Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2013 18:40:12 -0700 (PDT) From: J M Subject: The Return Home - Part One I'm not really sure where this story is headed, or if it will continue at all. Your feedback, as always, is much appreciated and encouraging in the ongoing writing of my stories. This is a work of fiction, created by me for your enjoyment. It's about sex, and, hopefully, more. Jm08nyc@yahoo.com CHAPTER ONE "Excuse me, Mr. Anderson? Sir?" I awoke to a tap on the shoulder and a tall, blonde flight attendant leaning over me. She repeated, "Mr. Anderson, excuse me for waking you up, but a call has been patched up to the cockpit for you." It took a minute to fully come back to reality. I closed my eyes again for a minute to gather my strength, but all this did was cause her to say again, "Sir?" "Thank you, I'm awake," I replied slowly. Opening my eyes and swinging myself up into a sitting position, my eyes slowly adjusted to the dimly lit cabin. "What time is it?" "It's 5:14am, Greenwich Mean Time, sir." So, we were almost there. I slipped my feet into my shoes and stood up, swaying a little as we hit some turbulence. We wouldn't be landing for two more hours, so the cabin was still very much in "night mode" and all around me were the darkened forms of my fellow passengers, laying prone under Delta-branded blankets. "Thank you. Please lead the way." I followed the flight attendant the ten feet forward to the front galley, where one of the other flight attendants was preparing for the morning breakfast service that they would serve prior to arrival at Heathrow. He gave me a quick up and down glance as he worked, eyeing me but saying nothing—I had, of course, noticed him earlier in the flight, and appreciated how well his uniform fit his tight little frame. The thought crossing my mind again I shook it away quickly and gave him a brief nod as the door to the cockpit opened. The co-pilot stepped out, "Good morning, Mr. Anderson. Apologies for waking you, but a call has been patched through to you via a radar station in Ireland. You can take it in here." I followed the co-pilot into the cockpit and slid into the navigator's seat—he (or she) must've been elsewhere, perhaps resting, at the time. I was handed a headset and instructed to identify myself once I had it on. "Hello, this is Ben Anderson?" I said, my opening more of a question than anything else. I heard a quiet voice and an Irish accent from the headphones, "Good morning, Mr. Anderson, this is Charles Rider, a radar agent – I'm now putting through your call, sir." "Thanks," I mumbled quickly in reply. And then I heard my sister's voice – the one I was expecting and dreading – coming through, "Ben, it's Jennifer, it doesn't look like you're going to make it in time. She's been asking for you, and we've told her you're on your way, but..." Her voice trailed off. I took a deep breath before replying, "Hey, Jenny, it's good to hear your voice. We're about two hours out from Heathrow. The car is picking me up on the tarmac and we'll head immediately to her house. I wish I could make this plane go faster... I'm so sorry I'm not there." "It's okay. Thomas is here. And Conrad was here last night, he went home to check on the kids, but is on his way back right now. Mom and Dad are asleep on the couch in the living room, and Aunt Joanie is in the room right now, keeping vigil. We're holding it together. But... it will be better when you're here." "Okay, please let them know I'll be there as fast as I humanly can be. I will call you when we land at Heathrow, and I can only hope I can make it in time." "See you soon, Ben." And with that I heard a click and the voice of the radar agent telling me the call had ended. I slowly pulled the headset off, and let it fall to my lap, sitting there in the cockpit in silence for a minute. Lost in thought. A cough from the co-pilot brought me back to the present moment. "Is there anything else we can do for you, Mr. Anderson?" "No, thank you – just get us to Heathrow as quickly as you can." And with that I was up and out of the cockpit. The galley was empty now, and I made my way back towards row four. I looked down to 4A and watched the slow and rise and fall of his chest as he lay there sleeping. Facing the window, his right arm hanging back, from where he had fallen asleep holding my hand. I laid back down in 4B and took his hand in mine. And I stared at the ceiling. And waited for the dawn. *** "Ladies and gentlemen, good morning and welcome to London's Heathrow Airport. We'll be landing in approximately five minutes. After landing we ask that you please remain in your seats until we are fully parked at the gate and the fasten seatbelt sign has been switched off." With a slight bump the wheels touched the ground, and his hand touched mine. Squeezing it. I was lost in thought again and turned to look at him. Our eyes making contact and everything that needed to be said was said without a word passing between us. He leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. "Ladies and gentlemen, could I have your attention please, we've now parked at Gate 43. Could you please remain in your seats for just a few more minutes..." as we were listening to the announcement being made, one of the flight attendants approached from behind and tapped me on the shoulder. "Mr. Anderson, please come with me – we're going to get you off the plane first." I could feel the stare of the other passengers, wondering what had earned us the privilege of deplaning first. I'm sure the curiosity of those on the right side of the plane would be even more piqued when they saw us get into the black car waiting on the tarmac. *** The text messages were flooding in now that I had service again. I ignored all but the most recent: "BENNY-HURRY." From Jenny. Sent about five minutes ago. The driver knew we were in a mad dash, and wasted no time careening onto the M4 and shifting the car into high gear as we raced towards our goal. "ON WAY. TWENTY MINUTES." I texted back. And I squeezed his hand in mine, resting my head on his shoulder. "Tell me about your first memory of her," Cooper said quietly. "I'm not sure how old I was, must've been about five or six, and we were all in the South of France for the spring holidays—she had a house there on the coast and we always spent Easter and Spring Break there, probably until we were in high school. Every Easter she would hide eggs all over the yard and house and we'd spend hours tracking them all down—all fighting for one special egg. The one that got us a day alone with her—her special treat. Not, I'm sure, that she wouldn't have spent time with us one-on-one anyway, but this entitled us to a day of whatever we wished. And she always made sure we had the most fun possible. That year, I remember I found the egg, and I came racing into the house looking for her, running into her arms when I found her and screaming with joy—`NAN, I got it! I got it!'" Cooper laughed a little at the story, and squeezed my hand back. "My first memory of her," Cooper began, "remains one of my favorite nights of our time together. It was on the trip she made to New York just after you and I had started dating, and I remember her coming over your old apartment for dinner – for some reason Conrad was in town, too, and some other friends were there. She was a good fifty years older than the next person in the room, but she was having the time of her life. And, I'll never forget this, how she cornered me in the kitchen, and talked my ear off... she kept repeating how excited she was that you had me in your life, and how much she loved you, and..." Cooper trailed off. I could hear him sniffling. And close my eyes, rubbing my head against his shoulder. "...and, for that brief moment it felt like I was the most important guy in the world, and that I can do anything, and be anything and – most special to me – that I was a part of something: your family. You know... I knew that you were the one on our third or fourth date, I think, but I was scared of what that meant until the night I met her. She made me realize that the journey you and I would take together would be the journey of my life." I opened my eyes and pulled him into me. Kissing him. Holding him. And he me. *** As the car raced down the drive, every second seemed like a minute. Me screaming, "faster, faster," until I finally yelled "STOP!" and covered the last thirty yards on foot. Running like my life counted on it—when it was hers that did. Flying through the door. Jenny still on the phone from the upstairs room. And, just outside her door, I came to a stop. There was silence throughout the house. I couldn't hear anything but the beating of my heart. Nan. The end. I pushed the door open, surveying the room. The drapes were drawn, just a small shaft of morning light coming through the front-facing windows. A pale glow from a bedside lamp illuminating the assembled crowd: Mom & Dad, both clearly exhausted, sitting on the chair in the corner – my Mom perched on the arm. Aunt Joanie, my Mom's sister, in a chair next to Nan's bed, holding her hand. Conrad, my older brother leaning against the wall to the left of the door, his wife Ally sitting in a chair next to him, both seemingly lost in thought. And Jenny, my kid sister, sitting on the foot of Nan's bed – hers are the eyes that met mine as I entered the room. She is the one who has somehow kept things running around this house, kept the communication constant while Nan neared the end. I heard Mom, from the corner, first, "Where's Cooper?" "He's on his way up... How... How is she?" I felt Conrad move to be next to me and put his arm around my shoulder, but it was Aunt Joanie who spoke next: "She's been waiting, I think, for you. She's asleep, it seems, now but still with us." "Why don't we let Ben spend some time alone with her," my Dad said quietly from my right. Nan and I had always had a special relationship – she loved us all and we all loved her – but I always confided in her and she in me. Generations removed, but she was so important to me becoming the person I have." As I moved towards the bed I could feel the rest of the family leaving the room. Ally the last one out, rubbing my shoulder gently before leaving. I sat down in the chair that Aunt Joanie had vacated. I took her hand in mine. And rested my head, face down, on the bed next to where she lay. Her breath, just barely, causing her chest to rise and fall. "Nan..." CHAPTER TWO "Ben. Ben? Wake up, Ben." I slowly returned to reality, hearing Cooper's voice from somewhere in my dreams. I'm not sure when I fell asleep. It couldn't have been that long though. As I rubbed my eyes I realized that everyone had returned to the room. Even Conrad's kids were here. I slowly look to the right, realizing that they had all gathered for the end. And then understanding that the end had already happened—I felt Jenny's hand on my shoulder, "It was while you both slept, Ben. It was quiet and peaceful. And with you by her side." I didn't really know what to say. And so I didn't say anything. I got up from the chair and pulled Jenny into me, giving her a big hug for the first time since I had been in the house. Her head falling against my shoulder, "I'll be okay I whispered quietly to her." Turning to look at the rest of the family. And watched them, watching Nan. *** "You never were much of a cricket player," Conrad yelled jokingly back at me as he went dashing out of the house and into the backyard. Trailing his kids and Cooper. "It's a good thing that being a successful cricket player isn't a prerequisite for anything in life. Plus you're still jealous that I was better at football—both American and English—than you ever were," I called back at my brother as I followed him to the yard behind Nan's house. Cooper and I had been here almost two weeks now, and for once in my travels I had no desire to rush home to New York. It felt good—being with the family, playing with the kids, driving Jenny to her office, dinner with my parents. I hadn't lived in London full time since middle school, and while I've always loved the city these couple weeks reminded me why. *** I could hear Cooper singing in the shower. I smiled. He seemed to always make me smile. Even when nothing else could. I closed the door to our bedroom and followed his voice into the steam-filled bathroom, overlooking the flower-filled gardens of Nan's house. I dropped my shorts and peeled off my t-shirt, pulling back the shower curtain and startling him slightly, seizing the quiet moment I pressed my lips against his—kissing him hard and long. I ran my hands down his back and over his ass as the water soaked us both. I kissed my way down to his neck, my hands moving towards his chest. His eyes closing as my lips passed over his right nipple. A soft, low moan escaping as I moved towards the left. Working my way down his chest. Cooper's taller than I am, just about 6'2" tall, with broad shoulders that taper down to a well-defined waist. His body isn't perfect—neither is mine—but it's amazing to me. And I love every inch of it. I fell to my knees, and rested my head against his stomach. Feeling the rise and fall of his breath as he ran his fingers through my hair. My eyes closed. My arms around him. Feeling, in this moment of complete exposure, the safest and calmest I had felt in weeks. I could feel Cooper's cock throbbing against my neck, and I pulled away from his stomach letting it spring free and smack me gently in the face as I lean down to kiss it. When Cooper and I first started dating I had just gotten out of a long-term relationship, and hadn't had sex with another person in years. Every time I see him naked, touch his cock, feel his breath against mine, I'm transported back to the first time we made love. And the realization I had at the time that I never wanted anyone else. I took the head of his cock in my mouth, slowly working his long, thick shaft down my throat until he was buried inside me. My nose pressed against his pubes, his balls against my chin, and his hands on either side of my head. I held there, breathing deeply, loving this moment of connection, before pulling off his cock and starting to bob up and down. I'd pull all the way off until just the head was inside my mouth, and I could taste his precum flowing onto my tongue. I savored the taste and it fueled my passion for him. Up and down I worked his cock, the steam creating a world of our own, the water soaking us, cleansing us as we made love. Eventually I slid back up his body and kissed him hard. Deep. My raging hard-on pressing against his. I leaned into him, my mouth against his ear, "please fuck me." I turned around, and felt him slide to his knees behind me. If there was one thing Cooper loved when it came to sex, it was eating ass—and he was amazingly talented at it. A let out a loud, hard moan as his tongue invaded my tight, warm, and wet hole. We hadn't had sex since arriving back in London. There had been too much—family, emotion, grieving, everything—to even think about sex. There wasn't a night I had been able to stay up later than ten, falling asleep curled up against his arms. Now, all I wanted was him. Inside me. I could feel his finger opening my hole. Pushing into me, and I pushed back against him. A second made me gasp slightly as he opened me. Him standing now, his chest pressed against my back. His fingers opening me. The warm water flowing over us. His lips against my year whispering, "I love you." His fingers leaving me, the momentary feeling of emptiness as he positioned the head of his cock against my aching hole—needing and wanting what was coming. And then ecstasy. His cock filling me. Thrusting deep and hard into my ass. Opening me. Giving himself to me. Faster and harder. Pounding into me. Coopers hands on my shoulders, holding me as he drilled. His thick, hard cock opening me and filling me. Hard. Harder. My eyes rolling back into my head, mouth hanging opening as the steam continued to swirl around us. "Give it to me, Cooper. Fuck me. Fuck me hard." Although he didn't need the direction, it inspired him to go harder, drill deeper. His arms moving, pulling me against his chest, wrapping around me. And then we flipped around. My back against the tile wall of the shower. His powerful arms lifting me up, my legs around his waist, pulling him against me, and his cock slamming back up my hole. Our lips locked. He was close. I was close. The hard pounding had my own cock raging, I knew I'd come as soon as he did. My arms and legs wrapped around him, he fucked me against the wall. Kissing me hard. I could feel his cock start to swell inside my ass. I kissed him harder. And, then, with one last, hard stroke he stopped, erupting inside of me. And my cock erupted in response, shooting rope after rope of thick cum all over my chest and his. His legs shaking in the aftermath of his orgasm, he gently lowered me down to a standing position. His cock falling from my hole. TO BE CONTINUED.