Nick checked his shirt one more time: it was just about impossible to keep a server's white shirt immaculate, but he had a couple that had escaped kitchen and dining room accidents. The one he had one was the one that fit closer to his body: it was Wednesday and his regular, Joe Cooper, would be coming in. He never missed a Wednesday, and he always asked for Nick's section. Nick was happy to take care of him: Joe was pleasant, patient, and an excellent tipper. He never tipped less than 40% of his final bill, and as Nick learned, that wasn't just because of Nick: Mr. Cooper had worked in the service industry some 20 years ago, and he "got it." No, Nick wasn't dressing the way he was because of the tipping. He had a couple of things to talk about with Mr. Cooper and, truth to be told, he had what he called a "schoolboy crush" on Joe Cooper. It was something that had never happened.
Nick also had to make arrangements for coming to Cooper's house to continue the odd jobs he was doing for off the books money. He also had to make a decision: Nick picked up the butt plug that was sitting on his dresser, and rolled it in his hand: Mr. Cooper had said he could keep it, or return it, and if he wanted to, discuss "what's next." Nick wanted to discuss "what's next?" He wasn't sure about returning the plug.
He gathered his hair together, and tied it in a pony tail. Cooper had told him that he liked Nick's hair better when it was loose, but restaurant regulations meant he had to do the pony tail. Nick kept his hair long in honor of a brother- his older brother - who had died unexpectedly when Nick was not more than 15 years old. Nick idolized Mikey, and now, about 15 years later (just a few less), he tried to remember Mikey - whom he did resemble - with the hair.
Like his older brother, Nick was confused about his sexuality. He had dated women, but he thought about men, constantly. He hadn't dated any men because, well, he wasn't sure what he liked. He THOUGHT he had a "type," but then, Ben Cooper started eating at the restaurant and everything went out the window.
Nick had not planned to be a server. He had studied to be a masseur, and then got a license and started his own business. That was before the Pandemic. His business dried up completely, and he managed to make ends meet by taking a second mortgage on the house his parents had left him, and by living frugally. Now that things were opening up again, Nick wasn't sure he wanted to try the risk of a new business again. He had read that the service industry was struggling because people weren't coming back to work. He didn't cook well enough to go on the line, but a friend of his had told him that her restaurant was desperate for the help. She wanted to know if Nick were interested, and he was. Heather put in a good word for Nick at the restaurant, the manager called him in for an interview, and started him on the lunch schedule. Conscientious, attractive, and well spoken, when a spot opened up for the evening shift, the manager offered it to Nick. He grabbed it: better pay, better tips, and if there was a brunch spot opened (THAT's where the money was), Nick was always available to fill in. Hell, he didn't have any relationships, and that second mortgage, with its interest, was growing. He remembered the first day he met Mr. Cooper. Apparently, he had been a regular at the restaurant long before Nick had started there. He knew Heather, and he knew Rock, the name everyone called the Manager. One especially busy night, just after Nick had started, Rock asked him:
"Joe, I know you have your favorites but Sam": he pointed to a section of the restaurant where a thin, dark server was working "is slammed tonight. We have a new guy, maybe you can try him? His name is Nick. If he's not to your liking, I'll comp your dinner." Joe liked Sam because he was a good worker, took good care of him, and that was all. He had no attractions to him, but he liked to be pampered when he ate out. Joe was single himself. No relationships, and a successful 38 year old lawyer. Unlike Nick, his mortgage was paid off, and he had no question about his sexual attraction: he liked men. He looked at Nick, and figured that there was no chance of crushing on him: Joe was not a fan of long hair on men, and Nick seemed too thin for him: Joe liked stockier guys, like Rock who lived up to his name. Joe smiled. "It's good to try new things. I'll let you know what I think." Rock had a hostess bring Joe to a table, and Nick came over right away. "Good evening Mr. Cooper. I'm Nick and I'll keep quiet the rest of the night. I just wanted to let you know I'll be taking care of you, and please do not hesitate to let me know if you need anything." Joe smiled. "Thank you Nick. What's special here tonight?" Nick had his opinions, but he had been trained not to express them. He went through the list with Cooper. When he was finished, he put his hands behind his back to wait for Cooper's order. Joe smiled. "You really don't like the spanakopita, do you Nick? " Nick blushed. He didn't: he thought it was overpriced for the portion and that it was salty, but he didn't say anything to Joe. "Uh, no, Mr. Cooper I don't. How did you know?" Joe laughed. "It's your hair Nick. As you described the items, your tail swayed either to the right or to the left. It went to the left when you mentioned the spanakopita, and most people look to the left when they're trying to signal something without saying it." Nick laughed. "That's amazing. Ok, I shouldn't be standing here like this, but: what are my favorites?" Joe smiled back: "The vegetable soup, the octopus, and the honey cake. And if I'm right, that's what I'll have." Nick pulled out his pad. "Perfect score Sir, coming up." That's how they met. And that's how Joe moved his allegiance from Sam to Nick. To keep the peace between everyone, Joe would make sure to tuck a 10 dollar bill into Sam's apron before he left. Nick saw him do that, and also saw that if Joe's check were 80 bucks, he left Nick 30-35. Always in cash, rather than on the bill. One time, Nick saw that Joe had taken a book with him to dinner. "Mr Cooper, can I ask what you're reading?" "Oh, Nick. Nothing a young man like you would be interested in. I'm reliving my youth: the books I was supposed to read in college that I either didn't or didn't read carefully: this is 'Antigone'. Joe knew Nick's first name. He didn't know he was Greek. Nor did he know that Nick could recite sections of many of the Greek classics by heart. Nick recited the first lines of Antigone's last solliloquy. "WOW. I'm impressed Nicholas." Nick laughed. "Please. It's nothing that 8 years of Greek school won't give you. Please don't take this the wrong way, Mr. Cooper, but it's Nicklaus. My mother was German, so we had to get something Teutonic into the name." "Ha ha. Families. Can't live with them, can't shoot them either. But thank you for that .... NICKLAUS. .. Maybe I'll get the original and ask you to recite sometime?" Cooper wasn't serious, but Nick blushed anyway.
Friendships have developed over much less than this. Rock saw it happening and as long as Nick kept pace with his work, which he did, he had no problem with it. Joe was one of their most loyal customers: in every week at least once, for at least the last six years. He didn't want to spoil anything. Unfortunately, it IS the restaurant business, and one of the other servers did. Marnie: she wanted to get her clutches into Nick and she, like everyone else, did not know whether he preferred men or women.
"Best keep your distance from that creepy Cooper guy," Nick. She told him once, before service. The other servers rolled their eyes. "Why? He's a very nice man." "He's queer as a three dollar bill, and I've seen him check out your ass." Nick laughed. "Well, he's welcome to check it out anytime he wants. He's never made a pass at me, and .. let me tell you Marn, if it got me another ten bucks, I'd bend over and let him look as long as he liked." It was the mortgage. It was of the balloon type, and the big payment was looming: not immediately, but soon. Nick had no idea how he was going to pay for it. So, yes, if a bend to pick up a pen got him a bigger tip, he'd do it. Nick could usually keep his personal life separate from work, but one Wednesday, the mortgage bill arrived just before he left for work. Foolishly, he had opened it and saw the number. The payments were getting larger, and this one... this one was the first one that had four digits before the decimal. "I'm fucked," thought Nick. He knew how much money was in his bank account, he knew what he'd be earning: it wasn't going to cover things. He could ask Rock for more shifts, but he didn't have seniority at the restaurant. Others would get them before he did. "Methinks the wine dark sea is cloudy tonight, Nick." Joe said when Nick brought over his menu that night. "Oh. Sorry Mr. Cooper. Just stuff on my mind. I'm okay. You feeling your usual white tonight? Half a bottle?" Joe looked at Nick. "Actually, I'd like to save that until later Nick. Your ponytail shifted to the left so you're lying to me. How about we share that half bottle at closing time? I may not be able to help, but I can always give advice." Nick felt uncertain. He remembered what Marnie had told him. Was this a come on? "I... I... " Joe smiled. "Nick, tell you what. Bring me the wine, but first let me tell you what I think is going on. For folks your age, it's always money and not having enough of it. I'm renovating my home, and I've got tons of odd jobs that need to be done. It's not pretty work, but I pay 25 an hour to anyone willing to do it. If you are..." he handed Nick a business card. "That's my office. Give me a call. Now, about tonight. I think I'd like the fish and..."
Two days later, Nick gave Cooper a call. He had thought it through, and if he didn't like the job, he could say no. Joe would probably figure out why, but.. it was a risk he had to take. "Mr. Cooper, it's Nick Melos from the restaurant." "NICK! I'm so glad to hear from you. Geez, I realized after I spoke to you that I probably spooked you into thinking I was after your ass or something like that. Did you think that?" Nick gulped. "No Sir. Not at all." Cooper began to laugh. "I bet your ponytail is pointing straight out to the left." Now Nick laughed. "No Sir, it's not. When I'm not at work, I leave it loose. " "I leave it loose." Joe hadn't meant to, but he had checked out Nick's body more than once at the restaurant. It was not blocky, but it was tight, muscled, the kind of body that a masseur would have (Nick had told him about that career one night in a quick chat). He had never seen Nick's hair loose. When he blinked, Cooper saw Joe, with unbound hair, lying on a pillow in his bed. His hair was untied, but the rest of him wasn't. His hand moved down to his crotch. Joe wasn't the only one with mixed feelings. Nick had thought about "what if?" since Marnie had put the thought in his head. Cooper wasn't bad looking, but he wasn't great looking either. He looked like someone who lifted a couple times a week, but then ate a container of ice cream in front of the TV (not far from the truth). But his kindness, his sweet demeanor... it was very alluring. Nick began wondering if Joe liked men with long hair. "How about we meet up on Sunday afternoon? No promises, no nothing, just take a look at the job and then we'll decide. Does that work for you?" "Sure does Mr. Cooper." "Terrific. By the way Nick. If you work for me, I'm Joe, not Mr. Cooper. Restaurant policy is what it is, but here, I'm Joe." Nick smiled. "Thanks for telling me. Joe, I'll see you Sunday afternoon." After the call, each of them went to a bathroom to jerk off.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Nick's car got the job done, but it wasn't anything special. He drove up to Joe's house at 2:30 that Sunday. Joe heard the car, and came to the door. He was dressed more casually than he was when he came to the restaurant (he usually came directly from the office), and Nick realized he was at least partly wrong when he saw Joe's arms through the rolled up sleeves. They were hairy too. Like Mikey's. "He IS pretty, that's for sure," Joe thought to himself. Nick had not worn the pony tail. He had on worn jeans, a white t shirt and a denim work shirt that was opened over the t shirt. "very, VERY pretty." "Hey Nick." Joe held out his hand. "Decided to face Scylla and Charybdis, huh?" Nick laughed. "You know your stuff Sir. I'm sorry Joe." We'll work out nomenclature later, Nick, but now, take a look. It's a pretty big house: an inheritance. And it's a mess. BY THE GODS it's a mess! " He laughed. "Sometimes, I think Zeus took a lightning bolt to it before I moved in... but I digress. Let's take a walk through the first floor and the basement. That's where you'd start." By the end of the tour, Joe and Nick had agreed: Nick would work at the house when he could. He'd give Joe advanced notice and if it worked for Cooper, he'd leave the housekeys so that Nick could go about his work.
And so, it started. When Nick wasn't at the restaurant, he'd go over to Cooper's. Joe had been right. It WAS a disaster. There was old carpeting to get ripped up, plastering to get done, painting, you name it. There wasn't any air conditioning in the basement, and it was hot. Nick usually stripped down to his jeans when he was working: there wasn't anyone else in the house, so....
Then there was that afternoon when Joe decided to take a few hours off from his office and go home early. He knew Nick was working that afternoon, but Nick had certainly been busy, thorough, and fair in his billing. He didn't expect to find anything untoward at the house. He didn't. But he did find a shirtless Nick carrying trash out to the curb. Joe beeped so Nick wasn't startled. "OH. Mr. Cooper. I didn't expect you. Let me go..." "NICK, don't be ridiculous. You don't have anything I haven't seen before (except a gorgeous, hairless body" Joe thought). "I can leave if you want. I don't want to disturb your day, Sir." "OH DON'T BE SILLY. I'm the one disturbing YOUR day. I'll go and hide in my study. You won't even know I'm here. " "Well, " Nick smiled. "If you don't mind a smelly, dirty Greek in your study, I can recite some of whatever you're reading if you have a facing translation." "GOD I hope he doesn't think that was a pick up line. It was AWFUL." Nick thought. "If that was a pick up line, it was the cutest way anyone ever asked me if I wanted to do Greek," Joe thought. Joe smiled. "I think I'd like that. My studio is on the second floor. Feel free to come up. I do ask that you leave your boots down here if you visit."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx An hour and a half later, a barefoot Nick made his way up the stairs. Joe hadn't told him WHICH room was the studio, and he was a little lost. He saw a door that was ajar, and he walked in. It wasn't the studio but... Erotic art covered the walls, much of it showing bondage, or other rougher forms of sex. Cowboys. Sailors. Dancers. Nick saw that the bed had leather cuffs at each corner. He saw different sex toys on the bedside table. He recognized handcuffs, and vibrators, but the rest... he was clueless. And mesmerized. "Nick! I thought I heard you come up and, when your footsteps stopped, I...." Joe saw Nick redden. He took a breath. "If you'd like to leave, Nick, please feel free. No, we never discussed this because there wasn't a need to and... if you're uncomfortable, you wouldn't be the first. " "No, no, Joe. I mean Mr. Cooper. I mean... " Nick shook his head and his hair flew from side to side. "I didn't .. I mean.. I've never seen anything like this and...." "And you're not getting anything from anyone, and it's all a blur to you." After a pause, Nick answered "Yeah, I guess you could say that." Joe looked away, his hands thrust into his pockets. "I'd be lying if I said I've never dreamt about you being in this bed, Nick." "And I'd be lying if I said I've never thought about what you'd be like in bed..." and then Nick showed his hand "Mr. Cooper Sir." Joe had been through this before. It was like having a fish slightly on the hook, but the hook hadn't completely set. "I'll tell you what, Nick. Let's take this up at another time very soon, because this isn't the place, and you're about to flood with emotion. So am I. " He smiled at Nick. "Sound good to you, young man?" "Yes sir" Nick took the position he did when he was waiting for an order in the restaurant. Joe laughed. "you know, there's an old saying amongst gays of my generation. Let your boy grow his hair because it lets you control him when he's blowing you." Nick blushed. "I've said too much" "No Sir, No. I've actually been asked pretty much if that's why it's that long." "Well, I know that's not the reason. What is?" "It's... it's a little personal Sir. Another time?" "Agreed Nick. Now... if I can be so bold, I want to lend you something." Joe went over to the bedside table. He picked up a short, thick object. It looked like a pyramid to Nick. "This is what's called a butt plug, Nick. Take it, and this tube of lubricant. You can find videos on youtube on what to do. This isn't the same - it's not nearly the same as being in someone's arms in bed, but " Joe laughed "in a pinch, it'll do. Think of it as the gateway drug to anal sex. Play with it. Let me know when you're done. If you like it, we'll move to more involved stuff. For now.... " He looked at Nick. This is VERY VERY forward of me but..." he came up and kissed Nick on the lips. Nick closed his eyes, and opened his mouth for Joe's tongue. "WOW. You're a great kisser Sir." Joe smiled. "I'm pretty good at other things. Maybe you'll find out. But for now, young man, you best get home and get some rest. You have a shift tomorrow and I fully intend to be served by my favorite waiter. " Stay here for a minute, Nick. I want to get your money for the week." Joe excused himself to go back to the studio. When he came back, he found Nick holding the hancuffs. "Next time Nicklaus. Next time. If you want to come back. It's not like the house of the Witch in Hansel and Gretel. I promise." Nick laughed. "I never recited the Greek for you." "I don't think I could handle it today, Nick. I'm a little flooded right now. When my day started, I didn't think I'd be kissing a handsome young Greek in my bedroom while we talked about sex play. " "Can you handle a second one, Sir? Please, can you try?" Nick put his hands behind his back and Joe held the there as he kissed him. "Nick, you're hard. You're very hard." "I know Sir. I know. " "Take off your jeans. Get on the bed. You need a bit more of a lesson. "But I'm.. I'm filthy Sir." "It's dust. It washes off. Get your pants off and get on the bed." "Yes sir." Nick was scared. What was Joe going to do? "I said butt plugs are the gateway drug to anal sex. Well.. hand jobs are probably the gateway to something else." Joe lay down on the bed and began to stroke Nick's cock. Nick began to moan, and when Joe whispered "next time, we'll do t his with you tied down" into his ear, he spasmed, and started shooting cum. "I... I... guess I'm gay," Nick said. Joe laughed. "I guess you like a good handjob. There isn't a man who doesn't." He kissed Nick's forehead. "Let's check in during the week, okay sweet stuff?" "Ok Sir. Thank you. Thank you for everything. "
And that's how it started. Nick DID use the butt plug for a week. Then he called Joe. "Hi Mr. Cooper." He got the answering machine. "It's Nick here. Can we meet up so I can return the butt plug? And I'm wondering if you have something more advanced."
TO BE CONTINUED