Hello Readers! This chapter has been sitting on my computer, almost done, for ages (pretty much since I uploaded Chapter 2). Chapter 4 is already almost done as well. What I need is a nudge to get these out in a more timely fashion. In other words: Please post reviews, they are likely to keep me going! Thanks to those who posted after reading the first two chapters.

BTW, while the story has been focusing on Ste and Doug, I anticipate that shifting at some point. Brendan will be an important part of "Affections and Obsessions"!

Chapter 3

Ste

MMMzzzz.

What the…? I coulda sworn I'd just fallen asleep like five minutes ago… Least that's what it felt like… Now who had me mobile vibratin' first thing in the mornin'? I could've used some more sleep, me… after all that tossin' 'n turnin' last night… all that thinkin'… all that thinkin' 'bout Doug… Doug!

Memories of the night before jolted my body like electric shocks and even as tired as I was I couldn't help but sit straight up in bed and scan the floor frantically with me eyes, searching for the phone that had just vibrated somewhere nearby. Could it be Doug callin' me? Spotting the phone, I reached down and grabbed it with shaky hands. The time showed that it was almost mid-morning, hardly that early. And Doug had just sent me a text!

good morning! couldn't sleep so came n to deli early.

u don't have to hurry n though. c u in the afternoon.

I read and re-read the text a few times, grinnin' from ear to ear. So he couldn't sleep. Maybe he'd been tossin' and turnin' like me, thinkin' 'bout our kiss. And maybe he was textin' cause he wanted me to show up at the deli early too, cause he couldn't wait to see me… or cause he wanted to finish up early so we could go for that drink like he'd suggested… We'd decided days ago that we'd give ourselves this morning off, sleep in and meet at the deli after lunch to finish up the last bits of preparation for Monday's opening. Tomorrow, Sunday, was meant to be a whole day off for both of us so we could have a break, rest up. But if Doug was at the deli already today, then that's where I wanted to be too!

I jumped outta bed, all tiredness forgotten, and peeked into the kids' room. Lucas was still fast asleep – no surprise there, seein' as how he was awake way past his usual bedtime the night before. And Amy and Leah weren't home yet. I sent off a quick text to Amy asking when she'd be back and then jumped into the shower, leaving the bathroom door open in case Lucas woke up and came lookin' for me. He was still asleep though when I got out of the shower, so I dressed in peace and set to preparing some breakfast. I was almost too excited to eat, but it didn't seem like a good idea to rush off to the deli on little sleep and an empty stomach. Plus, I needed to keep meself occupied 'til Amy got back, which she did just as I finished eating.

"Ste, we're back!" Amy called from the door as Leah led the way into the flat at a run.

"Hi daddy! Did you miss me?" She gave me a hug and kiss, before running to her room. "Where's crybaby Lucas? Did he ever go to sleep last night?" She ran off to the bedroom in search of her little brother.

"Leah, don't call your brother names! …Breakfast. Lovely!" Amy dropped into a chair at the table as I placed a plate of food and cup of tea in front of her.

"Listen Ames, I've gotta go."

"Thought you and Doug were giving yourselves the morning off today?"

"Just anxious to get everything done, me. We're so close to havin' the deli totally ready, so why drag it out any longer, right?"

Amy accepted that with a shrug. "Well, just be sure to get everything taken care of once and for all. You don't want to be working tomorrow as well, or come Monday you and Doug will be too tired to actually show up and open the place!"

"Right!" After giving Leah and a now awake Lucas goodbye kisses, I ran out the door and walked quickly into town… Too quickly… I slowed down a bit as the deli came into view up the street. I hadn't given any thought to what I would do or say when I saw Doug. I hadn't even texted to let him know I was on the way. What if he really didn't expect or want me to show up until the afternoon? Or what if he did want me to come in early, but for some bad reason like to tell me last night was a mistake or summat… I started to feel a bit sick to my stomach. I stopped and checked my reflection in a store window, runnin' a nervous hand through my hair.

"And where are we off to this fine mornin', young Stephen?"

I spun round in surprise to find Brendan standing a few steps away. Before I could even say anything, he closed the gap between us, standing so close we were practically toe to toe and I could feel his breath on me as he spoke. You'd think I'd be used to it since that's his thing, but it always sets me skin tingling anyway.

"Well?" He cocked his head to the side and let his eyes roam across my face.

"Goin' to the deli, of course." I didn't actually move though, 'cause doing so would've meant facing Doug sooner and I still hadn't sorted out what to do or say when I saw him. Stalling seemed like a good idea right then, but I really didn't want the stalling to involve Brendan, of all people. He was the last person I needed to see right now, when I was trying to sort me head out about Doug.

"Yes. Of course. Carter & Hay…. Hmm, ye seem to live there these days Stephen. Not up to much fun are ye, always workin' workin' workin' and the place isn't even open yet!"

"Well it takes work to open a new business, dun't it? What do you expect?" I sounded annoyed, but I couldn't help it. This is exactly why I'd been doing my best to avoid Brendan, because every time I ran into him he made me feel annoyed… and angry, and sad, and confused, and defensive, and nervous, and… lonely… and, well, a lot of different feelins' all at once that just left me messed up in the head.

"Tut tut. No need to get you're knickers all in a knot. I was just makin' an observation… I, for one, have learned how to run a business and find time for fun… Let me know if ye'd like any pointers on how to pull that off…" He looked at me with one eyebrow raised. This time his roaming eyes didn't stay on my face, but instead traveled down my neck, over my chest, and lower still… I looked away quickly, feeling the hint of a blush warm my cheeks.

I cleared my throat, but couldn't think of what to say. That was another reason for avoiding Brendan – when I wasn't saying angry things, playin' it tough, I just didn't know what to say to him anymore…

"You'll let me know then Stephen...?" Even though I wasn't looking at Brendan's face, I was pretty sure his eyes had traveled all the way down my body and were only now returning back to my face.

"Let you know what?"

"Try to keep up, Stephen. You'll let me know if you'd like any pointers on how to run a business and still make time for fun." With that, Brendan gave my shoulder a pat, turned, and walked briskly away leaving me standing there… with a messed up head.

Doug

"Ste! You decided to come in early then!" My heart sped up and my stomach did a little flip flop when I saw Ste walk into the deli.

I don't know what I expected when I sent him that text earlier this morning. I guess I was anxious to see him and kind of hoped he'd show up sooner rather than later. But a part of me was nervous too. I'd spent the night replaying our kiss in my head, as well as reflecting back on the last several weeks of getting to know Ste. I had a lot to sort out. Was I gay? Bi? Was it possible that I was straight, but Ste was the one and only exception for me? What, exactly, did I feel for him? Fondness – definitely. Physical attraction – yes, another "definitely." Love – maybe… How did Ste feel about me? When did he figure out he was gay?... Etc…. This is how I'd spent my night, asking myself question after question, and as a result, my brain felt worn out. With a couple cups of coffee, and the distraction of unpacking boxes in the deli, I had managed to temporarily stem the tide of questions. But when Ste walked through the front door of the deli, I felt like every single question was just dumped down on top of my head from some massive invisible but weighty bucket. I felt heavy with doubt.

"Hiya, Doug. I… uh… didn't want you to be doin' all the work in here alone, did I…?" Ste approached the counter where I stood. We exchanged a few more remarks, riddled with pauses and stammers and awkward silences. Clearly something had to be said about what happened between us the night before.

"Look, Ste, maybe we should talk…"

"Thought that's what we was doin'." Ste ducked his head down nervously. He clearly felt the new weird vibe between us just as much as I did.

"I just don't want things to be weird between us now, Ste… after what happened last night…"

"Right... weird…" Was it my imagination or did Ste look a bit disappointed?

"I mean, I'm sure I took you by surprise when I kissed you and when I said that, well, that I've spent a lot of time thinking about you lately…?" I searched his face for some indication that it hadn't been a total surprise, that he'd suspected something all along. Ste just gazed from the floor to my face and back to the floor again, fidgeting with his fingers all the while.

"And I know we both had a bit to drink last night so…"

"…so I don't look so appealin' in the sober light of day, do I…?" Ste laughed nervously.

"No, no, that's not what I'm trying to say. I just… I just really value our friendship and this business partnership and I don't want to mess it up."

"Yeah, me too. I mean, I value all that too…"

Silence again, and it was still an awkward silence. Had anything just been resolved? Judging by the confused look on Ste's face, no. "Well, you know how I feel. I mean, what I've just said and what I said last night? So Ste, I'm curious as to how you feel… about all this…"

Ste looked a bit surprised that I would bother asking how he felt about the situation. His eyes flitted about, as if he was searching the air for some kind of answer. "Well, I'm dead happy havin' you as me mate Doug. I am… but…"

But, he'd said "but." My heart started to pound, wondering what he was going to say next.

"But, I've been real lonely, me… since, well, ya know, everything that happened with Brendan. And I been kinda scared about gettin' involved with someone again… So, when you seemed, like, interested in me like that last night… I got sorta excited." Ste blushed deeply. "I mean excited with the idea that you – my friend, someone who's actually nice and nice to be 'round, someone cute – were interested in me and that maybewe could be more than just friends…" The words had tumbled out so quickly Ste had to take a deep breath when he was finally finished.

I found myself smiling from ear to ear. "So, should we try this?"

Ste looked at me curiously. I reached out and took one of his hands in mine. "Should we try us, as more than friends?"

Wide-eyed, Ste nodded and I felt him squeeze my hand gently. "But we'll take everything slow, for both our sakes… right?" I added.

"Right."

"And maybe you'll help me sort things out in my head? 'Cause I'm not gonna lie, I'm feeling really confused about all these feelings I've been having." Ste nodded, giving me a kind and understanding look.

We fell into silence, but this time it didn't feel quite so weird or awkward. It was broken only when Ste finally said, "So let's get this place sorted so we're not here 'til all hours, yeah?"

We spent what remained of the morning unpacking boxes of supplies. When we stepped out to grab lunch, we ran into Amy, Leah, and Lucas and so we all ate together. It was perfect. I watched them all interact so effortlessly with each other, perfectly in sync. Part of me was just enjoying the show, watching Ste be an attentive friend and adoring father. Part of me was looking taking mental notes just in case I might need them for future interactions with Ste or his kids.

The afternoon was much like the morning. Ste and I unpacked boxes of napkins and take away bags and containers and stocked them away on shelves. We chatted easily about opening day, about how to spread the word that we were available for catering, about meal deals. We talked about Leah and Lucas (some of the mental notes I'd taken over lunch proved handy). By the end of the afternoon, the deli looked great and we declared ourselves officially ready for Monday's opening. With that, we agreed to meet up for drinks at The Dog after we'd both grabbed food and showers at our respective flats. Ever the devoted dad, Ste had insisted that he cook dinner for his kids before going out.

The day wound down with us drinking (too much) with Texas, Leanne, and Dennis and then dancing (too drunkenly) at Chez Chez. I was dead set against the latter as I was worried about running into Brendan, but the majority won out and we went to Chez Chez despite my protests. Thankfully, we didn't see Brendan at all. I couldn't be sure whether or not he saw us though.

When Ste finally admitted he was too drunk to keep dancing, he and I stumbled out of Chez Chez and onto the dark street. Ste was upright and moving forward, but he was hardly walking in a straight line. "You going to be able to make it all the way back to your flat?" I asked as I grabbed his arm to steady him.

"'course!" He stopped walking. We were stood across the street from the deli and Ste was now staring over at it intently. "Let's pop into our deli, Doug. I'm hungry, me. Aren't you hungry?"

Ste turned his head just enough to look at me through the corner of his eye. "Sure, yeah. Bet we could both use something in our stomachs besides alcohol right now. But why don't we just grab something somewhere that's still open?"

"Nope. I wanna make me own pizza at me own deli! Come on!" Now it was Ste grabbing my arm and pulling me across to the deli, where I unlocked the door and stepped aside so Ste could walk in. He didn't even bother turning on a light until he was back in the kitchen, where the noisy thud of him running into something was quickly followed by the click of a light switch and the accompanying glow of light through the frosted glass on the kitchen door and the service opening in the kitchen wall.

I hadn't expected to be back here at the deli tonight. But I had to admit, the mere mention of food had set my stomach to growling. So I made my way back to the kitchen where Ste was stood at a counter, shirt sleeves rolled up, with a pizza dough in front of him. I couldn't help but smile – what better job for Ste than chef! The man could prepare food even when he was piss drunk! Within minutes, he'd topped the pizza and stuck it in the pizza oven to heat.

Rather than leave the kitchen and sit out in the comfortable seats up front, Ste sat on the floor in a corner. He'd left some folded up old blankets on the floor earlier in the week when he'd been knelt there repairing and painting some damaged baseboard we'd discovered upon moving the fridge to the other side of the kitchen. I joined him on the blankets.

"It was great goin' out for drinks, weren't it?"

"Glad you enjoyed yourself Ste. I wasn't sure if you'd be up for hanging out with all those folks…"

"Naw, it was right to celebrate the deli opening like that. Everybody seems real happy for us 'bout the business!"

"And hey, we do want them to be our regular customers so it can't hurt sharing a night of drinks and fun with them!"

"Good thinkin'. You've always got your business-man's head on, don't ya?" Ste laughed.

"And you've always got your chef's hat on, don't you?" I said as the oven buzzer sounded and Ste stood up to get the pizza. I started to get up too, but Ste waved me back down.

"No no, let's eat it right here!"

"What, on the floor?"

"Well, I'm not gonna put the pizza on the floor! I'm just sayin' we should sit on the floor. I always sat on the floor when I ate as a kid… course, its cozier in here than where I ate back then, innit…" Ste handed me the pizza and collected napkins and a bottle of juice and sat back down next to me.

The pizza was delicious - no surprise there - and we devoured it in no time. We sat back to share the juice, both feeling more sober at that point. After a contented silence, Ste sighed.

"I'm nervous about openin' on Monday, ya know? Are you?"

"I think I'm more excited than nervous. This is what we've been working so hard for, after all. And the place looks great and is all stocked and ready to go. We'll be in nice and early Monday to prep food. I bet all our friends will come by the first day, so we'll get to sort of warm up with familiar faces. It'll be great! Nothin' to worry about!"

Ste nodded, accepting my reassurance. "Yeah, you're right. We're ready." Ste stood up, taking the napkins and empty juice container to through away. I reluctantly stood up as well, thinking how nice it had been just sitting there next to him, chatting.

"It's just, I never thought I'd be ready for anythin' like this, me. I mean, I never even finished school and I'm not so good at readin' and plenty of people think I'm a waste of space and…"

"Ste! Stop! You do realize we're standing in our kitchen – our fully stocked kitchen – in our deli, opening the day after tomorrow. And we've just eaten a delicious pizza made by you that happens to be just one of the amazing offerings on our amazing menu! I would never have dared do this – start a business – if it weren't for you, but we've done it. We're ready!"

Ste's face shone with that 1000 watt smile of his and he grabbed me into a hug. My stomach flipped, as per usual when he smiled like that. At first, it felt like a best mates kind of embrace, just two friends showing support and appreciation. But at some point, it changed. Was it when I felt Ste's hand rest on the small of my back? Or Was it when I felt Ste's cheek brush against my own, signaling that his mouth was not far from mine? I turned my head ever so slightly, which landed my lips just at the corner of his mouth. And as if in slow motion, I felt his face then turn just ever so slightly enough that our lips were right in front of each other's.

And we kissed. I couldn't even say who initiated it this time. Perhaps ours lips had minds of their own and had decided between them to start this mouthwatering exploration. The kiss was so intense, I actually started to feel dizzy. We both gasped for air and stared at each other for a second. The look Ste gave me through his hooded eyes sent a wave of anticipation right to my crotch, which tingled and quickly hardened inside my pants. Before I could kiss Ste again, I felt his lips on my neck, gently kissing it… then along my collar bone… And he didn't stop there. In fact, I soon found myself looking down at Ste knelt in front of me… looking right at my crotch…