Chapter 6
Charles and Erik were seated at the kitchen island bar stools pushed as close together as they could get. After a lengthy and very satisfying make out session in the living room, they had decided to cool things down a bit by finally having their dessert.
They were eating the ice cream straight from the small dish Charles had frozen it in. It made for a surprisingly intimate scene.
“This is truly amazing, Charles.”
“Thank you,” he flirtatiously licked a scoop of ice cream off his spoon. Erik tracked the movement with hungry eyes before looking away and clearing his throat.
Charles liked the reactions he could so easily pull from the other man. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so desired. It was a heady feeling. He did it again, delighting in Erik’s discomfort.
“It’s melting,” he said with a laugh, taking pity on the taller man.
Erik joined him, taking a long overdue bite of the delicious frozen treat.
They ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes, simply enjoying their snack and each other’s company. It was nearing midnight. A fact that surprised Erik when he glanced at the time.
He quickly checked his phone which he had left lying on the counter when they moved to the living room. He didn’t want to be distracted from his time with Charles by more nosy texts from his family.
“Is everything alright?” Charles asked, a worried frown wrinkling his smooth brow.
“Yes, I just want to make sure there were no issues with Nina,” he gave the other man a small smile. Charles nodded his understanding. It was nice not having to wonder how his date felt about him having a kid.
“Any problems?” he asked warmly.
Erik chuckled and shook his head, turning his phone so Charles could see the photo his father had sent of Nina in an oversized bathrobe with her hair tied up in a towel. She was sitting across from her grandmother having her nails painted baby pink. The photo was captioned ~The girls having a spa night~
“Oh that’s darling!” Charles cooed, giving him a sweet smile.
“Yeah, they spoil her but not too much so I don’t complain.”
“What are grandparents for, right?”
“Mine were for only speaking Yiddish around us so we wouldn’t forget how but I suppose the cakes made up for it,” Erik said with a laugh, tucking his phone away again.
Charles nodded and weighed his words before speaking. “Your parents seem happy to watch her tonight.”
“Oh they are, they love having her over. It was hard on all of us when we lived further away,” he said grimly. He didn’t like to talk about that time in his life but Charles had a right to know if things were going to go any further between them.
“So they don’t have any issues with you dating a man?” he asked cautiously. He didn’t want to get in the middle of any family drama if he could avoid it.
“They weren’t happy about it when I came out to them but they’ve had a long time to get used to the idea. It took my father longer to come around, but he did eventually.” He laughed, “They were shocked when I ended up with Magda. I think they thought I was gay and didn’t want to tell them. I’ve always preferred men but women have their appeal.” He explained. Of course Magda had been his only relationship with a woman so it was no wonder his parents had been caught off guard.
Charles gave him a soft look and took another bite of ice cream, “I’m glad they came around. I’ve known so many guys where that never happened.”
They shared a somber look, “Me too. I’m lucky to have them. Even back then when things were strained they always had my back.”
“And now they watch your daughter so you can go out and romance handsome young men.”
“If you’d told me ten years ago…” he faded out as they fell into more soft laughter.
Charles shot him a playful wink, “You know what goes great with strawberries?”
Erik’s mind was firmly in the gutter so he shrugged and took another spoonful.
“Champagne! I’ll open a bottle?”
“Yes, please.” Erik agreed eagerly. “It’s not like either of us needs to drive anywhere.”
And so he was treated to Charles talking him through a demonstration on how to properly open a bottle of champagne-and how to jimmy one open in a pinch.
“You are a fount of culinary knowledge,” Erik toasted him, leaning in to kiss sweet bubbles from Charles’ smiling red lips.
They pressed close together again, talking softly about this and that when Charles casually mentioned Nina’s upcoming performance.
Then his mothers words from earlier in the evening hit him.
Erik’s blood ran cold. He’d been such a fool. Nina had asked Charles when he was still her friend and hero of the day. And he’d agreed; they’d pinky promised if Erik recalled correctly.
There was no coming back from that with a five year old. It may as well have been a blood oath before god.
“Erik?” Charles asked, concerned by the other man’s sudden stiffness.
“You’re going to meet my parents,” he blurted out suddenly.
Charles gave a small smile at that, “Well I certainly hope to someday.”
Erik ignored the small flutter in his chest at Charles’ shameless flirting, “No, I mean soon. I mean at Nina’s recital.”
Charles stopped smiling, “But that’s…”
“Yes it’s Thursday night,” Erik said flatly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think…We can cancel.”
“No! I promised Nina I’d be there, I don’t want to break my word. She’s five. This is a big deal to her,” Charles protested, eyes bright with sincerity.
Erik was taken aback. He hadn’t thought about how Charles would feel disappointing Nina. He’d just been trying to save their budding relationship from taking yet another major step so quickly.
They locked eyes for a long moment before Erik relaxed in his seat, “You’re right. You promised and you should keep your word. She’d never forgive us if you didn’t turn up to see her,” He said softly.
Charles bit his lower lip and glanced away self consciously, “You can tell your family we decided we’re better as friends. That might make meeting them less…stressful. For all of us,” He conceded quietly. He didn’t like lying but if it helped Erik through his first foray back into dating he could make an exception.
Erik quirked his lips up in a wry grin, “My mother can tell when I’m lying so that wouldn’t do us any good. Besides it will seem strange when I have to backtrack and announce we’re officially dating in just a few weeks. Also Nina can’t keep a secret and I see you way more often than I see any of my friends outside of work.”
Charles glanced at him from the corner of his eye and tried to hide a smile, “Officially dating? As in boyfriends?”
“Yes, Charles. As in boyfriends,” he tried to hide his embarrassment through playful mocking but Charles wasn’t having it. He broke into a wide grin, “Are you asking me to go steady, Erik?”
“Not with that attitude you little brat,” he snagged Charles around the waist and pulled him to stand in the v of this thighs. “I panicked, I’m sorry. I’d love for you to meet my parents and while I would have liked to put it off for a while I’d rather have you as my plus one to the Harvest Festival.”
“I’d be honored,” Charles smiled up at him, wrapping his arms around the taller man’s neck and pulling him down for another sugar laced kiss. He refused to ruin this perfect night by worrying about the next few days.
After all, there was plenty of time to panic before Thursday.