A Christmas Carl by Ryan Field Page B

awkward that morning. His hair was disheveled,
     
his mouth was dry, and his eyes were swollen and red.
     
But the way he looked didn’t seem to matter to Victor. He smiled and said, “Can
     
we talk somewhere in private? It’s very important. I’m on my way to the airport right
     
now.”
     
Donna was standing behind young Carl by then. She took a shallow breath and
     
said, “Come on in, Victor. I’ll go out to the store. I’m out of cream anyway.”
     
Young Carl touched her shoulder and said, “Thanks. I appreciate it.”
     
When she was gone, Victor put his arms around Carl and said, “I’m leaving today.
     
My father is sending me to Europe.” Then he reached behind Carl’s back and placed his
     
strong hand on Carl’s ass. He squeezed Carl’s flesh a few times and took a shallow breath.
     
Young Carl stepped back and stared at him. “Europe?”
     
Victor sighed. He leaned forward and bit Carl’s earlobe. His breathing increased
     
and his other hand grabbed Carl’s ass. “He won’t even speak to me,” Victor said. “This
     
morning he told me he had arranged for me to study in England. He made all the
     
necessary phone calls and ordered a one-way ticket on a flight to London leaving in less
     
than two hours. My bags were packed and waiting in the front hall.” “And you’re going?” Carl leaned forward and put his arms around Victor’s wide
     
shoulders. His penis was growing; his heart was beating faster. While Victor continued to
     
play with his ass, he arched his back and rested his head on Victor’s chest.
     
Victor shrugged. “I don’t have a choice,” he said. “Either I go to England today,
     
or he’s going to cut me off completely and throw me out of the house. I don’t know what
     
else to do.”
     
Older Carl looked at the Ghost of Christmas Past and frowned. He remembered
     
thinking Victor could have fought his father. Carl had loved Victor so much he would
     
have fought anyone who had tried to keep them apart. He would have given anything he
     
owned to be with him. But then again, at the time, Carl didn’t have much to sacrifice. The
     
only thing he could sacrifice for Victor was his happiness. Victor had always had
     
everything he’d ever wanted. It would have been selfish and cruel to ask him to give up
     
his entire life, and his family, for a poor slob who went to a state college on a scholarship.
     
But young Carl didn’t get mad at him. He smiled and said, “I’m glad you told me
     
you’re leaving. I would have been devastated if you hadn’t.” Then he placed his hands on
     
Carl’s shoulders and said, “We could live without money. Money isn’t the most
     
important thing in the world. As long as we have each other, we don’t need much
     
money.”
     
Older Carl pressed his palm to his chest and shouted, “Stupid, naïve fool. Yeah,
     
right. You think you can live on love in this world? I can’t believe words as stupid as
     
those ever came from my mouth.”
     
Victor breezed over his comment about not needing money. He put his arms
     
around him and kissed him on the mouth. When he was finished kissing, he put both hands down the back of young Carl’s pants and said, “This won’t keep us apart. I love
     
you more than anyone or anything. We’ll be together.”
     
“What time does your plane leave?”
     
Victor looked at his watch. “I should go now.”
     
“Wait,” Carl said, reaching down to unzip Victor’s jeans. “I want to give you
     
something to think about while you’re over in England.”
     
“We don’t have much time,” Victor said. Young Carl’s right hand was already
     
inside his pants and Victor wasn’t pulling away.
     
He pulled Victor’s erection out of his jeans and said, “This won’t take long.”
     
Then he pulled down his own pants and kneeled on the floor.
     
Older Carl watched them both and smiled. He remembered that the best part about
     
having sex