Thanks to the ingenious, or rather faulty error, efforts of a scientist studying fertility treatment, a gas released into the Earth's atmosphere that prompted a change in men. This allowed them the high chance to become pregnant by another's set of sperm and naturally, what was at first told be nothing big had in turn become an epidemic. This not only gave delight to certain communities, trafficking rose to an all time high which left the CDC having to begin working on a counter solution. It had come in small doses, but for someone like Herek Allves, getting the vaccination would have to wait until he was done carrying the children inside of him.
He is Twenty-Eight years of age, the male having had a professional career in Soccer, or Futbol as it was commonly known outside of the States. He even had a World Cup to his name under his country of Brazil, but he likes to think he was targeted for that exact reason. He wasn't denying the claims that he was with the company of another man that night. It had been done though when he was drinking rather too hard however and clearly when he awoke, it was a one night stand.
Herek tried to cover up the fact he preferred men, but when you start sporting a bump, most could garner that was either the case or some were finally living some fantasy of surrogacy, IVF or what have you in this day and age of 2018. Herek had to shy away from his Country for a few and even from his own team on an "extended recovery" per his Coach's orders. All in all, he was and still is brilliantly smart and as a result, he was set up with a means to work at a college in the States given his already earned background with having a Bachelor's in Media Studies and English. It made him a good fit for being a Professor to most levels of teaching there and even counseling. Of course, some thought he looked a bit familiar, but never questioned it because that was just odd right? Someone like him working as a professor when he could just play professionally, right? He started in the Spring semester and now there he was, nearing the end of the Fall Semester with a bump casually portruding underneath the black dress shirt and red tie, complete with a dark green vest to match the dark brown dress pants and black shoes he wore. He was three months along with twins and as a professor, naturally he was sitting at his desk, grading Final Exams already, his grayish-blue eyes underneath a set glasses examining almost every detail of the four page tests based on Paradise Lost. Even when he was done with those four classes, he still had to look at their Final Essays too. He had his work cut out for him, but the bright side of it was the long extended Christmas break. Herek was ready to get another good look at the lovely city and even explore more parts of the nice house his Coach and the construction crew designed for him.
Mason briskly walked through the campus towards his English professors office.The chilling wind softly blew against the long coat he used to cover his lean, toned body. The 21 year old was never a the best student, but there was no way he would turn in his final essay late. This assignment was the last thing for him to turn in before his penultimate semester of college was over. Although not looking forward for college to end, Mason had never been fond of it to begin with. Classes never held his interest and he was lost on what to do when it was over. These past few months have been different though. For the first time in a while, the energetic boy felt confidence again. On top of this, he found a class he actually enjoys. Professor Allves, Herek, as he lets us call him, not only made the subject interesting, but he really connected with Mason on an empathetic level which made him easy to talk to. Mason often frequented the professor’s office hours for career and life advice, two fairly important things Mason seemed to be clueless about. The listless student was still lost on the matter, but talking to young professor helped. What helped even more was that young professor was extremely attractive to look at. Mason used to try to block these thoughts, but over the summer, he finally came to terms with his sexuality, coming out to most of his friends, fooling around with some others...
Mason walked straight into the office of Professor Allves; knocking was never a formality they indulged in. The handsome professor rose to greet his student, a polite and respectful gesture that Mason had always admired about him. As he stood there, Mason noticed the slight bulge in the professor’s midsection. Mason had heard the rumors that the man had gotten knocked up, but made sure never to spread them himself. Discretion was always a strength of his. The virus had been in the news long enough that a pregnant man wasn’t a crazy notion, but it was still a little taboo, especially back in Mason’s small conservative hometown. We all know how men get pregnant and Mason was well aware of what his old church thought about that matter. Obviously Mason hadn’t told his hometown about his own sexuality, and was most certainly not looking forward to returning over winter break.
While taking in the presence of the masculine, most likely pregnant man, Mason felt a bulge of his own down under. He had always found pregnancy attractive, and Herek was certainly no exception. He will certainly make a great father one day, but Herek has never talked about a partner? Mason quickly became self aware and started running his hands through his wind-blown dirty blonde hair, a habit he gets when he’s nervous. He stuttered a second, but quickly caught himself and stated why he was there.
“Prof...professor… Herek! I hope your day’s been well. I just wanted to drop off my final essay. I know we could’ve turned it in online, but, well, I just thought I’d stop by to wish you a good break.”
Herek was casually marking a few errors here and there on the students who went his preferred way of handing in the typed essay over doing it on that site known as Blackboard. Here, he could find the mistakes rather easily as opposed to trying to let a computer do it because half the time, it insisted properly spelled words were misspelled and thus, it made points deduct as a result. That meant more work for him during the break and given students wanted to see their results almost right away, Herek really had a small timeframe to push the grades out by Tuesday and today on the final day of school for the semester was Friday. Four days in total, essentially. As he sighed however, a knock came to his door. That distracted him and so, he got up, walking to open it where on other side, stood one of his students: Mason.
"Mason, come in," he announced when seeing the male. He was seemingly choking up in nervousness a bit about seeing Herek, but all in all, the Brazilian male was a slightly youthful figure who all in all, wasn't exactly keen on acting like an adult..mostly. "I actually prefer the paper, really. The computers usually get things wrong."
Herek could be strict when he wanted to and more often than not, he only did so with the unruly students. Mason wasn't quite that, but he did struggle here and there with some of his papers and tests. Being a good student went a long way however and Herek was more than likely willing to curve his grade from a C to a B.
"I'll read over yours now and pick some of the issues for you to fix. You are still having trouble heading home right away, right?"
Mason would usually come to him about some his problems and the slightly younger male had expressed issues before in the past about how his hometown was overly strict on certain ideas and beliefs. Herek could believe that because to be frank, his home down in Curitiba was just like that.
"Thanks for the wishes though," he continued. "It's actually going to be my first time celebrating the Christmas holidays up here alone. Did you have any plans yourself? I know most like to head back home and spend time with their family before coming back for the Spring Semester."
Wait, why was Mason so fixated on this? He struggled to pull himself together; he was in a very professional conversation after all, not to mention someone he looked up to… but god is he sexy standing there...STOP IT MASON.
“Thanks for asking; to be honest, I have still been pretty apprehensive about going back home. There is nothing there for me, and I feel like my identity belongs somewhere else… I just haven’t quite figured out where that it yet.”
Did that even make sense? Mason tried so hard to maintain eye contact, but his eyes kept lowering to the professor’s midriff. Maybe it was the professor’s exuding youth and sexuality, maybe it was fertile glow everyone talks about, or maybe it’s just the exoticness of the situation. Mason had never seen a pregnant man up close before; the curiosity alone was killing him. What would that feel like? No matter what it was, Mason couldn’t help his newfound attraction toward the slightly more mature gentleman.
“So you’re spending Christmas alone up here? I’m sure you’ll enjoy yourself. It gets quite beautiful in the winter.”
What a creepy thing to focus on, Mason thought, sure of himself that he crossed a line or made an inappropriate remark. Mason’s mind, among other things, was racing. He was so embarrassed by the situation, obviously flustered by his inability to control his emotions. Mason was never the best at interacting with authority figures, but this was different. He felt like he was rambling, desperately trying to hold on to just one coherent idea to maintain casual conversation.
Herek hadn’t thought much of Mason, to be fair. It wasn’t as if he saw it to be something forbidden, rather he did have a lot on his mind that usually kept him otherwise busy. There was the schoolwork, his actual life he had to cover up for a few which also meant having to stay away from the matter a few months after what his actual concern was: having children. It was a shame he had to stay away, but like most Hispanic and Latin cultures, Brazil prioritized community and family and while he had his own personal problems with coming to terms with his own set of issues, he couldn’t exactly say he had issues with his own family. Respect, if nothing more and as a result, he took the lesser of two evils and left for the time being for extensive rehab from an “injury.”
“Identity is often something important in a person’s life,” he explained. “Most can find themselves trapped by what their family wants and ultimately ends up regretting it.”
He had to inquire naturally however. Mason knew of the Winters here when as short as Herek’s tenure been, that of which hardly equated to a year of being there, he had always known the male to talk of heading back home for long breaks such as this. Maybe something changed Mason’s mind during Thanksgiving or so.
“I’ll have to look into it, Winter that is. The Winters back home in Brasil aren’t exactly like they are here. We get rain and slightly chilly temperatures. It’s a good thing these little kids have given me a high craving for bananas else I might have been much colder than imagined.”
It still didn’t take away the alien feeling he was having however. Herek could feel where his muscles were and then he could feel where the children were growing right in front of them, almost like a set of weights whenever he would exercise, in a way. Just like weights, they were getting heavier in a certain spot on his body, which naturally was making him rather slow.
“Have you considered taking the time to collectively reflect whether you want to travel back or take some time out for yourself? I’m sure the family would appreciate you returning, but sometimes you do have to think about what comes first: Yourself or them.”
True words. Herek could have gotten an abortion and spared himself the trouble, but he didn’t and now there he was. Should anyone ask, the way he planned things, he just thought to get surrogacy with a partner, like Cristiano Ronaldo.
“What about friends? Surely they stay in apartments near the campus or so?”
There’s that level headedness Mason remembered. Herek had a way with words that could lessen the tension the student always seemed to have. This is why Mason started visiting the professor in the first place, and exactly why he came today. The stress was killing him more than he knew, about facing home. All his friends were long gone for the holiday and there was no one he could talk to about it.
Until now.
“You know, you’re completely right. I really should take some time to myself, and this would be the perfect time to do it. Unfortunately, my friends have all taken off and my residence closes over break.” Mason lamented this policy.
“To think the difference between some peace and a very prying family is a bed. I am sure it’ll be fine though.” Mason was relieved to be talking to the attentive professor about his troubles, but he didn’t want to end such a great semester on a negative note. The student’s problems shouldn’t be this man’s burden.
“I’m sure that must be an adjustment, moving all of the way from Brasil.” Mason was not well-traveled, but he had always been filled with curiosity and wanderlust. “It must be gorgeous in Brasil; I’d hope to make it there someday. At the end of the day, though, there’s nothing I find more beautiful than a fresh coat of snow.”
In quick succession, Mason added, “Congratulations, by the way,” gesturing kindly towards the professor’s toned, but slightly noticeable new curve. Mason may have calmed himself down, but he is still well aware of that small word: kids. That must have been one hell of a night, he thought, wondering just how many kids this devilishly handsome man’s got in there.
(This post was last modified: 07-13-2018, 09:43 PM by Klayko.)
Herek was glad to see Mason considered that.
“That’s great to hear,” he said slightly relieved. “We often Get preoccupied with what others want and the demands we ourselves need that we forget to just breathe and focus.”
Still, Herek had to inquire: What was Mason going to do if all his friends were gone for the holidays? Herek didn’t have it in good conscience to know the male was most likely going to wander around out in the cold among other things. And staying in a car certainly wasn’t good either. What if he didn’t even have the means to pay for gas among other things?
“Brasil has its ups and downs. The tourists there are by far the worst, to be honest. Still, trading a rainy winter for a chance to see the snow was more rewarding. Teaching was probably a few other benefits as I got to see diversity on a larger scale compared to being back home.”
When Mason finished the edits Herek had given him on the paper, the professor had no qualms in helping his grade go from a C to a B right away. Still, there was the glaring obvious that Herek had to ask with concern.
“Thanks,” he said in terms of Mason congratulating him on having babies. “Being single with twins is not how I exactly pictured my life, but...it happens. I do have to ask though. Where are you planning to stay for you figure things out during the break if you have to move out your dorm among other things? Seems rather risky, financially speaking.”
A grade bump is always nice to see, but the conversation was still leaving Mason a bit defeated. The idea of staying here was a little exciting not to mention extremely relieving, but the idea was worthless. After all, he had nowhere to go.
“This plan sounds great professor, and I’m glad you talked me through it, but I don’t have anywhere to stay. There’s really no alternative for me but to go home.”
Mason was always fairly easygoing, and reminded himself that it wouldn’t be terrible. His hometown may not be his home anymore, but he can suck it up for a few weeks. And did he really want to be entirely alone for Christmas? Well, he could always spend it with the professor, Mason jokingly remarked to himself.
“Well, thank you for talking, I hope I haven’t taken up to much of your time. I always really enjoy our conversations.”
Herek was one amazing man: a single father, carrying twins, in a foreign country he just started teaching in. He sure does have a lot going on, yet will push it all aside for the wellbeing of a student. Mason had a big heart of his own, and it bothered him he couldn’t help Herek more. Their professor student relationship was always filled with empathy, and Mason only wish he could help carry the burden Herek was enduring alone.
Mason rose and slowly started making his way to the door. “I hope you enjoy your break professor. And best wishes, on the pregnancy. I know it’s not easy, but I can’t imagine how exciting it must be to carry a life inside you, better yet two.”
Mason might have normally considered that too personal to say to a professor, but he didn’t care anymore. There was a different kind of connection here, and after all, who knows when the next time Mason would see him. They didn’t have class together anymore and Mason was uncertain what that would mean for them going forward.
In many ways, Herek could sympathize. Perhaps Mason was at a point in his life where he was finding himself at a crossroads. To be fair, when thinking back on his own wild ride that night, Herek knew he was clear enough to think and in that instance, he just wanted to feel like everything in his head was normal and to be honest, it was. His own method of freedom came with the price in the form of a virus however. Mason, for some odd reason though, seemed alright with what was occurring with Herek and was even in some ways, out of line in their relationship as a professor and student. They both were adults though. Herek was Twenty-Eight and Mason was Twenty-One. Dare he to inquire the blond haired male before him was actually flirting with him?
“You really haven’t,” Herek stated. “It’s been a much needed distraction to be honest, since I can’t drink some of my problems away. Not that I’m a d rink of anything. It’s just a great way to unwind from some stresses.”
As a result, Herek might have acted a bit impulsively. It could be the hormones in his system, the feeling of personal regret or maybe it was a bit of both when knowing at the end of the day, he was just a visiting professor whose real salary was coming from playing a professional sport. Either way, he stated “You know. I have a nice house in a gated community, but it’s just me and there’s about three other rooms, if you’re really looking to clear your head some.”
Mason made his intentions clear regarding his sexuality and likewise, Mason clearly knew Herek wasn’t just a man who thought getting pregnant was a means to help his wife out with fertility problems, a single man looking to have children in general or a man willing to help another family out. Despite his frame, Herek was already relatively close to Mason before he was close to leaving out the door, but he didn’t aggressively approach his now former student. Instead, he casually rested a hand on his shoulder and politely turned him around, Herek’s heart racing just a bit at having done something rather spontaneous like this. He closed the door in the fullest as a result.
“It’s a scary feeling, really,” he stated nervously. “Feeling something like this happen inside of you. Do you...mind..?”
Herek held Mason’s hand for a few, leading it over to his belly. Yes, he was allowing Mason to get a good feel of it.
“The way you worded everything,” he continued. “You’re way more interested than you let on, but you’ve been biting your tongue a bit. You...don’t have to...with me.”
The second Herek placed his firm yet gentle hand on Mason’s shoulder, the dynamic changed. Mason quickly tensed up again, but this wasn’t his normal anxiety, this was something intimate and unexpected. Did he want it? Of course. Perhaps he wasn’t as good at hiding it as he thought he was. This wasn’t in his head, right? His professor just offered a place in his home for an extended amount of time. Herek was an awfully kind person, maybe that’s all it was.
For a few seconds, Mason was terribly confused by the situation. Reading people was never his strong suit, but as Herek’s hand continued to rest on his shoulder while simultaneously closing the door, intentions were becoming more clear. Herek was obviously feeling this same intimacy. Their bodies have never been this close before. As the door shut and they were once again in complete privacy, Mason let his guard down again, knowing this was a safe space and he could truly show his emotions to Herek.
Mason stared intensely into the man’s soulful brown eyes as he became vulnerable himself, Herek sharing his feelings about the pregnancy. And that’s when it happened. Herek grabbed Mason’s hand and gently placed it on his stomach. The young man was electrified, filled with excitement and curiosity. The way Herek initiated it was inviting, keeping Mason at ease while he took part in this extremely intimate act with a man he merely saw as a mentor days before. For a second he just kept his hand there on the man’s abdomen. Even with the clothes in between he could still feel the warmth of his body and sensed the connection. Ever so slightly he began to move his hand around Herek’s belly, feeling the rivets and curves. Being so early on in the pregnancy, he could still feel part of his abs, not yet fully swallowed up by the babies and amniotic fluid. It was a magical moment, but it left Mason wanting more. He didn’t know what that meant at the moment: more intimacy, more of Herek, or maybe a belly of his own.
It was a lot for Mason to process. He was feeling so many things at once and he didn’t know what any of it meant. He had never felt like this before, entirely vulnerable, entirely intimate, entirely himself. He shifted into Herek’s arms and hugged him. The embrace was powerful, comforting. Mason was still very unsure of what just transpired over the past few minutes or how he should feel about it, much less how Herek feels about it, but during the embrace he had made up his mind. As they released, Mason softly said, “I’d love to stay with you, if you’d still have me.”
That in itself had garnered the response Herek was looking for. Mason had seemingly been completely alright with what just occurred as opposed to a lot of other situations, which might have gone hostile from the brazilian reading into things the wrong way. He was glad that he didn’t in a way because the hug Mason gave felt embracingly great. Maybe this was a chance at something more?
“Of course,” Herek chuckled. “Christmas on your lonesome has got to feel, well, lonely. I wouldn’t have a good conscience in hearing someone say they had nowhere to stay, but didn’t want to go back home for the holidays as well. I trust you’ll tell them something convincing though? I can imagine they care about you despite some differences at least.”
He pulled back a bit from Mason and glanced back at his desk full of papers.
“Why don’t you go on and get packed up and away,” he continued. “It probably shouldn’t take me too long to finish the other Essays, the printed ones anyways. After that, I can take you to the house and let you get settled in or something.”
Mason bashfully exited the professor’s office to let him finish his work. As he shut the door behind, a huge smile grew across his face. He was giddy and filled with adrenaline. Those few moments had never felt like anything else Mason’s experienced, and he loved it. He raced back home to collect his things, as well as his thoughts.
His things were already packed, expecting to go somewhere, although this new destination was quite unexpected. Thinking about his new temporary roommate, he threw in some sexy underwear. He still wasn’t completely sure where this relationship is going, if he can even call it a relationship, but nonetheless, he wanted to be prepared.
Calling his mom, he easily explained that some friends of his decided to stay at one of their cabins in the woods over break. Friends are safe, cabins are cheap, and woods meant little communication, it was the perfect excuse. Subconsciously, Mason had been thinking up excuses for weeks, so telling a story came pretty naturally. Given his record for having a flighty personality, his trusting mother didn’t seem to think anything of it. The conversation was brief and ended with the typical “Love you” parents and kids exchange when ending a phone call. For a moment, those words caught Mason, wondering if she would still love him if she ever knew the truth about him, but it quickly passed as he remembered who he was spending his break with.
After the call, Mason collected his things and headed back to the generous man’s office.
Herek noticed how rather shyful Mason seemed when he informed the younger male that he was content to let him stay with him during the holidays and that would be quite some time. There was this week, Christmas, New Years and even a weeks before school officially started back up. That was close to a month at most. Herek didn’t mind though. He would have been a bit lonely otherwise, even though his neighbor offered him to come for Christmas to celebrate. That was just one day though. What was he going to do the rest of the days when knowing that he really couldn’t enjoy himself as much because of the twins otherwise halting his collective process? At least with Mason, he could spend some time with the male a bit.
Of course, he had a phone call to square away himself. It was the usual one to his family. While they recognized him as a man because to be honest, he played professionally, Herek did like to check in on them all the same, especially since he would have to miss the holidays with them as he lived a secret life. When that was cleared up, he went back to the essays and casually marked grades on them left and right. That was not to say he did it in a rushing manner. It was rather, he had already marked them originally and so he already knew what he was looking for. None of his students failed because his curriculum was easy to follow if they understood the method to his madness. That meant those who truly weren’t paying attention had dropped the class well before midterms. As he finished up, a knock came to the door which prompted a smile. Herek stored his laptop and other materials in the messenger bag he had and casually walked out the door to greet Mason on the other side. Naturally, this feeling made him feel a bit giddy as he locked the door.
“Ready,” he inquired, though it was rhetorical because if Mason wasn’t, he would not have been there to knock. As a result, Herek led them both out towards the parking lot, before saying “Just follow my car. It’s not too far from the campus, but it can be passed up if one isn’t looking.”
That being said, he unlocked the door to the blue mustang he was driving. He was young and clinging to what youth he could have, which meant a nice car like this. It might have also eluded to Mason that Herek clearly had some form of money on him that a Visiting Professor is salary could hardly cut. He eased himself inside however, the struggle probably bound to occur in the later months than it was now, and cranked the car up. When he was certain that Mason was tagging along in his own car, Herek led them off campus.
The Winter’s were lovely indeed. Snow covered much of the forest along the highway. Being true to his word, there was an road to take when getting off the exit that led into some of the forest itself where a gated community rested. As long as the password was known, which Herek would tell Mason later, getting in and out was rather easy. He pressed the key in at the gate and the large door rolled open for both him and Mason to drive past. After that, Herek turned down a corner and there before a rather lovely house, they arrived.
“Welcome home,” Herek stated when Mason got out his own car, it clearly being a joke as he chuckled. “For the holidays, at least.”
Mason had to admit he was a little shocked to see Herek hop into a Mustang. Well, maybe hop isn’t the right phrasing. The babies were already started to have an effect on his movement. It sure will be fun to watch in the later months. Mason sure didn’t associate Mustangs with professionalism, but one thing it did show him, Herek knew how to have a good time. 28 certainly wasn’t an old age, but Herek had this complex combination of maturity and youth. He was in his absolute prime and Mason saw no end to it in sight.
Mason hopped into his used Chevy and started to follow the shining blue car in front of him. Mason came from a modest middle class household. He was impressed by wealth and enjoyed what came with it, having grown up with a few of the local rich kids, but it was never a strong desire for him to obtain.
Herek’s house was further out that Mason expected. Most professor’s live generally close to campus, out of accessibility and convenience. This part of town was much more spacious, and up scale. How could he afford a place out here, Mason thought to himself. For the first time he wondered what the young professor did before he started working here; there was no way his current job is paying for this. Herek didn’t talk a ton about his life before he came here. Then again, Mason never really asked.
As they exited their cars and made their way for the door, Mason took in the view and examined the other houses. These were some very nice homes, he became anxious and excited to see the inside of Herek’s
As Herek welcomed him into the not so humble abode, Mason was floored. This wasn’t just staying at someone’s house, this was basically a resort. Mason walked around the room taking in the space, carrying a huge smile. “This is incredible, you LIVE here.” Not only was the space nice, but Mason also hadn’t been in a real house in months. College has made him very accustomed to living in dingy closet-sized rooms and surviving on microwave meals. In this place, with THIS company (Mason shifted his view to Herek’s ass when he wasn’t looking), he knew this would be one fun break.
Clearly, Mason was taken aback by a few things. Herek didn’t seem to think much of it or otherwise notice until it dawned on him his salary as a visiting professor was adequately modest.
“My family paid for it,” he explained, though that was a lie, essentially. “I guess they wanted to be positive I was somewhere nice, safe and secure, but yes. I live here. This is but the first floor though. I’ll show you to your room where you can perhaps get a bit settled in.”
Herek tossed his black suit coat off on the couch as he motioned for Mason to follow him. Normally, he could walk up the stairs quite normal, but he had to grip the handle. Fortunately, said stairs were quite spacious and otherwise short, so Herek wouldn’t have gotten short of breath from partial exhaustion by going up twelve steps. Most likely though, Mason got a better look at his rear hidden underneath the pants.
They were greeted to a rather cozy looking second floor, which in itself was a hallway, a bathroom in the center, a bedroom on the far side and another right there by the steps they climbed up. It came as no surprise that Herek opened the door right beside the steps and announced “Here you are.”
Mason was greeted to a room decked out in a rather oceanic theme, but it was subtle as not to make anyone gag in annoyance. Even his bed was King sized.
“There’s a closet over there and another door that connects you to the bathroom itself,” he continued. “I’m going to let you get settled in and get out of some of these clothes myself. Need to get started on dinner shortly.”
As Herek exited the room, Mason thanked him again for letting him stay. Surely this will not be the last time Mason thanks the very generous professor. As Herek shut the door, Mason dropped his suitcase, took a deep breath, and collapsed onto the bed. Mason recalled all the events that occured up until this moment. Today’s events weren’t physically demanding, yet the high energy man was exhausted. Social situations weighed on the 21 year old far more than physical labor, and mixing in all of emotional confusion he’s felt in the past few hours was enough to knock him out.
After taking a moment to rest, Mason got back up on his feet. He decided he would shower and put on a change of clothes to look a little nicer for their first dinner together. At the very least it was the respectful thing to do. He stripped out of his casual winter wear and stepped into the shower. The bathroom was no less grand than the rest of the house, and Mason just stood there naked under the running water feeling himself relax in the luxuriousness of it all. Letting the water drip down his face, he stared at his bare stomach, his pale white skin and subtle pack of abs. They were nothing super impressive, as Mason was no gym rat, but he still took pride in his figure. He gently put his hands on his stomach and imagined what it would be like to have a swollen belly of his own, unable to see his feet (much less his other important body part) because of the child inside him. When news about the virus first started spreading, of course Mason thought about what it would be like, but it was different then. After meeting a pregnant man, feeling the child within him, it suddenly felt more real. Mason was still confused, it wasn’t so much he wanted a child, he wanted to know what it felt like. Curiosity was always getting him into trouble, but was it wrong to want to know?
Once he finished pondering and actually cleaned himself up, Mason stepped out of the shower and put on some new clothes. He reasoned with himself to include the sexy pair of underwear under his new outfit. Worst case, he thought, the attractive professor will know nothing of it, and they will have a very relaxing casual dinner between student and mentor, but there was still always the possibility of something better happening. Styling his hair back into its normal slightly tousled look, Mason headed towards the kitchen to help with the dinner.
He had a good mindset in store for what he would have for the night. With the addition of Mason, his plans hadn’t changed in the slightest. Herek surveyed over his contents which consisted of a lot of spinach, garlic that was well minced earlier on (His own doing as he wanted it to sit and have its essence be drawn out otherwise); it was just the question on if asides from the bacon and chicken if he wanted to take this into a pizza kind of night or pasta. He had the whipping cream of which to make his own sauce, after all. Knowing his odd appetites, the random idea of doing both was highly appealing to him.
”Try not to weird him out, alright,” he mentally told himself. When Mason had finally arrived down the stairs, Herek was well into preparing pasta after all. What did he decide to do about the idea with crust? Well, he had some blueberries and Google was his friend more often than not when it came to trying out new recipes. Desert was being nicely prepared in the oven.
“I’d be a terrible host if I decided to let us order in on the first night,” he chuckled. “Dinner is probably going to be ready in the next half hour. Do you know your way around the kitchen?”
He glanced back to smile at Mason, but his eyes caught a reflection of the college senior’s rear by the glass on the cabinet’s door. It wasn’t like Mason was fully exposing himself. It was just the fact his shirt had rode up a bit and his pants had been slightly off, revealing just a little of his rear where Herek could not only just see some of the crack itself, but noticed some rather interesting pair of briefs Mason chose to wear.
He shrugged the idea off for a few, glancing at the dining room.
“I’m usually not the kind of man to care about setting tables,” he admitted. “Family never found a reason to, at least on one of those grand gesture manners. Mother is a renown Chef in Brasil, so it rubbed off on me a bit. Anywho, I can’t partake in the wine avenue tonight, but she sent some from her vineyard. Would you want any?”
As Mason walked into kitchen, he could already smell the delightful variety of foods that were in preparation, from the strong spices of whatever pasta Herek was creating to the the faint scent of berries coming from the oven. Herek was well on his way in meal preparation. The man was obviously very competent in the culinary arts. At least, it appears that way when the most complicated cooking appliance Mason had used since college was a microwave oven. He looked good, moving around the kitchen with ease. Competence was an always an attractive quality for Mason, and in the kitchen, that came with perks of its own. Mason watched as the professor chopped away, thick muscular arms exposed to not get his shirt dirty. He looked like a classic chef, apron tied around his waist, with a little extra belly poking out. Except that belly didn’t come from trying his own food too often, Mason joked to himself.
“Everything smells wonderful. I’m not the most experienced in the kitchen, but I’d love to help. It’s the least I could do. I used to enjoy helping my mom in the kitchen, so I’m sure I won’t be totally useless.” He rolled up his sleeves and smiled, “How can I help?”
As he entered further into the kitchen approaching the busy chef, Mason subtly fixed his shirt and the waist of his pants, trying to tidy up his look. He must have rushed getting ready in the excitement and already looked a little disheveled.
“I’d love a glass,” Mason said as he poured himself some wine from the foreign bottle. He swished the deep red liquid in his glass, sniffed it a little, then took a sip. In all reality, Mason had no clue what he was doing. He didn’t even like the taste of wine, but he always enjoyed drinking it because it made him feel fancy, even when that wine was coming out of a box from the local liquor store. The self conscious side of Mason kicked in and hoped Herek would not detect his lack of sophistication.
“How is your family doing? Moving this far must not have been easy for them either.”
Herek was more than willing to let Mason help him out in any form. After all, they both would be eating the same thing.
“I have to dump all of this,” he said when motioning towards the hot mix of Alfredo, Spinach, Chicken, crushed bacon, parsley, mushrooms and minced garlic. “Inside of this other pot while its nice and hot, else it won’t go over so well. I normally wouldn’t mind doing it on my own, but then I gave it some heavy thought.”
When he said heavy, he pointed towards his belly and chuckled. He was asking Mason as a result to pour the hot concoction inside as a result and Herek would stir it together. He smiled at Mason referring to a bit of uselessness in the kitchen. He retorted with “Well, stick around me kiddo. I’m sure I can rub off on you.”
Herek was only older than him by seven years, but it was a playful tease with just a little hint of seriousness. He really didn’t mind showing Mason around the kitchen or two. After all, he did joke around with those who stayed in dorms before, saying that noodles certainly wasn’t a way to get around. Herek continued stirring and only turned to point Mason in the direction of where the wine was at. Once more, he saw them without a doubt. Mason’s underwear, that is. Mason was adjusting himself for them not to be seen as much, which made Herek smirk to himself.
“Once this is set, I’d say maybe five minutes to go before the Parmesan in it fully settles.”
With gloves, he pulled the baking desert out the oven and let it settle on the counter. Herek took his robe off, revealing a black T-Shirt, Blue Jeans without a belt and black socks. He walked towards the dining table, where he saw Mason reserve a casual dislike for wine.
“I could never get into whine myself,” he explained. “I may drink the sweeter kind of it than the dry. Doesn’t make my face cringe, but my mother likes it for some reason.”
His family was another subject Mason brought up and he nodded. “Yea, they worry, but when I first came to school here years ago, they knew I needed to go somewhere better than Brasil. Some of the living conditions there makes a shanty town in a third world country pale in comparison. Afterwards, whenever I had to travel overseas again, they gave their best regards and of course, mother sends me wine. She doesn’t know of my condition though. They’re not exactly keen on two men fooling around, as they put it and I wasn’t keen on letting these little boys inside of me get taken out by a vacuum. They’re going great otherwise though.”
Mason now knew some things of why Herek was there. He was cut off by the alarm timer going off, which made him smile and rise up from the chair.
“Dinner’s ready,” he exclaimed. Herek never once brought up if Mason knew certain sophistication or not. It never was his place to say. He wanted to see someone in the best and worst way possible, after all. That was how any relationship, from friends, family to possibly courting lovers worked. As a result, Herek only grabbed two bowls, forks and small saucers for their dinner and dessert. Herek could be rather messy himself after all. He didn’t even mind serving Mason either. Both meals were fixed before Mason had a second thought.
“How’s your family handling you not being there this holiday?”
Mason helped as he could with the meal. He smiled at the tease and enjoyed how they carried casual conversation. The way he joked about his belly, it felt like Herek was extremely comfortable talking about all aspects in his life. Mason, honestly, felt that same security talking to the professor. The more they talked, the less the age difference made Mason uncomfortable. It was never a big gap to begin with, but Mason was able to connect with Herek on all levels, even if he was more mature and experienced.
Mason knew he had been had when Herek commented on the wine, obviously unable to hide his distaste. They had been talking enough though that again, Mason wasn’t really concerned about trying to impress him anymore. They seemed comfortable with each other and Mason knew if Herek was really appalled by him, things wouldn’t have been going so smoothly.
As Herek talked about his family, Mason realized how even more similar they were. A loving, yet not necessarily approving family, secrets about relationships, everything lined up between them. Mason picked up how when mixing the pregnancy and his family, Herek talked about it more clinically. “Condition,” he called it, as if there was still a slight sense of shame in it, at least when in reference to his family. Mason was sad to think about it. Pregnancy is such a beautiful thing, why should anyone care whether it was occuring in a man or a woman? Mason knew all too well it wasn’t the pregnancy that was directly the issue.
“I can entirely relate, well you know, excluding getting pregnant. My family isn’t too keen on these kind of relationships either. I certainly never told them when I started seeing other men. Besides that, they are doing well though. I’m sure they’ll miss me a little, but they have gotten use to me not being there, and they know it’s not like I’m going back after graduating. I am so done with small towns." Mason had always longed for the city. Besides seeking inclusivity, he loved the energy and culture that came with a bustling city. Once he got to one, he never planned on looking back.
As they continued to talk, Mason didn’t even realize Herek had finished all of the preparations and before he knew it dinner was in front of him. Everything looked and smelled amazing. He thanked the kind gentleman one more time and they began to eat as their conversation continued.
"It’s entirely your prerogative, but I think it’s cool you kept them instead of taking to societal pressures. Did you ever think you would get pregnant?” Mason knew it was a pretty personal question, but Herek had already been pretty intimate in regards to the babies inside him, even letting the inquisitive boy touch his belly. He also thought maybe Herek would enjoy opening up, since this isn’t a topic he could openly talk about to many people.
