Chapter 6: Who Are You

‘The journey was uneventful, apart from Magnus’s excitement at things seen out of the window, then having a drink from the trolley that came round. I suggested that as we were eating on arrival, we just had a drink. He agreed, so I ordered two mini bottles of white wine.’

‘We pulled into Birmingham New Street Station on time at eight fifteen. I had put the hotel into maps on my phone and that guided us through the city. It was only a ten-minute walk. I checked in and they gave me two key cards.’

‘We went up in the lift to the fourth floor, found our room and Magnus was amazed at me opening the door with a card. Then when we went in there was no power until I put my keycard in the slot. That fascinated him too.’

‘He explored the room, and the bathroom. It took a few moments for both of us to realise that there was only one king size double bed. ‘They did say there were no other rooms available,’ I told him as he looked concerned. ‘But it’s a big bed so we’ll have no problem.’

‘Remember how you liked lying on the settee with your head on my lap,’ I told him, ‘Well sharing the bed will be just like doing that, but it will last all night.’ That seemed to ease his concern. I showed him where to unpack his things and asked which side of the bed he wanted.’

‘Then I rang the restaurant and managed to get a table for nine o’clock. So, we went to find the restaurant and were shown to a table. ‘Seeing we’re on holiday,’ I said, ‘Shall we have a three-course meal?’ Magnus agreed, so I told him to choose a starter and a main course from the menu.’

‘As we’d already had some wine on the train, I ordered a glass of medium dry white each with our starter, and a glass of full red with our mains course. I picked pate for starter and fillet steak with chips for mains. Magnus opted for the same. I guessed he wasn’t sure what some of the things on the menu were, so had decided to copy me.’

‘Our starters arrived quickly, and we set to. I noticed Magnus watching me before he did anything, so I guessed dinning out was something he hadn’t done much off. Our steaks were lovely, and the red wine complimented it well.’

‘We had a slight break, then after a look at the menu again, we had profiter rolls each. I considered finishing off with an Irish coffee but not being sure what Magnus’s reaction to alcohol was, decided to have a cappuccino instead. Magnus had the same.’

‘We had agreed to split the weekends costs between us, so I charged it to the room. Magnus thought being able to do that was wonderful. By now it was ten thirty, so we went back up to our room. We’ve got a long day tomorrow I said, so I suggest we shower tonight and have an early night.’

‘Why don’t you go first,’ I told him, ‘Take your night things in with you, then you can have a shower and put them on before you come back. Can you tell me what you sleep in?’ I asked. ‘T shirt and shorts.’ Magnus replied. ‘Will you feel embarrassed at me seeing you like that?’ I asked.’

‘Yes,’ he said, ‘But I don’t think it will be as much as I thought it would be.’ ‘Ok,’ I said, ‘Whilst you’re having your shower, I’ll strip down to the T shirt and shorts I’m wearing now. Then as I’ll be dressed the same as you, it should be easier for you.’

‘You’re so considerate,’ he said and headed for the bathroom. I stripped off and sat on the edge of the bed looking at the brochure for tomorrows fair. When I heard the bathroom door open, I looked up, put it aside and stood up.’

‘We were both stood facing each other in T shirts and shorts. Magnus looked nervous but not too bad. I looked him up and down. His rolls of fat showed more now, and the bulge in his shorts did indeed look small.’

‘Magnus, if possible, I want this weekend to help get rid of some of your shyness and embarrassment,’ I told him. ‘I have just looked at you from head to foot and back again. I want you to do the same to me now please.’

‘Remember I’m asking you to do it, so there’s no need to feel embarrassed.’ I watched him as he looked me in the face uncertain, then he let his eyes move downwards. He reached my feet and started back up.’

‘I noticed him pause, I guessed that was when he saw the front of my shorts, then he moved back up to face me. ‘There, that wasn’t too difficult, was it?’ I asked. ‘No.’ he admitted. I handed him the brochure. ‘Have a look at that whilst I go for my shower, I told him, ‘Then when I return, we can have a hug before we get into bed.’

‘When I returned, he was sitting on the edge of the bed like I had done. He put the brochure down and stood up. I dropped my clothes on a chair and stood in front of him. ‘Now,’ I said, ‘We’ve had hugs before, and it hasn’t upset you.’

‘I’d like us to have one now before we get into bed, but I don’t want to do anything that’s going to bother you.’ I opened my arms, and he paused. Then he moved into them. As we wrapped our arms around each other, Magnus put his head on my shoulder.’

‘I did the same, and we stood there hugging. ‘How do you feel?’ I asked. ‘Very happy,’ he said, ‘It’s like I always imagined that having a brother would be like.’ ‘Thank you,’ I told him, ‘I’d like you as a brother too. Let’s get into bed now.’

‘Sit up for now,’ I told him. ‘We got in and sat up. I smiled over at him and asked how he felt. ‘It seems strange being in bed and seeing someone else in it with me,’ he said. ‘But it feels exciting too.’ ‘Ok, in a moment we’ll settle down and put the light out.’ I told him.’

‘When we do, we’ll move close together and have a hug. Having a hug in bed will be just like all the other hugs we’ve had, except that instead of standing up, we’ll be lying down. Now you should know that there’s an unwritten law about sharing a double bed.’

‘It says that if two people share, the chances of them not bumping into each other in their sleep is zero. So, when we have our hug, I’ll explain to you why you don’t need to worry about it, and what to do about it if it does.’

‘Are you ok with that?’ Magnus nodded; he wasn’t looking at all concerned. ‘Settle down then.’ I instructed. We slid down in the bed, and I put the light out. ‘Turn on your side to face me,’ I told him, ‘I’m turning to face you. Now move forward and I’ll do the same.’

‘When we bump into each other, we’ll put our arms around each other and hug.’ We moved forward a little bit at a time until our knees touched first. I reached out my arms and as I put them round Magnus, he did the same to me.’

‘As you hug, press all of the front of your body against mine.’ I told him. We hugged for several minutes, every bit of our fronts touching from head to feet. ‘Can you feel any part of your front that isn’t touching me?’ I asked. ‘No.’ came a happy sounding reply.’

‘How do you feel?’ I asked. ‘It’s lovely being so close,’ he told me, ‘It doesn’t feel at all like I thought I would.’ ‘Ok,’ I said, ‘Just ease back a bit now.’ As we parted, I turned on my back. ‘Magnus,’ I said, ‘I’m lying on my back now, so I’m going to put an arm out under your neck.’

‘I want you to move your head onto my shoulder and put your other arm over my waist.’ I slid my arm behind his head, and he moved close. ‘Are you happy there?’ I asked. ‘Very.’ came the reply. ‘When we’re asleep,’ I told him, ‘We are bound to move about in the bed.’

‘If you wake up and find that you are up against me, don’t worry about it. It doesn’t matter where you are touching, I won’t mind. So, if you are happy there, stay there. If you’re not, just move away. If you wake up and find me touching you, the same thing applies.’

‘If you like what you are feeling, stay still and enjoy it. If you don’t, either move away or if you can’t, wake me up and I’ll move. It doesn’t matter what you choose, you will not upset me, understood.’ ‘Yes, thank you.’ he said.’