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Ch. 9 Exploration

CH 9

The day had been terribly rough. A physical fight in his class between two testy boys had resulted in some unpleasant parent calls and a pair of matching suspensions. This put Gareth behind in his planning and grading, as well as late leaving the school. When he finally returned home, Franny had lost her new rain boots and Gabe was upset because his special educational appointments for diagnosing his possible learning disability had begun and he didn't like being withdrawn from class. Both were out of sorts, requiring conversations and hugs. Daisy needed help with her science project, which thankfully Phillip offered to oversee, and dinner, well it had gotten charred in the chaos. In the end, he'd said to hell with cooking and ordered a pizza, which brought its own round of troubles when choreographing toppings for five different palates. Finally, to add insult to injury, children balked at bedtime, and Phillip became overwhelmed by the fray, retreating to his bedroom.

Not every day was going to be a good one, and this one was one for the books. More than a few harsh words had been said between his children, and it was all he could do to maintain any sort of decorum. Once they were eventually settled and tucked in, Gareth leaned back on the velour sofa as he reviewed the math tests he promised to return by tomorrow. There were only a few left to grade as his eyes flickered closed and he succumbed to exhaustion. He would just rest his eyes for a little bit.

Hearing the house was finally quiet, Phillip put his novel aside and snuck out of his room to investigate. After all it was time for tea. Slightly passed in fact. Phillip leaned over the couch surveying the scene in the living room. Very definitely Gareth had fallen asleep. His lithe frame was curled along the cushions and his long lashes rested against his decidedly lovely angular cheek sprinkled with tiny little freckles. A throw pillow was tucked up under his head, and there was a slight snoring sound. Phillip studied the way Gareth's chest rose and fell with each breath, and the way his slender fingers were gently clutching his arms. Phillip got closer, but the man didn't even move.

Placing Gareth's fallen papers and marking pen carefully on the coffee table, his eyes lingered longer and lower on Gareth as he imagined what it would be like to hold him close, breathe him in, peel off his clothes, and... Phillip stood quickly, embarrassed at lusting after Gareth, his pants strained in the groin in a most inappropriate way, knowing that he'd have some interesting thoughts to keep himself occupied with in bed tonight. He licked his lips nervously.

Stepping quietly down the hall and into his room, Phillip pulled the duvet off his bed then stealthily returned to the living room, carefully draping it over Gareth's sleeping form. Gareth shifted suddenly, then rolled into the blanket bringing it closer. Phillip watched for a second or two, smiling at him longingly as the other man settled back into sleep. Then he went to his room, disrobed, and laying on his bed, desperately grasped at himself, full of want, wishing it was Gareth's tapered fingers rather than his own calloused ones wrapped around his hard member. He panted hard and heavy, trying to make sure he was quiet, stifling his soft moans with his pillow. Bringing himself to completion, he imagined Gareth's face, lips, and naked form.

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Gareth woke as the first rays of sun filtered through the gauzy sheers of the living room. As he blinked he took a deep breath and realized he was enveloped in a familiar scent. Fresh and slightly mossy, definitely manly undertones, he inhaled deeply again, a wishful yearning flowing through him. Gareth looked at the blue duvet he was under, knowing Phillip covered him, and smiled, hugging the blanket tighter. It was a caring gesture and Gareth relished it.

When the sounds of the household became more apparent-the girls going to the bathroom and brushing their teeth, Gareth hoisted himself from his cozy nest, folding Phillip's duvet neatly over the back of the couch. He brushed himself off, straightened up his grading, then started on breakfast and the packed lunches.

Phillip could hear the movements in the kitchen, but he was too embarrassed to come out. He'd taken liberties last evening and wasn't sure how well they'd been received. He was also worried that perhaps what he'd done himself, to himself, might be something Gareth would devine somehow. He didn't want his lustful thoughts being visible on his face. In the end, though, his bladder and stomach won out, so he slipped quickly into the bathroom, relieved himself, then went to the kitchen to investigate the delicious smells.

"Phillip, care for some bacon and eggs?" Gareth asked, still wearing yesterday's clothes as he tended the stove, a pile of buttery toast next to him on the counter. He noted Phillip's plaid pyjama pants and slightly tight, well-worn t-shirt with more than a passing interest before smiling warmly at the shy man.

"Sure, thanks," he nervously replied.

"No, thank you--for the blanket last night and picking up my papers. That was great of you. Sorry I stole the sofa, I really hope you didn't mind."

"Not at all, you looked so exhausted it wouldn't have been right to wake you." The two men held each others' gaze for a moment longer than was necessary, but maybe not altogether long enough, until the chatter of the kids stole their attention.

"Ooh, Daddy, it looks yummy!" Gabe reached across for a piece of bacon that was draining on a piece of paper towel but Gareth quickly swatted his thieving hand away.

"When you're seated at the table," he admonished.

"Gareth, I can handle this. Why don't you get changed and ready for work?" Phillip suggested. He knew Gareth's time was limited in the morning, and although the breakfast was probably to make up for the bad day yesterday, he didn't want the father to be running late.

"Thanks." Gareth stepped away from the counter and Phillip took his place. "You're a lifesaver, really. Just no eggs for Franny. She's allergic."

"Yeah, they make her puke. Like everywhere," Gabe added helpfully, waving his arms wide to demonstrate, Daisy and Franny nodded in agreement.

"Good to know," Phillip said as he gathered the plates, making up five, one decidedly lacking in eggs.

Once the Lewises were out the door, Phillip took a few steadying breaths, then surveyed the kitchen. Not too much of a disaster. Just a few breakfast plates to do, really, ahh, and a forgotten lunch. It appeared the bag belonged to Gabe. Easy enough. Phillip would just drop it by the school following his second cup of coffee, after all, it was the same elementary school he'd attended so many years ago. Sitting on the sofa with his steaming mug, he couldn't help but inhale the slight scent of Gareth that now clung to his blanket and he couldn't stop the small grin that spread across his face.

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After a particularly gruelling Saturday shift, Phillip realized he needed to get moving on his career, job, whatever it was. Gareth was an inspiration, really. He didn't just give up when things went bad; he had taken action-taking care of responsibilities, his children, his students, a whole household-and all with that kindly, warm smile on his face. Phillip had already done a few afternoons at Mrs. Bentman's house, tending to her extensive gardens, mostly turning the soil, checking burlap, and the like since it was still early in the year, but May was prime gardening time and it was looming.

"Gareth?" Phillip called tentatively when he entered the house. The father was sitting in the living room watching tv with the children while the younger ones drew pictures and Daisy read a book.

"Yes?" Gareth looked up at Phillip who was standing in the hall and couldn't help but admire how his work shirt hugged his muscled biceps.

Phillip licked and bit at his lips anxiously, a gesture not lost on Gareth. "I need your help with my resume, I think. Or maybe an ad."

"What for?"

"Well I, uh, that is..." Phillip took a deep calming breath, blinked for a moment, and tried again. "I've been working in Mrs. Bentman's garden because she has a hard time getting around now and she suggested that maybe I could start up a business or something. You know, to supplement my income. She even has a few friends that might be interested in retaining my services." Although gardens were involved, it was probably one of Phillip's longest non-plant related speeches ever.

Gareth's face lit up, he was so pleased to be asked. "That's a great idea! Of course I'll help." He rose from the sofa and followed Phillip downstairs to the computer.

After a half an hour, the pair had pulled together a reasonable, if not rather bare, resume. Gareth simply didn't have too much to add to the existing document aside from some creative rephrasing. Education was straightforward, but in terms of Job Experience, well, it was pretty much empty, although Phillip did have a lot to offer in the Skills section. Sitting next to each other, Gareth was struck by just how masculine Phillip smelled at the moment. He had been working in the greenhouse all day, and the sweet musky smell of Phillip's body was quite...provoking. Gareth almost had to fight the urge to sniff just a little deeper to fully appreciate the arousing scent. Phillip, on the other hand, was getting nervous. He was concerned that he hadn't yet showered and that perhaps he was becoming a bit too pungent to be sitting next to his far less smelly housemate.

Gareth could sense Phillip's growing unease when an idea struck him, "Why don't we make a website? It's easy, fairly close to free, and if you register as a home based business, you can write off some expenses, like a portion of your property tax and utilities. We could also make a few flyers and put them up in the senior's centres and library." Gareth was getting quite excited by the prospect and opened a new document.

Phillip couldn't help but be taken in by Gareth's optimism. "Okay. What do I need?"

"Maybe some photos of your garden, a name for your business, and ideas as to what kind of services you want to offer?"

"I have photos from last year's garden tour...Should I mention that I've won a few years, too?"

"That would be great." Gareth smiled as Phillip warmed to his idea.

Phillip grabbed his camera and the cable from the shelf and passed it to Gareth, feeling self-conscious of his odour as he reached across. "Uh, the photos are here." Then he cleared his throat, "Would you mind terribly if I took a shower? I think I might be a bit ripe from work."

"It's no problem," Gareth said, looking up into Phillip's soft umber eyes, "but for the record, I think you smell good."

Phillip's cheeks coloured and like a scared rabbit, he made a startled dash for the bathroom across the room.

Twenty minutes later, Phillip tossed his dirty clothes into the washer, along with his towel and pulled on a pair of flannel plaid pyjama pants, tying the waist securely. Looking around, he couldn't find a shirt. Damn. He was sure he'd left a clean one in here, but he must have been mistaken. Peeping out the door, he could see Gareth still at work on the computer.

............................................

Gareth made one important discovery while working on Phillip's web page as the other man showered. Sure Phillip was a talent with plants, Gareth already knew that, but when he went to type in an address in the browser window Gareth discovered that he and Phillip may have more in common than he previously thought. Sure, there had been inklings, but this was evidence. There were certainly no women at that site, at least never when Gareth had ever been there. As Phillip was used to living alone, he obviously didn't clear his browser history very often. Gareth tucked the information away for later then hastily finished typing in the site address he'd meant to be visiting.

The door to the laundry/bathroom opened just a crack, and Gareth could tell Phillip was looking.

"Hey, Phillip! Come see what I've done so far."

Rather than look completely foolish, Phillip opened the door and strode into the room with more confidence than he felt. He was very uncomfortable to be topless as he approached the computer screen but he didn't want to appear ungrateful. "Thank you so much for doing this, Gareth."

The website looked good, really good. Phillip's Boutique Gardening Service was across the top of the page and there was a list of services, some pictures of Phillip's garden, and amazingly a picture of Phillip, himself, that Gareth had found. There was contact information and links to a gmail account and Facebook page. It was fantastic how much Gareth had accomplished in the twenty minutes he'd taken in the shower. Phillip was more than pleasantly surprised.

So was Gareth. As Gareth scrolled through everything, he couldn't help but notice Phillip's bare torso right next to him at his eye level. Although Phillip wasn't hugely buff, there was visible definition to his chest and abs, and he smelled so clean and inviting, with a slight undercurrent of the musk that had been there before. The pyjama pants were sitting just a bit low on Phillip's hips and there was a light dusting of dark hair leading from his navel down to under his waistband. Gareth tried looking up to avoid studying Phillip's very exposed skin, but he couldn't help but notice the two dark nipples with little swirls of dark hair surrounding them. They were pebbled due to the cold air, and even when Gareth looked away, Phillip's physique was still reflected in the computer monitor.

Gareth swallowed hard, and willed himself to look anywhere else. Rather than do something he might regret or maybe accidentally scare Phillip, Gareth stood slowly. "Here, you take a seat and look it over. I'll go check on the kids-they're being a little too quiet."

As he made his way to the stairs, Phillip called after him, "Thank you so much, Gareth." And Gareth was happy that he sounded so sincere. He really hoped this would drum up some business for their shy, and decidedly attractive, landlord. He also knew the image of Phillip's freshly scrubbed chest had definitely drummed up his interest.

A/N: Things are getting somewhere, slowly but surely, and they will get there eventually (okay a few more chapters). Happy Birthday to SamSpinelli and wedding anniversary to Cara-tresora-mia. Thanks to everyone who is reading and commenting and voting! I can't believe people like my two men :) Next update is Saturday!

<3 JJ

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