Thanks to everyone for reading this series and for providing feedback. This is the final chapter in the series.
*
Benjamin awoke with a sharp pain pulsing in his temple.
One glass of wine should not have given me a hangover. I must be getting old.
Footsteps on the stairs sounded like a pile driver. Benjamin turned towards the bottom of the staircase to see who was approaching, but he could not get a good view of it from the living room couch. As he climbed off the couch, he noticed the blanket that was wrapped around him.
Who gave me a blanket?
The thumping on the stairs stopped and the front door creaked open. Benjamin could make out Patrick's lower half as the man reached pass the front door to collect the morning mail.
Yes. That guy must be a jogger. His backside is more pronounced than his wife's.
The thought of Patrick's wife forced Benjamin to keep his lust in check. Francis was the barrier between Benjamin's steel and Patrick's mounds, yet if it wasn't for Francis's womb, the couple would never have invited Benjamin into their home in the first place.
Patrick jumped a bit as he put the mail on the dining room table. "Oh. You're up." He walked through the dining room to Benjamin's side. "How did you sleep? Was the blanket warm enough."
Of couse
, Benjamin though,
Francis wouldn't have bothered covering me.
Benjamin put an arm around Patrick. "The blanket was fine. Thanks."
Patrick leaned against Benjamin's chest. The sheltering feeling of Benjamin's muscular arm and built pecs relaxed away last night's unpleasantness with Francis. "You smell a bit musky," Patrick sighed.
Benjamin stepped back, partly in response to Patrick's comment and partly to prevent his growing member from brushing against Patrick's thigh. "Sorry. I haven't showered yet."
Patrick's normally pale cheeks turned bright pink. "I wasn't complaining, just noticing."
Benjamin parried Patrick's affection with an ice tone. "Do you notice men often?"
"I don't notice anyone often. Francis manages our social life."
Benjamin started to fold the blanket. "Francis manages quite a bit."
Patrick took the blanket from his guest. "You have to fold it in thirds so it fits in the closet."
"I imagine that it's a very full closet," Benjamin remarked through gritted teeth.
Oblivious to Benjamin's emotions, Patrick finished folding the blanket and put it away. Then he cleared the dirty dish that Francis had left on the dining room table after diner. The place settings for Patrick and Benjamin remain unused. As he washed the dish in the kitchen sink, he asked, "What do you want for breakfast?"
Benjamin gathered the utensils and glass that Francis had used the night before, then he joined his host in the kitchen. "I like eggs."
Patrick washed each item as Benjamin handed it to him. "Eggs with bacon?"
"Sure." Benjamin fetched his wine glass from the living room.
"How much did you drink last night?" Patrick asked as he finished washing.
"Just a glass of wine."
Wine that tasted funny.
"Why?"
"You looked a bit flushed when I came home last night."
"Who knows?" Benjamin shrugged.
Francis does,
he thought with inner certainty.
Patrick dropped the mater and gestured towards the refrigerator. "The bacon is in the meet tray. The eggs are on the bottom shelf." He started heating some cooking oil in a frying pan. Patrick and Benjamin cooperated on breakfast much as they had worked together on diner the night before. Soon they were enjoying their eggs at the dining room table. Benjamin couldn't help noticing how comfortable it was for just the two of them to share a meal without Francis. Feelings for Patrick surfaced, feelings that went beyond lust.
"So what's the schedule for the sperm donation?" Benjamin asked as he finished the last of this meal.
"It will take a couple of months to arrange everything. You need to get blood tests, and we need to make an appointment with the fertility clinic," Patrick explained.
"Why don't I plan to come back during Thanksgiving to make the donation? November should give us enough time to set things up."
"November?" Patrick questioned. Then he realized, "Oh, you mean American Thanksgiving. It will take some getting used to those differences now that we'll have a Yankee in the family."
That last word startled Benjamin. "I thought you just wanted sperm."
"Right, sorry," Patrick backed off. "I don't know what I was thinking. It just sort of spilled out. Like I said, socializing isn't my strong point."
"No problem," Benjamin accepted.
He certainly doesn't have much of a wall against others.
Benjamin got up and retrieved his coat from the front closet. "Give my best to your wife. I'll be back in November." Once outside, Benjamin realized he forgot something. He stuck his head make into Patrick's home. "By the way, thanks for breakfast."
Patrick was clearing the table when he heard Benjamin's gratitude. "Don't mention it. It's on the house."
**********
Benjamin drove pass the border into Canada late Thanksgiving morning. November in Montreal was much colder than in New York City. There was a dusting of snow on the grown. He hoped his future kid would be up to the cold weather. He knew that Patrick would keep him updated over the years. The two of them spoke over the phone almost every night since his Labor Day visit. Benjamin's mobile phone started to ring as he parked the car in the fertility clinic's parking deck. It was his best client. Benjamin answered the call. "What is it Mark?"
Mark was a bit surprised at Benjamin's annoyed tone. "Sorry. Did I interrupt family plans for the holiday?"
"Not exactly."
Back in New York City, a smirk came on Mark's face. "Were you on your way to a cum dump?"
"Not exactly."
Confusion replaced that smirk. "So what
did