by Max Hudson
Though the suggestion was not a surprise, Charles found that he could not make up his mind on a response.
“I... I do not want to be a burden on you. It’s getting late, isn’t it?” Thankfully the streets were empty. If not, Charles was sure he would have crumpled from embarrassment at his own words. Just hearing himself talk was enough.
“You won’t. You never are.” Henrik smiled warmly and touched Charles’ wrist as if he had wanted to reach out the entire time. “I won’t force you.”
Charles mumbled something incoherent but nodded. He trusted Henrik, and he didn’t see any harm in the offer as long as he made sure to come back to the hotel later in the afternoon to take care of the rest of his work. With a glance to the side, Henrik took the cue and wrapped his hand around Charles’ waist. The two walked toward Henrik’s bakery where supposedly, his studio apartment sat up top.
Skipping the bakery and instead opting to enter a small side door that led to a staircase, Charles and Henrik finally arrived at the studio apartment. It wasn’t too big, but definitely large enough for Henrik to feel comfortable in his own living space. Quite honestly, the apartment had a very different feeling from the cold, minimalist rooms that Charles was more used to in the big city. Paintings and tapestries hung on the walls, baking tools were strewn about the kitchen counter, and the furniture appeared bright and colorful. In general, Henrik’s apartment was the exact opposite of Charles’ back at home.
“Ah, I completely forgot to clean up! I’m sorry for the mess, I’ll get this organized right away…” Henrik shook his head, taking a step toward the kitchen in a nervous attempt to make a better impression. Before Henrik could get any further, Charles placed a hand on the man’s shoulder and tried his best to form a comforting smile.
“It’s all right,” A deep, warm laugh emerged from Charles’ chest as he found Henrik’s action cute, if not endearing. “Honestly, isn’t this understandable? You’re a baker after all. It feels more… authentic, this way.”
Henrik scoffed at this, though it was rather out of amusement than spite. “You think so? Well, I suppose I’ll just keep it there for now then. I’m a bit too lazy to clean it up at the moment, to be honest.” Changing direction, Henrik headed toward a medium-sized loveseat that sat in the middle of the room and squarely plopped right onto it. Charles decided to join and quietly sat down next to the man.
The room was silent. The faint buzz of the overhead air conditioner seemed to fill the rest of the space in the room, making the silence a bit more tolerable than it would have been if the two men had only sat in true, utter silence. Looking down at his hands, Henrik began to fiddle with the loose strings on his shirt sleeve. Although Henrik saw himself as a fairly confident man, there was something unexplainable that embarrassed him. He had no idea what to say.
“Why don’t you tell me a bit more about yourself? I don’t think we’ve both had the chance to say much about ourselves personally, although I admit it is partially my fault for rambling about useless information.” This time it was Charles’ turn to speak first. With a cheek resting in his palm, Charles turned his head to face Henrik directly. He watched as the other man’s cheeks flushed a dark red, obviously shocked by the sudden suggestion.
“Of course-” Henrik muttered nervously, still fidgeting with his sleeves. It seemed as if the roles were switched, as the confident mask that Henrik usually wore was broken down in the comfort of his own home. Perhaps being in Henrik’s home, an intimate place to be, had somehow gotten to his head.
Henrik took a deep breath and mustered the energy to speak. “There’s not much to say, right? I’ve told you quite a lot. I’m not a banker, nor am I an extremely important businessman like you. I simply like to bake, but I’m not mad about it. I’m satisfied, really.” Henrik shrugged to himself.
“But I think that’s quite admirable. Just because you don’t have a fancy name or position doesn’t mean you’re not a hard worker, Henrik. You still funded your own startup business. The people here, they really like you. Andrea even told me so, you’re known very well around here.” Charles responded, cheek still in his hand. The moonlight had begun to seep through the curtains and onto the wooden floor. The night had a sort of melancholy feeling to it.
“I’m glad you think so, Charlie.” Henrik turned to face Charles and flashed him his signature grin. It lit up the room, almost making the need for the moon practically irrelevant. Henrik looked… beautiful.
Charles removed the hand from his cheek and straightened his back slightly. Placing a hand on the loveseat a bit behind Henrik’s back, Charles moved in closer until the two men were now only inches apart. Charles could feel Henrik’s shallow breathing, how nervous the other man seemed. As Henrik’s eyes fluttered close, Charles took it as a sign of acceptance. With his gaze cast downwards, Charles leaned in and took Henrik’s lips in his.
The kiss was clumsy, rough, and sloppy. It was obvious that both men were unsure of how to act, pulling away from each other only moments after it had happened. When the two look each other in the eyes, it is Henrik who speaks first, placing another wet kiss on the corner of Charles’ lips.
“You have pretty eyes,” Henrik muttered, voice somewhat hoarse from anticipation and longing.
“I wouldn’t know-” Charles’ voice broke slightly, surprising himself. It didn’t seem to faze Henrik however, as he took hold of Charles’ cheek and guided him for another softer, lighter kiss on the lips. It was warmer, more loving. A certain feeling twisted in Charles’ stomach as he received it.
“Your voice is quite comforting too... You know how to speak the nicest words.” Henrik continued to shower Charles with praise, hands trailing down to trace the man’s neck and collarbone.
Something in Charles’ heart ached. Somehow, he found his hand at the small of Henrik’s back and the other assisting Henrik in getting his shirt over his head. When it was finally off, Henrik was pushed onto his back, with Charles towering over him.
From the angle he was in, Charles thought Henrik looked beautiful. His usually-pale skin was now flushed a light pink, the color having spread from his face and down to his bare chest. It was not Charles’ first time doing this, but he was unsure whether Henrik was comfortable himself. Leaning down to place a kiss upon Henrik’s forehead, Charles murmured in the man’s ear.
“Are you all right with this? If you’re ever uncomfortable, you can tell me. I’d want you to tell me if it hurts.”
Henrik nodded in agreement. “Of course.” A thicker German accent slipped through his tongue. Usually, Henrik had the skills to cover up the accent. Henrik’s mind was spinning- masking it was the least of his worries.
On top of Henrik, Charles reached down and placed his hand over the growing bulge in Henrik’s pants. With a faint whimper, Henrik could not help but lightly squirm underneath the other man. Lightly brushing his hand against Henrik’s dick, Charles let out a soft sigh in response.
“You’re already so hard,” Charles muttered, beginning to stroke Henrik’s dick with increasing speed as he did so. “And here I was thinking you were the kind of person who liked to take it slow.”
Henrik clutched at Charles’ shirt, inconsistently batting at his arm as if he were begging for Charles to do something else, perhaps even help him discard of the rest of his clothes. Shrugging to himself, Charles smiled. “All right, all right.” Stopping for a second to admire Henrik’s body, Charles began to undo the buttons of the man’s pants and quietly threw the item to the side once Henrik had slipped his legs out of them.
Barely wearing anything, Henrik wrapped both his arms around Charles’ neck and embarrassingly laughed to himself. “You’re horrible, absolutely horrible.” Henrik said teasingly, catching himself when Charles lowered his head once again and began to leave loving bruises and bites along the man’s collarbone. As if to tease Henrik, Charles slowly sucked on unbroken skin, admiring the bright red that quickly bloomed when he pulled away. As if comforting a crying child, Char
les would pause every few seconds to plant a kiss around Henrik’s eyes and where the hickeys would soon turn into dark purple bruises.
As the men continued in the darkness of the night with only the moon’s light providing a source in which they could see the other’s face, Henrik suddenly mustered the strength and pawed against Charles’ chest. “T-take it off.” He murmured in a breathy voice, already overwhelmed by what he was experiencing. With one hand still pumping over Henrik’s dick that was already dripping with precum, Charles did not miss a single beat as he tossed his shirt from over his head and swooped back down for another kiss. The lust had gotten to him and their shared kiss exhibited this.
In between sweet nothings and sinful moans, Henrik lifted his own body to whisper into Charles’ ear.
“H-hah, should we move to the bedroom?” Henrik weakly pointed to the room adjacent from the couch, the door slightly ajar. Charles looked back from the door and nodded, swiftly picking up Henrik’s body. His skin was hot to the touch, having heated up greatly in the few minutes they were together. Henrik was fairly light, so Charles had no trouble carrying and placing him on the queen-sized bed. The sheets had been folded neatly that morning, but both men knew that the order would not last long.
While on the bed, Henrik flopped onto his side and reached over at his bedside table. In a cabinet, the man rummaged his hand around the bottom of the drawer until he pulled out a few items. In his hands were a handful of condoms and a single bottle of lube. Handing the items to Charles, Henrik embarrassingly raised a hand to cover his face. Although there were no words exchanged between the two, Charles understood what Henrik’s body language was trying to display. Henrik had never been in a receiving position before, so his flustered face was more than understandable.
With clumsy hands, Charles ripped open a condom with his teeth and stretched the rubber over his already erect dick. Screwing open the bottle of lube, Charles lazily spread the lubricant onto his fingers. Leaning down as if to place another kiss on Henrik’s forehead, Charles stopped before their two faces met and quickly inserted a finger into Henrik. The other man gasped loudly, fingernails scaling harshly down Charles’ back. With an agonizingly painful pace, Charles pulled his finger in and out, keeping a steady rhythm at the same time.
“Ah, Charles-” Henrik’s voice hitched in his throat. The sensation wasn’t necessarily new, but the action felt more intimate than it had felt with ex-lovers in the past. “Please… please you’re being such a tease-”
Upon hearing this plea, Charles slowed down the pace of his finger. It was excruciatingly painful for Henrik- he needed more.
“Fuck, please!” Henrik gripped at Charles’ back. He was sure that there would be various claw marks and bruises the next morning when he inspected his body in the mirror. Henrik was about to beg Charles once more until the man inserted a few more fingers without any warning, a hot, squelching sound coming from the insertion. “Shit,” Henrik cursed in his native tongue, biting down on his bottom lip as he did so.
“This is getting boring,” Charles muttered, voice husky with lust and exhaustion. Upon taking his fingers out, he heard the man beneath him gasp for air. “Are you ready?” Charles placed a sloppy kiss on Henrik’s forehead, trailing down to place another on his chest. Henrik whimpered in response, feeling his feet clench at the sheets beneath them.
Charles positioned himself at Henrik’s legs, feeling his dick twitch under the immense arousal and anticipation he was feeling. Using his hands to guide himself, Charles inserted himself into Henrik with enough speed to make Henrik moan in pleasure yet still curse out a moment later. The thumping sound of their bodies together rang throughout the room as Charles found an adequate pace. Henrik’s back was arched in pleasure, lifting his hips even higher off of the bed as if that would fill him even more.
“God, you’re so fucking big-” Henrik’s face was fully flushed as was his body. His hands trailed down Charles’ chest to his waist, placing both hands there as if to steady himself. This comment only made Charles more passionate, slamming right back into Henrik as soon as the words were uttered.
Henrik released a cry at the sudden force, using all of his strength to keep himself from crumbling right then and there.
The two men kept at this rhythmic pace for a while. With one hand on the bed and one hand pumping Henrik’s erect dick, Charles brought a cum-covered hand to his mouth and messily licked the cum from his fingers. Henrik could only turn away, embarrassed from the sight.
Moments later, Henrik could not keep himself from uttering another loud groan. “Fuck… I'm going to come,” He hissed out, not wanting to sound desperate.
“What did you say?” Charles managed to get out with another grunt as he thrusted right back into Henrik’s body. Truth be told, he also felt as if his body could not take it anymore. He knew his climax would come soon.
“Don’t make me say it again- ah, fuck. I’m going to…” Henrik yelped midway through his sentence as Charles used all the strength he had left and fully removed his dick before inserting it right back into Henrik. The surprise had done its job, as Henrik came all over Charles’ dirtied hands and flecks of cum splattered across their chests. Henrik felt Charles come inside of him, the warmth of the condom filling his entire body.
“Shit, man.” Charles bit back another string of curses, finally pulling out completely once they both had slowed their breathing. The two men were a mess. Bodily fluids covered the sheets, while pillows and other items covered the floor beneath them.
Henrik laid on the bed, too tired to move but still too erect to say he was done.
“God, you can take a lot can’t you.” Charles laughed upon this sight, causing Henrik to turn his face away out of embarrassment. Charles bent down so that he was eye level with Henrik’s dick and sized him up. He had never given a blowjob before, but there was always a time for new experiences.
“You, you don’t have to-” Henrik’s hands instinctively went to grasp Charles’ shoulders as the man went down on him, grazing his teeth against Henrik’s dick as he did so. The pleasure was unimaginable. Although Charles did a poor job at bobbing his head and keeping his mouth on Henrik’s dick, it somehow felt good after such a beating he had received moments before. Feeling another climax coming up, Henrik urged Charles to remove himself. The warning came too late- a mangled sound emerged from the back of Charles’ throat as he managed to swallow bouts of cum that came from Henrik’s dick. With a pop, Charles removed himself and looked back up at Henrik. A bead of cum was slowly traveling down the edge of his mouth and down his chin.
“Could have told me earlier,” Charles muttered, licking his lips dry of semen. Henrik nodded sheepishly. It hadn’t been his intention to make Charles swallow his cum, although the sight was pleasing to see.
When only silence followed Charles’ statement, the two men decided that it was probably time they cleaned up. Their bodies were hot and sticky, not exactly the most comfortable state to be in.
“Let’s get you cleaned up.” With one sweeping scoop of his arms, Charles picked up Henrik. If he remembered the layout of the apartment correctly, there seemed to be a bathroom at the other end of Henrik’s bedroom. The Swiss man nodded and laid his head against Charles’ chest. There would be much to talk about tomorrow morning.
Chapter Six
Despite being reluctant to go, Charles finally left Henrik’s apartment once the sun hung bright in the sky and the sunlight poured through the curtains and onto the bed. Before gathering and cleaning up his clothes, Charles leaned down to give Henrik a small kiss on his forehead before heading out. The man was still groggy, rubbing his eyes awake once Charles did so. There was something different about this feeling- something different from any other one night stand Charles had experienced before. Could this even be classified as a one night stand? Charles wasn’t sure himself.
Charles stepped into brightly lit streets. Being an early Sunday morning, few people were out, with the majority of those
walking the streets seeming to be heading off to church. Although he would have wished to stay longer, Charles still had work to attend to. The weekday had lent him some free time, something that was not easily accessed during business trips like these. Charles could not help sigh at the thought of having to do even more work now that he was to return back to the hotel.
Slowly yet surely, Charles returned back to the hotel. A few of his coworkers had gathered near the entrance, each of them holding a cup of coffee or tea in their hand.
“Oh, Charles! Did you go out for a morning walk? We’ve just gathered here so we can wait for Jones to come back from a local bakery. He’s getting pastries, if you’d like one.”
One of Charles’ closer coworkers came over, grabbing another cup of coffee from the welcome desk area before shoving it into Charles’ hands. The woman’s name was Rebecca, a long time coworker of Charles who had entered the company around the same time Charles had too. Coincidentally, the two had gone to the same college, a fact that they realized only after encountering each other at the water cooler on one eventful workday.
“I’m fine, I’ll probably get something after the meeting. Tell Jones I say thank you, though. It’s quite hot out today.” Charles gestured to the entrance of the hotel. “Is there any news about our status here? I’ve heard that the President is thinking about extending our time here.” Secretly, Charles hoped that Rebecca would agree. It would have given him more hope of staying longer.
“I think you’re right. I also heard that we might be staying here a bit longer just so we can sort out a few internal politics. God, isn’t it crazy? I only packed a week’s worth of clothes but we’ve already been here for so long…”
Rebecca placed a hand on her head in disbelief, shivering at the thought of staying longer. “It’s not horrible, I suppose. After all, this is the first time I’ve been out of the country in a while. Switzerland is nicer than I expected. But you’re from here, right Charlie? I expect you’ve taken a liking to working here now.”