Tom and Luke Get Their Degrees

"It seems terrible that the ultimate loving intimacy of two men and the spiritual experience that they undergo should be stigmatized in terms like that by some people. We find such talk hilariously funny, but it really is quite offensive," I said.

"Yes," said Luke, "but maybe now is not the moment to get offended. Fuck all those people who think like that. Let's just get on with it! I love you, my randy stud-boy! But take it slowly. Lovemaking is not something to rush. What was it Marvell wrote?

'An hundred years should go to praise

Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze.

Two hundred to adore each breast:

but thirty thousand to the rest.'"

We climbed the stairs to our room for almost the last time. I locked the door and removed my shoes and socks, and did the same to Luke. We undressed one another slowly, with much kissing and fondling. Luke lay face downwards on his bed, a towel beneath him. I put my right hand under his belly and lifted him to a hands-and-knees position so that I could get my face into his arse-crack. I inhaled the intoxicating mixed scent of sweat and Storing pour Homme as I started to lick his anal hair. I applied my lips to the curve of his arse at the edge of the densest hair before pushing my tongue into the passage that my tool would shortly enter. He squirmed with delight. "Oh, Tom that's heavenly! Keep on doing it!" I obeyed his instruction. Even though too short and too wide to penetrate far, the tongue can give almost as much pleasure as prick-teasing.

After a few minutes, I pulled away and reached for the gel. I lubed Luke up thoroughly and rolled a prophylactic on to my tool, which, as usual, was dripping pre-come. I encircled my boy at chest level with both arms and started to kiss his backbone. As I slid down his spine, kissing all the way, I moved my encircling arms down his front, tickling his belly-button before getting hold of his cock with my right hand and encupping his ball-bag with my left. He groaned with pleasure.

His cock stiffened steadily within my fingers, as I prepared to enter his rear end. I pushed gently but firmly with my meat-stick and got it deeply inside him. I paused to let his sphincter adjust, before I began fucking movements. I started slowly and not pushing deeply, until it was clear that he was comfortable and then I speeded up and went deeper till I hit his prostate. He moaned with delight and a shudder went through him. I felt again that sense of joy and tenderness suffuse me as we worked together. Our efforts continued for quite some time until one hit I made of his prostate pushed him over the edge and he came violently with a muffled shout and shot his load over the outspread towel. I continued my fucking, and within a couple of minutes, I too came violently. I felt as the seed left my body that God's love was going with it and entering the depths of Luke's body. Lovemaking was taking on an increasingly sacramental role as my faith deepened. As we both felt the blood ebbing out of my tool, and slipping out of his arse-hole, Luke turned himself round and lay in the small puddle of semen on the towel. He clutched me tightly and pulled me on top of him. He began to wriggle and rub his dick against my belly. Obviously there was enough spunk in his balls to shoot again. I glued my lips to his and rubbed my belly against his, and after a delicious, if sweaty, few minutes, he squirted again over our conjoined bellies. "My darling Tom! he exclaimed, "you are the most wonderful man I know. Feel free to kiss any man you fancy, I am now certain that you would never leave me for someone else. You are my support and protector, my stud-boy and the light of my life. God will bless you, guide you and defend you." And we dissolved into passionate kisses. I felt so happy that Luke was so eager to forget how I had spoilt his birthday.

Chapter Thirty-one

The last Summer Vacation begins

I resumed my work in the lab and we moved out of our college room for good, back to Fountain Street. It was a slightly sad occasion, looking back on all the fun and pleasure, the disappointments and the hard work that that room had seen in the two years that we had lived there, but it was good to be able to sleep together every night. Jon had gone back to Rockwell's Barn to prepare for his stay in Heemstede. As soon as the first year Chemistry results were published and he had seen his tutees, he would depart for the Netherlands via the Eurostar and Thalys train services.

We had not fucked very much during Luke's exams, because he was very preoccupied with doing well, but as soon as we had the flat in Fountain Street to ourselves, we began to fuck like rabbits. Luke was busy with the organization of his grandparents' Family Festival, and was frequently on the phone to Mr. Scarborough.

My interview with the External Examiner took place in mid-July. He congratulated me on my lab project and was further impressed when I said that a second paper bearing my name had just been accepted for publication. He asked what I wanted to do on graduation and I said that I wanted to do a Ph.D., but in Italy. He said that it was very courageous of me to contemplate research in a foreign land, and turn my back on any possible openings in Camford or elsewhere in Britain. I explained the personal reasons for my decision. A couple of days later, the Final degree class of the Part 2 Chemistry was posted in the University Aula. To my delight, I had got a first, and had been awarded the University's Perkin-Kekulé Prize. I went to see the Head of the Chemical Laboratory, to try and get my future sorted out. He shook hands and congratulated me (there had only been ten firsts out of 150 Part Two chemists. Two of them were Boni's students, whom Jon had taught in their first year). He said that my results would be forwarded to Brussels and that within a month I could expect a decision on whether I had got a Leonardo Award, but he also said that it was pretty certain that I would. "If all else fails," he said, "I am sure we can find some money for you here." I didn't tell him that if all else failed, I could fund myself in Camford! But in Italy, I needed external evidence of my competence to do research, which only a European Union award could guarantee.

The next thing that happened was that it was Luke's turn to undergo interrogation by his External Examiner, and on this occasion the discussion was exclusively in Italian. They had a lively discussion, involving Luke telling of his experiences in the earthquake. He was congratulated on his exam performance, and asked about his future career. The examiner was surprised when Luke said that he hoped to go to Italy as a trainee opera-house manager.

A couple of days later, the results of the Modern Languages degrees were published, and Luke also got a first, this time he was one of fourteen out of 300 candidates. He contacted both Dr Cagliari and Marcello Fabioni, in case they knew of any jobs. Marcello said that he had three possible jobs of assistants to opera-house managers in different parts of Italy, and none were wanting someone immediately, so as soon as I had heard whether I had a Leonardo grant, they could start negotiations. Obviously, we had to seek jobs in the same city.

Luke's parents took us both out to celebrate our exam successes to the Michelin-starred Magic Python restaurant. It was a nice change for us to go out as a male foursome. The meal was a splendid success, and for once I did not feel guilty at eating at a restaurant where the bill for the four of us would feed two families of four for a week. In this case, I reckoned that we had both earned it. We had both slogged our guts out for four years, and even though we had enjoyed ourselves phenomenally in the process, it was a just reward.

Moreover, it was nice to have an opportunity to see Luke's two fathers together. Regular separation had enhanced for them their pleasure in being together. They were just as bad as Luke and I were at holding hands under the table and pushing their knees against one another! Men don't get less amorous as they get older: indeed I have heard of many men of eighty and older needing to fuck or be fucked. The wine, Barolo and Orvieto, flowed freely. Secure in the knowledge that we were within walking distance of home was a major disincentive to sobriety! It was difficult sometimes to restrain ourselves to avoid offending other customers by making it obvious that we were two pairs of gays out on the town. It was regrettable that Camford did not have any restaurants with a men-only room as in the restaurant in Nice that Jon and David used to visit. In some ways it would have been easier at the Venezia, where all four of us were personally known to the staff.

We were decidedly merry as we staggered back to the flat in Fountain Street, and had to be careful in crossing the street! When we got in, Luke made us coffee in his Italian coffee machine that had so frequently been transported to and from Buckingham College, but would now never go there again. Luke and I said quite openly to David and Jon that we were too sloshed to shag, and would go to bed as soon as we had drunk the coffee, but might be up late for breakfast. David said, "Don't worry, Jon and I will go out for breakfast and leave you two to your own devices! You'll be able to make as much noise as you like!

I was awakened next morning in the usual way, by Luke kissing me. But it was no longer a Luke bent over my bed, but a Luke lying up against me in our bed! It was obvious that he wanted me, and that he was in too urgent a state of need to wait until we had washed and shaved. I turned over on to my side, so that my back faced him and let him smother my back with his kisses, working downwards till he reached my arse, and he continued kissing its cheeks. Then he stopped, turned over, opened the drawer beside the bed and pulled out the lube and a rubber. I eased my buttocks apart, so that he could poke his fingers in and apply the gel. He rolled the rubber on to his tool, rubbed some lube on it and rolled me over on to my back so that I could spread my legs before he gently pushed his live sausage (as Rabelais terms it) between my arse-cheeks. "O my America, my new-found land/ my kingdom safliest when with one man manned!" he quoted from Donne as he entered my hole.

"It's not your new-found land, you found it eighteen months ago!" I said, "and like a good merchant venturer, you've explored it pretty thoroughly since then," I told him, "but certainly it's by one man manned. I would never let anyone or anything but your big dick enter my hole, faggot-boy!" By now he was deep within me and started to fuck me gently. I marvelled about how his technique had improved in the year since he got back from Bologna. His evident need had not made him rough in his approach, and slow lovemaking is always the best. Every so often, he would pause, bend forward and kiss me. His kisses were so sweet, they almost made me swoon. At the same time as he was working with his tool, he had hold of mine and was stroking it gently but persistently. By now after twenty-four hours, the odour of Storing pour Homme was very faint, but the unenhanced scent of Luke's sweat as it dripped on me from his armpits was just as, or even more, bewitching. I really can't imagine how women can resist that male scent, but many of them seem to hate it. After some minutes of total bliss, my sweet boy shouted "Tom!" as he came violently into the condom. He then fell on top of me and began to rub his belly against my hard, slimy and dripping cock. Within a minute I joined him in experiencing the male miracle as I sprayed my seed over our bellies and chests.

We lay there for several minutes in warm contact before the rapidly hardening spunk started to crackle and we reluctantly staggered out of bed, turned on the shower and began to embrace one another again, as the warm water washed the drying man-juice away. We carefully washed each other, giving the usual close attention to each other's genitals, with much kissing and caressing. We then dried each other and shaved, before I went downstairs and started to scramble eggs for breakfast.

Chapter Thirty-two

Invitations

The following invitation was sent out to three generations of the Scarborough family, to Tom's sister Liz and to Mrs Singleton. Included in the invitation were all of Mr and Mrs Scarborough's children and their partners, all their grandchildren and Mrs Scarborough's brother and his wife, who had just retired from running a café (Dutch for bar) in Amersfoort. This amounted to eighteen persons in all, including Mr and Mrs Scarborough themselves.

July 1, 20--

'Mr and Mrs Benedict Scarborough invite you to a Family Festival to be held on 11-15 September to celebrate Mr Scarborough's retirement as Chief Executive Officer of Moorside County Council and Mr and Mrs Scarborough's Fortieth Wedding Anniversary.

'The Festival will begin with a Ruby Anniversary Party on Sunday September 12 at Rockwell's Barn, Ixton, Ixfordshire at 12 noon. Limited accommodation will be available at the Jellycotes Arms, Ixton for the duration of the Festival.

'On Monday September 13 you are cordially invited to the signing of the Civil Partnership document of their grandson, Luke Cornelis Singleton-Scarborough, son of David and Jonathan Singleton-Scarborough, with Thomas Appleton at Camford Register Office, Speedwell Street, Camford at 12 noon, and afterwards at the Sparrowhawk Hotel, Thomson Street, Camford.

'Tuesday September 14 will be a private family day. The Festival will conclude on Wednesday September 15 with a farewell luncheon at 12 noon at Rockwell's Barn. Please do not send or bring gifts. If you wish to mark either event by making a donation to the Buckingham College student hardship fund, please send your gift to the College Treasurer.'

Non-family friends received the following invitation:

'On Monday September 13 you are cordially invited to the signing of the Civil Partnership document of Luke Cornelis Singleton-Scarborough, son of David and Jonathan Singleton-Scarborough, with Thomas Appleton, B.A., son of John Appleton and the late Mrs Appleton of County Durham, at Camford Register Office, Speedwell Street, Camford at 12 noon, and afterwards at the Sparrowhawk Hotel, Thomson Street, Camford. Please do not send us or bring us gifts. If you wish to mark the occasion by making a donation to the Buckingham College student hardship fund, please send your gift to the College Treasurer.'

The guests for the Civil Partnership event were mainly local people, for whom we did not need to provide accommodation, except for Tim Ingledown, who would stay at Rockwell's Barn.

Chapter Thirty-three

The Family Festival I: Preparations and Day 1

Tom resumed work in the lab. There were numerous loose ends to tie up in the following weeks. He had set a deadline for submission of his M.Chem. thesis of the end of October, but needed to have two weeks out of the lab for the period of the Festival and afterwards. August passed rapidly, with Tom busy in the lab and Luke finalizing arrangements for the Festival. They had decided to wear for both the Civil Partnership event and the blessing service the next day similar outfits to what Luke's parents had worn for their ceremonies: embroidered white silk shirts without jackets, suit trousers, in our case Armani, but instead of the pink ties that David and Jon had worn, they chose yellow ties. They wanted to downplay the gay symbolism, and in any case, Luke did not like pink as a colour, he said that it was girlish. For the blessing ceremony, they had chosen plain gold bands.

Mr and Mrs Scarborough arrived in Ixton three days before the Festival to make sure that all the arrangements were complete and brought some home-made goodies to add to what the caterers supplied. All ten rooms at the Jellycotes Arms had been booked. Most were doubles. At Rockwell's Barn, there were three spare bedrooms, but only sleeping four guests in total. One room was occupied by David's parents, the two single rooms by Tim Ingledown and Liz Appleton. Everyone who had been invited had come. At the hotel, the two boy grandchildren shared a room and the two granddaughters shared another. They were young enough to be thrilled by sharing with their cousins.

The Party on the first day was a great success. The boarded-over swimming pool was used for eating, but all the other rooms of the house were available for people to sit in and talk. Luke had the difficult job of introducing Dorothea and Massimo and their children to his grandparents, who had not met their daughter for nearly twenty years. The children were not in the least shy of their new grandparents and helped to make the reunion of their mother with her parents much less fraught. Massimo took everything calmly in his stride. He made a very good impression on Mrs Scarborough. His English was not perfect, but he had no problems in communicating. Of the young grandchildren, only Bianca had problems speaking English, and her cousin Maria, who had picked up Italian at phenomenal speed, had to help her out sometimes by translating. The caterers had done a good job with the food, and a good deal of Italian wine and English and Belgian beer was consumed. Mrs Singleton was on her best behaviour and Tom kept her happy by plying her with conversation, food and drink.

There were only two speeches at the party. A toast was proposed by Jon to Mr and Mrs Scarborough. He said: "I invite you all to drink the health of my parents-in-law. They welcomed me into their family when I fell in love with their eldest son, and have always treated me as if I were one of their own sons. I will always be deeply grateful to them for giving me their son and for all the valuable support and advice they have given us over the years, especially when Luke and Cathy were young. They have always accepted and been supportive of our gay partnership in an era when homosexuality was severely frowned on by their generation. Ladies and gentlemen, the health of Benedict and Helena Scarborough!" Tears were running down David's and his mother's faces.

Everyone drank and Mr Scarborough rose to reply: "Ladies and gentlemen, Helena and I are both deeply touched that all of you have come here to join us in celebrating the forty years of happiness that we have enjoyed together. We are proud of our three children and six grandchildren and are particularly touched to meet two of them, Alessandro and Bianca, and of course their father, for the first time and to welcome them on their first visit to England. Our only disappointment is that of the six of you, only Cathy is living in England. Luke and Tom will leave within a few months for Italy, as yet we know not where, and will be gone for at least three years. However the good news is that now that I am retired, we will be able to go round Europe visiting each family in turn! We are grateful to Luke for doing most of the organization of this Festival. Thank you all for coming to share our happiness and to witness tomorrow and Tuesday our grandson Luke tie the knot with our son-in-law-to-be, Tom Appleton." Now it was Tom's turn to shed tears. Lots of photographs were taken including several big group photos with everyone included.

Chapter thirty-four

The Festival, Day 2: Signing the the Civil Partnership register

Luke and I got up early on the Monday morning. We had not drunk excessively at the party, nor had we spent time in bed doing anything but sleep! We shaved and showered carefully and enjoyed a light breakfast before putting on our 'wedding' outfits. David was to drive us into Camford in his car. There were to be no white beribboned Rolls Royces, just a hired bus and David's car. We were to meet all the guests in the spacious waiting-room of Camford Register Office. Unlike Luke, I had never been present at a Civil Partnership signing, but I had been warned that it was distinctly unimpressive. The only persons with any role in the event apart from ourselves were the two principal witnesses, who would sign the register. These were to be David, as Luke's cofather and Liz, my sister.