I slowly approached the man at the bow. I didn’t think of anything more than just getting his name, and maybe his room number. He turned to see me, and this time, he did look at me.<\/p>\n
I smiled at him. “Hi,” I said.<\/p>\n
“Hi,” he replied. His voice was slightly higher pitched than what he looks would have presented; definitely gay, I thought, smiling even more.<\/p>\n
“Nice morning.”<\/p>\n
“Uh huh.” He looked me up and down, assessing me.<\/p>\n
I let him. I was much broader than him, bigger in probably every way, except for height. While I was 5’8″, I made up for it by being broad, trim, with strong legs made for running. I was a linebacker in my past job. It was tough being in that kind of job for the LA Rams and being gay. In a way, I suppose I was glad that the concussions finally caught up with me.<\/p>\n
I preferred little men, not the tall pretty twinks. This man was a hybrid; his voice effeminate but rugged good loos betrayed that.<\/p>\n
I said, “So what brings you your here so early?”<\/p>\n
He shrugged. “Issues.”<\/p>\n
“Problems with the wife or girlfriend?” I figured I’d give him an out.<\/p>\n
He winced. “Boyfriend.” He looked out to sea. It was starting to calm down, betraying my racing heart. It wouldn’t be the first time I would have picked up a guy on the rebound.<\/p>\n
“It’s too bad, \u00a0you’re stuck on this ship.” I tried to wheedle my way into his confidence. “You have no place to go.”<\/p>\n
“I can sleep out here,” he said. “Take showers when he’s not there.”<\/p>\n
“Well, I’m here by myself.” I put down my cards.<\/p>\n
He turned to look at me again. Studying me. I smiled, held out my hand. “Tommy Greenway.”<\/p>\n
He didn’t seem to know me. That was refreshing. “Ben Penzwyck,” he shook my hand, a firm handshake.<\/p>\n
“Good to meet you.”<\/p>\n
He nodded. “Look, I don’t think I’m ready for a relationship right now.”<\/p>\n
Damn. Shot down.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I slowly approached the man at the bow. I didn’t think of anything more than just getting his name, and maybe his room number. He turned to see me, and this time, he did look at me. I smiled at him. “Hi,” I said. “Hi,” he replied. His voice was… Continue reading