This is a work of fiction.
It all started with a very simple swipe right one night on an app as I have been contemplating my first attempt to find an actual relationship with another guy. I am 54 and a white collar professional pretty much seeking someone in the same demographic as I am. He doesn't have to be gay, but hoping that he has enough experience with other men that he knows that he is ok with it and has a zero guilt approach to what he does behind closed doors with like minded men.
Enter Doug Zurich the owner of his own engineering company that sells their services to companies that are looking to either outsource their engineering needs to a local company or who are in need of engineering support for projects that they don't have that expertise in house just yet. Doug is 55 about 6'1 thinning salt and pepper hair and more than a bit barrel chested from working out for many years. Since I am in industrial sales and deal with engineers all the time I thought we might make a good fit on paper. Doug is much like I am in the fact that he has never been married and has no children, just a wide array of friends along with some nieces and nephews that he is close to. After about a week of trading some messages back and forth online we decided to talk on the phone and since we are both in sales (with a vastly different approach) we hit it off right away. Easy going, smart, funny and conversant in all of the issues of the day, we talked for about two hours the first night sharing stories from our past and trying to figure out what the future might hold.
I had told Doug while I was new to seeking out an actual relationship I had also believed that all great relationships start with a one night stand and he laughed and said that's one way to test the waters of compatibility. Since we are both always looking for a new challenge we continued to talk on the phone since Covid had us shut in for the most part.
After about a week and a half into this he finally invited me to his place for dinner and just to see if we were as compatible in person as we appeared to be over the phone. Clearly I had underestimated how well engineering paid as his house was super nice, very modern with brick and glass all around, along with pavers for the driveway and around the mostly secluded hot tub just off the garage.
After being invited inside the side door closest to the hot tub, I was immediately relieved as he was every bit as handsome in person as his photo and every bit as personable as he had been on the phone. I was greeted with a handshake that quickly became a hug and then surprisingly a quick kiss. I was a bit taken aback but remembered that this was essentially what I was there for and we sat down on the couch and proceed to talk about who we are and what we were looking for.