Ralph: Breaking free - 12. Making plans and meeting Verne

Thursday, instead of the wine bar, Nolan was going round to Ralph’s, and Ralph had to tell him. Ralph had made spicy lentils on Wednesday evening, in sufficient quantity to feed the twins on Friday as well. They ate and drank first, low key as planned. Still at the table, with a second glass of wine, Ralph decided to get things off his chest.

“Ivor at work reckons that I ought to make a big statement. A fuck-off to my parents.”

Nolan lifted an eyebrow, “Like taking me to tea?”

“But that’s not ignoring them, it’s almost pandering to them. I thought of something else, and I felt a sense of crossing the line that I felt when I kissed that boy all those years ago.”

“And that is?”

“Morrie, the guy from Iverson’s, has his products being modelled at a private event. And lots of business contacts.”

“Whose event?”

“Russ Kahn, know him?”

“Heard of him, a bit above my pay grade.”

“And I’m going along to take photos for the website.”

“Is that a statement?”

Ralph shrugged, “A bit, and it’s fun. Credit for the firm, my name on the photos. Beth will use them in the publicity and…” Ralph laughed, “I’ve decided to take up Morrie’s offer.”

Nolan’s eyes narrowed, “For?”

“Photo session, Ivor from my firm’s doing it too. A new series of guys from local firms modelling Morrie’s wares.”

“Bloody hell.”

“I wondered if you’d join us?”

“Me. In a thong.” Nolan coughed and looked somewhat startled.

“You in a thong would definitely be cute.” Ralph laughed nervously, “Not sure about Ivor. He’s doing it as well, and he’s a long streak of nothing.”

Nolan giggled, “And there’ll be local publicity.”

Ralph rolled his eyes, “I’ve not felt like this since, well you know?”

“Want me to join you?”

“Join me?”

“In the photo. On the front of the Bedston Echo or whatever, suitably censored. Your parents will be furious.”

Ralph pulled his mouth into a line, “The last week or so made me realise. If I’m hiding, it’s not for me, it’s for them.”

“You could keep your head down, fit in. Plenty of people do.”

Ralph gave a sigh, “Fuck that. I was becoming that person. Scared of folk finding out. I didn’t like him. Do you want me to?” He peered at Nolan intently.

“I think I’d like you happy and comfortable. Whatever it takes.”

“Whatever?”

Nolan smiled, “If making a gesture by being half naked, then, what the hell, I’ll join you.”

“Wow”, Ralph grinned nervously, “I’ll contact Morrie.”

They both took a glug of wine. Nolan smiled, “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

“There’s something else. I need to ask, before I lose courage. We’ll be at the Rec on Sunday, the twins will get a mad half-hour, then we’ll have a picnic. Weather willing. Will you join us”, all said in a rush.

“Us?”

“Just me and the twins. Because of the do on Saturday, they stay with their Mum and she’s having tea for them and friends.”

Nolan looked puzzled, “So?”

Ralph laughed, “Parties are only good if there’s a bit of action, rough and tumble.”

“And you ex- doesn’t allow that?”

Ralph nodded, “She wanted princesses and has got tomboys, so in compensation we’ll have a session at the Rec. They love the climbing frames.”

“With you?”

Ralph laughed, “No, that’s not cool. My role is to watch, encourage and commiserate. They are only young.”

Noland shook his head, “So?”

“We’ll have a picnic, and I thought…”

“I’ll join you. That’s…” He leaned over and kissed Ralph. “What do you do about food?”

“M&S”

“Look. Let’s say I’ll bring it?”

“You can’t.”

“It’ll be cheaper than M&S. And make a change from cooking for one.”

“You cook.”

Nolan gave him a look, “I try and usually succeed. My Mum’s a good cook and has tried to get me interested.”

“I try. Beth at work keeps me supplied with ideas. You know they’re veggie?”

“The twins?” Nolan looked surprised.

Ralph groaned, “Don’t. It’s a long story involving a pet rabbit, rabbit pie…”

“From the pet rabbit?”

“Different beast, but unfortunate confluence, along with veggie Hindu friends.”

Nolan giggled, “I can’t believe your offspring.”

“You, me, and Therese. I find it a challenge, hence relying on Beth at work for recipes as she and her girlfriend are veggie too. Therese finds it”, he paused, “perplexing.”

“Well, I’d be delighted. What if it rains?”

“If it’s bad, I’ll text you, otherwise wear something weather-appropriate, waterproof and warm, and bring an umbrella.” He grinned, “Fatherhood has its challenges.”

“But you love it.”

“I do. And be warned, you’ll be asked if you’re my boyfriend.”

“You’re joking.”

“We’ve already had conversations”, he stared at Nolan, “not initiated by me, I may add. It seems that discussions of parental amorous antics are part of the kids’ every day.”

The twins weren’t around, Ralph felt that the air had cleared somewhat and started to relax. Nolan simply gave him his head and the two explored. There were explosions a-plenty and lots of tenderness. Both men realised that sex was going to be a journey that both of them shared, and there was lots to be discovered.

Ralph laughed and stretched, the two were now naked on the sofa and it felt wonderfully transgressive. Somewhere along the line he’d become a bit hidebound when it came to sex, and he wanted to recapture that early fun and freedom.

“I can’t believe we’ve just done that?”

“I don’t think having sex on your sofa is exactly groundbreaking, is it?”

Ralph gave an amused yet exasperated sigh, “If you have twins, it is. Ask any parent.”

Nolan gave Ralph a wicked smile, “So, you ready to be naughtier?”

It had been on Ralph’s mind for some time, ever since seeing Gordon again. Something that he and Gordon had done, but which had never happened subsequently. So, answering Nolan’s wry comment with a seriousness that surprised him, Ralph announced, “I’d like you to fuck me. Properly.”

Nolan raised an eyebrow, “You sure. Are you ready for that?”

“I did it a couple of times when I was a teenager, then it got firmly locked away.”

“Not you and Therese and a dildo?”

“Fucking hell, Nolan, that is not an image I want”, and the two of them laughed. “When I started to think about blokes again, it was getting fucked that popped into my head. And doing it properly.”

Nolan nodded, smiled, then kissed Ralph, “OK, we’ll take it slow.” Then he gave his naughty smile again, “But we’d better go upstairs, unless you want to have unmentionable stains on the sofa.”

Ralph rolled his eyes, but the two moved upstairs. They did take it slow. At first. And they were definitely going to do it again. And again.

---

Ralph was feeling a bit stretched out, both physically and mentally. Sex with Nolan the previous night had gone from the good to the fantastic, though he was aware he didn’t have that much to compare it to. Ralph’s bum was feeling the burn this morning, however, and he was having trouble keeping focus, his mind kept drifting back to last night. For the first time, in a long time, he was making memories which were overwriting those of him and Gordon, all those years ago. His time with Nolan was something that was happening now, with all the intensity of the present. Ralph’s face almost burned when he thought of what they’d got up to the previous evening, and Nolan had proved remarkably dominant. Surprisingly so, Ralph gave an embarrassed shiver, perhaps he liked that.

But he needed to put his mind into gear, stop thinking about Nolan’s dick in his arse and prepare for business. Ralph was meeting Nolan’s business partner Verne (for Laverne, but only her parents used that) for coffee at Joe and the Juice. She was proving a surprisingly elusive character. Ralph had met her once, briefly, and there had been lots of promises to sort out images, but none had been forthcoming, though thankfully this didn’t set the new website project back that much. But Ralph was curious about her and from Nolan’s talk, it was clear that she played an important role in their activities.

Joe and the Juice was a bit trendy and on-trend for Ralph, you could get better coffee elsewhere, but it was Verne’s choice. She was early, perched on a bench seat towards the rear, looking at her phone but also giving the feeling of being like a coiled spring. In person, Verne was surprisingly slight, long hair (today in a ponytail) and lithe, clearly well-toned. She was wearing figure-hugging leggings, alarmingly two-toned, a matching vest and a black puffa-jacket. She was drinking a huge peppermint latte. Was that a thing? Evidently.

When she spotted Ralph, she leaped up and said hi, eagerly and rather breathily. “Sorry it’s taken such a long time. My phone’s new and I couldn’t work out how to transfer the photos”, she gave a nervous, tinkly laugh. Ralph gradually gathered that she was clearly a strong and together individual yet felt the need to project the rather girly image. As protection, perhaps? Ralph was hardly in a position to comment on using a mask, was he?

She continued, “So, I needed Richie, my boyfriend. Life has been crazy; he travels a lot, we finally got time.” And with a flourish she gave Ralph a flash drive.

“These are pictures from your classes?”

She laughed, “Yeah. Richie came along and took some. And I did a personal session on my friend Katie. It probably looks lame but…”

Ralph nodded, “You can’t photograph live therapy sessions. It’s massage, right?”

“Please”, another laugh, “more than that. We do a lot of remedial work, sort out problems.”

“You need to send me something about what you do, so we can list things correctly. Will save time in the long run.”

She nodded, “Hang on”, she fiddled with her phone. “There. I’ve sent you the info we give prospective clients.”

With a bit of prompting, Ralph managed to get everything from her. He sussed that if he let her go, it would take another month or so to pin her down again. Ralph understood that Nolan was the anchor of their company, he did the admin and acted as its rock, whilst Verne seemed to be a bundle of nervous energy, regularly doing 10K runs alongside her work.

As they drew to a close, she looked at Ralph eagerly, “Nolan says lots of nice things about you, the new website is going to be a great help.”

Ralph smiled, “All part of the service.”

“He told you that we’re hoping to get our own premises?”

“He said that that was imminent.”

She pulled a face, “Bloody accountant is taking an age getting the paperwork together.” Then she looked up brightly, “but we’ll get there”, then another peer at Ralph. “But it’s not just the website. Nolan gets so involved in work and activities; he forgets the rest of life. I’ve got Richie”, she giggled, “and he makes me slow down and do other things. We’ve just spent a fun few days chilling out in a yurt on Lewis. No Wi-Fi or decent phone signal.”

“Lewis, as in the island in North Scotland?” She nodded. “How did you cope without Wi-Fi and that?”

She laughed, “Badly, at first. But then you get a new rhythm. You should try it. With Nolan. He deserves a break, and he deserves someone nice to look after him.”

Ralph wasn’t sure if that was a threat or a promise. But he walked back to the office with a smile on his face, thinking about all the things they’d done and all the things they might do. Ralph was discovering that have a fit and agile sexual partner could be fun in all sorts of ways.