Liam's beautiful, crystal-clear blue eyes were locked on Jared. Liam quietly looked at Jared. "Guess neither one of our gay-dars was working too well. We must have been too work-focused to notice."
Jared looked at him and smiled but wanted to be sure by asking, "You're gay too?"
"Yes. I came out at 13 to my parents. They were supportive about it. To them, my announcement of being gay was no big deal and along the same level as telling them I was going to play basketball with my buddies down the street." Liam looked in pain for a moment, then his radiance returned.
Jared had seen that brief look on Liam's face and made a mental note to pursue the root of that painful look someday.
He looked at Liam. "It was about the same age I came out to my grandfather. My parents abandoned me with him at a very, very young age. Grandfather told me he had always known I was of 2 spirits mixed together but had waited for me to tell him. Grandfather also told me it was not unusual for the best of the healers to be born that way." They were interrupted by Pierre asking them in English if they were ready to order yet.
"May I order for the two of us, Jared?" Liam asked. Jared nodded and smirked. Liam lifted the menu up and started ordering the meal as well as a bottle of wine in perfect French. Pierre blanched and looked at Jared apologetically.
Liam sat there with a smile on his beautiful face. "I don't want to lose this one either..." he told Pierre in English, nodding his head towards Jared. "He is cute."
"Pierre, neither one of us actually knew the other was gay. I would like to thank you for opening that avenue for investigation." Jared spoke up. "Pierre, it also has to be said. Fou toi." They all laughed together.
The meal was fantastic. The two of them chatted and laughed the entire way through dinner. At the end of the meal, Pierre had even brought a serving of Death by Chocolate for them with two spoons. Liam and Jared enjoyed it immensely. "That dessert is going to take a week of workouts and running to get rid of the calories. But, it was worth it, don't you think Liam?" Jared remarked.
Liam smiled shyly at Jared. "I think it was definitely worth it." Pierre came with the bill, which Jared grabbed and paid quickly with a large tip.
Liam asked what he owed. "My treat," Jared replied. They walked out of the restaurant together into the warm evening air stopping just outside the restaurant. Jared faced Liam. "Now we both know we are both gay. What do we do?"
"I have had a crush on you since the first time I saw you walk into the base. Would it be too awkward for partners to try and date? I mean, if you wanted to..." Liam looked at Jared and replied, quickly adding with a blush.
"You look so cute when you blush Liam. I have never seen you do that before at work." Jared was looking at Liam, his left hand reaching over and grasping Liam's right hand gently, holding it.
"I think I would like to try dating and see where it goes, Liam. I noticed you on the first day you reported for duty as well. I have come to respect you as a person, a skilled professional, and having one of the best bubble butts I have ever seen covered in underwear." He leaned in and gave Liam a quick kiss on his perfect lips.
Liam smirked, blushed, and looked down at their hands. "Wait a minute! You scoped my butt out?" Liam could see Jared smiling at him, nodding his head.
"By the way, with your looks, you would be better in tight underwear instead of those boxers you wear. But, they did show your butt off nicely when you bent over. They are old and threadbare in the ass, which I didn't mind," Liam continued.
"You were scoping me out in the change room? Pervert!" Jared laughed.
"Jared, can we go somewhere to talk some more and just be together?" Liam asked.
Jared looked at Liam and thought for a moment. "My apartment isn't far. I will make some tea for us. We still haven't chatted about the issues you were experiencing this afternoon."
"Sounds like a plan, Jared. Lead on McDuff," Liam responded.
The two walked along the street, quietly making small talk about how nice the weather was. They started laughing about the people looking like the dogs they were walking. They nearly lost all composure when a woman walked by with the same color and style of hair as her small dog.
Truth be told, the dog looked like a rat with an afro having static electricity problems. The only more hideous styling was its owner, who looked like she had a muskrat humping the back of her head. The two boys had to really fight to control themselves until she was out of sight, and then they lost it. Once they regained composure, they continued on to the apartment, hand in hand.
As they got into the elevator at Jared's apartment building, Jared looked at Liam. "You have gotten very quiet, Liam."
"I don't know what to think about anything, Jared. Those feelings I am having just seem to bust through anything I am doing and overwhelm me," Liam responded.
"We will take care of that shortly, Liam," Jared smiled as he spoke. The two of them got off the elevator and went to Jared's apartment. After unlocking the door, Jared stepped through the door and made a sweeping motion with his hand. "Après-vous Monsieur," he exclaimed in a cheesy French accent. Liam smiled and entered with Jared, closing the door behind them.
He showed Liam to the kitchen through the living room. Upon entering the kitchen, Jared turned on the lights, filled the tea kettle, and put it on the stove. He opened a cabinet door and pulled out a reed-woven basket full of dried herbs.
Jared picked one bunch up and broke some off. He grounded it between his fingers, allowing it to fall into a bowl. He did this three more times with different herbs.
"What are you doing?" Liam looked with interest.
Jared continued working with the herbs. "I am making a traditional tea mixing different herbs to help you relax. The herbs are a gift of Mother Earth, and when used in different combinations, they can help with many things. This tea will have a nice flavor as well."
The kettle was boiling by now, and Jared turned off the burner and poured a little of the hot water into the teapot. He set the kettle down and grabbed the teapot, swishing the water around in it before pouring it out into the sink. He placed the teapot onto the counter and poured the herbs into it.
Jared filled the teapot with hot water and put the lid on it, also grabbing 2 mugs. He walked over to the island in the kitchen and placed the cups as well as the teapot onto it near the stools under the counter.
He stepped over to Liam and took hold of both his hands and stood close to him. Jared drew Liam into his chest, wrapping his arms around Liam's back in a hug. Liam was tense at first but began to relax as Jared hugged him and rubbed his back. Liam began to sob, soaking the front of Jared's shirt.
A couple of minutes later, his sobbing slowed, and he moved his head to look directly into Jared's eyes. Jared used one hand to reach up and brush the tears away from Liam's perfect face. His eyes were so clear, his strong nose and jaw line, his light blonde five o'clock shadow.
Jared reached up and gently placed his hand behind Liam's neck and moved forward to kiss him. Their lips touched gently, and such a soft feeling was shared between them.
Jared was thinking of how soft Liam's lips were.
Liam was asking himself if this was real or if he was asleep having a dream. Jared tasted so good to him. After kissing for a moment, they stopped and rested their heads on each other's shoulders while holding each other tight.
They could feel each other's hard manhood rubbing through their pants while they stood so close. Jared was afraid of blowing his load right there. He didn't realize Liam was even closer to blowing his load and was trying to think of anything to make his erection go down, including dead bunnies and his first-grade teacher naked.
Jared stepped back and then reached for Liam's hands, pulling him to the kitchen island and stools to sit on. Jared got the teapot and pulled the lid off, stirred the contents, and sniffed it. Satisfied, he put the lid back on and poured tea into both cups.
He took one cup and put it in front of Liam, who was sitting on a stool again and looking at the ground. Jared sat down and took a sip of his tea. "You are embarrassed at crying, Liam. Don't be. It is the best way to shed stress and turmoil."
"Jared, we are expected to be supermen in this job. We are not to show emotion. We are supposed to keep everything to ourselves and never let anyone know if we're having trouble dealing with it. We are told to suck it up or be a man or real men don't need help. I have also heard the staff tell one another it's part of the job, grow a thicker skin and other shit."
Liam looked up and spoke quietly, getting upset now as he continued. "They teach us about injuries, medical conditions, drugs, and all kinds of things. They convince us we can save everyone because we are paramedics. They spend absolutely no time on how to deal emotionally with the aftermath."