A Day on the Trail
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
The following Sunday, Jim arrived at Ken's townhouse at the appointed time. Nice looking place, he thought, as he gave a quick glance at the place from the outside, before coming up to the door and ringing the bell. After several seconds, the door opened. Ken opened the door, and beckoned Jim in, with a cock of his head, and a side wink to Jim. "Come on in," he said with a smile. "I'll give you the quick grand tour."
Ken gave Jim a quick tour of his place. Jim could see that, though apparently Ken hadn't been preoccupied with home decor, the place had a pleasant kind of neutral masculine feel to it, with relatively bare modern furnishings. Maybe he directed his attentions elsewhere, Jim thought, as they concluded the tour. Nice place, though, he thought, which he conveyed to Ken.
From the moment Ken had opened the door, Jim had noticed his dress. It was a beautiful fall day, where although there was a definite hint of the crispness to come, the sun also promised to warm things up by late in the day. Accordingly, Ken was dressed in some nice jeans, and a plaid flannel shirt, giving him a nice rugged look. He didn't bother picking up a jacket on the way out the door, since apparently he was expecting a bit of a work out with walking, and was aware that it would be warmer later in the day. Damn, he looks sexy, thought Jim, as Ken closed the door to his house, and they left. He also conveyed this to Ken, who blushed at the compliment, as he gave Jim a squeeze of the shoulder. He returned the compliment on Jim's attire.
They drove to a trail on the outskirts of the city, and proceeded to start a hike at a nice pace. Apparently others had also heard about the beautiful forecast, for there were also a fair number of other people on the trail, though it was not overly crowded. At different times over the first hour, Jim would stop to look at some plant growth on the side of the trail; Ken would come up close behind him, arm on his shoulder, offering a soft additional comment to whatever Jim was looking at. Then they would start on some point of conversation/banter, during which some topic would spontaneously cause Ken to break into a sprint down the path. Jim, in response, would break out chasing him. Ken seemed to trip after fifty feet or so. Jim close behind him, fell on top of him, Ken breaking his fall. Both of them, out of breath, broke out laughing as they glanced at each other, smiling. They looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds, before Jim got off of Ken, brushing his chest with his hand, before pulling off, and lying to his side for a minute.
Another older couple, probably in their sixties, had been in their general area during much of the first hour, seemingly enjoying observing the camaraderie the guys were sharing. As Ken and Jim got up, finishing their laughter, they noticed a small ice cream stand on the side of the trail, just ahead. "Care for some ice cream?" asked Ken, gesturing towards the stand. "Sounds great!" replied Jim, and they proceeded towards it. At the same time, the older man started walking towards the stand.
When Ken and Jim got to the stand, Ken ordered for the two of them, Jim at his side. The older gentleman came up to Jim's side. His wife waited at the trail. The older gentleman looked at Ken and Jim and smiled. "You two seem such good pals," he said. "I remember one day many years ago, walking this trail one afternoon with my best friend. Those were fun days." He seemed to remember them fondly. "Enjoy the rest of the day, gents!" At this, Ken and Jim looked at each other, and blushed a bit. "You, too!" replied Ken, smiling at the older gentleman, who at this point, had gotten ice cream for his wife and himself, and was proceeding back to his wife.
Jim and Ken proceeded back onto the trail with their own ice cream, away from the older couple. "Thing he had any idea we might not be just good pals'?" asked Jim, glancing at Ken. Ken thought about it a bit. "Probably not," he replied. "He probably just thought we were best friends,' who reminded him of his own friend. You never know..."
The rest of the day was uneventful, in terms of passersby; Jim and Ken just enjoyed each other's company, as they learned more about each other. When they got back into the city, both were tired and hungry after the long walk. They happened upon a small French restaurant, which appealed to both. They entered, were seated, ordered, and had a nice meal, talking about general everyday things. Towards the end of the meal, there was a short pause. Jim seemed to think of something, and chuckled a bit.
"What?" said Ken, looking at him.
"You know?" returned Jim, looking at him. "I was just thinking, if we were to ever become, you know, a couple, I guess maybe, I wouldn't have to worry about haircuts anymore..."
"Come again?" said Ken, obviously intrigued by Jim's notion, and interested in whatever follow-up idea might be coming.
"Well, you are a barber after all," said Jim. "Maybe that would be one of the fringe benefits of a `relationship,' he continued, with a wink. "And I guess you could decide, if and when you wanted to give me a haircut. If you liked my hair longer, I guess I just wouldn't be getting a haircut quite as often. Might be a bit of a power play there," said Jim softly, with just a hint of a smile, and small cough, looking at Ken.
"Hmmm," replied Ken, smiling at Jim, appearing to be considering what he just said. "Yes, an interesting thought," he said. "And it would definitely be a fringe benefit of such a relationship. We'll have to give that just a bit of thought. Not too much though," he said with a wink. With that they finished their meal, and left the restaurant.
It had been a long day. Jim drove them back to Ken's townhouse. They both realized that tomorrow was a work day, and Jim should be getting home. At the door to Ken's house, they paused. Ken looked at Jim. "I had fun today," he said softly. "Hope we can get together again soon."
"I had fun, too," replied Jim. They looked at each other for several seconds. The soft night breeze blew a lock of Jim's hair into his eyes. Ken brought his hand up, using it to brush the lock out of Jim's eyes. Then he continued to run some fingers deeply through the layer of silky, shiny hair on the side of Jim's head. "Boy, your hair is nice," said Ken softy. Jim blushed at this, and smiled appreciatively.
Then Ken slowly brought his face closer to Jim's. In response, Jim slowly brought his face closer in. Their lips lightly touched. After a kiss of several seconds, they slowly pulled away.
"I'll call you this week," said Jim softly, looking at Ken.
"I'd like that," replied Ken, looking at Jim, and stroking his arm gently.
With that, Jim slowly pulled away, and walked away, looking over his shoulder, with a smile at Ken.
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