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Chapter 2: An Unexpected Sexual Encounter

(This story was inspired by Muddybootsnlevis' excellent "The Mud Business". My story and the characters in it are 100% fiction, with one exception: like my story's narrator, I wished I could work at Muddybootsnlevis' fictional Drilling Mud Company).

In the first chapter, I told you of my fantasy of working at the Drilling Mud Company with Andy, and how crushed I was when I learned it was all a fantasy.

Something else happened around this time. My grandfather died. He and my grandmother had always dreamt of visiting the country where they were born, but every year there was a reason not to go. Then, when my grandfather was 64, he died unexpectedly. He'd worked hard all his life but never went on the adventure that they'd promised themselves all their lives. That shocked me to the core. I'd worked pretty much since high school. I had a good job at Safeway with a good retirement plan, and had saved a lot. I could afford to take a little time off. I'd spent too much time wishing I could live Muddybootsnlevis' fantasies. It was time for me to live my own damned mud fantasy . And I would do it while I was young enough to enjoy it.

Back when I was dating Melissa and camping or hiking with her on most weekends, she gave me an REI membership, so that's the first place I went to get ready for my adventure. I hadn't been to REI since we broke up five years ago, but now I dug up my membership card and stocked up on everything I'd need.

I knew that for going on an adventure like this, my little Nissan Sentra wasn't the right vehicle. I needed a Jeep or truck. It would probably get muddy, so I didn't want to rent one. Buying one and selling just it two weeks later was dumb, but if I was finding my own mud fantasy, I needed the right vehicle. Muddybootsnlevis drove a Jeep on his adventures. I'd always liked Wranglers, but my mechanic convinced me that it was too small inside if I was going to be camping for two weeks. One of his customers had an older RAM diesel 4wd crew cab that he said would be perfect, so I bought the Ram, arranged for a two week vacation, and prepared to have the adventure of my life I was going to live my own mud fantasy. I also arranged with my supervisor to get approval for a third week off. Just in case. You never know.

Finally, I was ready. The night before I left, my friends Harry and Jocelyn in San Francisco gave me a great going away dinner. I drove there, which turned out to be a huge mistake. The first problem was finding a parking place for the Ram. San Francisco was not designed for big trucks. The second problem was driving home. I got to 101 and saw a massive traffic jam. Listening to traffic reports , I realized I wouldn't get back to my apartment in Redwood City for hours. I sat parked and sat in the Ram for a while, listening to music, but I was too restless to just sit there. I don't usually go to bars alone, only with friends, but I saw one a half block away. It looked respectable. I locked the truck and walked into the bar.

The first thing I noticed that it was all guys. And some of them were dressed just like me, in my brand new 501s and Wellingtons. But it wasn't my first time in a gay bar. I'm straight, but I have gay friends and sometimes I went to gay bars with them, so I was comfortable there. I sat at the bar nursing a beer and checking traffic reports on my phone regularly.

A guy sat next to me and we started talking. We laughed about the fact that we were dressed identically, except that I was wearing a black tee shirt and he was wearing a white one. His name was Axel. We talked for a while, but the music was getting louder and talking was becoming more difficult. He saw me checking my phone all the time and suggested we go to his apartment. It was just two blocks away. I could check traffic in his living room and we could talk. He wanted to hear more about the big adventure I was starting tomorrow. After making clear that I wasn't gay, I agreed to go.

At the bar, I'd been telling him about UMD. He'd never heard of it, but he'd heard of people getting messy and loving it, so I showed him UMD on his computer. He wasn't too keen on the mud stuff that excited me, but he loved seeing people getting slimed and creamed. He joined immediately.

I'm a straight guy. Always have been. I admit I do notice good looking guys, but I don't get turned on like I do with a good looking woman, so I still don't understand what happened that night. We had another beer at his apartment, but I wasn't drunk. I don't know what it was. Maybe deep down I really wanted it. I don't think so, but I don't know. However, I did like talking with Axel. He was smart and seemed to know something about everything. This will sound like a cliché, but I ended up in bed with him. I still don't know how it happened. Axel could tell I'd never been with a guy. He was gentle and respectful, making the whole experience beautiful, well beautiful only after I could get my head beyond the fact that Axel was a guy. It wasn't easy.

I finally left at 3am. 101 was clear. Driving home to Redwood City would be a clear shot. We traded phone numbers and emails, then as I left, Axel gave me a warm hug, wishing me luck on my adventure and wanting to get together after I returned home.

Driving home, I was stunned. Shocked is a better word. I'd never done anything like this. I'd never wanted to do anything like this. I liked Axel, but guys just weren't my thing. But how to explain tonight? For a moment, I tried telling myself that I drank too much and he'd seduced me, but I knew it wasn't true. I wasn't drunk and he didn't seduce me. Somehow it just happened. For the first time in my life, I wasn't sure just who or what the hell I really was.

But I had a fantasy to embark on, so my thoughts turned to the road, and wondering why I had stayed out so late. I had planned to hit the road at sunrise, but now I wouldn't even be home until almost then.

My story continues in Chapter 3, where I have trouble in a redneck bar.