'More than coffee' continues the storyline of 'Coffee, .. and maybe more'. For character and plot development it is preferable, though not essential to read them sequentially.
*****
To catch up, I had seen this Personals ad.
"Old man for old man," it read. "Life is short. Need to feel a horny old man holding me tightly. Let us enjoy mutual release of our pent up urges. Be open and honest .. "
'Fuck, that's me,' I had said to myself. 'Old man for old man.' Not exactly me. Or, at 78, maybe it is. I don't regard myself as old. 'Horny'? When am I not? Need to feel a horny old man holding me tightly? Yes. Oh, yes. That I would like. 'Enjoy a mutual release of our pent up urges.' Yes, that too. 'Life is short.' Yes, and no matter what I say about not feeling old, I am feeling just how short life is.
I had answered it, and he answered back. After feeling each other out through a long series of e-mails, no names, no pics, we had decided to take the next step, a coffee date to meet face-to-face.
Surprise, surprise, it turned out we knew each other, regulars at the same gym. Him, a bodybuilder I had long admired, but whom I did not know beyond the usual 'Good mornings' and other comments in passing. Me, well, as it turns out somebody he had long taken notice of, but had not taken it further.
But today the conversation had gotten off to a rocky start. Some assumptions and a show of temper on my part. He fortunately was able to turn it around, opening us up to what, really, we were both hoping to find. Sexual intimacy and fulfillment.
Under the table I could feel the pressure of his knee against mine.
Eye to eye, ball in my court, it was mine to determine how the game would be played.
I reached under the table, groping for his knee, and in his eyes I could see the flicker of a smile.
Then I could feel him groping for my knee, and feel him, strong, muscular, grasping it. Feeling it out, feeling its shape, down over the knee cap, then back up to the top of it, sizing it up, and holding firm.
Our eyes met again. The flicker of the smile now slightly mischievous.
I reach under the table, touching his hand. Immediately he grasps my hand.
"Joe," he says, identifying himself.
"Lawrence," I reply.
"Yeah," he says, "I remember you from television. News at six and eleven, right?"
"That's a good long time ago," I replied.
"You miss it?"
"Every day!" "Those were great years, the sixties and seventies. Not much we couldn't do - and didn't do. Now, well, the bean counters are running the show. Or maybe I should say ruining the show."
"So what have you been doing since?"
"Travel. Corporate and business travel. Used my contacts to build up a clientele doing their travel arrangements. Portal to portal. And some pleasure travel for them as well. Had a staff of twelve when we were going full out. Then wound it down as the internet began encroaching on what we were doing.
"Kept my hand in television at the same time though. Some reporting, in depth stories, some of the stories that took more digging than regular staffers had time for.
"And all the time not out?" he asked.
"All the time not out," I replied. "You?
"Made inspector. Then in the merger of departments it was obvious there were others who would be going up the ladder ahead of me. So I got into Public Relations. Like you, used my contacts to build a clientele. But still do a lot of pro bono for the Department. School safety villages, public speaking, that kind of stuff.
"And all the time not out?" I asked.
"All the time not out," he replied. "Still being careful."
His phone jangled urgently. He looked at it and put it aside. I looked at him, asking him silently if he wasn't going to answer it.
"A fail safe," he said. Then explained, "I put in a couple of alerts that would give me an out if the conversation was going nowhere."
I shook my head, ruefully.
"So the conversation is going the way you hoped?" I asked.
"I think so," he said, "Don't you?"
Under the table his hand squeezes my knee.
"But," he said, "eventually we are going to have to go, and there's one or three things we're going to want to ask. Of a sensitive nature. Aren't there?
I nodded my agreement.
"So why don't we take it somewhere now where the coffee crowd can't hear .. "
' Good idea,' I thought.
".. My vehicle is in the middle of the lot. We can go and talk there .."
'Oooo,' I am thinking, 'this is stepping things up a bit.'
".. Bring your coffee."
We're on the move. "What are you driving?" I ask.