I'll start out by saying that before all of this happened, I was a very straight male. I had experienced fantasies of sex with a man before, but I never thought I'd ever do anything about it. I was quite content to be a straight male and just think about the other side of sex.
I guess that's how most men begin. Well, at least that's how I began.
I was on a flight from St. Louis to Los Angeles. It was a vacation for me and I was planning on seven days at the first hotel I could find with a balcony and a view of the ocean.
During the crowded flight, I left my seat to head to the head. There was another guy waiting at the bathroom when I got there. He said that a woman went into each bathroom and it looked like we were going to have a wait. We shared a laugh and exchanged the typical male comments about women.
I asked if he was going to L.A. since the flight was continuing to Hawaii. He said that he was going to the L.A. area on vacation, the first in four years. I told him that it was my first in about three and was looking forward to the beaches.
We exchanged some small talk about were we were going. He said that he had reservations for a room in Redondo Beach. He also had a reservation for a car. He asked where I was going; I told him that as soon as I picked up my car, I was going to flip a coin; heads north of L.A. and tails I'd be heading south.
The ladies exited the bathroom and we entered. When I came out, I found that he was also coming out of the other bathroom. I made a comment that we'd have to stop meeting like this and began walking back to my seat. I was on the isle and it turned out that the guy I was talking with was in the seat across from me.
So, for the rest of the flight, we talked across the isle. Normal stuff, like football, car racing, jobs, traveling and the like. Spending time chatting really made the flight pass quickly. Before I knew it, we were descending for the landing.
The weather was fantastic! Low to mid eighties, light breeze blowing and clear skies. After exiting the plane, and while waiting for the luggage, I introduced myself to my new friend. Mike told me that if I found myself in Redondo Beach, I could look him up for a beer or two. He gave me the name of the hotel he was going to be at and told me to give him a call.
We got our bags, mine came first and I headed off to the car rental without another thought. I was at the car rental place, got my keys and was walking off to the lot when I saw Mike walking in.
I waved to him and he called to me. He told me that the airline lost his luggage and that most of his identification was in his checked bag. He asked if I would wait around for a few minutes to make sure he could still get his car.
I went to the counter with him, he got his car and everything was going to be okay. It turned out that the luggage wasn't actually lost, it was in Seattle and the airline was going to bring it to his hotel when they got it back.
Outside in the lot, we found our cars. Mine was a convertible and his a sedan. At the cars, I announced that it was time to flip the coin.
"Heads north and tails south!" I flipped and the coin landed on heads, I was going north. Mike again offered to meet me in Redondo for a beer. He said that there are tons of hotels up that way and the beaches were pretty nice. I took him up on the beer and told him that I would follow him to his hotel.
I figured that a beer with my new friend on the first day of my vacation at a bar at (or close) to the beach would be great. So we got into our cars and headed out.
It took us about 30 minutes to get to his hotel. I went to the desk with him and he got the key for his room. I went along to the room too. The hotel was nice and right on the beach. There were palm trees and flowers all over the place and bars and restaurants within walking distance in any direction, except west.
We got to his room and it was wonderful! It was a suite with a separate bedroom, living room and a balcony with a view of the beach. We were on the twelfth floor and I found that this would do just nicely for a hotel for me as well.
I told Mike that I was going to go get a room and that I would meet him at the desk whenever he was ready for that beer. He said that he was ready now, "nothing to unpack," and went with me.
I got my room and got my two bags from the car. Mike carried one and I with the other, we went up to my room on the tenth floor. My room was just as nice, same view just two floors lower than Mike's room.
We threw the bags into the room and headed out to explore the area. We took my car, with the top down and drove around the area until we found a nice little place that was on the beach.
Walking into the bar, the air-conditioned room felt great! We walked through the bar and out to the deck in the back. There was a breeze that was coming in off the ocean and the smell of the salt water mixed in just right with the setting of the bar.
We ordered our drinks and a steak dinner for each. We ate our dinners, drank a few more beers and sat chatting for some time.
We'd had four or five drinks each and were really enjoying the night. The sun was just setting and the temperature was dropping into the seventies. I loved this! My first vacation in such a long time and here I was!
Women in bikinis were walking by the bar, women inside the bar, women were everywhere. All shapes, all sizes, some tanned, some not. Each and every lady I saw was a beautiful sight.
I suggested that we find a livelier bar and maybe some company for the rest of the evening. I was sure that my hopes were pretty high, but why not?
Then Mike dropped a bomb on me.
"Jeff, I'm gay"
"I don't think that company would be the same for you as it would for me."
"But," he said, "I'm fine right were we are."
I didn't know how to take that. I enjoyed Mike's company, but I didn't want to sleep with him! "What do you mean"? I asked.
"Look, were having a great time and we have been since we met on the plane."
"Why disturb that tonight?"
I didn't really have a good answer for him. I'm not a phobic, but I've never spent any amount of time with a gay man. He saw me contemplating my answer and spoke up again. "I'm not going to rape you."