Another Tale Worth Telling
(cf. 9 Dec. 1977)
I've gotten various hints over the time I've lived on Elderbank that there is some serious cruising going on along Griffin and maybe in the Park. I even sat in my car along there one Friday afternoon last summer, my last weekday of unemployment, and actually did have an encounter that might have been a pick-up.
But there also seem to be occasional drug deals and gang activity, and there are soccer and baseball crowds every weekend, usually families. And most of the Park is empty most of the time.
Sunday, April 4
With the time change and laziness, I go hiking in the Park later than usual, starting around 11. Later, along Griffin, I again think there's some pick-up activity going on in the Park. I re-enter the Park and immediately find not just one, but several cruising people. Although I play stare-and-follow games with one guy, and circle around some, I can't decipher the rules, and I go home.
Friday, April 9
I got home early enough to eat dinner and relax a bit and it's still light out. I decide it's a perfect day to check out the dusk activity again, especially since I can drive down to Griffin (rather than hike and be sweaty and grungy) and just park and watch. I take a magazine to read if nothing is happening.
But there is a lot of pretty obvious cruising going on. I see a couple of fairly attractive guys, too. It's quite active, and I've only been here 10 minutes. One guy, after talking for a time with another person (a friend or a pick-up?), strolls down the bridge and along the sidewalk opposite where I'm parked. I look at him, I hope pleasantly, but I don't try to attract his attention beyond that.
But he calls out to me and asks for the time. I answer, and he comes across the street and talks some more! He asks if I speak Spanish. He says he's taking English classes at a nearby adult night school. He tells me his name is Victor, and he asks my name. He says he is supposed to practice English. We're doing pretty good for all the language difficulties! At one point, he starts to walk away, but I call him back. I finally ask if he wants to talk some more and get a drink. He agrees and gets in the car! At first, I thought he had somewhere in mind, but after we drive a bit, then stop and talk, I suggest my place and he agrees.
Once at my place, he has orange juice (which turns out to be his favorite drink) and we struggle with small talk. Anxious to clear the air, I finally manage to start talking about the men who walk in the Park. He does seem to know what I'm talking about, and I finally say that I'm gay. He definitely understands at least that much. I try to explain that it's OK if he's not, or if he's not interested in me. (It's not easy to say this using my menu-Spanish and his bits of English!) He seems to mainly understand, but makes no move to either leave or progress. I offer to take him home or back to the Park, but he doesn't want to leave.
He finally does put a hand out to me, but we stop at just touching while still making small talk. It's been about an hour now. Finally, he reaches out to pull my head down for a kiss; I pull him up from the couch and we go to the bedroom. We proceed to play around for the next couple of hours. He seems to enjoy it, although I'm physically much more aroused than he is. (He says he's only aroused in the mornings.)
The next days
He wants me to spend the night with him, but I demur. We agree to a lunch date on Sunday. After I do take him home, he calls. But phone conversation is harder than face-to-face. He calls again Saturday, while I'm finishing my taxes, and asks for help seeing a dermatologist for the rash he has on one leg. I am dismayed. After much deliberation, mainly with myself, I end up taking him to get some over-the-counter medication. On Sunday, we have lunch, visit the Huntington, buy a dictionary (!), and fool around some more. (This time he gets quite adequately aroused.) He still wants to see a dermatologist, so I try to get him to call John Guagenti Monday, and make an appointment, and I offer to take there on Tuesday. But Monday evening, he explains that he never did call John, but he's skipping class and can I come over? We have a bit of ice cream, and we sit and talk and cuddle. I suggest that I come over Tuesday after school, see him briefly, and drive him to English class, which I do. We have a date for Friday night. I spent most of the next weekend with him.
It's been fun, and that's all I'm taking it as for now. One unexpected result is that in my dreams, I no longer assume that every cute young thing will ignore me! My dreams, at least, have gotten much sexier.
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