The Dangers of Desire

Author's Note: Thank you all for your thoughts and feedback on this story, it's absolutely wonderful to hear how much you're still enjoying it. All emails welcome at matterotica@hotmail.co.uk

This story and all of my others can be found at my new site, matterotica.wordpress.com but you will always find my stories first here at Nifty, which you can support with a donation at http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html

The Dangers of Desire

Chapter 15

by Matt

Tuesday 3rd March 2015 ----------------------

Josh reached out to turn off his alarm then cuddled up to the body next to him. For just a moment, everything felt normal right up until he opened his eyes.

"Morning!" James said, grinning broadly.

Josh smiled. The moment was bitter-sweet. It felt wonderful to wake up with someone beside him again, he just wished it was Dale. That didn't mean he regretted having James there though. After they had met in the gym the evening before, and then 'showered' together, James had asked if Josh wanted to just hang out. They had ended up coming back to Josh's place.

Eventually the subject of their kiss at Dale's party had come up and awkward silence had filled the room until James finally just cut through the tension with a very frank confession of his feelings. He liked Josh, a lot!

Still feeling down about the news that Dale most definitely didn't want him back, Josh had been particularly vulnerable to the young man's advances and soon they had started kissing again. Josh had found it both comforting and exciting and ended up asking James to stay over. Once they had gotten naked to go to bed, other urges had taken over and James had fucked him again, the two eventually falling asleep in each other's arms.

Josh looked at him now, hair a mess, a slight hint of ginger stubble and the most sincere smile he had ever seen on his friend's face. Truthfully, Josh really did like him too, but having him there still felt like he was betraying Dale, something that he reminded himself he was already far too good at!

"Morning." Josh finally replied, kissing James quickly on the lips before rolling over and sliding out of bed.

"Hey Josh." James called out. As Josh looked back, James threw aside the covers, revealing that his massive cock was fully erect.

Josh sighed. He simply couldn't resist the monstrous tool and found himself drawn back into the bed.

Greg heard movement out in the hallway. After a couple of weeks at the McKenzie house, he had gotten used to all the sounds, knowing exactly which door had been opened or where someone was going. Sometimes he could even tell who was out there by the sound of their footsteps. He listened carefully and realised it was Corey's door.

He climbed out of bed and made his way out of the room. He was still in substantial pain from his injuries and operations, but he was recovering well and could now just about manage get about the house without assistance, although he couldn't really go far. Corey's room was definitely within range.

He knocked on the door and waited. He heard a groan from indoors, followed by a loud, "Go away!"

Greg ignored the barked order and opened the door. Corey was laying face down on his bed, drawn curtains plunging the room into darkness.

"I said go away!" Corey repeated.

"How is it that I've been living in your house for over two weeks, but this is the first time I've seen you?" Greg asked.

Corey looked up and realised it was Greg. "Oh... hi." he said awkwardly.

"You're avoiding me!" Greg said accusingly.

Corey buried his face into his pillow, unable to look at the boy. "No I'm not." he argued defiantly.

Greg made his way over to the boy's bed and sat down. "Why are you..." he stopped mid-sentence, sensing something. He sniffed, feeling a sickly sensation in his stomach as the smell jogged a distinctly unpleasant memory. "Corey, look at me please." he requested, reaching to the curtains and pulling one partially opened.

"No, go away." Corey snapped, reaching up to try and close the curtain.

Greg grabbed his hand and said, more firmly this time, "Corey, look at me!"

The boy groaned and started to turn over, pulling his wrist free from Greg's grip and shielding his eyes from the light. The older boy stared in shock, Corey looked awful, like he hadn't slept for a week, his face red and blotchy, eyes dark and sunken. All of that, coupled with the smell told Greg everything he needed to know.

"How long have you been drinking?" Greg demanded, barely containing his anger.

"What are you talking about?" Corey said dismissively, burying his face once again.

"Corey, I lived with a drunk for fifteen years. I know it when I see it." Greg insisted, a slight waver in his voice as he thought about his Mum.

"I'm not a drunk!" Corey snarled, shooting up suddenly. "What the fuck are you even doing in here? This isn't your house and this isn't your fucking business. Get out of my room!"

Greg's first instinct was to run from the angry boy or to lash out at him with matching fury. It took every bit of strength he had to sit there, staring him down. He remained motionless, eyes fixed on Corey's.

Corey stared back, breathing heavily, his anger gradually fading. He slumped back down onto the bed and said timidly, "I'm not a drunk, I've just... had a few drinks."

"But... why?" Greg asked, willing his pulse to slow. Outwardly he had retained his cool at the boy's outburst, but inside he was totally freaking out and now trying desperately to calm down.

"Because..." Corey started, staring at Greg for a moment before looking away. "Everything's just crap." He rubbed his head, clearly nursing a very nasty headache.

Greg found himself feeling a little dizzy and nauseous. "I think I need to go and lay down." he said, standing up. "And I think you need to sleep it off. Just... promise you'll come and see me later, okay?"

Corey just nodded gently before flopping back down onto the bed while Greg headed back to his own room.

Nick looked down at the boy laying at his feet and stroked his cock in anticipation. Callum was already quite slim, but laying there with his hands tied up above his head elongated his body even more, ribs showing through his pale skin. His eyes were covered by a blindfold.

"Come on, what you waiting for?" Callum demanded.

Nick knelt beside the restrained boy then leant forward to suck a finger into his mouth. Callum chuckled happily as Nick finally made contact. Nick sucked the finger for a moment, then started kissing and licking his way slowly down the boy's arm.

"Oh, you tease." Callum moaned, managing to sound both happy and annoyed. When he had agreed to let Nick tie him up, he had figured it was going to be a quick, playful fuck. Instead Nick had gone the other way, slowing their usual routine to virtually a crawl. He didn't really mind though, he loved the feeling of Nick's tongue and lips working their way along.

Nick reached the end of the arm, finding his mouth pushing into a smooth, shaved armpit. He gave it a quick lick as Callum squirmed, obviously a little ticklish. He made a mental note of that for later as he let his tongue work its way onto the chest. Nick felt cold metal against his lips, the stud through Callum's left nipple. He licked the sensitive nub, then plucked at the piercing with his teeth, pulling it gently, just enough to make the boy shudder.

"Oh, you like that?" Nick asked, doing it again.

"Fuck yeah!" Callum replied happily.

Nick did it a third time, then as he heard Callum's sharp intake of breath, lunged at the boy's face, pressing their lips together. They kissed for a few seconds before Nick started to pull away, but not before gripping the boy's lip ring between his teeth.

"Aaaah." Callum moaned again feeling the pressure on his lip as Nick gently tugged at the piercing. "Fuck, I don't know what's got into you, but keep doing it!!" he whimpered excitedly.

Nick smiled at the reaction before burying his face into the boy's neck, kissing, licking, nipping with his teeth eliciting more moans of approval. He continued his exploration of the boy's body, worshipping every inch of pale, smooth skin, mixing teasing pleasure with tiny shots of pain until the boy's cock was literally throbbing with desire, bouncing in time with his pulse.

Nick grabbed the solid rod and put it into his mouth being careful not to actually let it touch anything, just letting the warm, moist air surround it for a minute, building the boy's already over-stretched sense of anticipation. Finally he closed his lips around it, getting a low grunt of excitement in response. He didn't start sucking though, instead just holding it there. He swirled his tongue around the head, sniggering slightly as Callum's body twitched in response. Then he quickly closed his teeth together, not enough to hurt, but enough to let the boy know they were there, getting a yelp of shock in response.

"Oh Jesus!" Callum moaned at the gentle but effective teasing.

Nick repeated the moves, a swirl of the tongue, a quick nip, another lick, another nip. Callum found himself flip-flopping between pleasure and pain, both making his body jump for different reasons. Nick went on. Tongue, teeth, tongue, teeth, tongue, teeth, a seemingly endless cycle.

Callum pulled at the restraints, desperate to get free and escape the torment, but at the same time praying for it to never end.

Nick finally slid his mouth off, sucking and keeping his lips tight until it emerged with an audible 'pop', leaving Callum breathlessly motionless.

"Nick, I don't know if I can take much more of this." Callum said quietly.

Nick lay across him, pressing their bodies together as he moved his lips to the boy's ear. "Do you want to cum?"

"Yes!" Callum whimpered.

Nick ground his hips, pressing his own erection against Callum's, then whispered, "Okay, but me first!" Nick got back up and straddled Callum's chest. Taking a handful of hair, he pulled the boy's head forward and pushed his cock inside his mouth. Callum coughed, choking a little as the sudden face fucking caught him by surprise.

Nick's other hand made its way onto Callum's head, as he pulled the boy onto him over and over as he thrust in opposition. "Ah, ah, ah, yeah, take it!" Nick growled through gritted teeth. Moments later, he shot his load down the boy's throat and finally let go of him.

Callum coughed and spluttered for breath as he was released but it was only a brief reprieve as he soon felt Nick climb off of his chest and wrap his fingers around his cock.

"If you wanna cum, fuck my hand!" Nick ordered.

Still catching his breath, Callum started bucking his hips, making his erection slide up and down in Nick's grip.

"Faster!" Nick snapped.

Callum sped up as much as he could, thrusting as high as he could until he whimpered happily, "I'm gonna cum!"

Nick smirked, then a few moments later pulled his hand away, leaving Callum thrusting into thin air.

"Aaah, fuck." he moaned. "Just let me cum! Pleeeeease."

The boy's desperate plea made Nick smile. He wrapped his hand back round the cock and let him resume fucking it. As he started moaning again, clearly close, Nick let go again.

"Niiiick, please." Callum begged.

"Sorry, this time." Nick said with an evil grin, replacing his hand once again.

A few thrusts and Callum was right on the edge again. "Yes, yes, yes." he moaned, seconds away from release.

Nick pulled his hand away, getting another moan, but only for a moment. He placed his hands on the boy's side and started tickling. Callum burst into tortured laughter, squirming to try and get away. Seeing the boy's legs flail, Nick jumped on top of them and resumed tickling.

Callum tried to beg for it to end, but his words were lost in the laughter.

"Okay you can cum." Nick teased, stroking the wildly-swinging cock a few more times before letting go and saying, "Or maybe not." He started tickling again.

Nick continued his teasing, stroking then tickling. Callum didn't know whether to laugh or cry and ended up doing both, gasping for breath between hysterical sobs. Finally getting bored of it, Nick stroked the boy's cock until it finally released a dozen thick strings of goo across the smooth stomach and chest.

Callum lay still for a few minutes, regaining his composure gradually. He heard Nick moving about. When he finally came over and removed the blindfold, Callum saw he was already dressed. Nick undid a restraint on one of the wrists, then casually dropped the key on Callum's chest to let him undo the other, then headed for the door.

"I need to go." he said flatly, then left without another word.

Josh sat on the sofa, staring nervously at the box on the coffee table. He had picked it up from the post office earlier in the day and had yet to build up the nerve to open it. He had allowed his mystery master to use his credit card to order some 'new toys', as he had put it, and had been ordered to let him know as soon as they arrived.

He knew he was technically disobeying an order by holding onto the box and not telling him, but part of him was terrified of what might be inside. The tasks he was being set were gradually escalating. He had been naked in so many places now and exposed himself to so many people.

The most exciting, and clearly most dangerous, had been a few nights ago when he had been ordered to leave the apartment naked, get in his car and drive to one of the most popular gay cruising areas in the County. Once he was there, he had been told to walk around the area, fully exposed and making it clear to everyone that he was available for their pleasure. He was forbidden from saying no to anything.

During the few hours he spent there, he had been fucked by half a dozen strangers, sucked more cocks than he could count, been forced to rim a couple of guys and even got pissed on once. He had endured several orgasms of his own, too, the guys taking great pleasure in using the hot, naked stud. When he finally returned home, he was sore all over, freezing cold and stinking... and he loved every second of it. He had been humiliated, degraded, called offensive names and been slapped about, treated like a worthless sex slave. Just thinking about it as he showered, despite the pounding he had taken and the many orgasms already forced out of him, he found himself getting hard again, jerking out another load, then another when he finally dropped into bed, exhausted.

He wondered what could be next for him now as he stared at the box. [Your package has arrived Sir.] he finally sent.

[Good boy. Open it] the instruction came back almost instantly.

Josh took a deep breath and grabbed the box, pulling off the strip of tape sealing it. Pulling out some of the packaging, he found himself looking at two smaller boxes. He pulled them both out and looked at them one at a time. The first contained a prostate stimulator. As Josh examined the box, he realised why his master had chosen that particular one – it was remote controllable. Once synced with his phone, someone with the right code and app could take control of it!

Putting the first box aside he stopped and stared as he realised what the other item was – a chastity cage. It was an extremely sturdy design, even stronger than the one he had once worn for a week. As he found himself thinking back to that time, he could feel his cock expanding, a somewhat ironic reaction!

The fact that the two items arrived together made it pretty clear what the mystery master was planning for him. He typed out a message. [I've opened the box Sir. What would you like me to do?]

[Put on the chastity device immediately and send me a picture to show it's done. After that, get the stimulator set up and send me what I need to take control of it.] the master ordered.

Josh sent back a quick [Yes Sir!] before setting about following the instructions. The first problem he had was that his cock was standing at full length, not much chance of getting the device on over that! He opted for the quickest method he could think of to get rid of it, stripping and jumping into a cold shower. By the time it had gone down, he was shivering from the chilly water, but at least he was shrunken enough to do what needed to be done.

Pulling the cage out of its packaging he started putting on, feeling his cock already engorging slightly as he did it. He was close to being hard again by the time he secured the lock in place. It was not like other devices he had seen that included easily-removed serial-numbered plastic locks, this one featured a small but sturdy metal padlock. With the device in place, Josh went to the bathroom and snapped a full length picture of himself in the mirror and sent it before heading back into the lounge.

He set about unpackaging the other toy quickly, looking first at the instructions. He went to the website it mentioned and downloaded the software for his phone before sending a link and access code to his tormentor.

[Put it in, fag!] the reply came a few minutes later.

Josh lubricated the new toy and slid it in, jumping slightly as the tip came into firm contact with his prostate. He sent back, [It's in Sir]

Josh sat waiting for a reply, but jumped as he felt the toy come to life. "Oh shit." he muttered as it buzzed gently inside him, resulting in a twitch from his now-restrained dick.

[Is it working?]

[Yes Sir! It feels amazing.] Josh sent back eagerly.

[Good. I think I'll call it Buzz. And just cos it fits, and it's a bit ironic, I'll call the cage Woody!] the next message said.

Josh laughed at the names. In amongst the orders and insults, he sometimes picked up on little playful things like that from the mystery man. It was that sort of thing that made him wonder who it really was, but he didn't really want to push for an answer as the mystery simply seemed to add to his arousal.

Another message followed before Josh could reply. [From now on, you will keep Buzz in at all times. I've now locked your access from the app so only I have the power to turn it on or off. Woody is now permanent until I decide I want to let you out. How many keys came with it?]

[Two Sir] Josh quickly replied, his head reeling at the thought of long-term chastity combined with prolonged use of Buzz (he figured he should get used to calling it that too!)

[Put both keys under the doormat outside your front door right away. I will take them at some point and they will remain in my possession for the foreseeable future to ensure you don't get tempted to disobey me.]

[Yes Sir] Josh replied again, getting up to do as instructed. He quickly pulled open the door, put the keys under the mat and shut it, glad none of his neighbours happened to be looking. As he headed back into the lounge, a thought occurred to him. He had given the address to his mysterious stranger (probably not a sensible idea in the first place), so he knew where to come to get the keys, but how did he know about the doormat outside the front door. Was it just a lucky guess? It wasn't an unusual thing to have, but he had said it with such certainty.

Josh had no more messages from his master for the rest of the evening, but occasionally felt Buzz changing settings, turning off or turning back on, knowing that his master was still there.

Corey had been stood in the doorway to Greg's room for several seconds before he cleared his throat to get the boy's attention.

"How you feeling?" They both asked at the same time. They both laughed at the unintended synchronicity and Corey entered the room.

"You go." They both said at the same time again, getting another laugh.

"You go!" Greg said quickly before Corey could say anything else.

Corey smiled weakly as he took a seat at the foot of the bed. He could barely bring himself to make eye contact with the boy. "I'm feeling much better now, thanks." he replied quietly, then asked, "How about you?"

"I'm fine." Greg replied with a gentle nod. "I'm just not used to being up and about yet, they said it'll take some time before I can really do much."

"Yeah, yeah, that's... understandable." Corey said, flinching slightly as his mind flashed back to the way Greg had looked laying beaten on the doorstep.

"Corey, what's going on?" Greg asked with a hefty sigh. "Why've you been drinking?"

Corey didn't want to talk about it, any of it. Outright denial was the strategy he had been using to cope, but he figured that wasn't really working out too well for him, so he decided to answer. "I just... I was having trouble sleeping for a while, and a... a drink helped." he said, with a shrug.

Greg could tell from the look on the boy's face that there was more to that problem than he was saying. "Why... couldn't you sleep?"

Corey just looked up at him with sad puppy-dog eyes, staring at Greg's many visible injuries.

"Oh." Greg said, beginning to understand. "I... don't really remember getting here, but Nick told me it was you that found me."

Corey started to shake, desperately trying to stop himself crying, but when Greg held out his arms, he started sobbing and lunged at him, letting the older boy hold him. "I thought... you were dead. There was... so much blood. I was so scared." Corey wept, finally verbalising his fears for the first time.

When he had calmed down a little, Corey sat back up, wiping his face. "Sorry." he said weakly. "I'm probably making you feel guilty, you shouldn't have to listen to this."

"It's okay, I understand. I thought the others'd be looking after you." Greg said, frowning a little, struggling to understand how Josh, Corey, Warren and Dale could let the boy get into this state unnoticed.

"Yeah right." Corey snapped, the retort dripping with venom. "Let's see, we've got Josh who's so caught up in his own issues he never has time for mine, Nick who refuses to even talk to me, Dale who's just gone without a word and Warren who's already dangerously close to the edge! Exactly which one of them d'you think has been looking out for me? They don't give a fuck, so if I need to have a few drinks to get me through the day, then that's what I'll do!" Corey realised he was virtually shouting at the boy, his fists clenched. He took a few deep breaths and loosened his grip.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know things had gotten so bad." Greg said quietly. He felt a pang of guilt as he also considered the boy's parents. They had been so attentive to Greg's needs since he came to stay with them that he now found himself wondering if it was done at the cost of Corey's care. "Look... I care about you, Corey. Remember back when all this was just kicking off, in Nick's room, me and you... I chose you as my new little bro? Well I meant that! I wanna look out for you."

"Thanks." Corey said quietly. It felt nice to hear someone actually paying some attention to him and his problems after feeling ignored for so long.

"And as your big bro, I'm telling you to do something. This isn't a suggestion or a request, it's an order! Stop. Drinking!" Greg said.

The boy looked deathly serious, slightly surprising Corey with a determination he had not seen before. "But... I..." he stuttered.

"No. No excuses. No buts. You just stop. I was too scared to say anything to my Mum and I watched it turn her into something... twisted. I don't wanna see you go the same way. If you need me, I'm here for you. If you think you need professional help, there are places you can go, confidential ones, believe me I've looked at them all, but you HAVE to stop." Greg insisted. "Promise me, Corey?"

The younger boy just stared at him for a few moments, so many thoughts going round in his head... so many excuses, but he could see the pain in Greg's eyes. Eventually he nodded and said quietly, "I promise."

"Good, now come here!" Greg instructed, holding out his arms again.

Corey moved forward into the hug, but let go as he heard people coming up the stairs. They turned to see Nick walk in.

Nick just stared at his little brother blankly.

"I was just leaving." Corey said feebly, staring at the ground as he walked past Nick.

"Corey, wait..." Greg called after him, but the boy's bedroom door slammed, confirming he was gone.

Greg stared at Nick in disgust. "What's wrong with you?" He demanded angrily.

"Me? I didn't do anything!" Nick said defensively.

Greg shook his head. "You're punishing Corey for something that isn't his fault!"

Nick rolled his eyes. "Ugh, I don't need this crap." He snapped back and walked out, slamming his own bedroom door as he went inside.

Greg shook his head in frustration. He found himself thinking back to the conversation with Corey he had mentioned earlier, when they had talked about what it was like to have brothers. At the time Greg had insisted he would rather have annoying brothers than be an only child. Suddenly, he wasn't so sure about that!

Sam was sitting on his bed, playing around on his phone when he noticed Warren stirring. The two boys had been hanging out in his room, watching a movie when Warren had fallen asleep. In reality, Warren hadn't actually been watching the movie. He had lay down on the bed, resting his head in his friend's lap and did what he seemed to do every night – obsess over Nick and Josh.

Sam knew that was what he was doing but he had long since passed the point of trying to talk Warren through his problems, the boy just seemed stubbornly set on lingering in the past. For now, the best Sam could do was stay close to his friend and offer any support he could. A couple of months ago, if Warren had fallen asleep in his lap like that he would have taken great pleasure in shocking him awake to watch his scared expression. Now though, he knew Warren had been giving himself many sleepless nights so Sam thought it best for him to get some rest while he could. He had turned the movie off to avoid it disturbing him.

Warren began to whimper in his sleep. He was clearly having the same dream Sam had witnessed a few times before, the boy pleading with Josh and Nick to take him back. The younger boy found it hard to sympathise with Warren, he had never been in love so he couldn't understand how it felt to lose that. Warren had been lucky enough to truly love two people, but then had lost them both. His difficulty in coping with it was understandable really.

Warren murmured Nick's name in his sleep, almost crying.

Sam placed a hand on Warren's chest and rubbed gently, whispering, "Shh, it's okay buddy, it's just a dream. You're okay."

Warren seemed to settle, his face relaxing into peaceful neutrality.

With his friend calm again, Sam typed out a quick text message to Greg. [How you doing?] He wished he could see more of the boy, but it was difficult with Nick being there all the time. Warren and Nick had settled into the new status quo of platonic friendship, at least on the surface. If you looked a little deeper it was easy to see how much it was hurting the younger boy.

[Crappy. Had an argument with Nick!] Greg replied.

[About what?] Sam asked, more than a little surprised. Since Greg's hospitalisation, the two had been inseparable.

[Just McKenzie stuff!! You know what they're like!]

[Yeah I do. Anyway, I meant how are you feeling? I want you to get back to school just so everyone will stop asking about you, they all miss you. So do I btw xx] Sam sent.

[Aww, that's really sweet, thanks xoxox] Greg answered, quickly followed by another message. [If I tell you something, will you promise not to tell anyone?]

[Of course, I promise] Sam sent back immediately.

[Especially not Warren!!!!!!]

[Dude, I promise!!!!! What is it?] Sam insisted.

[I think I like Nick.]

Sam smirked and sent back, [No shit!]

[Is it that obvious?] Greg asked.

[Only to people with eyes.... or ears... or a pulse!!] Sam was almost laughing aloud, only resisting to avoid disturbing Warren who continued sleeping peacefully.

[Shit, does Warren know?]

[No, he's still too caught up in doom and gloom to really notice anything.] Sam said, joking a little but feeling bad for his best friend's pain.

[What do I do? Should I tell Nick?] Greg asked, clearly struggling with it.

[Fuck no. You can't do anything with him, he's your friend's ex, that's like illegal or something!] Sam insisted.

[I guess so. What you guys up to anyway?] Greg asked.

[Nothing. Warren fell asleep so I'm just keeping an eye on him.] Sam replied. He snapped a quick picture of his sleeping friend and sent it with the message.

[Aww, adorable. When I'm feeling a bit better, can we have another sleepover?] Greg requested.

[Of course, any time you like]

[Thanks. I'm going to sleep now, Speak soon (miss you too btw)] Greg sent.

[Nighty night bud xxx]

Realising how late it was, he considered waking Warren to send him home. Instead he opted for something else. He typed out another text message. [Hey Mrs Spencer, Warren's fallen asleep and I thought it might be best not to disturb him. Is it okay if he sleeps here? I'll make sure he gets up for school on time.]

Ten minutes later he hadn't received a reply and was starting to consider waking Warren anyway, but a message finally popped up. [That's fine Sam, thanks for looking after him.]

Smiling at the woman's appreciation of him, he slipped out from under Warren and turned the light off, then lay back down beside him. Sam normally liked space when he slept so he didn't cuddle up to Warren, but he still wanted his friend to know he was there so he lay his hand back on Warren's chest and let himself drift off to sleep.

Liam staggered his way down the stairs toward the kitchen and poured a glass of water, downing it immediately before refilling it again and heading back towards the stairs. As he passed the lounge he noticed a dim light glowing under the door. He wondered if he might have left the TV on and opened the door.

He found Dale sat on the sofa, MacBook open on his lap. "Hey, you okay? You're up late!" he said, looking at the dimly-lit clock on the wall and seeing it said almost one am.

"Yeah, I was just looking for places to rent." Dale replied. "What you doing up?"

"Ate too much Chinese, salt overload, woke up totally dehydrated." Liam replied, holding up his glass. "And why you looking for places to rent. Is this about what I said at the weekend? I didn't mean to get so pissy, I just hate seeing you like this! You know you're welcome here for as long as you like."

"No, it's not that. I came here hoping it might be temporary, that things might work out and I could go home. But it looks like me and Josh are done for good so I should probably start looking for a place of my own." Dale explained.

"You two are done for good? What happened?" Liam asked, walking into the lounge and taking a seat beside Dale.

"Nothing, James just told me Josh doesn't want me back. That's a pretty clear message." Dale said, trying to sound casual but the light from the MacBook reflecting off of the beginning of tears.

"Oh, right." Liam said sympathetically, "Well that sucks. You okay?"

Dale nodded, then sighed as Liam continued to look him and changed the nod to a head shake. Liam smirked as he saw Dale's token show of bravado quickly fade. He closed the laptop and moved it aside, then shuffled closer to his friend and put an arm around him.

Dale let his head rest on Liam's shoulder for a moment, enjoying the feel of the warm, bare skin. He closed his eyes for a moment, but opened them again as he felt Liam's hand stroking gently stroking his cheek.

He sat up and shifted round to face Liam directly, the other man moving to sit looking straight back at him. The hand, still on Dale's cheek, slipped round to the back of his neck, using it to pull his friend closer.

"Liam, what are you..." Dale started, the question fading into a muffled moan as their lips met. He stared at Liam for a moment, then closed his eyes, enjoying the kiss. He raised a hand, placing it gently on the side of Liam's neck.

They parted slightly, foreheads and noses still touching, eyes fixed on each other. "This is a really bad idea!" Liam whispered.

"Good!" Dale said with a smile, then pulled him back into another kiss.