Thank you all for your comments - I've been blown away with how much you have been enjoying this story. There's one chapter to go.
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4
Mark
Okay, I still hated butterflies. Other than that, I just had the best day of my life so far. Frustration was high after a couple of days of having no time alone with Charlie, and then yet again he surprised me and took things much further. That kiss was going to be on my mind forever. It was already the most wonderful thing we could have been doing, wandering through the woods alone and holding hands, and then he turned and instigated a kiss that set my whole world spinning. He kissed like a dream and tasted so sweet. I could have stood there all day doing that. It was only going to make seeing him at work harder, knowing that we had shared such a moment.
On top of that it made my home feel even more empty when he dropped me off. I wanted him there to snuggle up to on the sofa, not heading back to his own place and not likely to see him until tomorrow when we would both be busy. I needed to organise some more time together because I would go crazy if I had to wait until next Monday to see him properly again. I needed to keep it light still because I had a feeling that despite the kiss Charlie was not ready to jump into bed with me. I was going to have to wait for him to broach that subject, or at least do my best to wait. Too many more kisses like the first one and I may have no control left.
Over the next couple of nights I was quickly proved right. Having him that close but not being able to see or speak to him properly was not doing it for me at all. We shared glances and smiles but it was not enough. I needed time with him badly. The end of shift wasn't so bad because I was always tired, but before I went into work I felt so alone and bored I couldn't wait to get into the restaurant so I would at least have a few quick moments to warm me and make me smile. I was so desperate I couldn't leave on Wednesday without making plans. He seemed to have hung back a bit, and I hoped it was because he wanted to see me properly too.
"Can we do something tomorrow before work? Just a chat and a coffee? I just really want to spend some time with you." I asked, trying not to sound too desperate.
He smiled at me. "I was going to ask you pretty much the same. Seeing each other here isn't enough."
Fantastic, he was thinking much the same as me. "How about we meet at the coffee shop an hour or so before we have to be here. We can pass it off as a coincidence if anyone sees us."
He readily agreed, and at least when I left afterwards I had something to look forward to. A quick drink in a public place, but better than nothing. After that, it became a regular thing. Each day before we had to work we would meet and talk together for a while, just enjoying each other's company. We would flirt a little, but there was no repeat of the kiss for the rest of the week. We just spent the time getting to know each other better and it was enough for the moment to have another private thing that we shared. Not that I wasn't remembering that kiss every time we met, and there were often moments when I caught a look from Charlie that suggested he was remembering it too.
On Saturday when we met he came up and placed a quick kiss on my cheek before he sat down. I wondered what I had done to make him want to, and looked at him quizzically.
"Thanks for your message." he said, blushing. "I do too."
I squeezed his hand in reply. I knew he was replying to my note with the flowers this week, "Every time we touch I melt." Our eyes locked for a long moment afterwards, and I regretted the fact we were in public and didn't have long together. It would have been the perfect moment for a second kiss. I sighed deeply with my disappointment at not being able to have one right then. Thank goodness it wasn't that long until Monday, but it was going to feel like forever.
We decided to go to to Oxford for the day. A bit of a trek but we fancied museums and shopping and it was a pretty place to visit. It was wonderful being in his company again after the days of working together. It pleased me that he was now totally happy with me being around and the only awkward or difficult moments we had were when one or other of us was obviously thinking about kisses. In my mind it was either the one we had already shared or the anticipation of another, because I was sure that would be happening, I just didn't know when.
It turned out that Charlie knew the area a lot better than I did and he led us through some of the college gardens and out to a walk beside the river, taking us further and further away from the main paths. I couldn't help but notice that there were fewer and fewer people around as we headed away from town. As far as I was concerned he could take me anywhere. When he finally stopped we were by a small bridge, trees all around us and the water slowly running past. Another beautiful spot, for another beautiful moment?
He took my hand again and led me off the path slightly into the undergrowth. I raised an eyebrow at him in question but he just grinned at me. When he stopped again I knew for sure we were where no-one else would see us. I opened my mouth to ask a question but he just pressed his finger to my lips to stop me, and once he seemed sure I wasn't going to argue his lips replaced it. That was all the encouragement I needed and I gathered his body against mine, putting all the love and lust I'd felt over the last week into the kiss. His body against mine and in my arms just felt totally right, and his soft moans, almost inaudible but I could feel as well as hear them, had me hard as a rock. And despite it all I still knew I couldn't make a move on him. My hands ran over his back but I was careful to stay above the waist because that's all he was doing to me, and I couldn't and wouldn't push him any further than he was willing to go.
We must have stood there for nearly an hour, necking like teenagers and lust simmering. If we had to catch our breath then we replaced the intense kiss with small pecks until we could resume the passionate ones. I wanted to keep him in my arms like this forever, but eventually it had to end. When he pulled back I nearly lost my balance because my legs were trembling so much, and there seemed to be no blood in the vast majority of my body. The one place it was throbbed painfully inside my trousers, and a quick glance at Charlie revealed he had the same problem again. Not that I doubted he enjoyed the kisses, else he wouldn't have brought me here and done it. He almost looked worried about it although I couldn't work out why.
"Sorry about that. I just couldn't contain myself any longer." he said.
"Sorry? You are kidding me? How could I possibly mind you kissing me senseless?!"
He smiled. "I don't know. I just worried that you might think I was a little desperate."
"For future reference, anything you want to do, any time you want to do it, will be fine by me. I'm not pushing for anything you aren't ready for, but you only have to let me know what you want."
"You're waiting for me still." he said, slightly disappointed.
"I'm letting you set the pace, not waiting for you. I can control myself, and the more I know about you and the longer we spend together, the more glad I am that I have that opportunity. I've never done it before, never been bothered about knowing someone, and I want to keep doing that with you. At some point that will turn to knowing you more intimately, but I am in no rush to do that. I want us both to be ready to take that step and I am certainly not constantly expecting it or annoyed that we aren't there yet. I hope that makes some kind of sense."
"Yes, I guess it does. You really are a changed man, aren't you!"
"I rather hoped you had worked that out before now! This isn't about me getting laid Charlie, it's about the rest of my life."
He just looked at me, clearly happy with what I had said, but not sure how to respond. I took the pressure off by giving him a quick kiss.
"Perhaps we should head back. We're a long way from home."
We walked back in silence for a while, but still hand in hand. I hadn't freaked him out with what I had said, but I had no doubt he was thinking about it. Still, after a little while we started to talk again, about something and nothing really, but things were still fine. In the car on the way back he started to discuss more serious matters.
"Mark, I was thinking about what I want for us right now. And what I think is that I want more time alone. Is there somewhere else we could go other than the coffee shop, because I can't wait a week for another kiss from you."
I was very happy with that idea and told him so. "The only thing is, we can't go far, so it will have to be either your place or mine."
"Would you mind me being at your place?"
I looked at him puzzled. "Of course not. I'd love to have you there. You don't live that far away, so car sharing wouldn't be that bizarre either. Come to mine for as long as you want, and we'll head to work together."
His smile lit up his face. How easy was it to please the pair of us with the smallest of moves, I wondered. And as much as I wasn't expecting sex for some while, that was going to be one hell of a lot of pleasure, and probably more than I had ever experienced in my life. And it was going to be for the rest of it, like I had said. Charlie was the most wonderful man I had ever met and although I hadn't ever expected to find it, this was definitely love.
That week was the best I had had in a long time. Sometimes it was only half an hour, other times much longer, but every day I saw him and kissed him before work. It felt really right having him in my home, and at some stage I hoped it would be our home. Seeing him curled up on my sofa, laughing at some dvd I'd put on, or just chatting with me, made me really happy for the first time in a long while. At work we kept our distance, but knowing that we would be together again soon made it worthwhile, and I had to give him lifts back too since we were now sharing transport, so I always got a goodnight kiss from him too before he got in his car to leave. I was pretty much in heaven.
