Sapphire Blue - 1. The Kiss

“Hello there Son. How are you doing this fine evening?” At the bottom of the stairs, one of his father's friends, Gerald, greeted him with a plastic smile as if he was the guest, not a member of the host family.

“Mike!” Lana, Gerald's wife offered her cheek, and he obliged, kissing the said cheek.

He went from one guest to another, nodding and saying hello to the spoken 'Mikes' that greeted him, ranging from enthusiastic, to lukewarm, to downright nasty. His parents were wealthy business people, who were well respected in society. They had it all. The money, the perfect children to look after the various business prospects, the houses, vehicles, and a million other 'essentials' that put you on the top rung of the ladder. Their social circle was very large and all those people were in the same kind of business too. The few who were not in business were either engineers, doctors, social workers or that sort. Nobody that interested him. He sat on the back patio with a Coke in one hand and a cigarette in the other, looking out at the small woods behind the house. He didn't want to get drunk tonight. Not with all those people around. These parties had him on edge, cranky, and left him drained once they were over.

“Mike! What on earth are you doing here? Go talk to those people out there. You may not like them, but there is no need to act like an arrogant bastard, sitting out here as if everyone there is beneath you!” His mother towered over him with a martini in her hand. He sighed.

“Mother, nobody there likes me. And that feeling is mutual. So leave me alone. I'm perfectly happy here.” He threw back his Coke and put the empty cup on the coffee table in front of him.

His mother scoffed.

“You ungrateful brat! We have never been bad parents. We love you, care for your every need and we have given you everything you have ever asked for. We leave you alone to your books all the time and have never pushed you to do anything you didn't want to do. All we ask in return is for you to show your face a little at the occasional party, and isn't that the only time we don't leave you alone?”

“I'm sorry Mother. I will go inside in a minute. I need to freshen myself up a little, please.” He said bowing his head to his mother.

Ian's eyes swept through the swarm of people in the room. The kid was elusive. He questioned the sanity of getting into this as he raked his fingers through his hair. But he was in too deep now, and he definitely couldn't throw away the two thousand dollars he wagered. Besides if he lost he would have to ask for the money from his father and he was sure that his father would skin him alive for two reasons. One, for losing two thousand dollars, and second, for betting on something like this. His father was one of those people with morals which annoyed the hell out of Ian most of the time. He sipped the martini in his hand and looked around the room again. That was when he caught sight of a certain brunette sliding onto one of the stools in front of the bar.

Bingo!

There was the mystery man of the night. Ian wove through the throngs of people in the room, quickly getting to the bar before anybody else got to the boy. The barman set a Coke on the counter in front of the boy as he reached the bar.

“From the way you look you might need something stronger than that.” He murmured, coming behind the slouching frame.

He stiffened and whipped his head around so fast that Ian was sure that it must have given the boy a whiplash. The largest pair of bluest eyes he had ever seen stared at him from an olive face, framed with mahogany hair. The raw emotion in them, whatever it was, unnerved him. Ian pointed at the glass in the boy's hand with his martini, as he perched himself on a bar stool, hoping that his face didn't show the confused emotions that ran through his brain. He eyes had been following the boy throughout the evening, trying to find a chance to get close to the boy without making him suspicious. He was wound up to the point of snapping now, after several hours watching that lithe body move around. The lifting of an arm to scratch the back of his neck, making a slender yet well defined bicep flex under his white short sleeve shirt, or leaning over a pool table entertaining a chick who had wagered on him, stretching out his long body causing Ian to imagine that body bent over some surface in a more private setting with considerably less clothing on that delicious skin. Now sitting beside the kid, he needed a copious amount of strength to concentrate on the task at hand.

“Ian.”

He offered a hand to the startled boy.

“Um... Micheal.”

The boy shook the offered hand. His hand was soft and clammy, yet the hold was strong and a tingle ran down Ian's spine. Finally a name for the face.

“So, um... Micheal. Why do you look as if you have fought an army of zombies? Anyway, what kind of a name is um... Micheal?” Ian smirked at the boy.

“Har har! Very witty mister smarty pants!” Micheal grunted.

“Sorry. I was trying to lighten the mood. You looked like you could use a laugh.” Where the hell did that come from? Since when do I genuinely apologize?

“Thanks man. Sorry I snapped at you. I had the longest night in my life. So, I might not be the greatest company tonight.” Micheal dragged his hands down his face, as if trying to wipe off the irritation.

“What could have happened that was so bad for you to be this cranky? Hot chick wound you up?”

Suddenly Ian found himself hoping that the boy would say 'no'. He didn't understand where that rogue thought came from and didn't want to linger on it. He was running out of time and had no energy to waste on unknown emotions. It was already past midnight and he had to seduce this introverted idiot and give him a kiss without getting pushed away, before the party ended. He watched the boy brushing away every advance, and now he wasn't as confident as earlier, but he couldn't back out without trying. He had too big an ego to go down without even trying. He could feel the eyes on him that were waiting for him to fail.

“A few people have been throwing themselves at me throughout the night and I have no idea what I ever did to deserve that!” The boy moaned, burying his face in his upturned palms. Ian could feel blood rushing south at the delightful sound.

“Most people would have found that flattering, you know,” he murmured moving closer to the boy. Close enough that his breath hit a lock of hair that shadowed the oh-so-softly stubbled cheek and tickled the said cheek. He was close enough to see the tremble that ran through the boy in response to his warm breath and the lock of hair, tickling him. Those blue eyes stared out, as the limp hands fell off, and the pupils were dilated. Good.

“Eyes like that lure people in and make them do crazy things,” he tucked a stray strand of hair behind one of those elfish ears. Tracing its shell with ghosting fingers, another shiver ran down the boy's body. “I can drown myself in these and never come back to the surface.”

Micheal was too far gone by then and Ian knew it was now or never. He trailed his fingers from the ear to the strong, yet somehow delicate jaw, cupping it. Ian leaned down, capturing those full lips on his own and the boy went slack in his hands almost immediately. Then he kissed back taking Ian by surprise. Slow, experimenting lips moved against Ian's experienced lips. Opening slightly to get a better hold on his upper lip he took the opportunity, pushing his tongue into the warm, sweet mouth. Micheal moaned into his mouth, a hand coming up to weave fingers into strands of his hair before pulling at them. Ian's hand snaked around the brunette's waist without resistance, and pulled him closer. He had no idea why this tentative, inexperienced boy would elicit such a strong reaction from him. When they pulled apart, both of them were out of breath. Those large blue eyes stared into his own as the hand in his hair slid down to the nape of his neck, resting there. Ian traced his thumb over the high cheekbone and Micheal leaned into the touch. A tender gesture that had Ian's heart hopelessly filling up with emotions that he would have to sort through and categorize later. For now all that mattered were the gorgeous eyes that stared at him.

A loud shriek shattered their perfect moment pulling Ian out of wherever he was in.

“Oh my god, oh my god. You did it. You DID it!” A ball of excitement bound towards them with four more Cheshire cat grins following her.

Suddenly Ian was apprehensive about his friends and didn't want them to bring up the real reason behind that kiss. He wanted more time to figure out things in his head before the kid learned about the wager. He dreaded it actually.

“How the fuck did you DO that? You practically made out with him!” Mark questioned as he got closer, as if the 'he' in question wasn't right there. “We had been trying the whole night and it didn't take you five minutes.”

“I guess you are ten grand richer now, huh. Do you take cash or would a check do?” Anna questioned with a fake sour face.

But Ian could not take his eyes off that face. He still held Micheal securely in his arms and prayed to every god he new that the smaller boy wouldn't understand what was going on. But of course, he had to pick the smartest guy in the room. Emotions flitted through those eyes from confusion, to understanding, and then pain, as the realization hit him.

“I can't believe you won the bet,” Lola, the ball of excitement squealed, snapping Micheal out of the trance he was in.

Micheal jerked himself out of Ian's embrace and jumped off the stool, holding a hand to his mouth. He turned away and dashed out of the room before Ian could form a coherent sentence. But not before he saw the tortured tears in the eyes that had him bewitched, and that broke Ian's heart into a million pieces. Ian stared after him for what felt like forever. He could only tear his eyes away when he felt a hand falling on his shoulder. Though he lifted his head he saw nobody, there were noises but he heard nothing. He shrugged off the hand and got off his stool.

“I don't want your money,” he turned and muttered to nobody in particular as he made his way through the sea of people.

The click of a lock brought him back to reality. He had no idea how he had gone from the Grey mansion to his apartment, and to his room. 'I broke his heart,' he repeated in his head. 'I broke that beautiful boy.' He pulled at his hair in frustration and tried to chase away those blue eyes from his mind. That's right. He was trying to determine their color before they filled up with tears. They weren't turquoise or pale blue. Not summer sky blue either. A much darker blue. He slumped against the door and slid down, breaking into heaving sobs and once more pulling at his hair. He was trying to forget the sensations those novice, soft fumbling hands had given him. He hadn't cried for a long time and it hurt him physically now. He heaved, pain raking at his insides. Those eyes came back into his mind as he closed his eye lids. Something moved inside his head, a puzzle piece falling into place.

Ian.

He had the ultimate bad boy looks right out of the books. Tall, dark hair, strong jaw covered in a five o clock shadow, you name it, he was it! For the life of him he couldn't stop staring at the man. Ian teased him like nobody had ever done before. Not insulting or condescending, just playful and flirty. From the first moment he felt so comfortable with Ian. Then that kiss. The man knew how to get under someone's skin. His gentle exploring fingers, enticing voice, bewitching kisses. Even his laugh was capable of igniting unknown passions in Micheal. Even now just the memory of that kiss had him heated. If they had not been rudely interrupted by Ian's friends, he was sure that he would have come undone right then and there. Micheal wished he had never learned about the bet. It would have been the most perfect first kiss ever. But he knew the truth. And it was ugly.

To make things worse the expression on Ian's face as Micheal walked away left him confused. Ian looked upset. He almost looked hurt. Even after his friends joined him to celebrate, he didn't look happy and kept holding on to him.

What the hell was that all about? God! That man was so frustrating, and a first class bastard.

Yet Micheal couldn't stop thinking about Ian. It was impossible to get the man out of his head. The embarrassment aside, Micheal didn't want to let go of that memory. To make matters worse, Ian dominated his dreams. He woke up in the middle of the night last night, achingly hard. Craving those skillful fingers on him, touching him, somewhere, anywhere, bringing him pleasures he had never felt before. But of course he was all by himself in his bed, and when finally he found release, it just wasn't enough. His traitorous body craved the touch of a man who had no issue about toying with his emotions. His heart simply wanted to beat that erratic rhythm. Had Ian walked out of there without him knowing about that bet it would have been the best night of his life so far. He was such an idiot even to think that somebody like Ian would take notice of him without an incentive.

He sighed as he sipped his coffee. This was one of those times he wished that he didn't finish college so early. He had completed his bachelor's degree a semester ahead of his class. He wanted to spend some time reading and enjoying the other things he loved doing, before he got caught up in the frenzy of jobs and all. But for now all he wanted to do was to go back to school and bury himself in school books, since no other book around would ever be able to distract him now.

Micheal turned his head at the sound of heels tapping on the dark hardwood floor. His mother entered the den with the happiest smile he had seen on her for quite a while. He had a very bad feeling about this.

“Mike, the best thing happened today. I'm just back from lunch with Mrs. Randolph and she had the greatest proposition ever.”

Sherry Grey was positively beaming and Micheal momentarily wondered who the hell this Mrs. Randolph was.

“So what's the proposition Mom?”

Quite frankly he didn't care, but he didn't want to dampen his mother's spirit.

“She wants you to be the business assistant to her son. She is offering you an internship at their company. I think that is just what you need. Isn't that great? So now you can work at Randolph's for six months and if you still hate business as much as you keep telling me, you can go for something else after!”

This did sound like a good plan. He could make his family happy and convince them that he was not business material. And this would give him a chance to bury himself in work so he didn't have to think about Ian so much. He might even find a playmate to take care of these undeniable urges that had started demanding his attention recently. Wow! This wasn't half bad.

“Okay, Mom. I can give it a try.” He smiled at his mother.

“Oh! Thanks honey,” Sherry kissed him on both cheeks. “You can start tomorrow.”

He had gotten one of his old college friends to track down every little detail he could get on Micheal. He knew it was illegal and unethical. He was turning into a stalker. Yet he couldn't help it. He had to know at least a little about Micheal. He wanted to pose the million questions he had to Micheal himself, watch him as those expressive eyes told him stories beyond words, but he knew he had ruined that chance terribly and permanently. Besides the kid was too good for a fuck-up like him.

He sighed and turned back to his computer while he was waiting for this new guy to turn up. His mother had told him that she was getting him an intern assistant as a favor to some lady from her social circle. He hoped that it was not some insufferable idiot he had to put up with for six months.

“Excuse me, Mister Randolph. Your next appointment is here.” His personal assistant hesitantly called from the door. They were all walking on eggshells around him these past two weeks.

Micheal's heart stopped at that voice. But he knew he was going nuts. He heard Ian in every male voice. His mother couldn't have sent him to work for someone as young as Ian. It was him, hallucinating. Micheal took a steadying breath before he entered the office. As he walked into the room Mr Randolph's assistant softly closed the door behind him. He lifted his head to greet the man in front of him, hoping he would be a nice person.

“Good mor...”

He stopped mid sentence, not believing his eyes. This was not happening.