Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 13:27:05 -0500 (EST) From: Kai Subject: The Phone Call Disclaimer: This story includes graphic scenes of sexual nature between two consenting adult males. Do not read if A) it is illegal in your part of the country, B)you are under the ages of 18 or 21 or C) you get squirmish and pukey at this sort of stuff. Author's Notes: This plot in this story takes a while to develop so some may find it a little too slow in the beginning, but please don't give up! Also, there is a moderate to high sap factor rating. Lastly, many thanks to my beta Steph for taking the time to give it a lookover. All other mistakes are proudly mine =) Copyright 2002 Kai wai808@yahoo.ca THE PHONE CALL Alton's POV "Hey Alt, sorry I'm late." I looked up from the stack of papers I was grading and smiled at my tardy friend. Mark grinned and plopped down into the seat across from me. Then he flagged down a waitress to order the coffee and cherry pie special. "So what's the story this time?" Mark always managed to give a new and creative excuse every time he was late. "Damn kid rolled his ankle. He had mistaken himself for Michael Jordan again, and he landed badly. Of course, yours truly gets to stick around while the paramedics wheeled him away." Mark was the man in charge of the varsity basketball team at the college that we both worked at. He rolled his eyes and groaned. "Sucks too, the kid's one of the best forwards I have this year. This is gonna take him out of play for the rest of the season... and we're so close to the qualifiers too." Mark lets out a loud sigh of disgust before focussing his attention on me. "Whatcha doin'?" "It's my Intro to Neuro course. A small essay on the disorder of their choice." I picked up the current paper I was looking over and waved it at him. "Sciatica, want a look?" Mark scrunched up his face at me and pushed it away. "No way dude, keep your geeky stuff away from me." I grinned at him. It still amazes me, how despite our differences, we still managed to be good friends. I have a PhD. in Physiology and taught Neurology, Pathology, and basically anything that ended with an "ology." Mark looked after our basketball team, but is also a senior authority of the Athletic Department. Where I like to sit in on lectures of the latest update in medical findings, Mark preferred to sit down in arenas to watch whatever game just happened to be in progress. I wore khakis and he wore sweat pants, I was the nerd and he was the jock. But as it was, we've been as close as friends could be for the last five years now. Despite how busy our schedules are, we still always met at the small cafe across from campus every Friday at 4pm. "Buddy, put that crap away and let the weekend begin." He picked up my backpack off the ground and began to cram the papers into it. "Hey," I protested and grabbed the essays back from him. "Be careful with that! How am I supposed to explain to my students why their papers are all torn and folded up?" Mark shrugged carelessly and offered me an apologetic grin. I rolled my eyes at him and proceeded to stack the papers into a plastic file. It was always hard to stay irritated at the man for long when he pulled that face. "So, what are you and Dianne planning on doing this weekend?" I asked. Dianne was Mark's wife and the older sister I never had. Mark groaned again. "The in-laws are coming over tomorrow night. She had done nothing but clean like a crazy maid since the beginning of this week. If I so much as lean against a pillow she squawks at me for flattening it." He snatched a french fry off of my plate and looked around the busy cafe rather impatiently. "What the hell happened to my pie?" Then he turned his attention to me and asked what my plans were. I shrugged. "Nothing much really. Maybe I'll just finish grading these papers." Mark stares at me in disbelief. "What? That's for Sunday night! What about that guy you're seeing? What's his face again?" Mark stared off hard into the crevice of his head, trying to remember my boyfriend's name. I widened my eyes at him and looked around to see if anyone had heard him. I wasn't completely out of the closet yet as I was still trying to come to terms with it. In fact, Mark seemed to have accepted my attraction to men far better than I was. "Must you be so loud?" I complained. "Oh, right," Mark gulped guiltily and looked around as well. "Sorry buddy." All was safe and he even noticed that the waitress was making her way towards them, avec pie and coffee. We stayed quiet until said food was placed onto the table and the waitress was out of hearing range. "His name is Alan," I said. Mark snapped his fingers. "That's it! Alan... Alan the Accountant." Eagerly he dug into his pie, his fork piercing the bright red orbs. I cringed at the tag. "Why must you say it like that?" Mark looked up at me, confused. "Like what? He's an accountant right? His name's Alan right? What's the problem?" The coach pointed his fork at me, "But you know what? Hate to say this to you Alt, but the dude kinda plays up to the stereotype too well. I mean, look at him... suit and tie, not a hair out of place, kinda dull..." "But that fits MY description too!" I protested. "No it doesn't," Mark insisted. "First of all, you haven't worn a suit in awhile now." He paused and looked over at my khakis and polo shirt. "Second, your hair will never stay in place even if your life depended on it. It's like permanently stuck on 'messy-mode'." "It gets windy out here," I muttered. I caught my reflection across the cafe window. Winter months allowed it to be dark enough by now to let the panel of glass double as a mirror. It's true, my hair looked like it didn't know the meaning of 'comb'. Mark pushed his now-empty plate away from him. "And Alt, trust me when I say this... I do not make a habit of hanging out with dull people. Sure, you read too much, by my standards, and watch the most boring documents on TV, but you're fun to hang out with when you're not doing that stuff." "Alright, you've made you're point." I grimaced at him. "But these papers aren't going to mark themselves you know." "That's what Sunday evenings are for," he repeated. I sighed. "I don't even know if he's free tonight. Maybe we'll go for a coffee or something." "How long have you two been seeing each other now?" I frowned. "Um, almost about a year now I think." "And the best you can think of doing is coffee?" "Mark, it may not seem exciting to you but we enjoy each other's company. We don't need the atmosphere of the movie theatres or local bars." "Oh for crying aloud Alton, you're only 36 and you're acting like you're 63!" I sniffed. "I'm only 35." Mark rolls his eyes at me. "Whatever. Tell me," the other man leans in close, "when was the last time you two had wild, unadulterated sex? You know... letting down all your scruples and restraints?" I blushed and moved in my seat uncomfortably. "Well, er..." I hesitated. Mark was probably my closest friend and I trusted him enough to not judge me. And it was rather pointless to even think that I could hide anything from him anyway as the man had a talent for prying out kept secrets. "We... Alan and I, we haven't really..." I looked down at my cup of coffee, which was now held secure with my white-knuckled hands. I sneaked a peek up at Mark to gauge his reaction and saw the other man staring at me with wide eyes and a slacked jaw. "It's just something that we never explored or felt the need to," I rambled on. Oh, but who was I kidding? Inwardly I sighed and recalled all those nights when Alan would sit close to me on the couch, our hearts beating slightly faster as a result of a heated discussion. We would forget where we were and he would lean in closer as I would lean in closer. But never would our lips touch, as we would remember where we are and regain all composure once more. Those nights I would go to bed, alone and frustrated, wishing that just once the calm and collective poise of my significant other would crumple and break, and ravish me thoroughly. I would dream that he would throw me onto the bed and take me to new levels of ecstasy that I have never experienced before. "We thrive on each other's intellectual stimulus," I finished lamely when I realized that Mark was still staring at me in disbelief. "Look, it's not something I can just force upon him. And besides, I don't think he's that interested in it," I whispered. "I really like him Mark, and I don't want to screw things up because I get horny once in awhile." "But you're all for it, right?" Mark asked. His friend was no longer showing signs of shock and was now concerned. I let out a whoosh of breath. "Of course I'm all for it! The last few months I've been starting to feel like a cat in heat. All I can think about is sex. But I just don't know how to go about bringing up a subject like that in front of Alan. He's too... proper." "I have an idea. Why not try phone sex first before the real thing?" I looked at him incredulously. "I'm not going to waste money on a 900 number to get my rocks off." Mark sighed rudely and looked up heavenward. "I KNOW you have a PhD but I swear to God you can be so dense sometimes Alton. You call Alan and flirt over the phone," he said slowly as if talking to a mere child. "Oh God no!" I panicked. "I can't. I'll be too embarrassed." "Trust me, dude. It's not as bad as it seems cuz you can't see the other person. Dianne and I do it all the time when the team's playing out of town. And believe me, it can get pretty intense." "Geez Mark, I really did NOT need to know that about you two," I groaned. Mark picked up a sugar packet and threw it at my forehead, hard. "Grow up already. Will you just give it a try? If all goes as planned then you two will be going at it like bunnies in no time soon." "And if it fails?" Mark shrugged. "I dunno, make up some lame excuse that you were drunk and hopefully he'll buy it." I sighed again. I suppose there was little to lose. And it did sound a lot more exciting than grading midterm papers. ~~~~~ Tick tick tick... Tap tap tap... I alternated my pen tapping with the ticking of the desk clock's second hand. It read close to midnight. Earlier in the evening I had tried to call Alan at home but to no avail. His cellular had also transferred me over to his voicemail. Disappointed, I had left him a short message and here I was still waiting for him to return my call. So here I was, on the last page of the last paper I had to mark. Finally, I gave up and decided that it was time for bed. When I stood to stretch, my back muscles protested and I groaned softly. I remembered what Mark had said earlier about me acting like a 63-year old and I frowned at the thought. So slowly, I made my way towards the bathroom, stripping my clothes off on the way and leaving a trail behind. I studied myself in the mirror while I waited for the water to warm up. Turning my head so that I could see my left profile, then my right, I came to the conclusion that I made a rather plain sight. None of my features were spectacular enough to jump out. Brown hair, brown eyes, plain, but not unattractive I suppose, I mean we are supposed to be our own worse critic right? I looked lower down at my naked body and grinned; I had to admit that I liked what I saw. Complaining at first, I had sacrificed an hour of sleep each day, five times a week, to meet Mark at the campus pool. All those early mornings I was forced to swim endless laps, trying not to be outdone by the coach. But after a few months when I had started to see a difference in the way my body looked, the complaints had ceased...er, well, became less frequent anyhow. And there I stood, nude in front of the mirror: muscles long and lean, shoulders broad, waist trim and stomach flat. My chest was fairly smooth, and save for the thin trail that led towards my groin, my torso was basically free of hair. There was also a large part of my right calf that was sparse due to an accident which involved scalding hot water when I was a teen... not that my legs were particularly hairy to begin with. The steam wafting from the shower catches my eye. Right, so into the shower I go. ~~~~~ For the umpteenth time I turned over and glanced at my alarm clock. The red numbers read 2:14am. A sudden case of insomnia must've set in and for the life of me I couldn't fall asleep. There weren't enough sheep in the world to even make me yawn. My eyes travelled to the left of the clock where my phone sat. Clucking my tongue to the roof of my mouth for a bit, I finally sat myself up and reached for it. Quickly I dial the number to Alan's home phone before I could change my mind. The ring seemed extremely loud in the quiet dark. I could feel my heart beat faster, and then nearly stilled when the other end picked up. >>>>> Nathan's POV "Hello?" I mumbled sleepily. Glancing over to the clock I saw that it was a quarter after two. I yawned and rubbed my eyes, silently cursing the late caller. "Hey, it's Alton." The voice on the other end sounded nervous. And since I didn't know an Alton, I was about to say 'wrong number' when the caller on the other end mumbled something I couldn't quite make out. "I'm sorry? What was that?" The voice came out in a very quiet whisper. "I'm horny." Curiosity got the best of me and I decided to play along. My phone number was unlisted and what are the chances of a male dialling me up by chance to have some late night fun? It was probably one of the guys at the hall. Apparently there weren't enough fires in the city to keep them busy at this time of night. "Oookay," I replied noncommittally. "Um, I'm lying in bed, all alone," the quiet voice continued. "I was thinking about you and imagining myself lying next to you, wrapped in your arms." Hmm... This was getting to be interesting. My libido certainly thought so. The voice was gaining confidence now, sounding low and husky. "I'm wearing nothing, just the soft warm quilt next to my naked skin... but I wish it was your own warm body that's next to mine instead. Are you naked and willing as well?" "I am now," I whispered. I reached down under the blanket and stripped off my boxers. Might as well get into the part. The receiver banged against my chin for a bit and when I settled it back against my ear, I heard low laughter on the other end. It was quite sexy actually. "Sorry," I murmured. "Now, where were we?" That set the low sexy sound off all over again. Whoever the other guy was, he was good. I wondered how Sam managed to pull this one off, probably got a fresh rookie on his hands. "I want you to hold me and lean into me, pressing me into the soft, soft bed with your solid, hard body. You seek my mouth and I surrender to you, when you touch my body...ahh," I noticed the inside of my own mouth went dry at the sound of that light gasp. My breathing seemed to also have picked up and I was hanging on to every word that was said through the line. "I hang on to you, never wanting to let you go. My arms around your neck, my fingers through you hair..." Oh sweet lord, invisible hands weave over me. Placing my own hand over that unseen force, I follow its trail as it makes its way down my body. I wrap my hand over my very hard erection and imagine it to be the hand of the other man. There is a low moan emitted from somewhere and eventually I come to realize that it was from me. "Your body covers mine completely and I succumb to you. I've been kissing your neck, your shoulder, anything I can get a taste of but now I'm hungry for your mouth again, I yearn to have your tongue within me again. But my God, you taste so good..." I hear myself groan into the mouthpiece again at those tempting words. By now I'm a concentrated mass of raging hormones desperate for release. Rocking my hips against my hand, I vow to uncover the identity of the man responsible for this phone call and fuck the hell outta him, not stopping until he is rendered useless for the following few days. "With one move, you claim my body and make us one... oh God..." The voice drifts off into a low moan. "Wait for me sweetheart," I growled. I was so fast approaching the climax, my head was whirling and I was beginning to pant for breath. "Hurry," came a gasp. "Now," I panted. "Oh God, oh God..." I erupted all over my chest, some on my face and probably on my pillow too. Faintly I heard a similar proclamation on the other end of the receiver. I waited for my breath to return to normal before trying to speak. "That was incredible," I breathed. "Did you really like it? You don't mind?" The nervousness was creeping back into the voice and wavered slightly from a loss of confidence. "Like it? Geez, I loved it!" There was a breath of relief. "For some reason I thought that you weren't into this kind of thing and I thought that you might think I'm crazy or something. Wow, I'm so glad I tried this after all..." "Trust me, me too." "Um, so this is something maybe we can think about pursuing in the future?" it was a hesitant request. "Oh, hell yes." Note to self... thank Sam. "Great. Well... I guess it's getting late. Maybe you can call me tomorrow afternoon?" "Sounds good," I looked around for a pen and pad, but soon stopped. "Goodnight, Alan." Alan?? "G'night... Alton," I managed to whisper. When I heard a soft click, I slowly hit the "off" button and lay in bed, contemplating. ~~~~~ Wow... I still couldn't get over it. In my entire 29 years of existence I have never been called Alan. My birth certificate has, and always will, read Nathan McCrae as my given name. Nathan... not Alan. But then again, I've never taken, and thoroughly enjoyed for that matter, something that was meant for another man. And boy, did I ever enjoy it. I wondered what this Alton looked like. He seemed shy, probably a quiet pretty boy. Oh well, guess I'll never know now. I glanced over to the clock, 3:02am. 'Better get sleeping again, don't want ol' Captain Sam wondering why I'm looking like the walking dead tomorrow.' ~~~~~ ~Beep beep beep~... I reach my hand out from the blankets and blindly flung it around, searching for that damned snooze button. Was it 7 o' clock already? I lay in bed for awhile and opened my eyes. It actually looked sunny today. And I don't feel too tired as a matter of fact. Hmm... Oh... last night, I remember now. I wonder if the events last night had anything to do with my rather restful sleep. Either way, I'm not going to complain. ~~~~~ "McCrae! Snap out of it!" I looked up into the face of a very frustrated Captain. "What?" "Did you even hear a word I said? You look like you've been off in Never Never Land ever since you got here with that goofy grin on your face. Wait..." Sam leers at me, "you finally got laid didn't you?" I lean back in my chair and grin at him. "Suuure, you can say that." Picking up my cup of coffee to take a gulp, I continue to peer at him over the rim. The older man has a look of confusion on his face. Then sitting up again, I lean in and ask, "Sam, do you know anyone by the name of Alton?" The Captain's face brighten up, "Is that the name now?" "Apparently." A frown appears on the other man's face. "Why do I get the feeling that you don't seem to know this person either?" I shrugged and then look around to make sure no one was within hearing distant. Still, I kept my voice low. "I received a phone call late last night. At first I was convinced that it was one of your little pranks again, but it was too good... too convincing, so I then wondered if it was maybe one of the other guys here doing it. I mean, nobody else would have access to my phone number except here at the hall." Sam appears to be serious. "Son," he begins, "if you feel that someone in this station is harassing you, you damn well better let me know. I don't tolerate that sort of behaviour in my department and those under my wing should not as well." "No no no... Don't worry about it Sam. I'm absolutely sure that it's from no one in this station. I think that it's just a simple case of a misdialed phone call." The Captain appears to calm down somewhat. "Alright," he says grudgingly. "So now what then? Did you manage to let the other guy in on your revelation? That he had the wrong number?" "No... It wasn't until he hung up did I come to that realization." "Dang, so I guess you weren't able to sneak out his phone number eh?" "Nah, but I did get his number on my caller ID." "So, you gonna call him or what?" I grin at my superior. "No Sam, I don't think so. The guy thought he was talking to his boyfriend." "The hell... couldn't the guy recognise the wrong voice when he heard it? The relationship must not be too old, maybe you still have a chance." "Well, he did wake me up and my voice was messed up. After that we mostly just whispering and moaning and stuff." I chuckled, "And boy, did we moan... but no, I don't think I would want to pursue anything anyway. He was way too good over the phone, God knows he must have done it before. But then again..." I remembered the shyness and nervousness that was in the voice. I must have zoned out for a bit, but when I looked up again, I saw that the older man was still staring expectantly at me. "What?" I ask. "You were gonna say something?" I was about to open my mouth to close this topic when Kevin came up to us. "Let's go guys, we got ourselves another kitty stuck up a tree." >>>>> Alton's POV I had no more than knocked once on the door when it flew open and a six-year old jumped me. "Uncle Alton!" I picked the little blond boy up and perched him on my hip. "Jesus kid, what's your mom feeding you? You're starting to get to big for me to lift." I looked up into the house and saw the boy's father walking towards me at a much slower pace. "Mark, you're looking old." My friend snorted at me and looked at his son in disbelief. "The little brat doesn't realize that 6'o clock is not a decent Saturday wake up call. Cartoons aren't even on yet!" Despite the complaint, he reached out to ruffle the boy's hair. I looked over to the young lad and grinned over his look of innocence; blue eyes large and wide like his father's. "Is that true Mike? Why did you bug your father so early this morning?" "I wanted to get my cereal before I watched TV. I woke Mom up first but she told me that Dad would get it for me." "Well, there you have it Mark." He shook his head at me, "First my kid, and then my wife. I have one word, 'conspiracy'. Now I have to drive Dianne out grocery shopping for tonight's dinner. Thanks for babysitting the kiddo for me by the way." "No problem. Mike and I are gonna have fun at the library today, aren't we kid?" A look of horror crossed over the boy's face. "No way Uncle Alton! That's so boring! You have to be kidding me!" Mike started to squirm along with his whine and I had to put him down back on the floor. Then he held on to my hand and started to jump up and down. "Michael!" Mark had his arms crossed in front of him and he frowned down at his son in disapproval. Son, in question, quietened down immediately, but moved to hide behind me, using me as a shield from his father's glare. "Aw, it was my fault. I forget how old I am and how kids these days don't like the library, right Mikey?" I turned around and picked the boy up again. He solemnly nodded and then hid his face in my neck. "I know, how about we go to the playground." The nod became much more enthusiastic and he was able to make eye contact with me again. "Just remember to hold back on the ice cream if he starts acting like that again, Alton." Mark smiled at his son again. Mike opens his eyes real wide at us and then quickly turns his attention on me. "Ice cream? I promise to be real good, really Uncle Alton." "We'll see. Let's bounce then kiddo. Do you think you're able to use your own stubby legs or do you need me to carry you to the playground?" The boy scrambled down me to quickly get back to the floor. "I can walk Uncle Alton," he said exasperatedly. "I don't want the other kids to think I'm a big baby!" But he continued to hold me by the hand and started to tug me out the door. "Let's go already before Mom and Dad wants to kiss and hug me goodbye!" I grinned back at my friend, who was shaking his head in disbelief for the nth time that day, and followed my young charge out into the world. >>>>> Nathan's POV It was always the same with these calls. A small group of people would gather and watch, wondering what all the excitement was about. The crowd would always get bigger of course. A large fire engine plus a group of people equals something really interesting going on right? There were only three of us sent out on this call. And the three of us stood by the really, really large tree, heads up and looking. Somewhere at the very top was a soft, but audible, mew. We weren't able to make out the source of that sound but we knew that is was up there. "So who feels like playing Tarzan today?" Kevin asked. "And may I remind you guys that I DID drive us here, and will be driving us back." Shawn and I exchanged looks. "If it was a dog I'd do it. But you know I'm allergic to cats." I let out a snort of disbelief. "Why the hell did you come then?" Shawn sheepishly grins at me. "It's a beautiful day out and I didn't want to be stuck inside waiting for a real call like all the other guys were." I scowled at him and shoved my helmet into him. "Take my jacket too," I muttered. I stood closer to the tree, as did my comrades. "Sure is a tall one," I muse. I notice that the first branch was just a few inches out of my reach. "Someone give me a lift." The strong hoist that the other two gave me lifted me to about chest level with the large branch and I easily lifted myself up onto it. Looking up, I suddenly realized that I still have a long way to go before reaching the top. I heard the mewing get more insistent. "Alright fur ball, I'm coming, I'm coming." ~~~~~ "Ah hah! I see you now!" A tiny body of fur sat crouched amongst the leaves. Small, yellow eyes blink back at me. The mews are sounding pretty pathetic at this point. Slowly, I reach out towards it and let it get use to my hand. The kitten eventually moves toward me and starts to lick a finger. I take this opportunity to grab it by the collar. "Ah, hellfire..." I cursed as the small animal started to hiss and struggle away from my hold. Tiny, but sharp, claws protract and wildly reached to try and scratch at my hand. "I've got the cat," I yelled down. "Send it down!" Still cursing, I reached for the small mesh bag that was attached to me. It was connected to a rope that looped through the carabiner, which hung from my belt. The rope reaches the ground and acts like a pulley. Trying to be as careful as I can, I drop the kitten into the bag and tighten the drawstring. The cat still tried to claw through the material at me so I held it loosely by the rope. "Incoming package!" The bag slowly descended as the guys below fed the rope through the carabiner. I stood, chilling; my job at this point was to manoeuvre the rope so that the small package doesn't bang against any obstacles. It was a few minutes before the kitten was finally in the arms of its grateful owner. The crowd had cheered and was almost dispersed by the time I had reached ground level again. I stretched and wiped at the sweat on my brow. "This is gonna hurt tomorrow," I groaned. "Uncle Alton look, it's a firetruck!" My heart skipped a beat at the sound of the name... Alton? What were the chances of meeting an Alton? It wasn't exactly a common name. I turned around and saw a young boy dragging his chaperone by the hand. He was pointing exciting at the large red vehicle. Shawn, who was quietly rolling the rope back up by the truck, smiled at the boy. "Do you want to sit behind the wheel?" he asked. The child turned large, baleful eyes at his adult and jumped eagerly up and down. "Can I sit behind the wheel? Please Uncle Alton? Can I? Pleeease?" I had to hand it to the kid; he was persistent. "Alright, but Mike, don't touch anything!" The words were barely out of the man's mouth when the kid scampered off to follow Shawn to the driver's side. He stood there, head shaking in defeat. I approached him and grinned. "Energetic one isn't he?" I commented. He looked up at me and I was rewarded with a small smile. "You don't know the half of it. I don't think I can keep up with him any longer." He returned his gaze back to the young boy and the smile widened. I pretended to watch as well, but had trained the corner of my eye to study the other man. He looked to be about my age and was maybe a couple inches shorter than my own height of 6'3". A tad on the skinny side perhaps. His brown hair looked windblown, or perhaps bed tousled? I gulp as I felt myself reacting below the belt at that thought. 'Thank God for the bunker pants,' I thought wryly to myself. My focus would not linger from the hair; it looks so soft. I felt the sudden need to run my fingers through it. I had to shake my head clear. 'Get a hold of yourself, McCrae.' When I looked up again, soft brown eyes stared back at me expectantly. I realised that I was asked a question. "I'm sorry, what was that?" "I said my name's Alton." The man looked amused. "That kid is my friend's son, Mike." I return my gaze back to the child that was now wearing my helmet. "Nathan McCrae at your service." I took the hand that was offered, before I remembered how dirty and grimy my own was. "Oh crap, sorry about that man." Alton wiped his hand against his cargo shorts. I continued down the length of the long legs and noticed that they were nicely muscled. He laughed lightly; the sound of it struck a chord of familiarity in me. Was that my Alton? The one who so sweetly seduced my imagination last night? But what were the chances? "Don't worry about it. I've been dealing with Mike's ice cream for most of the afternoon already." "Kids will be kids I guess," I commented. He nodded and smiled. His skin glowed golden from the rays of sunlight. Oh, what the hell, gotta take the chance and find out. "Alton eh? That name sounds familiar." He looked at me with his brown eyes, full of interest. "Say, do you know a guy name Alan?" His eyes widened. "Alan Laurier?" "Yeah, that's it," I improvised. "Do you know him?" "Yes. We're... pretty close friends. How do you know him?" "Oh," Oh damn... think fast McCrae, think fast. "He's also a friend of mine." Alton looked at me, disbelieving. "Really? You don't look like any of his typical friends." 'Well, he's actually a friend of my brother's. It's been awhile since the two of them have seen each other, since my brother's moved away to New York." I grinned at him, hoping he would buy my story. It must have worked because he rewarded me with another smile. I could grow use to being on the receiving end of that expression. "The three of us will have to get together some day then; go for coffee or something." "That'd be great. How is Alan these days anyway? I haven't spoken to him in a long time myself." Let's see what we can dig up about this other man... not that I was trying to find any dirt or anything. "He's been well." A small frown appeared on Alton's face. "Actually, he was supposed to call me today, but he never did." I felt a twitch on my guilty conscience. "But then again, I haven't been home much today." I shrugged nonchalantly. "It probably just slipped his mind," I offered. "Yeah, it is getting closer to the tax deadline. I imagine that it's good to be an accountant at this time of year." Ah, so Alan is an accountant. "Listen, why don't I leave you with my numph..." Alton swayed and lost his balance as he was tackled from the side. I instinctively reached out to steady him and caught him in my arms. Wow, he felt good, and damn did he smell even better. My lips brushed against his ear and my nose was buried for that split second into his hair. It felt so right in that instant, but almost immediately, his entire body stiffened and he pushed away from me. His face was pink and he had a look of embarrassment on his face. "I'm sorry," he apologised. Then he turned to stare sternly at his young company. "Michael, what did I say about jumping on me like that?" "That your back is getting too old for that," he said solemnly. I grinned as the colour on Alton's face deepened. The boy suddenly noticed me, and moved to hide behind Alton's leg. He shyly peered out at me. Alton sighed, exasperated with the situation. "Nathan, this little troublemaker here is Mike. Mike say hello to Nathan." I squatted down to about eye level with the child and offered him my hand. "Hello Mike, pleased to meet you." The boy looked up at the adult he hid behind to make sure it was okay to speak to a stranger. When Alton nodded his okay, Mike reached up for his hand, for reassurance, before slowly coming out and taking my own. "Hello," he shyly responded. "Are you a fire-fighter?" "I am." I grinned at him. He returns it unabashedly and let go of Alton's hand, now full of confidence. "Really? That's so cool! Is it fun? I wanna be a fire fighter when I grow up. I wanna wear a fire-fighter's hat and drive the firetruck all the time... and slide down the pole when the alarm goes off... and spray water all over the fire... and..." I had to laugh at the enthusiasm this kid had. "Mike, don't ask so many questions," Alton admonished. "He's a friend of Alan." The child blinked at me. "You know Uncle Alton's boyfriend?" I heard something that resembled a choke and saw that Alton had that lovely shade of red on his face again. I raised an eyebrow up. "Boyfriend?" "He...he's just a friend," he insisted. I could see him swallowing nervously. "Listen," he began, "Nathan... it was nice meeting you, but I should be getting Mike back to his parents now. See you around." He tugged at the young boy and turned to walk away. I sighed, wondering if I would ever get to see that face again. Then I saw that the guys were ready to leave now and I hopped into the passenger side, having earned myself shotgun since I did most of the work today. I whistled random tunes on the ride back to the station. At least now I was able to put a face to the sexy voice and then realised that my dreams were now about to get more interesting. >>>>> Alton's POV "Uncle Alton, what's wrong? Did I say something bad?" Mike looked at me worriedly. "I'm sorry if I said something to hurt you, please don't cry." He reached over and hugged me around the waist. I didn't even realize that there was a tear streaking down the side of my face. "Aw, Mikey, don't worry about your old Uncle. I'll be fine. I'm just a little embarrassed, that's all." "But why?" He looked up at me, confused. Fondly, I stroked his hair, my fingers running through the fine blond strands. "Mike, not everyone knows that I have a boyfriend. Some people believe that it's wrong for a man to have a boyfriend, or for a woman to have a girlfriend for that matter." The young boy frowned. "Well those people suck. Do you think Nathan's one of those people?" I thought back to the good-looking fireman we left behind. If I could only use one word to describe that man, it would be 'strong'. Not only physically, but there was a confident and secure aura that was emitted from him. "I don't know kiddo, but I sure hope not." "Yeah, me too. I like him. I think you should trade Alan in for him, Uncle Alton." I looked down at Mike in surprise. "Why would you say a thing like that?" The boy shrugged. "I dunno. He seems cool, way cooler than Alan. And he talks to me too. Alan never talks to me... he just stares at me like he's not sure what to do." I considered this for a bit. Now that I think about it, I never once remember Alan talking or acting comfortably around Mike, or any kids for that matter. I stared down at the young boy, amazed by his level of awareness of his surroundings. I'll have to stop underestimating Mike from now on. "Okay, smarty-pants, let's go see if your parents are home yet." ~~~~~ The red light on my answering machine blinked insistently. I pressed the 'play' button in hopes that there was a message from Alan. "Hello Alton. It's Alan... sorry I wasn't able to call you sooner, I've been loaded with work. I'm actually calling you now to let you know that I'm going to be out of town for the next few days. I received an emergency call from a client and have to go help him prepare for an audit. I'll call you again as soon as I get home. Talk to you later dear." ~~~~~ There was a knock on the door and I looked up from the lecture notes that I was preparing. "Alt, buddy what's the emergency? I must have received three messages from you on my voicemail. Are you having a mental breakdown?" Mark grinned as he closed the door to my office and fell ungracefully into the chair that faced me. "I think I might have fucked it up with Alan," I told him. The coach paused for a minute while he studied my face. I've seen it this morning and knew that he wouldn't miss the dark circles under my eyes and the red veins in my eyes due to the insomnia I'd been suffering from the last couple of nights. "What happened? Are you alright?" he quietly asked. "I don't know," I whispered. "I tried that phone thing like you suggested. It was...I mean...it went fine. He said he liked it." "So what went wrong?" "I don't know. That's what doesn't make sense. The next day he leaves a message on my answering machine and he doesn't even act like anything happened. He just said that he'll be out of town for the next few days and that's it. Not a word about anything else, it's like he's avoiding the subject or something." Mark thought that over for a bit. "Buddy, he probably just needs to think this over. I wouldn't worry too much over it. I wouldn't start jumping to conclusions just yet, wait till he's back in town so that you two can talk it over in person. You know what...why don't you come over for dinner tonight?" I pinched the bridge of my nose and smiled tiredly. "Thanks Mark, I just needed to get this off my chest. I needed someone to listen to me, and I'll think about tonight." Mark stood up and moved over to clap me on the shoulder. "Count on me anytime, Alton. Now I better go before the boys do something stupid...like set the gym on fire." I frowned. "Mark, where do you come up with these ideas? You can't seriously believe that they could set the gym on fire do you?" The coach raised his eyebrows at me. "You know Alt, these lads surprise me sometimes." He quietly closed the door after him and left me pondering in silence. When I looked up at the clock on the wall, I saw that I had just over an hour left before my next class and I hurried to finish the notes in front of me. >>>>> Nathan's POV "McCrae! Office...Now!" I looked up from the poker game I was engaged in with 3 other guys and they 'ooh'd' and 'uh oh'd' in mock sympathy. Flipping them the bird in a joking manner, I threw my cards down onto the small table and made my way to the Captain's office. Ah hell, I had a bad hand anyway. "Cap'n, what is it?" I sat myself down on the foldout chair and faced the older man across from me. "You've been wearing that goofy grin ever since you've returned from that kitten rescue. Then yesterday you insisted on making the crew dinner even though it wasn't your turn." "Yeah so? I don't see anything wrong with that," I defended myself. "Don't you ever wonder why everybody always insist on ordering take out when it's your turn to cook? You're not particularly good at it Nathan. In fact, I'll be honest and say that you down right suck at cooking." I tried to look hurt. "Sam, I know I'm no culinary chef but must ye words be so harsh?" The Captain rolls his eyes at me. "You hum random tunes... you're screwing up the guys' laundry... you're singing loudly in the shower, out of tune... you broke six, count 'em six plates when doing the dishes... and God please don't ever try to make coffee again." "What are you trying to say Sam?" "You're driving everyone crazy! Stop trying to be so helpful!" I let out a breath of frustration. "I don't get it, you guys are always whining about how I don't pitch in and when I do you guys complain some more." "We love you here Nathan. You're a damn good fireman, but we just never realised until now how awful you are at housekeeping. Let's admit it, some guys have it and some guys don't. Now why don't you let me know what's going on with this sudden urge in domestic behaviour." I smiled. A sweet face with soft brown eyes and wild hair popped up in my head. It was turned slightly downwards with the eyes shyly peering up at me through half closed eyelids, the lips shaped into a small smile. "Helloooo..." I jerked back into reality and blinked at Sam. The older man shook his head in quiet resignation. "Whatever. Anyway, it's your turn to perform the monthly inspection at the college. Try not to screw this up, got it?" ~~~~~ I looked down my checklist and scratched my fingernail along my eyebrow. There was one fire alarm that needed new batteries, and another that required rewiring. One fire extinguisher was missing and there were a few overheads that had powercords with more duct-tape on it than the roll it came off of. So far I have found nothing that was serious. Unconsciously I must have known that it would be a bad idea to stand around at the corner of where two hallways intersect, but another extinguisher caught my eye and I squatted down to inspect it. I hadn't been there for a few seconds when someone collided and fell over me. The air was knocked out of me as a body bounced off me. I heard heavy books drop to the ground and saw paper flutter all over the place, but it was the low groan that got my attention. I sprung to my feet to help the man that sat on the floor, his back facing me. "Hey man, I'm so sorry, are you alright?" "Yeah," he grunted. "Just feeling somewhat bruised. But I'll be fine." He looked up at me and I stopped in place. The look of surprise on his face must have mirrored mine. "Nathan?" he asked. "Alton right?" I reached over to lend him a helping hand. He took it and got up, looking somewhat flustered. Then his face fell as he looked around to see his paperwork all over the floor around him. "Oh no, I have a class in less than five minutes." He got down on his knees and started to gather up the sheets. Immediately I got down on mine to help him. I saw the books that were lying open on the floor and when I picked them up, I saw that the spine of one of them had torn from the binding. I glanced guiltily at the man to my right who was now busy trying to sort some sense of order to his notes. Damn, the book looked expensive too. "Um, Alton," I began hesitantly. "Uh..." I decided that it was best to just show him the book. I wish I hadn't. "Ah damn, I just bought that book. Do you know how long I had to wait to get that copy of Netter in?" "Look man, I feel really, really bad. Let me make it up to you. I'll buy you another copy." I gathered up the other texts to make sure that they had not undergone some sort of damage as well. Satisfied to see that they hadn't, I handed them over to their rightful owner, praying that I wouldn't drop them in the process. Alton took them and tucked them under the pile of paper he was holding. "No, don't worry about it. A book's a book right?" "Hey, at least let me buy you a coffee or something...anything, please?" I offered him my most charming smile. He looked taken back, as if not sure how to deal with me. 'A nudge, McCrae, that's all he needs... just a nudge...' I grabbed my clipboard and started to make like I had to leave. "How about I just meet you here when you're done? When does your class end?" "Um... in about an hour and ten," he reluctantly answered. I grinned at him even more. "Perfect, I should be done by then. See you in a bit!" I quickly turned around and disappeared behind that blasted corner. Yes! I gave myself a mental pat on the shoulder and whistled away, in a rather cheerful mood, for the rest of the inspection. >>>>> Alton's POV I blinked, still standing stupidly there in the now empty hall. What the hell had just happened there? What were the chances of running into that fireman again? And damn if he didn't look good. The black hair was perfectly styled into a spiky look, golden skin free of grime and dirt, and his muscular physique was so much more imposing indoors than out in the open. "Dr. Knox?" I started at the voice and saw one of my students staring at me with concern. "You alright? It's been ten minutes since class was supposed to start, we were just wondering if there's going to be a lecture today." "Oh yes, sorry. I coming." I walked alongside the young woman towards my classroom and apologised to the class when I entered. I put the run-in behind me, and promptly began my lecture on the difference between lower and upper motor neurons. When I finally noticed that the classroom was starting to get restless, I looked over at my watch and saw that it was about five minutes to the end of class. I knew that there was really no point in going on, so I gave them their assignments and dismissed them. It was then that I remembered that I had to meet up with Nathan. My heart skipped a beat at the thought and I quickly packed up my stuff, hoping to be out of there before the fireman returned. I was just about out the door when it suddenly opened. I moved off to one side, thinking that I was letting a student back in, when Nathan's head peered through from the other side. The handsome face brightened up when he saw me and the rest of his perfect body appeared. "I was wondering which classroom you were in. I was done early and I saw a whole slew of kids walk on out from here so I took the chance to investigate. So you teach, eh? What course is this?" "Introduction to Neurology," I answered. He looked at me expectantly. "What?" I finally asked. It was unnerving to be standing in such close approximation to the other man, especially in the empty room. He grinned at me again. "Nothing. You ready to go?" "Look," I started to smile at him. He grinned wider. "You really don't have to do this. It was an accident, and it was partly my fault for being in such a rush and not looking where I was going and..." "Hey, you're babbling. Are you nervous?" He took a step closer to me and to my dismay, I found myself instinctively taking a small step back. When I saw that I was hugging my books, I forced my arms back down and stood to face Nathan. He was still grinning at me. "Let's go then," I said evenly. He stood to the side and held the door open for me. There was just enough room between him and the doorframe for me to go through, but not without brushing against him. I quickly did so, trying not to think about the hard muscle that I was in brief contact with, and continued down the hall without bothering to look to see if he was following me. The rapid footsteps behind me told me that he was and I glanced over to my left, seeing that the man was now walking silently beside me. "I was thinking," he started to say, "that I haven't eaten yet. How about we make this a dinner thing instead?" He looked over to me, his grey eyes large and hopeful. I was about to decline the whole thing altogether when my stomach chose that moment to growl. Come to think of it, it's been almost six hours since I've last eaten. I could probably use some food in me right about now. Maybe dinner wasn't so bad after all. "That's fine," I said. "Just let me grab my bag and we can go." >>>>> Nathan's POV I couldn't believe my ears. Did he just agree to have dinner with me? I happily walked with him back to his office where he started to stuff his bag with his books and papers. Casually I leaned against the open door, watching him as he moved around the small room. He was dressed in jeans that were slightly worn and a navy golf shirt, tucked in. He grabbed a North Face shell off the back of a chair and strapped his backpack on. I smiled to myself. "What?" he asked. He was staring at me. Uh oh, caught red-handed. "Nothing. You look you can be a student here you know." He rolled his eyes at me and walked past through the door. I took the opportunity to inhale in the scent of his aftershave again. "Whatever. Let's go already, I didn't realise how hungry I was. There's a small cafe just across from campus actually. Interested?" he asked. "Sure. I'll try anything once." ~~~~~ "So, did you ever get a call from Alan that day?" Alton choked at bit on the sandwich he was eating. "How did you know he was supposed to call?" "Because you told me yourself that very day." I watched amused as he blushed. He was so easy to fluster. "Oh, well, yes he did call. Well, I mean he left a message for me. He's been out of town lately. He should actually be home any day now. And... What?" "You're so cute when you babble on like that." I couldn't stop myself from saying it. But I wish I had when he froze in horror. "What did you say?" he asked. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. Pretend that didn't just happen." It was an awkward start in conversation, but we soon realised that as long as we stuck to topics of general interest, it was easy to talk to each other. Eventually, we even discovered that we had a lot of things in common with each other. We didn't even notice that the cafe started to empty out and it was near closing time. "Oh, I didn't realise how late it was," he said. By this point we were just nursing half cups of cold coffee. "I guess we better be going now." "Yeah. Well, I'm just parked out by the street. I'll drive you to your car." "That's alright. I don't drive anyway; I take transit. Thanks for the offer though." "Oh hell no." I took him by the arm and started to drag him towards my car. "I'm not about to let you take the bus at this time of night. It's friggin' cold and dark now." Alton yanked his arm from my hold and glared at me in disbelief. "What? Are you for real? I'm a grown man and I've been taking the bus by myself for as long as I can remember." I held my hands up in the air in mock surrender. "Look, Alton. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound so pushy. But may I please drive you home? Humour me okay?" The look on his face began to soften. "Well, it'll be a free ride home I guess. Which way now?" I led him towards my dirty Cherokee. Yeesh, how long has it been since I've washed that thing? I went to unlock his door first and opened it for him. He looked at me questionably. "The automatic locks aren't working," I fibbed. I drove for awhile as we sat in silence. Every so often Alton would speak up and give me the odd instruction to his place. Finally, I pulled over to the side of an old, small house. "Well," he spoke up again, "Thanks for the ride Nathan. We'll have to get together again when Alan gets back in town." I followed him out of the car and walked over to his side. "I'll walk you to the door." He stared at me like I'd gone and grown a third eye. "Please?" He shook his head in resignation and walked off, leaving me to follow him. "I rent the basement. Student loans are a bitch to pay off." I chuckled at his comment. Then I noticed that it was unusually dark. "Don't you have a doorway light around here?" I asked. "Nah, it burned out and I don't have a ladder to change it. And I'm usually home before it gets too dark to see anything anyway." I could hear him fumbling with his keys, trying to find the keyhole in the pitch black. "Why don't you let your landlord take care of that?" I demanded. "This is a health hazard, you can trip and fall or something." "I've told him many times, but he never gets around to fixing it." I heard a soft curse along with a clang from the keys he dropped to the ground. We both dropped down to feel around for them. I found them the same instant Alton did. My hand was on top of his and he jerked it out of the way. I swallowed and picked them up, silently handing them to him. "Thanks," he whispered. He turned around and as if by magic, he was suddenly able to find the keyhole and had the door opened, and lights on within seconds. He turned around, probably to wish me a goodnight, but I had stealthily sneaked my way pass and into his living room. I took a look around and saw that it was furnished with comfortable looking sofas, an old coffee table, bookcases packed with books, and there were picture frames scattered here and there. It had a nice lived-in look to it and it was kinda cosy. "Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked. He dropped his backpack to the floor and stood with his arms crossed. I gave him a serene look and dropped myself onto his one of his sofas. "Yeah, a coffee sounds great." I watched as he fumed in place before finally stalking off to another room. It was probably a kitchen since I heard the water tap turn on and sounds which sounded like a coffee machine being handled. I hopped myself back up to my feet and walked into the other room, trying to see if there was anything I could help with. He must not have heard me come in as he was standing there with his profile facing me, idly watching the coffee drip from the urn. My breath caught in my throat, in that dreamlike state he looks so beautiful. I imagined that his eyes were soft like that because he was thinking about me, his hair like that because I had thoroughly messed it up while in bed... I was literally standing right behind him by the time he realised that I was there. He turned around and his whole body stiffened. "Geez, Nathan. Don't scare me like that!" "Sorry." I didn't move from where I stood, which was only about a couple feet away. I took a small step forward and saw that he took a small step backwards. It didn't take too long before he was backed right up against the kitchen counter. "Nathan," he stammered. His brown eyes were open wide like a deer caught in the headlights, and he nervously licked his upper lip. I focussed in on the pink flesh, wondering what it would feel like on my naked skin. "Nathan," he tried again, "W...what are you d...doing?" "I'm not sure," I whispered. I moved in closer and we were now only inches away from each other, my hands somehow had found their way to the counter, one on either side of Alton and effectively trapping him there. "Nathan, please," he softly pleaded, "Don't do this, think about it for a minute." I blinked and looked down on his lips. "I just want to know..." I leaned in and touched his lips with mine. It was a very light kiss, but once I'd had a taste of it, I couldn't help but move in and deepen it. I moved my arms from the counter and wrapped them around his waist, pressing his body closer to mine. The body in my arms softened and I heard a quiet moan. I knew that I didn't make that noise, so there was only one other person it came from. Pulling back and breaking the kiss, I looked down into the face of Alton and saw his eyes now glazed with lust. The sight was one to die for and I dived back in for a repeat of the kiss. >>>>> Alton's POV "Oh Alton, I've been dying to do that all night." I vaguely managed to make out what Nathan was saying and felt my heart soar. My body continued to melt into him and voluntarily pressed itself closer into the hard body it was against, every cell in it reaching out for the other man. I heard myself moan again and my arms eventually started to wrap themselves around the strong neck. I let the tongue in my mouth roam freely and shyly I touched my tongue back to it. It was very receptive to my touch as it reached out for me. Soon, I was giving back as much as I was receiving and found myself engaged in a very delightful tongue wrestle. The arms around me began to sweep down the length of my back before they stopped to rest at the top of my ass. Gripping me there firmly, I was pushed most insistently into Nathan's groin so there was no mistaking now that the other man was very well aroused indeed. It was hard and heated against my stomach. I sought for a much-needed breath when the lips on mine left to venture along my jaw, chin and throat. "You taste like heaven," he whispered. "Just like I imagined that you would." I sighed in content and enjoyed the wave of euphoria that flowed through me. I had never felt so good; it was never like this with Alan... I stiffened at the thought. Alan! I was starting to panic, oh no, what am I doing? My arms reached out to push Nathan away, but it proved to be quite difficult...it was like pushing at a brick wall. The kissing never ceased and the constant stimulation on my skin made it very hard to keep my focus on Alan. "Nathan..." my voice was low and husky. "Nathan... stop for a minute..." Finally, he heard what I was trying to say and pulled back for a moment, looking down at me with hungry grey eyes. I noticed that he never slackened his hold on me. Oh shit, what was I trying to say again? Think Alton, think... "It's Alan," I managed to lamely croak out. The lust in his eyes died out and replaced with... what was that? There was anger, envy, regret?? In the end he let go of me, somewhat reluctantly, and took a step back. "I'm sorry, Alton. I don't know what came over me." He shoved his hands into the back pockets of his jeans, which drew my attention to the visibly large bulge that was in the front. I quickly drew my line of vision away but it was too late, he caught me staring. He cocked his head to one side and grinned at me. "That's what you do to me. Are you sure you want to stop?" My throat was dry and I found that I had to swallow a couple times before I was able to find my voice. "Y...yes. I'm sure. I try not to make it a habit of throwing myself at any man when my boyfriend just happens to be out of town." I straightened myself and stared at him, trying to void all emotion in my facial expression. It must have worked because I saw him stiffen his own stance. "What makes you think that Alan's not doing the same thing himself?" My jaw fell; I wasn't expecting that. "Get out," I told him. He had a look of regret on his face and he took a tentative step towards me. "Look Alton.." I pushed him away and took the opportunity to escape from his hold. I was walking away from him as quickly as I could and was almost out of the kitchen when a pair of strong hands grabbed me around the waist and pulled me tight against his equally strong body. Soft lips and warm breath caressed my ears. I struggled to get loose, but the grip held me in place. "Do you deny you feel anything when I touch you like this?" One hand remained holding me secure around the waist while the other hand travelled up to my chest, slowly caressing up my flat stomach. "Nothing," I said evenly. My heart was beating hard and fast and I was hoping that he wouldn't be able to detect it. I tried to struggle again, still not willing to give up. A low laugh filled my ear at my futile attempts and eventually I tired out again. He was a patient man; I'll give him that much. "How about like this?" The wandering hand tried a different route and headed south. It paused below my navel where my pubic bone lies, just short of the root of my semi-erect penis. That is, the hand was still, but the fingers continued to massage through the material of my pants. I began to softly pant. "No," I meekly answered. A tongue reached to lick my earlobe, and the hand finally moved further down to encase my genitalia. A series of strokes and pulls had me in a raging erection in no time. "Now?" he demanded. "Don't bother lying, your body tells me otherwise." I whimpered quietly. "Tell me," he demanded again. "Do you like this? Can Alan make you respond so well to his touch?" I shook my head, humiliated by my body's betrayal. How could I be so easily affected by the other man's touch? "Please, Nathan," I implored, "Don't do this to me. He hasn't okay? He's never made me feel like this before... he's never even bother to touch me okay? Are you happy now? He won't touch me! Now please let me go..." The hands abruptantly let me go and I fled to the opposite wall, scraping myself along it until I was curled up into a ball on the floor. I pressed my head into the cool wall and I forced myself to keep from crying. I couldn't believe I just admitted that. "Just go," I whispered. My eyes were closed, but I knew he was still standing there, probably staring down at me in disgust. After what seem like forever, I finally heard his footsteps as he made his way out. The knob was turning and the hinge creaked when the door was opened. I opened up my eyes again when I hear no further movement. I look up from where I sat and saw his grey eyes staring at me. There was anger in them. Was he angry with me? "Then he doesn't deserve you," he told me. And he was out the door, closing it quietly behind him before I had the chance to ask him what he meant by that cryptic statement. >>>>> Nathan's POV Cursing to myself, I slammed on the gas pedal and sped of away from his house. 'Oh crap, what did I just do back there?' I've never felt so low before in my life. The guy had begged... begged for God's sakes... for me to let him go. But did I? NOOOOO. I don't know what came over me; it was like all my sense of logic went out on vacation when I came near him. He must emit some sort of pheromone that makes one think of nothing else but him. It's intoxicating. The odometre rolled up with every kilometre that I put between Alton and me. And with every kilometre the need to go back got stronger. I shouldn't have left him there curled up on the kitchen floor like that. But I doubted if he wanted me close to him anyway. The guy was probably thinking up interesting ways to kill me right then. I let out a breath of frustration. Staring out into the dark night as the blur of lights skimmed past me, I thought about what Alton had said. I was angry. Why would a man as smart as Alton stay with someone who doesn't appreciate what he has in front of him? He deserved better, someone like...me. I let a smile slip out. I'd come to a decision... I was going to let Alan have a run for his money and do everything I could until I made Alton mine. ~~~~~ "What the hell are you doing here?" I winced inwardly at the not-so-pleasant greeting. "I came to apologise," I said. Cautiously I stood by the door of Alton's office, warily eyeing the other man in case he decided to throw something at me. Not that I didn't deserve it. "I already got your message from admin." I must be a sadist or something; he looks beautiful when he's pissed as hell. His eyes glowered at me and with his hair messed up like the way it normally is he resembled something - like a scientist gone mad. "So you DID get my message. Why haven't you called then? I was at the station all day at the station waiting for your call. I wasn't sure if you got it or not so I decided to drop by and tell you myself." I gave him a smile, but he was having none of it. Oh well, I tried. "If I accept it will you just go away?" He reached over to grab a large textbook off the top of his desk. I crossed my fingers, hoping that he wasn't deciding to throw it at me. "Well, I don't want you to say it if you don't mean it," I told him. He shrugged at me and started to leaf through the book. Breathing out a sigh of relief, I decided to further test my luck. "How about coffee?" He threw me a glare. "How about not? Can't you see that I'm busy?" I studied him for a minute. I could see that my staring was making him nervous. "I'm sorry," I said again and quietly left the room. ~~~~~ "Are you stalking me?" he demanded. I held up my hands in mock surrender before shoving the bouquet of roses in front of him. Alton took a step back and stared at them in shock. His eyes became large and wide, the annoyance dissipating. I was still standing outside his doorstep. Coast wasn't clear yet, still hadn't breached the perimetres. "Does this mean you're not going to slam the door in my face?" I offered him my most hopeful smile. He seemed hesitant to take the flowers from me. "The thorns are cut, trust me." Alton took them, but not before throwing me a glare. >>>>> Alton's POV I wonder how often he uses that puppy-eye look. It's lethal. I looked at the dark red roses and then back to him. "You didn't have to buy them," I told him. He shrugged carelessly and waved a hand in the air. "I wanted to. And besides, even boys need flowers every so often." I was touched by the thoughtfulness. I'd never received flowers from anyone before. Nathan continued to stand there, giving me his innocent look. Well, it was cold, and I was letting the heat out. "You might as well come in." I took a step back to let him in. His face lit up like a 100-watt light bulb. He took a seat on one of the sofas and I made sure to sit down on the other one. We sat there for a few minutes in silence. I was watching TV earlier and the Simpsons were on now. It was an episode I'd already seen but I pretended to look interested in it. "We need to talk," he abruptantly interrupted. "Okay." I fixed him an even stare. "Why don't you start first. Why don't you start by telling me what the hell is going on here." "Alton," he began, "I want you to know that I really, really am sorry about what I did last night. I had no right to question what was going on between you and Alan, and I had absolutely no business in coming on to you like that. I want you to know that I really respect you as a person, and I hope that you will find it in your heart to believe me and accept my apology." I didn't know what to say. I wasn't expecting him to be so frank. Staring into his eyes, I could see that he was sincere about what he was saying and meant every word of his apology. I smiled at him. "Nathan, I appreciate what you say. I can't forget what you did, but I can put it behind me." "Hey, I'll take that. I'm in no position to be choosy. How about we just start all over?" I stared at him, puzzled. Grinning, he offered me his hand. "I'm Nathan McCrae, please to meet you. And your name is...?" "Alton Knox." I took his hand, feeling somewhat silly. "Well Alton, I hope that this is the beginning of a long lasting friendship." I smiled. "Yeah, me too." ~~~~~ "So you still haven't heard from Alan yet eh?" Mark asked. I shook my head, wondering what in the world Alan could've been up to. How busy did one have to be to not be able to make one simple phone call? "I don't know Mark, I'm starting to get worry. What if something happened to him?" It was another Friday afternoon and we sat in our usual seats in the ol' cafe once more. "Nah," he said. "He's a grown man, Alt. He knows how to take care of himself. Now, how about you come over for dinner tonight? Dianne's making her lasagna tonight, and Mike's been bugging me to bring you over all week." "Not tonight, Mark. I'd love to though, but I promised Nathan that I'd go with him to the Firemen's Auction tonight. For moral support." Mark grinned at me. "Nathan eh? You've been seeing him a bit lately. And this guy just up and appears out of nowhere. What's the story buddy?" "No story, he just happens to be a friend of Alan's. I ran into him last week when I was babysitting Mike for you." "That doesn't make sense. How did a guy like Alan come up with a friend like Nathan? I thought he only had stockbrokers, accountants, and politicians for friends." "He's actually the younger brother of one of those stockbrokers, accountants or politicians." "Huh," Mark smirked and raised an eyebrow at me. "He cute?" I felt the blood start to rise to my face. "He's not classically handsome like Alan is, but he's pretty good looking... if you like the rugged, outdoors kinda look." "And do we like the rugged, outdoors kinda look?" Mark leered. "I'm happy with Alan," I insisted. "I never said you weren't. But maybe you would be happier with Nathan?" "I don't think so Mark. Nathan and I are just friends. Nothing more," I firmly told him. Mark threw me a Cheshire smile and said nothing more. Sometimes he could be so infuriating. ~~~~~ I heard a car pull up so I quickly grabbed my coat and keys and went for the door. By the time I had the door open, Nathan was already standing on the other side with one hand raise, ready to knock. "You move fast," I told him. He shrugged. "Long legs takes less time to get from point A to point B." I couldn't help but let my gaze wander over his long limbs and started to blush once I realised what I as doing. I took a step back and studied him as a whole. "Hey, you look awesome," I exclaimed. He did. He was wearing a simple black suit with a short mandarin collar, and underneath that was a crisp white shirt. The hair was worn slick back and I could smell his aftershave from where I stood. "Gotta look good for the ladies," he grinned. I noticed that he had a hand behind him and when he brought it around he had a single red rose in his hand. "Nice touch," I commented. He held it up to me and shook his head slightly. "It's for you actually." "You're amazing," I laughed. "You're going to spoil me, you know that?" His eyes held mine and he suddenly looked serious. "Someone has to," he said. I blinked and when I looked at him again, he was back to his carefree self. "So... ready to go?" he asked. Unsure of what just happened back there, I nodded and followed him to his car. >>>>> Nathan's POV I snuck a glance at the man sitting to my right. It was hard to focus on driving with Alton sitting next to me. Wow, he looked good, and he didn't even know it! He was wearing a dark grey suit with a dark blue shirt and matching tie. I could see that he had tried to fix his hair somewhat with gel, but only succeeded in spiking it. But hell, whom am I kidding? He could be shaved bald wearing nothing but a paper bag and I'd still think he was beautiful. Wait a second, Alton wearing nothing but a paper bag? Now that was a sight I'd love to see. "What are you smiling about?" Busted. "Oh, just some lame joke that one of the guys at the station said today," I improv'd. "Something about finding himself a sugar momma." "Is that what you'd want?" he asked jokingly. "Of course not. I thought you knew by now which team I play for," I gave him a wink. In the dark I couldn't see him blush, but I knew him well enough by now to know that he was turning pink as we spoke. "Relax Dr. Knox, tonight we're gonna have some fun." ~~~~~ I don't know which I enjoyed more, hearing the bets on me raise steadily, or me putting on a show for Alton. Well, and for the ladies too of course. I strutted my stuff to the best of my ability up and down the makeshift catwalk. With every step, pause, and wink I did the crowds got wilder. And in the midst of it sat Alton, looking all embarrassed and shy as the women around him started to pay attention to him. Sam was the emcee for the night and all the single firemen were required to give up one night of our lives to raise money for charity. It was too bad that the audience only consisted off all women... well, I was the only one to think so anyway. After putting in my contribution of raising almost five grand, my record high to date, I went looking for Alton. Taking a quick glance around the room, I couldn't find him and went into the washroom. He was standing by a sink, washing his face with water. "Having fun?" I asked. He jumped, slightly startled. "Holy Jesus, it's crazy out there! And you do this every year?" he asked incredulously. "A room full of estrogens can do frightening things to even the most timid woman." He grinned at me. "You did pretty well out there. Who's the lucky winner?" "A nice girl, her name's Karen. I think she said she was a nurse. She's pretty cute... But what about you? You had quite the collection of fans going on out there." He blushed. "Yah, I had a few offers. Some were disappointed that I wasn't part of the auction." "I bet. Well, are you ready to go?" It was almost comical the way he was nodding eagerly. "Hell yeah, let's bust out of this hen's nest already." He lead the way out of the washroom, with me following close behind, and made a prompt beeline for the exit. He was oblivious to the appreciative stares he received from the crowd, and steered away from the women's advances. I merely grinned and shrugged at the trail of disappointed ladies the professor left behind. ~~~~~ We laughed and joked on the ride home. It was mostly at my expense, what my game plan was at seducing the poor girl who won me. By the time I had pulled over to where his place was, I had already described the restaurant I would take her to, and the entertainment that would follow. "...And we would go back to her place afterwards, perhaps for a cup of coffee and biscuits, or maybe we'll have carried on a conversation so intense we would have to finish it inside. But eventually, all things must come to an end and we say goodnight. Perhaps we'll keep in touch, perhaps we won't and the night shall always be a memory we'll both keep." Alton was staring at me in rapt attention. His eyes shone in the moonlight, and his hair and smooth skin were softly highlighted by the same source. His lips were slightly open, and I had to force myself to keep my gaze from settling on them. "Will there be a goodnight kiss?" he asked. Despite my efforts, my gaze broke down to those full lips before refocusing back on those brown eyes. "There's always a goodnight kiss," I whispered. 'Ah hell, screw this platonic-close-friends-cover up... What would one kiss hurt?' And I was very close to leaning in for that sweet taste, had it not been for a sudden bright glare from my review mirror. Annoyed, I turned around and saw that another car had parked up right behind me. "For crying aloud," I muttered. "Is that you're landlord?" Alton peered over and squinted into the light. "No, I don't think so. They have a driveway around the back, and they don't normally get visitors at this time of night." The blasted headlights finally turned off and we saw that it was a white BMW that was parked behind us. "Oh my God, it's Alan," he happily exclaimed. His hand fumbled around in search for the door handle. He had the door open and was ready to jump out before he stopped to glance over at me. "Aren't you coming?" he asked. Trying to keep my disappointment from being too apparent, I shook my head and gestured for him to go. "Nah, I'll let you two catch up. It's been awhile for you two. Another time maybe." Alton stared at me, slightly puzzled. "Okay Nathan." He stepped out of the car and was on the sidewalk, peering in at me. "If I don't see you before then, have a great time on your date with the nurse." "Thanks, will do." I pasted a smile on my face, hoping that it looked sincere. "Goodnight Nathan." "G'night, Alton." With a small smile, he closed the door and turned around to face the occupant that was getting out of the German car. In my rear-view mirror, I could see that he was giving my SUV the look-over before turning his attention to the man who just left it. With my heart deflating, I watched as Alton hurried into the arms of the other man. Having seen enough, I pulled away from the curb and sped off away from the scene. I cursed to myself. Alton would eventually find out that Alan didn't know who I was and realise that I had been deceiving him. 'Will tonight have been the last time that I would ever get to see him?' And if not, would the next time I see him will have me looking into his eyes filled with hatred and distrust instead of the warmth I'd grown accustomed to? 'Hell, what did I get myself into? I'll be lucky if all I come out of this with is a broken heart.' Would love to hear comments