“Why, Grayson? Whatever in the world are you talking about?” David asked him teasingly.
“What am I talking about? Let me put it this way for you—I want to take you to bed and have you fuck me six ways from Sunday… and then back again. As I see it, we have a lot of lost time to make up for.”
“That would be acceptable,” David told him.
“What are you doing tomorrow evening?” Gray asked.
“Tomorrow evening I’m working in the ER. A coworker asked if I could cover a shift for him, so I’ll be in the ER from three to eleven tomorrow afternoon and evening.”
“Talk about awful timing,” Gray complained.
“Not necessarily,” David told him. “It might make you want me just a little more.”
“You’re a cruel, cruel man,” Gray told him.
“Not me.” They shared another kiss.
“Do you have any idea where we packed the handcuffs and the ropes when we moved?” Gray asked David.
“Offhand, no. Why do you ask?” David said.
“Oh, no reason. Just thinking about some games you asked me to try a few years back. I was too scared at the time to try them, but… maybe now it might be good.”
“You’re not helping to make my erection go away. Just so you know. I remember packing all of the toys, most of them still in their original packaging, pure, virginal, unsullied.”
“Not for much longer, perhaps,” Gray said.
“Now you’re just making me hot,” David said.
“About fucking time,” Gray said. “I didn’t want to be the only one. You know, if there’s any question about finding our toys, I can always take a run out to Home Depot tonight to buy some rope. I can always ask some of the agents if I can borrow their cuffs for the evening.”
“Don’t do that,” David told him. “How would it look for the President to be seen buying ropes and borrowing handcuffs for a night of kinky sex with his husband? I’ll take a look and see where they likely are. I packed most of the stuff, so I should be able to track them down. All of the boxes we didn’t unpack are still sitting in one of the bedrooms on the residential level. We don’t have to have them immediately, do we? I would think some basic sex would be good to… um, how to put this? To allow us to get reacquainted first.”
“That’s reasonable. So the next time you’re over at the house we can go looking through the boxes together and find the toys so we can maybe play a game or two later on, after we’ve caught up on getting reacquainted.”
“Sounds reasonable to me,” David agreed. “Good night, Gray.”
“Night, David.”
Chapter 18—Work, Laundry, and Grocery Shopping
THE FOLLOWING day David went to work his shift in the emergency room of the hospital. He worked at least once each week in the ER.
A typical ER shift could be anything from deadly dull to outrageously crazy. That night David was anything but bored. From the time he came on duty until he left at eleven that night, they were absolutely slammed nonstop. In addition to a major pile-up on a local highway, there was a house fire that brought residents as well as firefighters in with smoke-inhalation issues as well as a couple of burns. Those cases were mixed in with the usual heart attacks, intractable migraines, appendicitis attacks, and whatever cases had been left over from the previous shift. All of those things came together to make his shift in the ER that night one of the most exhausting he could remember having in a long, long time.
When eleven o’clock finally rolled around, David wanted nothing more than to crawl home and drop into his bed, but he had been so busy that he hadn’t been able to keep up with some notes he wanted to enter into patient charts, so when the next shift came on, David sat at a monitor and updated records on several of the cases he’d seen the afternoon and evening. Then, and only then, was he able to leave.
His new apartment was so close to campus that he was able to walk home. The area surrounding his university was one of the wealthier neighborhoods in the city, so there was typically no problem walking in the area at any hour of the day or night. In addition to the upscale neighborhood, there was also a lot of traffic coming to and going away from the hospital. Of course, David was not worried about walking because he had his own team of Secret Service agents who walked every step of the way with him. Anyone would have to be nuts to try anything with three such ferocious and heavily armed agents surrounding him. David spent many hours with the agents every day, but even he still found them to be a bit intimidating.
He finally got home a little after midnight and collapsed into his bed almost immediately. He was exhausted and slept for ten hours before stirring late the next morning. He only woke then because his phone was ringing. Groggily he fumbled around, feeling for the offending instrument that sat on his bedside table.
“’Lo?” he sort of mumbled.
“David? Is that you?”
“Maybe. Who’s this?”
“Your husband.”
“Gray?”
“You got any other husbands?”
“No, not… no.”
“Are you all right? You sound kind of strange.”
“I just woke up,” he mumbled, punctuating the sentence with a loud, long yawn.
“What are you doing still in bed at this hour? You’re a morning person.”
“I didn’t get home from the ER until really late last night. It was a brutal shift, and I was beat. I may still be—I’m not really sure how I feel yet today. I won’t know until I’ve had my morning coffee. Where are you?” David asked. “Can you bring coffee upstairs? Oh, wait, no, you can’t. Sorry. Where are you?”
“I’m at work.”
“Right. Where am I? What can I do for you?” he asked.
“Nothing. I just wanted to hear your voice, that’s all.”
“That’s very sweet,” David told him.
“I don’t always succeed, but I do try.”
“Sometimes,” David added. “It worked this morning. Too bad I’ll probably not remember it when I wake up later. Gray?” David said.
“Yes, my love?”
“I gotta pee.”
“That’s not quite the confession of love and devotion I was hoping for,” Gray conceded.
“No, I mean I’ve been sleeping for ten hours. I’ve really, really got to pee.” David carried the phone with him as he crawled out of his bed and staggered into the bathroom.
“Do you want me to call you back in a few minutes?” Gray asked.
“No need. I can talk and pee at the same time. Doing it right now.”
“So that luscious piece of meat that you have swinging between those powerful runner’s thighs of yours is out, exposed to the air, and your hand is on it at this very moment?” Gray asked.
“Yes, it is. You have a good memory, since you haven’t seen it in a long, long time. And a word of warning—if you give me a hard-on before I’ve finished peeing, I’m going to be very angry with you. Now be a good boy for just a minute longer,” David said.
“I thought you’d decided I was a bad boy and needed to be taken in hand and disciplined for disrupting your class last week?” Gray asked jokingly.
“Are you sure this conversation is on a secure line?” David asked.
“Good point. Sorry. What are you doing today?”
“I have got a highly unusual treat today, something that rarely happens, but when it does, it is a glorious thing.”
“Okay, I’ll bite,” Gray said, “What’s that?”
“A day off,” David said in a reverential tone.
“You’re not working today?” Gray quickly asked.
“Nope. Today is mine to do with as I wish,” David gleefully told Gray.
“And just what exactly are you going to do with that rare treat?” Gray asked.
“I’ve got some truly exotic things planned.”
“Okay,” Gray said, “I’m listening.”
“Are you sure you’re strong enough to hear this?” David tease
d. “I’ve got to warn you—these are some pretty wild things.”
“I’m sitting down and holding on. Hit me with your list.”
“Well, first, I’m going to shower and eat. Nothing exotic there. But then—and here’s where it starts to get interesting—I’m going to do a load of laundry. I need to wash my clothes, and then I’ve got to wash the sheets on my bed. And then, if I’m still able to handle so much excitement, I’ve got to go to the grocery store and shop for food. Oh, and I might take a nap in there as well.”
“Wow. That’s quite a day you’ve got planned, my dear. Are you sure you’re up for so much excitement? Remember to pace yourself. You’re not as young as you used to be.”
David momentarily flushed with anger at the reminder of his missed birthday. When he spoke, after a noticeable silence, he simply said, “I know.”
“Hey, I’ve got an idea,” Gray said, quickly changing the subject as if he knew he’d stumbled into dangerous territory.
“Should I be worried?” David asked.
“No, why would you say that?”
“Because I remember some of the crazy stuff you were capable of at one time when we were younger. Go on.”
“Once you do your laundry, could I come over and go grocery shopping with you?”
“You? You… you want to go into a grocery store? With me? Why? Remember that you always hated grocery shopping, which is why it became my permanent job for the last ten years. And wouldn’t your Secret Service agents have some issues with you going unannounced into such a public place? And how could you get away in the middle of the day? Your schedule is usually booked from dawn to dusk and beyond. You can’t exactly just get up, walk out, and take a three-hour break.”
“I don’t usually do it, but I am the President. It’s my time, so it’s my schedule, and if I want to take a couple of hours in the middle of the day to go grocery shopping, I can do it. After all, Presidents have to eat too.”
“Fair point,” David agreed. He thought for a moment and asked, “How about an alternative? What would you say to lunch together instead of grocery shopping?”
“But I’d really like to see what a grocery store looks like,” Gray protested. “I haven’t been in one in maybe a dozen years.”
“All right,” David agreed. “If that’s okay with you, I need to go shopping, so I’m willing.”
“When should I be there?” Gray asked.
“What’s your schedule like today?”
“Don’t worry about that. Just tell me when I should be there.”
David was impressed. “How about one o’clock?”
“I’ll be there to pick you up at one. Okay?”
“Sure, I guess. Gray? Am I dreaming? I must be dreaming. You would never willingly go into a grocery store unless I was dreaming. I know it. I’m going to be so pissed when I wake up.”
“Not a dream. Haul your butt into the shower. I’ll see you at one.”
IT WAS probably a reasonable bet that no President of the United States had ever visited and shopped at the store where David and Gray went that afternoon. Arriving with a presidential motorcade, even a small one, caught the attention of everyone nearby.
With an army of Secret Service agents fanned out in all directions, in the parking lot, on the roof of the building, at the loading dock behind the building, and throughout the store, Gray and David entered the large grocery store and grabbed two grocery carts.
As they pushed their carts, David gave Gray the tour of the grocery store. The first department they entered was the produce department with its veritable array of colors and shapes and varieties. Gray took a look around and whispered to David, “What is this place?”
“This, my darling, is a grocery store. They’ve changed a lot in the dozen years since you last set foot inside one. This is where real people come to buy things to cook, snacks to eat, bread to toast, butter to put on that toast, and stuff like that. It’s the latest fad. Come, walk with me.” As they worked their way through the store, they caused a stir in each aisle.
David knew that Gray’s agents were likely disrupting the shopping experience of many people, but at the same time they’d be able to go home that night and tell their friends and families that they’d shopped with the President that day. Not every person could do that. And of course Gray stopped and shook hands, posed for some pictures snapped with iPhones, and chatted with his fellow shoppers.
Down one aisle and up another, the two went aisle by aisle through the store, each picking up things along the way. David had a list, so he was organized in his shopping. He couldn’t help but chuckle repeatedly when he saw Gray grab something and hold it as if it was new and sacred.
“Wow,” Gray commented at one point. “I had no idea that there were so many options.”
“Too many, but it looks like you’re finding some things with no problem,” David commented, glancing at Gray’s cart.
“Just a few snacks.” His cart was mostly filled with pretzels, chips, dips, precubed cheeses, and crackers, and a few chocolate bars and packages of cookies tossed in for good measure.
“You going on that new all-fat, sugar, and salt diet?” David asked with a glance at the cart.
Looking serious, Gray asked, “Is that an option?”
“No! And I say that as an MD and as your husband. You eat like that on a regular basis and you’ll double in size in no time at all.”
Gray caught David off guard when he asked, “Am I still your husband?”
Thinking quickly, though, David said, “Well, you’re grocery shopping with me. Seems like a very domestic thing to me.”
Gray didn’t say anything more and didn’t ask any additional questions. He did, however, smile, and David could have sworn that Gray almost skipped down the remainder of the aisle they were in.
Chapter 19—A Special Night
AS DAVID finished putting away the groceries he’d just purchased, Gray asked him a question he’d sort of expected to hear before.
“Would you have dinner with me tonight?” Gray asked.
David was quiet for a moment, appearing to consider the invitation, even though he’d already made up his mind to do so if invited. “Yes, I can do that. What did you have in mind?”
“I’ll take care of the arrangements. Can I come pick you up at seven?”
“Sure. I’ll be ready.”
For the next two months, they instituted the new feature of a date night every week as well as other nights out for dinner, a couple of nights eating delivery pizza at David’s apartment, a couple of nights snuggled together watching a movie in the White House, and even a couple of dinners in the living quarters of the White House.
But David resisted Gray’s constant pushes for him to move back in. He also resisted Gray’s suggestions of sex.
AFTER A couple of months, Gray and David had plans one evening for David to go over to the White House for dinner. At seven o’clock that night, almost to the minute, David walked up the stairs and into the residence of the White House. Gray was already there, standing at the top of the stairs waiting for him when he walked up to the residence level of the house. Not only was Gray waiting for him, but he’d even been home long enough to change his clothes and, by the look of the damp hair, also take a shower.
“Thank you for coming,” Gray said, greeting David with a huge smile and a more respectable kiss.
“I would have been here sooner, but it was hard finding parking,” David joked. “You know, one car is bad enough, but finding spaces for three of those big SUVs takes a lot of looking.”
Gray led David into the living room and offered him a glass of white wine. Lightly holding hands, they sat together on the sofa.
They talked for a few minutes about nothing of any substance. David was getting mellow when Gray suddenly sat up and said, “Oh, I almost forgot. I’ve got something you’ve got to see. I just discovered this. Come! Come with me.”
Gray jumped up and grabbed David’s hand and pulled h
im up as well.
“What is it?” David asked.
“It’s just easier to show you than to try to describe it.”
Walking quickly, still holding David’s hand, Gray led him down one floor to the State Floor and into the State Dining Room, which was completely dark.
“Give me just a minute to find the light switch,” Gray said. “I can never remember which one it is.”
The lights all came on at once and David jumped, his eyes going wide as they heard what sounded like many, many, many voices all shout, “Surprise!”
“Happy belated birthday, sweetheart,” Gray said as he came up behind David and wrapped his arms around him. “You might want to close your mouth, dear,” Gray whispered to him.
“What… what is… what is going on?” David asked.
“You’re a smart man,” Gray said. “Take a look around. Over there you see a table piled high with presents. Over there you see a birthday cake. Put that all together and what do you get?”
“Does this mean it’s Christmas?” David asked with a smile.
Gray smacked David on his butt. “Smartass.”
“Did you just touch my ass, Mr. President?” David asked back over his shoulder.
“Yeah. What are you gonna do about it?”
“I’ll think of something… once I find those handcuffs,” David whispered to him with a sly smile on his face. “But first, it looks like you have guests to entertain, Mr. President.”
“Not me. You. They’re your guests. Happy forty point five birthday, babe.” Gray led David by the hand to a big table in the center of the room. Countless birthday greetings were called out to him as he made his way behind Gray. “So, tell me. Does forty point five sound appropriate, or should I be saying forty and a half? I don’t know what is proper etiquette.”
Gray held out the chair for David. “Dr. Hammond, for your dining pleasure this evening, we have something that you reportedly like.”
Dreamspinner Press Year Nine Greatest Hits Page 119
