Part Six

Charlie sat with Tom that night going over the alphabet with the man. He seemed quite distraught over his apparent failure to read and after Joe and Meyer had left, he'd insisted that Charlie teach him at least the basics. So here he was explaining the phonetic correlation between certain letters and the sounds they made. Tom was picking it up quickly and they were on the Xs.

"I don't understand the purpose of this letter if it sounds like another letter. Like that K letter, it serves no real purpose."

"Well I can tell you about a lot of things that are odd and don't really serve a purpose but are around none-the-less. X isn't going anywhere and neither is K."

Tom all but pouted at the injustice of a repetitive alphabet but Charlie just wanted to finish this up. It was late and they would be leaving tomorrow morning to go back to New York. He'd already rung his staff at the house and had them ready a guest room for Tom. Johns, his head servant, had wondered about their early return before Charlie had explained that they were taking on a new resident. Johns had then assured him he'd take care of everything so as to make their new guest comfortable.

He'd told them to make sure there were plenty of sweets available and to make sure that chicken was on the menu frequently as Tom had seemed to favor that above the other choices at lunch and then subsequently at dinner.

He'd also instructed Johns to contact Murphy Harris, a carpenter who owed him a couple of favors. He was sure the man would be more than happy to do the job Charlie had in mind rather than pay back all the money he owed Charlie from the gaming tables.

They'd go back to New York tomorrow and Charlie would get to show Tom around the city. He already had a few places he was anxious to show the other man. Charlie looked over at Tom as he looked through one of his books, probably trying to find exampled of the use of the letter X. Charlie wondered what was up with him lately. Gillian had had him wrapped around her finger within minutes of their meeting and it seemed Tom was fast approaching that sort of status with him.

Tom looked up from his page and caught his eye. The green eyed man's lips pulled into a soft smile that, in the firelight, made him look all the more lovely.

His voice was soft with his question, "What are you thinking about?"

Charlie sighed and put on a weary smile, "Old flames, I suppose."

Tom's look was pensive, "Old flames? Past lovers?"

"Yeah, I guess they were past lovers."

"Do you have a lover right now to help you forget these others?"

Charlie inhaled sharply at the question and noticed Tom's cheeks pinkening in embarrassment as well, "Not right now, no."

Tom nodded his head and he licked his lips, the movement was caught by Charlie and he couldn't take his eyes off the soft pink flesh making its appearance before being pulled back into the mouth that had not been far from the Sicilian man's thoughts for much of the day. Charlie drew closer to the other man and leaned over the sofa they shared. He was gratified that Tom didn't back away from him but the green eyed didn't lean in either.

The Sicilian saw his guest's eyes sink closed as they drew together and their lips met. Tom's lips were stiff for a few seconds before he relaxed against Charlie and moved his lips apart allowing Charlie to see out his pink prize. He felt Tom shiver as their tongues met and Charlie took the opportunity to map out the inside of the other man's mouth.

His hand came up to cup the back of Tom's jaw and his fingers dug into the dark curls that had so enthralled him. He even felt Tom's hand coming to rest on his arm as they deepened the kiss. It was just as Charlie had imagined. Soft but with a certain level of skill and power over where it was leading. Unlike those pansy men, Tom didn't just sit back and let him do the work, he was quite... participatory.

They broke the kiss after a few minutes, their chests almost heaving as they took in oxygen. Tom drew away first, leaning back and causing Charlies hand to slip from it's place in his hair.

Tom grabbed a a hold of his book and held it up a bit, "I-I think I know enough about the alphabet for now. I'll see if I can get any further in this book."

And with that the taller man got up and left the room like a flushed rabbit. Charlie watched him leave and wondered if he'd done the wrong thing. But Tom had definitely kissed him back. Perhaps Tom was uncomfortable with male relationships, a residual instinct from before he lost his memories? Well, they had an hour long drive tomorrow on their way to New York, so perhaps it would be best to broach the subject then.

Charlie sighed and got up before making his way upstairs to his own bedroom.