The apartment looked out on an assortment of college buildings interspersed among the colorfully leafed trees. In the living room of the apartment an arrangement of chairs formed a loose circle facing the middle of the room. Business associates sat uncomfortably in the circle, holding iced drinks which dripped sweat from the glasses. Ice melted from the warmth of the nervous hands holding them. Jon, the boss's partner, looked around the room - was everything in order? Every guest had a drink and food was arranged on the dining room table. He had never met any of his mate Jean's employees before. The young group of willing newbies all vied for attention, quietly preening and hoping to climb the ladder of success – one way or another. The neophyte group, from around the country, assembled at the boss's insistence. She issued a command, after the meeting: "Come to my home for drinks, and get to know each other." Most of them didn't know what to expect.
The assembled men sat uncomfortably in the small, tight circle of chairs, legs or ankles crossed in an attempt to keep them tucked out of the traffic flow. Jon walked around the circle, in front of the men, quietly asking after the status of refills. Occasionally, as he did so Jon had to reach forward to touch an arm or a shoulder to attract attention. He noticed one handsome man, only slightly older than the others, well-built and comfortable in his own skin, unlike most of the rest of the group who seemed nervous and without polished social graces. Reflexively, Jon tapped the man lightly on the top of his knee to gain his attention, "Would you like a refill?"
The man's eyes travelled away from the conversation at hand, up and into Jon's face. "Sure, let me help with that," he replied. He introduced himself to Jon as they headed toward the kitchen.
The room continued to burble with awkward conversation as the two men headed into the kitchen. The guest, Don, stepped aside for Jon to enter the kitchen first and ushered Jon forward with a slight touch on the small of his back that drifted for an instant somewhere nearer to his ass. Jon didn't hesitate, but rather turned to his guest and gave him a knowing look with a slight smile.
They refreshed their drinks and stood in the kitchen, butts up against the counters facing each other as they chatted - each appraising the other surreptitiously. The other guests wandered in and out of the kitchen to fix drinks, or drop dirty plates in the sink. The conversation flowed around Jon and Don and was occasionally picked up and a quip was added by those other guests as they arrived and departed the small space of the galley style kitchen. Jon and Don were content to stand in the kitchen and talk. They hadn't exchanged any further overt physical contact as they politely discussed the usual subjects, in no particular order: weather, sports, background and other interests. Still the atmosphere was charged with personal energy.
Jean continued to hold sway with the rest of her subordinates in the living room. Occasionally the noise level in the living room became loud with good natured but nervous laughter, or mild rebukes spoken too forcefully, but neither man in the kitchen broke away to participate in those conversations. Jon played the good host several times, leaving Don in the kitchen, to circle the living-room encouraging the guests to help themselves to food and fresh drinks. He picked up the remains of dirty dishes or emptied ashtrays, and always returned to the kitchen. Each time, he reconnected physically with the handsome man, who had made himself useful rinsing dishes and loading them into the dishwasher; he seemed to have no interest in resuming idle chat with his new business colleagues in the other room. A pat on the arm, a gesture of appreciation for loading the dishwasher, or a fumble of a glass both men caught in mid-air and brushed hands as they did so. The physicality of the exchanges between the two men was palpable, but nothing had been overt.
The "getting to know you" cocktail hour had grown overlong. Suddenly, there was a burst of noise from the living room as the level of male voices began the ritual of affable goodbyes fueled by alcohol and the awkward bonhomie of new business acquaintances who might or might not still be rivals. There was a foot-shuffle around the room, farewell handshakes and shoulder slaps as guests cleared the living-room in quick order.
Jon had returned to the living room to say polite "great to have met you" farewells and to police the area for any forgotten cigarette cases, lighters and other overlooked personal accessories. When the crowd had filed out the door, Jean slipped an arm around Jon's waist and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek, "Thanks so much for helping me with this! I'm going to shower and slip into something comfortable." She gave him a wink and nodded her head slightly toward the kitchen as she moved toward the bedroom.
He turned around and realized that she had noticed one guest who remained and was in the kitchen. Jon was surprised, and pleased, to see which guest had lingered behind and was busy at the sink washing glasses. Jon pulled out the expensive bourbon and fixed a drink for each of them. The two men adjourned to the now empty living-room. He directed Don to sit to his right, next to him on the sofa. So began a sexually charged round-about conversation between the two men. Booze had softened the edges off any reservations between them and Jon's gentle, innocent stroking hand on Don's thigh quickly brought the man from curious to interested, to aroused. The size of Don's cock grew quickly and pressed hard against his slacks as Jon's fingers caressed ever closer to Don's crotch.
