Henry's End

by Julie Richman

  Looking into his baby blue eyes, Henry just nodded.

  “Dinner’s almost ready.” They heard Jeanne’s voice call from down the hall, almost simultaneously with Katelyn’s arrival.

  Walking into the kitchen, hand in hand, Henry couldn’t hide his smile, as Quinn warmly greeted his little sister and they sat down to dinner. Sunday dinner in the Callahan home was not a short eat and run affair. They stayed at the kitchen table talking for hours, drinking Bailey’s spiked coffee and enjoying Jeanne’s homemade Irish Soda Bread.

  “Are you ready for the bike ride?” Katelyn smiled at her brother.

  “I am. Not sure about this one, though.” He elbowed Henry.

  With a dead serious face, Henry turned to Jeanne, “Do you see what I have to put up with?” And they all laughed.

  “Yeah, you love it.” Quinn pushed his chair close to Henry’s and slung an arm over his chest, pulling his back up against him.

  Being in a family environment that was so accepting and open was a new experience for Henry, and every time he started to feel tense, he realized he was the only one. Quinn was accepted and loved for who he was. And so was Henry. This was their normal and they were all at ease and comfortable with it. Quinn’s happiness was their only concern and right now it appeared that Henry Clark was making Quinn Callahan a very happy man.

  “I’ll see you two next Sunday.” She winked as she turned to hug Henry goodbye. “Take good care of my boy.” She rubbed his upper arm.

  “If he’ll let me,” Henry laughed.

  “He’ll let you.” Her eyes were smiling.

  As they drove away, Henry sat looking out the window with a content smile on his face.

  “What are you smiling about,” Quinn rapped him lightly on the bicep.

  “How great that just was. My first Sunday could have been my eightieth Sunday. That’s how comfortable your family makes me feel.”

  “I like hearing that.”

  “Well, I liked being there.” Henry snuck a look at Quinn’s handsome profile. He was looking straight ahead as he drove, with a smile firmly planted on his face.

  Without taking his eyes off the road, Quinn reached over and grabbed Henry’s hand. “I know it’s a work night, but why don’t you stay over.”

  “I need to grab clothes and my car.”

  Quinn nodded, heading toward Henry’s apartment.

  Pulling up in front, Henry opened his door, “Let me grab my stuff for tomorrow and I’ll be over to your place in a few.”

  Putting a hand on top of Henry’s to stop him, Quinn’s eyes were serious, as he said, “Bring clothes for the week.”

  Silently, Henry processed Quinn’s words. “OK,” he nodded his head, knowing Quinn was asking him to share his home.

  Quinn had already cleared a section of his closet, three dresser drawers and a shelf in the bathroom by the time Henry got there. He appeared to be a little nervous, rubbing his hands together, and Henry realized that Quinn was fearful of rejection or pushing Henry too fast.

  Hanging his suits, shirts and ties, Henry stood in the middle of the closet. His clothes and Quinn’s, hanging side-by-side. There was something so simple, yet symbolic, that Henry needed to take some cleansing breaths to calm himself and to push away any and all thoughts that he didn’t deserve this.

  Neatly lining up his toiletries on the bathroom shelf that had been emptied for him, he caught Quinn in the mirror watching his every move. As the reflection of their eyes met, Quinn’s handsome eyes took on a serious cast.

  “You know you can go at any time,” he paused, “or you can stay for as long as you’d like.”

  “What if I want to stay forever?” Henry boldly asked the reflection.

  “Then you’re going to need this.” Quinn reached into his pocket and pulled out a key dangling from a silver disk keychain and held it up for Henry to see. Reaching around Henry, he laid it gently on the vanity. Never once did he break eye contact with the reflection of Henry’s eyes.

  They stood there for a moment looking at one another in the mirror. Henry hoped that Quinn could read his expression. Finally, he broke eye contact and looked down at the key on the counter. The silver disk keychain was engraved with his initials, HEC.

  Quinn put his hands on Henry’s upper arms and buried his face in the nook of his neck. The rough scratch from Quinn’s five o’clock shadow felt exquisite and Henry was immediately aware of the ache in his balls as his cock hardened just from Quinn’s slight touch.

  “Stay forever,” Quinn whispered into his neck.

  Closing his eyes, Henry tilted his head, exposing his neck to Quinn and leaned his weight back onto the sturdy cop.

  “I’m going to take that as a yes.”

  Henry nodded.

  Quinn’s hands slowly moved down Henry’s arms as his lips softly trailed from the nook of his neck to his shoulder. When his hands reached Henry’s hands, he took them and wrapped them around Henry’s chest, hugging them closer together.

  Closing his eyes, Henry tried to let the sensation of Quinn’s lips carry him away, but he was wracked with sudden anxiety, his muscles contracting with a jolt.

  “Hey.” Quinn stopped what he was doing and sought Henry’s eyes in the mirror. Wrapping his arms around him tighter, “We don’t have to do anything you’re not ready to do.” Quinn assumed Henry’s reticence was still based in the fear of becoming intimate and vulnerable.

  Shaking his head, “It’s not that, it’s not what you think.”

  Quinn cocked his head, but remained silent.

  “I’m ready. I’m ready for everything with you. I want everything with you. I was serious with what I told you today at your mom’s.”

  “Then what is it? I felt you stiffen in my arms, Henry. And not the good kind of stiffen,” he added, with a warm smile.

  Looking down, Henry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He let it out slowly before reopening his eyes to face Quinn. “I still have those nightmares sometimes. I just don’t want you to see me like that.”

  The flash of sadness was evident in Quinn’s eyes. Shaking his head, “That fucker is lucky he’s half a world away.” Kissing Henry’s temple, “If you have one, I’m here. He’s not. I am. So try and relax. We’ll deal with it if it happens. Just promise me one thing.”

  “What?”

  “Please don’t be embarrassed by it. OK?” Quinn leveled a serious glance in the mirror.

  Forcing a smile, “I’ll try.”

  “You don’t have to go through this alone anymore,” his voice was a mere whisper.

  Henry longed to tell this beautiful man that he loved him, truly, deeply and irrevocably loved him, and that it was as clear as day in a teen’s twin bed under rock ‘n roll posters. But the words were having no part of being vocalized. Instead, he reached for one of Quinn’s arms that were wrapped around him and lifted his hand to his lips, kissing it tenderly. Taking him by the hand, Henry led Quinn out of the bathroom and into their bedroom.

  “I know you want me to top. I know you want me to do that.”

  Quinn smiled, nodding, “Yeah, I do.”

  “And I will. I want to. But tonight. Tonight I want you inside me.” He bit his lip nervously. “Is that OK with you?”

  “C’mere, you.” Quinn pulled Henry to him. “OK with it? I’ve been thinking about it since that first day at L9. You were just coming toward me, like I was dreaming you or something. I didn’t know you were Schooner’s friend and you made my blood race.”

  Reaching out, Henry laid a hand on Quinn’s cheek. “I think you are the single best thing that has ever happened in my life, Quinn. Seriously. And I want to know what it feels like to have you buried in me.”

  Quinn moaned at Henry’s words, his hands skimming down Henry’s back like stones skipping across a pond, until he reached his ass, where he grabbed on tight, molding Henry’s body firmly to his own. Grinding into him, Quinn sought Henry’s mouth, as if beginning a new exploration.

  As they tumbl
ed onto the bed, Quinn pulled away for a second, breathing roughly. With eyes blazing sincerity, lust and something Henry couldn’t quite put a name to, “I will never, ever intentionally hurt you. Ever.”

  Henry reached around and removed one of Quinn’s hands from his rear, taking the palm and placing it flat over his wildly beating heart. Quinn’s eyes widened and he smiled, feeling the rapid rhythm.

  With his hand covering Quinn’s, Henry vowed, “I will always be true to you, Quinn. Always.”

  And there it was, the vows that erased their partner’s darkest and most emotionally crippling fear, replacing it with optimistic hope and dreams.

  “Now fuck me. Hard.” Henry’s eyes crinkled as he smiled at his beautiful lover.

  “You don’t have to ask twice.”

  As clothes rapidly were tossed into a pile on the floor, Quinn peered over the edge of the bed, his brows coming together questioningly. “I wonder if she’s going to charge me double?”

  “Huh?” Henry’s brows knit too at Quinn’s non-sequitur.

  “My cleaning lady,” he laughed. “She’s now going to have double piles of underwear and dirty socks trailing this entire apartment because we are going to fuck like wild animals in every room.”

  Opening a drawer, Quinn pulled out a bottle of lubricating liquid and a condom.

  “Is it the root beer flavored?” Henry asked.

  Laughing, “No. I had to throw that away. Lube from my mom is over the line. Even for my crazy family.”

  “I love your crazy family.”

  With what was now becoming his trademark touch, Quinn slowly swiped Henry’s cheek with his forefinger and middle finger. “You know you’re quickly becoming a member of my crazy family.”

  “I need you inside me, now, Quinn. Now.” Henry was emphatic.

  “Get on your back. I want to be looking in your eyes when I come.”

  Lying on his back, his already hard cock standing at attention, poised and waiting, Quinn spread Henry’s legs apart and pulled him to the edge of the bed. Leaning down, he took Henry deep into his mouth.

  “Oh God, you feel so good,” Henry moaned, feeling Quinn’s tongue swirling around him within the tight vacuum of his mouth.

  With fingers woven through Quinn’s hair, Henry drove his hips deeply into the warmth of Quinn’s mouth, getting lost in his own cadence. As his balls tightened, the pressure mounting, Quinn pulled away, not letting him come.

  “Not yet,” he was breathless, a lock of his dark hair haphazardly obscuring one of his beautiful pale blue eyes.

  Panting too and trying to catch his breath, Henry nodded, knowing Quinn wanted to experience this together. Reaching out next to him on the bed, Henry grabbed the condom and the bottle of lube, handing the condom to Quinn.

  Ripping it open with his teeth, Quinn discarded the package on the floor. Looking down at it and then back at Henry with his luminous smile, “She’s definitely charging me extra.” And they laughed.

  Flipping up the top to the lube, Henry watched as a few drops rained onto his hard cock. Reaching up, he handed the bottle to Quinn with one hand while stroking himself with the other, rubbing the slick liquid from his balls to the crown.

  Quinn just watched with a smile, before squeezing several drops onto Henry’s perineum and watching them slowly course down to the opening of his ass. When they arrived at their destination, Quinn slowly massaged them into the area and added a fresh stream to coat his fingers, rubbing them back and forth slowly on the ring of sensitive skin.

  Without breaking eye contact he slowly pressed a finger into the tight opening, using enough pressure to get sucked in.

  Henry gasped and Quinn smiled, his own cock twitching with anticipation at his lover’s reaction. “Feel good?” he asked, slowly pumping his forefinger into Henry.

  “Oh yeah,” he smiled, lost to the sensation in his ass, his pumping of his own cock becoming merely background music.

  “And how about this?” Quinn’s middle finger was now inserted deeply next to its mate, moving in tandem as it stroked the sensitive gland that was bringing Henry close to a frenzied state.

  It didn’t elude him for a second that these were the two fingers he had come to love Quinn trailing down his cheek and he heard a whimper coming from somewhere so much deeper than his throat.

  “Are you ready for me?” Quinn’s eyes shone in the semi-dark room as he pulled his fingers out and pressed the tip of his condom-sheathed cock at Henry’s opening.

  Henry nodded.

  Grabbing onto Henry’s thighs, Quinn pulled him onto him as he thrust through the small opening.

  “Oh God,” this time it was Quinn who was moaning as he began, slowly at first, driving into Henry’s ass.

  “Yes,” Henry closed his eyes for a moment, concentrating wholly on the connection he and Quinn had formed. “Yes.”

  “You feel so fucking great. You are so damn tight.”

  “Harder Quinn. I want you all the way in,” Henry begged, picking up the pace on jerking his own cock.

  Grabbing Henry’s thighs harder for leverage, Quinn plowed as deeply as he could into him, his balls slapping Henry’s ass.

  “Yes, just like that. Oh God, you feel so good.” Henry stroked himself harder, needing to come.

  “You like it like this?” Quinn was fucking him at a feverish pace, lost to his own sensations.

  “Oh God, yes,” his voice choked, as he exploded all over his stomach and chest.

  As Quinn watched the arc of Henry’s come, he ground himself as deeply as he could into the depths of Henry’s ass. “Squeeze me. Hard,” he demanded. “Harder.”

  As Henry’s muscles beared down around his cock, Quinn unleashed with a deep moan, his eyes squeezing shut with his release. He stilled, holding onto Henry’s thighs for support, not moving for several minutes. Slowly, he pulled out, causing both men to involuntarily shiver. Peeling off the condom, he tossed it to the floor and grabbed his tee-shirt out of the pile. Lying down next to Henry, he used his shirt to gently wipe up Henry’s stomach and chest.

  “I think her price just quadrupled,” Henry smiled as Quinn tossed the shirt back to the floor. Leaning over, he kissed him warmly, unable to stop smiling.

  With a smile matching his lover’s, Quinn put a hand behind Henry’s neck, pulling him close. Pressing their foreheads together, Quinn breathed in deeply and they both remained silent for a few moments before his lips moved to Henry’s ear, softly grazing the lobe with his front teeth.

  “Stay forever,” was all he whispered.

  “A cop? Seriously, Henry? Heh.” It was a mocking sound.

  Turning his head to face him, he tried to speak, but he was so angry, nothing came out.

  “He’s not going to protect you. I hope you know that.” He smiled, that gorgeous one dimple smile.

  … And Henry hated himself for thinking it was beautiful.

  “If I want to kill you, there’s no way he can stop me. I’m trained for this, you know. What’s he trained for? Pulling over stoned teenagers for speeding? If something even mildly dangerous happened,” he laughed, “he’d be totally fucked.”

  “Go away,” Henry choked out.

  “You know you don’t mean that or I’d already be long gone.” He pressed his long, hard cock against Henry’s ass. “And I’m not.” He continued to slowly grind against him. “So what, you got your fag-loving friend to ship me to this hellhole. It didn’t get me out of your head, did it? I’m not going anywhere, Henry. When are you finally going to figure that out? You’re mine. You’ll always be mine.”

  “You’re wrong. I’m his,” Henry hissed.

  “His? Yeah, right,” he mocked. “Have you even told him you love him? No. And you know why? Because you love me. He’s going to watch me fuck you, watch you take every last inch and see how much you love it, because you know you do. And after I make him watch me fuck you until your ass bleeds, just like I did that last night on the floor, maybe I’ll kill him and let you watch that.�
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  Wrapping his fingers through Henry’s hair, he slammed his head into the oak posts of the Mission-style headboard. “I love fucking you when you’re unconscious and all bloody.” He slammed his head again.

  “No! No! Get off of me, you sick motherfucker.” He fought back, throwing his head in the other direction, away from the headboard.

  He was now being restrained and couldn’t move out of his grasp. He twisted left, then right, then left again, fighting to break free.

  “Let me go,” he screamed and the grasp was gone, white light filling the darkness as he gasped for air.

  “It’s OK. Henry, you’re OK. You’re here with me. He’s not here. It’s just us. Only you and me,” Quinn’s voice was calm and even.

  Without even opening his eyes, Henry got to his knees and dragged his wet tee-shirt over his head. Stretching to the sheets, he assumed the Balasana pose and concentrated on his breathing, fighting hard to push from his mind how strange and disturbing this must all seem to Quinn.

  Feeling Quinn get off the bed, he heard him leave the room and a heaviness descended, incarcerating his heart. Embarrassed didn’t even begin to describe what he was feeling. He’d made it three and a half weeks sleeping every night in Quinn’s bed, their bed, before the demons found his new locale. What could have set this off? He wracked his brain, but came up empty-handed. And that was the scariest part. That’s how he let Cody hold him hostage, never knowing when he’d break out of his subconscious, angered from being repressed.

  Henry longed for his PalmPilot. He needed to record the number on his nightmare chart, satisfying some OCD ritual, completing what needed to be done. But his PalmPilot was in his laptop case in the other room.

  With a big sports bottle filled with water and two towels, one wet with cool water and the other dry, Quinn re-entered the room.

  Sitting up on his side of the bed, Henry looked forlorn. “I’m really sorry,” he began.

  “Shhh.” Quinn handed him the water bottle and pressed the cool, wet cloth against his sweat-soaked hairline. “Turn your back to me.” Quinn pressed the cloth against the back of his neck and with strong hands kneaded the knots from his shoulders.