Burn Through

So today at work, Nightingale was working with us doing sanding. Years ago, N. ran the sanding table, and he's probably the best in the shop at it, knows all the tricks, even though he now spends his days in the finishing room doing staining and glazing.

Nightingale is going through Changes. He's losing all that weight (but still looks great), and he started shaving his head. And grew a soul-patch kind of thing. This past weekend, he was doing yardwork and got a bad sunburn, although the color is coming up pretty nicely, despite his Irish epidermis.

Nightingale looks great.

I was sanding a cabinet. I sanded through some putty and found that those nutty cabinet makers had covered up a burn-through. A burn through is when the veneer of the plywood is sanded away, revealing the glue, which tends to be bright orange or blue-green. If it was a stain job, the cabinet would have needed to be rebuilt. But it was a paint job.

I called over to Nightingale for a consultation. I love doing this. He's a natural teacher, and, like most of the guys in the shop, love the opportunity to show off what they know and what they can do. And there's a tender and intimate quality to these interactions. It's this mentoring aspect that makes the job so wonderful.

Nightingale was on the spot. He demonstrated What To Do. Applying putty in thin layers, giving it lots of time to dry, and then gently sanding it off so it's level. The paint will cover the putty which in turn covers the burn through.

So I was looking over Nightingale's shoulder and steadying the cabinet while he gently sanded away the putty. I was so close I could feel his body heat. And I was looking at the folds of skin--I love those on a man, Special Guy had them, too--at the nape of his neck. His head was freshly shaved, and he had that gloss on his scalp. I could see all his pores. I could see all his thick, coarse hairs.

What a man. What a beautiful man. What a beautiful man. What a good, strong, thick, smart man. What a beautiful man.

I could make you feel good, Nightingale. I could make you feel so good. I could massage and carress and suck and tickle in all the right places, in all the right ways. I could make you feel so good in your body. Show you how good it can be with a man. A man with a body just like yours, who knows all the ways to make that body feel good. A hairy, muscley body, just like yours. Holding you close. A face with razor stubble and beard just like yours, kissing you.

It can be good with a man, Nightingale. Sharing a quiet moment, cigars, a sunset on a summer night. Working together around the house... one-two-three Lift! you got it? yeah I got it, okay on your end? alright let's go. Bobbing in some body of water, the Atlantic, the ol' swimming hole, hands reaching out and touching. Watching baseball on tv, curled up with each other on the sofa.

It can be good with a man, Nightingale. It could be pretty good with this man, Nightingale.

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