The pair stayed locked in their embrace for a few more minutes, before the shelf fell off the wall. The two looked at it, then one another, before bursting out laughing.
The incident seemed to break the ice between them, and they spent the rest of the day talking like old friends, punctuated by the occasional touch or gentle caress. Bud was warm and generous, funny and knowledgeable. David often found it difficult to make friends, he knew his rather narrow existence didn’t give him many subjects in common with people he met, but not so with Bud. While the physical attraction he’d felt from the very beginning was still there, this was supplemented by a deepening friendship and respect for his visitor.
“Don’t know about you, stud, but I think I’m gonna have to call it a day,” Bud said, wi
