A Changed Life Ch. 03

When Charlie noticed what I was looking at he dragged me off the floor and over to the bar. I followed him fairly willingly, but I kept checking to see what Tess was doing.

He looked amused when I finally dragged my eyes back to him. "I should probably feel offended that you're so distracted by a woman." he said.

"Special circumstances." I replied. "Although I'm surprised that anything can take my mind off you, even for a moment."

He blushed, and he looked so cute like that I had a surge of desire to kiss him which I had to fight back under control. He saw some hint of it on my face though because I saw him swallow hard.

"So, do you want another date then?" he asked slightly shyly.

I know my smile in response was beaming. "No, I want lots more dates."

"Okay." One little word that made my heart swell.

I wasn't going to push him any further than that, but we danced some more with the others, and I did kind of forget about Tess, although if I had anything to do with it she would be coming home with me and not going anywhere with Chef. I wished Charlie would come home with me too, just so I could hold him in my arms as I went to sleep. Dear lord, I really was in love.

As people started to drift off it seemed like time to call it a day. We didn't have to work early, but there was still a busy Sunday ahead. I had spent much of the evening chatting to Charlie and got way more from him than I could have hoped for. It was such a weird situation for me, waiting for someone to give me any little contact or word and each one making me so happy I couldn't believe it. I arranged with him that we would go out again on Monday since we always had the day off, and this time we were going out earlier so I could spend the whole day with him. I couldn't wait!

My next issue was getting Tess away from Chef so I could go home, but I was relieved that she quickly agreed to leave when I said I was heading off. Her house was much further out of town so she would be staying in my spare room. My pleasure that Chef was not going to get any was immense, even if I felt a little cruel when he seemed very disappointed. I couldn't look when he gave her a hug and kiss to say goodbye, not that it was a passionate kiss, but even that amount of contact between them made me uncomfortable. They seemed a little too close for my liking, much as they had been all evening.

Charlie stood back from them too, waiting to say goodbye before he headed home as well, sadly not with me, but if tonight was anything to go by that would happen eventually. He gave Chef a firm handshake and Tess a hug and kiss, and then he turned to me. I'm fairly sure I was holding my breath waiting to see what he would do. Chef wasn't paying any attention to us, quite possibly still trying to persuade Tess that she really did want to go with him after all.

I felt like I was frozen to the spot, so desperate not to push Charlie in any way that might undo any good that had been done so far. He just smiled and then stepped towards me and put his arms around me for a hug, my arms soon moving to hold him too. It felt so right having him there I didn't want to let go, and I sighed deeply with contentment. I just heard him giggle in response, right against my ear and the sound and his warm breath there made me shudder.

"You're going to have to let me go Mark" he said softly, and my arms dropped immediately with my fear that I had done too much. Thankfully when he pulled back he was still smiling. "You really are going to let me take this at my pace, aren't you?" he asked.

I nodded. I stepped a little closer to him so only he would hear what I had to say next, and was pleased to see he didn't even flinch. "I'm too scared of losing what we already have, because it means the world to me."

He smiled so sweetly at me in response it made me fall the rest of the way in love. "You don't need to be so scared. You are making me very happy, and I do believe you."

He finished his sentence, making me almost weak with relief and happiness, and then he planted a soft kiss right on my lips. I stared at him in disbelief, but the warmth on my lips was so clear I knew it had just happened. My tongue automatically went out to lick them, to gather in any taste of him that I could, and I saw a moment of lust burn in his eyes when he saw my movement. That was another new thing for this evening. He wanted me too. No more would happen just yet, but he wanted me.

I was ecstatic after we left, on such a high after what had happened with Charlie that I was barely able to concentrate on what Tess was saying, and I didn't even have words with her about her closeness to Chef. I could still feel that soft kiss on my lips and every recollection of it made me a bit harder. Finally Tess's laughter impinged on my consciousness.

"Have you listened to a word I've said to you?"

"Huh?" was my only response.

She just kept laughing. "You got one kiss and now you've forgotten the real world exists! By the way, I think Charlie is lovely, and I'm glad you've made some progress. He really likes you too."

I looked at her then. "What did he say to you about it?"

"Not much. It was mostly me talking, but the way he looks at you and how he spoke about you, plus that kiss, well it all adds up."

I couldn't help grinning again at her mention of the kiss. She rolled her eyes in desperation and amusement. "So you really have the hots for him then?"

"No, I'm in love with him. And all I have to do is hope that he can feel the same one of these days."

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Charlie

The staff night out turned out to be far better than I could ever have hoped or imagined. I had heard a lot, but to be honest, with the exception of the news about Mark's parents, everything else Tess had told me I knew and I believed. She had just helped me realise what he was doing in order to win me. As I headed home alone I could only smile. I couldn't believe how much I had moved on in one evening or how intense it had been being with him despite that being as part of a group. And only holding hands with him, a bit of dancing, and a hug and kiss at the end of the night, it felt so good and the effect it had on my body was incredible. I could only imagine how amazing doing more with him would feel like, and I was sure that it would happen when I was ready.

His care and what he said to me, and the effects his slight touches had, all added up to me being at least half in love with the guy, probably a lot more. None of my previous lovers had made my body tingle like that until we were naked and I was on my way to orgasm. His smile alone warmed me from the inside out, and I was half-hard at the slightest touch, almost fully after he told me how he felt and we had the briefest of kisses. When I got home I took my cock in my hand thinking about that moment, drawing it out in my mind and remembering how he had licked his lips so sexily afterwards. It was enough to have me shooting harder than I had done for years. I drifted off to sleep imagining his arms around me, holding my body close to him.

I had my final flowers for the week on the Saturday and headed to work so happy and excited to see him. I had more than started to believe in him, I was falling hard. I smiled at him when I saw him and despite the fact we were both busy there were plenty of times during the day and evening when our eyes met and small smiles would spread across our faces. I was amazed that no-one else noticed, but then we were all very busy when there were customers in. Sunday it was the same, and I couldn't wait for the next day when I could have him all to myself. A few stolen glances were nowhere near enough for me now. At the end of the shift I was alone with him for a brief moment in the locker room as we picked up our stuff. No getting changed tonight, although I was thinking about the view I had had of him the other day and I would be surprised if he wasn't having similar thoughts.

When the others left and the two of us were stood there, we both just grinned. It was a bit dumb but time alone was precious. Neither one of us made a move though, it was more like we were drinking the sight of the other in for what moment we had together.

"So what do you want to do tomorrow?" he finally asked.

"How do you feel about wandering around a country manor? There's one not too far away that has lots of cool paintings plus beautiful grounds and a butterfly house."

The look on his face changed to nervous as I completed my sentence. "Butterflies?" he asked, starting to go a bit pale.

"Yep, they are beautiful colourful ones, they fly all around you in this giant glasshouse. I love it there."

He went even paler. "Um, I'm cool with the rest of it, but if you don't mind seeing the butterflies by yourself..." he just tailed off.

I almost wanted to tease him, but I had my own phobias and understood irrational fears of things that couldn't hurt you. "You really don't like them, do you? It's fine, I'll do that bit on my own."

He visibly relaxed. "I'm a big wuss when it comes to flying bugs. Especially flappy ones that come right at you."

I just grinned at him, amused by his admission and no longer able to avoid teasing him. "Don't worry, I'll protect you from the scary butterflies!"

He seemed to be thinking for a second. "Well, I guess if you would hold my hand it wouldn't be so bad."

"I'll hold it anyway, even if you don't want to go in the butterfly house."

He just smiled at that. My only thought was how long it would be before I was desperate to do a hell of a lot more than hold his hand. My fear there was that I was going to be so inexperienced compared to him he'd not enjoy it. I would just have to get over that fear because there was no way I would be able to keep him away for ever, I cared far too much already.

I got my two pink roses just before I left to pick him up. "Every" the card said. The start of another cryptic sentence but yet more flowers and notes said a lot. He certainly seemed to want to be with me. I was eager to see him and had to stop myself from speeding on the way to his house. He was waiting for me in the drive even though I was early. He must be keen too, and he beamed at me when I pulled up. It probably matched the smile on my face because I felt like my face was splitting in two.

He got in and couldn't stop smiling at me, I gave his hand a quick squeeze before I headed back out onto the road and drove out to the countryside. I kept feeling his eyes on me as I drove and it was hard not to look back and keep my eyes on the road instead. It was a relief to get to the carpark and not have to worry about that any longer. I parked up and immediately looked at him properly. He just looked so cute, and my stomach instantly did a flip at his expression. It wasn't lust it was love. I raised my hand to the side of his face and caressed it for a moment, the movement completely automatic, I just needed to touch him. The intimacy of the moment was compounded when he nuzzled his face into my hand, and I cleared my throat rather than moan.

"We'd better get out of the car and actually go see some things." I said, and he quickly moved. We wandered around the house and looked at all the historic pictures and furniture. The house itself was a work of art, but nothing like the beautiful man by my side, and I know he was looking at me just as much as I was looking at him. We chatted about nothing really, work, Tess, hobbies, whatever came to mind, just learning as much as we could about each other. I told him about my family and didn't press him for information when he said nothing about his. He wasn't ready to tell me that but I thought I understood his reasons.

We had lunch in the cafe and laughed and joked as we shovelled in the fish and chips, particularly given that the standards were not anything like we sold in the restaurant, but it was nice to eat rubbish once in a while. I wondered how many dates with him my waistline would stand though, because if I kept going out and eating junk I'd need to up my exercise routine.

After lunch we went to wander in the grounds, for the first time finding ourselves away from a lot of the people also visiting the house. As soon as I felt that there would be fewer eyes on us I took his hand and wove my fingers between his. He smiled, and once again I wondered how such a small connection could mean so much to me. We wandered further into a bit of woodland, slowly following the paths and listening to the peace of the countryside where just the birds calling and some sheep in a nearby field could be heard. Neither one of us seemed to want to talk then, just taking in the beauty of our surroundings and the dappled shade coming through the branches above us.

I realised that for the first time we were totally alone and away from anyone who might see us. I listened for the sounds of other people walking or talking nearby but there was nothing. It was just us together in the most wonderful and serene place, a million miles from the bustling restaurant we spent much our time and where we had first met. I turned to face him and he too looked totally content in his surroundings, happy to be with me as much as I was happy to be with him. I watched as his deep brown eyes swept over my face and hair, and settled for a moment on my lips before he looked back into my eyes, and I almost gasped when I saw the depth of feeling in them. It was almost as though I was staring into his soul.

I didn't want to resist any longer, I had to kiss him right then. This was the perfect place and the perfect moment for our first real kiss. I took a step forward and leant towards him, moving one hand to the side of his face again before I brushed my lips over his softly. It wasn't enough and I pressed myself closer to him, moaning at the twin sensations as his arms went around me and his lips pushed back against mine. One of his hands moved up to entangle his fingers in the hair falling at the nape of my neck and I opened my mouth, desperate to taste him. His tongue tangled with mine and our arms wrapped around each other as our kiss deepened and became more and more passionate. It was probably several minutes but it felt like no time at all and certainly not long enough, and if it hadn't been for the sudden sounds of people heading towards us through the woods we might not have broken apart for hours.

We both sat down by the side of the path, waiting for the family we could hear coming to pass us by. Our peace was shattered, but as I looked at him, his lips slightly swollen from our kisses and his eyes gleaming, I knew we had found a different kind of peace. I also knew that he was having a similar problem to me, and we both sat very carefully as the children and adults passed, keen that none of them should see the erections that were pressing hard into our trousers. I tried to think about something to make mine go down but I usually used recipes and it wasn't working. Being in the kitchen was now linked to me seeing Mark and the thought of him made it worse. I grinned at him once the people had passed, but realised we were not going to stay alone for long. I stood up and took his hand to help him up, noting that I was right about the problem he was having, but trying not to stare at his crotch for too long.

Our eyes met again and we were both amused at our reactions. He managed to speak first.

"Wow. Can't think of what else to say. That was amazing. I just wish it hadn't had quite the effect on me it has, because we are in public!"

I grinned at him. "Just think dull thoughts. I was trying but I always used recipes before, thinking about quantities and such. Now it makes me think of being in the kitchen at work and waiting for a glimpse of you when you come to collect an order. No use at all!"

"Let's just try and walk them off then. Or perhaps we should head to see the butterflies. That should be as good as a cold shower to me."

I couldn't help laughing at him, but it eased my problem so I could at least walk. We interwove our hands again for as long as we felt comfortable with it, knowing how many people were around. I think for me it was more a case of the unlikely event that someone we knew would see us and our secret would be out. I rather liked having this whole side of Mark all to myself.

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