The Undiscovered Country
Ennis looked out his office window and spotted his fellow workers mulling around the grounds of Google in Mountain View Calif. He had fallen in love with Mountain View the minute he arrived three years ago he didn't miss the cold Colorado winter he'd left behind.
Ennis was working as a systems analyst and loved the way that Google had a loose work environment. There was no one with a whip looking over your shoulder, it was pretty lax. Sure everyone had work to do but the company made things fun and it was a place where worker's creative juices were encouraged to flow.
"Hey, Ennis, are you going to the party over at the conference room tonight?" Todd Stern was Ennis' office mate. He was a nice guy, kind of goofy. He was on his project team and was hoping that if they did well they'd be up for promotions.
"Nah, I have to finish some stuff and then I want to go home."
"Oh come on, man, it's almost Valentine's Day. You don't even have a date for the office dance. How about taking Greg from marketing."
Ennis rolled his eyes. "I'm not going."
"What are you talking about? You have to go. Alice put a lot of time into this. You'll hurt her feelings if you don't go."
Alice Huntington was in charge of social events in the office. She was one of the first of his fellow workers that Ennis met. She showed him around the campus, as the large complex was called, and they became fast friends. In fact she was like a sister to him.
"Alright, but I'm going to bail if you start trying to fix me up."
"Okay, I promise no fix ups." Todd smiled. "So get ready, we gotta be there in half an hour."
"Gosh you sure are pushy." Ennis went to take a shower, the company provided showers and cots for those employees who worked long hours and didn't end up going home. He looked through his duffle bag and put on a pair of jeans and a hoodie that had parachute figures all over it.
"Ennis, I'm glad you made it." Alice came over and gave him a kiss on the cheek and a hug.
"Wouldn't have missed it for the world." Ennis saw the eyeroll Todd did behind Alice's back and grimaced.
"Why don't you go get yourself a drink and mingle?"
"Okay," Ennis was greeted by some of his co-workers from his division, he walked over to the bar to get himself some whiskey.
"So, are you going to be taking anyone to the Valentine's Day dance, Ennis?" Susan Walters, from accounting, asked him. He knew she had a thing for him ever since he started with Google four years ago.
"I'm not going," he stated simply.
"What? Not going? Oh come on, Ennis, a handsome guy like you? Look I don't have a date, I'll go with you."
"That's awful nice of you to offer Susan, but I'm gay."
"Gay?" She laughed, "You're not serious."
"Yes I am."
"Well I've never seen you with any guys."
"Just because I'm not dating anyone," he stopped when he realized what he was doing. "I don't need to explain anything to you." And he turned around and walked off in a huff.
"Are you okay?" Todd caught up to him jut as he got to the door to leave.
"Yeah, I'm okay."
"I heard what Susan said. You know what a jerk she is. Don't let her chase you away."
He thought about it for a minute and walked over to the buffet to get some food. His cell phone went off, there was a text message for him.
"Hi, I'd luv 2 go 2 the dance stud 3"
The text had the nick 'hot rider' next to it. Ennis scanned the room, but couldn't imagine anyone looking like a hot rider.
"Who is this?" he texted back. A moment later his phone beeped again.
"Some 1 who has admired u from afar."
Ennis couldn't believe it, he had a secret admirer.
"Where r u?"
"Right under your nose."
Ennis scanned the room again for clues, everyone was milling around.
Ennis needed to use the men's room. He went into the bathroom and he was by the sink washing his hands when a dark-haired guy came out of the stall and stood next to him. He was a little shorter than Ennis and had the longest eyelashes and bluest eyes he'd ever seen on a man. He didn't recognize him.
"Hi." Mr. Blue eyes greeted him with a friendly smile.
"Hey, I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't know who you are."
"I'm Jack Twist," the blue-eyed man said. "I work in the graphics department.
"How long have you been with the company?"
"About two years."
"Funny, I haven't seen you around here."
"Well Google is a pretty big company, it's easy to get lost."
Ennis couldn't take his eyes off the other man.
"You want to get a drink?" The two men exited the bathroom.
"Sure." They went to the bar and then went to the patio, sitting down at one of the tables.
"So how do you like working for Google?" Ennis tried to break the ice.
"Oh this is a great place to work. I've never worked in a place like this, ever."
"Yeah, it really is a special place." Ennis stated. "And it's gotten even MORE special." He moved his chair closer to Jack's.
"Well I gotta get back to work." Jack got up and started to leave.
"What? We just got here, I thought we could talk for a while. You know get to know each other," Ennis said hopefully.
"Sorry, Ennis, I've got a project to finish by tomorrow. Maybe we can do lunch sometime." Jack quickly disappeared back into the building.
Ennis couldn't believe it, he'd just been given the brush off. In the few short minutes they'd been together he felt a spark and then it was gone in the blink of an eye.
He got up to rejoin the party when his phone beeped. He had received a text from Hot Rider again.
'Hey stud, u r lookn hot.'
'Who is this?' He texted back.
'shhhh, it's a secret.'
'Do I know u?'
'We've crossed paths.'
'when can we meet face 2 face?'
'eventually.'
Ennis texted back asking when again but that was the end of his conversation with his secret admirer. When Ennis rejoined the party he scanned the room, checking out each guy trying to figure out which one might be Hot Rider. He noticed Sean giving him the eye and a smile. Ennis started to squirm when he noticed the other man coming over to him.
"So, Ennis, I thought you hated coming to these things." Sean was a tall blond who, when he wasn't working in his office in the HR dept, liked to spend his time in the gym on the top floor of the building. Both men found a table and sat down opposite each other.
"Well, I don't really, but you know. Alice put this together and I didn't want to hurt her feelings."
"I'm glad you decided to show up, I wanted to hang out with you for a long time now."
Ennis jumped as Sean touched his hand. "To get to know you better."
"Uh, um, that's nice." He smiled. Sean excused himself for a minute and came back with a plate of Buffalo wings and blue cheese dip and placed it on the table in front of Ennis.
"If I remember correctly these are your favorite."
"How did you know that?"
"The company super bowl party we were at last week, you said how you looked forward to the wings at Shannon's sports bar."
"Too bad our team lost."
"Maybe next year." Sean pulled his chair closer.
"Maybe," Ennis said between bites. He did enjoy chicken wings, the spicier the better. He noticed Sean hadn't touched any. "Is something wrong with the wings?"
"No, I just can't handle the spicy stuff. Plus it's a bit fattening."
Ennis stopped between bites and looked up into the other blond's blue eyes. "What? You're on a diet?"
"How do you think I keep myself looking like this?" He stood up and flexed his muscles.
"So you're saying I'm fat?" Ennis wiped his mouth and hands on the napkins.
"No, no. Of course not, I like a man who has a little meat on him."
Ennis had enough of this party. "I got to go, I have something I need to check on."
"Wait, here." Sean gave him his business card. "E mail me, maybe we can go to the Valentine's dance."
Ennis took the card. "Bye." He quickly left. "Ennis, where are you going?" Todd caught up to him by the elevators.
"I've had enough 'fun' for one day. I'm going back to work."
"Sorry, Ennis. I thought you'd enjoy yourself."
"It's okay, Todd. I appreciate the thought, but I am not comfortable with these social things. I'll see you later." Ennis got inside the elevator and pushed the number four for his floor.
When he got back to his office he heard his phone beep again. Hot Rider had left him a message.
'Sean is a jerk.'
'g thx'
'I mean it u r not fat.'
'yeah right.'
' I think u r hot.'
'u can c me but I don't get to c u?'
'u will c me soon stud, b patient'
The next day was a busy one for Ennis. He had a big project he was working on and didn't realize it was about two in the afternoon until his stomach was growling at him to get something to eat. So he decided he deserved a break for lunch and went downstairs to the cafeteria. The food at Google was top-notch. They had professional chefs cooking for them and food was available 24/7. He got himself one of his favorites, chicken parmigiana and found a table by the window. There was a flower garden and a walking path that cut through it. Ennis loved taking walks during breaks in his workday.
A commotion coming from across the room drew Ennis' attention away from his meal. He could hear Jack and some of his co-workers from the graphics department laughing loudly at some joke Jack told them. Jack was playfully patting the back of Oliver, Jack's eyes met his and Jack stopped laughing. Ennis felt uncomfortable so he averted his gaze and went back to eating his meal.
"Is this seat taken?"
Ennis looked up into the gorgeous eyes he'd only gotten to know for a short time. "No it's free." Jack took the seat opposite him. He'd brought his lunch tray with him.
"Sorry I had to bail on you the other night."
"Don't worry about it, Jack, I know how busy it can get around here." Ennis finished up his lunch and sat back and enjoyed his cup of cappuccino. "So what have you and the graphics department been up to?" The graphics people were in charge of many things including the art on the homepage. Every month a different artist was chosen to create something that represented a holiday or special event that was happening. This month was Valentine's Day.
"Oh something really special." Jack's face lit up when he mentioned it. "I got something cooked up, hold on I'll show you." Jack got up and retrieved his laptop that he'd left with his colleagues and sat next to Ennis.
He opened up the laptop and brought up the screen he's been working on. Up came two hearts entwined and smaller hearts surrounding it, looking like fireworks shooting off the top of the word Google.
"Wow that is impressive, when does it go live?"
"Tomorrow." Jack was beaming from ear to ear.
"I think that is great, you've done a wonderful job." Ennis noticed that Jack had scooted closer to him and was looking him in the eye. Ennis felt his cock twitch as he felt Jack's thigh touch his.
"I hope the users like it, you know we've got a bit of a friendly rivalry going on in the department. Kind of a contest to see who does the best design, there is a list that will come out in a few months. I hope I get on it."
"I hope so too, Jack." Ennis smiled at him. Just as he was about to say something to Jack about getting together later for dinner Jack closed up his laptop and got up from his chair.
"Gosh look at the time, I have a meeting I have to be at in ten minutes. It was great to see you again. Maybe we'll meet up tomorrow."
"Yeah, tomorrow," Ennis sighed as he watched the handsome man leave the cafeteria. This was the second time the man walked out on him. He didn't even get a chance to really know him. Between Jack and the 'mysterious' Hot Rider Ennis felt like his head was spinning. Maybe he should just go back to his office and put his head down and just concentrate on work and just forget about socializing.
Ennis was late arriving to work the next day, his car had broken down and he had to have it towed. Luckily he just needed a new battery. He was on his way in about an hour.
He made it to his office and booted up his computer. He had turned off his phone the night before and forgot to put it on this morning, having used the landline he had in his home to call the tow truck. He had several text messages from the mysterious Hot Rider. The first message said: 'Morning, stud, can't wait to c u 3'
The last one he received came in about five minutes ago read: 'r u ok? Pls txt me.'
He immediately texted back 'I'm ok, had car trouble.'
A few moments later Hot Rider texted 'was worried'
'Sorry'
'u going 2 the v-day party 2 nite?'
'hadn't planned 2'
'pls go u won't b sorry.'
'will u be there?'
';)'
'ok, I'll lk 4 u.'
Ennis didn't want to go, he never was comfortable at social gatherings. He was more of a loner. That was why he liked working as a computer analyst, he didn't have to deal with large crowds just a handful of co-workers.
The day was a quiet one; he noticed Jack wasn't in the cafeteria when he went for lunch. He asked one of Jack's co-workers.
"He's been in meetings all morning." Laura told him.
"Did he say he was going to the party tonight?"
"He said he couldn't make it."
Ennis didn't know why he felt disappointed that Jack wasn't going, maybe he should felt satisfied he was finally going to meet up with the mysterious Hot Rider.
Ennis drove to the Le Petit Bistro over on El Camino Real, he'd been to the restaurant a few times. It was a French place, Alice decided that nothing says love like a French restaurant, well that was her excuse. She loved the place and since she was the one organizing it she decided it was where the employees of Google were going to have their Valentine's Day party. The party started at eight, the guests started arriving around seven thirty. They had a private room all to themselves and a band playing romantic music. There was a small dance floor, and already there were some couples dancing the night away. Ennis did his usual quick hellos to those he recognized, and nodded his head at those workers he kind of knew. The food was served in a buffet style, which made it easier for people to get to know each other. Couples sat together, while single workers were encouraged to mingle about and introduce themselves. This was definitely not Ennis' style; he was quiet and liked to be alone or in a smaller group. There were about one hundred people and it was getting hot and he was feeling very crowded.
"Hey Ennis, I'm glad you showed up," Todd spotted his blond curly head anywhere in the crowd and he gravitated over to him. "Have you met my wife, Lena?"
"No, I've never had the pleasure," Ennis shook the blonde's hand. "I'm wondering how a mope like Todd ever ended up with a pretty woman like you?"
Lena laughed and patted Ennis on the arm. "You are a charmer, I guess Todd just got lucky."
Todd brought Lena a drink and the three of them chit chatted a bit. "I'm hungry babe, how about we grab some food and find a place to sit down?" Lena asked.
"Sure, are you coming, Ennis?" Todd put his arm around Lena and was steering her toward the buffet table.
"No, I think I'll just go out for a minute and get some fresh air, I'll catch up to you guys later."
Ennis took a walk in the restaurant's patio in the back.
His phone beeped, he looked at the text message.
'hi, stud, where ya goin?'
'are you here?'
'yes.'
'where?'
'behind you.'
Ennis swiveled his head around, he spotted a familiar figure. "Jack? I thought you weren't coming."
"Technically I'm not," Jack held up his cell phone.
"You're Hot Rider?"
"Well, yeah," Jack looked down at the ground.
"How come you're hiding behind a text character?"
"Cause I like being a man of mystery." Jack took a seat at one of the tables that peppered the outdoor dining space. "Besides I didn't think a guy like you would be interested in me." Jack said as he nervously rubbed his fingers against the wood grain of the table.
The sound of Ennis sitting down in a chair next to Jack echoed in the small seating area. "Why would you think that? I'm nothing special."
Jack's head shot up and he said, "Are you kidding? Have you looked in a mirror? You're hot, I'm the one that is nothing special." He started to get up when Ennis grabbed his arm to stop him.
"Boy we are certainly a pair, I didn't think you'd be interested in me either."
"I didn't know you were looking my way."
"Then you must be awfully blind," Ennis shook his head. "You never saw me giving you the eye in the cafeteria?"
"No," Jack smiled at him. "I guess you never noticed I was staring in your direction either. Yeah you were right, we're a pair."
"So how come the Hot Rider texts."
"I wanted to get your attention so I could get you alone, like how we are right now." Jack gave him a shy smile.
"Alone, to do what?"
Jack leaned over and grabbed the back of Ennis' head and their lips had a quick introduction. Jack looked into his deep brown eyes, "That."
"Is that it? That all you got?" Ennis teased. Jack smiled and wrapped his arms around Ennis' neck and kissed him again, this time his tongue touched Ennis' lips, asking for an invitation inside his mouth. Ennis' mouth opened wide and their tongues met in a dance of their own. Ennis' hands combed through Jack's dark locks and fisted the dark tendrils.
"Uh, I got plenty more where that came from, but not here," Jack gasped as he came up for air.
"My place?" Ennis managed to catch his breath.
Ennis grabbed his hand and led Jack through the dining room.
"Hey Ennis, where did you disappear to?" Todd headed him off.
"Hey, Todd, I'm heading out."
Todd looked at him like he was crazy. "You just got here." He finally noticed Jack standing behind him.
"You're Jack from graphics, right?"
"Yeah." Jack was anxious to get out of there.
"This is my friend, Todd." Ennis introduced them.
Todd couldn't help notice they were holding hands. "OH, hey man, don't let me interrupt."
Ennis smiled and rushed Jack out of there. When they got out into the parking
lot Jack walked over to his car, which was parked next to Ennis'.
"But I thought you'd leave your car here and we'd ride to my place together."
"That would mean I'd have to come back to get it." Jack walked back to Ennis and kissed him. "And believe me, once we get into it I don't want to leave you, stud." Jack smiled and got into his car. They drove back to Ennis' place.
Ennis' place had three bedrooms, living room and a fireplace.
Ennis didn't bother to give Jack a tour, there was only one room either man was interested in seeing and Ennis was only too happy to show off his master bedroom and the king size bed the occupied it.
If there was a Guinness Book of World Records for disrobing then Ennis and Jack just broke it.
They stood there, mesmerized by their naked bodies, cocks standing at attention in a lover's salute.
"Ennis," Jack whispered.
"Jack."
Their bodies came together like two magnets, lips locked together and hands blazing trails down the undiscovered country of unknown territories.
It didn't take long for the bed to be filled by their thrashing bodies.
Ennis somehow remembered the condoms and lube he kept in the bedside table and Jack helped him put them on Ennis' large cock.
Ennis put some lube on his finger and found Jack's private entrance. He looked into Jack's crystal blue eyes, silently asking for permission to enter. Jack nodded in approval. Ennis' fingers prepared Jack and it wasn't long before his member replaced them.
Jack's hands frantically reached out for something to hold onto, they settled on Ennis' arms.
He wrapped his legs around Ennis' waist.
"Come on, stud, show your Hot Rider how it's done."
Ennis' thrusts became faster and faster, sweat poured off his brow.
"Yeah, just like that, mm."
"Uh, uh, ahhhh!" Ennis moaned as he came.
Jack grabbed his own cock and soon he squirted all over Ennis' stomach.
Heavy breathing led to some kissing as both men settled onto the mattress.
Ennis left the bed long enough to take care of the condom and come back with a washcloth and towel to clean them off.
"Come on, stud." Jack opened his arms and Ennis slid into them.
"Happy Valentine's Day."
"You too, Hot Rider."
