I pulled into the parking lot and checked my phone. According to the GPS, I had arrived. I took a quick look up in my rearview mirror, ran my fingers through my hair, and sent a text:
I'm here. You ready?
I got out of my car and started walking toward the apartments. According to Rick's last message, he was in the last building on the end of the row. I tried to make out the address in the dark, just to be sure. It was only about 8:15, but the night was so dark it might as well have been midnight .
I had first heard from Rick about 6 hours ago. He had posted an ad Saturday night on one of those sites that sprang up to fill the void when Craigslist killed off their personals section. When I hadn't heard back right away I assumed he wasn't interested, but early Sunday afternoon he had emailed back. We exchanged a few messages, arranged a time, and now here I was.
I was looking forward to this, but also pretty nervous. It had been a little over a year since I'd had sex. I'd been seeing Sonya for a few weeks, but we weren't exclusive and really gotten physical yet. She wanted to take things slowly after a bad breakup, and I was still trying to figure out how to tell her I was bisexual.
Right now though, my sort-of girlfriend was the last thing on my mind. As I headed toward the front of Rick's building I shivered a bit, and not all from the cold. I hadn't been this nervous since my first time.
My phone chimed its text alert.
Apt. 31 on the second floor, 2nd from the end. Take the stairs in the middle.
I put my phone away, took a deep breath, and made for the stairs. It was hard to make out the numbers on the doors in the dark. For a moment I imagined myself accidentally knocking on the wrong door. "Hi, I'm uh... here to suck your dick?" Imagining how well that would go over with some random person, I let out a nervous chuckle. This girl coming down the stairs gave me a weird look, but I shook it off and kept going.
Thankfully I didn't have to worry. As soon as I approached apartment 31, the door creaked open and Rick stuck his head out to greet me. He looked exactly like the picture he'd sent me - a man in his early 30's, with black hair just to long enough to curl a little bit, a strong profile and prominent nose that hinted at some Italian in his family tree, and a fit body with just a little bit of padding around the belly. Rick quietly greeted me and motioned me inside.