Scratch the Matchmaker

by Austin Daniels

  While he slipped the collar around my neck I asked, "How do you feel about us all getting married together."

  "I think it's perfect. I'm just glad we left the details up to someone else. I wouldn't know where to start. These things can be a nightmare to organize."

  "Yeah, but we want it to be nice."

  "Oh, I know that, but if you didn't approve of the color of the flowers, you wouldn't be unhappy would you?"

  "Well, no."

  "I've known people who would have had a fit if the tablecloths weren't the right shade of blue. Believe me, consider us lucky. All we have to do is get the yard ready and make sure the house is clean and we're good to go. Devron is going to rent the chairs and have it all set up in the backyard."

  We were still standing at the doorway when, holding me in place by the collar, he pulled me forward to give me a kiss. This time it was different. Usually I was the one that melted and lost control.

  Today, I could feel him melting into the kiss. With one hand, I twisted the lock on the door just in time to get it secured before Richard whisked me off to the bedroom. "I have something to show you."

  I'd come to expect surprises from Richard. I never knew what to expect if he brought us a new piece of equipment to play with. He was, after all, still showing me the ropes. Once in the bedroom, I was surprised to see he was already stripping off his shirt. Under the fabric was a bandage. He peeled it away to show me a brand new tattoo of the same black headed blue jay that was on the side of my chest. It was in the same spot. The jay rested on a branch, and inside the outline of the branch I could read, 'Jay's.'

  My eyes teared up, and in seconds the tears began to run down my cheeks as I fought off a sob. Richard pulled me close and licked the tears off my face. I was startled, but he'd made it very clear to me nothing that came from me was dirty to him.

  "You are the sweetest man I…"

  I was interrupted by the sound of the flap on the doggie door at the back of the house. Scratch had come inside to greet us. He ran through the house and Richard reached down just in time to whisk him off the floor covering him with kisses the way he always did, but he never took his eyes off mine. It was my signal to stay put. When he led Scratch out the door, I dropped to the floor into position, not taking my eyes off Richard.

  "Rise," he ordered, which was not our standard procedure.

  Once standing I was led to the bed and stood there while he yanked my pants to the floor. He dropped his own to his knees, revealing to me that these last events had had an incredible effect on him. Turning me around, he bent me so that I was standing toward the bed, and spitting into his hand, he slathered the end and was working his way inside me a second later. This was not his usual style.

  "I had to have you right now." His voice was one of desperation and need. While surprised, I was also deeply touched. As he pushed himself in deeper, he whispered into my ear, "If you only knew how I see you, you'd understand why I need inside you so badly. You are everything to me."

  Buried deep inside, he pushed me forward onto the bed. I could feel the heat from his chest making its way through my shirt, which I still wore. His arms reached under my arms, taking me by the shoulders and pulling me down, getting as deep as he could. He was thorough, but the depth of his desire had me floating already.

  This was not my favored position. It was so hard to see him, to watch what he was doing to me. Being taken suddenly like this was not like him, but I secretly hoped it wouldn't be the last time he did it. Then I realized that my shirt was keeping me from feeling the carpet of chest hair moving across my back, and I had to interrupt. "Please, my shirt."

  His hands began to unbutton me. Once he'd worked his way down, he pulled the shirt to each side. Pulling me up to my knees he quickly peeled it off. In another second, we were down again. I could feel his full weight on my back, but this time his chest hair was running along my back with each thrust. I was sinking fast. He had me pinned to the bed, a place I loved to be. I could feel him getting closer. You learn patterns about people and their passions. I felt him thicken and hold his breath a moment while he finished deep inside me. Remaining implanted within me, he kissed the back of my neck, a signal that I should turn my head as far as I could for the real thing. Kissing the man who is taking you from behind is difficult, but being held in place while you strain to express your affection made me feel so wanted.

  My mind began to wander while we cuddled together. I still had my shoes on and my pants around my knees. When he'd softened, he rolled over next to me with his pants around his ankles and his shoes hanging off the bed. "Someday we'll be lying around a pool somewhere and everyone who cares to look will know that we're a couple."

  "More importantly," Richard added, "they'll know you're taken, and they'll know I'm taken. Remember, a month from now you'll be my husband and I will be yours."

  "You know that piece of paper isn't going to make me any more yours than I already am."

  "I know. Same here."

  Chapter Twenty-One

  It was decided that the wedding couples would stand in a semicircle. Johnny and Devron were in the center; Finch and Logan would be standing next to them to the left; on the right were Robin and Raymond; Richard and I were next to Logan and Finch.

  Logan's uncle would preside over the ceremony. He'd become ordained online. We had all been responsible for getting our own licenses. The day Richard and I went in, we were the only people, and it was easy. I couldn't help but think that only a few years ago this wouldn't have been possible.

  It was a beautiful day. After the ceremony we planned to head over to the restaurant for dinner. For a couple of days, the restaurant had been operating without either of the owners in the kitchen as a dry run for the staff. They were going to prepare a dinner for a hundred people, and both of the owners would be busy getting married.

  Chairs were set into neat rows and the entire yard had been spruced up the night before. Johnny's relatives were all present. When they arrived, Marty took me aside to show me the ring that Alex had given him. "I know it's awfully soon," he said, "but Alex said he felt like he needed to nail it down before I got away. Isn't that sweet?" I could see it wouldn't be too long before we'd be attending their ceremony.

  Scratch had his cast removed the week before, and yesterday Logan even took him to the groomer. When I tried to pay him, Logan just told me not to worry about it. "Besides," he said. "It's deductible."

  The day of the wedding, Johnny's brother was in charge. Today he was dressed to the teeth like the rest of us. His dark beard had been trimmed, and he looked better than I could remember ever seeing him. It was good to have an available family member handling some of the details, because all of the participants were getting married that day. The men all wore matching tuxedos thanks to Logan. Everyone had outdone themselves.

  As we assembled to take our places, Logan came to me and handed me an envelope. "This is the first distribution from Scratch Matchmaking."

  I opened the envelope. "This check is for $40,000 dollars!"

  "Yeah, the day I borrowed him when he still had his cast on, I met with a woman who was an heir to a fortune. She got me down from a half a million to eighty thousand. I figured what the hell, she has friends. The first time we can't charge full price."

  "Why didn't you tell me we had a customer? You didn't say a word."

  "I knew it seemed like a crackpot idea to you, so this first time I thought I'd keep my mouth shut until the deal paid off. It was all I could do not to tell you, but I figured if it failed, I wouldn't have to tell you at all."

  Looking down at the check again, I thought about how this could change our lives. "So you were going to ask for more than this?"

  "Do you know when it was all over she told me I could have gotten more if I was a better negotiator? Those rich people know how to hang onto it. Anyway, she agreed to 80 grand with all the Scratch Matchmaking guarantees. I had to let it stew in the bank a few days to clear, but it cleared, so her
e you are."

  "Is she here?"

  "No. I think we're not quite four-star enough. I did ask her though. "

  "Can I meet her someday?"

  "We're invited to the wedding. Apparently we'll be doing that a lot. They want Scratch there. You know, that gives me an idea. I bet their wedding is going to cost a fortune. We could tie Scratch's services in with wedding planning. We could make a ton of money..."

  Fin

  About the Author

  Austin Daniels grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, fell in love when he was sixteen with a boy who was moving out of state. While attending Arizona State University he met the object of his second love, but their situation of student poverty eventually drove them apart, breaking his heart for the first time. Austin moved from Arizona to Southern California in 1973, moving in with an old grade school friend who introduced him to the man he shares his life with. Scratch the Matchmaker is Austin's fifth novel. It is his first novel centering only on gay romance.