In Chandler's Hands - 5. Boystown

Daniel Van Deventer!

He’s 5’11” with brownish hair with auburn highlights that catch dark red in the sun! Honestly, I’ve never seen hair like that before! Hair that changes colors just by being hit by sunlight? He has green eyes that look like cut emeralds and he likes to wear a shortish beard that’s more of a deep afternoon shadow than a real beard. It roughens up his ordinarily delicate features because, shaved, Danny is, well . . . pretty I guess is a word I can use for him. It has to do with his ridiculously beautiful high cheekbones, sculptured jaw, slight cleft chin, full luscious lips, and narrowly refined nose. He wears those near-invisible designer reading glasses that seem to make his eyes ‘pop’. Not bulge-pop, but ‘pop’ in a designer’s way of talking; like a red pillow on a white sofa kind of thing. Somehow, the glasses just make those eyes sparkle just like the cut emeralds I mentioned before! He’s slightly farsighted so I think it has to do with them making his eyes a bit bigger-looking than they are normally. They aren’t ‘I can’t see at all’ magnified, but just made slightly bigger so you can see all the gold flecks and sparkling striations in there! I guess you’d have to be an artist to appreciate little details like that Heh, I guess you also need to be totally in love with someone to pay that close attention to the details in their eyes!

He wears his auburn hair short in a neat business cut and he likes to wear dull shirts with mono-color ties and grey or tan tweed sports jackets. All this drabness just makes his face, hair, and eyes ‘pop’ all the more! He’s so cute in his gray kind of way, hehehe! Rather than make him dull, his clothes hide a dynamo of electric energy, bubbly wit, sparkling sex appeal, and a glowing, all consuming charm that makes Danny all the things that make him, well, ’Danny’ . . .

. . . and I love Danny with all my heart!

We met at the Starbucks I work at near the Art Institute. He works nearby at Jennitor Innovative Designs, Inc., a small but sophisticated and amazing architectural firm that does ‘work/life/balance’ projects with urban planning and buildings and stuff. I didn’t know any of that when I first handed him his Americano Grande, hehehe. I only knew that he had the most beautiful eyes that I’d ever seen! What’s more? He must have seen something he liked in me too because he managed to fumble his coffee by not watching what he was doing because, well . . . he couldn’t stop staring at me either! He managed to spill a little on his shirt, but he was fortunate not to have spilled all of his coffee all over him since I make sure each To Go order has a tight fitting lid. The coffee had managed to spit up on him through the cup’s sippy-hole.

Funny thing, I instinctively lunged at him over the counter with my clean but wet bar towel attempting to clean the stain off of his shirt before the stain set. It was a completely weird thing for me to do and something I wouldn’t have done with anyone else. Most guys would have gotten freaked at such a thing, but . . . Danny seemed too stunned to move as our faces got closer and we could feel our breath in each other’s faces. It didn’t help that his coffee landed on the part of his shirt right over his bare nipple, hehehe! Danny never wears undershirts!

I played it off with a smile and pulled myself back to my post behind the register and finished the ring-up for the coffee. He had to shake himself out of it to get his credit card out and fumbled with that too! It was so sweet and adorable! Such a sophisticated man brought down to being a bumbling fool over such an . . . unplanned first meeting. I’m sure he kicked himself as he hurriedly left out the door in his mad dash to get away from what I’m sure he thought was his own ineptitude.

But, it was that fumble-bumble that made me fall instantly in love with Danny! He was as sweet as he was handsome! The lady who had been waiting patiently behind him seemed to know something neither of us did at that moment because she smiled, after looking over her shoulder at Danny’s bumbling escape, and winked at me knowingly.

I was afraid I’d never see Danny after that which gave me something of a heartache as I went through the rest of my evening. But, I needn’t have worried. He was back the very next morning, much more composed though a bit ‘stiff’, hehehe! Not that kind of stiff . . . I don’t think. Maybe?

I got a nervous smile out of him and something else: he left a card with his tip! Also, he handed it to me directly rather than dumping it in the tip jar like folks normally do.

His shy smile and quiet ‘thanks’ were all the encouragement I needed! So, after I went back to the apartment I was sharing with my friend Jerry, I gathered my balls up and called him. Weirdly enough, he was surprised to hear from me, but in a very nice way. I had waited until about 8 PM to call thinking he might be a late worker. Something told me he might be and, like we already shared some kind of psychic bond, I had been right! I also instinctively knew 8 PM was the golden hour for him since he had just got home.

After a bit of awkwardness, we resolved to meet that very night for a late dinner and that he’d pick me up! That was a first for me: being picked up by another guy like on a real date! I don’t entirely know how Danny knew I was gay, but we never seemed to have to ask each other what we were. The feelings seemed to be mutual enough to where the obvious didn’t need to be said! We liked each other in that way and neither of us had any qualms about being gay and had recognized it right off! Sometimes, just a look and an instant acceptance of that look is all that is needed. That said, Danny showed the courage I’d always admire about him by being the first one to reach out with that card! It was such a small thing, but a powerful one that told volumes! It doesn’t take much of a push when things are right!

Our first night together was all that was needed to make things official too! It was just after the salad course that we knew how desperately we wanted each other! We packaged up our dinner to go and went straight for . . . dessert at his place!

I’d messed with guys in High School and had flings with fellows at the Institute, but never had I actually made actual love with another man before! That first night together was the most mind-blowing sex I’d ever had! Danny admitted to this also and I got the feeling, from the passion with which he made love to me, that it had been a very long time since his last time! Danny was 30 last year when we met. I was 19, but, between the two of us it seemed like I was the one with the most experience! It felt like introducing a virgin to sex for the first time! He never made much of it at the time, but from what he’s told me since that night, I believe he pretty much was a virgin! His sexual experiences up until meeting me had been mostly in his mid-teens and he’d not had many experiences since that time!

This made that night especially meaningful for the both of us!

It was special enough to where Danny insisted I move in with him that following weekend! I did just that and we’ve been together monogamously ever since!

Tonight was our one-year anniversary! Tonight, we made plans to eat at that same restaurant we first went to and then meet up with some friends at Scarlet Bar and then dancing at Hydrate. Both are in Boystown and both popular gay spots. He hadn’t seen these guys for a while so I guess they wanted to catch up. I was a little disappointed thinking it would just be the two of us tonight, but they were interested in meeting me in particular for some strange reason! I have a feeling Danny’s been ‘sharing’ things on Facebook and Instagram, hehehe! Hopefully no butt-shots of me in the shower or anything!

Their names are Greg and Ollie which I find funny for some reason. They sound like a comedy duo or something!

We had a lovely dinner and the owner even came out with a cake with one lit candle! It was so romantical! I have always loved to see candlelight in Danny’s green eyes! He gave me a necklace too! It had a lock on it which, at first, I thought was a bit strange, but then he revealed he was wearing a similar one but with a key! ~sigh~

At that point, I really just wanted to drag him home and open my lock with his key! But, I knew he had other plans. I, basically, considered this foreplay from that point on! Rrrrow-Rrrrooow!

We met the two characters, Ollie and Greg. I wasn’t far off, those two are, kind of, characters from a comedy duo! Ollie’s rather fem and flamboyant where Greg is more reserved, but with a silly sense of humor that Ollie just plays off of. I can tell why those two are together. They’re like two peas in a pod!

“Goodness gracious, Danny! This one is so much better looking in person!” Ollie let the cat out of the bag that, indeed, Danny’d been sharing things. Ollie also realized he may have made a faux pas, I think. I wasn’t exactly offended because I could get where he was coming from, but a lot of people would have been insulted by the comment. Greg had to correct him:

“Um . . . like, Ollie? What did we say about thinking before speaking, hmm?” Greg said with a ‘fatherly’ voice. At first, Ollie looked at Greg like he was speaking Swahili, but then grabbed his mouth when it finally hit him how what he said could possibly be considered offensive by some people, hehehe!

“Oh, NO! Nonononono! I didn’t mean it like that! I meant, like . . . dammit Danny! Like, where have you been hiding THIS hunk for so long? Why haven’t you at least brought him by the music store? Oh, gawwd! I hope you’re not offended Chandler! Oh, geeze! Even your NAME is adorable!” Ollie gushed. He’s quite adorable himself, I must say!

“He’s MY adorable! You already have your own!” Danny said hugging me in a semi-mock show of possessiveness. That might possibly have gotten a rebuke from my independent and proud self, but honestly . . . with Danny if feels so good to belong to something special! Danny’s key fits my lock just perfectly!

“My, my, my! So the Great and Powerful Danny Of Oz thinks I’m adorable? See, Ollie! Look what I could’a pulled if I’d wanted to! A rich and handsome architect!” Greg preened himself by smoothing himself out dramatically!

“You waited too long, Gregster! You’re way outclassed now! You’ll just have to settle for my basic model!” Ollie teased at which Greg leaned in and kissed Ollie on the cheek. That was sweeter than our cake was!

“Well, you two are making my boyfriend blush with all your fawning! He can’t help himself! He’s a blushing peach . . . and he’s all mine!” It was Danny’s turn to kiss me then, but it was no cute little peck on the cheek! He turned my head and brought me in for a full-on succulent kiss that made me go instantly weak in the knees and hard in the pants! Wow! Did we have to go dancing after the bar? I almost felt the need to do something naughty and drag Danny off to the bathroom to work things off!

“Whoa! Now THAT’s a blush!” Ollie remarked and that made me release from Danny’s kiss with a smooch and a laugh.

“No. I’m flushed! Dammit, Danny! You could kill a guy with a kiss like that in public, geeze!” I joked . . . partially!

“I could not help myself! How did I ever get this lucky?” Danny was still leaned in and I leaned away for fear he’d snare me up again and I’d never come out of it!

“K, lets have another pitcher of beer. I might need it to cool you guys off if you start going at it here in the booth!” Greg said snarkily.

So the night went!

We had fun dancing. But, honestly, the best part of tonight was just being alone with Danny in bed, naked, making love, and then cuddling. That’s heaven to me! That’s where the love smolders warmly under the blankets and all you need do is breathe and sometimes sigh contentedly in the arms of the one you love most in this world to be in absolute bliss!

It’s something to look forward to, Brandon.

Become your authentic self and you’ll find him or he’ll find you! He will come from nowhere or he’ll be someone you already know. Don’t be afraid to be yourself! Only as yourself can you find the key to fit your lock!

Don’t be afraid to try something if it feels right! You’re worth it! The feelings are worth it! Love is worth it!

Trust your feelings, Brandon! They are rarely ever wrong!