I was taking a drive on a clear summer day, the type of drive where you don't know or care where you end up as long as you have the windows down and a good song on the radio. I pulled into the small town of Scituate, Massachusetts; a town known for its picturesque quality, where the shops are small and pricey and a car costing under $30,000 is rarely seen. I maneuvered my beat up old car through the immaculately kept streets of the town suddenly feeling a bit out of my element within its boundaries.
It would not be the only new boundaries I would cross that day.
I parked my car in front of a little bookstore and ventured inside, not looking for anything in particular but that's just the kind of day it was. I browsed and struck up a conversation with the shop owner about the writing craft and mentioned that I was interested in writing for children (stories much different than this one, I assure you). He gave me directions to another bookstore two towns away and gave me the name of a man who could help me. The town was a long way away but I knew the drive would be nice so I didn't mind.
I got back in my car and went sailing over the roads, the directions in my hand and the tunes blaring in my ears. I arrived at this new bookstore within a half hour and was greeted at the door by a kind man in his early forties. He introduced himself as Bob (I will omit his last name since he is a published author and married) and informed me that he was the owner. I told him why I had come and who had recommended me to him. Bob smiled and I noticed a gleam in his eye. In hindsight I can guess that the man who had directed me here was aware of Bob's bisexuality and had sent me there to be seduced.
Bob told me all about his writing career and showed me some books he felt could help me in my own pursuits. Whenever he would bring a book to me he would open it up so we could both read it and place his hand on my shoulder while discussing its contents. I admit that in my twenty years I had no sexual experience with men aside from the usual teenage curiosities - playing strip poker with the guys or being drunk and getting naked on a dare. But Bob's hand on my shoulder was sending chills though my body. Of course, men had put their hands on my shoulder before, teachers and other authority figures, but I never felt this kind of excitement from those touches. Only years later when my naΓ―vetΓ© had become slim did I understand that he had been sending me vibes.
When Bob brought the third book to me and placed his hand on my shoulder it didn't stay there. He gently and slowly moved his hand down my back then up to my shoulder again. He repeated this a few times while discussing the book, though I assure you I wasn't hearing a thing he said. After a while we both realized that the discussion had stopped and all we were doing was staring at the same page while he slowly grazed my back and shoulders with his fingers. At this point a customer entered the store and the hand left my shoulder. Bob handed me the book and tended to the woman and they talked for a while.
I was confused about my feelings and with the fact that the front of my jeans felt tighter now. I wasn't gay and felt no attraction to this man, yet I couldn't deny the pleasant sensation I received from his touch.
I roamed the small bookstore and glanced at the contents of the shelves, not willing to admit to myself that I was secretly hoping the woman would leave and Bob would approach me again. My patience was rewarded when I heard the bell above the door chime signaling that the woman had left.
I was in the new age section, which was slightly elevated from the rest of the store when Bob came up to join me. I opened the book we had been discussing earlier and feigned an interest in one particular section. He came to my left side to read the page with me and put his right hand on my shoulder again. It didn't stay there at all but immediately began to caress my back. Bob put on a good show of pretending to have a conversation as his fingers glided along my shoulders and grazed the back of my neck. At one point his hand flattened against the center of my back then moved down to my lower back. My excitement grew when I realized his hand wasn't stopping. It slid down past my waist and grazed the top of one my jeans pockets. This man's hand was almost on my ass and I was reeling. I can't be sure but I think I even swayed on my feet because the feeling was so intense. Neither of us spoke. Then his hand went lower and cupped one of my ass cheeks. My eyes closed.
Then the bell above the door chimed.
My eyes flew open and I saw another woman enter the store. I expected Bob to remove his hand immediately but he didn't. I realized that from her perspective she could only see our heads above the rows of books, not our hands. Bob called to her and said that he would be right with her. The woman smiled then moved to another part of the store. Bob was openly moving his hand around my ass. Here I was, a straight guy getting felt by an older man with a woman standing only twenty feet away oblivious to what we were doing. I had never been so excited in my life. He asked if I wanted to stick around. I heard my voice - quiet and shaky - say "sure". Then his hand grabbed my other cheek and squeezed. Again, my eyes closed. Then his hand was gone.
The woman stayed for longer than the last and I was surprised to find how frustrated I felt. I wanted her to leave. She did finally and I approached the counter where Bob was doing some work. We struck up a quick conversation and he asked me if I had a girlfriend. 'No' 'Why not?' And so on. He told me he was closing early today, now in fact, and was wondering if I wanted to continue our conversation about the art of writing. I said yes, and the part of me that couldn't admit I wanted this man's touch satisfied itself with the idea that we would only be discussing writing and nothing more.
Bob closed the store and instructed me to follow his SUV. We drove a few miles to a secluded spot on the edge of a small nature preserve. There was a small dirt area for parking and three paths leading into different parts of the park. Only one other car was parked nearby. Bob lowered his tinted window and invited me into his SUV so we could talk. I walked around to the passenger side and climbed up beside him. Bob pushed a button and his window went back up. We were now alone and close. Butterflies swarmed my stomach and the front of my jeans felt tight again.