Date: Fri, 25 May 2007 16:02:26 +0000 From: hank fawkins Subject: a New Life Down South All characters in this story are completely fictitious. Any similarities to anyone is coincidental. This story is about a romance between men, so if that is not your thing then you should cease now. Also unlike other stories this is more of a slower moving story that is not just sex, but a slower story about the people in it and coming into their own, so if you are looking for something to get off too quickly this will not be it. My previous story is called Acceptance at Last If you have any comments feel free to e-mail me at frank778@hotmail.co.uk Thanks, A New Life Down South The voice on the other side of the telephone line sounded surprised when I enquired about the waterfront apartment that was for sale in Newhaven. He said, `John is away in Dubai this week and I was not aware that he was selling the apartment. I am looking after the apartment as he did not want his dog to be put into kennels. Did you say you were coming down tomorrow morning? John is not contactable for two days as he is on a desert safari. He will only be back on Tuesday' I have been looking at relocating to the south of England from Manchester as the weekly commute was taking its toll. I had found this apartment for sale under a Private Sales listing and it looked perfect: Two en suite bedrooms, a separate lounge / dining room and the kitchen and bathrooms were new. The selling point for me was that it had a small front garden which would mean that Casey my Basset Hound would have a place to roam. I enquired, `Would it be possible to view it tomorrow morning? I realise it is a Sunday morning and would understand that it may not be the best time. By the way, my name is Tim, Tim Jackson.' He answered, `Hi Tim, I am Jess Kelsey. Tomorrow around 10am will be fine. John most probably forgot to tell me in his rush to get away' I thanked him and said that I would see him in the morning. Replacing the phone, I reflected back on my life over the past two years, A time of great joy and sadness. I had come out of a long term relationship six months prior to meeting Aidin two years ago. I had started going back to the gym and had met Aidin there. Shortly afterwards I had started my new job down in London and if I had not met Aidin, I would have moved down to London from Manchester where I had lived for over eighteen years. We agreed that it would be less expensive for Aidin to move into my apartment which I owned as he was renting. I commuted down to London and stayed in Manchester on Fridays to Monday morning. This worked perfectly and our relationship was great on all levels. Aidin at times came down to London with me for the week as his pieces that he painted were being exhibited in one of the smaller galleries from time to time. We usually saw very little of each other during those weeks as he was very busy preparing his works. Three months ago I decided to surprise Aidin as it was his birthday and found that he had his birthday present in our bed. It was a good friend of ours, Jake. I was totally shocked. The neighbours subsequently told me that they heard a primeval scream and saw Jake running out of the apartment without a shirt. Aidin left that morning to live with Jake. The neighbours also told me that they thought that Jake lived in the apartment as he was always there. I realised I was totally oblivious of what was happening and Jake was only a friend of mine because of his relationship with Aidin. It has taken me time to get over Aidin and my breakup has precipitated the move down south. I was ready to move on with my life although a few of my friends had said that I was running away.. Maybe I was as Jake and Aidin moved in the same circles as me. I left my apartment in Manchester at 4.30am on the Sunday morning. The drive down went well as we were having unseasonally good weather for February. I arrived in Newhaven at 9.45 am and the directions Jess gave were spot on. I rang the door bell several times before a very sleepy person answered the door. He was around 6 foot tall, a bit taller than me, had dark blond hair, bleary eyes and as he was shirtless, one could see that he worked out. `You must be Tim. I'm Jess. I am so sorry, I had a night out last night and forgot to set the alarm. The place is still a mess. Come inside, I won't be a minute as I need to wash my face.' I stepped in to see Jess bounding up the stairs. The only piece of clothing he had on was a pair of Aussie Bum briefs and I noticed that his legs were muscular too. I waited in the lounge for Jess to come down. A few minutes later he came bounding down the stairs this time and this time he had put on jeans and a tshirt. He was around 35 years old and from what I had seen earlier was good looking too. Being in my late `40s and after the two love disappointments, I had told myself that a guy closer to my age would be better in the long run and over ten years would be too much an age gap. `Thanks once again for agreeing to show me the apartment and you do not need to apologise. I left my place in Manchester this morning and I am glad that no-one will be going in as I left in a mess.' `How early did you leave Manchester to be here at 10am?' `I left at 4.30am this morning but went to bed at 10pm last night. My friends wanted me to come out last night and I know its sad but I decided to stay in' `My friends convinced me to go out and I did not have the willpower to say no and this is the result of it' He said as he pointed to his eyes. His eyes had cleared from the time that he opened the front door and I could not notice any problem and said that he looked fine. `Oh hell! I need to let Reg out' and he raced past me to the next room. I followed and saw the back of a black Labrador as he waited for Jess to open the back door. Jess closed the door and I looked around the kitchen. It was very different to the picture that I had seen on the website or so I thought as I had seen several apartments on the website. `This is the kitchen of course and lets go back to the lounge and start off there. The next half hour I was shown the apartment. It was exactly what I required yet I was not sure that this was the same apartment I had seen on the website. I asked Jess whether the kitchen and bathrooms were new. Jess answered by saying that he remembered that John had them refurbished two years ago. `Jess, I may be in the wrong apartment.' `What do you mean?' `I recall that the advertisement mentioned that the kitchen and bathroom were newly decorated. I have the printed information in the car. I will fetch it' I walked out and sat down on the sofa and showed Jess. He looked at it and started laughing. `Tim, the telephone number is one digit different. This number ends on 318, and the one on the leaflet end on 319.' `I can't believe it' I exclaimed through my laughter. We laughed out loud for some time and Jess was ragging me about that ugly is OK, but stupid as well! `The photos are definitely of this apartment block. I'll try the number.' He dialled the number and stared speaking to the person answering. He explained that I was with him and that there had been a misunderstanding and asked whether I could see the apartment. He rang off and said that it was the next apartment down. When the apartment building was built twelve years ago, the developer had arranged to sign the contract with the telecommunications company and the telephone numbers were in sequence. `You would still be sleeping if I had not disturbed you.' `Not a problem. It was great meeting you. Come back after you have seen the apartment and I will have coffee ready.' `Thanks, I'll take you up on that. I hope that the apartment is as good as this one' I left and knocked on the next apartment door. The apartment was newly decorated and it was perfect. I sat down with the owner, Devon Mitchell and mentioned that I wanted to make a formal offer. We agreed on a price and arranged the next step. I walked over to Jess' and knocked on the door. He opened the door and I stepped in. We walked over to the kitchen and I told him that I had made an offer on the apartment. `That's great. I know that you will be happy here. As I mentioned John is back on Tuesday and I will let him know that you have bought next door. John is a great guy and I know that you guys will be friends.' I spent the next hour with Jess and arranged to meet up when I moved in. He mentioned that he would show me around the town as John was more of a homebody. I did not want to tell him that I was a homebody too. The next few weeks flew by and the move date was set for the beginning of April. I had arranged to rent out my apartment in Manchester to a friend of mine and I packed up the apartment the previous weekend. I stayed over in London the day before the move and was down in Newhaven first thing. I collected the keys from the conveyancor and drove to my new home. Devon, the previous owner had left the apartment in excellent nick and I carried in the small items that I brought in my car. Casey, my basset hound made himself at home within minutes. He went out onto my front lawn and very soon found a hole in the hedge and was playing with Reg, John's dog next door. The rest of the day he appeared from time to time to see whether I was around and went back out to Reg who was now in my garden The removal van arrived at 10 am and the rest of the day was spent unloading and unpacking the large items. The removal guys were great and assembled the beds and the cupboards. The removal guys had left around 3pm and I continued unpacking the downstairs boxes. By the end of the afternoon the lounge and dining area looked OK and I had arranged that all the other boxes be placed in one bedroom upstairs and I would unpack these over the next two days. I was sorting out Casey's food around 7pm when the door bell rang. I placed his food outside the back door and went to the front door. It was Jess and I assumed the other person was John. Jess handed over a large plant and said, `Welcome back, I am surprised that you have moved into the right apartment what with your track record.' He looked over his shoulder and said, `Sorry Tim, this is John, John, this is Tim who tried to buy your apartment.' John was older than Jess and I found out later that he went to school with Jess' sister who is five years older. It has never happened before that I am physically attracted to someone from the first look and I blushed as I shook his hand. He was not classically good looking however his eyes were the deepest brown I had ever seen. The other feature that I loved was his shaven head which was perfectly shaped. I was at a loss for words and somehow got around asking them to come in and see the apartment. We walked through to the lounge and I was glad that I had sorted out most of the unpacking there. `Jess could not wait for you to move in. In fact he has been pestering me to come over for the past hour but I did not want to impose.' John's voice was deep and sensual. I found it very difficult looking at him because I was like a kid on his first date. I replied, `The movers were great and most of downstairs has been sorted out. The kitchen boxes are still not unpacked. I can offer you guys a beer without glasses or a cooldrink or coffee out of mugs.' Both John and Jess opted for beers and they followed me through to the kitchen. There Casey met John and Jess again as they told me that they had played with him when he came through the fence to play with Reg. Jess said, `Your dogs have made friends already. That hole in the hedge that John made when the previous owners were here has meant that they can be together all the time. John is going away tomorrow night and I will not be able to look after Reg. Are you OK to do so? John piped up, `Jess, I said that I will sort something out. Tim has only met me and I do not want to impose.' `John, it is not a problem at all. I am off the rest of the week and will be here. It is no problem and I know that Casey will love the company.' `Thanks Tim,that will be great. I owe you one.' I blushed like a school boy again. John and Jess stayed for a second drink and I arranged to go around to John's early the next morning to sort out the arrangements with Reg. I decided that I would carry on unpacking the next day and went upstairs to have a shower. I kept thinking of John and from the brief time I spent with him, I found liking him more. Both Jess and he were men's men. They loved all kinds of sport and had both played football in their younger days. They unfortunately supported Spurs and coming from Manchester, I supported United. They often went to football matches which I did too. They played tennis socially and Jess said that he would take me to their local gym the next night to see whether I wanted to join. In all the time they did not mention girls however that did not mean that they were gay. I of course had not mentioned that I was gay either. I decided to let John know the next morning as I was open to everyone already. I climbed out the shower and was drying myself in front of the mirror. At 48 I was in good shape. I would never be a bodybuilder yet from the gym work that I had put in the past few years, I was naturally lean muscled. Most people mistook me for a much younger guy and my reply was that it was from my mother's genes. My hair was mostly grey from being previously dark brown. Thinking of John had given me a hard-on and drying my cock had made it more hard. The past three months I had resorted to using my hand but tonight I gave my cock a few strokes and then wrapped the towel around me. I went downstairs to heat up the left over lasagne I had made for the movers. Casey came through and he sat at my feet whilst I ate. I had a great feeling about the apartment and knew that I would be happy down south. I knew that I would be good friends with both Jess and John. I was falling asleep over the bowl of lasagne and realised that the move had been more tiring that I had thought. It was only 9.30pm and I decided to go to bed. I fell asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow. The next morning I went around to John's and sorted out the arrangements. He was off to Austria on a business trip and would be back the next evening. Over a glass of water, as I do not drink tea or coffee, he said, `Thank you for agreeing to look after Reg. He hates to go into kennels even though it is only for a day. I am moving to another division in the company where I do not need to travel so much. At first I loved the travelling as I was able to arrange my trips around weekends but when I bought Reg last year, the trips have been very difficult. It is the same as leaving a young child at home.' `I know exactly what you mean, John. Casey stayed in Manchester with Aidin, my partner during the week whilst I worked near London. When Aidin and I broke up three months ago, Casey was farmed out to friends during the week however this was disruptive to both parties. I am glad that he will see me every day from now onwards.' By bringing Aidin into the conversation, I had let John know that I was gay. `Tim, I am sorry to hear about you and Aidin. Breaking up is always traumatic. I was married for over ten years and my wife left two years ago. For a year I did not look at anyone and became a type of recluse. I have Jess to thank for getting me out of the hole that I had dug myself in. We went on a ski-ing trip and I fell head over heels in love with the instructor. It must have been the attention that I craved. He came to live here with me but it did not work out. I have been single ever since. Jess keeps trying to hook me up with one of his friends but no-one has interested me.' I replied, `At times I think this getting together with someone is too much like hard work, then I see other people together and I know that is what I want too. The difficult part is finding the right guy, I know that he is out there somewhere.' `Exactly! I feel the same way. Turning 40 last year has made me re-evaluate my life and I am enjoying being who I am and do not want complications. Yet I miss the physical intimacy the most.' The more I spoke to John the more I liked him, Oh Ok the more I wanted him. In the past when there was an intense physical attraction, I was prone to lightly grinding my teeth and this had returned. We arranged to meet up the next night on his return and John excused himself as the taxi was arriving for him in the next few minutes. The next day flew by and I was feeding the dogs when John came over. He mentioned that he had a very successful trip and wanted to know whether I wanted to go out for a drink to celebrate my moving in and his business success. We arranged to meet up at 8pm. Usually I get ready in 15 minutes and this time it felt like my very first date ever and I was very nervous. I went over to John at 8pm and he had ordered a taxi to take us through to a local bar / club. Next Chapter The next move...