Finding Dayton Du'it

By: Solo Voice
(© 2017 by the author)

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

solo_voice@tickiestories.us

Chapter 1: The Applicant.

Lance put the vacuum cleaner into the bottom of the hall closet and closed the door. He performed another swift scan of the entire house to make sure everything was tidy and in its place. Satisfied that the house looked clean and inviting, he hoped things would work out and then went into the bathroom for a quick shower. He finished, cleaned the shower recess and then went to his bedroom to put on clean clothes.

Feeling like everything was done, he walked out onto the front veranda and sat down in the morning sun. He felt a sensual satisfaction, as the late morning sun warmed the uncovered skin of his legs, arms and face. If the expected person arrived on time, it would only be a couple more minutes of waiting. He settled himself and thought about the questions he needed to ask.

Lance was an attractive young man. At five foot ten he was average height but his body was solid and muscular, giving him a strong appearance. He was not a model-like head turner but he was definitely becoming more handsome as he matured. He was only twenty-four but as the boy faded further into the man, there was that inexplicable something that came with age, which was transforming his face, making it more desirable. There was another thing about him as well. His eyes were bright blue and really quite beautiful. The old adage suggests the eyes are the windows to the soul and Lance’s eyes were a proving ground, as they reflected the decent, good-hearted and quality soul he was.

Graced with his thickset body, Lance looked like he could be an athlete. Appearances can be deceiving and his most definitely was. Lance was not one of the fitness conscious that seemed to be flooding modern society. Gym work or exercise regimes were not something he paid any attention to. For the time being he looked and felt good about the man he was becoming. He knew at some point down his path in life, his body would begin to betray him if he did not alter his attitude, however, motivation of that kind seemed random at best and most often non-existent. Regardless, with his ash blonde hair that was clipped close to his scalp and his olive skin that he loved to bathe in sunlight, physically he was sexually attractive and a young man who was virile and alive.

Less than two minutes following sitting down on a chair, a car pulled up at the curb directly outside the gate. It was a medium sized car but Lance did not pay any attention to what sort it was. All he noticed was it was a faded light blue. Assuming it was the person he was waiting for, Lance stood up and descended the three stairs and walked along the footpath to the gate. He stood waiting and moments later the door opened. A man alighted the vehicle and as he stood and turned, he saw Lance and nodded an acknowledgement.

To Lance, during those first few seconds, the man appeared to be an average man, a tall, dark haired stranger like many other men. Lance watched as the man adjusted his pants at the hips and straightened his shirt but then the man looked over at him and smiled. The smile was like a great hand reaching out and closing around Lance’s body. It was a smile that held him captive for an imagined eternity.

Initially that day, Lance’s only concern was for a good outcome. He had been a little nervous with a degree of anticipation but he held no expectations of the person he was about to meet. His only consideration was that this man who had phoned him, would be someone decent and reliable. Everything was fine until that smile.

The fingers on both of Lance’s hands tightened on the dark green, picket fenced gate and his body stiffened. He felt his chest tighten. The man’s smile made him inhale deeply. Lance unconsciously held his breath until his body reminded him he needed to breathe. The man walked around his car and stepped up onto the verge before crossing the sidewalk and stopping at the gate.

Wearing black shoes, black jeans and a long sleeve, button up, pale green shirt, the man who was slightly less than six foot looked casual yet incredible. With black hair and a fair complexion, his shaven but dark shadowed face enhanced a very masculine appearance. The extreme breadth and expansiveness of his shoulders and upper body, somehow added to the perception of his size and these aspects garnered intimidation to his presence.

Lance felt like he had been rocked to the core. He did not know why but he felt extreme attraction as well as uncertain fear, which were sharing the moment like unlikely bed partners. He wanted to step back but he wanted to be closer. Apprehension filled him but so too did the most extraordinary desire. In a way that was not specific or easy to pinpoint, between the smile and the gate, the man had undergone a transformation.

Lance could not put a finger on specifics. The stranger was not his idea of the ideal man but there was definitely something about him. Striking was the word that dashed through Lance’s mind but like all of his thoughts in those moments, it drifted away vaguely. Without a word between them, an extreme attraction was gnawing at the core of Lance’s being.

The man inquired, “I’m guessing you would be Lance Cooper?”

Lance responded while silently begging that the face belonged to the name, “Yes! Dayton Du’it, is it?”

“Yeah, that’d be me,” Dayton replied and then unleashed yet another dazzling smile.

Lance was not even aware that he had frozen and was staring at the man. Time had stopped and his brain had ceased to function normally. There were only two things he was aware of. One was that the man standing in front of him made him feel nervous and the other, he was most certainly well beyond sexually attracted to the stranger.

Dayton asked, “Is there a problem?”

Lance questioned after being snapped back into their reality by the man’s voice, “No. Why?”

“Well, I’m here to see the house and room and I can’t really do that from the sidewalk.”

“Shit, sorry,” Lance said and fumbled to pull the latch on the gate.

Swinging the gate open, Lance stepped to the side and let Dayton walk passed him. Dayton stopped and waited while Lance closed the gate and then turned around. Lance looked at Dayton’s face and was instantly aware of how unsettled the stranger was making him feel.

“It looks like a nice house from the street and the yard is lovely and green,” Dayton remarked.

“Yeah, lots of trees and flowering plants. The grass is also quite lush, which is a good thing considering the high salt content of the air,” Lance said.

Dayton nodded and then Lance told him to follow him inside. Taking the first steps toward the house, Lance could feel Dayton behind him like an ominous shadow looming over him. He felt so discomforted by the man’s presence, he decided to let him view the house and room but not let him move in.

Dayton asked, “Not working today?”

“Yeah, I am but not until later,” Lance replied.

Dayton queried, “What do you do?”

“I work part time in a restaurant as a waiter,” Lance answered.

“I love houses with a wood façade,” Dayton said as his thoughts continued randomly.

“Yeah, me too. At times I can still smell the wood like it were new. I mean it’s in good condition and it’s not really that old but the house has a lived in appearance and feel. I love the dark green edgings of the eaves and around the windows and door frames.”

Dayton questioned, “How long have you lived here?”

Lance came to an abrupt halt, forcing Dayton who was unable to stop in time, to bump into him. “Sorry,” Lance said as he turned around and looked into Dayton’s eyes. He immediately felt consumed by them and he did a swift and unobservable double take of the color. Though he thought they were blue, he was uncertain. The eyes looking at him were very dark. He saw dark blue, debated the nature of dark green and even considered something verging on a grayish-black. Perhaps the deceptive color was due to the light reflecting in Dayton’s eyes but Lance thought it was unusual to be this close to someone and not be able to determine the exact color of their eyes. Thinking he had already decided not to let the man move in, he dismissed his uncertainty as unimportant.

“Dayton, the answer to that question is how the advertisement in the paper came to be. After you have a look around and you know if you like the place and if you want to move in, maybe I can make us a coffee and we can sit down and I’ll explain it all to you,” Lance said but was stupefied as to why he made the offer at all.

“Sounds intriguing, though it also sounds good to me,” Dayton replied.

“Great,” Lance said but was wondering why his thoughts and his words were in contradiction.

“It’s nice decking. Solid and well built,” Dayton remarked.

“I like sitting out here some mornings in the sun,” Lance replied.

Dayton smiled and Lance swallowed hard. Lance had no idea what was happening. He wanted Dayton to drag him inside, rip off his clothes and take him forcefully. At the same time, he knew the man filled him with apprehensive thoughts and unsettled him to his core. However, each time Dayton spoke, his voice resonated inside of Lance and made him want to get to know him. Everything seemed utterly incongruous and Lance was feeling completely out of sorts. He pulled open the screen door and held it courteously, allowing Dayton to enter first.

“Thanks,” Dayton said.

“Anytime,” Lance replied.

Dayton took an instant liking to Lance. He was not certain why but he felt completely relaxed with him and like he had known him for years. He thought there was sincerity and kindness in Lance’s eyes, which gave him the sense they could be friends.

When Dayton entered the house, he only took two steps before he stopped. When Lance followed he could only take one step and was halted right behind him as a consequence. Their bodies were barely inches apart. Lance’s eyes became fixed in a stare, as he gazed at the skin of the back of Dayton’s neck. In that moment Lance was overwhelmed by compulsion. He wanted to run his hands over the large back and to press his lips to the flawless skin that was holding his attention.

“As you can see, this is the living room,” Lance said after re-establishing his focus.

“It’s big,” Dayton commented as he looked around.

It was a square room with beige walls and the carpet was gray with dark brown flecks. The feeling of the room was comfortable and warm but the most noticeable thing to Dayton was the lack of furniture. There was a three-seat, material couch, facing a large, rectangular coffee table. A single seat lounge was positioned and pointed at the end of the wooden table as well. There was a large, black, wooden wall unit that was obviously used to house an entertainment system. It covered much of the wall to his right and was in direct line of sight of the couch.

Though Dayton could see the sound system elements, the lack of a television seem highly strange to him. Dayton thought that the big and empty hole at the centre was crying out to be filled. He could also see six speakers positioned in an appropriate manner around the room but apart from those items, the rest of the large room was empty.

Directly opposite the front door were wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling, heavy curtains. Patterned uniquely in colors of red and gold over a foundation of brown, they blended with the brown, rust and yellow colors of the couch. There were obviously big windows behind the curtains but they had not been pulled back and so the only natural light was coming from the window on his side of the room, as well as from the opened front door.

Lance stepped around Dayton and began to cross the room. At the centre of the wall to their left was the entrance to a sizeable hallway and as Lance turned into it, Dayton followed. Some distance down the hall they came to two doorways directly opposite each other. Lance stopped and turned around.

“That’s my room,” he said, gesturing toward it matter-of-factly.

Dayton looked in through the doorway on his right and saw an open window with light and simple, white curtains, tied back to either side. A desk with a computer sat in front of it so that whenever Lance was using the computer, he could also look outside. Dayton could see a small section of ocean between two trees through the window. Curiously, he took a couple of steps into the room and looked around. He saw a double bed against the wall opposite the desk. The room was bright, neat and tidy but there was also that vague scent of a man. He stepped back and returned his focus to Lance.

“This is the first of the available rooms,” Lance said gesturing and then walked into the empty room opposite his.

Dayton followed. Once again, like all the rooms so far, it was big and he knew it would be perfect accommodation for him and his possessions. The window looked out onto the street and he could see his car. There was a built-in wardrobe on the wall to his right that was large. It had huge mirrors on the sliding doors, which was something that stood out to him and that he was pleased with.

It suddenly occurred to Dayton that both of the bedrooms were rectangular. However, though the doors were opposite, the length of the rooms pointed in opposite directions. Lance’s room extended down the hall while the room they were in, extended toward the living room. When Lance walked out of the room, again Dayton followed. Dayton stopped outside the door and looked at the hallway walls leading to the living room. They were the same length and so he wondered what filled the space between Lance’s room and the main room. Dismissing his curiosity, he turned and followed Lance again.

The next door along was the bathroom, which was again on the left. It had a very large shower recess surrounded by crystal clear glass and the floor was tiled with small, blue, hexagonal tiles. The lower half of the walls were tiled in flat, square and shining white tiles. The last line of tile at the top was dark blue and divided the tile from a standard white wall. All of the other usual features such as bathtub, toilet, vanity unit and a large mirror above the basin were present.

“This is a really nice house, so far,” Dayton commented.

“I think so. The other room that’s available is this one,” Lance said and then he turned, left the room and moved diagonally across the hallway.

Dayton exited the bathroom and followed the few steps across to the second room, which was next to Lance’s room. Almost immediately he said, “I think I like the other room.”

“Well, it’s your choice at the moment,” Lance replied.

“I like that the one opposite your room gets the morning sun.”

Lance nodded his understanding before saying, “Morning sun on that side and afternoon sun on this side. The house sits east-west,” he clarified and then stepped out of the room.

Leaving Dayton looking at the empty room, Lance walked down to yet another doorway. It was the third door on the left and beside the bathroom. It only took a few steps for him to reach it but in those seconds, he became extremely aware of an odd feeling, which was telling him Dayton was the one. Lance thought it was a very strange thing to think. He had already decided against Dayton and so he was just going through the motions. He also knew they had barely spoken and that he knew nothing about him. He thought it made no sense to be thinking he should let him move in. Subsequently, Lance assumed the odd feeling had nothing to do with anything other than his desire to hook up with Dayton.

“This is the laundry,” he said while waiting for Dayton to follow him out of the empty room. When he did, Lance said, “There’s a washing machine and a clothes dryer so that side of things is taken care of.”

Dayton stopped right beside Lance and as he leaned on the doorframe he popped his head through the doorway. “Right,” he said, looking at the laundry but less interested.

Lance inhaled naturally but as Dayton was standing so close to him, he caught the scent of cologne. Dayton smelled good, really good but then he turned back to face Lance and their eyes met in close proximity. Lance felt himself take a deep breath and then he realized he was getting an erection.

Something caught Dayton’s attention and as he looked over Lance’s shoulder, he pointed to the end of the hall and said, “Where does that door lead?”

“The garage but I’ve already commandeered it for my car. Depending on you, you can park in the driveway outside of the garage door but if you do, you’ll have to move your car when I need to go out.”

“That’s not a problem for me,” Dayton said agreeably.

Lance nodded and then walked back toward the living room. Once there they turned to the left. Much closer to the large, curtained windows was another doorway that Dayton had not noticed. Dayton stepped in and realized it was the kitchen that filled the space between Lance’s room and the living room. It was a good size with lots of cupboard space and plenty of bench tops as well. It also had a breakfast bar with stools, which fundamentally divided the room in half. Everything that was needed in a kitchen was there but on the doorway side of the breakfast bar where they were standing, it seemed empty.

“Perfect place for a dinner table but I don’t have one,” Lance said.

“I sort of guess that but I have to tell you, I don’t have one either,” Dayton replied with a soft, breathy chuckle.

Walking back into the living room, Lance pulled the heavy curtains back, revealing an expansive view of beach and ocean just beyond the small yard. He smiled to himself while thinking that if anything would be the selling point of the house, it would be this. After all, it had been the thing that really caught his eye.

“Wow. I’m hooked,” Dayton said.

Lance slid the sliding glass doors open and then stepped through onto an almost identical deck as the one out front. Dayton followed him out and leaned against the balustrade as he stared at the beach.

“It’s funny, I knew the ocean was there and I even saw it from your bedroom but I didn’t connect it to the house when I was driving down the road. I certainly didn’t consider a panorama like this. Lance, I love this place and I’d love to move in if you’re interested in having me as a housemate.”

“Housemate? Try bed mate,” Lance thought silently, as he looked at Dayton from behind and took in the shape and size of his body.

Regardless of everything that had occurred since Dayton had arrived and up until that moment, everything of importance was gone from Lance’s mind. Though it was completely unlike Lance to act irrationally, suddenly all he wanted was to be close to this man. Lance was like a puppet on a string, choice and action determined by a greater power.

“How about that coffee I offered you and we can have a talk,” he said.

“Sounds great,” Dayton replied.

“Take a seat on the couch and I’ll get the coffees. How do you take yours?”

“White with two.”

“Same as me, makes it easy to remember,” Lance said.

Dayton replied, “Yeah, it does.”

When Lance walked into the solitude of the kitchen, his normal reasoning began to function. He instantly recalled his circumstances and his purpose and he wondered what the fuck he was doing. His life was currently sitting on a knife’s edge and in less than two weeks it would fall one way or the other. He knew he desperately needed to get things sorted out. He told himself he knew what his priorities were and that this was no time for fantasies of hot sex with a straight man. He wanted his life to return to a comfortable and more relaxed state of being. He wanted the uncertainty and the feeling of pressure gone. It was not a difficult choice and yet, the stranger in the other room was having a bizarre and out of the ordinary effect on him. His uncertainty made no sense because Lance was a very decisive man.

Lance was not what many would consider to be a standard, gay man. He was in no way a stereotype, he was not a gay flag waver and he did not socialize within the gay scene. It was who he was, which was based on his nature and how he wanted and needed to live his life. It had nothing to do with insecurities or a closeted existence. Everyone Lance knew was fully aware he was gay. He was completely out of the closet and totally comfortable with the man he was. It was simply a matter of being true to his nature and not falling into a lifestyle he neither liked nor wanted.

When it came to meeting men, Lance left it to the randomness of life. He did not go to gay bars, he did not go to beats and he did not leave his home with specific intentions of searching for sex or love. Those needs, attitudes and actions had been part of his teenage years but now he was a different man.

Several years previous he had come to terms with his priorities, with the exact nature of his desires and also the clear perception of what mattered to him the most. If the opportunity presented itself for random sex, he would accept it healthily with open arms. However, Lance knew it was not anonymous or random sex that he desired; he wanted love and a long-term relationship.

Lance was fully aware of the difficulties of finding what he wanted with the choices he had made. Not being a part of the gay scene made it difficult to meet men easily. Irrespective, he was fundamentally a positive man and believed that if he were honest with himself and if he honored who he was with integrity, life would allow his dreams to come true. He knew in a way he was waiting for the opportunity to present itself, however, on some level he was always aware and watching. As a consequence, whenever a new man that he was attracted to came into his surrounds, Lance was quick to analyze his chances and to know the appropriateness of his actions. Based on his certainty that Dayton was straight, Lance believed any chance with him was zero to minus one.

By the time the coffees were made, the pragmatic Lance had returned but when he returned to the living room, put the beverages on the coffee table and then sat down, a single look into Dayton’s eyes shattered his pragmatism again.

Lance looked at Dayton and though he knew he was meant to ask him questions, he could not remember what the questions were. All that Lance knew was that the man sitting on the couch beside him, in Lance’s eyes, at least, was figuratively to die for. Almost instantly, Lance had another bone in his shorts, his heart was beating hard and in a spontaneous and irrational manner, he decided he was going to let Dayton move in.

After he picked up his coffee and took a sip, Dayton said, “Thanks” and then asked, “So what were you going to tell me?”

“Well, you asked me how long I’d been here and the answer to that question is two weeks and this is the beginning of my third. You see I moved in as a consequence of an advertisement like the one you saw in the paper. There were two guys living here and when I came to take a look, I felt about the house the way you seem to feel about it.”

“Understandable,” Dayton said.

“They told me that there had been fifty applicants for the room but that they felt I was the most suitable because I was a writer and I’d be a quiet and good housemate.”

Dayton queried, “I thought you said you were a waiter?”

“Yeah, I did and I am but that’s about paying the rent. Anyway, I moved in the next day and paid them a hefty bond as security. As the week progressed they seemed decent enough but then unexpectedly, when I came home from work on the Friday, I discovered that not only had they moved out without a word but also, they’d taken my flat screen television and my DVD player. I guess I was lucky they didn’t take my entire entertainment system.”

“Shit,” Dayton said.

“So, I raced down to the realtor that manages the property and I told him what had happened. He was almost as shocked as I was. He checked the records and told me the rent was paid up for four weeks, which he also said had been paid the previous month. We discussed what had happened and we agreed it had been planned. Obviously the money I gave them was what they wanted and my television and DVD player were bonus extras.

“In retrospect, I know the realtor was right. When I came to see the house it had less furniture than it does now. I questioned them about it and they told me the previous tenant owned almost everything and took it when they moved out. I told them I had a couch, coffee table and wall unit, along with an entertainment system and their eyes lit up. I now assume that was why they chose me. I suspect they knew instantly I was their patsy for their plan.

“Anyway, whatever their motives, I was left to pick up the pieces. The realtor was apologetic but said there was nothing he could do about it. Finally he said the rent would have to be paid and therefore I could either stay and take over with a new lease or I’d have to move out when the four weeks expired.”

Dayton asked, “Did you call the police?”

“Yeah but the names on the lease were bogus and no one knew who they were or where they went. So I was stuck in a three bedroom, beachside house with a rent I couldn’t afford on my own. I had no available money to move again and so I was left with a difficult decision.

“To cut a long story short, the next week I went to the realtor a second time and I told him I wanted to stay. I told him the truth in that I couldn’t afford it on my own and that I was going to try to get some people to share the house and the rent with me. He agreed because the rent wasn’t due for another three weeks and so he told me that was how much time I had to sort it out. That was last week and so in just over two weeks I either have to sign a new lease or move out.”

“Not pretty,” Dayton said.

“No, it wasn’t and it isn’t but I think this house is worth it. I feel at home here and I’d like to stay and so if you’re interested, I’d love for you to move in with me.”

Dayton looked at Lance but he held back the surprise he was feeling. Lance had not asked him anything about who he was or what he did. Lance did not know if he had a job, if he could pay his share of the rent or even if he was responsible and not a prick like the guys that had scammed him. Dayton could understand the position Lance was in and that he must have been feeling pressured to get things sorted, however, he still thought Lance was being foolish.

Irrespective, Dayton could not override the feeling that he really liked this guy and that he also loved the house. Something about this situation seemed like it was exactly what he needed to start again and to pull himself out of the hole he had long been in. Feeling like it was meant to be, he looked up at Lance and smiled.

“Yeah, I’d love to move in. The sooner the better,” he said.

“Whenever you want to. Tomorrow if you’d like,” Lance said, his mind on the man and not at all on what he was doing.

Dayton sat forward and stretched out his hand. Lance did the same and as they shook hands Dayton said, “ It’s nice to meet you, Lance.”

“Welcome,” Lance replied and held Dayton’s hand for longer than he should, as he gazed into his eyes.

“I don’t suppose you’d allow me to move in today? I mean it’s not urgent and I don’t have to or anything like that. It’s just that I have to work the rest of the week and if I could, I’d like to get settled as soon as possible, otherwise I’ll have to wait until the weekend,” he said and looked down, as he wondered why Lance was still holding his hand.

Realizing as a consequence, Lance released his hand and sat back. Trying to accommodate Dayton’s needs he said, “Well, my shift at the restaurant is only the lunch shift, so yeah, I guess after that wouldn’t be a problem.”

“What’s your start and finish time? I only ask because I know a guy who isn’t working until later this afternoon and is willing to help me move the heavy stuff. I’m thinking with his help, I could do it all in one move before he goes to work.”

“Today I’m working from eleven until three.”

“Oh,” Dayton said, sounding disappointed.

Not only did Lance hear the tone of the response but he also saw the look in Dayton’s eyes, which now looked blue. In that moment those eyes, whatever color they were, tugged at his heartstrings and Lance made another wild decision.

“Give me a moment,” Lance said and then in a completely trusting manner, he retrieved one of the sets of keys to the house from his bedroom and then came back and handed them over to Dayton.

“Thank you, really, so much,” Dayton said.

“So I guess when I get home from work you’ll already be moved in, then?”

“Excluding accident or death, yeah, I should be,” Dayton replied.

“Let’s hope neither of those things happen and that your new home is as satisfying for you as it is for me.”

“Something tells me, Lance, you and I are going to be good friends.”

Lance smiled and he liked the idea but he could not help thinking he hoped they could be much more than friends. Dayton picked up his coffee and swallowed what was left.

“Well, I should get going and get started and I’ll see you later.”

“Can’t wait,” Lance said with a smile and Dayton looked at him with subtle yet undetected curiosity.

Lance walked Dayton to the door and let him out and then closed the door behind him. He dug his hand deep into his shorts and pulled his erection into an upstanding position and then he sighed with relief. It had been hard as hell for much of the time and though he wanted to bust a relieving nut, he knew he had to get to work.

As he cleaned up the coffee mugs, he thought it was interesting if not a little odd, how he suddenly felt like he had made the right decision. He was definitely still very hot for Dayton but also, during the time they sat on the couch, he knew he was warming toward Dayton and far less intimidated. With positive thoughts he went to his bedroom and changed into his work clothes. He locked the house and then with keys in hand, he walked through the hallway door and into the garage.

To be continued...

Posted: 05/05/17