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Sleeping Beauty, one last chapter
Nov. 24th, 2020 08:41 amOne last chapter of Sleeping Beauty before we bid November adieu. This one is not the next chronologically; it’s quite a bit later in the book. As you can see, Andrew has come around on the idea of bed-sharing, and this leads to… other things.
(Here are links to the earlier chapters: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3.)
***
The sheets rustled as Russell rolled over, and Andrew, much against his better judgment, rolled onto his side too, so they lay face to face on the pillows. “Thank you for taking me to the stables,” Russell said. His face was still bright with happiness, his eyes luminous in the moonlight.
“It’s nothing. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before,” Andrew told him.
“Well, and I never thought of it at all,” Russell said. “But of course you must still have stables, even if it’s cars that clog the roads these days. Of course a car is very fast. and that’s a wonderful thing; but all the same, it’s a sad thing that there are so few horses in your lives, because a car will never love you back, it will never feel at your pockets with its soft velvet nose to see if you have brought it a lump of sugar.”
Andrew couldn’t help laughing. “Is that love or bribery?”
“Isn’t it love? Aren’t we all always hoping that someone has brought us sugar? And it was so sweet of you to give over your entire day to the stables, when you can’t ride at all, and putting up with all my corrections too. It was a pleasure to be the one who knew anything for once, I know I overdid it in telling you what to do.”
“No, no,” Andrew told him. “You’re a good teacher. I’m sure that’s why they hired you. They’re imagining you giving trail rides to a thousand other rank beginners.”
Russell laughed. His dimple flashed in his cheek. He reached out to touch Andrew’s face. He had done this before, and it no longer startled Andrew as it used to.
Then Russell kissed Andrew’s lips.
It acted on Andrew like an explosion, blotting out the world: vision whited out, hearing dulled so he could hear only his own heartbeat, a feeling almost of numbness, as if he was no longer lying in bed but floating in space, and even the kiss that had caused all of this far away.
And then the kiss ended, and Andrew could feel the warmth on his lips, and hear the cicadas humming, and see Russell smiling at him.
“Why did you do that?” Andrew croaked.
Russell’s eyes crinkled. “Didn’t you like it?”
“Yes,” Andrew said.
And so Russell kissed him again.
***
( Read more )
(Here are links to the earlier chapters: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3.)
***
The sheets rustled as Russell rolled over, and Andrew, much against his better judgment, rolled onto his side too, so they lay face to face on the pillows. “Thank you for taking me to the stables,” Russell said. His face was still bright with happiness, his eyes luminous in the moonlight.
“It’s nothing. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before,” Andrew told him.
“Well, and I never thought of it at all,” Russell said. “But of course you must still have stables, even if it’s cars that clog the roads these days. Of course a car is very fast. and that’s a wonderful thing; but all the same, it’s a sad thing that there are so few horses in your lives, because a car will never love you back, it will never feel at your pockets with its soft velvet nose to see if you have brought it a lump of sugar.”
Andrew couldn’t help laughing. “Is that love or bribery?”
“Isn’t it love? Aren’t we all always hoping that someone has brought us sugar? And it was so sweet of you to give over your entire day to the stables, when you can’t ride at all, and putting up with all my corrections too. It was a pleasure to be the one who knew anything for once, I know I overdid it in telling you what to do.”
“No, no,” Andrew told him. “You’re a good teacher. I’m sure that’s why they hired you. They’re imagining you giving trail rides to a thousand other rank beginners.”
Russell laughed. His dimple flashed in his cheek. He reached out to touch Andrew’s face. He had done this before, and it no longer startled Andrew as it used to.
Then Russell kissed Andrew’s lips.
It acted on Andrew like an explosion, blotting out the world: vision whited out, hearing dulled so he could hear only his own heartbeat, a feeling almost of numbness, as if he was no longer lying in bed but floating in space, and even the kiss that had caused all of this far away.
And then the kiss ended, and Andrew could feel the warmth on his lips, and hear the cicadas humming, and see Russell smiling at him.
“Why did you do that?” Andrew croaked.
Russell’s eyes crinkled. “Didn’t you like it?”
“Yes,” Andrew said.
And so Russell kissed him again.
***
( Read more )
