Penguin - 4. Chapter 4

Sean

It had been a long time since I felt this happy; since before Michael got sick and he passed away almost two years ago. I was so proud of Penguin. He was absolutely perfect during the whole therapy cat test. I was also glad that Daniel was there to witness it. Penguin wove around my legs as I stripped down to my boxers. I picked him up and set him on the bed so I wasn’t tripping over him. “So what did you think of Daniel, Pen?”

He rolled onto his back and blinked at me, purring noisily.

I laughed softly. “Yeah…me, too.”

I sighed as I got into bed and smiled as I thought back on the day. Penguin curled up next to me and I petted him absently. I could still feel the softness of Daniel’s lips and taste his faint sweetness. I would have liked nothing more than to bring him home with me tonight, but I supposed it was a good thing that I had to work. Although Daniel displayed an outward confidence, there was a subtle vulnerability about him. I found it sexy as hell, but I wondered where it came from. I knew I’d have to take it slow with him, but I figured he’d be worth the wait.

I woke up in the same good mood, which is an accomplishment for a non-morning person getting up at 5:00am. I was hoping that work wouldn’t be too depressing today. You’d think that every day would be depressing working as a hospice nurse, but I tried my best to do my job with as much understanding and compassion as possible while maintaining a professional detachment. Even if it was a case that struck a little too close to home.

I was secretly glad that today was Beth’s day off. That way I could concentrate on my job without worrying about her constant questions. I adored Beth, but sometimes she didn’t know when to leave well-enough alone.

I texted Daniel during my lunch break and we made plans for a second date the following night. I couldn’t help smiling when he insisted on making our plans.

*****

Daniel took me to a little hole-in-the-wall Italian place. He told me the chef was his friend Robbie’s friend. We had a great table near the back of the restaurant and the food was incredible. I was amazed at how easy he was to talk to and how similar our interests in music and movies were. I learned one difference between us; Daniel was not the avid reader that I was. Eventually he asked the one question I was hoping to avoid.

“Why did you decide to work at the Hospice Center? Isn’t it hard dealing with all that death?” Daniel asked.

I sighed and looked at him. “It can be, but in order to answer your question I need to tell you about Michael.” I took a deep breath and began.

“Michael and I met in nursing school. I won’t say it was love at first sight, but I immediately knew there was something special about him. I tried to make sure we were in the same study groups and projects. We started hanging out together after classes and it wasn’t long before we were great friends. I wanted a lot more than friendship from him, but wasn’t sure if he felt the same way.

One night we were studying in his apartment and he was becoming increasingly frustrated with a difficult assignment. He threw his papers and had a bit of a meltdown. I went behind him and started rubbing his shoulders, telling him to relax and everything would be alright. He turned around and kissed me and the next thing I knew we were naked in his bed. Afterward, he told me he’d wanted to do that from the moment we met.” I smiled wistfully. “After that we made up for lost time. I’m surprised we managed to pass our classes, let alone graduate.

I was happy sticking with my Registered Nurse degree, but Michael wanted to aim higher. We moved in together and I supported us while he earned his Nurse Practitioner degree. I’m not going to say that things were perfect, because no relationship is. We were, however, very much in love and I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.

We were together for seven years before he started getting forgetful. It was easy to blame it on stress or lack of attention. Then he started doing bizarre things that we joked about at first; like putting the milk in the cupboard or his keys in the fridge. I knew something was seriously wrong when he got lost driving home from work one day. He eventually lost his job due to all the mistakes he had been making. By the time the doctors found the brain tumor, it was too late. It was inoperable and had spread throughout his body.” I paused and took a shuddering breath. “It was only six months from when he was diagnosed to when he passed away.”

Daniel took my hand in his and squeezed gently. I saw a tear slide down his cheek and it took all my self-control to not lose it right there in the restaurant.

“The services that Hospice provided were invaluable. I don’t know how I would have dealt with his decline without their support. At the end, he didn’t even know who I was.” I brushed away the tears that threatened to fall. I’d come to terms with Michael’s passing, but sometimes it still hurt like hell. Daniel was the first man I’d dated since Michael died, and I had been feeling a certain amount of guilt. Telling Daniel about him felt like a big weight had been lifted off my shoulders and I finally felt able to move on. Even if I never saw Daniel again, I would always be grateful to him for that.

*****

After dinner we went to Daniel’s apartment to watch a movie. He had bought tiramisu for dessert and we were sitting on the couch eating it while watching Raiders of the Lost Ark when Daniel’s phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and grimaced. “I better answer this or he’ll just keep bugging me until I do.” Daniel paused the movie and answered the phone.

“Hey man, what’s up? No, now’s not a good time. It just isn’t. No! Don’t come over! Because Sean’s here.” He looked at me and his eyes got really wide as he turned bright red. “Oh my god! Would you stop? We’re in the living room watching a movie.” He got up and went into the kitchen. I could still hear his loud whispers. “I said living room! I swear to god if you come over here, Robbie I’ll have to kill you. Anyone would consider it justifiable homicide.”

I was doing my best to stifle my laughter. Daniel was so freaking cute when he was mortified.

“I said we’re watching a movie. No! It’s not porn. Yes, we still have our clothes on. No, I have not gone down on him yet. You’re such an asshole!” He looked furtively into the living room and I was doing everything in my power not to dissolve into hysterics. I needed to meet this Robbie.

“I’m hanging up now. I will not say that! Bye, prick. Don’t call back!”

Daniel walked back into the living room and sat next to me on the couch. “Sorry about that. Robbie can be a bit overbearing sometimes.” His phone beeped and he looked like he was ready to throw it out the window. He read the text message and turned the phone away so I couldn’t see it. He was bright red again and from the glimpse of the message that I saw, I understood why. It was something about tongue and blow jobs. He turned the phone off and tossed it onto the coffee table.

Daniel picked up the remote to restart the movie. “Ready for some more Indy?”

I smirked at him. “Always.”

I put my arm on the back of the couch, hoping that Daniel would get the hint. He did. He scooted closer to me and I put my arm around him, pulling him even closer. I ran my fingers through his hair and turned his face toward mine. His lips were even softer and sweeter than last time and I knew I’d never eat tiramisu again without thinking about my tongue in Daniel’s mouth. We made out until we both ran out of air and then we looked into each other’s eyes with the same smile on our faces. We continued making out through several more of Indy’s scenes. I ran my hands up under his shirt and trailed my fingers along his flat stomach. He had a nice treasure trail that I was really looking forward to following. He moaned into my mouth and I was instantly hard. He pulled my shirt out of my jeans and started running his fingers along the elastic of my boxers. I wanted him so bad, but I also wanted to take it slow. I grabbed his hand as he started going a bit further south and entwined my fingers with his. I smiled at him.

“Let’s slow this down a bit, ok?”

He frowned at me. “Don’t you want me?”

“Of course I do!”

“Then what’s the problem?”

I sighed and kissed him. “It’s been so long for me… believe me I want to do all sorts of things with you. I just don’t want to rush you into something you’re not comfortable with.”

He guided my hand down to the front of his jeans and pressed it so I could feel his desire.

He nuzzled into my neck and whispered “I’m perfectly comfortable.”

We spent the rest of the night proving exactly how comfortable.

Daniel

The following two months were incredible. I had never been with anyone like Sean before. He was so sweet and romantic and treated our relationship like an equal partnership. He didn’t even run away when he met Robbie, and that alone made him marriage material. Robbie gave his grudging approval, so I knew Sean had won him over, too. The sex was great and I was finding myself hard-pressed to find any flaws with him.

Sean took a few days off before I was scheduled to return to work after my wrist healed and we spent those days either in bed, taking Penguin to therapy cat visits, or going for walks/runs in the park. The evening before my return to work I picked up my mail and flopped down on the couch. It was mainly bills that I tossed onto the coffee table. When I got to the last envelope, I saw the return address and my blood ran cold. I sat up and opened it with shaking hands and gasped. The letter dropped to the floor as the words sank in. Paroled due to good behavior. Trevor was out of jail.