Ginger: How It All Started

INFO, please read!

This story depicts a hot hook-up and the beginning of a ROMANTIC relationship between two young programmers who randomly met on an airplane and had an instant attraction.

They have never hooked up before, so it's a new experience for both of them. The chapter focuses on their sexual encounter, but there is more to it than meets the eye...

The whole series is already finished! (4 parts)

Tags: ginger, long red hair, hairless body, first-time-hookup, gay hookup, gay anal, passionate sex, intense orgasm, big dick, slim body, instant obsession, instant attraction, staring, two nerds, two programmers, plot twist, beginning of romance, beginning of love, interest-at-first-sight, airplane.

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I was stuck in my cramped coach seat, spending the first half of the flight observing this ginger guy. The trip from Sydney to Los Angeles was shaping up to be the usual long and boring transcontinental journey. He was seated in the next row, separated from me only by the aisle, which was often bustling with flight attendants catering to passengers' needs.

At the beginning, right after boarding the plane, I was too absorbed in my phone, signing up for the expensive Wi-Fi connection plan. Finally done, I glanced around. There was no one else nearby except for... him, as all the neighboring seats were unoccupied. Yep, the ginger.

In the first couple of hours, he seemed to be dozing off a lot, giving me ample opportunity to steal glances at him. It was weird because he was pretty average-looking, nothing extraordinary, nothing to warrant staring. But you know how it goes sometimes... the longer you look, the more you find yourself drawn to a person.

That was definitely happening, as I found myself stealing more glances in his direction than I should have, almost compulsively. It was hard to tear my eyes away. He had long rusty-red hair tied in a ponytail, and his pale skin was dotted with freckles. His slightly aquiline nose and the way his upper lip was slightly bigger than the lower one gave his face a cute, almost pouting expression.

He looked very slender, almost like a teenager going through a growth spurt, though I guessed he was around twenty-six, close to my age. He was dressed in an elegant white shirt and gray suit pants, not the most practical attire for a 17-hour flight. He looked like he could have come from a business meeting, or maybe that was just his everyday style. Some people are always dressed formally, like municipal clerks or lawyers.

He wore delicate glasses with platinum wire frames, looking rather expensive from where I sat. I couldn't quite place him - was he a businessman on a trip? A manager from the programmer department? Nah, the clothes were too elegant. Perhaps a bank manager? But the long hair threw me off. I had no idea.

For the first couple of hours, he slept, and I couldn't help but watch him, constantly fighting the urge to stare. Usually, I failed. When he woke up and headed to the restroom, I couldn't resist sneaking a peek at him from behind. He was about 5'9'', with narrow shoulders and hips.

When he returned to his seat, our eyes met, and it felt like electricity surged through me. I didn't know what else to do, so I decided to smile... Grin, actually - it was the kind of smile I used to give when I was keen on... guys. And for some reason, I was interested in him, even though he wasn't my usual type. Typically, I dated people of Asian descent.

My last relationship had ended rather abruptly just five days ago when my boyfriend dumped me, informing me that he was dating someone else and I needed to get the hell out of his life.

And I had even moved to Sydney for the ungrateful motherfucker! I won't lie, our relationship was far from perfect. He complained a lot that I was an antisocial loner, and instead of taking a high-position job as he expected, I preferred the calming lines of code as my everyday companions. I earned good money working remotely on freelance projects, but not as much as I could in a managerial position. We argued a lot, and I knew he was frustrated. He was convinced I was stuck in my comfortable career and not willing to move up in a rat race. He just didn't understand me, I guess, so we were a mismatch after all. I wanted my peaceful and relaxing life, preferably with an e-book on my Kindle, sitting on the terrace, staring at the sunset.

But then, merciful fate smiled on me. The same day I was dumped, I received a phone call from my friend Adam, who said they needed a coder with skills in JavaScript and Python, and I was their man. I took the job on the spot after thinking about it for only a split second. Now, just a couple of days later, I was on board an airplane in the clouds, on my way to Los Angeles.

And there I was, grinning at some ginger man in wire-rimmed glasses. Man, I must have been desperate. He really wasn't even that attractive. Super skinny, freckled, and with this "I'm a bit offended" face expression. But nevertheless - I smiled, yes. And the weirdest thing happened. The ginger reacted. He blushed, pretty intensely. Gotcha. I already knew he was from my tribe.

So, the moment he sat down, the atmosphere changed immediately. We were "feeling" each other. Single, quick gazes, short moments of sparkling eye contact. Almost random, yet obviously... not so random. I felt his energy, his presence, and he felt mine.

But there was one problem. I was never good at picking up people - just like that on the spot. I was a shy programmer, remember? Granted, I had a look about me; I was tall and spent a lot of time in the gym, but I didn't have a "player" personality, nor did I have the so-called game.

In the past, I chose my partners carefully, after a pretty lengthy process of assessment, making sure they would be the right choice for me. I made everything into the logic of algorithms. Did he like that? YES - NO. Did he look like that? YES - NO. If so, we go to another step. If not, oh well. The end of a path. And I had one unbreakable rule:

I never-ever hooked up on first dates!

I liked to do things the old-fashioned way - the "get to know each other" thing, as it just made me feel better about myself, and more confident I selected the right person. Quality over quantity, almost like an advertisement.

I was very careful, almost picky, especially because many guys showed up on dates looking REALLY different than on their profile pictures. There was definitely some very suspicious plague of "weirdly handsome" guys. Yep, the PHOTOSHOP era. Everyone could add some nice abdominals and blur his pimples or acne scars. But the reality, when they showed up, was nothing like that. Sometimes even +80 pounds more than given in their BIO. It's not that I was only focused on looks! I never searched for some model-type guys.

I just simply liked honesty... and that was a pretty good metric of it.

The ginger man seemed to be a glitch in my perfectly working system. Not my type, yet I was drawn to him in a peculiar way, and couldn't stop thinking about him. It was almost like the entire flight became ABOUT HIM. My main attraction.

Suddenly, I noticed his headphones fall to the ground. Hmm. Was it a signal from him? Should I say something, did he give me an easy opening line...? Sadly, I took too long to think, and it was too late. The flight attendant walked past him and... she stomped on the device. She was in such a hurry, she didn't even notice!

"Shit..." The ginger mumbled, pulling the earbuds up and inspecting the damage.

Maybe the situation was still fixable?

I cleared my throat. "Hey, man. I can give you mine if you like, no problem."

He turned his head toward me, and our eyes met again. I noticed his irises were a light hazel. His eyelashes were brown-reddish, such a contrast to what I was used to, dating only Asians.

"Well, thanks, I was gonna listen to some music, but... oh well," he made a light gesture toward the flight attendant. "Shit happens."

"No problem. Here, take it. I was gonna doze off anyway. And I even have spare earbuds, so it will be more hygienic," I winked and smiled again, as friendly as I could.

He responded with a pleasant smile, and as I reached out my hand with the headphones, our fingers lightly touched. I noticed his subtle shiver... How interesting. Is it true that gingers have such delicate, sensitive skin?

"Okay, gonna doze off a bit. Have a nice music session."

He nodded, and I closed my eyes.

But not entirely!

Through a very thin slit between my eyelids, I could see... he was eyeing me!

And it wasn't just the one time, oh no!

He pretty regularly was checking me out - sometimes, staring for a minute or two! Wow, I was curious what would happen if I opened my eyes suddenly and caught him in the act, but I decided against it, and after some time... I really dozed off.

I woke up around 2 hours later, hoping I wasn't drooling on my shoulder. I even checked the corners of my mouth if they were wet. They weren't. Good!

The flight attendant was asking passengers if they wanted some snacks, and I decided to try consuming a standard airplane meal, which I wasn't very fond of, but still decided to go for it.

The ginger also took one portion for himself. Our eyes met again, and this time as he smiled, I responded with this:

"Bon appétit!" I said for the lack of a better saying in English. "Enjoy your meal," always sounded not cool enough to me.

"Merci beaucoup!" he responded with a wink.

Maybe it was a good moment to start a conversation? So I decided to go for it.

"Still eleven hours to go. I hate such long flights," I murmured, chewing a piece of dry chicken.

He coughed slightly (surprised?), and drank from his tea cup.

"How often do you fly?"

Was this my window of opportunity to reveal something, so he would get the message about me being potentially of interest to him?

"Not often. The last time I took a flight was when I moved to Sydney with my... then boyfriend. And now is the second time. But now I'm going back because he is no longer my boyfriend."

I made a sour face and spread my arms.

He blinked, and for a couple of seconds, he stared at me.

Oh, he understood my message, for sure.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm too angry to be sad. At least now," I winced. "It will probably hit me later."

He slowly nodded, his face looked pensive.

"I know exactly what you feel. I'm in a similar situation. I broke up with my boyfriend of six years only a month ago."

Wow, so it was it. A confirmation, my intuition was on point.

"You had a month more to deal with it, at least," I smiled ruefully. "I hope it gets better."

He shook his head. "Not by much. I'm still not at peace. He cheated on me. I was tired of forgiving... and being lied to over and over again."

I chuckled with a bitter face. "Similar story. My ex just spewed the information at me that he is already with another guy and that I was expected to move out in the next few days. I was with him for two years."

The ginger watched me with some kind of interest, looking like he wanted to ask more, but was too shy to do it. So I made it easy for him.

"I wasn't the boyfriend he dreamed about. He wanted someone to match his own personality, and I'm not like that. I'm basically a nerd, even if I don't appear like one," I tried to sound more cheerful, but it didn't work well.

"That's not an excuse to cheat," he said firmly.

"I agree," I responded with a similar tone.

We exchanged gazes. We seemed to be in mutual understanding, and it was oddly satisfying. This silent agreement between us felt pleasantly weird, warm waves running through my body. The ginger blushed slightly - was he experiencing similar enjoyment?

And then finally, with some hesitation, he reached his hand out to me.

"I'm Rory, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Rory. I'm Dallas."

We exchanged handshakes. His hand was petite and dainty, half the size of mine. He wasn't going to the gym, of that I was sure. But it was warm and pleasant. I held it in my grip - lingering a second longer than one normally would, but he seemed not to mind that at all. Rory's facial expression remained neutral, like nothing happened.

"You're originally from LA?" he asked, after some pause. I was glad he obviously wasn't done with the talk, which was a good sign.

"You could say that. I lived there after college. And you?"

"Me too. I mean, I work there. I'm originally from Texas. Houston. I came to LA to study at UCLA."

Wow, a Texan gay boy in LA? Interesting, I thought.

"Same here. I live in LA, I have an apartment there. But I'm from Vegas."

"Did you rent it?"

"Yes, during my time in Sydney, I was renting it. Now, I asked the couple living there to move out. They have one month to do so. My cousin offered me a place to stay until they are gone."

Rory nodded with a serious face.

"So, what do you do?"

"I'm a programmer."

He raised his eyebrows, his eyes lit up. "I'm also a programmer, but I recently was promoted to a team-leading position. This is my first business trip, actually."

I could hear some pride in his voice.

"I'm back from a meeting with a client in Sydney. We made an app for them."

So, I was close in my guessing attempts regarding his job! He was a nerd... plus! One tiny tier above my own nerdiness level. A cute nerd in a suit.

"Team-leaders meet with clients? Isn't that usually the CEO's job? Or some upper-level management?"

"We are already past that stage. The deal was signed months ago. I was meeting with their team of data analysts, we discussed the details of the database architecture. The CEO wouldn't do it," Rory smirked.

"So, what languages are you proficient in?"

"JavaScript, C++, and Python. But I'm also a UX designer."

"Wow, that's a useful set of skills. While I was in Sydney, my director just ended his recruiting, and I would encourage you to apply to us," Rory seemed genuinely impressed.

"I am okay at the moment. I have a new job in LA. But thanks," I responded with a smile, a bit careful, and I let myself lengthen my gaze on him.

For a moment, we looked each other in the eyes. It was a much longer gaze than any straight males would let happen, especially between strangers. I literally could see the electricity in the air, flowing between us.

"So, you're starting as a team leader... Did you take over some already existing team, or did you choose your own people for your new team?"

"I'm taking over after some other guy, who had to leave the job in the previous week, due to personal reasons. My director hired two new people, adding them to the team, and I was simultaneously promoted last week. It was all a bit crazy, as the previous team leader left two days before the scheduled flight to Sydney, and I had to take his place."

"Well, I wish you good luck then. If the leading position is what you have wanted for yourself," I added.

He shuddered. "It's not that. I like to focus on efficiency and can help with speeding up projects as I am pretty good at optimization. I wanted to challenge myself a bit. I don't want an administrative job; I still want to code, but also supervise the coding of others. The team leader job is a perfect mix of those two things I like the most."

And then I just couldn't stop myself...

"I wish you luck in your new position, then. I don't know you, but I have a feeling you'll be great at that, really. You give off the vibe!"

He blinked in surprise and suddenly blushed, looking aside.

Was it too awkward what I said?

"Thanks. Listen, sorry, I need to finish some emails now," he muttered.

Yep, he looked uncomfortable. I sighed, angry at myself.

My social awkwardness has been my problem forever. Being a nerd inside, I was giving people a wrong impression on the outside - because I was tall, a fairly good-looking jock, but it was all one big lie. I never mastered social interactions and small talk. And I wasn't very subtle in conversations.

"Sure, sure," I answered, biting my lips.

So, was it over? A quick exchange of basic information? And that would be it?

I was a bit disappointed, but oh well. I was never good at picking up men anyway. And this Rory guy seemed pretty shy himself. We were probably a bad match.

Two kinda "nerdish" people trying to get to know each other?

Doomed to fail?

There was also another thing. He probably wasn't "on the market" so soon after his breakup. He could not be ready for some new friendship... with possible benefits.

I tried to read some ebooks on my Kindle, but had trouble focusing. My imagination was running wild. Sexual fantasies with the leading role of some slim redhaired co-passenger took over. Finally, I decided to doze off again, as it was my time to sleep anyway.

I woke up... and it was almost five hours later! Fuck!

Only six hours to go! I quickly looked around and found out that Rory was, however, also sleeping! I cussed under my breath, angry I wasted so much time; I could use it to get to know him a bit more.

Sadly, he was sleeping for another two hours, during which I stared at him intensely. Of course.

When he woke up, it was only 3:50 hours to landing.

Shit, was I missing my chance? And why did I even bother?

Why did I want to get to know him so much? I was rarely so intensely interested in... any man, usually being careful and apprehensive, so that was very odd, very uncharacteristic of me.

Rory looked at me with a bit of sleepy eyes, and he smiled again.

Fuck, his smile was nice. He really gained on me; I just couldn't tear my eyes from him, analyzing the slim lines of his neck, the blue veins on the top of his pale hand, even the outline of his Adam's apple. The light from the top-lamp shone on his rusty hair.

Dammit. Did I become an obsessive creep?

Rory took out a bottle of water and drank it, as I watched his throat moving. His lips were pink and wet, as he licked them...

What could I do now? Why was I so drawn to him? Why did I want to touch him, the delicate, white skin of his neck, skim over the "offended" line of his pouty lips?

What was going on with me?

"Fate! Kismet!" - something was whispering in my mind.

Even though I was never into hookups - but I hoped I could have such an experience with Rory! I wanted to get intimate with him so much that my dick started to relentlessly bother me.

The flight attendant offered another round of snacks, and we ate it. I managed to start the conversation again, this time about food on airplanes and we both had similar views that it usually sucks, nothing too surprising. He still seemed a bit confused, rather avoiding my gaze, and blushing on occasions.

Finally, Rory started to look for a movie to watch on a small display in the headrest of the seat in front of him, and soon he chose Iron Man 2. I didn't want to be excluded from what he did, so I selected it also! A lame move, but I remained hopeful that it would allow me to continue the conversation after.

He glanced at my screen, noticing what I picked. He smirked.

"Did you watch the first part?"

"I did, but it was years ago. I never watched the second part," I lied.

Rory smiled, "Me too. So, let's start!"

And then I did it again.

"It's almost like being in a movie theater together" I blurted out, and he looked at me with raised eyebrows.

The surprise flickered in his eyes. I could see, he didn't know how to respond, for the second time already... My awkwardness was at master level today.

"Wow, sorry. That came on strong. I was just... joking," I mumbled, but it still sounded lame. I definitely needed the help of some dating coaches.