The water was warm. His touch familiar. The thoughts fueling his frenzy were not. He ducked his head under the shower spray and fought to control his breathing, desperately wanting to enjoy what he was doing, to prolong the inevitable. Because right then the slow, smooth glide was what he needed. But the hunger for release was stronger than restraint.

Steve squeezed his dick, eyes closed and one hand bracing himself against the shower wall. Widening his stance, he surrendered to the primal, gut twisting growl that unfurled as he milked every last drop of his orgasm.

When it was over, he stood there waiting out the aftershocks, letting the water cascade over his trembling body. He needed some time to recover. Three minute rule be damned.

/././

Danny stared up the street. He shoved his hands into his pockets as he watched Amber disappear. She wasn't looking in the mirror, he just knew it. This good bye wasn't a see you later.

She'd asked him a perfectly good question. He rubbed a sore spot on his arm and remembered sage advice from his father. Never ask a question if you don't like the answer. He hadn't understood it at the time. It seemed like a trick. Why would you ask a question if you already knew the answer?

Confirmation. That's what Amber had needed. And she got it.

Maybe it was for the best. But he'd fought so hard for this relationship. No, that wasn't the whole truth either. He'd settled for this one and try as he might, he just couldn't commit 100%.

And the whole team knew it now. Danny couldn't say those three simple words.

What the hell was the matter with him? Amber was a great girl.

Yet, was that how he saw her? A great girl. Not a best friend. A partner. A co-conspirator.

The sex was great, but Danny usually had that area more than covered. He gave himself a light squeeze through the pocket of his shorts. Frowning, he realized he hadn't done the best job of cleaning up.

His annoyance was short-lived though. What had happened surprised him more than a little. And he couldn't stop thinking about this new wrinkle in his life.

Knowing Steve was there had given him the slightest thrill. Or zap. Or something. Which was weird because he'd never given Steve a single thought when it came to sex. Sure, he'd admired his partner's body, but who didn't? Anyone who took such care of themselves was a work of art in his book. And his Navy SEAL, crazy Neanderthal best friend was a superb specimen of humanity.

God that made his nuts hurt a little. It was too soon to be thinking so hard about sex. He and Amber's finale had been epic. He'd counted at least five orgasms from her. More than her normal two or three. Danny smiled at the thought. Didn't matter that he now felt a little raw and was going commando under his loose running shorts. No one could ever say he wasn't a considerate lover.

/././

Steve bounded down the steps, freshly showered and determined to put the misadventure of earlier behind him. He felt lighter than he had in a few days. He might go so far as admitting he felt refreshed. He'd responded to a stimuli and relieved himself of some stress. A perfectly normal thing to do.

He would head over to Danny's like nothing happened, blaming his tardiness on a phone call from his sister. His best friend would buy it. Mary had a habit of calling at odd times. He rehearsed the story in his head, wanting to get it straight before facing his favorite detective.

"Hey."

The familiar voice surprised the hell out him. Not something that happened very often. If ever.

"Danny, hey. I thought I was meeting you at your place?" He tried so hard to keep his face blank while his heart hammered away. If his partner only knew what he'd just done in the shower.

Danny gave him an odd half smile. "You did."

"I did?" Steve could barely breathe to say the words. He was a terrible liar when flustered.

"Meet me at my house. You did."

They stared at one another for a few seconds.

"You heard me." Steve chewed on his lip.

Danny just nodded. "I heard you pull up. You let yourself in..."

"Sorry, man."

"For what?"

"Interrupting?"

Danny blushed and Steve followed suit.

"You heard us?"

"I heard you."

Danny closed his eyes and sighed. Of course Steve heard them. He had bat-like senses.

"She surprised me."

"Sounds like she did more than that." Steve wiggled his eyebrows. Wrong move. The face Danny made caused him to take a few steps back. He could really use a beer, and he was just about to offer his friend a drink when Danny just started babbling.

"Yea, she wanted to say good-bye. Amber- I mean Melissa. She came over. Before she left for the mainland. Business trip. She'll be gone two weeks. It's some kind of conference thing." He was having an out of body experience. He felt like he was watching himself ramble on from the ceiling. He wasn't sure what he might say next. Danny was grateful when Steve interrupted.

"I thought she left this afternoon."

Danny shrugged. "Her flight was changed at the last minute."

What more was there to say? His girlfriend stopped by to say good-bye and they ended up in bed. But Danny could not shut up. "Amber heard you, too. She tried to make a joke out of it."

Steve just keep staring straight ahead. Not sure if he should push. Danny looked so raw, so vulnerable in that moment.

"She asked if I wanted you to join us."

Steve faked a cough to cover his surprise, but Danny didn't buy it. He continued.

"I didn't answer fast enough. She punched me." He rubbed his arm with a wince. Steve wanted so much to reach out and touch him, turn that pain into something so much better.

He said the first thing that came to his mind. "Want a beer?"

Danny smiled like Steve had just said the best thing in the world. "Sure, that, my friend, sounds fantastic."

Steve headed for the kitchen, Danny at his heels. He threw the fridge door open a little too hard and everything on the door knocked together loudly. The curses under his breath only amped up his anxiety. He shoved a bottle into his partner's hands like it would save his life.

They went out back, needing the wide open space to diffuse the electrified tensionbetween them. They drank in silence for a few minutes, each man stealing glances at the other.

"So..." Danny tipped his beer, taking a slow sip. "Did you?"

Steve had been looking out over the water, trying not to think about anything. "Did I what?"

Danny was undeterred. "Want to join us."

"Did I want to join you? And Amber?"

"Stop repeating what I say. I know it's a stalling technique."

Steve couldn't form the words. Yes, I wanted to join you. Instead he bit his lip and turned away.

"Yea, okay." Danny set his beer down and stood up. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Hey, wait." Steve snagged his friend's hand, anchoring him in place.

Danny stopped, but didn't turn to look at Steve. He didn't shake off his touch either.

"I'm sorry, man. I didn't mean to interrupt. I feel really bad about it."

"Wasn't your fault. We had plans."

"We still do." Steve let go of his partner. "Have plans."

Danny looked at him, confused. He rubbed his hand on his pants.

"The game. It's on in half an hour." Steve spoke softly, carefully.

"You still wanna watch it?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"Okay, I can do that." Danny smiled and nodded. "The game would be nice. Yea..."

Steve grinned and jumped out of his chair. "I'll order a pizza."

"Where's your wallet?" Danny recoiled ever so slightly, feigning a frown. "Let me see it. I don't even think you have a wallet, babe."

Steve squeezed best friend's shoulder and gave him the slightest shove. "Don't worry. I've got this."

/././

The lights were off, the television had been muted for the half time show. Steve was out in the kitchen grabbing another round of beers and more popcorn. This was in addition to a medium pizza, a handful of mini peppermint patties and an earlier bowl of popcorn. Who knew sexual tension made you so hungry?

"We never talk about it." Danny stared straight ahead, not really focusing on anything.

"What?" Steve juggled the beers and snacks, while looking at his friend, concerned by the change in his voice. Once the game started, they hadn't talked about anything except bad calls by the refs and whether or not they needed more beer.

"Sex."

"Sex?" Steve set the beers on coasters. He looked from the couch to the now empty recliner. Danny had moved while he was in the kitchen.

He scooted over when Steve moved closer."You're doing it again."

"Doing what?" Steve sat beside his friend.

"Repeating what I say."

Steve closed his eyes. "Why would we talk about sex?"

"It's something guys do."

"Yea, maybe when we were teenagers." Steve wrinkled his nose and grabbed his drink.

Danny turned toward his partner. "So you never think about it?"

"Sex?" Steve couldn't make eye contact with his best friend. He drowned his anxiety in a big gulp of beer that dribbled down his chin.

"You're a goof, you know that? I start talking about sex and you get all-"

"All what?"

Danny waved his hands at Steve. "Look at yourself."

"What? I spilled some beer. It happens." Steve raised his voice, frustrated, impatient.

"Yea, okay."

Danny deflated. Steve had to do something to make it better.

"To answer your earlier question, Danny. No, I wouldn't want to join you and Amber." Steve licked his lips and waited a few breaths before continuing. He had to say something else. The wounded look on Danny's face hurt his chest. He needed desperately to fix this. "I would not want to join you because... I don't like to share."

Ohhhh greedy, greedy Steve. Don't you just love him? Thank you all so much for sticking around. I hope you're enjoying this... Special thanks to Tracey for keeping after me and giving me deadlines. I bet she's still surprised it worked! :-)