“Well I thought this was going to help, but I guess it’s not,” said Reggie.

He invited me out to dinner at a hot new Asian place downtown. A chef from a top-rated Chinese restaurant and one from the best Thai restaurant in the city got together to plan a pan-Asian concept. Everything was sleek and modern and the food was full of flavor. Unfortunately, my mood didn’t match.

I couldn’t shake thoughts about Blake from my mind, but I wasn’t ready yet to go crawling up to his door begging forgiveness. I saw him come and go from his house, but it was close to two weeks since we last spoke to each other. The sad condition of the plants in his front yard was a good sign of how our relationship was going.

I said to Reggie, “I’m really sorry. It’s just hard. Maybe it would be easier if he didn’t live next door. I have to watch him come and go from his house all the time.”

“You have to watch, or are you peering out the living room window waiting to catch a glimpse?”

Sighing, I said, “I don’t do that very often.”

That comment made Reggie laugh, and he fumbled with his chopsticks. He looked across the table and said, “Damn, Ian, you have to figure something out. Look what you made me do with my chopsticks. I’m usually an expert with these.”

“Do you think I should call him?” I asked.

Reggie said, “I think we’ve been all over the topic. I don’t really think we have anything that we haven’t covered. It is time that you do something about it. I don’t really care what you do. You can call Blake, or you can try going out with someone else. What you shouldn’t keep doing is pining away inside your house peering out like some old woman waiting for her jilted lover from thirty years ago to return.”

I pursed my lips. “I’m really not that bad. I get my work done, and I take care of myself. I’m doing pretty well in softball. Our team is doing great.”

“But you’re unhappy,” said Reggie.

I repeated his words and nodded in agreement. “But I’m unhappy. Maybe I should ask someone else out. That would give me a little more information. I would see how they compare with dating Blake.”

Reggie leaned across the table and said, “If you’re gonna ask somebody out, don’t look at them like a guinea pig. They deserve to be treated like they have a real chance like anybody else. Focus on them, and set the rest aside. It is okay to date more than one guy at a time if you haven’t settled on the right one.”

I said, “Okay, I’ll find somebody else for a date.” I paused, and then I asked, “Do you have any suggestions?”

Reggie set his chopsticks down on his plate, took a sip of water and asked, “Why don’t you ask Marshall out? He’s a good guy.”

I opened my eyes wide. “Marshall Easterling?”

“Yes. You look shocked. What’s wrong with Marshall Easterling?”

“Well, he’s probably at least fifteen years older than me.”

Reggie nodded. “And he looks great, doesn’t he?”

I said, “But I’ve never dated a guy that much older than me. Reggie, I’m not sure…”

“That’s one reason why it would be a great new experience for you. It’s just a date, Ian. It’s not an arranged marriage.”

I laughed. “Yeah, sometimes I forget about that. I guess he is good looking.”

Reggie said, “He’s hot. I think he’s out of my league, or I would have asked him out by now. Have you ever really looked at how he fills out that softball uniform?”

I said, “He’s got even stronger pecs than Blake. At least that’s what it looks like. He’s never taken off his shirt at practice.”

Reggie continued egging me on. He said, “So wouldn’t you like a chance to see what’s under the shirt? Or touch it?”

I held a finger to my lips. I whispered, “We’re out in public, Reggie, and no, I don’t go to bed on a first date.”

He whispered back, “I didn’t say go to bed. I was just thinking about some good-natured groping.” Then he laughed softly.

We ate for a few more minutes in silence. I said, “I’ve always been a little curious about older guys.”

“He’s 44,” said Reggie.

“How do you know?”

“I asked. If you really want to know something, then it’s usually best to ask.”

I thought about my questions about the relationship with Blake and knew that Reggie was exactly right. “So why was it that you haven’t asked him out?” I asked.

Reggie said, “I’ve flirted, and I’ve tried to generate some interest, but it all seems to fall flat. He just goes over and makes cute jokes with Antonio.”

I curled up one corner of my mouth and asked, “So what makes you think I’ll be more successful?”

He said, “You’re not a muscle guy, but it’s obvious you’ve got a nice body, Ian, and you’re a blonde, and there’s something about the way you carry yourself…when you’re not moping about Blake.”

I said, “I’m not so sure I have much of a chance either. Maybe Marshall is just happy being single. Or maybe he has the hots for Antonio.”

“Antonio is married.”

“That doesn’t mean he’s off limits for lust.”

Reggie laughed. “I guess you have a point. But you’ll do something about this? Tomorrow preferably?”

I said, “I’ll do something about it. I’ll give Marshall a call unless Blake magically reappears.”

---

I had a list of all of the names and phone numbers of the guys on our team at home. Reggie and I lingered at the restaurant eating dessert and having another drink. It was too late to call when I got home, but I pulled out the list and pored over the names and numbers.

I thought about Marshall and his handsome smile with the perfectly groomed salt and pepper hair. He was so well put together that I always thought he was almost too perfect. If Milwaukee had a calendar of sexy older guys, Marshall would be on the cover. He had a strong chest, deep set eyes and a perfectly enticing amount of chest hair sticking out of the neck line of his uniform.

Leaning back in my desk chair, I tried to think about what it would be like to kiss Marshall. It was the wrong thing to do, because it only made me think about kissing Blake. I growled to myself and put the list away. It was time to go to bed.

The next day I nearly talked myself out of calling Marshall. I wondered what would happen if Blake knew that I went out on a date with another guy. Then I reminded myself that it was only a date. It wasn’t sex, and it would likely lead to nothing. Apparently, dating Blake wasn’t going anywhere anyway.

With my hands shaking, I punched in Marshall’s number just after eating dinner. He answered right away with a deep, sexy voice. “Hello?”

I stumbled over my words, but I managed to blurt out that I would love to go out to dinner with him sometime. I waited nervously for his answer.

He asked, “Are you asking me on a date, Ian?”

I felt like a teenager when I said, “Yeah,” and I couldn’t think of anything else to say.

I was shocked when he said, “That sounds like fun. Let’s set up a time and place.”