A Cold Moon

by Mike Price

  Joe said nothing; he just looked at Martin and smiled as one by one he undid the buttons on the older man’s shirt. Martin stood there as if frozen to the spot as Joe continued to undress him. He undid the buckle of Martin’s trousers and they fell to the floor, still Joe said nothing, but kneeling in front of him, slid his underpants down and took his erect penis into his mouth.

  Martin was in another world, a world of infinite pleasure, one that he hoped he would never have to leave.

  Chapter Fifteen

  At two o’clock in the morning, Martin woke to find Joe lying by his side, suddenly, the memory of last night came flooding back to him, but he had no feelings of regret. Joe had awakened something inside of him that he had not been aware existed.

  He shook Joe until he woke.

  “Sorry, Joe, but you will have to go. I can’t risk us oversleeping and Mrs Black, my cleaner catching us.”

  Joe sat up and rubbed his eyes.

  “Okay.”

  He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. He was naked and Martin looked admiringly at the young man’s rippled muscles, realising how out of shape he was himself. I must try Maddy’s personal trainer, he thought, she swears by him. A flash of guilt went through his mind as he thought of Maddy, but it did not last long.

  Joe dressed quickly and collected his jacket from the living room.

  “Can you call a taxi for me? Don’t panic I’ll wait for it outside the Almanac.” He saw the look of concern quickly disappear from Martin’s eyes.

  Martin opened the draw next to the bed and reached inside for his wallet.

  “Will a hundred pounds cover the fare?”

  “Yes, thanks, that should be enough.”

  Martin walked into the living room and rang for a taxi.

  “It’ll be here in about five minutes,” he said, turning as Joe followed him into the room. “Will I see you again?”

  “If you want to.” Joe tore a piece of paper off the notepad lying on the kitchen worktop and wrote his mobile phone number on it. “Just ring me when you’re up next.”

  He turned and left without another word.

  Martin had wanted to kiss him or at least hug him and felt a strange emptiness that he had just left like that.

  Martin returned to his bed, but could not sleep, his mind recalling the events of the last few hours. Thinking back to when he had been a boy at Westminster, he remembered he had always admired his house captain and thought how handsome he was. He had watched him playing rugby and cricket for the school and had desperately wanted to be his friend, but he being older had moved in different circles. Thinking about him now, Martin realised that he must have had some sort of crush on the boy, which at the time he put down to hero worship and the fact that he was so much better than Martin at sport.

  He had never bothered much with girls; even at university, he had been happy to go on drinking binges with his friends, but at the end of the night, when their thoughts turned from the delights of the bar to those of the boudoir, he had quietly slid away, unnoticed, back to his digs. He had put it down to a low sex drive and on the odd occasion, that the numbers dictated he had to pair up with a female, he went with the flow, but it was more often than not the girl had taken the initiative.

  Maddy had been his first real girlfriend, having devoted most of the intervening years to making money. Often working round the clock, watching the markets around the world. Maddy had been different, she was beautiful and intelligent, qualities that in his experience were not natural bedfellows; more importantly, she had come along just at the right time when a suitable wife was part of the package he had needed to become a parliamentary candidate.

  Maddy did arouse feelings in him, it was just that she was blatantly oversexed, which for most men would have been a blessing, but for Martin was a bind. Fortunately, since she had taken up her fitness regime, she had been less demanding. Obviously, the vigorous workouts were having a calming effect on her libido.

  As he thought about Maddy, he was surprised at how little guilt he felt about the experience with Joe. Surely, it was possible to have feelings for two people at the same time. He still loved Maddy, it was just that Joe had opened up another world to him; after all, he knew of plenty of his colleagues who had mistresses as well as happy marriages. The only difference in his case was that Joe was a man!

  Eventually, at about four o’clock, he dozed off to sleep, a silly smile playing on his lips as he thought of Joe.

  It was nine o’clock when he eventually woke and dived into the shower to freshen up. He had intended to leave by now and although had nothing planned for the day, had wanted to be in London by mid-morning. Having showered and shaved, he quickly dressed and went into the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee. It was now nine thirty and Mrs Black had told him that she usually came at ten. He desperately wanted to be away before she arrived, in case she noticed anything different about the place and started asking awkward questions.

  He had nothing to pack as he kept spare toiletries in the apartment. As he closed the door behind him, he glanced at his watch, ten to ten, he breathed a sigh of relief and quickly walked to the lift. The Ferrari pulled out of the car park and round past the entrance to the building, he could just see a short dumpy lady carrying a shopping bag going through the doors. That was close, he thought.

  The journey back to London was uneventful and the motorway was surprisingly quiet. He kept the car down to a sedate eighty miles per hour, resisting the urge to let it have full throttle, too many bloody cameras these days, he thought to himself.

  Maddy was at the shop when he returned to the flat so he had the rest of the day to himself. For once, he did not feel like doing any work and instead walked round to the shops, bought himself a newspaper and a pastrami sandwich from the deli. Once back, he made a cup of coffee and relaxed on the sofa, the papers spread out, the sandwich on the coffee table, a strange feeling of contentment sweeping over him.

  When Maddy returned at six that evening, she was surprised to find him asleep on the sofa, the empty cup and plate on the coffee table.

  She shook him and he woke with a start.

  “Hard work interviewing?” she asked.

  “What… no… yes… I mean no,” he mumbled.

  “Did you get drunk last night or something? You look shattered. You haven’t got a young woman hidden away up there, have you?” She laughed, knowing that would be the last thing on his mind. It often took all her natural skills to get him even remotely excited.

  A look of terror momentarily flashed in his eyes when she said this but her laugh told him that she was teasing.

  “I did have a couple of drinks but not until I got back to the apartment. I appointed Tony to the job and we went to a Thai restaurant in Coventry to celebrate. It was very good; I must take you there sometime.”

  He knew that would not happen as Maddy had let it be known that she was not interested in some Midlands backwater, and as far as she was concerned, he was mad even considering it.

  “So this Tony Wright is the right man.” She laughed at the pun and Martin smiled back at her.

  “Yes, we hit it off straight away. He came back with me after the meal and had a few drinks then left, I tumbled into bed, but had a bit of a sleepless night. I guess I missed you, being alone in bed.” He had kept close to the truth, just substituting Tony for Joe in his narrative.

  This time, it was Maddy who felt a pang of conscience, she too had experienced a restless night, but that was because Peter had been on top of his game as well as on top of her!

  The next couple of weeks seemed to drag by. Martin kept in regular touch with Tony, asking him to quietly spread the word around about Martin’s intentions to stand at the next election, to sound out local people, especially businesses, on their thoughts regarding his views. He had also asked him to see if he could wangle an invitation to any functions especially civic ones. Martin had decided to try and become known in the area so when eventually
the election was called, he would not suddenly appear as a stranger on their doorsteps. There was also the need for Martin to have a good reason to give Maddy for his proposed trips to Kenilworth and that he would have to stop overnight.

  When, after only three weeks since his first trip to meet Tony, he explained to her that there was a dinner dance and Tony had got two tickets, he was pleased that she seemed relaxed about him going, but preferred not to accompany him, if that was okay. He feigned disappointment, but was secretly pleased, as this meant he would be able to see Joe again, that is if Joe wanted to see him. Maddy had immediately thought of other plans for that night.

  Martin phoned Tony, and explained that Maddy had a heavy cold and would not be able to attend, but he would pay for the two tickets any way, after all, it was in aid of the local air ambulance appeal. He also said that he would send a cheque for two thousand pounds asking Tony to pass it on to the organising committee. His next call was to Joe. He let the phone ring but after a few seconds, it went to answer service. Martin did not leave a message. He was disappointed that the lad had not been there and wondered what he was doing. It was eleven thirty in the morning.

  An hour later, his mobile went off.

  “Martin? This is Joe, you rang me.”

  Martin felt relieved and excited at the same time.

  “Hello, Joe, I rang you an hour ago, where were you?”

  Joe did not answer the question directly.

  “It’s my lunch break now so I’m free to talk.”

  Martin felt stupid, of course, the lad had to earn a living, and anyway, why did he feel he should be at Martins beck and call.

  “Joe, I’m coming up on Friday. I have to attend a function in Kenilworth, but I’ll be free at about eleven, can you come over?”

  “Yes, but I’ll need you to pay for the taxi,” the young man said in the same flat expressionless voice he always used.

  Martin had hoped Joe would have been pleased and shown some excitement, but he was just matter-of-fact, exactly as had been on their first meeting.

  “Do you want me to send you a cheque?”

  “No, just reimburse me with the cash when I see you. Oh by the way, I’ve bought some new jeans and a ‘T’ shirt. Would you like to treat me to those as well?”

  “Yes, of course, and if there is anything else you want, just get it and I’ll pay you.”

  “See you Friday then, bye, Martin.”

  Without waiting for a reply, the phone went dead.

  Maddy noticed Martin was in high spirits for the rest of the week and thought his flirtation with politics seemed to be filling him with a new enthusiasm, one she found difficult to understand, but at least provided her with extra time for her ‘one-to-one sessions’.

  On Friday afternoon, Martin left the office and drove straight to Kenilworth, arriving at six o’clock, which gave him time to shower and change before going to the function. Martin had asked Tony and his girlfriend to come along as his guests mainly, because he wanted Tony to point him in the right direction, introducing him to the ‘movers and shakers’ in the area, but also as a small thank you for setting up the office for him.

  In his speech, after the meal, the chairman of the organising committee thanked Martin for his generous donation. That was two thousand well spent, thought Martin, now everybody here knows who I am. Once the plates were cleared and the tables stacked away the band burst into life, most of the men quickly making their way into the adjoining room where the bar was set up.

  Tony introduced Martin to a number of local businessmen, most of who seemed to look on his ideas for cleaning up parliament favourably, though a lot expressed the opinion that he would have a job eating into the Conservative core vote, especially as they had such a strong lead over Labour in the opinion polls. They were in general polite, but not over enthusiastic. He took Tony on one side, and asked him to make a list of the people he had spoken to and mark them out of ten on their hoped for support.

  At ten thirty, he excused himself, saying he had been up since five that morning and needed to get some sleep, though sleep was the last thing on his mind. He had left the car in the basement at the apartment and walked so he could have a drink. It was only a short distance and took just over fifteen minutes. He noticed his hand was shaking as he put the key in the lock and entered into the hallway. He needed a whisky to steady his nerves. The anticipation of seeing Joe again was making his heart race at an alarming pace.

  At twenty past eleven, there was still no sign of Joe and Martin could feel the disappointment slowly washing away the excitement he had felt previously.

  The intercom buzzer startled him. He jumped out of his seat and almost flew across the room to snatch up the receiver.

  “Martin, it’s Joe,” the same monotone voice, but he did not care, Joe had come.

  Martin pressed the door release button and within minutes, there was a tap on his door.

  “I thought you’d changed your mind,” he said flinging his arms round Joe.

  The young man smiled at him but only gave him a cursory hug.

  “I need a drink; do you want a top up?”

  “Yes, why not.” Martin held out his glass as the young man brushed past him towards the kitchen where the whisky was kept.

  “It’s late, shall we go straight to bed?”

  Martin was slightly taken aback by Joe’s off-hand attitude, but with his excitement having quickly returned, brushed it aside and followed the boy into the bedroom.

  “Do you want a blow job or do you want to fuck me?” Joe said, as if he was asking if he wanted a cup of tea or a cup of coffee.

  The words hit Martin like a blow to the stomach. This is not what he wanted at all. He wanted to caress Joe, to kiss him, to hold him and yes, eventually to make love to him.

  Joe could see the look of disappointment in Martin’s eye’s and was quick-witted enough to recover the situation.

  “Only joking, come here let me undress you.”

  A sense of relief filled Martin as the lad started to unzip his trousers. He felt his whole body shake. Joe continued undressing him until he was standing naked next to the bed.

  “Well, I can see you’re pleased to see me.” Joe laughed as he quickly undressed himself and rolled onto the bed, patting the sheets to indicate to Martin to lie down next to him.

  Joe, picking up from his mistake earlier, did not rush Martin, instead taking time to let his hands explore Martin’s body and it was some time before he rolled onto his stomach.

  Martin climaxed quickly and then lay there in a post coital embrace.

  “Do you have any cigarettes? I could just use one right now,” Joe said sitting up in the bed.

  “There’s some in a silver case on the table next to the TV.” Martin still had his eyes closed, lost in a world of his own.

  Martin did not smoke, having stopped when he was in his twenties, but unlike most reformed smokers, he did not mind other people smoking and always kept a few cigarettes for guests.

  Joe returned to the bedroom with the lit cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth and an ashtray in his hand.

  “Nice case,” he said.

  The cigarette case had been an eighteenth birthday present from his father and was solid silver with his initials engraved on it.

  “Um… was a present,” Martin mumbled, still not back in the real world.

  “Look, I’ve got to go… need to be up early tomorrow… you don’t mind, do you?”

  Joe could see by the look of disappointment on Martin’s face that he did mind.

  “Do you have to? It’s only just after twelve and it’s been three weeks since I saw you last,” Martin’s eyes had the look of a lost puppy.

  “Sorry, I promise to stay longer next time,” Joe’s flat expressionless voice was cold.

  The young man got dressed without saying another word and Martin watched him, his emotions in a turmoil, hurt and love fighting each other.

  Joe was dressed now and ready
, but he stood there as if waiting for something.

  “What’s the matter?” Martin asked.

  “You said you’d pay for the taxi trips and the clothes.”

  “Oh God, sorry, yes of course.”

  Martin got out of bed and opened the draw in the bedside table. There was a bundle of notes held together by an elastic band.

  “Is three hundred okay?”

  Joe nodded.

  “How do you want it, fifties or twenties?”

  “Twenties please, I don’t want people to think I’ve robbed a bank or something.” Joe gave a hollow laugh, as if to soften the atmosphere that had appeared since his announcement he was going home.

  Martin wrapped a dressing gown around himself, walked into the living room, and rang for the taxi.

  “Five minutes,” he called to Joe, who he assumed was still in the bedroom.

  Joe had followed him out and was standing behind him. He put his arms around Martin, turned him around so that they were facing each other, and kissed him long and hard on the mouth. Martin felt the warmth course through his body as he held Joe in his embrace.

  “You’d better go, the taxi will be waiting,” he whispered hoarsely.

  Joe turned and was gone. But at least I’ve left him happy, he thought to himself, as he walked to the lift, patting the three hundred pounds in his pocket.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Martin drove back to London thinking about the previous evening, wondering where the relationship was going. It was obvious that Joe did not feel the same as he did. He realised that he was falling in love with the lad but was confused, after all, there was still Maddy and he really did love her. These thoughts kept swirling around in his head until it ached. Finally, he decided to concentrate on something else, in the hope it would dull the thumping in his brain. Eventually, as he passed Luton, the pain subsided and he finished the journey feeling himself again.