Wednesday, March 29, 2006

More Sex for Japan

These days there are two main real-time data providers in the financial markets, namely Reuters and Bloomberg. As a Bloomberg user I get sent the monthly Bloomberg Markets magazine, which is the last place that I’d expect to find anything of interest for this blog. Actually with so much to read at work I tend to regard such magazines as junk mail so I usually don’t even bother to take the magazine out of the wrapper it gets sent in.

But by chance, I picked up a colleague’s copy of the April 2006 Bloomberg magazine and the Asia Briefing article grabs my eye, "More Sex for Japan" by William Pesek Jr. It turns out to be a summary of a recent survey conducted by the condom maker Durex into the world’s sexual habits. The Asia Briefing article title refers to the frequency of sex that people apparently have. The Durex survey reports that the global average is 103 times a year, but bottom of the list are the Japanese at only 45 times a year. Second from bottom is Singapore at 73 times a year (any comment DL?).

It's full of other fascinating statistics too. According to the 'Number of sexual partners' section, on average globally people have had 9 sexual partners, falling to only 3 in India. According to the 'Age of first sex' section, the average age globally for one's first sexual experience is 17.3 years, although only 15.6 years in Iceland.

But even the 'Have you ever had any of the following?' section doesn't ask about gay experiences. Doesn't Durex want to sell any of it's products to gay men?

Sunday, March 26, 2006

An accidental second meeting

Three weeks ago on Sunday morning I’m logged into gaydar when a guy contacts me through the chat system.

guy: hi there, nice profile
GB: thx m8 :-)
guy: so u busy this morning
GB: plan to go to the gym, but free apart from that
guy: so u might have time for a bit of fun then, im horny as hell here mate

We work out quite quickly that we’re not that far from each other so meeting up is very feasible. But his profile doesn’t have a pic on it, so I don’t know what he looks like.

GB: got any pics m8?
guy: yyy what’s your email address?

While I send him a pic of me using the gaydar message system, he uses e-mail to send me his pic. When it arrives, the pic shows him sitting in a pub drinking a beer with a female friend. But because he’s seated behind a table I can’t tell how trim he is, which probably means he’s more cuddly than he’d like to be! Never mind, he’s got a cute friendly face. So we exchange mobile phone numbers, but as I’m entering his number into my phone I get a surprise – it’s already there! I must have met him before, but when? I certainly haven’t visited anyone at his address before. Luckily it doesn’t take me long to work out who it is

GB: I’ve just realised that I visited you in your office last december :-)

While I’m waiting for his reply I can’t help wondering why I didn’t recognise him from his pic. Perhaps I was more focussed on other parts of his anatomy instead of his face! After a brief pause he acknowledges the situation

guy: yes I remember

Although it was fun meeting him surreptitiously in his office, it was a satisfactory session rather than a great one. I guess I’m OK with a repeat performance but does he have the same opinion?

guy: how quickly can you get here mate, I’ve got to go out around noon

It would appear that he does!

GB: no probs, I’ll take a taxi, so should be with you within half an hour, plenty of time :-)
guy: great
GB: OK see you soon

I decide to visit him before heading to the gym as previously planned, but it takes me a bit of time to find some clean kit to take with me. Eventually I’m ready to go. Once outside I send him a txt msg

GB: Looking for cab now :-)

Luckily there are a few cabs around so it doesn’t take long to find one. Seated in the back of the taxi I get his reply

guy: OK but if u can’t get cab soon may need to cancel

To set his mind at rest I send him a quick reply

GB: In a cab now

The cab driver has a bit of trouble finding his apartment, but none the less I arrive around 11:15am, plenty of time if he doesn’t have to go out until noon. I ring his doorbell and he buzzes me in. When I reach his door he’s left it ajar so I walk straight in.

“Hi it’s GB”

“Hi come in”

I head into the room where the voice came from. We smile at each other.

“So how’ve you been since I saw you in December?” I say, trying to break the ice.

“Oh fine”

He’s sitting down watching TV and he seems to be at a bit of a loss, so I make a suggestion.

“Is there anything more exciting you could put on the TV?”

“Err, oh yes, actually I’ve got a DVD if I can find it.”

While he’s out of the room I shed most of my clothes and by the time he returns I’m standing there naked except for my undershorts. He looks me up and down and smiles before heading over to the TV to insert his DVD. While he’s fiddling with the DVD remote control I go behind him and reach round and rub his nipples through his shirt. He murmurs appreciatively, so I start unbuttoning his shirt. He doesn’t resist. We end up paying very little attention to what the athletic young guys are doing to each other on the TV and have an enjoyable time with our own activities.

“You’re not going into work now are you?” I ask afterwards.

“Errr no, why do you ask?”

“Well you were working at a weekend the last time I met you!”

“True, but I do try to avoid working at weekends”

It was fun, but in future I must try and pay more attention in case I’m chatting to guys that I’ve met before. I can definitely think of some guys that I don’t want to meet again!

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

A respectable Saturday night party

Who can resist a man in a dinner jacket?It's Saturday night about two and a half weeks ago and myself and boyfriend number 1 have been invited to a respectable party. Dress code is "glamorous" so we decide to dress up. Both me and boyfriend number 1 find men dressed in dinner jackets irresistible, so we decide to wear ours and hope that some of the other guys will do the same.

Most of the other party guests are straight. However after about an hour I get an indication that the party might not be as respectable as I first thought when I get talking to another gay guy.

"I was chatting to the hostess last week and she'd never heard of tromboning!" he says mischievously.

"Hmmm, actually I have no idea what tromboning is either", I confess, "I've heard of fluffing though!"

"Everyone's heard of fluffing dear!!"

I can tell he's enjoying the conversation.

"Anyway", he continues in his best 'matter-of-fact' voice, "tromboning is when you rim a guy and wank him off at the same time." He does the actions, with his right hand and his tongue.

I burst out laughing. "I can see where it gets its name from!"

"Oh, and I've got another one for you. Tea-bagging, ever heard of that?"

I shake my head, I don't know that one either.

"Tea-bagging is dangling one's scrotum in and out of the other guys mouth, you know, like you dip a tea bag into hot water to make tea."

Very fascinating and amusing, although not exactly 'respectable' conversation!

Towards the end of the party, I walk up to the roof terrace to get a bit of fresh air. It's been a fabulous evening. There doesn't appear to be anyone on the terrace, but as I reach the top of the stairs I can hear some frantic activity. I turn round to see one of the young female guests looking a bit guilty, standing next to one of the waiters who's got a cheeky grin on his face. As I walk over to look at the view I notice that the waiter hasn't had time to do up the fly zip on his trousers. They're both looking at me, what on earth can I say?

"Errr, it's a lovely little refuge up here isn't it?"

They both look at me and smile politely. Oh dear, what a plonker I feel, perhaps it's best just to leave.

Although I enjoy respectable parties, I guess I enjoy unrespectable parties too because there's more to gossip about. After telling boyfriend number 1 all about it, I go and find the gay guy that I was talking to earlier.

"OK, you'll never guess what just happened."

"Come on then", he says, "spill the beans."

"I just went up to the roof terrace and that girl you know was up there shagging one of the waiters!"

Now it's his turn to burst out laughing, "Which girl I know? Hang on, are they still up there?"

"I think so", I say, nodding my head, and before I can say anything else he's half way towards the entrance to the roof terrace to see for himself. Later I get the full story from him.

"She told me he's from Bosnia. He wanted to take her up the jacksie, but when she saw the size of it she started having second thoughts!"

How did he get this information I wonder? I'd feel far too embarrassed to ask her what she'd been doing, after all it's not any of my business.

"And do you know what she said when I gave her one of my disapproving looks?" he continues. "She said, 'well its not easy for a girl of my age in London these days you know'. 'You can do better than him dear' I said."

Attending unrespectable parties wearing a dinner jacket makes me feel like a student again. Apart from the couple I caught trying to have a surreptitious shag, I've expanded my vocabulary. I've said it before but how ever many times you go round the block there's always something new to look at!

Saturday, March 18, 2006

Fun with a bisexual voyeur

I’m logged into Gaydar on Saturday three weeks ago when I get contacted by a guy who lives relatively close to me. After the preliminary introductions, it doesn't take him long to get down to business:

guy: I like watching guys wank
GB: well I don't mind if you watch me :-)

I've done this kind of thing before of course, and even once for cash! The guy needs to go out briefly, but he'd like me to visit him in an hour or so when he gets back. Fine, that works for me. Just one final question

GB: do you want me to wear anything in particular?

In my experience, voyeurs can sometimes have interesting fetishes.

guy: I'd like you completely naked, apart from white socks please

Sure, why not! There's something very direct and to the point about this guy that I quite like.

I arrive on time and he buzzes me into the apartment block where he lives. It's a nice new apartment block, and I can tell on my way up to the eighth floor that he's going to have some splendid views of the neighbourhood. I'm about to knock on the door when the door opens. He must have been looking through the spyhole.

"Hello. Come on in". Before he opened his mouth I had no idea he wasn't British, but now he's spoken it's clear that he's got a Bavarian accent. Things are a bit clearer now, German guys do tend to be quite up front about things.

"Hi", I say, "so where do you want me?"

He takes me round the corner into one of the bedrooms. Although his direct manner is a bit austere, he's got a friendly face. Once inside the bedroom, he sits down on a chair next to the bed and carefully puts his glasses on. "You can do it on the bed please".

He watches me carefully while I strip off. The silence seems a bit daunting. "Do you live here alone?" I ask.

"With another guy. We have an open relationship."

Soon I'm naked on the bed, apart from the white sports socks which I obediently wore.

"Do you like watching me doing this like this?" I ask after a few minutes.

"Ya, dat is good."

"Would you like to touch me?" Some voyeurs won't get involved like that at all, but others are a bit shy and just need an invitation.

"Ya, in a minute".

Watching me must be what he needs to get aroused, because suddenly he stands up and drops his trousers to reveal a huge erection. He comes over and gets onto the bed. Unlike any of the previous voyeurs that I've met, he's into a lot more than pure voyeurism. It turns out he enjoys participating in various activities, so we have a good time together.

Afterwards we head over to his main living area. As expected, he's got a fabulous view.

"Can I get you anything?" he asks in a friendly voice. Some guys like you to leave after the main event, but this guy seems keen for me to stay a while.

"Yeah a glass of water would be lovely. So do you meet many guys from gaydar like this?"

"A few, when I can find the time. Actually I used to enjoy watching straight couples."

He says it in such a straightforward way, in the same way he might tell you that he's got brown hair.

"Really?" I say, looking interested. Other people sexual deviations are always a source of fascination for me, especially coupled with his deadpan delivery.

"Ya watching a man with a woman, but gradually I realised it was always the man I was really interested in."

"Isn't it a bit difficult to arrange that kind of event?" In my experience it's hard enough arranging a meeting with just one guy on gaydar, let alone having to co-ordinate between three people.

"Yes, you're right of course. But you can pay for it."

Of course you can, silly me!

"There was this Brazilian guy I knew", he continues. "You know what Brazilians can be like, they're into everything! He came over with a female friend once or twice, then he started sending other couples who were friends of his friends for £100. That's only £50 for each of them, and they were visiting me too, I thought that was a good deal!"

I guess you can't argue with the economics.

"How long did this go on for?" I ask, still fascinated.

"Well they gradually tried to put the price up. Luckily I lost contact after the main Brazilian guy moved away so he wasn't around to tempt me. I just focus on what I really want now, which is the men."

We chat for a while and after maybe 20 minutes I feel it's time to leave. As I wander home I can't help wondering how many closeted gay guys watch straight porn for kicks. As long as there's a woman present too, they can avoid labeling themselves as gay while watching gorgeous naked guys in action. Actually, thinking back to my adolescence, that's probably what I did!

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Another session with the Rich Kid

On the Sunday just over three weeks ago, the day after I got turned down twice (face-to-face!), I spot the Rich Kid online. My ego is a bit bruised given what happened the day before, so a session with a nice friendly guy that I've met before seems a good idea. I decide to start chatting to him:

GB: hi, remember me
RK: sure :-)
GB: so how u been since we met?
RK: been busy working, what about u?
GB: same! planning a holiday now with a friend for early March

Of course the holiday I refer to is the holiday that I was planning to take with boyfriend number 2. The day after this conversation was the day I had the argument with boyfriend number 1 so it all got cancelled. But on that Sunday, I was still looking forward to seeing boyfriend number 2 again. Anyway, the Rich Kid seems happy to hear from me again so I decide to risk asking the key question

GB: would luv to meet u again if ur up for it sometime

After not too much of a pause, I get the response

RK: that is cool with me :-)

Excellent! Now, the secondary key question of course is

GB: would today be convenient for me to visit you? :-)

No Response. Never mind, I remember that the first time we met he took a bit of coaxing to get him to agree to let me visit him. It should be easier the second time.

A short while later, boyfriend number 1 needs me to help him with something, so I tell the Rich Kid that I'm going to be away for a bit

GB: BRB

To my surprise, I get an immediate response because he doesn't know what that means!

RK: ?
GB: "Be Right Back", got to go and do a couple of things
RK: ok, I'm working at the moment anyway

That's probably a good sign. Last time he was working too, and eventually I got him to agree to let me visit him to give him a little break from the work he had to do!

About half an hour later I'm back, so I try prodding the guy in the direction I want him to go in

GB: Hi, back now, u going to be working all day
RK: perhaps you should come and give me a quick break

Great it worked!

Within twenty minutes I'm in a cab on my way to visit him. Just like last time, it's a relatively quick session, but very enjoyable. At least now I can put the previous wasted day behind me!

Friday, March 10, 2006

A bizarre wasted day

Since my online cruising life started in the mid 1990's, there have only been two occasions when I've turned up to meet someone for a session and been turned down once we've met face to face. This makes what happened to me on the Saturday around three weeks ago completely bizarre.

With the two occasions in the past, one was because the other guy felt too uncomfortable with the situation of having another guy visit purely for a bit of fun. The guy had never put himself in that situation before, and once I was there with him he realised that meeting men like that didn't suit him at all. This was in November 1998, and as a result of that meeting I realised that it's important to start undressing quite soon after arriving to visit a guy you don't know, to help break the ice among other things, and make the situation seem normal.

The other occasion in the past was also in 1998. But with that incident, when I walked in the guy just casually said "Oh sorry, I was expecting younger, can you go please". This made me realise that it's important to show the guy you're going to visit a recent photo before setting off! This was also in 1998, when digital photos were still relatively rare. Although this guy was younger than me, he was also much fatter, so he didn't fit the description he gave me online either. But of course, it was me who had made the effort to visit him so I was very annoyed, and appalled at his rudeness.

So on the Saturday about three weeks ago, mid-morning I get chatting on gaydar to a guy who's about 15 minutes walk away from me. He's interested in having me visit him, but he needs me to get there quickly. The instructions I get seem a little unclear, and he doesn't have a mobile phone number either, but since it's only a short walk away I decide to take the risk.

When I arrive, it turns out to be a maze of a council estate, which is quite hard to get into. I walk round the perimeter, before eventually finding an entrance which is manned by a porter. Using the door entry system the guy buzzes me into where the porter is, but the porter tells me that the easiest way to get to the guy's apartment is to go back outside the perimeter and find another entrance. Eventually I find it, so again I have to get the guy to buzz me through the outside perimeter fence, then he has to buzz me into the building, and finally once I onto his floor he has to buzz me into his corridor. It's like trying to gain entry to a top security bank vault!

Finally I'm at the guy's door, and he lets me in. As I walk into the hallway I say

"You might have given me a few more clues online to help me find this place!"

and although I'm joking with him, perhaps he takes this in the wrong way. As I turn to look at him I realise that he's standing behind the still open front door, completely naked. He's quite a hairy guy, with a scraggly beard and a bit of a pot belly.

"This isn't any good, you're not what I expected", he says.

Unlike the guy back in 1998, this guy had seen my photo. "What on earth do you mean?" I say incredulous, "you saw my photo didn't you?"

Actually it's kind of a reciprocal feeling because he's not what I expected either, and standing naked behind the front door he looks like a complete weirdo. On my way out I feel like punching him for wasting my time, but looking back on the situation now I'm glad that I kept my cool. As I walk out of the building, through all the security doors, it occurs to me that a top security mental institution would be a closer match than a bank vault!

So without any fun in the morning, I find myself on gaydar again mid to late afternoon. I get talking to a guy who's only a short cab ride away. I'm chatting to the guy for quite a while, and gradually he moves towards letting me visit him. First I get his postcode so I can work out reasonably accurately where he is using www.multimap.com. Then we exchange mobile phone numbers. Finally he decides that he does want me to visit him for a bit of fun so he tells me the exact address and I set off.

He lives in a nice apartment which turns out to be a floor in an old converted warehouse, and which is one of a group of several converted warehouses. It's a very urban setting, which somehow works well. He's on the first floor, and the entrance to his apartment is up the old external fire escape stairway. He comes outside onto the stairway to welcome me, and seems happy to see me.

"Hi, nice place", I say as I walk through the front door, smiling at him. He nods nervously, and heads over to the sofa where he's been watching TV. I take off my shirt, underneath which I'm wearing one of my gym vests, and go and sit next to him.

He looks at me nervously again. Then with a terrified look on his face he says "Errr, I'm really sorry about this, errr, I can't have sex with you or anything, you can stay a while if you like."

Thinking back to what happened in the morning, I simply can't believe it! Twice in one day??!

"It's nothing to do with you", he continues, "it's just that now you're here I know I've made a mistake, I just can't do this sort of thing".

It took more than ten years to experience just one example of the two types of being turned down face to face, i.e. the situation where the guy doesn't like me, and the situation where the guy has a problem with himself. And now I've collected one more of each situation on the same day!

"Do I look like my photo", I ask, a bit worried.

"Yes, sorry it's me, I've not done this before."

He seems genuine, so I decide to take up his offer and stay for a while. He's in his early to mid twenties, and had met his boyfriend while at university. "So I was in a relationship for five years, which only ended recently. I've missed out on the whole growth of gaydar, I'm really not used to this at all."

Poor guy. We watch repeats of The Brit Awards on TV for a while, and chat about gay life in London, his job, my job and life in general. Although I'm annoyed about the situation, he's such a sweet guy that I find it hard to be angry with him. After about fifteen minutes, it's clear that he won't change his mind so I get him to phone a minicab for me. The minicab arrives after a further ten minutes so I wish him luck.

"Sorry again", he says as I'm leaving, "back to the drawing board I guess."

"No, I think I'll go to the gym instead", I say truthfully. "The bizarre thing is, in more than ten years of meeting guys online, this has only happened to me three times before, and one of those occasions was this morning!"

He looks at me as though I'm a Martian, because he doesn't know whether to believe me or not. Come to think about it, looking back on that day, I'm not sure I believe that both incidents occurred on the same day. Just sometimes, true life is stranger than fiction!

Monday, March 06, 2006

Valentine's Day morning, 2006

Looking back to last year's posting about Valentine's Day morning reminds me how easy it used to be to find a bit of fun before work when the gym sauna in the men's changing rooms was open. But the gym management closed the sauna 'for renovation' and it seems to be permanently closed now :-(

Sometimes though it's possible to find a bit of fun before work via gaydar or gay.com. There have been several occasions when that's happened, e.g. last April and last June, and most recently about three weeks ago on Valentines Day morning :-)

After giving boyfriend number 1 his Valentine's Day card, I log into the gaydar chat rooms while I eat my breakfast. There's not much activity today. I spot an interesting looking guy who says he's 25 years old, and not too far away either, so I try chatting to him. No response! Either he doesn't like my profile, or perhaps he's not at his computer at the moment. But around 15 minutes later when I'm about to logoff, he suddenly springs into life:

guy: hi, was away, u still there?
GB: sure, just finishing my breakfast

I always think it's good to use everyday small-talk like that when chatting on gaydar because somehow it makes the situation more human, and less sleazy too.

guy: u up for something now?
GB: well i've got to go to work this morning but I guess there's still time :-)

We conduct the negotiations quite quickly and soon everything seems sorted. Time is tight at his end too, but he seems keen to meet me.

GB: ok I'll grab a cab so I should be with you in 20 mins or so, sooner if we're lucky
guy: can you txt me before ringing my doorbell, my girlfriend is still here but she should be leaving in about 10 mins or so

Girlfriend? Is that his fag-hag or is there something he's not telling me? He must sense my confusion because he comes clean

guy: btw, I'm straight, is that ok?
GB: sure, no probs.

I always find it amusing when a guy claims to be straight on gaydar, especially in this situation when he's just negotiated some activities with me! To complete the arrangements we exchange mobile phone numbers and I give him a quick call:

"Hi this is GB", I say, "looking forward to meeting you mate. How come it's OK to phone you if your girlfriend is still in the apartment?"

"Oh don't worry", he says, "she's still in the shower, she can't hear a word at the moment!"

Within ten minutes I'm sitting in a cab on my way to visit him. After sending him a txt msg to ask whether his girlfriend has left yet, I spend the rest of the journey wondering whether his girlfriend would be more or less upset if she were to find out that he was being unfaithful with a guy rather than another woman. For what it's worth, if I'm ever caught having fun with someone else's boyfriend, I'd probably find it harder to cope being discovered by the guy's girlfriend than by his boyfriend!

Just before I arrive I get a txt msg

guy: gf gone, coast is clear

Thank goodness. No point replying because the cab is almost there. I find the apartment easily, and ring the doorbell. He seems to take quite a bit of time answering, but eventually the door opens.

"Hi, thanks for coming", he says beaming an enormous smile at me, "come on in :-)"

Face to face he looks better than his photos, very bright eyed, with real energy. He leads me into the main living room.

"Would you like a drink of something?"

"Sure", I say, "a bit early for the hard stuff but a glass of water would be great :-)"

Right in the middle of the room he's carefully placed a large clean white sheet on the floor. I guess that it's for us!

"Sorry, can't really use the bedroom", he explains, "and we need to be careful about stains so I've put the sheet down".

"Good idea", I say helpfully.

The guy is wearing a fresh looking dressing gown, and I have no doubt that he's naked underneath so I strip down quickly to my undershorts.

As he comes over to hand me the glass of water I smile at him. "Thanks that's great."

Now, how does one get started with a guy who's got a girlfriend? "So do you play much with other guys?" I ask casually.

"Well I have done before, but not done anything with guys for years now". But he doesn't look at all nervous, quite the opposite in fact, he seems exceptionally keen. His bright eyes are smiling quite forcefully at me now, no doubt in eager anticipation of what's to follow.

And in fact it's him who makes the first move. He raises his right hand and gently strokes my left nipple. I put my right hand inside his dressing gown and reciprocate. He smiles back at me, knowingly, so I loosen the cord on his dressing gown and lift it gently off his shoulders and let it drop to the floor. I always enjoy seeing fit guys naked, especially when they're aroused, and I'm not disappointed. We have a wonderful time together.

"So how long have you been with your girlfriend?" I ask afterwards.

"About 5 years now I guess. She's a PA to a top executive so she goes away a lot, which works well for me because it gives me an opportunity to play away."

"Isn't it quite hard for straight guys to play away though?" I ask, quite fascinated. "Girls are much less into casual sex aren't they, compared to other guys I mean?"

"Well Sex and the City changed things definitely, also the younger generation is different. So it's definitely possible. For example, I'll get chatting to a woman in a work situation, and then I find it's easier to pick her up later if we find ourselves in the same bar after work." A crafty smile crosses his face, no doubt he's thinking of a particular conquest of his. "Anyway, do you have a boyfriend?".

"Yes, we've been together for seventeen years now", I tell him truthfully.

"And do you still have sex?"

"Well we've been going through a bit of a rocky patch recently, but we've certainly been having sex together throughout most of our relationship."

"Wow that's amazing. I get bored very easily, I have to play away. I'm 37 years old now and it's always been like that with me!"

Hang on, 37 years old? His gaydar profile said 25 years! That must be one of the biggest real age versus internet age discrepancies I've ever come across. But I don't say anything about it.

We part on very good terms, but somehow I doubt I'll meet him again. A guy like that who gets bored so easily is bound to want a different guy the next time he fancies gay sex.

Thursday, March 02, 2006

A bit of fun near home on Saturday morning

On Saturday, almost three weeks ago now, I log into gaydar to check messages while I'm eating my breakfast. As usual I intend to go to the gym, but the gym can wait if I can find any more interesting propositions.

I'm a big fan of the Gaydar Positioning Service feature (GPS!) which tells users who enter their postcode how far they are from other users who've also entered their postcode. While browsing, I spot a nice looking guy who's less than a mile away according to GPS, so I start chatting to him.

GB: Hi m8, nice pics :-)

He doesn't reply immediately, but after a couple of minutes I get a response

guy: thanks

Not very communicative! I guess I'll have to do all the work

GB: looks like we're quite close to each other
guy: really, where are you?

Ahhh, so that got his attention. We work out that we are indeed less than a mile apart, as promised by GPS. One thing leads to another and soon it's been agreed that I'll visit him on my way to the gym.

guy: see you soon then. when you arrive take the lift to the second floor, turn right out the lift, through the fire door, up a short flight of steps, past several unmarked doors, through another fire door, and then I'm the next door on the left.

I find myself wondering why he needs to give such precise directions. Anyway, we've exchanged mobile phone numbers, I can always phone or txt him if I get lost.

GB: ok gr8, I'll be about half an hour
guy: i'm ready and waiting :-)

It takes me about 15 minutes to get ready and leave the house. Once outside I send him a txt msg to make sure he's still up for it

GB: Hi, on my way, still ready?

Encouragingly, he sends a reply quite quickly

guy: Sure am

It's a pleasant enough walk, and after about 15 minutes I'm outside his apartment building. He buzzes me into the foyer saying "Hi, come right up".

I head over to the lift. But when I push the button to summon the lift, nothing happens. It seems to be stuck on the first floor. So I look for the stairs, but where are they? Now that I'm paying attention to my surroundings a bit more, it's clear that the apartment building hasn't been 100% finished yet, it's still a bit of a building site.

Eventually behind an unmarked door I find some stairs and head up to the first floor. But the door is locked, so I head back downstairs. I try the lift again but it's definitely not budging! This is silly, the guy's in the building because he buzzed me in, and I can't get to him. So I phone his mobile, but I get his voicemail message. What's going on?

Thinking back to his precise directions, I suddenly realise that he told me to go to the second floor, not the first. Climbing the stairs again, past the locked door and up another fight, I find that I can gain entrance to the second floor. Phew!

Although I know his apartment number, none of the apartments have their numbers on their doors. So that's why he needed to give me such precise directions! I wish I'd paid more attention. I'm pretty sure he said he'd got the apartment just after the second fire door so I take a gamble and knock.

"You took your time", he says with a smile on his face as he lets me in, "wasn't the lift working?"

"No! It seemed to be stuck on the first floor. And none of the doors are marked, so it's taken me a while to figure it all out!"

He's just wearing his dressing gown, loosely wrapped round his masculine frame. We head into his living area, a very light space which is virtually all glass on the street side. However the building on the other side of the street is boarded up, so there’s no one to look in.

“Make yourself at home”, he says, fetching himself a glass of water. I sit down on one of the sofas and start to get my kit off. I’ve removed my shirt, and am starting to get my training shoes off when I turn round to see that he’s completely naked. He’s slipped his dressing gown off, revealing a rampant erection.

“Wow mate, you look great”, I say slightly in awe, “but hang on, let me catch up!”

He walks over proudly to where I’m sitting and I can’t take my eyes off him - he’s quite a big boy. He lets me get down to my undershorts, then he pins me down on the sofa and kisses me. Hmmm, nice, but slightly aggressive. Sometimes I like it like that though :-). We end up staying in the living area and have a lovely time.

“Do you meet many guys from gaydar?” I ask him afterwards.

“A few I guess. I quite like gaydar actually because I can shop from home so to speak!”

Indeed.

“Actually I need to get out more”, he continues. “Both my office and the gym I go to are all only a short walk away. My whole life is within a 10 minute walk of this building. It wouldn’t hurt for me to venture a bit further afield sometimes!”

After a bit more polite conversation I make my excuses and head for the gym. En route I find myself thinking about weight training. What a pity that one can do exercise to build up the muscles in ones arms, legs, chest, but that one can’t build oneself up in the trouser department!