Tomorrow With You

TOMORROW, WITH YOU CHAPTER ONE

FIVE YEARS AGO

Connor Reed literally couldn't believe what he was seeing before his eyes at that moment and time.

One moment the two of them were ordering their usual Wednesday night meal, like they always tended to do which had been lovingly been christened as "date night" for the past year and a half, ever since they had met in the first place...and the next, he was turned towards his right, looking downwards at his boyfriend of eighteen months, Corey Feltman, who was actually kneeling before him, with what looked like a VERY expensive engagement ring situated in the most delectable little black box you can possibly imagine.

Corey's eyes were sparkling, his cheeks were blushing bleeding red with every passing second, and the wait for him to actually SAY something was so intense, that Connor didn't know what to do, say or even where to look. He smiled immediately he saw Corey blink a few times before he once more looked up at from his lower position at the man who he loved with all his heart. Connor knew from personal experience that Corey tended to blink his eyes only when he was nervous, and this would most definitely more than qualify for it.

"Connor Jacob Reed...the day that I had met you, was literally the best day of my entire life. Babe, I honestly can't imagine life without you from here on in, and I know we've only known each other for a mere eighteen months, but the timing is right, our feelings for each other are strong...THIS...THIS feels right...it feels genuine and sincere, and I CANNOT think of anyone that I would rather spend the rest of my life with...Connor...and I really hope that you will say yes...will you please do me the honor of becoming my husband?"

Connor looked up for a while, and wholly around the restaurant as the several patrons and the waiters all were waiting on his answer in complete suspense...meanwhile two tables around them scoffed in sheer and utter disgust at what they were forced to witness, before one table had actually gotten up, threw a couple of bucks at their own waiter, whispered something about how they refused to allow their kids to watch what was going on...before his eyes flickered back to a still kneeling Corey.

They had met at the gym, where Corey was working as a fitness trainer at the time, although he had since gotten promoted to being branch manager, hence why he felt so compelled to make this offer to Connor right here, right now. Connor's heart swelled to its full extent as a smile started to wreak havoc around the corners of his mouth, as he reached out and took Corey's free hand inside his very own, before he gently nodded and licked his lips, dry as the Kalahari Desert by now. He squeezed his boyfriend's hand and he nodded again, as if to affirm what he was thinking, over and over, and over again.

"Yes...YES, you doofus, I'll bloody marry you any day of the year, you just say when!" he laughed out loud, and before he knew what had hit him, Corey barked a happy cheer out of back of his throat, getting up in quick succession and grabbing his fiance, actually going through the effort, in front of ALL those people, in picking Connor up in his arms and literally swinging him around like he weighed nothing more than tin foil. All around them, the patrons, waiters and management cheered and clapped hands at the newly engaged couple, who was seemingly just starting with a brand new chapter in their lives.

"I've never been this happy...thanks so much for finally saying yes!" Corey whispered in Connor's ear, only as loud so that his fiance would be able to hear what he was saying, and received a solid kiss on his lips from Connor for his trouble.

"I can't wait to be your husband! I actually CANNOT wait!" he shrieked back happily towards the man that he loved more than anyone or anything else in this world, being completely overtaken by intense heartfelt emotion, the tears streaming across both of his cheeks.

**

Connor opened his eyes the following morning, as he slowly smiled when he realized that what had happened the previous night, was totally not a dream...this was very much sheer reality...as he felt the arms of his fiance around him, holding him towards him, like he was the most precious possession that Corey had on this green earth.

Behind him, however, he could feel something else literally rising from the ashes, to which he groaned inwardly, before bucking his ass towards what he knew was Corey's hard penis, willing his fiance to actually wake the hell up, before Corey had to be at work in about thirty minutes, looking very much forward to a bit of nookie to start his day.

"Babe...don't start something that we can't finish..." he heard Corey whisper against his neck, the warm breath of his fiance making Connor shudder with emotion as well as sexual desire for the man who was still holding him as tight as he was.

"I don't tend to finish anything...but YOU are..." he whispered back, making contact with Corey's seven inch hard fuck stick once more, giggling as he heard Corey sigh with what he knew, was the intense notion to actually give in to his demands.

"I can never say no to you...I love you..." Corey once more whispered to Connor, before he finally took his right arm from Connor's body, and reached down to position his hard dick at Connor's entrance, before grunting in sheer desire as he realized that it was still very well lubed up from the previous night's fuck fest, once they had gotten home to actually celebrate their engagement in total privacy.

"Slide it in, get that thing in me..." Connor giggled as he took hold of Corey's free hand and brought it towards his own, as the two men held each other's hands in total unison as Corey continued to maneuver his steel hard organ into the hole all of the man that he so loved.

"Jesus...ahhh...man, that feels...so...fuck...ing...good..." Connor breathed in out loud as he felt each and every inch of that seven incher enter the totality of his backside, slowly, but surely as Corey's upper body was going ballistic behind him, in his own unique way, every time he had gotten so worked up, when the two of them would be having sexual intercourse.

Once Corey was in all the way, Connor planted his face directly into the pillow underneath him, and squeezed Corey's hand that he was still holding.

"Fuck me...come on, big guy, fuck the shit out of me..." he cried out, looking back at Corey, looking, searching desperately for a kiss, but Corey was way too quick, already there...and two lips met in unison, became one just as their owners did right then, with Corey slowly starting to slide his hard cock in and out of Connor's ass. Connor gripped Corey's hand even tighter as he felt his fiance's heartbeat rocketing inside his chest, those powerful beats never seeming to end as Corey fucked his hole good and proper.

Connor screamed with sheer and utter delight every single time that stone hard organ made solid contact with his prostrate, over and over, with each slam of that powerful, virile cock that Corey had possessed, all the while the rest of his body was being caressed, near damn worshipped by the man who had meant so much to him.

"I'm cumming baby...your ass is feeling amazing...I can't hold it..." Corey whispered hastily, his breath beginning to quicken, his chest heaving up and down, nearly laying all his weight on top of Connor, who stretched his head backwards as much as he could, given Corey another earth-shattering kiss, before he looked deep in his eyes.

"Fuck me...fucking CREAM me..." he yelled out loud, not even caring if the neighbours or anyone on the street in front of their apartment could hear him...he wanted his fiance, he wanted his stone hard dick, he wanted his cum more than anything, and he God damn wanted it NOW.

Corey really started to put his fit, young and healthy body into good use, as he lifted himself up on his arms and continued to buck his groin area against his fiance's backside much faster than he had been doing. His cock felt like a steel pipe plunging into a sweet, warm orifice time and again as his balls started to really work overtime to get their precious liquid out.

Connor's body was nothing more than that of a rag doll as his partner kept doing what he wanted, what he had demanded, which was to give him the fucking of his life, which he was more than doing, his mouth totally hung open, seemingly having lost all control, his drool was leaking out of the corners of his lips, his eyes were rolling backwards inside his skull, and he had totally lost all sense of where he was...who he was, as was always the case when ever it was Corey's turn to top him.

Sharp, stubby wreckages of his ass was feeling so good, so powerful, as he grabbed his own stone hard dick and proceeded to finally give the thing some much-needed attention. He jacked his own seven-and-a-half inches in total rhythm of the fucking that he was getting...for some reason his dick was the hardest that it had ever been...deep red, near God damn purple in colour, the foreskin nearly stripped off from his cockhead, as was the hardness of the blood EDGING right through it.

Connor felt how Corey was taking him inside his arms once more, both of them completely enfolding his entire existence, his hips kept on pounding and pounding until he felt Corey kiss his shoulder and biting down on his raw, naked flesh as hard as he could, looking to mark his fiance, give him one of his traditional hickeys that he was so in need off, as his cock finally gave way and spurted it's white, protein straight into his needy, hungry, thirsty backside.

The warmth of Corey's cum made his body tingle all over, it made his dick rock inside his right hand as the two organs seemed to capitulate at virtually the same time, with Connor's sperm blasting all over the bedside table, as well as dribbling out onto the sheets, soiling them more than indefinitely.

"Jesus..." Corey heaved inside his right ear, turning his face around and kissing his fiance like he was the last person left on this earth, Connor giving back every single notion that he was getting, until tiredness completely over took both of them, and Corey smiled happily, sighing with complete content, as he laid his head down on Connor's shoulder, the last of his energy having been taken out in his monster of an orgasm.

"That better keep me until tonight...fucking hell..." he giggled and kissed Connor once more, before he slowly, gently, careful not to hurt Connor anymore than what was necessary, withdrew his rapidly softening cock from his well-used hole, the white, creamy substance of his sperm more than evident, leaking out onto the sheets as he slapped Connor's ass playfully.

"Holy shit, I didn't realize what the time was...Babe, I gotta love you and leave you, but I'll phone you somewhere during the course of the morning...Jesus, man I should have driven to work at least twenty minutes ago!" he giggled as he looked all around him for his work clothes, finally finding them where Connor had lovingly laid them out for him the previous evening.

"Did all the hard work already, didn't I?" Connor said as he winked at his fiance, before turning over in bed, his cock still leaking it's own leftover residue of spermy, watery nectar, before he signaled at Corey to come towards him, which the latter did as the two men once more shared a final kiss before they would be heading off to their respective jobs, a little later in the day for Connor, who worked at a youth center in the afternoons.

"Call me...okay?" Connor whispered to Corey, leaning his lanky torso upwards and kissing his partner once more.

Corey winked at Connor, reaching down and giving his soft cock a gentle squeeze, cackling at the YELP that came out of Connor's throat, with his still-sensitive dick being stimulated, before he quickly got dressed, grabbed his backpack and stopped before he got to the bedroom door.

"I'll see you at home for lunch, okay? And don't go through all the trouble of actually MAKING anything and making me feel even more guilty..." he said, as he lovingly stared over at Connor.

"You fucking know I love to cook...let me be your house-husband for one God damn day, okay?" he scoffed playfully, laying his head backwards on the pillow and closing his eyes.

"I'll see you later then...you're fucking lucky your only working half day at the youth center. Wish I could stay for a few more minutes, but just look at the time...the boss is gonna totally ride my ass for this, but it was so fucking worth it..." he said softly, before reaching out and taking hold of Connor's hand, the one who had the engagement ring so smartly flickering from his ring finger.

"Soon, Baby...soon..." he whispered, kissing Connor's hand, before he smiled at his fiance one more time, and getting the hell out of the bedroom.

**

"Wine? Or would you rather want a beer?"

"How long have you fucking known me? Gimme that Lager!"

Connor giggled as he used the bottle opener to unscrew the bottle cap and handed it to his lifelong best friend and confidant Tanya, who nearly downed half of the barley goodness in one go, before she crossed her legs, after hopping on the table top, earning her a few murderous daggers from Connor himself.

"Babe...I'm so fucking serious, if Corey sees you do that..."

"Oh, whatever. If you guys are actually going through with this he's gonna have to learn how to accept the people in your life, isn't he? And anyway, he hasn't liked my lesbian ass from the moment that you introduced the two of us, so why would I even start to bother what his Royal Highness thinks of me?" Tanya said absentmindedly as she placed her beer down, grabbing a knife and some tomatoes, helping her bestie prepare lunch for his soon-to-be hubby who was supposed to be coming home as he had promised.

Connor pulled a face after hearing his best friend's scathing words towards his fiance, and faced her after checking on the oven if anything wasn't burned to a crisp yet. He normally was a very good cook, if and when he didn't have Tanya the Terrible distracting him from what he was trying to do.

"Babe...I just wish the two of you would actually TRY and get along. You guys have some much in common!"

Tanya nearly sliced herself with the sharp knife, before she gave Connor a look as if to say...are you crazy as hell?

"Dude...apart from us both being gay, I can't see it. You can't fucking force two people to actually like each other. You know...when you two had first gotten together, I told myself...I said, Tanya...this bloke is a total fucking asshole to you, but don't worry...because your best friend in the whole entire world Connor, would finally open his eyes and see the fucker for who and what he is. And now...almost two years later, you're still fucking together and engaged on top of it all. Trust me...if me and Corey haven't bonded as yet, which we totally haven't, then it is never gonna happen."

Connor wanted to reply to Tanya as quick as he could, but before he had the chance, the doorbell rang out in its dulcet tones, after which he sighed and placed down his utensils, before he shot Tanya one final look her way.

"Sort it out, babe. Please, for my sake...TRY and make the effort...I'd hate to fucking choose between the best friend I had ever had, and the man that I love...I really don't wanna do that and you gotta promise me that you never will..." he murmured towards her, and nearly burned up as he saw her rolling her eyes towards him, very much like she always did when they were teenagers, before he wiped his hands on a dishcloth and walked towards the door.

Looking through the peep hole of said apartment door, he could see that it was two police officers, dressed in their traditional blue uniforms...and he turned back towards Tanya with a massive frown on his face.

"Babe, what the fuck...what the hell did you do now...it's the cops out there!" he hissed towards his best friend, and having her finally getting off the table and quickly jogging towards him.

"Me? I ain't doing anything wrong...God, why am I always the black sheep in this friendship...open the hell up, and hear what they want!" she quietly hissed towards him, before Connor took a deep breath, nodded and opened the door.

"Good morning, Officers, what can I do for you?" Connor asked as he saw a man and a woman, stare down at himself and Tanya as he tried to keep as calm as possible. There was only one ever reason why the cops would ever visit you at home...and that didn't mean anything good. Not at fucking all.

The man looked at the screen of his mobile phone that he had inside his hand, and then back towards Connor.

"Are you one...Connor Reed?" he finally asked, looking back at the female cop that was with him, his eyes widening as he did so.

A nasty feeling was starting to develop itself in the pit of Connor's stomach...there was something wrong here. something terribly, terribly wrong. He just KNEW it. It was written all over the faces of the two cops as well.

"Yeah...yeah, I am..." he whispered, and he faintly smiled as he felt Tanya place her right arm around him, in means of total love and support.

"Officers, just come out with it...did one of these homo's living here steal a leather jacket or something from Trueworths? I'll be more than happy to refund them..."

"TANYA!" Connor shrieked towards his best friend, before the female cop cleared her throat.

"I'm afraid it is nothing that trivial, Miss. We are afraid that if you are indeed Connor Reed, then we have some sad news. Your partner, one Corey Feltman was unfortunately involved in a car accident this morning. A rogue passenger riding on a Kawasaki Ninja motorbike rammed into Mr Feltman just as the latter was about to turn into another lane."

Connor nearly sunk to his knees as the female cop spoke her peace, and it was only due to Tanya's sheer and strong nature that he didn't do exactly that, as his best friend somehow managed to keep him upright and still standing, to which his eyes flickered all over the place.

Corey...

Tanya's eyes positively thundered over towards the cops as she sighed and snorted her total disapproval.

"Look, how about leveling with us here, okay? Is Corey okay? I mean, which hospital is he in, so that I can get in my car and take Connor to him? Come on! Don't just fucking stand there with your mouths full of teeth, can't you see that my friend here is distraught? Was Corey badly injured? How is he anyway?" Tanya continued to ramble off, but as Connor looked upwards the two cops one final time in search of some much-needed answers, he sort of knew what they were going to say, before they had even actually said it.

The male cop shook his head, and reached over, and proceeded to place his right hand solidly onto Connor's shoulder.

"Mr Reed...I am afraid to tell you that your partner suffered a very bad internal injury...so much so that he unfortunately didn't make it. I'm afraid that Corey Feltman has passed away."

Connor's legs finally gave away underneath him, and this time, even Tanya was too stunned to help him stay standing.

He slumped his back against the door of their apartment, and before he knew what he was even trying to register inside his brain, he felt the tears rolling down his eyes. His chest was hurting so bad, that he felt like panic attack was coming on...his hands were shaking, his shoulders was wreaked with fear and sadness, as he closed his eyes and thought of Corey and himself only that morning...literally about five hours ago...when they had made love...for what had turned out to be the final time.

"He said...he said he would see me this afternoon...he said "See you later..." he promised he would..." he whispered his face drenched with tears, as he felt Tanya beside him, her body also having been shocked to the core by the unexpected news, before she took him in her arms once more.

**

"It was a beautiful service. Even if I have to say so myself, actually can't think when was the last time I had been inside a church," Tanya murmured as they left the large, pointy building several days later, with Connor simply nodding in agreement, still not able to speak for long periods of time, as his throat and his voice had still not recovered from all the crying and all the screaming, yelling...and just being plain miserable as sin, in the manner that he had been doing ever since he had received the most horrible, of horrible news that he had ever gotten.

The apartment felt empty as hell without Corey, and even though Tanya had moved in with him temporarily, and he had this morning, made the final decision to move out, and find a small place of his own. Tanya had offered that he move in with her, but he kindly declined...he knew that Tanya meant well, but the last thing he wanted was to be in and around a lot of people right now. He knew Tanya had more than several lesbian lovers and she LOVED to throw parties every weekend...it was literally like clockwork...and he couldn't stomach having to be the reason why she had to stop her normal routine.

"I can't stay on at the youth center, Babe...I have to pay all the bills on my own now, and I can't so that on what I earn there..." he whispered quietly towards her as they were out of earshot and away from all of Corey's friends and family who had so much as bothered to turn up for his funeral.

Both Corey and Connor had been totally and utterly rejected by their peers and close family in total reaction to them being gay and dating once they had actually gotten together...I mean, not even Corey's own parents had bothered to come today. When Connor had phoned them to tell them about his untimely death, it was his father who had shouted over the phone, in his own hurtful words, that the little homo had gotten what he had deserved...before he smashed it down in his ear.

"I don't know where you're going to find something, though. Unemployment is so fucking bad this time of the year," Tanya muttered out as they reached her car and before he could get inside the passenger's side, she reached out and held his hand in her own."

"Con, I know it hurts like a bitch right now...it fucking hurts like hell, but somewhere...somehow...you'll eventually get through this, it's gonna take HOURS and DAYS, even YEARS, but eventually, you will be strong enough to carry on. Maybe in a couple of years, you will find someone else to love and..."

Connor's head turned angrily towards Tanya's so fast, that he was lucky and surprised that he didn't in fact, end up with some kind of whiplash, before he looked at her, disgusted as he ever was in his life.

"HOW...dare you say that? The man that I love...LOVED, more than anything in the entire world has just been TAKEN from me by a fucking idiot on a motorbike and YOU want me to just move on? JUST LIKE THAT?"

"That is totally not what I meant..."

"Of course you did! God...I fucking thought you had my BACK in all of this! But then I forgot how much you HATED Corey to begin with! You're probably happy as hell that he's DEAD!"

Tanya just stood there...with her car keys still at the ready, hanging in midair, as if frozen solid, after hearing the harsh words that her supposed best friend had just thrown her way, but Connor sure as hell wasn't finished there.

"You know what...I don't need this...you...us, anymore. And if you think for ONE second that I'm EVER going to give my heart to someone else EVER again, you're making the BIGGEST mistake of your life!" he shouted at the top of his sore voice, turning away from her, turning his back on their friendship in its entirety it seemed, and literally RAN away from his best friend, like she was literally the devil incarnated.

"CONNOR! IT'S COLD OUT THERE! COME BACK HERE, YOU'RE GONNA CATCH PNEUMONIA!" she proceeded to shout after him, but Connor didn't care.

He didn't wanna see anyone.

Be near anyone.

He didn't even wanna be alive, whatsoever right now.

He missed Corey more than he could ever have imagined...he honestly didn't know how he was going to go on without him.

Or...miss out on the life, that he could have had...should have gotten...there would never be another Corey. Never, ever again. He would NEVER find even HALF of the happiness with anyone, that he had with him.

"WHY DO YOU FUCKING HATE ME?" he yelled out to the heavens, as he kept running...kept running, before he finally felt his body trip up and fall face down in the snow beneath him.

Where he just laid face down, for what seemed like forever...and cried the rest of his heart out, for the guy that he loved.

PRESENT DAY

"Alright, I think we have time for one more...would anyone else like to share?"

A hand, out of seemingly nowhere, was slightly lifted at the end of the circle pattern in which the attendees were sitting in the local community center, and the woman leading the meeting smiled softly as she turned towards the person of who said hand belonged to.

"You're more than welcome to start, whenever you are ready," she replied, folding her hands inside her lap, as the young man, now in his late twenties, turned towards those now so curiously looking at him, before he cleared his throat and flickered his eyes over the lot of them.

"Uhm...Hi there...I suppose I would be...Connor and I'm...well, I'm an alcoholic."

"Hi Connor" beamed through the entire room, before it was al quiet as hell once more.

The young man sighed, and started fidgeting with this fingers, as he always did, whenever he was nervous...angry or scared. Which literally felt like all three mixed into one, as he finally managed to muster up enough courage to actually do what he came here to do.

"Well, as some of you know, I've been coming here for a while now, but this is the first time I've ever had the guts to actually do a share of my own. Oh wow, I thought was I was ready for this...so...five and a half years ago, tomorrow...my...boyfriend, no, actually my fiance was killed in a hit and run with a motorbike coming towards him from high-speed. The reason why I still tend to call him my boyfriend, is because we were engaged...but not even for a full day...so you can understand why I still have some trouble thinking of him...in that way."

Connor took a huge gulp of some much-welcomed air, before he looked down as his fingers, and started talking once more.

"These past five years has been...in one word, crap. A total, living, breathing nightmare. I have...drank so many copious amounts of alcohol, that I don't even wanna think at the state that my liver must be in right now...I have sniffed so many different variants of drugs up my nose, I'm surprised that I haven't overdosed yet...and right now, I would have been homeless, if my last living parent, my mother, hadn't passed away two months ago and left her me house. I wouldn't have even been here, if she didn't...fact is...I haven't touched a drink or had any sort of drugs in nearly all that time. I wanna get help, I wanna get my life back on track!"

Connor wiped a lone tear away that was cascading down his left cheek, and bravely looked each and every one of the attendees in the eye as he continued.

"I never could accept his death...I still have trouble in trying to figure out why it had to have happened. We were so happy, we were...alive and well, just about to start our lives together, when all of a sudden it was taken away in the blink of an eye...and everything just changed in a second. I have lost...lost count over how many men I have slept with...have whored myself around with in trying to forget, in trying to make sense of it all...but most of all trying my best to get BACK what I had with Corey. I guess what I'm trying to say is...I can't do this on my own. I wanna try and accept where I am in life, and that's why I'm back here...not just because I need a home right now to live in...I wanna GET MYSELF back...for me, at least, if not for Corey...because God knows what he must he thinking right now, seeing the train crash my life has become."

Connor smiled weakly, before he tried his best to spare the others of seeing more of his tears flooding down, taking a few seconds to get them under control as best that he could.

"He...he was a branch manager at the gym here in town back in the day, and before that, he was a damn good fitness instructor. I'm actually going to get myself registered there this afternoon, and eventually I'd like to go and see our apartment where we had lived as well. If I wanna really get better, then I have to start returning to places where I was used to, before all of this happened. I've tried my own way of dealing with Corey's death...and it clearly hasn't worked. Maybe...looking at everything that we shared in the eye, will help me understand...and finally get acceptance over having lost the love of my life. I guess that's all I wanted to say. Thanks...thank you all for actually being here...and LISTENING...you guys don't know how much I needed to say all of this."

**

Connor wiped the sweat from his forehead, in trying to gather up his strength to actually complete the jogging that he was doing on the treadmill before him, and he knew in the back of his mind that this was totally cheating, but he had no choice...it was either stepping away from the machine, or his legs giving away from underneath him. He knew what option he more than preferred.

"I should be able to fucking do this...I could always do a ten speed or more..." he muttered angrily at himself, before he had a drink of water from his water bottle, and re-started the machine for the second time that afternoon. Eventually he did manage to complete the twenty minute session that he had wanted to do, this only being his second time back at the gym where Corey had worked. In the five years since his death, they had totally changed in the entire interior, having been taken over by a consortium of some sort, meaning there was literally nothing to remind him that Corey had ever worked here, as nothing seemed familiar out of the new decor and equipment.

There was a couple of workers here that he seemed to recognize, still being here from when Corey was, but he didn't dare talk to them. He wasn't ready for that yet, not in a fucking long shot. He sighed, before hanging his towel around his neck, and moving on towards the weights. He frowned as he wondered, and tried to remember which one of these was the right ones to actually use for his weight and his muscles, before he rolled his eyes in a "fuck this" kind of way, randomly trying to pick one up that someone had casually left onto the floor, before being shocked at the sudden weight pulling him downwards. Holy shit, that thing was heavy!

...why was this so difficult...he knew how all of this worked, a mere five years ago, why was he feeling like a total and utter novice right now?

"Sorry! Dude! I was meaning to pick that one up before I went to the bathroom...sorry, totally my bad..."

Connor turned himself around and saw a tall, lanky guy come rushing over towards him, smiling apologetically at him as he did so. His eyes widened as he saw the man pick the weight up as if it was a mere fucking snowflake, and placing it back between the others, where he had first found it, before turning back towards Connor and grimacing.

"Tall, thin bloke like you, should never use one of those, you'll totally rip your muscles apart! This your first time here?" he then asked, his blue eyes glimmering towards Connor in a way that made his entire insides feel like molten lava. To add sheer insult to injury, whoever this dude was, he was drop dead gorgeous, there was literally no way else to even BEGIN to describe him.

"Uh...yeah, I guess I didn't realise just how heavy it actually is...it's like just my second time here," he replied softly, trying his best to look away from the man's muscled biceps...his ripped chest and his strong, powerful demeanor...no wonder the dude picked up that weight as if it was nothing but cotton candy...my God, he was stacked.

The guy shrugged and laughed once more, before picking up the same weight that he had just placed down, as well as it's equally heavy counterpart, and started with his own sets of reps, pulling both his arms, up and down in rhythmic fashion, one after the other as he continued his own work out.

"Let me just finish my set, then I'll totally help you out finding the right dumbbells that you need to use, okay?" he called out over towards Connor, who simply faked a smile and sat down, having another drink of his water.

None...NONE of the tons and tons of one night stands and male whores, strippers...what have you, that he had tried to ease his pain with, as well as his sexual frustration from these past horrible few years, came close to the looks and the personality of the guy before him. He fucking swore on his disaster of a life.

He blushed as he looked down at his shoes...grimacing as his mind went back to that DARK place...that awful reminder of what his life used to be like when he was high as a kite on cocaine...fucking one desperate gigolo after the other...paying loads amounts of cash that he didn't really have on having sex for hire...being attacked for not having said money to pay his former dealer...FUCK...

"You okay, there?"

Connor looked up, and stood upright as quick as he could...he didn't even notice the same hot guy next to him from before...he honestly thought that his offer to help him out was just some kind of bro talk or something.

"Yeah...sure I am. Oh, by the way, my name is Connor, and like I said, I'm kinda new here, but not new in the area, I actually grew up here," he said, stretching out his hand as calmy as he could, which was an achievement in itself as the guy looked SO much better, even up close.

Dude...did he fucking sweat deodorant or what...there was normally a whiff of a stench in these sorts of places as people were doing strenuous exercises, but he could have sworn this man had been drenched in perfume!

The dude stretched out his own hand and gripped Connor's hard in his, patting him on the shoulder with the other.

"Nice, I'm Darren. I've actually been here all my life...living in town with my sister and her husband. I'm a school teacher, and yeah, I suppose that I could have moved out by now, but alas...nothing really in my price range. Not when I see how they struggle in paying their mortgages and all that shit. Okay, but you need some weights, my friend! And here...these should be okay for you to use. They are only 5kg each, so they shouldn't give you too much trouble. Go on, lemme see if they work!"

Darren's eyes were so full of energy, full of life and it seemed, full of mischief and adventure, that Connor sighed out loud and thought to at least, give it a go. He came all this way...he might as well try it. If he made a total fool of himself in front of this...this God of a man, then so be it, it totally wasn't like they were going to see each other ever again.

To his amazement, he lifted up said weights quite easily, and when he actually started with working his biceps, pumping the iron one arm after the other, he smiled with relief, at not having to turn out being a total failure, but that was nothing compared to the smile that was smothered across Darren's handsome face.

"Told you! You are stronger than you think, we all are! Go on and do three sets of fifteen like that, remember to rest in between and when you're done, how about coming to spot me on those bigger weights? Could always use a helping hand," Darren asked, signaling towards the equipment he wanted to use, and then back at Connor, who finished the first of his three sets, before gently placing down his weights to take a breather.

"Sure...I can do that," he muttered, but Darren once more patted him on the back and left for the machine.

**

In the weeks that followed, Connor seemed to be going to the gym more and more, partly because he needed to concentrate on something else than desperately wanting to call his dealer, as he was still having serious withdrawal symptoms from his years and years of drug abuse, and also because he was kinda, sort of hoping to run into Darren again.

He didn't see a wedding ring or anything on the dude's finger the first time that they had met, but was there even a hope in hell that Darren was gay? Or even low-level into guys? When you looked at the man, he certainly didn't LOOK gay, if that meant anything. With those beautiful blue eyes, his dark black hair, his zest for life, and his incredible looks and powerful physique...JESUS, STOP IT!

The second time that he had spotted Darren at the gym, Connor was almost nearly done with his own workout, just busy ending things but for a little stretching to cool the muscles down, when he tried to hide from the dude as best he could, but there was no dice this time, when a smiling Darren quickly jogging over towards him the moment when he laid his eyes on Connor, and patted him on the back as soon as he reached him.

"Damn dude! Good to see you here again, I was hoping to run into you! I was wondering if you were still a member here, or if you had just given up, because loads of times when I came here, I didn't see you around," he said, his eyes once more sparkling with every syllable of words that he used.

Connor shrugged his shoulders and continued to stretch his limbs one by one.

"Hey...yeah, I guess I have been a little slack, but you're like the only person I had ever spoken to since I joined, so I've been wondering if I was gonna see you again too. I have been so busy as well in looking for work...it's hard out there right now. I don't think the job where I was a few months ago, would give me any good references anyway...look, I was fired to be brutally honest, so apart from the little money that I have, I don't really know what else to do..." Connor spoke before he thought, his mind totally on the stunningly handsome guy before him...mentally murdering himself for telling Darren so much about his personal life, because EVERY hot guy in the world is gonna be interested in THAT, right?

Once again, Connor felt he hardness of the man's palm against his shoulder as he seemed to sympathize in the only way he knew how.

"I know...unemployment is such a bitch to be honest. But hey, what did you do or what are you qualified in? Oh wait...I have a spinning class in like 5 minutes...tell you what, how about we meet up in the coffee shop just around the corner of the gym afterwards? Mugg and Bean...you literally won't find a better brew anyway else in the entire world. That's if, you have nothing on your side?"

Connor swallowed and slowly at that. The guy was hot...he was insanely sexy.

He had made a promise to himself years ago...that he would never be falling for anyone, ever again. In the five years since Corey's death, in which he had fucked his way through literally anything and everything that moved, he didn't even care about how it made those people feel, let alone himself, because THAT was the level of his pain.

And having sex with strangers, without it having MEAN anything, made that pain instantly go away. However, when he was back at his home and he was all alone once more...THAT was when he would turn to drugs...anything...literally WHATEVER it would have taken to forget what was taken from himself...the life that he could have had with Corey.

Now this...hunk...there was no other word to describe him...this man mountain of a man was literally asking him out for coffee...not in the way that he would have liked to be...not at all, but still...it was meeting him for something. He could risk that, right? It would be okay?

Hey, it's not like the dude was gay!?

"Sure...I'll just take a shower and then I'll meet you over there. Mugg and Bean, you said right?"

Darren happily grinned at him.

"You got it...oh fuck, wish me luck with this spinning class, I actually haven't been on one of those bikes for months!" he faked his misery, before he shot Connor a thumbs up, and quickly jogged to where all those bikes were parked.

Connor bit his lip as he grabbed his towel and his water bottle. Sigh. All the hot ones are always, always straight...he thought, rolling his eyes and walked towards the locker rooms.

**

Connor hadn't even sat in the coffee shop for a mere half-an-hour when he looked up once more, just having taken a sip of his cappuccino, and seeing Darren come rushing in, running his fingers through his hair as he did so.

"Geez, who would have thought it would be raining in the middle of winter? No one saw that coming, right? Mocha Java please, Linda, thanks!" he shouted over to one of the waiters in the front of the store, before he slowly walked over to Connor and sat down, sighing dramatically as he did so.

"Oh, we used to work here together," he said, his eyes lightening up as he saw Connor frown and look at the waitress, before he sat comfortably back in his chair, and looked Connor directly in his eye.

"You know...I could swear you look familiar, but I just can't place you...it's been kinda bugging me ever since we met..." he then said, before smiling up at Linda, the waitress, as she placed his steaming cup of coffee, as well as milk and honey before him, and after Connor assured her that he was fine for now, he shot her a million dollar grin, before she left and he once more turned his attention to his newly found buddy.

"No, I'm serious! I know you from somewhere, I figured that out after the last time, but...I'll probably think of it later. Anyhow...you need a job, right? How bad are things, maybe I can help, I do know a couple of people in town," he said, all in once breath, as he finally slowed down and took a sip of his coffee.

The aroma alone, was enough for Connor to imagine being alone on an island with this guy...if he was single, then there HAD to be something the hell wrong with him...because no one in their right mind, would EVER turn down to have this guy in their bed, even if just for the night.

Connor went totally rogue and decided to tell Darren the truth, about what had happened in his life, and to be honest, he kept the detail about Corey out of the conversation, simply because he didn't think that Darren would wanna hear about his former lover, and because it still hurt to talk about him.

He was honest about everything else that happened in his life, all the random hook ups with guys, all the times where he was so past caring, being hooked in various substances and opioids, that he nearly couldn't even remember his own name, to the point where he had lost his job, because he was caught stealing money from the company's petti cash, in order to pay his dealer for a fix. And finally, with several tears streaming across his face, how his mother had passed away nearly two months ago, and how he had to come back to town, even after years of refusing to. All that he told Darren, was that he had suffered a "tragedy" years ago, and that's why he chose to stay away.

"And that...is that. Totally understand if you would wanna get the hell up and outta here...God knows I wouldn't blame you," Connor murmured as softly as he could, drinking the last of his coffee while he was at it.

He couldn't even BARE to look at Darren...this was only the second time that they had anything to do with the other, but he knew that he liked him...more than what he probably should...that INSTANT connection they had back at the gym, and now deciding to bring everything out in the open, without even properly knowing Darren well enough. He did come forth as a guy that you could trust...if that made any sort of sense.

Darren was indeed quiet for a while, before he looked up at Connor and blinked a couple of times.

"So, you're gay, huh?" he asked, crocking his head to the side in a shit eating grin, which left Connor more than just a little stunned.

"Dude...out of ALL of that, THAT's the only thing you heard?" he asked in sheer confusion and morbid regret, his fear that this guy might just be a homophobe at heart, deepening with every passing second.

Darren smiled once more and shook his head, before signaled to Linda to get them two more of what they had already had.

"Connor...look, I know life is hard, and people fall on bad times. I myself...I wouldn't have the guts to tell you all the shit that I had done in my past, and I'm only thirty years old! Three years older than you! Dude...if you haven't figured out that I don't judge, there is literally no hope for you. Oh, and by the way...I totally can't freak out because you are gay...because then you're gonna have to freak the hell out as well...because I'm literally as bent as a rookie cop myself!"

Jesus.

Jesus Christ.

Connor held his nerve, and steadied his facial features when Linda came and once more brought their coffees, before he turned back to Darren in mock anger.

"Did I fucking understand you currently? You're gay too?" he asked, a frown etched across the entirety of his forehead.

Darren looked back at Linda before he quickly signaled at Connor to keep that into to himself.

"Hell yeah, but I'm not out, by any means. Look, pal...I'm a school teacher, right? Now what would the parents of the boys in my class say if they find out their hunky, thirty-year-old teacher was a fucking homo? Okay, maybe some of them wouldn't think anything of it, it is 2023 after all, but you KNOW there would ALWAYS be a stigma attached to me, if I ever came out. And what would stop a student from claiming that I had...you know...touched him inappropriately, if I ever gave him a F on his homework? I would love to be out...and find someone...but right now, there isn't much point for that, at least not where I'm standing."

They finished their coffee in mutual chat and respect, to the point where Linda had brought the bill to the table, which totally ended up in a sparring match as to who would pay, with Connor eventually winning the argument and swiped his card with the biggest sly grin that his face had ever seen, to which Darren mockingly cackled at.

"Oh, you think you won? You ended up paying for everything and you still think you WON?" he snickered, his eyes once more full of life and adventure gushing through those beautiful blue irises.

"Fuck yeah, I won...because the next time we're doing this, we're totally going to a steak house, where YOU, my friend, are gonna part with YOUR hard-earned moola!" Connor replied as he held his stomach in total glee, ripples of soreness flooding through it, all because of his incessant laughter at Darren's antics.

As they walked out of the doors of the coffee house, and looked upwards, and saw that the rain had long stopped, with a big, giant, colorful rainbow, bold as brass, situated over the horizon, for everyone to see, both men grinned at each other, because how fucking IRONIC was this...both had just come out to each other as very much, being gay and now a RAINBOW of all things, just happened to hang so casually in the air above the both of them.

"Look...not being a stalker or anything but I totally need to get your number, if we are gonna do this ever again..." Darren said as they walked back to the parking lot, where their respective cars were still parked, several meters from the other.

"Sure, you give me your digits, and I'll just send a WhatsApp over to you or something, so that you'll have mine then," Connor replied, before he took Darren's number and saved it in his contacts.

"I'm totally gonna keep you to that! No for real, just message me and make it snappy, yeah?" Darren said as he walked over to his own car, and waved sneakily at Connor as he did so.

Connor waved back, and kept standing where he was, still watching Darren drive out his car towards the high way, and to the point where he couldn't see him anymore. A funny feeling inside the pit of his stomach had him leaning against his car for a moment, before he closed his eyes and as he always did, he saw Corey's vision before him.

When last did he have THIS much of a connection with someone? Damn...the man was sexy...stunning...and GAY! MY GOD, who actually saw THAT coming?

He had PROMISED himself...never again. He had even written off his best friend Tanya on THAT horrible day of Corey's funeral when she just...DARED to say that he would find someone else in the distant future, to the point where he had no idea where she even was in this world anymore. He had no idea if she was even still in town, or whether she was married...moved...had kids? And all because he couldn't stomach thinking...imagining himself with someone else.

It has been five years.

Did he really wanna give this a go?

Darren certainly seemed like he was up for it...and if his exterior looked as good as that...Connor sighed.

Then he literally couldn't wait to see what else he Darren had laid in waiting...

...specifically...down there.

**

As the days flew past, the friendship between Connor and Darren went from total strength to strength, to the point where they would be calling each other at least once a day, to hear how the other's day was, and when they didn't do that, they were permanently logged onto their phones, as they would be messaging each other to and fro on a daily basis. They frequently made plans to meet up at the gym as well, where Connor would finally see much-wanted progress coming his way, after being put through his paces by Darren himself.

Connor still felt that horrible, pinching feeling in his heart and in his mind, especially those times where he would look over at Darren, when the dude was laughing, shooting the shit, or just genuinely having a good time whenever they were together, and he would cringe at the thought of what Corey would be thinking about all of this. Even though nearly every single person at his AA meetings told him over and over that five years had passed, and that Corey wouldn't want Connor to live in total misery all his life, he still felt a little daunted when he was near his newly found friend.

He still couldn't get the courage, not the guts to actually tell Darren all about Corey, as he felt that it was way too personal, and that the feelings was still there, on some weird basis. The way and the manner that Corey had been taken away from him, without so much as a goodbye, or an explanation still HAUNTED him and his dreams. The unfairness of it all. The mere fact that whoever had done it, was still on free foot, after five years of murdering his fiance, the love of his life...perhaps that was why he threw his life away on alcohol and drugs...because what else was he supposed to do, knowing what who ever was responsible, had never been caught, or had paid for their crime?

Soon they day arrived where Connor would proudly be able to say that he was a hundred days clean from drugs and sober from alcohol, and he promptly decided to invite everybody from the AA meetings, as well as Darren to a BBQ at his house. His mother had left everything to him in her will, which had been one heck of a surprise, considering that he was of the belief that both his parents had totally rejected him when he came out as gay...and still, his mother had decided to leave him the house after all. He had been their only child, and he honestly didn't know who ELSE would inherit the house, if not him...but that was besides the point. He had a roof over his head, and was able to live off of the money that was in his mother's estate, still not having found a job.

The party was going swimmingly when Darren arrived later on that evening, as he had a parent's evening that he wasn't able to postpone, and when Connor opened the door, he nearly fucking salivated with total lust and glee...the man was wearing a buttoned down black shirt, complete with ripped skinny jeans and a Billabong belt situated around his midriff, with a smile as big as the African continent smothered across his face as he held up his hands in mock surrender.

"Sorry, I'm late, I know...got out of there as fast as I could...if I had to tell ONE more parent how CHARMING their kids are, when in reality I know what little monsters they are in class...forget I said anything. Here, brought you some champagne, alcohol free, of course, don't you worry about that, and some soft drinks as well. I didn't know whether I could bring beer for myself...you know..." he said, and Connor couldn't help but smile at the guilty look smashed across Darren's face, when he said all of that.

"You're here, and that's all that counts..." he said, before he leaned in and gave his buddy a bro-hug, which Darren more than returned.

During the course of the night, Darren had proved once again that he could be the heart and soul of any damn party that he would ever attend, with or without having the use of alcohol in his system. He was a charming, out going guy, and more often than not, Connor smirked as he saw nearly all of the ladies and even a few of the younger guys in attendance, literally trying to undress him with their eyes.

There was this one moment in particular, where he was helping several of the older ladies in getting their food to the plastic tables that Connor that put up in the back yard of his home, and the way that he would make sure everyone had what they needed to, and when he would be smiling over at Connor himself...

...that was a fleeting moment in time, where Connor Reed actually found himself staring at Darren, simply just looking at him...just...watching the totality of the man who had so swiftly come into his life, the man who was starting to have a starting roll in said life...the man who was kind, caring, smart as a whip...and he DARED to imagine what it would be like to have Darren here all the time...to actually BE with him, and as a man and as a partner...

...and for the first time, in five years, he found himself that he was okay with it.

He didn't have a CLUE if Darren would even feel the same about him, but he now knew that he felt, that he could finally overcome this.

That he would be happy again. Be with someone else, again, after suffering that catastrophic loss before.

**

"Everyone gone?"

Darren yawned as he nearly tripped over a random glass that someone must have dropped during the course of the night, before he smiled tiredly over at Connor, before he joined him at the basin, where the latter was busy doing the washing up.

"You seriously can't do that in the morning, dude?" he asked as he picked up a few leftover potato crisps in his hand and shoving it into his mouth.

Connor smirked at Darren's antics, Jesus...he was such a BLOKE, it was actually laughable.

"You have any idea how all of this will look in the morning, if I just LEAVE things like this? Besides, don't you have a home to go to?"

Darren placed both of his hands over his lips in mock surrender.

"You chasing me away? And here I thought we had something special..." he pretended to sulk, in such a boyish manner that Connor totally misread what he was doing, to the point where he dropped the plate that he had been washing, right onto the tiled floor of his kitchen, where it proceeded to shatter into a million little pieces.

"Shit...that was one of my mother's..." Connor said before he instantly sunk down on his knees to check the total of the damage, only to find himself face to face with Darren down there as he had the same idea. Both reached for the broken pieces at virtually the same time, and their hands touched invertedly...

Connor's shuddered...a WREAKING ball of emotions thundering through him as he dared to even look up at Darren...who's eyes were seemingly refusing to leave his own. For a while they just...seemed to be crunched stuck in that insane position, before Darren sighed out loud, and slowly, gently, as if in a dream, laced his fingers with that of Connor.

"Jesus..." Connor managed to breath out in short, staccato tones, before he felt being pulled up by Darren, with both men standing on their own, two feet in no matter of time.

The look on Darren's face was immense...Connor had never before seen him like this. For once, the man was serious...there was no time for jokes anymore. They were still holding hands, each one determined not to be the person who let go, the first.

"I've wanted to do this, since I first saw you all those months ago in the gym..." Darren managed to croak out of his raw, tired voice, and Connor gasped as he felt Darren's thumb creating little circles around his skin as he did.

In all honestly, Connor was waiting for a sign...he was waiting for something to happen which would remind him of Corey...as it always was the case, when ever he was enjoying himself with Darren...that immense feeling of guilt and sorrow over the former love of his life being ripped away from him as if he never even existed...

...but none came.

Not this time.

"You're so...so fucking beautiful..." he whispered towards Darren, who slowly allowed a smile to stretch across his entire face as he heard Connor's moving words.

"When was the last time that you looked in a mirror..." he whispered back, before his eyes seemed to change colour, as did his entire demeanor.

Connor knew it was coming...he felt it...he sensed it.

And the moment that Darren's lips touched his own, he knew this wasn't a one-time thing, like so many others before him. this was very much real, very much happening...but with a guy that he knew meant the world to him, as a friend, as well as a potential partner.

Connor reached up and placed his hand softly behind Darren's neck, pushing their heads together even more, with the latter groaning softly as he deepened the kiss on the level that both their hard dicks were straining their trousers, desperate to get out for some much-needed action. Finally, it was Connor, to decided to break off the kiss, with Darren obviously wanting more, as he felt the latter lean in to kiss the nape of his neck, but he gently pushed the bigger guy away, much to Darren's chagrin.

"Don't you...I mean...don't you want me as much as I want you?" Darren whispered, his lips mere centimeters from Connor's.

Hating the fact that he might have just hurt Darren beyond belief, Connor quickly shook his head, and placed a another deep kiss on the man's lips, before hugging him towards him, holding him tightly in his arms.

"We need to talk..." he said, before he slowly withdrew from the embrace, and took Darren's hand in his own yet again.

"That...never symbolizes anything good..." Darren mused, his eyes narrow and frowning, but he continued to walk with Connor until the two of them were sat next to each other on the couch, in front of the TV. Connor composed himself as he always did, before he opened his ears and looked deeply into Darren's.

"You understand wrong...I WANT to...God knows I've wanted to jump your fucking sexy ass ever since you first talked to me back at the gym...but we can't...I can't yet...for mainly two reasons."

"Cool, I'm listening...it obviously means much to you, so go for it. And just so that you know...after all of this...this connection that we have between us, you're not just gonna chase me away that easily...I want you to know that," Darren said softly, his eyes kind and caring as they always were, making Connor's heart bounce wildly around in his chest, if it wasn't doing that before.

Sighing, he sat back and leaned his head against the couch cushion.

"Firstly...I told you about my...about the time where I literally had sex with everything that had a pulse...so to be quite honest, Darren...I don't know if I have anything inside that I can give you...HIV, or a STD, or anything like that. I really don't know, and I can't do that to you...ever. Before we...you know...do this...STUFF...I have to get tested. If I'm clean, then we can talk about this more...do more, but not before then. I just hope you understand."

Darren nodded slowly, before once more lynching his hand with Connor's, bringing it up to his mouth and kissing his knuckles, making Connor shiver with pent-up emotion.

"I'll admit...I had forgotten all about your past, and I really don't hold it against you...you had a lot that you were going through...it's not like I don't have my own troubles either...so I really can't judge you. Tell you what, I'll get tested as well, to make sure we're both right as rain, how about that?" he finally asked, looking down at their shared grip.

Connor nodded, much to his own relief, and took a huge breath, before he continued.

"Secondly...and I have never told this to anyone apart from my AA group...I was engaged a couple of years ago. To a wonderful guy named Corey Feltman. We were just about twenty-two years old when he proposed."

Darren's eyes widened just a tad, before he pursed his lips, still looking at Connor.

"What happened, if I may ask...did you guys break up? Or...no, don't tell me you are still together or anything..."

"NO! God, no...nothing like that, I'd never do that to you...he...he died soon after...and I really think it's because of his death that these past few years...that I totally went off the rails. Losing him...the man I loved with all my heart...before we even had a chance to create a life for ourselves...long story short, I tried to find someone else, even though I swore I wouldn't even look at another guy again, I wanted to ease my pain. Hence all the...all the drugs, all the random hookups...all the humiliations of being with so many guys that I actually lost count."

Both men were quiet for a while, perhaps just processing what was going on, before Connor spoke once more.

"That was until I met you. God Darren...you're so different than all the guys I had been with since Corey. You literally light up a room when you enter...like tonight...you stayed here and helped me...you are always there for me...this connection we have, you're SO right... we can't just LEAVE it and not bother exploring what's going on between us!"

Darren smiled faintly, before he too leaned in and the two men once more shared a deep kiss, Darren cupping Connor's cheek as he softly bit his bottom lip, in releasing him, before his glimmering eyes shone through to Connor once more, his heart nearly bulging out of his chest, at the mere sigh of this handsome, kind-hearted man that he had met, before him.

Darren was quiet for a moment, before he stood up and placed both of his hands inside the pockets of his trousers.

"What now? Something wrong?" Connor asked, as he stayed seated when Darren shook his head and grimaced.

"Nothing you or I can do about anyway..." he said, before he walked over towards the backdoor, sighed once more, and turned back and walked to where Connor was.

"Look...I have been wondering how and when to actually tell you this...and now that you have told me such a deep, intimate detail about yourself...I feel like I have to...especially after that kiss...that I HAVE to be totally honest with you. And I think that if I do, you're gonna walk out of my life and I'll never fucking see you ever again, but I have to...I can't keep this bottled in any longer..."

Connor frowned as he stood up, and placed his hand softly on Darren's shoulder, leaning in and giving said shoulder a kiss, before he reached out and turned Darren's face towards his own.

"There is literally nothing that you can tell me, that will change how I feel for you...if you want to...you didn't judge me for one single second, when I told you about all my demons," he replied softly.

Darren nodded, before he took both of Connor's hands in his own, squeezing them tightly, before he started speaking.

"Like you...I have some things that haunts me. One thing in particular..." he said softly, as to which Connor actually had to stretch his ear drums to hear him.

"If you don't wanna talk about it...then don't!" he urged Darren, but the latter shook his head, defiantly.

"No...because Connor, because if we are gonna try and make something happen from this...us...then you need to you. I...FUCK...okay, a couple of years ago...I got into a fight with my supposed girlfriend...we had just had sex...or at least TRIED to have sex, because I couldn't exactly tell her that I was gay and TOTALLY not into her...long story short, my dick was refusing to get hard. To perform. Whatever. She asked me straight out if there was another woman...and even though I denied it, she kept coming...kept coming...to the point where she was right up in my face."

Connor held Darren even closer to him, as the poor guy started to shake and shiver with grief and regret, before he bravely continued.

"I...I accidently shoved her away from me, and she tripped and fell. She wasn't moving. Not at fucking all. I panicked...I honestly thought I had killed her, without even meaning it...I'm not that kinda person...but in that moment, I thought she was dead. So, I got the hell out of her house, and got onto my bike, and just...just FLED into the open road."

Connor blinked a few times, before he looked up questioningly at Darren.

"You have a bike? Like a motorbike? How come I've never seen it?" he asked.

Darren shook his head.

"I don't have it anymore...I never wanna see that God damn thing ever again! I...I was on my way home...and you gotta remember I thought that I had killed her...I thought I was a murderer...I couldn't even as much as see in front of me...I had my helmet on the wrong fucking way and everything..."

Another deep breath, and the tears were streaming down this normally, confidant, handsome guy's face like a sheer fucking waterfall, leaving Connor breathless.

"I...I rounded a bend a little too fast...to the point where I had lost all control over my bike...and then this car...this bright blue Honda came out towards me from out of nowhere..."

Connor froze.

He literally, couldn't move...speak...or even as much as breathe.

Darren sniffed a couple of times, before he wiped his tears angrily away.

"Before I knew what happened, when I came to my senses again...I saw the guy...and his car...they were both wreaked beyond fucking recognition...I just...DUDE...I don't know what the fuck I was thinking...I just saw that my bike was smashed to pieces, but that somehow, I was okay...I literally didn't even have a scratch...however, I could still hear the people around us...my helmet still stuck to my head...I realised the police was probably on their way...and I just...I just FLED! I was a total coward who couldn't face what he had done!"

Darren paused as he tried his best to compose himself, before he looked back at a still comatose Connor...even his eyes were lifeless at what he had just heard.

"Connor...come on...say something...anything...I can't lose you too!" Darren finally screamed, before he saw Connor's eyes suddenly and serenely come alive, as if he was a literal robot, operating on auto pilot.

"Holy shit...HOLY SHIT! It was you...out of all fucking people in the world...it was YOU! YOU KILLED MY FIANCE!?" he shrieked out, his face as white as a sheet.

**

THANKS FOR READING!

Now you may wonder HOW the heck will these two eventually live happily ever after, with THAT elephant in the room. All that I can say is...TRUST ME lol.

Any feedback? Us writers really need to know what you guys like or even dislike, so please take a minute or your time, to send us some comments xx

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