Clueless Camping - 8. Planned and unplanned meetings

After our intense sex and prolonged kissing we only managed to cuddle and talk a short while before we drifted off to sleep. I was woken by an unfamiliar noise and Jacob swearing next to me as he jumped out of bed. He pulled on his jeans and stormed out of the bedroom, and this was when I realized the noise was a combination of the doorbell and knocking.

I squinted at his alarm clock, which said 7:30, and I understood why he was pissed. Why on earth would someone, presumably a neighbor, come knocking this early? I heard the door being opened, and Jacob was already grumbling in Danish “Hvorfor i helvede..[1]” He broke off, but after a second his voice came back tense, angry and loud. “What the fuck are you doing here?” Before my sleep-riddled brain could draw the correct conclusion, a familiar and dreaded voice answered.

“I want to see my son and talk some sense into him. Where is he? Russell? Russell, come out here!” My name and the last words were almost a shout.

My whole body started shaking, and I didn’t know whether to dive under the duvet to hide, or jump out of bed and get ready to run. For all the love and determination to stand by my man I was simply not ready to confront my father.

My boyfriend knew and tried to get rid of him. “He doesn’t want to see you. Now get out of my flat, or I’ll...”

The deeper voice calmly interrupted, “Or you’ll what? Throw me out? I doubt you’ll be able to do so, and violence against me in front of a witness won’t help you, if I press charges. All I want is to talk to my son in private, and I’m not leaving until I’ve seen Russell.”

I knew Father well enough to realize there was no escape. Somehow I managed to force my body out of bed, into the clothes from yesterday, and towards the door of the bedroom. Jacob came in to get me as I was almost there, and he hugged me hard. “Don’t worry, Russell, I’m not leaving you alone with him, and he can’t force you to go with him.” He grabbed a shirt, and I waited for him to get it on.

Having my fiancé’s arm around my shoulder, as I confronted my father for the first time in months, helped reduce my fear, but I was still a nervous wreck. He stood in the middle of the living room, and by the door was another man in a suit, who apparently had come to witness the proceedings. I tried to keep my shoulders back and my chin up in defiance, but I knew it was no more than a poor act.

Father was impeccably dressed, clean-shaven and alert. His dark brown hair was as short and strict as ever, but did his temples have more of the distinguished grey and white flecks now? Had his strong, sharp features been augmented by extra lines across his brow and by his eyes? I wasn’t sure, but then I rarely stared at my father’s face, preferring to avoid his attention.

He exuded calm confidence, and as always his personality dominated the room. The broad shoulders, the body kept trim by tennis and gym visits, the strong hands which had never been raised against his family, but neither had been used for kind or approving touches, except in rare cases. The green eyes, which Evan and I had inherited from him, held the cold, evaluating, and disapproving look which I’d encountered many times in my life.

His greeting was polite, but no more. “Good morning, Russell. I’m pleased to see you looking healthy.”

“Good morning, Father.” It was no different from any other breakfast encounter at home, and it was as if the changes during months away from his influence instantly drained from me.

“I would like you to come with me for a private talk, but if you prefer, we can have it here.” He was a shrewd negotiator; I remember him saying ‘always offer an unacceptable alternative to make what you want seem a better idea. This way your opponents will feel they’ve gained an advantage when choosing.’

My effort to escape was pathetic. “I’m not sure we have anything to talk about, Father.”

He stayed calm, reasonable and logical in his ‘negotiation’. “I think you at least owe me an explanation for why you ran away from home and have refused to communicate with your parents for almost three months. We’ve been worried about you, Russell. This sort of behavior isn’t like you at all. I expected you to be more sensible and considerate.” His face and tone perfectly conveyed the ‘caring but disappointed father’ image which used to keep me in line.

I kept my mouth shut on the urge to start apologizing and explaining. I wanted to turn around and bury my face in Jacob’s chest, but my father would see it as a sign of weakness. So I just stood there, waiting for his next move. My boyfriend stayed silent too, and I was half grateful he let me be in charge, and half annoyed he didn’t help me out.

Finally, my father sighed, “In any case, I’d like to discuss your choices and the consequences for your future. I suggest your cousin and my PA leave; maybe stay in the kitchen, while we talk.”

No way, no fucking way! I stiffened my spine, “I have no secrets from my fiancé, Father, so you may as well talk in front of him. But your man can wait outside.” The arm around my shoulder squeezed quickly in recognition of my bravery.

Father refused to rise to the bait. “I’m not concerned about what I have to say. But I want you to be able to talk freely, so I can be sure that your responses are not influenced or dictated by whatever hold he has on you. If your decisions and convictions cannot bear closer scrutiny without being propped up by him, how can I respect them?”

Oh, my father was clever and convincing as always, and the worst part was he honestly believed what he was saying. Over the years he had told us about cases where his employees in the bank, or opponents in business transactions, had managed to convince him by being rational, strong-minded, and organized in their delivery of arguments. He respected people who could hold their own with him. Needless to say, I’d never been able to, but Evan did on occasion.

Jacob’s body tensed and I knew instinctively that he was utterly insulted by the accusation of me being his mindless puppet. Before I could react, he tried to refute what my father was insinuating. “Russell is perfectly able to tell you the truth whether I’m present or not!”

Father barely raised an eyebrow, but the scorn in his voice was obvious, “That statement would be more trustworthy if my son had spoken it for himself.”

I wanted to scream, or even better to run away from this situation. If I asked Jacob to leave us, I would side with my father and indirectly support his claim of me being under my boyfriend’s thumb. If I insisted on Jacob being present, Father would pretend my arguments had no value or were suspect. Well, it couldn’t be helped, since I simply was unable to face him without the support of the man I loved.

“I’m sorry, Father, but if you want to talk with me, it will have to be with Jacob present; and without this guy.” I waved towards the man by the door; he shrugged and left when my father nodded to him.

I wanted to sit down, but I wasn’t going to unless my father did. I had spent too much time seated on a chair in his office while he stood or paced and lectured me. I knew better than to give him the advantage of looming over me. Fortunately Jacob took charge as the host.

“Why don’t you sit down?” He gestured at the single chair and led me toward the sofa. My father hesitated, but had no choice but to sit, if he wanted us to listen to him. Jacob’s body language clearly indicated we wouldn’t be seated first or separated.

Father didn’t waste time, but got directly to the point. “Russell, I’d like you to reconsider your choice of life companion. I won’t object if you want to explore your wild side for a bit, but you need to think about the advantages of falling in love with and marrying a woman eventually. You’ve always wanted children, and even if society is more accepting of the gay life style today, there is still a lot of prejudice. Don’t throw away the chance of a normal life by acting rashly or because you want to be like your twin.”

We just sat there staring at him, and I finally managed to say the words I would have sworn were impossible to utter just a short time ago, “Father, I’m gay. I won’t be marrying a woman, ever.”

To his credit he didn’t even flinch, but my statement didn’t stop him. “Are you sure? Have you tried to have sex with a woman?”

I shook my head, but realized I had to make my point clear. But there was no way I could explain this instinctual knowledge of myself, and I turned to Jacob. He sighed and tried to put it politely, “It’s not a choice, you know. We can’t just switch from loving men to suddenly being attracted to women.”

“Why not? I did.”

WHAT! The silence after this statement went on and on while I tried to get my brain to start working again.

“Listen to me, Russell. Your mother is the only woman I’ve loved, and I mean with my heart, soul and body. We were both virgins when we met, but not completely inexperienced. As you know, I went to an all-boys boarding school, and when you have a huge group of hormonal teenage boys secluded from female company, it’s natural to turn to each other.” My father didn’t even sound embarrassed with what he was revealing.

“I’m convinced most men will explore their sexuality in this way, unless the taboo is too strong. Naturally, intercourse is forbidden, since the purpose of this is procreation, as you know. Oh, the Church frowns on recreational sex, but dogma can never win over the urges of teenagers, especially males. Mutual masturbation is harmless, and a mouth is a mouth. But no matter how attractive my schoolmates were, I always knew I’d fall in love with a woman.”

He caught my attention with raised eyebrows and a gesture.

“Can you honestly tell me you’ve never been aroused by the thought or the touch of a woman?”

Damn, my reaction to Kathrine’s pert bottom in my lap came to mind.

“Being with an older and more experienced man is probably exciting and fun, and at your age gratifying your sexual urges seems very important. But…"

He hesitated like he was in deep thought.

"But, you haven’t given him your virginity, have you?"

I was stunned; was I so easy for him to read? Almost beyond my power to control, I slowly shook my head.

"Yes, I knew it, son. You are a good Catholic boy after all, and I’ve always been proud of you for being sensible and able to listen to rational arguments.” I couldn’t help it; my father saying he was proud of me and looking at me with approval touched the place in my soul which thirsted for his love and acceptance.

His voice projected fatherly guidance and admonishment. “Don’t mistake lust for love, or squander your virginity on the first person who managed to attract you. You’re still very young, Russell, too young to commit yourself. Don’t do something you’ll regret later.”

He held out his hand as if asking me to take it, and I yearned to do so. My father hadn’t held my hand in a caring manner for more than ten years, not since he began treating Evan and me as ‘no longer little kids’. He would pat our shoulders or shake our hands to express satisfaction, but even those touches were rare. Of course, this made them even more valuable and cherished.

“Russell, you need to give up these silly notions and grow up. You’ll be a man soon, with good chances of having a wife and family of your own. Later in life you’ll look back at this summer as nothing but a pleasant memory.” Father always made me feel inadequate if I didn’t see his point or agree with his opinion. But this time I just felt like throwing up at the thought of Jacob and his love being nothing more than a memory.

My lover didn’t even sound angry, just resigned. “You may refuse to believe it, but being gay is nothing like being bi-curious or even bisexual, which is probably where you are. My first experience was with a girl at the age of fourteen, and while I had an orgasm, it left me in no doubt of my orientation. I have many friends, who are girls, and several of them are very attractive, but I’ve never felt anything for them, not love and not lust. Nor will I ever.”

Jacob took my hand. “I don’t know if Russell is gay or bisexual, and I don’t care. We love each other. Sex and age and opportunity have nothing to do with it. I fell in love with him before I even knew whether he would be interested in me. Russell will make his own choices, now and in the future. I’ll love him and support him for as long as he wants me, and I’ll let him go, if he decides that’s best. All I want is for him to be happy. Can you honestly say the same?”

Of course, my father ignored him completely and kept staring at me. I felt like a mouse caught in the hypnotic gaze of a snake, but luckily this small rodent had a way to escape. The love I heard in Jacob’s voice anchored me, and his warm hand made me feel safe. I was happy to follow the example of my beloved twin.

“I’m gay, and I’m madly in love with this wonderful guy at my side. I hope you can find a way to accept me and Evan, and rejoice in the fact that we have been as lucky as you in finding love and devotion.”

We just sat there and looked at each other. My father’s face was completely impassive, and as usual I had no idea what he was thinking. He finally stood up, and we did too.

“Well, I guess there’s nothing more to be said. Goodbye, Russell.” He turned away and walked to the door, opened it and left. I caught a glimpse of the other guy waiting outside, before the door shut and we were alone.

I tried to think of something to say or do, but my mind was blank. My face must have shown some of the turmoil lurking just below the numb surface, because Jacob suddenly scooped me up and carried me back to bed. He undressed both of us completely, got us under the duvet and held me tight. He didn’t try to get me to talk, just caressed my hair and my back, whispering words of reassurance and love, and kissed my face and my slack lips. I closed my eyes, which burned with unshed tears, and focused on the scent of my lover, and at some point I fell asleep.

***

I woke around nine thirty with a dreadful need to piss. Slipping away from the arm my boyfriend had on my waist, I rolled out of bed and rushed to the bathroom and relieved myself. I was groggy with sleep and went back to bed, hoping for a nice cuddle. Jacob was awake and readily put his arm around me when I snuggled up to him. We were both naked and the proximity of his hot body soon produced the inevitable reaction. However, to my surprise he didn’t initiate anything when I poked his thigh with my hard-on.

“Are you OK, Russ?”

“Hmm, yeah, I’m fine.” My fingers started to explore his muscular chest. Suddenly I realized something.

“Hey, you called me Russ, last night and just now. Only Evan calls me that.”

Jacob kissed the top of my head, “Do you mind? I can go back to Russell.”

“No, I like it; particularly when we’re intimate.” I pinched his nipple and poked his thigh again to hint at my desire. No reaction. Not like my boyfriend. Was he getting bored with me? Or rather what we had been doing?

“So, ehm, what are our plans for today, Jacob? We’re getting our rings, right? And did you want to go and see your aunt before we pick up Evan and Chris?”

His reply seemed a bit hesitant. “Yes, that was the plan, but there’s no hurry, we can relax in bed for a bit.”

I had no objections. “It’s nice to sleep late and cuddle, and I like this comfortable bed.” Jacob was silent and I lifted my head to peek at him. His eyes were closed, but he didn’t look completely relaxed. I decided to try and cheer him up.

“Hey, guess what. I had this silly dream where my father tried to convince me to stop loving you and marry a woman. As if that’s ever going to happen! I’m never going to love anyone but you, Jacob.”

My boyfriend’s eyes flew open, and his intense blue gaze showed shock and worry. His arm around me tensed, and his voice was strained. “Russell, love…”

I felt all the blood drain from my head, “Oh shit… it… it wasn’t a dream, was it?”

Jacob shook his head, and the next thing I knew I was on my back and his concerned face was hovering above me. “Russell, talk to me. Don’t shut me out please. Tell me how you feel, let me help you.”

I tried once more to get my brain to embrace the thought that my father had rejected me utterly and completely. His goodbye had all the finality of a clean and irrevocable break. In his eyes my love for Jacob meant I was no longer his son. Why would he react like that when he apparently didn’t feel too strongly about the supposed sinful aspect of man-to-man sex? I’d assumed – like my mom – that the main reason for Father’s anger over Evan and I being gay was his Catholic faith. But it didn’t seem…

A tap on my nose brought me out of my daze.

“Russell, please, you’re scaring me.”

Moist blue eyes sought mine, and I couldn’t look away. I wanted to say I was OK, but when I opened my mouth, all that came out was a low wail, which led to sobbing and gasping for breath. Once I’d lost control, I couldn’t stop, and I clung onto Jacob, who pulled me up against his chest and held me while I cried.

Gradually he soothed me with caresses, words, hugs and kisses, until I was calm enough to talk. Jacob gently wiped my face and kissed my lips. He looked at me expectantly, and I tried to embrace his stoic attitude, but without much luck. My first outburst of “My father hates me” was not met with denial, but by a clever observation.

“Perhaps, but I have the feeling he hates the fact that you and Evan have taken control over your own lives, and that your paths differ from what he wants. If he really hated you, he wouldn’t have been so calm. However, I’m fairly sure he detests me. Not that I care, since I can’t stand him.”

I could see his point, but tried to object, “But when Evan came out to him, he was furious and shouted at him.”

Jacob shrugged, “You’ll have to ask Evan what he said, but remember they were already arguing when your twin dropped the bomb, and I guess Evan would object fiercely to being dictated to.”

The implication that I had rarely objected in the past hovered unspoken between us, but I ignored it. I giggled, “Yeah, you can say that again. He used to bitch about it all the time; how Father was a bossy control freak, with values from the previous century, including regarding his progeny as property. Evan said his thoughts were his own, and he would pursue the future he wanted.”

Jacob’s expression said ‘told you so’, and I gave in. “You’re probably right. And yes, it does make me feel better to think that Father doesn’t hate me. That he’s just bitter about the fact that we got out of his clutches. I can definitely see him resenting that he no longer has any influence over our lives.”

“I’ll have to discuss this with Evan,” I continued, but then a thought stuck me. “Jacob, do you think my father might turn up at the airport when Evan and my mom arrive, or even worse, go to your parents’ house next Saturday?”

My fiancé didn’t look worried at the prospect. “If he does, we’ll deal with it. I’m sure he won’t make a scene, but in any case our mums are up to the challenge. And so are Chris and I.”

I smiled, pleased that he’d gotten the same impression as I, about his mom being a protective she-bear.

Jacob kissed me and suggested I take a shower first. I was reluctant to let go of him, and he led me into the bathroom and sat on the toilet and talked while I had a quick rinse. He jumped in for his own bath while I dried myself, and I waited for him until he was ready to go back to the bedroom.

He picked out a fresh pair of jeans and one of the nice T-shirts we had bought, and suggested I wear them. I acquiesced, found briefs and socks, and got dressed. Jacob wore a dark blue T-shirt, which emphasized his eyes, and I once again admired my handsome boyfriend.

The whole time Jacob kept me talking about how I felt concerning my father’s surprise visit. Anger, hurt, fear, shock, defeat, upset, loss, sorrow; he made me express them and acknowledge that I had a right to feel this way. But he also led me to face some of the good emotions: how safe I’d felt in his presence, how much his support of me meant, how important my love for him was, how proud I was to have followed in the path of my twin and stood up for myself and my future with Jacob.

By the end of it I knew I still had some way to go before I was over the hurt of my father’s rejection. But the joy of Jacob telling me how grateful and proud he was that I had declared my love for him and chosen him in defiance of my father’s wishes completely outweighed any other feelings. It was obviously an important moment for him.

“I was surprised, but delighted when you declared your love in front of my parents, Russell. But I was even prouder of you today! I’ve worried about you being able to cope with all the huge upheavals in your life, most of them the consequences of becoming my boyfriend. I’m so grateful you keep choosing me and our love and a future together. I promise I’ll do my best to make you happy forever. I love you so much, Russ.” I’ll let you imagine the kiss we shared after this statement! Getting my breath back took a while.

After a quick breakfast we decided to check our emails and Facebook before we went into town. I logged onto Facebook and proudly declared myself to be in a relationship with Jacob. I copied his post about ‘the most wonderful vacation of my life and having met my future husband’ and included the picture of us together. We agreed to omit any reference to our plans for the next few months, before we’d actually left Denmark. But I did mention looking forward to seeing Evan.

Jacob spent a short time on Facebook and with his emails, and I only had one message from Charlotte, which I decided to leave till later. But then we started looking at flights from Copenhagen to Singapore and how to organize our travel. We soon decided it was too time-consuming to plan everything now, and it would be much easier to take things one step at a time. We’d be able to go almost everywhere on tourist visas which could be applied for online, and it was easy to book flights on the Internet too. We settled for buying two one-way tickets to Singapore on Sunday night of the following weekend.

Jacob sent the booking details to his mom with a request to forward it to her twin brothers and tell him their email addresses so we could contact them directly. He logged off, stood, grabbed my hand and pulled me up.

“Now that’s sorted; let’s get to the most important part of the day. Are you ready to buy our rings, Russ?”

I nodded and threw my arms around his neck. “Yes I am. I love you, and I want us to have the sapphire and diamond rings.”

He laughed and lifted me up to swing me around, “We’ll try them on, but let’s look at other rings too. We have plenty of time to decide.” I was kissed and put down, and we went out to the door to put on shoes and our summer jackets.

“I’ve arranged for us to be at faster Helena’s garden plot after four o’clock this afternoon. I’m guessing Evan and Chris will need a nap, but otherwise they can come with us. If they want to rest, we’ll pick them up for a meal around seven. If they aren’t too jet-lagged, we can go dancing for a couple of hours tonight. How does that sound, Russ?”

I recalled how I’d taken a nap after arriving in Denmark and how tired I’d been for the first couple of days. “I think it’s a good plan. I need to get some of those ‘klippekort’[2] which can be used on the metro and on busses. Then I can go to their hotel tomorrow morning and spend time with Evan while you study. And I can show them how to get into town and where your apartment is.”

“Our apartment, Russ!” Jacob grinned at me as we walked out on the sidewalk. I tried to smile back, but my eyes were darting this way and that, worried about seeing my father again. When I couldn’t spot him, I relaxed, and my thoughts returned to my fiancé’s statement. A much nicer place for them to be…

Jacob may have objected, but he knew what I meant. It was his place even if I lived here for the moment. But it set me off daydreaming about having our own place in the future. Something with a studio for me to draw and paint, and a study with lots of space for books and our computers, a nice kitchen where we could cook together. Oh, and a bathroom with a shower big enough for both of us next to a bedroom with a huge bed, where…

“Læsø”; the whisper in my ear was followed by a kiss on my nose. I blushed crimson when I realized we were in the middle of Knippelsbro, and I was sporting a semi-erection which created an obvious bulge in my jeans. Luckily, Jacob was standing in front of me, so no one could see it. Apparently, I’d walked all the way here while imagining the home I wanted for us. Fuck, I really needed to stop doing this.

“Sorry, I was thinking of how I would like our future home to be. I’d just gotten to the bedroom.” Jacob burst out laughing and I joined him. Thankfully I managed to get my boner to subside before we walked on, still hand in hand. Fifteen minutes later we entered the jeweler’s shop and were immediately greeted by the friendly gentleman who had helped us the day before.

“Welcome back. You look as if you’ve come to a decision?” He walked with us to the counter we’d used before and waited politely for a reply.

Jacob was just as forthright, “We’d like to try on the sapphire and diamond rings, and the titanium rings. If you have anything else in the same price range which you can recommend, we’d like to see those as well.”

The jeweler didn’t show any sign of greed at the hint of us being ready to spend a lot more than we’d said yesterday. He just unlocked the cabinet and brought out a tray on which he had collected the five sets of rings we had chosen as our favorites.

“Why don’t you try them on and discuss how they feel, while I fetch a few other rings which you might like?” At Jacob’s nod he left the tray on the counter and walked over to a display stand on the far wall.

“Why isn’t he worried we might steal the rings?” I asked as my fiancé picked up his favorite set and handed me the smaller ring.

“Well, both he and the shop assistant are watching us, plus there is a camera in the corner. And I left my name and phone number with him yesterday to reserve these rings. So I guess he feels pretty confident that we’re cool customers.”

Oh. That made sense. I slid the ring on my left finger and held my hand out to inspect it. Jacob had put the larger ring on, but he was watching me. He took my hand and held both of them up near my face.

“Yes, just as I thought. They match your sparkling green eyes beautifully. Absolutely perfect.” He brought my hand to his lips and kissed my fingers, then let go of it and shifted the ring to his right hand. He had to work a bit harder to get it on, but once the band was past the second knuckle it fit precisely.

I moved my ring too, and as the jeweler had predicted, it was a little bit tight on my right hand. But I actually liked the feeling and decided to forego having it sized up. In any case, if I needed it in six months’ time, we could have it done then.

“How do they feel?” The soft question of the jeweler brought us back to the present and I almost giggled as I realized we’d been locked in a loving gaze, probably both thinking of the time where we would wear the white gold bands as wedding rings.

Jacob was first to react, “Mine is perfect as it is, but you were correct in saying it’s a better fit on my right hand.” They both looked at me and I responded shyly.

“It’s not too tight right now, but of course this could change. But we can always have it sized up if necessary, can’t we?”

The jeweler nodded, “Yes, it’s easily done as long as you don’t have an inscription which fills the whole inner circle.”

“For now we just want our names, and we’ll add the date when we get married.” Jacob said and I nodded.

“Why don’t you try the other rings on, and I’ve brought three more sets for you to look at.” We took off the diamond and sapphire rings and went through the motions of considering various alternatives, but I knew we’d end up choosing the designer rings. Jacob liked the idea that they were unique, and the jeweler readily agreed that they matched my eyes. He even suggested I look in a mirror, but I declined.

“The only mirror I need is the one telling me I’m beautiful in your eyes, Jacob. I want these rings too, please.” I wasn’t at all surprised to be kissed in the middle of the shop, and our helpful friend only gave us a delighted smile when we separated. I guess he was happy to sell the expensive rings to us, but I’m certain he also genuinely enjoyed seeing our affection.

We made arrangement for our names to be inscribed, Jacob in my ring and Russell in his. My fiancé had explained this was the Danish tradition, and I liked the idea.

The jeweler promised they would be ready in less than a week’s time, maybe even Tuesday, and said we would get a discount on any subsequent inscriptions. The sizing of my ring would be free as long as we brought the original handwritten receipt where he’d noted the offer.

Jacob paid with his credit card, and I tried not to wince at the price. Even though I had to divide by five or six to get from the amount in kroner to dollars, it still felt exorbitant. ‘Divide by fifty years to get the real price,’ I reminded myself.

Jacob was beside himself with joy as we left the shop and soon infected me with his exuberance. “I can’t wait to put that ring on your finger, Russ. I’m glad you liked it too, and I promise you can choose the next time we buy jewelry together. Maybe we could get an earring each or a chain with a pendant?”

“Easy now, you extravagant Dane! No more shopping for jewelry for a while. My engagement ring is all I need. I can’t wait to show Evan. I’m glad you thought of taking photos of them.” Jacob laughed and dragged me into a small café to celebrate with sandwiches and hard cider (as substitute for champagne). We talked about our travel plans until it was time to go to the airport to meet Evan and Chris. Their plane landed at ten past two, but it would take at least half an hour before they got their suitcases and came out.

Nevertheless, we caught a Metro and arrived at two o’clock in case the plane was early. However, it landed as scheduled, and we stood to the left of the exit doors in the arrival hall while keeping an eye on the monitors showing their luggage waiting time. Jacob bought a cup of coffee, but I was much too anxious. As the time approached where they could pick up their suitcases and appear at any moment, I got so impatient I kept shifting from one foot to the other, breathing fast.

“Calm down, Russell. You’ll start hyperventilating, if you don’t relax.” Jacob’s admonition was in vain, because just then the sliding doors opened to reveal Evan in front of a tall dark-haired man who was wheeling two suitcases.

“Evan!” My exclamation was breathless and squeaky, but did the trick. With a high pitched scream my twin turned to the right and launched himself directly at me. I knew what would happen and braced myself.

“Russell!” Evan slammed into me and hugged me hard. “Oh Russ, I’ve missed you so much.” I hugged him back and for a few seconds nothing else mattered but the fact I was finally together with my beloved twin. My feelings overwhelmed me, and I started crying. This set off Evan, and the next couple of minutes we made a spectacle of ourselves, with Jacob and Chris trying to herd us out of the way of other travelers while we bawled our eyes out and refused to let go of one another.

Afterwards, Evan and I managed to reconstruct the meeting of our better halves from the snippets we caught and by questioning Chris. It went sort of like this:

“Hi, I’m Chris, nice to meet you.” Handshake.

“Jacob. Oh fuck, they’ve broken down.”

“Let’s get out of the way.”

“Why don’t you take the luggage over to that wall? I’ll try to calm them down.”

“Ha, good luck with that!” Chris parked the suitcases and came back.

“Oh man, I just knew this would happen. Evan has been driving me crazy for the whole trip.”

Jacob rolled his eyes, “I guess Russell isn’t the only one who freaks out at times. Does Evan do the fainting trick?”

“No, but he has this tendency to run around in circles like a headless chicken. It’s actually sort of adorable, especially when he chatters like a chipmunk on speed at the same time.”

“Sounds fun. Russell sort of zones out and starts shaking. Then he either passes out or breaks into tears. So I get scary or sad zombie, and you get the crazy chatterbox chick. But we love them anyway.”

“Absolutely.” At this point they were still trying to get us to move over to the wall by pulling gently. No luck.

“Maybe if we sort of lifted them at the same time and carried them over there?” Jacob suggested.

“Good idea, this is getting embarrassing.”

Evan and I suddenly felt hands grab us around our waists, and we were lifted sideways for several feet and put down next to a wall. This broke our babbling about how good it was to be together again and how much we had to talk about, which had been punctuated by sobs of joy and excitement. We pulled apart slightly, and two pairs of tearful green eyes met. We both remembered where we were and I was delighted to see a blush appear on Evan’s cheeks as my own face heated up.

“Guess our boyfriends got fed up,” Evan giggled. His hand came up to push my hair away from my face.

“Hmmm, sorry about…” My apology was cut short by Evan’s fingers on my lips.

“Oh, no you don’t. I haven’t come all the way to Denmark to listen to you apologizing and blaming yourself for no reason at all. I’m here to spend time with my awesome twin and his hunky fiancé, and to introduce them to my wonderful boyfriend.” He whispered in my ear, “Let’s give them the adorable face.”

“Anything you say, Evan. I’m just so happy to see you.” I hugged him once more before letting go. As one we turned towards Jacob and Chris and gave them our cute twin treatment. The one we practiced and perfected in front of our mirror from age six to sixteen. The one which always caused assorted aunts and other females to ohh and ahh and give in to Evan’s requests for treats, cash, or whatever. We even managed to get into an R-rated movie at the age of fifteen because the ticket booth girl couldn’t resist us.

Automatically, Evan’s right hand found my left one, we tilted our heads inwards, fluttered our lashes at the two men in front of us, and smiled shyly and appealingly. The effect was instantaneous. The eyes of our boyfriends got huge, and the same wonderfully doting expression spread over both their faces. A small chorus of aawww and ohhh made them jump, and that’s when Evan and I realized we had fairly large group of spectators enjoying the situation. Ooops.

Jacob and Chris developed the same determined face, stepped over, and grabbed a suitcase and a twin each. They marched us towards the other end of the long Terminal 3 building, while we wiped our eyes and giggled madly. Remarks in Danish and English – mostly positive – trailed our path, especially when I managed to free myself, get hold of Evan, and lead him in front of our disgruntled boyfriends. After all, I knew where the Metro station was.

“Oh, how cute – De har vist savnet hinanden[3] – Such good looking twins – Nej, hvor er de kære[4] – Did you notice? – Nej, se de kønne tvillinger, mon de er modeller[5],” were just a few of them. The last comment made Jacob snort behind me, and as we got out of range, I heard him translate for Chris.

“She wondered if our handsome twin boys were models.”

Chris started laughing. “Oh yeah, I know someone who would love to have those two naughty boys model for him. But that’s not going to happen.”

I glanced over at Evan, who blushed and rolled his eyes. “Chris has a good friend who takes erotic photos. Nude male ones, you know. He has asked us to pose together more than once, but my boyfriend is too much of a prude. When Greg sees you, he’ll beg to do us jointly, but I have the feeling Jacob will agree with Chris.”

“You bet.” The curt exclamation from behind confirmed my twin’s opinion, but in fact I had no intention of posing nude for anyone, so Jacob’s refusal suited me fine. Although, come to think of it, sketching Evan might be fun. Again my fingers were itching to pick up pencils and start drawing.

Evan and I stood with our arms around each other on the Metro station platform, while Jacob stamped the multiple ride ticket four times. This would take all of us to Femøren station, where the hotel is, and later Jacob and I back to his apartment. There was already a train waiting at the platform, and we all entered the front, since we knew this would be closest to the exit at Femøren, and most passengers boarded at the back, nearest to the airport.

Evan and I stood to one side of the train doors, and our boyfriends were opposite with the suitcases. My brother didn’t need to prompt me to repeat the cute twin treatment, it happened automatically every time we glanced over at our lovers. Fuck, they looked so handsome, both tall, with broad shoulders and classical masculine faces; Chris with dark hair and intense chocolate brown eyes, Jacob Viking blond with deep blue eyes. The flutters of our hearts translated into adoring puppy eyes and shy smiles.

Chris was the first to react. He shook his head and folded his arms across his chest. “Will you stop that, Evan!” When the only answer was a suppressed giggle from my twin, and an increase in cute appeal from us, he rolled his eyes.

“Whatever you two are trying to achieve, we’re not going to be persuaded.” Jacob looked as if he wasn’t sure about this, but he tried to copy the scowl of the man at his side.

Moments later we arrived at the station and got out. We let the few other people precede us down the stairs, and then Chris grabbed hold of Evan. He gave him a tender hug and kiss, making my twin look up at him.

“What’s with the cute puppy face, Evan? I haven’t seen that before.”

My twin giggled, “That’s because it only happens when I’m with Russ. It’s our secret weapon.”

Chris let go of him and picked up the suitcase. “Well, thank god for that. Otherwise, I might have even more difficulty saying no to you and keep you under control. Jeez, Evan. Please don’t do that again.” Well, Chris obviously didn’t know Evan well enough. A declaration like that almost guaranteed a repeat performance at the earliest opportunity. The twinkle in my twin’s eyes as he caught my gaze confirmed my guess, and I bit my lip to prevent a smirk.

The dark-haired hunk took my brother’s hand, and they followed me and Jacob, who had picked up the other suitcase. Once we had reached the road, Chris and Jacob could roll the suitcases again, but this time they kept firm hold of us. Jacob chuckled, as we led the way to the hotel.

“Well, I’m glad I wasn’t the only one to feel a bit overwhelmed. I can vaguely recall seeing you two doing a number on my mum and faster Helena with that trick five years ago, but you never tried it on me before. Bloody hell, Russ, you and Evan are something else! That was almost scary. You two are simply too cute to resist when Evan ramps up the twin charm.”

A short while later we were in their hotel room, which had a nice bathroom and a comfortable-looking double bed. Even though Evan didn’t want to let me go, he agreed when Chris suggested they needed a shower and a nap. We promised to pick them up at seven thirty and left. We had already agreed not to say anything about my father and the mystery man (private detective, personal assistant, or whatever he was), but I know Jacob had kept an eye out for them at the airport.

Walking back to the station I talked excitedly about seeing Evan again. “I’m so happy he’s finally here. I can’t wait to spend time with him. Chris seems to be a great guy; he said Evan and I could be together on our own all Monday since he needs to do some work anyway.” This had been the reaction to me telling Evan about Jacob’s need to study, while we were waiting for their keys in the hotel reception. In the elevator up to their room, Chris had suggested the plan, which earned him my gratitude. Now we just needed to find a good place for a private talk.

“Where should we take them for dinner tonight? I forgot to ask Evan what kind of food Chris likes. Should we find a place near your apartment? Then we can go back there for coffee, if they don’t want to go out dancing. But do we have time to clean up your place before we go and see you aunt? Not that it’s dirty, just a bit untidy with all my stuff lying around. Though I guess that’s mostly in the bedroom. But I do want to show Evan the clothes we bought.”

The recollection of my new club clothes, including the tight shorts and the G-string, made me blush and shut up. Jacob burst out laughing and pulled me in for a hug and a kiss. We were waiting for the next Metro train, and there was no one else on the platform.

“Don’t worry, Russ. We’ll find a nice restaurant, and then we can go back to our place afterwards and see if they are up for clubbing. But tomorrow is probably better for going out. It’s only three-thirty so we can tidy up before we visit Faster Helena. We may even have time for a bit of fun as well.” A heated kiss followed, and I wanted to kick him for giving me an erection just as the train arrived. I had to use my jacket to conceal the evidence, and my annoying boyfriend just smirked.

Well, he had better deliver on his promise – or I might resort to ‘adorable face’ tactics!