Complications and Complexities
By: Dash
3/5/05
1867
Yawning and sitting up from
the old lounge he had been napping on,
“You know, I was still
asleep.”
He glanced down at the other
lounge chair and smiled. “Sorry, Charlie. You
were so quiet I forgot you were there.”
Charles opened one eye to
look at his friend and eyed him with disbelief.
“OK, well, not actually
forgot you were there but …”
His voice trailed off as he shrugged and smiled. “You want to go do something?”
“I thought I was doing
something,” the other man said, closing his eye again and shifting deeper into
the cushions of the chair. “It’s hot and
the best thing to do in this heat is to stay in the shade, pray for a breeze
and nap. We’ll do something this evening
when it cools off some.”
Sighing,
“Leave him alone,” Charles
ordered. “He hasn’t done anything to you
and we don’t need the trouble around here.
The house already has a reputation.”
Giving up on his nap, the
other man sat up with a sigh and shot a better glare up at
“The courts and laws are a
joke now and you know it. You’ve read
the papers as much as I have. You know
what the Yankees have done. He’s a
filthy carpetbagger who all but stole that property when the Kirkson’s couldn’t
pay their taxes. And why couldn’t they
couldn’t pay their taxes? Because the filthy Yankees destroyed their fields,
killed their sons and freed all their slaves!” the man ranted. “How is that behavior that should be rewarded
with prime property?” He frowned,
shaking his head and glaring in the direction of the disputed property. “You
knew the Kirkson’s didn’t you?”
Charles nodded once, “I knew
the family when I was alive. Winifred, I
believe was his Christian name. They
began to settle the land about a year before I died and we gathered together a
couple of times.” Glancing up at the
home behind him, he reached out and gently patted the side of the house as he
muttered, “There but the grace of God ..” Paused for a moment, he added, “I agree that
it’s not fair and a true shame but ….”
The other man smiled, cutting
him off again, “So there’s nothing wrong with visiting Mr. O’Brian once in
awhile then and making his new home less then peaceful.” Hoping down off the railing, he laughed. “I’ll be back before dinner. What are we having?”
Shaking his head, Charles
said, “I was thinking meat pies if you’d be willing to make the crust. You do it much better than I. There’s plenty of beef left over from the
roast we made a couple of days ago and plenty of onions and potatoes.”
“I’ll definitely be home for
dinner then,” he said with a laugh. “See
you in a few hours.”
“So you should have seen his
face,”
Despite his reservations at
his friend’s actions, Charles laughed, sipping at his wine. “So what happened?”
“He looked all over for his
knife, totally perplexed how something he had just laid down could disappear
into thin air,” he said with a laugh, taking another bite of his meal. “This is really good.”
Charles smiled, “Thanks but I
think you did the hard part. Give me
enough years and I can learn to cook anything, maybe even pie crust.”
The other man laughed and
slapped the table. “That’s the attitude
I think you should have,” he exclaimed excitedly. “That’s exactly how this should be. It’s a chance to do things, try things, learn things that we simply ran out of time to do. Now, we’ve got the chance. You to learn to cook….”
“And you to learn how to
harass people,” Charles finished dryly.
He winked at his friend to take any sting out of the words.
“Oh, I was doing that long
before I died,” he said grinning impishly.
Charles nodded, “That, I
believe.” He sipped again at his wine,
glancing down at the table as his eyes grew distant.
After a minute,
Jerking his head up, Charles
smiled, “Nothing important.”
The other man glanced
comically around the empty dining room and under the table before turning back
to the older man. “Do we have visitors
that I can’t see?”
“What?”
“Well, I know,” he said with
a smile, “that you’re not pulling that ‘Nothing’ on me. I’ve known you for too long, Charlie. I can see that look in your eye or hear that
tone in your voice. I know when you’re
thinking about something. You don’t have
to tell me if it’s something private but if you want to talk about it or share
it, then I’d love to hear it.”
Charles smiled and gave an
embarrassed shrug. “I was just thinking
about Molly and something that happened after we’d been married a few months.
Your actions sometimes remind me of her.”
“What happened?” he asked,
eager to hear and learn more of the wife and marriage his friend rarely talked
about.
He took another sip of wine,
delicately dabbing at his lips with the napkin before continuing. “We were still living in
“No, at least not by Gertrude”
Charles agreed with a shake of his head.
“But the other woman gave up or, probably more correctly, her husband
convinced her to give up the silly competition.
Molly though, would have none of that and continued on goading the other
woman and constantly trying to show her up.
She wasn’t mean usually and I don’t believe she saw her actions had
being mean but more something she simply could not let go of. She managed to keep the bills hidden from me so
I was unaware that this was still going on until Gertrude’s husband finally
said something to me one evening while we were at a club together. I went home that evening and convinced her
that goading someone reflected badly on her and could cause problems for our
household.”
“And that worked?” the other
man asked in a dubious voice.
Charles drained the last of
his wine before putting down the glass and laid his silver neatly on the
plate. “I was very persuasive.” Standing up, he smiled at his friend, “On the
rare times we disagreed about something that concerned her behavior, I could
persuade her to see my way.” He nodded
toward the other empty dish, “Let’s carry these into the kitchen and clean
up. Maybe we can finish the game of
chess from last night before bed.”
He laughed as he stood up and
followed Charles through the butler’s pantry and the small covered breeze way
that protected the main house from the fires and heat of the kitchen. “So what did you say to her that was so
convincing,” he asked, handing over his dishes to be washed.
“Oh,” Charles said as he
pumped the water into the sink to wash the dishes, “it wasn’t my words so much
as my actions.” He rolled up his sleeves
and scattered soap flakes into the water to clean the dishes before continuing.
“She could easily see my point once I had her over my knee and was applying a
wooden paddle to her bottom. My promise was
that she would find herself in a similar position and I would repeat the action
each and every time she continued her behavior. She rarely continued the offending action or
attitude after that. That night, if I
remember correctly, the point of the correction was that it’s not nice to
harass people who haven’t hurt her and that such actions could potentially
bring a bad reputation to the household. I could not and would not allow that.”
Not looking up from the sink
as he began to wash the plates and silver, he said casually, “I would have
thought that would have been evident.” Nodding toward the dining room, he
continued as if carrying on a normal conversation, “Why don’t you pick up the
tablecloth and napkins so we can wash them in the morning. They’ve been on the table for a week now.”
“Your move,” Charles said
quietly as he glanced at the clock.
“I know, I know,” the other
man said still studying the board in front of him. He sighed and glanced up, asking, “Do you
mind if we stop for the night? My mind’s
not on my game tonight.”
Charles shook his head, “No,
not at all. It’s been a superb game and
I want to beat you fairly and not because you were … tired.” He smiled at his friend and stood up,
glancing out at the darkness beyond the parlor windows. “Do you want to sit outside for awhile? We can have dessert out there. The heat’s
broken and it looks to be a nice evening.”
“That sounds good. Why don’t you go on out and I’ll bring the
cake.” He stood up and headed in the
direction of the kitchen.
Watching him for a moment,
the other man smiled and shook his head slightly. There was little doubt in his mind that the
other man wasn’t tired but distracted and he was equally sure what was causing
the distraction.
Ten minutes later,
Picking up one of the plates
of rich chocolate cake, Charles nodded.
“I’m sure that some will appear by morning in the cold room, it always
has in the past.” He rocked silently,
admiring the brilliant display of stars stretching out across the summer sky.
“Did you mind having to
punish Molly?”
He thought for a minute
before answering, “I don’t think minded is the word I would use. I never did it for pleasure or took the
action lightly. Yet, I was always
willing to physically correct her behavior when needed and never shirked that
responsibility. It is simply part of
being a husband and one of the responsibilities that you know will fall to you
when you agree to marry.”
“I remember my father saying
a couple of times as he had marched me out to the woodshed that he was looking
forward to it,”
Charles laughed too, “Yes, I
can easily see how taking your son to the woodshed would occasionally have a
sense of some satisfaction. Boys can be
hellions and full of mischief. I’m sure
my own sons would have caused a similar feeling in me at times.” He glanced at the other man, smiling, “And
they were nothing compared to what a hellion you must have been growing up, if
your current attitude is any judge.”
He laughed, taking a large
bite of cake, saving himself from having to answer the charge. “Surely you didn’t make Molly march out to
the woodshed though,” he said after he had swallowed.
“No,” he confirmed with a
laugh and a shake of his head. “We
conducted such discussions in my bedroom since she rarely entered that room
without an invitation from me. I would
go into her bedroom at night for ...” he
paused searching for the word, “for evening visitations. It seemed the most appropriate for me to
summon her so the situation could be addressed.
I had no intention of shaming her in front of the servants and so my
office was out. I’m sure they knew of
course, but there’s no getting past that.”
“Yeah,”
Glancing at him, the other
man said softly, “Like I said, it is just one of the responsibilities that the
head of the house takes upon himself when he agrees to the situation. Behaviors and attitudes that disturb the
peace of the household or that might cause a problem within the household need
to be dealt with. Discipline is an easy
and effective way to do that.”
Franklin sighed, swinging his
legs a bit off the edge of the high stool he was sitting on, scooping up
another small amount of silver polish on his rag and began to rub at the
blackened candlestick.
Glancing over at his friend,
Charles smiled as he paused in his cleaning of the dining room high board. “We’re almost done. Maybe afterwards we can
go down to the lake and see if we can catch dinner, how does that sound? Take lunch and eat down by the water where
it’s cool?”
“Yeah, we can,” he
agreed. “But I think when I’m done here, I’m going to head over to O’Brian’s and see what he’s
been up to. It’s been over a week and I
don’t want him to be getting too complacent.
I don’t want him too happy or contented with his stolen property.”
Charles bent over one of the
drawers to wipe out the inside corners with a damp rag, saying simply, “I think
it would be best for everyone if you left him alone.”
“Hey look, someone’s here,”
Charles nodded, “I know who
they are.” Putting down the bucket of
water and four live fish, he stretched his fingers a bit, still studying the
horses tethered at the back of the house grazing on the grass.
When his friend didn’t
elaborate,
“Oh, no,” Charles said
absently, “that’s not it. I’m just not
sure we should go back into the house right now.”
Turning back toward the
house, he looked at it for a minute before turning back and asking, “Why
not? Who is it?”
“Edward Montgomery and
Jackson Travis.”
“Who? Why are they here?”
Charles frowned and shook his
head sharply. “No and believe me, Frank,
if they were using my home – our home,” he corrected, “as a meeting place for
any sort of social club, I would make the pranks you pull on O’Brian look like
nursery room tricks.”
“But you’re not alive,”
Charles shot back angrily, his temper flaring, “so you can and should be above
this Social Club nonsense.”
“Fine,”
“Frank, wait!” Charles called
out, picking up the bucket and moving after him.
Walking stiffly, he didn’t
look back even as he said, “No, I’m not waiting. Leave me alone.” He reached the kitchen garden’s gate and
angrily pushed through it and dropped the poles and pail a moment later on the
bench outside the kitchen door. “You had
your say; you made your feelings known loud and clear. I’m just not as filled
with peace and love as you are. I still care and still remember and still feel
as if I am alive. No matter how wonderful we have it here and how much I love
it, I miss being alive.”
“I do too,” Charles whispered
almost to himself.
Walking inside and moving
toward the front rooms of the house where he imaged the men were meeting at, it
took a moment for the sounds to sink into his consciousness. Stopping at the foot of the stairs in the, he
glanced up toward the source of the noise, puzzled.
Carefully placing his bucket
in the kitchen sink, Charles called out, “Frank, wait! I really don’t think you want to go up
there.”
Ignoring his friend, Franklin
headed upstairs, stopping when he reached the hall before a low thumping from
the fall end of the hall made him turn in that direction. The door for the last bedroom in the back of
the house was partially opened and he slipped through it and stopped, frozen at
the sight.
“Oh yeah, Jack, like that,”
Edward said, his voice partially muffled by the comforter his face was buried
in. He was laying
on his stomach bent over the bed, his bare legs spread wide behind him, toes
stretched and barely touching the hardwood floor. Two pair of pants, one gray and one cream lay
carefully folded over the arm of a chair and both men’s boots were in a
haphazard pile next to it.
Standing behind his lover in
just his crisp white shirt, Jackson Travis, respected preacher, husband and
father of four, rhythmically slide his hard cock in out of Edward’s body. His hands were taut around the man’s waist as
he slammed into him over and over.
Several long moments later, he groaned loudly in time with his lover’s
cries of pleasure, almost collapsing over him while his hips continued to jerk
slightly and his cock pumped his cum deep inside. “Dear God,” he whispered, “this is too close
to heaven and divine joy for it to be a sin.”
“If you’ve gotten your fill,
why don’t you come downstairs with me and give them the privacy they think they
have,” Charles said softly. “If you want
to watch again, they usually go at it again in about ten or fifteen minutes.”
Jerking around,
Charles shrugged, “Of
course. They’ve been coming around once
a week for at least a month.” Emerging
into the clean and orderly kitchen, he crossed over to the sink and filled a
metal mug with cool water from the pump.
He handed it to
Gulping down half the water,
he shook his head with a laugh. “Not
disgusted or horrified but I am shocked,” he confessed. “I can’t believe I didn’t know about
them. Where have I been?”
Charles walked over and sat
down next to the younger man at the table.
“They typically come on Tuesdays or Thursdays in the afternoons and
you’ve just been either out at O’Brian’s or in the fields or simply out of the
house. They’re only here for an hour or
so.”
“So why are they here?” He gulped at the water and laughed, “I’m
still shocked. I’ve seen them both
around town and they’re both married.
Charles shrugged, “I don’t
know either. You’re the one who knows
all the people around here and their business.
I’m satisfied to …”
“Stay home and mind your own
business,”
“By this, you mean two men
who appear to be happily married on the outside having a secret homosexual love
affair? Did you expect them to have
horns or the sign of the devil on their foreheads?” he asked with a laugh, trying
to remain casual as he reached out for the metal cup and downing the last of
the water.
Shaking his head,
“You can?”
“Sure, it’s much easier to go
with society’s expectations, and maybe even your own, than to disregard
everything and everyone and act on feelings you might not even
understand.” Putting the cup under the
flowing water, he refilled it as he looked out the window at the grazing horses. “I’m sure they were very confused for a long
time. I wonder how long this has been
going on.”
“From what I’ve heard,”
Charles said, glancing up at the ceiling in the direction of the bedroom and
couple, “at least a year. They use to
meet at
A soft thump came from
upstairs and a barely audible groan drifted down from the stairs.
Charles laughed, “They’re
very enthusiastic and really enjoy the time they have together, I think. They don’t always make it to the bedroom and
usually go at least three rounds before they leave.”
“What round are they on now?”
“Judging by the scene in the
bedroom, I’d say they’re going for round two now.” He reached over and undid the latch on the
pie tin resting on the table and pulled out the pie pan. “Here, why don’t you bring me two plates and
we’ll carry this outside and enjoy the afternoon.”
Picking up two plates and
forks from the drying rack,
“No, they’re fine.” He sliced two large pieces and stood up after
sliding the pie back into the tin safe.
“Come on, Frank,” he said. A
moment later, he held up the pie again as he stood in the doorway of the
kitchen. “
“Yeah, sorry,” the other man
said distractedly. “I’m coming.”
Charles laughed at his
friend’s spreading blush. “Either come
outside with me and have pie and talk or go upstairs
and enjoy yourself. Don’t just stand in
the kitchen and look at the ceiling.”
Turning, he gaped at Charles,
shocked. “Are you telling me you’ve watched
them?”
“I’m dead but I’m not Dead,” he said with a smile.
“It’s been a long time and it’s hard to resist the passion they
obviously have for each other. Plus,
it’s not like this if the first time I’ve seen two men enjoy each other’s
company.” He laughed and then shook his head, “But to answer your question, no
I haven’t actually gone upstairs and been a peeping tom.”
“I was surprised,” he
admitted easily. “But Frank, I grew up
on an estate in the country. The stable
hands and footmen and various servants often enjoyed each other’s company. It would be no more shocking to go into the
stable late at night and find a footman enjoying a stable boy rather then a
house maid.” He laughed, “At least the
stable boy wasn’t going to get pregnant and sacked while you got a tanning for
being irresponsible.” Walking out the
door with the pie, he sat down on one of the benches overlooking the
gardens. As
The other man nodded as he
took the offered treat, saying, “Thanks.”
“Didn’t you go away for
schooling?” Charles asked a few moments later.
“Oh sure, I attended school
in
Charles swallowed a large
bite of pie before answering. “Men
enjoying each other’s company in the absence of women was a common practice in
my day. It didn’t mean they were mollies
or sodamites or anything but ...” He gave a small smile to his friend as
he shrugged and trailed into silence.
“Yeah,”
Taking his cues from the
other man, Charles changed the subject as the afternoon went by. By the time he went into the kitchen to clean
the fish for dinner, their house guests were gone.
“So you’re really not
bothered by Edward and Jackson,”
“What?” the other man asked,
surprised by the question coming out of no where. It had been four days since that afternoon
and they had not spoken of the incident since then.
“So you’re not bothered by
what Edward and Jackson are doing? The fact that they’re cheating on their
wives with each other doesn’t bother you?” he said repeating and elaborating
his question. “I thought you were
faithful to Molly.”
Charles nodded his head, “I
was and I had no intention of having an affair.
I loved her and was content, for the most part, with her and our
marriage.” He shrugged, moving a pawn to
a nearby square before he continued.
“But I have known far too many men who were not so happy or so fortunate
in their choices and did keep mistresses for me to condemn the action. One of my older brothers considered himself
to be a very faithful and good husband.
He kept a permanent mistress in town who was discreet and knew how to …”
His voice trailed off as he searched for the words. “She knew how to ensure that his wife and
heirs were never bothered by any bastards.
He never visited brothels or bothered the maids or risked bringing
either disease or disgrace into the house. To his definition and, if I’m not
mistaken, his wife’s, he was a very good and faithful husband.” He smiled and nodded at the board, “Your
move.”
Quickly moving a piece,
He shook his head as he moved
a piece and captured one of
“Yeah,”
Several minutes later,
Charles yawned and stretched. “OK, I’m
going to take pity on you ….”
“Hey! I’m not that bad!”
“No you’re not that bad at
all,” he confirmed, “but I’m tired. So,
you can study the board as long as you want. I’m heading to bed.”
Passing the other man, he ran
a hand gently down the other man’s hair, “Sleep well, Frank. I’ll see you in the morning.”
The next morning dawned sunny
and clear but with a cooling breeze to keep the afternoon temperatures
comfortable.
“I think I’m going to work
out in garden this afternoon,” Charles said as he wiped his mouth with his
cotton napkin. “I need to work off some
of those hushpuppies.” Standing up, he
picked up both of the plates and carried them to the sink.
The other man grinned at him,
“Well, I’m not going to argue with you on that one.” He eyed the remains of cornmeal scattered
across the counter and splatters of oil from the fried fish and meal coating
the stove and shook his head, “No, not one peep from me about this.”
The other man laughed and
rolled up his sleeves, watching him walk out of the kitchen whistling. Thirty minutes later, he pumped water out
over his hands and washed them with soap powder to clean the last of the grease
from them. Wringing out the water from
the rag, he draped it over the pump handle to dry and glanced around the now
clean kitchen. As he stood by the sink looking out of the window onto the small
kitchen garden, silently debating if he should make a cake or a pie for desert,
the sound of horses jerked his attention away from cooking and toward the back
of the house.
“I can’t believe it’s only
been five days,” Edward Montgomery said pushing open the kitchen door and
walking in a moment later.
“It seems an eternity,”
Leaning back into the kiss,
Edward reached behind him and gripped Jack’s hip, holding him close. “This is getting harder and harder …” he
started.
Jack laughed, rubbing himself
against the back of the other man’s smooth tan riding pants. “So is this.”
Edward laughed at his lover’s
joke, pulling away slightly and turning around. Allowing his hand to caress the
other man’s hip and moving across the growing lump in Jack’s black pants, he
smiled. Glancing around the dusty and
bare kitchen, he gave his head a slight shake.
“I don’t know why but this kitchen always smells like cooking.”
“Probably
in the wood,” Jack with a smile. He looked around, adding, “For sure nothing’s
been cooked in here for years.” Reaching
out, he ran a finger across the dusty kitchen table and made a face at the
smear.
“You’re right, I’m sure,” he
agreed. Then, bending forward slightly,
he kissed his lover’s lips, “That’s what I love about you. You’re so smart.”
Grabbing the other man, he
pulled him close again, kissing deeply, hands roaming down to stroke and caress
the cloth covered butt. “Don’t forget
handsome and strong and virulent …” he said between kisses.
“And oh so modest,” Edward
said. He moaned suddenly and shivered
slightly as Jack found a sensitive spot behind his ear. “God,” he said softly, “you need to stop or
we’re not going to make it upstairs.” Wrapping his arms around his lover’s
waist, he began to gently stroke and kneed the other man’s butt, making no move
to break the embrace and take the action upstairs.
Breathing out of his mouth,
“If you want me, you have to
earn it,” Edward said with a low laugh as he pulled away and darted out of the
kitchen and into the hallway connecting the kitchen to the main house.
Quickly stepping out of the
way,
“Come back here,”
Keeping a large dusty marble
table between them, Edward laughed again, “I told you, if you want me, you have
to catch me; you have to earn it. I’m
not easy, you know.”
“Got you,”
Laughing, Edward kissed him
back, “Your dastardly way with me, you mean? Hot and rough
and dominating? Are you going to make me know and never forget that I’m
with a man?”
Kissing him back, his own
tongue fighting for dominance and claiming its own territory, Edward laughed,
“Prove it.” He pulled his hand free and, giving his lover a smile and a wink,
turned and ran for the stairs.
Stepping in through the open
front door, Charles leaned in close, his hand going down to
“Oh, I’ll prove it,”
Edward rested his head on the
other man’s shoulder with a sigh of desire as hands began to unbutton his fly.
“Shhh,” Charles said, kissing
“Relax,” the other man
breathed out the word in a hushed order, cutting off the confused pleas and
protests. “I’ve got you now.” His hand went around
Edward moaned again as his
cock was freed from the confines of his tight riding pants. His own hand came down, covering
The other man grinned, “It’s
been awhile since we made it only as far as the stairs.” Pulling his own cock free from the confining
pants he leaned up and kissed his lover on the lips before pulling the tan
slacks down to his knees before kicking them free.
Quickly kicking his own pants
away, Edward laughed and lowered himself so he was kneeling on the steps. He braced himself on the next step higher,
spreading his legs wide to give his lover access. Groaning loudly when he felt
the other man settle down behind and over him, hard cock pressing against him
from behind, he said, “Take me, make me remember we’re men.”
Crying out loudly as he was
stretched and filled, Edward arched his back opening himself up more and urging
his lover deep inside. “Do it,” he
ordered as his hand tightened around
Burrowing his head against
Charles’s shoulder,
“Let yourself
go,” Charles whispered as he kissed the other man, tongue plunging briefly
inside as if it was unsure of its place or welcome. His hand and hip moved in a steady rhythm
urging them both on. “God,” he breathed
out softly, closing his eyes for a moment, allowing himself to sink further
into the sensations.
The other man gave a soft cry
of pleasure as he gave in to his feeling, coming hard. He moaned again softly, leaning in and gently
kissing
“Yes, yes!” Edward cried,
spreading his legs wider as his lover’s pace picked up, driving his cock deeper
inside. “God,” he moaned
encouragingly. Fingers danced along the
length of his cock for another second before he came hard, the release causing
him to arch his back and driving
Giving a deep laugh,
Edward gave a matching sigh
of contentment, his cock still twitching weakly in his damp hand. A moment later, he laughed, squirming
underneath the other man. “As much as I
loved it, Jack” he began before laughing again, “I like breathing a bit more.”
The other man laughed and
slowly pulled himself out of his lover. Flopping
over with a contented sigh, he sat on the steps as Edward rolled over to sit
beside him. He leaned back and smiled up
at the other man. “You were amazing.”
Leaning down and kissing him
upside down on the mouth, the other man grinned back. “Give me about ten minutes and we’ll see if
we can top that.” The joyous and loud
laughter echoed through the empty house as they smiled at each other, eyes
twinkling.
Giving a quiet sigh,
Above him, Charles leaned
against the back rest of the lounge next to his friend. He glanced down at the sound of Franklin’s
sigh. “I’m sorry,” he whispered
softly.
“No,”
“I feel like I do.”
Rolling over,
“It has been a long time,”
Charles agreed softly. “I don’t know
what happened. The last month or so with
them here,” he said nodding toward the house where sounds of occasional
laughter could be heard. “It’s just
brought up all of these feelings. Then,
when I saw you standing there through the window …. you looked so amazing and I
could tell you were both terrified and excited by what you were seeing. I just wanted to help and …” His voice
trailed as he shook his head as if his actions still confused him. “I would never want this to come between us
or hurt our friendship,” he said solemnly.
“I would understand though if my actions are unforgivable.”
Picking up his friend’s hand,
Still holding
“I’ve never had that,” the
other man admitted glancing up and giving a small smile. “I mean, I’ve had lovers and I’ve been in
love but I’ve never been married or really courted someone formally.”
“May I court you?” Charles
asked with a smile. “I’d do it properly
and ask your father for permission but …” His voice trailed off as his smile
widened.
“I would be honored,” Charles
said softly as he bowed his head formally.
Holding out his arm he asked quietly, “May I hold you for a little
bit? It’s one of the things I’ve missed
the most.”
The other man nodded shyly
and moved forward, swinging his legs up as he settled against Charles’s chest
with a contented sigh. Closing his eyes,
he tried to block out the flood of memories threatening to overwhelm him.
Kissing
“Charlie?” he asked a few
minutes later, breaking the contented silence.
“What?”
"I don't know why we're here or even
where here is but I wouldn't want to be here with anyone else."
Thinking for a moment,
Charles smiled. “I wouldn’t either,” he
said honestly. “I wouldn’t either.”
The End