There was a knock at the door. Gary folded up his newspaper and walked down the hall and pulled open the door.
"Gary? Hi I'm Joe; I spoke to you over the phone this morning about letting your spare room."
Gary was taken a back for a moment and sized up his counterpart; he looked up into the young man's big brown eyes as his heart skipped a beat.
Joe carried a small backpack over one shoulder and had a suit case sitting behind him. Gary had heard the same Australian accent over the phone this morning but was expecting someone a little bit older. He had a deep voice which you would expect from a more mature man.
Gary met his hand with his own which was a bit smaller and stockier than his new guest.
Gary replied "Hi yes I'm Gary, please come in. I wasn't expecting you till after lunch"
"Sorry I couldn't wait; I was too excited to see my new place... I mean that's if you like me" Joe's expression change to a cheeky grin.
Gary smiled and ushered him into the lounge room.
As Joe followed Gary he studied the man from behind, he was a short but stocky man in his mid forties standing maybe a few inches shorter than himself. He gave Joe the impression that he was not the most agile of characters but was very powerful as his heavy feet bounded into the lounge room.
"What brings you to northern England Joe?"
Joe wasn't expecting that question upfront but replied a little hesitantly, "Oh... bit of a long story but just got to the point in my life when I needed a change of scenery and to take on a new adventure"
"Oh OK, well I am not sure you have come to the right place if you are after adventure but I guess this will be somewhat different to what you experienced back home"
Gary proceeded to give Joe the guided tour while probing deeper with a few more questions regarding upkeep, pets and smoking.
After about 10 mins they sat down in the kitchen for a cup of tea.
Gary had received a few enquiries about the room but for different reasons rejected all previous applicants.
Joe seemed to tick all of the boxes and Gary said he could move in straight away if he wanted to. Joe accepted instantly as he had been staying in a local hostel for the last few days since arriving in the country and was craving to find somewhere a little more homely.
They chit chatted into the afternoon covering quite a few topics.
Both men were single and no real sign of romance on the horizon and Gary tried to delve a little deeper to find out more about Joe's love life but he changed the subject after confirming that he had recently split from his long time girlfriend.
Joe didn't have a job lined up just yet but explained that he had come from a finance background but wasn't really looking at returning to the same industry even though he was only in his late twenties. He just wanted to see what happened and go with the flow for a little while.
Joe excused himself after lunch and wanted to explore the town a bit more. Gary invited him to have a drink tonight and he would order some Pizza.
Joe accepted and looked forward to it.
Joe returned at dusk with a six pack of beer and a bottle of white wine and Gary accepted the gift and cracked open a beer for his new tenant.
They talked for a while about the day's events as they waited for the Pizza to arrive.
Joe broached the subject again about Gary's love life asking if he had a special lady. Gary replied sheepishly.
"Na, no special lady as such... well I don't really go for the ladies if you know what I mean."
"Oh" was Joe's reply.
"You don't really give off the impression that you swing that way if you don't mind me saying. I don't really know any gay men and I guess it is a stereotype but I would expect you to be overly flamboyant."
Gary laughed out loud and the mood lightened a bit, Gary was worried that he might scare his new roommate off if he knew he was gay, but it didn't seem to bother Joe at all. Joe asked a few more questions and Gary obliged.
The door bell rang and the Pizza arrived, Gary paid the delivery man and they both had an enjoyable evening.
The next morning Joe woke early and found Gary in the kitchen with coffee and cereal. Gary had to head off to work in town at the local government offices. Joe said he would do a bit more sightseeing and would have dinner ready for him tonight.
Gary smiled and thanked him as he walked out the door.
The days passed as both men fell into a routine, Gary working Monday to Friday with Joe either taking day trips or just hanging around the house. He was pretty handy and started to apply himself to the back garden and do some fixing up. Gary was pleased with his efforts and reassured himself by knowing he made the right decision by taking Joe in.
A few weeks had gone by since Joe had moved in and both men were developing a close relationship. One Friday night Gary mentioned he was having a few friends over for drinks and Joe was more than welcome to join them.
Joe accepted and was looking forward to it.
Later that evening Joe returned home from the Gym and heard women's laughter coming from the dining room as he walked through the door.
Joe poked his head through the door and his eyes met two ladies sitting around a table with Gary and a couple of bottles of wine.
The lady on Gary's left was a full figured woman in her late thirties. Her name was Anne and had short dark hair and was quite attractive, her large bosom overflowed onto the table as she let out a hearty laugh. Joe's eyes were immediately drawn to her curves as her laughter made her breasts bounce.
The second lady, Daisy, was a slim blond woman who Joe guessed was in her late forties but was trying hard to look a few years younger. She was also smiling from a joke that Gary had just made when she noticed Joe standing in the door way.
"Don't mind me I've just finished up at the gym."
Come have a drink Gary said.
"I will very soon, I'll just have a quick shower and freshen up."
As Joe left the room he heard one of the ladies say "Oooh he's cute Gary, tall dark and handsome, I see you have very particular tastes for you new house guests" the roomed file with laughter as Joe turned on the shower.
A little while later Joe came back dressed in something a little more casual and he sat down at the table to join in.
"You're a couple of drinks behind" said Anne as she giggled and poured him a glass of wine.