Kaden
Their first meeting was nothing spectacular. There certainly was no indication of what was to come, of how much their friendship would develop. Porter always assessed men at first sight and had hoped that his Latino-sounding last night meant that he would be handsome. When Kaden arrived, Porter was not as happy. Kaden was not bad looking at all, just not as good as he had hoped. He appeared to be in his early 30s, short brownish-greyish hair, a neatly trimmed goatee. The bad points were that Kaden was a little overweight. He had a big belly and a round face, but his medium-brown skin was very nice.
Kaden was stoic and professional and the interview was over quickly, less than 30 minutes had passed, but he had already made a lasting impression on Porter’s mind. It was barely two weeks later that an employment offer was made to Kaden, who eagerly accepted.
Their daily interactions seemed to come and go without notice to either of them. As Kaden learned the position more, they began to spend more time together. Each day Porter’s impression of Kaden grew more positive. Each day Kaden grew more handsome.
Over time, casual conversation turned to questions about personal life. Porter was very open about his sexuality and everyone knew his husband. Porter learned that Kaden was of Cape Verdean descent by way of Boston, was the first generation of his family born in the United States, and most importantly, was engaged and had a young son. The last part was not the scenario that Porter had hoped for; fantasizing would have to suffice.
As their interactions became more frequent, Porter’s feelings seemed to grow as well. Casual discussions of work product began to impress Porter increasing. For such a novice in the industry, Kaden’ quick depth of knowledge was very impressive. Their work relationship soon turned into a true friendship. Plans were made to get together with spouses and other coworkers outside of the work setting. Times spent were great and seemed to strengthen their professional bond as well.
The normal routine of work continued for weeks, then months. Porter became increasingly more interested in Kaden each day; he wasn’t sure exactly why. Kaden wasn’t overly handsome, but his features began to grow on Porter: his broad shoulders, that perfect bubble butt, the way his package filled out his pants. Even his round belly was cute to Porter, and of course, that killer smile that Kaden had.
Porter began to fantasize about Kaden often. What did he look like under those clothes? His chest filled out his shirts and Porter wanted to see it without any clothing covering it up. Sometime after his wish was granted, well, not in the way you’d think, but via social media; a photo of Kaden at the beach was posted by his wife. He was shirtless and covered in several tattoos. That fact seemed to excite Porter even more. He had wondered why Kaden wore only long-sleeved shirts, even in the heat of summer. He had his reason. The photo wasn’t particularly good, but Porter found himself looking at it quite often, along with another photo of him with a fresh haircut on his 29th birthday. He really liked that photo even though Kaden had a scowl on his face.
As time passed, Porter began to watch Kaden more intently while they were at work, especially as he walked away. That was his second favorite view; the smile was his favorite. It could light up a dark room and Porter could not wait to see it for the first time each day. Kaden was not a morning person and the first interaction each day was usually a grunted “Good Morning” by Kaden. Since Porter was also not a morning person, he respected his friend’s idiosyncrasies and tried not to be too chipper too early.
Their time away from work on business trips would prove to be difficult for Porter as well, especially when drinking. Porter tended to have loose lips when drinking and he always had to hold back what he said in order to mask his true feelings.
Porter would often find himself staring at Kaden and wanting to reach out and touch him, whether it be on the hand, shoulder, or elsewhere. The times that Kaden would touch Porter, in that standard buddy way, would drive Porter crazy. It was like Kaden’ hands were electric and would shock Porter a little as he got closer and then touched. Shoulder slaps pushed a smile to Porter’s face, careful not to give much away.
The instances that they were working close to each other drove Porter crazy, especially when Kaden would lean over Porter’s shoulder to review work together. Kaden’ face was so close and Porter just wanted to lean over and kiss him. To combat these feelings, Porter would purposely not look at him. He tried his best not to make this apparent, but he was never sure if he was appearing rude and uninterested. It was such a fine line he was treading, but he was unsure of how else to act.
This annoying back & forth continued for a long time. Porter would sometimes feel irritated for no apparent reason and would be short with Kaden. He didn’t realize he was doing it, just seemed to happen without warning. Porter would immediately try to overcompensate by being especially nice right after. The whole situation was really starting to grate on Porter’s nerves and he feared something would happen that he could never take back. He had to be especially careful.
As time passed, Porter became more familiar and friendly with Kaden; they developed a true friendship. This made Porter especially happy, but also proved to loosen up his actions a bit as well. A prime example happened one day at a local restaurant. Kaden casually commented in the group of guys how difficult it is to get his girlfriend to do certain things sexually since they had their son. Porter commented, “That’s the good thing about being with a man; we like to do things that women only do grudgingly.” The guys chuckled a little, some uncomfortable with the topic. Porter wasn’t sure how Kaden took it.
Porter had a tendency to feel sensitive at times and often had a hard time holding it back. He would praise Kaden when he got the chance, saying how happy he was that Kaden was working there and what a great job he was doing. Of course, Kaden was very appreciative of the complements and didn’t think anything of the praise lavished upon him. Porter would often then joke that Kaden was getting a big head based upon his excelling job performance. It became an inside joke with them.
As time passed, Kaden began to notice the abundance of complements. He brushed it off at first, but it was always something in the back of his mind.
A month or so later, an opportunity presented itself. There was a conference in another state and both Porter and Kaden would have to attend. This meant three nights away from home and away from their spouses. For Porter, this was a subconscious opportunity that made him secretly happy, but for Kaden it wasn’t really anything he was looking forward to. Plans were made and before they knew it, the date had snuck up on them. The trip there was uneventful, full of idle conversation about upcoming events.
The first conference event was a meet & greet that evening. The alcohol flowed freely and Porter was not shy about partaking. Kaden had the ability to overdo it at times, but this night he was cautiously reserved. As the evening wound down, long before last call, Porter was feeling quite good and basically carefree. As often happens, lips become loose at this point. Porter started by saying, “Kaden, I just want you to know how important you are to me.” Kaden was appreciative of the comment, but was unsure how to take it. Was something going on with Porter or was he just being nice?
The next night was another sponsored outing. Porter again drank a bit more than he should have, but this time so did Kaden. The event ended early and they moved to the bar afterward and continued their consumption. Before last call, they had consumed much more than either cared to admit. With their “one for the road” in hand, they both stumbled back to their rooms, which were close to each other.
Upon arriving, they decided to sit outside for a bit and finish their drinks and continue talking. The conversation continued to be nothing important, just getting to know each other. Before they knew it, the temperature had dipped into the 50s and it was getting very late. They decided to retire for the evening and shook hands. Kaden pulled Porter closer and gave him that “bro” embrace that men do, but he held the connection a bit longer than normal. They both teetered a bit due to their lack of balance. Porter patted Kaden on the back and mumbled that it was time to call it a night. He didn’t want to break the connection, but was afraid of going further.
They left the next day, back to their respective lives. Porter felt warm inside about his friend. He felt like they had gotten even closer and that made him very happy.
