Her Two Dads

by Ariel Tachna

Jaime and Srikkanth both looked up sharply, not sure which of the other men at the table had spoken. Srikkanth could feel his pulse pounding with dread at the thought of any kind of confrontation. He barely resisted drawing away from Jaime, but he reminded himself firmly that he had never been ashamed of being gay before Sophie was born, that his fears stemmed from the threat of losing her, not from any sense of wrongdoing.

  “You know, some of us are trying to enjoy our meal,” the woman next to Jaime said coldly to a man across the table, “including these gentlemen. So keep your opinions and your foul language to yourself.”

  The man looked like he was about to protest again, but his companion tugged on his arm, and he let himself be distracted. Srikkanth sighed in relief and turned his attention back to his meal.

  “You all right?” Jaime murmured.

  “Yeah,” Srikkanth said, taking a bite of his shrimp. Mindful of the woman on Jaime’s other side, he lowered his voice, leaning close so only Jaime could hear him. He pointedly ignored the glare that accompanied their renewed closeness. “I refuse to let ignorant pricks like that ruin my evening.”

  Jaime looked skeptical, but Srikkanth smiled and nodded.

  “How’s your chicken?” Srikkanth asked, deliberately changing the subject.

  “Good,” Jaime replied, a little surprised that Srikkanth was dealing with the comment this well, but he didn’t press the issue, if only to keep from adding fuel to the fire. He didn’t see any reason to ruin everyone else’s meal because one person at their table was a homophobic jerk. “Have some.”

  Srikkanth glanced across the table at the man still glaring at them and decided he’d didn’t want to change the way he and Jaime were acting. The man couldn’t do anything except glare and make nasty comments in the restaurant, and those didn’t have the power to do more than annoy him. Sophie wasn’t with them, and they hadn’t started pulling out baby pictures, so the man had no way of knowing about her. As long as he couldn’t touch her, he couldn’t touch Srikkanth in any appreciable way. With a grin for Jaime, he opened his mouth. “Let me have a taste.”

  The idiot, as Srikkanth had dubbed him mentally, kept the scowl in place for the rest of the meal, but he didn’t say anything else and left as soon as he and his companion had finished eating. Srikkanth and Jaime lingered, enjoying their meal and dessert, sharing a clear chocolate martini and a huge pineapple boat.

  When the woman next to Jaime, the one who’d defended them, rose to leave, she leaned over and said softly, “You two give me hope. My son is gay, but he’s still young and wild. I’d like to see him in a real relationship some day, one like you have.”

  They thanked her, not sure what else to say. When she left, Jaime smiled at Srikkanth. “I think I like being part of something someone would want for their children.”

  They were alone at the table by that point, so Srikkanth didn’t hesitate to give Jaime a light kiss. “Me too. Are you ready to go home?”

  “Not yet,” Jaime said with a shake of his head. “Our evening isn’t over yet.”

  Srikkanth opened his mouth to ask about Sophie, but he pushed the concern aside. Jaime had surely told Juana how long he intended to be out. If she’d agreed to that, then the least he could do was enjoy Jaime’s care in planning their date.

  Jaime paid, adamantly refusing to let Srikkanth even see the total for the bill, insisting the evening was his treat. “Only if you let me pay next time,” Srikkanth relented.

  “Give me a day and time and I’ll be there,” Jaime promised.

  Srikkanth refrained from naming the following Friday since he didn’t have an easy babysitter the way Jaime did. He wondered if Juana would come if he called her instead of Jaime. He’d have to make sure to get her number before she left so he could return Jaime’s surprise at some point.

  “You’re lost in thought,” Jaime teased as the waitress returned with the receipt for Jaime to sign.

  Srikkanth startled. “Sorry, just trying to work out the logistics of surprising you sometime.”

  “Babies do complicate things,” Jaime agreed. “Let’s go. I want to dance with you.”

  Jaime drove them to the trendiest dance club in town, one known for its tolerance of couples of any variation. Srikkanth had been there a few times, but not recently. He wasn’t one to go out to a club to pick up a date, and it had been awhile since he’d had a steady boyfriend to go out with. He still couldn’t quite believe he had one now.

  The bouncer checked their IDs on the way in, not even blinking at Jaime’s arm around Srikkanth’s waist. Jaime ushered Sri inside, not bothering to look for a table. They weren’t there to drink. He wanted to dance. Keeping his arm tight around Sri’s waist, he led his boyfriend onto the dance floor. “Dance with me?”

  Srikkanth smiled. “As long as you can put up with my two left feet.”

  Jaime started to sway to the music, a slow number at the moment. Srikkanth relaxed into his arms, letting him lead. Their bodies moved together easily, their familiarity with each other easing any awkwardness in the dance. Before long, Srikkanth buried his head in the curve of Jaime’s neck, his lips trailing over smooth, honeyed skin, enjoying the scent of Jaime’s cologne and the freedom to dance so closely.

  The music changed, but Srikkanth didn’t pull back for a more energetic dance, and Jaime didn’t push him away, enjoying the closeness far too much to do anything that might disturb it. If Srikkanth decided he wanted to really dance at some point, Jaime wouldn’t say no, but for now, he’d stay just as they were. He was far more interested in the press of Srikkanth’s body against his than he was in the dancing.

  The rest of the world ceased to exist for all the attention they paid to it, totally caught up in each other. Jaime’s hands slid up and down Srikkanth’s back, feeling the heat of his skin through the stiff silk of his tunic. Srikkanth reciprocated the caress, his hands slipping between the layers of Jaime’s jacket and shirt. He was tempted to untuck the shirt in the back so he could find skin, but he didn’t know if he’d be able to stop once he touched. The music pulsed around them, a rhythmic counterpoint to their quickening pulses as their bodies slid against one another, generating a heat from within that had nothing to do with the press of wildly gyrating bodies all around them. Their awareness of those other bodies, the outside noise, everything but the steady beat of the music and each other, faded to nothing as their kisses and caresses grew more intimate. The random contact between their bodies became more deliberate, Jaime’s thigh pressing between Srikkanth’s, applying friction firmly against his groin.

  Srikkanth moaned softly and nuzzled Jaime’s neck in the low light of the dance floor. Jaime turned his head obligingly and gave Srikkanth the kiss he had hoped for. Their lips clung the same way their bodies did, brushing, parting momentarily only to brush again seconds later, neither of them aware of the envious glances cast their way.

  Eventually, sweet kisses gave way to lustier ones, tongues coming out to duel playfully as the moments of contact grew longer and the moments of separation came only when breathing was a necessity. “Let’s go home,” Jaime whispered, his breath sliding across Srikkanth’s ear in another caress. He felt the shiver it evoked run the entire length of Srikkanth’s body.

  “We can continue this there, yeah?”

  “All night long,” Jaime promised.

  Chapter 16

  Juana met them at the door with a huge smile. “Sophie had a bottle about an hour ago and went right back to sleep.”

  “Great,” Jaime said. “Thanks for watching her tonight.”

  “Any time.”

  “Say hi to Mamá for me on Sunday?” Jaime asked, switching to Spanish out of long habit with his family.

  “You could come see her yourself,” Juana scolded in kind. “She misses you.”

  Jaime shook his head. “You know she isn’t comfortable with me. It’s far easier for everyone if I stay away.”

  Juana bopped him on the head gently. “You haven’t been to see her in so
long that you don’t know what she’s comfortable with anymore. She was shocked—we all were—but she loves you the same as everyone else, and we’ve all made choices she would have preferred we not make.”

  “This wasn’t a ‘choice’, Juana; it’s who I am,” Jaime reminded his sister.

  “All the more reason to give her a chance to show you she’s better now,” Juana insisted.

  Jaime frowned. Juana threw up her hands in defeat. “Fine, I’m going. Just promise me you’ll think about it.”

  Jaime nodded to pacify her and shut the door behind her.

  “Is everything all right?” Srikkanth asked, discarding his shoes at the door and coming up behind Jaime to put his arms around his boyfriend’s waist. He’d picked up a little Spanish here and there over the years, but not enough to follow the rapid-fire conversation between brother and sister. “She didn’t seem happy with you.”

  “She wants me to go see my mother,” Jaime explained. “I haven’t seen her except on Christmas and Easter since I told her I was gay. She didn’t kick me out, but it obviously bothered her. It’s easier for everyone if I’m not around all that much.”

  Srikkanth didn’t know how to reply to that, his selective mention of his own sexuality with his family no help in giving Jaime advice. He changed the subject instead by nuzzling the nape of Jaime’s neck. “Don’t worry about it tonight. Let’s go take advantage of Sophie being asleep.”

  Jaime nodded, leaning back into Srikkanth’s arms, content for the moment to be the one comforted instead of the one doing the comforting. Relationships were like that, he reminded himself. You leaned on your partner when you were down and supported him when he was down. He’d spent most of the recent months supporting Srikkanth through the adjustment of having Sophie in his life. It wouldn’t hurt him to lean a little now. Turning in Srikkanth’s arms, he nuzzled the indention just below Sri’s jaw. “I think that sounds like a marvelous idea. I want to make love with you.”

  That was the best idea Srikkanth had heard in months.

  “What are we waiting for?” he joked, releasing his embrace so he could take Jaime’s hand and lead him toward the stairs. They’d have to be quiet upstairs so they wouldn’t disturb Sophie, but he didn’t mind. He wanted the first time they made love to be in their bed, not in the spare bedroom/playroom.

  “You tell me,” Jaime teased, following willingly, his mind already racing with everything he wanted to do to Srikkanth. Starting with peeling him out of that tunic.

  “Nothing at all,” Srikkanth replied, leading Jaime into the bedroom and turning to renew their embrace. “Not one damn thing.” He pushed at the collar of Jaime’s jacket, wanting it off so he could get to the shirt and then to the skin beneath.

  Jaime shrugged out of the linen garment, letting it fall unheeded to the floor. He’d pick it up later. Right now, he had only one focus. Getting them both naked as quickly as possible.

  He worked at the fastenings down the front of Srikkanth’s tunic, frowning a little as he struggled to release the knotted cords that replaced buttons on the front. The couple of drinks he’d had with dinner and while they were dancing didn’t help, his fingers fumbling awkwardly.

  “Here, let me,” Srikkanth said with a grin, releasing the clasp at the back of the collar and pulling the tunic over his head. “They’re not just for decoration, but you don’t actually have to open them to take it off.”

  “Now you tell me,” Jaime muttered, but his voice held no real heat. How could it when Srikkanth’s smooth, dark chest beckoned so enticingly? Pulling the other man back into his arms, he slid his lips along the curve of Srikkanth’s shoulder and then down toward one mahogany nipple. “You smell good,” he murmured against Sri’s skin.

  “Your sister insisted I take a shower before we went out,” Srikkanth gasped.

  Jaime smiled. “She’s occasionally good for something.”

  Yeah, like babysitting, Srikkanth thought, but the words didn’t make it to his lips. Jaime’s mouth on his nipple stole his concentration and his will to do anything but tremble with desire in his lover’s arms. He moaned softly, biting his lip to keep the sound from growing louder as Jaime’s tongue swiped across his pebbling flesh. His cock, which had softened during the drive home and Jaime’s conversation with Juana, hardened again swiftly, the stimulation exactly what he craved. His fingers carded through Jaime’s hair, encouraging him to linger, to use more pressure, to move to the other side. It didn’t matter as long as he didn’t stop.

  Fortunately, Jaime didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping, his hands firm on Srikkanth’s hips to hold him in place as he lavished attention on both sensitive buds. Making sure to draw his lover with him so Jaime wouldn’t think he was pulling away, Srikkanth backed toward the bed, wanting to get them both horizontal as quickly as possible. They’d have more freedom that way. Besides, he wanted to feel Jaime’s weight pressing him into the mattress again.

  Jaime didn’t mind the suggestion at all, pulling away for a moment when Srikkanth reached the bed to remove his boyfriend’s slacks, leaving him clad only in his boxers, the front tented by the growing bulge of Srikkanth’s erection.

  “You can take those off too,” Srikkanth offered with a nod of his head toward his shorts.

  “I will,” Jaime promised, “but not just yet. I don’t want this to be over too quickly, and that’s what would happen with you completely naked in bed.”

  “We have all night.”

  “So we do,” Jaime conceded, reaching for the waistband of Srikkanth’s boxers. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  Srikkanth lifted his hips to facilitate his disrobing, the movement too much of an enticement for Jaime to resist. He lowered his head, capturing the tip of Srikkanth’s cock in his mouth, sucking lightly as he finished stripping the recumbent man.

  “Oh, fuck,” Srikkanth groaned.

  Jaime chuckled and lifted his head momentarily. “We will, but I’m going to enjoy you first.”

  “Not fair,” Srikkanth protested. “I can’t reach you. Get undressed and then come up here so I can return the favor.”

  Jaime thought that sounded like a marvelous idea, so he rose long enough to finish pulling off his clothes. He returned to the bed, his feet near Srikkanth’s head. Srikkanth grabbed his hips, urging him up onto his knees so that his cock dangled in Srikkanth’s face. “Perfect. And all mine.”

  “All yours,” Jaime agreed, gasping a little when Srikkanth started licking at him. “And this is all mine.” His hands closed possessively over Srikkanth’s ass as he lowered his head to nuzzle his groin. Srikkanth didn’t reply, but his moan vibrated around Jaime’s cock, sending a shiver up Jaime’s back and blood rushing downward. Determined to give Srikkanth as much pleasure as he was receiving, he went to work on the thick shaft, licking it from base to tip and back again. Srikkanth shivered beneath him even as he sucked Jaime’s cock into his mouth, his hands settling on Jaime’s hips to hold him in place.

  Jaime reciprocated, bobbing his head up and down on Srikkanth’s erection, letting the tip nudge the back of his throat each time without actually taking it all the way down. It was enough to drive Srikkanth wild, the caress that was never quite enough, never quite all. He bucked beneath Jaime’s mouth, trying to get deeper, to bury himself down Jaime’s throat. Jaime’s hands stopped him, though, keeping the suction shallow, focusing on the head of his cock.

  Srikkanth shuddered, trying to hold back, but the constant stimulation was too much. With a shout muffled by Jaime’s cock in his mouth, he climaxed hard.

  The jet of hot cream against Jaime’s throat surprised him, some of it dribbling out as he swallowed reflexively. Not wanting to miss even a drop of the salty treat, he released the still-twitching cock and worked his way lower, over Srikkanth’s relaxing balls to lap around his entrance. He could smell the sweat from their dancing, taste the salt. It only added to the intimacy.

  Then Srikkanth’s fingers slid into Jaime’s crease, circlin
g his entrance, and Jaime’s orgasm blindsided him. His knees gave out, and he collapsed onto Srikkanth’s body, nuzzling the inside of his lover’s thigh tenderly. Srikkanth stroked the back of his knee in return, sending a renewed curl of desire up Jaime’s spine.

  He pushed back up onto his knees, ignoring Srikkanth’s sound of protest, intending to turn around so he could kiss the other man and see about reviving his interest as well. Sophie’s wail in the next room derailed that plan. Srikkanth had squirmed out from beneath Jaime before he could even suggest that he’d take care of her. Deciding he didn’t want to be away from Srikkanth for the time it would take him to feed Sophie, he pulled on his sleep pants and followed his lover into the nursery.

  “She’s burning up,” Srikkanth said as he bent to pick Sophie up from her crib.

  “Get her bottle ready and I’ll get the thermometer,” Jaime replied, hurrying into the bathroom and digging through the drawer for the thermometer. Bringing it back, he slipped it under her arm while Jaime rocked her and tried to convince her to take the bottle. She settled to it after a few minutes, but her sucking was fitful, and she was obviously uncomfortable. When the thermometer beeped, it read 100.3. “She has a bit of a fever,” Jaime told Srikkanth. “I’ll get the Tylenol.”