Sometimes on the way to work I stop by a convenience for a bottle of Diet Pepsi. I know – sodas are bad for you, including sodas sweetened with artificial sweeteners. You know what? Everything is bad for you to some extent. I happen to like the sharp taste of cola in the morning – unless the weather is cold, in which case coffee is my beverage of choice. When the mood strikes I don’t deprive myself of a soda fix. Sue me.

There’s a store just around the corner from my house. It was closed for awhile and I figured it would be torn down and replaced with something essential to mankind’s survival, like a nail salon or another mattress outlet. But somebody bought it, cleaned it up, replaced all the underground gas tanks and re-opened it as a convenience store.

I began stopping there on my way to the office because their 16-ounce sodas were about a nickel cheaper than the other nearby convenience store, and that meant I didn’t have to break a dollar to pay the tax. Their coolers weren’t turned down as low as the other store’s but that was OK. I could always toss my drink into the freezer at work until it was close to the point of freezing. I like ‘em that way – especially on a hot summer day.

The people who bought the store turned out to be a family from India so recent to the United States they had not lost their accent and in fact, spoke little English. I spoke not a word of Hindi, either, but that too was OK – they understood American currency just fine and we communicated with smiles and nods. Good for them for trying to make a better life for themselves and having the guts to move to a foreign country and open a business. It can’t be easy doing that in the States, where regulations often baffle even native-born Americans.

On this muggy summer morning I pulled into the angled parking space along the hedge that separated the convenience store from the apartment complex next door and got out. The heat swarmed over me like a giant, wet dog that was too big and bulky for your lap but he wanted to be there anyway. The asphalt seemed partially melted and stuck to the bottoms of my shoes as I hurried to the front door – or was that 10 years of accumulated spilled Slurpees and dropped Skittles and chewing tobacco spit? Oh well.

Inside it was cooler, but not a whole lot. At least not as chilly as Americans usually set their thermostats. Maybe in India they prefer warmer temperatures. Maybe they were just trying to save money on air-conditioning.

I noticed a not-bad looking man chatting up the dark-skinned clerk behind the counter. The man looked to be in his late 20s and had a thin, scraggly beard that matched his thinning, flyaway hair. He was talking amiably, as if the clerk could understand him, and the clerk was smiling and nodding as if he could. But I knew better.

I had seen him there virtually every time I dropped by the store. He couldn’t have been older than his early 20s and featured the dark complexion and jet-black hair of people from that far eastern subcontinent. He was only about 5-7 and couldn’t have weighed more than 125 pounds. Overall he was a good-looking guy and I wouldn’t have minded seeing what was hidden under that polo-style shirt and blue jeans. But how do you flirt with a guy who’s unfamiliar with the customs of your country?

The American was giving it a go. But I knew he would fail.

I went to the back of the store where the cooler sat and found my big plastic bottle of Diet Pepsi. I returned to the front and got behind the American, who was still trying to woo the young Indian. He gave me an irritated glance and I smiled, thinking, You’re wasting your time, buddy. But I concur with your tastes. I wouldn’t mind fucking that tight little Indian ass myself.

Finally, reluctantly, the man paid his bill - $12 in gas – and left, giving me the stink eye as he sidled past me. I had interrupted his pitch and now I was the evil cock blocker. Oh well. I put my drink on the country with a wet thonk.

“He wanted you,” I blurted to the young clerk without really thinking, who smiled without understanding and rang up the soft drink. Why had I done that? To make him uncomfortable? Because I could?

Or was I secretly sizing him up for my own pleasure?

I pointed to the man, who was now getting into his Kia. I made the universal gesture of a blowjob – fingers of right hand in a circle, as if clutching a big dick; mouth open; head bobbing – and then pointed to the clerk. He understood instantly and reared back in surprise, then let out an uneasy giggle, as if such thoughts had never occurred to him. Then he did an odd thing. He sort of shrugged and smiled halfheartedly, as if to say, “Oh well. What are you gonna do. That wouldn’t have been such a bad thing.”

Whoa.

I wondered if our recent arrival might be up for a little horseplay. He gave me my change and was it my imagination or did his fingers linger on the palm of my hand a little too long? My imagination kicked into high gear and I felt my cock stirring in my britches. I was not against a morning quickie on the way to the office, and if this boy was obliging...

I looked him in the eye and wondered how he would react if...

And then I said fuck it. Luck always favors the bold.

With the same impulsive lack of concern I had shown a moment ago, I pointed to myself. I repeated the blowjob sign, and then I pointed at him.

His face went neutral and one of those dark, furry eyebrows arched. But he didn’t seem instantly averse to the idea. A lot of guys would have grimaced and said no – emphatically. But not him. He glanced at the digital watch on his wrist (Who wore digital watches anymore?) and seemed to come to some kind of decision. Then he grabbed a key on the cash register and turned it, presumably locking it, and made his way around the counter.

As he made his way past me he kind of rubbed against me and I definitely felt something hard below his belt poking against my hip. He started heading back to the rear of the store, and I followed. I was sure he was heading to the lone, universal restroom, but he stopped short and unlocked a door that led to the cooler. He gestured me to step inside.