Elements and Elephants

Chapter 1-3

It was early evening by the time Jack got to Cuir. Owen and Dakota were tending bar. Both liked to flirt with and tease Jack. “Oh look, Dakota, somebody’s looking to get laid. I guess we’re going to have our hands full keeping the masses off his handsome ass.”

Dakota chuckled. “I’ll be the busy one trying to keep you from getting your hands full of his pretty ass.” He grinned at Jack. “What’s your pleasure tonight? Besides getting laid, I mean.”

Jack shook his head. “You know by now I only drink Keith’s from the bottle. I’d appreciate the coldest one you have.”

He took a sip of his beer and looked around. It was quiet at the moment but sure to fill up as the evening wore on. As for the getting laid part, while he wasn’t promiscuous he did indulge in the occasional fling. It had been much too long but he also had a busy day coming up.

“Some way to celebrate a birthday.” He mumbled to himself. He turned to the side when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Two shots of Jägermeister appeared on the bar in front.

“Well what a coincidence. The birthday boy is celebrating in a leather bar all by himself.” Willem grinned and picked up a shot glass. “Happy Birthday and many happy returns.” They touched glasses and downed the dark liquid.

Dakota called out to his bar mate. “Hey Owen, the stud has a birthday today. You’d better let Phil know as soon as he gets here.” He grinned at Willem’s puzzled look. “Phil is another regular. He keeps promising Jack a blowjob for his birthday or Christmas or Thanksgiving. Hell, I think he’d offer one for any day of the week that ends with the letter “Y” just to have a go at this guy.” He nodded towards Jack. “I haven’t seen you here before but I take it you know him?”

Willem had a sheepish look as he glanced over at Jack. “We met a bit earlier. He said he was going to a party to celebrate but I wondered.” His ears reddened but he carried on. “I rather liked the man so I followed him from the gym. I was surprised that the destination was here.”

Owen dropped another pair of shots and then did a perusal of both Jack and Willem. “On the house, guys.” He looked back at Dakota. “I think maybe Phil won’t stand a chance against this handsome lad with the cute accent. I’ll keep quiet instead of getting his hopes up.”

Jack and Willem found a table to set their drinks. Willem wanted to do a walkabout to check out the bar so Jack stayed put with his beer. There was no mistaking the guy’s interest in him. He was definitely interested in Willem. He felt that he shouldn’t get too attached knowing the work permit wouldn’t last forever and long distance relationships didn’t work.

“Holy hell, did you know they have porn on a big screen TV back there? But even better, two guys behind the screen were competing with the actors. I’ve never seen live s*x that didn’t include me before.” He sat and took a healthy drink from his beer.

Jack chuckled. “I guess I should have warned you but since you’re a natural born explorer that’d take the fun out of it.”

They made small talk about philosophies of life, a shared love of the wild, and grading fellow pub-goers on a scale from one—dud, to five—stud.

After quarter hour of this game, Willem grinned at Jack. “I have a feel for your standards now so tell me honestly, what’s your assessment?” He stood and did a clumsy pirouette.

Jack caught his chin with forefinger and thumb while his elbow rested on the table. His eyes slowly slid up and down the man standing before him. “Well,” He drawled. “I reckon you’d be a…” He did the eye sweep once again and then flashed a wide smile. “Seven point nine-eight.”

Willem’s mouth dropped open in pretend shock. “That’s all?” He narrowed his eyes. “I pegged you at nine point five-five. Recalculating…” He twisted his mouth as if deep in thought. “Seven point nine-eight then and that’s my final offer.”

Jack laughed. “The scale is one to five so I’d say we’re both winners. Where do you stay when you come to the city?”

Willem took another sip of his beer. “We get staff rates at some of the affiliated hotels. I use my discount but usually only stay one night. Now that I know this place exists I’ll likely stay a couple of nights.”

Another pair of shots appeared on the table. Dakota waved as he walked back to the bar singing Happy Birthday.

They toasted once again, downed the shots, and each took a large swallow of beer to cover the strong anise taste. It didn’t help very much so they drained their bottles. Willem immediately went for another pair.

Jack looked him over as he returned. “You’re not driving.” It was more of a statement than question. Willem just shrugged.

“Sorry, bucko, but drinking and driving is totally out of the question. When we leave here we’ll take the train and then walk to my place. It isn’t a fancy hotel but I think I have my used socks and underwear in the laundry bin.”

Willem nodded and shrugged his shoulders. “I had you pegged to be a not-on-the-first-date kind of guy. Now here you are taking me home to inspect your dirty laundry.”

“I was trying to point out that my place isn’t a mess. You’ll get the spare room. I have to work tomorrow so I’ll drive you back here to get your car. Neither of us will perish if we go one night without sex.” Jack was sure he saw disappointment pass over his new friend’s face.

At the end of the evening and after one too many shots both men were laughing as they walked to the City Hall Station to catch the train to Willow Park. Jack was trying his best to imitate Willem’s accent while Willem attempted to perfect his Canadian lingo. Each slip resulted in both laughing more than their sober selves would have found funny.

They disembarked at Willow Park and, arms around each other’s shoulders, tried to navigate to Jack’s condo. Jack’s observation that they weren’t going very straight had Willem fall apart in snickers and hoots. “Dude, we’re both bent so much there’s no way in hell we’d be walking straight.” He snickered once again. “Oops, sorry, Pa.” He glanced at Jack’s puzzled frown. “I said hell. My father’s very, very, very Christian so any blaspheming is frowned upon.” He snorted once again. “Midnight here means eight A.M. there so they’ve already done their prayer stuff and would have heard from the holy whatevers I just swore.”

Jack giggled. “‘Hell’ is the worst you can say? You’ve gotten off lucky in the parenting due diligence if that’s the worst they can abide. I don’t like to brag but my dad’s got to be the biggest asshole on the planet. I’ll swap you any day.”

Willem grinned. “You look normal—even act normal, for a bent man I mean.” He snickered. “I love being gay. It drives my parents crazy when I tell them it’s neither God’s will nor my choice but solely and scientifically proven to be genetic. I look them in the eye and say I got it from them.”

They arrived at Jack’s condo building and successfully negotiated the stairs to his unit. After a quick tour Jack brought a towel, sleep pants, and T-shirt, to the spare bedroom. “I left a new toothbrush in the bathroom. The fridge and cupboards are stocked. I’ve got to get to bed but I’ll wake you in time for breakfast before we have to head out. Thanks for the birthday drinks and an entertaining evening. See you in the morning.” He regretted going to bed alone but he also knew his father would be on the job site so he’d have to be at his best.

Willem nodded and went to change for bed. He too regretted the night was another where he’d sleep alone. He was rather taken with his handsome new friend. Besides, he was getting tired of one night stands.