The Thousand Smiles of Nicholas Goring (23 page)

Dave nodded, and headed over to Robin. "Do me a favour, mate? Choose your best photo of the butterflies, and try sending it to Nicholas."

Robin looked doubtful, but he didn't argue. He swiped through the images, and then quickly tapped out a text and sent it. His brow shot up once he'd realised the message had actually gone. A few moments later the phone rang, and Robin answered it. "Hello, Uncle Nicholas! … No, I know they are, they're just
gorgeous
. … Yes, he did it. … No, we're still here, we're at the waterhole. … I know! It's awesome!"

Dave grinned and wandered away, and found a rock to sit down upon. For long moments he watched the others revelling in this place and each other. Charlie and the Mayor were sharing a yarn that made them both laugh; Lisa was showing Teng the wattle; Denise and the girls were teaching Robin a song. Dave hardly dared even think it, but he suspected that somehow he'd just accomplished something that was utterly impossible. It was the most humbling, the most wonderful thing he'd experienced in his
life
.

Well, next to Nicholas's love, of course. Nothing could be more humbling or wonderful than that. But this came pretty darned close.

Despite some last minute bravado from Robin about taking a gap year, in response to which the earl carefully did not panic, the two Englishmen headed home as planned in time for Robin to start the new academic year at Oxford. However, there was much talk about the Goring family observing Christmas in Australia that year, or as many of them as could make it, so Nicholas and Dave would be seeing them again soon.

In the meantime, Dave spent every available moment at the hospital, while making sure that everything was clean and ready and comfortable at home for when Nicholas was finally discharged. He figured it couldn't be much longer now, as Nicholas was pretty much mobile – if currently rather slower than he had been, and almost indiscernibly weaker on the left side. Nicholas was using the time as thoroughly as he could, to pursue as much physical rehab as Dr Williams would let him.

Otherwise, the scowls persisted, and Nicholas still didn't speak any more than he had to. Dr Williams never came up with a definitive explanation for this, or at least not in the physical sense, so Dave tried to simply accept it as one of the inexplicable changes he'd been warned about. He knew how lucky he was to have Nicholas with him at all, so it seemed ridiculously ungrateful to wish everything would return to ‘normal'. Crucially, when it was just Nicholas and Dave together, then Nicholas relaxed and was happy, and Dave thought it was perfectly clear that Nicholas was just as sharp and clever and
engaged
as he'd ever been. Not to mention just as outrageous.

One afternoon they were hanging out in Nicholas's room quite innocently, and every now and then talking together about nothing much. Dave was slouched back in the chair, and Nicholas was lying in the bed. At some point after a lull in conversation, Nicholas stretched out tall and rolled back his shoulders, first one and then the other, so that Dave's spine lengthened and popped in sympathy.

And then out of the blue Nicholas asked, as if knowing the answer, "Have you been tossing off without me?"

"What?!" spluttered Dave.

"You heard me." Nicholas rolled onto his side and curled up so he could look directly at Dave. "Have you been taking care of yourself … seeing as I'm not there to take care of you?"

"Well," said Dave, knowing that his cheeks were burning red, "yes, I suppose." He added in a dismissive tone, "A couple of times, that's all."

Nicholas interpreted that to mean "Not so great?"

"Not without you, no," Dave replied quite evenly. What he didn't say was that it had only been about solace, really. Not pleasure. Just a way of feeling less alone in their enormous bed. The joys of being with Nicholas had spoiled him even for wanking. Dave sighed.

"Well," said Nicholas, "I think you should hop up here on the bed, and let me have a try."

Dave just stared at him for a long moment. And then glanced at the door, which was of course held wide open by one of those magnetic mechanisms. People bustled along the corridor, or ambled along, taking the opportunity to stare in at them as they went. At least the walls were solid here in the wards, and not made of glass as they were in the ICU. But still. It was mid-afternoon in a public building, and anyone might walk in on them.

"Come on," said Nicholas, shifting back on the bed so that Dave would have room to lie beside him.

Perhaps spooning would be the easiest way, and wouldn't it be glorious to have Nicholas pressed up close against his back, tucked up tight against him from top to toe, reaching around to wrap his clever loving hand around Dave's cock … Not that Dave was actually thinking about doing this.

"Come on," Nicholas repeated, reaching that very hand out towards him. "I've missed you …"

"Oh my God, you're serious."

"Of course I am. Haven't you missed me?"

"You know I have." Dave frowned at him, and darted a pointed glance at Nicholas's nether regions. "I'd gotten the impression that … you weren't quite fully recovered yet."

"I'm not," came the tart response. "But that doesn't mean I'm incapable of helping you out. And anyway … there's more to miss than orgasms, isn't there?"

"Kissing and cuddling," Dave agreed.

Nicholas patted the bed beside him. "Come on, then, husband."

Dave groaned in frustration and annoyance. "There's no lock on the door!"

"What, and you don't have a backup plan for that … ?"

Oh God!
Dave stared at the man, appalled and aroused in equal measure. Then after a long long moment he pushed himself up from the chair, and headed out to the nurses' station.

Luckily one of the nurses they were most friendly with was on duty. Dave paused for a moment, and then when she looked up enquiringly, he leaned in closer to speak confidentially. "Um … is there such a thing as … as a ‘Do Not Disturb' sign we can place on the door?"

She gazed back at him for a moment without blinking an eye. "You're not taking advantage of my patient, are you, Mr Taylor?"

"Actually, it's more like I'm the one being taken advantage of." He held up a hand palm-out. "No, that wasn't funny. Or true. To be honest … I doubt we'll be doing more than cuddling, anyway."

"No worries," she said. "Just had to be sure." She reached into a drawer, and came out with something that looked very much like a hotel's ‘Do Not Disturb' sign but read ‘Private Consultation'. "Here you are. Put this on the door handle. And draw the curtain round the bed, too, at least down the side facing the door. I'll keep an eye out, but I can't promise no one will blunder in."

"That's all right," he said. "I'll take my chances."

"Have fun," she offered with a wink.

He blushed even harder, and retreated in as good an order as he could manage.

Nicholas didn't speak when Dave returned, but just lay there on his back watching as Dave sorted out the sign and quietly closed the door, then drew the curtain down one side and along the foot of the bed. Neither of them liked to feel too enclosed, so he was happy enough to leave the other side open and, while that was opposite the window, they were on too high a floor to be overlooked by anything but the sky.

As Dave took off his glasses and then heeled off his shoes, Nicholas turned onto his side to face the window and shifted back again to make room. Dave went to clamber on, but paused when Nicholas voiced an inarticulate protest.

"I am
not
getting naked for you," Dave insisted, interpreting this correctly. "Not here."

"You could just take off your jeans …"

"No, mate. I'm sorry, but no."

After a moment, Nicholas tipped up his chin in agreement, and Dave climbed up onto the bed, which was unnervingly higher off the floor than a regular one. He settled quite naturally with his back to Nicholas so they were spooning, with Nicholas encompassing him warm and strong just as Dave had imagined.

Nicholas shifted up on an elbow to look at Dave, and push closer still for a kiss. "There … That's sweet …" He chuckled in quiet happiness. "Remember how we used to while away whole afternoons like this, back at the waterhole, on the bonnet of the Cruiser … ?"

Dave snuffled a laugh. With the top half of the bed propped up at an angle, it was almost exactly like lying up against the Cruiser's windscreen. "Yeah, I remember …"

Nicholas didn't say anything more, but pressed a kiss to Dave's hair, to the sensitive spot by his ear, to his cheek, to his forehead – and then to his mouth. Another. And then they settled into a proper kiss, lush and gorgeous. Dave slipped his hand back to mould to Nicholas's hip, and Nicholas spread his palm and fingers and thumb against Dave's chest just over his heart, rubbed at him reassuringly and then slowly caressed his way down further and further still until he could slip his hand in under the hem of Dave's t-shirt and flatten warm against Dave's belly.

A peaceful warm hush had fallen, and they might have been anywhere. They might have been safe alone together at the waterhole – and in any case, Dave had sprung to full happy life, so that when Nicholas asked at last, "Let me?" Dave replied in roughened tones, "O' course." And then that hand slid under the waistband of his jeans and into his boxers, and there was just room enough for the palm and the inside of Nicholas's wrist to rub at Dave's eager cock while those fingers pushed tantalisingly at his balls – and it had been so long, too long. Within moments Dave's spunk was gushing forth and he voiced a quiet "Oh!" of wonder, and as the pleasure slowly started ebbing away he opened his eyes to see Nicholas gazing down at him with infinite affection.

They stayed there holding each other's gaze for a long while, with Nicholas's hand gently cradling Dave's tackle as if he loved it soft and tender as much as he did hard and rampant. Eventually Dave remarked, "Well, okay, I guess you're starting to get the hang of this."

Nicholas's mouth quirked in delight. "Excellent. Give me another seven years to practise, and who knows what I might achieve!"

"Mate, and I'd give you another seventy after that, if I could."

"Deal," said Nicholas. And he looked down at Dave with the most gorgeous smile: half besotted, half wry, full of hope, and wholly Dave's.

One thousand and three
, Dave happily noted – and he pressed a smile of his own to those plump pink lips, and let his eyes convey the entire marvellous heart of the matter.
Nicholas Goring Taylor, I love you true.

# # #

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I was born in England, and lived most of my life in Australia, before returning to the UK a few years ago; my dual nationality means that I am often a bit too cheeky, but will always apologise for it.

I have been writing fiction for almost thirty years, mostly for the enjoyment of myself and my friends, but writing is my love and my vocation, so of course that's where my dreams and ambitions are. In the meantime, technical writing helps to pay the mortgage, while I also have fun with web design, reading, watching movies and television, knitting, and imbibing espresso.