Handled

Chad sat alone at the end of the bar ? as usual ? on the early Friday evening. The bar hadn't started getting crowded yet; the crowds started in after 8 and many would be there for a few hours, before moving along to the next bar down the road. It was typical. Boyd's Bar usually started around 8, with the video screens showing all sorts of obscure and unique videos and songs, and it was always a typical starting place for friends to meet before heading out to the more "cruisy" bars of Handle Bar and Baskets. At least the bars had unique names in Rancho De La mar, unlike so many of the "typical" clubs in nearby areas of Los Angeles, Long Beach and San Diego.

Boyd's was a nice "neighborhood" type of bar ? one that lived up to the old song from "Cheers" ? a bar where "...everybody knows your name..." and the mood was usually very mellow and friendly; unlike the meat rack of Handle Bar and Baskets. At least Baskets took a fun poke at the art of cruising. The décor was decidedly low-key and one wall was devoted to various sized images of men's baskets. From photos of real guys to the art of Tom of Finland and captured shots from porn; there were usually plenty of baskets on display to watch. Baskets did have an interesting Sunday tradition ? the underwear party. You got great prices when you stripped to your underwear all afternoon. There were some hot sights to see on a typical Sunday afternoon in Spring and Summer...

But Boyd's was more homey and a place that Chad always felt comfortable. He didn't mind the overt sexual nature of the other bars, but sometimes he just wanted to relax and not deal with it. He was a good looking man ? going on 40, still with a full head of auburn hair, clear blue eyes and a good build. He didn't spend hours and hours a day in the gym, agonizing over every single extra calorie he consumed; desperately trying to get the porn-God body and male model physique that so many guys did. He'd learned early on that unless he went the medical route ? implants and surgery ? he'd never have that look. He wasn't built that way.

Still, he was a looker; or rather, that's what he was told. When Chad looked in the mirror every day, he never really "saw" what these other guys did. He had a solid chest ? with a nice bit of fur covering it ? and his stomach may have been soft, but it was still flat and his waist was trim. His arms, legs and ass had good solid shapes, even if he'd never win any kind of body-building contest. He kept his facial hair trimmed and shaped, but a full beard and moustache surrounded his lips and mouth and framed his jaw. His eyes and his smile, however, never seemed to fail to draw the look of another man. And a few women gaped, too.

So, again, here was Chad, having a cocktail to start off his weekend. He wasn't sure if his best pals ? Kelvin and Stewart ? would show up or not. Chad had introduced the two men a few years ago and they'd been together ever since. Chad thought back to some of the good times he'd had with them over the years ? from the 9 man orgy to some quieter 3 and 4 ways they'd had together... Stewart had a big dick and liked to have it sucked on, and Kelvin was a total bottom that loved nothing more than to be stuffed at both ends, drilled deep by cocks in his mouth and ass. A smile crossed Chad's lips with memories of some of those nights.

Still, Chad sometimes wanted more than just hot sex with hot men. While he certainly was not looking for "Mr. Right" ? he often wanted more than just "Mr. Right Now". Chad had a few "exes" in his past, and some very good memories of those guys. Some were not so good, too, but you always take the good with the bad. And it never really serves any purpose to dwell on those bad times and let the drama fester. One of his exes had a line he used "Save the drama for your mama" and Chad still liked that. Life was too short and had too many opportunities to focus on bad drama and stupid issues. Chad liked to say "Let it go!" and tried to live by that every day.

He noticed that the bar was starting to fill up ? there was a short line at the bar and about five dozen guys milling about ? scoping, chatting, flirting, drinking. Some of the "old faces" smiled and nodded if Chad caught their eyes while he looked about the space; maybe about a half dozen were bar acquaintances ? guys he knew only from here (or Baskets or Handle Bar), but none he truly considered close friends.

Chad saw many of the town posers ? guys who wished they were strong enough to hit the often attitude filled bars of Los Angeles and West Hollywood, but often didn't have the moxie to make it there. One wrong look and they withered like a flower in the hot desert without water. Most of the posers could handle being a big fish in a little pond, but flipped around, and they were just too unsure to be that little fish in the big lake.

Chad took another swallow from his drink and looked up at the flat screen mounted above the bar and watched the music video play. It was clips from different musicals and movies matched balçova escort up with a dance-beat mix of some song from some other musical. Whoever edited the clip did a great job of matching scenes to the beat, and it was amazing to watch ? even if he had seen it a dozen times, at least.

When he cast his eyes around the bar again, the crowd had thickened even more. But from the crowd, his eyes locked on the guy in the tan sleeveless flannel shirt. He'd seen the guy before in the bar ? but not regularly. He was tall ? at least 6 feet in height ? with dark spiky hair, tanned skin and green eyes. He didn't have the drop-dead looks of a model or a porn star, but there was something that grabbed Chad's attention and held it. Maybe a second too long, as the guy looked up, caught Chad's stare and looked down. Chad felt a blush on his cheeks, but smiled as he noticed a bit of flush creeping up the guy's face, too. He paid for his drink and walked away from the bar. Chad lost sight of him in the gathering crowd of men and sighed.

The night progressed on, with Boyd's getting more crowded and more obscure videos playing across the screen. By about 9:30, Chad had seen and had enough and headed out towards Handle Bar. He felt like being a bit more direct and cruising a few guys and seeing what came out of it. If nothing, he'd hit Baskets before heading home. At least he didn't have far to go ? as many of the gay bars and shops and restaurants were on the same street in a small neighborhood of about 2 blocks long. There was everything from the gay owned pizza joint and the steak joint (appropriately named "Meat and Taters") and a trendy vegetarian place (which should have been called Twigs