“I finished early. Waiting outside.”
The text message is very simple. My eyes linger on it anyway, for no special reason.
Another mind-numbing day at the library. I can’t complain about the job being hard because it isn’t. What I do want to complain about is how unproductive I have been for a while now. Doom scrolling at work just as much as at home was proving very detrimental to my psyche. Hell, I haven’t opened a book in ages, even though several thick, dusty ones have been seductively posing on the high shelves, the ones with hard, ridged covers and old-time paper. My work, which was the least important part of this situation, I’m also pushing back for no reason. I know I’ll do the monthly report before the 30th, but tomorrow will always look more inviting.
“Are you done? Or do I come up?” comes the second text.
To make matters worse, the weather has been unfortunately cozy for the past two weeks as well. The mild contrast between the chilly breeze and the low-powered heater creates a perfect environment to cocoon yourself in layers of clothing and never move an inch till your muscles atrophy. The tap tap tap of sporadic raindrops also play a part, lulling me to sleep, to hibernate, the rest of the world (read: my job) be damned. Alden always jokes that my love for sleep, along with my endless appetite for salmon and berries, is because I’m actually a bear. He repeats that joke a number of times that exceeds the endearing limit.
“TEEEEEEDDDDDDDD” A third, demanding text. I really wish Alden would let me turn the read receipts back off. They’re an unfair handicap.
With eyes unable to withstand their own weight, I’m just about ready to shut down. Even with 10 minutes left before I can walk past Admin without getting written up, it’s still a struggle to keep them open. The vision of near freedom keeps me going, but the effort that was waiting for me at the entrance leaves me prematurely exhausted. Not that Alden is high maintenance. I just need more energy and willpower than usual to do anything right now.
The phone starts vibrating as Alden calls me, not waiting for a message back. I refuse the call and type back.
“be there in 5m.”
I get up and start closing shop. The 16-year-old girl touring the shelves in the back like she’s on a holy pilgrimage is surprised that we close at 5. It was her first time here, so I’m supposed to explain to her that the Ontario Megan Fitch Recreational Center is technically a subsidiary of the government and so follows the schedule of public services. Furthermore, while I personally love the idea of a night library, 5 p.m. is a perfectly late time to close shop, so people don’t need to complain about this every time.
I don’t have the energy for all that, though, so I just give her a shrug after which she makes a face and leaves. With the windows and doors checked and the light finally off, I put on my winter armor – a black puffer jacket, wool fingerless gloves, and the red chullo Alden’s mom made me last Christmas – before finally stepping out.
*****
“TEDDDDYYYY!”
Alden, who was chatting with the security guard like they were out for drinks, beams when he sees me. I’m barely able to scan his cute, furry face before being pulled into a bear hug on the spot, his thick, wooly scarf suffocating me.
Whatever mental hoops I was jumping through 5 minutes ago are blown away as Alden’s scent, sweat and dust, engulfs my senses. I lean into the hug, burying myself in his huge frame and trying not to act too lovey-dovey in front of the guard. I hate how much I like this.
“So this is the famous Al I keep hearing about!” Hank, the guard, exclaims, referencing a one-off mention of Alden I slipped ages ago, before dropping his voice and smirking at me. “You two should do it all the time while you still got it.”
I give a practiced, but still forced, smile while thanking God there’s no one else around. Hank’s pervy smile does not suit his grandpa wrinkles, but I know old people are always real freaks underneath that warm and caring crap.
“Every day, all day, till the buffalo poops!” Alden answers without missing a beat, slapping my back with pride, and I have to restrain myself from burying my face in my hands as the other two men laugh.
Hank’s obnoxious snickering follows us as we leave the building into the bustling street and start walking home. The cold, crisp air helps wake me a bit from my funk, and having Alden marching next to me in his light brown overcoat and winter cap (as opposed to his chullo because he lost that. Again.) is better than walking home alone.
“Relaaaax… he’s obviously just bored.” Alden says in response to my tired face, tucking the golden locks of hair that chaotically escape his cap and giving me a quick peck on the forehead.
“I’m relaxed. Just tired. And no. By tomorrow, everyone in the center will know my boyfriend and I are fucking like rabbits.”
I’m not really relaxed, and I don’t plan on being so till I get home and shower and get comfortable next to the heater, but having Alden next to me right now makes me loosen up against my will.
“He won’t just tell the-“
“He WILL just tell them. Everyone in there is over 50 with nothing to do most of the day except gossip. They know more about each other’s medical histories than I know about my mom.”
“Well, that comparison just doesn’t work for y-“
“Shut up,” I exhale and nudge Alden to the side with my hip. “Also, carry me. I don’t wanna walk home.”
“Aye aye, sir!” Alden replies with renewed enthusiasm, puts his arms around my waist immediately, and starts tugging with exaggerated force.
“Stop. STOP. IT WAS A JOKE. STOP!” I bang uselessly on his taller back as Alden tries and fails to lift my struggling self up.
When he eventually lets go, I complain while fixing my clothes. “What’s up with you today?”
“I’m just happy to be alive. I’m just~ Happpyy~ to bee~~~ alIVEEE~~” Alden sings while doing ridiculous poses.
“You’re not a himbo, stop acting like one. Also, people are watching.”
“Come on! It’s funn~~ gonna be your himbooo~~~” Alden continues his circus show, bumping me to the side with each line.
It’s so stupid, I can’t help but laugh. And to think I was the more emotional one when we first got together.
Alden snakes his hands around my shoulders and hugs me from the back as he rocks on the sidewalk. Maneuvering the crowded sidewalk so we won’t topple anyone over, I grab his hands and join his impromptu dance and song.
“I wannaaaa~~~ beee~~ yourrr himboooo~~~” We sing together in a tune known but only to God, getting strong looks from everyone we almost crash into.
After a couple of minutes, the noise dies down, and then we continue the way home in silence.
*****
The light spills into the dark apartment from the main door as we shuffle inside. I flick the light switch without looking, then get down and start undoing my ranger boots. Alden kicks off his sneakers and falls (with caution) face-first to the floor next to me.
“Get up. The floor is dirty, plus you’ll catch a cold.”
Alden doesn’t move an inch.
With the one free foot, I kick him lightly. “Get up.”
“Nu-uh!” Alden responds with a muted voice.
“What happened to all the energy from 30 minutes ago?”
“Gone. I sleep now.”
A quick swipe of my fingers across Alden’s soles causes my boyfriend to launch from his lying position into a jumping jack with a yell.
“Sleep in bed. And don’t you dare lie down without changing.”
“Man, fuck you!” Alden protests as he walks like a zombie towards our room.
I sigh and finish taking off my boots, then navigate through the half-messy hallways after Alden. I have made peace with the casual mess we always have. The apartment is tiny, a simple hallway leading into a big bedroom which connects to a bathroom and kitchen on either side, and we have lots of stuff. It just happens, and I can’t keep tidying up every 2 hours.
Inside the bedroom, Alden was already passed out on the bed, which occupied a good chunk of it, without him even taking off his jacket. Considering the tickle option again, I give it up quickly. I’ll change the sheets later, and the laundry basket is full, too. Instead, I slump down on Alden’s back. The big guy gives out a muffled whimper but displays no reaction otherwise. The body under me is insanely fuckable, with the squished meaty build folding into me with feverish heat, but all I can think about is how comfortable of a pillow Alden’s ass makes at that precise point. We stay like that for a bit.
“Get up and change already.”
“Get off me, then.”
“I don’t think I can.”
“Get off. Getoff. Getoff.GetoffGetoffgetoffgetoff…” Alden started squirming under me.
I might be shorter than him, but I’m still heavy. Alden knows this better than anyone as he starts humping his ass between my crotch and the bed. All that registers in my brain is the lulling rhythm of the massage chair under me, until Alden starts pushing properly and flips me over to the side, before promptly sliding to the carpet floor.
“Get off the ground, you’ll catch a cold,” I say while staring at the ceiling.
“I just need 5 minutes,” Alden replies, already slipping under.
That’s the cue for me to properly get up. We can’t both fall asleep.
“Alden,” I hover over my boyfriend’s body, “I’m tired as is. Get up now, or I will get the water.”
The mention of our mutual technique stirs something in Alden, but he remains motionless and soundless all the same.
“Fine, have it your way.”
With a newfound strength, I get up to the bright, tiny bathroom, fill up the cup we use for holding toothbrushes with cold tap water, then make my way back.
“Last warning.”
By the looks of it, he seems half asleep at that point, but I still give him a minute to answer.
When he doesn’t, I pull back the scarf and spill a good chunk of the water down his back before retreating as he shoots up into the air, then lands back with an impact that will definitely get us complaints from Jerome tomorrow, if not today.
“I hate you so much right now!” He says as he forces his body to move against its will.
“I’ll try to pick the pieces of my broken heart later. At least, take off your coat and scarf before falling asleep.”
“Ughhhhhhhhh… FINE…..”
“I’m gonna take a shower,” I tell him as I start peeling off my own layers as lazily as possible.
The true iciness of the room hits me full force once my sweaty back is exposed. My body starts shaking right away, and I race towards the bathroom with a survival need, hoping the friction from my stocky build will get me there. I feel the rigid cold so deeply, it ends up going over my reaction threshold. My soles hurt slightly against the tub’s floor. I turn on the hot water, detach the shower head, and try to get as much heat as I can manage on as much of me as possible.
I hear the bathroom door open, after which comes the audible plop of Alden’s ass on the toilet seat. He takes his time, so that when I’m mostly done shampooing myself, the bath’s curtain is pulled away, and he stands there, naked and sleepy. His body, dusted with light, golden fur, is hunched over amicably and his sizable cock swings lazily between his legs. The smell of his sweat is way stronger now that he’s airing it out from every nook and cranny.
“I’m almost done. Gimme a minute.”
He stays still first, eyes half-lidded, then steps in and sits down, sending water everywhere.
“Oh, for the love of- ALDEN!”
I can’t do anything except groan at him while he relaxes like a dying wind-up toy.
“At least promise me you’ll wipe the bathroom down before we sleep.”
“Mhmmmm,” he lets out a weak mumble I know he won’t remember.
Another groan, then I finish washing the soap off my body, switch the water for an icy cold finish (at which, Alden gives a shocked squeal), turn off the water amidst objections from below, and step out into the now-wet bathroom.
“Hey, wait. Check my back. I think I hurt myself at work today,” he calls from the bottom of the tub.
“Ok.”
I finish patting myself as dry as you can get in a bathroom with 200% humidity, then tie the towel around my waist and open the curtain. Alden stands up and turns his back to me, and I immediately realize the problem.
“Your eczema seems to be acting up. Are’t you wearing the undershirt we got last time?”
“No? Didn’t you say you were gonna return it?”
“I did, but then he gave me a new one and another one as an apology. I told you.”
“Can’t remember. Also, Jesus, did you rob the guy?” Alden says as he turns around again and fires up the shower head, hot water this time, sending more water outside
I move out of the way of the incoming tide.
“No, I promised him we’ll come again cause you need other stuff.”
“Will we?”
“Fuck, no.”
“Hehehe, at least we got two shirts out of it. Lucky me.”
“Again, no. They’re cheap Chinese shit. I doubt they’ll even survive the washing machine.”
“Ah, shoot.”
I close the curtain, then pick up Alden’s glasses, which he left carelessly on his haphazardly discarded clothes, now wet, on the floor, and give them a quick wipe down before placing them on the mirror shelf, knowing full well they’ll fog up again in a minute.
“You wanna cook something? Cause I sure can’t be assed.”
“Na-ah,” comes his voice over the water noise. “Order from Gabe’s.”
“I don’t feel like greasy food. How about that little new shop on 9th? Sun Parade, was it? Do we still have the takeaway menu?”
“Whatever.” A nonchalant reply.
As I exit, warmth radiating off my skin clashes with the cold room, and I once again get the urge to jump into bed and just forget everything. But, I’m properly awake after the shower, and my quickly dwindling body heat means I am forced to quickly fish out an old, thick Christmas sweater. When my pajamas don’t turn up, I put my basketball shorts on, so my balls don’t freeze off.
The electric heater starts with its usual frightening spasm that causes some sparks to fly from the outlet. It’s probably dangerous, but as long as we don’t leave it on while we sleep, we’ll live. I crouch in front of it until it’s properly on and my bare knees burn a little, then get up and start tidying the room.
One by one, it quickly clears out. After cracking the window an inch to let the air flow a little, I bunch all the clothing in need of a wash, slipping into the bathroom to pick Alden’s, and put them in the basket for later. I almost leave before spinning back to the basket and fishing out our wallets and other poor leftovers.
The new clearance helps me find the takeaway menu, and I call it while standing next to the heater. In no mood to pick and choose, I basically grab his first recommendations. After that are the bed sheets. It’s a quick procedure, and I end up changing the pillow casings while I’m at it.
It may have been simple, but getting up the willpower to stop myself from sleeping at the front door was no joke. Finally, after a long, exhausting day, I dive into the clean, comfortable bed, basking in the heaven-born sensation of every muscle relaxing at once.
It couldn’t have been more than 10 minutes. I didn’t fall asleep, so I know it couldn’t, but my moment of zen is interrupted when the bathroom door opens and closes.
“One, two…”
I barely register the sound before he hauls his entire body weight onto me. For a second, I’m sure I’ll choke. But the pressure lets up as quickly as it comes, and I look up at an excited Alden, perched on top of me like a freshly dried dog. He smells of shampoo that doesn’t entirely cover his body’s sent.
“Do you WANT to catch a cold?” I give him a playful slap on the face. “Put something on.”
I try to cocoon myself in the covers again, but Alden’s mouth shoots into the crook of my neck, biting it and adding sound effects of his own.
“Warm me up~~~ babyyyy~~”
I twist the covers harder. “That’s what the heater’s for.”
“Well, I can’t shove a heater up my ass now, can I?”
That does it, and I unwind from the covers, spreading out under him while laughing.
“We can try!”
Alden grabs my shoulders and starts shaking me like a stuffed toy. “You’re trying to kill me? HELP! THIS MAN IS TRYING TO KILL ME! AAAA!”
“HAHAHAHH, ALRIGHT, alright. Calm down, jeez!”
I throw my hands around his neck and bring him in for a kiss. He’s warm as fuck, burning with heat radiating from more than the shower, from the taut muscles and the very blood coursing through him. The simple comfort of placing my lips on his flesh sends the blood not just to my dick, but to every part of me.
“HE’S UP! He’s up and out of his hibernation,” Alden announces to the ceiling.
I pull him back down, fisting the golden, hairy locks on either side of his head. I take my time tracing the features of his mouth with mine, going over the familiar ridges and bumps with gentle swipes. Alden lets me, occasionally lapping at my tongue when I slow down.
“Get under the covers.”
“Jeeez,” he complains, and I can practically hear the part he leaves out. “Okay, MOM!” He knows I hate it.
A quick body shuffle and accidental ball tug later, he’s safely under me, rubbing his pained testicles, with the covers pulled over us and hanging from my head. My sweater and shorts lay freshly discarded and entangled in the bed sheets.
Alden lies peacefully under me, his warm eyes looking up in anticipation. I lean in and kiss him again, pushing and pulling for a bit before I reposition my mouth on his neck.
“Teddy….”
A breathless whisper as I gently kiss along his neck. His hands sway at my side, unable to decide on how to rest. Meanwhile, I’m busy rubbing our cocks together, making them slip and slide both ways, while I go down my usual memorized route. From his golden mane to his meaty pecs and down his happy trail, the feel of him is nothing exciting, simply fulfilling, like playing with your own body. Alden gets fussy when I near his groin, so I know I’m doing it right. Instead of kissing that beautiful, pale cock of his, I steer around it, caressing his thighs and in between them, never touching his throbbing erection.
“Don’t be a tease, now,” he laughs softly as his legs involuntarily try to squeeze my head with instinctual strength.
“I’ll do what I want, and you’ll like it.”
I kiss the tip of his cock, barely giving suction to the head before drawing back to make my statement clear.
He jerks under me, locks his legs around my head, and squeezes for real this time.
“Hey!”
A quick jab to his defenseless anus opens up his legs, and I go back up to meet him at eye level.
“If you’re so confident about this, how about you top, ha?”
His face breaks into a shy grin, and he gives me a peck.
“I’m sorryyyy~~”
“Good. Now that we sorted that out…”
I kiss him again, more sloppily this time. Our mouths mash together, clearly worked up at this point. One of my hands is cradling his head, enjoying the feeling of his soft, freshly-showered hair, while the other is on his cock, alternating between teasing the underside of his glans with my thumb and cupping and pulling at his balls. Alden raises his legs, showing that he’s prime and proper for the taking, and like with today’s work mood, any sex routines I think of pulling disappear at the luscious, inviting, handsome beast beneath me.
I back up, admiring the view of Alden’s exposed hole, pink and slightly trembling, before locking back into him, our bodies joining like old gears, rough but grinding effortlessly. He meets my weight with his own bucking, trying to jump off the bed as he winks his hole at me. I can only see his cute, somber face, but I know it’s basically trying to grab my cock down there. I spit into my hand (which Alden giggles at) and rub my cock with it, knowing it won’t take more after he just got ready. My own, painful hard-on knocks on his entrance, and I rest my forehead against his as it starts prying into him, having its way home memorized.
Another breathless whisper. I don’t catch what he says this time, but the way his trimmed nails dig into my back, blunt but strong, tell me all I need to know. With practiced ease, I bottom out in him, and he holds me tight with his arms and legs. He’s breathing into my ear. It’s not labored, but a bit erratic.
“Fuck me.” There’s craving in his voice. He needs to get off.
“Hold me tight,” I say, and he does.
The first couple of strokes are slow and sensual as I knock into him, massaging his insides with my cock. His own guts tense and relax in tandem, a glorious show of that hidden strength of his. Our bodies meld together as I rev up my engine and start hammering it in, paced at first, then free for all. Each thrust knocks a little wind out of him, and his gasps and moans only fuel my drive, making me prod his insides more accurately to get to hear his lovely voice get louder and louder.
We switch between kissing and groaning as my pelvis crashes into his ass cheeks and my balls slap him silly, hurting me a bit but ultimately adding to the pleasure. He manages to let out some ‘Ted’s here and there, which I respond to with muted grunts as I draw my full length out until only the head remains, kissing his insides and desperate lips, which grip it like a lifeline. The next fuck comes with a better angle, like I’m digging out a comfortable spot for me inside me, and he spreads his legs further, desperately trying to get me to scratch his most intimate spots.
“Fuck. Teddy. I wanna cum!”
He practically yells the words as I pound him into the sagging mattress, and I realize his cock is unattended to. I bring my fingers, index and middle, to his mouth, and he starts sucking without being told to. His eyes are on me as his mouth slobbers all over them, asking me to hurry up. I take my fingers out and find his mouth again, prying it open and stuffing him forcibly with my tongue. He moans loudly into my mouth, his head dancing with each spasm. My hand finds his cock, flapping and leaking all over the place between us, and starts jerking it in tandem with the fucking. I hold my hand still as his rocking body jerks itself with it, the peculiar rhythm proving way too effective.
It takes less than a couple of minutes for Alden to explode in my hand, and his seed splatters everywhere, over his guts and on my body hair and onto the bed. He must’ve been really pent up because he keeps shooting for a bit, his agitated cock struggling to spew as much of its milk as it can. Alden isn’t quite about it either, yelling out as he lets his body flex to its limits with pleasure. Before I can think, my hand shoots out to cover his mouth.
“Sh..Sh..Sh…. Ride it out. Ride it out,” I walk him through his orgasm. “No need to let the neighbors know. Again.”
He’s half-yelling, half-laughing at the situation, but in response to my hold, he clamps down on my dick. Not in the usual ‘oh, his hole is squeezing me’ type of way, but in ‘oh, he’s gonna fucking rip it off’ way. Needless to say, the intensity of his anal muscles and upwards grinding coaxes the load out of me, and I surrender myself as I scream into the space between his shoulder and the pillow. My ruts power through my first two pumps, then rigidly settle inside him, our flesh melding from the pressure as I paint his guts pure white.
The sex saps whatever energy I had at the bottom of my tank, and I find myself rolling over, ready to fall asleep. I can’t, obviously, because I’m starving and need to unplug the heater for starters, but it’s good to enter that ephemeral world between lucidity and sleep, even if it’s for a second. Alden curls up into a ball in his spot, experiencing the same fatigue as I. I want to nudge him so that at least one of us can answer the door when the delivery guy arrives, but I can’t be bothered. The same way I couldn’t be bothered about getting a towel before we started, so I won’t have to change the sheets again. The same way I couldn’t be bothered about putting up appearances in front of Alden when I got off work.
With the momentary heat of passion giving way to the frigid cold, I pull myself into a sitting position on the bed with the pillows behind me, fish out the sweater from next to the bed, scooch over to Alden to join our body heat, and pull the cover over us properly. Reverting to before Alden revved my engine, I open my phone and start scrolling through tired eyes while he drifts to sleep next to me.
I didn’t expect them to, but the combination of fatigue and hunger, coupled with this morning’s blues, come back up the more I scroll, and I feel a cold, unfavorable heat spark all over me. Throwing the phone to the side, I sink into the pillow at an uncomfortable angle, but all I can do is sigh from somewhere rather deep as I cover my face with my hands.
“..at’s wrong?”
Alden is half-concscious, but the question is aware.
“It’s nothing. Go back to sleep.”
Alden stirs, then straightens up and rubs his eyes awake.
“Seriously, go back to sleep. I’ll wake you up when the food arrives.”
“You said it’s nothing,” Alden says, still rubbing, “which is Ted speak for something.”
“I’m upset because the food is late, that’s all.”
“Come on, Teddy.” He reaches around and pulls me to his chest. “You seemed upset after work, too. Is it something at the center?”
I relax into his chest.
“No, no, at all. The center is great.”
“Even Hank?”
“Especially Hank.”
Alden chuckles. He doesn’t ask anything.
“It’ just,” I start after a pause, “I was feeling down. That’s all.”
“Down like…?”
“Like ‘my life isn’t headed anywhere’ down, but not that catastrophic. Yet.”
It feels revolting saying it out loud, but I’m not gonna lie to Alden.
There’s a pause.
“Do you miss home?” Alden asks, his voice betraying the emotions underneath.
“No, it’s a ‘me’ thing, not a location thing.”
He doesn’t say anything, but I can feel his muscles unclench under me.
“Are you an idiot? Of course, it isn’t about the move.” I raise my head to look at him. He grins sheepishly.
“Had to ask.”
“I told you to stop asking,” I say, and kiss the tip of his nose before settling back.
“It’s like… remember those projects I did for the school back home? The little computer games for the kids? The Meals on Wheels program?”
“Aha.”
“Well. Obviously, I enjoyed doing them, but they were always- they always felt like stopgap measures. Like I’m filling time with something other than what needs to be done.”
“And after coming here,” I continued, “Without them, I have to face that feeling again.”
“What would you have liked to do?”
“Do you know the last time I picked up a book? The last time I tried to start any project whatsoever?”
“Not really. But, I guess, a long time?”
“Super long time.”
*dingggg*.
I feel like I wanna barf. The regret from letting emotions spill is already bubbling, but I force it down by hugging Alden harder.
“Well… wanna hear my take?”
“Mhmm.”
“You said you were feeling down,” Alden starts explaining, and I swear I can see him adjust fictional glasses over his nose with a smug look, “so all we need to do is get you back up!”
“I’m listening. But not for long.”
“Well, nothing can go up, can go anywhere really, without energy, fuel. And so, all we need to do is fuel up with some good food, which should be at the door rightttttt…”
Alden stretches the last word, then points at the door confidently and declares, “NOW!”
There’s a knock on our door as the delivery guy finally finds our apartment.
“What do you think? Should I go public with my psychic powers?”
I laugh against my will as I get up. “I heard the elevator ding too, dimwit.”
The kiss I give him is a proper one this time. A date kiss. It’s really comforting to kiss Alden. Even when he’s dirty from work.
I fish out the shorts once again and go to get the food.
“Looks hot and steamy,” Alden says when he joins me on the bench behind the kitchen table, the fluorescent light giving the whole spot the feel of a governmental purgatory. He has my pajamas on (the ones I was searching for), along with a vest over nothing. “What did you order?”
“I wasn’t sure what the guy said, but it says here it’s a ‘Sun Combo’.”
“Fuck does that mean?”
“Let’s see. Also, wear something better. You’ll get a cold like that,” I say for the 100th time.
He ignores my complaint and slides next to me, rubbing his hands with anticipation while I unpack the containers. To my surprise, the food turns out to be a lot for what we paid. The big star is the big deli bowl filled with chicken soup. The broth is almost shining in stark contrast to its muted surroundings as smoke rises cozily along with a sickeningly delicious smell. There are big chunks of chicken and vegetables in it, all mushy to the touch. The other two packages are some yogurt stew, I assume. It has baked, meat dumplings in it and pieces of meat that also fell apart when you poke them, with steaming rice on the side, topped with a bit of fried nuts and herbs.
“Holy shit. Praise be to the Sun!” Alden swallows back his saliva, and I have to take care not to let mine drool as the fountains in my mouth open to full blast.
The soup is too hot so I start with the stew. The first bite is euphoric. The stew, tangy and fat, sends goosebumps inside my mouth. I practically groan at how good it feels to my taste buds.
“Fuck. Hunger is a son of a bitch.” I manage to say after fully stuffing my mouth again.
“Dude. Try the soup, it’s got like chili peppers in it or something!” Alden snatches the food from my hand and replaces it with the small bowl he poured himself.
True to his word, the soup, tasting of that wonderful home-stewed experience, prickles my tongue ever so slightly in impossibly balanced heat.
“I’m never cooking again, my God…”
“Is it an Armenian or Romanian restaurant again?” Alden asks in between soup inhales.
“I don’t know. We’ll check later. All I know is that I’m going over there and giving the chef a blowjob.”
“Not if I beat you to it!”
*****
The food barely survives 10 minutes. It was so plate-licking delicious, Alden actually did it to collect as much of the stew as he can, and got a small cut on his tongue as a reward.
“It’th not funny,” he complains while rubbing his tongue all over his mouth.
I’m trying to hold in my giggles as much as I can but it proves too much of a challenge. “No, no, yeah. Totally!”
“Feeling betther now?” He asks after a pause.
His smile is so disarming, I think of pulling his cheeks until they hurt, but I just shake my head.
“Yeah,” I lean on his shoulder, “Much better.”
“Thold you you were thust hungry.”
“Yeah, you did,” I concede, “It was just a mood, sorry.”
“No apolothies, Tethy.”
“Thanks, Alden.”
I kiss him on the cheek, ruffling against his hair.
“Thank God! I thought I’ll hath to drive up north a get another boxth of athorted berrith!”
“No, you don’t ‘hath’ to. We still have a bunch from last time. And you still haven’t took the car to the mechanic, anyways.”
“I promith. Thomorrow!”
“Tomorrow was last Wednesday. You’re not driving it anywhere, anyways. I’ll take it myself. Glenda can keep the center from blowing up for 1 hour before I arrive.”
Alden’s index swirls around the back of my hand on the table.
“So, remember that nature reserve next to the berry farm?” I start.
“Yeth?”
“So I was thinking-“
“Oh, God!”
“Shut up. So, I was thinking…”
“…..”
“….”
“…”
“..”
“.”
END
This story is a work of fiction. All characters appearing in it are 18+ of age.
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