1.
The barista at the coffee shop in town had set us up, telling each of us that the other one was a nice guy and that we should meet. I was in there nearly every morning, getting my usual. And, Joani, the barista, mentioned him several times. I'd always put her off, being shy and not wanting to make any commitments.
She teased me about commitment.
"Having a coffee with someone isn't a commitment," she said. "It's just having coffee and being social."
Still, I put her off, not willing to show up an hour and a half later, when "Jeff" usually showed up. Joani wouldn't set me up with someone who wasn't even close to my expectations. She and I had talked quite a bit over the last several years about the "right person" and what we both expected in someone we'd be willing to date, or even get into a relationship with. I kept telling her I didn't need this "Jeff" in my life, and not being attached was working out well for me. I was happy, I told her, again and again.
She'd just roll her eyes a bit and say that it wouldn't hurt to have coffee.
"You might even like him," she teased.
I'd been burned pretty bad, the last time around, and I didn't want to put myself at risk for getting hurt again. My scars were still pretty big, and deep. And, work was good, I was selling a lot of my art, and several of my critiques of the local art scene had been published in the regional reviews. I'd even started teaching again, and my students seemed to be doing well with a little guidance from me.
I'd even gone back to painting the large canvasses, and working on trying to capture the early morning light on the main street of the town, the light coming over the mountains and the river. Life was good and I didn't want to mess it up, again, with a boyfriend, and the roller coaster of an unhappy relationship.
Wednesday, I showed up at my regular time, wanting one of Joani's great lattes, and her freshly baked orange scones. It was getting to be a ritual for me, getting some of her baked good a couple of times a week. I'd finished my workout before I headed out for coffee, so I could always rationalize the calories. I'd lost about fifteen pounds now, and turned more of my middle aged fat to a smaller gut and thighs that even had a semblance of muscle. My five day a week regimen was paying off, and I was even passing on the burgers and fries now.
The place was pretty empty, normal for a Wednesday, and I had my paper and my laptop under my arm, ready for an hour of the news and a bit of writing. The latte and the scone would fit right into that plan, a nice peaceful, solitary hour. I'd be spending the afternoon working on my new painting, and I had a student coming over at four. The day was looking to be a nice quiet, productive time.
Joani started my latte as soon as I walked in the door, and she asked how the painting was going. I had showed her a sketch last week and tried to tell her about the color scheme I was trying. She was a good critic for me, and she had a good eye for what looked good, and also what might sell. She had asked me to put a couple of paintings in the coffee shop, and I'd made some pretty good money after paying her commission.
She finished up the latte and took the heated up scone out of the microwave, and came around the bar.
"On the house, this morning, Greg. Provided you do me a favor," she said.
"And what might that be?" I asked, my curiosity piqued. Joani wasn't known for treating a customer, even an old hand like me.
"You need to meet a friend of mine, and share your time today with him," she answered, breaking into a small grin.
She took the coffee and the plate over to the far table, and set it down next to a man wearing a black fedora. The hat covered most of his face, except for a salt and pepper beard. A nice thatch of chest hair poked out of his muscle shirt, which stretched across a broad, hard looking chest. The shirt was tucked into a pair of jeans, which nicely covered his tight looking butt.
"OK, you two," Joani announced. "At last, you meet. Jeff, this is Greg. Greg; Jeff."
"And, no leaving for an hour. It's way past time for you two to meet, and I'm not letting either one of you out of here until you get to know each other," she directed, setting my coffee on the table and pulling out the chair next to this mysterious, dark haired stranger.
My stomach churned a bit. Oh, I have to meet someone. This might be a date, I thought, feeling the old pain of rejection and hurt creep up my back, my armpits dampening my shirt a bit. I always got nervous at a date, anyway. But, the sudden blind date was a new one for me.
I'd get back at Joani for this, for setting me up. An ambush, really. She knew how I felt about dates and getting set up.
A big hand poked into my vision, interrupting my mental train of thought about what Joani was up to.
"Seems we have no choice," the deep voice underneath the hat and the beard said.
"The name's Jeff, and I guess we have to have coffee. Otherwise, Joani will never let me back in here," he said, chuckling over his last words, a smile showing brightly under his thick moustache.
"I'm Greg. Well, I guess you know that," I stammered, as a little more sweat pooled in my armpits, a bit of color flushing my cheeks.
We both laughed a bit, our awkwardness something we had in common, as well as both knowing Joani and enjoying her coffee and her friendship. Maybe not her matchmaking, but I was realizing we didn't have a choice in that.
Jeff grabbed my hand, taking a firm grip. His strong fingers were a bit damp. I guess I wasn't the only one who was nervous and bit out of his comfort zone here.
I sat down, grabbing my latte and taking a sip. Jeff was looking at me, taking me in. I could see him glancing down my shirt, eyeing the fur that stuck out of my collar, and the hardness of my chest, the shape of my belly. I'd been working out a bit, not as much as I should, but then, I took a walk every day, and kept the calories under control.
Jeff sipped his coffee, and I grabbed my cup, and took in the first sip of the still too hot coffee.
"Damn," I muttered, burning my lip on the joe.
"Oh, sorry. Great first impression," I stammered, my face flushing a bit with my social prowess coming out.
"Oh, don't worry about impressing me. I'm known for jarring the lid loose on those damned Ôto go' cups and pouring the entire drink down my shirt," Jeff said. "You haven't even come close to my standard of elegance in the coffee shop."
We both laughed at that, and I set my drink down, taking a good look, for the first time at the man Joani had wanted me to meet. She knew I was gay, we'd had a few serious talks about that in a small town. Joani had a girlfriend, and it wasn't a well kept secret around here. And, she was pretty vocal about people who ranted about a person's sexuality and the people who used their religion to support their bigotry.
My mind raced a bit. Well, if she knows I'm gay and I am kinda looking for a partner, and she wants me to meet Jeff...
"So, Joani tells me you're a writer. What kind of stuff to you write?" Jeff asked, his eyes telling me he caught me off in my mental dream world and not paying attention to him and the conversation Joani was wanting us to have.
"Uh, some essays, about nature and how we should take care of the Earth. I just published a book on bird migration in the area. And, some short stories. That's what I'm working on now," I said.
My mind wasn't on my writing, and certainly not on bird migration. I was trying to settle down a bit, let the sweat cool in my pits, as I tried to settle down and just have a conversation with this man. Joani said we had to talk for an hour, so I better calm down and relax about all this. God, am I out of my comfort zone here.
"I'm a birder, too," Jeff said, his eyes focusing on me, his lips curling into a smile underneath his moustache. "Yeah, I've seen your book. Even got myself a copy. Good stuff."
We talked a bit, sipping our coffees, and I felt myself relax a bit. Jeff seemed like a nice guy. When he was taking a sip of his latte, I checked him out a bit, his muscular chest filling out his muscle shirt, and his nice firm shoulder muscles, tanned a bit from the warm spring sun of the last few weeks. He'd said he was on his way back from a workout at the local gym, and I could see he was serious about his weight training, what with his firm belly and the definition in his chest and shoulder muscles.
I like his moustache, its neatly trimmed edges framing his lips. He had a nice swath of day old stubble across his cheeks and jaw, thicker on his chin. There were a few flecks of gray and it could turn into a nice salt and pepper beard with a week of benign neglect. I figured he'd look good in a beard. Most men do.
Yeah, this could be a man I'd be willing to spend some time with, and not just to keep Joani happy. Having coffee with someone was nice, and I'd missed that, and a lot more. My cock twitched a bit in my pants, missing getting naked with a nice hairy man and getting the job done. Ever since Bill had left a year ago, I'd been hiding out from the world a lot, and the only relief I had was from my right hand once or twice a week. And, that wasn't taking care of what I really wanted, someone to love and share my life.
"Well, Greg," Jeff said, waking me out of my thoughts about my empty love life, "I think Joani was right. About us."
"Yeah, I'm enjoying this. And, you haven't jumped up and ran away yet, so I haven't scared you off yet," I said. "Maybe give me some time and I'll give you a reason, though."
We both chuckled, the last of the awkwardness leaving the table as we settled in with another sip of our coffees, able to enjoy each other for who we were.
2.
The next morning, I met Jeff at the same table, my coffee and scone in hand. He greeted me with a big smile and a strong hand shake.
Yesterday's light stubble had thickened up a bit, and there was a nice dark shadow of the start of a good beard across his chin, and moving up his jaw and cheeks. I could see where a week without the razor would give Jeff a respectable beard. My cock swelled a bit at the thought of feeling those whiskers rubbing across my chest, or up the inner part of my thigh, next to my balls.
I'd had a goatee and Ôstach for a year now. I grew it all out when Bill left me, and I'd liked the look. I'd never gotten a chance to try out the feel of my fur on a lover's balls, or the underside of the head of his cock, but I'd be more than willing to give that a try. I still got grief from my family after I decided on a beard, but I'm my own man now, and certainly old enough to decide to grow some hair on my face.
Jeff had played big in my dream life last night, waking me up to a raging hard on and lust that wouldn't stop. Imagining him slurping on my hard cock left me with a big wad of cum splashed across my belly, my right hand doing its lover's job once again, just before the alarm clock went off.
He'd promised to take me to the gym this morning, and start a serious weight lifting program. And, afterward, we'd be taking a slow jog down along the river, and check out his favorite bird watching site.
All that didn't seem like a date yesterday, as he had set out the details as we left the coffee shop. But, I was pretty nervous this morning, having a hard time figuring out which tank top and which pair of shoes to put on before heading out to coffee. I had to laugh at myself, being antsy and sweating a bit, about another coffee with Jeff.
"Geez," I said to myself. "It's just coffee."
Yeah, and a chance to spend some time with a nice guy, a good looking guy. And, he's probably gay. Otherwise Joani wouldn't have set us up. She's just trying to get both of us laid, and having a good laugh at the prospects of matchmaking the morning regulars at the coffee shop.
We hadn't gotten to the sex stuff, yet, in our talk yesterday. Getting to the point of agreeing to meet again, and working out together, and checking out a good spot for birding was about as far as either of us wanted to go. Jeff was about as shy as I was, and equally nervous about the matchmaking that Joani was so obviously doing. This was still enough of a small town that neither one of us felt good about wearing a big name tag into the coffee shop announcing we were gay. Talk about looking for love in all the wrong places.
We got into our coffees, and talking about Jeff's weightlifting program, and what we were going to do today. He was quite the expert on nutrition and metabolism, and warming up so we wouldn't hurt ourselves. I'd been reading up on the subject, but Jeff had been living a healthier way of life for a couple of years, and was willing to clue me in on how to have a good time and still get into great shape.
I was feeling a lot more comfortable about all of this meeting stuff, and we joked around a bit, teasing each other about how we liked our coffee and the morning routine of coming to Joani's for a cup.
My testosterone was enjoying the stubble on his chin and thinking what it would be like to pull down his shorts and play with his jock strap a bit with my teeth. I could feel the horny sweat pool a bit in my armpits. There was a light breeze this morning and Joani had propped open the door of the shop, letting the place air out a bit, giving me that nice contrast of lustful heat and sweat with the breeze. Still, my heart beat a bit faster, and my balls rose a bit inside of my jock, my lust focused on Jeff's muscled frame and what lay underneath his muscle shirt and shorts.
We talked about our careers a bit, and why we'd both moved here, amazing ourselves on how similar our stories were. I decided to wade into the waters a bit and mentioned that my boyfriend had left me a year ago. Jeff just nodded, with a comment of how he knew what that experience was like.
My fear that he's jump up and scream "faggot" to the assembled crowd of coffee drinkers didn't materialize, nor did Joani come over and kick me out for coming out to another customer. All was well in the coffee shop, and the world didn't end. My heart even slowed a bit, realizing that Jeff simply accepted my comment with a nod of his head.
Our coffee drained, we bussed our cups and the remains of our scones, and headed over to the gym. It was just a few blocks away and we walked together, continuing our conversation about weights and working out and the cost of a gym membership.
The workout was all that I'd expected, even feared. Jeff knew what he was doing and put us both through our paces. We hit the cardio machines for a bit, warming up and getting the sweat pouring out of my armpits, soaking my shirt. Then, we pumped iron, making a circuit of various machines and free weights, again, and again, until we had done three full sets. Jeff took my wobbly legs and arms back to the cardio machines for a final drill, telling me we needed to burn up the lactic acid left from all the weightlifting.
Finally, we headed to the drinking fountain for another big gulp of water, and back to the locker room.
"They've got a great sauna here. We should get in there for a bit, and let the rest of the lactic acid burn off," he said. "You won't be very sore tomorrow, if we do."
3.
We stripped off our sweat soaked shirts and shorts, and peeled off our jocks. I took in Jeff's nice butt, his cheeks coated with a good dusting of hair. He leaned over to strip off his socks and kick off his shorts and sweat soaked jock, giving me a nice view of his dangling balls and the tip of his uncut cock. The hair sprouting on his face was just the appetizer for the thick pelt of curly fur splayed across his chest, under his arms, down his belly, and into the thick forest of fur above his cock and balls.
Beads of sweat sprinkled his chest, and groin, his armpits soaked with sweat. He smelled nice and ripe, a bit spicy, and his smell mixed nicely with my own pungent stink after our hour long workout. My muscles were yearning for a bit of the nice dry heat of the sauna, a nice reward for a good workout.
I'd enjoyed my workout a lot, working out the kinks in my back and really giving my major muscle groups a good workout. It was a lot better than the workouts I'd done on my own. Jeff was a good coach, patient, and knowledgeable. I'd be learning a lot from him, and certainly getting in a lot better shape.
And, getting some nice looks at Jeff's lean and hard body as we spotted each other and worked our butts on on the cardio machines was just a nice added incentive to keep sweating.
I followed Jeff into the sauna, watching him lay out his towel on the wood slat bench and then plant his nice bare ass down on the towel, splaying open his thighs, giving me a great view of his furry crotch, and the long dangling cock draped over his loose ball sack. I could tell he was comfortable with himself, with his body, and not thinking he was the most studly man of us all. He had a way of making me feel at ease around him. My nervousness around him was becoming a thing of the past. I really could just be myself around him.
So here I was, bare cocked and bare balled, and with only a towel under my naked ass, sitting next to my new buddy. He knew I was gay, and he all but said he was. I was wondering where we'd go from here, if we'd be more that just the guys at the coffee shop or at the gym.
We had the place to ourselves, and I sat on the short side bench, about three feet away from this naked Adonis, my coffee buddy, and now my workout buddy. Having him in bed with me wouldn't be a bad thing, not in a long shot, and a bit more sweat soaked into my already stinky pits with the thought of getting him there.
Even doing the coffee bit and the gym was enough for me at this point. That was a big step for me. I'd been out of the dating scene for so long, and living by myself was pretty much the norm for me. Still, my heart ached a bit, well, quite a lot, for some real companionship, and for some romance in the lonely hours of the night, when all a guy really wants is to feel a warm hand on their shoulder, or the warmth of another body next to him on a cold night.
"Ah, this is nice, real nice," Jeff sighed, a few minutes later.
We had sat there in the semi darkness of the heat, letting the dry heat soak out some of our soreness, letting the sweat that was building up pool into some healthy streams of clear sweat. The stink of the workout was gone now, replaced by the clean sweat of the sauna, with a hint of the cedar of the plank walls, and the birch whisk that stood in the corner.
Jeff got up once and ladled a dipperful of water onto the rocks of the sauna, sending a cloud of steam towards the ceiling, giving the skin of our chests and backs a tinging, as the steam filled the room for a minute. In the dim light, his cock glowed, wet and steamy, dancing a bit above the two balls hanging loose in the heat. I wondered how my tongue would feel, taking in first one fat ball, and then another, rolling the stones around the flatness of my tongue, the hairs of his ball sack catching on my tongue, and the thick fur of his crotch hair catching in my beard.
I figured it would be a good thing, to take him deep into my mouth, and to suck his cock slowly, at first, until he was hard and panting a bit, his chest rising and falling eagerly, his voice whimpering that he was ready to shoot his load down my thirsty throat, as yet more sweat filled his furry armpits and glistened across his muscular, hairy chest.
4.
"You're a good man, Greg," Jeff said, breaking my reverie on sucking his balls and feeling his seed splatter against the back of my throat.
"I'd like to take all of this further," he said, his voice dropping to almost a whisper. "A lot further. I think we'd be good for each other."
I nodded, my words caught in my throat. I'd been thinking the same thing, yet hearing those words in the silence of the small hot room, scared me, scared me a lot. We'd have to get naked with each other. Well, wait. We already are. We should like to do the same things. Well, we've done some of that already. He'd have to like me. Well, I guess he does. I'm naked right now, so he must like what he sees. Enough, anyway, that he wants to go further.
"I'd like that, Greg. A lot," I said, my voice seeming really loud in the darkness, next to his naked body.
We let that conversation hang there, in the air of the sauna, the tension easing from my shoulders. I knew, then, that we'd be fine together, that I could relax around him, and be at ease, as we spent the afternoon together in his apartment, slowly stripping off the sweatsuits and clean T shirts we had put on after we showered at the gym. We both took our time with each other, undressing each other and getting to know the nooks and crannies and little sensitive spots on each other's bodies.
Jeff would run his fingers through my goatee and Ôstache, telling me how he'd wanted me to suck his balls and then his cock, and rub my beard through the fur of his crotch, and the underside of his hard, uncut cock. And, I'd suck him until he whimpered, and then shot a big load deep into my throat, the cum oozing out of my lips and down my beard, dripping onto his chest as I nuzzled him, my tongue tasting his nipple again, and listening to his heart beat, after he'd cum that first time, so deep and hard.
And, he'd straddle my chest and move down, until his furry ass rubbed against my aching cock, and letting me slide my cock against his hole and then, after I'd oiled him up with my fingers, letting me enter him, deep, his once-drained balls bouncing against the thick fur above my cock, bits of his last load flying out of his cock, as it bounced against my belly with each of his thrusts up and down my pole.
We both cried out our pleasures, and each other's names, as I came that first time, my cock deep in his ass, as I looked up at my lover, his chest sweaty and gasping, his cock hardening again, as my cock head slipped past his prostate with each thrust.
Later, I ran my cum soaked fingers through his moustache and across his stubbled cheeks and chin, telling him I really loved a bearded man sucking on my cock. He rubbed his calloused fingers through my goatee then, wet with the first of his seed, telling me he'd be my bearded lover for as long as I wanted.
We cooked dinner together, that first night, slipping back into our sweats just long enough to stir up a three course meal. We found we both liked to cook, and we both had a love for good wine. With our plates empty, and the wine bottle gone, we tested out the idea of making love in front of the fireplace, and then on the patio, and then in the shower, until we finally fell asleep in each other's arms, our cocks and our balls wet with more of our seed, and the last of the day's sweat drying in the soft night breeze.
And, every day, after that, we still head down to Joani's coffee shop, and sip the morning nectar, and laugh and joke about all that we have and all that we want to become.
Cafe au Lait