A/N: I'm not sure if this is really a warning, but there is some mutual relief for our two men ahead. Emphasis on ahead. I love a good pun. ;) Also, recall this story is rated mature, so venture no further if you're easily offended by *cough* stuff.

CH 16

Once the excitement of the day had run down and the children were safely in their beds, the kettle was heating and the mugs were out. Gabe fell asleep easily after showing his sisters his stitches more often than they ever wanted to see them. Still both girls felt that Gabe was brave--standing up for their dad and Phillip--so it took a little more effort than normal to calm them down. The two men were in the kitchen, Phillip watching the water, awaiting the boil, when Gareth came up behind him and planted a kiss on his t-shirted shoulder.

Phillip turned and was pressed against the counter and Gareth, who then hemmed him in between his arms.

"What was that for?" Phillip asked, focusing his eyes on the buttons of Gareth's slightly disheveled kelly green dress shirt. It was one of Phillip's favourites. It made Gareth's hazel eyes appear a very becoming shade of green.

Gareth chuckled lightly, "Gabe told me about your talk with him last week, about being gay. I'm sorry if he made you uncomfortable."

"I...I didn't really say too much. I gave him a Kit-Kat and sent him away," Phillip admitted. At that Gareth snorted, holding back a larger laugh. Phillip's eyes lifted, enjoying the mirth on the other man's face. "But I am, you know, uh, gay." He bit his lip anxiously with a bit of a smile. It was the first time he'd ever really said it out loud like that and it felt good.

Gareth cocked an eyebrow. "Really?" he leaned in and kissed the man ever so lightly. "I never would have guessed," he breathed against Phillip's lips, sending delightful shivers through both of them.

Phillip was sure his heart was pounding through his chest, it was so loud in his ears, as he wrapped his arms around Gareth resting his hands just above the man's waistband.

"You know, I am too," Gareth said huskily, capturing Phillip's lower lip between his teeth and giving a bit of a tug.

Phillip couldn't stop the shameless groan that escaped from his throat or the tilting of his hips that forced his stiffening groin against Gareth's strained fly. He felt so lewd rubbing against Gareth but he wanted more from the man, so much more than he'd ever had before. And it felt so right to want it from Gareth.

They pushed against each other, passion ignited, Gareth's hands moving underneath Phillip's shirt, touching the smooth muscular flesh of his lower back, while Phillip's hands slipped down, rubbing at Gareth's firm ass cheeks overtop of his dress pants. Both men were desperate for a stronger connection, trying their hardest to keep their noises and rutting controlled when all they wanted to do was throw caution to the wind and devour one another. Phillip desperate for contact he had only ever dreamed of, and Gareth wanting something with someone he truly cared about.

The clicking off of the kettle at full boil startled the men into separating, both panting and a little embarrassed. But neither could deny the passionate lust they felt for each other. It was almost overpowering. They prepared their tea and went to the sofa, settling against each other in a satisfyingly familiar way.

"Uh Gareth," Phillip started uncertainly. This was very out of his comfort zone. "Would you like to go out with me?" He almost mumbled the words and it took a second or two for Gareth to actually process what he'd said. The hesitation made Phillip feel exceptionally uncomfortable; he had never put himself on the line like this before.

"Do you mean like a date or like a boyfriend?" Gareth was a little confused, but was thrilled that Phillip was taking a step forward.

"A date." He hoped he already was the other man's boyfriend.

"You know I'd love to, Phillip, but it's really difficult with-"

"Tomorrow," Phillip cut in before Gareth could finish.

"What?"

"I asked Mel if she and Vernon could take the kids tomorrow." Phillip raced through the words, all on edge. He really didn't want to be shot down.

"Oh?" Gareth was trying to process what Phillip was getting at.

"And she offered to have them for a sleepover."

Gareth's eyes widened in understanding. There was nothing he wanted more than to spend time alone with Phillip. "Ooohhhh." Their nightly tea time was nice, but the presence of the kids always loomed large.

"We don't have to-" Phillip started, but Gareth quickly kissed the words away. This was a chance he didn't want to pass them by. He wanted the man, he wanted Phillip all to himself without the fear of the children interrupting anything they felt like doing.

"We can do whatever you want. I just can't thank you enough for this chance. For us to have a date. It's really amazing that you thought to do this, Phillip."

"I just thought that it's been such a trying week all the way around that maybe you could use a break." Phillip was so very pleased that Gareth liked his surprise.

"I haven't had a break in over seven years. I love my children, but the opportunity to be without them for a little while is a godsend. And to spend it with you is even better."

"What do you want to do tomorrow?"

"I don't know. What do couples do? Movies? Dinner?"

Phillip's heart jumped excitedly when Gareth said they were a couple. As far as he was concerned they were, but everything was new to him, so it was nice to think that Gareth felt the same way. They were more than just fumbling kisses on the couch. They were a couple and he fit somewhere, with someone special. "I don't know. I guess we can figure it out, together."

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In the morning, Gareth gathered up the children's laundry and ran a few loads. Phillip had gone off to a client's for a few hours, and it was up to the father to get the children ready. They needed clean pyjamas, decent looking outfits, and baths. He couldn't send them overnight looking dirty, especially if he ever wanted Mel and Vern to take them again.

By noon, they were packed, scrubbed, and looking presentable. Phillip came in the door grimy and sweaty from some hard labour, his face flushed from the morning's work, hair ruffled. Gareth thought he looked incredibly sexy, and as much as he might smell like sweat, it was a fresh manly smell that only served to cause a thickening in his groin.

"Okay kids, Phillip arranged for a surprise for you. So you might want to get your bags ready and shoes on."

"What is it Phillip?" Franny asked, bouncing in place, her curls springing around her.

"Mel and Vernon want to take you all out and then for a sleepover."

"Really?" Franny was overjoyed by the idea of a staying over at someone else's house, she'd never had the opportunity before aside from a few trips to Gareth's parents, and certainly never without her dad.

"They'll be here soon, so you'd better be ready!" Gareth enthused.

The children got as prepared as they could, then took turns watching out the front window until Mel's car pulled into the driveway a few minutes later. After many thanks from the men and hugs and kisses all round, the children were off and the men suddenly, inexplicably, felt a little awkward.

"What do you want to do now?" Gareth turned to Phillip.

"Shower. I smell atrocious."

Gareth took a step closer, and ran his fingers up Phillip's sweat-stained and dirt smeared shirt, until they looped around the back of his gritty neck. "I've told you this before, but I think you smell good." And his tongue darted out and licked his bottom lip, suggestively. What he really wanted to do was taste the deliciously salty, sweaty skin of the man he found incredibly attractive.

"Well, I'm still going to have a shower, and I need to change my clothes." Phillip leaned into Gareth's embrace and gave him a chaste peck on the lips before pulling away to head downstairs to his bathroom. He couldn't quite believe that Gareth was being truthful and he was kind of nervous.

Gareth wasn't sure what to do. He was most definitely aroused, and the thought of Phillip naked in the downstairs shower dominated his mind. Would Phillip welcome Gareth's advances? Wasn't that the point of having the children out of the house? Or maybe it was too soon? Maybe Phillip really just wanted a date? It was so hard to say. On tv people fell into bed with one another right away, and to be fair, they'd only started kissing earlier this week. But the touches, the teasing, the attraction had been developing over a longer period. Still he wasn't sure. This wasn't something he could go back on. If Phillip really didn't want him like that, there was no recovering. There would just be embarrassment and goodbyes, and Gareth knew he didn't want that to happen. But Phillip did want him, didn't he?

When Gareth reflected on Phillip's clothed hard shaft pressing against him the previous evening, the choice was made. There was no way he could ignore his need, no way he couldn't satisfy his overwhelming curiosity to see Phillip in the flesh. He walked down the stairs shedding his clothes in Phillip's makeshift bedroom, then turned the handle to enter the laundry combination bathroom. It wasn't locked. That had to be a sign.

The steam clouded the air making it heavy with moisture, and the running water stifled the noises of Gareth's approach. He could just make out Phillip's very nude form through the opaque shower curtain, and he could smell the mossy, musky fragrance of his familiar shower gel. A smell that made Gareth's pulse quicken on a regular basis.

Just as he neared the curtain, Phillip turned to face him, as if by instinct. Very definitely Phillip was somewhat aroused and Gareth was enthralled by what he could see, goosebumps smattering his skin, anticipating the next move. Without words, he slipped into the shower with Phillip, running his hands along the bare flesh in front of him. Broad, strong shoulders to thinner, but manly, muscled hips. Their lips met as his hands continued to explore. When he brushed his hand along the length of Phillip's member, he wanted a closer look and sank to his knees feasting on the view before him. The thin dark line of hair running from his navel that Gareth had seen before, led to a tightly curled patch of hair and a thick, semi-erect, circumcised cock that was definitely growing harder before his eyes. The athletically toned legs of a man used to some physical labour were firm and gorgeous as he grasped Phillip and drew him closer.

Phillip was scared to move but also excited beyond words. Seeing Gareth naked in front of him was a fantasy of his coming to fruition, the man's lithe body was so fucking attractive. The inquisitive touches to his skin moving lower were more than arousing. And then he kneeled. Achingly slow Gareth leaned forward and took the head of Phillip's dick into his mouth, enveloping the smooth yet firm flesh, sucking ever so gently. The feeling on his sensitive mushroom head was more exquisite than Phillip had ever imagined and a low throaty groan escaped as he fought to keep his knees from buckling.

Gareth could tell that Phillip would not take long. As far as he knew he was Phillip's first sexual encounter, and the flavour of the man's juices he was sucking from the tip were titillating and savoury. Eager to let Phillip experience an orgasm not of his own making, Gareth took the girthy tool deeper into his mouth, fighting his gag reflex and sucking harder, his cheeks hollowing with the effort and his tongue pressed against the underside.

"Oh, god, Gareth," Phillip moaned, as his fisted hands moved from his sides to the shower wall for support. His head was dizzy from all the blood rushing to his groin, and he could feel his pleasure building with every swirl of Gareth's tongue as he watched his cock thrust in and out of the man's hot mouth. It was the most enthralling thing he'd ever seen. Phillip moved his hips on instinct, matching Gareth's sucking, thrusting and feeling an aching need build in his groin.

Gareth worked in earnest now, bringing one hand to the base of Phillip's shaft stroking in time with his bobbing head to keep from going too deep, and the other up to Phillip's heavily laden balls, rolling them between his fingers as they swung back and forth. He wanted to show Phillip how much he cared, how hot he made him, and just how much he wanted the quiet man to feel really fucking good.

Suddenly Phillip's testicles drew closer to his body and his veiny shaft hardened even more. Gareth responded by taking the straining member deeper and sucking vigorously, moaning for the sheer pleasure he was providing the other man. And his actions were rewarded.

"I..I..I'm gonna..." Phillip couldn't even complete his thought. He wasn't sure he'd ever be able to complete a coherent thought again. All he could do was focus on the explosive pleasure of shooting his load down Gareth's tight throat.

Gareth swallowed greedily, aroused beyond measure to give Phillip his release. He hadn't performed any such service in years and was thrilled that he could so affect the shy man. He slowly stood, tracing kisses up Phillip's firm, wet body until reaching his mouth. Gareth wasn't sure if Phillip would welcome a kiss on the mouth given where his had just been, but Phillip pulled Gareth in, his tongue possessing Gareth's passionately, delving deep.

Phillip was completely in over his head, but was totally and wholly in awe of Gareth and his talented mouth, and wanted to return the favour. He could see Gareth's hesitation to kiss him, so he pulled him in close and devoured him, wanting to show just how hot he thought the man was. Phillip could taste himself in Gareth's mouth and it nearly drove him over the edge, his spent cock starting to harden again, wanting more attention after being denied anything other than a solo effort for so very long.

Although their passion might run hot, suddenly the water wasn't, and the two men squealed as they dashed out of the freezing spray of the shower.

"I only have one towel," Phillip said, as he tried to dry Gareth, eyes raking over his naked form in the misty laundry room. Phillip's towelled hands ran down the length of Gareth's lanky lean torso, noting the few hairs right in the centre of his chest on his pale skin that was sprinkled with a few light brown freckles. They were like a dusting of sugar that Phillip just wanted to taste. Actually, he wanted to taste everywhere on Gareth, feel everywhere on Gareth, do everything to Gareth.

Phillip reached farther and ran the towel over Gareth's ass cheeks, pulling the man in closer. Their bare dicks rubbed between them, Gareth's aching for relief and throbbing, Phillip's recovered and back at full attention. Dropping the towel, Phillip pulled Gareth past the laundry machines and out to the pullout sofa, pushing him down on the bed. While Gareth had feasted on Phillip in the shower, it was now Phillip's turn.

And feast he did.

It was like a hidden switch had been flicked on in Phillip and whatever shyness he had before was temporarily gone. Maybe repressing his sexual nature for so long was driving him mad with lust, but either way, he was enraptured with Gareth's prone form. Starting from the soles of his feet, Phillip kissed his way up the insides of Gareth's slender, lightly haired legs, licking and tasting whenever he found an area of interest. The scar from a bike accident at age ten? Inventoried by Phillip's tongue. Bulge at the start of Gareth's delectable calf muscle? Nibbled by Phillip's hungry mouth. Almond shaped birthmark on Gareth's inner thigh? Kissed and suckled. When he reached Gareth's erect cock, Phillip grabbed it firmly and stroked, the feeling of someone else's hard dick, but Gareth's specifically, being so completely overwhelming that he nearly came right then. Instead he took a deep breath to refocus.

Gareth mistook the hesitation for apprehension. "You don't have to if you don't want to, I understand." After all, Gareth wasn't particularly experienced, but Phillip was far less so. Maybe a fully erect dripping manhood belonging to someone else was daunting?

Phillip shot him a look of pure lust, hooded eyes, flushed cheeks, then opened his mouth, stuck out his tongue and took as much of Gareth's cock as far back as he could, immediately sucking wantonly. Gareth's head whipped back against the pillow as his back arched in pleasure.

"Oh, Phillip, so fucking good," Gareth groaned, tearing at the sheets with his balled fists. He was eager to voice his appreciation since there was no one else to hear other than the sexy man in front of him.

Gareth's entreaties further urged Phillip on, and he wanted nothing more than for Gareth to come apart for him, he wanted to taste Gareth's essence and swallow it all, just like the other man had done for him. Phillip desperately wanted to be good at this, to be good for Gareth, and if Gareth's moans were any indicator, he was doing well. He'd watched enough videos to have a fairly good idea of what to do. Careful not to trigger his gag reflex, he used his hand wrapped around at the base of Gareth's shaft to prevent from taking it too deep.

Suddenly he could feel Gareth stiffen and groan loudly; his creamy seed spilling down Phillip's throat as his cock throbbed. The pressure and amount was a bit of a shock, and Phillip fought to keep from choking so he could swallow it down. The taste was like his own, although not wholly the same. When Gareth was spent, Phillip kept the man's softening dick in his mouth, gently sucking and caressing it with his tongue, until Gareth pulled out with a light pop.

"Are you sure that was your first time, Phillip?" Gareth asked with a smile as he lightly pecked Phillip's reddened cheek.

"Why? Did I not do it right?" His anxiety was obvious in his voice. "I'm sorry."

"No, you were amazing. It was," Gareth trailed a finger along Phillip's jaw, as he reassured the man, "everything I ever wanted."

"Oh," Phillip sounded a little more relieved, "you too. I mean the same. I mean--" Gareth could see Phillip getting flustered again, so covered the man's mouth with his own, kissing him deeply, their tongues tangling with each other, damp and naked bodies intertwined. Skin on skin so staggeringly astounding.

They laid together kissing for a little while longer, lightly rutting against each other until they realized there was a problem. Phillip's stomach grumbled.

"We should get up, as much as I'd like to, we can't spend the whole day in bed."

"You mean you don't want to, umm," Phillip wasn't sure how to continue his thought. As, much as he'd been unleashed in the moment, now he was just embarrassed. Was it too much to ask Gareth for sex? He'd been waiting a very long time to be touched, but he didn't want to seem...forward? Presumptuous? He wasn't really sure.

"Phillip, I'd love nothing more than to have you inside me, but I don't have any lube or condoms and we're both hungry," Gareth pointed out, with a chuckle.

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that," Phillip mumbled. "I suppose we could go out for lunch and maybe to a drug store?" Although Phillip kind of liked the idea of Gareth inside him, too.

Gareth laced his fingers through Phillip's pulling his hands towards their chests. "If I had my way, we could stay like this, but sadly, we need to get up and get a move on. Especially if we want to continue."

Phillip nodded in agreement, rolling away from Gareth and clambering off the creaky mattress. He searched for clean clothes and began getting dressed, looking over to Gareth, who was still laying down, but turned on his side, watching.

"Aren't you getting up?"

"I already am," he said cheekily, indicating his erection. "You've got to stop bending over in front of me like that if you know what's good for you."

Phillip looked to where Gareth indicated, bottom lip raking over his teeth in a completely libidinous manner. "You said we needed lube and condoms."

Gareth sighed heavily and arose from the makeshift bed. "And we do. Plus food. Let's go, Phillip."

"I'm the one who's dressed, you're the one lounging about," Phillip teased.

"Right you are." And much to Phillip's chagrin the other man began pulling on his clothes.

N/A: I hope this satisfied their needs for just a short intermission, and I also hope the whole chapter is here, because my cat sat on my computer while I was editing and might have erased something. In a totally unrelated matter, we had a frost warning last night. It was 31 degrees a few days ago, and now it's near 0???!!!!

Thanks for reading, commenting, and voting! Next chapter is Wednesday. :)

<3 JJ