Vacation Fun

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It was a mild summer day in late June. It was the time of year that John and his family took their annual vacation. Every year John's parents took their kids and grandkids on a fancy vacation. His dad was a semi-retired surgeon and had saved enough up that he wanted to start traveling the globe with his family.

This year his dad had decided to take the family to Italy. There were twelve total in their group: John, his two parents, his older brother and his wife and two kids, his younger brother who was married but had no kids, and his little sister and her family of four.

It was their first night in Florence. John's mom had the great idea to schedule a walking food tour the first night so they could sample the Italian cuisine as well as the historic city. Florence was beautiful! John felt like he had been put

into a time machine and was walking around during the days of the Renaissance. Its architecture and cobblestone streets were nothing like John had ever experienced.

The food tour was set to start at 5:30pm on the corner of a block about two minutes walk from the Duomo. John was chatting with his younger sister when they rounded the corner and saw a small group already waiting at the tour meetup spot. There was a short brunette woman holding a stick with a yellow handkerchief tied to its top. John's family guessed this must be their tour guide and his mom went to check the family in. She did all the planning for the trip, so it was nice for John to simply tag along to everything. John surveyed the other groups that would be joining them.

There looked to be a couple other families waiting on the side of the street as well. There was a small family of four - a couple and their two teenage children. Then there was a larger group much like John's family. There looked to be a few married couples and five small children all under the age of 10 running around all over the place.

The person who caught John's eye was the man who looked to be the patriarch of the family. He was a very handsome man either in his late 50s or early 60s. He wore a teal blue plain t-shirt and khaki golf shorts. The traps on the man's shoulders indicated he was one of those older guys that had a regular gym membership and still lifted weights. He was a little bit overweight with a solid belly that proved to be of good use as he held a young child in his arms. She sat on top of his stomach and giggled as he teased her about stealing her nose. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and then turned his attention back to the group. That is when he spotted John staring at him. He nodded his head towards John and gave him a quick smile. When he smiled his chubby cheeks pressed into his eyes making them slightly squint. 'Damn he was handsome', John thought. John smiled back and then turned away.

"Ciao, ragazzi! We are getting ready to start our tour. You should have received a yellow wristband if you are on the tour. Please keep that wristband on so the restaurants know you are in our group, otherwise you might miss out on some delicious food!"

The tour guide continued to speak and explain how the food tour would work. John tried to listen as best he could but he was also preoccupied in checking out the handsome man across from him. From his observation he gathered that the man must have been the grandpa of the big group. The other adults looked young enough to be his children, and the way the kids interacted with him made it clear that he was family. John thought he was being sneaky but towards the end of his subtle study of this man, the man again caught John staring. The man winked at John and this wink combined with being caught staring made John's cheeks blush and his lungs skip a breath. He smiled and turned away.

"You okay?" John's sister asked, noticing the embarrassed look on John's face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm getting hungry though." John quickly changed the subject. He was an expert at that. He had tons of intense training whenever people interrogated him about why he never dated. John would sidestep the question and direct the conversation in another direction. John had been in the closet his whole life. He didn't have any desire to be out of the closet either. He wasn't sure how his family would take it. John liked his life and saw no reason to turn it upside down with this revelation. He didn't want to be in a long term relationship and was still able to have his fun on the side while being a good Catholic boy (on major holidays mostly).

The first stop on the food tour was right next door from where they were. The group enjoyed an appetizer called arancini - a fried rice ball with tomato sauce on the inside. It was delicious. John helped pass the tray of food to the rest of his family. The tour guide explained the origin of the food and its place in the whole Italian cuisine. The first stop ended shortly thereafter, and they headed to the next stop.

On the way, John hurried up to catch up with his younger nephews who were being a little rowdier than their parents would like but still in check enough to not cause too nasty of a look from John's sister-in-law. John faked being the helping uncle as his real motivation was to catch up to the man in the teal shirt. Walking behind the man allowed John to check him out without being caught in the act. John quickly noticed the man had the meaty ass to go with the beefy stomach. His khaki golf shorts tightly framed the two globes which bounced and flexed with each step. John's mouth watered again. This time it wasn't from the arancini.

The group came to a stop at a small little shop on the street. The tour guide made them all huddle close together so they weren't taking too much space on the sidewalk and still allow for others to pass by. This food stop was wine and cheese. The tour guide began her speech about the vintage of wine and the type of cheese they were having. When she was finished she passed out some cheap plastic wine glasses and distributed the wine equally amongst the adults. She allowed them to enjoy their second course and mingle throughout the street as they did. John took a sip of his wine and as he did a little window shopping he was interrupted by a voice from behind.

"Where are you all from?" John turned and saw the question was from the handsome grandpa in the teal shirt who still held the little girl.

"Dallas." John said, coughing in surprise at the sudden appearance of his crush. "How about you guys?" He asked.

"Louisiana." The man said.

"Very cool," John said, trying to play his part in the conversation. "Whereabouts in Louisiana?"

"I live in New Orleans, but this little rugrat lives in Nashville." He pecked the little girl on the cheek. "The rest of my family lives there as well. This is the time of the year I get to see these little ones the most!" He bounced the little girl in his arms and told John her name was Cecilia. John remarked on the pretty name, and the man tried to get Cecilia to say 'hi' but she was too shy. She turned and hid her face in his shoulder.

"Sorry, she can be shy." He patted her on the back and hugged her close. "I'm Larry, by the way." He extended his right hand as best he could while still holding Cecilia. John shook Larry's hand. His hands were large and gave a strong grip.

"I'm John."

"Nice to meet you, John. Is this your family?" He nodded behind John.

"Yes, it is." John pointed out his mom and dad and explained how they, too, did a yearly vacation.

"Are those your kids?" Larry asked, indicating John's nephews who had been playing around at his side.

"No, these are my nephews. Jake and Paul."

"Do you have kids? Who's who in your crew I should ask." Larry said. He switched Cecilia to his other arm. John explained that he was single. He pointed out his siblings and their spouses and gave Larry the full rundown of who was who.

"So you're looking for an Italian bella!" Larry teased.

"Ha, something like that." John feigned a smile that looked more like a frown.

"I'm only teasing." Larry said, nudging John with his shoulder. Even from a light nudge John was aware how solidly Larry was built. He definitely still lifted weights. He enjoyed that sensation immensely and wanted to return to it.

When the tour guide captured everyone's attention once again for the next part of her speech, John purposely positioned himself close enough to Larry to where their two bodies could easily brush against each other. Larry saw this shuffle out of the corner of his eye. He smiled to himself. He had spotted a potential fish. Now, it was time to cast his bait and try to get the fish to bite.

Cecilia began to fuss in Larry's arms. He spoke to her in a low gentle whisper and hugged her close as she laid her head on his shoulder. She was tired. He started to rock her a bit shifting his weight side to side. With each rock he ventured further out until he barely brushed against John's shoulder. He had located his target. He continued this rock and lightly brushed against John's shoulder. It was light enough to pretend ignorance but after the third time and John still had not moved, he took that as an affirmative sign. On the fourth rock when he reached John, he stayed put. So did John. After a couple seconds and neither retreating, Larry increased the heat on his shoulder leaning further in. John reciprocated. There they stood, arms flushed against one another, hidden in the back of the crowd. It was his fish's first nibble Larry thought. He needed to continue to lay traps and real this sucker in.

This second stop soon ended and the group headed to the third - their first pasta stop. It was situated down a back street that was less crowded than the other streets they had been on. This allowed the group the freedom to spread out. But despite this fact John and Larry stood in the back shoulder to shoulder, both pretending to be ignorant of the contact.

The next stop was the official dinner stop. It was a cute little restaurant in a much quieter part of the city. The tour guide led her group downstairs to a private room that was blocked off by a large wooden door whose style suggested it was a couple hundred years old. John walked with his parents on this journey. He wanted to talk with Larry some more, but he felt like the amount of time they were spending together might start to get noticed by the others in his group.

As John approached the large wooden door he found Larry holding it open for everyone as they entered. Larry smiled and accepted everyone's gratitude for the gesture. John let his parents go in front of him so he would be the last to enter and next to Larry as they walked through the restaurant. Larry remained stationed at the door as John's parents passed through, but as John made his way through the door Larry made an early turn to enter the restaurant as well. This made the doorway smaller and caused John's arm to brush across Larry's sturdy belly. John felt Larry's hand on the small of his back ushering him in. The touch was subtle enough to be taken as friendly, but forward enough to be taken as flirtatious. John hoped for the latter.

Larry admired the young man's backside as they made their way through the restaurant. John had a fit bubble butt. He wondered how firm it was and if it would jiggle if he gave it a spank. He was tempted to perform an experiment right there, but he thought the move would be too forward and risky. He had to be subtle enough to not cross any social boundaries in case his advances were unwanted, but teasing enough to further test the suspicions of his gaydar.

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John sat next to his younger brother during the meal. They enjoyed larger portions of two pastas that served as the main course for their tour. The pesto gnocchi and Bolognese pasta were his favorites of the trip so far. The stay at the restaurant lasted about 45 minutes. Every now and then John would peer over at Larry's table. He was playing the role of fun grandpa and constantly had a child sitting on his lap. Larry was aware that John was keeping an eye on him and found ways to send various non-verbal communications John's way. A wink, a smirk, a lift of the eyebrows, even a rub of the stomach all were little ways to say hello to John throughout the meal.

The next stop was for desert. The tour guide said it was about five minutes away and some delicious tiramisu awaited them. John looked for Larry, but the man had disappeared into the bathroom a few minutes before the tour guide gathered them up to leave. John walked alongside his sister, Emily, and one of his nephews who was begging to stop at a gelato place and refused to take 'no' for an answer.

"Is this your first time in Italy?"

The question came from the other side of John's sister where Larry had suddenly appeared. Emily answered Larry saying how it had been a dream trip of the family's for years and they were so excited to finally get to enjoy the country. Emily was very outgoing and easily entered into a conversation with Larry which allowed John to learn a lot more about the man. This was Larry's third time to Italy. He loved to travel and had loved Italy so much he wanted to bring the family with him this time. Emily asked him all the places he had traveled to which sent Larry into a list that was too long to be complete. John guessed this man had to have been quite wealthy to travel the world as extensively as he did. Emily asked for his recommendations of where to visit in Florence and then when they traveled to Rome in a couple of days. Larry, once again, threw out numerous suggestions, too many to keep track of but highlighted a restaurant that was an absolute must. Emily typed the name of the restaurant in her phone and right at the moment they arrived at their desert stop.

The tiramisu was delicious. John had two helpings of it as his nephew didn't want his own. His nephew was still throwing a fit about wanting gelato instead and his mom kept telling him they would stop for some after the tour, but he was being very impatient much to Emily's frustration. Then, right on time, Larry rounded the corner with a cup of gelato in hand.

"Here you go, bud." Larry said, handing the boy the gelato.

"Oh, that's so nice of you! Where did you find gelato?" Emily asked.

"There's a great place around the corner." Larry said.

"This really is your third time in Italy!" Emily exclaimed.

Larry shrugged his shoulders and came to stand at John's side. Larry, too, had gone to get his own serving of gelato. Emily thanked Larry before having to run off and chase down her other son.

"That was nice of you." John said.

"I'm a nice guy!" Larry said, spooning a big bite of gelato into his open mouth.

"How come you didn't get me one?" John joked. Larry reached into his pocket and pulled out another spoon.

"I thought about it, but I didn't have three hands. Here." He handed John the extra spoon. "You can have some of mine. It's crema. Very delicious!" John took the spoon from Larry, making sure to touch part of his hand as he did so. He took a dollop of Larry's gelato and spooned it into his mouth.

"Mmm, that is good." Said John. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, bud. Here, take some more." John's mind went to dirty places as he took another spoonful of Larry's crema.

"Thank you Sir." John said. Larry didn't say anything in response. He just looked at John. The look was strange. John couldn't quite figure out what Larry was trying to communicate but somehow he knew the man was pleased. John smiled and turned away.

Larry broke the prolonged silence and asked John about the rest of their itinerary for the trip. John and his family were spending two days in Florence, then traveling to Rome for the remainder of the trip. They had in mind to do a day trip or two if they ran out of places to see in Rome. Larry laughed at that statement. You could live in Rome for years and still not see all the historical sites the city had to offer. Larry and his family had started in Venice and were headed to Rome in a few days as well.

"Where are you guys staying?" Larry asked.

"I'm not exactly sure." John confessed. His mom did most of the planning. "I know it's an Airbnb somewhere in a central location. Let me look it up." John pulled out his phone to thumb through his messages. He found the link to the Airbnb and clicked on the address to open up Google Maps. Larry leaned over John's shoulder to take a look. John could feel the heat radiating from Larry's body.

"Oh, that's a great location." Larry began pointing out all the sites around John's lodging. It was closest to the Coliseum. He then began pointing out all the major sites and easiest ways to get there with parents and young ones. As Larry continued to talk he leaned in closer to John so that his stomach pressed against John's arm. John pressed back. He moved his elbow in such a way to test the firmness of Larry's stomach. It was firm yet gave a little if you pressed hard enough, which John did. John prayed this moment could last longer and his prayers were answered when after Larry finished pointing out the major sites around the Coliseum, he then started showing him where all the must-try restaurants were.

"That restaurant can be kind of hard to find. It's a hole in the wall. Here, give me your number and I'll send you a link to that restaurant, so you can pull it up on your maps app."

John's heart skipped a couple beats! Were they really about to exchange numbers? Was this really happening? John rattled out his number, his voice a little shaky from excited nerves. Moments later his phone buzzed with Larry's message. He pulled out his phone to quickly save Larry's number before he lost it. "Here you go, bud! This is Larry (Burns)." A link to the restaurant was attached to the text. John smiled at the use of the word "bud". He liked to be called that. And now he had Larry's last name as well. John replied back with his own last name (Wheeler). Larry thanked John for the return message and said he would save his number in his phone in case John needed any other recommendations during their trip.

"Thanks for this. I really appreciate it." John said. He thanked the man again and seeing the tour was at its end and his family was gearing up to head their own way, he said one last good bye to Larry. Larry said it was nice to meet John and gave him a pat on the back and let his hand trail all the way down John's side as he walked away. John had to adjust himself before running to catch up with his family.

The rest of their time in Florence was a very enjoyable time. John was enthralled with the history and great art present in the city. He would be lying if he didn't admit he looked for Larry around every street corner. However, He never saw him. He thought about texting him, but what would he say? He hoped Larry would send a text but none never came. When the trip continued to Rome, John made sure to pass along the restaurant recommendation Larry had given him. Emily spoke up and endorsed the suggestion. It turned out John wasn't the only person in his family whom Larry had charmed. Emily was eager to try out Larry's recommendation as well.

Of course, the restaurant was absolutely delicious! It was not hard to find like Larry had insisted. John ordered the Bolognese pasta and it put any pasta he had eaten to that point to shame, which was saying something at this point. John had been waiting for an excuse for days now to text Larry, and he used this restaurant as an opportunity to fire off a text to Larry thanking him for the recommendation. He kept his phone open and waited, hoping Larry would respond right away. But no response came. John checked his phone every two minutes. Still, no response. The entire rest of the night exhausted itself without a buzz from Larry. John went to bed that night extremely down. Perhaps, he had read too much into the signs and signals that Larry was sending him. Maybe, he only perceived them to be signs because he wanted them to be. Perhaps, Larry was only being outgoing and friendly.