The soft rumble of a masculine voice abruptly pulled me from the dancing jumble of figures on the ThinkPad’s screen. I looked up into a pair of soft hazel eyes, sparkling in a cragged face, a thick goatee outlining beautifully-shaped lips, white teeth flashing in a quizzical grin.

“N-no….I’m sorry.” Quickly the laptop bag was pulled aside, its pockets bulging with assorted receipts, the gentle clank of pens bouncing inside of it as it fell to the floor. “There’s plenty of room – I just was storing it here.”

“So I noticed,” the handsome fellow chuckled, as he slid in close to me along the bench, our backs up against the wall, the afternoon light of San Francisco’s sun coming over the treetops and down 18th Street. “You’re the first man I’ve seen with a laptop at Starbears who actually looks like he’s working.”

“Time, tide, and cranky clients wait for no man,” I laughed, studying him up and down. Just a shade under six feet, close-cropped fade, a well-worn T-shirt and green cargo shorts over black workboots, thick dark hair rippling over well-defined forearms. Involuntarily I straightened up as something very deep in my subconscious threw the blood control switch to my groin.

He snickered, as if he were watching my inner battle. “I’m Jim – Jim Gelber. I’ve never seen you around before – new to the city?”

“I’m here on business, doing client calls – Dan Evans, by the way,” I said, extending my hand.

His eyebrows went up and his grin widened. “Client calls, eh? If you didn’t have the laptop, I’d say those calls had something to do with ‘booty’, you’re cute enough.” His hand closed around mine, his grip strong and powerful, sending another jolt down to my rapidly-swelling member.

I blushed dark red. “You’re not so bad yourself, you know. You could be in porn, with looks like yours.”

He grinned evilly. “Who’s to say I haven’t?” – and with a chortle, he reached out and patted me on the back. “Don’t worry, Dan – I’m not a porn star. But I am someone who can recognize a nice cub from out of town – and is very interested in getting to know more about him.”

My cock was definitely throbbing now. “You know, I was thinking the same thing – it’s not often you meet a handsome musclebear like yourself.”

He smiled, about to apply a quick retort – but suddenly, his face clouded….as if he had heard something, something he didn’t want to hear. “Excuse me,” he said, quickly rising to his feet, then down the street at a fast walk, his boots thudding harder and faster as he went – then abruptly around a corner.

Well, THAT’S a new one, I thought to myself, staring in disbelief down the sidewalk. Was it something I said? With a sigh, I turned to my laptop, shutting it down, pushing it into the case – and it was then that I heard the yelling from up the street.

“Hey, someone call the cops – there’s been a wreck!” •