Read The Lord Won't Mind (The Peter & Charlie Trilogy) for Free Online Page B

dry.”
    They said no more as the landscape flashed past. The club was all trees and lawns and tennis courts. Charlie parked the car and slid out from under the wheel. “I’ll be right back,” he muttered and was gone, walking fast. He was free. He breathed deeply. His sex finally subsided to its usual dimensions. He hitched up his trousers and felt complete in himself and self-sufficient. He went first to the locker where he kept his tennis racket and took it out. Then, no longer hurrying, he went on up to the big porch that served as a social center. He found Anne and Harry and Belinda having lemonade. They were all members of his crowd, and he was greeted enthusiastically and urged to have a drink. He ordered a lemonade from a passing waiter and sat with them. They resumed their chatter, he was included in it, he joined in dutifully. Before his lemonade had arrived, he had had enough. The day, which had been touched with wonder and joy, had become intolerably ordinary. Their jokes seemed flat and childish; when he looked at Harry nothing happened in his eyes, Anne’s schoolgirl flirtatiousness was a silly bore, and Belinda’s attempts at weary sophistication were simply ludicrous. When the lemonade was served he took a few long gulps of it and put some money on the table.
    “I’ve got to go. C. B. has a sort of cousin staying with us.”
    “Family. How too utterly sick-making.”
    “It’s not that kind of family. Actually, he’s about our age. You’ll be meeting him. He’s a good guy.”
    “Good-looking?”
    “Of course. C. B. says he looks like me.”
    They all made suitable noises of mockery and pain as he left them. He felt guilty at having left Peter so long and was eager for a fresh glimpse of him. When it came, he was stunned by its impact. All the muscles of his face lifted, something happened in his chest, and he began humming a tune. Peter looked terribly alone and there was strained anxiety in the way he sat. Charlie felt the tender protectiveness welling up in him and spreading into his arms so that he wanted to hold him. When Peter saw him approach, his face was transfused with delight, dazzling and undisguised. Charlie handed him the racket as he slid in beside him.
    “Well, that was quite an experience,” Peter said. “I didn’t know it was possible to want to be with somebody so much.”
    “Did you miss me, baby?” He put his hand on Peter’s knee. Peter brought his legs together and gripped it.
    “God, it kills me when you call me that. I’ll say I did. It’s frightening.”
    “I got stuck with some stupid kids.”
    “Are we going home now?”
    “Yes.” Charlie already had the car in motion.
    “Thank goodness,” Peter said fervently.
    Charlie parked the car in front of the house, and they got out. Peter’s shorts were stiff and wrinkled. Charlie handed him the racket.
    “Carry that in case we run into anybody.” They entered the house and climbed in silence to the top. As soon as they reached the safety of Charlie’s room, their arms encircled each other and they exchanged a long, breathless kiss. Charlie was the first to draw back. “Come on, now. Into the shower with you,” he ordered.
    “Can I use your bathroom?”
    “Sure.”
    “Will you take a shower with me?”
    Charlie looked at him and smiled. “If that’s what you want to call it. We’ll probably drown.” They both undressed, Peter with his back slightly turned. He held his shirt awkwardly before himself when he was done. Charlie stood unconcernedly naked before him. He saw Peter’s eyes go to his sex. He looked down at himself and laughed.
    “You see? You’re not going to get your wish all that easily.”
    “It’s wonderful I do that to you.”
    “Come on. Let’s see what I do to you.”
    They went into the bathroom and turned on the shower and stood together under it. The were totally absorbed in each other. They soaped each other more than was strictly necessary for hygienic purposes but as their