Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2016 07:19:25 +0200
From: Ti Ja <n8amb7s@mail.com>
Subject: Wayne and I Part 3

This is a story involving sex and romance between adult males.  If such
material is not to your taste or if it is not legal for you to view it
wherever you are, please leave now.  All characters are over the age of
eighteen.  This story and its characters are fictitious and resemblance to
real individuals is coincidental.



Wayne and I



A few weeks later one of Wayne's problems suddenly resolved itself.  He and
I were planning a night out on the Friday; a few drinks in some of the bars
in parts of town he didn't often visit, and then on to a gay pub or two.
He'd never been to a gay bar before and he was looking forward to it.  He'd
bought another new shirt for the occasion, and splashed out on a
fashionable haircut that really suited him.  He met me off the bus as usual
when I got back on the Thursday evening, and I knew at once that something
was wrong, for instead of his usual beaming smile he looked tense and
drawn.

`It's Joe an' me mam,' he said.  `They've bin rowin' for the last two days,
shoutin' and screamin' at each other all the time.  It's fookin' horrible.
This can't go on...'

He wasn't working the next day.  Usually on days like that he lay in whilst
I got up and started my work for the day and then cooked us some breakfast
around nine o'clock, but that day he got up early and went straight home,
saying that he was worried about his mum and wanted to be with her.  I
struggled to concentrate until he rang me late that afternoon.

`Well, that's that all over an' done with,' he said, sounding oddly chirpy.

`What's happened?'

`Oh, Joe went out this afternoon an' come back pissed, ragin' about summat
or other.  Mam `ad said she'd `ad enough, and then we `e got back all over
the place she told `im to get out, an' he went to hit her.'

`Shit!'

`Yeah, not the first time `e's done it, the cunt.  Anyhow, `e missed, thank
fook, fell flat on `is face, and then got up an' started smashin' things
up.  Made a right fookin' mess of the place.  `e went for me too when I
tried to stop `im, but `e were too pissed an' missed again.  I didn't miss
`im though: I knocked `im down an' kicked `im in the bollocks an' that shut
`im up for a bit!  Next thing police were round – neighbours must `ave
called `em, we reckon – an' he got arrested.  They almost arrested me
too, `cos they saw me thump `im again just as they turn up.'

`Really?!'

`Yeah, `e got up an' tried to go for me, an' they show up just as I put `im
back down again.  It were me mam persuade `em it were self-defence an' they
decide to leave it.  Me knuckles are a bit bruised, but fook it, bin
wantin' to do that for ages!  Any'ow, point is, mam's gonna get a court
order to stop `im comin' anywhere near us again.'

`That sounds like the best thing she can do.'

`Yeah, I reckon so.  Joe's in cells at the moment and the copper said
they'll bail `im, but `e won't be allowed to see us.  They're just sortin'
out how to get `is stuff round to `is place, and then `e won't `ave to come
`ere again.'

`Good!'

`Is, innit.  Don't think I can come out tonight though.  I ought to stay
`ere with mam as she's in a bit of a state.  I'm real sorry about that,
like.'

`No, it's fine.  Sounds as if your mum needs you.  We can go out another
time, can't we?'

`Aye, we can.  You about tomorrow?  Not all night, like, I'm meant to be
goin' out with Daz an' that lot, but for a coffee or summat in daytime.'

`Think so.  Text me, anyway.'

`Aye, I'll do that.  Seeya tomorrow.'

He didn't come round the next day in the end.  Instead he spent the day
helping his mum to sort the house out, and he'd used the excuse to get out
of seeing Daz and his crew as well, he told me when he phoned late in the
evening.  The real reason was that he didn't fancy it.  `Got nowt to say to
`em, an' all they're gonna go on about's lasses an' drugs,' as he put it.
I was secretly pleased about that.  I'd never try to stop him seeing anyone
– his choice of friends was none of my business – but Daz and the
others were trouble, and I worried about what they could end up dragging
him into.  He wouldn't mean any harm, but they could all too easily get him
into a fight or some other escapade that could land him in legal trouble,
cost him his job and put him right back where he'd been only a few months
before.  He knew that and always said he'd be careful, and he was seeing
less and less of them, but he hadn't broken all of the old ties just yet.
Moreover, because they lived in the area Wayne and I had to be careful
about being seen together.  We couldn't really drink in the avenue bars
much or enjoy the live music scene there or on the surrounding streets, for
fear of being spotted.  Living our relationship in the shadows was
frustrating, and it meant we lived with the ever-present fear of being
found out.  Looking on the bright side, I mused to Graham that evening over
a pint in one of the avenue pubs, at least Joe was now out of the way.
That was something.







Wayne and I finally had our night out a few weeks later.  He'd taken a lot
of time and trouble getting ready and he looked wonderful, and he was on
cheery form as well as we strolled through town, finally settling for a
first couple of pints in a real-ale pub in the old part of the city.  I'd
have been quite happy to go somewhere he knew, but he said he was keen to
get out into some new places and do something a bit different.

`I like this place,' he said, taking a sip of his pint and looking around
him.  `It's classy, like.  This beer's nice too.  See, I'm turnin' into an
ol' man just like you drinkin' this stuff!  Anyhow, I got summat to tell
you.'

`Oh aye?' I said, guessing what he was going to say.  `Good news?'

`Kind of.  I told me mam about us yesterday.  I'd bin meanin' to for ages,
like, but what with all that shit wi' Joe it didn't seem like right time.
She's okay again now though, an' today she asked me where I was goin'
tonight, an' then she were askin' a bit about whether I was seein' someone,
like, since I stay at your place so much.  She ask me if I `ad a
girlfriend, an' said she understood why I'd not brought `er round when Joe
were about, but now `e's gone I didn't `ave to worry about that.  She say
"girlfriend," but I could tell she were thinkin' it were probably a guy.
Any'ow, I reckoned time `ad come to tell `er the truth, so I come straight
out wi' it all.  Told her I'm gay, like, an' about us.'

`How did she take it?'

`She's okay-ish about me bein' gay.  She'd guessed anyway, she said, and
she were kind of waitin' for me to say it.  She don't like it much, I don't
think, but she knows it's just the way things `appen and there's nowt can
be done about it.'

`That sounds as good as you could have hoped for.'

`Yeah, I reckon so.  Like I said, she don't really like the thought of me
bein' gay.  She didn't say as much, but it's ... well, y'know, the sex,
innit.  She don't like the thought o' me takin' it up the bum, I don't
think!  Besides, she wants grand-kids, an' I've kinda counted meself out
there.  But ... well, there's Jade, ain't there?  An' anyway, she knows
it's not summat I asked for, jus' the way I am, an' there's no changin' it.
She tell me she loves me all the same.  She ain't gonna throw me out or owt
like that.'

`Well, that's something...'

`Yeah, but there's more.  She's not so `appy about me seein' you.  Reckons
you're too old for me.'

`Oh.'

`Nah, don't worry.  I told her it's all my choice an' what I want, and
anyway it were me who started it all.  She don't like it but she ain't
gonna try an' interfere.  She'll come round sometime.  Guess when she meets
you she'll change `er mind.'  He smiled fondly at me over the table and
drained the last mouthful of beer.  `Anyhow, shall we `ave another one
`ere, or what about we go to that other one down the street you were
tellin' me about, that new one?  Like to try that.'

`Let's go to the other one.  Beer's as good as it is in here, and it's a
fascinating place.  It's only a couple of years old, but looks as if it's
not changed in a hundred years.  If it's too busy we can always just come
back here.'

So we did, and I managed to grab us the last table in the corner of the
busy, old-fashioned little room.  I cast a glance over at him as he went to
the bar, nudging his way politely in through the mature crowd that place
attracts, and realised suddenly how much he'd changed in the last few
months.  The Wayne I'd first met would have looked and felt hopelessly out
of place in somewhere like that, and wouldn't have wanted to be there.  Nor
would he have dressed as he had, and he certainly wouldn't have been
looking forward to a night in a gay club.  But then, I'd changed as well, I
realised.  I felt younger, less cynical, less wrapped up in myself; more
positive in all sorts of ways.  I'd been drifting a bit, I reflected.  Life
had seemed a bit purposeless, and much as I loved my job I'd not really had
a great deal outside it, and not really had the motivation to change things
either.  Wayne walking into my life had been a real breath of fresh air.
All of a sudden I had ideas, energy and hope, and that was all down to him.
I hoped he understood how important he was to me.

A bit later we strolled back across town, heading for the big gay bar
opposite the station.  Wayne admitted he didn't know what to expect and he
was a bit nervous, but he soon relaxed inside, with a pint in his hand.
Looking around I spotted a few guys casting glances at him.  I didn't blame
them, for he looked wonderful.

`Aren't you the popular one,' I said teasingly, as we stood out in the back
garden having a smoke.  `Loads of guys making eyes at you in there!'

`Are there?!' he said, taken aback.  `Well, don't think I'm gonna look
back!  You're the only one I wanna look at.'  He put his cigarette out and
came closer.  `I've just thought, it's okay for us to kiss in here, innit?'

I nodded and slipped an arm around him in tipsy affection.  His mouth
tasted of beer and tobacco, and his lips were wet and delightfully soft.
We kissed there, long and slow, and then again inside at the bar as I got
us another drink.

`Hello mate!' said Graham's voice next to me as we drew apart.

`Oh, alright Graham, how're you doing?  Didn't realise you were coming here
this evening.'

`Nor did I!  I'm out with a few people from work.  We just went for a quiet
pint ... didn't plan on staying out so long.'

He shot Wayne a slightly inquisitive look, and I realised the moment had
arrived to introduce them.

`Graham, this is Wayne.  My boyfriend.  Wayne, this is my old mate Graham.'

`Marcus's told me a lot about you!  Nice to meet yer,' Wayne smiled,
shaking Graham's hand firmly.

We all sat down at the side with a drink.  I wondered briefly how best to
handle the situation, but I needn't have.  Wayne had had enough beer to
overcome his natural shyness, and in any case Graham was always good at
involving people in conversation.  He asked a couple of quick questions
about where we'd been that evening, and Wayne piped up immediately about
the Old Town bars and how much he liked it down there.  They moved onto TV
– not a subject I'm ever good at conversing on since I barely watch it –
discovered a mutual interest in sci-fi, which I didn't even know Wayne was
into, and they were away.  Wayne surprised me again when Graham mentioned
several minutes later that he was a member of a local chess club.

`I like chess!' he said enthusiastically.  `Used to play it at school.  I
were quite good at it for a bit, but then I kinda lost interest, like you
do when you're fourteen I guess.  Still play it with me sister sometimes.
You play it, Marcus?'

`Nah, not really.  I was never any good at it.  I know the rules, but I
could never get the strategy!'

`We'll `ave to `ave a game sometime.  Anyhow, Graham, this chess club...'

I just sat back and let them talk, until Wayne drained his pint, kissed me
on the lips and went to get another round of drinks.  Graham watched him
go.

`I was wrong about him,' he said flatly as soon as he was out of earshot.
`You were right, and I was wrong.  He's lovely.  He is young and it shows,
but he's such a nice lad, and he's not daft either.'

`No, he isn't.  Far from it.  There's quite a wise old head on those
shoulders of his.'

`Yup.  I have to say, he's really cute too!'

`Keep your covetous eyes off him!' I laughed.

`Nah, you know he's not really my type.  I'll leave you to try and keep up
with his no doubt rampant sex drive!'

`Rampant doesn't even begin to cover it mate ... the boy's an animal!'

The three of us moved on to another place over the road; a dark, dingy pub
with a sticky carpet that I love because it's cheap, camp, friendly and
open all night.  There was quite a crowd in and the dance floor was
humming, drag queens and muscle Marys throwing shapes to Abba and Kylie.
Wayne looked around and grinned helplessly.

`This place is fookin' brilliant!' he laughed.

He'd once said he wasn't much of a dancer – he was too self-conscious
and shy – but he was soon casting eyes at the dance floor, tapping his
foot with the music.

`Come on, come and dance with me!'

He hesitated, then laughed aloud, took my hand and followed me onto the
dance floor.  Graham caught my eye a few minutes later, shook his head and
grinned at the sight of us, lost in our own little world, smiling
helplessly at one another as Wayne gyrated his lithe, agile body around me.

Wayne and I left sometime in the early hours and walked the mile or so back
to my place.  The streets were nearly deserted, save the odd car hissing
past and the occasional drunks stumbling in and out of the takeaways and
taxi offices.  The city was at peace, and we ambled home through the light
rain, stopping to kiss in darkened doorways and under the elms on the
avenue, eking out the last minutes of a perfect evening.






`Ow, fook, me head,' groaned Wayne as we woke up the next morning.  He sat
up rubbing his temples, and took a big drink from the glass of water by the
bed.

`Hung over?' I asked sleepily, realising to my surprise that I didn't feel
too bad.  `There's some aspirins in the drawer.'

He fumbled around, found them, swallowed a couple with some more water, and
held the glass down to my lips so I could take a drink as well.  We cuddled
up and drifted back off to sleep for an hour or so.  When we woke up again
he felt a lot better, and we were horny, kissing and touching, erections
pressing into one another's tummies.  He threw the duvet off us and lay on
his back, stroking his beautiful cock.  I reached down and took over from
him, wanking him gently at first, then a little harder, and he did the same
for me.

`Oh ... oh ... you're gonna make me cum!' he breathed.

`Good ... I love watching you cum.'

He began to writhe as I kept going, breathing deeper and louder.  He
screwed his face up, his balls tightened, and then his back arched
convulsively and he let out a great sigh as he spurted all over his chest
and tummy.  At the sight of him blowing his load I began to get nearer
myself.

`Gonna cum soon ... ooh ... oh here it comes!'

`All over me ... cum all over me ... oh yes!'

He lay and smiled at me beatifically afterwards, his body covered in both
of our cum, then reached into the drawer for some tissues.  He pulled out
an old vibrator I'd had for years.

`Y'know, I never seen you use this.'

`Doesn't work any more,' I said wistfully, rubbing cum off his chest.
`Should get another one really.  Love to fuck you with one ... or watch you
fucking yourself with it!'

`Mmm, yes!' he grinned sexily at the thought.  `I could use one on you too!
Think o' that ... doin' each other wi' vibrators at same time!'

`You've such a dirty mind sometimes!  Heh, yes, we could do that, couldn't
we?!'

We lay in a bit longer until Wayne's headache had subsided completely, and
then got up, showered, and decided to go out for some breakfast.  I
suggested a new place on the avenue that had just opened and I was keen to
try, but he reminded me sadly that that would risk being seen together, so
instead we went the other way and found a café on the next main street,
near the library.  It was a slightly pretentious place, but amid all the
ciabattas and fancy salads it still did a passable bacon and eggs.  It was
another place the Wayne I'd first met would never have gone into.  I shot
him a surreptitious glance as he pushed his empty plate aside and reached
for his coffee.

`Posh round `ere, innit?' he laughed, eyeing the adverts for healthy-living
classes and acupuncture lessons.  He dropped his voice.  `Anyhow, y'know we
were sayin' about vibrators.  Shall we go an' see if there's anywhere to
get a couple...?'

`Oh I know somewhere ... so long as you don't mind coming to a sex shop
with me!'

He fingered his coffee cup and shot me a knowing grin under his eyebrows.

`Nah, I don't mind.  Not round `ere though, is it?'

`No, there's a big place just on the other side of town.  Shall we get the
bus down when we've finished here?'

So we did, and then walked down through the city centre and the bustle of
Saturday shoppers.  I looked round sadly, as I often did, at the closed
shops and `to let' signs, and reflected on life in a poor city just
emerging from a deep recession.  It always made me angry, and I mused aloud
on how in much of London you'd barely have known there was a problem.
Wayne hadn't seen that and he was more stoical, pointing out that others in
the world had seen worse, with which I couldn't disagree.  We walked on,
across the river and through a scruffy, industrial part of town, to an
unassuming warehouse tucked away by a main road.  Wayne looked rather
uncomfortable as we went in, but he soon brightened up as he looked around
at the number of very ordinary people examining the lingerie, magazines,
DVDs and everything else on offer.

`She don't look the type to be `ere,' he grinned quietly, eyeing a very
straight-laced looking lady who was holding up a frilly scarlet corset for
her husband's approval.

`Nor do you,' I teased him.  `But then, nor does anyone really.  Amazing
how many people come into these places who you'd never think would.
Anyway, here we are.'

Wayne cast an incredulous glance over the range of vibrators on offer, his
eyes widening as he saw the sheer size of some of them.

`No fooker's puttin' that anywhere near me!' he laughed, pointing to one
nearly as thick as his arm and long enough to puncture a lung.  He clenched
his bum visibly.  `Oh ow!  Me eyes are waterin' just thinkin' about it!'

`Don't worry,' I chuckled.  `Fisting and all that really isn't my thing.
Anyhow, I don't want to ruin your arse forever: I like you nice and tight.
How about this one?  Shouldn't be too painful!'

`Hmm, bit thick.  That one's a weird colour ... ah, this'll do!  Can just
imagine how that...'

He saw my face at the sight of him holding up a big purple phallus, and we
both doubled over laughing.  The lady with the corsets looked around
apprehensively.  Eventually we managed to pick two fairly tame specimens
and headed off back towards town and the bus home, exchanging knowing looks
as we went and anticipating what was likely to happen later.  Wayne started
suddenly as the bus passed my street and slowed down, spotting a couple of
scally lads near the stop.

`Shit!  That's Daz there,' he hissed.  `No ... `e's not gettin' on is `e.
Stay `ere.'

We sat back down, and Wayne bent and pretended to root through his bag,
keeping his head below the window until we'd passed them.  Instead we got
off at the next stop and took a roundabout route through the tree-lined
rows of Victorian villas to my street, Wayne saying fretfully as we went
that he hated having to sneak around like this.  I considered pointing out
to him that he could stop seeing them completely and the problem would fade
away, but that wasn't quite fair and I kept the thought to myself.  Safely
back at my place I made us some tea as he started opening our purchases and
fumbling in the cupboard for batteries.

`Mmm!' he said, turning his on for the first time and feeling it buzz in
his hands.

I took it from him, still buzzing, and fingered it as he watched, pale and
intense-looking with a bulge starting to grow in his trousers.  Slowly I
touched his face with it, running it gently round his lips.  He opened his
mouth and let me slip it in gently, licking it and sucking on it like my
cock.  We forgot the tea at once.

`Come on, let's get upstairs.'

He lay naked and aroused on the bed as I ran it all over his body, sighing
with pleasure as it touched his most sensitive areas, opening his legs so I
could run it gently up the insides of his thighs, around his balls and up
and down his cock.  He turned over on his front and sighed even more loudly
as I ran it down his back and all across his bottom, and then started to
probe his crack, pressing it softly on the back of his balls, drawing it
slowly across his hole.  That drew a gasp from him, so I did it again,
holding it there longer, sending the vibration up through his insides.

`Oh ... oh, fook me with it please.'

I put a condom on the vibrator as he lay, and pushed a couple of pillows
under his tummy to make his bottom stick out.  He whimpered in anticipation
as I lubed his waiting, trembling hole and touched the vibrator against it.
Very, very gently I began to push it in.  He squeaked as it penetrated him,
and then gasped at the sensation as it slid slowly up inside him.

`Okay?'

`Oh!  Oh yes!  More!'

I pushed it in a little further and wiggled it slightly, drawing moans from
him, and then began to fuck him with in, in and out, in and out, as he bit
into the pillow and writhed.  When I paused he lifted his head and looked
at me, eyes closed, face bathed in sweat and mouth hanging open.

`You too...' he whispered.  `Come an' do it too.'

I held the dildo in him as he rolled over and sat on it, pushing it firmly
up his bum, and then straddled him with my bum sticking out so he could run
the other dildo round it.  The sensation was wonderful and I kissed him and
whimpered and begged him to lube me up and fuck me with it.  He watched my
face intently as he pushed the dildo up my arse, moaning aloud as he hit my
prostate and held it there.

`Stop it!  Stop it!  I'll cum now if you do that!'

Instead he began to fuck me with it, slowly and gently, bucking his own
hips as he did to move the dildo around inside him.  We changed positions
and knelt side by side, fucking one another slowly and listening to each
other's moans, and then came round face to face so we could kiss and wank
and push the dildos in and out of each other.  He found my prostate again,
tugged hard at my cock and bit into my neck at the same time, and the
sensation was so incredible I nearly screamed.

`Oh God I gotta cum soon,' I moaned.  `This is so fucking intense.'

`In my mouth ... fookin' spunk in me mouth!'

`Get down on your back again then, and get your naughty li'l mouth wide
open.'

He slid down on his back, legs up, fucking himself madly with the dildo and
wanking hard.  I straddled him again, cock hovering over his face, pointing
straight down towards his tonsils as he moaned harshly in his throat.  He
ran his tongue round the head.

`Gonna cum ... ready for it?  Gonna swallow it all?  Oh ... oh god ... here
it comes!  Oh fuck!'

I hadn't cum so much in ages.  It came out in great gouts, firing onto his
tongue and teeth and all around in his mouth.  He swallowed eagerly, still
moaning in his throat and writing, and then all of a sudden his pretty face
screwed up in ecstasy.  He too cried out aloud, and I felt his cum firing
all over my bum and the backs of my legs.

`Fuck me, that was intense...'

We cuddled up together as we came down off the buzz, stroking one another
tenderly and kissing long and slow and intimate.  He looked up into my
face.

`God your eyes are lovely,' I whispered.  `You really are beautiful, you
know.'

`So are you.  You're gorgeous.'  He smiled.  `It's bin amazin' this
weekend.  Bin lovely spendin' all this time together.'

`It has, hasn't it.  Tell you what, shall we go and have a shower and
something to eat before you go?'

He nodded contentedly, and after another long, slow kiss we got up and went
down for a shower.  It was lovely, water running down our bodies as we
soaped and rubbed and massaged, loving the sensation of grooming each
other.  We got out and towelled one another down, dressed and settled down
on the sofa with some tea.  He was meeting his mates from work for a drink
that evening, and probably going on to a club in town with them.  I
wouldn't see him until the next Friday, as he was working a lot that week
and I had to go to London.  But we were already making plans for the
following weekend, involving another big night out and another day in bed
together.

`I can't wait,' he said softly as we kissed behind the front door.  `Gonna
miss you this week.'

`Me too.  Text me, won't you.'

He nodded, giving me his sweetest smile, then came back for one last,
lingering kiss before he left.  I watched him walk off down the street
until he was out of sight.  Next weekend suddenly seemed a long way off.







I was in London a few days later when my mobile phone rang, a number I
didn't recognise.

`Hi, is that Marcus?' said a woman's voice; local-accented, sounding very
nervous and upset, as if on the verge of tears.

`Speaking.'

`Hi ... this is Suzy, Wayne's mam.  He asked me to ring yer.'

`Oh, hi,' I said, at once puzzled and concerned.  `Is ... is everything
okay?'

`No, no it's not.  Wayne's ... he's in hospital.  He's bin beaten up.'

`Oh no!  What ... what's happened?  Is it bad?'

`Yes, very bad.  It was Daz, that scumbag mate of his.  From what police
are saying he tried to get Wayne involved in something, beating someone up
over some drug deal they reckon.  He said he wouldn't, and Daz just went
for him, and ... a few others joined in.'

`Oh my God.  What...'

`Wayne managed to get out of the house somehow.  They found him lyin' in
the road.  All the lads got arrested and they've charged them all with
dealin' – they searched the house and found everything – and GBH.
They're even talkin' about attempted murder.'

`Oh Christ.  But what about Wayne?  How is he?'

`He's in 'ospital.  Cracked ribs, hurt his back, broke two fingers,
fractured his cheekbone and his face is a real mess.  They've beat `im
black an' blue all over.  My poor boy...'  Her voice cracked, but she
pulled herself together.  `Anyhow, doctors don't reckon there's any
permanent damage done, but 'e was lucky.  Could easily have been brain
damaged, like: the police say Daz was kickin' his head like a football.
His eyes are a terrible state too; could have blinded him, they say.  He
... 'e wants to see you.  When he come round you were first one he asked
for.'

`Oh no, poor Wayne.  I'm in London at the moment, back late tonight.  Can I
go and see him tomorrow?'

`Aye, do.  He'd like that.'

She gave me the ward details and visiting times and rang off, leaving me in
a hell of worry and self-recrimination.  This was at least partly my fault,
surely.  I'd helped to put Wayne in that position, after all, even though
who he spent his time with was nothing to do with me.  I wondered if Suzy
blamed me, or even if he would, silly though that seemed when he'd asked to
see me.  Then I began to get angry.  How could they do this?  What had
gentle, harmless Wayne done to deserve having his head kicked like a
football?  And even when the physical scars had faded – if they ever
would fully – what about the psychological damage it would do him?  He
was just starting to get his life together.  How much harm would this do to
his fragile confidence?  I sat like a zombie for the rest of the day at
work and all the way home later, staring blankly out of the window as the
train sped through the evening, resolving quietly that I'd do anything I
could to make sure Daz and anyone else who'd been involved went to prison
for as long as possible.

The next day I was at the hospital right at the start of visiting hours,
dreading what I might be about to find.  I'd barely slept the night before,
and I felt awful.  My heart was in my mouth as I walked down the ward, amid
the sick people and their concerned visitors.  And then there he was.  He
looked terrible, lying propped up on pillows with a huge dressing on his
left cheek, vivid scars on his forehead and both his eyes blackened, all
puffy and half-closed.  Then he saw me.  He lifted himself up a little, and
as I came and stood by his bed he stretched out his bruised arms and
fondled my forearm with strapped and bandaged fingers.

`See what `appens when you go away!' he said softly, with a bleak smile.
`Don't I get a kiss, then?'

His lips were split and painful but his kiss was still gentle, and
mercifully he'd soon have his lovely smile back, for although he'd lost a
couple of teeth they were further back and wouldn't show.  The surgeons had
been able to set his broken nose back to its old shape as well, and in a
few weeks no-one would know upon seeing him what he'd been through,
although for the rest of his life he'd carry a faint, jagged scar below his
left eye from the boot that had fractured his cheekbone.  I sat down by his
bed and he told me as much as he could remember of what had happened,
filling in details with what the police and others had told him.

Daz had phoned him that afternoon and, slightly against his better
judgement, he'd gone round to see him for the first time in weeks.  He knew
as soon as he got there that he shouldn't have gone.  Daz, Nick and another
few lads were wired on crack, tense and aggressive, and they started laying
into him verbally when he refused to take any with them.  He wasn't one of
them any more, they said: he looked like a student, a townie, a queer.  He
was alarmed by their hostility and sat quiet, trying to work out how to
extricate himself from the situation.  Then Daz stood up and announced that
they were going to `sort out' a group of Polish guys who owed him some
money.  At that point Wayne realised he was `gonna get dragged into summat
real nasty.'  He screwed his courage up and said that he wanted no part of
anything like that and was going home.  Daz turned on him savagely,
demanding to know who the fuck he thought he was, what kind of posh bastard
he was turning into and where he was spending all his time these days.
Suddenly riled, Wayne snapped at him to mind his own business, and at that
point Daz lost his temper completely and lashed out at him.  After that he
remembered nothing else until he'd woken up in hospital.  Somehow he'd
managed to get out through the front door, but they'd come after him.  One
of them had felled him just outside the house and they'd set about him
there with fists and boots and a fence post.  They were still at it when a
police car, called by someone over the road, turned into the street with
siren screaming.  Thankfully an ambulance was close behind to tend to
Wayne, who was lying unconscious in a pool of blood, while the police
rounded up the thugs who had once been his friends.

`Guess that's the last I'll see of Daz an' the others then,' he finished
plaintively.  `'cept in court maybe.'

`Hopefully they'll bang them up for a good long time.'

`They will.  There was shit-loads of smack and scales and everythin' when
they searched the 'ouse, and some o' the other lads who don't live there
`ad a load of crack an' money on `em.  They're all fooked.'

`Good!'

`Least I'm free of `im now,' he said, softly.  `Daz, I mean.  That's what
matters, innit?  Does to me anyway, not seein' `im sent down or owt.  He's
a poor bastard really.  Him an' the rest of `em.  They didn't `ave much,
and now they've nowt at all.  Nothin' to look forward to `cept prison.'

I looked at him in wonderment, marvelling at how he could be so forgiving.
He reached out and took my hand again.

`Honest, I don't wanna stress over them.  Just try an' get better an' get
on wi' life ... an' spend more of it wi' you.'

`Oh Wayne.'

We were still sitting holding hands when he looked up over my shoulder.

`Oh hi mam!' he said.

I started a little and looked round.  Suzy, a slender woman in her forties,
looked very like her son in some ways, with the same piercing eyes and
mousey-brown hair.  She looked careworn and worried, but she cracked a wan
smile as she saw us.

`So, you'll be Marcus,' she said, holding out her hand.  `Nice to meet you
at last.  Shame about all this though, like.'

She pulled up another chair and updated us on the news.  She'd had another
talk with the police that morning, she said.  They'd concluded they didn't
have evidence enough to charge any of Wayne's attackers with attempted
murder, but all of them had been charged with GBH and drug offences and
would be going before magistrates the following day, when they would surely
be remanded in custody, safely away from us.  There would, of course, be a
court case, but that was some time off yet and she told Wayne not to worry
about it for the time being.  It didn't seem five minutes later that the
loudspeaker announced that visiting time would soon be over.

`You should be out of 'ere soon,' she said, bending over to kiss him on the
forehead.  `Few more days, doctor tell me.'

She stepped back and I stood by the bed, Wayne and I holding hands and
gazing intently at one another.

`You can kiss `im y'know,' Suzy said sardonically behind me.

So I did, and he held me there for a long time.  I looked back as we left.
Wayne was sitting up in bed, staring after us with longing in his eyes.






`Right,' said Suzy as we got out of the hospital.  `Come an' have a coffee.
We need to talk.'

There was a small café a couple of streets away, so we headed that way,
making small talk as we went.  Suzy was polite but guarded, and I got the
impression she was waiting to say something.  I found out what as soon as
our coffee was put in front of us.

`Okay,' she said.  `I `ave to be honest.  I was proper unhappy when Wayne
told me he was seein' another guy, an' ten years older than `im.  Didn't
like the thought of him being gay, doing ... well, y'know...  I thought you
were takin' advantage of him, just gettin' yer end away with a young lad
like `im who don't really know what he wants.  Anyhow, I were wrong,
weren't I?'

`Well...' I started, trying to work out how on earth to respond.
Thankfully I didn't have to, for she cut straight in again.

`Yeah I was.  You been real good for `im.  He's changed.  I thought it were
a phase at first – he were just tryin' to impress you or summat – but
he really has changed.  He's grown up suddenly.  He's started thinkin'
about his life an' what he wants to do with it; he's got a sense of
direction, like.  An' he's got so much more confidence.  Y'know, he's
started to believe in himself a bit.  He talks different, he dresses
different, he even looks different; taller, like, an' prouder.  When me an'
Joe split up he was a real help; strong, like, manly, and there for me to
depend on.  He wouldn't `ave bin before, no way.  He'd just `ave hid from
it.  An' that's all since `e started seein' you.  Meetin' you's the best
thing that could've `appened to `im.'

`Well, I'm glad you think so...'

`I do, an' I saw it today, the way you look at each other.  He ... he
thinks the world o' you, you know.  He really does.'

`So do I ... think the world of him, I mean.  Honestly, I didn't know what
to think at first.  Everything happened so fast, and to be honest I thought
it couldn't ever work between us.  Y'know, I thought he was too young, and
we were too different, and so on.'

`Well, I can see why you thought that!' she laughed.  `You're about as
different from any of his owd crowd as I can imagine.  Point is, it `as
lasted though, `asn't it.'

`Yes.  And I really want it to go on.  As I said, I really didn't know what
to make of him or what was happening at first, but now I can't imagine life
without him.  He's ... oh I don't know how to say it really.  There's
something wonderful about him that I can't explain and can't describe, but
it means the world to me.  He's changed me too.  He's so ... wise, if you
see what I mean.'

`Wayne?  Wise?!'

`Yeah, he is.  I think he is, in his way.  Something about the way he sees
things; the way he gives off this impression he doesn't care about
something, and then it takes ten seconds talking to him to realise he does,
passionately.  And yet, he's so calm as well, in a weird kind of way.  And
he's made me calmer with him, more relaxed if you like.  All of a sudden I
don't feel as if I want everything to happen yesterday.  He's made me kind
of contented, as if I've found some sort of peace for the first time in my
life.  He really is a lovely person.'

`Aye, he's a good lad.'  She smiled fondly, but then her face grew grave.
`I just hope all his won't do him too much damage, knock his confidence, if
yer see what I mean.'

`Yes, I do.  It worries me as well.  It's a horrible thing to happen to
anyone, being beaten up by your old mates.  We might have to help him get
over it, I think.'

`Aye.  Put his head back together, like.  Look, I'd rather have him at home
for the first few days at least when he comes out of `ospital, but you're
welcome round when you like, and if you want to stay over you can.  Nurse
tells me he's bin havin' real bad nightmares, so if you're there that might
help.'

`Yes, that sounds like a good plan, and if you don't mind me staying
over...  I've got to go away again for a couple of days the week after
next, but I can take most of the time off work until then so I can be about
when you need me; when he needs me.  There'll be the court case to deal
with sometime as well.'

`Reckon you can help there?'

`I think so.  I've been to court as a witness once and I know how the
system works.  I reckon I can get him through it, so long as he's prepared
to give evidence.'

`He ought to.'

`Yes.  I imagine they'll want him to, although to be fair there are
witnesses by the sound of it so it might not be absolutely essential he
does.  Even so, it will probably help, and I think all of us want to see
those bastards locked up for as long as possible.'

`You're not wrong there!'

`Well, goes without saying that if there's anything I can do to help, I
will, and if Wayne needs any persuading then I'll see what I can do.'

`Good.  Thanks.  Oh, an' I've bin onto `is work as well, told `em what's
happened.  They've bin fine about it: he can go back when he's better, an'
he's gettin' some sick pay as well.  They sent `im a real nice card too
tellin' him to get well soon `cos they miss `im.'

`Yes, he showed me that.  Glad to hear they're being good about it all.'

`Yeah, he done well gettin' a job there.  Anyhow, I'd best get back.
Jade'll be home soon.  Look, it's bin good to meet you at last,' she
finished, holding out her hand.  Her grip was surprisingly firm as she
shook mine.

`And you.  Let's try and make some good come out of this, shall we?'

`Aye.  See you back there tomorrow?'

`Yes, I'll be back again tomorrow.  I promised I'd bring him a book
anyway.'

`A book!'  Suzy laughed sharply.  `Yeah, that sounds about right.  He
always did like his books when `e was a kid.  Then `e seemed to lose
interest, until `e met you an' all of a sudden he can't get enough of them
again.  Keeps coming home from the library with piles of `em.  I can't mek
head or tail of some o' what he's reading.  The Iron Age, he's reading
loads about, at the moment.'

`Some of those books are probably mine!  I had a phase of reading about
that kind of thing, and he's certainly borrowed a few of my books.'

`I `ope he brings `em back?'

`Oh yes, of course he does.  And he really is reading `em too.  He keeps
coming out with these really sharp comments about them.'

`Bless `im.  Nice to see `im so enthusiastic about summat, innit?  Anyhow,
best go: bus'll be `ere any minute.  See you tomorrow.'







Wayne came out of hospital a few days later.  He was limping badly, his
ribs hurt and he still looked a mess, but all of his brain scans had come
back clear and he was on the mend.  He was quite cheerful that evening,
saying how nice it felt to be back at home and to be able to do things for
himself.

`It's `orrible,' he said quietly to me, making saucer eyes as best he could
through the bruises.  `First couple o' days I even `ad to `ave someone `elp
me when I went for a dump.  Couldn't even wipe me own arse!'

He laughed about it, but I could tell he wasn't right.  He seemed oddly
distant despite the joking, as if the cheerfulness was a front he was
putting on for our benefit.  I said so quietly to Suzy when he popped out
of the room, telling her I wouldn't press him on it, but at some point I'd
try and get him talking quietly.  In the event I didn't have long to wait.
I stayed over that night; he and I in his single bed, in the teenager's
bedroom he'd long outgrown.  That wasn't a problem – we usually slept
close together anyway – but he was restless and it took us a long time
to get to sleep.  A few hours later I woke up again as he stirred fitfully.
He was trembling all over.

`Wayne,' I whispered.

He turned over towards me, wincing with the pain in his ribs.  His battered
face was bleak; bleaker than I'd ever seen it.  Even in the near-darkness I
could see that.

`Wayne, are you...'

He shook his head, and then all of a sudden he broke down and buried his
face in my chest, crying uncontrollably.

`I can't sleep,' he sobbed.  `I just keep thinkin' about it.  I can see `im
now, Daz, goin' to hit me.  Why?  Why me, for fuck's sake?!  What did I
do?'

`You didn't.  He did.  He's lost it, Wayne.  The drugs have fucked him up.
None of this is your fault.'

`I let him.  I went round there.  I should have known...'

`You weren't to know what was going to happen.  It's only natural for you
to blame yourself, but really, you shouldn't.  Just try and be glad you're
well away from him.'

`But I'm so frightened.  What if he don't get sent down?  What if he comes
back and tries to finish the job?  He'll kill me next time.'

`He won't.  You said yourself they found enough drugs in the house to put
him away for years.  Anyway, he was off his nut on crack, and that often
makes people unpredictable and aggressive.  Like as not he wasn't planning
this beforehand: he just went for you on the spur of the moment.  Not that
it matters: he's going down either way.'

`But what if they don't ... and court.  I can't do that.  I can't!  He'll
kill me.  I can't...'

`Look, the court case is ages away yet.  One thing at a time, eh?  You may
never have to testify, and if you do there are loads of ways they make it
easier for people.  And there's witness protection, if it comes to that.
Look, it's all going to be okay.  And I'm still here for you whatever
happens.  You know that, don't you?  I'll always be here for you.'

He nodded and buried his face in my chest hair again, and I kissed his
forehead and held him for a long time, until he stopped trembling and his
sobs subsided into steady, even breathing.  Thankfully I drifted off to
sleep again with him in my arms.







He woke me up the next morning with a squeak, a gasp and a curse.

`What's up?' I asked sleepily.

`Me ribs ... they hurt bad an' I just lay on `em.'

`Oh, poor you.'  I put an arm round him and he turned gingerly over and
kissed me.

`I'm sorry `bout last night,' he whispered bashfully.

`Sorry?!  You've got nothing at all to be sorry about.  It's only natural,
how you're feeling now, but it will be okay.  I promise.  I know it's awful
at the moment, but it won't last.  You'll be fine.'

`I `ope so,' he said, looking uncertain.

I did float the idea of taking him out for lunch somewhere, but he didn't
want to be seen out with his face in the state it was in so we stayed about
the house.  Instead, he suggested he cook for us all.  That sounded like a
good idea: letting him loose on something he enjoyed and was good at would
probably make him feel better, and anyway, he could knock up a meal better
than most restaurants would offer.  He wouldn't be able to write until his
fingers had healed, so he dictated a list of ingredients he wanted from the
shops.  I offered to go and get them.

`No,' said Suzy, slightly darkly.  `I'll go, give you two a bit o' time to
yourselves.'

Wayne put his arms round me even as the front door shut behind her.
Slowly, gingerly, we made our way through to the living room.

`I'm not horny,' he said plaintively.  `Sure she thinks we're gonna have a
quick shag, but ... I can't think about it now.  Is that...?'

`Well, it's not a problem!  Nah, seriously, I don't think I'd be thinking
about sex either in your state, especially when you can't really do much
about it without hurting yourself!  Look at it this way.  By the time
you're mended enough to be up for it, you're gonna have balls like melons,
and I'm gonna enjoy making you empty them!'

At that he laughed properly for the first time in days, then winced and
clutched his ribs.

`I've `ad a thought too,' he wheezed.  `Come to me when I was still in
`ospital actually.'

`A good one, I hope?'

`Yeah it is.  We don't need to `ide no more, do we?'

`What d'you mean?'

`Well, mam knows about us, Joe's gone, and most of me old mates ... well, I
might see some of `em sometime, those who didn't `ave owt to do with it,
but if they don't wanna talk to me or they got a problem wi' me bein' gay
then I don't care.  Their problem now, not mine.  So it don't matter no
more us bein' seen out together.'

`That's true, actually.  We ought to go out celebrating that sometime, when
you're a bit better.'

`That's just what I were thinkin'.  Y'know all that live music you like,
an' stuff in them café bars – that jazz thing you an' Graham go to on
a Tuesday, like – an' the theatres an' everything in town.  I really
wanna start goin' to all that.  I'd love to go wi' you, if you want?'  He
looked timid, almost as if he were asking permission.

`As soon as you feel well enough, you and I are going to every damn thing
we feel like,' I said firmly.  `Together!'







By the time I went away again ten days later Wayne was a lot better.  His
limp had nearly gone, his ribs were hurting less and less and his bruises
were clearing up nicely, with even his black eyes fading away fast.  More
importantly, the mental scars were starting to heal.  He admitted to me
quietly that for the first few days he'd not wanted to leave the house, not
only because of the state of his face, but because he was frightened and
having mild panic attacks at the prospect of going out into the world.  Yet
a few days before I went he psyched himself up and we walked up to the
avenue together to get a bit of shopping.  He was a bit anxious and on edge
as we walked up the street, but once we got back he said it felt like a
hurdle cleared and he wouldn't feel so scared of leaving the house now.  We
heard from the police, too, that all of his attackers had been before the
magistrates.  Daz, Nick and one other had been referred for trial at the
Crown Court:s the rest of them had been tried summarily on lesser charges
and all received short prison sentences, so they were well away from us for
the time being.  That made him feel a little safer, he said.  He was
sleeping better, and his nightmares were easing.  Suzy mentioned she'd
heard him crying one night when I wasn't there, but I stayed over the night
before I left and he slept soundly all the way through until the alarm
clock woke us up the next morning.

He'd stopped smoking as well.  The doctors had told him firmly he shouldn't
smoke whilst his ribs healed, and he'd taken the chance to stop completely.
I'd given up in solidarity with him, and was now feeling a bit light-headed
on nicotine substitutes and, without him there to encourage me, I was
craving a smoke.

`Fook that,' he'd laughed softly when I'd said I wanted one the day before.
`Four quid a day to cough yer guts up an' die o' cancer.  Better off
without `em.  We both are!'

It was another bit of his quiet common sense.  I'd miss him, I reflected as
the train pulled away from the station a few hours later, but I was no
longer desperately worried about him.

I was rather touched by how so many of my colleagues asked after Wayne,
though they'd never met him, and I was pleased to be able to say that when
he'd called me that first evening he sounded very positive.  He'd been for
a walk around the area on his own without feeling terrified, he'd been onto
his work and arranged to go in the following week to arrange the reduced
hours and light duties he'd work until he was fully recovered, and his sex
drive was coming back too.

`I'm not lettin' meself wank though.  I'm savin' that for you!' he
chuckled.

We'd arranged that, because I wasn't getting back until late on the
Thursday, I'd go straight home, but he'd spend the weekend at my place.

`I'm not askin' no questions,' Suzy had laughed when he told her.  `I don't
wanna know what you two are gonna get up to, but I'll assume you're
spendin' the whole weekend in bed!'







I was just sending a few emails when he knocked on my door late on the
Friday afternoon.  I padded down and opened it, and there he was.  He
looked almost back to his old self, with just a few faint scars and bruises
and his strapped fingers left, and he smiled radiantly as he came into the
hallway.  Before he'd even put down his bag we were in each other's arms.

`Oh I'm so glad to see you,' I whispered between kisses.  `You look so much
better.'

`I feel it.  I get a bit tired an' still a bit sore, but nowt to matter so
much.'

I left him to make us a cup of tea whilst I popped back upstairs to finish
off my emails.  He came up behind me as I did, put the tea on the desk and
nuzzled gently against my neck and cheek as I pressed `send' on the last
one and turned off the computer.

`Now...'

We were kissing again, hard and passionately, lips locked together,
fumbling with our clothes as we scurried into the bedroom.  His jeans fell
round his ankles as we got through the door and I knelt, tore his pants
down and began sucking his cock.

`Oh fook ... gonna cum!'

I locked my lips tight around his shaft as it jerked and jumped, and his
hot sticky cum filled my mouth, forced its way out and dribbled down my
chin as I tried to swallow.  I wiped my face quickly, then returned to his
cock, loving the feeling as it softened in my mouth and the last few
droplets oozed out.  It slipped from my lips and I kissed it softly.

`Fuck me, that didn't take long!'

`Nah,' he grinned.  `No matter, be another one comin' soon ... fook me, I
needed to do that ... more'n two weeks since I last cum ... me balls feel
like they're gonna bust!'

We fell onto the bed, naked, kissing, running our fingers all over one
another.  I licked him all over, working first down his front and spending
ages on his lovely nipples and balls and thighs, then turning him over and
working back down from his neck and down his back.  His breathing grew
harder and harder and he thrust his bottom back and spread his legs and,
very, very slowly, I worked my way down between his cheeks.  I licked wide
round his crack, then narrower and narrower until my tongue was playing
round and round his sweet flaring hole, making him moan and wriggle in
pleasure, his cock stiffening again in my hand.

`Oh ... oh ... fook me ... fook me, please ... so long since you've fooked
me!'

`Pass me the lube.'

I dabbed the lube round his hole as he moaned in anticipation, then gasped
as I pushed a finger deep up inside him.  His sphincter squeezed my finger
tightly as I curled it round, tickling him inside.  Then I pulled it out,
wriggled on top of him and thrust my cock up his arse.  He threw back his
head.

`Oh!  Oh ... oh that feels so fookin' good!'

It felt wonderful for me too.  It felt so long since I'd been inside him;
felt his body responding to my every little movement; listened to his gasps
and grunts and groans as I fucked him long and slow, face buried in his
shoulders, nuzzling the back of his neck.  We paused, and he twisted round
for a long kiss, and then we began moving again as he moaned and begged me
to make him cum.  His gasps grew louder as I went at him harder and harder,
until finally he buried his face in the pillow and roared as he came, and I
pulled quickly out of him and shot all over his back and bottom.

`Fook me, I needed that,' he sighed, turning round and smiling at me as my
cum ran down his smooth skin.

`So did I.  Mmm, it's so nice to be together again like this.'

`Ooh, yes.'  He stretched lazily and wriggled in a bit closer, kissing my
arm as I slipped it around him.  We lay there for a long time, teasing,
kissing, talking in tender half-whispers, just enjoying being together
after everything that had happened in the last few weeks.  Later we began
to feel hungry, and his tummy rumbled as I ran my hand over it.

`Could just get a takeaway, couldn't we?' I suggested.  `It's ... what,
nearly eight.  Bit late to start cooking.'

`Mmm, we could.  Or how `bout we go somewhere?  Somewhere round 'ere; some
place we couldn't've gone to before when ... well, when that lot was
about.'

`That's an idea.  That Thai place down on the avenue.  I've wanted to try
that for ages: ever been there?'

`No, I've not.  Never `ad Thai either, I don't think.  Yeah, let's do that,
go an' try it out.  But let's `ave a shower first.'  He caught my eye,
grinning cheekily.

`You know we'll probably never get out at all if we do that!'

`We will ... just gotta try not to get too carried away.'

`Like we won't! Okay then, give us a kiss, and then we'll get up.'

I lay back and watched him get out of bed a few minutes later, mesmerised
as ever by his lithe beauty and the grace with which he moved; the
shapeliness of his chest, the pertness of his bottom and the sight of his
weighty cock swinging as he stood.  But there were also the deep bruises
disfiguring his torso that would take some time to fade yet, and he winced
slightly as he took a deep breath.  He put out an inviting hand and I took
it, got up, wrapped my arms round him from behind and kissed his neck
reverently.

`You're so beautiful.  Come on ... here's a towel.'

We padded downstairs and got into the shower, kissing as the water ran down
our faces and seeped in through our lips.  I reached for the shower gel and
began soaping him, working carefully over his sore ribs with tender
fingertips as he looked into my eyes and showed his appreciation of the
care I took with a smile and a soft little kiss.  I turned him round and
massaged his shoulders and back, working my way down his back to his
gorgeous arse, spending a long time fingering his hole, before he turned,
took the shower gel from me and began to return the favour.  We were turned
on, kissing hard, wanking one another with soapy hands, slowly at first,
but then harder and harder.

`Oh ... gonna cum, gonna cum!'

He dropped to his knees, closed his eyes and groaned as I shot all over his
pretty face, then pulled me down with him, thrust his cock into my mouth
and fucked my face until I gagged and he covered my tonsils with another
load of his awesome spunk.


`See,' he grinned as we got dressed again.  `Told ya we could `ave a
quickie in t'shower and still `ave time to get out.  Fook me I'm starvin';
let's go an' see what this place is like.

The homely little restaurant was busy, but they found us a secluded table
near the back, amid the work parties and dates and groups of friends out
enjoying their weekends.

`What d'you want to drink?'  I asked.  `Shall we get a bottle of red?  The
house wine looks okay.'

`Er ... I don't know.  Never really `ad it.'  He looked embarrassed, and
all of a sudden I was conscious again of the gulf between our former lives.
`I don't ... well, don't think I've ever `ad decent wine, just cheap
stuff.'

`Beer instead, then?'

`Nah.' He grinned broadly.  `Let's `ave some wine.  But you choose: you
know about it!'

He sipped and raised his eyebrows appreciatively when the bottle arrived,
and looked around with curiosity at the dishes being carried to the nearby
tables.  I liked how food was one of his passions in life.  He'd always
been interested in it, and it mattered to him even more now that he was
trying to make a career in the kitchen.  It was completely in character for
him to want to try something he'd never had before, and if he enjoyed it no
doubt he'd soon be experimenting with Thai recipes himself.  I shot a
glance at him, absent-mindedly chewing a prawn cracker and furrowing his
brow as he studied the menu.  He was in his element, I realised, and he
smiled at me joyfully over the table as he raised his glass.  Twenty
minutes later his eyes lit up when the waiter turned up with the food.

`Mmm!' he mumbled through his first mouthful.  He swallowed mightily.
`Cor, this is lovely!'

`I thought you'd like it.  Nice place too, isn't it?'

`Aye, it is.  Weird `ow I could've lived a few minutes from `ere most o' me
life an' never thought about comin' `in ... but then, guess that's just `ow
things were.  Places like this were a different world, what wi' me mam not
earnin' much an' then Joe pissin' it up the wall, an' ... I guess I thought
this sort o' place weren't for me.'  He laughed with just a trace of
bitterness.  `You change all that for me.  Anyhow, I reckon I'm gonna go
get a book on all this an' start tryin' to cook this kinda thing meself!
You reckon I should?'

`Course you should!  You'll be really good at it.'

`No I won't!  Well, not til I've `ad a bit o' practice.  Or...' He broke
off to pop another big forkful into his mouth.

`Yeah, but you will get there.  It'll take practice, sure, but you're so
good at all this that you'll pick it up far quicker than most people.
Quicker than I could, for a start.'

`Aw Marcus, you ain't a bad cook at all.'

`No, but I'm not a patch on you.  You've got a real talent.  It's like
... well, my sister can pick up a musical instrument she's never seen
before and get a tune out of it, whereas I've failed miserably at every
instrument I've tried to learn.  Some people just have an aptitude for
certain things, and you're like that in the kitchen.  I'm okay at what I
do, but it takes effort: you just look at a recipe and make it work.  It's
uncanny.'

`Aw, Marcus,' he grinned coyly.  `I ain't that good.'

`You are,' I said firmly.  `No, really, you are.  You're a natural.'

He smiled and went back to his dinner.  He was always a bit shy about
taking compliments, but I knew him well enough to realise that his modesty
hid a growing realisation that he really did have talent and a bright
career ahead of him, and I glowed inwardly at the sight of him starting to
believe in himself.  We went for a beer in one of the avenue bars
afterwards, enjoying being out together and not having to hide away and
pretend we weren't a couple, but it was busy and loud whilst we craved
peace and quiet and each other's company.  After we'd finished our pints we
looked at one another, smiled knowingly, and sauntered back to my place
through the side streets.







We got the bus out of town and down to the foreshore on the Saturday
afternoon, fancying a bit of a walk and some fresh air.  It was quiet,
apart from the distant hum of traffic from the main road and the occasional
dog-walker on the beach.  The tranquillity was welcome.  Wrapped up against
the cold wind we ambled slowly along the stony beach by the water's edge,
the great bridge soaring over us.  A long freight train from the docks
clattered along the railway line.

`You're a bit quiet,' I said to him as it faded into the distance.  `What's
up?'

He looked around us, and then turned to me slowly.  All of a sudden he
seemed intensely serious, and he fixed me with his most piercing gaze as he
took a step towards me.

`I bin thinkin' ... I got summat to say,' he said quietly, stumbling over
his words.  `Look, I never said this to anyone before, an' I don't know if
this is right thing to say or right time or whatever, but I just wanna say
it anyhow.  I ... I love you.'

He took both my hands, his eyes looking intently into mine and his lip
trembling as if he were nervous; as if he expected me to laugh at him and
tell him not to be silly.  Yet nothing could have been further from my
mind.  Suddenly we were in one another's arms, pressing our cheeks
together.

`Everything's different wi' you here,' he whispered in my ear.  `Different
an' better; so much better.  You got no idea `ow much you done for me, or
`ow much I think of you.  Meetin' you's the best thing that's ever `appened
to me, an' I don't ever wanna be without you.  Never.  I said a lot o'
stupid things in me life, but I been thinkin' about this a lot.  I ain't
never felt owt like it, an' I really mean this: I love you.'

Our stubble rasped together as we came face to face, noses touching,
looking deep into one another's eyes.  His sweet, soft lips started to curl
into a little smile, and I leaned slightly into him to kiss it once, twice,
and then again, very long and gentle, as he sighed and tightened his arms
around me.  Nothing mattered but each other now.  In that moment I adored
him utterly, and almost too overcome to speak I stumbled out a couple of
sentences about how much brighter a place my world was with him in it, and
how I hoped he'd always be there to share it.  `I love you too,' I
finished.  `More than I can ever say, I love you.'

We stood by the water and held one another close for a long, long time,
clutching tighter whenever we moved.  Neither of us said a word: there was
no need.

`Come on, let's go back,' he said eventually, smiling.  `Cold out `ere, an'
anyhow, not sure `ow long I can keep my `ands off you!'

The bus back into town was busy.  We sat watching the suburbs slide by the
windows and smiling helplessly at one another as our eyes met, unable to
resist letting our fingers twine together.

`Homosexuals,' a prim voice said quietly nearby.  `Why can't they keep it
behind closed doors?'

We looked across the aisle into the faces of the elderly lady and her
husband opposite, eyeing us with disapproval.  For a second I was tempted
to tell them to mind their own business and keep their prejudices to
themselves, but Wayne saw me and shook his head.

`Let `em think what they like,' he said calmly, just loud enough for them
to hear.  `If they can't deal wi' two people in love then I jus' feel sorry
for `em.  Tryin' to argue with `em won't change it.'

He was right, and yet again I marvelled at his graciousness.  Deflated, the
old couple lapsed into silence until we reached the bus station, and
changed onto another bus back to the avenue.  It was less than a mile and
normally we'd have walked, but Wayne's ribs were aching and he was starting
to feel very tired.  We went straight up to the bedroom when we got to my
house, not to tear one another's clothes off and fuck like animals after
all, but to slide gratefully under the duvet together and cuddle up, warm
and safe and happy in each other's arms.  His eyes fluttered and started to
close, and he lifted his face with a drowsy little smile.

`I love you Marcus,' he whispered, lips pressed to mine so I felt as much
as heard his words.  `I love you.'

`So do I, I love you too, my beautiful, sweet, sleepy boy...'

He smiled delightedly, then bowed his head and wriggled down until his face
was nestling in my chest, his arms tightly around me and his eyes closed.
He gave one deep, contented sigh as I ran my fingers through his hair, and
then he was fast asleep.

`I love you boy,' I whispered again, dropping a light little kiss on his
forehead, but all the response I got was his sweet, hot breath on my skin.
Happier than I could ever have imagined being, I let his steady breathing
lull me to sleep as well.  Some while later we woke; kissing, touching,
stroking, his cock stiffening against my thigh as I ran my finger down his
back and to his bottom.  He rolled on top of me, more passionate as he woke
up, and worked his way down my body – nipples, chest, tummy, cock, balls
– kissing and tonguing and sucking.  I pulled him round into the 69
position and started working over the insides of his thighs, his cock and
then his arse, drawing long moans from him.  He wriggled round again,
pulled me upright, kissed me fiercely and reached for the lube, kissing my
neck and whimpering tenderly as I dabbed it on his bottom.  Then he sat on
my knee and wrapped his legs around me, raised himself up on his arms and
lowered himself slowly onto my cock, my hands supporting him all the way.
His eyes closed happily as I went into him, and he sighed in his throat as
he sat right down.  We stayed very still for a long time, looking into one
another's eyes, stroking and kissing and licking cheeks and ears and necks.
Then we began to rock to and fro very slowly, pausing often to kiss and
whisper little nothings into each other's ears; then moving faster, fucking
more urgently until finally we came, me deep inside him and him explosively
all over me.

`Oh ... oh my God that was wonderful.'

He lifted himself off me slowly, his lips still pressed hard to mine and
our hands running all over one another's bodies.  We couldn't stop touching
each other.  Our eyes met again, wide and unblinking, and they stayed
there, his piercing green eyes looking deep into mine as if he were seeing
far inside me.  I could have sworn something physical passed between us in
that moment.  It was intense; awesome; overwhelming, and all of a sudden I
found myself welling up.  I looked at him a space longer, lip trembling and
eyes filling with tears, and then buried my face in his neck.  He didn't
need to ask why: he understood perfectly.  His tender fingers slid up my
back and stroked my hair and neck, and his voice was oddly hoarse as he
whispered into my ear.

`Marcus ... Don't cry.  You're wi' me, an' everything's perfect.  I love
you.'

`Oh Wayne, I'm ... I never thought I could feel like this.  I'm so happy.'

I looked up, back into his eyes again, and he gave me his sweet little
smile, spreading across his face until he was beaming from ear to ear.  It
was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

`Me too.  You change everythin' for me, an' I don't ever want it to end.
You and me, together.  It's `ow it should be.'

`Mmm.  Yes,' I sighed, snuggling down into his arms and nuzzling my way
into the downy hair of his chest as he pressed his lips to my forehead.
`That's it ... how it should be.  And how I hope it always will be.'

`Aye.'  He kissed me again.  `I'm so lucky ... an' jus' think, it all
started wi' me asking you for a cig!'

`I know.  Isn't it amazing how something as small as that could have led to
all this?'

`Aye.  I ... well, I saw you, an' I really fancied you, an' I jus' wanted
to talk to you.  Good job I forgot me cigs that day innit, so's I `ad an
excuse to come an' ask you for one!'

`You could have done anyway!'

`Aye but I'd `ave bin ... too shy, innit.'  He put his head on one side and
smiled, that coy little smile of his that I'd come to love.

`Oh Wayne.'  I looked up to kiss his lips.  `Oh sweetheart, I can't think
what would have happened if you hadn't.  I can't imagine life without you
now.'

`Me too.  Dunno where I'd be now, if we hadn't met that day.  Meetin' you
... like I said, best thing that ever `appened to me.'

`And me.'  I looked into his eyes and kissed his soft lips again.  `I love
you.'

We cuddled up and lay contentedly together, whispering, kissing, smiling
endlessly whenever our eyes met, revelling in being together, with all the
time in the world for each other.  Later we started to feel hungry.

`Shall I mek us summat to eat?'

I nodded gratefully, and with one more lingering kiss we clambered out of
bed, threw some clothes on and padded downstairs.  I got us a beer whilst
he fussed round finding things in the cupboards, and then he set me to
chopping onions.

`Not like that!' he chuckled, seeing my technique.  `Here, let me show yer.
Do it like this...'

His fingers twisted in mine on the handle of the knife, our eyes met and we
both burst out laughing, rubbing our legs tight together.

 `Let's do this quick,' he breathed, his lips almost touching mine.  He had
the makings of a hard-on again; I could feel it rising in his pants, and I
was the same.  `Get it in the oven, an' then we can go back to bed.'

I woke up briefly, hours later, as he fidgeted in his sleep and mumbled
something indistinct.  He was dreaming, and I hoped hazily that whatever
was in his mind felt as good as I did then. Waking up a bit further I
thought back over the previous evening.  As soon as he'd got dinner cooking
we'd kissed and fumbled our way into the living room and sucked and wanked
urgently on the sofa.  His ecstatic smile as we lay naked, me on top of
him, cum oozing warm and sticky across our tummies, still shone out at me.
We'd dressed and eaten side by side on the sofa, pausing to kiss and touch
and playfully hold out forkfuls for the other to eat, and we'd giggled and
cuddled together as we washed up, happily lost in our own little world.
Afterwards we'd lain back on the sofa again, talking endlessly about
everything and nothing, whilst I lay with my head in his lap and he played
with my hair and ran his fingertips all over my face, pausing for me to
kiss them lightly as he brushed them over my lips.

`Shall we go up to bed?' he'd whispered, bending to kiss me.

Upstairs we'd taken each other's clothes off amid kisses and touching,
until we stood naked, both of us smiling nervously as if it was our first
time.  He'd taken my hand and led me over to the bed, where we'd made love
yet again.  That time I'd bent for him, and it was perfect; the sensation
of every wrinkle and movement of his cock; his tongue all over my neck and
ear and cheek; the feeling as he came deep inside me.  Afterwards he'd
cuddled me down into his chest and cradled me, whispering that he loved me.
It had been wonderful; a perfect end to what had been easily the best day
of my life.  And now he was sleeping soundly next to me.  He mumbled again
and started to snore softly, and I snuggled up closer to him until I was
almost nuzzling the back of his neck, breathing in the sweet scent of his
skin and his hair.  I dozed off again.







The morning was blissful.  He must have rolled over and cuddled up to me in
his sleep, for we woke clasped tight in each other's arms, kissing sleepily
and whispering `I love you;' dozing off for a little while and then waking
up and kissing again and again, harder each time until he rolled on top of
me, his hard-on between my legs, fucking my thighs gently.  Then I rolled
us over so I was on top, and he wrapped his legs round me and begged me to
fuck him like that.  So I did; a tender, sleepy, morning fuck; all kisses
and nuzzling and tongues following what was happening exquisitely down
below.  His sigh as I came deep inside him was the sound of total
contentment.

Later we got up and had a shower together, and then he borrowed the razor
from my travel bag and a fresh blade.  He hated feeling stubbly, he said,
and anyway, there was something wonderfully intimate about shaving
together, sharing the ritual and teasing each other about bits we'd missed.
Afterwards we massaged aftershave balm sweetly into one another's faces,
kissed and rubbed our newly smooth cheeks together.  We threw some clothes
on and wandered down to the avenue for lunch.  He looked around him, his
expression suddenly pensive, as we sat with our drinks and the remains of a
Sunday roast on the table, and the music from the jazz band on the stage
rolled around us.

`Penny for them,' I said teasingly.

`Oh, I was just thinkin', how long is it since we first come in `ere that
time?'

`Six months or thereabouts, isn't it?'

`Yeah, must be about that.  Amazin' how much `as gone on in that time,
ain't it?!'

`Yes!  Blimey, just think about that.  When we came in here that first time
I had kind of guessed what you might be about to say, but I never thought
we'd be here, like this, months later, planning our holidays together.'

He grinned properly at that.  We'd heard on the Friday that a date had been
set for the Crown Court trial, and the prosecution wanted Wayne to appear
as a witness.  Slightly to my surprise he hadn't raised any of his fears
about giving evidence, although I wondered if he'd really understood what
he was going to have to do.  To take his mind off it I'd raised the idea
that when it was over we should have a bit of a holiday together to
celebrate, and we'd spent a happy hour or so over lunch working out where
we might want to go.  Somewhere hot, we decided; somewhere we could lie on
the beach and enjoy each other's company; and somewhere we could be a
couple and not feel inhibited about showing it.  We'd settled on a week in
the Canary Islands, staying in a hotel aimed especially at gay men, and we
were going to go online and book it when we got back.  Wayne had only been
abroad a couple of times and only flown once, and he was bouncing around
with excitement already.

`Come on,' he said a couple of hours later, draining his pint.  `That were
good, the band an' all.  Now, let's go an' get them flights booked.  Then
you an' me gorra date with bed!'



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