Date: Sat, 9 Jan 2010 18:38:54 +1030
From: David ... <planning_a_prisonbreak@hotmail.com>
Subject: Under the Fig Tree

All of the usual disclaimers apply to this story. If you are underage or it
is illegal to read such material in your area, please decline from reading
further. Also, please respect the copyright licences and do not reproduce
this story wholly or partly without my permission. Even though this is
primarily a love story, it contains explicit homosexual acts between
consenting adults. While this is a work of fiction, some of it is based on
real experiences from my most recent two years at college and so the names
of the characters have been changed to preserve anonymity.

Your thoughts are always appreciated and I really love hearing from you
all. Your generous words are the reason I continue to write.

planning_a_prisonbreak@hotmail.com

David

-------------------------------

- Prologue -

"When am I going to catch something?" the child asked his grandfather as
they sat on the bank of the dam, fishing rods in hand.

"Fishing is a patience game," he responded. "You just have to wait for the
fish to come to you."

They had been sitting there for about an hour while grandma was keeping a
watchful eye from the kitchen window.

From there, she could see down to the dam and along the row mango trees,
behind which the grassy knoll was situated and young Harrison's favourite
Moreton Bay Fig Tree stood. Grandma packed a plastic container with an
assortment of freshly baked chocolate brownies and biscuits and filled a
thermos with hot chocolate before making the short walk down to where her
two men were sitting by the water's edge.

"I thought you boys might like some morning tea," she said as she emerged
from behind the shed.

Harrison stood up quickly, and seeing that he was about to leave his rod
just sitting on the muddy embankment, his Grandad grabbed hold of it.

"You go and grab us some goodies while I'll watch the lines," he said.

Little Harry raced up the bank and gave his Grandma a big hug, taking from
her the container of snacks and the thermos of hot chocolate.

"You're the greatest, Grandma!" he said energetically as he ran back to his
seat by the water.

"Are you boys going to be down here much longer? Should I expect you for
lunch?" she asked.

"We'll see how we go," Grandad called out to her. "Depends if we catch
something or not."

"Well don't expect to be let back inside with an empty ice box!" she
threatened while making her way back to the house.

The boys fished for most of the morning, snacking on their treats and
occasionally refilling their cups with some more of Grandma's excellent hot
chocolate. It was a relatively warm summer's day with the little breeze
that was stirring quite high above them, barely caressing the tops of the
trees at the height of the valley. Still without a fish to show for their
hard work, neither Grandad nor Harry was too concerned. They were quite
content to be sitting in each other's company, enjoying the beautiful day
in what was Harry's favourite place on Earth. He loved coming here to his
Grandparents' property because of how close it made him feel to nature.

"I spy with my little eye, something beginning with 'w'," Grandad said.

After some thought, Harry answered excitedly, sure that he had figured it
out. "Wind!"

"Can you see any wind, little man?" he asked.

"Yes!" he lied, his giggling giving him away.

"Keep guessing."

Harry searched frantically for other possible
answers. "W...w...w...wild... wild animals!"

"Do you see any tigers or lions around the place?" he was asked.

"Water!" Harry shouted. "That's got to be it!"

"And what's in the water?" Grandad persisted.

"Fish, and probably sharks, and... whales? Is it whales?"

"What else is in the water?"

Harry looked into the water and when it struck his eye, he pointed. "Weed!"

"Very right you are!" said Grandad, congratulating him.

"I'm 'zervant aren't I, Grandad?" Harry smiled.

"Oh little man, you are very observant," the older man said, unable to
contain his laughter.

Time rolled on by and still, they hadn't managed to catch a single
fish. Harrison and his grandfather began to pack away their various fishing
paraphernalia and took it to the shed. But when Grandad suggested they
return to the main house, Harry protested.

"But I want to keep playing 'I Spy'! I was winning," he said.

"All right, but we'll have to go back for lunch at some stage. Best of
five!"

Past the dam and beyond the row of mango trees, the best friends found
themselves in Harry's favourite spot of all - on the grassy knoll under the
fig tree. Together, they sat in the shade and identified various objects,
making each other guess what they were thinking of, all out of sight of the
main house and from Grandma's curious gaze. Before too long, she was
ringing the bell to call them to lunch and they had to interrupt their
game. Needless to say, they were back in their shady spot for Round Two
right after they'd finished their sandwiches. Their eagerness to spend time
outdoors had existed ever since Harry was born, and his obsession with the
grassy knoll continued to amuse his Grandparents for many years into the
future.

"Boys," Grandma said to herself as she washed the lunch plates. "Who can
understand them?"

- I -

It was such a humid day and the sweat poured off Daniel Coombes as he lined
up the kick that would either win or lose the match for his college soccer
team. His heart beat furiously in his chest and he felt a little
light-headed when he considered how much depended on him scoring this
goal. He was always the optimist and tried to use the power of positive
thinking to his advantage. Today, this was not the case and while he
attempted to mentally calculate trajectories and velocities, he found his
mind wandering. Nobody cared about who he was anymore. They didn't care
about the awards he had received or the games he had won for his team in
high school. They would only remember him as being the boy who either
scored the winning goal in this, the grand final for the inter-college
trophy, or the guy who missed his opportunity and lost the match for his
team. Doubts began to flood his mind.

Two years earlier, Daniel had graduated from high school as valedictorian -
the highest academic achiever of his cohort - with an impressive tertiary
entrance ranking that assured him a place in one of Australia's most
prestigious universities. He had been a very popular student in high school
both amongst his teachers and his peers because of his kind and friendly
nature, his good looks, and his talents in many areas of school life. A
competent public speaker and debater, Daniel was elected by his peers as
School Captain in his final year and recruited to the school's debating
team early on in his high school career - a team which had once won the
state championships and made it to the grand final on two other
occasions. As an orator, he was constantly called upon by the principal to
speak at school functions to showcase the talent that existed at Palm Grove
State High.

On the field, Daniel was a competent soccer player and had been very
popular among his teammates, not just because of his stamina and accurate
right kick, but because of his modesty and ability to lead a team. During
high school, his coach had requested that he take on the role as team
captain but with already so much on his plate, he had to decline the
offer. Even without the Number 1 jersey, he outshone many of his teammates
both in offense and defence, including the captain, but he always remained
level-headed after a big win and shared the victory with his team. He had
been playing soccer since the age of five, and the many seasons of kicking
the ball around the field had kept him in top shape. He wasn't as ripped
across the middle as he would like to be and spent many hours in the gym to
compensate, but his cardio fitness was second to none and he had muscular
legs and a cute bubble but to die for. All in all, Daniel was very happy
with his appearance. He kept his brown hair cut fairly short for sport,
claiming that it helped him to stay more aerodynamic when running around
the field. During the off season, he let it grow a little longer so that it
hung over his face, but not so long that it covered his remarkable hazel
eyes which he was renowned for.

Daniel was a very good looking boy with a perfect olive complexion and
delicate facial features, but he was strictly off limits. He had been
dating his girlfriend Louise Marsh for three years and the pair was
inseparable. They had met through the debating team and even though she was
a year younger, she kept him on his feet intellectually and physically. She
would push him to go jogging with her on weekends and they would often
study together at one of their houses a few days each week after
school. She always came to his soccer games, and he always spent the time
with her that she deserved. They were the perfect couple, and on the night
of Daniel's graduation, Louise had given him her virginity. It was an
experience that neither of them would ever forget, and Louise explained
that it was something special to remember her by while he was at university
and she was completing her final year of school.

In terms of the Performing Arts, Daniel couldn't sing, dance or act to save
his life, but the fact that he gave it a go and didn't mind having a laugh
at himself was well received by his toughest critics - his peers. He'd
auditioned for the school's musical rendition of "Chicago" as a bit of a
joke, but the Drama teachers had been impressed with his audition and gave
him a major role. Nobody had really heard him sing before and he was
definitely no Zac Effron (his mate Todd's words), but he loved giving
things a go, often to the dismay of his parents. Having secured friends in
so many areas of life, Daniel was the boy voted most likely to succeed in
life when ballots were taken at the school formal. But he often felt that
there were increased pressures placed on him to do well because of his
previous accomplishments, and his parents were certainly the driving force
behind this anxiety. He had opted to study law and economics at university,
not because these were fields of study he particularly enjoyed, but because
they paid well would make his parents proud. The university in Sydney he
chose equipped graduates with the skills they needed to make it big time in
the legal profession and its reputation for success was second to none.

There was never a doubt in his mind that he would go to such a prestigious
university and his parents certainly had the money to buy him an apartment
in the city so that he could concentrate on his studies without having to
commute over two hours each day. He had decided, however, that he wanted to
spend at least the first year of university living on campus in a college -
the Australian equivalent to residential dormitories. His parents tried to
talk him out of the idea, arguing that the social aspect of college life
would serve as a considerable distraction to his study. This was exactly
the reason that he wanted to live on campus. His argument was convincing
given his history of success on the debating team. He told his parents that
the convenience of college, including the three hot meals that were
provided each day, his room cleaned weekly and the convenience of having
his washing done for him, far outweighed the possible
distractions. Besides, his best friend, Todd Innings, had been accepted at
a college and he couldn't imagine being separated from his best buddy. Even
if they went to different colleges, Daniel thought, it would be better than
him being stuck in an inner city apartment all by himself.

Indeed, while Todd got accepted to an all boys college infamous for its
brutal Orientation Week pranks on freshmen, Daniel was accepted at a
coeducational residential college, known for its wild parties back in the
1970s.

Since then, a lot had changed and the current Dean had introduced a strict
policy when it came to noise disturbances (and an even stricter
disciplinary scheme for those who did not comply). A lot went on right
under the Dean's nose that she never knew about, but the residents were
still careful in fear that they'd be expelled if they were caught being too
rowdy and disorderly. During the Orientation Week activities that were
designed to keep the nervous freshmen so busy that they would forget about
being homesick, Daniel had made some wonderful friends and really settled
in well to college living. He quickly formed a friendship with a girl named
Jacqui. She came from the same small town four hours west in which Daniel's
father had been born and where his extended family still lived today. She
was a budding vet, and even though Daniel didn't know the first thing when
it came to looking after animals, they had so much in common and hit it off
right away. He also spent a lot of time with Jacqui's friend, Tara, who was
studying dentistry and her boyfriend, Harrison, who was training to become
a doctor. Both of them were incredibly nice people and Daniel felt
confident that making friends with other students who had a similar work
ethic would be beneficial. The four of them hung out for most of the week,
discussing their expectations of university. As happy as he was to be
making new friends so quickly, Daniel had been eager to start his classes
and settle in to university life more broadly.

He didn't really enjoy his classes too much in first year, but there was no
refuting the fact that he had excelled, achieving a Grade Point Average of
6.5 out of 7 and a number of commendations from the Dean of Law. His
parents were of course very proud and encouraged Daniel to spend a second
year in college, citing his brilliant results on the obvious convenience of
college life. Daniel didn't protest as he had enjoyed his college
experience in first year and very much looked forward to living on the same
floor as Tara and Jacqui the following year. They had shared some great
laughs and Daniel he was looking forward to many more in the proceeding
year. Unfortunately, Harrison had opted to move out after his first
year. With his intense study schedule, he was hardly ever around for meal
times and felt that he wasn't getting enough for his money. He moved into a
shared house with two other people from his degree, and while Tara was a
little put out that he wasn't going to be just down the hall that year, her
family's strong Christian values made it inappropriate for her to move in
with her boyfriend at the tender age of eighteen. He still came over most
nights after class to spend some time with Tara, sometimes spending the
night and other times, taking the long walk back home.

The move between high school and university had been a massive transition
that Daniel had felt he wasn't quite prepared for. He had gone from being
the very big fish in a relatively small pond to a microorganism in the
ocean.

Nobody knew his name or his outstanding qualities which had seen him
receive many privileges and favours in high school, and despite looking
forward to a sense of anonymity at university, he missed having people look
up to him and admire him for the jock that he was. Even his girlfriend
seemed to be a little more distant these days, not just in terms of
geography, but also when it came to their relationship. Louise had started
her first year at the same university as Daniel commenced his second year,
but she fast became absorbed in university life and had very little time to
spend with the boy whose side she had never left in high school. Even Todd
had made a whole heap of new friends and rarely had time to spend with him
any more. He and Todd used to go surfing most weekends and tell each other
everything, even the most mundane details of quotidian life. Now, Todd was
always out clubbing with other friends or busy trying to catch up on
assessment he hadn't yet completed.

It was these thoughts that ran through Daniel's head as he prepared to take
the kick for goal. He saw himself on a downhill slide, losing all of the
groundwork he had built for himself over the years. His family were proud
of him, but at what cost? As he ran towards the ball, his belief in himself
diminished and gave way to a sense of pessimism. He knew as soon as his
foot struck the ball that the kick had not been a winner. It took off from
the ground and flew straight into the arms of the waiting goal keeper. The
spectators cheered knowing that the game was as good as over, and a very
dejected Daniel walked to the side of the field with his head hung low and
his shoulders slumped.

The reality of the situation came crashing down around him as he realised
that he had failed and let his team down.

There was nobody in the crowd to offer him support, only the intimidating
smug looks from his victorious opponents and their supporters who had by
now begun to chant the college's war cry. He sat on a seat with his head in
his hands just staring at the ground, ignoring the consolatory pats on the
shoulder he received from his teammates as they made their way off the
field. He knew he had tried his hardest, but he had little to show for it
given how shattered he felt.

It was as he sat there, wallowing in the grand final defeat, that his good
mate and Tara's boyfriend, Harrison O'Brien, sat beside him on the seat. He
hadn't even known that Harry had been at the game and was a little taken
aback when the boy sat alongside him.

"Dan, you played so well," said Harry with a smile. "I know you played your
hardest out there today on the field. It was a close match."

Harrison was, simply put, the most stunning guy Daniel had ever laid eyes
upon. From the very first day they had met almost a year and a half ago,
Daniel had noted that Harry was a stand out in the looks department. He was
incredibly athletic having played for his state in schoolboys' rugby during
high school and the result was a body which epitomised the male form. His
muscles weren't too accentuated like the guys who spent hours pumping iron
in the gym, but they stood out in all of the right places. He had large,
flat pecs which resembled the chiselled chest plates worn by Roman
warriors, all supported by a strong upper quadrant and very broad shoulders
which gave him breadth and upper body strength with which to tackle the
fiercest of opponents on the rugby field. He had large, muscular thighs,
which were the result of years of playing rugby in his backyard at home,
and powerful legs which could take him from a standing position into an all
out sprint in no time flat. He had a fairly large ass which always got him
a lot of female attention, but it was the one part of his body he disliked
immensely and he tried to reduce its size by doing numerous exercises daily
targeting the glutes. He was the only one who really cared about his
disproportionate derriere.

Something else which had struck Daniel about Harry was his impeccable sense
of style and fashion. He made it look like he'd thrown on his clothes at
the last minute as he walked out the door, failing to style his hair and
shave, yet it was this casual indifference to his physical appearance which
made the whole look work. He couldn't be classed as metrosexual because
vanity was very uncharacteristic of Harry. He was just naturally good
looking and built like a brick dunny. He let his light brown hair grow
fairly thick into a sort of mop so that it covered his ears and the back of
his neck. His fringe, however, had been cut in such a way that it was off
his forehead entirely and didn't block his peripheral vision - serving a
practical purpose when it came to rugby league.

He had been asked to model for numerous publications, including the junior
National Rugby League calendar and a swimsuit catalogue for Quiksilver, but
he was far too modest to pose for the camera dressed in so very little,
exposing his body to objectification of horny middle aged women. He had the
girl of his dreams in Tara, and was happy that she respected him for the
person he was on the inside rather than the God he was on the
outside. Tara, of course, was thrilled to be dating a guy who was as ripped
as he was intelligent. Getting into the medical program without hesitation,
Harry thrived under the long contact hours and difficult exam preparation,
and he loved every minute he spent learning new things about the human
body. He was particularly interested in human movement and sport's
nutrition, but he still had a few years to make up his mind as to whether
he would specialise in sport's medicine, become a general practitioner, or
focus his attentions on surgery. Harrison knew so much but he was never
over-confident or arrogant about it, and it was this na‹ve humility
which had allowed him to make so many friends and which had ultimately made
him appeal to Tara.

Once asked in a game of truth or dare at college who he would turn gay for,
Daniel had jokingly answered, "Harrison." Everyone had laughed, including
Harry who blew him a kiss and had promised to put out later that night if
Dan was still interested. The banter was hilarious and familiar to Daniel,
who his friends knew was in a relationship with Louise and felt very
confident about his heterosexuality, but everyone knew that Harrison was an
absolute stud and Daniel, too, was certainly willing to acknowledge the
fact. They were such good mates and he knew very well that there were few
girls who'd pass by an opportunity to get him into bed. Hell, if there was
even the slightest chance that Daniel could turn gay in the future, he knew
that Harry would be the culprit. Daniel felt fortunate to be Tara's next
door neighbour this year as it gave him a chance to see his friend on the
many occasions that he stopped by. He was not so na‹ve to think that
Harry was there to see him, but he enjoyed the guy's company all the same.

"Cheers, Harry, but I kind of screwed it up for everyone out there
today. Should have scored that last goal and instead, I kicked it right to
him," said Daniel, still looking at the ground.

"Danny, look at me, buddy. You're the reason the team made it to the grand
final in the first place! They should be apologising to you for letting you
down, man," stated Harry.

He always managed to make Daniel feel better about himself when he was
feeling down. He just had such a good way with people that Dan put down to
his instinctive bedside manner that he knew would make Harrison a really
good doctor. He could feel himself cheering up already having Harry polish
his ego the way he was.

Daniel looked at him and smiled. "Thanks, dude. What made you come to the
game today?"

"I had a bit of study to do and it was too hot back home, so I thought I'd
come over to the campus and study while watching your grand final. Kill two
birds with one stone," he said with a grin.

"Well I'm glad you could make it. You'll have to let me know when your next
rugby match is on so I can make sure I'm there."

"I'm playing next Saturday over on Field 3, but I know exams are coming up
so don't feel like you have to be there or anything," said Harry.

"Nah, I'll definitely be there to return the favour," Daniel said, standing
up.

"You just headed back to college now?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, mate," Daniel answered. "How about you? Are you going back home
now?"

"I thought I might stop by college for a bit too and see if Tara is
around. Might take her out for dinner tonight or something."

"Oh cool," said Daniel. "Walk with me then?"

"Sure, Dan."

The field that Daniel had been playing on was right on the far side of
campus near the pool and the tennis courts, and so it was a thirty minute
walk back to college across the university grounds. Harry questioned Dan
about all of his mid year assessment and asked him how he was feeling about
his exams, and a long conversation began. Harry announced that he had a
difficult practical rotation coming up specialising on mental health at one
of the city hospitals, and they also discussed this in some depth. While
the details of their conversation are seemingly irrelevant, it is
noteworthy that they each felt at perfect ease in one another's
company. They enjoyed that the conversation seemed to flow naturally and
was not forced, but most of all, they were just content to be spending some
time catching up together. Normally, Jacqui and Tara were around as well
and the boys rarely found time just to themselves. It was a very pleasant
walk back to college that afternoon, but Daniel felt for Harry having to
walk all the way back to his place off campus later that night.

"Did you win?" shouted Jacqui excitedly as Dan entered the hallway with
Harry following behind him.

"Nah, we sucked today," answered Daniel, again feeling a little guilty.

"Yeah, but he was amazing out there. You should have seen the goal he head
butted in just before half time. Fucking unbelievable," boasted Harry,
proudly.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't make it Dan, I've got this stupid practical report
due in tomorrow and I've still got loads to do," apologised Jacqui. "It's
going to be another late one for me tonight."

Out of all Daniel's friends, he knew of nobody who worked harder than
Jacqui did. She had many contact hours at university and when she wasn't at
class, she was usually in her room studying. If Daniel woke up through the
night and had to go to the toilet, he would see her light still on at 2am
as she read over lecture notes and developed questions for herself to
answer. Her system obviously worked as she achieved very good grades, but
there we no doubting her commitment to the coursework which she obviously
loved. Jacqui was a beautiful human being and a great friend.

"It's okay, Jacq," said Daniel while unlocking his door. "Besides, I would
have been pretty embarrassed if you'd seen me mess up like I did."

"Jesus Christ. He just won't get it through his head," laughed Harry. "You
didn't mess up, Daniel Coombes. If I hear you say that one more time, look
out."

"What are you gonna do, spank him?" asked Jacqui, with a raised brow.

"Oh, he'd enjoy my hand on his ass way too much. It'll be much worse than
that," he said with a very cheeky smile forming.

"Whatever, I know you just wanna touch my ass, Harry. You just have to ask
man, and for a small fee, we might be able to arrange something," said Dan
with a smirk.

"Oh you little fag," laughed Harry, running towards Daniel who managed to
just get inside his room and shut the door before he could get there.

"Your ass is mine when you come out, Coombes," warned Harry.

"I bet you'd like that, O'Brien," Daniel shouted from the inside.

In the corridor, Harry waited with Jacqui until Tara had finished up on the
phone with her parents.

"Harrison, I thought I heard your voice!" she said happily as she opened
her door and saw him standing there.

"Hey," he said, leaning in to give her a quick kiss. "Want to go out for
dinner tonight?"

"Sure, gimme a sec to get ready?"

"Yep."

They soon left for dinner and Jacqui shut her door to recommence work on
her assignment. With all of the other doors on the floor closed as well,
Daniel was hit with an eerie sense of solitude. He had so much study to do,
but he was feeling very unmotivated and instead just lay on his bed
thinking about life while listening to some music through his
headphones. Eventually, the sweat from the soccer match which had dried on
his skin began to smell and Daniel decided to take a shower before heading
down to dinner for the night, alone.

Later in the evening, he called his girlfriend, Louise, to tell her the
outcome of the soccer game. She picked up after a few rings.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Louise, it's Dan," he said.

"Oh hey, Dan. I can't talk for long, I have an exam to study for. What's
up?" she said a little too impatiently for Daniel's liking.

"Just wanted to tell you that we didn't win the soccer comp this year. The
competition was too good for us."

"That sucks, bad luck honey. I know how much you wanted it..."

"Yeah..."

There was a long uncomfortable silence before they both began talking at
the same time.

"So how was your..."

"What's on tomorrow..."

They paused.

"Daniel, I think you and I need to talk," she said. "You know, in person."

"What?"

"We should meet up to talk about a few things that neither of us really
wants to talk about," she clarified.

"Oh, okay. I'll stop by your college then a little later tonight?" Daniel
asked.

She thought about it before answering. "Okay, make it after nine though."

When Daniel hung up, he knew that his relationship with Louise would be
coming to an end tonight. He'd been with her now for three years and the
thought of that chapter of his life coming to an end was something he
preferred not to think about right now. He opened his property law textbook
and began to revise some of the earlier chapters, keeping a close eye on
the clock.

- II -

Daniel lay in bed that night with a very heavy mind. Indeed, upon arriving
at Louise's college, she had dumped him and claimed that their relationship
had lost its spark. He knew that, and had felt exactly the same way for at
least six months now, but he was always certain that things would pick up
again when he wasn't so busy with his university work. Unfortunately, they
were both always kept busy with their study and other activities and they
hardly ever had time to spend together, so they had begun to pull away from
one another almost without even realising it. Daniel wished that Tara or
Harry were around so that he could talk to them about it, but they had gone
out for dinner and Daniel guessed that they were spending the night at his
house off campus. Jacqui, too, was kept busy and as much as he wanted to
knock on her door and tell her everything, he resisted distracting her from
her assignment. With all of these thoughts weighing on his mind and no way
to vent them except through replaying them over and over in his head, it
was ages before he fell asleep that night. He couldn't help but feel that
his life was fast spinning out of control.

The next week of classes were nothing to write home about for Daniel, who
attended, took notes, and studied hard when he was back in his room. With
the demands of soccer now over for another year, he had more time to spend
reading set material and more time to himself, whether it be in the form of
watching TV or sneaking in an extra hour of sleep through the day when he
would have normally had training. Jacqui, Tara and Harry were also keeping
busy, and were looking forward to having a break from classes next week for
a study vacation, before two jam-packed weeks of exams and a month of
holidays.

On the Friday before Daniel's study week, he heard Harry enter the corridor
and come into his room.

"Daniel, buddy, you still coming to my footy game tomorrow arvo?" he asked.

"Oh shit, I had forgotten all about that! Yeah, I'll be there," responded
Daniel.

"You don't have to. I mean, I know it's really busy for you right now and
everything."

"It's fine. I'll bring my textbook along and do some study while I'm
there," said Daniel, not wanting to miss the game.

"Cool, make sure you get a good seat," he said before walking into Tara's
room next door.

Daniel was taking a bit of a break from study by watching television when
Tara knocked on his door and came into his room. She and Daniel often had
long chats in his room while she sat on his bed and he sat at his desk. A
lot of the time, she would watch Australian Idol in his room as well
because of his great television set. Daniel often thought that a more
jealous boy friend might have a bit to say about that, but as far as Harry
was concerned, he would have trusted Dan with his life and knew that
nothing would ever happen between the two of them.

"Dan, would you be up for a night out tomorrow night? Harry and I were
going to hit up some of the clubs in the city before we get stuck into some
serious study, and wondered whether you and Jacqui would like to join us,"
she suggested.

"Yeah, I'd love to. I'm not so sure about Jacqui though, she might be
pretty busy," Daniel replied.

"Hmm I thought that might be the case. I'll ask her when she gets back from
class."

Harry poked his head around the corner and flashed his dazzling pearly
whites.

"Are you going to come, Dan?" he asked.

"Just told Tara I'd be there. What time are you going to leave here?" he
asked.

"Well, my game doesn't finish until around five so I thought he could catch
a bus into the city and have dinner and a movie before heading somewhere a
little more up tempo. What do you think?"

"Sounds good. Hopefully Jacqui can make it too," said Daniel.

"Yeah, what would everyone think if I was out with two guys?" joked Tara.

"Well with me and Dan around, I reckon everyone would think you were the
luckiest chick on the planet," stated Harry.

"I agree," laughed Daniel. "Not every college chick gets to be escorted by
two of the hottest guys around."

"Oh Harry, he just said you were hot," Tara giggled from behind her
hand. "Maybe I should stay home and just let you two boys go together
then."

Daniel hadn't realised it when he said it, but he had indeed just told
Harrison that he thought he was hot. He panicked and immediately tried to
cover his tracks, but Harry had heard and wasn't going to let him forget
it.

"You're only human, Danny. I won't hold it against you," he joked in a
display of feigned superiority.

"I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that..." but Harry cut him off.

"I know exactly what you meant. I'm flattered, really. But just keep it in
your pants for now, man," said Harry, elbowing Daniel in the side and
causing Tara to laugh even harder.

Daniel was clearly becoming flustered that he couldn't justify himself and
Harry hated seeing him squirm like this.

"I'm just kidding around," he said. "Sorry Danny, but it was too good to
miss."

"It's all good, but you know what I mean, right?"

"Yeah, buddy."

"Cool," said Daniel, breathing a sigh of relief.

"What's all the commotion out here?" asked Jacqui, opening her door and
pretending to be angry at having been disturbed.

"You couldn't be angry if your life depended on it, J! Drop the facade!"
said Tara, knowingly.

"Alright, alright, you caught me. What's happening guys?" she asked.

"Well, we thought you might like to come out with the three of us tomorrow
night," said Harry. "Grab a bite to eat, catch a flick, and then see where
the night takes us."

"I'd love to, but I just don't think I can. I have so much work to do, but
you three should still go," said Jacqui, feeling guilty about having to say
no.

"Come on Jacq," said Daniel. "It's never the same without you. I'll even
buy you popcorn and save you a seat on my lap."

"Whoa, settle down cowboy. You and Louise have only been apart for a week,"
Tara pointed out.

"It's a deal Danny boy, but it's got to be popcorn and a drink," she said
with a serious expression.

"Wow, Dan hasn't lost his charm with the ladies," said Harry, winking at
Daniel.

Tara couldn't resist. "Maybe you could learn a thing or too, baby." At
this, everybody laughed as Tara and Harry went into Tara's room and Jacqui
shut her door once again.

Daniel loved these people. The distance that had grown between him and his
mate, Todd, had disturbed him at first but he was now starting to believe
that it was happening for a reason. These three special people who had
fallen into his life 'deus ex machina' style back in first year really had
been the best thing to happen to him in many years. He'd always had plenty
of friends, but none so close as Jacqui, Tara and Harry.

It was the day of Harry's big rugby game and Daniel had been quite
productive in the morning. He'd worked through an entire week of lectures
except for one course, which he hoped to finish that afternoon while
watching the game. He took off for lunch feeling quite proud of himself,
but when he came back, he found Tara crying in her room with her door ajar
and immediately went in to sit beside her on the bed.

"Aw Tara, it will be okay. What's up?" he asked, pulling her to his side in
a sort of hug.

She blew her nose before answering. "I just had a massive fight with
Harry."

"What happened?"

"He still won't tell his parents that we're dating," she cried. "He said
when we first started going out that he didn't want to tell his parents
right away. I understood, because he knew they wouldn't want him having a
girl friend while he was studying at university. My parents feel the same
way about me having a boyfriend and studying dentistry, but I still told
them the truth because I love him. But it's been, what, nearly two years
now and he still won't tell them about us." She began to sob
uncontrollably.

Daniel didn't quite know what to say. He found himself sympathising more
with Harry, whose parents were much like his own. His parents hadn't liked
it when he started going out with Louise, and his father admitted only the
other day that he was relieved their relationship had come to an end so
that Dan could be better prepared for the difficult years ahead. But he
certainly understood Tara's logic as well. If Harry loved her enough,
surely he would have the confidence to tell his parents about the
relationship. He would be upset as well if someone he loved wouldn't tell
anyone they were actually dating.

"Maybe he's just waiting for the right time, Tara," Daniel encouraged. "You
know it's not an easy thing for him to do. His parents might stop paying
for him to come to uni here if they know he's seeing someone."

"Bullshit," wept Tara. "Harry's dreamt of studying medicine for
years. There's no way his parents would pull the plug on his dream, for
Christ's sake."

"So where do things stand now then?"

"Well I told him to get fucked and he left, so I guess he's back home
preparing for the game tonight. There's no way I'm going out later
though. You and Jacqui can still go with him if you like."

"Don't worry about that yet, I just want to make sure you're okay. Are you
still together then or what?" asked Daniel, genuinely concerned.

"Yeah we are, but he knows that I'm angry about this. I just need some time
to myself for a bit," said Tara, reaching for a tissue and wiping the tears
away from her eyes. "Ahh look at me, I'm a mess. I'm so sorry you had to
see me like this, Dan."

"It's okay, I'm always right next door if you need me." He gave her a tight
hug to let her know that he meant what he said. "By the way, Tara," he
said, looking over his shoulder as he walked out the door. "I think you
should talk to Jacqui about this. She's way better at this shit than I am
and she'll know what to do for sure."

"Thanks, Dan," she said, a smile appearing on her face for the first time
since the fight.

A couple of hours later, Daniel was sitting on the grandstand overlooking
Field 3. Quite a few spectators had gathered to watch the annual clash
between the university's School of Medicine and School of Law rugby
teams. It was always a heated affair with a history of great rivalry and
bad blood between the two schools. It was not rare, for instance, for an
all out brawl to occur at some stage throughout the match. There was so
much more at stake than the champion's trophy. The winning team would have
bragging rights for the year and would have the pleasure of ridiculing the
losing team in the school's annual comedy revue. The spectators were always
a fiery lot who took a great sense of pride in their faculty, usually
rocking up in their school's colours. Daniel, who was a student within the
School of Law and who had friends playing on their football team, felt
guilty at heart for inwardly supporting the School of Medicine because of
Harry. He was determined to sit there and study criminology while the game
and the spectators carried on around him, yet he found that the game
actually played out very differently.

He was staring at the blank page in front of him before the game started
when he felt a sudden impulse to search for Harry as the players were
entering the field. The boys made eye contact and the smile on Harry's face
told Daniel that he was very happy to see him. The last thing Dan wanted
was for Harry to wave goofily and draw attention to him there on the
grandstand, but Harry let his huge smile do all the talking. He was glad
Dan had come to watch the match. But while Dan had been determined to recap
one last topic for the day before partying it up that night, he found that
he couldn't take his eyes off the field. He liked to watch the rugby on the
television due to the game's fast pace and inherent intensity -
characteristics which soccer had sometimes been criticised for
lacking. Today, however, he found himself constantly drawn to the player in
jersey twelve - Harrison O'Brien. There was no doubt about it; the guy was
a dead set stud. In his tight team jersey, his solid biceps almost tore
away the seams which formed the sleeves. Similarly, the small satin shorts
he was wearing hugged his muscular ass and barely contained his gargantuan
legs, bursting with power and strength. With a moderate growth of hair over
his arms and legs that was masculine without being unattractive, a tan
which was not unhealthily dark but complemented and enhanced his already
olive complexion, a light covering of sweat which made his body shimmer in
the golden glow of the afternoon sun, and those hypnotic green eyes that
tugged at the heartstrings with immense depth and sincerity, Harrison
O'Brien was sex. He was passionate, wild, animalistic, sex.

Daniel realised that he had been watching Harry run, kick and tackle his
away around the field for twenty minutes without looking at his work
once. He shut the blank notepad sitting in his lap and continued to watch
the game, no longer pretending to study. At half time, the School of
Medicine had scored two tries and converted them both, whereas the School
of Law hadn't scored any but had kicked a penalty goal, making the score
12-2. Daniel was immersed in the game and had been watching the players
prepare for the second half when he received a message on his phone from
Jacqui:

"Dan, not going out tonight sorry. Tara's upset and I'm gonna stay with
her."

Daniel replied, saying that he probably wouldn't go out either now that she
and Tara weren't going. He was certain that Harry wouldn't want to go
without the girls anyway. He felt bad for Harry, who had spent a lot of
time organising what they would be doing. Through a Facebook event page he
had made especially for the night, he kept them posted with updates like
where they would be going for dinner and what movie they'd be seeing. He
hated to be the bearer of bad news but he'd tell Harry after the
game. Daniel knew he was going to be upset at Tara for screwing everything
up because of her fixation with him not telling his parents about their
relationship, but he was reluctant to take sides and enter into the
politics. He was good friends with them both and knew that taking a side
could be an unwise move.

The second half of the football match started and the School of Law found
some form, scoring a try within the first three minutes and managing to
convert it, bringing the score to 12-8. This put pressure on the budding
doctors, who started to make stupid errors on the field. A couple of the
players were penalised for being offside, another threw an obvious forward
pass, and the captain was sent off the field for a very dangerous
tackle. While the wheels appeared to be falling off for the School of
Medicine team, Dan noticed that Harry kept his composure and continued to
shine on the field, gaining many metres every time he had the ball. He
absolutely dominated the competition with his strength, agility and
endurance. Even when Harry wasn't in possession of the ball, Daniel found
that he was watching him. It wasn't just because Harry was one of the few
players he knew, but because he literally could not find the will to take
his eyes off of this most amazing and talented athlete.

Daniel started to question his feelings. Why couldn't he take his eyes off
this guy? Why did he sense that his feelings stemmed from something far
more than mere admiration? What was it about Harry that made him different
from any other guy, and why had his dick been hard the entire game? Daniel
was transfixed and it wasn't until somebody sitting next to him in the
grandstand started talking to him that he snapped out of his reverie.

"Close game this year," said an attractive redhead sitting next to him.

"What? Oh... sorry. Yeah, it is," he managed to say.

"So who are you here for? Law or medicine? Or are you like me and
supporting a boyfriend?" she laughed. "I'm totally just kidding."

Daniel pretended to laugh at the comment, despite being taken aback
initially. "Law for me, but I have friends on both teams. Who does your
partner play for?"

"He's in law too. Jason Packham, number three out there. Maybe you know
him?" she asked, curiously.

"Yeah, I know Jason. We've taken a few classes together before. That's
pretty cool then," Daniel smiled.

"Definitely. I'm Ashleigh, by the way," she said, extending her hand.

"Dan. It's nice to meet you."

Ashleigh kept talking to Daniel for the rest of the game, despite him
wishing she'd stop distracting him with small talk so he could just watch
the game in peace. At one stage, Daniel was watching Harry when he stopped
running and fell behind the other players, hunched over with his hands on
his knees breathing heavily. Dan was immediately worried and stood up,
about to make his way down onto the field to see if everything was
alright. Harry walked over to the side of the field and met with a drink
boy, who handed him a small device from which Harry inhaled.

Dan then realised that it was Harry's asthma puffer, and remembering that
Harry suffered from asthma, he sat down again and kept a careful eye on
him. After sitting on the bench for a few minutes and regaining his breath,
Harry swapped with one of the interchanges and again ran out onto the
field.

Daniel remembered the time that he and Harry had been on campus one day
when a thick dust storm rolled in from South Australia thanks to the strong
North Easterly winds. The dust layer had been heavy and everything was
coated in the dirty dusty particles - even the sun had been slightly
obscured. On this particular day, Daniel and Harry had grabbed a bite to
eat at the refectory when Harry had become grossly short of breath and
needed his inhaler, which kept in his backpack. Harry, fast becoming
flustered, threw the bag to Daniel and asked him to find the inhaler
between very constricted breaths. Daniel had managed to find it amongst an
array of paraphernalia at the bottom of the back, but it had given them
both a fright and they agreed to stay indoors until the dust storm passed.

Having experienced the aggressive nature of Harry's attacks, he was worried
for the boy who was now running around the field as if nothing had
happened.

Five minutes before the end of the game, the score was still at 12-8 and
either team could win it in the closing seconds. Ashleigh was rooting
around in her handbag for her phone and accidentally elbowed the can of
drink she had put next to her on the seat. She sent Coca-cola flying all
over the seat of the grandstand, soaking Daniel's jeans with sticky soft
drink.

"Shit! I'm sorry," she gasped, immediately finding some tissues in her bag
and soaking up the mess.

"Fuck," complained Dan. "I only bought these last week."

"Here, let me..." she said, attempting to soak up the moisture from his lap
with her tissues and making Daniel feel really uncomfortable, given his
erect state.

"Stop," he ordered. "I'll clean it up myself."

'Stupid bitch,' he thought to himself while adjusting his package without
drawing attention to himself and walking over to the drinking fountain
behind the grandstand. He collected water in his hands and applied it to
the spill, hoping it would take some of the stickiness away. Suddenly, he
heard an excited roar from the crowd. He couldn't see what was happening,
but judging by the excited shouts, he guessed that somebody had broken free
from the pack and was racing towards the try line.

"Go Med!" he heard somebody shout before the crowd erupted in screams of
jubilation.

As Harrison O'Brien threw a dummy pass to his teammate and dodged the
assault from the oncoming winger, he ducked and weaved in a display of fine
footwork, finesse and agility to break through the defensive line and run
the 55 metres to the try line, planting the ball right beneath the
goalposts. He was hit with a wave of euphoria as he heard the cries of the
crowd. With only a few minutes left on the clock, his teammates ran up to
him and grabbed him in a tight embrace, knowing that Harry's try had
secured their victory. With all of the guys celebrating around him, Harry
looked up into the grandstand hoping to see Daniel and see the big smile on
his face. Daniel, however, was no longer sitting in the spot he'd been
occupying for the entire game and Harry knew that could mean only one thing
- he'd missed seeing him score the epic try. He scowered the stand with his
eyes and couldn't see his mate anywhere, and disappointed, he turned to his
teammates and tried to feign a smile.

"What's up, buddy?" his captain, Brody, asked him. "You just scored the
winning try. You should be over the moon."

"Yeah, I am, really," he said, grabbing his captain's shoulder and giving
it a squeeze.

"A few of the boys are going out afterwards - do you want to come along?
We're gonna meet outside the exhibition hall at around 8pm for pre drinks
and take a taxi from there."

"Thanks man, I appreciate the offer but I've got other plans tonight. Have
fun though."

"You sure? We're gonna do a centurion in the car park. C'mon dude, it'll be
awesome."

Harry was firm in his answer. "Can't get out of the plans I already have,
but cheers, Brody."

Harry walked off the field sat down, taking a swig from his bottle of
Gatorade and screwing the lid on tightly.

Daniel, upon witnessing the team congratulating Harry, realised that he'd
just missed his mate score the winning try and felt furious for letting
himself be distracted by the annoying girl who had sat next to him. He
immediately ran along the edge of the field and took a seat beside Harry.

"Wow, congrats man. That was a brilliant try!" he said, putting his arm
around Harry's shoulder.

"Yeah, thanks," Harry said coldly, looking at the ground.

"What's up, who died?" Daniel joked.

"Pretty sure you didn't even see my try dude, but whatever. We still on for
tonight?"

Harry appeared to be quite upset that Daniel hadn't been there to see his
great work and he felt horrible. Not only had he been caught not being
there to see the try, but he now had to tell Harry that the evening's
activities had been cancelled because Tara was staying home and Jacqui was
going to be keeping her company.

"I'm sorry, buddy, but the clumsy whore beside me soaked me to the skin
with her drink. Had to go get cleaned up," he said, examining the fabric
around his crotch and thighs.

Harry laughed. "You sure? Those wet patches look awfully suspicious."

"That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!" winked Daniel. "Congrats on the
big win, though. I watched every other second of the game, I promise, and
you were the star out there."

"Thanks, bro."

"Are you doing okay? It looked like it was all getting a bit too much there
at one stage," said Daniel.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just ran a little short on breath, no biggie. Get much
work done then?" he asked.

"You've got to be kidding! I didn't even put pen to paper the whole time."

Harry put his hand in Dan's lap and felt the fabric. Dan's dick jerked at
Harry's touch and he prayed his mate wouldn't notice.

"It's so sticky! You sure that cute redhead up there wasn't giving you
something more than a lap full of soda?"

Harry said, eyeing him suspiciously.

Dan laughed. "Oh yeah, you know I love a bit of a hand job up in there in
the stands while I watch a group of dudes run around and tackle each
other."

"I knew it," he giggled. As Harry withdrew his hand from Daniel's lap, he
accidentally brushed it against Dan's hard crotch and pulled away quickly,
a look of fear flashing across his face.

"Fuck, I'm sorry dude. I didn't mean to..." he started.

"It's okay, I know you wanted to feel me up," Daniel laughed, making light
of the situation.

"You're onto me. I'm gonna have to be more subtle next time," he said,
relieved that he hadn't offended his bud.

But Daniel couldn't leave things there. He felt he needed to justify his
erection so Harry wouldn't think he'd been the cause of that too.

"I haven't gotten off for I don't know how long. Definitely not since
Louise and I broke up last weekend," he stated timidly.

"Yeah, I could tell you were packing some serious wood down there," Harry
ventured. "I'll make it my personal mission to get you laid tonight, I
promise. What time are we meeting the others?"

Daniel couldn't avoid the topic any longer. He had to tell Harry that it
had all been cancelled.

"Umm I don't think it's happening any more. Tara kind of... pulled the pin
on it," said Dan, feeling embarrassed.

"What do you mean? Why?" Harry asked.

"She said you guys fought today and she wasn't in the mood to go out
tonight," he replied. "But look, it's none of my business, Harry. You two
need to sort it out between yourselves. Just let Jacq and I know when
everything is sorted out."

"Did she tell you what we fought about?" asked Harry, after some thought.

"Yeah, but I'm not entering into that one," Dan warned.

"Fuck, just because she's pissed at me, doesn't mean the night has to be
ruined. The three of us can still have a great time. Tell Jacqui to meet us
somewhere," Harry instructed.

"I don't think you understand," said Daniel. "Jacqui is staying home with
Tara because she's still pretty upset about it all. I figured I'd just stay
back too, but you're welcome to come back to mine and play the Wii or
whatever."

Harry was gutted. He had been looking forward to the night for so many
reasons. The four of them saw each other often enough, but they rarely had
the chance to go out together and just let their hair down. He'd put a lot
of effort into organising the night and felt incredibly bitter towards
Tara, who, in his mind, had really thrown a spanner in the works. Then
there was the fact that his best mates, Daniel and Jacqui, appeared to be
siding with her by spending the night together back at college without
him. He felt so ostracised and alone, and it hurt badly.

"I see how it is, Danny," he said.

"How what is?" asked Daniel, intrigued.

"You've picked Tara over me because you all live together. It's so fucking
obvious," said Harry, standing up and starting to walk away. Daniel latched
onto the back of his jersey and stopped him.

"Sit the fuck down," Daniel said, angrily.

Harry sat. "Dan, let's get real here for a minute. Tara has got Jacqui's
shoulder to cry on whenever she wants, and I always assumed that you'd have
my back when I needed a mate or whatever, but when push comes to shove,
it's clear that you're more worried about what Tara will think," he
said. "She's got both of you guys wrapped around her little finger and I'm
left with nobody."

Harry's words struck Daniel to the core. He had not wanted to take sides in
this conflict because he knew he'd end up hurting somebody, but he never
realised that by not taking a side, he was actually betraying Harry in some
small regard - the same Harry who had always been there for him regardless
of the circumstances. It was Harry who spoke again first.

"I'm not mad at you, Dan. I'm sorry for getting so worked up. It's just
that I've been looking forward to this all week," he said, calmly. "I can't
believe a simple argument has blown into all this."

"I know, me too," said Daniel. "Look, I just assumed that because Tara and
Jacqui weren't going, you wouldn't want to go out anymore."

"That's ridiculous. You and I can still do something, if you're up for
that?" Harry suggested.

"Yeah, what do you have in mind?" Dan asked.

"Well who says we have to change our plans just because they've decided
they're not going to come? We'll grab a bite to eat somewhere, bum around
the cinema for a bit and then hit up the city," Harry suggested.

"That sounds great. I'm definitely up for that," Daniel remarked.

"Cool, then how about we head back to mine so I can get freshened up a
little and then we head off?" Harry asked.

"Ummm, I'd prefer to head back to college, mate. I need to get out of these
wet jeans."

"But my clothes are back home..." Harry pointed out.

"I'm sure there'll be something that fits you in my wardrobe, don't
stress," Dan laughed.

"Alrighty, sounds good, bud. It'll be quicker going back to yours anyway -
so much closer," he said.

Daniel was elated. There had just been hundreds of eyes on this jock just
minutes earlier as he ran around the field and won the game for his
team. Everyone had been in absolute awe of him, practically worshipping the
ground he walked on. He could have gone out and celebrated with his
teammates tonight, but he had instead chosen Dan and Dan alone to share the
victory with him. He hadn't quite looked forward to something so much for a
very long time and he wondered why. What was different about tonight from
other occasions? The answer came to him as he and Harry stood up and began
walking back towards college. He was virtually going out on a date with
another guy.

And not just any kind of date with any normal guy, but going out for dinner
and a movie with Harrison O'Brien - the guy he'd practically spent the last
hour transfixed on and had even sprung a boner over. 'What the fuck is
happening to me?' he thought to himself. 'We're just mates.'

It didn't take them too long to reach the college, and when they arrived on
the corridor, they found that Jacqui's door was open but she was nowhere to
be found, whereas Tara's was closed.

"You think maybe Jacqui is in there with Tara?" Harry asked Daniel.

"Yeah, I reckon," said Daniel, opening his door. "Come in, bro. Make
yourself comfortable."

As they entered the room, Daniel pulled the door shut behind him and put
his study materials on his desk. Harry, however, threw off his shoes and
shocks and whipped off his shirt, laying himself down on Dan's bed flat on
his stomach. Daniel inhaled sharply as he turned around and his mate laying
there, his bronzed back exposed in all its splendour. The firm muscles of
his shoulder blades were apparent as Harry lay there with his eyes
closed. Dan was amazed at the stunning way in which his broad shoulders
tapered down into such a slender waist, disappearing into his skimpy rugby
pants. His ass looked so hot, bulging in the tight shorts and producing two
very edible satin-clad mounds. Daniel studied the large thighs which
emerged from their confines with his eyes, his gaze taking in every minute
detail and following the linear path of his very sexy legs. He even found
himself staring at the guy's feet, which were broad across the centre with
a fairly low arch. The skin there was tanned just like the rest of his
body.

From Daniel's position, it looked so smooth and he craved to feel it
beneath his fingers. Everything about this boy was absolute perfection, and
Daniel began to chub up in his jeans as he examined the God lying on his
bed. He had never had this reaction to another boy before, and it scared
the hell of out him. But then again, he'd never met a boy as beautiful as
Harry. Tara Connelly was one lucky bitch to call him her boyfriend.

"It feels so good to lie down," Harry said suddenly, opening his eyes and
rolling onto his back. He raised his knees into the air and hugged them
with his muscular forearms, pulling his heels to rest against his ass so
that his feet were flat against the bedspread below.

"We've got a big night ahead of us yet! Don't you go falling asleep there!"
Daniel giggled, now bright red in the face and trying to conceal his
bulging crotch with a manila folder from his desk.

"Can I borrow a towel? I might go and grab a shower down the hall," Harry
said. "I smell rank after the rugby game."

"Yeah, sure." He threw Harry a towel and a plastic container with a cake of
soap in it, before Harry headed to the communal bathroom shared by all the
residents on the floor.

Daniel took his time getting dressed, choosing his clothes carefully. He
put had put on a blue polo shirt and some shorts, but changed his mind
after looking in the mirror and opted for a tee shirt and some jeans
instead. It was a far more casual look, but still Daniel stressed over his
appearance. He was styling his hair when Harry came into the room with the
towel around his waist. Daniel couldn't help but notice Harry's reflection
in the mirror and the sizeable bulge his crotch made in the front of the
towel.

"Nice and clean again," he said, shutting the door and locking it.

"Yeah, I bet," said Daniel, trying to focus on his hair but with very
little success.

"Dude, no, you're doing it all wrong. Look, like this," Harry said as he
put his hand through Daniel's hair and adjusted the way it sat. With just a
couple of unabashed strokes through his hair, even Daniel was impressed
with the look. It had all been so simple, but suddenly his look went from
being one that was intentionally styled with gel to one that was sexy,
natural and unpretentious. Daniel loved it.

"Alright, what have you got for me to wear, Danny boy?" Harry asked,
clearly impressed with his work.

Daniel opened the wardrobe door and let him take his pick. He knew that
whatever Harry chose, it would look good on him as he just had such a way
with clothes. They hugged his body in all of the right places and Tara had
once even commented that he could even make a brown paper bag look trendy.

"I'll go outside while you get dressed if you want," said Daniel.

"Nah it's okay. I need you to help me pick something out."

Daniel grabbed the pair of shorts and the blue polo shirt he had picked for
himself earlier and threw them on the bed. He hadn't liked how they looked
on him, and wondered how Harry would make them work for him.

"Can I borrow some briefs too, Dan? Sorry, I'll wash them before I hand
them back to you!" Harry pleaded.

"I have lice dude. You still wanna wear them?"

"That's hot. Definitely," he laughed. "But you are kidding right?"

"Of course. Go ahead, top drawer," Dan informed him.

"Cheers. Oh, these ones have monkeys on them! Can I wear these ones?"

Daniel knew the pair he was talking about and smiled. "Yeah you can wear
those, but I want them back. They're my favourites."

It was then that Harry dropped his towel to the floor and Daniel sneaked a
quick glance in the mirror at the merchandise. It was the first time he had
ever seen Harry completely naked, and he certainly wasn't disappointed with
what he saw. Harry kept his pubes trimmed fairly short, accentuating the
size of his impressive cock. It was a good three inches in this soft state,
hanging over two large, egg-shaped testes. Although it was only a quick
glance, Daniel was most in awe of the foreskin which concealed the head of
Harry's dick. Being cut himself, Daniel hadn't really seen an uncircumcised
penis before and he was intrigued. Even his own father was cut and this
almost alien appendage between Harry's legs really piqued his
curiosity. But as quickly as his dick had come into view, it was again
hidden, this time within Dan's very own Mitch Dowd monkey briefs. It gave
him a bit of a thrill to know that this superstar of the rugby field was
wearing his briefs. Dan's eyes travelled north to explore Harry's exposed
washboard abs - small water droplets having collected on them in the shower
and glimmering in the light.

Harry reached for the towel and dried his chest and abs before pulling on
the polo shirt that Dan had picked out for him. However, instead of doing
up the bottom button and adjusting the collar, he just let it be. It gave
him a look of rugged nonchalance and made him look hot.

"Fuck," Daniel moaned a little too audibly as Harry pulled on the jeans.

"What's that, Dan?" Harry said, looking up at Dan who had been admiring
him.

"You make everything look like it was actually made for you. My shit suits
you better than it suits me," he said in disbelief.

He just laughed. "Whatever, bro. All of your clothes are a little tight on
me but provided they look alright, I don't really mind. Let's get out of
this place and grab some dinner."

Dan turned off the light and shut the door behind him as they prepared to
take the short walk into town to eat.

- III -

The boys were thoroughly enjoying their foot long subs and judging by the
way they were tearing into them, onlookers would have guessed that neither
of them had eaten in days.

"You must be really enjoying that chicken fillet sub - you haven't said a
word since we arrived," said Harry.

"Sorry, just have a lot on my mind tonight," Daniel answered honestly.

"Like what?" Harry probed.

"Like... exams and stuff."

"Forget all about that stuff tonight. We're gonna have a blast not giving a
stuff about uni for just one night," Harry reiterated.

"How's your sub then?" asked Dan, trying to change the subject.

"Mate, the meatball sub is always good. Can't go past it."

Daniel felt uneasy, almost as if he was betraying Tara by being out with
Harry tonight. It wasn't just because the two of them were fighting and he
hadn't taken her side, but also because of the improper thoughts he was
beginning to foster for Harry. The conversation seemed to stall and the
silence between them was deafening. As Harry finished his dinner, he
resolved to get to the bottom of it once and for all.

"Alright spill, Danny. You're not fooling anyone. What's up?"

"Nothing," Daniel replied bluntly.

"Is it Louise? Seriously, man, you need to get over her."

"Nah I'm cool with the whole Louise scenario. I feel relieved that it's
over more than anything," he confessed.

"What? Why?" asked Harry.

"We were both just too busy and I was starting to feel like spending time
with her was too much of a chore.

Besides," he answered, "I think we'd kind of lost that spark that made us
special to each other in the first place."

"If it's not Louise that's weighing on your mind, what is it?" Harry
pushed.

"Just drop it, Harry. I don't want to talk about it."

"I know you've had a rough week, but that's why I organised all this
tonight - to help you forget about all that.

You're my best mate, Danny, just tell me what's going on so I can help,"
demanded Harry with a look of genuine sympathy on his face. It almost made
Daniel feel guilty for being such a jerk.

"What time is the movie?" Daniel asked, again changing the subject.

"We're not leaving here until you tell me what's going on inside that head
of yours."

"Alright then, why don't you tell me what the deal is with Tara? Why don't
you tell your parents about her? You know that would mean the world to
her."

Harry didn't talk as he absorbed Dan's words and processed them, trying his
hardest to give an honest and thoughtful response.

"Dan, I would if I could. But there is so much at stake and they may cut me
off completely if they know I'm seeing someone."

"That's rubbish and you know it. I'm not buying into that. I've always
imagined your parents to be the most loving people," said Dan.

"I don't want to talk about it at the moment," Harry said suddenly.

"My, look how the tables have turned!" laughed Daniel sarcastically.

"I promise I will explain everything to you, Daniel," said Harry with a
very serious expression on his face. "But a Subway restaurant just isn't
the place to do it."

"Alright, but I'm going to keep prying until you tell me, okay?"

"I wouldn't expect anything less," Harry chuckled. "Let's get to this
movie, buddy."

Upon arriving at the movie complex and buying their tickets, Harry told Dan
to go into the cinema and grab a seat while he went to the bathroom. Daniel
did as he was instructed and waited patiently for Harry to return. In the
meantime, he thought about the conversation they'd just shared. Things
definitely didn't add up and he intended to get to the bottom of it. The
lights dimmed and the previews for upcoming releases started flashing
across the screen.

Harry returned promptly carrying two drinks and a large carton of freshly
made popcorn.

"What the hell is all this?" Dan asked, surprised.

"I'm just pulling a leaf out of the old 'Coombes Guide to Dating'. I figure
I should definitely keep my date happy and you can't go far wrong with
popcorn and Coke combo," Harry laughed, handing Dan his drink and the
popcorn as he sat down.

"Well your date is very impressed," joked Daniel. "But don't try to make
any moves on me in the dark or you might just be leaving the cinema alone,
buddy."

"Awww, and here I was thinking I'd get to sit in your lap like you offered
Jacqui last night if she tagged along,"

Harry reminded him.

"You have a memory like a fucking elephant!" said Daniel.

"I just know what I want and I go for it. Can't blame a guy for trying!"

"Pervert," laughed Daniel, grabbing a hand full of popcorn and throwing at
him. Harry picked up the loose pieces and stuffed them in his mouth.

They had chosen to watch an action movie and it was spectacular to say the
least. The latest trend was to watch movies in 3D, and while you paid more
for the privilege, the special effects were brilliant. The film was very
engaging and Daniel found that all of things that had been on his mind
earlier in the night disappeared as he became immersed in the cinematic
experience of the big screen in three dimensions and the surround sound. He
was somewhat startled, then, when Harry nudged him gently in the side with
his elbow and began whispering in his ear.

"What do you think so far?" he asked in a hushed tone.

"It's good," replied Daniel, "although I don't think I'll be watching it
again when it comes out on DVD. It's really something you have to see in
the cinema."

"Yeah, I agree," Harry concurred. "Hey, I'm going to get a choc top from
the candy bar. Do you want anything?"

"Yeah grab me some M&Ms if you wouldn't mind, bro." Dan grabbed his wallet
out but Harry left before he could give him the money.

When Harry returned, he sat down and handed over the goodies.

"Let me fix you up for that, dude," said Daniel, pulling out a few dollars
in change from his wallet and holding his hand out for Daniel to take it.

"I'm not gonna let you pay me, just deal with it," said Harry, resolutely.

"Take the fucking money," Daniel said, trying to sound serious but giggling
as the elderly woman sitting in front of him glared at them over her
shoulder. Harry felt guilty when he saw the woman's dismay and stopped
resisting, so Daniel forced the money into his pocket. He could feel
Harry's firm, warm thigh through the thin fabric of the pocket and shivers
went down his spine. His hand was only millimetres from Harry's most
private parts and he had to restrain himself from reaching further into the
pocket to grasp his dick.

'Pull yourself together Daniel, you douchebag!' he thought, mentally
reprimanding himself as he quickly removed his hand.

By the time the movie finished, the boys headed to the bus stop to catch a
ride into the city. Daniel owned a car, but with so little room to park on
campus and priority parking at college going to staff and third year
students, he was forced to leave it at home and take public transport
everywhere. Luckily, the system was fairly reliable and there were never
too many hassles.

"Good movie?" Daniel asked as they queued.

"Yeah, I really enjoyed it but I reckon it could have probably ended half
an hour before it did," said Harry.

"Mmm you're right, and those cardboard 3D glasses you have to wear were
really starting to hurt the bridge of my nose," he complained.

"Aww, does poor little Danny need a bandaid?" Harry asked mockingly,
reaching out and giving Dan's nose a once-over with his hand. "Oh yes, it's
as I feared. I think I'm going to have to operate."

Daniel laughed hysterically. "Get your cotton pickin' hands off face! I
wouldn't know where they've been!"

"Alright, alright," Harry laughed, "but FYI, I happen to have very clean
and steady hands. These babies are gonna be doing surgery one day."

"Yeah, whatever, Dr Seuss," teased Dan. "Fox in socks with blocks and
clocks, sir. That's about the strength of your doctoring capabilities."

"Luckily for you, I used to love that sort of stuff as a kid. I'll take
that as a compliment."

The boys arrived in the inner city at around 10pm, and Dan let Harry take
charge as he'd already planned everything prior. Harry led him to a club on
the far side of the city called The Metro - a popular establishment among
wealthy university students who were able to afford the $15 cover charge
and the overpriced beverages.

They had both been there many times before, but usually in larger groups
with other people. Daniel recalled the time he had been with some of the
guys from his soccer team and they'd been kicked out after he'd vomited
over the railing of the upstairs balcony. However, having a lot of study to
do the following day and in the coming week, they both decided that they
weren't going to get completely wasted tonight and write off their study
time tomorrow, as they had done so many times previously.

After being checked for ID and receiving access inside, the boys were hit
by an almost paralysing wall of sound which reverberated off the many glass
fixtures and hangings. Inside the club was very dark, with the walls
painted black and the light heavily dimmed. A strobe light illuminated the
dance floor on the ground level, which was already packed with the people
by the time they arrived. Many groups of people had congregated around
sitting areas, sipping away on drinks while a long queue formed at the bar
for refills. The loud techno music and the wild moves being displayed on
the dance floor helped to create a kind of carefree atmosphere in the club,
and Daniel soon found that his resolution not to drink much in favour of
having a level head about him tomorrow was an almost impossible ask of
himself. He and Harry went to the bar and started the night with a glass of
beer.

While they were looking around for somewhere to go, Harry spotted some
people he knew from his course and decided to join up with them. All of the
necessary introductions were made, and everyone was soon getting along like
they'd known each other for years. Despite it being a night out and a break
away from all things academic, the conversation soon found its way to the
inevitable topic of coursework and university. Daniel felt slightly
excluded from the exchange due to the medical nature of the conversation,
but he tried his best to contribute his limited input wherever possible.

"So what do you study, Daniel?" asked the guy sitting next to him. Daniel
looked up and immediately felt guilty for forgetting the guy's name after
the introductions just a short while ago. Judging by the pitch of his voice
and the small lisp he spoke with, Daniel got the impression that the guy
was gay. His wiry, straight hair, feminine facial features and overt
piercings also sent alarm bells ringing for Daniel, who felt inexplicably
uncomfortable in his presence. He had known of a few gay people at school
and uni, but he'd never really spoken to anyone who liked the same sex
before. His parents had said many negative things at home before relating
to homosexuality, such as the prevalence of STIs and the inability for gays
to feel anything more than a sense of lust for their partners. Dan was old
enough to make up his own mind and usually detested his parents very
prejudiced views towards minority groups. Normally he would be okay with
meeting someone who was gay, but tonight it was a very different
scenario. He had recently come to find himself staring at Harry and taking
in his very attractive features. He found himself on numerous occasions
appraising the physical beauty of the young jock, and was also unable to
explain the impure he thoughts he had begun to have about him. Harry had
always just been a friend and a close friend at that, but the constant
sexual innuendo and banter between the two of them was beginning to have an
effect on him - he was starting to consider the possibility that he may not
be as straight as he once thought.

"I'm doing Economics/Law," Dan said wearily.

"Oh cool, we're very similar then. I'm doing Business Management at Sydney
Tech and hope to one day own a little juice place of my own," said the
stranger.

"Sounds good to me," Daniel said with a smile, not wanting to patronise the
guy or intimidate him by explaining the vast difference between Economics
and Business Management. "How do you know the others here then?"

"Well," he began, "my partner here, Josh, is studying Medicine over at
Sydney Uni and knows a bunch of the guys.

I usually tag along with his mates - you all seem like really nice people."

Daniel had felt so certain that the guy was gay, but now that it was
confirmed, he felt disarmed and didn't really have any reason not to like
the guy. It wasn't as if he was trying to cover it up or anything. He was
upfront and honest, and in a way, Daniel wished he could be that way with
himself.

Just then, the boy who Dan guessed was Josh looked over and smiled at
him. "It's Josh," he said, offering his hand.

"I didn't quite catch your name earlier, I'm sorry."

Dan was surprised by just how friendly everyone was being. He quickly
glanced over at Harry who was deep in conversation with a girl he
recognised as Annabel, Harry's housemate, and he felt a wave of jealousy
come crashing down on him. He looked back at Josh trying to forget the
beaming smile he had seen on Harry's face.

"Um... I'm Dan," he mumbled. "Dan Coombes."

"Please to meet ya, Dan," said a very cheerful Josh. "I hope Marcus here
hasn't been spreading shit already. I leave him alone for one minute and
he's already chatting up the hottest guy in the room."

"What? Me?" asked Dan, baffled by the forward remark but also a little
flattered. He felt his face beginning to burn up and worried that he was
glowing a bright shade of red. "I dunno what to say!" he laughed.

"I dunno what to say either!" Marcus protested. "He told me the same thing
a few minute ago! What am I supposed to believe?" he said with as smirk.

Josh leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the lips to silence him. Daniel
couldn't help but to stare at them as they engaged in such a public display
of affection. He was amazed at how comfortable they were with each other
and with themselves, and he didn't recall ever feeling that way at any
stage during the time he was with Louise. Looking at Josh, he would never
have guessed he was gay. Dan had to concede that the dude was hot. He had a
relatively deep voice and a masculinity that Marcus seemed to lack. He
again looked over at Harry who was laughing his head off at something
Annabel had told him. Harry really was a spectacular guy and at that
moment, he wished it was him in Annabel's chair making him laugh so
profusely. Marcus snapped him out of his daydream.

"So where's your girlfriend tonight?" he asked. "Is she here?"

"What? Oh, nah I'm single," Daniel said.

"I thought for sure that a guy like you would be in a relationship," Josh
piped in.

"What do you mean, 'like me'?" he asked, a little offended.

"Guys who are as good looking and as intelligent as you don't stay single
for long, Dan," Marcus clarified.

"Aw shucks," said Daniel, not really knowing where to look. "Well I just
broke up with my girlfriend last week."

"Ah, I'm sorry man, that must be hard for you," said Marcus sadly.

"Thanks, but it was probably for the best. I'm staying pretty busy," Dan
admitted.

"But everyone needs a little bit of down time too," said Josh. "Partners
are good for that. They make sure you keep a pretty good balance... well,
when they're not calling you up for hour long conversations the night
before an exam or not letting you get out of bed all day on the weekend,"
he laughed.

"Don't pretend you don't love it," Marcus teased, grabbing Josh's hand and
lacing their fingers together.

"You guys really make a nice couple," Dan offered. "It's kind of nice to
see."

"Thanks buddy," said Josh. "Look, I know it's probably not your scene but
how would you like to come with us to The Fox tonight after we finish up
here? Might get in a few good hours before it closes."

"You mean the gay club over on Elizabeth Street?" asked Dan, suddenly
becoming a little anxious.

"The one and only!" Marcus giggled. "You don't have to come, but I reckon
you'd have a great time. Everyone there is so friendly."

"I dunno guys, I've never been to a gay club before. I don't think it's
really my thing," he confessed.

"You don't have to be gay to go there, and we're not going to turn you
queer or anything," Marcus rebutted.

"Although we'll sure as hell try," Josh said under his breath, causing all
the boys to laugh.

"Look guys, I appreciate the offer, really, but Harry's made all the plans
for tonight and I'm kind of just following him."

"Oh you're Harry's mate?" asked Josh. "I've known Harry for a few years
now, even before we started university actually. We both went to the Uni of
Sydney for a Science immersion program back in high school, and we ended up
swapping email addresses and staying in touch until voila, here we are now
both studying the same thing."

"That's awesome!" Dan remarked. "He's a pretty wild one, our Harry."

"Christ yes!" laughed Josh. "He'd kill me if he knew I was telling you
this, but all of the first years had an 'end of semester' cocktail party
last year to celebrate finishing exams and going on summer break. Well, we
were all dressed up and..."

The words blurred as Daniel looked over at Harry and noticed that he still
only had the one beer in front of him that he'd barely touched all
night. Daniel himself had consumed at least six or seven standard drinks
and was beginning to feel a buzz from the liquor. Harry had promised to get
him laid tonight as a kind of sympathetic gesture for his break up with
Louise, and yet here he was fawning all over his own housemate. Dan felt
almost betrayed in a way as the night had promised to be so exciting. As
the alcohol kicked in, Dan was feeling extremely frustrated and broke out
into a sweat, feeling hot around the neck of his shirt. He was glad he
hadn't chosen to wear the polo shirt that Harry was now dressed in, with
its high sitting collar and irritating coarse cotton texture.

"...he was just lying there, totally exposed and everyone thought it was
the funniest thing they'd ever seen," Josh finished, barely able to contain
his laughter recounting the story.

"Sounds hilarious," Daniel lied, feigning a laugh, "but if you'll excuse me
boys, I'm just heading off to the little boys' room."

As Daniel stood up, his head spun a little bit and he found it difficult to
walk in a straight line. It usually took more than six drinks to get him
this tipsy, but the short time frame in which he had consumed the drinks
had really contributed to the strong effect they were having on him. He
managed to make it to the bathroom without making too much of a fool of
himself, but fumbled around with his jeans, trying to get the fly
undone. Eventually, he was able to free his cock and peed like a racehorse
while standing at the urinal, but as he shook the remaining drops from his
flaccid dick, the bathroom door swung open and another patron took a spot
next to him, perhaps a little closer than bathroom etiquette would have
deemed acceptable.

"Look at the scum they let into these places," Dan heard Harry say, and he
looked over at him with a smile.

"Yeah, the standard is pretty low judging by your appearance here," said
Dan.

"How's your night going so far?" Harry asked.

"It's not bad. I've been talking to your friend, Josh, and his boyfriend,
Marcus. They seem like reasonable guys,"

Daniel said, pulling up his zip and walking over to the basins.

"Yeah, I saw you guys talking. They're both really cool. Hey, they've
invited us out to The Fox afterwards. Wanna go?" Harry asked.

"What? You're seriously considering taking them up on their offer?" Daniel
asked, dumbfounded.

"Yeah, why not? It'll be a bit of a fun and we've got nothing better to
do. Besides, Tara will believe me when I say I didn't cheat on her if you
can verify we went to a gay bar," he laughed.

"I thought you'd wanna get back home to dear Annabel," fired Dan, a little
bitter.

"What the fuck? Are you serious bro? She's just my housemate! Eww that's
gross, I can't believe you'd even go there!" Harry said with a look of
disgust on his face.

"You two sure seemed to be getting along pretty well tonight. You're in
buddy," Dan laughed, feeling appalled with himself.

"No way! First and foremost, just because Tara and I are fighting, doesn't
mean I'd ever cheat on her and secondly, I hardly ever see Annabel! We've
got different timetables and rarely get to catch up, so it's nice to come
out tonight and talk over a few drinks," Harry said, correcting Daniel's
false assumptions while finishing up at the urinal and making his way over
the basin beside which Dan was now standing.

"Alright, I guess I believe you. But why a sudden interest in the gay bar?
That was never in the plans for the night."

"Because it's a bit of light hearted fun, Danny. I promised I'd get you
laid tonight, didn't I? And well... with that cute little ass of yours, I
don't think you'll have any problems picking up over at The Fox," Harry
said cheekily.

"But what if we get hit on by other dudes?" Daniel asked seriously, not
really seeing Harry's humour.

"Then you should be flattered! If it's too much, we can go home, I
promise. But at least give it a try and you might just enjoy yourself. I've
never been either so it'll be a new experience for us both," Harry said
enthusiastically.

"Okay, I'll go but the minute it gets weird, I'm outta there," he promised.

"Sweet. Well, it'll just be the four of us - most of the others are
pussying out and heading back home."

The boys made their way back to the main area and noticed that the numbers
had considerably diminished. They, too, said their farewells and headed
across town with Marcus and Josh. After getting quite hot in the club, the
cool night air was a welcome change so they all chose to walk rather than
fork out a taxi fare.

It was already 1am by the time they arrived at The Fox, and Dan found upon
entering that the club had a very different atmosphere to that of The
Metro. There was a live musician playing a guitar and singing songs from
the 80s and 90s, and the dance floor was absolutely packed with both guys
and girls, though few were actually crossing the gender divide and dancing
together. It was quite obvious to Daniel that this was a gay club just by
looking at the clientele. Many of the guys were dressed effeminately,
wearing fluffy sashes without a shirt and extremely tight jeans, usually
with their arm wrapped around another guy or their body grinding into
another dude on the dance floor.

Daniel didn't quite know where to look. The chicks, many of whom had
shortly cropped hair, Daniel mistook for guys and he was very weirded out
by the whole thing. He was feeling uncomfortable, not because the people
here repulsed him, but because he here with Harry, who was the epitome of
masculinity and someone he was starting to see in a different light. He
wondered whether the guys here had started off like him, thinking they were
straight, then inexplicably falling for another boy and turning gay. He was
scared by this prospect, and Harry sensed his discomfort.

"Just tell me when you're ready to leave - we don't have to stick around,"
he said, grabbing Dan by bicep and giving him a bit of a reassuring
squeeze.

"I feel like I should be covering my ass," Dan joked.

Harry laughed pretty hard at the comment. "Don't flatter yourself,
bro. It's not all that great."

"But you said it was cute earlier," Dan protested, displaying a sense of
disappointment which was jocular in nature.

"Yeah, well, I'm starting to sober up now," he laughed.

'You've only had one drink all night, what the hell are you on about?'
Daniel thought. "Well then, can I get you another drink?" he asked instead.

"Sure, that'd be great man," Harry said.

Harry took in his surroundings while Daniel went to the bar. He'd never
stepped foot in a gay bar before because he'd always worried what people he
knew would think if they saw him there. Would they jump to the conclusion
that he was gay? He wondered why he was so worried about it because in
reality, nobody would ever pick a jock like him to be gay. But deep down,
he still worried. Was it a guilty conscience? He had a nagging feeling that
all his sexual innuendo with Dan and his inability to tell his parents
about Tara were evidence of something much more sinister. He preferred not
to even think about that. He distracted himself with rugby and working out,
and between his busy schedule, he would frequently visit Tara and usually
leave feeling satisfied sexually. These were all things that didn't require
too much brain power so they were easy ways for Harry to distract himself.

Tonight, he planned to drink very little so that he could have some study
time tomorrow. But he wanted Daniel to think that he was wasted so not to
appear like wimp. He cared a lot about what other people thought of him -
particularly someone he valued as much as Daniel. Another added benefit of
not drinking was he'd be able to think quickly on his feet in case an
unpleasant situation arose. Such an occasion presented itself while Daniel
was queuing for drinks. A guy approached Harry wearing just a pair of tight
black jeans and a vest that was typically worn with a suit, but in this
case it was just over his naked torso.

"Hey, can I buy you a drink?" the guy asked Harry.

"Oh, I've got one coming thanks buddy. Cheers anyway," Harry responded.

"Well I've got the next one then," the guy said. "I'm Justin, by the way."

"Nice to meet ya, I'm Harrison but my mates call me Harry."

"So, you single Harry?" Justin asked him, eying him all over.

Harry suddenly felt very uncomfortable under the dude's gaze. He felt that
he was being inspected like a piece of meat, and he did not like where all
this was heading. He needed to think quickly.

"Nah, I'm in a relationship," said Harry nervously.

"Oh who's the lucky guy?" Justin pressed further.

"Umm... well, the thing is..." Harry stuttered.

Just then, Daniel returned to the spot he'd left Harry and saw that he was
chatting to a guy who was very blatantly out of the closet and appeared to
be chatting him up.

"Harry, here's your drink, bro," said Dan, eying the stranger.

"Thanks, stud," said Harry, relieved to have just been granted an out. Dan
looked at him quizzically and he leaned in and bit the bottom of his
earlobe playfully, whispering, "I'm sorry Dan, just play along."

Daniel smiled. "No worries, man. Who's this you're talking to?" he asked,
wrapping an arm around Harry's shoulder and pulling him closer to him.

"I'm Justin!" he said excitedly. "Wow, you two are fucking hot! If you ever
want to add another guy to your bedroom fun, make sure you let me know," he
giggled.

"Nah, not interested bud. He's all mine," stated Daniel proudly, giving
Harry a playful spank on the ass.

"Aw, that's so cute. I wouldn't be letting him go if he was mine either,"
Justin admitted.

Harry couldn't believe how well Daniel was playing along. He was pretty
damn good at pretending to be gay and if he was honest with himself, it
felt kind of cool pretending to be his boyfriend. He put his right hand in
the back pocket of Dan's jeans and felt up his firm globes through the
material just to be a bit of a tease. He knew he could get away with it for
now, and if Dan confronted him about it later, he'd just say he was trying
to play along as best he could.

"So how long have you guys been dating?" Justin questioned.

"Well it's been almost six months now," Harry said quickly before Dan could
contradict him.

"Best six months of my life," Dan chimed in, making it sound authentic. His
erection was every bit authentic, but lucky Harry couldn't see that. He
took a sip of his drink.

"Did you meet at a club or were you friends beforehand or what?" he asked
impatiently, keen to hear of this tremendous love story.

"Well," said Dan as if starting an epic tale, "I'd been working as a pool
boy over the summer to earn a little extra money. Harry's parents saw my ad
in the paper and hired me to scoop the leaves, balance the chemicals, you
know the drill." Dan looked over at Harry raised an eye brow, clearly
entertained and curious to see where the story was going. Daniel decided to
get even with him for putting him in this situation. "You know what, Harry
tells the story so much better than me. Let him tell you," Dan said with a
cocky smile.

"Oh thanks, Daniel," he said, giving Dan a death stare. "Well as Dan said,
he was cleaning my pool over the summer and this one day when I was home by
myself, he showed up to scoop leaves wearing the skimpiest Speedo I've ever
seen. Well I just couldn't stop staring at him and he caught me with my
eyes locked on his cute bubble butt." Harry paused and squeezed it through
Dan's pocked for effect, causing Daniel to jump a little. "Next thing I
know, he's in the pool doing laps and asking me to join him."

"This sounds so hot. Man I wish I had a pool boy as hot as Dan," Justin
giggled. Harry looked over at Daniel and gave him a very knowing smile.

"Needless to say, my charm won him over and he hopped in with me," Daniel
interrupted.

"Hey, who's telling this story, buddy?" Harry asked, pretending to sound
angry but coming across as adorable.

"I was just going to tell Justin about the way you carried me back to your
bedroom and had your way with me,"

Daniel giggled, shooting Harry a very sarcastic look, "but if you'd prefer
to tell him then be my guest."

"Shhh, let's not tell him about that," Harry said, trying to escape having
to make up intimate details on the spot. "Let me just say that I love this
dude more than I can ever say." He turned to Daniel and offered him a smile
that was so sincere and genuine that Daniel felt for an instant that he
wasn't actually playing the game any more. Dan's heart melted, and knowing
that this could be the one time in his life he'd ever get away with it, he
leaned and kissed Harry on his right cheek.

Harry's heart raced at a hundred miles an hour as this beautiful boy kissed
him so delicately. It was a feeling her had never before experienced, and
while it was a huge thrill at first, he fast remembered that Dan was
putting on an act to fool Justin, and he immediately felt disappointed. A
very big part of him wished Daniel was kissing him for real, and while he
couldn't explain it, he knew that's what he wanted.

Justin was visibly tenting in his tight jeans and made no attempt to cover
it in any way. He grabbed his erect dick through his pants and tried to
rearrange it a little as Harry and Dan pretended not to watch. "You boys
should go out there and dance together," Justin finally said. "Every eye in
the room will be on you, I swear to God!"

"Nah, we like to play it low," Harry said. "I wouldn't mind but Daniel here
hates all the attention."

"Get your sweet ass out there on the dance floor, bitch, and we'll see who
hates the attention then," Daniel said, putting his empty glass on the
nearby table and forcefully pushing Harry in the direction of the dance
floor.

As if cued to perfection, the musician finished the up beat song that he
had been playing. He began to pluck away tenderly at his guitar strings,
signalling the start of a slower, more romantic ballad. Harry threw his
arms around Dan's neck and moved close to him.

"I'm so sorry Daniel, I owe you big time," said Harry apologetically. "I
had no idea the night would turn out like this."

"Just make this dance good. We'll discuss punishment later," he laughed.

The beautiful tenor voice of the musician and twangy staccato plucks of the
strings complemented one another perfectly. The music flooded their senses
and they began to sway with one another, blocking out all that was
happening around them.

"It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart.

Without saying a word, you can light up the dark.

Try as I may I can never explain, What I hear when you don't say a thing.

"The smile on your face lets me know that you need me.

There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me.

The touch of your hand says you'll catch me wherever I fall.

You say it best, when you say nothing at all."

Many of the people who had been dancing moved to the side of the floor to
watch these two incredibly attractive guys dance so elegantly
together. Harry withdrew his arms from around Dan's neck and moved them to
his waist, pulling him closer. Dan rested head on Harry's soft shoulder,
closing his eyes and letting Harry dictate their movement. Pressing into
Harry's Adonis-like body, Daniel felt unbelievably safe. He peeked out of
one eye and saw that Justin's words had been prophetic - indeed, all eyes
in the room were on them. His heart pounded even faster and he felt Harry
pull him into a tight embrace.

"All day long I can hear people talking out loud But when you hold me near,
you drown out the crowd.

Try as they may, they can never define What's been said between your heart
and mine."

His body was pressed so closely to Harry's that he could hear the boy's
heart beating. It spoke to him words of love, and as the music reached a
crescendo going into the final chorus, Daniel felt incredibly emotional. He
was so sensitive to the subtle harmonics of the music, and each dissonant
chord which was then resolved by the dominant struck a chord within his
very own heart. Tears began forming in his eyes as Harry scratched his back
through his shirt. Harry, too, was feeling totally at peace, and while he
had originally intended to exaggerate his movements on the dance floor to
give everyone a bit of a show, he found that he didn't even have to think
about what he was doing. He did what felt natural and comfortable, and
prayed he wasn't upsetting Dan too much in the process. As the song neared
its climactic key change into the final chorus, Daniel pushed his body
tight against Harry's and felt the groove of every muscle against his
body. But perhaps most incredibly of all, he felt Harry's crotch press
against his own and to his surprise, Harry was sporting a very hard
boner. He wanted to reach down and touch it to let Harry know that he
approved, but he simply smiled to himself and continued to rest his head on
Harry's shoulder.

"The smile on your face lets me know that you need me.

There's truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me.

The touch of your hand says you'll catch me wherever I fall.

You say it best, when you say nothing at all.

"You say it best, when you say nothing at all."

As the musician sung the final word and strummed the last chord of the
song, the many spectators who had gathered around the edge of the dance
floor to watch Dan and Harry dance erupted in applause. It was a moment
that Daniel would never forget. He felt so at one with Harry and was
grateful for the opportunity to dance to closely with him, but he was sad
that they were only messing around and Harry would never know how he truly
felt. Harry let go of him and they looked at each other for the longest
time, before one final tight embrace.

"What happens at The Fox..." whispered Harry.

"...stays at The Fox," completed Dan, with a wink. "Not a word of this to
anyone, okay?"

"Yep, I promise," smiled Harry, patting Dan on the back as they pulled
apart and walked off the dance floor.

While Harry went to get them another drink, Josh and Marcus who had gone
their own way earlier came over to talk to Daniel.

"Holy crap! That was un-freggin-believable!" shouted Marcus.

"I've been trying to turn Harry gay for years, and you come along and do it
just like that!" Josh stated.

"We were only messing around because this f... guy was flirting with
Harry. I was pretending to be his partner so the dude would back off a
little," said Daniel, attempting to justify the dance.

"You can't fake that shit! You two were burning up the dance floor out
there. That was passion like I've never seen it before," Marcus observed.

"Yeah, I think I need a cold shower," Josh joked.

"Well, what can I say? I starred in 'Chicago' at school. I'm a natural
actor," Dan laughed, trying to evade the issue at hand.

Harry came back with what appeared to be vodka (but was actually iced
water) for himself and a rum and coke for Daniel.

"Harry! You and Dan were incredible out there," Josh noted, patting him on
the back.

"Yeah... I think we pulled it off, Danny," Harry said.

"Every guy in this room thinks that you two are pretty deeply in love,"
said Josh. "And to be honest, I'm not convinced they're wrong."

"Whatever Joshua," laughed Harry, brushing off the implication that it was
anything more than an act. "You ready to head off home Dan? It's been a big
night."

"Yeah, sure am. Lemme just finish this drink. Was nice to meet you guys
tonight," said Dan.

Outside, the boys waited for a taxi to take them back. Daniel was feeling
well and truly buzzed and really struggled to walk in a straight line,
whereas Harry had consumed very little alcohol but pretended to be quite
tipsy. It wasn't cool to stay sober on a Saturday night as he had done and
didn't want Dan to think less of him for it. It was a beautiful night
outside and as they stood there waiting for the taxi, there were a number
of things on their minds that they wanted to talk about but were too scared
to do so. Dan fidgeted with his phone while Harry looked down at his shoes,
trying to think of how to word his apology.

"Daniel, I'm so sorry," said Harry. "I feel terrible for what I forced you
into tonight. It wasn't supposed to happen like this."

"What are you sorry for?" Daniel asked. "It was a great night."

"Well you were uncomfortable from the start about coming to the gay bar,
and then I practically made you pretend to be gay for the rest of the night
just so some dude wouldn't keep hitting on me. I feel like I used you,"
Harry frowned.

But it was Daniel who felt bad for feeling like he had used Harry. He had
enjoyed the night so much that he'd forgotten at times he was only supposed
to be pretending he was in a relationship with Harry. Their dance had only
sparked within him desire to be held in Harry arm's again. It was these
impure thoughts which made Dan feel guilty.

"Look, I don't feel used in the slightest. It was all just a bit of fun
that we'll have probably forgotten by morning,"

Daniel lied as he recalled kissing Harry on the cheek and feeling the
incredible sensation of having Harry's erection pressed into his crotch.

"Well it's morning now and I sure haven't forgotten," said Harry. "You were
such a brilliant actor in there, you know. That Justin guy really bought
the story!"

"You weren't so bad yourself, Mr O'Brien. You could have won an Oscar for
your role as Lord of the Dance."

They were still laughing as the taxi arrived and drove them back towards
the university.

"Why don't you just stay over tonight?" asked Harry. "We'll save on the cab
fare and you can just walk back to college when you get up in the morning."

"Yeah, okay," said Dan. "But I'll have to borrow some PJs. Will that be
okay?"

"I dunno, man, that's a pretty big ask. I mean, that's a bit queer don't
you think?" Harry posed.

"Pretty much everything you're wearing right now, down to those monkey
briefs, is mine! The least you can do is lend me some boxers!" Dan said,
unable to detect Harry's sarcasm in this slightly inebriated state. "After
what we've just done, you think letting me borrow your clothes is queer?"

"Dude, relax! I'll lend you some boxers, don't panic! If I can handle
pretending to be your boyfriend for the last couple of hours, I'm pretty
sure I can handle you wearing my boxers," he said, finding Dan's offense
hilarious.

The taxi driver looked into the rear-view mirror and eyed them a little
suspiciously at all of the gay references that were being made, but dropped
them off outside Harry's place in good time and they split the fare.

They sneaked in the front door and shut it quietly so as not to wake
Annabel, whose room was located on the ground level. Harry wouldn't even
turn on the light, so Dan was forced to navigate the steps in the dark as
they ascended towards Harry's bedroom. His third housemate, Christian, who
also lived upstairs, was out of town at the moment, and Harry was relieved
upon reaching the top level that he hadn't disturbed Annabel who had come
home much earlier in the night. They entered Harry's room at the end of the
hallway and shut the door. Only then did Harry switch on the light.

"I gotta admit," said Dan, "this isn't what I had in mind when you promised
to get me laid tonight." Harry laughed hysterically, rolling around on his
mattress which he kept on the floor. He claimed that after buying a new
computer and workstation, he'd not been able to afford a bed frame.

"Man, I just wanna sleep so badly. I'll grab the mattress off Christian's
bed and bring it in here for you to sleep on,"

said Harry, again turning off the light and opening the door. Daniel
quickly made his way over to Harry's chest of drawers and found a pair of
boxers, and while Harry was still in Christian's room grabbing the
mattress, he stripped off out of his clothes and threw them on. He loved
the cool feel of satin boxers against his thighs, especially after he'd
been wearing something hot like jeans.

Harry re-entered the room dragging the mattress behind him and was only
able to fit it through the door by tipping it on its side. He had a fairly
small room and with much of it taken up by his computer study area and
chest of drawers, it was necessary for the boys to push the two mattresses
together in order to fit them in. Dan helped by clearing a space on the
floor next to Harry's bed which was strewn with laundry he had yet to do.

"Just throw those dirty clothes over there in the corner. I would've tidied
up a bit if I'd known I was expecting company," said Harry.

"No worries. Hell, you know what my room is like," Dan smirked.

When the bed was comfortably in the door and on the floor, Harry was just
able to shut the door around it and turned on the light again.

Dan covered his eyes. "Jesus! That's bright!"

"Yeah, sorry. I just need to grab you a sheet out of the wardrobe for your
bed and get changed out of these clothes," said Harry.

While Harry did this, Dan slipped out the door and went to the bathroom. He
needed to pee badly and wanted to splash some water on his face also. As he
looked in the mirror, he couldn't help but feel that the reflection which
stared back at him was a different person to the one who'd been in the
mirror earlier in the night when he styled his hair. So much had happened
that night. He'd found himself jealous of Harry's housemate, Annabel, while
they were at The Metro and she'd managed to make him laugh. He even found
that their usual banter and double entendre took on a deeper meaning. He
was wishing that Harry meant all of the things he said, from saying he had
a cute ass to saying he wanted to sit in Dan's lap at the movies like
Jacqui had been invited to do. But it was pretending that they were dating
to throw Justin off the scent which had affected him the most. Hearing
Harry make up a story about how they had met, experiencing a very special
dance in his arms, feeling his dick press into to him, being able to kiss
him and getting away with it - these were moments of the night that he
would never forget. What had started out as one final night of celebration
before exams started had turned out to be a sexual awakening of sorts. 'I'm
turning gay for this guy,' Daniel whispered under his breath before
splashing cold water from the basin on his tired face.

In a way, all of this scared him. He had gone from breaking up with his
girlfriend of two years to suddenly developing feelings for another
guy. His parents would not approve at all if they knew. What was confusing
him most was that he feared Harry wouldn't want to be his friend any more
if he knew, but at the same time, it was almost as if Harry was encouraging
him. Even after their night of pretending to be gay, Harry invited him back
to his place to spend the night in his room. Was he that comfortable with
his sexuality that he could move between acting gay and sharing his room
with another guy, not once questioning his own sexuality? He was certain
that Harry hadn't been drunk for any of it, so with his inhibitions in
tact, why was he so cool about all of this?

As Dan walked into Harry's bedroom, he found Harry lying on his bed on top
of the sheet dressed only in the monkey briefs. The light was still on, but
Harry appeared to be fast asleep. His eyes were closed and his breaths were
heavy. Before Daniel turned off the light, he took one last look at the
beautiful specimen before him, lying there so gracefully and at peace with
the world. He was truly a beautiful man, and as wrong as it was to want him
for himself, he got into his bed wishing he had the guts to tell Harry how
he felt.

It was already going on 3am and Daniel was having trouble getting to
sleep. So many things raced through his head when he shut his eyes, but it
was hopeless to attribute the blame to the unfamiliar bedroom or the fact
that he'd drunk a tiny bit too much. It was like the sweetest form of
torture imaginable having Harry sleeping next to him, within only an arm's
reach. He tossed and turned trying to get comfortable, trying to void his
mind of all Harry related matters.

Harry was also having trouble sleeping. The last time that he'd been part
of a sleepover was probably back in Grade 8 or 9, and he wasn't used to
having someone else sleep in his small room. He had spent the night in
Tara's room many times and shared the bed with her, but this was so much
different. Daniel wasn't just a guy off the footy team or some friend from
school. He was an incredible friend whose displays of altruism were evident
in all that he did. He knew of nobody else who would pretend to be gay just
to get him out of a tricky situation, and not only that, but Dan wasn't
even angry afterwards and didn't seem to want anything in return. During
the dance they'd shared, he'd developed a hard on while Daniel was close to
him and he was certain that Dan would have felt it but again, he hadn't
made a big deal out of it. Tonight, he'd stuck by Harry through everything,
even though his friend Tara was distressed. It was this loyalty he'd shown
to him and the maturity he displayed in many of life's facets that made him
more than just a friend in Harry's eyes. He felt wide awake and didn't hold
much hope of getting any sleep before dawn.

Just as Daniel felt himself starting to doze off, the deafening silence of
the bedroom was broken as Harry whispered something quietly.

"Dan, are you still awake, bro?"

Daniel had heard the words clearly and was capable of responding, but in
this sleepy state, his brain couldn't register whether it was real or
whether he'd simply conjured Harry's words in his head.

"Yeah," he responded quietly, in the hopes that if he'd been wrong, Harry
wouldn't hear him and think he was talking in his sleep.

"I can't sleep," Harry stated, still in a whisper.

"Me neither." Dan rolled onto his back and lay there, staring at the
ceiling.

Harry scooted over onto the other mattress and lay on his back beside
Dan. He put his head on the pillow and turned it to the left to look at the
person laying there.

"Wanna come for a jog with me?" said Harry, half joking.

"Ugh get real! That's the last thing I want to do right now," Daniel
proclaimed.

"Well what's the first thing you want to do, then?" Harry asked, rolling
onto his side to face Dan and supporting his head with his closed left
fist.

"Sleep!" Daniel responded quickly.

"Aww, you poor old man," Harry teased.

"I really don't know how Tara puts up with you when you're like this," said
Dan groggily. "She's got more patience than me, that's for sure."

"Oh she knows how to tame this beast," Harry winked.

"Well if you're expecting me to put out, you've got another thing coming,
buddy," Daniel laughed, rolling onto his side and facing away from
Harry. He thought that this would give Harry the message that he didn't
want to talk and that he should try to get some sleep back in his own bed,
but he was mistaken.

"Not even a massage? Tara usually gives me a good massage before I go to
sleep," Harry lied. He knew he was being annoying, but it was fun to tease
Dan because he knew the guy could take a joke. "Relaxes all my muscles and
makes it easier for me to fall asleep."

"Alright, fuck, I'll give you a massage but only for a little while and
then you've got to sleep, okay?"

Harry was surprised that Dan relented so easily. He instantly felt bad for
being such an asshole and depriving Daniel of sleep. For starters, Tara
never gave him a massage before bed. The only reason he'd brought it up was
to be annoying. But now that Dan had agreed to it, there was no way he was
going to turn down the offer. He rolled over onto his stomach and lay there
on Dan's mattress, waiting for him to begin.

Truth be told, Daniel was very excited about the prospect of touching
Harry's muscular back and tanned skin. He worried that he'd appeared a
little overeager to give him a massage, but upon seeing Harry laying there
waiting for him, all of his worries dissipated. He sat up and assumed a
position which would give him comfortable access to Harry's back.

"Does she normally use any oils and shit?" Daniel asked.

"What?"

"Tara, you moron. Does she normally use massage oil or something?" Daniel
repeated.

"Oh... no, she just uses her hands," Harry lied. "But she can get away with
that because her hands are so soft. I'd better go grab you some oil from
the bathroom."

Harry practically ran to the bathroom and was back within seconds, carrying
what appeared to be a squeeze bottle of tomato sauce. After handing the
bottle to Daniel, he resumed his position on his stomach and closed his
eyes, anticipating the first touch. Dan squeezed some of the oil into his
hands and rubbed them together, before applying them to Harry's back
gingerly.

Harry moaned involuntarily as Dan touched him so gently. His hands felt
incredible. They were coarse like a rugged man's should be, but they felt
so sensual on his back as Dan rubbed in the oil. Tara had never given him a
massage before, but he knew right then that even if she had, it would never
be able to match the standard set by Dan's ministrations. He expertly
applied the oil to his shoulders and the nape of his neck, before getting
some more oil from the bottle and rubbing into his solid shoulder blades
and lower back. He would rub his hands up and down the length of Harry's
spine, carefully working the skin and ensuring that every square inch of
his back received the admiration it deserved. Harry even spread his arms
out in front of him and Dan willingly rubbed some oil into the stud's sexy,
athletic biceps. He squeezed the muscles and assessed their firmness and
strength, before massaging them and working the stress out of Harry's body.

His hands began to work of their own accord as Daniel looked down at
Harry's ass, barely hidden in his favourite monkey briefs. There was
something extremely erotic about Harry wearing his favourite pair of
undies, and the fact that he had such a beautiful ass only augmented his
desire to want to lift the waistband of the briefs and massage his most
amazing buttocks. Daniel felt himself get hard in no time as these thoughts
entered his brain. Harry's skin felt so good under his fingertips. It
wasn't rubbery or like elastic, but rather soft, gentle, and angelic. He
wondered what it would be like to kiss Harry's back. Would the boy resist?
Not only would Harry resist, but he would most likely bash him up if he
knew he harboured such desires, Dan thought.

He had been massaging Harry for about fifteen minutes when the oil on
Harry's back was beginning to run dry. He debated whether he should stop,
but he was enjoying it too much and wanted the experience to last a bit
longer.

Thus, he stopped massaging and began to lightly scratch Harry's skin with
his nails. Within an instant, goosebumps began to form all over Harry's
skin and Dan knew that he was enjoying the thrill. Dan's Mum had done this
to him as child when he struggled to sleep at night, and it was an almost
orgasmic kind of sensation. He longed to be a child so that he could
experience the feeling again. He ran his fingers up and down Harry's back
lengthways, before alternating and scratching across the width of Harry's
very broad back and running his fingers right down the side of his torso
until his hands came into contact with the mattress. There he stopped and
did not pursue anything further. It was one thing to scratch Harry's back,
but another thing entirely to oil up and massage his front. Daniel didn't
realise it but Harry would have let him had it not been for the obvious
erection which strained for release against the sexy underwear Dan had
leant him.

He withdrew his hands from the Harry's back lay back down on the mattress
beside him. For a minute, he thought Harry was asleep as he didn't make a
move or say a word. After a few minutes, however, he spoke.

"That was the best thing I've ever felt in my life!" he said with a beaming
smile on his face.

"So I'm better than Tara, then?" Dan asked, keen to know how he compared to
Harry's girlfriend.

"Oh man, she's got nothing on you. You're gonna have to teach her how to do
that! Fuck, I'm so hard!" Harry said with unabashed excitement.

"Whoa, too much info!" Daniel said, inwardly proud of himself for giving
this football stud a woody. "Alright, you said you'd try to get some sleep
after that."

"Wait!" Harry protested. "Let me do you now."

Dan couldn't hide his grin. He wanted Harry to massage his back so badly
but had been too afraid to ask. "I dunno, what if you do a bad job? I'm not
sure I could handle that," he teased.

"That's impossible. I'm good with my hands," Harry said with a wink.

"Alright, Casanova, do your worst."

Daniel heard Harry squeeze some oil into his hands before enthusiastically
applying it to his back. If Dan thought it felt good to touch Harry's bare
back, it was nothing compared to feeling of Harry touching his. It sent
shivers down his spine which did not go unnoticed by Harry, and his already
rigid dick only became even harder, trapped beneath in body and the
mattress below. He could feel some precum leaking from the tip of his cock
and he prayed it wasn't staining the front of the boxers. How would he ever
explain that when he had to give them back?

Harry hadn't lied when he said that he was good with his hands. What made
Harry's ministrations so spine-tingling was the fact that each of his
fingers were working individually to stimulate him. Not only were they
steady and surgically precise, but they had a knack for knowing where he
was tight and cramped. He was carrying a lot of his exam stress in his
shoulders, and Harry worked them rigorously until they had significantly
loosened. He applied more oil to his hands before working Dan's neck, which
was stiff from spending so long sitting in his hard chair and leaning over
his desk to study. Harry casually rubbed the rest of Dan's athletic back,
occasionally coming across a tense region and spending some extra time to
unwind the knots which had formed.

"You're so tense," Harry whispered.

"Yeah, but you're working wonders," said Daniel, somewhat muffled by the
pillow.

"Told ya I was good," said Harry, sounding pleased with himself.

As Harry continued his heavenly assault on Daniel's back, Daniel closed his
eyes and let himself become absorbed in the sensuality of the
experience. It felt so good having this tough jock treat him so
tenderly. It was like he was in the middle of a dream that he never wanted
to come to an end. Had he been dreaming the whole thing? He remembered
almost dozing off and wondered whether he had indeed dreamt the whole
thing. He'd been having a few dreams about Harry lately which often usually
involved the two of them in a situation not too different from the one
playing out in Harry's room right now. He worried that it was another one
of those fantasies. He suddenly panicked.

"Harry?" he asked a little distressed, sitting up on the mattress.

"Yeah Danny, what's wrong?"

"Oh thank God," said Daniel, relieved, laying himself back down. "Nothing's
wrong."

"Just relax, buddy. I'm not quite done with you yet," Harry assured him.

As he closed his eyes again knowing for certain that this was not a dream,
he suddenly felt Harry casually slip a hand inside the waistband of his
boxers and begin to massage the top of his glutes and crevice of his
ass. It was a region he hadn't dared to explore when he massaged Harry, and
yet there was no indication that Harry was pushing the boundaries in a
sexual nature. After a few minutes of tender rubbing, he removed his hand
and gently released the waistband so it sat flush against Dan's skin
without snapping back into place and hurting him. He then continued as
normal and went back to massaging the tight muscles of Dan's back.

But having felt Harry touch him in such a private place that so few people
had even been before, he wanted more.

His cock throbbed beneath him and he felt the moist silk fabric of his
boxers against his thigh where he'd been leaking precum. Harry was making
him feel so turned on and the sexual tension in the air was
unmistakable. He had never felt so horny in all his life, but what was such
a strong physical drive for sexual release was also intertwined with
feelings of passion and love for the boy who was making him feel so
good. His body was aching for Harry. He wanted Harry to feel what he was
feeling. His desire for sleep had long since passed and his body craved
release from all the pent up energy.

Harry then did as Daniel had done to him and used his nails to scratch
Dan's back, signalling to him that the end of the massage was near. He
moved his hands in a circular motion, starting in the middle on Dan's back
and gradually moving to the sides of his body and his neck and
shoulders. As he reached Daniel's lower back, Dan found himself wishing for
Harry to again move beyond the waistband of his boxers. It occurred to him
that Harry was perhaps a little nervous and may need some positive
reinforcement. In those few seconds, he hoped and prayed that Harry would
take a risk. His prayers were answered. Again, Harry's hand slipped inside
the boxers and tentatively scratched the skin at the top of Daniel's
ass. It was now or never. Daniel made his move.

"Oh fuck," he moaned. "Yeah, that's it."

Harry needed no further prompting. He grabbed the waistband of the boxers
and began lowering them, aided by Dan who raised up off the bed a little to
give him better access. However, the front of the boxers became snagged
around Dan's huge erection which had hooked itself in the button fly. Harry
tried to pull them down but when it became obvious that something was in
the way, he reached his hand around to Dan's front and put it straight on
the guilty obtrusion. Dan shuddered as he felt Harry touch his dick through
the silky material.

"Holy fuck!" he moaned, unable to control himself.

"Jesus..." Harry gasped.

He didn't move his hand. He just kept it there as he thought about what to
do next. In the end, he gave into his desire and unsnagged Dan's cock from
the button fly, proceeding to lower the boxers all the way to Dan's feet.

Daniel kicked them off onto the floor, remaining on his stomach. Now with
free access to his ass, Harry oiled up his hands again and began to massage
the globes in front of him. They had a spongy kind of quality to them, but
were at the same time tight, resistant and firm. He had touched his fair
share of chicks' breasts in his time, but this was something else
entirely. Dan had a perfect bubble ass and Harry just couldn't get enough
of it. With his hands still glistening with an oil coating, Harry began to
massage deep within Dan's previously untraversed crevice. It felt so warm
and inviting, just like the many female clits he had fingered over the
years, but it differed in its masculine aroma. It was intoxicating to
Harry, who was so turned on by the whole thing that he had leaked what felt
like gallons of precum into Dan's monkey briefs. He felt the rim of Dan's
tightly puckered hole and rubbed his middle finger back and forward over
it, teasing it and hoping he'd be granted entry. The massage oiled served
to lubricate the tightly closed orifice, which began to falter in its
safeguard as Harry applied a little pressure.

"Dan," he said, his voice faltering ever so slightly. He paused as he tried
to articulate himself. "Please tell me to stop if I'm hurting you."

Daniel responded by reaching around and feeling Harry up through his
briefs. He knew Harry was pretty big, but nothing could have prepared him
for the surprise of feeling Harry's bulging erection as it strained for
release from its tight confines. Harry had leaked profusely and Dan's
fingertips became sticky where he'd touched the gushing tip of the
perpetrating hydrant. As he began to stroke the monster organ behind him
through the material, the tip of Harry's middle finger slipped inside his
virgin hole. His finger became engulfed by an inviting warmth and as he
cautiously proceeded further into this unchartered territory, he used his
free hand to feel Daniel's cock without the interference of the boxers. It
was the first time he'd ever had his hand around a dick that wasn't his
own, and it felt good. It was a decent six and a half inches of solid
flesh, and the fact that Dan had undoubtedly used it to pleasure his
conquests made it only more appealing in Harry's eyes.

"Danny, you're so fucking hot, dude. You've got me so worked up back here,"
he laughed.

"I can tell," said Dan, unable to hide the excitement in his voice.

Harry was most intrigued by the absence of Dan's foreskin, and he examined
the head of Dan's penis by rubbing his lubed palm over it numerous
times. Dan was most sensitive just under his piss slit and felt his orgasm
building too quickly as Harry inspected his unfamiliar cock. He grabbed
Harry's hand and moved it to the base of his cock, and Harry got the
message. He began to weigh Dan's balls in his palm while gently prodding
them with his thumb and forefinger to see if they were as spongy as his
own. Satisfied that they were, he traced light circles around the scrotum
with his finger and Daniel moaned in ecstasy.

Daniel's senses were in overdrive. Never had he expected the night to
proceed in such a manner, but he wanted it to last as long as possible. He
rolled over so that he was now facing Harry and proceeded to remove his
very sexy monkey briefs from the hunk who was wearing them. As he struggled
to lower them over his bulky thighs, Harry gave a knowing smile and helped
him out by tugging them off his legs completely and kicking them somewhere
into the distance. It was Daniel's turn to admire Harry's impressive
shaft. What he had seen dormant at three inches earlier in the evening when
Harry was dressing in his college bedroom had come to life and stood at an
intimidating eight and a half inches perpendicular to Harry's muscled
body. As if its length weren't dazzling enough, it had a very thick girth
which gave it the appearance of an ancient battering ram - a very powerful
tool used to pummel open empire fortifications. The helmet of Harry's rock
hard dick was covered with foreskin, and Dan hesitantly reached forward to
touch it. It was electrifying for both of them. Dan's breath caught as he
felt the colossal tool in his hand, and Harry's heart skipped beat having
his best friend touch him so tenderly.

Dan slowly began to pull the foreskin back to expose the large mushroom
shaped head beneath the sheath, and looking up to Harry for signs of
permission to proceed further, he found only the greatest pleasure and
approval plastered across his handsome visage. Thus, he pulled back the
foreskin all the way and with the greatest care in the world and touched
the bulbous purple head of Harry's organ. It felt similar to his own except
perhaps a little moister, due either to the fact that it hadn't been
exposed to the air so much, or because he continued to leak his potent
precum. Dan didn't know the reason why and didn't really care, for right
now, all that mattered to him was that Harry had trusted him with it, and
he had entrusted his heart to Harry in return.

Using his hands to appraise the engorged penis, he was able to feel a large
network of veins which added an almost ribbed texture to Harry's pole. He
wondered how it felt to be skewered on the pole with those veins protruding
in all directions. He also began to wonder whether Tara had played this
much attention to Harry's dick and whether she truly appreciated the
intricacies that he deemed to be so important. He doubted it very much. He
allowed the foreskin to again cover Harry's sensitive head and sitting up,
he looked at Harry, who was still feeling him up, and smiled.

"I never thought I'd be saying this about another guy, but you're so
freggin' hot!" said Daniel.

"You're not bad yourself, Coombes," said Harry, his eyes taking in Dan's
naked form from head to toe.

That said, he grabbed the oil bottle and squeezed some more into his hands,
lathering up Dan's fully erect penis and jacking it off in slow, deep
strokes. It was clear to Daniel that Harry knew what he was doing. The
masturbatory technique was familiar, expert and professional. It was
obvious that Harry had jerked off his own dick often enough to know what
felt good and what did not, and it showed not only in the speed with which
his lubed hand glided up and down the shaft, but also through the firm
grasp he had on his cock, which was not so tight as to cause any discomfort
in the slightest. Whilst Harry had never even seen a cut dick before, his
instinct told him to treat it as if it were his own, and that he did. He
was treating Dan's manhood with the utmost respect and admiration, and it
was a form of attention Dan's dick had never received before. He had been
jerked off by a few girls, but it had never been this good. He began to
realise that only another male could possibly pleasure him this well
because only they knew what it felt like. He closed his eyes and let
himself become absorbed in the heavenly experience of having Harry O'Brien
pleasuring him. The slippery sounds of the lube and Harry's guttural
breaths filled the room, making Dan only hornier and adding to the complete
sensory experience. He loved looking at Harry's bulging biceps as his
powerful arms pounded away at his cock.

While the feelings in his groin were unlike any he had ever felt, he didn't
want to cum too soon. He thought that a good way to hold off a little bit
longer might be to focus his attention on Harry and allow him to experience
this indescribable pleasure he was now receiving. He lathered his right
hand in the massage oil and applied it to Harry's rigid shaft, gently
coating it from top to bottom in the oil.

"You don't have to, Danny," Harry urged, showing the true extent to his
altruism.

"I want you to feel how good this is," he explained.

"Thanks buddy," Harry said with a smile.

Satisfied that the tool was well smeared in the oil, he began to slowly
pump his fist up and down the shaft. Harry began moaning loudly and picked
up the pace on Dan's cock, changing from the previously slow, deep strokes
to shorter, faster, more desperate thrusts of his hand. While Dan hadn't
the opportunity to build in intensity, he attempted to mimic Harry strokes
to keep the two of them in sync with one another. Harry spread his legs a
little wider to give Daniel better access to his crotch, and he was
rewarded by Dan moving closer towards him and sitting with his ass touching
his thigh. This was so much more than a locker room circle jerk or buddies
just jacking off at a sleepover. Their close physical proximity suggested
that a mutual understanding existed between these two boys - an
understanding that their friendship was special and transcended everything
else at that point in time. Dan pounded Harry's dick with desperate
earnest, all the time looking at his face and losing himself in the boy's
beauty. Harry felt the all too familiar churning in his balls and tried to
stall by ceasing to stroke Dan's cock and instead playing with his
balls. As he predicted, Daniel stopping stroking him and replicated the
action by fondling Harry's heavy balls in his oily hand.

"This is some totally fucked-up shit," said Harry, "but I feel like I've
been missing out my entire life!"

"Yeah!" was all Dan could muster as he felt his impending orgasm.

Even without stroking his cock, Harry's very touch was enough to send
Daniel over the edge. It was an ecstatic feeling just to have this handsome
jock paying such close attention to the most private parts of his body.

"I'm gonna shoot, man!" Daniel moaned as Harry kept playing with his balls.

He took his hands off Harry's dick and began stroking himself to climax
with Harry forcefully grabbing his balls.

"Yeah, shoot buddy. I got your nut sack in my hand, can feel your load
pumping away down here. Shoot it, Dan!"

he encouraged in his sexiest voice.

That was all it took for Daniel to reach his climax, and as the wave of
ecstasy hit him, his toes curled and his body quivered
uncontrollably. Never before had an orgasm hit him as hard as this one did.

"Ohhhh holy fuck!" he moaned loudly, his voice breaking in the middle as
the wave of pleasure consumed in entire body. "Oh god, mmmm." He fired
numerous powerful streams of cum, painting his abs and chest with his spent
seed. One thick rope even reached his chin, and upon realising how he must
look to Harry, he began to feel incredibly awkward and embarrassed. He need
not have worried, however, as Harry was enjoying the sight of Daniel
writhing below him. It made him feel good to know that he had contributed
to Dan's high.

"That's it bro, keep strokin'," whispered Harry, continuing to tug Dan's
balls and roll them around roughly in his hand. He always thoroughly
enjoyed those ten second following climax as he came off his high and
settled into a kind of post-orgasmic bliss. He wanted Dan to enjoy this
experience just as much.

Dan stroked himself until only small droplets of semen dribbled from his
dick and gathered in the join of his hand.

Normally, he wouldn't have hesitated stealing a quick lick and tasting the
enticing saltiness of his hot load, but in Harry's company, he already felt
foolish enough for covering himself in his own semen. Harry quickly grabbed
multiple tissues from his nightstand and used them to wipe Dan's abdomen
clear of cum. After disposing of the tissues, he sat back down next to
Daniel and smiled.

"Looks like I missed a bit," he giggled, using the back of his hand to wipe
the last trace of cum from Dan's chin.

"That was incredible!" Dan said, still reeling from the intensity of the
experience.

"It sure looked like you were enjoying yourself," Harry remarked.

Dan looked into Harry's lap and saw his dick still fully erect and leaking
precum as profusely as ever. Harry had been so eager to please him that
he'd ignored his own needs.

"Looks like lil' Harry needs some attention too," Dan chuckled, reaching
into Harry's lap with his cum-soaked hand and giving his cock a few
strokes, eliciting a moan from Harry's lips.

"Mmm Danny, grab some more oil, bro."

Daniel applied some more massage oil to his hands and used one to lather
the length of Harry's shaft and the other to caress Harry's sensitive
perineum. Whenever Dan beat off in his bed, he loved the feeling of the
sheet or the quilt pressed firmly between his legs, rubbing this private
area located on the underside of his hole and behind his balls.

He hoped that by stimulating this region for Harry, it would have a similar
effect. His slick hand was gaining momentum as it accelerated up and down
Harry's tremendous tool. On the downstroke, the foreskin was pulled down
and the impressive head of Harry's club exposed, only to be concealed again
on the upstroke. This repetitive process created the friction necessary
against the rim of his bulbous, purple head to entice Harry ever closer to
orgasm.

After several minutes of this intense motion, his wrist and indeed his
forearm began to tire; his strokes were beginning to lose their depth and
rhythm. Still rubbing the underside of Harry's balls, Dan snaked his
fingers ever closer to Harry's hole. He aggressively massaged the area, and
with Harry leaning back against his open palms on the mattress behind him,
he felt an urge to slowly buck his hips, fucking Dan's hand. Dan grazed his
puckered hole with his index finger, and Harry whimpered slightly with
desperation. He began bucking his hips with some urgency, desperate to get
off as he became consumed by lust. Harry's ass rose off the floor and
thrust his hungry cock into Dan's hand and Dan positioned his lubed finger
at the entrance to his hole, waiting for the inevitable lowering of his ass
back to the floor. As Harry's ass lowered on the descending thrust, Dan's
probing finger gently slipped inside, causing Harry to gasp
uncontrollably. He guessed that he was probably the first to ever gain
entrance to Harry's chute. He inched his finger in further each time Harry
thrust into his hand, careful not to hurt this hunk he admired so much.

Harry was too far gone to worry about his pride. It felt incredible to
actually have Daniel inside him, and driven by his desire for release, he
continued to fuck in and out of Daniel's strong grasp.

"I'm so close Danny. So fucking close..." he panted.

"Yeah Harry, I got you bro."

Daniel felt Harry's tight hole clench around his invasive finger,
signalling the orgasm about to hit. His muscles contracted and he was
gripped with an all-consuming tidal wave of intense ecstasy. Beads of sweat
dripped down his forehead and he could smell the masculine aroma of his
sweat and Daniel's, who was pounding his cock furiously in an attempt to
take Harry over the edge.

"Danny... Danny... oh god... YES!" he groaned, closing his eyes as his
asshole contracted and torrents of his cum spewed forth, jettisoning from
the fiery tip of his cock. Again, Daniel copped the airborne load over his
left pectoral muscle, splattering and coating his abs as his cascaded down
his torso. There were five intense volleys of cum, all of which landed on
Dan, who refused to take his hands off Harry's cock and back away until
Harry had finished. He sat there baring the brunt of Harry's powerful load
until it subsided, merely oozing from the piss slit. When he eventually
opened his eyes, he saw Daniel looking back at him, covered in his cum. The
reality of the situation hit him hard. He felt incredibly guilty and
embarrassed for what he had done.

"Wow!" breathed Daniel. "That was amazing."

"Yeah," said Harry, timidly.

"Can you grab me a tissue, Harry?" he asked.

"Oh... yeah, of course... sorry."

Upon passing a tissue to Daniel, he stood up and made for the door. "I need
a shower. Have to get all this oil off."

His very shallow breaths suggested to Dan that Harry's asthma was affecting
him after their physical activity, but he didn't want to raise the topic
right now.

Daniel lay there after cleaning himself up, feeling a little empty
inside. He and Harry had just shared the most intimate of moments and he'd
enjoyed it thoroughly, but he wanted to lay with Harry now and tell him how
he felt. He wanted to confess his true feelings to the boy he knew he loved
and clear his chest of the burden, and yet Harry had made off for the
shower, leaving him with the impression that he was feeling dirty by what
they had done. It broke Dan's heart and he hoped they could talk about it
when Harry returned.

Harry was sitting on the floor of the shower with the hot steamy water
pouring over his fatigued body, his mind processing everything had happened
that night. He had always been such good friends with Daniel, not just
because he was Tara's neighbour, but because he was a caring and respectful
boy who was interesting, a great influence and the very best of
listeners. He loved that they were always able to joke around with each
other without being taken too seriously. The good fun they always had
together reassured Harry that Daniel was a lifelong friend and someone he
could always rely on to be there for him.

Tonight, however, things had gotten out of control quite rapidly. One
minute, they were enjoying some dinner and grabbing a movie, and the next
they were pretending to be a gay couple to avoid unwanted attention. He was
willing to take responsibility for all this as Daniel hadn't even wanted to
go to the gay club in the first place, and yet Harry had pushed him to do
so and then put him in this most uncomfortable predicament. He had just
received the most amazing massage of his life from the guy which left him
feeling reenergised and very turned on, and he enjoyed being able to return
the favour. He realised that he had initiated the whole thing by continuing
with the sexual banter long after he should have stopped.

As if all this wasn't enough, they had somehow gone from massaging to
jerking one another off. It had been one of the most intense orgasms of his
life, and he was sure that his ministrations on Daniel were equally as well
received.

But he couldn't get the image of Daniel covered his cum out of his mind. It
was such a pervasive picture - Dan laying there, degraded beyond repute,
and yet he had a smile on his face, willingly subservient and docile to
Harry.

He had been blinded by his lust, and instead of putting on the brakes, he
had encouraged the proceedings of the evening. He felt incredibly ashamed
of what he had done.

He must have been sitting there under the shower for at least thirty
minutes before he thought of Daniel back in his room, probably asleep by
this stage. Daniel was so sweet and innocent, and he had trusted Harry so
much. For leading him astray, Harry could never forgive himself. He felt
his sensitive hole tingle from its attention not even an hour earlier, and
Harry was disgusted in himself. He hadn't even protested at all when Daniel
stuck his finger in his ass as he had been too consumed by lust. He
couldn't even claim that he had been too inebriated from drinking to excess
that night as he had drunk responsibly and hadn't gotten himself drunk. If
he was honest with himself, he had to admit that he had enjoyed the
experience too much to stop Daniel from doing what he had done. As he had
neared his orgasm, he recalled wishing that it was instead Daniel's cock he
was impaled on. For one of the first times in Harry's adult life, he was
scared. He had practically cheated on his girlfriend with another man and
he had enjoyed it. He wanted to be sick.

"Harry? Are you okay?" Daniel asked suddenly, knocking on the bathroom
door.

'Fuck,' Harry thought. "Yeah, I'm alright. Be out in a sec," he called.

Even after his lust was satisfied, Daniel didn't seem to be repulsed in the
slightest by what they had done. He had helped Harry to get off, and now
here he was showing concern by making sure that Harry was okay. This only
served to make Harry feel even guiltier for using him in such a heinous
way. He finally turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, drying
himself off and throwing on a clean pair of boxers. He put Dan's monkey
briefs, which now smelt rank with sweat, into the dirty laundry basket to
wash at a later date.

When he got back to his bedroom, a ray of sunshine was beginning to peak
through the curtains of his windows.

Already, the sun was rising and he'd received no sleep whatsoever. He also
saw Daniel laying on the spare mattress and facing towards the door,
eagerly anticipating his return. Dan smiled at him, and he attempted to
smile back but his lack of sincerity was quickly registered and Daniel
became puzzled.

"What's wrong?" Daniel asked as Harry straightened up his bedding and lay
down.

"Nothing. The sun's up already so we should try to get at least some
sleep. I'll set my alarm for 11, okay?" Harry said, shortly.

"Alright," said Daniel.

He wanted so badly to crawl in beside Harry and cradle him, or have Harry
spoon him from behind, but he sensed that the boy he felt so strongly for
was still trying to get his head around the events of the evening and what
it all meant. He would give Harry the space he needed but in the meantime,
he had some thinking of his own to do. Did liking Harry really make him
gay? After all, he'd never had a crush on a guy before and Harry was the
first. When he considered everything that he wanted to with Harry, he saw
more than just the sex and the affectionate gestures.

He saw a life spent together, he saw himself coming out to his parents for
this boy he loved, and he saw a future abundant with happiness. It was
something he'd never had with Louise. As much as he wanted Harry to feel
the same way, he knew it was very unlikely given his strong family values
and fear of negative judgement.

"Harry?" Dan asked quietly.

"Go to sleep, Dan," Harry responded.

"I'm so sorry if I hurt you. I didn't mean for it to happen. We were just
lying there and you wanted a massage...

and I didn't want to say no... and before I knew it, I was kind of..."

"For fuck's sake, forget about it. It happened. We don't need a fucking
coroner's enquiry," Harry said angrily, rolling away from Dan to face the
wall.

"Oh... okay then," Dan managed to say, fighting the urge to cry. Harry had
never spoken to him so abruptly before, and it really hit him hard.

In the hours to follow, Harry eventually succumbed to his fatigue and lay
there seemingly blissfully, despite the whirlwind of negative thoughts
which consumed him. Daniel, on the other hand, was not so fortunate to find
sleep and so he lay there for many hours to come, reliving Harry's painful
words many times over in his head. When he thought about the way Harry had
used him to get off, he felt violated and cheap. Harry had instigated all
the moves throughout the night, from demanding that Dan go out with him, to
suggesting that Dan massage him, to even being the first to grab his cock
and initiate the wank. In the end, it all became too much to bear. Deprived
of sleep and feeling depressed - his face moist with tears - he threw on
the clothes he'd been wearing the night before and left, not really knowing
where to go, but holding onto the belief that anywhere would be better at
that moment than Harry's bedroom.

- IV -

Harry's dreams were surprisingly peaceful despite the confusion and
feelings of self-anger he was harbouring. He dreamt of days spent on his
Grandparents' property, where he had fished for bream in the dam and
occasionally seen an eel or turtle during his childhood. He dreamt of the
grassy knoll which overlooked the parklands on the border of the property,
and remembered the days that he and his grandad sat there to eat a picnic
lunch under the shade of the grand Moreton Bay Fig Tree. Its ancient trunk
towered many metres into the air with thick branches dispersing in all
directions. The tree looked almost prehistoric in its appearance, like a
prop straight out of the set from Jurassic Park. Its dense green foliage
was like an expansive umbrella, providing the grassy knoll with so much
shade and protection from the hot midday sun. They had seen wild birds of
the rainforest feasting on the abundant figs and complacent kangaroos munch
away on the grass seed just metres away from them, and for Harry growing
up, this was a Garden of Eden in every sense. His dreams were filled of
happier times spent in this utopia, but the image of his Grandad, a father
figure in his life who he respected more than anyone, was somewhat hazy in
the dream. The man who had so often sat with him on the knoll or on the
bank of the dam was replaced by a younger, attractive boy Harry guessed to
be Daniel. As they sat there in Harry's special place, they talked about
life and what the future had in store, just the two of them, uninterrupted,
unworried. The dream filled with images of the two boys locked together in
each other's arms, Daniel lying in the lush green grass with Harry on top
of him, the two of them making out.

As Harry pressed his crotch into Daniel who lay there looking so angelic
and innocent, he felt Daniel's luscious hands caressing his back and
working their magic on his tired and aching muscles. He felt Daniel
nibbling on his ear, whispering sweet nothings that nobody else could
hear. His secrets were spoken like the tranquil winds which teased the
upper branches of the treetops and whistled over the valley, having a
natural calming effect on Harry as he melted into the boy below him. And
how beautiful this boy was. With a face far more remarkable than any of the
frivolous women to appear in Browning's poetry, a body chiselled of flesh
and bone, unable to be replicated in stone by any of Nathaniel Hawthorne's
fabled great sculptors, and a smile that put even Da Vinci's "La Jaconde"
to shame, Daniel Coombes was nothing less than a Godsend - a blessing sent
from the highest power in Harry's life, meant to accompany him on his
journey through life. And Harry didn't even need to sacrifice a rib.

"I love you," Daniel whispered, lying so placidly in Harry's garden.

"And I love you," Harry smiled back.

It had been many years since Harry had last visited his Grandparents'
property, but being there now in his reverie, he was overwhelmed by the
peace and tranquillity that the surroundings offered him. It stood in stark
contrast to the stress and chaos of the world beyond the boundary of
trees. He wished he could block it out of his consciousness and lay there
on the grassy knoll in this private sanctuary with Daniel forever. But the
outside world began to call for him and while he resisted its attempts to
lure him away, its beckoning took him unwillingly back into the real world
through the sounding of his alarm, which had struck 11am. And just like
that, it was over.

He was startled by the alarm clock when he woke up that morning and bolted
upright in his bed as it sounded loudly. As he wiped the sleep from his
heavy eyes, he thought about the dream he had just had. He recalled the
fine details vividly, remembering that he'd been with Daniel and that
they'd been making out, confessing their love for one another. Where had
the dream come from? It was so totally out of the blue! He thought back to
what they had done together earlier in the morning and felt a sick feeling
in his stomach, and suddenly remembered that Daniel had been lying on the
mattress next to him when he'd gone to sleep. His eyes searched the room
frantically for Dan, but he wasn't there and nor were his clothes. Harry
felt absolutely terrible, and tried to remember the last thing he'd said to
Daniel before going off to sleep. He couldn't remember the exact wording,
but he knew that it was harsh and uncalled for. Daniel had done nothing
wrong at all. He'd simply looked out for Harry and made sure that he was
doing okay, but in return, Harry had let his guilt and frustration get to
him and he'd snapped aggressively at the boy.

It was no wonder Dan had left, but he just prayed that he wouldn't mention
anything to Tara. That was a whole other situation he was going to have to
deal with.

But these feelings of guilt for his treatment of Daniel were outweighed by
his disgust for what they had done together. Despite showering before
sleeping, Harry felt dirty. He could still smell faint trances of the
massage oil and he swore he could feel Daniel's cum on his hand, despite
washing it off so vigorously with the abrasive Solvol soap that he'd given
himself a gravel rash. He again recounted the dream in his mind and
suddenly felt nauseous. He'd never even considered the possibility before
that he could be gay, and yet he had taken things to a whole new level last
night, not only by jacking off with his buddy, but by subconsciously
wishing that they would become intimate through his dreams.

As he walked down the hallway to grab a shower, he smelt Annabel in the
kitchen downstairs cooking a Sunday morning brunch. The aroma of bacon and
fried eggs did nothing for his stomach and he felt the compulsion to be
sick. He ran to the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind him, hoping
that Annabel wouldn't hear him heaving his guts.

Daniel, meanwhile, was back in his college room lying on his bed. He'd
sneaked in without of the others knowing he was back, locked his door and
curled up in the foetal position. He wasn't feeling angry or upset but
strangely devoid of all emotion as he lie there, numb. During the several
hours he spent in this position, he was totally unresponsive to everything
that was happening around him. Jacqui had knocked on his door much earlier
to ask if he wanted to walk down to breakfast with her, but when he didn't
respond, she assumed that he'd either gotten lucky the night before and
hadn't spent the night at college, or that he'd just spent the night at
Harry's. Similarly, Tara had also knocked and planned to ask him about his
night, and whether Harry had mentioned anything to him about her or their
argument. She met up with Jacqui a bit later and together, they decided
that it must have been a very good night indeed.

It was nearly lunch time when Daniel felt his phone vibrate in his pocket
telling him that he had received a message, but he couldn't seem to find
the motivation to take it out of his pocket and check it. It wasn't until
he heard Harry's voice outside his door in the corridor that he eventually
decided to get up and do something productive with his day, despite feeling
like shit. He checked his phone and found message from Harry, which had
been sent thirty minutes earlier. It read:

"Dan, we should talk. I'll be over soon to see Tara and will stop
by. Harry."

Daniel immediately felt anxious. He didn't really want to see or talk to
Harry right now and feared that the conversation would be one he didn't
really want to have. Upon hearing the boy outside talking to Tara and
Jacqui in the hall, Dan opened his door and put on a brave face.

"Whoa, it's Dan!" yelled Tara, excitedly.

"You must have had a big night if you're only getting up now!" Jacqui
noted.

"Oh yeah, he had a big night alright. You should have seen him hit the
dance floor," Harry joked.

How could he be so complacent after everything that happened the night
before? Dan had to admit that Harry looked a little worse for wear this
morning, with quite heavy bags under his eyes and just a fatigued air about
him in general. If Harry looked this bad, he wondered how he must look in
the mirror right now.

"Yeah, pretty wild night alright," said Dan with a knowing look at
Harry. "You couldn't even begin to imagine."

Harry shot him a dirty look. "Yeah Dan ended up heading back to college at
around 3am and I just went back to mine. Did you get much sleep, buddy?"

Daniel didn't want to lie for Harry's sake, but didn't see how he could
avoid it. "Oh yeah, I had an amazing sleep, can't you tell?"

"You look like you've been hit by a bus," said Jacqui. "Did you have much
to drink last night?"

"A little," Daniel answered truthfully, "but I didn't do anything I regret
so it's all good."

Tara turned to Harry. "And you, did you drink last night?" she asked,
concerned.

Harry suddenly faced a dilemma. If he said he had drunk last night, he
would face Tara's wrath but if he told the truth and said that he hadn't
really drunk, then he would be virtually admitting to Dan that he was sober
when he initiated the activities of the night.

"Oh... yeah I got pretty hammered," he lied.

Daniel detected the lie immediately and sensed he knew Harry's motives. It
only made him feel angrier and even more violated. Harry was trying to
blame the alcohol for his actions last night, and Daniel knew that this was
not the case. Why couldn't he just admit to initiating it and enjoying it
like Dan knew he had.

"But you have exams to study for! And what if someone tried to take
advantage of you?" Tara shouted.

Harry laughed. "Don't worry about that! Daniel was there to make sure that
nobody took advantage of me." He kissed Tara on the cheek, and satisfied
with his answer, she grabbed him in a hug and kissed him on the
lips. Daniel felt sick watching their very public display of affection in
the hallway and decided he'd had enough.

"Alright guys, I'm heading out for a bit to grab some lunch and to study
somewhere. See you later," he said, walking back into him room to grab his
wallet and some study materials.

"Oh Dan," said Harry, breaking away from Tara momentarily. "Can I talk to
you for a sec? I found out about that girl you were checking out last night
over near the bar."

"Can it wait?" Daniel asked moodily.

"No."

They stared each other down a little and while Tara was preoccupied with
her chipped nail, Jacqui noticed the exchange and sensed for the first time
that was some awry between these two friends. She would have to ask Daniel
about it later.

Harry followed Daniel into his room and pulled the door shut behind him.

"So Daniel, we have to talk," said Harry seriously.

"Yea, I guess," Dan acknowledged.

"Look, about last night, I was tanked and I don't really remember what we
did but I don't want things to be awkward," he lied.

"Oh, you got hammered off a beer and a glass of iced water?" accused Dan.

"What?" Harry asked.

"You didn't get drunk last night, dude. You remember everything that
happened and as much as you might try to deny it, it happened. Remember?
What was it you said to me? 'Don't need a fucking coroner's enquiry',"
Daniel mocked.

"Shit, I mean I kind of remember what happened, but neither of us are
queers and it's not as if guys don't experiment with stuff like that all
the time," said Harry, almost trying to reassure himself of the fact more
than he was Dan.

"I get that you're feeling confused about it, I mean I am too, but we've
been through too much to let it destroy out friendship," said Daniel with
earnest.

"I agree, but when I see you, I see..." Harry paused.

"You see what?" Dan urged.

"I... I see what we did, you know... and I just feel dirty."

"Thanks man," said Daniel sarcastically, "I'm glad you see me as some kind
of cheap whore."

"Oh, no I didn't mean it like that..." Harry said quickly, "It's just
that..."

"It's just that you enjoyed it and you're scared what that means," Daniel
said, finishing Harry's sentence.

"What? No way. We were just two horny guys desperate to get off and we just
happened to be there to help each other out. That's it."

Daniel paused for a moment to take it all in. "Okay," he said eventually,
"I'm not going to fight with you Harry, but for now I'm starving and I
really have to do some work."

"Of course," smiled Harry. "I'm sorry, Daniel, I didn't mean to imply you
were cheap or anything. I'm just confused, that's all."

"I know," said Daniel, grabbing him by the shoulder and giving him a
squeeze. "Look after yourself, okay?"

"I will."

Harry exited Daniel's room and went straight into Tara's, the two of them
having obviously resolved their conflict temporarily. Daniel, meanwhile,
decided that he needed to have a shower badly. His chest was somewhat
crusty with the remnants of his load and Harry's. He changed out of the
clothes he'd been wearing for so long now and had a very relaxing
shower. When he got back to his room and changed, he heard Jacqui calling
out to him.

"Hey Dan, do you want a date for lunch?" Jacqui sung out from her room
across the hall.

"Yeah, sure," Daniel said enthusiastically.

"Okay, I thought we could go to that Italian restaurant in town. I'll just
get ready," she said.

"Cool, I'm ready whenever you are," said Dan, tying his shoelaces.

As he finished up and was sitting on his bed waiting for Jacqui to get
ready, he heard giggles through the wall from Tara's room. He heard Jacqui
laughing like a little schoolgirl, followed by, "Shush! I'm not sure
they've left yet.

Harry!" The giggling onslaught continued.

"Are you almost ready, Jacq?" he asked somewhat impatiently.

"Just about, one sec."

He then heard a thud against the paper-thin wall and guessed that they were
carelessly rearranging themselves on the bed. This was followed by more
giggling. It was all too much for Daniel to take. He felt so cheated and to
make matters worse, it was as if Harry was flaunting it right in his
face. He got up and shut his door, walking into Jacqui's room.

"We need to go, now," he said.

Jacqui read the distress all over his face and knew that something was
severely wrong. "Okay, let's go, Dan."

They left the college grounds and walked into the small nearby town which
was always overflowing with university students. Those who were sick of
college food would frequent the many restaurants in the town, not
necessarily because the food was of a Michelin star standard, but because
anything was better than the slop served at college.

Daniel would make a habit of eating out on Sundays when college food was
particularly bad, and today, he was just glad to have Jacqui's
company. After they had ordered their meals and were waiting for them to
arrive, Jacqui finally acknowledged the elephant in the room: Daniel's
strange attitude.

"What's going on Dan? You really don't seem yourself today. Did something
happen while you were out last night?"

she asked, looking him in the eye.

"Yeah kind of. Look, I don't even know where to start," he said, resisting
her gaze and fidgeting with his cutlery.

"I want to know everything," she said, reaching across the table and
grabbing his hand. "You know it won't go past me."

Even though Jacqui knew all of the involved parties, he knew that anything
he told her wouldn't go any further. She was his most trusted friend and at
the moment, he really needed someone to talk to.

"I didn't come back to my room last night," he began. "Actually, I stayed
over at Harry's place to save on the cab fare."

"Oh, cool," she said. "Well that was convenient." But Daniel didn't say
anything and she soon realised that something was amiss. "Oh, why did he
say that you came back to college then?"

"I don't know what's come over me lately. I..."

"One step at a time, Dan. Why did he lie by saying you slept back at
college if you really didn't?" she persisted.

"And we were just lying there and he said he couldn't sleep and..."

"But why did he..."

"...and before I knew it, we were messing around..." he mumbled.

"Wait, what?"

"...and I think I might love him, Jacq," Dan confessed. "I think I might be
gay."

She had heard the words clearly, but she wasn't sure she had heard
correctly. Daniel Coombes was so straight it wasn't even funny.

"Are you sure, Dan?" she asked.

"No, I'm not sure of anything any more but I know it's not normal to feel
like this about another guy," he said, looking at the tablecloth. "I just
want to hold him and have him tell me everything is going to be okay."

Jacqui stood up and walked around to Dan's side of the table, grabbing him
a tight embrace and not giving a damn about the attention they were
getting.

"I'm so proud of you," she whispered in his ear. "You're the most
courageous guy I know, Daniel. It's not going to change anything between
us, I hope you realise that."

Upon returning to her side of the table, she noticed that the corners of
Dan's eyes were moist with tears, and he quickly wiped them away.

"Thanks Jacq," he said, averting his gaze once again.

"You don't have to feel embarrassed about this, you know."

"Yeah, I really do. Harry can't even look me in the eye after what happened
last night."

"Fill me in," she instructed.

For the next several minutes, Daniel recounted to Jacqui the events of the
previous day, from the football game in the afternoon to the sexual
escapades of the early morning. He skimmed over the details, but he said
enough for Jacqui to know what he was talking about. Listening to his fond
recollections of the previous day and his night spent with Harry, her heart
really went out to him. It couldn't be easy for him right now, and she only
wished she could help him more.

"So you've had feelings for him for quite some time?" she said, making sure
she understood.

"Kind of, but I just didn't realise it until I saw him playing footy
yesterday. I thought that it might just be a physical thing, but I know now
that it's a whole lot more than that," Dan responded.

"Just give him some time and maybe he'll come around," she said
optimistically.

"Nah, he and Tara are in her room right now making out and probably at it
like rabbits," he said dejectedly. "He doesn't even care about how I feel
about all this, just so long as nothing ruins his jock reputation."

"It's only natural that he'd turn to Tara right now, Dan. Think about
it. He's probably just as confused by what happened as you are and being
the macho kind of guy that he is, he'll want to prove to himself that he
can still...

you know...that all the parts still work," she euphemised. "He's just got a
case of the guilts."

"It's little consolation," Dan said. "Right now, I feel like jumping from a
really tall building or bridge and hoping the impact kills me."

"Don't talk like that!" she cried, horrified. "Dan, you are such an amazing
guy and I can't imagine the world without you in it! If Harry doesn't know
what he's missing out on, then that's his problem. He would be so lucky to
have a boyfriend like you."

Dan blushed. Jacqui really did know just what to say. "Thanks."

Their meals arrived and Daniel as began to eat his pizza, he realised that
he was hungrier than he had thought. The last thing he ate was some M&Ms
back at the cinema, and that was almost sixteen hours ago. Jacqui was
pleased to see that he hadn't lost his appetite.

"Have you always known that you might be...?" Jacqui asked, reluctant to
say the word.

"Gay? You can say it," Dan laughed. "No, I haven't always known. I guess
that looking back, I've never really had future plans with any of my
girlfriends. I never saw myself marrying any of them and having a family,
if you get what I mean. Maybe that was a sign.

"Do you see yourself as having all of that some day?" she asked.

Dan took a bite of his pizza and thought about her question for awhile
before he answered. "I don't really know what I want, Jacq. All I know is
that for the first time last night, I genuinely felt like I loved
somebody. I kissed him for fuck's sake and it was amazing!"

"Ohh how did he react to that one?" Jacqui giggled.

"He didn't care in the slightest because it was all part of our little
charade. He was just pretending but oh man, I kept imagining it was real,"
said Daniel, reminiscing with his eyes staring vaguely into the distance.

"Who suggested the charade idea, by the way?" she asked, intrigued.

"He did."

"And who suggested that you go to the gay club in the first place?"

"His friend, Josh."

"But Harry ultimately said you guys should go, right?" Jacqui rebutted.

"Yeah... but..."

"And did Harry invite you back to his place or did you do?" she continued.

"He did," Daniel answered, bowing his head.

"And you said he brought up the massage idea?"

"Yes, but I was the one who..."

"Daniel, listen to yourself! He made all the moves and you just went along
with them because you're such a good friend. He's got a lot to answer for
here," Jacqui explained.

"What are you trying to say?" Daniel asked, confused.

"I just can't seem to get past the idea that he instigated everything last
night, Dan. I think Harry's a very confused boy too."

"Maybe you're right," Daniel sighed, "but it doesn't change the fact that
whenever he sees me, he's reminded of what we did. He told me when he came
over before that he feels 'dirty' Jacq, like I'm some fucking prostitute
off the street he uses to bust a nut."

Daniel felt the anger inside him reach a boiling point, and suddenly the
last piece of pizza on his plate didn't look so appetising. He lay his
knife and fork across the plate to show he'd finished eating, and took a
sip of drink to calm himself down.

"Are you going to tell your parents, Dan?" Jacqui asked as she, too,
finished her meal.

"Maybe one day, but definitely not until I'm comfortable enough to admit it
to myself," he responded.

"I understand, but you have to remember that you just had the confidence to
tell me, and I couldn't be happier for you," she said with a beaming smile.

"Yeah, but you don't know my parents. They're gonna absolutely flip, and
I'm an only child which doesn't help either."

"Why would they flip?" she asked.

"Because they have such high expectations of me! It's always been about
graduating law school and earning heaps of money."

"But you're still going to do those things," said Jacqui. "You're still
going to make them so proud. They can't be mad at your for being honest
with yourself, Dan."

"We'll see," he said as he stood up and went inside to pay. "I'll get all
this, I'll meet you back out here."

When they arrived back at college, Daniel feeling relieved at finally
getting so much off his chest and Jacqui proud of his courage, Tara's door
was open and she was on her computer, while Harry was sitting on her bed
reading a textbook. They heard the hall door open and both looked up to see
them as they came in. Harry glanced from Daniel to Jacqui and then back to
Daniel, trying to figure out whether he had told her anything about what
had happened. He knew that they were pretty close and had at times even
wondered whether they might have underlying feelings for one
another. Jacqui's face, however, gave nothing away and Harry was forced to
stew in his own guilty conscience.

"Mr O'Brien," Jacqui said while opening her door. "Get your behind in my
room this instant."

"Yes ma'am!" he said, jumping to attention and saluting.

Dan couldn't believe it. He had just confided so much in Jacqui, and now
she was going to confront Harry about it!

He was outraged.

"Where's my invite?" Tara asked, pretending to take offence.

"Oh this is a strictly 'behind closed doors' kind of event, Tara," she
laughed.

"Fine, well Daniel and I will have our own private meeting, just you
watch," she said. "C'mon Dan, into my room, pronto!"

Jacqui and Tara shut their doors respectively once their invitees had taken
up a position on the bed. Harry was fretting that Daniel had spilled, and
both he and Daniel were now worrying that Harry was about to face an
interrogation. The boys need not have feared though. Jacqui was far more
discrete and was always using her head.

"Harry," she began, "I need your help."

"Well, I'll see what I can do," he said.

"How well would you say you know Daniel?" she asked him.

'Is this a trick question?' he thought. 'Oh man, she must know!' He again
tried to read her face but she was always such a closed book. "Umm, I'd say
I know him pretty well."

"Well then, you know it is Dan's birthday just after exams, right?"

"Shit, is it really?" Harry asked, surprised Dan hadn't mentioned it to
him. "Man, I really need to check my Facebook more often."

Jacqui laughed. "You remember last year when we all went out to celebrate
with him at the Casino, don't you?"

"Oh do I ever! My bank account has been a deficit ever since."

"Well, I wanted to do something special this year just to say that we're
thinking of him. I don't think it's easy for him at the moment, you know,
after the whole break-up with Louise thing," she lied.

"Oh... yeah, that's gotta be tough. They were dating for a long time," said
Harry. This made Harry feel worse for taking advantage of him the night
before, knowing that he was so vulnerable after the break-up.

"Anyway, I want to celebrate his birthday in style, but I don't really have
any good ideas. I thought you may have some suggestions, given that you're
such good mates and everything."

'Was that sarcasm in her voice?' Harry thought. 'No way, she's just trying
to be nice. Why do I have such a guilty conscience? Daniel wouldn't have
told her anything, surely.'

While Harry sat there thinking, Jacqui looked closely at the boy and tried
to imagine him dancing closely with Daniel, who had recounted the story of
their moving dance over lunch. She smiled to herself, imagining them
together holding hands, or kissing one another. They were both such jocks
and as she gave Harry the once over, she struggled to visualise him doing
all the things Daniel said he had done last night. He just radiated such
masculine vibes.

"Well... anything?" she asked as she saw Harry's mind clearly working
overtime.

"How about a weekend away, just the four of us? You, me, Tara and Dan," he
proposed.

"That's not a bad idea, why don't you elaborate," she smirked.

"Well, we could drive up to my place, which is about three hours north, and
spend a couple of days there. I'm sure Mum and Dad won't mind putting us up
in the house, and we'd still be pretty close to the beach and everything,"
he said.

Jacqui had to admit that she really liked the idea. A few days in a
different place might just be what everyone needed after exams were over
and everybody would be feeling exhausted, both physically and
mentally. From Dan's perspective, knowing that Harry was taking such an
active role in his birthday would also be a huge bonus.

"Alrighty, well we could use my car to get there," Jacqui proposed. "I like
this idea Harry - I like it a lot."

"Awesome, it'd be great fun having you guys come up and spend a night, and
I think it'd be a nice break for Dan too. Should we mention it to him yet?"
Harry asked.

"No, you can tell Tara but I'd prefer to keep it a secret from Dan for now
until it gets a bit closer and we know for sure. Deal?"

"Deal, baby!" Harry said, standing up and making for the door. "Dan's lucky
to have a friend like you, Jacqui, always looking out for him."

"You know where my door is, Harry."

"Yeah, thanks."

The exchange that had occurred in Tara's room while Harry and Jacqui
devised their birthday plan for Daniel was actually quite different in
nature. When Daniel entered her room, he was immediately taken aback by the
very raw smell of sex. There was no hiding the musky, masculine aroma in
the room which Dan had smelled last night when he was with Harry and they
had jacked each other off. He immediately felt apprehensive about being in
here, knowing what Tara and Harry had probably done while he was having
lunch with Jacqui. Not only was he repulsed, but he was incredibly
jealous. He wished that he was in Tara's position, having Harry as a
boyfriend. He felt guilty for the feelings he harboured for her boyfriend,
and couldn't look her in the eye as they talked.

"I don't know what you said to Harry last night, Dan, but thank you so
much," she said before she gave him a very warm hug.

"What do you mean?" Dan asked, bamboozled.

"Well, Harry came over this morning to tell me that he was finally going to
tell his parents about us. Isn't that great!"

she said, beaming.

"Oh... that's wonderful news," said Dan, trying to sound happy for her.

"Yeah, but I don't know why he had the sudden change of heart. Did you say
something to him, or did he mention anything to you about it?" she queried.

Daniel knew the reason why Harry had the sudden change of heart all
right. It was because he felt guilty, just like the cheating husband who
brings home a bouquet of flowers to his wife after work because he feels
guilty about his affair. How could he possibly tell her the truth and break
her heart? Harry would never forgive him. He tried to think quickly on his
feet so that he could offer her a plausible explanation, despite feeling
like he'd been hit by a tonne of bricks. How could Harry hurt him so badly?
Was he so na‹ve that he didn't recognise the feelings that Dan was
carrying for him?

"I don't know, Tara," he said, looking into her rubbish bin on the floor
and seeing a used condom.

"He's just been so great today. I just love morning sex," she boasted.

"Whoa! Too much info there!" he said, appalled.

"Aw c'mon, lighten up a bit. Just because you're not getting any," she
teased, elbowing him in the side. "So what do you think Jacqui and Harry
are talking about?"

"I dunno," muttered Dan, vaguely. "Hey, I really have to get stuck into
some study. I have so much I needed to get done today."

"Oh okay then, ditch me!" she joked. "Let me know when you're ready for
dinner."

Daniel pulled his door shut and sat down at his desk in front of an open
textbook, but he just couldn't concentrate on his work. As hard as he tried
to focus on global currencies, he couldn't stop thinking about Tara's
words. Harry was planning to tell his parents about their
relationship. While it wasn't necessarily that big of a deal to anyone
else, for Harry, it was massive. He didn't want to have to face the shame
of telling them a few months down the track that they had broken up, and
swore to himself that he wanted to be certain about his partner before he
would tell his parents about it. What upset Daniel the most was that he was
inspired to do this right after their brief sexual encounter, suggesting
that Dan was the catalyst for it all. Could Harry really be feeling so
dirty and guilty about the whole thing? Dan could have sworn that the look
in his eyes that night was far more than just lust. There was a passion in
Harry's eyes which he couldn't quite explain, and he feared that he was
repressing his true desires in order to do what was more socially
acceptable.

The next three weeks were the toughest of his life. His days revolved
around endless reading, note-taking and memorising with very little time
for anything else. He bought a lot of pre-packaged food and ate his meals
in his room to maximise his study time. He knew that Jacqui and Tara were
doing the same thing, and on the rare occasions that they'd pass each other
in the hall on the way to the bathroom, they'd talk briefly about how their
study was going and return to their rooms once again. The routine became
not only monotonous after awhile, but it also left Daniel feeling quite
melancholy. He felt as if he had nothing to really look forward to, and
even as he confidently blitzed each exam one by one, the longer he spent
confined to his room only added to his sense of despair.

By the final week of exams, Daniel was practically pulling his hair
out. The yellow paint on his walls had been flaking off all year, exposing
the darker rendered brickwork underneath, and Dan was beginning to see
shapes and patterns emerging. He felt like he was going insane, held
captive not only to the university's tough academic demands but to the very
desires of his heart. He only had one exam left which he felt reasonably
confident about, but he hadn't seen Harry in weeks and it was really
tearing him apart inside. As he lay in bed one night, he pictured his
funeral and who would be there if he were to suddenly pass away. Would
Louise attend after everything they'd once shared together? Would his
college friends cry or be upset? Would Harry even bother to show up? From
there, he would begin to think of ways he could possibly take his life. He
thought of overdoses, nooses and poisons, as well as highway overpasses and
strong ocean rips, but he knew he didn't have the guts to follow through
with any of them.

He just lay there, crying, with nobody to hear him but the figures he had
conjured in the paintwork.

Then two days before holidays were due to start and Daniel had finished all
of his exams, Harry rocked up at his door looking rather pleased with
himself. He barged his way in and sat in the computer chair while Dan was
sorting through a file in his wardrobe.

"Well if it isn't my brother to another mother!" said Harry.

"You're so black," Dan laughed back. "What do you want?"

"I don't have to want something! Surely I can just visit you whenever my
heart so desires," Harry responded, pretending to by insulted.

Daniel scoffed. "Let me check your forehead, you sure you don't have a
temperature or something?"

"Oh ha-ha, you're so funny Coombes. Anyway, how are you feeling about all
your exams? Ace 'em?" he asked.

Daniel wanted to be short with Harry and treat him like dirt, just as he
felt Harry had treated him lately. He wanted Harry to know how upset he'd
been and pay for all of the shit he'd done, but with the beautiful boy
sitting there in his room being so friendly to him, how could he possibly
hold a grudge?

"I think I did okay," said Daniel, trying not to sound too big
headed. "Yours?"

"Yeah, not bad. I think I'll pass," he laughed. "Hey, I wanted to run an
idea by you."

"Shoot."

"Well, I know someone is turning twenty on Sunday and I wondered whether
you might like to... I don't know...

come and spend the weekend chez moi?" he offered with a cheeky grin.

"You serious?!" Daniel asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, definitely. Jacqui and Tara are up for it, and we thought we'd drive
up on Saturday in Jacqui's car and then spend the weekend at my place or
whatever before heading back on Sunday night," Harry said.

"That sounds so cool!" Daniel exclaimed, unable to contain his
excitement. "Yeah, I'd love to."

"Sweet bro, my parents are looking forward to meeting you and the
girls. Just pack a sleeping bag and some spare clothes, and it'll be the
best birthday you've ever had, I guarantee it."

"My parents will be pretty cut that I'm not home to celebrate it with them,
but fuck it. We do the same shit every year and it'll be great to do
something a little bit different," explained Dan. "Thanks, man, I
appreciate it so much."

"No worries, bro," said Harry, standing up and giving Dan a quick hug.

After Harry left, Dan took a minute to process everything. He was really
going to Harry's place for the weekend!

He suddenly had something to look forward to and smiled uncontrollably to
himself. This really was going to be the best birthday ever. He phoned his
parents to tell them about his birthday plans and they were really excited
for him.

His mother, as usual, had a series of questions to ask about where he would
be staying, how far away Harry's family lived, etc, but the truth was that
he didn't really know many of the answers to be able to give them to her.

Despite feeling sad that they wouldn't see their son until the late
afternoon on his birthday, they were happy that he would be having a good
time with friends. He'd worked hard all semester and deserved a break.

Harry was also feeling pretty excited about the weekend ahead. He'd found
the exam period to be really exhausting and was looking forward to a
relaxing weekend with the gang. He knew that the others felt the same way
too. The last time they had planned something together, he'd had a fight
with Tara and it had to be cancelled. This time, however, he was sure that
nothing would stand in their way of having a great time. It had been such a
thrill for him to tell Dan about the weekend he had in store and seeing the
excited look on his face. Daniel was a hot guy, and being able to cheer him
up and make him smile was something he prided himself on as best
friend. Deep down, he wished that it was just going to be the two of them
on the weekend, but it was Jacqui who had organised to do something special
and he could hardly just exclude his girlfriend either. The more time that
passed since his sexual encounter with Dan a few weeks earlier, the more
confident Harry felt that it had just been something they had done in the
heat of the moment, and the feelings of disgust which had consumed him
earlier were long gone. He now found himself thinking about their night
together a lot and wondered whether it would happen again if they were put
in a similar situation. Although he would never admit it aloud, part of him
wanted to try it again, except he wanted to push the boundaries and go even
further next time. He thought of his dream and wondered what it would be
like to actually kiss another boy. He craved to see Dan naked again and
treat his body with the respect it deserved. He very much regretted
latching on to Tara after he was hit by the guilts last time, and she still
expected him to tell his parents about their relationship, but how could he
when it was Dan who never seemed to be too far from his mind. Harry felt a
stirring in his loins as thought about the sleeping arrangement for the
weekend, and upon resolving to cross that bridge when they came to it, he
closed his eyes and eventually drifted off to sleep. In this dreamy realm,
he saw chocolate brownies and biscuits, kangaroos and birds, turtles and
hot chocolate in beakers, but perhaps most appetising and most beautiful of
all, he saw the one thing he'd secretly longed for all his life - Daniel
Coombes, lying there in the shade, beckoning him with those remarkable
hazel eyes and seductive charm. If he could only ever have Daniel in his
dreams, then he wished he could sleep forever.

  - V -

The long anticipated Saturday before Dan's birthday arrived, marking not
only the end of exams for everyone and a one month mid-year break, but also
signalling the start of what would undoubtedly be a terrific weekend away
for Daniel, Harry, Tara and Jacqui. They had planned to load up the car and
head off at around 1pm, before picking up Harry along the way from his
shared house and driving straight up the coast to Newcastle, hopefully
arriving by about 3:30 or 4:00. The three at college packed up all of their
gear and picked up Harry in good time, who was waiting out the front of his
place with a backpack and a suitcase. There was barely enough room in the
car for all of them and their stuff, but everyone was in too good of a mood
to complain about the tight fit.

Tara was sitting in the front passenger's seat next to Jacqui, who was
driving. Jacqui asked that Harry and Tara swap seats as they got closer to
his place so that he could navigate. Daniel and Harry occupied the back
seats, safely out of reach of the radio which Tara was guarding with her
life. Her choice in music drove even Jacqui insane, but knowing she would
never win the battle, she let Tara dictate the choice of music for the
duration of the trip, much to Dan's and Harry's dismay. Despite it being
winter, they were fortunate enough to have fantastic, fine weather, which
wasn't so hot as to require the air conditioning, but warm enough that they
were comfortable with the windows up.

About thirty minutes into the trip, questions were starting to be asked
about what they'd actually be doing at Harry's place over the course of
their stay.

"I mean, I like to know what I'm getting myself in for," Tara joked from
the front.

"Well, it's going to be fairly intense," said Harry. "We'll be doing the
high ropes and abseiling this afternoon, followed by river rafting and the
good old obstacle course tomorrow."

"What the fuck!" Tara yelled, frightening Jacqui and almost making her veer
off the road. "I thought this was supposed to be a relaxing weekend away!"

Harry turned towards Daniel, whose expression of shock horror communicated
Tara's point precisely. "I'm totally just kidding guys. Sheesh, lighten up
a little, will ya!"

"Well then you'd better tell us what's really in store," said Jacqui,
focussed on the road.

"Okay, when we arrive home, we'll be tourists and do the foreshore and all
that kind of crap. Maybe have a BBQ dinner down there with the parents if
they're up for it."

"Yum," said Tara. "And then what?"

"Well, mum tells me that my Grandparents' are on a cruise at the moment, so
I thought we could spend the night on their properly in the Hunter
Valley. You'll love it Jacqui, so many animals and stuff," said Harry,
sounding like a professional salesman.

"Oh I can't wait, that sounds so beautiful!" she proclaimed.

"They've converted Grandad's tool shed into a bungalow, so it'll be hell
private, especially without them at home.

We'll spend the night there and maybe hit up some of the markets tomorrow
or do some wine tasting around the valley."

"You just want to get me pissed for my birthday!" Dan interrupted.

Harry laughed. "Yeah, something like that."

"Well I've got to drive everyone back tomorrow, but I'll be sure to spit
out all of the wine into the bucket and not drink any," said Jacqui.

"You a swallower or a spitter?" Tara asked her.

"Sorry?" asked Jacqui, clearly not detecting Tara's sarcasm and sexual
innuendo.

"Don't listen to her Jacq," said Harry. "She's being rude."

"As her future dentist, I need to know these things Harrison!" she said
with a smirk.

"You're gross," he testified.

"You love it."

Actually, he didn't love it. He had found her sense of humour to be quite
an appealing quality when they first met, but now it just seemed to
irritate him more than anything. He really didn't want her to be there this
weekend which revealed a lot about his feelings towards their relationship,
but he couldn't help but feel that she'd try to pressure him into telling
his parents about their relationship while she was there. This was
something that he was definitely trying to avoid for as long as
possible. This was something that Daniel had wondered about also, and the
last thing that he wanted on his birthday was to hear that Harry had told
his parents about Tara. He knew that it would break his heart if such an
event were to occur.

With about only thirty minutes to go until they reached Harry's place,
Jacqui felt like she needed a break from driving. Tara and Jacqui ended up
swapping seats with Harry and Daniel so that Harry was navigating and Dan
was driving. Harry was quick to take advantage of the radio, and changed it
to one of the local stations that he preferred listening to. Everyone was
pleased at the change of music, except for Tara who complained about it for
the rest of the trip.

With Harry's great direction-giving, Daniel was able to find his way to
Harry's without any real problems at all.

After they left the highway, they found themselves driving past one of the
industrial areas of Newcastle which made it such a demographically
heterogeneous city. After driving down the coastal road and catching a
glimpse of the water, they drove towards a suburban area of town, pulling
into the driveway of a house which reminded Dan very much of his own. It
was a single storey house which appeared to be quite large. The house was
rendered in a kind of terracotta coloured wash, and it's landscaping was
elegant to say the least. Jacqui commented privately to Dan that she felt
like she'd just stepped into the pages of "Better Homes and Gardens" or
"Country Living."

The large timber door opened and Harry's parents stepped outside to greet
their son and his guests. Daniel was immediately impressed by them. Harry
was a dead ringer of his father, who towered over everyone at an impressive
6'2". He had a very solid frame, which Daniel later learned came with being
a full time fire-fighter. Dan could imagine him posing for the cover of the
annual charity calendar that the fireys released each year, but felt guilty
later when he realised he'd been thinking about Harry's Dad in this
way. The man introduced himself to everyone as Dan, which sparked a few
jokes and laughs about the two of them sharing the same name.

"You never told me that your father and I have the same name," said Daniel.

"There are lots of things I don't tell you, but I'm sure I would have got
around to telling you that one some day,"

Harry joked.

Harry's Mum was a very pleasant woman named Joanna, who lectured in Town
Planning at the local Newcastle University. Daniel knew all of this prior
to arriving and as such, he was able to communicate with Jo without feeling
like a complete douche. Daniel noticed that Tara was trying incredibly hard
to make a good impression by addressing them by their surnames despite
being invited to address them less formally, and by saying things like,
"Harry has told me so much about you both." Daniel highly doubted that
considering Harry rarely spoke of his parents to anybody. He didn't know
why - they were clearly very kind and loving people.

They all eventually made their way inside and settled down in the spacious
family room, where Harry's Mum brought out several plates of appetising
nibbles she had prepared.

"Just a little something for you after such a long drive," she said.

"You didn't have to go to all this trouble, Mum," said Harry, a little
embarrassed.

"But we're so grateful that you did," Daniel butted in. "Thank you so much
for letting us stay with you this weekend."

"You're very welcome, Daniel," said Harry's father. "When Harry told us
that he wanted to have some friends over, we were only too pleased."

"We do worry that he spends too much time studying and not enough time
socialising," his mother added.

Daniel wished that his parents felt the same way! If they had things their
way, Dan wouldn't be socialising at all.

"So Jacqui, I hear you're going to be a veterinarian," said Harry's
father. "Has that been a goal of yours for some time?"

"Oh Dan, I just love animals," she said. "I always have done from as early
as I can remember. Mum tells me stories about when I was little and I would
rescue injured bugs in the backyard and nurse them back to health until
they were ready to be released again. I really love it."

"Well from Harry has told us about you, it seems as if you're well-suited
to the job with all those high distinctions you keep getting," said Harry's
mother, before biting into an hors d'oeuvre.

Jacqui blushed, clearly uncomfortable talking about her achievements. "I
think Harry has probably exaggerated significantly."

"And Tara, what is it that you are studying, dear?" asked Harry's Mum.

"Oh, I study dentistry," she said, both surprised and offended that Harry's
parents seemed to know about everyone else except for her.

"Oh how interesting! Harry, you must stay friends with this one. You never
know when having a dentist friend could come in handy," Harry's father
joked.

Finally, Harry's parents turned to Dan at the same time and he knew that he
was about to face the third degree about his studies and interests. He
wanted to make a good impression and was feeling nervous that he would
somehow mess it all up.

"Daniel," said Harry's Dad said, somewhat seriously. "Law and Economics,
that sounds like a very difficult combination. When do you find time to
yourself?" he asked.

Dan looked over at Harry who was looking at the floor, feeling embarrassed
by his parents' rigorous questioning.

Daniel was amazed at how much these people knew and remembered about him
based on what Harry must have told them.

"It can get quite hectic," Daniel said with a smile, "but I think provided
you enjoy what you do, that's the main thing."

"Quite right," Harry's mother agreed. "Harry tells us you're quite the
soccer star too!"

"Mum!" Harry groaned.

"What? We're not embarrassing you, are we?" she asked.

Daniel quickly intervened. "I don't know about a soccer star, but I play
for college sometimes and I really love the game."

"I think you are going to go a very long way," Harry's Dad said. "You
should come and stay with us some time while Harry's here on holidays. I
studied a bit of law at uni, you know, and I think we could have some very
interesting discussions."

"That sounds great!" Daniel smiled, turning towards a very red-faced Harry.

After they all made some more small talk and finished off the rest of the
nibbles, Joanna asked them what they had planned for the rest of the
weekend and was delighted to hear that they intended to spend the night at
her parents' (Harry's Grandparents') property in the valley.

"I thought we could all have a BBQ dinner tonight down by the waterfront,"
she suggested. "I went out this morning and bought all the food, so I hope
you're all hungry."

"That sounds lovely," said Jacqui. "You're really looking after us well."

The four amigos piled into Jacqui's car and drove down to the foreshore,
where they spent the rest of the afternoon walking the length of the beach
and relaxing on the sand. None of them dared to jump into the cold water at
this time of the year, but they still managed to have a great time. Just as
it was getting dark, they met up with Harry's parents at one of the
barbeques and picnic tables which overlooked the water and prepared the
best evening meal Daniel had eaten since the last time he visited
home. Harry, too, was impressed by the barbeque as he'd been living on
packaged soups and noodles over the exam period. As they began to eat their
steak and burgers, Harry's father, Dan, spoke up.

"Jacqui, I think you are going to love it out at Harry's Grandparents'
place. It's almost like a little wildlife reserve out there. Paul, that's
Harry's Grandad, and I completely refurbished the back shed a few years ago
and turned it into a really nice little bungalow for guests. It's all one
bit room with a private little bathroom on the side. It's got a lounge area
with a TV, a kitchenette and a big king sized bed as well," he
said. "Provided you girls don't mind sharing the bed, I thought Harry and
Daniel could set up their sleeping bags on the floor."

"It sounds like the perfect spot," said Jacqui, swallowing a mouthful of
salad. "I'm sure we'll have a fantastic night."

Daniel immediately felt excited about what lay ahead. He hadn't been sure
what the sleeping arrangement would be but he was glad that they'll all be
together. Harry had feared that he'd be expected to share a room with Tara
up in the main house, but knowing that his father expected them to have the
bungalow made it easy to sort out the sleeping arrangements. He was as
excited about sleeping next to Dan as Dan was sleeping next to him. Tara
was a little put out that she wouldn't have a private room with Harry, but
knowing that he'd be sleeping in the same room offered some solace. As for
Jacqui, she didn't really mind what the arrangement was although she was
happy that Daniel would get to share the floor with Harry. She was starting
to think of ways that she could lure Tara from the room to give them some
alone time together if it came to that.

Everybody enjoyed their meal and praised Dan, Harry's father, for his
culinary abilities. But just as they were getting ready to leave, Jo
brought out a massive birthday cake shaped like a soccer field from the
esky.

"Whoa! That's incredible!" remarked Dan, stunned that she would go to so
much effort for his benefit.

"What, this? Oh honey, don't be silly. I just whipped this up this morning
while I was by myself in the kitchen. Harry mentioned that it was your
birthday tomorrow and I never really need much of a reason to bake anyway!"
she laughed.

She lit the candles and everyone joined in to sing 'Happy Birthday',
including some of the people who were walking past at the time with their
dogs.

Daniel blew out his candles. "I don't know what to say, Dan and Jo. I'm so
happy to be spending my birthday up here with your family, and of course
you guys," he said, looking around at his friends. "I'm having such a
blast."

"Glad to hear it, buddy," smiled Harry, throwing an arm around his mate's
shoulder. Daniel felt so at ease and it was as if all of his troubles had
completely done away. He felt like a different person entirely from the
depressed soul who had sat in his room just days earlier and considered
bringing his life to a premature end.

"You've gotta make a wish now," said Jacqui, offering Dan a wink as he
looked at her.

"Yeah, and if you touch the bottom with the knife, you have to kiss the
closest girl," said Tara, pushing Jacqui towards him.

Daniel laughed. "Okay, lemme think."

Dan didn't need to spend much thinking about what he would wish for at
all. He closed his eyes and wished that he could find the courage to reveal
his true feelings to Harry - to tell him how he felt about their friendship
and how he wished they would share something so much more. He also wished
that Harry would in some small way be able to return his feelings, despite
the chances of such a proposition being slim to none. He opened his eyes
and made the first cut in the very decorative cake. The knife touched the
bottom with a very audible "clunk."

"Alright, Jacqui, you're the closest. Time for a kiss," said Tara,
laughing.

"You were definitely closer," laughed Jacqui, outraged by Tara's scheme.

"No way, you have bigger feet than I do and they were definitely closer to
Dan than mine were," she argued.

"Yeah well your mouth is bigger and I'm sure Dan could here it louder than
he could hear mine." This comment made everybody laugh.

"Oh for Christ's sake, allow me," said Harry, who was definitely the
closest person to Dan at the time as he still had his arm around Dan's
shoulder. He leaned in and planted a puckered kiss on Daniel's cheek,
holding the pose while Jacqui dug around in her bag for her camera and took
a photo. Even Harry's parents found this to be hilarious.

"Happy Birthday Danny boy!" said Harry playfully.

Daniel was on cloud nine and really loved having Harry kiss him on the
cheek! It was the best birthday present anyone could have given him! Tara
was about to make a quick-witted remark about getting jealous, but caught
her tongue at the last minute, not wanting to arouse suspicion between
Harry's parents about their relationship.

After they'd each eaten a piece of cake (or two pieces in the case Harry
and Daniel), Jo and Dan headed back home in their car, while the others
hopped in Jacqui's car with Harry directing them towards his Grandparents'
private retreat in the valley. It was already 8:00pm by the time they began
to drive through the hinterland, but with a beautiful full moon overhead,
the valley was stunningly lit and the ghostly silhouettes of the vineyards
were a real sight when they came into view. Jacqui even pulled over a few
times so that she could take some photos. Jacqui could have spent hours
there, but she knew that they had to press on if they were to reach their
destination. She was very impressed by what she saw here and was very much
looking forward getting to Harry's Grandparents' property so she could see
more.

When they eventually arrived, the night sky was so clear that Jacqui barely
needed her headlights when navigating the bush road that led to their
house. They unloaded the car and moved all of their stuff into the bungalow
around the side of the property. Harry found the key for the
shed-turn-bungalow in its usual location at the bottom of the rain gauge,
where it was kept in case of an emergency. Despite the shroud of darkness,
Daniel loved everything he saw here. It was so picturesque, from the grass
plains around the house and bungalow to the bushland in the distance. He
saw what appeared to be a dam just down the hill a little more and saw the
row a row of quite large fruit trees which he was longing to climb. Jacqui
even saw a green tree frog while she was carrying her bag down to the shed
and again stopped to photograph it from a variety of angles.

Once all of their stuff had been loaded, Harry gave them a bit of a tour,
excluding the main house which was all locked up while his Grandparents
were cruising around the pacific. He took a torch with him, but it wasn't
really needed as the moon provided enough light for them to see their
surroundings. Harry took his guests to the citrus trees on the upper side
of the property near the bush track, and he proudly showed them some of the
ceramic ornaments he and his grandma had made for the garden when he was
just a little tyke.

"Aww, how old were you when you made these?" Tara asked him, picking up a
ceramic mushroom house and one of the little elves who lived inside.

"Probably five or six," he laughed. "I probably wouldn't able to do as good
a job now."

"Oh Harry, I just love grapefruit," Jacqui said, pointing towards the very
old grapefruit tree in the corner of the orchard.

"Go and pick a couple. We can cut 'em open and sprinkle them with sugar and
they'll be delicious," he said.

Harvesting some of the fruit, Jacqui followed behind the others as they
made their way down to the dam just past the bungalow. It was a fairly
large body of water, and while the moonlight made it difficult to calculate
just how deep it was, Daniel assumed that it would be deep enough for an
inexperienced swimmer to drown in.

"Are there any fish in there?" asked Tara.

"There used to be. Grandad and I would come fishing here all the time," he
said reminiscently.

"Can we fish here tomorrow?" Dan asked.

"Mate, we can do whatever you want tomorrow, it's your birthday," said
Harry.

"Why don't you boys fish tonight?" proposed Jacqui. "It's such a lovely
night for it, and Tara and I could go for a bit of a bush walk down in the
scrub at the back of the property."

"But it's so dark," complained Tara.

"We'll take a torch and leave a trail of bread crumbs in case we get lost,"
Jacqui laughed, rolling her eyes at a very unenthusiastic Tara.

"Okay, that sounds great!" said Harry. "We can put in a couple of hours at
the dam while Jacqui and Tara occupy themselves down the back. Make sure
you take your mobile though in case you get into trouble or something," he
warned.

"Will do."

Tara and Jacqui changed out of their flip flops into runners and headed off
down to the back of the property with torch and camera in hand. Daniel and
Harry, meanwhile, walked up to the back patio of the house and collected
the fishing rods and some basic tackle that they would need, as well as
some fold up seats to sit on. They used some bread as bait and cast their
lines into the otherwise still water, waiting for a bite.

"I used to do this with Grandad nearly every weekend," said Harry, breaking
the calm silence of the night. "Never used to catch that much, mind you,
except the odd cold here and there."

"I don't mind if I catch anything or not, it's just nice to be fishing
again," Dan confessed. "I don't remember the last time I wet a line."

"Yeah, me neither, bro," Harry responded.

Again, there was silence between them. Daniel had so much that he wanted to
say, but when he opened his mouth, the words just wouldn't come. Harry was
in the same boat, so to speak. There were many things he wished that he
could say to Daniel right now, but the moment was just too special to ruin
by talking. He tried to catch a glimpse of Daniel out the corner of his
eye, and saw the boy looking gracefully out over the water and into the
distance. He could get used to nights like this, fishing with Daniel and
pretending that nothing else mattered. He decided to strike up a
conversation.

"Are you going to do anything with your parents for your birthday when you
get home tomorrow?" he asked.

"Nah, we'll probably just go out to dinner or something lame. Nothing will
compare to how much fun today has been though, and I'm sure tomorrow will
be just as good," stated Daniel.

"I'm glad you're having a good time. I think we all needed a bit of a break
from all that shit going on at uni. Man, I don't remember a time when I've
ever been so stressed," recounted Harry.

"Yeah, it was pretty intense."

There was silence until Daniel found the confidence to address what was
really on his mind. "Are you planning to tell your parents about Tara this
weekend?" he asked, out of the blue.

Harry was a little bit surprised by the question. He felt like Dan had been
sitting on it since they started fishing an hour or so earlier.

"Did she tell you about that?"

"Yeah, she mentioned it," said Dan.

"Okay. I don't know, Dan, I just can't see us lasting. She just gets on my
nerves so much and I don't really see a future for us. I don't think my
parents are all that fond of her either," Harry admitted.

"What are you gonna do?" he asked.

"I think I'll leave things go over the holidays and wait until we start
back at uni again next month, then break things off. It'll be so hard
though," he said sadly, looking out over the dam into the spaceless void
where he'd seen Dan looking earlier. "What do you think about that?"

"It doesn't really matter very much what I think, mate," Dan argued. "I
mean, she's a great friend to me and I don't want to see her hurting, but
you've got to do what feels right for you, too."

"Yeah, I know. I hate to hurt her, but it's kind of inevitable I guess,"
said Harry.

Daniel reeled in his line and found that his bait had been eaten. "Little
bastards, I didn't even know I'd been taken,"

he said, grabbing some more bread and spearing it on his hook, before
casting his rod as far as he could.

"Maybe I should check mine, too," Harry said to himself as he began to
bring in his line and inspect his bait, which was still fully in tact.

"Is there someone else in the picture?" Dan asked suddenly.

"What?" clarified Harry.

"Are you interested in someone else?" Dan repeated bluntly.

"I'd never cheat on Tara, Dan. I'm not like that."

"But there is someone else, then?" Dan probed.

"I didn't say that!" he protested.

"You didn't have to, buddy."

Harry, feeling cornered, was having trouble evading Daniel's questions. No
wonder he excelled at law. But how could he possibly admit that the other
person in the picture was him? If Dan was repulsed, chances are there
friendship would never be the same.

"What does it matter, anyway?" Harry asked weakly.

"What does it matter? Dude, look at us. I'm pretty sure we've always told
each other everything. I don't understand the hesitation," said Daniel.

"It's complicated, Dan," Harry reasoned.

"Do I know her?" he insisted.

"Dan..."

"Oh fuck, it's Jacqui, isn't it? You like Jacqui!"

"Shut the fuck up and listen to me! It's not Jacqui, and it's not something
that I particularly want to talk about right now. When the time comes, I
promise you'll be the first person to know," said Harry, trying to calm
himself down.

Just then, Dan felt something tugging at his line and he excitedly began to
play the perpetrator as if it were a large cobia or trout.

"I've got something on here!" he yelled excitedly.

"Cool man, reel him in!" Harry encouraged, getting out of his chair and
squatting on the ground beside his more successful fishing partner, leaving
the butt of his rod firmly planted in the clay.

Daniel wound his reel furiously, bringing his prized catch upon the
bank. He soon realised that he had hooked an old rubber boot which had
found its way into the dam, and while he failed to see the humour at first,
Harry's fit of laughter allowed him to see the funny side of the situation.

"Oh man, I thought it was gonna be something really good!" Daniel laughed.

"Yeah, so did I! Ah well, at least I don't feel like such a loser now for
not catching something," Harry giggled.

"And don't think I've forgotten what we were talking about before I snagged
the boot, brofus. This conversation definitely isn't over," promised
Daniel.

But before Harry could respond, the voices of Jacqui and Tara could be
heard coming from the scrub as they approached the dam. When they came into
view, Tara was soaking wet and Jacqui had removed her jumper, wrapping it
around the girl's shoulders.

"What the hell happened to you?" Daniel asked.

"Well, little Miss Britney Spears here was showing off her circus tricks on
that big log that goes across the stream and she fell in," Jacqui laughed.

"It's not funny!" Jacqui chided. "The water was cold as and I could be
covered in leeches for all you know."

"Well you're definitely not hopping in bed with me tonight before you take
a shower," declared Jacqui. "Let's go inside and get you cleaned up."

As they walked towards the bungalow, Daniel looked at his watch and saw
that it was nearing midnight. Harry and Daniel consequently packed up their
fishing gear and put it back on his grandparents' patio, before returning
to the bungalow and sitting in front of the television with Jacqui while
they waited for Tara in the shower. She spent ages rubbing herself with
soap and inspecting for leeches, but satisfied she had escaped from the
water unharmed, she finished up in the bathroom and threw on her pyjamas.

"Are you all ready for bed?" she said when she came out into the main room.

"Yeah," said Harry, "but I think I'll probably have a shower before hitting
the sack."

"Me too," said Daniel.

"And me three," Jacqui joined in.

The three of them took their turn in the shower and emerged from the
bathroom in their night time attire. Harry had to do a double take when Dan
came out of the bathroom dressed in a pair of green briefs which hugged his
bulging package and gripped his tight buns. He decided to take his shower
before anyone noticed him staring, although Jacqui hadn't missed the
lingering glance and reminded herself to tell Daniel about it later. Harry
and Dan spread their sleeping bags out on the floor next to each other with
only very little space between them, while Jacqui and Tara got rid of the
decorative cushions off the bed and threw the heavy quilt onto the
floor. Harry, dressed in a pair of black briefs similar to the ones Dan was
currently wearing, jumped up to lock the door and turn off the light,
before returning to his sleeping bag and zipping himself inside half way.

For a few minutes, the four of them lay in silence, but soon the inevitable
laughter began as happens when four young people get together for a
sleepover.

"Ooh Tara, you feel so good," Jacqui said, trying to sound sensual but
bursting into a fit of laughter in the process.

"Jacq, what do you call that manoeuvre? Harry hasn't tried that one out
before," said Tara, laughing as well.

"I don't know if I like the sound of what's going on up there," Harry
giggled.

"Oh you're just jealous Harry," Jacqui noted.

"Jealous? Me? No way. Daniel and I are getting very comfortable on the
floor down here," he said. Daniel felt himself growing hard in his briefs
as Harry pretended to be getting up to no good with him. He rolled over
onto his stomach in the sleeping bag and pressed his hard cock into the
floor. He didn't see the harm in playing along as they were all clearly
just joking.

"Just a bit lower Harry. Yeah, right there. That's it. Mmm," he teased.

"What are you two up to?" Jacqui laughed, trying to catch Daniel eye in the
dark so she could give him a smile.

"We're having so much fun down here. Does that feel good, Danny?"

"The best, Harry baby."

The girls giggled uncontrollably on the bed, but this really wasn't doing
anything for Dan's erection, nor for his genuine feelings of desire for
Harry. The guy had virtually admitted to him earlier that he was interested
in somebody else, and while he pretended to be unaffected, it had really
hit him for a six. He had to concede that he was feeling happy that Harry
was going to end things with Tara but he hoped she would come out of it
okay.

"Let's play truth or dare," Jacqui suddenly suggested, "except without the
dare part."

"So like truth or truth?" Tara asked.

"Exactly, Tara."

"Why do I get the feeling this little game has all been preconceived?"
Harry asked.

"I wouldn't have any idea what you're talking about, Harrison," laughed
Jacqui.

"Oh c'mon, you guys totally hatched this up while Dan and I were fishing
and you were down in the bush," he said accusingly.

"I'm up for it if you are," said Daniel.

"Alright, but we each get one pass card to use if there's a question we
don't want to answer. Deal?"

"I dunno about that," Tara giggled.

"Well if that's the only condition, I guess we can do that," Jacqui said,
consulting Tara.

"Alright, but only one pass card each."

With the rules established, there was a sense of excitement in the room to
start the game. Tara said that because she accidentally fell in the stream,
she should be the one to start out of sympathy. The others knew they
wouldn't win, so they agreed to her idea and let her ask the first
question. She pretended to think carefully for a little while before
springing the first question on Daniel.

"Daniel, what's one thing you'd change about yourself if you could?" she
asked.

"Jeez, that's deep for the first question," Dan laughed. "Ummm, well I
guess if I could change anything, it would be my hopeless sense of style."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"You've seen me getting ready to go out before. I have no idea what looks
good or what to do with my hair or any of that kinda stuff. You seem to
have a knack for it," Dan said.

"You're not too bad, mate. You just need not to care so much and it will
all work for you, I promise," Harry reassured him, taking his arm out of
his sleeping bag and patting Daniel on the top of his head.

Daniel was having a hard time keeping himself under control. He was again
spending the night within an arm's reach of the boy he craved to be with
more than anything, and he wasn't sure he'd be able to control himself. He
could feel his hard cock throbbing as he grinded it into the floor.

"Because you answered the question, you get to ask the next question to
whoever you want," said Tara.

"Alright, my question goes to Jacqui," he said. "Jacq, I've always wanted
to know the answer to this question and I'm sorry if my asking it offends
you, but have you ever been all the way with another a guy before?"

"That's a really good question, and I want to answer it but I just need to
think about it first," she said. She considered her answer long and hard,
and Tara actually nudged her in the side at one stage to make sure she
hadn't fallen asleep. "The furthest I've gone with a guy before is kissing,
and Dan, it was with your friend Todd on the night of your birthday party
last year. We were coming back to the uni and everyone had drunk a little
too much that night, and he was walking with me back towards our
college. He was twirling his fingers in the middle of my back and lightly
blowing air on the side of my neck, and I think he really knew how to get a
girl turned on, but as much as I wanted to take him back to my room, it
just didn't feel right so he ended up just going back to his college. I
called him the next morning but he was really disinterested in me and I
felt really let down. I probably should have said something to you earlier,
Dan."

"I can't believe him!" Dan said, outraged. "You're totally off limits! We
don't even keep in touch any more, but I had no idea he made a move on you
like that. I'm so sorry, Jacqui."

"It's alright, really. No hard feelings," she reassured him. "Alright, my
question goes to Harry."

"Just wait, Dan and I are in the middle of something here," he said,
pretending to moan. "Oh God, Danny, you're so big."

"Take it, bitch," Daniel laughed.

"Oh give it a break you two," said Tara, hurtling a cushion at them, "or
else Jacqui and I will really put on a show."

"So keeping with the running theme, Harry," Jacqui said, "have you ever
been with another dude before and how far did you go?"

Daniel froze. Jacqui really wasn't taking any prisoners and he felt proud
that he had such a great friend. He knew that she was asking the question
for his own benefit to watch Harry squirm, and he was very curious to see
how he'd answer. If Harry used a pass card, it was a little obvious to
everyone that he had fooled around with a guy before, which left either
telling the truth about their encounter together or lying.

When Harry heard the question, he was shocked as well. He didn't quite know
how to go about answering it. He had the same logic as Dan about using the
pass card, but he knew that by lying, Daniel would be able to pick him up
on it. He wasn't ready to confess the truth, especially with his girlfriend
in the room, so he resolved to tell a lie and hope that Daniel kept his
mouth shut.

"Well," he said, gathering his thoughts, "the most I've ever done with a
guy before was giving Dan a big birthday kiss tonight. Oh, and of course
the intercourse we're having right now, but you guys can't really see
that."

"I've heard stories about what footy players get up to in the change
rooms," said Jacqui after hearing his answer.

"You sure you don't have any hot locker room stories to tell..." she
prompted.

Harry just laughed, a little uncomfortably. "No, I guarantee it. Which
makes it my turn to ask a question now, and I choose Tara."

While Harry thought of a question to ask, Daniel tried to justify his
logic. He had lied in a game where they were all supposed to be honest with
one another, and while he understood Harry's decision to keep quiet to some
extent, he couldn't help but feel a little bit hurt. On the one hand, Harry
was lying beside him, almost flirting with him on occasion, and yet on the
other, he'd been too proud to admit that he had jerked off with another
guy.

"Tara," Harry finally began, "do you like to listen to music while you have
sex?"

She laughed aloud at the question. "But you already know the answer to
that!" she said.

"I know, but Jacqui and Dan don't," he said teasingly.

"Alright. Yes, Harry, I do like to listen to music during sex," she
answered.

"And what music would that be?" he continued.

"I'm pretty sure that counts as a second question," she said defensively,
"but I'll answer it anyway and say Celine Dion and Whitney Houston. Can't
go past the divas when it comes to setting the mood."

"Oh God, I think I want to be sick," said Daniel.

"How do you think I feel?!" said Harry.

Tara didn't require much time to think about her next question, choosing to
ask Daniel once again. "Dan, you get the same question Jacqui asked
Harry. Have you ever messed around with a guy before?"

While he thought about the ramifications of answering honestly, using a
pass card or lying, he felt Harry roll over in his sleeping back and grab
him by the arm. It was a comforting sort of grip that Harry had on him, and
it told Daniel that Harry wanted him to lie as well.

"Umm... well..." Dan started. It was pitch black in the room and the
friends could barely see their hands in front of their faces, and Harry
moved closer yet to Dan and grabbed him in a hug through their sleeping
bags. It felt so good to have Harry hold him, and he wished that he could
fall asleep in the boy's strong arms and wake up that way in the
morning. Alas, Harry loosened his grip, but lay down so closely next to Dan
and their exposed sides were touching from the shoulder down.

"I have messed around with one guy before," he finally answered. He felt
Harry's body go rigid beside him.

"Really? I want details, tell us more," Tara pleaded.

"Fuck, Tara, give the guy a break!" said Harry. "Christ."

"I'm sorry, Dan, I didn't mean to push. I'm just so curious to hear about
it," she said, somewhat apologetically.

"Nah, it's all good. It was just a late night thing that happened once. We
were both pretty drunk and he suggested we give each other massages, and
next thing I knew, we were having a wank together. Well, more like we were
wanking each other, but you get the idea."

"That's so hot!" she said. "Who was the guy? Would I know him?"

Harry reached down and placed his hand on top of Dan's forearm, gently
moving his hand up and down the length of his arm, lightly caressing the
skin as he went. This was almost a desperate plea on Harry's behalf not to
mention his name. He never had any intention to do so, and having Harry so
scared by the prospect saddened him. He reached beside him and grabbed
Harry's hand, squeezing it tightly as he gave his answer.

"There's no point me revealing his name. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't even
know who he is anyway," Dan lied.

Harry pulled Daniel into a very tight embrace. He never really expected Dan
to spill, but after he'd actually told the truth about his experience with
another guy, he worried that he may go all the way and reveal who he did it
with as well. He suddenly felt guilty that he'd lied and avoided the
difficult question, while Dan had faced it head on and come out of it with
his integrity.

But Tara hadn't finished quite yet. "Did you enjoy it? As in, would you do
it again if you had the chance?" she proceeded.

"You've asked him like a million questions!" said Jacqui, not quite
believing Tara's audacity.

"Dan doesn't mind, do you Dan?"

"He's just too polite to say he doesn't mind," Harry intervened.

"But it's kind of nifty, don't you think? Two guys getting it on. I find
that so bizarre, but sort of... erotic as well,"

she conceded.

"Tara!" Dan said, feeling angry inside. "I'm gay, which means yes, I
enjoyed it and yes, I would do it again if I had the chance. Are you
satisfied now?" Dan got out of his sleeping bag and headed to the bathroom,
where he shut the door behind him and sat on the closed lid of the toilet
seat, tears pouring down his face. He hadn't intended to come out of the
closet tonight, but Tara had got to him and he just couldn't keep his
emotions in check.

He heard a light knock on the door, Jacqui asking if she could come in, and
when he didn't answer to the contrary, she filed in with Harry following
behind. As Daniel stood up, they each took a side and grabbed him in a
tight embrace. His tears flowed freely as they continued to hold him,
neither of them saying a word. When Dan tried to speak, Harry shushed him
by placing his index finger over his mouth, but all the while continuing to
hold him close.

"We love you, Daniel," said Jacqui, "and we're so proud of how courageous
you are. Aren't we, Harry?"

"Yeah..." he simply said, resting his head on Dan's shoulder, closing his
eyes and cradling him from behind.

"Everything is going to be okay, you have us."

"Thanks guys," Dan whispered. "I feel bad for Tara, I over-reacted."

"No, not at all," said Jacqui.

"She was way out of line, dude. She feels pretty bad, but you don't have to
face her until you're ready," Harry assured him.

"I need to see her," Dan said in a committed fashion.

He left the bathroom and walked out into the main sleeping area where Tara
was sitting on the bed, waiting for something to happen. She immediately
jumped up and ran towards him with open arms.

"I'm so so sorry," she said, beginning to cry herself. "I didn't mean to
push like that, really."

"It's okay, I'm fine. It's just that your question stirred up some emotions
that I had to get out," he explained.

"So we're all good then?" she confirmed.

"We're all good," he responded with a smile.

"This is awesome, we can check out hot guys together now," she
laughed. "And I can take you shopping with me.

I've always wanted to have a gay best friend."

Everyone laughed at the way Tara was rambling, including Dan, who was able
to have a good laugh at himself as well.

The four of them sat around the television and ate the grapefruit that
Jacqui had picked earlier in the evening, having been halved, sprinkled
with sugar and refrigerated for a few hours. Everyone agreed that they were
a delicious, refreshing snack, and eventually partook in a big group hug
before returning to their beds. After a few last minute toilet calls, Harry
turned off the lights and the silence which fell over the room was evidence
enough that the game had well and truly come to an end.

Both Harry and Daniel were lying on top of the sleeping bags in just their
briefs as the events of the night had left them feeling quite hot. Daniel's
heart was still pounding irregularly fast, and as if on cue, Harry put his
hand on Daniel's chest and felt the rapid beating. He didn't need high
distinctions in his cardio courses to tell him that Daniel was still
feeling worked up about things. He offered the only suggestion he could
think of.

"Want a massage?" he whispered to Daniel.

Daniel chuckled. "I'm all right I think, but thanks anyway." He rolled onto
his side to face away from Harry and towards the bed.

"Well, just know that I've always got your back no matter what," Harry
whispered in Dan's ear, rolling onto his side as well and spooning himself
behind this beautiful boy. He lightly pressed his crotch into Dan's brief
clad ass, hoping like hell that Daniel wouldn't take offence and push him
away.

But it was actually the complete opposite. Daniel felt so safe and
protected having someone as strong and powerful as Harry nestled in behind
him. The stud's powerful arms wove their way under his own arms and wrapped
themselves around his bare torso. He felt Harry's semi-erect cock probing
at his crevice through the material, and as much as he wanted to treat
himself this birthday, he knew he couldn't stand to face Harry's outright
rejection once again. Never had he been so at peace with the world as he
did at that moment, and as his twentieth year in existence came to be, he
fell asleep with the love of his life and his very best friend tessellated
behind him like a jigsaw piece.

It was, unfortunately, short lived. Several hours later at around 3am,
Harry's breathing became quite shallow and he was unable to get enough of
the oxygen he needed to breathe. He tried to take short, quick breaths to
get his lungs working, but it was as if his chest seized up and prevented
him from respiring. Harry had fought a very private battle with asthma ever
since he was a young child, and on several occasions, his attacks had been
so severe that he'd been taken to hospital and put on a breathing
apparatus. But the many trips to the hospital hadn't deterred him from his
dream of becoming a doctor so that he could help other sick people and cure
them of their maladies.

His gasps for air were loud enough to wake Daniel, who opened his eyes to
find Harry sitting up in one of the lounge chairs with his hands on his
chest, eyes closed, trying his hardest to inhale deeper breaths. Daniel got
up and sat next to him on the chair, placing one hand firmly in the middle
of his back and the other one his leg, just letting him know that he was
there. Harry immediately pointed towards his bag next to the door and
Daniel guessed that he needed his puffer. He searched frantically through
the bag and found it by itself in one of the pockets at the front. He
presented the device to Harry, who took a few puffs from it and then tried
to collect his breaths at a steady pace.

Eventually, he began to breathe normally again and Daniel gave a sigh of
relief. Jacqui and Tara slept soundly through the whole ordeal, but Harry
was grateful to have Dan's support.

"Are you okay now?" he asked.

"I think so," Harry responded. "It's the carpet in here that's the
problem. This room has been locked up for ages and there's heaps of dust in
the fibres."

"Would you prefer to sleep outside?" Daniel asked him. "Is there somewhere
we can go?"

"Yeah, and I know just the spot," said Harry. "Bring your sleeping bag."

After quietly leaving the bungalow, they walked down past the dam until
they encountered the row of mango trees Daniel had seen earlier and
secretly wanted to climb. As he walked past, he looked up into one of the
trees and saw that Harry's Grandad had constructed a fort across a few of
the branches. He wished that his childhood had been filled with such fun
and adventure. They continued past the mango trees and walked up a bit of a
hill until they reached a large grassy flat. In the chalky glow of the
moonlight, Daniel could make out the dense mass of trees of the rainforest
in the distance.

"This is the grassy knoll," said Harry. "And this," he said, placing his
palm against the bark of a massive tree trunk, "is my favourite tree in the
world."

"Wow, it's huge," Dan admired, following the long trunk with his
eyes. "What is it?"

"It's a Moreton Bay Fig," Harry responded. "Here, lie underneath it and
look at the sky through the leaves."

The boys rolled out their sleeping bags on the grass under the expansive
reach of the fig tree and looked through its foliage at the night sky
painted above. It was like a kaleidoscope of shapes and patterns, with the
dark, pointed leaves silhouetted against the backdrop of the moon lit
sky. The stars were the magical centrepiece, with sparkling constellations
speckled across the almost iridescent backdrop.

"It's... beautiful," said Daniel, not quite being able to find the words to
describe this sublime view of the night sky.

"It sure is. I used to love lying here as a kid and looking at the stars
and clouds, but for some reason I let myself get too busy to keep it up,"
Harry recounted sadly.

They lay there in silence, admiring the breathtaking brilliance of the
night sky. Finally, Harry spoke.

"So Happy Birthday, man," he said, turning his head to look at Daniel who
was still looking up at the sky.

"Thanks! Wow, I'm not a teenager any more," he realised.

"Nope, you sure aren't!" Harry paused. "You know, Dan, I'm so proud of you
for what you did tonight. That took real guts, and I think you're such a
brave guy."

"Or stupid, one or the other," said Daniel.

"It was a huge step and I admire you so much for being so honest with
yourself," Harry congratulated him.

"When you're with such a good group of friends who you trust entirely, it's
easy," Daniel explained.

"Well I'm glad you realise you can trust me, and you know it's not going to
change our friendship in anyway."

Daniel was relieved. "Thanks, man. I appreciate that."

"And thanks for not mentioning my name to Tara when she asked who you did
all that stuff with," Harry added. "I hated lying when Jacqui asked me
about it, but I was so worried about what they'd think of me if I admitted
to it."

"I understand," said Daniel.

"But it was wrong not to just pass on the question if I didn't want to
answer it truthfully."

Again, Harry paused before speaking, choosing his words with careful
deliberation.

"Because I lied in there, I'm going to let you ask me anything you want and
I promise I'll answer it honestly," said Harry. "No pass cards."

"Are you sure about that?" Dan said, starting to feel a bit excited by this
opportunity.

"Yep, shoot."

"Alright, well I think you know what I'm going to ask," Daniel advised.

"Yeah, I can probably guess," Harry nodded.

"Back when we were fishing tonight, you virtually admitted that you were
interested in someone other than Tara. I realise it's complicated and
probably none of my business, but please just tell me who it is," Dan
asked.

"Okay, I promise I'll answer the question in a minute, but tell me why you
want to know so badly first."

Dan's heart was beating faster and faster. His birthday wish was becoming
true right before his eyes. He was presented with the perfect moment to
express his feelings to Harry, and he quickly calculated the risks.

"Why? Because I love you, Harry, and because I probably always will."

"Wh... what?"  Harry asked, dumbfounded.

"You heard me."

"Yeah I know, but I'm still trying to understand. How do you know? Maybe
you just feel that way because we were drunk that night and messed around a
bit," Harry muttered.

"Well, maybe it's because my heart melts every time you look my way and
smile that beaming smile. Or maybe it's because it kills me inside to see
you with someone else, or to see Tara and wonder what she'd do if she knew
how I felt about you. That special night we shared together meant so much
to me, but then you pushed me away and it broke my heart, Harry. I see you
when I try to get to sleep at night, and even then my dreams are filled
with thoughts of you. I can't concentrate on any one thing for long periods
of time without thinking of you and wondering what you're doing and whether
you're okay. But perhaps most telling of all is the way my heart skips a
beat and I forget that I need to breathe every time you're near me. If that
isn't evidence of my feelings for you, then what is?"

said Daniel, turning to look at Harry with a tear-stained face.

Harry continued to look up at the stars.

"Do you ever wonder if there are other forms of life out there?" Harry
asked him, contemplatively.

"Yeah, I sometimes think about it," said Daniel, a little bit confused.

"You know, Earth is so small in the grand scheme of things. We would barely
even register as a pin prick when you put our planet or even our galaxy in
the broader context of the universe," Harry explained.

Daniel had just poured his heart out to Harry, and here he was rambling
about the universe and avoiding talking about the issue at hand. He was
starting to feel a little agitated.

"I don't see what any of this has to do with my situation," said Daniel
sternly.

"Well, think of it this way. Our Earth is so small, and we're like tiny
little ants roaming around all over the place.

When I look up at the stars, I remember how small and insignificant I am
and realise that anything that's troubling me isn't all that big
either. It's a way of looking at things which helps me face some of my
fears," said Harry, still looking skyward.

"You still haven't answered my question from earlier though," Daniel
reminded him.

Harry turned to him and smiled. "No. No, I haven't. And if it wasn't for
this amazing lightshow tonight, I'd probably never find the guts to answer
it," he said with a sincerity Daniel had never before seen from Harry. "You
know, Dan, I worry so much about what other people think of me that I
sometimes let it take control of me. I work my ass off at uni because I
feel that my parents expect a flawless transcript, I play football and keep
myself in shape because I feel that my friends won't want to be my friends
any more if I don't, and I date Tara because I know people will judge me if
I don't have a girlfriend. My whole life, it's been the same."

"I'm sorry to hear that man," Daniel responded.

"What do you expect from me?" Harry asked him.

"Umm... nothing much really, just your friendship I guess," replied Dan as
honestly as he could.

"Exactly, and that's what makes you so different from everybody else."
Harry pointed to the sky again. "Look at the stars, Dan, and tell me what
you see."

"I see hundreds of thousands of fireballs that are probably millions of
light-years away," answered Dan, a little intrigued. "Why? What do you
see?"

"I see something so sublime that I can't quite explain it. It's beyond what
my mere human mind can comprehend, but it still manages to take my breath
away every time. I don't need a logical explanation to tell me that it's
beautiful."

Daniel waited anxiously as Harry took a deep breath and swallowed hard.

"I know I've ranted for way too long but the point I'm trying to make is
that some things don't need to be understood to be appreciated. I see you,
Daniel, and I'm absolutely blown away by your sensitivity, your compassion
and your loyalty, just as I know so many of your friends are. I'll never be
able to explain the way my mind works... I mean, we're both guys and I
shouldn't feel like this... but I find you really attractive both on the
inside and the out, and I think I might just love you too."

Dan was stunned when he heard Harry's utterance. Was this really happening?
He could feel his heart going in overdrive and a shiver went down his spine
as he realised that Harry's eyes were glistening with tears.

"I need more than an 'I think', Harry. Are you sure?" Daniel confirmed.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm worried sick what other people will think when
they find out, but as I said before, in the grand scheme of things, who
gives a fuck what they think. Yeah, I'm sure," said Harry, nodding his head
in the affirmative.

But Daniel was still feeling sceptical. "How is this even possible? Last
time, you practically jumped into bed with Tara the minute you were
finished with me. What's different now?"

"I'm so sorry about all of that," said Harry, wiping his eyes with the back
of his hand. "I loved every minute of what we did together that night and
if I had things my way, we would have done so much more together. When we
were pretending to be gay so that the dude would back off a little, it felt
so real and it was the most amazing thing ever.

And what about that dance?! But after I got off, my common sense kicked in
and I had so many things running through my mind. I felt so guilty for
using you the way I had, I felt bad for messing around behind Tara's back,
but worst of all, I worried why I had enjoyed it so much. I worried that I
might be... you know... gay. It was easier to push you away than it was to
deal with my demons."

Harry propped himself up on his elbow and admired Dan's semi-naked form
before him. The boy was a remarkable sight, and he longed for Dan to say
something.

"What did you do then?" he asked, still refusing to comment on Harry's
admission.

"So to prove to myself that I was still straight and that nothing had
changed, I got back with Tara and made her a whole heap of promises I could
never keep. And it felt good for awhile, but it wasn't anywhere near as
fulfilling as the night I spent with you. I started having dreams about you
and in those few weeks of exams, I was practically going crazy locked away
in my room, wishing I could spend some time with you but knowing that I
probably shouldn't distract you from your study. Jacqui suggested we do
something special to celebrate your birthday and I had the idea to bring
you up here for the weekend. Then tonight, you come out of the closet and
tell me that you feeling something for me, and I realised that I've been
depriving us both of the opportunity for real, enduring happiness. If you
could find the confidence to say it, then I thought should be able to as
well. Fuck, I'm proud to admit. I love you, Dan Coombes!

If Daniel hadn't been convinced before, he was now. Harry had looked into
his eyes and deep within his soul as he explained his behaviour over the
last few weeks. He spoke with such heartfelt earnest and Daniel believed
every word he had said.

"Stop talking and get your ass over here, O'Brien!"

Harry didn't need any convincing. He slid over onto Dan's sleeping bag and
grabbed the waiting boy in a desperate embrace. Lying on their sides, Dan
wrapped his arms around Harry's back and squeezed as tightly as possible,
never wanting to let go of the boy of his dreams. Their naked skin was
touching and both of them could feel the electricity that the contact was
generating. Both boys had goosebumps over their skin, and Dan's nipples
stood erect at Harry's touch.

"Can we get into the sleeping bag?" Harry asked in a whisper.

Daniel didn't bother to answer. He simply pulled down the zip on the front
of the sleeping bag and got inside, lifting the front of the bag to invite
Harry in with him. With these two athletic young men occupying the bag,
there was very little room inside. Their bodies were pressed closely
together as they faced each other and Daniel could feel Harry's hard cock
pressing against his own growing erection. On impulse, he thrust his hips
forward so that their dicks were pushed together with even greater force.

Harry inspected Dan's face closely, pulling one of his arms free of the bag
and gently feeling his facial contours. He touched Daniel's nose and
appraised the height of the boy's cheek bones by feeling for them with his
fingers, before moving to Dan's chin and jaw line. He did this in such a
way that was not intimidating or judgemental, but rather tender and
loving. He was eager to learn so much more about this beautiful boy,
starting with his exquisite face. He even rubbed his hand through Dan's
shortly cropped hair, feeling its silky smoothness. He noted that if he
were a bird, he'd love to nest in these soft strands. Daniel freed his
right hand from the sleeping bag and copied Harry's movements, tenderly
exploring his face before moving to Harry's sexy mop of hair. He felt Harry
rubbing his smooth foot up the length of his leg, and he showed his
approval by interlocking their legs together bringing their cocks into ever
tighter frot contact. Neither of them anticipated it feeling so good.

Daniel suddenly felt the compulsion to take charge, and rolled over in the
sleeping bag so that Harry was on the bottom with his back flat on the
ground. Harry, not used to taking such a submissive role, immediately
wrapped his bulky thighs around Dan's waist and locked him into
position. Still, their dicks were pressed together as they were always
meant to be. Daniel put his hands on the ground next to Harry's ears and
propped his head and shoulders up so that there was quite a distance
between their faces.

"How does it feel not to be in control for once?" Daniel asked him
mischievously.

"You're just under the illusion that you're in control. I could have you on
your back in no time if I wanted," Harry laughed.

"And do you want to?" Daniel giggled.

"No way, I'm loving the view from down here, pool boy," said Harry,
laughing like crazy.

"Hey, that was a pretty good story I thought. Can't you see me working your
pool in a pair of Speedos?" Dan teased.

"I can see you working my pool in a whole lot less than that," Harry
winked.

Daniel looked down on the beautiful face which stared back up at him and he
couldn't believe that this was actually happening. Harry was as good as
his. Never in his wildest dreams had he ever imagined the two of them
sharing a moment as special as this. It wasn't driven by lust like their
last encounter had been. It was fuelled by their desire to be as one and to
share an intimacy that neither of them had experienced prior.

"This is the best birthday ever," Daniel smiled.

"You know what, Dan?" Harry said.

"What's that?"

"I had a dream recently about the two of us lying in this very spot, under
this fig tree," Harry told him.

"And what were we doing?"

Harry effortlessly flipped Daniel over onto his back and laced the fingers
of his left and right hands, placing them palms down on Dan's rib cage and
resting his chin on the summit they created. He eyed Dan from this position
like a sad puppy, showing off his very cute and cuddly side. This was
almost as if to say, "Are you sure you want to know?"

Daniel threw back his head and laughed, wrapping his legs around Harry's
waist just as a submissive Harry had done to him earlier. "Go on then, show
me,"

Harry rose up off Dan's chest and slowly lowered his head until his lips
were just millimetres from Dan's. He aimed to look into Daniel's eyes to
see whether he would be met with any resistance, but he saw only Dan's
closed eyelids where he had shut them in anticipation for Harry's next
move. Reading this as a sign to proceed further, Harry closed the distance
between them and lightly brushed his lips against Daniel's. He was
surprised that a boy's lips could feel so soft and inviting, and he
lingered before pulling away, but as soon as he had, he immediately wanted
to experience the sensation of their lips touching once again. Daniel
opened his eyes and put his hand on the back of Harry's head, pulling him
back down so they would kiss again. The experience was heightened by the
intensity and ferocity of their locked eyes, which sought within each other
evidence of long-suppressed desires.

Daniel's hand found its way to Harry's back, where he slowly began to trace
patterns with his nails, stimulating Harry's nerves and ameliorating the
sensations he was already experiencing. It was a gesture inspired by love
and its message was not missed by Harry, who, in turn, began to trace the
flush contours of Dan's lips with his tongue. He slowly began to thrust his
hips so that he was almost fucking Daniel through their briefs, and
although instinctive by nature, he couldn't help but feel that his body was
taking control of him and making demands of its own. The warmth generated
by the sleeping bag was causing the boys to sweat, and the fine layer of
moisture produced between them facilitated the complex interlocking of
their muscles by lubricating Harry's washboard abs and Dan's developing six
pack.

While Daniel reciprocated Harry's lip tracing manoeuvre, he looked up into
the boy's eyes and saw Harry's exposed soul; vulnerable, giving and more
beautiful than words were capable of describing. He'd dreamt of doing these
things with Harry, but never had he expected that the boy of his affections
would reveal his love for him and proceed to make love to him in this
way. Just days before, he'd considered throwing in the towel on life and
giving in to the demons which had tormented him viciously over the last few
weeks, but here with his guardian angel protecting him, these hard times
passed were a distant reality. Harry really had saved his life, or at least
provided him with an existence much richer and more fulfilling than the one
he'd left behind. It was redemption, and in having faith that Harry would
not let him down, he entrusted his soul to this boy most divine. Life as he
knew it was changed forever.

It was all too much for Daniel to take and he began to cry tears of
happiness. Harry saw the tears, and he used the pad of his thumb to wipe
them away. Daniel lifted his head slightly and despite straining his neck
to do so, he kissed Harry with desperation. Harry put cradled his hand
behind Dan's head as he lowered it, making sure that its impact with the
ground was cushioned. After a few intimate minutes of tender kissing, Dan
granted Harry access inside and Harry's tongue quickly darted into the
foreign cavern. Needless to say, they each took their time discovering each
other and learning the intricacies of their fellow man.

Suddenly, Daniel thought of Jacqui and Tara sleeping in the shed and
tensed.

"What's up?" Harry asked, worried that he'd done something wrong.

"What if the others find us out here? We're really screwed then," warned
Daniel.

"It's okay. It's still dark so there's no way they'll be awake for quite a
few hours yet, and even if they stumble out of the shed, they won't venture
down here," said Harry.

"I'll take your word for it, but maybe we should try to get some sleep,"
Dan sighed.

"I guess you're right."

Harry rolled off Dan and cuddled in beside him, the two of them lying on
their sides and facing each other. Harry eased his hand down towards Dan's
still hard cock and gave it several strokes through the fabric of his
briefs.

Daniel moaned, but grabbed his wrist and brought Harry's hand to his
abdomen, lacing their fingers together.

"Let's leave it go 'til another day. We have the rest of our lives to get
to know each other better," stated Dan. "Let today be about just you and
me."

"I know, I'm just so excited," said Harry, like a child. "I feel like I've
been waiting a lifetime to love you, Dan, but I know that you are
definitely worth it. What's a couple more weeks then?"

Daniel kissed him with vigour. Despite the many intense moments of making
out which occurred that night, the sensation still felt new and
incredible. He basked in Harry's immense physical beauty as they lay there
together like two peas in a pod. As they reluctantly began to give in to
the temptation of sleep, Harry grabbed Daniel's hand and held it to his
heart. It was like a well tuned metronome which kept a steady beat,
reverberating off the interior walls of Dan's body. He felt in sync with
the rhythm of Harry's being, and as their hearts beat as one, he dozed into
a blissful slumber at perfect peace with himself, with the love of his
life, and with the world around him more broadly.

A kookaburra perched high in the fig tree laughed gleefully as the sun rose
over the horizon and the first signs of daybreak began to appear over the
valley. The pickers worked vineyards several fields over while the local
fauna woke to the breaking dawn and went in search of berries and
insects. While Jacqui and Tara slept soundly in the warmth of their
king-sized bed and comfortable mattress, undisturbed until their alarm
sounded later in the morning, Daniel Coombes and Harrison O'Brien lay
snugly on the grassy knoll with the heat generated from their closely
pressed naked bodies keeping one another warm. Flourishing within this
Garden of Eden was a partnership so exquisite and well-matched that its
longevity was assured, not by means of propagation, but through the very
principles of love on which the relationship was founded - there, under the
fig tree, where it had all begun.

- Epilogue -

It was the first week of class for the new semester and Daniel and Harry
hadn't seen each other for the entire duration of the holidays. Keen to
pick up where they had left off, Daniel stopped over at Harry's place on
the first night back. They were halfway up the steps when Harry leapt
forward and grabbed the waistband of Daniel's shorts from behind,
preventing him from further ascending the stairs.

"What are you gonna do now, buddy?" Harry asked slyly.

Daniel looked over his shoulder at Harry and grinned. He looked so sexy
standing there in his blue polo shirt and shorts with a playful expression
on his face. Harry arched his eyebrow as if still expecting an answer to
his question, and when it didn't come, he moved up so closely behind Daniel
that barely any light could pass between them.

Pressing his body firmly against Daniel's and wrapping his arm around his
waist, he sneaked his hand up the inside of Daniel's shirt and again felt
the hard muscles which resided there. Daniel moaned and turned his head to
again look straight ahead towards the top of the stairs, and Harry, unable
to resist the exposed flesh on Daniel's neck, went in for the kill. He
kissed Daniel's neck and under his ear, tenderly running his tongue over
the skin and savouring the masculine scent which emanated from every pore
of Daniel's body. They were both extremely turned on, and Daniel felt
Harry's boner jab him in the crevice of his ass through his shorts. He
reached behind him and grabbed Harry's hard dick and gave it a few strokes
through the soft material. The amazing sensations he was experiencing at
Daniel's hand only inspired him to reciprocate the indescribable
experience, so after grabbing the bottom of Daniel's shirt and pulling it
off over his head, he carelessly threw it on the step below and began to
focus his attentions below the belt. He unzipped Daniel's fly and undid the
button on his shorts, making them fall to the floor at his feet. Daniel's
hard dick was making a large protrusion in his briefs, and Harry's hand
quickly found its way inside the elastic waistband and began to feel him
up. Daniel's balls were so warm and Harry loved having his hand around
them.

Daniel, still fondling Harry through his shorts, expertly unbuttoned them
and Harry assisted with his free hand in guiding them to the floor. Dan
purposely moved backwards slightly so that his scantly clad ass came into
contact with Harry's barely concealed package, and the feeling was
electrifying. Harry threw off his shirt as well, not wanting to fall
behind. He began to feel Daniel's strong arms by squeezing the tight
muscles under his palm and fingers. It was still amazing to him that
someone as masculine and as strong as Daniel could be so gentle and
delicate.

"Fuck, Danny," Harry moaned loudly. "You feel so good."

"What if Annabel or Christian hear and come out into the living room?"
asked Daniel, fearing they'd be caught.

"Then we'll give them a show," Harry winked as he proceeded to pull down
Daniel's last remaining piece of clothing and lassoed it around his head,
throwing it to the top step.

Daniel, in his naked state, spun around on the step met Harry in a tender
kiss, their bodies firmly pressed against one another as they made a
declaration of their love. Harry had one hand on Daniel's neck, gently
massaging the skin and stimulating the tiny hairs which grew there. Harry
was weaving his other hand through the soft crop of hair on Daniel's head,
his fingers intertwining with the chestnut strands in an affectionate and
insatiable manner. These actions made Daniel shiver all over and Harry knew
he was having the desired effect. Both of them had their eyes closed,
letting their bodies say all that needed to be said. In this most intimate
of moments, Daniel was reluctant to pull down Harry's briefs for fear that
the intimacy would be lost. But as he moved his hand to Harry's waist and
began to tug them down, Harry's eyes closed more tightly and his kiss only
became more desperate. Upon receiving this affirmation, he continued to
pull Harry's briefs to the floor and moved close to the boy again so that
their erect dicks were touching. Daniel's heart was racing at a million
miles an hour, as was Harry's.

"Do you trust me?" asked Harry, out of the blue.

"Yeah, why?" said Daniel, curiously.

"Lay down on the steps for a quick sec," Harry instructed.

Daniel did was he was told, laying awkwardly alone the rise of the
steps. Harry then lay down on top of him and instructed Daniel to wrap his
arms around his neck and his legs around his waist, which he did
willingly. Harry began to stand slowly, not wanting to lose his balance in
this precarious situation, and stood straight with Daniel wrapped around
his front. Daniel held on tightly as Harry walked up the remaining steps
and down the upstairs hallway, pushing Daniel's back into one of the walls
and making out with him like his life depended on it. Harry had done this
many times before with chicks he'd picked up, but never had he anticipated
that he'd find himself in this situation, with a strong guy like Daniel
wrapped to his front making passionate love to him. Daniel was heavier than
any girl he'd been with, but he loved showing off his strength and
impressing Daniel with his bulging muscles. With Daniel's back against the
wall, Harry was able to push hard against the boy and feel his naked flesh
come into strong physical contact with his own. As the forces of gravity
began to drag Daniel ever so lower, their cocks fell out of alignment and
were no longer touching. This upset Harry, who was very much enjoying the
sensation of their duelling swords and thus in a massive feat of strength
and endurance, heaved Daniel upwards so he was back in his original
position. Their erect nipped grazed each other and their tight abs came
together like a sort of neatly fitting jigsaw as Harry suckled on the side
of Daniel's strong neck. It was getting hot inside and beads of sweat were
beginning to form on their foreheads and on their abdomens, making their
bodies shimmer as if they had just been coated in oil like soldiers before
a mighty ancient battle. Daniel's salty sweat was wildly erotic and Harry
couldn't get enough of it on his darting tongue. It drove him insane with
lust and passion, and he began to rock his body backward and forward in a
fucking motion, sliding his hard pole under Daniel's balls and along his
ultra sensitive perineum.

"Ah God, that's brilliant," Daniel whispered between kisses, loving playing
the submissive role to Harry's dominance and power.

"You like that?" Harry asked in a hoarse whisper.

"Fuck yeah!" Daniel moaned.

Harry continued to pin Daniel to the wall while holding him there with his
brute upper body strength, and using his right hand, he gave his own cock a
few vigorous strokes. He then pushed his waist as far forward as possible,
attempting to get the head of his cock somewhere near Daniel's hole. He was
successful, and Daniel felt the warm spongy head of Harry's dick inside his
moist crevice, rubbing against his sensitive virgin hole.

"Christ! I can't describe how good that feels! Please be careful, bro,"
Daniel begged.

"I'm not going to hurt you Danny, just relax and enjoy it," said Harry with
that reassuring smile Daniel had become used to.

Daniel began to jack off to the feeling of Harry's dick brushing against
his hole. He wanted to feel Harry inside of him more than anything in the
world.

"Why don't we go to your bedroom?" Dan suggested.

"I was just going to suggest the same thing," said Harry excitedly. "Hold
on tight, buddy boy." He pulled Daniel from the wall and walked towards his
upstairs bedroom - the scene of their very first encounter together.

As they entered the room, Harry shut the door with his foot and carried
Daniel, still harnessed to his front, to the centre of the room and lowered
him onto the mattress. As Daniel's naked back made contact with the soft
Egyptian cotton of Harry's sheets, he knew he should release his arms and
legs from around Harry, but he didn't. Harry didn't make any attempt to
pull back either, and so they lay there on his bed continuing to make out
with a passion just as intense as they first time they had kissed just four
weeks ago at Harry's Grandparents' house. In this position with Daniel
almost bent in half, Harry had better access to Daniel's ass and so he
began a steady rocking motion, sliding his dick like a piston back and
forth over Daniel's sensitive hole.

"Oh God, lube up, Harry. I need you in me," Daniel begged.

"Are you sure about this, bro? Maybe you should do me first. I'm so scared
I'll hurt you," said Harry.

"Nah, go for it."

Harry got up from the mattress and went to his drawer where he removed a
push bottle of lube and a condom. As he began to tear open the small
sachet, Daniel grabbed him by the wrist.

"What do you need that for?" Daniel asked.

"Oh, I just assumed..." Harry started.

"I trust you with my life, and if you tell me that you're clean, then I
believe you. I'm just dying to feel you in me, with or without the rubber,"
Daniel explained. "Neither of us is going to play around behind each
other's backs, right?"

"Right," Harry smiled, throwing the condom into the distance and leaning
down to kiss Dan with intense passion.

While they were making out, Harry dispensed some lube onto his hand and
after rubbing it in a little, he probed at Dan's tingling hole. His
forefinger pushed through Dan's sphincter, gradually becoming further
entrenched in the warmth offered by this canal. When he reached the
knuckle, he stopped kissing Dan and pulled back a little, looking for
evidence of pain or discomfort on his face. Daniel, however, was consumed
by a hunger for his hole to be filled and this lustful desire was apparent
all over his face, from his fiery eyes to his open mouth, moaning for Harry
to continue. Harry inserted his lubricated finger all the way in and
massaged the inside of Dan's chute, hoping to relax the muscle here so that
it would eventually expand to the size of his cock without causing Daniel
too much pain.

After a few minutes of this, he began to withdraw his finger, before adding
a second and repeating the process.

Daniel's grunted at the obvious discomfort, but he soon relaxed into it and
began to enjoy the feeling of having Harry touch him where he'd never been
touched before.

"I'm so ready, just do it," Daniel moaned.

"Be patient, buddy. You'll thank me later," Harry whispered, kissing his
ear and licking the sensitive area behind Dan's lobe which always got Dan
so riled up.

Harry deposited some more lube onto his hand, this time rubbing some into
his own cock and some into Daniel's.

Daniel slowly began to stroke his lubed dick, enjoying the feeling of Harry
again massaging his love chute with his fingers while preparing his
shaft. Harry loved the feeling of having his fingers embedded so deeply
inside of Dan. He saw it not as a gesture of his dominance, but as
testimony of his love to Dan by taking the time to make sure he didn't hurt
his best mate.

Believing that Daniel's hole was now ready to take his massive shaft, he
withdrew his fingers and instructed Dan to tell him if it hurt too much. He
lined up the head of his dick with Dan's hungry hole, and slowly began to
push forward trying to enter this most sacred of sites. It took him a few
attempts but get it right but Harry finally found the mark and Dan's hole
began to give way to the lurking intruder.

"Shit!" Daniel moaned, closing his eyes tightly and praying that the feel
of pain would soon make way for the pleasure he'd been dreaming about for
some time.

As the head of his dick sunk into the tight orifice, Harry bent down and
kissed Dan with great desperation. He hated to see Dan suffering because of
him, but he froze with his dick in place while Dan got used to the invading
pole.

"I love you so much, Danny," he panted, pushing Dan's hand away from his
dick and starting to stroke it himself.

Daniel was in sensory overload with Harry's veiny shaft stimulating his
ass, Harry's tongue probing at his mouth, and Harry's hand carefully
working his cock. He was totally at Harry's mercy and that was just the way
he liked it.

Harry pushed in further, and while the sensation was uncomfortable for
Daniel, he did his best not to let it show. He just let Harry keep pushing
forward until he was a good half way in. There, he stopped again and
worshipped Dan's body beneath him with his hands. His muscles were
glistening with sweat and this turned Harry on incredibly. He lowered his
head and licked each of Dan's nipples, spending a few minutes teasing the
soft flesh on each with his teeth. Dan bucked wildly on the bed, wrapping
his legs around Harry's waist and encouraging his lover to push further
into him. With Dan's heels digging into his ass, he entered several more
inches into Daniel, who tossed his head from side to side and covered his
eyes with his forearm to cover his tears. Harry, fearing he had gone too
far, began to slowly pull out but Daniel kept him firmly in place by
squeezing tightly with his legs and preventing him from withdrawing
further.

"I'll get used to it, just stay there for a second," Dan instructed.

Harry kept his dick stationary in Dan's love canal while he bent down and
began kiss Dan's throat and Adam's apple affectionately. Harry's delicate
kisses sent Daniel into overdrive. He writhed around on the mattress,
curing curling his toes and thrusting his cock in and out of Harry's hand.

"Are you ready for me to go all the way?" Harry asked.

"Yep, do it, stud," Daniel said cheekily.

Harry repositioned himself so that Daniel was bent beneath him at an angle
to take the full length of his shaft. Harry's secured Dan's legs over his
shoulders, and supporting his own weight in his outstretched arms, he
slowly pushed in all of the way until his short, spiked pubes pressed
against Dan's soft ass. Daniel winced, but Harry was there to kiss away his
tears and to whisper sweet words of encouragement in his ear. Engulfed by
this moist, warm tunnel, Harry felt like he could cum at any minute. It was
so incredibly tight and unlike any girl he had ever been with before. The
tight grip of Dan's ring pulsated around his shaft as he began to slowly
withdraw his cock until he was half way in, before again inserting his cock
all the way and brushing against Dan's sensitive prostate. He kept pounding
Daniel's cock furiously, hoping that he was somehow making Dan feel as good
as he felt at that moment.

He picked up some speed and began to fuck Dan at a steady rhythm,
withdrawing his cock until he was about three quarters out and then
hammering it in so that his pubes made contact with Daniel's balls, and his
own balls bounced roughly against Dan's firm ass cheeks. Without the
artificiality of the condom between them, their skin on skin contact was
wildly erotic. Daniel could feel the protruding vein from Harry's cock as
it pummelled in and out of him at great speed, while Harry was blown away
by the velvety smoothness of Dan's insides as they attempted to grip his
moving dick.

"You're so fucking big!" moaned Daniel between breaths. "You feel
incredible inside me."

"You've got no idea how good this feels," Harry gasped as he picked up the
pace on Daniel's cock. He quickly leant down and kissed the boy who had so
willingly submitted to him.

Although dialogue between them had ceased temporarily, the room was by no
means silent. Harry's lubed hand sliding up and down Dan's very erect pole
made a sticky, wet sound, amplified somewhat by the gallons of precum which
were leaking from the tip. Harry had been running low on lube, but the
precum aided in making sure that he didn't run dry. Then there was the
rhythmic sound of Harry's shaft impaling Daniel, again with a moist timbre
although with a deeper resonation as his balls banged against Dan's ass,
making the scoundscape that was being generated percussive in nature.

Harry felt a familiar tingling in his balls and his instincts (and medical
training) told him that without a condom, he should pull out. But he was
reluctant to do so and decided to let Dan make the decision.

"I'm close baby, do you want me to pull out?" he asked.

"Don't you dare! I wanna feel you inside me all the way 'til the end," Dan
instructed him.

He smiled. There was no getting this hot lay pregnant and as he felt his
impending orgasm, he massaged Dan's balls firmly in his palm and beat his
dick even faster.

"I'm about to cum, Harry," said Daniel.

"Shoot, man. I don't care, shoot it all over me," Harry grunted as he
thrust haphazardly into Dan's warm hole, too far gone to worry about making
a mess.

His erratic fucking meant that his cock was not entering Dan in the same
smooth, mechanical fashion as he had been earlier and thus his cock probed
off course, prodding Dan's love nut and inspiring an orgasm within the boy
so wild and pleasurable that the moans were deafening. Harry could feel
Dan's cock pulsate before large quantities of the boy's seed shot through
the air and landed all over Harry's chest and abs, painting him with sticky
white goo. It was still hot as it made contact with him. This, combined
with Dan's hole contracting as his sensory system reached the height of
pleasure, was the catalyst for the wave of ecstasy which overcame him. With
Dan's chute almost milking his cock of its seminal fluid, his orgasm hit
and he felt prolific volleys of his cum fire deep into Dan's loins.

"Ohhhh fuck!" he cried out as he shivered from the pleasure he was
experiencing. Daniel could feel Harry's dick expanding inside him and felt
his warm load fill him to the brink.

Harry just collapsed on top of Dan with his dick still firmed planted
inside his hole. He had just experienced the best sex of his life, and he
wanted to experience the afterglow with this most remarkable boy who he
loved beyond words. They kissed, looking at each other through glassy eyes
having developed a whole new level of respect for one another over the
course of the hour just passed. Daniel had given everything he had to
Harry, and he had treated it with so much admiration and respect that he
knew beyond doubt he wanted to spend the rest of his life with this most
special boy.

As they lay there together basking in the post-sex high having witnessed
each other's supreme sexual power, Daniel rubbed his hands over the erotic
grooves of Harry's abs and smiled.

"I may have caught an old boot that night we went fishing, but I sure
hooked a pretty hot fish in you, Mr O'Brien,"

he giggled. Harry smiled, too exhausted to think of a witty comment in
return. He just lay there, the peaceful grin not leaving his face for a
second.

"I'm meeting with my parents next weekend to tell them about us," said
Harry out of the blue, his soft cock finally slipping free from Dan's ass.

"Oh. Are you sure, Harry? There's no pressure," said Dan, worried that he
was forcing Harry into something he wasn't comfortable with.

"They'll be happier to hear I'm with you than to hear I'm with Tara, I
guarantee it," said Harry. "And besides, with someone so remarkable as you
as my inspiration, it will be the simplest thing in the world to do."

They kissed again before Harry led Daniel by the hand to the shower, where
getting washed up was secondary to Round Two of the evening's activities.

- The End -