Matchmaker

AFTER THE MATCHMAKER by Magic Malcolm. (malcolm@malcolmcowan.co.uk)

Usual disclaimers apply. Don't read if you find the idea of two men being in love revolting. Don't read if you're under 18 (21 in some places), I don't personally mind if you are under-age, but they get so stuffy about stuff like this...

This part contains graphic sex between two males, and a little sprinkling of angst.

Now, on with the story. Part Four of AFTER THE MATCHMAKER.

Part Four - His Birthday

Friday 29th November 2002

I slept better last night; I suppose that's a good sign. Maybe I'm getting over the jerk now.

Yes, jerk. Only a real jerk would do something like that to a person they supposedly love...

Or maybe I'm just trying to get over him by being angry with him. Yeah, that'll really work. I read once about the seven steps, well it seems I've gone through denial, whining, sadness, self-pity, anger...and right back to sadness again. At least it's not as bad as it was...I'm quite resolved that I'll be back at work on Monday, I even managed a smile this morning. Besides, I'll be too busy today to even think about Stephen in too great detail. After all, firstly I have to deliver the story I wrote to Martin, whee, what fun, then lunch with my sister...

Neato.

Martin's house isn't too far away, a reasonably quick bus ride, on the way now, the story resting in a plastic carrier bag beside me. I'm feeling strangely calm about the whole thing, I guess I managed to get so hysterical yesterday that I've gone full circle.

Thinking about him doesn't hurt so much anymore. I hate to admit it, but I think I am starting to miss him being there as a friend now. I don't really have anyone else I could talk about this to, which is why I'm reasonably happy about seeing Kara later on.

I don't think anybody saw me wiping away the tear that threatened to escape from my eye.

I didn't dally in my grief too long; the bus had reached the stop I was getting off at. The brisk walk to Martin's helped calm me back down again, the air crisp and clear for once. I didn't hesitate when I reached Martin's door, knocking as soon as I reached it. Martin answered after a minute or so, looking really scruffy. I choked back a giggle at his haphazard appearance.

"So, what's with the homeless look?" I ask, trying to keep a straight face.

He didn't answer, instead pointing me in the direction of a bedroom, his presumably, and a pile of boxes.

"I was kidding about the homeless part, y'know..." I say, "You moving out?"

"We found a place," Martin replied, grinning, "We're moving in soon."

"Wonderful." I mutter.

I couldn't help feeling slightly jealous at Martin and Stewart. Maybe I asked Stephen to move in too soon...those two waited, making them much smarter than they looked. I pass the story over wordlessly, and he sits down to read it. With nothing else to do, I reorganized one of the open boxes so it looked less 'I just flung this in and hoped for the best' and more 'I packed carefully just for you!'

"You," Martin said, breaking me out of my packing reverie, "Should do this professionally."

I blink, open my mouth, and close it again after a couple of seconds. Words, literally, escaped me.

"When are you going to send it in then?" He asks.

It's only then I realize I don't even have a clue which website Stephen sent my journals into. I think Martin realized that too, as he gave me a slip of paper with a web address on it.

"Well, I guess as soon as possible," I say, stuttering slightly, "You really think it's good?"

"Of course," Martin replied, "But then what did I expect from a straight-A student in English?"

"Thanks," I say, "I really needed the ego boost about now. Guess I'll leave you to your packing then."

I move to leave, but stop as he calls out, "Oh, happy birthday by the way."

Uh, the hell...?

"Excuse me?"

"Well, tomorrow's your birthday isn't it?" He responds, "So I'm wishing you a happy birthday in advance."

Double taking quickly, today being the 29th, tomorrow the 30th...

Holy crap tomorrow is my Birthday. How can you forget your OWN birthday for crying out loud?

"Um, thanks." Was all I could say as I left.

I hurried over to the restaurant I was meeting Kara at, she was already there waiting for me. Strange, she's not usually this punctual...but I was glad she was there all the same. I quickly relay the whole Martin incident to her.

"You forgot your own birthday?" She laughed, "Oh, only you Matt..."

"Urgh, I'm just not thinking straight."

"You've never thought 'straight' Will."

"Does that make you Grace then."

"God, no...Have you seen her hair? Ew."

She smiles as I roll my eyes. "What are you like?"

"Well if you don't know by now, Matthew, you may never know."

She's trying her hardest, I realize that, trying to take my mind off of Stephen, but that's precisely what I want to talk to her about. Ironic, isn't it?

"Hi, what can I get you today?"

I turn around to answer the admittedly very cute waiter, not a patch on Stephen though. "Just a coffee for me thanks."

"I'll have a coffee too," Kara smiles, "And your phone number if it's available."

"Kara!"

"Sorry, and a copy for my brother too."

"KARA!"

"What? He's cute!"

The waiter commendably managed to keep a straight face as he brought us back our coffees, and to my annoyance, his phone number. And Kara's now flirting outrageously with him.

Great, it seems like everybody has somebody except me now. How amazingly crap.

"I can't imagine getting so worked up over something that I'd forget my birthday." Kara says, completely out of the blue, "You're growing up so fast..."

"Ha, ha. Very funny."

"You know what your problem is? You're too busy focusing on that one bad thing that happened between you and Stephen, and forgetting about all the good things you had."

I open my mouth to reply, but find I can't really because it's totally true. I took some time to think about that, and found myself more and more disgusted with myself.

"Why don't you try and think about some of the good stuff that happened?" Kara suggested, "Like...when was Stephen's birthday?"

"Last month."

"And...What did you get him? What happened?"

I thought about it for a while, and smiled at the memory. I decided not to tell Kara about it, much to her extreme annoyance. But lunch with Kara served its purpose, I was feeling better. I decided to look up my journal when I got home, reminiscing about Stephen a little, trying to remember all the good things that happened. It wasn't hard; the journal was littered with them. Amazingly, I managed to keep my emotions in check. Maybe I really had accepted it now.

That was until I stopped at a certain page. October 25th.

His birthday...

October 25th 2002

It's Stephen's birthday today, and I'm extremely nervous. The apartment is littered with candles, the lights have been dimmed, and generally the room is exhibiting a romantic ambience. I'm waiting for Stephen to arrive; he wanted to see his family first. Which makes perfect sense, and gave me more time to prepare his surprise.

There's a knock at the door, and I know it's his knock. With a deep breath to calm myself down, I call "Come in."

And he does, wearing a very dapper suit that made him look totally 007. I don't bother hiding my delight at seeing him; he's looking around totally and honestly awestruck.

"You really shouldn't have, Matthew," He says, not bothering to hide the grin that suggests otherwise.

He hasn't stopped smiling since he came in. That helps me a lot, actually, as I press the play button on the CD Player behind me.

"You're not going to sing are you?" He moans, playfully

"No, no singing at all..." I say, walking over to him, "Just a little...dance."

He smiles again as I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me. He wraps his arms around my waist as the music plays. I don't really pay attention to it, as we danced all I could concentrate on was the smile on Stephen's face. I hear some of the lyrics, and smile inside at how much they reflect how I feel about him.

(I confess I watch your mouth move baby when you're speaking) (Study your body when you walk out of the room)

I think he's beginning to suspect that I chose this song on purpose, especially as the chorus begins.

(Don't make this one-dimensional) (The way I feel is sexual) (The way I feel is sexual) (It can't just be intellectual) (The way I feel is sexual) (The way I feel is sexual) (When you're next to me)

It was so nice just dancing with him, but it had to end sometime. Thankfully, Stephen made it end in the nicest way possible.

(Baby talk to me and let me kiss you) (Let me show you the things I can do for you)

For as soon as that line ended he pulled me in even closer, and began to devour me with his kisses. The song must've ended at some point, but I didn't notice as Stephen gently led us towards the bedroom. I had anticipated this too, and lying on the bedside table was some lube and a condom. He smiled, before beginning to undress me.

"Hey, I'm not your present, you don't have to unwrap me." I joke.

"Ssh, just let me." He replies, and I nod in consent.

He takes his time in undressing me, taking time to plant kisses on my skin as he does so. I keep reminding myself this is his birthday, and I should be doing this for him. I try to tell him, but he just "ssh's" me. So I let him continue, it's what he wants to do. Eventually I am completely naked, and I move to start undressing Stephen, but he gently pushes me back down on the bed.

"Let me admire you," He says, leaning in to kiss me again.

I let his weight push me down onto the bed; he's now on top of me, as I lie there, lost in his kisses. He begins to move down, licking my chest, kissing my abdomen, before placing a kiss at the head of my very hard penis.

"What are you doing?" I ask, trying not to let my horniness interfere.

"Ssh," He replies, before opening his mouth and taking my cock whole.

I throw my head back in ecstasy as he gently sucked my cock, pausing sometimes to lick the tip or my balls. I can't help feeling slightly mad at myself, as I should be doing this for him; it is his birthday after all. I just couldn't find the words to tell him to stop, and he kept going.

"Stephen..." I moan, but can't finish my sentence.

Stephen must've guessed that I was warning him that I was about to cum, and he was ready for it. Still, even he couldn't have been prepared for the sheer amount of cum I shot out, and it splattered all over the bed. I grimaced at the thought of extra laundry, even more so when I saw Stephen's suit all stained too. Good thing he wasn't going anywhere else after this really...

Stephen's face was inches above mine, I hadn't even noticed that he had crawled up the bed, and he had the most beautiful beaming smile on his face.

"Now what was that for?" I asked, "I'm supposed to be doing everything for you today, birthday boy. I'm supposed to make you happy, not vice-versa."

"Haven't you figured it out yet?" He replies.

Well, that's a bit vague. "Figured what out?"

"The thing that makes me happiest," He beeps my nose, I giggle, "Is seeing you happy. And the look on your face just now is the reason for this smile."

"Aw." I smile, before he kisses me again, eventually we break up for air, "You sentimental bastard." I manage to say, before he devours me again with his mouth.

I was completely lost in that moment, but at some point Stephen must've reached over for the lube because I soon felt his fingers entering me. I gasp in surprise, not such a nice thing to do in the middle of a kiss, but he only grins in a mischievous way. I'm pretty sure I'm blushing at this point, as he places kisses on each of my cheeks, before resuming his ambush of my hole. He slips another finger in, and I gasp again. I think he's liking this reaction, as he inserts a third finger, he's grinning as I arch my back and let a loud moan escape my lips. And he's still fully dressed, the tease. I tug suggestively at the sleeve of his shirt, guess he at least removed the jacket at some point.

"Are you sure you want to be the second nicest nude in the room?" He teases.

"Take them off before I rip them off." I warn, completely serious. It's gone from playful teasing to just a tad annoying.

"Okay then, but don't move," He says standing up, "You can unwrap me on your birthday."

I stick my tongue out at him as he removes his shirt, and he simply climbed back over me took my tongue in his mouth. His pants soon join the discarded shirt on the floor, which just leaves his boxers. Luckily he's wearing...black silk ones...yummy, with a huge tent formed in them for some reason or another. :p

They too soon fall to the floor, and I finally get the chance to admire him. He climbs back over and kisses me again, before reaching over to retrieve the condom from the table.

"I must say, Matt, that you are very good at planning in advance." He says, as he lets me slip the condom on him. He's ROCK hard by this point, and I feel my butt cheeks clenching a little in reflex. He takes the lube and quickly loosens me right back up again, while I feel slightly useless, as all I can manage to do is lie there and moan with delight as his fingers tease my insides.

"Can you do me one favor Matt?" I nod, "Let go for me."

I think I understood what he meant, as he lifted my left leg onto his shoulder, before guiding his lubed cock into my hole.

Well if he wanted me to let go, he certainly got his wish, I positively screamed as he entered me. Luckily he took it for what it was, a scream of delight, and soon began to slowly fuck me. But mmm, it seemed so much more than just sex, and I knew why. He was trying to make sure I got as much out of this as he would. Does he really enjoy seeing me happy that much? Hopefully he won't figure out I'm ticklish...

He took his time, making each thrust count. I do let go for him, not holding anything back, and that included a lot of moans, groans, and a hella lot of rude words. He seems so happy at that, as if this is all he really wanted me to do.

Hmm, I think I'll remember that.

His face soon contorted, which meant he was obviously about to cum. He doesn't stop though, even as I know he's ejaculating inside me (or, technically, inside the condom) with a loud groan to match my own, he refuses to stop, until he falls down on my chest. He remained inside me as long as possible, before he removed it with a slightly amusing "pop." He pulls himself up to me, and gently kisses me, brushing my sweat soaked hair off my forehead.

"You should let go much more often," He said, "It becomes you."

I let out a small chuckle, "Well if it's going to be as good as that, I think I will."

Now it's his turn to laugh, and it's wonderful seeing him so happy. Okay, it didn't quite turn out as I had originally planned, but the end result turned out much better than I thought it could.

Then I remembered.

"Stephen," I say softly, "You told me that seeing me happy made you so happy?"

He nods in reply, waiting for me to finish.

"Do you know what makes me happiest?" I ask.

I pause to let him think about it, but I end up telling him anyway.

"The thing that makes me happiest," I smile as I finish, "Is being with you."

I reach over into the drawer of the bedside table and pull out a small gift-wrapped box.

"So, that's why I got you this."

He looks surprised, "There's more?" He grins, "I think I have the most generous boyfriend ever."

Stephen opened the box quickly, pulling out a key.

"What's this for?" He's genuinely intrigued.

"That," I reply, "Is your key to my door."

He looks surprised, "Wow, well...it'll save me knocking anyway." He grins.

"There's more to it than that." Again, he looks surprised. I don't take long in putting him out of his misery though, "I want you to move in with me."

His eyes widen with surprise, or was it delight? Not sure, don't care. He's positively lighting up the room with his smile.

"No way...you're not kidding, are you?"

I shake my head, and if anything his smile widens.

"Then, of course I will."

I manage to sit back up, or rather he lets me get back up, and he embraces me. He just held me for what seemed like hours, before kissing me once again. It's only then I hear the music still playing in the living room.

"Feel like dancing?" I ask, trying not to grin, "I thought we'd have danced longer before...well. You know."

"Certainly." He replies, taking me by the hand and taking me through to the living room, "As long as you don't sing, that is."

"Shush you."

Well...I guess it was good I managed to read it all through. That was the best day of my life...all because of him. That's not the problem though. The problem is...

God, I was so nasty to him. I just threw him out, made him homeless...oh no, he could be living on the streets!

But that's silly I guess, he'd just go back to his parents, right? Yeah, of course he would. He's far more sensible than I am.

I didn't even give him a chance...I just lost it completely. Yet he remained calm and composed the whole time. What was I thinking just telling him to go?

It's better that I'm alone now...I obviously don't deserve to be with anyone.

Ever again.

o/~ If I cry, if I fall into your arms tonight, will you be there? Will you say that you care? If I try, if I call, call out your name tonight, will you be there? Will you say that you care? o/~

Excerpt from "If I Fall" by Alice Martineau.

Okay, I gracefully accept your criticisms and whatnot. Did I do something wrong? Tell me! It can only make me a better writer.

malcolm@malcolmcowan.co.uk

The lyrics used in the story are from the song "Sexual" by Amber.