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1 new message – Christian Clarke:

I've got your wallet, must have slipped out of your pocket in the taxi. Come and get it whenever. Christian x

Syed chucked his phone down onto the bed and exhaled a sigh of relief. He'd realised his wallet was missing after he'd gotten in last night and had spent an hour frantically searching for it, mentally replaying his evening, trying to figure out where he could have misplaced it. Eventually admitting defeat, he'd made a note to ring the hotel in the morning. But now the text from Christian had extinguished his worries and he no longer needed to panic. He'd go round to Christian's later, on the way to get a takeaway for his dinner. Yep, he'd just run in to Christian's, grab his wallet, thank him and then leave. Simple.

He was still miffed about the absence of a goodbye kiss from Christian. It couldn't have been because Christian found him unattractive; he'd said himself that he thought Syed was the sexiest man in the room. And that was most definitely a compliment as there were some truly amazing-looking men at the awards last night.

Syed decided to have a shower before he went to Christian's. As the water cascaded down onto his skin, and in his relaxed state, he found his mind drifting towards thoughts of Christian. He'd looked incredible last night; his attire had reminded Syed of the picture he'd seen of him in his house. So smart and handsome, less rugged than usual. Nearly every head had turned when they entered the room together, lustful eyes at Christian and jealous ones at Syed. It had given Syed a bit of a kick to know that people were envious of him. He doubted many would envy what had happened in the taxi though… Syed would gladly have accepted a kiss. If he didn't have Pete's voice constantly nagging away in the back of his head then he would probably have accepted a little bit more back at Christian's too. Maybe it was for the best that Christian didn't kiss him. If he had of done then Syed would be craving him all the more now…

x-CS-x

Syed left his flat just after seven, wearing a pair of grey jogging bottoms and a tight red T-shirt. He didn't want to make any extra effort, Christian would probably think it was all for him and that Syed was still hung up on him not kissing him goodbye. Which he was obviously, but he didn't want Christian to know that. Maybe he should have called ahead and let Christian know that he was coming round? It was a Saturday night after all; he would have thought that Christian would be out on the pull.

That wasn't the case though, as Syed found out when he pulled into Christian's drive. Several of the lights were on so he was definitely in; hopefully that didn't mean that he was staying in with company though. Syed switched off the ignition and then stepped out of the car onto the gravelled driveway. He'd be here for thirty seconds tops. All he had to do was knock on the door, ask for his wallet and then leave. No need for whoever was in Christian's house with him to come to the door too and see what was going on.

"Syed!" Christian beamed as he opened the front door. "Come in, come in." He was dressed similarly to Syed in loose grey jogging bottoms and a fitted blue V-neck which temptingly showed off just the right amount of chest.

Syed hesitated on the door step. "I just came to get-"

"Yes I know, you came to get your wallet." Christian rambled. "I'm cooking and I don't want my linguine to stick so get in quickly."

He pushed the door closed behind Syed and rushed back into the kitchen. Syed followed him through. He was quite impressed actually; he never thought Christian would be much of a culinary genius, but whatever he was cooking smelt wonderful. Although he was probably only doing it to show off to some guy. Some guy who might be through in the other room…

"Do you have company?"

"Sorry?" Christian rubbed his neck with the back of his hand. "Nope, I don't think so. Can't see anyone, can you?"

Christian chuckled as Syed rolled his eyes, "You don't strike me as a man who likes to cook."

"I'm not great, but I do a pretty good pasta dish. I've been tweaking with it for weeks now, and I think I've got it just about perfect."

That wasn't the only thing that Syed thought was perfect… Enough thoughts of Christian though, he wasn't here for that. "Have you got my wallet?"

"Yes! I spotted it just as I got out." Christian turned away from the hob and looked intently at Syed. "You're not in a hurry are you?"

"No, I guess not. I was just on my way to get some dinner."

Christian smiled, "You're welcome to stay, I've made far too much of this anyway. You can tell me what you think. Go on, I know you want to," he teased.

"What's in it?" Syed strolled over and looked into the pan.

"Chilli, garlic, prawns." Bugger, couldn't use the 'no meat' excuse. Well it did smell fantastic, it looked pretty good too. What was the big deal anyway? It was just a bit of dinner together, and it wasn't in a restaurant either so it wouldn't be particularly romantic. Any other man would have said yes by now.

"Umm…"

"Couple of hours won't hurt, will it? Come on, I'm not going to launch myself at you over the table." Syed didn't think he'd be that bothered if Christian did. "I proved last night that I can restrain myself when I have to." It didn't seem as though he'd had much trouble restraining himself in the taxi, if anything he seemed to find it quite easy.

"Okay. But only because your food smells nice."

"Of course…" Christian turned back to his cooking, but not before Syed caught sight of the pleased grin on his face.

x-CS-x

Syed couldn't believe what had happened tonight. He'd had dinner with Christian, which had tasted just as delicious as it smelt, and they'd had a genuinely lovely time together. There'd been moments of flirty banter but the conversation had generally remained polite and casual. Now Syed found himself sat on the sofa in Christian's living room with a photo of Josh in his hand. He hadn't had to sneakily look for it when Christian wasn't looking either, he'd been given it.

"Do you still want to see what Josh looked like?" Christian had said it completely out of the blue.

Syed had nodded and Christian had left the room, returning shortly with a photo frame in his hand.

"There you go." He smiled fondly as he handed the picture over and sat down next to Syed. "I wouldn't normally show anyone, but I don't know. I sort of want to show you…" he trailed away.

Pete hadn't been exaggerating when he said that Josh was stunning, he was a truly beautiful man. His blue eyes were bright and his blonde hair shone. The happiness and love in his smile radiated out of the photo, and it was obvious that Christian was the one capturing the shot. Syed could see how Christian had fallen for him; he looked like a wonderful man. He handed the photo back to Christian and smiled at him. "Thank you for showing me," his voice was quieter than he expected it to be. "I'm so-"

"Don't," Christian's voice was controlled; Syed couldn't tell what he was thinking or feeling. "Please."

"I just don't know what to say." Syed felt like he needed to comfort Christian in some way, even if it was just a small gesture. "I don't know how you coped."

"Well I didn't, not really. Pete helped me so much, I really owe him. Sorry, I don't know why I'm telling you all of this." He paused and shook his head. "Actually, that's not true," he amended. "I think I do know why. Shall we change the subject?"

Syed nodded, unable to speak until the lump in his throat had subsided slightly. He could feel his leg touching Christian's and something was happening. Could Christian feel it too? Every one of Syed's nerve endings were buzzing, tingling with almost unbearable urgency. He wanted to hold Christian, to stroke his arm and whisper comforting words in his ear to lessen the pain. Hold on… this was the effect of the tragic widower! It was lethal! Syed had arrived with the sole intention of getting his wallet back and now here he was, sat unbelievably close to Christian, with his heart slowly beginning to flutter in his chest. He was so annoyed at himself for falling for it.

"Go on then, what do you wanna talk about?" Christian's hand brushed against Syed's thigh as he moved on the sofa.

"What?" Syed's breathing quickened at Christian's touch.

"Change the subject, something happier."

Happier… Happier. Syed wracked his brains. "How about the gym?"

"You want to talk about my work? Dull Syed, too dull." Christian shook his head.

"Well you think of something then."

"Umm…" Was Christian moving closer? He was, wasn't he? Syed felt his heart begin to race. Christian took a deep breath before quickly speaking, "How would you feel if I told you that I liked you? Really liked you?"

Syed struggled to contain a grin, trying his hardest to maintain his composure.

"Because I do like you," Christian sighed. "So much so that it scares me. I still don't know if it's what I want to be happening."

No, this was too good to be true, this was the classic Christian Clarke formula wasn't it? How many times had he spun this line before? How many gullible men had ended up in his bed after Christian sold them as the man he was falling for, the one who could fix his broken heart?

But then what if Christian meant every word? What if he really did want to be with Syed? Why did everything have to be so complicated?

"Oh and by the way," Christian's voice was low again, seductive, "keeping my promise last night almost killed me."

Syed swallowed. Was that true? Really? Christian sounded so believable. The look in his eyes suggested that he was being honest. God, his mouth was incredible.

Unknowingly breathless, Syed spoke, "You didn't seem too bothered to me."

"Oh, I was bothered. Very bothered."

If Syed tried to stand now then his knees would undoubtedly give way underneath him. His stomach was full of butterflies and a tight knot of anticipation.

There was something he had to say though, "I wish you didn't have such a bad reputation."

Christian groaned and rubbed his eyes, looking adorably childlike as he did so. "I know. I've acted like an utter arse in the past," he admitted guiltily. "I'm not proud of it at all."

"Like that guy you were on the phone to that time. What did you do? Talk him into thinking that he'd be more of a one night stand, that you and him could-"

Christian interrupted what was sure to turn into a rant. "I'm not going to talk about him; I don't talk about any of my relationships."

"And I guess that that's part of the attraction, isn't it?" Syed looked earnestly at him.

"I'm sure it helps occasionally."

That did make sense. Before Syed had come out he'd always gone for guys in bars that none of his other friends went to. He didn't want to risk his secret being exposed. So yes, discretion was obviously a plus point.

"What are you thinking?" Was Christian stroking his face? Yes he was… Syed shivered slightly at his touch.

He couldn't say what he was thinking; he couldn't believe he was having such filthy thoughts. Oh… it would be so easy for them to go upstairs now and have frantic, passionate sex that nobody else would ever need to know about...

As the thoughts overwhelmed Syed's head, and blood pounded around his body, he looked up into Christian's eyes. There was definitely something more than lust in them now. Desire, care, longing, love…? Christian's mouth was so close to his now, he could feel his warm breath on his cheek. A smiled tugged on his lips as he slowly, tenderly, moved his hand to the back of Christian's neck, ready to pull him in for a kiss he'd been wanting since the day he'd first clapped eyes on him. This was it and he couldn't wait…

Ddddddrrrrrrrriiiiiinnnnng.

Doorbell. Shit.

Sorry... ;) Don't hate me!