Not All Chocolate and Cuckoo Clocks

by Rebecca Cohen

  “Trust me, they will never be truly sorted, just smoothed to a point where I will not want to strangle my US lead every week—but we are some way from there.”

  They’d spoken about this being a thing while Mark was in Basel, but now he wasn’t sure if that was still on the cards. He saw no reason for it not to be; the sex had been great. “Look, I’d like to do this again. If you’re still up for it.”

  Steffen almost fell over with the speed at which he turned. “Of course. Oh, Mark, please, you must not think so little of me.”

  “What are you talking about? You’ve not done anything wrong. You were clear this is casual, and I just wanted to check we were still good.”

  Steffen covered the distance between them in a heartbeat. He cupped Mark’s cheek with his hand. “We are definitely still good. And I’d like to show how good. Let me make it up to you for tonight ending abruptly.”

  Mark didn’t think Steffen had to do anything, but staring into his gray eyes, he wanted nothing more than to let Steffen make amends if he felt he needed to. A repeat performance of this evening, but with bed and board for the night, would be most welcome.

  “Not that you need to do anything, but what do you have in mind?”

  Steffen’s smile was blinding. “Are you free Saturday?”

  Even if he hadn’t been, there was nothing he wouldn’t have tried to rearrange. “Yes. What time?”

  “Meet me at ten thirty at the Zoo tram stop.”

  Usually by ten thirty he was thinking about heading home, not to start a night out, but perhaps in Switzerland this was normal. “Later than I was expecting, but sure.”

  “Not at night.” Steffen chuckled. “Ten thirty in the morning.”

  “What?”

  “There is something I would like to show you, which I think is very special. Then we can go to lunch.” Steffen ran his thumb over Mark’s cheek. “We could come back here after—if you want.”

  It sounded a lot like a proper date, not a casual indulgence, but Mark reminded himself that Steffen had also offered to play tour guide. “Sounds intriguing. I can’t wait to see what you have in store for me.”

  Mark leaned in and kissed Steffen. A brief kiss, nothing like they’d shared earlier, but enough to seal the deal. “I’ll let myself out. You cope with your Yanks, and I’ll see you Saturday.”

  A few minutes later he was outside Steffen’s apartment, hurrying back to the tram stop. The cold air was one reason not to linger, another being his need for a shower. He couldn’t switch off his thoughts, though. This offer to show him something special wasn’t out of the realm of Steffen’s offer to play tour guide, but Steffen’s description sounded different from his previous casual encounters. Whatever it was, he was going to make the most of Steffen, and if that meant a friend with benefits arrangement, then those benefits were going to be amazing if Steffen’s performance tonight was his usual caliber. So what if he was already cultivating a soft spot for Steffen? That wasn’t Steffen’s problem. Better to bury his feelings deep and enjoy the fun—maybe risking heartbreak—than reveal too much and scare Steffen off.

  Mark boarded the number three tram and hoped no one sat close enough to smell him reeking of sex. He hadn’t felt so free in years. A weight of something he couldn’t explain had been lifted, and Saturday couldn’t come fast enough.

  STEFFEN COULDN’T believe what had happened, or more honestly his reaction to it. He sat on the edge of the bed, half-dressed and cradling his phone in his hands. The bedsheets still crumpled, the smell of sex and Mark’s cologne lingered in the air. Mark had turned up looking good enough to eat, and it had taken all of Steffen’s composure to pull himself away from the spectacular kiss they had shared and finish cooking. Easy conversation followed by amazing sex told him he’d been right about Mark and the arrangement he’d proposed. But then he got that fucking telephone call, and Mark was getting up to leave, and he was pouting like a spoiled child whose toy was being taken away. If it hadn’t been for the phone call, they would most likely be engaging in a second round right now, and Steffen would have persuaded Mark to stay the night. Now, instead of being wrapped in a delicious tangle with Mark, he had a two-hour conference call in his future for something he had expected his US lead to be able to cope with on their own.

  To make matters worse, Mark had thought Steffen didn’t want to see him again, and that was completely wrong. Mark must’ve thought Steffen had just got him here for sex and once he had fucked him had lost interest, despite Steffen thinking they were both clear on where they stood. He’d gone to such pains to try and make sure there would be no miscommunication. The talk over dinner was meant to stop fuckups happening. Expectations were dangerous things. Casual meant different things to different people, but they’d talked about this not being a onetime thing.

  He’d acted quickly to resolve the situation. The trip to the zoo on Saturday had been something he’d thought about for Mark as part of his offer to act as tour guide, and it came straight to his mind when he had to come up with something to show Mark that he wasn’t going to be a mindless one-night stand. Mark was too good for that, and the sex had been outstanding—he’d had a lot of sex, a lot of good sex too, but Mark had stirred a passion in him that he didn’t experience very often. Steffen wanted to spend more time with Mark, surprising himself that he wouldn’t mind if they were clothed or not, and if there was a small pang of regret, it was that Mark would be returning to the UK. He would just need to keep reminding himself of the temporary nature of what they had. All perfectly feasible. Now all he had to do was believe it.

  Chapter Five

  MARK WAITED patiently for Steffen to arrive at the designated tram stop. The bright sunshine made him squint but did little to raise the temperature. The air was still biting cold, but he couldn’t complain. The app on his phone told him the weather back home was gray and drizzling, so he definitely had the better deal.

  He hadn’t been to a zoo since he was a kid. The last time was for a birthday party at Colchester Zoo when he was about six, before his family had moved to Reading. All he could remember was it had rained heavily and they had seen very few animals, but there had been a lot of jelly and ice cream.

  Steffen stepped off the tram, looking as handsome as ever, even out of his suit, wearing a dark gray peacoat and black jeans. “I promise you will love this. You are lucky you are here during the winter months. It needs to be under ten degrees. But we must hurry.”

  “Dear God, what have you got planned?” Nothing came to mind that would have a temperature stipulation.

  Steffen grabbed him by the bicep and pulled him along toward the entrance of the zoo. “Penguins. But be warned you will have to be careful not to knock over the little kids.”

  “Penguins?” repeated Mark, not sure if he had misheard.

  He’d expected more people to be queuing, but most people with small children were skipping the ticket windows and heading straight in. Steffen was already buying tickets, or rather just one ticket, as Steffen, Mark was surprised to see, already had a Basel Zoo card. Steffen handed him his ticket. “Schnell, schnell.”

  “You have a membership card. You come here that often?”

  “Oh, of course I have my Abo. I’ve been coming here as long as I remember, boy and man. One of my uncles is part of the world-renowned rhino conservation team.”

  Steffen’s happiness was infectious, and Mark had a spring in his step that made him feel like a small child, which reminded him about Steffen’s cryptic clue. “What’s this about penguins and kids?”

  “You will find out in a few minutes. We need to get to the aquarium.”

  The brisk, dry weather was a major improvement from his last visit to a zoo, as was following a gleeful Swiss man bursting with excitement. Steffen came to a halt at a small bridge outside what Mark thought must be the aquarium building. They weren’t the only ones waiting. In front of him was a cluster of small children wrapped in so much winter clothing that they were all the sam
e egg shape, irrelevant of their natural body build.

  Before he had the chance to ask what was going on, the smoked glass double doors of the aquarium opened and out came two keepers, leading a gaggle of king and gentoo penguins. Steffen grinned and waved an arm in their direction. “Penguin walk. I told you it would be special.”

  Mark laughed as the penguins waddled over the bridge, two more keepers bringing up the rear to make sure there were no escapees. “This is brilliant!”

  The kids made happy cooing noises, and Mark had to pay special attention not to fall over a delighted little boy who was squeaking with excitement as a penguin came within inches of him. He could understand their glee; he shared it. He’d never had the chance to get close to such magnificent creatures. The TV programs he’d seen didn’t do them justice.

  Steffen looked inordinately pleased with himself. “I thought you might like it. A special treat from Basel Zoo. Am I forgiven?”

  “You had nothing to apologize for.” Mark thought he’d misread Steffen’s initial reaction, and it looked as if he was right. “I’m beginning to think it should be me apologizing here. You didn’t expect me to leave, did you?”

  “Not really. But you do not have to apologize for that.”

  Mark didn’t want this to cause any further issue. “Well, let’s call it even. Next time I visit I’m expecting to stay over. You better not snore too loudly, or you’ll have a real reason to apologize.”

  Steffen smiled. “It’s a good job that I have plenty of wonderful things I can show you, in case I do. But I hope I can show them to you without having to upset you first.” Steffen’s hand brushed his, a fleeting public gesture Mark hadn’t expected. Part of him wanted to slide his hand into Steffen’s, entwine their fingers, and walk hand in hand as they followed the penguins, but they weren’t boyfriends, and holding hands didn’t seem right somehow.

  The penguins had drawn a crowd. “Does this happen every day?” asked Mark as he couldn’t help but laugh at the antics of a couple of the children, who were pretending to be penguins.

  “Every day when the temperature is below ten degrees. I used to take my niece and nephew regularly, but they have decided they are too old for this type of nonsense.”

  “Never!”

  “They will change their minds when they are no longer bothered about being cool,” said Steffen, smiling.

  “You’re not the cool uncle? That I doubt.”

  “They will realize their error once they are old enough to drink, and Uncle Steffen suddenly, with all the people he knows, and not only in Basel, will be popular again.”

  Mark didn’t have any nephews or nieces. His sister had only married last summer and was showing no inclination to start producing the next generation, much to their mum’s consternation. “You’ll just have to make do with being popular with me.”

  Steffen looked very pleased with himself. “The magical power of penguins.”

  “Absolutely.” Despite meeting at the zoo tram stop, Mark had somehow not expected to be taken inside, and he’d never have guessed Steffen’s plans included a troupe of penguins.

  “Then you will think me a god amongst men when I show you the ape house.”

  “You certainly know how to sweet-talk a boy.” Mark was aiming for flirtatious, but his coquettish look lost all its appeal as he skidded on a patch of oily penguin poo.

  He flailed in an attempt to keep himself on his feet, but only gained stability when Steffen’s strong arms closed around him. “It appears my words have the power to knock you off your feet,” Steffen said, with a glint of mischief in his eyes.

  An overwhelming desire to kiss Steffen bloomed in his chest. Thursday evening had fired his imagination, and the dreams from the last two nights had left him wanting to be back in Steffen’s bed as soon as possible. However, this was neither the time or place to let those sorts of thoughts take hold.

  He reluctantly stepped out of Steffen’s grasp. It would have been nice to stay there, wrapped in Steffen’s strong arms, but that could wait for later. He just had to be patient.

  “I guess I nearly went head over heels for the penguins.”

  “Be grateful it’s cold—the smell in the summer from the elephants and the goats might have caused you to faint for a different reason.”

  “Hey! I slipped, not fainted.”

  Steffen chuckled and strode away. “Come on, Mark. You’ll love the gorillas if you can stay on your feet.”

  The rest of the zoo was great, and Steffen was correct that Mark was impressed by the ape house, but the elephant enclosure was also brilliant, and Mark loved every minute of it. Steffen’s company was a major factor. Spending time with him was easy, a bit too easy, and Mark had to stop himself from making future plans in his head. Steffen wasn’t going to be coming over to the UK to visit him; he wasn’t going to be able to return the favor and show him London Zoo.

  Two hours later, his nose and feet frozen, Mark agreed to leave. “It’s not a big zoo,” Steffen said as they caught the tram back into the city center.

  “I dunno, it was big enough to keep me entertained for a couple of hours. But then again I can be a big kid at times.”

  “I liked to see you so happy. Some adults do not know how to relax and enjoy simple things.”

  “Oh, Steffen, you shouldn’t call yourself a simple thing. I’m sure you’re a deeply complicated man who happens to have a thing for penguins.”

  Steffen elbowed him, and Mark had to grab Steffen’s arm to stop himself from sliding off the seat. “You impertinent British scoundrel. I should leave you to fend for yourself in the wilds of Basel, but you are lucky you have other uses.”

  “Other uses? First time for everything, I suppose.”

  “I’ll show you what I had in mind after lunch.”

  “You know, I’m not that hungry.”

  “No?”

  Mark leaned in. “No, although maybe what you have in mind might help me work up an appetite.”

  “Oh, that is for sure.”

  They changed trams at Barfüsserplatz, switching to the number three, and Mark was thankful for Basel being a small city, because before he knew it he was once again in Steffen’s apartment being pressed into the bed.

  “You have been driving me mad all morning,” Steffen growled as he unbuttoned Mark’s jeans. “You and your endearing chatter about gorillas and other monkeys.”

  “I told you already,” Mark gasped as Steffen’s breath ghosted over his cock, “gorillas are great apes, not monkeys.”

  “If you are still able to make such asinine comments in a few minutes, I will need to work harder to keep your mouth better occupied.”

  “All talk.” Mark knew Steffen was more than capable of stealing his words, and as Steffen’s mouth descended on his hard cock, Mark had real difficulty forming a simple sentence, any chance of a witty comeback long gone. Steffen distracted him with his talented tongue, alternating between teasing his slit and the vein underneath. God, Steffen was good at this, and Mark grabbed the bedsheets as Steffen took him into his throat and the bastard hummed. All pretense of trying to hold back abandoned him, and Mark came hard, babbling and groaning nonsensically.

  He panted heavily, and Steffen pulled back, his fingers gently stroking Mark’s balls. “You are delicious.”

  Mark grunted. He needed a minute for the stars to abate and his breathing to regulate. But Steffen didn’t give him the chance as he stripped off the rest of Mark’s clothes and did away with his own.

  Lube and condoms were thrown onto the bed, and Steffen moved to settle between Mark’s thighs. Steffen was in charge, and Mark had no concern. He was happy to give Steffen control. Within reason.

  A slippery finger breached him, and he was a little surprised at the intrusion, half expecting the same elaborate care and preparation as the last time. He’d barely had time to adapt when a second finger joined the first and Steffen sucked at the sensitive skin of Mark’s inner thigh. “I cannot wait. I want—no, nee
d—to fuck you.”

  Fingers gone, Steffen coaxed Mark onto his stomach. He went, not unwillingly, with the sense that Steffen wanted to fuck him into the mattress. Use him, take what he wanted since he’d already sucked most of Mark’s ability to reason out through his cock.

  Mark heard rather than saw Steffen remove the condom from its wrapper and roll it into place. He opened his legs wider to further accommodate Steffen, the weight of Steffen across his back, the feel of skin against skin glorious, but he was yet to recover from his orgasm, and his cock was trapped between his stomach and the bedsheets. Steffen had not been the most talkative of men in bed, but he was reduced to grunts as he pulled apart Mark’s cheeks. The blunt head of Steffen’s cock pushed at Mark’s entrance. A little more prep wouldn’t have gone amiss, but Mark bore down as Steffen pushed into him with one quick, smooth thrust. He tried to adapt to the intrusion as Steffen began to work his hips into a rhythm.

  The angle wasn’t quite right, Steffen’s thrusts too rough to be enjoyable. It was too much. He needed to change, move this back into his comfort zone.

  “Stop,” he gasped.

  Steffen withdrew in an instant, Mark unable to categorize the relief that Steffen had done so. He was being gently turned over, Steffen stroking his face, staring into his eyes. “What is wrong? Did I hurt you?”

  “No, just… too much. The angle… wasn’t right.” God, he wasn’t making sense. Steffen must think him an idiot. “We can try again. Let’s change the position.”

  Steffen moved away. “Maybe later.”

  Mark got to his knees and pushed Steffen over so he was now the one lying on his back. “I want to carry on—just let me lead.”

  “Mark, you do not have to.”

  Mark threw a leg over Steffen to straddle him. “I know I don’t have to. I want to—if you’re okay with it too.”

  Steffen frowned. Mark guessed he wasn’t used to handing over control very often, but it would be good for him to do so.