nice, I’d prefer a boyfriend who is serious about being a life partner.”

“I apologize. I shouldn’t have assumed you were after anything.”

He popped the chip in his mouth and wrapped his hand around mine. “What are you after?” He smiled.

“Ultimately, the same thing you are. For right now, a date with a handsome police officer name Eric Smith.” He smiled. I held out a chip. “Have another one. On the house.”

He took it. “This one’s on the house, huh? What about the first one?” he asked as he popped the chip in his mouth.

“You’ve already paid dearly for that one,” I said.

He smiled. Roy came up next to him and put a plate with two hot dogs, two meat patties, and more chips. “Here’s some Coke. I’ve got to get to work.”

In unison, we said, “Thanks.”

Eric turned back toward me. “As soon as I finish eating part of this, I’ve got to get to work. I get off at midnight. Is it too late to come pick you up and grab dinner?”

“Of course not. Now finish your lunch. Dinner’s a long way off.” He grabbed a hot dog and held it toward me. “Want a bite of my weiner?”

“Not until the third date,” I smirked. I put my information into his phone and put his in mine. We finished eating with a little bit of small talk, and he headed off to work. I had trouble concentrating after that. I’d been rude. Would he realize that later and cancel? I made the rounds again before going home and cleaning like mad. Not that there was much to clean up. A glass on the desk in the office went into the dishwasher. I wiped the area around the Keurig, and the rug next to the side door needed to be vacuumed. After that, I was done. I started to look through the movie collection, and I realized that my father probably wouldn’t want any of them. I decided to sort them into movies I’d enjoy watching again and those to donate to the library. We did not have that many as my father only bought movies he wanted to watch again, and my meager collection was up in my room. I found five movies to keep and searched for a box for the others. I’d just finished loading them in a box when I heard a car in the driveway. My dad was staying with some friends, so I knew it wasn’t he.

I ran to the side door and looked out. A patrol car was parking in the driveway. Eric Smith got out and walked toward the front door. I opened the side door and said, “This way.”

He turned and smiled.

Fuck but he was handsome and sexy in his uniform. I hadn’t realized how green his eyes were until he approached the brightness of the porch light.

“You’re early,” I told him.

“On break. I’ll have to go in about ten minutes, but I thought I’d check on you.”

“You were worried about me?”

“Not in the least. You’re big and strong and can take care of yourself. I just… Um… Aw, fuck. I just wanted to see you again.”

I grabbed his hand. “That’s so sweet.”

He looked back toward his cruiser. His cheeks were slightly pinker than they had been moments earlier.

“Come inside.” I pulled him in and closed the door behind him. “You know, we could count this as a second date.”

“How do you figure? We haven’t had one yet.” He squeezed back on my hand.

“Blind date a lunch is number one. Mini date while you’re on break makes two. Tonight will be three, but the important thing is that this is the second one.”

He bent his head toward me and shook his head slightly. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“If things go well on this date, I’ll kiss you when you leave.”

“And if they don’t?”

“I could kiss you in hopes that the third date will go better.”

Eric laughed and brought his forehead against mine. “What can I do to make sure this date is a success?”

“This is a good start,” I made a giggling sound for which I was completely embarrassed.

“I bet you like to be nuzzled,” Eric whispered into my ear.

I put my hand on his chest. “You’ll have to try it and see.” I was trying to find his nipple, but I was thwarted by a steel girdle. “What the hell is that?”

“That’s my vest. I’m wearing it to protect me from you.”

“From me? What the hell? How does it protect you from me?” I demanded.

“Well, if you were to gain access to my skin, I’d get really turned on which would precipitate an encounter that would cause me to be late for work which in turn would get me put on report. So, it is keeping you from getting black marks on my record.”

“It’s also keeping you from getting some tongue action.”

“Really?” he asked. He pushed his lips against mine, and I crumpled. His tongue touched my upper lip, and I sucked it into my mouth. He pulled back. “I knew it. You can’t resist me, can you?”

“You fucking asshole,” I grumbled.

He pinched my ass cheek. “That comes later, baby.” He chuckled. “I want so much to stay, and I knew that if I saw you, I would want to. I need to go. Am I still picking you up after work? Or are you too angry with me?”

I pressed my lips against his and ran my fingers through the hair on the back of his head. “I’m too angry with you. What time are you getting off?”

“I’m scheduled until midnight.”

“How much time do we have now?”

“About five minutes.”

I dropped my hand to the front of his pants. “Five, huh?” I could feel him swell.

“Aaron.”

“Take it out,” I demanded. I reached for his zipper and pulled it down.

“We shouldn’t.”

I dropped to my knees and pulled down his elastic waistband. A nice plump dick pushed forward. I pulled it into my mouth and began to move up and down the shaft as it hardened. I encircled it with all the pressure my lips could give.

“Oh, shit, Aaron, I’m not going to last if you do it like that. Oh, fucking hell, Aaron.”

I could feel his erection twitch in my mouth. He was excited, and so was I. I wanted nothing but to feel him unload into my mouth. I wanted him to know that I wanted him and wanted to pleasure him.

“Oh, fuck Aaron, I’m coming.” He grabbed my head and held it as he pumped his seed into me. Part of it went down my throat and part surrounded my tongue. With his last thrust, he fell back against the wall. He was breathing heavily. I made sure his cock was clean before pushing it back into his pants. I stood up as he zipped up his pants.

I locked eyes with him. “There will be more.” I said it quietly.

He continued looking at me; I sensed he was looking inside me. “I don’t believe in love at first sight, Aaron.”

That statement surprised me; we hadn’t said anything about love or even feelings.

He turned and went to the door. Turning back around, he said, “I believe in it now.”