Tom and I - 4. Kiss

I had been thinking about asking Tom on a date ever since the day he came over to my place and I confessed my attraction to him. However, living in a small town limited my options. Besides the ‘Bar’, there weren’t really any other places we could go to, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to take him there on our first date. Chances of us running into one of his friends or acquaintances were too high, and besides, I wanted us to be alone.

Luckily, it turned out I needn’t have worried at all because it was Tom who took it upon himself to organise everything instead.

I was pleasantly surprised when two days after we last saw each other, he called me first. Just hearing his voice made me tingle with excitement.

“Would you like to go on a date with me?” he asked, totally unexpectedly.

I was fully expecting I’d be the one to have to move things forward, but I obviously underestimated him, and I was glad about that. I was always able to admit when I’m wrong.

“Oh… Of course I would! What did you have in mind?” I asked, not even attempting to hide the enthusiasm in my voice.

“You’ll see, it’s a surprise!” he sounded excited and mysterious, and I liked it. He was surprising me more and more, which I guess was to be expected since we barely knew each other.

“Ok, I like the sound of that!”

“Great! What do you say I pick you up tomorrow after you get back from work?”

“Sounds perfect. Do I need to bring anything? How do I dress?”

“Nope, no need to bring anything! And just wear something comfortable, I suppose,” he suggested.

Whatever he had in mind, I was looking forward to it, pretty certain I would enjoy it.

I’d like to say I was cool and relaxed, but that would be a big lie. That whole day before our date, it was all I thought about. I could hardly focus on my classes. My giddiness seemed to be rather obvious, as Marina noticed it and approached me on our lunch break.

“What are you so chipper about today?” she asked as she sipped her coffee with milk. The smirk on her face told me she already had a pretty good guess.

“If you must now, my lovely friend, I’m going on a date this afternoon,” I replied with some glee in my voice.

“Oh, who’s the lucky guy? Do I know him?” Marina asked, scooting closer to me and lowering her tone. I had no doubt the gossip queens from school would find out all about it anyway, but that was no reason to make it easy for them.

“Maybe. His name is Tom and his niece Kayla is in my class.”

“I’m not sure I know him, but I do know Kayla, sweet girl. A bit wild, though. She seems like a handful.”

“Yeah, she’s got a lot of energy, but she’s actually very smart and well spoken. Always has an opinion on things. It’s so much easier to work with such kids.”

“You sound like you’ve got years of experience at this,” she chuckled. “You’re gonna be good at this, I can tell.”

“Thanks, I sure hope so,” I nodded appreciatively.

“Well, good luck today, sweetie, and tomorrow I hope to hear all the lovely details and maybe see some pics?”

“Ummm we’ll see! I am gonna say I’m really looking forward to it.”

And I was. The first thing I did when I returned home that day was shower, change into comfy, light gray sweatpants and a dark, wine-colored t-shirt. Even though I was feeling peckish, I didn’t want to eat anything in case our date involved some kind of food. I could hold on for a bit longer. After I was all set, I texted Tom to let him know I was back from work and ready to go. He promptly texted back, saying he was on his way to pick me up.

Barely a few minutes later, I heard the sound of his pickup truck stopping in front of my house. As I came out, he smiled at me, waiting for me outside. I was glad to see he was wearing similar clothes to mine, so I wasn’t underdressed.

“Hey, how are you?” he asked, giving me a hug. I liked his scent - soap mixed with the smell of wood and flowers.

“I’m great, looking forward to our date,” I replied, getting in the passenger seat.

“Me too,” he shot me an enthusiastic look and then turned back to look at the road, starting the engine.

We were on our way, and I could tell he was taking me to some place I’ve never been to - at least not in years. We passed the main road out of town and drove for a few more minutes after the last house disappeared from view. As we drove, I observed the meadows and fields on both sides of the road, interspersed with trees and a few cottages.

“Here we are,” Tom announced as he slowed down the truck and finally stopped next to the road.

Apparently, we were at Green Peak, one of the hills surrounding the town. When we got out of the vehicle, I had to stop and look around in awe - the view was breathtaking. The hill was overlooking the nearby forest, a vast expanse of dark green trees that stretched out in front of us, with no end in sight. Behind us, the houses of Taernsby were like little dots in the distance, surrounded by a patchwork of fields.

“Wow. This is beautiful.” I was at a loss for words.

“I was hoping you’d like it,” Tom chirped. “Come on, let’s settle down.”

He opened the trunk and took out what appeared to be picnic supplies from it. We found a nice spot under a big walnut tree and decided to settle down there. In a matter of minutes, we were sitting on a large blanket spread out on the grass, munching on snacks and drinking beer. Well, we only drank one can each and then switched to water - Tom because he was driving, and me because I didn’t want to get drunk on our first date. I wanted to be totally present and enjoy everything that day had to offer.

“Thank you for bringing me here, I love it. Do you come here often?” I asked as we lay on the blanket, propped up on our elbows.

“Yeah, sometimes. I like the view,” he explained briefly.

“You don’t talk much, do you?” I chuckled.

“I guess not. Only when I have to.”

“Now I know that’s not true,” I said, turning to the side so that I was facing him. We were right next to each other, our bodies almost touching. “I’ve seen how you are with Kayla, you get so animated. It’s really nice to see.”

“I love her, she’s my little treasure,” Tom nodded, his eyes almost sparkling.

“And she loves you too, I can see that. She has a great uncle. A really cute one, too!”

“Thanks. I- I really like you, Charlie. I think you’re awesome.”

He was now on his side as well, facing me. We were lying just inches apart from each other, and I put my hand on his forearm, gently stroking it.

“I think you’re pretty awesome yourself,” I whispered and leaned in. I was unable to resist it any longer.

Our eyes closed and our lips touched - our first kiss. I could only describe it as warm and romantic. It was brief, but long enough for both of us to realize how passionate we were for each other.

“We should do this more often,” I suggested with a smirk as we separated.

Tom laid on his back, with me right next to him, my arm resting on his chest.

“It’s nice, isn’t it,” he said, more of a statement than a question.

“Very,” I nodded in response.

Tom was quiet, as usual, but I didn’t mind. We laid there in comfortable silence and I felt satisfied being next to him.

“Can I ask you something?” he suddenly asked.

“Sure, fire away.”

“What are you looking for right now? I mean, do you see this going anywhere?”

“Oh… I haven’t thought about it that far, to be honest.” I shifted so that we were looking at each other. He was asking me questions I had no answer to, and I wasn’t sure what to say. “I mean, I didn’t come here just to have sex with you, if that’s what you’re wondering. I mean, I do want to have sex with you eventually, but I also want to get to know you, spend time with you. I want us to do whatever - hang out, go to the bar, weed your veggies…”

Tom chuckled and I gave him a peck on the lips.

“As long as you don’t eat those onions before I do this,” I added and gave him another kiss, this time longer and deeper. Our mouths opened and our tongues found each other. Tom was a good kisser - great, in fact! His lips were soft and delicious and his masculine scent had me fully hard in no time. He seemed to always sense my next move and went in sync with me. As I moved my hand and placed it on his back, he put one of his on the back of my head, gently caressing my hair. I felt like he was treating me delicately, as if he was afraid of hurting me.

We continued kissing and caressing each other for a while, until Tom broke the kiss, slowly stroking my arm with his hand.

“So, is that ok with you?” I asked, wondering what he thought about what I’d just told him.

“Yeah. I just… I’m not interested in one-night stands.”

“Don’t worry, me neither,” I shook my head.

“You got me real horny, though,” Tom laughed, his cheeks appearing a little pink.

“Right back at ya.”

“Look, about, uh, the sex stuff... I hope you’re ok with us waiting for a while,” he said hesitantly, diverting his eyes and looking down between us.

I thought about what to say for a moment. I didn’t exactly sleep with every guy I met, but I never had a relationship that moved slowly. I wasn’t sure I’d know how to do that. However, I knew that I liked Tom and I didn’t want to scare him off. Even though he was turning me on so much, I was willing to at least try taking it slow. I could wait for the full course as long as I got the appetizers every now and then.

“Hey, that’s fine. Honestly,” I tried to reassure him, running my fingers through his unruly brown locks. There was no fixing them, but I didn’t mind. He looked good whichever way they fell.

“I- I was with only one other guy,” he said, stopping to think for a moment, as if deciding whether to tell me the story or not. “His name was Donovan. We were both eighteen when we started dating, and we were together for a year. I was in love with him, but I guess he didn’t feel the same about me. One day, he came and told me he didn’t want to live here anymore. Said there was no future for him here, nothing to do or see. He moved away to go to uni and stayed there.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said, stroking his arm until my fingers reached his, getting entwined. “That has to be tough, especially since he was your first love.”

I didn’t know this Donovan, but I couldn’t blame him for wanting to see what else the world had to offer beyond this little town. Still, I felt bad that Tom got hurt as a result.

“Do you mind me asking - does anyone here know you’re gay? I just want to know if we need to hide or not. Because I don’t mind people knowing.”

“My friends know,” Tom said. “I couldn’t keep it from them. That was another thing we disagreed on - Don and I. I didn’t think we had to hide because I didn’t know it was a big deal for some people. I didn’t know you could get bullied, or beaten up for being gay. He was afraid of people finding out. I guess it’s easier to stay anonymous in a big city than in a town like this.”

“What about your grandparents?”

“Ahh, they know, but they like to pretend they don’t. You see, I’ve never brought anyone home after Donovan left, so it was easy for them just to ignore it and pretend I never came out. We never talk about it.”

“I see… So, if I was to come over-” I started to ask, but he took my hand and brought it to his lips.

“I don’t want to hide and I don’t like lying to them. So, I don’t want us to pretend.”

“Ok,” I grinned. “So if I want to jump your bones,” I said, playfully pecking him on the lips, “and shove my tongue down your throat in front of them, that’s ok?”

“Maybe don’t go that far,” Tom laughed and pinned me down to the ground, kissing me. “Or else,” he said, pausing to kiss me between each word, “Bruno - might - get - jealous!”

“Wait, Bruno? Who is he now? If you tell me you have a husband-”

“Oh right,” Tom let out a hearty laugh, “you haven’t met my dog! He must’ve been inside when you came the other day.”

“Bruno’s a dog! Of course,” I said, faking surprise. “What breed is he?”

“He’s a St. Bernard. Very cute!”

“Wait, aren’t they like huge?”

“Yup,” Tom nodded with satisfaction. “Kayla was so scared of him until a few years ago. Now she adores him! You should see them together. She keeps trying to climb on his back and ride him like a horse, but he keeps throwing her off.”

“I can’t wait to meet him! I’ve been thinking of getting a dog, now that I have a big yard and everything. Maybe you can help me pick one out?”

“Sure, I’d love to!”

We spent the next hour talking about animals, kissing and just enjoying the day. I did most of the talking, though, but Tom was a good listener. I think maybe he felt that he had already opened up too much and that was enough for him for one day.

It was already evening when we returned to town. Tom dropped me off at my house and I made sure to thank him for the lovely first date with a long kiss that left me rock hard. As soon as I got into the house, I had to strip down and surrender myself to the fantasies of being with him. It wasn’t long before I shot a big load across my chest and stomach. I thought about taking a picture and sending it to him, but changed my mind. I didn’t want to freak him out after everything he said about taking it slow. Eventually, I just sent him a text saying: < I had a great time! >

He didn’t take long to reply: < Me too! See you tomorrow? >

I immediately texted him back: < Yes! >

Charlie and Tom thank all of you for reading their story! 
In the next chapter we meet Bruno, and the boys' relationship is no longer a secret.