Moving On - 25. Chapter 25

Thursday morning, I awoke to the sensation of being enrobed in warmth. After a moment, I realized at some point in the night, Noah had spooned up behind me, his arms pulling me tightly against his body. His warmth radiated from underneath his clothes, through mine, and straight into my soul. I could feel his morning wood pressing through his shorts and nestled firmly between my ass cheeks. Suddenly, I was hornier than I could remember being in a long time. It took all my will power not to thrust back against Noah's cock, knowing this wasn't the right time yet.

I lie there for a few minutes, continuing to wrestle with myself about making a move on Noah, when a demonic noise began blaring from the night stand on Noah's side of the bed. He squeezed me tightly for a moment, and kissed my neck. At that moment, there was nothing I wanted more than to rip Noah's clothes off and spend the entire day ravishing him. Before I could make a move, however, he gently untangled himself from me, and shut off the alarm. As quickly as the hormones had overtaken my brain, the fog cleared.

I let out a sigh and rolled onto my back, and Noah realized I was awake. He leaned over me, cupped my cheek and gave me a tender kiss on the lips.

"Good morning, sexy man," he said in a sultry morning-voice.

"Right back at you," I responded, raising my head to return the kiss.

My head was clear, and my late-night invitation suddenly came to mind. I couldn't help but feel guilty, like I had just been leading him on.

"Noah, I hope I wasn't too big of a cock-tease last night. I mean, I get you all hot and bothered, and then ask you to sleep with me without expecting sex. If you want it, I'm more than happy to …" I didn't get to finish my sentence as Noah's lips pushed firmly against mine.

"No. We've waited this long, and I want to wait until the moment is right. I know you love me, and I want nothing more than to ravish you this morning, but I don't want our first time to be simply because one of us feels obligated to do it. I loved just sharing the bed with you. Last night was possibly one of the best nights of sleep I've ever had, and it was all because you were lying next to me."

I could feel my horniness creeping back as our bodies pressed together.

"What if I said I didn't feel obligated? That I wanted nothing more than to rip our clothes off and really take the bed for a test ride?"

Noah just smacked my chest lightly while he laughed.

"Down, boy, I want that, too. I'm sure you're well aware of that by now," he said, motioning toward his erection that was once again straining the limits of his shorts. "Now is not the time. You have to finish up your work if we're going to the aquarium. Besides, maybe we'll find some time to show how much we love each other after a romantic dinner tonight."

"Ugh. You're such a damn buzz kill. I hate that you're right," I responded, leaning in for one last gentle kiss before getting out of bed. I showered and got ready for the day, my erection not wanting to subside at the thought of what might happen tonight.

The tell-tale sounds of Noah waking Zach drifted into the room as I sat down and began to work. Surprisingly, the boy never came in to disturb me. By lunch time, I was confident I had completed everything. I waited to queue it up, deciding to spend Friday morning double-checking my work. In an effort to get things done, I had rushed the last few tasks, and needed to ensure everything was as it was supposed to be before I submitted it. The last thing I needed when I was trying to prove myself was to include stupid mistakes.

Noah was already prepping sandwiches when I walked into the kitchen. I was immediately accosted by Zach.

"Hi, Scott! Daddy said if I wanted to go to the aquarium today, I had to pretend you weren't home so you could work. Did I do good? I wanna go soooooo bad!"

I mussed up his hair before picking him up. He let out a happy squeal as I gave him a wet raspberry on his cheek.

"You did great, little buddy! I really appreciate you letting me finish. We're going to have so much fun this afternoon. Are you excited?"

The squeal of excitement that close to my ear made me briefly wonder if he had ruptured my ear drum. I laughed, and set the boy down before rubbing my ear.

After lunch, we headed out, but only after I double-checked that the stroller was in the car. As we pulled in to the parking garage, Noah noticed the sign that informed us that we could have saved a dollar by pre-purchasing a parking permit in advance.

"Man, I missed that completely when I was on their website last night!" Noah complained.

"Oh, you were checking it out?" I asked, trying to keep the concern out of my voice. I was really hoping we hadn't had the same ideas.

"Just a little. I wanted to get a sense as to what I was going to have to spend today. I thought about going ahead and getting tickets, but decided to just wait and get them here. Apparently they tell you what time you can go in after you buy them. I figure we can just wander Centennial Olympic Park while we wait if necessary.

"I thought about getting annual passes, but it's expensive," Noah said before dropping his voice to a whisper so Zach couldn't hear before continuing, "and we still don't know for sure that we're going to continue to have custody. I realized last night we keep making long-term plans involving all three of us, but there's still a chance it'll be all for naught come Monday."

The fear and concern was evident in his voice.

"I understand where you’re coming from, Noah, but Zach's a smart kid. If we start treating him like this is just temporary, he's going to catch on. We both know he has enough concerns about you abandoning him as it is. It seems very unlikely you'll lose custody, regardless of what happens to mine. Besides, it's just money, and there's always the possibility we may be able to get some refunds if it does come to that."

"But all the clothes and toys … hell, even this car; we bought it all under the assumption he's going to be with us forever. What if …" Noah's voice caught, and he was unable to finish his sentence. It was just as well, because I would've cut him off if he'd continued.

"You can't think that way, babe," I said, reaching over, and gently squeezing his leg. "There will always be 'what-ifs' but if you dwell on them, it'll drive you crazy. Over the weekend, we'll get a better sense of how Monday will unfold. For now, we have to stay positive for both our sakes and Zach's. Besides, there's no one else to extend custody to. Willow definitely won't be able to manipulate the court this time."

As I pulled into a parking space, Noah sighed. "I guess you're right. Anyway, time to push the dark thoughts back down and put on a big smile for Zach," he said before returning to a normal volume to address the boy. "We're here! Are you excited to see the fish?"

I was prepared for a squeal, but it never came. A glance in the mirror showed that Zach had his fingers in his mouth and was nodding enthusiastically without taking his eyes off the mural of a school of brightly-colored fish in front of the car.

"Wallet," Noah said suddenly, thrusting out his hand.

"I'll hand it over, just be patient. Can I at least put the car in park first?" I asked with a laugh.

"If you must," Noah responded with faux-indifference. The twinkle in his eyes betrayed him, though.

As I got the stroller out of the car, Noah retrieved Zach.

"Remember the rule for the zoo?"

"If we are walking, I have to hold a hand. Do I hafta, Daddy?"

"Today you have another option. If you don't want to hold either Scott's or my hand, you can sit in your stroller and we'll push you. Just remember, if you're not sitting in it, you have to hold a hand. Do you remember what happens if you don't?"

"We're gonna go back home," Zach said sadly. "I don't wanna go home, so I'll be good."

"You're always a good boy," I interjected, ruffling up his hair. Noah's sudden cough sounded surprisingly like 'bullshit' to me, but Zach didn't notice, and I chose to only acknowledge it with a quick wink.

As we started walking towards the entrance, I was surprised that Zach immediately climbed into the stroller. He'd never used one before, largely because Willow was always too high to take him anywhere. The novelty wore off quickly, and by the time we got to the ticket booths, he had already made one attempt to dash off. Noah caught him quickly, and Zach remembered the rule.

Noah began to walk up to a booth to get tickets, but I directed him to the door marked 'Member Services'.

"We have to go there, Noah."

"Why? I figured we'd just get regular tickets this time."

"Well think again, because I already bought us passes," I responded, sticking out my tongue.

"You sneaking bas—devil!" Noah exclaimed with a grin.

"Oh, and we get two dollars off parking when we leave, which beats your dollar in savings that you missed!"

"So now we're backstabbing and competing with each other?" The continued grin, alongside the hip-bump Noah gave made it impossible for me to misinterpret his statement.

"Nah," I said dismissively. "But did I win?"

"You did," Noah conceded, "but a day with my two favorite guys is a consolation prize I'll always be happy with."

Noah wrapped his arm around my waist and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.

Inside Member Services, we were photographed and given picture IDs, along with pamphlets that covered all the various benefits and programs. Zach was so excited about getting his picture taken that he couldn't sit still long enough, but it was a lot of fun to watch.

Once inside, the day seemed to be largely a repeat of the zoo. The pace was a little slower, since there were lots of small tanks near each other, and Zach did his best to flit from exhibit to exhibit. He was beginning to remember to take a hand without being told unlike yesterday, but it was still maybe only half the time.

As we approached the Ocean Voyager exhibit, I started getting excited. Zach definitely didn't know what he was in for, and I was pretty sure, despite his research, Noah didn't either. As we stepped onto the moving sidewalk, it rounded the wall, and we entered into the underwater tunnel.

All around us, fish of all sizes swam. Schools of brightly colored fish and stingrays were everywhere. I immediately saw a couple of the manta rays, but only saw shadows of the main attraction at first. Noah gasped upon seeing the underwater wonderland. Zach first gasped and then squealed happily.

Out of the shadows of the world's largest marine tank, two giant whale sharks slowly passed directly above us. Another suddenly appeared from a different direction. Zach was chattering away at Noah, who was trying to just take it in. Before long, I was pulled out of my moment of tranquility, and began to point out the different fish I could identify for the two of them. Zach had reached sensory overload and was just trying to take it all in when he noticed the divers.

"Scott, don't those people know there are sharks! They'll get eated!"

"They know the sharks are there. That's part of the reason they're diving in there; wave to them, little buddy."

He did, as did everyone else around us. I never understood why people would pay to scuba dive with the whale sharks, when they always seem to spend more time paying attention to the visitors in the tunnel. After we reached the end of the tunnel, we sat in the observation area, just watching the scene.

"Why don't the sharks eat the people?" Zach asked me. It seemed out of the blue, but I had a feeling he'd been thinking about it and just hadn't reached an answer yet.

"Those sharks don't eat people."

"They don't?"

"No. They eat really, really tiny things called plankton."

"But they're so big!"

"That's why they have to eat a whole lot of them," I said with a laugh.

I told Zach it was ok for him to go up to the window, but he couldn't leave it until we got him.

"Yesterday at the zoo, you knew what you were talking about, but you definitely weren't this excitable. You really love this place don't you?"

"I do. This exhibit especially. Ever since I was in elementary school, and found a book on sharks in the school's library, I've been in love with them. They're just so powerful, majestic and beautiful – except for the goblin shark. That's one ugly mother-fucker," I said with a laugh.

"Steve and I didn't come here nearly as often as we did the zoo – largely because we're cheapskates and parking is free there. But despite the crowds, I just find this place so relaxing. I've always wanted to dive with the sharks, but I've never gotten around to it."

"You know how to scuba dive?" Noah asked.

"Yeah, it's been probably eight or nine years since I've gone on a dive, though. Dad, Ethan, and I are all certified. Last time we all went was … I guess summer after my sophomore year of college. Between the travel, and all the rentals, diving gets expensive really quickly. Steve wasn't certified, so I could never justify going."

"I always thought diving seemed like a lot of fun. Maybe I can get certified, and then we can go on a deep-sea vacation or something," Noah said, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.

"It's a date," I responded.

We sat there in a content silence for a few minutes, enjoying each other's presence, the sights of the tank, as well as our excited little boy trying to take it all in. When we decided it was time to move on, we collected Zach, who had to point out all of his favorites in the tank before we could leave. Unlike the zoo, where Zach had a favorite that lasted at least until the next exhibit (before the pandas, of course), his favorite seemed to change each time a new fish crossed his sight.

This trend continued as we made our way through the aquarium. We tried the touch pool, which I figured Zach would love, but after touching one stingray, he quickly decided he did not like that. Fortunately, he didn't make too much of a scene. He had a blast climbing around the play area there.

Once Zach had his fun, we decided to get a bite to eat. Without prompting, Zach climbed into the stroller, so I knew he must be winding down. Since Noah was in possession of my wallet, I didn't even pretend to pay, but I noticed he paid with cash. I was immediately curious, since I remembered him saying he never bothered to carry any. As we were eating, he explained that the food was on me.

Finally we went into the part of the aquarium that I felt Zach would love the most. The African penguin exhibit has viewing portals where you can stick your head right up among the birds. As expected, Zach was immediately smitten. We stayed there for quite a while, missing our show time to see the dolphins, but I knew we'd have plenty of opportunities in the future. I was glad we waited until near the end to see them, though, since Zach kept talking about the penguins like he had the pandas the day before.

As we walked towards the exit – conveniently located in the gift shop – Noah jokingly whispered in my ear, "You don't happen to have a giant stuffed penguin in your basement, do you? I have a feeling Zach's going to want one to go with his panda."

I just blushed, and nodded my head, a little embarrassed that I did.

"Really, do I want to know?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Steve gave it to for my birthday one year. It was revenge for the panda."

Noah just barked out a hearty laugh in response.

Since we had to go through the gift shop, we ended up getting Zach a little snow globe as a souvenir. He wanted more than that, of course, but he didn't pout too much when Noah finally put his foot down. I know we're both trying hard not to spoil Zach, but we've only been full-time parents for a week. I was impressed Noah was able to say 'no' to Zach when he wanted more. From what Noah told me in the past, I'm pretty sure he gave Zach everything he ever wanted when the boy was still with Willow.

Leaving the gift shop, the August heat and humidity felt like a punch in the gut. The transition from inside to outside in the summer is one of those things I never really got used to in Atlanta. Instead of going straight back to the car, we decided to walk around the park some. Zach wanted to go see the building with the giant bottle of Coke, but Noah and I agreed that we had a busy enough day. I had never been to the World of Coca-Cola before, and had never really been interested, but it seemed like the type of thing that a child would love.

We slowly began to walk through the park, taking in the sights. There are many statues spread throughout the park commemorating various aspects of the modern Olympic games, with specific focus on the 1996 Atlanta games – the 100th anniversary of the first modern games, hence 'Centennial Olympic Park'. The park was created for use as the Olympic village, and some damage remains from the nail bomb that was set off during games. It impressed me to see it was still there, since the city is obsessed with its Olympic legacy, but has a tendency to white-wash the darker sides of the city's history.

Zach was content to seek refuge from the sweltering August sun and just sat in his stroller as I pushed him around. He was still attentive and talkative, but had no desire to venture out from his sanctuary. That all changed when we got to the Fountain of Rings. The centerpiece of the park is an interactive fountain in the shape of the Olympic rings.

Music was blaring as we approached, and there was a large crowd gathered around the rings of gushing water, but no kids were splashing around. I quickly realized there was a show going on, and the fountain was pulsing to the music. A glance at my watch confirmed my assumption that the show had only just started. Before I even had a chance to suggest one of us hold up Zach so he could see, Noah had already lofted his son onto his shoulders.

It was a neat (and relatively short) show. They played five songs over the loudspeakers; the first couple were popular songs from Disney movies, followed by the theme from Chariots of Fire, William Tell Overture, and the show concluded with – of course – Summon the Heroes, John Williams's theme for the Atlanta Olympics. I couldn't help but stifle a little bit of a grin and shake my head at how over-the-top it felt, but it still sent a shiver down my spine.

As a young boy of thirteen, I sat glued to the TV for seventeen days. I was obsessed with every aspect and every sport I could watch. It was the first time I'd ever watched most of the events, and I couldn't get enough. It was so close to where I lived, and we'd even spent time in Atlanta on vacation the year before. For months before the games began, I had begged and pleaded for my dad to get tickets for us to go – even if just to the Soccer matches held in the DC area, but he always claimed he couldn't, although I suspect it was more they didn't want to succumb to the price-gouging and merchandise-hawking the Atlanta games were infamous for. For me, the few remaining obvious relics of the games in the city continue to hold a special place in my heart, and bring back the emotions of an excitable young boy obsessed with the pomp and circumstance surrounding the games.

Once the show was over, the rings continued to pulse water out of its many fountains, and it was almost instantly covered with kids splashing and playing. Zach was squirming on Noah's shoulders, and I realized we hadn't prepared for the possibility of the boy playing in the water.

Noah started to put Zach down. As if reading my mind, he said, "Don't worry, I thought ahead and packed a towel and a pair of shorts in case we came here. Now take off your shirt and go have fun, Zachy!"

With a squeal of excitement, Zach transformed into a blur, and was off. Suddenly, my heart was racing, and it took a moment to realize I was worried about losing Zach in the crowd. Damn this being-a-father thing! Noah sensed my fear and grabbed my hand, giving it a squeeze.

"We have two sets of eyes on him. Relax, he'll be fine. Besides, he's probably exhausted and won't last much longer before he's ready to go home."

Letting out a sigh I didn't know I was holding, I responded, "Yeah, you're right. He got to play in the aquarium for a bit, but this is the first time we've really let him do his own thing out of the house this week. Apparently I have the parental instincts, though, and this is the first time I've really experienced the panic associated with it."

"I felt it too, but we have to let him do stuff on his own. When he was living with Willow, I never really experienced the panic either, so this is just as new to me. The important thing is that we're both here for him and for each other. You've already proven yourself to be a pretty terrific father, by the way," he said, giving me a kiss on the cheek as he finished.

I noticed a tourist nearby shoot us a look of disgust, but chose to ignore it. This is my city, and I'll do what I damn well please! Fortunately, outside of the tourist areas, the city is generally extremely accepting of its many gay residents.

"You are, too," I said contentedly, my eyes never leaving our little munchkin as he happily splashed around with a few new friends. "Actually, I've felt a little like I've been pushed into the deep end and have just been trying to do what I think you would do. Oh, I'm beginning to think that we need to do a better job of saying 'no' to him. Zach'll just walk all over us if we let him."

"We've been doing better, but you're right. It's just so damn hard not to spoil him rotten. I saw him eyeing the stuffed penguins in the aquarium, and even though I know you have one already, if he pushed much harder than he did, I'm sure I would have given in and bought him one."

We continued to chat while we watched Zach play, and sure enough, he ran up to us about fifteen minutes later. He actually came over because he wanted us to join him in the water, but we decided to go ahead and leave. He pouted a little, but climbed back into the stroller. By the time we were back to the garage, he had fallen asleep. I have a feeling he would've crashed right in the water had he not come over when he did!

On the way home, the memories of the Olympics were still fresh in my mind, so I detoured and drove back via I-20 so I could see the Olympic torch, looking out-of-place on the edge of parking lot for Turner Field, where it had been abandoned when Olympic Stadium was transformed into the new home of the Atlanta Braves. I drove past it at least once a week, but rarely even noticed it anymore.

Back home, Noah laid Zach in his bed for a nap, while I looked over the last bit of work I hadn't prepared for submission. I made a few minor changes, and decided it was all good enough. When I left my bedroom, glad to finally be done with this week's work, I found Noah and Zach packing clothes in a backpack.

"What's all this for?" I asked.

"Oh, we're just getting everything ready for when Zach goes over to Tom and Sarah's tonight," Noah said, looking at me, and grinning.

My eyes locked with his, and I was drawn into his shimmering eyes. The golden twinkle always had that effect on me, as if I was being exposed to his soul in such a pure form that I was mesmerized. It took a moment before I could blink, let alone respond.

"But why does Zach need a change of clothes?" I finally asked.

"Well, I wasn't expecting you to come in while we were choosing, and it was supposed to be part of the surprise, but he's not just going over while we go eat. He's spending the night, and we're going to pick him up tomorrow morning."

He stood up, walked over to me, and wrapped his arms around my waist, looking directly in my eyes. Now his eyes weren't just sparkling. It was like golden fireworks were bursting forth from his irises.

"You know what that means, right?" I heard him ask, as I felt my entire body being drawn into his eyes.

"Hrrrrmph?" It may not have been my most eloquent moment, but the connection I felt to his soul had made forming words impossible.

Noah chucked and blinked, pulling me out of my trance.

"It means tonight it's just you and me," he said, before he leaned close to my ear and seductively whispered, "all night long."

I instantly felt myself getting aroused at the possibilities that the night had in store for us. I kissed him passionately, and I'm sure he noticed the effect his words had on me.

Leaving them to the packing, I went down the basement, and dug around until I found the stuffed penguin. It was a mess down there, and I knew at some point we'd have to go through all the crap and clean it out. I had ideas for us to better use the space, but that would have to wait until I got the chance to talk to Noah. I spent a little time rearranging and stacking boxes, but didn't bother digging through them.

When I came back upstairs, stuffed animal in my arms, Noah was on his laptop and Zach was sitting on the floor playing with his stuffed panda. He wasn't quite as excited to receive the stuffed penguin as he had been the panda the day before, but he still let out an excited squeal and briefly forgot about the panda. Before long, he was actively playing with both.

Noah was putting the finishing touches on the essay for his application, so I busied myself cleaning around the house. Despite the new addition of a young boy, the house was already pretty clean, and I couldn't help but wonder if Noah had been cleaning while I was doing work, and I just hadn't noticed.

Around 5:30, the three of us walked down the street, and I'm sure we were a sight to see – a young boy carrying a backpack overflowing with toys and two grown men, each carrying an oversized stuffed animal. Zach was clearly excited to spend the night with Tom and Sarah, but his separation anxiety was bubbling just beneath the surface. I made a big deal of giving him the prepaid phone I bought for him less than a week ago, but told him to only call in an emergency. After several hugs, kisses, and promises we'd pick him up in the morning, Noah and I were finally able to escape.

When we returned home, Noah told me, "Go shower, and make yourself as pretty as possible. I want you to be my arm candy tonight."

"Ok, but where the hell are you taking me?"

"It's a surprise," he responded, kissing me gently on the lips, "but just think of it this way, I'm going to dress as sexy as I can to be your arm candy as well."

"Ooh, I like that thought," I said, after sharing another kiss with my boyfriend.