The Christmas Wish

I was at a friend's we were having a pre-Christmas party as we would not be able to have dinner with each other as they planned a trip back home to spend with family. We always gave each other a gift not anything too expensive more of a show you care kind of gift. All our friends were there, all seven of us, we were all in school together and made the effort to be together each and every year.

Carol my best friend she and I always talking to each other every single day, her husband Bob and I met in junior high school. The other couple Joan and Alfred we also met in university, and the last couple were John and Fred, Carol and I met them at a coffee shop both from our school and they naturally joined our group.

We would have our usual potluck pre-Christmas dinner lots of wine and lots of chatting, I always felt like the odd man out, being the only single person with all of my friends. Carol always said I would meet Mr. Perfect one day; I was starting to think I might be the single one for the rest of my life.

We all bought gifts for each other nothing overpriced or outrageous, keeping the prices at a bare minimum, but with thought in each and every one. I always opened the gift from Carol last she knew me the best. We all had so much fun opening our gifts, from gag gifts to things that brought a tear to one's eye.

Carol bought me a wish card, it gave the bearer one wish, he or she would be granted one wish and only one. She and I both knew what I would wish for, but she told me I would wait till I was home alone to make that wish. She bought this in a store that sold those types of things, tarot cards, Queja boards that sort of stuff.

The store owner told her how I was to do this it was very specific on how it was to be done, I had to be in a dark room all alone, I had to hold the card in my left hand, I had to say my wish out loud three times. The bearer could not wish for wealth, gold, money, or ill will towards another person. We all sat there listening to the instructions, each one of us kind of laughing as she read them out.

It was late when I went home, I was tired it had been a long day, lying in bed thinking of what I would wish for. I already knew what I wanted, but could I be specific, could I ask for an athletic man, or one with a large appendage. Could I wish for a man with a certain personality, or a good sense of humor, did it really matter all I wanted was a man who I connected with each and every day.

I got out of bed and got the card, I sat in the middle of my bed legs crossed, I did as the card had said I made my wish aloud.

"I wish to find my soul mate and the man of my dreams."

"I wish to find my soul mate and the man of my dreams."

"I wish to find my soul mate and the man of my dreams."

I had always had this fantasy of a man, he was a cross of many men out there from actors to body builders, to a man who could cook to a man who was an incredible lover. I sat their card in my left hand. Once the wish was made, I did not feel any different, it was all still the same, Prince Charming did not come into my bedroom on a white steed.

I looked at the card and smiled.

"If only it were that simple."

I put the card on the nightstand and went to sleep, I woke the next day nothing seemed any different. I got up made coffee and got on with my day, it would be a day of relaxing poolside with my laptop working on the latest work project. I went in to make my bed then shower, I noticed that the card was gone.

I looked under the bed, under the nightstand but it had disappeared, I showered then put on a speedo and went out back to the pool. It was a beautiful day the sun was shining, no wind no clouds a perfectly blue sky. Carol called wanting to know if I had made my wish, I told her I did and the card had vanished, I searched high and low to find it but to no avail.

She and I talked for almost a full hour; her man had bought her the diamond necklace she was wanting to match the bracelet he had bought on her birthday. She asked what my plans were for today, I told her work poolside, and wait for this mystery man to appear out of thin air, we both laughed but deep down I really wanted the wish to come true.

I was busy working on a project for work when all of a sudden, my pool pump started grinding, then smoke came billowing out of it, then it stopped working all together. Oh, just great a week before Christmas and my pool pump decides its time for a new one.

I called the man who installed my pool and all the pumps that went with it, he told me he was extremely busy, but he knew a guy who might be able to do the replacement for me. He would call the guy then call me back.

Had to be about fifteen minutes and I got a call from this man; he was in the pool repair business and was not overly busy so he would be able to come by and check it out. In less than an hour he was at my door, I had put on a shirt and some shorts so I would not scandalize him.

He checked it out and it was burnt out, I would need a new one now he had to try to find one in the city. He called three companies and the third one had the pump; they could deliver it for a small fee. I quickly agreed and gave them my credit card number.

The young man who came to deliver was a good-looking guy, tall about six foot two, five o'clock shadow, wavy dark brown hair, muscular chest and well-built arms and legs. I stood there staring at him he kind of smiled at me.

"Sir where would you like this brought too? It's kind of heavy."

His query snapped me out of my daydream I was having about this guy, I escorted him in and showed him where the pool guy was. He brought the pump directly to him, he asked if I wanted the old one removed and disposed of, I quickly agreed shaking my head and saying yes at the same time.

He had to be around twenty-five, his legs so muscular covered in a layer of dark brown hair, and the package and the butt on him had me drooling. I stayed on my lounger while these two got the old pump out and the new one put in place. They plugged it in, and it whirred to life, the jets came to life, the pool was alive once again.

He loaded up the old pump and was walking it out, I followed him to the door opening it for him. He smiled at me and thanked me, as he walked out, he turned and told me if I had anything else I needed I should not be afraid to call. He stood there for a few minutes, then looked like he was going to walk away.

"Would it be to forward of me to ask if you would go on a date with me?"

I smiled and turned fifty shades of red, I was tongue tied.

"No, it is not to forward of you and yes I would love to go out on a date with you."

"Are you free later tonight say around seven?"

"As a matter of fact, I am free this evening, where did you want to go out too?"

I needed to know what to wear, I could not just wing it and show up at some place wrongly dressed.

"How about the lounge on fourth street, then we could go for dinner."

"That sounds perfect."

"So, I will pick you up at six thirty."

"Thank you so much, see you then."

I shut the door and was jumping up and down, I forgot the plumber was still here, he laughed as he watched me jumping up and down.

"He is a really handsome guy, hope you have a good time tonight, just be careful is all I suggest, some of these guys can be players or users."

The plumber stood there in front of me, I never really checked him out till right now, he was around my age, an average looking man. A good body, my height and weight, a scruffy beard, the thing I did not see till right now was his eyes. The man had dark piercing eyes, not brown darker than that, the color variation between the pupil and the cornea was hardly different.

Once I was looking into this man's eyes I was locked in, I could not pull away, he had me under his spell so to speak. He reached over and put his hand on my shoulder, the shock and the feeling of his touch brought me back to earth but had me under his spell.

"Be careful Bill, you really do not need to be hurt again."

He picked up his tools and walked out the door, he turned and smiled at me, I was mesmerized by this man. I stood in the doorway for far too long, he got in his truck and drove off, I finally came back to reality as he drove off and I shut the door.

Here I was standing at my front door, hands on the door to steady myself, what had just happened to me, this man had me under his control without even trying. I went back to my lounger I sat there staring out at my pool. The question I had in all of this how did he know I had been hurt before? But then again how many of us gay guys have not been hurt in some type of relationship.

Try as I may I could not concentrate on any of the work I had to get done, I had a date with a young hot guy, and I was only thinking of Nick the plumber. Thinking about the man, he has a great body, hidden under loose baggy clothes.

The hairy chest, the full beard, those eyes, his huge hands, if I was not careful, I would have to go jerk off before my date with Brandon my delivery man. I lay there for more than an hour fantasizing about both of these men, I was brough back by my phone ringing.

It was Carol calling to see if I had gotten my pool fixed, I quickly filled her in on both men that had come to my place. The young handsome man who I normally would go out with, then the guy my own age who had told me I had been hurt before.

Even Carol could not believe what this man had said to me as he did not know me whatsoever, I told her I was so obsessed with Nick, more so than Brandon. I would go out on this date with Brandon, but my heart was leading me to Nick. Carol told me to follow my heart, but I still had to go out on this date with Brandon.

Brandon picked me up he was a half hour late, with a lame excuse, I seriously thought about not going then thought why not, if the date was a total mess, then I could leave. We first went to a bar a gay bar, not the lounge he had planned to take me too, then we met his friends who treated me like I was his Sugar Daddy.

The music was too loud, Brandon kept asking me to order a round for him and his friends. He basically avoided me except to ask for drinks, on me of course. We sat at a table he had his back to me the entire time.

They expected me to buy the drinks and kiss Brandon's ass all night, I made an excuse to go to the bathroom and walked out. I stood in front of the bar I was almost in tears; I walked a few blocks to get some distance between the bar and myself.

I called an uber to pick me up, I decided to go to the lounge we planned to go to, Brandon messaged me a few times I quickly blocked him. I found a seat in the back of the lounge, I messaged Carol telling her of the fiasco of a date I had just been on, one of the worse in the history of bad dates. She and I chatted for a bit, the young waiter came up and placed a drink in front of me.