Date: Mon, 09 Dec 2002 00:26:26 +0800
From: paul sung <psun@hotmail.com>
Subject: Mr Chocolate

DISCLAIMER

==========

This is a work of fiction; any resemblance to persons living or dead is
entirely coincidental. The author asserts all legal and moral rights
(copyright (c) 2002 - psun@hotmail.com) to this work and you may not
copy it or transmit it in any way except in its entirety and with this
disclaimer. This story features descriptions of sex between males:
- if such material is prohibited in your jurisdiction, please DO NOT READ ON,
- if you're under the legal age to read such material, please DO NOT READ ON,
- if you don't like, or are offended by such material, please DO NOT READ ON.
And any comments - brickbats or bouquets, send them over to
psun@hotmail.com And if you find that you like what you're reading, visit
my page at http://www.geocities.com/savante_2002


"Linc. Please be there. I need to see you tonight. Will be over in an
hour."

It was him. Mr Chocolate. Though it had been some time since I'd spoken
to him face to face, the voice was unmistakable. Deep, mellow, utterly
smooth with just enough of a soft drawl which brought to mind decadent,
sultry Southern nights. It would have made him blush if I'd told him that
was exactly how one of his lady friends had once described his voice.

But then again, the man blushed easily - especially when one knew which
particular nerve to hit. I should know since I've known him practically
forever. The first time I'd met him, he'd been a bad, bad boy and I'd
dubbed him Mr Chocolate ever since. Granted he was eight as was I - and
not only was he dark in colouring, his happy cheery face was also smeared
with chocolate. We clicked since then, made a sacred pact of brotherhood
complete with secret handshake in our hidden canyon and stuck together
through thick and thin.

Amazingly the nickname for him seemed almost prophetic as it certainly
fit him to a T right now. These days, Adam Garcia was the embodiment of
chocolate himself - dark, sinful and meltingly irresistible. Different
shades of brown characterized the man from his sinfully dark brown eyes,
his sleek mahogany hair, his light mocha-latte coloured skin, a hard
physique that had graced the covers of fitness magazines and strolled
down runways on fashion week.

It was inevitable that I would have a crush on him once I'd grown up and
realized that I was far more interested in men's dicks rather than girls.
What was there not to like in Adam Garcia? After all, he was a wildly
attractive, sexy man and I was a hormonally charged gay man. Add that to
his sweet, wonderful personality and you had our Mr Chocolate himself.
But the man was hopelessly straight as an arrow. In time, I came to
realize that we were much better off as friends and shelved away the
early schoolboy crush I had on him, hidden deep in a closet that was
never to be opened. It wasn't that I didn't occasionally indulge in
secret fantasies of licking hot chocolate off his hard, well-developed
pecs but I also knew that it was a harmless fantasy since he hadn't shown
any desire to turn over to the dark side so to speak.

For the next few years in school and on to college, we were the terrible
duo, the wild-n-woolly fag of the school and the staid, serious
quarterback with a penchant for books and a secret addiction for choc
bars. On and off he'd give me a stern, no-nonsense lecture on my
licentious affairs with men not really worth my while while I'd tease him
about his overdeveloped biceps and brainless jock mentality. Of course no
one dared question his friendship with the out-of-the closet guy who ran
the local Gay and Lesbian Society especially when the man had biceps like
a rock. Not to mention a boiling hot temper hidden behind his seemingly
placid, unruffled demeanour. Rumours about his sexuality were practically
nonexistent as the girls in high school could readily attest to Adam's
rampant heterosexuality. Eventhough I was his roommate all through
college, I'd certainly never been privy to his bedroom activities - since
the man was stubbornly closemouthed about it despite my nagging - but I
had nonetheless heard the rumours about his reputation as a veritable
tiger in bed. It always seemed ironic that such a straight-laced choir
boy could turn into some kinda Don Juan in the night.

In the years since then we'd moved apart - in physical distance - but we
still managed to keep in touch. It was rare that a week went by without
Adam calling me up for a quick chat to catch up. Nowadays with the advent
of the Net, he also maintained a regular e-mail correspondence with me
that had my colleagues puzzling over the frequent messages from the
ultra-mysterious Mr Chocolate.

So while I puzzled over his latest message, I flipped through the other
pending messages on my machine. Unsurprisingly, the rest of the messages
came from him. One thing Adam was - he was definitely single-minded. What
Adam Garcia wants, Adam got. If he wanted to talk to me, I might as well
sit tight and wait for him. Thing was, he was right on the other side of
the country. Not only would it take hours to get here, it would be insane
to come over just for a chat. The nerves in his voice started making me
worried and I started imagining all the things that could happen. Just as
I was about to pick up the phone to call his cellphone, the phone rang
again.

"Linc!" That deep voice came through over the phone, making me wonder as
usual why he hadn't gone on stage with that amazing voice. "God, I'm so
glad to get you there."

Sending half a dozen messages wasn't his style and I knew it had to be
something important. My mind ran through a few dozen nightmarish
incidents that could have happened. Leaving courtesies aside, I cut to
the chase. "Why, what's up? What happened? Is everyone okay? Your
parents?" I couldn't imagine anything happening to the Garcias. They were
the most.. fun parents any kid could ever have when we were younger. Of
course, Adam hadn't thought so. A real conservative old soul, my friend -
and his ultra-cool hippie parents had probably been as stunned by him as
he had been with them. At times I bet they blissfully wondered whether
they'd exchanged kids when he was born but they loved him like crazy
anyway.

"No, no, they are all alright. Last I heard they were calling me from
some treehouse in Northern California," he quickly reassured me. "That's
not the problem. It's me. I think I need to see you soon. Uhhh.. can I
come over tonight?"

"Huh?" His voice held the same sense of urgency as it had earlier and I
was puzzled. No bodily injury. No family crises. Just to make sure, I
knocked the phone on the table thinking that I had misheard him. The
reception must be bad. He couldn't possibly be flying over 500 hundred
miles for a talk. "You're 500 hundred miles away."

My dead-pan voice got to him and I could hear the smile in his voice.
"Seriously. Trust me on this. I'm at the airport right now."

That stunned me. "Huh?"

"I just arrived back here." He sounded almost breathless like he'd ran
all the way instead of flying. "Do you have any plans? I know it's short
notice and all but I really need to see you."

"This is some kinda joke, right." Which was very unlike him. Well, he did
have a sense of humour, no doubt about that but sudden irrational acts of
impulse certainly weren't his style. Some time ago, he'd once told me
that it was his parents unconventional upbringing that had made him this
way. He was just bound and determined not to be as flaky and nutty as his
own parents. Me, I always thought the unconventional Mr and Mrs Garcia
were the coolest parents a kid could have. But then I hadn't been brought
up in a home where the parents were the ones who pulled weird stunts such
as appearing as Carmen Miranda and a matching fruit bowl at their son's
birthday parties.

"Uhhh.. no."

"You would have me believe that you flew over here just for a chat when
you could have told me over the phone .. unless... Good God, man, you're
getting married!" It was the only thing I could come up with that would
explain it. Although in his last mail, he hadn't mentioned that he was
seeing anyone seriously. For a moment, my heart stuttered at the idea
that he was getting married but I shook away that selfish thought. After
all, Adam was a wonderful man and he did deserve to be happy. But for
form's sake, I just had to damn the lucky bitch. With all that she was
getting, she had better appreciate the man or I'd pimp-slap her silly.

He was silent for a moment. "I-I.."

"You are! That's wonderful news! Who is the lucky gal? Damn, she beat my
time!" I kidded.

"Well, it's not a marriage. Not exactly but.."

"Not exactly?" Since we were kids, he had always been good at twisting
words around which helped in his work but I never did like that about
him. Straight to the point, that's me, no beating around the bush.

He cleared his throat as he always did when he got nervous. "Well, I do
have plans to enter a committed relationship."

"Lawyer lingo?"

He chuckled softly. "Sorry."

The fact that he'd kept a secret from me made me vindictive and I had to
grill him as a principle. "Tell me who! And why haven't you told me? Do I
need a court order to wring the name from you. Whips? Cuffs?"

"Well, I-

"Keeping this a secret from me for so long. You deserve a hard spanking,
Meester Garcia.." Just for the sheer fun of it, I added a trace of
campiness into my voice. "A long, hard spanking."

"Ouch." He laughed, a soft, deep intimate sound that I'm sure had the
women he knew sighing into their pillows. "Are you ever going to give me
a chance to speak in edgewise?"

"No," I answered simply.

He laughed again. "Look, I do have someone in mind but I haven't spoken
to the person as yet. So it's still ... up in the air."

It boggled my mind exactly why his wedding had him running back home but
Adam's mind had always worked in mysterious ways. It was an unusual way
to broach the topic but I shrugged knowing that he would tell me the
reason why as soon as he arrived. "You could have saved your cash -
though I do know you have tons of it - and sent an e-mail for the
wedding."

"Pretty confident of me, huh Linc."

It was easy to answer that. How could anyone possibly say no to him? Not
only was he beautiful on the outside, he was beautiful inside too. Loyal,
dependable, responsible, occasionally a stick in the mud but then all he
needed was the right woman to shake him up a little. Add that to his Mr
I'm-Too-Sexy-For-My-Shirt looks and you had a verifiable Stepford Husband
inside and a lean, mean testosterone-fueled bad-boy sex machine on the
outside. What else could a woman want? Shaking my head vehemently, I
answered honestly. "No sane person would refuse you, hunka-burning love!"

"Stop that," he ordered sternly.

The thought of a marriage reminded me of something. "You'd better make
sure I'm the best man or I'll stage a protest. Run around telling
everyone you knocked me up."

There was a pause of a heartbeat before he replied. "Linc, you will
always be my best man."


Dropping his bags, he came straight into the room and launched himself
straight into my arms. It wasn't the first time he'd given me a hug but
it still surprised me as he usually wasn't the first to initiate any
gestures of affection. For a man who looked as he did and practically
oozed with sex appeal, Adam was surprisingly conservative. Which
essentially brought us back to his parents who spent their weekends
smooching and causing scandals at the local theatre drive-in. I smiled
remembering the time he had to bail his parents out for indecent exposure
- necking by the highway in their sedan. Of course that hadn't embarassed
him as much as their monthly protests over various social causes.

But this time, he gave me a spontaneous hug that I could have sworn
seriously endangered a few of my ribs. There was no doubt that he'd been
working out too. But the hug didn't surprise me as much as my physical
response to him. The sudden whiff of his cologne and his scent brought
back some secret memories of hot, lonely nights staring at my bedroom
ceiling back home and dreaming forbidden fantasies about Adam Garcia. My
sudden reaction surprised me and I tried to pull away only to have Adam
pull me closer.

"Man, I've missed you," Adam whispered softly.

The thrill of having him so close gave me a shock. Hadn't I gotten over
that particular crush years ago? Sure it took two nights of solid
rationalizing but even then it had taken a few rounds of good bourbon and
whisky to forget about him. Gently, I pulled away and held him an arm's
length away. "So have I. You don't have to crush my ribs to prove it."

"Sorry about that but I just ... " Giving me a wry grin, he looked almost
sheepish. "Linc, there's so much I want to tell you."

It wasn't his first time in my place and I pulled his overnight bag away
from him. It was surprisingly heavier than I thought. The shoulder bag
came with a huge travelling case. Was he intending to stay a month?
Ushering him in, I showed him the way to the closet. "Really? And here I
had plans to go for the opera."

In the process of removing his overcoat, he gave me a narrowed look.
"Linc."

The familiar look on his face had me chuckling. "Well, since I made the
time, you've all the time in the world."

"Thanks a lot!" Following my pointed gestures, Adam neatly folded and
hung his overcoat in the closet. And I had my moment to see why the
cameras had always loved my best friend. Each time I see him, he seemed
to look even better. It was a point of envy for me as I always managed to
look terrible next to him no matter how much I primped before the
cameras. Some guys were just born lucky - Adam Garcia was luckier than
most. Just like the song said, when he was born some angel had obviously
sprinkled some damned sex god dust on him.

Catching my admiring gaze, he flashed me a quick, disarming grin. "Yeah?"

Leaning back on the wall, my arms crossed, I nodded. "Just looking at the
man described as sex in a suit."

"Ouch." The moniker had him wincing. When he saw that I was about to say
more, he reminded me with an evil twinkle in his eye. "You promised."

He was obviously referring to the wager I'd made years ago of not
referring to his stellar looks again. So what if I lost the wager and
owed him one night. It's not like he'd ever make good on it. "I can't
help it. Italian-Latino gods do that to me."

Pulling him into my humble abode, I gestured to my living room which as
usual looked as if a tornado had just blown in. For a brief moment, he
stood there in shock. Books, magazines, newspapers, all jumbled together
all over the living room. It was still in a mess - something obviously
totally alien to Adam Garcia but then again he knew me much too well.
Cataloguing the mess in his mind and no doubt rearranging it, the man
sighed and shook his head. Before he could make another comment, I
pounced on him first. "Try to clean up my mess and die."

The idea had been in his head as I had guessed and he laughed, throwing
up his hands in defeat. "I didn't say anything."

Wagging my finger in warning, I shook my head. "I know you, Mr Garcia."

He gazed at me quietly with those dark eyes. "That you do."

That unfathomable look in his eyes had me feeling vaguely self-conscious
and I wondered at the reason. Leaving him in my living room, I dragged
his bags to the guest room. I could have sworn that the last time he
packed this much was when he'd left home for college. "Any drinks for the
New Yorker?"

His voice carried down to the room. "Just plain water will do. Thanks."

"Plain and straight for the straight, healthy man. I hear you," I teased
him as I walked back to the living room. As always he took his seat on
the blue armchair near the side table. That was my Adam - almost as
predictable as the sky was blue. There were some who might find it
maddening but I ... had grown rather fond of that particular quality. Not
only did he take the same seat, he had evidently rearranged the junk on
the dining table into a more acceptable pile of papers.

Giving me a side glance, he grinned, his dark eyes twinkling with
amusement. "Why, you think I should have a... cock-tail?"

"Saucy!" The expression on his face made me laugh. It was the first time
he'd said anything like that and I had to smile. "Did squeaky clean Adam
Garcia just make some kinda dirty innuendo?"

Folding his well-muscled arms, he frowned and made a playful complaint.
"I don't know why you keep saying that. I am not all that squeaky clean!"

Sitting in what I'd begun to call his chair, he looked as disgruntled as
a little boy. Sure, he was all gorgeous male eye-candy now but look from
certain angles and you could still see that naughty eight year old, his
dark eyes glowing with that flash of mischief. Of course nowadays Mr
Chocolate came in a package of male charisma, muscles and zero-fat.
Returning his grin, I drew my finger down his hard forearm and playfully
licked my fingertip. "Yum. Pure vanilla."

"Asshole." He gave me a gentle shove and wiped his arm in mock anger.
Leaning back on the chair, Adam gave me a considering look. "Do I look
all that innocent to you?"

"Innocent? That's not the word for it. Babe, you look like a fucking wet
dream and you know it. Your ex, Pam said that her uterus contracted when
she first met you." Of course that hadn't been the last thing she'd said
to me. There were other things such as mention of his generous size which
had left me gaping in shock, wonder and increasing lust - and wondering
whether it was really true. Judging by his other attributes, it probably
was true. Why else would God skimp on that when he'd been blessed with
amazing yum yum eyes, model cheekbones and a body from Men's Fitness? In
all the years I'd known him, I realized that I had never seen him in the
altogether which was a damned shame. At times, it seems as if he'd been
brought up by strictly religious Mormons rather than parents who had no
qualms at joining a nude anti-fur protest.

The thought had me smiling. Judging from the elder Mr Garcia - if Adam
had followed his family genes, the man was sure to be incredibly
well-endowed.

His face turned red. "Now you're pulling my leg again."

It was easy to get that blush on his face and I delighted at it. He was
still the only man I knew who could blush - and still look hot. Don't
even get me going on his glasses. "I'm not. My gay pals cream in their
pants when you walk by with that absolutely bootylicious bod. Walking
orgasm, that's what you are, my friend."

"Linc." He narrowed that dark gaze on me.

"A body made for sin - and a mind made in a monastery," I commented.
"What a waste."

"Linc."

"You're such an easy target, Adam." Since he was young, mention of his
amazing looks had always embarassed him. Ladies - and men - propositioned
him in public places, bras and contact numbers were left on his
windshield, heads swivelled when he walked by. It certainly was tough
being beautiful. "But I really have missed you, Adam. It's not the same
writing mail."

This time he smiled, bringing those irresistible dimples to life. "Same
for me too."

His earlier drink order had nearly been forgotten. The dictates of being
a host meant that I should serve Adam first but I couldn't resist.
Thoughts of the unknown phantom lady who had snagged Adam Garcia had
plagued my mind all evening as I waited. My imagination had imbued the
secretive tramp with the physique of a Playboy centerfold, the sexual
charisma of a Indian courtesan and the brains of a nuclear scientist.
Flopping on to the couch next to him, I started my interrogation. "So
tell me who she is!"

For a moment, he looked thrown. "Who she is?"

The stunned look on his face surprised me. Wasn't that what was on his
mind earlier? "Yeah. The woman. The lady you flew five hundred miles to
tell me about."

"The lady?" Adam enunciated the word clearly, the shadow of a smile
quicking up the edge of his lips. "You wanted to hear about my girl?
Though I am sure the person would object to being pointed out as my
girl."

"Yeah, you mentioned her earlier," I pointed out. Was the man being
obtuse on purpose?

"The person I'm in love with?" This time his grin widened and I started
getting suspicious.

"Yeah. Do I really need to get out the cuffs? Tell me quick." Giving him
a threatening growl, I reached over and held his hand down. "Get it off
your overdeveloped chest." That was of course an exaggeration. Like the
rest of him, Adam's chest was perfect. Nicely flexed pectorals that
pressed against the folds of his cotton shirt, the dark, nickel-sized
nipples showing through the faint white of his shirt. Yum. I grinned as I
imagined his horrified expression if I were to give in to my impulse and
give his nipples a pinch.

For a moment, he glanced quickly down at our linked hands and his face
reddened. "Well, the person -"

Beating around the bush had never been his style and I started getting
suspicious. He seemed to be hiding something and damned if I didn't want
to know what it was. Was she eight months pregnant? Was she entrapping
him in to marriage? Was she an Afghani rebel leader with a penchant for
whips? "Person? Person in question? Is that lawyer lingo again?"

"Please." Seeing my growing impatience, he backed away and held his hands
out in front of him in surrender. "Bear with me."

Giving him my best scowl, I gave him fair warning. "Five minutes,
counsellor, and make it snappy."

"OK." Leaning forward, he spoke softly, looking at me intently. "I just
need you to keep calm here. Just listen and promise me you'll keep calm."

"Keep calm?" The implication - and the worried look on his face - had me
scowling. Although I had my share of temper - and the occasional wild
tantrum, that didn't mean that I wasn't capable of control. Not everyone
was born an oversized Ken doll with lukewarm temper. "Would that be an
insult, sirrah?"

He grinned. "You know about 9/11 I'm sure."

How could I not know? For the past few weeks, it had been in all the
papers and the news. My first knee-jerk response had been to place a call
straight to his home to see if he was okay. But the previous e-mail had
mentioned a seminar in Boston and that hadn't even been close to point
zero.

"Well, I don't know how to put this, never been all that good with words
when it comes to..... but I was there."

The hasty speech had me staring in shock. "What! You were there! You
promised me you were safe in Boston."

"I didn't want you to worry."

"What! You lied.. You.." I simply ran out of words as I imagined what
could have happened. Never in a million years could I imagine a life
without him in it. Although we weren't exactly living together as we did
in college, I couldn't imagine a day without knowing that he was always
with reach if I needed him. He was the first I'd run to when I had a
problem, the first I'd run to when I'd gotten my promotion. Where would I
be without him? "You could have.. you could.."

"I didn't," he answered coolly. "Although I was less than half a block
away."

"Oh My God." Determined not to overreact, I fought the urge to run my my
hands over him to make sure he was solid and real.

"Forget about that." Coming out of his seat, he moved to kneel in front
of me, resting his arms on my knees. "Look, that's not what I came here
to say."

"What?"

"It was a wake-up call for me. Something that jolted me from my everyday
life. As I saw the fire, the smoke, the building coming down on ..." Lost
in his thoughts, Adam closed his eyes for a moment. "You see, I realized
that if I'd died, I wanted my last moment with someone. Someone I'd
searched for my whole life. Someone to care for. Someone to love. Someone
I never thought I could ever love that much. But I'd never noticed till
then that I had already met that someone." Staring at his hands, he
smiled to himself. "Silly of me."

I felt almost like shaking him. "There's a crash and you realize that."

"Yes." He looked up at me the, his eyes surprisingly somber when he
replied. "Yes. And I realized that I am in love. Probably have been crazy
in love all this time."

There was a seriousness in his expression, something so calm and sincere
that I couldn't help but believe him. Since I'd known him, I'd never seen
him like this and I envied the woman he loved. Somehow, I'd always known
he had a great big soppy heart deep inside that silent, tough guy image.
"So who is she?"

The serious face changed as he grinned roguishly. "It's not a she."

"It's not?" I gaped in surprise. The obvious answer appeared before me
but I just simply couldn't fathom such an idea.

"No."

It wasn't a woman. No XX chromosomes. What did that mean? Not only had he
dropped such a bomb on me, he had to drop two? My mind stalled at the
sudden intrusion of too much information. Before he could give me another
heart attack, I stopped him. "It's a man?"

It took a moment for him to answer and he kept his gaze trained on me.
"Yes."

If Adam had come in dressed in a frilly pink tutu and told me he'd been
starring in a Vegas drag show, I couldn't have been more surprised. A
man? What could he possibly be thinking? "Who is it? Should I be
jealous?" And I was. Even more than I would have been if it had been a
woman. The first thought that had run through my mind was why not me! If
he was going to fall in love with a pair of XY chromosomes, why couldn't
he have fallen for me? It certainly wasn't because I was carrying some
damned torch for him but it would have been nice if he had thought of me
first. After all, I was the one who had been with him since the
beginning.

The quick flash in my eyes hadn't gone unnoticed. Evidently it pleased
him as he couldn't help smiling. Taking my hands in his, he squeezed it
tightly. "You don't have to be jealous. It's you."

"Fuck." The quick answer had me laughing in response. Giving him a quick
shove, I told him off. "Yeah, right, asshole. C'mon, tell me who."

It wasn't easy getting away from him and he held on to my hands. "It is
you. I think I love you, Linc."

It wasn't the first time he'd said it but it still gave me a sudden
thrill eventhough I knew he'd never mean it the way I would ever want.
But it wasn't his fault and I managed a sly grin in response. "Yeah,
baby, so do I."

Adam caught my arm just as I moved away. My answer obviously wasn't the
one he wanted. "No. I love you."

For some inexplicable reason, my heart had started beating a mile a
minute, my mind whirled around as I absorbed what he had just said. Dazed
from the crash, that must be it. Hit his head on a flying piece of
debris. Lost his mind. Searching for something to say, I waved him away
and tried to stand up. "Hey, man, I got it the first time."

When I tried to pull away, he held on tight. This time he kept his dark
gaze on mine. "I love you."

My palpitating heart leapt up to my throat and remained there for a
second. "You're insane. Stop kidding around."

"No, I am surprisingly sane for the first time in my life."

My grin faltered. "You don't wake up and decide to be gay, Adam."

Evidently puzzled by my bizarre reaction, Adam released my hands and
stood. "Call it what you want. I am not going to put a label to it. Gay
or not, I realized that I want to spend my life with you. You are the one
constant in my life. I don't know why I never realized it before."

"So did it come to you as a sudden thunderbolt, a blow on your head or a
slow realization?" Deciding to humour him, I took a seat on the armchair
and waited for his explanation.

As expected he moved back to his chair and took a seat. The sarcasm in my
voice didn't unnerve him and he replied as affable as ever. "Somewhere in
between actually."

My eyes narrowed. "This isn't the time for a practical joke."

Leaning back at his ease on the chair, he smiled in reply. "This isn't a
joke. Why would I lie to you?" he shrugged.

The calmer he got, the more agitated I was feeling. It was amazing how he
could just change the entire dynamics of our relationship and still sit
as cool as cucumber on the damned chair. "I don't think you're lying.
I-I..."

Leaning forward on his chair, he said calmly. "I have never lied to you
before, Linc. Have I ever said anything and not meant it?"

It was true and I couldn't argue with that. "No, you haven't."

"So?"

"What do you mean so?" As he sat there looking smug, I leapt from my
chair and traced a warpath around the room, wearing out my rug. "So that
worries me like hell when you march in here and tell me all this. All
this insane ramblings! Have you been drinking?"

"Hardly insane, I should think." He gave me a sweet smile. "Come on, you
can't tell me you haven't thought of us being together before. Even in
the shortest instance, you have never thought that.. hey, wouldn't it be
nice to be with Adam?"

"No, I haven't," I answered flatly. No way was I going to humiliate
myself by admitting that I'd had regular fantasies of having warm, naked
showers with him since high school. Running my fingers slowly down the
broad expanse of his shoulders, tracing the strong line of his spine to
the full, tempting curves of his buttocks.

"Don't lie." My face burned when he leveled his knowing gaze on me. "I've
seen you looking at me. Checking out my fine fucking wet dream ass."

Using the same line I'd used before was tantamount to a blasphemy for me.
I gave a him a glare to kill at ten paces and he only laughed. "I doubt
you've thought of us being together."

Shrugging those wide shoulders, he shook his head. "If you're talking
about sex, no. Truth to tell, it scares me a little."

As always, Adam was relentlessly honest though I would have preferred
that he wasn't. Was he blind? Stupid? Just the suggestion of sex from him
had me imagining the impossible. Sex with Adam Garcia. Hot, hard, heady,
fast. That muscular, lithe build writhing and tossing on my sheets. Heck,
I'd change my sheets daily just to have him on them. "See, you're not
gay," I pointed out.

"But I'm sure you could teach me." His eyes turned heavy-lidded the first
time he'd given me one of those gazes. For the first time too, I realized
that I wasn't surprised that the ladies fell over themselves when he gave
them one of those looks. It promised unadulterated, scorching sex and I'm
sure the man could deliver. "And I promise you I am a very fast learner."

This new sexual predator Adam scared me more than a little and as he
moved toward me, I took a hasty step back, tripping over a bunch of
books. "Adam, I-I really don't know what.."

His smile turned wolfish, a flash of pure carnal invitation that sent
shivers down my spine. "I've started having dreams about you, Linc.
Really .. hot dreams."

How could I possibly help it? Helplessly, almost involuntarily my gaze
dropped down to his crotch and my breath caught. Whoa mama! It seemed as
if the Garcia blood ran true.

Catching the look in my eye, he chuckled. "Yeah, you're interested."

Dragging my gaze from the whopper he had down in his pants, I forced
myself to meet his gaze. "This is impossible."

"I know it's quite a bomb I'm dropping. But I just couldn't waste another
day." As I remained at arm's length, he was quiet for a moment, his dark
face serious and emotionless. "Just say you don't love me, you don't ever
think you could love me and I'll go away. I won't ever mention it again."

"I-I don't.."

"Look me in the eye, Linc," he ordered.

"I don't."

"Don't what?" Seeing me waver on the decision only had him coming
forward.

Seeing the smug smile on his face was just too much and I shoved him
away. "Stop it. This is not a cross-examination."

My answer had him smiling. "I knew it."

"You don't know anything," I retorted stubbornly. Which was actually a
lie. Not only had he managed to stun me by appearing here - which rarely
happened but he'd managed to do it twice in a day. It had to be some
kinda record for him.

"I don't. Not much anyway but I know you. My best friend, my pal." His
voice softened even as he ran his fingers down my cheek. "My best man."

Withdrawing, I moved away from him and stood up. My cheek still burned
from his fingers. "Stop it."

"You know me, Linc." He gave me a rueful look. "Probably better than I
know myself. You know I won't give up."

Which was true. Since I'd known him, I'd never seen Andy Garcia waver
from his convictions. Like an overzealous pitbull with his favourite
hambone, he never let something go. It was one of his admirable traits
but right now it scared me to hell. "I need time, Adam. You don't
suddenly drop a bomb.. you don't suddenly.." I stuttered hopelessly,
tangled in my thoughts.

Nodding in agreement, he leaned back on the chair. "I know that you mean.
I'm a patient man. I shall wait."

His words sounded almost ominous and I cringed. "You have to get back to
work," I pointed out.

Easy as pie, he replied smoothly. "I took a month sabbatical."

For some reason, the idea horrified me. It sounded as if I was his next
project on his list of things to do. And a whole month! My depleting
strength of will certainly couldn't withstand such an onslaught of Adam
Garcia bent on seduction. Only the barest shred of willpower held me away
from giving in and jumping the man's sexy bones. "What?"

Sitting forward and edging to the front of his chair, he looked at me and
smiled. "I am going to give you romance. I'm going to try my best to give
you the starbursts and marble halls you've always looked for. The Godivas
and the post-it notes. The works. I am going to make you love me in
return."

It was like my biggest nightmare- and my wildest dream - all rolled into
one. Years ago in a moment of weakness, I'd spoken of what I wanted in a
relationship. As usual, he had listened intently and told me that I would
find my prince in time. Little did I know that it would come back to bite
me. "No."

Kneeling before me, he took my hand and clasped it in his large, warm
ones. "Give me a chance. You've always wanted a man who loved you. I
never thought that anyone could possibly fit your criteria - what a
perfect ass he'd be - and I definitely can't but I'll try my best. Just
give me a chance."

Looking down at my... our joined hands, it was so easy to believe in what
he said. I wonder whether he knew that my criteria had been based on a
vague idea of my dream man. Which had actually been Adam Garcia. "You
don't do this, Adam. You don't do this kinda insane stuff. I'm the one
who does this. Have you gotten your head checked?"

"Perhaps." It was an admission that had him smiling but the man was
undeterred. "Well, I think it's about time I did the unpredictable for
once."

"You don't love me. You're not gay."

"Stop." My continual denial was starting to annoy him. Releasing my
hands, he sighed with some exasperation. "When do you start thinking for
me?"

Placing my palm on his chest to keep him away, I tried not to think of
the firmness, the solidity of his chest muscles and the heat contained
within. His heart beat steadily emanating vibrations through the warmth
of his skin. "I am protecting you from your madness. Your insanity."

"Why?"

"I-I.." Exactly why? My night-time fantasies had me creaming all over
Adam's sweat-streaked, naked torso but this was cruel reality. Eventhough
I wanted my hands on that incredible ass of his didn't mean that I could
just toss away our friendship on this sudden change of heart.

Adam only grinned in reply. "It's simple enough. Just say you don't love
me and I'll stop."

It was just that simple and it irritated me that I found that I couldn't
do it. Dammit all, was I still crazy in love with the man? "Damn it, you
know you're an easy man to love."

"And I'm hoping you would," he answered simply.

"I would be taking advantage of you if.."

"Go ahead."

"Do you know what you're saying?"

"Yes," he answered simply. "Look I am a grown rational man. You know me
better than anyone in this world. Have I ever said anything or done
anything on a whim? You know me, I have thought this through a million
times and more. Every question that could possibly come to your mind has
gone through mine and still I have only one answer to give." There was a
wry smile on his face as he said that.

It was what I'd said before. "I-I know."

"I see I have given you quite a surprise." He smiled to himself. "About
time I started doing that."

Before I could even respond, he was standing up and walking to the
bedroom.

"You're leaving?"

My stunned response had him turning around with a smile. "I'm not
leaving. The flight took hours. I am going to sleep."

I gaped in reply. "You can't.."

For a man who had just given a proposal and been rejected, he took it
perfectly calmly. "I think you need to absorb what I've just told you
tonight. Before I would have slowly broken the news to you but I simply
couldn't wait that long. Not anymore. But it can definitely wait a day. I
am not giving up, LInc. I just think you need the time to think it over."

"Well, good night." For a moment, he stood before me as if contemplating
his next move. The wily chess player planning his next move. Before I
could make a smart comment, Adam pulled me up roughly, his strong hands
drawing me up as if I weighed nothing.

Just as I was about to make a faint protest, he effectively silenced me
as his lips came down heavily on mine. Just like everything he did, he
was second to none. It was no wonder that Adam Garcia had left scores of
women heartbroken. Lips, hands, tongue - all combined to simply drive me
wild. In his arms, all rational thought fled - chased away by the reality
of Adam's warm, muscular arms around me, his firm, tender lips against
mine, his hard thigh pressing against mine, the urgency of his cock
burning on my hips. My hands drew up to run through his dark curls like
I'd always wanted to do.

And just as suddenly, he pulled away and looked at me. "Well, good
night."

Still in a daze after the hormone overload, I stared back blankly.
"You're going to leave me horny and confused over here."

"Yeah. But you'll know that I'll be next door. Naked. Horny. And the door
won't be locked." With a wink and a smile, he was gone.

Damn. I should have known that too much chocolates was dangerous. Then
again, he did say the door was not locked.