by Elouise East
“I love you, too, Grant. God, I do.”
Grant pulled back to kiss him, mouth opening immediately to take him deeper. By the time their tongues touched, Grant was already hard, and he could feel Emerson was getting there. Emerson gripped Grant’s hair, tilting his head for a deeper touch, Emerson’s free hand banding around Grant’s waist to keep him steady for the onslaught. Grant’s hands were busy with Emerson’s belt buckle and zipper, trying to get them open so he could feel exactly what this did to Emerson. By the time Grant reached into Emerson’s briefs, he was rock hard and ready to blow if his breathing was anything to judge by.
Emerson pushed Grant backwards until Grant was reclined on the sofa with Emerson over him, still kissing every inch of skin Emerson could find. Grant lifted his hips to press his own cock against Emerson’s, causing him to hitch a breath again. Grant shoved down his joggers, freeing his shaft to the cool air and grasped both cocks in one hand. Grant couldn’t encircle them completely, but he could give them some friction at least.
Grant pulled away from the kiss to take a much-needed breath and groaned when Emerson gripped Grant’s cock in his hand, leaving Grant stroking Emerson’s. They rested their foreheads together as they reached for their climax, their breaths mingling between little kisses.
“Fuck, Grant, I love you,” Emerson whispered raggedly. “I’m so close. Come with me.”
“I love you! Yes, I’m going to come. Fuck! Yes! Emerson!” Grant shouted Emerson’s name as his release tore through him, his come covering his lower stomach and t-shirt. He didn’t lose eye-contact as Emerson came right after him, their release mixing together. Grant was curious and swiped a finger through both, sucking it into his mouth. He could taste Emerson definitely, with a hint of his own flavour, too.
“Fuck, Grant. That’s so hot.” Emerson kissed him again, licking inside Grant’s mouth as if to take the taste of them both together. Grant swiped his finger through their come again and pulled away from the kiss briefly. He stuck his finger in his mouth and cleaned it off before offering his tongue to Emerson again.
Grant could see Emerson’s eyes darken further and felt Emerson’s cock twitch as he still had his hand resting on it. Emerson leaned in, gazes locked as he sucked their release from Grant’s tongue.
“Jesus Christ, you’ll be the death of me,” Emerson complained when they slowed the kiss down.
“But what a death it would be,” Grant retorted.
They both laughed before heading for the shower together. After more fun in there, they had to rush to be ready for eleven. Both were more than happy to be a few minutes late.
They arrived at the main house to the hustle and bustle of around thirty people. Grant hadn’t been told how many were coming, but Emmaline and Theo were well-liked. Emerson had grabbed Grant’s hand as they’d entered and held tight, maybe he was nervous, or maybe he didn’t want to lose him. Emerson might not want to be left alone with all these strangers.
“Grant! Emerson! So glad you came!” Emmaline came towards them, arms outstretched and pulled them into a hug. “Merry Christmas Eve! Are you coming to the shelter with us later?” she asked as she released them.
Grant winced. He’d forgotten to ask Emerson about it. “Ah, um, I forgot to ask Emerson about it. Can I let you know in a bit?” he asked.
“Of course, you can! We’ll be leaving around two and will probably be back for around four or five depending who’s there.”
“Alright, thanks. I’ll talk to him about it.”
“Good, good. Let me introduce you to some new people.” She escorted them over to a younger couple and explained about their new neighbours. “This is Sue and Roger, they moved in a couple of months ago a few doors down. I thought this would be a nice time to introduce them to some other people in the neighbourhood. Sue, Roger, this is Grant and Emerson. They live in the guest house.”
At her words, longing swept through Grant. Emerson didn’t live in the guest house, but Grant wished he did. What would it be like to have him there all day every day? It sounded like heaven. Emerson nudged him.
“Sorry. Nice to meet you.” Grant held out his hand to shake before starting a polite conversation about where they had lived before and whether they liked the new house. When another couple entered into the conversation, Grant politely excused them and shuffled to the hallway. He needed to ask Emerson about the shelter.
“They seem like a nice couple,” Emerson remarked.
“Yeah, they do. Emmaline will take them under her wing. They’ll be fine.” Grant laughed. “I completely forgot to tell you what Emmaline had planned for today. After lunch, she usually goes to the shelter to meet with some of the homeless people there, taking small gifts with her for the children. Do you want to go with them? It’s completely up to you.”
“Do you want to go?” Emerson asked.
“Well, I had been planning on going before…you…happened, yes.” Grant blushed.
Emerson smiled, bringing a finger up to trace across Grant’s cheek. “I’d love to go. I haven’t got anything to take with me, but I’d still love to meet some of the people there.”
Grant smiled in return. “Great!”
“My question now…” Emerson bit his lip as he crowded closer to Grant. “Can I wake up with you on Christmas morning?” he whispered.
“God, yes, please!” Grant answered, wrapping his arms around Emerson’s neck. He couldn’t ask for more for Christmas.
“May I have your attention, please?” Emmaline’s voice drifted above the noise around them. “Christmas Eve lunch is ready. Please help yourself in the dining room.”
“Shall we wait for the queue to lessen and smooch on the sofa instead?” Emerson smirked.
“Why not!” Grant replied. They didn’t end up smooching, but they sat close and enjoyed their togetherness.
****
The shelter was an old building that sat alongside a row of derelict shops. From the outside, it appeared quite dingy and unloved, but once inside, you could see the care taken to make it feel as homely and comfortable as possible.
Their group had amassed in the main dining hall, where several large tables were set up with red tablecloths and a centrepiece. Emmaline would have provided those, it was the type of thing she did for the shelter, trying to make it less like a shelter and more like a large home. It wasn’t a brilliant disguise, but it was better than nothing.
Grant could see about fifteen people milling around chatting and another eight or nine children playing in a corner with some toys. He wasn’t quite sure what to do, so he stayed alongside Emmaline, Theo and Emerson and followed their lead.
After a few minutes, he received a tap on his leg. He glanced down to see a little girl of about six or seven standing gazing at him. “Would you like to play with us?” she asked.
Grant glanced at Emerson, who smiled and nodded, then looked back at the girl. “Sure. What are we playing?” He followed her over to the corner, Emerson walking beside him.
“Snap,” she replied.
“Ah, I’m the king of snap!” Grant announced, puffing up his chest.
“I bet, I win,” said another girl, slightly older, but with the same sallow skin.
“We’ll see.” Grant narrowed his eyes in a playful tease.
Chapter 12
Emerson
They sat playing with the two girls for about fifteen minutes before Emmaline came over and asked Emerson to meet someone. He had no idea who he needed to meet, but he squeezed Grant’s hand before he left.
“Emerson, this is Jack Conrad. He oversees the shelter. I was explaining to him about your expertise and your soon-to-be qualifications, and he wanted to speak with you about something.”
“Nice to meet you, Emerson.”
“You, too.”
“Now, Emmaline explained you aren’t licenced as a speech therapist yet, but I wondered whether you would still be willing to discuss a couple of cases I have?”
“Sure, if you think I
can help.” Emerson had no idea what to say. He hadn’t expected this when he’d come.
“I’ll leave you with Jack then, Emerson.”
“Thanks, Emmaline. Oh, could you tell Grant where I am, please?”
“Sure thing.” Emmaline headed over to where Grant was, and Emerson followed Jack out of the dining hall, down a hallway to a small office holding a desk, two chairs and several filing cabinets.
“Thank you for this, Emerson. Like I said, I understand you’re not qualified yet, but it’s such a struggle getting speech therapists to this neck of the woods. If you can help at all, I will be grateful.”
“It’s no problem. I’m not sure how much help I can be, but I can certainly listen and see.” Emerson was nervous in all honesty. He hadn’t expected to utilise his newly defined skills so soon.
Jack fumbled with a pile of folders on his desk before pulling out two. “Now, obviously, I can’t give you a lot of information about the people involved, but I can give you information about their symptoms, their behaviours and things like that. Will that work?”
“Let’s give it a shot.”
“Great! This first person is—” Jack began.
“Sorry, do you have a pen and paper I could use to jot some thoughts as you’re explaining things to me?”
“Yes, of course.” Jack grabbed both and passed them over.
“Thanks.”
“As I was saying, the first one is an eleven-year-old girl. We don’t have any background for her. She doesn’t talk a great deal, isolates herself away from the majority of people. I’ve noticed when she does speak, it’s slow, measured and quiet, and occasionally, she will stutter, which makes her clam up straight away. I’m assuming she is scared or worried or embarrassed about the stutter, and that’s the reason behind the other things. What’s your thinking?”
Emerson frowned, going through some of the things he’d learned over the past couple of years. “Not knowing her background makes this trickier. We have no idea if the stutter came about due to something that happened to her, or if it has been with her all of her life.” He paused, reading at what he’d written down. “She will definitely be embarrassed about it and may have found some coping mechanisms to reduce it most of the time—it’s probably why she has limited conversations. In her head, she’s probably thinking if she doesn’t talk, she won’t stutter.”
“Any suggestions on how to help her?” Jack asked.
Emerson blew out a breath. “Yeah, she needs a speech therapist.” He shook his head. He couldn’t believe these people were missing out on this kind of help because the higher-ups didn’t “have time” for them.
“Look, Emerson. I’ll be frank with you. I need help with this, and I’m not getting it. Is there any way you would be willing to work with these people?” He held up a hand when Emerson began to speak. “I realise you’re not fully qualified, therefore, you can’t do anything officially, but even if you came to volunteer, it would be a help.”
Emerson cleared his throat. “Let me think about it. I can’t give you an answer right now, I have someone else I need to run it past before I commit to anything. Is that okay?”
Jack nodded. “Absolutely. I don’t want to pressure you. I figured if I didn’t ask now, you might not consider coming back later.” Jack smiled.
Emerson chuckled. “I’m friends with Emmaline. I’m almost positive I’ll be back at some point.” He stood and held out his hand. “I’ll let you know soon.”
“Thank you, Emerson. Even if your answer is no. Thank you for considering it.”
Emerson nodded and headed out of the room, back towards the dining hall. He had a lot to discuss with Grant.
****
After they got back to Grant’s house, they sat on the sofa with hot chocolate, and Emerson explained to Grant what Jack had told him.
“I won’t be able to help as much as he thinks I can because I can’t do anything officially until I’m qualified.” Emerson wrapped his hands around his mug.
“But you don’t have to do anything formally, do you? Like he said, you could…I don’t know… slip into a conversation with one of the kids that you used to have a stutter, and this helped you. You don’t have to fill out reports or anything.”
Emerson wasn’t sure if he felt comfortable doling out advice when he wasn’t qualified. He doubted people would appreciate him helping without some sort of proof he knew what he was talking about. He said as much to Grant.
“But you do know what you’re talking about. You’ve been through it yourself. And even if you can’t help them, why not at least try? What’s the worst that could happen?”
“I could make the kids unwilling to talk to anyone ever again,” Emerson said. “That’s what I’m worried about: I can’t help them, and I ruin the chance of anyone else being able to help them in the future. I would be devastated if it happened.” Emerson placed his mug on the table and ran his hands through his hair.
Grant hesitated before following suit with his mug. Leaning forward, he placed a hand on Emerson’s leg. “You’re scared.” It wasn’t a question.
“I am.” Emerson was not afraid to admit it. “I remember what it was like. The bullying, the laughter, the hatred. I’m grown up now, but whenever I think about it, I feel as if it is happening right now. I don’t want to put any other kid through that.”
“You won’t! There is no way you’d laugh at a child.” Grant moved closer and cupped Emerson’s cheeks. “Listen to me. You make a good prospect for this job because you have been through it all. You won’t do anything to hurt a child or an adult. You understand them from their perspective what could be said to make it worse, and you would avoid it. You would do everything in your power to stop a child from feeling like you did.” Tears fill Emerson’s eyes. Grant continued, “You have so much empathy and love and understanding to share. Give it a try?”
Emerson closed his eyes and the tears overflowed. It humbled Emerson to realise how Grant saw him. He could do no more than give it his best shot. If he helped only one person, it would be more than he helped now. He opened his eyes again. “Very well.”
Grant’s face lit up. “Really?”
Emerson nodded. “I’ll give it a try.”
Grant kissed him softly. “You’ll do great.”
Emerson sniffed and wiped his eyes. “Thank you for believing in me.”
“You don’t need to thank me. I love you. I believe you can do anything you want to do.”
Closing his eyes to stop himself from bawling again, Emerson cleared his throat. “I’ll let Emmaline know tomorrow and ask her if she can tell Jack for me, as I didn’t get a number for him or anything.”
“Perfect. Now let’s choose a movie.”
****
Christmas morning was fantastic and so different from the ones he had growing up. Emerson was over the moon with the snow globes Grant gave him, especially the Cambridge one. He had pictures of his time there, and obviously memories, but having a different reminder was bittersweet. He would have to go home sometime in the future to get some perspective on his time there. All of his recollections were tinged with sadness and anger because of how he was treated, and he would love to override those with sweeter memories.
He also received an amazing hand-knitted jumper and some pyjamas from Emmaline and Theo and a bottle of bourbon from Adam. Emerson wasn’t an excessive drinker, but it might be nice to have something a bit stronger than beer every now and again.
Nervous energy coursed through him as Grant picked up the gift from him. He had no idea if it would be well received or not.
“Oh my god!” Grant ripped the rest of the wrapping off. “What the hell, Emerson! This must have cost a fortune!” Grant ran his hands over the box containing a coffee machine that brewed different types of drinks. “It’s great! Thank you so much!”
Emerson let out a breath, smiling at Grant’s exuberance. “You’re welcome. I’m glad you like it.”
“Like it! Oh my god,
I love it! Now, I can have my own mocha latte to drink on the way to work.” Grant climbed over the bits of wrapping paper and threw his arms around Emerson’s neck, peppering kisses all over his face. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Emerson laughed.
Over the next several days, they spent some time with Emmaline, Theo and Adam, at least until Adam left to attend his next shoot. Emerson didn’t go home, except to grab some extra clothes one day, because Grant kept asking him to stay, tempting him with a cappuccino from the new machine, not that he needed to.
New Year’s Eve arrived, and Emerson persuaded Grant to attend the party his roommate was throwing. Emerson didn’t want to attend by himself and would have stayed home with Grant if his boyfriend said no because the party would be a nightmare, and everyone would be drunk. If Grant went with him, he’d have an excuse to leave early.
They got the subway back to Fifth Avenue and traipsed to his place, Grant’s eyes had bugged out of his head when Emerson told him where he lived. If he was honest, he was a little nervous about Grant being there, not because he didn’t want to share his life, but because he didn’t like his roommate. He kept second-guessing himself as to why he wanted to go in the first place. It was mainly to keep up appearances because he didn’t want to chance getting kicked out, at least until he had a backup plan.
When they entered the apartment, the noise and number of people were overwhelming. Emerson gripped Grant’s hand tightly and offered a tense smile. They wandered around, grabbing a drink each as they went.
“This place is huge!” Grant shouted over the music.
“It is, although I only use my room and the kitchen,” Emerson replied in his ear. “Want to go see my room,” he said, raising his eyebrows up and down.