Disclaimer:
The following story is the fifteenth installment in an on going series about Stephen Gately from Boyzone and what I imagine to be the story behind the beginning of his relationship with Eloy de Jong from Caught in the Act. I have no contact with either person, nor know any of the members of either group.
I enjoy hearing what you have to think about my story so far, so please email me and let me know what you think.
The sound of someone running down the hall broke their reverie and Eloy levered himself up. With a smile, he rolled off to the side and nuzzled himself against Stephen's neck.
"Hungry?" He asked.
"Mmmm, getting there. What is it about us, though? All we seem to do is play around and eat!" Stephen laughed and rolled onto his side so they were facing one another.
"Well, what else can we do in a hotel room?" Eloy asked sensibly. Stephen laughed in agreement. "Now, feel like sneaking out somewhere?"
Stephen thought about it for a moment. It seemed like he was constantly having to weigh what he wanted to do with what he could get away with. They had yet to talk about how they were going to do things in the future. It was a bit too far away for that. But right now, all he wanted to do was to be able to enjoy the time they had without too much hassle.
"How about a compromise? Take out and have it delivered?" He suggested. Eloy nodded thoughtfully.
"Ja, we could certainly do that. What did you have in mind?" He kept on distracting Stephen by lightly stroking his arm, then moving to his neck, then cheek. Stephen made as if to bite the finger.
"Ermmm... hmmm... er... stop that!" He laughed. "What about something different? You're always encouraging me to do that. I know there's a great Indian place around the corner. I'm sure we can get them to deliver something here."
"All right, we'll do that. Though I guess that means getting up?" Eloy said, almost forlornly. Stephen laughed and gave him a kiss as he got up out of the tangle of sheets and blankets.
"Sorry love, but it does. I need to wash up. And some new clothes! You wrecked my jeans!" Stephen said as he reached for his jeans and saw the rip down the inseam.
"That's payback for what you did to me," Eloy said with a grin from the floor. "Do I get to join you in the shower?"
"I dunno about that. The last time you did, I almost drowned!" Stephen laughed. Eloy laughed as he pushed himself off the floor and followed Stephen into the bathroom. He bumped into Stephen in the doorway. "Only one problem.... There's no shower in here. Only that huge tub."
Eloy rested his chin on Stephen's shoulder as he peered around the corner. "Babe, that's a jacuzzi, not a tub!"
"Oh, is it?" Stephen asked with a grin. "This certainly has potential then." He walked further into the bathroom and looked around at a basket of items left enticingly near the spigots on a low table. Eloy leaned against the doorframe and watched him. When Stephen wasn't actively thinking about it, he could be quite unconscious about the way he acted. Obviously by this point he wasn't feeling at all self-conscious about being nude in front of Eloy. He wasn't about to bring it up to Stephen, either at this point --- he was enjoying the view far too much. Stephen started the water running, then poured something out of one of the bottles on the table in with the water. He looked over his shoulder, and with an impish grin, beckoned Eloy to join him. "Care to join me?" He asked, indicating the frothing water.
"I'd love to," Eloy said with a grin. Once the jacuzzi was full and the jets were on, they got in, Eloy snaking his long legs to either side of Stephen. "Mmm, this is good."
Stephen leaned back against his end of the jacuzzi and sighed with contentment. "Yeah, it is, isn't it? Why can't I have one of these at home?" The smell of the oil he had added wafted up around them.
"Well, why don't you?" Eloy asked as he massaged Stephen's feet, which were lying across his thigh.
"Because I still live at home and it would probably take up the top half of my parent's house?" Stephen said with a laugh. "Plus, me Mam wouldn't know what to do with one."
"Well, you could always get your own place," Eloy mused. The heat from the water was steaming up the mirrors in the room.
"Yeah," Stephen said with a sigh. "Don't believe I haven't thought about it. But I'm so seldom at home, what's the point? My sister has occasionally told me that once I do want a place, she's willing to help, but really, it seems to be a lot of work."
Eloy nodded sympathetically. He understood the constant travel and the lack of time to actually enjoy anything. "When the time is right, you'll find someplace. No need to rush things."
Stephen nodded. "You're right. But I am fast running out of places to put all the stuff I'm buying!" He chuckled ruefully and Eloy grinned in response. "Ah, well, enough of that. Let's enjoy this while we can." He pulled back his feet and moved to kneel so he could reach the items on the table next to him. "Hmmm, what do we have here?" He poked around the bottles and grabbed one. "This might work."
Eloy was amused. "Work at what?" He watched as Stephen maneuvered himself around so that he was kneeling in between Eloy's legs.
"At getting us cleaned up and presentable," Stephen grinned. "I do have to sneak back down to my room, after all, with a rip in my jeans and no underwear."
"Ah, so you do," Eloy replied thoughtfully. He took the bottle from Stephen and poured a bit of the soap into his hands. He put his hands on Stephen's chest and lathered the soap along his body. "Or I could just go down and get some of your stuff so you wouldn't give a peep show on the way down."
"Now what's the fun in that?" Stephen teased. He took the bottle back and poured some onto his own hands. Dropping the bottle over the side, he started with Eloy's face and worked his way down from there. Eloy pulled him forward and Stephen ended up slipping down against his chest. "Hey!"
"Hey yourself!" Eloy growled as he covered the lips that he had been focused on the whole time with his own. Stephen spluttered at soap dripped down on him and he pushed back with a laugh.
"Oh no you don't!" Stephen slipped down into the water. He dipped his head back to get the soap out of his eyes and came up to see Eloy watching him with a funny expression on his face. "What?"
Eloy shook his head in wonder. "Nothing. Just thinking how damn lucky I am at the moment, kindje." Stephen gave him an inquiring look, silently asking him to explain himself. "I mean, look at us right now!" He laughed. He pushed Stephen's hair back and cupped his face with one hand. "Right now, I can't see it getting any better than this."
"Oh?" Stephen said. He turned his face and bit Eloy's finger, then winked. "Don't be too sure about that!" He worked his way back to where Eloy leaned against the edge of the jacuzzi and placed an arm to either side of him. "After all," he said, kissing Eloy soundly. "We haven't had dinner yet!"
Eloy laughed and wrapped his arms around Stephen, holding him close. They kept on playing in the jacuzzi, more often splashing water out of it than keeping it in. Their washing was interspersed with kisses and suggestive strokes, each designed to tease one another. Eventually, though, they felt the effects of the heat and decided it was long since time to get out.
Eloy had to chuckle as he wrapped a towel around Stephen. "You're all pink!"
"Am not!" Stephen protested, looking up and pretending to scowl. "You're all wrinkled!"
"Well, whose fault is that?" Eloy retorted, slapping Stephen on the butt and then running out of the bathroom. Stephen growled and chased after him, finally catching him on the sofa.
"You stop that!" Stephen said with a laugh as Eloy pulled him onto his lap. "Or else I WILL send you downstairs to get me new pants!"
"I'd love to. Then I could go through your suitcase and see what kind of naughty things you brought along," Eloy grinned and winked.
Stephen spluttered. "What? Sorry, fella, but there ain't nothing naughty in that suitcase. Hell, it came from Ireland. There's nothing naughty in that country at all!"
"Ah, now you're telling a lie, Stephen!" Eloy laughed. "Because you came out of there... and you can't prove to me you're not naughty." He continued to chuckle while Stephen tried to come up with a come back, but couldn't. Stephen had an expressive face. Eloy could see him flit from one thought to the next, then reject it for another while he thought of a suitable retort. Finally he gave up and just laughed along with Eloy.
"I give up!" Stephen said with a sigh and grinned companionably at his friend. "Though when I do find something, you'll be the first to know."
"I'm looking forward to it. So, which is it going to be? You going down or me?" Eloy asked. "Not that you really need any clothes to eat, you know."
"Yeah, eventually I need to have something, short of a seamstress working on those jeans. Might as well as be now. And since I don't want you to see my whips and chains yet, it had better be me. Though I'll have to duck walk with that rip," Stephen said with a laugh.
"If you don't mind a bit long, I got some sweats you can run down in," Eloy suggested. He let Stephen slide next to him onto the couch and got up and went to the dresser where he pulled a black pair of sweats out of the drawer. Handing them over, he stifled a laugh at the way they kind of swallowed Stephen once he got them on.
Stephen struggled with the extra length and finally pushed the elastic up his leg so that the rest hung down to where it fit. "Ah well, better than nothing!" He pulled the matching sweatshirt on and let it hang down over the pants, but pushed up the sleeves. He started to get his sneakers but just shrugged. "Heck, I'm only walking down the stairs. Who cares about shoes!"
Eloy laughed. "Shall we put the order in, so when you get back we can have food here?" Stephen nodded eagerly and they went to the table to write down what they wanted. Eloy called the order in to the Indian restaurant while Stephen headed downstairs.
He was feeling a bit nervous as he walked down the stairs back to the 4th floor. For some reason, he kept on thinking that someone was going to stop him and ask him where he was going. It was like an itch between his shoulder blades, so he picked up his pace and quickly reached his floor. Peering out the door, he saw some people in the hall and waiting until they had entered their room before he left the stairwell. He also felt a bit silly having to do it, but the last thing he wanted to do was take chances.
He got into his room with no problem at all and closed the door behind him. He fumbled in the dark for a light switch. His room seemed a lot emptier and sparse than the one he had just left without Eloy's presence to fill it. He opened up his suitcase and pulled out his clothes. Shucking out of the sweats, he replaced them with a pair of black jeans and a t-shirt. He unpacked the rest of his stuff and put another change of clothes in one of the laundry bags provided by the hotel. He wondered if he was being presumptuous by assuming that he was going to spend the night upstairs with Eloy and hesitated a moment. It was then that he noticed the message light on his phone blinking.
Frowning slightly, he went over and picked up the phone. He punched the button for messages and heard his sister's voice.
"Hey Stephen, sorry I missed you earlier, hon. Had a quick question, so I'm just going to try you on your mobile. Talk to you later! Love ya!" He put down the phone with a chuckle and reached for the mobile where he habitually kept it in his pocket. It was then that he realized he must have left it upstairs. Knowing that she would probably be calling soon, he grabbed his stuff and headed upstairs back to the 6th floor.
No sooner had Eloy hung up the phone from putting in their take out order than he heard the mobile ringing on the table. Thinking it was his, he grabbed it and took the call.
"Hallo?" He said absently, cleaning off the rest of the table so there would be some room for dinner.
"Stephen?" A woman's voice asked tentatively. It was then that Eloy realized it wasn't his mobile, but Stephen's that he had picked up. Inwardly he winced.
"No, this is his friend Eloy. Stephen left his mobile here while he stepped out for a second. Could I take a message?"
"Oh, hello Eloy. I don't think we've met," the woman said. "This is his sister Michelle. How are you?" Eloy grinned. He had heard a lot about Stephen's older sister and she sounded a lot like he had imagined she would.
"I'm very well. How are you?" He asked, sitting down at the table. He resigned himself to the fact that he wasn't going to get off the phone easily.
"Oh, just grand," Michelle said with a laugh. "Stephen didn't tell me he was meeting up with friends in London. I wouldn't have bothered him, then. I just thought he was alone."
Eloy felt like she was fishing. He'd had enough experience with his mother to know the type of leading questions that got asked. "Well, it was a bit of a spur of the moment thing. We both had some free time so we thought we'd meet up and catch up on things over dinner," he said.
"Well, one of these days he's going to have to invite you over here so I can meet you!" Michelle exclaimed. "I never get to meet any of his friends because he's on the road so much. But tell me now, you were the one he went to Disney with, is that correct?"
"Yes, that's right. That was during a break from his tour." Eloy had no idea what Stephen had told his sister so he decided to be as noncommittal as possible. In the back of his mind, he wondered what was taking Stephen so long to come back up.
"He's told me that you're quite the Disney fan, too." She said.
"Ja, that's right." He replied. "We had a great time poking through all of the exhibits there. Its not often that you have someone who is as enthusiastic about it with you, so together we got a bit caught up in it all." Eloy chuckled. "I don't know about Stephen, but I know my own band mates aren't too tolerant of me wandering off into stores and looking around!"
Michelle laughed. He found she had a melodious laugh and he grinned when he heard it. "Well then, it's a good thing you two know each other! If only to protect your own mates from you!" Eloy laughingly agreed. It at right then that he heard the latch on the door click as Stephen opened the door. Motioning him inwards, he pointed to the phone and mouthed "your sister" to Stephen. Stephen nodded and dropped the bag he was carrying on the sofa, then came over to the table.
"Hey, Stephen just came back. Let me hand you over to him. It was great talking with you, though." Eloy said. Stephen rolled his eyes and grinned.
"Yes, it was lovely. We should do this again sometime," Michelle replied. "Have a great dinner, and take care."
"You too. Goodbye now... here's Stephen." Eloy said and handed the phone over.
Stephen stuck out his tongue at Eloy as he took the mobile. "Hello, hon. How are you?"
"Lovely, Stephen. Sorry if I'm interrupting. I just thought you were off by yourself. Tonight when I ran into Lisa in the store in Dublin, I found out that the rest of the boys weren't going for a couple of days and thought you had just gone off on your own." Michelle didn't sound at all apologetic and Stephen had a good idea she was probably burning up with curiosity now that she knew he wasn't alone.
"Not a problem," Stephen said as he leaned back into his chair. "I had already made plans to meet up with Eloy before I found out that the recording was pushed back. Now, what was it that you wanted to ask me?" He tried to turn the conversation to another topic.
Michelle didn't take the hint. "Ah, it was nothing, hon. What's for dinner?"
"Indian," Stephen replied with a sigh. He made a face and Eloy had to stifle a laugh into his hand as he leaned against the table. "What are you having for dinner?"
"Roast leg of lamb," Michelle replied. "Now, answer me this --- is there something you might be needing to tell me?"
"No, not that I know of," Stephen said vaguely, sidestepping what he knew she wanted to hear. "Listen love, dinner will be here soon. Is it all right that I call you back later?"
"You will call later, right?" She said with a sigh. She knew she wasn't going to get the information she was looking for right now. But then, she had gotten more than she had expected already, just by talking to Eloy. She was dying to find out what her little brother was up to, but knew it would have to wait.
"I will, hon... I promise," Stephen assured her.
"Well, tonight or tomorrow. I mean, if you end up being busy, that's all right, too. I'd hate to interrupt something important... or interesting!" she laughed. She wanted to give him an out, just in case. Stephen was sounding quite edgy on the phone. She had never heard him sound this way before, and knew that he was uncomfortable with her knowing more than he wanted her to know. But she was damned if he was going to wiggle out of this one. She definitely had to find out what was going on.
"We'll see," Stephen said. He could see right through her and wasn't going to give her anything until he was ready. But he was sure that at some point she was going to get the whole story out of him. He just thanked his lucky stars he was going to be in London for a couple of weeks and some time would have passed before he would have to face her in person. "Hey, do me a favor?"
"Anything, sweetie." Michelle replied instantly.
"Could you talk to Alan about looking around for a place for me?" He smiled at Eloy. "I've been doing a bit of thinking, and really would like to get all my stuff out of storage. It's about time, I think." He figured that giving her something to chew on would be distracting enough to keep her mind off of what he was up to in London. "Then when I get back we can look around at some of the places you think might work out."
"Oh, that would be grand!" Michelle exclaimed. "I actually have a couple of things in mind. But I'll look into it and let you know. Anything in particular you want while I'm looking around?"
"Nothing too fancy... you know me. Just a place to hang my hat," Stephen said. A knock on the door told them that their dinner had arrived and Eloy went to answer it. "Only thing I'd really want is a nice fireplace to hang out in front of, and a big bathroom. You know, something where perhaps Alan could modify it to add in a big tub or jacuzzi or something." He grinned at Eloy who had come back in with a couple of bags.
"Let me see what I can come up with," Michelle said excitedly. His ploy had worked and she had been suitably distracted from ferreting out any more information about what he was up to. "I'll let you run and I'll talk to you later, then."
"Yeah, dinner's here," Stephen said. His mouth was watering over the smells as Eloy checked each container. He snuck a piece of onion pakora from one and popped it into his mouth. "Mmmmm." Eloy slapped his hand away as he tried to grab for another piece and he pouted.
"I better let you go, hon," Michelle said. "My own dinner will probably burn if I don't. You have a grand time, and I'll talk to you later, I'm sure."
"Okay," Stephen said. "You go run. Give my love to Alan and Jordan and I'll talk with you soon. Bye now!" Michelle said goodbye and they both hung up.
Eloy chuckled as Stephen rang off and slumped in his seat. "Sorry about that. It rang and I didn't even think twice about whose it was."
"Not a problem, Eloy. My sister can be the worst when it comes to ferreting out gossip!" He laughed. "And I'm sure that eventually it will come back to haunt me, because she never forgets a thing. Ah well, I'll deal with it when I have to." He watched as Eloy piled food on the plates provided and moved the containers off to the dresser next to the table. The smell of the chicken tikka was making his mouth water. He wasn't sure what he wanted to start with first, because the biriyani was just as tempting. He grabbed a fork and started eating. Eloy came back from the mini bar with a couple of choices of soda and he grabbed a Coke. "Thanks! Now sit down and have some of this. Its really good."
"So I see," Eloy said with some amusement. Stephen was eating like he hadn't ever seen food before. He sat down at the other side of the small table and dug into his own curry. They each tore off bits of the naan and ate in companionable silence.
"Is your sister as nosy as my mother is?" Eloy asked. He couldn't help himself, he was dying of curiosity.
"Dunno," Stephen said between mouthfuls. "Not sure how nosy your mam is," he chuckled. "But let's put it this way --- my brother Mark once told me that she could find out anything he didn't want to tell her in the first 5 minutes of a conversation."
Eloy laughed. Stephen grinned in response. "That bad, huh?"
"Well, usually not so bad with me. I think she cuts me extra slack sometimes," Stephen said. "I also have other stuff I can distract her with."
"Like searching for a house for you?" Eloy asked with a chuckle.
"Yeah, that's one. And it should keep her busy enough for a bit. Usually I don't have anything juicy enough, unless its gossip about someone else." Stephen said. "How bad is your mam?"
"Ah, she's not too bad. But she's pretty insightful and usually guesses stuff before I even think of telling her." Eloy hesitated as he debated about telling Stephen about how much she already knew about the two of them.
"Like?" Stephen asked as he took another sip of his soda.
"Like... knowing about us and what happened in France." Eloy said in a rush. He looked up to see that Stephen looked shocked.
"You didn't tell her?" He asked incredulously, the fork paused halfway up to his mouth.
Eloy sighed. "I didn't have to. She guessed from the minute I walked in the door when I got back. It's pretty hard to keep anything from her." He raked a hand through his hair. "Hell, she knew I had fallen for you before I knew myself!"
Stephen smiled ruefully. "Yeah, it's amazing sometimes. Michelle can be like that, too. Heck, she practically raised me herself, since Mam was busy working most of the time when I was younger. Its like they can sense it. You know, Shel had grilled me about Disney, fishing for something. Did she ask you anything about it?"
"Just that she knew we had met up there. Didn't fish for anything," Eloy said with a chuckle.
"Good," Stephen said. "Though now that she called and talked to you, I know eventually she's going to get the story out of me. Well, I'll deal with that one when I have to." He grabbed another slice of kulcha and ripped off a piece. "What else does your Mam know?" He tried to be casual about it, but he had to admit to himself that he was a bit nervous about it.
"Well, not too much" Eloy said, musing about the last few months. "She knows about the letters. She found them rather sweet. And she wants me to invite you to come for a visit, so she can meet you." He looked up to see what Stephen's reaction to that would be. "I know your schedule is rather hectic right now, but if you do get a break I'd love to have you over."
"We'll see," Stephen said. "You know how it goes... the best laid plans and all." He sighed. "God, sometimes I wished I had more time for things."
Eloy nodded. He understood completely what Stephen meant. Often their time wasn't their own, and they had to snatch a moment here or there and make it last. "We'll make it work, kindje. One way or another."
"I hope so, E. I really do." Stephen looked at his friend, well aware of how fragile things could be. Now that they had worked things out, he knew that it wasn't going to be easy. It was something that they were going to have to talk through, but he pushed it aside. Time enough for that later. For now, all he wanted to do was enjoy the time they had together. He took Eloy's hand in his own and lightly stroked the back. "But let's deal with that tomorrow, all right?"
"Ja, fine." Eloy agreed as he leaned down to kiss the hand stroking his own. "Whatever you want."