Meet Me On Thames Street

Frank felt strangely alive. More alive than he’s felt in a really long time.

For one, it’s barely noon, and he isn’t stuck behind a desk that’s cluttered with paperwork and deadlines and evaluations. For two, he doesn’t have anyone breathing down his neck, and that in itself is nothing less than a miracle. For three, he is able to breathe in the cool, crisp, salty air of one of the most beautiful harbors on the East Coast, much different than the polluted smog of Staten Island.

And lastly, which is the most important one, he is positively buzzing with excitement as he headed toward the infamous street that the mystical red-headed stranger told him to meet him at.

Thames Street was a rather popular area that held bars, restaurants, and different types of souvenir, counterculture, and mom and pop shops on one side. It lined the absolutely breathtaking harbor that was the Peconic Bay on the opposite side, with a combination of rocky and sandy white beaches, a lighthouse, and a number of different piers led out to a large body of water that has Frank absolutely mesmerized.

It’s barely mid-September, and even by the water, the weather is perfect for the hoodie that he is wearing, and right now, there is nowhere else in the world that he would rather be. He pauses to bask in the island-fresh breeze that is wisping leisurely around him; shutting his eyes briefly as he simply takes in this spectacular moment in his life, where he finally feels something that he hasn’t felt in such a long time... freedom.

“Amazing, isn’t it?”

Those words came from a sexy, silken voice to his right, and Frank was absolutely defenseless in the fight against the wide, dopey-looking grin from forming on his face.

Frank opened his eyes and turned to look in the direction of the voice, and somehow, that smile of his grew even wider as he saw the red-headed wonder named ‘Gee’ smiling right back at him.

“Oh yeah,” Frank replied, though he wasn’t at all talking about the harbor, or Thames St., or the breeze; or anything other than the gorgeous man that bought his train ticket to this little day-cation of his. “So fucking amazing,” Frank murmured, not taking his eyes off of the red-head’s milky skin, or his hazel eyes that flickered with specks of gold out in the sun. And oh, that cute little smile with those adorably small little teeth and those terribly tempting pink lips-

“I know exactly what you mean,” the red-head spoke, silencing Frank’s thoughts of how fucking perfect he appeared to be. Frank couldn’t wait to figure out who the charming stranger named Gee was; what he liked, what he didn’t like- what his real name was, because he was 97 percent positive that ‘Gee’ was not his real name. His thoughts were positively swimming with excitement as he and his new companion continued to grin at one another, before the latter of the two briefly looked away.

“I was halfway thinking that you weren’t going to come,” the red-head murmured, taking his bottom lip into his mouth, and nibbling on it a little.

Frank literally couldn’t contain his thoughts; he positively ached to be able to nibble on that bottom lip of his, nipping and teasing at Gee’s lips and skin in order to gain access to explore every inch of that gorgeous mouth and body of his.

Unsurprisingly, Frank felt a sudden pang of guilt hit him as he realized that he had been completely ogling and perving over the red-head right in front of him, and he barely knew anything about him, other than the things that he has gathered about him since their train ride here. He also noticed that the red-headed wonder was still looking down, so at the risk of ruining this perfect moment between them, Frank reached his ink-covered fingers out to gently lift Gee’s chin up so that their eyes could meet once again, and gifted him with the most alluring smile that he could possibly give.

“There was no way that I was going to leave Fire Island without seeing you again,” Frank replied softly, meaning his words entirely as he peered upon him. The tattooed hand then gently skimmed across the porcelain skin on the red-head’s face, earning a gorgeous smile for his efforts as he oh so tenderly curled those fingers to cup his cheek. “I’m just glad that you wanted to come and spend some time with me.”

Gee’s eyes danced and glittered as they remained locked with Frank’s, shuddering lightly at everything he was currently feeling. “Of course I did,” he replied gently, as he linked his fingers with Frank’s, and, after taking a moment to appreciate just how perfectly their fingers fit together, he began to lead them off down the beach.

They carried on in a comfortable silence, either man bumping ‘accidentally’ into one another as they carried on down the beach, sharing curious glances and dazzling smiles every time they would make eye contact with one another.

“Damn...” Frank breathed out, shaking his head in almost disbelief at how amazing this day was shaping up to be. Gee glanced at him curiously, urging Frank to explain what that little outburst was all about.

“When I woke up this morning I had no idea that today would turn out like it has,” Frank murmured, finding it hard to breathe with his heart fluttering so erratically within his ribcage.

“Oh?” Gee inquired, as he lifted their interlinked fingers up above them, and twirled himself within Frank’s grasp as if they were dancing. “What is it that brought you out here?”

Frank paused for a moment; absolutely gawping at how fucking adorable and magnificent this red-headed wonder nicknamed Gee was, unable to formulate words for the moment.

“I uh...” he stammered, mesmerized by the way Gee carried himself in such a carefree manner. He would give anything to be able to do the same, but even in his jeans and hoodie, he felt like he was still being strangled by his suit and tie that he had to wear to work every day. He paused for a moment then, and remembered Gee‘s question, and was brought back to this current moment here with him, fluttering so flawlessly next to him with their fingers still attached. He gained a bit of confidence back, as he finally found the ability to breathe become quite easy once again.

“I’m actually skipping out of work today,” Frank replied finally, grinning at Gee with the widest of grins. “I woke up this morning and decided that it would be a crime against nature if I wasted this gorgeous day away, sitting behind a desk for ten hours, so... I headed to the train station, and... ran into you... and...”

“...here you are,” Gee finished for him, feeling very grateful that he decided to be generous and pay for Frank’s fare for him to come out here on his ‘day off’.

Frank nodded. “Here I am.”

Gee glanced over at Frank then, gifting him with a nod of utmost approval. “I commend you for your excellent choice in judgment. You had the perfect reasoning for skipping out of work, I’m proud of you,” he replied, grinning mischievously at him. “I really fucking appreciate that you’re somewhat of a badass.”

“I’m so glad that you think so,” Frank hummed in reply, feeling a slight wave of tingles shimmy up his spine as Gee spoke those words to him. “How about you? What brings you out this way today?”

As soon as those words left Frank’s mouth, he instantly regretted ever learning how to speak the English language. As soon as Frank spoke those words, the carefree Gee that he has come to know over their brief interlude so far had completely diminished, and he felt an undeniable ache begin to spread throughout his entire being as he saw that the red-head had stopped walking, visibly shuddering as his gorgeous smile disappeared and was replaced with a look of sorrow and dare he say it; regret.

Frank felt like the worst human being on the planet as he saw Gee’s reaction to his question, and was mentally kicking himself for ruining this seemingly perfect series of moments between them so far.

“I um-” Frank began, stumbling over his words as he wracked his brain searching for the right words to say to fix this horrible turn of events. “Fuck, I’m so sorry; I shouldn’t have-”

“-No, no. It’s... it’s really okay,” Gee cut him off then, gifting him with a soft, albeit sad smile. “I’m the one that’s sorry. I mean, I asked you what brought you here. It’s only common courtesy to ask me the same thing in response, it shows that you cared enough to know a little bit about me.”

Frank nodded in reply, and tried his best to breathe, but he simply couldn’t forgive himself for already fucking up and blemishing their afternoon together.

“Hey, really,” Gee spoke softly, as he brought his fingers up to Frank’s cheek, gently cupping his skin. It was Frank’s turn to shudder, as his breathing once again hitched within his throat. “I fucking promise you, you did nothing wrong. Today’s just a bit of a tough day for me, but the hard part is over. I’m here with you now. Relax.”

Frank’s mind was whirling as Gee continued to speak, wanting to inquire about so many things, but he was so afraid to ask any more questions that may cause Gee to react negatively. He would rather be a mute for the rest of the day if it meant he wouldn’t see that look on Gee’s face ever again.

“I... fuck,” Frank tried to speak, but his nerves were making it simply impossible for him to formulate the right words. Not when Gee was looking at him like that, with that mesmerizing gaze, and certainly not when he advanced just the slightest bit closer to him. Gee’s fingers were still cupping his cheek like before, and Frank found the ability to breathe become increasingly harder to do with each passing second.

“Hey... seriously babe, you need to relax,” Gee encouraged him, as he smiled at him once again; that absolutely fucking perfect smile, the one that left Frank feeling warm and tingly inside. Frank willed himself to breathe, inhaling and exhaling slowly, as he finally allowed himself to do as Gee had instructed, and relaxed into Gee’s touch.

“There we go,” Gee replied happily, as he leaned in to press a tender kiss to the corner of Frank’s mouth; effectively rendering Frank speechless and breathless once again.

“Now come on, you’re taking me out to lunch, remember?”

Since the red-head’s previous actions caused Frank to lose the ability to speak, he simply nodded, and allowed Gee to drag them off in the direction of the nearest restaurant, hand-in-hand once again. Gee's words from earlier about today being a tough day for him wouldn't stop haunting Frank's mind, so as they emerged into a restaurant called 'The Nautical Star,' Frank began to formulate the most perfect game plan ever for their day together. He squeezed Gee's fingers tightly, grinning at him as he silently swore to make today absolutely fucking perfect for him.

Notes

All my love goes out to Falling Chemicals for her lovely comment on the first chapter. <3