Just a Trim - 8. Chapter 8: Trouble in Paradise

Two days later, Jim, again finished with his Sunday chores, thought about a trip to Home Outlet. Maybe he could take a look at the bathroom fixtures he had thought about installing in the master bath of the house. Wasn’t today a day that Chris was working? He hadn’t been last Sunday, so maybe he could stop by plumbing, just to say hello.

He droved down, and walked into the store. He thought, plumbing first, and then stop by the bathroom fixtures section. He proceeded in the direction of plumbing, and turned down one of its aisles. At the other end, he saw Chris, apparently talking with another customer, a guy who appeared to be in his mid-twenties. Getting a little closer, Jim got a closer look at him. He seemed to have a nice swimmer’s build, with just a hint of a muscular physique. He had straight, silky blond hair, parted in the middle, falling midway over his ears, and collar in the back. From what Jim could tell from his profile, he seemed to be a good-looking guy. As they talked, they shifted positions, until the guy was looking directly in Jim’s direction, with Chris’s back to Jim. They seemed to be laughing, and then Chris put a hand on the guy’s shoulder. As they finished laughing, the guy seemed to look intently at Chris with a hint of a smile, and then ran some fingers deeply through his hair, before reaching into his shirt pocket to pull out some paper and a pen, and writing something on it.

As Jim got a little closer, they seemed to be finishing their chat, with Chris nodding. After several seconds, Jim thought that Chris said, “Ok, I’ll give you a call.” The guy then passed Chris with a casual squeeze of his shoulder, as he whispered something in his ear. Chris seemed to give a small laugh at what he heard, and returned the shoulder squeeze, as he glanced at the guy, smiling. The guy then walked past Jim. Taking a passing look at the guy, Jim could see that yes, he was a very good-looking guy. Jim walked up to Chris, and tapped him on the shoulder.

Chris turned around to see Jim. “Hey, how’s it going?” he asked pleasantly.

“Ok,” replied Jim. “Who was that, you were just talking to?”

“Just another customer. Greg,” said Chris.

Jim wasn’t sure how to proceed. “You’ll be getting together? I mean, I thought I heard you say, you’d be calling him.”

Chris could see something was bothering Jim. “Yeah, we got to talking, and the subject of a new movie we had both wanted to see came up. We made plans to see it together.”

“He’s a good looking guy. Do you think he’s gay?”

“From the vibes I got, I think so. I did get a sense, while we were talking, that he was trying to hit on me.” Chris paused. “What’s this about?”

Jim proceeded slowly. “Do you find him attractive?”

After thinking about it a bit, Chris replied, “Yeah, actually, I think he is pretty ‘hunky.’

Finally, Jim came out with it. “Wasn’t Friday night special at all to you? It was to me.”

Chris could see the hurt in Jim’s eyes. He continued softly. “Jim, Friday night was very special to me. But we’re both going through a weird time right now. I’ve broken up with Sandy, and you have with your wife, at least temporarily. This is a time to be exploring our feelings, not shying away from them. If we happen to see someone who catches our eye, this isn’t the time to look away. This could be a turning point in both of our lives, which we should explore to the fullest.”

“I guess this means you want to be able to see other people?”

“Yes, I think we should both see other people. It doesn’t mean we might not end up together, but we should really explore what’s out there, and see how we feel. We should take our time.”

“Does this mean, you don’t want to go out again?”

“Not necessarily,” replied Chris. “But seeing your reaction here, which I sense has just a bit of jealousy behind it, makes me think, let’s cool it for a few weeks, and see what happens.”

Jim seemed to be backing off, and gave a small laugh. “Yeah, I think you summarized things well,” he conceded.

Chris looked at Jim. “Is there anyone else you’ve had your eye on?” he asked.

Jim thought a moment, and then chuckled, as he remembered Ken’s blue eyes. “Yeah, there might be,” he replied, with a smile, and glance at Chris.

“Hey, go for it,” whispered Chris, encouragingly.