The Man from Fridae.com (part 3/3)

[Read part 1/3, part 2/3]

The day after I met The Man from Fridae.com for a coffee, I arrive at work hoping that he’ll send me an e-mail at some point during the day. Having told him my full name he should easily be able to find me in the work e-mail system.

I don’t have long to wait. Around 9:30am I get a simple e-mail from him suggesting that we have lunch together nearby. So as not to seem over-keen I wait ten minutes or so before accepting. We agree to meet at 12:30pm.

At lunch, we pick up the conversation pretty much where we left off the previous day. It turns out that the barbecue he went to after meeting me was a rather alcoholic affair, and he’s slightly hung over. But we continue to get on well so when I get back to my desk after lunch I send him an e-mail with a rather important question:

Do you think it might ever be possible to spend some time with each other at your place? Or is it too difficult to co-ordinate at the moment because you need to avoid your flatmate?

Before too long I get the reply:

Yes, I'm confident that we'll get to spend time together at my place. I'll just have to be tactful as to the timing of it. It will most likely be next week [mid week] if you can wait out till then. BTW, did I tell you I think you're rather cute [and good looking?] *blush*

How sweet, he likes me :-))))))). I’ve certainly never had an e-mail like that through the work e-mail system! I have to reciprocate:

You didn't say! And I can certainly return the compliment (*blushing too*)

In the days that follow, we exchange loads of little e-mails with each other. “Off to see boyfriend number 3 at lunchtime today”, I confide in him on one occasion. “Did you see that programme on TV last night?” he asks me one morning. “Did you win your squash game last night?” I ask him on another occasion. And so on. We also meet up one evening for a couple of drinks after work, and the following week we have lunch together again.

But mid-week of the following week arrives and no invitation to his place materialises. Has he forgotten what he said the previous week? If he does want to hook-up for fun then why isn't he suggesting possible times? Surely he doesn't expect me to be instantly available at any time of his choosing?

Mid-morning on the Wednesday, after an e-mail about what he'll be doing that evening, I'm starting to feel a bit upset about the situation. I just have to know where I stand. I decide to forward to him the e-mail that he sent me the previous week in which he told me that mid-week this week should be possible. His immediate e-mail reply simply says "don't be like that.... ". I don't care though. If he's just going to be a cock-tease, the friendship isn't going to work from my point of view.

But after a few more e-mails we're back on track. His diary is very full, just like when we were originally planning to meet for the first time, but he says he'll try and re-arrange something so that we can spend some quality time together.

The following day we meet up for coffee late morning. His flatmate will be away now until the following Monday. We go through all the possibilities, but it seems that whenever he's free I'm busy, and vice-versa. Damm! Suddenly I have an idea

"Well what about tonight", I suggest, "if we both finish work a bit early, we could have some time together before your squash game couldn't we?"

He's not sure at first but after a bit more thought he agrees.

All afternoon I’m looking forward to getting to know him properly. Late afternoon we exchange e-mails to confirm the meeting time. At the appointed hour, we meet up outside the bank as planned and soon we're in a taxi together on the way to his place.

He seems a bit nervous. “Are you OK?” I ask him.

"Yes I’m fine”, he says, although he doesn’t sound convincing.

He’s looking out of the cab window so I nudge my hand up to his, which is just resting on the seat between us. When he looks round I beam a huge friendly smile at him, and he breaks into a grin.

“It’s just that I don't do this as casually as you do, you know!”

“What on earth do you mean?” I joke with him, “Surely you don't think I'm a slut!”

“Oh, and you know the squash game that I've got later”, he says, relaxing a bit. “The friend that I'm playing will be dropping round at about 7pm so we’ll need to be presentable by then!”

I look at my watch and it’s only 5.30pm. “No problem, actually I should really be gone before then anyway!”

We reach his place after about fifteen minutes. It turns out that he lives on the top floor of a smart apartment block.

“I guess you could call it a penthouse”, he says with a grin as we go up in the lift, “but we’re only renting it”.

Leaving our shoes just inside the front door he shows me around. It’s a nice apartment, although it’s not all that big. But it’s got some great views of London over the nearby rooftops. We go into his bedroom and while he’s sorting out a couple of things I start stripping off. By the time he looks up I’ve got my shirt and tie off. I look him up and down, smiling at him as I sit down on the bed to take my socks off.

"All this seems so clinical", he says with a slight disapproving tone in his voice.

Ignoring him, and with my trousers still on, I stand up and kiss him gently on the lips. He smiles and reciprocates. All of a sudden he doesn’t seem so disapproving! I help him off with his shirt and we lie down on the bed with our trousers still on. But they don’t remain on for long! We have a wonderful time together.

“Mmmmm, I think I’ll definitely want to see you more than once a month”, he says afterwards with a happy, satisfied tone in his voice now. I know what he's referring to because a few days previously I’d told him that I only tend to hook up with boyfriend number 3 'about once a month'.

“Sounds good to me”, I say lazily. “Anyway, do you like being cuddled?”

We're still lying on the bed with each other, so now I move to lie behind him and wrap my arms round him tightly, and with our heads on the pillows we both look out through the huge floor to ceiling windows at the panoramic view. We lie there for a while dozing, both feeling very relaxed. Soon I can tell that he’s fallen asleep my arms. I love it when a guy feels relaxed enough with me to fall asleep. Raising my head slightly I admire the view, the gorgeous naked guy in my arms, and the view over London in front of us.

Zzzzz ……..

BUZZ-BUZZ - all of a sudden there’s a loud buzzing sound. We both wake up instantly.

“What’s that?” I ask sleepily.

“Oh no”, he says looking at the clock, “my friend must be early! Damm him, it’s still only 6:30pm.”

The buzzing sound goes again, and then a mobile phone rings.

“He’s trying to contact me! Why did we fall asleep?”

Suddenly we’re rushing round the apartment trying to make ourselves decent. Still trying to put my shirt on, I rush to retrieve my shoes from just inside the front door.

“At least he can’t get into the building”, I say, “so if I can get dressed quickly, I’ll slip out and if he sees me in the hallway he won’t know who I am.”

But before we can implement my plan there’s someone knocking at the door. Now we’re really stuffed! He’s obviously got in to the building as someone else was leaving, and now my only exit route is blocked :-(.

Without any time to think, we decide that I should hide in the bedroom. There’s a tiny area to stand inside the wardrobe so it seems like the obvious place.

“Just stay here behind the wardrobe door and I’ll try and get rid of him!”

But they're meant to be playing squash together so I can't see that working.

Inside the wardrobe I carry on getting dressed as best I can. But suddenly I find the whole situation hilarious! I’ve never been caught 'in flagrante delicto' before. Help - if I burst out laughing I’ll give the game away completely! In the distance I can hear the unwelcome visitor being let in.

“Sorry, I was in the bathroom”, I can hear my guy saying.

Soon my guy is coming into his bedroom, still carrying on a conversation with the visitor. He opens the wardrobe door and searches for his squash kit.

“…. but I never thought he’d stay with that one, he’s too much of a muscle mary …”

He looks at me while the door is open and he can tell that I’m finding the situation intensely funny. He glares at me, but smiling too, and I know that I have to behave!

Urgently I try to think back to when we entered the apartment. Does the front door have deadlock on it? If so, I pray that my guy doesn’t have to leave the apartment and use the deadlock because I’ll be completely trapped. Although boyfriend number 1 knows that I see other guys, he wouldn’t be very amused to hear me explain that I’m four hours late getting home because I was trapped in another guy’s apartment! But after a few more minutes the wardrobe door opens again. The visitor is still talking in the background.

“Right”, he whispers, “I’m going to leave with him, but as soon as I get outside the building I’m going to pretend that I’ve left something behind so that I’ll be able to come back for you.”

What a Brilliant idea! Superb!! Why didn’t I think of that?

“… so who’s he seeing now …”, he says in a much louder voice to the visitor.

I nod, and blow him a couple of air-kisses, and the plan goes into action. After about five minutes I think I hear them leave, so I gingerly step out of the wardrobe. Yes, no sound of talking, I think I’m safe.

Quickly I finish searching for my tie, and by the time my guy is re-entering the apartment I’m waiting for him in the hallway, completely dressed and respectable.

“Oh dear, what a mess!” he says smiling at me.

“But would it be so bad if your friend found out about me?” I ask curiously.

“It’s just that I don’t want to get a reputation as a flirt amongst my friends”, he explains. Fair enough I guess.

We leave the apartment together now, and I wait for a couple of minutes on the top floor to give them time to get safely away. If all my encounters with this guy are going to be as dreamy and as fun-filled as the one I’ve just had then I’m going to enjoy my friendship with him enormously!