"C'mon Richie, flex for us!" someone yelled across the living room at Richard - he hated being called Richie. People did it just because he was short (about 5'6" or 5'7"), and while he understood it, he hated it. There was no question: Richard was handsome downright good looking. He was 35, and had been maintaining an active, vigorous gym routine, since he was 25. That's when he left school and had become a representative for a drug firm , stationed overseas. When he left school, he knew he was gay, and had fooled around with other students, but had never really found anyone with whom he felt comfortable enough to be in a "relationship." Some of his friends said, quite accurately, that the most intimate relationships he had were with the gym and with social media.
They weren't wrong. "Addiction" is a strong word to throw around, so let's not use it for Richard, but he did go to the gym at least twice a day. It showed. He had a toned, muscular body, with just a slight amount of chest hair and furry hair on his arms and legs. He kept a short haircut and a well trimmed beard - both helped by the stylist he had met at the gym, tricked with once or twice, and took care of Richard's grooming so that he could still be near him.
At the urgings of some other friends, Richard had started a page on social media, where he would post a photo after his workout everyday, bare chested and in his workout shorts, and then one in more "formal" clothes, which were always a snug fitting short sleeved shirt that showed off his chest and arms, and tight fitting pants - usually jeans , or tan/white chinos. Sometimes he would add comments, and sometimes not.
He was amazed when he got 2000 followers, and stupified when he got 20,000. The number kept growing. There was no problem with the "selfies" because he was at the gym every day.
The price of that popularity on social media, however, was that Richard, at 35, was single, and with no one in his life who showed the promise of a "relationship." Yes, he would get the lewd messages on social media, and sometimes he would even get serious ones. Social media bridges differences, but it doesn't put someone in your bed. And Richard's followers were not to Richard's taste, for the most part.
Richard had a thing for daddies. Top daddies. And there just weren't many of them following him. Or, brave enough to approach him at the gym. His good looks, and his friendly demeanor, had many people assuming "he's taken," or "I don't have a chance." So, Richard's friends , many of whom really wanted to see this "truly nice guy" settle down, took him to parties. A LOT of parties. And inevitably, someone would recognize him from social media, and then the requests, chants, demands, for him to take off his shirt and flex, got louder and urgent, the way they had at this party. His friend Carol took him here. Carol had been his teaching assistant when Richard was in college. They had become friends, and stayed in touch. Now, Carol was a Professor in the English department at that college, and the party was at the home of one of her colleagues. Carol had an ulterior motive: she thought that Richard and Jason, her mentor when she was writing her dissertation, might hit it off. She had introduced them when they got to the party, but the demands of hosting a party of 70 people, and social media groupies surrounding Richard, had kept them apart. Jason's full head of salt and pepper hair, his bright blue eyes, and his lean body, shaped by cardio and a little weight training, had caused Richard to mutter "WOOF" under his breath when they met. Richard thought Jason had heard, and blushed. He didn't know for sure though, as Jason flashed him an enigmatic smile - a smile that was one reason why his gay friends had nicknamed Jason "Mona."
"FLEX FLEX FLEX FLEX FLEX" chanted the remaining guests, as the party was waning. In truth, Richard loved the attention. "Ok, ok. Just a little." He had worn a long sleeved shirt that night - a dark blue one - one Carol had given him for his birthday, and jeans. In the bedroom, where everyone had thrown their coats, he doffed that shirt, and said "This is a sequence I saw a champion body builder do once. I won't do it justice, but here we go."
If Richard wasn't doing the routine justice, you couldn't tell by the way his fans reacted. They "wooped" and yelled and hollered as he went through each and every position. Richard smiled as he was doing them. (One of his best features was his smile - the result of being the son of a dentist and a dental hygienist, and the "pressure" of social media), and the smile made people applaud more. One nickname that he had been given, on social media, was "the smiling cub."
Through the routine, Richard kept looking up, to see if Jason were watching. He wasn't. That disappointed him. "I guess I'm gonna miss out on another good one," he thought, as he finished up. Then when he was done, and the remaining guests were applauding, he saw Jason, standing outside the room, arms folded, expressionless. He stood there for a few minutes, and then walked back into the other rooms of his apartment.
Richard put his shirt back on, and went out, looking for Jason. He found him in the kitchen, picking up some plastic glasses and some paper plates. "Hey, can I help you with that?" Richard asked, flashing his smile. Jason smiled back. "No, but thank you for asking. I think I have it under control." He turned back to piling the trash into a huge bag. "Hey, I can take that out to the garbage if you want." Jason turned. "Again, no thank you. I know you're strong. At least that's what I'm told. But I've learned not to take on more than I can handle. When the bag is heavy enough, I'll start a new one. And tomorrow is Sunday, so I'll have plenty of time to clean up." He turned back around and tended to the remnants of the party.
"Hey, I feel like I must have offended you by what I did. I'm sorry. I should have asked permission." Jason smiled. "You didn't offend me. I'm not on social media, so I had not heard about your web page, or your nicknames or anything else. Someone told me that you probably would flex at some point during the night, and I should be ready for it. So I was. " He paused. "Surely you've heard the old expression from Roman times: just give the people bread and circuses."
Richard felt like he had just been insulted . "WOW. Bread and circuses. That's what you thought of my flexing?" Jason laughed. "To be honest, young man, what I thought of your flexing is not important. I didn't really see any of it until the end. " He sighed. "People need to take their entertainment where they find it. And they found it with you flexing. So be it. " Another pause. "You came here with Carol didn't you?" "Yes, I did. She told me that you had supervised her dissertation." "I did. Back in the days when thinking was more popular than it was now. She was probably the best student I ever had. She could be teaching at Harvard, or Yale, or some high powered school like that. " "Why does she teach where she does?" Jason smiled. "You'll have to ask HER that some day. Did you enjoy your time at the university?" "I did. I confess, I didn't take any of your classes, Professor." Jason laughed again. "Oh, THAT I know. I would have remembered you. There was more than one colleague of mine who wished that we didn't enforce the student teacher ban so strictly. " He paused. "And if you broke it, I really don't want to know. I have no interest in getting involved in that kind of thing."
He looked at Richard. "I may be wrong, but it looks like there's a stain, right at the bottom of your shirt. Did someone spill wine on it?" Richard looked. It DID look like a stain, but it was just sweat. " "Oh, no. You're going to see more stains show up any minute now. I sweat when I'm nervous." "You're nervous. Good heavens. Talking to ME makes you nervous?" Richard blushed "A little. " "WHY?" Jason seemed truly surprised. "Well... " and now Richard stammered and blushed. "I'm really used to people making me the center of attention, and wanting to look at my body, and all that, and you just weren't." "Did I say that?" Jason asked, and now Richard was really stumped. "Well, no, you didn't, but... you weren't in the room, and you weren't cheering." "Some of us prefer to keep our pleasures private, and to ourselves." "Remember Richard, I teach Victorian literature. Sometimes, I think I've taken up WAY too much of Victorian ways, but that's how I am. " He saw the puzzlement on Richard's face. "In other words, young man, if I wanted to see you pose, I would probably ask for you to give me a private show, after we had known each other a while. Not in a mass gathering of people, most of whom , let's face it, neither of us know." Jason's comments began to intrigue Richard. He was finding this man very interesting, and even more sexy than he had when he walked in. Jason's deep baritone didn't hurt. "Would you like a private show?" Jason laughed again. "You ARE quite the exhibitionist, aren't you? I think not Richard. I've known you for all of about 4 hours if you count the party start to finish, and about ten minutes if you count our time chatting here, which I will say I have enjoyed. But no, I think I will pass on the private show." Richard looked disappointed. "I wonder Jason. Did you hear me mutter under my breath when I came into your apartment?" "Oh yes, that WOOF sound you youngsters make. I thought I heard that. I'm flattered. I'm not used to attractive young men finding me attractive." Richard blushed some more. "I do Professor. " Then he took a leap. "I'd like to see you again, if I could. Maybe for coffee or a drink or something?" Jason smiled. "Tell you what Richard baby bear." "I heard someone say that's one of your nicknames on social media." "It is. Richard bear cub is the other one." "Hmmm. Bear cub. I like that. It DOES kind of suit you. Arrogant, but ultimately, quite at a loss as to how to behave with adults." Richard felt like he had been sort of insulted, but sort of called out. Jason was writing some information on the back of a card. "This is the card that the make all of us academicians use to introduce ourselves. I'm writing my personal information down on the back. Don't call me for three days, at the least. Give it some thought. And if you're still interested, maybe we can meet after I'm finished teaching one day, and have that coffee." He paused. "Promise me there won't be any flexing if we meet." Richard laughed. "That's the first time someone's asked me NOT to flex, Professor." "Well then you may need to reconsider some of the people you know. OH, I see Carol there. Is she your ride home?" "She is. " Carol came in. "Carol, my love." He embraced her. "Thank you so much for coming. It made me feel like there was at least ONE adult in the room." Carol laughed. "Oh, surely you thought Richard was an adult." "He told me he thinks of himself as a cub. Cubs are on their way to becoming adults, they're just not there yet." He smiled at Richard. "Am I right, young man?" For reasons he never quite understood, Richard answered "Yes sir." That seemed to please Jason. "Carol, give me a ring next week, if you would. We should sit to talk about that class we're planning to team teach. " He held out his hand to Richard. "Talk to this very wise woman on your ride home. She may have very good advise to you. " As he shook Richard's hand firmly, he smiled. "Such an absolute pleasure to meet you Richard. Best of luck with your endeavors."
In the car back, Carol asked "WELL?" "Oh, I don't know Carol. He's hot. He's a daddy. I suspect he's a top. And i want to jump his bones. But he seems to think I'm silly, or at least not serious about things. " "I saw him give you his card." "Yes, but he told me not to call him for three days." He pouted a bit. "He even insisted that I not flex for him." Carol laughed. "Oh, Richard. You think everyone just wants to see you show off that beautiful body of yours. That's not Jason's way. Not publicly anyway. " "What do I do, Carol? I feel like - well - I feel like there may be something but - I don't know, and I don't want to miss the chance." "Well... ok. I tell you what. Did you see the orchids around the house?" "I did. They were beautiful" "They're Jason's passion. If other men think of cars as their hobby, or obsess about things the way you obsess about the gym, that's how Jason is with orchids. Let's go out tomorrow and get him one that he's missing. He'll know you consulted with me, which will get you big points. " "You think that will work? " "Honestly, I don't know, sweetie. But it'll set you back about 70 bucks, max, and if you want this, isn't it worth it?" "You're right Carol, you're right."
The next day, Carol and Richard bought a polar bear orchid and had it sent to Jason. Richard included a note. "I'm not a polar bear - yet. Maybe I will be someday. It'd be nice to have someone showing me the best way to do it. And if not, thank you for a lovely party. Richard."
Charmed, Jason waited for the phone call from Richard.