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"No thanks. I'll just have water or orange juice, if they've got any." Syed dared to look in Christian's eyes for only the second time tonight.

"The whole point of us getting a taxi here was so that neither of us had to worry about driving home. We can have a few drinks and enjoy ourselves."

Syed didn't want to think what enjoying themselves would mean, not right now anyway, his trousers were tight enough already.

"I don't drink," he said resolutely.

"Go on, one drink won't hurt," Christian was trying to persuade him with his charm. Was that his plan? Get him drunk and drag him back to his bed?

"Christian, seriously I don't drink. Not for health reasons, not because I'm an alcoholic, I just don't." Syed felt that he had to be forceful; if he wasn't then Christian wouldn't ever give up. It wasn't that he didn't want to tell him that he didn't drink because of his religion; he wasn't ashamed of it or trying to hide it. He just knew that it provoke endless questions from Christian and he wasn't in the mood for them tonight. Like Christian had said, they'd come here to have a good time, not for in-depth discussions.

"Fair enough," Christian shrugged his shoulders. "You don't mind if I do though?"

"Course not. As long as you can walk in a straight line by the end of the night then you can drink as much as you like."

"Don't worry, I don't intend on getting hammered." Syed wondered how true that was. Christian grabbed a glass from a passing waiter. "He's worried I'm going to seduce him," he confided.

The waiter leaned in and stage-whispered in Syed's ear, "You should go for it. You lucky, lucky man."

Great, that wouldn't encourage Christian at all.

"I definitely won't be," Christian spoke to the waiter but gave Syed occasional glances. "I'm a man who keeps his promises and I gave him my word that I wouldn't."

The waiter turned to Syed, "If you change your mind then I'm sure you can persuade him to change his too."

Just the thought of it sent Syed's blood pounding round his body. He grabbed a glass of water from another passing waiter and took several big gulps of it. He kept his head down until he felt Christian's presence disappear, then surveyed the room as Christian exchanged in conversation with a couple of fellow gym owners. He bit back a smile as he observed Christian laughing with the pair of them, so happy and carefree. Syed clasped his hands together and chewed his lip nervously as he continued to watch Christian. He looked extraordinary tonight in tight black trousers which emphasised the delightful curve of his buttocks, and a white silk shirt with the top button teasingly undone.

The awards were being held in a huge hotel in Mayfair. Despite the majority of guests being blokey-types who owned gyms and health clubs, the room still had a glamorous feel and Syed had found himself effortlessly conversing with many of the others invitees. Christian was right; he'd managed to make a couple of contacts. So far, he'd had a surprisingly good evening. He also found that, despite the fact he wasn't drinking, Christian was getting increasingly more attractive by the minute. He had to keep telling himself that he wasn't going to become anybody's notch, especially not Christian's.

At that moment, a man in a white suit sidled up to him, his bleached white teeth dazzled behind his orange tan.

"Hello!" Gay? Straight? Syed couldn't decide. An ex of Christian's maybe? "I've been meaning to come over and introduce myself," he extended a hand. "Alex Weare, I'm on the judging panel, known Christian for years. You must be his boyfriend?"

"Friend," clarified Syed. "Just a friend."

"That's probably for the best," Alex laughed. "Hard to keep up with Christian's social life these days. Then again, he's allowed some fun isn't he?"

Syed guessed he was referring to Josh and displayed an empathetic smile, "Yeah, I guess so."

x-CS-x

After dinner the dancing began. Syed sat and watched Christian dancing with various women, and the occasional man. Wow. He really knew what he was doing. Syed looked on admirably; his movements were fluid and effortless as he graced the dance floor. Christian glanced up and caught his eye. Excusing himself from his current dance partner, he made his way over to the table and looked at his watch. It wasn't time to leave, was it? Syed didn't want the night to end just yet.

"What?" His heart sank, "Do we have to go?"

"Only if you want to." Christian sat down and took a sip of wine, tilting his head to one side and concernedly looking into Syed's eyes. "Are you not enjoying yourself?"

"No, I'm having a great time." Syed could smell his aftershave, it was divine.

"Good. I was just going to ask if you wanted to dance." There was a shy smile on Christian's face, which quickly dissipated when he noticed that Syed was looking. "It's just that you're my guest and people might think it's a bit strange if we don't." He paused, "Let's just get it out of the way, eh?"

"Ok." Yeah, that made sense. He reluctantly pushed his chair back and stood up, taking Christian's hand. That really shouldn't feel so good.

As they stood on the dance floor Christian smiled cheekily at Syed, "Don't worry, I'll behave myself. Still going to be the perfect gentleman, just like I promised." He pulled Syed into his body and rested a warm hand on the base of his spine, the other laid on his shoulder.

As they began to move to the music, Syed realised how safe he felt in Christian's embrace. His arms felt like a protective blanket around him, comforting and strong. Syed's body tingled as he became aware that almost the entire front of his body was touching Christian's. His aftershave smelt better than it ever had before; if he wanted to then Syed could easily reach up and lick his neck. He had to stop having these kinds of thoughts. If he got too excited then Christian would undoubtedly be able to feel it…

"Having fun?" asked Christian.

Syed forced himself to look in Christian's eyes; continually avoiding them would look odd. "People here are really nice."

"Good." Christian smiled briefly. Did he have even a clue about the effect that his smile had? It made it even harder to concentrate on anything but him. Syed closed his eyes fleetingly and thought of Pete's words, yet again. Sex… that was all Christian wanted. No meaningful relationships, no spending lazy days together. Pure, unadulterated fun. Syed had to keep remembering that.

"What are you thinking?" Christian's voice broke through Syed's feverish thoughts.

"Nothing."

"That means I don't want to know." Christian smirked.

Their eyes met again. Syed hoped his palms weren't sweating enough for Christian to feel it. He could feel Christian's hips against his, nothing but a few layers of material separating their bare skin.

Christian moved his mouth close to Syed's ear and whispered, "Am I allowed to pay you a compliment?" He didn't wait for Syed to respond. "I think you're the sexiest looking man in this room tonight."

Syed felt his knees weaken slightly and his mouth went dry. Christian's seductive voice drifted in his ear like molten gold. All Syed could do was swallow in reply. They swayed to the music for a few more seconds until Syed felt Christian's hand slip lower down his spine.

"What are you doing?" Horrified, he tried to back away from Christian and slap his arm away.

"Sorry, your shirt was sticking out. I was just trying to tuck it back in."

Seriously?

"Could you not just have told me? Instead of pawing all over me like some kind of animal?" No doubt there were now several pairs of eyes enjoying the spectacle.

"Sorry," Christian apologised bemusedly. "Don't worry, the song's over. You can go and sit back down now."

Syed could tell that Christian was smirking at him as he walked purposefully back to their table, and shook his head. He was surprised when Christian was still by his side when he sat back down, his expression unreadable.

"Get you another drink, shall I?" And with that, Christian headed over to the bar, leaving Syed with shaking hands and a pulse still racing.

x-CS-x

Christian had promised to be the perfect gentleman tonight and Syed had to admit that he'd done a pretty good job of it, which was definitely unexpected. Aside from the 'sexiest man in the room' comment and the supposedly innocent wandering hand, Christian had been on his best behaviour. Syed was sure that he'd even toned down his flirty comments too. All the way home in the taxi he'd been mentally bracing himself for Christian to make a move, even if it was just the casual brushing of his hand against Syed's thigh. But surprisingly, he'd kept his hands well and truly to himself.

There wasn't even a suggestion of them going back to his place for a coffee. Instead he'd given the taxi driver Syed's address and now they were sat outside Syed's flat.

"Right," Christian exhaled. "Home, safe and sound. Thank you so much for coming tonight. It was really great to spend some time with you in a room that doesn't smell of white spirit and dust!"

Syed laughed, "Yeah, it was." He realised that Christian wasn't even intending on leaning over and giving him a kiss goodnight. Not even a quick peck on the cheek. That would still be Christian acting as a gentleman; a goodnight kiss was polite, surely?

Obviously not as Christian stayed where he was. Syed had no choice but to get out of the car.

"Bye then."

Christian nodded, "Bye."

Was Christian not interested in him?

A bit of an insight into how Christian really feels in the next chapter...

Reviews and feedback are appreciated! ;)