Tag: You're It!

Dream Big

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Location
Washington (Washington, D.C., United States)
Sexuality
90% Gay, 10% Straight
Gender
Male
I was in Washington DC for a conference when it happened. I’d gone down into Chinatown – or what was left of it – to grab lunch, and was just about to leave the Nando’s when I spotted him across the street. Just a sexy guy with his attention fully occupied by his phone, leaning against a wall.

He was tall – maybe 5’10 or so– with caramel skin and a mop of dark curly hair, and a bit of facial scruff somewhere short of a beard. Full lips and white teeth – a great smile with dimples as he chuckled at something on his phone. Wide shoulders in his bright white polo shirt, and biceps that suggested power without screaming it. I could only guess at his background; possibly Asian, possibly mixed, possibly Arabic or even Turkish or Greek.

Even across the street, he looked incredible to me, and I found myself staring. I couldn’t see his eyes because he was wearing sunglasses. Given how sexy he was, I was almost glad I couldn’t see his eyes, because that might have wrecked me.

I found a reason to look at my own phone, if only to continue staring at him over the tops of my own glasses.

“Excuse me,” someone said. “You’re kind of blocking the doorway.”

“Shit, sorry about that, lost in thought.” I moved sheepishly to the side.

“No worries,” the woman said, and headed off down the street.

I glanced over at the wall where the beautiful boy had been, but just then a big delivery van stopped right in front of me, blocking my view. Ah well, it was a lovely moment while it lasted, but it was about time to head back and I still needed to stop by the pharmacy.

I ducked into the Walgreens, intending to grab a pack of allergy medicine – pollen in the area was no joke this time of year – when I spotted him again, just as I turned into the aisle with the sinus stuff. He was bent over as he rifled through the kinesiology tape options.

Fuck, he was even hotter up close. Especially with his perfect ass pointed right at me like that. I could feel a stirring down below as I imagined what it might feel like to touch it, even through the khakis.

And of course he was in the way for what I needed. I swallowed hard, and walked over to where my meds sat, directly opposite him.

“Oh, sorry, am I in the way?” he said, as he spotted me in his peripheral vision.

“Uh,” I said. Yeah, great opening line, dummy. “Sorry, if I can just squeeze past–”

“These aisles are too narrow, right?” He smiled and those damned dimples sent an electric shock to my soul.

“Yeah, I’m surprised they get away with it. Thanks,” I said, trying my best not to look at him.

“Not much of a selection,” he groused.

“They keep a lot behind lock and key,” I replied. “Shoplifters.”

“Oh, right, I guess they’re right here by the subway. I guess I could ask up front.”


Look, I had the meds in my hand. I could have left. But I made a critical mistake.

I looked right at him, and I was hooked. Completely smitten.

“I don’t think they lock up the kino tape,” I found myself saying. “But there’s a CVS a few blocks up.”

“Up is…toward the convention center?”

“Yeah. I can walk you most of the way there. It’s kind of on the way.”

“That’d be wonderful, thanks, man!”

Just to be safe, we checked up front, but no dice. I quickly paid for my purchase while he loitered at the exit, and to my delight he smiled as he fell into step beside me. I could almost smell his cologne from this close, and he’d taken off his sunglasses. His eyes were a warm brown.

“I’m Gabe,” he said, sticking out a friendly hand. “Appreciate the assist!”

“Josh,” I said. His hand was warm. I might never wash mine again.

“Yeah, I kinda pulled something in my shoulder the other day. The KT tape will hopefully keep me from wrenching it any further.”

I stole a glance at his shoulders. Broad, nicely sculpted delts, but now that he mentioned it, I could see he was carrying himself a little off.

“What did you do?”

“You’ll laugh,” he said as we left the pharmacy.

“Please. I’m the biggest klutz in town. You can’t shock me.” I popped my zyrtec and took a swig of my water bottle.

“It was so dumb. I’m here for a conference, and I’ve been using the hotel gym. But did I wrench my shoulder there? No. I wrenched it by trying to grab the door I was walking through. Just a bad angle and a loss of balance, and wham.”

“Yikes.”

“Right? And of course I had to help unload the stuff for the booth, maybe half an hour afterI did that. Classic dumb move – strain something and then immediately strain it again.”

“Yeah, well, I hate to tell you, but that’s only going to get worse as time goes on,” I said. “None of us are getting any younger.”

“Tell me about it,” he said quietly. Something in the way he said it piqued my curiosity.

“Oh please, you can’t be a day over 30,” I said, confident I’d guessed he was at most 32 or 33.

“Hah!” Josh said, with a twinkle in his eye. “Been a while since I was 30.”

I welcomed the excuse to really get a good look at him. Not a hint of salt and pepper in his hair, a face that was masculine and mature, but somehow still youthful. You’d never mistake him for a kid, but neither was he likely to be someone’s dad. If he was over 35, he was extremely well preserved.

“No way.”

“I’m much older than I look,” he said, “but I appreciate the flattery.”

Well now I was curious. Luckily, the light and traffic were being their usual uncoordinated selves, leaving us stranded on a corner.

“Must be nice,” I chuckled.

“Sometimes,” he said. “But sometimes looking young gets kind of old.”

“Wouldn’t know,” I said, flippantly as the light changed. “Some of us don’t have the luxury.”

We hurried across, only to hear the wail of sirens. Blocked again, as the cars on the road tried their level best to get out of the way of the emergency vehicles – which, of course, stopped directly in our path.

“Guess we’ll take the long way round,” I said. “Follow me.”

I stole a glance at my watch.

“I’m taking too much of your time,” my new friends said.

“Nah, it’s fine. I don’t have any more meetings this afternoon, so it’s mostly just collecting swag and schmoozing with people. I’m happy to let the marketing boys do that.”

“You’re here for the tech conference?”

“Yeah. Already did my bit, but a week’s a week, and I was planning to stay the weekend and do a little sightseeing.”

“Same here, more or less. I was supposed to fly back tonight, but they needed me for another project on monday. My big weekend plans are getting my laundry done.”

“You in tech?”

“More or less. These days I manage a small team and show up to walk the execs through everything. They pretend to know what I’m talking about and I make sure to drag one of their actual IT people through the show-and-tell, because I know damned well the guy with the MBA will retain none of what I say.”

We reached the pharmacy all too quickly, so I walked in with him.

“Success!” he said, triumphantly holding up the sought-after KT tape. I smiled with him, then realized I was about to lose my excuse to keep chatting with him. I kept him company at the register and walked back with him toward the convention center when a thought struck me.

“Dumb question,” I drawled. “How do you plan on putting that on your shoulder by yourself?”

He opened his mouth to reply, then realization sunk in. “oh.”

Fortune favors the bold, right?

“If you can wait until 3 or so, after I put in a token appearance in there, I could… help you put that on.”

He arched a perfect eyebrow. “Do you know how?”

“Actually, I do. Had a pinched nerve that put me through some PT a few years ago. A hazard when you’re old and work a desk job,” I said. He chuckled.

“Okay, I accept your gracious offer, provided you let me buy you a drink or two afterward,” he offered. “Know any decent places for that?”

“Depends on your vibe, but yeah. There are some nice places around here, and if we’re both willing to go a little early, we could even grab dinner if you like.”

“It’d be nice to have company,” he said.

“Then you’re on. Meanwhile, you should probably take a hot shower to loosen that shoulder up. Maybe even a nap. Which hotel?”

“I’m at the Residence Inn a few blocks west. ”

“Okay, I’m at the Embassy Suites, so I’ll ping you when I get out of my meeting, and give you an ETA. Sound good?”

It did, and we quickly exchanged numbers. Somehow I resisted doing a victory dance. One part of me was already sending some distinctly happy signals.

***

It took a bit longer than I’d hoped to extricate myself, but I finally escaped and made a beeline to the hotel.

Sorry, took a little longer than I hoped, I texted. If you’re still game, I need a few minutes to freshen up. Meet you at yours in half an hour?

Sounds great. About to hop in the shower like you suggested. Text me when you hit the lobby okay?


Twenty-six minutes later, after I freshened up a bit, I arrived at the Residence in a clean white polo shirt – without the company logo – and a pair of khakis. It was a classy looking place without being pretentious or very posh, no doubt catering to people like my new friend.

I texted him. Here. In lobby.

Come on up, room 315.

Well now. Thanks to considerable self control, I didn’t sprint but instead walked to the elevators and pressed the third floor button. Then I calmly walked to room 315 and knocked.

The door burst open instantly, and there he was, still wet from the shower and a little breathless. He smelled like hotel shampoo, over a very pleasant, slightly spicy natural scent.
He was as perfect as I’d imagined. Not super muscular, but definitely worked out and ate right. His abs were visible, but not ridiculous; his pecs firm and defined without being huge. A light dusting of black hair decorated both, leading down below his towel. Which was the only thing he was wearing.

“Sorry, I had a call I had to take and I only got in the shower right when you called, and it felt so good I lost track of time—”

“Relax, Gabe,” I said. “I’ll just wait in here while you finish up. Um, you may want to wait to put on a shirt, I can put the tape on that way.”

“Will do,” he said.

I sat at the small table in the little kitchenette, keenly aware of what his body and his scent and his breathless glistening self had done to me. I was hard already, which had somehow not been the plan.

“Any dress code to worry about?” he inquired from the bath room.

“Nope. I’m just doing the usual khakis and polo – that will get you into most places without any trouble.”

He was quickly dressed – well most of him was. Shirtless, as requested.

“Thanks for doing this,” he said, charmingly showing a bit of nervousness. He swung the other chair around and sat on it facing away from me. His butt was nice and perky and the khakis were working for him.

Concentrate, Josh. I put the naughty thoughts aside.

“Okay,” I said, “where are you feeling the pain?”

“It kind of starts in my neck, and goes down my shoulder blade and along my trap.”

I took a deep breath, and put my shaky hand on his neck, gently working my way until I felt the spasm – and when I touched it with a bit of pressure, he gasped.

“If you want,” I began, “I could try to work on this a bit for you before we hit the tape or go out. Not that I’m an expert or licensed or anything, but –”

“Yes, please,” he said, suddenly shy again. “AH, right there!” he squealed.

“You’re in luck, I have had similar spasms myself. Lean over the table – yeah, like that. Let me know if it’s too much pressure.”

Touching his back was electric. He wasn’t a muscle-head gym bro, but he was no slouch, so every contour and bulge was dense and firm. I put aside any further thoughts along those lines, and refocused on working on the spasm.

“Oh my god,” he said. “Don’t stop, sorry about the moans.”

I chuckled. “Wonder what your neighbors think about all those moans?”

“Right now I don’t give a fuck,” he said. “RIGHT there! Ooooh”

“That’s a pretty big one,” I chuckled.

“Harder please, yes, yes, right there!” I obliged – it really was a nasty knot, but I had the angle just right to get at it – but couldn’t stop myself from giggling. And it got contagious very quickly.

Finally, I relented. “Don’t want to overdo it. I’ll put on the tape now, let me know how it feels.”

He sat up and moved his shoulder back and forth a bit. He winced, but not as much as when I’d first dug in. “Much better,” he said, leaning slightly back – and invading my space a bit, not that I minded in the slightest.

“I don’t know how to thank you,” he said, spinning round to face me. (I had several ideas on the topic, but hadn’t even figured out whether he was hot and into it, or hot and oblivious.)

His brown eyes held my own hostage. Oh yes, there was definitely some heat there.

And then my stomach growled, audibly. We both laughed.

“Let me grab my shirt,” he said breezily. “And let’s get some food in you.”

“And drinks,” I said, “but you should probably guzzle a glass full of water first.”

***
Five minutes later, we set out to walk a few blocks to a rather nice place I’d been to once before. The evening crowd – mostly government contractors, lawyers, and other federal folk – had begun to settle in and friday happy hour was kicking off. By sheer luck, the hostess was able to seat us.

And then, over cocktails and appetizers, we chatted. It was easy, friendly conversation, like we’d been friends for years and were catching up – only we knew nothing about each other.

It wasn’t long before friendly banter gave way to outright flirting – FINALLY confirmation he was, beyond all hope, into me. I left little doubt about where I stood. We practically smoldered at each other, but it felt like a real connection. Right up until the check came. He snatched it quickly before I could grab it.

“Nope,” he said. “I got this. Least I could do.”

“You know,” I said, “In most Asian cultures, the oldest male picks up the check. I should be insulted.”

“Are you Asian?”

“No, but still – “

“I’ve got it.”

We sat a little awkwardly as the server took care of the check; I insisted on leaving a cash tip, and he acquiesced.

Outside the restaurant, the night was incredibly clear and the streets were lively. Perhaps a little too lively.

“Do you want to maybe –”

“Yes.”

***

He’d insisted that we go back to his room rather than mine, which suited me fine; I didn’t particularly want to deal with other coworkers who were flying out the next morning. But those extra few blocks took forever, and the elevator seemed slow as molasses, and the door couldn’t open fast enough.

We weren’t in the door a full minute before we were all over each other. His touch, his scent, his voice, his eyes – and he kissed like he’d invented it. It was almost overwhelming.

Amusingly, it was the race to remove our clothes that gave me a momentary break from the sensual assault – but only so that it could get *worse*. Because once those pants were off him, the briefs he wore did absolutely nothing to hide the contents of his pouch.

I’m casting politeness to the wind: his dick was huge. Easily 9 inches, and girthy, and clearly worked up by our pawing at each other after 90 minutes of verbal foreplay over dinner.

My own body was, of course, far less impressive. I’d recently shaved 20 pounds and firmed up a bit, but that had only brought me up to “not terribly embarrassing”, as far as I was concerned. And the contents of my own briefs were unremarkable, average at best.

He didn’t seem to mind.

***

Honestly? I was winded and flagging after the first round of fucking, even though he seemed eager to do most of the work. Not only were we both vers, we seemed remarkably in tune with each other, instinctively guessing what would delight the other.

Round two was all him. (Pro-tip: if you’ve never had a very hot man with a near-ideal body lavish you with attention, make every effort to arrange that, if you can.)

Twice, I had thought, was about my limit – but I found myself ready and willing for round three, somehow. He insisted on bottoming for me, his well-muscled and very limber body matched only by the sweetness of his ass as he bent and twisted until we hit the perfect angle.

I have a vague memory of him grabbing a large bottle of water and handing it to me; and I remember drinking it, but things get hazy.

***

I woke cuddled into his side, covered in his scent, as he smiled down at me while stroking my hair gently.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” I replied.

“That was fun.”

“That was amazing.”

“I’m glad we met.”

“Me too.”

I reached up to kiss him, and he obliged. His insistent 9 inches poked me almost immediately.

“Whoa, buddy. I need to rehydrate. Been a while since I had that much of a workout.”

“Been a while for me too,” Gabe chuckled.

“Why?” I said, before my brain could shut my mouth off.

“No particular reason. Just hadn’t found someone I really wanted to do that with for a while.”

“Lucky me,” I said grinning ear to ear.

“Why don’t we get up, and hash out who is the luckier of the two of us over breakfast? Dibs on the shower.”

I yawned. “Sounds like a plan. Just let me pee first, before my dick gets other ideas.”

***

While Gabe was showering, I decided to tidy up a bit, and see if my clothing would suffice to go to breakfast in. The sheets were a total write-off; he’d need to get housekeeping up here. Our clothes were tossed here and there around the room, so I began to gather them and put them on two of the kitchen chairs.

When his wallet tumbled out of his pants pocket, however, something happened that I couldn’t have predicted. His drivers license dropped out of the sleeve, so I picked it up.

Gabriel Lucas, it read. Black hair, brown eyes, 5’10”, 180 lbs, 39 years old, with an address in a city too far away to take this too seriously. A sweet name for a sweet boy. But when I went to slide it back into the clear pocket on his wallet, another license was already there. And while the photo was nearly identical, and the other information matched, this one was clearly an older style.

And it showed a birthdate of 1934.
 
I must have sat there for a full five minutes, just staring at the ID and trying to wrap my brain around what it would mean. And then another five minutes, trying to figure out what to do about it.

I still hadn’t decided when the shower shut off, so I put the licenses back in his wallet, and slid it back into his pants pocket. When he popped out of the bathroom, in just a towel, steam in his wake, I just nodded and walked in like a zombie.

The shower did little to defragment my jumbled up thoughts, but scrubbing up with nice hotel soap distracted me somewhat. The scent I associated with Gabriel was at least partly this soap. Herbal rather than flowery.

Think, Josh. It has to be some kind of gag, it can’t possibly be real. He barely looks like he’s in his 30s, much less 40s. No way is that guy pushing 90!

I really wanted to ask him about it, but if I did, he’d know I saw his wallet. Guilt lurked in waiting, though I’d only seen it by accident. No, I’d either have to ask him directly or find some reason to take another look.

I frowned at my reflection in the mirror. I could use a shave, but what the hell, it was Saturday, and I was already in my “walk of shame” outfit from last night. Though I supposed I’d really only worn those things for a few hours around dinnertime.

“Help yourself to my stuff if you need it. I even have a spare toothbrush,” he said, peeking in from the room. “I picked up a replacement before I went on this trip, but I haven’t switched over to it, so you’re in luck there. Just use the new one.”

“Thanks,” I mumbled. That much at least was a relief; between dinner and the various other activities, my breath was probably pretty bad. Plus, at my age, you’re happy to have your own teeth.

While I was brushing, I was taking stock. At 45, I was by most measures okay looking. Pretty average, a little thicker around the middle than I’d like, and a little silver beginning to show itself in my beard and dark blond hair. The crows feet were slowly going from faint lines to more deeply etched creases. But the teeth and hair were all present, accounted for, and natural, an increasing rarity among my peer group.

Maybe it was just my mind playing tricks on me. Maybe I confused some dreamlike state for reality. Maybe I was just convinced I was batting above my level with Gabriel.

Somehow, I put it out of my mind, and off we went in search of breakfast.

***

Breakfast was lavish and included a few bloody marys, and then a quick stop at my hotel to change clothes.

We were flirty and giggling like kids on a first date. There was something about Gabriel that immediately put me at ease, and we chatted through all of breakfast, and then as we walked around town doing touristy stuff. I found myself talking about work and family as well as geek stuff and food and movies and TV.

It was going ridiculously well, if I’m honest. We found ourselves holding hands as we walked between Smithsonian buildings; We even stole a lengthy kiss on the bus, mostly to annoy the grumpy guy in the ill-fitting suit who kept trying not to stare disapprovingly over his tablet.

It had been ages since I’d hit it off so well with someone. And even if he lived on the other coast, I found myself considering that it might be worth making an attempt to make it work.

I was smitten, for sure.
 
So when he suggested we swing by the Korean War memorial, I agreed, having never been. I was eager to see the Lincoln Memorial anyway.

That particular memorial is mostly composed of a bunch of larger-than-life statues of servicemen of various races but they recently added a wall with over 40,000 names of armed forces folks who lost their lives in a war I knew mostly from M*A*S*H. I snapped a few respectful photos as we approached – it’s a striking piece – but Gabriel made a beeline for the remembrance wall and began reading it.

“Looking for anyone in particular?” I said, quietly.

“Maybe?” he answered. “A few names. Friends – well, friends of the family, I guess.”

“Your dad’s army buddies?”

“Something like that,” he replied. He seemed pensive, and I didn’t want to get in the way of whatever he was thinking, so I sauntered down a little ways. A few Korean families milled about, as well as a handful of veterans. I was about halfway down it, and I idly scanned the names. I wasn’t really expecting to find anything.

But there, amongst the members of the Army signal corps, was the name Gabriel Lucas.

It must be his father, I thought. Right?

I snapped a photo, and then resumed my wandering. Places like that always leave me a bit pensive, and there were dozens of people with a deep connection milling about, lost in emotions. So I found a bench and waited.

Gabriel moved slowly, taking things in. He was obviously feeling something strong, and a couple of times I saw him appear to bow his head in prayer, or thought, or something. Then he got to the far end of the wall, blew his nose, and began scanning the area for me. I stood and caught his eye, and he walked over toward me. I met him about a third of the way there.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Yeah. I think so.” But he was quiet.

“You want to sit for a minute? Or maybe go up to see Abe?”

“Sure.”

We did a quick tour through the Lincoln memorial, which is impressive but was packed that day, so by unspoken agreement, we wandered toward the road after about twenty minutes. Gabriel hadn’t said much, and seemed still lost in thought – though if I’m honest he was sexy even when mournful.

“Let’s go find lunch,” I said.

“Okay.”

***

“When did food trucks get so expensive?” I asked rhetorically. “Oh well, what will it be?”

“Maybe just a hot dog.”

“It’s DC – you want to try a half smoke. Trust me on this,” I said. A few minutes later we’d found a place to sit and tucked into our late lunch.

“Penny for your thoughts, Gabe,” I said.

“What? Oh, I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t suppose I’m too entertaining to be around right now.”

“I think it’s nice to see real emotion in a man,” I said honestly. “Forgive me. Were you close to your dad?”

He shrugged. “I suppose. It was a long time ago. Mostly I was thinking about his buddies. Great guys.”

“Did you find the names?”

“Yeah. One of them was spelled wrong, though. I’ll have to request a correction. Do they do that?”

“Probably? I can check the website…”

“Nah, it can wait,” he said, seeming to collect himself. “Man, this sausage thing is great, isn’t it?”

“Oh yeah. Depends on the stand, but I had this guy’s the last time I was out here.” I smiled. “Looks like a little food helped your mood, no?”

“I’m sorry, Josh. I don’t mean to be a downer. I didn’t expect it to hit me this hard.”

“I told you, no worries,” I said. Then I gave him a hug, and a peck on the cheek.. “Finish your lunch while I ogle cute boys.”

He glanced around. He raised an eyebrow on realizing the area behind him was pretty empty.

“Especially the sensitive hottie eating a half smoke. It reminds me of something.”

It took him a moment before he realized I meant *him*.

***

The mood seemed to brighten after that, and he was more smiling and talkative as we headed toward the White House. I’d lost my taste for it after Trump, but he hadn’t seen it, so off we went.

“How much time do we have?”

“The website says they aren’t doing tours today. I was able to check on this amazing steak place a few blocks away. It’a a little pricey, but as long as they let us in dressed like this, I’m game. We have until maybe 530?”

“Sounds great.”

We waded around the usual gaggle of protestors, and took a few photos before it was time to hit the steak house.

I’ll ask him after dinner, I thought.

Because as we drank our martinis with the good olives, and ate some bread, I’d begun to do the math. And there was no way those dates made sense. The Gabriel from the wall had died 65 years ago.

***
 
Missed you and your writing!
Thanks! I missed writing. Hell, I never know where it’s going to go. Most of the time I intend to write naughty smut, and it gets away from me pretty quickly.

For this one, I had a very specific idea (about a guy older than he seemed) and a title, thought “I will write about that”, and then this is what came out. I was surprised as you when the drivers license came up, because that wasn’t at all what I thought was going to be the first little hint.
 
I enjoyed your story so very much. I'd not qualify the love making and fun sex as "smut" but rather natural attraction and acting on it. Really great! Interesting that it was very hot, but not something to JO to while reading as most other stories are. Please take that as a complement.
 
(Sorry for the wait, guys. The new Zelda game is out, and I'm only human.)


***

We chatted amiably throughout the appetizers and drinks, and had reached one of those natural lulls in the conversation, when Gabriel looked at me a little pensively.


“You’re staring at me,” Gabriel said.

“You’re fun to look at,” I replied.

“Nice. But I’ve seen you look at me with curiosity, friendliness, and lust. Those I don’t mind. This was more like confusion. What are you trying to figure out?”

Shit. Was I that obvious?

Luckily I was saved by the timely arrival of our steaks. The momentary awkwardness was set aside as we tucked into possibly the best steak dinner I’ve ever eaten. Gabriel seemed to agree, and as we savored it, we ended up chatting about the food, the other diners, the goofy mustache sported by the bartender, and possible competitors for this awesome food’s current status as Best Ever. Eventually, we were both stuffed to contentment, and laughed about feeling bad we both left a little of the sides on our plates.

“I always forget and eat too much bread.”

“That’s amateur hour, that is.”

“I know, but it’s so good!”

Our friendly ninja of a waiter – a neatly-trimmed twunk in black pants and a tight shirt named Devon – materialized next to Gabriel.

“I’m going to guess that you enjoyed your meals,” he said.

“That was fantastic,” I said, and Gabriel nodded in agreement.

“I’ll let the chef know you were pleased. Can I get either of you another drink? Or possibly desert?”

You know how, when it’s early days in a relationship, you tend to play chicken about things like this? You exchange looks, hoping the other will make the first move and order something so you don’t feel bad about doing the same. Yeah, we did that. And Devon, to his credit, noticed.

“Tell you what, why don’t I get you something to drink while you digest a bit, and when I come back, you can let me know if you want anything. But I should tell you, we’re known for our key lime pie, and the dark chocolate mousse is worth the two hours of cardio you’ll need to work it off. So – wine, a cocktail, or coffee?”

“I mean, I could go either way,” I said, and got an amused eyebrow raise from Gabriel. “I mean, I’m not sure if I want another drink just yet.”

“We did kill two martinis and a bottle of wine already,” Gabriel said.

“Then maybe just regular coffee, please.”

“If you do espresso, I’ll have a double, otherwise I’ll have the same.”

“Milk, cream, any sugar?”

“Black”, we both said at the same time. Smiles all around.

Goddammit, why was he such a good fit? (I mean personality wise; get your minds out of the gutter.)

“I’ll be right back with the coffee – I’m afraid the espresso machine has been acting up all night so I can’t promise good results on that front. Oh, and there’s also sorbet if you want something lighter. Lemon or raspberry, I think. And cheesecake with strawberries.”

“You’re trying to make this a really tough decision, aren’t you?” Gabriel joked.

“All part of the service,” Devon said brightly, and departed.

“I like that guy,” Gabriel said. “People don’t appreciate a really good waiter, or bartender. Good service is just hard to find.”

“At least in a place like this, they’re making decent money. Or so I hope.”

“You’d be surprised how shitty some folks tip. It bugs me more than it should.”

“Hey, I’ve worked as a waiter,” I said. “So I always tip well, and especially when the service is this good. You pay people well enough to care, and they usually come through.”

“Such an optimist!”

“Guilty as charged.”

I swear Devon had a sixth sense for timing, because despite the place being fairly crowded, he was back already with two steaming cups of coffee – and as he delivered them to us, he waved over another server. With a tray full of desserts.

“That’s playing dirty,” I said.

“No, playing dirty would have been bringing you another round of martinis and THEN offering dessert.”

“I hope you like me for something more than my trim tummy, because I think I have to try that mousse,” Gabriel said. “Even though I have grave concerns about finishing it.”

“Fine, I’ll get the key lime. We can each try a bite, if you’re up for that,” I said.

***


In the end, he’d agreed to let me cover dinner, but insisted on leaving the tip in cash so Devon wouldn’t have to declare it all. And while it was *not* a cheap meal, at least by my usual standards, I saw Gabriel sneak an extra hundred dollar bill into the book, after rounding up for something like a 25% base tip.

Another green flag. Waved vigorously. You treat the staff well and tip lavishly, that’s a major bonus.

“Wow, we were in there for over two hours,” Gabriel said.

“I’d say it was time well spent. And orth every dime, for that kind of experience and that quality.”

“Agreed!”

We were grinning stupidly at each other, wondering what the next moment would hold.

“So.”

“So.”

“Want to stroll some of that dessert off?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

***

We’d wandered along the edges of the Mall, which was still pretty active even though it was approaching 8 o’clock and the sun was pretty low. Neither of us wanted to rush things, or to end the day prematurely, so we found a bench and watched some gangly youths play frisbee for a bit.

“I think that frisbee is glowing,” I said.

“You think they’ll keep playing after dark?” Gabriel asked.

“I don’t know if the park police will let them. My money’s on them being chased off once it’s fully dark.”

“Guess we’ll never find out,” Gabriel said. “Because I plan to take you back to the hotel and have my way with you, if that’s alright with you.”

“Yes, please,” I said.

So if you happened to be walking up New York Avenue NW that night, I apologize if we clipped you. Because we were oblivious as we power-walked back, thinking only of what awaited at the hotel.

Well, that and the question of that ID. Because as much as I was falling hard for Gabriel, that mystery just parked itself in the way and wouldn’t budge.
 
(Sorry for the wait, guys. The new Zelda game is out, and I'm only human.)


***

We chatted amiably throughout the appetizers and drinks, and had reached one of those natural lulls in the conversation, when Gabriel looked at me a little pensively.


“You’re staring at me,” Gabriel said.

“You’re fun to look at,” I replied.

“Nice. But I’ve seen you look at me with curiosity, friendliness, and lust. Those I don’t mind. This was more like confusion. What are you trying to figure out?”

Shit. Was I that obvious?

Luckily I was saved by the timely arrival of our steaks. The momentary awkwardness was set aside as we tucked into possibly the best steak dinner I’ve ever eaten. Gabriel seemed to agree, and as we savored it, we ended up chatting about the food, the other diners, the goofy mustache sported by the bartender, and possible competitors for this awesome food’s current status as Best Ever. Eventually, we were both stuffed to contentment, and laughed about feeling bad we both left a little of the sides on our plates.

“I always forget and eat too much bread.”

“That’s amateur hour, that is.”

“I know, but it’s so good!”

Our friendly ninja of a waiter – a neatly-trimmed twunk in black pants and a tight shirt named Devon – materialized next to Gabriel.

“I’m going to guess that you enjoyed your meals,” he said.

“That was fantastic,” I said, and Gabriel nodded in agreement.

“I’ll let the chef know you were pleased. Can I get either of you another drink? Or possibly desert?”

You know how, when it’s early days in a relationship, you tend to play chicken about things like this? You exchange looks, hoping the other will make the first move and order something so you don’t feel bad about doing the same. Yeah, we did that. And Devon, to his credit, noticed.

“Tell you what, why don’t I get you something to drink while you digest a bit, and when I come back, you can let me know if you want anything. But I should tell you, we’re known for our key lime pie, and the dark chocolate mousse is worth the two hours of cardio you’ll need to work it off. So – wine, a cocktail, or coffee?”

“I mean, I could go either way,” I said, and got an amused eyebrow raise from Gabriel. “I mean, I’m not sure if I want another drink just yet.”

“We did kill two martinis and a bottle of wine already,” Gabriel said.

“Then maybe just regular coffee, please.”

“If you do espresso, I’ll have a double, otherwise I’ll have the same.”

“Milk, cream, any sugar?”

“Black”, we both said at the same time. Smiles all around.

Goddammit, why was he such a good fit? (I mean personality wise; get your minds out of the gutter.)

“I’ll be right back with the coffee – I’m afraid the espresso machine has been acting up all night so I can’t promise good results on that front. Oh, and there’s also sorbet if you want something lighter. Lemon or raspberry, I think. And cheesecake with strawberries.”

“You’re trying to make this a really tough decision, aren’t you?” Gabriel joked.

“All part of the service,” Devon said brightly, and departed.

“I like that guy,” Gabriel said. “People don’t appreciate a really good waiter, or bartender. Good service is just hard to find.”

“At least in a place like this, they’re making decent money. Or so I hope.”

“You’d be surprised how shitty some folks tip. It bugs me more than it should.”

“Hey, I’ve worked as a waiter,” I said. “So I always tip well, and especially when the service is this good. You pay people well enough to care, and they usually come through.”

“Such an optimist!”

“Guilty as charged.”

I swear Devon had a sixth sense for timing, because despite the place being fairly crowded, he was back already with two steaming cups of coffee – and as he delivered them to us, he waved over another server. With a tray full of desserts.

“That’s playing dirty,” I said.

“No, playing dirty would have been bringing you another round of martinis and THEN offering dessert.”

“I hope you like me for something more than my trim tummy, because I think I have to try that mousse,” Gabriel said. “Even though I have grave concerns about finishing it.”

“Fine, I’ll get the key lime. We can each try a bite, if you’re up for that,” I said.

***


In the end, he’d agreed to let me cover dinner, but insisted on leaving the tip in cash so Devon wouldn’t have to declare it all. And while it was *not* a cheap meal, at least by my usual standards, I saw Gabriel sneak an extra hundred dollar bill into the book, after rounding up for something like a 25% base tip.

Another green flag. Waved vigorously. You treat the staff well and tip lavishly, that’s a major bonus.

“Wow, we were in there for over two hours,” Gabriel said.

“I’d say it was time well spent. And orth every dime, for that kind of experience and that quality.”

“Agreed!”

We were grinning stupidly at each other, wondering what the next moment would hold.

“So.”

“So.”

“Want to stroll some of that dessert off?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

***

We’d wandered along the edges of the Mall, which was still pretty active even though it was approaching 8 o’clock and the sun was pretty low. Neither of us wanted to rush things, or to end the day prematurely, so we found a bench and watched some gangly youths play frisbee for a bit.

“I think that frisbee is glowing,” I said.

“You think they’ll keep playing after dark?” Gabriel asked.

“I don’t know if the park police will let them. My money’s on them being chased off once it’s fully dark.”

“Guess we’ll never find out,” Gabriel said. “Because I plan to take you back to the hotel and have my way with you, if that’s alright with you.”

“Yes, please,” I said.

So if you happened to be walking up New York Avenue NW that night, I apologize if we clipped you. Because we were oblivious as we power-walked back, thinking only of what awaited at the hotel.

Well, that and the question of that ID. Because as much as I was falling hard for Gabriel, that mystery just parked itself in the way and wouldn’t budge.
really looking forward to more of this, it's the most nuanced story ive read on here in a while

also zelda tears of the kingdom is very fucking good so i don't blame you for being away for so long lol
 
I try to be open to change and to possibilities. But I’m also, like most of us, a creature of certain habits that are tough to change. One of those is what I refer to as the Morning Constitutional. I like to start my day empty.

And while I sit on the can, I tend to rehash things in my mind.

And really, the morning after I went sightseeing with Gabriel, I had plenty to think about.

I came up with a handful of possible explanations for the various mysteries my new lover carried with him. None seemed to explain everything, but “spy” and “supernatural creature” were running neck-and-neck for the most plausible reason for the drivers’ license issue. For the discrepancy between this obviously young man and his obviously old license that showed a well-preserved middle aged guy decades ago.

A gentle knock at the bathroom door interrupted my thoughts.

“You okay in there? I’m going to need it soon…”

***

We opted to take turns showering, and while he was in the bath, my curiosity got the better of me. I rummaged in his jeans – something that was much more fun when he was in them – and pulled out the wallet.

Sure enough, there it was. A license from 1978, for Gabriel, with his birth year listed as 1938.

And I sat on the bed, staring at the little rectangular oddity, until he emerged, steaming and dripping, from the bathroom.

“Is that my wallet?” he said, with a bit of concern in his tone.

“Is this your license?” I replied.

His expressive face grew clouded and a complicated emotion seemed to pass over him.

“Well? Is it? Because if it is, it’s really confusing me. Is it… is it *real*?”

A long, thoughtful pause, and then he sighed. “It is.”

“I have like, a million questions.”

“I’m sure.”

“Do you plan to answer them? Truthfully?”

He seemed to think it over carefully. “Tell you what. I’ll order room service while you shower. And then we’ll have this discussion over coffee and eggs and pancakes.”

Normally, I’d lay odds he would be gone when I got done. But something about his tone, and well, about him in general, convinced me. “Fine. I’ll have at least one of everything,” I said. “And the truth to wash it down.”

“Got it.”

Somehow I stayed focused as I scrubbed up, brushed my teeth, and threw on an outfit. By then the room service had arrived, and I stayed quiet as the server laid it out on the table.

As requested, he’d ordered most of the menu, and I really was hungry. So I silently tucked into my pile of eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, and potatoes.

“There’s also some french toast and a few danishes,” he said. “I was hungry too.”

We ate in relative silence, slurped our coffees in unison, and avoided eye contact until the worst of our hunger was sated. Or at least I did. I was pretty sure he was staring warily at me the whole time.

“Is it safe now?” he asked. “You’re not hangry anymore right?”

“I wasn’t angry. I’m just really confused.”

He raised an eyebrow at the devastation of the breakfast tray.

“...okay, I was probably getting hangry. I’m surprised I had any appetite after the lavish dinner last night,” I admitted.

“We did burn a few calories.”

“Heh. That we did.”

Another awkward, expectant pause.

“Okay, it’s going to sound ridiculous, but I can promise you an explanation. Whether you believe it or not, well…”

“Go on.”

***

“For starters, I wasn’t born 39 years ago, nor was I born in the late 30s. The license is real. It’s mine.”

“But how—”

“Please, let me finish,” he said. I nodded.

“I was actually born in 1899. Korea was the last war I served in,” he said. “It wasn’t the first. That honor belongs to the Great War, and I was one of the thousands of young idiots who lied to get into the Army. I had no clue how often I’d wind up lying about my age, but I was only 16 when I joined. Eventually I wound up like everyone else, in trenches in France. ”

“It was every bit as terrible as you’d guess it was – most of my fellow trainees were dead within weeks. I eventually lucked out and wound up in the supply corps, which was where they threw most of the African Americans back then. I was a corporal by then, and was assigned, I kid you not, to make sure that the colored soldiers didn’t steal too much. That’s literally what I was told my job was, and most of my days were spent watching people with a clipboard and a pencil, making sure that everything was accounted for.”

“That’s when I met James, an extremely handsome black man, and the fatal confirmation of my attraction to men. It was intense, and very much mutual. To this day, I’m shocked we never got caught or even suspected. He shook my world view to the core, because as hot as he was, he was also incredibly intelligent. Smarter than me, and just about everyone else around. I think at that point in life I’d only met a handful of people of color who weren’t doing menial work, and here was James, broad-shouldered and straight-backed, somehow managing to convince his racist bosses that they got better results by not being utterly awful to the colored men moving all the freight around. I was assigned mostly to figure out what was really going on, and there was obvious disappointment and disbelief when I credited James and another fellow for organizing their own groups’ work more efficiently.”

“I didn’t make many friends among the white officers or ranking enlisted men by reporting the outright abuse, or by insisting on adequate rations and supplies for the folk doing the work. One guy was so obsessed with power-tripping over the black troops that he went way too far, and whipped a fellow for looking directly at him. Finally we had a CO with a little more practicality and things got much better. He saw my friendship with James as strange, but useful, as most of the black soldiers followed James’ lead, and things ran very smoothly for a year.”

“We’d been lovers for some time by then, when James’ group got their papers to go home. Things moved pretty quickly, but I managed to wrangle an afternoon alone with James, off base on some made-up errand. And it was then that he told me that he wanted to give me a gift. It was a blessing that might also be a curse, but it really depended on who you shared it with.”

“He told me that he had looked and felt like a man in his late 20s for more than fifty years. And until the war, he’d loved his life, despite all the bullshit he’d had to endure due to his skin. But the war had sucked the joy out of him, until we found each other. His exact words stuck with me. ‘Until you, I was running out of reasons to get up, and looking for reasons to go wander out after curfew just to get shot.’ I can tell you I felt much the same, having had my fill of awfulness a few months in.”

“Then he said I could come with him, stay young with him, and build a life. We’d go out west where there were fewer people and less prejudice. ‘I won’t die anytime soon, and it gets mighty lonely,’ he told me. ‘You’ll hit your prime, and then just sort of stay there for as long as you want.’ For some reason, I believed him.”

“And you said yes,” I said.

“And I said yes. And as we both wept for joy at finding someone in the midst of all this misery. And then we made love, and he told me I would be like him by morning. And here I am, a century later.”

“Are you a vampire or something,” I asked before I could stop myself.

“Hah! No. Today would have sucked with all that sunlight, yes?” He chuckled. “No, I have no clue what this is really all about, but I know how to pass it along.”

“So what happened to him?”

“That’s the sad part. I got my orders almost immediately after his flight was confirmed. We made plans to connect after we got home.” He took a deep, sad, sigh. “And then his plane went down on the way home. I never saw him again.”

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“It was a long time ago. It only hurts a little, now.”

He poured some more coffee for both of us.

“I didn’t find out about his death until months after I got home. But the day after James left, I woke up feeling stronger than ever…and over the next few days, I noticed other improvements. I was fitter, healthier, even my dick was bigger.”

“I’m aware.”

“Blessing and a curse, like I said. I’d been average before, but by the time I got home, I was like this. Almost twice as big as I’d been, a few inches taller. It sounds great but my uniforms were really uncomfortable for a while.”

“I can imagine.”

“It was a mild complaint. Turning into a more ideal version of yourself, and looking forward to an eternity with a person you adore, really takes the edge off minor annoyances. So I came home, and when I didn’t hear from him, I dug into it – and found out what had happened.” He smiled sadly. “You ever wonder how hard it is to be depressed, when your body is so damned full of life? Mentally, I was a mess, but physically, I was better than ever, which was just confusing. Eventually I shook off the depression, found a job, made friends. My folks passed away a few years later, and I relocated. But ten years later, I still barely looked like a twenty-year-old. People were beginning to notice.”

“The stock market tumble and the Great Depression made it easy to start over, but things sucked. I spent most of it living in rural New York State, earning my meals on farms, and reading everything I could get my hands on. But I was utterly done with that life by the time Pearl Harbor happened. I claimed to be 25 and enlisted again. Somehow I made it through that war without any romantic entanglements, and without losing a limb or a life – just most of my friends. The only funny thing was that Captain America came out, and there was my own story in a comic book, more or less. Just a different delivery mechanism.”

“For various reasons I was stuck in Europe cleaning up after the war. I neglected to change my identity and found myself stuck as an increasingly unlikely 25-year-old on my 50th birthday. Alone and apparently almost immortal.”

“Finally, Korea happened to me by accident. I’d managed to start over before thanks largely to poor paperwork, but by the 1950s it was much harder to do all that. They assumed that it was a typo in my record and shipped me off to Seoul.”

“The guys on the wall.”

“Yeah. Some of the best men I ever knew didn’t make it home. I almost shared my secret with one of them, but chickened out. By that point, 30-years after my transformation, I was becoming familiar with the curse problem. My life experience was so different from theirs.”

“I spent a lot of the 60s doing all the things the 60s are famous for. I did *meet* Jack Kerouac, and Andy Warhol, but those weren’t the circles I traveled in, not really. But I was at Woodstock, in the mud, working at a food stall that ran out early. I’d say ask me about it sometime but I don’t really remember it all that vividly – just good music, loads of mud, and rampant diarrhea. I tried to pass this along twice more, but changed my mind in both cases, for the best. It was just desperation informing those urges.”

“I’ll spare you the tedium of the next few years – despite the shitty economy and all the other nonsense, I lucked out on some stocks and eventually I bought a house out in the boondocks. I got this driver’s license with my new address, and somehow I held onto it.”

***

“That’s quite a tale,” I said.

“I’ll be honest, Josh. I’ve seen some shit, and I’ve restarted my life a lot. I spent time chasing fads, or soul searching, or chasing wealth. Money buys a degree of privacy that I find useful. But boredom and loneliness can consume you if you let it. So at some point in the 90s, I got involved with tech, and learned a lot. I can cover my trail pretty well, and arrange my life as I wish it. The group I’m working with now are fun, smart kids, and they tease me about being old because they’re all younger than I look. There’s always something new to learn, and I like building stuff. I’d pretty much given up on wanting anything more. But….” he said.

“But?”

“But then I randomly bump into you, and it’s France in 1918 all over again.”
 
i wonder how many people throughout human history have had this blessing/curse?

seems like more of a curse since you're guaranteed to outlive pretty much everyone you meet, cant be easy to deal with mentally
It definitely takes more than just having sex.

As for how many, and whether it’s a blessing or a curse, stay tuned. I’d say like with many things, it depends,
 
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