Chapter 9
"What are you talking about?" Ste asked, "You don't even know Craig, and you've only just met John Paul"
Adam shook his head, "I do know Craig. After I finished my degree I got a job in an office in Dublin. I was Craig's assistant" he took a deep breath, "One day, near the end of 2012 I kissed him and he kissed me back, then he freaked out. That's when I found out he was in a relationship, though he didn't mention any names. Apparently Craig's behaviour started to change, and he and John Paul broke up" Adam glanced at Ste, who looked confused.
"When John Paul told me about his ex, I realised it was Craig. I felt so guilty"
"So you made out with him?" Ste finished, "that's not the best reason to kiss someone, you know"
"Come on" Adam argued, "there must have been times in your relationship with Doug where you kissed out of guilt"
Ste thought, then nodded regretfully, "actually, there were quite a few. Like just after we got engaged Doug teamed up with one of Brendan's worst enemies, whilst I was defending him. We didn't realise we were plotting against each other, but we both felt guilty"
Adam nodded, not wanting to say 'I told you so'.
"And after we got back together I felt guilty" Ste continued, "guilty for leaving it so long to be with him" he paused, then shook his head, "but they were all out of love. Yeah, some of the times I felt guilty but that wasn't the only reason that I kissed him. The best reason is out of love. That, or to shut them up" he chuckled, remembering his first kiss with Doug. His face turned grave and he looked at Adam, "the point is, guilt is not a good reason to kiss someone, you kiss someone because you wanna"
Adam nodded and his eyes flickered to Ste's lips. Before Ste realised what was happening he felt Adam's lips on his. He backed away immediately.
"What are you doing?" Ste exclaimed, "I just walked in on you playing tonsil tennis with John Paul not ten minutes ago!"
Adam shook his head, "I told you, I don't want to be with John Paul"
"You said you couldn't, after what happened with Craig"
"No, I don't want to" he sighed, "I tried to convince myself that I just wanted to catch up with you, but the truth is that I was secretly hoping you were single. I came back for you. I want to be with you"
Ste just gaped at him. The guy that he wanted to be with just admitted that he wanted to be with him too. Ste didn't know whether or not it was appropriate to jump for joy at this moment. He realised what he had to do
"Look Adam, before anything happens, you need to tell John Paul what you told me" Ste said. Adam shook his head
"I can't. He'll hate me"
"No, he won't" Ste argued, "You know it's the right thing to do"
xxx
"Hey" John Paul greeted, opening the door. Adam was slightly taken aback by the man standing in front of him; he was wearing a tight back t-shirt, skinny jeans and a breathtaking smile. Adam was momentarily distracted, then remembered the purpose of coming over.
"Hey" Adam replied eventually, regaining his composure, "can I come in?"
"Sure" John Paul responded, opening the door wider and stepping aside. Adam smiled as he entered, feeling guiltier by the second
"So" John Paul began, "Are you here to pick up where we left off?" he asked, flirtatiously. Adam looked away
"No, I need to talk to you"
John Paul looked surprised, then worried, "what's up?"
Adam took a deep breath, "There's something I have to tell you", he glanced at John Paul, "it's about Craig".
I apologise for the short chapter and for the fact that it was quite stilted in terms of the dialogue but I was trying to move the story along. Please review!
