Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 23:33:20 -0500 (EST) From: Kai Subject: When We've First Met - It's Only Valentine's II The following story involves graphic description of sexual encounters between two consenting adult males. Please be warned and continue no further if reading such material is unlawful in your residing province/state. Also, the reader shall be no younger than the age of majority. The names of characters and their engagements are completely fictitious and any resemblances to real life are completely coincidental. No part of this story may be reproduced in any way without written permission from the author. Also please be aware that this is a work of FICTION where STD's do NOT exist, and that the author does NOT condone unprotected sex. Also much love to my two favourite Jays for helping me to beta this baby, all remaining errors are proudly mine. Summary: Boy likes girls, then boy meets boy, now boy is confused. This is a PREQUEL to It's Only Valentine's. When We've First Me wai808@yahoo.ca I looked around the jam-packed, noisy nightclub with reservations. The music was a dance beat played at a high-speed velocity - thunderous bass and frenzied electronic notes - the spotlights flickered with an epileptic ferocity. My head began to throb to the pace of the deafening notes, and I tried not to be blinded by the bright lasers. Everywhere around us were bodies of gyrating men. There was not a female in sight; none by birth anyway. "Who's idea was this again?" I asked loud enough for my group of friends to hear. There were five of us, all lawyers looking for something different to do after a hard day at the office. Ben had won a lawsuit for this particular establishment, and the owner was so grateful he insisted that we all drop by for free drinks. He had figured why not since he's never been to a gay club before anyway. I had looked at him incredulously... I mean I've never jumped off an airplane before but that doesn't mean I'm going to sign myself up for skydiving lessons. Anyway, three of us had agreed; I didn't but got dragged along. "Hey Liam, loosen up," yelled Chris. "Why don't we go grab some beers? You three find us a seat." Grudgingly I followed my friend towards the bar and signaled to get the bartender's attention. As he ordered us our drinks, the bartender looked him over appreciatively. I looked away in disgust and found my attention focused onto the end of the bar where a man was obviously trying to escape the attentiveness of an unwanted suitor. I have no idea what prompted me to do what I did next. I was fairly certain that the other man was more then capable of taking care of things himself, but for some reasons I can't explain, a sense of gallantry hit me and I found myself walking in their direction. I heard Chris yelling at me but I kept walking until I found myself close enough to hear their conversation even in this loud environment. "Look, I'm trying to be nice here but I told you I'm not interested." The blond man sitting at the stool had his wrist caught in the grip of a man with platinum dyed hair. The blond was well built, fairly muscular and no weakling. Mr. Dye-Job, on the other hand, was a scrawny thing that was obviously trying to catch something that was well above his own league. "Oh come on baby, I'll make it worth your while. I'll make you feel so good you'll be walking around like a newly wed tomorrow." Platinum man leered and tried to bring the hand in his up to his lips for a kiss. The uncomfortable look on the other man's face was more then noticeable as he tried to subtly take his hand back. "I rather you didn't," he gritted between his teeth, hidden behind a tight, polite smile. "Hey buddy," I interrupted them, giving Platinum my best interrogative stare. "What's going on here?" "Back off man," Platinum sneered, looking me up and down. "Why don't you go mind your own business." I sighed in boredom, thinking how this would make for a really bad movie. Then I looked down at the blond and smiled at him. For a brief moment he looked shocked but then smiled back. "Hun, is this guy bothering you?" He nodded gratefully. "I told him that I wasn't interested but he just wouldn't get the idea." "I see." I reached over and took his arm, and firmly removed the grubby fingers that were wrapped around the wrist. "Listen here buddy," I said, staring down hard at Platinum. I could see that he was starting to become unsure of himself as he quickly released his hand. "I'm only going to tell you this once so pay good attention to what I have to say. Now, you're going to leave him alone and stay far, far away from us. You'd only have to imagine what I would have to do to you if I catch you near him again. Look at me and look at you. Who do you think he's going home with tonight? Do we have an understanding here?" I crossed my arms over my chest, knowing quite well that it made me appear more intimidating, and cocked my head calmly to one side. Platinum nodded dejectedly, aware that he was bested and stalked off, but not without one last look at the blond man by my side. Once I saw that he was out of view, I looked down at the guy beside me and held out my hand. "Name's Liam. You okay?" He nodded and took my hand. "Yeah, thanks a lot. I'm Daniel." "You always hang out with choice ones like that?" Daniel grimaced. "I was trying to be nice, I didn't want to be rude or anything. But I guess that's what I should have done to begin with. He just wouldn't take no for an answer." I looked around. "Are you here alone?" Daniel shook his head. "I'm actually here with a friend, believe it or not. He dragged me here to celebrate my birthday, but as it turns out he found himself a new playmate. Unfortunately for me, he's my ride here so I think it may be awhile yet until I get to leave." "You can always call a cab," I pointed out. "Liam! Why the hell did you walk off like that? Let's go already." Chris handed me two bottles of cold brew and gave Daniel a quick glance. "C'mon, they found us a table. You can bring your new friend if you like. Let's go." "You want to join us?" I asked Daniel. "No, but thanks," he declined. "I think I'll call a cab after all. Thanks a lot for earlier." I shrugged and followed Chris back to the table. "Who was that?" Chris wanted to know. "Oh, a guy was harassing him earlier and I just stepped in, that's all." I took a swig out of one of the bottles I held and wove through the sweaty crowds, paying no heed to the stares we both attracted. "Huh, that so?" Chris looked inquisitively for a moment. He grinned wickedly at me. "He's kind of cute, but not your usual type though." "Fuck you asshole," I threw at him and seated myself down at the table, Chris laughing after me. ~~~~~ I stared in a semi state of hypnosis as I watched the pen twirl between my fingers. Ryan stopped with his briefing and looked over at me when he realized that I was paying him no attention. "Hello Liam? Are you there?" He snapped his fingers in front of my face and ignored the glare I pointed his way. "What is up with you? You've been daydreaming all day. Wait, let me guess, it's that blind date that Grace set you up with last night isn't it?" If only that was true. Amy was everything a man could ask for. She was smart, funny, and sexy as hell. She was also a lawyer and I found that our conversation came easily, since most of it revolved around comparing case notes. We had a good time with dinner and drinks afterwards. But when it was time for the night to end, I had taken her home and gave her a goodnight kiss that normally should have had me wanting for more. But yet... nothing. "No, Amy's a nice girl, but not really my type. There was no spark." Around and around my pen spun on my finger. Ryan looked disappointed, but I shrugged. "Tell Grace I'm really sorry." "No way man. You're going to have to tell her. She was so sure that this would be the one. Damn, she had your wedding all planned out." Ryan was laughing at me. "And Amy's a lawyer too for God's sakes, who else would be able to put up with your legal babble?" I dropped my pen and cocked my head at him. "Shouldn't you be preparing notes or doing something else?" Ryan straddled his chair and propped his chin up with a hand. "Talk to me, my friend. Tell Uncle Ry what is going on in that deranged head of yours." "Uncle Ry needs to go leave Liam in peace and do some work." "C'mon man. Humour me. What's the problem?" I sighed, I knew that he wouldn't leave me alone until I spilled. Problem was, I wasn't able to clarify it to myself. "I don't know. Confused, I guess. I mean, Amy should be my dream girl, but I didn't feel anything for her. I had a great time with her, but I wasn't... I don't know..." I waved my hand around in hopes of plucking the right word from the air. "Wowed," I said thoughtfully. I nodded. "Yeah, I wasn't wowed." ~~~~~ As I perused through the aisles of Save-on-Foods, somewhere between 'canned vegetables' and 'dried pastas' I remembered that I needed to pick up some Vitamin C. Doing a turnabout, I walked towards the pharmacy department and went in search of the pills. As I approached, I saw a tall blond man standing there, holding a small box in each hand. His head glanced from one to the other like watching a tennis match. "Daniel?" I asked hesitantly. He turned to see who called him by name and his eyes lit up with recognition. I couldn't help but notice that his eyes were blue. "Hey, Liam right?" "You shop here too I guess?" I reached over to grab the first bottle of Vitamin C I saw. I noticed that there were two brands of antihistamines in his hands. "Need a little help there?" "I wasn't sure which one to get, they both look like they would do the same thing." "Then pick the cheaper one." He nodded and dropped the blue box into his basket. "Thanks for the help." This was followed by a moment of awkward silence as neither of us knew what else to say. "Well, nice running into you again," he finally said. "Hey, yeah. Same here. See you around," I finished lamely and walked off towards the frozen section. I frowned as I studied the selection on TV dinners. Why was my heart beating faster then normal? Why did I feel as self-conscious as an adolescent? ~~~~~ "So you up for a game after work?" Ryan passed a basketball from one hand to the other. "All the other guys are in, but we need a sixth." "Um, sure okay. What time and where?" I began to pack up for the day. "In about an hour. At the outdoor court of that school that's right by where Ben lives. I forget the name, but you know where I'm talking about right?" "Yeah yeah, I'll be there. I'll call if I'm lost." An hour later, it had turned out that I was the first person to arrive, so I took the opportunity to start stretching. As I began to warm up, I looked out to the track and saw that there was a lone runner making his laps around. His strides were long and consistent, keeping a fast but steady pace. He must have just completed his last lap as he began to slow down to a stop, bent over with his hands on his knees, gasping for breath. When he looked up, still breathing hard, he must have sensed that he was being watched and turned to my direction. I could see his eyes widened, as mine must have, as I recognized him as Daniel. Daniel picked up a small towel and a water bottle that was lying on the grass and started to jog lightly to where I was standing. A caged fence separated us and he leaned a hand against it, still breathing hard. He was wearing a simple black tee and grey Russell shorts. I tried not to stare too intently at the long lean legs that were showing. "Liam, we seem to be always running into each other. How are you?" "Pretty good, just meeting a group of guys out here to play a game. This is actually my first time playing here. And yourself?" "Oh, I always run here around this time. I actually work here," he nodded towards the school. "I come out after I'm done for the day before heading home." "You teach?" He nodded again. "Grade 8 English. Look, I don't want to seem presumptuous, but I wanted to thank you for that night at the club. I was wondering if you'd be interested in having a coffee with me? Or maybe even dinner or something?" He smiled hopefully and my heart fluttered for reasons unknown to me. "Hey listen, Daniel. I'm really flattered and everything, but I'm not gay. Don't take this the wrong way but I'm straighter then an arrow and I love women." I frowned as he looked hurt and I felt guilty. "Oh? Then what were you doing in a gay club?" he asked confused. "The owner was a client of ours. We were there by personal invitation." He reddened with embarrassment. "I'm s.sorry. I just assumed." Daniel looked behind me and I turned around to see that Ben and Chris were just arriving. "I gotta go now. It was nice talking to you Liam." He turned abruptly and began to jog back towards the school. I wanted to call him back, but didn't know what I would have said to him so I said nothing and just turned to greet my friends. ~~~~~ I sank down onto the cement ground and leaned my head against the wire fence, groaning. I clutched the side of my abdomen gingerly as it throbbed. "You asshole, this is basketball, not contact football," I growled at Ryan. He grinned apologetically and shrugged. "Sorry buddy, but you shouldn't have been so close behind me." "Damn bony elbow," I groaned. "Hey, maybe it's time we called it quits anyway. It's getting pretty dark and cold now. You guys want to grab some drinks?" Chris bent over to grab the wayward ball and pulled a sweatshirt on. "No, you guys go ahead. I think I'm going to rest for a while. I'll see you guys tomorrow," I said to them. Ryan wiped his face with a small towel and dropped to the ground beside me. "I'm with Liam." We waved at the other four and watched as they drove off. "So what's going on?" he finally asked when the others drove off. "What do you mean?" I asked. "Your head wasn't in the game. I can tell that you had something else on your mind. Otherwise you would have been able to avoid my elbow. So what's going on?" "I don't know Ryan," I told him honestly. For the past hour I had found myself thinking about Daniel. I felt guilty for disappointing him, and for some reason, annoyed that I hadn't accepted his invitation. I was also confused with myself at the way I had tried to avoid admiring his body and looks. "There was this guy that I met when we were in that club, you know about two weeks ago? Anyway, I've run into him a couple of times since then, just random occurrences. We never have much to talk about, just 'hi' and 'how are you' kind of stuff." I looked over to see if Ryan was laughing at me but he was listening intently to everything I was saying. "Well anyway, today before you guys showed up I ran into him again. It turns out that he works here and he was just finishing up some laps on the track when I had arrived. He asked me out to dinner and I declined and told him that I wasn't gay." I paused as I thought about this. "And?" Ryan prodded when there was a minute of silence. "And? I don't know. That's what I've been wondering. It should be end of story right? But it's not. I keep thinking about what I said and how he looked when I said it. I think I wanted to say yes to his offer," it had slowly dawned on me. "Um, but you're not gay remember? You're straight." "I know I am. But for some reason I find him oddly... attractive?" I said hesitantly, trying to gauge his reaction. Ryan looked at me confused. "So... you're gay then?" he asked me in equal hesitation. "No, I'm not," I said firmly. My friend cocked his head slightly to one side and stared up into the clear evening sky as if contemplating. "You're not gay, but you find him attractive?" "Yeah?" "Alright, let's try this again..." "Dammit Ryan. I'm not gay, I don't like men." "So he's not really a man?" Ryan asked, frowning. "No, he's just... Daniel," I finally answered. Ryan thought about this some more. "Well, Liam. I'm not even going to pretend I understand what it is you're trying to say. Think about it some more and once you've figured out what it is fill me in on it alright?" He grinned and slapped me on the shoulder, using me as a brace to get to his feet and waved to me as he headed towards his car. I was left alone with my thoughts. ~~~~~ It was a Friday night and I was bored with nothing to do. I drove around the city aimlessly and soon found myself downtown. On impulse, I found parking and walked towards the club where I had first met Daniel. A part of me hoped that Daniel would be there, however slim the chance, but another part of me hoped that he wasn't so that I wouldn't have to confront him. The hulky bouncer smiled and winked at me as he let me in. I smiled tightly and promptly headed towards the bar for a drink as soon I stepped inside. I must have emitted an air of hostility as I noticed that there were more then a few appreciative looks thrown my way, yet no one dare ventured to come near me. I took a good look around with a sense of indifference. I studied the faces around me, looking for someone tall and blond. Someone caught my eye and my heart beat faster as I recognized him to be Daniel. I frowned as I began to make my way towards him, as I also recognized the Platinum blond freak that had Daniel pinned against the wall. Once I was close enough, I realized that Daniel wasn't resisting, and was actually giggling when Platinum whispered something into his ear. A stray hand reached back to cup Daniel's ass and I felt a twinge of jealously and rage. "I see that you've finally come to your senses and dumped that dumb brawny boyfriend of yours, eh sweetheart? Decided that you wanted a piece of Joey after all isn't that right? Damn, your ass feels so tight, I can't wait till I bury myself deep into you." "Liam? He's not my boyfriend," Daniel giggled. It was obvious that he was drunk and totally out of it. "He doesn't even like me," he said mournfully, his head swaying drunkenly side to side. "Sweet thing, I'll make you feel so good that you won't even remember who Liam is," Joey promised. I felt myself seething as I caught the end of this conversation. Joey was about to learn a thing about forgetting things. I reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, pulling him roughly away from Daniel. "Joey is it?" I asked condescendingly. "Speaking about not remembering things, you seem to have forgotten that I told you to leave him alone." Joey sneered at me. "Take a hike asshole, he doesn't want you. You're not going to scare me this time; you're not even his boyfriend. But don't worry, I don't mind other people's leftovers, I'll still treat him real good," Joey laughed. "Leftovers?" I asked calmly, trying hard not to tear him apart right there and then. "C'mon man, just look at him," I glanced a concerned eye over at Daniel and was dismayed to find him smiling prettily at the geek by my side, a glazed and unfocused look in those blue eyes. "If it wasn't for the fact that we're in a public place, he'd be on his back with his legs up in the air by now. Don't tell me you haven't enjoyed a piece of that," Platinum snorted. To this, I did lose my cool and punched him hard in the nose. People around us stopped to stare, keeping out of the way as Joey staggered around, a hand holding his bleeding nose. "Are you fucking out of your mind?" he screamed at me. "I should call the fucking cops on you." "Go ahead," I shrugged my shoulders. "You're going to wish you did if I ever catch you talking about him like that again," I spat at him as I reached out to grab Daniel by the arm. I pulled him roughly towards the bathroom, ignoring his half-hearted protests, and pushed him into an empty stall. He tried to focus his eyes on me and smiled delightfully when he recognized who it was. "I know you. You're Liam," he said cheerfully. "That's great, Daniel," I said as I tried to hold his head up straight. "You want to tell me what you were doing with that ass again?" A frown developed between his eyebrows as he thought. "I was just drinking. Some nice people bought me some," he perked up. "Then he came and took me away. His name's Joey," he said seriously. I nodded impatiently for him to finish his story. "He's okay. But I like you better," he smiled. "That's good to know," I said dryly. "Are you going to kiss me?" he asked. "No." "Oh," he looked disappointed. "That's too bad, cuz I'm going to kiss you." Before I had a chance to reply, he had touched his lips, albeit clumsily, to mine and had his tongue in my mouth. I felt my body stiffen at first, but then I held nothing back as I melted into the kiss and found that I was easily able to kiss this man back while enjoying it. My arms went to wrap around his waist and pulled his body roughly against mine. I heard him moaning as I intensified the kiss and rubbed my growing erection against his. He started to play with the buttons on my shirt and I stopped his eager hands. "Wait, not here. I'm not about to have sex in a bathroom stall." "You don't like me do you?" he asked plaintively all the sudden, his blue eyes looking less dazed and more sorrowful. Regretfully, I shook my head at him. "I've already told you, Daniel. I'm not a fag." "But you would still fuck me?" "Yes." Daniel blinked and nodded. "Alright," he accepted. "We'll go back to your place." I rushed him out of there before either of us would have the chance to change our minds. After I had Daniel settled into the passenger seat, I hurried into the driver's and drove us back to my apartment building. The drive there was in silence and I could feel the nervous energy just pouring off of the other man. I glanced over once I had parked. "We don't have to do this you know," I told him. He nodded and got out of the car. Daniel was stumbling a bit so I went to help keep him steady. I wrapped an arm firmly around his waist and brought one of his around my shoulders. Slowly we made our way into my suite and it wasn't long until I had him in my bedroom. We both began to strip in silence. Daniel finished first and he lay back onto the bed, staring up at me as I continued to undress. He eyes were dilated and regarded my naked body with hunger and lust. I did a little staring of my own and let my gaze travel up those long, long legs, the flat abdomen, and the smooth chest. His hard cock stirred erect in the air, the circumcised head weeping and just aching for attention. I wasn't anywhere near ready to touch it with my mouth yet, but I was content to crawl over the other man so that my own aching erection rubbed over his. My toes curled at the sensation and I eagerly rubbed our organs back and forth against each other. I went in to kiss Daniel, but he moved his head and began to kiss along my neck. Although this was my first time with another man, I seemed to know what I was doing. Instinctively I was able to touch Daniel in the right places, and I knew because of the soft sounds he was making, and everywhere he touched me blew my mind. I had myself settled between his legs by now and I suddenly had the strong urge to know what it would be like to be buried inside of Daniel. I began to nudge the end of my dick against the small entrance of his ass and he stopped his kissing along my collarbone to look at me questioningly. It dawned on him what I wanted and he nodded his consent. I reached into the nightstand and took out a condom. I placed the end of my dick up against the entrance to his ass and was about to push, when he frantically placed a hand on my chest, urging me away. "What is it?" I instantly froze. "Lube," he hissed. Realization hit me that I had almost dry fucked Daniel. Clumsily I looked around the room for some sort of lubricant, and found some old sunscreen sitting on my dresser. Quickly I grabbed it, squeezed some onto my fingers, and gingerly applied it to the puckered skin. He flinched and I realized too late that I should have warmed the cream up first. "Sorry," I mumbled as I gently breached him with a finger, lubing up the inside anal muscles. Daniel began to relax and his legs spread further apart to allow me greater access. I pulled my finger out and, after a last minute decision, coated the outside of the condom with more of the sunscreen. Carefully, I aimed my cock against his opening and waited for him to signal his readiness. He did so by wrapping his legs around me, pulling me close enough so that my cock-head began to breach him. I quickly pushed the entirety of my cock into him; my head exploding at how hot and tight he was. Daniel gasped sharply in pain and I knew that I should have gone slower. "Are you okay?" I asked concerned. He nodded, teeth biting into his lower lip. "I'm fine, just surprised. It's been awhile," he admitted softly. I cursed at my brutal entry and tried to make up by kissing him. Again, he turned his head away, wrapping his arms around my shoulder and threading his fingers into my hair so that I was breathing into the crook of his shoulder. "Just fuck me," he begged. I did as I was told, pushing my dick in and out of his body. I was stunned by how amazing it felt. And I thought to myself, I think I can easily get used to this. At first I had tried being more gentle, knowing that the initial breach had caused Daniel pain. But he was very insistent that I keep my pace up. "Yes, harder... more, please don't stop. Fuck me hard, oh yesss..." It wasn't long until I finally reached climax and I poured all I had into that condom. Daniel wasn't too far behind and he was spurting his hot come all over between our bodies. When I had pulled out of his body, I did it too quickly as he lightly gasped in pain again. I let him lay there, breathing hard, as I went into the adjoining bathroom to clean myself up. Then I wetted a washcloth with hot water and brought it back to the bed to wipe him clean. Daniel smiled up at me and rested his head on the pillow, looking content. When I had tried to kiss him again, he once more evaded me. I looked at him in frustration and demanded to know why he wouldn't let me kiss him. He glanced at me, surprised and brought up a corner of the sheet to cover himself up around the waist. "I'm sorry Liam. Kissing is too intimate to be doing it with just anyone." "What kind of logic is that? We've just made love together for fuck's sakes," I said exasperated. "We didn't make love, we just fucked. There's a big difference. Making love implies there's some sort of emotional attachment, and you've already made it quite clear to me that you're not a fag," Daniel told me. He got up, pulling the sheet with him. "Maybe I should just leave. I would hate for you to come to your senses and start to kick my ass," he said bitterly as he searched around for his clothes. Angered at his response, I reached out to grab him by the shoulders to face me. "Is that the kind of person you think I am?" I demanded. "Did you really think that I would beat up someone just because they're gay?" Daniel wouldn't meet my eyes. I held his head up by the chin, forcing him to look at me, and kissed him hard on the lips, holding him tight to make sure that he wasn't able to move away. I felt him struggle in my arms at my assault, but I kept it up until the struggles finally died and his body began to slacken in my hold. Encouraged, I began to seek entrance into his mouth with my tongue and it wasn't long until he finally let me in. Kissing Daniel, I found, was an easy thing to do and I wanted more. I rubbed my hands in soothing circles onto his back and his arms began to encircle around my neck. I felt, more then saw, the sheet around his waist drop to the ground and around our feet. Daniel sighed as I reached down to cup his ass in a possessive manner. I growled appreciatively when I felt his organ growing hard again against my thigh and my own dick responded in kind. I turned him around so that my cock was nestled in between those firm ass cheeks and bent him down towards the bed. I applied another condom onto me and re-entered his slick entrance, making sure to be gentle this time. He moaned once I was fully in him, and pushed back to meet me. Daniel urged me to go faster, making those wonderful sounds with his throat, and purring alternating sounds of 'faster', 'harder', and 'more' to encourage me, not that I needed encouraging. It took almost no time at all until he climaxed again, this time taking me along with him as he clenched painfully tight around my dick. I cleaned us up again with the now-cold washcloth, and pushed him fully onto the bed, making sure to tuck him under the blankets. I crawled in behind him and kissed him hard on the lips again, undoubtly causing them to bruise. Daniel made no move to resist this time, which pleased me immensely. "Sleep," I whispered to him when I saw his eyelids become heavy and fighting to stay up. Daniel closed his eyes and whispered a "thanks" before nodding off. I encircled an arm around his waist and laid the side of my cheek against the back of his neck, listening to his even breathing. I wondered what exactly it was that I was getting myself into. I knew that I wasn't gay, no other man in that club was able to stir the slightest interest in me, let alone turn me on. Except one look at Daniel was all it took raise my heart rate, not to mention my dick. Well, whatever it was that I was getting myself into, I had gotten myself into it neck deep. Looking down at the sleeping form beside me as I turned the light off, I knew that there was no way in hell that I was going to be able to let Daniel go. ~~~~~ I woke up late the next morning to the sound of rustling. Tiredly, I sat up and blinked around to see what the source of the noise was. It all came back to me as I saw Daniel moving around the room putting his clothes back on. "Daniel?" I called out quietly. He stopped and glanced up at me, looking slightly guilty. "Liam, good morning." "Where are you going?" I asked, rubbing my hands over my face to speed up the waking process. "I'm going home. I didn't mean to spend the night here." His eyes widened as I stood up, still naked, and walked towards him. "Were you planning on waking me up before you left?" I crossed my arms at my chest and raised an eyebrow at him. Daniel had the sense to blush and look away. "I didn't see any point in waking you up. I was almost done anyway." "Do I at least get a goodbye kiss?" I cleared my throat and tried not to appear too pissed off. "I rather that we didn't." Daniel took a step back as I had begun to take a step towards him. By the time I had him backed against a wall, an arm on either side of his head, he was stuttering. "I t.told you already. I d.don't kiss just anybody. And you've already made it clear to me last night that nothing more will come of this." Blue eyes looked back at me confused and imploringly. I stared into his eyes for the longest of time, trying to determine what to do next. "Will I see you again?" I finally asked. "No," he whispered. "I don't think so." I nodded and stepped away, giving him the space to leave. Daniel stared at me and gave me a weak smile. I watched as he quietly let himself out of the bedroom and I heard the quiet click of the front door following it. ~~~~~ "I don't think I can accept that." I looked up from my beer and stared at Ryan in confusion. I had just told him about my adventures last night and his abrupt reaction was not what I was expecting. "Huh?" I said stupidly, eyebrows raised and squinting at him. He began to pace around the room. "I don't get it, you just let him go like that?" "Well? What the fuck am I supposed to do Ryan? Tie him up and make him stay with me? The man already said that he didn't want to see me again." "What did you fucking think?" Ryan asked me incredulously. "You told the guy that you don't like him. Is this some new sort of seduction technique that I haven't been told about? Because if it is I think it needs some work." Hmm... didn't have anything to say to that one, so I just glared at my friend. Ryan stuck a finger up in the air and looked thoughtful. "No, wait... wait," he pretended to think some more. Then he finally shook his head. "No, I was right the first time. Bad technique, Liam. Very bad." "Ryan, I already told you that I can't imagine myself with a guy. That's just too... weird." "Liam, just the other day you told me that you liked Daniel. Not men, just Daniel." "Oh great, so now you decide to understand what I was talking about," I grumbled. Ryan grinned at me, looking pleased with himself. Then composed his demeanor to suit the seriousness of this conversation. "Buddy, listen to me okay? Just listen for a bit, you are working yourself up over this guy. I'm not asking you to label your sexuality. Just admit to yourself that you really like Daniel." "Alright, fine. I like Daniel," I growled and finished the rest of my beer, slamming the bottle hard onto the table. "God you can be such an irritating ass sometimes." He grinned again like a Cheshire cat. Slowly it began to dawn on me what I had just said. I like Daniel. So what was a guy like me to do now? How was I to convince Daniel that I liked him? ~~~~~ I glanced down at my watch and saw that it was around four o'clock. This was around the same time that I had last ran into him here. I felt a little self-conscious of sitting here in my car like a stalker. Then just as hoped, I saw Daniel slowly making his way towards the track; a small towel was thrown over a shoulder and a water bottle in one hand. He threw them down to the grass and began to do a series of stretches. Now that I had admitted to myself that I was hot for this guy, I allowed myself to openly admire his body as he leaned over. He was wearing the same clothes as the last time and I felt a slight stirring in my pants as I watched the cotton material of his shorts ride high, exposing more thigh as Daniel stretched. Daniel started his laps around the track and I quickly got out of my car to follow. He was only about half way around by the time I'd caught up to him, having broken out in a full out sprint. I slowed down to a jog to match his pace and looked over to see if he noticed me. Once Daniel realized there was someone jogging consistently by his side, he finally looked over. His eyes widened and he almost tripped when he saw who it was. I grinned and waved. "Hey Daniel," I said cheerfully. "Liam, what the hell are you doing here?" he hissed as he gracefully regained his steps. "I wanted to talk to you. I've been thinking about what an ass I was and wanted to apologize to you. And I was hoping that you'd go out to dinner with me." "What? There's nothing for you to apologize about," Daniel said as he began to pick up the pace. I was starting to pant but kept up with him. "Yes there is. I like you a lot Daniel. Please come to dinner with me." Daniel continued to run faster in an attempt to put some distance between us but I persisted. "Liam, you do not like me and I will not go out to dinner with you. Just go away and leave me alone." "I'll only leave you alone if you agree to come to dinner with me. God dammit, Daniel will you slow down?" "Stop running if you can't keep up," Daniel shrugged and yet again, picked up the pace. He was now sprinting at full speed, with me on his heels. Collecting all the remaining energy I had left, I lunged forward and tackled him to the side, landing us onto the grass. I pinned him to the ground, and gasped hard. "For fuck's sakes, you're going to kill me." Daniel glared up at me and struggled to get out from beneath me. "Let me go Liam. I'm not going out to dinner with you. You've already got what you wanted from me. Please leave me alone." "Daniel, I fucking mean it. I really like you and I want to prove it to you. Please let me take you out to dinner. I mean, you've got to eat right? I'll be good company, I promise." I gave him my most charming smile I could muster and he finally softened. "Dinner. We eat and leave and that's it," he stated firmly. I nodded. "Okay, whatever you say." "Fine, now get off of me. I'll see you tonight at your place at seven." I got to my feet and reached a hand down to help him up. He looked at it hesitantly before accepting it. "Great. What do you feel like eating then?" "I don't care. Surprise me," he said over his shoulder as he took off towards the track again. Sighing, I slowly made my way back towards my car, still breathing a bit hard, and mentally planned for tonight. ~~~~~ I glanced from across the dining table and smiled at him. Daniel paused with the glass of wine at his lips, looking back at me. "Yes?" he asked when I said nothing. "Nothing. Is the wine okay?" "Yes." "And your food? How does it taste?" "It's fine." "Do you need more water?" "Liam," Daniel hissed. He looked around the restaurant to make sure that he didn't attract any unwanted attention. I smiled innocently at him. "Would you stop being so damn attentive? Just eat your dinner and stop asking so many questions." "Daniel, Daniel, Daniel," I shook my head. "When will you accept that I like you and that I want to make sure that tonight turns out perfectly for you?" He stared at me in exasperation. "You don't like me, Liam. You're just confusing guilt with reality." "No I'm not," I insisted. "I want you Daniel. Will you please just fucking listen to me? I want you!" There was an unearthly silence all of the sudden and I looked around to see that the whole restaurant had stopped eating and were staring at us. Daniel hid his face behind his hands, mortified. I shrugged. No guts, no glory goes the old saying. I stood up and looked down at Daniel, who was refusing to meet my gaze. "Daniel, I'm not playing any games here, I'm not confused and I sure as hell am not feeling any guilt. I want you in my life. What would it take for you to believe me?" Daniel finally made eye contact with me. I held my breath in response to his answer. Humorously, I could feel the same tension build in the room as all the patrons waited eagerly to what Daniel had to say. "Liam," he began quietly. "You can't mean that..." "Don't tell me what I mean or don't," I thundered suddenly, slamming my hand down hard onto the tabletop. "Just tell me what I need to do to prove to you that I'm fucking serious about wanting you." "Alright, fine," he said, glaring up at me. "Are you telling me you're gay?" "No." "So then you don't like guys." "No. But I like you. I want you Daniel. Only you. Dammit Daniel, I'm a highly respectable lawyer, I graduated from McGill with honours, and I'm making a fool of myself out here in this restaurant." "Yeah, you are." Finally, a genuine smile spread across that handsome face. "Alright, you want to win me over? Serenade me. Right here, right now." I scratched my ear and cleared my throat. They never taught us how to sing in Law school. The first thought that came to mind was Babyface and I sang the chorus to 'Everytime I Close My Eyes' without hesitation. There were soft sounds of sighing from various females in the room when I was done the last verse. Daniel was looking all soft and tenderly at me, and stood up to kiss me on the lips. "Oh? So I take that you finally believe me?" I asked, smirking. "Do you want me or not?" he asked, raising a perfect blond eyebrow at me. "Of course I want you." "Then shut up and kiss me," he purred. I eagerly did as requested, and the crowds around us clapped and whooped. I was beaming, and I was sure I did just fine. ~~~~~ "So why don't you ever serenade me like that?" Grace asked. "Are you kidding me? I don't know where Liam got the balls to do what he just did. Sorry babe, you're stuck with a wussy," Ryan chuckled at his wife. "Oh," she said, beginning to tear up, "They look so cute together. I'm so happy for them. Let's go say our congratulations." Ryan pulled her back down to her seat. "I don't think so, Love. I don't think Liam would appreciate it if he knew that we were here the whole time." "So we're not going to tell him?" she asked. He winked at her and gave her a tender kiss. "Nah, it'll be our little secret." ~End~ Would love to hear comments and feedback as always. wai808@yahoo.ca