Friends, Sexcapades, And Love Affairs - 5. Shadows Of The Past

Chapter Five – Shadows Of The Past

Adrian smiled as he picked up. “Your Majesty, always on time.”

He stretched on the bed, lazily, touching his chest. Edward’s voice was sex, even when they talked about mundane stuff. What was he thinking? They never talked about mundane stuff.

“Why shouldn’t I be? I’ve sent something to your address. It is a suit, and I hope it fits you to a tee. It should arrive by tomorrow.”

“Something wrong with my fashion sense?” Adrian asked right away.

“Not at all, and you look good in anything. It’s just that I want you to make an entrance when I take you to our private club this Saturday.”

“I can barely wait to see how rich perverts party,” Adrian said and laughed.

“What a naughty boy,” Edward said in a low, measured voice that was giving Adrian goosebumps. “I adore these little bouts of rebellion; they really add to the anticipation of me breaking you in.”

Adrian turned on his belly, his half-hard cock rubbing against the coverlet. He didn’t care for being dominated, but Edward’s voice and promises were doing wonders to his cock and arousal ever since he had met the man. “What if you never break me in?”

“That would be a premiere. I would admit defeat, of course.”

“Hmm, sounds good. What’s the prize, though?”

“Besides my admittance that I failed?”

“Yeah. That sounds sweet, too, though.”

“What would you like?”

Adrian pondered for a bit. “I’ll think about it. It has to be something that goes against your grain.”

“Absolutely. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

There was a small break in the conversation. Adrian waited. Edward had a way of messing with him that only made him excited about what would follow.

“You’re silent,” Edward pointed out.

“As you are,” Adrian said in reply.

“So why aren’t we saying our goodbyes so that we can see about our evening?”

“Why, indeed.” Adrian chuckled. “Are you sure about this? About me?”

“Are you getting cold feet, Adrian?”

“Not at all. I’m just teasing you. You’ll lose, you know? Wait, is there a time constraint? How long do I have to resist to your futile attempts to fuck me?”

“Ah, I like this. You’re practical. Well, I suppose we should put all the terms down. How about six months?”

“Wow. That would be the longest relationship I’ve ever been in,” Adrian commented. “You’re making me sign my freedom over to you.”

“I’ll make it worth your while,” Edward replied politely. “So, I guess we’re at that point where we should play along with a cliché, right?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Adrian said, still pushing his cock lazily against the bed, giving it just a little bit of rub.

“What are you wearing?” Edward’s voice was half seductive silk and half spicy irony.

Adrian loved how he was learning to read the man. “Absolutely nothing. And I’m rubbing my dick against my sheets, imagining how it would be to have you under me.”

“I hope those sheets are nothing close to a resemblance to my person.”

“They’re not. It’s frustrating, really. I wish you could skip whatever it is you need to do tonight and come around.”

“You still think I’m your booty call.”

“Call it whatever you like. I need you here.”

“Will you go back on your word and abandon me on Saturday if I don’t relent?”

“No. A word’s a word. I gave it, so I won’t take it back. But it would be so nice to feel you.”

Adrian waited, pretending he wasn’t keeping his breath, not quite so, for Edward to reply.

“It might turn into a lesson. You might not appreciate it as much.”

Adrian made a silent sign of victory, his fist closed. “Oh, if it’s your ass, I think I will appreciate it very much.”

“Are you looking forward to your training, then?”

“Have it your way. As long as I’m satisfied, you can run your mouth all you want. Your sexy mouth,” Adrian added shortly.

“I don’t usually comply with such requests. You’re barely trying, Adrian.”

“That must be my charm.” Adrian grinned, knowing well the other couldn’t see that. “Admit it, Edward. I’m intriguing you. I challenge you, and you let me get away with stuff because no one ever did that to you.”

“You flatter yourself and reduce my experience and expertise to nothing. I have been challenged before.”

“Maybe you didn’t like the guy. Maybe you like me,” Adrian explained right away.

“That must be.” The amusement in Edward’s voice was easy to guess.

“Then let’s cut this convo short. I’m not one for phone sex when I can have the real deal.”

“All right then. I will be with you shortly.”

“And then I’ll be in you,” Adrian joked and snickered.

“So crude,” Edward remarked, but he laughed, too.

His Majesty could pretend all he wanted. Adrian was sure no one ever told this guy ‘no’, whatever his pretensions were. Now, that he was challenged, he must have drawn some kinky excitement from saying ‘yes’ to whatever Adrian was asking.

***

Adrian had no qualms with answering the door completely naked. Edward watched him, giving him a short look and then entered. “What if there was someone else at the door?”

“I would have just told them that I was expecting my booty call.”

“You have an answer to everything,” Edward commented. “So, do I gather that you want us to go straight to business?”

Adrian leaned against the door, which he had closed quickly after Edward was inside. Despite his bravado, he wasn’t that in the mood to shock his neighbors. “Actually, since you caved in and you’re here, I’ll let you lead in exchange.”

Edward smiled. He was standing, not two feet away, detached, hair perfectly combed, his hands in his pockets. “Then that’s something to look forward to. Let’s move on to the sofa, shall we?”

Adrian plopped himself down on the couch next to Edward, who elegantly sat down, crossing his legs. His hands were linked together, resting on top of one knee, and appeared to lose himself in thought for a second. Then he suddenly turned toward Adrian. “Why are you a bad kisser?”

Adrian snorted. “I’m not a bad kisser. What are you saying? It’s just that I don’t see why some people consider it so important. I’d rather have sex.”

“I enjoy kissing. I believe it is a simulation of penetration that allows those involved to set up some ground rules. If someone insists on being the dominant --”

Adrian grabbed Edward by the back of his head and kissed him hard. “You had me at ‘I enjoy’.”

“And I thought you said you’d let me be in charge,” Edward replied. He touched his hair for a brief second, somewhat seemingly self-conscious.

“Did I?” Adrian grinned and leaned into Edward’s shoulder, batting his eyelashes.

Edward laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “All right, then. On your knees, Adrian.”

“Ah, damn,” Adrian mock-complained, but obeyed, and placed himself on his knees, right in front of his guest.

Edward touched his cheeks gently and used his thumbs to tease the corners of his mouth. “Let’s see it, then.”

Adrian closed his eyes as Edward’s lips touched his, feather-like. Everyone who knew him would laugh his ass off. He was a straightforward kind of guy. He liked having his dick sucked and fucking nice asses. Not ever was he for indulging in such a dull thing as foreplay. Yet, right now, he was making an exception to the rule, and it was more than half pleasant.

Edward used more than just his lips to kiss him. From time to time, he moved away just very little, and let one thumb brush against Adrian’s bottom lip, over and over, the firmer touch making small eddies of pleasure course through his body.

“Open, just a smidge,” Edward demanded, and Adrian allowed one naked thumb to squeeze through and caress his tongue.

Then, a hungry tongue followed, and Adrian let one tiny moan escape. Edward broke the kiss and watched him through half-hooded eyes. Adrian blinked a few times. “You really want to seduce me?”

“It’s part of the play,” Edward replied.

“Then you should up the ante. Your kisses are good, but it’s your ass I’m yearning for.”

Edward allowed a small, thin smile to curl his lips. “Are you trying to tell me you don’t like it? I heard you quite distinctively.”

“That was just something in my throat,” Adrian lied. “And it’s good; I’m not saying it’s not good.”

Edward touched the tip of his nose. “You’re not a very good liar. How you managed to fool so many men, it’s beyond me.”

“It’s simple. I always tell the truth. I tell them that I want them to suck my dick, and when I tell them not to call, it’s the truth, too.”

“Yet, you give them your number.”

“How do you know that?”

“A lucky guess.”

“They ask for it. I tell them I won’t bother to answer. But you know, it would be too cruel to refuse such a simple request.”

“Too cruel,” Edward echoed his words. “What you do is even crueler.”

Adrian sighed. “Did you perch yourself up on the sofa and got me on my knees so that you can have the moral high ground?”

“Far from me to do such a thing. Your cruelty in such affairs of the heart satisfies me. It’s also what I look in a partner since I do not chase fleeting emotions and attachments.”

“Really? I thought you wanted to bring me down, to make me fall for you so that you can be the winner.”

“You have it all backward, Adrian. That is the goal of the game, the finality of it, but not what I want. What I want is to find another person that can function outside the conventions of so-called relationships with the ultimate purpose of enjoying nothing but pure pleasure.”

“Sometimes, you’re making my head hurt. But I’m all for pleasure, and zero attachments.”

“We’ll see,” Edward said with a small, enigmatic smile. “After all, I will spare nothing. But enough about such tedious matters. We are both here to have fun, aren’t we?”

“Yeah,” Adrian admitted. “Are you done with your kissing lesson, then?”

“For the moment. Right now, I need you to suck my cock.”

“Wow, really?”

“It’s the least you can do to help me get a bit of arousal before heading to the main course,” Edward justified his request right away. “Are you going to deny me this pleasure?”

“I suppose not,” Adrian said, feeling a tad disoriented by Edward’s shift in behavior. He appeared entirely compliant, but it was surely a smokescreen seeing how a blunt request like that could leave his lips without one drop of hesitation.

He focused on freeing Edward’s cock from his suit pants and then gave the head a little lick. Edward was only half-hard, and Adrian felt a bit annoyed at that. Even with all the talking, he could sense his cock, hard as a rock.

Damn, that was, again, something he didn’t do. Any second now, he would be scolded for not doing a good job. But it was all for a reasonable purpose, seeing how, after that, Edward would finally put his ass up.

He caught the hardening cock in his fist and gave it a long rub. Usually, he didn’t enjoy going down on guys, but, right now, the novelty of the situation was doing something to him. Adrian licked and licked the head and sucked it into his mouth.

A hand in his hair began caressing him. “I’ve heard of your reticence to suck off your sex partners. I do not blame you. Someone with your reticence against being dominated in any way --”

“Are we talking or having sex?” Adrian pulled the cock out of his mouth with a smack and threw Edward a rightfully annoyed look.

Edward laughed softly. “I stand corrected. I will shut up now.”

“Good. ‘Cause it’s hard work down here, you know?”

“Don’t I know it? But I know well, I’m not by far as endowed as you.”

“Big enough, though,” Adrian replied, trying to quench the little swell of pride in his chest upon hearing his manhood praised like that, especially by comparison.

Edward exhaled, and he appeared content, as Adrian returned to his business. Why didn’t he like sucking cock? He wondered as he moved both his mouth and hand up and down Edward’s cock. It was more like he didn’t want being taken for a fool than actually disliking it.

In Edward’s case, not only he enjoyed it, he actually found a new sort of delight. The hand in his hair was a reward, and he also discovered Edward’s scent to be just as he liked it best, a bit of the light side, obviously because of the man’s impeccable hygiene, but also pleasant and subtle, with a hint of growing desire.

Now he was going faster and faster at it. The long elegant fingers in his hair flexed and squeezed. “That is most exquisite, Adrian,” Edward’s raspy voice said, “but being so determined about it would deprive me of experiencing other pleasures at their full height.”

Of course. And Adrian didn’t want Edward to come from a blowjob, either. He just moved away, and Edward caught him and kissed him deeply. It was, indeed, exquisite, to find his hunger being matched by the other’s if the way Edward’s tongue swirled inside his mouth was any indication.

“Just let me get the rubber and the lube,” Adrian said as he reluctantly let go of the kiss.

“Do that,” Edward said, and his voice was soft and his eyes a bit moist.

Adrian hurried, almost stubbing one toe into the furniture on his way. “Fuck,” he whispered under his breath.

“Should I kiss it to make it all better?”

Even when mocking, Edward’s voice was dipped in sex. Adrian just threw him a pointed look. “Joke more. I won’t forgive your ass. Just look at this thing.” He half-turned and slapped his cock in passing.

Edward licked his lips. “I am looking.”

Adrian just shook his head. “Then get ready for a pounding. Ass up when I come back, or I might just ruin that pretty suit.”

Edward laughed instead of a reply, but he began pulling at his tie. Adrian would have loved to stay and watch, but he needed to get the condoms.

When he got back from the bedroom, Edward was completely naked and kneeling on the sofa, with his ass jutting out. “Was this what you had in mind when you gave that order?”

“You’re pretty close.”

Adrian moved to stand behind Edward. He moved his fingers through the tight buttocks, enjoying the little playful squeeze Edward gave.

“Just one thing,” Edward said.

Adrian looked a bit surprised at the tie Edward handed to him. “Are we getting into all that Fifty Shades cliché kind of thing? Do you want me to blindfold you?”

“Not really. I need you to put it over your eyes. Missing one sense does heighten the others. At least there was one thing that movie got right.”

“But I want to look at you.”

“You’ll see me with your mind. That’s my only request.”

“Actually, you also asked me to suck you off. This is your second request.”

“Touché,” Edward admitted. “Will you indulge me? Later, I’ll ask you what you saw.”

Adrian grumbled as he took the tie and put it over his eyes, tying it at the back. “Great. Now how am I going to put lube on you?”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll do it. I will guide you, Adrian.”

Was Edward talking that way all the time? Because if he were, all his patients must have boners at the most absurd of times.

“What do you mean, tell you what I saw?” Adrian asked, enjoying the small touches on his cock, the condom being rolled down, the tiny squeeze of his balls, the two kisses planted one on each. Edward must have turned to do all that.

“I want us to have a connection. No, not a relationship, but a real connection as two people enjoying pleasure, as real as it can be.”

“I could lie.”

“Of course, you could. The question is: will you?”

Adrian said nothing. His cock was guided slowly toward a tight entrance. He didn’t move, unsure of whether he could truly gauge his partner’s discomfort if he pushed literally blindly inside.

Edward clearly knew his thing. He knew when to stop and when to go, and Adrian groaned in pleasure as his cock was finally entirely sheathed inside.

“I didn’t say you couldn’t touch me,” Edward said. “I want you to learn me with your hands.”

Adrian grabbed one hip and used his free hand to draw a line across Edward’s spine. His fingers curled around one shoulder, massaging it for a brief moment, only to move along and follow the line of the back of Edward’s neck.

Small gasps and moans encouraged him. Lost in his exploration, he remained still.

“Now I believe it’s my turn to protest. Are you fucking or doing something else?”

Again, that small ironic dip of the tongue which Adrian had come to enjoy, for some kinky masochistic reason. One move of the hips, and he got in deeper. A loud hitched breath from Edward was enough to tell him he was on the right way.

“For pleasure,” he found himself saying as he leaned over and searched with his lips for a patch of skin to land on.

Edward’s nape was tasty as he sank his teeth into it, like a wild animal holding down its prey. There would be no one else Adrian would think of while doing this.

He bucked his hips, and Edward pulled him in, squeezed him, and then rejected him, but only for a second. They were fighting a bit, smashing and crashing into one another, but one had to be on top, and Adrian relished the sensation, the knowledge of being that one.

Nothing was dull, despite not seeing anything through the silky fabric. His hearing caught on Edward’s cock slapping rhythmically against his lower belly. That poor thing had to be in either hell or heaven. Frustrating, that was for sure.

Funny thing not being able to supply the visuals to heighten his pleasure. It wasn’t like he had never closed his eyes when fucking or getting sucked by some random dude. Still, this didn’t feel random at all.

His arousal was soaring, his cock, trapped in that high heat, getting closer and closer. The pleasure, so high, and Adrian’s mind wondered, if only for a fraction of a second, to a time long before, something that came round and round to haunt him, not wanting to let go of him.

The same thing he thought of when fucking other guys. No, he wouldn’t think of that. He wouldn’t think of getting back, of getting even, at least not this time.

Didn’t you know that it wouldn’t last?

“Ah, fuck,” Adrian groaned. He grabbed Edward’s hips hard and squeezed his eyes shut, regardless of the futility of the gesture. But for one second there, the texture of the skin beneath his fingers, the smell in the room, what he couldn’t see, took him back and he was done for.

He withdrew, breathing hard, pulling the tie away from his eyes, and the condom from his cock, in a run for the bathroom, not wanting Edward to look at him and guess.

He threw some water in his face and then went back into the room. Edward was already getting dressed. Adrian glanced guiltily as Edward’s still hard cock was pushed back into the pants.

“You thought of someone else,” Edward said, and there were no inflections in his voice, nothing there, not hurt, not mockery, nothing.

Adrian said nothing. He just stood there, staring down, like a kid caught doing something wrong.

“It’s all right. I’d rather have everything out in the open,” Edward said.

Adrian continued to remain silent. Edward passed by him, maybe with the intention to touch him, but Adrian moved out of the way.

“Goodbye, Adrian.”

Edward didn’t ask for an explanation. Adrian felt relieved, but for a second. “Wait,” he called after Edward, but the door was already closed.

“Fuck this shit,” Adrian said and dropped on the sofa.

His body was still coming down from the earlier release. But he felt like crap. And why the hell was that? It wasn’t like he was in love with Edward and cheating on him or something.

Then why did he feel so guilty?

***

Jared stared at the caller ID, a bit surprised. He wasn’t sure if he should get it or not. It had been four days and seven hours since he had last talked to Chris. Well, if he didn’t answer, he would never know what Chris had to say.

“Hi,” he said, and then cleared his throat, self-conscious of how unsure he sounded.

“How am I doing with the three-day rule?” Chris asked directly, and his voice appeared a bit impatient.

A bit disoriented, Jared sat down on his bed. For some reason, it had seemed important to stand up while taking the call. “Three-day rule?”

“So that I don’t appear desperate.”

Jared wanted to smack himself silly. Or maybe smack Chris silly. “It’s been four days and --”

“Seven hours,” Chris completed his sentence.

Good thing he was sitting, or he would have started to melt on his feet. “Did you count?”

“I know how youth today cares about independence and rules of their own, and I didn’t want to be in the red zone.”

“I have no idea what youth you’re talking about. I’m not part of it.”

“That’s good,” Chris replied, and Jared could easily imagine him smiling. “Would you like to meet me this weekend?”

“Sure,” Jared replied with a bit of too much enthusiasm. “I mean, it’s okay.”

“I must admit that I panicked a little, seeing how you haven’t called.”

Jared closed his eyes and cursed inwardly. Maybe he was a moron for not thinking about how Chris might be waiting for a sign for him. It just seemed like he could have been seen as the desperate one if he had made that move.

He had thought he was giving Chris space, when, in fact, Chris didn’t want that much space. He was nothing but a fool. “I thought that might make you feel, you know, uncomfortable.”

“Why?” Chris seemed genuinely puzzled.

“Just some stupidity of mine,” Jared said quickly. “So, when would it be good for you? I’m free all weekend.”

Eager. Desperate. Jared closed his eyes and tried hard not to bite his tongue. It deserved the treatment.

“How about Saturday evening? I would also like to invite you to see my place.”

Jared stood up from the bed so that he could do a little victory dance. “I would love that.”

“Now, I should ask you if dinner first is okay.”

“Yeah, it’s perfect.”

Chris laughed. “I’m glad you agree with everything I say.”

“I guess I’m not a particularly pretentious person. And dinner sounds awesome, actually. Wait, do I have to dress up? Where are we going? What level of fancy are we talking about?”

“The level you want, beautiful,” Chris replied. “Anything that works for you. I wouldn’t want to trigger another wardrobe crisis.”

For a moment, Jared frowned, and then he remembered. “Ah. Well, you might be right. But would you really be okay with eating junk food? Because I think that’s the highest level of fancy my wardrobe can deal with right now.”

“I would, of course. All I want is to see you again.”

“Then I will put in the effort, and go shopping for some decent clothes,” Jared concluded.

“Anything is fine, Jared, really.”

“But I want to,” Jared said and realized too late how he sounded like a petulant child.

“Okay. But don’t go too fancy. We’ll find a not-so-fancy restaurant where we can dine without making any of us feel out of place. What do you say? I’ll make a selection and send it to you. You pick, and we’ll go from there.”

“Great,” Jared agreed gleefully.

There was a short moment of silence. “I really like you,” Chris said softly. “Will you be so kind as to tell me if I’m blowing it?”

Jared just shook his head. “I don’t see how you could do that.”

“I’ll count the hours until I see you.”

That was an incredibly romantic thing to say, wasn’t it? But who said that anymore? Jared felt a bit small and inadequate as he sat back on the bed. Maybe Chris was out of his league, in ways he couldn’t even start to imagine.

“I am so lucky,” Chris added, being the first to interrupt the awkward silence.

“If you say so,” Jared mumbled.

“I do say so.” A small laugh followed. “See you on Saturday, then, Jared. And I promise that there will be no more annoying interruptions.”

Jared was staring at his phone long after the conversation was over, unsure of whether it was true or not that a man of Chris’s status was interested in someone like him. Usually, Jared considered himself somewhere in the middle, not rich, not poor, not a genius, but not a dumbass, either, and even in the looks department he tended to believe he was nothing special, although, if he took Adrian’s and Mike’s word for it, he was on the pretty side. Plenty of guys were also willing to hook up with him, so that counted, too.

But to be called ‘beautiful’ and be treated like some kind of winning lottery ticket by a guy like that seemed a bit unbelievable.

“Too good to be true?” He asked out loud.

Maybe he was selling himself short. That had to be it. Maybe Chris’s had a type, and Jared happened to be it. That would have been an easy explanation.

Jared needed to turn off the worrier inside. So far, things were going well. Despite his obviously exaggerated disappointment from earlier, Chris had called, and all was good.

The least he could do was to enjoy it.

***

For all the right reasons, Mike felt like a stalker. Ryan seemed to be on everyone’s lips, and, given the novelty factor, the buzz wouldn’t fade away for some time. While he should have kept away from anything involving his boss, his handsome, drool-worthy boss, he found himself, more often than not, leaning in to hear fragments of conversation that featured the man as the main food for gossip.

So far, he had learned nothing new or worthy of attention. No one seemed to know of Ryan’s preferences in bedroom affairs, so all the female population, minus those happily married, was in a frenzy of possibilities to win the new boss’s interest.

Damn, he had gotten to that point that he was now hanging by the water cooler, waiting for gossip to fly by.

“So, can we assume he’s single?”

“Told you, no ring.”

Mike nodded to himself. Ryan had said as much. Even as a gay guy, he was single, so the gossip was right in that respect.

“But what can you do to earn the attention of such a man?” One female employee complained.

“I heard he has a soft spot for hard workers. During those meet-ups with employees he just held, you know what I’m talking about, I heard he rained raises all over the most hardworking butts in the place.”

“Ah, damn, and I’m totally lazy by definition. It looks like I have to step up. Wait, did you get a raise?”

“Of course,” the first employee said with self-importance. Then, maybe because she didn’t want to put down her friend, she added. “But it was really small. I heard those nerds in IT got the highest raises.”

“Ah, damn. I’m not good at computers, either.”

“It looks like he’s a bit paranoid about cybersecurity or something. That’s what I heard from the secretarial team. Those guys in IT, don’t envy them too much. I heard they got a thousand pages long book of instructions on how to do their job now.”

Mike stood there, thinking. He wasn’t part of the IT team, per se, since he was the server-side, but how come he didn’t get further instructions? Maybe Ryan had been so disturbed by the reveal of whose mouth he had practically fucked the previous night that he might have forgotten to tell him some vital information.

For a couple of seconds, he held his breath. Could it be that he could head over to the boss’s office to ask for clarification regarding his work? No, he shook his head. That would be wrong. So far, he had watched Ryan from afar and had seen him only by accident, but he longed to see him again with an intensity he couldn’t understand.

No, it was insane even to consider that. After all, Ryan, most probably, wanted to see as little of him as possible, given the unfortunate circumstances of their little affair.

He would just go back to his servers and watch them blink in understanding. After all, it wasn’t like guys like Mike usually hung out in the same universe as guys like Ryan. No, not Ryan, Mr. Armstrong.

And you better remember that, he chided himself. There had to be a way to cure himself of this newfound obsession. But how on Earth was he supposed to do that? After all, Ryan and that magical evening had been almost the only things on his mind ever since they happened to him.

He needed to get a hold of himself and pronto. Briefly, he wondered what his female colleagues would say if they knew he had practically feasted on the big boss’s equally big cock already? Maybe he could consider purchasing some defense armor, just in case.

***

His fingers tapped against the keyboard rhythmically, as he operated the usual backup of the data that was supplied by the building above him and the little ants working hard for the system. His new headphones were the most awesome thing ever, truly noise-canceling, so not a smidge of the outside world could sneak inside and ruin his flow.

Also, since he was completely alone, he could sing along and out of tune as much as he wanted. A tap on his shoulder surprised him just as he was attacking a much challenging bridge of a popular song.

Mike jumped out of his chair so quickly that he got it flying backward. His eyes grew wide when he saw his visitor. Rapidly, he took his headphones off and almost smashed them against the keyboard.

“Damn, fuck.” He managed to stop the damage by hitting the right keys and then carefully closed the windows on his screen. “I’m so sorry, sir,” he said eventually, as he turned to look guiltily at Ryan.

No, not Ryan. His boss, Mr. Armstrong. How many times did he have to repeat that to himself? It was a bit tedious. And also, a part of him, small and crippled, wanted to protest against that.

Ryan didn’t appear amused, as that would have been required to diffuse the situation. Instead, he was wearing a deep frown, etched on his face, and Mike had to admit to himself that Ryan could rock that look any day. His knees were weak for all the wrong reasons, too.

“I appreciate that you are pulling long hours, Mr. Cavanaugh, but less your work ethics. I’m not sure I understand what is going on here.”

Mike knew he was beet red at this point. “I’m sorry, sir.” He tended to apologize a lot. Well, apologies couldn’t cut it. “It’s just that no one ever comes down here. Ever.”

Ryan quirked an eyebrow. “Do I gather, from what you’re telling me, that you’re the one dusting around here, too?”

“Ah. I mean. Yeah. No. The janitorial services take care of most of it. But no one touches the hardware,” Mike said, as he gestured around. “That’s all on me, with a little … dusting thingy, brush,” he tried to explain, gesticulating way too much.

Ryan threw a look around at the long rows of servers. “That’s quite a lot of dusting to do.”

“I wouldn’t let anyone touch them, sir,” Mike said quickly.

“Why? Are you afraid someone might feel tempted to steal your job?”

Mike looked straight at his boss and felt relieved when he saw the shadow of a smile on those perfect lips. “Not really. My position is not that coveted.”

Ryan began moving about, observing Mike’s desk, the shiny new headphones, which he took into his hands, studied them for a while, and then placed them on his head.

Great way of feeling out of place. Something told Mike that Ryan couldn’t be the type to listen to commercial pop tunes. By the slight frown on Ryan’s face, Mike had to be right.

“You’re doing a great job, Mike.” Ryan put down the headphones.

Not Mr. Cavanaugh. Mike. He inhaled and kept the breath in. What was next? A ‘but’? Was he getting fired, after all?

“I wanted to see where you work,” Ryan continued. “It must get a bit lonely here, right?”

Mike just shrugged. He didn’t see it that way. It would have been worse to work in a crowded office, with colleagues talking, taking calls, and doing who knew how many other annoying things.

“It’s all right. I don’t feel lonely.”

Ryan leaned against Mike’s desk, crossing his arms over his chest. It was wrong, so damned wrong, but he couldn’t help staring at him. Mike bit his bottom lip hard, hoping that he would heed the hidden warning in that. He was not supposed, in capital letters, to dream of his boss, consider him sexy, and want to drop to his knees and declare his adoration.

He was completely, utterly stupid.

“I suppose that it takes a unique type of individual to handle this type of work,” Ryan said, while his dark eyes scrutinized Mike.

At his point, Mike would have much wanted that his boss had business somewhere else. He was getting a tad jittery, and the worst part was that he felt the need to move his arms and legs randomly to escape the sensation of being trapped.

The situation was far from ideal. Talking about getting what he wanted. All week, he had been engrossed in the fabrication of scenarios that would land him face to face with Ryan. The thing was the respective scenarios were carefully built under a blanket of impossibility, so it had been okay to have wide-eyed dreams.

Now, the so-called dream-like scenario was unfolding in front of his eyes, and Mike wanted to be completely somewhere else. Or for Ryan to be somewhere else. That space belonged to him, not to him, him, like in the sense of property, but in the sense that no one, ever, well, except for the janitors who had no choice in the matter, came down there.

“Why are you so nervous?” Ryan asked, and his voice was now, at least a little bit, amused. “Don’t tell me you were about to watch porn on a company’s computer.”

Mike gestured wildly. “I would never do that!”

Ryan laughed wholeheartedly. “You are so easy to tease.”

“I admit that I was listening to music. But the headphones are mine. And the music lets me focus. Helps me, I mean.”

“Ah. Don’t worry. I was actually teasing you about that, too. Although your taste in music leaves a lot to be desired.”

Those dark, intense eyes were trained on him, but Mike was no longer fidgeting. Instead, he was in a tiny bit of shock. So Ryan had been teasing him ever since putting one foot in there? Go figure. “I guess,” he said with some difficulty.

Ryan’s eyes thinned. “You guess that your taste in music sucks?”

Sucks. Sometimes, Mike could focus on the stupidest things. Not only his taste in music sucked. He … all right, his brain needed to take a chill pill.

“To each their own. Or something,” Mike said quickly and looked away.

Great, he was blushing again, and probably Ryan thought he was a complete lunatic.

“You might have to get educated.”

“I don’t have time for that,” Mike said promptly.

“Hmm. I suppose not. These servers are your life, right?”

Suddenly, his life resumed in that sentence appeared to be terribly depressing. “I do have a life outside work, sir.”

“I had a glimpse of it, so yes, I am well aware.” Ryan’s voice was no longer teasing. Right now, it was melting something inside Mike. Could it be that Ryan was thinking of that, as much as he was? But he couldn’t bring it up. It would have been like breaching a code or something. After all, they had both established that nothing had happened between them.

“I won’t listen to music anymore if that’s a problem.”

“It’s not.” Ryan shifted in his place, and Mike couldn’t repress in time the need to do the same. “I actually wanted to talk to you about some security issues.”

Mike exhaled. As soon as Ryan entered his business mode, he could manage. To all questions, he replied to the best of his abilities, making sure not to leave anything out. As a boss, Ryan was great. He knew all sorts of things, and he was not like one of those people who only cared about numbers and couldn’t be troubled with technical matters.

At the end of their conversation, Mike had every reason to believe that the company was in good hands. He moved to his desk and explained to Ryan his system. For a few seconds here and there, he reined in with some difficulty the temptation to inhale Ryan’s expensive cologne. But, as long as he was on the job, he could deal with everything.

There was a bit of pride, but also something else inside his heart when Ryan patted his shoulder and commanded him on how he handled his job.

“I am glad I have such a great employee under me. Working under me, I meant to say,” Ryan said quickly.

Mike was glad he was sitting. It would have been troubling to try to assume a vertical position while hearing those words. At least, he wasn’t the only one awfully aware of the innuendo, as accidental as it was. “Thank you, sir,” he mumbled and looked down.

“I am also here because of another reason,” Ryan started.

Mike could feel his ears pricking, trying to catch the faintest of sounds.

“I feel that I must apologize for my outburst at realizing you were my employee. It was not your fault in the slightest, and I shouldn’t have accused you the way I did.”

“You did nothing wrong, sir,” Mike said and shook his head. “Anyone in your position … Hell, I’m lucky that I still have a job.”

Ryan exhaled. It was a good thing they weren’t facing each other, as awkward as it was to have a conversation like that. “You are an outstanding employee, Mike. I strongly believe you are an asset to this company. If only you weren’t.” The last words were spoken quietly, so Mike wasn’t sure he heard correctly.

“Sir?” he asked, turning his chair.

Ryan looked down at him, and there was something in there, a small fire burning, and Mike found himself in the impossibility to speak. “Easy on this ‘sir’ thing.”

Mike gulped. “Sorry.”

Ryan reached for him and caressed his head, but only lightly. He withdrew his hand so quickly, Mike almost thought he had imagined it.

“You have no idea what you’re sorry for, isn’t it?” Ryan asked, and now his voice was deep and charged.

Mike just shook his head slowly.

“I’m not going to tell you. But you should be. You should be very, very sorry,” Ryan said with a smile Mike could only interpret as self-deprecating. “Don’t worry, though. This is just me, rambling. Great job, Mike. Your raise was well earned.”

Mike pondered over the meaning of those words long after Ryan was gone, leaving him all along, among his servers.

***

“Adrian,” Jared called, “you’ve been stabbing that piece of meat for the last five minutes like it killed your entire family.”

Adrian exhaled. “Yeah. Sorry. You went through so much trouble to cook for all of us. And I was much in need of some comfort food.”

Jared stared at his friend, a bit puzzled. “You’re never in need of comfort food.” For good measure, though, he unloaded another big chunk of creamy potato salad onto Adrian’s plate.

Mike sighed as well. Jared turned toward him. “At least, I know what’s bothering you.”

“The same thing,” Mike said and looked depressed enough for Jared to consider that he should have brought only the dessert to the table.

But Mike took a mouthful of food and seemed enthusiastic enough about it.

“You really have it bad for your boss, don’t you?” Jared said and shook his head. “Maybe going out on Friday could help you cleanse your palate a little.”

Mike threw him a pointed look. Adrian snickered.

“Oh, sorry, such a wrong choice of words,” Jared apologized right away. “I thought I was just using a clever metaphor.”

“Clever it was,” Adrian said and raised his glass.

Like on cue, Adrian’s phone went off. Jared quirked an eyebrow when he saw that Adrian didn’t even bother to check the caller’s ID. “How are things with His Majesty?”

Adrian just made a thumbs-down gesture and grimaced.

“Very talkative tonight, aren’t you?”

Adrian just shrugged.

“C’mon, Mike and I both unload everything. I’m having trouble trying to come to terms with the idea that some big shot financial advisor really wants to date me. Mike here has a crush on his boss. What’s wrong with you?”

Adrian frowned and stared into his plate. For a moment, Jared pondered whether he had gone too far in pressuring his friend to speak. But Adrian took both him and Mike by surprise when he started talking. “I thought of Alexander while fucking Edward.”

Jared gulped. He who was never to be mentioned had just been, well, mentioned. “Why? Sorry, I suppose it’s a stupid question.”

“No, it’s not. Why?” Mike asked, as well.

Adrian took another bite and chewed like he had to hunt it and kill it at the same time. “It’s just some stupid, really stupid thing that happens to me once in a blue moon.”

“Let me understand this,” Mike intervened. “Alexander is the one who got away?”

Jared made a small gesture, trying to silence Mike. It wasn’t Mike’s fault, though. Adrian had spoken very little of his first and only love, and the guy who, as far as Jared knew, had been the only one to top Adrian, ever.

“The one who didn’t get away fast enough,” Adrian commented, with a dark look on his face.

“How so?” Mike asked. He was out of the loop much more than Jared on the matter, but since their friendship was a three-way, and Adrian was in the mood to share, Jared couldn’t intervene to stop Mike from asking questions.

“He was a fucking asshole.” Adrian stopped for a moment, apparently reminiscing events that had happened a long time ago but never forgotten. “I should have known better.”

Mike looked at Jared, in need of an explanation. Jared just shook his head.

“And what if you thought of him while being with Edward?” Jared asked. “After all, people think of celebrities and whatnot while having sex. It’s not ideal, but it’s not a capital crime, either.” On the inside, he was plenty mortified about learning that his friend was still pining over that man from his past, but he was trying to stay positive.

“Edward didn’t appreciate it. Let’s leave it at that.”

“How did he know? Did you tell him?” Mike asked, as astonished as Jared was.

Adrian shook his head. “He guessed. Don’t imagine that I told him. He just knew. It was frigging weird. I’m better off.”

“Wait, don’t downplay this,” Jared said. “You two aren’t exactly in a relationship if what you told me is still true. Is it?”

Adrian nodded. “That’s hardly the point, J. The problem is I’m not some public library. Nobody reads me like that. It’s freakish.”

Jared sighed. “Was he upset? Did he tell you some nasty words or something?”

“No. He was completely cool. Like a fish cool.”

“Cold like a fish,” Mike said. “Sorry. I was just thinking out loud about the order of words or something.”

“So he doesn’t care you thought of someone else. Isn’t this ideal? You dislike jealous boyfriends, and you don’t even do boyfriends.”

Adrian stared down into his plate for a while. “Well, he wasn’t jealous, that’s for sure. But he couldn’t have liked it, either. He walked away, hard cock between his legs.”

Mike guffawed at that choice of words, but then quickly covered his mouth. “Sorry. I’m weirder than usual.”

“You’re not,” Jared hurried to tell him. “I mean, you’re not weird at all. Adrian, let me understand this. Isn’t this guy the perfect match for you? He doesn’t care about feels and all that, you don’t care --”

“It’s weird and complicated. Not like Mike here. He’s weird and complicated but in a cute way. Whatever is up with Edward, it’s, I don’t know. Look, I felt guilty. I felt like I was cheating on him. And I was! I mean, I was pounding his ass, and damn, how much I wanted that, and bang, it’s like that frigging douchebag is in my head. All right, I know what you’re going to say. I’m the one who thought of him; it’s not like some mumbo-jumbo happened to me.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything,” Jared replied. “Look, Adrian, don’t get too worked up over this. Maybe it’s a sign that you should let go of that hurt from long ago.”

“What hurt?” Adrian puffed out his chest as if an army of Alexanders couldn’t bring him down. “It was nothing like that.”

“It was like that, and since you’re among friends, you could just go ahead and admit it.”

“Right,” Adrian said, somewhat aggressively. “You’re right, J.” This time, he exhaled. “Whatever. Things with Edward couldn’t have worked out anyway. He’s a rich pervert, and I’m just a small-time playboy.”

“Small-time playboy?” Mike stared at Adrian, then at Jared, in utter disbelief. “You didn’t just say this about yourself, Adrian.”

“I did, and it feels good, to tell the truth. Edward wants someone kinky and sophisticated, and I’m all for fucking in the purest sense of the word. I don’t need whatever that guy has on his plate for me.”

“You’re just saying,” Jared protested. “Actually, maybe not getting too involved with someone with so much lack of human empathy is a good thing.”

“I don’t think Edward suffers from that. He’s a doctor.”

“And doctors need to detach themselves of their emotions, as they need a cool head when working with a patient. I guess that might explain his behavior. Be thankful that he’s not just a plain weirdo,” Jared pointed out. “Anyway, whatever I think is not important. How do you feel about it all?”

“Like crap. He left, and that was all.”

“I think he’s still calling,” Jared said. Adrian’s phone was happily chirping, announcing a new incoming call.

“That means he’s still interested,” Mike intervened in the conversation.

Jared agreed. “Maybe he just wanted to brag how well he read people. Maybe it was just a lucky guess on his part!”

Adrian groaned and attacked his food again. “I don’t see how that could be. He’s a sharp dude. And well, I guess I’m out of my league anyway.”

“Nobody’s out of your league!” Jared protested right away. “There’s no one more handsome than you. Hey, guys all over the city want to be with you.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Mike chimed in. “Edward knows it, and that’s why he wants you.”

Adrian smiled as he looked at his friends. “Guys, if I ever marry, I think I want to marry the two of you.”

Jared broke into a sweet ‘aww’ while Mike made a surprised face.

“What? Don’t stare at me like this. You two are the best husbands I could ever think of.”

TBC