Florida, USA
Part 2

"This is your room," Joshua said as he led the way through the door, then dumped my bag on the bed. "Sheets are clean... probably won't be for long, though. Would you like a drink?"

"Yeah. I'm dying of thirst. Hey, this is a totally cool pad. Woohoo! Balcony and everything!"

"Can't see much. We're on the first floor. But at least the place isn't claustrophobic. Creme de menthe?"

"Huh?"

"You said you wanted a drink."

"How come nobody's home?" I asked as I followed him to the kitchen.

"They knew you were coming."

"Seriously."

"I am being serious. I told them all about you and they fled for their lives."

"Yeah, right. What's creme de... whatever it was?"

"Menthe."

"I guess you've got a speech impediment. That's OK, though. Doesn't worry me."

"Menthe is French for mint." Joshua took the bottle from the shelf, and pointed to the logo. "I've been told that if you take a drop of this stuff on your tongue, then suck on your partner's cock, it drives them totally wild. I haven't tried it yet, though."

"Oh... Uh... Have you got a Coke or something?"

"Scaredy cat."

"Am not!"

"Yes you are," he laughed as he poured two glasses of Sprite, then offered me one. "You're very good looking, Daniel."

"Thanks."

"Truly... I mean it. You're exceptional. You've got the kinda face that makes me wanna cuddle you forever."

Jeez! How the fuck was I gonna wriggle outa this one? "Well, I'm not really the cuddly type. I mean, people don't cuddle me... 'cept my mom... and even then, not very often. Basically, I'm not all that cuddly."

"Hey, why don't we just get to know each other?" Joshua smiled as he rested his drink on the kitchen bench. "Y'know... like break the ice? Can I hug you?"

"I guess."

Within a second, I was at the mercy of 180 pounds wrapped around me like it was never gonna let go. But then, slowly, I began to feel more comfortable. Joshua was nibbling my earlobe as my hands crept around his back, and returned the hug.

"You feel OK now?"

"I think so."

"Daniel... you're under no pressure here. OK? Don't be afraid of me."

"How come you just said that in a funny high voice?"

"'Cause I want you to know that I'm harmless. I use that lispy, faggy voice when I'm fooling around."

"But not when you were playing gridiron, right?"

"Yep, even then. The opposition was never quite sure whether I was gonna tackle them to death or hug them to death... or maybe worse."

"Worse? What kinda worse?"

"You've got nice ears, Daniel. Did I ever tell you I was an ears person? Yours have almost no lobes, which means you're athletic, probably with a well-defined physique."

"What do you mean 'worse'?"

"Huh? Oh, I was only kidding. I'd never do that on a football field."

"What?"

"What you're thinking."

"Where would you do it?"

"Hey," he grinned as he released me, placed his strong hands on my shoulders, and studied my eyes, "relax."

Yeah, right. Relax. Normally, I'd be in charge, taking off my clothes, and giving the dude a good long look at my asshole. But Joshua was different. For whatever reason, I didn't feel superior. Hmmm, was superior the right word? Probably not. I'd never felt superior to my friends. We were all equals. But I'd always enjoyed doing totally rad stuff to make their eyes pop. It was always about playing games, and trying to outshock them. But Joshua didn't seem to be the kinda dude who played those kinda games. He was more serious. More mature.

"You wanna show me around Orlando?"

"What do you wanna see? Buildings? Freeways? A city is a city is a city. Let's wait 'til tomorrow, and I'll show you around Disney World. We'll get an early start 'cause there's a helluva lot to see. By the way, what are you planning on wearing?"

"I dunno. Shorts OK?"

"No t?"

"It's summer."

"You can't go to Disney World shirtless... or shoeless. You can take off your shirt after we're inside... maybe. Actually, I'm not sure that's such a good idea. It's Gay Day."

"It's what??!!"

"You want me to help you unpack? It's about time you got settled in."

"What do you mean it's Gay Day?" I asked as I followed him to my room.

"You can hang your shirts and pants in here. And you can put your underwear and socks in those drawers. Did you bring toothpaste and stuff?"

"Yeah."

"There's a shelf in the bathroom you can use for your toiletries." Joshua went about the business of unzipping my bags and arranging things like he was some kinda bellboy in a hotel.

"Whaddaya mean Gay Day?"

"Huh? Oh... it's nothing, Daniel. Don't worry about it. Just a day when a few gays congregate at Disney."

"Like what's a few?"

"Thousand."

"A few thousand?"

"Maybe ten. I like this shirt. You wanna wear this one tomorrow?"

"Ten thousand?"

"Give or take. It's become quite a tradition."

"How come you didn't tell me about this before?"

"What difference would it have made? Are you gonna wear the green shirt or the yellow one?"

"Whatever. Ten thousand? All at once? Fucking hell!"

"Don't stress... I'll be there to protect you. I'm the jealous type. I think the yellow one would be nice. On the other hand, the green one..."

"Joshua! How can you be so fucking relaxed about this? Ten thousand gays? And one Daniel? Jeez! You've gotta be kidding, man. No way. I'm not going. And that's fucking final."

"Daniel, can I tell you something?"

"Yeah... you've decided on the green one."

"No... I mean about Gay Day. It's not a threat. Eighty percent of the guys who work at Disney are gay. It's showbiz, and we're attracted to it."

"We?"

"You didn't know I was gay?"

"Well, yeah... but not gay gay, if you know what I mean."

"You mean stereotypical? Hey, what's stereotypical? Two eyes and a nose? OK, I mince around and lisp sometimes, but only to make people laugh. That's not the real me."

"So who's the real you? Shoulder pads and a helmet?"

"No," he cracked as he continued to put my clothes away. "Not that either. Anyway, you should talk! I've read all your stories, remember?"

"Mr B takes fucking liberties. He's fucking outrageous. I'm not really like that."

"Yeah, right. Even if Mr B told a tenth of the truth, you're still a pretty awesome guy. So what are you afraid of?"

"I dunno... being away from home, I guess. Being in a strange place. Not knowing what's gonna happen next."

"What would you like to happen next?"

"I dunno the answer to that."

Joshua closed the drawers, then shut the doors of the closet. "Daniel, it's time for some real answers... the truth. Do you like me?"

"Yeah. You're pretty cool."

"But you wish you were back home with your friends. Is that right?"

"Kinda."

"We've gotta talk. OK? Let's go to the living room." Once we were seated on the sofa, Joshua continued. "Hey, I invited you here. Like I said, I've been a fan of yours for ages. I wanted to show you around Disney World... to give you a good time. Sure, I've fantasized about you, but that's not why I invited you. I really wanted to meet you, and to be your friend. So what happened? At the bus station, you looked at me like I was some stranger. "Did Joshua send you?" Do you have any idea how much that hurt?"

"But I didn't..."

"You didn't what? Recognize me? I recognized you."

"But I wasn't sure..."

"You're not sure of anything, Daniel. I mean, I don't know where I stand. Y'know? It's like does this guy like me or what? You say you do, but do you really? Check out the apartment. You know how long I spent cleaning it and tidying it? I wanted to make it nice for you. Did you notice?"

"Well, yeah, I kinda did."

"Kinda did? And then you treat me like I'm some kinda threat... physical threat. You know what's missing here? Trust. That's what's missing. You make me feel like I'm some kinda ogre."

"I didn't mean to."

"Maybe you didn't, but that's how it is. You know something? I've been reading your stories for years, and now I'm confronted with the reality. You're beautiful... very beautiful... but you're a fucking airhead. Forget about Disney. I'll drive you back to the bus station in the morning."

"Cool. I'm going for a walk. Alone."

I didn't have a fucking clue where I was going, but what the fuck. A street was a street, and it led to another street, which led to another street. What the hell was going on? One thing was for sure, I didn't belong here. I didn't understand all that bullshit stuff that Joshua was going on about. Airhead? What the fuck would he know? He's like known me for five fucking minutes and he's calling me an airhead? And what was all that shit about Gay Day? He had to be kidding. Right? Ten thousand guys prancing about and lisping? Yeah, right. No fucking way. I was outa there. Gone. Finito. *poof*

"Hey," came the voice from the car that pulled up alongside me. "Need a lift?"

I recognized the gold, 1993 Buick Regal, and smiled. "Got any creme de menthe?"

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