John Paul's knuckles were red and swollen. His bare chest glistened with sweat and his teeth ground together in a grimace. His eyes appeared glazed as he stared ahead of him, seeing nothing but the images that played over and over in his head on a continual loop designed to drive him insane.
As each blow connected with the supple leather of his punch bag John Paul's muscles screamed out in pain, desperate for respite as he had been attacking the inanimate object for well over fourty minutes. With each punch John Paul's hands suffered fresh waves of torment as the damaged skin was assaulted anew.
But the pain wasn't enough. The physical discomfort of his body stubbornly refused to cancel out the agony of the gaping wound that had ripped through his heart. John Paul welcomed each hit of pain, taking the punishment that he deserved for thinking things could be different.
He blamed himself, he should have known that he didn't deserve better, that he wouldn't get better. He was destined to fail and he should have just accepted that fact.
What made him think that this time Craig would choose him? He never had been able to before. What made John Paul McQueen so arrogant to believe that someone like Craig Dean would willingly give up on the life he knew just to be with him? In a previous life John Paul had cruelly forced the issue, at least this time he could walk away before any real damage was done. This time he would leave Craig alone.
"Your phone's switched off."
John Paul's fist hesitated in mid-air for a second, before landing a fierce blow that sent the punch bag reeling.
"John Paul… I said your phone's switched off."
"I heard you." John Paul rained down a torrent of anger and frustration against the red leather bag as he spoke through gritted teeth.
"Is everything alright?" Craig stepped nervously into John Paul's bedroom. There was something in the younger mans stance that intimidated him.
"What are you doing here?"
"I said I'd call… but your phone was off…"
"And?"
"John Paul what's going on?" Craig moved forward slowly. John Paul's shoulders were hunched and tense as he continued to batter at his punch bag and he flinched violently as Craig reached out to touch him.
"What do you want Craig?" John Paul asked bitterly, refusing to turn around, as the sight of those brown eyes would surely kill him, one way or another.
"I don't understand I…"
"I saw you." John Paul spat the words out in a hostile accusation.
"Saw me what?"
"You and Sarah… outside Il Gnosh… I saw you…"
"Oh… and?" Craig's hand continued to rest on John Paul's shoulder and he could feel the younger man's trembling tension.
"You were all over each other… I can't do this again…" With a sigh John Paul let his bruised hands fall to his sides.
"We weren't all over each other," Craig objected. "And what d'you mean again, what are you talking about?"
John Paul span around quickly, his action causing Craig to step back startled.
"Don't lie to me," John Paul barked, anger flashing in his brilliant blue eyes, "I saw you… you practically had your tongue down her throat…"
"She kissed ME," Craig countered, an anger of his own beginning to rise within him. How dare John Paul accuse him like that?
"And you couldn't refuse…"
"What did you want me to do? Push her away?"
"No, what I wanted you to do was what you said you were going to…"
"But I…"
"Let me guess… it wasn't the right time, you'll tell her tomorrow, she's going through a lot with her family and you didn't want to upset her…"
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Craig snarled, his hands slamming against John Paul's bare chest before he even realised that he'd raised them.
John Paul staggered back until he collided with the punch bag, swaying a little as it halted his progress.
"I can't do this OK… I can't be your bit on the side while you decide if you really want to dump your girlfriend or not…"
"I never asked you to…"
"No, but you expect it though… well not this time Craig… I won't be some experiment as you decide if you fancy being gay or not…"
"Fuck you!" Craig growled, moving forward until he was only inches from the younger man, their heated pants mixing together between them as their chests heaved with anger and frustration. "Who the fuck do you think you are?"
"Me? You're the one who doesn't know who he is…"
"And what's that supposed to mean…"
"Just say it Craig… just admit you couldn't do it… that you couldn't choose."
Craig's hands grabbed at John Paul's shoulders, his fingers gripping tightly onto the flesh that was still damp with sweat. The anger reflected back and forth between their eyes, mirrored into eternity with no beginning or end.
"I chose you," Craig said between gritted teeth, his fingers digging so deeply into John Paul's shoulders that the pressure was bound to leave marks, "I went and saw Sarah and I broke her heart… for you…" With a shove John Paul was once again pushed into the unsteady support of the punch bag, its cracked leather cover cool against his heated skin.
"What the hell did I do that for?" With another push Craig released his hold and turned his back on the man he had just given up everything for only to receive a slap in the face for his efforts.
"Craig I…" John Paul stood motionless. Craig had done exactly what he'd asked and still John Paul has managed to ruin it. "I thought… I…"
"What?" Anger smouldered in Craig's deep brown eyes as he spun back around. "What did you think?"
"That you wouldn't… that I wasn't worth it… that I…"
"I chose you," Craig repeated in a softer voice, the anger in his eyes fading but the smouldering look lingering on. "Because I love you… I want you…"
"Craig I…"
"Shut up…"
"What?"
"I said shut up…"
Craig's mouth crashing hard against John Paul's prevented any further discussion as the adrenalin that had been fuelled by anger was quickly put to a much better use.
John Paul's hands clawed at Craig's back, frustrated by the presence of the older man's leather jacket he struggled to push it from Craig's shoulders without breaking the contact with his mouth. Their kiss was hot and frantic as the need that they had both been fighting to suppress was finally given free reign over them.
Craig moaned softly as John Paul's hands found their way under his shirt to caress the hot skin beneath, a deep lusty sound that radiated throughout John Paul's groin making him ache with desire.
The two men stumbled back a few steps colliding once again with the punch bag as John Paul fumbled with the buttons of Craig's shirt, finally exposing the taught muscular chest beneath. Dropping Craig's shirt to the ground John Paul pulled him in close, their bare skin pressing together as the heavy drumming of their hearts beat out a steady rhythm between them.
Craig was breathless and flushed as he broke from the kiss.
"God… John Paul…" Craig looked at John Paul with wide-eyed amazement. How could one person make him feel so many things and with such intensity? The younger man's bright blue eyes seemed to see deep into his very soul, but rather than feel vulnerable and exposed under such a gaze Craig felt safe and loved. He felt like he was home.
John Paul's chest was still damp with sweat as Craig stroked his hands over it, marvelling at the feeling of another man's body beneath his fingers. He kept waiting for the wrongness of the situation to hit him, for a feeling of discomfort or disgust, but it never came. All that he could feel was the love that sang out with every beat of John Paul's heart and the growing desire that increased as his hands moved lower over John Paul's belly until they came to rest against the waist band of his jeans.
The men's eyes met, their look saying everything that their mouths didn't need to or that their voices couldn't find the words for. Craig's hands slowly, nervously, slipped open John Paul's belt before shaking fingers unfastened the button at the top of his jeans and eased down his zip.
John Paul's hand rested gently on top of Craig's, halting the man's progress for a moment.
"We don't have to," he said gently. He could see the nervousness in Craig's deep brown eyes and he could feel the fear trembling through his soft gentle hands.
"I want to," Craig replied quietly, his gaze flickering down to where his hands were poised to touch another man more intimately than he ever thought he would, "It's just…"
"Just?"
"What if I'm…" Craig's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, "What if I'm no good or… or do it wrong or…" Craig's words trailed off as the pink of his cheeks grew deeper.
"Craig," John Paul said with a gentle laugh, "Do you love me?"
"What? Yes… I…"
"Then tell me…"
"I…" Craig raised his eyes back to John Paul's deep azure stare and gasped as a rush of love seemed to consume him. "I do… I… I love you…"
John Paul smiled, his eyes sparkling brighter than ever before.
"Then it'll be perfect," he said simply. "We'll be perfect… I love you Craig Dean… more than anything…"
John Paul released his hold of Craig's hands to cup the man's face lightly, kissing him with an intensity that made his head spin and his groin throb. A growl echoed deep in John Paul's throat as Craig's soft fingers slipped inside his boxers to curl lightly around his growing erection.
John Paul had forgotten how it felt to be touched like that, to be wanted like that. A sudden confusion washed through his mind. Hadn't there only ever been Spike before? He had some vague recollections of other men touching him, entering him, using him, but that couldn't be right, that had never happened. First there was Spike and now Craig, just the two of them, only ever the two of them. As quickly as the thoughts entered John Paul's mind they were pushed away as Craig's confidence grew and his grip around John Paul's cock tightened.
"Oh god!" John Paul's head fell to Craig's shoulder as the man's hand stroked up and down his length. Pushing his foreskin over the head of his cock and then gently easing it back.
"It this OK?" Craig whispered softly. In truth holding another man's cock in his hand felt strange, alien even, but the quiet moans of pleasure that slipped from John Paul's lips made him feel incredible, just knowing that he could make another person make those kind of sounds.
John Paul forced his head up from the support of Craig's shoulder to look at the man he adored beyond reason. "Perfect," he replied with a smile. "Absolutely perfect."
Craig was hardly aware of John Paul's hands at his trousers until he felt the waist band of his boxers eased downwards, causing his firm cock to slap back up against his belly and strong fingers wrapping tightly around it.
The men's mouths crashed together again, tongues dancing together as they masturbated each other slowly and tantalisingly, neither man wanting to go any faster for fear that the pleasure would be over too soon.
"Craig," John Paul panted, breathlessly pulling back from the kiss. "Get over to the bed…"
"What?"
John Paul's eyes were dark with desire and the sight of them made Craig shiver with lust.
"Get on the bed," John Paul instructed in a firm voice that offered no refusal. "And get those trousers off…"
Walking quickly to the bed Craig perched on the edge as he pushed his trousers and boxers from his legs, pulling of his shoes and socks at the same time, until he was he was sat completely naked with his arousal standing out proudly, its tip glistening with droplets of precum as John Paul walked slowly towards him.
"Lie back," John Paul whispered as he stripped himself of his own clothing, standing at the edge of the bed as Craig shuffled his way into its centre.
John Paul swallowed heavily. He had never seen anything more beautiful or more desirable in his entire life than the figure of Craig Dean lying naked on his bed. He felt mesmerised by the sight before him as he drank in every inch of the man's toned, taught body, burning it into his memory for fear that he might never get the chance again.
"Are you just gonna stand there looking at me?" Craig asked with a laugh that was part amusement and part embarrassment. Nobody had ever looked at him like that before, with such pure love and total desire and he was afraid that they might never do again.
"You're beautiful," John Paul breathed as he climbed onto the bed and, gently easing Craig's legs apart, knelt between them. "Really beautiful."
"John Paul!" Craig objected as a fresh wash of pink flooded his cheeks. Nobody had ever called him beautiful before, but then nobody had ever made him feel beautiful before. He'd always been the geek, the swot, Jake's brother, Frankie's son, the chancer, the joker… for the first time he felt like Craig. For the first time he felt whole.
"Beautiful," John Paul insisted as walked his hands up Craig's sides, feathering the man's body with kisses until their mouths were once again in line.
Craig groaned softly as the full weight of John Paul's body pressed down on him, the firmness of the man's cock rubbing against his own as John Paul once again claimed his mouth.
John Paul ran his tongue softly over Craig's lips, tasting their sweetness before plundering the depths of his hot mouth, devouring him with a hunger that seemed unquenchable, a hunger that grew more desperate the more he feasted.
Craig whimpered as John Paul's lips and tongue trailed down his neck, teeth nipping at his soft flesh making him cry out in pleasured pain before another moan rose in his throat as John Paul's mouth sucked against his skin.
Craig closed his eyes, his fingers curling into the duvet as John Paul attempted to consume every inch of him. His hot tongue running over Craig's chest, teeth nipping at the hardened nipples before sucking gently against them. John Paul's mouth moved lower, his tongue darting into Craig's belly button as it passed before arriving as his intended destination.
Casting a glance back towards the top of the bed John Paul smiled at the sight of his lover. Craig's eyes were still closed and his mouth hung slightly open as his breaths came in deep heavy pants. Never taking his eyes from Craig's face John Paul lowered his mouth to run his tongue along the length of the older man's cock. Bathing it in his saliva from base to tip in one firm sweeping motion.
Craig gasped loudly, his fingers curling tighter into the duvet at the incredible sensation that vibrated throughout the length of his body. John Paul blew a teasing stream of warm air over the head of Craig's cock, lowing his eyes to watch as the precum poured temptingly from its tip, inviting him to taste, to enjoy and to devour.
With a single movement Craig's cock was enveloped in the wet heat of John Paul's mouth, making him cry out with surprised pleasure, his eyes springing open as he raised himself up slightly to watch with awe as John Paul seemed to swallow him whole.
John Paul sucked gently against the thickness that filled his mouth to perfection, the salty sweet juices tricking onto his tongue as he took Craig's cock deeper into his throat, revelling in the sounds of abandoned pleasure that tumbled from Craig's lips.
"Oh god John Paul that's…" Words failed Craig as he fell back against the mattress and gave himself completely to the attentions of John Paul's mouth.
It wasn't that Craig had never been given a blowjob before, but it had always seemed something to be performed with reluctance and simply to "keep him happy". Whereas John Paul lapped along his length with relish, his mouth bobbing up and down on Craig's cock as if enjoying the most delectable delicacy ever offered to him.
John Paul breathed deeply, the scent of Craig's musk overwhelming his senses until he was aware of nothing but the taste, touch and smell of the other man. Until he wanted to know of nothing other than how much pleasure he could give the man he loved.
"Oh fuck John Paul I think I'm gonna…" Craig's words growled deep in his throat as the heavy weight of his balls seemed to throb and contract, threatening to explode and release their lusty load at any second.
With some reluctance John Paul pulled back, allowing the length of his lover's cock slip from his lips and slap wetly back against Craig's belly. Craig let out a groan of disappointment as he looked down at John Paul, his dark eyes questioning the man's apparent change of heart.
John Paul smiled. A deeply seductive look that made Craig's toes curl and his cock throb anew. John Paul's eyes were dark, the bright blue almost entirely eclipsed by the desire that glistened in them.
"I want you Craig," John Paul said quietly. "I want you so bad… I want to feel you inside me… deep inside me… if… if you think… if that's what you want…" A touch of uncertainty echoed through John Paul's words as Craig swallowed deeply at the suggestion.
"I don't know," Craig admitted nervously. "What if I… I'm not sure I… I want to, but I'm not sure if I…"
John Paul smiled again as he made his way slowly back up the bed to press his hot mouth against Craig's soft lips.
"I'll show you," he whispered into Craig's ear. "I want to feel you make love to me…"
Craig heart was racing wildly as John Paul reached over to his bedside cabinet and pulled open a drawer, extracting a small bottle he raised himself to straddle Craig's thighs before flipping the cap from the bottle and pouring a slow trickle of the cool oily liquid over the head of Craig's cock.
Craig gasped as the liquid dribbled down him, moaning gently as John Paul's fingers massaged it into his length until it was completely coated.
Never taking his eyes from Craig's John Paul poured at little more oil onto his fingers before reaching behind him and pressing it between his buttocks. His tight puckered opening twitched with anticipation at the pressure of his finger, which slid inside him as he increased the pressure. Craig watched, silent and breathless, as John Paul pushed his finger deeper into himself, spreading the oily liquid further until he couldn't wait another second.
"I love you Craig," John Paul said as he lifted himself to his knees and shuffled forward to align the head of Craig's cock to his oily entrance.
"John Paul I love…" Craig's words were lost in a deep moan as John Paul lowered himself down, his tight opening resisting for a second before allowing the fullness of Craig's cock to penetrate deep inside him.
John Paul held his breath as his body stretched to accommodate Craig's thick hard cock, the initial discomfort quickly passing as the pleasure of having such a cock, of having Craig's cock, inside his body made him moan loudly.
Craig gripped onto John Paul's thighs as the man's hot tight passage devoured him, consuming him completely until his cock was encased inside the most perfect housing he had ever known. Their mouths crashed together in a hot frantic kiss, only to be separated as they gasped for air.
"Oh fuck John Paul…" Craig gasped as the younger man began to rise and fall against him, slowly at first but gradually increasing pace until both men were flushed and glistening with sweat.
John Paul gripped onto his own cock as he continued to ride the thickness inside him, crying out each time the head of Craig's cock touched against his prostate, and running his hand faster and faster over his length as he increased the speed with which he rose and fell against Craig.
"John Paul I'm not gonna be able to…"
"Me neither…"
"Oh my god…"
"Fuck you feel so good…"
"Don't stop… shit don't stop… I'm gonna…"
"Oh god Craig…"
With a cry of his lover's name John Paul came hard. His lust spattering against Craig's chest in a torrent of hot desire as his body contracted around Craig's throbbing cock.
"John Paul… yes… fuck…" Craig's fingers dug deeply into John Paul's thighs as he bucked his hips violently, driving his cock deep inside the younger man as it pulsed wave after wave of pleasure into John Paul's perfect body.
The room fell quiet, save for the sounds of heavy breathing, as John Paul slowly lifted himself from Craig's quickly deflating cock and fell onto the bed beside him.
"Christ!" John Paul exclaimed after taking a moment to catch his breath.
"Was I OK?" Craig asked, turning his flushed face to the gentle blue-eyed man at his side.
John Paul smiled as he kissed Craig's soft tender lips. "Absolutely perfect."
--
John Paul felt a strange and unrivalled contentment. His body was resting comfortably beneath his duvet, wrapping him in its gentle warmth as he slowly awoke from a slumber that he didn't recall taking.
He could tell through his closed eyelids that the room was growing darker and he wondered how long he had slept.
And then another sensation pushed its way to the front of John Paul's mind. The weight of a head resting against his chest and the warmth of another body curled around his.
John Paul's eyes snapped open as he looked down on the sleeping form of the man lying in his arms.
Craig Dean. Naked. In John Paul's bed.
John Paul gasped softly as he relived the feelings of making love to Craig for the first time. How his body, heart and soul joined together in a way that he never knew they could.
Craig mumbled softly into the warmth of John Paul's chest as he turned his face towards the blonde man, his deep brown eyes still sleepy but filled with contentment.
"Hi…" Craig whispered in a languorous voice as he looked up at the younger man who had turned his world upside down, making it far better than it ever had been.
"Hi," John Paul breathed back. He couldn't quite believe that he was lying with the man he adored in his arms and an unexpected panic gripped at him, making fear wash through him in a sudden torrent that gave him the urge to run.
"So is this…" John Paul paused as a series of words and images flashed through his mind, thing that hadn't happened, couldn't have happened and yet felt so very real that he couldn't deny the way they wrapped tightly around his heart. "Is this where you tell me it was all a mistake," John Paul continued, "and call me a faggot before you run off?"
"What? No…" Craig replied, his brow furrowing in confusion, "Why would you… when have I ever… I would never say that…"
"I'm sorry I just…" John Paul shrugged. With every passing day the memories of the life he had once lived retreated further and further from him until only the barest hints remained, taunting him with moments from a life he no longer recalled. "So was it… a mistake I mean?"
Craig raised himself up slightly, resting his head against his hand and looked down into the blue pools of John Paul's eyes, as deep and endless as the ocean but far more breathtaking.
"No," Craig replied with certainty, "No it wasn't… I mean before I…" Craig's cheeks flushed slightly and he averted his gaze.
"What?"
"Doesn't matter…"
"No go on… please…"
"I thought it'd feel… wrong, you know? Like, I don't know, weird or something…"
"And did it?" John Paul asked as he traced a finger over Craig's arm.
"No, it was like…" The pink of Craig's cheeks deepened and he laughed self consciously, "It was right, kinda… oh I don't know, this is silly…" Craig turned his embarrassed gaze to the hand that he rested against John Paul's chest. The soft tanned colour of his fingers contrasting sharply against the pale tone of John Paul's skin as he stroked it gently.
"Tell me," John Paul coaxed kindly.
Licking his lips self consciously Craig lifted his eyes back to John Paul's face and took a moment to bathe in the love that glowed from the younger mans gaze before he spoke again. His words still embarrassed but also certain and confident.
"Before you," Craig explained, "You know, with Sarah or Darlene… the sex was… well it was good but it was… is was just sex, I never felt…" Craig hesitated as he searched for the word.
"Connected?" John Paul suggested.
"Yeah," Craig nodded, that was it exactly, with John Paul he felt connected in a way he had never know or even been aware of. "I felt like I was…" Once again the blush in Craig's cheeks deepened and he had to look away. "Like I was making love," Craig finished in a quiet whisper.
John Paul smiled. Every atom of his body felt like it had exploded with sunlight, chasing away all of the dark corners and leaving him standing strong and safe in it's warmth.
"I'm glad," John Paul replied, touching his hand to Craig's flushed cheek and turning the man's face back to him. "Cause that's how I felt too…"
"Yeah?"
"Yeah…"
Craig's brown eyes sparkled as he stroked the palm of his hand over John Paul's chest, feeling the man's nipple harden to his touch. "Fancy feeling it again?"
John Paul laughed as Craig moved his face closer, the heat of the man's body scorching into John Paul's chest and making him shudder with the pleasure of it's burn.
The men's mouths met with tenderness, their lips pressing together gently and slowly parting as their tongues sought out the taste of each other.
Craig whimpered softly as John Paul's hands wrapped around his back, pulling him in closer until his body was pressed tightly against John Paul's as the intensity of their kiss deepened.
"John Paul can I borrow your mp…"
The men's heads snapped round at the sound of Michaela's voice and saw the young woman standing, open mouthed, as she observed the sight before her.
Her older brother, apparently naked, although thankfully the duvet was still covering enough to save her from complete shock, was lying in bed with his friend and the way that Craig was sprawled on top of John Paul there was no mistaking what she has just walked in on.
"MUM!" Michaela's voice reverberated around the house as she continued to stare unblinking at the men who frantically tried to untangle themselves from each other while staying under the cover of the duvet.
"Michaela shhh," John Paul whispered.
"MUM, quick!" Michaela shouted even louder. There was no way she was about to let this opportunity pass.
"Michaela please," John Paul pleaded, the last thing he wanted was for Craig to be outed like this, there was no knowing what it could do, it could ruin things even before they really had a chance to properly begin.
Reaching over the edge of the bed Craig scrabbled for his boxers and struggled to pull them on before swinging his legs out of the bed to continued dressing. His face was impassive and he didn't say a word.
John Paul mirrored Craig's actions as the sound of footsteps could be heard on the stairs.
"Michaela," Myra said in exasperation as she approached, "That voice of yours could wake the dead… now what is it?"
"Them two," Michaela said, pointing to the two men who were still only half dressed, "I caught them…"
"Caught them what?" Myra asked as she looked at her son and his friend, wondering for a moment why they were both looking so flustered and why they were topless, until the reality of the situation began to worm its way into her mind. "John Paul?" Myra asked quietly.
"Mum I…" John Paul scrambled for the words that refused to come.
"It's not…" Craig began. The words made John Paul flinch as he prepared to hear 'not what it looks like', or some other similar denial come from Craig's mouth. "It's not like we were doing anything wrong," Craig said turning to look at John Paul with a warm smile.
"John Paul?" Myra asked again as her son pulled a t-shirt on over his head and walked slowly to stand beside his friend who had now managed to find all of his clothing and was fully dressed. The men's hands seemed to gravitate towards each other and their fingers laced together in a subconscious act of mutual support.
"We're…" John Paul said and then turned his eyes back to Craig as if asking if it was alright to continue.
"We're together," Craig finished for him, his fingers curling tightly around John Paul's as a strange sense of calm washed over him. For a moment, seeing Michaela standing there and realising that everyone was about to find out about him, Craig had been terrified and a thousand excuses and lies had rolled through his mind but, when he finally opened his mouth to speak, he realised that he wanted, or maybe needed, to tell people the truth. He had been hiding how he felt about the amazing man beside him for too long and he couldn't do that any longer.
"Together?" Myra asked in breathless astonishment. "But aren't you seeing Sarah?"
"We broke up…"
"Because of..?"
"Yeah…"
"Oh!"
"Is that IT?" Michaela asked in disappointment as the fireworks she had anticipated failed to materialise and she stomped from the room in annoyance.
"I'm sorry mum," John Paul said, "I would have told you but… but we only just… we've only just…"
"Together?" Myra repeated, shaking her head as if trying to shake her thoughts together so that they would make some sense.
Myra looked into her son's face. For weeks now there had been something strange about him, something distant, as if he knew things that no one else did and as if he wasn't the same boy she had once loved. But now that seemed gone and all she could see shining from the depths of his blue eyes was the kind of happiness she had always dreamed of for her children. Taking a moment to look at Craig she could see a similar look in his gentle brown eyes and Myra found herself smiling.
"Does Frankie know?" Myra asked Craig kindly. Craig replied with a shake of his head, his bottom lip disappearing between his teeth as he chewed against it nervously.
"I suppose I should go and see her, before…" Craig didn't finish the sentence but they all knew what he was thinking, before Michaela had a chance to shoot her mouth off.
"D'you want me to come with you?" John Paul asked.
"Nah I… I think I should do this on my own," Craig said as he let go of John Paul's hand and moved towards the door. "I'll call you later yeah?"
"Yeah, and Craig I…" John Paul hesitated, suddenly feeling self conscious about expressing his feelings with his mother in the room.
Pausing in the doorway Craig smiled as he looked back at his new lover. "Me too," he replied, taking another look at the brightness of John Paul's eyes before finally stepping out of sight.