Chapter 24
twenty-four
Creaming Mushrooms
Charlie
This had truly been the best day I have had in a very long time.
Jimmy took me to the library, one of his favorite places, and to get a treat– I haven’t done anything like this before.
My family wasn’t well off and coming from a place with a super low population, in a non-existent town, my life experiences were practically zero.
It was better before my momma died obviously.
She did laundry for families as a job out of our home.
And dad had done his best to provide, and I’ve never complained about it.
Walking back to Jimmy’s unit in the midday sun shouldn’t have seemed romantic, but the feeling was there, even though we couldn’t touch.
We traveled Virginia Avenue in silence, licking our ice cream cones, and a paper bag of books from the library in my other hand that I took from Jim when we started walking, when I asked, “Can I try yours?”
Jimmy raised a brow, probably remembering the humorous scene that played out at Isaly’s. “Please,” drawing the word out in a whine, making Jimmy roll his eyes with a head shake and a smirk.
“I think I am going to have a hard time saying no to you,” stopping and holding out his cone at an angle for me to take a sample without taking it from him.
Using my tongue, I swiped up the side to get a good taste, making my tastebuds go crazy with the flavor difference compared to mine.
It was probably the best ice cream I have ever had.
The cherries mixed with the sweet creamy vanilla without other flavors getting in the way like on a sundae, it was so simple, but wow!
I took another sampling but this time from the tip top with my mouth, engulfing it with my lips, making eye contact with Jimmy, who fully gulped at the sight, jostling his Adam's apple. He cleared his throat with, “Well? What do you think?”
With my eyes closed and took a second to answer so I could savor the flavor as long as it would last, before I finally replied, “Delicious. I understand why you can’t seem to switch to something new.
I wouldn’t either and that will probably be the flavor I get next time. Would you like to try mine?”
I extended my arm, holding my cone out for him as he did for me.
He got closer and just with the very tip of his tongue, he left a track mark from cone to the top, gathering his sample.
My cock instantly started to come alive.
I could feel the imaginary tingle I would probably feel if he had done that to me instead of the ice cream.
“Mmmm, it’s good,” I could see him sucking on his tongue. “The sweetness is rich, on the border of being just too much. I think my Whitehouse Cherry is better.” He started walking again, leaving me with a heated look that I couldn’t quite decipher.
We were coming up to Ulysses Street when I noticed some men down the street hanging around the mine’s Dry Room building. Jimmy must have noticed me looking because he asked me a question I wasn’t expecting, “Would you like to go see your father tonight? I’d be okay on my own.”
I stopped and whipped my head around so fast, my ice cream almost came with it.
I studied his face trying to find the answer I was looking for from him.
He obviously was good at knowing what I was thinking a lot of the time or how I was feeling, sometimes before I even knew.
He was so intuitive. I looked back at the Dry Room and the men gathering around.
It must be around two o’clock, lunchtime.
That’s when I recognized Tom from a distance.
As fate would have it, he turned and saw us. Raising his hand, he started our way.
As he got closer, I took another couple swipes from my almost completed treat. Once close enough, Tom said, “Well, you two were the last people I would have expected to see today, especially around here,” swinging his arm around the back of him, referencing the mine.
“I needed to stretch my legs. Laying in bed was agonizing. We are coming from Charlie’s first visit to the library with new reading material to keep us busy,” making notice of our bag of books.
“And clearly the library wasn’t your only stop,” Tom said teasingly.
“How have you two been getting along? Alright, I’m assuming,” popping a brow with one side of his mouth quirked.
It made me nervous thinking that Tom knew something was going on with Jimmy and me.
But it also seemed like he didn’t care either, with his teasing expressions.
“Charlie has been a life saver. And the man can cook too,” complimenting me yet again on my meals, making my cheeks darken in the shining sun.
“Well, I am glad you are recovering well,” Tom said to Jimmy before giving me his full attention.
Switching his tone to a more authoritarian “I don’t know if you are aware since you have been secluded at Jim’s with him, but Richard is no longer here, so you can come back to work on Monday,” then looked back to Jimmy before saying, “that is if Jim will be able to get along without you?”
He had that knowing look that made me even more uncomfortable, confirming that he did know. Before I could dwell on it though, Jimmy answered that he’d be fine by Monday. He also thanked Tom for handling the incident swiftly. Most foremen would have swept it under the rug and ignored the mess.
That got me thinking about when I went back to work on Monday, who I would be partnered with since Jimmy wouldn’t be there, so I asked.
“I was going to have you be with Will and John next week working the Adit’s Tipple and learning that process. If you like it, and you do good work, I might decide to leave you there. It’s hard to find men that want to willingly work The Hole.”
I nodded but was confused why he was moving me away from the rooms. I will ask Jimmy later about the position and what it entails. That’s when I felt something cold on my hands, noticing what was left of my ice cream was melting.
Tom noticed and chuckled, “I’ll let you two get going. Enjoy your weekend. Rest easy Jim and we will see you soon.” Then he started walking back toward the mine.
That’s when I remembered his generosity and hollered his direction, “Tom,” waiting for him to turn around, “Thank you for the food from the men. We appreciate it.” Tom only nodded his head back with a smile in return, then kept moving back to his domain.
Jimmy and I kept walking and were back at his unit in no time.
We stayed quiet all the way there, finishing our cones.
Jimmy let us in and turned around to me, pulling me against him as close as he could, after I set the bag of books down.
“I needed this the entire time we were out in the world. Being in one of my favorite places and not being able to enjoy it the way I should was excruciating.”
He was rubbing his face up alongside my head, like a cat would do to his owner.
The sensation was sensual and calming. Especially the little scruff he had catching in the hair.
I cuddled in closer, wrapping my arms around his shoulders, just breathing in the man I think I have completely fallen for.
It’s only been eight days since I first met my Jimmy.
Because he is mine now, and I am his, this should be scary.
But right now, the only thing that is scaring me is being apart from him.
When he suggested that I go see my dad tonight my heart rate sped up.
Not because of how my dad had been recently but because I wouldn’t be near him.
Jim had turned into an extension of myself, and I feared that breaking the connection was like breaking one of my bones.
It was going to hurt more than it should.
How did this happen? I felt like it was yesterday I was sitting in the office with Susan, signing paperwork, waiting for the unknown to happen.
Not expecting that the unknown to turn out to be a person and make my life known.
A person that was closed off more often than open, but seems to have cracked his door for me, letting me in.
And now that I’ve been cleared to go back to work, I exhaled after I took a deep breath of Jimmy’s scent, laying my head in the crook of his neck.
He’s rubbing my back, swaying us slightly in a calming motion.
After a moment, he nudged my ear with his chin, “Want to go lay down for a while? I could get off my feet.” I nodded in agreement, rubbing the side of my face against the top of his shoulder.
We broke apart but he clasped my hand to guide me up the stairs to his room. I grabbed the bag of books at the last minute with an extended arm, bringing them with us.
We fell asleep in each other’s arms instead of in our normal cradle.
Jimmy was still wedged up with a pillow at an angle making it easy to lay my head comfortably on his puffed chest. We didn’t undress before crawling into bed together, so I was a little uncomfortable in my outfit.
As I was trying to stretch out my pant leg that had ridden up in the groin, it woke Jimmy, who took a deep unexpected breath.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” peeking up from my position, not wanting to move from it. I rubbed my face against his chest, feeling the indent where the two muscles meet in the middle.
“It’s okay, Honey. It’s probably best to get up,” as he tried to look at the time from the angle he was laying.
“It’s five-fifteen. Almost dinner time,” planting my face flat on to him, muffling my response.
We got up, and I headed down the stairs while Jimmy went into the bathroom.
As I was just walking into the kitchen, there was a knock on the door.
I stood frozen in place. The knock wasn’t David’s like Jimmy had explained.
I gulped and hesitantly cracked the door open only to see my dad standing there, so I swung it wide in surprise, “Dad, hi.”