  &quot;What?&quot;
  James should learn to filter himself better. &quot;Ugh, I m dating someone at the moment.&quot;
  His mother appeared rather bewildered for a brief moment while she removed the lid off the earthenware pot before grabbing a spoon for James from one of the drawers and occupying the chair next to him. &quot;Oh! Are you referring to that blue-eyed redhead? What s his name again? Joe? Josh?&quot;
  &quot;Joshua Wallace, Mom.&quot;
  &quot;Oh, right. That sounds wonderful. How many dates have you had?&quot;
  James blushed as he slurped on the delicious chicken herbal soup. &quot;One official date, but we met each other many times prior to that in a professional capacity.&quot;
  Lydia nodded, obviously excited. &quot;When are you two going to get married?&quot;
  James almost choked on the soup in shock. &quot;Mom! One date! It s too soon.&quot;
  Lydia scoffed. &quot;Fe

  &quot;You take care, James, and remember to ask Joshua to attend your father s birthday party.&quot;
  &quot;Okay, I will. On both counts. I can t guarantee Josh will be able to make it, though.&quot;
  &quot;It s all right. Just check with him.&quot;
  &quot;Of course.&quot;
  James accompanied his mother out to her car and waited for her to drive away before heading back into his kitchen and continuing with his tasks. He had many things to do, and he would have to deal with them as quickly as possible if he didn t want to be late for his dinner date with Joshua later. They had made the plan earlier that morning before Joshua had to go back to his apartment and change his clothes for work. The more he thought about Joshua, the more excited he got. Maybe this would turn out to be the relationship he had been wishing for. As nervous as he felt about introducing Joshua to his family, he 

  He hated those silly names, but he was also amused by them. Damn James and his perceptive nature. After a few seconds, Joshua lost the battle. He buried his face against James s chest and snorted once or twice before letting loose. James embraced him tightly as the two of them proceeded to laugh loudly. He had no idea how long it lasted, but he felt fantastic afterward. This was what sex and intimacy were supposed to be like. There was no pressure on either of them. They didn t have that awkwardness between them after their orgasms. They didn t feel the need to put their clothes on in a hurry and say goodbye.
  Instead, they continued to have fun with each other after the sex was over. Even when they had calmed down, they simply beamed at each other as they continued to cuddle. Then Joshua wrapped his hand and leg over James s body as he scooted even closer to his lover before shutting

&quot;What?&quot;
  James should learn to filter himself better. &quot;Ugh, I m dating someone at the moment.&quot;
  His mother appeared rather bewildered for a brief moment while she removed the lid off the earthenware pot before grabbing a spoon for James from one of the drawers and occupying the chair next to him. &quot;Oh! Are you referring to that blue-eyed redhead? What s his name again? Joe? Josh?&quot;
  &quot;Joshua Wallace, Mom.&quot;
  &quot;Oh, right. That sounds wonderful. How many dates have you had?&quot;
  James blushed as he slurped on the delicious chicken herbal soup. &quot;One official date, but we met each other many times prior to that in a professional capacity.&quot;
  Lydia nodded, obviously excited. &quot;When are you two going to get married?&quot;
  James almost choked on the soup in shock. &quot;Mom! One date! It s too soon.&quot;
  Lydia scoffed. &quot;Feelings can be nurtured.&quot;
  &quot;Things are done differently these days.&quot;
  &quot;

Chapter 14