BYOBO - Bring Your Own Body Odor

When I moved out of my grandma's house - for my own safety - it was the first time as an adult that I was completely on my own. While I liked the idea of being able to live entirely by my own rules, the reality of not having a safety net was terribly overwhelming. With my anxiety, I thrive on routine and do not handle change well - at all. As liberating as being on my own was in some regards I couldn't help but feel like a lost ship, adrift in the sea.

One night after work, I was winding down when a guy hit me up on Grindr. He was decently attractive - though I'm not a huge fan of blonds - with a tall, slim physique, penetrating blue eyes, and a kind smile that displayed his even, white teeth. We had talked a few nights that week; he lived in Bay City and was down to hookup if I wanted to come over; when I explained my situation to him, that I had recently moved into my apartment and while there was a clawfoot tub for me to bathe in, I hadn't been able to take a shower for a few months - as relaxing as baths are, I definitely missed the feeling of water cascading down onto me. Blaine offered to let me use his shower if I wanted to come to his place, he even offered to shower with me. As much as I wanted to just smoke a bowl or two and play Dead By Daylight, I didn't want to miss the opportunity to hang out with an attractive guy - or get a shower. Plus, after months of pining after a guy who couldn't have wanted me any less, it was nice to feel wanted, even if it was just for a casual encounter.

I was extremely nervous as I made my way to Blaine's house. Although I had lived in Bay City until the age of seven and then moved back at nineteen, I still didn't really know my way around town. I knew how to get to Meijer, Walmart, the mall, my aunt's houses - the important stuff - but not much more than that. Thankfully, my phone was still relatively new and the GPS worked efficiently. Before I knew it, I was pulling into a dark driveway on a street I'd never been to before. I called Blaine - just to make sure that I was at the right place. He answered almost immediately and opened the front door to wave at me; with the light shining brightly behind him, I couldn't make out his features but could tell that he was nowhere near as tall as he'd appeared in his photos - sometimes being incredibly skinny can be misleading height-wise.

I got out of the car and walked up onto his small porch. As I got closer, I could see that Blaine looked identical to his photos, just that he was, indeed, very short, coming up to about my chest. I didn't get any weird vibes from him, so I followed him into the house, hoping that he wouldn't be able to tell how nervous I was. With the exception of going to Santiago's apartment a few times, I'd never really gone to a stranger's house for sex. My cousin Megan's voice echoed in my head to be careful, to let someone know where I was in case anything went sideways, and to not end up in some freak's slut dungeon. As we exchanged pleasantries, I got a whiff of breath that was definitely in need of freshening, but didn't say anything - after all, I didn't want to be rude.

Blain's house was cute and cozy. I knew from our previous Grindr conversations that he worked with flowers, which obviously paid well if he could afford a house in his mid-thirties. There were beautiful, thriving plants all over, which had the odd effect of easing my anxiety exponentially. He let me into the living room and sat on the sofa, gesturing for me to sit down beside him.

"Do you game?" he asked, turning on the TV and grabbing controllers from the entertainment center.

"A little, yeah, mostly PlayStation 4," I answered, sitting down beside him on the leather sofa.

"I have a Nintendo Switch, how's about some Mario Kart?"

"I used to love Mario Kart as a kid!" I gushed, feeling a wave of nostalgia and excitement wash over me. Whenever I'm in a new and uncomfortable situation, I am often able to find comfort in anything familiar.

Blaine handed me a controller and we picked our characters; as usual, I picked Princess Peach - I'd always loved her as a kid and played as her whenever the opportunity presented itself. It was clear that this was not the Mario Kart that I'd grown up with; Peach was wearing her usual pink dress, her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and there were several new characters that hadn't been in the version I'd played as kid, like Daisy, Rosalina, and Birdo.

As we started our first match, Blanie turned to me and grinned devilishly. "How about we make it interesting?" he suggested. "Do you want play strip Mario Kart; whoever loses the race has to take off an article of clothing."

Honestly, I liked the idea of that. I've never been incredibly comfortable with people seeing me naked, but I wasn't in terrible shape, and if it was made into a fun challenge instead of a jump-to-the-bedroom type thing it might help with my nerves, so I agreed.

We chatted while we raced. I was a huge fan of Diana: the Musical, a short-lived Broadway musical about Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales. I had always felt a strong affection for the ill-fated princess, but after watching a filmed performance of the musical on Netflix, I also had a soft spot for Camilla Parker Bowles, the woman whom Prince Charles had loved more than he did Diana, the woman to whom his heart truly belonged. I wasn't excusing the alleged 'homewrecking' but I did have sympathy for the situation, as I could only imagine how awful it must be to watch the one you love be with someone else. I had been into the musical before the recent death of Queen Elizabeth II, but her death that increased my obsession.

I explained this to Blaine, who scowled at me. "I can't stand Camilla Parker Bowels," he said with disdain. "She's so nasty."

"I just commiserate with her. She and Charles were in love before he ever even met Diana; they couldn't be together, it had to suck. Obviously, I feel awful that Diana got hurt in all of it, but I don't want to completely villainize Camilla, either."

I lost the first match and removed my t-shirt, a navy-blue Xena: Warrior Princess tee that I'd recently gotten from Hot Topic. I watched as Blaine's eyes raked over my naked torso, my heart beating loudly in my ears.

Blaine lost the next match and took off his pajama pants. I couldn't resist a peek down at his boxers, and the outline of his dick inside of his underwear. I already knew that he had a girthy, decently sized cock; the nudes he'd sent on Grindr had made it look incredibly appetizing. I couldn't wait to dive into his boxers and feel his warm, meaty appendage in my hand.

We continued playing until we were both naked, at which point our hands started to wander. It didn't take long before the touching grew more heated. As Blaine stood up, I caught a whiff of body odor - not super strong, but there, nonetheless. "Let's go to the bedroom," he said, his blue eyes shining with lust. His cock was erect - at full mast - I couldn't resist a thrill knowing that I had done that to him - without even touching him!

I followed him into the bedroom, assuming he had an ensuite bathroom for us to shower in. When I got into the room, I saw that while it did have a spacious closet, there was no bathroom. I climbed into his bed, wondering if I should suggest we take shower. He got in next to me and told me to roll over. I was a little nervous, but I did as I was told. I sighed with relief when I heard the pop of a bottle; he poured some oil into his hands, rubbed them together, and started to massage my neck, shoulders, and back. I could feel his hard cock against my ass cheeks but didn't feel threatened; we had already established that he was mainly a bottom, so I didn't need to worry about him trying to put something in my ass. As close as Blaine was, I could smell his bad breath and the faint hint of BO. but didn't know how to broach the subject. I thought again about suggesting me hop into the shower, but I could tell from his ragged breathing that he was incredibly turned on, and the massage did feel amazing.

Eventually, he stopped massaging me and started sucking my dick. His mouth was warm, wet, and nice, but I was nervous; I was still in a new environment and the funky smells wafting off of him were really killing my sex drive. I wanted to say something, but I didn't know how to handle the delicate situation without killing the vibes.

Blaine stopped sucking my cock and peered up at me through his lashes. "I want you to fuck me," he said, his voice heavy with lust. "But don't touch my dick until you're about to cum - if you do I'll cum immediately. Fuck me as long as you want to, but as soon as you touch my dick, I'll cum - I want us to cum together."

I didn't really want to fuck him, after all, if his breath and body smelled, I doubted that he had taken the time and energy to douche his ass; the last thing I wanted to experience that night was shit dick.

Blaine noticed that my erection was wilting. I told him that I was really nervous because I barely knew him and that working so much had me utterly exhausted. He nodded understandingly and massaged me a little more.

At around one AM, I decided it was time to leave. Thankfully, Blaine didn't seem offended that I'd lost my hard-on and hadn't wanted to fuck him. As I threw my clothes back on, I couldn't wait to get outside and get some fresh air; the longer I was near him, the stronger the BO smell was becoming. How could I not have smelled it before?

We made our goodbyes and vaguely made plans to hangout again soon. I wasn't sure if I would be back, but I promised myself if I did, that I would find the courage to tell Blaine that he needed to brush his teeth and shower before anything happened. When I got home, I was unpacking the tote bag of shower supplies I'd brought along when I realized that I'd left my Xena shirt at Blaine's. When I'd gotten dressed, I'd put on sweatpants and hoodie against the fall chill; my shirt was probably on the floor in front of the couch somewhere.

I tried a couple of times to get the shirt back, but our schedules didn't synch up; Blaine offered to mail it to me, but I couldn't bring myself to allow that. It's been three years; Blaine hasn't been on Grindr since shortly after our game night. I hope that wherever he is, he's happy and living his best life; he wasn't a bad guy or anything, but BO is a major dealbreaker for me - on anyone. To this day, I can't understand how you can know you're about to be intimate with someone and not want to freshen up; when I'd agreed to go to Blaine's house, I'd already had a bath, but I'd made sure to floss and brush my teeth as well as use mouthwash. Is it not common courtesy to smell your best and cleanest for sex?

Maybe I should have suggested we take that shower so that the BO smell would have been taken care of without the possibility of hurting Blaine's feelings; I hadn't wanted to kill the mood, nor did I feel comfortable bringing it up even though he'd lured me over in the first place with promises that I could use his shower. If I'd been less uncomfortable asking to use the shower, maybe I'd have been able to salvage the situation; I had enjoyed my time with Blaine and I did find him attractive. Honestly, I don't think it would have turned into anything romantic or long-term; someone like Blaine who had his life together wouldn't want to date a putz like me. I definitely would have enjoyed his closet though, if things had gotten serious; there would have plenty of room for my Versace and Lagerfeld - and the shoes!