I'm Diego Sandoval and this is my story. It's the story of how the stupidest thing I'd ever done led me to a whole new life in California.
I was twenty nine at the time of the event. The super stupid thing I'd done was making a huge assumption. I made an ass out of myself only. Thankfully.
Let me start at the beginning, about two and half years earlier. I was going on the first vacation of my adult life. Another first since I'd been free. More about that later.
I had just turned twenty seven and was working hard at a nursing home. I was an orderly at Sunshine Meadow, located in Orlando. It was hard work, but it was full time and off the radar.
I'd moved to Orlando just about three years earlier, running there from a bad situation back home in New York, where I was born. I had been online friends with a guy in the area and he let me crash when I needed it.
I stayed with him for a few months until I'd gotten that orderly job. Once I was on my feet, I found a place to rent in an older couples pool house.
"Pool house" makes it sound really Florida and fun and luxurious. It was none of those things. It was a converted garage with two tiny windows in the whole thing.
The pool had long since cracked and been filled in with dirt and sand. The sun baked greenery wasn't green and was overgrown while also being dead and dry.
That little studio apartment in the unkempt backyard of a retired couple, was pure freedom to me. It was the first time I'd been on my own and free to come and go as I pleased. I took good care of the place while I lived there.
The online friend that let me couch surf, became a real friend and welcomed me into his group. His name was Kevin and his boyfriend went by Poe, which wasn't his real first or last name.
Kevin and Poe had a huge extended gay family, which included lesbians, several trans folks and some straights mixed in with a ton of gay men. They were really wonderful and welcoming to me immediately.
I became really close with another couple in the larger group. Jake and Hector became my closest friends. Hector was a chiropractor and Jake was a partner in a chain of nightclubs. They took care of Jake's grandpa full time on top of that.
I'd been in Florida two years when Jake asked Hector to marry him. There wasn't a dry eye in the place when he said yes. I was beyond happy for my friends. I had a huge stab of jealousy in my heart but I didn't date, so I moved past it.
It was several weeks before the wedding and nine of us were going on a bachelor's weekend for the guys. It was me and four couples. I didn't want to be the odd man out but Jake and Hector really wanted me there.
I went and tried to make the best of it. We stayed at an older, popular bed and breakfast that had recently reopened as a gay-owned establishment, catering to gay clientele.
It was really beautiful and the owner was an amazing guy. I'd found myself flirting with him as he did housework on the first morning when I'd come down looking for coffee. I never flirted with strangers, but he felt safe.
My odd numbered group were heading out for a big seafood dinner that evening when my friends encouraged me to ask the owner to join us. The family had gotten to know him over the last two days and we knew he was single. And hot.
His name was Grant and he was the new owner. He was kind of quiet and reserved but extremely good looking and really tall, which I liked. I finally mustered up the courage before we left for the restaurant.
"Hey, Grant."
"Hi, Diego. Can I help you with something?"
"Would you like to join us for dinner?" I tried not to draw attention to my friends who were all outside pressed against the glass at the front door.
"I really shouldn't. I have a lot of things to do, but thanks so much for thinking of me."
"Oh, okay. Yeah, of course you're busy. Have a good one." I wanted to kick myself. I'd flirted with him a tiny bit and he hadn't flirted back so why did I think this was a good idea?
I got the hell out of there and tried to enjoy dinner as if I hadn't just failed spectacularly in front of all my coupled up friends. They didn't let it go.
"I don't understand Diego. You're seriously the best looking guy in the group, and we're all hot, so that's saying something. That guy must be blind or stupid." Hector thought he was going to make me feel better by saying I was good looking. But I didn't want to hear it.
Here's the thing. I used to model. I wanted to be an actor. But that life led to my downfall and my panicked flight from New York. I wanted to leave it all behind. I wasn't that guy anymore, even if I had the right look for it.
I'm exactly six feet tall and well muscled without being huge and bulky. I had a little more substance than many of the thinner guys, but I was lean and devilishly handsome, so I could totally compete with the heroin chic waifs in the male modeling world.
I had warm rusty-brown eyes that I've been told are extremely expressive and they always sparkled in pictures. With my big, sexy brown eyes fringed in thick black lashes, and my hard angular face, I was classically good looking. My black hair had natural shine and enough curl to make it bounce.
I wore a light scruff back in those days. Now I'd grown into my Colombian and Italian American white heritage and I'd only gotten better looking. My angles matured and my beard grew in thick and black. I wore more scruff now, heightening my swarthy, rugged manliness.
My body was better than ever and had furred up quite a bit in the last four years. I was approached and hit on everywhere I went but I wasn't interested. The guys couldn't believe that I'd finally tried and struck out so completely.
More than once I'd been told I looked like a darker version of the deaf model Nyle DiMarco or like Nyle and Nev Schulman from Catfish had had a baby. I did look similar to Nyle, just darker with dark eyes. And my body hair was more like Nev's. Truthfully, I think Nev is better looking than Nyle, but I digress.
I didn't date. I didn't hook-up. I didn't want a relationship, a friend with benefits or an entanglement of any kind. Grant was single and I was alone and that's all it was. That and I was actually attracted to him. The first man in years.
I felt like I'd let my guard down in front of him and my friends and it cost me. Luckily attention during dinner did turn back towards the happy couple.
On the way back to the B&B, we stopped and got wine and cheese and fruit for later. After we'd all chilled in our own rooms and our dinner settled, we went out onto the back porch to smell the sea air and have a casual drink.
Grant joined us and helped us get set up. He found us a cutting board and wine glasses. He was so happy to help. I really wanted to talk to him again and hopefully apologize. I asked him to sit with us for a while. I risked getting shut down again.
This time he agreed. We talked a little bit but he looked kind of uncomfortable the whole time. As soon as Hector and Jake went to bed, Grant excused himself and went back inside to clean up after us. The rest of the guys made their way through the kitchen and up to their rooms.
I was alone with Grant and I just couldn't make myself leave. Maybe he'd be different when my friends weren't around. It was worth a try. At the very least, I could apologize for making him feel weird earlier.
"Thanks. I know this isn't one of your usual services." I sat at the kitchen island and tried to act casual as Grant loaded the dishwasher.
"It's alright. I'm here for whatever my guests want. This is nowhere near the craziest thing I've done for someone."
"Whatever, huh? What kind of crazy things do you do for your guests, Grant?" I couldn't help but flirt with him. I seriously never flirted with anyone and now I couldn't stop.
