pretended he didn’t know what was happening. Sometimes he’d brush his fingers against Brad’s wrist on purpose. Once he even unbuckled his pants and pretended to tuck in his shirt while he was alone with Brad in the service elevator. They were between the second and first floor, heading down to the lobby. He pulled his pants down just low enough so that Brad could see the bulge in his white briefs, and then he tucked in his shirt and buckled them up again so fast poor Brad’s mouth hung open.
After a few weeks of these so-called accidental meetings, Brad finally cornered Richie in the men’s room. He followed Richie inside, checked to be sure they were alone, and then locked the door.
Richie knew what Brad was doing. He’d seen this coming for weeks. But he played dumb again, so that Brad would think he was in total control. “Nice day, isn’t it, Mr. Lindsay,” Richie said, as he pulled the mop out of the pail and ran it through a wringer. Then, as a tease, he groped his dick a few times, on purpose.
Brad crossed to where he was standing. He reached for Richie’s hand and said, “I have this place where we can meet up. Are you interested?”
Richie looked into his eyes and nodded yes. “Is it safe? I stay out of trouble and I never get mixed up in anything I shouldn’t.” There was no use in pretending. They’d been flirting with each other and leading up to this moment. But Richie wanted to get a few things clear up front. He’d been in situations like this before and he’d learned his lesson. His last job had been in maintenance in the mayor’s office at city hall. One of the most popular politicians in the city had approached Richie the same way Brad was approaching him now and they’d wound up getting caught in the act. The guy’s wife came home early from a long weekend in the country and she found Richie and her husband in bed, with Richie on top and the guy’s legs over his shoulders. She turned a blind eye to what her husband had done, but she ordered her husband to fire Richie from the best job he’d ever had.
Brad reached down and squeezed Richie’s ass a few times. He took a quick breath, rubbed his dick with his other hand, and said, “It’s the safest place in the city. It’s an apartment that belongs to a friend of mine not far from here. He lets me use it once in a while.”
Richie arched his back for a second, allowing Brad to get a good, long feel. He could almost smell Brad’s strong male hormones raging in the enclosed space. Brad had soft hands; they felt so good Richie wanted to strip down and get a little action right there in the bathroom. But he knew that wouldn’t have been safe, especially not in the middle of the day. So he stepped back and said, “Let me know when and where.” Then he reached for the mop and walked over to unlock the bathroom door.
* * * * A few days later, Brad followed Richie into the service elevator after lunch and handed him a small, folded slip of paper. He said, “Here’s the address. Can you meet me there this evening at six?”
This happened on a Wednesday, a night when Richie didn’t work late. He took the slip of paper, shoved it into his back pocket, and said, “I’ll be there. You’re sure it’s safe?”
“The guy who owns the apartment is a very good friend,” Brad said. “We can trust him completely.”
On the way over to the strange apartment that night, Richie had second thoughts. He hadn’t had time to shower and he was still wearing his work clothes. Though he would have liked to change, he wasn’t concerned about his outfit. This was the third time he’d gotten involved with a married guy. He’d told himself he’d never do this again. It led nowhere and left him empty and emotionless in the end. He almost stopped and turned back toward the subway.
The first time this happened with a married guy Richie thought he’d met the love of his life. This was back when he’d been filled with all the dreams of youth and didn’t think anything bad could ever happen to him. He’d been hired to work as a dishwasher at a small Italian restaurant on Arthur Avenue in the