The Cardmaker and the Caretaker - 16. Chapter 16 After Dinner Sweets and Pillow Talk

The four men walked together from the restaurant to Holborn station to catch the Underground. Patrick did invite the other couple home for coffee, but they excused themselves, since they had a long drive north the next morning for Anthony’s mother’s birthday brunch. Patrick and John made tentative plans to meet up the following weekend, but this would depend on Michael’s condition and whether Fiona had replied to the email the cardmaker planned to write Sunday morning.

This time Patrick was prepared for the warm farewell hug he received from the redhead and he returned it with enthusiasm. Friendly hugs would definitely be on his list of favourite things. He wasn’t surprised to see Peter engulf both their new friends in huge Viking embraces, and from the smiles on everyone’s faces such hugs would become regular occurrences. Finally, Anthony stepped over to him and held out his arms. The caring hug almost brought tears to Patrick’s eyes as he let the man’s genuine approval sweep through him. As they stepped back, Anthony gave him a serious look.

“I’m proud we're friends; it’s an honour to gain your trust, Patrick. Never hesitate to ask if there is anything I can do to help.”

“Thank you. I did want to ask your advice, and Mr. Wickham says we need a lawyer specializing in family law.” He already knew this was Anthony’s field of expertise.

“Make a list together and send it to me, and I’ll set up an appointment to fit all of us. It can be in the evening and at your shop, if that’s easier.”

“Or you and John can come to our house. I’m sure Grethe and John can entertain each other and Michael while we discuss the paper work.”

“Great idea, I know Moster will like you guys.” Peter slid an arm around his fiancé’s shoulder as he supported the suggestion. “And she loves to cook and entertain visitors.”

“It’s a deal, but the time after that we get to invite you out or to our place.” Anthony and Patrick had wrangled a bit over who got to pay for the meal, but the dark-haired lawyer had folded when the cardmaker pointed out this was his first date, and first chance to treat friends to dinner.

They parted ways to catch different lines, Piccadilly northbound for Peter and Patrick and Central westbound for the other couple, who lived in the Notting Hill area. Peter had teased them quite a bit about the movie with Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts and John admitted the gawking tourists could be a nuisance.

Leaning against each other as they sat in the train on the way home, Patrick sighed with satisfaction over a great day.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Warm fingers caressed the top of his hand, as it rested on the seat between.

“I’m just pleased about a great day, and especially the dinner with our new friends.”

“I can understand why you were eager for me to meet them. I rarely feel this closely connected to anyone when first getting to know them. Perhaps it’s because we’re both couples?”

“That might be it. But I think all of us are skilled at recognizing good and bad people for various reasons and we are drawn to the genuine honesty in each other.”

“That’s an interesting point. I instinctively trusted both of them, but didn’t know why.”

They were both quiet for a while, lost in their own thoughts, but feeling connected nonetheless. There were people around them, but none close enough to hear their low voices. Even on a Saturday night near 10 pm the London Underground transported plenty of passengers; similar to most major cities in the world. For some reason Patrick rarely felt any flares of emotions on the Tube, as the transport system was nick-named. He wasn’t sure whether this was due to his own instincts or because most Londoners tended to deal with the inevitable crowded space by cocooning themselves mentally.

On the walk home from the station, Patrick decided to bring up the topic of his cousin.

“I asked John to go with me to meet Fiona.”

“You’re getting in touch with her?”

“Yes, no more ignoring the family or running away.”

“That’s my brave man. St. Patrick confronts the dragon.”

“Shit no! Only the dragon’s friendly daughter. I want to find out whether I can trust her, before I let her meet my family.”

“I heard some of what you were talking about and I understand why you want him there, rather than me. I hope she’ll be nice and I get to meet her.”

“It would be great if I had one or two nice relatives to bring to our wedding. Do you want us to get married in Denmark?”

“I’m not sure yet.” Peter’s reluctance to discuss the matter would have been obvious to anyone, but to Patrick it was like a spike of anxiety.

“Well, there’s no rush to make a decision, especially if we’re aiming for Valentine’s Day next year. And we don’t need an elaborate ceremony with lots of people. I would be just as happy with an intimate wedding with a few close friends and relatives. And Michael can be the ring bearer.”

Peter chuckled and the tension evaporated. “God, he’d love that, and he would look very handsome in a suit if we can find something to fit.”

“We can have it tailored, and the same for us. It’s one of the great things about London: Plenty of places for getting the perfect outfits for every occasion.”

“Bloody expensive too, I would think.”

“But you’ll let me indulge myself, right? The way I let you pamper me too?”

“When you put it like that…” Peter paused while Patrick got out his key and opened their front door. There was a light on in the hall, but the rest of the house was silent and dark. Peter had sent a text to Grethe before they left the restaurant, so she had probably gone to bed.

The two men quietly made their way upstairs. Patrick took charge as soon as they were in the bedroom, after checking Michael was not sleeping in their bed.

“Speaking of indulging, I think we have unfinished business from earlier today. Why don’t you pop in the bathroom first and get ready for bed?”

“Fuck, yes!” Peter hurried back out of the room and Patrick smirked while he removed the dark blue bedspread, switched on the bedside light and made sure the lube was within reach. He only meant to give Peter a blowjob tonight but perhaps a bit of fingering wouldn’t go amiss. Finally, he shed all his clothes except his underwear and T-shirt.

Peter came back into the room, and Patrick greeted him with a quick kiss. “I expect you to be on the bed, naked, when I get back.”

In the bathroom he brushed his teeth, peed and washed his dick, which chubbed up at the thought of his lover going down on him later. But right now the main thing on his mind was getting to worship Peter’s cock orally. He had absolutely zero experience. Fucking had been easier, in a way, because he’d done himself often enough with his sex toys. The idea of sucking on dildos had been repulsive, though, so his mouth was completely virginal if such an expression was possible.

Entering the bedroom, Patrick carefully closed and locked the door before focusing on Peter. His blond Viking was sprawled across the bed, completely naked and hard. One hand was behind his head and the other was slowly stroking his erection. The sight made Patrick’s cock fill with blood and he shed his T-shirt and briefs where he stood, before walking over to the bed.

Nothing was said while the two men admired each other. Peter let his hand drop down on the mattress, and Patrick moved onto the bed to lie on his side next to his lover.

“You’re so fucking hot. Everything about your body turns me on.” He let his fingers explore the chest with patch of golden curls and sensitive nipples, the well-defined abs with the cute innie bellybutton, the groove from the hip toward the inner side of the muscular thigh. Peter’s breath hitched as his hand brushed against the ball sack below his throbbing manhood. The Dane clearly knew he was meant to lie there and let his lover worship his body, and he kept still apart from a murmured ‘love you.’

“Love you, too.” Patrick let his lips follow the path his fingers had taken. Peter moaned in desperation when his lover paused to admire and breathe heavily on his cock. It was even more impressive close up, with the head peeking from the foreskin and glistening from precum leaking out of the slit.

“Please, love, please suck me. Fuuuuck!” The last word came out as a long groan when Patrick dove in and ran his tongue over the most sensitive part of the crown. The taste seemed to set the innocent man free of any doubts and inhibitions and he indulged himself in a thorough exploration of the only manhood he’d ever truly yearned for.

No amount of watching porn and reading erotic stories could prepare him for the awesome reality of taking an erect cock into his mouth for the first time and running his hand up and down the major part of the shaft. It was a hard steel rod encased in soft skin and the tip filled his mouth and pressed against his tongue in the most satisfying way. Patrick suckled and moaned and rubbed and squeezed and drooled. He switched to licking up and down the whole length, but nothing compared to sliding his lips down over the warm throbbing column of flesh and hearing his lover groan with pleasure.

“Oh god, that feels wonderful. Be careful, or you’ll make me come.”

The thought had him moan excitedly around Peter’s shaft and realize he was close to coming himself. He knew exactly what was needed and moved so he could straddle his lover’s face. Peter was more than happy to oblige and this time Patrick was actually able to enjoy the amazing sensations of having his cock worked over by the expert mouth of his fiancé. He’d come too quickly the first time, but now he could relish the wet warm cave which engulfed him and the busy lips and tongue tickling and massaging every inch.

Doing a sixty-nine had been another cherished fantasy for years and he was delighted it was as hot and satisfying as he’d hoped. Apparently, his fiancé liked it too, because suddenly he bucked his hips and cried out a warning as best he could with his mouth full.

The brunet kept sucking and slid a wet finger between the muscular buttocks to gently tap the hidden entry. Moments later he felt the first spurt of cum hit his tongue. He had no time to think about the taste, Peter kept him busy swallowing. He enjoyed having his blond Viking reduced to incoherent gibberish as he shook and clutched Patrick’s ass in the throes of unexpected orgasm. Somehow, Patrick managed to hold back, but once Peter returned to actively sucking and added a little massage of his taint, he got rewarded with several mouthfuls of cum too.

Only when both men had gotten every last drop, did Patrick release him and turn around. His kiss was eagerly received, and he decided he liked the shared taste.

“God, I love you so much. The sight of your lips around my cock, then getting to suck you too, it was fantastic.” Peter’s words came out in a sated whisper and he cuddled up to Patrick to trade more kisses. “I could very easily get addicted to mutual morning blowjobs, you know, or lunchbreak ones. Hell, I’ll trade lunch for a massage from those sinfully sexy lips any time.”

“I did OK, then? It’s not something I’ve been able to practice, you know. And theory plus porn can only get you to a certain level of insight in oral sex.”

“If this is how you perform with no experience I may not survive when you become more proficient. My nuts feel as if they’re wrung inside out. I’ve never had such a spectacular orgasm from being sucked.”

“That may be more due to postponed gratification than my skills.” Patrick felt a warm glow of satisfaction from Peter’s praise, but wanted to point out his earlier teasing had been for good cause.

“What? You didn’t prolong…oh, you mean your plan to give me blue balls by lunchtime?”

“I wanted to have time and comfort for my first blowjob and 69. It was worth it, right?”

“Yes, but if John and Anthony hadn’t been early they might have surprised us doing more than kissing.”

“We can always lock the shop door and use the small office at the back.” The idea of lunch hour sex encounters was very tempting, but perhaps not really practical. But one could always dream Patrick thought as they kissed and cuddled some more.

“Speaking of locked doors; is it OK if I leave our bedroom door open? Then Michael will just climb into our bed tomorrow morning, instead of us having to get up and let him in.”

“Yeah, that’s fine, but you’ll miss out on your morning blowjob.”

“If one of us wakes up early with the urge, all it takes is closing and locking the door. Michael knows he has to knock and wait if the door is closed. If it’s open he can come in without asking.”

“Is this something you’ve told him here?”

“No, we had the same deal in Denmark. Of course, I very rarely closed doors back home, apart from the bathroom door, and he knew calling out for help would bring me to his side immediately. But I reminded him about it yesterday. I also told him, we’ll give him the same respect when he’s older and no longer sick and has his own room, but right now we have to keep an eye on him.”

“Sounds sensible to me. My parents always knocked and waited before entering my room.”

Both men got up to put on underwear and T-shirts and Peter opened the door a few centimetres. He was still on the side of the bed closest to the door, which made even more sense now. While Patrick was cool with the idea of their son joining them for a Sunday morning snuggle, he might not react rationally if the boy clambered over him while he was fast asleep. Having a man sleeping next to him would take time to get used to, even though he didn’t mind waking up to some snoring or hot breaths on his arm. It was wonderful to be reminded of Peter’s presence in his life and his bed.

When they were comfortably settled in bed, Patrick decided to bring up a topic, which had been simmering in the back of his mind most of the day.

“Can I ask you something? About your family?”

“Sure, what do you want to know?”

“I get the feeling your mum might not approve of our hasty engagement, and you worry about introducing me to her.” The tensing of Peter’s hand in his pretty much answered his question. But he wasn’t prepared for Peter suddenly chuckling and giving him a quick kiss.

“It’s a good thing I believe in being completely honest with my partner, soon my husband. With your special sense, I wouldn’t stand a chance. But I love that you ask me.”

“Oh, I don’t know the precise reason for you being upset, Peter. All I get is your reluctance to talk with your mum about this and a hint of anger or resentment. The latter feels like an old and barely controlled emotion, repressed for now.”

“Hmm, that’s probably a good summary, but I’ll tell you the details, if you want.”

Peter drew back a bit, but kept hold of Patrick’s hand. “My father had been dead less than two years when my mother started dating again. She is the sort of woman who craves attention and cannot bear to be alone. I could ignore it while she didn’t bring anyone home permanently. I guess she knew better than to try and ‘replace’ my dad.” He paused, lost in thought for a few moments. The familiar ache of missing a parent terribly hit Patrick hard.

“Once Annika and I had left home, she became more focused on finding a new husband, and I don’t blame her. By then she had been a widow for over eight years and she was only 46 years old, outgoing and still attractive. In fact, I thought it would be a relief if she found someone to fill her daily life. Less meddling in mine, you know.” Peter sighed and ran a hand over his face.

“Only, the man she found and married a year later is someone I resent and dislike, and it’s mutual. He treats Mum OK, but he’s very old-fashioned in his views. He has influenced her in manners which have hurt me a lot. He isn’t openly anti-gay, because that’s not acceptable in polite society in Denmark, but he shows his disapproval in various subtle ways. I’m pretty sure he was behind Mum siding with Annika in her wish to adopt Michael.”

“Oh Peter, I’m sorry to hear that. You needed her support, not a betrayal engineered by her new husband.” Patrick instinctively knew using the word stepfather was out of the question.

“It’s one of the reasons I’m more than happy to move over here. It’s easier to deal with my dislike of him, if I don’t see him or talk about him. I have refused to let him visit my home in Denmark, and Michael has never met the man. Because Michael cannot be exposed to infections, it was easy to use his condition to stay away from those big family functions where we couldn’t avoid seeing him together with my mum.”

“It must put a huge strain on your relationship with your mum,” Patrick ventured to guess.

“Yes, she adores the man, and his wishes and opinions are more important than her children.”

There was only one answer to the deluge of hurt and painful memories of feeling betrayed which poured from his lover. Patrick hugged him and whispered compassionate words of understanding and support into the damp golden hair as Peter breathed hard against his shoulder. When they finally separated, Patrick put his hand over Peter’s heart and looked into anguished blue eyes.

“I swear the guy will never be welcome in our home either, and we won’t mention him again, unless you want to talk about it.”

“I knew you’d understand. The bastard won’t get an invitation to our wedding either.”

“But I assume your mum will?”

“Yes, but I’ll make it clear she must attend on her own or not at all. She’ll be upset, but probably not surprised. She knows my opinion of him.”

“What about Grethe and Annika, what do they think of him?” Patrick had realized Peter’s aunt had talked about her sister but not her brother-in-law. Did she disapprove of him as well?

“He’s always been clever enough not to antagonize them, but Moster respects my wish never to mention him. My brother-in-law dislikes the pompous bastard, but that’s for political reasons. Niels is a socialist, and my mother’s husband is as far right as you can be and still be part of the official political scene in Denmark. Not quite National Front but close. Anyway, Niels and I are allies here too.”

“I suppose you mum’s marriage is part of why Grethe came here to help with Michael instead of your mum?”

“Yeah, but more importantly, Mum is still working and Grethe used to be a nurse. And my mum smokes, which isn’t good for Michael.”

Patrick gaped at him. “She smokes in his presence?”

“No, she knows better, of course. But after she got married again, they both smoke inside their home. It’s another reason I never visit that place, with or without Michael. Mum tried to convince me she would air the place out and not smoke while we were there, but Grethe told her the particles cling to furniture and curtains and clothes, so it’s a no go for her grandchildren. Annika actually has the same opinion as me on this topic, mainly because Niels has a touch of asthma.”

“Did you call your mum this afternoon?”

“No, and I bet she’s been nagging Moster for news while we were out. Particularly, since I didn’t have time see her when I was in Denmark. But I will call her tomorrow.” Peter didn’t look particularly happy at the prospect.

“Don’t feel you have to do it for my sake. I’m sorry about ruining a wonderful evening by bringing it up.”

“It’s OK, being in a good mood made it easier to discuss the topic. And at least I knew you would understand what it is like to have iffy relatives you want to avoid.”

“You felt sincere when you said your family would love me, once they saw how happy I make you. Was that including my future mother-in-law?”

“My mum has been clinging to the hope I would find ‘a nice woman’ to settle down with. She refuses to acknowledge my attraction to men, and she may not want to accept I have found love and a future with you. My dad would have understood and made her see sense, but instead she is pushed towards disgust and incomprehension. Simply put, she is no longer the mother I loved ten years ago in spite of her faults. But if and when she recognizes how good you are for me and Michael, she’ll love you as her son-in-law.” The hopeful longing was strong but tempered by a bitter tinge of uncertainty.

“I hope that will happen; for your sake more than mine. You, Michael and Grethe are all the family I need right now. I look forward to meeting your cousins as well as Annika and her family. If they accept me, that’s enough, and if any of them come to like me, I’ll be pleased. But as you say, they are far enough away not to have any impact on our daily lives, and we can choose what contact we want to have. You’ll get the same say about Fiona and any other relatives I may decide to get in touch with.”

“Don’t worry, if you like your cousins, I will too; same as with John and Anthony. They‘re even nicer guys than your descriptions had me think.”

“I felt closer to them than I expected. They must have experienced the same connection since we got invited to their wedding.”

“Yes, that was a surprise. I hope you were OK with me returning the invitation?” Both of them knew the question wasn’t really necessary, but Patrick liked the consideration it showed.

“Yes, of course, and I think Anthony will be a good choice for best man. It’s not like I have anyone else to ask right now.”

“But that might change, so maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned it.”

“Don’t worry, Peter, I have the feeling it will be fine. We’re already trusting them like old friends, right?”

“Yeah, it’s weird, but feels completely right too.”

“The same way us meeting and falling in love seems almost fated.” Patrick couldn’t help voicing that romantic thought.

“Fate, coincidence, luck, providence; call it what you like. I’ll be grateful forever and beyond. I love you.”

“In spite of the teasing?” Patrick asked him.

“Yes, and I can’t wait to find out what else you have in mind.”

“I’m going to show you how much I love you.”

“Uhuh? And how do you plan to do that?”

“It will probably involve lots of lube and making you moan with pleasure after a little initial pain.”

“I can deal with that. No pain, no gain.” The mix of determination and longing in his fiancé’s voice told Patrick he would soon be the one to pop a cherry. His dick revived slightly at the thought of getting to fuck the handsome Viking lying next to him.

“Just like running, or lifting weights. We’ll start out slow and work our way towards the goal.” He gave Peter’s ear a teasing lick and bite. “It’ll be fun; trust me.”

“Except I get to relax and you do all the work,” Peter teased back. “Don’t worry; I’ll let you indulge in all your fantasies.”

“Yeah? Even without knowing what they are?” Patrick was amazed at the complete faith his man had in him. If possible, it made him love Peter even more.

“I trust you and I love you.”

“I love you too, Peter, and I trust you, heart and soul.”

“I know; and that makes me happy and proud.” As Peter hugged him close, Patrick felt how pleased he was with their talk.

“Mmmm, I can feel how much you love me.” He moved his thigh against the hard bulge prodding him under the covers.

“Stop it, or we won’t get any rest, you evil Brit,” Peter chuckled and pinched his butt.

“Who needs sleep when they have a sexy Dane in their bed?” Patrick pinched him back.

Eventually, two tired and sated men slipped into happy dreams.