Country Road Romance

Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

E ven though Charlie enjoyed being made to feel that he was genuinely a part of Jared’s family, he wished he could have had at least a few more private minutes to share with him. He’d been on the brink of a breakthrough with him–physical, emotional, hell maybe even spiritual–but then Joyce had called out to them and interrupted the whole thing.

Of course he wasn’t going to show how annoyed he was to anyone, least of all Joyce, who genuinely seemed to enjoy having him in the house. The last thing he wanted to do was annoy or upset the parents of the man that he was trying to court.

Is that really what I’m doing? He thought. Am I courting Jared? Also, who the hell says “court?”

He looked at Jared, but the openness that Charlie had seen in his face just a few minutes before had been replaced by his usual rather ironic expression.

Jared, I’m going to figure you out if it’s the last thing I do, he thought.

He didn’t get to think about it much more, however, because as soon as they were back to the house they were enveloped once more in the casual warmth of the Russell family. As Joyce had said, however, everyone was getting to leave but, as Charlie knew quite well, a West Virginia goodbye could take a very long time.

Finally, there was just Hannah left and, as she pulled Charlie into a hug, she whispered in his ear.

“I’m really glad you’re here, Charlie,” she said. “Jared’s a special guy, but I think you’ll be good for each other. Just be warned. There’s probably going to be a time when he’s going to try to push you away. That’s just what he does. It doesn’t mean that he doesn’t care about you. It just means that he’s afraid of getting hurt and is willing to do whatever he needs to do to make sure that doesn’t happen. Don’t let it discourage you.”

Before he could say anything she went on. “Also, Remember what I told you. If you break his heart, I’ll end you.” Then she was gone, giving her farewells to Jared and his parents.

Just as she left, Doug was suddenly there, giving him his friendliest dad smile.

Something’s up, he thought.

“Charlie, would you come into my study for a minute?” he asked.

Suddenly his happiness evaporated. He couldn’t imagine what this was going to be, but he couldn’t very well say no, though, could he?

Doug led him down the hall and, after casting a look back at Jared sending a silent plea for help–a look that Jared somehow managed to ignore–he accompanied Doug inside.

It looked exactly like he’d expected. There were bookshelves on each wall, though only a couple of them held books, with the others occupied by model ships. There was a large polished desk in the middle of the room, with a chair both behind and in front of it. Doug took the one behind and, with a gesture, indicated that Charlie should take the other one.

Charlie couldn’t shake the feeling that this was a meeting with the high school principal.

“I suppose you’re wondering why I’ve asked you in here.” He held the solemn look on his face for a split second more, and then he burst into a laugh.

“You should see the look on your face,” he said. “You almost look like you’re facing the electric chair.”

Charlie smiled sheepishly.

“In my defense, it’s not every day that the father of the man that you’re interested in calls you into his study.”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth he knew that he’d said more than he intended to.

Oh no, he thought. Oh no no no no no.

Doug, however, looked completely unphased by this. In fact, he looked like this was exactly what he’d been waiting to hear.

“I was wondering when one of you would actually say it out loud,” he said. “I know people your generation seem to think that Baby Boomers live on another planet and another time, but we dated, too, and I remember having that same look on my face when I was interested in Joyce.”

At this exact moment Charlie was the one who felt like he was on a different planet.

“Um…I guess that’s a good thing, right?” he asked. “Better to be open and honest about this rather than hiding it?”

What is wrong with me? He thought. Why am I blurting all of this out to Jared’s dad of all people?

“I’ve always thought that, too,” Doug said. He folded his hands in front of him on the desk and leaned forward.

“Which is why I’m going to level with you. I know that Jared has feelings for you. And, if you want the absolute truth, I think you’re just the kind of guy that he needs. You help to bring him out of his shell. I haven’t seen him be this happy in a long, long time. I don’t suppose I need to tell you but Jared, well, he struggles with some things, and I’ve always felt kind of lost when it comes to trying to help him. You, though, you help him just by being there.”

Charlie’s heart was singing at the thought that he might actually be good for Jared. He wanted so badly to get under that prickly mask that he kept putting up around him, and to know that he had Doug’s approval meant a lot.

“I guess what I’m saying is that I’m giving you my blessing to pursue Jared, but,” and here Doug held up a warning finger, “I don’t want you to hurt him. I’m his dad, after all, and I’ve gotta look after his best interests. If you hurt my boy, Charlie Garrett, I wouldn’t want to be you for all the tea in China.”

Charlie knew that Doug might seem nice, but he knew better than to try to cross him.

“You have my word that I won’t hurt him. In fact, I intend to make sure that no one ever hurts him again. I think he’s been through enough of that.”

Doug snorted. “You can say that again. Jared’s a good boy, and a smart one, but he sometimes doesn’t make the best choices when it comes to men. Don’t get too far ahead of yourself, though. You know how prickly he is. It’s going to take a lot of doing on your part to get him to open up to you, but I think you’ll discover that it really is worth it.”

You don’t need to tell me that, Charlie thought. I know that well enough already.

“Now, I’m going to tell you something that’s probably going to make you feel a bit awkward, but I don’t want it to.”

Charlie cringed inwardly. He had a feeling that he knew exactly where this was going.

“Now, I know you’re going to be embarrassed because you’re in your thirties, but I’m going to be frank with you about sex. If it were up to Joyce she’d say that the two of you shouldn’t get into anything while you’re in her house, but what she doesn’t know doesn’t hurt her. All I ask is if the two of you are going to be intimate under this roof, that you at least make sure that you’re protected and take all the necessary precautions. Do I make myself clear?”

By this point Charlie’s face had turned about ten shades of red. It was one thing for Jared’s dad to tell him that he gave him his permission to pursue his son; it was quite another for him to speak so cavalierly of gay sex. What was even going on right now?

Doug, however, was clearly waiting for Charlie to say something, and so he just blurted out the first thing that came into his head.

“Of course, sir,” he said. “I take that sort of thing very seriously, and I know that Jared does, too.” He of course did not know anything of the sort, but it felt like the best thing to say.

Doug nodded.

“Good. I was hoping that this conversation would be easy. You seem like a nice and easy going guy. Like I said. I think you’ll be good for Jared. What do you say we get back out there and rejoin the rest of the family? I’m sure they’re starting to wonder where we are.”

Charlie’s head was spinning by how quickly this whole situation had unfolded. That conversation had been very unusual, but he had to admit that there was also something a little touching about the fact that Doug was so open-minded about, well, about his son having sex in his own house.

When they got back to the living room Jared gave them both an inquisitive look, but since he didn’t ask, Charlie didn’t tell.

By now it was night, and Doug and Joyce began to get ready for bed. Charlie was relieved; it could get very exhausting having to be on for everyone all the time. Soon enough they were all in their separate rooms, and he finally had a chance to think.

As he laid down Jared’s old bed, he found himself wondering what it would have been like to know him when he was that age. It was the same kind of thing that he thought about every time he got interested in someone new. He always felt a bit sad at realizing there would always be a part of that person’s life that he couldn't fully share, but there was also something exciting about learning about their past.

Once he started thinking about Jared’s past, then he started thinking about the present, and that was even more complicated. No matter what Doug might say, he had his doubts that Jared would ever really open up to him. Their conversation after the meeting in the study had been stilted and impersonal, and Jared had barely had two words for him before he went to bed.

It’s time to stop thinking about this and try to get some sleep, he thought. You’re not going to solve all of your problems right now. Maybe tomorrow will be a bit easier.

Charlie had just closed his eyes and was finally feeling sleep beginning to steal over him when he heard the door to the room crack open, the light from the hallway casting a slender glow. He didn’t move at first, thinking that maybe it was Joyce coming by to check on him. However, when he opened his eyes a little, he could tell that the person standing there was not Joyce, but Jared, and his heart started beating so hard he thought it would come out of his chest.

“Charlie,” Jared whispered, voice hardly audible. “Are you still awake?”

“Yes,” he said, even though his throat felt like it was trying to close up. “I’m still awake.”

“Can…can I come in?”

“Of course,” he said right away. “It’s your bedroom isn’t it?”

There was a chuckle from Jared at this, and then he was slipping into the room, padding through a beam of moonlight that came in through the window.

A heavy feeling permeated the air, making Charlie feel a complicated mix of emotions. He was aroused, obviously, but it was more than that. Maybe it was his conversation with Doug earlier, or maybe it was the moonlight, or maybe it was those things and a whole host of others, but something made him feel like whatever was about to happen was going to irrevocably change things between them.

Jared sat down gently on the edge of the bed, almost as if he was asking permission to be there.

“So,” he said, running his hand in intricate patterns over the bedspread. “Do I even want to know what you and my dad were talking about in his study?”

Charlie cleared his throat nervously. He should have known that Jared was going to ask him about this sooner or later, but now that the moment was here he once again found that he didn’t quite know what to say. Well, he told me that we were good for one another and that if we had sex that we should make sure that we were safe, didn’t seem like quite the right thing to say.

However, that was pretty much exactly what came out of his mouth.

For a few minutes Jared didn’t say anything, and Charlie was worried that he’d overstepped some hidden boundary. Finally, though, Jared just laughed softly.

“You would never guess that it was my dad who would be the one to talk to you about gay sex, would you?”

“I have to admit that that wasn’t exactly what I’d been expecting,” Charlie said. “It’s not every day that the father of the guy you’re interested in starts telling you that he thinks you should make sure to be practicing safer sex. Particularly not when you’re in your thirties. I almost felt like a teenager talking to his boyfriend’s dad.”

Once again, Charlie’s mouth got too far ahead of his brain. He half expected Jared to go bolting from the room the minute that he said he was interested in him but, to his surprise, he reached out and rested his hand on Charlie’s leg. A bolt of electric desire jolted through him at just that slight touch.

“So you’re interested in me?” Jared said. The uncertainty and longing in his voice was enough to break Charlie’s heart.

He fought down the temptation to laugh–he knew that that would be the worst thing he could do–and instead reached out a hand and placed it over Jared’s. “I’m very interested in you,” he said.

Even though it was dark somehow they found their way toward one another, and once again their lips touched. Just like when they were up on the hill, Charlie lost himself in everything about Jared, his senses overwhelmed with his simple proximity.

Neither of them had to say anything else. Instead, they let their bodies do their talking for them. Their clothes were soon on an untidy pile on the floor, and their lips were back together, their hands roaming freely over one another’s bodies.

Even though they both knew they had to be quiet, every so often one of them would utter a moan, and then the other would shush them.

Finally, though, Charlie had Jared right where he wanted him, sprawled out on the bed below him.

Charlie was simply in awe of Jared’s body, of the way that he seemed to open up like a flower as he ran his fingers down his chest and swirled his fingers around his nipples. Jared wasn’t ripped like so many of the LA guys that Charlie had been with, but he had a lean build that made him feel even more protective of him.

It was when Jared looked up at him, though, that he thought his heart might burst.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered. He knew the words were inadequate, that they didn’t even come close to describing what he felt for the man below him, the way that he’d felt from the moment they met, actually. But how did you say something like that to someone? How did you really get them to understand how much they meant to you?

Pushing those thoughts aside he leaned down and pressed his lips to Jared’s, once again relishing the taste of him, the sweetness of his breath. He reached up and ran his hands through Jared’s thick hair, then let his hand cup his cheek as the two of them continued to kiss, their passion becoming more intense and all-consuming with every moment. There was nothing else in the world right now–there was no film festival, no family worries, no anxieties of any kind. There were just the two of them.

It was Jared who drew back for a moment, his breath coming in short gasps.

“Um…,” he said rather nervously, “do you…do you want to take this further?”

God yes.

Aloud he said, “I mean, I do, but only if you do. I don’t want you to do anything that you’re not comfortable with.”

There was no mistaking Jared’s chuckle, somehow both affectionate and exasperated.

“I don’t think you need to worry about me wanting to take things further.” He thrust his hips up ever so slightly. Charlie swallowed, his own hardness becoming so intense he thought he might go crazy with it. He had to resist the urge to just have his way with him right there.

Jared reached up and cupped his face. “Are you okay? If you don’t want to go any further,. I’m happy just being with you.”

Charlie was somewhat surprised to find out that he believed him.

“I really do,” he said, finally finding his voice. “Want to take things to the next level, that is.”

Once again that laugh. “There’s condoms and lube in the nightstand right there.”

“Do you have sex in your old bedroom a lot?” he asked.

There was a moment of quiet. “Well, my exes and I certainly weren’t celibate when we were visiting my folks.”

There was one more nagging question, but Jared answered it before he could ask it.

“I’m a bottom, in case you didn’t know that already.”

Charlie had had a feeling, but he didn’t want to say that aloud.

“I know you were probably thinking that already, but I just thought I’d make it easy for you. Now, are you going to get the condom and the lube, or do I have to do it for you?”

That settled it. Charlie reached over and got them out of the night stand, and even though this was very much what he wanted, he could still feel his hands shaking.

Easy, Charlie. It’s not like this is your first time.

That might be true, but he didn’t want to hurt Jared, either physically or emotionally. He knew that he was probably making too much out of this, but he also knew that Jared tended to be a lot more vulnerable than he was willing to let on.

He got the condom and lube out and, while he got the package open and began to put it on Jared prepared himself. Charlie took the bottle of lube and did his part, and then it was time.

“Are you ready?” he asked Jared, his voice thick with desire.

“Oh my God, yes,” Jared said. “I’m not a wilted little flower.”

“Okay then,” Charlie said with a little growl.

Their bodies melded together perfectly. In fact, Charlie didn’t think that he’d had this kind of immediate physical connection with anyone that he’d ever been with. It was as if their bodies were two halves of the same whole, that each of them had just been waiting for the chance to finally be with the other. As soon as they came together they fell into a steady rhythm, each of them knowing just how to bring the other the most pleasure.

Usually whenever Charlie had sex with someone his mind always stayed active. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t shut off his intrusive thoughts. This time, though, all of that disappeared, as he lost himself to the physical experience of being with Jared. He kissed him up and down his throat, he whispered sweet and dirty nothings into his ear, he ran his hands through his hair. He wanted to be as close to Jared as he could possibly get, he wanted Jared to know in this moment that he was protected and safe and that Charlie would do everything he could to bring him as much pleasure as he could.

They tried to stay as quiet as possible, but neither of them could stay entirely silent. Truth be told, Charlie enjoyed the sounds of pleasure that Jared was making, and he loved the fact that he was the one making him make them.

When they both found release it was like Charlie had been taken to a different planet. The pleasure filled his entire head and his body and his soul, and he clamped his lips to Jared’s so that their moans blended together. Wave after wave of pleasure crashed through him.

As the tide of his orgasm began to recede, he started to pull out but Jared reached behind him and pulled him deeper again.

“Please,” he whispered, “I just want to feel you for a few more minutes.”

Charlie was happy to oblige, but eventually nature took its course. Even then, though, he didn’t move away from Jared. They lay there, each of them catching their breath.

When Charlie thought about the sated feeling that people always described as afterglow, this was what he’d thought of. He’d never actually experienced it before–most of the guys he’d been with couldn’t wait to get done and leave. He wasn’t sure what he’d done to deserve this piece of good luck, but he wasn’t about to mess it up by saying or doing anything that would disturb it.

Suddenly a small bedside light came on, and Jared turned to look at him.

“You always look like you’re thinking about something deep and profound,” Jared said. “And that always makes me wonder about just what’s going to come out of your mouth.”

Charlie couldn’t help but smile at that. “I think that’s funny coming from you of all people, considering how often you say things that aren’t always tactful. I’ve never met someone who is so good at being unintentionally mean.”

Rather than being offended, Jared smiled and snuggled closer to him, pulling the blankets up as he did so.

“You might not believe me, but I usually don’t mean even half the things I say. I usually just say something snarky or mean as a defense mechanism.” He huffed. “I can’t believe I’ve just told you that deep dark secret about myself. Now that means I have to kill you.”

“Do you really think that you’re that successful when it comes to convincing the world that you’re some sarcastic ice queen? You’re not Bette Davis you know.”

“I’ve always thought of myself as more of a Joan Crawford, actually,” Jared said.

“Well, that’s it,”Charlie said mock-seriously. “I’m afraid I can’t possibly date a man who’s a Joan Crawford fan.”

It was a mistake to mention the word “date.” That much was clear at once. Though Jared didn’t pull away, there was a slight but very noticeable change to his posture, a stiffening that suggested he was very uncomfortable with the direction that this conversation was starting to take.

Way to go, Charlie. Can’t you have one conversation with this guy without it turning into something weird?

It only took a couple of seconds for the awkwardness to pass.

“Let’s just enjoy the moment,” Jared said at last. “Let the future take care of itself.”

Charlie held his breath for a moment, but since there was nothing more forthcoming, he decided to just let it go at that. He planted a gentle kiss on top of Jared’s head and felt a flush of warmth when Jared once again snuggled up to him, as if he was seeking comfort. He put his arm around him and pulled him close.

This is good enough, he thought. Like he said, deal with the future when it gets here.

With that comforting thought in his mind, he finally let himself relax and slip into sleep.