The Mortician's Son (BoyxBoy)

C H A P T E R . 1 1

C I N D E R F E L A  L O V E  A N D  T H E  L E T H A L  D I N N E R

"You seem very troubled today, Luke," Cloud said as he twirled his fork in his salad, which was dressed only with olive oil and lemon.

"I am," the brunette answered, moodily picking at his food with his fork.

"Is it Nathan?"

Luke nodded, a bit happy that his lover could read him so well. "He and Nathan are seeing each other."

"Oh, that sounds great!" the doctor said enthusiastically.

"It is great…" the mortician said, markedly depressed.

Cloud gave a knowing smile, leaned forward and pointed his fork at him. "That's not the face of a winner," he remarked.

The brunette sighed. "I am happy for my son, and Blake is quite kind to him, I just…"

"The thought of him sexually active makes you want to rip your hair out, right?"

"Sexually active? Oh, Good Lord…" Luke let his face sink into his hands, distraught.

The blonde placed his fork aside. "Luke, you have nothing to worry about," he said.

"…I accidentally walked in on them last night."

"And they were…?"

"Making out." The mortician said grimly from his hands. "They were groping and everything. It was… actually more than — If I were to use that baseball metaphor, they would have been on second-and-a-half base. I found it rather disturbing…"

"Oh." Cloud, who was quite good at reading people from his long medical career, immediately understood the problem.

"You unconsciously feel more protective of Nathan than usual because you feel ill at ease that Blake can touch him like… well, like an adult," the blonde added the last bit delicately. He could tell this subject made his boyfriend incredibly uncomfortable.

Luke nodded again, like he seemed to understand. And then another wave of worry overtook him. "And then when Nathan asked me if he could go on a Spring Break vacation with Blake — nearly lost my mind!" The mortician waved his arms in distress. "Nathan was so excited… I couldn't say no! And I was so happy that he was getting out of the house to spend time his friends…"

"And he and Blake were dating back then?"

"Yes."

"Oh." Cloud raised his eyebrows. "So that's why you seemed so gloomy that week." The doctor gave a relieved sigh. "I thought it was me."

"No, no, it wasn't you at all. I just kept worrying about them. Isn't it customary for teenagers in Spring Break to become willful?"

"Luke, I'll say it again, you really have nothing to worry about. You've done a fantastic job of raising Nathan, so he's capable of finding a suitable partner for himself. And Blake's a very good kid. His parents are respectable, morally-sound people. His mother more so than his father, but anyway…" The blonde sipped from his drink. "You should have seen the first boyfriend Chance brought home. He had several piercings, owned a motorcycle, no license and no virginity." Cloud shuddered visibly.

The brunette felt himself smile. "Your experience in this area makes your advice all the more comforting, Cloud."

 

+

 

It was a cloudy Monday in early April when Alex strolled happily to the usual lunch table, tray in hand, and stopped in his tracks.