This event took place just before the AIDS crisis and therefore condoms weren't used.
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I had secured my first supervisory position at a haulage and distribution company and Michael was one of the 11 drivers I had responsibility for. I was 25, he was about 10 years older than myself and about 15 years younger than the rest. He was, I understood, single and lived with his parents since his long term live-in girlfriend fleeced him and made him move out of the house he had completely renovated for her in his spare time. The joke that Eunice the Stock Controller and I had was that he was good with his hands. That was one of the jokes anyway. As he was one of the few drivers to seemingly not give a damn about my unhidden sexuality and actually treated me respectfully, if the answer to a question was "Michael Wood" then Eunice would always add "I think Michael certainly Wood" and give me a wink.
Apart from Turbo Holdsworth, Michael (or to be accurate Mickey as he was known) was the only one who looked like he worked out or exercised. The other guys seemed to like the Transport Cafés and Truck Stop Canteens more than hard graft.
I had once seen Mickey in his underwear after a charity game of cricket that I took part in briefly. I am quite athletic and used to run cross country as well as swim but team sports and contact sports weren't my thing. I played like a girl when you were allowed to say such a thing. Mickey and I were last from our side to leave the pitch and only as I was a late addition to replace Turbo who had grown bored and left, leaving us short of a man. I had gone along as support and had organised getting our team together so there was no backing out really. In the end, we lost but not hugely and it was in aid of a good cause. And I got to change with Mickey although we didn't shower together, just got out of our cricket gear and in to our civvies in the changing area. But he smiled when he caught me taking a sly peak at him in just his plain unflattering chain store briefs, though he looked to be packing a punch. Other than that he was taller than myself at maybe 6' 1 or 6' 2, slim but not wirey and he had certainly benefited from manual labour.
We didn't work Saturdays or Sundays and so every Friday afternoon was a race for the drivers to finish as early as possible, collect their weekly cash payment (lunch allowance) and depart for beer and a shag with the missus. Pleasantries were usually exchanged and the weekend beckoned. One such afternoon, Mickey was last back from his deliveries, pretty much par for the course, and I had to wait until all the delivery notes and paper work was in order to pass to Administration before I could leave. Mickey asked my plans for the weekend for which I had little organised. In fact I was going to have a sunbed at the local leisure centre (back when you could do such a thing) but thought telling him I was topping up my tan might be a bit too gay so said I was probably going to the leisure centre for a sauna before lunch and then meeting friends in the afternoon. In fact, I probably was meeting friends at the toilets in the Motorway Services, I just hadn't yet made their acquaintance yet.
Saturday morning came and I did my weekly shop early, ahead of pensioners who can go to supermarkets in the week (but don't) and workers who go mid morning on Saturday after spending their weekly lunch allowance on Friday night drink before rising late the next morning... About 11h30 I arrived for my pre-booked sunbed and headed to the sauna area where the tanning booth was.
Normally I was the only person there, occasionally there would be a sauna user and at certain times of year there were more sunbed users if they were getting some colour to their pale, northern English skin before heading on a package holiday to sunnier climes. Today the sunbed was being used and I didn't really have chance to see who by so I went and sat in the otherwise empty sauna until the sunbed became free. It had been turned on as usual and I suspected I was the first user of the day as the floor outside was completely dry and the showers didn't look like they had been in use,
After a few minutes, I heard the water running and as no one had come in through the entrance to the sauna suite, I guessed the sunbed was free and so I left the heat and went to goggle up and lie down in the electric UV. I didn't even catch a sly peek of who had been in there before me as the shower curtain (cheap white plastic) was pulled across as I passed by. My 20 minute session was soon over and I had snoozed a little but it became quite hot towards the end as it was warm to start with from the previous user.
I too jumped straight in the shower to wash off all of the sweat and really cleaned myself good. I then decided to have another release of toxins in the sauna, assuming I was by myself and that the guy who had been on the sunbed before me had showered and left. Wrong I was, and incredibly surprised. But if you know my style of true story telling and encounters by now, you won't be. Yes, sitting on the lower of the 2 wooden benches with his back to the wall and facing the door as I entered was none other than... Mickey Wood.