The former employer
Today I got a call from an employer I had years ago. We've kept in touch over the years for professional purposes. When he needed various documents written up quickly when his office was overwhelmed, I was often available to do them, even at peak times. I may be busy in my office, but a little extra cash in my pocket from consulting work was always welcome.
I used to work for him when I was between the ages of 18-22 doing counseling work. Back then he used to hit on me rather conspicuously, but while I worked for him I never let the relationship go beyond the professional because:
I've come to expect calls from him around holiday seasons because his office gets a bit overwhelmed from holiday reveler offenders, and at exactly the same time, I have more time off because of my career in education. It works well.
So I wasn't too surprised yesterday when I got a call from him. Thanksgiving is today and most of the United States gets a four day weekend. That means that a lot of inappropriate drinking behavior begins, and the police rev up their tickets and citations for drunk driving and doubly unfortunately, domestic violence incidents. This means that the old office that I used to work at becomes very busy in a short time, and they need to make sure that their plates are clean of previous client cases before the new influx of clients come through the door.
When my former employer called however, this conversation seemed different. He was taking about his life and the various goings on in his world - which is not unusual because we are old friends and we have known each other for over the past ten years. But there seemed to be something else in his voice. As the conversation progressed, we did talk about the various projects that he'd like me to take on in the next week or so, but he also wanted to talk about my house. He hasn't seen my home since I'd bought one, and he was keenly interested in visiting throughout the conversation. I inquired about his boyfriend, whom he's had an on-and-off relationship with for the past 8 years or so.
He explained that his relationship was satisfactory, but he was looking for more.
"I'm missing something," he explained, pausing for a second, "I would like to explore myself and my personal life more."
I asked him what he meant.
"Well," another pause, "You know [My boyfriend] and I live separately. I stay at his place two to three days a week and then I stay at my place on the off days. He rarely comes to my place. You know he likes being at his home with his family more."
His other half is Latino, who as one may describe as culturally typical, has a much closer nuclear family bond, where the extended family all live together under the same roof. In this case, he, his mother, his brother and his sister-in-law all live together, and they prefer to do so. (Personally, I would go stark-crazy.)
My former employer continued, "And I like my private space, I need my private space. This works for us so I can do my thing."
"And what thing is that?" I asked.
Internally I was excited, but I was cautious. I've been attracted to this man physically for years, but even if I have learned to transgress societal limitations about sex, others haven't necessarily had that epiphany. Also, I needed to assess that exactly what he was stating. Was he making a general statement, or was he opening a door?
"To be myself," he said quickly. "[My boyfriend] wouldn't like it though."
Hmm, I thought, I know what you want now. "Have you talked to him about this?"
"No, I don't think he'd take it well."
He continued on, talking about various other things that he wants to do with his life, and the steps that he's taking to meet the goals he's developing for himself.
"Well, you have a lot going for you," I said. You have a great house, your own business - which makes you a very comfortable living, good friends, a loving family, a great body..." I trailed off.
"Yeah!" He said animatedly, gushing out "I'd like to show it to you sometime."
That cinched it, he was attempting to open a door to a sexual encounter. If I were as dense as lead (and I can be sometimes) I wouldn't have been able to miss that. Now I needed to somehow make sure that he is looking for something casual. I couldn't determine whether or not he is interested for the long-term, but it's too soon to try to cross that bridge anyway. Besides, I think we both need to figure out if it works for us if we are to pursue this.
And then I realized that I was overanalyzing again. Damn that predilection!
So I let all of that go and said, "Well, we'll see what happens. Call me when I get back from North Carolina." (I'm heading off to see my closest friends for Thanksgiving this year and I won't be back until Monday.)
"Oh," he said, sounding coy at first - then he gained confidence. "I will. Don't you worry about that."
I have plenty to worry about. Whether or not he will call me later, I'm not too concerned about that. Whether or not I will take him up on his advances when he does call, now that's the question.
I'm a gay man in Reno, Nevada. I started blogging to keep a record of what I've been up to away from home. My boyfriend is
an unrepentant asexual, and celibacy through monogomy isn't an option (and I was celibate with him for over a year). I'd like to be monogamous,
but it just isn't working out.



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