It was my first place. I was 22, and I was ecstatic. I had lived in an apartment with my girlfriend at the time for about a year, but I had discovered that a mortgage would cost me the same, if not less than, renting. After she and I broke up and I moved back in with my parents, I saw the folly of my ways. I promptly bought the place for a song: a two-bedroom, two bath villa, right on a small lake, near the city, but a little bit suburban. It had a tiny backyard, which I immediately fenced in and gardened. It was perfect for a young bachelor such as myself.
I thought about getting a roommate for the second room, just to help with the bills a little, but discovered that with only the smallest bit of belt-tightening I could maintain my privacy, so I did. I quickly fell into the routine of a single guy. I had the place set up just as I liked it, and could walk around in the nude if the desire struck. There were times of loneliness, but I had enough friends to counter most days and nights. I had never had too much trouble with girls. Not being an underwear model or anything, I always viewed myself as attractive enough at five-foot ten, and one hundred-sixty-five pounds. I was a cyclist, surfed every chance I got, and ate pretty healthy.
After a while, being used to having people around me, the lonely nights began to weigh on my more and more. I still didn't want to go the route of acquiring a roommate. I used the second room as a rudimentary music studio, trying to write songs and record them on a simple four-track recorder. Something still felt off. I had a decent computer, and as such, had plenty of porn. This helped to a point, but ultimately, still wasn't the same. My mind wandered, and bored, I aimlessly darted from place to place on the internet. Always going for straight porn, and inadvertently landed on gay websites or bisexual guy-on-guy images from time to time. Always my knee jerk reaction was to be turned off, but every once in a while something would catch my attention. A penis size, a look-something. More and more I found myself looking at these sites and videos. I masturbated frequently as it were, and found myself doing it even more. This confused me as I had never in a million years thought of myself as gay. However, the more I thought about it, the more things began to make sense.
Back in school, following PE, we would run through the communal showers, and get dressed at our lockers. There were always a couple guys that I would steal glances at in comparison with myself. I chalked it up to curiosity and figured all guys did it. The guy next to me was somewhat nerdy and certainly not known for his physique or popularity, but I always considered him a friend, if only at school. Curiously, he had a penis easily larger than any of ours in class. It looked full adult-sized, which was saying something for young men of average endowment. Then there would be other times changing at a friend's house or visiting my cousin, where we would inevitably be naked around each other to change clothes or bathing suits, and I'd feel the same curiosity. Always, these moments were fleeting, and quickly cast aside.
Being in South Florida, I knew people who were gay, so I wasn't a homophobe, nor did I have any discomfort around people like that. I just never thought the feelings would come my way. Over time, gauging my desires from what I saw on the computer, I discovered things that turned my on and things that definitely did not. Kissing another guy- huge turn-off. The same with hugging, snuggling, or pretty much any activity that paralleled what I would be doing romantically with a girl. That said, sexually, I found many things to excite me. Giving blowjobs turned me on. Seeing a guy come definitely did it for me, and finally something about two guys having sex did as well, but only sometimes.
I lurked around chat rooms and was hit on with relative frequency, but I never bit on anything. Finally, one night I decided I'd at least try to meet someone, with the understanding that sex was decidedly not a sure thing. After several guys that were too forward for my taste, I started a conversation with a guy online. Another thing I had discovered was that I needed some sort of report with a guy to be comfortable. The ones that instantly responded with, "Pics?", or, "Let's fuck", were quickly deleted. Guys on these websites seemed to be looking for a quick one-timer. I needed to be a little more at-ease before I would allow anything to happen. This guy took his time, and allowed me to relax.
We corresponded over a couple days, and started opening up a little. I told him about my misgivings and curiosities, and he told me about what he was in to. He was gay, and I had found myself less attracted to gay guys as straight or bisexual ones, but he was able to quell that uneasiness with conversation, We traded pictures and I found him to be your average, if not the tiniest bit effeminate, guy. Finally, after several days of emailing and instant-messaging back and forth, he asked me if I'd like to come over to his place. With no small amount of nerves, I agreed.
He greeted me at the door of his apartment in Fort Lauderdale and invited me in. He was about what I had pictured: about an inch shorter than I, dark hair, and skinnier. We sat down on his couch and talked for a few minutes, carrying on previously held conversations about nothing in particular. Finally, sensing my unease, he said, "You look nervous".