âTires are definitely due. Weâll get a new set on, no problem. Check this out, though.â
Leon leaned over the silver fender of the Lexus and pushed. Ropes of muscle sculpted his bare arms and even this small effort showed them to advantage. He let go of the fender and watched as it bounced repeatedly.
âBounce bounce bounce. The shocks are shot. I donât know what your wifeâs been doing to this car, but it really needs a new set of shocks all around, besides the tires and the oil change.â
Leonâs words floated through the air, barely registering with Robert. He nodded blandly, as Leon pushed the fender down again. His pectoral muscles fanned out under his arms, and black hair hung in lanky waves, curling wetly near the nape of his neck and sticking to the sweat there. The mechanic had stripped off the top half of his coveralls so that its arms and body hung behind him. A grimy muscle shirt covered his torso. Robert fought the urge to stare, and shook off the queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.
âYeah, I guess it looks that way. So how longâs this gonna take?â
Leon rubbed his chin, already stubbly at eight oâclock in the morning. Maybe he hadnât shaved at all, Robert mused. He realized he was staring again, fantasizing about the trail of hair he would discover if he undid the remaining buttons on Leonâs coveralls. His cock twitched at the thought; vainly he tried to appear cool. Leonâs dark eyes were looking him square in the face.
âIf I got the shocks in stock, we can get it done today. Got a lot of cars to do though and I wasnât expecting this.â Leon sucked the last inch of his cigarette and flicked it to the ground, grinding it into the sooty floor with his heel. âIâll try to get it done by five. You wanna come back then?â
Robert tossed him the keys. He left the garage as quickly as he could, feeling Leonâs eyes burning into his back.
Normally, Jane would have taken the car in for maintenance herself. Robert had been surprised at how good she had been about that, after her initial reluctance. Sheâd have done it today, too, except she had been carried off by some of her college girlfriends for a weekend at the Cape.
âRobert,â she had protested, âLet me just reschedule the appointment. You donât have to go out of your way to do it.â
âNo big deal,â heâd replied. âItâll all be done when you get back. Have fun and say hi to the girls for me.â He pecked her cheek dryly, careful to avoid her lipsticked mouth.
âOkay,â she said weakly. âThanks, I guess.â She hadnât sounded particularly grateful, but Robert hadnât noticed.
Robert spent the day in a daze, unable to concentrate on the brief he was supposed to be preparing. He caught his reflection in the glass-framed picture on the wall, and realized he was clenching his jaw. Not a bad jaw, he thought. Strong enough. He pushed his hair back over his creased brow. It immediately circled back over his forehead, slave to a cowlick there. He pursed his lips, grimacing at the defiant curl. That queasy feeling overcame him once again, and he realized he was thinking of the waving hair snaking over the mechanicâs taut neck. He sat there, staring at his reflection, running over the image of Leon in his mind. He let his jaw go slack, his mouth opening as if about to feed. Robert shut his eyes and imagined closing his lips on Leonâs body, inhaling it, tasting it, moving his mouth down, down, reaching out for him, and ultimately, sliding over the pulsing cock, framed at its root by more dark coiling hair.
He woke abruptly from the daydream, his heart pounding. Robert gulped in mortification. It wasnât the first time heâd been attracted to a man, but heâd always managed to pass it off as something inconsequential. He didnât *think* he was gay. He liked women. He loved Jane, didnât he? So why was it sometimes he couldnât fight off the craving to bury his face over a cock and let a man fuck his throat? It was hard to ignore his own turgid shaft, leaking in his snug boxers. The urge to act on these thoughts had been getting stronger and stronger. His mind flashed to the motion of the bouncing fender, and the mechanicâs arms flexing over it. Imagining kneeling before Leon had left him nearly incoherent with desire.
The clock ticked by slowly, until finally near five oâclock, one of his law firm partners appeared and gave him a ride back to the garage. The bay doors were lowered and everything looked dark inside. Robert looked around, but couldnât see Janeâs Lexus anywhere. He checked his watch and cursed under his breath. It was quarter past five already. He tried the front door, which opened to his surprise. No one seemed to be there.