by Ariel Tachna
Everyone ignored him.
“Juana!” Señora Frias’s voice broke into the silence.
Juana disappeared into the kitchen and returned a moment later with Sophie in her arms. “Mamá says dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes.” Before Srikkanth could ask if she wanted him to take Sophie, she’d deposited the baby on Alvaro’s lap. “She said for you to hold the baby until dinner.”
That forestalled any protest on anyone’s part, but it didn’t stop Srikkanth from holding his breath to see how Alvaro would react. Alvaro, however, didn’t even blink, simply setting Sophie on his lap and bouncing her gently, his countenance transformed from its previous stern expression to one of sweet delight as Sophie laughed and clapped her hands.
“See?” Srikkanth murmured as the tension in the room suddenly dropped by several degrees. “I told you Sophie would do our work for us.”
Jaime chuckled. “You’re brilliant.”
Conversation returned slowly to normal levels, the family catching up with each other’s news from the week. The sounds swirled around Srikkanth, most of the conversation taking place in Spanish. He had a feeling he’d be learning the language in self-defense. He drew back a little, watching Jaime being drawn slowly back into the circle of family. It was awkward at first, but these were Jaime’s brothers and sisters, and the family was obviously close-knit. As they continued to talk, he could see the awkwardness fade. Srikkanth tensed again when Alvaro rose, Sophie on his hip, but Alvaro simply juggled her and patted Jaime on the shoulder as he walked by.
“Your daughter is beautiful,” Alvaro said, coming to stand beside Srikkanth. “You are very lucky to have her.”
“I know I am,” Srikkanth agreed, remembering how close he’d come to giving her up for adoption. “I’m sorry her mother died, but I’m not sorry I have her.”
“Jaime didn’t explain that. You are… like him, sí? And yet you have a daughter.”
Srikkanth laughed softly. “Yes, I’m gay like Jaime. Sophie’s mother, Jill, was my best friend. When she wanted to have a baby, I went to the fertility clinic with her. She died giving birth to Sophie, and suddenly I had a daughter.”
Alvaro nodded. “You’re a very busy man, then. What do you do with her while you’re at work?”
“I work from home most days,” Srikkanth explained, “so I can watch Sophie at the same time. Jaime juggled his schedule so he’s home on Mondays when I have to go into the office. It’s not ideal since it means he has to work on Saturdays, but it’s better than having her in a daycare where I wouldn’t get to see her all day.”
“That won’t work much longer,” Alvaro warned. “I don’t have children, but I have younger brothers and sisters. In another month, Sophie won’t stay where you put her. When you need someone to watch her during the day, you call Mamá or Paula. They don’t work. They’ll be glad to have a baby in the house.”
“I couldn’t impose like that,” Srikkanth protested.
Alvaro gave a very Latin shrug. “It isn’t an imposition when it’s family.”
“Dinner!” Señora Frias called from the kitchen.
“I’ll take her,” Srikkanth offered.
Alvaro laughed. “We’re experts at eating and holding babies. We’ll just pass her around the table.”
They made their way into the dining room to the huge table groaning beneath all the dishes. Srikkanth counted at least twelve different platters on the table: tamales, beans, tortillas, some kind of chicken, and several dishes he couldn’t identify. It all smelled delicious.
“You won’t want the enchiladas,” Jaime murmured at Srikkanth’s side, “but I think that’s the only beef dish.”
“Thanks,” Srikkanth replied softly. He wasn’t terribly strict in his dietary practices, much to his parents’ dismay, but he’d never developed a taste for beef.
The family started passing the dishes around, the conversation continuing unabated, only in English now. Srikkanth wondered if that meant he’d been accepted.
“So where do you work?” Luis asked Srikkanth.
“I’m a web designer,” Srikkanth explained. “The company contracts with all sorts of local businesses to design and maintain their web sites. At the moment, I’m working on a redesign for The Corkscrew.”
“I love that store,” Paula exclaimed. “I shop there at least once a month.”
“After this month, you’ll be able to order online and have the order boxed and ready when you come to pick it up,” Srikkanth confided. “That’s one of the things I’m building into the new site.”
“Wines only? Or will it have their other products as well?” Paula asked.
“They’ll make that decision when they input the actual inventory themselves, but the site is set up to accommodate multiple categories of products and to allow for searches so you can find a specific product by name,” Srikkanth revealed.
“That’s so cool,” Diana enthused. “I’m taking a web design course as an elective this year, but school just started, so we’re still learning the basics.”
“If you need any help, let me know,” Srikkanth offered.
“Would you be willing to be a guest speaker?” Diana asked excitedly. “Mr. Robinson said just the other day that he’d like to have someone come talk to us about careers in web design.”
“Sure,” Srikkanth agreed. “Here; give him my card and have him call me. As long as it’s not a Monday, I can arrange the time, although I’d have to find a babysitter.”
“You don’t need babysitter,” Señora Frias interjected. “You tell me what day and you bring the niña here. Or if you prefer, I come to your house.”
“You don’t have to do that, Mrs. Frias,” Srikkanth protested.
“You go to help my daughter in class; I keep mi nieta for you,” Señora Frias declared. “You tell me when.”
“Gracias, Mamá,” Jaime said before Srikkanth could reply, his voice hoarse with emotion at hearing his mother claim Sophie as her granddaughter.
“De nada, niño. Come.”
Jaime did as he was told, digging into his overflowing plate. Juana was right, he realized. He’d done them all a disservice by staying away so long. “So can we come back next week, Mamá?”
“Silly boy,” Señora Frias scolded. “You come back every week if your friend stops calling me señora and calls me Mamá like everyone else.”
Chapter 18
“And you were worried,” Srikkanth teased as they drove home at the end of the evening.
“It went far better than I expected,” Jaime agreed. “We don’t have to go every Sunday if you don’t want to.”
“Why wouldn’t I want to?” Srikkanth asked. “Your family was lovely, and Sophie was a big hit.”
“God, I love you,” Jaime blurted out, eyes widening as he realized what he’d let slip.
Srikkanth flinched. “Don’t say that if you don’t mean it.”
“I mean it,” Jaime insisted. “I don’t know why I didn’t say it a long time ago. It just didn’t seem to be the right time.”
“Pull over,” Srikkanth demanded. “Into a driveway, into a parking lot, I don’t care.”
“What?” Jaime asked, surprised.
“Pull over,” Srikkanth repeated. “I need to kiss you. Right now.”
Jaime’s eyes widened even more as he searched for a spot to pull over. Finding a parking lot, he drove in and put the car in park, releasing his seatbelt as he did. He reached for Srikkanth even as Srikkanth pulled him into a tight embrace, their mouths crashing together. Jaime gasped into the torrid kiss, head spinning as Srikkanth kissed him with more fervor, more passion than ever before.
“Say it again,” Srikkanth demanded, breaking the kiss momentarily.
“I love you,” Jaime repeated.
Srikkanth took a deep breath, eyes closing. “I love you too.”
Jaime relaxed muscles he didn’t even know he’d tensed at the words he’d longed to hear. “Can we go home now? I want to put Sophie to bed and th
en take you there. And tonight, nothing’s going to stop me from making love to you.”
“Not even Sophie?” Srikkanth teased.
“Not even Sophie,” Jaime replied firmly. “Not tonight, when I finally know you love me too.”
“Then let’s go home,” Srikkanth agreed.
Jaime drove home as quickly as safety would allow, the thought of the baby asleep in the back seat enough to temper his urge to hurry. They carried her car seat inside, leaving her strapped in securely so she wouldn’t roll out while she slept, rather than waking her to move her into her crib. When she wanted a bottle, they could transfer her to her bed.
As soon as she was settled, Jaime reached for Srikkanth, pulling him into a tender embrace. His heart pounding in his chest, he nuzzled his boyfriend’s jaw, lips sliding back to the tender skin beneath his ear. Srikkanth shivered in his arms, bringing a smile to Jaime’s lips even as he intensified his attentions. He wanted Srikkanth incapable of doing anything other than moaning and coming apart in his arms. Over and over and over again, if he had his way.
Waltzing Srikkanth backward into their bedroom, Jaime released the other man for a moment to switch on a dim lamp and light one of the incense sticks that rested on the dresser. He hadn’t told Srikkanth he loved him in the way he would’ve preferred, so he’d have to make the first time they made love perfect instead. He could feel Srikkanth’s eyes on his back, could almost hear his lover urging him to stop messing around and hurry up, but Jaime resisted the silent entreaty. This wasn’t some casual fling, a meaningless release. This was Srikkanth, and Jaime intended to treat this moment with the reverence it deserved.
The setting arranged to his satisfaction, Jaime returned to Srikkanth’s side, wrapping his arms around Srikkanth’s waist, swaying side to side until his boyfriend’s feet moved in time with his own. He guided them slowly toward the bed, his hands wandering over Srikkanth’s back as they moved. The smell of incense wrapped around their senses, adding to the weight of the moment. When Srikkanth’s thighs bumped against the edge of the bed, Jaime stilled his feet, his hands burrowing beneath his lover’s shirt to find smooth skin.
Growing impatient with the slow pace, Srikkanth reared back enough to pull his polo over his head, baring his chest in the hopes of enticing Jaime into more intimate contact. To his frustration, Jaime simply smiled and returned to kissing him and stroking his back. Not that it didn’t feel good, of course, but Srikkanth wanted more. Now.
He worked his hands beneath Jaime’s button-down shirt, determined to speed things along. Finding the bottom button, he freed it from its hole and moved upward, opening Jaime’s shirt in reverse so their chests met with soft friction as he pushed the garment down Jaime’s arms and onto the floor.
The contact shouldn’t have been unusually electrifying—they’d slept side by side for weeks in nothing but their boxers and had been completely naked together on more than one occasion—yet this felt different, more powerful, as if the confession of their shared emotion had heightened the sensation. Jaime shifted slowly, brushing his smooth skin against Srikkanth’s chest, enjoying the rasp of his lover’s light pelt on his sensitive nipples. He lowered his head to the curve of Srikkanth’s dark shoulder, trailing his lips along the curve of his collarbone and then on to brush across one taut peak. He licked teasingly at the mahogany nipple, smiling as Srikkanth moaned. The smell of Srikkanth’s cologne was strong there, the musky scent mingling with the smoke from the incense to intoxicate Jaime’s senses. His hands keeping Srikkanth close, he lowered his lover to the bed, never breaking the contact between his lips and the other man’s skin. Urging Srikkanth to move up so he lay fully on the bed, Jaime crawled over him on hands and knees so he could continue to titillate Srikkanth’s skin.
“You don’t have to seduce me,” Srikkanth rasped. “I’m a sure thing.”
Jaime chuckled. “I’m glad to hear that, but that’s all the more reason to seduce you, you know. We’ve done everything backward, but we’re here now, and I intend to take my time.”
“Backward?” Srikkanth asked, trying to hold on to his train of thought as Jaime tugged on his socks and began unzipping his pants.
“We had the baby first,” Jaime explained, stripping Srikkanth down to his boxers. “The family is usually what comes last, not first. I’m not complaining. I wouldn’t change a thing even if I could, but making love to you is long overdue, and I’m going to make up for lost time by doing it right.”
Srikkanth didn’t think there was any way it could be wrong between them, but he didn’t have the breath to voice that opinion with Jaime nuzzling his cock through his shorts. His eyes closed on a soft moan as he lifted his hips, inviting more attention.
Jaime traced the bulge of Srikkanth’s cock through the thin fabric. “As good as I know you’d taste, I’m not falling into that trap again,” he warned Srikkanth. “I’d start sucking on you and forget about everything else, and tonight I want to know what it feels like to be inside you.”
“Yes,” Srikkanth groaned. “Want that too.”
Jaime breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t been absolutely sure he’d read Srikkanth correctly. While he wasn’t opposed to bottoming—he rather enjoyed it, in fact—he needed to be the one in charge tonight. He couldn’t have explained why if Srikkanth had asked, but it seemed his lover shared the same need.
“Lube… in the drawer,” Srikkanth said with a toss of his head as Jaime reared back onto his knees to finish undressing himself.
Tossing his clothes aside, Jaime tugged the drawer open, digging through it in search of the promised lube and, hopefully, a stray condom or two. He had some in the downstairs bathroom, but he really didn’t want to pull away long enough to go get them. Silently kicking himself for not taking a detour on the way upstairs in the first place, he frowned when he couldn’t find the lube. “Are you sure?”
Pushing up on one elbow, Srikkanth pulled the drawer farther out, finally finding the lube all the way in the back, along with a lone condom packet. “It’s been awhile since I’ve needed them,” Srikkanth explained with a diffident shrug. “I guess I’ll have to restock.”
“We’ll bring some up from downstairs,” Jaime said. “Tomorrow.”
Srikkanth nodded his agreement, not in any hurry to move from his comfortable spot on the bed, Jaime hovering over him, about to make love to him finally. If they needed another condom before morning, they could go get one then. For now, he preferred to concentrate on this moment, this experience. Lifting his head, he nipped at the line of muscle bisecting Jaime’s honeyed abdomen, loving the contrast between his dark hands and Jaime’s lighter skin. The thought brought a smile to his face, for Jaime was hardly light-skinned, except when compared to Srikkanth. “Love you,” Srikkanth murmured against Jaime’s belly.
“Love you too,” Jaime replied, setting the lube and condom next to them on the bed where they wouldn’t get lost. He took a moment to simply drown in Srikkanth’s near-black eyes, wondering how he’d gotten so lucky as to have this beautiful man as a lover. Bending his head, he brushed his lips over Srikkanth’s again and again, enjoying the lingering taste of spices. “Love you, love you, love you,” he whispered between passes. “So damn much.”
“Then come make love to me,” Srikkanth beckoned.
Jaime nodded, his heart pounding as he reached for the lube, coating his fingers thoroughly before sliding them down over Srikkanth’s balls to his tight entrance. Srikkanth spread his legs, bending one knee to open himself more fully to Jaime’s explorations. Reverently, Jaime lowered his head and kissed the hair-roughened skin of Srikkanth’s inner thigh as he circled the tempting rosette. He turned his head back and forth, trailing his lips over sensitive skin as his finger probed lightly, barely enough to penetrate.
Above him, Srikkanth let out a stifled sob of desire. Jaime smiled and worked his finger a little deeper, eyes fixed on the place where they were joined. When his knuckles bumped the curve of Srikkanth’s ass, he paused, twisting
his finger back and forth as he sought the little bump that would intensify his lover’s pleasure. The next cry that escaped Srikkanth’s lips could not be so easily muffled.
“That’s it,” Jaime urged. “Moan for me. Let me hear how good I’m making you feel.”
“Too good,” Srikkanth pleaded. “You’re going to make me come.”
“And that would be bad because?” Jaime asked, the words making him swell with pride.
“I want to make you feel good too,” Srikkanth protested.
“You will,” Jaime promised, “but you said yourself you hadn’t needed the supplies for awhile. I don’t want to hurt you, so I’m going to take my time and prepare you properly.”
Srikkanth didn’t try to argue with that, though he wasn’t sure he had the patience for the long slow preparation Jaime proposed. He knew his boyfriend well enough to know that once he made up his mind, there was no changing it. He’d just have to endure.