All Man
All Man
by
Jay Northcote
Copyright
Cover art: Jay Northcote.
Editor: DJ Mack.
All Man © 2015 Jay Northcote.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or business establishments, events or locales is coincidental.
The Licensed Art Material is being used for illustrative purposes only.
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Warning
This book contains material that is intended for a mature, adult audience. It contains graphic language, explicit sexual content, and adult situations.
Author's Note
This story is a spin off from another short story of mine, where Jules appears as a minor character. Both stories are standalones so there is no need to read them in order. If you haven't already read Tyler and Duncan's story and would like to, you can find it in
Top Me Maybe?
Thank you, Claire, for giving me the push I needed to write Jules's story too.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
“Hi.” Jules grinned down at the bloke lying on his back under the basins, taking a moment to admire the very respectable looking bulge in his jeans. “Gareth isn’t it? Fancy another cup of tea?”
Jules knew full well the man’s name was Gareth. It had been imprinted in his memory since Gareth, in all his bear-like glory, had stepped through the front door of the hairdressing salon that morning. He’d introduced himself, and Julian had been smitten on sight.
“Oh, yeah. That’d be great, thanks, Julian.”
“You can call me Jules.” Jules tried not to flutter his eyelashes, but he thought they probably did it without his permission. Big, butch blokes like Gareth always brought out the femme in him—it was how he reacted when he was nervous and excited. The more masculine they were, the more camp he got, even when he tried to tone it down.
Gareth didn’t seem to mind, though.
“Okay, Jules.” He gave Jules another one of his surprisingly sweet smiles before getting back to whatever he was doing with the pipes under the new sink he was installing.
Jules hummed happily to himself as he pottered around the cramped little kitchen in the back of the salon, waiting for the kettle to boil. He lined up four mugs and put in instant coffee for Shelley and Tyler and tea bags for Gareth and himself. He added a sweetener for Shelley—who was on a diet again—one sugar to his mug, and two for Gareth, remembering that was how Gareth took his tea.
Jules had carefully stored away every little detail about Gareth so they’d be there to mull over later. He grinned as a surge of excitement made his heart lift. It was always fun having a crush. Gareth was probably straight so it was bound to be unrequited, but a bit of eye candy made the day so much brighter.
He took Shelley and Tyler their drinks first and then went back for his and Gareth’s so he had the excuse to linger for a moment after delivering it.
“I’ll put it up here on the shelf,” he told Gareth. “Don’t let it get cold.”
Gareth was still on his back under the sinks, rattling around with a spanner or a wrench or something. Jules had no idea. His expertise was more with a different type of tool.
Gareth’s T-shirt had ridden up where his body was twisted, but his face was out of sight, so Jules took the opportunity to blatantly admire his hairy stomach. He was solid, not gym ripped lean, but not chubby either. He was all muscle and man. Jules tilted his head and sighed appreciatively. He really was the perfect bear.
“Jules, stop daydreaming and come and sweep up for me, you slacker.” Tyler’s voice was light and teasing.
Jules glared at him, ignoring the flush that swept up his neck to his cheeks. “Yeah, yeah.”
Tyler grinned. He clearly knew exactly what Jules was daydreaming about. But the lucky bastard had Duncan—his own personal bear—at home, so he could sod off. Jules had to take his kicks where he could get them, and if that meant ogling Gareth, then so be it. He’d definitely be starring in Jules’s wank fantasies tonight.
Jules took one last peek at Gareth’s package and wondered what his cock looked like. Shame he’d never get a chance to find out.
Later that afternoon, Jules was sweeping tufts of hair off the floor from Shelley’s last client. Tyler was finishing up a cut and blow dry, and then they’d be done for the day. When he’d finished sweeping, Jules straightened up and yawned.
“You tired, love?” Shelley asked.
“Yeah, I stayed up last night watching Netflix again. Such a wild life I lead.”
“Are you going out tonight?”
“No, I want an early night. I’m going out tomorrow though.” Jules perked up at the thought. He loved his Saturday nights out clubbing. He and his flatmate, Sacha, were going to check out a new gay club that had opened recently and he was looking forward to some dancing and flirting, and maybe a hook up.
Just then, Gareth came over to talk to Shelley.
“I’m done for today. I’ll see you again on Monday to finish the job.”
He was standing close to Jules, and as he spoke, he lifted his arm to mop his brow. Jules caught the warm musky scent of his sweat. He even smelled good. It was so unfair. Surely there must be something unappealing about him. Maybe he had really gross feet?
“Okay, Gareth. Thanks. Have a good weekend,” Shelley was saying.
Jules had zoned out staring at Gareth, desperately trying to find a flaw that would make this Adonis more human. At easily over six feet tall, he towered over Jules who was five foot eight-and-a-half (the half was very important). Gareth’s skin was tanned and his body was a solid bulk of muscle with just the right amount of padding. Jules bet he’d be awesome to cuddle. His hair was dark and cut close to his scalp. Jules guessed maybe it was because he was thinning a bit—he must be at least thirty—but that did nothing to make him less attractive to Jules. He loved a buzz cut, especially when teamed with all that glorious dark stubble.
Jules suddenly realised Gareth was talking to him. “Bye, Jules,” he was saying with a smile.
“Bye.” Jules ran a self-conscious hand through his own light brown hair where it grew long on top. He grinned, trying not to flirt too outrageously. It made most straight guys uncomfortable. “See you Monday.”
When Gareth turned to leave, Jules noticed a darker patch on the back of his head where the hair was a little longer than the rest of it. The words were out of his mouth before he had time to change his mind.
“Oh, Gareth. You must have missed a patch when you trimmed your hair last—I assume you do it yourself? Those bits at the back are always hard to get.”
Gareth stopped and turned, instinctively lifting his hand to his head, feeling for what Jules was referring to. A dark thatch of armpit hair was visible poking out of the sleeve of his T-shirt and Jules wanted to bury his nose in it and sniff like a dog. “Yeah,” Gareth said. “I do it with my beard trimmer. I use two mirrors to try and make sure I’ve got it all… but sometimes I mess up.”
“Want me to get it for you now?” Jules offered. “It won’t take a second.” The mere thought of getting to touch Gareth made his cock tingle. He willed it to behave. The skin-tight black jeans he wore for work wouldn’t do a good job of hiding it if it stood to attention.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to hold you up from anything else you should be doing.”
“It’s fine. You don’t mind, do you Shelley?”
“Not at all, love. Be my guest.” There was a glint of knowing amusement in Shelley’s eyes, but her voice was carefully neutral. Jules smiled gratefully.
“Take a seat over here then, and I’ll go and get a gown and the clippers.” Jules gestured to one of the black leather chairs.
When he returned, he put the gown on Gareth and fastened the Velcro carefully around his neck. God he was powerful. He had shoulders like a bull. His skin was warm against Jules’s fingertips and slightly flushed. Maybe he was embarrassed at the unexpected attention he was getting.
Jules met Gareth’s gaze in the mirror, noticing his eyes were a beautiful shade of golden-brown, like maple syrup. “Do you normally do it grade two?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“Okay. It looks like it’s grown out a little so I’ll do your whole head to make sure it’s even.”
Jules set the clippers accordingly. His heart was pounding and his hands trembled a little as he flipped the switch. The vibration was oddly soothing in its familiarity. He’d done this a hundred times before but never for a man he was this attracted to.
He tilted Gareth’s head forward gently and started at the nape of his neck, drawing the clippers up in smooth strokes, following the contours of his skull. With something to concentrate on, he relaxed a little. Gareth was pliant, letting Jules move his head. Jules leaned in a little closer than he needed to, greedy to inhale the scent of Gareth’s body. He smelled of clean sweat and masculinity, locker rooms and teenage fantasies. Jules was in heaven. He drew in a deep breath and exhaled, and Gareth shivered. Jules jerked back quickly, realising he was practically panting on the poor bloke’s neck.
“Nearly done,” he said quickly. He’d been working in silence, which was unlike him. Normally he’d talk the ear off his customers. He prided himself on being able to get even the most surly silent types to talk back to him. “So, have you got any plans for the weekend?” he asked, cringing at the banal question. He usually did better than that, but Gareth seemed to have stripped Jules of his usual powers of witty banter.
“I’ve got the day off tomorrow. I’m gonna hit the gym in the morning then go to my mum’s for lunch.”
“Nice,” Jules said, imagining Gareth in workout shorts and a skimpy vest top. If he knew which gym Gareth went to, he’d be tempted to join, even though he rarely lifted anything heavier than a hairdryer.
“Then I’m going out on Saturday night.”
“Anywhere fun?”
“I’m just meeting some mates at the pub, but maybe we’ll end up going on somewhere from there.”
“Okay, I’m nearly done.” Jules moved back and studied Gareth’s hairline critically. “I’ll just neaten it up around your ears a bit.”
He took the guard off so the clippers would cut right down to the skin and stepped in close. “Here, tilt your head like this.”
He put his fingers on Gareth’s stubbled jaw. It was thick and scratchy but just long enough that it would rasp deliciously over skin rather than scrape like sandpaper. Jules thought about how it would feel on his thighs, or on his arsecheeks….
Fuck, no. Stop thinking about that right now
.
With Gareth’s face only a few inches above Jules’s crotch, that train of thought was going to end in embarrassment. It would be impossible to hide an awkward boner.
Taking a deep breath, Jules forced himself to focus as he finished up. Gareth was sitting with his thighs spread wide. He made no move to close them, so Jules's legs pressed against the hard muscle as he moved in close to carefully trim along Gareth’s hairline. He saw a pulse beating in Gareth’s neck, a steady throb beneath the skin. The desire to straddle Gareth’s lap and suck on his neck was almost unbearable.
The tension was broken by Tyler dropping a pair of scissors with a loud clatter.
Jules nearly jumped out of his skin. Heart pounding, he whirled around to glare at Tyler.
“Bloody hell, Ty. You nearly gave me a heart attack. Gareth could have lost an ear.”
“Bit jumpy aren’t you?” Tyler grinned unapologetically. His gaze flitted from Jules to Gareth and back.
Jules ignored that, turning back to Gareth. He moved to his other side and worked quickly and efficiently, trying to ban all X-rated thoughts from his brain.
“There. That’s perfect now.” He moved to stand behind Gareth with his hands on those deliciously strong shoulders and grinned at him in the mirror. Then he added, unable to resist testing the waters, “You’re all ready to wow the ladies on Saturday night.”
Gareth held his gaze for a moment and Jules thought he saw a glint of interest there. But then he cleared his throat and looked away, and whatever Jules thought he’d seen was gone.
“Thanks. How much do I owe you?”
“No, no. It’s on the house.”
“You sure?”
Jules nodded. “Absolutely. It didn’t exactly take long. It’s not like you had a full head of highlights and a cut and blow dry, is it?”