I was born and raised in a countryside neighborhood and still live here, working at a coffee shop in town. Most of us know each other so if there’s a new face, it’s easily recognizable. In the coffee shop, I knew most of the customers because we live in the same neighborhood.
One day, a customer I hadn’t seen before came in. He ordered a regular coffee and cinnamon rolls. He came back two days later and after that, he started coming in often. There were also other new customers but he was the only one who caught my attention. I started to get acquainted with him because he came in so often. He was working as a contract forest ranger for six months in our neighborhood.
After two months, we got to know each other better. I wanted to go out with him so I started thinking of ways to make that happen. If he was the only one ordering and there were no customers in line, I would usually talk with him longer. Talking about places in our neighborhood that I hoped he would like to visit.
There aren’t any special landmarks in our neighborhood. Like most places, we just have the usual waterfalls, mountains for hiking and typical countryside views. Nothing special. These places are rarely visited and often empty. These places are not regulated but they are safe for swimming, hiking and other activities.
One day, we talked about one of the waterfalls. In our conversation, I wasn’t just talking about the waterfall, I was also slowly trying to convince him to visit it with me. I was able to convince him. We went there on Sunday, our day off. That was the start of us going out often, just the two of us.
He usually talked to me like straight men talk to their straight male friends. He talked about girls and other topics that interest straight men. I would react and say whatever came to my mind, smiling all the while. As we continued to go out on Sundays, I became more attracted to him and wanted to express my feelings but I wasn’t sure how he would react.
I had met a man before and we also went out often. When we got to know each other better, I told him my feelings but afterward, he distanced himself a bit from me. I guess he prefers straight male friends instead of gay men because of their interests or hobbies. I didn’t want to experience that again with the forest ranger so I kept my feelings to myself and continued the friendship we had started.
I enjoyed hiking with him in the mountains, swimming with him in the river and doing other activities that we could enjoy in the countryside. Every time we swam in the river or the lake near the waterfall or when he took off his t-shirt while sweating during our hikes, I would glance at his body hoping he wouldn’t notice. There were times when he preferred to remove all his clothes when we swam. I wanted to place my palm on his chest, abs, butt and other parts of his body and touch his package but I controlled myself. I would steal glances trying not to get caught.
Even though I didn’t express my feelings and we didn’t have anything romantic or intimate, I cherished our friendship and enjoyed seeing those parts of his body until his contract ended and even now. We still met but only a few times during his break because of the distance from where he was working. He likes the tranquility of the countryside.
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