"So, do you like the orchid?" "CAROL. So nice to hear from you. Earlier than I thought I would. Did you not sleep well last night?" "As a matter of fact, I didn't. I was wondering if you had called Richard, or pushed up your date , or anything like that." Jason laughed "No darling, I've done none of that. I couldn't even if I had wanted to. See, I gave Richard all of MY contact information, but he didn't leave me any of his." "Oh, I can take care of THAT problem, Jason." Again he laughed. "No, no. The next move is up to him." "You know Carol, it's been SO long since someone pursued ME, I don't quite know how to react." "Well, I'll let you in on a secret Jason, since you've probably figured it out already. Richard isn't used to doing the pursuing. He gets a lot of guys looking for a date." "Then why in the name of GOD is he after me?" "Well...... " Carol spoke slowly. "First of all, he likes older men, and there aren't a lot of older men who follow him on social media." "Fair enough." "AAAAAND.... I may be wrong about this, but I THINK that Richard is quite taken by someone who doesn't buy into his bullshit." "Oh, you mean about the posing and all that? It might be nice to see his body, but really..." "I know Jason, I know. You're not into the whole spectacle thing. It's probably why you became a Victorian." "Well, dear, you've done more than your share of setting things up and watching. That sounds like spectacle. Why did YOU become a Victorian?" "Maybe because I hate men, Jason." He laughed, hard. "OH CAROL. Wait. Wasn't that a pop song?" She sighed. "You're incorrigible. Look, do you want Richard's contact information, because if you do, I'll give it to you." "Noooooooooooooooo." Jason lengthened the answer, seductively. "If he wants people to call him out on his bullshit, then making him wait and calling me... is just the castor oil he needs." "Castor oil? Hmmm. Doesn't that clean you out?" "Have a wonderful day Carol. I will let you know if our cub calls me."
At work that day, Richard sat there with Jason's card in front of him. Did he like the orchid? Did he find it too forward? OH GOD, this was killing him. What if he called today? Jason had said three days. If he called ahead of time, would that kill things? GOD. He wanted to see Jason again. He didn't want to wait. What should he do? He called Carol.
"Professor Stallings speaking. How may I help you?" "Carol my love. It's Richard. And I'm love sick" She laughed. "Oh dear. That's a very Victorian term Richard. People toss themselves off of cliffs in my line of work when they're lovesick. Are you sure? You're not going to throw yourself off a cliff, are you Richard?" "CAROL. I'M GLAD YOU'RE AMUSED. I'M SITTING HERE STEWING OVER WHAT TO DO ABOUT JASON." "I thought that was decided. Didn't he tell you to wait three days before you called him?" "He did, but... I don't want to wait. What should I do?" "Well, young man, I can't tell you the answer. Jason is pretty set in his ways. He doesn't do anything without a good reason for it. So I'm sure he said three days for a reason. Of course, you don't HAVE to follow what he said, but then you have to ask if you want to risk everything by breaking his rule." "Damn! You're not helping Carol. Has he called you about me?" "No." "SHIT. I was hoping he had." "Richard, I'm hoping for a travel grant to get to England to do 'research' and I'm hoping to win the lottery so I can give up teaching. Emily Dickinson wrote "Hope is the thing with feathers." "What the hell does that mean, Carol?" "OH, Richard, you non literary types. Look up the bloody poem. Read it. Read it several times. Maybe you'll be inspired. Now, you have to excuse me. I have a class to teach." "I'm thinking about Jason and imagining he's on top of me." "Good bye Richard. Hope is the Thing with Feathers. Emily Dickinson." In fact, Carol's class wasn't for another three hours. She smiled at the conversation. She had tried to set up Jason before, and it hadn't worked. This one? Maybe.. Just maybe.
"Dr. Messer here. Good afternoon." "Jason? Is Messer your last name? This is Richard." A pause. A calculated pause. "OH YES. Richard. Richard from the party. Or, as I will now think of you, Richard of the Orchids. Thank you for that lovely specimen. I found a spot in my bedroom for it, so I see it when I wake up, and when I go to bed." Jason groaned internally at the lack of subtlety in that line. Then again, his students seemed to lack subtlety and this big handsome lug, with his public posing..." "He put it in his bedroom" Richard thought, and he smiled. He held his phone with one hand, and adjusted his jeans with the other. "I'm really glad you liked it. Carol helped me pick it out. " "Of course she did" thought Jason. "You wouldn't have thought of it yourself." He said none of that. "So Richard, I'm surprised to hear from you so soon. But then again, I was surprised to receive your gift so soon." Well, Jason.... I hope this isn't too forward, but... I can't stop thinking about you. I mean, you seem so interesting." Jason laughed. "When I was growing up, Richard, people who were 'interesting' were the ugly ones." "NO NO NO NO NO. I didn't mean that. I mean, I mean... " "OH SHIT I'm babbling like a boy. " he thought. "I mean, I think you're handsome, but... well, there are a lot of handsome people out there, but not a lot that are interesting. " "Hmmm. Good save" thought Jason. "Well, thank you young man, but I hope you aren't spending TOO much time thinking about me." "Well, I am Sir. I am. I'm afraid I'm not good at this, but... I'd like to see you again. Maybe coffee?" "At least he doesn't try to push things" thought Jason. "That's a plus." "I think coffee sounds splendid Richard. Scheduling... well.... I have two lecture classes today. Tomorrow, I meet with graduate students all day - it's a long day. But then, on Wednesday, my only class is my seminar. It ends at 6. Of course, if earlier in the day would suit you, we could meet earlier." "Uh, uh. No. No. Could I maybe, well, could I meet you at your classroom? I may even learn something by standing outside." Jason laughed. "Then you'd be the first person who did in all the years I've been teaching. Joking. Just joking Richard. I've had some wonderful students, Carol included. My seminar room is Faulker 312. I know you attended this august institution , so you'll know Faulkner Hall." "I do. I do indeed Professor." "OH STOP THAT RICHARD. I'm not calling you Mister. Please call me Jason." He paused, thinking "until we get to "Sir" or "Master," if we get there. "Ok, great. 6 tomorrow. Lovely. Wonderful. Thank you Professor - I mean Jason. Thank you, thank you." "It's coffee Richard. I haven't bestowed a PhD on you or anything like that." "You're right Sir. You're right." "Hmmm. There's the word. Jason thought. If he's as cute one on one as he is in a group..." Wednesday afternoon, then, Richard. See you then." "Have a good day Sir." He said it again, and Jason smiled.
As he got off the phone, Richard started thinking "OH SHIT. Now I have to decide what to wear. OH GOD. What have I done?" He thought "well, I'm not gonna get any work done today, so..." And he redialed Carol. "Carol Stallings" "HE SAID YES HE SAID YES. WE HAVE A DATE!" Carol started laughing "Well, congratulations. You sound surprised. " "I am. Carol, I think I must have sounded like a total idiot. But he agreed to have coffee on Wednesday." "Oh, he'll need it. You must be meeting right after , as he puts it 'my weekly two hours with the next generation of geniuses', before he snorts." "Is that his seminar? Cause I'm meeting him there." "Well that's great." CAROL, IT'S TERRIBLE. I NEED YOUR HELP. I DON'T GO OUT ON DATES A LOT." "Well, neither does Jason. Don't expect anything, and don't push. AND DON'T FLEX FOR HIM." "Carol, if I don't flex, what will I have to talk about?" "She laughed. I think you'll be surprised Richard. And if you can't think of anything, trust me. All those years as a professor? Jason is a GOOD talker." "Ok, fair. Now , serious question: what do I wear?" Carol laughed so hard Richard had to put the phone away from her ear. "Oh, Richard, we are repeating a conversation every two best girlfriends has had at least a dozen times. Maybe this will help. Jason is meeting you after work. You're going to work. So wear your work clothes.
DON'T do something silly like get a T shirt saying 'professors are hot' or something like that." "CAROL! Do you think I'm that ... " He never got to finish. "One thing Jason is VERY good at, is determining when someone is fake, or putting on airs, or anything like that. Be yourself. You dress well. And be yourself. I'm serious Richard. He never saw you flex, he doesn't know about your social media stardom, he doesn't care. Listen sugar, Mom's got to get ready for class now. Have a good time. OH. Do Momma a favor: if you decide you want to pack an overnight bag anyway, tell him it's your bag from the gym. And MAKE sure there's something gym like on the top." "GOOD TIP. GOOD TIP. Thanks mom."
Richard felt better after the talk. He got back to work, actually got something accomplished, and then had a good workout. After he got home, he was tempted to call Jason, but didn't. Instead, he got into bed, and jerked off, imagining Jason on top of him and in him.
Jason had one graduate student who was 33 years old - nearly the same age as Richard. Brandon was finishing up his dissertation, and his defense was six months from now. At their weekly meetings, at this point, much of what Jason did was hand holding. Brandon had a job at a good university: a good starting job as a lecturer, but it was contingent on defending the dissertation. As he had his weekly session with Brandon, assuring him everything was going to be fine, he kept on thinking about Richard. He didn't know his last name, he didn't know anything about him on social media. All he knew was that there was about 25 years between them, and that he hadn't felt that "spark" for about 20 years. What if they weren't compatible sexually? Well, it wouldn't be the first time? What if Richard found him boring, or vice versa? Again, it wouldn't be the first time. BUT... this was the first time one of the young men he favored, had actually asked a friend how to approach him, had sent him flowers, and clearly was trying not to use that awful slang the kids did. Was he a man in a boy's disguise? Jason had heard the terms "bears" and "cubs" before. He had been told he was too thin to be a bear himself, but friends told him the kind of guy he liked was called a "cub," or sometimes, an "otter." Jason laughed as he thought about the animal imagery. He wondered if there was a dissertation for someone locked up in animal representation of characters in fiction. Probably, but he had enough on his hands now. "Professor, did I say something amusing? You're smiling?" Brandon looked at him like an acolyte at an altar. "OH, I'm sorry Brandon. My fault. My fault. I was reminiscing. I was just thinking about my past, and defending my own dissertation. " He paused. "Yes Brandon, I wrote it on clay tablets."
Richard spent another day stewing, going through his closet, thinking of clever ideas to say, and googling Jason's name. "My future boyfriend is VERY impressive," Richard said to no one in his apartment. He saw the list of grants, and awards Jason had won. He didn't really understand what his specialty was. His dissertation "Metaphorical enclosures, prisons, and restraints in early Victorian literature" didn't make much sense to Richard. Maybe he could ask about that? He sucked in his stomach. He was wearing a dress shirt, and like all of his dress shirts, it was tight. Richard was convinced he had a belly, and by putting on something tight, he would pull in his gut, and somehow make the muscles stronger. It didn't seem to be working, probably because he didn't have a belly. Still, Richard had a good eye for clothes that suited him. But picking what to wear for Jason... It had taken another call to Carol, who while amused, was clearly getting tired of it.
"Ok, I'm not coming over to pick your outfit. And I DID hear the 'Mom' at the end. I was not amused. I AM NOT THAT OLD" "I"m sorry Carol. It didn't have to do with age, it just had to do with wisdom." She took a breath. "Since we ALL know why you called, don't use that line with Jason." "OOPS. Ok. So, I still can't decide what to wear. I mean, I know what you said, but.." "Ok, Let's go through some questions. Were you thinking of wearing a necktie." "Uh yeah." "When was the last time you wore a necktie to work?" "The annual meeting. Last year." "Don't wear a tie. How often do you wear jeans?" "Nearly every day. Unless all my jeans are dirty." "Are all your jeans dirty?" "No." "Wear jeans." She sighed. "Put on a clean shirt, one that shows off your body, especially your arms - short sleeves maybe? and jeans. Trust me darlin' Jason is going to look professorial. He can't help it. " She snorted. I think he was born wearing a tweed jacket. "
On Wednesday, between 4 and 5:30, Richard probably peed 12 times. He was nervous. He had on a pair of jeans - not his tightest, but not his loosest, and a charcoal grey Lauren polo shirt. It hugged his arms, and his biceps showed. When he looked in the mirror, he wondered if it showed his nipples too obviously. One of the images that had come up in his head, about a million times, was Jason playing with his nipples. GOD, did he want that. "It's not subtle, but..." At 5:30 , he took a deep breath, whispered "what the hell am I doing?" And drove off to the university."
He got to Faulkner Hall at about 5:50. He found Jason's classroom. The door was closed, but he could hear the rich baritone. It seemed he was examining a student, because there was banter, back and forth, and occasionally, a new voice joined them. "OK, that's all we're going to have time for today, class. Now, the next assignment is a big one. It's about 450 pages, " Richard heard the groans. "It's essential. You really need to know this one to be Victorians. So, what can I say? Give up a few parties, divided 450 by 6, and read that many pages a day. I guarantee you, you'll be thrilled. There's lots of sex in this one. Well, Victorian sex, so look for it. " There was laughter, a bell, and then the kids came streaming out. Jason was at the podium organizing his notes. He didn't look up. Richard, feeling the blood running to his face, walked in.
"Jason? Hi." Jason looked up, and smiled. "OH JASON. YOU'VE COME. HOW NICE. I'M SO GLAD TO SEE YOU.' He came over and shook Richard's hand, and put his other hand on the young man's shoulder. Richard nearly melted. He could feel Jason looking at him up and down. "I'm so glad you didn't do something silly like wear a suit, or some gymnastics outfit, or whatever. " Then the question that made Richard really blush. "Are you sure it's ok for your boyfriend, or husband, to be out with me." "Oh, no Sir. I don't have any of those." "Ha ha. Well, neither do I. But I DO have a craving for a really good cappuccino. There's a place two blocks from campus. Shouldn't be too crowded now as the darlings visit their eating troughs. Shall we? "
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The coffee WAS good at Emilio's. And Jason made marvelous conversation. He spoke very little about himself, but asked Richard about his job, his gym routine, his time at the university, everything. "So you spent a year and a half overseas? Belgium, Portugal, and... did you say Corsica?" "Yes Sir, I did. I was trying to open markets in countries we hadn't tapped already." Jason was quite enchanted with how this man used Sir so often. In his own dreams about this meeting, Richard saying "Yes Sir" and "Please Sir" had come up frequently.
"I had an idea, Richard. Please reject it if you don't care for it. I've heard you talk about your social media account, and your presence, and all that stuff. I have a computer, but I know NOTHING about these things. If you wouldn't find it too forward, perhaps you could show me how to be a part of this "social media" thing. You could even visit Cubby."
"Cubby?" Jason smiled. "I named the orchid you sent me. I heard you refer to yourself as a bear cub that night, and I looked it up. Yes, it suits you. And since the orchid is from you, well, I gave it a name."
Somehow, that charmed Richard more than anything else he had heard in years. The man named his orchids!
"I'd love to show you my account Sir. "
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Richard had driven to the university, but they walked the ten blocks back to Jason's house. It may have been Richard's imagination, or it may have been real, but he could have sworn that Jason's fingers grazed his hand more than once. "I DO like the shirt you're wearing Richard. I think the color suits you. " "Oh. Thank you Sir." Jason smiled "And you know, I didn't think I would favor jeans as office attire when it became the thing. And I'm still not sure about it generally. But when they fit well, and look clean, " he sighed. "I guess I'm too wrapped up in images from too much fiction. But anyway, yes, here we are, at the scene of the crime so to speak."
He opened the door, and Richard saw a much cleaner, much more organized house than at the party.
"Please make yourself at home Richard. Use the facilities if you have to. I think we both drank about a quart of coffee and then that walk. I'm just going to pour some wine."
When they had each come back from one of two of Jason's bathrooms, he had poured some wine into two glasses. "Now, maybe a little toast, young man. To beginnings." "To beginnings." Richard smiled. He caught Jason's eye, and he felt the strong, strong gaze. Again, he began to melt, and harden, at the same time.
"Now, let me turn this thing on. And then, as they say "you drive Richard. Bring us to your account." Richard took a swallow of his wine. He of course knew his account was filled with shirtless photos. How was Jason going to react.?
He logged onto instagram - it took a while, since Jason didn't have an account - and brought up his page. "Well, here we are." Jason smiled. "OH my goodness. You certainly have the collection, don't you... How long have you been keeping it?" "For three years Sir. See, I started as wanting a visual record, because...." He went all the way back to the beginning, before he had started working out very seriously. "OH MY. What a different person. But still the same." Jason said. "You think so? How so Sir?" "Well, there's no question. Your physique has improved immensely. But your eyes, your smile. That adorable nose of yours. That sense of wonder on your face. All still there." Richard felt his heart bursting. On every date he had been on - and it had been a while - the first thing the other guy had said was some variation of "GEEZ, you've got guns" or "WOW. Look at that chest."
Jason had looked at his face. "Oh yes. You smile in every photo. You clearly love what you're doing. But... why are so many of them bare chested? I mean, you have a beautiful chest, Richard, but you wear clothes so well. " He looked up. "You're a very handsome man, Richard. And you have lips that beg to be kissed." Richard saw the opening. "Well?" Jason leaned in and kissed him. It wasn't quite chaste, and it wasn't quite a romantic kiss, but it was lovely. In the middle of the kiss, he felt Jason's hand wrap around his shoulders. When the kiss was over, Richard smiled, and dropped his head on Jason's shoulder. "I've been thinking about our first kiss since the weekend." Jason chuckled. "Me too young man, me too. Try again?" "Yes sir." This kiss was more than a chaste one, and Richard parted his lips a little. Jason took the opening this time, and his tongue went into Jason's mouth. Jason's eyes were closed, savoring the kiss, so he didn't see Jason bring his hands up, but he felt the thumbs running back and forth on his nipples. He sighed. "OH, I LOVE how that feels, Sir. Please a little more. " Jason smiled. "A little more tonight. I think I was unprepared for this, Richard. But just a little more." "Can I make a suggestion Sir? " "Sure. go ahead." "I'm not asking to spend the night, or for anything very serious tonight, but... can we go to your bedroom? I'd like to feel you on top of me." Jason smiled. "No flexing ok?" "No flexing Sir." In the bedroom, Richard laid himself down on Jason's bed, and Jason untied his shoes, and then got up on Richard. To Richard, he felt sturdy. Not heavy, and not light, but heavy. He felt like Jason could control him with just a finger. And in fact, he could. Again, he kissed Richard, and again, his fingers found his nipples. In this position, with his nipples played with, Richard was helpless. "GOD SIR. You could do anything you want right now." Richard laughed. "Well, I'll keep that in mind for next time. " He paused. "Oh, dear, that was presumptuous. I assumed..." "No, you read me Sir. Reading me wasn't hard, but I am.." He blushed at his bad joke. "I'm going to say a lot of crude things, Sir. I'll apologize right now. " Jason smiled, and ran his hand through Richard's hair. He kissed him again. "I like your sense of humor Richard. Remember, I deal with dry, dead people every day. There's life in you that is SO refreshing. Let me just ask you: are you ready for a relationship with an older man like me?" "Let me answer this way Sir." Richard pushed his head up and kissed Jason, hard. "Yes, I'm ready. And I don't want to leave tonight, but I'll respect your decision if you say that we'll save it for another time." Jason sighed. "Oh, my. This is not what I expected. " He looked at Richard's bag. "You wouldn't happen to have a change of clothes in there, young man?" "I do Sir." "Ha ha. That's awfully confident." "I was going to tell you it was filled with my gym clothes. " "Well, I'll tell you what Richard. Coffee doesn't make a meal, and Emilio's is not the place for food. If you don't mind a walk again, five blocks from here, there's a French restaurant where I'm a regular. Usually with Carol. If that kind of food fits into your gym diet." "I'll make it fit Sir." "Let's discuss sleeping arrangements over dinner, how's that?" "I get to spend more time with you Jason. That's all I want."
On the walk to the restaurant, there was no question. Jason took Richard's hand and held it. Richard felt like a school girl on her first date. And he spent the night. You couldn't say that they fucked that night, but they did make love.
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There's more to come in this story readers. Let me know if you like it.