Chapter 31: Happiness Practice

Was Aron already back? He wondered, as he climbed the stairs two by two, with Taz happily prancing after him. He definitely hoped so, but stopped in front of the door to catch his breath. Aron was going to ask him why he had rushed up the stairs. He had no alternative reply for that.

“It looks like for a while you’ll have two daddies,” Carter scratched Taz’s ears, just to buy some time.

Taz barked in reply and Carter had to shush him since he didn’t want the neighbors scandalized on Sunday afternoon by a loud dog.

The door opened suddenly.

“You guys back already? Great! That means you’ll help unpacking!” Aron said brightly.

Carter stood up straight. Aron in the door was a sight to behold. Not because he was different from how he usually was, but simply because he was. Aron waiting in the door. For him. To come home. It seemed like something from a dream he must have had a long time ago, one that he could not clearly remember, but was still lingering at the edge of his memories. He could identify the feeling, though, as something pleasant and warm settling right in the center of his chest.

“Do you have a lot of luggage?” Carter questioned, this time a bit worried that they weren’t going to find enough room for Aron’s stuff.

“Just the necessary. But I don’t want to step on your toes and take over your domain,” Aron laughed. “So I need you to tell me where to put everything.”

“Don’t worry,” Carter waved. “My home is yours.”

I’m all yours.

I dare you to say that out loud.

No way. Too soon.

Aron made way for him to enter and Taz was happy with the attention he received right away.

“Who’s a good boy?” Aron began playing with Taz.

I’m definitely a good boy. Play with me, too.

Could you give it a rest? You should behave at least like a half-decent person. Otherwise, he will run away.

Point taken.

Aron eventually followed him to the bedroom, and Carter opened wide his closet. Now it was a good thing that he didn’t have many clothes. He hoped there was plenty of room for Aron’s.

“You can put all your clothes here,” he said.

He turned to find Aron watching him from the other side of the bed. It was a bit odd, but the first thing he thought was how familiar the entire scene seemed. Like this was normal. Just another day in their lives. Completely how it was supposed to be.

“And I have spares. I mean, like toothbrushes and stuff,” he added quickly.

“Thank you,” Aron replied, but his voice was low and a bit strange for some reason.

If someone could have asked him later, he would have said, in all honesty, that he had no idea what the hell happened, but he practically jumped on the bed, rushing straight into Aron’s arms. Or was it Aron who made the first move?

The only thing that mattered was that they were kissing, stumbling on the bed, making a mess of Aron’s clothes that had been just earlier neatly arranged on the coverlet. It took them a minute, or maybe two, to come to their senses.

“What are we doing?” Aron wondered, pressing his forehead against Carter’s, his hands firm on the other’s biceps.

“I think we’re ruining your clothes,” Carter replied promptly.

Aron chuckled.

“Good point. And a good thing I left the suits on the sofa. I won’t need to do ironing all day long.”

“You know how to do that?” Carter mumbled.

He only had clothes that could not wrinkle. Much. For everything else, he used local services. But Aron ironing? Somehow, that was possible. The man had always been so self-sufficient. Or at least he had been before meeting Alex and deciding he suddenly needed a husband.

Ouch. Back to reality.

“Do you, um, think about, you know, getting back with your husband?” he asked, his voice meek.

Aron squeezed his arms briefly and let go.

“No,” came the prompt reply. “For a little while, he behaved like he was my husband, for real. And then he just took everything back. I felt cheated.”

“Because he was cheating?” Carter let the words flow from his mouth. “With that guy Simon?”

“I don’t mean that. As I told you, I hold a bit of hope that he respected our marriage while we were still together. But I felt cheated out of my happiness. We could be happy together. For a little while, he showed me everything we could have. And then he even had the nerve to tell me that he could not see why I was upset with him when he got back to being ... Well, himself, I guess. Yeah, now that I think about it, him being so ... my husband,” Aron chuckled, “was somehow out of character. And of course he said that I was suffocating him. No one controls what I feel,” Aron said, looking down, a frown darkening his face. “I was honest with him. And all he did was take, and use that as he saw fit.”

“Wow, so you just ... walked away? Was it a spur of the moment thing?”

Aron sighed.

“He actually told me to go away.”

“He kicked you out?”

“It’s a way of saying. No, it wasn’t a spur of the moment thing. As I see things now, much clearer, I think I just went against myself like an idiot trying to love someone who didn’t want to be loved. I should feel ... regret. But no, I don’t feel that. Because if everything was a game for him, he doesn’t deserve my love.”

“I’m sorry, man,” Carter put a hand on Aron’s shoulder and squeezed in sympathy.

“It’s okay,” Aron placed his own over Carter’s. “I really have no regrets. Except maybe for the lost time. But I’m decided to make up for it.”

“You are?” Carter asked.

“Yeah,” Aron whispered and leaned in to place another kiss on Carter’s lips.

“So will the fuck buddy arrangement continue?” Carter asked when Aron drew away.

“Of course,” Aron smiled. “I would not have it any other way. Plus, we’ll share the bed. So, you know, things might ... no, will happen,” the man laughed.

Ah, great.

Yeah, I was scared there for like a moment or so.

“And let’s settle you in,” Carter offered. “I can’t do the ironing, but at least I’ll make sure to keep things in order. A little. Not much. I’m afraid.”

Okay, so he was babbling again. It was slowly dawning on him what Aron had just told him. Things would happen. On the bed. They were on the bed. Oh, did that mean... ?

“Don’t worry. In exchange for your generous offer of letting me stay with you, I’ll take care of everything. I’ll keep the house clean, and I’ll cook. And I’ll pay the bills,” Aron added.

“Wow, no,” Carter put both his hands up. “You’ll be away from home for more than half the day each work day. I think I can manage with keeping things tidy. As for cooking, do you know any microwave recipes? I don’t think I tried. Shit, I don’t think I have anything but plastic plates. And...”

“Don’t worry, it’s not like you’re hosting royalty,” Aron smiled. “You should just feel as at home as before. I am the one intruding.”

“No, no, no, you’re not. Taz and I should at least hold the fort while you’re away.”

“Are you back to work? On your freelancing gigs?” Aron asked.

“I sure am. It’s not like I’m a cripple. And all I need is a laptop and Internet connection.”

“Great. It’s good to hear that you’re back in the saddle.”

Saddle? Do you remember that other context?

Oh, yeah...

“Hmm, what’s with that mysterious smile?” Aron asked.

“Ah, well, nothing. Just my mind, going...” he gestured for his head.

“Let’s put all these things away, and then chill,” Aron offered. “For tonight, I’ll take you and Taz out. There are plenty of nice places where dogs are welcome.”

“Great. Taz loves mingling with other kids his age,” Carter agreed.

“And, of course, when we need a bit of quality time, just the two of us, we will just leave him with my parents,” Aron added.

Wow, they were really making arrangements like they were married with kids or something. Only that they weren’t married, and they didn’t have any kids, and this was just a temporary situation and nothing more. He needed to get a hold of himself.

“Are you having second thoughts?” Aron asked, and this time, the man looked a bit dejected. “About me being here, with you?”

“No, no, it’s just that ... don’t mind me, it happens that I space out a lot, ever since the accident and all that,” Carter jumped quickly at an explanation.

“You looked a bit sad, just earlier,” Aron pointed out.

Could you just please tell him?

And risk having him walk right out that door, saying that he’s in no mood for complications right now? No way. I want to have him. Just a little more.

“A bit tired, I guess,” he murmured.

Aron pulled him close and slowly began caressing his back.

“I still remember how you used to tell me everything,” the man said, his voice tight. “We will get back to that.”

I could tell you everything, but I can’t tell you that. Not right now. I need you too much.

“We will,” he replied with conviction. “Now, really, we should start putting your things in all their rightful places if we don’t want this to take us the whole Sunday.”

That evening, after their night out, spent pleasurably, without complications, and uncomfortable questions, Carter was as happy as he could be with their arrangement. Yeah, for a while, he could practice being happy.

“Ah, damn, I only have one blanket,” he noticed as they prepared for bedtime.

“It’s okay, we can share,” Aron shrugged as he began shedding all his clothes.

Carter licked his lips as he watched his friend putting on a small striptease show, just for him. When Aron turned, showing off his gorgeous body, and what looked pretty much like a semi-erection, he knew he wasn’t going to get too much sleep.

“You’re sleeping naked?” he asked, as soon as he realized they were both too silent.

“Well, I think you should, too. Fuck buddies arrangements?” Aron asked.

That was supposed to be a joke, but Aron’s voice came out low and strung.

“Okay,” Carter nodded. “I, like, totally agree. What other rules should we put in there?”

He was talking to Aron, but he could only stare at the guy’s cock. Clearly, he was just getting a little bit obsessed.

“Let’s just make them as we go,” Aron moved to the bed, and Carter followed.

He was a bit overly conscious as he undressed like he could feel Aron’s eyes everywhere. Seconds later, they were both lying in bed, and Carter could feel the tension growing a bit.

“Should we just go to sleep?” he proposed.

Aron moved to turn off the light on the bed stand. Carter had to admit that he was a little disappointed, but he could not really say it.

He didn’t have time to meditate over what could mean that Aron wanted to go to sleep early because the next thing Aron did was to invade Carter’s side of the bed, and basically plaster him against it.

“How does this sound like a second rule? Let’s always play before sleeping,” Aron spoke, and Carter was a bit thankful for the dark because otherwise, he would have had a tough time hiding what he was feeling right now.

“So who’s on top?” he asked, hoping that talking about technicalities was going to stop him from blurting out some not so little truths.

“We’ll take it slow,” Aron proposed. “I want us to enjoy ourselves, nothing else.”

Enjoy it, yes, he could definitely do that. It could not be that difficult. It had to be easy, by all means.

Yet, he moaned as soon as Aron covered his lips, and the guy’s hands came upon his wrists, dragging them up and keeping them in place.

“Am I too rough?” Aron asked gently. “I’m sorry. It was hard to keep my hands to myself all day long.”

“You shouldn’t ... be sorry. And don’t keep your hands to yourself,” Carter replied quickly.

“Are you sure? Because I might want to assault you in the most inappropriate situations, like when we’re watching a game or you’re drinking coffee or ... I don’t want to scare you off.”

“You’re not scaring me off. I promise,” Carter said.

“Okay. Because I’m feeling a little like I’m in a dream and I’m going to wake up soon,” Aron said simply.

“No, it’s no dream at all.”

And if it is, we’re both having it.

“Good then,” Aron chuckled. “Then can I jump you anytime I feel like it?”

Carter could tell the guy was joking, only that their cocks were touching and they were both a little bit hard right now, and that was no joking matter.

“Well, maybe not anytime. Some situations can be dangerous. Like what if we’re in traffic? Also, maybe we could get arrested for indecent exposure if we do it in public, and then your parents will have to bail us out, and also Taz is going to get confused when we don’t get back home and...”

“Okay,” Aron murmured against his lips and shut him up with a kiss.

He didn’t mind that. Oh, he didn’t mind that at all, especially since Aron knew how to slide one hand underneath and lift him up, so they could meet thrust by thrust. It was just so, so good, to be kept in place by a strong hand wrapped around his wrists, and have another on his ass, squeezing, and a damn fine cock on his, while Aron called the shots and was doing a great job while at it.

Had anyone said to Carter before that he would find sword fighting a pretty fascinating sport, he would have called that person on having way too much imagination, but the truth was that he liked it. He liked it so much, that he could not get enough of it. Especially since Aron was also busy fucking his mouth with his own, and the guy knew how to make that kind of rubbing really pleasant.

“Oh, fuck,” he murmured, as soon as they stopped kissing so they could breathe a little. “I want to suck your cock,” he said in one go, hoping that Aron didn’t have other plans.

“Let’s go 69,” Aron whispered. “I want to suck yours, too.”

Aron decided on his own to manipulate Carter easily on top of him, and in the right position, making them face each other’s cock with ease. Carter knew that he was merely just enthusiastic and way too sloppy, as he pushed as much as he could into his mouth, only to release and take a deep breath a moment later, like a diver just before a dive.

Aron, on the other hand, seemed to have no problems with swallowing Carter’s cock deep and controlling it with a light squeeze at the base. Ah, well, he could try to take after whatever Aron was doing. Because it definitely felt pretty frigging amazing.

The only problem was that Aron was an expert deepthroater while he, Carter, could barely be called a novice. So he decided to aim for artistic points, rather than technique. Grabbing Aron’s cock with both hands, he began licking it like a lollipop. And he was probably doing something good because it was clear that Aron was enjoying it if the muffled sounds the guy was making were any indication.

He put his mouth over the engorged mushroom, continuing to lick it and suck it. It was probably going to take a while to manage to get the whole thing inside his mouth, but he could do half of it, so he could work on that.

The problematic aspect was that Aron was doing an amazing job swallowing him to the hilt, and that made it pretty frigging difficult to concentrate. Hell, it was impossible to concentrate.

He noticed, somewhat horrified, that he was moving his hips, and practically hammering Aron’s throat. He needed to stop that. Really, he needed to do it. But Aron moved both hands to cup Carter’s buttocks and he began hammering his own throat using the other’s body to satisfy this very strange thrill of his.

“Oh, fuck,” he cried this time feeling his climax coming, without any chance to postpone it.

It was a real pity that he had to let go of Aron’s delicious cock, to focus on the pleasure invading him and making his toes curl, but there was no way helping it. There was no way out for him, and it wasn’t like he had any regrets. He pushed and pushed, and Aron helped him, by keeping his hips down, and clamping down hard with his mouth, that Carter was certain he was going to faint one second later.

He was probably making very strange sounds as Aron was gently pushing him away to rest on the bed. The guy was laughing.

“So full of yourself,” Carter mumbled. “Fuck, your cocksucking techniques are out of this world, A.”