Cards on the Table - 62. Chapter 62 An Ace up his Sleeve

Cards on the Table

Chapter 62

“Where are you going, and what are you doing with that?”

“Thought I’d put this in your truck. It’s in the underground, remember?”

Kendall stood up from packing his modest collection of vintage record albums. “I remember, but why are you taking a gym bag to Beauty now? I seriously doubt we’ll have time to work out over the next few days, and you’re supposed to be packing up the rest of our closet.”

Michael sighed, and then grinned. “It’s what I’m doing, and I’ve made good progress, but I didn’t know what box to put these things in.”

“What things, and why are you looking like that?”

“Remember those butt plugs I ordered that we didn’t use, because only the real me would do?” Michael’s grin became Cheshire-like.

“Oh crap, yeah. I forgot about those. Say no more. Good idea. I don’t want Mom unpacking something like that. We’d never live it down.”

“Uh huh. I could just picture her face, and of course I’d have to tell her you ordered them.”

“You wouldn’t!” Kendall glared, and it was only partly in jest.

The amusement slipped from Michael’s face. “Babe, she’s my mom. But don’t worry. I’m protecting you from that embarrassment.”

“Oh, you are, are you? So very thoughtful of you.”

Michael ignored the sarcasm, and the grin was back. “I know, right? I’ll put it behind the back seat, and this is the one with the lock. So, why are you taking those”—he gestured to the albums—“when you never listen to them?”

Kendall looked down at the scattered records, again musing about why he’d started this collection in the first place, and then over to the old, unusable turntable. “Why are we keeping those”—he nodded toward the gym bag—“since we haven’t used them either?”

“Oh. Should I toss them?” Michael’s sudden confusion was evident.

Kendall regrouped and smiled. “Heck no. I was pointing out just because we don’t use something, or haven’t yet, doesn’t mean we should get rid of them.”

“Is something wrong, Deuce?”

“No… I don’t know… maybe.” Wincing as he saw Michael’s concern, he looked down. “There’s a lot of memories here.”

“Here, as in the albums, or here as in the apartment?”

“Both.”

“And…?”

His eyes lifted. “And, I was remembering a time when this old music meant something to me. Some of these are copies of ones my mom used to play every second Saturday when my dad was at work. She’d listen to them while she spent the whole day cleaning the house, from one end to the other. Not that I could ever see why it needed it, because she cleaned all week too.”

“You do the same thing, Babe... go into cleaning mode.”

“I do?”

Michael nodded, but stayed silent.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right, but not like she did. My mom would even pull the dryer out so she could clean behind it, and I’ve never done that in the whole time I’ve been here.”

“Maybe it was her therapy?”

As soon as those words left Michael’s mouth, Kendall saw what he’d never seen before. It became clear as the sound of a bell; she was so relaxed for the days that followed. “I believe you’re right, Ace… it probably was. Maybe it was both of ours. I… I used to help her.

“This one for example”—he held up Simple Dreams by Linda Ronstadt—“I know by heart. Every single word of every single song. There are so many… Rita Coolidge, James Taylor, Phoebe Snow, Judy Collins….”

Michael stepped closer. “You never told me any of this before. So, that’s why you bought that old record player and went on those searches through thrift shops after you moved in here?”

“Yeah, that’s the reason,” he answered softly, finishing with a sigh as his mind drifted backwards in time. “It really hit me, with the first place of my own, just how much I missed her. I told myself it didn’t matter how things had changed between me and my family, but it did. I used to look forward to those Saturdays when it was just us in the house, my mom happy, and the music turned up. There was never any tension on those days, and my dad didn’t get home till after eight when he worked the weekend shifts.”

“I’m glad I didn’t know that Carson. He’s come a long way, hasn’t he?”

Kendall sighed once more before he nodded. “It’s all in the past now,” he mused with a voice that felt stronger. “I wanted to hear that sound again, in my home, with the needle scratching, and all that went with it. Mom always put me in charge of changing the records, and she’d call out her choice from wherever she was in the house at the time. I’d go running to change it before the last song ended. It was… fun.”

“I can picture that. Why didn’t you get another stereo… a decent one… when you couldn’t get that piece of crap working?”

“I don’t know, Michael. You’re right that it is a piece of crap. I guess, after ordering two needle cartridges that didn’t fit, I was over it. It was like an omen.”

“And now?”

“Now? I want to keep them, at least till after my parents arrive. Even without listening to them, they still meant something. My mom would probably get a kick out of seeing these, even if their old Telefunken stereo is long gone.”

“I agree, I think she would too. Does she still have her old albums?”

“I didn’t see any sign of them when we were in Chestermere. Just that Bose system. They are probably history too. But, I’ll show these ones to her, and then probably donate them back to one of those thrift stores.”

Michael was peering at him intently. “Why didn’t you tell me any of this before?”

Kendall’s gaze returned to the half-filled box. He’d spent too much time getting caught up in reading the old covers. “Because it was depressing. Having you and your family was enough, and I didn’t want to talk about mine back then. I didn’t feel like I even had one, and I had very few good memories to share.

“I probably would have told you about that one, though, if I’d ever gotten that damn thing working.” He looked up from the album he still held. “And now look. I have them back, and soon they’ll be living in the same house with us. Life is weird, isn’t it?”

“Life is good, Babe. Life is fantastic!” Michael set the gym bag down, took possession of Simple Dreams, and placed it in the box at their feet. Kendall sunk into his outstretched arms. “I’m glad you finally told me what they were about, and you’re right about this apartment having a lot of memories. The best ones of my life happened here, right in this room.” He leaned away enough to show his grin. “Remember?”

Kendall rolled his eyes. “Of course I do. This is where you told me you were in love with me the first time, and where you proposed to me.”

“Yeah, they were great, but I was thinking about the sex.”

Kendall snorted laughter. “Well, there’s a surprise.”

“I like to surprise you,” Michael said, again ignoring the obvious sarcasm. “Seriously, I remember everything about both those two days… and every one in between.”

“You know what, Sunshine? I believe you do. I’m still bowled over by you remembering the date, and the amount of days that have passed since that first time. Pretty impressive.”

“I am impressive, aren’t I?”

Kendall nuzzled into his neck and murmured agreement.

“So, should we keep those things I ordered? It’s not like we need them.”

Kendall pulled back so he could see Michael’s face. “I already said yes.”

“You weren’t very convincing.”

“Sorry… packing up the last of the apartment is weird. I can think of a use for them, though.”

“You can? What?”

“Another time. We have to finish packing.”

“I know, but just tell me what you have in mind.”

Kendall chuckled. “It’s more fun to leave you wondering.”

“That’s just mean, Deuce. Should I put the bag back in the bedroom?” Michael wiggled his eyebrows.

“Ah, aren’t you forgetting the mattress is already in the container?”

“We can have that back here in under a minute. Hell, I can carry it in myself.”

Kendall laughed and planted a short kiss on Michael. “As appealing as that sounds, we’re on a schedule here.”

“It would only take us a few minutes.”

“Nothing we do in that department takes a few minutes.”

“I beg to differ. You’re already primed.” Michael reached between them and gently squeezed the lump he found there.

Kendall groaned at the surge of pleasure. “And so are you, but that doesn’t change the fact we need to have the container loaded by four so they can deliver it to the Manor. One of us has to be the grownup here.”

“Hey, I’m a grownup.” Michael shoved his hips forward. “See?”

“I give up.”

“You do?”

Kendall’s answer was to drop to his knees. In seconds, Michael’s track pants were pooled around his ankles, and his cock had Kendall’s lips around it. Pre-cum was already present, and Kendall soon had it all cleaned up. The man was a leaker, and there would be much more to come. He looked up when he felt fingers in his hair. Emptying his mouth momentarily, he asked, “Is this what you had in mind?”

“Ah… I was thinking we’d….”

Kendall pulled away from Michael’s cock again. “Don’t think… it was rhetorical.”

“But, I could go get….”

“Michael, shut up, or I’m going back to packing.”

He didn’t hear another word, only sounds, as he took his task seriously. This was no hardship, and as much as he pretended to protest, he liked how Michael was always ready and willing to make love. He certainly enjoyed this, easily as much as Michael did. The scent, taste and velvety texture… it was satisfying on every level. As he suckled, he stroked, swirling around the rim with his tongue every time he pulled back to the head.

Those heavy testicles were cradled and rolled in their sack as Kendall prepared to divert his attention. Holding the shaft upright, he took the right one in his mouth, gently pulling as his tongue darted over the much different texture. The expected groans came… Michael loved having his balls sucked. He switched to the other one, well acquainted with the pleasure that sudden coolness on the wet one induced. Taking a second, he blew a stream of air over it, and felt Michael’s shivered response. The left one lifted noticeably once he’d lavished the same attention on it. Michael was steadily advancing towards the brink.

Finally releasing the second one, he returned to Michael’s cockhead, teasing it with feather-light flickers of his tongue. Another thing Michael enjoyed. He kept it up as he stroked. There’d be no deep-throating from this position because of the slight upward curve, but Kendall knew exactly what elicited the biggest responses from his man.

The caresses on his head become perceptively firmer, and Kendall read the clues. When Michael’s stance widened, Kendall sped up his actions, plunging farther down on the shaft until his throat gripped and released. It was something that pleased him as much as his partner, and he experienced the throb of his own cock, still untouched and covered in cloth. Now was not the time.

Michael was close. Kendall’s free hand slid up behind those now higher balls, encouraging a rocking motion with the grip he had on a muscled ass cheek. It gave him more control, and now their rhythm became perfectly synchronized. Michael pumped back and forth, with Kendall’s help, sliding through the gripping hand and into his mouth before pulling back again, his balls rubbing on Kendall’s forearm with each thrust. He still hadn’t said any words but he didn’t need to. Familiar sounds accompanied this coupling, and the pants and moans and breaths created a language each man understood perfectly.

A groaned out, “Babe,” suddenly filled the air, and Kendall felt the first burst of semen. No matter how frequently they had sex, the man always had plenty when the next time came around, and this was no exception. Kendall was well-versed in handling the flood, and his swallows coincided with each repeated spurt. His continual moan was an answer to Michael, telling him he was happy… very happy.

“Geez, you’re good at that. Whew.” Michael stood up straighter, his hands running down and across Kendall’s shoulders.

Kendall was still nursing the rigid bar of flesh, trying to coax out more fluid. He finally stopped his gentle search when he heard the hiss of a man whose nerve endings had reached their limit. Looking upwards, he swiped his tongue slowly over his upper lip and grinned. “Satisfied?”

“Fuck, you look so beautiful. That was amazing, but I won’t be satisfied until I’ve had my turn. Stand up,” he ordered.

Kendall did and was once again engulfed in Michael’s arms. The kiss they shared caused another lurch of Kendall’s cock, but when Michael’s hand reached for it, he stopped him. He would be disappointed, but they had work to do. “Sorry, big guy, but that’ll have to wait.”

“Aw, come on. Damn, I knew you were going to say that. We still have time plenty of time,” he whined.

“Maybe… I’m not so sure, but you know how sleepy I get after I come. Maybe tonight, okay? I won’t relax until the last box is loaded up. Besides, that was just as good for me as it was for you.” He leaned in again, first gripping Michael’s lower lip with his teeth before running his tongue over it. He felt Michael’s still exposed cock lift its considerable weight against his leg. “Down boy,” he murmured after he let the lip go. “You better put that thing away. I don’t need any more distractions.”

“I fucking love you, Kendall Dooley, but you are a cruel, cruel man.”

“Cruel? Really? I just sucked your dick when we’re supposed to be working. I would say I was”—he claimed Michael’s bottom lip again and murmured into his mouth—“very kind.”

“Jesus, you’re driving me crazy.”

Kendall almost reconsidered when a hand at the back of his head forced their lips together for a possessive kiss. Michael clearly wasn’t ready to concede defeat. He sighed when it finally ended.

“Did that change your mind?” Michael’s smirk was adorable.

“Almost. Seriously, almost. We’ve had our fun, though, and now we have to get back on schedule. These will have to wait”—he shoved his hips forward—“for another time.”

“Okay,” Michael said, finally accepting it wasn’t going to work. “I almost had you.”

“Yup, you did. Now pull your pants up.” Kendall laughed when Michael made his erection swing back and forth a few times before covering up. “You are such a horndog.”

“And you love it. You know what this reminds me of?”

“Yes… yes I do love it. Ah, what does this remind you of?” Kendall’s mind was wandering back to the tasks at hand.

“That time you left for work and came back half a minute later, through that door right there, and had your way with me.”

“Oh, yeah. That was fun. I did have my way with you. Shocked the hell out of you too, didn’t I?”

“Yup. One of those things I’ll never forget… makes me smile every time I think about it.”

Kendall chuckled. “Do we have enough boxes?”

“And… we’re back to work.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be. You rocked my world like you always do. Boxes? Are you kidding me? We have plenty. Most of the closet’s already packed. Damn, I’m feeling sleepy.”

“See? I knew we should have waited. There’s still all this stuff… and I want to leave the place clean.”

“Relax, would you? I was kidding. I feel energized.” His smirk had Kendall fighting the urge to smack him. “The den is empty, so there’s just the linen closet and the kitchen stuff, and these records and books. We’re way ahead of schedule.”

Kendall sighed. Michael was right. What was wrong with him? Even with wiping shelves and sweeping up, they had very little left to do. All the furniture was in the big steel container sitting outside the back door.”

“Kendall?”

“Yeah?”

“You didn’t answer me. I asked if you were hungry. It’s almost one, and we haven’t eaten since dawn.”

“Sorry. Was just counting boxes.”

“And?”

“And you’re right. We have plenty of boxes and plenty of time. Sorry.”

“Oh, so does that mean it’s my turn after all?”

Kendall snorted and Michael grinned.

“I know, I know… thought I’d give it a try. So how about it?”

“How about what? Oh, food. Yeah, I’m starving now that you’ve mentioned eating.”

“Want me to grab us subs from the Papa Joe’s?”

“Perfect. That’s the first thing we ate in this apartment, remember?”

“Uh huh. That’s why I asked. Roast beef and Swiss, right?”

“You remember that? No way!”

“Yes, way. We had those huge chocolate chip cookies too. We ate standing up because you hadn’t gotten stools for the counter yet, and we didn’t get the couch set until the next day. Do you remember?”

Kendall’s response was a nod. He remembered that day very well. He finally had a place of his own, and had his best friend to help him get settled. It had just been the two of them, same as today, and had been bittersweet after having shared a dorm room for years. Never in a million years would he have imagined he’d one day be sharing a place, a bed, and his life with the guy he could never get out of his head no matter how hard he’d tried. Yeah, it had been a bittersweet time.

“Hey, I’m going to miss this place too. This was more home to me than my own apartment. Whenever I was there, I wanted to be here… with you.”

“And whenever you weren’t here, I couldn’t wait till I saw you again.”

“We wasted a lot of time, Deuce, and….”

“Don’t you dare say it. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, and I don’t see it as wasted at all. It makes what we have now all the sweeter. We’re right where we were always meant to be.”

“It does feel meant to be, doesn’t it?”

Kendall was caught and held by deep blue eyes. “Destiny, dude. Now go get us some food.” He was feeling emotional, and needed some time to get his shit together.

“You all right?”

Kendall started. He should have known. “Yeah. I’ve never been happier, but….”

“I get it. I’ll be back with nourishment, and then we’ll finish saying goodbye to this part of our lives. Nothing but clear skies ahead.”

“I know. Cloud Nine is on the horizon, and we’re going to live there.”

Michael grinned. “Count on it, Babe. Starting tomorrow.”

The big container ended up only halfway filled. Their possessions looked meager once he saw them all piled together. They really hadn’t accumulated much since college, and Michael had sold everything he’d owned, except for his coffeemaker, to the guy who’d taken over his apartment. Kendall was glad they’d turned down all the offered help for today, because they would have been little for anyone to do.

The big stone house was going to look empty with the few furnishings they owned. Hell, they didn’t even have a table to eat at, nor a spare bed for guests. It had been a shared decision to ditch the futon from the den. It’d had a good life as their dorm room seating, but it didn’t belong in the Manor. Jeez, they really were grownups now.

Mulling over their coming needs, he left the overhead door partly open as he went back in for another box. The kitchen was now completely packed up and emptied out, with some items making their way to the garbage bins. He had no idea what was taking Michael so long, but his stomach was starting to issue discernable rumbles.

Lifting the final carton off the counter, he looked at the pillar the white Easter lily had leaned against for those few weeks. How many times had they sat here, laughing, talking, and planning? Too many times to count. He put the box back down and sat on one of the two stools still waiting for their final time at the counter… if Michael ever got here with the promised food.

This is where he’d sat watching him sleep in that hospital bed, after they’d made love for the first time. Kendall smiled at the memory of Michael coming from just a kiss. It had been so fucking hot, and he felt the heat rising up his neck at the memory.

How silly he’d been to have any apprehension the man would feel differently upon waking. It was impossible to doubt what Kendall meant to him, not anymore, for the man never had any qualms about showing how he felt.

Like today. His very own horndog. Kendall couldn’t help smiling as his tongue moved around his mouth, searching for the long gone taste of Michael’s essence. The first time he’d tasted it had been right in this very spot.

Here, the beginnings of their love had blossomed and built, but, it was only that… the beginning. He was ready for whatever came next… he was ready to leave this place, but it would always be thought of fondly. He rose and reclaimed the box of pots and pans, carrying it outside. All that was left was the linen closet, the rest of the bedroom closet, and some cleanup. They had more than enough time.

Kendall heard the door open just as he finished the last bit of packing. He sighed at Michael’s timing, but then realized finishing alone was probably a good thing. He had gained some peace as the day wore on. Was that his fiancé’s plan?

“Deuce? Food.” Michael called down the hallway.

“In here. I’ll be right out. Your timing is fortuitous, Ace.”

“How so?” Michael startled Kendall. He hadn’t heard him come down the hall.

“Because this is the last of it.” He mock glared at the man, and then smiled to soften it.

“Oops… sorry. I thought you were doing the kitchen first?”

“Already done, and so is the hall closet. Just some wiping and sweeping up left. What took you so long?”

“I got sidetracked… and stopped for gas, and Papa Joe’s was really busy.”

“I needed gas?”

“Uh… it was a good price. So are you ready to eat?”

“Yeah, I’m starving. We should have eaten earlier… it’ll soon be suppertime.”

“A sub won’t ruin my appetite for Mom’s cooking, and I doubt it will yours either. Come on while they’re still hot. There’s no way to reheat them with the nuker packed up.”

“Coming. I’ll just wash my hands and be right there.”

Kendall attacked his sub the second he sat down. He shook his head after he took a sip of what turned out to be root beer. “How do you remember this stuff?”

“What stuff?” Michael mumbled with his mouth full.

“The root beer. I don’t think I’ve had root beer since that day.”

“We had it because they poured the wrong pop. It was supposed to be Pepsi, and we didn’t realize until we got back here, remember?”

Kendall nodded, swallowing another mouthful. “I do now. I’m serious. Have you always had this memory? Because if you did, I never noticed it before.”

Michael took a drink and sighed happily. “This is so hitting the spot. I don’t know, Deuce. I remember a lot of things I never thought about before. I guess the time we spent together as just friends meant more to me than I realized at the time.”

“What does that mean?”

Michael barked a short laugh out. “Good question. I think I was cataloguing a lot of stuff without realizing it.” He suddenly became earnest, and all chewing stopped. “Burying the way I really felt… I’m pretty sure the times we were together are what made that bearable. I look back now, and those days we weren’t together, I was always restless. I’m like never restless anymore. Does that make sense?”

Kendall nodded again. “It’s the same way I felt. The only difference is I knew the reason, and you didn’t.”

“Exactly, Babe. It drove me crazy, but maybe, in my brain, it was part of the punishment thing for thinking that way about my ‘straight’ friend. Fact is, I was in love with you the whole damn time.”

Kendall picked up the regret Michael was trying so hard to hide. Would he ever let it go? “And look at us now, Ace. We have the world by the ass. Next stop, Cloud Nine.”

Michael matched Kendall’s grin. “I’ve been living on Cloud Nine for fifty-nine days now. We can call the Manor that, but for me, it’s anyplace you are, Deuce. Always will be.”

Kendall’s breath caught at the ease with which Michael could share his feelings. What they had now was worth every bit of the waiting. “Same here,” was all he could manage to say.

He pulled open Beauty’s driver’s side door, momentarily startled before staring directly across at Michael. “What’s this?”

“Jeez… how did that get there?”

Kendall rolled his eyes at Michael’s smirk, returning his gaze to the brown box with the big red bow. The side facing him had the words ‘audio-technica’ stamped in black lower-case letters. He sounded the words aloud. “What is this, Michael? Is this for me?”

“I don’t know. Is this your truck?”

“Answer the question, smartass. All it says is audio-technica.” Kendall pulled the box closer. “Hey, is this…?” He looked up at his fiancé. “It’s a turntable?”

Michael nodded. “What do you think?”

“Why did you do this?’

“What do you mean, why? Isn’t it obvious? I did it because I know what those old albums mean to you now. We can listen to them together in our new home… you can tell me about those Saturdays, and anything else you might want to talk about. So, say something. Do you like it?”

Kendall took a deep breath and chuckled, still a little thrown. “I can’t actually see it, but I’m sure I’ll like it… and I love you.”

“Of course you do.” Michael grinned, looking quite pleased. “It’s got a brushed black finish, and I went with the clear lid over the tinted one. All the components are black… it was that or silver, and I thought the darker color would look cooler and stand out less in our new living room… or wherever you want to put it.”

“Black sounds good. Components?” Kendall was confused. It wasn’t that big of a box.

“Open the back door,” Michael directed.

Kendall did, and saw the floor filled with more brown cartons. He looked up when Michael opened the corresponding door on his side.

“I put them down there so they couldn’t slide around. One is the receiver with an MP3 dock, AM/FM radio, and CD player, and the others are five speakers for surround sound, and a sub-woofer. We can run our TV sound through it too. So, what do you think?”

“I… I’m kind of stunned. Should we be spending… never mind… I love it. You’re unbelievable.”

“Unbelievable?”

“Yeah, in the best way possible. Where did…?”

“I had to zip down to Music World. It’s why I was gone so long. I lied about getting gas. Do you forgive me?”

Kendall’s eyes blinked at the sudden wetness. “After this? How could I not. You’re unbelievable.”

“You already said that, Babe. I’m going to get lucky tonight, aren’t I?”

Kendall laughed, after he swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. “Count on it, Sunshine. You are getting so, so lucky.”

“Yes!”