by Toni Aleo
“Thanks, Mom, for being okay with all this.”
“I love you. And your father will be okay with it all too.”
God, I hoped so. She patted my face and left me to finish getting ready. I folded like a cheap lawn chair, dropping to the edge of the bed to get my shit together.
I was one lucky man in so many ways. Hopefully that luck would continue. We’d see. I pushed to my feet, went upstairs, and gave Mom a fast hug before heading out the door with her car keys in my hand. Shaun was ready when I pulled up. He dashed outside and threw himself into the still chilly Subaru.
I gave him a fast once-over. He was dressed like me only with black chinos instead of jeans.
“You look nice,” I said, because he did.
Shaun flashed me that smile that you saw on the magazine covers, leaned in, kissed me soundly on the mouth, and then sat back.
“So, your mother called my mother and told her we were dating.”
I had been touching the rend in my lip to see if it was bleeding—it wasn’t—when his words soaked in. My finger dropped to my lap, and my mouth fell open.
“Right? I mean, wow. The speed of news on this stupid road is amazing. So, I just ducked out of a conversation with my mother about how you’re her son and how awkward it’s going to be for her, but she’s totally fine with things even though you are her son.”
“God, they’re like the same woman but with different amounts of melanin.”
Shaun laughed aloud. “I know. It’s freaking terrifying.” He buckled up and then looked at me. “So, you and your mom had the talk. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, it’s good. I mean…it was weird, but she was okay after the shock wore off. She assumed I was going out with Jen.”
Shaun wrinkled his nose. “God. That’s not awkward or anything.”
“It was so bad.” I slipped the Subaru into reverse and eased it past Mr. Sandbeck’s huge Ford pickup. “Tell me that we’re not going to the café for dinner. I just cannot do Jen tonight.”
“As if I’d take you where your ex works. Time for some tunes.”
He cranked up the CD that I’d muted.
“Oh hell,” I groaned, making a swipe at the stereo to eject the CD. Shaun swatted my hand away, snickering at the music.
“My mother has this same CD. Hall & Oates Greatest Hits, I think.”
“That just solidifies my stance that our mothers were twins separated at birth.”
“I hope not. If they were then all that kissing we’ve been doing is majorly squicky.”
“Yeah, good point.” I pulled the left to take us down into Liberty. “Where are we going?”
“Bolero’s over in Graves County.”
“Oh, cool.” I liked it there. Woodsy place with good food, a bar, and music on the weekends.
It took about thirty minutes to reach the out-of-the-way eatery. It was a log cabin tucked back into the woods. Always busy, and tonight was no exception.
“Looks like everyone is tired of leftovers,” I commented after parking and exiting the Subaru.
“Glad I called and reserved a table.” The snow had stopped. Shaun walked over to me and held out his hand. “Want to hold my hand? If not, just say no and that will be that. This is totally your night; run at your own speed.”
I slipped my palm over his. “Let’s go eat. I’m starved.”
Shaun lifted our joined hands, pressed a kiss to my knuckles, and led me into the restaurant. Snow-covered holly wreaths hung on the double doors.
No one really said anything as we waited to be seated, our fingers linked. When the hostess nodded at us, Shaun released my hand, and we slipped into the packed dining room, the space between the tables not conducive to hand holding. I noticed a few odd looks as we were being led to our table by the huge brick fireplace. Shaun kept his hand on my lower back.
“Your waiter will be with you shortly. Can I order you gentlemen something from the bar?” The hostess handed us our menus after we were seated. She was pretty, tall and thin, with platinum blonde hair, a nice figure, and wide smile.
I felt Shaun looking at me checking out the hostess. “Oh, uhm, Coke please.”
“Same,” Shaun said. The blonde left. I did not look at the way her black dress clung to her swaying hips. “Did you know that Jack Preston used to work here?”
“No. Whatever happened to him?”
Shaun laid his hands on the menu resting beside the fat flickering candle. It was warm here. Like, incredibly warm. The fire was tossing out some big heat, so I peeled off my jacket. Shaun followed suit.
“He’s in jail. Got caught pulling a B&E on a hunting camp over on the Wolf Creek Road.”
“That guy was always a loser. Remember that time he shoved Damon Davies into the wall and broke his glasses? I mean, who does that to a kid with Downs?”
“POS like Jack Preston. Remember when we were at that away game of yours and…”
That was how the whole meal went. Talking over the people we’d gone to school with, where they were now and what they were doing. Rehashing the good times, laughing over the stupid shit we’d done as teenagers. Our steaks came and were eaten, the conversation never hitting a dip or skidding to a halt like with a stranger. We knew each other so well. We were friends, closer than friends, to be honest. I wasn’t sure what came after close friends on the intimacy scale. Lovers? Partners? Soul Mates? Would any of those ever apply to us?
“Hey, you drifted again.” Shaun reached around the candle and the empty plate that had held a slice of coconut cream pie. He placed his hand over mine. I smiled and turned my hand over, the back on the linen tablecloth, my palm touching his. “Where were you?”
“Just thinking about what comes next.” I studied our hands, the way our fingers were so similar. Long and strong, short nails, some scars. Masculine hands.
“We talk about some things.”
My gaze lifted. His eyes were beautiful. “I’m negative and always use condoms even if the woman says she’s on the pill because I do not want kids now.”
“Okay. Well, I was going to save that for a time when we weren’t surrounded by strangers, but cool. Me too except for the women and birth control pill bit.”
I threw a fast look at the people closest to us. No one seemed to have heard my announcement. Someone opened the front door, the cold air felt wonderful.
“Sorry, I just figured that was talk number one for gay guys.”
“It’s right up there. I was leaning more toward opening with how we think we can have more when I’m headed to Aspen tomorrow for a week-long competition while you go back to New York.”
Yeah, that part was going to suck. “We need to pull up our schedules and plan around them, pick times when we can be with each other. I’m willing to fly to you.”
Shaun nibbled on his lower lip a bit. “It’s going to be tough, you realize that, right?”
“I know. Nothing worth having is easy.”
“True, but long distance…it’s going to be hard. But I’m willing to try it as long as you are.”
“I am. I’m into this.” I squeezed his hand, not letting go when the waiter brought our check and refilled our coffee mugs. “I’m committed to doing my best to make this work.”
His gaze softened. “Me too. So, let’s see what we can do to make some Mitch and Shaun time.”
Over coffee and another shared slice of coconut cream pie, we compared travel plans and game schedules, worked around snowboarding competitions and road trips. When we were done, we had a total of twenty-four free days from January first to May first. Summer would be better for us because I’d be off after the Calder Cup finals if we made it that far and could travel to any competitions Shaun had to attend. According to him, there were some big events in Europe during the summer.
“I’d love to see Switzerland,” I told him.
“I’d love to take you to Switzerland,” he replied, pulling me along when we exited the pub after our long meal. We lingered outside, jacke
ts in our hands, enjoying the cold air on our sweaty skin as well as the soft holiday lights wrapped around tiny round shrubs. Shaun stole a kiss or two as we meandered to the car. Neither one of us wanted this night to end. He was flying out at seven tomorrow for Aspen and then heading to Squaw Valley in California for a grand prix leg.
“There are times that I wish I had my own place here,” I murmured after a long, sweet kiss that had my body humming.
“I hear that.” He snuggled in tight, keeping us hidden behind a fat little pine tree wound tight with red twinkling lights. “Two weeks. I’ll be free for five days in two weeks.”
“And you’ll be in Cayuga for three of those five days.”
“I’ll be there.”
I captured his mouth hungrily.
Two weeks seemed like a lifetime at that moment, so we both clung to the present. We made that night last the best we could, watching my new Jabberjaw collection, spread out on the pullout bed in the basement, until we both crashed, our star-crossed blanket wrapped tightly around us. Shaun left my house at five. I kissed him goodbye in the foyer. Dad took him home. Mom made coffee and some cinnamon buns. When Dad came back, he hugged me hard and then sat down across from me at the kitchen table. We had a long talk about me, Shaun, safe sex, handling bigots and hatred the right way, and that iffy future spread out in front of us.
Two weeks. I just had to get through fourteen more days. I hoped they didn’t drag.
Those fourteen days were the longest fourteen days ever on record. Thankfully, they were over now, and Shaun was sitting behind the Cougars bench, wearing one of my sweaters, looking so tan and so amazingly handsome I was crazed to get this stupid game over with. We’d had ten minutes at the airport to hug and kiss. That was it. Then I had to be here for the game that was taking so long. Oh my God. Why did we play three periods anyway? It wasn’t like we didn’t know we had this game locked down. We were ahead by a goal, and this was our game, our two points. I glanced at the clock as the action was all down at the other end of the ice. Two minutes left. I heard the crack of a puck off the glass. My attention returned to the game, where it should be, and I saw Ron Plassy of the Broncos pick up the puck after it ricocheted. Ron was a defenseman, and generally not a big offensive threat, but he came down the ice like someone had strapped rocket boosters to his skates.
He threw his shoulder to the right, pulling me that way. I knew as soon as I moved in that direction it was a mistake. Ron’s deke was brilliant. I had hardly any time to recover, so I planted left skate to pipe and spread my legs wide, jamming my right skate into the iron as well. The puck bounced off my toe, rolling back at Plassy. He jumped on the rebound and took another shot. I threw my blocker up. The puck flew back over my head and rolled down the back of the net which was then dislodged by the impact of Plassy’s big body. Play was whistled dead. I sat there on the ice, stunned that I’d pulled those two saves out of my ass. The Cougars fans were cheering my name. I couldn’t see Shaun from where I was seated in the crease, but I hoped he had been somewhat impressed.
An hour and another win later, I pushed out of the Cougar dressing room, tie dangling and jacket in hand, crazy mad to get to Shaun. He was hanging out with the press corps, chatting about his win in Aspen and his aspirations to be picked for the next Olympic team. The hallway was packed, and I wiggled past some fat guy in a polo shirt, holding a phone in the air. Shaun was nodding at something one of the reporters had said when his gaze met mine. A smile that could melt the polar ice caps lit up his face. My feet felt big and stupid.
“There’s my friend, Mitch.” Shaun broke from the media, thanking them for their interest in his career, and walked over to me, brown eyes sparkling.
We didn’t say anything to each other. I think we were kind of afraid to speak in case we got gushy or something. Walking side-by-side, we played things off as casual until we rounded the corner. We both made a lunge at each other, bouncing off a Coke machine, mouths sealed. I pawed around behind me for a door as Shaun lapped at my mouth. I found a knob, turned it, and we fell into the room, pulling at each other’s clothes like starving jackals.
“Mind if we take pictures for later masturbatory use?”
Shaun and I leaped apart, lips wet and a little puffy, breathing jagged, and turned to look at Coach Kalinski sitting at his desk, smirking, as his husband lounged in a chair in the far corner. Dan looked like a cat who found his way into a budgie shop.
“I uh, we… he and I—it’s kind of… this is my friend.”
Victor smiled at my fumbling. “Yep, I can see how friendly you are. You catching all the friendship these two are sharing, babe?”
“Yep, lots of friendship,” Dan replied as he fought not to laugh.
“Okay, so Shaun and I are old friends, and we’ve reconnected and are dating.” I dared them to snigger with a dark look. Victor sniggered anyway.
“Hey, go for it. I got no issue with sucking face in the hall. I would prefer you not come into my space and spackle the walls with splooge.”
“Yeah, that’s our job,” Dan laughed aloud.
“My walls, my splooge,” Victor tossed out.
“I so want to die right now,” Shaun mumbled at my side. Words would not form, so I nodded at the Arou-Kalinski duo and left, pulling Shaun along with me. We ran out of the Rader, faces beet red, and dove into my car.
“That was the most embarrassing thing ever. Your coach is…” Shaun stumbled for the right word.
“Yeah, he’s kind of direct.” I cranked the Ford over and aimed all the heat at the windshield. Well, all the heat there was, which wasn’t much yet. “I really missed you.”
I glanced at Shaun, and he was looking at me like he hadn’t eaten in days. “I missed you too. Tell me you live alone.”
“I live alone.”
Waiting for a hole large enough to see through was torture. We could have gotten all over each other, but after the thing with Dan and Vic just now, neither of us seemed in a hurry to publicly humiliate ourselves again. Tonight, anyway.
The ride to my rented house was stilted and a little uneasy. We made small talk, but the hum of building sexual tension was impossible to ignore. By the time we were at the front door, my blood was rushing through me so fast I felt lightheaded.
“Be it ever so humble,” I said as I threw the door open. Shaun went first, I followed, flipping on the light and closing and locking the door behind us. “It’s small, and my mother insists that every table needs a doily…” I waved at the tiny living room.
“My mother crochets doilies,” Shaun said while removing his coat. I took it and his bag and placed them both on the floor by my sofa. “Some of these are probably hers.”
“They are. The blue ones,” I waved a hand at the end tables. Shaun chuckled, turned to face me, and lifted his hand to the back of my neck. With a gentle tug, he pulled me to him. The kiss was as natural as breathing. His body pressed to mine felt so good, so wanted, so natural. Like being on skates or falling in love. We tasted each other with unhurried affection, our weight leaning on the other more and more as the wet explorations went on and on.
“I want to go to bed with you,” I whispered over his parted lips. His thick lashes lifted from his cheek and wow, those eyes were simmering. My balls ached with need.
“Grab my bag,” he said. I did and then took him by the hand.
My bedroom was like the rest of the house, on the small side, but it had a nice queen bed, a large dresser, and a walk-in closet. Two windows faced the postage-stamp sized backyard. The walls were beige, the drapes and carpet dark brown. The only real color was the beautiful hand-made star-crossed quilt lying on the bed. The white and aqua tones brought so much life to the room. I’d just put it on the bed this morning because it was supposed to be used by me and Shaun, the romantic ones according to Grandma Sandbeck.
“You need to be open with me, okay? Anything that I might do that you don’t like, say so.”
I nodded and removed my shirt. Shaun’
s eyes roamed over me. He wet his lips. I tugged my zipper down and shoved my trousers and underwear to my ankles in one rush of impatience. When I stepped out of them and had my socks off, I looked at Shaun and wondered what he was thinking.
“You’re so beautiful.” He placed his hand on my chest, curled his fingers into the springy hair covering my pecs, and went to his knees before I could say a word. “So beautiful,” he murmured again, his fingers moving downward, massaging and kneading my stomach as he nudged at my cock with his nose. He inhaled deeply and licked the weeping slit. A low moan rumbled out of me. My hips bucked, and he took me into his mouth, gagging a little when I thrust deep.
“Sorry, fuck, sorry,” I gasped and tried to pull back. He grabbed my ass and kept me where I was, tickling the back of his throat. He sucked strongly, pulling more of me in inch by inch. Then he popped off loudly, his fingernails scoring my ass cheeks. “God that was great.”
“Would you fuck me?” he asked before going down on me again. His teeth scraped along the bottom of my cock. I hissed and mumbled words that made no sense. Shaun’s tongue rolled over the head of my dick, then he was taking me all the way down.
“You like this?” he asked again, his lips smeared with spittle, and his pupils so round with lust you couldn’t see the rich cocoa color.
“Yes, shit yes.” My brain was awash in sex. I wanted to suck Shaun off then fuck him. I had no clue how to go about doing that, but if Shaun was okay with it then I’d figure it out. It couldn’t be too different than sex with a woman, right? Fuck. It was probably totally different, and I’d fuck him the wrong way, and he’d hate it and not ever want to sex me up ever again.
“Hey, hey, you wandered there.” He kissed the head of my cock then got to his feet, his hands resting on my face. “It’ll be fine, you’ll see. There’s no rush. We have three days, Mitch. Three days to explore each other and love each other.”
I stole a kiss that led to another and then another and then yet another until we somehow were on the bed, a tangle of bare limbs and hard rutting cocks.
“Jesus,” Shaun gasped as I tongued a tight dark nipple while stroking his cock. His dick fit perfectly in my hand. His cock had a gentle curve. His balls were heavy. I was learning so much about him, his body, the way he moved and the sounds he made. “Keep doing that, yeah, work me like that.”