Blind Date and Beginnings - 8. Blind Date - Part 8

I followed Alex into the house more than a little bewildered. Alex had been getting along with Ryan as far as I could tell, so I was understandably confused. I didn’t think they were best buds yet by any stretch of the imagination, but Alex seemed to be developing a friendship with Ryan. And now Alex wanted ‘to talk’ to me? I couldn’t figure it out.

I watched as Alex walked into the kitchen, following him, wondering what on earth he had on his mind. I was even more confused as Alex began pacing around the kitchen in obvious agitation. Alex almost never paces and he never holds back speaking what’s on his mind, yet here he was doing both. Finally Alex turned to me and motioned for me to sit. I was really curious when he pulled a chair fairly close to mine and sat facing me, almost nose to nose.

“Don’t you think you’re moving a little fast?” Alex finally asked me with obvious deep concern. His question baffled me to tell the truth and I wasn’t sure what he was referring to. I was pretty sure he meant to include Ryan in there somewhere, but I wasn’t positive what he meant exactly. Oh I knew he meant the relationship, just not what aspect he was worked up over.

“What are you talking about?” I asked trying to figure him out. I admit it probably sounded defensive, and I could tell Alex took it that way, but I honestly had no idea what was on his mind. I could tell I was in for a bit of a discussion though since Alex tensed up after my reply.

“Zach,” Alex replied trying to keep his voice reasonable, “you don’t do hook ups. It’s not in you. And yet you have sex with Ryan after only knowing him since Friday night? That’s not like you at all. Ryan seems like a great guy and all, but jumping into the sack is the last thing I’d ever expect from you.”

“What!” I all but shouted. Where on earth had Alex gotten this idea?

“Zach,” Alex continued, “you and I knew each other for months before we did anything. And you knew Jason for, what? More than ten years at least, and yet when you two finally got together you still dated for a good six months before you ever did a thing. You don’t do hook ups, so when I see you jumping into bed with a guy you just met, I can’t help but worry. What’s going on?”

I stared at Alex in amazement for several seconds and then busted out laughing. I had to admit he was right. The idea of my having sex with anyone before a sizeable buildup was ludicrous. Glaciers move faster than I do. I was touched that Alex was worried about me, but I still couldn’t help laughing. Not that my laughter was helping. In fact it seemed to be worrying Alex even more. I knew I had to straighten this out pretty fast before he blew a gasket.

“Alex,” I managed to get out around my laughter. “Ryan and I haven’t had sex. You’re getting worked up over nothing.”

Alex gave me a skeptical look. “Zach, c’mon,” Alex answered exasperated. “I was right here when you went to take a shower with him. And I walked in on you this morning and he was naked. And hard.”

“Alex, nothing happened,” I assured him, still grinning. “I didn’t shower with Ryan; I was just keeping him company. Talking with him.” I figured I really didn’t need to tell Alex that we actually did very little talking and it turned into me just staring as Ryan gave me a show. He was agitated enough without me adding to it. “As for this morning,” I continued in my most reasonable, explaining voice, “you woke us both up. You get morning wood too you know.”

Alex stared at me, looking right in my eyes, and I could tell he was trying to figure out if I was telling him the whole truth. He knows I’d never lie to him, but Alex had learned that I’m very adept at leaving out key points when I want to. Alex always joked that I could find a loophole in a contract with the devil. I think my grin convinced him though since he actually started to turn a little pink. “Really?” he asked, his voice squeaking a little with relief.

“Yes, really,” I answered my voice dripping amusement. “We are going at my usual snail’s pace. Ryan wants to take it slow too. Don’t worry.” Alex let out a deep breath and I almost busted out laughing again. He was just so cute being all worried over me and not knowing what to do about it.

“Oh thank god!” Alex said grinning at me sheepishly. “I was worried you were reacting to your pain killers and I didn’t know what the hell I was going to do if you were, uh… well…..” Alex’s blush deepened as he trailed off and I grinned at him. I was loving every second of it – Alex never blushes!

“You were worried I had turned into a lust crazed maniac and jumped Ryan’s bones,” I finished for him laughing at him. Now that I knew where his head was his reactions made a lot more sense. “I was worried about that possibility too,” I admitted, “but the pills are very low dose. Ryan calls them hyped up aspirin.”

Alex laughed at Ryan’s description. “Well, I’m sure Ryan would have enjoyed it if you had a reaction. God knows I always did,” Alex said arching his eyebrows at me and making me blush. “But I’m glad that wasn’t the case. I know you would have gone into hiding afterwards and that would have killed any chances for you and him.”

I smiled at him. “You like Ryan don’t you?” I asked. Knowing Alex approved of him was important to me. It would be awkward as hell if he didn’t. Truthfully I have no idea how I would have handled it if they had hated each other.

“Yeah, I do,” Alex answered grinning. “I think he’s a good guy. Doesn’t mean I wont clobber him if he hurts you, but I can’t see him ever doing that. At least not on purpose. He’s crazy about you.”

I blushed again hoping Alex was right. I could admit to myself that I was very interested in Ryan. Who wouldn’t be? He was smart, kind, had a great sense of humor, and to top it off he had a killer body and was sexy as hell. I wasn’t real sure why he was interested in me but I was very happy the universe had decided to be kind and send him my way.

“I hope so,” I finally squeaked at Alex getting a grin out of him. Apparently Alex decided to let me off the hook and not tease me about my lack of self-confidence, which was unusual. He normally scolds me, which I promptly ignore.

“So what do you want to do today?” Alex asked in a much more relaxed tone. Alex grinned impishly at me. “We could go do shots at the Rainbow if you want. You had so much fun last time….”

I glared at Alex for a few minutes while he continued to grin impishly at me. Alex never failed to bring up my little misadventure with shots whenever he could. I still wasn’t sure how much of his story was exaggerated and how much I really did do. Thankfully I don’t frequent the bars in Alex’s hometown all that often so I was fairly sure I was safe from bumping into anyone who would remember me.

“It’s a little early,” I replied refusing to let him bait me. I could tell he was dying to tease me and figured I’d nip that in the bud. “Besides, I never did get paid for my last performance there.” Alex busted out laughing conceding my victory. “Let’s both take showers and then you can go running around with me. I want to pick up some steaks to grill for Ryan tonight. I’ll reward you by taking you out to eat, and if you behave I’ll make you a treat,” I finished smiling at him.

Alex wrinkled his nose at the thought of grocery shopping. For a man who eats non-stop he rarely steps into a grocery store. And then only under protest. The prospect of getting his very own treat seemed to mollify him though. Suddenly he grinned mischievously at me. “You could bake some cookies or brownies for Ryan and I could help by tasting them for you! After all, you’ll want to know if they are good or not.” His grin was from ear to ear by now and I could tell he was enormously pleased with himself. After a couple seconds grinning at me his face took on a thoughtful look. “I’ll still want my own treat though, for braving the grocery store!” he stated totally serious.

I laughed and pushed him towards the bathroom and the waiting shower. As always, Alex’s stomach ruled but I wouldn’t want it any other way. In a weird way it was comforting knowing that Alex was always hungry. It meant there was a constant in an ever changing world.

We spent the rest of day chatting and laughing and Alex even managed to behave himself and leave a few of the cookies I baked for Ryan to enjoy. Alex left a little after four in the afternoon so he could get home at a decent time and I keenly felt an absence after he was gone. I always do after he leaves.

I wandered around the house for a time trying to distract myself. I even tried my old standby of reading but I couldn’t focus. The quiet was starting to get to me and I knew I wouldn’t see Ryan till after eight which was still a couple of hours away. I decided I’d ride my exercise bike for a bit as a way to pass the time and to give myself a distraction. I quickly changed into some workout clothes, put on my headphones and jumped on my bike. My leg gave a few twinges of protest, but not enough to make me stop. Besides I was going for cardio so I didn’t have the resistance set too high.

Peddling and listening to music allowed me to let my mind wander. Fact of the matter was Alex’s words and concerns had had an effect on me, and one he probably hadn’t meant. He was right that I was cautious when it came to starting relationships, of any kind really. I had progressed at light speed with Ryan when I considered how I normally am. And yet I wondered if I was still being too cautious, too timid. Ryan wanted to go slow too, but there was probably a big difference between his definition of slow and mine. I had to admit to myself there was such a thing as going too slow. I didn’t really think we were in danger of that yet, after all I really had only known him a couple of days, but I did want to keep it in mind.

Thinking along those lines I began to wonder how I could try and make sure I didn’t fall back into my normal routine of being too cautious. I knew that I had screwed up a lot of potential friendships that way over the years. And a relationship with Ryan was much more important to me than any casual friendship. So far everything about him appealed to me enormously and I really wanted to get to know him even more. I wanted him in my life, now I just had to keep a lid on my neurosis in order to achieve it. Why couldn’t it have been something a little easier like lion taming or wrestling alligators?

A knock on my door brought me out of my reverie and I was a little surprised to find I was drenched in sweat. I was even more surprised when I glanced at my watch and realized I had been peddling away for over an hour. At least I had managed to pass some time but I briefly wondered if I was going to pay for it tomorrow with sore muscles.

I went to answer my door and was very surprised to see a smiling Ryan waiting for me on the other side. I glanced at my watch even though I knew he was early. I looked back up, pushing my sweaty hair out of my eyes, to see he was grinning from ear to ear. Those dimples of his were somehow even more sexy than normal and his lips looked like they were begging to be kissed. The sparkle in his green eyes grabbed me and I swear he was pumping out pheromones because I was just about ready to go weak in the knees. He was still wearing his hospital scrubs and even they looked good on him, although I was happy to see he was holding a gym bag with hopefully a change of clothes.

“Surprise!” Ryan shouted before leaning in to give me a kiss. “We were pretty slow and one of the other doctors offered to cover the tail end of my shift,” Ryan explained. He grinned sheepishly at me as he continued. “I think I was driving them all crazy being all distracted over you and all.”

“Remind me to do something really nice for your co-workers!” I said meaning it whole heartedly. “I was really missing you,” I admitted without thinking and then blushed at my blurting it out. It was pretty sappy since he hadn’t been gone that long, but it was true. “Let me get cleaned up and I’ll make you something to eat,’ I continued, again pushing the hair out my eyes. “I got steaks to grill.”

“Sounds good,” Ryan answered following me to my bedroom. “I’m glad I didn’t grab anything to eat now.” He gave me another sheepish grin and turned a little pink. “I, uh, didn’t even take the time to change. I wanted to get over here as fast as I could.” I grinned at him and felt a warm little glow at thinking he had rushed over just to be with me. Yep – I was definitely in sap land!

I had already pulled off my sweat soaked shirt as we entered my bedroom and had just pulled off my sweat shorts when it dawned on me that I was stripping in front of Ryan without even thinking about it. I felt my cheeks heat up and I know I turned scarlet as I realized I was standing in front of him in just a jock. I looked up to see him openly staring at me and grinning and I felt the blush spread down my chest. I didn’t actually check, but I could have sworn even my toenails were blushing.

“You look really sexy,” Ryan told me in a husky voice that sent shivers down my spine. He was still staring at me like I was a hunk of meat and he was a starving wolf and I almost expected him to start howling. “Damn!” Ryan growled in a low voice and I swear there was an animal like gleam in his eyes.

“No I don’t!” I protested feeling extremely flustered. “I’m all sweaty and gross.”

Ryan walked towards me, practically stalking me, and I felt myself shiver again as he came to a stop mere millimeters from me. “I like you all sweaty,” he growled giving me a feral grin and running his fingers over my chest. “You look fucking hot all sweaty.” He leaned his face in even closer, letting his hot breath wash over me before biting softly on my ear lobe and pulling my body even closer to his, grinding us together. “So…fucking…hot!” he growled again.

I gasped as I felt Ryan grind his crotch into mine and I probably would have fallen if he hadn’t been holding me so tightly. I could feel the heat of his body radiating right thru his scrubs and his mouth nibbling along my jaw and nipping at my ears was about to drive me insane. I shuddered again when Ryan brought his mouth to mine, kissing me deeply, exploring every inch with his tongue. I actually whimpered in protest when he broke the kiss, both of us practically panting with desire.

“Zach…” Ryan breathed softly, still holding me tightly. He stared straight into my eyes for several minutes, his emerald eyes burning with barely restrained desire. “Damn!” he finally muttered, his breath still panting. “It’s getting awfully hard to resist you,” he muttered, regretfully breaking our embrace and backing a few steps.

Ryan drew in a deep breath, shaking his head a little as if to clear it. After a few more seconds he gave me a very mischievous grin and arched his eyebrows suggestively. “You look even hotter now,” he said looking pointedly at my very tented crotch and making me blush once again. “So is this your way of returning my show this morning to me?” he teased.

“Ry… Ry… uh, Ryan…,”I stuttered, trying to get my fried brain to communicate. I was feeling very flustered and more than a little disoriented and my mind was racing. I wasn’t in panic mode yet, which surprised me truthfully, but I could feel it wasn’t that far off. Trying to rein in my racing thoughts wasn’t helping and I was having a hard time forming the words I wanted into coherent sentences.

Ryan grinned at me kindly, easily picking up that I was a bit rattled. “I’m only teasing Zach,” he said to me. “Relax. Not saying I wouldn’t enjoy watching you, but I know that’s a big step for you.”

I continued staring at him, not bothering to cover up, too distracted to even think about it with my mind racing the way it was. The thought of going a little further with Ryan, giving him the so called show he was teasing about, really kind of appealed to me. It was scary and pushing the envelope of my normal slow plodding way of doing things, but I had just been thinking about ways to make sure I didn’t fall into routine. And I had to admit the whole thought was a bit of a turn on too. I wasn’t sure I could be so blatant as to put on a show for him though. That was pushing it a little further than I thought I could go.

But I did have an idea of something I thought I might be able to do.

“Ryan,” I began tentatively, my eyes on the floor. “Do you… uhm, would you… want… to… maybe… uh, take a shower with me?” I asked, my voice starting to get into the squeaky range. I was proud of myself though. Actually asking the question, albeit a bit drawn out, but I still managed to say it without panicking. I finally glanced up to get a quick look at Ryan’s face and see if I could figure out what he was thinking.

I felt my stomach knot in worried anticipation. And here I had thought the hard part would be asking the question. What an idiot I was. I was facing the hard part now.

Now all I had to do was wait for his answer.