Thursday, November 9, 2017

Bartender! Another Insult Please! Part 7


Beckett Reed and Samiyo Datoru
Original Characters 
Written by Snarks 
Beginning March 2014


Taking deep breaths Sam turned on his laptop and queued up his playlist to listen to his favorite boys’ choir.  He found the music and the angelic voices to be very relaxing and conducive to clear thought.

He laid on his bed, thinking about Beckett's smooth skin beneath his lips, the feel of their kiss, and his heartbeat quickened.  Then he thought about the spank.  It had been more of a surprise than painful.  And Beckett's words.  He'd been so... not angry, just... firm... stern.  In a way that only his mother had ever been.  In a way that Kanonu's father had been.  

He blushed, thankful that no one was nearby to notice.  His mother, of course, had smacked his backside more than once while he was growing up, and had no problem, even though he was twenty-two, giving him the occasional swat when she felt he was out of line with her.  He had learned early on to curb his tongue around her.

But Beckett... Samiyo closed his eyes and shook his head slightly as was his habit when he wanted to get his thoughts in order.  He clasped his hands over his lean stomach and breathed deeply, a relaxation exercise that Kanonu's father, Joseph, had taught him to use when the neighborhood kids had been teasing his little brother.

The swat hadn't hurt in the slightest, and he didn't believe that Beckett would have harmed him.  He was a forceful man, which Sam discovered that he liked.  He found Beckett's confidence as attractive as the man himself.  He'd enjoyed Beckett's pursuit of him.  There had been no tiresome flirting, simply statements of fact.  Beckett exuded an ease and presence that Sam had found alluring.

But the spank had taken him off guard.  It had been as intimate as the kiss they'd been sharing.  It had been not unlike the ones his mother still meted out on those rare occasions when he forgot himself, but the sensation that had shot through him had been entirely different when Beckett had done it.  It hadn't hurt.  While it had taken him by surprise, it had felt right somehow, and Samiyo struggled to figure out why.

Beckett's words replayed themselves in Sam's mind, 'If you aim that sarcasm at me again I'll give you more than one swat, understand me?'  'You will not sharpen that tongue on me.' 'I have no intention of leaving you.'

And there it was, he thought. He had expected that Beck would be like so many of his past... he wouldn't call them lovers since nothing more than a little kissing had ever occurred between them. But without fail, once they'd met Kanonu their interest in him had waned and died.

He didn't blame his little brother by any means, but those instances had convinced him that he'd never meet anyone who could get past the surface of the boy, and see the wonderful child that he really was.

Beckett hadn't seemed phased by 'Nu, which he appreciated, but he was sure that it would only be a matter of time before the man did as the others had done, and just stopped calling him.

His mother had warned him more than once about his sharp tongue. He had gotten into more than one fight as a result of his sarcasm.  Other kids had shied away from him in school because they were afraid of his biting remarks, and Samiyo's best friends had been the books in the school and public libraries.    

They didn't make remarks about his brother, tease him about the absence of a father in his life, or make fun of his mother's weight.  There he'd found friends who spoke to him, told him amazing stories both real and imagined, and welcomed him with open pages.  

'I have no intention of leaving you.'  Beckett's voice echoed in his mind.

His thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock at his door. He knew it was his mother because Kanonu was more likely to barge in and jump on his bed rather than knock.

"Come in, Mama,"  he called.

His mother walked in with a smile and approached her son's bed.  Sam sat up and moved over to make room for her to sit down.  He watched, admiringly, as his mother gracefully crossed the room and sat beside him.  Anger flared up in his chest as he thought of the close-minded, cruel people who made snide comments about her.  He wished again that they could see her the way he did.

She leaned forward and gave her oldest son a kiss on his forehead, letting the kiss linger until she felt the tension ebb from his face and neck.

"Do you want to talk about it?"  She asked gently.

"Talk about what, Mama?"  Samiyo hedged.

"What is bothering you, of course."

"What makes you think anything is bothering me?"

She smiled a beautiful, soft smile that always made his heart want to explode for love of her.  "I know you, mi dun kekere ọmọkunrin.  I know when you are happy and when you are sad.  This is the music you listen to when you are upset.  I know when you need a shoulder, and I have two, good strong ones.  Talk to me, ifẹ." (mi dun kekere ọmọkunrin - my sweet little boy)  (ifẹ - love)

He looked at his mother, her face so much like his own, her heart, bigger than the hearts of all the people who lived in their complex showing in her beautiful eyes.  His heart welled again with love and admiration.  She had given up so much for him.  Her place in her family, her life in Nigeria.  If she had given him up at birth she would have eventually been forgiven by her parents and been accepted back into their family.  Her friends would not have abandoned her.  But she'd chosen to keep him, and had given up all she might have had for him.

He reached for her, enveloped her in a hug and kissed her soundly on the cheek.  She hugged him back, one of those hugs that lingered long after she'd released him and calmed him inside.

"Is it Bec-kett?"  She asked knowingly as she searched her oldest son's leonine eyes.  "You have had an argument."

"Not... exactly,"  Sam replied, not sure how to tell his mother exactly what had happened and how it had made him feel.

"You are here, and not with him. You have perhaps unleashed that viper tongue on him and you now feel badly?" She answered, a soft smile on her lips.  

His silence and downcast eyes were answer enough.

"What happens between lovers is personal and private, and long gone are the days when you would tell me everything. It is a part of growing up.  However," she continued, the hardness that would creep into her voice when she was displeased making itself known.  "You are old enough now to know when it is necessary, and when it is not."

"You do not unleash that sharp wit at home, why?"

"Because you'll smack me if I do."  Samiyo quipped then allowed himself a small laugh as his mother gave him a swat.

"Because you are among people who love you unconditionally, and accept you as you are.  Do you think that Bec-kett would have pursued you had he found you unattractive in any way?  That includes your mouth," she continued before he could argue that it was only a physical attraction.

"I have been advising you for years to stop and think before you speak.  Not everyone is your enemy," she said, unknowingly echoing Beckett's words, "You do not need to protect yourself with Kanonu and me, nor do you need to do so with Bec-kett.  It is clear that he loves you.  You have driven off everyone who has shown interest in you, and yet this man will not be driven away.  That is love.  Think about that, eh?"

"Yes Mama,"  Samiyo replied, somewhat chastened. There was no way that he was going to tell her why his past relationships hadn't worked out, though he was pretty sure she already knew.

"It is late now.  In the morning you will call Bec-kett and apologize for your words."

"What if he doesn't accept?"  Sam asked sadly.

"If he is the man I think he is, he will take you back with open arms."

"Mama..." he began uncertainly.

"Yes ifẹ?"

"Beckett... he... I mean, he...."  He trailed off lamely

His mother's eyes narrowed, "Did he harm you?"

"No.  No of course not," Sam answered hastily,  "He didn't harm me.  I just wonder, no one has ever stayed with me for long.  My biological father left.  Joseph died and left us."  He continued, referring to Kanonu's father.  "Other than you and Kanonu I've never been close to anyone before and it scares me."

"Joseph did not leave us willingly, kekere ọmọkunrin.  If people have not been able to become close to you it is because you have not allowed it," she said gently.  "But I believe that Bec-kett loves you.  He has heard how you deal with people, and yet he still pursued you, pursues you still. Speaks with you nearly every night, sees you as often as he can."

"Sleep now," she said, reaching out to smooth back his hair, "Call Bec-kett in the morning.  I believe him to be a good man.  I trust him with one of my most precious possessions, and I believe that you should trust him as well.  Dara bayi?" she asked as she pulled his head over to rest on her shoulder.  (Dara bayi? - Better now?)

"Bẹẹni Mama, dara."

"Good night then, mi omo."  (My baby)

"Mama," he complained half-heartedly as he slid back down to rest his head on his pillow.  He fell asleep dreaming of the feel of Beckett's lips on his own.


tbc



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