Unexpected Guest, Chapter 7
Ethan's party was very much like Herman's had been. The two of them never let their interest in each other cause them to neglect their guests, but they were basically inseparable while hosting. Almost everyone who knew them well was aware of their orientation and simply accepted that they might be boyfriends. The beauty in that was that no one cared either way!
Shelby felt comfortable at Ethan's celebration like he had at Herman's. He enjoyed visiting with Francine as well as interacting with the boys. She offered to help Dalton and him work on simple phrases in French that would aid their communication with Grandma when they went to visit. Ethan promised to practice with Dalton at the store when their shifts overlapped. (Both Ethan and Herman had been hired part-time there too.)
Monday morning brought back the harsh reality of the old grind for Shel and Dalton. Shelby would head to the university early to check in with his advisor before starting his summer classes and Dalton would begin his two summer school classes at the community college at about the same time.
In both cases, the young men would be enrolled for only the first term of summer school because of their trip to Canada and the need for a breather before the fall schedule began. Shelby had begun his graduate work a couple of years earlier and had accumulated several credits toward his masters' degree. By taking more classes this summer and next winter, he would be very close to completion. If he took a few more the following summer, he would have his degree in time to count on that year's salary schedule, meaning a substantial raise. He hoped to earn enough extra money to help pay for a larger portion of Dalton's college expenses and make it possible for them to get married earlier than they had originally thought.
Dalton, for his part, wanted to earn enough credits to transfer to the university in a year and a half instead of two full years. He too was looking ahead to becoming Shel's husband sooner rather than later.
This summer would be stressful for the pair, and would be a test of how their union would endure. Time and money would be tight. It would feel like being on a merry-go-round non-stop for a number of weeks.
It was a good thing that Dalton had a car of his own. If he didn't, he wouldn't be able to even attempt his schedule. The distances, while not terribly far, were greater than could be easily covered by bicycle, and the city bus schedule didn't make it a viable alternative. The city had talked for years about adding a "super bus" route for community college students, but so far, that had not materialized.
By the end of the first day, both men were tired. Besides meeting with his advisor, Shelby had gone back to the high school to finish packing up his room so that the custodians could do their summer cleaning. He had wolfed down a quick lunch and then begun the required reading in the on-line text for his class the following morning.
Dalton had been to the bookstore to purchase a text which came only in paper form, and had downloaded another from the `net as well as sitting in two lectures taking notes.
After his lunch, he had clocked in at the store and put in five hours of work.
He came home to eat dinner with Shelby before hitting the books in order to be prepared for the following day.
Shelby had dinner on the table, and they managed to have time to catch up a bit over their meal. However, it couldn't last long because Shel's other class was a seminar on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday starting at 7:00 p.m.
Dalton cleaned up the kitchen since Shelby had cooked and needed to leave quickly. They had decided to take turns preparing the evening meals and clean-up duties so that neither would be stuck with them all the time.
When he finished with the kitchen, Dalton started a load of medium colored clothes in the washer and began his homework. Using the kitchen timer, he rescued the laundry from the dryer in time to prevent their clothes from becoming wrinkled. He was proud of his ability to multitask.
It had been an intense day, and he was ready for a break when he heard Shel come in from the garage around 9:45.
"How are you holding up, Babe," Shel asked as he pulled Dalton into his arms for a tender kiss.
"I'm still alive! This business of being an adult is tougher than I thought. I did manage to get the laundry caught up, and I packed us lunches from the leftovers."
"Awesome! The kitchen looks sparkling too. Did you get all of your school work finished?"
"Yes, Daddy," Dalton giggled.
"Hey, I'm not trying to check up on you like a parent. I'm making conversation. You can ask me the same thing."
"Okay, I will. Did you finish all of your reading, Son?"
"Not quite, Daddy, but I'll do the rest early in the morning. I have another duty to perform tonight, unless you're too bushed."
"I'm not too tired, but is it really a duty?" Dalton pouted.
"Nope, it's a pleasure. Would you like to join me in the shower to start things off?"
"Yup!"
Their schedule continued like that for the next couple of weeks. Before they knew it, it was midterm time and that meant reviewing for exams. Shel didn't have an exam in his seminar, but, instead, had an important presentation to make. He had chosen to deliver it toward the middle of the term rather than to go first, with inadequate time to prep, or toward the end, and feel pressured because of getting it all in before their trip.
His presentation seemed to have gone over well with his peers and teacher, but he had stayed up late the night before to polish it, and was too tired to absorb all the compliments he got. He felt he could have done a better job. He was definitely in a down mood.
When he got home, he found the kitchen in a mess and Dalton asleep with his head resting on a textbook on the table.
"What's with this?" he asked in an irritated tone. "What have you been doing?"
"Oh, shit! I fell asleep because I'm so tired I could drop. I INTENDED to nap for only five minutes and then clean up."
"My father used to say that good intentions pave the way to hell!"
"Is that the same father who kicked you out for being queer? I'm sorry that I'm not as perfect as you are! Get off my fuckin' back!"
With that, Dalton ran off to the bedroom he'd used when he first came to live with Shelby and slammed the door."
A feeling of guilt and regret washed over Shelby's exhausted brain leaving him in tears. He had just berated the person he cared most about in the whole wide world; the one who was his motivation to finish his degree and move up on the pay scale.
Whenever he had lost his temper and lashed out as a child, his grandmother had quoted something to him that he thought was from the Bible; something about not letting the sun go down on your anger. He had to make peace with Dalton or he wouldn't be able to sleep.
He tapped on the bedroom door and turned the handle. It wasn't locked. That made him feel a little more hopeful, but the feeling didn't last long. Dalton was lying face-down on top of bedspread and didn't turn over to look at Shel.
"What do you want? Haven't you chewed me out enough?"
"Babe, I'm sorry. I'm dead tired and I lost it, but that's no excuse. I didn't mean to hurt you."
"It sure felt like you did. You acted like I'm a stupid, worthless kid!"
"I was angry with myself and pissed at the world, but I had no call to take it out on you. Please say you'll forgive me."
"I'll think about it," Dalton mumbled. "Maybe I'll feel different tomorrow.
"May I hold you in my arms while you're thinking it over?" Shel asked hopefully.
"That would be like bribing a judge or tampering with a witness," Dalton replied.
"Yeah, I was kinda hoping it would."
"Okay."
"Okay, what?"
"Okay, you can try to influence my decision."
Shelby climbed onto the bed beside his lover and put his hand on Dalton's back. Dalton tensed, but didn't pull away.
"Dalton, I am heartily sorry for yelling at you and making you feel belittled. You are my partner, not my servant or my son, even though we play the "daddy" game at times. You've been pushing yourself non-stop every bit as much as I have. I couldn't be doing all of this without you here as my muse and my confidant. It's really for you that I want this damned degree as soon as possible. I want to be able to provide better for both of us," he choked up at the end.
He wasn't the only one crying at this point. Dalton moved over and partially covered Shel's body with his own.
"I'm sorry too. I should have tidied up the kitchen before I sat down. I was just so damned tired."
"And you have every right to be! You're a college kid. I remember feeling like I never got enough sleep in those years, and I wasn't working as hard as you are."
"So, am I a `kid' or what?"
"Sorry, let me rephrase that. You are a college man."
"I don't feel like a man right now. Please hold me like a little boy."
Shelby pulled Dalton completely on himself and held him tightly, kind of rocking side to side. Dalton's tears flowed down, mingling with Shel's. Shel tried to kiss them away.
After awhile, Dalton stopped weeping and returned Shelby's kisses.
"I love you, Shel. I try so hard to please you. That's why it hurt so much when I didn't."
"I know, Baby, I know. There was an old song Grandma used to sing when she felt like Grandpa didn't appreciate everything she did. I remember a few of the lines, You always hurt the one you love, the one you shouldn't hurt at all. You always take the sweetest rose and crush it till the petals fall.' I don't remember the middle part, but the ends goes something like, If I broke your heart last night, it's because I love you most of all.' I know that's kinda lame, but I do love you most of all."
"Okay, maybe it's sentimental, but it does make me feel better."
"I'll do some form of penance if you want," Shelby offered.
"Hmm, that sounds intriguing. Would you lick my sweaty balls until they're squeaky clean?"
"You know I would," Shel responded, unbuckling Dalton's belt.
"Um, that was a hypothetical question. I'm not gonna make you do it."
"Would you show me that I'm forgiven by allowing me to do it?"
"Maybe, but only if it's mutual; could we do it in our bed?"
"Definitely! We can do that in OUR bed."
Making love without showering first was rare for them, but that night it felt right. The taste of male sweat made Shel's mouth water as he gently bathed and sucked on Dalton's nads. Early on, he had learned by trial and error that his lover's balls were extremely sensitive. The first time he'd serviced them, he'd used too much pressure and had made Dalton uncomfortable. Dalton hadn't wanted to appear ungrateful, so he had waited quite awhile to reveal that fact. Ever after, Shel had used a butterfly touch.
"Shel, turn your bod around and let me do you," Dalton pleaded. If we're equal partners, you can't treat me like an alpha dog."
"Okay, but I wanted you to know that I've learned my lesson."
"I'm convinced! Now let me have a taste!"
In the 69 position, they continued with ball-washing until Dalton swiped his tongue across Shel's throbbing phallus to catch a big glob of precum. Shelby returned the gesture, and pretty soon they were licking and sucking on their favorite toys. Dalton's whimpering cued Shel as to how close he was to his orgasm. Shel redoubled his efforts to take his lover over the edge. Moaning and spewing was the order of the day.
When both were satiated, they pulled up the sheet and cuddled. It probably didn't take five minutes before they were fast asleep.
Shelby was cleaning up the kitchen, whistling, "You Always Hurt the One You Love," when Dalton straggled in the next morning. He looked entirely too adorable in his old boxers with a gaping fly and his bed-head hair.
"God, you look good enough to eat!" Shel exclaimed.
"I'm not sure there's anything left after last night," Dalton grinned. "That was awesome. I guess it's true what they say about make up sex."
"I'm sorry you had to find out! Instead of having a fight, let's just go straight to the loving next time and call it `appreciation sex' or something like that."
"That suits me," Dalton agreed as he nibbled on Shel's earlobe.
"Hey, you cleaned up. That was my job!" Dalton exclaimed.
"Nope, you have enough on your plate. Why don't you see if you can get off early? You said they overbook sackers and stock boys on Saturdays. Maybe Herman and Ethan could split some of your hours."
"Yeah, but I'd be losing pay."
"I have a little extra set aside for emergencies. I'm declaring a sleep emergency! You need rest before your midterms in the coming week."
"Okay, I won't fight you on that. I was considering maybe dropping a class in order to survive."
"You're an adult and you may do as you please, but if you want my input, I'd cut work hours instead. You've already paid the tuition for these classes and put in half a term's work on them. Saving the credits could be worth a lot more than a few dollars in the long run."
"I agree. Thanks for looking out for me. I'll pay you back someday."
"Every day you're here with me is ample payment! I'd be a very lonely man without you."
"Hey, don't get all mushy on me!"
"Okay, now sit down and eat before your breakfast gets cold!"
Dalton ate and then quickly showered and dressed before heading out the door to work. As soon as he was gone, Shel sat down at his laptop and read the comments his peers and professor had posted about his presentation. They were all far better than he'd remembered when he'd heard them the night before. His teacher suggested that he copyright his paper immediately so that no one could steal his work to use as their own. He said that Shel could use these ideas as the foundation of his dissertation. If he built on what he'd already done, it would save him countless hours in the process.
Shelby was elated!
Dalton came home before dinner because his manager had given him the night off as he requested. Mr. Fagan didn't want him to burn out and give up the job completely, so felt it would be better to let him reduce his hours some instead. There were other boys who were willing to take up the slack.
Shelby had their meal almost ready to put on the table. It was beef burgundy like he was cooking the day Dalton first came to his door. It served as a reminder of that meeting and the solace it brought to both of them.
"This is real comfort food in more ways than one," Dalton said. "Did you cook this on purpose or is it a happy coincidence?"
"Uh, I remembered. The aroma of it reminded me of that wonderful day when you came into my life."
"Awesome!"
From that time on, the young men stayed on an even keel. With Dalton's hours reduced, he managed to get in a quick power nap on days when he felt stressed. His grades went up, and his outlook improved.
Shelby made a conscious effort to compliment his lover for the positive things he did rather than to criticize him for little slip-ups he might accidentally make. It helped to cement their relationship.
Author's notes: I heard from the following readers since last posting: Ott H, Roy P, Mike D, Dick M, Chandra B, Bob O, Tony W, Peter M, Bill K, Wayne, Bill T, Mendy D, Ashish, Douglas and Lawrence, Richie W, Jim M, Jim W, Tom A, Trish R, Bryce W, Jim L, Walt S, and Paul F. Thanks to one an all. Your encouragement keeps me going.
Next week is Thanksgiving in the US. I'll try to post on Wednesday if I can. I may not get out a notification to those on my "alert" list, however.
In view of last week's attacks in Paris, I feel we need to be careful not to discriminate against our Muslim neighbors. Below is a link which seems to have a reasoned approach.
http://www.salon.com/2015/11/14/our_terrorism_double_standard_after_paris_lets_stop_blaming_muslims_and_take_a_hard_look_at_ourselves/
Here are some other links I found interesting on the subject of gays.
https://www.yahoo.com/parenting/what-its-like-to-be-a-gay-dad-of-surrogate-baby-160254128.html
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/07/28/congregation-of-sacked-gay-pastor-to-deliver-pledges-of-support-to-bishops-door/
http://www.outsports.com/2015/11/17/9731896/coming-out-gay-ian-davies-cross-country
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David