Unexpected Liaisons - 6. Straight-ish Guys Don’t Shop

Getting a second date had been ridiculously easy.

Having finally gone to bed at something like three in the morning, Zupan had slept in a haze of bits of dreams, remembered clips from the internet, and the taste of Zander’s lips. He’d woken up at stupid o’clock in the morning from a dream in which Zander was starring in the lead role sans clothing, to find the sheets between his thighs sticky and wet.

Fuck… Zupan half lay and half sat staring at the resting length of his cock and the mess in his bed. He hadn’t had a wet dream since he was thirteen, which had also been the year he’d discovered jerking off, and the year before he’d discovered girls. And here he was at the age of twenty nine having a wet dream about a guy. A man. His exploration the previous evening had taught him many things, but arguably the most important of these was that while there were hot guys out there, not one of them was more beautiful or sexy or seductive as Zander was.

And in his head Zander had been naked, beautiful, sitting in his lap and peppering his chest with soft gentle kisses. Zupan cradled the back of his head, brought him up for a kiss that fizzed like lemonade, then rose, laid Zander back on the bed and took control. More than the shock of being in his head in bed with another man, Zupan hated waking up from dreams where he still had the use of his legs. He had once been a big powerful guy, just like his brother, and while he was still strong and able to beat up pretty much anyone he liked, there was no way that he could do the things to Zander that he really wanted.

Eventually he went for a shower in his wet room and changed the sheets on the bed, dumping the old ones in the washing machine. He didn’t turn it on though, because Zoltan would wake up and ask him questions, and Zupan didn’t really want to be asked questions right now. When it had finally gotten late enough in the morning to be polite enough to text, Zander had spent about an hour composing and recomposing a message. He’s never spent so long writing anything in his whole life.

I had a great time the other day. Can I take you out for dinner tonight?

Considering the length that the message had started out at, Zupan was pretty pleased with his two short sentences. He had managed to not mention the fact that he would very much like to see Zander naked, and had managed to waste enough time writing the damn message that it didn’t seem so desperate. He pressed send, then wondered if he should have signed it. Sitting staring at his meagre wardrobe, Zupan considered his choice of clothing for the evening. His phone buzzed.

Sounds cool. Where should I meet you? xxx Z

Oh god. Kisses. Zupan scrolled mentally through his list of chair friendly places that didn’t have girl’s he’d slept with working there, and were going to be Zander and his taste is Bay’s exotic cocktails approved. The South Alaska was out, for many reasons, and Zupan remembered the little out of the way place he’d once squeezed into, the one that did ribs and had an extensive cocktail menu.

Chocolate Street at 7.30. Zupan x

Just one. One would do. Probably… It was a Friday, so Zupan called the restaurant and made a reservation. Specified the ground floor but didn’t say why. He never much liked giving everything away. Now there was just the question of what he was going to wear and what he was going to spend his day doing until seven thirty. He pulled everything out of his wardrobe and stared at his clothes. Christ, how had he ever gotten laid, when everything he owned looked like Bay’s less stylish running gear? Two dozen well-worn t shirts, hoodies and a selection of shorts and sweats. Trainers with velcro and elastic laces. Zander was into fashion in a big way, and Zupan didn’t fancy being the guy who he was embarrassed to be seen with. The chair was one thing, but he had to look good on a date.

Shopping… the thought scared Zupan more than the idea of kissing the pretty blue eyed boy again. And Bay was going to be no help at all. He made no secret for his hatred of shopping. And it wasn’t like he could ask the boy he was going out with to help pick the clothes for their date. I asked a guy out on a date… Zupan swore at himself and grabbed his phone.

“Issac?”

“Morning Zu,” Issac was obviously in the kitchen, the sound was all echoic and tinny, “What can I do for you?”

“Can you skip out on prep for a bit and taker me shopping?” Zupan hated that he sounded even the slightest bit needy, “Please? I have a date.”

“Meet you at the clock tower at midday.” Zupan could practically hear his friend’s smug grin down the phone.

“Thanks Issac.”

And that just left him with an hour to do nothing but think of the dream again.

*

Issac was bang on time when he showed up at the clock tower in the centre of town, and wasted no time dressing Zupan down for the current state of his wardrobe.

“Jesus Zupan, you look like you just rolled out of bed. Please tell me that what you’ve got on in the neatest thing you own?” Zupan stared at his feet. Grey sweats, blue t-shirt, badly fitted denim jacket. “Ah crap. Come on then. I need to be back at the restaurant by two OK?”

Zupan hated shopping, and by the time they had been in and out of the first stall he remembered why. Shops were designed for people who could walk, the changing rooms were never big enough and the shop assistants looked at him like they pitied him. He didn’t need Issac to come shopping with him because he was in a chair, he needed Issac to come shopping with him because he was a straight guy who didn’t understand clothes. OK, a mostly straight guy. Issac groaned at his lack of opinions over two different shirts that to Zupan looked exactly the same and told him that he was ‘worse than Bay’ at this whole shopping thing. If the four of them ever had to double date… The thought made Zupan shudder. He and Bay would end up like the husbands you saw around shopping centres, sitting on the bench and waiting to carry things.

“Where are you taking him?” Issac asked. He was looking slightly longingly into the window of a shop with steps, obviously considering the merits of what he wanted to buy versus the hassle of getting Zupan into the shop.

“The Warped Lime.”

“So casual but sexy? I have an idea. You need jeans.”

“Issac…” Zupan stared to protest. He hated jeans, the buttons were always so fiddly.

“You used to where them all the time, you just got lazy is all.” Issac led him into the big Levi’s store, “And you cannot go on another date wearing anything with an elastic waist.”

It had been a long time since Zupan had willingly rolled into a clothes shop, and all he could do was wonder how on earth anyone found anything when apparently there were now ten thousand different styles of jeans to be had. Issac stared pulling things of the shelves and handing them to him and Zupan blanched at the prices on the labels.

“Issac?” He held up a price tag, “I can’t afford eight pairs of jeans when they cost this much each.”

“You’re not buying eight pairs of jeans Zu. Issac prodded him in the direction of the changing rooms, “See which ones you like and get the best two.”

“Then why not only try on two?”

“You really don’t understand shopping at all do you?”

“Nope,” Zupan grinned, he was kind of proud of that.

The changing rooms were just about big enough to allow him to use them, luckily they weren’t stuffed full of useless clutter like chairs and benches. Zupan shuffled out of his sweats and began to shuffle into the first pair of jeans. How on earth was his getting undressed going to be sexy, or quick for that matter if he had buttons to deal with? He would put money on the idea that Zander slipped out of his clothes in the most sensual way known to man. That thought made him press firmly on his crotch.

“Down boy,” he muttered, then successfully managed to pull on the first pair of jeans. The fly studs were stiff and the zip impossible. He rejected them, then the next, then the next. Eventually he ended up with two pairs of low-rise boot leg jeans. The cut was relaxed and thus easy to get on, and because the rested low on his hips he could actually pull them on and off without undoing the button fly as long as he released the top stub first. One pair in mostly blue, one in dusty black. Issac walked with him to the till.

“Did you find everything you were looking for today sir?” the cashier asked. When Issac didn’t respond, staring idly at the display of new early spring jumpers, the girl at the till asked again.

Zupan slammed the foot rests of his chair into the till and practically threw the jeans at the girl.

“YES! I found everything I wanted!”

To her credit, she recovered quite quickly, and began folding the clothes with efficient movements.

“Oh I am sorry sir. I didn’t-”

“See me?” Zupan snarled, “I’m six feet fucking four and you didn’t see me?”

“Zu…” Issac’s voice was warning and low.

Zupan handed over his debit card when prompted and typed in the pin number. The angle was awkward as fuck ,but he said nothing, just glowered.

“Do you need any help with your bags?” The girl asked, looking like she wished she hadn’t.

“Do I look like I need any help sweetheart?” Zupan snatched the bag and growled, “I hate customer service.” He grumbled as they rolled from the shop.

“You realise she probably has to say that to everyone right?” Issac said, jogging a little to catch up with his friend.

“I don’t care. Are we done now?”

Issac knew better than to start a fight with his friend about this. Zupan had always hated being helped, by anyone.

“Unless you’re going to appear shirtless on your date, we still have work to do. Come on, I have an idea.”

Issac’s idea was apparently inspired by Bay’s choice of clothes for the bar and Zupan found himself sitting outside one of the nicer second hand clothes shops in the Lanes browsing through a selection of imported American shirts. There were a bunch of t-shirt already in his lap, all three quid each, mostly from oddly named US high schools and now Issac wandered over with a few hangers.

“I’m a lumberjack now?” Zupan fingered the cuff of one of the check shirts and grinned, “You reckon this’ll go down well with Zander?”

Issac held a black and green checked shirt up again Zupan’s chest.

“Oh yeah. He’ll go for it. You wanna go to Harry’s and shop for new boots?”