Chapter 49

“Me?”Andy rolled Luke over and got on top of him.“I’ll show you who’s been a bad influence.”He began to lick Luke’s neck.

“I was hoping you would.”

Andy moved his tongue into Luke’s ear,causing the blond to shudder.“Want to play hide the sausage?”he growled.

Luke whimpered.“As long as it’s prime organic pork.”

Andy couldn’t help his bark of laughter.“God,that sounds like something from a porn film.”Then he realised what he’d said.“Oh,Luke,I’m sorry.”

Luke smiled lovingly up at him.“It’s okay.Honestly it is.Isn’t it great that we can joke about it?”

Andy cupped Luke’s face and used his thumbs to stroke his lover’s cheeks.“You’re not an ex-porn actor to me.You never were.You’re my Luke,you’re brainy,beautiful and,since you started working out at the gym,brawny,too.”

Luke whispered,“Duw,i’n dy garu di”.I love you.”

Staring at the most precious,perfect man he’d ever met,Andy knew he was close to tears.“I love you,too.Always.”

The moment was broken by the sound of springs squeaking,which was soon joined by a tattoo of rhythmical thumps coming from the next bedroom.

“Fucking hell!”

“Uh,fucking about sums it up,”Luke laughed.

Andy threw off the sheet and blanket and started to get out of bed.“I’m not having this,I’ll—”

Luke stopped him.“No,don’t interrupt them.We can always drown out the noise by making someof our own.”

Andy paused.Luke had a point.Maybe he could get one back on his nephew.Grinning,he said,“You’ve convinced me.”

“And maybe we can write our own bad porno script,too.”

Andy’s grin widened.The idea was strangely appealing.“What are our roles gonna be?”

“How about a pig farmer and a porn star?”

****

“How many brothers and sisters did you say you have?”Andy asked,as he drove Luke’s car through the Herefordshire countryside toward southeast Wales.They had decided to take the scenic route.

“Seven.”

Bloody hell;is his family Catholic or something?Andy thought.

“I know.It’s a bit much.We’re not Catholic.It’s just mam used to get migraines,but they went away when she was pregnant.”

“Oh,”Andy said,not knowing what else he could say.

“You’d think she’d give aspirin or something a try before…you know.”

Andy laughed.“So where are you,in the scheme of things?Sorry,I know you’ve probably told me before.”

“I’m the third oldest.”

“That’s right.You’ve got a brother and sister who are older than you.Didn’t you say your sister is in America?”

“Canada.When she comes back home to visit,everyone thinks she’s a Yank.Winds her up.Then there’s Gary.He—”

Andy put a hand on Luke’s knee.He knew Gary was a religious bigot and had basically disowned his brother.

“Thanks.I don’t think about him much.But when I do,it’s…well—”

Andy hoped his and Gary’s paths didn’t cross during their stay,because no way would he sit back and let Luke be verbally abused.

“David,he’s younger than me.He’s at uni.But hopefully he’ll be home this weekend.”

“You get on all right with him,then?”

Luke smiled.“Yeah.He’s a lot of fun.”

“And all your other siblings,uh,four of them?”

“Yeah?”

“They’re still at home?”

“Should be.Richard is a year older than Craig;he’ll probably be going to uni come September.”

“You ever regretted not going?”

“I’m not brainy enough.”

Andy shook his head.That wasn’t true.They’d talked endlessly about that.Luke would tell him that if he could believe,wrongly,that he was ugly,then Luke should be allowed to think that he was stupid.Luke’s logic was flawed,but Andy realised pointing that out would only beproof,as far as Luke was concerned,that he was indeed stupid.

“So,you must have a big house or something,with all those brothers and sisters.I’m thinking a Welsh castle.”

Luke laughed.“And the big strong hero has come to swim the moat,climb the walls and rescue the beautiful innocent lad who has been locked in the tower.”Andy joined in the laughter.Butbefore he could respond,Luke continued,“And you’ll whisk this chaste virgin back to your castle in Yorkshire,guarded by a herd of savage pigs,and—”Luke couldn’t continue,he was laughing so hard.

“And they both live happily-ever-after,”Andy said.

Luke stopped laughing.The atmosphere in the car suddenly grew serious.Andy took his left handfrom the steering wheel.Luke grasped it and gave it a squeeze.

“Yes,that’s what I hope will happen for us,”Luke said,barely above a whisper.

“Me,too,”Andy replied.

Andy freed his hand,indicated,and turned off the main road.Soon they were travelling down a farm track.He stopped the car in front of a gate that led into a wheat field.

After getting out of the car,Andy walked round to Luke’s side and opened the door,offering his hand to help his lover get out.

“I fucking love you,Andy Johnson.”Luke’s eyes were moist;Andy knew his were in a similar state.

He pulled Luke into a hug.“A bit ago you talked about me being the rescuer,but you got that wrong.You’d be the one rescuing me,”he said into Luke’s hair.

“I also mentioned an innocent virgin.I’m sure as hell not one of those.”

“Don’t.”Andy needed to lighten the mood.“Neither of us were innocent,not with the performance we put on for Craig and Toby last week.”

Andy felt Luke shaking.He began to panic,until he realised his lover was laughing silently.This soon graduated to audible chuckles.

When Luke settled down,he said,“Craig’s face.He couldn’t look either of us in the eye the next morning.”

Andy let out a single bark of laughter.“I think we embarrassed the hell out of him.”

“Yeah,”Luke said.“Do you think it could have been because of you saying‘Take my big hard sausage,you wanton nymphomaniac?’”

“Well,either that or when you screamed,‘Pork me,you big,strong farmer man.’God,were wereally that bad?”Andy asked,feeling a little guilty at their excesses.

“Probably,but you gotta admit,it was a lot of fun.”

Andy smiled.It certainly had been.They had still been high on their love,or lust,for each other when they told a blushing Craig and a grinning Toby that they planned to drive to Wales tomeet Luke’s family.Craig had perked up and asked if he and Toby could stay in the farmhouse while they were gone.Andy was initially reluctant,but—remembering how good Toby had been with the farrowing—agreed,once he’d checked with Tom and Paddy to see if they were free to keep an eye on things if necessary.

“I think we’d best get back in the car.I’ve got a castle to storm and a Welsh dragon or two to slay.”

Luke chuckled as he got back into the car.“The only dragon is my Auntie Gwen.But as I’m her favourite nephew,she’ll not be breathing any fire at you.”

“Glad to hear it.”Andy started the car,did a U-turn in the wide gateway,and was soon back on the main road.

“Auntie Gwen’s a scream.When she found out that I was making adult films,Mam said,she was all set to come to London to make sure no one was exploiting me or anything.”

“That’s kinda nice.”

“I suppose.But knowing Auntie Gwen,she’d have taken over the studio,giving directions to everyone.”

“Well,maybe not that nice.”

“And she’d have been giving all the directions in Welsh,too.”

Andy laughed.