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Shane was out doing his weekly grocery shopping. He was a master's student, but thanks to his parents, he could afford to buy some of his fancy healthy food for his macrobiotic diet, especially his favorite fish, salmon. He was bending over to assess the correct cuts when he accidentally bumped into someone.
“Sorry.” Came an accented voice as someone moved past him towards the red meat section. Once Shane was pleased with his options, he straightened up to hear some yelling going on next to him.
“I pick this brisket first, ok? Back off.” Came the same accented voice. But now Shane could see the face attached to the voice, it was possibly the most stunning man he’d ever seen. Golden coppery curls were hanging wildly from this guy’s head, as if he’d just rolled right out of bed, wearing a tank top that was so tight it should be illegal and black Adidas joggers that showed off what Shane could tell was easily a very well-shaped butt. This guy was an Adonis. Shane stood there transfixed, as he seemed to be arguing with some lady.
“Young man, I need the brisket for my family. Can’t you be kind?” the lady yelled back.
“And I need it for borscht, for my mama, ok? We all have family.” The gorgeous man snapped back. That seemed to convince the lady to let it go somehow, the intensity in his voice seemed to do it. She let it go. The guy finally triumphantly put it in his basket and suddenly looked towards Shane. That’s when Shane realized he’d been unabashedly staring at him like an idiot, his grocery list forgotten.
The guys looked Shane over as well, blatantly checking him out, before giving him a wink and heading towards the cashier. That wink killed him. Now Shane was not a virgin by any means, he’d accepted his sexuality in his undergrad, after which his ex-girlfriend turned best friend Rose had taken him to many gay bars in Montreal. He’d had his fair share of men, but no one had been close to as beautiful as this guy was. And certainly not this cocky. Somehow Shane couldn’t get the guy out of his mind, even when he saw him headed out of the store before him.
Once he regained some sanity, he managed to get through the rest of his list and check it out. He was headed to the laundromat next when he looked across the street to see the same guy. Smoking across the street, staring intently at the grocery store entrance. When he saw Shane, maybe it was his imagination, but Shane swore he dropped his cigarette and crossed over.
Shane wasn’t sure what to do, he panicked a bit, walking quickly into the laundromat next door. He started sorting his laundry while surreptitiously looking outside the window. He saw the guy smile a bit at his antics. He seemed like he was going to enter, but just then his phone seemed to ring. Shane could vaguely hear some loud screaming in a foreign language that sounded Slavic in origin. And with that the guy was gone.
Just his luck, Shane thought sadly, as he separated his whites from his colored clothes. Once he was home putting away his groceries, he realized how stupid he must have seemed to the guy. Who now? Shane was convinced it was not even looking at Shane. This whole thing had just been a huge misunderstanding. Hadn’t it? Shane vowed to forget the whole thing and focus on his engineering final, which was in a week.
The universe seemed to be especially cruel to Shane the next few days. He couldn’t get the guy out of his mind. He kept foolishly going to the grocery store, with each excuse lamer than the previous one. Hoping to see him again, and yet he didn’t meet him.
Finally, he decided to bunker down to study instead. He managed that somewhat, he was able to successfully write his paper, though what he wrote he couldn’t say. All he kept thinking was about that sexy accent and those blue eyes. Or were they grey? Green maybe? Shane didn’t know what possessed him. A thought crossed his mind as he was relaxing in his apartment after finals. What if he posted about this on Reddit?
It was one of Shane’s only social media apps he used, and it was technically anonymous. If nothing came of it, no one would know that the lame post had been Shane’s. And if he did end up connecting with the guy… well Shane’s brain had a number of scenarios ranging from sweet to downright filthy that he wanted to act out.
After agonizing for over an hour about his post, he finally decided to post it on the r/Montreal subreddit. But just as he was going to do that, something on the sub caught his eye.
@LilyRoz81
Cute boy with freckles in grocery store. If you see this, please DM.
Hi, English is not first language, so sorry for mistakes. I (24 M) was at grocery store buying brisket for borscht. The one time I could afford it on my shitty student job. For my mama’s birthday. Not important. I saw this beautiful boy, Asian, I think? He had freckles on his face, it took away my breath. I wanted to ask name, but then stupid brother called from Russia and ruined my mood. I went back to the store everyday after that but boy was not there. Reddit can you help?
Could it really be the same guy? As Shane scanned the post, he couldn’t believe his luck. It definitely sounded like him, and the story matched his, but he still needed to confirm it indeed was him.
@JaneHolly24
Um, hi @LilyRoz81, I think that was me? But I am not sure. The guy I bumped into was in the meat isle, arguing with some woman about borscht. DM me if I am right.
God, Shane thought. That sounds so fucking lame. Ugh, why was he so bad at this. Before he could overthink this and delete it, he did this trick he used for messages he was scared to send. He closed his eyes, quickly pressed post, and shut the app. He laughed at his own hilarious antics. He was not a teenager. What was this behavior?
But just then, there was a new notification from Reddit. He had a DM request.
@LilyRoz81 wants to chat.
Accept? Decline?
Shane clicked accept super fast. Immediately a message came through.
@LilyRoz81
Prove you are pretty freckles boy.
@JaneHolly24
Didn’t I just prove it on your post?
@LilyRoz81
You could be creepy stalker. Send photo.
@JaneHolly24
You could be a stalker too! I am not sending my photo here!
@LilyRoz81
OMG Jane, you are so boring. Ok, I will send photo first, ok?
@JaneHolly24
Okay, if you share, then so will I.
@LilyRoz81
Holy shit! It was him! And that photo, who sends a shirtless photo in a first interaction like this? Shane thought. His mouth couldn’t stop watering, though. The guy looked so, so hot, he had this tuft of hair around his stomach, leading down, it was making Shane want to do unholy things.
He decided, ok, "Lily," I can send a thirst trap too. He picked a photo that Rose had taken of him last summer.
@JaneHolly24
@LilyRoz81
Fuck Jane. It is you. I am glad I found you pretty boy.
@JaneHolly24
Hey, you are shirtless in your photo too
@LilyRoz81
Yes, but I am not pretty.
What is your name?
@JaneHolly24
Shane Hollander. You?
@LilyRoz81
Ilya Rozanov
@LilyRoz81
You want to meet up, Hollander?
@JaneHolly24
Um, do you think it’s a good idea?
I mean, we don’t know each other.
Maybe we can talk more here?
Sorry, I don’t mean to be rude
@LilyRoz81
Hollander, you are having panic attack.
Is just a plan for coffee, ok? If we don’t like each other, we don’t have to see each other again, ok?
@JaneHolly24
Sorry. Yes, ok.
But what if we
I want to kiss
You’re so hot
I am hard right now
What if we do like each other?
@LilyRoz81
What if we do?
@JaneHolly24
What would you want to do then?
@LilyRoz81
I don’t know, get dinner, get drunk, fuck maybe?
@JaneHolly24
I…am not really looking for a hookup, actually.
@LilyRoz81
Oh, Hollander, was a joke, yes? Relax. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. I promise.
So, coffee? Café Olimpico - Centre-Ville tomorrow at 6?
@JaneHolly24
Ok.
@LilyRoz81
See you tomorrow, pretty boy.
@JaneHolly24
Fuck off!
The next day, around 4 pm, Shane was freaking out. He’d barely paid attention in class that morning and had ignored his mom’s calls, and now his bedroom was a complete disaster. T shirts and shirts strewn all over.
"Rose, help! What am I supposed to wear?" Shane groaned, on call with his best friend.
“Shaney, it is just a coffee. I have to meet this guy if this works ok? I want to see who’s gotten you so riled up!” came Rose’s voice on the other end.
"Ok, show me the clothes.” Shane clicked on the back camera option to show Rose the mess that was his bed.
“Hmmm, ok. Stop. I like that black t-shirt, it really looks good with your biceps. Wear it with that brown leather jacket I got you for your birthday last year. The dark brown one," Rose said.
“A t-shirt with a jacket? It doesn’t look like I am trying too hard?” Shane asked nervously.
“No darling. It looks like you put some thought into your outfit but not like you’re desperate.” Rose reassured him.
So that’s how Shane ended up wearing this thin t shirt and leather jacket, freezing the second he stepped out.
Mercifully the coffee shop was near his apartment, so he was able to duck inside to escape from the cold quickly. He’d arrived a bit early, feeling like an idiot.
Thankfully, he’d remembered to bring his glasses. He pulled up the latest article on biotech engineering and got lost in reading it. mRNA Therapeutics Beyond Vaccines.
About 20 minutes later, he felt a presence looming over him. He looked up from his glasses to see it was him, Lily, aka Ilya. Who was looking at him with his mouth a bit open. Shane suddenly felt very conscious of himself. Had he dressed up too much? But looking at Ilya, he could see that Ilya too had clearly put in a little effort into dressing up.
He was wearing dark blue jeans with a white t-shirt and a black leather jacket with brown cuffs and collar. His gorgeous curls were falling all over his head, but they looked more tamed than they had at the grocery store.
As Ilya sat down in front of him, Shane visibly gulped a bit, unable to keep himself from checking him out. Ilya seemed to do the same, staring at him for a few seconds, until he burst into the most wonderful smile. Shane had ever seen. He’d never seen someone smile so widely with all their teeth before.
“Ilya Rozanov," He said, sticking out his hand.
“Shane Hollander," Shane replied, shaking his hand. He felt a little spark pass through him. It seemed like Ilya felt it too because he also jerked a bit.
They both ordered their coffees, a black one for Shane and one with extra milk and cream for Ilya.
“Such a boring order, Shane," Ilya teased.
"Hey, at least I am not trying to give myself diabetes.” Shane teased back at the fact that Ilya had insisted they double the amount of sugar they added.
“You’ve seen my photo, do you think I will get diabetes?” Ilya asked, arching an eyebrow. Shane blushed a bit. Had he seen the photo? He couldn’t stop looking at it since Ilya sent it. He may have also jerked off to it before coming here.
He wasn’t going to tell him that, though.
“Fuck off!” Shane said finally. It made Ilya laugh. His laugh was so melodious. It made Shane want to hear it again and again.
The conversation flowed naturally. Shane told Ilya about how he was pursuing his master's in biotech engineering from McGill, how much he loved the field, and what he planned to do once he graduated.
Ilya told him about how he was pursuing his master's in clinical psychology and how he wanted to be a therapist eventually. How that day he was making borscht because it was his mother’s birthday, though she had died long back.How he was working two jobs on the side to pay for his expenses on top of his scholarship. He worked as a waiter at a nearby restaurant, and he doubled as a bartender twice a week.
It made Shane feel a bit guilty. He was so lucky, he thought, that his parents had bought him his apartment, he didn’t have to worry about sharing a room or rent or anything like that. He could just focus on his education.
“Ah, so you are Mr. Real Estate.” Ilya teased when Shane shared that his parents bought him an apartment.
“Shut up. I have told my parents I will pay them back for the apartment the minute I get a job. I don’t mean to rely on their support like this, but I…” Oh god, now Shane was babbling a bit.
Ilya put one of his hands on Shane's. “Shane. Is ok. It is good to have parents who care. Not everyone gets that. You are lucky. But that is not bad thing, ok?”
It felt so comforting to hear Ilya say that. Shane had always felt so much pressure since he was little. Being an only child, he felt like all his parents' hopes and dreams were riding on him. On him being the best at whatever he did. He had tried being a hockey player, he wanted to go pro, but then an injury in his junior year made him have to quit.
It'd taken a long time for Shane to find something else to do. His parents had been understanding, but he had promised himself that whatever he did, he was going to be the best at it. Which he was. He was on a full ride at McGill himself, and he was always getting straight As. But it didn’t leave a lot of time for things like parties, boyfriends, or anything fun really. Shane couldn’t remember the last wild thing he had done.
Somehow, Ilya had seen through Shane’s guilt and fears so easily. He would make a great therapist someday, Shane thought. His hand turned to grip Ilya’s back. “Sorry for my rambling. It’s just that I feel a lot of pressure being my parents' only kid, you know?”
“I get it. Classic only child problem. You want to make parents happy, but that may not always make you happy right?” Ilya said, nailing Shane’s core issues. He nodded.
“We all have our stuff, is completely ok. My own family is pretty messed up," Ilya admitted.
“Oh yeah, you mentioned on your Reddit post something about your brother?” Shane enquired, a bit curious.
“Ah, yes, my brother is an asshole. But he is looking after our father in Russia. It makes him terrible to me. Especially because I have such little money I can send back. At least until I get a job after college. My father just thinks I am being lazy, taking three years to finish two-year master's. Ilya said, his eyes seeming a bit misty.
Now it was Shane’s turn to reassure him. “Hey, you are already working very hard. I know we don’t know each other too well yet, but you don’t sound lazy to me. You’re working two jobs, going to school, and clearly you also work out, looking like, well, looking like you do," Shane said, gesturing to Ilya’s body.
That made Ilya’s lip quirk up. “Been dreaming about body, have you, Hollander?” he teased. Shane blushed a bit, which seemed to make Ilya look at his lips. Shane couldn’t help but stare at Ilya's, too. They were the most perfect lips he’d ever seen.
“Shall we get out of here?” Ilya said, the tension crackling in the air between them.
"Yes," Shane replied a little too quickly. He knew he didn’t want this to just be a hookup, he wanted to take things slow, to not rush in. But being here, seeing Ilya in that jacket, and especially after getting to know Ilya, he really wanted to jump his bones right then and there.
They started walking in the direction of Ilya’s apartment, their hands brushing against each other. At some point, Ilya lightly entangled their fingers together. Shane didn’t mind it one bit.
Some time later, they came to a stop in front of a building. Presumably, the one with Ilya’s apartment. But before they went in, Ilya stopped Shane. He had that intense stare again. “Can I kiss you, Shane?” he whispered. Shane nodded, leaning in. Their lips met, softly at first. Ilya put one hand on Shane’s waist and the other gripped his jaw. Shane grabbed onto Ilya’s shoulders with one hand, the other was gripping Ilya’s curls. Something he’d been dying to do since he saw him at the store.
The kisses grew more heated. Ilya slipped in his tongue, and Shane sucked on it, moaning a bit. At some point, Ilya shoved Shane onto the wall next to the apartment entrance, kissing his jaw, his ear, and his neck.
“Ilyaaaa. Wait," Shane moaned out. “What is it, kotik?” Ilya asked, pulling back. “Want me to stop?” he asked carefully. “No, but I meant what I said, I don’t want this to be a hookup." Shane said honestly. He knew his friends had advised him to play it cool and play hard to get, but Shane always felt brutal honesty was the best policy.
“Is ok, kotik. Yes, I don’t want that either. I want more with you. How about we go slow, yes?” Ilya asked, brushing his fingers on Shane’s freckles.
Shane’s heart melted at that. He’d never met a guy as accommodating as Ilya before. They ended up spending the night watching a movie on Ilya’s TV while eating Chinese on his couch, exchanging stories about playing hockey, what movies they liked, and their favorite singers [how can you not know Bad Bunny, Hollander? Ilya had asked incredulously.] It was by far the best date Shane had ever had.
By the time the movie ended, Shane and Ilya were cuddled together on the sofa. "Well, that was quite a movie," Shane said as the credits for Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift played. Action movies were not his style normally, but they were in Ilya’s home, he figured he could let him pick. Plus, with Ilya cuddled next to him this way, Shane had hardly paid attention to the movie at all.
“Ilya?” Shane said looking up. He saw Ilya had fallen asleep, looking adorable with his mouth a bit ajar.
Shane couldn’t help but kiss him lightly on the cheek. That made him stir a bit. He opened his eyes, kissing Shane on the cheek too.
“So I should get going, yeah?” Shane said, trying to sound casual. When the truth was, he was pretty sure he was already falling in love with this man he’d known for like a day.
“Stay.” Ilya said simply, kissing his neck. “You don’t have class tomorrow, and mine is in afternoon.”
“You sure?” Shane asked carefully. Ilya nodded, pulling Shane to his feet. He kissed him deeply. “Stay the night? And then if you like, we can do more of this tomorrow?” he whispered.
“More of what?” Shane asked shyly, though he knew the answer.
Ilya kissed him with wild abandon in response, slipping his tongue into Shane’s mouth again. His tongue was ridiculously long, it felt like it was mapping out Shane’s mouth completely. Shane kissed back furiously as well, gripping Ilya’s face in his large hands.
When they finally broke apart, both their lips were swollen and they were panting heavily. “Gospodi. You will make me break my no-sex rule if you keep this up, Hollander," Ilya said.
“It was a stupid rule anyway.” Shane replied, leaning in to kiss him again. After some more kissing, Ilya picked up Shane as if he were a bag of wheat. Shane’s legs wrapped around Ilya’s waist instinctively as if they’d always belonged there.
Ilya carried them somewhere, Shane guessed it was his bedroom as he felt his back hit the mattress.
The rest of the night passed by in the most passionate, mind-blowing sex either of them had ever had. After making each other orgasm three times, they finally slept off around 5 am.
Around noon, Shane finally woke up, wrapped in Ilya’s arms. He thought, I can get used to this. I think I am in love with him already.
Unbeknownst to him, Ilya had woken up behind him and was thinking the same thing. Gospodi, chert voz'mi, kazhetsya, ya khochu vyyti zamuzh za etogo muzhchinu. [God! Fuck me, I think I want to marry this man.]
And 5 years later, he made good on that promise.
Their wedding photo:
