A Different Love - 40. Chapter 40

There was definitely something different about the bedclothes. They had a luxurious softness about them and I loved the way that the warm silky material moulded itself to my skin. The lightly perfumed smell was completely unlike my own sheets and in the murky grey light of the room my fuddled brain refused to help me understand the reason why. Thankfully, the haze of sleep quickly descended once again and the vague unsettled feeling that something wasn’t right became lost in drunken slumber.

Several hours later my sleep was rudely interrupted by dazzling sunlight pouring in through the partially opened curtains and it was only then that I realised how ill I felt. My head was pounding relentlessly and a searing pain around my rib cage hurt intensely every time I tried to move. A sore throat and a raging thirst accompanied them, but they were nothing in comparison to the pain in my hand. It throbbed persistently and the feeling of agony whenever I tried to move my fingers was almost unbearable.

The sense of being in a strange place slowly drifted back to me and I stared at the unfamiliar ceiling through sleep encrusted eyes. My hand slowly began to wander towards the side of the bed, expecting it to drop over the edge at any moment. When it didn’t, my mind struggled to decipher the reason why and the stark realisation that it was someone else’s bed gradually began to dawn on me. A pressing urge to discover my whereabouts suddenly became paramount and I painfully eased myself into a relatively upright position. I stared around through half closed blurry eyes, and it soon became apparent that the room was spacious and vaguely familiar. The huge bed that lay beneath me was big enough for three people and a sense of déjà vu came over me as I vaguely remembered having had the same thought once before.

The realisation that it was Nathan’s bedroom took several minutes to materialise in my mind and amongst the first jumbled thoughts that poured into my head was one that made me wonder if he’d slept beside me. As memories of my behaviour the previous evening slowly began to filter back I doubted very much that he had, but realised with dismay that once again he must have put me to bed. Beginning to panic slightly, I lifted up the covers and wasn’t surprised to see myself once again wearing an unfamiliar pair of briefs. How unfair was it that Nathan had seen me naked twice now and I’d never had a chance to return the favour! It was then that I noticed the bandage securing my swollen hand. Alarm registered on my face and sent shock waves running through my body like tremors from an earthquake. It was stained with a feint trace of dried blood that had seeped through and I couldn’t believe the sheer stupidity of my actions. What on earth had possessed me to punch the wall like that, clearly causing myself untold damage in the process? No wonder it hurt so badly! I’d always considered myself to be reasonably intelligent, but only an idiot would behave in the way that I had.

The prospect of getting out of bed was extremely daunting. I began by tentatively shifting my legs towards the edge, wincing with pain as I mistakenly tried to fold back the sheets with my injured hand. Gently holding my ribcage, the soft mattress gave slightly as I slowly swung them bit by bit towards the edge. Eventually, one of my feet landed in an empty bucket by the side of the bed and I instantly knew what it was there for. The acrid smell of disinfectant soon found its way into my nostrils and I quickly freed my foot and pushed it away. Constant retching until there was nothing left in my stomach had probably caused the pain in my ribs to hurt like crazy and the sore throat and raging thirst were more than likely a result of that too. I sat for a while on the side of the bed and closed my eyes, desperately trying to stop my head from reeling. Every time I opened them the room was distorted and blurred, each tiny movement magnifying the pain in my head a thousand times. It took almost ten minutes and several attempts before I could finally stand up with any semblance of normality. A sudden cold shiver made goose bumps appear on my arms and legs and I tried to rub them up and down for warmth with my good hand. Unable to find my clothes, I grabbed Nathan’s thick white dressing gown off a hook on the back of the door and with some difficulty, wrapped it around me.

The flat was deathly quiet as I silently padded into the lounge. My freshly polished shoes stood by the breakfast bar and some recently laundered clothing hung on a nearby clothes hanger. The blue striped shirt I’d worn the day before was instantly recognisable and I vaguely wondered why it had been washed.

Nathan was sprawled out full length on the long sofa and I painfully eased myself down beside his sleeping form, completely mesmerised by the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest. He lay there naked, save for a pair of white briefs similar to the ones I was wearing. His impressive six pack was clearly visible and the prominent 'V' shape lower down his body disappeared seductively inside his briefs. In a moment of utter madness I couldn’t help myself from running a finger along the soft white flesh of his leg. I ached to explore every inch of his tight muscular body and my hand wavered as it reached his inner thigh, desperate to caress the tantalising mound between his legs. He stirred restlessly and I drew my hand away sharply, acutely aware of the consequences such reckless actions could bring. The soft mound between his legs began changing shape with his movement and I watched it spellbound as the clearly defined shape of his manhood became even more visible through the thin material. I imagined running my tongue seductively along the thin line of fuzzy blond hair that ran down his torso, eagerly following it inside his briefs. The urge to touch him again was overwhelming and my hand was just beginning to inch slightly forwards when his eyes suddenly snapped open.

“Oh erm…..Sorry Naith, I-I didn’t mean to wake you.” I stuttered, desperately scrambling for an excuse to explain my close proximity to him “I was just about to cover you up with this”

Luckily a blanket that had obviously been covering him up some time ago was lying half on the floor, no doubt thrown off by his restless tossing and turning and I quickly reached for it, trying desperately to ignore the pain.

“You’re up at last” he remarked, stretching and yawning noisily.

The muscles in his stomach contracted as his back arched above the sofa and I couldn't help taking covert glances as the large bulge between his legs became even more pronounced.

“I’m beginning to wish I wasn’t” I said, holding my stomach and sighing loudly.

“Yeah, I bet you are” he agreed, quickly jumping up from the sofa.

He pulled on a pair of trousers that were folded in a nearby chair and turned back towards me. Barely able to keep the sarcasm and anger out of his voice, his stern expression and harsh demeanour were so out of character that I knew straight away he was furious with me.

“I’m so sorry about last night Naith” I began haltingly “I didn’t mean to behave like that”

He turned towards me and the scowl on his face was as black as thunder.

“What the fuck were you thinking Jason” he snapped, clearly upset and annoyed. “You could have got yourself seriously hurt!” He gave a visible shiver and a few seconds later carried on. “…..or even worse!”

“I know. I know. You’ve got no need to tell me” I cried apologetically “It was stupid, irresponsible and childish. My hands flew into the air in a gesture of submission and I hung my head in shame.

“Yeah, it was all of those things and more!” he answered angrily, shaking his head “How the hell did you think you were going to get home in that state?"

“I don’t know Naith. I really don’t know”

A thought suddenly struck me at the mention of the word home and my eyes widened with horror as I struggled to push myself up. “What about mum and dad?” I exclaimed, in a blind panic “They’ll be going mad with worry. I need to ring them”

“I rung them last night” he explained tersely “told them you were staying at mine”

The air escaped from my lips like a deflating balloon and I visibly relaxed “Phew! Thanks Nathan. They'd be mortified if they knew the truth”

“Yeah, they would and I’m not surprised!”

“Did you tell them about my hand” I enquired tentatively

“Of course I told them! How could I avoid it? They wanted me to bring you home straight away but I managed to convince them it wasn’t a good idea"

He frowned and shook his head with disdain "How the fuck could I take you home in that state? That's always supposing you could have stood up for long enough, which I doubt very much!”

“I don’t know how to thank you" I answered meekly. "I’m so sorry for causing you all this trouble Naith. Look, I’d better go….you don’t need me around here causing you any more grief”

The sharp stabbing pain in my ribcage made me call out in agony as I tried to lift myself up from the sofa. "Agh!! Fucking hell, that hurts like hell!"

“Stay right where you are Jason!” he ordered “You’re not going anywhere at the moment”

I’d never seen him so angry before. He rarely swore, even in normal conversation and I sank back down on the sofa, relieved that I didn’t have to move again.

“You don’t have to do this for me Nathan. It’s my own stupid fault”

“Yeah, I know that! But you need to go to the hospital with that hand for a start” he said firmly “Look at the state of it! God knows what you might have done to yourself”

I nodded meekly without saying anything, unwilling to antagonise him even further by refusing to go. I stared at my hand, now badly swelled, and tried to flex my fingers, but the pain wouldn’t allow me to move them more than a few centimetres.

“Don’t try and do that Jason" he said testily, watching me try to move them "Just keep it still until we find out what the doctor has to say”

“Yeah ok" I said quickly, scared to disagree.

There was a short pause before I tentatively asked another question "By the way Nathan, did you bandage it?”

“Yeah, of course I did Jason. The best way I could anyway"

“Thanks. I appreciate it”

He nodded sternly to acknowledge my gratitude, but his usual smile was still conspicuous by its absence. He was obviously still annoyed with me by his continued use of my full name, rather than the shortened version he usually used.

“I daren’t give you any painkillers last night. There was far too much alcohol in your system”

The pain seemed to intensify as we talked about it and I was desperate for something to ease it.

“Can I take some now do you think? It’s throbbing like mad”

“We’ll have some breakfast first” he decided, turning towards the kitchen “I’ll make you some toast. When you’ve eaten it you can take some pills”

“I’m not really…….”

He glared back at me with an expression on his face that warned me not to finish what I was about to say. My mouth instinctively snapped shut again and I decided to remain silent, feeling decidedly sick at the prospect of having to eat something.

“It’s no good looking like that Jason, you need something inside you!"

My mind would normally be in the gutter with that remark, but under the current circumstances, all I could think of was appeasing Nathan's anger. I gave him an apologetic glance, eternally grateful that he couldn't tell what I was thinking.

“Yeah sorry. I know”

“And another thing Jason” he continued in the same authoritative tone.

“What?”

“There’s no way you'll be going to work today. I suggest you get some rest after we’ve been to the hospital”

“Yeah ok, whatever you say Nathan” I agreed, still in the same meek, apologetic tone.

“You'd better give work a ring to let them know what’s happened”

My head was still spinning and I hadn’t even thought about work, but Nathan was right of course, they would need to know. I glanced at the wall clock and was surprised to see that it was almost 11:30. My shift was due to start at twelve o'clock and as Nathan handed me the phone, my hand shook slightly as Mr. Buchan's warning rang in my ears. Eventually, Julie answered the phone sounding stressed as usual and my call did nothing to ease her mood. I grimaced at the thought of adding to her problems at such a busy time of the year and realised once again how stupid and irresponsible I'd been. When I came off the phone Nathan had brought me a plate of toast and a cup of coffee and I gingerly began to nibble at the soft toast.

"I take it she’s not very pleased then?" he remarked, referring to the call.

"Not really" I answered,

"Yeah well, she's not the only one!"

I quickly tried changing the subject, afraid he was going to get angry again. "You look tired Nathan”

“Yeah well, I’ve been up most of the night"

“My fault, right?”

The look on his face meant that he didn't need to answer and I glanced at him guiltily. “Sorry, but I don’t remember much after I left you. What happened? Where are my clothes?”

An expression of anxiety and worry creased his face and his voice was filled with desperation.

“Jason! I was really, really worried about you! I spent all night looking for you!” he began to explain "I was just about to give up when I walked into that bar and found you. Just in time too by the look of it! There was blood all over your sleeve, I thought you’d been in a fight or something, but then I realised it was coming from your hand. I nearly took you to hospital there and then but you couldn’t stand up so I decided to get us a taxi back here and deal with it myself until you were sober. There was no way you could've gone home in that state”

I closed my eyes and gave a huge sigh of relief. “Thank god for that Nathan. Mum and dad would’ve had a fit!”

"Yeah, I know they would. Why do you think I did it?"

He shook his head as if I ought to have known what the reason was. “Anyway, I cleaned it up with antiseptic and dressed it with a piece of gauze and a bandage” he went on “You were sparked out on the bed and I’d almost taken your clothes off when you were sick all over both of us.” He paused slightly before continuing “I had to wash absolutely everything!”

The way he stressed the words 'absolutely everything' made me turn red with embarrassment and squirm in my seat as I realised what he meant.

“Don’t you remember anything?” he asked incredulously.

Now that he mentioned it I did have a vague recollection of someone pulling off my shoes, but I wasn’t even certain it was last night.

“I can’t remember a thing” I answered sheepishly “Honest”

He shook his head in amazement “Unbelievable!”

“Nathan, I don’t know how to thank you” I said, still embarrassed by his latest revelation. “Doing all that for me. It can’t have been very pleasant"

“I didn’t exactly have much choice, did I? he replied "I just hope you’d do the same for me Jason. Although hopefully I wouldn't be stupid enough to need it”

“Nathan, you know I would!”

I gazed at him imploringly, desperately trying to get back in his good books. He stared back at me, hesitantly chewing on his lower lip.

“Don’t look at me like that Jason” he said eventually, unsure whether to smile or frown. “How can I stay mad at you when you look at me like that?”

“Like what?” I exclaimed innocently

“You know exactly what I mean” he said, with a half-smile “That sad puppy-dog expression you always use to get exactly what you want!”

I grinned back at him, pleased it had worked, but for a second or two his face became serious once again.

“Look, just promise me it won’t happen again” he said worriedly, gently rubbing my shoulder “You really freaked me out!”

“I promise. It definitely won’t. I never want to feel like this again!”

He seemed relieved by my reassurance and chewed on his bottom lip indecisively. "Ok Jase, your forgiven......for now!"

I heaved a huge sigh of relief and realised that all the anger and frustration he’d displayed only masked his genuine concern for me and that my drunken behaviour wasn’t going to ruin our friendship after all. I gazed at him nervously, still aware that I had to make the most important apology of all. It was no good putting it off any longer and taking a deep breath I plunged ahead, desperately hoping that he hadn't taken what I'd said to heart.

"Look Nathan" I began hesitantly "I'm so sorry for what I said to you last night. Especially after the meal and the watch and everything. You made my birthday really special and all I could do was push you away"

He waved my concern aside with a sweep of his arm "Don't worry about it Jase. We all say things we wish we hadn't in the heat of the moment"

Even though he was being particularly gracious, I could tell by the look on his face it had hurt him.

"Nathan I do worry about it though. I didn't even thank you properly"

"Yeah you did. Besides, I didn't do it for thanks" he went on earnestly "I did it because you're my friend. Like I said in the card, the best one I've ever had!"

He blushed and looked away, momentarily embarrassed by the excessive emotion in his voice.

"The thing is, I don't want to be as far away from you as I can Naith. Ever!! It was a stupid, stupid thing to say. You’re the best friend I've ever had too and you didn't deserve to be treated that way after all you've done for me"

"I'm glad to hear it Jase. I don't want that either" he said smiling broadly.

My stomach was twisted in knots and although I daren't say the words, what I really wanted to say was how much I loved him.

“I haven’t even wished you Happy Birthday yet” I went on “Sorry I’ve ruined it for you. Not exactly the best present you’ve ever had!”

“You haven’t ruined anything Jase. And the only present I need is for you to get better”

His smile quickly turned into a frown and I held my breath, wondering what was coming next. To my surprise he began to apologise himself and my heart immediately began to race.

"I hope you can forgive me for the way I reacted too Jase. When that guy said what he did…..I thought….well I-I thought....”

He seemed unable to continue and I gazed at him sharply, urging him to go on “You thought what?”

He ignored my question completely and changed what he was about to say “Look, I was totally out of order ok, and I know it hurt you. That was the last thing I wanted to do”

His mood quickly lightened and he smiled and shook his head in disbelief, punching me lightly on the arm. “But why on earth didn’t you tell me that you’re gay, you idiot? It’s obviously a huge part of your life!”

I gave an enormous sigh of relief that he was ok with it and felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders.

He carried on with a shake of his head and a look of incredulity. “So you’re gay! What did you think I was going to do, dump you at the first opportunity”?

I gazed at him sheepishly, now feeling totally ridiculous because that’s exactly what I thought he would do. I replied in a timid, shy voice “I thought you might”

“Jason, I could never do that” he exclaimed in amazement “What about that special bond we were talking about last night?”

“And besides” he added, laughing out loud “If I was going to do that, I’d have done it well before now”

I gazed at him in puzzlement and frowned slightly “What do you mean?”

He couldn’t keep the wide grin off his face as he answered “Jason, I’ve known for ages that you’re gay! You did sort of make it obvious!”

I blushed bright red and suddenly felt incredibly hot. Tom, as usual, was spot on with his reasoning. I’d obviously given myself away big style.

He laughed before pointing at himself with both hands.

“Hey, come on Jase! He joked “I can hardly blame you. Who wouldn’t be able to resist this fine body”?

Never one to miss an opportunity, I gave him the quick once over and sighed, finally joining in with his laughter. “Caught red handed I guess!”

“But why didn’t you say if you already knew?”

“Because it wasn’t up to me. It’s you’re decision who you tell and when”

Although he’d made a great show of telling me it didn't matter if I was gay, something in his voice told me that it wasn’t quite as simple as that.

“You’ve got a fair old temper though” he was saying, chuckling to himself “Remind me never to get on the wrong side of you again”

“Oh don’t worry" I assured him "It’s usually reserved for people like Aiden!”

There was an awkward silence as I waited for the inevitable question to be asked. As if he’d read my mind it came within seconds and I realised there was no way I could avoid telling him the truth.

"So are you going to tell me what last night was all about then?" he urged "Why did you storm off like that? And who is this Aiden?"

There was a slight tone of jealousy in his voice and I knew that he had every right to expect answers, but I chickened out at the last moment, doing nothing more than delaying the inevitable.

"Look Naith, do you mind if I get a shower first, I feel absolutely crap. If I can manage that is!”

"Yeah, of course you can!"

He looked slightly disappointed that he wasn't going to find out straight away, but I knew there was absolutely no chance he'd forget about it. As if to confirm it he quickly reminded me.

"But you still have to tell me all about it when you come out of the shower Jase"

A sharp pain shot through my ribs as I attempted to stand up. "I will tell you Naith" I promised, closing my eyes as though it would ease the pain "As soon as I've had a shower"

"Don't struggle Jase; I'll help you get up in a minute."

He sat down beside me and gently grasped my wrist. "You can't get in with this bandage on, I'll have to take it off first"

A sharp tingling feeling shot down my legs at the thought of the pain I knew it would cause me. Nathan was right though, I couldn't get a shower with the bandage on. It would definitely have to come off. He gently took hold of my hand and unfastened the safety pin securing it. As he gingerly began to unravel the thin material, the pain reverberated up and down my arm, causing my body to stiffen. He paused for a while until I relaxed again, placing my wrist gently on his knee

"Ok?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think so"

The trailing bandage gradually became longer and longer as each turn of Nathan's wrist removed more and more from my hand. The blood that had seeped through to the outside was gradually becoming deeper in colour and had spread completely from one side of the bandage to the other. It probably looked a lot worse than it was I told myself, desperately trying not to look.

Finally, the bandage was fully removed and all that covered the broken skin around my knuckles was a thick piece of blood soaked gauze. It stung like crazy as Nathan pulled it slightly upwards and the sharp tingling feeling once again shot up and down my legs. My breath came in shallow bursts and every muscle in my body seemed to contract as he carried on gently drawing it back. I took a deep breath as some inner command compelled me to look and I immediately wished that I could have resisted. The area of my hand that had struck the wall was a mass of raw skin and congealed blood. Just looking at it gave me a sickly feeling in the pit of my stomach and I couldn't believe how powerful the feelings were that had driven me to commit such a volatile act of self destruction. My eyes widened with shock as the full extent of my injury became apparent and Nathans advice to see a doctor suddenly made sense.

"Christ almighty!" I exclaimed, in a shocked voice "That is bad!"

Nathan nodded in agreement and gazed at me doubtfully "I don’t think it’s quite as bad as it looks Jase, but you’ll have to be really careful in the shower?" he said worriedly "You don't want to make it worse"

"I'll keep it away from the water as much as I can" I answered, quivering with fear "It'll have to be washed at some point though"

"I cleaned it up as much as I dared to last night" he explained "I figured the state you were in, you wouldn't feel the pain anyway”

"Yeah thanks, that was a good idea"

"I'll put another dressing on it when you've finished in the shower"

"Thanks Naith. You don't know how much I appreciate everything you've done for me. I don't know where I'd be without you!"

The earlier frown that had clouded his face was back and with half closed eyes he shook his head wearily. "Just make sure you don't do something like that to yourself again Jason. You might not be so lucky next time!"

"I know Naith and I'm really sorry. Honest I am"

He nodded, satisfied by my reassurance and stood up at the side of me. "Your clothes won't be ready yet Jase, so you'll have to borrow some of mine. We’re roughly about the same size"

I glanced at him a little doubtfully, but quickly agreed "Yeah, thanks Naith. Anything really"

He disappeared into the bedroom and I could hear the sound of drawers opening as he picked out the clothes. "I'll put them in the bathroom for you" he said, suddenly reappearing with a neatly folded pile "There are some fresh briefs and a clean pair of socks too"

Nodding my silent thanks at his retreating figure, I began a slow, painful attempt at standing up. A sudden shaky feeling came over me and it felt as if my legs had turned to jelly. Almost instantly Nathan's strong arms grasped me around the waist. He tried his best not to touch my rib cage as he helped me to my feet and I held onto his arm for a moment to steady myself. For a second or two the front of his trousers had pushed hard against the back of my briefs as he helped me up and being in such close proximity to him had given me the beginnings of an erection.

"You should have waited" he reminded me firmly "I said I'd help you"

The front of my dressing gown had sprung open and I quickly turned away towards the bathroom before he noticed, calling back to him over my shoulder. "I'd better get that shower now"

"Shout me if you need a hand with anything Jason"

I would probably have been far better accepting his help in the shower, but I didn’t want to embarrass him any further. His voice faded as the bathroom door shut behind me and I stood there panting, the back of my head resting firmly against it. Hopefully I’d turned away quickly enough and Nathan hadn’t noticed the growing bulge in the front of my underwear. Or perhaps that should be his underwear! I eased off the dressing gown and the white briefs slipped easily to the floor as I gently tugged them down with my good hand. Standing there naked in front of the long mirror, I shivered and momentarily closed my eyes. Every inch of my body seemed to ache, whilst the muscles in my legs felt weak and hardly able to support me. The face that stared back at me through the mirror was pale and drawn, badly in need of a shave and a dousing of cold water. Nathan’s electric shaver stood on a shelf at the side of the mirror and I ran it over my face, hoping he wouldn’t mind me using it. Luckily he had a walk in shower, as using the bath would have been totally out of the question. Even if I was able to get in, it would be virtually impossible to climb out again without causing myself considerable pain and danger.

The shower door snapped shut as I stepped inside and steaming water soon began cascading down my body as I slowly increased the temperature. Every time it splashed the damaged skin, my hand stung like crazy and every nerve end in my body winced with pain. It was extremely awkward trying to wash myself with only one hand and every so often the soap would fly out of my hand like a frog jumping through the air. After a while the effort needed to retrieve it was far too painful, so instead I concentrated on opening a bottle of shower gel that was standing on the shelf. The top was fastened much too tightly and my wet soapy hand simply slipped around it. Frustrated and annoyed, I momentarily forgot about my injured hand and as the hot water poured over it I cried out in pain. I hadn’t dared to lock the bathroom door and Nathan was in the room within seconds, anxious to discover what was wrong.

“Jase, are you ok?” He shouted in an alarmed voice “I heard you cry out”

The panels in the shower had totally steamed up by now and the only thing I could see was his darkened form through the perspex. The urge to open the door and beg him to join me was overwhelming and I suddenly realised he was waiting for an answer.

“I’m ok Naith. The hot water sprayed my hand as I was trying to get the top off the shower gel”

“Have you managed it yet?”

"No, it seems to be stuck fast"

"Pass it to me Jase, I'll unfasten it for you"

I opened the door just wide enough to pass him the offending bottle. There was a slight click as the top snapped open and he handed it back to me.

“Oh by the way, I forgot to leave you a towel before Jase, it’s on the sink. And be careful getting out! Shout me immediately if you need anything else”

“Ok, thanks. I will”

I heard the bathroom door close behind him and at last I was able to wash myself and let the water rinse all the soap off my body. Stepping carefully out of the shower, I grabbed the towel off the sink, drying myself as best I could. The shower had definitely invigorated me and surprisingly I was beginning to feel somewhere near human again. Nathan had laid the clean clothes out in a pile on the bath stool and I smiled to myself as I saw how neat and tidy they were. Actually putting them on was going to be an all together different matter though and I hesitantly reached out for the pair of red briefs on top of the pile. After struggling for what seemed like ages to get dressed, I sank down on the side of the bath, completely beaten by the final hurdle. One main button fastened the waist of the jeans and four smaller ones ran down the fly. I’d managed to fasten the bottom two but no matter how hard I tried there was no way on earth I could fasten the remaining buttons with one hand, despite several attempts. I gazed at them with an exhausted sigh and although the solution was already at the back of my mind, I was loath to acknowledge it. But what other alternative did I have? None at all was the short answer! I was extremely reluctant to ask, but there only one thing for it. I would have to bite the bullet and ask Nathan to fasten them for me! Just the thought of him touching me in such an intimate place sent spasms of ecstasy shooting throughout my body. How on earth would I stop the huge erection that was sure to make them even harder to fasten? Lost in thought, I was totally unprepared when he knocked on the door and partially opened it.

“Are you decent Jase?”

"Just about" I answered, biting my lip anxiously

He opened the door fully and stepped inside; brushing away the steam that still swirled around the room. “You ok Jase! You seem to be miles away”

“No….. erm…it’s not that” I laughed nervously, glancing down at the front of my jeans “I….erm…I was wondering how to ask you something…It’s just a bit embarrassing, that’s all"

“Ask away Jase. Whatever you need”

He stood there with an expectant look on his face and then smiled as his gaze followed my eyes downwards. He’d obviously worked out for himself what was wrong and I didn’t even need to ask him

“Sorry Jase. I didn’t think” he exclaimed, slapping his forehead “If you want to take them off again, I’ll get you some jog pants”

“No, it’s ok" I almost shouted "I don’t think I’ve got the energy. It took me long enough to get these on”

All at once he grasped the two sides of the material without waiting to be asked and pulled them together.

“Right then Jase. Breathe in!”

The top button was fastened in no time at all and I looked at him anxiously, wondering if I should have accepted his offer of some jog pants. Having to fasten the next two buttons must be embarrassing for him and my reasons for letting him do so were mostly selfish. At the last moment I felt a wave of guilt for virtually forcing him to do it and felt that I had to give him a chance to change his mind.

“I shouldn’t have asked you to do this Naith. Let me change them for the others”

I waited with bated breath for his answer, praying like mad he would brush my request aside. Just the sheer expectation of his touch in such an intimate place sent shivers of pure delight running through my body that I hadn’t experienced for ages. I couldn’t wait for the frenzied feelings of raw desire that I knew would come racing through my body the minute he touched me and my heart beat harder in hopeful anticipation.

"You really don't have to do this Naith"

"Jase, I don't mind. Honest!"

“Yeah, but even so. This is a bit beyond the call of duty”

He reassured me once again. “Jason, I think we’ve gone way beyond the call of duty already....I really don’t mind, honest!”

My cheeks burned with embarrassment and my heart thudded wildly as I mentally prepared myself for his touch. Suddenly, an explosion of electric shocks surged through my body as his hands came into contact with the most intimate part of my body. I could feel his warm fingers gently pushing against my growing hardness as I tried in vain to suppress the huge erection that thrust its way forwards. The back of his hands rubbed against me and as he struggled to fasten the buttons, I was almost physically sick with desire. All I wanted him to do was release my cock and take it deep into his mouth so that it brushed against the back of his throat. I wanted him so badly that it hurt like hell and the intense yearning I felt for him at this moment was so powerful, I thought my heart would come bursting through my chest.

“You’re not making this any easier for me are you Jase?” he exclaimed, making sure I knew exactly what he meant.

Although getting an erection was inevitable, I was still embarrassed by the biggest hard on I'd ever experienced as it pushed itself forwards in protest. If he didn't finish soon I thought to myself, I was sure to erupt in my underwear.

He seemed to be taking a while to fasten the last button but finally stood up straight again, proudly surveying his work. “There you go Jase!" he said triumphantly "All done”

Apologising had become the order of the day and one more instantly slipped out of my mouth “I’m so sorry Naith! I didn’t mean to be….erm…you know, like this” I spluttered, looking down at the front of my trousers.

He laughed and shook his head “Yeah, guess I should’ve realised that might happen! he agreed “Don’t know what I was thinking”

“I don’t know how to thank you for doing that Naith. Really I don't"

“Not to worry, I’ll think of something!” he said, pretending to come up with an idea at that moment.

“Oh I know! You can start by telling me what last night was all about, now that you’ve had your shower”

I glanced back at him reluctantly, resigned to the fact that I would have to tell him all about Aiden. “Yeah, ok. If I must”

“Yeah, you must” he repeated firmly “Come on, I’ll put a clean bandage on your hand first”

I nodded meekly and followed him into the kitchen, placing my hand gently onto the surface he indicated. He’d already smeared some antiseptic cream onto a piece of gauze and it felt cold as he laid it gently across my knuckles. I winced as he lifted my hand up and began to wrap the bandage firmly around it, finally securing it with a safety pin

“Feel better after your shower?” he asked

“Yeah, a lot better thanks"

“Good” he smiled “C’mon, let’s sit down”

I nodded in agreement and my heart raced, knowing perfectly well what his next question would be.

“So tell me what last night was all about” he asked, watching me closely “Why on earth did you take off like that?”

“You don’t really want to know” I muttered despairingly, making one last ridiculous attempt to avoid an explanation. I knew it was utterly futile, but I said it anyway, hoping for a sudden heavenly intervention or a miracle at the very least.

"Yes Jason, I do want to know and you're going to tell me"

“Look, it was all just a misunderstanding” I pleaded “Let’s forget about it”

“Forget about it!!! He spluttered incredulously “You are joking!”

He shook his head in wonder and continued with his questions unabated. “I presume the guy you were talking to in the restaurant was this Aiden, right?”

I sighed wearily, reluctant to give in to his prompting, but knowing that this time there would be no getting out of it. “Yeah, that’s him"

“So, what’s the story" he insisted "Start at the beginning, I want to know everything”