Aaron and Flynn were sitting at the table in the kitchen at Aaron's place drinking coffee and chatting about their upcoming holiday. The warm weather was showing no sign of disappearing and they hoped it would stay that way while they were away. They were like two small children in the run up to Christmas such was their excitement at the prospect of going away together again. They talked about it all the time, wondering if things had changed since they were there earlier in the year and discussing what they were going to do as they had a whole week together this time. Neither of them could wait and they were just crossing off the days until Saturday arrived.
"I'm just glad we won't have to light that fire this time" Aaron said "it was great when it was done but it took us ages."
Flynn looked at him with a quizzical look on his face. "What's this we and us? You must have been on a different break to me cos I don't remember you doing a thing as far as the fire was concerned, I did it all whenever it needed doing."
"Well, I offered encouragement, didn't I?"
"If you call haven't you got that thing going yet, it's freezing in here, what's taking you so long, how hard can it be encouragement, then yeah, you did" Flynn said smiling at him.
"Yeah well, so lighting fires isn't my thing. We can't all be good at everything can we?" Aaron said as he went to the cupboard and took out a packet of biscuits, taking a couple for himself and handing the packet to Flynn. " Anyway, I was checking on the internet for stuff to do while we're up there and there's a music festival on the Sunday after we arrive. It's not far from where we'll be staying, I thought it might be worth a visit, that band we went to see when we first started seeing each other are playing, what d'you think?"
"Sounds great as long as we won't be up to our knees in mud."
"Flynn, it's the English summer so it probably will chuck it down and be muddy and your hair will get all messed up and your clothes will get dirty but that's part of the fun isn't it?"
"Yeah, I suppose so" Flynn said dipping his biscuit into his coffee before eating it. "If the weather is going to be bad, I hope they've added to their DVD collection, there wasn't a lot of choice last time was there?"
"No not really still I'm sure we can always amuse ourselves, we didn't have any problems last time did we?" Aaron said grinning at Flynn and raising his eyebrows.
"No, we didn't but we can't do that all week even if we wanted to."
"Maybe snakes and ladders will still be there, that could keep us occupied for a while." They both laughed.
"Let's hope so" Flynn said "In fact, I might just go and buy my own and bring it with us just in case." Paddy came in to the kitchen at that point and said "buy your own what just in case?"
"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me" Aaron said.
"Try me, I hate only catching the end of a conversation, I'll be wondering all day what it could be if you don't tell me."
Aaron shook his head. "You're a sad man, Paddy. Snakes and Ladders, that's what he was talking about, it's his favourite board game."
"Is it really? I prefer Cluedo myself, you have to think a bit more. Anyway, isn't Snakes and Ladders a bit boring for you two, I mean it's not exactly the most exciting game on the planet is it?"
"It is if you play it his way" Aaron said grinning at Flynn. Flynn nearly choked on his mouthful of coffee, just about managing to swallow it before breaking into a coughing fit. "Sorry, went down the wrong way" he said looking at Aaron.
"What do you mean it is if you play it his way, there's only one way to play isn't there?" Paddy said looking at Flynn. Flynn looked at Aaron's smug face and thought right, two can play that game. He smiled sweetly.
"Well, you see, me and Aaron found this new way of playing." Aaron looked at him with a you wouldn't dare expression on his face. "What you do is, you play normally but, when you land on a ladder…." At that point, Paddy's mobile rang. He looked at the screen. "Sorry, I've got to take this" he said walking into the other room.
"What do you think you're playing at? You weren't really going to tell him were you?" Aaron said horrified. Flynn grinned at him. "I might have done, I might not. You'll never know now, will you?" Aaron took a mouthful of coffee and pulled a face. "Urgh, cold. Fancy a proper drink?" he said. "Yep, sounds good" Flynn replied taking his mug, rinsing it under the tap and putting it on the side by the sink. When he turned around, Aaron was standing waiting for him. "Are you just going to leave that there?" he asked looking at Aaron's mug which was still standing on the table.
"Yeah, I'll sort it out later or Paddy will."
"You're a lazy sod" Flynn said shaking his head as he walked over and picked it up and rinsed it out just like he'd done with his own.
"Yeah and you're way too obsessed with things being tidy for a guy your age" Aaron said. Flynn walked over and Aaron pushed him gently towards the door. "Come on, let's go" he said "before you get the urge to take out the hoover and give the place a proper tidy up." Flynn smiled and put one hand on the door handle, ready to open the door but Aaron put his own hand on top of Flynn's stopping him. Flynn turned his head to see what Aaron was up to but Aaron just leant against him and kissed him. "To keep me going til later" he said smiling at Flynn "We can go now."
"Are you sure?" Flynn said.
"Well, maybe just one more then" he said putting his arms around Flynn and kissing him again. "Now we can go."
They walked down the road to the pub still chatting about their upcoming holiday. They ordered their drinks and went and sat down. When Adam came in, he saw the two of them, heads together talking nineteen to the dozen and sat by the bar. He ordered his drink and decided to leave them alone. He was pleased for Aaron, him and Flynn were a perfect match and it was great seeing him so happy but he missed spending time with him. Flynn looked up and saw Adam sat with his back to them and thought it was strange that he hadn't come over.
"Adam's over there" he said to Aaron.
"Is he, he'll probably be over in a minute." Flynn watched as Adam's drink was put in front of him and he stayed where he was.
"He's not coming over" Flynn said "do you think he's ok?"
"Dunno." Aaron turned around in his chair. "Oi, our company not good enough for you tonight?" Adam turned around, smiled and came over. "His is, not sure about yours though."
"Are you sitting down then or what?"
"Nah, I'm not stopping long, I'm just having the one and then I'm off. Besides, you think I want to spend my evening watching you two looking lovingly at each other all the time."
"Come on, sit down, we'll behave won't we?" Aaron said looking at Flynn.
"Absolutely" Flynn nodded "promise."
Adam smiled again and sat down.
"Actually, you can do me a favour if you don't mind" Flynn said. "I'm out on Thursday with some friends from college, you know end of term and all that, you don't fancy taking him out somewhere do you only he'll sulk if he's left on his own for too long. Either that or he'll be phoning or texting me which I can well do without."
Aaron looked at Flynn. "Yeah right. I can survive one night without you you know. Still, a night out sounds good if you're up for it."
"Yeah, I think I can manage that" Adam said.
"Great but I'm not going anywhere where him and his mates will be."
"That's fine by me" Flynn said "but I can't tell you exactly where we'll be. All I can tell you is that I know where we definitely won't be and that's Bar West, oh and them couple of bars just down the road from there."
"Great" Adam said. "Another night in Bar West, I've spent nearly as much time in that place as you both have."
"And you love it, don't pretend you don't" Aaron said " and don't worry, I can always pretend to be your boyfriend again if you get any attention you're not comfortable with."
"As long as you don't try to kiss me again, I'll be fine."
Adam pulled a face as soon as the words were out of his mouth. Flynn looked at Aaron with a grin on his face. "Kiss him again. Something you'd like to tell me" he said. Aaron glared at Adam.
"Sorry mate, I forgot he didn't know. It just slipped out." Aaron shook his head. "Look, it was years ago, alright, it's really not worth talking about."
"Oh no you don't" Flynn said "come on, spill, what happened?"
"Cheers Adam, I owe you one."
"Look I said I'm sorry, you know me, my mouth works before my brain." Aaron looked at Flynn and sighed. "We were out in a car. I lost control of it and banged my head. He leant over and was looking at the cut and I…."
"You what?" Flynn asked innocently.
"I leant towards him but we never actually kissed and I had just had a nasty bang on the head." Flynn started laughing.
"Oh cheers for that" Adam said "And there was me thinking it was because I was so irresistible."
"As if. So, now you've completely embarrassed me, I'll go and get some more drinks. Same again?"
"Not for me mate, I'm off, I told you I was only staying for the one. See you in here on Thursday then, about seven."
"Yeah ok, see you then."
When Aaron came back with the drinks, he sat down next to Flynn who smiled at him. "Come on then, I know you're dying to say something, let's get it over with."
Flynn looked at him. "If you were going to pick someone straight to try and kiss I'm glad it was Adam."
"You what?"
"Well, it could have been someone who reacted differently, someone who could have punched you or told the whole village about it. It could have been a lot worse and he is kind of cute" he said nudging Aaron. Aaron smiled at him. "What can I say, I was confused."
"Well, we've all been there."
"Bet you never tried to kiss your best mate though, did you?"
Flynn put his head down. "No, not Nick but there was someone. I got my wires crossed and ended up with a black eye. Never made that mistake again so you're not the only one." Aaron reached out and held Flynn's hand. Flynn looked at him and smiled. "Good job we're sorted now isn't it?"
"Too right, I wouldn't want to go through all that again."
"No, me either. Fancy a game of darts?"
"If you don't mind losing."
"I'll take my chances." They stayed until they finished their drinks and then went back to Aaron's where they found the place empty. Paddy had left a note on the table saying that there was an emergency and he didn't know when he'd be back. Aaron looked at Flynn and smiled. "Looks like it's just me and you then" he said handing the piece of paper to Flynn for him to read.
"Oh well, I suppose there's worse people I could be here on my own with."
"You know you love me really."
"Yeah, you're alright I suppose." He pulled Aaron towards him and kissed him, stroking the short hair on the back of Aaron's neck, enjoying the familiar scratching of Aaron's stubble against his face as Aaron's hands rested on his hips, holding him close.
"Shame we haven't got snakes and ladders, I fancy a game right now" Aaron said.
Flynn laughed. "It wouldn't be worth getting it out of the box, it'd be the shortest game ever. I've only got three items of clothing on."
"That's three too many for my liking" Aaron said.
"Really, well you know what to do then don't you?" They smiled at each other before heading upstairs. Once upstairs, it didn't take long for both of them to have their clothes removed and for them to be in each other's arms in bed. Aaron stopped for a moment and looked at Flynn lying naked next to him. He loved him with all his heart and soul and knowing that the feeling was mutual just made everything they had even more special. Their eyes met and Flynn smiled at him, wondering what had temporarily distracted him. He put his hand against Aaron's cheek and stroked it gently. "You ok, you were miles away?" he said. Aaron smiled back at him. "Yeah, sorry, I'm fine, never better." Flynn moved his hand from Aaron's cheek to the back of his neck and pulled him down to kiss him, soft kisses, gentle bites, feather light touches sending Aaron into the realms of ecstasy, making him gasp and moan, unable to stop himself even if he wanted to. Aaron pushed against Flynn, pushing him onto his back and rolled on top of him. Flynn's arms were bent, hands by his head, palms facing upwards as Aaron's fingers interlocked with his. Aaron kissed him harder and more urgently, enjoying both the feeling of Flynn's body underneath his and listening to the sighs and groans that were escaping from Flynn's mouth. Despite the heat, he could feel Flynn shiver as he left his mouth alone and with his own mouth and tongue worked his way slowly over Flynn's chest and abs, down to the place where Aaron wanted to be and where Flynn so desperately needed him. This was going to be another one of their special nights, they both knew it, they could sense it, that unique connection that they shared was there again for both of them to feel and enjoy. Some time in the early hours, Flynn woke up. Aaron was sleeping soundly beside him, his eyelids fluttering occasionally as he dreamt. He mumbled something incoherent in his sleep and turned over. Flynn smiled, wondering what Aaron was dreaming about. He knew what he dreamt about, him and Aaron living happily together, just the two of them, how they both liked it. He kissed Aaron gently and settled back down. Maybe one day, his dreams would come true.
Thursday evening found Aaron waiting in the pub for Adam. He'd got their drinks and was just about to text him to let him know he was there when he came in.
"Alright" Adam said as he sat down.
"Yeah, good, you?"
"Yeah, I'm alright. Listen, about the other night, I really am sorry, I should think before I open my mouth."
"It's fine, don't worry about it. Turns out Flynn went through something similar except the guy wasn't as understanding as you were and hit him."
"You're kidding."
"No, I wish I was."
Adam shook his head. "Some people."
"I know. Anyway, ready for this?"
"Absolutely. Been looking forward to it all day." They drank the drinks Aaron had bought before heading into town. Bar West was busy, as it tended to be on a Thursday. Aaron left Adam to get their drinks and went to the toilet. He was unaware that he was being watched. The guy had seen him as soon as he came in, recognised him straight away. He looked to see if his boyfriend was with him and relaxed a bit when he saw that he wasn't. He was glad, it would give him a chance to get a closer look, so far he'd only seen him from a distance. Aaron came out of the toilets and began making his way through the crowd back towards Adam but it was too busy to go anywhere quickly. With his eyes searching for a way through, Aaron moved slowly forward. He saw a space in the crowd and moved towards it. Unfortunately, someone coming the other way had seen the same space and they bumped into each other. "Sorry" said a voice "I saw a gap and went for it." Aaron looked up to see who had spoken. The guy was just over six feet tall with spiky brown hair, a tanned complexion and green eyes. He was a couple of years older than Aaron, dressed on trend and smelt lovely. He smiled at Aaron who smiled back. "No problem" he said stepping to one side to let him through. "Cheers" the guy said. Aaron made his way back through the crowd and found Adam waiting with their drinks.
"Well, he must have really wanted to bump into you" Adam said handing Aaron his drink.
"You what, what are you talking about?"
"That guy who bumped into you, I'm sure he did it deliberately."
"Don't be daft, have you seen how crowded it is?"
"I'm telling you, I know what I saw. He did it deliberately."
"Behave yourself. Come on, the pool table's free."
From where he was sitting, the guy thought about the younger man he'd just bumped into. He was fit, sparkling blue eyes, a nice smile, very attractive. Now he knew what he looked like up close, he needed to talk to him. He wouldn't get a better opportunity so he watched and waited. He watched him as he played pool, laughed and messed around, then saw him go to the bar. He got up and headed after him. Aaron was standing at the bar waiting to order. The guy next to him picked up his drinks and moved away, the space he was occupying quickly filled by someone else. Aaron ordered two bottles of lager and while he was waiting looked to see who was standing next to him. He was shocked to see the same green eyes as earlier looking back at him.
"Hi again" the guy said. "Well, this is a bit awkward." Aaron just smiled.
"Busy, isn't it? Is it always like this, I haven't been here very often recently."
Aaron felt a bit uncomfortable but he didn't want to be rude. "Er, yeah, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, the rest of the time it's a bit quieter."
"Right, I used to come here a lot but I moved away, I've only just moved back to the area. I thought I'd check it out, see what's changed."
"And has anything changed?"
"Not really, it's busier than I remember but, other than that, no, it's still the same."
The barman put Aaron's drinks in front of him and held his hand out for the money. Aaron gave him the correct money, picked up the two bottles, smiled at the guy with the green eyes and went back to Adam.
"Guess who just spoke to me at the bar?" he said.
"Let me guess, that guy from earlier."
"Yep, how weird is that?"
"Not weird at all seeing as I told you he deliberately bumped into you. So, what did he say?"
"Not a lot, just said he used to come here a lot but he moved away and he's just moved back."
"Oh right. So, he didn't ask for your number then?"
"No, don't be stupid, he was only making conversation and I wouldn't have given it to him anyway."
"Yeah, well, don't look now but he's heading this way again."
"You're kidding." Aaron looked up as the guy with the green eyes walked past. He smiled at Aaron who smiled back.
"He must have it bad" Adam said "deliberately bumping into you, making sure he found you at the bar so he could talk to you…"
"Don't be ridiculous" Aaron said interrupting him "And even if he did do all that, which I doubt, he's wasting his time isn't he? I'm not interested. Now, are we playing pool or not?"
The guy with the green eyes was pleased. He'd seen him up close, spoke to him briefly and it confirmed what he already knew. He smiled to himself. This was going to be fun. He finished his drink and left.
The next night was Aaron and Flynn's last night before their holiday. They were sitting in Bar West having a couple of beers before heading back to Flynn's. He was going to drive so they weren't going to have a late one but both were too excited to stay in. From his position, hidden from view, the guy with the green eyes watched as they talked, laughed, kissed completely oblivious to his presence. That wouldn't last long, they'd know about him soon enough. He watched as they kissed again, a longer kiss this time. It should be him that he was kissing, that he was holding and touching. He narrowed his eyes as they whispered in each other's ears, smiled knowingly at each other and left hand in hand. That would be him soon. He wanted him and what he wanted, he usually got.