“How do you feel about going on a date with me in public?” Will asked Alex the Monday after their second “date.” So far, both of their dates had taken place at Will’s house after Alex had mowed his yard.

“We haven’t even been to lunch together since our – situation changed,” Alex countered. “I mean, don’t most people start with something simple like coffee or lunch as a first real date?”

“Most couples don’t shower and jack off together before their first real date,” the older man argued.

“That’s true, of course. But, what I mean is that we barely see or speak to each other between Sunday and Friday or Saturday,” Alex explained. “It might be nice to spend a little more time developing or growing our relationship.”

Will was silent for a quick heartbeat.

“So, you want me to woo you or court you?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Alex shrugged. “I just – I get the feeling you’re really looking for more than just a little fun on the weekends, something more substantial. And, if that’s the case, then we should work through this like any other couple might. I mean, if you want to be more than friends, maybe we do need to work towards that instead of just expecting it to happen automatically just because we’re naked.”

“I wish I could kiss you right now,” Will said.

Alex’s eyes went wide.

“You just described everything I’ve been wanting since I first laid eyes on you,” he said. “I – Yes! Absolutely! I want to court you and date you and take you to prom and whatever else old people do when they find new love! This is exactly what I want! We can go to lunch, get coffee, go to the movies. Hell! If we had a drive-in in town, I’d make out with you in the back seat! You name it! I want all the cliche, high school dating stuff! Please and thank you!”

“OK,” Alex replied slowly. “So, how about lunch today?”

“I’d love to take you to the pizza place across the street in full view of all our colleagues.”

“You would,” Alex said. “As you wish.”

“Are you sure that’s OK?”

“As long as we aren’t making out in public, I have no problem eating with you,” Alex said slowly, thoughtfully.

“What do you know? No one’s paying attention to us,” Will said as they waited for their pizza a couple hours later. “It’s as if no one can tell we’re two men on a date.”

He thought he was sensing nervousness from Alex.

“You’re right, of course,” the younger man admitted. “No one knows anything about us beyond what we do here in this restaurant.”

“And they never will unless I grab your hand or wrap my arm around you as we walk out,” Will said. “Until we make homosexuality our personality and act and dress like flaming twinks, we’re just two friends or work colleagues having lunch together. It isn’t like we haven’t had lunch together before.”

“I know,” Alex said. “It’s just – it feels different now. It doesn’t matter that it isn’t visible or obvious. I know something’s changed. And, I guess, it feels like it’s visible to everyone because it’s visible to me. I feel like my emotions are on display now that there’s more than just friendship between us.”

“Wow!” Will was shocked. “That’s – I can’t tell you how that makes me feel.”

“What?”

“You just admitted that you – are developing some kind of feelings about – this,” he said slowly. “I wasn’t really – .”

“Well, of course, I am,” Alex replied. “You’re my best friend. There’s already an emotional element here. And, now, we’re moving into a completely different direction. Of course, I’m going to have feelings about that. And, frankly, they aren’t – negative – at all. I would have thought they would be.”

“What do you mean?”

“I – never thought I would be interested in – or actually desirous of – a relationship with another man,” Alex finally admitted. “But, this is moving in a certain direction that – I’m not sure I want to – stop.”

He looked up into his friend’s eyes.

Will’s eyes went wide.

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying it turns out I’m not averse to this going further,” Alex said. “If I must spell it out for you, I kind of like where this is going.”

There was a heavy pause for a full minute as the words seemed to linger between the two men.

“Are you saying you want to go steady?” Will asked slowly.

“I guess, if we’re still in the eleventh grade, we can call it that.” Alex smiled slyly.

Will asked Alex to lunch two more times that week. They both felt more comfortable each time, laughing and covertly touching more and more. At times, they seemed every bit the high school sweethearts just discovering each other.

“I wish I could kiss you after our lunch dates,” Will admitted before they got out of his car Thursday afternoon.

“Not after lunch dates,” Alex said.

Will’s eyebrows lifted in contemplation of the possibilities in what Alex hadn’t said.

“So, now that we’ve been to lunch a few times,” he started as they walked across the parking lot. “How do you feel about a real date tomorrow night?”

“I guess you have fulfilled the opening stage of our courtship,” Alex replied. “If you want to continue on to the next phase of night-time dating, I’m certainly agreeable.”

“Good. Tomorrow night after work. Dinner and maybe a movie,” Will said. It wasn’t a question.

“Yes, Sir,” Alex complied. “May I go home and shower first?”

“If you must. But, y’know, my shower is always available.”

“If this is going to be a real date, I want to treat it like a real date and shower and dress for you,” Alex countered. “This isn’t just hanging out at your house after mowing your yard. I want to do it right.”

“I like the sound of that. Anything you want. I’ll even pick you up if you want.”

“I’ll think about that,” Alex said. “But, yes on the date.”

At 6:30 sharp the next day, Alex tossed a duffel bag filled with a couple days worth of clothes and toiletries into the back seat of Will’s Toyota.

Will drove them into the city for an expensive dinner at a very moody, exclusive restaurant Alex didn’t even know existed.

When they finished eating, Will led Alex upstairs to a jazz club that felt “smoky” and a little taboo even though actual smoking was illegal and everyone was fully dressed. It just felt “sinful,” Alex thought.

They found a tiny table in a dark corner of an already dark room as a sultry female voice tugged at their sex drives.

“This place is amazing,” Alex said over the music after a long look around. “How did you know I liked jazz?”

“I didn’t,” Will admitted. “I just knew this is the number-one place to bring someone to get laid. It’s practically guaranteed.”

“You do know there’s a ridiculously good chance I’m getting naked tonight no matter what, don’t you?” Alex asked in Will’s ear.

Will shrugged and blushed a little.

“I want to make sure you know I worked for it,” he said. “I want to earn it once in a while.”

“You’ve already earned it, Daddy,” Alex breathed into his ear.

Will’s hand immediately slid up Alex’s thigh to give his tight package a squeeze.

He already could feel Alex’s cock more than half-hard and the heavy steel ring that always encircled his loose balls.

His own cock twitched at the sensation.

Alex gave Will’s ear a quick lick before leaning back and turning toward the stage.

Will’s eyes popped open as he stared at his lover. He squeezed and stroked Alex’s cock and balls more lustfully than before.

Alex let Will pay for the first round of drinks, but insisted on covering the second.

“I don’t mind contributing to the cost of a date,” he said into his friend’s ear.

“I wish you’d let me take you to a gay club,” Will said as they finished their last drinks. “I’d like to introduce you to the lifestyle.”

“I don’t know if I’m ready for that,” Alex shied. “Being with you is one thing. But, – .”

“It isn’t like you’d be for sale or anything,” Will said. “I just want to show you off and let you see the other side of the gay community. I mean, how many do you know?”

“Well, I don’t mind you showing me off, I guess,” Alex replied. “As long as it isn’t among our mutual friends or people from work. And, I don’t care if you use me to build yourself up. I’m all for self-promotion.”

“I’m not going to argue with or question that statement – as much as it offends me,” Will said. “As far as I’m concerned, you just said ‘OK.’”

Fifteen minutes later, Will pulled into the parking lot of a loud, busy, neon-covered building just a couple blocks from the restaurant.

“Was this some kind of set-up?” Alex asked.

“I can’t help it if nice restaurants and hot gay clubs flock together,” his friend said. “Maybe that should tell you something.”

Will led his friend through a crowd milling around in front of the building, some smoking various plants, some making out, a few in the process of begging the bouncer to let them in. The loud music pulsed through the walls.

Will slyly shook one bouncer’s hand, thinking the bill he palmed the bodybuilder would go unnoticed.

Will grabbed Alex’s hand and pulled him in. Alex smiled at the bouncer as he followed his date through the door.

The throbbing, bass-heavy dance music filled the building as the couple ordered drinks at the bar.

One drink later, even Will had had enough of the flaming noise of the club’s clientele.

A block away from the first club they found a very bright, very pastel, very neon club that would scream gay to a blind man.

Will found two spots at the crowded bar. The music was loud. The smell of booze and sweat and cum somehow filled the air. There was a small stage with flamboyantly dressed dancers. A couple were in drag. Alex didn’t know if they were meant to be the entertainment or just patrons who found the only convenient place to dance.

“How is this any different from the last club?” Alex yelled into his friend's ear.

“It’s not as young,” Will replied, though Alex didn’t understand.

It took several minutes for one of the bartenders to notice them and ask for their order.

Alex surveyed the room while they waited for their drinks.

“How is this not as young as the last bar?” he asked. “All I see are twenty-somethings.”

When their drinks came, Will grabbed Alex’s hand and led him to a red-lit back corner of the bar beyond the dance floor.

The alcove was filled with men their age. Most of them were dressed like Will and Alex. A couple were flamboyant, over-the-top. They all had companions. Some were the same age. Most were much younger. The younger men were dressed more flamboyantly than their older partners.

A couple of the older men waved and spoke to Will as they approached. They all eyed Alex closely, meaningfully, even suspiciously.

“I assumed I’d be on display,” Alex whispered into Will’s ear when they finally sat down. “But I had no idea I’d be the center of attention.”

“It’s been a long time since they’ve seen me bring a date – especially a younger one,” Will explained.

“Are they used to seeing you take someone out?”

“Sometimes.”

“Well then,” Alex said as he slid one arm around Will’s waist to pull him close. Will, a little surprised, smiled and wrapped his own arm around his date.

“What’s this about?” he asked, leaning down to Alex’s ear.

“I’m trying to give you something to show off, Daddy,” Alex said.

He slid his hand up and down his date’s thigh, stopping just against Will’s tight groin.

Alex leaned up and, with his free hand, pulled Will’s jaw to face him before giving him a fairly passionate kiss on the lips.

He gasped and looked at Alex wide-eyed.

“You just kissed me in public!” he exclaimed as Alex noted the looks of their audience.

“Well, we’re in a gay club,” Alex corrected. “There’s a difference. And, besides, we’re being watched and evaluated. I wanted to make sure you looked good.”

Will looked at his friend sharply.

“What are you – ?” he said before noticing their audience. “Oh! I see. Damn! You’re good!”

Will slid a hand along Alex’s thigh.

“But, for the record, there’s no difference between being in public and being in a gay bar,” he said.

“Having me on your arm isn’t necessarily going to make you look good in a grocery store,” Alex said.

“There’s a particular Whole Foods I’d like to take you to,” Will corrected. “Then, we’ll see.”

Alex shyly looked around the room and noticed a couple of the men Will had spoken to give him sly winks, nods, or smiles when they thought no one was looking.

Over the next couple hours several of those familiar men came over to speak to Will.

More than one asked about Alex, where Will found him or how they met.

It was then Alex chose to speak up.

“We met at work years ago,” he admitted. “After a rough divorce, Will here gave me support only a true friend – and lover – could. We’ve been pretty tight ever since.”

The first time Will heard this, he tried to hide his surprise. But, he smiled broadly, proudly every time.

“What was that about?” he asked Alex between his well-wishers.

“Why not tell them the truth and let them see you for the gay evangelist you are?” Alex said. “I mean, why shouldn’t they know you’ve turned me? Wouldn’t that be a pretty good feather in your cap?”

“Yeah! That would be – amazing in their eyes!” Will exclaimed. “But, are you sure you want to be this public? Are you ready for that?”

“We’re still not in a grocery store,” Alex said. “We’re in a gay bar. With your friends. I want to build you up and make you look good in front of your friends. Besides, what part of what I said is untrue?”

Will thought for a minute.

“I guess you’re right,” he finally said. “Am I really turning you?”

“We’ve spent the last few weekends naked together,” Alex began. “We make out; you jack me off; I’ve kissed you several times right here in front of people; and I’m cupping your balls with my hand right now.

“I’m spending a Friday night in a gay bar with you with the distinct probability that we’ll have some kind of sexual contact and sleep together tonight instead of trying to pick up a woman for sex. If that isn’t ‘turning me,’ I don’t know what is.”

“I love you, Twinky!” Will gushed as he leaned down to kiss his friend.

A couple hours later, Will was very loose, having had a couple more drinks than he should. Draped over Alex’s shoulders, he had continually proclaimed his deep affection and lust for his friend.

“Y’know, I’ve loved you since the first day you walked into the office,” he said. “I haven’t stopped jacking off to fantasies about you for 20 years.”

“Yes, Will. You’ve told me that several times,” Alex said. “But, we’ve only known each other for fifteen years.”

“You were always the man of my dreams, Al,” he admitted. “I’ve always dreamed of – fantasized about – a man just like you. Even when I was just figuring out I liked cock, I imagined a man just like you. Strong, built, older, mature, graying, not afraid to be naked, not afraid to show off his perfect cock and balls with jewelry.”

Will leaned in to kiss Alex’s cheek.

“You’ve always been the man I’ve been searching for,” he said. “You’re so hot and sexy!”

Alex couldn’t help but smile and blush.

“I think Daddy’s ready for bed,” he said as he stood up and pulled Will toward him.

“Ooh! Yeah, Baby! Can I suck your cock tonight?” Will asked a little too loudly.

A couple pairs of eyes turned in their direction.

“We’ll see about that when I get you home, Daddy.”

Will, of course, passed out in the car just a few minutes into the quiet drive home.

Alex practically had to carry his friend inside from the driveway.

“It’s a good thing you’re skinny,” Alex said as he held most of Will’s weight up with his left arm.

After fumbling with the key and dragging his friend through the house, Alex let Will drop on to his bed.

In minutes, both men were naked. Will was snoring in his bed while Alex took a quick shower.