Of All the Little Coffee Shops. . .

We walked back to the shop with Dom happily chatting away about grilling and burgers and preferred hamburger toppings. I murmured responses where appropriate but I was in a daze. When we got back to the door to the coffee shop, he smiled and wished me a quick rest of the day before heading off towards the revolving door in the lobby of the building he'd told me he worked in. As I reached for the handle to my door, he shouted back over his shoulder "Seriously Kyle, don't hesitate to call or text if you can't find the place, I'll meet you out by the sidewalk." I shot him a thumbs up, still too shocked at my own utter stupidity to muster a verbal response and he smiled. I slipped back in to the heat and chaos of the coffee shop happy for the familiar surroundings and sensory landscape.

The rest of the day passed quickly and relatively without incident. I cleaned up, saw the kids safely off, and locked up the shop. I walked back to the shitty two bedroom apartment Steve and I shared. We'd moved in together to cut costs when the shop was still brand new and now that it was established even though we could probably afford to move to separate places or at least a nicer place together, we stayed. It had become home and the shared suffering of the dodgy elevator and crappy plumbing had brought us closer together. I was finally in luck today because the elevator was not only function, it was at ground level when I hit the call button. I got in and was able to make the ascent to our fifth floor abode without incident. Given the way my day had been going, I said a quick thank you prayer to no one in particular. Now I added on at the end of the prayer, let Steve not be home and everything will be perfect.

No such luck. My friend and roommate was stretched out on the couch with a pizza and three open and presumably empty beers laid out before him. "Jesus," he exclaimed when he saw my face. "You look rough man." I had a brief mental fantasy of strangling him, but thought better of it. If I killed Steve I'd have no days of at the coffee shop ever again.

"AC's out." I said without preamble.

"Yeah, I know," He said. "They called me after your little freak out, I took care of it". I had a flash of guilt. Steve might look like a lazy son of a bitch, but he wasn't actually a slouch when it came to our business. I might handle the day to day and run the shifts, but Steve did all of the backstage heavy lifting. I should have kept my head and set up the HVAC appointment, instead of just leaving it all up to him. "Man, do not start beating yourself up, it was one appointment, it's nbd. Besides, we're still in the calm after tax season so I'm all good." He joked disarmingly while scratching at his stomach and belching. Steve looked like a dirty street vagabond most days, but he was a startlingly efficient CPA and handled all of the business's financial affairs in addition to private clients. You'd never know it to look at him though, and I shook my head for the millionth time at the contrast.

"Thanks." I said as he waved me off.

"Shower." he said.

"Shower." I agreed.

I stripped quickly when I got to the bathroom and turned the shower as cold as I thought I could stand. I was wrong and had to do a weird little contortionist dance while I turned the heat up, waited for the water heater all the way in the basement to respond, and attempted not to let the icy droplets of frost touch my skin. I lathered, debated a little manscaping, decided against it because it would just get my hopes up that there'd be somebody to see and eventually got out to get dried off. I stood in front of the bathroom mirror for a while studying myself. Fair skin even with an entire summer behind me to get tan, average face, boring blue eyes; seriously I don't know why I get so worked up about Dom, even if he was into guys, he was way out of my league and there was no way he'd be into me. I brushed my teeth and combed my hair over so it would stay at least a little manageable while I let it start to dry and then I wandered down the hall to my room in my towel.

Steve wolf whistled at my naked chest when I passed by the entrance to the living room and I laughed. He was straight as an arrow and I was absolutely committed to men, but we had always joked like this. It was one of the things that made him my best friend. I gave him a exaggerated ass shake before continuing on to my room. I was the pick me up I needed and I was able to get back to my own room before the freak out hit me. I only had two pairs of trunks. One black, one blue. The black made me look like an emaciated vampire, which had an appeal in a certain crowd, but the blue was a little more Cali surfer boy than I ever would have worn with their monochrome palm fronds and "low rise fit", as the tag that was still on them proclaimed. They'd been a gift from my mom, who really wanted me to "Hit the beach and get out there this summer." I wasn't an overly social person, and it had always made my mom a little sad and uncomfortable. My mom had been head cheerleader in school and really didn't understand my aversion and inability to become wildly popular.

I didn't think Dom was the kind of guy who'd be into emaciated vampires, and regardless of my instincts screaming it was futile, I wanted to look good tonight. I wiggled into the trunks Mom had given me and velcroed them shut and tied them. I took an experimental look in the mirror. For the first time ever, I was incredibly thankful for the fashion sense I hadn't inherited from my mom but got to benefit from anyway. The palm fronds were the exact same shade as my eyes, and the cream background made my skin look pale, but not cadaverous. How had the woman accomplished such alchemy from a distance? I would need to thank her when I next saw her. And since this was technically a party I was going to, albeit a canceled one. Her joy would be two-fold. I found a blue t-shirt that was pretty close in color and spritzed on a little bit of the cologne that had been in my Christmas stocking from my mom last year. I'd never worn it before either, but it smelled spicy and not overpowering and I realized I actually really liked it. My mom was two for two and maybe an actual wizard?

I wandered back to the bathroom and fixed my hair as best I could, leaving out the product as it would be useless once I got my hair wet anyway. Once again I chided myself for not just cutting it into a normal hair cut, like a normal grown up. I had brought a duffel bag with a dry change of clothes from my room and I grabbed an extra towel from the linen closet, just in case. I was sure Dom would have a couple, but it didn't seem right to show up to a pool party without a towel. I looked at my toothbrush sitting on the bathroom counter and almost threw it in the bag before I scolded myself for getting ridiculous hopes up again. I left it and all my other travel toiletries there.

I walked back into the living room and set the bag on the table in our little kitchenette. I slipped my wallet and keys into the pocket of my trunks and turned around the search out my sandals by the door. Steve had paused the movie he was watching and was now staring at me openly. "Those are new" he said non-commitally.

"My mom." was all I said.

"Cologne?" he questioned.

"Also Mom." I stated matter of factly.

"Okay . . . but . . . why are you wearing it?" he asked while I blushed and tried to look anywhere but at him. If he pinned me down on this, I'd spill my guts in a second and I knew he'd make fun of me. He knew all about my little crush on the hot customer from the coffee shop and I did not want to hear what he had to say about me going over voluntarily to watch him be shirtless at his house. "Date." he said, drawing his own conclusions.

"No!" I protested. "Party. . . " He scoffed and I wanted to be offended but the idea of me attending a party was exactly as ridiculous as he made it sound.

"Riiiight." he said, "A . . . pool . .. party. That you are attending. Just for fun. In the name of innocent socialization." At this point I was sure my face would catch on fire my blush was so hot. "Where at?" he asked.

"Greenleaf", I replied and he whistled.

"Who do you know in Greenleaf?" he questioned, and it was a valid question. We and our ilk, didn't usually mess around in places as upscale as Greenleaf.

"He's a lawyer, you don't know him."

"Hmm, he's a lawyer. Did you meet him at work? Couple law firms in those business towers in the plaza." I squeaked at how close to the mark he was getting. "Ahh, bingo. Hmm, lawyer from work for whom you would voluntarily attend a pool party. . . ", he narrowed his eyes while I fidgeted uncomfortably wishing I could just grab my stuff and teleport right out the door. I saw the pieces fit together in his mind and for the millionth time I wished Steve wasn't actually as clever as he was. "Him?!" he exclaimed incredulously, "you're going over to his house for a pool party. To take off your shirt, and I presume see him without his?!!!"

"His name is Dom, and we're just friends!" I countered.

"Just friends. . . with the guy you've been wildly in love with for three years?" he added skeptically.

"It's not love, it's just a little crush. I barely know the guy. You can't love someone you barely know. Just a crush, a crush that I'm going to get over, because he seems nice and I want to be friends with him." I finished in a rush. Steve still looked skeptical but he didn't add anything else. He got up from the couch as I bent down to slide on my sandals. I grabbed my bag as he reached into the fridge for another beer, hoping to make a quick getaway before the inquisition could pick back up. As I reached for the knob to make my escape, Steve straightened up from the fridge and said casually, "Well, good luck, drive safe. Call me if you need me." He put his arms up to hug me and I paused. We weren't huggers, this was way too serious. I ignored his hug as he walked towards me and turned back around to the door. As I reached for the knob, he slapped me on the ass, hard and said "Go get 'em tiger!". I bolted out the door sputtering, my face probably turning eight shades more red and slammed it behind me. This was so not the pep talk I needed right now. Or . . . pep sexual harassment I suppose. Either way, it was really just not what I needed.

I fiddled with my keys, rolling them over in my hands on the ride down the elevator and short walk to the long term parking garage where I kept my car. I don't drive much with my apartment being so close to work and those being the two places where I spent 99% of my time. I was looking forward to this drive and with the sun setting the heat of the day was starting to break a little bit. In just a few minutes I would be in my own personal heaven with the windows rolled down cruising down the road tunes cranked. And once I was there nothing would matter, not Steve, not the shop, not even my unrequited crush on Dom would matter. I had a feeling it would begin to abruptly matter again when my heavenly ride ended and I was in the lair of the beast but that was a problem half an hour from now me.

I drove out of town and loved it, singing along as a particularly great mix of songs shuffled up on my phone. I was belting out my best Diana Ross as I realized I was at the exit that would take my to Dom's house. I glided into the exit lane, my Diana spirit only slightly muffled by nerves and concentration. I turned down the music when I was stopped at the sign at the end of the ramp so I could hear the GPS's robotic voice give me directions. It was only about five more minutes until I'd be at his house and I was starting to get really nervous. If what he'd said before was true, it would just be Dom and I at his house tonight. We'd shared a comfortable conversation at the picnic table this afternoon, but a fifteen minute break was far from a couple of hours alone. It was going to take all of the willpower I had to suppress my raging crush for that long and I took several steadying breaths as I turned onto the street he lived on. The houses here were huge and neat will well manicured lawns and mature trees lining the street despite the obvious signs of new construction. Ritzy. The whole place screamed upper middle class and for a second I wondered what the hell a guy like me was doing here. Sure, Dom was nice, but there was no way I fit in with a guy like this.

The GPS told me I'd arrived and I pulled into the driveway of what I hoped was the correct house. If not, I was really going to freak out Gary from accounting and his family of wife and 2.5 kids. The house was massive, all tasteful beige stucco and freshly painted shutters. The driveway was that perfectly smooth matte black of new, expensive pavement. I put the car in park and was surprised when Dom opened the front door and came out to meet me as I reached for my duffle bag that had fallen down onto the floor by the backseat. Either he'd heard me pull up, which seemed pretty unlikely with my little four cylinder engine, or Dom had been watching for me to arrive. The guy was apparently just as starved for entertainment after the cancellation of his party as he'd said this afternoon. I couldn't grab the bag from the driver's seat so I got out and opened the back door and leaned way into the car to snatch it from where it was jammed right below the passenger's front seat.

As I straightened up from grabbing the bag, I glanced over at Dom. He was wearing the same outfit from this afternoon, but now there was a really weird look on his face. Shit. I had really hoped he'd been sincere in his offer to hang out, but what if it had just been a courtesy offer he'd been hoping I would turn down? For about the billionth time in my life, I wished I was better at reading people. Hoping to defuse the sudden tension I was feeling, I smiled and gave Dom a stupid little wave. This seemed to shake him out of whatever thoughts he was having, and he broke into one of those ear to ear boyish grins I was coming to look very much forward to.

"You made it!" he exclaimed and he sounded genuinely excited.

"Yeah, it was an easy drive, traffic was mostly headed in to town, not out," I supplied.

"I'm glad. Well come on in, I'll give you the tour", he said excitedly. The interior of the house was just as impressive as the exterior, but felt more homey somehow. It was all modern angles and open floor plan, but here and there were personal touches that made it seem like more than just a standard rich guy bachelor pad. Not that I really had a lot of experience with rich guy bachelor pads. A man can dream though. Dom had a big flat screen set up along one wall with a surround sound system, every game platform I could think of ever having been made, and the biggest sectional sofa I'd ever seen. Bracketing the TV on each side were shelves loaded with games and movies. Judging by the way he was practically vibrating with excitement just to give me the tour of his home, I could easily imagine Dom as the designated host of his friend group. And with a house like this who would ever complain?

We went up the stairs and he led me around the second floor, three huge bedrooms, one of which Dom used as a home office, one filled with exercise equipment, and the biggest of the lot, Dom's bedroom, that I tried very hard to only see a little bit, so that it wouldn't play too much into my shower fantasies and wet dreams for the next eternity. Next up was the bathroom and I tried not to stare with open envy. The bathroom at Dom's house probably could have fit half of Steve and I's entire apartment and it was magnificent. It had a huge walk in shower and I could think of no less than a dozen things I wanted Dom to do to me in that shower, and even an entirely separate jacuzzi tub. This room was somehow even more dangerous than the bedroom, I had to get out of here.

"Hey," Dom said interrupting both my panic and lechery. I'm just gonna grab my suit from my room. I'll change and meet you in the kitchen for the rest of the tour?" My stomach heard the word kitchen and preempted my reply with a loud grumble. My nerves had quashed my hunger for a while, but now that I was here and the easy comradery between me and Dom has set me at ease, I was starving. Dom threw his head back and laughed the same deep belly laugh I had admired this afternoon. I liked making Dom laugh, I liked that he seemed to find me funny, even if this time it was accidental.

"I did promise to feed you, didn't I?" he said while walking backwards into the bedroom. "Just give me two minutes." I smiled and waved him off with my hand, Dom was entirely too charming for my own good.

The kitchen in Dom's house was the biggest I had ever seen outside of a professional restaurant. It was sleek and modern, everything either stainless steel or some kind of shiny black stone. Various gadgets and utensils stood everywhere and there was a profusion of appliances, only half of which I could name. I was a wretched cook and the only piece of equipment in the whole place I could have claimed any expertise with at all was the espresso machine sitting on one of the counters. It was the exact same model I had at the shop. If Dom had the same coffee maker at home, why the heck did he come in to the shop every morning, he could just make his own lattes at home. Maybe it had been a gift and he didn't know how to use it? For a moment I considered showing him, but my heard did an unpleasant little clench at the idea of not seeing Dom every morning anymore.

The man himself strode into the kitchen a few seconds later. He had changed into a pair of dark red swim trunks, with white trim that not only highlighted the natural bronze color of his skin, but were doing things to his ass that were making my cock stand up and take notice. He also had on a white wife beater tank top that perfectly showed off the shape of his broad chest and tapered waist. Oh lord, save me from myself, I prayed as the most perfect man I'd ever seen stood before me in all his casual glory. "Welcome to my true domain!" Dom exclaimed while spreading his arms to highlight the kitchen. I quirked and eyebrow and Dom smiled and said "I love to cook. I bought this place as a building lot from a real estate friend of my dad's. He and my mom mostly designed the rest for resale value, but this kitchen and the backyard were all me." he said proudly. Ahh, new information. Dom could also cook. '*Perfection intensifies,' I thought, and then snorted a laugh at my own internet joke. Dom must have thought I was downplaying his culinary bragging though, because he said "Oh just you wait, there won't be any bland store bought burger and sides in this house," and began rummaging around in the fridge. He didn't speak, his face was etched in concentration. He waved me over and began piling things into my arms. I waited, a silent, willing packmule for his culinary genius. Once Dom was satisfied with ingredients from the fridge, he puttered around in cabinets making his own pile for himself on the counter top. Apparently satisfied, he scooped all the ingredients from his pile up into a big bear hug against his chest and headed towards a sliding glass door.

Dom probably should have opened the door before scooping up all his various and sundries, because watching him juggle them all while also hunching down to open the door with his elbow in spite of his big frame was hilarious. By the time the door was open I was practically roaring with laughter and Dom was blushing to his ears. My laughter stopped as I emerged through the door out into the backyard. All I could do was stare.

"Holy shit," I said, an articulate master wordsmith was I. Dom laughed. "Like seriously, holy freakin' shit man." I added. Dom laughed harder.